《The Formidable Son-In-Law: The Charismatic Lucas Gray》 Chapter 1 Retiring After Success Chapter 1 Retiring After Sess The wind whistled, and leaves fluttered. Lucas Gray pulled his coat together and once again looked at the campground that he had long gotten familiar with, as well as the familiar faces. He clenched his jaw tightly. "Let''s go." Lucas turned around and stepped onto the hatch door of the helicopter that had been waiting at the side for a long time. Behind him were teams of tall, toned, and muscr men standing uniformly in neat rows. Despite having tears in their eyes, they were standing still with their backs straight in the cold wind and raising their hands in unison to perform a standard and reverent military salute. "Farewell from the Assault Team, Captain!" "Farewell from the Special Forces, Captain!" "Farewell from the Logistics Team, Captain!" ¡­ Amid the sounds of the helicopter''s propeller continuously rotating, the loud yelling sounded consecutively. It was full of enthusiasm and pride! "Captain, can you really bear to¡­" Jordan muttered with reluctance in his eyes as he wiped his tears and closed the helicopter''s hatch door. The wings of the helicopter rotated, and it ascended. The familiar campground and teams were gradually turning into tiny marks on the ground. Lucas looked away and said with a faint smile, "Everythinges to an end someday. There''s no longer a need for me to continue staying here." He had stayed on thisnd for six whole years. During these six years, Lucas was quickly promoted from a fresh recruit to a general who held great authority after various close shaves with death. The invincible Falcon Regiment under hismand firmly guarded the vast territory around the state of Calico. And Lucas became the most powerful God of War in the eyes of the tens of thousands of members of the Falcon Regiment because of his excellentmand ability andbat power. No one dared to invade Calico anymore, as it was now well fortified. Having achieved sess, he could finally retire, even though he was only twenty-eight years old. The helicopter flew south toward the nearest airport. Lucas took out an antique pocket watch from his chest, in which was a slightly yellowed photo. It was a photo of him and a young woman taken six years ago. Back then, he was still slightly immature. The woman''s face was beautiful, delicate, and exquisite. Her lips were pursed stubbornly, and her nted, crystalline eyes seemed to be staring straight into Lucas''s hand through the photo. The scene that seemed like a farce at that time was still fresh and vivid in his memory. Lucas smiled bitterly as he began to recall the events from six years ago. At that time, Cheyenne Carter, who had just graduated from college, had already established the Brilliance Corporation with her outstanding bravery and wits, thus making her a gorgeous and famous female CEO. However, her image was soon ruined. The young and beautiful CEO with a morous appearance actually had a disgraceful private life, as she had had an affair with thepany''s chauffeur! The media made a big deal out of it and released all sorts of malicious, spective, and untrue reports. Cheyenne''s image was ruined overnight, and she fell to rock bottom together with her Brilliance Corporation that was thrown into jeopardy. No one bothered to discover that the truth was that they had actually been drugged. The masses were only interested in gossip, and the Carters just wanted to cover up the scandal. In the end, the chauffeur married into the Carters and became her husband. However, the marriage did not save the image of Cheyenne and the Carters. Everyone mocked and criticized the greatest beauty of Orange County, who used to be the envy of everyone, and made remarks about the penniless chauffeur who was lucky enough to marry into a wealthy family. The penniless chauffeur was Lucas. Both of them were well aware of the truth of their marriage. Soon, Lucas quietly left for the military camp and vowed to make a name for himself so that he would be worthy of the woman who used to be favored by God. Six years had passed, and he finally returned after achieving sess. Lucas looked at the woman in the photo, his emotions mixed with inexplicable remorse and apology. He wondered how she was doing after years of being away from her. ¡ª¡ª "Finally back!" Jordan stretched his back and looked at Lucas, who had a look of nostalgia. The two of them passed through the crowded Orange County International Airport and casually ordered some fast food at the mall outside the airport. "Captain¡­ No, I mean, Lucas, your hometown is in Orange County, isn''t it?" Lucas casually nodded. It had been a long time since they left Orange County, and now that they had just returned, there were many things for them to tend to. "Mommy¡­ I want Mommy¡­" All of a sudden, a puerile and crisp crying sounded near them. Lucas stopped in his tracks. 22:44 For some reason, the tender crying was tugging at his heartstrings. Lucas pushed aside the crowd and followed the sound. There was a little girl standing below a billboard near him and weeping, her face stained with tears. The girl was about four or five years old and was holding a stuffed rabbit in her arms. Her tiny face was as fine as jade, and tears were welling up in herrge, dark eyes. Her small and delicate nose was sniffling because of her crying, and she looked particrly adorable and pitiful, making Lucas''s heart scrunch up. In particr, she seemed bizarrely familiar to Lucas. At this moment, the girl saw Lucas as well, and she abruptly stopped crying. Her eyes full of surprise, she suddenly leaped toward Lucas and hugged his thigh! "Daddy!" Lucas was stunned speechless and at aplete loss for what to do. Chapter 2: Take You Back to Washington DC

Chapter 2: Take You Back to Washington DC

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the side, Jordan blinked and eximed, ¡°Lucas, this kid really looks like you. Since when do you have a daughter? We¡¯ve never heard you mention anything about it before!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡± Lucas was somewhat at a loss. It was the first time in his life that he had ever had a child hug his thigh trustingly and call him ¡®Daddy¡¯. After thinking about it, he squatted down, rubbed the little girl¡¯s hair, and said softly, ¡°I¡¯m not your Daddy. You made a mistake. Did you wander off from your parents? I¡¯ll take you to look for them.¡± Hearing this, the little girl looked at Lucas in shock and suddenly began wailing loudly. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re a bad guy. You don¡¯t want me anymore!¡± Lucas was dumbfounded and at a loss. After some painstaking effort, he finally managed to cajole her and convince her to go to the service counter of the mall. Lucas informed the service staff about the little girl being lost and gave a thorough exnation before leaving the mall. When he left, the little girl was bawling her eyes out, almost causing Lucas to cave in. Unfortunately, he still had important things to deal with. Otherwise, he would have kept herpany until her parents arrived. Soon after they left, a woman hurried to the service counter of the mall and hugged the weeping little girl, extremely heartbroken. ¡°Amelia, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯mte...¡± There was still some lingering fear within her. Earlier, she had intended to just make a quick trip to the bathroom, but she ended up running into a troublesome client who pestered her for a long time before leaving. Over the years, she had been cherishing her daughter like she was her life. If anything happened to her daughter... She didn¡¯t dare to think about it any longer. ¡°Mommy, I saw Daddy just now. But he said that I had mistaken him for someone else... How could I be mistaken? He was Daddy!¡± the girl eximed, her lips pursed and on the verge of tears. ¡°What?!¡± The woman¡¯s body suddenly stiffened. ¡ª¡ª Outside the mall, eight tall and burly bodyguards with domineering auras and d in suits walked toward Lucas and stood still in front of him. All eyes were on them. Remaining still, Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°Mr. Gray.¡± The bodyguards parted to the sides, revealing an old man and a middle-aged man behind them. The old man, whose hair and beard were white, was around fifty to sixty years old and donning an immacte suit. He looked smart and energetic. The middle-aged man beside him was also decked out in subtly luxurious designer apparel. It was obvious that they were wealthy. The old man walked up to Lucas and kept his aged eyes fixed on him. All of a sudden, he bowed to Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m Chad Kennedy, the chief butler of the Hutton family. I¡¯m here to take you back to Washington DC.¡± The indifferent gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes suddenly became sharp! The Huttons? Taking me back to DC? This must be the greatest joke ever! He grinned contemptuously. ¡°It¡¯s surprising that the prestigious and noble Huttons still remember me. I remember getting kicked out of the Hutton family together with my mother by you people two decades ago. You people said that I¡¯m unworthy of being a Hutton and even warned us not to go near DC again, or else my mother and I would be taught a hard lesson. ¡°Where in DC are you taking me back to? Or is it that all the Huttons have dropped dead?¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was full of the endless hostility and anger that he had been suppressing for years. Kennedy was speechless. Lucas¡¯s words were certainly aggressive and harsh, but he knew that the Huttons had indeed let him down back then. He let out a long sigh. ¡°No matter what, so many years have passed, and Old Mr. Hutton has gotten on in his years. He just wants to spend time with his children and grandchildren. After all, you carry the blood of the Huttons.¡± ¡°Myst name is Gray, not Hutton.¡± Lucas continued unwaveringly, ¡°If that nonsense is all you want to say to me, pardon me, but I won¡¯t entertain you.¡± Lucas turned around to leave, but Kennedy hurriedly stopped him. ¡°Mr. Lucas, wait a minute!¡± He grabbed a PIN-locked briefcase from the middle-aged man behind him and handed it to Lucas respectfully with both hands. ¡°This is all the information and the equity transfer letter of the Stardust Corporation, which used to belong to your mother. Now, it¡¯s only right for you to take over its operations. Treat it aspensation from the Huttons.¡± ¡°Compensation?¡± Lucas smiled mirthlessly. ¡°The Stardust Corporation belongs to my mother in the first ce. The Huttons forcefully snatched it away from her and encroached on it. Even if you didn¡¯t return it, I¡¯d snatch it back on my own! ¡°You snatched someone else¡¯s asset, and now you¡¯re acting like you¡¯re giving it to me out of kindness. Are you still expecting me to be grateful too? How thick-skinned! Let me warn you, don¡¯t treat me like a fool, and don¡¯t provoke me ever again. Or else I¡¯ll tear your family apart!¡± Lucas pushed the bodyguards away and left with the briefcase. Staring at his taut back, Kennedy shook his head and sighed. ¡°Ah, he¡¯s still as hot-tempered as ever.¡± As the chief butler of the Hutton family, Chad Kennedy was well aware that the Huttons had indeed gone overboard back then. However, the situation in Washington DC now was unfavorable, and he had no choice but to think of a way to repair the rtionship between Lucas and the Huttons. Kennedy patted the middle-aged man on his shoulder. ¡°Ethan Sawyer, you¡¯re now one of the most prominent figures in Orange County. You ought to do something about the matter regarding Mr. Gray.¡± The middle-aged man nodded respectfully. ¡°I managed to achieve what I have today, all thanks to you and the Hutton family. It¡¯s only right for me to do this. Don¡¯t worry. I will definitely do my best to help Mr. Gray.¡± If there were people who knew the middle-aged man and saw him being very polite and respectful toward Kennedy, they would have definitely been astonished. Well, because he was Ethan Sawyer, the wealthiest man in Orange County and the business tycoon who owned businesses in several states! Chapter 3: I’m Back

Chapter 3: I¡¯m Back

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas was sitting in the backseat of a car with a sullen expression. Kennedy¡¯s appearance reminded him of the past that he didn¡¯t want to remember. Back then, he was called a bastard and an illegitimate child at a tender age, and got chased out of his home together with his mother, whose assets and valuables were all seized. He had a high, persistent fever at the time. And while holding him in her arms, his mother knelt by the Huttons¡¯ doorstep and pleaded for help, only to hear them say coldly, ¡°We don¡¯t care about the lives of those who are not one of the Huttons.¡± Afterward, his mother moved around and brought him to Orange County, where she worked hard to make ends meet. Although life was tough, she managed to raise him to adulthood. However, his mother developed an illness and copsed after years of toiling and living a strenuous life. At that time, Lucas had just graduated from college, and his meager wage was a drop in the bucketpared to the hefty medical bills. He swallowed his pride and tried to seek help from the Huttons, only to receive a heartless rejection and harsh mockery and criticism, which made him feel hopeless and resentful toward the Huttons. Shortly after, he and Cheyenne were drugged, thus resulting in the scandal that spread like wildfire in the entire county. The Carters requested that he marry into their family. He agreed on the condition that the Carters would lend him fifty thousand dors for his mother¡¯s treatment. However, by the time he rushed to the hospital with the money, his mother had already passed away. At that time, Lucas was devastated and felt like aplete failure in life. He failed to save his mother and wasn¡¯t worthy of an outstanding girl like Cheyenne either. To make matters worse, the Carters often mocked him in the past. Lucas decided to leave the Carters and join the military. He swore to make a name for himself so that he could stand proudly beside Cheyenne. Now, he had returned. ¡ª¡ª The car sped along the road, and he soon arrived at the Carter residence. Lucas stood outside the courtyard gate that he was familiar with and seemed rather nervous about returning home. Years ago, he left without saying goodbye, and he didn¡¯t know what Cheyenne thought of him now. Just as he was about to go up and knock on the door, he heard some boisterousughtering from outside. ¡°Mr. Miller, since you¡¯re so sincere about Cheyenne, we shall be straightforward. Let¡¯s just settle on a date.¡± Lucas was stunned. He reckoned that the voice belonged to Karen, his mother-inw and Cheyenne¡¯s mother. ¡°Missus¡ªKaren, you¡¯re being too polite. Since we¡¯re going to be a family in the future, don¡¯t be so formal. Just call me by my name.¡± ¡°Sure, sure, you¡¯re so young and eloquent. Cheyenne is so lucky to have met you! As her parents, we can rest assured now!¡± ¡°However, I heard her former...¡± ¡°You mean that good-for-nothing? It¡¯s alright. Thew states that a missing person can be dered dead after being missing for four years. He¡¯s already disappeared for more than six years, so he must have died in some hellhole! If you¡¯re still worried, let¡¯s go to the court and get a certificate.¡± ¡°In my opinion, Cheyenne is brilliant in all aspects, except that her husband, my brother-inw, is a good-for-nothing.¡± ¡°That piece of trash isn¡¯t your brother-inw. From now on, your brother-inw is Mr. Miller.¡± When Lucas heard this, his face turned incredibly gloomy, and he couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer. He hade back for Cheyenne, and yet he heard her family talking about her remarriage. No matter what, he had to see her to rify. Bang! Bang! He knocked on the door. ¡°Who is it? Coming.¡± Having settled her eldest daughter¡¯s marriage with a wealthy man, Karen was in a good mood, and she opened the door with a gleeful grin. However, her expression changed dramatically when she saw the person at the door. ¡°You... you¡¯re not dead?¡± Shock was written all over her face, which seemed to have paled all of a sudden. Her expression was now full of disgust and disdain. This good-for-nothing is back! Although Lucas¡¯s appearance had changed over the years, she could still recognize him, as she would curse him in her head dozens of times each day! ¡°I¡¯m back, Karen,¡± Lucas said calmly. ¡°How could you have the cheek toe back, you wastrel?! Don¡¯t act so close to me! It¡¯s Mrs Carter. Didn¡¯t your dead mother teach you any manners!¡± Karen hollered, her brows furrowed and her hands on her waist. Her saliva almostnded on Lucas¡¯s face. Lucas¡¯s heart was suddenly full of fury! His mother¡¯s death would forever be a sore spot in his heart and the reason for his rebellion! He clenched his fists and repeatedly warned himself not to get physical because the woman in front of him was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother. ¡°What? Do you want to hit me? You¡¯re such a jinx. Of all times, you had toe back now. I bet you¡¯re bent on making life hard for us!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s out there?¡± When Cheyenne¡¯s father heard the ruckus, he walked out of the living room too. When he saw Lucas¡¯s face, his eyes widened immediately, and he charged forward with a furious expression in a bid to punch Lucas! ¡°Bastard, how dare youe back?! Why didn¡¯t you die outside?! Huh?¡± Just as his fist was about tond on Lucas¡¯s face, a hand that was as strong as an iron mp pinched his tightly. ¡°Old man, you must be tired of living! How dare you try to hit Lucas...¡± Jordan had been Lucas¡¯s subordinate for years and had long treated him as his closest kin. How could he stand by and watch him get humiliated by others? With an icy-cold gaze in his eyes, he emitted a murderous aura that frightened Cheyenne¡¯s father to the point that he turned as pale as a sheet! Chapter 4: Take The Money and Get Lost

Chapter 4: Take The Money and Get Lost

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Stand down!¡± Lucas hollered at Jordan. ¡°This is a family affair. Go out first.¡± Jordan reluctantly but obediently withdrew his hand, glowered at Cheyenne¡¯s parents again, and left. Cheyenne¡¯s parents were full of resentment, but they did not dare to get physical with Lucas again. Jordan¡¯s terrifying gaze intimidated them, and they even had some scruples about Lucas. However, as they looked at Lucas¡¯s cheap clothes and calm expression that was almost the same as the past, their worries vanished. I was thinking too much. A good-for-nothing is still a good-for-nothing! ¡°What are you doing standing at the door? Hurry up ande in, you disgraceful thing!¡± Karen pushed the door open furiously and entered. Cheyenne¡¯s father humphed coldly, finding Lucas an eyesore. Lucas followed him and entered the house. The living room of the Carters¡¯ home was very lively at this moment, as it was crowded with more than ten rtives. Upon sight of Lucas, who came in after Cheyenne¡¯s parents, many of them who knew who Lucas was looked puzzled. ¡°Isn¡¯t this... that good-for-nothing? Why is he suddenly back?¡± ¡°Who? Is this the good-for-nothing you guys mentioned just now? Didn¡¯t you say that he already died?¡± ¡°Who knows? He¡¯s been missing for so many years. And now that Mr. Miller is going to get engaged with Cheyenne, he¡¯se scurrying back. Who knows what thoughts he¡¯s harboring?!¡± ¡°He definitely has evil intentions.¡± Lucas nced at the people around him, some of whom used to mock him and some of whom he hadn¡¯t met before. The most striking one was a young man sitting in the center of the couch and gaining the attention of everyone. He looked around his mid-tote-twenties and was dressed fashionably, his hair gelled back and his under-eye bags slightly puffy. He was obviously an avid drinker and a lustful person. He reckoned that he was Mr. Miller, the new fianc¨¦ that the Carters chose for Cheyenne, whom everyone else was talking about. Lucas secretly sneered. They¡¯re treating this piece of trash like a treasure? However, Cheyenne was not in the living room, and that made Lucas, who wanted to see her, feel slightly disappointed. Visibly annoyed, Karen said, ¡°Okay, we can¡¯t be bothered to talk to you either. The point of today¡¯s meeting is regarding Mr. Miller and Cheyenne¡¯s marriage anyway. You came at the right time. This saves us the hassle of getting your death certificate from the courts. When Cheyennees home, immediately go get a divorce with her.¡± Lucas did not utter a single word. This group of rtives gathered here suddenly began mocking him sarcastically. ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to get a divorce?¡± ¡°Of course he doesn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to marry the greatest beauty of Orange County and form ties with the Carters. Of course, he¡¯s going to cling tightly onto her.¡± ¡°How shameless. Doesn¡¯t he realize that he can¡¯t hold a candle to Mr. Miller at all? He doesn¡¯t have any self-awareness!¡± ¡°Look at how shabby he is. He¡¯s not even worthy of carrying Mr. Miller¡¯s shoes! Hurry up and make yourself scarce!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s father knocked on the table and eximed, ¡°I¡¯ll be honest. I won¡¯t let my daughter suffer together with you! What can a penniless man like you give her? If you still have a conscience, and if you¡¯re still a man, have the decency and self-awareness to divorce her. Stop wasting Cheyenne¡¯s time and holding her back!¡± Lucas closed his eyes and looked unusuallyposed. ¡°If Cheyenne doesn¡¯t want to be with me any longer, she can let me know herself, and I¡¯ll divorce her without another word. But you people have no right to make arrangements for us!¡± he barked sneeringly as he stared at the people around him. What? This loser says we have no right?! Just as they were about to lose their temper, someone burst intoughter, stopping them from talking. Mr. Miller seems to be about to say something. Of course, we have to wait for him to finish! Seth Miller was snuggled up on the couch, fiddling with his Patek Philippe watch andrge ring while sizing Lucas up. ¡°You must be that... someone, right? What have you been doing these past few years?¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°I was just getting by.¡± Seth chuckled again and pped his hands as he stood up. ¡°I suggest you don¡¯t force me to deal with you the hard way. Cheyenne isn¡¯t someone a wimp like you deserves. Even a fool knows why you¡¯re clinging to the Carters.¡± He took out a check from his pocket. ¡°Here¡¯s a check for thirty thousand. It¡¯s enough to support you for several years. Be smart, take it, and get lost, lest you end up with nothing in the end,¡± Seth threatened. Lucas reached out to take the check while the others watched in contempt. ¡°Indeed, he just wants money!¡± ¡°A loser is a loser. You¡¯ve probably never had so much money all your life, huh?!¡± ¡°Mr. Miller just had to wave his hand, and this piece of trash took the money readily. Tsk.¡± A crisp sound filled the air, immediately making everyone stop their mockery as they looked at Lucas in disbelief. This good-for-nothing tore the check! He tore the thirty thousand dor check! Is he out of his mind?! Everyone watched in disbelief as Lucas gently tossed the ripped pieces of the torn check. ¡°Seth Miller, you¡¯re just an outsider. You don¡¯t have the right to interfere in our affairs.¡± Chapter 5: Meeting Again

Chapter 5: Meeting Again

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You!¡± Seth immediately flew into a rage. No one had ever dared to be so arrogant toward him! The Carters were just as furious as him as they angrily charged forward to surround Lucas, as though they were going to hit him. Just as the conflict was getting heated, someone pushed the door open and entered. ¡°W-what¡¯s going on?¡± Lucas¡¯s heart palpitated, and his body stiffened. He had never dared to forget that familiar voice, which was already deeply etched in his mind. He stood still in ce without turning around. He had imagined and even rehearsed the scene of meeting Cheyenne again countless times in his head. This time, he was here specifically to see her too. But when he heard her gentle voice, Lucas suddenly realized that he didn¡¯t know how he should face her. What should I say to her? However, Cheyenne didn¡¯t quite notice Lucas, who had his back facing the door. As soon as she entered, she saw arge group of her rtives gathered together and surrounding Seth Miller. Cheyenne¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. Lately, Seth had been dering his love for her and resorting to all sorts of harassment, annoying her to no end. Just now, she saw Seth¡¯s extremely shy sports car parked near the entrance of her home. ¡°Why are you here again? I¡¯ve already said that I won¡¯t consider it,¡± Cheyenne rebuked, looking upset. ¡°Watch your tone with Seth!¡± Karen reprimanded before hurriedly saying, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re back. Since the courts are still open, hurry up and get a divorce with this good-for-nothing!¡± ¡°What?¡± Cheyenne was feeling confused when the little girl beside her leaped toward Lucas with glistening eyes. ¡°Daddy! Daddy, are you here to see me?¡± Daddy? Bewildered, Cheyenne shifted her gaze onto the back of the person whom she had neglected. This familiar height and silhouette... She came to a sudden realization and took a step back. It¡¯s... him? Lucas squatted down, reached out, and wrapped his arm around the little girl, who was once again enthusiastically holding onto his thigh. He scrutinized her carefully. She had thin eyebrows, beautiful glowing eyes, and tiny diamond-shaped lips. She was obviously beautiful even though her features had yet to develop fully. So this kid is a Carter. It turned out that he found her strangely familiar because her features were simr to Cheyenne¡¯s. Could she be... As he thought of a certain possibility, his heart pounded vigorously. Holding the little girl in his arms, he suddenly felt very close and affectionate with her. He then took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at the person in front of him, whom he had thought about countless times. Cheyenne¡¯s long hair was draped over her shoulders, and she was dressed in a light gray bespoke business suit, with shock and puzzlement all over her face. Her beautiful eyes were fixed on the person in front of her. He was no longer the fresh graduate from six years ago. Although the man in front of her had the same features, he no longer looked young. His face had be chiseled, making him look much more mature and reliable. Her expression quickly changed from shock toposure. But beneath herposure, there was some anger brewing. Her chest was heaving up and down, and her fingernails were digging into the flesh of her palm. ¡°Cheyenne, I...¡± ¡°Why did youe back?¡± Cheyenne interrupted. She said agitatedly in a hoarse voice, ¡°After doing that, you left without saying anything. We thought you were dead all this time. What are you back now for?!¡± She kept her eyes glued on Lucas with hatred. Back then, the two of them were drugged in a hotel, and it became a scandal that broke out overnight. For the sake of covering things up, the Carters let him marry Cheyenne hastily. Although the two did not have feelings at that time, Cheyenne decided to spend the rest of her life with him since what was done could not be undone. However, she never expected him to steal fifty thousand dors from her father and then vanish without a trace soon after they got married. He¡¯s just a thorough liar! However, she soon discovered that she was pregnant. After hesitating for a long time, she decided to keep the baby. But she did not expect herpany to encounter crisis after crisis during the toughest stage of her pregnancy. She was so infuriated that she went into prematurebor while someone took advantage and encroached on the Brilliance Corporation. Whenever Cheyenne thought about the hardship and grievances that she suffered during that time, she felt immense heartache and extreme hatred for the irresponsible and horrendous man who had left without saying goodbye! ¡°Are you back to jeopardize my life again? What have I done to make you hate me so much that you want to ruin me again and again?¡± With hatred in her heart, her eyes seemed to be burning with anger as they turned bloodshot. Although she didn¡¯t cry, Lucas was heartbroken to see her like this. When he left without saying goodbye back then, he had indeed hurt Cheyenne tremendously, and that was something that he would never be able to make up for no matter what he did. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry.¡± Filled with immense guilt, this was the only thing he could say even though he knew that his words were useless. Sensing the tension in the house, the little girl hugged Lucas¡¯s neck tightly and shouted, ¡°Mommy...¡± Cheyenne closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down because she didn¡¯t want to scare her precious daughter. ¡°Why did you leave back then?¡± ¡°I left because... I want to be deserving enough to be your husband.¡± This was truly what Lucas felt. Even though he had good intentions, the way he handled the matter was indeed inappropriate. Cheyenne sneered, not believing him at all. ¡°So, why did you steal my father¡¯s money before you left?¡± ¡°What money?¡± Lucas was stunned and confused. Chapter 6: My Daughter

Chapter 6: My Daughter

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Don¡¯t bother arguing!¡± Karen immediately screeched. ¡°You were penniless and had nothing to your name back then. We were kind enough to let you marry into our family and provided you with food and a roof over your head. Yet you stole our money when we let our guards down and absconded!¡± Lucas frowned and frantically exined when he thought of something, ¡°No such thing! Back then, I did borrow fifty thousand from William. But I returned it on the same night...¡± ¡°Nonsense! You clearly stole it!¡± Karen interjected harshly before turning to look at Cheyenne¡¯s father, William. ¡°Tell us. Did you lend him the money, or did he steal it?¡± ¡°Hmph, he married into our family, so why would I lend him fifty thousand? He obviously stole it and then fled!¡± William insisted. ¡°There¡¯s such a thing? You¡¯re being too nice to him! If I were in your ce, I would have long sued him and put him behind bars!¡± ¡°Exactly. I only found out about this today. This person is trash!¡± ¡°He stole fifty thousand, yet he still has the cheek toe back. Gosh, he¡¯s too shameless!¡± ¡°Quickly, get a divorce. If he dares not to divorce, we¡¯ll sue him!¡± The rtives of the Carters were bbergasted. Lucas sneered in his head. This couple actually fabricated a lie to frame me and use me of absconding with their money. Seems like they¡¯re out to ruin my reputation before chasing me out. ¡°Hmph, if I really stole so much money from you, why didn¡¯t you say anything or file a police report after I left?¡± Lucas looked Cheyenne¡¯s parents straight in the eye. Having stayed in the military camp for years, he had developed a menacing aura that was so domineering that the two dared not to make eye contact with him and instead shifted their gazes away. ¡°Well, we just don¡¯t want to air our dirtyundry in public. We helped save your reputation, but you¡¯re ming us instead, you good-for-nothing?¡± William roared, but it was clear that he wasn¡¯t that confident. ¡°I believe you all know the truth in your hearts.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything else. Trying to threaten me with something fabricated? Impossible. Cheyenne looked at their reactions. Having been brainwashed and fed lies about Lucas absconding with her father¡¯s money by her parents for years, Cheyenne had already begun to suspect something. Is it possible that... he really didn¡¯t flee after stealing the money back then? ¡°In short, hurry up and get lost!¡± Karen rushed forward to knock Lucas forcefully. Lucas swayed from the impact while the little girl in his arms was frightened to tears by her ferocious and menacing gaze. She hugged Lucas¡¯s neck and bawled loudly. ¡°No! I want Daddy! Don¡¯t chase Daddy away!¡± Karen chided furiously, ¡°How is this good-for-nothing your father? What are you crying for?! Keep crying, and I¡¯ll lock you in the attic!¡± The frightened little girl shivered violently in fear and burped as she sobbed, not daring to cry again, her eyes full of terror. Judging from her reaction... she must have been locked in the attic before! As anger surged in his heart, Lucas red daggers at everyone with an icy cold gaze that seemed to make the entire living room freeze! Just as Lucas was about to lose his temper uncontrobly, a pair of hands carried the little girl away from his arms. Cheyenne kissed her daughter¡¯s frightened little face. She was so heartbroken that she was on the verge of tears. ¡°Mother, thest time you locked Amelia in the attic, she was so frightened that she had a high fever for days! Why are you scaring her again now? She¡¯s still young, and you¡¯re her biological grandmother. Don¡¯t you care about her at all?¡± ¡°I-I was just frustrated and said that to scare her! I¡¯m not really going to lock her up. Seriously, it¡¯s her fault for being so biased toward her father at such a young age...¡± Karen muttered. Her voice got extremely soft at the end, but Lucas had sensitive hearing and immediately grasped the keyword. His heart was thumping fast, and he felt a lump in his throat. Trying to verify something, he asked Cheyenne, ¡°She... Is Amelia... our daughter?¡± Cheyenne bit her lips tightly. She wanted to shake her head and deny it. But when she saw the expectant gaze in the eyes of her daughter in her arms, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say no. Amelia had been moring for her father, and Lucas was indeed her biological father. She nodded with aplicated expression. Now that his vague suspicion had been confirmed, Lucas was inexplicably agitated! He didn¡¯t expect the child who had pounced on him and called him ¡®Daddy¡¯ during their first meeting at the airport to be his flesh and blood! The power of gics is so amazing! Lucas looked at Cheyenne and Amelia with a tender gaze that contained a tinge of remorse. He owed them too much! Lucas curbed his urge to go up and pull them into his arms. He nodded solemnly and promised, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since I¡¯vee back, I won¡¯t let you two down again.¡± At the side, Karen rolled her eyes and eximed, ¡°Hmph, talk is cheap! You¡¯re a penniless man who has nothing. You shamelessly came back, and you still want us to feed you? Dream on!¡± She poked Cheyenne¡¯s arm forcefully, looking like she was expecting better from her. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, go and divorce this good-for-nothingter! Seth has already said that he¡¯ll get engaged to you on an auspicious date in the next few days. Do you hear me?¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were full of fury, and the temperature around him seemed to plunge several degrees! Chapter 7: Pink Diamond Pendant

Chapter 7: Pink Diamond Pendant

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Karen¡¯s presumptuous behavior made Cheyenne feel very ufortable. ¡°Mother, I¡¯ve already told you several times that I won¡¯t marry Mr. Miller.¡± She turned to look at Seth. ¡°Mr. Miller, youe from a privileged family, and there are many girls who like you. I¡¯m already married, and I really don¡¯t deserve you, so you shouldn¡¯t waste any more time on me.¡± Karen was so infuriated that she pinched Cheyenne several times and barked, ¡°Why are you so muddled?! Seth is such an eligible man. You¡¯re lucky he fancies you!¡± Then she turned to apologize to Seth. ¡°Seth, we¡¯ve spoiled Cheyenne rotten. Sometimes, she¡¯s thick in the head, so please don¡¯t mind her! Don¡¯t worry. I have the final say in this household.¡± Seth smiled faintly and pretended to be nonchnt. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Karen. I believe that Cheyenne will believe in my sincerity one day.¡± However, he was extremely displeased. I, Seth Miller, have never been tantly rejected by a woman before! She¡¯s just a married woman. Why is she being so pretentious?! She seriously doesn¡¯t know any better. When I win her heart, I¡¯ll certainly make her obey me! He didn¡¯t bother taking a single nce at Lucas. To him, Lucas was just Cheyenne¡¯s in-name husband and simply an insignificant nobody. Lucas squinted. How dare he try to court my wife in front of me? Very brazen, eh? ¡°Mr. Miller is so magnanimous and gentlemanly!¡± ¡°Of course, the JW Corporation belonging to the Millers is one of the top few major enterprises of the county, and Mr. Miller graduated from an overseas college. He¡¯s well-educated and has a good upbringing. How can someone here hold a candle to him?¡± ¡°Haha, from now on, Mr. Miller will be part of our family. We have to learn from him!¡± The Carters¡¯ rtives praised Seth incessantly, as though Cheyenne had already married him. Cheyenne frowned and felt even more infuriated and disappointed when she saw how indifferent and unaffected Lucas was as he stood by the side. However, she didn¡¯t know that Lucas just didn¡¯t want to start an argument with her family in front of her because he didn¡¯t want to put her in a difficult spot. ¡°Okay, okay, get ready for dinner.¡± Seeing that it was about time, Karen instructed the servants to serve the dishes and arranged for everyone to be seated. But she deliberately alienated Lucas and pretended as though he didn¡¯t exist. Everyoneughed maliciously, waiting to see this loser Lucas embarrass himself. ¡°Daddy,e sit here!¡± Amelia¡¯s puerile voice was heavenly, and her smile was sweet. She upied a seat beside her stool and called out to Lucas. Lucas¡¯s heart melted a little, as his daughter¡¯s obedience and reliance on him made his frustration vanish. ¡°What are you doing? This seat is reserved for your aunt. If you like that piece of trash so much, get down and stand with him!¡± Karen rebuked as she picked Amelia up from the stool before tossing the stool onto the ground. Amelia felt aggrieved, and tears welled up in her eyes. ¡°Mother, consider the asion today!¡± Cheyenne picked her daughter up and ced her on herp heartbrokenly before ncing at Lucas. She said sternly, ¡°Sit down.¡± Just as everyone sat down at the table, Seth chuckled. ¡°I almost forgot. I haven¡¯t wished our little birthday girl a happy birthday.¡± He took out a beautiful gift box and handed it over. ¡°I hope the little beauty Amelia will like this.¡± Lucas was stunned. So it¡¯s my daughter¡¯s birthday today! I¡¯ve failed as a father. His heart was full of guilt. Amelia thanked him politely and opened the gift box under her rtives¡¯ encouragement. A pinkish-purple gemstone pendant glistened under the light, dazzling dreamily. ¡°Wow! This is beautiful!¡± The women present couldn¡¯t help but gasp in amazement. All women were interested in jewelry, especially such a beautiful and alluring gemstone. Seth smiled smugly. ¡°This is a gemstone I obtained by chance. The pink natural gemstone in the middle is the rarest. After knowing that Amelia¡¯s birthday wasing, I specially hired the most renowned jewelry designer in Italy to make it.¡± ¡°Pink diamond? I¡¯ve never seen one before! It¡¯s so beautiful!¡± ¡°Oh my god! It¡¯s such a big natural pink diamond. It must be worth a lot of money!¡± ¡°That goes without saying. Mr. Miller¡¯s gift will never be cheap. It should cost at least fifteen thousand dors.¡± Seth enjoyed listening to thepliments of the crowd but still remained reserved on the surface. ¡°Not at all. It only cost about one hundred and fifty thousand.¡± ¡°Oh my god! One hundred and fifty thousand dors!¡± Everyone inhaled sharply. They were astonished! ¡°It¡¯s just a gift for a child, but it costs one hundred and fifty thousand. Mr. Miller is indeed very generous!¡± ¡°Amelia is so lucky to have such a good father who will dote on her in the future.¡± Cheyenne¡¯s eyes were full of annoyance. Here they go again. These people just love jumping to conclusions on their own. When did I ever say that I was going to marry Seth? ¡°Mr. Miller has given her such an expensive gift. What about you? Surely you didn¡¯te empty-handed, did you?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s younger sister Charlotte suddenly asked with raised brows. The eyes of the crowd immediately focused on Lucas. They were obviously not expecting anything. Instead, they were excited to see him make a fool out of himself. What gift can this good-for-nothing give? He will probably never be able to afford a gift as expensive as the pink diamond Seth gave! Chapter 8: What Is Your Agenda?

Chapter 8: What Is Your Agenda?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas had only just learned that Amelia was his daughter, so how could he have prepared a present in advance? However, he didn¡¯t panic. Instead, he removed a bead bracelet from his wrist and handed it to Amelia. ¡°Happy Birthday, Amelia. Daddy wishes for you to grow up safely and happily.¡± Lucas obtained that moonstone bracelet at the border, and his superiors gave it to him as a reward. It looked ordinary, but it was a rare treasure. Charlotte reached out and snatched the bead bracelet. After taking a nce at it, she snorted withughter. ¡°Your gift is so shabby! Seth gave her a rare gemstone, and yet you, her biological father, gave her a lousy bracelet. Do you really have the cheek to give it to her?¡± Everyone craned their necks and looked over, only to be amused when they finally took a clear glimpse. This bead bracelet is made of some lousy white wood. It¡¯s so light, and every bead looks stained with dirt. It¡¯s obviously a poor quality bracelet that no one would buy even at a dor store! Everyone burst intoughter, and despite her tender age, Amelia could sense the mockery in theirughter. Amelia snatched the bracelet away from Charlotte and held it close to her chest. She shouted angrily, ¡°I like this one! I like anything that Daddy gives me!¡± Lucas¡¯s heart warmed, and he touched her head affectionately. He then put the bracelet on her slender and tender wrist. Fiddling with the fine, white, and light beads on her wrist, Amelia happily raised her arm and showed it to Cheyenne. ¡°Mommy, isn¡¯t it pretty?¡± ¡°You¡¯re treating lousy wood like a treasure!¡± Karen pursed her lips disdainfully. She grabbed the dazzling pink diamond pendant Seth gave, ced it on Amelia¡¯s neck, and then nagged, ¡°Amelia, you¡¯re young, so you have no clue. But I¡¯m telling you, this pendant is the good stuff.¡± Lucas suddenly reached out to stop Karen and snatched away the pendant before retreating far away from Amelia. ¡°What are you doing?! Are youmitting a robbery?¡± Karen immediately snapped in a high-pitched voice as she red at Lucas. Lucas sneered silently and tightened his grip, crushing the exquisite and beautiful gemstone pendant in his hand. ¡°Ah! What are you doing?!!¡± Karen screamed and was on the verge of passing out! That¡¯s a precious gemstone worth more than one hundred and fifty thousand dors! What has that bastard done?! The ten-odd people around them were stunned speechless as their cups and chopsticks fell on the table and the ground. A precious gemstone pendant worth more than one hundred and fifty thousand has been crushed into bits. This good-for-nothing is really brazen! Seth¡¯s expression was incredibly sullen. It was one thing for the pendant to be ruined, but Lucas¡¯s action was a huge insult to him! With a furious expression and anger in him, he asked, ¡°What do you mean by doing that?¡± ¡°Your gift isn¡¯t good. Amelia can¡¯t wear it,¡± Lucas said indifferently. ¡°You!¡± Seth suddenly sprang up and snapped, ¡°You¡¯re a damned pauper! What do you know?! Have you ever seen anything good?¡± His eyes were full of contempt. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen many good things, but I can identify counterfeit goods,¡± Lucas said casually with a drastic change of expression. ¡°I think we all know how rare and precious natural pink diamonds are. The price of natural pink diamonds at jewelry auctions ranges from 1.5 to 4 million dors per carat, depending on the color. The average price of a medium-grade purplish-pink diamond like the one you gave is averagely priced at 2.5 dors per carat. The size of that pink diamond you gave her is no less than two carats, meaning that you need at least five million dors to buy it, yet you only spent one hundred and fifty thousand?¡± When Seth heard the word ¡®counterfeit¡¯ and the figures Lucas listed in his analytical breakdown, his face had already turned hostile. However, how could he admit that he just gave his men a few thousand dors to purchase a random gemstone to fool them? He stared at Lucas furiously and seemed to be trying to pierce a hole through him with his gaze. ¡°You¡¯re talking about prices at auctions. What if I managed to get that pink diamond at a good deal?¡± Lucas was not afraid of him at all, and he simply spread his palm to reveal the debris. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you must have made a blunder then. A real pink diamond can¡¯t be crushed by hand.¡± Seth¡¯s face turned pale, and he was suddenly speechless. Everyone knew that diamond was the hardest naturally urring material in the world, and it was difficult to cut. Who could crush it by hand? The people around immediately understood that the pink diamond pendant Seth gifted, which left them in envy, was a counterfeit good. Had someone else given a counterfeit gemstone as a gift, they would definitely mock him. But the person who did so now was Seth. Who would dare tough at him? Seeing Seth¡¯s sullen expression, they frantically tried to give him an out. ¡°Mr. Miller isn¡¯t a professional gemstone appraiser, so it¡¯s inevitable for him to make a mistake. Why do you have to be so overbearing?¡± ¡°Exactly. Besides, even if there¡¯s something wrong, it¡¯s still a beautifully-designed gemstone. But you crushed it. You really went overboard!¡± ¡°He¡¯s just trying to show how capable he is! Psht, this loser gave a lousy wooden bead bracelet. What right does he have to criticize Seth¡¯s gift?¡± Lucas nced at them coldly. ¡°If it¡¯s just a fake gemstone, of course I wouldn¡¯t be bothered. But this thing is made of heinrichite! You guys probably know how much radiation heinrichite emits, right? How can you wear such a thing all the time?¡± He red at everyone with a sharp gaze. Everyone was dumbfounded and speechless as they avoided his gaze. Some who had just touched the pendant were so scared that they even secretly rubbed their hands against their clothes. ¡°So...¡± Lucas nced at Seth, whose forehead was covered in sweat, and released his domineering aura! ¡°You gave such a highly radioactive pendant to a five-year-old. What exactly is your agenda?!¡± Chapter 9: Expensive Gift List

Chapter 9: Expensive Gift List

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seth was so astonished by Lucas¡¯s aura that he involuntarily took a step backward. By the time he reacted, he was vexed and infuriated! He was actually frightened by a good-for-nothing. Although it was only for a moment, it was a huge insult! Karen yelled at Lucas, ¡°Shut up! What do you know? Even if Mr. Miller made a mistake and bought the wrong thing, it definitely wasn¡¯t deliberate! What nonsense are you spouting about radioactivity? A loser like you knows nothing!¡± One of the rtives with a beer belly stood up and chimed in, ¡°Exactly! I¡¯ve never heard of heinrichite before. How can a good-for-nothing like you know what it is? Don¡¯t make up a name and try to fool us with it!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were icy cold. Karen was Cheyenne¡¯s mother, so he couldn¡¯t humiliate her, but the other rtives were different. He walked toward the rtive with a beer belly and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m making up stories and that this thing is harmless, try it yourself.¡± Lucas handed the diamond debris over and acted like he was about to rub it on the rtive with the beer belly. ¡°Stop, stop! Don¡¯te over!¡± the rtive with the beer belly immediately wailed and retreated, knocking down several chairs in the process. The people around him retreated too as they stared at the debris in his hand with fear, as if they were staring at a ferocious beast. Chaos broke out in the hall. ¡°Enough!¡± Amid the chaoticmotion, Cheyenne, who was currently holding her daughter in her arms silently, smashed a bowl onto the ground, giving everyone a great shock. She took a deep breath and walked up to Seth. ¡°I¡¯m sorry the pendant you gave Amelia was shattered. I¡¯llpensate you for it.¡± Seth remained gentlemanly in front of Cheyenne. Shaking his head, he said, ¡°It¡¯s a gift for Amelia in the first ce. I didn¡¯t expect it to turn into a joke because of my mistake. It¡¯s good enough that you don¡¯t me me. How could I make you pay for it? I¡¯ll pick out another gift for Amelia to make it up to her.¡± ¡°Thanks, but that¡¯s not necessary,¡± Cheyenne politely and distantly declined. Seth wanted to say something, but Cheyenne had already walked past him and went to Lucas¡¯s side. Staring at the debris on Lucas¡¯s palm, she red at him in pique and questioned, ¡°Why are you still holding onto it? Aren¡¯t you scared that your hand will be hurt?¡± Lucas grinned and obediently followed Cheyenne to the kitchen to clean up and wash his hands. Seth stared at the two figures with jealousy and resentment in his eyes. At this juncture, a modified, ostentatious, and luxurious Mercedes Benz G-wagon pulled over at the entrance of the Carters¡¯ home, followed by two cars. Two people alighted from the car and knocked on the door loudly. ¡°Who is it?!¡± Karen was extremely frustrated because of the ruckus in the living room, and the knocking on the door just made her feel even more annoyed. She initially thought that she had obtained a precious gemstone worth more than 150,000 dors from Seth, but it turned out to be a counterfeit. To make things worse, it was highly radioactive too. She had touched the pendant for a long time, and at this moment, she felt extremely ufortable. However, it would be embarrassing to wash her hands in front of Seth. It truly irked her. She opened the door in frustration and chastised, ¡°What are you knocking for...¡± Before she finished speaking, she was frightened by the two bodyguards at the door, who were tall and burly like steel towers. She then fell silent. After swallowing her saliva, she asked cautiously, ¡°Who are you... looking for?¡± ¡°Excuse me, is this William Carter¡¯s home?¡± asked a man in his fifties who looked like a butler. ¡°Are you looking for my husband?¡± Hearing his name, William walked over from the living room. When he saw the person in front of him, he was astounded! Isn¡¯t this old man in the ck tuxedo Louis Alcott, the chief butler who often follows Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, around? Cheyenne¡¯s father hurriedly walked down the steps and bent forward with a smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was you, Mr. Alcott. I¡¯m sorry for not weing you properly.¡± Just as he was about to shake the hand of this famous chief butler, someone beside him interposed abruptly and beat him to it. Seth grinned as enthusiastically as he could. ¡°What brings you here, Mr. Alcott? It¡¯s a great honor to see you here. Please quickly enter.¡± Louis frowned. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Seth Miller, and my father is David Miller, who owns the JW Corporation. A few days ago, we...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know such a person!¡± Before Seth could report his family background, Louis retracted his hand coldly and even took out a handkerchief to wipe his hand. He didn¡¯t bother looking at him at all. A second-ratepany like the JW Corporation was nothingpared to the Sawyer Corporation. Seth¡¯s face was suddenly red yet pale. He originally thought he would be able to make some connections with a big shot. But in the end, he was insulted. He felt incredibly embarrassed, especially since it happened in front of the Carters, which he was trying to please. Cheyenne¡¯s father dared not speak and simply looked at Louis anxiously, wondering why this big shot was here to look for him... ¡°Are you William Carter?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s father nodded his head vigorously. Louis assented and remained silent. He then took out arge wad of a gift list from his chest pocket and handed it over. Karen¡¯s eyes glistened. She hurriedly grabbed it to take a look. ¡°Moon Pce Real Estate¡¯s Luxurious Lakeside Vi!¡± ¡°Limited-edition Lamborghini supercar!¡± ¡°Ny percent shares of Venus Apparel!¡± ¡°Ny percent shares of Spring Cloud Hotel!¡± ¡°One Glorious Splendor Goldsmith branch!¡± ¡°Nine stores in the Golden Wing International Commercial Building!¡± ... As Karen looked at the items, her breathing became heavier, and she started reading the items out agitatedly. In the end, she eximed, ¡°There¡¯s also a betrothal gift of a million dors! Oh my god!¡± She screamed, and her face was as red as a tomato as she pinched Wim¡¯s arm tightly. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m not dreaming, am I?!¡± Chapter 10: Get Out of the House

Chapter 10: Get Out of the House

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne¡¯s father, William Carter, winced and grimaced in pain because Karen¡¯s sharp nails were digging into his flesh. However, he couldn¡¯t whimper in pain because he felt like he was dreaming! He had his eyes peeled on the red gift list without blinking, as if the hefty gift list would fly away if he blinked. Louis instructed the two bodyguards to carry arge box wrapped in red silk from the car and ce it in the middle of the courtyard. The crowd couldn¡¯t take their eyes off the box at all. Afterpleting his task, Louis didn¡¯t stay any longer. But he subtly winked at Lucas, who was standing at the end of the crowd before he left. As soon as he left, the people present immediately unwrapped the box and removed the lid to revealrge wads of banknotes that were simply bedazzling, as well as a car key, title deeds, and more than ten share certificates. ¡°Oh goodness. The items in this box are probably worth more than a few million dors, right?¡± ¡°Are you a fool? There¡¯s already a million in cash, and Moon Pce Real Estate¡¯s Luxurious Lakeside Vi is worth several million. Look at the sports car at the door. It costs at least a couple million!¡± ¡°There are so many shares of a goldsmith store and nine stores at Golden Wing. Oh my god! I can¡¯t calcte it! This box is worth at least ten million!¡± The sounds of gasps of amazement and the gulping of saliva could be heard. ¡°They¡¯re all mine! Don¡¯t move!¡± Seeing that someone couldn¡¯t resist reaching out to grab something, Karen pounced onto the box and glowered at each of them warily. At this moment, some rtives finally reacted and realized that the items in the box didn¡¯t belong to them! They instantly looked at Cheyenne¡¯s parents with fiery gazes in their reddened eyes, green with envy. ¡°Uncle William, your daughter is so fortunate!¡± ¡°I just heard that they¡¯re betrothal gifts. Have the Sawyers taken a liking to Charlotte?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the Sawyer family, the wealthiest family in Orange County. They¡¯re so generous! Charlotte has fallen into a gold mine this time!¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t I give birth to such a brilliant daughter? Charlotte, when you get married into the Sawyer family in the future, don¡¯t forget to give your uncle a hand!¡± Charlotte was so agitated that her face turned beet red. Which woman hasn¡¯t fantasized about marrying into a wealthy family? Although she wasn¡¯t sure when the scion of the Sawyers had taken a liking to her, the fact that they had generously sent such hefty gifts to her family¡¯s doorstep meant that he was very fond of her! Charlotte¡¯s face glowed with shyness and joy. Looking at her sister¡¯s shy expression, Cheyenne felt envious but happy for her. At the same time, she also felt a little bitter and mncholic, breaking Lucas¡¯s heart. He walked toward Cheyenne and said gently, ¡°Actually, these are all for you.¡± ¡°What?¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t hear what he said clearly because she was distracted. Standing at the side, Charlotte seemed to have heard it. She flew into a rage and shouted, ¡°What did you say?!¡± Charlotte grabbed the key to the sports car and arge stack of title deeds and almost threw them at Lucas¡¯s face. ¡°Look, the Sawyers¡¯s scion has merely taken a liking to me, and yet they¡¯ve already given such hefty betrothal gifts. What about you? My sister has been married to you for so many years, but have you ever given her anything? Not to mention betrothal gifts, the expenses for the wedding banquet and the invitation cards were all paid for by my family back then! If you still have some shame, hurry up and divorce my sister!¡± Lucas was a little infuriated. He had initially prepared the things that Charlotte was holding for Cheyenne. Not only had she taken them, she even mocked him and rubbed salt into Cheyenne¡¯s wounds. He wanted to make some sarcastic remarks, but Cheyenne hurriedly stopped him. ¡°That¡¯s enough. It¡¯s Amelia¡¯s birthday today and a joyous asion for Charlotte. Let¡¯s continue eating.¡± The knocked-over chairs and broken tes in the living room had been cleaned up long ago. William instructed the servants to serve a few bottles of wine, as he nned to celebrate this joyous event with his rtives. However, Seth didn¡¯t stay. He had already made a fool out of himself by gifting a counterfeit gemstone and getting exposed for it. He was also embarrassed by the hefty gifts given by Louis Alcott and the Sawyers. Thus, he was in a terrible mood and sped off in his fancy sports car. The people ttered each other, ate, and drank all the way until the afternoon. After everyone left, Cheyenne¡¯s parents called Lucas and Cheyenne to the sitting room. Lucas understood that the real show was about to begin. Cheyenne¡¯s father took a puff of his cigarette and said with an austere expression, ¡°I¡¯m not going to beat around the bush with you. When you got married back then, you were forced into it and had no other choice but toply because of that incident. And there were no feelings between you two. You¡¯ve been missing all these years too, and Cheyenne has been staying at home to look after Amelia, whom we are providing for. To the both of them, you¡¯re considered dispensable. Your presence doesn¡¯t matter to them, but if you¡¯re around, we have to provide for you too.¡± Those words were harsh, but Lucas couldn¡¯t refute. He had been fighting hard in the state of Calico over the years, and although he achieved great aplishments, he had failed as a father and a husband to Amelia and Cheyenne. ¡°I have no excuse for what happened before. But I promise that I will treat them well in the future and fulfill my duties as a father and a husband. I won¡¯t let them suffer anymore!¡± ¡°Hmph! Trust you to have the cheek to talk about the future!¡± Karen rolled her eyes in disdain. ¡°What can you achieve with what you have now? How are you going to provide for my daughter and granddaughter? In the future? Are you going to continue to sponge off our family? ¡°To put it bluntly, people like you are just a burden to our family. You¡¯re just a bloodsucking leech! We¡¯re not going to provide for you, so hurry up and divorce Cheyenne and get lost!¡± Chapter 11: Let’s Get Divorced

Chapter 11: Let¡¯s Get Divorced

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ignoring Lucas¡¯s expression, Karen continued to berate. ¡°Do you know how miserable Cheyenne was after you abandoned her and left? She was humiliated and mocked by others because even her ipetent husband left her. She went to the office every day even when she was pregnant and spent all her time slogging her guts out. Later on, she was so angered to the point of going into prematurebor. When Amelia was born, she was as tiny as a kitten, and her life was in danger. Old Master took over thepany afterward, and he still hasn¡¯t returned it to us yet! Did you know about all of this? ¡°You ran away as you pleased, and now you want toe back? No way! You have nothing to your name now. What makes you have the cheek to stay?¡± Karen was rattling on and on like a machine gun while pointing at Lucas. As her saliva sttered all over him, he felt extremely ufortable. Back then, he left with the intention to make a name for himself so that people would stop mocking Cheyenne for having a wastrel husband. However, he didn¡¯t know that she was already pregnant with his child at the time, and that she even went through a dangerousbor and painstakingly raised their daughter. Cheyenne covered her mouth as tears flowed down her eyes. The mere thought about the things that happened back then was agonizing for her. However, she clenched her jaw and stayed silent. She merely shivered a little as she tried to bear with it. A strong sense of guilt overwhelmed Lucas. He dropped to his knees and knelt in front of Cheyenne¡¯s parents. He, the God of War, the mighty and esteemed captain of Falcon Regiment, actually knelt on the ground! ¡°What are you doing?¡± Karen was stunned as she moved her body on the chair uneasily. ¡°I¡¯ve indeed let Cheyenne down over all these years. I failed to fulfill my duty as her husband, and it¡¯s only right that you¡¯re upset with me,¡± Lucas said in a deep voice. ¡°The two of you raised Cheyenne painstakingly and let her marry me. You also went through great efforts to take care of Amelia. I will remember your kindness forever. ¡°I know it¡¯s useless to say anything now. But I hope that I can try my best to make it up to you guys, Cheyenne, and Amelia so that they will no longer suffer in the future.¡± Lucas bent forward, and his head hit the ground! Bang! There was a loud sound from the ground, which was evidence of how hard the hit was! ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Cheyenne yelled to stop him, anxious and exasperated. Why did he hit the ground so hard? What if he suffers brain damage?! Lucas raised his red and swollen forehead and smiled at the beautifuldy squatting down beside him with a worried expression. He gazed at Cheyenne longingly, as though he wanted to keep her etched in his heart forever. When he was drugged and ended up bing intimate with her back then, he pitied her for what happened and was stunned by her ravishing beauty. He also admired her virtuous nature. Her excellence made him develop an inferiorityplex, as he was ashamed that he had nothing to his name. In the few years that he had spent in the campground, he would think of Cheyenne, and her face would appear in his mind whenever he was fighting a tough battle or was overwhelmed with fatigue. He would then grit his teeth and bear with it time and time again. She was Lucas¡¯s motivation and the person he unknowingly and deeply fell in love with. However, he decided to let her go if all he brought her was endless misery and pain. Deep love andplicated emotions surged in his eyes, but he simply gazed at her and said gently, ¡°Let¡¯s get divorced.¡± Cheyenne looked at him in disbelief. Immediately afterward, she pped him hard on his face. Smack! ¡°You came back after so many years, and all you have to say is to ask me for a divorce? ¡°Yes, we didn¡¯t have any feelings for each other back then, so you could leave for so many years without hesitation. I can¡¯t me you. I can only me myself for my bad luck. ¡°But what about Amelia? Our daughter grew up without a father, and all the children at the kindergarten call her an illegitimate child every day, calling her names and saying that her father doesn¡¯t want her. Shees home crying all the time, and I coax her by telling her that her father is a hero who¡¯s busy all day and will be back soon. ¡°She finally got to see you, but what about you?! You want to get a divorce? Sure, let¡¯s go ahead! Get lost! Scram as far as you can!¡± Cheyenne finally cried out in pain and punched Lucas on his chest as she bawled her heart out, as if she was trying to vent all the grievances she had been holding in during the past few years. Lucas was greatly distressed. Without concern for anything else, he pulled the weeping Cheyenne into his arms. Although he had only ever shed blood and not tears, he was now teary-eyed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to make you cry. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Lucas gently caressed Cheyenne¡¯s shuddering spine and promised, ¡°I won¡¯t leave. I¡¯ll treat you two very well from now on!¡± ¡°No!¡± Although they had gotten a great shock when Lucas¡¯s head hit the ground, Cheyenne¡¯s parents were still d to hear him initiate a divorce. That¡¯s more like it. How can a good-for-nothing be worthy of my daughter? However, they never expected their daughter to be the one to disagree to the divorce. Seeing that the two of them were hugging each other and seemed to be reconciling soon, Karen panicked and tried to push Cheyenne away. ¡°Are you a fool? Let him get lost!¡± William pushed Lucas far away too. ¡°Get lost! Hurry up and get lost! You¡¯re not wee in this house!¡± Lucas sighed and had no choice but to leave first. Chapter 12: Stardust Corporation

Chapter 12: Stardust Corporation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, Lucas was in a better mood now. He reckoned that Cheyenne probably didn¡¯t want to divorce him for the sake of their daughter. But no matter what the reason might be, it was fine as long as she still wanted to stay with him. He had long made up his mind and intended to make it up to them in double in the future, in hopes that he would really win her heart over time. After Lucas left the Carters¡¯ home, Jordan, who had been waiting outside for a long time, caught up with him. ¡°Lucas, those items given to the Carters were prepared with the help of Ethan Sawyer, the wealthiest man in Orange County. There¡¯s also a letter for you.¡± Lucas grabbed the envelope Jordan handed over, opened it, and read it with a yful smile on his face. ¡°The helmsman of the Sawyer family is interesting. Although I have a deep feud with the Huttons, we can still try using him. Go tell him that I¡¯ve acknowledged his goodwill.¡± ¡°Okay, Lucas.¡± After running some more errands, Lucas arrived at the office tower of the Stardust Corporation, which was located in the central business district of Orange County. When he saw the enormous and striking office tower, as well as the familiar logo, his emotions were extremelyplicated. Thepany was founded independently by his mother, Emma Gray, who was an outstanding, smart, and beautiful woman. If not for the fact that she had met his father, she would have probably developed her career and be a legendary career woman. Unfortunately, she had been mistaken about the Huttons all her life. And thepany, which she had put all her efforts into developing, was taken away from her. She was humiliated and driven out of the Huttons¡¯ home. As a result, she had to go through great hardships to raise Lucas, but she passed away from excessive fatigue. Lucas clenched his fist and swore that one day, he would return to the high-up-in-the-air Huttons to seek justice for his mother and himself! At this moment, a fancy metallic red Lamborghini sports car pulled over in front of the Stardust Corporation office tower, after which two beautiful girls alighted from the car. ¡°Charlotte, you¡¯re so lucky! The scion of the Sawyer family, the richest family in Orange County, has taken a liking to you! He¡¯s truly a rich second-generation heir who owns a massive fortune enough tost him several lifetimes. I¡¯m so envious!¡± A short-haired woman wearing the uniform of the Stardust Corporation was touching the shiny, streamlined Lamborghini sports car longingly, full of envy. ¡°After you marry the scion of the Sawyer family and live in thep of luxury, don¡¯t forget me, your best friend!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. How could I forget you?¡± said another giggling girl with a fashionable permed hairstyle. She was Charlotte, Cheyenne¡¯s younger sister. She put her hand on the shoulder of the short-haired woman. ¡°I still need your help now! Please cut me some ck during the interviewter.¡± ¡°Rest assured. I, Julia Bell, am the head of the human resources department, and I¡¯m in charge of recruitment. I told you toe for the interview just to go through the motions, lest someone deliberately picks on me.¡± ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s good. When you get off workter, I¡¯ll treat you to a feast!¡± The two of them were chatting chummily. As soon as they turned their heads, Charlotte saw Lucas, who was standing at the entrance of the building. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Her face immediately turned sullen, and she charged toward Lucas furiously and questioned, ¡°Hey, you good-for-nothing, are you tailing me? Tell me, what are your intentions?¡± Lucas was in a foul mood when he saw her getting out of the Lamborghini he had specially given to Cheyenne. He hadn¡¯t forgotten the dirty looks the detestable people of the Carter family gave him just now. Hah, is she showing off the gift from me to me? ¡°Is there something wrong with you?¡± Lucas questioned hostilely. ¡°You!¡± As the younger sister of Cheyenne, who was known as the greatest beauty of Orange County, Charlotte was a self-proimed beauty as well. She was popr and often ttered by many. She had never been insulted right in her face before, so she turned beet red in anger. ¡°Charlotte, who is this?¡± Julia asked while walking over and sizing up Lucas curiously. This man is quite-looking, and he¡¯s about 1.85 meters tall. However, his clothes seem very simple, and his outfit is probably worth less than thirty dors. Charlotte nced disdainfully at Lucas. ¡°He¡¯s the good-for-nothing who married my sister. A few years ago, he stole fifty thousand dors from my father, yet he still has the cheek toe back. He even made a huge scene at our home just now. He humiliated Seth Miller and made my sister so angry that she cried.¡± Julia¡¯s eyes suddenly opened wide in surprise. Charlotte¡¯s sister, Cheyenne, was involved in a huge scandal back then, and almost everyone knew about it. Although several years had passed, some people would still talk about it. Julia¡¯s parents often said to her, ¡°Why do you girls try to be so capable? Look at Cheyenne. So what if she became a CEO? Her reputation got ruined in the end, and she was even tossed aside and abandoned by her wastrel husband.¡± Therefore, Julia had always imagined Cheyenne¡¯s loser husband to be lewd, sleazy,zy, stupid, and ugly. She didn¡¯t expect him to be so handsome in person. But so what if he¡¯s good-looking? He¡¯s useless and ipetent, a total scumbag. Julia tried to bear with the contempt in her heart and forced herself to smile politely. ¡°Excuse me. I¡¯m sorry, but irrelevant personnel are prohibited from loitering at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s office. Please leave.¡± Lucas nced at her and simply strode into the lobby. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to say anything to her. ¡°Hold it!¡± Julia hurriedly scurried forward to stop him, feeling a little furious. ¡°Don¡¯t you understand what I said? Don¡¯t go farther inside. Ourpany won¡¯t receive someone like you!¡± Chapter 13: The Chairman’s Arrival

Chapter 13: The Chairman¡¯s Arrival

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios She¡¯s really using a made-up directive to order people around! Lucas nced at Julia coldly, causing her to freeze in fear and then take a few steps back after being frightened by his gaze. ¡°How dare you scare her?¡± Seeing Julia being intimidated, Charlotte got angrier. ¡°Julia, get security to drive him away!¡± A short distance away, a security officer immediately walked over when he noticed the dispute. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Julia pointed at Lucas. ¡°This man here hasmitted theft in the past, and he¡¯s now trying to barge into ourpany. I hope the security department will fulfill its duties. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for docking your sry! Also, the newly appointed chairman of thepany will being to the office today. If you don¡¯t receive him properly, you¡¯ll lose more than just your sry. Do you understand?¡± After all, Julia was the head of the HR department of the corporation and had considerable authority. The security officer knew that this was a serious matter as well. Looking at the burly and tall Lucas, he was worried that he might not be able to stop him alone, so he hurriedly reported the situation over his radio. Soon, Captain Moore of the security team made his way over with more than ten fully-armed security officers. ¡°Hmph!¡± Charlotte raised her chin smugly at Lucas as she thought to herself, Serves you right for pestering my sister and me! With content, she took Julia¡¯s arm and entered the office tower of the Stardust Corporation. On the other hand, Lucas was surrounded by more than ten security officers. Captain Moore took a look at Lucas¡¯s cheap clothes, his eyes full of disdain. ¡°Are you going to get lost, or do you want us to help you?¡± ¡°Are you not even going to ask me why I¡¯m here?¡± Lucas askedposedly. Captain Mooreughed out loud, as if he had heard something extremely ridiculous. ¡°Is it necessary to ask? A pauper like you can¡¯t possibly be here at the Stardust Corporation to sign a contract. Besides, Ms. Bell just said that you¡¯re not allowed to enter thepany.¡± Lucas snorted coldly. ¡°So you¡¯re not just a mercenary snob but an obedient dog too.¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Hearing his words, Captain Moore flew into a rage and waved his hand at the security officers around him. ¡°Damn it! You must be tired of living! Hit him! Hit this bastard!¡± The security officers were all ready to attack, while Lucas¡¯s gaze turned colder as he clenched his fists tightly. If the Stardust Corporation was full of such garbage, he wouldn¡¯t mind getting rid of them. At this moment, a Lincolnmercial car drove over, and a prestigious man hurriedly got off. When he saw the situation in front of the office, he frowned and said impatiently, ¡°What are you people doing in front of the office?¡± As soon as Captain Moore saw the man, he immediately ran forward and bent over to greet him. ¡°Greetings, Mr. Davis! Mr. Davis, this man came to ourpany to make trouble. We were about to drive him away.¡± Mr. Davis waved his hand in annoyance and instructed, ¡°Quickly chase him away then. The chairman will beingter, and I don¡¯t want him to see this ruckus.¡± Taking his secretary along, he entered the building without even taking a nce at Lucas. ¡°Hah, Mr. Davis is really a busy man,¡± Lucas said aloud. Mr. Davis paused in his tracks and looked over in displeasure. Captain Moore shuddered and hurriedly yelled at Lucas, ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re not worthy of talking to Mr. Davis! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get rid of him! Chase him away!¡± Mr. Davis turned his head and was about to walk away when he suddenly thought of something and abruptly turned around again. His neck cracked with a popping sound because of the fast and abrupt twisting of his head. But at this moment, Mr. Davis could no longer worry so much. He scurried toward Lucas and bent over respectfully with some fear. ¡°Chairman, you¡¯re here.¡± What? Captain Moore instantly froze while the other security officers, who were surrounding Lucas and about to get physical with him, were dumbfounded too. They almost dared not to believe their ears. T-this person is the n-newly appointed c-chairman? However, when they saw how respectful the general manager, Mr. Davis, was to him, they had no choice but to believe it. Oh no! This was what everyone thought in their hearts, especially Captain Moore, who was full of so much regret that he wished he could cut his tongue off! He had just told the chairman to get lost and even instructed his subordinates to throw him out... Oh dear, would it help if he scrammed now? With a look of dismay, Captain Moore eximed, ¡°Chairman, I¡¯m so sorry. I failed to recognize you. I was being too much of a snob and had my nose in the air. Please don¡¯t hold it against me and forgive me!¡± Mr. Davis glowered at him with resentment. If not for the nonsense Captain Moore spouted, he wouldn¡¯t have almost missed Lucas and left a bad first impression on him. Lucas said coldly, ¡°Mr. Davis, I know you¡¯re very busy every day, but you ought to supervise the matters of thepany where necessary.¡± Mr. Davis wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead. ¡°Yes, I understand. I will fire him right away and educate the other departments.¡± Lucas nodded and stopped paying attention to Captain Moore, who was begging for mercy. It was not that he wanted to be calctive with a security officer. But because the Stardust Corporation was a precious asset left behind by his mother, he did not want it to be tainted by those disdainful things. The two approached the building one after the other. Mr. Davis was very attentive along the way as he hurriedly pressed the buttons of the elevator while giving Lucas a general overview of thepany¡¯s various departments, attracting the attention of countless veteran employees along the way. Seeing how enthusiastic and kind the general manager, Flynn Davis, was, they reckoned that Lucas must be the newly appointed chairman. Unfortunately, the two of them were walking very quickly, and no one could get a clear glimpse of Lucas¡¯s face. ¡°Ah, I wonder what that new chairman looks like...¡± Craning their necks, Charlotte and Julia sighed, finding it a shame that they didn¡¯t manage to see him clearly. Chapter 14: Sparing His Lowly Life

Chapter 14: Sparing His Lowly Life

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the blink of an eye, they reached the chairman¡¯s office on the top floor of the office tower. Flynn Davis wiped the sofa with his sleeve, which the janitor had already cleaned, and respectfully asked Lucas to take a seat. He then made a cup of tea and served it to him. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of tea you like to drink. This is premium quality Dragon Well tea. If you¡¯d like to have something else, I will have someone prepare it immediately.¡± Lucas stopped him and stared at him with a mirthless smile. Soon, Davis could no longerugh, as he felt extremely stressed by Lucas¡¯s gaze. Sweat began to seep out of his chubby face, droplet after droplet. He wanted to find a subject to talk about on several instances, but he faltered when he saw the intimidating gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes. As time passed, he became even more uneasy. Smack! Lucas threw a folder of documents onto the table, making a sound that gave Davis an enormous shock and almost caused him to spring up from his seat even though it wasn¡¯t loud. Lucas angled his chin at documents. ¡°Mr. Davis, take a look at it yourself.¡± Davis carefully opened the documents and looked at the first two sentences, after which his face turned pale, and he started shuddering. ¡°Read it out loud,¡± Lucas ordered calmly. ¡°I-I...¡± Davis stammered while sweating profusely and shivering continuously. The content of the documents was outrageous. How could he read it aloud? ¡°You refuse to read it, right? I¡¯ll read it for you.¡± Lucas began reading out loud every single word on the documents smoothly, as if he had already memorized it like the back of his hand. ¡°July 2018. A materials fund embezzlement of two hundred thousand dors in cooperation with the Hanes Group. ¡°October 2018. epted bribes from Joslyn Building Materials, procured a batch of inferior building materials at a high price, and subsequently paidpensation due to quality problems, causing thepany to incur losses of more than a million dors. ¡°March 2019...¡± ... Unable to tolerate it any longer, Davis¡¯s knees went weak, and he fell onto the ground with a loud thud. While he knelt on the ground, his face turned as pale as a sheet of paper. He didn¡¯t expect the young chairman to have gotten ahold of so much incriminating evidence against him as soon as he joined. There were also many pieces of evidence that he had destroyed. He didn¡¯t know where Lucas had obtained them from. If Lucas wanted to sue him, he would probably have all his assets seized and get thrown behind bars! ¡°It was all because of a moment of folly that I made such a huge mistake. Chairman, please spare me this time and give me a chance. In the future, I will definitely change my ways and try to recover the losses. I¡¯ll also increase thepany¡¯s value!¡± ¡°Lucas, should we get rid of him?¡± Jordan appeared beside Lucas at some point. He suggested a brutal solution as soon as he spoke. Davis was so frightened that he almost peed his pants! Lucas was going to take over the position of chairman, and Davis was aware of some of the things of his past. Although he was unclear on the details, he knew that Lucas had taken several lives before. He didn¡¯t doubt the authenticity of these words. Jordan was really not trying to intimidate him and was instead asking Lucas that question solemnly. As long as Lucas said yes, he would definitely kill Davis on the spot. He had embezzled so much money and even used lousy materials in a construction project, causing harm to others and damage to the reputation and image of the Stardust Corporation. Even if he died a hundred times, it wouldn¡¯t be too much. ¡°C-Chairman Gray, p-please spare me! As long as you let me off, I¡¯m willing to do anything you want!¡± Lucas nced at Jordan with some displeasure. ¡°We¡¯re not there now. Don¡¯t kill someone as soon as we return.¡± Davis heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, but he soon heard Lucas¡¯s indifferent voice above his head. ¡°I can give you a chance, but it depends on you to grasp it. Mr. Davis, you¡¯re a smart man. I¡¯m sure you know what I mean.¡± His voice was heavenly to Davis. Overjoyed, he hurriedly eximed, ¡°Yes, yes, thank you, Chairman. I will definitely obey your orders in the future!¡± Lucas patted his shoulder and turned around to leave. After Lucas had left for a while, Davis finally copsed, his back drenched in cold sweat. Since Lucas had evidence against him, he had no choice but to obey him. Besides, the young chairman, Lucas Gray, was not simple. Although his tone wasn¡¯t harsh, his indifference was even more frightening and intimidating, thus making Davis too scared to defy him. ¡°Lucas, are you going to let that scoundrel go just like that? Are you still going to let him continue being the general manager?¡± Walking out of the Stardust Corporation office building, Jordan was still full of regret. ¡°No hurry. I just came back, and I don¡¯t have a particrly suitable candidate in mind. Davis is now in my hands. Besides, he¡¯s quitepetent and is familiar with the Stardust Corporation, as well as the forces in Orange County. He can still be in that position for a while. As for the future, it¡¯ll depend on whether or not I can subdue him. ¡°The Stardust Group has been in the hands of the Hutton family for many years, and the interpersonal rtionships areplicated. Let¡¯s wait and see what happens. When we have enough people on our side, we¡¯llunch a purge and rece the majority of the personnel.¡± ¡°Okay, Lucas! I really hope to see that day soon.¡± Jordan rubbed his fists in anticipation. Lucas couldn¡¯t helpughing. Jordan was still a little childish, and he liked chaos and getting involved in drama. ¡°If you stick around with me, you¡¯ll have fewer opportunities to disy your talent. You...¡± ¡°No, no, Lucas. I know what you want to say. I¡¯ve already said this before when I decided to leave Calico and follow you to Orange County. I¡¯m not interested in building a career or empire. I just want to follow you around. Don¡¯t think of chasing me back,¡± Jordan frantically said. Lucas nodded without saying anything else. ¡°In that case, you should run around more in Orange County and find out more information for me. Especially...¡± Lucas¡¯s face waspletely sullen, and there seemed to be a storm brewing in his eyes. ¡°The person who set me and Cheyenne up six years ago!¡± Chapter 15: Shocking Reward

Chapter 15: Shocking Reward

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The following day, Cheyenne went to work at the Brilliance Corporation, dressed neatly in a smart attire as usual. As soon as she entered the office, all eyes were cast on her, be it directly or subtly. Ever since that incident happened, she was reduced from the chairman to a low-level manager. Thus, there were often strange gazes directed at her. However, there were more people staring at her today. Cheyenne was well aware of the reason. She reckoned that themotion at the Carter residence yesterday had already spread like wildfire because of her bbermouth rtives. As she expected, when she entered the conference room, she was greeted with a sarcastic remark. ¡°Cheyenne, I heard that your useless live-in husband has returned. Why are you here at the office instead of serving him at home today?¡± The person who spoke was in his thirties and resting his legs nonchntly on the conference table. There was a trace of disgust in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes. He was her cousin, Bryce Carter, and a few years older than her. He was ipetent yet arrogant and haughty. Since her family took the Brilliance Corporation away from her, they appointed Bryce as the deputy general manager, thus giving him the chance to suppress her. Thereafter, he was extremelycent and would mock her sarcastically or show off to her whenever he saw her. Seeing that Cheyenne was ignoring him with an aloof expression, Bryce became more aggressive. ¡°I really take my hat off to you for being so thick-skinned. You did such a disgusting thing and got berated by everyone, but you still have the cheek toe to the office every day! We¡¯re ashamed and embarrassed for you. Oh, you also gave birth to a bastard. Tsk, tsk.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± With a furious expression, Cheyenne glowered at Bryce. She could bear with it if she was being insulted, but she would never let anyone humiliate her daughter! ¡°Ah, you¡¯re getting angry, huh? Haha, am I wrong?¡± Bryce turned around to look at the other Carter heirs in the office. Pretending to be innocent, he waved his hands gently and eximed, ¡°Everyone here knows that your father is a bastard, and so are you. Your daughter is naturally one too!¡± Everyoneughed out loud, not finding his words to be insulting. They all felt that Bryce was right. Cheyenne¡¯s father, William Carter, was not a Carter and was instead brought over by his mother when she married the senior Mr. Carter. Dominic Carter was magnanimous enough to take him into the family, even though he wasn¡¯t a Carter. He even gave them some annual dividends of thepany to support them. This was the best he could do. Cheyenne was raised because the Carters took pity on her family. Thus, they felt that there was nothing wrong with scolding her. Overwhelmed with fury, Cheyenne shivered. But before she could even say anything, the door of the meeting room opened again, and a domineering old man with white hair walked in. It was Cheyenne¡¯s grandfather, Dominic Carter, the head of the Carter family. ¡°Wee, Mr. Carter Senior!¡± Everyone stoppedughing and greeted him. Bryce also stopped behaving nonchntly and hurriedly went over to hold Dominic¡¯s arm obediently. ¡°Grandpa, have a seat. I¡¯ll make you some tea.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Dominic sat down on the chairman¡¯s seat at the end of the conference table. When he saw Cheyenne standing still with a furious expression, he rebuked sternly, ¡°What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for me to invite you to take a seat?¡± Cheyenne gritted her teeth, contained her anger, and sat down near the other end of the conference table. Dominic nced at everyone authoritative. ¡°As you all know, the Stardust Corporation settled down in Orange Counter not long ago. The Stardust Corporation itself is arge enterprise with an annual turnover of more than two billion dors. It is also backed by the famous Hutton family from the capital. I¡¯m sure you all know how powerful they are. As long as we form ties with the Stardust Corporation, we will have a chance to get close to the Huttons. Manypanies and families in Orange County are interested in getting close to them. We can¡¯t fall behind! ¡°In short, the Carter family¡¯s most important task now is to try to get the opportunity to cooperate with the Stardust Corporation!¡± All of them looked happy. But when they thought of the Stardust Group¡¯s haughtiness, they didn¡¯t feel confident enough. ¡°However, the Carter family isn¡¯t considered elite in Orange County. Are we going to be worthy of the Stardust Corporation?¡± ¡°We want to do it too, but it¡¯s really difficult.¡± Dominic mmed his hand on the table and barked, ¡°I will make things clear now. I will hand over the Brilliance Corporation to anyone who manages to clinch a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation!¡± Everyone got into an uproar upon hearing these words. The Brilliance Corporation was thergest and best-developedpany among all the enterprises belonging to the Carters. Ever since it was taken over from Cheyenne a few years ago, many Carters had been eying the Brilliance Corporation. As long as they had a position in thepany, their year-end dividends would surge. However, they knew that they could forget about being the general manager because they knew that that position was meant for the scion, Bryce. However, Dominic was now willing to offer the Brilliance Corporation in exchange for a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation. He was clearly going to invest a lot of capital! All of a sudden, everyone¡¯s eyes reddened. They were eager to go to the Stardust Corporation to try their luck and see if they would be lucky enough. Cheyenne clenched her fists tightly and clenched her jaw. Chapter 16: Forcing Her to Remarry

Chapter 16: Forcing Her to Remarry

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne had put her heart and soul into running and establishing the Brilliance Corporation. More than six years ago, her family used the excuse of her pregnancy and ailing health to snatch the Brilliance Corporation away from her. Ever since then, they never returned it to her. She couldn¡¯t let go of the business she had built and returned to work for the Brilliance Corporation when Amelia was one year old. However, despite years of hard work, she was only given a low-level manager post. Now that Dominic had offered the Brilliance Corporation as a reward, she was obviously upset. But to her, this was also an opportunity for her to snatch the Brilliance Corporation back rightfully! Bryce stood up and said to Dominic, ¡°Grandpa, I think reaching a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation is not impossible, even though it might be difficult.¡± ¡°Oh? Continue.¡± Dominic was rather kind toward this grandson of his, whom he valued greatly. Bryce smiled. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve already made a lot of preparations long before this. I¡¯ve been going around making connections. Although there isn¡¯t a clear answer yet, I believe there will be soon. However, there are some key people whom we have to give expensive gifts to, so...¡± ¡°Go to the finance department to withdraw five hundred thousand for preliminary fundingter.¡± Dominic waved his hand nonchntly. Bryce was overjoyed and thanked him profusely. Cheyenne sneered in her heart. Her cousin had always been ipetent and boastful, so she knew that it was more likely for him to squander the money on having a good time with his friends, who were bad influences. ¡°However, I¡¯m afraid that this alone is not enough to establish a cooperation agreement with them. As far as I know, there are countless people who want to get close to the Stardust Corporation in Orange County. There are at least a hundred families and businesses that can offer a few million. We¡¯re just one of them, so why should the Stardust Corporation choose us?¡± Dominic stroked his beard and nodded. ¡°Continue, Byrce.¡± ¡°Therefore, I propose we find a family that is ofparable status or slightly better than ours and join forces with them. In this way, the chances of sess will definitely increase greatly. Once we reach a sessful coboration, we will have a say too, and we won¡¯t have to worry about being kicked to the curb by the other family because we are of the same status.¡± ¡°Wonderful! Great idea, Bryce!¡± ¡°No wonder you¡¯re valued by Mr. Carter Senior. You¡¯re so thoughtful andprehensive with your thinking. Not only have youe up with a good idea, the countermeasures you¡¯ve thought of are great too. They¡¯ll prevent us from paving the way for others and getting made use of!¡± Dominic nodded profusely, showing his satisfaction toward Bryce. ¡°Which family should we cooperate with?¡± someone asked. Bryce looked at Cheyenne with a strange smile full of bad intentions, making her wary and giving her an ominous premonition. Bryce pointed directly at Cheyenne and said to everyone, ¡°I know Seth Miller of the JW Corporation has been pursuing Cheyenne. Yesterday, he already made it clear to me that as long as Cheyenne agrees to marry him, the cooperation between us and the Millers will be a sure bet.¡± He smiled. ¡°What other rtionship is closer than marriage?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face instantly paled. She stood up abruptly to refute vehemently, ¡°No!¡± Dominic frowned. Bryce walked toward Cheyenne. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? The Carters became theughing stock of Orange County because of your scandal. Our reputation was ruined, causing our development to stagnate. If it weren¡¯t for you, we would be one of the richest families in Orange County now! And we wouldn¡¯t have to cooperate with others to fight for cooperating with the Stardust Corporation. ¡°The sins you¡¯vemitted alone have dragged down the entire family, so shouldn¡¯t you be the one to solve them and make it up to us?¡± Bryce said with a brazen smile. The others in the conference room looked like they agreed and thought that this should be the case too. Cheyenne was filled with misery. She was clearly the victim of that incident back then, and her family had already taken away the Brilliance Corporation, the pir business of the Carters, from her. Looking at Dominic anxiously, she asked, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯ve already been married for a long time. How can I marry Seth Miller again?¡± Dominic frowned and looked at Cheyenne with a disapproving gaze in his eyes. ¡°I heard that your live-in husband has returned. Good. Go get a divorceter and marry Seth Miller.¡± Not expecting Dominic to make her remarry without hesitation, she felt extremely disappointed. She shook her head and refused, ¡°No, Grandpa. I won¡¯t get a divorce or remarry!¡± Bang! Dominic¡¯s eyes were full of anger as he mmed his hand hard against the table. He shouted, ¡°You¡¯re rebelling! Bryce is right. If it weren¡¯t for you, the Carters would have developed far beyond what we are now, and we wouldn¡¯t have needed this marriage! You should be taking responsibility for this, but you still have the guts to refuse. Do you respect me as the head of the family?!¡± ¡°But I was framed and set up back then...¡± Cheyenne¡¯s eyes were red and full of tears. ¡°Trust you to have the nerve to mention the events of that year!¡± Dominic smashed the ashtray on the table onto the ground. He flew into a rage and yelled, ¡°You did such a shameful thing and disgraced the family. In ancient times, you would have been dragged to a pond and drowned by your family!¡± Dominic¡¯s sudden loss of anger made everyone in the conference room fall silent. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

hapter 17: Putting on Airs Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne could no longer suppress the endless grievances and humiliation in her heart as two streams of tears rolled down her beautiful face. Unfazed, Dominic nced at her indifferently and made up his mind. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. Divorce him by the end of today, and I¡¯ll get someone to visit the Millers tomorrow.¡± ¡°Who said that it¡¯s settled? You people have no ce to interfere in the affairs between me and my wife!¡± A cold and sharp voice sounded, followed by a tall, burly man emitting an icy cold aura pushing open the door of the conference room and walking straight in. 1 ¡°Who is this man?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know him. Why did he barge in?¡± Cheyenne looked up, and her jaw dropped in disbelief the instant she got a clear look at the person who entered. ¡°Lucas? W-why are you here?¡± Everyone watched in shock as Lucas walked up to Cheyenne and wiped away the tears on her face. ¡°It¡¯s okay. No one can force you to do anything you don¡¯t want to do.¡± In a daze, Cheyenne stared nkly at Lucas¡¯s face. He sounded incredibly confident and firm, as if no one could bully Cheyenne as long as he was by her side. This made Cheyenne, who had always been facing mockery and taking the me alone, feel some ripples in her heart. Having been contradicted, Dominic looked extremely furious. The younger generation of the Carters didn¡¯t have the guts to do it, let alone a random stranger! With a stern look in his eyes, he shouted, ¡°Are all the security officers dead? Why did they let some Tom, Dick, or Harry in?! Hurry up and get this person out of here!¡± Bryce rolled his eyes. ¡°Grandpa, this is Cheyenne¡¯s good-for-nothing husband who just returned.¡± Dominic squinted and sized Lucas up. He had a vague memory of Lucas, who used to be penniless. In his opinion, Lucas still seemed as poor as ever, even though many years had passed. Just like before, he still didn¡¯t have a decent piece of clothing. Disapproving of the fact that Lucas only had eyes for Cheyenne and had been ignoring him, the esteemed patriarch of the Carter family, as soon as he entered, Dominic thought, What a scoundrel indeed. He¡¯s so ill-mannered. He looked at the two of them with growing displeasure in his eyes. Seeing the anger on his grandfather¡¯s face, Bryce hurriedly took the chance to rub it in. ¡°Cheyenne, you ignored Grandpa¡¯s words and even instigated your loser husband to barge into the conference room as and when he pleases. He even openly defied Grandpa¡¯s decision. If you have something against us, just say so. You don¡¯t have to get up to these tricks.¡± Bryce was generally ipetent, but he was an expert at sowing discord. Cheyenne hurriedly exined, ¡°Grandpa, I really didn¡¯t know he woulde.¡± She turned her head to look at Lucas and barked furiously, ¡°Who told you toe here? Hurry up and leave!¡± She wasn¡¯t being insensitive and was actually well aware that Lucas was speaking up for her. But his presence would only anger Dominic further. ncing askance at them in disgust, Dominic said, ¡°Enough. Stop putting on an act in front of me. I don¡¯t care what you guys really think. Anyway, I¡¯ve already decided. Get a divorce, and you, marry into the Miller family.¡± After pointing at Cheyenne, he pointed his finger at Lucas and ordered, ¡°You, get lost!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face turned pale. She mustered her courage to speak, but before she could, Lucas had already retorted, ¡°I said, no one can make arrangements for us. You don¡¯t have a say in this.¡± Dominic was so infuriated that he sprung up abruptly with exasperation all over his face. It was his first time being contradicted twice by a junior who, to make matters worse, was a penniless good-for-nothing! ¡°Okay, great!¡± Dominicughed mirthlessly and hollered angrily. ¡°Seems like I¡¯m too nice. That¡¯s why you youngsters don¡¯t respect me or take me seriously at all! ¡°You¡¯re just a loser. You only got into the Carter family by sleeping with a woman. If not for you shameless people, the Carters would have developed greatly and be a top-tier family in Orange County! Yet you still have the guts to talk back to me so boldly!¡± As though she had been struck by thunder, Cheyenne turned pale and almost lost her bnce after being scolded and humiliated by her kin, whom she had always respected. With an icy cold gaze in his eyes, Lucas stared at Dominic¡¯s face, which was twisted into an angry grimace. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who knows best about the truth of that incident? I¡¯m not as shameless as someone who¡¯s full of lust and yet puts on airs!¡± After he learned the truth from Jordanst night, he was exasperated! The scandal that tarnished Cheyenne¡¯s reputation turned out to be a scheme hatched by the Carters, all for the sake of snatching the Brilliance Corporation away from her! Their shamelessness and viciousness that spurred them to resort to such underhanded means were truly appalling! Yet Dominic Carter still had the cheek to berate the victims self-righteously. Such a shameless old man! If not for Cheyenne¡¯s inability to ept the truth, he would have long exposed their true colors. ¡°You!¡± Dominic pointed at Lucas, his fingers trembling violently due to his extreme anger and the shock of having his secret exposed. A momentter, he fell backward. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Overwhelmed with shock, Cheyenne frantically wanted to dash over, only to be pushed away forcefully by Bryce. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Bryce held Dominic and glowered at Cheyenne menacingly. ¡°Grandpa was provoked by you! If anything happens to him, just wait to face your death!¡± Chapter 18: Herculean Task

Chapter 18: Herculean Task

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Dominic fell, everyone immediately put the me on Cheyenne. ¡°Cheyenne, have you long been upset with Mr. Carter Senior, so you deliberately got your husband toe and provoke him?¡± ¡°Do you think the Brilliance Corporation will be yours after you anger Old Master and drive him away?¡± ¡°Like I said, they¡¯re a family of ingrates. They¡¯ve got such vicious intentions!¡± ... The numerous scoldings were like daggers stabbing into Cheyenne¡¯s heart. She had given so much to the family in the past, only to receive such criticism now. Dominic took two sips of water and got a grip on himself before ring at Cheyenne, his eyes full of disgust. ¡°No matter what, you arergely responsible for the state that the Carters are in today. We must clinch a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation. You either marry Seth Miller and let us join forces with his family, or go and settle the cooperation agreement with Stardust Corporation yourself. Otherwise, you¡¯ll no longer have a ce in the Carter family.¡± Cheyenne had a bitter look of dismay on her face. Bryce had asked for five hundred thousand dors for operational funds and had even proposed that she get married to Seth Miller in order to make his n somewhat feasible. How could she clinch the cooperation agreement all by herself? ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go and get the cooperation agreement settled. Mr. Carter, I hope you will keep to your word,¡± Lucas suddenly said. Everyone looked at Lucas like he was a lunatic. Does this good-for-nothing not understand how difficult it will be to clinch a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation? ¡°Wait...¡± Cheyenne was about to speak when Bryce quickly interrupted her. ¡°Your loser husband promised it himself, so don¡¯t me us for forcing you!¡± Bryce grinned smugly and looked at Dominic. ¡°Right, Grandpa?¡± ¡°Good. Since you took it on yourselves, don¡¯t me me for being merciless if you fail toplete the task. You have two days to get the contract signed. If you fail, you and your family can scram!¡± Everyone looked at them gloatingly, and they immediately started mocking them as soon as Dominic left. ¡°How ignorant. If it¡¯s that easy to clinch a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation, I would have be the general manager a long time ago.¡± ¡°Hah, some people just don¡¯t have any self-awareness. I¡¯m afraid they won¡¯t even be able to enter the Stardust Corporation office!¡± ¡°You only have two days. I think you¡¯d better not go to such lengths. I suggest you go home, pack up, and get ready to get lost.¡± Bryce¡¯s face was full of smugness as he left with a bunch of people behind him. ¡°Why did you agree?¡± As soon as Lucas lowered his head, he was greeted with Cheyenne¡¯s furious little face. ¡°I¡¯m actually...¡± Just as Lucas was about to speak, she gave him a hard and loud p on his face! ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! Why did you agree...¡± After pping Lucas, Cheyenne broke down and burst into tears. The anger in Lucas¡¯s chest suddenly vanished amid her tears. ¡°Do you know how difficult this task is? Do you know that they can¡¯t wait for me to fail to secure a contract and then drive me away?¡± Cheyenne was crying with immense despair and misery. Looking at her, Lucas was heartbroken and distressed. He said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll help you.¡± Cheyenne suddenly raised her head and stared at him with bloodshot eyes. ¡°How are you going to help me? Do you know people at the Stardust Corporation? Do you know how to build connections and sign contracts? You don¡¯t know anything. How can you help me?!¡± She pushed Lucas away and left staggeringly. Lucas followed her quietly until he saw that she had safely returned to the Carter residence before leaving bitterly. As soon as Cheyenne entered, Karen approached her. ¡°I heard that good-for-nothing made a scene at the office today. What happened? Did he cause any trouble? Why didn¡¯t you keep an eye on him?! Who is he to enter the Carter family?¡± Cheyenne waved her hand in fatigue. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted, Mother. Stop asking.¡± ¡°Hah. You¡¯re so half-hearted when you answer my questions. You think you¡¯re so good now, huh?¡± Cheyenne was extremely annoyed and frustrated. Her grandfather said that she had to clinch a contract within two days. She was now pressed for time toplete this task that was almost impossible toplete. She was so troubled that she felt that her head was about to explode. If she didn¡¯t sign a contract in two days, her family would be kicked out of the Carter family. If her mother found out, she would definitely kick up a big fuss. ¡°I still have something to do. I¡¯m going to leave now. Please ask Charlotte to pick Amelia up at the kindergartenter.¡± Cheyenne hurriedly washed her face, touched up her makeup, perked herself up, and then dashed out the door. Time was running out, and she had to hurry up and see the helmsman of the Stardust Corporation. Even though the chances of sess were low, she had to do her best. Soon, a metallic red Lamborghini pulled over at the door, and Charlotte got out furiously. ¡°Where¡¯s my sister?¡± she asked as soon as she entered the house. ¡°Your sister went out. Oh yes, she wants you to help her pick up Ameliater.¡± Karen was sitting on the couch and putting some cucumber slices on her face while she was talking. Charlotte yanked her mother¡¯s arm and barked, ¡°Mom! Now¡¯s not the time for a facial!¡± She was so angry that her face turned red. ¡°Mom, you have no idea. That loser came to the office today and provoked Grandpa. He even audaciously took on the task of clinching a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation! So many families in Orange County are dying to get acquainted with it. Who are we? This task is impossible toplete!¡± ¡°That good-for-nothing is really brazen to have agreed. I¡¯ll give him a piece of my mind when hees again!¡± Karen was also infuriated after hearing her words. That good-for-nothing is really a troublemaker who¡¯s bad at everything. ¡°Mom, the worst is yet toe. Grandpa said that he¡¯s going to kick all of us out of the Carter family if they fail to clinch the contract in two days!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Karen screamed and stood up abruptly,pletely ignoring the cucumber slices falling onto the ground. Chapter 19: Heroic Father

Chapter 19: Heroic Father

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Karen was angry because her personal interests were involved. ¡°That good-for-nothing is nothing but a jinx! He¡¯s so evil, and he has lost his conscience. I bet he¡¯s here to harm us! Even if he wants to die, he shouldn¡¯t drag us down with him! No! Tell your sister to divorce him immediately so that your grandfather won¡¯t me us! Quickly, call your sister and tell her to hurry home!¡± Karen pushed Charlotte in a moment of panic while Charlotte stomped her feet hard and said, ¡°Mother, it¡¯s useless. Grandpa said that Cheyenne and that loser took on the task together, so they have toplete it. Otherwise, none of us will be spared.¡± Karen was so furious that she stomped her feet and cursed at Lucas with all sorts of malicious remarks. After she was done, she started scolding Cheyenne. Hearing that they would be kicked out of the Carter family, William was no longer in the mood to continue reading the newspaper, as his heart was heavy. Furthermore, Karen¡¯s screaming and cursing made him feel even more frustrated and annoyed, so he yelled, ¡°My eardrums are going to break from your screaming. You¡¯re so annoying!¡± ¡°How dare you be fierce to me?¡± Karen retorted in an even louder voice after being shocked by William¡¯s outrage. ¡°At the end of the day, it¡¯s still all your fault! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you¡¯re not Dominic¡¯s biological son, he wouldn¡¯t kick us out so easily. You¡¯re a useless good-for-nothing too. All you do is snap at me at home! If you have what it takes, gosh out at your father! I¡¯m so unfortunate to have married a loser like you. If we really get kicked out, what are we supposed to do?!¡± Karen started hollering at William again. Charlotte was also incredibly frustrated and thought, I can¡¯t stay in this house any longer. She pushed open the front door and drove to the kindergarten to pick up Amelia. She arrived at the entrance of Sanse Kindergarten. Along the way, in the stylish and luxurious sports car, Charlotte attracted the envious gazes of passersby, lifting her mood greatly. It was the peak hour at the kindergarten. Charlotte waited at the entrance for a long time, but she didn¡¯t see Amelia, so she entered. Charlotte saw Amelia in front of a slide and was about to call out to her when she heard the bright and clear voice of a boy. ¡°You¡¯re a bastard child that nobody wants! Boo!¡± There was a little boy opposite Amelia, sticking his tongue out and grimacing at her. Chagrined, Amelia¡¯s face flushed red, and tears were welling up in her eyes. ¡°I have a daddy. My daddy has alreadye home!¡± ¡°Boo, my mommy said that your dad is a rapist and a good-for-nothing who¡¯s going to be arrested by the police. Pew pew! He¡¯s going to be shot dead! You¡¯re a little rapist, so you also have to be shot! Pew pew!¡± The little boy stretched out his index finger and made a gun sign before rushing forward to poke Amelia. ¡°Stop it!¡± Charlotte yelled as she frantically rushed over and pulled Amelia behind her. When the little boy saw Charlotte, he turned around to run away, only to trip over his own feet and fall to the ground. The boy wailed and bawled out loud. When Amelia saw Charlotte, she hugged her hard and also cried out loud. ¡°Auntie, I have a daddy. My daddy is back. He¡¯s a good guy... He¡¯s not like what he said.¡± Charlotte felt teary as she heard Amelia crying in her arms. ¡°Yes, Amelia, be good. Your dad is back, and they won¡¯t dare to bully you anymore.¡± She gently patted Amelia¡¯s back and consoled her. ¡°Baby! What¡¯s wrong, baby?¡± Hearing the crying, a couple immediately rushed over from afar and helped the bawling boy up heartbrokenly. ¡°Mommy, she hit me!¡± Upon seeing his parents, the little boy pointed at Charlotte and cried even louder. The couple immediately red at Charlotte hostilely. ¡°You¡¯re an adult, but you hit my child. Do you have any shame at all?¡± Having been wronged, Charlotte was immediately infuriated. ¡°It was your son who bullied my niece! As soon as I came over, he ran away in fear and tripped on his own. Since when did I hit him?¡± The chubby woman in her thirties obviously wasn¡¯t willing to hear Charlotte¡¯s words. She looked up and rushed to Charlotte. ¡°You hit a child, huh? You brazen hussy, try hitting him again in front of me!¡± She reached out and was about to p Charlotte. Charlotte was astonished. She was wearing stilettos and holding Amelia in her arms, so she dared not dodge at all! Seeing the fat hand about to reach her, Charlotte closed her eyes and stiffened her body while protecting Amelia. At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared and grabbed that woman¡¯s wrist! ¡°Ah! Who are you?¡± Instead of the pain she expected, Charlotte heard the chubby woman yelling in exasperation. She carefully opened her eyes and saw a tall figure blocking her. Charlotte gasped in disbelief. The sturdy figure was the good-for-nothing Lucas! Lucas flung the woman¡¯s wrist away and turned around to look at Charlotte and Amelia carefully. He asked concernedly, ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± Amelia eximed in surprise and stared at Lucas with glistening eyes. Just as the chubby woman was about to hit her and Charlotte, her daddy suddenly appeared just like a hero from a cartoon! Chapter 20: No Rights

Chapter 20: No Rights

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Charlotte shook her head withplicated emotions. ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°Hubby~ Look, both of them are bullying me!¡± The chubby woman was stopped from hitting them, but she dared not provoke Lucas because he was tall. So she had no choice but to turn to her husband for help. In the end, she turned around, only to find that her husband was gawking at the youthful and beautiful Charlotte without blinking, making her even more infuriated. ¡°Vixen! Stop going around seducing men!¡± She pinched her husband¡¯s shoulder and twisted it forcefully. ¡°You¡¯re still ogling her, huh? Your wife is being bullied! Are you still a man?¡± The bespectacled man finally snapped back to his senses. He would be kind to the fairer sex, but to a shabby-looking man, he was extremely hostile. He taunted, ¡°Kid, do you know who I am?¡± ¡°Who you are has nothing to do with me,¡± Lucas said calmly. He took Charlotte and Amelia along and was all ready to leave, but the bespectacled man dashed forward to stop them. ¡°You want to leave after hitting my wife and child? It¡¯s not that easy!¡± ¡°Daddy, we didn¡¯t hit that fatty. He tried to hit me but ran away as soon as Auntie came. Then he tripped himself and fell down.¡± Amelia hurriedly told her dad what happened. ¡°That fat woman med Auntie as soon as she came, and now this man is saying that we hit his son. We didn¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°What do you know?! Shut up!¡± The bespectacled man glowered at Amelia menacingly. Lucas¡¯s gaze instantly turned cold. How dare he intimidate my precious daughter in front of me? He has a death wish. Perhaps because Lucas¡¯s gaze was too terrifying, the bespectacled man was a little startled and frightened. But he wasn¡¯t willing to show his weakness, so he reached out to shove Lucas. ¡°What are you looking at? Do you dare to hit me...¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lucas kicked him! ¡°Ah!¡± The bespectacled man shrieked and was kicked seven meters away before stopping when he mmed into a toy house and made it copse. All of a sudden, everyone present was stunned! After being shocked, the chubby woman screamed and ran over on her high heels. ¡°Hubby, hubby, are you okay?¡± The bespectacled man began struggling to get up on his feet. He felt the excruciating pain in his chest, but he realized that the other parts of his body were fine. He almost thought that he was going to die! Actually, this was the result of Lucas¡¯s mercy. Had he used more force, that man¡¯s ribs and organs would have been crushed. He just wanted to teach this person who insulted his daughter a lesson, not kill him. However, the bespectacled man was clueless. After getting up, he red at Lucas and eximed, ¡°Damn it! Kid, just you wait! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± He pulled out his cell phone and started shouting. Seeing that things were going to go awry, the kindergarten principal hurriedly tried to mediate things. ¡°Ah, this is just a misunderstanding. If things blow up, it¡¯s not going to benefit anyone.¡± After shouting something over the phone, the bespectacled man spat arrogantly and taunted, ¡°Hmph, if you dare to hit me, you have to pay the price. Do you think we¡¯re pushovers?¡± Seeing that there was no way to settle the issue, Lucas said to Charlotte, ¡°Take Amelia away.¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± Amelia looked at Lucas uneasily and clutched his sleeve. Lucas looked at his daughter with a gentle smile and stroked her yful pigtails before saying reassuringly, ¡°It¡¯ll be alright. Follow your aunt home. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Although Amelia was reluctant, she nodded obediently when she saw the gentle gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes. After some hesitation, Charlotte said something unexpected that she had never said before. ¡°Be careful.¡± However, as soon as she took two steps away with Amelia in her arms, the chubby woman stopped her. ¡°Hah, don¡¯t you think of leaving. None of you can escape!¡± Lucas¡¯s face turned gloomy. He never intended to hit a woman, but if she hurt Amelia while stopping them, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let her off the hook! At this moment, several Volkswagen Golfs sped by, almost hitting therge crowd of people in front of the kindergarten to pick up their children. Amid theints, more than ten men with tattooed arms opened car doors and dashed into the kindergarten menacingly. ¡°Boss, we¡¯re here! Where¡¯s that foolish bastard?¡± As soon as James Wilson saw the people that he had called arrive, he immediately pointed at Lucas and roared, ¡°It¡¯s this bastard! Damn it! How dare he touch me? Beat him!¡± More than ten people immediately stared at Lucas. The bald man, who was the leader, sized Lucas up andughed disdainfully. ¡°With his size? I can beat ten of him with no issue! How cocky of you to hit the boss!¡± With ferocious expressions, the group of people surrounded Lucas. ¡°Daddy... Daddy! Ah!¡± Watching the terrifying men surround Lucas, Amelia was so frightened that she burst into tears. Charlotte hugged Amelia, her face turning pale in fear too. There was a cold and hostile gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes, making the people surrounding him stop in their tracks, as they suddenly felt a strong sense of extreme danger! Just as Lucas was about to lose his temper, Jordan suddenly appeared to block him. ¡°Lucas, take the kid away. Leave this to me.¡± When Wilson saw that Lucas also had someone to back him up, he burst intoughter. What can one person do? His face twitched, and his smile became even more menacing. ¡°My wife said that none of you are allowed to leave!¡± Jordan spat out the gum in his mouth. ¡°You ipetent nobodies aren¡¯t worthy of getting hit by Lucas!¡± Chapter 21: Let Him Stay

Chapter 21: Let Him Stay

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas stopped looking at those people. Instead, he walked toward Charlotte, reached out to carry Amelia into his arms, andforted her. ¡°Amelia, everything¡¯s okay now. Don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ll take you home now.¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± Amelia buried her head in Lucas¡¯s chest and hugged him tightly. Only then did she gradually stop shivering. Holding Amelia in his chest, Lucas covered her ears with one hand and walked straight toward the gates of the kindergarten. ¡°Damn it! Are you blind... Ah! ¡± The bald man leading the team was just about to stop Lucas, but he suddenly shrieked as Jordan sent him flying with a hard kick. It was followed by continuous cursing and screaming. Lucas ignored all of them and simply focused on coaxing Amelia, preventing all the uncouth curses from tainting her ears. From the corner of her eye, Charlotte watched the group of burly tattooed men getting kicked away, secretly frightened. However, she followed closely behind Lucas and only heaved a sigh of relief when they got inside the car. When she saw Lucas again, she no longer saw him as a good-for-nothing like she used to. Lucas¡¯s dominance just now, and Jordan, the young man who addressed Lucas respectfully and could beat up so many people... She was now very curious about what Lucas had been doing during the six years. Why did he seem like a gang leader? Lucas fastened his safety belt and was just about to start his car when he suddenly thought of something and lowered the car window. He said to Jordan, ¡°Don¡¯t get anyone killed.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas,¡± answered Jordan, who was having a whale of a time beating them. Charlotte was speechless. She suddenly felt that he was really scary! However, Amelia didn¡¯t feel the fear that her aunt was feeling because she was gazing at her dad with admiration and awe. Lucas couldn¡¯t help but scratch her little nose gently when he stopped at a red light. Soon, they arrived back at the entrance of the Carter residence. Carrying Amelia in his arms, Lucas alighted. But as soon as he turned around, he met Karen¡¯s angry eyes. ¡°You actually dare toe back? Do you know how huge of a mess you¡¯ve created, you piece of trash?!¡± Karen cursed and almost poked Lucas in the face with her finger. Lucas simply moved backward slightly, lest Karen go overboard and poke Amelia instead. However, Charlotte was overwhelmed with terror, and she hurriedly grabbed Karen¡¯s finger in fear of her provoking Lucas. ¡°Mom, let¡¯s talk when we¡¯re inside. We¡¯ll talk things over calmly, alright?¡± She hurriedly went inside the house, shoving Karen along. ¡°Talk things over calmly? What¡¯s there to talk about with him calmly?! He¡¯s a troublemaker and a jinx who¡¯s going to cause us to get kicked out! We were doing fine without him. But ever since he returned, he has created so much trouble! If I had known earlier, I¡¯d wish for him to die out there!¡± Cheyenne happened toe home at this juncture. Seeing her mother scolding Lucas again, she couldn¡¯t help but sigh deeply. Amelia had finally gotten to see her father, so she couldn¡¯t tolerate hearing him get scolded. Pouting angrily, she eximed, ¡°Daddy¡¯s not going to die! Daddy is awesome! Just now, someone bullied me and Aunt Charlotte and even threatened to hit us, but Daddy saved us!¡± Shocked by her words, Cheyenne hurriedly asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Karen couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue berating Lucas and instead quickly asked about what happened. Charlotte told them about everything that happened at the kindergarten before saying with lingering fear, ¡°That couple is too disgusting. Not only did they falsely use us, but they even tried to beat us without hesitation. If not for...¡± She paused and stopped herself from saying ¡®good-for-nothing.¡¯ ¡°If Lucas hadn¡¯t arrived in time, I would have been pped by that fat woman! ¡°Later, thanks to his friend¡¯s help, we returned safely.¡± Karen gritted her teeth again and started to curse at that couple. The scion of the richest family in the county has taken a fancy to my daughter. What would happen if her pretty face was ruined by that fat woman?! Cheyenne frowned. ¡°Seems like that person has a significant status. Stay at home for the next few days in case they exact revenge on you.¡± ¡°No!¡± Charlotte and Karen opposed in unison. Karen naturally hated Lucas like she always had and couldn¡¯t wait to kick him out. On the other hand, Charlotte said no because she was afraid of Lucas. ¡°Mother, what if he encounters a mishap out there?¡± ¡°If he dies, so be it. In fact, it¡¯d be even better because you can then marry Seth,¡± Karen said nonchntly. ¡°Mother! Must you force me like this? If you insist, I can¡¯t stay in this family any longer,¡± Cheyenne said with a look of displeasure. ¡°Okay, okay. You¡¯re really something. I¡¯ll stop, alright?¡± Karen red at Cheyenne angrily. ¡°He can stay, but we won¡¯t feed any loafers. He has to pay a monthly rent of fifteen hundred dors excluding utility bills and daily expenses!¡± Karen demanded, deliberately making things hard for Lucas. If this good-for-nothing can afford fifteen hundred dors, pigs will fly! By then, he¡¯ll only have himself to me when I chase him out! ¡°Sure. It¡¯s settled then!¡± Lucas agreed immediately with a gleeful expression. He merely had to pay fifteen hundred dors for a chance to spend time with his wife and daughter. What a pleasant surprise! Fearing that Karen would back out, he immediately returned to the car and took out a thick wad of bills from the bag under the backseat. ¡°There¡¯s fifteen thousand here for half a year¡¯s rent and utilities. I¡¯ll top it up if it¡¯s not enough.¡± Chapter 22: She’s My Wife

Chapter 22: She¡¯s My Wife

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Karen didn¡¯t expect that Lucas could really take out so much money on the spot. She stepped forward, grabbed the stack of bills, and took a few of them out while muttering, ¡°Where did this good-for-nothing get so much money? Surely they can¡¯t be fake, right...¡± After realizing there were no issues with the bills, she looked at Lucas in bewilderment again. ¡°Where did you get the money? I saw you take it out from the car. You didn¡¯t take Charlotte¡¯s money, did you?¡± Charlotte obviously didn¡¯t dare to let her mother continue and frantically pushed Karen. ¡°Enough, Mom. This money does belong to him. Since you¡¯ve received the money, why do you care where ites from? I¡¯m hungry. Go make dinner quickly.¡± Having received fifteen thousand dors for no reason, Karen entered the house in a wishy-washy fashion. Cheyenne breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Lucas, who was holding the joyous Amelia and looking at her with a gentle and expectant gaze. Not knowing what expression to make, she led Lucas upstairs with a solemn expression. She decided to let Lucas stay at her home entirely for the sake of her daughter. Soon, Amelia¡¯s gleeful giggling came from the room upstairs. Karen was whipping a spat around and making loud, nking sounds. ¡°She¡¯s so noisy. I really don¡¯t know what¡¯s good about that father of hers. She just loves sticking to him.¡± That night, Amelia mored to go to bed in Lucas¡¯s arms. Being no match for her daughter, Cheyenne had no choice but to ce an extra mattress for Lucas in her room. However, Cheyenne was full of frustration and couldn¡¯t fall asleep for a long time. She was not just vexed about the Stardust Corporation but also about Lucas. Holding his fast asleep daughter and listening quietly to Cheyenne¡¯s breathing near him, Lucas felt his heart ache. The two of them each had their own thoughts and couldn¡¯t fall asleep for a long time. The next morning, Lucas got up and went out to call Davis. At this moment, it was only past six in the morning, and Davis was feeling frustrated because the ringing of his cell phone was disturbing his sleep. When he saw the caller ID, he immediately shuddered and sat up in shock. ¡°Good morning, Mr. Gray.¡± ¡°How are the negotiations going with the potential partners of the Stardust Corporation?¡± Lucas asked calmly. Davis didn¡¯t expect Lucas to call him bright early in the morning to ask about work. He frantically answered, ¡°There are manypanies that want to cooperate with us, such as...¡± ¡°Is there anyone from the Carter family?¡± Lucas interjected. ¡°The Carters? Oh, yes, yes. A Cheyenne Carter came several times yesterday afternoon, but I haven¡¯t met her yet. After all, the Carters¡¯pany is small and not qualified to cooperate with us.¡± After a moment of silence, Lucas said tersely, ¡°Cheyenne Carter is my wife.¡± Davis could sense the prative chilliness in Lucas¡¯s voice over the phone! He immediately panicked and apologized in fear, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, Chairman! I didn¡¯t know about that. I¡¯m really sorry. The Carters...¡± ¡°Add them to the list. Send them a contractter, but don¡¯t reveal my identity.¡± ¡°Yes, Chairman!¡± After Lucas hung up the phone, Karen happened to be going out to get milk while stifling a yawn. When she saw Lucas, she immediately questioned with animosity, ¡°What are you doing loitering at the door early in the morning? Are you a thief?¡± Lucas didn¡¯t bother with her and helped carry the milk into the house. After breakfast, Lucas apanied Cheyenne to send Amelia to the kindergarten and then apanied her to the Brilliance Corporation. Cheyenne wanted to refuse because the Carters hated Lucas, and he would only be berated by them if he apanied her to work. However, Lucas insisted. After staring at him for a long time, Cheyenne had no choice but to give in. She said dejectedly, ¡°Suit yourself.¡± When the two arrived at the Brilliance Corporation, Bryce was sitting in the conference room and listening to the loud chatter. Of course, they were gossiping andughing about Cheyenne, whom he had always disliked. ¡°Ah, some of you have no idea that some people just like blowing their trumpets even though they¡¯re actually ipetent. Cheyenne Carter made several trips to the Stardust Corporation yesterday, but she didn¡¯t even get to see the general manager. I saw her standing there for a long time on the verge of tears. It¡¯s such a shame she couldn¡¯t even get into the office!¡± ¡°Haha, does she think she¡¯s still the former chairman of the Brilliance Corporation? She¡¯s now just a low-level manager. The Stardust Corporation won¡¯t be impressed with her. However, it might work if she tries to make use of her good looks and sells her body. After all, she¡¯s quite the beauty!¡± ¡°Hahahaha, that¡¯s right. But unfortunately, that good-for-nothing got away with her...¡± Bang! The door of the conference room was kicked open and mmed against the wall with a loud bang, giving everyone in the room a great shock. Cheyenne was standing outside the door with a pale face while Lucas stood beside her, his expression cold and menacing. ¡°What are you doing?! How dare you throw a fit at the Carters¡¯pany?!¡± Lucas red at the people in the conference room and was just about to give them a warning, but Cheyenne pulled him back. ¡°Enough. Don¡¯t cause a stir here.¡± Lucas took a deep breath and didn¡¯t say anything. Seeing that Lucas was ¡®chickening out,¡¯ Bryce and the others were about to sneer and mock him, but a senior executive hurriedly walked over. ¡°The chairman is here with Mr. Wilson. Hurry up and prepare all the documents and contracts. Don¡¯t make any mistakes!¡± On the other side of the corridor, Dominic Carter was walking over with a middle-aged bespectacled man. ¡°Mr. Wilson, I haven¡¯t congratted you on inheriting your father¡¯s legacy. You¡¯re young and promising! Regarding our cooperation...¡± Before he finished, the bespectacled man interrupted him and pointed at Lucas, who was standing near the door. Gritting his teeth, he hollered, ¡°It¡¯s you?!¡± Chapter 23: You’re Not Qualified

Chapter 23: You¡¯re Not Qualified

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Upon sight of his grandfather entering with a VIP, Bryce tidied up his suit and tie and was ready to greet them with a smile, only to be caught off guard when Mr. Wilson pointed in his direction with exasperation all over his face. Bryce was puzzled at first. But when he saw Dominic and Mr. Wilson ring at Lucas, who was beside him, with extremely hostile expressions, he finally realized that the one who had offended Mr. Wilson was the wastrel Lucas! Lucas squinted and thought, Enemies often meet. The VIP, Mr. Wilson, was James Wilson, the extremely haughty man he had met at the kindergarten yesterday. Bryce hurried forward and smiled at Wilson subserviently. ¡°Mr. Wilson, ignore that good-for-nothing. I¡¯ll get rid of him right away! Come on, let¡¯s go to the conference room to discuss our cooperation.¡± Wilson flung Bryce¡¯s hand away forcefully and snapped, ¡°Screw that! Is this person one of the Carters? Hah, just you wait and see!¡± After issuing the threat, Wilson turned around to leave! Although he wished he could dash forward immediately to kill Lucas and take revenge for what happened yesterday, his chest still hurt from Lucas¡¯s kick, and most of his underlings were still hospitalized. Thus, he couldn¡¯t find anyone to help him take revenge for the time being. ¡°No, please wait, Mr. Wilson. Let¡¯s talk things over calmly!¡± Dominic and Bryce panicked and hurriedly tried to hold Wilson back while persuading him. ¡°That rascal has nothing to do with the Carter family. I¡¯ll get security toe and chase him out now!¡± Bryce eximed. Wilson pped Bryce and retorted, ¡°Do you take me for a three-year-old you can fool easily? Why would he be standing in front of the conference room of yourpany if he has nothing to do with you?¡± After receiving a p from Wilson, Bryce dared not voice his displeasure at all and had no choice but to cover his face while putting the me on Lucas. ¡°Mr. Wilson, this loser really has nothing to do with the Carters. If you¡¯re upset, I will get him to apologize and make it up to you now!¡± Dominic red at Lucas in disdain and yelled, ¡°How did you offend Mr. Wilson? Hurry up and apologize to him now.¡± When Wilson saw how hostile the Carters were toward Lucas, he felt much better. Raising his head high smugly, he sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t care for an apology. If you¡¯re still sincere about cooperating, tell this bastard to kneel down to me. If I¡¯m happy, I¡¯ll consider the matter of cooperation again!¡± Without saying a word, Dominic barked at Lucas, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what Mr. Wilson said? Hurry up and get your ass here to kneel and apologize.¡± Lucas naturally ignored him. He obviously wouldn¡¯t kneel and apologize. Staring at Dominic and the others coldly, he questioned, ¡°You don¡¯t even know what happened between me and him, but you want me to apologize to him? Besides, didn¡¯t you say that I have nothing to do with your family? Who are you to order me to kneel and apologize to him?¡± ¡°You!¡± Dominic was enraged. ¡°If you don¡¯t kneel and apologize, I will kick your family out!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s pupils constricted. Grandpa is threatening to kick us out again. Does he not care about us at all? Lucas¡¯s face was gloomy as well. Threatening me with that, does he think I¡¯ll be scared? If he were alone, he wouldn¡¯t bother staying with the Carters at all! At this moment, a receptionist hurriedly ran over. Panting heavily, he eximed, ¡°Mr. Davis of the Stardust Corporation is here. He¡¯s waiting in the reception room downstairs!¡± ¡°Stardust Corporation? Mr. Davis is here personally?¡± Dominic and the other Carters were astonished. Even the haughty Wilson was stunned. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and receive Mr. Davis!¡± Dominic hurried down with a group of people, but since they didn¡¯t have enough time to wait for the elevator, they decided to go down the stairs. Seeing that Wilson was following them too, Lucas couldn¡¯t help but sneer. Cheyenne tugged Lucas and eximed anxiously, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry down too!¡± In the reception room on the second floor, Dominic stepped forward to greet Flynn Davis. With an enthusiastic smile, he eximed, ¡°Mr. Davis, my apologies for failing to receive you well!¡± Wilson hurriedly extended his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Davis. I¡¯m James Wilson of the Wilson family that helms the Titanium Corporation...¡± Davis red at him dismissively without extending his hand. ¡°The Wilson family? Titanium Corporation? What nonsense is that?¡± Wilson¡¯s expression immediately stiffened. Although the Titanium Corporation was nothingpared to the Stardust Corporation, the Wilson family was at least at the bottom of the ranks of the first-tier families. Even the Carters had to suck up to them! Wilson¡¯s face stiffened, and he dared not be hostile toward Davis. Seeing that Lucas and Cheyenne were here too, Wilson found an outlet to vent his anger. Heshed out at Lucas, ¡°You bastard, who let youe? Dominic Carter, didn¡¯t you say that you would chase him out?¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Davis humphed and questioned, ¡°James Wilson, helmsman of the Titanium Corporation, you¡¯re so mighty, huh? Who are you to interfere with the matters between the Stardust Corporation and the Carters?¡± Chapter 24: Signing The Contract

Chapter 24: Signing The Contract

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wilson paused and dared not speak anymore. It would be bad if he angered Mr. Davis and made the Stardust Corporation and the Huttons who owned it boycott his family. Davis quickly nced at Lucas, but he did not go up to greet him and instead pretended not to know him. Since Lucas wanted to keep his identity secret from the Carters, he had to follow instructions because he was his subordinate. Davis took out a document and ced it on the desk in the reception room. Dominic immediately looked over. When he saw the word ¡®contract,¡¯ his eyes immediately widened, and he said in a shaky voice, ¡°Contract?¡± Davis chuckled. ¡°Yes, this is the strategic cooperation contract drawn up by the Stardust Corporation. Miss Cheyenne Carter looked for me several times yesterday, and I was touched by her sincerity, so I want to give yourpany a chance to cooperate with us. I have already signed this contract. As long as you have no other objections, you can sign it after taking a look, and it will take effect immediately.¡± The Stardust Corporation actually took the initiative to offer them a chance to cooperate! It was a godsend! However, when they heard that they obtained the contract because of Cheyenne, their faces turned grim, and many of them subconsciously nced at Bryce several times. Dominic had promised to give the position of general manager of the Brilliance Corporation to the person who managed to clinch the cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation. Now that Cheyenne had clinched the contract, was she really going to make aeback and be the helmsman of the Brilliance Corporation again? Bryce looked extremely upset too. He was originally already confident that Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t be able to handle the cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation and wanted to take the opportunity to drive her, her good-for-nothing husband, and her useless parents out of the family. He didn¡¯t expect her to really clinch the cooperation... Cheyenne was stunned too. Yesterday, she had asked to see Mr. Davis at the Stardust Corporation office several times but to no avail. In the end, she almost thought that she no longer had any hope. To her surprise, Davis was touched by her actions and even brought the contract to the Brilliance Corporation personally. Needless to say, Dominic was overjoyed. Without even taking a careful look at the contract, he hurriedly signed his name at the bottom and stamped the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s official seal on it, for fear that Davis would change his mind and withdraw the contract. Having finished the task given by Lucas, Davis felt relieved and turned to leave. Seeing that the Carters had actually signed a contract with the Stardust Corporation, Wilson felt bitter and infuriated because the Carters were too busy rejoicing, so no one attended to him. He stormed off in a huff. Having signed the contract, Dominic was extremely pleased. He looked at the joyful Carters in the room and suddenly cleared his throat. ¡°Since everyone is here, I shall announce something.¡± Here ites! Everyone came to a sudden realization. It seemed that it was time for Dominic to announce the new helmsman of the Brilliance Corporation. Countless envious gazes were cast at Cheyenne. Even many of those who had mocked her loudly previously began looking at her with awe and tried to suck up to her. If not for the fact that Bryce, the eldest scion of the Carter family, was staring at them hostilely, many of them would have run to Cheyenne immediately to show their loyalty to her. Cheyenne was extremely excited too, and she was staring at Dominic with glistening eyes. ¡°I hereby announce that Bryce Carter will be the new general manager of the Brilliance Corporation from today onward. He will be fully responsible for all affairs of the corporation, including the cooperation with the Stardust Corporation. Everyone else must fully cooperate with him!¡± After Dominic said this, everyone else was stunned. Lucas¡¯s face turned gloomy, as he didn¡¯t expect Dominic to go back on his word! After being shocked for a while, Bryce looked pleasantly surprised as he walked over and eximed loudly, ¡°Okay, Grandpa! I¡¯ll do a good job and make sure that I don¡¯t let you down!¡± The other Carters soon turned their heads over, thinking to themselves that Dominic was just making an empty promise previously. Why would he hand over thepany to a granddaughter who wasn¡¯t rted to him by blood instead of his biological grandson? They were muddled! In particr, a few of them who almost wanted to express their loyalty to Cheyenne felt extremely thankful that they didn¡¯t. Otherwise, Bryce wouldn¡¯t have let them off! ¡°Okay, this is all. You are dismissed. Get back to work.¡± Dominic turned around to leave. Unable to tolerate it any longer, Cheyenne chased after Dominic and stood in front of him. ¡°Grandpa! Didn¡¯t you say that you would give the Brilliance Corporation to the person who clinched the cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation? Why did you let Bryce be the general manager instead?¡± Dominic red at Cheyenne apathetically. ¡°Are you upset? If not for you, the Carters wouldn¡¯t have be a second-rate family in Orange County. If not for your loser husband offending Mr. Wilson, we would have signed a contract with him too. You¡¯re so ipetent! What right do you have to be indignant?¡± Chapter 26: Breaching The Contract

Chapter 26: Breaching The Contract

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What?¡± Cheyenne froze, almost suspecting that she had misheard him. ¡°I said, as long as you wish, I can give you the Brilliance Corporation and even more,¡± Lucas repeated clearly again, his tone confident and firm. Cheyenne looked at Lucas with great disappointment in her pretty eyes. She stood up coldly and said to him, ¡°I can ept that my husband is a mediocre person who isn¡¯t too capable, but I don¡¯t want Amelia¡¯s father to be an empty vessel who does nothing but brag and lie all day.¡± Cheyenne stared at him with a deep nce and then left the reception room silently. Lucas smiled quietly and thought, It¡¯s alright. She¡¯ll find out one day that what I said is true. He took out his phone and called Davis. ¡°Conquer the Brilliance Corporation immediately. You know what to do.¡± ¡ª¡ª The news of Dominic Carter appointing Bryce Carter as the new general manager of the Brilliance Corporation quickly spread throughout the entirepany. In less than half a day, all the appointment letters, seals, nametes, and other misceneous items were prepared. Sitting in a spacious office, Bryce spun around a few times on the swivel chair andughed heartily. When Dominic entered, Bryce immediately went up to him. ¡°Grandpa.¡± Looking at his grandson, who was d in an immacte suit, Dominic nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Not bad. You do look like a general manager. Bryce, I¡¯m handing the Brilliance Corporation to you now. Train hard and gain more experience. In the future, the entire Carter family will belong to you too.¡± Bryce looked euphoric. Actually, he was Dominic Carter¡¯s only biological grandson, and his father had already passed away. It was only a matter of time before the entire family would be handed over to him. He knew that his grandfather wouldn¡¯t hand over the Carter family to those who were not rted to him by blood. However, he still had a grateful look on his face. ¡°Yes, thank you for your trust and for grooming me, Grandpa. I¡¯ll definitely do a good job!¡± However, when he thought about Cheyenne, who used to pose a threat to him, Bryce was immediately displeased. So he said to Dominic, ¡°However, Grandpa, I saw that Cheyenne was incredibly upset over you handing the Brilliance Corporation to me. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll deliberately retaliate against thepany and do something to harm the family.¡± ¡°If she dares to do that or harbor any ill intentions, I¡¯ll kick her and her family out immediately!¡± Dominic shouted. Bryce was at ease. He wished he could chase Cheyenne away immediately. At this moment, his cell phone on the table suddenly rang. Filled with joy and vigor after assuming his new position, Bryce picked up the phone and asked, ¡°Hello, who¡¯s speaking?¡± However, his smile soon stiffened, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was amiss. He even began to stammer. ¡°W-wait a minute! I-is there a mistake somewhere? How can that be?¡± The cold sweat on his forehead instantly dripped down. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?!¡± Sensing that something was wrong, Dominic immediately snatched the phone away instead of questioning Bryce. Unfortunately, the caller had already hung up. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Looking at Bryce¡¯s face, Dominic knew that something terrible must have happened. Bryce looked at Dominic anxiously. ¡°It was a call from the Stardust Corporation, saying that they want to terminate the cooperation with us. They also said that we¡¯ve breached the contract and want us to pay massivepensation! Grandpa, what should we do?¡± ¡°What?! How did that happen?¡± Dominic panicked and stumbled, almost losing his bnce and falling onto the ground. Bryce hurriedly stepped forward to hold him. He was caught off guard by the sudden notification and had to let Dominic make the decision. ¡°Grandpa, have a seat and drink some tea. How could this happen all of a sudden? The contract was just signed this morning, so how could there be a breach of contract? Something must have gone wrong somewhere!¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve just signed the contract, and we haven¡¯t taken any action yet. How is there a breach of contract? Did they mention in what way we breached it?¡± ¡°No. They merely stated that there was a breach of contract and that we have topensate in ordance with the terms. Thepensation is a huge sum of money, and we definitely can¡¯t afford it. Why don¡¯t I call the Stardust Corporation again?¡± Bryce asked. ¡°Yes, call and rify with them,¡± Dominic instructed firmly. Unfortunately, none of Bryce¡¯s attempts seeded, as the other party would simply hang up after thanking him for calling. They obviously didn¡¯t want to speak to him in detail. Dominic was extremely anxious, but he dared not re up because he was facing the Stardust Corporation. ¡°Tell everyone toe here for an emergency meeting!¡± Dominic ordered. Soon, all the Carters gathered in the conference room. They were initially still smiling gleefully, but as soon as they entered and saw the displeasure on the faces of Bryce and Dominic, they immediately stopped smiling and sat down conscientiously. Almost all of them were present, except Cheyenne. Dominic frowned. ¡°Everyone¡¯s here. Bryce, tell them.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa.¡± Bryce sat in the general manager¡¯s seat and repeated the news that he heard over the phone once more. After hearing his words, the Carters were bbergasted! Chapter 27: Fabricating Truths

Chapter 27: Fabricating Truths

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Really? How did that happen?¡± ¡°We just signed the contract with them this morning. How can there be a breach of contract this afternoon? We haven¡¯t done anything yet!¡± ¡°Yeah, the Stardust Corporation isn¡¯t ying a trick on us, right?¡± ¡°Did they deliberately set us up? But why are they targeting us?¡± ¡°They¡¯re really shameless. I thought that the Stardust Corporation was a huge enterprise that wouldn¡¯t resort to such tricks!¡± Everyone was babbling continuously in indignation. They thought that it was a godsend opportunity that fell into theirps, but it turned out to be harmful to them. How could they tolerate it?! Dominic smacked the table and roared, ¡°Enough! I asked you toe here to discuss some strategies and countermeasures, not to listen to your nonsense. Hurry up and think of some solutions. If you don¡¯t have any, shut up!¡± The people in the conference room immediately fell silent. ¡°So, do all of you have nothing to say? Have I been feeding a bunch of garbage?¡± Seeing that no one was saying anything, Dominic got even more infuriated. ¡°Um, did we offend someone at the Stardust Corporation? That¡¯s not right either. If we really offended them, Mr. Davis wouldn¡¯t have made it a point toe over to sign the contract with us this morning. In other words, did someone offend the Stardust Corporation after signing the contract?¡± someone asked carefully. His conjecture was likely to be true. Dominic nced at them coldly. ¡°So, did any of you do something to offend anyone today?¡± All the people present felt a cold chill down their spines when they saw Dominic¡¯s gaze and hurriedly shook their heads. One of the Carters discovered that Cheyenne, who usually acted as cannon fodder when Dominic was furious, wasn¡¯t here and immediately felt dismayed. He started whispering. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Dominic red daggers at him. Taken aback, he hurriedly said, ¡°No, I¡¯m just wondering why Cheyenne Carter isn¡¯t here yet. She¡¯s always missing when there¡¯s trouble.¡± Cheyenne Carter? Yes! This must have something to do with her! Everyone suddenly thought of something, as if they had received a reminder. ¡°This matter must have something to do with Cheyenne Carter! Mr. Davis of the Stardust Corporation said that he offered the contract to us because of her sincerity. However, in the blink of an eye, he said that we breached the contract and wants us topensate. Cheyenne Carter should be the one to resolve this matter!¡± ¡°Yes! She was the one who clinched the contract, so she should be the one to solve the problem!¡± ¡°Besides, everyone is here for the emergency meeting except her. Is it because she¡¯s deliberately avoiding us? Or is it because she¡¯s done something that goes against her conscience?¡± The more the Carters talked, the more excited they got, and there were more and more conjectures. Bryce smacked his hand on the table and eximed, ¡°Ah, I know!¡± With a look of excitement, he said to Dominic, ¡°Grandpa, I know! Today, Mr. Davis said that he signed the contract with us only because of Cheyenne¡¯s sincerity. I think he must have taken a fancy to her! ¡°Previously, you said that whoever can clinch the contract with the Stardust Corporation will take over the Brilliance Corporation. Everyone knows that Cheyenne is bent on taking away the Brilliance Corporation, so she must have tried to clinch the contract by resorting to all means. So... ¡°So, she must have gone and made some kind of deal with Mr. Davis!¡± The more Bryce spoke, the more certain he was of his guess, as if these were not just his wild guesses but truths. ¡°No matter what, Cheyenne is still the most beautiful woman in Orange County. That¡¯s probably why Mr. Davis decided to sign the contract with us. However, he went back on his word and changed his mind after seeing that you didn¡¯t hand the Brilliance Corporation to her! Mr. Davis must be infuriated. That¡¯s why he suddenly sued us for breach of contract!¡± The Carters came to a sudden realization. Yes, that must be the truth! It¡¯s all Cheyenne Carter¡¯s fault! ¡°Get Cheyenne Carter toe to the office to see me immediately!¡± Dominic ordered with a hostile expression. ¡ª¡ª After leaving the office today, Cheyenne went straight home, where she cooped herself up in her room and refused to see anyone. Her phone was on silent mode too. Karen kept probing, but Cheyenne refused to say a single word. The events that urred today and, in particr, Dominic and the other Carters¡¯ attitudes toward her made her feel disappointed. At this moment, Karen¡¯s phone rang. Seeing that it was a call from Bryce, she immediately picked up. ¡°Hello, Bryce. Yes, she¡¯s in. You need to talk to her about something urgent? Okay, I¡¯ll get her to go to the office immediately.¡± After hanging up, Karen immediately pounded hard on the door of Cheyenne¡¯s room. ¡°Cheyenne, hurry up ande out. Your grandfather wants you to go to the office for something urgent!¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t really want to go. but thinking that perhaps there was something important that she had to deal with at the office, she forced herself to get up. Soon, Cheyenne arrived at the conference room of the Brilliance Corporation and was greeted by a bunch of people staring at her with furious and peculiar gazes. Cheyenne¡¯s heart dropped. What¡¯s going on? Does it have something to do with me too? ¡°Cheyenne, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so shameless. Since you¡¯ve hooked up with Mr. Davis to get the contract signed, why did you go back on your word and cause us to be sued by the Stardust Corporation for breach of contract?¡± Bryce was the first to stand up, and he immediatelyshed out at Cheyenne. Cheyenne was instantly stunned! Chapter 28: All Sorts of Insults and Humiliation

Chapter 28: All Sorts of Insults and Humiliation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hook up? Go back on my word? Breach of contract? What? ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Didn¡¯t the Stardust Corporation just sign the contract with us this morning?¡± Cheyenne asked with a frown, her eyes still red from crying just now. Bryce humphed coldly. ¡°Hmph, drop the act! Juste clean. Were you the one who caused the Stardust Corporation to sue us for breach of contract and demandpensation? How will it benefit you if the Carters suffer heavy losses?¡± Only then did Cheyenne somewhat figure out what he meant. She was extremely astonished too. The Stardust Corporation is suing the Carters for breach of contract? What¡¯s going on? ¡°Cheyenne Carter, I¡¯m telling you, no matter what shameless conditions you promised Mr. Davis in exchange for the contract, something has gone wrong now, and you have to solve the problem!¡± Bryce eximed sternly while pointing at Cheyenne¡¯s nose. Cheyenne¡¯s face turned red with exasperation because of what he was implying. ¡°What do you mean shameless conditions? I didn¡¯t promise anyone any conditions. Don¡¯t nder me. Aren¡¯t you the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation now? You should be the one to solve any problems that arise!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Dominic mmed his hand on the table in anger. ¡°Bryce is now the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, so you¡¯d better talk to him respectfully! Furthermore, are you showing your disgruntlement about my decision this morning?¡± Cheyenne clenched her jaw and said after a long time, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Say it yourself. What rights do you have to make me hand over the Brilliance Corporation to you? The scandal you were involved in previously has already brought shame to the family and caused us to incur severe losses because of the stagnation of thepany¡¯s development. You refused to marry Seth Miller, and today, your good-for-nothing husband offended James Wilson, causing the cooperation with the Wilsons to flop. I thought that you were at least a little useful, but as soon as we clinched the contract with the Stardust Corporation, this happened!¡± Dominic stared at her usingly. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, I¡¯m really disappointed in you.¡± Cheyenne felt extremely aggrieved, but she knew that her grandfather was just biased against her and trying to push all the me to her. No matter what she said, he would just think that she was making excuses. ¡°No matter what, you have to solve the issue with the Stardust Corporation, or else we will go bankrupt if we really have topensate a huge sum of money for the breach. Are you going to watch the Brilliance Corporation fold?¡± Dominic was well aware of how attached Cheyenne was to the Brilliance Corporation. Previously, he often threatened her with the fate of the Brilliance Corporation too, making her slog her guts out for thepany. This time, he was doing the same thing once again. Cheyenne¡¯s heart was full of misery, but she really could not bring herself to watch the Brilliance Corporation wind up. She clenched her fist and suddenly raised her head to say to Dominic, ¡°Okay, I can promise to go see Mr. Davis and try to talk him around, but you have to promise me one condition.¡± ¡°This is your responsibility to begin with. How dare you make Grandpa promise you a condition?¡± Bryce immediately chided. Dominic frowned. ¡°Tell me.¡± After taking a deep breath, Cheyenne said seriously, ¡°If I can solve this issue and save the Brilliance Corporation from the crisis, I hope you will return it to me, Grandpa.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! Impossible!¡± Before Dominic even spoke, Bryce immediately sprung up as if his tail had been stepped on. What a joke! The Brilliance Corporation already belongs to me. Who is Cheyenne Carter to take it away from me? Grandpa will never agree to it! ¡°I single-handedly established the Brilliance Corporation. After I gave birth to Amelia, you said you¡¯d help me manage it, but you never returned it to me. I¡¯m just taking back what rightfully belongs to me.¡± Cheyenne refused to budge as well. ¡°You!¡± Overwhelmed with anger, Bryce turned to face Dominic. ¡°Grandpa, what is she saying? Is she trying to say that we snatched the Brilliance Corporation away from her?! It belonged to the Carters in the first ce! Besides, it¡¯s indeed true that she colluded with Mr. Davis with the intention to take the Brilliance Corporation away!¡± ¡°You actually have the cheek to say that the Brilliance Corporation belongs to you. You¡¯re so shameless!¡± ¡°I was wondering why we got sued for breach of contract right after signing it. It turns out Cheyenne Carter has long colluded with others!¡± ¡°Cheyenne Carter, if not for our family¡¯s reputation, would you have been able to establish the Brilliance Corporation? We helped you, but not only are you not grateful, you even have the audacity to say that we stole it from you!¡± ¡°Exactly. We worked hard for so many years, and if we hadn¡¯t taken over the Brilliance Corporation, it would have long folded! Such big talk! Thispany belongs to the Carters!¡± The other Carters began pointing fingers at Cheyenne, as if the Brilliance Corporation should have belonged to the Carters in the first ce and that Cheyenne was just trying to rob them of their asset. They were twisting facts! Cheyenne was infuriated, but there was no way she could outargue more than ten people who lived off of the Brilliance Corporation. ¡°Enough, all of you!¡± Dominic roared to stop themotion going on in the conference room. ring at Cheyenne with a stern gaze in his eyes, he threatened, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you deliberately schemed against us this time or what. Regardless, if you can¡¯t settle this issue with the Stardust Corporation within two days, I will remove your names from the family records!¡± Chapter 29: Disowned by the Carters

Chapter 29: Disowned by the Carters

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Dominic said that, the Carters couldn¡¯t help but look at each other. It had been a long time since anyone was disowned and kicked out of the family. Although people ced less emphasis on familial ties these days, and being disowned by your family would not warrant public hate, it was still a serious matter for a major family like the Carters. After being disowned and chased out of the family, they would no longer be entitled to all the dividends and benefits of thepanies owned by the Carters, and even their residence would be confiscated. After all, being disowned by your family was an extremely embarrassing thing, as it usually meant that you hadmitted a heinous offense and had a problematic character that caused you to be chased out of the family. Cheyenne didn¡¯t expect Dominic to threaten her without getting to the bottom of the truth. At this moment, Cheyenne¡¯s heart turned cold. She had done so much for the family in the past, but what was it for? Was a family like this really worth her effort... Over the next two days, Cheyenne went to the Stardust Corporation countless times and begged to see Flynn Davis but was rejected every single time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Carter. The general manager is busy at the moment. Do you have an appointment with him? If you don¡¯t, I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t see him.¡± At a loss, Cheyenne walked out and stood outside the Stardust Corporation office tower, not knowing where to go. Her slender figure was so thin and fragile that she looked like she was unable to hold on any longer. Lucas stood on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation office tower and gazed at her figure for a long time, feeling a heartache with misery in his eyes. ¡°Mr. Gray, are you really not going to see her... She¡¯s your...¡± Davis asked. ¡°No, we¡¯ll act ording to the original n. Only when she sees how heartless the Carters are to her can she truly be ruthless and sever ties with them.¡± He thought that Cheyenne would only end up getting ruined if she continued to stay in that toxic family where everyone humiliated her and exploited her to no end. ¡°Cheyenne!¡± Charlotte hurriedly ran over and hugged Cheyenne with a gleeful expression. ¡°Cheyenne, I just received the notice that I passed the Stardust Corporation¡¯s interview, and I¡¯m now an official employee! This is my namete. Don¡¯t worry anymore. I¡¯ll go in and ask Mr. Davis.¡± ¡°Charlotte, no!¡± Cheyenne hurriedly stopped her sister. ¡°You¡¯ve just been recruited, so don¡¯t get involved in this matter, lest it affects your job. That¡¯d be worse! Ah, I haven¡¯t congratted you on joining the Stardust Corporation yet. Let¡¯s celebrate tonight,¡± Cheyenne said, forcing herself to put on a lopsided smile. ¡°Why are you saying this? Cheyenne, I¡¯m not a kid anymore. I can share your burden. Actually, why should you be the one to solve this matter? Grandpa and the others just think you¡¯re a pushover, huh? If I were you, I would just put this matter aside and let them worry about it themselves! What do thepany¡¯s risk of winding up and losses incurred have to do with you? Anyway, no matter how much effort you put in, they won¡¯t return the Brilliance Corporation to you!¡± Charlotte rattled on nonstop like a drum, feeling extremely unjust for her sister. Feeling terrible, Cheyenne said, ¡°I just can¡¯t stop worrying about the Brilliance Corporation. I don¡¯t want to watch it get destroyed like this.¡± Charlotte knew that her sister had always had a strong attachment to the Brilliance Corporation. Stomping her feet furiously, she eximed, ¡°In that case, I will ask for you!¡± Before Cheyenne could stop her, Charlotte dashed into the Stardust Corporation with her work pass, pressed the elevator button, and rushed straight to the general manager¡¯s office on the top floor. The secretary outside didn¡¯t stop her at all. ¡°Are you the general manager, Mr. Davis? I have some questions for you.¡± Charlotte stood in the office and looked at Davis, who was sitting in front of his desk. ¡°Sorry, Mr. Davis. This new employee isn¡¯t aware of the rules and barged straight in. I couldn¡¯t stop her,¡± the secretary hurriedly apologized to Davis after ring at Charlotte. Ever since he learned that Cheyenne was Lucas¡¯s wife, Davis had investigated some of Cheyenne¡¯s connections and naturally recognized the new employee in front of him to be Cheyenne¡¯s sister. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You may resume your duties.¡± Davis waved his hand at his fear-stricken secretary. After the secretary left, he looked at Charlotte and asked, ¡°What do you want to ask me?¡± ¡°Mr. Davis, I just want to ask you why you signed a contract with the Carters¡¯ Brilliance Corporation only two days ago, but you sued them for breach of contract this afternoon? I want to know why there is a breach of contract or if the Carters have offended you in any way. My sister has been waiting for you outside the entrance for two days over this matter. Even if you refuse to see her, it would only take a minute for you to send someone to make your intentions clear to her, right?¡± Charlotte¡¯s heart ached for her sister whenever she thought about Cheyenne, who was on the verge of fainting outside. ¡°Since you¡¯ve asked, I¡¯ll tell you. Go back and tell the Carters that they have done something wrong and offended someone, so they must bear the consequences,¡± Davis said. ¡°Who? Isn¡¯t it you whom they offended?¡± Charlotte asked in great surprise. Davis shook his head. ¡°No, that person holds much more authority than me, and I can¡¯t afford to offend him at all, let alone the Carters. That¡¯s all I have to say.¡± Chapter 30: Kicked Out by the Carters

Chapter 30: Kicked Out by the Carters

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Davis¡¯s words put Charlotte in disbelief. The Stardust Corporation had a great reputation in Orange County because it had the support of the Huttons. It was famous, and thepanies of the families of all sizes in Orange County dared not offend it and instead vied to cooperate with it. As the general manager of the Stardust Corporation, someone who held authority in the upper-ss circle of Orange County, how could there be someone who had higher authority than him? Who exactly is that person? How did the Carters offend such a person? Charlotte was full of doubts as she headed downstairs to tell Cheyenne about the news. ¡°Cheyenne, I just asked Mr. Davis. He said that we didn¡¯t offend him but someone whom even he doesn¡¯t dare to offend.¡± She didn¡¯t doubt the truth of Davis¡¯s words. When Cheyenne heard her words, her face turned pale. Someone even more authoritative than Mr. Davis... Cheyenne was in despair. Her motivation to stand there vanished, and her knees grew weak, causing her to almost fall onto the ground. ¡°Is... the Brilliance Corporation going to be ruined just like that?¡± ¡°Cheyenne!¡± Charlotte hurriedly held her and eximed worriedly, ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself anymore. You¡¯ve already tried your best!¡± At this moment, Cheyenne¡¯s phone began ringing. Cheyenne calmed herself down before picking up. ¡°Hello?¡± Bryce asked in a hostile tone, ¡°Cheyenne Carter, the two days are up. Have you settled the issue with the Stardust Corporation yet?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s lips twitched, and she was at a loss for words. Bryce immediately knew that the matter was not resolved yet and said haughtily, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re incapable, so don¡¯t me me for being merciless! Just wait to be thrown out together with your family!¡± He hung up. Charlotte and Cheyenne looked at each other, both having an ominous premonition. ¡°Charlotte, let¡¯s hurry home! We don¡¯t know what Bryce might get up to!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Charlotte nodded and hurriedly pulled Cheyenne into the metallic red Lamborghini. As she sped through the streets to the Carter residence, the sports car roared like a swift bolt of lightning. Lucas, who was standing on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation office tower, also sensed that something was amiss when he saw how troubled the two of them looked before leaving. Did something happen? He headed downstairs and followed them. At this moment, Karen was sitting in the living room of the Carter residence and watching TV. All of a sudden, there was a loud bang from outside, giving her a great shock. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Karen walked out of the house in displeasure, only to see a bunch of people standing in front of the courtyard. The fence of their residence had also been pushed away, forming a gap in the ground! ¡°Which bastard did this?! Are you blind? Didn¡¯t you see the fence here? I¡¯m telling you, if you don¡¯tpensate...¡± Karen flew into a rage and cursed in a high-pitched voice with her hands on her waist. She suddenly saw Bryce walking out from behind the crowd while staring at her with a smug expression on his face. Karen realized that this group of people at the entrance of the courtyard seemed to be the security officers of the Brilliance Corporation, and Bryce had led them here. ¡°Bryce... what¡¯s going on? Why are they...¡± Karen spluttered as pangs of panic engulfed her. Hearing themotion and sensing that something was wrong, William hurriedly came out of the residence too. ¡°Bryce, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Hah, what¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t you know yourselves? Two days ago, Grandpa said that if Cheyenne Carter couldn¡¯t resolve the contract issues with the Stardust Corporation, he would throw all of you out and disown you! Now, time is up. What do you think is going on?¡± Karen and William immediately panicked. They had heard about this matter before but didn¡¯t pay much attention to it because they knew that it was Cheyenne who had clinched the contract between the Brilliance Corporation and the Stardust Corporation. They reckoned that it should have been a simple task for her to rify the misunderstanding and convince the general manager of the Stardust Corporation to cooperate with the Brilliance Corporation again. They never expected that Cheyenne would fail to resolve it and that Bryce would be so merciless that he would bring his men over to chase them away! ¡°Throw them out together with all their belongings!¡± Bryce waved his hand and ordered his subordinates. ¡°Stop!¡± William hollered loudly in anger. He looked at Bryce. ¡°Bryce, I¡¯m your uncle. Aren¡¯t you going to take that into ount at all?¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just a bastard that Grandma brought into the family. How are you considered my uncle? Back then, Grandpa only allowed you to take on the Carterst name because of Grandma. You took advantage of the Carters and lived in thep of luxury for a long time. Have you forgotten who you are? People like you and your family should have long been thrown out!¡± Bryce retorted harshly with derision. The word ¡®bastard¡¯ made William turn beet red, and Bryce¡¯s remarks made him furious, but he was at a loss for a rebuttal. ¡°Throw them out!¡± Hearing Bryce¡¯smand, the security officers dared not be negligent, and they smashed everything they could. While struggling and yelling, Karen and William were dragged away. A hugemotion broke out in the small courtyard. Cheyenne and Charlotte hurried into their residence, only to be greeted with the chaos. ¡°All of you, stop!¡± Chapter 33: Take Her Away

Chapter 33: Take Her Away

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The other Carters at the side were staring gloatingly at Cheyenne kneeling outside, as if she was the greatest joke. ¡°Hah, so what if Cheyenne Carter was a sessful career woman who used to be a CEO? She still has to kneel outside our door like a dog and beg us to take her in now, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°She still delusionally thought that she could negotiate with Grandpa and snatch the Brilliance Corporation away. She can dream on!¡± ¡°She and her family are outright shameless. They¡¯re clearly outsiders, but they¡¯re so thick-skinned!¡± ¡°Of course she¡¯d be in trouble for offending Dominic and Bryce. She¡¯s begging for mercy only because she¡¯s getting kicked out now. She deserves it!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s pointless. They should have been chased out long ago!¡± ... Soon, someone went out with an umbre and threw a few pieces of paper in front of Cheyenne. She subconsciously tried to grab them, but they were soon blown into a puddle by the wind. As the papers got wet and clumpy, the ink on them quickly faded away. Staring at Cheyenne expressionlessly, the old butler working for the Carters said, ¡°These are the official papers of disownment. The names of your family members and you have been removed from the Carter family records, and the Carters will announce this soon. You no longer belong to the family, and all your properties, bonuses, and rights to dividends will be deprived.¡± A bolt of lightning shed, reflecting on Cheyenne¡¯s pale face. Grandpa is really disowning us! ¡°Why? What exactly did we do wrong for you to do this to us?! Haven¡¯t I done enough for the Carters all these years?¡± Cheyenne slumped onto the ground and started bawling out loud when she looked at the pieces of paper that had already been mushed up because of the rain. ¡°This is the decision that Mr. Carter Senior and the other Carters have reached. This gate also belongs to the Carters. If you want to kneel, stay farther away!¡± the butler said coldly. As soon as he finished speaking, the butler sensed a terrifying aurand on his body, followed by a tight p on his face. ¡°Who are you? How dare you speak to her that way?¡± Lucas appeared beside Cheyenne, and he had a murderous gaze as he red daggers at the butler. If not for the fact that the butler was on in his years, Lucas would have given him more than just a p. The butler covered his face in shock and fury. No one had ever dared to hit him on the territory of the Carters. He wanted to call security over. But when his eyes met Lucas¡¯s murderous gaze, he was frightened to the point of choking on his words. He was certain that if he dared to make a single sound, Lucas would kill him! Lucas lowered his head and looked at Cheyenne, who was kneeling on the ground, her hair and clothes drenched to the extent that she looked extremely miserable. She was his woman, and yet she was being abused like this! Anger brewed in Lucas¡¯s eyes as he red at the butler before shifting his gaze to the Carter residence behind the metal gates. His icy gaze seemed to be able to prate through the rain and ss, casting onto the Carters behind it, including Bryce and Dominic. ¡°One day, you Carters will regret your decision today and pay the price for it!¡± Lucas took off his jacket, wrapped it around the drenched Cheyenne, picked her up in his arms, and then disappeared into the rain. Shortly after Lucas left, Dominic received a phone call in the room. The person calling was extremely flustered, and his speech was incoherent. ¡°Chairman, bad news! The Stardust Corporation sent itswyer and legal team to the Brilliance Corporation to sue us for breach of contract. It has also issued us awyer¡¯s letter that states that we have topensate ording to the amount demanded, or it will go through legal procedures to enforcepensation!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Dominic Carter sprung up immediately, turning pale with horror as he dropped the phone onto the carpet. ¡°Grandpa, what do we do?!¡± asked Bryce, who had heard everything clearly at the side and was now overwhelmed with anxiety. With a glum expression, Dominic eximed, ¡°Call all the directors toe to the office immediately!¡± Soon, a convoy of cars quickly drove out of the gates of the Carter residence and hurried to the Brilliance Corporation. Dominic and the others hurried to the office too. As soon as they entered, they saw a few people waiting in the reception room on the first floor. ¡°Hello. It¡¯s been hard on all of you toe here despite the heavy rain.¡± Dominic hurriedly reached his hand out. However, the people of Stardust Corporation didn¡¯t intend to be friendly. Instead, they simply took out the legal letter stamped with a bright red seal and handed it to Dominic formally in a businesslike manner. ¡°You must be clear about the situation now, so I shall cut straight to the chase. Please tell the Brilliance Corporation to prepare thepensation of seventy-seven million dors within three days and credit it to our designated ount.¡± Dominic shuddered. He wouldn¡¯t be able to raise seventy-seven million dors even if he sold the entire Brilliance Corporation! Bryce found it uneptable too. ¡°We just signed the contract two days ago. We haven¡¯t even started doing anything yet, so how can there be a breach of contract? You people are bullying us on purpose!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Dominic immediately hollered to stop Bryce from continuing. They couldn¡¯t offend the Stardust Corporation at this juncture! Bryce fell silent angrily with an indignant look in his eyes. ¡°Hmph, do you think we¡¯re bullying you? The reason for the breach of contract is stated clearly in thewyer¡¯s letter and the contract. Can¡¯t you see for yourself? If you¡¯re illiterate or toozy to look at it, let ourwyer, Mr. Smith, read it to you and see if we¡¯re bullying you or not.¡± Mr. Smith held up the gold-rimmed sses on his face and pulled out another legal letter and a copy of the contract from his briefcase. He then said politely but distantly to Dominic, ¡°Please listen carefully. Section 36 of this contract stiptes that Party A, the Stardust Corporation, and Party B, the Brilliance Corporation, have reached a consensus to cooperate. During the contract period, Party B must designate Cheyenne Carter as the sole person in charge of the cooperation. If Party B is found to be in breach of cooperation, the contract will immediately be void, and Party B mustpensate Party A for the breach of contract with the agreed amount of seventy-seven million dors.¡± Mr. Smith put away the contract and looked at the two of them, who were pale. ¡°Have you heard clearly? Do you need me to repeat?¡± Bryce still couldn¡¯t believe it, and he repeatedly instructed someone to retrieve the contract kept in the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s office. Then he turned to thest page and realized that there was indeed such a use in the contract, which Dominic Carter had signed and sealed. He confirmed that there was no error, and it was indeed stated so in the contract! The Carters were really in breach of contract! Bryce fell onto the ground immediately. Dominic¡¯s knees grew weak. His face turned pale, and he immediately looked like he had aged a lot. Who would have thought that there would be a use in the contract that designated Cheyenne Carter as the sole person in charge of the cooperation?! Chapter 34: How to Compensate?

Chapter 34: How to Compensate?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The head of the group, Mr. Harris, looked at the two of them with disdain. Over the past two days, the Brilliance Corporation had been troubled over the matter of being sued by the Stardust Corporation. Cheyenne Carter had been staying outside the Stardust Corporation¡¯s office every day in a bid to see Flynn Davis. On the other hand, none of the men of the Carter family showed up. Since it was stated in the contract that Cheyenne was to be the person in charge, the Carters had toply and make her the person in charge. However, Harris knew that the Carters immediately appointed Bryce as the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation on the same morning that they signed the contract. On the other hand, Cheyenne left with red and swollen eyes. He felt that the Carters had no one to me but themselves for the breach of contract because they had brought it upon themselves. ¡°Since we have delivered the legal letter, it¡¯s time for us to leave now.¡± Harris sorted out the documents and was about to leave when Dominic suddenly grabbed his arm. ¡°Wait, Mr. Harris! I think this is all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I know Mr. Davis must have taken a liking to Cheyenne Carter. It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll send her over to Mr. Davis immediately. It doesn¡¯t matter what status she¡¯s given. We don¡¯t care about superficial statuses. As long as Mr. Davis is willing to withdraw this legal letter on ount of our sincerity and continue to cooperate with the Carters...¡± ¡°F***!¡± Harris immediately cursed, shocked by his shamelessness. Would an ordinary person give away his granddaughter like she was cargo without any qualms? How could a grandfather say such a thing? Besides, Cheyenne Carter was not someone whom ordinary people could covet because she was the wife of a big shot. If Mr. Davis heard Dominic¡¯s words, he would definitely be frightened. Harris interrupted Dominic¡¯s delusion and said sternly, ¡°You¡¯d better not spout nonsense or do anything funny in private. Otherwise, neither I nor Mr. Davis can save you.¡± What does this mean? Even Mr. Davis can¡¯t save us... Is there someone more powerful than Mr. Davis? Could it be that someone more authoritative has taken a liking to Cheyenne? With a trace of contempt in his eyes, Harris looked at Dominic, who seemed to be lost in thought. Harris coughed and said, ¡°Of course, as far as I know, the Brilliance Corporation may not be able to afford such a high amount ofpensation, so I shall offer you a solution out of goodwill. It¡¯s up to you to consider and decide.¡± ¡°Mr. Harris, please tell us!¡± Dominic hurriedly said. Harris cut straight to the chase. ¡°You can use the Brilliance Corporation as a form ofpensation and top up another three million dors.¡± ¡°What? We have to hand over the Brilliance Corporation and an additional three million dors?¡± Bryce instantly sprung up furiously. ¡°Shut up!¡± Dominic stopped Bryce. Harris ignored him and said with a smile, ¡°Alternatively, you may choose to pay thepensation of seventy-seven million dors.¡± Bryce and Dominic Carter looked rather agitated. Under the Carters¡¯ management, the development of the Brilliance Corporation had been substandard and would perhaps have been worse if Cheyenne hadn¡¯t closed some deals every now and then. The Brilliance Corporation was currently valued at less than fifteen million dors. Compared to thepensation of seventy-seven million dors, handing over the Brilliance Corporation and another three million to the Stardust Corporation was definitely much more eptable. However, the frustration... made Bryce and Dominic feel like vomiting blood. They were in high spirits after gleefully signing the contract, but they ended up with no profits and even had to lose theirpany and three million dors. How could they not be upset? However, none of them expected Cheyenne to be the designated person-in-charge as required by the contract. This made Dominic get the wrong idea. ¡°Um... Mr. Harris, if we call Cheyenne toe back and appoint her as the person in charge, will we no longer be in breach of contract?¡± Dominic asked. When Bryce heard those words, his expression changed. Does Grandpa n to hand over the Brilliance Corporation to Cheyenne? How can he do that? However, after he thought about it, he realized thatpared to losing the entire Brilliance Corporation, letting Cheyenne take over thepany for the time being was still eptable. We¡¯ll let her manage it for the time being and then take it back from her in the future! However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Harris sneered. ¡°Mr. Carter, you must be joking. You have already breached the contract. It¡¯d be useless even if you let Miss Cheyenne Cartere back to be in charge. For example, if you¡¯ve stabbed someone with a knife, do you think pulling the knife out is going to help?¡± Dominic was immediately speechless. He wanted to exin that the two matters werepletely different because the Carters¡¯ action did not harm the Stardust Corporation in any way. If Mr. Davis and the figure of greater authority insisted that Cheyenne Carter be the person in charge, he could justply! However, Harris didn¡¯t even bother to give Dominic another chance to speak and said directly, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m just rying our general manager¡¯s kind suggestion to you. Forget it if you¡¯re not willing to ept. After all, the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s management has always been mediocre. The Stardust Corporation is not bent on wanting it.¡± When Harris looked like he was about to leave, Dominic hurriedly stopped him. ¡°As long as we give you the Brilliance Corporation and three million dors, thepensation will be considered paid. Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Carter. If you¡¯re still worried, we can issue a written agreement to state it in detail.¡± Harris pointed at thewyer next to him. Dominic gritted his teeth and agreed. ¡°Okay, we agree!¡± Soon, both parties signed all the agreements and transfer procedures in the presence ofwyers and a notary. The Brilliance Corporation officially separated from the Carters. Bryce felt the pain tremendously. Although they had initially snatched the Brilliance Corporation away from Cheyenne, they had long considered it as their own. Moreover, therge sum of three million dors was a dent in their bank ount. Dominic felt the same too. But he nheless forced himself to smile as he thanked the people of the Stardust Corporation and walked them out. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped since the Stardust Corporation was backed by the powerful Hutton family. Although the Carters felt like they had been cheated, they dared not voice their displeasure. Besides, it was their fault for failing to read the contract clearly! Ah, who else can we me? Gritting his teeth, Bryce eximed, ¡°It¡¯s all Cheyenne Carter¡¯s fault! Grandpa, let¡¯s chase them out immediately! I can¡¯t wait any longer!¡± Chapter 36: Auction Venue

Chapter 36: Auction Venue

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Chairman, we¡¯ve already obtained ownership of the Brilliance Corporation,¡± Flynn Davis reported respectfully over the phone. Lucas assented nonchntly, not bothered by it because it was within his n. ¡°Let me ask you, where can I buy a diamond ring and good quality jewelry in Orange County?¡± he suddenly asked. ¡°Uh... There are many gold stores that you can buy jewelry from, but there¡¯s going to be an auction in the Central Art Gallery in the east of the city tonight. I heard that lots of precious jewelry are going to be put up for auction, and the finale piece is an extremely rare diamond ring,¡± Davis hurriedly answered. ¡°Okay, I know.¡± Tonight, Lucas arrived at the entrance of the Central Art Gallery. After he took two steps, a middle-aged man hurried toward him. ¡°Wee, Mr. Gray,¡± the middle-aged man said warmly with a smile. Lucas raised his brows and looked at the middle-aged man. He was Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County. Although Lucas had a feud with the Huttons, Ethan Sawyer was very interesting, and he greeted Lucas in a friendly manner right from the start. He even gave Cheyenne¡¯s family arge amount of expensive betrothal gifts on Lucas¡¯s behalf. However, the Carters mistook that the gifts were for Charlotte, and many other misunderstandings arose. ¡°Mr. Gray, my family happens to be the host of the auction tonight. I¡¯ll take you inside. If we use this passage, no one will notice us.¡± Sawyer was smart enough to take Lucas through a secret passage to the private room on the second floor of the auction venue because he knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t willing to reveal his identity. The private room was well hidden and offered a good view that would allow the auction items to be seen clearly. Sawyer handed Lucas an exquisite booklet. ¡°Mr. Gray, this is the catalog of items that will be up for auction tonight. Actually, if you see anything that you like, we¡¯ll just deliver them to you.¡± Lucas nced at Sawyer with a half-hearted smile. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m short of money?¡± Sawyer froze. He was too eager to form friendly ties with Lucas, but he forgot that Lucas was known as the ¡®God of War¡¯ and had power and wealth far beyond his own. ¡°I won¡¯t bother you then. I hope you enjoy your night. Call me if you need anything. I¡¯ll be in the private room right next to this one.¡± Sawyer excused himself tactfully. Soon, the auction officially started. Lucas did not stand on ceremony and bid on any item that he liked at a high price. Those who wanted to vie with him were defeated by Lucas¡¯s wealth and generosity. Even thest few pieces of extremely valuable jewelry and therge pink diamond ring, the finale piece, were bought by Lucas at a staggering price. Even Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, sitting in the private room beside Lucas¡¯s, couldn¡¯t help but inhale in awe, let alone the others who participated in this auction. Everyone was discussing who the tycoon who had spent tens of millions of dors at the auction was. Unfortunately, Sawyer had already taken care of everything, so no one could find out the real identity of this mysterious tycoon. Although they didn¡¯t know the identity of the tycoon, that didn¡¯t stop them from spreading the word about the sensational event at the auction tonight. Soon, some wealthy families found out that a megarich tycoon appeared at the auction tonight and spent tens of millions of dors in the blink of an eye. He¡¯s so wealthy! The rich have the right to do whatever they want. He spent so much on jewelry. I¡¯m so envious! At this moment, Lucas was giving Davis a task. ¡°Help me throw a banquet in your name five days from now. Invite all the families in Orange County that are well-to-do. Make sure the guests are served well and raise the standards of hospitality to the maximum. Remember to invite the Carters too.¡± Davis hurriedly noted it down. ¡°Yes, Chairman!¡± During the next few days, Davis was busy with running the Stardust Corporation and preparing for the banquet, while Lucas concentrated on looking after Cheyenne, who had not recovered from her illness yet. He also spent time nurturing his rtionship with his precious daughter, Amelia. Apart from Karen¡¯s asional mockery, life was rather peaceful. Bryce, who had been moring about kicking Cheyenne out immediately, was overwrought with the matters that cropped up all of a sudden and didn¡¯t have time to go to Cheyenne¡¯s home to chase her and her family away. ¡°Grandpa, the people of the Unity Corporation just called to say that they¡¯re terminating their cooperation with us. They¡¯re the tenthpany that wants to terminate cooperation with us over the past few days. What should we do?¡± Bryce asked Dominic anxiously. Since the Carters breached the contract with the Stardust Corporation a few days ago andpensated it with the Brilliance Corporation and three million dors in cash, the Carters became theughing stock of Orange County. Their status had also plunged significantly, and to make matters worse, they had offended the Stardust Corporation. Thus, many of their former business partners decided to cease their cooperation with the Carters. ¡°This is exasperating. They¡¯re all just a bunch of fence-sitters and cowards! The Unity Corporation used to be worse than the Carters, and they sucked up to us to obtain the cooperation with us, yet they¡¯re dumping us now!¡± The more Bryce thought about it, the angrier he got. His friends had been treating him and looking at him differentlytely. Some of them even gave him the cold shoulder and mocked him sarcastically. He would never be able to stand this! ¡°Enough. People will always look up to those who are more powerful and despise those who are below them. That¡¯s just how the world is. What¡¯s there to be angry about?¡± Dominic looked at Bryce and sighed. ¡°The most important thing now is to restore our reputation and make up for the losses that we have incurred.¡± ¡°At the end of the day, it¡¯s all the Stardust Corporation¡¯s fault. If we can find a bigger backer than the Stardust Corporation...¡± At this point, Bryce¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°Grandpa, I have an idea! Do you remember the mega tycoon at the auction a few days ago? I heard that he spent tens of millions at the auction, and someone vaguely saw Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, apanying him. He must be a figure of status! If we can form ties with him, our difficulties will definitely be solved!¡± Dominic Carter nodded and smiled approvingly. ¡°Yes, not bad! As long as we can get in touch with him, everything will be fine! Bryce, I¡¯ll leave this matter to you. Make sure you find a way to get close to this person!¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa. I¡¯ll get someone to find out more. We must get him to stand on our side. Once we do, the Stardust Corporation will be nothing!¡± Bryce stopped panicking and raised his head with vigor and confidence, as if he had already seen himself having the support of the powerful figure and was above everyone else in the Stardust Corporation. Chapter 39: The Host of the Banquet

Chapter 39: The Host of the Banquet

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You...¡± Bryce was furious because of the usher¡¯s rude reply. However, he dared not kick up a fuss because the Intercontinental Hotel belonged to the Sawyers, the richest family of the county. The Carters were lucky enough to receive the invitation. If they were chased out because of a squabble, it would be an enormous loss for them! The Carters held back their anger, went into the hall, and found their seats. However, the few of them were in a foul mood, especially because their table was near the door and obviously much smaller than the other ones. The Carters had no choice but to squeeze together. Unlike the other tables with beautiful, superior-grade tablecloths covering them, the table they were seated at had a simple disposable stic tablecloth covering it. Their table was empty too. There wasn¡¯t a single ss of water, let alone decorative flowers, fruit tters, and fancy drinks. Many in the hall cast peculiar nces at them while exchanging pleasantries. Bryce was in an ufortable mood while Dominic couldn¡¯t help but blush in embarrassment, especially when he saw other smaller families that were inferior to the Carters sitting at tables better than theirs. ¡°Bryce, remember, a little impatience will spoil great ns. No matter what, we have to get in touch with the host of the banquet before anything else! This concerns oureback. Bear this in mind!¡± Dominic admonished Bryce, as well as himself. I must endure this. Once the host of the banquet is here, we will have hope, and we will get back at these people for humiliating us! Ever since Karen was led to the main table to sit down, she had been enjoying the scrutiny and envious gazes of others. However, she didn¡¯t know many of the guests present and thus couldn¡¯t go and chat with them. She had no choice but to remain seated and wait to see which table Dominic and Bryce would be arranged to. When she finally saw Dominic and the others being allocated to the shabby little table near the door, Karen almostughed out loud. This feels wonderful! The Sawyers are indeed worthy of being my inws. They must have found out that Dominic Carter and his family used to bully us, so they¡¯re standing up for us now! Impressive! Karen immediately wanted to go over and mock them, but she was dissuaded by Cheyenne. Well, it¡¯s Charlotte¡¯s engagement banquet today, and she will soon be the wife of a wealthy man. We¡¯ll also be the inws of the richest family in the county. Why should I bother with that group of people? Soon, we will no longer belong to the same world. I¡¯m not going to lower my status like that! Soon, the banquet officially began. After a speech to thank the guests politely, the emcee quickly gestured to the side with his hand. ¡°Now, let¡¯s wee the host of the banquet tonight, Mr. Flynn Davis, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation!¡± Apanied by enthusiastic apuse from the audience, Davis walked up to the front of the hall in a poised manner, d in an immacte, bespoke suit. Karen immediately gaped in disbelief. ¡°What... Isn¡¯t this the engagement banquet for Charlotte and Ethan Sawyer¡¯s son? Why is Mr. Davis on the stage?¡± ¡°Mom, cut it out!¡± Realizing the situation, Charlotte immediately understood that her unreliable mother must have made a blunder and mistook something. It was clearly a banquet held by the Stardust Corporation, but Karen mistook it for an engagement banquet! This was too embarrassing! Fortunately, Karen hadn¡¯t gone around showing off to others yet, or else she¡¯d be extremely ashamed! The other group of people who were very stunned was naturally Dominic, Bryce, and the other Carters. They initially thought that the host of tonight¡¯s banquet was the mysterious tycoon who had spent a huge bomb at the auction. And they were thinking that once they got close to him, they would no longer have to fear the power of the Stardust Corporation and could take the chance to make aeback. However, they never thought that it was the atrocious Flynn Davis, the one who had schemed against them and taken away the Brilliance Corporation, who had sent them the invitation. What does this mean? Did he deliberately invite us here so that he can humiliate us? The condescending usher just now and this shabby table must have been deliberately arranged for the sake of humiliating us, right?! Having figured this out, the Carters were infuriated. ¡°Damn it!¡± Bryce was the first to feel an urge to stand up and charge over because he couldn¡¯t contain his emotions. He, Bryce Carter, was the scion of the Carters and had been pampered ever since he was a child. Since when had he ever been humiliated like this? ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Dominic Carter hollered to stop him. ¡°Grandpa, they¡¯re being a huge bully!¡± ¡°So what if they bully us? Can wepare to the Stardust Corporation now? Since we are inferior to others, we have to bear with it even if we get bullied! Once we make aeback and surpass them, those who once bullied us will naturally kneel down before us!¡± Dominic¡¯s expression was grim, and his face was trembling slightly too. ¡°Yes, Grandpa, I know. Once we get the support of the mysterious tycoon, the Carters will definitely make aeback! In the future, I must take revenge for the humiliation we¡¯ve suffered today!¡± Bryce eximed resentfully before sitting down on his chair. At this moment, Davis was greeting everyone in front of the hall smilingly. ¡°Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules to attend this banquet hosted by me. I am very honored.¡± ¡°Not at all. You¡¯re being too polite, Mr. Davis! It¡¯s my honor to receive an invitation from you!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, it¡¯s a great honor to receive an invitation from you for this banquet, Mr. Davis!¡± Everyone replied courteously. Davis smiled. ¡°In fact, there are two main purposes for today¡¯s banquet. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of the first matter, and that is the Brilliance Corporation will soon be in a long-term strategic partnership with us, the Stardust Corporation. I hope that we will receive your support.¡± As soon as he said these words, many of the guests smiled. A few days ago, the Carters somehow offended the Stardust Corporation and ended up losing the entire Brilliance Corporation. Those who were well-informed knew about it. Although Davis imed that it was a long-term strategic partnership with the Brilliance Corporation, the Brilliance Corporation had actually been acquired by the Stardust Corporation. However, the Stardust Corporation hadn¡¯t reorganized it yet, and thus, it would sound better to call it a partnership. All of a sudden, countless gazes were cast at the Carters. On the other hand, the Carters felt a strong urge to disappear from the banquet venue immediately after hearing Davis¡¯s words! Chapter 40: Wedding Anniversary

Chapter 40: Wedding Anniversary

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Davis¡¯s words and the various ambiguous gazes were like countless ps on the faces of the Carters, making them blush and feel ashamed. A few days ago, the Brilliance Corporation still belonged to them... At this moment, Ethan Sawyer smiled and stood up. ¡°As long as the Brilliance Corporation is willing, the Sawyer Corporation would be d to cooperate with the Brilliance Corporation.¡± Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in the county, had taken the initiative to offer cooperation. The others stood up anxiously too. ¡°The Jones hope to work with the Brilliance Corporation!¡± ¡°The Lawsons too! Mr. Davis, please give us a chance!¡± ¡°The Fords as well! If we can cooperate with the Brilliance Corporation, we¡¯re willing to offer ten percent of profit-sharing!¡± All of a sudden, families of various statuses made their intentions to cooperate with the Brilliance Corporation known. For somerge businesses, cooperating with the Brilliance Corporation could also make their rtionship with the Stardust Corporation closer. On the other hand, reaching a cooperation with the Brilliance Corporation would be a great opportunity for smaller enterprises that were unworthy of the Stardust Corporation! Anyway, they could all tell clearly that the Brilliance Corporation was basically going to be a part of the Stardust Corporation. When the Carters saw this, their hearts were about to bleed in agony. Just a few days ago, the Brilliance Corporation still belonged to them. And now that there were so many opportunities for cooperation, the value of thepany would definitely soar. Unfortunately, it no longer belonged to them! Davis raised his hand and pressed it down a little in the air, after which the guests in the hall soon quieted down and continued listening to him. ¡°Everyone, I appreciate your recognition of the Brilliance Corporation, and we can discuss our cooperation in detailter. But now, let¡¯s move on to the second agenda of the banquet today.¡± ¡°Sure, please go ahead, Mr. Davis!¡± everyone in the hall said one after another. ¡°For the second matter, I¡¯d like all of you to witness a loving rtionship together with me.¡± Davis pped his hands, and everyone watched in perplexity as the lights in the banquet hall gradually dimmed and the curtains behind Davis were drawn open. The bright spotlight cast on the small hall at the front of the hall, putting all the items on disy. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°So beautiful!¡± Many of them gasped in awe and surprise. In particr, all the wealthy women present almost had their eyes glued on the items that they couldn¡¯t shift their gazes away from. In the small hall behind the curtains, there were dozens of crystal disy cabs with staggered heights, and each of them contained a gorgeous piece of jewelry reflecting in the light and dazzling stunningly. It would still be normal if there were only one or two pieces of jewelry, but the dazzling rays of light from so many pieces ced together resulted in a stunning visual impact. In particr, there was arge pink diamond the size of a pigeon¡¯s egg resting against a ck velvet background in the disy case in the middle, reflecting a dreamy light that was bedazzling. ¡°Ah! That¡¯s the pink diamond sold at the sky-high price of more than thirty-five million dors at the auction that night!¡± ¡°Oh my god! That pair of precious, superior-grade emerald bangles at the side was one of the few finale items at the auction!¡± ¡°And that pendant carved from a whole sapphire was also sold for millions during the auction!¡± The crowd got into an uproar because the jewelry on disy were all the precious treasures purchased at staggering prices by the mysterious tycoon at the auction that night! Could the mysterious tycoon that day be Mr. Davis of the Stardust Corporation?! If that was the case, all of them would have to reevaluate Davis¡¯s status in the Stardust Corporation. It would be simply too terrifying! At this moment, Dominic and Bryce turned as pale as a sheet. They had always pinned their hopes of making aeback on the mysterious tycoon who appeared at the auction house, but if Davis was that tycoon, what hopes would they have left? ¡°No, no, I think everyone has misunderstood. These pieces of precious jewelry do not belong to me, and I¡¯m not that mysterious person who appeared at the auction either,¡± Davis exined. ¡°The pieces of jewelry belong to a mysterious person who does not wish to be named. They are wedding anniversary gifts for his wife. ¡°Back then, this young man was ipetent and got married hastily but was unable to give anything to his wife. ¡°Later, in order to be worthy of his wife, this young man left without saying goodbye and tried to carve a career of his own. He left for several years. ¡°Now, he has returned. He specially purchased these pieces of rare jewelry at the auction for the sake of making it up to his wife, and he hopes that his wife will ept this token of his. ¡°So, let us celebrate this couple¡¯s wedding anniversary and also sincerely wish this young man and his wife a lifetime of conjugal bliss!¡± After Davis ended his speech, he led the audience through a round of apuse. All of a sudden, the hall was full of thunderous apuse. Although no one knew who the mysterious person and his wife really were, the fact that he could afford to spend tens of millions on precious jewelry and get Davis to help host a banquet for him had to mean that he was a powerful figure. Many wealthydies were staring intently at the beautiful jewelry, refusing to take their eyes off them. They even began to harbor immense envy and jealousy toward the wife of that person whose name they didn¡¯t even know. Sitting at the main table in the front row, Cheyenne also had a look of envy on her face, not because of the ostentatious jewelry but because of the love and affection that the young man was said to have for his wife. Suddenly reminded of something, Charlotte said, ¡°Cheyenne, it¡¯s also your wedding anniversary with Lucas, right? Besides, those experiences that Mr. Davis mentioned just now seem quite simr to yours. Could all of this... have been prepared for you by Lucas?¡± Actually, Charlotte began to be uncertain of her guess. Although she had seen Lucas¡¯s domineering side at the kindergarten previously, felt that he had been living an extraordinary life during the past few years, and even guessed that he might have killed many, the idea of Lucas spending tens of millions on jewelry was too far-fetched! At the side, Karen kept her eyes glued onto the dazzling jewelry, wishing she could dash forward to grab them and hold them in her arms. She was also filled with jealousy for the woman who had such a good husband. At this moment, she happened to overhear Charlotte¡¯s words and couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. ¡°What nonsense are you saying? How can that piece of garbage Lucas afford these pieces of jewelry? He will never be able to in this lifetime and the next!¡± Chapter 42: Mistake and Truth

Chapter 42: Mistake and Truth

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Sawyer¡¯s question was hesitant and cautious, Karen didn¡¯t realize it at all. She chuckled and pulled Charlotte toward him. ¡°I didn¡¯t get it wrong. Well, you sent so many expensive engagement gifts to our home for Charlotte previously, and we couldn¡¯t agree more to this marriage! This might seem embarrassing, but I thought that the banquet tonight was for Charlotte¡¯s engagement!¡± After thinking about it, Sawyer immediately understood. It turned out that the Carters had gotten the wrong idea! When Lucas had just returned to Orange County, Sawyer tried to look out for him. On the one hand, because Chad Kennedy, the butler of the Huttons, had requested him. On the other hand, he wanted to get into Lucas¡¯s good books too. So he had specially prepared expensive betrothal gifts for Cheyenne on behalf of Lucas. But the Carters mistook that Sawyer wanted his son to marry Charlotte. Sawyer was caught betweenughter and tears. ¡°Mrs. Carter, you¡¯ve really made a mistake. I only have a son and a daughter, who are both married.¡± Karen was immediately dumbstruck. The wealthy son-inw she had been looking forward to turned out to already belong to someone else. Charlotte turned pale too. Since Ethan Sawyer¡¯s son is already married, he can¡¯t marry me. In that case... what¡¯s the matter with those betrothal gifts? Karen pondered over it, and when she thought of something, her face turned a little sullen. ¡°Um, Mr. Sawyer, since your son is already married, these betrothal gifts... Your family might be very wealthy, but Charlotte is a young bachelorette. She can¡¯t be your second wife without a proper status.¡± Hearing Karen¡¯s words, Charlotte turned pale in shock. She had indeed heard such rumors before. Many wealthy men had several wives at the same time, even though only one of them was rightfully married to them. However, she didn¡¯t want to be in such a rtionship! Sawyer was speechless, as he didn¡¯t expect Karen to think this. At first, he was thinking of helping Lucas by giving those expensive gifts to make Lucas¡¯s status seem more distinguished. To his surprise, Lucas refused to reveal his identity, so it was hard to give an exnation for the gifts. After thinking about it, Sawyer said, ¡°Mrs. Carter, those gifts are actually for your eldest daughter, Cheyenne Carter¡¯s...¡± Before he could say the word ¡®husband¡¯, Karen screamed in horror. ¡°What? For Cheyenne?! You want Cheyenne to be your second wife? This... Cheyenne is already married and has a child. If your family doesn¡¯t mind, we... Don¡¯t worry. Cheyenne¡¯s husband is a loser. I¡¯ll get them to divorce immediately!¡± ¡°Mom! What nonsense are you spouting?!¡± Charlotte didn¡¯t expect her mother to agree to such an absurd matter of letting Cheyenne be his second wife. She was instantly furious and anxious. Meanwhile, Sawyer broke out in a cold sweat after being shocked by Karen¡¯s words! Oh my god? Who would dare to let Lucas Gray¡¯s wife be their second wife? Are you sick of living?! Mrs. Carter is really strange. How could she let her daughter get a divorce and be someone else¡¯s second wife while still rejoicing? I don¡¯t get it! Sawyer hurriedly stopped Karen and eximed, ¡°Mrs. Carter! Hear me out. I meant that those gifts are for your daughter¡¯s husband, Mr. Lucas Gray! Previously, Mr. Gray did me a big favor, so I wanted to give some gifts to him. There might have been some slip-ups in between that resulted in this misunderstanding. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My children are all married. They won¡¯t harbor designs on your daughter!¡± Sawyer hurriedly put an end to it. Karen¡¯s face was full of disbelief. Those expensive gifts, the car, and the vi that are worth millions, as well as the shares and cash, are all for that good-for-nothing Lucas? How can that loser be capable enough to get such expensive gifts from the Sawyers?! However, since Ethan Sawyer said it himself, Karen had to believe it. On the other hand, Charlotte was surprised and came to a sudden realization. Indeed, as she had expected, Lucas was not an ordinary person. However, at the same time, she felt awkward and embarrassed too. It turned out that those gifts were not for her but Lucas. Yet she was unting those things to him previously, and she had even mocked him for being too poor to afford them. Oh goodness! What was Lucas thinking when I did that?! Charlotte was ashamed and embarrassed, and so was Karen because she had made a big fuss out of a huge misunderstanding. The two of them did not have the cheek to continue walking into the private room. At this moment, Cheyenne was standing on the top floor of the Intercontinental Hotel, almost too scared to go forth. The area of the ground in front of her was covered with vibrant and delicate fresh flowers, as well as green nts and flower pots of staggered heights that created a winding path. There were also romantic lights and balloons. All of this made the entire top floor seem like the most beautiful fantastical world. At the end of the path, there was a tall figure who seemed familiar yet like a stranger to Cheyenne. His features, appearance, and figure were all familiar to her, as they were the same as the person who appeared beside her every day. However, he felt like a stranger because he was wearing a suave white military uniform with a metal shoulder badge in the shape of an eagle feather. He looked handsome, sharp, and suave,pletely unlike the person Cheyenne was familiar with. Seeing that Cheyenne had frozen in ce, the man smiled and said in a warm voice, ¡°Cheyenne.¡± It¡¯s really Lucas! My husband, Lucas! Cheyenne watched as Lucas, who was wearing that valiant white military uniform, stepped onto the winding path paved with flower petals. She felt that she seemed to have slipped into a dream. All of a sudden, she couldn¡¯t tell if it was a dream or reality. Lucas walked toward Cheyenne while gazing at her. ¡°Back then, I had nothing to my name, and I couldn¡¯t give you a decent wedding nor any gifts. I even caused you to suffer so much, and you¡¯ve been unhappy. Now, I¡¯d like to make it up to you.¡± Lucas knelt down on one knee, holding a dazzling diamond ring in his palm. It was the pink diamond ring worth tens of millions of dors and had caught the attention of everyone just now! Cheyenne covered her chest with both hands, shocked beyond words. T-this diamond ring and the mysterious young man Flynn Davis mentioned... Previously, her younger sister even jokingly said that it might be Lucas, but it looked like it was really Lucas! ¡°Cheyenne, I may be many yearste, but I still want to ask you sincerely. Will you marry me?¡± Chapter 43: Give Me A Chance

Chapter 43: Give Me A Chance

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas knelt down on one knee among the flowers and raised his head to ask, ¡°Will you marry me?¡± Cheyenne covered her mouth as her tears rolled down continuously. Surrounded by romantic flowers and lights and being proposed to by a handsome man with an exorbitant diamond ring was the scene that all women dreamed of. Complicated emotions surged in Cheyenne¡¯s heart, but she couldn¡¯t say yes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡± Her words made a trace of disappointment sh in Lucas¡¯s eyes, and he immediately smiled bitterly. Well, I failed to fulfill my duty as a husband and father for so many years and made Cheyenne bear such a huge burden all by herself. What made me think that I¡¯d be able to make her ept me in such a short period of time? The exorbitant jewelry and diamond ring were Lucas¡¯s way of expressing his feelings, but he would never think that Cheyenne would agree to his proposal only because of the gifts. The woman he had adored for so many years was definitely not that materialistic. Thus, Lucas was already mentally prepared to be rejected by Cheyenne. However, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel ufortable after really being rejected by the woman he fancied, even though he had prepared himself for it. When Cheyenne saw Lucas¡¯s eyes bing dimmer, she felt a little dismayed. ¡°Um, I¡¯m really sorry, but I can only think of you as Amelia¡¯s father right now. I don¡¯t see you as my husband yet. I hope you will understand.¡± Lucas nodded. He naturally understood that Cheyenne was willing to let him stay with the Carters for the time being only for their daughter¡¯s sake. When he and Cheyenne got married back then, they didn¡¯t have feelings for each other, and afterward, he left for so many years. Now that he had just returned, Cheyenne definitely wouldn¡¯t fall for him so quickly. ¡°Do you hate me then?¡± he asked softly. Cheyenne was stunned. She thought about it carefully and realized that Lucas hadn¡¯t done anything heinous to her before. The incident that they were embroiled in was all because they had been set up. Six years ago, Cheyenne¡¯s parents told her that Lucas had stolen the family¡¯s money and left her behind while he absconded. At that time, she hated Lucas for being an irresponsible liar. However, on the day Lucas first returned, Cheyenne knew that her parents must have lied. Lucas didn¡¯t steal their money or abandon her on purpose. Lucas had once mentioned that he left in order to be worthy of her. The fact that he hade to propose to her with a diamond ring worth tens of millions of dors was the best proof. Besides, after Lucas returned, he had been apanying her to deal with the Carters, protecting her, and ying with Amelia. In particr, on that cold and harsh rainy day, it was Lucas who brought her away from that terrifying ce and even took care of her when she was ill... So, to be fair, Cheyenne did not hate Lucas and even had a good impression of him. However, this alone was not enough for Cheyenne to ept Lucas as her husband. Cheyenne bit her lower lip tightly and shook her head slightly. Lucas looked at her gleefully. ¡°Since you don¡¯t hate me, that¡¯s enough. I hope you can give me a chance. I truly want to treat you well. And if you can see my sincerity in the future and feel that you can trust me and depend on me, please don¡¯t turn me down again.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Cheyenne nodded, feeling slightly relieved. When she came down using the elevator and returned to the banquet hall on the first floor, Cheyenne felt like she was in a trance and found it unreal. Lucas¡¯s sudden proposal and the fact that he was the mysterious man who caused an uproar in Orange County... ¡°Cheyenne! Where did you go? We were worried sick about you!¡± Karen hurriedly pulled Cheyenne¡¯s arm and dragged her out of the surrealism. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Mom?¡± ¡°You still have the cheek to ask me? You went to the bathroom for such a long time, and we couldn¡¯t find you! Oh right. It¡¯s your wedding anniversary with Lucas today too. Did that good-for-nothing... not give you any gifts?¡± Karen asked, keeping her voice low. Cheyenne immediately remembered all that happened on the top floor just now. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, that kid Lucas is pretending to be poor in front of us. You have to make him give you more gifts! Don¡¯t let him take advantage!¡± Cheyenne was suddenly stunned. Did Mom find out so quickly that Lucas is that mysterious man who appeared at the auction? Before Cheyenne could ask, Karen continued, ¡°Hmph, you don¡¯t even know, do you? The betrothal gifts that the Sawyers gave to our family were not for Charlotte but a token of gratitude for that good-for-nothing! Funny, isn¡¯t it? Why does that garbage deserve such hefty gifts from the Sawyers?¡± Cheyenne blinked and took a long time to react. ¡°You mean thatrge box of gifts was not for Charlotte but a thank-you gift for Lucas?¡± She had only been away for a short period of time, so how could so many things have happened? However, when Cheyenne saw the look of displeasure on Charlotte¡¯s face, she decided not to pry further. No girl would befortable about such a misunderstanding. The few of them looked for William Carter, Cheyenne¡¯s father, who was already drunk and hiding in a corner of the hall. Then they headed home. After arriving home, Cheyenne finally listened to Karen¡¯s ount of how they met Ethan Sawyer and found out that the gifts were just a huge misunderstanding. However, Karen certainly didn¡¯t mention that she had almost agreed to let Cheyenne be his second wife. She simply emphasized how much of a pity it was that Ethan Sawyer¡¯s son was already married and that Charlotte had missed the opportunity for a good marriage. She then started criticizing Lucas in front of Cheyenne. ¡°Cheyenne, your loser husband helped the Sawyers and received so many gifts from them, but he stayed mum about it! How inhumane of him.¡± Cheyenne was a little speechless. ¡°Mom, didn¡¯t you put away all the gifts at home? Actually, since those gifts were for Lucas, you should give them back to him.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Karen screamed. ¡°You want me to return them to Lucas? Impossible! Lucas is our live-in son-inw, so the things given to him should rightfully belong to us. Why should we return them to him?¡± As she spoke, Karen poked Cheyenne¡¯s forehead, expecting better from her. ¡°How did I give birth to such a stupid girl like you? You¡¯re so eager to give away the wealth given to us! I didn¡¯t tell you this for the sake of letting you hand the treasures to that garbage Lucas!¡± ¡°What exactly are you trying to say then?¡± Cheyenne asked, feeling ufortable. ¡°Are you stupid?! Think about it. Since the Sawyers have already said that Lucas helped them a lot, they must have given him more than merely a box of gifts. He must be holding more than that! What he has is yours. You have to hurry and think of a solution to get them from him! Otherwise, you¡¯ll be letting him gain huge benefits when you get divorced in the future.¡± Chapter 44: Tempting Wealth

Chapter 44: Tempting Wealth

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Karen sounded extremely righteous, but Cheyenne couldn¡¯t listen to her words any longer. ¡°Mom, regardless of how much money Lucas has, it all belongs to him. It has nothing to do with us! Also, I said that I won¡¯t get a divorce. Why do you keep bringing this up?¡± After saying that, Cheyenne carried the sleepy Amelia and headed upstairs. Karen was so infuriated by Cheyenne¡¯s reaction that she was speechless for a long time. She then faced the stairs and yelled in displeasure, ¡°Who am I doing this for? It¡¯s all for you! That good-for-nothing finally has some money now. If you don¡¯t hurry and get it from him before dumping him, what are you keeping him around for? Seriously, you don¡¯t listen to anything I say!¡± William, who had drunk too much alcohol, was lying on the couch in a trance. Jolted awake by Karen¡¯s sharp shrieking, he barked in annoyance, ¡°Why are you yelling? You¡¯re too noisy.¡± Karen immediately vented her anger on him. ¡°All you do is get drunk and throw a tantrum! You¡¯re so useless! I¡¯m worried sick for this family, and all of you are out to make me angry. I¡¯m so unlucky to have married a good-for-nothing like you...¡± Karen was wailing when the door suddenly opened with a loud creak, and Lucas entered. Since thest time he paid Karen rent, she turned a blind eye and did not stop him from entering the house. Anyway, he wouldn¡¯t do anything to Cheyenne. At most, he would y with Amelia. Apart from criticizing him and scolding him every now and then, Karen would treat him like he was transparent most of the time. However, things were different now. Since Lucas was so generous as to give her fifteen thousand dors previously, it meant that he definitely had a lot more cash on hand. But he never mentioned it before. Karen obviously wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate it. She just disliked Lucas! Karen looked up and was just about to scold him, but he simply nodded at the both of them and vanished immediately. Lucas was gone before Karen could mock him, making her even more infuriated. ¡°Do you have any manners? Why aren¡¯t you greeting your elders? Hmph, indeed, you¡¯re lowly and ill-mannered! You even hid your personal stash from us. Hah, you¡¯re just a live-in son-inw who sponges off us. How dare you hide your money from us?! You¡¯ve gone overboard!¡± Karen was scolding incessantly in the living room and deliberately mming the broom against the rubbish bin. Lucas was sitting by the bed in Cheyenne¡¯s room, carefully holding the soundly sleeping Amelia and washing her feet for her. Hepletely ignored the scoldinging from downstairs. In the beginning, he would still get angered by Karen¡¯s harsh words. But now, he had long realized that it was not worth getting angry over her words. But Karen was Cheyenne¡¯s mother after all. So Lucas would treat her with basic respect, but that was as far as it went. However, Cheyenne was utterly embarrassed. Even she found her mother¡¯s words to be terribly callous. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my mom... she¡¯s going through menopause, so she¡¯s very ill-tempered and irritable recently. Don¡¯t take it too hard.¡± Cheyenne racked her brain toe up with a reason for her mother¡¯s actions. Lucas smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he grabbed a soft towel and used it to wipe his daughter¡¯s feet dry before carrying her to the bed and tucking her beneath the nket. After watching Lucas do all of this, Cheyenne felt more and more embarrassed. A few days ago, she had been running a high fever after being in the rain. Amelia was worried about her but didn¡¯t want to leave Lucas either, so Lucas brought Amelia to the room and slept on a mattress on the floor. Today, Amelia had already fallen asleep, and the two of them were sharing the same room. So things got awkward, especially since she rejected Lucas¡¯s proposal today. Seemingly seeing how uneasy Cheyenne was, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°I have something to attend to tonight, so I¡¯ll get going.¡± Before she said anything, he left. Although he also wanted to stay and try to spend more time with her, he knew that they both needed time and that he couldn¡¯t be too eager. There was no peace in the Carter residence tonight. During the banquet tonight, the Carters were humiliated in a way that they had never been before. First, the shameless shrew Karen boasted and humiliated them at the door. Afterward, they ran into the usher who deliberately neglected them and even specially arranged for them to sit at a small and shabby table by the entrance. As a result, they became theughing stock of all the prominent figures of Orange County! After that, Flynn Davis of the Stardust Corporation made a speech, and countless families and businesses vied to cooperate with the Brilliance Corporation, which was just like a p to their face! The Brilliance Corporation still belonged to them a few days ago! Of course, Cheyenne and Karen¡¯s family irked them the most! They were the garbage kicked out of the Carter family and had been disowned by them. Yet they managed to form connections with the Sawyers, the wealthiest family in Orange County, and even unted to them. They would never be able to tolerate this! ¡°Grandpa, are we going to let Cheyenne, her sister, and that shameless bitch Karen continue being haughty and trampling all over us?¡± The more Bryce thought about it, the more infuriated he was as he punched the couch hard. His right wrist, which Lucas broke previously, was still wrapped in a thickyer of gauze. In short, he felt that Cheyenne¡¯s family was horrid, and he wanted all of them dead! Dominic¡¯s face was gloomy too. He had always been controlling, so after bing the head of the family, he almost couldn¡¯t tolerate any defiance. After he kicked Cheyenne¡¯s family out, they not only did not live a miserable life, but they even got acquainted with the Sawyers. How could the prideful Dominic Carter ept this? ¡°Bryce, is it true that their family is going to be the Sawyers¡¯ inw?¡± Dominic asked. Despite being indignant, Bryce nheless nodded. ¡°Grandpa, when I went to their home before, I saw Charlotte driving a limited edition luxury Lamborghini that costs at least a million dors. Besides, I even heard that the Sawyers gave them more than just a sports car. They also gave them a vi, a few stores, and a million in cash. All of the gifts were delivered to them in a box! Furthermore, at the banquet today, I tried to make things hard for them, but the Sawyers sent someone over to say that there was a private room reserved for them. It seems to be true.¡± Dominic stayed silent, but he looked even angrier. At this moment, one of the Carters suddenly asked, ¡°Those things belong to the Carters, so why should we give them to them?¡± Chapter 45: Your Own Money

Chapter 45: Your Own Money

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After saying that, Dominic and Bryce both looked over at this family member. This Carter hurriedly said, ¡°Think about it. They were still part of the family when they received those gifts, so the gifts can¡¯t be considered as their family¡¯s private assets! Besides, you were kind to have provided for them for decades, so it¡¯s only right for them to show filial piety.¡± After figuring out something, Bryce patted his thigh and eximed with excitement, ¡°Yes! Those gifts should belong to us. I¡¯ll go get them back from them now!¡± Dominic nodded in satisfaction. ¡°If they really be inws with the Sawyers, I can let them return to the family as long as they hand over those gifts.¡± Bryce recalled how smug Karen looked yesterday and hesitated for a moment. ¡°Grandpa, what if they don¡¯t agree?¡± ¡°Hmph, if they don¡¯t agree, we¡¯ll make them return everything they obtained from the Carters over the years! Perhaps that box of gifts may not be enough to offset all of it. Tell them that clearly.¡± Dominic smirked. ¡°Yes, Grandpa. I know what to do.¡± Bryce left excitedly. Bright early the next morning in Cheyenne¡¯s home... William and the others were still having breakfast when Bryce walked in with a group of people, pushed open the courtyard door, and sauntered in. ¡°Oh, all of you happen to be at home, huh?¡± Bryce smiled roguishly. Cheyenne patted the frightened Amelia and stared at these people who barged in with disgust in her eyes. When Karen and Charlotte saw Bryce, they were both furious as well. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Bryce walked to the middle of the courtyard brazenly. ¡°What am I doing here? If I remember correctly, the house that you are staying in now still belongs to the Carters. What right do you have to question me?¡± ¡°So, are you here to chase us away?¡± Charlotte asked. Both Karen¡¯s and William¡¯s faces were sullen. Previously, Dominic had already openly driven them out of the Carter family and even disowned them. Now that Bryce was here, they reckoned that he must be here to confiscate their house. Bryce stared at William and Karen. ¡°Well, Uncle, you grew up with the Carters, and I¡¯ve been addressing you as my uncle for so many years. No matter what, I still care for you. How can I really chase you out?¡± William and Karen were shocked by his words. Although kinship was ridiculous to them, Bryce seemed to be saying that he wasn¡¯t here to chase them out. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Cheyenne asked warily. She didn¡¯t believe that Bryce and Dominic would care about kinship. Besides, given Bryce¡¯s hostile attitude toward her in the past, he obviously couldn¡¯t wait to drive her out of the Carter family. How could hee here to say this to them after disowning them? ¡°What I mean is, Grandpa has decided to rescind his orders on the ount that you guys have lived with us for so many years. As long as you give us the gifts from the Sawyers, Grandpa will allow you back into the Carter family,¡± Bryce said arrogantly. ¡°Hmph!¡± Cheyenne sneered. So it¡¯s just for the gifts. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! How can we give the gifts to you?¡± Karen was instantly anxious. Staring at her, Bryce said slowly, ¡°Aunt Karen, isn¡¯t that what you told mest night? You said that the Sawyers have taken a liking to Charlotte and gave you arge chest of title deeds, a car, cash, and stores. You¡¯re going to be the Sawyers¡¯ inws soon. Surely you don¡¯t care about that petty sum of money? As long as you hand these things over, Grandpa and I will let you return to the Carter family!¡± ¡°That... no...¡± When she saw Bryce and Dominic at the banquetst night, she couldn¡¯t help herself and showed off to them. In the end, she found out that it was a huge misunderstanding. Now, she couldn¡¯t tell Bryce that she had made a mistake, but she wasn¡¯t willing to give the expensive gifts to the Carters. At this moment, Charlotte walked out. ¡°That was a mistake. The Sawyers gave those gifts to Lucas, not us.¡± Bryce burst intoughter and gibed, ¡°Charlotte Carter, do you take me for a fool? Lucas Gray? He¡¯s just a piece of trash. How could the Sawyers give him those gifts out of gratitude? You ought toe up with a less retarded excuse.¡± ¡°Those things really don¡¯t belong to us. Don¡¯t think about taking them from us. Since we¡¯ve been disowned, you can take this house back, and we¡¯ll move away. That¡¯s all I have to say,¡± Cheyenne said coldly. ¡°Cheyenne, how can you say that?¡± Karen was displeased, as she couldn¡¯t understand why they had to give the house to them. Since they had lived here for decades, the house should have long belonged to them. ¡°Hmph, do you think you can just move away? It¡¯s not that easy!¡± Bryce dropped the pretense and showed his true intentions. He eximed fiercely, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of letting you know. If you really want to leave the Carters, return us all the money we¡¯ve spent providing for you all these years! ¡°I¡¯ll do a simple calction for you. William Carter, you have been living with us for more than forty years. We¡¯ll take it that you spend fifteen thousand dors a year. That means you¡¯ve spent six hundred thousand in total.¡± Bryce pointed at William. Before William could speak, he pointed at the others. ¡°And you, Karen, Cheyenne, and Charlotte, all of you have been sponging off us for two to three decades. The three of you have spent up to one-point-four million in total. You¡¯ve also taken away at least five million worth of dividends and benefits from us, and you¡¯ve lived in this house for decades. Considering all the misceneous expenses, it won¡¯t be much to ask you for eight million, right?¡± Every word Bryce said made William¡¯s and Karen¡¯s faces turn even more distressed. When she heard Bryce¡¯sst sentence, Karen could no longer hold back and screamed, ¡°Eight million dors?! Is this daylight robbery?! How could we have spent eight million dors?! Besides, we only get a little more than twenty thousand in dividends!¡± Bryceughed unrestrainedly. ¡°Don¡¯t say I¡¯m making this up. These things are recorded in thepany¡¯s ounts every year! ¡°Anyway, you either pay us eight million dors now and leave the Carter family, or take out that box of gifts and we¡¯ll let you back in the family. In the future, Grandpa might let Uncle William take over his position. You guys should consider carefully what you want to do!¡± Chapter 46: The Chance to Return to the Family

Chapter 46: The Chance to Return to the Family

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne and Charlotte naturally did not believe Bryce¡¯s words. The Carters had never truly treated them as a part of the Carter family before, mainly because William Carter was not Dominic Carter¡¯s biological son. Thus, Dominic obviously wouldn¡¯t let William take over as the head of the family. William himself did not believe what Bryce said. He grew up knowing that he and Dominic were not blood-rted, and Dominic had at best been kind to him and let him join the family on ount of his mother. But after his mother passed away, he no longer enjoyed the same treatment that the direct descendants of the Carter family enjoyed. For example, the direct descendants and rtives would receive almost a hundred thousand dors each year in dividends, while William and his family would only receive about fifteen thousand. Therefore, Willian didn¡¯t believe at all that he would be able to assume the position of the head of the family in the future. However, Karen was already tempted and was considering it in her head quickly. Although the box of gifts was very valuable, the gifts were meant for Lucas, and she reckoned that he would definitely take them away and gain the support of the Sawyers. So she definitely wouldn¡¯t get to keep the gifts. In her opinion, it would be better to give them to Bryce, as that would mean that they would at least be able to return to the Carter family. And in the future, she might even get to be the mistress of the family. Besides, she wouldn¡¯t give all of the gifts to the Carters. The value of all the items in the box was almost fifteen million dors, and she felt that giving half to the Carters would be enough, as she wanted to keep the remaining half. If Lucas asked the Sawyers to help him get the gifts back, she would just say that the Carters took them away and tell them to look for the Carters! At the thought of this, the gaze in Karen¡¯s eyes when she looked at Bryce became less hostile, and she seemed rather enthusiastic instead. ¡°Bryce, is what you just said true? Will you let us return to the Carter family as long as I hand that box of things over to you? Will William also have the chance to be the head of the family in the future?¡± ¡°Of course. Grandpa said it himself. Aunt Karen, have you decided?¡± Bryce smiled affirmatively. Seeing that Karen was wavering, Charlotte couldn¡¯t help but say anxiously, ¡°Mom, do you still believe their nonsense and lies? Have you forgotten how they used to bully us? Cheyenne even got on her knees to beg them, was drenched in the rain, and ended up running a high fever because of it. Have they ever shown any concern? They¡¯re saying these things to us now obviously because they want that box of gifts!¡± Cheyenne objected vehemently, ¡°Mom, that box of gifts was meant for Lucas. None of them have the right to decide what to do with them.¡± Seeing this, Bryce sneered. ¡°I thought Aunt Karenmands great authority at home, but I didn¡¯t expect both your daughters to disregard you and have no respect for you at all. They keep going against your decisions. Anyway, think through it yourselves. It¡¯s your only chance to return to the family. Once you miss it, Grandpa will never give you a chance again, even if you beg him. You will also have to pay us eight million dors and not a single cent less.¡± Karen immediately became anxious and hurriedly pushed William. ¡°Hurry up and say something! Quickly agree to return to the family!¡± William pushed Karen away. ¡°I¡¯m not going back! Cheyenne and the others got bullied so terribly, so what¡¯s the point of going back? If you want to, you can go back yourself!¡± To be honest, William had also bepletely disappointed in the family. After being pushed by her husband, who had always obeyed her, Karen flew into a rage and reached out to scratch him. ¡°You useless good-for-nothing, you can¡¯t earn any money at all. If we don¡¯t return to the Carters, how can we maintain a livelihood? How are you going to pay the eight million dors we owe them?¡± The two of them got into a scuffle while Cheyenne and Charlotte hurriedly tried to pull them apart. Bryce was getting impatient. If not for that box of gifts, he wouldn¡¯t bother talking to them. ¡°Enough. Don¡¯t put on an act in front of me either. Go and find where the items are.¡± Bryce cocked his head toward the security officers behind him and immediately headed into the house. ¡°Wait!¡± Seeing how the situation was developing, Karen stopped fighting with William and hurriedly rushed into the house to stop them. She just wanted to give Bryce half of the items. If he moved them away himself, he definitely wouldn¡¯t leave anything for them! Karen stopped in front of her bed, but her actions gave the security officers a cue. Two of them went forward to pull her away while others lifted the bed and quickly took out two boxes from beneath, onerge and one small. ¡°Hey! These are my belongings!¡± Karen¡¯s eyes were about to fall out. Lucas¡¯s items were in therge box, but the small box contained her personal stash that she had saved up over the years! Bryce simply ignored her and took a brief glimpse at the box full of cash, title deeds, and share transfer documents. He was so excited that he couldn¡¯t stop himself fromughing. He could tell at a nce that the value of these items was more than fifteen million dors. Watching the security officers carry the items out of the house, Cheyenne and the others naturally weren¡¯t willing to let them take the things away. But they were just a bunch of weak women, so how could they stop these people? They didn¡¯t just take away the box of gifts. They also snatched away the Lamborghini parked by the entrance. ¡°Oh my god. They¡¯re a bunch of bandits!¡± Karen sat on the ground and patted her thigh while wailing. ¡°What are you crying for? It¡¯s all your fault! If you didn¡¯t show off in front of them yesterday, they wouldn¡¯t havee here!¡± William yelled at her. Karen was incensed. ¡°How dare you yell at me? It¡¯s all because you¡¯re a useless man and a loser!¡± Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Charlotte was so infuriated that she shouted, ¡°Okay, stop arguing! The items the Sawyers gifted Lucas have been snatched away. How are we going to exin it to him?!¡± ¡°Exin my foot! Bryce Carter and his men were the ones who took those things away anyway. If he has what it takes, he can very well go after the Carters!¡± Karen didn¡¯t care what Lucas would think. She just felt the huge pinch. ¡°Oh, by the way, Cheyenne, didn¡¯t Bryce say that he would let us back into the Carter family as long as we gave him those items? Does this mean that we don¡¯t have to leave the Carter family now? Now that he has taken them away, go to your grandfather and inform him about this.¡± Karen suddenly urged while grabbing Cheyenne¡¯s arm. Cheyenne shook Karen¡¯s hand off and said coldly, ¡°If you want to go back, go ask them yourself.¡± After saying this, she took Amelia¡¯s hand and left. All the things that the Carters had done before hadpletely shattered Cheyenne¡¯s heart. She would definitely not go back to the Carter family! ¡°Hey, you¡¯re defying me, huh?¡± Karenined before turning to look at Charlotte. ¡°Charlotte...¡± Without letting her finish, Charlotte interrupted, ¡°Whoever wants to go back can ask themselves. Anyway, I¡¯m not going to go back to that family.¡± She then left with a look of annoyance. William ignored Karen and headed back inside quietly with a somber expression. In the entire courtyard, only Karen remained, sitting on the floor andmenting endlessly about her miserable life. Lucas soon caught wind of everything that happened at the residence. He stared expressionlessly into the distance, the corners of his lips curling up into a faint cold smile. ¡°Since you Carters have a death wish, I¡¯ll grant you your wish.¡± Chapter 47: Drastic Change in the Carter Family

Chapter 47: Drastic Change in the Carter Family

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bryce returned to the Carter main residence in the luxurious Lamborghini with therge box of cash, title deeds, and share transfer documents. The Carters in the main residence gathered around Bryce, amazed and in awe at the luxurious car and the box with assets worth more than fifteen million dors inside. They praised Bryce incessantly too. ¡°Bryce is really something. He managed to bring so many things home. The Carters are going to make aeback again soon!¡± ¡°He¡¯s indeed worthy of being Dominic¡¯s biological grandson. He¡¯s so capable! If Bryce takes over the family in the future, we can all rest assured!¡± ¡°Not bad, not bad. Bryce has always been outstanding since he was a child. He¡¯s definitely cut out for achieving great things. He¡¯s bing more and more capable now, isn¡¯t he?¡± The ttering words andpliments of the Carters made Bryce feel like he was on cloud nine. Dominic was also grinning widely, extremely satisfied with Bryce, his grandson. ¡°Bryce, you¡¯ve done well. In the future, I can rest assured handing the family over to you.¡± Dominic patted Bryce on the shoulder. Bryce hurriedly said modestly, ¡°Thank you, Grandpa. I will definitely work harder in the future and never let you down!¡± At this happy moment, a member of the family suddenly dashed in nervously. ¡°Bad news! Something terrible happened!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you so flustered?!¡± Bryce red angrily at the person who suddenly ran in and ruined the atmosphere. ¡°The people from the factories informed us that all the factories belonging to the Carter Corporation have been closed allegedly due to vitions during the manufacturing process and rectifications have to be made! The finance department has also received a notice saying that the financial risk of our corporation is too high, so we have to repay all the loans we¡¯ve made by the end of today! Otherwise, we will be sued, and we will have to dere bankruptcy and begin the liquidation procedures!¡± This news was a bolt out of the blue and like a bomb instantly dropped on everyone¡¯s head! Dominic¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly. ¡°How did this happen?!¡± Bryce¡¯s face was also extraordinarily gloomy. ¡°All of this happened too suddenly. Someone must be trying to attack the Carters!¡± Since the Carters were in pursuit of maximum profit, it was definitely difficult for them to have factories achieve 100%pliance with all regtions during the manufacturing process. Thus, if someone deliberately tried to check on them, they would definitely seed. But usually, even if there were inspections, those who were close to the Carters would inform them in advance, and their factories wouldn¡¯t be closed straight away. Besides, who knew when the rectification would take ce? There would be massive losses incurred and enormous problems resulting from the shutdown of the factories for a day. Besides, they didn¡¯t know how long the shutdown was going tost. Although the Carters¡¯ businesses hadn¡¯t been flourishingtely, they felt that there must have been more reasons for the bank to demand all loans be repaid within a day. While Bryce was angry, Dominic thought about it carefully. ¡°Bryce, hurry up and call Mr. Shaw to find out what¡¯s going on in the factories and if it¡¯s possible to get some leeway through connections. Hurry and call the bank too.¡± Bryce hurriedly made several phone calls, but unfortunately, Mr. Shaw didn¡¯t answer at all. Furthermore, the bank only gave them cold replies and imed that the financial risk of the Carter Corporation was proven too high after some assessment, and so the loans had to be repaid. The news made the Carters look even more dismayed. Mr. Shaw used to have a very close rtionship with the Carters. But this time, he not only did not notify in advance but also refused to answer their calls. Clearly, someone whom Mr. Shaw dared not offend was involved in the closure of the factories this time. The issue of the bank loans made them even more anxious. The capital turnover of the Carters was dependent on bank loans to arge extent. The cash they had on hand was far from enough for them to repay the loans, and even if they included the assets that Bryce had just brought home, there still wouldn¡¯t be enough. After all, of all the items in the box, only the million dors in cash was usable. The administrative procedures for the title deeds and the luxury car hadn¡¯t been settled yet. While the Carters were at a loss, they were struck with a greater blow! The head of the finance department of the Carter Corporation dashed in, his forehead covered in sweat. ¡°Oh dear, Chairman, many partnerpanies have asked to terminate their contracts with us. We can¡¯t dissuade them at all! Now, there are many people gathered in front of thepany, demanding to terminate their contracts with us and for us to pay off our debts!¡± Dominic sat down on the sofa with a loud thump, pale as a sheet. ¡°All of you, go and find out who¡¯s the one getting up to such tricks behind our backs!¡± After he ordered coldly, the Carters dared not idle about any longer and made countless calls. ¡°Hello, Mr. Wilson. I¡¯m calling from the Carter Corporation. Our contract with yourpany... Damn it! He hung up!¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. White. I¡¯d like to ask about our contract... Hello? Hello!¡± ... The people in charge of various partnerpanies immediately hung up after hearing the Carters¡¯ questions. After great effort, they finally got some information from apany they used to cooperate with often. ¡°Don¡¯t me me. The Carters offended a big shot and got us into trouble too,¡± Mr. Evans said helplessly. Dominic¡¯s heart dropped, and he hurriedly grabbed the phone. ¡°Mr. Evans, on my ount, can you tell me which big shot the Carters have offended?¡± Mr. Evans sighed. ¡°Mr. Carter, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to tell you, but I really don¡¯t know. We also received a phone call from someone who said that ourpany would be in trouble if we didn¡¯t terminate our cooperation with you! Don¡¯t think I¡¯m fearmongering or trying to lie to you. You¡¯ll find out if you ask others.¡± Mr. Evans hung up without saying anything further. Dominic and the other Carters all had dismal expressions. There was no longer a need to make more phone calls to confirm. The fact that that big shot could cause their factories to cease production and have the bank demand repayment of all their loans within a day meant that they were definitely powerful. However, even after racking their brains, they still couldn¡¯t figure out how they had offended a big shot. While remaining silent, Dominic suddenly looked at the box that Bryce had brought home. The lid of the box was open, revealing the stacks of pink banknotes, as well as therge stack of supporting documents. Dominic suddenly thought of something and inhaled sharply before pping Bryce on his face. ¡°Sinner, it¡¯s all your fault!¡± Bryce was dumbstruck by the loud and sudden p! It took him a long time to react. Covering his face aggrievedly, he asked, ¡°Grandpa, what wrong did Imit?¡± Chapter 48: Seek Her Forgiveness

Chapter 48: Seek Her Forgiveness

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dominic pointed at the box furiously. ¡°Are you still clueless? What did you say in front of that family yesterday? Right after you snatched this box of items from them today, our factories had to close, and production lines had to cease for rectification. The bank even demanded repayment of all our loans, and so many of our partnerpanies are asking to terminate their contracts with us. Think about it. Who did we offend?¡± Bryce froze immediately. After thinking through the events of the past two days, Bryce blinked and asked in disbelief, ¡°Grandpa, are you saying that Ethan Sawyer did these things?¡± Dominic said with displeasure, ¡°Who else could it be? It has been quite peaceful at home these days, but ever since you brought your people there to snatch this box from them, terrible things have been happening one after another. This is definitely a warning from the Sawyers because we took away the gifts meant for Charlotte Carter.¡± Only then did Bryce realize that the Sawyers had been watching Charlotte¡¯s family! He covered his hot and flushed face, feeling extremely aggrieved. He wasn¡¯t the one who suggested going to Cheyenne¡¯s home to snatch the betrothal gifts from them in the first ce. Besides, they had all given their approval beforehand. Yet now, they were ming him. ¡°Anyway, since you¡¯ve made a grave mistake by bringing this box here, you have to solve this matter.¡± Ignoring Bryce¡¯s displeasure, Dominic instructed with a stern expression, ¡°Send these items back. You must seek Charlotte¡¯s forgiveness so that the Sawyers will let us off. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be over for the Carters!¡± Despite his reluctance, Bryce had no choice but to go and look for Charlotte. He searched for a long time before finding out that Charlotte had gone to work at the Stardust Corporation today. But unfortunately, he was stopped at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation office, as security wouldn¡¯t let him in. ¡°My cousin is working in yourpany. I¡¯m urgently looking for her!¡± Remaining unmoved, the security officer said, ¡°You can give her a call and ask her toe out. Anyway, you¡¯re not an employee of ourpany nor a client, so you are not allowed to go in.¡± Bryce was furious. He had called Charlotte countless times, but all his calls were rejected. He didn¡¯t know if Charlotte had blocked him or not, but he couldn¡¯t contact her at all. Otherwise, why would he go to the Stardust Corporation to stop Charlotte from leaving? ¡°Please leave immediately. Do not disrupt the order of our office,¡± the chief security officer warned. Bryce was frustrated and anxious. He really wanted to barge in, but he was at the Stardust Corporation office, and he dared not offend them. At this moment, just as he was about to ignore the security officers and dash into the office building, the eagle-eyed Bryce spotted a familiar figure walking over. That familiar figure was Lucas! Bryce was extremely indignant as he rushed forward to stop Lucas. Then he yelled at the security officers, ¡°This person isn¡¯t one of your employees either. Why aren¡¯t you stopping him?¡± What surprised Bryce even more was that after the security officers saw Lucas, they actually bowed in unison. ¡°Mr. Gray, wee.¡± Lucas nodded indifferently, nced at Bryce, and then raised his brows a little. Since Lucas was stopped by the security officers at the entrance when he came to the Stardust Corporation office previously, the general manager, Flynn Davis, had fired all of them. Afterward, the security officers saw Davis apanying Lucas to the top floor of the office building and also received orders from Davis that no one was to stop Lucas from entering again. Therefore, although all of them were clueless about Lucas¡¯s identity, they dared not offend him and were very respectful toward him because they thought that he was at least a client whom Davis valued greatly. Bryce was almost stunned speechless, but he was still indignant. ¡°What right does he have to enter? He¡¯s just a live-in son-inw of the Carters, a useless good-for-nothing! Why is he allowed to enter, but I¡¯m not?¡± Lucas sneered, unbothered by Bryce. The chief security officer hurriedly stopped Bryce. ¡°This is the Stardust Corporation. If you want to kick up a ruckus and deliberately cause trouble, don¡¯t me us for getting nasty!¡± Unwilling to concede, Bryce snapped, ¡°You condescending security officers, I¡¯m going to lodge aint against you for being biased!¡± The chief security officer sneered. ¡°Mr. Gray is an important client of Mr. Davis. Who are you? Hurry up and get lost.¡± A few of them came over from the side and surrounded Bryce to shoo him away from Lucas, lest he collided into Lucas recklessly. ¡°Him? Important client? You guys must have been fooled by this good-for-nothing!¡± Bryce mored and reached out in a bid to grab Lucas. ¡°Lucas, you loser, get your ass over here!¡± Lucas frowned in annoyance while the alert chief security officer immediately said, ¡°Mr. Gray, please go inside and let us handle the matter here.¡± Lucas nodded and turned around to leave. The new chief security officer Davis hired was indeed much more reliable than the previous one. Behind him, a couple of security officers dragged Bryce far away and then threw him onto the ground. Lucas broke Bryce¡¯s arm previously, and it hadn¡¯t healedpletely yet. After being flung onto the ground, he immediately shrieked in pain, but no one cared about him. Bryce cursed incessantly. But he didn¡¯t dare go to the entrance of the Stardust Corporation office building again. He had no choice but to stand at a spot far away, all the way until he saw Charlotteing out of the building after getting off work. ¡°Charlotte! Just got off work, huh?¡± Bryce eximed affectionately as he approached her. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Charlotte detested Bryce greatly. In the morning, he had just snatched their belongings away. What was he doing again at the entrance of her office? ¡°Charlotte, it¡¯s my fault for what happened this morning. I hereby apologize to you! Actually, I just wanted to crack a joke with you. I¡¯ve already returned the car and the box of things. I really have!¡± Bryce swore while patting his chest and feeling immense heartache deep down. However, Charlotte didn¡¯t buy it at all. ¡°A joke? How amusing. Why don¡¯t I stab you with a knife and then tell you that it was just a joke? Also, we¡¯ve already been kicked out by the Carters, so you¡¯re not my cousin. We have nothing to do with each other anymore.¡± Charlotte stepped forward and was about to leave, but Bryce hurriedly rushed forward to stop her. ¡°Charlotte, we are at least rtives. You won¡¯t be so cruel as to leave us in the lurch, right?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Charlotte frowned and looked at him. Bryce gritted his teeth. ¡°We are all from the Carter family. I know I was wrong for doing what I did in the morning. Please have mercy and let us off, alright?¡± Chapter 49: Personal Visit

Chapter 49: Personal Visit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bryce¡¯s words caught Charlotte by surprise. ¡°What¡¯s up with the Sawyers? And what happened to the Carters?¡± Bryce looked at Charlotte, unconvinced that she was clueless about what happened. ¡°We¡¯re a family, so there¡¯s no need to pretend, is there? Right after I came home from your ce, our factories were forced to close and stop production lines for rectification. The bank even wants us to repay all of our loans by the end of today. And almost all thepanies we have cooperations with have asked to terminate their partnership contracts with us. We really can¡¯t hold on any longer!¡± Bryce wiped his tears. ¡°I know I was wrong to have taken your gifts, and that¡¯s the reason the Sawyers are offended. I really know my mistakes! Charlotte, please help us beg for forgiveness from the Sawyers and ask them to let us off!¡± Only then did Charlotte find out what had happened to the Carters. However, to be honest, Charlotte felt thrilled to see how miserable the Carters seemed to be, ording to Bryce. ¡°Hah, I can only say that you people deserve it. If you keep doing evil, you will end up harming yourselves one day,¡± Charlotte said without emotion. ¡°Also, don¡¯te looking for me. I¡¯ve already said this morning that the box of gifts wasn¡¯t for me but Lucas. Even if you want to get someone to plead for mercy on your behalf, you¡¯ve found the wrong person.¡± ¡°You... are you really that heartless?¡± Bryce red at Charlotte with a menacing expression. Charlotte was so frightened that she hurriedly scurried away after saying, ¡°Anyway, don¡¯te looking for me.¡± Bryce stared at her figure from behind with a vicious gaze. Since Bryce returned home after a fruitless trip, he naturally had to face the music from Dominic. ¡°Have I been overindulging you? You can¡¯t even get such a trivial matter done right! You¡¯re so disappointing!¡± At this moment, the Carters were facing a huge crisis, and Dominic was so anxious that he started being hostile to his grandson, whom he usually doted on. Bryce clenched his fist and tried to argue. ¡°Grandpa, I stayed put at the entrance of Charlotte Carter¡¯s workce for the entire day, but she refused to budge and even said that those gifts were meant for Lucas, not her. She was obviously just trying to fool me!¡± ¡°That¡¯s your problem too! Anyway, if you can¡¯t deal with Charlotte Carter, don¡¯te back to see me again! Wastrel!¡± After being scolded harshly by his grandfather, he turned around and left the house, feeling frustrated and upset. ¡°Dominic, the Larsons are insistent on terminating their cooperation with ourpany!¡± ¡°Chairman, the president of ICBC Bank refuses to give in, and he insists that we have to repay the loans by the end of today, or we will be sued...¡± ¡°We went around trying to raise funds, but to no avail. They all hung up after hearing our names...¡± ¡°The Sawyers refuse tomunicate with us, and they simply said that they¡¯re in no ce to make a decision because Ethan Sawyer is not in town.¡± As he heard these pieces of bad news, Dominic¡¯s face grew increasingly downcast, and he couldn¡¯t sit still at all. After thinking about it, he made up his mind. He decided to swallow his pride and personally go to William Carter¡¯s home. Dominic¡¯s sudden visit made William and Karen extremely nervous. Over the years, Dominic had never visited them, and they wondered if this time... William and Karen didn¡¯t enjoy peace this night as well. Bright early in the morning, Bryce had brought his men over and snatched away their chest of treasures worth more than fifteen million dors. Karen wanted her daughters to beg Dominic to let them return to the Carter family. However, they hadn¡¯t returned yet. In the afternoon, Bryce suddenly returned the box of gifts and the car, iming to have made a mistake. William and Karen were bewildered, and they wondered what he had up his sleeve. In the evening, Dominic personally visited them, which was rather rare. W-what¡¯s going on? Is he here to take back the house or the box of gifts? Karen and William watched as Dominic entered. They were so nervous that they had no idea where to ce their hands. ¡°Dad, you...¡± William said carefully. To his surprise, Dominic was not as austere as he usually was. Instead, there was a smile on his face. ¡°William, it¡¯s been hard on you staying in such a small house. Tomorrow, move back in with us. I¡¯ll pick out a nice house for you.¡± William and Karen red at him in disbelief. Is... Dominic Carter letting us move back in? The Carters owned arge cluster of mansions where all the direct descendants of the Carter family lived. However, due to the fact that William was not blood-rted to the Carters, they were singled out and made to live in this old and shabby residence, where they had stayed for decades. Yet Dominic is asking us to go back now?! Seemingly thinking that it wasn¡¯t enough, Dominic Carter said, ¡°Moreover, William has been idling at home for such a long time. I¡¯ll arrange for you to take on a role in thepany. Go to work tomorrow! Karen, if you¡¯re willing, I can arrange for you to work in thepany too. You don¡¯t have to go to the office, but you will be paid ordingly.¡± ¡°R-really?!¡± Karen and William were overjoyed. To be able to work at the Carters¡¯pany was simply their dream for many years! Previously, they also wanted to enter thepany countless times. But unfortunately, the Carters never gave them the chance. Today, Dominic visited them personally and even announced such a good piece of news that they had never dared to imagine! All of a sudden, the two of them felt like they were in a dream. William was gazing at Dominic with tears in his eyes. It turns out Dominic Carter still treats me like his son after all! At this moment, Cheyenne entered through the door while holding Amelia¡¯s hand. When she saw Dominic sitting in the living room, she couldn¡¯t help but widen her eyes in surprise, while beside her, Amelia was even staring at him curiously. Forcing himself to smile kindly, Dominic asked, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re back. This is your daughter, right?¡± It was actually funny. Dominic had always disliked Cheyenne and Amelia because of her scandal back then, and he even forbade her from bringing Amelia to the office and the main residence. So this was Dominic¡¯s first time seeing Amelia and talking to her, even though she was already five years old. ¡°Amelia, quick, greet him. This is your great-grandfather,¡± Karen hurriedly urged. Amelia blinked, cowered beside Cheyenne, and said fearfully, ¡°I¡¯m scared of this grandpa.¡± After she said that, everyone¡¯s faces turned gloomy. Chapter 50: Go and Plead for Mercy

Chapter 50: Go and Plead for Mercy

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Dominic heard Amelia¡¯s words, he was naturally displeased, as evidenced by his frown. Meanwhile, Karen and William were afraid that Amelia¡¯s words would make Dominic upset with them. ¡°Amelia, what are you saying?! He¡¯s your great-grandfather. Quickly greet him properly!¡± Karen yelled at Amelia. Amelia gripped Cheyenne¡¯s clothes even more tightly, refusing to go over. Children were extremely sensitive to the emotions of others. Although Dominic was smiling, Amelia saw the ferocious gaze in his eyes when he was ring at her and her mom. Seeing that Amelia refused to go over, Karen grabbed Amelia¡¯s arm and pulled her over. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? You¡¯re so young but already so rude. You¡¯re not greeting your elders properly!¡± ¡°Mom!¡± Cheyenne immediately went forward to stop her, overwhelmed with anger. Amelia is still so young. She¡¯s going to get hurt by being yanked so hard! ¡°She¡¯s being rude to your grandfather. Why aren¡¯t you hurrying to discipline her? Instead, you¡¯re still defending her. You¡¯ve spoiled her rotten!¡± Karen eximed at Cheyenne. ¡°I remember that we¡¯ve already been disowned by the Carters. How is my grandfather and Amelia¡¯s great-grandfather?¡± Cheyenne retorted coldly. She then picked Amelia up and headed upstairs. She was truly speechless toward Dominic Carter. ¡°Cheyenne, it was indeed my fault for what happened before. It¡¯s also my fault for causing you to harbor resentment toward me. I¡¯m here today to apologize to you. Please forgive me!¡± Dominic¡¯s old voice sounded from behind. Cheyenne stopped in her tracks. Since when has Dominic Carter ever apologized to me in such a mellow manner? She never remembered him ever doing so. In an instant, all the numerous grievances and mistreatments that she had suffered began surfacing, making her tear up and feel a strong urge to cry her heart out. Unfortunately, Dominic¡¯s previous actions had long gotten rid of the familial affection she had toward him as a granddaughter. She had also gotten a clear look at his true colors. The fact that he came to their home today and unexpectedly offered his apologies was really unlike Dominic Carter. She felt that things were fishy and that he definitely had a hidden agenda. Cheyenne got a grip on her emotions and carried Amelia upstairs quietly. ¡°Cheyenne!¡± Karen called out her name incessantly, but she ignored her and returned to her room. ¡°Uh, Dominic, I¡¯m sorry. We¡¯ve spoiled Cheyenne rotten, and she¡¯s too insensible. Please don¡¯t hold it against her,¡± Karen hurriedly exined. Dominic took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart before waving his hand and pretending to be sad. ¡°I can¡¯t me her. I¡¯m old, and my days are numbered. I¡¯ve been strict to my children and grandchildren, all for their own good, but who knew... Ahhh!¡± Seeing this, William immediately felt heartache and grabbed Dominic¡¯s hand. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t say that. You¡¯re healthy, and the Carter family needs you.¡± The loving scene of an affectionate father and his son was taking ce in the living room downstairs. So when Charlotte came home, she was shocked to see the two of them talking to each other affectionately. She couldn¡¯t help but blink her eyes, wondering if her eyes were ying tricks on her. ¡°Charlotte, you¡¯re finally back. Your grandfather has been waiting here for a long time!¡± Karen hurriedly took Charlotte¡¯s hand and walked over. Dominic¡¯s eyes lit up, and he looked at Charlotte with a heartened look before saying warmly, ¡°Charlotte used to be a little girl. In the blink of an eye, she has already be a beautiful young woman!¡± When Charlotte heard this unprecedented praise from Dominic Carter, she was extremely surprised and disgusted at the same time. ¡°Save it. Just get straight to the point,¡± Charlotte said hostilely. ¡°Charlotte, watch your tone with your grandfather. What happened to your manners?¡± William berated Charlotte with a dark expression. What¡¯s going on today? Dad finally made a trip here to ask us to move back in with the Carters, yet Cheyenne and Charlotte have been so hostile to him. What if he really gets angry? Charlotte sneered. ¡°Bryce Carter came to look for me this afternoon, and now it¡¯s Grandpa¡¯s turn. You guys can drop the pretense. I¡¯ll get straight to it. I can¡¯t fulfill Bryce¡¯s request, so you¡¯d better look for someone else.¡± Karen looked bewildered. ¡°What request? What¡¯s going on?¡± William had a furious expression. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Your grandpa came here to ask us to go back to the Carter family. He also asked us to move back to the main residence and offered me a job at the Carter Corporation. Your grandpa is being so kind. Don¡¯t upset him.¡± William stated what happened explicitly, but he was also warning Charlotte, fearing that she might end up angering Dominic and causing him to change his mind. After hearing this, Charlotte said sarcastically, ¡°Oh, I see. Grandpa is here to throw a Trojan Horse at us! Indeed, he¡¯s pulling the same tricks as Bryce. He first yed the kinship card and then tried to lure me. No wonder he¡¯s your grandson.¡± After saying that, Charlotte ignored William¡¯s paling face and continued, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a trick you¡¯re ying to get us to go to the Sawyers to plead for mercy so that they¡¯ll let the Carters off?¡± Karen and William both froze in shock for a moment. Despite having been directly exposed by Charlotte, Dominic did not seem awkward at all and still continued pretending to be kind. ¡°Charlotte, I know that we have some misunderstandings between us, but we¡¯re still a family after all. I came here today because I¡¯m really worried about you guys. I also have some things to ask of you. I¡¯ve already punished Bryce for what he¡¯s done today, and I guarantee he won¡¯t do it again! Charlotte, just tell the Sawyers to be merciful and let us off! We will definitely treat you well in the future.¡± After hearing what Dominic said, Karen and William realized that he was not here to catch up with them and reminisce about the past but to get Charlotte to go to plead with the Sawyers. He chose Charlotte as his target naturally because he still thought that she was going to marry into the Sawyer family, and he was just trying to make up with them out of convenience. Charlotteughed self-deprecatingly. ¡°What makes you think that the Sawyers will forgive you on my ount? Who am I to influence the Sawyers?¡± Dominic said anxiously, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the fianc¨¦e of Ethan Sawyer¡¯s son? The Sawyers did that to us because they¡¯re standing up for you. I just need you to exin to them that this is all just a misunderstanding, and things will be resolved soon.¡± Charlotte smiled wryly. ¡°What fianc¨¦e? Ethan Sawyer¡¯s son has been married for a long time!¡± Chapter 51: Siege

Chapter 51: Siege

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After saying that, Charlotte felt extremely aggrieved too. Which woman had never fantasized about marrying into a rich family, enjoying a privileged life of luxury, and being the subject of envy of everyone? Charlotte was just an ordinary girl too. So when she suddenly received the huge betrothal gifts from the Sawyers, she was so ted that she didn¡¯t even bother to find out what Ethan Sawyer¡¯s son looked like and what his personality was like. She had a sense of vanity too. And she was extremely pleased when she enjoyed the praises of her rtives and the looks of envy cast at her by the passersby when she was driving in her luxurious andfortable Lamborghini. She felt that a golden pie had fallen onto herp and that her life was about to change drastically. But who would have thought that it was all just a misunderstanding?! At the Intercontinental Hotel the other day, Ethan Sawyer denied the matter right in her face, making her feel incredibly ashamed and embarrassed. For the past few days, she had been extremely sad and aggrieved, but there was no one she could pour her feelings out to. When saying those words in front of Dominic, Charlotte burst into tears, unable to hold them back and contain her sadness any longer. ¡°Ethan Sawyer¡¯s son is already married?¡± Hearing this, Dominic was surprised too. ¡°That¡¯s not right. The words ¡®betrothal gifts¡¯ were clearly written on the list. They¡¯re betrothal gifts all right! Did Ethan Sawyer propose on behalf of his son? Or is Charlotte going to be...¡± Dominic did not say the words ¡®second wife,¡¯ but everyone was clear about what he was implying. Charlotte didn¡¯t catch what he meant and only heard the words ¡®betrothal gifts.¡¯ It turned out that they were really betrothal gifts, but not for her. Instead, they were meant for Cheyenne from Lucas. Ironically, she even mocked Lucas and said that he would never be able to afford to give Cheyenne such expensive gifts. She even called him a loser and said that he ought to get out of the house. I was such a joke! Karen rubbed her hands rather awkwardly. ¡°Dominic, those betrothal gifts really weren¡¯t for Charlotte. It was all just a misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Misunderstanding?!¡± Dominic Carter immediately lost his temper. He had already wasted several hours at their home and even got provoked, only to hear that it was all a misunderstanding and that Charlotte was not going to marry into the Sawyer family at all. He stood up, stared at them with a hostile gaze, and roared, ¡°How could you make a mistake with such an important matter?! Weren¡¯t you very proud and conceited when you bragged about it in front of me before?! Huh? All you do is brag and show off, but you¡¯re so useless at solving problems! You¡¯re a bunch of garbage! ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you people are the reason for the current situation that the Carters are facing! If you don¡¯t hurry up and find a solution to get the Carters out of trouble, all of you will get it from me!¡± In a moment of pique, Dominic left. Karen chased after him and tried to make him stay, only to watch him get inside his car and leave. She was so furious that she stomped her feet nonstop at the door. William was in a foul mood too. ¡°What are you yelling for? He¡¯s long gone.¡± ¡°Do you really think I care about him? I just want to ask him if he¡¯s still going to let us move back in and work at the Carter Corporation,¡± Karen said. William sneered. ¡°Obviously not! Can¡¯t you tell that he just came here to reminisce with us because the Carters are facing a huge crisis, and he wants us to go beg for leniency from the Sawyers? ¡°If we could have helped the Carters solve this crisis, he might have considered giving us some benefits such as giving us the house and jobs. However, now that we can¡¯t help him, he¡¯s obviously not going to care about us!¡± Karen was rendered speechless by William¡¯s snide remarks. Indeed, if they were not useful to Dominic Carter, he would not even pay any attention to them. However, William¡¯s words just now gave Karen some inspiration. She pped her hands and said excitedly, ¡°Right! It¡¯s not impossible. If we can help the Carters solve this crisis, Dominic Carter will definitely be very grateful to us and value us highly. He¡¯ll give us the house and jobs in thepany too. He might even hand the entire family over to you!¡± William looked at Karen like he was staring at an idiot and gibed, ¡°What are you dreaming about? The Carters must havee to us as ast resort. What makes you think we can solve a problem that so many people can¡¯t? Do you still think we¡¯re inws of the Sawyers? Do you think we haven¡¯t embarrassed ourselves enough?¡± Karen actually didn¡¯t feel that she had embarrassed herself in front of Ethan Sawyer back then because it was just a misunderstanding. However, it was indeed a shame that she couldn¡¯t be the Sawyers¡¯ inws, and indeed, she didn¡¯t have a say. The two of them were so focused onining that they didn¡¯t even notice that Charlotte had left the house at some point. Feeling upset and dejected, Charlotte didn¡¯t want to continue staying at home and listening to her parentsin. However, since she had nowhere else to go, she called her best friend, Sophie Turner. ¡°Sophie, I feel so terrible. Come out for some drinks with me.¡± When Sophie arrived at the bar they agreed to meet at, Charlotte had already downed several sses of wine and was tipsy. There were many men next to her, staring at Charlotte without any restraint. From time to time, there would be peopleing over to hit on her. Even after being rejected by Charlotte, they refused to leave and continued surrounding her and flirting with her. Extremely worried for her, Sophie dashed forward to pull Charlotte away. ¡°Sophie, you¡¯re here! I want to drink.¡± Charlotte opened her reddened eyes to look at her best friend. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go to my house and drink. Let¡¯s buy more liquor, and you can drink to your heart¡¯s content.¡± Sophie hurriedly tried to coax Charlotte and helped her out of the bar. The duo were about to get into the car when a man suddenly rushed out from the side and stopped them at the entrance. ¡°Charlotte! You must help me! Just go to the Sawyers and put in some good words for us. It¡¯s very simple! I know I¡¯ve done wrong things before, and I hereby apologize to you! If you don¡¯t help, the Carters will be doomed, and Grandpa will kill me! Just help me out this time!¡± Bryce eximed anxiously as he grabbed Charlotte¡¯s hand, his breath smelling like alcohol. After being berated and driven out by Dominic in the afternoon, Bryce had some drinks with a few friends. However, if he couldn¡¯t get Charlotte to agree to beg for mercy from the Sawyers, his grandfather wouldn¡¯t let him step foot back inside the house. Thus, he tracked down Charlotte and tried to stop her again. ¡°Go away! I already told you, don¡¯t look for me for this matter!¡± Charlotte opened her eyes and shot Bryce a look of disgust. All of these people keeping to me, but what¡¯s the point of that? I have nothing to do with the Sawyers! Bryce went forward and still wanted to say something, but Sophie hurriedly shoved Charlotte into the car, started the engine, and quickly drove away. Bryce stared at the car from behind with a menacing expression. ¡°Since you¡¯ve decided to be ruthless, then don¡¯t me me!¡± Chapter 52: Abduction

Chapter 52: Abduction

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios While driving, Sophie looked at Charlotte¡¯s reflection in the rearview mirror and asked worriedly when she saw how unwell Charlotte seemed, ¡°Charlotte, did something happen?¡± Charlotte shook her head as teardrops rolled down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes and forced a crestfallen smile. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just in low spirits today. I¡¯ll be fine after a while.¡± Sophie felt that it would be inappropriate to ask further and decided to probe again when they returned home. She felt upset seeing how dejected her best friend was. While Sophie was driving on a secluded road, a Hummer suddenly sped over from the intersection ahead and collided into the passenger side of her car. Bang! With a loud collision, Sophie¡¯s car was forced toe to a halt as ss shattered all over the ce. Charlotte passed out under the impact. ¡°Charlotte!¡± Sophie was feeling dizzy as she anxiously tried to check on Charlotte¡¯s condition while picking up her phone to call the police. But at this moment, the doors of the Hummer that crashed into her car opened, and several burly men who didn¡¯t seem like decent people opened the passenger door beside Charlotte. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Sophie yelled in horror, but a hand reached in through the window and smacked her on her neck, causing her to pass out immediately. Meanwhile, several people pulled Charlotte out of the car and carried her into the Hummer. Soon, the Hummer restarted and quickly disappeared in the darkness of the night. Amid the dark shadows in the distance, the dim flickering lights lit up a parked car and Bryce¡¯s face, making him look extremely terrifying. ¡°Charlotte Carter, you forced me into this. After you end up in the same state as your sister, I¡¯ll see how you can still be arrogant in front of me!¡± The secluded street was empty, and the car, which had been destroyed beyond recognition due to the collision, remained stationary in a corner quietly. After a while, Sophie regained consciousness, and when she opened her eyes to see the ruined car, she finally recalled what had happened earlier. In a panic, she frantically looked around. The passenger seat was empty, the car door was open, and there were shards of ss scattered all over the ground. Charlotte was nowhere to be found. ¡°Charlotte!¡± ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Cheyenne had tucked Amelia in at home and was mulling over and over about the things that happened over the past few days. However, there was only silence in Charlotte¡¯s room. Cheyenne knocked on the door, but there was no sound inside. ¡°Charlotte, are you there?¡± She knocked again and turned the knob to open the door, only to see that Charlotte¡¯s room was empty. She frowned. It¡¯s almost eleven. Isn¡¯t she home yet? Karen was wearing her pajamas and munching on some snacks in the living room downstairs. ¡°Mom, where did Charlotte go? Is she not at home?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s not?¡± Karen finally noticed that her youngest daughter was not at home, but she didn¡¯t take it too seriously. She simply said nonchntly, ¡°She must have gone to her friend¡¯s.¡± Cheyenne was speechless and was about to call her sister to ask when her phone suddenly rang. When Cheyenne picked up the phone, she heard Sophie crying on the other end. ¡°Cheyenne, bad news! Cheyenne is in trouble!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face instantly paled! ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Lucas was sitting in the back seat of a Jaguar sedan and listening to Jordan report some information that he had found from asking aroundtely. All of a sudden, his phone rang. It was a call from Cheyenne. When he saw that Cheyenne was actually taking the initiative to call him, his face could not help but look gentler as he answered. ¡°Cheyenne...¡± ¡°Lucas, Charlotte has been kidnapped. What should we do? Do you have a way to save her?¡± As soon as the call went through, he heard Cheyenne¡¯s flustered voice. Lucas¡¯s face grew stern immediately. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Talk to me slowly. Where did she get kidnapped? Did anyone see?¡± Under Lucas¡¯s calm asking, Cheyenne told him everything that Sophie had just told her, including, of course, Dominic¡¯s visit and the fact that Bryce had approached Charlotte twice but was rejected by her. After hearing her words, Lucas had a vague guess. Heforted, ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t be too anxious. Just stay at home and wait. Don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯m going to search for Charlotte now. I¡¯ll definitely bring her home safely.¡± After hanging up, Lucas said to Jordan, who was driving, with a cold and grave expression, ¡°Turn around. We¡¯re going to the Carters¡¯.¡± Hearing Lucas¡¯s icy-cold voice, Jordan couldn¡¯t help but feel his heart palpitate. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± In the Carters¡¯ main residence... Dominic was pacing back and forth in a room in frustration. Usually, he would have long begun resting. But now that the Carters were facing a crisis, he was overwrought and full of anxiety, so he wasn¡¯t the least bit sleepy at all. Seeing that it was already 11 p.m. and that there was only an hour to go before the deadline for the loan repayment, he felt incredibly flustered. However, he had already resorted to all solutions and tried to contact his old friends for help, but to no avail. Are the Carters going to be ruined just like that? No, I can¡¯t let that happen! While Dominic was thinking about how he could send some expensive gifts and have a chat with the director of the bank tomorrow, he heard loud banging, ttering, and some shrieksing from downstairs. He immediately flew into a rage. He pulled open the door and yelled, ¡°What¡¯s themotion about?!¡± However, when Dominic saw the situation downstairs, his eyes suddenly widened in horror. The tall and luxurious gate of the Carter residence had already been deformed from violent kicking, and there were pieces of tempered ss scattered all over the floor. There were also more than ten people lying on the ground, all of whom were Carter family members and security officers. Only one person stood in the center of the hall, exuding a fearful aura. ¡°Who are you? Why did you suddenly barge into the Carter residence?¡± Dominic¡¯s heart was thumping fast as he mustered the courage to ask. This person raised his head, revealing a familiar face. ¡°It¡¯s you?!¡± Dominic received a great fright, after which he flew into a rage. How dare Cheyenne Carter¡¯s loser husband barge into my home?! Does he really think we¡¯re pushovers? ¡°Security! Hurry up and get this person out of here!¡± Dominic hollered. Lucas remained unfazed. Jordan stayed outside. Many people had already passed out on the ground. ¡°Where¡¯s Bryce Carter? Get him toe out,¡± Lucas said coldly. Dominic flew into a rage. ¡°Who are you to call my grandson¡¯s name directly, you good-for-nothing?¡± Before he could finish his words, his vision blurred, and Lucas immediately vanished. In the blink of an eye, he already reached Dominic and was choking him. ¡°I don¡¯t have the patience to listen to your nonsense. Where is Bryce Carter?!¡± Chapter 53: Questioning to Find Her Whereabouts

Chapter 53: Questioning to Find Her Whereabouts

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas was so fast that he appeared at the top of the stairs in the blink of an eye and strangled Dominic Carter. Dominic was greatly shocked, and he tried hard to move Lucas¡¯s hand away, but to no avail. ¡°Y-you...¡± As soon as he started speaking, Lucas tightened his grip on his neck and interrupted him. Lucas coldly looked at Dominic¡¯s face that was gradually turning red. ¡°I¡¯m going to make things clear first. If anything really happens to Charlotte, the Carters will die along with her!¡± For the first time in his life, Dominic felt the threat of death. Facing the stern and grave-faced young man, he felt that his life was in danger! There was a trace of fear in Dominic¡¯s cloudy eyes! Lucas flicked his hand, and Dominic immediately mmed into the wall like a rag. Covering his throat with his hand, Dominic coughed hard several times before he could catch his breath. He looked at Lucas with his eyes full of resentment and fear. Lucas nced at him, and Dominic immediately looked away in fright. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know where Bryce is.¡± ¡°Call him and tell him to bring Charlotte back in one piece. If she¡¯s wounded, I¡¯ll kill him!¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± At the door, a woman red at Lucas furiously. ¡°If a cheap person like you dares to touch Bryce, I¡¯ll kill you...¡± Before she could finish her words, Jordan kicked her downstairs and sent her flying far away. She passed out on the spot without even uttering another word. ¡°How dare you be rude to Lucas. You¡¯ve got a death wish!¡± Jordan roared furiously. Lucas was the god in Jordan¡¯s heart, and he would never allow anyone to insult him. If Lucas hadn¡¯t instructed him not to kill anyone earlier, this woman would have died just now. Jordan¡¯s fierceness instantly subdued all those still wanting to resist, and they all looked at Lucas with fear in their eyes. Dominic looked at Lucas¡¯s expressionless face, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and then took out his phone to call Bryce with shaky fingers. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Bryce was sitting in a club called ¡®Luxe¡¯ and smiling lewdly at a burly man with the unconscious Charlotte lying beside them on the couch. ¡°Mr. Dous, my cousin is quite pretty, isn¡¯t she?¡± Bryce asked with a subservient smile. The person addressed as Mr. Dous stretched his fingers out and pinched Charlotte¡¯s face. Feeling the tenderness of her flesh, he nodded in satisfaction. ¡°She¡¯s indeed very beautiful. But kid, you¡¯re really ruthless, huh? You¡¯re willing to give your cousin away.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all for you, Mr. Dous. Besides, this girl is really recalcitrant, and I¡¯m just teaching her a lesson,¡± Bryce hurriedly said. If not for the fact that he and Charlotte were cousins in name, and it would be inappropriate if word were to get out, he would have bedded Charlotte right away instead of getting Mr. Dous to do it. Anyway, his intention was just to take some explicit photos and videos of Charlotte before using them to threaten her into pleading with the Sawyers for him. ¡°Hmph, not bad. Don¡¯t worry. As long as this girl serves me well tonight, I¡¯ll definitely offer you some benefits in the future,¡± said Dous, acting as if he was showing him some kindness. ¡°Alright, thank you so much, Mr. Dous! I won¡¯t get in your way then. Just send me the photos and videoster,¡± Bryce said gleefully. ¡°Hurry up and get lost.¡± After saying that, he eagerly rushed to rip off Charlotte¡¯s clothes. Charlotte suddenly retched and vomited. She had drunk a lot of alcohol in the bar alone just now, and so she threw up while lying on the couch. Not only did she soil her own clothes, but her vomit also caused the entire private room to be full of the pungent stench of vomit. ¡°Shit!¡± Dous hurriedly dodged in annoyance. ¡°Mr. Dous, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll get someone toe and clean her up immediately. Please go to another room. I¡¯ll send her to the new room as soon as possible!¡± Bryce hurriedly got two service attendants toe and take Charlotte away to clean her up. At this moment, he received a call from Dominic. ¡°Bryce, where are you? What exactly did you do to Charlotte? Hurry up and bring her back!¡± Dominic hurriedly yelled as soon as the call connected. On the other hand, Bryce eximed with excitement, ¡°Grandpa, don¡¯t worry. I willplete the task you¡¯ve given me as soon as possible. I¡¯ll get Charlotte to plead with the Sawyers!¡± Bryce¡¯s words made Dominic feel like he had plunged into ice while Lucas¡¯s gaze turned icy cold. ¡°Bastard! Hurry up and bring her back. Do you hear me? Otherwise, both of us will die a miserable death!¡± Dominic hollered at the top of his lungs. From the moment Lucas came to his door to ask about Bryce and Charlotte¡¯s whereabouts, Dominic had already had an ominous premonition. If Bryce really did something horrid to Charlotte, Dominic was certain that Lucas would really kill them! At this moment, Dominic was truly terrified and could only pray that his grandson hadn¡¯t done anything outrageous yet. However, Bryce was extremely indignant. He had already reached the crucial point of his n, and Mr. Dous was already waiting. He couldn¡¯t just bring Charlotte home. ¡°Grandpa, Charlotte is with Mr. Dous at the Luxe. She won¡¯t be back tonight. Just stay out of it. Anyway, I will definitelyplete the task and get her to go to the Sawyers!¡± After saying that, Bryce hung up directly without waiting for Dominic to continue speaking. ¡°Hello? Bryce! Bryce!¡± Dominic shouted into the phone several times and even tried to call him again. Unfortunately, Bryce hung up right away, and he could no longer reach him. Dominic¡¯s body shivered. He could clearly sense the terrifying auraing from Lucas. ¡°Since your grandson is seeking his own death, then you can¡¯t me me.¡± Lucas turned around and left. ¡°Wait!¡± Dominic was shocked and hurriedly shouted. ¡°Please let him go. He¡¯s still insensible...¡± ¡°Insensible?¡± Lucas turned around and continued in an icy cold voice. ¡°He¡¯s much older than Charlotte and Cheyenne!¡± ¡°If anything really happens to Charlotte, wait to collect his corpse!¡± Lucas stopped bothering to listen to Dominic¡¯s nonsense and led Jordan straight out of the Carters¡¯ home. ¡°Head to the Luxe as fast as you can!¡± Lucas ordered Jordan after getting in the car. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± The ck Jaguar instantly disappeared into the darkness of the night like a swift cheetah. Chapter 54: The Luxe

Chapter 54: The Luxe

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In a certain corner of the lobby on the first floor of the Luxe, Bryce was holding a scantily d escort. Usually, he would have flirted with her merrily, but today, he was rather distracted. Bryce reckoned that Charlotte should have already been cleaned and sent to Mr. Dous¡¯s room by now. But the photos and videos he wanted hadn¡¯t been sent to him yet, so he felt uneasy. Besides, for some reason, Dominic¡¯s voice made him feel vaguely agitated. ¡°Damn it! What am I feeling so agitated for?! When I get those photos tomorrow and force that bitch Charlotte to go to the Sawyers to put in a good word for us... Or else the Carters will end up with nothing!¡± Bryce clenched his teeth, grabbed the beautiful woman beside him forcefully, and raised his head to down a ss of alcohol. At this moment, the ck Jaguar sped toward the Luxe and came to a halt at the entrance after a sharp drift. Two figures got out of the car and hurriedly stepped into the club. Bryce happened to be facing the direction of the door, and when he saw Lucas enter, he couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. ¡°Lucas? Good-for-nothing, do you actually have the money toe to a ce like the Luxe?¡± Then he smiled joyously. ¡°Hmph, does that stupid bitch Cheyenne know that her loser husband is spending her money on fooling around? Tsk, tsk.¡± At this moment, Bryce¡¯s phone rang again. It was a call from Dominic. He initially wanted to reject it, but thinking that the task was about to bepleted, he decided that it was time to break the good news to him. ¡°Hello, Grandpa. Don¡¯t worry. The deed is almost done. Once I get hold of the video and photos of Charlotte Carter, we won¡¯t be afraid that she won¡¯t listen to us!¡± Dominic froze. When he finally realized what Bryce was thinking, he was so furious that his face flushed. ¡°You bastard! Who told you to do that to Charlotte? Do you really have a death wish?!¡± Hearing how furious and anxious his grandfather was, Bryce thought that he must have misunderstood something. So he hurriedly exined, ¡°Grandpa, I didn¡¯t do it. I gave her to Mr. Dous at the Luxe. After he¡¯s done with her, he¡¯ll send me the videos and photos. This matter will then bepleted!¡± Previously, with Dominic¡¯s approval, he had also colluded with outsiders to set Cheyenne up. Bryce felt that there must be something wrong this time. Besides, the Carters¡¯ crisis would be resolved soon, and he reckoned that Dominic would be d about it. To his astonishment, Dominic was not happy to hear the news and instead lost his temper. ¡°You¡¯re really going to be the death of me! Hurry up and bring Charlotte back in one piece!¡± Bryce said in displeasure, ¡°Grandpa, she¡¯s already been sent to Mr. Dous¡¯s room. How can I bring her back?¡± Dominic was so furious that he almost vomited blood. ¡°Hurry up and leave then! Lucas is rushing over to your side. Don¡¯t let him find you, got it?¡± Bryce finally realized that Lucas was not here to have fun but to look for Charlotte. That¡¯s interesting. The Luxe belongs to Mr. Dous. If Lucas tries to look for Charlotte here, he naturally won¡¯t be able to take her away. Besides, Mr. Dous will definitely make sure that he won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences of creating trouble here. Bryce suddenly got excited and eximed, ¡°Grandpa, Lucas is already here. Hehe, I have to go and watch the fun. I hope Mr. Dous beats him into a pulp. I¡¯ll get to take revenge for my broken wrist!¡± After saying that, Bryce quickly hung up, eager to see how badly Lucas had been beaten up. ¡°Hello! Hello!¡± Dominic yelled while holding his phone and trembling incessantly in exasperation. You¡¯re going to be the death of me! If Lucas nabs him, Bryce will be in huge trouble! Bryce was Dominic¡¯s only grandson, whom he regarded as the sessor of the Carter family. If something were to happen to him, what was he supposed to do?! While Dominic was anxious, Lucas and Jordan had already rushed straight to the fourth floor of the Luxe, which was the VIP area, but were stopped by several security officers. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, gentlemen. Only VIP guests of the club can enter this floor.¡± Lucas ignored him while Jordan stepped forward and barked, ¡°Where are Brad Dous and that woman he brought with him?¡± The security officers looked at each other. His tone is so hostile. Is he here to create trouble? The burly men at the side immediately surrounded Jordan after hearing his words. These burly men were professional fighters who worked for Dous. Usually, they were in charge of guarding and maintaining order in the Luxe, solving all conflicts here. They were also the ones who took Charlotte away after crashing into the car in the Hummer. ¡°Brat, are you here to cause trouble? You should consider where this is!¡± The burly man, who was the leader, red hostilely at Lucas and Jordan. ¡°You¡¯ve got a death wish!¡± Jordan instantly appeared in front of the burly man like a bolt of lightning. He raised his arm and pped the man hard on his face. ¡°Ah!¡± The burly man shrieked as he was sent flying by Jordan¡¯s p. He couldn¡¯t get up after a long time, and his face instantly swelled while two of his teeth fell out. Jordan¡¯s strike was as fast as lightning, and he had applied a lot of force. So these men, who were usually the ones to beat others up, couldn¡¯t help but feel a chill down their spines. ¡°Don¡¯t you guys know that this club is the property of the Dous family?¡± the burly men asked sternly. ¡°Hmph, we¡¯re looking for Brad Dous. Where is he?¡± Jordan questioned. Seeing that Lucas was losing his patience, Jordan decided not to give them any more chances. He clenched his fists with cracking sounds. They were both emitting an iparably terrifying aura, making the burly men too scared to fight them. They simply stood in front of Lucas and Jordan and broke out into cold sweat. The Carter family was just a small family, and even Bryce, the scion, had to bow down and treat them with respect. The woman they abducted had gotten kicked out of her family too. How could there be such powerful people looking for her? As Lucas took a step forward, the burly men immediately felt oppressed, and their hearts began ricocheting violently. They no longer had the intention to resist. ¡°Mr. Dous is in the room inside. So is that woman.¡± The burly men hurriedly spilled the beans, fearing that the terrifying man in front of them would crush them into bits if they were slow. At this moment, in a luxurious room at the innermost part of the VIP floor, Charlotte was lying unconscious on a bed with a man beside her, staring at her with strong desire in his eyes. Chapter 55: Tell Him to Come Here

Chapter 55: Tell Him to Come Here

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The two attendants had already cleaned up the vomit on Charlotte¡¯s body and changed her into a translucent silk nightgown that entuated her figure. At the side, Brad Dous rubbed his hands and ced a camcorder on the table opposite the bed, with the camera facing Charlotte lying on therge bed. He then walked step by step toward her while admiring her curves under the nightgown. His breathing became heavier, and the desire in his eyes intensified. Unfortunately, Charlotte, who was still in a drowsy state and had her eyes tightly shut, was oblivious to the impending danger. ¡°Hahaha, beautiful babe, I¡¯ming!¡± Dous swallowed a mouthful of saliva and leaped toward Charlotte as soon as he ripped off his pants. At this moment, the door of the private room was kicked open with a loud bang, throwing the door off its hinges. Shocked, Dous turned around and yelled ferociously, ¡°Who is it?!¡± The Luxe was his turf, but someone actually kicked his door. This person is too insolent! In the corridor outside, the two rogues leading the way were even more frightened by Lucas¡¯s kick, so much so that their hair stood on end. Lucas managed to send the steel door flying with a single kick. If he were to kick them, they would die. They were certain that their bones were much weaker than steel! Luckily, they were smart enough not to continue going against the two terrifying men! Lucas quickly nced around the room and was relieved when he saw Charlotte lying on the bed in a nightgown and Dous still wearing his briefs. Fortunately, he had arrived in time, and Charlotte hadn¡¯t been vited. ¡°Kid, who do you think you are? How dare youe and ruin things for me? Are you tired of living?¡± Dous barked while ring at Lucas gloomily, wishing he could rip him apart. He was interrupted right before he was about to enjoy a night with the beautiful Charlotte, greatly displeasing him. In particr, Lucas was creating a huge mess and ruckus on his turf. It was clearly a p to his face! ¡°You should be thankful that you haven¡¯t touched her. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be standing here right now,¡± Lucas said indifferently. ¡°Damn it! You arrogant bastard!¡± Dous raised his hand in fury and smacked a hidden button on the wall. In an instant, about twenty ferocious henchmen charged in with menacing auras. ¡°Beat these two people! Leave them at theirst breaths and then break one of their hands each before throwing them out!¡± Seeing that his subordinates hade over, Dous was extremely conceited. After ordering them, he sat on the couch at the side and began smoking a cigar leisurely. This was the only fate troublemakers would suffer after creating a ruckus here! ¡°Hmph, break our hands?¡± Lucas nced at the henchmen and remainedposed, not fazed at all. He snorted. ¡°Since you like hands so much, all of you will stay! Jordan, break both their hands!¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan eximed with excitement in his eyes. It had been a long time since he got to hit someone! Like a phantom, he instantly appeared beside one of the henchmen. Before they could see Jordan¡¯s movements clearly, the crisp sounds of bones being snapped rang out, followed by miserable cries from the henchman whose wrists had been crushed! ¡°Ah! My arms!¡± The intense pain on his wrists caused the tall and burly henchman to kneel on the ground and break out into cold sweat immediately. Before the shock could appear on the others¡¯ faces, Jordan¡¯s figure reappeared beside another henchman like a bolt of lightning. No one could evade him at all. Ka-ka! Ka-cha! Ka! Ka-ka! ... The crunching sound of bones being crushed one after another resounded in the room, and the henchmen began wailing one after another. Finally, someone was so terrified that he wanted to flee, but before he could run away, the terrifying hand of death that was like an iron mpnded on his wrists and crushed his bones right away. ¡°Help! Ah!¡± Their miserable cries rang out one after another. In an instant, the nearly twenty burly henchmen fell to their knees and began wailing while clutching their broken wrists. The cigar in Dous¡¯s mouth had fallen to the ground, and he couldn¡¯t help but shiver, frightened by the scene before him. He no longer felt fearless and bold like he was earlier and was now as pale as a sheet. His lips trembled, and his legs had already turned into jelly. He could not even utter a word now because Jordan and Lucas were both staring at him coldly. All of a sudden, Dous¡¯s phone on the table began ringing. Lucas took a nce at the caller ID and sneered when he saw the words, ¡®Wastrel of the Carters.¡¯ ¡°Bryce Carter?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Dous hurriedly nodded frantically. ¡°Answer the call.¡± Dous dared not defy Lucas¡¯s order and hurriedly reached his trembling finger out to painstakingly press the answer button. ¡°Mr. Dous, are you done?¡± Bryce asked. ¡°Why don¡¯t you send me a few photos? In the future, you can toy with that woman however you like.¡± Lucas snorted coldly. Bryce Carter really doesn¡¯t know any better! Frightened by Lucas¡¯s murderous snort, Dous immediately fell to the ground. Holding his phone, he wished he could rip Bryce into pieces! Damn it! What a lousy idea from this dog! Bryce made him kidnap Charlotte and said that it was a special tribute to him, but instead of getting to enjoy sleeping with her, he ended up provoking two horrifying people! All the henchmen, whom he had spent lots of money on, had their wrists broken before they could even attack. ¡°Get him toe here,¡± Lucas ordered coldly. Dous was clenching his jaw with resentment. Seeing that Lucas seemed to want to deal with Bryce, he frantically said, ¡°Hurry up and get your ass here.¡± After hanging up, Dous hurriedly begged Lucas for mercy. ¡°I really don¡¯t know anything. That bastard Bryce Carter came to me for help and said that he would let me sleep with his cousin as long as I take some videos and photos of her. Had I known earlier that she¡¯s rted to you, I wouldn¡¯t have touched this beautiful girl!¡± ¡°Mr. Dous, are you looking for me...¡± Bryce¡¯s voice abruptly ceased at the door. He thought that Dous had called him up because he was done and was going to give him the photos and videos. But he was dumbfounded by the scene before him! What did he see?! The burly henchmen in the room were rolling on the ground while the mighty Brad Dous was kneeling in front of someone! And that someone was Lucas! Chapter 56: Paying People Back in Their Own Coin

Chapter 56: Paying People Back in Their Own Coin

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bryce¡¯s legs instantly went weak, and he knelt on the ground. Everything in front of him made him suspect that his world had be fantastical. Brad Dous is actually kneeling in front of Lucas?! Lucas nced at Bryce indifferently, as though he was looking at something dead. He looked back at Dous, who was lying on the ground. ¡°You said he came to you for help? In that case, was he the one who instigated you to handle the incident six years ago?¡± ¡°Which incident?¡± Dous was a bit confused for a moment. Over the years, Bryce had approached him and asked him to do many sordid things. All of a sudden, he couldn¡¯t guess which one Lucas was referring to. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, the Brilliance Corporation,¡± Lucas reminded snappily. ¡°Oh!¡± As soon as he heard Cheyenne¡¯s name, Dous instantly remembered and nodded frantically. ¡°Yes, Bryce made me do it. At that time, he wanted to encroach on the Brilliance Corporation and snatch it away from Cheyenne Carter, so he came to me and asked me to help him get some drugs. Afterward, due to a freakbination of factors, Cheyenne got involved with a lowly chauffeur. Later on, Cheyenne became pregnant, and Bryce got us to go make trouble. That woman was so angry that she ended up going into prematurebor, resulting in them taking over the Brilliance Corporation.¡± Dous was afraid of Lucas and almost immediately answered all the questions asked. Lucas¡¯s face got increasingly gloomy. At the end, he began ring daggers while smashing his fists on the wall, causing arge cobweb-like crack to appear on the finely-furnished wall with a pit the size of a basin in the middle. Dous instantly fell silent, not daring to continue. Meanwhile, Bryce¡¯s fear intensified, and he almost got shocked into peeing his pants! Dous was clearly terrified of Lucas too! Lucas and Jordan had clearly attacked the henchmen clutching their broken wrists in the room! In that case, w-what will happen to me? At the thought of how much he had been bullying Cheyenne over the past few days, the insults he had hurled at Lucas, the misdeeds he had done to Cheyenne back then, and how he had just tried to set up Charlotte... Bryce¡¯s heart immediately began ricocheting violently as cold sweat surged out of his body. He felt a warm and moist sensation in his lower body. At this moment, Bryce recalled everything that Dominic had said to him over the phone earlier: ¡°Lucas Gray has gone to look for you. Hurry up and leave. Don¡¯t let him find you!¡± Now, he finally knew why Dominic gave him this warning. It was because Lucas was really too terrifying! At this moment, Bryce was full of regret! He regretted not listening to his grandfather¡¯s warning and not bringing Charlotte back home earlier. He even regretted digging his own grave by provoking and offending Lucas. ¡°Lucas, I know I did something wrong. Please let me off...¡± Bryce pleaded spinelessly. Lucas red at him coldly and sent him flying with a kick. He mmed against the door frame and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood. Then Lucas kicked Dous until he wailed endlessly. Of course, this was the result of Lucas restraining his strength. Otherwise, both of them would have died long ago. Lucas obviously wouldn¡¯t let them die, but he didn¡¯t n to let them off either. ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t you guys like ying such tricks? Go ahead and have a taste of your own medicine then!¡± Lucas turned his head to face Jordan. ¡°Carry them both to the room at the side and feed them their own drugs. Remember to record a video.¡± Thinking about that image, Jordan couldn¡¯t help but shudder in disgust! However, in order to deal with such people, they had to pay them back in their own coin! Soon, Jordan enthusiastically carried both of them to the room next door, bringing with him the camera and the bottle of medicine. Before long, bizarre sounds of pain mixed with pleasure came from the room next door. The henchmen on the ground couldn¡¯t help but shiver when they heard the sounds. They didn¡¯t even dare to shriek in pain! This man is too terrifying! Soon, Jordan came out with the camera. ¡°Damn it! It was such an eyesore! I have to wash my eyes when I get back!¡± Jordan eximed with a look of disgust. ¡°Lucas, what do we do with this?¡± ¡°Put it on the inte with their names spelled out. Make sure their faces are in HD.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Jordan put the camera away excitedly. The henchmen were frightened. Too ruthless! Not only did they film such a video and decide to put it on the inte, but they also wanted to make sure their faces were in HD and clearly seen. The two of them were going to be shamed thoroughly, and they would never have the cheek to face others again! Even their families would be disgraced by them! Lucas looked at the group of horrified henchmen and barked, ¡°Get lost!¡± The henchmen immediately stopped rolling around and wailing, as if their pressure had suddenly been released. They hurriedly got up and scrambled out of the room in panic, fearing that Lucas would change his mind if they were too slow. After everyone was gone, Lucas walked over to the bed. He frowned and draped arge bathrobe over Charlotte¡¯s translucent and revealing nightgown. Lucas was utterly disgusted by Bryce and Dous¡¯s behavior! As men, they actually resorted to using such despicable tricks on women. Not only did they ruin the women, they even recorded videos and photos to threaten them. They were worse than beasts! Back then, they sessfully set up Cheyenne, but something went wrong in between, and Lucas was made to take responsibility for her. Otherwise, Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t have had herpany taken away from her due to her prematurebor. Instead, she would have had explicit photos taken and used against her. Her life would have been ruined. Charlotte ended up in such a setup today too. If he hadn¡¯t rushed here in time, she would have really had her body and reputation tarnished by Dous. Charlotte might not be able to endure having the explicit photos taken while Cheyenne would be sad for life because of what happened to her sister! They deserved to be punished harshly! Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to suppress the anger within, Lucas bent over and pinched Charlotte¡¯s temples skillfully. This was a method he had learned in the military, which was very effective for awakening unconscious people. Indeed, after Lucas pressed a few times, Charlotte¡¯s eyshes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. Charlotte clearly still hadn¡¯t gotten a clear idea of the situation yet. The moment before she passed out, she was still sitting in Sophie¡¯s car. Afterward, something seemed to have rammed into her... Charlotte blinked, sat up, and then realized that the bathrobe draped over her had already slid off, revealing her translucent nightgown. To her horror, she wasn¡¯t wearing anything underneath! ¡°Ah!¡± Charlotte screamed. She covered her chest and pped Lucas, who was in front of her. ¡°You¡¯re shameless!¡± Chapter 57: Heartwarming Family

Chapter 57: Heartwarming Family

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios A trace of anger surfaced on Lucas¡¯s stunned face, but he immediately saw Charlotte picking up her bathrobe anxiously before starting to wail like a child. He instantly curbed his anger. ¡°You have the wrong idea. I¡¯ll call your sister over.¡± ¡°Y-you still have the cheek to call my sister toe... You bastard...¡± Lucas didn¡¯t bother paying attention to her again. He simply called Cheyenne and told her the address of the Luxe. Lucas originally wanted Jordan to go and pick her up, but she had been extremely worried at home for a long time. Now that she had received some news about her younger sister, how could she continue waiting? She simply said that she would call a cab and rush over immediately. Lucas asked Jordan to wait for Cheyenne downstairs so that she wouldn¡¯t run into some idiots when arriving at the club. Soon after, Cheyenne rushed up from downstairs under Jordan¡¯s escort. ¡°Where¡¯s Charlotte?¡± Cheyenne asked worriedly. ¡°Inside.¡± Lucas tipped his head toward the room behind him. Cheyenne dashed in immediately. ¡°Cheyenne!¡± Upon seeing her sister, Charlotte hugged her and cried her heart out. Cheyenne hugged her for a while tofort her and confirmed that her younger sister hadn¡¯t been vited. Charlotte finally calmed down and said sobbingly, ¡°Cheyenne, Lucas is a bastard. Just now, he... If I hadn¡¯t woken up, he would have gotten what he wanted! He even had the cheek to call you toe. Cheyenne, you have to leave a scumbag like him!¡± Cheyenne was caught betweenughter and tears. ¡°Charlotte, there must be some misunderstanding. Lucas came to save you. If it weren¡¯t for him, you would have really been in danger.¡± Charlotte was instantly stunned. Before she passed out, she was still in Sophie¡¯s car. And when she woke up again, she saw Lucas right in front of her while she was surrounded by a strange aura. Her clothes had also been changed into a skimpy nightgown... So she subconsciously thought it was Lucas who brought her here andmitted some disgusting acts on her. Yet it turned out that Lucas was here to rescue her. ¡°How did I end up here then?¡± Charlotte hurriedly asked. Cheyenne told her, in general, everything that happened earlier. After hearing this, Charlotte clenched her fist fiercely and punched the bed. Gritting her teeth, she barked, ¡°Bryce Carter! It¡¯s all his fault! I¡¯m not going to spare him!¡± However, when she thought about the p she had just given Lucas, Charlotte felt extremely remorseful. ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯m sorry. I misunderstood Lucas just now and pped him...¡± ¡°Uh...¡± Cheyenne was at a loss for words and merely coughed twice. ¡°H-he won¡¯t me you. Let¡¯s hurry home!¡± After they cleaned up and came out, Lucas seemed to be acting as per usual. ¡°It¡¯ste. I¡¯ll send you guys back.¡± Charlotte blushed and followed him together with Cheyenne, feeling grateful yet embarrassed. She wanted to apologize but didn¡¯t know how to, so she felt veryplicated. By the time Lucas drove them to the entrance of the Carters¡¯ old residence, it was already almost midnight. Karen and William had no idea that Charlotte had been kidnapped and almost vited tonight, so they had already fallen asleep. Cheyenne looked at Lucas and hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Do you want to stay with Amelia tonight? She hasn¡¯t seen you all day today, and she kept moring about you before she went to bed.¡± Lucas saved Charlotte tonight, but he ended up getting pped by her because of a misunderstanding. While feeling grateful, Cheyenne felt bad too. Biting her lip and looking at Lucas, Charlotte suddenly said, ¡°Lucas, just stay.¡± Seeing both Cheyenne and Lucas look at her in surprise because of what she said, Charlotte hurriedly turned around and scurried upstairs. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower first. You guys rest early too!¡± Seeing her reaction, Cheyenne shook her head helplessly. Soon, the two of them went back upstairs to Cheyenne¡¯s room. As soon as they entered, Amelia, who was lying on the bed, rubbed her eyes and got up. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re back...¡± When Amelia saw Lucas beside Cheyenne, her eyes instantly lit up in surprise, and she was suddenly awake. ¡°Daddy!¡± Amelia leaped into Lucas¡¯s arms happily. ¡°Daddy, where were you today? I didn¡¯t see you all day.¡± Lucas stroked her head. ¡°I was busy with something today. It¡¯s sote. Why are you still awake?¡± ¡°I was waiting for you, Daddy! Mommy went out too. Mommy, did you go out to find Daddy just now? Is Daddy going to sleep with us tonight?¡± Amelia blinked herrge innocent eyes expectantly. Cheyenne¡¯s face turned red, and she pretended to be angry. ¡°What nonsense are you saying? It¡¯ste. Quickly go to bed!¡± Amelia leaned closer to Cheyenne and touched her face seriously with a look of worry. ¡°Mommy, your face is so warm. Are you sick again?¡± Cheyenne had been running a high fever a few days ago, which had given Amelia a fright. Hearing Amelia¡¯s words, Cheyenne felt even more embarrassed. Fortunately, Lucas carried Amelia away. ¡°Good children have to sleep at night. Otherwise, if you can¡¯t get out of bed tomorrow, you¡¯ll bete for kindergarten!¡± Amelia put her arms around Lucas¡¯s neck and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s Saturday tomorrow. I don¡¯t have to go to kindergarten.¡± Lucas froze for a moment. Amelia continued, ¡°Mommy, Daddy, take me to the amusement park to y tomorrow! Other children often go there to y with their parents and take a lot of photos. I¡¯ve never yed at the amusement park with both of you...¡± Amelia¡¯s voice grew softer, but there was some cautious anticipation in her eyes, as if she was afraid that Lucas would turn her down. Lucas felt heartache and was overwhelmed with guilt too. His daughter was already six years old, but he had never taken her out to y. He had indeed failed as a father. He turned his head to look at Cheyenne and asked for advice softly, ¡°What do you say we take Amelia out to the amusement park to y tomorrow?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Cheyenne agreed with a nod without looking at him. After hearing this, Amelia leaped with joy and gave Lucas and Cheyenne each a kiss on their cheek. She was as happy as ark. Seeing their daughter being on cloud nine over such a simple matter, both Lucas and Cheyenne felt a little upset. ¡°Okay, cut it out. Go to sleep quickly. If you get upte tomorrow, we won¡¯t be able to go to the amusement park!¡± Cheyenne carried Amelia back to the inner side of the bed and covered her with the nket. After hearing this, Amelia was so anxious that she hurriedlyid down obediently. ¡°Okay! Goodnight Mommy. Goodnight Daddy! I¡¯m so happy!¡± Soon, Cheyenne slept on the same bed as Amelia as usual, while Lucas quietlyy on the mattress on the ground beside her. The room was silent except for the tender sounds of breathing that made Lucas¡¯s heart grow warmer. Chapter 58: Danger on the Bridge

Chapter 58: Danger on the Bridge

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bright early the next morning, many people tapped away on their phones orputers while eating breakfast to catch up with current affairs, only to be shocked speechless by a piece of groundbreaking news. They almost spat out the food in their mouths! The astonishing images, videos, high-definition faces, titles, and articles that directly exposed the identity of the people involved in a scandal upied the front pages of countless forums and social media tforms. All of a sudden, the scandal caused a huge uproar in Orange County. After all, the people involved in the scandal were famous figures with whom many in Orange County were familiar. ¡°Wow, oh my god! I didn¡¯t expect those two to be so disgusting! They even yed with ss?!¡± ¡°Tsk, aren¡¯t they the yboys Brad Dous and Bryce Carter? Everyone knows them. They seemed like decent people, but I didn¡¯t expect them to be so... ugh!¡± Countless people were discussing that matter and perceiving the Carter and Dous families in a different light. When Dominic saw the images and footage of the news, he shook violently and almost vomited blood! Bryce... his grandson, whom he regarded as his sessor, had done something so unsightly and outrageous that he became theughing stock of the entire county! At this juncture, the butler of the Carters walked in and reported softly, ¡°Mr. Carter, Mr. Bryce Carter has returned, but he doesn¡¯t seem too well...¡± Before the butler finished speaking, Dominic immediately lost his temper. ¡°Tell him to get lost! Get him out of here! From now on, I, Dominic Carter, will have nothing to do with Bryce Carter again!¡± At the same time, the esteemed and authoritative patriarch of the prestigious Dous family was also infuriated as he pped his hand on a table ferociously. ¡°Bastard! Everyone in the county knows about your scandal!¡± Brad Dous knelt in front of the old man, not even daring to breathe. However, he still tried to exin. ¡°Grandpa, I was set up by someone! He beat me up, drugged me, and locked me up with that loser Bryce Carter. He even deliberately filmed those videos and spread them around...¡± ¡°Who did it?¡± The old man was even more furious when he heard this. Anyone who dares to do that to a Dous must be tired of living! ¡°It¡¯s Lucas Gray, that useless son-inw of the Carters!¡± Brad gritted his teeth. When he woke upst night, he had already looked for Bryce and forced him to reveal the culprit¡¯s identity. To be toyed like this by the live-in son-inw of the Carters was his shame! ¡°Hmph, a loser like him managed tond you in this state. You¡¯re such a disappointment! If you can¡¯t settle this matter, you don¡¯t deserve to be my grandson,¡± Mr. Dous Senior said coldly. Brad hung his head low and clenched his jaw. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will definitely get revenge on him!¡± A resentful gleam of light darted out of his eyes. Lucas Gray, I must get revenge, or I¡¯m not a human! ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Lucas was taking Cheyenne and Amelia to thergest amusement park in Orange County. They first boarded the Ferris wheel, followed by the Viking ship, andstly the carousel. Amelia, who was wearing a beautiful princess dress, was smiling tedly. She finally went to the amusement park with her parents, just like other kids! Along the way, she had been holding Cheyenne¡¯s hand with her left hand and Lucas¡¯s hand with her right, with pure bliss written all over her face. All of a sudden, Amelia stopped and ced their hands together. ¡°Daddy, Mommy, hold each other¡¯s hands.¡± Upon his handing into contact with Cheyenne¡¯s small and tender hand, Lucas¡¯s heart skipped a beat while she felt helplessly embarrassed. She was about to retract her hand, but Amelia put their hands together tightly. ¡°Jamie told me that if Mommy and Daddy hold hands like this, they will soon have a little baby. Daddy, Mommy, hurry up and give me another little brother or sister so that I won¡¯t be an only child!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face instantly turned red, and even her ears reddened. She quickly retracted her hand like she had been electrocuted. ¡°Children shouldn¡¯t be spouting nonsense!¡± Cheyenne chided Amelia. ¡°Huh? Is that wrong? Then how do little brothers and sisterse?¡± Amelia asked, tilting her head in curiosity. Looking at her daughter¡¯s innocent and expectant little face, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t resist her at all. She red at Lucas angrily. Dumbstruck, Lucasughed, finding the angry Cheyenne from embarrassment just as adorable as Amelia. He couldn¡¯t bear to let Cheyenne continue being embarrassed, so he picked Amelia up in his arms and ran forward. ¡°Quick, let¡¯s go watch the dolphin show!¡± ¡°Wow! Dolphins!¡± As soon as Amelia heard that they were going to see dolphins, she immediately forgot about the things she just mored about. Cheyenne let out a long sigh of relief. Watching the father and daughter duo running in front of her andughing happily, she couldn¡¯t help smiling gently. After ying in the amusement park for more than half the day, Lucas and Cheyenne left together with Amelia, who was reluctant to leave. Lucas drove Cheyenne and Amelia home in his ck Jaguar. After a day of fun, the three of them became closer. As the car drove along, Amelia climbed in the back seat and snuggled up to Cheyenne while chattering happily about what she had seen today. Then she said to Cheyenne, ¡°Mommy, when will we go out to y with Daddy again? I¡¯m so happy today!¡± Cheyenne pinched Amelia¡¯s little nose. ¡°We¡¯ve already yed for an entire day. Aren¡¯t you tired yet?¡± The two of themughed and yed with each other in the back seat while Lucas watched them through the rearview mirror, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. Suddenly, Lucas¡¯s gaze turned cold. On the bridge they were on, a Hummer was speeding toward them diagonally from thene beside them, trying to collide with the ck Jaguar! ¡°Be careful! Hold on tight!¡± Lucas eximed. He floored the gas pedal while turning the steering wheel, revving up the Jaguar and speeding off, avoiding the Hummer by a close shave. On the other hand, the Hummer couldn¡¯t brake in time because of its enormous momentum and thus crashed directly into the bridge railing and then into the river below. ¡°Are you guys alright?¡± Lucas immediately turned around to check on Cheyenne and Amelia after pulling over to the side of the road. Scared soulless, Cheyenne hugged Amelia tightly and had turned as pale as a sheet from the fright. In contrast, Amelia hadn¡¯t realized the danger they were in just now and was simply shocked because she thought that Lucas had braked in an emergency. Luckily, both of them had their seat belts securely fastened and were not injured. With lingering fear, Cheyenne turned around, looked at the destroyed bridge railing, and asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with that car?¡± Lucas shook his head, pretending to be thankful to have escaped the close shave with death. ¡°No idea. Maybe the brakes broke. It was so close to hitting our car.¡± Looking at the vast river worriedly, Cheyenne said, ¡°I wonder how the driver is doing.¡± They were on the bridge and couldn¡¯t see what was going on in the river below. ¡°Someone over there has already called the police. The police and rescue teams should be arriving soon. We¡¯d better go first, or the road will be closedter,¡± Lucas said. Cheyenne nodded. She hugged her daughter tightly, feeling fortunate. Lucas restarted the car, but this time, his eyes were ice cold. Chapter 59: Creating a Ruckus

Chapter 59: Creating a Ruckus

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas knew very well that this was definitely not an ident, but rather, someone had deliberately tried to crash into them to kill them! Given the size and speed of the Hummer just now, they would have either been pushed to the edge of the bridge or knocked over and dropped into the river below if Lucas hadn¡¯t reacted quickly and dodged early! If he were alone, he could still escape from the danger. But there were two vulnerable females in the car! They were also the two people he loved the most! They were his weakness, and no one was allowed to touch them! A figure dived silently into the river below the bridge and swam to the Hummer that was gradually sinking into the water. He then punched the window to break it and pulled the driver out. After swimming to the shallow waters hundreds of meters away, the figure finally dragged the driver, who was about to drown and suffocate, ashore. The figure was Jordan, Lucas¡¯s right-hand man! Jordan turned the driver¡¯s body face up and stepped on his stomach. Immediately afterward, arge amount of river water mixed with mud and sand surged out of the driver¡¯s mouth and nostrils. The driver came to and coughed violently, coughing up the water in his stomach. After the driver was almost done, Jordan stepped hard on his stomach and questioned, ¡°Speak. Who put you to it?¡± The driver just had a near-death experience. As he stared at Jordan towering above him, his face turned even paler. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°You still don¡¯t want toe clean, huh?¡± Without hesitation, Jordan picked up the driver by his cor and pressed his head toward the water. ¡°If you don¡¯t say anything, you can stay inside!¡± Watching the icy-cold river water getting closer and closer to him, the driver, who just experienced drowning, immediately shrieked in terror and began struggling. However, Jordan was pressing his hand hard against the driver¡¯s neck, rendering him unable to struggle. Seeing that his head was about to be pressed into the water again, the driver no longer cared about anything else. He simply broke down and started yelling loudly. ¡°Ah! I¡¯ll speak up! Please spare my life...¡± Teary-eyed, the driver begged for mercy. Jordan pulled his head up slightly with one hand and ordered, ¡°Speak!¡± ¡°I-it was Mr. D-Dous. Brad Dous was the one who instructed me to hit that car!¡± ¡ª¡ª Lucas sent Cheyenne and Amelia back home and watched the two of them enter the house, but he didn¡¯t stay behind. ¡°Lucas.¡± Just as Lucas was about to drive away, Cheyenne suddenly called out to stop him. ¡°Do you have something to do now?¡± Cheyenne asked hesitantly. Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes, I have some trivial matters to handle.¡± ¡°You were the one who did those things to the Carters recently, right?¡± Cheyenne asked, her jaws clenched. Since Cheyenne asked, Lucas did not intend to hide it from her. He nodded. ¡°Yes, but they deserve it.¡± Cheyenne hesitated for a while but nevertheless said, ¡°Can you let them off? They must have learned their lesson from what happenedtely.¡± It was not that Cheyenne was being a saint, but rather, she had grown up with the Carters after all, and those people used to be her rtives. She still cared about their kinship and didn¡¯t want to take things too far. Lucas looked at Cheyenne affectionately and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± When Lucas was driving and halfway into his journey, Jordan called. ¡°Lucas, the culprit is really that bastard Brad Dous!¡± ¡°Hmph, as expected!¡± Lucas snorted coldly. He stepped on the gas pedal and sped to the Luxe maniacally. Seems like Brad Dous hasn¡¯t learned his lesson yet! Lucas wasn¡¯t fazed by the fact that Dous was a member of a first-tier family thatmanded great power among the gangs in Orange County. Anyone who dared to harm the two people he cherished the most and put them in danger deserved to die! At this moment, Dous was sitting in the Luxe with a menacing expression. The incidentst night made him utterly embarrassed and even left him in great pain, especially in his private area. He couldn¡¯t even sit properly without feeling agony. ¡°Mr. Dous, that bastard must be dead now. Even if he didn¡¯t die from the collision, he must have died from drowning. Our people also deliberately created some obstacles on the road so that the rescue vehicles wouldn¡¯t be able to get there in time,¡± said an underling. ¡°Hah! It was too easy for him! I heard that his beautiful wife, Cheyenne Carter, was also in the car. It¡¯s quite a pity she died with him. Otherwise, it¡¯d be nice to toy with the former greatest beauty of Orange County!¡± Dous gibed as he puffed out a mouthful of a cigar. ¡°Haha, Mr. Dous, you can get any kind of woman you want. The one yesterday is Cheyenne¡¯s sister. She¡¯s quite pretty too. If you¡¯d like, I¡¯ll get her immediately!¡± A few of his underlings were hurriedly trying to curry favor with him. ¡°Haha, good! Yesterday, that bastard messed things up for me and even incurred my wrath! I must get that woman over here again to vent! Let¡¯s see who¡¯ll try getting in my way again!¡± Dous beganughing without restraint while the people around him egged him on. At this moment, the ck Jaguar stopped at the entrance of the Luxe. Lucas stepped out of the car, and Jordan, who had been waiting at the side, immediately greeted him. ¡°Lucas, tell me what to do!¡± Luxe looked up at the luxurious Luxe clubhouse with an icy cold gaze. ¡°Smash it!¡± Upon receiving the order, Jordan immediately charged forward without hesitation and kicked the exquisite door and the stone monument with the word ¡®Luxe¡¯ carved on it, smashing them into pieces! The flying stone debris smashed against the huge tempered ss door with a loud bang, and ss shards scattered all over the floor. The numerous people in the club were frightened by the sudden noise and started screaming loudly. Several security officers and henchmen immediately came over. ¡°Who are you people? How dare you make trouble at the club?!¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± All they received in response was a series of sounds of things breaking. Jordan broke a stool leg in his hand and smashed everything in sight. He smashed the opulent bar counter! He smashed the wine cab full of famous and expensive alcohol! He smashed the dazzling chandelier! He smashed the tables, windows, chairs, and other furniture! Everyone in the club frantically scurried out shrieking. ¡°Damn it! These two are here to cause trouble! Just beat them to death!¡± a henchman as burly as a tower immediately hollered. More than ten of his subordinates rushed over from all directions. Lucas snorted coldly. Brad Dous¡¯s twenty-odd henchmen got their wrists broken yesterday and definitely can¡¯t make it to work today. He probably hired these backup goons from somewhere. They really don¡¯t know any better. Jordan charged forward and shuttled through the people as quick as a phantom. In less than a moment, ten-odd people had their wrists snapped just like those yesterday! One of the henchmen scrambled into the private room where Dous was and eximed in a fluster, ¡°Bad news, Mr. Dous! The two people from yesterday are here again!¡± Chapter 60: Paying the Price

Chapter 60: Paying the Price

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing his underling¡¯s report, Dous immediately stood up and asked with a glowering expression, ¡°What did you say? Are you sure it¡¯s those two from yesterday?¡± The underling nodded profusely in horror. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s those two from yesterday. I wouldn¡¯t recognize them wrongly! They¡¯re currently smashing the things in the main hall of the first floor, and the guests are terrified.¡± Dous kicked the coffee table furiously, but he identally touched his hidden injury, making him fly into a rage. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Lucas Gray was knocked off the bridge? Why is he still alive?¡± The one who came to report the matter earlier didn¡¯t seem too well, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. ¡°He indeed... fell into the river. We saw from afar that he fell off the bridge and plunged into the river. The rescue teams rushed over, but they were stopped.¡± Bam¡ªDous pped the underling hard on the face. ¡°Bullshit! If he really plunged into the river and drowned to death, are the ones here creating trouble ghosts? You trash!¡± Dous was just celebrating the fact that he had killed Lucas and took revenge. But now, they were here pping him in his face! ¡°Let¡¯s go. Gather everyone and go down with me. I refuse to believe he can defeat us!¡± Dous eximed as he hurried downstairs with a furious and menacing expression. At this moment, the people in the hall below were all badly bashed up by Jordan, and broken ss, wine bottles, ceiling lights, and shattered debris of furniture covered the ground. The initially luxurious hall was smashed and ended up looking like a garbage dump. Today, Dous had just hired more than ten henchmen, but they were all currently rolling in pain on the ground with broken wrists! Seeing this, Dous was overwhelmed with exasperation. Those bastards! ¡°Damn it! Beat them!¡± Hearing Dous¡¯s order, his underlings behind, who were all holding steel rods and weapons, immediately charged forward. ¡°Hmph, you must have a death wish!¡± Before Lucas said anything, Jordan picked up a chair and rushed over. His movements were far quicker than Dous¡¯s underlings. Before the underlings¡¯ weapons could hit him, the leg of Jordan¡¯s chair had already mmed onto their wrists and thighs. Bang! ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Waaa!¡± With Jordan¡¯s fast and urate hits, the dozen or so people who rushed up all shrieked in pain miserably as they dropped their weapons and started rolling on the ground, clutching their wrists and thighs and wailing loudly. Seeing this, Dous became terrified and furious. The ten-odd people holding weapons actually failed to even harm Lucas in the slightest. Instead, they were beaten up by the other party! ¡°Stop! Lucas, what exactly are you trying to do?¡± Dous gritted his teeth and red at Lucas while the fear and horror in his heart surged again like yesterday. ¡°What do I want to do? Aren¡¯t you aware of what you got someone to do today?¡± Lucas looked at Dous with an icy cold re. On that bridge today, his wife and daughter had had a close shave with death. How could Lucas let Dous off easily? Dous suddenly choked. He had sent someone to run over Lucas and his wife and daughter with a car, but his n failed, and Lucas was now at his door and seeking revenge. This was totally out of his expectations. Facing Lucas¡¯s icy cold eyes, Dous subconsciously took a few steps back. ¡°There must be some misunderstanding somewhere. Actually, there¡¯s no unresolvable feud between us. Why don¡¯t we sit down and have a good talk? What do you think?¡± Despite saying that, Dous didn¡¯t really n to bury the hatchet. He would never forget the shame Lucas had brought himst night! He would never spare Lucas! When they sat down to chat, he would have someone spike Lucas¡¯s drink and then get his subordinates to make him have a taste of his own medicine! Once he was done taking revenge, he would make him vanish forever! Lucas sneered and nced at Dous in disdain, as if he had seen through his thoughts. ¡°Have a good talk? Who are you to do that with me?!¡± Lucas gripped the wine bottle on the table next to him and fiercely smashed it on Dous¡¯s head. Smack! With a crisp sound, the bottle shattered and cut open Dous¡¯s head. Crimson blood began gushing out from the top of his head. After being stunned for a while, Dous touched his bloodied head and glowered at Lucas furiously. ¡°You... How dare you...¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯d better remember this. If you dare to provoke me and the people I care about again, I¡¯ll definitely make your life a living hell!¡± Lucas kicked Dous in his knees, twisting his legs into a warped angle, and made him tumble out far, far away. Without being able to utter a single word, Dous passed out. Everyone in the room was scared into silence, not daring to breathe a single word as they watched Lucas and Jordan leave. Too terrifying! Only when the figures of these two people hadpletely disappeared did someone from the Luxe quickly take Dous to the hospital. ¡ª¡ª Soon, Brad Dous¡¯s father, Gordon Dous, hurried to the hospital. When he saw his son, whose head was wrapped in bandages and legs were covered with casts, Gordon Dous was infuriated. In Orange County, no one had ever disrespected the Dous family or had the guts to beat his son so badly! ¡°Find him! Get someone to find him! I must take revenge and kill him!¡± ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Lucas was already on his way back to thekeside vi with Jordan. He was covered in blood just now, so he didn¡¯t want to go back to the Carters, lest Cheyenne and Amelia saw the state he was in. Thinking about Cheyenne¡¯s request for him to let the Carters off today, Lucas called Flynn Davis and gave him some instructions. After taking a shower, Lucas stood by the railing on a balcony and looked at the sparklingke outside with a bitter smile. Previously, he proposed to Cheyenne at the Intercontinental Hotel but was turned down by her. Later on, he revealed his identity to her and wanted to return the Brilliance Corporation to her. Unfortunately, Cheyenne refused to ept it. Cheyenne had always had a strong backbone and wasn¡¯t willing to ept favors for nothing. She merely said that she would go to the Brilliance Corporation, but she hoped to work her way up to her former position from the bottom. Cheyenne was determined, so Lucas had no choice but to give in. This was how kindhearted, intelligent, and independent the woman he loved was. ¡ª¡ª The following morning, Dominic Carter, who had stayed up all night, suddenly received an excellent piece of news. The Brilliance Corporation, which the Stardust Corporation had snatched away, suddenly gave the Carters an offer to be the guarantor of their debts and even decided to sign a cooperative contract with them! Chapter 61: Treat You to a Meal

Chapter 61: Treat You to a Meal

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When a member of the family came in to report the good news, Dominic was so excited that his fingers began trembling. He asked profusely, ¡°Really? Are you not lying to me?¡± The family member nodded agitatedly. ¡°Yes! The Brilliance Corporation has really decided to cooperate with us, and they have already sent someone over to sign the contract with us. Our factories are also back in operation. And the bank has decided to give us some leeway for the loan repayment because the Brilliance Corporation has decided to be our guarantor. They¡¯re no longer going to apply forpulsory execution!¡± ¡°Good!¡± Dominic was so excited that he rubbed his hands together. The Carters¡¯ crisis would be resolved! At this moment, another family member hurried in. ¡°Good news, Mr. Carter Senior! Thepanies that previously terminated their partnerships with us have called to resume their cooperation with us!¡± ¡°Great! Wonderful! The Carters have finally gotten through this ordeal!¡± Dominic¡¯s face reddened in excitement. All the Carters were overjoyed after surviving this cmity. God knows how hard it had been for them the past two days. They almost wanted to leave the family and find their own way out! ¡°Bryce deserves credit for this matter!¡± A woman¡¯s voice suddenly sounded. It was Bryce Carter¡¯s mother, Sarah Hadley. At the mention of Bryce, Dominic¡¯s face immediately turned gloomy again. ¡°Don¡¯t mention that sinful bastard in front of me! That impudent bastard acted presumptuously and got embroiled in a scandal that embarrassed us greatly!¡± Sarah began pouting aggrievedly. ¡°Dominic, you know very well that someone set Bryce up. If that loser Lucas Gray... hadn¡¯t spiked Bryce¡¯s and Brad Dous¡¯s drinks and even filmed a video of them, they wouldn¡¯t have ended up like that. Besides, if Lucas hadn¡¯t suddenly gone to create trouble that day, the crisis the Carters faced might have been resolved two days ago.¡± With a few words, Sarah med everything on Lucas and reminded Dominic of the horror he experienced when Lucas broke into the Carters¡¯ main residence and strangled him. He was now full of fear and hatred toward Lucas. Sarah Hadley looked at Dominic¡¯s face and continued, ¡°Bryce was chased out of the family, and he¡¯s very upset too. Yesterday, he was going around running errands for the Carters. Doesn¡¯t he deserve any credit? ¡°Also, Bryce is your only grandson after all. It¡¯s right for you to be angry with him, and you can teach him a lesson as much as you¡¯d like, but can you really bear to drive him out of the family?¡± Sarah pretended to wipe her tears. Dominic felt conflicted as well. Bryce was his only direct descendant, and he would definitely take over the family in the future. Yesterday, he chased Bryce out of the family only because of a moment of folly, but he mainly wanted to teach Bryce a lesson and did not really want to disown him. Seeing Sarah keep pleading for mercy and several other family members also helping him, Dominic sighed and agreed. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re all pleading for him, I¡¯ll give him another chance. But if he creates any trouble or disgraces the family again, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless!¡± ¡°Yes, definitely! I¡¯ll also take Bryce in hand and make sure he listens to you!¡± Sarah agreed frantically with a joyful expression. On the other hand, after hearing Dominic¡¯s decision to let him return to the family, Bryce simply felt that that should have been the case anyway. He was Dominic Carter¡¯s only biological grandson, and the entire family would be handed over to him in the future, so how could Dominic really drive him out? Lucas is too despicable! He went against me and ruined things for me. He even made me be theughing stock of the entire county! Bryce swore that he would never let Lucas off easily! While the Carters were immersed in the joy of the family crisis being over, no one knew that it was only because Cheyenne had asked Lucas to give them a way out on ount that they used to be family. Otherwise, the Carters would have long fallen apart. However, neither Lucas nor Cheyenne thought of letting the Carters find out the truth. At this moment, Lucas suddenly received a phone call, and the person who called was surprisingly Charlotte. ¡°Um... are you free now? I¡¯d like to treat you to a meal!¡± Charlotte¡¯s voice was shaky, and she clearly felt uneasy. Lucas burst intoughter. Of course, he knew why Charlotte wanted to treat him to a meal out of the blue. He had saved her that day, but she got the wrong idea and even pped him. After Cheyenne exined it to her, Charlotte had been feeling very embarrassed and conflicted. She wanted to thank him and apologize to him, but in the end, she was too shy to say anything. She should have mulled over it for a long time before finally calling him. Lucas smiled. He did not intend to hold it against Charlotte. ¡°There¡¯s no need to treat me to a meal...¡± Before Lucas finished, Charlotte quickly interrupted him, ¡°I¡¯ll book a private room and be waiting for you at Lion Restaurant.¡± After saying this, she hung up the phone. Lucas was caught betweenughter and tears. How can she insist that I let her treat me to a meal? Nevertheless, Lucas arrived at Lion Restaurant at noon. The rtionship between him and Cheyenne had finally be less strained, and Charlotte mattered a lot to Cheyenne. So no matter what, Lucas had to give in to Charlotte. Lion Restaurant was a long-established restaurant in Orange County, and it was famous for being the go-to ce for banquets held by businessmen and ordinary patrons. As soon as Lucas got out of his car, he saw Charlotte waiting for him not far away. When she saw him, she finally heaved a sigh of relief, as if she was scared that he wouldn¡¯te. Lucas walked over and touched his nose. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s really no need to do this.¡± Charlotte red at him. ¡°Since I said that I¡¯d treat you to a meal, I have to honor it. I can still afford to treat you to a meal.¡± Lucas was instantly dumbfounded and speechless. Well, Charlotte was actually not an annoying girl, but she was childish and arrogant. Lucas did not me her for it. As they were about to enter the restaurant, a voice suddenly sounded from the side. ¡°Huh? Charlotte, it¡¯s really you!¡± Gazing at Charlotte, a young man walked over with a gleeful expression. There was a woman with bouncy, curly hair standing close beside him. They were obviously very intimate with each other. Charlotte¡¯s expression instantly changed when she saw the man. Afterward, she held onto Lucas¡¯s arm somewhat uneasily and smiled radiantly at the couple in front of her. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you, Den. I didn¡¯t expect to run into you here.¡± Lucas was caught by surprise when Charlotte suddenly held onto his arm. But afterward, Lucas felt Charlotte turning stiff. It seemed that there was some history between her and this man. Chapter 62: Coincidental Encounter in the Restaurant

Chapter 62: Coincidental Encounter in the Restaurant

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Den Adams was tall and seemed to be around his mid-twenties. His features were handsome, and he dressed fashionably. Although he was a man, he put a lot of effort into skincare, and he looked just like the young heir of a well-to-do family. The long-haired woman next to him was about the same age as him. Her face was covered in exquisite makeup, and she was decked out in luxury designerbels such as Gi, Chanel, Hermes, and others. She was beautiful at first nce, but unfortunately, her face was too stic. She had obviously had cosmetic surgery on her eyelids and jaw. Den¡¯s gaze lingered on Charlotte¡¯s arm for a second, after which he smiled and held onto the shoulder of the woman beside him. He introduced, ¡°This is my wife, Estelle Brooke.¡± Estelle snuggled up to Den and sized Charlotte up. ¡°Well? Introduce Charlotte...¡± Sensing Estelle¡¯s vague jealousy, Den hurriedly put his hand on her waist tofort her. ¡°She¡¯s Charlotte Carter, my schoolmate from college.¡± Hearing Den introduce her in this manner, Charlotte couldn¡¯t help but bite hard on her lower lip. ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s Charlotte Carter! I heard Den mentioning before that there was a schoolmate from college who had been courting him for years, but he never agreed. I didn¡¯t expect it to be you.¡± Estelle said these words smilingly and casually pretended to reveal arge diamond ring on her ring finger. Charlotte¡¯s smile stiffened. She did like Den Adams back in college, but she felt mocked when his wife said it to her face and in such a sarcastic tone. It was worse especially because even Den seemed conceited. Charlotte was about to say goodbye when she heard Den say, ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence today. Estelle and I happen to have booked a private room here for a meal. You two should alsoe along. After all, it¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve seen each other.¡± After ncing at Den, Estelle said, ¡°Yeah, the Lion is the most famous and established restaurant in the city. It¡¯s noon now, and it¡¯ll be hard to get a private room. Let¡¯s eat together. Den and I will be bored if it¡¯s just the two of us.¡± Charlotte was about to decline because she had already booked a private room long ago, but Lucas suddenly nodded. ¡°Sure then.¡± Charlotte immediately panicked. But since Lucas already spoke and agreed, she could not refute him in front of them. So she could only pinch Lucas¡¯s arm secretly. However, Lucas kept a straight face and wasn¡¯t bothered by it at all. Soon, a waiter ushered them to a room on the second floor. After they were seated, Den grabbed the menu and handed it to Estelle. ¡°Estelle, see if there¡¯s anything you¡¯d like. You can order first.¡± Estelle grabbed the menu smilingly, but she chided Den, ¡°Our guests are still here. How can I order first?¡± She nced at Charlotte and Lucas but remained still, not intending to hand the menu over to them. ¡°We¡¯re former ssmates. What¡¯s the point of being so formal with each other? They won¡¯t mind, right?¡± Den held Estelle¡¯s waist as he kissed her forehead affectionately. He was directing hisst question at Charlotte and Lucas. ¡°Back in the day, Charlotte used to bring me my meals for several months when she was courting me. She never missed my breakfast or lunch. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t reciprocate your feelings and shared the food with our ssmates. Charlotte, you don¡¯t hold it against me, do you?¡± Den chuckled. Charlotte squeezed her own fingers tightly under the table, almost digging her nails into her flesh. She had once spent a lot of time and effort bringing food for him with her utmost sincerity. Every day, she would get up early just to cook for him, no matter rain or shine. Yet she ended up bing aughingstock. Charlotte remained silent. Controlling her emotions was already extremely tough. Seeing the sullen expression on Charlotte¡¯s face, Estelle giggled provocatively and coquettishly. ¡°However, I really have to thank Miss Carter for being so nice to my husband. I also have to be thankful that Den didn¡¯t give in to your pursuit. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten together and be living such a blissful life.¡± Den held Estelle in his arms gently. ¡°It¡¯s my honor to be able to marry you.¡± The two of them were showing their affection for each other like nobody¡¯s business while Charlotte clenched her jaw and said, ¡°I wish you conjugal bliss.¡± Estelle suddenly seemed to realize that there were outsiders around, so she sat up straight shyly. ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯ve found your better half too, Miss Carter. Are you married yet? How may I address this man beside you?¡± Charlotte tried to calm herself down before saying calmly, ¡°Not yet. His name is Lucas Gray.¡± ¡°Oh, hello, Mr. Gray. We¡¯re both about the same age, so you don¡¯t mind me addressing you as Lucas, right?¡± Den chuckled. Lucas red at Den with a mirthless grin. It had been long since anyone talked to him in such a condescending manner. Besides, he was a few years older than Den, but Den talked down to him so haughtily. Not at all bothered if Lucas minded it or not, Den continued to ask in an arrogant tone, ¡°Lucas, where do you work now?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°I was a soldier for a few years, but I¡¯m now a frencer.¡± Hearing this, Den¡¯s and Estelle¡¯s eyes were full of disdain. On the other hand, Charlotte red at Lucas. Why do you have to be so honest?! ¡°Frencer? You mean unemployed?¡± Estelle gibed, then covered her mouth while giggling. ¡°Lucas, that¡¯s not right. As a man, how can you loaf around? You don¡¯t want to be sponging off your wife, do you?¡± ¡°Ah, I really do.¡± Lucas nodded seriously, as if he found that a great idea. Den was instantly at a loss for words. He found Lucas handsome and sophisticated at first, but he didn¡¯t expect him to be an ipetent wastrel. Charlotte must regret not winning my heart and marrying a handsome andpetent man like me. Den was getting ahead of himself while thinking about it, and he even felt a tremendous sense of superiority. Chapter 63: Untitled

Chapter 63: Untitled

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Having confirmed that Lucas was a good-for-nothing, Den could no longer be bothered to continue talking to him. He turned to look at Charlotte and asked, ¡°Charlotte, what are you doing now?¡± Charlotte was already sick and tired of Den¡¯s attempts to show his superiority and answered indifferently, ¡°I just joined the Stardust Corporation not long ago.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s such a coincidence.¡± Den pped andughed out loud. ¡°I¡¯m in town this time to talk about the cooperation with the Stardust Corporation. I¡¯m old friends with Mr. Davis, the general manager of yourpany. I¡¯ll put in a good word for you in front of him and ask him to look out for you, lest a low-level employee like you have a tough time climbing the corporatedder.¡± Den waved his hand and leaned backward proudly, as if he had already gotten Flynn Davis to arrange for Charlotte¡¯s promotion. Estelle was a little displeased and red at Charlotte. ¡°Den may be kind enough to help you, but you have to work hard too. Don¡¯t depend entirely on him. Otherwise, it might be difficult for Den to broach the topic with Mr. Davis even though they¡¯re close. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Her tone was derisive, and she made it sound as though Charlotte was pestering Den to help her get promoted. Charlotte did not have a good temper, and she could tolerate this for such a long time entirely because of her former crush¡¯s sake. At this moment, she couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer and sneered. ¡°Did I say that I wanted you to help? I will earn my promotion with my own efforts. I don¡¯t need you to worry about it.¡± Having been retorted by Charlotte out of the blue, Estelle immediately looked at Den aggrievedly. ¡°Hubby, we were just being kind by offering to help. Why did she say that?¡± With a gloomy expression, Den patted Estelle¡¯s back tofort her. He said with a frown, ¡°Charlotte, I only offered to help you on ount that we used to be ssmates. Even if you refuse to ept my goodwill, you don¡¯t have to be so hostile.¡± Charlotte was almost going tough out of anger. At this moment, a waiter knocked on the door of the private room and walked in. ¡°Excuse me, everyone. Today, we will be receiving a distinguished guest, so we won¡¯t be able to serve you for the time being. I¡¯m extremely sorry. Aspensation, all your orders will be on the house today, and we will also gift you a few discount coupons,¡± the waiter spoke courteously and handed over a small goody bag that had exquisite packaging. Although the waiter apologized, it was obvious that he wanted them to leave immediately. Den flew into a rage and shouted, ¡°You¡¯re trying to drive me away? Do you know who I am? Get your manager toe here!¡± ¡°Excuse me, sir. This is our manager¡¯s intention. Everyone has to leave, no matter who. Please pardon us for the convenience,¡± the waiter said in a respectful tone. However, his attitude was firm. ¡°Hmph, I just don¡¯t believe it. What kind of distinguished guest can make us leave? If you don¡¯t tell me clearly, I will smash this restaurant!¡± Den pointed at the waiter furiously. However, his movements were toorge, and he identally knocked over a wine ss at the edge of the table, causing it to fall onto the ground with a loud bang. The crisp sound of ss shattering immediately spread. Den stiffened. He was actually just issuing a verbal threat. A renowned and established restaurant like the Lion was definitely backed by a powerful figure. How could he afford to provoke them? ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± A middle-aged man wearing a tag that said ¡®Restaurant Lobby Supervisor¡¯ pinned on his chest came over with a frown on his face. The waiter hurriedly pointed at Den. ¡°Mr. Jones, you wanted us to clear the rooms, but this gentleman here isn¡¯t willing to leave. He wants to know which guest is here, and he identally broke the wine ss in the midst of throwing a fit.¡± The manager, Mr. Jones, nced at Den and said aloofly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir. But Mr. Ethan Sawyer is treating his guests to a meal in our restaurant today. In order to prevent him from being disturbed, everyone else has to leave. I hope to seek your cooperation.¡± ¡°Ethan Sawyer?¡± Den was bbergasted. Ethan Sawyer was the richest man in the county, and he owned businesses in several states. Even those from outside Orange County had heard of him. Compared to Ethan Sawyer, Den Adams was nothing. In fact, if possible, Den wanted to stay behind, as that might give him the opportunity to have a good talk with the richest man in the county. It would be even better if he could be friends with him. Unfortunately, he probably would have no chance of getting close to Sawyer since he was hosting some guests and wanted the restaurant to be cleared. Den hurriedly stood up and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Had I known earlier that it was Mr. Sawyer, we would have left long ago. I¡¯ve created such a mess.¡± He put his arm around Estelle¡¯s shoulders and said to Charlotte and Lucas, who were still sitting, ¡°Charlotte, Lucas, what are you waiting for? Didn¡¯t you hear that we have to make way for Mr. Sawyer?¡± Charlotte looked at Den, whose smile had be humble and deferential. She couldn¡¯t help but feel infinite disappointment. Is this the person I carried a torch for, for such a long time back then? ¡°Hmph.¡± However, Lucas remained in his seat and even sneered in amusement. ¡°Are you still not going to get up? We¡¯ll be in trouble if we offend Mr. Sawyer!¡± Den couldn¡¯t help but holler angrily when he saw Lucas sitting still in his seat. ¡°Is that so? Is Ethan Sawyer kicking up such a big fuss over a meal?¡± Lucas remarked as he held a wine ss yfully. Panic-stricken and furious, Den said, ¡°You actually have the audacity to call Mr. Sawyer by his full name. He¡¯s the richest man in the county, and his assets are unimaginable. If you don¡¯t respect him, you¡¯re going to implicate us, you fool!¡± Estelle said impatiently, ¡°Why are you wasting your breath on them? Let¡¯s hurry and leave. If they end up offending Mr. Sawyer, that¡¯ll serve them right!¡± Den didn¡¯t go on any longer and simply red at Lucas coldly before taking a few more looks at Charlotte¡¯s pretty face. ¡°Forget it. We have said what we should say. If you don¡¯t know any better, don¡¯t me us. Let¡¯s go.¡± Holding Estelle¡¯s hand, he was just about to leave when a few people coincidentally came upstairs at this moment. They were Ethan Sawyer and his friends, whom the restaurant manager was personally showing the way for. With some joy and surprise, Den hurriedly greeted them and bowed. ¡°Hello, Mr. Sawyer...¡± Isn¡¯t this a Godsent opportunity for me to get close to Ethan Sawyer? Sawyer frowned. Whenever he was walking, he would often be approached by random strangers trying to get close to him. The restaurant manager at the side was about to step forward to pull Den away, but all of a sudden, Sawyer saw a familiar figure through the open door of the private room. ¡°Mr. Sawyer, I...¡± Den wanted to say something, but... ¡°Get lost!¡± Sawyer had no time for him now. He simply pushed past Den and hurried into the private room. Chapter 64: Blind

Chapter 64: Blind

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Den was caught off guard and began stumbling away, but he definitely didn¡¯t dare to get angry. As soon as he regained his bnce, he saw a person standing behind Sawyer, and his eyes lit up. ¡°Mr. Davis! You¡¯re here too...¡± Den hurriedly greeted Flynn Davis. ¡°Shut up!¡± Davis simrly pushed past him. Without even looking at Den, he hurried into the private room. Sawyer rushed into the private room and looked at Lucas, who was sitting on a chair. He smiled and bowed. ¡°I never expected to run into you here today, Mr. Gray. It¡¯s such a coincidence. I happen to be treating some friends to a meal here today. Please grant me the honor of having a meal with you.¡± Davis greeted too. ¡°Hello, Mr. Gray.¡± He almost addressed Lucas as chairman, but he held it back because he recalled Lucas¡¯s instructions not to reveal his identity. Lucas looked at Sawyer and Davis and grinned mirthlessly. ¡°Mr. Sawyer, you booked the entire restaurant for yourself just for a meal. I don¡¯t dare to stay.¡± Sawyer was puzzled. ¡°Booked the entire restaurant? Who said that?¡± The manager at the side immediately shuddered, thinking that his n to cozy up to Ethan Sawyer by bootlicking had failed. The manager stood up and smiled. ¡°I was just scared that others might ruin your mood, but I didn¡¯t know that this gentleman here is your friend. I¡¯m very sorry!¡± The restaurant supervisor at the side also turned pale in shock. Actually, it was considered amon practice of their restaurant. Ethan Sawyer was the big boss of the restaurant, and since he was hosting some guests, the staff drove everyone away. However, he didn¡¯t know that one of the guests he had driven away was Ethan Sawyer¡¯s friend. This is horrible! The waiter who came over to clear the room was so scared that he started shuddering in fear and was on the brink of tears. He was just a waiter, and these things had nothing to do with him... ¡°Mr. Sawyer, I¡¯m very sorry...¡± The supervisor hurriedly bowed and apologized to Lucas. However, Sawyer directly interrupted him, ¡°Enough. Since you¡¯ve offended a distinguished guest, you¡¯re fired. Go collect your sry and leave!¡± The manager and supervisor wanted to plead for leniency. But when they saw the stern expression on Sawyer¡¯s face, they were too scared to say anything and had no choice but to hang their heads low and go to the HR department to handle the procedures. Meanwhile, the waiter really felt like crying. ¡°Forget it.¡± Lucas waved his hand. ¡°They just assumed that that was what you wanted. I wasn¡¯t offended either.¡± With a look of embarrassment, Sawyer said smilingly, ¡°I will instruct them to pay more attention in the future and never repeat such a mistake again.¡± After that, Sawyer red at the three people in front of him, ¡°What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and thank Mr. Gray. If he hadn¡¯t spoken up for you, you would have lost your jobs! Remember, don¡¯t do such things again in the future. I¡¯m not that demanding!¡± Hearing Sawyer¡¯s words, the restaurant manager, the supervisor, and the unlucky waiter hurriedly bowed to Lucas and thanked him. ¡°Thank you for being so generous, Mr. Gray! Thank you so much!¡± This scene made Den Adams and Estelle Brooke, who were standing at the entrance of the private room, stare wide-eyed at them! None of them expected that Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, and Flynn Davis, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation, would actually swallow their pride in front of Lucas. They tried to fire the manager and supervisor because they thought that they had offended Lucas. However, the staff were saved by Lucas¡¯s words. How can he be an ordinary person? Den felt that he was dreaming. In particr, a few minutes ago, he still treated Lucas as a loser who was just sponging off a woman. He even talked to him condescendingly. Thinking of this, Den wanted to give himself a few ps! ¡°Um... Mr. Gray, I¡¯m so sorry for offending you just now. Please let me off on Charlotte¡¯s ount and pardon me for my ignorance.¡± Den Adams bowed to Lucas carefully. Seeing her husband stooping so low, Estelle couldn¡¯t help but be furious. However, she also knew that someone who could make Ethan Sawyer and Flynn Davis stoop low too must be extraordinary and reckoned that she probably could not afford to provoke him. At the thought of this, Estelle red at Charlotte with jealousy and resentment. What right does this woman whom my husband doesn¡¯t want have to find a boyfriend who¡¯s even more impressive than Den? After hearing Den¡¯s words, Lucas smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just a jobless man waiting to sponge off a woman. How can Ipare to you, Mr. Adams, who¡¯s so close to Mr. Davis of the Stardust Corporation?¡± As soon as Den heard this, he broke out in a cold sweat. Earlier, he had blindly bragged in front of Charlotte and Lucas, saying that he had a good rtionship with Davis and would help Charlotte talk to him so as to help her get promoted. However, the truth was that Davis didn¡¯t know him at all! The worst thing was that Davis was right here! Wouldn¡¯t his lie be exposed then? As he had expected, Davis looked at Den in bewilderment and asked with a frown, ¡°Who are you?¡± These three simple words were like a loud p on Den¡¯s face! Den¡¯s face began to heat up, and he hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Davis, I¡¯m from the Sunshine Corporation, and I¡¯m here in Orange County to discuss the cooperation with yourpany...¡± Davis had long heard what happened. He also understood that Den must have offended Lucas and even deliberately bragged about being close to him. Someone like him wants to cooperate with the Stardust Corporation? He can forget about it! Davis interrupted Den, ¡°The Stardust Corporation will not cooperate with you. From now on, we will reject all business dealings with you! Please leave.¡± Den immediately stiffened. But at this moment, Sawyer added, ¡°The same goes for the Sawyer Corporation. From now on, we will refuse any cooperation rted to the Sunshine Corporation!¡± The two big shots spoke at the same time and turned down all cooperations with the Sunshine Corporation, making Den frightened speechless! This time, he came to Orange County on his family¡¯s orders to sign a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation to expand the business scope of the Sunshine Corporation to Orange County. When his family finally handed the task to him, he was full of confidence, thinking that he would definitely be able to clinch the deal with his good looks and even expand into Orange County. However, before he did anything, he was condemned and declined by Flynn Davis, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation, and Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, all because of this incident! Chapter 65: Proposing on the Street

Chapter 65: Proposing on the Street

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Den¡¯s face was pale. He hadpletely foiled the matter regarding the cooperation. How could he face the people in thepany when he returned? Hearing this, Estelle panicked too. ¡°You guys can¡¯t be such bullies! Mr. Davis, you clearly promised to cooperate with ourpany prior to this, which is the reason we rushed all the way here. How can you go back on your words?¡± Davis frowned impatiently. ¡°When did I promise to cooperate with you?¡± Estelle said indignantly, ¡°When my father called yourpany a few days ago, you clearly promised to consider cooperating with us!¡± When Davis heard that, he was irked yet amused. He didn¡¯t remember promising to cooperate with the Sunshine Corporation, but it turned out that they had taken to his excuse, which was just amon response given to allpanies. Thinking of this, Davis lost interest in arguing with the ignorant Estelle. He simply beckoned the waiter to bring them out. Feeling indignant, Estelle wanted to say something, but Den hurriedly stopped her and dragged her out of Lion Restaurant. ¡°Why are you stopping me? I haven¡¯t suffered this kind of mistreatment since I was a child!¡± Estelle mmed her Hermes bag against the floor and threw a tantrum. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m doing this for your own good. If you keep prodding and end up pissing off Flynn Davis, the Sunshine Group will be in huge trouble too. Your father might be implicated as well,¡± Den said as he picked up Estelle¡¯s handbag and patted the dust off of it for her. ¡°He¡¯s not as impressive as you make out to be. He¡¯s just the general manager of apany in Orange County. What¡¯s the big deal?!¡± Estelle was agitated. ¡°Hey, pipe down!¡± Den hurriedly pulled Estelle to the side, fearing that others might hear what she said. After looking around and realizing that there was no one around, he whispered into Estelle¡¯s ears, ¡°If it¡¯s just Flynn Davis alone, it¡¯s not a big deal. But the Stardust Corporation is not simple at all. It¡¯s backed by the Huttons, one of the eight wealthiest families of the capital! You should have heard of how powerful and rich they are.¡± Estelle had obviously heard of the Hutton family, who were well-known in the country. She finally knew what the consequences of offending Davis were, and she couldn¡¯t help but be a little terrified. However, Davis was not in the mood to hold it against a small fry like her now. Davis and Sawyer were standing in front of Lucas with respectful smiles and trying to persuade him to have a meal with them. However, Lucas shook his head and declined. ¡°No thanks. I¡¯m having a meal with my friend here. You guys go ahead.¡± Since Lucas refused, Davis and Sawyer naturally couldn¡¯t stay behind any longer. Instead, they ordered the restaurant staff to prepare all the signature dishes as quickly as possible and send them to the private room where Lucas and Charlotte were. Soon, various colorful delicacies that smelled heavenly were delivered to Lucas and Charlotte. Charlotte looked at the sumptuous spread on the table, but she didn¡¯t move her fork and knife. After seeing that scene just now, she had a ton of questions for Lucas, but she didn¡¯t know where to start. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you want to treat me to a meal? The dishes have been served. If you¡¯re not going to dig in, I will.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t care what was on Charlotte¡¯s mind and instead just started eating casually by himself. Charlotte picked up her utensils and began eating, but the thoughts in her mind made the food seem nd and tasteless. Charlotte began to think about the details of events that urred after Lucas¡¯s return. She thought of therge chest of expensive betrothal gifts that the Sawyers had delivered to her home and the fact that Ethan Sawyer saidter on that they were thank-you gifts for Lucas. Just now, Ethan Sawyer and Flynn Davis were obviously polite and subservient to Lucas, as though... Lucas was their superior. But was that possible? Another incident was when they were at the kindergarten, and Lucas and Jordan disyed their terrifyingbat skills. They even looked like they had killed and witnessed bloodshed before, as they could break limbs and fight without hesitating. The day before yesterday, Lucas also saved her at the Luxe, and when they finally left, the security officers in the club looked at Lucas with horror and fear in their eyes. What kind of a person is Lucas? What exactly did he do during the years he was missing? Charlotte was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn¡¯t notice that she had been staring at Lucas for a long time. After having his fill, Lucas wiped his mouth with a napkin. Then he realized that Charlotte was still staring at him nkly with her fork in her hand. With raised brows, he knocked on the table. ¡°Why do you keep staring at me? Do I have food on my face?¡± Only then did Charlotte suddenly snap back to her senses. Her face turned red, and she hurriedly lowered her head to polish off the food on her te. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t even put any food on the te and was just pretending to eat to hide her embarrassment. ¡°There are so many dishes in front of you. Do you prefer eating air?¡± Lucas asked in bewilderment. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Charlotte hollered, angry because of her embarrassment. After that, Charlotte suddenly felt that she and Lucas were finally back to the way they were before, and she felt a sudden sense of relief. Forget it. No matter who he is, it¡¯s enough as long as he treats Cheyenne and our family well. ¡ª¡ª In the afternoon, Lucas drove to the Brilliance Corporation to pick up Cheyenne from work. Although Cheyenne was very familiar with the Brilliance Corporation, and there was no need for her to be ferried to and fro, Lucas still wanted to do his best to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband. After waiting outside the Brilliance Corporation for a while, Lucas saw Cheyenneing out with a crowd and was about to walk up to her... All of a sudden, a man dressed fancily rushed forward and knelt on one knee in front of Cheyenne. ¡°Seth Miller?¡± Cheyenne was stunned beyond words. Seth raised the diamond ring nestled in a box in his hand and gazed at her affectionately. ¡°Cheyenne, I genuinely adore you! So much has happened at hometely, but I still can¡¯t forget you! I think about you all day, and I even dream of you at night. Every day has been so bittersweet for me! ¡°So, I¡¯ve decided to propose to you. Cheyenne, marry me! I will definitely bring you happiness!¡± Many staff of the Brilliance Corporation and passersby surrounded them upon the sight of the street proposal. They started taking photos and cheering loudly, ¡°Say yes! Marry him!¡± Cheyenne was so furious that her face turned red, and she snapped, ¡°Seth Miller, what are you trying to do? I¡¯ve already told you I¡¯m married. I have a husband and a daughter. I won¡¯t marry you!¡± Huh? He¡¯s proposing to a married woman on the street? That¡¯s exciting! More and more people started crowding around them, and many of them even began imagining countless versions of horrible storylines. Chapter 66: Overbearing Bully

Chapter 66: Overbearing Bully

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Overwhelmed with exasperation, Cheyenne clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She wanted to walk away directly, but she couldn¡¯t do so at all because of the gossipy crowd surrounding them. ¡°I know, but your husband is a thorough wastrel. After going missing for so many years, he¡¯s still a good-for-nothing who¡¯s worlds apart from me! I¡¯m different. I¡¯ll definitely treat you well. I can give you what he can¡¯t! That person isn¡¯t worthy of you at all! I¡¯m thousands of times better than him!¡± Seth eximed loudly, wishing he could undermine Lucas as much as possible. ¡°Enough! I don¡¯t want to hear you talk anymore! Do you know him? What right do you have to say anything about him?¡± Cheyenne retorted coldly, full of disdain toward Seth for thinking that he was thousands of times better than Lucas. Seth couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Lucas, but even if he was really better than Lucas, it had nothing to do with her. At this moment, Cheyenne¡¯s eyes widened in surprise because Lucas was squeezing through the crowd and walking toward her step by step. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Cheyenne looked at him in surprise. ¡°Lucas Gray!¡± Seth red at the uninvited guest hostilely,pletely forgetting that Lucas was Cheyenne¡¯s rightful husband. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick you up to go home.¡± Lucas looked at Cheyenne and handed her a ring made out of grass. ¡°I saw this along the way, so I made you one.¡± It was a small ring woven of thin strands of green grass with a small purple flower in the middle. The crowd craned their necks and looked over, after which they couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. ¡°Oh my god! Do people still weave rings out of grass these days?¡± ¡°That¡¯s so lowly! If he can¡¯t afford a diamond ring, he should at least buy a gold ring or a tinum ring, right? A ss ring is worthless!¡± ¡°No wonder this man said that he¡¯s thousands of times better than the other man. It really seems to be the case!¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a huge difference. This man proposed with a diamond ring that¡¯s at least a few carats, while the other proposed with a grass ring. Oh my god. Any woman would know who to choose!¡± ... But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Cheyenne reached out and grabbed the grass ring Lucas handed her and put it on her finger. ¡°I like it a lot. Thank you!¡± She smiled at Lucas radiantly. ¡°What? That woman actually chose the grass ring!¡± ¡°Are you serious? Is there really a woman in this world who would choose a grass ring over a diamond ring? I don¡¯t believe it!¡± ¡°Tsk, what a beautiful yet silly girl. Why didn¡¯t I meet her earlier? Ah, such a pity! That rascal got an advantage!¡± All of a sudden, everyone looked at Cheyenne like they were looking at a fool before looking at Lucas in envy! This rascal is too lucky! Ignoring the bizarre gazes on him from the people standing around them, Lucas took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and walked away. Boiling with fury, Seth red at the two of them from behind and watched them leave. ¡°Lucas Gray! You loser, I won¡¯t let you go!¡± Seth barked while gritting his teeth. ¡ª¡ª Lucas and Cheyenne got into the car and headed to the kindergarten to pick Amelia up. Upon seeing her parents picking her up together, Amelia grinned widely and sprinted toward them. ¡°Daddy! Mommy!¡± Lucas walked forward, picked Amelia up, and held her in his arms. Cheyenne originally wanted to say that Amelia was already six years old and didn¡¯t need to be carried all the time, but when she saw how happy and excited Amelia was, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it. Amelia had been looking forward to having a father for a long time, and now that she finally got closer to him, Cheyenne decided to just let them be. The three of them got into the car and headed home. Throughout the journey, Amelia couldn¡¯t contain her excitement and chattered incessantly about the new things that happened at school today. Although they were just some childish things, both of them were happy to hear her talk about them. Lucas was smiling, but he suddenly noticed that Cheyenne did not look too well. She was frowning slightly and seemed to be out of sorts. She only returned to her senses when Amelia shook her hard. Lucas inwardly frowned and asked seemingly casually, ¡°Did something happen at the office today?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Cheyenne was in a trance again, and she finally realized that Lucas was asking her a question. Hanging her head low, she stroked Amelia¡¯s head and tried to seem rxed. ¡°Nothing. Everything¡¯s going well.¡± Seeing her reaction, Lucas was even more certain that something must have happened to her at the Brilliance Corporation. However, he didn¡¯t state it explicitly. Upon returning home after dinner, Cheyenne said hesitantly, ¡°I have to go out to do something. I¡¯ll be homete.¡± Lucas was a little surprised because Cheyenne almost rarely went out at night. She didn¡¯t like shopping or socializing, and she would spend most of her free time at home with Amelia, apart from the asional overtime. ¡°Where are you going? I¡¯ll give you a lift,¡± Lucas offered. Cheyenne shook her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll get a cab. Stay home and apany Amelia.¡± Lucas gazed at her and nodded. After Cheyenne left, Lucas immediately called Davis. ¡°Find out what happened to Cheyenne at the Brilliance Corporation today and inform me right away.¡± Davis shivered. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Lucas had always been very concerned about matters involving Cheyenne. Davis dared not be negligent as he hurriedly instructed his subordinates to find out. As a result, when the details of the matter were reported to him twenty minutester, Davis turned pale. Even Davis was irked and angry after reading it. What more Lucas, who cared a lot about Cheyenne? Davis carefully told Lucas what happened. And just as he expected, Lucas flew into a rage and almost crushed his phone into pieces. ¡°Um... Mr. Gray, I¡¯ll order them to handle it immediately and cancel that task for Miss Carter, alright?¡± Davis asked carefully. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. It¡¯s toote.¡± Lucas hung up with a gloomy expression and hurriedly said something to Amelia before rushing off somewhere. Lucas¡¯s gaze was cold. After he made Davis acquire the Brilliance Corporation, he had merely fired all the Carters who were employees instead of conducting a purge. Yet someone was now bullying Cheyenne! The ce Cheyenne was going tonight was apany named Heaven Media, a famouspany helmed by Brad Dous¡¯s father! The task Cheyenne received was to discuss cooperation with Heaven Media. If she failed toplete it, she would be kicked out of the Brilliance Corporation! Chapter 67: His Last Name Is Douglas Too

Chapter 67: His Last Name Is Dous Too

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne was just a low-level employee who held little authority and did not have a say at the Brilliance Corporation now. So she couldn¡¯t decline the task at all. Heaven Media was supposedly a film and television mediapany, and thepany had signed many small-time artists. But in reality, it had failed to produce any decent films or television productions. The artists were more like escorts specialized in maintaining the social connections of Heaven Media. Therefore, the office building of Heaven Media had extremely tacky decor. It was currently nighttime and thus even livelier than usual in the office. The small-time artists could be seen entertaining clients in every corner. Their behavior was frivolous and seductive, and the office seemed more like a nightclub. Cheyenne frowned from the moment she stepped into the Heaven Media building. But when she thought about the fact that she was here to discuss cooperating with Heaven Media, she had no choice but to look away and pretend not to see what was happening. She walked straight to the front desk and inquired, ¡°Hello, is Mr. Dous avable? I¡¯m Cheyenne Carter from the Carter Corporation, and I¡¯m here to discuss our cooperation with him.¡± The woman at the front desk scanned Cheyenne from head to toe with obvious contempt in her eyes. ¡°Mr. Dous is avable. Come with me,¡± the receptionist said, as if she was already used to such matters. She then led Cheyenne to a private room upstairs. As soon as the door was pushed open, the pink and purple walls and lights almost blinded Cheyenne. Cheyenne stood at the door of the private room without going in and looked at the receptionist in confusion. ¡°Um... I¡¯m here to talk about business. Shouldn¡¯t we go to an office for the discussion?¡± The decorations and the facilities inside the room made it look just like a sordid entertainment joint, giving her a bad feeling. ¡°Is Miss Carter here? Come in,¡± said a domineering voice. The receptionist gestured for Cheyenne to enter. ¡°Mr. Dous is waiting for you inside. Miss Carter, please.¡± Cheyenne took a deep breath, bit the bullet, and entered the room in a dignified gait. There was a middle-aged man of about fifty years old with a checkered shirt sitting on the couch. His hair was slightly sparse, and despite the smile on his face, he didn¡¯t seem very affable or approachable. He was Gordon Dous, the chairman of Heaven Media and Brad Dous¡¯s father. When he saw Cheyenne enter, a sh of amazement appeared in his eyes. ¡°Haha, Miss Carter, I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. You¡¯re worthy of being the greatest beauty of Orange County!¡± Gordon stood up and extended his hand toward Cheyenne. Cheyenne extended her arm politely and shook his hand. ¡°Hello, Mr. Dous.¡± She was about to let go, but she realized that Gordon was still holding her hand tightly. In fact, he even grazed his thumb against her hand. ¡°Indeed, you look even more beautiful up close in person. They all say that women look even more beautiful under the light. That¡¯s indeed true.¡± Gordon chuckled with his eyes glued to Cheyenne¡¯s face. Cheyenne frowned, thinking that Gordon Dous had already crossed the line. ¡°You¡¯re being too polite,¡± Cheyenne said calmly while retracting her hand. If not for the cooperation, Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t even have bothered to talk to him. She would have long opened the door and left. ¡°Mr. Dous, I¡¯m here today mainly for the cooperation between the Brilliance Corporation and yourpany. As you know, the Brilliance Corporation and the Stardust Corporation reached a long-term strategic partnership a few days ago. Enterprises andpanies of various sizes have extended their invitations to us to seek cooperation. I won¡¯t say much about the development prospects of the Brilliance Corporation. We hope to achieve win-win cooperation with the majorpanies. What do you think?¡± Cheyenne said politely in a businesslike manner. During the banquet two days ago, the Brilliance Corporation became a famouspany in the county with whom everyone vied to cooperate. In fact, the cooperation invitations of the variouspanies were already enough. There was no need for her to specially go to Heaven Media to discuss. After all, there were manypanies wanting to cooperate with the Brilliance Corporation, and if Heaven Media rejected them, it would be their own loss. ¡°Haha, I know what you mean, Miss Carter. The Brilliance Corporation is now very famous!¡± Gordon sat down on the couch again, leaned back against it, and pointed to the seat beside him. ¡°Have a seat too, Miss Carter.¡± Cheyenne frowned inwardly and sat down on the other couch beside the coffee table. Gordon Dous acted as if he didn¡¯t see it at all. He picked up two sses of champagne from a tray nonchntly and gave one to Cheyenne. ¡°Miss Carter, you came here personally to discuss cooperating. Of course, I have to discuss it with you on your ount. You want to cooperate? No problem! We can sign the contract in a bit! Let¡¯s toast to our happy cooperation!¡± Gordon said straightforwardly. Cheyenne was a bit surprised. She initially thought that the cooperation would definitely fail, but she didn¡¯t expect him to agree so quickly. Seeing the wine ss being handed to her, Cheyenne grabbed it and clinked her ss with Gordon¡¯s. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Dous. Here¡¯s to our happy cooperation!¡± Gordonughed and finished the champagne in one gulp. ¡°I¡¯ve downed my ss. Miss Carter, help yourself.¡± Since Cheyenne couldn¡¯t turn him down, she could only drink it. Fortunately, it was not high in alcohol content. Gordon grinned. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re married, Miss Carter, and your husband is a live-in son-inw.¡± Cheyenne frowned slightly, not knowing why he suddenly brought up this matter. Nevertheless, she nodded to express assent. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have heard about my personal life.¡± Gordon propped himself up with his hands on the couch. ¡°Of course. Your husband is very capable!¡± Cheyenne was confused by his answer. Does he know Lucas? Cheyenne only just realized that Lucas was an extraordinary person during the banquet a few days ago. Based on what Gordon said, she wondered if he was friends with Lucas. Cheyenne asked, ¡°Mr. Dous, are you friends with my husband?¡± Hearing this, Gordon suddenly burst intoughter, as if he had heard a funny joke. ¡°Hahaha. Friend? Of course not! Miss Carter, do you still remember what happened at the Luxe the day before yesterday?¡± At the mention of the Luxe, Cheyenne obviously remembered everything that happened that day. Charlotte was abducted by Bryce, brought to the club, and almost vited... Wait! The person who colluded with Bryce to abduct Charlotte was Brad Dous! He¡¯s a Dous too! Chapter 68: Showing Up at the Door

Chapter 68: Showing Up at the Door

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne was overwhelmed with shock for a long time before asking, ¡°Mr. Dous, what is your rtionship... with Brad Dous?¡± Gordon smiled. ¡°He¡¯s my ipetent son.¡± Cheyenne suddenly clenched her fist. This chairman of Heaven Media in front of her was actually the father of Brad Dous! Since Gordon asked about Lucas, he definitely knew who Lucas was! Gordon continued, ¡°It¡¯s because of your capable husband, Lucas, that my unfilial son has be theughingstock of all of Orange County! Miss Carter, what do you think I should do in return?¡± Gordon¡¯s wry and insincere smile made Cheyenne feel a chill run down her spine. If Cheyenne still didn¡¯t understand by now that he wasn¡¯t intending to discuss cooperating with her, she would be a huge fool! ¡°No!¡± Recalling the half cup of champagne she just drank, Cheyenne stood up abruptly, her expression drastically changed. However, as soon as she stood up, she felt dizzy and couldn¡¯t even stand straight. ¡°You!¡± Cheyenne glowered at Gordon furiously. But before she could even finish saying anything, she cked out and fell onto the couch. ¡°Hmph.¡± Standing beside the couch, Gordon looked down at Cheyenne, who had already passed out because of the medicine, and a vicious and sinister expression appeared on his face. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯ve hurt my son and tarnished his reputation, so you¡¯ll have to pay the price!¡± ¡ª¡ª On the way, Lucas sped as fast as he could in his Jaguar, rapidly weaving through the traffic. It took him less than twenty minutes to reach the Heaven Media office building. It had been more than half an hour since Cheyenne had left. He couldn¡¯t reach Cheyenne on the phone, so he didn¡¯t know if she was safe currently. If anything really happened to Cheyenne, he would definitely make everyone in the Dous family die with her! Lucas¡¯s gaze was cold, and he had a murderous aura as he kicked the door of the Heaven Media office building with all his might. ¡°Hey! Who are you?¡± The pretty receptionist stood up in a flustered manner and retreated. However, Lucas was already standing right in front of her. ¡°Did a woman named Cheyennee here earlier? Where is she now?¡± Lucas¡¯s gaze was horrifying, and he looked like he wanted to devour someone. The receptionist was so frightened that she started shuddering in shock. However, she dared not speak up. Mr. Dous specially brought that woman named Cheyenne to the private room. They¡¯re definitely still doing the deed now. I¡¯m just a receptionist. How can I let someone go and stop them? Lucas¡¯s patience was running thin, and he kicked the marble table at the side. The solid marble table immediately shattered into bits like tofu before copsing in the middle! ¡°Speak!¡± The pretty receptionist¡¯s body was shaking violently, and she was so frightened, her legs turned weak. She fell onto the ground, petrified with fear. He kicked the solid marble table and managed to make such a big hole in it. If he kicks me... At this moment, she could no longer care about how terrified she was of Gordon Dous. The man in front of her was too terrifying! ¡°S-she¡¯s upstairs... in the private room...¡± the receptionist said while shivering, suddenly finding the cold aura even more terrifying. Lucas left the front desk, leaving the horrified receptionist behind, and walked directly toward the stairs. ¡°Who dares to create trouble here in Heaven Media?¡± A bunch of security officers rushed out to stop Lucas. ¡°Hmph, tell Gordon Dous toe out!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t take those insignificant security officers seriously at all. ¡°How dare you call the chairman by his full name!¡± the captain of the security officers hollered as the security officers surrounded Lucas. The manager of Heaven Media hurriedly ran upstairs and reported from outside the private room, ¡°Mr. Dous, a young man has barged in and demands to see you and Miss Carter! He¡¯s very proficient in fighting, and I¡¯m afraid our security officers won¡¯t be able to stop him!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Gordon knew who hade as soon as he heard it, and a yful smile appeared on his face. ¡°Tell him toe up. I¡¯ve prepared a big gift for him here!¡± The manager hesitated slightly. But as he thought about the means that Gordon Dous usually resorted to, he answered respectfully, ¡°Yes, Mr. Dous!¡± The manager rushed downstairs and was ready to ask the security officers to stand down, only to realize to his horror that not a single security officer in the lobby could stand! The manager felt his blood turn cold. Facing Lucas¡¯s icy-cold gaze, the manager felt like he was about to copse onto the ground. ¡°M-Mr. Dous w-would like you to go up-upstairs,¡± the manager stammered, his teeth chattering due to his fear. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s aura was too terrifying. A single nce was scary enough to make him shiver. After shooting him a hostile nce, Lucas headed upstairs. Jordan appeared at the door behind him, holding a person¡¯s ankle like this man was a dead dog drenched in blood. He dragged him through the door and followed Lucas upstairs without saying a word. The manager pressed his body against the wall and only heaved a sigh of relief and sat down after the two walked past him. His heart pounded rapidly as he looked at the trail of blood left behind on the floor. After Lucas and Jordan went upstairs, many small-time artists and rich clients, who had been hiding and watching, finally started whispering to each other. ¡°This is the business of the Douses. Who dares to be so brazen as to create trouble here?¡± ¡°Those two are just too young and have a death wish!¡± ¡°Exactly. The Dous family is powerful and has connections with all the gangs. Even we don¡¯t dare to mess with them. Those two youngsters probably won¡¯t even know how they died!¡± As the discussion got heated downstairs, Lucas and Jordan had already arrived upstairs. The door of the private room opened. Gordon was sitting on the leather couch nonchntly. Upon seeing the two of them, he narrowed his eyes and sized them up. Hah, just two young punks. How dare they beat my son so badly?! Gordon snapped his fingers, and a muscr and burly man more than two meters tall waked over from the side and stood next to him. When the muscr man walked, the floor of the room trembled slightly. He was clearly trying to intimidate Lucas and Jordan. However, Lucas did not even bother ncing at the tall and muscr man in front of him. Instead, he stared at the couch beside Gordon. Cheyenne was lying on the couch. Fortunately, she was fully clothed, and there were no other traces on her body. The tension in Lucas¡¯s heart finally eased up. ¡°You should be d that you didn¡¯t touch her. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be able to sit here and talk to me now.¡± Lucas red coldly at Gordon. Chapter 69: Smashed With a Single Punch

Chapter 69: Smashed With a Single Punch

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing this, Gordon smiled. ¡°Young man, you¡¯re very arrogant, huh?! However, I didn¡¯t touch her precisely because I was waiting for you toe. I want you to see that scene with your own eyes! Watching your woman being vited and destroyed while you¡¯re unable to do anything must be wonderful, wouldn¡¯t it?!¡± The murderous intent in Lucas¡¯s eyes intensified. Initially, he wanted to be lenient with Gordon Dous, but it now seemed unnecessary. ¡°Damn it! Old dog, what are you saying?!¡± Jordan flew into a rage and immediately wanted to charge forward to kill Gordon, but he was stopped by Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m not as arrogant as you two. You abducted someone and drugged them. You guys seem to like this trick a lot. I wonder how your son felt when he got a taste of his own medicine. Do you want to have a try too? In any case, you¡¯ve got a candidate here, so I might as well fulfill your wish.¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes as he nced at Gordon and the muscr man beside him. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re very gutsy!¡± Gordon was stunned for a moment but soon startedughing again despite his anger. ¡°You¡¯re just a live-in son-inw of a lowly family. You¡¯re a useless loser. Where did you get the courage to speak to me like that?! The Dous family is well respected in the county. You¡¯re not afraid of dying, huh?¡± ¡°The Dous family is nothing.¡± Lucas sneered disdainfully, not taking the Dous family seriously at all. ¡°Also, you¡¯re wrong. You¡¯re the one who has a death wish. Who gave you the courage to touch my wife?¡± ¡°You¡¯re on the brink of death, and you¡¯re still so sharp-tongued, huh? I¡¯ll see if your bones are as tough as your mouth!¡± Gordon sneered sinisterly and was about to beckon the muscr man beside him to make a move when... ¡°Jordan, what are you waiting for? Deliver the big gift we prepared for him,¡± Lucas shouted. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Hearing his order, Jordan immediately flung the man he had been dragging along, and the bloodied body rolled toward Gordon. He waspletely motionless, and it was unclear if he was alive or not. Gordon nced at the pathetic figure. His limbs had been broken, and he was lying limply on the ground. His face was also battered with bruises, and his flesh was badly mangled with blood all over the ce, so much so that he was unrecognizable. Gordon sneered and looked at Lucas and Jordan. ¡°Where did you get this man from? Are you trying to scare me? I¡¯ve been mingling among gangs for decades. I¡¯m not that easily intimidated.¡± Jordan couldn¡¯t help but snicker and mock. ¡°Old dog, you¡¯d better open your dog eyes and take a good look. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be the end of your family lineage.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Gordon furrowed his brows. ¡°Don¡¯t you have eyes? Can¡¯t you see for yourself? There you go.¡± Jordan pointed his chin at the hideous figure. Gordon lowered his head and pressed his foot against the bloodied figure on the ground. Then a familiar-looking gold pendant tumbled out. Startled, Gordon hurriedly took a closer look. Indeed, there was the word ¡®Dous¡¯ engraved on the pendant. It was the gold pendant his son had been wearing ever since he was a child! Looking at the bloodied figure in front of him, he began to find him more and more familiar-looking, so familiar that his heart palpitated. Gordon stood up abruptly and roared furiously, ¡°Brad!¡± Jordan grinned and said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve beaten him to the point that his old man can¡¯t even recognize him.¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Good job. I¡¯ll reward youter.¡± Gordon grimaced in rage. When he heard their words, he was so furious that he turned hysterical. ¡°Good, great! You two brats, I must kill you! I¡¯ll make sure you die without aplete corpse!¡± Gordon hollered at the tall, muscr man beside him, ¡°Go, beat them until they die! I¡¯ll give you one-and-a-half million dors! I want you to crush their bones and make them wail and repent!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The burly and muscr man clenched his fist, and the sounds of his bones cracking immediately filled the air. He took a few steps forward, and the entire ground of the room quaked a few times. However, Lucas nced at the muscr man calmly and said to Jordan, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± Without looking at him anymore, he walked toward Cheyenne. After being ignored, the muscr man roared and raised his fist to punch Lucas hard on his head. If the punch reallynded on his head, it would definitely be smashed into bits! Lucas remained calm, as if he didn¡¯t notice the punching at him. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve got a death wish! Wade is a king of underground boxing, and he can blow your head into pieces with a single punch! Let¡¯s see how you can keep being arrogant!¡± Gordon¡¯s lips twisted into a smirk, as though he could already see Lucas¡¯s head getting smashed. At this moment, a figure shed out, and a faster fist mmed against Wade¡¯s fist. With a loud bang, the muscr Wade was forced to retreat several steps. At the same time, Wade shrieked in pain. His right hand was hanging in front of his body at an extremely unnatural angle, and his right arm was quivering violently. His fingers and wrists were all broken! Gordon¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Wade was abat expert he had hired at a high price. With his fists alone, he had already crushed the heads of countless people. Gordon Dous paid this high price all for the sake of killing Lucas and taking revenge for his son. However, not only did Wade fail to hit Lucas with his punch, he had the bones of his fingers and wrists broken by Jordan¡¯s punch. How could Gordon stand it?! In fact, he was already prepared to get Wade to beat Lucas Gray and then make him watch Cheyenne Carter get vited to appease the hatred in his heart. Now, all his ns were foiled! In contrast, Lucas ignored it. He simply walked to Cheyenne, picked her up in his arms, and then turned around to leave. He didn¡¯t want Cheyenne to stay in such a dirty ce any longer. ¡°Hold it!¡± Seeing that Lucas was about to take Cheyenne away, Gordon obviously wasn¡¯t willing to take it lying down. ¡°If you guys dare to step out of here, I will kill you immediately. Do you believe it?¡± Gordon grimaced. All he heard was Lucas¡¯s derisive sneer. ¡°Hmph!¡± Chapter 70: I Don’t Want to Die

Chapter 70: I Don¡¯t Want to Die

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hmph, what are you being arrogant about? You¡¯re just a live-in son-inw. So what if you have an impressive brother? Do you dare to touch me? Moreover, if the Douses want to kill you, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake!¡± Gordon hollered. Jordan rushed forward and pped Gordon on his lips. ¡°How dare you be so arrogant in front of Lucas? I¡¯m going to hit you!¡± How dare he threaten Lucas. He must have a death wish! Gordon was dumbfounded by Jordan¡¯s sudden p. In the decades of his life, he had never been hit on the face before, especially not by a good-for-nothing¡¯s sidekick! Gordon was so furious that he wished he could kill the two of them immediately! Unfortunately, the expert he hired had his hand crippled. ¡°How dare you beat up the future sessor of the Dous family! There¡¯s no need for your family to exist anymore!¡± He thought that Lucas would be scrupulous and fearful, but Lucas simplyughed nonchntly after hearing his words. ¡°Do as you please. But you¡¯re just throwing your weight around because of your family¡¯s prestige. Do you think the Dous family is a big deal? If your family is destroyed, do you think you¡¯d still have the right to be so arrogant to me?¡± ¡°Haha, you want to destroy the Dous family? You can dream on! Even the richest man in the county wouldn¡¯t dare to say that he could destroy my family, let alone a loser like you!¡± Gordon looked at Lucas like he was a fool. Lucas smiled, not wanting to speak anymore. The Dous family was insignificant to him. It was a piece of cake for him to destroy the Dous family. Carrying Cheyenne in his arms, Lucas was about to leave when Gordon suddenly pulled out a Bergmann¨CBayard automatic pistol and pointed the muzzle at him. ¡°Like I said, if you dare to leave this ce, I will kill you immediately! Put her down! Or else don¡¯t me me for pulling the trigger!¡± Gordon shouted, appearing rather hysterical. His n for today was to avenge his son by making Lucas watch Cheyenne get vited. Before reaching his goal, he would not let them leave! Besides, Jordan had just pped him! How could he, Gordon Dous, stand such an insult?! Now that he had his pistol in hand, he no longer feared anything. Even if Lucas and Jordan were impressive fighters, they wouldn¡¯t be faster than a bullet. Lucas was really annoyed at this moment. Since Cheyenne was safe and sound, he originally nned to let Gordon Dous off with a light punishment. However, he didn¡¯t expect him to be so ignorant. Since he has a death wish, I won¡¯t be merciful to him! Lucas nced at the Bergmann¨CBayard automatic pistol that Gordon was holding, but he wasn¡¯t fazed by it at all. ¡°Do you think you can shoot me with that tiny pistol?¡± Lucas¡¯s disdainful attitude irritated Gordon even more. Gordon held up the pistol and said in annoyance, ¡°What are you pretending for? I don¡¯t believe you can dodge a bullet! If you put that woman down and kneel in front of me, I will consider giving you a way out. Otherwise, this pistol will shoot all three of you dead! I¡¯ve been involved with gangs for a long time, so it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t killed anyone before!¡± It was clear that Gordon was threatening him. Lucas remained unfazed. ¡°If you have what it takes, you can try shooting me. If you can¡¯t kill me, all the members of the Dous family will die with you!¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was brimming with cold killing intent, and the temperature around him abruptly plummeted. Lucas could not tolerate the fact that Gordon repeatedly tried to vite Cheyenne in front of him. ¡°Great! I gave you a chance! You¡¯re the one who wants to die!¡± Gordon gritted his teeth with a menacing expression. He raised the pistol and was about to pull the trigger to shoot Lucas. ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t shoot!¡± Wade, the muscr man at the side, suddenly interrupted. He nced at Lucas with scruples and tried to stop Gordon. ¡°What? Do you want to betray me? Don¡¯t forget. I paid you to be here, even though you were totally useless!¡± Gordon barked while ring at Wade with reddened eyes. Now, he just wanted to kill Lucas, and whoever stopped him would be his enemy! ¡°No, you can¡¯t kill him at all! Do you think a gun is invincible? You won¡¯t even hit him. And once you shoot, he won¡¯t let you off. He won¡¯t let me off either. I don¡¯t want to die here!¡± Wade eximed with a frown. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t believe it! You¡¯re a useless good-for-nothing, and he¡¯s just pretending to be powerful, yet you¡¯re so scared. You¡¯re such a coward! Get lost. I must kill him!¡± Gordon roared furiously. Wade shook his head regretfully. ¡°Since you insist on ignoring my advice, don¡¯t me me then.¡± Before Wade finished speaking, he suddenly dashed at Gordon and strangled him from behind with his uninjured left hand. ¡°W-what are you doing!?!¡± Gordon panicked. He never expected Wade to bite the hand that fed him! At the same time, both Lucas and Jordan were also a little surprised. ¡°Like I said, I just want to live. If you had shot, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have let me go. If you refuse to take my advice, I¡¯ll have to kill you first!¡± Wade tightened his grip on Gordon¡¯s neck, causing thetter to choke and his eyes to roll backward. The fear of death instantly surged in Gordon¡¯s heart. At this moment, he no longer cared about taking revenge or restoring his pride. He just wanted to survive! ¡°Stop... I... I will listen... to you...¡± Gordon struggled to say a few words in a muffled voice. Wade felt a tingling sensation on his wrist and subconsciously let go of Gordon. He looked over in horror, only to see Lucas staring at them with a straight face and Jordan fiddling with the Bergmann pistol. Jordan had grabbed the pistol in Gordon¡¯s hand just now in an instant. Even Wade didn¡¯t see how he actually moved! Wade had no idea what struck his wrist either... In short, he didn¡¯t get a clear glimpse despite having sharp vision. This could only mean that Jordan¡¯sbat skills were far superior to his! If they really wanted to kill him, he¡¯d never be able to escape! After Gordon escaped from a close shave with death, his legs and feet went limp, and he copsed onto the ground while covering his neck and panting heavily. The threat of death had overwhelmed him with fear! Chapter 71: Loyal Follower

Chapter 71: Loyal Follower

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After finally catching his breath, Gordon raised his head and saw that the pistol originally in his hand had somehow ended up in the hand of Jordan, who was opposite him. At this moment, Jordan was pointing the muzzle at him and threatening to pull the trigger. Gordon was stunned to the point of turning pale and sweating profusely. His body stiffened, and he dared not move at all, fearing that he might upset Jordan and cause him to pull the trigger and shoot him. ¡°Hah, weren¡¯t you very arrogant just now? Is that all the guts you have?¡± Jordan sneered while looking at Gordon with disdain. Gordon¡¯s face turned red, but he no longer wanted to retort. Suddenly, Wade did something that no one expected. He suddenly knelt on one knee facing Lucas and bowed. ¡°I, Wade Spartan, would like to pledge my allegiance to you. Please grant me permission to follow you!¡± As soon as he said that, Gordon was dumbfounded, and he looked at Wade in disbelief. As Wade¡¯s employer, he was naturally aware of his origins. Wade was a king of underground boxing and known to be ruthless and unforgiving. There had been many times where he severely injured the opponents who challenged him in the ring. Wade deserved his title as a king of underground boxing, and the price of hiring him once was hefty. Now, such a strong man was actually kneeling in front of Lucas and asking to pledge allegiance to him! Gordon felt like he was dreaming. Lucas asked with slightly raised brows, ¡°Why?¡± Wade said seriously, ¡°You are very strong. Although you didn¡¯t make a move, I can feel that your aura is even more terrifying than the aura of the man beside you. I want to be the follower of a mighty figure!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°That¡¯s your reason. But why should I keep you by my side?¡± ¡°I can do anything youmand, be it murder or arson. As long as you want me to, I will do it and ensure that it won¡¯t cause you any problems!¡± Wade promised. This was what most people paid him to do anyway. However, this was of no appeal to Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m not interested,¡± Lucas declined without hesitation. Not only was he not interested in murder and arson, but even if he were, he wouldn¡¯t employ Wade. ¡°Um... I can be your bodyguard and protect you or protect the people around you,¡± Wade hurriedly said after some thought. This statement made Lucas tempted. He naturally did not need Wade to be his bodyguard. But Cheyenne and Charlotte had been getting into troubletely, and things would have been different if they had someone to protect them. As a king of underground boxing, Wade naturally had passablebat proficiency. Although his bones had been broken by Jordan, he could still withstand it. Besides, the quick actions and reflexes he exhibited when he threatened Gordon meant that he was a smart man. Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid that he would betray him like he betrayed Gordon either. After all, for someone as strong as Wade, he would never betray someone stronger than him. The only thing that he had to consider now was Wade¡¯s background. If someone was deliberately trying to nt Wade beside him as a snitch, he naturally couldn¡¯t keep him around. Lucas thought about it and nodded. ¡°I can consider it. I¡¯ll look for you in the future.¡± Overjoyed, Wade eximed, ¡°Okay! Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± Gordon, who had seen everything, was extremely frustrated. The thought of the expert he had hired at great cost deciding to betray him and defect to his enemy made him feel like vomiting blood. ¡°Wade, are you sure you want to betray me?¡± Gordon turned to Wade and said angrily. But Wade smiled indifferently. ¡°Betray? You must be mistaken, Mr. Dous. I¡¯m not your subordinate, and I haven¡¯t received any money from you, so how can it be considered betrayal?¡± Gordon was so furious that he started trembling. However, he really didn¡¯t know how to retort. Previously, he and Wade had agreed to settle the payment afterpleting the matter. It was true that Wade had not received a single cent from him yet. Gordon gritted his teeth. ¡°You! Don¡¯t you regret your choice! If you choose that good-for-nothing, you will be an enemy of the Douses! Do you think you can stand up to us? We can always hire another group of experts!¡± Lucas was tired of hearing these threats from Gordon. ¡°You keep mentioning your family. Do you really think your family is that impressive? Without your family, you¡¯d be nothing, Gordon Dous!¡± Gordon flew into a rage and shouted, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just a boor who beats others all the time. How would you know how horrifying my family is? The Dous family is a first-ss family in Orange County, and we are incredibly wealthy and well-connected. We can crush you with just a finger! When the timees, and the Carters are annihted, you will regret what you¡¯ve done today!¡± Hearing these words, Jordan deliberately pretended to be frightened and wrapped his arms around himself. ¡°What should we do? Lucas, I¡¯m so scared!¡± Seeing this, Gordon stood up from the ground and held his head up high proudly. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re scared, huh? It¡¯s not toote to regret it! Leave that woman behind, kneel down in front of me, and kowtow three times, and I¡¯ll consider sparing you!¡± ¡°Kowtow my ass! Dream on, you idiot!¡± Jordan immediately stopped pretending and walked up to kick Gordon to make him wake up. ¡°Forget it.¡± Lucas nced at Gordon coldly like he was looking at a dead man. ¡°When the Dous family falls, he won¡¯t be able to be arrogant anymore.¡± After saying this, Lucas stopped caring about Gordon and left with Cheyenne in his arms. Jordan and Wade hurriedly followed behind him. With a burly and muscr man like Wade behind them, when they left the Heaven Media office, no one dared to step forth to stop them at all. Gordon was the only one who failed to get anything after painstakingly setting everything up. He even got angered and had to see his son dragged to him, all battered with bruises. Gordon was enraged. He yelled at his men to call for an ambnce to take Brad to the hospital while smashing everything in the room to vent his anger. Meanwhile, Jordan followed behind Lucas and asked, ¡°Lucas, seems like that idiot won¡¯t give up. Why didn¡¯t you teach him a lesson so that he won¡¯t dare to get any funny ideas?¡± Wade hurriedly chimed in, ¡°I can make him disappear from this world tonight if you¡¯d like!¡± Lucas shook his head with a smile on his lips. ¡°No, we don¡¯t have to do that. If we want to get rid of them, wouldn¡¯t it be more interesting to make them kill themselves?¡± Wade suddenly shuddered, thinking to himself that he had made the wisest choice of his life by not choosing to be Lucas¡¯s enemy! Chapter 72: Seize Everything

Chapter 72: Seize Everything

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas chose not to send Cheyenne back to her home because it¡¯d be inappropriate since she was unconscious. In order not to make the Carters worry, he brought Cheyenne back to his residence in Orange County, Pearl Lakeside Vi. On the way, Lucas called someone and said briefly, ¡°Make the Dous family disappear from Orange County within three days.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Hearing Lucas¡¯s voice, the person on the other end dared not be negligent at all. At this moment, the Dous family still had no idea that a cmity was about to strike them. Gordon Dous¡¯s father, Hugo Dous, was the patriarch of the Dous family. Although he had long ago handed over the major businesses owned by his family to his sons and no longer tended to them, he would asionally ask about them. At this moment, Hugo was lying rxedly on afortable couch and flipping through newspapers. When he saw the piece of news titled ¡®The Stardust Corporation has settled a cooperation for a key project in Orange County¡¯ in bold on the financial section of the newspaper, he took off his presbyopic sses and sighed with some envy. ¡°The Douses have been trying hard to clinch that project for such a long time, but we were never sessful. The Stardust Corporation managed to get it instead. The Stardust Corporation is really something!¡± Next to him, a man in histe forties grabbed the presbyopic sses from Hugo, wiped them carefully, and put them into a sses case. He then said, ¡°It is indeed. The Stardust Corporation may have just settled in the country a short while ago, but its development is rapid. Not only do the businesses of various sizes in Orange County want to cooperate with it, but it even managed to clinch all the key projects. It¡¯s really impressive!¡± The middle-aged man was Hugo Dous¡¯s eldest son and Gordon Dous¡¯s elder brother, Chris Dous. Hugo watched Chris¡¯s movements and smiled. ¡°Put the sses there. A servant wille to put it awayter. Why do you bother doing that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not much trouble. After I pack them, it¡¯s convenient for you to use them the next time.¡± Chris smiled. He had always been filial and took care of all of Hugo¡¯s needs. He would do everything he could personally as far as possible and would not let others help. ¡°Since the Stardust Corporation has such great potential, why don¡¯t we try cooperating with it?¡± Chris asked. Hugo Dous sighed. ¡°Why? When the Stardust Corporation announced that it was looking for a partner in Orange County, we immediately sent someone over. Everything was going well previously, but two days ago, the Stardust Corporation suddenly changed its mind and gave us the cold shoulder.¡± ¡°W-what¡¯s going on? Have we offended the Stardust Corporation in any way? Or is it so arrogant and lofty that it is looking down on us?¡± Chris frowned. Hugo Dous sighed. ¡°Who knows? Anyway, we haven¡¯t found out yet. Chris, when you have time, go and get in touch with Mr. Davis, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation. Try to ease our rtionship with the Stardust Corporation and find out where the problem lies. Try to find some opportunity to cooperate with it too.¡± ¡°Yes, Dad. I¡¯ll surely deal with Mr. Davis. Rest assured,¡± Chris hurriedly agreed. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re definitely someone I can trust.¡± Hugo Dous patted the back of his eldest son¡¯s hand and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°By the way, how¡¯s the matter with Gordon and Brad going?¡± Hearing his question, Chris smiled. ¡°It should be fine. Yesterday, Gordon asked me to introduce apetent hitman to him. It¡¯s a king of underground boxing who¡¯s rather ruthless. He can deal with that insignificant Lucas Gray easily. They should have already taken revenge by now.¡± Hugo nodded. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good. How can we get bullied by that brat and let him get away with beating Brad so badly? If we don¡¯t get revenge, won¡¯t anyone dare to take advantage of us? However, you have to be careful. Don¡¯t let Gordon go overboard. Don¡¯t create extra trouble.¡± ¡°Okay, I know, Dad. Don¡¯t worry. Gordon is my brother. I¡¯ll certainly help him.¡± Chris nodded with a smile. At this moment, someone from the Dous family hurried over and eximed anxiously, ¡°Bad news, Mr. Dous Senior. Heaven Media, the Luxe, and several other entertainment joints and bathhouses have been seized!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Hugo stood up in shock, and his expression changed. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why were they seized all of a sudden?¡± The family member stammered, ¡°Someone reported us and... they found some illegal items in thepanies... Some of our artists have also exposed us and said that we forced them... Anyway, they found a lot of evidence against us!¡± Chris suddenly stepped forward, grabbed him by the cor, and hollered furiously, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you long ago to hide those things that shouldn¡¯t appear? Aren¡¯t those artists under strict control? Why did they suddenly sue us?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know...¡± The family member looked at Chris, whose face was twisted into an angry grimace, and he was so scared that he started shivering in fear and was on the verge of tears. ¡°Oh dear, oh no...¡± Hugo muttered to himself as he thumped himself onto the couch. The Douses¡¯ businesses were more or less rted to the entertainment and sex industries. They were the mainstay of the family. Of course, they could not operate these businesses openly. So on the surface, they were known as mediapanies and entertainment joints. But in private, they had a lot of dirty dealings. Due to the Douses¡¯ extensivework of connections, they managed to escape the strict regtions and purges. However, they were nabbed out of the blue and used with plenty of evidence against them today. This was simply unprecedented. Besides, once all their misdeeds were exposed, it would absolutely result in a huge uproar, and the Douses would definitely suffer huge losses even if they didn¡¯t copse! Chris calmed down a little and said resentfully, ¡°Dad, there¡¯s definitely something wrong! If it was just onepany and something terrible was exposed, we can me it on our carelessness. But it¡¯s absolutely not a coincidence that so many have been affected! Someone must be deliberately trying to harm us!¡± Chapter 73: Douglas Family Conference

Chapter 73: Dous Family Conference

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hugo nodded. Chris was right. There had to be more than meets the eye! If they didn¡¯t resolve it properly, the Douses would suffer heavy losses! ¡°The situation is urgent. Call everyone over immediately for a meeting to discuss countermeasures!¡± Hugo shouted. Soon, all the direct descendants of the Dous family and the top executives of thepanies were all gathered in the Dous family mansion. Almost all of thepanies under the Douses¡¯ name had been seized. These people had naturally heard of it since it had blown up to such a huge extent. Hugo Dous even called for a meetingte at night. It was definitely because of that matter. Hugo sat in the middle of the couch and looked around at the dozens of people standing in the living room. His eyes narrowed. ¡°All of you, tell me the truth. Did you do anything to offend a big shot recently?¡± As soon as Hugo spoke, he asked about this matter, and everyone started guessing that the Douses must have offended a formidable figure of status, which led to the crisis. However, most of their businesses were illegal, so who knew if they had unintentionally offended someone? For example, two years ago, a Dous saw a beautiful girl dressed in simple and normal clothes, so he resorted to some means to get her to one of theirpanies, only to find outter that she came from an extraordinary family. In the end, the Douses suffered enormous losses, had to apologize, and ended up owing many people favors in order to get the woman¡¯s family to let them off. Moreover, that was only because the woman didn¡¯t get hurt too badly. Otherwise, the Douses wouldn¡¯t have been able to settle it so easily. Of course, they didn¡¯t get involved in such things often, and since thest incident, Hugo had also taught them a hard lesson. However, slip-ups would happen every now and then. Who knew when they might have offended someone? All of them shook their heads in unison. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve been behavingtely and haven¡¯t done anything to offend anyone!¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t either!¡± ¡°Me too. I didn¡¯t offend anyone.¡± ... Hugo narrowed his eyes as he looked at them threateningly. ¡°I want to hear the truth! If I find out someone is lying to me, you¡¯ll be kicked out of the family immediately!¡± Hearing this, everyone panicked. But after racking their brains for a long time, they still couldn¡¯t think of an instance where they had offended someone. At this moment, Hugo suddenly noticed that someone was missing¡ªGordon Dous. ¡°Where¡¯s Gordon? Wasn¡¯t he informed of the meeting?¡± Hugo questioned while looking at Chris with displeasure. Chris hurriedly said, ¡°I was about to report to you. But since everyone is gathered here for the meeting, I can¡¯t say it out loud...¡± Hugo¡¯s face turned gloomy. ¡°Speak. We¡¯re all family, so there¡¯s nothing you have to hide.¡± Chris nced around at the crowd listening attentively and sighed. ¡°Gordon is in the hospital now. He has a broken toe and has suffered some injuries. Brad is also severely injured and is being resuscitated in the hospital...¡± ¡°What?¡± Hugo was astonished. His son and grandson hadnded in the hospital, and Brad had even reached the point where he had to be resuscitated... ¡°Who did it?¡± Hugo asked with an angry expression. Chris shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Gordon was really angry and didn¡¯t say anything.¡± At this moment, a Dous suddenly said, ¡°Gordon and Brad suddenly got injured tonight, and all our businesses were seized. Could there be any connection between the two?¡± These words made everyone frown and sink into deep thought. Indeed, if Gordon Dous and Brad Dous offended some big shot outside, got severely injured, and even caused all of the Douses¡¯ businesses to be seized, that would make sense! Everyone turned to look at Hugo, who was exasperated. ¡°Drag that sinful son back here at once!¡± ... In Pearl Lakeside Vi, Orange County. Flynn Davis called Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, ording to your instructions, all of the Douses¡¯panies and joints have been seized. All the evidence has been collected, and there is no way they can deny it. This time, the Dous family definitely won¡¯t survive.¡± Lucas expressed approval and said, ¡°Good. I want them to perish for good.¡± Davis hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about this. I¡¯ve had people prepare a lot of evidence and photos, as well as videos of the victims¡¯ints, all of which have been uploaded on the inte. It caused a massive uproar online and also attracted the attention of many departments. This time, even if the Douses¡¯ have wide connections in Orange County, it will definitely not help.¡± Hearing this, Lucas was pleased. Many of the nasty things that the Douses did were challenging thew and going against ethics and morals. Once their dirty deeds were exposed, it would definitely result in outrage and public discussion. Even if the Douses tried to suppress it, it would be to no avail. ¡°Has the matter over at the Brilliance Corporation been investigated?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. ¡°Yes, I was just about to report it to you. The person who sent Miss Carter to discuss the cooperation with Heaven Media was Jane Harper, Miss Carter¡¯s former assistant and the current deputy head of the business department. As far as I know, she tried to make things difficult for Miss Carter several times today. Should we get rid of her?¡± With an ice-cold gaze, Lucas said, ¡°No, don¡¯t fire her yet. I still need her for something.¡± Sacking her right away would be giving her an easy way out. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Lucas put away the phone and nced at therge bed at the side. Cheyenne was lying on the bed, sound asleep. She would frown at times and seemed to be unable to sleep peacefully. Gordon Dous had given her a strong sleeping pill. As long as she slept well, she should be awake by tomorrow morning. Lucas walked to the side of the bed, bent over, and gently stroked Cheyenne¡¯s forehead. ¡°I won¡¯t let those who tried to harm you, including the Dous family and Jane Harper, off. Sleep in peace,¡± Lucas whispered gently into Cheyenne¡¯s ear. As if she heard Lucas¡¯s voice, the frowning Cheyenne in her sleep gradually stopped frowning and rxed. In the Dous family mansion... Gordon still had gauze wrapped around his toes and was helped into the hall. Everyone waiting in the hall turned to look at him. Gordon immediately saw Hugo in the middle. He quickly strode forward with a look of grief in his eyes, as though he had suffered great mistreatment. ¡°Dad, you have to help me! That rascal almost killed Brad, and he kept threatening me. The fighter I hired even turned against me and defected to him. If I weren¡¯t lucky enough, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to see you now!¡± Gordon eximed while pointing to the bruises on his neck. Smack! However, Gordon didn¡¯t hear the words offort he was expecting and instead received a loud p on his face by Hugo. Chapter 74: Punished Using the Family Laws

Chapter 74: Punished Using the Family Laws

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gordon was dumbfounded by the sudden p, and it took him a long time to react. Covering his face with his hand, he eximed, ¡°Dad, why did you hit me?!¡± Hugo said coldly, ¡°Hit you? I really wish I could kick you to death! You son of a bitch, tell me, what have you done out there?!¡± Gordon was naturally displeased. ¡°What could I have done? I¡¯ve been staying in the office! When I was bullied, you didn¡¯t even ask the doctor about my condition. You just med me!¡± Hugo barked angrily, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re still trying to defend yourself, huh?! If you hadn¡¯t fooled around outside and offended someone you can¡¯t afford to offend, would we be facing this crisis today? Things have already gotten to this point, but you still won¡¯t tell me the truth, huh?¡± Chris tried to knock some sense into him. ¡°Gordon, who have you offended? Just tell us. Don¡¯t provoke Dad any further. If you tell us, we can alsoe up with a solution for you!¡± Chris¡¯s words made Gordon lose his temper, and he vented all his anger on him. ¡°Sure, I was wondering why I¡¯m getting med and used by everyone as soon as I came home. You must have been fanning the mes and deliberately trying to frame me! Chris, you¡¯re just afraid that I¡¯llpete with you for the position of sessor, so you deliberately set me up in front of Dad and the rest of the family, didn¡¯t you?¡± Hearing his words, Hugo became even more exasperated, and his blood pressure rose. ¡°Sinful son! Sinful son! If you still don¡¯t repent, don¡¯t me me! This is the death of me! Someone, punish him with the familyws! I must kill this unfilial son!¡± ¡°What? Familyws?¡± Gordon immediately widened his eyes in disbelief. Only when a few family members moved a bench over and a burly man walked toward Gordon with a wooden mace did he believe Hugo! His father was actually using the familyws against him! Families like the Dous family with a rich heritage would often have some familyws for constraining the behavior of the members. However, people nowadays rarely used their familyws to punish their members. The Dous family¡¯s most-used punishment tool was the terrifying mace that would form holes in your body. It was horrifying! Seeing that two more family members wereing to take him and tie him to a bench under the order of Hugo, Gordon was terrified out of his wits and no longer cared about anything else. He immediately knelt in front of Hugo and begged for forgiveness. ¡°Father, I was wrong! I won¡¯t dare to disobey you anymore, and I won¡¯t quarrel with Chris either. Please don¡¯t punish me using the familyws! If you¡¯re upset, you can scold me a few more times or p me a few more times!¡± Hugo looked at Gordon with a straight face and reprimanded, ¡°Then tell me honestly what you¡¯ve done and which big shot you¡¯ve offended to cause our family to suffer such a great cmity.¡± Gordon really wanted to cry. ¡°Father, I really didn¡¯t offend any big shot. I¡¯ve been in the business for decades, so what kind of person could I have offended? Why would I be so ignorant as to offend a big shot? What¡¯s wrong with the family? What cmity? I just came back. No one told me about it!¡± Hugo waved his hand, and Chris stepped forward. ¡°Just half an hour ago, all of ourpanies, clubs, bathhouses, and more were all seized, and there¡¯s a lot of evidence against us. If we can¡¯t find out which bigwig we¡¯ve offended, our family will be destroyed!¡± Gordon was shocked on the spot. He asked in disbelief, ¡°How is that possible?! Our family has deep roots in Orange County, and we¡¯ve established a widework of connections long ago. Who would disregard our status and directly seize all of ourpanies?¡± Looking at his son, Hugo roared coldly, ¡°You think it¡¯s impossible? Would we deliberately scare you with this kind of thing?! The most important thing now is to think carefully about who you offended!¡± Gordon immediately panicked, but a word that Chris said just now appeared in his mind. Destroyed. Right. Why does this word... sound so familiar? Do you think the Dous family is a big deal? If your family is destroyed, do you think you¡¯d still have the right to be so arrogant to me? Lucas had said these words to him with a sneer. Gordon was immediately reminded of it, but he was in disbelief. ¡°No... Impossible... How can he have the ability to destroy my family... That¡¯s impossible!¡± Gordon¡¯s eyes zed over as he muttered to himself continuously. After hearing his words, Hugo immediately grasped his main point. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Gordon. ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Gordon blinked and looked at Hugo as though he was having a nightmare. ¡°I-it¡¯s Lucas Gray, the son-inw of the Carters. He beat Brad, so I nabbed his wife and wanted to get back at him. But he has an underling who¡¯s a good fighter. He even threatened me by saying that he would destroy the Dous family, but how is that possible? The Carters are a powerless third-rate family, and he¡¯s a wastrel! Besides, he was the one who beat Brad badly and almost made the fighter I hired kill me instead...¡± Gordon was rather muddled, but his words allowed everyone to get a clear idea of what happened. Hugo kicked Gordon hard. ¡°Indeed, the trouble was caused by you!¡± After getting kicked, Gordon fell to the ground and shrieked in pain when his fractured toe hit the hard floor. However, facing Hugo¡¯s rage, he could only exin, ¡°But Dad, Lucas Gray is really a good-for-nothing! This must be a coincidence!¡± ¡°Good-for-nothing? Coincidence? You¡¯re just a fool!¡± Hugo hollered angrily while looking at Gordon with a resolute gaze. ¡°Serve him the family punishment! Break his legs!¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t, Dad! Please spare me!¡± Gordon panicked and begged loudly for mercy. A few family members got the hint from Chris¡¯s gaze. They went forward, pulled Gordon on top of the bench, and tied him with his face facing down. Then they hit him hard on his thighs with the mace. ¡°Ah!¡± The loud shriek of misery resounded in the Dous family residence. Hugo closed his eyes, unable to bring himself to watch this scene. However, the incessant cries made his face twitch. ¡°Dad, look, why don¡¯t we spare Gordon? He didn¡¯t do it on purpose...¡± Chris persuaded. Hugo opened his eyes abruptly, and his gaze became firm again, ¡°No, we must make Gordon go through the punishment! Take him with you tomorrow to see Lucas Gray to apologize. You must obtain his forgiveness!¡± ¡°Yes, Dad.¡± Chris agreed with a faint but peculiar glint in his eyes. Chapter 80: It’s Mr. Brooke

Chapter 80: It¡¯s Mr. Brooke

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Since Cheyenne had spoken up, Lucas would naturally give in on her ount. Besides, he didn¡¯t necessarily need the Dous family to disappearpletely from Orange County. Lucas said coldly, ¡°If not for my wife¡¯s kindhearted nature, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have spared your family. However, you must remember that if you provoke my family and me ormit those heinous acts again, your family can just wait to perish!¡± Chris bowed repeatedly and thanked him. ¡°Thank you for your magnanimity. We will remember your kindness!¡± Lucas looked at Chris. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to leave?¡± ¡°Yes, we will leave immediately!¡± Chris Dous instructed his men to take Gordon, who was on the stretcher, and left in a hurry. After ncing at Dominic and the others, Lucas left with Cheyenne. The Carters were left dumbfounded. Dominic couldn¡¯t believe that Lucas, whom he thought was a good-for-nothing and had kicked out of the family, could actually speak to Chris Dous so impolitely and even make him be so afraid and subservient toward him. At this moment, Scarlet stared at the backs of Cheyenne and Lucas, who had gone far, and suddenly said in disdain, ¡°Hmph, how dare that loser continue to pretend and deceive the Dous family? Once they find out the truth, they won¡¯t let him off!¡± Dominic frowned. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Scarlet humphed coldly. ¡°Lucas is a loser who doesn¡¯t even have a job. How could he possibly make the Douses stoop so low and apologize to him? He must have used someone else¡¯s identity!¡± Dominic nodded. He would rather ept this reason than believe that the loser Lucas was actually that capable. ¡°I was just saying that they must have made a mistake just now. The person they want to apologize to should be Aston, right?!¡± Scarlet turned to look at Aston and blinked. Aston smiled calmly. ¡°Some time ago, we did have a conflict with them. But I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ve made a mistake or were really nning to apologize to Mr. Gray today.¡± Aston didn¡¯t confirm anything or admit that Chris was here to apologize to him. In fact, the Brookes did not have any business dealings with the Douses at all, and they had never offended him either. However, he decided to y along since this silly woman had already said so. ¡°I knew it!¡± Scarlet eximed happily when she heard Aston¡¯s words, which vaguely seemed to be admittance. ¡°Hmph, Chris Dous actually didn¡¯t appreciate it and made his subordinate p me. When he realizes his mistaketer andes to apologize to you, you mustn¡¯t forgive them easily!¡± Despite finding it amusing, Aston stayedposed and said indignantly, ¡°Okay. When theye, I will make them apologize to you, Scarlet.¡± Scarlet burst with joy. This means that Aston thinks I¡¯m someone important! Dominic was extremely satisfied too. Although the Brookes were from another county, there was no reason to limit business to just one county. For example, Aston Brooke was now in Orange County to cooperate with the Carters, and he could even obtain the apology of a top family in the county. Clearly, the Brookes had great potential for development. If the Carters could form ties with the Brookes, their future development would be much better! Aston Brooke is a nice young man. If Scarlet marries him, we¡¯ll be inws, and our ties will be even stronger! As Dominic thought of this, his impression of Aston got even better. He said to Scarlet, ¡°Scarlet, don¡¯t bother with anything else for the next few days and just focus on apanying Aston. Lead him around the county.¡± Scarlet naturally agreed happily. ¡°That¡¯ll be troublesome.¡± Aston thanked him politely, but he was well aware of what thoughts they harbored. Hah, since they took the initiative toe to me, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony. ... Meanwhile, Lucas was driving Cheyenne back to the Brilliance Corporation. However, Cheyenne was silent along the way, and she looked extremely upset, making Lucas¡¯s heart ache. But that was a thorn in Cheyenne¡¯s heart, and Lucas couldn¡¯t counsel her or anything. He could only let her get over it on her own and understand that it wasn¡¯t worth having any negative emotions because of the Carters at all, much less sadness or misery. Lucas parked his car outside the entrance of the Brilliance Corporation. After seeing Cheyenne enter the office, he picked up his phone and called Flynn Davis to say a few words to him. The fact that Aston Brooke had been staring at Cheyenne just now and seemed to be interested made Lucas feel rather worried. Of course, what he was worried about was Cheyenne¡¯s safety and security. If he were to be just like Seth Miller, Cheyenne would be embroiled in even more trouble. Soon, Davis returned the call. ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡¯ve checked it. That person is Aston Brooke, who is from a top family in another county. They own several businesses, thergest of which is the Sr Corporation. Estelle Brooke, whom we met in Lion Restaurant, is Aston Brooke¡¯s sister.¡± When Davis said this, Lucas immediately remembered that vile couple, Estelle Brooke and her husband, Den Adams. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see any of the Brookes¡¯ businesses in Orange County. Do as you deem fit,¡± Lucas said calmly into the phone. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Davis immediately agreed. With the power of the Stardust Corporation in Orange County today, he didn¡¯t have to take a family from another county seriously. As long as they released some news, the Brookes would naturally be unable to find any decent business partners in Orange County. Lucas was about to hang up when he suddenly remembered one more thing. ¡°By the way, one more thing. Spare the Douses, but do what you should for the offenses theymitted.¡± ¡°Okay. I know, Mr. Gray. I¡¯ll carry out your instructions ordingly,¡± Davis said respectfully. ... Chris Dous took Gordon Dous, who had broken legs and was lying on the stretcher, to the hospital instead of heading straight home. ¡°After all, your legs are severely injured. You need to recuperate well in the hospital for a while.¡± Afterpleting the administrative procedures in the hospital, Chris said these words to Gordon with a nonchnt expression. ¡°Hmph, you must be very smug now! I made a mistake and got beaten, yet you acted all capable andpetent in front of Dad. Do you think you can undermine me just by doing that?¡± Gordon red at Chris with a gloomy gaze. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re reading too much into things.¡± Chris chuckled coldly and turned around to leave. ¡°Hey! Chris Dous, stop right there!¡± Behind him, Gordon yelled loudly, but Chris didn¡¯t even turn around as his eyes gleamed peculiarly. This good-for-nothing Gordon Dous will soon hold no value. There¡¯s no point in holding it against someone who¡¯s about to die. Chapter 82: Death by Infection

Chapter 82: Death by Infection

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing her words, Lucas smiled and looked at her tenderly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The injuries we inflicted on Brad Dous weren¡¯t severe enough to be fatal. Even if they try to investigate, they won¡¯t be able to associate it with me, so I won¡¯t be in trouble.¡± Cheyenne finally felt much less worried, but she nevertheless reminded Lucas, ¡°Anyway, you should be more careful.¡± ¡°Yes, I will,¡± Lucas answered with a smile. After Cheyenne left, a cold expression appeared on his face. There was definitely more to the double deaths of Brad Dous and Gordon Dous! If no one provoked him, he wouldn¡¯t care to interfere with the family matters of the Douses. However, if someone was foolish enough to try to me the matter on him, he wouldn¡¯t be merciful and would simply chop off his hand! He was no saint after all. ... At this moment, the Dous residence was all ck, and the tworge ckcquered wooden coffins were ced in the middle of the hall, surrounded by countless white wreaths. The Dous family was a top family in Orange County. Since such a huge incident happened all of a sudden, there were naturally many guests. Regardless of whether they were close or not, they would all have to attend and offer parting words to the deceased. They would also have to show their respect and thenfort the Douses. Hugo sat beside the hall and stared at the two coffins in front of him with a deadpan expression. He wasn¡¯t moving at all and was acting as if he couldn¡¯t hear or see anything happening around him. His face, which was still rosy and healthy previously, seemed to have aged more than ten years overnight. The two coffins in front of him were those of his only son, Gordon Dous, and his only grandson, Brad Dous. However, they would never open their eyes again. At the thought of this, tears rolled down Hugo¡¯s face. This scene made the countless guests who came to offer their condolences sigh with emotion. Anyone would be upset and grief-stricken to lose their son and grandson at an old age. Fortunately, he had his eldest son, Chris Dous, who could carry on the family bloodline. At this moment, Chris also looked like he was grief-stricken and had tears in his eyes as he received thefort and condolences from the guests on behalf of the Douses. Sometimes, when something struck a sour note in him, he would weep and feel overwhelmed by the misery of the deaths of his younger brother and nephew. All of a sudden, all the people who came to offer condolences felt emotional, as they could tell that the Dous brothers shared a close rtionship with each other. However, after everyone left in the dead of the night, Chris looked at the tworge coffins in the hall, and his mournful expression was now reced by the derisive smile of a victor. On the second day after the burial of Brad and Gordon, Hugo finally came out of his bedroom and regained some of his vitality. However, Hugo had gray hair and a hunched back. His eyes were also emanating a sharp glint, making everyone¡¯s heart jump. All the Douses waited in the hall, not even daring to breathe. Hugo sat down on a chair in the hall, looked at everyone, and said slowly, ¡°A few days ago, my son, Gordon, and my grandson, Brad, both passed away in the hospital due to a severe infection of their wounds.¡± Hugo¡¯s voice was hoarse. As soon as he said these words, a middle-aged woman dashed out, fell onto the ground, and started crying miserably. ¡°Hugo! You must avenge Gordon and Brad! They died a wrongful death, but the scoundrel who killed them is still alive and well. You can¡¯t let him off easily! You must make him pay for it!¡± The middle-aged woman was none other than Brad¡¯s mother and Gordon¡¯s wife. Having lost her husband and son in one night, she was about to lose her mind! In particr, she had also heard that they had been badly beaten because they had offended Lucas Gray! Even after they had been hospitalized, he still wasn¡¯t willing to let them off and ended up killing them! Or so she thought. Brad¡¯s injuries were serious but not fatal, and the same went for Gordon¡¯s. So it was impossible for them to die in the hospital overnight! While the woman wept miserably, the Douses started discussing endlessly. Almost all of them agreed that there was something fishy about the deaths of Brad and Gordon. Although they didn¡¯t feel much for the overbearing and haughty Gordon and the loafer Brad, who was often up to nothing good and only knew to cause trouble, they were still the core members of the family. Yet they were both killed by such brutal means, so they felt fearful and insulted. Everyone looked at Hugo, hoping that he would issue orders to find the scoundrel who bullied them and then kill him without anyone knowing to avenge the deaths of the two Douses! However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, not only did Hugo not promise to find the culprit to avenge Brad and Gordon, but he even looked at them sullenly and said austerely, ¡°From now on, no one is allowed to talk about the deaths of Brad and Gordon. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being merciless and punishing you with the familyws!¡± Hugo¡¯s words left all of them astonished! He¡¯s actually threatening us with the familyws in order to suppress this matter! Why? Could it be that the culprit behind this is so powerful that even Hugo doesn¡¯t dare to mess with him? ¡°No! You can¡¯t do that. You clearly know that they were both murdered! How can you not avenge them?!¡± the middle-aged woman yelled, unable to ept this result. ¡°Shut up!¡± Hugo barked and red at the middle-aged woman. ¡°Are you turning a deaf ear to my words? Now that my son is gone, I can let you leave the family if you want!¡± ¡°I...¡± The middle-aged woman was so frightened by Hugo that she started convulsing with fear, not daring to air her grievances. She had now lost her husband and her son and could only live the rest of her life depending on Hugo. If she provoked him and ended up getting kicked out by him, her life would be miserable! Hugo stood up and looked around at the crowd in the middle of the hall. ¡°Did all of you hear what I said? If I find out that anyone talks about this again, don¡¯t me me for not warning you beforehand!¡± Chapter 83: Swallowing His Pride

Chapter 83: Swallowing His Pride

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Under thepelling gaze of Hugo, all the Douses did not dare to look at him as they hurriedly hung their heads low and chorused in unison, ¡°Yes, Old Sir!¡± ¡°One more thing.¡± Hugo looked at the white mourning fabric that hadn¡¯t been cleared away yet with a grief-stricken expression. ¡°Gordon and Brad have just been buried, so don¡¯t change the arrangements in the house too soon. Also, everyone in the family is forbidden from entertaining and socializing for the next one week, or else you will be disowned!¡± Hugo said austerely, making their hearts drop. Having just lost his closest kin, it was only normal that Hugo wouldn¡¯t want to see themughing and having a whale of a time. However, if they had to cease all entertainment activities, their entertainment joints would also have to close for a week, which would result in a huge loss! Besides, the Douses had just suffered an enormous loss, so this loss would be even more severe. Everyone wanted to give their opinion. But looking at Hugo¡¯s expression, they could only stay silent. After the family members left, Hugo called Chris to his study. Standing in front of Hugo with his hands by his side and looking down, he looked just like a filial son. Hugo stared at Chris and seemed to be trying to detect something from his face. No matter how thick-skinned Chris might be, he couldn¡¯t stay calm because he had a guilty conscience. ¡°Dad, why did you ask to see me?¡± Chris asked while looking at the oppressive gaze in Hugo¡¯s eyes. Hugo looked away and expressed assent, as if he had been interrupted from his trance. ¡°Do you know why I said that in the hall just now?¡± He was referring to his orders for everyone not to discuss the deaths of Brad and Gordon Dous. In fact, Chris was confused about it too. His men had killed Gordon and Brad, and he even nned to make an issue out of their deaths and then put the me on Lucas Gray so that he could avoid suspicion. No one would suspect that he had killed his younger brother and nephew. In fact, even the middle-aged woman, Gordon¡¯s wife, had heard about the deaths of her husband and son from someone Chris sent. He reckoned that Hugo would definitely agree to the request since he was grief-stricken over the demise of his son and grandson. However, he never expected that Hugo would choose not to confront Lucas and instead order all the family members not to bring it up again. Chris lowered his head and hid the emotions in his eyes as he said respectfully, ¡°I don¡¯t know. But Dad, you¡¯ve always been wise, so I reckon there must be a reason for your decision.¡± Hugo sighed. ¡°Gordon and Brad are my biological son and grandson, so of course I want to avenge them. However, we can¡¯t openly go around saying that Lucas Gray killed them. First, we don¡¯t have any concrete proof, and secondly, we might rm him and cause him to flee. By then, it would be difficult to seek revenge.¡± Chris nodded in a moment of epiphany and eximed, ¡°Dad, you¡¯re so wise! It indeed isn¡¯t time for us to announce this yet. We should get rid of Lucas Gray when his guard is down!¡± ¡°Yes! The murderer is Lucas Gray, and we can roughly confirm that. Even if he wasn¡¯t the one, he was still the one who beat up Gordon and Brad. We have every right to look for him!¡± Hugo gritted his teeth. Immediately afterward, Hugo reached out and patted Chris on his shoulder. ¡°Chris, you¡¯re my only son now. I¡¯ll hand over the task of killing Lucas Gray and avenging Brad and Gordon to you! After youplete it, I will convene a meeting and hand over the position of the sessor of the Dous family to you in public!¡± Hugo¡¯s eyes were full of an inscrutable menace. Lucas Gray was not to be trifled with, and since his biological son was dead, there was no need for the bastard child Chris Dous to continue living either! Besides, the murderer might really be Lucas, but it could also be the ingrate Chris! If the two of them were to be at odds with each other, they could just kill each other! Regardless of which one of them died, it would be good! Only then could he avenge Gordon and Brad! When Hugo thought of that scene, his hands began trembling. Suddenly, he heard a loud sound. Chris burst intoughter! Laughter? Chris was just like an obedient dog in front of him, yet he suddenlyughed after hearing that Hugo was going to hand over the position of sessor to him. Hugo was shocked, and soon, he was furious. He had clearly just said that no one was tough or chatter for the sake of mourning Brad and Gordon. Yet Chris wasughing! ¡°What are youughing about?!¡± Hugo flew into a rage and red at Chris. ¡°Haha, Dad. You mean that if I don¡¯t seek revenge on Lucas Gray, you won¡¯t give me the position of sessor, right?¡± Chris asked with a smile. Hugo found his action peculiar and frowned. ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re my only son. Who else would I hand it to but you?¡± ¡°Haha, who knows? I¡¯m not your biological son. How could you hand the family over to me? I¡¯m afraid you must be thinking about how to kill me, right?¡± Chris was still smiling, but in Hugo¡¯s opinion, he was like a terrifying demon! ¡°What nonsense are you babbling about?¡± Hugo roared with shock and fear within him. When did this bastard find out? Or has he always been pretending all this while? Has he been pretending so well that I thought he was an obedient dog, and he¡¯s only showing his true colors now? All of a sudden, Hugo¡¯s heart was full of horror and anxiety. ¡°Hah, you should know whether or not I¡¯m babbling nonsense.¡± Since he had already revealed his true colors, Chris saw no need to pretend and walked toward the couch to sit down calmly. ¡°You just want me to deal with Lucas Gray and end up getting injured too. It¡¯s best if we both die, right?¡± Chapter 85: Cheyenne Gets Hit

Chapter 85: Cheyenne Gets Hit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Within a few days, all three members of the Dous family¡¯s direct line of session died. To the world atrge, Brad and Gordon Dous had passed away because of healthplications caused by their infected injuries, while Hugo Dous fell down at home because he was too grief-stricken and knocked the back of his head, thereby unfortunately passing away. However, many didn¡¯t believe this. Cheyenne didn¡¯t believe it either, especially since a conflict had just broken out between Lucas and the Douses because of Charlotte and her just a few days ago. Yet they died a few dayster. This made it hard for Cheyenne to believe that this really had nothing to do with Lucas. Thus, she was feeling extremelyplicated. On the one hand, she didn¡¯t want to believe that Lucas would be ruthless enough to kill them for the sake of revenge. But on the other hand, the facts left her with no choice but to doubt him. So when Lucas came to pick her up from work at the entrance of the Brilliance Corporation office, Cheyenne decided to voice her doubts, as she couldn¡¯t endure the torment in her heart. ¡°Did you cause the deaths of the Douses?¡± When Lucas heard this, his hand stiffened. Then he drove to the roadside to pull over and stepped on the brakes. ¡°Cheyenne, are you suspecting that I killed those people?¡± Lucas asked bitterly. Cheyenne bit her lips. ¡°I don¡¯t want to suspect you either. But you did have a conflict with the Douses because of what happened to me and Charlotte. Moreover, I haven¡¯t heard of them offending anyely apart from you. I know you definitely are capable of doing this, but I don¡¯t want you to go too far andmit such illegal acts.¡± He smiled bitterly. ¡°Am I an immoral devil who kills others without feeling anything in your eyes?¡± Pinching her palm, Cheyenne looked at Lucas. ¡°Does that mean that their deaths really have nothing to do with you?¡± He looked into her eyes solemnly and nodded. ¡°I do have the ability to kill them, but I wasn¡¯t the one who did this. If I did, I¡¯d admit to my own doings. But since I didn¡¯t, I won¡¯t. The Douses aren¡¯t worthy of my intervention.¡± Cheyenne realized that she had indeed misunderstood him. Since Lucas had the ability to destroy the Dous family at any time, there was indeed no need for him to take their lives. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I-I was just worried that you did something impulsive...¡± she apologized. After all, anyone would be displeased to be suspected of being a murderer. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Lucas nodded, well aware of what she was worried about. She was just afraid that he might step on the wrong path of no return and didn¡¯t want Amelia to have such a terrifying father. However, her concerns werepletely unnecessary because he was extremely clear what his bottom line was. Besides, he wouldn¡¯t dirty his hands easily. After hearing what Lucas said, Cheyenne finally felt relieved. ... The following morning, Cheyenne went to work. As soon as she entered her office, Jane Harper walked over and threw a pile of documents onto her desk before she could even turn on herputer. Jane ended up knocking over Cheyenne¡¯s cup, but fortunately, there was no water in it. ¡°Convert the data in these documents into tables and statistical reports. Make two sets of slides. I need them for the meeting at nine-thirtyter,¡± Jane ordered while frowning in annoyance. Cheyenne sorted out the documents scattered all over the desk. There were about fifty documents, which cumtively were half the thickness of a dictionary. She flipped through them, only to see that there were all sorts of data tables and some scribbling on them. Cheyenne subconsciously frowned. It was nearly 8:30, only an hour before the meeting. The thick stack of documents would require a long time to process, and she even had to consolidate them into a single data table and then turn them into presentation slides. Putting the data into tables alone would require at least two days. Getting all of it done in an hour was an absolutely impossible task! ¡°Ms. Harper, the time is too tight. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to get it ready in time. Do you have the original digital spreadsheets of this information? If you do...¡± Before Cheyenne could finish, Jane snapped hostilely, ¡°Are you a good-for-nothing? I can¡¯t even get you to do a simple task. Can¡¯t get it ready in time? Do youe to the office every day just to muddle through? You should have been fired long ago!¡± Cheyenne took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the anger welling up in her chest. Jane Harper was clearly making things difficult for her on purpose! It wasn¡¯t the first time either. From the day Cheyenne rejoined the Brilliance Corporation and started working from the bottom, Jane had already requested to transfer Cheyenne over to her department. Initially, Cheyenne thought that she was just being grateful and trying to take care of her. When Cheyenne was still in the Brilliance Corporation as the chairman of the board of directors, Jane was just an ordinary fresh graduate. Due to her humble family background and the fact that Cheyenne saw her getting bullied on several asions in the office, Cheyenne took pity on her and made an exception to promote her to her personal assistant. Although she took on the role of an ordinary assistant, being the assistant of thepany¡¯s chairman meant that she was treatedpletely differently from ordinary assistants. Thus, with Cheyenne¡¯s help, Jane propelled to a high position, and her status and sry skyrocketed too, making many envious. However, after the Carters took away the Brilliance Corporation from Cheyeer, Jane did not talk to her much when she saw her around and even avoided her. Cheyenne thought that Jane was just worried that she might be implicated and offend the Carters if they saw her talking to her. However, Cheyenne never thought that Jane would ask to have her transferred to her department just so she could torture her every day by giving her arduous tasks that were impossible to finish. She reprimanded Cheyenne all the time and was actually the one who forced her to go to Heaven Media by threatening to have fired. By giving Cheyenne such a thick stack of documents and a Herculean task that was impossible to finish, Jane was also deliberately trying to humiliate her and make things difficult. At the thought of this, Cheyenne no longer wanted to try toplete the task. She looked at Jane and said, ¡°Ms. Harper, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever treated you poorly in the past. Why do you have to torture me intentionally like this?¡± Cheyenne thought she wasmunicating calmly. But to her surprise, as soon as she finished speaking, Jane suddenly raised her hand and pped her across the face with all her might! Smack! Chapter 87: Super Promotion

Chapter 87: Super Promotion

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne¡¯s face turned sullen, and her aura became austere, instantly reminding Jane of the time when she was just a fresh graduate and was full of awe toward Cheyenne. She had even developed a sense of inferiority then. However, Jane soon got rid of this feeling. She was now a deputy manager at the Brilliance Corporation, while Cheyenne was just a junior employee subordinate to her. Cheyenne was at her beck and call. Jane looked at Cheyenne with contempt. ¡°Yes! Do you still think that you¡¯re the lofty chairman you used to be and that I¡¯m still your assistant? Now, I¡¯m your manager, and you have to do whatever I tell you. You have to bear with all the scoldings and beatings that I give! ¡°I know you still harbor thoughts of going back to the management level and climbing to the top of the Brilliance Corporation, but those are merely your delusions! ¡°I¡¯m telling you, as long as I¡¯m here, you will never get a chance to be promoted. You will stay at the bottom as an ordinary employee for the rest of your life, and you will never be able to climb up again!¡± Jane hollered at Cheyenne with a menacing expression. She was furious and envious of her! How could Cheyenne Carter be so lucky as to be born into a wealthy family and have such a beautiful face? She even became the chairman of thepany at such a young age and possessed everything that everyone is envious of. Why did I have to be so lowly and inferior in front of her while she did me favors and bestowed kindness? Now, Cheyenne Carter has finally fallen from her pedestal and be far worse than me. I, Jane Harper, will step all over her and never give her the chance to climb up again! Cheyenne found it really ironic. Jane was now a deputy manager, but she managed to get to that position because of Cheyenne¡¯s help. Yet Jane was now throwing her weight around and putting on airs in front of her. She even swore to condemn Cheyenne and undermine her! In that case, all her previous thoughts were just overly naive and righteous. Thinking of this, Cheyenne took a deep breath and nced at Jane coldly. ¡°Is that so? Keep your eyes wide open. I hope you will never regret it!¡± After saying this, Cheyenne stopped looking at Jane and the others in the office, who had peculiar expressions. She headed straight to the washroom to change out of her wet clothes. ... Soon, everything that happened in the business department office was reported in detail. Flynn Davis didn¡¯t dare to be negligent when it came to Cheyenne¡¯s affairs. He not only sent someone to pay attention to Cheyenne¡¯s actions in thepany but also reported these matters to Lucas as soon as possible. When Lucas heard that Jane had openly humiliated Cheyenne, pped her, and even sshed hot water on her in front of everyone at the office, an icy-cold gaze appeared in his eyes, and he was on the verge of killing someone. She¡¯s merely a deputy manager of the business department, and yet she has the audacity to insult Cheyenne. Previously, Jane was the one who forced her to go to Heaven Media to discuss the cooperation with it, but he hadn¡¯t had the time to deal with her yet. Now, she was getting worse! On the other end of the line, Davis seemed to be able to sense the coldnessing from Lucas. He was so nervous that he didn¡¯t dare to breathe deeply at all. ¡°Conduct a thorough investigation on Jane Harper. Since she has received bribes openly in the office, she definitely can¡¯t be clean. Find out all the dirty deeds that she has done over the years, sort out the evidence, and report her to the police,¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray! I¡¯ll send someone to check it out right away, and I¡¯ll make sure to do a careful job!¡± Davis hurriedly answered. At this moment, a text message was sent to Lucas¡¯s phone. It was from Cheyenne. Lucas hurriedly opened it and smirked after reading the content clearly. This silly girl has finally figured it out. Before ending the call with Davis, Lucas ordered, ¡°I want to make Cheyenne the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. Go draft the official documents now and announce it before noon. I want everyone in the Brilliance Corporation to hear it!¡± Davis was astonished, but he immediately answered, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray! I¡¯ll get to it immediately!¡± He was shocked naturally because he knew that Cheyenne had previously rejected Lucas¡¯s proposal to directly make her the chairman of the Brilliance Corporation, as she wanted to start from scratch. However, he was also clear about what Jane had just said. Now, Cheyenne¡¯s choice was the most appropriate approach. ¡°Get someone to spread the word and say that thepany is likely to promote Jane Harper to the position of the director of the business department.¡± ¡°Um...¡± Davis was a little confused why Lucas wanted to promote someone like Jane Harper, but he quickly figured it out and wanted to curse himself for being so silly. Since Jane had the audacity to bully Cheyenne, how could Lucas still promote her? By releasing the news, he just wanted her to be conceited. The higher she stood, the harder she would fall! ¡°Okay, I understand, Mr. Gray!¡± Davis acknowledged and proceeded to get to it. Lucas sat on the couch and looked at the message Cheyenne sent on the screen. ¡°Can I be the general manager?¡± He felt heartache, but he was heartened too. This silly girl has finally decided to depend on me. ... Soon, an assistant of the HR department rushed to the office of the business department and said to Jane smilingly, ¡°I specially came back to congratte you. Ms. Harper, you¡¯ll be promoted soon!¡± Hearing this, Jane was overjoyed, and she frantically asked, ¡°Really? Am I really going to be promoted? I¡¯m going to be appointed manager?¡± She had been in the position of deputy manager for some time, and her former boss, a Carter, had already been given the sack some time ago. Jane thought that the position would naturally be given to her. To her surprise, she finally received the news after such a long time! Jane smiled, and the employees around her were also about to congratte her on her promotion. But the HR assistant shook her head. ¡°No, you¡¯re not going to be promoted to a manager.¡± Jane Harper froze, and everyone around her was at a loss for words. Since it was a promotion, how could it not be to a manager? ¡°Congrattions, Ms. Harper. You¡¯ll soon be the director of the business department!¡± the HR assistant eximed, panting heavily. Jane Harper was overwhelmed with joy, as if she had won the lottery! Being promoted from a deputy manager to a department director was a super promotion! Chapter 88: New General Manager

Chapter 88: New General Manager

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jane was incredibly excited about soon bing a director, so much so that she was at a loss for what to say. ¡°Wow. Congrattions, Ms. Harper!¡± ¡°Congrattions, Ms. Harper. You are going to be promoted to director! In ourpany, you¡¯re the only one who could be a director at such a young age!¡± ¡°Ms. Harper, please take care of us in the future!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s treat Ms. Harper to dinner tonight to celebrate her promotion!¡± ... The staff of the business department all gathered around Jane and praised her incessantly. Jane Harper was brimming with joy, and she couldn¡¯t hide her smugness. ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll treat you all to dinner. Let¡¯s book two private rooms at Lion Restaurant. I¡¯d like to thank you all for the trust you¡¯ve had in me and for taking care of me all this while! In the future, we will also continue to work together to make our business department expand and be stronger!¡± Although the official promotion appointment letter hadn¡¯t been released yet, Jane was already full of vigor and had the demeanor of a leader. When they heard that Jane intended to treat them to dinner at Lion Restaurant, all the colleagues began cheering gleefully. ¡°Ms. Harper, you¡¯re so generous!¡± ¡°We definitely won¡¯t lose out by working under Ms. Harper!¡± At this moment, Cheyenne, who had just changed into a clean set of clothes, entered. Jane pointed at Cheyenne. ¡°Let¡¯s all go to the Lion tonight, but this person is not wee.¡± As soon as they heard her words, everyone looked at Cheyenne gloatingly. Jane was now about to be promoted to the director of the business department, while Cheyenne was still just a junior employee. If they ended up offending Jane Harper, there would definitely be severe consequences. Cheyenne Carter is going to have a hard time from now on. Well, unless she leaves thepany after realizing that she can¡¯t stand it anymore... They were all pragmatic people. Seeing how much Jane detested Cheyenne, so much so that she wouldn¡¯t even let Cheyenne take a few days off, no one wanted to take the risk of offending her. Thus, they simply undermined Cheyenne. ¡°Hmph, even I feel disgusted by Cheyenne Carter¡¯s pretentiousness, let alone Ms. Harper!¡± ¡°Exactly! Whenever Ms. Harper orders her to do something, she procrastinates and gives all sorts of excuses for her failure toplete it. Ms. Harper is too kind. If it were me, I would have already fired her!¡± ¡°She acts like an heiress just because she used to be family with the Carters! The Brilliance Corporation has long been taken away from her, and she¡¯s not even part of the Carter family anymore since they¡¯ve already chased her out. She¡¯s all alone now. I wonder what dirty tricks she¡¯s using!¡± ¡°Hmph, Ms. Harper is right! Tonight is a celebratory dinner for your promotion to director. How could we let someonee and ruin the atmosphere?¡± ... Cheyenne¡¯s face turned gloomy. Jane Harper is actually going to be promoted to the director of the business department? This was something she was unaware of. However, Cheyenne was not worried at all because she knew that the owner of the Brilliance Corporation was Lucas. And she reckoned that he should be aware of the things that Jane had been doing. He was probably just giving her a false sense of joy. Cheyenne wasn¡¯t interested in the celebratory party either. Even if Jane invited her, she wouldn¡¯t go. She was just disappointed that the business department that she had single-handedly developed had already changed drastically after six years of poor management by the Carters. The majority of the people still here were all bootlickers. Facing this group of peopleshing out at her with harsh and malicious remarks because of Jane, Cheyenne looked at them coldly and humphed. ¡°I hope you will have an enjoyable celebration banquet tonight.¡± ¡°Hah, are you being sour because Ms. Harper didn¡¯t invite you?¡± ¡°Hahaha. We¡¯re going to an expensive restaurant for a meal tonight thanks to Ms. Harper, while Cheyenne can only go home and cook for her loser husband! Hahahaha!¡± ¡°Hahahaha. I forgot Cheyenne Carter had a loser husband! But now that she has been kicked out by the Carters, she might also be chased out by thepany. By then, I wonder if her loser husband will still want her!¡± ¡°Hahaha, yes, exactly. After all, he just sponges off her. Once Cheyenne stops providing for him, I wonder what¡¯s going to happen to them!¡± ... They started insulting her one after another. In the past, Cheyenne might still feel embarrassed. But now, she just felt that they were a bunch of clowns. Without saying anything, she turned around and left to prepare for her future ns after bing the general manager. Initially, Cheyenne had turned down Lucas¡¯s offer to hand over the Brilliance Corporation directly to her and wanted to climb up thedder with her own efforts so that others would be convinced that she truly had what it takes. However, everything that happened made Cheyenne understand that even if she was outstanding and hardworking, she would never be able to advance because of Jane Harper. Cheyenne had also figured something out. Her ultimate goal was to take back the Brilliance Corporation and purge all the bad practices and unscrupulous employees. She wanted the Brilliance Corporation to be healthy and full of vigor, restoring it to what it used to be. Trying to gain the recognition of others was not the right thing to do. As long as Lucas approved of her and she had the ability to improve the Brilliance Corporation, that would be enough. Soon, before noon, a shocking piece of news spread to the ears of every employee of the Brilliance Corporation. A new general manager had already been appointed and would be arriving at the office in the afternoon. At that time, all the employees of the Brilliance Corporation, except those who were out of town on business trips, would have to go to the first floor of the office to meet the new general manager! Once the news came out, countless people began to talk about it. Since the Brilliance Corporation was taken away by the Stardust Corporation more than ten days ago, the former general manager, Bryce Carter, was kicked out, and the remaining Carters were also sacked. Thus, there were many vacant positions. However, except for the temporary assignment of the deputy general manager to take care of thepany affairs, no other vacant positions had been filled. In particr, the top position of general manager had been vacant for a long time. Many people had also been guessing if someone would be transferred over to fill the position or if a staff of the Brilliance Corporation would be promoted. To be honest, they would prefer an internal selection within the Brilliance Corporation so that everyone would have a fair chance. Besides, they were all old acquaintances, and there would be more room for discussion. ¡°Have you heard? Who is the general manager this time? Is it someone from elsewhere or someone from ourpany?¡± someone asked. Chapter 89: Jane Harper’s Dreams

Chapter 89: Jane Harper¡¯s Dreams

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Who knows? I asked the HR department, and they all said they received an order from the higher-ups not to spread the word. They only said that we¡¯ll know in the afternoon.¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s pretty confidential, huh?¡± Jane was also part of the gossiping team. She had just received the news today that she would be promoted to a director and that the newly appointed general manager would being soon. Thus, she had to do her best to leave a good impression on the new general manager to get into his good books. It¡¯ll be best if the new general manager is a young and handsome bachelor! Jane believed that with herpetence and beauty, she might be able to marry the general manager in the future if she could win his favor! That would be much more powerful than the authority she would have as the director of the business department! Jane imagined how much power she would enjoy after she married the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation and how everyone would have to bow down to her. If she were good at convincing him, the Brilliance Corporation would be in her control! By then, Cheyenne Carter would be nothing! Jane was overjoyed, and when she turned around to look at Cheyenne, who was typing on herputer in the corner, she suddenly felt a strong sense of superiority. So what if the Brilliance Corporation used to belong to you? Soon, it will be mine! As she thought of this, an arrogant expression appeared on her face, and she strutted smugly toward Cheyenne¡¯s desk in her heels. She raised her hand and unplugged the cable connected to Cheyenne¡¯sputer. Cheyenne had justpleted some project proposals and personnel transfer files and uploaded them to her cloud drive. However, she hadn¡¯t finished some spreadsheets yet, but theputer screen suddenly went ck. She looked up to see Jane standing in front of her with an arrogant and condescending expression, holding the power plug in her hand. A few ill-intentioned staff out to watch a good show surrounded them. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Cheyenne frowned and looked at Jane, who had obviously unplugged the power cord on purpose. ¡°Watch your tone with Ms. Harper!¡± Before Jane could say anything, a person with heavy makeup intervened and was eager to teach Cheyenne a lesson. Cheyenne didn¡¯t even bother paying attention to such a person and simply stared at Jane to see what tricks she was ying. ¡°Tsk, I don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re pretending to be busy for. The new general manager will be here soon. Did you know?¡± Jane Harper said leisurely after dropping the power cord. ¡°And?¡± Cheyenne asked, leaning back against her chair. Seeing how unconcerned and nonchnt Cheyenne was, Jane was furious. Why does this woman always act as if she is so high and mighty? Jane decided that she didn¡¯t want to fire Cheyenne so soon. She wanted to keep her around so that she could make her watch her be the wife of the general manager and take away the Brilliance Corporation! ¡°What are you pretending for? Who doesn¡¯t know that you were the chairman of the Brilliance Corporation in the past, but the Carters took it away from youter? You were then given a powerless junior position, and you evenpeted with Bryce Carter for the position of general manager. But unfortunately, that old man would rather choose that wastrel Bryce than make you the general manager. ¡°You must be disappointed, huh? There¡¯s going to be someone else taking the position of general manager. Does that make you sadder?¡± Jane Harper said with a smile, deliberately out to upset Cheyenne. ¡°Ah, poor you! You used to be the high and mighty chairman of the board, but now you can only huddle in a corner of this office. You must be terrified, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Hahaha! Certain people just get better and better the higher they climb, while the lives of some just get worse with time. This is life!¡± ¡°I really advise certain people to recognize their own abilities sooner and know where they stand, lest they keep on dreaming!¡± ¡°Exactly! She got driven out by her family and even married a loser husband. She¡¯s stuck with her burdensome daughter too, so she will never make aeback!¡± ... Cheyenne looked at the hideous faces around her coldly without many emotions. Soon, these scumbags who just liked to suck up to powerful people would be driven out of the Brilliance Corporation. At about three in the afternoon, a gray Mercedes-Benzmercial car pulled over at the Brilliance Corporation office entrance, and a refined middle-aged man got down from the backseat. He was James Denning, Flynn Davis¡¯s secretary, who often followed him around. The deputy general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, Lawrence Cayman, had long been standing at the door. He immediately walked toward the car. ¡°Mr. Denning, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. Cayman.¡± Denning stretched his hand out to shake Cayman¡¯s hand. After an exchange of pleasantries, Denning asked, ¡°Have they been notified?¡± ¡°Yes, they were all notified in the morning. We¡¯re just waiting for you to announce it.¡± He had naturally been notified of the arrangements in the morning since he was the interim deputy general manager. However, he didn¡¯t dare to tell outsiders. Who could have guessed that the person who would be the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation would be that someone? As Denning arrived, all the staff in the Brilliance Corporation immediately put down what they were doing and hurried to therge conference room on the third floor, which could amodate more than a thousand people. Ever since they received the notice this morning, the administration department had already set up therge conference room. All the management staff had been arranged seats ording to their position and status in the front row of the conference room. And the other employees sat at the back ording to their departments. Jane hesitated for a moment but soon sat on a seat in the first row. Her official appointment letter had yet to be issued, so she was technically still a deputy manager for now and wasn¡¯t qualified to sit in the first row. However, she thought that since her promotion was already a sure bet, a moment sooner orter would make no difference. Besides, Jane thought that she would only be able to leave a good impression on the new general manager and impress him with her good looks by sitting in the first row. Seeing Jane Harper sitting in the first row of seats reserved for those in upper management positions, several other directors next to her frowned in puzzlement. But they didn¡¯t end up saying anything. Now, there were already two people on the podium in front. One was Lawrence Cayman, the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s interim deputy general manager, and the other was James Denning, the secretary who was transferred over from the Stardust Corporation. The seat with the ¡®General Manager¡¯ namete was still vacant. Who could the mysterious general manager be? Everyone was eager to find out! Chapter 90: Cheyenne Gets Promoted

Chapter 90: Cheyenne Gets Promoted

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Soon, the meeting officially began. The deputy general manager, Lawrence Cayman, first made a simple statement before saying, ¡°I¡¯m sure all of you here have already heard of the news of the new general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. Now, let¡¯s have Mr. James Denning of headquarters announce the appointment of the new general manager. Everyone, let¡¯s give him a round of apuse!¡± p! p! After the warm apuse, Denning picked up the appointment letter and read it aloud solemnly. ¡°Miss Carter is hereby appointed as the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. She will be responsible for handling all the daily affairs of the Brilliance Corporation for a term of ten years! ¡°The terms in this letter have been approved by the head office, the Stardust Corporation, after the relevant procedures. It shall take effect immediately from the date of its reading. ¡°May I invite the new general manager, Miss Cheyenne Carter, to the stage to deliver a speech for everyone!¡± As soon as Denning said this, everyone subconsciously began apuding. However, everyone below the stage had bewilderment and shock written all over their faces. The new general manager is Cheyenne Carter? The Cheyenne Carter we know? But isn¡¯t Cheyenne Carter already down and out? Why did she suddenly be the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation? If it isn¡¯t her, could it be someone else with the same name? But this name isn¡¯tmon. Compared to other people¡¯s bewilderment and shock, Jane, who was sitting in the first row, was simply dumbfounded and astounded! She couldn¡¯t believe that Cheyenne Carter would actually be the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation all of a sudden! Something must have gone wrong! ¡°Impossible... It must be someone else with the same name... It must be someone else...¡± Jane muttered softly while clenching her fists tightly. She then looked at the podium anxiously. The crisp and clear sounds of high heels knocking against the ground sounded from behind the podium. Subsequently, under the gaze of countless people, Cheyenne, dressed in an elite business suit, slowly made her way to the podium in an elegant and dignified gait. She then walked to the empty seat in the middle and sat down. The gold ¡®General Manager¡¯ namete in front of Cheyenne was glistening under the light. At this point, Jane could no longer deceive herself. The new general manager that she had been eagerly waiting to see was actually Cheyenne Carter! Layers of cold sweat surged out of her body. She was shivering all over, and her body was quivering incessantly. She even sat in the first row of seats for those with upper management positions. Every time she looked up, she could see Cheyenne¡¯s solemn gaze, and it was as though Cheyenne was ring daggers at her and exposing her to the public. At this moment, Jane felt humiliated and endless remorse. However, Cheyenne did not even look at Jane once. She sat in the general manager seat on the podium and spoke with a calm expression and tone. She made some brief statements about the current situation and the future development direction of thepany. After all, Cheyenne had single-handedly developed the Brilliance Corporation, and now that she became the general manager again, she feared nothing at all. Her speech was clear, and she was eloquent, professional, elegant,posed, and sophisticated. The people below all recalled the way she used to be when she was the CEO. As for Jane, she had been sweating profusely below the stage, causing all her makeup to be smudged. She was too flustered to notice what Cheyenne was saying. ¡°Okay, this is the end of today¡¯s meeting. I hope we will all strive to make the Brilliance Corporation better under Miss Carter¡¯s lead!¡± With Cayman¡¯s closing speech, everyone apuded loudly, and Jane finally returned to her senses. Seeing Cheyenne stand up and walk toward the conference room exit apanied by Cayman and Denning, Jane hurriedly wiped a handful of cold sweat from her face and ran after her. ¡°Miss Carter, please wait!¡± Countless people below the stage were watching with their eyes wide open, waiting to see what Jane would say to Cheyenne. After all, Jane despised Cheyenne, and almost everyone in thepany knew this, especially since many had witnessed the scolding in the morning. With an icy-cold gaze, Cheyenne looked at Jane scurrying toward her with her eyeliner and makeup all smudged. There was no derision in her eyes or the thrill of having taken revenge. There was nothing but extreme indifference. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Um... Miss Carter, we were nning to hold a promotion celebration for me at Lion Restaurant this afternoon, weren¡¯t we? I¡¯d like to invite you toe to tonight¡¯s dinner to congratte you on bing the general manager of our Brilliance Corporation!¡± Jane Harper smiled brightly, as if all those things that happened between her and Cheyenne didn¡¯t exist. Cheyenne had to admit that she had a high EQ, or rather, she was extremely thick-skinned. Jane also extended her invitation to Cayman and Denning. ¡°It¡¯s rare for all the leaders to be here. I wonder if you will allow me the honor to have dinner with you.¡± Jane deliberately made a yful action that she thought was charming, but she had no idea that she looked extremely revolting with her smudged makeup. Cheyenne sneered. ¡°How can I qualify to attend your promotion celebration party? I still have to go home to apany my loser husband, lest he abandons me!¡± These were the sarcastic remarks that Jane mocked Cheyenne with earlier. And now that Cheyenne was using them against her, Jane¡¯s face stiffened, and she grew speechless. Denning frowned and stayed silent. He didn¡¯t know the woman in front of him, but he reckoned that she should have offended Cheyenne Carter, so he wasn¡¯t kind to her at all. Cayman also frowned as he grasped the main point in Jane¡¯s words. ¡°What promotion?¡± As the interim deputy general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, he was naturally very familiar with the recent personnel transfers, and he knew that Jane Harper was a deputy manager in the business department. Jane ruffled her hair and hurriedlyughed. ¡°Well, thepany is going to promote me to the director of the business department! I really have to thank Mr. Cayman and Miss Carter for your trust in me!¡± Cayman frowned. ¡°You¡¯re just a deputy manager. How could you be promoted straight to director? Also, who told you about the promotion? Howe I don¡¯t know?¡± Jane was dumbstruck. Cayman¡¯s words made her heart drop, and she had an ominous hunch. ¡°Kate... from the HR department... she came to tell me this morning...¡± Jane stammered. Cayman sneered. ¡°Are you new to corporate? There wasn¡¯t an appointment letter, but you believed it just because someone said so? You¡¯re so brainless!¡± After saying this, Cayman stopped paying attention to Jane and instead hurriedly turned around and quickly caught up with Cheyenne. Jane was immediately embarrassed. Cayman obviously meant that she wasn¡¯t going to be promoted to director and that there was never a promotion for her! In an instant, all eyes were on her! Chapter 92: The Carters’ Discussion

Chapter 92: The Carters¡¯ Discussion

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, Dominic Carter¡¯s figure appeared in the middle of the hall with his granddaughter Scarlet Wright beside him. The righteous indignation of the people subsided a little as they stood up respectfully to greet Dominic. Dominic waved his hand. After sitting down in the middle seat, he looked at the crowd. ¡°Seems like you already know.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone nodded. Immediately afterward, some impatient family members stood out and eximed, ¡°Grandpa, this is so infuriating. What right does that bitch...¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Dominic coldly interrupted and said in a low voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t call you here to listen to this useless nonsense! The truth now is that Cheyenne Carter has already be the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. Do you guys have anything to say about this? I want to hear something constructive.¡± Dominic¡¯sst sentence made many people who wanted to stand up and express their opinions retreat silently. Constructive things? What kind of constructive thing can we say? Surely, he¡¯s not expecting us to go snatch the Brilliance Corporation back from Cheyenne Carter and hand it over to him, right? ¡°Bryce, tell us what you think,¡± Dominic suddenly said to Bryce. Being the first to be named, Bryce raised his head angrily with a resentful look on his face that hadn¡¯t faded yet. ¡°Grandpa, I think there¡¯s definitely something wrong with Cheyenne Carter!¡± Dominic Carter frowned. ¡°Tell us what issues there are.¡± Bryce stood up. ¡°Previously, Cheyenne Carter and Flynn Davis colluded to snatch the Brilliance Corporation away from us under the pretext of us breaching the contract. I doubt anyone would believe that they weren¡¯t in cahoots. ¡°In any case, let¡¯s put this matter aside. Let¡¯s talk about thetter matter. All the Carters have been chased out of the Brilliance Corporation, while Cheyenne is the only one left. That¡¯s enough to show that she¡¯s still involved with the C-suites of the Brilliance Corporation, or even the Stardust Corporation. ¡°ording to the information I found out, Cheyenne Carter was pped hard on her face by Jane Harper, her former assistant and a deputy manager of the business department. She even had hot water sshed onto her, so it¡¯s safe to say she was in a miserable state.¡± This was something that Dominic hadn¡¯t heard before. With glistening eyes, Dominic asked, ¡°What happenedter?¡± ¡°Later, the Brilliance Corporation allegedly spread the news that there would be a new general manager soon. In the afternoon, Cheyenne was suddenly appointed as the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, while Jane Harper, who had bullied her, was handcuffed and brought away by the police in front of everyone!¡± Bryce¡¯s words were indeed insider news that many of the Carters hadn¡¯t heard before. All of a sudden, they were all ears. At this moment, Scarlet, who was standing beside Dominic, suddenly spoke up. ¡°I know! This must be because Cheyenne Carter and one of the senior executives of the Stardust Corporation have long been in an illicit rtionship, but something happenedter. Maybe she disobeyed, so he forced her toply by bullying her. ¡°So today, she couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer and made another deal with that person to regain her position as the general manager. That former assistant who offended her was naturally used and then arrested!¡± Although Scarlet¡¯s imagination was dark and vulgar, it was still somewhat logical. And her words immediately made all the Carters present believe that it was the truth. Dominic nodded in approval. ¡°It seems the truth is just as Bryce and Scarlet have said. However, no matter what means Cheyenne used to rise to the top, she is now the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, and we can¡¯t let go of this opportunity for nothing. As long as she is still carrying ourst name, she must make some contribution to the Carters.¡± Everyone seemed to approve, and they immediately found it a pity that Dominic had kicked Cheyenne and her family out previously. Otherwise, they would have been able to directly ask Cheyenne to return the Brilliance Corporation to the Carters. Even if the Stardust Group didn¡¯t allow it, they would still be able to get the Brilliance Corporation from her and let Cheyenne be the general manager in name. Unfortunately, Cheyenne was no longer a member of the Carter family, so she definitely wouldn¡¯t be that obedient andpliant. The Carters sighed in their hearts. Dominic looked at Bryce. ¡°Bryce, when Cheyenne came over a few days ago, didn¡¯t she say she wanted to cooperate with the Carters on behalf of the Brilliance Corporation? Now that she has be the general manager herself, she must hold greater authority. Go look for her and talk to her about our cooperation with the Brookes.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Bryce was stunned. But he immediately raised his arm in the cast and rejected, ¡°No, Grandpa. Cheyenne hates me to the core. If I go to her, she¡¯ll definitely treat me harshly!¡± Dominic¡¯s face turned dark. ¡°Does your pride matter more than the family¡¯s future? Speaking of which, if it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have disowned Cheyenne and her family. Since you offended her prior to this, you have to beg for her forgiveness now! Only when she forgives you will it be possible to bring benefits to the Carters again. Do you understand?¡± Bryce immediately had a bitter expression. It was obvious what Dominic meant. In fact, he even med the disowning of Cheyenne and her family on Bryce. He wants Cheyenne Carter toe back while undermining me! Bryce was full of displeasure, but he didn¡¯t know what to say to retort against him. He could only exim, ¡°I won¡¯t go!¡± ¡°You¡¯re rebelling!¡± Angered by his words, Dominic pointed at Bryce and berated, ¡°Throwing a tantrum? Do you think you¡¯re a child?! Bryce Carter, I¡¯m telling you, you have to make this trip even if you don¡¯t want to! Otherwise, don¡¯t think ofing back again!¡± After saying that, Dominic waved his sleeve and left. Everyone in the hall looked at Bryce with a hypocritical smile. ¡°Bryce, just bear with it for the sake of the family!¡± ¡°Yes, we will all remember your contribution to the family. Even if that womanes back, you are still the only sessor in our hearts!¡± ¡°Yes, Bryce, press on!¡± ... Bryce could tell the insincerity in their hypocritical and meaningless words. They all wanted that bitch Cheyenne toe back! ¡°Get lost! All of you, get lost!¡± Bryce hollered at them in rage. Chapter 94: Bryce Kneels

Chapter 94: Bryce Kneels

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing Bryce walk in, everyone looked at him with indifference and disgust, and no one said anything. Bryce chuckled. He walked toward Karen and handed over the gift box he was carrying. ¡°Aunt Karen, this is a diamond bracelet that I specially bought. It happens to suit you, so I¡¯m here to deliver it to you. I hope you¡¯ll like it.¡± Upon hearing that he had brought a diamond bracelet, Karen, who was initially sulking, hurriedly took the gift box, her eyes bright. While unwrapping the gift box, she bragged to Bryce, ¡°You¡¯re here to see Cheyenne, right? Cheyenne is now the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation!¡± Feeling as though his chest had been stabbed, he gritted his teeth and quickly said, ¡°Yes, I also happened to hear the good news, so I¡¯m here to congratte Cheyenne!¡± Cheyenne humphed coldly, not believing that Bryce was genuinely happy for her. As expected, Bryce added, ¡°I¡¯m also here to ry Grandpa¡¯s goodwill. He said that he made his previous decision too hastily, so he would like to have you guys return to the Carters. Therge family vi is ready for you!¡± Karen was immediately overjoyed. ¡°Really? Is Dominic willing to let us return to the Carters? He even prepared a vi for us too?¡± ¡°Of course. Grandpa even...¡± Cheyenne couldn¡¯t stand listening to it anymore and interrupted him. ¡°Since the Carters have driven us out, there¡¯s no need for us to go back. You don¡¯t need to try cajoling us with those words either. Just tell me directly. What is the purpose of your visit?¡± Bryce smiled ingratiatingly. ¡°Cheyenne, we¡¯re family. Is there a need for this? Let¡¯s let bygones be bygones and start afresh, alright?¡± Cheyenne sneered. Let bygones be bygones and start afresh? You¡¯re making it sound casual. ¡°If you came here just to say this nonsense, then you can leave. I have nothing to say to you.¡± She stood up. Bryce hurriedly stepped in front of Cheyenne. ¡°Also... didn¡¯t you say previously that the Brilliance Corporation wants to cooperate with the Carter Corporation? Now that you¡¯re the general manager, shouldn¡¯t you put the cooperation... on the agenda sooner?¡± Cheyenne figured it out. Bryce¡¯s purpose in visiting was indeed as Lucas guessed. Bryce was here to talk about cooperation, and perhaps he would even ask for more benefits for the Carters since Cheyenne was now the general manager. Cheyenne looked at Bryce with derision. ¡°Yeah, I did go to the Carter Corporation with the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s letter of intent to cooperate with you previously, but what did you do? Trust you to have the cheek toe and ask me this now.¡± Bryce once again felt like he had been pped. Bearing with the humiliation, he lowered his head and apologized in a manner that he thought was extremely sincere. ¡°It was my fault. I misunderstood you that time. Cheyenne, I hereby solemnly apologize to you! I came here today with such sincerity because I wish to gain your understanding, and I hope you will forgive me for being a bad cousin! You can hit me and scold me all you want. I just hope you can give the Carters another chance!¡± Lucas watched Bryce pretend and stayed silent. Cheyenne clenched her jaw, feeling extremely uneasy about Bryce¡¯s apology because she wasn¡¯t used to seeing him lower his pride. She had already given up on the Carters, but Bryce¡¯s behavior made her hesitant. It was not that his words had touched her, but the Carters were the ones who raised her after all, and there was something that she couldn¡¯t bear to let go of. Seeing the hesitant look in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes, Bryce gritted his teeth and knelt directly in front of her! Everyone was shocked after hearing the loud thump. Charlotte, who had been standing at the side quietly, almost spat out her drink. Karen was wearing the diamond bracelet that Bryce had given her, and when she saw this, she was so dumbfounded that she was at a loss for words. Lucas sneered, folded his arms, and continued to watch the show. After being shocked, Cheyenne immediately said, ¡°W-what are you doing? Hurry and get up!¡± ¡°No.¡± Bryce continued kneeling on the ground, hanging his head low to hide the humiliation and indignation in his eyes. However, his voice was full of misery. ¡°Cheyenne, believe me. I really want to apologize to you and beg for your forgiveness! Now the Carters¡¯ situation is getting worse day by day. Reaching a cooperation agreement with the Brilliance Corporation is really very important to us. Please give us a way out on ount that we used to be a family! If you don¡¯t agree, I¡¯d rather die here!¡± Bryce forced himself to cry, and his eyes turned red. Cheyenne was startled. ¡°What are you doing?! If you don¡¯t get up, I will never agree to cooperate with the Carters!¡± Hearing her words, Bryce hurriedly stood up. ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll listen to you! Cheyenne, does this mean that you agree to cooperate with the Carters?¡± Cheyenne looked at Bryce with aplicated expression. ¡°This is thest time I¡¯m going to help the Carters. You guys better behave yourselves. Don¡¯t do anything overboard again and just manage yourpany properly. I won¡¯t go back to the family, and we don¡¯t need to have any extra dealings from now on.¡± Hearing this, Bryce became even happier. He just wanted Cheyenne to agree to cooperate and finish the task he was given. It was even better for him that Cheyenne didn¡¯t want to go back to the family because that meant that no one wouldpete with him for the position of sessor! ¡°Okay, I understand. Cheyenne, I thank you sincerely on behalf of Grandpa and the Carters! I won¡¯t force you, but the doors of the Carters will always be open for you. If you evere back one day, you will always be wee.¡± Even Bryce was touched by his own mushy words. But after he left, he started to look jealous and disdainful. Hmph, as long as I¡¯m around, that bitch can forget abouting back to the family! Lucas stared at Bryce until thetter disappeared into the night. Only then did he look away. Cheyenne had chosen to give the Carters another chance, and Lucas didn¡¯t have any objections. However, if Bryce and the Carters hurt her again, they shouldn¡¯t me him for being nasty! Chapter 96: Incessant Arguing

Chapter 96: Incessant Arguing

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s shouting and the pain in his wrist instantly made William sober up as he shrieked. When Cheyenne recovered from her shock and saw the look of agony on her father¡¯s face, she couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°Lucas, he¡¯s my father! Let go of him!¡± Lucas just wanted to stop William from hitting Cheyenne, and now that William was much more sober, he naturally wouldn¡¯t do anything to him. He was about to let go when Karen suddenly said, ¡°No! Lucas, hurry up and throw him outside. I don¡¯t want him here!¡± She pointed to the door. Cheyenne had another headache. ¡°Mom, forget it. It¡¯s already sote. Where can you dump Dad? What if something happens to him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care! Even if he dies out there, I don¡¯t want to see him in this house again!¡± Karen screamed in exasperation. Lucas was speechless. He naturally wouldn¡¯t throw William outside. Instead, he just let go of thetter¡¯s wrist. ¡°Damn it! You punk, remember this!¡± William hollered hostilely after breaking free and sobering up. However, he was extremely displeased by Lucas¡¯s act of mping down his wrist. After saying this, he stumbled back into his room andid down. Meanwhile, Karen was also infuriated because Lucas didn¡¯t throw William out like she had ordered. ¡°Fine, you¡¯re disobeying me too, huh? If you won¡¯t throw him out, get lost yourself! Get lost! You¡¯re not allowed to stay in this house anymore! Scram!¡± She pointed at the door. Lucas was extremely speechless. Being caught between the two of them made him feel extremely vexed. But he had to bear with it since they were Cheyenne¡¯s parents. ¡°Mom, what are you trying to do now? Why do you have to vent your anger on Lucas after fighting with Dad?¡± Cheyenne questioned, trying to stay patient. ¡°Hah, Cheyenne, don¡¯t be so biased to this man. Men are all jerks! Lucas Gray is a good-for-nothing just like your father! He has no job, no ie, and he lives like a loser every day! He still has the audacity to drink every day and take it out on me when he¡¯s drunk. I¡¯ve really had enough of this!¡± Karen cried out loud. ¡°I¡¯m doing it for your own good. Quickly find a rich man and marry him. Stop being with this good-for-nothing. Life is torture if you continue living like this!¡± While sniffling, Karen wept andined. She suddenly pointed at Lucas and continued, ¡°Look at you. What did you get after you married this good-for-nothing? Did he do anything for you? Has he given you anything? You were alone throughout your pregnancy. And you painstakingly delivered Amelia, took care of her, and raised her. Where has he been all these years? He doesn¡¯t deserve you at all, and he doesn¡¯t deserve to be a father at all!¡± Lucasughed bitterly in his head. He indeed owed Cheyenne for failing to fulfill his duty as a husband and father. He couldn¡¯t rebut her. Cheyenne wanted to tell Karen that Lucas had done a lot for her and gave her a lot of helptely. He even made her the general manager. He wasn¡¯t a good-for-nothing. However, she couldn¡¯t say anything. After Karen cried and threw a huge tantrum, she soon got tired and returned to her room. Lucas obviously wouldn¡¯t get lost like she told him to. After going upstairs and once again holding his worried daughter in his arms tofort her, he suddenly developed the idea of taking Amelia away from this home. The atmosphere here was indeed rather terrible. William liked throwing drunken fits while Karen would curse and hurl vulgarities all day. They tended to get into heated fights too. Tonight, Amelia got frightened several times. If she continued living in such an environment where she was frightened every single day, it would be bad for her upbringing. However, this was just Lucas¡¯s thought. Cheyenne cherished Amelia like she was her life, and she wouldn¡¯t let him take her away easily. Besides, if Cheyenne left with him as well, she would definitely worry about her parents, and there was no way he could bring them too. It was the weekend the following day. William was still lying on his bed and sleeping after a drunken night. As soon as Karen saw Lucas, she recalled that he had disobeyed herst night and pulled a long face again, treating him with hostility. Karen stopped sulking only when Cheyenne said that she would take all of them out for a feast in the afternoon while Charlotte said some nice things in between. Soon, it was noon. Cheyenne had long booked a private room at the Hera Hotel. They were all dressed to the nines and ready to go. But they suddenly discovered that William had left the house again, and they didn¡¯t know where he went. ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll give Dad a call,¡± Cheyenne said. Karen barked furiously, ¡°What for? Since he likes going out and wandering about, leave him be. Don¡¯t ask him toe along!¡± Cheyenne hesitated for a moment and agreed. Lucas drove them to the entrance of the Hera Hotel. It was the lunchtime peak hour and thus difficult to find a parking space. Cheyenne told the impatient Karen to go in with Charlotte and Amelia while she and Lucas would look for a parking spot. ¡°Okay, then we¡¯ll go in first and order some food.¡± Charlotte agreed and went into the hotel with Karen and Amelia. By the time Lucas and Cheyenne found a suitable parking spot and parked their car, almost seven or eight minutes had passed. Just as they were entering the hotel, they heard a familiar voiceing from behind. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Cheyenne?¡± Lucas and Cheyenne turned around and looked over, only to see Aston Brooke and Scarlet Wright walking over. Lucas frowned slightly while Cheyenne nodded with barely any expression. Previously, at the Carter Corporation, Scarlet had said a lot of harsh things to Cheyenne, so Cheyenne disliked her even though she was her cousin. ¡°Scarlet, are they your friends?¡± Aston¡¯s eyes lit up as soon as he saw Cheyenne, but he deliberately pretended not to know who they were. Seeing that Aston seemed to have forgotten about meeting Cheyenne, Scarlet was obviously pleased. Sheughed. ¡°She¡¯s my cousin, Cheyenne Carter. She has just been appointed the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. The one next to her is her live-in husband.¡± Aston¡¯s eyes glistened. She¡¯s be the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation? That¡¯s even better! Chapter 97: Uninvited Guests

Chapter 97: Uninvited Guests

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With a gentlemanly smile, Aston walked up to Cheyenne and held his hand out politely. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Carter! I am Aston Brooke from LA, and my father is the general manager of the Sr Corporation, Shaun Brooke. Have you ever heard of us?¡± Aston¡¯s smile was reserved and conceited. After all, the Brooke family was a top family with great fame and reputation. However, Cheyenne said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m ignorant. I¡¯ve never heard of you and your father.¡± With that, she ignored Aston¡¯s attempt to shake her hand and turned around to enter the hotel. Aston¡¯s hand was left hanging in mid-air, and he looked extremely embarrassed. Lucas looked at him coldly and entered with Cheyenne. After meeting twice, Lucas noticed there was strong desire and ambitiousness in Aston Brooke¡¯s gaze when he looked at Cheyenne. He had previously instructed Flynn Davis not to let any of the Brookes¡¯ businesses appear in Orange County. But now it seemed that they were still moving about in Orange County happily. Seeing the way Cheyenne and Lucas were ignoring Aston, Scarlet was overwhelmed with fury. ¡°Aston, they were verboard! How dare they ignore you? I must teach her a lesson!¡± Just as she was about to rush toward Cheyenne, Aston grabbed her wrist to stop her. ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t provoke her.¡± Scarlet suddenly pouted and said angrily, ¡°Aston, you¡¯re defending that bitch Cheyenne Carter? You don¡¯t have a crush on her, do you? I¡¯ve told you, this woman got to her current position through dirty means!¡± He took her hand andughed. ¡°Why would I have a crush on her? I just thought that you should still be polite to her since she¡¯s now the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation and your cousin too. You¡¯re the only one I adore. Aren¡¯t you clear about how I¡¯ve been treating you the past few days?¡± As he spoke, Aston pinched Scarlet¡¯s waist flirtatiously. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so annoying! We¡¯re outside!¡± Scarlet looked at Aston coquettishly as she snuggled up into his arms. These days, the two of them had been spending a lot of time with each other and had gone all the way. They were in the honeymoon period of their rtionship. Aston smiled nonchntly, knowing that coaxing Scarlet was easy since he could tell that she was only after his money. Once he said a few words to cajole her and promise to marry her in LA, she would be submissive to him again. Aston was an expert at romance, and he had long mastered this skill. Soon, he entered the hotel with Scarlet in his arms. At this moment, Lucas and Cheyenne had already met up with Karen, Charlotte, and Amelia in the private room. Apart from William, everyone was here. As soon as they entered, Amelia pounced on them and happily held their hands as she led them to their seats. Pretending to be jealous, Charlotte teased with pouted lips, ¡°Amelia, you¡¯re so naughty. You forgot all about me as soon as you saw your daddy and mommy.¡± Amelia smiled shyly and scurried over to kiss Charlotte¡¯s cheek. Karen was dressed ostentatiously today, and she had deliberately styled her hair at a salon nearby. She was wearing a dark green dress and a top-quality diamond bracelet. This diamond bracelet was naturally not the one that Bryce gave her yesterday but one of the pieces that Lucas had bought at the auction. At the time, Lucas wanted to give all that valuable jewelry to Cheyenne. But unfortunately, she refused. Afterward, Lucas picked out this bracelet and gave it to Karen to shut her foul mouth up. Actually, Karen was quite pretty when she was silent. After all, she had to have good genes in order to give birth to such beautiful daughters, Cheyenne and Charlotte. But unfortunately, whenever Karen spoke, she would be cursing or arguing with someone most of the time, ruining her image. Just when they were having fun and ying, someone knocked on the door of the private room. Thinking that it was the service staff, Charlotte said, ¡°Come in.¡± To their surprise, the person who pushed open the door of the private room was not a waiter but Scarlet Wright and Aston Brooke, whom Lucas and Cheyenne had met at the entrance. Charlotte questioned hostilely, ¡°What are you two doing here?¡± She had always disliked Scarlet, her cousin who often humiliated and insulted her since they were children. Scarlet liked calling Charlotte an outsider and a shameless bastard. Charlotte used to burst into tears after being mocked and scolded by her. Scarlet didn¡¯t bother being polite and pulled Aston to the table. ¡°What a coincidence. Aston and I happen to be here for lunch today too, and we ran into Cheyenne at the entrance. We thought that we shoulde over and join you guys for lunch. Well, the more, the merrier!¡± She looked at Aston sweetly and smiled coquettishly. ¡°Oh, right, I almost forgot to introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Aston Brooke, the heir of the famous Brooke Family from LA. We¡¯re getting engaged soon. Today¡¯s meal will be on us!¡± Charlotte watched coldly as Scarlet showed her boyfriend off and pursed her lips in disdain. ¡°No thanks. We can still afford to pay for a meal. We don¡¯t need you to be worried about it! Besides, this is our family lunch. Why are you interfering? I don¡¯t want to eat with you. I lose my appetite whenever I see your face!¡± ¡°You!¡± Scarlet was furious, as Charlotte¡¯s words made her feel a little embarrassed in front of Aston. Scarlet couldn¡¯t help but tug Aston¡¯s clothes to have him stand up for her. She hated them too, and if Aston hadn¡¯t said that he wanted toe and form a good rtionship with them, she wouldn¡¯t havee! Unfortunately, what Scarlet wished for did not happen. Aston¡¯s eyes were glued onto the beautiful Carter sisters. How could he have the time to bother about Scarlet? Lucas stared at Aston coldly while Cheyenne and Charlotte were simrly displeased about the uninvited guests. Karen was the only one who kept staring at Aston with a gaze of satisfaction ever since she heard his family background. Aston Brooke is handsome and looks decent. Although I¡¯m not too clear about his family, he¡¯s definitely the scion of a rich family, and that makes him a good candidate for a son-inw. It¡¯ll be a good choice to let either Cheyenne or Charlotte marry him! Karen had long ignored Aston¡¯s girlfriend, Scarlet Wright. Chapter 98: Poor Person

Chapter 98: Poor Person

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You are... Mr. Brooke, right?¡± Karen looked at Aston with an intense gaze. Aston hurriedly bowed. ¡°Hello, Aunt Karen. You can just call me Aston.¡± Aston¡¯s action made Karen¡¯s heart flutter with joy. Look, what a good choice for a son-inw. He¡¯s so polite, modest, and addresses me so dearly. He must have asked around about us, and he¡¯s probably already taken a liking to my daughter. However, if Karen knew that Aston knew her only because Scarlet always referred to her as ¡®Karen the Shrew¡¯ whenever she cursed at their family in front of him, she would probably look a lot less gratified. The more Karen looked at Aston, the more pleased she was with him. She pointed at a chair in front of her. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony then. Aston,e have a seat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be imposing on everyone then,¡± Aston said politely as he pulled Scarlet to sit down on the chair beside him. Seeing this scene, Charlotte was furious. ¡°Mom, this is a family meal to celebrate Cheyenne¡¯s promotion to general manager. Why are you letting them stay?¡± Karen poked Charlotte¡¯s forehead and chided, ¡°You stupid girl!¡± Looking at Charlotte¡¯s displeased face, Karen couldn¡¯t say anything more and simply said with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re all rtives. There¡¯s nothing wrong with having a meal together. Besides, since it¡¯s a celebration, the more, the merrier!¡± Charlotte was already extremely upset. But since they already sat down, she couldn¡¯t chase them away and could only stay in her seat furiously. Karen could no longer bother to appease her daughter. She simply stared at Aston and kept bombarding him with questions about his age, marital status, family, etc. Beside him, Scarlet immediately sulked. Even a fool could tell what Karen¡¯s intentions were. She had already introduced Aston as her boyfriend just now, yet Karen was still doing this. Does she think I¡¯m non-existent? Scarlet was furious. She was about to lose her temper and throw a fit, but Aston squeezed her fingers under the table to hint her not to do anything. Scarlet endured her anger. Charlotte wasn¡¯t a fool either, and she had already figured out what her mother was trying to do. To be honest, Charlotte didn¡¯t have a good impression of Aston Brooke at all. Although he looked polite, he had been gawking at Cheyenne ever since he entered, which was to Cheyenne¡¯s repulsion. She could tell at a nce that he was a flirtatious person. Even if he weren¡¯t Scarlet¡¯s boyfriend, Charlotte wouldn¡¯t want to date him, as she wasn¡¯t attracted to him at all. ¡°Enough, Mom. What are you asking so many questions for? What does it matter to us what someone¡¯s boyfriend¡¯s family is like?¡± Charlotte interjected in displeasure. ¡°Leave me be. Why can¡¯t I even ask?¡± Karen rolled her eyes at Charlotte. She muttered softly, ¡°It is still uncertain whose son-inw he will be in the future.¡± Scarlet had a sharp sense of hearing and immediately lost it when she heard these words. She stood up abruptly and said to Karen hostilely, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what thoughts you¡¯re harboring. Aunt Karen, he is my boyfriend. Will you please respect yourself?¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m your aunt. Is that the tone you should have when you¡¯re talking to me? You¡¯re so rude! How did your mother teach you? You don¡¯t know how to respect your elders at all! After you get married in the future, how will you respect your elders? If I were Aston, I would have dumped you a long time ago!¡± Karen had never lost an argument before. Besides, her daughter was now the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, so she definitely wouldn¡¯t take a little girl like Scarlet seriously. Scarlet was so furious that her face flushed red, and she wished she could scratch Karen¡¯s detestable face with her hands. However, Karen¡¯s family was here, and she wouldn¡¯t have it easy if she hit or scolded her. She could only grab Aston¡¯s arm and exim aggrievedly, ¡°Aston, I can¡¯t stand it anymore. They¡¯re being bullies! Let¡¯s go!¡± However, Aston shook off her hand and said with a frown, ¡°It¡¯s true that you were wrong just now. Hurry up and apologize to Aunt Karen.¡± ¡°What? You want me to apologize?¡± Scarlet gaped in disbelief. ¡°Why should I apologize? She knows you¡¯re my boyfriend, but she kept asking those questions. She¡¯s the shameless one who¡¯s trying to sow discord between me and my boyfriend. What did I do wrong?¡± Smack! He pped her hard on the face. Scarlet cocked her head to the side and covered her face while looking at Aston in astonishment. ¡°You actually hit me?¡± Aston looked at Scarlet coldly. ¡°You were rude to your elder, but you¡¯re still unrepentant. You really disappoint me too much! The wife I want to marry will never be someone like you who doesn¡¯t know how to behave properly. Let¡¯s break up and never have anything to do with each other from now on!¡± Scarlet trembled and immediately burst into tears as she stared at Aston in disbelief. ¡°You actually want to break up with me?¡± These days, Aston had been very nice to her, and in fact, when they were at the door just now, they had even talked about marriage. However, she never would have thought that he would actually hit her and even break up with her just because of a small argument. ¡°Yes. Aunt Karen is right. She¡¯s your aunt, but you were so disrespectful to her. You won¡¯t respect my family¡¯s elders if you marry me in the future. I really don¡¯t dare to marry you since you have such a terrible character,¡± Aston said righteously. When Scarlet saw Aston¡¯s cold expression, her heart quivered as she finally realized that Aston wasn¡¯t joking and really meant it when he said he wanted to break up with her! Scarlet panicked. She had given herself to Aston long ago and was so close to marrying him. Her grandpa Dominic and her family were pleased about it too. If Aston broke up with her now, she¡¯d be really embarrassed to face others. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Aston, I was wrong! I just care about you too much, and I was so furious that I spoke to my aunt rudely. I didn¡¯t mean to disrespect my elder! I¡¯ll apologize to her right away. Please just forgive me this time!¡± Scarlet hugged Aston and bawled pitifully. However, Aston did notpromise and simply pushed her away. ¡°Get lost!¡± Scarlet was wearing high heels, and after being pushed, she lost her bnce and fell onto the ground. But Aston did not even look at her and instead said to Karen apologetically, ¡°Sorry, Aunt Karen. I¡¯m sorry for being a killjoy today. Cheyenne, Charlotte, I¡¯m sorry too. I will definitely visit you and make up for it one day.¡± After saying this, he looked at Cheyenne and Charlotte, then turned around and left. Seeing Aston leaving, Scarlet, who was wailing on the ground, could no longer worry about anything else and got up to chase after him. ¡°Aston! Aston, wait for me!¡± Chapter 99: Conditions For Reconciliation

Chapter 99: Conditions For Reconciliation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Only after Scarlet chased after Aston and disappeared entirely did they recover from the shock and momentary speechlessness. In the end, Karen sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Aston to be so respectful toward his elders. This sets him apart from those rebellious scions. Hmm, he¡¯s a fine young man.¡± Cheyenne and Charlotte were astonished to hear this. ¡°Mom, is there something wrong with you? You think such a person is good? He pped Scarlet and pushed her over a trivial matter. He obviously has violent tendencies.¡± Charlotte was dumbfounded. Scarlet actually still panicked and chased after a domestic abuser. Her brains must be fried! ¡°What do you know? Aston may have hit Scarlet, but that¡¯s because she made a mistake. If she didn¡¯t have a foul mouth, would he have hit her? Besides, he just pped her and gave her a little push. How is that considered violent?¡± Karen disagreed. ¡°You can¡¯t judge a man based on that alone. Look, Aston is so good-looking, and he¡¯s decked out in designer clothing. He¡¯s clearly the scion of a wealthy family. It¡¯s normal for him to be a little hot-tempered. Besides, he¡¯s so respectful toward his elders, and I can tell he obviously has a good character. If you can marry him, you won¡¯t have to worry for the rest of your life!¡± Charlotte flew into a rage and snapped, ¡°Who would want to marry someone like him?! He¡¯s just rich, and you¡¯re singing such high praises of him. If that¡¯s not considered violent, what is? I don¡¯t want to marry a domestic abuser. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯d still be praising him endlessly even after he beats me to death!¡± ¡°Hey girl, what are you saying? If you¡¯re obedient, why would he hit you? Besides, what¡¯s wrong with him being rich? Do you want to marry a penniless loser like Lucas too?¡± Karen retorted, thinking that her daughter was worrying for nothing and making up nonsense. She insulted Lucas out of nowhere too. Charlotte humphed in disdain. ¡°Forget it. That guy clearly had a girlfriend, but he kept gawking at me and Cheyenne lecherously as soon as he entered. He¡¯s obviously a jerk. Lucas is so much better than him!¡± Seeing Charlotte repeatedly retort, Karen was immediately furious. ¡°Charlotte Carter! Are you out to anger me? How can this loser hold a candle to Aston?¡± Karen pointed her bright, redcquered fingernail at Lucas. Lucas touched his nose speechlessly. I¡¯ve merely been sitting here quietly. How did I provoke her? ¡°His family is rich, that¡¯s all. How can that scoundrelpare to Lucas?¡± Charlotte retorted indignantly. ¡°In terms of looks and height, Lucas trumps him. In terms of meticulousness, Lucas is way better because he helps Cheyenne to the food and pours her water. That man simply sat there and waited for Scarlet to serve him. In terms of character, Lucas is obviously far better than him. Lucas never ogles other girls. Mom, will you stop being so superficial? You¡¯ve only seen that man once. How much do you know about him?¡± Karen was suddenly at a loss for words. Then she hollered furiously, ¡°Forget it! I¡¯m not going to talk to you anymore, wretched girl! You¡¯re really going to be the death of me. I¡¯ll teach you a lesson after Ie back from the washroom!¡± With that, she glowered at Lucas and Cheyenne before leaving the private room. Cheyenne poked Charlotte¡¯s forehead. ¡°It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know what Mom¡¯s temper is like. The more you refute, the angrier she gets.¡± ¡°I did that just to make her change her opinion of my brother-inw, Lucas.¡± Charlotte pouted, feeling wronged. Hearing Charlotte call Lucas her brother-inw made Cheyenne feel extremely embarrassed. She looked at Lucas quietly as her ears turned red. ¡°I know you have good intentions, but by doing this, you¡¯re only going to make Mom pick on Lucas even more.¡± ¡°Huh? Seriously?! What should we do then?!¡± Charlotte was immediately nervous. ¡°Forget it. When Momes backter, don¡¯t say much to her. If she says anything that irks you, just pretend you didn¡¯t hear it,¡± Cheyenne said, feeling helpless. Meanwhile, Scarlet kept running after Aston, all the way to the parking lot. She only caught up to him when he reached his car. ¡°Aston, don¡¯t break up with me, okay? I¡¯ll make up for my mistakes immediately. I really will! Please give me another chance! I don¡¯t want to break up with you...¡± Scarlet was weeping so badly that her makeup smudged. With a trace of disgust, Aston suddenly thought of something and smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t want to break up? Sure. But from now on, you have to do whatever I want you to. Otherwise, you can get lost now.¡± Hearing that there was still a chance, Scarlet nodded profusely. ¡°Okay! I promise I¡¯ll obey you from now on and do whatever you tell me to do.¡± ¡°Really? Don¡¯t just pay lip service and forget your promise today when I tell you what to do in the future.¡± He looked at her skeptically. ¡°No, no, no, I can swear! I¡¯m willing to do whatever you say!¡± She hurriedly promised, fearing that he wouldn¡¯t believe her. ¡°You don¡¯t have to swear. No one will believe such things. I¡¯ll let you do one thing now. If you can do it, I will believe that you¡¯re sincere.¡± A peculiar smile appeared on his face. Scarlet frantically nodded in agreement. ¡°Okay, Aston. I¡¯ll definitely try my best to do whatever you tell me to!¡± ¡°Okay, in this case, I want you to get either Charlotte Carter or Cheyenne Carter into my bed,¡± Aston said slowly. ¡°What!?!¡± Scarlet was stunned, not expecting him to make this request. How could she get another woman into her boyfriend¡¯s bed... She couldn¡¯t even tolerate it when Karen tried to sow discord between her and him just now. How could she be willing to get another woman to get intimate with him? Moreover, his request broke her heart. Scarlet was suddenly overwhelmed withplicated emotions. ¡°What? You can¡¯t even do that? You were lying when you made that promise to me just now then. In that case, we have nothing more to say to each other.¡± Aston sneered and reached out to open the car door. ¡°No! Wait!¡± Scarlet grabbed his wrist with a look of panic. If she agreed, she would still be Aston Brooke¡¯s girlfriend, and she might get to marry him in the future. If she disagreed, he would immediately dump her, and she would no longer have a choice. Scarlet clenched her jaw and said miserably, ¡°Okay, I agree to your request. However, you¡¯re just going to sleep with them, right? I¡¯m still going to be the one you marry, right?¡± ¡°Of course, silly girl. I¡¯m just going to toy with them. You¡¯re the one I love the most.¡± Aston smiled gently as he touched Scarlet¡¯s hair. Chapter 100: Mother-in-Law Gets Hit

Chapter 100: Mother-in-Law Gets Hit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the private room of the restaurant, they were almost done eating, but Karen hadn¡¯t returned yet. ¡°Why isn¡¯t Mom back yet? Could something have happened to her?¡± Cheyenne said worriedly. Finding that something amiss too, Charlotte stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go check.¡± She walked out of the private room and crossed a corridor. She was about to go to the washroom when she suddenly realized that there were a lot of people gathered in the corridor and there seemed to be a fight. ¡°You¡¯re trying to run, huh? I¡¯m telling you, if you don¡¯t pay up today, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± a woman shrieked in a shrill, high-pitched voice. Charlotte frowned in displeasure and was about to continue walking toward the restroom when she suddenly heard an extremely familiar voice. ¡°Oh, please! A wench like you is trying to extort me? Dream on! Do you know who my daughter is?¡± It was her mom¡¯s voice! Charlotte was shocked and immediately stopped in her tracks. Her mom had gotten into an argument with someone again! There were many onlookers, and she couldn¡¯t squeeze her way through. So she ran back into the private room and yelled, ¡°Bad news! Mom got into an argument with someone again! There are a lot of people surrounding them!¡± ¡°What?¡± Cheyenne was astonished. She stood up and was about to dash out... Lucas hurriedly pulled Cheyenne to stop her. ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look. You stay here and apany Amelia.¡± Cheyenne bit her lip. She was indeed quite worried about her mom, but she also knew that she couldn¡¯t leave her daughter alone in the room. Besides, Lucas was a man and would definitely be able to handle the situation better than her. ¡°Okay, you go then! The most important thing is to bring her back here.¡± Actually, she was just worried that it was her mother who caused the argument in the first ce. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t worry.¡± Lucas walked out with Charlotte following closely behind him. When they arrived, themotion was louder. After Lucas squeezed through the crowd with Charlotte, they saw a chubby woman raising her hand and pping Karen on her face. ¡°Oh my god! You wench, how dare you hit me?!¡± Karen would never let herself be a disadvantage. She immediately raised her hand and grabbed the woman¡¯s hair. In an instant, they got into a messy scuffle. ¡°How dare you hit my mother!¡± Charlotte shouted furiously and rushed forward to grab the woman by her clothes. She even pped her a few times on behalf of her mother, making the woman wail in pain incessantly. The lobby manager rushed forth with some security officers and finally separated the three women. The three of them looked rather disheveled. Karen deliberately styled her hair today, but it was now a total mess, and there was a red palm mark on her face. Charlotte¡¯s clothes were also messy, and there was a long scratch on the back of her hand. The one who had it the worst was the chubby woman opposite her. It was hard for her to move about nimbly because of her body size, so she had suffered numerous hits from Karen and Charlotte. Her cheeks were red and swollen after being pped, and her hair was all messed up too. ¡°Dear customers, please talk things over calmly and don¡¯t resort to violence,¡± said the hotel lobby manager, trying to mediate the situation. The chubby woman gritted her teeth and stared at Charlotte and Karen. She took out her phone and eximed, ¡°Damn it! Daring to p me? Just you wait!¡± As soon as the call got through, the chubby woman started bawling andining about being bullied. She then told the person on the other end to send some people over quickly. When Karen saw that some people were really going toe, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a little scared. After Charlotte took a closer look at the chubby woman¡¯s face, her heart dropped, and she knew that trouble wasing. She was too focused on helping her mother p the woman that hadn¡¯t paid attention to see who she was assaulting. Now that Charlotte recognized the woman¡¯s identity, she secretlymented in distress. Of all people, why did she provoke this woman? At the side, Lucas had also long recognized the chubby woman to be the same one who almost hit Charlotte and Amelia at the kindergarten previously. The woman¡¯s husband was James Wilson, whom he had seen again at Dominic¡¯s ce. Wilson had even tried to make Lucas kneel down and apologize to him. He reckoned that she should have called Wilson to bring his men over. Enemies always meet. Meanwhile, Charlotte also quietly told Karen about this woman. ¡°This woman is Sharon Hart, the wife of James Wilson, the owner of the Titanium Corporation. I almost got hit by the two of them when I went to the kindergarten to pick Amelia up before. Thanks to Lucas rescuing us, we got away unharmed.¡± As soon as Karen heard the Titanium Corporation, her face turned pale because she knew that it belonged to the top-tier Wilson family! Oh my god! This fat woman I just hit is James Wilson¡¯s wife! What do I do now?! Karen¡¯s legs were trembling as she quickly said, ¡°What are we still standing here for? Let¡¯s run away!¡± She pulled Charlotte along. But as soon as they ran for a bit, Sharon stopped them. ¡°Hmph, now you¡¯re scared and want to flee, huh? Let me tell you. It¡¯s already toote! Since you two bitches had the audacity to hit me, be prepared to suffer my retaliation! If I don¡¯t beat you two into a pulpter, I won¡¯t be Sharon Hart!¡± Having found someone to help her, Sharon was naturally arrogant. Karen was terrified. She was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong. Previously, she had the guts to yank Sharon¡¯s hair and curse her out because she didn¡¯t know her identity yet. Now that she did, she obviously wouldn¡¯t dare. Looking around in panic, she suddenly caught a glimpse of Lucas and immediately ran and hid behind him, regardless of the fact that she often called him a good-for-nothing. ¡°Oh? So you have an aplice! Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let any of you shameless idiots off!¡± Sharon barked smugly while ring at Lucas as well as Charlotte and Karen behind him. Lucas¡¯s expression turned dark. ¡°Mind yournguage. If you¡¯re going to continue being so foul-mouthed, I won¡¯t go easy on you even if you¡¯re a woman.¡± Karen was so infuriated that she poked Lucas¡¯s back and chastised, ¡°Are you out of your mind? Loser, don¡¯t drag us down even if you have a death wish!¡± After saying this, Karen poked her head out from behind Lucas and said to Sharon deferentially, ¡°Excuse me, Madam... It was all just a misunderstanding just now. I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m really sorry! Please be magnanimous and let us off!¡± Seeing Karen stooping low and submitting to her, Sharon immediately raised her head andughed out loud. But she looked extremely terrifying because of her swollen face andrge red lips. After she was done guffawing, she said to Karen sneeringly, ¡°Hmph, are you scared now that I¡¯ve called people over? Weren¡¯t you very haughty and arrogant just now? You two pped me so hard, but you want me to forgive you after a simple apology? Dream on!¡± Chapter 101: Charlotte Is Sad

Chapter 101: Charlotte Is Sad

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing how hostile Sharon Hart was being, Karen gritted her teeth and looked at the beautiful diamond bracelet on her wrist. Lucas had given her that bracelet a short while ago, but Karen simply tossed it into her drawer without even looking at it. Only when Bryce gave her another onest night did she put the two bracelets together andpare them. She found that the one Lucas gave her had higher rity and better quality. It was her first time wearing it today. But she didn¡¯t expect this incident to happen at all. Karen removed the bracelet and handed it to Sharon reluctantly after taking a few nces at it longingly. ¡°Since you like this bracelet, I¡¯ll give it to you aspensation.¡± Sharon¡¯s eyes lit up. She snatched the bracelet and put it on her wrist. After some time, she finally remembered to control her expression and said sulkily, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m asking you to give the bracelet to me. It¡¯s just youpensating me for damaging my bracelet just now. Understand?¡± Lucas frowned slightly. Karen didn¡¯t know much about jewelry, but Lucas knew its value clearly since he had personally bought it at the auction. The bracelet was of superior quality and had been auctioned off at a final price of more than 1.5 million dors. Lucas couldn¡¯t help but wonder what happened between Karen and Sharon, which resulted in Karen having topensate her with such an expensive bracelet. Seeing that Sharon had epted the bracelet, Karen hurriedly smiled. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my duty. Well, you¡¯ve already epted the bracelet, so can we get going now?¡± Upon hearing her words, Sharon sneered. ¡°Hah, you wish! I just said that this bracelet is merelypensation for damaging my bracelet. The ps you and that bitch next to you gave me aren¡¯t going to be settled so easily! Well, how about this? I was pped by you two five times. I won¡¯t be excessive. Just ten ps will do. Let me p you ten times, and I¡¯ll spare you.¡± ¡°Um...¡± Karen immediately looked conflicted while Charlotte¡¯s expression changed drastically. Wouldn¡¯t my face be badly hurt after ten ps? Karen didn¡¯t hesitate for long before quickly pulling Charlotte to the side. ¡°Charlotte, you were the one who pped her just now, so just let her p you back. Ten ps will be over quickly.¡± Charlotte stared at her mother in disbelief, her eyes wide open. ¡°Mom, what are you saying?¡± At the thought of the fact that Sharon had already called people over, Karen hurriedly urged Charlotte, ¡°Just let her p you ten times, and she¡¯ll let us go! It¡¯s your fault. Why did you p her just now? Hurry up and go over to let her p you. I¡¯ll get you a hot towel to rub your face with when we get hometer. I guarantee it won¡¯t leave a mark.¡± Karen spoke ¡®benevolently¡¯, having considered everything thoroughly. However, Charlotte was on the verge of crying out of infuriation. ¡°Mom, you¡¯re pushing me to get pped by someone? I pped her just now only to help you. How can you me it on me?¡± ¡°Did I ask you to help me p her?¡± Karen asked righteously before pushing Charlotte toward Sharon in fear that thetter¡¯s people would rush over. The onlookers couldn¡¯t help but start discussing among themselves. ¡°Oh my god. Is she her biological mother? She got into a fight with someone, and her daughter came to help her, yet she¡¯s now pushing her daughter out to get pped!¡± ¡°I really take my hat off to her. Mothers would generally choose to protect their daughters if someone wanted to p them ten times. Even if not, they would share the burden with their daughters. Who would get their daughter to take all the ps?¡± ¡°She¡¯s such an oddball. Since she said that ten ps won¡¯t hurt, why doesn¡¯t she take it for her daughter? Anyway, the other woman didn¡¯t specify who she wanted to p.¡± ¡°Exactly. She¡¯s too ruthless! If I were her daughter, I¡¯d leave her alone.¡± The voices of the people discussing were rather loud, so Charlotte and Karen could hear them. Charlotte¡¯s heart was full of sadness, but Karen simply pretended as though she didn¡¯t hear them. ¡°It seems that you¡¯re not willing! When my husbandes and sees that I got hit so badly by you two bitches, it won¡¯t be as simple as ten ps,¡± Sharon threatened while touching the bracelet on her wrist. Upon hearing this, Karen panicked and pushed Charlotte forward. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and let her p you so that we can leave!¡± Unable to contain her emotions, Charlotte immediately burst into tears and looked at her mother with disappointment and sorrow in her eyes. She clenched her jaw and looked up at Sharon. ¡°Fine, p me all you want. But let me tell you, don¡¯t think you¡¯re that powerful. You¡¯re just putting on airs because of the Wilsons! If your family falls one day, let¡¯s see if you can still be arrogant and smug!¡± ¡°Bitch! How dare you curse my family? I¡¯ll beat you up!¡± Overwhelmed with fury, Sharon raised her arm to p Charlotte hard on her face. If this p were tond on Charlotte¡¯s face, it would definitely ruin her pretty features! Charlotte kept her eyes tightly shut, ready to take the p. Now, getting pped was no longer a big deal to her. Karen¡¯s behavior just now was like a dagger that stabbed her hard in her heart, making her feel deeply saddened and disappointed. Just as Sharon¡¯s p was about tond on Charlotte¡¯s face, a hand quickly reached out to grab Sharon¡¯s wrist. Lucas red at Sharon coldly. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already taken the bracelet, don¡¯t go too far. Who are you to p my sister-inw?¡± Charlotte suddenly widened her eyes and looked at the figure in front of her in shock. It was the second time that Lucas had stood in front of her and saved her from Sharon¡¯s p. Lucas had already saved her thrice, including the incident at the Luxe. When he mentioned that she was his sister-inw, she felt touched and teared up even more. Her biological mother threw her under the bus and forced her to get pped by someone. But Lucas stood up for her to defend her against the harsh p. ¡°My wrist... Let go of my wrist!¡± Lucas was mping down on Sharon¡¯s wrist with so much force that she couldn¡¯t move it at all. She cursed, ¡°You loser! If you don¡¯t let go, I¡¯ll make sure my husband breaks your hand!¡± Lucas roared angrily, ¡°You have a foul mouth, so you need to be taught a lesson!¡± With a loud smack, he pped Sharon¡¯s face. Chapter 102: Past and Current Feuds

Chapter 102: Past and Current Feuds

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The impact of the hard p made Sharon cock her head to the side, her face even more swollen than before. There was even blood dripping from the corners of her mouth. The people around them immediately gasped and eximed in shock. They didn¡¯t expect Lucas to really p her with so much force. However, no one criticized him for using so much force or for pping a woman. They had all witnessed Sharon¡¯s behavior from the beginning and felt that she deserved it. She hurled vulgarities and even insulted someone else¡¯s parents. Who would be able to stand that? ¡°Ah! Who told you to p her?¡± Karen dashed toward Lucas and gave him a hard p on his face before berating menacingly, ¡°Loser, do you know who she is? I painstakingly got her to agree to let us off, but you pped her again. You deliberately want to give us a hard time, don¡¯t you? You¡¯re such a jinx!¡± Then Karen hurriedly ran to Sharon, bowed, and apologized. ¡°Ah, Madam, we really didn¡¯t mean to offend you. This good-for-nothing just has a death wish. You can do whatever you want to himter, but please don¡¯t me us. We don¡¯t know him. We have nothing to do with him!¡± Sharon spat a mouthful of blood on Karen¡¯s face and hollered, ¡°Idiot! Do you take me for a three-year-old? You¡¯re telling me that you¡¯re not rted to him? Who would believe you?! Don¡¯t worry. None of you will get away! I won¡¯t let any of you off! Just wait to die!¡± Sharon covered her stinging cheek and barked hysterically in rage. Karen was furious yet terrified. She could only vent all her anger on Lucas as she pounced on him and started hitting and pinching him. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, you good-for-nothing! It¡¯s your fault! Do you have something against us? You just had toe and harm us, huh? Hurry up and apologize to her! Ask for her forgiveness even if you have to kneel on the ground! Do you hear me?¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Unable to tolerate it any longer, Charlotte forcefully pulled Karen¡¯s hand away from Lucas¡¯s arm. ¡°Mom, you¡¯re always like this. You like bullying the weak, but you fear the strong! We¡¯re getting bullied by outsiders, yet you want us to give in and allow myself to get pped. What¡¯s wrong with Lucas defending me? Why do you have to force him to get on his knees and apologize to someone else? Since you¡¯re so capable, why do you have to make your family members take the me?¡± Infuriated, Charlotte red at Karen with bloodshot eyes. She had really had enough! ¡°Y-you wretched girl...¡± Karen was enraged by Charlotte¡¯s words, and she was just about to snap back at her, but she suddenly heard a gloomy voice. ¡°Who had the audacity to p my wife?¡± The voice belonged to a bespectacled middle-aged man who was leading more than ten burly men over. When the surrounding people saw this, they immediately scattered and stood far, far away from them, for fear that they might get implicated. Karen was so frightened that she started shivering, and her legs turned into jelly. Oh, no! That woman¡¯s husband is here, and he even brought so many people over. We¡¯re dead meat! What should I do?! ¡°Hubby, you¡¯re finally here! I almost got bullied to death!¡± Sharon immediately leaped into James Wilson¡¯s arms and bawled loudly as if she had been mistreated. Wilson took a look at his wife¡¯s reddened, swollen face and the disheveled state that she was in and flew into a rage. It wasn¡¯t as simple as a p on his wife¡¯s face. It was an insult to him and his family! ¡°Okay, okay, don¡¯t cry. Tell me who exactly had the guts to p you, James Wilson¡¯s wife? I¡¯ll kill him!¡± Wilson said with a menacing expression. Sharon raised her head and was about to point out the three people in front of her. But to her surprise, Karen suddenly interjected, ¡°Mr. Wilson, I know who pped your wife!¡± Ignoring the reactions of the people around her, she stretched out a finger and pointed at Lucas. ¡°It was him! He was the one who pped your wife just now and even caused her to bleed! He¡¯s inhumane!¡± Not only was Charlotte shocked, but even Sharon was dumbfounded and couldn¡¯t recover from it for a moment. Lucas sneered in his heart. If not for the fact that Karen was Cheyenne¡¯s mother, he would have long stopped tolerating her. The people observing from afar found Karen¡¯s behavior extremely shameless. Karen was actually the one who started it, yet she made her daughter take Sharon¡¯s punishment. Now, she even identified her son-inw as the one who hit Sharon and shirked all responsibility. What a weirdo! Wilson followed the direction that Karen was pointing in and immediately recognized Lucas when he saw his face. He eximed in shock, ¡°It¡¯s you?!¡± Previously at the kindergarten, Wilson was kicked by Lucas while his underlings were all hospitalized after Jordan beat them up. Since then, he had been holding a grudge against Lucas. Previously at the Brilliance Corporation, Wilson tried to use Dominic Carter to suppress Lucas and make Lucas get on his knees to apologize to him but failed to do so. In the end, he even got humiliated by Flynn Davis of the Stardust Corporation and was kicked out. He hadn¡¯t gone to settle scores with Lucas yet, but Lucas had already pped his wife and provoked him! There was now a new feud on top of the previous one. Wilson was ring at Lucas with immense hatred. He really wished he could get someone to kill him! When Karen saw that Wilson was focusing all his attention on Lucas and that the matter seemed to no longer have anything to do with her, she hurriedly pulled Charlotte over and whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and go while all the attention is on that loser!¡± Charlotte shook off Karen¡¯s hand and looked at her with utter disappointment. ¡°Mom, how can you do that? He¡¯s your son-inw and my brother-inw!¡± ¡°So what? He can only me himself for getting himself into trouble. If we don¡¯t leave now, it will be toote in a moment!¡± Karen retorted as she reached out to grab Charlotte¡¯s hand again. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. If you want to leave, you can go ahead yourself.¡± Charlotte dodged Karen and instead walked to Lucas. Although she didn¡¯t say anything more, she let her actions do the talking, showing her intentions to stay behind and bear the burden together with Lucas. ¡°Silly girl, you¡¯re going to be the death of me!¡± Karen was exasperated by Charlotte¡¯s disobedience. ¡°Forget it. If you won¡¯t leave, I¡¯ll go by myself.¡± Then Karen really ran away on her own. The people who were watching from afar immediately couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer. ¡°This woman really left her daughter and son-inw behind to flee on her own! I¡¯ve truly gotten an eyeopener!¡± ¡°There are peculiar people everywhere. We¡¯ve broadened our horizons today. Such people really exist in this world, tsk!¡± ¡°She was the one who caused the trouble, and now she¡¯s the first one to run away. This is absurd!¡± ... Wilson didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to Karen and kept his eyes glued to Lucas. Pointing at the ten-odd muscr men behind him, he smiled arrogantly and roared, ¡°Hahaha, it just so happens that we ran into each other today. We¡¯ll settle scores for everything! Don¡¯t worry! I won¡¯t kill you!¡± Chapter 103: The Power of a Kick

Chapter 103: The Power of a Kick

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What do you want then?¡± Lucas asked fearlessly. In fact, he even seemed interested. Wilson looked at Lucas and then at Charlotte standing beside him. After licking his lips, he said tantly, ¡°You either let me toy with that woman next to you for a day and I¡¯ll spare you, or let me break an arm and a leg of yours before I throw you out. Pick one yourself.¡± Wilson ogled Charlotte. What a beautiful babe. I¡¯ve been thinking about her ever since we met at the kindergarten. He didn¡¯t expect today to be the perfect chance for him to get what he wanted! There was obvious disgust in Charlotte¡¯s eyes. The way Wilson was gawking at her was repulsive. She couldn¡¯t help but grab Lucas¡¯s clothes and stand behind him. After hearing what Wilson said, Lucas chuckled. ¡°So, you¡¯re giving me two options?¡± ¡°Hahaha, not bad! I, James Wilson, am also a dignified figure in Orange County, so I naturally can¡¯t be too petty.¡± Wilson feigned being magnanimous and kind. His underlings even praised him for his generosity by giving Lucas an option. Lucas smiled indifferently. ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t want to choose either of them.¡± Wilson¡¯s face darkened as he hollered, ¡°Punk, don¡¯t go overboard! You only had the upper hand at the kindergarten because you had a subordinate with greatbat skills. But you¡¯re alone now, while I have more than ten men on my side. Let¡¯s see how arrogant you can be!¡± After Wilson said this, the more than ten ferocious men stepped forward again. Lucas didn¡¯t care at all. He said indifferently, ¡°In terms of arrogance, I¡¯m far inferior to you. Why don¡¯t I give you two options as well? One, take your men with you and get lost. I¡¯ll take it that nothing happened. Two, I¡¯ll beat you guys up and then get someone to carry you away. Make your choice.¡± ¡°Hahahaha! Kid, you¡¯re too arrogant! You¡¯re the first person who has ever dared to speak to me like this!¡± Wilson burst intoughter. ¡°Oh? Is that so? You seem to have said the same thing previously, but your underlings ended up in the hospital. I wonder if they¡¯ve been discharged yet,¡± Lucas said, infuriating Wilson. Wilson was incensed. Previously, his underling failed to harm Lucas in the slightest and even ended up getting into a fight with Jordan, who caused them to be hospitalized. After that, Wilson had no choice but to spend a bomb on medical fees andpensation fees. It had simply been a massive insult to him! Yet Lucas was now provoking him again. Wilson felt that Lucas had thoroughly humiliated him! ¡°Damn it! Since you have a death wish, I¡¯ll fulfill it! All of you, hit him hard!¡± Wilson roared furiously. The ten-odd burly men behind him immediately surrounded Lucas. When the people watching from afar saw that a huge fight was about to break out, they screamed. Some even called the police, while others whipped out their phones to take videos. Charlotte¡¯s heart began pounding rapidly when she saw how aggressive they were. What should I do? Lucas is all alone. Can he really beat so many people? I-if Lucas loses, his limbs will be broken, and I won¡¯t be able to escape either... What should I do? Just as Charlotte was breaking out in cold sweat because of how terrified she was, a warm and dry hand grabbed her mmy hand. Charlotte looked up and saw that Lucas was still extremely calm, as if he didn¡¯t take these people seriously at all. Charlotte¡¯s rapidly-beating heart immediately became calmer, and her feelings of fear faded away. Lucas took one of Charlotte¡¯s hands and dashed up to the ten-odd burly men in front of him. Wilson originally thought Lucas would be scared out of his wits. But to his surprise, Lucas still had an indifferent expression. He immediately became furious because it seemed that Lucas didn¡¯t feel threatened by them at all. ¡°Beat him up! When we go back, each of you will receive a bonus!¡± Wilson shouted. These men¡¯s eyes immediately glistened. James Wilson was the general manager of the Titanium Corporation belonging to the Wilsons and was thus extremely wealthy. All the bonuses he gave out were at least five figures and above! The burly men were already unhappy about Lucas¡¯sposure, and now that they had therge reward as motivation, they leaped toward Lucas with all their might to beat him up. ¡°Ah!¡± Charlotte screamed in fright as her tiny face turned pale. Just as the fist of the first person who rushed at the front was about tond on Lucas, Lucas raised his leg, turned sideways, andunched a flying kick at him. The burly man was sent flying away with a loud thud. Apanied by his cries of misery, the burly man¡¯s body was like a cannon that collided into the other ten-odd burly men behind him and likewise caused them to fly! In less than a second, all the burly men were rolling around on the ground and wailing miserably. The scene made the jaws of the numerous people around them drop. This was a scene that was possible in cartoons, and almost no one could do it in real life! It was an instant defeat! A total instant defeat! He defeated more than ten people at once! Wilson was in utter disbelief, his eyeballs about to fall out! Previously, he had also received a flying kick from Lucas at the kindergarten and was thrown several meters away, but he didn¡¯t feel any pain after getting up. However, Lucas¡¯s kick today made all his underlings crippled! This kick caused several fractures in each of them. How terrifying! Wilson¡¯s heart was full of terror. He suddenly felt that Lucas had probably spared him at the kindergarten. Otherwise, there was absolutely no way he would still be standing here alive and well. If Lucas had wanted to, he could have killed him! At the thought of this, Wilson broke out in cold sweat. Hepletely forgot about taking revenge and restoring his pride! Beside Wilson, his wife, Sharon Hart, had horror written all over her red and swollen face as she watched the scene in disbelief. Lucas pulled Charlotte and walked directly to Wilson. ¡°Did you say that you want my sister-inw to apany you?¡± Chapter 104: James Wilson Wimps Out

Chapter 104: James Wilson Wimps Out

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas asked that question monotonously, his emotions unreadable. However, when Wilson heard it, he was scared soulless. He hurriedly shook his head like a rattle drum and denied. ¡°No, no, no, I wouldn¡¯t dare to! I-I was just joking. Ahem, just joking! I definitely wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± ¡°Oh, really? Just now, you also said that you want to break my arm and leg, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lucas nced at Wilson. Wilson broke out in cold sweat and wished he could p himself. ¡°I-I just like spouting nonsense. Don¡¯t take it to heart!¡± Seeing how terrified Wilson was, Charlotte was really surprised and relieved. She stole a nce at Lucas and quietly looked at her hand that he was holding. Her heart was full of bliss and a strong sense of pride. ¡°Well, your wife just hit my sister-inw and mother-inw and even snatched her bracelet away. What are you going to do about that?¡± Lucas¡¯s voice suddenly turned calm, but Wilson still felt that he sounded like a demon. Now, Lucas was obviously in a more powerful position than him, and it was up to Lucas to settle scores with him. Wilson gritted his teeth and pulled the dumbfounded Sharon over from the side. Without hesitation, he pped her twice, making her swollen face even redder. ¡°Bitch! It¡¯s all your fault! Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Gray!¡± Wilson kicked Sharon¡¯s knee, causing her to drop to her knees immediately. Sharon usually liked to take advantage of Wilson¡¯s power to throw her weight around. asionally, she would be coquettish with him too. If he hit her under normal circumstances, she would definitely cry and throw a tantrum. However, now that he was really infuriated and looked like he wanted to kill her, she was appalled and hurriedly rushed to apologize to Lucas. Begging for mercy, she pleaded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Mr. Gray, it¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have been so rude to you or called someone to take revenge on you. Please forgive me!¡± Tears covered Sharon¡¯s chubby face that was already red and swollen. Her hair was messy, and she was now kneeling on the ground and pleading with tears. She looked extremely distressed. Lucas was not the type to abuse his authority and bully others. To be honest, she didn¡¯t get any advantages from them either. ¡°What exactly happened between you just now? How did the fight start?¡± Lucas asked. Sharon instantly blushed and seemed conflicted and at a loss for words. Seeing this, Wilson kicked her again. He urged, ¡°Mr. Gray is asking you a question. Hurry up and answer him truthfully.¡± Sharon said hesitantly, ¡°I saw your mother-inw¡¯s bracelet in the bathroom just now... and I thought it was very pretty. I liked it very much, so I wanted to buy it from her. But she wasn¡¯t willing to sell it to me. She even called me a... fat bitch and said that the bracelet wouldn¡¯t look good on me. I was infuriated and made her knock into me. My bracelet broke, so I made herpensate for it with hers. We then... got into a fight.¡± Sharon felt her face burning up, partly because she had been pped and partly because she felt embarrassed about apologizing. On the other hand, after Wilson heard Sharon¡¯s ount, his face turned increasingly gloomy, and he wanted to kick her a few times. The Wilsons were a prestigious family in Orange County, and they owned all sorts of precious jewelry. Yet James Wilson¡¯s wife tried to cheat another woman out of her bracelet. It was a huge embarrassment to the family! At this moment, Wilson felt a burning pain in his face. He was extremely embarrassed! In particr, the peculiar gazes around him made him feel awkward. ¡°You bitch! Have I not bought you any bracelets and jewelry? I spend millions of dors every year on you. Are you that superficial? You tried to snatch someone else¡¯s belonging just because you took a liking to it. You¡¯re so embarrassing!¡± Wilson was so angry that he pped Sharon¡¯s head a few more times, causing her to cry out loud. Lucas frowned. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Only then did Wilson stop and say, ¡°Mr. Gray, I failed to take her in hand, and that¡¯s why she did such a thing. I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯ll make sure she apologizes to your mother-inw!¡± Lucas nced at him coldly and took Charlotte away without another word. James immediately pulled Sharon, who was petrified and sitting still on the ground, and followed behind Lucas. The group of burly men were still rolling and wailing on the ground, while the onlookers had already evaded far away. Meanwhile, Karen seemed extremely flustered after running back to the room alone. Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help asking anxiously, ¡°Mom, what just happened? Where are Lucas and Charlotte? Why didn¡¯t theye back with you?¡± Karen tried to act as if nothing had happened. ¡°Oh, they just went to foot the bill and told us to wait for them at the entrance.¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Mom, you basically didn¡¯t eat anything. Why did they foot the bill so quickly?¡± Karen waved her hand impatiently. ¡°I¡¯m full. Let¡¯s hurry up and leave!¡± While speaking, she hurriedly tried to grab Cheyenne and Amelia. She even nced at the door of the private room from time to time in fear that those people might charge in. Cheyenne became more and more suspicious, feeling that there was something amiss about her mother¡¯s behavior! ¡°No, Mom. Where exactly did they go? I¡¯ll give them a call and ask.¡± Cheyenne took out her phone from her handbag to call Charlotte and Lucas. ¡°I told you they¡¯re waiting for us outside! Why do you have to call them?!¡± Karen¡¯s expression changed drastically as she tried to snatch Cheyenne¡¯s phone. Suddenly, the door of the private room opened, and Lucas and Charlotte walked in. Seeing that they were in one piece and didn¡¯t look like they had been beaten, Karen wanted to ask them about it. But she suddenly saw James Wilson and Sharon Hart following them in! ¡°Oh my god!¡± Karen was so frightened that she started shuddering. She immediately sprung up and hid behind Cheyenne as she spluttered, ¡°Don¡¯te over!¡± Karen suddenly stretched out her hand and pointed at Lucas. ¡°This good-for-nothing is the culprit! If you want to settle scores, go to him. It has nothing to do with me!¡± Cheyenne would be a fool if she still couldn¡¯t tell that there was something wrong. She held Amelia tightly in her arms and asked, ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Chapter 105: Can’t Afford To Provoke Him

Chapter 105: Can¡¯t Afford To Provoke Him

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Charlotte looked at Karen, who was hiding behind Cheyenne and Amelia, with a look of disappointment on her face. ¡°Cheyenne, Lucas, I finally found out today what kind of a person my mother is. I¡¯m so disappointed.¡± Cheyenne frowned and looked at Charlotte in puzzlement. Suddenly, James pushed Sharon hard and hollered, ¡°Hurry up and apologize to his mother-inw.¡± At this moment, Sharon Hart¡¯s nose was swollen, her hair was unkempt, and there was some blood at the corners of her mouth. She looked miserable and pitiful. Cheyenne watched in bewilderment while Karen was shocked and puzzled. Sharon took off the superior-grade bracelet and handed it back to Karen. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was at fault just now, and I ended up causing so much trouble because I took a liking to your bracelet. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll return the bracelet to you. I hope you will forgive me.¡± Karen looked at the scene in front of her in astonishment, almost suspecting that she was dreaming. The esteemed and honorable wife of James Wilson is apologizing to me and even returning the bracelet to me? Karen blinked several times and looked at Sharon and the bracelet in front of her, unable to wrap her head around the situation. Cheyenne was astounded, and her face gradually turned solemn. She was intelligent and had sensed that there was something wrong with her mother¡¯s expression just now. She reckoned that something must have happened, and the appearance of the two strangers further confirmed her doubts. Charlotte¡¯s words had caught her attention too. Just as Cheyenne wanted to ask, Karen suddenly snapped out of her daze, took her bracelet back from Sharon¡¯s hand, and put it on her wrist again. Although she didn¡¯t know exactly what had happened, the chubby woman Sharon had indeed bowed and apologized to her! Karen wanted to sneer, but she decided to keep her mouth shut when she thought about Sharon Hart¡¯s and James Wilson¡¯s identities. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s all over now. You two should get going,¡± Lucas said to Wilson and Sharon indifferently after she returned the bracelet. As soon as Wilson heard that Lucas had decided not to pursue the matter, Wilson was overjoyed, and he hurriedly thanked Lucas before pulling Sharon away. As soon as they left the hotel, Sharon covered her face with a menacing expression and barked, ¡°I must kill those bitches!¡± Smack! Wilson immediately pped Sharon again! The loud p instantly dumbfounded her. ¡°Hubby, why did you hit me?¡± Sharon was aggrieved. Wilson red at her ferociously with a terrifying and murderous light in his eyes. ¡°Hit you? I wish I could kill you! Bitch, you¡¯re a wastrel. All you do is cause trouble for me all day long! If not for the fact that you¡¯re the mother of my child, I would have driven you out long ago! ¡°Listen up! This is thest time I¡¯m going to tolerate anything like this! If I find out that you¡¯ve caused trouble again and provoked another big shot, I will kill you!¡± Sharon shivered in fright due to Wilson¡¯s murderous threat. She originally thought that he was just acting in front of Lucas and would get back at him after this. But to her surprise, Wilson really took Lucas as a big shot whom he couldn¡¯t afford to provoke and had to avoid! ¡°Okay, Hubby. I know I was wrong! From now on, I¡¯ll definitely be obedient and not create trouble for you again!¡± Sharon hurriedly promised. Actually, she wasn¡¯t a fool either. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have married Wilson. However, she really didn¡¯t understand. In her opinion, Lucas was just an ipetent man who definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to beat a bunch of men all by himself, even if he was good at martial arts. She couldn¡¯t understand why Wilson was afraid of him. After hearing Sharon¡¯s question, Wilson red at her again. ¡°Are you a fool? If he was just good at kicking hard, why would I be wary of him? Can¡¯t you tell? He held back today and the other day at the kindergarten. If he really wanted to, he could have easily killed us! ¡°How can we afford to provoke such a terrifying person? Anyway, I¡¯ve already warned you. If you have a death wish, don¡¯t implicate me, got it?¡± Wilson warned Sharon with an insidious expression. When he thought about the power of Lucas¡¯s kick just now and how effortlessly he did it, his heart turned cold. Besides, Wilson was worried about something else, which he didn¡¯t tell Sharon. Ever since Wilson and his underlings suffered a big loss under Lucas and Jordan at the kindergarten and failed to get back at Lucas in the Brilliance Corporation the next day, Wilson had sent some people to investigate Lucas¡¯s background. However, he barely managed to find any information. He merely found out that Lucas was a fresh graduate who had worked as a chauffeur at the Brilliance Corporation before marrying Cheyenne. His background was very ordinary, except for the fact that he had gone missing for six years. But little was known about what he had done in those years. Lucas was now very different from what he was like six years ago. For example, he had terrifying martial arts skills that even Wilson was afraid of. This meant that Lucas was definitely not as simple as he seemed on the surface! After Wilson and Sharon left, there was a peculiar vibe in the private room. They were no longer in the mood to eat. After paying the bill, Lucas drove them back to the Carter residence. Along the way, the atmosphere was somber. Amelia just had a full meal and was now a bit sleepy, so she leaned on Cheyenne and dozed off. Charlotte was hanging her head low quietly and pondering about something. Karen subconsciously leaned backward with her phone in hand and seemed to be texting someone. From time to time, she would burst intoughter and say words like ¡®fat woman¡¯ and ¡®apologize¡¯. Cheyenne frowned, but she stopped herself from asking any questions. When they arrived back home, Lucas carried the fast-asleep Amelia back upstairs while Cheyenne finally asked Karen, ¡°Mom, tell me the truth. What happened at the restaurant? Why did James Wilson and his wifee to our room to return your bracelet and apologize to you?¡± Karen said nonchntly, ¡°Well, that woman wanted my bracelet. But she was taught a lesson by her husband, so she gave it back to me!¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t believe it at all. ¡°When they came, you just said that it was Lucas¡¯s fault and wanted them to hold Lucas responsible. What happened?¡± Karen questioned in annoyance, ¡°What do you want to ask? Your loser husband caused trouble by hitting that woman! Then that woman called her husband. He almost got me in trouble. If not for the fact that Mr. Wilson was magnanimous, we would have died.¡± ¡°Mom, that¡¯s enough!¡± Charlotte finally couldn¡¯t help but lose her temper when she heard her mother¡¯s nonsense. Chapter 106: Shameless Mother

Chapter 106: Shameless Mother

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ring at Karen with reddened eyes, Charlotte yelled in endless disappointment, ¡°Mom, how exactly did Lucas offend you that you have to turn the facts upside down like this? You were the one who brought everything that happened today upon yourself! Sharon Hart wanted to buy your bracelet, and you could have just turned her down. But why did you have to insult her and get into a scuffle?! ¡°When I saw you get pped, I went forward to help you. But I didn¡¯t expect you to chicken out after finding out Sharon Hart¡¯s identity. It doesn¡¯t matter that you were scared, but why did you have to force me to let her p me? Have you ever spared a thought for my feelings? ¡°Besides, Lucas was just trying to help us by pping that woman. How can you push all the me onto him? If it weren¡¯t for Lucas, I probably would have been disfigured by that woman now! ¡°Also, how can you say that it¡¯s because of James Wilson¡¯s magnanimity that we were let off the hook? Ridiculous! You abandoned us and ran away on your own. You didn¡¯t see anything at all, so how can you say that?! ¡°There were so many of them. If it weren¡¯t for Lucas, I-I probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to make it back here. I would have long been bullied to death by James Wilson! How dare you twist the facts and me everything on Lucas while calling James Wilson magnanimous?! You¡¯re just babbling nonsense! You¡¯ve gone overboard!¡± Recalling what had just happened, Charlotte was furious and aggrieved as tears rolled down her cheeks freely. She felt aggrieved for herself and Lucas! Why is Mom doing this to us?! After hearing Charlotte¡¯sints, Cheyenne finally figured out what had happened and was looking at Karen with astonishment written all over her face. ¡°Mom, you actually made Charlotte allow herself to get pped by someone else? She¡¯s still just young! You even left them alone, ran back to the room, and urged me to leave with you. Were you nning to ignore Charlotte and Lucas and leave them be?¡± Cheyenne was anguished, and she could hardly believe that her mother would do such a thing. However, Charlotte would never lie to her about such things. ¡°Shut up! Now that you guys are capable of feeding yourselves, you know how to teach me, huh?¡± Being questioned by her two daughters, Karen lost her temper and yelled at them with her hands on her waist. ¡°What do you know? They¡¯re the Wilsons, a top family in Orange County. How can we afford to provoke them? What can I do? You me me for pushing Charlotte out to be pped, but she¡¯s still young and can take a few ps. I¡¯m already old. Do you still expect me to get pped? You two are unfilial!¡± Karen scolded righteously and even med Cheyenne and Charlotte for being unfilial for not helping her take the ps. Charlotte was speechless. With a self-deprecating smile, she said, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m your daughter, so I deserve to be pushed out by you to get pped by someone else, right? Okay, I¡¯ll take it that I¡¯m unlucky to have a mother like you. But after you ran away, you don¡¯t even know what happened, so why did you talk nonsense in front of Cheyenne? Why did you say that James Wilson was kind and magnanimous? Do you know what he asked for?¡± ¡°Hmph, what could he have asked for? He couldn¡¯t have asked for you to sleep with him, could he? If that¡¯s what he asked, you might as well have agreed. You¡¯re much prettier than that fat bitch. You¡¯d rece her sooner orter!¡± Charlotte didn¡¯t expect Karen to find it a shame that she didn¡¯t agree to Wilson¡¯s request. Charlotte dared not believe that her mother wanted her to sleep with someone else and be a mistress in order to get ahead! ¡°Hahahaha! I really can¡¯t believe that such shameless words came out of my mother¡¯s mouth! What do you take your daughter for? Can anyone toy with me just because they¡¯re rich? Mom, do you have any shame?¡± Charlotte hollered furiously. Infuriated at being ridiculed by her daughter in such a relentless way, Karen immediately flew into a rage and pped Charlotte on her face. ¡°You¡¯re so rebellious! How can you talk to your own mother like that?¡± After being pped, Charlotte cocked her head toward the side. But she soon turned her head back and red at Karen furiously while biting her lower lip. ¡°Still indignant, huh? You need to be pped more!¡± Karen raised her hand again. ¡°Enough!¡± Cheyenne grabbed Karen¡¯s wrist. She was so exasperated that her face was flushed, and she glowered at Karen scornfully. ¡°Charlotte is right. You don¡¯t deserve to be a mother at all!¡± The words Karen said just now made Cheyenne bbergasted! She was extremely disappointed in her mother. Cheyenne shook off Karen¡¯s hand indifferently and turned around to hold Charlotte¡¯s hand. She then headed upstairs without looking back. Upset by her daughters¡¯ attitudes, Karen sat on the floor again, pping her legs and crying. ¡°Oh my God! I¡¯ve worked so hard to raise you two, and this is how you treat me! You¡¯re so unfilial! I¡¯m so unlucky to have raised such daughters! God, what did I owe them in myst life?¡± Karen bawled for a while, but no one came downstairs tofort her. What was the point of singing a one-woman show without an audience? Karen got up from the ground and stared at the top of the stairs while gritting her teeth. ¡°It¡¯s all that good-for-nothing¡¯s fault! If it weren¡¯t for him, Charlotte and Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t have done this to me! Lucas Gray, just you wait and see!¡± Cheyenne took Charlotte back to her own room and apanied her for a while. Comforting her, she said, ¡°Forget it. That¡¯s just what Mom is like. It¡¯s not the first time she¡¯s acted like this. Just take her nonsensical words as nothing, or else you¡¯ll really be infuriated.¡± Charlotte nodded with tears in her bloodshot eyes. ¡°Yeah, I got it. I¡¯d like to be alone for a while. Please go back to your room.¡± Cheyenne sighed and wiped her eyes before returning to her room. Inside the room, Lucas had already tucked Amelia into bed and was sitting quietly on the carpet, waiting for her. ¡°Lucas, Charlotte told me everything that happened. Thank you on behalf of Charlotte, and also, I apologize on behalf of my mother,¡± Cheyenne said apologetically while looking at Lucas. Lucas smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, they¡¯re your family members, so that makes them my family members too. You don¡¯t have to apologize on their behalf.¡± Cheyenne was touched and overwhelmed with inexplicable guilt. ¡°Actually, you clearly have great power and wealth, and you could have just stayed in your luxurious mansion where no one would boss you around. You¡¯d live better than you are now...¡± Lucas interrupted her and said gently but firmly, ¡°However, you guys aren¡¯t there. To me, wherever you and Amelia are is my home.¡± Chapter 107: Cocktail Bar

Chapter 107: Cocktail Bar

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After crying in her room for a long time, Charlotte left home with reddened eyes. Upstairs, Lucas frowned and took out his phone to send a text. Charlotte strolled aimlessly on the streets. Actually, she didn¡¯t know where she was going. She simply didn¡¯t want to continue staying in that house. She initially wanted to call her best friend, Sophie, but when she thought of what her mother had done, she found it hard to talk about it. While wandering around, Charlotte saw a bar called the Cocktail Bar down the street and suddenly felt a strong urge to drink. If I get drunk, I won¡¯t be in so much agony, right?! Charlotte walked into the bar, ordered an entire bottle of Martini, and sat in a corner where she started drinking by herself, unaware of how much attention a beautiful woman like her was attracting. A refined and gentlemanly-looking young man in his thirties with a specially-concocted cocktail in hand sat down elegantly on the seat opposite Charlotte. ¡°Beautifuldy, are you alone?¡± Charlotte raised her head and nced at him. She was not impressed by his gesture and demeanor at all. Instead, she snapped with extreme annoyance in her eyes, ¡°Get lost.¡± The young man was slightly stunned, and he immediately smiled in a way that he thought was more charming. ¡°Don¡¯t be so aloof. Since we¡¯re fated to meet each other, why don¡¯t we have a drink together? Let me introduce myself. My name is Logan Hale. This bar belongs to me.¡± Charlotte was so annoyed that she snapped furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t you understand English? I told you to get lost!¡± As she spoke, she sshed the liquor in her ss onto the young man¡¯s face. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°How brazen!¡± ¡°Logan, are you alright?¡± Immediately afterward, several people stood up at a table nearby and gathered around them. They were all Logan¡¯s friends, who were sitting nearby and having some drinks. They were the ones who egged him to go over and hit on Charlotte. They thought that with Logan¡¯s handsome good looks and charming aura, the beautiful Charlotte would definitely be attracted to him. But they didn¡¯t expect her to be so bold as to ssh liquor onto him! Logan wiped a handful of liquor off his face, waved his hand, and told his friends not to act rashly while maintaining his gentlemanly and polite smile. He chuckled. ¡°Ah, beautifuldy, I just want to get to know you better. Must you be so ruthless?¡± Charlotte also felt that she was a bit impulsive. After all, Logan had juste over to strike up a conversation, which was a verymon urrence in bars. She had merely overreacted because she was in a bad mood. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was in a bad mood just now. I didn¡¯t mean tosh out at you,¡± Charlotte apologized politely. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s a great honor to hear that from you. I guess we know each other now,¡± Logan teased. He then turned around and shouted to the bartender, ¡°Go and bring the red wine that I¡¯ve been cherishing for years!¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± Soon, the bartender came over with an ice bucket containing a bottle of red wine. Charlotte frowned slightly. She didn¡¯t want to drink with a stranger. ¡°Sorry. I appreciate your kindness, but I have to go home.¡± She stood up and picked up her handbag to leave. However, Logan stopped her smoothly. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be in such a hurry to leave. You just sshed liquor on my face, but I¡¯ll let the matter rest if you let me treat you to a drink. How does that sound?¡± Logan poured two sses of red wine and raised one of them in front of Charlotte. Charlotte regretted her decision. There were all sorts of people in bars, and she was now alone facing Logan Hale, who was the bar owner and had thepany of his friends. She probably wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the bar today if she didn¡¯t drink this ss of wine. Charlotte gritted her teeth and looked at Logan. ¡°I can leave after drinking this ss of wine, right?¡± ¡°Of course. Just drink this ss.¡± Logan smiled. ¡°Okay.¡± Charlotte grabbed the wine ss and said to Logan, ¡°Sorry for offending you just now.¡± She brought the ss to her lips and was about to down it when a hand suddenly reached over from the side and grabbed her wrist. Charlotte was shocked. She immediately turned around to look, only to see a muscr and wide chest. Only when she raised her head did she see a tall, muscr man who looked like a tower in front of her. She immediately inhaled sharply while everyone else gasped in shock. The burly man who suddenly appeared was over two meters tall, and he exuded a terrifying aura. Standing tall, he was like a mighty and ferocious beast who made others shudder in fear. ¡°You can¡¯t drink that.¡± Just as everyone was extremely astonished, the muscr man suddenly let go of Charlotte¡¯s hand and cautioned her. Charlotte couldn¡¯t process his words immediately. But Logan¡¯s face had already turned gloomy, and he narrowed his eyes. ¡°Who are you?¡± The burly man nced at Logan and said indifferently, ¡°You don¡¯t need to care who I am. But you shouldn¡¯t have spiked Miss Carter¡¯s wine.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Upon hearing this, something dawned on Charlotte, and she dropped the ss of wine in her hand, causing it to fall to the ground and shatter. The dark red liquor immediately spread on the carpet. ¡°Y-you spiked my drink?! You¡¯re so shameless and despicable!¡± Cheyenne yelled at Logan while shivering continuously. ¡°Haha.¡± Logan chuckled. ¡°Beautifuldy, do you know this person in front of you? Do you believe everything he says?¡± Logan saw clearly the astonishment and bewilderment on Charlotte¡¯s face when she saw the muscr man. Obviously, she didn¡¯t know who he was either. After hearing what Logan said, Charlotte was indeed a little confused. One was aplete stranger, while the other was a stranger she just met a minute ago. Unsure of who she could trust, she had no choice but to look at the two of them with an uncertain gaze. At this moment, the tall and burly man suddenly said, ¡°My name is Wade. Mr. Gray sent me to protect you.¡± Mr. Gray? Is he talking about Lucas? Charlotte was startled! Chapter 108: Thank You, Lucas

Chapter 108: Thank You, Lucas

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This tall, muscr man, Wade, was the very same boxing expert Gordon Dous had hired to deal with Lucas. Ever since Wade realized how terrifying Lucas was when they were in Heaven Media, he righteously defected to Lucas and took on the duty of protecting the people close to Lucas. At the time, Lucas didn¡¯t agree. After all, he hadn¡¯t investigated Wade¡¯s origin and motive clearly then and naturally wouldn¡¯t send Wade to go close to the people dear to him. After all the information he obtained and the observations he made during this period of time, Lucas confirmed that Wade was a reliable person he could hire. So when he saw Charlotte leaving the house alone in low spirits earlier, he texted Wade and asked him to go and protect Charlotte. Charlotte was ted to hear that the burly man named Wade was here to protect her. But she was now also extremely cautious and didn¡¯t dare to trust any stranger easily. She asked apprehensively, ¡°Who is this Mr. Gray you mentioned?¡± Wade smiled. ¡°Mr. Lucas Gray. Miss Carter, if you don¡¯t trust me, you can call Mr. Gray and ask about it.¡± After receiving Wade¡¯s confirmation, Charlotte immediately felt relieved. Charlotte had long confirmed that Lucas was not an ordinary person, and she knew that he was definitely capable of sending such a tall and burly bodyguard to protect her atst-minute notice. Logan frowned after hearing their conversation. He had finally taken a liking to a woman and specially concocted the drug, yet his ns were foiled just as he was about to get what he wanted. How could he be happy? ¡°Let¡¯s leave,¡± Charlotte said as she shot Logan a look of disgust. Anyone who tries to drug people is a scumbag! ¡°Hah, you can¡¯t leave so easily after ruining my mood.¡± Logan couldn¡¯t be bothered pretending to be a refined gentleman anymore. He simply walked toward the couch and sat down suavely. After he said this, over ten hostile-looking burly men d in security officer uniforms suddenly surrounded them. They were obviously not ordinary security officers but a group of well-trained fighters! Charlotte became nervous. Although she knew that Wade was sent by Lucas to protect her and should also be an expert, he was alone and facing so many people, so Charlotte felt a little worried. However, there was no fear on Wade¡¯s face. He merely said to Charlotte calmly, ¡°Miss Carter, just stand behind me, and don¡¯t move.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Charlotte nodded, feeling a little less nervous after seeing Wade¡¯s calm expression. Looking at Wade¡¯s calm expression, Logan smirked and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the burly men pounced at Wade. ¡°You¡¯ve got a death wish!¡± Wade hollered while swinging his hard and massive fists at them! ¡°Ah!¡± The first burly man in front was sent flying and knocked over several tables and couches, making the patrons of the bar scream. The first burly manid in the middle of a pile of broken liquor bottles while covering his face and wailing incessantly. His cheekbones had probably already been shattered! There was some horror on the faces of the remaining burly men. This tall and muscr man is really ruthless! However, they were all hired fighters who had to take on the fight. They didn¡¯t believe that they couldn¡¯t defeat the outnumbered Wade! The security officers swarmed up. Some of them held liquor bottles and smashed them at Wade. Wade smiled contemptuously. I am a king of underground boxing. How could I be beaten up by some bar fighters? Wade didn¡¯t pull any fancy moves and merely waved his fists. The men started howling in terror. Soon, the ten-odd burly men were sent flying, creating a huge mess in the bar. After all the fighters fell to the ground, there was no one left to stop Wade and Charlotte. Seething at Logan, Wade left the bar with Charlotte. Seeing the mess in his bar and the fighters rolling on the ground and shrieking in horror, Logan was overwhelmed with fury. Someone had recklessly caused a huge mess on his turf. How could Logan take it lying down?! Logan roared ruthlessly, ¡°Go find out who that woman and Lucas Gray are! I want to hear about it within three hours!¡± ... After finally escaping from the bar with Wade, Charlotte heaved a huge sigh of relief. She didn¡¯t expect to encounter such a thing when she went to the bar to take a breather while in low spirits. Fortunately, the person Lucas sent had saved her. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable! Charlotte was full of lingering fear. And there were also countless doubts within her. For example, she wondered how Lucas found such a tall, brawny, and powerful person to protect her. And she was extremely curious about what other abilities Lucas was hiding too. Unfortunately, the tall man in front of her didn¡¯t seem like a talkative person. Moreover, he was more than two meters tall, extremely muscr, and had a menacing aura, so even Charlotte dared not ask him. Soon, Wade escorted Charlotte back to her home. When Charlotte went upstairs, she bumped into Cheyenne, who wanted to speak to her. ¡°Did you just go out to drink?¡± Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help but frown when she smelled the alcohol reeking from Charlotte. ¡°Yes.¡± Charlotte nodded honestly. Just as Cheyenne was frowning and about to say something, Charlotte quickly interrupted her and assured her with a serious expression. ¡°Cheyenne, I know I shouldn¡¯t have done that! I will never go to a bar on my own again in the future!¡± ¡°...¡± Cheyenne looked at her sister promising seriously and could only shake her head and sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to your word. Don¡¯t go to such ces again in the future. You¡¯re a girl. It¡¯s dangerous out there!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Charlotte nodded profusely like a chick. In the past, she would be unconcerned when Cheyenne persuaded her not to go to bars because the world was full of thugs. But after the incident today, she decided to behave herself and take Cheyenne¡¯s advice. After Charlotte went into her room, she hesitated for a moment before sending Lucas a text. ¡°Thank you, Lucas!¡± When Lucas opened this text, Cheyenne happened to be next to him and coincidentally saw the sender. ¡°Did Charlotte text you?¡± Lucas nodded. But for some reason, Cheyenne suddenly felt ufortable. Chapter 109: No Breakfast

Chapter 109: No Breakfast

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Charlotte was in the room just next door. If she really wanted to say something to Lucas, she could have juste over to say it to him in person. Why did she choose to text him instead? ¡°Charlotte thanked you? What did you do for her to thank you?¡± Cheyenne asked in bewilderment while suppressing the strange feeling in her heart. Lucas didn¡¯t want to make Cheyenne worried, so he didn¡¯t tell her that Charlotte almost got herself into trouble at the bar just now and instead said calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. She¡¯s probably just thanking me for helping her in the restaurant at noon.¡± ¡°Oh. In that case, I also have to thank you properly.¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t think much about it anymore after hearing his answer. Lucas had indeed helped Charlotte a lot in the afternoon. Otherwise, Charlotte¡¯s face might be swollen now, and she might have even been disfigured. Lucas smiled. ¡°She¡¯s your sister, and we¡¯re a family. You don¡¯t have to be so polite with me.¡± When Cheyenne heard Lucas say the word ¡®family¡¯, her heart trembled, and she couldn¡¯t help but be at ease. Cheyenne lowered her head, not knowing what to say, but the tips of her ears were flushed. Seeing the coy expression on Cheyenne¡¯s beautiful face, Lucas felt his heart skip a beat. All of a sudden, both of them fell silent and simply sat quietly in the room. The ambiance was serene and heartwarming. The next morning, when Lucas, Cheyenne, and Amelia went downstairs, they saw Karen sitting at the dining table and wolfing down a sandwich. ¡°Good morning, Mom.¡± ¡°Good morning, Grandma!¡± They greeted Karen politely. Seeing Cheyenne and the otherse downstairs, Karen ignored their greetings and remained silent, as if she didn¡¯t see them at all. Cheyenne furrowed her eyebrows slightly. When she took Amelia to the kitchen to get breakfast, she found that there was nothing but an unwashed empty pan. ¡°Mom, where¡¯s breakfast?¡± Cheyenne stood in the kitchen and raised her voice to ask. ¡°None for you guys! If you have what it takes, go make your own breakfast! I¡¯m not going to serve you!¡± Karen finished thest bite of her sandwich and tossed the empty te onto the table with a loud ng. Amelia got a great shock while Cheyenne was infuriated. They used to hire a helper to cook their meals, but Karen didn¡¯t want to pay the high wages, so she often picked on the helper and ordered her around. Afterward, the helper quit. Karen then offered to take care of their meals instead, in exchange for a few thousand dors from both her daughters. Yet Karen now quit and even acted as if Cheyenne and the rest had been taking advantage of her. As soon as Charlotte came downstairs, she also heard what her mother said. She was furious to find out that Karen had cooked breakfast for herself but not for them. ¡°Mom, Cheyenne and I have to go to work, and we don¡¯t have time to cook breakfast in the morning. When we wanted to hire a helper, you were the one who said that we should give you the money instead and that you would cook for us. What are you doing now?¡± Charlotte said in exasperation. ¡°I have every right to take your money! I raised you two, and now that you can work and earn money, shouldn¡¯t you be filial to your mother? As for your meals, hmph, weren¡¯t you guys very capable yesterday? Why should I cook for you and feed you well only to receive your rude treatment?¡± Karen retorted furiously with her eyes wide open. At the end of the day, she just wanted to have authority over the people in this family and let them know that anyone who defied her would not have any cooked meals! Cheyenne and Charlotte were both furious and disgruntled. Karen was clearly the one who had gone too far yesterday, yet she was now using them of being unfilial. When Charlotte thought about what happened yesterday, she suddenly flew into a rage and retorted, ¡°What kind of a mother are you? Ever since we were kids, you only reprimanded us and threatened us. Did you ever take care of us? ¡°When Cheyenne and I were little, you went out every day to y cards with your friends and never came home after leaving in the morning! Cheyenne and I were left alone at home all the time, all hungry and uncared for! ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Grandma, who was still alive at the time and would bring us food when she came to see us every now and then, we would have long starved to death! ¡°Later on, Cheyenne started to learn how to cook when she was around seven or eight because if she didn¡¯t, we would have starved to death! And you? You ignored it when you saw how Cheyenne had scalded her hands trying to cook, and you even made her do all the cooking and household chores from then on. You only hired a helper after she started working and didn¡¯t have time to cook. How many times have you cooked all these years? ¡°We said that we wanted to hire a helper, but you thought it was a waste of money and wanted us to give you the money instead. But now, you¡¯re threatening us with our meals. You treat us with a horrible attitude every now and then too. If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s no need for us to give you money in the future!¡± After Charlotte finished retorting angrily, she picked up her handbag to leave. Karen¡¯s face was flushed yet pale after hearing Charlotte exposing her past. But after hearing that Charlotte wouldn¡¯t give her money in the future, she suddenly panicked. ¡°Charlotte, I was wrong to say that. I¡¯m not deliberately giving you a bad attitude. I promise to cook for you every day!¡± Unfortunately, Charlotte didn¡¯t turn around at all and left without any hesitation. Cheyenne watched coldly, extremely disappointed with her mother. ¡°Let¡¯s go too.¡± After Cheyenne finished speaking, she took Amelia¡¯s hand and walked toward the door with Lucas. Karen was anxious again. If Cheyenne left and stopped giving her money too, what would she do? ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯ve always been the most obedient. Are you going to throw a tantrum at me too?¡± Karen tried to y the sympathy card. Cheyenne looked at her disappointedly. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m not throwing a tantrum with you. It¡¯s the other way around. I¡¯m exhausted. We¡¯ll get going.¡± After Cheyenne said this, they left, ignoring Karen¡¯s attempt to make them stay. Karen stood alone at the door, staring at the empty courtyard distractedly. Chapter 110: Phony Old Friend

Chapter 110: Phony Old Friend

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Karen didn¡¯t care about the fact that she had disappointed her daughters and was merely worried that she would no longer be able to get money from them again in the future. At the thought of that possibility, Karen was perturbed, frustrated, and regretful. Actually, Karen had enough money to spend. But she liked stashing away her own money and then trying to get money from her daughters for her own expenses. Only then would she feelfortable. Karen stood at the door for a long time, seemingly pondering something. Meanwhile, Cheyenne, Lucas, and Amelia had a sumptuous breakfast at a bistro. After breakfast, Lucas first dropped Amelia off at the kindergarten before sending Cheyenne to the Brilliance Corporation. ¡°I¡¯ll go handle some matters and pick you up in the evening after work,¡± Lucas gently said to Cheyenne while in the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Ahem, actually... you don¡¯t have to send me to and from work every day. If you¡¯re busy, I can go back by myself.¡± Cheyenne felt embarrassed about troubling him. She knew that Lucas was the owner of the Stardust Corporation and kept his identity mysterious. So she reckoned that he must be busy all the time. But regardless of his busy schedule, he had been driving her to and from work on time every day, making her feel touched but apologetic for taking up so much of his time. Lucas smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m not that busy. It makes me d to be able to send you to and from work every day. You should get going.¡± Only after seeing Cheyenne enter thepany did Lucas drive away. Even after stepping into her office, Cheyenne still felt a burning hot sensation in her face. After finishing some daily work, her new assistant, whom she rmended herself, knocked on the door. ¡°Miss Carter, there¡¯s a person downstairs looking for you. He ims to have an appointment with you today.¡± Cheyenne was surprised. After thinking about it, she found that she didn¡¯t have an appointment with anyone today. She couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°Did he say whichpany he¡¯s from? What is his name?¡± ¡°No, he just imed to be an old friend of yours and that you would know once you meet him,¡± the assistant said anxiously. In fact, when encountering such people who didn¡¯t disclose their names, the assistant would usually not report it to Cheyenne. However, the assistant was new to the job and didn¡¯t know her temper well. So he decided to report the matter to her because he was worried that that man might really be an old friend of hers. ¡°Old friend?¡± Cheyenne was puzzled. Actually, she didn¡¯t have many close friends, especially since many of them distanced themselves from her when she was down and out during the past six years. Thus, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t guess the identity of this ¡®old friend¡¯. However, instead of specting and making wild guesses, she decided to just let the mane to her office so that she could see who he was. ¡°Forget it. Bring him over then,¡± Cheyenne said. Soon, the assistant led a young man in an immacte suit in. When Cheyenne recognized the man¡¯s face, she immediately frowned, her face turning sullen. The young man smiled at Cheyenne gracefully. ¡°Miss Carter, nice to meet you again.¡± Cheyenne raised her brows and sneered. ¡°When did I be an old friend of yours? I don¡¯t even know what your name is.¡± The smiling man was none other than Aston Brooke, whom Cheyenne had met twice and whom Scarlet Wright had deliberately tried to show off to her. He seemed like a gentle and refined wealthy man, but he actually pped Scarlet in front of them yesterday and even pushed her onto the ground. No matter how superior his family was, Cheyenne was extremely disdainful toward men who hit their girlfriends. Besides, despite the man in front of her looking rather gentle and mild-mannered, the gaze in his eyes was often unsettling. Cheyenne¡¯s attitude could be considered hostile, but Aston was still smiling as he said, ¡°Miss Carter, you are being overly distant. We¡¯ve met a few times before after all. Let me introduce myself again. I am Aston Brooke from LA. I¡¯m here today because I really want to talk to you. Miss Carter, are you interested in cooperating with the Brookes?¡± Based on Aston¡¯s behavior at this moment alone, he could really be considered a gentleman. He wasn¡¯t arrogant but was instead eloquent, and he would naturally form a good impression on others. Unfortunately, Cheyenne didn¡¯t feel good about it. Although Cheyenne still didn¡¯t feel good about Aston, she naturally couldn¡¯t decide things based on his personality after he mentioned cooperating since she was the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. She asked patiently, ¡°Cooperation? I¡¯d like to hear more about it.¡± With a proud gaze in his eyes, Aston said, ¡°The Brookes may not be from Orange County, but our family is one of the most powerful ones in LA, and we own many businesses. In particr, the Sr Corporation has developed very well in recent years. We would like to expand our market scope and develop some of our businesses in Orange County, so we¡¯re looking to cooperate with apany in Orange County that¡¯s on par with us. ¡°After my observations during this period of time, I think that although yourpany isn¡¯t considered a first-ss enterprise at the moment, it has great potential for future development. Miss Carter, as long as you¡¯re willing to cooperate with us, I guarantee that with the help of the Sr Corporation, the Brilliance Corporation will definitely be stronger. Well, at least it will be much better than it is now.¡± Aston smiled, looking proud and smug. In fact, he even seemed condescending. It was as if the Brilliance Corporation was gaining a huge favor by being able to work with the Sr Corporation and even had to rely on it. Even a first-tier family of Orange County wouldn¡¯t be that arrogant in the Brilliance Corporation! Cheyenne looked at Aston with interest. ¡°As expected of someone from another city, you seem not to know much about the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s current development situation.¡± Aston was stunned. He originally thought that after he announced his family¡¯s name and proposed cooperating with the Sr Corporation, Cheyenne should be overjoyed to ept cooperating with him. However, Cheyenne didn¡¯t seem d at all. Besides, her words made Aston have an ominous hunch. ¡°Oh, is that so? Miss Carter, please enlighten me.¡± The smile on Aston¡¯s face was on the verge of vanishing. Chapter 111: Refusal to Cooperate

Chapter 111: Refusal to Cooperate

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mr. Brooke, have you ever heard of the Stardust Corporation?¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t answer Aston directly and instead asked this question. Aston nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve naturally heard of the famous Stardust Corporation. After all, its market value and influence are ranked at the top among the well-known enterprises in the US. Besides, the Stardust Corporation has the support of the Huttons, a powerful family in DC, and their power can¡¯t be underestimated. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that the Stardust Corporation is the most influentialpany in Orange County.¡± Cheyenne smiled. ¡°Mr. Brooke, since you know how powerful the Stardust Corporation is, do you know that the Brilliance Corporation has already reached a long-term strategic partnership with the Stardust Corporation, which will begin in the near future? ¡°Besides, the Brilliance Corporation is also in preparation to sign various business contracts with the Sawyer Corporation belonging to Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County. To be honest, we aren¡¯t short of cooperation objects, but we have to pick our partners wisely because there are so many to choose from. ¡°Under such circumstances, do you still think that the Sr Corporation, a foreign enterprise without any roots in Orange County, has anypetitive advantage to convince us to cooperate with you?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s wordspletely broke Aston¡¯s prideful heart! Although Aston had gained some understanding of the current situation of some enterprises in Orange County, the people of the Brilliance Corporation were definitely clearer about its current development situation. Thus, Aston had tried to find out about the Brilliance Corporation from Scarlet Wright. However, the Brilliance Corporation once belonged to the Carters and had been developing poorly under their management. And as soon as they lost the Brilliance Corporation, the performance of the Brilliance Corporation soared, especially with the support of the Stardust Corporation and the Sawyer Corporation. It managed to win the favor of countlesspanies of all sizes in the county, thus allowing its market value to increase countless times overnight. And there were numerouspanies that wanted to cooperate with the Brilliance Corporation. Faced with this situation, the Carters were feeling sour. In particr, Cheyenne even managed to make aeback and be the new general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, making Scarlet even more furious and jealous. So she wouldn¡¯t say anything nice about the Brilliance Corporation. Scarlet made the Brilliance Corporation out to be a perennial family business that suffered losses every year. She said that many managerial positions were vacant as a result of poor management after the takeover. She even imed that there was internal corruption, strife, power struggles, bribery, and all sorts of other disreputable vices in thepany. In particr, Scarlet also informed Aston about Jane Harper¡¯s arrest, further reinforcing her point. The reason Aston went to Cheyenne today to talk about cooperating wasn¡¯t that he had his eyes on the potential of the Brilliance Corporation. It was purely because he wanted to take this opportunity to get close to her and eventually find a way to make the Brilliance Corporation a springboard for the Brookes to expand into Orange County. Moreover, Aston had already tried to cooperate withrgerpanies before going to the Brilliance Corporation, such as the Stardust Corporation and the Sawyer Corporation that Cheyenne had mentioned. However, he was turned down by all of them. Aston felt that Brilliance Corporation was his second-best choice and that he was doing it a favor by offering it the opportunity to cooperate with him. He thought that Cheyenne should be grateful to him. However, her words just now were a huge blow to him. Cheyenne directly expressed her disdain for the opportunity he offered. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Brilliance Corporation to be so powerful. I¡¯ve failed to find out enough. Pardon me,¡± Aston apologized with a wry smile. He continued, ¡°In fact, since the Brilliance Corporation is also seekingpetent cooperative partners, why don¡¯t you consider the Brookes? After all, we are verypetent and capable. If we cooperate together, we¡¯ll definitely reach a win-win cooperation! In the future, if Brilliance Corporation wants to develop its market in LA, we can also provide a lot of support to make things more convenient for you. What do you think, Miss Carter?¡± Cheyenne thought for a while and felt that what he said did make some sense. ¡°I¡¯ll consider your offer to cooperate, Mr. Brooke. However, forming a cooperation agreement is very important after all, and it isn¡¯t up to me alone. How about this? I¡¯ll contact you if we confirm that we¡¯d like to cooperate with your family.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be waiting for good news. This is my business card. Please contact me when the timees.¡± Aston handed his business card to Cheyenne and pretended to be gentlemanly before getting up to leave. After he left, Cheyenne immediately gave Lucas a call and told him about Aston Brookeing to seek cooperation with the Brilliance Corporation. After all, Lucas was the person who was really in charge of the Brilliance Corporation. He simply answered, ¡°Turn him down. We will reject all cooperation with the Brookes.¡± Although Cheyenne didn¡¯t quite understand why he rejected the Brookes so resolutely without hesitation, since he had already made a decision, she naturally wouldn¡¯t disrespect his opinion. Afterward, Cheyenne tossed the business card Aston gave into the shredder. When it was time to get off work in the afternoon, Lucas drove over as usual to pick up Cheyenne from work before driving to the kindergarten to pick Amelia up. During the journey, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°If Brookees again, just chase him out straight away and don¡¯t let him get close to you.¡± Cheyenne was stunned. Only after a while did she realize that Lucas was referring to Aston Brooke, who came to see her this morning. Cheyenne disliked Aston too, but she was still puzzled about why Lucas detested him that much. She asked curiously, ¡°What did that person do to make you hate him so much?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a hypocrite who looks gentlemanly and refined on the surface but is actually a yboy and a phndering scumbug who has cheated on and toyed with many women. He even caused the deaths of many women. He has an ulterior motive for trying to get close to you, so you should be careful,¡± Lucas said seriously. Cheyenne was stunned. She could vaguely feel that Aston wasn¡¯t a good person, but she didn¡¯t expect him to be such scum and even caused the death of others. ¡°How did you find out about this?¡± Cheyenne asked in bewilderment. Lucas didn¡¯t say that he had already had someone investigate Aston clearly from the moment they first met and Aston gawked at Cheyenne with an evil gaze. Instead, he turned to Cheyenne and asked, ¡°Do you still remember that Charlotte used to court a boy when she was in college?¡± Chapter 112: Secret Plotting

Chapter 112: Secret Plotting

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne was naturally very clear about that matter. At that time, Charlotte fell in love with a senior in school. And being a young girl, she was extremely infatuated with him and would bring him food and beverages every day. She had given all her gentleness and affection to him. However, he didn¡¯t cherish Charlotte¡¯s sincerity and left her hanging. He even wanted her to sleep with him. Charlotte was nervous and terrified. But in the end, she decided to tell Cheyenne about it and ask for her opinion. Cheyenne told her to turn him down, the main reason being that Cheyenne felt he wasn¡¯t trustworthy at all. As expected, after Charlotte turned him down, that senior soon hooked up with another girl, making Charlotte so heartbroken that she wept for two whole weeks. While Cheyenne was feeling upset for her sister, she also felt thankful that Charlotte didn¡¯t get vited by such scum. After hearing Lucas suddenly mention this matter, Cheyenne nodded. But at the same time, she was rather bewildered too. ¡°How did you find out about that matter? What does this have to do with Aston Brooke?¡± Lucas drove steadily while saying, ¡°When Charlotte treated me to a meal previously, we happened to run into that man and his wife, who even threw her weight around in front of Charlotte. I also happened to find out then that that man¡¯s wife, Estelle Brooke, is this Aston Brooke¡¯s sister.¡± Cheyenne still didn¡¯t know about this matter yet, so she hurriedly asked about it. After hearing Lucas¡¯s brief exnation about what had happened that day, Cheyenne suddenly yelled furiously, ¡°That¡¯s too much! Even if Charlotte was blind and liked him, how long has it been since then? Why did they have to humiliate Charlotte? Their characters are incorrigible! We definitely won¡¯t cooperate with the Brookes!¡± At this moment, Amelia, who was leaning on Cheyenne¡¯s body, raised her head and said with a look of determination on her tender face, ¡°Anyone who bullies Aunt Charlotte and Mommy are bad guys!¡± Cheyenne was immediately caught betweenughter and tears as she rubbed Amelia¡¯s nose affectionately. ¡°We¡¯re adults, and you¡¯re a child. What do you know?¡± Amelia puffed up her cheeks. ¡°I know things! I also know that Grandma bullied us this morning and didn¡¯t cook us any food for breakfast either.¡± Cheyenne coddled Amelia. ¡°Grandma was just in a bad mood today. Don¡¯t hold it against her, Amelia. Let¡¯s have a huge feast for dinner tonight!¡± The tantrum her mother threw in the morning had upset Cheyenne, so she didn¡¯t want to go home tonight and face Karen¡¯s hostile attitude. Thus, the three of them decided to have dinner at a famous restaurant before heading home. As soon as they entered the house, Karen weed them with a smile, which seemed abnormal. ¡°You guys are finally home! It¡¯s been a busy day. You¡¯re all exhausted, right? Come. I¡¯ve prepared a huge spread of your favorite dishes! Hurry up and wash your hands beforeing to eat!¡± Cheyenne said indifferently, ¡°No thanks, we¡¯ve already had dinner outside.¡± While speaking, she brought Amelia upstairs. ¡°Huh? Why did you eat outside? The food served in restaurants isn¡¯t as hygienic and delicious as the food I make,¡± Karen hurriedly eximed. Unfortunately, Cheyenne didn¡¯t pay any attention to her and went straight into her room to help Amelia take a shower and change into a fresh set of clothes. Soon, Charlotte returned. Karen hurriedly called out to her. ¡°Charlotte, you¡¯re back from work? Come have dinner. I¡¯ve already whipped up a huge spread of dishes. We¡¯re waiting for you!¡± Charlotte nced at Karen coldly. ¡°How can an unfilial daughter like me be fit to eat the food you cook? Go ahead yourself.¡± After saying this, she also went straight to her room. Seeing that her two daughters had ignored her, Karen was overwhelmed with fury and so angry that she gnashed her teeth. Normally, Cheyenne and Charlotte would never dare to treat her with such a hostile attitude. And if they did, she would just tell them to take it or leave it! But what she was most worried about now was that they would stop eating the food she cooked and stop giving her money. Despite being infuriated, she had no choice but to bear with it. Karen stood alone in front of the table covered with dishes, hanging her head low, looking extremely lonely. Lucas sighed in his heart. He walked over and said with a smile, ¡°Karen, your culinary skills are just so wonderful that I could smell the aroma from outside. Have you eaten yet? Let me apany you to eat dinner.¡± Lucas was just about to get some utensils. But to his surprise, Karen immediately raised her head and hollered with a look of menace and annoyance, ¡°All you do is eat! Are you the embodiment of Gluttony? I didn¡¯t cook this food for you! I¡¯d rather feed it to dogs than let you have any, you good-for-nothing! Get lost!¡± After saying this, Karen dumped all the food into the rubbish bin right in front of Lucas. Lucas was speechless. Before returning home, Lucas had already had dinner with Cheyenne and Amelia at a restaurant. He offered to eat with Karen only because he took pity on her for the consequences she had to suffer for her actions. He also decided to give her an out on ount that she was his mother-inw. Besides, he also wanted to ease the strain on their rtionship. However, he never expected her to respond in such a hostile manner, as if he was really asking her for food. Although Lucas had long known what kind of a person Karen was, she never failed to lower the bottom line in his heart. Forget it. There¡¯s no need to sympathize with someone like her. Lucas turned around and headed upstairs. ¡ª¡ª Lights were on, and the night had just begun. The nightlife at entertainment joints was the liveliest. While driving, Aston said to Scarlet impatiently, ¡°Why did you ask me out? How are you managing the task I gave you? Don¡¯t me me for not reminding you. If you can¡¯t do what I want you to, get lost before it¡¯s toote.¡± Scarlet clenched her teeth with some grievances in her eyes. But when she thought about the life she would enjoy after marrying a wealthy man in the future, she felt that the mistreatment was nothingpared to it. Scarlet looked at Aston and smiled in a bid to please him. ¡°Aston, don¡¯t worry. I asked you out today precisely because of what you want. You said you would marry me if I could get either Cheyenne or Charlotte Carter to sleep with you. Does it still count?¡± Aston narrowed his eyes. ¡°Of course. Why? Did you make progress?¡± Scarlet hurriedly nodded. ¡°Yes! As long as you act ording to n, I can guarantee that you¡¯ll get what you want tonight!¡± Chapter 113: Setting up a Scheme at the Poker Table

Chapter 113: Setting up a Scheme at the Poker Table

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Aston was excited. He hurriedly reached out to hold Scarlet in his arms, no longer as indifferent and cold as he was earlier. He eximed with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to your word!¡± Soon, under Scarlet¡¯s guidance, Aston parked in front of a high-end club called the Opulence. As soon as he entered, he saw a magnificent que with a golden border hung in the middle of the lobby, with the words ¡®Opulence Is Eternal¡¯ written on it. There were people leaving and entering the lobby, all flushed with excitement and moring incessantly. ¡°Today, I must show off my skills and win big!¡± The clubhouse was obviously extraordinary. Aston wasn¡¯t familiar with this ce because he didn¡¯t live in this city. But Scarlet knew her way around and soon brought him to a hidden elevator where she pressed the button for the fifth basement. As soon as the elevator door opened, he was greeted with a dazzling gilded door and two bellboys opening the door respectfully, revealing an extremely spacious, crowded, and boisterous hall. Only then did Aston realize that this was actually a crowded underground gambling den. This was naturally a prohibited practice. But this club was powerful enough to secretly set up such arge and extremely obscure den, making it difficult for investigations to take ce. Aston instantly seemed very interested. But of course, his main purpose tonight was not to gamble but for those two tempting beauties. ¡°Why did you bring me here? Those two women don¡¯t seem like people who would appear in such a ce.¡± Aston looked at Scarlet sullenly. ¡°Aston, don¡¯t be impatient. Come with me first.¡± Scarlet took Aston¡¯s hand and led him to a card table in a corner. There were several yers seated at the card table, and a bunch of other yers were surrounding them and watching the fun. ¡°Hahahaha! William Carter, you¡¯re out of luck today. It¡¯s not even nighttime yet, but you¡¯ve already lost all your money?¡± ¡°Can you still go on? If you have no more money, leave quickly. Stop hogging the seat and wasting my time! I want to y a few more games!¡± another poker yer chimed in in annoyance. There was a middle-aged man sitting opposite Aston with a pale face. He had lost all his chips. Facing the crowd¡¯s constant urging and the heavy loss of his chips, the middle-aged man was reluctant to give up. So he gritted his teeth, took out a diamond bracelet from his pocket, and ced it on the table. ¡°This is a fine bracelet that my wife spent close to eighty grand on. Now... I¡¯ll sell it for forty-five grand. Anyone who wants it can take it!¡± ¡°William Carter, you must have stolen this bracelet from your wife. You¡¯re going to be in trouble when you go home!¡± someone teased. ¡°Cut the crap. Forty-five thousand dors, does anyone want it?¡± William ignored these remarks and simply looked at the people around him with reddened eyes. The diamond bracelet was beautiful and obviously of good quality. However, this ce was a gambling den after all, not a jewelry store or an auction. The bracelet wouldn¡¯t fetch a high price. ¡°This bracelet seems mediocre, and you took it at thest minute too. Who knows if it¡¯s real or not. I¡¯ll give you fifteen hundred if you¡¯re selling it,¡± one of the yers said with disdain after taking a look at the bracelet. ¡°That¡¯s... too little. I bought it for close to eighty grand! Forget it. I¡¯ll sell it to you for thirty grand!¡± William said, gritting his teeth. ¡°Fifteen grand at most. Take it or leave it. If you don¡¯t want to sell, get lost with your bracelet,¡± the other person said impatiently. Someone at the side chimed in, ¡°It¡¯s just a lousy bracelet. You¡¯re going to suffer a huge loss by paying fifteen grand!¡± ¡°Exactly. This thing should fetch less than five grand.¡± ¡°Okay! You can have it.¡± William made up his mind and shoved the bracelet to him. The other person was quick to toss 15,000 dors worth of chips to him after epting the bracelet. At the side, Scarlet was staring wide-eyed at the beautiful bracelet. She sighed regretfully after the person stowed the bracelet in his pocket. ¡°Did you bring me here to stare at other people¡¯s things? We¡¯re not here because you want me to buy you that bracelet, right?¡± Aston questioned hostilely. Scarlet snapped back to her senses and shook her head hurriedly. She whispered to Aston, ¡°No, no, how could that be possible? Aston, look at the middle-aged man who sold the bracelet. His name is William Carter, Cheyenne and Charlotte Carter¡¯s father. I heard that he¡¯s been indulging in gamblingtely and has lost a lot of money. ¡°And Aston, did you realize that everyone at this table is obviously in cahoots? Only that fool William Carter still isn¡¯t aware. At this rate, he¡¯ll keep losing until he has nothing left.¡± Aston nodded. Outsiders tended to have a clearer view of the situation. He hadn¡¯t stood here for too long and could already tell that something was fishy. Yet William Carter, who was involved in the situation, waspletely unaware of it and was bent on recouping his losses. However, how would that be possible? Aston suddenly had an idea and immediately understood Charlotte¡¯s words. ¡°Are you... nning to have me help him after he loses?¡± ¡°Yes! After he loses it all, lend him some money. He will definitely continue to lose and then have no money to pay you back. At that point, he¡¯ll have to get money from his daughters. But as far as I know, Cheyenne doesn¡¯t have much money, so she definitely can¡¯t pay for him. Since she can¡¯t afford it, you¡¯ll have every right to take his daughter aspensation! By then, it will be up to you to sleep with her as often as you¡¯d like,¡± Scarlet said with a sinister smile. At the thought of that scene, Aston immediately became excited. But he was still rational enough and asked in doubt, ¡°What if she doesn¡¯t agree?¡± ¡°If she doesn¡¯t agree, she¡¯ll have to give you back the money immediately. But can she afford it? She¡¯ll have no choice but to agree! Besides, she¡¯s not a good person anyway. Who knows how many men she¡¯s slept with? Otherwise, how could she be the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation? Don¡¯t worry. She will definitely agree!¡± Scarlet guaranteed with certainty. Hearing this, Aston stopped worrying and narrowed his eyes to look at William, whose eyes were bloodshot. It was as if he could already see the scene of Cheyenne having no choice but to submit to him unwillingly. The corners of his mouth curled into a sinister smile. He was bent on getting what he wanted. Chapter 114: Unable to Afford

Chapter 114: Unable to Afford

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Soon, just as Scarlet expected, William quickly lost all his chips again, leaving the spot on the table in front of him empty. William widened his eyes in shock. He almost didn¡¯t dare to believe that he had lost the chips he obtained in exchange for Karen¡¯s bracelet in such a short time. He was indignant, but unfortunately, he no longer had anything else of value with him that he could sell. ¡°Can one of you lend me some money? I will definitely win and recoup my losses. I promise I¡¯ll return the money immediately after I win!¡± William suddenly turned his head and looked at his fellow poker yers at the table, as well as those surrounding the table. ¡°Who would be so foolish to lend you money? You promised to pay me forty-five hundred after borrowing three thousand from me two days ago, but you didn¡¯t return me anything!¡± ¡°Exactly! You still owe the Opulence seventy-six thousand dors. Don¡¯t think we¡¯ve forgotten. Who would dare lend you money?¡± the people around said with contempt. Gamblers often thought that they could win the next round and recoup their losses, but they often ended up losing even more terribly. And the more they lost, the more obsessed they became. But they were often unaware of it. Seeing that the people around him weren¡¯t willing to lend him any money to recoup his losses, William panicked, and his face became flushed. No amount of begging would help. Suddenly, someone said from behind him, ¡°I can lend you three hundred thousand dors!¡± His voice was like heavenly music to William¡¯s ears. He turned around and saw a dashing young scion standing behind him. It was the same man who offered to lend him 300,000 dors! Needless to say, this person was Aston Brooke. Like a famished person who finally saw food, William immediately leaped toward Aston. Aston smiled indifferently. ¡°However, you must pay me back, including interest, 380,000 dors tonight. Otherwise, you will have to put everything that you have or are rted to on the line.¡± ¡°Sure, no problem!¡± William agreed without even thinking. In his opinion, as long as he had 300,000 dors as capital, he would be able to win several times that amount. So 380,000 dors wouldn¡¯t be a problem for him at all! William didn¡¯t even think about how he would be able to pay back the 380,000 dors if he lost because he felt that it definitely wouldn¡¯t happen! He was certain that he would break out of his losing streak and start winning! Seeing William¡¯s bloodshot eyes, Aston stayed silent and immediately got William to sign an IOU for 380,000 dors. Then he took out a bank card from his wallet and handed it to Scarlet to have her exchange for 300,000 dors worth of chips. When William saw the pile of chips in front of him, his fingers trembled with excitement. After gambling for such a long time in this clubhouse, it was his first time touching so many chips. He reckoned that he would definitely win! William¡¯s eyes were red as he shouted, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s continue! It¡¯s my turn to recoup my losses next!¡± With so many chips in hand, William gained confidence and started bettingrger stakes than before while the crowd egged him on. It didn¡¯t take long for the chips in front of William to get fewer and fewer. In less than an hour, he lost all 300,000 dors worth of chips! Aston looked at the money he had lent and lost, feeling a peculiar sense of joy. William¡¯s face paled. Seeing that the chips in front of him had once again been pushed to others, his heart was almost going to explode, and his eyes were bloodshot. He abruptly turned to look at Aston. ¡°Hey, if you lend me another three hundred thousand, no, two hundred thousand, I will definitely win back all the money! I will return you every single cent that I promised to return!¡± William simply pinned all his hopes on Aston. But this time, Aston shook his head. ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve already lent you three hundred thousand, and you¡¯ve lost everything. But you still have the cheek to ask me to lend you more money. What do you have that you can return to me? We¡¯re not rted to each other, and I was already kind enough to lend you so much money. Everyone, don¡¯t you agree?¡± The people around them immediately agreed. ¡°Yeah, this young man has nothing to do with you. He was already kind and generous enough to lend you so much money in one go! William Carter, don¡¯t be ungrateful!¡± William was anxious and overwrought. When he suddenly saw Scarlet beside Aston, he hurriedly pointed at her. ¡°She¡¯s my niece! That makes us rtives, right? Lend me another two hundred thousand, and I definitely won¡¯t go back on my word!¡± Scarlet had been standing beside Aston for a long time, and she was also the one who exchanged the chips for William just now. But William had been staring at the chips and only noticed her now. Aston feigned looking surprised and looked at Scarlet in shock. ¡°What? This man is actually your uncle?¡± Scarlet rolled her eyes at William. ¡°I don¡¯t have such an uncle who doesn¡¯t return the money he owes yet still has the cheek to borrow money from others. I don¡¯t know this person at all!¡± Willian suddenly became anxious and tried to pull Scarlet¡¯s arm. ¡°Scarlet, how can you say you don¡¯t know me? I¡¯m your uncle, William Carter! When you were a child, you often came to our ce to y!¡± Aston stopped William, no longer as cheerful as before. Instead, his face turned gloomy as he red at William. ¡°I took pity on you when I saw that you lost a lot of money. I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a person. You¡¯re even trying to lie and say that she¡¯s your rtive. In this case, pay me back the 380,000 dors that you owe me now!¡± As Aston spoke, he pped the IOU that William just signed onto the table in front of him. ¡°William Carter, you actually tried to falsely im that someone else is your rtive! She doesn¡¯t even know you. Besides, even if she does, you can¡¯t just write off your debt merely because she¡¯s your rtive.¡± ¡°Exactly! Hurry up and return the money! 380,000 dors isn¡¯t a small amount!¡± ¡°Can he afford that? He¡¯s already lost all his money. I bet he doesn¡¯t even have a thousand dors!¡± ¡°Hahaha, since you can¡¯t afford it, don¡¯t take the loan! You were so bold when you bet so much money just now!¡± The surrounding poker yers were all chattering continuously, making William so anxious that he started sweating profusely. 380,000 dors was a massive amount of money that he obviously couldn¡¯t repay. If he had so much money, he wouldn¡¯t have to sneakily steal Karen¡¯s bracelet to sell! Chapter 115: Paying the Ransom ?

Chapter 115: Paying the Ransom ?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios William had no choice but to look at Aston pleadingly and beg, ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll definitely pay the money back! Please give me a few days¡¯ grace. Once I get money from my wife, I will repay you immediately, okay?¡± William remembered the chest of betrothal gifts that the Sawyers had sent them. Although the Sawyerster said that it was a mistake and that they weren¡¯t betrothal gifts but a thank-you gift for his loser son-inw, Karen had never returned it to Lucas but instead secretly hid it somewhere. When I go back, I have to force Karen to tell me where the money is hidden. Then I¡¯ll just siphon half of the cash to repay Aston Brooke. ¡°No, you must return it to me now. You¡¯ve already stated on the IOU that you have to return the money by midnight today!¡± Aston insisted vehemently. What a joke. I didn¡¯t lend him the money for charity. This was the moment that Aston had been waiting for. The fact that William couldn¡¯t return the money was the very reason he could make William trade his daughter to repay the debt so that he could get what he wanted. William was extremely anxious, but at this moment, a decent-looking man wearing the special uniform of the manager of the Opulence led several burly men over and said to William, ¡°William Carter, you still owe us four hundred and fifty grand. It¡¯s time to pay it back!¡± When William heard these words, he immediately yelled in exasperation and horror, ¡°What?! Since when did I owe you four hundred and fifty grand? I only borrowed seventy-six!¡± The decent-looking manager of the Opulence said, ¡°It¡¯s true that you borrowed seventy-six thousand dors at first, but the interest rate is stated on the IOU. If you deny and refuse to pay the money, don¡¯t think of leaving the club alive!¡± The club manager waved his hand, and a burly man stood out immediately and kicked William in the thigh. William screamed as he immediately copsed to the ground. He clutched his thigh and wailed hysterically. The people around him took a few steps back, but there was no fear on their faces. Instead, they all looked as though they were used to seeing people like this and gloating. In this gambling den, it wasmon practice for people to be beaten up for failing to pay their massive debts. Watching this scene from the side, Aston frowned. These people suddenlying out to collect their debt was probably going to disrupt his n. William was now utterly horrified. When he borrowed money previously, he knew that the interest rate was very high. But he thought that he would soon be able to repay it, so he hadn¡¯t taken it seriously. However, he was now terrified because debt collectors came. However, he would never be able to repay 450,000 dors! William kneeled on the ground and hugged the club manager¡¯s thigh. ¡°Sir, please just give me a few more days. I promise I¡¯ll go to my mother-inw immediately after I get home and repay you as soon as I get the money!¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking for a few days¡¯ grace? Do you take us for a charity?¡± The club manager lifted his foot and kicked William with all his might. Although he looked civilized, he was actually extremely ruthless. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have be the manager of this club. He bent down, grabbed William¡¯s hair, and said with a menacing expression, ¡°If you don¡¯t pay the money today, I¡¯ll chop both your hands off. If you don¡¯t pay tomorrow, your feet will be gone too. Do you understand?¡± William was so frightened that he shuddered incessantly and almost peed his pants! However, he also knew that this was a rare opportunity. He nodded frantically. ¡°Yes! Yes! I¡¯ll definitely pay you back today! I promise! I¡¯ll call my daughter right now and get her to bring the money!¡± At this moment, Cheyenne was teaching Amelia to draw at home while Lucas watched the both of them with a tender gaze and a smile on his lips. Cheyenne¡¯s phone began ringing, breaking the silence in the room. When she saw that the caller was her father, she was a bit surprised. As soon as she answered, she heard his horrified and impatient voice. ¡°Cheyenne! Hurry and bring money here to save me! Or else, I¡¯m going to get my hands and feet chopped off!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face changed drastically, and she stood up abruptly. The first thought in her mind was that her father had been kidnapped! Cheyenne hurriedly asked, ¡°Dad, where are you? What¡¯s going on?¡± William¡¯s phone was in the hands of another person, and an unfamiliar voice sounded from the other end. ¡°You¡¯re William Carter¡¯s daughter, right? You have an hour to prepare. If you don¡¯te with the money in an hour, his hands and feet will be severed. Don¡¯t me me then!¡± Then the man hung up before Cheyenne could even say anything. Holding the phone, Cheyenne froze on the spot, her face paling and her body turning cold. Seeing that Cheyenne didn¡¯t seem well, Lucas hurriedly held her shoulders and asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Cheyenne held onto Lucas¡¯s wrist as if she had found a pir of support. Her eyes turned red, and she was on the verge of tears. ¡°Lucas, my father is in trouble! That person just said that my father owes the Opulence club a few hundred thousand. If we don¡¯t return the money in an hour, they will... chop off his...¡± Considering the fact that Amelia was still present and she was afraid of scaring her, Cheyenne gritted her teeth and fell silent. However, Lucas immediately figured out what she meant. Such clubs were entertainment joints in name, but in fact, they were more like sordid ces. If they said that they were going to chop off someone¡¯s limbs or kill them, they would definitely do it. ¡°But how can my father suddenly owe so much money? He just goes out to drink and y poker. How can he owe so much money? Lucas, do you think my father got kidnapped?¡± Cheyenne asked anxiously and distractedly. Lucas patted Cheyenne¡¯s back tofort her and said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since they¡¯re asking you to bring money to the club to get him out, it shouldn¡¯t be an abduction.¡± Actually, Lucas had already made some guesses. Recently, William had been going out early and returning homete in a drunken stupor every day. Sometimes, he wouldn¡¯te home at all. Something must have happened outside. He didn¡¯t know if William had been lured there or gone there out of his own ord. But in any case, the debt definitely wasn¡¯t simple. ¡°Um, my father...¡± Cheyenne was extremely anxious. Lucasforted her. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Stay at home with Amelia. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Chapter 116: Give Me an Explanation

Chapter 116: Give Me an Exnation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing what Lucas said, Cheyenne immediately said anxiously, ¡°No, what if you go alone and encounter danger too?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll definitely bring your father home in one piece. Trust me.¡± Lucas was incredibly confident, and Cheyenne was much more relieved when she thought about the unknown power that he had. However, she still gritted her teeth and said worriedly, ¡°You still have to be careful.¡± ¡°Okay, don¡¯t worry.¡± Lucas nodded and then turned around to leave. Cheyenne watched his tall figure gradually vanish below the stairs with inexplicable emotions. At some point, she had somehow begun getting a sense of security from Lucas, as he would be the first person she thought of whenever she was in danger. After hearing that her father had suddenly fallen into such a terrifying situation just now, she was scared out of her wits. But Lucas¡¯s words put her mind at ease. All her fear and anxiety vanished after hearing himfort and reassure her. It was as though as long as Lucas was here, someone would apany her to deal with any problems. ¡°Mom, where did Dad go? Did something happen to Grandpa?¡± Amelia looked up. Cheyenne wiped away her tears and hugged her daughter. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Amelia. Don¡¯t worry. Daddy is a hero, and he¡¯ll definitely bring Grandpa home.¡± ¡°Yeah! Daddy is really a hero!¡± Amelia hugged Cheyenne, and her beautiful eyes were full of pride and faith in Lucas. Soon, a ck Jaguar shuttled through the traffic in the city and pulled over at the entrance of the Opulence. Lucas got out. On the surface, the Opulence seemed to be just an ordinary entertainment joint. But Lucas already knew that this was just its facade. He didn¡¯t bother wasting any time. After entering the lobby, he said to a waiter, ¡°I¡¯m here to collect someone. Please go and inform them.¡± The waiter was no stranger to this process. There were no changes in his expression as he asked, ¡°Who are you paying ransom for?¡± ¡°William Carter.¡± After rying the message through the inte, the waiter said to Lucas, ¡°Okay, Sir. Pleasee with me.¡± The waiter led Lucas to a hidden door, which was obscure and inconspicuous. If there were no ushers, it would be difficult for anyone to discover it. The walls and decorations here were all full of hidden contraptions. The waiter directly pressed the elevator button to go to the fifth basement. Before long, the elevator door opened, and a golden door appeared in front of Lucas. When he pushed open the door, he saw a noisy and boisterous scene inside the spacious hall with various poker tables surrounded by many people. Their eyes were all bloodshot. Lucas had long guessed that William had been brought to a gambling den by someone and thus ended up owing such arge amount of money in such a short period of time. Everything happening before him was just a confirmation of Lucas¡¯s guess. The waiter led Lucas directly to the poker table in the innermost area. There were people around the poker table and someone kneeling on the ground with a bruised nose, not daring to move an inch at all. He was none other than William Carter! Lucas¡¯s eyes turned icy-cold as he walked forward to hold William¡¯s shoulders and help him up. ¡°Who is this kid?¡± The club manager, Joe Daniels, frowned in displeasure while looking at Lucas. The burly men had hostile gazes in their eyes, and with a singlemand of Daniels, they would immediately rush forward to take Lucas down. The waiter who brought Lucas in hurriedly bent down and said, ¡°Mr. Daniels, he came to pay William Carter¡¯s ransom.¡± Daniels sized Lucas up. When he saw the calm expression on his face and his not-so-muscr body, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re pretty bold.¡± When Scarlet saw Lucas, she rolled her eyes hard and gibed, ¡°This good-for-nothing is surprisingly here. It seems that Cheyenne won¡¯te.¡± Aston had a gloomy expression as he red at Scarlet. ¡°Is this what you promised me?¡± Scarlet felt extremely aggrieved. ¡°Aston, you can¡¯t me me for this. I didn¡¯t expect the club to suddenly force William Carter to repay the money today and ruin our ns.¡± Aston snorted coldly and remained silent. He would have never expected such an urgent matter to crop up, let alone Scarlet. When William saw Lucas, he immediately grabbed his hand as if he had found a straw to clutch onto. ¡°You¡¯re finally here! Lucas, you brought the money, right? Hurry up and pay them! Or else they¡¯ll chop off my hands and feet!¡± He was really frightened just now, afraid that Cheyenne couldn¡¯t convince Karen to give her the money. He was also terrified that the people of the clubhouse would get impatient and really chop his hands off. They had beaten him up and made him kneel on the ground, so he did as he was toldpliantly, not daring to breathe at all. Now, Lucas finally appeared! Daniels, who looked quite decent and civilized, didn¡¯t bother to say any nonsense. He simply crossed one leg over the other and said slowly, ¡°The total you have to pay is 830,000 dors. Once you pay, you can take him away. Otherwise, you two will have to stay here. Don¡¯t me us for being unkind after you lose your hands and feet.¡± Lucas nced at Daniels. ¡°I¡¯ve naturally already prepared the money. However, your people hit my father-inw and made him kneel here for such a long time. Shouldn¡¯t you be giving me an exnation too?¡± Hearing Lucas¡¯s words, the people around him froze for a moment before bursting intoughter. Looking at Lucas as if he had just heard a joke, Daniels said with derision, ¡°Exnation? What do you want me to exin? Come on, let¡¯s hear your family background and see if you¡¯re qualified to ask for an exnation!¡± Scarlet burst intoughter. ¡°Mr. Daniels, don¡¯t be fooled by this good-for-nothing. He¡¯s just a penniless orphan. What family background can he have?¡± Before Scarlet finishedughing, she suddenly felt a piercingly cold and frightening gazend on her. She shivered, stoppedughing, and subconsciously hid behind Aston. How can this loser Lucas have such a terrifying gaze?! Chapter 118: Ocean of Money

Chapter 118: Ocean of Money

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jordan sneered. He didn¡¯t take these burly men in front of him seriously at all and was still holding William¡¯s cor in one hand and standing still on the spot. He suddenly put his right leg forward and swept it, immediately kicking the six burly men in front of him far, far away. They then crashed on the ground after smashing through numerous poker tables. Daniels¡¯s pupils constricted. He couldn¡¯t control himself any longer as he looked at everything in front of him in shock. If Jordan had only sent one person flying away with a single kick, Daniels would find it reasonable, as that could be done easily by a strong person. However, sending six six-foot-tall men flying with one kick and rendering them immobile was something beyond the abilities of an ordinary person! Some of the henchmen who heard themotion and hurried over were sent flying before they could even step close to Jordan. Jordan looked as though he was taking a leisurely stroll, ignoring all the henchmen while walking along the way and dragging William, who seemed to be on the verge of peeing himself, to the elevator. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ll take this... person back with me.¡± Before leaving, Jordan didn¡¯t forget to say goodbye to Lucas, and he almost called William a fool. Lucas nodded indifferently. When Jordan vanished in the elevator with William, Daniels and the surrounding crowd finally recovered from their shock Daniels looked at Lucas with scruples and inquisitiveness. ¡°Who are you?¡± The young man with impressivebat skills is clearly this Lucas¡¯s subordinate. He followed his instructions without any questions. He was more like Lucas¡¯s underling. If an underling was already this terrifying, how frightening would Lucas be? Lucas smiled indifferently. ¡°Didn¡¯t they already tell you? I¡¯m just a live-in son-inw.¡± Lucas¡¯s indifference made Daniels feel even more wary of him. ¡°Hey... your father-inw borrowed money from us and hasn¡¯t repaid it after more than ten days, but we only gave him a beating. That¡¯s already showing him enough mercy. As long as you repay the money he owes with interest, I won¡¯t hold it against you for injuring our men. How does that sound?¡± Daniels¡¯s words shocked everyone present. The young man beside Lucas just now had injured more than ten burly henchmen of the Opulence and even caused a huge ruckus. Yet Daniels was willing to let go of it just like that. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll talk things out one by one. I¡¯ll pay you back what he owes,¡± Lucas said sneeringly. Daniels could tell what Lucas was driving at. The money William owed would naturally be paid back, and likewise, Daniels would also have to give Lucas the exnation he wanted. At the thought of this, Daniels couldn¡¯t help but frown. Seems like this punk isn¡¯t going to stop here! Aston suddenly said, ¡°Your father-inw still owes me 380,000 dors. Don¡¯t forget.¡± Lucas nced at Aston. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll pay you every single cent.¡± Although he did not know why Aston Brooke and Scarlet Wright appeared here, how they even became William¡¯s debtor, and what their role was in the incident today, he knew clearly who to hold ountable and who to settle scores with. Suddenly, the golden door swung open again, and a tall, gigantic, and burly man over two meters tall entered. Many inhaled sharply and took a few steps back because the tall man was not to be trifled with. If they were to provoke him, he could easily punch them dead! With a solemn expression, Daniels looked at the maning. He couldn¡¯t recognize him, but he hoped that he wasn¡¯t here to create trouble... Otherwise, Daniels wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it alone. To his surprise, after the burly man entered, he walked directly toward Lucas, bowed, said respectfully in front of everyone, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve already prepared the money ording to your instructions.¡± Daniels¡¯s pupils constricted again. Is this tall and burly man Lucas Gray¡¯s underling too? Lucas nodded and looked at Daniels again. ¡°Have you thought about what exnation you¡¯re going to give me?¡± Daniels gritted his teeth. ¡°Let¡¯spromise and give each other a way out instead of making things hard for each other. We¡¯re not afraid of you. If things get out of hand, you¡¯ll be at a disadvantage too! Since you¡¯ve already brought the money, hurry up and pay it back!¡± Lucas understood what he meant and nodded at Wade. ¡°Bring the money.¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Wade acknowledged and grabbed his phone to make a call. After Daniels heaved a sigh of relief and thought that Lucas had yielded, he suddenly heard a dull thuding from above him, and then the entire floor started shaking violently. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Oh my god! Is it an earthquake?¡± ¡°Damn! Let¡¯s hurry upstairs! If there¡¯s really an earthquake, we¡¯re going to be buried alive!¡± ¡°Hurry up and get out of the way! Let me go up first!¡± All of a sudden, chaos broke out in the hall, and many people were fleeing to go upstairs. Some even took advantage of the chaos and shoved some chips into their arms. Daniels was stunned as well, but he dared not force all these people in the hall to stay in ce. After all, those who were here to y were all big shots, and if they were trapped in the basement, he wouldn¡¯t be able to ount for it. Daniels hollered to get a few people to hurry up and check on the situation while having people escort these guests from the safety stairs quickly back to the lobby on the first floor. However, when these people returned to the first floor and saw the lobby, everyone inhaled and widened their eyes in shock. There was a truck in the middle of the spacious and luxurious lobby, blocking the entire exit. The roll-up door of the truck opened, and arge pile of countless coins began to pour out from the truck. The entire lobby turned into an ocean of glittering coins! Chapter 123: Pestering

Chapter 123: Pestering

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne stroked the loose strands of hair on Amelia¡¯s forehead and said seriously, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it for a long time now. I really don¡¯t want Amelia to continue living in such a rowdy environment where she develops negative emotions every day. Amelia is so scared and frightened all the time, and I think it¡¯ll greatly affect her growth and character. I want her to live a happy life full of bliss andughter.¡± Upon hearing what Cheyenne said, Lucas was immediately overjoyed. He had had these thoughts previously too, but he was worried that Cheyenne might not bear to leave her parents, so he had been holding himself back. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s take Amelia to mykeside vi tomorrow.¡± Cheyenne was about to nod, but she suddenly said, ¡°What about Charlotte? If we move out, she¡¯s going to be all alone here. She¡¯ll definitely be upset.¡± Lucas wanted to say that it would be better to let Charlotte move to thekeside vi together with them, but he thought about it and felt that it was inappropriate. Besides, given Charlotte¡¯s character, she would definitely not be willing to move in with them. Lucas thought about it and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t all of us move together? The vi is huge, and there are several wings. We can just live in separate wings. When they argue, we won¡¯t hear it either.¡± The floor area of thekeside vi was enormous, and there was only one vi in the entire Pearl Lake area. Actually, it was more like a manor with several buildings, gardens, pools, docks, and all sorts of amenities. Cheyenne shook her head. ¡°Even if we live separately in the same vi, my parents will still get in a tizzy during huge fights. I¡¯d like to think about it.¡± ¡°Sure. Let me know after you¡¯ve made up your mind,¡± Lucas said. He was well aware of Cheyenne¡¯s concerns, which were mainly regarding William and Karen. Cheyenne and Charlotte were really unlucky to have such parents. The next morning, Lucas sent Cheyenne to the Brilliance Corporation and then drove to the Stardust Corporation to handle some matters. Lucas just got out of his car outside the office when he heard a familiar and angry voice. ¡°I said I have to get to work. Stop wasting my time here!¡± It was Charlotte. Lucas looked over and saw a small group of people gathered at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation. Charlotte appeared extremely annoyed, and she wanted to head inside, but a young man of about 25 years old reached out to stop her. Lucas narrowed his eyes. He knew who this man was. It was Den Adams, the scumbag whom Charlotte once carried a torch for in college and the husband of Aston Brooke¡¯s sister. At this moment, Den was obviously pestering Charlotte. ¡°Charlotte, you used to like me so much. I believe your feelings for me wouldn¡¯t fade so soon. You must still harbor feelings for me now, don¡¯t you? In that case, why can¡¯t we start over afresh?¡± Den said, looking like a devoted man. Charlotte had a look of disgust. ¡°Den Adams, did you forget that you got married a long time ago? How dare a married man like you talk about starting over afresh with someone else? You¡¯re so shameless! You have no shame, but I do! Besides, I was blind to have had a crush on you in college. What makes you think I¡¯m still fond of you?¡± Den insisted like a devoted lover. ¡°Charlotte, I know you¡¯re only saying those things out of pique. You obviously still like me. The gaze in your eyes when we metst time can¡¯t fool me! Don¡¯t worry. Just give me some more time. I will divorce that woman and marry you! This time, I will never let you down, and I promise I¡¯ll treat you well! Please say yes!¡± While speaking, Den reached out to grab Charlotte¡¯s hand. ¡°Show me some respect!¡± Charlotte screamed furiously and took a few steps back to dodge. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I stopped having feelings for you long ago and that I have no intention to marry you at all! If you keep pestering me like this, I¡¯m going to call security!¡± Charlotte was so enraged by Den¡¯s shamelessness that her face was flushed. ¡°No, I know you¡¯re angry that I didn¡¯t choose you back then. Don¡¯t worry. I promise that you¡¯re the only one I will marry in this lifetime. You are mine!¡± Den reached out to grab Charlotte again. Charlotte was incensed, but to a lunatic like Den, nothing she said would help. She wanted to leave, but he kept stopping her. The people gathered around them were all the office staff, and they thought it was just a young couple¡¯s fight. So, apart from pointing fingers and gossiping, no one went forward to intervene. Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of Charlotte and shielded her from Den. ¡°Get lost! If you pester her again, I won¡¯t be polite!¡± Lucas sneered. After being stopped, Den shouted in displeasure, ¡°Don¡¯t be so nosy!¡± But he soon realized that the person who stopped in front of him was actually Lucas! As soon as Charlotte heard Lucas¡¯s voice, she felt that she had found a savior and hurriedly tugged the hem of his clothes. She said to Den, ¡°Did you hear that? My boyfriend told you to get lost! Otherwise, he¡¯ll teach you a lesson!¡± Den red daggers at Lucas. ¡°Like I said, you¡¯re just trying to spite me on purpose. I checked long ago. Lucas Gray isn¡¯t your boyfriend but your sister¡¯s good-for-nothing loser husband.¡± ¡°You!¡± Charlotte was about to argue with him again when she heard Den calling Lucas a good-for-nothing. Lucas raised his hand to stop Charlotte. ¡°Go to work. Let me handle this.¡± Seeing that it was indeed gettingte, Charlotte could no longer bother with this. She simply nodded to Lucas and entered the Stardust Corporation office building. Den wanted to chase after her, but Lucas stopped him. He had no choice but to watch Charlotte vanish into the building. ¡°Damn it! Lucas Gray, I won¡¯t spare you since you¡¯ve ruined my ns!¡± Den glowered at Lucas. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re already married, but you¡¯re here to pester another woman. I wonder what¡¯s going to happen to you when your wife and the Brookes find out about this,¡± Lucas said coldly. Den panicked and immediately snapped at Lucas, ¡°You loser, how dare you threaten me?!¡± Chapter 125: It’s Actually Him

Chapter 125: It¡¯s Actually Him

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, Lucas had already entered the Stardust Corporation office and was sitting in the CEO¡¯s office on the top floor with Flynn Davis standing beside him cautiously. ¡°Mr. Gray, do you have any instructions for me today?¡± Davis asked respectfully. Although Lucas was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, he left it to Davis to handle most of thepany affairs and rarely showed up at the office unless it was for some major matters. Lucas said with a sullen expression, ¡°I remember telling you before that I don¡¯t want to see any business belonging to the Brooke family in Orange County. However, now I¡¯ve heard that they¡¯ve found some partners to gain a foothold in the county.¡± As soon as he heard Lucas questioning about this matter, Davis¡¯s heart sank, and a helpless and bitter smile appeared on his face. ¡°Mr. Gray, I gave instructions for this matter, but the Stardust Corporation is not the only corporation in Orange County. Although everyone is showing us respect on ount of the Huttons... the Stardust Corporation is not deep-rooted in Orange County, and there are many things that we can¡¯t control even if we want to!¡± Lucas fell silent. Indeed, just as Davis said, the reason that the families in Orange County were scrambling to cooperate with the Stardust Corporation and sucking up to them was not necessarily because of the power held by the Stardust Corporation. But because they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of cooperating with the Stardust Corporation to forge closer ties with the Huttons. After all, the Stardust Corporation had moved to Orange County not long ago. Its power alone was not enough to make everyone fearful. After the news of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s refusal of any cooperation with the Brookes spread, many businesses and enterprises declined to cooperate with the Brookes in order to show their support for the Stardust Corporation. However, there were countless businesses in Orange County, and there were definitely some that would agree to cooperate with the Brookes for the sake of the huge profits promised. In addition, the Stardust Corporation had just been returned to Lucas from the Huttons not long ago, and many of the projects that had been operating well were all taken back by the Huttons, leaving Lucas¡¯s Stardust Corporation much weaker than it was before. This was also the reason that many gradually began to be contemptuous toward it. ¡°It seems that we¡¯re still tooid back. We have to speed up in our progress and reach a point where no one can underestimate us,¡± Lucas said with great determination as a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. Moreover, it wouldn¡¯t only be in Orange County. One day, he would visit the Huttons in Washington DC and make sure they returned everything they owed him and his mother! Davis¡¯s heart was burning with zeal and fervor as he answered loudly, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± At this moment, an assistant knocked on the door and asked for some instructions outside the door. ¡°Mr. Davis, two people iming to be from the Brooke family in LA would like to see you regarding something important. Would you like to see them?¡± When Davis heard that it was the Brooke family of LA, he immediately frowned. ¡°No! Tell them to get lost immediately.¡± Lucas had just been upset because of the Brookes, yet they were now here. If Lucas were to misunderstand that he had something to do with the Brookes, he would be in trouble. But after hearing what they said, Lucas suddenly interjected, ¡°No, tell them toe up.¡± Soon, Den and Aston arrived at the top floor of the Stardust Corporation and were brought to the chairman¡¯s office. Aston was quite surprised. As far as he knew, the spokesman of the Stardust Corporation was the general manager, Flynn Davis. And no one knew the exact identity of the chairman except for a few insiders of thepany. He was extremely mysterious. The assistant brought us directly to the chairman¡¯s office. Does that mean we¡¯re going to meet the mysterious chairman? He wondered. All of a sudden, Aston felt extremely agitated and excited but also regretful and uneasy. Under normal circumstances, Aston would be overjoyed to meet the person with the highest authority in the Stardust Corporation and get closer to him. However, he was here today with Den to apologize to the big shot Den offended. At this moment, he actually ran into the chairman, making things awkward, and he reckoned that it would worsen his first impression of them. Who would have a good feeling about an outsider who offended their subordinate? At the thought of this, Aston glowered at Den and put the me on him. The assistant knocked gently on the door and said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, Mr. Davis, the Brookes are here.¡± ¡°Let them in,¡± Davis said calmly. The assistant pushed open the door and invited both Aston and Den in. As soon as they entered the chairman¡¯s office, Aston noticed the two people at the desk in front of him. One of them was a middle-aged man in a suit standing at the side. He was none other than Flynn Davis, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation, whom Aston had met once. The other man sitting on therge and spacious chair beside him looked extremely familiar. It was... Aston was astonished. He stared at Lucas for a good few seconds before recognizing who he was! He was incredibly shocked. Even though Aston had seen a lot of the world and had dealt with all sorts of people, giving him impablemunication skills, he was so shocked that he was almost disoriented. He gaped and stared at Lucas, at aplete loss for words. Aston wasn¡¯t a fool, and he had been raised as an elite of the Brooke family, so he was quite knowledgeable. Seeing Davis standing at the side while Lucas was sitting, he knew that the chairman was none other than Lucas! Lucas turned out to be the mysterious chairman of the Stardust Corporation, something Aston never expected! Thinking about how he had gotten into several conflicts with Lucas before and even tried to plot against Cheyenne, Aston felt a cold chill down his spine, and he broke out in cold sweat. As soon as Den saw Lucas sitting at the desk, he immediately reached out and pointed at him. ¡°Aston, I swear I only got into a minor conflict with this good-for-nothing just now. I didn¡¯t offend any big shot!¡± Smack! Aston pped Den hard again and snapped, ¡°Fool!¡± Chapter 127: Pledge Allegiance to Me

Chapter 127: Pledge Allegiance to Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No, don¡¯t kill me! If you kill me, you¡¯ll be breaking thew!¡± Den was beaten into a pulp by Aston, and it took him a long time to sober up slightly. He then heard Lucas saying that he wouldn¡¯t spare their lives, making him howl loudly. Lucas frowned with some annoyance in his eyes while Aston immediately kicked Den hard. ¡°Shut up! You disgraceful thing, get lost back to LA and reflect on yourself. You¡¯re not allowed to leave your home again!¡± As soon as Den heard this, he was relieved and hurriedly pushed the door open to scurry out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Gray. We will teach him a good lesson, and he won¡¯t appear in front of you or create trouble for you again in the future,¡± Aston hurriedly said, for fear that Lucas would be angry again. Lucas had never taken a small fry like Den seriously anyway. He simply said right away, ¡°It seems that you and your grandfather aren¡¯t fools, so I¡¯ll cut straight to the chase. I can help your family expand your business into Orange County and even bring you huge benefits that you can¡¯t imagine. However, I want your family to pledge allegiance in exchange.¡± Lucas¡¯s words were totally beyond Aston¡¯s expectations. Lucas Gray isn¡¯t nning to punish us and chase us out of Orange County but is instead offering to provide some benefits for us? Does this mean he wants to cooperate with our family? Aston was overjoyed. If he could cooperate with the Stardust Corporation, which was backed by the Huttons, it would undoubtedly bring enormous benefits to the Brookes! However, what does he mean by pledge allegiance? ¡°Mr. Gray, what do you mean by pledge allegiance?¡± Aston asked cautiously. If he could have the support of the Huttons because of the Stardust Corporation, that would be wonderful! Lucas chuckled. ¡°I mean that I want the Brookes to pledge allegiance to me.¡± Aston¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he looked at Lucas¡¯s indifferent expression. Afterward, Lucas said some things to him that made Aston look even more astounded. The ns that Lucas mentioned were just too brazen and insane! Moreover, Lucas¡¯s identity was a shock to him. Aston felt as though he was being struck by consecutive bolts out of the blue, making him dizzy and putting him at a loss for words. ¡°Okay. I know that this is something that you don¡¯t have a say in. You can ry my words to your grandfather and let hime to a decision. It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to pledge allegiance to me or be at odds with me.¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes and waved his hand, signaling that Aston could take his leave. Aston hurriedly left the Stardust Corporation office, still d in his clothes drenched in sweat. The things that Lucas said just now were too important. Although the choice seemed simple, it concerned the future fate of the Brookes! Since Aston was in no ce to make a decision, he immediately drove back to LA to break the news to his grandfather! After Aston left the chairman¡¯s office in a hurry, Davis couldn¡¯t help but ask worriedly, ¡°Mr. Gray, what if Aston Brooke goes to the Huttons and tells them about what you just told him... Wouldn¡¯t that put you in a disadvantageous position?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°No, they aren¡¯t that stupid. If the Brookes really snitch on us, that would mean that they choose to be at odds with me. The Huttons might not necessarily give them many benefits, but they would have to face my wrath. They wouldn¡¯t dare to take such a risk. ¡°Besides, even if they decide to snitch, what can the Huttons do to me?¡± Lucas said with a domineering aura. Although the Huttons were feared by many in DC, they were insignificant to Lucas. Davis soon recovered from the shock. Lucas was a member of the Hutton family in the first ce. And in fact, on the first day he returned to Orange County, Chad Kennedy, the head butler of the Huttons, had looked for Lucas and asked him to go back to DC and take over the Hutton empire. However, Lucas declined without hesitation. Therefore, Lucas did have the right to be disdainful toward the Huttons. Davis was unclear about Lucas¡¯s abilities, but he knew that Lucas definitely had the ability to fulfill his n! ¡°In a while, tell some enterprises to get connected to the Brookes and agree to cooperate with them. We¡¯ll consider it a little bit of goodwill I¡¯m giving them.¡± After giving some instructions, Lucas suddenly recalled something. ¡°Furthermore, Charlotte¡¯s character and aptitude are pretty good. Try to train her well as soon as possible and get her ready to take on an authoritative position.¡± Lucas was now short of staff, especially ones he could trust. Besides, Charlotte was Cheyenne¡¯s sister, so he definitely trusted her. He believed that she would be of great help to him as long as she was trained and groomed well. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Davis agreed with a nod. While Lucas was going downstairs to leave the office, he ran into Charlotte. ¡°Lucas, are you alright? I just saw that bastard Den Adams entering the office with Scarlet¡¯s boyfriend and going to the top floor to see the general manager. They didn¡¯t make things hard for you, did they?¡± Charlotte asked worriedly. Charlotte had seen how powerful Lucas was, and thus she wasn¡¯t worried that the scumbag would be able to do anything to him. But if others got involved in nitpicking on Lucas, it would be hard to say. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The man next to Adams just now actually happens to be his brother-inw. Adams got beaten up badly just now, and he won¡¯t dare to pester you again,¡± Lucas said smilingly without exining much. Feeling relieved, Charlotte eximed, ¡°Serves him right! He¡¯s already married, but he¡¯s still so shameless. He deserves to be beaten to death by his wife¡¯s family! ¡°But why are you here, Lucas?¡± Charlotte asked in puzzlement after rejoicing. ¡°I just happened toe over to talk to Mr. Davis for some matters,¡± Lucas said. ¡°You know the general manager?¡± Charlotte was even more surprised. Lucas said casually, ¡°Well, I got to know him some time ago, and we have some ties with each other. If you encounter any trouble in thepany or get bullied by anyone, just go to him. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony.¡± Charlotte immediately understood. Then she joked, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll throw my weight around in the future by using your name!¡± At this moment, her colleague came and said to Charlotte, ¡°So you¡¯re here. Mr. Davis is looking for you. He would like you to go to his office.¡± Startled, Charlotte pointed at her nose in disbelief. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Of course. Is there someone else named Charlotte Carter in ourpany? Hurry and go,¡± the colleague urged. Chapter 128: I Want to Rely on Myself

Chapter 128: I Want to Rely on Myself

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Charlotte suddenly became a little uneasy. She was just talking to Lucas about Flynn Davis, and momentster, she was asked to go to thetter¡¯s office to discuss something. She was just a new employee and didn¡¯t know what they could discuss. Lucas smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It won¡¯t be anything bad.¡± Thinking that Lucas just said he was acquainted with Davis, Charlotte felt less worried and headed to Davis¡¯s office upstairs. ¡°Mr. Davis, were you looking for me?¡± In fact, when facing Davis, Charlotte was still slightly unnatural because some time ago, she had rushed into his office on the first day she joined the Stardust Corporation and even scolded him for the sake of the Carters and Cheyenne. So whenever she saw Davis, she would feel embarrassed. ¡°Charlotte,e and have a seat.¡± Davis pointed at the couch opposite him politely. He even poured a cup of tea for her and ced the cup beside her hand. Charlotte immediately felt very surprised and ttered, and she quickly stood up to thank him. ¡°Charlotte, I asked you toe here today mainly because I saw your good performance in thepany. Hence, I would like to groom you by having you be my assistant and helping me manage the daily affairs of thepany,¡± Davis said without too many pleasantries. Charlotte was instantly shocked. To be Flynn Davis¡¯s assistant, that is, the assistant to the general manager, she would definitely enjoy huge authority that ordinary people couldn¡¯t have. In fact, it was rare for a newbie like Charlotte to be given such a high position. Charlotte was surprised. But after some thought, she quickly understood what was going on. ¡°Are you doing this in consideration of my brother-inw?¡± Lucas had just mentioned to Charlotte about his rtionship with Davis. And now, Davis actually said that he would have her be his assistant and train her. This was the only exnation that sounded reasonable. Davis was slightly surprised. ¡°Has he... told you everything?¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas just told me that you two are close friends who got to know each other in the past, so you¡¯d take care of me on his ount.¡± Davis almost thought that Lucas had already told her that he was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation. It seemed that he didn¡¯t reveal anything. He nearly exposed him just now. ¡°Ahem, that¡¯s right. I do have a close friendship with him, and he has given me a lot of help. Without him, I wouldn¡¯t be who I am now. Of course, I want to promote you to be my assistant not entirely because of my ties with him. You are quitepetent and have great potential.¡± Charlotte thought about it for a while before shaking her head slightly. ¡°Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Mr. Davis. I just joined thepany, and I¡¯m still a greenhorn. If I suddenly take on the position of assistant to the general manager, many people would have opinions, even if they don¡¯t say anything. I don¡¯t think I can do it myself either... Still, I have to thank you for your kindness.¡± Charlotte¡¯s polite refusal was quite a bit of a surprise to Davis. Most people would be overjoyed to hear about a sudden promotion, yet Charlotte actually considered seriously if she was reallypetent enough for the job. ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t have to worry too much. I don¡¯t have just one assistant. After youe, I will have someone teach you everything until you are familiar with the entire daily operations of thepany. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the opinions of others. This is my decision. If anyone dares to gossip, I will fire them immediately.¡± Davis persuaded as much as he could. After all, it was a task that Lucas had given him. Moreover, after some consideration, Davis thought that he could train an assistant if he wanted, and there was no need for her to worry about anyone criticizing her. After all, she would be his assistant, and she only needed to be responsible to him, regardless of other people¡¯s opinions. Charlotte shook her head profusely. ¡°Mr. Davis, I know you mean well, but I still want to get promoted and get what I want based on my own ability. Otherwise, I would feel uneasy. ¡°Besides, I can learn a lot by starting from a low level. If my ability bes good enough for me to be promoted one day, I will definitelye to you,¡± Charlotte said with a smile. Seeing how insistent she was, Davis couldn¡¯t force it any further. ¡°Okay then. Since you want to stay at the low levels to gain experience for now, I¡¯ll give some instructionster to let you get involved in more projects. That shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡± ¡°No problem, Mr. Davis! I guarantee that I willplete every task I¡¯m given!¡± Charlotte replied with a confident smile. ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Aston rushed back to the Brooke family in LA as quickly as he could. The first thing he did when he got home was to race to the room of Andrew Brooke, the head of the family. ¡°Why are you in such a hurry?¡± Andrew asked. Seeing how much of a hurry his grandson was in, he couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°Is there something wrong with the matters in Orange County? Did you fail to perform the task I gave you well?¡± Aston hurriedly shook his head. ¡°I followed your orders and apologized to the person Den Adams offended. However, there¡¯s another major matter that concerns the future development of our entire family!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Andrew had his interest piqued by Aston¡¯s words, and his face became solemn. ¡°Quickly tell me. What is it?¡± Aston immediately told Andrew in detail about Lucas¡¯s identity, as well as his ns and requests. Astonished, Andrew said, ¡°Lucas Gray is actually the chairman of the Stardust Corporation in Orange County and a descendant of the Hutton family in DC?¡± Aston nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. If he hadn¡¯t told me his identity with the general manager of the Stardust Corporation present as a witness, I wouldn¡¯t have believed it. Lucas Gray keeps a low profile in Orange County, and almost no one knows his true identity. They only think he¡¯s a live-in son-inw. His father-inw also always calls him a good-for-nothing. It¡¯s apparent that even his wife¡¯s family doesn¡¯t know his identity.¡± ¡°Yet he chose to tell you his identity, and he even told you about his ns without restraint. That just goes to show that this Lucas Gray is bold, and he isn¡¯t worried that we might leak his secrets,¡± Andrew said in a deep voice while stroking his beard. Aston hurriedly nodded. ¡°Yes, he doesn¡¯t seem scared that we might snitch on him at all. He even wants us to pledge allegiance to him. Grandpa, what are your thoughts on this?¡± Chapter 129: The Brookes’ Choices

Chapter 129: The Brookes¡¯ Choices

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Pledge allegiance?¡± Andrew scoffed. ¡°If he can represent the Huttons or join the family in the future and let us be bound to him, it would be a great opportunity for us. However, he only has onepany in Orange County now, and yet he wants to go against the Huttons. I bet he doesn¡¯t know any better. He wants us to pledge allegiance to him? Is he worthy?¡± Full of disdain, Andrew thought, He¡¯s just a greenhorn in his twenties, but he has such a massive appetite. He wants to take over the Brooke family? He ought to consider his own abilities before thinking about it! ¡°Grandpa, does that mean we¡¯re going to turn down cooperating with him?¡± Aston rubbed his hands. In fact, ever since Lucas raised that request, the Brookes had three choices. If they chose to agree, the Brookes would be subordinate to Lucas, and they would have to stand on the same side as him. Furthermore, they could also open up a vast market and expand their businesses into Orange County with his help. If he gained control over the Hutton family in the future, the Brookes would benefit too. If they refused, the Brookes would no longer have anything to do with Lucas in the future, and it would be even more difficult for them to expand their businesses to Orange County. They would have no choice but to look for another market. Of course, there was a third option. And that was to look for the Huttons in Washington DC and try to cozy up to them by disclosing Lucas¡¯s ns to them so that they could deal with him. However, this option would mean making enemies with Lucas, and they might not necessarily gain benefits from the Huttons. This option would really do more harm than good. Actually, Aston was inclined to reject the first option, as Lucas was about the same age as him. He was definitely unwilling to let the entire Brooke family pledge allegiance to Lucas and be subordinate to him. So what if he was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation? It was given to him by the Huttons. But to Aston¡¯s surprise, Andrew shook his head and said, ¡°No, you go and tell him that the Brooke family is willing to submit to him.¡± ¡°Grandpa?¡± Aston looked at Andrew in bewilderment. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that he isn¡¯t worthy?¡± With glistening eyes, Andrew said, ¡°We¡¯re just going to tell him that to let the Brookes develop well in Orange County and gain a firm foothold. When he goes against the Huttons in the future, we will sit it out and reap the spoils. If he wins, we will really submit to him. If he doesn¡¯t, we¡¯ll have nothing to do with him!¡± It suddenly dawned on Aston what his grandfather¡¯s n was. Indeed, elders are sharper and wiser! If we submit to Lucas Gray on the surface, the Brookes won¡¯t have anything to lose, and we can even profit greatly! He will only be our tool! If Lucas is really bold enough to go against the Huttons in the future, he will be courting death, and the Brookes will be able to retreat unscathed without any losses. If he wins by chance, we will have a bright future as his great helper! It was a perfect decision that would bring no harm to them! ¡°Grandpa, what a wonderful move! I take my hat off to you!¡± Aston said with heartfelt admiration. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ve lived for many more years than you have after all. Just take your time and learn from me.¡± Andrew smiled proudly while stroking his beard. Suddenly, Aston¡¯s phone rang. It was a call from the person in charge of his business in Orange County. ¡°What? Really? That¡¯s great! Okay, follow up closely and draft all the contracts to be signed with them. I¡¯ll sign them when I return!¡± With fervor, Aston hung up and turned to say to Andrew, ¡°Grandpa, good news! Our people in Orange County have just received invitations to cooperate with severalpanies! Previously, thesepanies all rejected us, but now they¡¯ve extended an invitation to cooperate with us. Seems like we¡¯re going to expand our businesses into Orange County soon!¡± After thinking about it, Andrew immediately understood the catch to it. ¡°It seems that Lucas Gray is quick to take action. He¡¯s expressing his sincerity and showing us what he¡¯s capable of!¡± It took Aston a long while to recover from his shock and realize that the contracts came about because of Lucas! Thepanies that had rejected the Brookes before had naturally done so because of Lucas¡¯s influence. And now that Lucas intended to take the Brookes under his wing and wanted to show goodwill to them, they would definitely offer to cooperate with them. Lucas Gray is indeed powerful! Seemingly interested, Andrew said, ¡°It seems that this kid is indeed a bit interesting. Since he¡¯s smart enough to know what to do, we shouldn¡¯t let his good intentions go in vain. Aston, go back to Orange County now and set up the Sr Corporation branch in Orange County. Invest five million dors and give Lucas Gray a portion of the shares. However, the Brookes must own 51% of the shares and possess the right to operate and make decisions, got it?¡± After thinking about it for a while, Aston understood Andrew¡¯s intentions. He smiled brightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grandpa. I will definitely make the most out of him!¡± ¡ª¡ª That afternoon, Lucas received a package of documents that Aston asked Davis to send him. It contained several contracts and equity transfer documents. It stated clearly that 49% of the shares of the Sr Corporation branch in Orange County would be transferred to Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, it seems that the Brookes are smart enough to know what to do. They¡¯ve given you nearly half of theirpany¡¯s shares. They seem to be sincere,¡± Davis said. ¡°Hehe, do you really think they¡¯re generous enough to give me such a big gift for no reason?¡± Lucas sneered and mmed the documents against the table. Davis was puzzled as he flipped through them before asking, ¡°Is there... anything wrong with the shares?¡± Lucas said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with them, but thispany is just a newly established shellpany. There¡¯s nothing valuable except the registered capital. The Brookes are merely trying to use us to secure a foothold in Orange County.¡± Davis finally realized that the Brookes seemed to be giving Lucas a huge present on the surface. But in reality, they were just trying to make use of the power of Lucas and the Stardust Corporation to bring more profits to them. ¡°That sly old fox Andrew Brooke must have been the one who came up with this idea! They made themselves look magnanimous on the surface but are out to reap all the benefits. It seems the Brookes aren¡¯t that honest.¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Since they¡¯ve already made their choice, they shouldn¡¯t me me for being unkind to the Brooke family in the future.¡± Chapter 130: Amelia Encounters a Mishap

Chapter 130: Amelia Encounters a Mishap

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas could tell clearly that the Brookes were only agreeing to submit to him on the surface, but in reality, they were just out to use his influence and power to strengthen themselves. In fact, it wasn¡¯t difficult to guess their mindset. They merely thought that Lucas¡¯s current ability was not enough for him topete with a big family like the Huttons. In their eyes, the Stardust Corporation was merely doing well in Orange County because of the prestige of the Huttons. Once Lucas chose to go against the Huttons in the future, he wouldn¡¯t have the slightest advantage or chance of winning at all. They felt that he was just being delusional by thinking that he could win against a family that was far stronger than him. Lucas¡¯s other identity could not be easily exposed, so there was no way he could use it as deterrence either. However, Lucas wasn¡¯t worried. He still had enough time to make both the Stardust Corporation and the Brilliance Corporation quickly expand into astonishing enterprises. By then, he would have greater chips. At five in the afternoon, Lucas went to the entrance of the Brilliance Corporation as usual to pick Cheyenne up after work. But at this moment, he received a text from Cheyenne. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m very busy today. I have to work overtime untilte at night. Please go and pick Amelia up first.¡± Lucas imagined the scene of Cheyenne being busy in the general manager¡¯s office attentively and couldn¡¯t help but shake his head helplessly. He tapped away on his phone to reply. ¡°Okay, got it. I¡¯ll send Amelia home and pick you up again at night. Take care of your health. Don¡¯t tire yourself out.¡± By the time Lucas drove to the kindergarten, it was the peak hour for parents to pick their children up after school. He looked at the entrance of the kindergarten for a while but didn¡¯t see Amelia, so he asked a teacher at the door, ¡°Hello, is Amelia still inside?¡± During this period of time, Lucas had been fetching Amelia home from the kindergarten every day, so the teacher knew who he was. Hearing his question, the teacher couldn¡¯t help but ask in bewilderment, ¡°Huh? Amelia¡¯s aunt came to pick her up ten minutes ago. Haven¡¯t you guys discussed it?¡± ¡°So her aunt came to pick her up today. I really didn¡¯t know. Sorry to trouble you!¡± Lucas turned around and walked back to his ck Jaguar. He was about to open the door to get in and go home, but he suddenly felt that something was amiss. Logically speaking, he and Cheyenne had been going to pick Amelia up every day, and he knew that Charlotte wouldn¡¯t pick her up without telling him. Besides, Cheyenne had texted him to tell him to pick Amelia up, so he reckoned that she wouldn¡¯t have told Charlotte to pick her up instead. At the thought of this, Lucas immediately picked up his phone and called Charlotte. ¡°Did you pick Amelia up at the kindergarten just now?¡± Charlotte was a little stunned. ¡°No, I¡¯m busy with some things in the office now, and I haven¡¯t gotten off work yet. Lucas, do you want me to go pick up Amelia? I¡¯ll be there as soon as I finish packing up.¡± On the other end, there was the sound of someone typing on the keyboard. Clearly, she was still in the office. Lucas¡¯s heart stopped for a moment. He felt as though he had fallen into an ice cer. An icy-cold aura abruptly emanated from his body, and there was also a terrifying glint in his eyes. ¡°Lucas?¡± Charlotte asked when she didn¡¯t hear him reply. Lucas took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and tried to calm himself down. Trying to sound as calm as possible, he said, ¡°Oh, since you¡¯re still busy, go ahead and continue with what you¡¯re doing. I¡¯ll go pick Amelia up.¡± Lucas turned around and took a big step toward the teacher just now. ¡°Miss Moore, did you just say that Amelia was picked up by her aunt? Are you sure it was her aunt?¡± Miss Moore thought about it. ¡°Yes, it was Amelia¡¯s aunt. Amelia even addressed her that way. But it wasn¡¯t Miss Charlotte Carter. I even verified with her, and she made a phone call right on the spot. Your wife indeed sent thatdy to pick Amelia up. That¡¯s why we let her take Amelia away.¡± Lucas¡¯s face got gloomier, and Miss Moore couldn¡¯t help but feel a little unsettled. ¡°Mr. Gray, is... is there something wrong?¡± Lucas clenched his jaw and asked, ¡°Does that woman have long, curly hair and some abrasions on her face? Is there a mole on her right eyebrow too?¡± Miss Moore nodded. ¡°Yes. She was wearing a mask at first, but she took it offter. The corners of her lips and her face were red and swollen, but she imed that it was because of a food allergy. But the mole on her eyebrow was rather striking, so I still remember it very clearly.¡± Lucas was instantly overwhelmed with fury as his face became enraged. The person who hade to take Amelia away was undoubtedly Scarlet Wright! Scarlet was extremely hostile and malicious toward him and Cheyenne. Previously, at the Opulence, she even got pped and abandoned by Aston Brooke because of Lucas. Since then, she hated Lucas to the core. She definitely had evil intentions for taking Amelia away from the kindergarten! At this point, even Miss Moore sensed that something was wrong. She hurriedly asked, ¡°Is... there something wrong with that woman¡¯s identity?¡± Lucas didn¡¯t have the time to exin anything to her. He turned around right away and strode toward his car. At the same time, he took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Go and find out where Scarlet Wright is right now! Deploy everyone at all costs!¡± Lucas was extremely furious, and he was full of a terrifying and murderous aura. It was the first time since he returned to Orange County that he wanted to get someone killed so badly! If something really happened to Amelia, he would definitely make Scarlet Wright¡¯s life a living hell! ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Scarlet had no idea about Lucas¡¯s fury. She was currently sitting in a private room of a bar and ncing at a young man in his thirties sultrily while leaning against him flirtatiously. ¡°Mr. Hale, you promised that you¡¯d help me take revenge! I almost got disfigured!¡± Scarlet¡¯s face was coated with a thickyer of foundation and concealer to hide the swelling of her face. When she thought of how she had been hit and abandoned mercilessly by Aston in the Opulence, resentment and anger filled her eyes. She hated Lucas tremendously! Furthermore, after being pped by Jordan, she even got pped and kicked by Aston. However, Scarlet dared not look for trouble with Jordan now and simply pinned all the me on Lucas! The young man next to Scarlet put his arm around her and groped her a few times. ¡°Scarlet, rest assured. Anyone who bullies my woman is insulting me too! I will definitely take revenge for you!¡± This man was Logan Hale, the owner of the Cocktail Bar who tried to drug Charlotte previously! Chapter 134: Vicious and Ruthless

Chapter 134: Vicious and Ruthless

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Logan¡¯s expression changed, and he suddenly sprang up before hollering in fury, ¡°Who has the audacity to cause trouble on my turf?!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, a kick sent the thick door of the private room flying toward the couch in the innermost part of the room. If not for a henchman beside Logan pulling him away, he would have been hit by the door. ¡°Who are you? How dare you cause trouble on my turf?!¡± Logan barked. A tall and long figure appeared at the doorway of the private room, where only the door frame remained. When Charlotte saw this familiar figure, warm tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt extremely sour, but she was also full of the joy of surviving this ordeal. Lucas ignored Logan and his henchmen. When he saw Charlotte crying miserably while d in only her undergarments, his pupils constricted, and he was overwhelmed with fury. Given Charlotte¡¯s character, it was obvious that she didn¡¯t go to the bar and end up in this state willingly. Scarlet Wright must have colluded with Logan Hale and threatened Charlotte! Lucas took off his jacket and draped it over Charlotte¡¯s body, wrapping it up and shielding it from the others in the room. Immediately afterward, he turned around and furiously looked at Logan, Scarlet, and the henchmen like he was looking at dead people. With an icy-cold gaze, he said, ¡°None of you can escape today!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was extremely sinister and terrifying, so much that even Logan was unconsciously frightened and took a step back. By the time he reacted and realized that he had actually been intimidated by Lucas, he couldn¡¯t help but be annoyed and shout, ¡°Damn it! You¡¯re really arrogant, huh? Who are you?¡± Scarlet hurriedly pointed at Lucas and said resentfully, ¡°Mr. Hale, this is the useless live-in son-inw of the Carters! He came to your ce to cause trouble and ruined your ns. Clearly, he doesn¡¯t have any respect for you! Don¡¯t let him off. You must make him kneel down in front of you and beg for mercy!¡± Only then did it dawn on Logan that the tall young man in front of him was Lucas Gray, his target today. However, Logan had an ominous premonition as Lucas was giving off a threatening and domineering aura. He didn¡¯t seem to be a useless good-for-nothing like his henchmen imed after investigation. ¡°So, you¡¯re Lucas Gray. You came just in time. I wanted to see you,¡± Logan said while narrowing his eyes. He was about to get someone to call out the fighters meant to deal with Lucas, but the scene before him suddenly turned blurry. The next thing he knew, a big hand as strong as an iron mp was strangling him by his neck! Logan¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted. Lucas¡¯s erged face was already in front of him and staring at him with an extremely terrifying gaze. Lucas said in a cold voice, ¡°Where is my daughter?¡± While speaking, Lucas tightened his grip, and Logan immediately felt as though his neck was about to be snapped. The excruciating pain and horror of death overwhelmed him, making him shudder. This person is way too terrifying! The henchmen surrounding them didn¡¯t see how exactly Lucas moved. They only felt a breeze blow past them before Lucas was already in front of Logan and choking thetter so hard that his eyes started rolling. ¡°Rascal, hurry up and let go of Mr. Hale!¡± a henchman hurriedly shouted sinisterly. At the same time, the henchmen surrounded Lucas. If Lucas really strangled Logan to death, they would all end up in a terrible state too! Lucas didn¡¯t even look at them and simply said coldly, ¡°Break their limbs!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The sounds of bones cracking rang out as Jordan immediately broke the arms of the two people closest to him. He then kicked them hard. His leg was like iron as it broke their bones and bent their knees into abnormal angles. The two men shrieked in pain and immediately copsed onto the ground. ¡°Ah! Ahhh! My arm... my leg!¡± The screams were almost ear-piercing. Jordan was unfazed as he shuttled back and forth within the private room like a phantom. Everywhere he passed, the sound of bones snapping and miserable shrieks filled the air. Soon, the five henchmen originally in the room and the eight people who rushed in behind them all had their limbs broken mercilessly andid on the ground while wailing miserably. If not for the fact that Lucas didn¡¯t want to kill anyone, he would have gotten rid of all the people who forced Charlotte to strip and even ogled her body! Logan stared at the scene in front of him, his eyes almost popping out. The powerful fighters he had spent a lot of money on were all wiped out by Lucas¡¯s underling just like that! Although they weren¡¯t dead, all their limbs were broken. Even if their bones could be fixed, they were crippled beyond repair! At this moment, Logan¡¯s heart was full of horror and exasperation. Damn it! Who the hell told me that Lucas Gray was only a wastrel live-in son-inw?! The fact that he was vicious enough to watch his subordinate injure so many people at once made him on par with all the mafia bosses Logan had ever met! Hiding in a corner, Scarlet was even more frightened by Jordan¡¯s clean, sharp, and ruthless moves, and her heart was pounding rapidly. Previously, in the Opulence, she had already received two ps from him. But what happened then was too trivialpared to the scene in front of her now! The fallen henchmen were all shrieking miserably, making Scarlet¡¯s eyelids twitch. Huddled up and hiding in the gap between the two couches, she wished she could just disappear from the room! She was really afraid that Jordan might suddenly rush to her and break her arms and legs in that brutal way! Logan¡¯s neck was still being choked by Lucas. He desperately reached out to break Lucas¡¯s steel-like grip but to no avail. The suffocating pain made his eyes roll back into his head and put him on the brink of passing out. Lucas casually flung Logan toward the middle of the room. With a loud bang, the exquisite and beautifully crafted ss coffee table, as well as the wine and fruit tes on it, instantly shattered under the impact of Logan¡¯s body. The broken shards flew all over. Clutching his neck, Logan coughed several times, desperately gasping for breath for a long time before finally recovering. Coughing violently, he barked, ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare you do this to me?! Aren¡¯t you afraid that I will immediately get someone to kill your daughter?¡± Logan raised his head menacingly and red at Lucas with a crazed look in his eyes! Chapter 137: Letting Him Off

Chapter 137: Letting Him Off

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Lucas Gray, I have to admit that you are indeed powerful, which makes it even more impossible for me to return your daughter to you! As I said just now, if I return your daughter, you will immediately attack. I won¡¯t return her to you. Even if you don¡¯t dare to kill me and decide to cripple me instead, how can I agree to that? Your daughter is my life-saving ace!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were brimming with anger, but he tried to contain it and said seriously, ¡°Just now, you mentioned that it was Scarlet Wright¡¯s idea to abduct my daughter and threaten Charlotte. In that case, there¡¯s no unresolvable grudge between us. As long as you let Amelia go, I promise I won¡¯t touch you at all!¡± ¡°Hahahaha! I don¡¯t believe you! At least, if I were in your shoes and possessed such great power, I¡¯d never let someone who dared to offend me like this off!¡± Logan guffawed without restraint. Lucas narrowed his eyes. ¡°Since you¡¯re aware of how powerful I am, aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll pay you back in your own coin by going to the Hales and abducting them to threaten you?¡± When Jordan heard this, he immediately stood at the door. He looked as though he would go and nab the Hales right away once Lucas gave the order. But to their surprise, Logan remained unfazed. He even tilted his head and chuckled. ¡°Go ahead and catch them. I¡¯m still a bachelor, and my mother died a long time ago anyway. As for the rest of the Hales, you can catch them and kill them as you wish. I won¡¯t bat an eyelid at all. In fact, if you really end up killing them, I¡¯d still have to thank you. Hahahaha!¡± Lucas frowned. He didn¡¯t expect Logan to be such a cold and heartless person who showed no concern for his family. Jordan couldn¡¯t help but sneer. ¡°No wonder you always behave like a beast. It turns out you really are one. You don¡¯t even care about your family who raised you! Lucas, I think you shouldn¡¯t waste your breath on talking to him anymore. Just break his legs. If he still refuses toe clean, torture him and chop off his fingers one by one. We¡¯ll see if he confesses then!¡± With some delirium in his eyes, Loganughed loudly. ¡°Haha, go ahead and try then! I dare to guarantee that what you will do to me, I will do to your daughter! I¡¯m an adult and can still bear with it, but I¡¯m afraid your delicate daughter will die the instant I chop her arms and legs off! Just you wait to collect her corpse!¡± ¡°You!¡± Jordan was enraged and wanted to p Logan a few times. However, as Logan said, Amelia was in his hands, so they indeed didn¡¯t dare to take the risk with Amelia¡¯s life. Lucas¡¯s face turned dark. ¡°What exactly do you want? You can¡¯t keep my daughter by your side forever, can you? You can hide her for one or two days, but can you do so forever?¡± Logan spat a mouthful of smoke with a smug and detestable expression on his face. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯ve naturally arranged a reliable person to take care of her. I won¡¯t let anything happen to her. When the dayes that I think I¡¯m safe enough, I¡¯ll let her go. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not going to hold someone else¡¯s daughter captive for the rest of my life. If she bes my wife one day, I¡¯d have to call you my father-inw! That¡¯d be a huge loss for me!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were instantly full of murderous intent. Amelia was merely a five-year-old child, and yet this beast actually had the cheek to say something like that! ¡°When you think you¡¯re safe? How can you confirm it?¡± Lucas asked coldly. ¡°I¡¯ll naturally have to wait until all your subordinates disperse and your underlings die!¡± Logan smiled arrogantly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will retaliate against you with all my might next and destroy you! As long as your daughter is still in my hands, you won¡¯t be able to retaliate against me. Once I reach my agenda, I will naturally release her. Of course, if you don¡¯t wish toply, you can forget about your daughter.¡± Logan tantly revealed his n to deal with Lucas because he was certain that Lucas loved his daughter dearly. Even if Lucas knew that he wanted to kill him, there was nothing he could do. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t say any more nonsense. In all, you can forget about taking your daughter home now!¡± Logan stood up arrogantly and walked toward the door of the private room. ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Jordan stopped Logan in his tracks. Logan wasn¡¯t annoyed. He simply nced at Lucas nonchntly with raised brows. ¡°What? You don¡¯t want to let me go? Do you want to fight me until we both perish? Don¡¯t forget. If I die, your daughter won¡¯t live either!¡± Lucas waved his hand at Jordan. Despite being full of reluctance, Jordan glowered at Logan before moving to the side to let him leave. ¡°Remember what you said today. Take good care of my daughter and don¡¯t let her suffer any mistreatment. If I find out that you¡¯ve mistreated and bullied her, I definitely won¡¯t let you off.¡± Lucas¡¯s words seemed harsh, but he was helplessly conceding to Logan¡¯s conditions. Logan was naturally extremely smug and chuckled. ¡°Of course! She¡¯s my life-saving trump card. Of course I¡¯d treat her well. After I¡¯vepletely trample you under my feet, I¡¯ll naturally let you two reunite. Hahahaha!¡± Loganughed loudly as he strode away with a triumphant smile on his face. Lucas and Jordan had never had to tolerate such defiance before. Utterly enraged by Logan¡¯s arrogance, Jordan snapped, ¡°Lucas, that scum is obviously using Amelia as a hostage to go against you. You can¡¯t trust his words at all!¡± Lucas let out a long sigh. ¡°What can I do? Amelia is in his hands, so I can¡¯t touch him. It¡¯s a Herculean task to find Amelia! We can only obey him for now. I hope he keeps his promise!¡± Jordan had an expression of great disbelief. He did not expect that Lucas, the captain of the Falcon Regiment who persevered through hardship and made incredible achievements in the state of Calico despite the harsh circumstances he was subjected to, would concede so easily under Logan¡¯s threat! At this moment, Jordan noticed Lucas shooting him a nce and then turning his head. He looked in the direction of Lucas¡¯s gaze and discovered that there was an inconspicuous ck button-like object on the wall. It was a listening device! Jordan immediately realized that Lucas had merely pretended to concede and deliberately said those words to Logan just now! Chapter 142: The Hales’ Banquet

Chapter 142: The Hales¡¯ Banquet

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lucas saw Cheyenne¡¯s face, he knew that she must have misunderstood something. But if he wanted to exin, he would inevitably have to expose the fact that Amelia had been abducted. Once he said that, Cheyenne would definitely be worried and scared. In the future, she might even be unable to sleep well because of how worried she was, so he didn¡¯t intend to tell her about it. While Lucas was feeling troubled, Karen suddenly appeared at the side and yelled at him, ¡°Great! You good-for-nothing, you¡¯re lucky that Cheyenne was willing to marry you! How dare you have the guts to get involved with some other woman called Grace out there! Lucas Gray, you¡¯re such scum! Since you have an affair, you should divorce Cheyenne and get out of this house!¡± Karen had been hoping that her daughter would divorce this loser Lucas and then marry a rich young man. Now that she heard that Lucas had been fooling around outside, she immediately wished that they would hurry up and get divorced. Charlotte looked at her mother, feeling utterly speechless. She knew what happened and was naturally aware of why Lucas had brought Amelia home sote. She knew that the Aunt Grace whom Amelia mentioned must be the person Logan Hale put in charge of taking care of Amelia. Although Charlotte didn¡¯t know how well Grace treated Amelia, she was certain that Lucas definitely didn¡¯t betray Cheyenne and had nothing to do with that woman! Seeing Karen cursing incessantly and wishing that she coulde in between them, Charlotte hurriedly spoke up to stop her. ¡°Mom, you don¡¯t know anything, so don¡¯t spout nonsense, okay?¡± Then Charlotte hurriedly said to Cheyenne, ¡°That Aunt Grace Amelia mentioned is actually a friend of mine. You had to work overtime today, and Lucas happened to be busy at that time too, so he asked me to go pick up Amelia. But something urgent cropped up for me, so I asked my friend to look after Amelia for a while. That¡¯s what happened. Cheyenne, don¡¯t get the wrong idea!¡± Without saying a single word, Cheyenne nced at Charlotte and then at Lucas apprehensively. Karenughed in a high-pitched tone. ¡°Charlotte, don¡¯t cover up for this good-for-nothing. Since when do you have a good friend called Grace? Why don¡¯t your sister and I know? You¡¯re still young. You don¡¯t know how nasty these men are! This good-for-nothing can fool you today and take Amelia to see that shameless woman, so who knows what else he can do next?!¡± Then Karen raised her hand and poked Amelia¡¯s head. ¡°And you, little one, you don¡¯t know any better. You start singing praises about her just because she gave you some sweets and yed with you. You¡¯ll know it when she bes your stepmother one day!¡± Her words made Amelia pout unhappily, and Cheyenne¡¯s face turned sullen as well. Amelia was as precious as Cheyenne¡¯s life, but Lucas took her to meet another woman who managed to get into Amelia¡¯s good books within just a few short hours. Amelia even sang praises about her. Clearly, that woman wasn¡¯t an ordinary person either. If... they really... At the thought of the possibility Karen just mentioned, Cheyenne felt as if her heart had been stabbed by a knife. Staring at Lucas, she said, ¡°You must give me a detailed exnation for what happened today. Don¡¯t think of finding a random excuse to fool me.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t expect Cheyenne to really suspect him after Karen fanned the mes. He couldn¡¯t help smiling bitterly. However, he couldn¡¯t reveal the truth now, and he didn¡¯t want to give a random excuse either. Although he was smart, he was clueless about what to say now. Seeing how speechless he was, Cheyenne humphed coldly, picked Amelia up in her arms, and turned around to leave. She headed upstairs without even turning back. Standing at the side, Charlotte panicked and hurriedly urged Lucas, ¡°Oh no, Cheyenne is angry! Hurry up and exin to her!¡± Lucas thought about it and was just about to go upstairs to exin things to Cheyenne, but his phone suddenly rang. It was a message from Jordan. He stopped in his tracks and shook his head at Charlotte. ¡°The matter hasn¡¯t been settled yet. I¡¯ll go handle it and exin to Cheyenne when I¡¯m back.¡± With that, Lucas turned around and left. The matter remaining unsettled was naturally referring to Logan Hale and his family. Jordan mentioned an important piece of information in his text. The baby of Connor Hale, Logan¡¯s older brother, had just been born, and the baby shower happened to be today. The entire Hale family was in high spirits and had sent out various invitations. The Hales were one of the four top families in Orange County, and they were on par with the Sawyers. Thus, the invitations sent by the Hales were extremely valuable, and various families were all scrambling to congratte them in a bid to get closer to the Hales. Flynn Davis had mentioned it to Lucas once before. But at that time, Logan had already tried to drug Charlotte, which made Lucas incredibly displeased with the Hales. So he naturally didn¡¯t consider epting the invitation to go to the Hales¡¯ celebration. But Lucas was now driving to the cluster of vis where the Hales resided. However, he wasn¡¯t going there to congratte them. At this moment, the Hale residence was decoratedvishly, and there was arge crowd, as well as numerous luxurious cars at the entrance. Although the baby shower began in the afternoon, the formal celebration banquet didn¡¯t start until evening. Logan had long disliked his elder brother, Connor Hale, who was very likely to clinch the position of the head of the family. He was disdainful toward Connor¡¯s baby shower and had been still loitering in his bar in the afternoon with Scarlet, which resulted in the matters earlier. The ck Jaguar pulled over in the parking lot in front of the Hale residence, and Lucas led Jordan out of the car. Looking at the lively scene in front of him, he smiled coldly. ¡°It just so happens that all the people of the Hale family are present today. How wonderful!¡± Chapter 143: Meeting the Watchdog

Chapter 143: Meeting the Watchdog

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas was about to step into the Hale residence when a hand suddenly stretched out in front of him to stop him. He looked over and saw that the person who stopped him was a young man of about 27 years old. His hair was greasy, and his face was powdery. There were even bruises on his face that the powder couldn¡¯t conceal. Moreover, he was clearly intoxicated. Lucas knew who this young man was. He was the first person he met on the first day he returned to Orange County. He was Seth Miller, the youngest son of the Millers who had been harboring designs on Cheyenne. He even went to her office to propose to her with flowers and a ring despite having been tantly rejected by her. He had pestered Cheyenne continuously on several asions. Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly, and there was a dangerous glint in them. He didn¡¯t have a good impression of Seth, a man who was coveting his wife. However, Seth didn¡¯t realize how dangerous Lucas was and instead stopped him and said proudly, ¡°I was just thinking that someone here looks out of ce. So it¡¯s really you, Lucas Gray! This is the Hales¡¯ baby shower, not an asion that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can attend! ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re just a live-in son-inw of the Carters, who are just nobodies. Oh, no, I remembered wrongly. Even the insignificant Carters have already expelled you from the family. What right do you have to be here? You garbage, you¡¯ve really dirtied the entrance of the Hale residence!¡± After Seth finished making his malicious remarks, he nced at Lucas¡¯s extremely ordinary clothes andughed out loud. ¡°Could it be that after you were kicked out by the Carters, you¡¯re so poor that you can¡¯t even afford to pay for your own meals, so you¡¯re here to ask for food? If you really need some food, I can give you some help. Here you go!¡± He took out a few greens bills from his pocket and deliberately scattered them around Lucas¡¯s feet. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and pick them up. Hundreds of dors is enough to feed you for a few weeks! Pick them up, then hurry up and leave. Don¡¯t be such an eyesore here!¡± Finding it an insult to his status to be talking to Seth, Lucas nced at him coldly. ¡°Get lost! A good dog doesn¡¯t block the way, or are you here specifically to be a watchdog?¡± ¡°You!¡± Seth¡¯s face instantly reddened. He was the scion of the Millers, admired and respected by many since he was a child. Yet Lucas was now mocking him and calling him a dog! If it were someone of noble status like a Hale who insulted him, he would have epted it. But he felt that Lucas, a live-in son-inw and a loser who was sponging off a woman, had no right to do so! Moreover, Lucas was also his enemy who was married to the woman he fancied! There were many other guests around who were invited to the baby shower. After hearing the conflict between the two of them, they couldn¡¯t help but stop in their tracks and start watching the dramatic scene with great interest, which was only human nature. Sensing the nces being shot at him, Seth got even more furious, as he felt as though they wereughing at him. It was a huge insult to be called a dog by a live-in son-inw! The humiliation of being rejected by Cheyenne repeatedly in the past also surged in his heart as he pointed at Lucas and barked viciously, ¡°Damn it! Who do you think you are? How dare you shout at me! Are you sick of living? I¡¯ll get someone toe here and cripple you!¡± Lucas immediately looked like he was looking at a fool. At the same time, he was bored and amused. Why are there always fools who don¡¯t know any better and hurl the same few insults at me all the time? Lucas was already sick of it. Standing behind Lucas, Jordan was sneering in derision, and he was obviously excited. Almost every time, fools like this one would be taught a hard lesson for issuing useless and empty threats to Lucas. But they just didn¡¯t know how to use their brains and kept vying to be taught a lesson. Jordan moved his toes slightly and couldn¡¯t wait to stretch his muscles. Seeing Lucas not say anything, Seth really thought that he had scared Lucas with his threat, so he said smugly, ¡°Are you scared now? If you are, hurry up and kneel down, kowtow three times, and p yourself while admitting your mistakes. Then I¡¯ll let you off. Or else... hmph!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes lit up as he smiled. ¡°Or else what?¡± ¡°Or else I¡¯ll immediately call a group of men here and break your legs! I¡¯ll cripple you so that you¡¯ll have to crawl in front of me forever!¡± Seth mored loudly. He already had his phone in hand. Once he ced the call, a bunch of his men woulde immediately. Although it wasn¡¯t good to create a bloodbath at the baby shower of a Hale descendant, Seth reckoned that the Hales wouldn¡¯t hold it against him if he got his men to drag Lucas farther away and then break his legs. The Millers were now on good terms with the Hales, and the two families had already started some corporation projects. So the Hales naturally wouldn¡¯t be bothered about an insignificant wastrel like Lucas. After hearing what Seth said, the people around them couldn¡¯t help but frown slightly. It was just a minor verbal conflict. Besides, Seth was the one who started it. But in the end, he demanded that Lucas kowtow to him or have his legs broken and be a cripple. He was really being too overbearing and vicious. However, they wouldn¡¯t stand up for Lucas and step out to stop Seth. After all, although the Millers weren¡¯t considered a top family and couldn¡¯tpare to the uppermost echelons of Orange County, they were still a second-rate family and rather powerful. None of them were willing to offend the Millers for the sake of a nameless live-in son-inw. There were some who were watching the fun and enjoying the gossip. Seeing Seth threatening to get people to deal with Lucas and break his legs, quite a few of them started cheering merrily. ¡°Mr. Miller, you should break both of this punk¡¯s legs since he had the audacity to offend you. Let him know where he stands!¡± ¡°Haha, he¡¯s just a good-for-nothing. How dare he show up at the Hales?! He deserves to be taught a lesson!¡± ¡°Punk, you¡¯d better kneel down, kowtow, and p yourself to make amends to Mr. Miller! That¡¯d be much better than having both your legs broken!¡± ... Lucas and Jordan heard everything the people around them said. Seth naturally raised his head arrogantly and stared at Lucas as he waited for him to kneel and kowtow. Lucas sneered and said to Jordan beside him, ¡°Did you hear that? Kneel down, kowtow to me, and p himself or have his legs broken. Go ask him what he wants.¡± Chapter 144: Two Options

Chapter 144: Two Options

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan instantly understood what Lucas meant. A tinge of excitement shed in his eyes as he stepped forward. Seth¡¯s face darkened. He was clearly the one who had given Lucas two options, but why was Lucas making him choose instead? Before Seth could figure it out, Jordan, who was standing two meters away, suddenly dashed toward him and stopped in front of him. Immediately afterward, Jordan raised his leg and kicked Seth hard on his face and ear. Seth felt a hard impact on his head, which immediately turned numb. While being kicked away, he even vomited a mouthful of blood in midair. If this scene could be recorded with a camera and reyed in slow motion, the changes in Seth¡¯s facial muscles after getting kicked would be seen clearly. The trajectory of his teeth and blood sttering would be artistic too. Unfortunately, this scene happened too suddenly, and no one could record it in time. Everyone felt a blur before their eyes, and the next thing they knew, Seth¡¯s tall and muscr body flew up into the air and smashed against arge tree trunk about five meters away. He then stopped again and rolled down beforeying on the ground and vomiting mouthfuls of blood. The scene looked extremely terrifying! Everyone was dumbfounded! The people who were just urging Seth to beat up Lucas felt a chill run through their bodies, and they instantly broke out in cold sweat. Jordan walked toward Seth step by step, making thetter feel horrified because Jordan was just like a devil to him! He didn¡¯t expect Lucas¡¯s underling really to have the guts to hit him, the scion of the Millers. Moreover, his move was so terrifying too! Seth felt that half of his head was buzzing, and he was in so much pain that he couldn¡¯t close his mouth at all. Blood and saliva kept dripping down from the side of his mouth, and he felt like all his bones had been broken. The pain was so excruciating that he couldn¡¯t even get up on his feet. In fact, Jordan had already shown him a lot of mercy. Otherwise, he would have long kicked Seth¡¯s head into mush. With a smile that seemed creepy to Seth, Jordan walked to him and squatted down. ¡°Lucas asked me to tell you to make a choice between kneeling down, kowtowing, and pping yourself or having both your legs broken. Have you thought about which one you¡¯re going to choose?¡± Only then did it dawn on the surrounding spectators that the two choices Seth was given were exactly the ones that he gave Lucas! Seth¡¯s head and face were covered in blood and cold sweat, and he was naturally indignant! Lucas should have been the one to choose between these two options. Why did he have to do it? Seth clenched his teeth and said sternly, ¡°I am a Miller, and my father is the chairman of the Miller Corporation, which is in a cooperative rtionship with the Hales. If you dare toy a finger on me, the Millers will never let you off! If you¡¯re smart enough, hurry... Ah!!!¡± Before Seth could finish speaking, Jordan suddenly stood up and stepped on his ankle with his foot. ¡°Seems like you want to choose to have both your legs broken, huh? I¡¯ll fulfill your wish now.¡± Then Jordan put some weight on his leg, as if he was going to stomp on Seth¡¯s ankle. ¡°Ah! No, no, no! No!¡± Seth immediately shrieked loudly like he was a pig getting ughtered. His face was covered in mucus and tears, and he no longer seemed like the handsome scion of a wealthy family. Jordan pursed his lips in disgust. ¡°Weren¡¯t you very arrogant just now? You have to choose one out of the two options. You have ten seconds. Otherwise, I¡¯ll take it that you¡¯ve chosen the second one and step on your legs!¡± Seth¡¯s heart began pounding rapidly. The first option was to kneel and kowtow to Lucas while pping himself. It was too humiliating, and Seth Miller couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it at all! The other option was for both his legs to be broken. Given the strength of this terrifying young man in front of him, his legs would definitely be broken if he stepped on them, and they would never healpletely again. He would have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Neither of the options was eptable to Seth! He felt that Lucas was too vicious! However, he forgot that both options were first proposed by him! He didn¡¯t want to be humiliated, nor was he willing to have his legs broken, but the people he had bullied didn¡¯t deserve such treatment either. Suddenly, someone nearby tried to ease the tension. ¡°Ah, forget it. Just be forgiving. Mr. Miller has already been kicked and severely injured. Why don¡¯t you let him off?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! After all, the Millers are a big family. If you really force Mr. Miller and cause some terrible consequence, the Millers won¡¯t let you off either. What¡¯s the point then?¡± ¡°Exactly. Mr. Miller was just making a casual remark. He didn¡¯t really do anything to you, yet you beat him up badly. That¡¯s enough! Why do you have to be so calctive?¡± ... Facing these people who were biased toward Seth, Lucas kept a straight face while Jordan spat some saliva and red at them scornfully. ¡°Hah, you people are really interesting. Why didn¡¯t anyone stand up for what is right and tell Seth Miller not to hold it against us when he issued those threats just now? Besides, he¡¯s the one who started this. Are all of you blind and mute? ¡°Just now, some of you were still fanning the mes. Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t see what you did. I remember all your faces! You¡¯d better watch out at night from now on!¡± Jordan nced at all of them coldly. Everyone who saw his gaze felt a chill surging from the bottom of their hearts, and they didn¡¯t dare to meet Jordan¡¯s eyes at all. In particr, those who had been fanning the mes wished that they could hide as they took a few steps back, fearing that Jordan would settle scores with them. The scion of the Millers had been kicked badly by him. They would definitely suffer a tragic fate if he dealt with them! Seeing that they didn¡¯t dare to speak anymore, Jordan turned to look at Seth. ¡°Hey, have you chosen yet?¡± Chapter 145: The Hales’ Banquet

Chapter 145: The Hales¡¯ Banquet

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing what Jordan said, Seth shivered violently, as if he had heard a call from hell. His phone had been knocked away when he got kicked just now, so even if he wanted to find someone to save him now, it was toote. Seth heard the members of smaller families speaking up for him just now, but he didn¡¯t expect that Jordan and Lucas wouldn¡¯t buy it at all! All of a sudden, Seth was alone and powerless! His heart was awash with despair and fear! At this juncture, Seth felt extremely regretful about his decision to stop Lucas and force him to choose between those two options! Unfortunately, there is no cure for regret in this world! Seeing Jordan raise his foot again and about to stomp on his leg, Seth couldn¡¯t care less about his image and simply shrieked loudly. He then got up and crawled toward Lucas. Since he had already knelt down, the process after that was much simpler. He went all out and raised his hand to p himself twice on the face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry... Mr. Gray, I¡¯m sorry for offending you. Please let me go on ount of the Millers!¡± Seth¡¯s heart was full of grief and humiliation. Kneeling down in front of Lucas and pping himself in public was the worst humiliation he had ever suffered in his so many years of life! Seth¡¯s apology was indeed insincere, and he even brought up the Miller. Moreover, the two ps he gave himself were also light, and he didn¡¯t kowtow either. Jordan was incredibly displeased. He frowned and was about to ask Seth to apologize properly, but Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Enough. You¡¯re in this state today, not because I¡¯m humiliating you but because you brought it upon yourself. You¡¯re reaping what you sow! Also, don¡¯t think about threatening me with the Millers. I actually do want to meet them. You have half an hour to get your father to show up in front of me. Otherwise, I don¡¯t mind tearing your family apart!¡± With that, Lucas walked straight to the gate of the Hale residence while Jordan followed closely behind. The two of them soon vanished in the light. The people outside looked at each other in dismay, frightened by Lucas and Jordan so much so that they were utterly silent. Meanwhile, his face full of resentment and menace, Seth was propping himself up against the ground and getting up on his feet with a shaky gait. ¡°Lucas Gray, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± In the vi cluster of the Hale family, the lights were on, and the ce was decoratedvishly. Even though it was just a baby shower, the vi was full of opulence, truly exhibiting the wealth and splendor of a top family of Orange County. The spacious banquet hall covered a floor area of thousands of square feet, and dozens ofrge luxurious round tables were ced inside, enough to amodate thousands of guests. On each luxurious round table, there were various delicacies and drinks. Everyone was just waiting for the host to announce the start of the banquet. Lucas and Jordan sat at a less crowded table. Everyone at that table looked at them with some surprise. The two were fresh faces they didn¡¯t know. But there were many guests invited to the Hales¡¯ baby shower, so it wasn¡¯t strange for a small family like theirs not to know every single person. Someone at a table not too far from Lucas¡¯s table suddenly asked, ¡°W-why is he here?¡± The person who spoke was a fat woman and also someone Lucas knew. She was James Wilson¡¯s wife, Sharon Hart, who had once gotten into a conflict with Karen over a bracelet. At this moment, Sharon Hart¡¯s mouth was wide open, and she was pointing her finger at Lucas in disbelief. The people around couldn¡¯t help but look over in the direction her finger was pointing. ¡°Shut up!¡± Wilson smacked Sharon¡¯s chubby arm and glowered at her. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m just curious. This is the Hales¡¯ baby shower, and that Lucas is just a useless live-in son-inw who got chased out by the Carters. What right does he have to be here?¡± Sharon said indignantly. Wilson stared at her sullenly and warned. ¡°Sharon Hart, I told you a long time ago to stop messing with him! Are you turning a deaf ear to my admonishment? If you keep babbling nonsense and creating trouble for me, get lost immediately!¡± He sounded extremely hostile, and he didn¡¯t cut her any ck at all. Sharon was ashamed and furious to be reprimanded by her husband in front of so many people, but she dared not talk back to him at all. Her family was rather well-to-do when she was younger, which was also why she could marry Wilson. However, her family¡¯s businesses had suffered huge losses and were no longer doing as well as they used to. Besides, since she gave birth to her child, her body size had ballooned, and Wilson no longer found her attractive. Furthermore, she lost the support of her family and often behaved foolishly, so she couldn¡¯t hold her head up high in front of Wilson at all. Wilson didn¡¯t have time to care about his disgraceful wife now, and instead, he looked at Lucas. Only when he realized that Lucas wasn¡¯t looking his way did he put his mind at ease. Actually, Wilson and Lucas had been in several conflicts before, but he only came to a sudden realization when Lucas and Jordan crippled more than ten of his underlings after Karen and Sharon got into a scuffle at the hotel previously. He instantlybeled Lucas as a dangerous person who was not to be provoked. He would rather not have any encounter with Lucas than risk offending him. This was what Wilson had learned! Apart from Sharon and Wilson, Dominic and Bryce Carter had also noticed that Lucas had entered the banquet hall. The Carters were a third-rate family in Orange County, especially after the changes some time ago and the loss of the Brilliance Corporation. At the same time, they suffered a financial crisis and plunged all the way to a fourth or fifth-rate family. In fact, they managed to get an invitation to the baby shower only after racking their brains and pulling some connections. Their agenda was to take this opportunity to express their friendliness to the Hales and establish rtions with major families, which was something that all families with lower statuses would vie to do during such events. But when Bryce saw Lucas, a former live-in son-inw of the Carters, sauntering into the banquet hall, he was immediately displeased. ¡°Grandpa, why is that garbage Lucas Gray allowed in here?¡± Bryce stared at Lucas, his arm still aching from when Lucas broke it previously. In fact, Bryce was definitely the person who had suffered the most losses because of Lucas. At the same time, he was also among the top few people who hated Lucas the most. Of course, he wasn¡¯t brainless either. Just as Bryce stood up and wanted to go to create trouble for Lucas, he suddenly realized that someone had beat him to it and sat down beside Lucas. Chapter 146: Substitute

Chapter 146: Substitute

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mr. Gray, I didn¡¯t expect you to be invited too. I originally thought that you wouldn¡¯t have to show up given your status,¡± Aston Brooke said with a graceful smile as he sat down beside Lucas. Lucas assented and leaned back against his chair. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect someone from another city like you to receive an invitation from the Hales too. It seems that you¡¯re on close terms with them, huh?¡± Aston smiled. ¡°No, no, thanks to you, the Brookes have just now established a firm foothold in Orange County. The Hales are one of the four major families in Orange County, so we naturally have to form a good rtionship with them as well. I¡¯m not going to lie to you. I¡¯ve be close friends with Connor Haletely.¡± Aston seemed to be modest, but in reality, he was just putting his social skills to use and also deliberately trying to show off the power of the Brookes to Lucas. He was trying to make it clear to Lucas that they had now be acquainted with the Hales, so even if Lucas wanted others to boycott them in Orange Countyter on, it probably wouldn¡¯t be that easy. Although the Brookes had previously pretended to pledge allegiance to Lucas, they actually despised him. In their opinion, Lucas was bonkers for thinking of going against the Huttons instead of making full use of his identity as a Hutton. Of course, on the surface, Aston wouldn¡¯t actively express such emotions, and he was still polite and respectful to Lucas. Unfortunately, his acting skills were poor, and Lucas had long been aware of the Brookes¡¯ ns. Lucas looked at Aston with a strange expression. If Aston knew his purpose foring to the Hales¡¯ banquet tonight, would he still sit beside him so proudly and show off the friendship between the Brookes and the Hales in front of him? At that time, Aston would probably regret it and even wish that he could pretend not to know Lucas! ¡°If you don¡¯t want to regret itter, you¡¯d better stay away from me. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for not warning you,¡± Lucas said nonchntly. ¡°What?¡± Aston frowned, not realizing what Lucas meant. At this moment, Bryce walked over and red at Lucas resentfully before forcing a smile and saying to Aston, ¡°Mr. Brooke, how have you beentely? That cousin of mine is young and ignorant, so she ended up provoking you. I shall apologize to you on her behalf. Regardless of whether your rtionship with Scarlet works out or not, we can still work with each other harmoniously, don¡¯t you agree?¡± Bryce lifted the wine ss in his hand and toasted to Aston to atone for Scarlet¡¯s mistakes. Aston frowned. Previously, he hade to Orange County to look for a business partner. The Carters were extremely eager and took the initiative to contact him on several asions. They even made a lot of concessions on the contract. At that time, the Brookes faced some trouble because they couldn¡¯t find anypany willing to cooperate with them, so Aston chose to let the Carters work with them. After that, Dominic even took the initiative to let his granddaughter Scarlet apany Aston on a tour around Orange County, but Aston could tell at a nce what they were nning. Of course, he also didn¡¯t refuse since Scarlet gave herself to him out of her own ord, and it would be a waste if he didn¡¯t take the chance. But the silly Scarlet thought that she would be able to marry him and even offended Lucas several times, almost causing him to offend Lucas as well. He naturally kicked such a brainless, statusless woman to the curb. Then Scarlet cried, threw tantrums, and called him continuously. Aston blocked her on everymunication channel and refused to see her. Only then did he finally get to a day of peace. Now, Bryce came to him and mentioned Scarlet again, making Aston feel extremely annoyed. Now, the Brookes no longer faced a boycott, and ever since they ¡®pledged allegiance¡¯ to Lucas, he let them off. The Brookes could now easily find some brilliant business partners in Orange County, and it was very likely for them to cooperate with the Hales. Aston naturally didn¡¯t value the Carters anymore. Moreover, Aston had also asked around and found out about the disagreements between the Carters and Lucas. He knew that Bryce, whom he disliked long ago, had repeatedly provoked Lucas. Seeing Bryce bend down to toast him, Aston snorted and stayed still. Extremely embarrassed, Bryce stood rooted on the spot. Fortunately, he was rather thick-skinned, so he smiled awkwardly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll toast.¡± Then he downed that ss of wine and showed his empty ss to Aston, as if Aston had agreed to drink with him. After watching Bryce¡¯s one-man show, Aston said with contempt, ¡°How can some people be so thick-skinned? You¡¯re not wee here. If I were you, I would have long left.¡± Aston¡¯s voice was quite loud, so the people around them looked over. When Bryce saw all the gazes on him, his face stiffened and became burning hot. He felt embarrassed because of Aston. But when Bryce saw Lucas beside Aston, a thought shed in his mind! He thought that Aston definitely wasn¡¯t referring to him but the good-for-nothing Lucas! Thinking of this, Bryce suddenly felt much better and pointed at Lucas. ¡°Lucas Gray, did you hear that? You¡¯re just a loser who got kicked out by the Carters. Trust you to have the cheek to saunter your way to the Hales¡¯ banquet. Mr. Brooke is right. You¡¯re too thick-skinned. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get out!¡± Bryce¡¯s voice was loud and thus attracted the attention of the guests around the table. Many began to discuss among themselves. ¡°That young man who spoke is a Carter, right?¡± ¡°Yes, he is Dominic Carter¡¯s only grandson, and I heard that the Carters¡¯ businesses will be handed over to him in the future. The young man sitting in front of him that he just scolded is apparently a live-in son-inw. Indeed, he¡¯s dressed very shabbily.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve heard of this too. This live-in son-inw is a good-for-nothing. He even disappeared for around six years and returned recently. Then he did something to provoke Dominic Carter, who then decided to kick him and his wife¡¯s family out of the Carters!¡± ¡°Tsk, there must be a problem with his character! I heard that he¡¯s the same man who was embroiled in a scandal with Cheyenne Carter back then, right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him! I didn¡¯t think he would dare toe to the Hales¡¯ banquet. He¡¯s really too thick-skinned!¡± ... Lucas sneered in response to Bryce¡¯s words and the gossip around him instead of answering. Meanwhile, Aston¡¯s face turned sullen. He had directed that insult at Bryce, yet that fool shifted the focus onto Lucas instead. Now, it was hard to exin. Chapter 147: Real Invitation Card

Chapter 147: Real Invitation Card

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Of course, Aston only looked sullen on the surface. But in fact, he didn¡¯t want to state tantly that he was scolding Bryce. Wouldn¡¯t it be wonderful to let this fool Bryce Carter fight with Lucas Gray while I watch? Even if Lucas wanted to pursue the matter, Aston couldpletely shirk the responsibility. Besides, the person he scolded in the first ce was Bryce, not Lucas! Lucas¡¯s sneer made Bryce feel Lucas was despising him, causing him to be even more infuriated. Pointing at Lucas, he barked, ¡°The Hale residence isn¡¯t a ce for you to be in! By the way, you need an invitation to be here. How can a worthless person like you get an invitation from the Hales? You must have sneaked in or falsified an invitation card!¡± Lucas smiledposedly. ¡°Based on what you said, the Hales must really be useless! If I sneaked in, that just goes to show that the Hales¡¯ security guards arex and have serious issues. If I made a fake invitation card, that just means that the people in charge of verification at the entrance areplete fools, right?¡± ¡°I... Since when did I criticize the Hales? Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± Bryce panicked and frantically waved his hands while trying to exin, ¡°I meant that a loser like you must have used some dishonorable means to sneak your way in. I never meant to criticize the Hales!¡± Lucas spread his palms open. ¡°Hah, so you mean that the Hales¡¯ subordinates are so ipetent that even a loser like me can sneak in easily?¡± Unable to clear the air, Bryce panicked, and sweat covered his forehead. He was afraid that the Hales would get the wrong idea, so he could only holler at Lucas, ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t try to sow discord here again!¡± Seeing a conflict seemed to have started here, the Hales naturally wouldn¡¯t want someone to make a scene on their own family¡¯s big day in their ce. Two family members who were in charge of butlering walked over with some security guards. ¡°Everyone, today is the Hales¡¯ baby shower. Even if there is a dispute among you, please hold it back and do us a favor by restraining yourselves from creating a ruckus here,¡± a middle-aged man said sternly. When Bryce saw the Hales, he immediately raised his hand and pointed at Lucas with righteous indignation. ¡°Hello, Sir! I belong to the Carter Corporation, and this person in front of me is Lucas Gray, a useless live-in son-inw whom we kicked out. I suspect that he does not have an invitation from the Hales and has sneaked in! Please check him carefully.¡± The middle-aged man furrowed his brows. The Hales had invited many elites of upper-ss society to their baby shower today, so security was naturally very tight. He didn¡¯t believe that someone had managed to sneak in. Lucas, dressed in simple and ordinary clothes, was a fresh face to him. But if he really was a useless live-in son-inw whom the Carters kicked out like what Bryce said, he was indeed not fit to receive an invitation from the Hales. In that case, it seemed that the fact that Lucas had appeared here was indeed very suspicious! The middle-aged man looked at Lucas and said in a polite but harsh tone, ¡°Excuse me, Sir, please show me the invitation card you¡¯ve received.¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes. ¡°Why? Do the Hales also doubt thepetency of your staff and think that I sneaked in?¡± The middle-aged man looked at Lucas¡¯s calm andposed appearance and felt that he didn¡¯t seem to have sneaked in. He began specting in his heart. However, the baby shower today was very important to the Hales, and the guests were mostly from the elite families of high status in Orange County. If someone really sneaked in and caused trouble, he wouldn¡¯t be able to ount for it. At the thought of this, the middle-aged man made his tone mellower, but he still insisted. ¡°We have a lot of guests here today, so for the sake of everyone¡¯s safety, please cooperate with us. Afterward, the Hales will definitely give you an exnation.¡± This scene happening in the banquet hall quickly caught everyone¡¯s attention. Hearing that someone might have sneaked in without an invitation, almost all the guests had their curiosity aroused as they looked over to see who was so bold as to dare to make such a scene at the Hales¡¯ baby shower. Bryce was certain that Lucas definitely didn¡¯t have an invitation. But when he saw howposed Lucas was in front of the Hales, so much that he even sipped some tea leisurely without any fear, he couldn¡¯t help but be anxious again. Could it be that this punk really has an invitation card? No, no, no, that¡¯s impossible! How can his good-for-nothing get an invitation from the Hales, one of the four major families?! Bryce desperately tried tofort himself while watching Lucas¡¯s movements. The Hales around Lucas and countless guests craning their necks were all staring at Lucas and waiting to see if he could take out an invitation card or not. For a moment, Lucas became the focus of the entire banquet hall. Lucas suddenly smirked and chuckled before taking out a beautifully crafted and exquisite red invitation card with gold edges and mming it onto the table. ¡°Since you want to see it, take a good look.¡± Seeing that he actually took out an invitation card, the people around him changed their expressions, and some even looked obviously disappointed. On the other hand, Bryce¡¯s heart hammered violently. This good-for-nothing actually managed to take out an invitation card! Why?! Most importantly, since Lucas managed to take out Hales¡¯ invitation card, this not only meant that he was indeed an honored guest of the Hales but also that Bryce¡¯s previous usation was false. Since Bryce caused the Hales to offend a distinguished guest, the Hales would definitely put the me on him! With his face as pale as a sheet, Bryce pointed at the invitation card and insisted vehemently, ¡°His invitation card must be fake! You must check it carefully!¡± The middle-aged man picked up the gold-embossed invitation card and opened it. It was a habit of the Hales not to state the specific name of the invitee on the invitation card, so anyone who had an invitation could be granted entry. However, it wasn¡¯t that easy to replicate an invitation from the Hale family because in the middle of each real invitation, there was a small phoenix seal that was not easily discoverable, much less replicated. In the middle of the invitation card Lucas took out, there was indeed a small and exquisite phoenix seal! This meant that the invitation card was real! Chapter 148: Twisting Facts

Chapter 148: Twisting Facts

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The middle-aged man held the invitation card and handed it back to Lucas with both hands, bowing and apologizing at the same time. ¡°My apologies, Mr. Gray, this invitation card is authentic. I¡¯m sorry for unintentionally offending you just now! I didn¡¯t mean to. Please forgive me.¡± Then he straightened up his body and shot Bryce an extremely cold gaze. It was all Bryce¡¯s fault for spurring him to ask Lucas to produce the invitation card for inspection. He was just a steward of the Hales, and if he were to offend an honored guest, he would be in trouble! With his mouth wide open in disbelief, Bryce took two steps back while muttering incessantly, ¡°How can it be authentic? How can he really have an invitation from the Hales... No, this is impossible! He must have stolen it from someone...¡± Smack! Bryce was given a hard and tight p on his face, disrupting his incoherent muttering! Dominic had walked over at some point. After pping Bryce to shut him up, he put his hands together while facing the middle-aged man and the other guests around him. With a look of sincerity, he apologized, ¡°Sorry, everyone. It was my grandson Bryce Carter who made a mistake in a moment of rashness. We are very sorry for disturbing all of you.¡± Lucas slowly sipped on some tea and casually tossed the invitation card that the middle-aged man handed over onto the table. In fact, the invitation card indeed didn¡¯t belong to Lucas. Jordan had taken it from Seth Miller, who had kicked up a fuss with them just now. Actually, Flynn Davis also had a few invitation cards, but he didn¡¯t give any to Lucas because thetter had previously declined to attend the baby shower. After hearing what Dominic said, the people around them immediately started discussing among themselves. In fact, everyone could tell that Bryce wasn¡¯t acting in a moment of rashness, but rather, he obviously had a feud with Lucas and thus was so overbearing toward thetter! At the thought that Lucas used to be a live-in son-inw of the Carters but waster chased out together with his wife and her family, they reckoned that there must have been some interesting story behind it. Almost all the people present belonged to prestigious families in Orange County, and all wealthy and esteemed families had dark secrets. For a while, countless spections emerged in the minds of the people. A few young people who knew Bryce began grinning and gibing, ¡°Mr. Carter, surely the man in front of you isn¡¯t the one who got involved in a scandal with your cousin Cheyenne Carter, is he?¡± Hearing the disdainful tone in the word ¡®scandal¡¯, Bryce immediately became riled up. He felt that he had found a supporter. ¡°He is exactly that penniless punk. After creating that scandal, we had no choice but to get Cheyenne, who ruined the family¡¯s reputation, to marry him. We let him sponge off us and provided for him entirely, yet this ingrate doesn¡¯t know what it means to be grateful!¡± Bryce deliberately eximed loudly and even nced at Lucas with contempt, as if Lucas owed the Carters a great favor. ¡°Oh? How is he an ingrate?¡± someone asked curiously. ¡°Hmph, not long after he got married, he absconded with hundreds of thousands of dors from his father-inw and returned only after six years. After squandering all that money, he still had the cheek toe back and continue making us provide for him. That isn¡¯t all. He¡¯s also really arrogant and vicious. He talked back to my grandfather on several asions, causing my grandfather to pass out. He even dared to hit me just because he was a soldier for a few years. Look, this ingrate was the one who broke my wrist!¡± Bryce held up his wrist, which was still wrapped in gauze, and showed it to the people around him in a bid to produce ¡®evidence¡¯ of Lucas¡¯s misdeeds. ¡°Unfortunately, that shameless woman Cheyenne Carter was somehow bewitched by him and insisted on colluding with this ingrate to anger us. So in the end, we were left with no choice but to kick them out of the family and disown them because we couldn¡¯t stand it any longer!¡± Bryce twisted facts and made the Carters out to be kindhearted souls. He even branded Lucas and Cheyenne as ingrates who were heartless and unfilial. After making this statement with pleasure, Bryce felt that he had vented all his pent-up anger and aggravation. He felt that he once again became superior to Lucas. Snap! Suddenly, a clear and crisp cracking sound abruptly filled the air, halting Bryce in his attempt to continue framing Lucas. Lucas crushed the teacup in his hand into pieces, and the fragments started falling onto the table. Everyone instantly fell silent and stared at him in astonishment. Amid theplete silence, he said, ¡°Nonsense. You even insulted my wife. It seems you¡¯ve forgotten the warning I gave you before.¡± Lucas¡¯s gaze was icy cold, and his eyes were full of a sharp glint as he red daggers at Bryce with a terrifying aura that seemed to be able to crush people into pieces. The air around Lucas seemed to freeze, and many subconsciously took a few steps back as they felt a chill arise in their hearts. Facing Lucas¡¯s intimidating gaze, Bryce felt overwhelmed with fear. Lucas¡¯s eyes were like daggers piercing through his heart, making his body quake and drenched in cold sweat. Even his legs turned into jelly. Supporting himself against the chair beside him, Bryce insisted, ¡°I-I¡¯m not spouting nonsense. You and Cheyenne Carter had indeed messed around and got involved in a scandal. Dare you say that you had nothing to do with what happened to the Carters recently?¡± Lucas stared at Bryce coldly. ¡°Since you mentioned what happened then, howe you don¡¯t remember that the scandal only happened because you and the Carters had deliberately set Cheyenne up in a bid to encroach on the Brilliance Corporation?¡± Lucas¡¯s words made everyone bbergasted! Almost everyone in Orange County had heard of the scandal that Cheyenne and Lucas, who was only a chauffeur then, were involved in. At that time, everyone said that Cheyenne was a beautiful and dignified woman on the surface but was actually desperate and indecent in private, so much that she actually got involved with a lowly chauffeur. Cheyenne¡¯s reputation was destroyed overnight, and despite the Carters taking away the Brilliance Corporation, which she had single-handedly established and developed, people only felt that she deserved it. They even thought that the Carters had done the right thing because she would only disgrace the Carters further if she remained as the chairperson of the Brilliance Corporation. However, they heard something shocking now. It turned out that the Carters were the ones who nned that scandal all for the sake of snatching the Brilliance Corporation away from Cheyenne. The news was too astonishing! The expressions of Bryce and Dominic changed drastically. They never expected this scoundrel to find out about that matter, which they had been very secretive about and was made known to only a few people. But no matter how Lucas learned the information, they definitely couldn¡¯t admit to being the masterminds! Otherwise, not only the two of them, but the Carters would also be thoroughly embarrassed. Their business, which finally picked up after lots of painstaking efforts, would take another hit! Who would be willing to cooperate with apany that had no bottom line and would resort to any means for the sake of profits? Bryce and Dominic nced at each other, both understanding each other¡¯s thoughts. Having gained Dominic¡¯s support, Bryce was emboldened as he hollered, ¡°Bullshit! The Carters have never done anything like that. You¡¯re just smearing us, you good-for-nothing!¡± As he spoke, he picked up a bottle of white wine and tried to smash it at Lucas¡¯s head relentlessly! Chapter 149: Malicious Guest

Chapter 149: Malicious Guest

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bang! The ss bottle mmed hard against someone¡¯s head! The thick ss bottle shattered immediately, forming a crack in his hard and solid skull as the fragrant white wine and blood flowed down his head. ¡°Waa!¡± The people around them subconsciously shrieked in horror while watching the scene unfold in front of them in disbelief. What made them unable to believe their eyes was that Bryce was clearly the one who had grabbed the white wine bottle and attempted to smash it at Lucas. But now, the person who had his head cracked open by the wine bottle turned out to be Bryce himself and not Lucas! No one in the room saw how Lucas grabbed the bottle from Bryce¡¯s hand and smashed it on his head in less than a second! ¡°Ahhhh!¡± The dumbfounded Bryce stood still on the spot for a long time before hugging his head and wailing out loud. Lucas nonchntly tossed the broken half of the wine bottle onto the ground, picked up a stack of snow-white napkins on the table, and slowly wiped the spilled wine on his hands. No one dared to speak throughout the entire process. Only after Lucas wiped his hands clean did he nce at Bryce, whose head was covered in blood. ¡°I exposed the truth, so you want to kill me in a fit of anger and shame? Hah, you¡¯re not worthy of picking a fight with me.¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was very calm and collected, but to Bryce, it was incredibly terrifying. When Bryce thought about it, he instantly recalled the miserable state that he had ended up in when he tried to deal with Lucas on several asions previously! ¡°Bryce, are you alright!?!¡± Dominic hurriedly rushed over and picked up a clean napkin to press onto the wound on Bryce¡¯s head to try stopping the blood from continuing to trickle down. At the same time, Dominic nced at Lucas resentfully. He wanted to scold him for being too vicious, but when he saw Lucas¡¯s icy-cold gaze, he subconsciously stopped himself. He had already witnessed how vicious and ruthless Lucas could be. Previously, Lucas had even rushed to the Carter residence and almost strangled him. Lucas would never consider the fact that Dominic was an elder and show him mercy. He and Bryce were nothing to Lucas! Even if he reprimanded Lucas, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be bothered at all. He might even be enraged and beat him up. Thinking of this, Dominic had no choice but to swallow his anger and bear with it. Sitting at the side, Aston inhaled sharply. The way Lucas had expressionlessly smashed Bryce¡¯s head with the wine bottle at a speed that was as quick as lightning was extremely terrifying. Aston could also tell that Lucas had shown him some mercy. Otherwise, Bryce would have suffered more than just a crack in his head. Besides, Aston also sensed that something was amiss after he saw Lucas¡¯s means. He wasn¡¯t behaving conscientiously like a guest of a banquet should be. In fact, his behavior could be considered extremely disrespectful to the Hales. Lucas had just told him to stay away from him tonight if he didn¡¯t want to regret his decision. At that time, Aston was unsure of what he meant and simply thought that Lucas was a small fry who was looking for trouble, just like Bryce. But Aston now understood what Lucas meant. It seemed that Lucas had a malicious intention foring to attend the baby shower today. He was certain that Lucas would definitely cause trouble! After a long silence, the people around them couldn¡¯t help but discuss among themselves. ¡°Wow, they called him a good-for-nothing live-in son-inw just now, but he seems very ruthless and has quick reflexes. Without hesitation, he beat up that wastrel of the Carters. He doesn¡¯t seem to be a simple person at all!¡± ¡°Yeah, but Bryce Carter was the one who wanted to smash the bottle at him first, but he managed to snatch it and retaliate instead! Now it¡¯s hard to tell!¡± ¡°Tsk, judging from the way Bryce Carter looks, I just think that what Lucas Gray said might be the truth. The Carters might have really set Cheyenne Carter up to snatch herpany away. This is so ruthless! They¡¯re all a family. Must they be so cruel?¡± ¡°Families like ours might not have a squeaky clean background, but people who create such a huge scandal to frame their family members are indeed rare! It¡¯s no wonder that the Carters are declining. Now that the Brilliance Corporation is gone, their status has plunged, and I heard that they almost went bankrupt some time ago!¡± These remarks made Bryce and Dominic feel infuriated and wishing they could vomit blood. Who knew that the secret they had buried for so many years would suddenly be revealed by Lucas in public today? Furthermore, Bryce¡¯s act of trying to smash Lucas¡¯s head with the wine bottle made everyone feel that he flew into a rage out of humiliation and wanted to cover it up. Now, the reputation of the Carters was utterly ruined! But while they were whispering and gossiping about Cheyenne and the Carters, there were also quite a few who felt that Lucas¡¯s behavior was outrageous. ¡°No matter what, it¡¯s the Hales¡¯ baby shower today. He caused bloodshed by smashing the bottle against Bryce Carter¡¯s head. That¡¯s extremely inauspicious!¡± ¡°I wonder how the Hales are going to deal with this! If I were them, I wouldn¡¯t let off anyone who dared to cause trouble.¡± Some people were talking very softly, but they only dared to speak quietly and didn¡¯t dare to look Lucas in the eye. Two guests got into a fight and created bloodshed at the banquet. Seeing this scene, the middle-aged steward felt vexed, and he had long sent someone to report to the higher-ups. Soon, a young man in his thirties wearing a suit and a pair of gold-framed sses walked over in a domineering gait. He looked just like an elite, but he was now frowning. Anyone who knew that someone had created trouble and caused something inauspicious like bloodshed at their joyous banquet would definitely be displeased. The appearance of this person immediately made everyone around stare wide-eyed with an enthusiastic smile while bowing and greeting him. ¡°Mr. Hale, you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Mr. Hale, congrattions!¡± This man was Connor Hale, Logan Hale¡¯s brother, the third-generation heir of the Hale family. It was said that Connor had studied abroad for several years and majored in business management. He was extremelypetent, and despite being young, he was already treated and trained as the next sessor of the Hale family. Thus, everyone who knew of him wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate him in the slightest. The baby shower was for Connor¡¯s newborn son. Now that the host hade to handle the situation personally, everyone looked at Lucas gloatingly. Chapter 150: Pressed Into a Bowl of Soup

Chapter 150: Pressed Into a Bowl of Soup

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Connor walked over with a frown on his face. While on his way here, he had already heard about what happened. As soon as he arrived, he saw Bryce pressing a white napkin against his bleeding head. He then looked at theposed Lucas, who was sitting on a chair and drinking tea leisurely. Staring at the two people in front of him, especially the unharmed Lucas, Connor narrowed his eyes and said hostilely, ¡°It¡¯s my son¡¯s baby shower today, and I believe that all the guests are here to wish my son well and join us in this celebration. The Hales have already reminded you all beforehand that no matter what feuds you have with each other, you are to set them aside and not cause trouble on our turf! Even if you must settle it, you have to wait until you¡¯ve left our ce!¡± Glowering at Lucas scornfully, Connor questioned, ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡± Being the next sessor of the Hales, Connor was extremely arrogant. It was as if he had already shown a nobody like Lucas enough courtesy by saying these words. Lucas looked up at Connor in front of him. He sighed a little and asked calmly, ¡°Is Logan Hale your younger brother?¡± Connor raised his eyebrows and answered matter-of-factly, ¡°Of course. Anyone who knows him is aware that he¡¯s my younger brother. If you want to tell me that you¡¯re Logan¡¯s friend, you can save it. He has sordid friends all over the county. Even if you know him, you¡¯re just one of them.¡± Hearing this, Lucas suddenly put on a smile that seemed dangerous to Connor. Lucas said softly, ¡°Since you¡¯ve acknowledged that he¡¯s your younger brother, that makes things easier.¡± Connor immediately frowned. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Sitting in his chair calmly, Lucas said nonchntly, ¡°The Hales owe me an exnation. I shall get it from you.¡± Connor blinked and snorted withughter, as if he had heard the greatest joke on Earth. Only then did he realize that Lucas didn¡¯t ask him about Logan¡¯s rtionship with him for the sake of showing that he was acquainted with Logan but because he wanted to ask them for an exnation. He thought that it was probably because Logan had provoked Lucas for some reason, so Lucas was here to seek an exnation. He felt that it was absolutely too ridiculous! The Hales were one of the four major families of Orange County, and his younger brother Logan, in particr, had been spoiled rotten since a young age. He often caused trouble and would bully others. But those who got bullied dared not protest or stand up against the Hales due to their family¡¯s prestige. Very few were as bold as Lucas, who actually dared toe directly to their residence and ask them for an exnation. Connorughed in derision and shook his head. ¡°No matter what kind of feud you have with my brother, you¡¯re not fit to ask us for an exnation.¡± At this moment, the people around them started discussing among themselves, thinking that Lucas was overestimating himself by being so presumptuous. They thought that he was just a powerless live-in son-inw who was courting death by making a scene at the Hales¡¯! Lucas raised his head, nced at Connor calmly, and asked, ¡°Is that so?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up abruptly, stretched out his hand, and grabbed Connor¡¯s hair with one hand! Before the horrified and dumbfounded Connor could even react, his face was pressed into arge white porcin bowl containing sea cucumber soup. His head was instantly submerged in the boiling hot soup. ¡°Argh!¡± Connor was so shocked that he opened his mouth and identally inhaled several mouthfuls of thick broth through his mouth and nostrils, causing him to choke and cough violently. He began struggling frantically as his arms iled about and knocked off several tes and bowls on the table, causing them to fall to the ground and shatter. ¡°How dare you! Hurry up and let go of Mr. Hale!¡± The Hales surrounding them finally recovered from their shock and reacted to what was happening after Connor choked and coughed several times. They immediately roared at Lucas and reached their hands out to try to restrain him so as to rescue Connor, whose head was being pressed into the bowl of soup. If this went on, Connor would definitely be the first scion of a wealthy family in Orange County to drown in a bowl of hot soup! Fortunately, Lucas didn¡¯t want to kill Connor directly, so he pulled his head out of the soup by his hair. He then pushed him toward the Hales who pounced over. ¡°Mr. Hale!¡± ¡°Mr. Hale, are you alright?¡± The Hales hurriedly caught Connor and frantically grabbed clean napkins to wipe his head and face, which were drenched in soup and covered with vegetables. All of a sudden, no one could be bothered to pay attention to Lucas. Lucas leisurely sat down in his seat again and asked with a smile, ¡°Now, do I have the right to hold it against the Hales?¡± Everyone else was dumbfounded as they watched everything that happened. They were looking at Lucas with incredible shock and disbelief, thinking that he was extremely daring to have had the audacity to press Connor¡¯s head directly into the bowl of soup in front of so many people at the banquet the Hales hosted! Meanwhile, Aston, standing next to Lucas, inhaled sharply! Although he had previously guessed that Lucas had a malicious intention for showing up at the baby shower, he absolutely didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be so ruthless as to do such a thing to Connor! This was tantamount to directly falling out with the Hales and insulting Connor as well as his family! At this moment, Connor had already cleaned off the soup on his face and head with the help of his family members. However, his hair was still greasy, there were burn marks on his scalded face, and his expensive bespoke suit was stained by the soup. He looked extremely disheveled. Connor opened his bloodshot eyes and red at Lucas angrily and menacingly. ¡°No one has ever dared to treat me like this! I will kill you!¡± Connor had grown up being the center of attention and ttery, and he was often praised and respected, be it in Orange County or abroad. Now that he had been designated as the next sessor of the Hale family, he had a promising future. Yet he had his head pressed into a bowl of soup by a nobody. He was dead set on killing Lucas, who was simply a good-for-nothing in his eyes! The few Hales and bodyguards around him immediately stepped forward and surrounded Lucas. In the face of Connor¡¯s uncontroble rage, the surrounding people were silent as they lowered their heads and didn¡¯t dare to make a single sound, for fear that they might provoke Connor and get implicated too. However, Lucas, who was facing Connor¡¯s wrath directly, didn¡¯t feel scared in the slightest. In fact, he was even smiling contemptuously. Amid the tension, an old man with somewhat white hair hurried over and whispered a few words in Connor¡¯s ear. Connor frowned and then immediately red at Lucas while threatening viciously, ¡°I¡¯ll spare you for now. You¡¯ll get it from meter!¡± Then Connor led the other Hales to turn around to leave! Chapter 151: Hidden Scheme

Chapter 151: Hidden Scheme

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone looked at each other in shock. They initially thought that Connor would immediately re up at Lucas and hit him, but they didn¡¯t expect Connor to actually just walk away! They wondered what the white-haired old man had whispered into his ear to make him suppress his anger... Many guests whispered and made guesses about the reason. Although Lucas also felt quite surprised, he wasn¡¯t in a hurry to ask for an exnation from the Hales, as there was still plenty of time to do so. The two people standing at the side, Dominic and Bryce, were instantly disappointed when they saw Connor walking away with the Hales. They initially thought that Lucas would have faced the wrath of the Hales for being arrogant and having the audacity to press Connor¡¯s head directly into the bowl of soup. But they didn¡¯t expect Connor to actually just let Lucas off instead of pursuing the matter! Both Dominic and Bryce were full of regret. But since the Hales didn¡¯t exact revenge on Lucas, they dared not urge them to do anything to him. They could only re at him viciously with resentment. At this moment, one of the Hales¡¯ security guards walked up to Dominic and Bryce and said politely but aloofly, ¡°Sir, you have suffered a severe head injury. We¡¯d better hurry and send you to the hospital. Since you got injured in the Hale residence, we will cover the medical expenses.¡± Dominic¡¯s face suddenly turned red and hot. The Hales were obviously chasing them away! However, there was indeed arge cut on Bryce¡¯s head, and blood was flowing all over his face. If he continued to stay at the baby shower banquet, it would be a hideous and frightening sight. It was no wonder that the Hales wanted them to leave. Dominic quickly stabilized his expression and said worriedly, ¡°Indeed, the injury on my grandson¡¯s head is very serious, and he has to go to the hospital right away. In that case, we shall take our leave. I¡¯m very sorry. Please give my regards to the patriarch on my behalf. However, we can pay for the medical expenses ourselves.¡± After saying this out of courtesy, Dominic hurriedly left the Hale residence with Bryce embarrassedly, ignoring the cold gazes being shot at them. They had paid an enormous price to get two invitation cards to the Hales¡¯ baby shower, yet they didn¡¯t get any benefit but even left a bad impression on the Hales. Moreover, Bryce had suffered such a serious injury. It was simply a tremendous loss! Dominic was chagrined and terrified of Lucas. But he could also figure out that if Bryce hadn¡¯t taken the initiative to provoke Lucas, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have paid any attention to them, and they wouldn¡¯t be in the situation that they were currently in. However, when Dominic looked at Bryce, whose head was bleeding and was continuouslymenting about the pain, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to reprimand him. ¡°Ah, what a sin!¡± Dominic sighed. Aston, who had been standing at the side in the banquet hall, also had cold sweat covering his forehead. Lucas¡¯s behavior just now was simply an insult to the Hales. He had been sitting right beside Lucas then, and he reckoned that many had probably seen him chatting merrily with Lucas. He was worried that he might be wronged and falsely used if the Hales mistakenly thought that he was in cahoots with Lucas and then put the me on him. Although the Brookes promised to pledge allegiance to Lucas on the surface, they didn¡¯t genuinely see themselves to be on the same side as him. Besides, in the past two days, they had already inquired some information and knew that although Lucas was indeed a descendant of the Huttons, he and his mother had been chased out by the Huttons nearly twenty years ago! Lucas had even taken his mother¡¯sst name, and rumor had it that it was because the Huttons refused to let him take their family name. This just went to show that he had a deep feud with the Huttons. Although it seemed that the Huttons were now trying to make it up to him and wanted him to reunite with them and then take over the family, the Brookes reckoned that it wouldn¡¯t happen. First of all, Lucas bore a strong grudge against the Huttons and hated them too much to take the initiative and reunite with them. Besides, the massive and prestigious Hutton family might not necessarily want to let him go back. To the Brookes, a Lucas who wasn¡¯t allowed to reunite with the Huttons would be of little value to them. Thus, now that Lucas had gotten into a huge conflict with a top family in Orange County, Aston became a fence-sitter, as he was somewhat unable to decide which side he should stand on. After pondering about it carefully, Aston went to Lucas and said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I need to use the bathroom. Please excuse me.¡± Lucas looked at Aston with a smirk and nodded. Aston felt a chill run down his spine. He felt as though Lucas had seen through his thoughts. But he couldn¡¯t care less about anything else. When he walked outside the banquet hall and found a secluded and quiet ce with no one else around, he hurriedly took out his phone and reported what had happened here to his grandfather, Andrew Brooke. Andrew thought about it for a long while before saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything about this. Just watch from the side.¡± In fact, Aston had the same intentions. But he was worried that if he stood by and did nothing to help, he might end up offending both Lucas and the Hales. In response to his grandson¡¯s concerns, Andrew answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Lucas Gray hasn¡¯t be fully-fledged, and he still needs our help for now. Even if you don¡¯t help him, he won¡¯t do anything to you. As for the Hales, as long as we strengthen our ties with them afterward and you find an opportunity to exin to them that you have nothing to do with Lucas Gray, I doubt the Hales will continue to pursue the matter. That way, we won¡¯t be implicated.¡± Aston thought about it and felt that his grandfather¡¯s words made sense. Feeling rather relieved, he returned to the banquet hall. But this time, he didn¡¯t sit next to Lucas like he had just now and instead sat at a table slightly far away from him. Lucas sneered as he looked at Aston quietly. Pangs of anxiety engulfed Aston, but when he thought of what his grandfather just said, he gradually calmed down again. At this moment, a group of people slowly walked over from the main entrance of the banquet hall toward the guests. The leader of the group was an old man in his seventies. He had white hair, was dressed in a navy blue suit, and held an ostentatious walking stick in hand. Upon sight of him, all the guests in the hall stood up unanimously and respectfully greeted in unison, ¡°Greetings, Old Mr. Hale!¡± The old man was Bruce Hale, the patriarch and current helmsman of the Hale family, who was also Logan and Connor¡¯s grandfather. There was a young woman of about 25 years old behind Bruce, and she was carrying a baby wrapped in a red cloth. The baby was probably the fourth-generation heir of the Hales, for whom the baby shower was held. Connor was also standing at the side. He had gone to wash up and change into a fresh set of clothes just now. There were around 30 arrogant-looking members of the Hale family standing behind them. This group of people was basically the core members of the Hale family! Chapter 152: Public Accusation

Chapter 152: Public usation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bruce Hale, the patriarch of the Hale family, stood at the front of the banquet hall. When he raised his hand, the thousands of guests in the hall immediately fell silent. Bruce coughed twice to clear his throat and began to speak, ¡°It¡¯s the baby shower of my great-grandson today. Everyone present is a guest of the Hales. I hereby thank you all for taking the time to attend the banquet tonight on behalf of the Hale family! Please make yourselves at home and enjoy yourselves!¡± Although Bruce was on in years, he was still energetic, and his voice was loud and clear. His speech attracted everyone¡¯s apuse! Afterward, many people took out the gifts that they had meticulously prepared and went forward to present them. Apart from the usual gifts such as gold jewelry and ornaments, there were also many precious antiques and expensive items. At first nce, they didn¡¯t seem like congrattory gifts for a baby but gifts for the Hales. After all, thest time the Hales held such a grand banquet was a few years ago to celebrate Bruce¡¯s 70th birthday. Now that the Hales were holding such a grand banquet again, those who had been wanting to forge closer ties with the Hales rushed to take advantage of this opportunity to show their goodwill. Thus, the gifts were all expensive and valuable. Bruce and Connor were both smiling politely as they thanked each and every person who presented them with congrattory gifts. The total value of the gifts was extremely high. But being a megarich family, the Hales were used to owning lots of valuables, so the gifts didn¡¯t hold too much attraction to them. Besides, the Hales were also aware of the intentions of the numerous families presenting the expensive gifts¡ªto express their desire to be acquainted with the Hales. At this moment, Seth, who had tried to humiliate Lucas at the entrance but ended up making a fool of himself, arrived at the banquet hall with his father. Seth¡¯s father, Daniel Miller, was a middle-aged man in his fifties. With a smile on his flushed and radiant face, he walked over and said to Bruce, ¡°Old Mr. Hale, congrattions on the birth of your great-grandson! The baby looks very intelligent. He will surely be a great talent in the future! I¡¯m presenting him with an ark ornament to wish him a smooth-sailing life and great health!¡± Daniel instructed his people to carry a three-feet tall bejeweled ark over. The ark was put together with gold wire and had a bright red coral base. The hull was embellished with countless agate and onyx gems, and the ¡®sea waves¡¯ were made usingrge pieces of carved dark-green jade. They were all extremely exquisite and expensive! The three-feet tall ark glistened under the light of the chandelier, making it look remarkably opulent! As soon as he presented the gift, countless gazes were cast on them, and many guests began eximing in envy. The wives of rich men who loved treasures couldn¡¯t take their eyes off the bejeweled ark at all. ¡°Oh my god. The Millers are impressive! They gave such arge bejeweled ark. It¡¯s probably worth at least a few million dors!¡± ¡°It must be! Look at all the jade pieces, precious gems, jadeites, and the exquisite craftsmanship. It¡¯s definitely expensive!¡± ¡°It seems that the Millers have really spent a bomb this time. But if it makes the Hales pleased and willing to support them in the future, it¡¯s definitely worth it!¡± ¡°Yes! The Millers aren¡¯t fools either. Since they spent so much money on such an expensive gift, their returns will certainly be incredible! Unfortunately, we can¡¯t afford such an expensive gift. Otherwise, I¡¯d have definitely given a rare treasure to gain the favor of the Hales!¡± ... The crowd whispered and discussed, and many people were green with envy. Even the Hales, who were used to seeing exotic treasures, couldn¡¯t help but marvel at the exquisite, beautiful, and precious bejeweled ark in front of them. Bruce smiled at the Millers gently. ¡°Daniel, it¡¯s good enough that you¡¯re here to celebrate my great-grandson¡¯s baby shower. What are you being so polite for? This gift is too precious and valuable. I¡¯ll ept it and thank you on my great-grandson¡¯s behalf.¡± Seeing the Hales ept the gift with satisfaction, Daniel was smug and delighted. Indeed, after giving such a valuable gift, the Hales¡¯ attitude toward him was obviously different from their attitude toward others. Clearly, the Millers¡¯ rtionship with the Hales would only be closer in the future! At the thought of the scene of the Millers soaring to sess in the future, Daniel¡¯s heart was brimming with excitement. After looking at his son, Seth, he suddenly said, ¡°Old Mr. Hale, I still have one more thing to report to you, but... I don¡¯t know if I should.¡± Bruce assented and said nonchntly, ¡°What is it? Feel free to tell me.¡± Daniel pointed to Seth, who was standing beside him and had a red and swollen face. ¡°This is my unfilial son, Seth. He originally came to congratte you and Mr. Hale with good intentions, but just now, he ran into a crook outside who beat him up badly.¡± Seth did seem to be in a terrible state. His cheeks were swollen, the palm marks on his face were extremely obvious, and his hair was all messed up. He indeed seemed to have been bullied. Bruce frowned slightly. Immediately afterward, Daniel hurriedly continued, ¡°In the beginning, I didn¡¯t want to be a spoilsport and bring it up since it¡¯s your great-grandson¡¯s baby shower. However, after beating up my son, that crook snatched the Hales¡¯ invitation card to the banquet from my son and is now sitting proudly in the middle of the hall! ¡°I really think that this person might do something terrible to the guests, so I dared not hide it!¡± The hall full of guests was in an uproar, except for the very few people who had witnessed the entire dispute between Lucas and Seth at the entrance. They didn¡¯t expect that there would be such a brazen person at the entrance of the Hales¡¯ banquet! At the same time, many of them suddenly thought of something and began looking at Lucas spectively with apprehension. Daniel extended his arm and pointed at Lucas. ¡°This is the person who snatched away the invitation card!¡± The uproar in the hall immediately became louder. Just ten minutes ago, Bryce had questioned Lucas and made him take out Hales¡¯ invitation card. Lucas had indeed managed to produce one in the end, which was then proven genuine. However, Daniel now pointed out that Lucas had actually snatched the invitation card from Seth! Chapter 153: Embarrassing Behavior

Chapter 153: Embarrassing Behavior

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bruce narrowed his eyes as he looked at Lucas with a hostile expression and a sharp gaze. Just now, he received the news in the backyard that someone had openly started a conflict with another person at the Hales¡¯ banquet, and it resulted in ghastly bloodshed. Furthermore, that person had also been extremely disrespectful to his grandson, Connor. At first, Bruce wanted to chase Lucas out immediately. But due to the fact that it was tricky to deal with him, he reckoned that it would result in an unsightly dispute again. Besides, the banquet was about to officially begin. So Bruce decided to suppress the matter for the time being and wait until the banquet ended before dealing with him. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be so brazen as to cause trouble time and time again. Even the Millers censured him. Even if Bruce wanted to deal with Lucas at ater time, he had no choice but to change his mind now. Otherwise, others might just think that the Hales were really scared of Lucas. A cold smile appeared on Connor¡¯s lips. ¡°Hmph, it turns out that even the invitation card was snatched from someone else. A nobody like you isn¡¯t even qualified to attend the Hales¡¯ banquet!¡± He originally thought that Lucas was some mysterious figure who wanted to keep a low profile, which was why he received an invitation from the Hales. But he didn¡¯t expect that Lucas had snatched the invitation card from someone else. Still sittingposedly on his chair, Lucas kept a straight face, and he was even giving off a peculiar aura. Bruce had lived for decades, but all of a sudden, he was unsure of Lucas¡¯s identity. He raised his hand to stop Connor from continuing and stared at Lucas with a gloomy expression. ¡°Who exactly are you? If you¡¯re here to celebrate with the Hale family, I¡¯d like to thank you for your kind intentions even though you don¡¯t have an invitation. However, if you¡¯re here to cause trouble, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± Before Lucas could say anything, Seth hurriedly said, ¡°Old Mr. Hale, I know who he is! He¡¯s the live-in son-inw of the Carters who was embroiled in a scandal with Cheyenne Carter back then! Don¡¯t be fooled by his arrogance. He¡¯s just a penniless loser who got kicked out by the Carters! He¡¯s haughty and overbearing only because he was a soldier for a few years and thinks he can go around bullying others!¡± Seth red at Lucas scornfully with a gloating gaze. He initially nned to get someone to beat Lucas up after thetter left the Hale residence. But he didn¡¯t expect him to be so silly as to create a ruckus in the Hale family¡¯s ce. Heaven was really on his side now! He reckoned that the Hales would definitely take action against Lucas, so there was no need for him to take revenge on Lucas himself. Bruce frowned in displeasure and nced at Seth. Daniel hurriedly pulled his son back and chided, ¡°Old Mr. Hale is questioning him. What are you interrupting for? Hurry up and be quiet!¡± Only then did Lucas say slowly nonchntly, ¡°I thought that I¡¯d be able to see a lively crowd at the Hales¡¯ banquet, but I didn¡¯t expect to see a bunch of clowns trying to cozy up to a big shot. How unsightly and disappointing!¡± As soon as he said this, the Hales¡¯ expressions turned gloomy, and the guests had unsightly looks. Lucas¡¯s words were not only an insult to Seth and the others but also to the Hales. The guests here also felt offended. All the guests of the Hales¡¯ banquet harbored some intentions. However, the scene of Lucas smashing Bryce¡¯s head with a wine bottle and pressing the head of the next sessor of the Hale family into a bowl of soup without saying a word was still fresh in their minds. No one dared to scold him openly at this juncture. Besides, they knew that the Hales would deal with him themselves, so it wasn¡¯t appropriate for them to stand up against him now. Bruce¡¯s face gradually darkened. He felt that he had already made things less awkward for Lucas, yet Lucas still had the guts to insult the Hales on their turf. How impudent! Even if the helmsmen of the three other top families of Orange County were here, they wouldn¡¯t say such things in front of him! Moreover, the person in front of him was just a young brat with no background! At this moment, Lucas suddenly stood up from his chair and walked toward Bruce and the others at the front. The surrounding people were suddenly shocked. Looking at Lucas¡¯s behavior, they wondered if he was going to hit Old Mr. Hale and the others. Old Mr. Hale narrowed his eyes, and standing behind him, Connor looked angry. He was about to wave his hand to beckon the bodyguards not far away toe over and protect his grandfather... But before he could call for anyone, a man suddenly came over to stand in front of Bruce and stretched his arms out. He said righteously, ¡°Old Mr. Hale, don¡¯t worry! I will stand here to protect you. If Lucas Gray wants toe over and touch you, he¡¯ll have to do it over my dead body!¡± Hearing what Seth said, many people cringed. His words were like a corny and embarrassing line from a TV show from more than a decade ago! However, Seth didn¡¯t realize this himself. He just wanted to shield Bruce while putting on a good act to show his loyalty, courage, and bravery. Since there were still so many of the Hales¡¯ bodyguards around, he thought that Lucas would never be able to reach Bruce or hurt him. He thought that it was a great deal since he just had to put on an act and then gain the favor of Bruce! However, almost everyone present was aware of what Seth was thinking. Connor nced at Seth calmly andpletely ignored his embarrassing behavior. He then waved at the people around. In an instant, five tall and strong bodyguards came out from the corner of the banquet hall and stood in front of Lucas to block him. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re really arrogant!¡± Connor remarked while standing behind the bodyguards. He sneered. ¡°I just don¡¯t know how long you can keep being arrogant for!¡± Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°I¡¯m not as arrogant as the Hales.¡± Connor guffawed arrogantly. ¡°The Hale family is at least one of the four top families in Orange County. Even if we¡¯re haughty, we have every right to do so! You are just a lowly live-in son-inw and a good-for-nothing who got kicked out by the Carters. What right do you have to be so arrogant toward us?!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Hmph, is that so? Just wait and see then!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he shed and appeared beside the bodyguards surrounding Connor! Chapter 154: The Hale Family’s Killer

Chapter 154: The Hale Family¡¯s Killer

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Connor¡¯s pupils constricted. But before he could react, he was kicked away by Lucas¡¯s long and menacing leg! ¡°Aaahhhh!¡± With asting shriek, Connor was instantly kicked far away. He smashed into several tables in a row, shattering the dishes on the table into pieces, andnded right onto the greasy soup and broken porcin pieces. He couldn¡¯t get up for a long time and looked extremely distressed! Everyone inhaled sharply as they looked at the scene in front of them in disbelief! Lucas actually had the guts to kick Connor right in front of the patriarch of the Hale family. He was simply out of his mind! ¡°This punk must be tired of living. He¡¯s out of his mind!¡± ¡°But how on earth did he just hit Mr. Hale? There were clearly five bodyguards shielding Mr. Hale. How did that punk pass them?¡± The crowd broke into discussion while staring in disbelief at Connor, who had been kicked around eight meters away. If not for the fact that Connor had indeed copsed onto the ground and was lying in a disheveled manner, they wouldn¡¯t have believed their eyes. At this moment, the bodyguards reacted and turned to face Lucas. Although the bodyguards didn¡¯t know how exactly he had broken through them just now, Connor had indeed been kicked and sent flying away. This was an indisputable fact that proved their negligence and ipetence as bodyguards! The bodyguards looked at each other. Then they roared, charged toward Lucas, and punched at him hard. With their dignity and livelihoods at stake, they had to defeat him as soon as possible! However, the bodyguards¡¯ actions were naturally slow and ipetent in Lucas¡¯s eyes. Lucas gently turned to the side to dodge the punches. Then he grabbed the arms of two bodyguards and flung them out of the hall by more than ten meters! Immediately afterward, he grabbed the remaining three bodyguards with one hand and flung them out like they were fish in a bucket! The five bodyguards were stacked one on top of the other like giant fish, blocking half the entrance of the luxurious and grand banquet hall. The people in the hall watched everything happening in front of them in utter astonishment! To be able to effortlessly throw muscr men who were 1.9 meters tall and weighed nearly 100 kilograms each and cause them tond more than ten meters away was definitely not something that an ordinary person could do! Who exactly is this person? Lucas ignored the people looking at him in horror and simply nced at Seth, who was standing alone in front of Bruce and still keeping his arms open in a protective stance. With a faint smile, he said, ¡°You just said that if I wanted to go over, I¡¯d have to kill you first, right?¡± The smile on Lucas¡¯s face looked devilish to Seth. He was so frightened that he shuddered and froze on the spot. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva and spluttered, ¡°You... don¡¯t you dare get up to any nonsense! If you really kill me, you¡¯ll be breaking thew!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Oh, you sounded so righteous just now that I thought you were really fearless!¡± Then he stepped forward. ¡°Ah! Don¡¯t youe over!¡± Before Lucas did anything, Seth suddenly screamed. His legs went limp, and he sat down on the ground while shivering incessantly, no longer as domineering as he pretended to be just now. Daniel hurriedly stepped forward and glowered at Lucas. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Lucas smiled coldly and said to Seth, ¡°You were rude to me at the entrance, but I spared you and told you to go home and bring your father because I wanted your father to discipline you and teach you how to behave. I didn¡¯t ask you to find a backer and continue trying to throw your weight around in front of me!¡± After saying this, Lucas jumped and kicked Seth without mercy. Seth felt a strong forceing from his back that caused him to fly forward and roll several meters on the ground. He stopped rolling only after he hit a wall near him. His head mmed against the wall, and he passed out. Daniel was enraged when he saw his son fainting after being kicked, and he felt a strong urge to rush forward and fight Lucas! But the moves that Lucas showed just now were clearly not something that ordinary people could handle, so Daniel dared not move at all. He could only roar furiously and re at him resentfully. Lucas nced at Daniel and said indifferently, ¡°Bear this in mind. If you still can¡¯t take your son in hand, I¡¯ll do it for you. However, I can¡¯t guarantee if your son will be alive by then.¡± The tant threat immediately made Daniel¡¯s face redden, but he could only grit his teeth and didn¡¯t dare to say a word. The other people in the hall had their jaws drop when they saw the scene before them, feeling as if they were dreaming. Lucas actually had the guts to hit someone and issue threats in the banquet hall of the Hales,pletely disregarding the Hales¡¯ presence! At this moment, Bruce¡¯s face was extremely gloomy and shaking. He was clearly suppressing his anger. It had been a long time since someone dared to insult the pride of the Hales! Suddenly, a phantom-like and thin figure appeared beside Bruce. The figure seemed to be about 1.4 to 1.5 meters tall and was all huddled up like a monkey. He was d in a full-ck attire and was wearing a ck mask with only his eyes revealed. However, from the wrinkles around his eyes, it was obvious that he was old. Among the guests, there were some people who had seen that old man in ck before. Some couldn¡¯t help but exim, ¡°Mr. Hans! It¡¯s actually Mr. Hans!¡± ¡°Wow, Mr. Hans is here too. It seems Lucas Gray won¡¯t live to see tomorrow!¡± ¡°Hahahaha, that¡¯s right. He didn¡¯t even think about how prestigious the Hale family is. How dare he, a nobody, create such a stir here? I reckon he¡¯ll face a terrifying death soon!¡± Those who knew who Hans was began to look at Lucas gloatingly after Hans appeared. ¡°Mr. Hans? Who¡¯s that?¡± There were some who didn¡¯t know who he was and asked the people around them. ¡°You haven¡¯t even heard of Mr. Hans? Oh, you¡¯re too young. You probably don¡¯t know that Mr. Hans is the most menacing killer of the Hale family!¡± Chapter 155: The Power of a Fist

Chapter 155: The Power of a Fist

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The short and bizarre old man was called John Hans, a highlypetent henchman hired by the Hales for a high price. Over the years, he had protected Bruce and the Hales¡¯ direct descendants on several asions. Moreover, before the Hales became the first-tier family they currently were, they had plenty of business rivals andpetitors. But these people would somehow get into mishaps, get kidnapped, or be assassinated. Those who were close to them all knew that these incidents were the doing of this short and hideous old man. It could be said that without the secret help and support that Hans had provided the family with by resorting to unscrupulous means to attack their rivals, the Hales would have never be one of the four major families in Orange County. He was an intimidating figure who made countless people of the older generation terrified! The most frightening things about Hans were his unpredictable moves, lightning-like speed, excellent reflexes, and assassination techniques, which were his forte! Rumor had it that after Hans gained a stable foothold in the Hale family, he stopped being involved with those illegal and sordid businesses. Throughout the decades that the Hales had been providing for him, he had never once attacked anyone. Thus, the people of the younger generation had never heard of him. But now that Hans had suddenly appeared in the middle of the hall, he was obviously out to attack Lucas. Clearly, Lucas had provoked the authority of the Hales, which was a major threat to them. Many were guessing that Lucas probably wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the Hale residence alive! ¡°Mr. Hans, I¡¯ll leave this punk to you to handle.¡± After Bruce issued thismand, the short old man immediately moved and got on all four limbs like an animal. Hans red daggers at Lucas with a bloodthirsty killing intent in his eyes. He was extremely short in the first ce, and his limbs became even shorter after he curled up into a ball. But he was very nimble. As soon as he stomped his feet against the ground, he instantly leaped up high and appeared right above Lucas! His thin palm was like a sharp de that shed at Lucas¡¯s head! If his palm hit Lucas hard on the head, it would definitely do severe damage to his head. Even if it didn¡¯t kill him, he would likely be mentally retarded. Hans¡¯s strike was as fast as lightning, so much so that the people in the hall could only see a ck shadow sh. Before they knew it, his palm had already appeared above Lucas¡¯s head. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t be able to react in time at all, as they would simply get smacked hard by his palm. Unfortunately, Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person! With a cold gaze in his eyes, Lucas swung his fist to meet Hans¡¯s menacing palm. Bang! With an explosion, his fist and Hans¡¯s palm collided. No one knew exactly how Lucas managed to do so within milliseconds! A tremendous and unparalleled force coursed through Hans¡¯s palm all the way to his wrist, followed by his elbow and arm. In an instant, half of Hans¡¯s body turned numb, as though a massive electric current had struck him. He was also sent flying by the overwhelming force that was impossible to resist! Boom! Hans¡¯s body mmed against arge marble pir at the back of the hall. With a loud crack, his spine shattered as he spat out a mouthful of blood that sent the ck mask on his face flying away. Hans¡¯s face was covered in blood, and his body turned limp as he slid down the marble pir, fell to the ground, and stopped moving. ... It was dead silent. The silence made everyone¡¯s heart jump. For a whole minute, no one dared to make a sound. With just one punch, Lucas sted away the Hales¡¯ top henchman and sent him crashing into a marble pir. The impact rendered him motionless and unable to fight anymore. It was simply too terrifying! In particr, those who knew how terrifying Hans was, as well as the guests of the older generation in the hall, all looked horrified. They almost couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. If not for the fact that Hans¡¯s chest was still moving up and down faintly, the crowd would have thought that Lucas¡¯s punch had killed him... With just one punch, Lucas crippled the esteemed and mighty John Hans! Bruce¡¯s face twitched violently a few times, and he couldn¡¯t hide the astonishment in his eyes. The mighty Mr. Hans, who had always been unbeatable, actually got defeated by a single punch from Lucas Gray! Is it because Mr. Hans has aged, or is Lucas Gray too formidable... Bruce suppressed the shock and vague uneasiness in his heart and waved his hand at the side. In an instant, several Hales immediately called for security guards to lift the motionless Hans up from the ground and move him to a separate small building behind the hall. They then called several doctors toe and save him. Meanwhile, Connor, whom Lucas had kicked away earlier, was also helped up. He then limped over. Bruce kept his eyes fixed on Lucas as his expression turned unreadable. After a long while, he asked, ¡°Young man, why did youe to the Hale residence today to cause trouble? Has the Hale family offended you in some way?¡± Lucas¡¯s actions were all offensive to the Hales, and anyone who wasn¡¯t blind could tell that he was here to get back at the Hales. Lucas suddenlyughed and asked, ¡°Is Logan Hale a member of your family?¡± Bruce frowned slightly. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be that naive as to think that Lucas suddenly mentioned Logan because he wanted to show that he was acquainted with the Hales. In the current situation, it seemed that it was likely that Logan had offended Lucas. Bruce Hale nodded. ¡°Yes, Logan Hale is my grandson. What¡¯s wrong? Has he offended you in some way?¡± Despite saying this, his tone was actually nonchnt. Logan had always been average inpetency and yful since he was a child, so no one treated him as a future sessor of the Hale family. Thus, Logan often got into trouble outside. His elders were all aware of it, but most of the time, they chose to turn a blind eye to it. In any case, the Hale family already had an extraordinary status in Orange County. Even if he created a huge mess, the Hales were definitely capable of cleaning it up. Lucas asked again, ¡°In that case, do you know that he imprisoned an innocent girl outside?¡± Hearing this, Bruce had a look of epiphany. Then he sneered with sarcasm. ¡°Does that girl have anything to do with you? Is that why you¡¯re here to confront him? It¡¯s just a woman. She should feel lucky that Logan has taken a fancy to her! ¡°Now that you¡¯re here, are you trying to save her or ask us forpensation? Tell me, how much money do you want?¡± Chapter 156: Giving a Big Gift

Chapter 156: Giving a Big Gift

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas smiled andughed at Bruce¡¯s words. ¡°No wonder Logan Hale is such an imbecile. It turns out a crooked stick will have a crooked shadow! With an immoral grandfather like you, Logan Hale must have been poorly educated. He doesn¡¯t have any manners at all!¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± Bruce bellowed furiously. ¡°You¡¯re just an outsider. You¡¯re in no ce to make anyments about our family¡¯s affairs!¡± Lucas sneered and didn¡¯t bother to talk with Bruce anymore. He simply looked at him in derision. ¡°Before I came to the Hale residence today, I thought I would be going a bit too far by interrupting your banquet. But now it seems that what I¡¯ve done is far from enough! The Hale family is incorrigible and filthy. In my opinion, there¡¯s no need for the Hales to continue to exist in Orange County.¡± As soon as he said that, everyone looked at him peculiarly, thinking that he was out of his mind. Even if he was impressive at martial arts and could beat up ten people on his own, the Hales had a few hundred bodyguards, and a siege will be enough to crush this arrogant ant to death. Lucas had just defeated Hans, the Hales¡¯ henchman. But after thinking about it, everyone reckoned that since Hans was already old and the Hales were now one of the four most powerful families in the county, Hans definitely wasn¡¯t their only trump card. Thus, everyone felt that Lucas was being too arrogant and overestimating himself! Bruce narrowed his eyes and looked at Lucas gloomily. ¡°Punk, aren¡¯t you thinking too lightly of the four major families? The fact that the Hales can be at the top of Orange County means that we¡¯re a powerful existence that you can¡¯t just annihte!¡± In fact, the Hale family¡¯s status had be so high that theirwork of connections and power had extended to all levels of society. They had powerful businesses and were in close ties with various forces. They were also acquainted with many in the upper echelons of society, as well as the major families and enterprises that had cooperated with the Hales. It could be said that the Hales had already formed deep roots, and overthrowing them was not an easy task that just any expert could do. Today¡¯s society was no longer as chaotic as it was 70 to 80 years ago, where gangs and the mafia were rampant, and an individual could build a family business and territory. Lucas smiled calmly and couldn¡¯t be bothered to exin anymore. He suddenly looked at the door. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot that I have a gift for the Hales.¡± Bruce said with a mirthless smile, ¡°I¡¯m afraid your congrattory gift isn¡¯t something good. I don¡¯t want it.¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t be in a hurry to reject it. This is a special gift, and I believe you¡¯ll definitely ept it with satisfaction after you see it.¡± After Lucas said this, Jordan, who had disappeared for a long time, suddenly appeared in front of the hall. He was holding something in his hand and dragging it on the ground. Before everyone could see clearly, Jordan waved his hand, and the long ck object in his hand flew straight across the hall andnded directly in front of Bruce with a dull thud. As soon as everyone fixed their eyes on what Lucas¡¯s gift was, extremely loud gasps resounded in the hall! It was a person! Lucas actually got someone to bring a person! Bruce frowned. But when he saw the person¡¯s face clearly, he immediately felt a chill and roared hysterically in rage, ¡°Logan!¡± ¡°What? Logan? Is it Logan Hale?¡± ¡°Oh my god! The person on the ground is actually Logan Hale?¡± Only then did the crowd understand that the person thrown over as a gift was actually a direct descendant of the Hales. It was Logan Hale, whom Lucas and Bruce had just been talking about! But Logan Hale, who was thrown over like a rag, was now covered in blood with his eyes closed and his face pale. His legs were twisted at an awkward angle. He had clearly had his legs broken. Furthermore, the rest of his body was covered in injuries! Bruce was infuriated. The veins on his forehead were bulging, and his eyes were bloodshot! Bruce Hale¡¯s grandson was beaten into a pulp and thrown back in their home, right on the Hales¡¯ turf. It was just like pping the Hales directly in the face! ¡°I want you dead! Someone,e here!¡± Bruce could no longer maintain his expression as he hollered furiously. Instantly, 20 or so elite guards in ck dashed out of every corner of the banquet hall and surrounded Lucas. Although these people were inferior to Hans in terms ofbat skills, they were also first-ss martial arts experts whom the Hales had handpicked. They were definitely not ordinary bodyguards. These 20 or so elite guards standing around Lucas and Jordan should be more than enough to deal with them. Bruce refused to believe that they couldn¡¯t beat the two. No matter how powerful Lucas and Jordan were, they definitely couldn¡¯t survive under the siege of 20-odd such experts! But when Lucas saw so many people around him, he still looked rxed without any nervousness at all. He said indifferently, ¡°After seeing the state your grandson is in, don¡¯t you want to know why I did that to him?¡± Bruce¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he said with a menacing expression, ¡°He¡¯s my grandson. Even if he has done something wrong, the Hales should be the one to punish him. What right do you have to do that to him?¡± Lucas shook his head and sneered. ¡°You feel miserable and angry seeing your grandson beaten up. But when your grandson treats others like this and bullies others, you justugh it off and don¡¯t take it seriously at all! ¡°If he does something wrong, he should be punished. Since you won¡¯t discipline your grandson, someone else will do so on your behalf! ¡°Your grandson is human, but so are others. Why should they be bullied by you? Don¡¯t you understand the principle of ¡®do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you¡¯?¡± Bruce sneered. ¡°Who do you think you are? Do you think you can do justice for the world? Let me tell you, in this world, people with power, status, and wealth are superior to others! We are naturally much more noble than you! How can you, a penniless bastard,pare to my grandson?! ¡°If you dare to beat up my grandson, I will definitely make you die a miserable death. And it still wouldn¡¯t be enough to vent the hatred within me!¡± Chapter 157: Fragile

Chapter 157: Fragile

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas shook his head in disappointment and said coldly, ¡°Your grandson, Logan Hale, kidnapped my five-year-old daughter. I initially thought ofing here to ask you for an exnation, but given your attitude now, it¡¯s obvious that you people are incorrigible! There¡¯s no need for the Hales to exist anymore, and I won¡¯t show you any mercy either.¡± After Lucas said thest sentence, an extremely strong killing aura suddenly erupted from his body. He was like a sharp sword unsheathed, emitting a cold aura that was so menacing that everyone couldn¡¯t help but be fearful. After being shocked, Bruce burst intoughter as if he had heard the greatest joke. ¡°Show us mercy? I bet you just haven¡¯t gotten a clear idea of the situation! In a moment, I will make you kneel down and beg me to show mercy!¡± Bruce had a ferocious expression on his face as he ordered the elite guards surrounding Lucas and Jordan. ¡°Hit him! I want him to kneel down in front of my grandchildren and make amends for his arrogance and haughtiness! I want to crush his limbs bit by bit and make him atone for my grandchildren, Logan and Connor!¡± With Bruce¡¯s order, the 20-odd elite guards immediately pulled out their batons, daggers, and other such weapons attached at their waists and closed in on Lucas and Jordan. The various sharp and cold weapons reflected cold light. There was definitely going to be bloodshed, and people might even die! ¡°Wow! Hurry up and leave!¡± ¡°This is too frightening. Quick, get out of the way! Don¡¯t block me!¡± ¡°Oh my god, what should we do?!¡± ... The surrounding guests shrieked and retreated to the corners of the banquet hall in panic, fearing that they might be implicated. But no one dared to suggest leaving at this time. In the center of therge banquet hall, there was a massive vacated area. Lucas, Jordan, and the 20-odd elite guards were standing there. However, Bruce narrowed his eyes and felt extremely unhappy. Lucas and the young man beside him were clearly surrounded by 20-odd people with lethal weapons. Outnumbered, they looked as though they would be defeated in a single blow. But there was not a single trace of nervousness or fear on the faces of these two people. Lucas¡¯s face was expressionless, and it was unclear if he was happy or angry. But the aura around him was intimidating. As for the young man beside him, Jordan, he even grinned sinisterly and stared at the surrounding elite guards. He even rubbed his hands together and seemed to be waiting to taste something delicious. They¡¯re both psychopaths! Bruce cursed, and his face turned sullen as he shouted, ¡°Beat them up severely!¡± The 20-odd people in the hall immediately started moving. He clearly had the upper hand, but for some reason, Bruce felt uneasy. Perhaps because of Lucas¡¯s and Jordan¡¯s bizarre expressions, Bruce felt an ominous premonition. In the past few decades, Bruce often had a sixth sense during strange junctures, and his hunches often allowed him to escape various crises. At the thought of this, Bruce no longer hesitated and immediately beckoned a Hale next to him. He then whispered into his ear. After hearing Bruce¡¯s words, that Hale immediately looked astonished and nodded solemnly. He then turned around and dashed out of the banquet hall. In the middle of the hall, Lucas and Jordan were fearless despite facing the elite guards. They were as fast as lightning, constantly moving and dodging. And within ten seconds, the 20-odd elite guards shrieked and were sent flying! Some people had their wrists or legs broken, while others had their weapons stabbed into them before they could even touch Lucas and Jordan. In just over ten seconds, these elite guards were on the ground after smashing through the dozens of tables in the middle of the banquet hall, leaving the floor in a mess. The baby shower could be said to have been utterly ruined! The guests hiding in the corners of the hall were dumbfounded as they watched the incredible scene in front of them, feeling as though they were watching an exciting action movie! Lucas and Jordan were so fast that it was impossible to distinguish between them. All that the people could see were them shuttling among the crowd of ck clothes guards as the cracking sounds of bones breaking and tables shattering rang out, followed by bursts of heart-rending shrieks. Afterward, the ck figures were knocked into the air and fell to the ground. They rolled around and were unable to get up again, losing all theirbat strength. The people couldn¡¯t see how terrifying Lucas¡¯s and Jordan¡¯sbat skills were, but the final oue was obvious to everyone. A thought surged in everyone¡¯s mind¡ªJordan¡¯s and Lucas¡¯s power was just too horrifying! Ordinary people couldn¡¯t handle them at all! They were definitely experts far beyond Hans! Everyone in the hall was quiet. Only the sounds of some guards in ck with broken limbs, who were rolling around and wailing in pain on the ground, could be heard. Bruce¡¯s face twitched violently, and he looked truly terrified. Immediately afterward, he suppressed the fear. The Hale family member immediately returned to Bruce¡¯s side and gestured to him to say that he had already followed his instructions. Bruce¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and he was ring daggers with a maniacal expression. He waved his hand behind him. In an instant, more than ten people surrounded Lucas and Jordan. ¡°Are you done? Seriously, this trick again? They¡¯re just a bunch of weaklings! Get someone more impressive toe!¡± When Jordan saw these people in front of him, he curled his lips in contempt. Being a martial artist, he could tell at a nce that the physical quality andbat skills of these people that the Hales arranged were inferior to those 20-odd guards in ck just now. ¡°Hmph, ignorant punks. I¡¯ll let you know how impressive they are right now!¡± Bruce sneered and made a hand gesture. In an instant, the ten-odd people surrounding Lucas and Jordan all raised their pure ck fully automatic pistols! More than a dozen muzzles aimed at Lucas and Jordan in the middle of the hall! Chapter 158: Want To Compete In Guns?

Chapter 158: Want To Compete In Guns?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Damn it, guns! There are guns!¡± ¡°Oh my gosh! There are real guns!¡± ¡°Oh my god! I didn¡¯t expect the Hales to have so many guns!¡± When the guests saw the dozen or so pistols in front of them, they gasped loudly in unison. They wondered where the Hales actually got so many guns! The possession of such guns was restricted. And apart from the military and police, civilians found to be in possession of such firearms would be deemed asmitting a crime. The source of such heavy firearms had always been strictly controlled, and it would be difficult for the general public to get hold of such weapons. Now, the Hales not only had guns, but they had more than ten of them. They were definitely not to be underestimated! They were the trump card of the Hales! Bruce stood at the front of the banquet hall, his gaze sinister and full of murderous intent. ¡°Punk, I admit that you and this young man beside you are reallypetent inbat, and if we were in an era decades ago, maybe you really could use yourbat skills to build a bright future for yourself. However, in today¡¯s society, what¡¯s the use of being so good atbat? Modern weapons are the most powerful! Even if you move fast, can you be faster than bullets? I¡¯m certain you can¡¯t escape with more than ten guns aimed at you!¡± Bruce calmed down, and his tone was full of pride and arrogance. With his powerful team of armed henchmen, he was certain that anyone who came to provoke the Hales wouldn¡¯t escape. Lucas nced disdainfully at the automatic pistols in the hands of the henchmen around him and sneered mockingly. ¡°Surely you don¡¯t think you can deal with me with just these lousy things, do you?¡± ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± Bruce burst intoughter. ¡°You¡¯re really ignorant! You¡¯ll find out immediately whether they¡¯re lousy or not!¡± He raised his arm high and ordered the henchmen, ¡°Pay attention, and don¡¯t kill them right away. Avoid the vital areas like their heads and hearts. Shoot them anywhere else you want. Shoot as many times as you want. I want him to feel the pain and apologize to my grandsons. I must make sure they beg me to give them a release after they have enjoyed the pain!¡± Bruce¡¯s words were so vicious that many of the guests in the corners of the hall looked horrified and had fear in their eyes. But it was obvious that this was exactly the effect that he wanted. He wanted the guests to understand that the Hales were still high up in the sky and would never tolerate any insults or humiliation. Their home was not a ce where anyone coulde and cause trouble! He wanted to use Lucas and Jordan as an example to warn everyone not to belittle or disrespect the Hales! The more than ten henchmen raised the guns in their hands, but just as they were about to pull their triggers, a loud explosion suddenly thundered outside the hall! Bang! It sounded as though somethingrge and tall had copsed and exploded. With the loud sound, the entire floor of the banquet hall and ss began to quake as if an earthquake had urred. The chandelier on the ceiling swayed, and many of the wine sses on the dining tables fell and shattered on the ground. ¡°Ah! What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is it an earthquake? Or an explosion?¡± ¡°Get some people to hurry outside to take a look!¡± The guests held their heads with both hands and hid under the tables while shrieking in horror. Some who were near the door even wanted to dash out first. If there was really an earthquake or an explosion at this time, no one would care about whether or not they would offend the Hales because staying alive was the most important! The Hales also hurriedly sent a few security guards to go out and check the situation. But before they could get out, a heavily armed green military vehicle crashed right through the entrance of the banquet hall and sped right in! Bang! The beautiful and sturdy tempered ss doors of the banquet hall instantly shattered into pieces, and the fine ss shards sttered everywhere, covering the marble floor in broken ss. ¡°Aaahhh!¡± Some guests who were closer to the door shrieked in horror and covered their heads and faces; some who were a little slower to react ended up getting cut by the ss shards sttering everywhere and started bleeding. But there was no time to worry about these small wounds, and everyone was simply dumbfounded as they stared at the iing armored vehicle that crashed into the hall, their eyes zing over. It was a German PMMC-G5 armored vehicle that had a military green exterior and a triangr front. It was supported by two wide tank tracks and six pairs of sturdy wheels. The armored vehicle was nearly three meters tall and eight meters long. It was just like a giant steel fortress! It was only when everyone saw the domineering vehicle that they realized that the loud roar outside just now should have been the sound made by this armored vehicle crashing through the gate and bulldozing through the courtyard outside! Furthermore, even more shocking was that, in addition to the armored vehicle that crashed into the hall, there were more armored vehicles charging into the front yard outside the banquet hall! There were two, three... seven, eight of them! Only after the spacious front yard of the Hale residence was all upied did the convoy of massive vehicles stop moving forward! But no one knew exactly how many more of the same armored vehicles there were outside the yard! While everyone was overwhelmed with fear, nervousness, and shock, the doors of the armored vehicles opened uniformly, and countless soldiers dressed in dark green special military uniforms alighted. All of them had robust figures and a loaded gun tied around their waists, and they were all emitting an intimidating murderous aura! There were ten, thirty... more than ny people... The soldiers who came out of the armored vehicles seemed to have no end as they soon filled up the open space in the Hale residence¡¯s front yard and quickly barged into the banquet hall. There were at least two hundred soldiers dressed in army green military uniforms! The more terrifying thing was that after these people rushed into the banquet hall, they immediately held their fully automatic rifles and submachine guns in front of their bodies. All of a sudden, around two hundred terrifying rifles were all pointing neatly and uniformly at the 20-odd people holding pistols in the hall, as well as the Hales in front of them. Bruce¡¯s expression changed drastically, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead! Chapter 159: I Want To Pledge Allegiance

Chapter 159: I Want To Pledge Allegiance

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios There were many armed soldiers and formidable armored vehicles. They were obviously from the military. When did the Hales provoke the military? The military had always been a self-contained system that enjoyed a prestigious status, and it would rarely be acquainted with families and corporations. Furthermore, these military soldiers were all pointing their guns at the Hales, making Bruce feel overwhelmed with nervousness as his heart pounded violently. Bruce, the oldest, was already so nervous, what more the family members behind him. Facing the numerous muzzles being pointed at them, many of their legs turned weak, and they dared not make a single sound at all, fearing that they might offend the soldiers and end up being shot. The soldiers had plenty of submachine guns, and at such a close range, they would all die if they were shot! ¡°All of you, put down your weapons and surrender now! Otherwise, we will open fire. I repeat, all of you put down your weapons and surrender immediately!¡± A burly man dressed in a military uniform was standing at the front of the line of soldiers and hollering loudly with a cold and gloomy face. With his order, the two hundred-odd soldiers in green army uniforms behind him lifted the guns in their hands and immediately pulled the bolts before aiming at the Hales. An overwhelming and unparalleled might filled the entire hall. Without needing Bruce to give any orders, the guards put their pistols on the ground obediently. They also squatted on the ground and ced their hands on their heads. All the Hales were frightened and turned to look at Bruce. At this moment, Bruce was their backbone! Bruce had no choice but to bite the bullet and get up while forcing himself to stay calm, muster his courage, and put on a forced smile. ¡°Officers, may I ask which unit you¡¯re from? Why... are you suddenly here at the Hale residence? Is there something important that you have to handle?¡± The burly man leading the soldiers casually nced at Bruce and said in a loud and clear voice unique to soldiers, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about which unit we¡¯re from. We received a report from an informant that there was arge number of people using restricted firearms in the Hale residence. The situation was terrible, and the consequences could have been extremely serious. Now, after our confirmation, we have gathered conclusive evidence against the Hales! All of you are toe back with us for further investigation!¡± As soon as he said this, the Hales turned pale. And many of them fell to the ground, their legs limp. They subconsciously wanted to defend themselves and say that they had been wronged. But more than ten of the Hales¡¯ guards had been armed with pistols. It was a fact that thousands of guests in the hall all witnessed. Besides, the soldiers also caught them in the act, so regardless of how they argued, there was concrete evidence and no way they could clear their names! If they were facing someone else, they would still be able to think of a solution and pull all their connections to suppress this matter. But they were now facing the merciless and impartial military soldiers, whom they didn¡¯t know at all. They didn¡¯t even know which division they were from, and no matter how they tried to use their connections, it would all be to no avail! It was obviously a killing blow. The fact that they hade at this juncture showed that they were out to nab all the Hales together! Moreover, Bruce was even certain that there was definitely something fishy about this! Just now, the burly soldier in front of him, who seemed to be the leader, said that there was an informant who reported that the Hales were in illegal possession of restricted firearms, which was the reason they were here. But the Hales had hidden those items very well, and they wouldn¡¯t use them unless during critical moments. Just now, he had no choice but to have peoplee out with those guns because Lucas was just too powerful. He wanted to deter Lucas, and that just happened only a few minutes ago. But the military had sent so many armored vehicles and soldiers. It was definitely impossible for them to take only a few minutes to show up at the Hales¡¯ doorstep from the time they received the report, followed by the dispatch. This just showed that the appearance of the military squad was premeditated long ago! It seemed that they were prepared! Their ultimate goal was to deal a blow to the Hales and nab all of them! Who is it? Who nned all this? Various thoughts rapidly ran through Bruce¡¯s mind, and all of a sudden, a sentence appeared in his mind. ¡°There¡¯s no need for the Hales to exist anymore, and I won¡¯t show you any mercy either.¡± That was what Lucas just said ten minutes ago! Did Lucas Gray n this?! Bruce inhaled sharply as he looked at the young man near him in horror. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that Lucas was here at the Hale residence for the purpose of settling scores with Logan for abducting his daughter, and he wanted the Hales to give him an exnation. Bruce no longer wanted to think about how the situation escted out of control and reached this extent. Lucas indeed had very strongbat skills, and he had also said that he wanted to destroy the Hales in Orange County. Prior to this, Bruce had always looked down on Lucas, so he didn¡¯t take his words seriously. He felt that Lucas was just a young man who didn¡¯t know any better and was overestimating his own abilities. But now that so many armed soldiers suddenly appeared in the Hale residence, and the Hales were indeed facing an unprecedented crisis of annihtion, Bruce had a change of mind. This is definitely not just a coincidence! His face as pale as a sheet, Bruce looked at Lucas and said in misery, ¡°I was wrong. You are indeed not an ordinary person. What exactly is your identity?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°What exactly is my identity? I¡¯m just a live-in son-inw who is worthless. Didn¡¯t you already say this clearly just now?¡± Bruce was stunned. Those were the remarks that he, his grandson, and others made about Lucas. He believed them and so had been thinking that Lucas was just an insignificant small fry. Thus, he didn¡¯t pay any attention to Lucas¡¯s words, as he merely thought that he could easily crush this annoying bug. But Bruce now realized that he was wrong! Extremely wrong! ¡°Mr. Gray, I hereby apologize to you for having offended you earlier. I hope that you will forgive us for our ignorance and offensive behavior. I promise that if you let us off now, we will be loyal to you in the future and obey all yourmands!¡± Bruce said decisively after gritting his teeth. Chapter 160: The Hale Family Wiped Out

Chapter 160: The Hale Family Wiped Out

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Grandpa, how can you...¡± Connor, who was standing right behind Bruce, immediately panicked after hearing those words. If not for the fact that there were so many guns pointing at them, he would have rushed up to his grandfather and questioned if he was old and muddled up. Lucas Gray is a nobody. Why do we have to bow down to this cheap scoundrel and pledge allegiance to him? Why must we follow his orders? ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m still in charge of the Hale family now!¡± Bruce rebuked loudly, stopping Connor from continuing, as well as the many Hales trying to dissuade him. Lucas raised his eyebrow and chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m just a nobody. What right do I have to earn the Hale family¡¯s loyalty? Hah, surely you don¡¯t think I was the one who asked these officers toe here, do you?¡± Of course, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be foolish enough to expose his identity to Bruce, this sly old fox. Besides, it indeed wasn¡¯t time to reveal his identity and status in the military yet. Bruce immediately froze in shock. Since Lucas Gray is denying it, did I guess wrongly? But if it isn¡¯t him, then who actually is the culprit? Bruce frowned while thinking hard in his mind about which big shot the Hales might have offended recently. But he couldn¡¯t think of anyone. ¡°Enough! Hurry up and move. Every member of the Hale family is going to be investigated!¡± At this moment, a soldier in a dark green military uniform pulled Bruce and urged. There were already quite a few soldiers behind him who had gone to pull the other members of the Hale family. Of course, the Hales were not willing to be taken away just like that. Once they were taken away, who knew if they coulde back alive... All the Hales sat on the ground and bawled and struggled with all their might, refusing to leave. Seeing their refusal, the burly soldier in the lead frowned and said coldly, ¡°All of you, shut up. Don¡¯t cry or resist. Otherwise, we will consider you to be resisting arrest. And we have every right to shoot those who resist and cause trouble!¡± Hearing this, those hoping that they would get lucky and tried to throw a tantrum to escape punishment instantly ceased all their weeping and froze on the spot. All of them had a look of despair on their faces, but they didn¡¯t dare to struggle and bawl anymore. They simply sobbed while the soldiers dragged them to the armored vehicles. Bruce¡¯s face was pale, but he had no choice but to ept the arrest. However, he was ring at Lucas with extreme hatred! Regardless of whether Lucas was the culprit or not, he wouldn¡¯t have summoned the Hales¡¯ armed henchmen after repeatedly suffering defeat at Lucas¡¯s hands if Lucas hadn¡¯t suddenly appeared at the Hales¡¯ baby shower and disrupted their celebration! Therefore, the Hales were in this state all because of Lucas Gray! He wouldn¡¯t let him go! Lucas looked fearlessly into the hate-filled eyes of Bruce, who looked like he wanted to eat someone, and said calmly, ¡°I have something to tell you. Don¡¯t always think that it¡¯s someone else¡¯s fault. You ought to reflect on yourselves and think about what you have done. Remember, there is a saying in this world, the wages of sin is death. And there¡¯s another thates to mind, the mills of God grind slowly. The Hales havemitted so many misdeeds and indulged in your misbehaving descendants, yet you aren¡¯t ashamed of it. Without teaching them, your family would have been destroyed sooner orter. ¡°Besides, the private use of restricted firearms is in itself an illegal act, and this isn¡¯t something that anyone can wrongfully use you of.¡± Bruce¡¯s body shook, and his gaze dimmed. He hung his head low dejectedly and seemed to have aged more than ten years in an instant. With tears in his eyes, he watched as the Hales were held down and shoved into armored vehicles while thinking that they were about to be prisoners. No one knew if they would be able toe back alive. The deeply rooted and prosperous Hale family actually copsed and fell overnight. At this moment, Bruce¡¯s mood was extremelyplicated, and he was overwhelmed with regret! He really regretted it! Only now did he realize that he hadmitted so many misdeeds! Unfortunately, there was no cure for regret in this world. Suddenly, the sounds of a baby crying spread over from not far away. A young woman of around 25 was carrying a baby wrapped in a towel in her arms. Her face was covered in tears, and she was pleading with a soldier beside her. ¡°Please, I beg of you. My baby is only one month old. He just turned one month old today. He doesn¡¯t know anything yet. Let him off!¡± There was actually a one-month-old baby among the Hales about to be arrested. The burly soldier didn¡¯t expect it at all. He was a little uncertain. And without making a single sound, he nced at Lucas, apparently asking for instructions. Lucas nodded slightly. The burly man instantly understood what he meant. He waved hisrge hand backward and said, ¡°The baby is still young, so we won¡¯t hold it against him. The baby¡¯s mother shall be spared too. However, until the results of our investigation into the Hales are released, they will be put under close probation and will not be allowed toe and go at will. Do you understand?¡± This meant that they were under temporary house arrest in the Hale residence. When the young woman heard what the burly soldier said, her eyes were full of joy. She eximed with utmost gratitude, ¡°Sure, sure! No problem! The baby and I will stay here and not go anywhere! Thank you, Sir!¡± Apart from the one-month-old baby and his mother who got to stay behind with Lucas¡¯s permission, the rest of the 30 or so direct descendants of the Hale family were all taken away. Only the countless guests in the hall, who were scared into silence by the changes, got to stay behind. They didn¡¯t expect the hosts of the banquet they were attending to be arrested by the military. This experience was simply too bizarre, and many of them still felt as if they were in a dream, unable to recover from the shock at all. Standing in the middle of the hall and looking coldly at the guests hiding around the banquet hall, the burly soldier said, ¡°What happened tonight to the Hales is a secret mission. None of you are to spread a word about this outside! Otherwise, you will be charged for disclosing confidential military information, and your fate will be the same as that of the Hales! ¡°In addition, I would like to remind you not to carry any hopes. We are thoroughly aware of all your information and identities.¡± He slowly scanned the hall with an icy gaze. Wherever he passed, the people would avoid his eyes and hold their breaths, not daring to breathe at all. Chapter 161: The Millers

Chapter 161: The Millers

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The burly soldier¡¯s threat made many people break out into cold sweat. In fact, all the things that happened in the Hale residence tonight made them feel as though they had been on a rollercoaster of emotions. Many of them had lived for decades, but they had never seen such a prestigious and wealthy family bepletely ruined in a sh. There were indeed many who were nning to share this bizarre event at the Hales tonight with their friends and rtives and gossip about it. But they didn¡¯t expect the military to issue a gag order, ordering them not to spread a single word about this matter. Otherwise, they would be arrested like the Hales had been, and it would be hard to say if they coulde back or not. They couldn¡¯t afford to bear the consequences of disclosing confidential military information! Finally, the burly soldier nced at Lucas again and nodded in farewell before turning around to walk toward the armored vehicle in the middle of the hall. Soon, one after another, the steel tyrants drove out of the Hales¡¯ courtyard. They came and went quickly. From the time they appeared to the time they left, less than ten minutes had passed. However, the Hales were worlds apart from what they used to be ten minutes ago. After thest armored vehicle left the front yard of the Hale residence, the guests in the hall felt a great sense of relief. They subconsciously broke out into cold sweat. And as a cold breeze blew past, they immediately shivered, though it was unclear if it was because of the chilliness or their fear. If it were usual, they would have broken into a heated and enthusiastic discussion after witnessing such an incredible thing. But the military had just issued a gag order, and they definitely didn¡¯t have the courage to voice their questions and doubts. They had no choice but to curb their burgeoning desire toin and gossip with others and grit their teeth. No one dared to discuss it at all. However, everyone¡¯s heart was brimming with countless doubts as they wondered who the person who nned the event tonight was. Many people spontaneously looked at Lucas. Thinking about what happened tonight from the start of the banquet, they had a hunch that Lucas was most likely to be the mastermind. But they wondered if this young man really had such terrifying influence and power. The surrounding guests seemed rather wary. And Seth and Daniel Miller, who had previously offended Lucas, were so terrified that their faces paled and they started shivering. Previously, Seth had been kicked by Lucas and mmed heavily against the wall, causing him to pass out on the spot. But halfway through, he slowly woke up and happened to see the scene of Lucas and the ck-clothed elite guards fighting. Afterward, Lucas faced the pistol squad of the Hales, and the military soldiers soon appeared. Seth saw everything. Only now did Seth feel a great sense of fear from the bottom of his heart and realized how terrifying his enemy was. With a thud, Seth and Daniel fell to their knees in front of Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, I was arrogant and conceited. I was blind to have offended you. Please be merciful and forgive me!¡± Seth eximed in a shaky voice as he pped himself hard a few times. This time, they were much harder than when Jordan forced him to p himself outside the Hales¡¯ doorstep. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m really sorry. My son is unruly and has offended you. It¡¯s because I failed to discipline him. I promise I will take him in hand in the future and never let him offend you again!¡± Daniel went all out and swallowed his pride to apologize to Lucas. Although the Millers were a second-tier family in Orange County, they were nothingpared to the Hales. The fact that Lucas could easily destroy the Hales meant that he could do the same to the Millers effortlessly! So even though it was embarrassing, Seth and Daniel had to build good rtions with Lucas. Regardless of the price they had to pay, they had to obtain his forgiveness! Looking indifferently at the two people kneeling in front of him from above, Lucas maintained a calm expression and said, ¡°I hope you guys really know your mistakes. Remember, it¡¯s alright to offend me. But if you dare to offend my wife and daughter, I will never forgive you!¡± Everyone in the hall could hear Lucas¡¯s words clearly. And they could tell that he was not only warning Seth and his father but also everyone present. Thinking about the destruction of the Hales just now, they realized that the initial cause was because Logan Hale had kidnapped Lucas¡¯s daughter. Everyone understood that offending Lucas¡¯s wife and daughter was even more terrifying than offending him personally! Seth¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest. Recalling that he had repeatedly courted Cheyenne and tried to make Lucas a cuckold, Seth was so terrified that he almost passed out. ¡°Mr. Gray, I promise! I promise that I will never harbor any other thoughts that I shouldn¡¯t have again!¡± Lucas looked at him coldly. ¡°Get lost.¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! We¡¯ll get lost right away!¡± Seth and Daniel hurriedly got up like they had been spared and then scrambled out of Hales¡¯ banquet hall. The other guests hesitantly looked at Lucas, wanting to leave but not daring to do so. Only after Jordan gave them the green light did the guests hurriedly flock to the hall¡¯s entrance and scramble away like birds. Soon, the lively hall became empty, leaving only Lucas, Jordan, and Aston, who was covered in cold sweat. After Aston heard Lucas¡¯s warning just now, his heart also thumped violently. At the thought of how he had once tried to hit on Cheyenne and Charlotte, followed by Lucas¡¯s means today, he felt that it was a miracle that he was still alive now. Of course, it was mainly because Lucas deliberately spared him. Aston dried the cold sweat on his forehead, walked up to Lucas, and said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, shall I send you back?¡± Lucas raised his brow. Knowing that Aston wanted to talk with him, he nodded and said to Jordan, ¡°Go.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan nced at Aston and then turned around to leave without another word. ¡°Mr. Gray, please.¡± Aston respectfully ushered Lucas to the luxurious Maybach he had recently purchased and drove him back to the Carter residence. On the way, Aston looked at Lucas, who was sitting in the backseat with his eyes closed, through the rearview mirror. He wanted to speak but hesitated. Lucas suddenly opened his eyes and said coldly, ¡°If you have anything to say, just cut straight to the point.¡± Chapter 162: Master and Servant

Chapter 162: Master and Servant

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Aston coughed twice unnaturally before saying, ¡°Mr. Gray, the Hales have fallen, and I think this is a perfect opportunity for you!¡± Lucas nced at him and said calmly, ¡°Continue.¡± With his hand on the steering wheel, Aston said with a smile, ¡°All the Hales have been taken away, except the one-month-old infant and his mother. But as one of the four major families of Orange County, they left behind many businesses which are now still without a leader.¡± He paused before continuing, ¡°Mr. Gray, I know that you¡¯re ambitious. If you encroach on all their businesses, your power will greatly enhance. But at this juncture, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s still quite difficult for you to do that. So we are willing to give you some help, as long as you... agree to a tiny request of ours.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Lucas raised his brows and appeared to be very interested. ¡°What condition?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want anything. We just hope that you can tell everyone that you belong to the Brookes.¡± Aston smiled. Amused, Lucas snorted withughter. He looked at Aston smilingly. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Aston nodded. ¡°The Brookes can contribute manpower and money for you. We just need to get your promise. You won¡¯t lose out on time.¡± Lucas grinned. ¡°In that case, do I have to dere to the outside world that the Stardust Corporation belongs to the Brookes too?¡± Aston hurriedly shook his head. ¡°No, no, the Stardust Group is backed by the Huttons. How could we have the guts to covet it?¡± Lucas¡¯s face turned cold, and he sneered. ¡°Hmph, you don¡¯t dare to covet the Huttons¡¯ property, but you have the audacity to covet mine. You are really brazen!¡± Aston¡¯s heart suddenly dropped. But thinking of these matters, he regained hisposure and tried to exin, ¡°Mr. Gray, the Brookes are sincere in wanting to cooperate with you, and this request is beneficial to both of us. We will be able to achieve a win-win situation where you¡¯ll have nothing to lose while benefiting from the help we give you. Don¡¯t you agree? ¡°Pardon me for being blunt, but you¡¯re no longer a member of the Huttons, and it¡¯s hard to say if the Stardust Group will still belong to you. You are now in need of an ally like us, the Brookes. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes. It turned out that the Brookes had gone around inquiring and found out the matters between him and the Huttons back then. They thought that he was still the poor boy whom the Hutton had kicked out but was still using them to throw his weight around. This was the reason Aston dared to make such a request to him. But if the Brookes still thought so now, it would be a huge mistake! Lucas looked at Aston¡¯s firm and smug gaze, and his eyes turned cold. ¡°Go back and tell Andrew Brooke not to be a smart aleck. The Brookes are far from being fit enough to make use of me. ¡°Moreover, the Brookes ought to remember that I¡¯m not your ally, but rather, we¡¯re in a master-servant dynamic. I¡¯m the master, and you are servants who have pledged allegiance to me and are to obey me. If you try to provoke me, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to afford to bear the consequences!¡± Lucas sounded extremely tyrannical, and Aston was both frightened and infuriated, as he didn¡¯t expect that Lucas didn¡¯t take him seriously at all! The master and servant theory made Aston even more furious. But when he thought of what had just happened at the Hales¡¯ banquet just now, Aston had no choice but to suppress his anger and force a smile. ¡°Mr. Gray, I will definitely ry your words to my grandfather truthfully and let hime to a decision.¡± As they conversed, they had already reached the Carter residence. Lucas opened the car door and got out without turning back at all. When Lucas disappeared behind the wall of the courtyard, Aston immediately took out his phone and called his grandfather, Andrew Brooke. ¡°Grandpa, at the Hale residence tonight...¡± He was about to report all the incredible events that urred at the Hale residence tonight when he suddenly recalled the warning that the burly soldier had given before he left. Aston immediately dropped the idea and paused before continuing, ¡°I sent Lucas Gray home after the Hales¡¯ banquet ended. And during the journey, I mentioned to him what you had told me to, but he wasn¡¯t willing to concede. He doesn¡¯t even take us seriously, and he warned us not to be a smart aleck. He also said that we have always been servants to him.¡± ¡°Hmph, how arrogant!¡± Andrew was enraged. ¡°If he were still the heir of the Huttons, we would definitely have to be subservient to him. But he¡¯s just a nobody whom the Huttons have abandoned for almost twenty years. What right does he have to be the master of the Brooke family? ¡°With his current status, he should be utterly grateful to us for offering help to him, yet he still doesn¡¯t know any better. We gave him an inch and he took a mile! Hmph, does he really think that the Brookes are afraid of him?¡± Andrew hollered clearly from the other end. Aston agreed entirely with his grandfather, but when he thought about the power that Lucas had disyed tonight, he felt that there was definitely something fishy about him. If he were merely an abandoned family member whom the Hutton had kicked out for numerous years, how could hemand such strong military power? There was definitely something fishy behind this matter! ¡°Grandpa, I still have something to say to you, but it¡¯s not convenient to do so on the phone. I¡¯ll tell you when I get home,¡± Aston said. He still decided to give Andrew a detailed exnation of everything that happened. After all, it was an important matter, and if it was really Lucas¡¯s doing, they would have to be wary and cautious toward Lucas. Although the military had issued a gag order, he would only be telling Andrew about it when they were alone in a room at home. Even if the military had wide connections, it would be impossible for them to find out if he had revealed it or not. ¡°Okay,e home once you¡¯re done. But until then, don¡¯t fall out with Lucas Gray yet. Drag it out for now and find a way to use the Stardust Group to bring us more profits.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa.¡± Aston Brooke agreed, but he didn¡¯t wait any longer and instead rushed back to the Brooke residence in LA overnight. As for how he and Andrew avoided eyes and how he told him what had happened tonight at the Hales and what Lucas had done, that would be left forter. By the time Lucas alighted from the car at the Carter residence, it was already past 11 p.m. Lucas pushed open the door of Cheyenne¡¯s room and entered, only to find that Amelia had already fallen asleep while Cheyenne was still sitting on the edge of the bed with her brows furrowed in a frown. She seemed to be thinking about something. When she saw Lucas enter, she looked him up and down before ring at him furiously. She then switched off the lights in the room, turned over, andy down on the bed. Lucas¡¯s heart dropped. He finally remembered that Amelia had unintentionally mentioned that she had gone to Aunt Grace¡¯s ce to y. Due to Karen¡¯s misleading words, Cheyenne got the wrong idea about him! But there was no way he could exin it! Chapter 163: Smash It

Chapter 163: Smash It

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas was perturbed. There was, of course, nothing between him and Grace. But if he were to exin, it would definitely lead to the revtion that Amelia had been abducted, which would definitely frighten Cheyenne. After pondering about it, Lucas was at a loss for words. When he saw that Cheyenne was lying on the bed and refusing to talk to him, he could only smile helplessly and then go to the bathroom to wash up before lying down on the ground on the other side of the room. He had to think of a solution so that Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t continue misunderstanding. Their rtionship had finally progressed a little, and she had also allowed him to stay in her room every day, though she didn¡¯t explicitly state so. If she really misunderstood and thought that he was having an affair, she would definitely push him away resentfully. But he still had no clue as to how he should broach the subject to her. While thinking about it, Lucas fell asleep without realizing it. In the dark room, Cheyenne, who was quietly lying on the bed and pretending to be asleep, immediately opened her eyes when she heard the faint sounds of Lucas snoring. Staring at him, she felt aggrieved and somehow furious. She had been waiting for him to exin to her about Grace. But to her astonishment, he didn¡¯t say anything and dozed off so quickly! This is too much! The next morning, Lucas saw Cheyenne sitting not far away from him as soon as he opened his eyes. She was staring at him expressionlessly, and he had no idea how long she had been staring at him for. ¡°Ahem, Cheyenne, you¡¯re up early.¡± He sat up and smiled at her. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve forgotten something?¡± she asked expressionlessly. ¡°What?¡± asked the stunned Lucas. ¡°An exnation for what happened yesterday,¡± Cheyenne said through gritted teeth. Lucas suddenly felt troubled. He fell asleep before he coulde up with a solution. And now that he had just woken up, he had to face her questioning again. He smiled bitterly. ¡°Cheyenne, there¡¯s really nothing between that woman and me. I just put Amelia in her care for a short period of time. I swear that I only met her yesterday. Charlotte can vouch for me.¡± Cheyenne looked at him before saying sourly, ¡°Charlotte has always been biased toward you, so she¡¯ll naturally speak up for you. Even I am secondary to you.¡± Charlotte had obviously treated Lucas differently on several asions. When he took Amelia to a stranger¡¯s homest night and returned home sote, Charlotte was the first one to insist on believing him. Cheyenne was not suspecting her sister. But she just noticed that there seemed to be something going on between Charlotte and Lucas, and they were hiding it from her, making her feel rather ufortable. Lucas was a bit surprised. Since when has Charlotte been biased toward me? Why don¡¯t I know about it? Besides, Cheyenne asked me for an exnation first thing in the morning. Does that mean... ¡°Cheyenne, are you... jealous?¡± Lucas asked cautiously. Cheyenne immediately blushed and stood up. She chided angrily, ¡°Who¡¯s jealous? Don¡¯t spout nonsense! After all, you are still mywful husband, so you can¡¯t be involved in an illicit rtionship with another woman out there. Isn¡¯t that so?¡± After saying this, she felt that there seemed to be something wrong with what she said, so her face got warmer and warmer. She simply said, ¡°Forget it. I can¡¯t be bothered to talk to you! I¡¯m going to go wash up!¡± She then hurried into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and sshed her red and warm face with cold water. Standing outside the room, Lucas froze for a while before suddenly bursting intoughter. She was obviously angry out of humiliation because he had exposed her thoughts. But the words wful husband¡¯ made him feel a sense of sweetness. She obviously truly considered him as her husband. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been so concerned about whether or not he was intimate with another woman. Lucas was in a good mood for the rest of the day. And even until breakfast time, he was still smiling. On the other hand, Cheyenne was the opposite of him. She wouldn¡¯t stop frowning or blushing and would re at Lucas from time to time. Seated across the table, Charlotte noticed their expressions and thought to herself that something must have happened between them. Halfway through the rare breakfast, the loud sound of an explosion suddenly came from outside, followed by the sound of something copsing and the ground quaking. They were startled, and Cheyenne immediately pulled Amelia into her arms as Lucas stood in front of both of them and hugged them protectively. After recovering from the shock, Karen dropped her bowl and dashed out of the door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong... Ah! What are you people doing?!¡± After dashing out and seeing what was going on outside, Karen raised her pitch and shrieked in horror. There was arge, bright yellow excavator that had arge hydraulic crushing hammer in front a short distance in front of the courtyard door. The hammer immediately crushed the wall of the Carter residence into smithereens. Upon seeing Karene out to question them, a man who looked like an engineer and was standing in front of the excavator said to the operator of the excavator, ¡°Continue smashing!¡± The hydraulic crushing hammer moved upward and smashed onto the two-story building in front of it! Bang! The entire house quaked, and a small storage room on the second floor was crushed by the hammer, causingrge bricks and debris to roll down. ¡°Watch out!¡± Lucas eximed. He held Cheyenne¡¯s waist with one hand and picked her up into his arms together with Amelia while pulling Charlotte, who was beside him. He then dashed out of the shaking building. Behind them,rge cracks formed in the ceiling above their heads, and countless amounts of lime powder dropped. Dumbfounded, Karen looked at the copsed wall of the house. It took her a long time to realize what happened. She suddenly shrieked before dashing toward the engineer. ¡°You bastard! Who said you could smash my house? Are you blind? Can¡¯t you see that there are people inside? You scoundrels! Will you still abide by thew?!¡± Chapter 164: Vicious Gift

Chapter 164: Vicious Gift

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Overwhelmed with anger, Karen rushed over, grabbed the broom beside the gate, and smashed it onto the face of the engineer. ¡°Scoundrel! Bastard! You people are evil crooks who get up to all sorts of evil! Who told you toe and demolish my home? Do you have a death wish?¡± Full of anger, Karen waved her broom majestically. It was the home she had lived in for more than 20 years! How could she tolerate this? ¡°Stop it! You crazy bitch! Somebody, help!¡± The engineer had his hands on his head while Karen was hitting him with the broom. Soon, more than ten men with sledgehammers and axes rushed out from behind the excavator and charged toward Karen. ¡°Ah! Murder! They¡¯re trying to kill us!¡± Karen immediately got frightened to the point of having her knees go weak. She shrieked, dropped the broom, and then ran behind Lucas to hide. Seeing that Karen had been frightened off, the engineer tidied up his clothes and hair, which the broom had messed up. He then said to Karen mockingly, ¡°Bitch, weren¡¯t you really fierce just now? Let¡¯s see if you can still be that aggressive now. Guys, tear this ce down! Mr. Carter instructed us to tten this ce within an hour!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The burly men answered loudly before therge excavator started rumbling again. Cheyenne and Charlotte looked at these people and the excavator with anger written all over their faces. When Lucas heard the word ¡®Mr. Carter¡¯, his heart skipped a beat, and his eyes had an icy-cold gaze. ¡°Stop! This is our home. Who said you coulde here to tear it down?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face was flushed, and her chest was heaving up and down. The engineer taking the lead looked at Cheyenne and Charlotte with eyes full of greed and lust. He then licked his lips lewdly. ¡°Beautifuldy, I¡¯m sorry, but we are a proper engineeringpany, and we have the legal authority to carry out the demolition. The owner of this house personallymissioned ourpany to demolish it, so you can¡¯t me us!¡± Cheyenne and others immediately understood that it must have been the doing of Bryce and the other Carters! The house they lived in was allocated to William¡¯s family years ago, but the official transfer procedures hadn¡¯t been done, so it had always been under Dominic¡¯s name. Now that the house was getting demolished, it was definitely the instructions of Dominic and Bryce. But even if they were going to demolish the house, they shouldn¡¯t have done it without prior notice. Since there were still inhabitants, they shouldn¡¯t have started the demolition. If they had run out a little slower, or the force of the hydraulic hammer was a little greater, all of them would have been smashed to death and buried alive in the house. Charlotte was so furious that she was about tosh out immediately. But at this moment, a pickup truck drove over and stopped steadily behind the excavator. A middle-aged man in his fifties alighted. ¡°Lucas Gray? Who¡¯s Lucas Gray?¡± Lucas frowned slightly and walked forward. ¡°I¡¯m Lucas Gray. Who are you?¡± The middle-aged man immediately opened the trunk of his pickup truck, picked up arge cardboard box, and then walked over. ¡°Mr. Gray, a customer whosest name is Carter instructed us to deliver this. Please sign this receipt.¡± Lucas looked at therge cardboard box in front of him in bewilderment. Carter? Is it those Carters? It was rare of the Carters to send something. He raised his hand and was about to grab the delivery receipt while the middle-aged man looked at him with a strange expression a few times. Finally, he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Hey, did a major ident happen to your family here? It must be really sad to suffer the loss of so many of your loved ones in one go! Condolences, buddy.¡± While speaking, he patted Lucas¡¯s shoulder consolingly with his pair of rough palms. Lucas was confused. But after he saw the words on the receipt in his hand, his face immediately turned enraged as an icy cold gaze filled his eyes. The temperature around his body seemed to have also instantly plunged! There were several words written in bold on the delivery list! ¡°Item name: Sculpted Marble Urn, Quantity: 5¡± The cardboard box delivered by this middle-aged man actually contained five urns! Cheyenne¡¯s family of four plus Lucas added up to exactly five people. He immediately understood what the urns were for. Cheyenne and Charlotte, who were standing right beside Lucas, were also curious when they heard that a Carter had sent those items. But after they saw the words on the delivery list, their faces turned sullen, and they looked extremely upset. The person demolishing their house said that they weremissioned by a Carter, who also instructed them to raze the ce to the ground within an hour. Now, the person who delivered these items also imed to have been hired by a Carter. They could all feel the great malice in his intentions! ¡°Bryce Carter! It must be him!¡± Charlotte said with resentment through clenched teeth. At this moment, a familiar Mercedes-Benz sedan pulled over at the entrance of the Carters¡¯ old residence. The car door opened, and Bryce got out and walked over with a triumphant smile. A tall and muscr man dressed in ck was following him. However, Bryce¡¯s right arm was still wrapped in gauze, and there was also new gauze around his head. He was smug and domineering, which was rather amusing with this appearance. ¡°Bryce Carter, this must be your doing, right?¡± Cheyenne questioned loudly as she glowered at him. ¡°Hmph, so what if it¡¯s me? This is the property of the Carters, and after what your loser husband did to me yesterday, I can¡¯t stand you guys anymore! I want to drive all of your family out of here!¡± Bryce hollered. Now that he had a backer behind him, hepletely forgot about what Lucas said previously. ¡°Does Grandpa know about these things you¡¯ve done?¡± Cheyenne asked as she red at Bryce in the eye. ¡°Haha, of course he does! This house is under Grandpa¡¯s name. How can the procedures with the engineeringpany be settled without the title deed? Grandpa has long been annoyed with your family and has wanted to throw all of you out long ago!¡± Cheyenne bit her lower lip with a look of misery on her face. ¡°Did Grandpa tell you to send those urns?¡± ¡°Hahaha, of course! This is a big gift from us, especially for you guys! May you put them to use soon! Haha!¡± Bryceughed viciously, and when he suddenly saw Amelia in Cheyenne¡¯s arms, he smacked his thigh. ¡°I almost forgot about your little bastard. I forgot to buy one more urn!¡± After saying this, he looked at the middle-aged man who had just delivered the urn and yelled at him, ¡°Hurry up and go bring a smaller urn over!¡± Chapter 165: Kneel Down and Beg Me

Chapter 165: Kneel Down and Beg Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing what Bryce said made Lucas¡¯s eyes fill with a frightening murderous intent. He cracked his knuckles as though he was saying that he could break Bryce¡¯s neck at any moment. After hearing the vicious words, Cheyenne and Charlotte were incredibly horrified and shocked. It was utterly immoral! ¡°Bryce Carter! How can you be so vicious? Amelia is only a five-year-old child, and she has treated you as her uncle for so many years. What has she done to you to suffer such treatment from you? Juste at us if you must. Why do you have to curse a child like this?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m vicious?¡± Bryce asked rhetorically as he pointed at his nose with his uninjured left hand. ¡°In terms of viciousness, how can Ipare to your husband? Look at my arm. It¡¯s still in a cast, all thanks to your husband who broke it! Now look at my head. Your husband injured itst night too! You¡¯re calling me vicious, but have you thought about what you¡¯ve done to me? Is Lucas Gray not vicious?¡± Only then did Cheyenne realize that the new gauze wrapped around Bryce¡¯s head was also due to Lucas inflicting an injury on himst night. Although she didn¡¯t know what happenedst night, she knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t the type to hurt someone for no reason. Besides, she remembered very clearly why he broke Bryce¡¯s arm. Previously, Bryce had also shown up here and threw his weight around by trying to chase them away. He even grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s hair and humiliated her. But afterward, Lucas arrived in time and broke his arm. With this thought in mind, Cheyenne said righteously, ¡°Lucas would never beat you up for no reason. You must have gone to provoke him against night and did something disgusting. That¡¯s why Lucas broke your head. You should be reflecting on your own behavior!¡± Her words hit the nail on the head. Last night, he had indeed gone to provoke Lucas and even tried to hit Lucas but had his head broken instead. He immediately scolded furiously, ¡°Reflect my ass! You think I deserve to be beaten up just because I messed with him? Well, you provoked me too, so I have every right to exact revenge on you and drive you away while giving each of you an urn!¡± He turned his head and scolded the middle-aged man, who was dumbfounded and staring at them with his mouth wide open. ¡°What are you still standing here for? Didn¡¯t you hear that we¡¯recking an urn? Hurry up and go get one!¡± The middle-aged man, who owned a funeral supply store, had previously received an order for five urns to be sent here. He thought that a mishap had struck this family to cause so many deaths in one go. Just now, he had even patted Lucas¡¯s shoulder tofort him. In the end, after standing here and listening for a long time, he found out that no one had died, and the urns were purely sent for the sake of cursing them and making them feel disgusted. He even wanted to give an urn to an adorable little girl. That was just too vicious! The middle-aged man was a straightforward person, so he immediately frowned and said in disapproval, ¡°Buddy, that¡¯s not right of you. Urns are used for the ashes of the deceased. It¡¯s hical of you to be giving them to living people.¡± Bryce said angrily, ¡°Since I told you to deliver an urn here, then do it! What are you being so long-winded for?! I bought them with money, so I can give them to whoever I want!¡± The middle-aged man retorted, ¡°That¡¯s not right. I¡¯m not going to continue with this deal. I¡¯ll refund you!¡± He really couldn¡¯t approve of Bryce¡¯s hical behavior. Hearing that the middle-aged man would rather give him a refund than proceed with the delivery of the urns, Bryce narrowed his eyes and threatened, ¡°I¡¯m going to insist on giving them the urns! You have half an hour to deliver the urn. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll immediately bring my people to your store and wreck it!¡± ¡°You!¡± The middle-aged man was instantly enraged. At this point, someone patted him gently on his shoulder. He turned around to see Lucas¡¯s handsome face. ¡°Thank you for speaking up in the name of justice. Please get going. We¡¯ll solve the matter here ourselves,¡± Lucas said with a smile. The owner of the funeral supply store was a nice person, but he was unfortunately embroiled in the feud of the Carters. ¡°Okay then... Be careful,¡± the middle-aged man said after taking a nce at the tall and muscr man behind Bryce, as well as the ten-odd demolition workers carrying sledgehammers, axes, and other items around him. After the middle-aged man drove away in his pickup truck, Lucas looked at Cheyenne and said in a deep voice, ¡°Take Amelia to the kindergarten. It¡¯s too chaotic here. Don¡¯t let her see this, lest she gets frightened.¡± Cheyenne thought about it for a while and felt that he was right. Amelia was still young and would definitely be scared if she saw what was going to happen. She stroked Amelia¡¯s head and said, ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll send Amelia to kindergarten first.¡± Although Amelia was young, she was smart and didn¡¯t kick up a fuss when she heard that Cheyenne wanted to send her to school. She simply blinked herrge eyes and said to Lucas, ¡°Daddy, you have to be careful! Beat up these bad guys like you didst time!¡± ¡°Okay, I promise.¡± Lucas smiled as he grazed his finger against Amelia¡¯s little nose. Just as Cheyenne was about to leave with Amelia in her arms, Bryce suddenly stopped them. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t run! Where are you taking this little bastard? I haven¡¯t put on the good show that I meticulously prepared for your family! Anyway, you have to stay here and watch it before you¡¯re allowed to leave!¡± The tall and muscr man beside Bryce didn¡¯t budge at all. He was the personal bodyguard whom Bryce had paid a lot of money to hire and was said to be great atbat. The man stood in front of the slender Cheyenne and the young Amelia, immediately resulting in a great sense of oppression on them. Amelia shuddered uncontrobly while huddling up in Cheyenne¡¯s arms. ¡°Bryce Carter, if you¡¯re sick of living, I can fulfill your wish.¡± Lucas¡¯s voice came. For some reason, Bryce found it creepy and terrifying, as if an invisible hand had reached out from the coldness and grabbed him by his neck, making him shiver in fear. Lucas walked to Cheyenne and gently patted her back to soothe her. Some time ago, she began to get a sense of security from being around Lucas. It was as if there was nothing for her to be scared of as long as he was beside her. ¡°Lucas Gray!¡± Bryce gritted his teeth and hollered maniacally, ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re impressive just because you can defeat me in a fight! I¡¯ll definitely make you kneel down and beg me to let you offter!¡± Lucas sneered derisively. ¡°What a coincidence. There was a man who said the same thing as you in front of me yesterday. Guess what happened to him afterward.¡± Chapter 166: No One Is Stopping You

Chapter 166: No One Is Stopping You

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What happened?¡± Bryce subconsciously asked after hearing Lucas¡¯s words. He then pursed his lips, secretly feeling angry at himself for asking this question. ¡°He made me kneel on the ground and kowtow while admitting to my mistake. He also wanted me to p myself and beg for forgiveness,¡± Lucas said slowly. ¡°Hmph, good job! That¡¯s how it should be!¡± Bryce¡¯s heart was full of joy. Although he didn¡¯t know who it was, anyone who could harm Lucas would be his friend! ¡°Later on, he had to do all of that himself before I would let him off.¡± The joyous expression on Bryce¡¯s face immediately stiffened, and it took him a long time to realize what Lucas meant. He instantly flew into a rage and hollered, ¡°Lucas Gray! Do you think I¡¯m scared? Since I said I would make you kneel down and beg for mercy, I¡¯ll make sure you do!¡± Lucas looked at Bryce like he was a fool and then ignored him. He said to Cheyenne, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can take Amelia away first. With me around, no one can stop you.¡± Cheyenne nodded. ¡°Be careful.¡± Then she took Amelia away. Obeying Bryce¡¯s order, the tall, muscr man behind Bryce moved his feet and was about to stop Cheyenne when he suddenly felt an immense murderous aura fixed on himing from behind, giving him goosebumps! Horror! Incredible horror! It was as if he would immediately die if he continued to move even a little bit! Countless drops of sweat gushed out from every pore of his body, drenching him in cold sweat in no time! It wasn¡¯t until Cheyenne took Amelia away from the courtyard of the Carter residence did the terrifying murderous aura vanish. The muscr man raised his arm and wiped the sweat that dripped into his eyes. Although it had only been a few seconds, he felt like many years had passed, causing him to feel weak and exhausted. Seeing that his bodyguard hadn¡¯t moved at all and let Cheyenne go, Bryce flew into a rage and hollered, ¡°Good-for-nothing! Did I pay you so much money for you to just stand there like a pole?! Don¡¯t you know how to stop her?¡± Hanging his head low, the muscr man clenched his fist and let Bryce continue scolding him. He couldn¡¯t possibly tell Bryce that if he had just moved, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to stand here alive. Even if he said so, Bryce definitely wouldn¡¯t believe him. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Bryce Carter, I have given you countless chances. All along, I¡¯ve been letting you off time and time again for Cheyenne¡¯s sake. Why do you keep challenging me and pushing your limits?¡± Bryce was instantly furious, and he cursed loudly, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?! What chance? Let me off? Weren¡¯t you the one who broke my arm and my head? Do you dare to say that you didn¡¯t y a role in harming the Carters? Hmph, you¡¯re making yourself sound so great! You¡¯re just pushing it because you¡¯re stronger than me and better at martial arts! Indeed, I can¡¯t beat you, but I can bring in the best experts to hit you. I¡¯ll see if you can keep up with this bullshit in front of meter! ¡°You¡¯ve offended me, and you still want to continue staying alive and well?¡± Bryce hollered furiously. Karen huddled up at the side. She had yet to figure out what was going on, and she didn¡¯t have a clear idea of the situation either. She didn¡¯t know that Bryce had just asked someone to send an urn to each of them. Right now, she only knew that Lucas had angered Bryce, who was boiling with fury, and what he meant was that they couldn¡¯t continue to live here because Lucas had offended him. At the thought of this, Karen flew into a rage and dashed forward to p Lucas hard on his face. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, jinx!¡± ¡°Mom, stop it!¡± Charlotte wanted to stop her but couldn¡¯t do so in time, so she could only yell at her. Smack! Karen¡¯s p didn¡¯tnd on Lucas¡¯s face like it used to in the past, and instead, he grabbed her wrist mercilessly to stop her. Karen¡¯s wrist was being squeezed tightly by him, rendering her immobile, and she immediately shrieked in anger, ¡°Y-you good-for-nothing, how dare you rebel against me? You¡¯re really insolent!¡± Lucas looked at her expressionlessly, his eyes cold and indifferent, making her shudder. ¡°I¡¯ll handle today¡¯s matter. You don¡¯t have to care about anything.¡± Then he let go of her hand. Karen¡¯s face instantly turned pale and red. She looked really upset and disoriented. ¡°Mom, why did you suddenly hit Lucas?¡± Charlotte scurried over and med Karen while ring at her. Karen felt embarrassed because she wanted to hit Lucas but failed to do so. Now that her daughter hade to me her, she became even more infuriated. She retorted menacingly, ¡°Why did I hit him? Did you not hear what Bryce said just now? This good-for-nothing is really brazen. How dare he beat Bryce up into such a state? He even offended your grandfather and refused to admit his mistake! Since they¡¯re furious, of course they¡¯d want to kick us out! We¡¯ve all been implicated by this jinx!¡± Then Karen ran to Bryce and begged with a deferential smile on her face, ¡°Bryce, look, we haven¡¯t offended you in all these years, right? It¡¯s all because of this good-for-nothing! Just take your anger out on him. It really has nothing to do with us! ¡°Also, I¡¯ll have Cheyenne divorce him right away. Whatever he has done is his responsibility. Don¡¯t me it on us! Please, go tell your grandfather not to chase us away, will you?¡± Karen spoke to Bryce with a subservient smile, trying to appease him. After ncing at Karen, Bryce smiled sinisterly and then said obnoxiously, ¡°You¡¯re begging me to let you guys go? Fine. I can go back and plead with Grandpa on your behalf and ask him to spare you. But I want this good-for-nothing to kneel in front of me and beg for forgiveness while admitting to his mistakes! I want him to do it now, at once, immediately!¡± Chapter 167: Let Him Plead With Me

Chapter 167: Let Him Plead With Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Really?¡± Hearing Bryce say that he would let them off, Karen immediately wanted to verify it with excitement. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll keep to my word! I¡¯m just afraid you don¡¯t have the ability to make that wastrel son-inw of yours agree!¡± Bryce answered, deliberately trying to provoke Karen. He had long figured out that Lucas was extremely ruthless to others, especially him. He had merely insulted Cheyenne and Amelia a few times, but he received a harsh beating from Lucas, who had shown no mercy at all. However, Lucas was very forgiving toward Cheyenne¡¯s family. Regardless of how Karen and William scolded and hit him, he would just bear with it. Thus, he wanted to get Karen deal with Lucas and see what thetter would do! Indeed, the foolish woman immediately fell for the trick and turned around to holler at Lucas, ¡°Lucas Gray! Why are you still standing there, you good-for-nothing? Didn¡¯t you hear what Bryce just said? Get down on your knees, apologize to Bryce, and beg him to spare us! You¡¯re the one who caused this trouble, yet you¡¯re making us take the me. You¡¯re a sinner!¡± Karen ordered self-righteously, as if forcing Lucas to get on his knees and beg Bryce to show them mercy was just a trivial matter. Lucas¡¯s face darkened. But before he could say anything, Charlotte rushed over and blocked him. She shouted at Karen, ¡°Mom,e to your senses! Think about it. Bryce and Dominic Carter have long wanted to kick us out. Before, he also came to kick up a fuss here too. At that time, Lucas hadn¡¯t done anything to him yet, but did he let us off? ¡°If Lucas hadn¡¯t arrived in time, we would have been kicked out of the house that day! Why are you still fantasizing about them letting us off? He just wants to humiliate Lucas. Lucas has done so much for us! He¡¯s saved us on so many asions! ¡°But what about you? All you do is push him out to make him take the me for everything. You even want to make him kneel down to a bastard who¡¯s worse than a beast! Mom, can¡¯t you think about it carefully and see who truly treats us well?¡± ¡°Shut up! You shut up!¡± Karen yelled furiously. She even raised her arm and was about to p Charlotte on her face. Charlotte is getting more and more unruly, and she¡¯s always going against me. I must teach her a lesson and let her know the tone she should use when talking to her mother! But Lucas grabbed Karen¡¯s wrist tightly again. ¡°Enough!¡± Lucas bellowed while ring daggers at Karen¡¯s eyes. He said with a stern gaze, ¡°I give in to you all the time, not because I respect and fear you but because I don¡¯t want to put Cheyenne in a difficult spot and cause her to be caught between us. But if you think I¡¯ll be at your mercy and let you trample all over my dignity as you wish, you¡¯re wrong! If you continue kicking up a fuss like this, don¡¯t me me for not showing you any mercy.¡± Karen¡¯s body suddenly stiffened. It was her first time seeing Lucas ring at her with such a stern gaze and saying such harsh words. She knew that he definitely wasn¡¯t scaring her but instead really dared to do such things. Karen, who often liked bullying the weak and feared the strong, was speechless. In fact, she even felt cold. She seemed to be shocked by her son-inw, as though it was her first time meeting him. His aura, which was totally different from before, was just too unfamiliar to her. ¡°Charlotte, take her to a safe ce, lest she identally gets hurtter,¡± Lucas said to Charlotte. ¡°Okay!¡± Charlotte nodded and pulled Karen to a corner of the courtyard. She knew what Lucas was going to do. Lucas finally turned to look at Bryce, and he warned gravely, ¡°Now take your people and get out of here immediately! Or else don¡¯t me me for being merciless.¡± Bryce subconsciously shuddered as the pain from the wounds on his arm and forehead intensified. But he recovered a secondter and remembered that he still had a powerful bodyguard, whom he had paid arge sum of money to hire. There was no need for him to be scared of the loser Lucas. ¡°Hmph, just keep bragging! Don¡¯t forget. You¡¯ve also offended the Halesst night. They definitely won¡¯t spare you!¡± Bryce still didn¡¯t know that the Hales had long been destroyed. Yesterday, he and Dominic had left the banquet early. Otherwise, if he knew what had happened, he probably wouldn¡¯t have had the courage to take half a step toward Lucas again. Lucas waspletely unfazed and simply walked toward Bryce step by step. ¡°I¡¯ll give you ten seconds to get out immediately!¡± As Lucas approached, the fear Bryce had been suppressing in his heart suddenly surged again, and he roared furiously, ¡°Go! Beat him hard! I want to break his limbs so that he can only crawl on the ground like a dog!¡± After hearing the order, the tall and burly bodyguard immediately raised his fists and stomped his feet. He charged toward Lucas like an arrowunched from a bow. A joyous smile appeared on Bryce¡¯s face. The bodyguard was so fast that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge at all! But to his surprise, Lucas didn¡¯t dodge. Instead, he stood still without moving as the distance between him and the bodyguard became closer and closer. If Lucas still didn¡¯t dodge, he would definitely be hit! Was he scared silly? Or hasn¡¯t he recovered from the shock yet? Bryce secretly guessed in his heart. Meanwhile, Karen grinned and muttered, ¡°Hmph, he deserves it! Good-for-nothing, how dare you defy me and be so fierce toward me? It¡¯d be great if you get killed!¡± Charlotte¡¯s face was tense as she stared at Lucas while subconsciously crossing her arms in front of herself. She yelled anxiously, ¡°Lucas, be careful!¡± Although she had seen Lucas¡¯sbat skills before and knew that he was good at martial arts, the person opposite them was a martial arts expert whom Bryce had spent a lot of money to hire. Charlotte was really nervous. ¡°Hahahahaha! Lucas, just wait to die! This is a top expert that I paid a massive price of thirty thousand dors to hire! You¡¯re not his match at all!¡± Seeing the tall and burly bodyguard getting closer and closer to Lucas, Bryce finally guffawed loudly in joy, as if he could already see the miserable sight of Lucas being beaten up and copsing onto the ground. Lucas thought, He only spent thirty thousand. What kind of an expert can he be? Even the king of underground boxing, Wade, whom Gordon Dous had hired to deal with him, had a price of 150,000 dors; while John Hans, whom he had crippled with a kick at the Hale residence yesterday, had a price of several million dors. In Lucas¡¯s opinion, this bodyguard hired using 30,000 dors was extremely slow. At this moment, the tall and burly bodyguard was already less than half a meter away from Lucas, and he would touch Lucas as soon as he raised his hand. With his eyes wide open, Bryce was waiting to see Lucas get sent flying with a kick. ¡°Aaahhh!¡± The bodyguard shrieked miserably and flew up into the air. He was immediately flung more than ten meters away, as though a speeding car had mmed into him! Chapter 168: Don’t Strangle Him

Chapter 168: Don¡¯t Strangle Him

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hahahaha, you¡¯d actually end up in such a state too...¡± Bryceughed loudly in excitement. But hisughter soon ceased as if he had been strangled, and his expression changed drastically. In the middle of the courtyard, the unharmed Lucas was standing still withposure and a smile on his face. Everyone was astonished! No one could see clearly how Lucas managed to fling the tall, strong, and burly bodyguard more than ten meters away in that instant just now. The bodyguard was now lying motionlessly on the street more than ten meters away, and he had long passed out. A single kick had sent the muscr and burly man, who weighed more than 100 kilograms, flying! No one knew if he was dead or alive! His power and speed were definitely not something that ordinary people could possess! Everyone looked at the scene in front of them in astonishment. They almost couldn¡¯t believe their eyes! Bryce repeatedly rubbed his eyes and looked at the two of them several times indignantly before finally hopelessly confirming that Lucas was the one standing in the middle of the courtyard,pletely unscathed. On the other hand, the bodyguard, whom he spent 30,000 dors to hire, had already copsed onto the ground like a dead dog. After losing his backer, an infinite sense of horror arose in Bryce¡¯s heart again, and this time, it was more intense than any other time in the past. Bryce was overwhelmed with hopelessness and despair! Standing at the side, the engineer in charge of the demolition inhaled sharply. As he looked at the wrecked building that had been demolished under hismand, his heart began ricocheting, and he wished that he had nevere here today. The workers beside him, who were holding sledgehammers, axes, and other demolition tools, turned as pale as a sheet as their tools dropped from their hands to the ground. But no one dared to pick them up. Karen widened her eyes and mouth as though she had seen a ghost. She remained still and stared at Lucas in shock. Karen¡¯s heart was full of lingering fear. Lucas actually has such terrifyingbat skills... I¡¯ve insulted him, tried to hit him several times before, forced him to divorce Cheyenne, and even tried topel him to kneel down and beg Bryce for mercy just now... The more Karen thought about it, the more terrified she was. Her legs turned to jelly, and she almost couldn¡¯t stand straight anymore. Charlotte was initially also shocked by Lucas¡¯sbat skills, but she soon smiled gleefully and gave Lucas a big thumbs up with admiration and respect in her eyes. Although she had long known that he had impressivebat skills, she was nevertheless ted and proud that he was that powerful! Lucas looked at Bryce again and walked toward him. ¡°You just said that you were going to break my limbs and make me crawl on the ground like a dog, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lucas asked coldly. ¡°No... I-I was j-just s-spouting n-n-nonsense. I was just spouting nonsense!¡± Bryce denied in a shaky voice. ¡°You also said that you would prepare an urn for each of us, and one for my daughter as well, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lucas questioned as he took another step forward. ¡°I-I-I was o-out of my m-m-mind! I just wanted to scare you... I didn¡¯t mean to curse you!¡± Bryce waved his hands in front of himself repeatedly, trying to exin himself while retreating continuously. Unfortunately, therge bright yellow excavator was not far behind him. It was upying arge amount of space, leaving him with no room to retreat. ¡°You also said that you want me to kneel on the ground and beg you to let us off and that we deserve all these disgusting things that you did to us today, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lucas inched closer, and his voice became colder. Bryce copsed onto the ground with a loud thud as his legs turned weak. While kneeling, he pleaded, ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s all my fault! I was wrong! Just spare me for Cheyenne¡¯s sake!¡± As Bryce spoke, Lucas had already walked up to him and was looking down at him condescendingly. Lucas¡¯s body was like a bolt of lightning as he grabbed Bryce¡¯s neck and lifted him off the ground. ¡°For Cheyenne¡¯s sake? You¡¯ve already said that to me several times before, and I¡¯ve let you off countless times for Cheyenne¡¯s sake! But what did you say just now? You said I¡¯ve never shown you any mercy. Looks like I have to let you feel what will happen to you when I no longer show you any mercy!¡± As Lucas spoke, he tightened his grip on Bryce¡¯s neck, causing his throat to cackle. His face gradually turned pale, and his eyes rolled upward. He looked as though he was about to be strangled to death by Lucas! With his legs dangling in the air, Bryce struggled desperately. Overwhelmed with fear and terror, he regretted going against Lucas again and again. He failed to take advantage every time he went against Lucas, but he still hadn¡¯t learned his lesson! He wanted to beg Lucas for mercy and ask Lucas to let him off. But now, he couldn¡¯t even breathe, and the feeling of suffocating made him ckout in misery. Karen was overwhelmed with panic and anxiety as she watched Lucas strangle Bryce. She sat motionlessly on the ground, unable to even utter a single word or even have the strength to look away. Next to her, the ten-odd demolition workers of the engineeringpany were so scared they almost peed their pants! Is he going to kill him in front of so many people? Logically speaking, they should have gone up to stop him or called the police, but Lucas was so terrifying that they didn¡¯t dare to move at all! Charlotte initially felt extremely relieved when she saw Lucas holding Bryce by the neck and lifting him up. But when she saw Bryce turning purple and gradually losing his strength, she began to feel scared again, fearing that Lucas might identally kill Bryce in a fit of anger! Charlotte anxiously rushed forward and grabbed Lucas¡¯s arm. ¡°Lucas, hurry and let go of him! Don¡¯t strangle him to death! He¡¯s dying. If you continue, you¡¯ll end up getting arrested for murder or even get sentenced to death! ¡°Lucas, I beg you. Please think of Cheyenne and Amelia. If you die, what¡¯s going to happen to them?! It¡¯s not worth sacrificing yourself for a horrible person like Bryce Carter!¡± Chapter 169: Lucas Gets Stabbed

Chapter 169: Lucas Gets Stabbed

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Tears of anxiety welled up in Charlotte¡¯s eyes, and she was about to burst into crying. She begged Lucas to let Bryce go. Of course, it was not for Bryce but because she was worried that Lucas would be charged with murder. Lucas didn¡¯t want to really strangle Bryce to death now. Just like what Charlotte said, it wouldn¡¯t be worth getting charged for murder because of scum like Bryce. Of course, if he really wanted to kill him, there were countless ways to do it without any consequences. Lucas finally let go of his hand. With a loud thud, Bryce fell hard onto the ground and fell limp. Clutching his throat in pain and coughing several times, he started panting heavily. For Bryce, who was almost strangled to death, each breath of air was extremely precious! Seeing Bryce slowly recovering, Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief. God knows how afraid she was that Bryce might have been strangled to death just now! In the distant corner, Karen was also clutching her chest, paralyzed by fear. She didn¡¯t expect Lucas would be so ruthless as to almost strangle Bryce to death. Just as Bryce was sitting on the ground and enjoying the euphoria of surviving a near-death experience, Lucas¡¯s devilish voice sounded in his ears. ¡°Do you have anyst words? I will ry them to the Carters for you.¡± These words made Bryce feel like he had been banished to hell! He was so frightened that he shuddered and peed his pants right on the spot. ¡°I... I am the only heir of the Carters. You can¡¯t kill me! Otherwise, Grandpa won¡¯t let you off! We¡¯re also friends with the Brookes, the Hales, and... many other wealthy families in Orange County. If you kill me, they won¡¯t spare you nor your wife and daughter!¡± After Lucas heard Bryce¡¯sst words, his face turned gloomier, and his voice was as icy cold as the ice in the depths of Siberia. ¡°You know, I hate it when people threaten me with my wife and children. I don¡¯t mind telling you that Cheyenne and Amelia are my Achilles¡¯ heel, and anyone who tries to touch them both will have to die! ¡°So, go die now. If you don¡¯t have any more nonsense to say, I¡¯ll send you on your way now.¡± Lucas¡¯s cold words made Bryce shiver. Ignoring the others, he grabbed the hem of Lucas¡¯s pants and knelt down to beg for mercy. ¡°Lucas! I beg you! Please spare me this time! I promise that I will never do anything to Cheyenne and Amelia again! I definitely won¡¯t dare to do anything to you again, I swear!¡± Charlotte gently tugged Lucas¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°Lucas, calm down. Don¡¯t end up killing someone...¡± ¡°W-what¡¯s going on? Did something happen?¡± A soft and doubtful voice sounded. Cheyenne¡¯s figure reappeared at the entrance of the Carter residence¡¯s courtyard. She had just sent Amelia to the kindergarten before hurrying back. She was now looking at the scene in front of her with a look of surprise, especially at Bryce kneeling at Lucas¡¯s feet and weeping miserably. Itpletely exceeded her imagination. Charlotte hurriedly scurried over and said to Cheyenne anxiously, ¡°Cheyenne, quickly go and persuade Lucas. Tell him not to kill Bryce!¡± Cheyenne panicked. She finally understood why Bryce was kneeling in front of Lucas while weeping and begging miserably. She hurriedly ran over and looked at Lucas nervously. ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t be rash. Let him off!¡± Lucas looked at the anxious and nervous look on Cheyenne¡¯s face, but he remained unmoved. ¡°You saw what happened today. He sent someone to demolish the house without any regard for our safety. He almost hurt you guys, and he even sent urns to us afterward. He didn¡¯t even spare Amelia, a young child. If I let him off, he¡¯ll still threaten you guys again and again in the future. I will never allow it!¡± Bryce hurriedly assured, ¡°Lucas, I promise I will never provoke and cause trouble for your family again! I definitely won¡¯t!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You¡¯ve said those words countless times before, but you¡¯ve gone back on your word every single time. I can¡¯t trust you at all. No matter what, you must die today!¡± His face was expressionless, and he was like a cold statue. It was the first time Cheyenne had seen such a cold and ruthless side of Lucas. She was stunned. He was totally different from the Lucas who would always speak to her gently and y with Amelia. All of a sudden, Cheyenne¡¯s heart was filled with a strange feeling. After a while, she said, ¡°Lucas, can you...¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cheyenne.¡± Before she could finish, Lucas interjected, ¡°If it were anything else, I would listen to you. But Bryce Carter is incorrigible and beyond redemption. If I let him off today, he will hurt you and Amelia. I can¡¯t take that risk. So he must die today.¡± Lucas¡¯s attitude was extremely firm. Cheyenne furrowed her eyebrows slightly. She couldn¡¯t think of any words that she could say to change his mind. To be fair, Bryce had indeed done countless vicious things that repulsed her. She absolutely hated him too. But she always felt that since he was a Carter, she had asked Lucas to let him off on ount of their kinship time and time again in hopes that he could turn over a new leaf. But now, Bryce was still unrepentant, and he even went from bad to worse. Lucas had already lost his patience with him and was bent on killing him. What should I do? Just as Cheyenne lowered her head and was thinking about a strategy, Bryce, who was still kneeling at Lucas¡¯s feet, crying and begging, suddenly whipped out a dagger with an icy cold glint. Then he sprung up and dashed at Cheyenne with the dagger pointing at her. Bryce didn¡¯t want to kill her. He just wanted to use it to hold her hostage to force Lucas to let him go. As soon as he escaped from this ce, he would tell his grandfather that they should hire more experts to cripple Lucas even if they had to use all their resources! Seeing Bryce springing up and swiftly charging toward Cheyenne, Charlotte shrieked in horror, ¡°Ah! Cheyenne, be careful!¡± Lucas¡¯s face turned cold. None of them saw Bryce¡¯s sudden outbursting. Besides, he was very close to Cheyenne, and she wouldn¡¯t be able to react in time. It was almost toote to stop him! Without hesitation, Lucas shed and appeared in front of Cheyenne. The sharp dagger stabbed all the way into Lucas¡¯s chest, digging as far as it could until the de disappeared! Crimson blood spewed out of Lucas¡¯s chest and reflected in the eyes of everyone, who was shell-shocked. Chapter 170: It’s Just A Superficial Wound

Chapter 170: It¡¯s Just A Superficial Wound

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios No one expected that Bryce had a hidden dagger and that he would stab Lucas¡¯s chest with it! Even Bryce himself was extremely surprised. He never thought that he would be able to escape from Lucas, so he had thought of holding Cheyenne hostage and threatening Lucas into letting him go. But he didn¡¯t expect to stab Lucas in his chest by a freakbination of factors. Bryce subconsciously let go of the dagger and looked at everything before him in astonishment. After a moment of suffocating silence, Cheyenne finally recovered from her extreme shock and eximed anxiously, ¡°Lucas! Are you... are you alright?¡± She held Lucas¡¯s arm tightly. Upon seeing Lucas¡¯s shirt stained with blood seeping out of his chest, she reached out to see how badly he was hurt, but she didn¡¯t dare to touch the dagger. ¡°Lucas! Are you okay?¡± Charlotte dashed over too. Looking at the eye-catching bloodstain on Lucas¡¯s chest, she couldn¡¯t help but cover her mouth. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t intend to kill him. He came over himself. It¡¯s none of my business! Even if he dies, he deserves it! If any of you dare to say anything, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± Bryce raised his hand and pointed at Lucas with a maniacal expression as he hollered at all the people around him. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve got a death wish!¡± Lucas snorted coldly and raised his long leg to kick Bryce right smack in the middle of his chest. Bryce¡¯s body was instantly propelled into the air as he spouted a mouthful of blood before flying far away andnding beside the tall and strong bodyguard. Bryce couldn¡¯t make a single sound throughout the entire process because he passed out the moment he was kicked by Lucas andnded hard on the ground like a dead pig. Immediately afterward, Lucas looked at the dagger in his chest and frowned slightly before reaching out to pull the dagger out. He then flung the dagger onto the ground. As he did so, blood gushed out. ¡°What are you doing?! Why did you pull it out?¡± Cheyenne looked at Lucas in horror and yelled at him in panic. She had previously read some articles about first aid. And she learned that if someone got stabbed in the chest, heart, or other vital spots, the dagger should never be pulled out directly without the presence of professional medical personnel and equipment. Otherwise, the blood pressure of their body would instantlypress the injury, resulting in arterial hemorrhage that would endanger their life! She didn¡¯t expect Lucas to pull the dagger out directly. Looking at the bloody dagger wound in his chest, she panicked and wept uncontrobly while frantically trying to cover his wound with her hands. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and go to the hospital! Charlotte, quickly drive your car over. We¡¯ll head to the hospital immediately for emergency treatment!¡± Cheyenne yelled anxiously. ¡°O-okay!¡± Charlotte nodded frantically. Then she scrambled toward the Lamborghini parked in the corner of the courtyard and started the engine. Seeing how genuinely nervous and worried Cheyenne was, Lucas felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart. They were both truly concerned about him and were worried that something might happen to him. Lucasfortingly patted Cheyenne¡¯s cold and trembling hands that were pressing on his wound and consoled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just a minor injury. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°How can this be a minor injury if you¡¯ve bled so much?!¡± Cheyenne eximed at Lucas as tears flooded down her cheeks. Although Cheyenne yelled at him, Lucas knew that she was just too worried, so he felt even more heartened. His injury was still a little painful, but Lucas knew that his physique was strong, and such an injury was nothing much to him. Unfortunately, Cheyenne refused to believe anything he said. Soon, Cheyenne helped Lucas into the car. When Charlotte saw Lucas¡¯s appearance, her eyes turned red, and she drove to the nearest hospital as quickly as she could. ¡°Doctor! Emergency! Emergency! Someone¡¯s going to die!¡± Cheyenne and Charlotte were each holding onto one of Lucas¡¯s arms and helping him into the hospital while calling for help from the nurses in the hospital. The hospital personnel were shocked at the sight of Lucas¡¯s bloodstained shirt and immediately had them brought to the emergency room. They also prepared an operation theater just in case. Usually, in cases of such arge amount of blood loss from a wound in the chest, the situation would be rather dangerous. But after the doctor finished examining the wound in Lucas¡¯s chest with a look of nervousness, he looked at the three people in front of him speechlessly and said in displeasure, ¡°I thought it was a fatal injury. This is just a minor superficial wound that only needs to be disinfected and will heal in no time. He doesn¡¯t even need a bandaid.¡± ¡°What?¡± Cheyenne and Charlotte almost doubted if they had heard wrong. ¡°How can it be just a superficial wound? Doctor, did you examine carefully? He was stabbed in the chest, and the eight-centimeter dagger went almost all the way into his chest. He even bled so much, and his clothes are all stained with blood!¡± The doctor frowned. ¡°I may not have excellent medical skills, but I¡¯m not blind or a quack. This is only a minor cut, and it¡¯s not as serious as you two made it out to be.¡± ¡°But we clearly saw it with our own eyes...¡± Cheyenne and Charlotte were about to describe the scene in greater detail, but Lucas hurriedly stopped them. ¡°My wound is really just a minor one. It¡¯s not that serious. If you don¡¯t believe me, look.¡± Then Lucas pried his clothes open a little to reveal his chest, grabbed a few disinfectant alcohol-soaked cotton balls from the tray beside the doctor¡¯s hand, and wiped the blood around his chest. The wound was then disyed clearly to them. It was indeed only a tiny wound that seemed to be an idental abrasion. Cheyenne and Charlotte widened their eyes in surprise and looked at the minor wound in the middle of Lucas¡¯s chest in disbelief. Bryce had stabbed the eight-centimeter-long de into Lucas¡¯s chest more than ten minutes ago. And when Lucas pulled out the dagger, a stream of blood had gushed out, which was evidence of a deep wound. How could it just be a minor cut now?! Chapter 171: Exposing The Truth

Chapter 171: Exposing The Truth

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas smiled as he pulled his shirt up. ¡°See, I told you it was just a minor wound. Actually, it only looked really severe just now. But that was just a visual illusion, just like how they manipte camera angles to make stab wounds seem more severe than they really are in TV shows.¡± Charlotte suddenly assented in a moment of realization and heaved a huge sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s great! You really scared us just now!¡± After hearing Lucas¡¯s exnation, Cheyenne felt that it made sense too. But on second thought, she felt that it didn¡¯t seem right. Even if it was a visual illusion, he had indeed lost a staggering amount of blood, and it even stained arge area of his shirt, which shouldn¡¯t happen in the case of a minor wound. But she did just see that the wound was just like a small abrasion. At the thought of this, Cheyenne became confused, as she felt that Lucas wasn¡¯t telling the truth. Soon, they arrived back home. Therge excavator and ten-odd people from the engineeringpany responsible for demolishing the house had already scampered away when Lucas knocked Bryce out and was subsequently brought to the hospital by the beautiful sisters. Actually, when Lucas had kicked the tall and strong bodyguard a dozen meters away, those people secretly swallowed their saliva and began to think of chickening out. They wanted to flee long ago, fearing that Lucas would kick them hard and make them faint too. If they had known that the house they came to demolish today was inhabited by a terrifying person like Lucas, they would never have taken on the job! Bryce and the tall and burly bodyguard he hired were still unconscious and lying motionlessly on the ground far away from them, in the same position they hadnded in before. No one dared to bother about them. Karen had long fled, and she was nowhere in sight. The old building in front of them had already been wrecked by the hydraulic hammer of the excavator, and one of the walls of the second floor had also been knocked down. Cracks also covered the ceiling and the ground around it. It was obviously too dangerous to be upied anymore. Lucas looked at the two people on the ground and then said to Cheyenne, ¡°I¡¯ll be making a trip to the Carters¡¯ in a moment. You guys pack up a little, then go to work. Don¡¯t stay in this house for the time being.¡± Cheyenne knew that Lucas was going to take Bryce back to the Carters and confront them. After hesitating for a while, she nevertheless asked, ¡°Lucas, can you... let the Carters off once more?¡± Bryce had indeed gone overboard today, and everything the Carters had done previously had also broken Cheyenne¡¯s heartpletely. But if Lucas really settled scores with them, they would all be in trouble. Deep down, Cheyenne still couldn¡¯t bear for that to happen to them. After all, they were once her family members and rtives whom she truly wanted to get along with. Before Lucas spoke, Charlotte protested in exasperation, ¡°Cheyenne, things have already gotten to this point, yet you¡¯re still thinking about pleading for them. You want Lucas to let them off again? Think carefully about what they¡¯ve done today!¡± Cheyenne said bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t know. But after all, they were once our family...¡± ¡°What family? You¡¯re the only one who¡¯s foolish enough to treat them as our family. Do they see us as family?!¡± Charlotte was overwhelmed with fury, and her face flushed red as she continued to chide, ¡°Today, they came to demolish our house without saying a word and almost crushed us to death. Bryce even almost stabbed Lucas to death. Yesterday, they also sent someone to abduct Amelia. If not for Lucas, we wouldn¡¯t have made it back! You¡¯re still considering them as family. How can there be such a despicable and horrible family who wants to harm their family all the time?¡± Charlotte finally vented the anger toward the Carters that she had suppressed for a long time, not even realizing that she said something she shouldn¡¯t have. ¡°What did you say? Amelia got abducted yesterday, and you guys almost didn¡¯t make it back? What does that mean?¡± Indeed, Cheyenne immediately noticed that something was wrong after hearing what Charlotte said, and her expression turned sullen while she probed anxiously. Only then did Charlotte realize that she had let her tongue slip and spilled the beans about what had happened to Amelia. She quickly covered her mouth and denied with a chagrined expression and shifty eyes, ¡°Uh, it¡¯s nothing much. I misspoke. Cheyenne, just pretend you didn¡¯t hear it.¡± But since Cheyenne had already heard it, how could she pretend that she hadn¡¯t? ¡°Charlotte, tell me honestly. What exactly did you encounter yesterday? Yesterday... Lucas came homete with Amelia, and she mentioned an Aunt Grace. Does that have something to do with this? Hurry up and tell me!¡± Cheyenne insisted and grabbed Charlotte¡¯s hands with a worried gaze. Charlotte was full of frustration and regret that she had identally let it slip. Just as she was about to try and cover it up, Lucas sighed and said, ¡°Forget it. Since you¡¯ve already mentioned it, we can¡¯t hide it from Cheyenne any longer. Charlotte, just tell your sister everything that happened yesterday.¡± With Lucas¡¯s permission, Charlotte nodded and recounted everything that had happened yesterday with righteous indignation. She told her everything, from when Lucas found out that someone had picked up Amelia from the kindergarten to when a stranger called her and threatened her with Amelia¡¯s safety to force her to go to Logan Hale¡¯s bar, where she ran into Scarlet Wright. She then found out that it was Scarlet who abducted Amelia, followed by the fact that they ganged up to make Charlotte strip before Lucas arrived in time to save her. After hearing Charlotte¡¯s frightening recount, Cheyenne was so astonished and furious that she felt an urge to kill someone! In particr, when she heard that Charlotte was forced to undress, she was so enraged that she began shivering, feeling extremely guilty about the fact that she was totally clueless about the crisis that her sister and daughter had faced yesterday. She felt that she had been too negligent! She took Charlotte into her arms while feeling she owed her too much even though she knew that nothing had happened to Charlotte afterward because Lucas had saved her in time. ¡°Where did you guys find Amelia in the end? She... she didn¡¯t get frightened, did she?¡± Cheyenne asked through gritted teeth. Charlotte didn¡¯t know what happenedter either, because at that time, she had already been escorted back home by Wade, and Lucas was the one who did everything to save Amelia afterward. Lucas had given her a brief description of what happenedter and exined that Grace Keller had been held in purgatory by Logan Hale in the secret vi he owned. He also said that Grace was nice and took care of Amelia, which was why Amelia didn¡¯t get too frightened. Of course, he didn¡¯t reveal what happened to Scarlet in the end. Cheyenne only realized now that what Amelia had said yesterday about ying at Aunt Grace¡¯s home and that Aunt Grace was very nice to her was what happened when she was abducted. Shemented the fact that she hadpletely no idea what kind of danger her daughter had gone through yesterday nor the tremendous effort that Lucas had put in to save Charlotte and Amelia! She had even misunderstoodst night that Lucas was involved in an illicit rtionship with another woman and got mad at him for a long time because of it. She totally regretted it! Chapter 172: Cheyenne Comes to a Realization

Chapter 172: Cheyenne Comes to a Realization

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All of a sudden, Cheyenne¡¯s heart was filled with extremely unsettling mixed emotions. Charlotte held Cheyenne¡¯s hand to stop her and said seriously, ¡°Cheyenne, you really should stop treating them as our family! Look at what they¡¯ve done. Are they human at all? All they do is use us and bully us. Even Scarlet Wright has followed suit and abused her status as a rtive of the Carters to abduct Amelia. ¡°If you still treat them as our family and continue to be merciful to them, yesterday¡¯s and today¡¯s incidents will happen again and again because they¡¯re vile and incorrigible! That¡¯s why Lucas wants to kill Bryce and demand an exnation from the Carters today. He wants to teach them a hard lesson to ensure that they won¡¯t bully us again.¡± Charlotte turned to look at Lucas and said with a look of determination, ¡°So, Lucas, I support you if you want to go confront the Carters. We can¡¯t let them continue beingwless and trampling all over us. But Lucas, don¡¯t get any of them killed because it¡¯s not worth it at all. Other than that, you can do anything you want.¡± Cheyenne had been hanging her head low after hearing what Charlotte said. With a bitter smile, she said, ¡°Charlotte, I always thought that I was the mature one between us since I¡¯m a few years older, but I never thought that you¡¯d have a clearer idea of things than I do. You¡¯re right. They¡¯ve always been bullying and using us, and they even kicked us out when we defied them or when they deemed us useless. They¡¯ve never treated us as rtives, and yet I keep sparing them on the ount that we¡¯re rtives. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, guys. From now on, I will no longer be so silly. I¡¯ll put in effort only on those who deserve it,¡± Cheyenne said. She turned to look at Lucas and said with a firm expression, ¡°Regarding the Carters, we¡¯ll do what you deem fit. I agree with Charlotte. I¡¯ll support you in anything you do as long as you don¡¯t get any of them killed!¡± Seeing Cheyenne finallying to her senses, drawing a clear line between them and the Carters, and realizing that there was no need to go easy on them anymore, Lucas had a heartened smile. Before, he had repeatedly let the Carters off because of Cheyenne¡¯s pleas on their behalf. This time, he finally didn¡¯t need to spare them any mercy. He smiled. ¡°Rest assured. I won¡¯t dirty my hands for their sake.¡± Lucas lifted the unconscious Bryce and the bodyguard from the ground and stuffed them into the trunk of his Jaguar one by one. He was just about to get into the car to leave when he suddenly thought of something and walked over again to hand a bunch of keys to Cheyenne. ¡°This house has already been wrecked, so we can no longer stay here. Take a day off from work today to pack your important belongings and move into my ce.¡± Lucas was referring to his vi in the center of Pearl Lake. Previously, Cheyenne had been drugged by Gordon Dous, and Lucas brought her over to stay for one night in the vi after rescuing her. As soon as Cheyenne thought of the luxurious and beautiful vi that was as opulent as a pce, she immediately wanted to refuse, but Lucas tried to persuade her. ¡°We¡¯re a married couple, and my house is yours. There¡¯s no need to divide things so clearly between us. Besides, can you bear to let Amelia continue to live in this dangerous house?¡± At the thought of the environment that her daughter was living in, Cheyenne hesitated for a moment but nheless grabbed the keys. ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡± ¡°Do we have to be so polite between us? You know the address of the vi. There¡¯s everything you¡¯ll need there, so you guys don¡¯t have to pack too many things. Just bring the important things you need.¡± After giving them some instructions, Lucas drove away from the Carter residence in his ck Jaguar. Only after Lucas left did Charlotte look at the keys in Cheyenne¡¯s hand and cluck her tongue against the roof of his mouth. ¡°Wow, Cheyenne, does the vi belong to Lucas? When did he buy it?¡± Cheyenne shook her head and said with a faint smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know when he bought it. But it¡¯s very spacious there, and there¡¯s everything we need, so you can just bring some clothes and personal belongings over.¡± ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s get ready to move right away!¡± Charlotte eximed with excitement, feeling rather curious about Lucas¡¯s new home. ¡°Move? Where to?¡± Suddenly, Karen, who had hidden somewhere, popped up out of nowhere. ¡°Mom! You scared me!¡±ined the startled Charlotte. ¡°Tell me quickly. Where do you want to move to? Did you two secretly buy a house?¡± Karen stared at Cheyenne in bewilderment before taking a few nces at Charlotte. They would basically hand over their sries to me each month. Have they secretly stashed away lots of money without informing me? Karen rolled her eyes. Cheyenne and Charlotte were both aware of what she was thinking. Charlotte said in displeasure, ¡°How can Cheyenne and I have so much money to buy a house? We hand over our sries to you every month, don¡¯t we? The house belongs to Lucas, and he asked us to move in with him.¡± With a look of disappointment, Karen cursed hostilely, ¡°Hah! I thought you guys were going to move into a fancy ce, but it turns out to be that good-for-nothing¡¯s house. How much money can he have? How can he afford a decent house? It¡¯d better not be a rented house or some small and shabby ce. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not moving! I don¡¯t want all of us to squeeze into a tiny house. If you want to move, go ahead yourselves. I¡¯ll pass.¡± Hearing Karen¡¯s habitual criticism toward Lucas, Cheyenne felt rather speechless. ¡°Forget it. Since you don¡¯t want to go, you can look for another ce to move into yourself. You have lots of money anyway. Charlotte, just bring some of the clothes you wear regrly. There are other necessities in the vi.¡± ¡°Wow! Is it really a vi? Is it huge and gorgeous?¡± Charlotte immediately asked in surprise. Ever since she was a child, she had always envied the Carters for living in a cluster of vis, while they had to make do in an old and shabby house. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s spacious and beautiful. You¡¯ll knowter when you get there.¡± Cheyenne pinched her sister¡¯s face, and then they both returned to their rooms smilingly to pack up. After hearing the word ¡®vi¡¯, Karen developed an interest, and her eyes started shining when she heard Cheyenne say it was very spacious and beautiful. She couldn¡¯t be bothered to think about how Lucas managed to get the money to purchase a vi. In her opinion, Lucas¡¯s property was akin to Cheyenne¡¯s, which also meant that it belonged to her too! Since it was arge and gorgeous vi, it was only right for Karen to move in since she was Lucas¡¯s mother-inw! Chapter 173: Moving into a New Home

Chapter 173: Moving into a New Home

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thus, when Charlotte and Cheyenne headed upstairs to pack their luggage, Karen hurriedly scrambled to her own room to take out a fewrge suitcases and woven bags, which she then desperately filled with items. When Cheyenne and Charlotte headed downstairs with a small suitcase each, there were already a lot of Karen¡¯s suitcases in the living room. There were also five packages of various sizes. Charlotte was almost angered to the point ofughing out loud. She mocked, ¡°Mom, didn¡¯t you just say that you don¡¯t want to move in with us to a small and shabby ce? Why have you packed up sooner than us?¡± Karen had always been thick-skinned, and she said righteously, ¡°Well, I still have to cook for the both of you, right? I really don¡¯t know what sins I¡¯vemitted in myst life to have given birth to you two burdensome children. I still have to serve you every day.¡± When Charlotte heard this, she couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes and was about to retort, but Cheyenne tugged her arm to stop her. Well, it couldn¡¯t be helped since Karen was their mother! Charlotte muttered something and then helped Karen carry the luggage to the car. But the space in the trunk was limited, so it definitely couldn¡¯t fit all of Karen¡¯s luggage. Even if they filled all the space, there were still tworge bags that couldn¡¯t fit. ¡°Mom, what do you have in these big bags? There are too many! Leave these two bags of clothes behind.¡± After a painstaking persuasion, Charlotte and Cheyenne finally convinced Karen topromise and leave the tworge bags of clothes behind, which they promised toe backter to collect on her behalf. Soon, the three of them got into the car and drove to Lucas¡¯s vi in the center of Pearl Lake. Charlotte was responsible for driving while Cheyenne sat in the passenger seat and helped with navigation. She led Charlotte to the vicinity of Moon Pce Real Estate¡¯s vis at Pearl Lake. ¡°Pearl Lake? Moon Pce Real Estate? Oh my god, Cheyenne! Is Lucas¡¯s house really here? That¡¯s impressive!¡± Charlotte eximed in utter surprise and disbelief. Before Cheyenne could say anything, Karen, who was sitting in the back seat, scoffed and gibed sarcastically, ¡°Hmph, the vi cluster near Pearl Lake that¡¯s developed by Moon Pce Real Estate? Those are the most expensive andvish vis in Orange County, and only those whose worth is over fifteen million dors can afford one. That good-for-nothing Lucas Gray will never be able to afford it in ten lifetimes! Cheyenne, don¡¯t be fooled by him. If we find out when we arrive that he doesn¡¯t live there at all and end up getting chased away by security, that would be so embarrassing!¡± Cheyenne frowned in displeasure. ¡°Mom, you don¡¯t know anything about Lucas, so don¡¯t say such nonsensical things, alright? I¡¯ve been to that vi of his. He¡¯s definitely not lying to you.¡± Charlotte agreed and chimed in, ¡°Yeah, Cheyenne is right. Mom, you actually don¡¯t know anything about Lucas. You always call him a good-for-nothing, but you¡¯re clueless about how impressive he really is! Since you detest Lucas so much and even suspect that he¡¯s deceiving us, I think you shouldn¡¯t go live in his house either, lest you keep picking on him. You won¡¯t even praise him after getting a benefit from him.¡± Karen immediately cursed furiously, ¡°I¡¯m your mother! Not only aren¡¯t you speaking up for me, but you¡¯re even contradicting me and angering me for an outsider. You¡¯re so unfilial! If I had known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have given birth to you two!¡± ¡°Hmph, you shouldn¡¯t have given birth to us then! I don¡¯t want a mother like you either,¡± Charlotte said furiously. Ever since they were children, Karen oftenined about how painstaking it was for her to raise them and how much they owed her. But she clearly didn¡¯t care much about them and would leave them hungry at home all day when they were kids. If not for the fact that their grandmother was still alive at that time and often visited them and brought them some food, they would have probably starved to death at home because of Karen. When Karen got into a heated argument with Sharon Hart in the hotel previously, Charlotte went to her rescue. But Karen ended up wanting Charlotte to take a p from the other party to make amends. Since then, Charlotte had been absolutely heartbroken by Karen and no longer wanted to have a mother like her. When Karen heard what Charlotte said, she immediately flew into a rage. ¡°I had such a hard time raising you two. Is this how you repay me? Indeed, you two are ingrates. I¡¯d rather have raised a dog than raise you two!¡± As Karen spoke, she even stretched out her hand from the back seat to try to smack Charlotte¡¯s head. Karen¡¯s words were extremely nasty, and Cheyenne couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer either. She turned around, grabbed Karen¡¯s hand, and hollered furiously, ¡°Mom! What are you doing?! Charlotte is driving. Aren¡¯t you scared that we might get into an ident if you hit her? ¡°Also, I¡¯m going to make things clear. We¡¯re moving to Lucas¡¯s ce. If you still want to continue insulting him, nitpicking on him, and picking fights all the time like you used to, don¡¯t move in with us. You¡¯d better return to the old residence or go elsewhere. It¡¯s up to you.¡± Cheyenne had a cold expression on her face, which was rather rare of her. She usually maintained an obedient image, and her sudden rage frightened Karen. Karen was the type to bully the weak and fear the strong, so when she saw Cheyenne ring up, she immediately became cowardly and muttered, ¡°Hmph, you guys don¡¯t take me seriously anymore now that you¡¯ve grown up, huh?¡± But she dared not say anything else. After Karen shut up, they quietly drove to the vicinity of Moon Pce Vis. It was an enormous upscale vi area that epassed all of the vast area near Pearl Lake. This ce had a cluster of beautifully designed European-style vis and courtyards situated in the heart of Orange County, where there was beautiful scenery and fresh air among theke and the mountains. It was truly a pleasant and rxing sight. Moreover, although this area was vast, the area around each vi was also huge. So there were only a few vis here, which only the top tycoons could afford. After they drove the car close, Karen couldn¡¯t take her eyes off the vis, which cost several or even dozens of millions each. They were beautifully designed and were the epitome of luxury and enjoyment. They drove to the security guard post at the entrance of the vi cluster, where there were javelin-like security guards standing on both sides. They walked over, and Charlotte immediately tensed up because her car wasn¡¯t permitted to enter the vi cluster. Cheyenne found a small oval metal button from the bunch of keys that Lucas gave her and pressed it gently. Upon detecting the signal, the automatic barrier at the entrance of the vi cluster rose, and they were allowed to drive in. ¡°Dear owners, wee back to Moon Pce Vis.¡± When the security guard saw that the sensors had activated, he naturally knew that the people in the car were the owners of a vi and so bent forward to bow to them respectfully. ¡°Hmph, since you know we¡¯re owners here, hurry and get lost. Don¡¯t get in our way!¡± Karen rolled down the rear window of the car and yelled at the security guard, who was standing at the roadside. The security guard opened his mouth slightly and was instantly stunned on the spot. Chapter 174: Blocking the Gate

Chapter 174: Blocking the Gate

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This security guard had been working here for a long time, and those who could live in Moon Pce Vis were wealthy and prestigious, so they were usually well-mannered. Even those who were less cultured would pretend to be poised and cultured in front of outsiders. Yet Karen... opened the window and barked at him condescendingly like a shrew from the streets. Besides, the security guard was standing far away on the roadside and had merely walked over to wee them home cordially ording to thepany¡¯s instructions. He wasn¡¯t in their way at all. Karen¡¯s behavior was simply a deliberate attempt to show her sense of superiority in front of the security guard. Charlotte felt extremely embarrassed and humiliated while Cheyenne apologized to the security guard before they drove in quickly. Karen was still unaware of what was going on as she was preupied with valuing the various upscale vis in her mind. From time to time, she would even makements and mock those standing on the road opposite. ¡°Look at that fatso over there. She¡¯s so fat, but she still gets to live in such a luxurious vi. How lucky! ¡°Look at that woman standing by the window sill over there. She has such a slender waist and the sultry face of a vixen. She must be the mistress of a married man. Tsk, tsk.¡± Unable to tolerate it anymore, Charlotte yelled, ¡°Mom! Stop making such a din. I¡¯m going to get lost because of the noise you¡¯re making!¡± Only then did Karen stop. But Charlotte really didn¡¯t know where to go at this moment. ¡°Cheyenne, do we keep driving along this road? If we go farther, we will reach theke,¡± Charlotte said while pointing at the map in the navigation system. Cheyenne nodded. ¡°Yes, just keep driving. This road will connect all the way to theke ind in the center of Pearl Lake. Lucas¡¯s vi is on that ind.¡± ¡°What?! The vi on theke ind in the center of Pearl Lake?!¡± Karen immediately eximed in surprise. She was so astonished that she almost stood up in the car. Her sudden exmation gave Charlotte a great shock, and the car skewed toward the side as her hands trembled violently. Fortunately, she was driving slowly and hurriedly stepped on the brakes to prevent an ident. Before Charlotte couldin and lose her temper, Karen continued to yell loudly, ¡°There must be a mistake! There¡¯s only one separate vi on the ind in the center of Pearl Lake. It¡¯s a vi that upies the entireke ind. With theke around it, it¡¯s definitely worth more than one hundred and fifty-five million dors! One hundred and fifty-five million dors! ¡°And when I yed cards with Mrs. Jones, I heard her mention that the vi in the center of Pearl Lake was purchased by a mysterious tycoon a month ago! The road to the center of Pearl Lake is also exclusive to the owner of that vi, and it¡¯s guarded by many security guards. Even if someone tries to barge in, they¡¯ll be chased out!¡± With a wavering heart, Charlotte nced at Cheyenne. Although Lucas was indeed not an ordinary person and definitely had lots of secrets, the idea of him having the financial means to purchase a 155-million-dor vi still seemed outrageous to her... Cheyenne said calmly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The vi in the center of theke belongs to Lucas. Just keep driving!¡± Charlotte thought about it and felt that since Cheyenne had already said so, the matter had to be true. This could only mean that Lucas¡¯s financial power was far beyond her imagination. So she started the car again without hesitation and drove straight toward theke ind. Sitting in the backseat of the car, Karen widened her eyes in astonishment,pletely unable to believe what she heard. ... Meanwhile, Lucas made a phone call to Jordan before he drove to the Carters¡¯ main residence. And so, arge construction truck soon arrived at the entrance of the Carters¡¯ main residence and blocked the gate. The Carter residence was a manor-style viplex. Apart from some distant rtives and William Carter¡¯s family, the rest of the Carters¡¯ direct descendants lived here. Bryce¡¯s mother, Sarah Hadley, was about to go out shopping with another wealthydy. Dressed to the nines, she was sitting in her BMW. But when the car reached the gate, it waspletely blocked by the construction truck outside. There was no way she could drive out at all. ¡°Are you guys blind? Do you know where this ce is? It¡¯s the entrance of the Carter residence! Who allowed you to park here? Hurry up and drive it away. Get it away immediately!¡± Sarah got out of the car, stood behind the gate, and yelled at the top of her lungs while pointing at the driver of the construction truck outside. But the driver of the truck didn¡¯t pay any attention to her, and the other young man sitting in the front seat with one leg crossed over the other turned his head away disinterestedly after taking a nce at her. He then tossed a few coins in his hand in boredom. Sarah was immediately infuriated that they were ignoring her, so much that she grimaced. She was the matriarch of the Carters and the only mistress of the household, whom everyone respected, ttered, and feared provoking. In particr, after Cheyenne¡¯s family was kicked out by the Carters, her son, Bryce, became the next sessor of the Carters since he was Dominic¡¯s only direct grandson. So feeling like she was about to be an empress dowager, Sarah had her nose in the air, was living delightedly every day, and treated everyone condescendingly. But this scoundrel outside actually didn¡¯t take her seriously at all and even blocked her car! ¡°Hey! I¡¯m talking to you. Can¡¯t you hear me? Hurry up and get that stupid truck out of the way. You¡¯re not allowed to park it here!¡± Jordan simply nced at Sarah in disdain and even snorted contemptuously. Bastard! He clearly heard me. He did that deliberately! Sarah was so furious that she clenched her teeth and immediately called security over. ¡°Are all of you dead? Can¡¯t you see that some bastard has blocked our gate with his truck? Hurry up. I want you to beat him up into a pulp!¡± After the ten-odd security guards heard her order, they stopped working and rushed toward Jordan, who was sitting in the front seat of the construction truck. Looking at the nobodies who came over to send themselves to their graves in boredom, Jordan felt extremely disdainful. He didn¡¯t even move, but all the security guards who tried to approach him and drag him out were simply kicked by him and sent flying several meters away while shrieking in horror. He clearly didn¡¯t seem to have applied much force, but his legs contained an immeasurable amount of power. The security guards were sted away and were struggling hard to get up, but they couldn¡¯t at all. The security guards were all put down within a few seconds, catching Sarah by surprise as she stared wide-eyed in shock. The faces of the Carters behind her turned sullen, but they dared not go forward to say anything at all. ¡°Hmph, a bunch of cowards,¡± Jordan gibed, still sitting in the front seat. Chapter 175: You’re Actually Alright?

Chapter 175: You¡¯re Actually Alright?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The Carters were so furious that they turned red. The security guards were all too weak in the face of Jordan, let alone them, who often indulged in alcohol and lust. They would never be able to fight him in this lifetime. After knocking down the group of security guards, Jordan didn¡¯t do anything else and simply sat in the front seat of the truck, blocking the entrance of the Carter¡¯s main residence and forbidding them from leaving. As for the other gates of the Carter residence, Jordan had called people to guard them, ensuring that not a single Carter could leave. This was the main task that Lucas gave Jordan. He turned a deaf ear to the Carters¡¯ pressing questions and pretended not to hear them. Seeing the entrance being blocked by the aggressive Jordan, whose origin they couldn¡¯t find out, the Carters had no choice but to go to Dominic for a solution because they didn¡¯t know who they had offended. ¡°Dominic, an arrogant young man showed up at our entrance with arge construction truck. He¡¯s blocking it with his truck and not allowing us to enter and exit!¡± Dominic immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Where are the security guards? Hurry up and get someone to chase him away.¡± A Carter said sulkily, ¡°Dominic, we called the security guards, but that young man has impressivebat skills, and he managed to take them all down! Moreover, he managed to do it effortlessly. He definitely isn¡¯t someone ordinary people can deal with.¡± Hearing that the young man could fight, Dominic immediately shuddered a little. He wanted to ask if it was Lucas, but on second thought, he knew it was impossible because all the Carters knew that loser. The stranger obviously wasn¡¯t Lucas. Since when are there so many people who can fight? Dominic gritted his teeth with a huge headache. But clearly, ording to the news ryed by the Carters, this young man wasn¡¯t someone they could deal with. ¡°Hmph, although I don¡¯t know who he is, since he came alone and only dares to block the entrance, he must not have a powerful background. Don¡¯t panic. I¡¯ll contact the Hales and ask them to send some powerful people over to help us.¡± Dominic took out his cell phone and made a call. When the surrounding Carters heard that he was going to ask the Hales for help, they were immediately overjoyed. The Hales were one of the four major families in Orange County, and their businesses spread across many industries in the country, so they had a lot of remarkable bodyguards. Although the Carters had only be acquainted with a few associates of low status within the Hale family, Dominic thought that these connections should be enough for him to borrow some bodyguards. Dominic tried to call them for a long time before someone picked up and asked in annoyance, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Dominic hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Holmes, I¡¯m Dominic Carter from the Carter Corporation. We met at the Hale residence yesterday...¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Get straight to the point!¡± the other interrupted coldly. Dominic¡¯s heart was full of frustration, but he nheless suppressed it with all his might and continued to smile while speaking to Mr. Holmes, who was tens of years younger than him. ¡°Just now, a young man drove a truck over to block the entrance of our ce. Hisbat skills are impressive, and our security guards can¡¯t beat him, so we thought of borrowing a few expert bodyguards from you. Mr. Holmes, we hope that you will teach that punk a lesson.¡± Upon hearing that it was just for a trivial matter, Mr. Holmes immediately said in contempt, ¡°You can¡¯t even deal with a young man. The Carters are indeed useless. Wait, I¡¯ll send some people over to take a look.¡± With that, he hung up mercilessly. Dominic seemed rather sullen. After the Carters left, he gritted his teeth and said resentfully, ¡°Hmph, Anthony Holmes, what are you being so arrogant for? You¡¯re just a steward of the Hales! When we get acquainted with the direct descendants of the Hales in the future, I¡¯ll see how you can still be arrogant!¡± But before the people sent by the Hales arrived, a sleek ck Jaguar stopped at the entrance of the Carters. Jordan immediately jumped off the construction truck and walked towards the Jaguar. He then bowed and said, ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re here.¡± The door opened, and Lucas alighted from the Jaguar. He nced at the towering wall and iron gate outside the Carter residence, and he couldn¡¯t help but be reminded of when Cheyenne had knelt there in the pouring rain, but no one came out to talk to her. She had waited for a long time, only to be told mercilessly that she had been disowned. The gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes suddenly turned cold, and he said to Jordan, ¡°Ram into the house.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± There was a trace of excitement in Jordan¡¯s eyes as he gestured to the driver of the construction truck. Soon, the engine of the steel vehicle started. With loud rumbling, it drove straight into the walls of the Carter residence! The truck rammed into the iron gate and deformed it. Arge portion of the wall of the courtyard copsed, and bricks came crashing down with loud sounds. Immediately afterward, the entire front yard of the Carter residence was in ruins. ¡°Ah! Get out of the way. The vehicle is ramming toward us!¡± ¡°Oh my god. That man drove the truck into our home! Are the Hales¡¯ people not here yet?¡± ... The Carters shrieked in horror and dashed toward the houses. The smoke and dust slowly dissipated, and Lucas¡¯s toned and tall figure appeared in front of the Carters. ¡°Is that... Lucas Gray? Why is he here?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we kick him and Cheyenne¡¯s family out? How does he still have the cheek to show up here?¡± ¡°Could Lucas... have hired that young man outside?¡± ... The Carters started specting and making guesses, but the person who was most shocked by Lucas¡¯s appearance was surprisingly Bryce¡¯s mother, Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re actually alright?¡± Sarah sized up Lucas and couldn¡¯t help but look surprised and disappointed when she realized that his limbs were intact and there were no wounds on his body either. ¡°Are you very surprised and disappointed to see me standing here alive and well?¡± Lucas gibed with an indifferent gaze. Sarah shuddered and took two steps back subconsciously. She was indeed surprised that Lucas was unscathed. ording to her and Bryce¡¯s previous n, Lucas should have had his limbs broken and been severely wounded by the impressive bodyguard they had hired with arge amount of money. But he was now standing right in front of her, perfectly fine and unharmed. Did Bryce... fail to carry out the n? When Sarah thought of this, her eyelids suddenly twitched, and her heart was full of uneasiness. Chapter 176: Who Is Malicious?

Chapter 176: Who Is Malicious?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Sarah Hadley looked at Lucas furiously and hollered, ¡°You good-for-nothing, you¡¯ve been kicked out of the family long ago, so you don¡¯t have the right to set foot on the Carters¡¯ turf again. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get out of here.¡± The Carters behind her also stood out one after another and cursed, ¡°Exactly! Hurry up and get out of here!¡± ¡°Loser, get lost before you dirty our turf!¡± When Jordan heard their insults, his gaze turned gloomy, and he roared, ¡°Try insulting him again! Let me see how tough your bones are!¡± Realizing that the terrifying young man was really Lucas¡¯s subordinates, the Carters hurriedly fell silent and dared not insult Lucas anymore. Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to these cowards either. He simply shouted at the vi in the middle, ¡°Dominic Carter, get your ass out here, old fogy!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was astonished. The loser live-in son-inw whom the Carters had disowned actually dared to call him, the head of the Carter family, by his full name. In their opinion, it was seriously brazen! After hearing Lucas¡¯s disrespectful words, Dominic, who was standing in front of the window on the second floor of the vi and secretly watching the events unfold, flew into a rage, and the veins on his forehead bulged. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re really brazen. After the Carters kicked you out, you still have the audacity to show up at our doorstep.¡± Dominic walked out of the vi with a gloomy and uncertain gaze as he red at Lucas. ¡°You behaved in such an unruly manner at the Hale residence yesterday and caused such huge trouble. Not only did you hurt Bryce¡¯s head, but you even pressed Connor Hale¡¯s head into the bowl of soup in front of everyone. Hmph, just because the Hales let you off yesterday, it doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯ll let you off the hook again today! Just you wait. The Hales will exact revenge on you! Once they¡¯re here, I¡¯ll see what you can do then!¡± Dominic had just contacted one of the Hales¡¯s stewards, Anthony Holmes, and was now hoping that he would send a few more powerful experts over to cripple the arrogant Lucas! ¡°Hah, the Hales? I¡¯ll see who else wille over at this time,¡± Lucas said nonchntly. All of the Hales¡¯ direct descendants had all been taken awayst night, and there were no senior members at all. But since the news had been sealed, the Carters hadn¡¯t learned about it yet. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t think that you¡¯re that powerful just because you¡¯ve got some martial arts skills! The Hales just let you off for the time being because they didn¡¯t want you to ruin their joyous banquet! Don¡¯t think you¡¯re that powerful. Once the people sent by the Hales are here, I will definitely tell them truthfully how contemptuous you are toward them!¡± Dominic felt that Lucas absolutely wouldn¡¯t be able to fight against the Hales. Beside them, Jordan snorted withughter and said in contempt, ¡°Dominic Carter, you¡¯ve lived for decades, but why are you bing more and more backward? You¡¯re just like a kid. After losing a fight, you went toin to someone. Do you want the Hales to be your father? Well, I doubt they¡¯ll want you.¡± ¡°You!¡± Dominic was so angry that his face flushed red as he pointed at Jordan and Lucas. He could only say resentfully, ¡°Hmph, when the Haleseter, I¡¯ll see how arrogant you two can still be!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Since you want to wait for the Hales toe, go right ahead. But before that, I still have something to settle with you.¡± He raised his chin at Jordan, who immediately understood. He then strode toward Lucas¡¯s Jaguar and took out arge cardboard box. Jordan hurriedly tore the box. Immediately afterward, five red marbled urns were ced in front of Dominic. At first, Dominic and the Carters couldn¡¯t tell what it was. They merely thought that Lucas had asked Jordan to throw the box in front of them for some inexplicable reason. But after Dominic saw the patterns and words carved on the urns, his expression changed instantly. He said through gritted teeth, ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare you send so many urns to us? What are your intentions? Are you cursing us to die?¡± The other Carters were also extremely indignant as they used, ¡°Who would send urns to someone? You¡¯re too vicious!¡± ¡°Exactly! He¡¯s clearly trying to curse us! This is too malicious and vicious!¡± ¡°Lucas Gray, are you even human? How dare you send such things to us?!¡± ... The Carters all seemed to have righteous indignation, except Sarah, whose heart contracted violently with a nervous look on her face. Lucas sneered. ¡°Wow, you also know it¡¯s malicious to send urns. These urns were sent to us by one of you, so I¡¯m just returning them to their original owners!¡± Many Carters seemed rather puzzled, including Dominic, who frowned. But Sarah seemed even more nervous. Lucas saw all their expressions and then winked at Jordan. Jordan opened the trunk of the Jaguar and threw out two limp people, flinging them onto the spot in front of Dominic. Theynded right on top of the urns. When the two people crashed onto the ground, there were no other sounds except two loud thuds. All the Carters turned to look curiously at these two people curiously, whose life or death was unknown. One of them was tall and sturdy and seemed to be of mixed ethnicity. None of the Carters knew who he was, but they were very familiar with the other one. It was Bryce Carter, the next sessor of the family! ¡°Bryce! Bryce, are you alright!?!¡± After Sarah saw Bryce¡¯s face, she was so shocked that she turned pale and suddenly leaped forward to hug his body while yelling loudly. The Carters were also extremely surprised. How did Bryce... end up in Lucas Gray¡¯s trunk? He even got thrown out in a bloodied state... Standing right in front, Dominic was infuriated when he saw his beloved grandson being thrown in front of him like a dead dog. He roared, ¡°Lucas Gray! What have you done to my grandson?!¡± Chapter 177: Accomplice

Chapter 177: Aplice

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dominic only had one biological son, and that was Bryce¡¯s father. Unfortunately, he got into a fatal ident at a young age, and thus Dominic had only one direct grandson, Bryce. Although Bryce was extremely ipetent and often got into trouble, Dominic rarely reprimanded him and was certain that Bryce was his only sessor. He naturally loved and valued his only grandson. But Bryce was now lying motionlessly on the ground, and it was unknown if he was dead or alive. Dominic was furious to see this. Sarah shook Bryce a few times, but he remained unconscious. She had no idea how he had been knocked unconscious by Lucas and immediately red at Lucas, wishing she could stab him with her gaze! ¡°Lucas Gray, you bastard. How dare you beat my son up into such a state? I¡¯m definitely going to make sure you die a horrible death! I¡¯m going to crush you into pieces!¡± Sarah cursed viciously while holding Bryce¡¯s head. With a gloomy expression, Jordan hollered, ¡°Shut up! If I hear you cursing Lucas again, I will beat you up even though you¡¯re a woman!¡± Sarah was so frightened that she shuddered. Usually, shemanded great authority in the Carter family and was almost above everyone. The rest of the Carters would all have to speak to her politely and deferentially. But Jordan simply disrespected her and even warned her with a menacing and murderous gaze in his eyes. She was certain that if she really shouted at Lucas again, Jordan would definitely rush forward and beat her up... Since she couldn¡¯t do anything to Lucas and Jordan, she could only turn her head andin to Dominic sobbingly, ¡°Dominic, you must get justice for Bryce! He¡¯s the only direct descendant of the Carters, but he was beaten into such a terrible state. Who knows how badly he¡¯s injured or if he can even regain consciousness... If Bryce really dies just like that, what are we supposed to do?!¡± Dominic was exasperated now too. Bryce was his only grandson, and if something terrible were to happen to him, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let Lucas off! But Lucas had impressivebat skills and was ruthless enough. Besides, he also had a powerful subordinate like Jordan. With the power of the Carters alone, it was simply impossible for them to do anything to Lucas and Jordan. They could only wait for the experts sent by the Hales. ¡°Lucas Gray, what the hell do you want? Why did you beat up my grandson like this for no rhyme or reason? If you don¡¯t give me an exnation today, I won¡¯t let you leave this ce!¡± Dominic warned menacingly. Lucas sneered. ¡°No rhyme or reason? Old fogy, do you really not know why your grandson got beaten up?¡± Lucas took a step forward and questioned, ¡°Early this morning, Bryce Carter brought a group of people with an excavator to Cheyenne¡¯s home and ordered them to smash a wall of the house with the excavator. Do you dare to say that you don¡¯t know about this?¡± Dominic said righteously, ¡°That old residence is a property of the Carters in the first ce. Since you people have been disowned, you naturally have no right to continue staying there! It¡¯s up to me to demolish my house. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Lucas stared straight into Dominic¡¯s eyes. ¡°In that case, was it also your decision to get the excavator to demolish the house regardless of whether there were still people inside at the time?¡± Dominic frowned. He had indeed agreed to Bryce¡¯s request and gave him the title deed of the house, which Bryce then used for the application of a certificate from the engineeringpany. He would rather demolish the house and tten it to the ground than let Lucas and Cheyenne¡¯s family continue staying in it. But Lucas seemed to be saying that Bryce had ordered his people to demolish the house when they were still inside it. If something went wrong, it might have resulted in several deaths! That kid went overboard! With a trace of displeasure on his face, Dominic gritted his teeth and retorted because he didn¡¯t want to criticize his grandson in front of Lucas. ¡°What happened afterward? Nothing happened to your family, right?¡± Dominic was making guesses. He reckoned that if Cheyenne¡¯s family had really been harmed, Lucas would have definitelye here in a rage and made aplete mess or killed all of them. Dominic had already developed some intelligent observations after experiencing several encounters with the ruthless and merciless Lucas. Lucas could tell from Dominic¡¯s expression that it was Bryce¡¯s presumptuous idea to demolish the house forcefully. After he figured out that Dominic didn¡¯t issue that order, his urge to kill him lessened. ¡°Let me ask you again. Bryce Carter sent these urns to us and even said that he forgot to send a smaller urn for my daughter. Was that your idea too?¡± Only then did Dominic realize that his grandson had also done such a thing. It was no wonder that Lucas said that he was just returning the urns to their original owners when they used him of being malicious. ¡°Bastard, where did you learn such despicable tricks?!¡± Dominic¡¯s face turned pale and extremely ugly. The Carters who just used Lucas of being vicious looked at each other in dismay, not daring to say anything. After all, the Carters had done that vicious act themselves. If Lucas hadn¡¯t returned the urns to them, they probably wouldn¡¯t have known how ufortable and infuriating it was to have ash urnsid out in front of them. At this moment, Dominic suddenly looked at Sarah, who was at the side. ¡°Did you instigate Bryce to do those heinous things?¡± Although Sarah was his daughter-inw, she hadn¡¯t been behaving properly, especially after Bryce was confirmed to be the next sessor in line of the Carters. Since then, she had been high up in the air and was condescending to everyone else except Dominic, whom she was somewhat respectful toward on the surface. Last night, Sarah heartbrokenly brought Bryce back from the hospital and then whispered to him about something for a long time. Thus, he reckoned that she must have instigated Bryce to get up to such despicable means! Startled by Dominic¡¯s stern questioning, Sarah hurriedly defended herself, ¡°Dominic, this matter really has nothing to do with me! Besides, what right does Lucas Gray have to say that Bryce was the one who sent them those urns? Maybe he staged it and made this all up himself! Anyway, Bryce is still unconscious now and can¡¯t defend himself.¡± Sarah¡¯s words were reasonable and justifiable. But when Dominic saw her shifty gaze, he knew that she was definitely lying and that she had definitely instigated Bryce to do those things! Chapter 178: Crippled Limbs

Chapter 178: Crippled Limbs

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, Dominic couldn¡¯t do anything to Sarah in front of Lucas now. Otherwise, the Carters would truly be embarrassed. ¡°Lucas Gray, are you done? Did youe all the way here and create such a huge ruckus for such a trivial matter? You even beat my grandson up because of that?¡± Dominic questioned. ¡°Trivial matter?¡± Lucas chuckled. His face suddenly darkened, and he kicked the stone lion at the entrance of the Carter residence into smithereens! Bang! With fear written all over their faces, everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at Lucas¡¯s leg in disbelief. He managed to turn a stone lion into smithereens with just one kick. If he kicked a living person, they¡¯d definitely have their bones broken! Dominic was also startled by Lucas¡¯s sudden kick. He tried to suppress the fear within him before saying unreasonably, ¡°Is that not the case? At least, you are still standing here alive and well. Your family is fine too, aren¡¯t they?¡± With an icy cold gaze, Lucas sneered. ¡°If your grandson just wanted to regain possession of the house, I would have taken everyone away without hesitation. But what did your grandson do? Our family was still inside the house when he got his men to smash one of the walls with the hydraulic hammer. If we were a little unluckier, we might have been buried alive in the house! Bryce Carter was obviously out to kill us! ¡°When you Carters saw these urns, you said that I was vicious. But your grandson was the one who deliberately sent them to my family and even said that he wanted to prepare one for my daughter. What was his intention? ¡°Besides, he even brought along a bodyguard he hired and hid a sharp dagger with him. If I were just an ordinary person, I might have already been killed by your grandson! ¡°But you¡¯re calling all of this a trivial matter? Is it just because I managed to escape those scheming tricks and I¡¯m still standing here alive and well? ¡°Let me tell you. We¡¯re alive and well because we¡¯re capable enough! If I were to use the same tricks to deal with you people, if you get lucky and escape them, it¡¯d be a trivial matter. If you can¡¯t and unfortunately die, you deserve it. Do you agree?¡± Lucas¡¯s tone became increasingly harsh toward the end, and he was boiling with fury, like a volcano with boilingva, so much that Dominic and the others dared not look at him. They couldn¡¯t say anything to refute him at all. Lucas and the others were safe and sound because they were capable of remaining unscathed, but there was no way to erase the fact that Bryce had done those things. If they dared to retort, Lucas would undoubtedly deal with them using the means that Bryce had resorted to to harm them! Lucas didn¡¯t even have to bring a bodyguard with him. All he needed was to give Jordan an instruction, and the Carters would definitely have a hard time! Dominic paled as he questioned uncertainly, ¡°What... what do you want then?¡± Lucas nced at Bryce, who was on the ground. ¡°Since Bryce Carter was the one who caused the incident today and even threatened to break my limbs, I will pay him back in his own coin and cripple him! Are you Carters going to do it, or do you want me to do it instead? But I¡¯ll make it clear beforehand. If I do it, it won¡¯t be as simple as just breaking his limbs.¡± As soon Dominic heard Lucas¡¯s demand, he flew into a rage. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! Bryce is my grandson. No one can cripple his limbs!¡± If Lucas really crippled Bryce, what would happen to him in the future? How could ame person rule the Carters in the future? Thus, Dominic refused his demand without even thinking about it. ¡°In that case, it seems you want me to do it,¡± Lucas said with raised brows and took two steps forward with a gloomy gaze. Dominic immediately stood in front of Bryce and threatened loudly, ¡°Lucas Gray! Don¡¯t be so overbearing. I¡¯ve already contacted the Hales. They will send people over soon. If you dare to do anything to Bryce, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re making yourselves sound so benevolent. I didn¡¯t provoke you guys prior to this, and I even let you off again and again on Cheyenne¡¯s ount. But you keeping to provoke me time and time again.¡± As Lucas spoke, he continued to walk toward Bryce. ¡°You... don¡¯te over! If you dare toy a finger on my son, I¡¯ll go all out against you!¡± Sarah was sitting on the ground and hugging Bryce¡¯s head. Seeing Lucas walking over aggressively and giving her a sense of oppression, she couldn¡¯t help but shudder and scream in fear. ¡°Ah!¡± Jordan lost his patience. He walked over, picked Sarah up, and tossed her aside. He then kicked Bryce in a certain spot in his waist. Bryce shrieked in pain and sat upright. Sarah was about to yell at him when she suddenly saw that Bryce had regained consciousness. She ignored everything else and leaped over in surprise and joy. ¡°Bryce! My precious son, you¡¯vee to!¡± Bryce looked around and realized that he was back at the entrance of the Carters¡¯ main residence. But before he could heave a sigh of relief, he saw the tall and strong Lucas only a few steps away from him. Lucas was walking toward him with an oppressive aura. In an instant, he recalled those things he had experienced before he lost consciousness! Bryce remembered that the bodyguard he had spent a lot of money on was kicked away by Lucas more than ten meters away and that he tried to hold Cheyenne hostage but identally stabbed Lucas in the chest with his dagger! But Lucas was now unscathed and walking toward him step by step like a vengeful, sinister ghost. ¡°Ah! Don¡¯te over here!¡± Bryce was immediately frightened to death as he desperately tried to crawl backward. Dominic shouted to stop him, ¡°Lucas Gray! Stop! Someone, hurry and stop him!¡± Jordan stepped forward, rubbed his fist, and roared, ¡°Who dares?!¡± The security guards Jordan had kicked away earlier hesitated to move as soon as they saw him stand out. They looked at each other, but none of them dared to go forward. Dominic was infuriated, but there was nothing he could do. He could only watch Lucas walk toward Bryce Carter. ¡°I initially didn¡¯t n to let you continue living in this world, but Cheyenne asked me to spare your life. Just now, I told your grandfather that I¡¯m going to cripple you to pay you back in your own coin,¡± Lucas said to Bryce indifferently. Bryce shuddered and pleaded with a pale expression, ¡°Lu-Lucas, I¡¯m really sorry. Let me off once more! I swear that I will never provoke you again!¡± Lucas chuckled in contempt and said in an icy cold voice, ¡°You said this several times this morning. But in the end, you pulled out a dagger and stabbed me in my chest while my guard was down. Do you think that I will still believe you?¡± With that, Lucas stepped on Bryce¡¯s wrist and crushed it hard. ¡°Ah!¡± With the clear sounds of bones breaking, Bryce shrieked loudly in immense agony! Chapter 179: A Frog in a Well

Chapter 179: A Frog in a Well

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Bryce!¡± ¡°My son!¡± Both Dominic and Sarah yelled anxiously while dashing toward Bryce and Lucas. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Jordan roared and stopped them, causing the hearts of Dominic and Sarah to immediately palpitate as fear arose within them. Indeed, they dared not take half a step closer. Watching his grandson¡¯s wrist being trampled in front of him by Lucas, the good-for-nothing he had kicked out of the family, Dominic boiled with fury that was almost ruining his rationality. But he had no choice but to clench his teeth as the loose skin on his cheeks started trembling. After a long time, he said, ¡°Lucas Gray, hurry up and let go of Bryce, and I can pretend nothing happened! Otherwise, when the Hales¡¯ people get here, they won¡¯t spare you! The Carters will deal with you too!¡± Lucas sneered and mocked, ¡°Just you wait and see what the Hales and the Carters can do to me!¡± Dominic could tell from the gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes that he really didn¡¯t take the powerful Hale family seriously at all, let alone the Carters. Lucas didn¡¯t care about his threat! Lucas moved his foot onto one of Bryce¡¯s legs, and before he even started pressing down, Bryce had already started shrieking miserably. ¡°Lucas, I beg you. Please... just let me off! I really know I was wrong!¡± Overwhelmed with pain, Bryce burst into tears and shivered while begging for mercy. At this point, he looked extremely disheveled, and his eyes were full of regret, but Lucas didn¡¯t n to let him off just like that. Bryce was the type who would never learn his lesson. Whenever he was in a disadvantageous situation, he would swallow his pride, beg for forgiveness, admit to his mistakes, and then promise that he would never do it again. But every time Lucas forgave him on Cheyenne¡¯s ount, he would forget the previous lesson and then provoke Lucas again. He would then repeat the same trick and challenge Lucas¡¯s bottom line again and again. Besides, Lucas was truly infuriated by what Bryce had done this morning. He was already showing the greatest mercy to Bryce by letting him live on Cheyenne¡¯s ount. Otherwise, Bryce would have definitely disappeared from this world by now. ¡°You want me to let you off? I can, but your grandfather has to beg me!¡± Lucas nced at Dominic at the side and then suddenly smiled peculiarly. Hasn¡¯t Dominic Carter always treated Bryce Carter as his only grandchild and regarded Cheyenne as a stepping stone and a pawn? I¡¯ll see how far he can go for Bryce Carter! After hearing what Lucas said, Bryce felt like he had seen a glimmer of hope while he was feeling hopeless. He hurriedly yelled at Dominic, ¡°Grandpa! Grandpa! Did you hear that? If you beg Lucas, he¡¯ll let me off! Grandpa, go beg him quickly! Otherwise, he¡¯s going to crush my leg!¡± Dominic¡¯s face trembled a few times, and he was seething with anger. He was furious at both Lucas and his grandson. Why should I beg Lucas Gray?! He¡¯s just a live-in son-inw I kicked out of the family. Hees from a humble background and is a nameless and penniless punk. He¡¯s so arrogant and domineering just because he can fight! Lucas had gone to the Carter residence, but they couldn¡¯t find anyone to retaliate against him. This alone was already embarrassing enough. It was akin to an insult and a p on Dominic¡¯s face. If he still agreed to Lucas¡¯s demand and swallowed his pride to beg him, what would that make him, Dominic Carter? Besides, Bryce was really unruly. After hearing Lucas¡¯s demand, he not only didn¡¯t refute, but he even asked Dominic to swallow his pride and beg Lucas... Is he the beloved grandson I pinned my hopes on, pampered, loved greatly, and even drove away Cheyenne¡¯s family without hesitation for? Is he the grandson I tried so hard to support and groom into the next sessor? At this moment, Dominic¡¯s heart was full of disappointment toward Bryce. He clenched his teeth and stayed silent. Of course, he wasn¡¯t going to plead with Lucas. ¡°It seems that you don¡¯t matter that much to your grandfather. In fact, his pride and dignity probably matter more than your leg,¡± Lucas deliberately said while stepping down onto Bryce¡¯s leg. ¡°Ah! Ah! Grandpa! Grandpa, hurry up and beg him. Hurry up and beg him... Ah!¡± Bryce¡¯s desperate pleas in panic suddenly turned into a miserable howl with the clear and crisp sound of his bones breaking. His deafening cry seemed to cut the eardrums of the people around him. Bryce¡¯s leg and wrist were crushed by Lucas, and so were his tendons and muscles. Even the most advanced medical technology couldn¡¯t save him. ¡°Lucas Gray! You...¡± Dominic gritted his teeth and stopped himself from cursing, but he couldn¡¯t suppress the resentment on his face. ¡°He still has an intact leg and arm. So, are you going to beg me or not?¡± Lucas smiled and once again raised his foot to step on Bryce¡¯s other leg. In the eyes of all the Carters around, his smile was simply like the smile of the most terrifying demon, making them shudder. It was their first time knowing that there was such a terrifying side to the person they had always despised and treated as a good-for-nothing. Bryce was already overwhelmed with pain, and his consciousness was growing fuzzy. He could only turn to look at Dominic pleadingly. Dominic knew that Lucas was forcing him to sumb, but he still couldn¡¯t force himself to do it. He couldn¡¯t imagine what a terrible situation it would be if he did so and begged Lucas for mercy! ¡°You want me to beg you? Impossible! Even if I die, I won¡¯t beg you! If you want to break Bryce¡¯s limbs, you¡¯d better remember how you¡¯re breaking his legs right now. When the Hales¡¯ peopleeter, I will make sure I take revenge for Bryce and do the same thing to you!¡± Dominic red at Lucas with immense hatred in his eyes. Lucas couldn¡¯t help bursting intoughter. ¡°Now that things havee to this, you¡¯re still thinking of relying on the power of the Hales to deal with me? What a joke!¡± ¡°What do you mean by that? Do you think that you can retaliate against the Hales with yourbat skills? You¡¯re the ridiculously naive one!¡± Dominic eximed firmly with a frown. Lucas looked at Dominic sympathetically and sneered. ¡°What a frog in a well. You already witnessed at the Hales¡¯ banquetst night just how I offended them. Logically speaking, they would have never let go of someone who dared to provoke them like that. Yet I¡¯m still standing here today alive and well. Can¡¯t you figure out the reason for this?¡± Chapter 180: Someone Sent by the Hales

Chapter 180: Someone Sent by the Hales

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s words made Dominic feel uneasy. In fact, he was indeed extremely surprised to see Lucas showing up unscathed in front of him today. The fact that Lucas had disrupted the banquet held by the Hales yesterday and even pressed the head of Connor Hale, the next sessor of the Hale family, directly into a bowl of soup made him confident that the Hales certainly wouldn¡¯t let him off! After thinking about it for a long while, Dominic thought that the Hales definitely hadn¡¯t exacted revenge yet because they were busy with the banquet yesterday and hadn¡¯t had the time to deal with Lucas! ¡°Punk, I suggest you better not be too arrogant. Don¡¯t think that the Hales are scared of you just because they haven¡¯te looking for you yet! Once theyeter, you¡¯ll be in tears!¡± Dominic barked sinisterly. ¡°Haha, such a fool.¡± Lucas sneered. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to say much to Dominic. Dominic was still clueless about the fact that the Hales had fallen, and neither did he know about the things Lucas had done at the Hales¡¯ banquetst night. In the opinions of people like Dominic, who were like frogs in a well, the Hales were just like the rtives of royalty, as they were one of the four major families of Orange County. It was as if no one could disobey their orders as long as the people sent by the Hales arrived. I wonder how Dominic Carter will react after finding out what happened to the Halesst night. Seeing how stubborn Dominic was, Lucas didn¡¯t say anything else and simply stepped hard onto Bryce¡¯s other leg, crushing the bones into bits! ¡°Ah!¡± Bryce shrieked, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fainted. His legs were both broken, and one of his wrists was just crushed by Lucas¡¯s foot. The other arm still hadn¡¯t recovered after being snapped and broken by Lucas some time ago. It was reasonable to say that Bryce¡¯s limbs had all been broken. Dominic red at Lucas with extreme resentment and hatred that seemed to be on the verge of erupting from his eyes. After seeing the miserable state her son was in, Sarah shrieked at the top of her lungs. Then she rushed at Lucas and waved her hands to scratch his face. But before she could get close, Jordan kicked her to the ground, causing her to pass out. At this moment, a silvery-gray Mercedes-Benzmercial vehicle drove over and stopped outside the Carter residence. Soon, a short and chubby middle-aged man got out of the car, followed by two tall bodyguards d in ck suits and shades. As soon as Dominic saw the person who came, he immediately acted as if he had seen his savior. He hurried over and greeted respectfully, ¡°Mr. Holmes, you¡¯re finally here to save us! This arrogant punk Lucas Gray just broke my grandson¡¯s limbs in front of us! Moreover, he¡¯s extremely disrespectful to the Hales...¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± The short and fat middle-aged man, Anthony Holmes, roared sternly to stop Dominic fromining after hearing Lucas¡¯s name. When he saw the familiar-looking young man standing just a short distance away and staring at him with an ambiguous smile, he immediately shuddered! It¡¯s really him! This fool Dominic Carter actually asked me to bring my people over to deal with Lucas Gray. Does he have a death wish? At this moment, Holmes had an urge to kill Dominic! ¡°Mr. Holmes, you...¡± Being rebuked out of the blue by someone decades younger than him, Dominic was naturally extremely irked. But he knew that he couldn¡¯t afford to offend the short and chubby Holmes, so he had no choice but to suppress his dissatisfaction and ask with a smile. ¡°Get lost!¡± Holmes obviously couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about Dominic. He pushed him away and then scurried toward Lucas. He bent forward and said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m really sorry. If I had known that this old fogy Dominic Carter wanted to deal with you, I would have never agreed to his request! Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll have someone cease all cooperation between the Hales and the Carters!¡± Then he said to the bodyguards d in ck, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I just said? Hurry up and call the other people who hold authority in the Hale family to cease all cooperation with the Carters!¡± Holmes¡¯s words made the Carters, who were waiting for the Hales to ¡®get rid of evil¡¯, utterly astonished. Their hearts fell to rock bottom! In particr, Dominic watched everything in disbelief, his eyes almost popping out! He couldn¡¯t believe what he heard. But Holmes had repeated himself, so he had no choice but to believe it! Dominic looked at Holmes anxiously in disbelief. ¡°Mr. Holmes, are you... mistaken about something? Lucas Gray made so much trouble at the Hales¡¯ banquetst night, and he even disrespected Mr. Connor Hale... I asked you toe over to teach him a lesson because he not only offended the Carters but also the Hales! Why are you treating him so respectfully and terminating all cooperation with us?¡± Holmes looked at Dominic like he was looking at a fool. You want to teach Lucas Gray a lesson? You should count yourselves lucky that he hasn¡¯t killed you yet! All the people who stayed behind at the Hales¡¯ banquetst night had witnessed how Lucas defeated the top henchman of the Hales, John Hans, and even beat up the 20-odd fighters who besieged him. Moreover, around two hundred soldiers d in a dark green army uniform and armed with guns appearedter to arrest all of the Hales. No one would believe that they had nothing to do with Lucas. Only fools would want to go against such a terrifying person like Lucas Gray! He, Anthony Holmes, would never do such a stupid thing! ¡°Fool! Mr. Gray isn¡¯t someone the Carters afford to offend! Don¡¯t implicate me if you have a death wish!¡± Dominic was incredibly stunned. What... identity can Lucas Gray possibly have? He¡¯s just a good-for-nothing I kicked out of the family! Just as Dominic was about to argue, another silvery-gray Mercedes-Benzmercial vehicle stopped at the Carters¡¯ entrance, and an elite businessman d in a suit alighted. Dominic was shocked again. ¡°Mr. Cohen, what brings you here?¡± He hurriedly greeted him, but Cohen likewise pushed him away and ran straight toward Lucas. He bowed and said deferentially, ¡°Hello, Mr. Gray! I am the person in charge of the Sky High Corporation that belongs to the Hale family. I heard that you¡¯re handling something here, so I specially came to visit you. If there¡¯s anything you need, just leave it to me!¡± As the general manager of the Sky High Corporation that belonged to the Hale family, Cohen was extremely subservient and respectful toward Lucas! Dominic felt his heart jump even more. He was still puzzled by what Holmes had said and was wondering if Holmes was mistaken about something. But Cohen behaved in the same way. This just meant that Holmes didn¡¯t make a mistake but that something major had happened, and he was still clueless about it! Chapter 181: A Bunch of Fools

Chapter 181: A Bunch of Fools

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dominic was even more frightened by the several silvery-gray Mercedes-Benzmercial vehicles that drove in one after another. They were obviously the standard vehicles allocated to the senior executives of the Hale family. All the people who alighted were the general managers and leaders of all major enterprises under the Hales. They walked past Dominic one by one and bowed to Lucas respectfully. ¡°Wh-what exactly is going on here?!¡± ¡°Why are these people so... so respectful toward Lucas Gray? It¡¯s like he¡¯s some prestigious and mighty bigshot.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know that Mr. Farrer. He¡¯s always so lofty and condescending toward us, yet he¡¯s now smiling so subserviently to Lucas Gray...¡± ¡°Oh my god. What¡¯s wrong with this world? This is too surreal!¡± Dumbfounded, the Carters watched the scene taking ce before them and gathered together to discuss it among themselves. They were all looking in shock at Lucas and the senior executives of the Hale enterprises, who were all surrounding Lucas like he was a revered leader. The scene in front of them was simply beyond their understanding! Even Lucas didn¡¯t expect that all the executives of the Hale family woulde to him and express their intentions to stand on his side. Although Lucas didn¡¯t reveal his identity at the baby shower thrown by the Hales yesterday and even refused to admit that he had summoned the soldiers when Bruce Hale pleaded with him, many of them had guessed that he yed a crucial part in that operation. Moreover, Lucas¡¯s terrifyingbat skills also spurred them to unanimously choose to stand on his side and try to rope him in. Even if they couldn¡¯t win him over, they definitely couldn¡¯t offend him! Just when Dominic was overwhelmed with uneasiness, Holmes, whom he had called over earlier, walked toward him with a hostile expression. ¡°Dominic Carter, you¡¯re such a vicious old fogy! You are well aware that Mr. Gray is a prestigious figure not to be trifled with, yet you deliberately lured me over and tried to get me to help you deal with Mr. Gray. You¡¯re really malicious!¡± Holmes hollered furiously while pointing at Dominic¡¯s nose. He had brought a few bodyguards with him because the Carters had given him arge amount of money in exchange. But when he heard that the person the Carters wanted him to help deal with was Lucas, his heart dropped. By the time he turned around again, Lucas was already standing near him and looking at him smilingly. He instantly regretted his decision and was thankful that he had decided to tag along on a whim! Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have known that his bodyguards were to offend Lucas. If Lucas decided to settle scores with him afterward, he would be in trouble. At the thought of this, Holmes resented Dominic greatly. The rest of the Hale family were rather hostile to Dominic too. After the two hundred soldiers had taken away all the Hales at the banquet yesterday, the executives and managerial staff of the various enterprises under the Hale family were all flustered, anxious, and in a state of confusion. After they left the Hale residence, they had gathered together quietly and spent the rest of the night discussing their following ns. Although they hadn¡¯t thought about the future of thepanies, they came to a unanimous decision that they definitely couldn¡¯t provoke Lucas Gray. In fact, if it was necessary, they might even express some good intentions to him to get him to stand on their side. Otherwise, thepanies that had lost the leadership of the Hales would be highly coveted by everyone in Orange County. Now, the Carters actually almost used the Hales and turned them into Lucas¡¯s enemy. This made all the people in charge of the Hale businesses extremely exasperated! They couldn¡¯t forgive the Carters! ¡°Dominic Carter, I¡¯m telling you, thepany belonging to the Hales that I¡¯m in charge of will terminate all cooperation with the Carters!¡± ¡°Me too! The Carters have approached me on several asions to seek cooperation with the Dragon Co. I hereby give you my answer. Dragon Co. will never cooperate with the Carters again!¡± ¡°Same goes for Feather Co! From today onward, I will cklist the Carters!¡± ... One after another, the top executives of the Hale businesses made their stand to forever draw a line with the Carters and cklist them. When Dominic heard all of this, his face instantly paled, and his lips trembled. Previously, Dominic had been going around and using money to forge connections with the senior executives of the Halepanies in hopes that they would consider the Carters when selecting partners to cooperate with. Many were willing to do the Carters a favor for the sake of the money. ording to the n that Dominic had previouslye up with, he would first obtain the chance to cooperate with the Hales and then find ways to gradually get closer to the direct descendants of the Hales in order to soar high and restore the Carters¡¯ power as a third-rate family in Orange County. He thought that it was even possible to bring their power a notch higher! However, all the executives of the Hale enterprises had now tantly turned down the Carters and cut off all possibilities of cooperation in the future! Why? Is it just because I offended Lucas Gray? But Lucas Gray is really a good-for-nothing! Dominic couldn¡¯t even think of the reason. But since the matter hade to this, he could only ask reluctantly, ¡°We were clearly on good terms before, so why? Is it just because of that good-for-nothing Lucas Gray I kicked out of the family?¡± ¡°Good-for-nothing? Hah. Indeed, you Carters are allpletely ignorant fools! Mr. Gray has the ability to make the Hales disappear from Orange County overnight, yet you guys kicked him out of your family. You people are foolish beyond redemption!¡± Holmes looked at Dominic as if he was looking at a dimwit. The Carters had such a powerful son-inw, but they chose to kick him out of their family. It was simply pathetic! If the Carters had known about Lucas¡¯s power and treated him better instead of offending him endlessly, they would have be an extraordinary and supreme existence that no one in Orange County would dare to disregard. Unfortunately, there was no turning back, and the Carters had only themselves to me for being stupid! After hearing from Holmes that the Hales had disappeared from Orange County overnight, Dominic was stunned and stupefied with disbelief! In particr, Holmes even said that Lucas was the one who caused the destruction! ¡°How... how is this possible? How is this possible?!¡± Dominic¡¯s legs went limp, and he copsed to the ground while muttering to himself incessantly. He didn¡¯t dare to believe his ears at all. Chapter 182: Regret

Chapter 182: Regret

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios To Dominic¡¯s immense disbelief, the senior executives of the Hale enterprises, including the general managers, looked at one another again after drawing a line with the Carters. Then they walked up to Lucas and bowed to him, seemingly already having made up their minds. ¡°Mr. Gray, I am Anthony Holmes, the general manager of the Fly Corporation under the Hales. I¡¯m willing to plead allegiance to you!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m Chester Cohen of Joy Co. that belongs to the Hale family. I¡¯m also willing to submit to you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Fred Crawford of Feather Co., and I¡¯m willing to submit to you too!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jim Sullivan of Dragon Co., and I¡¯d also like to plead allegiance to you!¡± ... These elites d in suits all bowed down to Lucas and pledged allegiance to him. It was extremely spectacr! Dumbfounded, all the Carters were at a loss for words. Is Lucas Gray... really the loser live-in son-inw we kicked out of the family? Meanwhile, Dominic was sitting on the ground, his face as pale as a sheet. He grabbed the broken stone fragments on the ground, and a sharp edge stabbed him, causing him excruciating pain. Only then did he snap out of his trance and realize that everything happening wasn¡¯t a dream but reality that he couldn¡¯t ept. This scene in front of Dominic told him that Lucas was definitely not a loser like what he had thought! Now, Dominic finally stopped being prejudiced and began to think about everything that Lucas had shown previously. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Lucas had disyed his abnormality long ago. But unfortunately, Dominic chose to ignore it time and time again. It started from when the Carters got the Stardust Corporation¡¯s intent of cooperation and signed the contract. At that time, he let Bryce take on the role of general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, which he had promised to give to Cheyenne, and ended up receiving a breach of contract notice from the Stardust Corporation in the afternoon even though they had signed the contract in the morning. In the end, the Carters even lost the entire Brilliance Corporation. Later on, Cheyenne became the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. There was the time when they received an invitation from the Stardust Corporation and thought it was a great honor. But to their surprise, they were arranged to sit near the entrance and ended up being mocked and humiliated. In hindsight, he realized that the Stardust Corporation had done that all for the sake of standing up for Cheyenne! Later on, Ethan Sawyer, the wealthiest man in Orange County, said that the gifts he instructed his subordinates to deliver to the Carters were meant for Lucas and not betrothal gifts for Charlotte. There was also that time when Chris Dous and Gordon Dous showed up at the Carters to beg Lucas for forgiveness. Lucas had given them numerous warnings. But they continuously ignored them and kept on bullying Cheyenne and her family, only to face numerous crises afterward, such as the closure of their factories, the bank¡¯s demand for loan repayment, the termination of cooperation by manypanies, and so on. Countless memories of the previous events surfaced in Dominic¡¯s mind. Before, he thought that there had been mistakes or that they were purely coincidences. But it turned out that he had actually kept consciously or unconsciously ignoring the possibility that Lucas might really be powerful. But today, Dominic finally confirmed that Lucas was the one who did all of these things! Dominic¡¯s heart was struck by a wave of chilliness and regret. Lucas was closely associated with the Stardust Corporation and the richest family in Orange County, the Sawyers. He also had the terrifying ability to cause the Hales to copse overnight and make the senior executives of the Halepanies pledge allegiance! Yet this powerful figure turned out to be the former son-inw of the Carters! If they had treated Lucas and Cheyenne¡¯s family a little better and stopped trying to kick them out, the Carters would have already developed extremely well just with Lucas¡¯s help! Dominic felt like his heart was about to bleed. For the sake of the development of the Carters, he hadpletely exhausted himself and racked his brains to think of all suitable solutions. He even lowered his pride to curry favor with those executives younger than him and epted their mockery. The Carters could have had a brilliant future, but unfortunately, they ruined it for themselves! Sitting on the ground, Dominic looked absolutely crestfallen, and his face was deathly pale. It was as if he had aged a few years in an instant. He smiled bitterly and nced at Lucas. But he was well aware that at this point, it would be a far-fetched idea to think that he could try to get Lucas and Cheyenne to reconcile with the Carters. They had alreadypletely fallen out, and their rtionship was strained beyond salvation. Having figured this out, Dominic stood up while swaying from side to side. He straightened his back and looked at Lucas. ¡°Lucas, I have to admit that I did belittle you in the past. I always thought that you were a good-for-nothing. But now...¡± He coughed twice, but the corners of his mouth curled up into a bizarre smile. ¡°But if you think that I will apologize to you, bow down to you, and beg you to spare the Carters, you¡¯re wrong! Even if I die, I will never sumb to you!¡± Dominic sounded firm and decisive, seemingly having a strong backbone. Lucas sneered. To him, regardless of whether Dominic apologized or not, it didn¡¯t matter at all. The fact that the Carters did those horrible things to Cheyenne and his family had already made him decide that he would never let the Carters off and would definitely destroy them. Since that was the case, Lucas couldn¡¯t care less about what Dominic¡¯s attitude was. After hearing what Dominic said, Holmes frowned, walked over, and shouted, ¡°Dominic Carter! Watch your attitude when you¡¯re talking to Mr. Gray!¡± Dominic said indifferently, ¡°The Carters no longer need the help of the Hales. What does my attitude have to do with you? Get lost! Get out of my home!¡± Holmes didn¡¯t expect Dominic, who had always been subservient toward him, to suddenly be austere and hostile toward him. Infuriated by Dominic and eager to please Lucas, he raised his arm and pped Dominic on the face. ¡°Old fogy! How dare you talk to Mr. Gray and me like that? You must be tired of living...¡± Before Holmes could finish speaking, a hand suddenly appeared and gripped his wrist tightly, preventing his p fromnding on Dominic¡¯s face. ¡°Enough! You¡¯re in no ce to interfere with the affairs of the Carters!¡± Lucas red at Holmes coldly and threw his hand away. Chapter 183: Level the Villa

Chapter 183: Level the Vi

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This look shocked Holmes greatly, causing him to shudder. He felt at ease only when he saw Lucas turn his head away and not hold it against him. With a cold gaze in his eyes, Dominic suddenly said, ¡°Lucas Gray, if you want to use this trick to make me thankful to you, you can save it. My opinion of you will never change!¡± Lucas chuckled slightly. ¡°You¡¯re reading too much into things. I don¡¯t care what your opinion is. I just feel unjust for Cheyenne. To you, Cheyenne is just an outsider and a pawn that you can use, but she has always treated you guys as her family. ¡°What I want to tell you is that if Cheyenne hadn¡¯t pleaded for the Carters in front of me twice and asked me to let you off, the Carters would have long been annihted! You and the rest of the Carters have all done Cheyenne wrong!¡± Dominic suddenly widened his eyes in shock, and he subconsciously wanted to refute Lucas and say that Cheyenne and her family were the ones who owed the Carters something. He wanted to say that it was only right for them to repay the Carters! However, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it. Does Cheyenne¡¯s family really owe us anything? Even if William Carter was not his biological son, Dominic was the one who decided to marry his mother and take him as his own son. On the other hand, Cheyenne and Charlotte were even more innocent. Although they were raised with the Carters¡¯ money, most of the money was left to them by William¡¯s mother, and only a small portion was from the Carters. Besides, Cheyenne had single-handedly created the Brilliance Corporation when she was in college and helped the Carters earn countless benefits and profits that far surpassed the meager amount they gave them. Thus, Cheyenne didn¡¯t owe the Carters anything! Instead, it was the Carters who had done numerous terrible things to Cheyenne. They ruined her reputation, robbed her of herpany, and even made her continue slogging her guts out for the Carters. When they discovered that she had been disobedient, they even kicked her out! But the Carters managed to survive until now all thanks to the pleas for mercy of this granddaughter whom Dominic had used, despised, and even disowned... After thinking about it carefully in hindsight, he finally realized that he was outrageously wrong! He and the Carters indeed owed Cheyenne a lot! Dominic finally looked remorseful. He was just about to say something, but he suddenly heard mechanical soundsing from outside the Carter residence. It was as if arge machine had begun to make the ground shake. Everyone looked over in the direction of the sound, only to see more than tenrge and tall excavators lined up at the gate of the Carter residence. Excavators? When Dominic saw the machines, a thought quickly popped up in his mind. Is... Lucas Gray... going to...?! As he expected, Lucas looked at these excavators and ordered indifferently, ¡°Level it.¡± With this order, therge and cold excavators drove into the Carter residence mercilessly. The tall walls copsed, and rubble and dust spread all over the yard. Upon seeing Lucas order the excavators into the Carter residence, the senior executives of the Hale enterprises were smart enough to retreat and stand far away outside the gates to watch the situation. Dominic knew that Lucas was exacting revenge on the Carters for Bryce¡¯s act of trying to demolish Cheyenne¡¯s home with an excavator. But there was nothing he could say. He could only stand still and close his eyes. It was all karma. Lucas was now in power. If he wanted to take revenge on the Carters, what else could he do? The remaining members of the Carter family were running around the front yard and screaming in panic. These vis were their home, and they obviously couldn¡¯t tolerate having their home leveled by the excavators. Of course, they didn¡¯t dare to stop those tall machines. They could only beg Lucas, ¡°Lucas, please don¡¯t destroy our home!¡± ¡°Lucas, we may have disliked you in the past, but we¡¯ve never done anything horrid to you! It was Bryce who offended you. We don¡¯t care how you retaliate against Bryce, but you can¡¯t drag the entire family down with him!¡± ¡°Lucas, please stop on the ount that we used to be family. Otherwise, all the children in our family will be homeless!¡± ... The Carters all surrounded Lucas and were trying to dissuade him. Some tried to shirk responsibility, some tried to y the kinship card, and some even carried their children to Lucas and pleaded with him to let them off. Actually, the Carters might not be kind people, as they had previously mocked him and Cheyenne and even kicked them when they were down. But what angered Lucas was the behavior and misdeeds of Bryce and Dominic. The other members were actually implicated by them. Seeing the Carters gathered around Lucas begging him for mercy, some of whom were even ready to kneel down, Dominic widened his eyes in anger and roared, ¡°Shut up! No one is allowed to beg him again, and no one is allowed to kneel down in front of him! The Carters might have made mistakes, but we must have a backbone too! So what if the houses are gone? As long as we¡¯re still alive, we can always build our home again!¡± Lucas was indeed surprised that Dominic could still have such a strong backbone in such circumstances. The excavators raised their long mechanical arms high and soon demolished a vi after a few prods. The entire vi was torn down to the ground and destroyed beyond recognition! Bang! A massive sound erupted. Everyone looked over, only to have their jaws drop as they watched the exquisite and beautiful vi turn into ruins. In the blink of an eye, smoke and dust rose and filled the entire residence. The demolished vi was the one that Bryce and Sarah Hadley owned. Unfortunately, both of them were still lying unconscious on the ground and didn¡¯t witness the scene with their own eyes. Otherwise, they would have wailed and cursed their hearts out. While the other members of the Carter family were staring at the excavators uneasily and worried about their own vis getting demolished, the excavators suddenly stopped and then turned around to leave instead of driving farther. Everyone watched the scene in shock. Only after the ten-odd excavators left the yard did they snap back to their senses. Lucas had only leveled Bryce¡¯s vi and let the rest of them off! Chapter 184: Lake Villa

Chapter 184: Lake Vi

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Dominic also widened his eyes in shock, totally not expecting this. He originally thought that Lucas would definitely demolish everything since he hade to take revenge with more than ten excavators! But Lucas actually only demolished Bryce¡¯s vi and spared the rest of the Carters¡¯ vis. At the thought of this, Dominic felt even moreplicated. Lucas looked at Bryce, whose limbs were broken and was still lying unconscious on the ground, and then at his demolished vi. He then said calmly, ¡°From now on, the Carters and I are even. We will no longer have anything to do with each other.¡± With that, Lucas turned around and walked outside of the Carter residence. When he saw the executives of the Hale enterprises, he paused and said, ¡°I hope I won¡¯t see anyone going against the Carters in the future for my sake.¡± The hearts of these executives all skipped a beat. They all understood that Lucas was deliberately saying this to them. Although they felt that Lucas was still too kind to the Carters, they didn¡¯t dare to disregard his warning. They hung their heads low and chorused in unison, ¡°Please rest assured, Mr. Gray. We understand!¡± Lucas nodded at Jordan, who was following him, then got inside his ck Jaguar and drove away from the Carter residence. Jordan followed closely behind and ordered the construction truck and all the excavators to drive away. The executives of the Hale enterprises outside each got into their own silvery-gray Mercedes-Benzmercial vehicle and drove away one after another as well. Anthony Holmes was thest to leave. Sitting in the backseat, he sneered at Dominic, who was outside the car. ¡°Dominic Carter, take your family in hand, or Mr. Gray will not be so benevolent and let you people off again next time!¡± He then left. After the vehicles that had crowded around the entrance of the Carter residence left, the silence was restored. Only the ruined vi and the Carters, who were standing rooted to the ground with peculiar expressions, were left. Dominic also stood still quietly without moving. Not only did Lucas not destroy the Carters, but he also warned those in charge of thepanies under the Hale family not to deal with them for his sake. Honestly speaking, Lucas had indeed given them a chance of survival. Otherwise, if he had demolished their entire residence and allowed those executives to deal with them, they would really have been wiped out. Only after a long time did Dominic let out a long sigh with a bitter smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve lived for almost seventy years, but I didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯m really no match for a young man at the end of the day.¡± One of the Carter inched over cautiously and asked, ¡°Dominic, should we engage a constructionpany to rebuild that vi?¡± Dominic thought about it and shook his head resolutely. ¡°No! Let it remain as ruins. No one is allowed to touch it! ¡°I want all the Carters and future descendants to remember today¡¯s lesson. From now on, all of you have to develop better characters and strive to be better. Don¡¯t... don¡¯t follow in the footsteps of this unfilial grandson Bryce and refrain from offending others. Don¡¯t pretend to be lofty and look down on others condescendingly!¡± After seeing how determined Dominic was, the other Carters stopped thinking about sponging off the family and living idly. They also stopped thinking self-righteously that they were prestigious in Orange County. Today¡¯s incident was an unforgettable lesson for all of the Carters. Who would have thought that Lucas¡ªwhom they had all mocked, humiliated, ridiculed at every turn, and called a good-for-nothing¡ªwould now be a mighty figure who possessed enough power to annihte them easily? From now on, they would all have to bear in mind this lesson and remember to never underestimate anyone easily! ¡°Um... Do we send Bryce to the hospital?¡± Another person came over and asked conscientiously. After all, Bryce¡¯s limbs were personally crushed by Lucas, who had stated tantly that he would cripple Bryce. Dominic sighed, closed his eyes, and said relentlessly, ¡°No, leave him be.¡± After saying this, he turned around and walked back to his house without taking another nce at Bryce on the ground. However, Dominic¡¯s back looked much older and stiffer. After Lucas finished his affairs with the Carters, he directly drove back to the vi at the center of Pearl Lake. ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Cheyenne, Charlotte, and Karen had already arrived at the vi. The ind in the center of theke was ratherrge and covered an area of several hectares. There was a majestic European-style pce-style vi standing tall in the middle, enjoying the serenity of theke. There was a four-story main vi in the middle of the pce-style vi and two smaller three-story vis on the sides. The design was ingenious, and the vis connected to form a beautiful piece of architecture that resembled a gorgeous castle in a fairytale. Around the vis, there were outdoor swimming pools, ygrounds, rose gardens, fruit orchards, parking lots, a private dock, yachts, and other amenities. There were also rare greenery and ornaments everywhere. It was obviously the upscale property of a mega-rich tycoon. Karen was fascinated as she looked all around with a sense of novelty and amazement while eximing in awe incessantly. She was also constantly estimating the value of various things. ¡°Wow! How much does this massive swimming pool cost? ¡°Look, this streetmp has gems embellishing it! There¡¯s such a huge gemstone. It must be worth at least tens of thousands of dors, right? But it¡¯s left lying on the street. Isn¡¯t he afraid that someone might steal it? ¡°Tsk, look at the top of that vi. That gilded vi is so dazzling. Is it ted or pure gold? This must cost a bomb too!¡± ... Charlotte was also looking at everything in the dream-like vi with eyes full of amazement. Her heart was full of joy. She had always known that Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person, but she had never thought that he was actually so wealthy that he could afford such a dreamy vi that upied an entireke ind! When Cheyenne opened the door to the vi with the key and stepped inside with the two of them behind her, the opulent decor, exotic treasures, and valuable antique paintings disyed everywhere almost blinded Karen! ¡°Oh my god! How much does this cost? Oh my gosh, this is the first time in all the years I¡¯ve lived that I¡¯ve seen such a luxurious and splendid house! Is this really our home now?¡± Karen screamed in euphoria as she spun around in the middle of the hall with her arms outstretched. She then plopped herself onto the soft leather couch in the middle of the living room. As soon as she did, an intense wave of bliss surged in her heart. ¡°Mom, this is Lucas¡¯s house, not ours,¡± Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help interjecting when she saw Karen¡¯s behavior. ¡°No, what is his belongs to you, so this house is ours! Even if you divorce him now, half of this vi will belong to you!¡± Karen said self-righteously as shey on the couchfortably. Chapter 185: Uninvited Guest

Chapter 185: Uninvited Guest

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne frowned,pletely disapproving of Karen¡¯s words. She had always been an independent woman, and she had never coveted what belonged to others. Although Lucas had indeed told her that what was his was hers too, she couldn¡¯t treat his property as hers with peace of mind. After all, although they werewfully married in name, they were not truly husband and wife. Cheyenne didn¡¯t y a part in helping Lucas acquire the assets and properties he now owned, so she didn¡¯t think she deserved to possess a portion of it. But Karen thought otherwise. In her head, she had even already started thinking about how to encroach on theke vi and make herself and her daughter the owners. While Karen was excitedly pulling Cheyenne and Charlotte around the vi to explore the other rooms, a silver Maserati sports car began driving in from the road outside the vi. As soon as the security guards, who were guarding the road and were supposed to stop the car, went over, they saw a balding, chubby middle-aged man sitting in the driver¡¯s seat and a fashionably dressed, long-haired beauty sitting beside him. ¡°How dare you stop me too? Do you want to get fired?¡± The middle-aged man red at the security guards. The guards recognized him and bowed to him respectfully. ¡°Mr. Taylor!¡± Even though Taylor didn¡¯t have a permit to use the road that led to theke vi, none of the guards dared to stop him. They simply watched as he drove to the vi with the beauty. The long-haired beauty was leaning against the chubby Taylor and wrapping her arms around his while pointing at the vi in the center of theke that looked like a castle from a fairytale. She chirped merrily, ¡°Hubby, is that castle there our home? It¡¯s really beautiful! Hey, it seems someone has already moved in!¡± She pointed to a few figures on the terrace on the third floor of the vi with a look of displeasure. Taylor put his arm around her waist and squeezed a few times, causing her to giggle coquettishly and twist her body sultrily. He said with an arrogant expression, ¡°So what if someone has moved in? The Taylors are the developer of the entire Moon Pce Vis and the vi by theke. As long as I wish, they will have to obediently move out! Baby, don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°Yes! Hubby, you¡¯re the best!¡± The long-haired beauty smiled sweetly and gave Taylor a loud kiss on his face. ¡°Hehe, I have something better. I¡¯ll let you try it tonight!¡± he said with a wicked smile. ¡°What nonsense are you saying in broad daylight?¡± The long-haired beauty¡¯s delicate and coquettishughing filled the air in the sports car. In a room of the vi, Cheyenne unpacked some clothes and other items from her suitcase and then took out the bedsheets and aired them. But she suddenly heard the sound of a car driving in from outside. Thinking that the only person who could drive in at this moment should be Lucas, Cheyenne walked out of the vi directly. She was about to ask him how the matter at the Carters had been settled, but she saw a few strangers standing at the entrance of the vi. She saw a fat, big-bellied middle-aged man and a scantily d, long-haired beauty beside him, as well as two tall and burly bodyguards behind him. ¡°Who are you people?¡± Cheyenne asked with her guard up. If she remembered correctly, the road outside the vi and theke surrounding it were all of Lucas¡¯s private property. In that case, how could outsiderse here? Cheyenne¡¯s appearance immediately made the fat Taylor¡¯s eyes light up as he gawked at her from head to toe with a lustful and burning gaze, unconsciously revealing the lecherousness within him. ¡°Hey, beautiful, how are you? Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Scott Taylor. How do I address you?¡± The long-haired beauty immediately sulked and glowered at Cheyenne, who was much more gorgeous than her despite having not dolled up. She hugged Scott¡¯s round arm and whined, ¡°Hubby, why are you...¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Scott interrupted without mercy. He red at the long-haired beauty, causing her to fall silent while shuddering. Although she addressed Scott as ¡®hubby¡¯, she was not actually his wife but just one of his countless mistresses. She had exhausted all her efforts to hook up with him and get him to promise to let her move into the big vi. However, Scott was extremely lustful and promiscuous. When he saw the beautiful Cheyenne, who was much more attractive than the woman beside him, he immediately dropped thetter! The long-haired beauty was furious, but she didn¡¯t dare to lose her temper at Scott, so she could only re daggers at Cheyenne. Scott¡¯s unrestrained ogling was repulsive, and his words were even more frivolous, so much so that Cheyenne frowned and took two steps back. She said in disgust, ¡°This is my home and private property. Please leave!¡± Scott immediately burst intoughter. ¡°Private property? Your home? I doubt it. I think it¡¯s going to be my home soon.¡± Cheyenne¡¯s brows furrowed even more tightly. ¡°What do you mean?¡± At this moment, Charlotte also walked out of the vi. She also thought that Lucas had returned and was about toe out to greet him. But she didn¡¯t expect to see several strangers standing in front of the vi entrance, who seemed to be talking to Cheyenne. She immediately asked curiously, ¡°Cheyenne, who are they?¡± A look of amazement once again appeared on Scott¡¯s chubby face. This one¡¯s a beauty too, and her features are simr to the other one¡¯s. They¡¯re obviously a gorgeous pair of sisters! ¡°Beauties, what are your names? Let¡¯s get to know each other!¡± Scott scanned Charlotte from head to toe dreadfully. Cheyenne immediately pulled Charlotte behind her to block Scott from gawking at her. ¡°No matter what you meant just now, we don¡¯t wee you, and we don¡¯t wish to get to know you either. Please leave immediately!¡± Scott guffawed nonchntly. ¡°Haha, like I just said, this vi will be mine soon! The surrounding Moon Pce Vis and this vi are all developed by the Taylors, and I¡¯m the scion of the Taylors! Now that my woman has set her sights on this vi, I¡¯ll have to take it back and get you to move out! ¡°Haha, but well, this vi is big enough. If you don¡¯t wish to move out, you can live with us too!¡± Scott chuckled sinisterly and looked at Cheyenne and Charlotte with burning desire and great interest in his eyes. Chapter 186: Grabbing Arrogantly

Chapter 186: Grabbing Arrogantly

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne immediately furrowed her brows. She didn¡¯t expect the person in front of her to be one of the Taylors, one of the four major families in Orange County. Charlotte also understood the lewd meaning in Scott¡¯s words, and she immediately hollered furiously, ¡°Fatso! What nonsense are you babbling?! Even if you are the developer, this house has been sold to my brother-inw. He now owns this ce. It¡¯s his private property! Hurry up and scram!¡± When Scott heard the word ¡®fatso¡¯, he immediately flew into a rage. The fat on his face trembled as he red at Charlotte menacingly. ¡°Bitch! I dare you to say that again!¡± Scott was short and fat like a ball, and the fat on his face was all scrunched up and squeezed together, making him look particrly hideous. He hated being called fat and being insulted because of his weight. Whenever that happened, he would blow a gasket. When Scott hit the roof, the two bodyguards in ck behind him stepped forward. Cheyenne and Charlotte were immediately overwhelmed with a strong sense of oppression. Cheyenne hurriedly pulled Charlotte backward, stared at the people in front of her, and questioned sternly, ¡°What do you want? Do you want to hit us?¡± Scott looked at Cheyenne¡¯s angry face and suddenly felt that she was rather pretty when she was angry. He smiled evilly. ¡°Hit you? No, no, you two are delicate and soft. You should be pampered! She offended me just now, so you two have to make it up to me!¡± His tone was so lewd and revolting that Charlotte couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer. She popped her head out from behind Cheyenne and shouted, ¡°Fatso, look at yourself. You¡¯re as fat as a pig, and you¡¯re so lewd and disgusting! Make it up to you, my foot! Once brother-inwes back, he¡¯ll beat you into a pulp!¡± Scott¡¯s face instantly turned red, and he roared at his bodyguards, ¡°Go, bring her here! I¡¯ll see if she can still be so arrogant!¡± A tall and burly bodyguard in ck immediately reached his hand out to grab Charlotte. Charlotte didn¡¯t expect them to really get physical and immediately dodged in panic. Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Cheyenne realized that she and Charlotte were facing several people, two of whom were tall professional bodyguards. Besides, with her understanding of her mother, she knew that Karen wouldn¡¯t necessarilye forward to help them in an unfavorable situation. Lucas had yet to return and couldn¡¯t help them now even though he was powerful. Cheyenne could only quickly take out her phone to call the management office of Moon Pce Vis. ¡°Hello, I am the owner of theke vi of Pearl Lake. Someone has barged in and is causing a scene here. Quickly send security to deal with it!¡± But as soon as the person on the other end heard that there was trouble at theke vi, he hung up without hesitation. What a joke. The security guards just let Scott Taylor in, so they naturally knew that there would be trouble sooner orter. But they couldn¡¯t do anything about it. All the staff were paid by the Taylors, so they obviously wouldn¡¯t interfere. ¡°Hello? Hello!¡± Cheyenne was still holding her phone in puzzlement when Scott startedughing out loud arrogantly. ¡°Hahaha, like I said just now, this entire area is developed by the Taylors, and the estate managers are just dogs raised by my family. How dare they meddle with this?¡± Only then did Cheyenne and Charlotte know why Scott could drive all the way here even though there were security guards guarding the road. At this moment, that bodyguard had grabbed Charlotte¡¯s slender arm and was about to pull her toward Scott despite her painstaking struggle. ¡°Cheyenne!¡± ¡°Charlotte! Let go of her!¡± Charlotte was so panicked that she desperately tried to break free from the bodyguard, but she was too weak and couldn¡¯t pull away from a professional bodyguard. ¡°Bring her over too! Today, I must let them both know how to behave!¡± Scott said with a sneer. The other bodyguard walked out from behind him and grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s arm. However, an even sturdier arm reached out from the side and grabbed that bodyguard¡¯s wrist before pushing him backward several meters. Immediately afterward, the burly arm mped down on the wrist holding onto Charlotte and gave it a tight twist, causing the bodyguard to wince in pain. He could only release his hand and let go of Charlotte. A tall and burly man stopped in front of Cheyenne and Charlotte to shield them! ¡°Wade! It¡¯s you!¡± Charlotte recognized the buff back that resembled a steel tower and couldn¡¯t help eximing in surprise. On the other hand, Cheyenne was holding onto Charlotte while apprehensive and wary of the buff and muscr man who popped up out of nowhere. ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t worry. Wade is Lucas¡¯s subordinate. He¡¯s here to protect us! With him around, this fatso can¡¯t bully us anymore!¡± Charlotte said happily. Only then did Cheyenne feel a little more at ease, but she was also feeling a little ufortable. She knew nothing about Wade, but Charlotte recognized him immediately and even knew that Lucas had sent him. When did Charlotte get to know him? Is there some secret between them? ¡°Who¡¯s this punk trying to ruin things for me?¡± Scott was so close to nabbing the two beauties. But to his surprise, a burly man appeared and ruined things for him. He was instantly furious. The man in front of him was more than two meters tall and incredibly muscr. He knew that Wade wasn¡¯t a simple person, but the bodyguards Scott brought were from an internationally renowned bodyguard organization. They had extraordinarybat skills and had a good chance of winning since they outnumbered Wade. Thinking of this, Scott no longer hesitated and ordered, ¡°Go! Take that reckless man down together!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The two bodyguards rushed toward Wade at the same time. One of them punched Wade¡¯s upper body while the other gave Wade a sweeping kick. They were rather coordinated. Wade could tell from their sharp moves that they weren¡¯t ordinary bodyguards and indeed had powerfulbat skills. He couldn¡¯t help but be serious as well. Cheyenne had long hurriedly pulled Charlotte to hide behind one of the two thick Roman pirs outside the vi gate as soon as they started fighting to avoid getting affected by the fight. She also didn¡¯t want to give Scott the chance to do anything to them. Wade fought against the two bodyguards alone, and there were sounds of fists hitting flesh during the exchange of blows. Wade was surprised, and he thought that the strength of the two bodyguards before him was really not bad. Though their strength and speed were inferior to his, they were sharp, ruthless, and hard to deal with. But he didn¡¯t know that the two bodyguards opposite him were really frightened! Both of them were elite international bodyguards, and usually, they could beat up a group of ordinary bodyguards. But now that they were joining forces, they couldn¡¯t even beat Wade. In fact, they even felt excruciating pain and numbness in their bodies whenever Wade punched them. Wade was really terrifying! At this moment, a ck Jaguar approached the gate of the vi silently. The door of the car opened, and Lucas got out with an icy cold aura! Chapter 187: Seizing the Villa

Chapter 187: Seizing the Vi

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas saw an unfamiliar Maserati sports car parked in front of his vi from afar. And when he got closer, he saw the two bodyguards fighting Wade, as well as the couple beside them, whom he had not seen before. Lucas narrowed his eyes and alighted from the car with an icy cold aura. After Wade saw him, he threw a few hard punches, causing the two bodyguards to stumble backward several steps, and then walked to Lucas and said respectfully, ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re back.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Lucas stared at the situation in front and then asked indifferently, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Wade hurriedly gave him a brief exnation of what happened. ¡°A while after Miss Carter and her family arrived, this man, who ims to be the scion of the Taylors, barged in and said lots of nasty things. He said that he wants to snatch this vi away and nab Miss Cheyenne and Charlotte.¡± When Lucas heard this, anger surged within him, and he exuded a murderous aura while ring daggers at the fat man not far in front of him. Scott¡¯s body suddenly stiffened under Lucas¡¯s murderous gaze. Feeling extremely embarrassed, he hollered in fury, ¡°Punk, what are you looking at? Listen up. I¡¯m a Taylor, so you¡¯d better...¡± Before he could finish, he suddenly felt his vision blur, and in an instant, Lucas¡¯s figure appeared in front of him like a phantom. Smack! With a hard and loud smack, Scott¡¯s chubby body flew away like a ball and mmed hard against the trunk of a parasol tree a few meters away! Bang! The tree shook, and countless leaves fell from the impact. ¡°Ah!¡± The long-haired beauty standing beside Scott screamed. The two bodyguards d in ck widened their eyes and seemed to be in disbelief! They were top international bodyguards whose skills had already surpassed the majority of people, but Lucas had moved so quickly that they couldn¡¯t see anything at all. It was as if there was only an afterimage that shed past, and in an instant, Lucas suddenly appeared beside Scott. Immediately afterward, the chubby Scott flew away! The speed was simply terrifying! Scott spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly sat up from the ground. Only after feeling the stinging pain on his face and the sharp, prative pain in his back did he snap back to his senses and realize that he had been hit by the punk Lucas! Not only did he hit him, but he even pped him on his face! Scott held the tree trunk and got up from the ground with great difficulty. He then touched the blood flowing from his mouth and became furious. ring at Lucas with a gloomy gaze, he said through clenched teeth, ¡°Asshole, how dare you hit me?! Do you know who I am? I¡¯m from the Taylor family, one of the four greatest families of Orange County!¡± Lucas nced at him in disdain and said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. This is my home, and you¡¯re trespassing on private property. You even tried to harm my family. If you¡¯re tired of living, I can grant you your wishes now!¡± Although the Taylors were one of the four major families of Orange County, Lucas didn¡¯t care about his status or feel wary of him at all. The Hales, who were also one of the four major families of Orange County, were destroyed overnightst night. The Taylors were nothing. ¡°Punk, don¡¯t go overboard! I¡¯m telling you, the Taylors developed this vi, and I¡¯m going to take it back from you now! Move out right now!¡± Scott roared while pointing at Lucas. Lucas sneered and stared at Scott like he was looking at a fool. ¡°Even though the Taylors were the developer of this property, I bought it a long time ago, so it¡¯s now my private property. The title deed is under my name, and the Taylors were just the developer. What right do you have to take the house back?¡± Scott was used to being a tyrant and instantly flew into a rage after this. Lucas made it sound as though the Taylors were only responsible for building the vi! In fact, Lucas didn¡¯t say anything wrong. But Scott was just putting on airs and taking himself too seriously because of his family¡¯s status. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t go too far! The Taylors have taken a fancy to your vi, and they want you to hand it back. We¡¯re already showing you enough respect! You should know that no one in Orange County will have it easy after offending us!¡± Scott threatened while clenching his teeth. ¡°Hah, it¡¯s my first time hearing that robbing someone is giving them respect. If you say so, then if I show up at your ce, im that I¡¯ve taken a fancy to your home, and make your family vacate, does it mean I¡¯m giving you respect?¡± Lucas gibed in derision. ¡°You! You¡¯re just a punk who has no status and background. How are you worthy of beingpared to the Taylors? Lucas Gray, don¡¯t think that you¡¯re a big deal just because you¡¯re friends with Flynn Davis! Let me tell you, even if Flynn Davis stands right in front of me now, he wouldn¡¯t dare to be so arrogant! The Stardust Corporation has long been separated from the Huttons. Even though he¡¯s the general manager there, the Taylors aren¡¯t scared of him!¡± Lucas sneered in his heart. Back then, the Stardust Group was backed by the Huttons, so the various families of Orange County dared not offend it. But now that the news of the Stardust Group¡¯s separation from the Huttons had spread, these families became more and more arrogant, seemingly not taking the Stardust Corporation seriously anymore. Hmph, the Huttons are nothing. One day, I¡¯ll make sure these people regret what they said today! ¡°In that case, do you think that you can be tyrannical and act audaciously without restraint as long as you have a powerful background and status?¡± Lucas questioned with raised brows. Scott said arrogantly, ¡°Of course! We people from powerful backgrounds are certainly more noble and prestigious than you! Haha, are you disgruntled? I like watching how you people can¡¯t do anything about me even though you hate me!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°The Hales said the same thing to mest night, but before long, they were destroyed overnight. Are you eager for your family to end up like theirs?¡± Scott¡¯s face instantly turned a little sullen. Some people from the Taylors had attended the Hales¡¯ banquetst night, but Scott didn¡¯t. He only found out about it this morning when someone secretly informed him that the Hale family had offended a mysterious figure who caused all the direct descendants to be taken away by the military, causing the entire Hale family to be wiped out overnight. But the details couldn¡¯t be revealed due to the military¡¯s gag order. After Scott heard what Lucas said, the first thing that he thought was that Lucas was just cursing his family. He flew into a rage and barked, ¡°Punk, how dare you curse the Taylors!?! The Hale family ended up in such a terrible state because they offended a powerful figure they couldn¡¯t afford to offend. Do you think you¡¯re that big shot and can wipe out the Taylors? Dream on!¡± Lucas felt that Scott was as dense as a pig, which simply matched his appearance, and immediately lost interest in talking. He simply pointed at the entrance and said calmly, ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to talk to you. Now, get lost from my home immediately with these dogs of yours!¡± Chapter 188: Trouble

Chapter 188: Trouble

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Damn it!¡± Scott cursed in rage and was about to get his bodyguards to deal with Lucas and show him his prowess. But to his astonishment, the two bodyguards approached him and whispered into his ear, ¡°Mr. Taylor, that punk has strangebat skills, and we can¡¯t tell how strong he really is. If he joins forces with that tall and burly one beside him, I¡¯m afraid the two of us can¡¯t beat them.¡± Although they sounded slightly cowardly, the bodyguards had to speak up now. Otherwise, they would be beaten upter and be even more embarrassed. If Scott were beaten up badly, they wouldn¡¯t have it easy either. ¡°Damn it!¡± Scott cursed again with a sullen expression. He was notpletely ignorant. If he were to insist on fighting despite knowing that he would definitely lose, he would be asking for it. With this thought in mind, Scott suddenly had an idea and said, ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯ll be honest with you. It¡¯s not the Taylors who have taken a fancy to your vi but another bigwig. I had no choice but toe here and ask you to move out. As for the price, we can return you the original sum you paid.¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes at Scott. He somewhat believed his words. After all, theke vi was originally built and developed by the Taylors, so if the Taylors had taken a liking to it, they could have chosen not to sell it to the public in the first ce. He had previously asked Davis to purchase the best vi in the city, so Davis bought this one. He didn¡¯t use any connections with the Taylors. Now that the Taylors suddenly wanted him to move out and free up the house, he indeed could¡¯nt rule out the possibility that someone else had taken a liking to the vi. But whatever the reason was, it had nothing to do with him. ¡°As I¡¯ve just said, this is a private property that I bought, and I don¡¯t want to transfer it to someone else,¡± Lucas said indifferently. ¡°Lucas Gray, to be honest, that person is a big shot you definitely can¡¯t afford to provoke. You have to consider carefully! How about this? I¡¯llpensate you an additional one million dors on top of the original amount you paid for this vi. How does that sound?¡± Scott said with a smile. ¡°One million? Since I could spend over a hundred and fifty million on this vi, how could I care about one million? Since I said I¡¯m not selling it, I won¡¯t. You may get lost now.¡± Lucas sneered in disdain and asked him to leave harshly. Scott narrowed his eyes. His features were already squeezed together by the fat on his face, and now, his eyes were like slits. ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯m asking you once more. Are you really not going to let me have the vi?¡± Lucas had already run out of patience. He suddenly roared with a dark expression, ¡°Can¡¯t you understand English?! I¡¯m giving you ten minutes to get lost immediately!¡± If not for the fact that Cheyenne and her family had just moved here today, Lucas would have dealt with Scott ruthlessly for trespassing and trying to take Cheyenne and Charlotte away! Scott sneered. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s what you said! When the big shotes, I¡¯ll see if you can still be that stubborn!¡± With that, Scott took his bodyguards and the long-haired beauty beside him away and drove off in his Maserati. After they left, Wade finally asked in bewilderment, ¡°Lucas, are you going to let them off just like that?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lucas nced at Wade. Wade hurriedly lowered his head and said in horror, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m not trying to tell you what to do, but I¡¯m a little confused. You¡¯re letting him off too easy. Besides, we haven¡¯t found out who that big shot he mentioned is. If a powerful enemy reallyes looking for us...¡± Lucas guffawed. ¡°Powerful enemy? I doubt there¡¯s someone in this world who¡¯s powerful enough to be my enemy!¡± Tyrannical! Domineering! An overbearing and condescending aura emanated from Lucas! Wade froze, and soon, there was fervor in his eyes as he looked at Lucas with even more respect. This is the powerful and domineering man I¡¯ve chosen to be loyal to forever! Seeing that Scott and his group had left, Cheyenne and Charlotte came out from behind the pir. They walked toward Lucas and asked, ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°I¡¯m okay, don¡¯t worry.¡± Charlotte rolled her eyes at Lucas and joked, ¡°I¡¯m not worried about you. I¡¯m asking if that fatso is alright! Haha, but no matter what, he deserved it! How dare hee and be rude to me and Cheyenne. He must have a death wish!¡± A glimmer of cold light shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes. It seems that the property managers at the entrance aren¡¯t reliable. I have to tighten security at the entrance too. Previously, there was no need to worry about anything because he lived here alone. But now, Cheyenne, Charlotte, Amelia, and Karen were moving in, so he had to deal with the security issues sooner. But he would arrange themter. ¡°Have you looked around the vi? Picked out the room you like?¡± Lucas asked Charlotte. The reason he only asked Charlotte was that he had already decided which room was Cheyenne¡¯s¡ªthe one she slept in previously. Therge closet in that room was filled with many high-quality clothes that Lucas had specially prepared for Cheyenne and Amelia. As soon as he mentioned the vi, Charlotte immediately forgot about the annoying fatso and grabbed his arm excitedly. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re really amazing! I didn¡¯t expect you to buy such arge and luxurious vi in such a low-profile manner! This is just like a pce in a fairytale. I never thought that I would be able to live in such a beautiful ce one day! ¡°Lucas, I really admire you so much! Despite having such a wonderful ce, you actually didn¡¯t mind living in that tiny house with us every day... Oh my god. I know, you must have done all this for Cheyenne, right? Cheyenne, look. Lucas did all this for you. Are you touched?¡± Cheyenne blushed shyly and lowered her head in embarrassment. But soon, she looked at Charlotte¡¯s hand ced on Lucas¡¯s arm and silently pulled it away. She poked her forehead and said smilingly, ¡°You talk too much! Have you finished unpacking all your things?¡± Lucas noticed what Cheyenne did, which was a somewhat childish act of jealousy that made him overjoyed. ¡°Hehe, yes! Speaking of which, this house is huge. It must take a lot of work to clean up! How about this? I¡¯ll hire a housekeeper to clean this ce and do the household chores. Consider it my rent. What do you think, Lucas?¡± Charlotte asked yfully with a grin. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ve already employed housekeeping services. Just rest assured and stay here,¡± Lucas said with a smile. As they spoke, they walked into the vi. Meanwhile, Scott, who had just left the vi, made a phone call in his car. With evil intentions, he said to the person on the other end, ¡°Mr. Kingston, I¡¯m sorry, but that Lucas Gray doesn¡¯t know any better and refuses to agree to give up the vi. I couldn¡¯t get it settled. I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Chapter 189: Private Property

Chapter 189: Private Property

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After a while, the person on the other end of the line said indifferently, ¡°In that case, I will personally go and see what kind of person that Lucas Gray is!¡± The call immediately ended. Scott could hear the displeasure in the other party¡¯s threatening tone, making him grin widely gleefully. ¡°Lucas Gray, let¡¯s see if you can still be arrogant! When that big shotes looking for you, let¡¯s see if you can continue being smug! I¡¯ll make sure to pay you back tenfold for this p you gave me!¡± Scott said sinisterly while touching his stinging cheek. ... At this moment, in a luxurious vi in the center of San Francisco, a young man in his thirties was blowing out smoke rings from his mouth while pressing the cigar in his hand directly onto the arm of a beautiful woman beside him. Sizzle When the burning hot cigar pressed against her skin, it emitted a nauseating stench of skin charring. But the beautiful woman merely bit her lip hard and shuddered continuously, not daring to make a single sound. ¡°Lucas Gray, huh? Hah, I, Kyle Kingston, have always gotten what I want!¡± ... Meanwhile, Lucas had just brought Cheyenne and Charlotte into the vi when he saw Karen straightening her back and standing upright behind the door. A look of derision appeared in Charlotte¡¯s eyes when she saw Karen¡¯s behavior. She had long known that with all themotion outside, there was no way Karen hadn¡¯t heard it when she was in the vi. But she hadn¡¯t dared to show her face. Since the previous incident at the restaurant where Charlotte stood up for Karen but was instead pushed out by her to be pped to atone for her mistake and then abandoned by her, Charlotte had been utterly disappointed with Karen. When her mother saw the few tall men standing outside, whom she knew worked for the Taylors, one of the four major families of Orange County, she simply cowered and hid behind the door while watching her daughters get bullied! If Lucas hadn¡¯t sent Wade to their rescue and arrived in time himself, she and Cheyenne would have been in an unimaginable plight now! But Karen didn¡¯t even bother to look at Charlotte or show her any concern. She just dashed forward and questioned Lucas sternly, ¡°Lucas Gray, tell me honestly. How much money have you got in your secret stash?¡± Karen looked extremely hostile and interrogated Lucas as if he was secretly hiding her assets behind her back. Cheyenne¡¯s face immediately turned sullen, and she snapped, ¡°Mom, what are you saying?¡± Charlotte said mockingly, ¡°Cheyenne, can¡¯t you tell? Mom is coveting Lucas¡¯s money. And to her, it would be best if she could pocket all of it!¡± Karen glowered at Charlotte scornfully before saying to Cheyenne, ¡°What did I say? I merely asked Lucas how much money he still has in his hand so that he doesn¡¯t hide it and deceive you! Well, when he married you six years ago, he was so poor that he didn¡¯t have any money at all! But now that he¡¯s rich, his money is considered a matrimonial asset. Even if you get divorced, you¡¯ll at least be entitled to half of his assets when the timees! ¡°I¡¯m just sparing a thought for you. Don¡¯t be so clueless about who cares for you and who doesn¡¯t! Hurry up and ask him to take out all his title deeds, bank cards, and credit cards. We have to calcte how much money he has in his hands so that when you get divorced in the future, he can¡¯t deny it. That way, you won¡¯t be at a disadvantage.¡± Karen looked extremely self-righteous as she extended her hand toward Lucas to make him take out all his bank cards and credit cards. Cheyenne was almost dumbfounded by her mother¡¯s actions. ¡°Mom! You... How can you say something like that? Lucas earned all his money by himself. What does it have to do with us? Besides, what right do you have to covet a portion of his assets? This is... too shameless of you!¡± She was about to cry in exasperation because of how thick-skinned Karen and found it extremely embarrassing as well. How could she covet Lucas¡¯s money right in front of him? Moreover, he was obviously kind enough to let her family move into the vi, yet Karen not only didn¡¯t reciprocate his kind intentions but even disgraced all of them in front of him. But Lucas smiled at Cheyennefortingly to tell her that she didn¡¯t need to take it to heart. In fact, he had long gotten used to Karen¡¯s odd behavior and wasn¡¯t surprised when she made these absurd remarks. He definitely wouldn¡¯t take her words to heart. Karen used to berate and criticize Lucas every day in the past. If he really held it against her, he would have been angered countless times. Charlotte sneered and mocked, ¡°Enough with that excuse of being worried that Cheyenne will suffer a loss. You just want to take Cheyenne¡¯s and Lucas¡¯s money! You keep saying you¡¯re waiting for their divorce, but you clearly just don¡¯t want to make life easy for Cheyenne! Mom, you¡¯d better behave yourself. We¡¯ve just moved into Lucas¡¯s ce today, yet you¡¯re already acting up. Be careful not to offend Lucas and end up getting kicked out! When you do, I won¡¯t put in a good word for you at all!¡± Karen barked furiously, ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m your mother and have raised you since you were born, but both of you are getting angry at me for an outsider. Do you have any regard for me as your mother? You¡¯re really such ingrates!¡± Cheyenne was so furious that her nose turned a little sore and her pretty eyes welled up with tears, but she clenched her teeth to keep herself from crying. Charlotte rolled her eyes and scoffed, ¡°Psht! You say that all the time. What kind of mother are you?¡± Karen immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Fine! All of you are so capable that you don¡¯t respect me anymore, right? Lucas Gray, listen up. If you don¡¯t give me a clear deration of your bank ounts and other assets, just you wait and see how I¡¯ll deal with you!¡± She turned around furiously and returned to the room she just chose. Cheyenne felt greatly ashamed of her mother¡¯s behavior and was really sorry to Lucas. She couldn¡¯t hold it any longer and teared up uncontrobly. She turned to the side and used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. Charlotte hugged Cheyenne¡¯s shoulder andforted, ¡°Cheyenne, stop crying. She¡¯s always been like that. She¡¯s never cared about us. All she cares about is money. It¡¯s not worth getting upset because of her.¡± Despite saying so, Charlotte couldn¡¯t help but have her eyes turn red when she thought about what happenedst time. Karen¡¯s behavior had really broken her heart, but such a person was their mother! Looking at the pair of sisters hugging each other, Lucas sighed in his heart. Although Karen had a horrible personality, it was a miracle that she could raise such reasonable and sensible daughters like Cheyenne and Charlotte. After a while, Cheyenne got a grip on her emotions and suddenly said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, on behalf of my mother, I apologize to you for what she said just now. I think we¡¯d better let her move out. I¡¯ll find her somewhere to move to.¡± Chapter 190: Personnel Transfer

Chapter 190: Personnel Transfer

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Charlotte heard Cheyenne¡¯s words, her eyes widened a bit in surprise. But she soon processed what she said and felt that it was indeed a good idea. ¡°I agree. But Cheyenne, do you still have enough money to buy a house for Mom?¡± Charlotte raised a very crucial question. Cheyenne pursed her lips and said with a bitter smile, ¡°I can¡¯t afford to buy a house, but I can rent one for her for the time being. She has plenty of money on hand anyway. If she wants to buy a house, she can get one herself.¡± Although she had been working for many years, she would basically hand over almost all of her sry to Karen each month. Except for some allowance, she didn¡¯t have much money left. Charlotte sneered silently and said, ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s holding both of our money. If she doesn¡¯t like the rented house, she can buy one herself.¡± Lucas looked at Cheyenne and said in a tender voice, ¡°Cheyenne, you don¡¯t have to do that. Like I said before, you are my wife, and your mother, too, is my mother. As long as she doesn¡¯t hurt you and Amelia, I won¡¯t mind it even if she says harsh things to me.¡± ¡°But... she¡¯s always so mean to you. I really feel sorry to you.¡± Cheyenne hesitated as she felt aggrieved for Lucas. Lucas smiled. ¡°She¡¯s a separate individual from you. You don¡¯t need to feel sorry to me on her behalf. Besides, the most she can do is make harshments. She wouldn¡¯t dare to hit me. I won¡¯t stand to lose anything, and I¡¯ll still be as tall and handsome as ever. What are you afraid of?¡± Cheyenne blinked and finally realized that Lucas just cracked a joke. She couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter and re at him jokingly. ¡°How are you tall and handsome? You¡¯re very thick-skinned. Hmph.¡± She looked really lively and energetic! Lucas was dazed by her smile, and he spaced out for a long time. ¡°Haha!¡± It wasn¡¯t until he heard anotherughter that he returned to reality. Charlotte covered her mouth and giggled. ¡°Cheyenne, look. Lucas is mesmerized by you!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s pretty face flushed red, and she reached out to pinch Charlotte¡¯s face. ¡°You naughty girl! How dare you tease me? I¡¯m going to deal with you!¡± Charlotte hurriedly ran away while saying, ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯m not going to y gooseberry! I¡¯ll get going now. It¡¯s time to go to work!¡± She ran out of the vi. But when she turned around and saw Lucas and Cheyenne standing together, she somehow felt a great sense of envy rise within her. Their rtionship had unknowingly improved greatly at some point! In the vi, Lucas kept staring at Cheyenne affectionately, unable to keep himself from smiling. Feeling shy from the way he was looking at her, she nced at him before asking gently, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Lucas¡¯s lips curled into a radiant smile as he said softly, ¡°This is the first time you¡¯ve smiled in front of me. You¡¯re so beautiful when you smile!¡± Cheyenne looked at Lucas¡¯s smile and was a little stunned too. Is he smiling so brightly and contentedly just because of a casual smile of mine? Have I been that harsh to him that it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever smiled at him? Cheyenne thought about it carefully and realized that it really seemed to be the case. Ever since Lucas returned, she had been resenting him. Andter on, she started giving him the cold shoulder, merely treated him as a stranger who happened to be Amelia¡¯s father. Afterward, they encountered all sorts of incidents that involved the Carters and her career, all of which made her emotionally exhausted. But whenever she encountered trouble, Lucas would be by her side to encourage her,fort her, and give her help time and time again. It also made her increasingly trusting toward him and reliant on him. Now, she could smile sincerely in front of him. In this instant, the ice sealing Cheyenne¡¯s heart for a long time suddenly melted. She once again looked at Lucas, and her lips arched into a gorgeous smile. ¡°Silly.¡± Seeing that Karen was cooping herself up in her room out of spite and refusing toe out, they knew that she was definitely not going to make lunch for them. So Cheyenne and Lucas decided to leave her alone and drove out to have lunch elsewhere. After a pleasant lunch, Cheyenne asked Lucas to send her to the Brilliance Corporation for afternoon work. ... Meanwhile, a serious meeting was taking ce in the conference hall of the Stardust Corporation. Everyone in Stardust Corporation knew that their mysterious chairman, whom they had never met, would never attend any of thepany¡¯s meetings, so the person in charge of the conferences was always Flynn Davis. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s all for today¡¯s report. All departments should continue to work hard ording to the previous n. Next, I would like to announce an important personnel transfer.¡± After Davis finished, the people attending the meeting were suddenly riled up and all ears, waiting to hear the announcement with bated breath. The fact that the general manager personally brought up the transfer meant that it was definitely not a trivial matter! Besides, nothing major happened within the Stardust Corporationtely, so they all guessed that it was probably a major promotion! They wondered who the lucky one was. Everyone looked excited and expectant. At the center of attention, with everyone staring at him, Davis took out an appointment letterposedly and announced solemnly, ¡°After thepany¡¯s careful observation and discussion, we have decided to appoint Charlotte Carter as the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation. She will be responsible for assisting the general manager in the daily management of thepany!¡± It caused a huge uproar! Everyone broke intomotion and seemed to be in huge disbelief. Some even asked in confusion, ¡°Charlotte Carter? Who¡¯s that? How did she suddenly be the deputy general manager of thepany?¡± It was no wonder that this person asked this. It had only been a little over a month since Charlotte joined the Stardust Corporation. Prior to this, she was just an employee holding an entry position in the business department and didn¡¯t even have a managerial role. Given that there were thousands of employees in the Stardust Corporation, it was only normal for there to be many who didn¡¯t know her name or who she was. After hearing the announcement, Charlotte herself was extremely astonished as she widened her eyes in shock. Although Davis had privately approached her before and said that he wanted to promote her, Charlotte knew that he only wanted to promote her through the back door for the sake of doing Lucas a personal favor. Thus, she resolutely declined Davis¡¯s kind intentions and told him that she wanted to be promoted by virtue of her own abilities instead of personal connections. But Davis now suddenly announced her promotion by several levels, from an entry role to the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation. This was a tremendous leap that even the word ¡®leap¡¯ seemed to be insufficient to describe it. At this moment, someone suddenly stood up in the conference hall and said loudly, ¡°Mr. Davis, I object to this personnel transfer!¡± Chapter 191: Intimate Photos

Chapter 191: Intimate Photos

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The crowd was already bewildered and intrigued by the sudden personnel transfer. When they heard someone objecting, everyone immediately turned to look at the person who spoke. The person who spoke was a middle-aged man in histe forties. He was short and fat with a protruding belly, and he had a bald spot in the middle of his head. He was Oliver Harvey, the director of the sales department of the Stardust Corporation. Harvey was a senior employee of the Stardust Corporation. Having been with thepany for more than ten years, he was quite esteemed too. Everyone even considered him the most likely person to take over the position of deputy general manager. So when he stood up and opposed the decision of the higher-ups, it held a lot of weight for the attendees of this meeting. Davis narrowed his eyes slightly before leaning back in his chair with his hands crossed and ced on the conference table on stage. ¡°Mr. Harvey, may I know what your reason is?¡± Harvey smiled and said to everyone else in the conference hall, ¡°As we all know, Miss Charlotte Carter has been an employee of ourpany for less than two months, and she¡¯s still just an ordinary employee. In such a short period of time, she was promoted from a junior position to the deputy general manager of thepany. In my opinion, this is too drastic of a speed. Hence, I oppose this decision.¡± Many executives secretly nodded in agreement. The deputy general manager of the corporation was a significant role and could even be considered the goal of each of the executives. When the position of deputy general manager was finally vacated, all of them were eager and excited, hoping that they could fill it. But the position that they all dreamed of was now in the hands of a young girl who had been an employee of thepany for less than two months and was only in her twenties. They were naturally disgruntled and opposed to that decision. In fact, Harvey¡¯s words simply struck a sour note in their hearts. When Davis saw Harvey openly opposing his decision and even stirring the emotions of many employees in the conference hall, his face turned sullen. He stretched his hand toward James Denning, his secretary, who then immediately ced a document in his hand. Davis threw the document onto the center of therge and wide conference table and said coldly, ¡°This is the information that I got someone to cote. All of Charlotte Carter¡¯s attainments and performance since joining the Stardust Corporation are stated clearly in there. You may pass this around so that everyone can take a closer look. ¡°Yes, Charlotte might be young and rtively new to thepany. But the contracts she has clinched with her own efforts in such a short period of time ount for more than half of all the contracts signed with thepany during this time! Which one of you can achieve this?¡± Once Davis said this, many of them seemed rather astonished. Has Charlotte Carter clinched more than half of the contracts signed with thepany during this period of time? What outstanding performance! Some people were in disbelief and thus opened the document that Davis had someone pass around, only to be stunned by the shocking number of contracts signed and the value of the contracts. They didn¡¯t expect that this nameless neer, who had only joined thepany a short time ago, was actually thatpetent! After seeing the change in everyone¡¯s expression, Davis said, ¡°Charlotte Carter¡¯s outstanding performance is the reason I decided to promote her to deputy general manager, despite her being a new employee who¡¯s less experienced than many of the senior staff here. She¡¯s definitelypetent enough! ¡°I would also like all of you here to understand that as long as you are hardworking andpetent enough, you will be given the opportunity to shine in the Stardust Corporation instead of relying on spending time to umte more experience for a promotion! Since Charlotte Carter has managed to be promoted with her own abilities, each one of you here can too!¡± ¡°In addition, I would also like to say that the promotion of Charlotte Carter is not my personal decision, but a consensus that the chairman and the board of directors have reached after discussion. It is entirely in line with thepany¡¯s promotion criteria and rules.¡± After Davis said his piece, many of them were full of zeal, especially the middle and lower management staff. Since Charlotte, a neer of thepany, could be promoted to deputy general manager because of her outstanding performance, they believed that as long as they worked hard and strove to be better, they would be able to perform well and get promoted too. All of a sudden, the majority of people felt greatly encouraged, and Charlotte¡¯s super promotion had undoubtedly be an excellent example for them to learn from. Davis once again scanned the expressions of the people in the conference hall and felt relieved. He stood up and said, ¡°In that case, that¡¯s all we have for today¡¯s meeting. The meeting is adjourned.¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Just when Davis wanted to pack up and leave the conference hall, a voice sounded out of the blue and interrupted him. It once again attracted the attention of all the attendees of the meeting. Standing in ce, Harvey sneered. ¡°Flynn Davis, you sound so righteous and morally upright, but don¡¯t you think I don¡¯t know the nasty things you¡¯ve done in secret!¡± As soon as he said this, everyone was astonished! One reason was that Oliver Harvey actually had the guts to address Davis, the general manager, by his full name. As if that wasn¡¯t rude enough, he even said those things to him! Nasty things? Has Flynn Davis really done something shameful and sordid? Before Davis and the others could say anything, Harvey continued, ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t think I¡¯m talking nonsense. I have evidence against you! Once everyone sees it, you will understand why Charlotte Carter got promoted to deputy general manager!¡± He took out arge briefcase from below his seat, which he had long prepared. He then took out arge stack of photos from it and waved his hand to scatter them all over the conference hall. Some people subconsciously picked up a few photos, only to look bbergasted and widen their eyes in disbelief after seeing the contents carefully. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°Oh my god! How is this possible?¡± ¡°Wow! This is too... inappropriate!¡± Everyone eximed one after another. Immediately afterward, they began to cast dirty looks of disdain and shock at Davis and Charlotte. Charlotte¡¯s heart dropped, and she intuitively felt an ominous hunch. She reached out to take one of the photos, and as soon as she saw the picture clearly, blood surged to the top of her head while her body turned cold! Charlotte was photographed lying beside Davis with a coquettish smile on her face and one arm wrapped tightly around his neck. Their faces were almost pressed together, and they looked extremely intimate! Chapter 192: Who Instigated You?

Chapter 192: Who Instigated You?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°This...!¡± Charlotte¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and her hands trembled as she immediately dropped the photo of her and Davis sharing an intimate moment. But the photos were already strewn all over the floor of the conference hall. And apart from the one Charlotte just saw, there were many more explicit and intimate photos of her and Davis! Everyone looked at Charlotte and Davis with peculiar gazes. No wonder Oliver Harvey said that we would understand why Charlotte Carter could be the deputy general manager after seeing these things. It turns out that she slept her way to the top! So much for being deceived by Flynn Davis¡¯s words and foolishly thinking that Charlotte Carted really relied on her abilities to obtain her promotion! Even Sophie Evans, Charlotte¡¯s best friend, was extremely astonished. She wanted to defend Charlotte at first. But with so much concrete evidence and photos, she really couldn¡¯t defend her. She could only re at Charlotte, seemingly expecting better from her and trying to ask her why she had done such a thing. Harvey looked at the expressions on everyone¡¯s faces before saying with a smile, ¡°I believe I don¡¯t need to say anything else. You should be able to understand why a newbie like Charlotte Carter could suddenly soar so high and be the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation.¡± Everyone in the conference hall looked at Charlotte with contempt and disdain in their eyes. In the workce, it was a rtivelymon practice to sleep with others and rely on various connections to achieve results and get promoted through the back door. But it was indeed quite rare for someone¡¯s illicit affair to be exposed in such an exaggerated manner as Charlotte¡¯s scandal did. At least, in thest ten years or so, there had never been such a case in the Stardust Corporation. Sophie gritted her teeth and couldn¡¯t help but stand up for her best friend, Charlotte. ¡°But Charlotte Carter¡¯s excellent work performance is ced clearly before you! We¡¯ve all just seen the data in the document. The huge number of contracts she clinched alone, as well as the value of those contracts, is proof that she¡¯s verypetent. It¡¯s not impossible for her to be promoted!¡± Harvey sneered. ¡°How naive of you! The photos are right before you. They¡¯re proof that Flynn Davis is having an illicit rtionship with Charlotte Carter. It¡¯s also very possible that Flynn Davis abused his authority as the general manager to let her sign those contracts! Otherwise, how could a newbie like Charlotte Carter, who just joined thepany a short while ago, manage to clinch so many major partnerships? ¡°Flynn Davis, do you dare to say that you didn¡¯t help Charlotte Carter sign those contracts at all?¡± Harvey turned to Davis andpelled him for an answer. Davis¡¯s face turned extremely sullen. In fact, Charlotte was indeed a verypetent employee who was worth grooming. But it was definitely impossible for her to clinch so many major deals in such a short period of time. During this process, he had indeed given her a lot of help and secretly let herplete the signing of many contracts using the connections that he had formed for the Stardust Corporation over so many years. But he had done these things ording to Lucas¡¯s instructions and had also been very secretive about them. Even Charlotte herself was unaware that he had helped her, what more others. Besides, there was a huge problem with those photos! Davis was certain that he and Charlotte were innocent. They had only met twice in total at the office, and there wasn¡¯t any personal contact and intimacy between them at all. Besides, he knew that she was Lucas¡¯s sister-inw, so how could he have an illicit affair with her? ¡°Those photos have all been digitally doctored! Mr. Davis and I are innocent. We¡¯ve never done anything like that!¡± Charlotte shouted in exasperation, her beautiful and delicate face flushing as she crushed the photos in her hands! She was clearly an innocent girl who had never even had a boyfriend, but now she became a woman who sold her body to climb up thedder in the eyes of everyone. How could she ept that? ¡°Haha, Charlotte Carter, there¡¯s no point in tearing up these photos. There are at least a couple hundred in the conference hall. Can you tear up all of them? Let me tell you. The truth is right in front of us. And that is, you resorted to dirty tricks like seducing Flynn Davis and bewitching him with your beauty so that he would promote you to deputy general manager. Stop trying to argue or defend yourself!¡± Harvey red at Charlotte with a look of contempt and disdain. ¡°They¡¯re definitely fake. I never did such a thing. Why should I ept being ndered? I can go to the police and have these photos analyzed by professional criminal investigators to find out if they¡¯re real or doctored!¡± Charlotte yelled through gritted teeth while boiling with fury. Harvey snorted coldly and continued to insist, ¡°Hmph, since you im that these photos are digitally doctored and that you and Flynn Davis aren¡¯t in an illicit affair, how do you exin his decision to promote you directly to deputy general manager today? You¡¯re just a new employee who¡¯s only been with thepany for less than two months. Even if you¡¯re verypetent and have outstanding achievements, you should at most be promoted to a senior managerial position. How is it possible for you to reach the top in a single promotion? The Stardust Corporation is not one of those small privatepanies out there! Who believes that there¡¯s nothing going on between you and Flynn Davis?¡± The employees in the conference hall nodded profusely in agreement with Harvey¡¯s words. Indeed, even if Charlotte achieved brilliant results that were enough for her to be promoted, it shouldn¡¯t be to the extent of a promotion to deputy general manager! Besides, the photos were right in front of them, and everyone instinctively believed what Harvey said to be the truth. In terms ofpetency, they were not necessarily inferior to Charlotte, so why was it that she could clinch so many deals and be the deputy general manager? There had to be something more! It was only human nature to believe what you wanted. The vast majority of people would believe that there had to be something fishy going on when it came to an unusual promotion linked to sexual favors. Looking at everyone¡¯s expressions, Charlotte was enraged and flustered. The more anxious she was to exin, the harder it was to exin things clearly. Besides, everyone already began specting and pointing fingers at her. They dared not say anything more to Davis since he was the general manager, but they had no scruples about Charlotte. At this moment, Davis, who had been staying silent, suddenly smacked the conference table and hollered, ¡°Quiet!¡± Everyone in the conference hall fell silent. Davis looked at Harvey and questioned coldly, ¡°Oliver Harvey, you¡¯d better tell me honestly who instigated you to do this?¡± Everyone was stunned again as they wondered what Davis meant by this. Could there be some conspiracy behind this? Chapter 193: Smash Them One by One

Chapter 193: Smash Them One by One

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Harvey panicked, but he soon calmed down and looked at Davis sneeringly. Without any respect on his face, he continued, ¡°Flynn Davis, are you ashamed and furious because I exposed your scandal? Are you trying to frame me then? I, Oliver Harvey, have been with the Stardust Group for more than ten years. Who can order me around? ¡°I just can¡¯t stand the fact that you gave Charlotte Carter a top position in exchange for sexual favors! If you just wanted to give your mistress a little more help and promote her to a manager or something, I might have chosen to turn a blind eye and just ignore it. But you promoted her straight to deputy general manager! Do you know how important the deputy general manager is to a corporation? Very often, a wrong decision made by the deputy general manager will result in huge losses for thepany! I really don¡¯t want to see the Stardust Corporation getting destroyed by a despicable scumbag like you! ¡°So, even if you want to fire me now, I must tell the truth! The employees of the Stardust Corporation are one big family who work hard together. The corporation doesn¡¯t belong to you alone! You can¡¯t be presumptuous, corrupt, and nepotic! You can¡¯t ruin the Stardust Corporation!¡± Harvey sounded extremely righteous, especially when he called Davis a despicable scumbag who put the interests of the entire Stardust Corporation at stake for the sake of his own selfish desires and made himself out to be a fearless person who was willing to risk getting fired for the sake of defending thepany¡¯s interests. Many of the employees present subconsciously inclined toward Harvey. Davis narrowed his eyes and pped his hands twice. ¡°Oliver Harvey, I¡¯ve really underestimated you. With those excellent acting chops of yours, it¡¯s such a pity that you didn¡¯t be an actor! However, don¡¯t think that you can twist the facts and frame me by putting on an act in front of everyone!¡± Then Davis suddenly hollered, ¡°Someone, arrest him!¡± Davis was usually a kind and rtively nice person. But at this juncture, his face was incredibly gloomy, and his voice was like a thunderbolt. He was emitting such a terrifying aura that everyone subconsciously got out of their seats. Several tall security guards immediately walked in and went directly toward Harvey ording to Davis¡¯s instructions. ¡°What do you want? What are you trying to do?! I¡¯m the director of the sales department!¡± A look of panic appeared on Harvey¡¯s face as he barked at the security guards. However, the security guards simply ignored him and expressionlessly grabbed Harvey¡¯s arms. ¡°Flynn Davis, what the hell are you trying to do? We are in a civilized society under the rule ofw. Are you trying to get your people to nab me and force me to keep my lips sealed? Unfortunately, there are many colleagues here who can bear witness to this scene. Are you trying tomit murder in public? What are you waiting for? Hurry and let go of me,¡± Harvey roared while struggling desperately to break free from the security guards. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t resist the strength of these tall security guards and couldn¡¯t break free. ording to Harvey¡¯s initial n, he would find a way to incite feelings of resentment toward Davis within everyone in the Stardust Corporation after ¡®exposing the scandal¡¯ between Davis and Charlotte during the meeting. He had thought that it would be best to blow things up and get the higher-ups involved so that Davis would be stripped of his position as general manager. Harvey could then take over as the general manager. He had been performing well, but Davis suddenly became harsh and even ordered security guards to bring him up to the stage and hold him down! ¡°Tell me, who instigated you to do this? Come clean and give me an honest exnation! Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being merciless!¡± Davis ordered coldly as he red at Harvey. ¡°Hah! Flynn Davis, do you think you¡¯re a king? Do you think you can do whatever you want? Listen up. If you dare to do anything to me, I will definitely sue you!¡± Harvey threatened while glowering at Davis. ¡°Hmph, it looks like you¡¯re not nning to say anything.¡± Davis ignored his threat and simply pushed the ashtray on the conference table over. ¡°Keep smashing his fingers until he¡¯s willing to talk!¡± The security guard on standby at the side immediately obeyed. He picked up therge crystal ashtray, walked over to the other two security guards holding Harvey down, and cooperated by firmly pressing thetter¡¯s hand down onto the conference table. ¡°Let go of me! You... you can¡¯t do this! Flynn Davis, you... you¡¯re breaking thew!¡± Harvey¡¯s face paled as he swallowed his saliva and shuddered. ¡°Smash it!¡± The security guard immediately raised the ashtray high and mmed it down on Harvey¡¯s hand under his horrified gaze! Bang! The thick and heavy corner of the ashtray smashed hard onto his left pinky! ¡°Ah!¡± Harvey screamed miserably, and his pinky finger became a badly mangled mess under the heavy and sharp ashtray corner. Even the white bones under his flesh were exposed. All the people in the conference hall were so frightened and horrified by the bloody scene that they inched closer to the exits. None of them expected that Davis would really instruct someone to smash and break one of Harvey¡¯s fingers! Some female employees even closed their eyes in fear, not daring to look at the scene at all. Some timid ones were even frightened to the point of having their legs turn into jelly and wishing that they could burst into tears. They all wanted to leave the conference hall, but none of them dared to leave without Davis¡¯s permission. But now, they had gained a new understanding of him. Their general manager, who was usually nice and personable, was actually that intimidating and menacing when he was furious! Sophie grabbed Charlotte¡¯s hand tightly. Both of their faces had turned pale, and their palms had be sweaty too. Of course, Davis also knew that his current behavior might traumatize many of the employees present, but he had to force Harvey to confess even if he had to use brutal means. He had to make him rify the truth in front of everyone. Otherwise, even if he got hold of evidence against Harvey ndering them, there would be no means for him to exin the matter between him and Charlotte. If Lucas found out that Charlotte was implicated in this scandal, he would definitely not let him go! So no matter what, Davis had to make Harvey talk! ¡°Tell me. Who told you to fabricate those digitally doctored photos to frame and smear me?¡± Davis questionedpellingly again. He deliberately chose not to mention Charlotte¡¯s name just so that he could make Harvey direct his revenge against him alone, lest she got subjected to everyone¡¯s criticism in the future. ¡°I... I¡¯ve just said, I can¡¯t stand your behavior, so I wanted to reveal the evidence of your crimes! But you¡¯re trying to force me to confess. You¡¯re... shameless!¡± Cold sweat covered Harvey¡¯s face, but he was insistent. ¡°You really won¡¯t be scared until you face death, huh?! Keep going! Break every single one of his fingers! Let¡¯s see how tough your bones are!¡± Davis waved his hand, and the ashtray in the security guard¡¯s hand mmed down again. This time, it smashed Harvey¡¯s left index finger! ¡°Ah!¡± The pain in his fingers made Harvey shudder in pain, but he was horrified. Davis¡¯s attitude was too cruel and terrifying! Harveypletely believed that if he gritted his teeth and insisted on keeping mum, Davis would definitely break all his fingers! When Harvey saw that the ashtray in the security guard¡¯s hand was about to m down on his hand again, he teared up and was finally frightened enough to yell, ¡°Stop! I¡¯ll tell you! I¡¯ll tell you everything! Stop!¡± Chapter 194: The Culprit

Chapter 194: The Culprit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing Harvey finallypromising and deciding to reveal the truth, Davis was slightly relieved and raised his hand to gesture for the security guard to stop for the time being. ¡°Speak up. However, if I discover that you¡¯ve lied or hidden the truth, I¡¯ll cripple your limbs immediately!¡± Harvey was now extremely terrified of Davis, fearing that he would get the security guard to smash his hand again. He frantically said, ¡°It¡¯s Dave Lewis who works for the Huttons. He instigated me to do it! He told me that as long as I could falsely use you of having an affair with a female employee and abusing your authority and then make a big deal out of it so as to tarnish the reputation of the Stardust Corporation, they would pressure the chairman to remove you and make me the next general manager. They would also groom me and give me a role in the Hutton Corporation in DC...¡± Davis snorted coldly. Indeed, it¡¯s the Huttons behind this! ¡°What about those photos then?¡± Davis once again questioned. His main agenda was to clear Charlotte¡¯s name. ¡°Dave Lewis was the one who got someone to doctor them after asking me for some photos of the both of you! He threatened me and told me that if I didn¡¯t obey him, he would find a way to drive me out of the Stardust Corporation and make it impossible for me to have a foothold in Orange County! Since he¡¯s one of the Huttons, I really didn¡¯t dare to defy his orders!¡± Afraid that Davis wouldn¡¯t believe him, Harvey hurriedly added, ¡°Mr. Davis, I swear that what I said is true! I have a voice recording of Dave Lewis threatening me during a conversation I had with him on my phone! If you don¡¯t believe me, just take it out and listen to it!¡± Harvey¡¯s hands were still firmly pinned onto the conference table by the security guards, rendering him motionless. Davis nced at his secretary, James Denning, who then immediately went over and took out the phone from the pocket of Harvey¡¯s suit. He then found the voice recording easily. Indeed, just as Harvey said, all the words that Lewis said to threaten and coerce him had all been recorded clearly. After listening to this recording, everyone in the conference hall understood that someone had indeed instigated Harvey to deliberately fabricate evidence to frame Davis and Charlotte. The explicit photos of them behaving intimately and the usation of him gaining personal benefits by abusing his power were all false! Moreover, Charlotte Carter, who had clearly earned her promotion with her own abilities, was smeared and used of getting promoted because of personal connections and nepotism. All of a sudden, everyone looked at Charlotte with an apologetic gaze and at Davis with some more respect. Charlotte felt tears well up in her eyes. She had almost be a pawn in a power struggle! If Davis hadn¡¯t resorted to those cruel means to force Harvey to confess, she would have really been unable to defend herself! ¡°Hmph, now everyone knows that the Stardust Corporation has already separated from the Huttons. Yet they¡¯re still poking their nose into our business and tried to create an internal conflict here. Oliver Harvey, as an employee of the Stardust Corporation, you actually tried to help a viin use me falsely. The Stardust Corporation will not tolerate having someone like you! From today onward, you¡¯re fired!¡± Davis hollered coldly. Upon hearing this, Harvey regretted his decision and knelt in front of Davis to beg for mercy. ¡°Mr. Davis, please let me off this time because I was threatened! I promise that I will never do such a foolish thing again. I¡¯ll definitely devote myself to thepany and contribute wholeheartedly! Please don¡¯t sack me on ount that I¡¯ve worked hard for thepany for the past decade!¡± He had been with the Stardust Corporation for more than ten years. And he had also climbed so far up thedder to the position of director of the sales department. His annual sry and various bonuses andmissions added up to about one million dors, which was enough for his family to live well. If he got fired, he could kiss goodbye to all that money! He was already in histe forties. If he got fired, it would be impossible for him to get such a high-paying job in the future. Besides, if word about what happened today spread, he would even have a hard time getting an ordinary job in Orange County! Besides, his son was going to get married soon, and he had just taken out a loan to finance the purchase of his son¡¯s vi. He even bought a luxury car to make himself seem loftier. He had to pay tens of thousands of dors in loan repayments for the mortgage and the car. If he lost his job, he wouldn¡¯t be able to afford these expenses! Therefore, Harvey was now kneeling in front of Davis and bawling with repentance, begging him to let him keep his job with no regard for his image. Davis didn¡¯t waver at all. He said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s precisely because you were threatened and I considered the fact that you had worked hard for thepany that I decided to only fire you! Otherwise, I would have called the police and have you arrested for malicious nder and attempting to destroy thepany! If you still want to continue making trouble, I won¡¯t mind putting you behind bars.¡± Harvey¡¯s heart pounded as his face turned ashen. He understood that Davis was definitely not lying. If Davis really decided to hold him liable, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the crime. Besides, once he was behind bars, he would be tainted with a criminal record and never be able to raise his head high for the rest of his life. Despite feeling reluctant, regretful, and indignant, Harvey could only hang his head low and slowly leave the Stardust Corporation. After Harvey left, Davis once again looked around the conference hall and warned, ¡°I don¡¯t want something like what happened today to repeat again in the future. If anything like this happens again, I won¡¯t go so easy on you. I hope everyone will remember this!¡± The crowd had seen the terrifying side of Davis today, and they nodded profusely while promising that they would never do anything to let thepany down. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s all for today¡¯s meeting. Charlotte Carter earned her promotion to deputy general manager of the Stardust Group with herpetency. I hope you will all keep that in mind and make her your role model and learn from her. As long as you do your best, thepany won¡¯t mistreat you! Meeting adjourned.¡± With that, Davis took the lead to leave the conference hall, leaving everyone behind to congratte Charlotte. As soon as he returned to his office, Davis found that Lucas had already arrived and was sitting in front of his desk. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Davis quickly walked up and reported to Lucas everything that happened in the conference hall just now, including each and every detail. He also yed a copy of the voice recording from Harvey¡¯s cell phone for Lucas. Hearing that it was the Huttons behind it, Lucas said with a menacing gaze, ¡°Hmph. I haven¡¯t gone to settle scores with them yet, but they¡¯re already poking their nose so far. How brazen!¡± Chapter 195: Jumped to His Death

Chapter 195: Jumped to His Death

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Flynn Davis was naturally aware of the grudges between Lucas and the Huttons. Looking at Lucas¡¯s face, he said carefully, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve heard of Dave Lewis, whom Oliver Harvey mentioned today. But as far as I know, Dave Lewis is only someone in charge of a branchpany of the Huttons. This time, he actually interfered with the Stardust Corporation. There must be someone else behind this. You must be careful!¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the Huttons. I¡¯ll handle them myself. Just take care of the affairs of the Stardust Corporation here in Orange County.¡± Davis understood what Lucas meant and hurriedly acknowledged. ¡°Yes!¡± Just as he was feeling worried and wondering if Lucas was displeased with him, he suddenly heard Lucas say, ¡°You did a good job dealing with Oliver Harvey today. Don¡¯t worry. As long as you are loyal to me and do your job properly, I won¡¯t mistreat you.¡± Flynn was overjoyed to hear this. Lucas hadn¡¯t only given his approval and affirmation of his actions, but he also considered him one of his people. This was a great gift! The reason Lucas was willing to make Flynn work for him in the beginning was that he had gotten hold of some evidence against him. While Flynn was working for Lucas, he was often anxious and on tenterhooks, fearing that Lucas would one day abandon him. Now that he had earned Lucas¡¯s approval, Flynn was as happy as ark! But at this moment, Flynn¡¯s secretary, James Denning, who had always been reliable andposed, hurriedly came in. Before he could even catch his breath, he said to Flynn, ¡°Mr. Davis, I just received a piece of bad news. Oliver Harvey... is dead!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Flynn sprung up abruptly, and his jaw dropped in disbelief. ¡°Didn¡¯t he just leave the office alive and well? Why did he suddenly die? How did he die?¡± Flynn asked with a sullen expression. ¡°After Oliver Harvey left the office, he stayed somewhere for a short while before going to the roof of themercial building across from us and jumping off. He fell to his death andnded near the entrance of ourpany. Before he died, he also yelled something...¡± James¡¯s forehead was covered with cold sweat, but he was still coherent in his speech. But when he was about to reveal Harvey¡¯sst words, he hesitated. ¡°What exactly did he say? Tell me quickly!¡± ¡°He said... he chose to jump to his death all because you forced him to, and he also said lots of nasty things detrimental to you and the Stardust Corporation. There are already reporters outside,¡± James finally answered truthfully. Flynn¡¯s heart immediately sank. The terrible things that Harvey said before his death would undoubtedly bring tremendous trouble to the Stardust Corporation. If those reporters, who were just in pursuit of clout, were to make up things and spread rumors, the Stardust Corporation would face public criticism and sink into controversy. Oliver Harvey wants to ruin the reputation of the Stardust Corporation and mine even at the cost of his own life, huh? What should we do now? Flynn was flustered and at a loss for what to do. At this moment, Lucas, who was sitting in front of the general manager¡¯s desk, said calmly, ¡°Let¡¯s call the police first.¡± James was shocked. Only then did he realize that there was someone else in Flynn¡¯s office¡ªthe chairman who rarely appeared! As Flynn¡¯s secretary, he naturally knew of Lucas¡¯s identity. But Lucas rarely appeared in the office, and even if he asionally came, he would speak directly to Flynn. So James didn¡¯t have many opportunities to talk to the young and mysterious chairman. ¡°Mr... Hello!¡± James was unsure if Lucas wanted to reveal his identity yet, so he could only address him with a vague term. Flynn ordered gloomily, ¡°Hurry up and do what Mr. Gray instructed.¡± James hurriedly turned around to go and call the police. Lucas nced at Flynn. ¡°Since this matter has blown out of proportion, the incident that happened in the conference hall just now can¡¯t be covered up anymore. The police may summon you for investigations anytime soon, so go to the police station now and take the initiative to cooperate with their investigation.¡± After thinking about it briefly, Flynn understood what Lucas meant. Since Harvey had imed that Flynn forced him to his death before he jumped off the building, the police would definitely investigate Flynn, especially since something like that happened in the conference hall. Instead of being taken away passively by the police, it would be better to take the initiative to exin the situation clearly to them before that happened. ¡°Yes, Lucas. I¡¯ll go to the police station and cooperate with the investigation. Well, as for the office...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll have someone handle it properly,¡± Lucas said withposure. After hearing this, Flynn no longer worried about anything. He bowed to Lucas before leaving the office. After Flynn left, Lucas immediately called Jordan. ¡°Investigate carefully who Oliver Harvey met or spoke to after leaving the Stardust Corporation. Find out about the situation of his family and his finances too.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan immediately acknowledged without asking the reason. Indeed, Lucas suspected that there was something fishy about Harvey¡¯s death. ording to Flynn¡¯s ount, it seemed that Harvey was terribly afraid of death and definitely wouldn¡¯t end his own life. Besides, it was also said that Harvey¡¯s son was about to get married soon, so it was even unlikelier that he would choose to end his life and abandon his family now. The only possibility was that someone found out that his n had failed and threatened him with something during the brief period of time after Harvey left the Stardust Corporation. Then he forced him to take his own life so as to smear the Stardust Corporation. It seemed that it wasn¡¯t hard to guess who the instigator was. Lucas smiled coldly with an indifferent gaze. ¡°Since you want to attack me, let me see how tough you are!¡± After calling the police, James spoke to a few reporters outside and then immediately returned to the general manager¡¯s office, only to discover that Flynn was surprisingly no longer here. Lucas was the only one here. ¡°Call Charlotte Carter and tell her toe to the chairman¡¯s office,¡± Lucas ordered indifferently. ¡°Yes... I¡¯ll get to it at once.¡± Even though Flynn wasn¡¯t here, Lucas was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, so he dared not be negligent. Soon, Charlotte came to the chairman¡¯s office. She was feeling extremely anxious and had no idea why the chairman, who had never appeared publicly in the office before, would ask to see her. But when she saw the familiar face sitting before the chairman¡¯s desk, her anxiousness and worries immediately turned into extreme astonishment. ¡°Lucas? Wh-what are you doing in the chairman¡¯s office?¡± Chapter 196: The Hand In the Capital

Chapter 196: The Hand In the Capital

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas smiled faintly without exining much. He simply said, ¡°I guess you already know what happened to Oliver Harvey. I told Flynn to go to the police station to cooperate with them in the investigation. So, you will be the acting general manager and manage everything of the Stardust Corporation from now on. Can you do that?¡± Charlotte widened her mouth in shock, and countless thoughts ran through her mind. Lucas suddenly appeared alone in the chairman¡¯s office of the Stardust Corporation, and he seemed to be used to issuing orders too... Thinking of a certain possibility, she couldn¡¯t help but inhale sharply and look at him in astonishment. ¡°Lucas, are you...!¡± Lucas nodded casually. ¡°Yes, but we¡¯ll leave that forter. Can you do what I just asked of you?¡± Charlotte bit her lower lip tightly and was at a loss for an answer. Before this, she was merely a junior employee of the Stardust Corporation, yet she was suddenly promoted to deputy general manager today, which was already an unexpected surprise. Now, Lucas handed her the even more shocking task of being the acting general manager! Charlotte honestly wasn¡¯t sure if she was cut out for the job. And even now, she still felt that everything that happened today was extremely surreal. Seeing Charlotte hesitating and not answering right away, Lucas shot her an approving gaze. When an opportunity was presented before you, some people would immediately agree to it regardless of theirpetency, while some would be too cowardly to agree. In the end, they would eventually lose the opportunity. Charlotte was obviously contemting carefully and trying to evaluate if she could take on the role or not. Lucas said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be too stressed. First of all, there¡¯s something more to Oliver Harvey¡¯s death than what meets the eye. But it has nothing to do with you at all, so you don¡¯t need to care. ¡°Besides, I asked you to take over the position of general manager temporarily because Flynn will be away for a while, and there must be a leader in thepany. After what happened with Oliver Harvey, I can¡¯t trust the others in the office except for you. Another reason is that I believe you have the ability to take on this role. Just gather your courage and do it. It won¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t do a perfect job. After all, it¡¯s your first time.¡± Upon hearing this, Charlotte smiled and felt a lot less stressed. The reason she didn¡¯t dare to agree to Lucas immediately was that she was afraid she was too inexperienced and would end up doing a terrible job. But Lucas¡¯s words were a great encouragement to her. Moreover, the fact that Lucas said that he trusted her and her abilities made her feel excited and confident. ¡°Of course, you will experience some difficulties at first. First, the employees might not be too convinced of your abilities, and second, Oliver Harvey¡¯s incident will definitely be blown out of proportion. By then, the entire Stardust Corporation will face the pressure of public opinion. Third, some people in thepany who are out of line might deliberately try to make things hard for you. So pay attention to these three points I¡¯ve mentioned and deal with them properly. ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. Now, do you have the confidence to take on this task?¡± Sitting in front of the chairman¡¯s desk, Lucas gave off an invisible domineering aura. He waspletely different from the Lucas Charlotte remembered. He had the majesty of the chairman of the Stardust Corporation. After pondering for a moment, Charlotte nodded firmly. ¡°I¡¯m confident that I can do a good job. Rest assured, Mr. Chairman!¡± Lucas smiled and seemed to have expected this. He felt that he had made the correct judgment of Charlotte. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll have someone ry this order immediately. From now on, you¡¯re the acting general manager of the Stardust Corporation. Get to your duties!¡± Lucas called James, the general manager¡¯s secretary, over and gave him some instructions before standing up to pat Charlotte on her shoulder with an encouraging smile. He then turned around and walked out of the room. ¡°Lucas... where are you going?¡± Charlotte asked in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s almost dismissal time at the kindergarten. I¡¯m going to pick up Amelia and take her home.¡± ¡°...¡± Charlotte was speechless. She thought that Lucas would stay in the office after such a major incident happened today. She didn¡¯t expect that he would just leave so casually. ... Soon, Flynn arrived at the police station to cooperate with the police in the investigation of Harvey¡¯s suicide. The news that the Stardust Corporation would be presided over by Charlotte, the new acting general manager, soon spread throughout thepany. After hearing this, numerous people had various thoughts in their mind, and many were displeased and unconvinced that Charlotte could take on the job. But when they heard that it was an order from the chairman himself and that there was an official document, they dared not show their displeasure. But it wasmon for many people in the workce to defy orders from the higher-ups and even disregard them. Thus, this undoubtedly caused a lot of hindrance for Charlotte. Lucas was naturally aware of these things, but he didn¡¯t take any countermeasures and simply handed the Stardust Corporation entirely to Charlotte, leaving it in her care. For Charlotte, it was both a Herculean task and a great opportunity for honing her skills. If Charlotte could be trained into apetent leader, Lucas would be able to hand over his business in Orange County to her in the future. After all, Lucas wouldn¡¯t stay in this city forever, and he would one day return to DC to face the Huttons head-on. ... At this moment, in a luxury vi belonging to the Huttons in DC, a young man was sitting leisurely on the terrace of the second floor and swirling a ss of red wine in his hand. There was another young man in his thirties standing behind him with his head hung low. He reported softly, ¡°Mr. Leighton, Oliver Harvey from Orange County has jumped to his death, and I have, as you instructed, engaged many reporters and hired someizens to blow the matter up. Once things escte out of control, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s reputation will be tarnished, and that good-for-nothing Lucas Gray won¡¯t be able to do anything while watching his hard-earned business copse.¡± ¡°Haha, Dave, you¡¯ve done a good job.¡± The young manplimented and then gracefully sipped a mouthful of red wine before continuing, ¡°In order to avoid letting them investigate you, you¡¯d better go abroad toy low. I¡¯ve prepared the ne ticket and money for you. You will leave tonight.¡± Edward Leighton nodded slightly, and then a person beside him who seemed to be a bodyguard handed an envelope to Lewis. Lewis was overjoyed and took the envelope containing the ne ticket and check with both hands. He then bowed and thanked him, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Leighton! It¡¯s my greatest pleasure to work for you!¡± ¡°Go ahead. Come back and continue working for me after the matter blows over. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t mistreat my subordinates,¡± Edward said warmly with a smile. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll get going then. Goodbye, Mr. Leighton!¡± Lewis turned around to leave gleefully with the envelope in hand. He didn¡¯t even notice Edward winking at his bodyguard behind him. Chapter 197: Tactics Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 197: Tactics Behind Closed Doors

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The bodyguard in ck hurriedly caught up with Lewis. Right after Lewis arrived home, he took out the envelope and was about to see how much money was on the check when two strong arms suddenly held him back. Afterward, they pinched his jaws to pry his mouth open and tossed a pill into it. ¡°Argh! You... Who the hell are you! Quick, let go of me...¡± Lewis eximed in horror. But before he could finish, he felt a pain in his chest so excruciating that it felt like it was getting torn apart. The pain was so intense that it robbed him of his ability to speak! At the same time, Lewis¡¯s heart thumped rapidly like a drum as blood flowed in reverse within his body. He immediately fell to his knees, and his limbs convulsed violently while the green veins on his face bulged. His face was twisted into a grimace, and he looked extremely terrifying! But he soon foamed at the mouth and became motionless. With a straight face, the bodyguard in ck took the envelope from underneath Lewis. After removing any traces he left, he returned to the vi to report to Edward. Edward took out the check in the envelope and casually gave it to the bodyguard as a reward. He then picked up the flight ticket and tore it into pieces. ¡°You¡¯ll trulyy low only when you die. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll take care of your funeral.¡± ¡ª¡ª Lucas was sitting in his ck Jaguar, which was stopped in front of the kindergarten, waiting to pick Amelia up. At this juncture, his phone suddenly rang. It was Jordan. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve sent someone to investigate. Thest call Oliver Harvey received before he jumped off the building was from DC. After checking, I found out that the phone number is registered under Dave Lewis. But...¡± ¡°Keep going.¡± ¡°Yes! But my subordinates in DC told me that just over ten minutes ago, he died in his home from a heart attack. After the police¡¯s preliminary investigation, they ruled out the possibility of homicide and eventually deduced it to be an idental death,¡± Jordan said. Lucas wasn¡¯t surprised to hear this, but he narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed that the other party was even more ruthless than he had imagined as he resolutely cut off all leads. ¡°Lucas, do we continue investigating the cause of Dave Lewis¡¯s death?¡± Lucas tapped his finger twice on his phone. ¡°No, tell those in DC to be careful and pay attention to Dave Lewis¡¯s funeral. Don¡¯t worry about the others for now, lest you rm them.¡± After ending the call, Lucas looked out of the window in the direction of DC with a sharp gaze in his eyes. In fact, he could already guess something without detailed investigation. He had left the Huttons for nearly twenty years, and many people in the Huttons had simply forgotten about him, the former scion. But the patriarch of the Huttons suddenly behaved out of the ordinary and asked him to return to the family. He even wanted to hand over the family to him. In the eyes of many Huttons, Lucas would damage their interests tremendously, so they absolutely didn¡¯t want him back. So even if Lucas didn¡¯t have any ns to take over the Huttons, those people were worried and wanted to use some tactics to suppress the Stardust Corporation he had just obtained. But the fact that an employee had been fired and jumped to his death was obviously not enough. He was certain that there would be more to the matter of Oliver Harvey! Lucas asked Jordan to pay attention to the situation secretly, but he didn¡¯t want to intervene at this moment. He decided to leave those matters to Charlotte to handle, thinking that it would be good training for her. At this moment, the doors of the kindergarten opened, and a teacher led the children out. Lucas got out of the car, walked over, and quickly brought Amelia back to the car. Immediately afterward, the two of them went to the Brilliance Corporation to pick up Cheyenne, who just got off work. Lucas then drove to the vi in Pearl Lake with his wife and daughter. Amelia, who was ying with Cheyenne affectionately in the back seat, suddenly looked at the scenery outside the window and asked in bewilderment, ¡°Daddy, aren¡¯t we going home? Where are you going?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Amelia, from today onward, we¡¯re moving to a new ce!¡± ¡°New ce?¡± Amelia was stunned, but she soon eximed in excitement, ¡°Wow! That¡¯s great! We¡¯re moving to a new ce! Daddy, Mommy, where¡¯s our new house? Is it big? Is it nice?¡± Amelia raised her little head and bombarded him with lots of questions. Cheyenne stroked Amelia¡¯s little head and said with a smile, ¡°The new house Daddy bought is huge and beautiful, just like a castle from a fairytale! You¡¯ll definitely like it when you see it!¡± ¡°Wow, a castle! Does that mean I can be a little princess?¡± Amelia was so excited that she leaped up in the backseat. She suddenly eximed at Lucas, ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re awesome! You¡¯re so much better than Fatty¡¯s Daddy!¡± Amelia¡¯s puerile voice was full of pride. Seeing how gleeful his daughter was, Lucas was pleased, but he also felt a little mncholic. Ever since she was born, Amelia had lived with Cheyenne and the Carters in that shabby house nearly three decades old. It was run-down and situated in an old residential district. Although the interior had been renovated and the yellowed and cracked walls had been repainted, there were still lots of peeling and spots on the exterior walls. Amelia had invited her kindergarten ssmate home once, but when she saw the exterior walls of the Carter home, she blurted, ¡°Amelia, your house is so ugly!¡± Later on, Amelia also told Cheyenne and Lucas that when she grew up and could earn her own money, she would buy a big house for them. Of course, it was just the mindless words of a child, but Lucas was heartened yet heartbroken to hear them. When Lucas saw his daughter smiling joyously because of the new house, his heart was full of contentment. Soon, the three of them drove back to the Pearl Lake vi. When Amelia saw the beautiful vis and manors in front of her, which looked like pces from fairytales, she leaped up in tion. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s really a big beautiful house! I¡¯m so happy!¡± Watching Amelia running into the dreamy and gorgeous house like a pretty fairy, Lucas and Cheyenne looked at each other in contentment. Lucas apanied Amelia on a tour around the new house while Cheyenne prepared dinner. By the time dinner was ready, Charlotte still hadn¡¯t returned home yet. ¡°Strange, why hasn¡¯t Charlottee home yet?¡± Cheyenne muttered to herself. She grabbed her phone to call Charlotte. But as soon as she unlocked her phone, she saw countless notifications. ¡°A huge scandal broke out in the Stardust Corporation. The general manager of the Stardust Corporation abused his authority to promote a female employee in exchange for sexual favors!¡± ¡°The Stardust Corporation forces a veteran employee to confess in public and drives him to jump to his death in order to clear his name!¡± ¡°Female employee sessfully rise! The general manager of the Stardust Corporation has been arrested while lover Charlotte Carter rises to the position of acting general manager, sparking public debate!¡± ... The countless pieces of news were all negative news about the Stardust Corporation. Cheyenne naturally knew that the Stardust Corporation belonged to Lucas, so her heart dropped as she began to get nervous after seeing the negative news. But when she saw Charlotte¡¯s name, her vision blurred, and her face immediately paled! Chapter 198: Between a Married Couple

Chapter 198: Between a Married Couple

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne thumped herself down onto the couch and immediately panicked while being distracted. Recalling that Lucas was still ying with Amelia upstairs, she hurriedly eximed, ¡°Lucas! Come down quickly!¡± Lucas could tell that something was wrong when he heard the anxiety in her voice. He immediately ran downstairs and hurriedly asked, ¡°Cheyenne, what¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± With trembling fingers, Cheyenne handed her phone to Lucas as she said anxiously, ¡°Lucas, quick, look at this. Something has happened to the Stardust Corporation! And Cheyenne... Why would Cheyenne have a lover and be the acting general manager? What¡¯s all this about?¡± Only then did Lucas realize that it wasn¡¯t that something had happened to Cheyenne, but rather, it was because she saw the news about the Stardust Corporation. He patted her shoulder and saidfortingly, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry. Let me exin it to you slowly.¡± Lucas told Cheyenne everything that happened, from Charlotte¡¯s promotion to the position of deputy general manager by virtue of her outstanding work to Oliver Harvey ndering her and Flynn using some digitally doctored photos. He also included the matter of Harvey being instigated by someone into jumping to his death and framing the Stardust Corporation. Cheyenne¡¯s expression changed continuously with his exnation. Sometimes she was surprised, sometimes furious, and sometimes worried. After finishing, he saw her frowning, obviously still extremely worried. Heforted again, ¡°Everything is really fine. Flynn Davis didn¡¯t get arrested. He just took the initiative to go to the police station to cooperate with the investigation. He¡¯ll be released in a few days. As for Charlotte, she¡¯s verypetent, so I¡¯d like to take this opportunity to let her gain some good experience in managing thepany. Nothing will happen. ¡°As for the news reports, all of them are untrue. I believe Charlotte will soon take care of it. Actually, someone has been plotting against us this time to deal with the Stardust Corporation.¡± Cheyenne suddenly asked, ¡°You just said that the person who instigated Oliver Harvey works for the Huttons, right? Why are they trying to deal with you?¡± Lucas sighed. ¡°Because I used to be part of the Hutton family.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Cheyenne sprung up and looked at Lucas in disbelief. ¡°You used to be one of the Huttons? The famous Huttons in DC?¡± After seeing him nod, she came to a sudden realization. ¡°No wonder... The Stardust Corporation used to belong to the Huttons, but now it belongs to you... Lucas, what else are you hiding from me?¡± Cheyenne stared at Lucas with reddened eyes, feeling extremely ufortable. She was clearly married to him, but there were still so many of his secrets that she wasn¡¯t aware of. She only found out about his family background today. Besides, he had more secrets, some of which even Charlotte knew, but she didn¡¯t. The feeling of being distrusted by him and having many secrets between them made her feel hurt. ¡°Cheyenne, I didn¡¯t mean to hide it from you. It¡¯s just that the situation over at the Huttons is veryplicated, and I don¡¯t want you to worry,¡± Lucas said helplessly. Cheyenne instantly raised her head and kept her reddened eyes fixed on his face. She gritted her teeth and said, ¡°You keep saying that you hope I can ept you and that we can truly be like a married couple, but you keep hiding things from me. Do you really consider me your wife? Am I the kind of woman who can only ept your help and protection without being able to share your burdens with you? If that¡¯s how you see me, you should leave me before it¡¯s toote!¡± Lucas hurriedly exined, ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean! I just think that these are my personal issues, and I don¡¯t want you to be bothered by them. I just want you to live happily in peace.¡± Hearing this, Cheyenne became even more furious. ¡°If you think that¡¯s all your business and you don¡¯t need me to be involved, should you also stay out of my affairs in the future? If we can¡¯t share weal and woe, what kind of married couple are we?¡± Lucas¡¯s heart trembled. Previously, he had always thought that he owed Cheyenne and Amelia too much, and so he had always been trying to do his best to make it up to them so that they could live happily. He didn¡¯t want to let Cheyenne know of the dangers and troubles he faced outside. Thus, he hadn¡¯t told Cheyenne about Amelia¡¯s abduction or the matters with the Huttons. Only now did he understand what she thought. It turned out that she had always wanted to share weal and woe with him. It turned out that she had long regarded the two of them as a real married couple who could trust and support each other wholeheartedly. Lucas looked at Cheyenne emotionally and said with utmost sincerity, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cheyenne. It was my mistake for thinking that way. From now on, I won¡¯t hide anything from you. You¡¯re right. This is the way things should be between a married couple.¡± Cheyenne was not a petty woman. After they cleared the misunderstanding, the anger in her heart subsided. ¡°Since you are one of the Huttons, why is yourst name Gray?¡± Cheyenne asked curiously. After a moment of silence, Lucas answered softly, ¡°When I was seven years old, both my mother and I were kicked out by the Huttons. And since then, I took on my mother¡¯sst name. The Stardust Corporation didn¡¯t originally belong to the Huttons. It was single-handedly founded by my mother when she was young. But the Huttons encroached on itter on.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Cheyenne eximed and covered her mouth. She never thought that Lucas¡¯s rtionship with the Huttons would be like that! Besides, the fact that the Huttons had encroached on the Stardust Corporation, which Lucas¡¯s mother had established, was very simr to the Carters snatching away the Brilliance Corporation from her! But Lucas¡¯s mother had her business snatched away from her and got kicked out of the family with her child. From this point of view, it seemed that Lucas¡¯s mother had had it worse than her. Cheyenne looked at Lucas and wanted tofort him, but she didn¡¯t know how she should begin. Noticing her expression, he smiled. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s all in the past now. Amelia should be hungry. Let¡¯s have dinner. I¡¯ll talk to you about the other thingster.¡± After putting Amelia to bed after dinner, Lucas sat in the living room and told Cheyenne truthfully everything about his past. There were no longer any hidden secrets between them after this conversation, and their rtionship became even closer. The following day, the family of three washed up and headed downstairs, only to see Charlotte rubbing her eyes while making her way downstairs on the other side. Chapter 199: Hidden Movement

Chapter 199: Hidden Movement

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Cheyenne, Lucas, good morning!¡± Charlotte yawned and greeted both of them. Cheyenne looked at her worriedly and asked, ¡°Charlotte, you must havee home reallytest night, right? I saw the news about everything that happened in the office yesterday. Was it troublesome to deal with?¡± Charlotte smiled. ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t worry about it. Lucas has given me a rare opportunity, and I will definitely be able to handle it well! Just rest assured! Speaking of which, you two are really good at hiding things. You didn¡¯t even tell me anything! I was so shocked when I saw Lucas at the office yesterday and found out that he¡¯s the chairman of ourpany!¡± Cheyenne nced at Lucas beside her and said embarrassedly, ¡°Charlotte, it¡¯s not suitable for too many people to know about Lucas¡¯s identity, so... I...¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Cheyenne. You don¡¯t need to exin. I understand everything,¡± Charlotte interrupted and then put her arms around Cheyenne¡¯s neck with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll keep this a secret and won¡¯t let others find out. Hehe!¡± Seeing how bubbly and cheerful Charlotte was, showing that she was unaffected by the usatory news, Cheyenne finally felt relieved. Lucas smiled and said to Charlotte, ¡°I¡¯ve handed over all the matters at the office to you. Have you encountered any trouble?¡± Charlotte originally wanted to say that she was able to handle it all. But thinking that Lucas was not only the chairman of thepany but also her brother-inw, she felt that there was no need to be scrupulous about anything. ¡°I basically haven¡¯t encountered any problems, except that many of the senior staff don¡¯t quite approve of me yet because I was promoted to deputy general manager previously, and now I¡¯m even tasked to be the acting general manager. They¡¯ve been rather perfunctory with the orders I give them, and it¡¯s causing a great hindrance for me, greatly lowering my efficiency.¡± Lucas said casually, ¡°Since you are now the acting general manager, you possess all the rights of the general manager. Just rx and do what you have to. If anyone tries to abuse their seniority to make things hard for you by dying their tasks, find a way to subdue them. If anyone goes overboard, you also have the right to fire them directly.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Charlotte smiled and said coyly, ¡°I was just waiting for you to say that! In case I identally get into any trouble, you have to help me out, Lucas!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Okay, go ahead and perform as you please. You don¡¯t have to be too worried or scrupulous. Furthermore, you should also pay attention and groom some people you think are trustworthy. For example, your best friend, Sophie. If she¡¯spetent, you should try to train and promote her to work for you.¡± After giving Charlotte some tips, he drove Cheyenne to work, Amelia to the kindergarten, and then left. After everything that happenedst night, the controversy revolving around the Stardust Corporation had spread widely, especially because of the instigation of someone and the heated debates on the inte. ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Aston Brooke rushed back to LA overnight and reported everything, including the current situation in Orange County and thetest scandal that broke out at the Stardust Corporation, to his old grandpa, Andrew. ¡°That means the reputation of Lucas and his Stardust Corporation have been ruined because of Oliver Harvey¡¯s suicide. I reckon they¡¯ll suffer heavy losses and have a hard time handling it.¡± Andrew poured himself a cup of premium coffee and took a sip of it leisurely. Aston smiled gloatingly. ¡°Yes. ording to the staff of the Stardust Corporation, the person who instigated Oliver Harvey to do that is someone named Dave Lewis, who works under the Huttons. The Huttons are targeting Lucas Gray so soon. Clearly, he¡¯s not going to get to be arrogant for long.¡± Andrew smiled. ¡°Yes. That punk still had the audacity to demand that we pledge allegiance to him. He doesn¡¯t have the self-awareness to know that he isn¡¯t worthy! ¡°How are the leaderless businesses the Hales left behind doing now?¡± Aston hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ve previously contacted the managers of all the major businesses under the Hales, but they turned down our offer. Besides, they don¡¯t seem to be leaderless either. In fact, they seem harder to deal with than before. ¡°ording to the information I¡¯ve found, it seems that those managers have some connection with Lucas Gray, and who knows if he¡¯s already acquired all those businesses.¡± Andrew snorted coldly. ¡°He¡¯s got quite a huge appetite. Isn¡¯t he scared of biting off more than he can chew? Immediately go back to Orange County and take everything from Lucas Gray while he¡¯s overwrought! That punk probably won¡¯t be able to make aeback this time. It won¡¯t matter even if you fall out with him!¡± Aston had long been jealous and resentful toward Lucas, so he agreed merrily. ¡°Yes! Rest assured. I¡¯ll definitely seize the opportunity to snatch the Hales¡¯ businesses back from Lucas Gray!¡± ¡ª¡ª At this time, Lucas had already driven to a prison in the outskirts of the city. In just a few days, the patriarch of the Hales, Bruce Hale, who used to be energetic and full of vigor, had already aged greatly. Wrinkles covered his face, and his back had be a little hunched. He seemed to be old and dying. Currently, there was a tall, muscr, and tattooed man standing in front of Bruce. ¡°Old fogy, I told you to tell me where you hid all the money in your family, yet you¡¯re still so stubborn! Do you believe that I¡¯ll beat you to death?¡± The burly man raised his huge fists and swung them in front of Bruce. With an extremely bitter expression on his face, Bruce said, ¡°Our family has been arrested, and our properties no longer belong to us, so how could we have any money left?¡± ¡°Damn it. It seems you won¡¯t be scared until you¡¯re facing death. Tell me honestly!¡± the burly man hollered furiously and pped Bruce on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know. The Hales are so rich, so you must have secretly hidden money somewhere! I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re hiding cash, jewelry, or antiques, just hand them over! Otherwise, I¡¯ll beat you up and kill your grandsons and children too! Anyway, I¡¯ve killed many people, so I¡¯m not afraid to kill a few more since I¡¯m facing a death sentence anyway!¡± the middle-aged man roared. After being pped, Bruce cocked his head to the side as blood flowed down the corners of his mouth. He pleaded, ¡°We really don¡¯t have any hidden cash! Our whole family is here now, and we don¡¯t know when we¡¯re going to die. Even if we have hidden money, we can¡¯t spend it, so why should we hide it from you? Besides, you¡¯re just like us. Once youe in, you won¡¯t be able to leave anymore. Even if you have money, you won¡¯t be able to spend it. So we might as well get along well, don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°Get along, my ass!¡± As soon as the burly man heard what Bruce said, he kicked him in the face, disregarding the fact that Bruce was already an old man in his seventies. ¡°Ahhh!¡± Bruce shrieked in pain and fell to the ground. He clutched his stomach while wailing. The burly man was furious and wanted to kick him again. But the gates of the prison opened at this moment, and a prison guard who looked rather stern barked, ¡°Why are you making such a ruckus? Anyone who dares to get up to any nonsense will be dragged out and killed immediately!¡± Everyone in the cell suddenly fell silent while the burly man stood against the wall with a fierce expression. But he didn¡¯t dare to contradict the order or get physical. The prison guard shifted his attention to the old man sitting on the ground and shouted coldly, ¡°Bruce Hale,e out. Someone wants to see you!¡± Chapter 200: Seeing the Light of Day Again

Chapter 200: Seeing the Light of Day Again

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It took Bruce a long time to react, and there was some light in his cloudy eyes. The past few days, they had been locked up in this heavily guarded death row prison after the military arrested them, and no one was allowed toe and visit them. All the Hales, including Bruce, felt that they would die here in silence without anyone finding out. They were full of fear and despair, but to Bruce¡¯s surprise, someone was here to see him. Bruce propped himself up and slowly climbed up from the ground. Then he followed the prison guard to the reception room outside with anxiety. When he saw the handsome young man sitting at the table, he was so excited that he leaped toward him like he had found his lifeline. ¡°Mr. Gray! Mr. Gray, I know we made a mistake before. The Hales failed to realize how formidable you are and ended up offending you! I¡¯ll kowtow and apologize to you, so please give us a chance and let us off!¡± Then he really knelt directly on the ground and kowtowed to Lucas. Lucas frowned, avoided it, and said indifferently, ¡°I came here today with the intention of giving you a chance. But whether you can grasp this chance or not is all up to you.¡± Bruce hurriedly said, ¡°Okay, okay! Mr. Gray, please feel free to tell me what it is. As long as you can forgive us and set us free from this prison, I¡¯m willing to do anything!¡± Bruce meant every word. During the past few days, he and his family had been living in immense agony, as they had been bullied, humiliated, and saw no hope in getting out alive. In fact, they didn¡¯t even know when they would suddenly receive the news that they would be executed. Such a life was simply too dismal and terrifying, and they didn¡¯t want to stay here a second longer! Lucas smiled indifferently. ¡°You¡¯re aware that you and your grandson have both offended me, so you can¡¯t be forgiven easily. Now, I¡¯ll give you two options. One, I¡¯ll let you off, but the rest of your family will die. Two, you die here yourself, but I¡¯ll pardon the other Hales and get them out of here. ¡°Make your choice.¡± Bruce¡¯s eyes were overflowing with dismay, and his lips twitched twice, seemingly wanting to plead with Lucas again. But he knew that Lucas wouldn¡¯t change his mind. He closed his eyes in despair and soon opened them again. He looked at Lucas and asked, ¡°If I choose the second option, will you really let the rest of the Hale family off and set them free without pursuing the matter any longer?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve always been a man of my word.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go with the second option then. I hope you will honor your promise. I¡¯ll atone for my sins using my life!¡± Bruce said firmly. Lucas chuckled. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell that you¡¯re willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good.¡± Bruce didn¡¯t know if Lucas was mocking him or not, but he said with a bitter smile, ¡°I¡¯ve already lived for more than seventy years, and I¡¯ve seen everything and lived long enough. If I can use my life in exchange for the safety of my descendants, it will definitely be worth it. Thank you so much for giving me the chance to choose, Mr. Gray.¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°I caused your entire family to be locked up here. Don¡¯t you hate me?¡± After a long silence, Bruce answered, ¡°Honestly, I resented you in the beginning. But after the past few days of pondering, I¡¯ve understood everything. It was clearly the Hales¡¯ fault for offending you first. We provoked you, and I continued to make a mistake by failing to discipline my children and grandchildren. I even tried to suppress you with force. Indeed, we were at fault, and we have brought this upon ourselves! ¡°You¡¯ve also spared my one-month-old great-grandson and given me a chance to choose. What right do I have to hate you?¡± When people were on the brink of death, they tended to say pleasant things. Since Bruce had already chosen to die, everything he said was sincere and from the bottom of his heart. After a moment of silence, Lucas suddenly smiled. He stood up and looked down. ¡°I¡¯m very satisfied with your answer. In that case, I don¡¯t mind giving the Hales another chance.¡± He nodded at the prison guards by his side and ordered, ¡°Release all the Hales.¡± Bruce¡¯s jaw dropped in shock. When all the Hales returned to the family vi and he saw his little great-grandson, he finally snapped back to reality. Lucas actually held such great power that he could release the Hales from prison. In fact, he even benevolently spared Bruce, who thought that he would die after choosing the second option. All the Hales cried tears of joy while hugging their family members and bawling out loud. In just a few days, they had experienced lots of ups and downs. They thought they were going to die in prison, where they couldn¡¯t see the light of day. But there was a sudden twist of fate, and they were allowed to return to the luxurious Hale vi. After hugging his wife and son in exhration, Connor gradually calmed down and said through clenched teeth, ¡°Lucas Gray is to me for everything that happened to us! Grandpa, we can¡¯t let him off!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Bruce bellowed and raised his hand to give Connor a tight p on his face. ¡°Sinner! All this trouble was caused by you and your ipetent brother! Yet you still don¡¯t know how to reflect on yourself! ¡°All of you, listen up. The only reason we were able to get out of there is that Mr. Gray is generous enough to let us off the hook! All of you are to remember this kindness! In the future, I will immediately disown anyone who dares to disrespect or offend Mr. Gray!¡± Bruce¡¯s voice was terribly stern. He had been the patriarch of the Hale family for years, and the prestige and authority he had umted over the years was extraordinary. He managed to calm everyone down immediately. The others also found out at this point that they had managed to get out of that hellhole all thanks to Lucas! Be it Lucas¡¯s incrediblebat skills he disyed at the banquet the other day or the rtionship between him and the military, all of it made the Hales extremely terrified and cautious. At the thought of everything that had happened the past few days, Connor hurriedly said with lingering fear, ¡°Grandpa, I was muddled! I¡¯ll definitely obey you and respect Mr. Gray! I won¡¯t dare to offend him again!¡± The rest of the Hales also promised that they would definitely not trifle with Lucas again. ¡°Also, all of you are to remember this lesson! From now on, no one is to act recklessly, bully others, and behave brazenly in the name of the Hales! If I find out, I¡¯ll punish anyone found guilty! Do you hear me?¡± Chapter 201: The Brookes’ Choice

Chapter 201: The Brookes¡¯ Choice

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bruce emphasized once again loudly. This time, the disaster was because Logan had thought that Lucas was just a nobody not worth mentioning and had provoked him. This led to many other issues in the aftermath. From this incident, Bruce also deeply realized what Lucas had mentioned before about the importance of family education. After having been taught a massive lesson, the Hales were full of regret, and they frantically nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes!¡± At the same time, many people couldn¡¯t help but think of the culprit who caused all the trouble, Logan. Since the time Jordan had beat up Logan and severely injured him at the baby shower, Logan had been in the intensive care unit of the hospital. When the military took them away that day, it didn¡¯t take Logan along. ¡°Grandpa, what about... Logan?¡± Connor asked cautiously. Bruce¡¯s face twitched a few times with some reluctance, but he eventually gritted his teeth and said ruthlessly, ¡°Inform the hospital to give up treatment on him and have someone prepare his funeral!¡± Then Bruce turned around and hobbled away. The Hales left in the hall were stunned. Bruce was undoubtedly announcing Logan¡¯s oue. All of them had mixed feelings, but they understood the reason for his choice. They knew that Logan had to pay the price for being the culprit of the trouble! It wasn¡¯t only to give an exnation to Lucas but also a warning to all of the Hales. ¡ª¡ª Soon, Lucas caught wind of the news that the Hales had given up on Logan¡¯s treatment. He was sitting on a couch in the chairman¡¯s office on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation office building with a smirk on his face. ¡°Seems like Bruce Hale may be old but not muddled.¡± Leaning sideways on the other couch, Jordan was quickly twirling a fountain pen between his fingers. ¡°Lucas, aren¡¯t you afraid that the Hales will secretly be up to mischief while pretending to be respectful toward you on the surface, just like the Brookes?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°As long as they still have brains, they won¡¯t do that.¡± Beep. Beep. The inte rang. James Denning said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Chairman, Aston Brooke of the Sr Corporation is here. He says he wants to see you for something.¡± Jordan snorted withughter. ¡°Hah, speak of the devil. That brainless fool is here.¡± Lucas smiled and said to James, ¡°Bring him up.¡± Soon, Aston, dressed in a suit, walked in through the door. ¡°Haha, Lucas Gray, it¡¯s been a long time since we met. How are you doingtely?¡± As soon as Aston entered the office, he greeted him with a smile. But the fact that he called Lucas by his full name showed that he was acting all high up in the air, and he didn¡¯t hide the gloating look in his eyes at all. Immediately afterward, he sat straight down on the couch opposite Lucas with one leg crossed over the other in a roguish manner. Lucas watched Aston with a cold gaze in his eyes, but he wasn¡¯t angry. Instead, he asked with a yful expression, ¡°What are you here for today?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s for something important. First, I want to see how you and yourpany are doing. After all, the news on the inte is spreading like wildfire. And as a friend, I of course would like to show some concern. Second, I also want to talk to you about the cooperation between us,¡± Aston said slowly and leisurely. ¡°Oh? What¡¯s there to talk about regarding the cooperation?¡± Lucas asked, pretending to be confused. Aston smiled. ¡°Lucas Gray, let¡¯s just be straightforward and honest. Previously, the Brookes only agreed to let you have an advantage on ount that you were rted to the Huttons. That¡¯s the only reason we decided to give you forty-nine percent of the shares of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. ¡°But now that the Stardust Corporation has separated from the Huttons and has even be their enemies, we¡¯ve changed our mind. Furthermore, the general manager of yourpany has now been arrested and is even embroiled in a huge scandal. This has caused the Stardust Corporation¡¯s stock prices to plummet, resulting in heavy losses. Do you still think that you¡¯re qualified to cooperate with the Brookes now?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows and said derisively, ¡°Oh? What do you want then?¡± Looking as if he was taking pity on them, Aston said, ¡°The Brookes aren¡¯t the type to kick others when they¡¯re down. How about this? I¡¯ll give you two options. One, return all the shares of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch to us andpensate us with three million dors in cash for the breach of contract. Our cooperation will then cease. ¡°As for the second option, well... The Stardust Corporation might go bankrupt, but we¡¯re willing to invest four million dors into the Stardust Corporation. However, we have to own sixty percent of the shares and enjoy all the decision-making rights!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Jordan, who had been sitting quietly in the corner of the office, couldn¡¯t help bursting intoughter. ¡°What are youughing at? I¡¯m talking to Lucas Gray. Do you have any manners at all?¡± Aston berated in displeasure. In his eyes, Jordan was just Lucas¡¯s subordinate whose status was akin to that of a bodyguard. Jordan said with a yful smile, ¡°I¡¯m justughing at how thick-skinned you and your family are! Your branchpany is just an empty shell, and it only got a firm foothold in Orange County because of Lucas. But you still have the cheek to ask us for three million inpensation for breach of contract. You¡¯re really shameless! ¡°Also, the market value of the Stardust Corporation is several billion dors. You want to use four million to exchange for sixty percent of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s shares? Fancy you having the gall to say that! Utterly shameless!¡± Jordan clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth while staring at Aston as if he wanted to seriously see how thick-skinned he was. Aston¡¯s face turned gloomy, and he nced at Jordan in disdain before saying to Lucas, ¡°Lucas Gray, your subordinate is really ill-mannered. You ought to take him in hand!¡± Lucas smiled calmly. ¡°He¡¯s like my brother. His words are exactly what I mean.¡± ¡°You!¡± Aston was immediately rendered speechless. After a while, he sneered. ¡°It seems you have an issue with the options I¡¯ve offered. I¡¯ll make things clear beforehand. Now that the Brookes are still willing to invest in the Stardust Corporation, it means we still think you¡¯re somewhat capable! ¡°If you go up against the Huttons, you¡¯ll just be fighting a hopeless battle, and it definitely won¡¯t end well. Sooner orter, the Stardust Corporation will be destroyed and go bankrupt! If I were you, I would be smarter and get rid of the Stardust Corporation before it¡¯s toote. That way, you can at least get some money to survive!¡± Lucas looked at Aston like he was an idiot and suddenly smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever mentioned that I wanted to cooperate with the Brookes.¡± Aston narrowed his eyes. ¡°Oh? Looks you¡¯re choosing to draw a clear line with the Brookes, huh? That¡¯s fine. I just said that as long as you return all the shares of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch andpensate us with another three million dors in cash, we will go separate ways and no longer have anything to do with each other!¡± Lucas smiled and shook his head. ¡°No. I¡¯m not going to return the shares to you. I¡¯m not going to give you a single cent.¡± Chapter 202: The Hales’ Submission

Chapter 202: The Hales¡¯ Submission

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Aston¡¯s face turned gloomy, and he threatened, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t make me do this the hard way. You¡¯re just a good-for-nothing the Huttons chased out. What right do you have to be arrogant to me? I¡¯ll make sure you return everything you¡¯ve taken from us. If you don¡¯t return our shares, I¡¯ll make sure you get it!¡± Lucas leaned on the couch and said with a smile, ¡°I mentioned before that the Brookes could only be servants to me, the master. It seems that you people are biting the hand that feeds you.¡± Aston stood up abruptly and hollered in rage, ¡°Lucas Gray, do you still think you¡¯re some big shot? If you were still one of the Huttons, we might still do you a favor on ount of them! But who are you now? You still want the Brookes to pledge allegiance to you? Are you worthy of it? ¡°Listen up. Yourpany is going to fold and go bankrupt soon. The Brookes will acquire all the businesses under the Hales and be the new nobles of Orange County! I¡¯ll crush all of you like you¡¯re ants! By then, I¡¯ll make you kneel in front of me and recognize the difference between a master and a ve!¡± Jordan¡¯s face turned cold, and his body moved. He felt an urge to teach this scoundrel a lesson for insulting Lucas. Lucas raised his arm to stop him. ¡°It turns out the Brookes are still coveting the businesses of the Hales. Do you guys think that all the Hales have been wiped out?¡± Lucas asked with raised brows. ¡°Hmph, all the Hales have been arrested. They might have already died long ago! There¡¯s only a one-month-old baby left now. What can he do? But this is all thanks to you. If not for you, the Hales wouldn¡¯t have ended up in a leaderless state. I¡¯m telling you, the Brookes are definitely going to seize their assets and businesses!¡± Aston had already fallen out with Lucas, and he naturally had no concerns anymore, so he revealed the greedy intentions of the Brookes without restraint. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re really confident, huh?! I shall see if the Brookes can encroach on the Hales!¡± An old but majestic voice suddenly came from the doorway. Aston cocked his head to the side and happened to see Bruce Haleing. He immediately blurted in astonishment, ¡°You¡¯re not dead yet?¡± Bruce sneered. ¡°Of course! Are you disappointed that I¡¯m still alive and kicking? The Brookes sure have a good n. You want to encroach on the Hales¡¯ properties, huh? Unfortunately, you can keep dreaming!¡± Then he no longer paid attention to the look of astonishment on Aston¡¯s twisted face and walked directly to Lucas. He bowed to him and then respectfully handed him a pile of documents. ¡°Mr. Gray, all the industries under the Hales have been inventoried. Here are the title deeds and information of all thepanies we own, as well as the detailed bnce sheets and financial reports. If you¡¯d like, I¡¯ll have someone bring the remaining documents over for you to take a look. ¡°These are the transfer contracts. Once you sign them, everything that belongs to the Hales will be transferred to you!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Aston eximed in shock as he subconsciously took a couple of steps forward to see if the documents in Bruce¡¯s hand were real or not. But while staring straight at the documents, he forgot that there was a coffee table in front of him and ended up tripping over it. He was thrown off bnce and fell straight onto the ground in a disheveled manner. The drinks spilled all over him, and he lost hisposure. But Aston couldn¡¯t be bothered about his image, as he was utterly dumbfounded. He stared at the documents in Bruce¡¯s hand in disbelief. ¡°Bruce Hale, are you mistaken about something? Lucas Gray is the culprit who caused your entire family to be taken away. How can you hand over all of your family¡¯s properties to him?¡± The Hales were one of the four major families of Orange County, and all their properties were worth a massive amount of money. They were second only to the Sawyers! If the Hales really gave all of their properties to Lucas, his strength would skyrocket! The properties of the Hales, the Stardust Corporation Lucas owned, and the Brilliance Corporation affiliated to it, and his ties with Ethan Sawyer would undoubtedly make Lucas the most powerful person in Orange County! Even if the Huttons wanted to continue dealing with Lucas, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him! Besides, the Brookes had just fallen out with Lucas. Once he dominated Orange County, he would definitely annihte all the properties of the Brookes and kick them out of the county. In that case, all the time and efforts that the Brookes had put in during this period of time would have gone down the drain. They might even face Lucas¡¯s revenge! Thinking of all the possibilities that could happen, Aston was so frightened that he turned pale and hurriedly tried to sow discord between the Hales and Lucas. It would be best to make Bruce change his mind! If he wasn¡¯t rational enough, Aston would have rushed forward to grab Bruce by the cor and ask him if he was so old and muddled up that he would hand over all his assets to Lucas! Bruce coldly nced at Aston and snapped, ¡°I¡¯m talking to Mr. Gray. Who are you to interfere and makements? This is the Hales¡¯ business. Even if your grandfather, Andrew Brooke,es here, he wouldn¡¯t be qualified to speak to me!¡± Aston was infuriated, but he dared not say anything, fearing that he would offend Bruce. Just a few minutes ago, he had used simr words to reprimand Jordan. But now, he was berated instead. It felt truly shameful. Bruce stopped paying attention to him and respectfully ced the stack of documents in front of Lucas before saying sincerely, ¡°This is the decision that all the Hales have reached unanimously. Please ept it, Mr. Gray.¡± Lucas was actually quite surprised by Bruce¡¯s behavior. He knew that the Hales would reflect on themselves and even swallow their pride to ask for cooperation. But he never thought that the Hales would give him all their assets. He stayed silent for a moment, and instead of signing those contracts immediately, he asked, ¡°How is Logan Hale doing now?¡± Bruce shuddered because he thought that Lucas was still bothered by Logan¡¯s actions. He hurriedly said in fear, ¡°Mr. Gray, I apologize to you again on behalf of my unfilial grandson for offending you! Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already told the hospital to give up on all treatment for Logan. Soon, he will no longer appear in this world.¡± A look of misery shed in his eyes. After all, Logan was his grandson, whom he watched grow up. But he had no choice but to do this because Logan had recklessly offended Lucas and caused huge trouble. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to answer to Lucas. Boom! The news Bruce revealed was like a thunderbolt striking directly at Aston¡¯s heart! He would have never imagined that Bruce would go so far as to sacrifice his own grandson in order to appease Lucas! He knew that Logan and Connor Hale were Bruce¡¯s only grandsons! A freezing chill shot up from Aston¡¯s feet to the top of his head. He only realized now that he seemed to have been wrong, horribly wrong! Chapter 203: Self-Exposure Over the Phone

Chapter 203: Self-Exposure Over the Phone

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Aston wasn¡¯t a stupid person. On the contrary, he could be considered astute most of the time. Now, Bruce had personally transferred all the businesses of the Hales to Lucas and even took the initiative to sentence his second grandson, Logan, to death, all for the sake of pleasing Lucas. In that case, how terrifyingly powerful must Lucas be? In this instant, Aston recalled the night where tragedy struck the Hales. On that night, he was frightened out of his wits by Lucas and ran back home to the Brookes overnight to hatch a n with Andrew and discuss the countermeasures they should take. But after some analysis, Andrew eventually felt that it wasn¡¯t within Lucas¡¯s means to do that and thought that it must have been a coincidence. Thus, he stopped feeling scared of Lucas and merely thought that he was using the military¡¯s presence to pretend to be powerful so as to frighten others. But after seeing Bruce, the patriarch of the Hales who had been taken away earlier on, Aston immediately understood what was going on! A massive sense of fear and horror engulfed Aston¡¯s heart, and at the same time, he was overwhelmed with regret. He had just been extremely hostile when mocking Lucas. If Lucas decided to take revenge on them... Bang! The more Aston thought about it, the more terrified he became. His legs went limp as he dropped onto his knees in front of Lucas with a dull thud. ¡°Mr. Gray, I spouted that nonsense because I was all muddled up just now... All those terrible things I said are my personal statements, and they have nothing to do with my grandfather and the rest of my family. Please spare the Brookes. I¡¯ll make up for it in any way you want me to!¡± Aston was not stupid, and he knew that the hostile and snide remarks he made just now would definitely bring death upon him. He knew that it was impossible for Lucas to let him off, so he thought that he might as well carry all the burden so that Lucas would let the Brookes off the hook. Lucas had effortlessly annihted the prestigious and powerful Hales. The Brookes were far from beingparable to the Hales, so if he wanted to exact revenge on them, their resulting fate would definitely be worse off than that of the Hales! After all, the Hales had only offended Lucas, while the Brookes had not only offended him but also betrayed him! At the thought of this, Aston broke out in cold sweat in regret and frustration. Lucas nced at Aston with a smirk, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Aston was about to continue pleading, but his phone suddenly started ringing. He took out his phone. As soon as he saw his grandfather¡¯s info on the screen, he felt his vision turning ck as he frantically tried to dismiss the call. ¡°Answer it and put it on speaker,¡± Lucas ordered indifferently while sitting calmly on the couch. His voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it was domineering and overwhelming, so much so that Aston didn¡¯t dare to disobey. His fingers were trembling, but he had no choice except to obey Lucas, answer the phone, and put it on speaker. Soon, Andrew¡¯s voice came clearly from the phone. ¡°Aston, how¡¯s the matter I asked you to do going? How many of the businesses and properties of the Hales have you seized? What did Lucas Gray say?¡± ¡°Grandpa... Grandpa...¡± Aston wanted to stop Andrew from continuing, but when Lucas shot him a warning nce, he shuddered in fear as his throat tightened. He couldn¡¯t even say aplete sentence. On the other end, Andrew didn¡¯t notice Aston¡¯s abnormal behavior and merely thought that he hadn¡¯tpleted the task yet. So he questioned in displeasure, ¡°What? Did Lucas Gray disobey? Hmph, if he doesn¡¯t know how to behave, I¡¯ll send Stanley to get rid of him!¡± Hearing Andrew¡¯s words, Aston was on the verge of peeing his pants. He bit the tip of his tongue hard and really wanted to tell his grandfather something, but Lucas snatched his phone away. ¡°Mr. Brooke, what does it mean to behave? Also, who did you say you wanted to get rid of?¡± Lucas slowly asked as he held the phone. Andrew was obviously stunned, and he finally figured out that Lucas heard the conversation he had with his grandson. Although he didn¡¯t know what the situation was on Aston¡¯s side, Andrew was full of confidence as he threatened Lucas, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t feign ignorance! Aston should have already told you the two options that the Brookes are kind enough to give you. Have you chosen?¡± Kneeling on the ground, Aston instantly copsed to the ground with a trace of despair in his eyes. As soon as Andrew said this, all the things he just said on behalf of the Brookes and their ignorance of the situation all went down the drain! Lucas nced at Aston indifferently. ¡°Yes, your grandson has already told me. But neither of the options appeal to me. What do you think I should do?¡± Andrew¡¯s gloomy voice came from the other end as he barked, ¡°Hmph, kid, you¡¯ve chosen death then! Once you¡¯re dead, don¡¯t me me for not warning you beforehand!¡± ¡°Haha, okay, I¡¯ll wait for you then.¡± Then Lucas ended the call and tossed the phone back to Aston. But Aston¡¯s face was already as pale as a sheet, and his limbs had also turned into jelly. Shivering, he didn¡¯t have the energy to grab his phone. Besides, even if he picked it up now, there would be no point. Bruce had been quietly watching from the side, and through this phone call, he roughly understood some facts of the situation. Seeing that Andrew actually had the guts to offend Lucas, he immediately stepped forward and volunteered, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ll help you kill this kid before returning him to the Brookes!¡± Aston suddenly shuddered and peed his pants. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t kill him yet, just cripple him.¡± Bruce immediately dly epted the order. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± He had been worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get close to Lucas. But now that he received Lucas¡¯s order, he became really proactive and soon called someone to drag Aston away. ... Meanwhile, in the Brookes¡¯ vi in LA, Andrew was infuriated after Lucas hung up on him. He wanted to call Aston again to ask what was going on and why Lucas could hear them from the side and even take the phone away to talk to him. But after calling several times, Aston still didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Someone!¡± the enraged Andrew roared. His personal butler immediately ran to him and respectfully asked, ¡°Mr. Brooke, may I know what orders you have?¡± ¡°Get Stanley here immediately. I need him to kill someone in Orange County!¡± Chapter 204: Sending a Killer

Chapter 204: Sending a Killer

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Andrew directly issued an order to have someone killed, but the butler simply raised his brows a little without any shock on his face. He looked down and said, ¡°Yes!¡± The butler of the Brookes had long gotten used to such things. ¡°Also, contact the people in Orange County and get them to find out where Aston is. Tell him to call me back immediately!¡± Andrew said. The butler epted the orders and got to it immediately while Andrew sat on his soft chair. For some reason, he had an ominous feeling in his heart. Distracted, he fiddled with the chessboard and chess pieces on the table while waiting for news. Soon, the flustered butler suddenly ran in. As soon as he entered, he eximed anxiously, ¡°Mr. Brooke, bad news! We¡¯ve just received news that all the factories and warehouses under the name of the Brookes have been sealed because of quality problems! This includes our branchpanies in Orange County, which have all been reported and ordered to shut down temporarily for rectifications!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Andrew was stunned. He immediately stood up, causing the chessboard to flip over and the chess pieces to roll all over the ground. ¡°How did this happen?¡± Andrew muttered to himself. He really couldn¡¯t digest the nightmare-like news all of a sudden. The Brookes had started their empire as a manufacturer and trader. Now, all their factories and warehouses had been sealed,pletely cutting off all of the Brookes¡¯ production and trading channels, thereby causing them to be unable to deliver many of the orders they had already produced. Not only would they be unable to deliver the goods, but with their factories sealed because of quality problems, they would probably have to face countless demands forpensation from many of their partners! If their factories and warehouses remained sealed for a long time, not only would their capital chain bepletely broken, but their reputation would also be tarnished. Moreover, the stock prices of theirpanies would plummet, and they might even end up copsing and be forced to dere bankruptcy! It was an extremely serious problem! Anxious and vexed, Andrew paced around the study back and forth. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn¡¯t figure out what went wrong. As one of the major families in LA, they had a goodwork of connections, and it was impossible for there to be a situation where their properties were sealed without warning! ¡°This must be the doing of someone deliberately dealing with the Brookes!¡± Andrew stopped in his tracks and made this judgment with certainty. ¡°But who could it be?¡± He turned around and instructed the butler, ¡°Go and get everyone in the family and all management personnel here. Find out if anyone has been senseless and offended someely.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The butler acknowledged but didn¡¯t go out right away. Instead, he said hesitantly, ¡°Sir, do you think the culprit could be that nobody Lucas Gray of Orange County?¡± As far as he knew, Andrew and Aston were now trying to find a way to deal with Lucas and snatch his properties. Andrew pondered for a moment and shook his head decisively. ¡°It can¡¯t be him. If it was in Orange County, he might still be able to use some power and stir up trouble. But he doesn¡¯t have a foundation in LA, so he definitely can¡¯t do this!¡± Just as the butler followed Andrew¡¯s instructions and gathered all the Brookes for a meeting, an inconspicuous minivan drove up to the entrance of the Brookes¡¯ vi. After Aston was tossed out of the van onto the bush beside the entrance, the van quickly drove off. It was only when a member of the family rushing to the meeting happened to discover a foot exposed outside the bush and hurriedly called someone to see what was going on that they discovered Aston, who was unconscious and had had his limbs broken. ¡°Bad news! Aston is injured!¡± Hearing this, Andrew rushed over. When he saw the severely injured and unconscious Aston with all his limbs broken, he immediately flew into a rage! When Andrew heard the doctor¡¯s diagnosis that Aston¡¯s limbs might never recover for the rest of his life and he would be aplete vegetable, his eyes were burning with resentment. His eyes full of a gloomy and murderous aura, Andrew clenched his teeth and spit out each word. ¡°Lucas! Gray! He must have done this!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Stanley? Where is he?¡± he suddenly shouted at the surroundings. A tall, middle-aged man stepped out of the crowd and stood in front of Andrew. ¡°Sir.¡± Andrew immediately nced at him and ordered menacingly, ¡°Stanley, I want you to make a trip to Orange County right away and kill Lucas Gray! No, don¡¯t kill him immediately. Bring him back here. I want to do it myself and put him through endless suffering before letting him die!¡± Andrew had a ferocious expression, deeply resenting Lucas, who had the audacity to hurt his grandson! He had found out from Aston that Lucas seemed to be good at martial arts. But Stanley was an even more powerful and domineering expert. Over the years, no one in LA had been a match for him! Actually, given the power that the Brookes had in the past, they shouldn¡¯t have been able to afford to hire a great expert like Stanley. But Andrew had inadvertently saved Stanley¡¯s life back then, so Stanley had been staying with the Brookes and working for them. It could be said that Stanley¡¯s role in the Brooke family was the same as Hans¡¯s in the Hale family. In private, he had helped the Brookes facilitate a lot of illegal businesses, allowing the Brookes to develop so quickly in just over a decade and almost be one of the top families in LA. And in Andrew¡¯s opinion, Stanley¡¯s martial arts was far beyond that of Hans! Besides, Stanley was now in his prime, and his physical strength was at its peak, so he could definitely take down the rookie Lucas! The butler handed over some information about Lucas to Stanley, including his photo, address,pany address, and other basic information. Stanley looked down and turned around to leave without saying a word while holding the information in hand. ¡ª¡ª Lucas was flipping through a stack of documents in his office on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation building when his phone suddenly rang. Seeing the caller ID disy Bruce, Lucas answered the call expressionlessly. ¡°Mr. Gray, I have had Aston Brooke¡¯s limbs broken and dumped him at the entrance of the Brooke residence. Andrew Brooke is said to have hit the roof,¡± Bruce carefully said from the other end. Not at all interested, Lucas said, ¡°If it¡¯s for a trivial thing like this, you don¡¯t have to call me.¡± ¡°Mr. Gray!¡± Bruce hurriedly yelled again anxiously. ¡°I haven¡¯t finished yet. In a fit of anger, Andrew Brooke sent one of their experts called Stanley to harm you!¡± ¡°ording to the information I have, Stanley¡¯s martial arts is superb. And over the years, he has faced very few who are worthy of being his opponents. He¡¯s also very good at assassination. Stanley is now rushing to Orange County. Be careful!¡± Lucas¡¯s face remained calm as he said indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No one in this country can kill me.¡± Chapter 205: Close Shave With Death

Chapter 205: Close Shave With Death

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s tone was extremely calm, but Bruce could feel the immense might, unparalleled confidence, and condescension in his tone. Lucas was definitely not an arrogant person who had blind confidence in himself. The fact that he dared to say this meant that hisbat skills were already far beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Bruce thought of the scene when Hans, the former elite henchman of the Hales, was sent flying and crippled with a single kick before he could even dodge, and his heart was immediately full of horror and fear. Lucas¡¯s purpose in saying this was actually to scare and deter him, lest he harbored thoughts he shouldn¡¯t have. After ending the call, Lucas pondered for a bit and then called Jordan to ask him toe over. He briefly told Jordan what Bruce had just said. When Jordan learned that the Brookes had actually sent a so-called expert to try to assassinate Lucas, a trace of excitement and murderous intent appeared in his eyes. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m going to kill that guy now!¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°That¡¯d be a waste of resources. Get Wade to go and stop him. Wade can get some practice by fighting with that person.¡± Jordan had trained alongside Lucas, so Lucas naturally understood his abilities very well. Jordan could undoubtedly kill the enemy in a second. But Wade was different. Although Wade was also an expert known as a king of underground boxing, he was mainly just good at punching and had great strength. He was extremely aggressive, but his skills and adaptability were inferior. Since Stanley was said to have impressivebat skills and was good at assassination, he would be an excellent opponent for Wade to practice on. ¡°Tsk, okay.¡± Jordan pursed his lips, feeling disappointed that he wouldn¡¯t be getting the chance to move his limbs and get some exercise. ¡°But you should tag along too. Watch Wade in secret to make sure he doesn¡¯t mess up,¡± Lucas added. ¡°Okay, Lucas!¡± Jordan immediately became excited again as he followed the orders and left. ... Soon, ording to Jordan¡¯s order, Wade drove to the highway that vehicles had to pass through when traveling between LA to Orange County. He parked the car on the side of a sparsely popted section of the road and leaned quietly against the car while scanning the vehiclesing from LA. Before long, a low-profile Nissan drove over from afar. It had the familiar license te that he saw on the paper just now. Without saying a word, Wade picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground and hurled it straight at the front windshield of the Nissan. Bang! With a loud bang, the tempered ss of the windshield immediately shattered, forming a hole and various densely packed cracks in the ss. Screech! The tires let out ear-piercing screeches as the driver applied the emergency brakes. The tires caused two deep ck skid marks on the ground before pulling over near the roadside. The car door opened. A tall, middle-aged man stepped out of the Nissan and walked toward Wade with a straight face. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± the middle-aged man questioned with a gloomy expression. Standing at about 1.85 meters tall, he was taller than average in the eyes of most people. But he was much shorter than Wade, who was more than two meters tall and much buffer than him. Wade looked at him coldly. ¡°Are you the person the Brookes sent to assassinate Mr. Gray?¡± The middle-aged man was Stanley, the top henchman of the Brookes. Hearing this, he figured out what was going on. ¡°Did Lucas Gray send you? Are you trying to stop me?¡± Wade looked at Stanley condescendingly and said in a deep voice, ¡°All those who try to disrespect Mr. Gray are my enemies!¡± Then he swung his iron-like fists hard at Stanley. As Stanley looked at Wade¡¯s ferocious attack, his eyes turned cold as he clenched his fists and punched Wade¡¯s fist! The fists collided with a clear boom. Wade felt a massive and unparalleled forceing from the collision of their fists, and hisplexion changed drastically as he quickly retreated backward several steps. Only then did he manage to shake off the massive force from the punch. But at this moment, his fist was trembling a little with a numbing pain in his knuckles. He couldn¡¯t help but move his fingers gently to try to alleviate the pain. In contrast, his opponent was standing still with clenched fists and a straight face. To Wade¡¯s astonishment, he was at a disadvantage in the simple fistfight between them! He was a king of underground boxing, and his fists were strong enough to bend a steel te with one punch. Almost no one could trump him in terms of strength! But the middle-aged man in front of him easily repelled Wade¡¯s punch. And judging from the way he looked, he seemed to have done it effortlessly without using his full strength. Wade was astounded. But he immediately focused as if he was facing a great enemy and tried to find his w. ¡°Hmph, how dare youe and stop me when you¡¯re so ipetent?¡± Stanley snorted coldly before stomping his foot on the ground and flying toward Wade like an arrowunched from a bow. He was so quick that there seemed to be afterimages! Wade was startled, and he immediately raised both his fists in front of his chest. But when Stanley was about to touch Wade¡¯s body, he suddenlyunched a roundhouse kick and kicked the back of Wade¡¯s knee with immense force. ¡°Aaahh!¡± Wade was caught off guard, and his knees turned weak after being struck by the kick, causing him to almost fall straight onto his knees! He hollered furiously and tried his best to stop himself from kneeling. He stumbled and staggered a little before regaining his bnce. But this gave Stanley a chance! Like a bolt of lightning, Stanley dashed close to Wade. Suddenly, he whipped out a cold and dazzling dagger and then moved to slit Wade¡¯s neck. Wade didn¡¯t expect Stanley to have a dagger with him, nor did he expect him tounch an unexpected attack. In a rush, he could only elbow Stanley¡¯s arm to try to knock the dagger out of his hand and save himself from the deadly assassination. Stanley¡¯s wrist was indeed knocked away, but he immediately threw the dagger in his right hand to his left. The dagger formed a silvery flower-shaped light in the air as it spun. He was fluid and fast like a phantom, and in the blink of an eye, he stabbed at Wade¡¯s neck! Wade could see the icy coldness of the light reflecting off of the dagger, but Stanley was too fast, and there was no way he could stop the attack before the dagger reached him! ¡°Oh crap!¡± Just as Wade was about to suffer the lethal blow, a figure suddenly darted out from the side and kicked Stanley¡¯s waist! ¡°Argh!¡± Stanley let out a muffled grunt. He was kicked several meters away and staggered backward before barely regaining his bnce. While rubbing his waist with one hand, Stanley looked at the young man who suddenly rushed out in front of him in astonishment. ¡°Who are you?¡± Chapter 206: Member of the Falcon Regiment

Chapter 206: Member of the Falcon Regiment

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The young man who kicked Stanley was naturally Jordan, who had been staying nearby to observe the battle secretly. When Wade saw Jordan, his tense heart rxed a little. He had almost suffered a lethal slit on his neck and a stab in the heart by Stanley moments ago! ¡°Stand back,¡± Jordan said to Wade before staring at Stanley¡¯s chest and face. Wade knew that he wasn¡¯t a match for Stanley and obediently retreated far away from the battlefield despite being full of reluctance so that he wouldn¡¯t get in Jordan¡¯s way. Watching their actions, Stanley suddenly said, ¡°Are you also Lucas Gray¡¯s subordinate? Yourbat skills are quite impressive. I didn¡¯t see your movements clearly at all.¡± Jordan suddenly sneered. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect a soldier of the prestigious Falcon Regiment to be someone¡¯sckey and be at their beck and call!¡± When Stanley heard the words ¡®Falcon Regiment¡¯, his expression changed drastically, and horror appeared all over his face. He stared at Jordan and said in a shaky voice brimming with fear, ¡°You... How do you know about the Falcon Regiment? How do you know about my... Who exactly are you?¡± This was Stanley¡¯s greatest secret, which no one had ever discovered. But now, his identity was actually exposed by this young man only in his twenties. ¡°Are you, a traitor of the Falcon Regiment, qualified to ask who I am?¡± Jordan sneered and moved his toes without another word, propelling himself at Stanley. His speed was much faster than Stanley¡¯s earlier, and even the afterimages weren¡¯t visible! Stanley¡¯s heart was full of horror, as he couldn¡¯t see Jordan¡¯s actions at all! He didn¡¯t dare to be careless at all as he tightened his grip on his dagger and shielded his fatal point. Smack! Stanley felt a sudden excruciating pain in his wrist and instantly dropped his dagger. Jordan snatched it! Immediately afterward, Jordan smashed his fist against the center of Stanley¡¯s chest, sending him flying! When Stanley got up from the ground, he couldn¡¯t worry about the immense pain spreading from his chest and merely stared at Jordan in disbelief. ¡°Disarming technique? Are you also a member of the Falcon Regiment?¡± The move Jordan just used to snatch the dagger away was one of the secret and untold tricks of the Falcon Regiment! Jordan red at Stanley coldly and said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re not fit to mention the Falcon Regiment. Since you¡¯ve long betrayed the Falcon Regiment, what are you still carrying this for?¡± He suddenly raised his hand. A thin silver chain with a small silver wing pendant hung between his fingers, and half of the pendant had already lost its luster due to friction. It was the token of every soldier of the Falcon Regiment! Stanley subconsciously raised his hand to touch his neck, only to realize that there was no longer anything hanging on it. Only then did he realize that when Jordan kicked him away earlier, the Falcon Regiment pendant that he always hung around his neck and kept close to him had been revealed. This was the reason Jordan could identify him as a former member of the Falcon Regiment. When Jordan punched his chest a moment ago, he took the opportunity to grab this wing pendant! ¡°Give it back to me!¡± Stanley hollered anxiously and then leaped at Jordan. His goal was to snatch the pendant back! ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± Jordan snorted coldly, clenched his fist, and lunged at Stanley. Both of them were extremely quick, and they looked like ghosts entangling with each other. Whenever their bodies came into contact, there would be several dull sounds of strikesnding on flesh. Standing at a spot nearby, Wade watched this unimaginable fight with his mouth and eyes wide open. Despite having perfect vision, he actually couldn¡¯t see the trajectory of the two men¡¯s movements. This was a duel between two top experts who were far beyond his level! Bang! With a final dull thud, a figure suddenly flew nearly ten meters away out of the mass of shadow-like figures beforending hard on the ground. Stanley fell to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood that surged up from his chest. For a long time, he couldn¡¯t stand up. Holding the wing pendant, Jordan slowly walked up to Stanley and questioned coldly, ¡°What do you still want this for, you traitor? This is the identity token of the soldiers of the Falcon Regiment. You¡¯re not fit to have it!¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t betray! No! Give it back to me!¡± Stanley roared at the top of his lungs as he tried his best to get up and grab the pendant in Jordan¡¯s hand. But the excruciating pain in his chest caused him to copse. Staring at him coldly, Jordan said in a low voice, ¡°Stanley Ray, native of Miami, former captain of the vanguard of the Falcon Regiment. During his time in the regiment, he participated in teambat one hundred and fourteen times and took part in thirty-seven rescue missions and ny-six assassination missions, all of which were sessfullypleted. But in thest assassination mission ten years ago, he disappeared, and his whereabouts were unknown. After some discussion, it was determined thatrade Stanley Ray died bravely and was posthumously named as a martyr. His monument was erected, and a biography was written for him. It has been included in the history of martyrs of the Falcon Regiment, and it is mandatory reading for all the soldiers of the Falcon Regiment to serve as a role model for them.¡± A trace of sorrow and self-deprecation appeared in Jordan¡¯s eyes as he sneered. ¡°This is what I read in the history of the martyrs, and we all think that you are a hero. But unexpectedly, not only did you betray the Falcon Regiment, but you became ackey specialized in killing!¡± Jordan¡¯s words were like sharp daggers piercing through Stanley¡¯s heart! ¡°No, I didn¡¯t betray! I didn¡¯t!¡± Stanley covered his head in pain. Despite being a tough man who had only ever shed blood and not tears, he could no longer hold back his tears as he bawled in pain. When Jordan saw the state that the hero in his heart was now in, he felt just as terrible. He could tell that Stanley still had strong feelings for the Falcon Regiment. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have worn the wing pendant on his neck at all times, and he wouldn¡¯t be in so much agony after hearing his words either. ¡°Stanley, Captain Ray, you said you didn¡¯t betray the Falcon Regiment, but why didn¡¯t you return to the regiment and instead stayed with the Brookes for so many years? Why did you stay there as a shameful killer who has to stay hidden andmit those sordid misdeeds for them?¡± Jordan lowered his head and stared at him. ¡°I...¡± Stanley realized that there was no way he could exin at all. After a long silence, he finally lowered his head despondently without saying a single word. Jordan shook his head in disappointment. ¡°Since you¡¯re not willing to tell me, forget it. I can kill you now on the grounds that you tried to assassinate the leader of the Falcon Regiment. But on ount that you still have feelings for the Falcon Regiment, I will let you off today. ¡°But if you have the guts to do something unconscionable like this again, I will definitely not spare you!¡± Jordan said with determination as he tossed the wing pendant in his hand in front of Stanley and then turned around to leave. Chapter 207: I Want To Leave

Chapter 207: I Want To Leave

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Stanley subconsciously held the feather pendant tightly in his palm, as if he had recovered a treasure. As Jordan left, Stanley stared at his back in a daze, but the things Jordan said before leaving echoed repeatedly in his mind. ¡®I can kill you now on the grounds that you tried to assassinate the leader of the Falcon Regiment.¡¯ No, the person the Brookes want me to kill is called Lucas Gray. No, no, Jordan is from the Falcon Regiment, and he¡¯s Lucas Gray¡¯s subordinate. Does this mean that Lucas Gray is the captain of Falcon Regiment?! The person the Brookes want me to assassinate is the captain of the Falcon Regiment?! Stanley¡¯s heart suddenly jumped, and he struggled to get up from the ground to catch up to Jordan and rify his doubts. But Jordan had long already gotten into the car that was parked a short distance away and left together with Wade. Head hung low, Stanley looked at the feather pendant stained with mud in his hand and suddenly raised his hand to give himself a hard p on the face! He then fell to his knees and cried out loudly in agony, ¡°Ahhh!¡± ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, when Jordan and Wade arrived in Orange County, they headed straight to the Stardust Corporation to look for Lucas. Then Jordan reported to Lucas about Stanley being the former captain of the assault team of the Falcon Regiment. Lucas frowned slightly. Jordan continued, ¡°However, I can tell that he doesn¡¯t really seem to have defected from the Falcon Regiment. He still seems to have strong emotions and attachment to the Falcon Regiment, but he refused to tell me his reason. There seems to be more than meets the eye.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Go back and find out what his situation is. After you get a clear idea,e back and report to me.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan obeyed and left. Lucas sat by the floor-to-ceiling window of his office and took out a wing-shaped pendant from his cor. It was different from Stanley¡¯s because it was golden in color, symbolizing the captain of the Falcon Regiment. He looked out of the window of the top floor of the Stardust Corporation office building and stared into the distance for a long time without moving. ¡ª¡ª LA. The Brookes gathered in the living room of Andrew Brooke¡¯s vi and discussed the matter of the sealing of all the factories and warehouses belonging to their family, as well as the sudden tragedy that struck Andrew¡¯s favorite grandson, Aston. Just now, they received news from the hospital that Aston was diagnosed with severe injuries, and all his limbs and joints were crushed into bits. There was no longer any possibility of recovery in this life. In other words, Aston, the descendant all the Brookes had high hopes on, had beenpletely crippled and became an invalid. The Hales all gritted their teeth and cursed at Lucas for causing Aston and the Hales to fall into such a terrible plight. ¡°Andrew, Lucas Gray is merely an abandoned child kicked out and disowned by the Hutton. It¡¯s simply unforgivable that he had the guts to do this to us!¡± ¡°Hmph, when Stanley captures himter, we must teach him a good lesson! I will use a hammer to break all the bones in his body to avenge Aston!¡± ¡°Me too! I also want to take revenge on him! I¡¯m going to try every single torture method on him!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let him die so soon. We must make sure he suffers enough pain before we let him die!¡± ... The Brookes were all speaking with righteous indignation and bloodthirstiness. If Lucas appeared in front of them right now, they would definitely use torture methods like plucking out his tendons on him! At this time, a bodyguard ran in from outside and bowed while reporting to Bruce, ¡°Sir, Mr. Stanley Ray is here.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Andrew eximed agitatedly. He then hurriedly said, ¡°Quickly invite Mr. Ray in.¡± He thought that since Stanley returned, it meant that he hadpleted the task he gave him and brought that bastard Lucas Gray back! How could Andrew not be excited and overjoyed? The surrounding family members expressed their joy as well. They were just waiting to take revenge on Lucas for Aston. Stanley maintained a straight face and walked into the hall. Andrew took a nce at Stanley before looking behind thetter to see what Lucas looked like now. Unfortunately, Stanley walked into the living room alone and didn¡¯t bring anyone behind him. ¡°Stanley, where¡¯s Lucas Gray? Did you leave him outside? Hurry up and have someone bring him in!¡± Andrew urged eagerly. To his surprise, Stanley shook his head and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Brooke.¡± The expression on Andrew¡¯s face froze, and he immediately turned sullen as he questioned, ¡°What do you mean by that? Did you not bring Lucas Gray back with you?¡± Stanley answered calmly, ¡°I couldn¡¯tplete the mission this time.¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Before Andrew could question further and lose his temper, Stanley quickly continued, ¡°Mr. Brooke, I¡¯m very grateful to you for saving my life back then, but I¡¯ve already worked for the Brookes for a full ten years. During these ten years, I¡¯ve done a lot for you guys and saved many of you on countless asions. I¡¯ve also helped you kill many people. ¡°In the past ten years, I should have already repaid your kindness for saving my life back then. It¡¯s time for me to leave the Brookes now.¡± After hearing Stanley¡¯s intention to leave, Andrew, who just wanted to ask Stanley about why he hadn¡¯t been able to nab Lucas, immediately turned gloomy. Back then, he had saved Stanley by coincidence. And for the sake of repaying him, Stanley chose to stay with the Brookes and put his elitebat and assassination skills to use by doing lots of dirty deeds for them. Many of the Brookes¡¯ old rivals had silently died under Stanley¡¯s assassinations. Moreover, Andrew also became increasingly fond of using Stanley. After all, using brutal force and assassinations was much easier than resorting to devising business tactics with painstaking efforts. This also caused those the Brookes bullied to be too afraid to take revenge because they were scared of Stanley. But once the news of Stanley¡¯s departure from the Brookes spread, the Brookes would fall into an extremely dangerous situation. So no matter what, they couldn¡¯t let Stanley leave! Andrew narrowed his eyes and stared at Stanley, scrutinizing every expression of his. ¡°Why are you leaving us? Is there another family trying to poach you with arge sum of money?¡± Stanley shook his head. ¡°No, there were many people who wanted to poach me with money in the past, but I still stayed with the Brookes. Money doesn¡¯t mean anything to me.¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s not because of money, then tell me why you want to leave!¡± Looking at Andrew calmly, Stanley said, ¡°I promised someone that I would never do anything unconscionable again. Besides, you¡¯ve offended someone that you definitely can¡¯t afford to offend. The Brookes will vanish soon.¡± Chapter 208: Kill Me

Chapter 208: Kill Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You! Bastard, what nonsense are you babbling about?!¡± Andrew pointed at Stanley¡¯s nose furiously and berated at the top of his lungs. ¡°Who is it that we can¡¯t afford to offend? Who? Tell me! Hmph, the Brookes have already developed to where we are now, and we¡¯re also a first-ss family in this city! Let¡¯s see who has the ability to make the Brookes disappear!¡± Andrew had always been a conceited and arrogant person, so Stanley¡¯s words greatly angered him, and he found his exnation to bepletely uneptable. At this moment, he seemed to have forgotten the predicament that the Brookes were currently in. All of their factories and warehouses had been sealed, and within less than two weeks, the Brookes would go bankrupt. Moreover, after knowing Lucas¡¯s identity, Stanley understood exactly how the Brookes hadnded themselves in this predicament. He had wanted to advise Andrew not to offend Lucas again on ount that he had worked for the Brookes for ten years. But he was well aware of what Andrew¡¯s personality was like. At this point, Andrew definitely wouldn¡¯t take his advice. Stanley sighed and looked at Andrew with pity in his eyes, ¡°Since you¡¯re so confident, I wish you all peace, Mr. Brooke. Goodbye!¡± With that, he turned around and walked toward the door. He had already repaid the Brookes for their kindness during the past ten years. Andrew stared at Stanley¡¯s back with a cold and gloomy gaze in his eyes. In the end, it turned into a crazy murderous intent. ¡°Hold it!¡± With Andrew¡¯s holler, around 30 elite experts dressed in bodyguard uniforms rushed in and blocked Stanley. They were all experts the Brookes had hired from various ces. Although they were inferior to Stanley inbat prowess, they were all highly skilled, and many of them had received guidance from Stanley before. Stanley stopped in his tracks. He frowned and turned to look at Andrew. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± A trace of ruthlessness shed in Andrew¡¯s eyes as he said coldly, ¡°If I hadn¡¯t saved you back then, you would have died. Do you think you¡¯d be able to repay me for saving your life by working a little for the Brookes? You must be dreaming! You will never be able to repay this kindness in your life! If I don¡¯t let you go, you will have to stay with the Brookes for the rest of your life and work for me!¡± Stanley sneered. ¡°Andrew, are you nning to make me work for the Brookes like a ve?¡± Andrew sighed in a pretentious manner. ¡°Stanley, I originally treated you as an honored guest of the Brookes and paid you well. However, you¡¯re so ignorant that you insist on leaving. In that case, if you want to leave, I have to tell you clearly. ¡°If you are willing to change your mind and continue working for me and the Brookes, I will naturally still provide for you as before. But if you insist on leaving, I will have to kill you! Think it over carefully, but I advise you to choose the first option.¡± Andrew looked at Stanley hypocritically, acting like he was sparing a thought for him. Prior to this, Stanley still felt some feelings and attachment to the Brookes and thought of giving them a reminder. But at this moment, Andrew¡¯s words made Stanley lose thest bit of attachment. ¡°Andrew Brooke, you should understand that the Brookes can¡¯t force me to stay with the skills that I have.¡± Stanley was no longer polite and directly addressed Andrew by his full name with some derision on his face. With a gloomy smile, Andrew said, ¡°You¡¯re right. No one in the Brooke family can defeat you in meleebat, but are you faster than a bullet?¡± Then he gestured to 30 experts at the entrance. Whoosh! These experts each quickly pulled out a ck pistol from their waists and pointed the muzzles at Stanley in unison. A cold glint shed in Stanley¡¯s eyes. For so many years, he had done his best for the Brookes and did so many of the unconscionable tasks that they had given him. He had helped them kill and get rid of their enemies, which he thought was already enough to return the favor. But he never thought that he would actually be treated like this by the Brookes now that he wanted to leave. At the same time, the Brookes in the hall all screamed and retreated toward the back corridor behind them, leaving Stanley alone in the empty hall. ¡°Andrew, get rid of this ungrateful dog! The Brookes saved his life and fed him for so many years, but now he has the audacity to leave us!¡± ¡°What an ingrate! He ims that he¡¯s returned the favor just because he¡¯s done some things for us. That¡¯s utter bullshit! Only when you die for us will the scores be settled!¡± ¡°Hmph, you just know some martial arts. That¡¯s all. What¡¯s the big deal?! The Brookes have so many experts armed with guns now. We don¡¯t need him at all! Since he dares to betray the Brookes, just kill him!¡± ... The Brookes hid in a safe ce while screaming and cursing at Stanley in the middle of the hall. Stanley nced at them. Among these people, there were people he had helped save and some he had watched grow up since they were children. There were many he usually took care of and taught martial arts to. But they were all now ring at him with hatred and malicious intent in their eyes, wishing that he would die here immediately. For the first time in his life, Stanley was so disappointed with the Brookes that a trace of killing intent even surged within him. ¡°Stanley, have you thought it through? Do you want to live or die? What is your choice?¡± Andrew spoke up again with a sense of superiority and the confidence that he would win. No matter how good at fighting you may be, you can¡¯t outrun or beat guns! He didn¡¯t believe that Stanley would be able to escape with so many guns pointed at him. Of course, Andrew still hoped that Stanley would obediently choose to stay with the Brookes. After all, Stanley¡¯sbat skills and assassination techniques could still bring lots of benefits to the Brookes and help them deter their enemies. If he really died, it would be a loss for them. But if Stanley was forced to stay, he would definitely be less loyal to the Brookes and might even turn against them. However, Andrew was not worried about that. Once hepromised and agreed to stay, he would have someone inject Stanley with poison! If he didn¡¯t want to be in pain and misery every day, he would have to obediently listen to them, and they would never have to worry about him retaliating! Andrew had already thought of all the steps to take next, but he suddenly heard Stanley calmly say, ¡°Over the years, I¡¯ve helped the Brookes kill andmit lots of dirty deeds. Money doesn¡¯t mean anything to me, and neither does my life. It doesn¡¯t make any difference to me whether I can live a few more days or not. ¡°I definitely won¡¯t continue staying with the Brookes and killing people for you anymore. Since you don¡¯t want to let me go, kill me now.¡± Chapter 209: Arrived at the Door

Chapter 209: Arrived at the Door

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Stanley¡¯s voice was extremely calm, and he didn¡¯t seem to have any fear of death or desire to live. It was as if he was saying something as simple as ¡®it¡¯s time to eat¡¯. Andrew¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and he was speechless for a while. He could tell that Stanley had really decided to leave the Brookes, even if it meant that he had to die! In fact, Stanley was already bent on dying now. Andrew frowned. It waspletely different from the oue that he wanted to see. His goal wasn¡¯t to kill Stanley. He lowered his voice and softly advised, ¡°Stanley, you¡¯re only in your early forties now, and you still have decades of good times waiting for you in a bright future. So, why do you have to be so stubborn? Actually, if you stay with the Brookes, it¡¯d be good for both you and everyone. Don¡¯t you agree? ¡°If you¡¯d like, I can give you a luxurious vi and let you enjoy an endless amount of money and fortune. If you want a partner, I can find you all kinds of beautiful women to choose from. Even if you¡¯ve gotten sick of killing, I can also arrange a more rxed job for you, as long as you agree to stay with the Brookes and help us out when we¡¯re in need. ¡°Stanley, look, I¡¯ve already said so much and made apromise. Are you still going to put us in a life and death struggle?¡± Andrew persuaded Stanley by offering him tempting benefits, especially thest concession about letting Stanley retire from doing those dirty deeds again. If it was in the past, Stanley might have really agreed to it. Unfortunately, Andrew had already offended Lucas, the captain of the Falcon Regiment. This predetermined that Stanley wouldn¡¯t stay with the Brookes and help them to deal with Lucas. Stanley shook his head. ¡°Andrew, I won¡¯t change my mind. If you don¡¯t let me leave, I¡¯d rather die.¡± Andrew immediately seemed disappointed, and at the same time, he was puzzled too. Stanley was fine before this. Why is he acting like another person after returning from Orange County? Why does he insist on leaving the Brookes? Despite finding it a pity, Andrew had no choice but to choose to kill someone who insisted on leaving the Brookes and was no longer of any use to them. Only by killing Stanley could the Brookes guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t reveal their dark secrets and that he wouldn¡¯t be taken in by an enemy and turn against them. Although Stanley¡¯s death would also bring a lot of trouble to them, their enemies would still be deterred from confronting them as long as they remained tight-lipped and didn¡¯t let outsiders know that he was dead. Just as Andrew was clenching his jaw and nning to order these elite henchmen to shoot, there was suddenly a loud voiceing from outside the hall. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s so lively here now! Are they starting a fight?¡± Everyone looked over in the direction of the voice. Two tall and slender figures in their twenties entered through the gate one after another. Stanley turned over and saw Jordan at the back with a single nce. It was Jordan who said those words. The person in front of Jordan... Stanley¡¯s breathing suddenly became quicker, and he had a burning gaze in his eyes as he stared at Lucas¡¯s face without blinking. It was a very young and handsome face belonging to someone who seemed to be about 27 or 28 years old and was tall and toned. He was emitting a domineering aura that wasn¡¯t to be defied, and he was obviously a powerful and mighty figure. This must be the person Jordan mentioned! Lucas Gray, the leader of the Falcon Regiment! Stanley couldn¡¯t help getting excited. He had left the Falcon Regiment ten years ago, and Lucas had only joined the Falcon Regiment six years ago, so it was the first time he met Lucas. ¡°Who are you?¡± Andrew frowned as he looked at the two uninvited strangers in front of him. Although the Brookes had dealt with Lucas for some time, Aston had always been the onemunicating with him because thetter was in Orange County. Andrew had never seen Lucas before. After taking a clear glimpse at Lucas¡¯s face, the butler standing beside Andrew instantly seemed horrified! Although he hadn¡¯t seen Lucas with his own eyes, the butler had just handed over a copy of Lucas¡¯s information that he had coted to Stanley a few hours ago. So he had seen Lucas¡¯s picture. It¡¯s Lucas Gray! He¡¯s actually here at the Brookes¡¯! The butler¡¯s face paled, and he hurriedly came over to Andrew to remind him who Lucas was. But Lucas beat him to it and said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Brooke, we finally meet.¡± Hearing Lucas¡¯s slightly familiar voice, Andrew first froze for a moment before quickly realizing what was going on. He pointed at Lucas and hollered, ¡°Lucas Gray! You must be Lucas Gray!¡± Just a few hours ago, he had had a brief conversation with Lucas through Aston¡¯s phone. So he had a vivid memory of Lucas¡¯s voice! ¡°Not bad. You have quite a good memory, Mr. Brooke. You managed to recognize my voice.¡± Lucas openly admitted to his identity. Andrew¡¯s eyes were immediately full of murderous intent as heughed maniacally and menacingly. ¡°Hahahaha! I was just worried that Stanley might not be able to kidnap you, but I didn¡¯t expect you toe here of your own ord! You¡¯ve crippled my most promising and my favorite grandson, so be prepared to stay in the Brookes forever to atone for your sins!¡± Andrew issued an order, and half of the 30 people who had their guns aimed at Stanley in the hall immediately turned and aimed their guns at Lucas and Jordan, who were standing outside the door of the hall. Seeing this, Stanley panicked and looked at Jordan and Lucas anxiously and worriedly. He wasn¡¯t afraid of death, nor was he afraid of how many guns were aimed at him. But if he ended up causing Lucas and Jordan to die here, he would die with guilt and without peace of mind even if he also lost his life! After making brief eye contact with Stanley, Lucas immediately looked away, but he could see the worry in his eyes and couldn¡¯t help but feel a littleforted. Lucas came here today with the intention to take a look at the former captain of the Falcon Regiment¡¯s assault team. Indeed, Stanley didn¡¯t disappoint him. Facing the dozen or so pistols being pointed at him, Lucas maintained the same expression and said calmly, ¡°What? Do you want to kill me?¡± Lucas¡¯s calmness made Andrew despise him, and he couldn¡¯t help but get even more furious. ¡°Lucas Gray, I have to admit that you do have a lot of guts! But since you¡¯ve crippled my grandson, I definitely won¡¯t let you off! Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t kill you easily. I¡¯ll definitely lock you up and let you enjoy all the misery and agony there is in this world before sending you on your way!¡± Andrew roared with resentment and malice all over his face. But Lucas suddenly smiled. ¡°Just a few days ago, there was also a family that thought they were very powerful. And like you, they pointed more than ten pistols at me while threatening me. Do you know what happened to them next?¡± Chapter 210: Try Shooting

Chapter 210: Try Shooting

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Andrew pondered for a moment and soon recalled what Aston had told him before. He sneered. ¡°Are you referring to the Hales in Orange County?¡± Lucas smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Andrew snorted coldly. ¡°Are you trying to tell me that the Hales pointed their pistols at you and ended up having to bear the consequence of being captured by the military and facing annihtion overnight? Let me tell you. If you want to threaten me with this matter, you¡¯ve made the wrong n! ¡°I know that what happened to the Hales that day was just a coincidence! You are just a good-for-nothing the Huttons disowned. I won¡¯t fall for you trying to throw your weight around and pretending to be powerful in front of me! I don¡¯t believe that you can do anything to me once I order my men to shoot you!¡± In Andrew¡¯s heart, he had always refused to believe that Lucas had that much power and authority tomand the military. So even after Aston told him all those things that happened to the Hales, he still felt that it was just a coincidence that Lucas had gotten such a huge advantage and that he was just using the power of the military to make everyone think that he was mighty. If Aston was conscious now, he would have rushed to grab Andrew¡¯s neck and shake him violently to tell him how ridiculously wrong his grandfather really was. Lucas burst intoughter and shook his head. ¡°It seems that you¡¯re more foolish than I imagined.¡± ¡°Scoundrel!¡± Andrew had always been an arrogant person. And now that he was being scolded by a junior, he immediately flew into a rage and barked, ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± With his furious roar, everyone pointed their guns at Lucas. There were around 30 pistols, all of which were aiming at Lucas. It was truly a shocking scene. If Andrew issued the order, an intense wave of bullets would definitely put dozens of holes in Lucas! Stanley was horrified. He was already feeling extremely guilty toward the Falcon Regiment, so how could he watch the captain of the Falcon Regiment get shot to death in front of him? ¡°All of you, stop!¡± Without any hesitation, Stanley tapped his toes on the ground andunched himself upward, immediately flying past the crowd at the door and blocking in front of Lucas. He hollered furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t touch him!¡± Andrew watched Stanley¡¯s actions in astonishment and froze for a moment beforeughing out loud. ¡°Stanley Ray, it turns out you¡¯re trying to protect Lucas Gray. In that case, I¡¯ve found your Achilles¡¯ heel! Hey, if you don¡¯t want Lucas Gray to die, stay with the Brookes and work for us. I can guarantee that I will spare his life! Otherwise, I¡¯ll order them to shoot you both!¡± Looking at Andrew¡¯s smug smile, Stanley couldn¡¯t help feeling regret. He regretted being too impulsive just now! In fact, as the former captain of the Falcon Regiment¡¯s assault team, who had carried out countless assassination missions, Stanley was actually well aware of the logic of catching the ringleader before catching his underlings. If he hadn¡¯t rushed over to protect Lucas just now and instead gone to hold Andrew hostage and force him to get everyone to drop their guns and let Lucas off, Lucas might have been safe now instead of still being threatened. Lucas had the same thought in mind. But he understood that Stanley did this simply because he was scared of chaos breaking out. Stanley undoubtedly still had deep feelings for the Falcon Regiment. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have lost hisposure and dashed over to protect him, a stranger he had never met. In fact, not long ago, Jordan had already investigated Stanley and found clearly all the information about him. In the past ten years, he didn¡¯t return to the Falcon Regiment because of a hidden reason. This was why Lucas wanted toe here and look at him with his own eyes. At this moment, Stanley was conflicted and full of misery in the face of those two options. He didn¡¯t want Lucas to die, but the price of saving Lucas was that he had to stay with the Brookes and continue helping themmit all sorts of dirty deeds. He didn¡¯t want to choose either of those two options. Stanley¡¯s eyes were red and bloodshot. Gritting his teeth hard, he turned around and said softly to Lucas behind him, ¡°I will attack themter to distract them. You guys hurry up and leave while you still have the chance. If necessary, shield yourselves with my corpse. You must escape safely!¡± There were numerous pistols in front of him, and even if he was quick, it would be hard for him to dodge. So he had to help Lucas and Jordan to escape safely. Hearing his words, Lucas suddenly smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We won¡¯t die. No one in this world can kill me so far.¡± Lucas sounded domineering and condescending. Although his words were arrogant, Stanley subconsciously trusted him, as he felt that everything Lucas said had to be true! ¡°Hahaha, how arrogant!¡± Andrewughed maniacally as if he had heard some joke. The Brookes hiding behind were all staring at Lucas with contempt and derision. ¡°I¡¯d like to see how you can stay alive under the power of these twenty-eight pistols of mine!¡± Andrew glowered at Lucas with resentment. But Lucas merely smiled and then did something that no one expected. He walked straight toward the pine tree that was as tall as a human at the door and casually touched a branch before shaking his head and sighing. ¡°This weing pine has grown well. Unfortunately, the owner has to be reced.¡± Andrew watched Lucas¡¯s actions in puzzlement, but after hearing this, he immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Scoundrel! Before thinking of recing the Brookes, you should consider if you are qualified! Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t dare to do anything to you just because you¡¯re one of the Huttons! ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ve already had my people investigate clearly. You¡¯re just a bastard who got driven out by the Huttons when you were a child. Many of the Huttons are looking forward to your death, and the Huttons have even screwed your Stardust Corporation over. If I kill you, maybe they¡¯ll even thank me!¡± With an icy cold glint in his eyes, Lucas said coldly, ¡°Is that so? You can try your luck.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think I won¡¯t dare!¡± Andrew¡¯s cheeks twitched, and he soon waved his hand violently. ¡°Shoot!¡± After thismand, time seemed to slow down at this moment. If the scene urred in slow motion, everyone would be preparing to pull their triggers. The sounds of bullets being loaded in muzzles and the sounds of the internal machinery sliding would also ring out. Stanley began to seem horrified as he slowly leaped toward Lucas. Andrew gradually smiled smugly. A fallen leaf slowly floated down in the air. ... An extremely dangerous situation would happen in the next moment. But Lucas had already vanished on the spot! Chapter 211: Terrifying

Chapter 211: Terrifying

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Stanley¡¯s horrified expression remained on his face just as he was about to leap over and protect Lucas. He discovered to his astonishment that Lucas, who was just standing near him, had suddenly vanished! Immediately afterward, Stanley felt a force tugging at his cor. His body couldn¡¯t help but propel into the air as the scene in front of him began to spin and be blurry. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ... The nearly 30 pistols fired at the same time with gunshots that resembled the sounds of beans exploding. All of a sudden, the space at the entrance of the Brooke residence was awash with the sounds of gunshots, making people¡¯s hearts palpitate. But when the sound of the gunshots stopped, everyone looked over at the entrance, only to see Lucas and his men, who should have been unable to escape, standing right there unscathed! Lucas still looked asposed as ever. But Stanley, whom he was lifting by the cor, had an indescribable look of astonishment on his face. The Brookes looked at each other and blinked, dumbfounded and shell-shocked. The elite henchmen who fired shots from their pistols just now looked as though they had seen a ghost. If not for the deep bullet holes left in the ground, the surrounding walls, and the tree trunks, they would have suspected that they were dreaming or wondered if there was something wrong with the guns in their hands. But how exactly did Lucas Gray and his men manage to remain unharmed despite the blizzard of bullets? ¡°How exactly did you dodge the bullets?¡± Andrew was stunned and furious as he asked this question. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t answer his question. He simply smiled faintly and said, ¡°Since you guys are done, it¡¯s my turn now.¡± He raised his hand and waved it. Countless rays of green light darted out of his hand. Numerous pine needles that were as thin as needles stabbed into the eyes of the henchmen holding guns! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! ¡°Ahhh! My eyes!!¡± ¡°Waaa!¡± ¡°Argh! It hurts!¡± ... Miserable shrieks filled the air. The gunmen dropped their pistols one by one and covered their eyes with their hands while shrieking in misery. ¡°They¡¯re... pine needles!¡± Finally, someone saw what was stuck into the eyes of the gunmen, and they immediately shrieked in disbelief. Their jaws dropped in shock as they stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded and suspecting if they were still dreaming. The flying needles and hidden weapons used to hurt people only appeared in action movies! In particr, the pine needles Lucas threw were plucked from the pine tree at the entrance just now! With a wave of his hand, he threw out dozens of pine needles and urately shot them into the eyes of the thirty people. This wasn¡¯t something that normal people could do. All the Brookes, except for those covering their eyes and rolling around, were dead silent! Andrew¡¯s face was twitching, and he felt as if his body had plunged into a freezing pond. Even his teeth were chattering as he quivered. Lucas¡¯s move was simply too intimidating, extraordinary, and terrifying! The densely packed bullets hadn¡¯t been able to hurt him at all, and no one could see clearly how he had managed to dodge the bullets so swiftly! In fact, he had not only dodged the bullets, but he had also carried Stanley in his hand, allowing him to be unscathed. The even more terrifying thing was that he had merely used pine needles to urately poke them blind in the eye! Besides, he hadunched not only one but dozens of pine needles at the same time. None of them missed! It... it waspletely beyond their imagination! Lucas was simply... beyond human! Even Stanley was looking at Lucas in astonishment. Just now, Lucas grabbed him by the cor and dodged the bullets. But due to the fact that Lucas was too quick, he could only see a blurry scene before his eyes while the loud and dense sounds of gunshots rang in his ears. But he didn¡¯t get shot by any of them. When his feetnded on the ground, he was amazed to find that he actually remained unscathed in the face of so many bullets! The scene of Lucas¡¯s flying needles piercing the gunmen blind had utterly frightened Stanley! At this moment, Stanley finally understood that Lucas¡¯s abilities had already far surpassed his. They werepletely beyond his imagination! Jordan was the only person among the people present who wasn¡¯t surprised by Lucas¡¯s terrifying skills and strength. Looking at the shocked and horrified Andrew, Lucas suddenly smiled and walked toward him. Andrew watched as Lucas approached him step by step. It was almost as if he was looking at a terrifying beast as he started trembling violently. If not for his pride keeping him hanging in, he would have probably turned limp and dropped to his knees in front of Lucas. Lucas walked up to Andrew and said with a faint smile, ¡°Mr. Brooke, as I said just now, you¡¯re even more foolish than I imagined. What do you think?¡± Andrew¡¯s heart quivered, and he felt as if he had taken a strike to his head. Yeah! I¡¯m just a fool! I clearly knew long ago that Lucas Gray isn¡¯t a simple person, but I still self-righteously disregarded him and repeatedly offended him. I even tried to exploit and kill him! I¡¯m really foolish! The sense of pride within Andrew¡¯s heart vanished, and he could no longer hold on. He dropped to his knees with a loud thud and knelt in front of Lucas with a despondent look of despair on his face. ¡°Mr. Gray, Mr. Gray, I know that I was wrong! I was blind and foolish to have offended you! I-I¡¯m willing to pledge allegiance to you on behalf of the Brookes, and I vow to never offend you again! Please give us a chance!¡± Kneeling on the ground, Andrew pleaded desperately in pain and agony. Lucas said indifferently. ¡°Your grandson harbored designs on my wife previously, but I didn¡¯t pursue the matter and instead gave you a chance to serve me. Yet you guys didn¡¯t behave and even betrayed me time and time again. You guys ruined the chance you were given. Do you think I¡¯d give you another chance to betray me?¡± ¡°No, no, no, we won¡¯t dare to do it again! Mr. Gray, I really know my mistakes. As long as you¡¯re magnanimous enough to forgive us once, we¡¯ll definitely willingly be your subordinates and do everything you want us to in the future!¡± Andrew repeatedly promised while looking at Lucas with his wrinkly eyes. He wished he could take out his heart and show it to Lucas to prove his sincerity. At this moment, Andrew was indeed truly full of regret! After witnessing Lucas¡¯s terrifying strength, he immediately understood that even without his incredible background and the power of the military, Lucas would still be able to destroy the Brookes with his individual strength. Only now did he finally understand why Stanley had told him that they had offended someone they shouldn¡¯t have and that they would soon vanish. He now understood that Stanley was referring to Lucas! Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t believe it at all at the time, and now it was toote for regrets! Chapter 212: The Annihilation of the Brookes

Chapter 212: The Annihtion of the Brookes

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After seeing Andrew kneeling in front of Lucas and begging him for mercy, the Brookes were even more horrified as they frantically followed suit and knelt behind Andrew. They started begging Lucas for mercy and pleading with him to spare them. Lucas stared at the people in front of him coldly without any pity. He had already given the Brookes too many chances. But unfortunately, they had thrown those chances away. They had even sent Stanley and the gunmen to kill him. If not for the fact that Lucas was powerful and strong enough, he would have definitely been nabbed by the Brookes now. If he was weak, the Brookes definitely wouldn¡¯t have let him off! At this moment, a few more people hurriedly came to the entrance of the Brooke residence. When they saw the scene at the entrance, they were stunned for a moment. All the Brookes were kneeling on the ground while around thirty gunmen were lying on the ground and wailing with blood seeping out of their eyes. However, the shock was fleeting, and their expressions were soon calm again. As if nothing had happened at all, a figure walked toward Lucas and handed a folder of documents to him respectfully. ¡°Lucas, all the properties belonging to the Brookes have been inventoried, and the valuation reports have been released. Please take a look.¡± The person who came was none other than Flynn, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation. The Brookes thought that the police of Orange County had arrested him, but they didn¡¯t expect that he had merely taken the initiative to go to the police station to cooperate with the investigation. Flynn had actually already left the police station a long time ago and done numerous things in secret. Lucas didn¡¯t take the folder and instead said, ¡°Bring them to Mr. Brooke and let him sign them.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Flynn turned around and handed the folder in his hand to Andrew. ¡°Mr. Brooke, we hired a team of senior auditors and appraisers to value all the properties under the name of the Brookes. The acquisition contracts are in here too. Take a look at them and sign at the bottom of the pages if there are no problems.¡± Flynn didn¡¯t give him any room for discussion, and there was an obvious hostility in his voice. Andrew understood that Lucas was trying to acquire all of their properties forcibly. The acquisition contracts in front of him had to be signed regardless of whether he was willing to or not! At the thought of losing the businesses and properties that he had painstakingly acquired over the past decade or so, Andrew naturally couldn¡¯t bear to let them go. ¡°Mr. Gray, you... please don¡¯t take all our properties away. I-I¡¯m willing to cooperate with you. I can even give you half of the property rights as long as you¡¯re willing to let us keep our assets...¡± Refusing to give up, Andrew pleaded in agony. But Lucas merely looked at him calmly before saying, ¡°Mr. Brooke, the fact that I am willing to spend money to buy your assets at the market price after valuation is moral enough. I could have just snatched them from you without spending a single cent. Or I could have also let your businesses continue being sealed until you went bankrupt within half a month. Think it over yourself.¡± Andrew¡¯s face was ashen, and it finally dawned on him that the sealing of the Brookes¡¯ factories and warehouses, which they were informed of in the morning, was all Lucas¡¯s doing! He finally understood that in terms ofbat strength, the Brookes were far inferior to Lucas. And in terms of authority and power, the Brookes were no match for him! It was all because he was too foolish to have underestimated him! The loss of their business was the retribution that they deserved! Andrew looked despondent, but deep down, he no longer dared to defy Lucas. While quivering, he took the acquisition contracts from Flynn and signed his name. With his acknowledgment and signatures, all of the Brookes¡¯ businesses, properties, and real estate now belonged to Lucas! From now on, the Brookes would no longer have a ce in LA! Lucas left the Brooke residence together with Jordan, Stanley, Flynn, and the others. On the way back to Orange County, Lucas suddenly instructed Flynn, ¡°Spread the news that the Brookes have fallen. Whether the Brookes survive or not will depend on themselves.¡± Flynn knew what Lucas meant and took out his phone to make arrangements. Sitting in the back seat of the car, Stanley had aplicated look on his face after hearing Lucas¡¯s decision. During the past ten years or so, the Brookes had been using Stanley to kill and carry out various underhanded schemes against many of their rivals and enemies. In the past, the Brookes relied on Stanley¡¯s power to behave arrogantly and unscrupulously. But now that they were facing destruction and Stanley had left them, there would definitely be countless enemiesing to seek revenge. Could the Brookes still resist now? But Stanley soon thought of the events that urred today in the Brooke residence. Andrew had made his gunmen threaten Stanley and force him to make a choice while the rest of the Brookes humiliated him and cursed at him. He no longer felt any emotional attachment to the Brookes. Just as Lucas said, the survival of the Brookes would only depend on themselves. ¡°Flynn, you will stay in LA for the time being and preside over the matters here for me. Clean up the Brookes¡¯ businesses properly. Once you¡¯re done, I have more important tasks for you,¡± Lucas suddenly said to Flynn. Flynn was first stunned, but he was soon overjoyed. Lucas obviously meant that he was going to put him to important tasks! ¡°Yes, Lucas. I will definitely try my best toplete the task!¡± Flynn eximed with delight written all over his face. Lucas nced at Stanley. ¡°What are your ns next?¡± Stanley seemed hesitant. Before he met Lucas, he felt incredibly ashamed and remorseful for what he had done and was determined to break free from the Brookes and stop helping them. Of course, he didn¡¯t have the cheek to return to the Falcon Regiment. Thus, Stanley thought that he would go to a ce where no one knew him and spend the rest of his life there. But after he witnessed Lucas¡¯s powerful strength, his heart was full of fire again. He looked down again and said with determination, ¡°Mr... Mr. Gray, I know that I¡¯ve made many mistakes in the past, and I¡¯m not qualified to mention the Falcon Regiment again, but I hope that I can stay by your side. No matter what, I will be at your disposal!¡± Jordan¡¯s mouth moved, seeming to want to say something. But in the end, he didn¡¯t. Just now, at the entrance of the Brooke residence, Stanley would rather die than continue to stay and work for them. His attempt to sacrifice himself to protect Lucas was enough to show that he was a real man who had not lost the spirit of the Falcon Regiment. Lucas also had a good impression of Stanley. After thinking about it, he said, ¡°Okay then. Since you want to work for me, I will ept you as my subordinate. You don¡¯t have to return to Orange County with me. Since you¡¯re more familiar with the situation in LA, stay here with Flynn. After everything has been taken care of, you may return to Orange County to see me.¡± In the beginning, Stanley carried little hope that Lucas would take him in because he had done too many misdeeds that brought shame to the Falcon Regiment. But now that Lucas agreed to take him in and even assigned him to a task, he couldn¡¯t help but be overjoyed. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll surely aplish the task!¡± Chapter 213: Enemies Visit

Chapter 213: Enemies Visit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Flynn and Stanley stayed in LA, while Jordan and Lucas returned to Orange County by car. The Brooke residence... Andrew was sitting in the middle of the courtyard and watching his devastated family members packing their belongings. His eyes were full of sorrow and reluctance to leave. He had built the vi and the entire family manor of the Brookes single-handedly. He thought that he would still live here after retiring, but he never thought that there would be a day where he had to leave. Lucas had acquired all of the properties belonging to the Brookes in LA, including the house in front of him, the plot ofnd he owned, and everything on it. He looked at the pine at the entrance again. Just a short while ago, Lucas said that the pine needed a new owner. And indeed, in less than an hour, it gained a new owner. Andrew looked crestfallen and miserable. Suddenly, the butler ran toward him anxiously and yelled in panic, ¡°Mr. Brooke, bad news! All the media in LA are reporting about the fall of our family!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Andrew looked aghast, and he sprung up from his seat. This was undoubtedly a terrible piece of news! Over the years, the Brookes had offended countless people and had numerous enemies both in the open and hidden in the dark. Now that the news of their family¡¯s fall had spread, many would definitelye knocking on their door to seek revenge! But now, Stanley, whom the Brookes relied the most on, was no longer around! Andrew immediately ordered, ¡°Everyone, stop packing your things. Take only your most valuable items that you carry easily and then gather at the entrance! Drive all the cars to the entrance. We¡¯ll leave immediately as soon as everyone is here!¡± ¡°Yo, Andrew Brooke, where are the Brookes headed to?¡± As soon as Andrew gave his orders, the Brookes suddenly heard a sarcastic remark before they even took action. Andrew turned around and saw arge bunch of people walking in menacingly. Andrew¡¯s heart hammered violently. They were all members of the families that the Brookes had offended, and they obviously had hostile intentions! Oh no! These people are here too soon! Andrew forced himself to stayposed as he rebuked with a hostile expression, ¡°This is the territory of the Brookes. Who allowed you to trespass?¡± ¡°Hmph, Andrew Brooke, don¡¯t feign ignorance! Don¡¯t you know what we¡¯re here for? Five years ago, you sent someone to kill my uncle over a contract you wanted to snatch from us. Did you forget this matter?¡± A tall young man red at Andrew resentfully. A member of another family chimed in, ¡°You also killed my grandson over a minor conflict between youngsters. I still remember this incident. Now I can finally avenge my grandson!¡± ¡°The Brookes have beenpeting with the Turners for our business deals and caused us to suffer heavy losses. We also want to settle the score with you!¡± ¡°The patriarch of the Whites was driven to his grave two years ago by you, Andrew Brooke. It¡¯s payback time!¡± ... One by one, the members of various families that had feuds with the Brookes stood in front of Andrew with righteous indignation, their eyes full of immense hatred and resentment. The more Andrew listened, the more frightened he became. Some of the things they mentioned still rang a bell, but he had already forgotten some of the other matters. After all, the Brookes had offended too many people! Those who came to settle scores with the Brookes would surely not let them get away with it easily! Seeing that so many of their enemies had arrived, the Brookes were all petrified with fear. Some of the timid ones were even on the verge of tears. At this moment, they missed Stanley greatly. In the past, as long as Stanley was around, they wouldn¡¯t have to fear these people at all. In fact, even the first-ss families of the city had to be polite and respectful toward them. Unfortunately, Stanley was no longer with the Brookes! At this moment, the Brookes seemed to have forgotten that just a moment ago, they wereshing out at Stanley and wishing they could stomp him to death. ¡°Hmph, these are all old scores. Why rake them up again? If you really want to settle scores with the Brookes, let¡¯s meet up another day and sit down to discuss it. How does that sound?¡± Andrew pretended to be calm and pulled a dying tactic to stall for time. ¡°Hah, Andrew Brooke, do you take us for fools? I bet we wouldn¡¯t even have to wait until another day before you people scurried far away by evening. Who are we supposed to settle scores with you by then?¡± ¡°Hmph,e surround the Brooke residence and seal off the front and back doors. No one is allowed to leave!¡± These families had joined forces, and all of them had brought their respective bodyguards and henchmen. As soon as they gave their orders, there was immediately arge crowd outside the Brookes¡¯ manor, and no one could escape! The Brookes immediately panicked, and Andrew had an extremely gloomy expression. He looked at the young man taking the lead and said furiously, ¡°Elliot Parker, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever offended you, have I? Your family and mine have cooperated, and we share many business dealings. Why did you join them in dealing with us?¡± Elliot sneered. ¡°Andrew Brooke, fancy you having the cheek to say that we have business dealings. In our previous cooperation, you passed off inferior goods as high-quality goods, and when we sent someone to discuss it with you, you humiliated us and kicked us out. Did you forget?¡± Andrew questioned in exasperation, ¡°You need evidence before you can use us! Since when did we pass off inferior goods as high-quality goods? When did we insult the Parkers?¡± ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t you remember? Well, the Brookes have done too many unconscionable things, and you guys definitely don¡¯t remember these trivial matters. But it¡¯s alright. The Brookes are going to get theireuppance today!¡± Elliot sneered and took a few steps forward. Andrew stopped in front of those people and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Elliot Parker and the rest of you, how dare youe here to cause trouble? Do you really think there¡¯s no one to back the Brookes up anymore?¡± Elliot raised his brows. ¡°Now, everyone in LA knows that your family has copsed. And even the top henchman of your family has already left your family. You¡¯re like a tiger without ws. What else can you do?¡± ¡°Hmph, who said that we¡¯re pushovers now? Who told you that our top henchman is gone?¡± Andrew¡¯s face turned sullen, and he suddenly whipped out his phone to make a call. ¡°Stanley, some blind people just likeing to the Brookes to stir up trouble. Come back in ten minutes to deal with them!¡± Then Andrew stared gloomily at the dozens of people surrounding the gate of the Brookes¡¯ vi, and his gaze became menacing and ruthless. ¡°Hmph, I was going to talk to you guys nicely. But since you want to be dealt with the hard way, don¡¯t me us for being ruthlesster!¡± Chapter 214: Escaping

Chapter 214: Escaping

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When the people who came to besiege the Brookes saw Andrew¡¯s behavior, they immediately hesitated even though they just imed that they could take the Brookes down easily. They began to wonder if that terrifying godlike man had really left the Brookes. If he had left only for a while and could be summoned by Andrew with a single phone call, none of them here to settle scores with the Brookes would be able to escape! The news of the destruction of the Brookes was already confirmed in LA ording to the news broadcast. But there were only rumors about Stanley¡¯s departure, so no one could confirm if he had really left or not. At the thought of this, many people began to feel their hearts palpitate. ¡°Hmph, old fogy, are you still trying to put up a pretense and scare us?¡± At this moment, a young man from one of the families suddenly cursed because he didn¡¯t believe Andrew¡¯s words. He felt that Andrew was just making false ims to scare them. Andrew¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but he tried his best to pretend to be nonchnt. In fact, he even threatened, ¡°Punk, if you don¡¯t want to follow in your brother¡¯s footsteps, continue kicking up a ruckus here! Stanley will return in a few minutes, and you¡¯ll naturally know whether I¡¯m boasting or not!¡± Seeing that the people in front of him were hesitant and apprehensive, Andrew decided to strike the iron while it was hot and continued, ¡°Hah, the Brookes have been running businesses for more than a decade, and we have enough manpower and wealth. We¡¯ve just restarted our empire in another ce! Stanley has stayed with us for so many years. As long as we hire him with a high sry again, why would he leave? ¡°I don¡¯t know who instigated you or where you heard the news of Stanley¡¯s departure, so you came to the Brookes to stir up trouble. ¡°However, I¡¯ll make things clear now. If you all leave this ce now, I can still consider that nothing has happened and not hold it against you on ount that we know each other. But if you still want to seek revenge and cause trouble, I¡¯ll have Stanley break all of your legs when hees back! Even if you flee back to your families, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Andrew had a hostile expression on his face as he red at the people in front of him. He didn¡¯t seem scared at all and instead seemed rather fearless. Everyone immediately thought of retreating. After all, Stanley was known for being brutal and ruthless. They were really terrified. ¡°Forget it. Anyway, it¡¯s just some minor grudges from the past. There¡¯s no point in getting our families involved. We¡¯ll get going now. Bye!¡± ¡°We... we have other things to handle at home too. We¡¯re going to get going!¡± ¡°Forget it. We don¡¯t care anymore. Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Damn it. If that killeres back, it¡¯ll be over for us. Let¡¯s hurry and leave!¡± ... All of a sudden, everyone was terrified and immediately left. In front of therge gate of the Brookes¡¯ vi, Elliot and a few others were the only ones left. ¡°Elliot, what¡¯s going on? You must have a death wish for choosing to stay behind. Are you that eager to die?¡± Andrew questioned derisively while looking at Elliot. Elliot snorted and shouted, ¡°Andrew, don¡¯t be too smug! Stanley hasn¡¯t returned yet. I can kill you before hees back!¡± Andrewughed out loud nonchntly. ¡°Sure. Anyway, I¡¯ve already lived such a long time. Even if I die, it won¡¯t be a loss! Your entire Parker family will be buried along with me. It¡¯ll be worth it. Come on. I¡¯m standing right. Try killing me!¡± ¡°You!¡± The more fearless Andrew seemed, the uglier Elliot¡¯s face became. He gritted his teeth and held back for a long time, but he still didn¡¯t dare to really make a move on the Brookes. ¡°There are still five minutes left. Stanley will be back soon.¡± Andrew deliberately lifted his wrist to look at his watch before warning. ¡°Damn it! Andrew Brooke, just you wait! One day, I will make sure you get it! Let¡¯s go!¡± Elliot finally couldn¡¯t help but curse as he left the Brookes¡¯ vi together with the rest. He was the scion of the Parkers and the future sessor. He definitely couldn¡¯t stay here and let Stanley cripple him! As Elliot left, the others standing in front of the Brookes¡¯ vi also left. Only then did the Brookes heave a long sigh of relief and rx. ¡°Will Stanley... reallye back?¡± Although they had witnessed everything that happened previously, there were some who were still waiting to hear his answer expectantly. Andrew shook his head bitterly. Of course, he knew that Stanley definitely wouldn¡¯t return to the Brookes. He had indeed deliberately said those words to scare them away. ¡°All of you, drop everything you haven¡¯t packed and get in the cars immediately. We¡¯ll set off now! Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to escape! We will leave separately and gather in Florida. Got it?!¡± Andrew hollered and took the lead to get in a car. Countless members of the Brooke family behind him were in a state of panic as they hurriedly got inside the cars and soon left in various directions. By the time the people of other families in LA realized that something was amiss, the Brookes had long since scattered among the traffic of LA. They had already left the city, and the other families wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up at all. ¡ª¡ª In the luxurious vi belonging to the Parkers in LA, Elliot flew into a rage and mmed his teacup hard onto the ground when he heard that Stanley hadn¡¯t return to the Brookes and that the Brookes had actually taken the opportunity to flee from LA! Bang! The white porcin teacup instantly shattered into pieces! ¡°You still have the nerve to smash your cup, huh? You good-for-nothing, I told you to go to the Brookes and stop them from leaving, but you did exactly the opposite!¡± Ian Parker, Elliot¡¯s father, cursed furiously and raised his hand to p Elliot hard on the face. Smack! Elliot put his hand on his red and swollen cheek and roared furiously, ¡°Dad, that sly old fox Andrew Brooke deliberately lied to us that Stanley Ray wasing back soon. He threatened to kill me if I didn¡¯t leave. Well, that¡¯s why I... I thought that if he really came back, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see me again. He seemed really aggressive, and everyone was scared by him. Who expected that that bastard was lying!¡± ¡°How dare you argue?! Anyway, you failed to get the job done properly! Hmph, in order to stop those people from talking, I¡¯ll leave it to you to handle the other matters regarding the Brookes. Hurry up and make up for it! This time, you have to do a good job and not make any mistakes again!¡± Ian said with great determination and a gloomy gaze. ¡°Dad, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Although the Brookes have fled, they still own many businesses, factories, and real estate properties in LA. They couldn¡¯t have moved them all away. I don¡¯t care if those properties no longer have an owner or whoever they belong to now. I want you to bring some people and snatch them!¡± Chapter 215: Cooperate With Me

Chapter 215: Cooperate With Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, Lucas had just arrived back in Orange County. Flynn called Lucas and briefly reported the situation in LA to him. ¡°Lucas, we¡¯ve just received news that after word about the destruction of the Brookes got out, several families in LA approached the Brookes to exact revenge on them. However, Andrew Brooke lied and scared them away by iming that Stanley Ray would immediately return. Currently, the Brookes have all fled LA, and they seem to have headed south, but we don¡¯t have their exact destination.¡± Lucas¡¯s lips curled into a faint smirk. ¡°That old fogy Andrew Brooke is indeed a sly old fox. As I said before, it¡¯s all up to them whether the Brookes can survive or not. Since they¡¯ve left LA, there¡¯s no need for us to bother about them anymore.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Flynn immediately acknowledged. ¡°I also have one more thing to report to you. The businesses and properties of the Brookes now belong to you. But just now, we found out that the Parkers intend to intervene and seize all of them. What do you think we should do...¡± ¡°The Parkers? How bold of them! How dare they covet my things. They must have failed to consider why the Brookes were destroyed. What a foolish bunch. Let Stanley handle this matter and try to deter them. When necessary, you may attack. But tell him not to get anyone killed.¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t worried about the affairs in LA because he had kept Stanley there, all for the sake of using the reputation he had built to assist Flynn in taking care of the matters there quickly. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Flynn felt rxed after hearing Lucas¡¯s arrangements. With a terrifying and intimidating expert like Stanley in LA, it would be a matter of time before the things there were taken care of. As soon as Lucas hung up the call with Flynn, he went to the kindergarten to pick Amelia up from school. Then he went to the Brilliance Corporation to pick Cheyenne up. Cheyenne had been frowning throughout the journey home, as if she was troubled about something. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± Lucas asked with concern while driving. Only then did Cheyenne return to her senses. She shook her head and said worriedly, ¡°I¡¯m just a little worried about my dad. He¡¯s been missing for the past few days, and I can¡¯t reach him through the phone. I¡¯m really worried... that he might have met a mishap.¡± Lucas frowned slightly too. Previously, Cheyenne¡¯s father, William, often stayed outte and refused to go home. Once, he got dead drunk and waster found gambling at the casino in the Opulence. He was then nabbed and forced to return about 800,000 dors in cash. If Lucas hadn¡¯t arrived in time to save him, William would have had his limbs cut off. But after that, William didn¡¯t reflect much on himself and still continued staying out all the time. Even though they had already moved to the vi in the middle of Pearl Lake, William probably wasn¡¯t aware of it because he hadn¡¯t been home in days. And when Cheyenne tried to contact him, she couldn¡¯t reach him through his phone nor find him at all. Seeing how worried she was, Lucasforted, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll go look for Williamter. I promise I¡¯ll find him and take him home.¡± Only after hearing his words did Cheyenne feel relieved. As long as Lucas made a promise, he would definitely fulfill it. This was the sense of trust and reliability that she had felt from Lucas over this period of time. Soon after Lucas drove Cheyenne and Amelia home, Cheyenne¡¯s phone suddenly started ringing. She answered the call and listened for a while before her expression changed drastically. She said anxiously, ¡°Really? Okay, I know. I¡¯ll get going now! Thank you!¡± After she hung up, her eyes turned red, and she was on the verge of tears. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Who called?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°A friend of mine. She just told me that she saw my dad gambling in Little Antis City!¡± Cheyenne said in misery, sounding like she was sobbing. Lucas knew about Little Antis City. It was a ce modeled after the internationally renowned Antis City Resort located on Paradise Ind in the capital of the Bahamas. Little Antis City was the top entertainment joint in the city and housed thergest casino in town, as well as some brothel-like ces. He didn¡¯t expect that Wiliam hadn¡¯t learned his lesson at all after the previous incident in the Opulence. He even continued gambling in a ce like Little Antis City. Gambling was a terrible vice in the first ce, and many gambling addicts often ended up losing everything, resulting in the destruction of their families. William was rather silly too, as he would often fall into the trapsid by others. In a ce like a casino, he was just like a piece of fat meat that those with ulterior motives were looking forward to ughtering. Lucas frowned. It would be simple if they just wanted to bring William home, but Lucas wanted him to wake up and quit his vices. Thus, he would have to do it the hard way. Thinking of this, Lucas looked at Cheyenne and said softly, ¡°We have to think of a way to make your dad quit his addiction. I have a solution for this, but I need your cooperation.¡± Cheyenne quickly nodded. ¡°Tell me. As long as it can make him quit his gambling addiction, I will cooperate with you and do whatever you ask of me!¡± Lucas told Cheyenne his n. ¡°Will... that work? Will it cause any trouble?¡± she asked, feeling worried after hearing what he said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With me around, it will be fine,¡± he saidfortingly. His words instantly made her feel much more at ease. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s set off now!¡± Cheyenne eximed. They put Amelia in Charlotte¡¯s care before driving off to Little Antis City. Soon, Lucas and Cheyenne arrived at the luxurious and ostentatious Little Antis City. ¡°Wee, may I ask what type of entertainment services the two of you would like? Our usher will lead the way,¡± the front desk attendant greeted in a sweet voice and smile. ¡°We would like to go to the casino on the top floor,¡± Lucas said. Previously, Cheyenne¡¯s friend had informed her that she saw William in the casino on the top floor. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, but if you¡¯d like to go to the top floor, you have to be a tinum level member of Little Antis City,¡± the front desk attendant said respectfully. ¡°What can we do about it?¡± Lucas said as he took out a gold and ck card. After the front desk attendant saw the card, her eyes instantly lit up, and she said in a softer and more pleasant voice, ¡°Sir, there are two ways you can apply for membership. If you have a member referral, you only need...¡± ¡°How much will it cost? I want two tinum membership cards,¡± Lucas interrupted. In fact, the rules of such ces werergely simr. If you came with a friend who was a longtime member of the ce, the fee for a tinum membership card would be much lower. But if you were purely a neer without a referral or a friend to introduce you, you would have to pay more to get a membership card due to safety reasons. Lucas was now anxious to go upstairs to look for William together with Cheyenne, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to find someone to refer him and simply offered money. ¡°Alright... If you apply for the membership card directly, it will cost one hundred and fifty thousand dors each. Would you like two?¡± the front desk attendant asked smilingly. Chapter 216: Looking for William Carter

Chapter 216: Looking for William Carter

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Soon, they received two tinum membership cards at the cost of slightly over 300,000, which was deducted from Lucas¡¯s gold and ck card. After being led to the top floor by the usher, Lucas dismissed him and walked toward the casino with Cheyenne. Cheyenne felt the pinch of spending more than 300,000 on the two tinum membership cards. ¡°The membership cards are too expensive. If I had known, I would have let my friend refer us. It¡¯s not worth it to spend so much money on a membership card.¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°It¡¯s faster to get the membership this way, and it¡¯ll allow us to find William sooner.¡± There were rows of exquisitely crafted masks hanging on the walls on both sides of the corridor, which were prepared for guests who wanted to y in the poker room but wished to keep their identity concealed. Lucas took a random mask from the wall and put it on his face. The mask was enough to cover his entire face and revealed only his long and narrow eyes. ¡°Go to Williamter. I¡¯ll look for you afterward ording to n.¡± Lucas¡¯s voice had changed significantlypared to usual, and he sounded like apletely different person. Cheyenne looked at him in astonishment. If not for the fact that Lucas was standing right in front of her and talking to her, she probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell who he was! ¡°Okay, go ahead. Quickly.¡± Lucas looked at Cheyenne¡¯s dumbfounded expression in amusement. Only then did Cheyenne snap back to her senses. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Then she turned around and entered the poker room. As part of the top entertainment joint of the city, Little Antis City¡¯s poker room was definitely extremely crowded and lively. There were hundreds of card tables of various designs lined up in the spacious hall, and there were plenty of people surrounding each table with their eyes glued onto them. There were also many people wearing masks on their faces like Lucas. It was Cheyenne¡¯s first time being in such a ce, so she was at a loss for what to do. ¡°Cheyenne, here!¡± A clear and tender voice belonging to a woman sounded near Cheyenne. Cheyenne turned around and saw a fashionably dressed, youthful-looking woman standing at a table not far away. The woman was walking up to Cheyenne. She was none other than Cheyenne¡¯s close friend Lena. ¡°Lena!¡± Cheyenne hurriedly walked over and gripped her hand. But before she could catch up with her with pleasantries, she anxiously asked, ¡°Lena, where¡¯s my father?¡± ¡°Come with me. He¡¯s here.¡± Lena took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and walked with her through the gaps in the crowd all the way until they reached a table near the corner. She then pointed to one of the people at the table. ¡°William is right there.¡± Cheyenne looked in the direction Lena was pointing and saw a scruffy William, whose face was covered in stubble and hair was all unkempt and greasy. His clothes were crumpled and hanging loosely off his body as he stared at the cardsid out on the table, his gaze full of zeal and mania. ¡°Hahahaha, I finally got a good hand this time. Just you wait. I¡¯ll definitely win this round!¡± He eximed delightedly with the cards in hand. Seeing the way William was behaving, Cheyenne burst into tears, and she rushed forward to grab his arm. ¡°Dad! You haven¡¯t gone home for so many days. Have you been staying in this ce?¡± Upon seeing his daughter suddenly appear, William couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty and flustered. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯te home, and I couldn¡¯t reach you on your phone. It took me great lengths toe here and find you. Dad, stop gambling ande home with me!¡± Cheyenne begged miserably. ¡°I... I...¡± William didn¡¯t want to go home at all, and he still had the good hand of cards that he had finally obtained. How could he be willing to just leave it behind and leave? ¡°William Carter, are you going to y or not? Hurry up! If you¡¯re not interested, get lost quickly. We want to y!¡± A poker yer next to him frowned and urged in displeasure. ¡°Of course I¡¯m ying!¡± William hurriedly responded. Then he pushed away Cheyenne¡¯s hand before pushing the pile of chips in front of him forward. ¡°I¡¯m going to increase my stake! Do you guys dare bet?¡± ¡°Dad, stop ying ande home with me!¡± Cheyenne became panicked and angry when she saw that her father was still obsessed with poker. She tried to grab the cards in his hand and throw them away. ¡°Get lost!¡± William pushed Cheyenne away hostilely and hollered fiercely, ¡°Don¡¯t disturb me! If you have anything to say, wait until I¡¯m done!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll follow suit!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± Several other people at the table also threw out the chips in front of them and followed suit to raise their stakes. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s turn our cards over!¡± Everyone showed their cards. ¡°Hahaha. I win this game again! I win again!¡± A chubby man wearing golden jewelry suddenlyughed out loud and collected all the chips on the table. He then mocked William loudly, ¡°William Carter, you can¡¯t make it anymore. You¡¯ve already lost!¡± William was extremely sullen, but there was nothing he could do except watch the chubby man take his chips away. He thought that his hand this time was good and that he could recoup his losses, but to his surprise, he lost. ¡°Dad, let¡¯s go home...¡± Cheyenne once again tried to persuade. Boiling with fury, William looked at Cheyenne beside him and immediately flew into a rage. He vented all his anger on her as he barked, ¡°Damn it. I had a good hand, but you kept making so much noise while you were beside me. You made me lose all my good luck! Hurry up and get lost. Once I¡¯ve won enough, I¡¯ll go back. I don¡¯t need you to urge me!¡± Cheyenne was still a young woman in her twenties. After being yelled at mercilessly by William, she felt miserable and aggrieved. The tears in her eyes made her look even more beautiful. The other yers around the table looked over after hearing William¡¯s scolding. When they saw the gorgeous Cheyenne, their eyes were full of amazement. Being a stunning beauty, Cheyenne¡¯s presence among the poker yers in the room was akin to a piece of fresh and tender meat suddenly appearing in the middle of a pack of hungry wolves. Many men even looked at her lustfully and lecherously. ¡°Hey, William Carter, is this your daughter? I couldn¡¯t tell that you¡¯d be able to have such a beautiful daughter!¡± The chubby man decked out in gold jewelry stared at Cheyenne intently with a disgusting expression. ¡°William Carter, you¡¯ve just lost so many rounds, I bet you¡¯ve lost all your capital, right? I¡¯ll give you eighty grand to recoup your losses in exchange for two days with your daughter. How does that sound?¡± Chapter 217: The Beginning of the Round of Poker

Chapter 217: The Beginning of the Round of Poker

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The chubby man had a look of certainty on his face, and he even tried to reach out to pull Cheyenne toward him so that he could grope her. With his understanding of William¡¯s gambling habits, coupled with the fact that William had lost all his money, the fat man felt that William definitely wouldn¡¯t turn his offer down. So after speaking, he treated Cheyenne as his property and reached out to vite her. ¡°Get lost! Who gave you permission to touch my daughter with that dirty hand of yours?¡± William sprung up and hollered furiously before smacking the chubby man¡¯s hand away. He then moved Cheyenne behind him to shield her. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter, not a promiscuous ything. If anyone dares to touch my daughter, I¡¯ll go all out!¡± Not only was the chubby man bewildered by William¡¯s actions, but even Lucas, who was standing near them and observing, was surprised. He even changed his impression of William. It seemed that although William was ipetent and a huge scumbag, he at least still regarded Cheyenne as his daughter. But Lucas wondered if William would still be able to stay firm in his position as Cheyenne¡¯s father and value their kinship. If he still protected Cheyenne like he was doing now, Lucas would have to change his n. After the initial surprise, the chubby man reacted to William, a penniless man now down and out, actually having the audacity to berate him in public. He was enraged and grabbed William by his cor. ¡°Damn it, William Carter. How dare you scold me in public? You must be tired of living.¡± Only then did William recall that the chubby man didn¡¯t have a simple identity. He was from a powerful family in Orange County, and he definitely wasn¡¯t someone William could afford to provoke. William immediately started shuddering. ¡°I... I... I did it in a moment of pique!¡± William stammered and exined, much less confident than he was moments ago. At this moment, someone reached their hand over and pressed it on the chubby man¡¯s hand. The chubby man felt a sudden soreness in his wrist and involuntarily let go of William¡¯s cor. The chubby man cocked his head toward the side and saw a masked man standing right beside him. The hand that pressed against his just now belonged to this man. ¡°W-who are you...¡± the chubby man asked apprehensively in shock as he stared at the mask Lucas was wearing. The patrons of Little Antis City were all wealthy, especially those who wore masks¡ªthey were usually powerful figures of status whose identities couldn¡¯t be revealed indiscriminately. So although the chubby man was infuriated that Lucas had interrupted him, he didn¡¯t dare to lose his temper on the spot, for fear that he might offend a distinguished figure. Lucas stared at the chubby man indifferently with his eyes full of disdain as though he was staring at a piece of garbage. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re qualified to ask about my identity? Get lost!¡± Then he pushed the chubby man away and sat on his seat. The chubby man was so furious that his face and neck flushed red. The moment he was about to curse, he immediately curbed the urge to do so. Since he dares to speak in such an arrogant tone, he must be a powerful bigwig I can¡¯t afford to trifle with! Despite being overwhelmed with fury, the chubby man could only force himself to bear with it. The man who sounded extremely arrogant was naturally Lucas. He was wearing a mask, and he had also made his voice sound different than usual. Even William, his father-inw, who was now sitting right in front of him, was stunned and couldn¡¯t recognize his son-inw. ¡°This gentleman, would you like to join this game? Our stakes are high.¡± A few other poker yers at the same table couldn¡¯t help but be excited after seeing how domineering Lucas was. This person seemed to be a big shot, and this was a good thing because it meant that he was rich enough to pay even if he lost a lot of money during the game. Such people were the type of yers that experienced yers like them, who spent loads of time on poker and even made a living off it, liked ying with the most. ¡°Is that so?¡± Lucas casually took out a gold and ck Dubai First Royale Card from his pocket and handed it to the service attendant beside him. ¡°Get me three million dors worth of chips.¡± ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°He¡¯s starting with a capital of three million dors. What a baller!¡± The poker yers gathered around the table couldn¡¯t help but gasp in shock as they stared at Lucas like they were looking at a whale. He was definitely a whale with a ton of money! William also had excitement written all over her face. Although he didn¡¯t have much money left¡ªonly around a few hundred thousand¡ªhe would be able to recoup his capital as long as he won a few rounds against this young baller. He thought that he might even win several to dozens of times the amount of his capital! Soon, the service attendant carried Lucas¡¯s chips to him, and the game officially began. ¡°Hey brother, how do you want to y?¡± A ginger sitting at the poker table stared at Lucas with a zealous gaze and asked roguishly. Lucas calmly leaned back in his chair and said indifferently, ¡°Let¡¯s y a simple game where the biggest hand wins. Four cards facing up and one facing down. How does that sound?¡± The few poker yers at the table exchanged nces with each other gleefully. This was indeed a simple game, as it required little technical skills and was mostly dependent on luck. Each game would end quickly too, so the amount of money won or lost would be quiterge. But it happened to be just what they wanted. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go ahead with that. Dealer, begin!¡± The beautiful woman wearing the dealer¡¯s uniform and standing at the side smiled and nodded. She extended her slender fingers to shuffle and deal the cards. Soon, the few yers each had a few cards in front of them. ¡°I¡¯ll raise the stakes eight grand!¡± ¡°Call!¡± ¡°Call!¡± ... They raised the stakes by eight thousand in one go. The stakes of the game were undoubtedly high. William hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and saying, ¡°Call!¡± Soon, all the people at the poker table called the bet. Lucas was the only one who hadn¡¯t. Everyone turned to look at Lucas, waiting to hear his answer. ¡°I¡¯ll raise the bet by a million dors.¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was calm, but his words were like a drop of water added to hot oil and instantly led to an uproar. ¡°What?! He raised the bet by a million dors?! That¡¯s outrageous!¡± ¡°This is so exciting! Who can call this bet? It¡¯s a million dors!¡± ¡°Damn, that¡¯s too much! The stakes are going to be millions of dors!¡± ... The people at the card table and the spectators around the table all gasped in amazement. Actually, the simplicity of the game was precisely the reason that there was a greater degree of freedom in choice in terms of raising the bet. After the dealer had ced the basic bet, everyone was free to raise the bet. Those who were willing to continue ying could call, while those who felt that the risk was too high could choose not to call. Those who didn¡¯t call would be considered to have folded and would thus be kicked out of the game automatically. All of the chips they ced would also be given to the winner. However, no one dared to call with Lucas¡¯s raise of a million dors. Of course, greater risks also meant greater returns. If they called the bet and won, they would win more than a million dors at once, which was simply more than the lifetime earnings of an average person! This was what gambling was all about! You could either strike a fortune overnight or lose everything in a single night. It was brutal and harsh. The people at the table were all obviously hesitant. But after weighing the cards they had in their hands, they finally gave up calling the bet. William was the only one who repeatedly looked at the cards in his hand and finally gritted his teeth before saying reluctantly, ¡°I... call!¡± Chapter 218: She’ll Be Collateral

Chapter 218: She¡¯ll Be Coteral

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as William said that, the chubby man whom Lucas had reced as a yer at the table and who could now only stand by and watch couldn¡¯t help but sneer. ¡°William Carter, you want to call? That¡¯s a million dors in cash. Are you sure you can afford to call?¡± The poker yers next to him also agreed. ¡°Exactly, William Carter, we all know how much money you have. When you first came here a few days ago, you had less than a million dors. Besides, you¡¯ve lost so much money in the past few days, you probably only have a few hundred grand left. How can you afford to call the bet?¡± When they exposed how much William had, his face flushed with embarrassment. But he soon swallowed his pride and eximed loudly, ¡°I really have a good hand! As long as I can call the bet, I will definitely win! If someone lends me a million dors, I¡¯ll pay you one-point-two million when I win. I won¡¯t go back on my word!¡± His words immediately sparked more mockery and louder discussion. The majority of yers here were experienced gamblers who had met all sorts of people at the poker table, especially those who often borrowed money to continue gambling. But people like William who bet all the money he had and even tried to borrow more from others were rare! ¡°Damn it, William Carter. Are you trying to gain something without risking anything of your own? You¡¯re penniless now, but you want us to lend you money? You¡¯re really thick-skinned!¡± ¡°Haha, this is the first time I¡¯ve witnessed something like this! William Carter, why don¡¯t you lend me a few grand? If I win, I¡¯m willing to share half of my winnings with you. Will you do it?¡± ¡°Exactly! Does this dimwit take all of us for fools? If we had so much money, why wouldn¡¯t we y ourselves? We¡¯d be able to win a million dors in one go. Why should we lend our money to you so that you can gamble?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! If you lose, you won¡¯t even be able to pay back the million dors you owe! Who would be so stupid as to lend you money?¡± ... Almost everyone was mocking and sneering at William. Cheyenne looked very ufortable. But since William was her father, she could only step forward again and grab his arm. Looking at him with a pleading and miserable gaze, she sobbed and said, ¡°Dad, stop gambling. Let¡¯s go home!¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± William pushed Cheyenne away roughly. Now, all that was on his mind were on the cards he was holding and the million dors that he was about to win. He regarded anyone who wanted to obstruct him as his enemy. He had utterly be engrossed in gambling, and his eyes were bloodshot. Cheyenne was caught off guard when he pushed her away and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, her friend Lena was standing beside her and managed to reach out quickly to grab her. Lucas watched everything with a sharp gaze in his eyes. If William wasn¡¯t Cheyenne¡¯s father, he would never have allowed anyone to push or shove Cheyenne without bearing any consequences. Everyone treated William like he was a joke, so no one was willing to lend him money. After pleading in vain, William suddenly looked at Lucas, and his eyes lit up. ¡°Sir... Sir, please lend me a million dors! If I winter, I¡¯ll give you back three hundred grand. How does that sound?¡± William¡¯s words made everyone sneer and guffaw loudly in derision. How thick-skinned must he be to borrow money from his opponent to win his opponent¡¯s money? What an oddball he is toe up with such an idea! Lucas sighed in his head about William. His father-inw had actually stooped so low and forgone his pride for the sake of gambling. Lucas didn¡¯t agree to William¡¯s request to borrow money from him but didn¡¯t reject him right away. He said with contempt, ¡°Are you that confident you can win?¡± William didn¡¯t even hear the mockery in Lucas¡¯s tone, and instead, he felt that there was hope in borrowing money. He frantically nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right! The cards I got in this round are great. I can definitely win against you!¡± Everyone else at the table couldn¡¯t help but want to call William a fool. If he really had an excellent hand and was confident of winning, there would be even less of a need for the young man to lend money to William for him to call his bet. As long as he didn¡¯t lend William the money, William wouldn¡¯t be able to call the bet, much less win the game. In that case, the young man would be able to rake in all the other chips on the table, which were worth at least a hundred grand. But if he lent William a million dors and William ended up winning, the young man would end up losing 700,000 even if William returned 300,000 to him. This was a calction that an ordinary person could make! William was just too blinded not to realize this. He even had the cheek to ask Lucas for money so that he could win Lucas¡¯s money. What a weirdo! But to everyone¡¯s surprise, the young man actually agreed! ¡°If you are really so confident in yourself, then I will give you a chance to win against me. But I won¡¯t lend you a million dors for nothing. You¡¯ll have to put up your valuables as coteral,¡± Lucas slowly said while staring at William. William was exhrated to hear this but then immediately frowned. ¡°Coteral.... Valuable? But I don¡¯t have anything valuable on me now! Well... can I go hometer to bring them here to you?¡± Lucas shook his head and suddenly smiled before pointing at Cheyenne. ¡°Isn¡¯t she your daughter? Well then, use her as coteral!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was like that of a demon. ¡°If you lose to meter, this woman will belong to me!¡± Cheyenne was naturally aware of Lucas¡¯s n long ago. So when she saw this, she yed along and pretended to be terrified. She avoided his gaze and hid behind William while pleading softly, ¡°Dad...¡± ¡°No.¡± William clenched his jaw and turned Lucas down. ¡°Cheyenne is my daughter. I won¡¯t lose her to you!¡± Lucas shrugged and retorted, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that you were absolutely confident that you would win this game against me when you asked to borrow money from me? If you have the confidence to win, why would you worry about losing your daughter to me?¡± After William heard this, the look of determination on his face gradually vanished as he began to waver. Yeah, I said that I¡¯m confident in winning against him. And as long as I win this round, I¡¯ll win more than a million dors. Cheyenne will be safe and fine too! Yeah! It¡¯s just putting Cheyenne up as coteral temporarily. There are no risks involved! With that thought, William made up his mind and agreed. ¡°Okay! I¡¯ll temporarily put my daughter up as coteral, but you have to give me a million dors worth of chips now!¡± Chapter 219: Outcome of The Bet

Chapter 219: Oue of The Bet

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Dad! What... what are you talking about?!¡± When Cheyenne heard her father actually use her as coteral for a million dors worth of chips, her eyes widened, and she looked at William in disbelief. Standing beside Cheyenne, Lena also widened her eyes in shock and eximed in astonishment, ¡°William, Cheyenne is your biological daughter! How can you put her up as coteral and use her as a gambling stake?¡± Lucas¡¯s face, hidden beneath the mask, had bepletely gloomy and sullen. He red at William coldly. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re going to put your daughter up as coteral to me? If I win, she will be mine. I will take her away, and regardless of what happens to her in the future, you will have no right to ask any questions! ¡°In that case, do you still agree to use her as coteral?¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was extremely cold, and it even contained some murderous intent that he was unable to hide! ¡°Dad, stop... stop gambling. Come home with me, okay?¡± Cheyenne asked while looking at William with tears and a pleading gaze in her beautiful eyes. The eye contact he made with his daughter made his heart tremble. But when he thought of the million dors he would obtain soon, he decided to bite the bullet and go all out. ¡°Yes! I agree to pledge my daughter to you as coteral. As long as you win, you can take her away!¡± William dered through gritted teeth. The glimmer of hope in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes vanished the instant she heard his words. She never thought that her father would be heartless enough to pledge her to someone else as coteral as if she was an inanimate object. He went ahead without hesitation, even if she might be in a living hell in the future! Having suffered an immense blow, Cheyenne began to lose her bnce, and her body swayed. But Lena hurriedly held onto her and asked worriedly, ¡°Cheyenne, are you alright?¡± Cheyenne shook her head with difficulty. In fact, if it wasn¡¯t because she knew that the person who made this request was Lucas, and so she wouldn¡¯t be in any danger, she might have already lost her bnce by now. ¡°Oh my god! This man actually pledged his daughter as coteral for the sake of having more money to gamble! He¡¯s so inhumane!¡± ¡°Tsk! Tsk! His daughter specially came here to take him home, but he sold her out! She went to such great lengths for her bastard of a father. It¡¯s not worth it at all!¡± ¡°Exactly. He¡¯s worse than a beast! I may have lost lots of money, but at least I wouldn¡¯t put my family up as coteral to others!¡± ¡°This old fogy William Carter is really a scoundrel. He¡¯s a scumbag!¡± ... The stakes at this poker table were extremely high. And the fact that a living person had been used as coteral attracted lots of onlookers, who all expressed their disgust for William¡¯s behavior. Although most of the gamblers in Little Antis City were gambling addicts, there were many who were professional gamblers. Even they were repulsed and in disdain of William¡¯s shameless behavior. When William heard the scoldingsing from around him, his face began to be burning hot. But he repeatedlyforted himself, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m just temporarily using Cheyenne as coteral. I¡¯m going to win this game soon. I won¡¯t let Cheyenne really be taken away!¡± While constantly consoling himself, William ignored everyone¡¯s reaction and clenched his teeth. He then took the million dors worth of chips from Lucas. ¡°A million dors, I¡¯m calling the bet!¡± The veins on his forehead were bulging as he resolutely pushed all the chips in front of him to the center of the table! ¡°Open!¡± With a professional smile on her face, the dealer turned to look at Lucas. ¡°Sir, this yer has called your bet of one million dors. Would you like to raise the bet?¡± Having achieved his purpose, Lucas naturally shook his head. ¡°No, open!¡± In fact, both of them now had five cards each in front of them. And apart from the bottom one, the other four cards were facing up, so everyone could see them. William¡¯s cards that were facing up were a queen of diamonds, ten of spades, jack of hearts, and nine of diamonds, which happened to be in consecutive order. If the card that William had facing down was an eight or king of any suit, the five cards in his hand would be a standard straight. And it would be a rtively high straight. This was also why William felt that he had a winning hand and was very confident that he would win. On the other hand, Lucas¡¯s cards that were facing up were a nine of spades, ten of spades, jack of clubs, and king of spades. Although it seemed that Lucas¡¯s cards added up to a bigger number than William¡¯s, his cards were not consecutive, and he was bound to have a smaller hand than William. Now, William just needed the bottom card to be revealed! ¡°My bottom card is... the king of hearts!¡± William turned his bottom card over and mmed it down hard on the center of the table with a loud thud! It really turned out to be a straight! And it was a straight with thergest number of points! ording to the rules here, 9, 10, J, Q, and K would form thergest straight! Everyone gasped in amazement, thinking that it was no wonder that William would use his daughter as coteral! Cheyenne didn¡¯t know the rules of these card games, but Lena was more knowledgeable in this aspect. Upon seeing William¡¯s five cards, she immediately felt a huge sense of relief and eximed happily, ¡°Cheyenne, William seems to have the upper hand now. You¡¯ll be fine!¡± Hearing the exmationsing from the people around him, William felt that he had regained all his lost pride. Pointing to the pile of chips on the table that was worth millions of dors, he said smugly, ¡°It seems that I¡¯ve won this game! These are all mine!¡± ¡°Hold it! I haven¡¯t revealed my bottom card yet. Are you sure you¡¯ve won this round?¡± Lucas cocked his head slightly toward the side and stopped William, who was reaching out eagerly to grab the chips. ¡°Hmph, my cards have formed the biggest straight! If you can get a queen, the cards you have can only make a straightparable to mine. But what do you think is the likelihood of both of us getting an identical straight at the same time?¡± William retorted in displeasure. ¡°Since you could get it, why can¡¯t I?¡± Lucas smirked coldly and turned his bottom card over, only to reveal that it was indeed a queen of spades! Lucas¡¯s cards were surprisingly also a straight consisting of 9, 10, J, Q, and K! If the cards were equal in terms of numbers of points, they would have topare ording to suits. The hierarchy of suits had always been spades > hearts > clubs > diamonds. Four of Lucas¡¯s cards were spades, making his cards bigger than William¡¯s! The winner of this game was not William, but Lucas! Everyone was astonished! bbergasted, everyone stared at the two straights equal in points but not in suits and soon got into an uproar! William¡¯s face immediately turned extremely pale! Unable to believe what he was looking at, he rubbed his eyes hard and opened them again! But no matter how much disbelief William was in, he had no choice but to admit that he had really lost this game that he had been certain about winning! Lucas stood up, walked over to Cheyenne, grabbed her by her waist, and dered domineeringly, ¡°This woman is mine now!¡± Chapter 220: Finally Came to His Senses

Chapter 220: Finally Came to His Senses

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s voice was extraordinarily cold, especially when he nced at William. This man really lost Cheyenne to a man. He really deserves to die! Unfortunately, at this moment, William¡¯s eyes were out of focus, and he had a deadpan expression as he stood rooted to the ground, as if he was out of his element and dispirited. He didn¡¯t catch Lucas¡¯s murderous gaze at all, nor did he respond to Lucas¡¯s act of holding Cheyenne by her waist. Suddenly, Lena violently pushed away Lucas¡¯s arm, stood in front of Cheyenne, and yelled at him, ¡°Let go of her!¡± Lucas looked at her and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Shut up. This matter is none of your business. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being nasty to the Sawyers.¡± Lucas had long since learned a lot of information about various people through the intelligencework that Jordan had set up. For example, Cheyenne¡¯s close friend Lena actually happened to be the daughter of Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in the county. Ethan had always protected his son and daughter well. Ever since they were children, he sent them abroad to pursue an education. Thus, very few people in Orange County were aware of Lena¡¯s identity. Although Lucas was acquaintances with Ethan, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to be hostile to Lena if she tried to foolishly ruin his n! ¡°You... You know who I am?¡± Surprised that Lucas knew of her identity, Lena gaped her mouth open a little. But at the thought that her close friend was about to be taken away by this stranger like a spoil of war and that she might face horrendous treatment in the future, Lena felt that she had to protect Cheyenne instead of being a coward! ¡°Since you know who I am, can you spare Cheyenne for the sake of my father? I¡¯ll get my father to pay you that one million dors William owes you!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Do I look like someone whocks a million dors? I¡¯m taking this woman with me! If you don¡¯t want to offend someone and make an enemy for your father, you¡¯d better shut up!¡± Cheyenne pulled Lena away and persuaded softly, ¡°Lena, thank you for your good intentions. But since my father said those things and used me as coteral to this man, just stay out of this.¡± Cheyenne was honestly very touched to see Lena standing up for her. It was actually a very lucky thing to be able to meet such a good friend in this life! Cheyenne advised Lena to stay out of it naturally because she had nned this together with Lucas. She wouldn¡¯t be in any danger leaving with Lucas at all. But Lena thought that Cheyenne just didn¡¯t want her to be implicated and get into trouble, so she was instead even more determined to save her close friend! ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯m not afraid of being implicated. I must save you. I can¡¯t let someone take you away!¡± Lena was full of determination as she grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s hand tightly before saying to Lucas, ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll give you two million dors to let her go. Cheyenne is already married. Go find another woman!¡± Lucas was slightly surprised, as he didn¡¯t expect Lena to be so insistent on saving Cheyenne. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s impression of Lena increased greatly. But it was definitely impossible for him to hand Cheyenne over to her because that would ruin their n. Lucas shook his head and said resolutely, ¡°No.¡± Lena bit her lower lip and said unwillingly, ¡°Then what do you want to let her go? I¡¯ll definitely promise you as long as I can do it!¡± Lucas suddenly chuckled teasingly. ¡°Really? Since you have such a close rtionship with each other,e with me together!¡± Then he went forward without mercy and nonchntly picked Lena up to put her on his shoulder. He then pulled Cheyenne with one hand. And just like that, he led the two beauties out of the poker room! ¡°Ah! Scoundrel, what are you doing? Hurry up and let go of me!¡± Lena shrieked while struggling with all her might on Lucas¡¯s shoulder. Unfortunately, she was too weakpared to Lucas. Just as they were about to leave, William suddenly snapped out of his trance¡ªperhaps because he was jolted awake by Lena¡¯s shrieks¡ªand hurriedly dashed toward them. His heart full of regret, William stopped in front of them. ¡°Wait a minute! Wait! I-I regret it. Don¡¯t take my daughter away! Since I owe you money, I¡¯ll go home and get it for you. Even if I lose all my money, I must get my daughter back! Please let my daughter off!¡± How could I have been so obsessed with one million dors and insisted on gambling, so much so that I ended up losing my daughter?! Seeing Lucas still holding his daughter tightly, William gritted his teeth and fell to his knees with a loud thud! ¡°Please, I¡¯m begging you... I know that I was too obsessed with gambling and ended up harming my daughter! My daughter is innocent. Please let her go! I¡¯ll do anything you want, but don¡¯t take my daughter away!¡± William knelt on the ground with tears all over his face as he pleaded with Lucas in misery. When Lucas saw William kneeling and begging him to let Cheyenne go, his anger faded a little. It seemed that William had finallye to his senses and that he wasn¡¯t that inhumane either. But his n had yet to be fully realized, and it wasn¡¯t the time to be soft-hearted yet. Otherwise, William would never learn his lesson or quit his gambling addiction! ¡°Get lost! It¡¯s toote to say this now!¡± Lucas decided to be ruthless and forcefully pulled the tearful Cheyenne away. He then walked toward the door of the poker room. ¡°Hey, it seems inappropriate for you to leave just like that, right?¡± A gloomy voice suddenly came from the front. Lucas frowned and looked at the elevator in front of him. He saw a few tall and burly bodyguards in front of him. The young man in his thirties in the middle had already blocked Lucas and the others¡¯ path. When the surrounding poker yers saw the young man in his thirties, many of them seemed surprised. ¡°It¡¯s Tony Zander! The owner of Little Antis City! How is he suddenly here?¡± ¡°He must be here because of those two beauties being taken away by that punk! Speaking of which, I just realized that these two chicks are really beautiful!¡± ¡°It¡¯s no wonder... I heard that Tony Zander really fancies beautiful babes. He has always stayed out of the affairs in Little Antis City, but this time, he actually intervened and stopped that young man.¡± ¡°Hehehe, it seems that we¡¯re in for a good show!¡± ... The poker yers were discussing quietly, but Lucas had a sharp sense of hearing and had long heard everything they said. It seemed that something greatly troublesome would happen again. Lucas was feeling irritated and questioned, ¡°What do you want? I want to leave. Do I need your approval?¡± Tony raised his hand and slicked his greased hair back in order to look suave. ¡°If you leave on your own, I won¡¯t stop you. But if you try to snatch women away from me on my turf, I have to take care of it!¡± Chapter 221: The Stopper

Chapter 221: The Stopper

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Trying to snatch women?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°I won this woman at the poker table. Are you thinking of intervening?¡± When Lena saw that someone had stopped Lucas, she immediately started struggling and hollered, ¡°He didn¡¯t win me at the poker table. He¡¯s trying to take me away forcefully!¡± Tony looked at Lena¡¯s pretty face, and he immediately seemed amazed by her beauty. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, prettydy. I¡¯m the owner of Little Antis City. I¡¯ll never let anyone take someone away by force!¡± Then he narrowed his eyes and red at Lucas with a threatening gaze. ¡°Did you hear that? You didn¡¯t win this beautiful babe. Hurry up and let her go.¡± Lucas frowned. He took Lena off his shoulder and put her down on the ground. He never had any intention of doing anything to Lena in the first ce. But because Lena kept pulling Cheyenne back and refused to let her go, he had no choice but to take Lena away too, so as not to waste any more time. He nned to have Cheyenne exin to Lena clearly after they left. But since Lena vehemently refused to cooperate and was about to cause even more trouble for Lucas, he decided to leave her alone. He took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and said coldly, ¡°Okay, can you get out of the way now?¡± Seeing that Lucas had obediently let her go after Tony¡¯s intervention, Lena thought that he was scared of offending Tony. So she hurriedly held onto Cheyenne¡¯s hand and said, ¡°No, you can¡¯t take Cheyenne away. Quickly let go of her!¡± Cheyenne was a close friend of hers, and she thought that if Cheyenne was taken away from Little Antis City, she might never see her again! Cheyenne didn¡¯t expect her close friend Lena to be so insistent on stopping her from leaving. Although she was very touched by how much Lena cared about her and how hard she was trying to protect her, Cheyenne felt that Lena was doing a disservice to them by foiling their ns now! But Cheyenne could only keep her feelings of anxiety to herself, as she couldn¡¯t exin it to Lena now. Lucas said coldly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see that her father already lost her to me just now? Since he wanted to take on the bet, he should bear the consequences. I even confirmed it with him several times, and he agreed to let me have his daughter if he lost. Even if you¡¯re her friend, you¡¯re in no ce to make me let her go!¡± ¡°You!¡± Lena was enraged. ¡°Cheyenne is a living person, not an object that you can use for trade. What right do you have to take her away like a spoil of war? I just said that I¡¯m willing to pay you two million dors in exchange for her!¡± Tony also interjected, ¡°Exactly. Such a situation where a living person is used as a bet has never happened in Little Antis City before. Punk, although I don¡¯t know who you really are, this beauty obviously doesn¡¯t want her friend to be taken away by you. Besides, her gorgeous friend may not be willing to leave with you either. You¡¯d better let her go!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You¡¯re so funny! I have to let her go just because she doesn¡¯t want to leave with me? Does this mean that people whoe to Little Antis City to gamble and end up losing money don¡¯t have to repay their debts to you just because they¡¯re not willing to do so?¡± ¡°Punk, you¡¯re being unreasonable!¡± Tony was rendered speechless by Lucas¡¯s question. He narrowed his eyes and threatened, ¡°You¡¯d better let her go obediently. Or else I won¡¯t let you leave this ce!¡± After Tony finished speaking, the group of tall bodyguards behind him immediately stood out and surrounded Lucas. They obviously didn¡¯t intend to let him leave easily. Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°Does this mean I have to leave her here no matter what?¡± Tony guffawed unrestrainedly with a look of determination on his face. ¡°Yes! This is my turf, and as long as I don¡¯t let you go, you will never be able to leave! But I am not a bully either, so if you let go of thedy next to you, I promise I won¡¯t make things hard for you, and I¡¯ll let you leave safely instead. I¡¯ll also pay you the one million dors you should have won on behalf of thisdy. What do you think?¡± The fact that Tony could own a top entertainment venue like Little Antis City and run it exceptionally well in Orange County meant that he definitely had ruthless means. In the eyes of onlookers, Tony was being kind enough by willing to take a step back and negotiate with Lucas while offering to pay him a million dors. ¡°Forget it, young man. I advise you to hurry up and agree! You should count your blessings that you can leave safely with a million dors in your pocket!¡± ¡°Yeah! Tony agreed to offer you such favorable terms today only because he¡¯s in a good mood. Otherwise, you definitely wouldn¡¯t even be able to leave Little Antis City!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Young man, don¡¯t let your impulsiveness rule your head. It¡¯s not worth doing this for a woman!¡± ¡°Yeah, exactly! If Tony gave me a million dors, I¡¯d surely take the money and leave immediately instead of being stubborn and insistent here!¡± ... The surrounding poker yers all couldn¡¯t help but whisper and chime in with their two cents. Some of them were really giving advice out of good intentions, while others were just being sarcastic out of jealousy. Seeing that the owner of Little Antis City had stopped Lucas and was even about to get into a conflict with him because of her, Cheyenne began to panic and really wanted to just tell the truth. But when she saw her father, William, standing near them, she couldn¡¯t help but hesitate again as she considered the fact that their efforts would have gone in vain if she revealed the truth. Noticing that Cheyenne was getting anxious, Lucas squeezed her handfortingly and then looked at Tony. ¡°Mr. Zander, I really don¡¯t want to let her go even though you want me to. Since you operate a casino here, why don¡¯t we have a gamble? If I win, I¡¯ll take her away. But if I lose, I will leave her behind. What do you think?¡± As soon as Lucas said this, everyone got into an uproar. ¡°Little Antis City is Tony¡¯s turf. How dare this man ask to gamble with Tony? He really has a death wish!¡± ¡°Tsk, I bet he¡¯scent now just because he won earlier and thinks he¡¯s really impressive! Who does he think Tony is? Does he think he can win against him that easily?¡± ¡°Hah, how silly! He chose to do things the hard way instead of taking that one million dors! I¡¯ll see what he can do once he loses everything!¡± ... Tony raised his eyebrows with some surprise. ¡°Kid, do you really want to bet with me?¡± ¡°Yes, I have the guts to bet with you. As the owner of Little Antis City, are you too scared to take the bet?¡± Lucas deliberately tried to provoke him. ¡°Hmph, what a joke! Why would I be scared of you? Fine. Since you don¡¯t know any better, I¡¯ll fulfill your wishes! Let me be candid and make things clear in advance. You have toy down real cash as a stake. The girl is just a bonus. If you end up losing to the point of going bankrupt, don¡¯t me me for bullying you!¡± Chapter 222: Another Round

Chapter 222: Another Round

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Having operated a casino for over a decade, Tony was naturally confident and not the least bit afraid of gambling with Lucas. ¡°Of course, if you agree to bet, you must ept to lose. Mr. Zander, if you lose in a while, I hope you will keep your promise,¡± Lucas said indifferently. Tony slicked his greased hair again and said with utmost confidence, ¡°Haha, punk, you¡¯re mad! Tell me, how do you want to y?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll y a simple game where the person with the highest card wins. We can also y dice or poker. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Of course. How do we decide the winner?¡± ¡°When one side admits defeat. How about that?¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes. The people around were suddenly in an uproar again. There would usually be a standard set point in such gambling games, such as the number of rounds, number of wins by one party, or when one party lost everything. A rule where the game would go on until one party admitted defeat and surrendered was extremely rare! Figures of status usually cared a lot about their pride and wouldn¡¯t admit defeat easily unless they already lost everything they had to lose! ¡°Hahahaha, punk, you¡¯re the one who came up with this idea! So don¡¯t me me for being ruthless!¡± Tony said with an icy cold gaze. Since this man doesn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯ll win all his money and teach him an unforgettable lesson! Soon, Tony got someone to prepare a VIP room and took Lucas, Cheyenne, and Lena inside. This disappointed many people in the hall. They wanted to see what would happen, but they didn¡¯t dare to make Tony start a gamble with the young man in the hall. Thus, they could only stand near the private room and wait for the final result. There was a giant gambling table in the middle of the spacious room. Lucas walked over with aposed expression and sat down on one of the seats while Cheyenne stood behind him worriedly. Lena hesitated for a moment before walking over too. She then stood beside Cheyenne and grabbed her hand tightly. Tony snorted and walked over to take a seat opposite Lucas while his underlings walked over and stood behind him. ¡°Hmph, kid, you¡¯re really arrogant. Let¡¯s hope you can still be arrogantter!¡± Tony stared at Lucas with a hostile gaze and gestured for the dealer to start preparing the cards and things needed for the game. At this juncture, Lucas seemed to recall something. ¡°Oh, by the way, I left the three million dors worth of chips I just exchanged and the money I won at the table just now. Mr. Zander, Little Antis City won¡¯t swallow up my money, right?¡± Cheyenne was stunned. Only then did she recall that Lucas had just exchanged three million dors for a pile of chips that he left at the gambling table where William had been. Later, she got distracted because her father had used her as coteral and lost the bet. She then left with Lucas ording to n andpletely forgot to get those chips! But those chips, including the ones that Lucas won, were worth a total of more than three million dors. It wasn¡¯t a small sum of money at all! At the thought of this, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help but look at Lucas with a sorrowful gaze. She had forgotten about those chips, and so did Lucas. No matter how wealthy he was, he shouldn¡¯t be squandering it away like that. Tony¡¯s face twitched, and he felt extremely speechless. This man actually forgot about his chips worth more than three million dors. Can he be any more arrogant?! He must be trying to show off his wealth in front of me and show that he doesn¡¯t care about that money, huh? Fine. I¡¯ll teach him a good lesson today and see what he can do after he loses all his money! ¡°Hmph, although you are indeed careless, it¡¯s none of our business if someone else takes the chips away. But the staff of Little Antis City aren¡¯t the type to take advantage of others when they¡¯re not paying attention. We won¡¯t swallow up the chips belonging to our customers. ¡°You, go fetch his chips for him!¡± Tony casually pointed to a subordinate beside him and instructed him to go and bring Lucas¡¯s chips over from the other table. He was actually not worried about those chips being snatched away and divvied by others. The security measures of Little Antis City had always been good, and those who were rich and people of status wouldn¡¯t bother taking away the chips left behind by others. On the other hand, those gamblers of inferior status wouldn¡¯t dare to secretly take the unowned chips of Little Antis City even though they were greedy. Of course, the reason Tony didn¡¯t withhold Lucas¡¯s chips was naturally that he wanted to maintain his poise in front of the two beautiful women, Lena and Cheyenne. Furthermore, he firmly believed that no matter how many chips Lucas had, they would all be his in a while. In that case, why should he be a viin in vain? After they ced their chips on the table, the game officially began. The beautiful dealer stood in front of the table with a brand new deck of ying cards, as well as two dice cups and a few dice. ¡°Gentlemen, the first round is about to officially begin. Which gambling equipment would you like to use?¡± the dealer asked in a sweet and tender voice. ¡°We¡¯ll use the cards first,¡± Tony instructed. The dealer moved swiftly and quickly unpacked the deck of cards. She then skillfully shuffled them once before dealing a card in front of Lucas and Tony respectively. Of course, both cards were facing down, so neither of them knew what the other¡¯s card was. ¡°Gentleman, please ce your bets,¡± the dealer said with a professional smile. Without hesitation, Lucas pushed all of the chips, which were worth more than three million dors, forward. The people in the private room immediately gasped and inhaled sharply. The people in Little Antis City had seen wealthy and generous people before. But those who would ce a bet of more than three million dors at once without even batting an eyelid were extremely rare! If he wasn¡¯t being reckless, then he was definitely incredibly wealthy! After all, in most gambling games, luck was an important factor. Especially in this game with such simple rules and didn¡¯t involve any gambling techniques, the yers had to rely solely on luck! Tony¡¯s expression also changed drastically as a glint of light shed in his eyes. He had heard from his subordinates that the masked man had suddenly appeared in Little Antis City. This man was extremely ostentatious and liberal with his money, as he had exchanged three million dors worth of chips in one go. Tony knew that Lucas should be a wealthy man, but even he had to admit that betting three million dors in one go was extremely extravagant. ¡°Are you sure you want to bet three million all at once?¡± Tony stared at Lucas in the eye, seemingly questioning his choice. Lucas leaned back in his chair and deliberately said with derision, ¡°Yes. Why? Mr. Zander, do you not dare to call a bet of three million?¡± Tony sneered. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just three million. I can still afford to call it!¡± Then he pushed out arge part of the neatly arranged pile of chips in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m calling! Three million!¡± Since they had both ced their bets, it was time to turn over the cards. Lucas turned over the card in front of him right away without even looking at it. Everyone looked over and saw that Lucas¡¯s card was a four of spades! ¡°Hahahaha! It seems that you¡¯re not that lucky this round! You¡¯re going to lose!¡± Tony guffawed gloatingly. In a game where the higher card won, getting a low card was truly unfortunate! Cheyenne frowned and bit her lower lip tightly. But Lucas remained unfazed, still looking as nonchnt as ever. ¡°Is that so? Your card might be lower than mine, Mr. Zander. Who knows?¡± Chapter 223: Losing Two Games in a Row

Chapter 223: Losing Two Games in a Row

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing what Lucas said, Tony snorted in disdain. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re so stubborn, huh?! What are you still daydreaming about? Unless I get a three, you will lose. But you should be well aware of how slim the chances of that happening are.¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Maybe your luck is just worse than mine?¡± Lucas continued in an indifferent tone. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll make you give uppletely!¡± Then Tony pinched the card in front of him, flipped it over, and mmed it down hard onto the table! Three bright red hearts appeared in front of everyone immediately! Three! It was really a three of hearts! Everyone in therge private room was instantly silent! In particr, Tony¡¯s subordinates all shuddered and hung their heads low, not daring to look at Tony¡¯s expression at all. At this moment, Tony¡¯s face was extremely sullen and ominous. He had just mocked Lucas and said that Lucas was daydreaming, but he never expected that he would lose despite the slim chances! He hadpletely contradicted himself! Tony lost this round! Lena¡¯s eyes were full of disappointment as well, but Cheyenne secretly felt a huge sense of relief. ¡°Mr. Zander, it seems that you¡¯re unluckier than me! Your three million dors belong to me now.¡± Lucas gestured for the dealer to move all the chips on the table to him. The dealer looked at Tony timidly. Although he had an austere expression, he didn¡¯t say a single word. Only then did the dealer carefully move all the six million dors worth of chips to Lucas. ¡°You just got lucky and won this round by fluke. It¡¯s no big deal. Let¡¯s continue!¡± Tony said through gritted teeth. ¡°Mr. Zander, you¡¯re very straightforward! I can¡¯t be petty then. I¡¯ll bet six million this round.¡± Lucas smiled and pushed all his chips forward again! The corners of Tony¡¯s eyes twitched for a while, and he stared at the dealer before eximing, ¡°Six million, I¡¯m calling!¡± Six million dors for a single game was undoubtedly a massive bet. But Tony was confident that he would trump Lucas this time! As long as he won this game, he would get back the three million dors he just lost, and he would also win an additional three million dors from Lucas! One of his underlings immediately came forward and pushed another te of chips toward Tony. He then moved over three million dors worth of chips before pushing them to the center of the table. The dealer began to reshuffle the cards, and soon, she dealt one card to each of them. This time, Tony lifted the corner of his card. After he saw the points clearly, he immediately looked satisfied. ¡°King of diamonds! Let¡¯s see how you can win against me this time!¡± Looking as if he was about to take revenge, Tony turned over the card in his hand. Lucas once again turned his card over without taking a single nce. The colorful king card left everyone astounded! Bang! Tony couldn¡¯t help but punch the table hard! He lost again! He lost six million dors just like that! Tony raised his head and glowered at the dealer furiously. He had already shot her a nce just now to hint her to cheat and tamper with the cards when she was dealing. But she was too stupid to take the hint and dealt the highest card to his opponent! When the dealer saw how Tony was ring at her, her legs went limp, and she was on the verge of tears. She had obviously tampered with the cards without anyone realizing, and she should have dealt the king to Tony and a 5 to Lucas. How did things turn outpletely different from what she had expected? ¡°Mr. Zander, you¡¯ve lost nine million dors in such a short period of time. Are you sure you can continue?¡± Lucas said leisurely while remaining seated calmly. Tony¡¯s now ashen face started trembling, and he gritted his teeth at aplete loss for words. He lost nine million dors just like that! This amount of money was almost as much as the amount of profits Little Antis City generated in half a year. Yet he lost it in two minutes! If he continued losing... ¡°Mr. Zander, I don¡¯t see the need for us to continue gambling until one of us admits defeat. How about you let me leave with her, and I¡¯ll consider this game a joke. I¡¯ll return the nine million to you too. How does that sound?¡± Lucas said with a smile. Tony¡¯s expression changed drastically. Lucas¡¯s suggestion would instantly negate his loss of a staggering nine million dors. But if he agreed, it would mean that he was giving in to Lucas andpromising. With so many subordinates watching around him and arge group of people outside waiting to see the oue, how could he, the owner of Little Antis City, take the embarrassment? Tony gritted his teeth menacingly and said with a furious gaze, ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t need your hypocritical kindness! Let¡¯s continue gambling! I don¡¯t believe I can¡¯t beat you this time! This time, let¡¯s y dice instead. Are you game enough?¡± Lucas chuckled with raised brows. ¡°Sure. If you want to change the game, I¡¯llply, but let¡¯s hope you have better luck this time!¡± Tony red daggers at Lucas viciously. But unfortunately, Lucas was still wearing a mask, so he had no idea who this detestable punk was. He stood up, pushed the ipetent dealer to the side, and picked up a dice cup and a dice himself. He then bellowed irrefutably, ¡°I¡¯m going to shake it myself! You can choose to let the dealer shake yours or do it yourself. Don¡¯t use me of bullying you!¡± When Cheyenne heard this, she clenched her fists and began to look worried. Tony sounded rather self-righteous, but it seemed fair too. But shaking a dice was different from random card dealing, and the experience of the person shaking it was an important factor. Although Cheyenne didn¡¯t y such casino games, she often heard that those who were proficient in shaking dice could tell the number of dice in the dice cup just by hearing the noise made by it. And they could also urately get the points they wanted. Tony operated Little Antis City and had been in the gambling business for at least over a decade. So she reckoned that he must be extremely proficient in shaking dice and thus was at a great advantage. In contrast, Cheyenne was unsure if Lucas could shake dice well or not. But even if he could, he probably had far less experience than Tony. If it was aparison of dice shaking, Lucas would lose the upper hand! She wanted to ask Lucas to turn it down, but he nodded and agreed before she could even speak. ¡°Okay!¡± Then Lucas stood up and walked to the spot beside Tony. He then picked up the remaining dice cup and dice on the table. Another round of gambling was about to begin! Chapter 224: Revealing Menace

Chapter 224: Revealing Menace

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Both Lucas and Tony were standing by the card table, each holding a dice cup and a dice. ¡°Since you also choose to shake it yourself, how about we have the dealer be the judge of this game? We¡¯ll start shaking, stop, and then open the cup at the same time. How does that sound?¡± Tony said confidently as he tossed away the dice in his hand. ¡°No problem.¡± Lucas nodded. The dealer took a deep breath, stood between the two of them, and then swung her hand down. ¡°One, two, three, begin!¡± Lucas and Tony simultaneously threw their dice into their dice cup and then started shaking. Amid the sounds of dice rapidly knocking against the walls of the dice cups, everyone held their breath and listened carefully to the movement. Everyone in the room except for the two beautiful women, Cheyenne and Lena, and Lucas were subordinates of Tony. Listening to the sound to determine the number of points on a dice was an extremely important thing to do when it came to dice shaking, so they naturally dared not make a single sound, fearing that they would disturb Tony and thus anger him. Although both of them were shaking a dice cup simultaneously, their movements werepletely different. Tony had his eyes closed, and his movements were extremely rhythmic. It was obvious that he was experienced. But Lucas was acting differently. His expression was concealed by the mask on his face, but his standing posture was extremely casual, as was his shaking of the dice cup. It was almost as if he was just shaking it casually. As Tony watched Lucas¡¯s movements, a hint of contempt and derision appeared in his eyes. He could tell from Lucas¡¯s action that he wasn¡¯t experienced in dice shaking, and he didn¡¯t even know the simplest trick. He was extremely confident of winning! ¡°Stop!¡± Hearing the dealer¡¯s crisp voice, both of them ced the dice cup in their hands on the card table at the same time. Tony pressed his hand on the top of his dice cup and asked with a smile on his face, ¡°Hah, how much are you betting this time?¡± The rule of gambling had always been that the winner of the previous round would ce their bet first, while the others decided whether to call, raise the bet, or quit the round. Previously, Lucas had been cing high bets, but Tony didn¡¯t believe that Lucas would dare to bet such a huge amount in the game of dice! But if Lucas really bet a small amount this time, Tony would be disappointed because he still had to rely on Lucas¡¯s bet to recoup his losses and even double his winnings! Everyone else also cast their gazes onto Lucas to see how much he would bet in this game. ¡°I¡¯ll bet twelve million dors!¡± Lucas bet the three million dors he had at first, plus the nine million dors he had wonter! Twelve million dors! This massive amount made everyone gasp in astonishment! Even Tony was extremely surprised, but he soon looked ecstatic. ¡°Twelve million dors? Are you sure? Do you think you would still be able to win this time?¡± Tony said with a look of excitement. ¡°Who can say for sure? Maybe I¡¯m just lucky today! I¡¯m betting twelve million dors. Mr. Zander, will you call?¡± Lucas didn¡¯t sound worried at all. ¡°Hmph, of course I¡¯m going to call!¡± Tony gestured for the underling beside him to bring out more chips. But thetter seemed to be put in a spot as he inched closer and whispered into Tony¡¯s ear, ¡°Mr. Zander, the number of chips you withdrew today has exceeded the limit...¡± Smack! Tony turned around and pped the underling on the face! ¡°Damn it! All of Little Antis City belongs to me. Bring me as many chips as I tell you to! Are you scared that I might run out of cash?¡± The underling covered his face, feeling incredibly aggrieved. The number of chips withdrawn in a day couldn¡¯t exceed eight million dors, which was a rule that Tony had set himself. The underling had reminded him out of good intentions only to get pped on his face. However, he dared not express his anger and had no choice but to hurry outside to fetch another tray full of chips. The people waiting outside the room for the oue of the game couldn¡¯t help but be shocked when they saw the massive amount of chips being brought into the room before the oue was decided. Although they didn¡¯t know who the chips were meant for, they knew that the bets in the game must have been extremely high! Soon, a total of 24 million dors worth of chips were piled up in the middle of the card table like a tiny mountain. The people watching the game couldn¡¯t help but gulp when they saw the enormous number of chips. It was a total of 24 million dors! Most people would never be able to earn that much money in ten lifetimes! ¡°I¡¯ve brought the chips. Now let¡¯s open and see who the final winner is!¡± Tony said fiercely and then opened his dice cup! Lucas followed suit and opened his to reveal the dice inside. One of the dice had the ¡®5¡¯ side facing up, while the other had ¡®6¡¯ facing up! Everyone looked at the dice in front of Lucas in utter shock! Tony¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he shrieked in horror, ¡°How is that possible?!¡± The dice with six points was resting quietly in front of Lucas, while the dice in front of Tony showed only five points! He actually lost once again! ¡°Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! You must have tampered with something!¡± Enraged, Tony pointed at Lucas and bellowed furiously. He was very confident in his dice shaking skills. He had clearly shaken his dice until 6 faced up, but why did it suddenly be 5?! This punk must have cheated! Lucas chuckled lightly. ¡°Mr. Zander, you need evidence before you can make such ims. Everyone around you is your subordinate, and they¡¯d know if I tampered with anything. Furthermore, you have surveince cameras monitoring all angles here. Besides, you¡¯re an expert in the first ce. If I cheated in front of you, wouldn¡¯t you have discovered it?¡± Tony clenched his teeth and turned around abruptly to stare at his underlings. They all hung their heads low, too afraid to speak. After a long time, someone finally said boldly, ¡°Mr. Zander, I... I don¡¯t know if he tampered with it or not, but I really didn¡¯t discover anything amiss.¡± ¡°Me... me too! Maybe we can look at the footage of the surveince cameras...¡± ¡°Yeah, Mr. Zander. Why don¡¯t we watch the footage of the surveince cameras...¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Tony barked furiously. ¡°You¡¯re a bunch of good-for-nothings!¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Mr. Zander, you can afford to lose, right?¡± Tony¡¯s face turned red and then pale. He seemed incredibly dismayed. Including this round, he had lost a total of 24 million dors to Lucas in this private room! When he had lost three million and then nine million in the previous two rounds, he felt the pinch, but he wasn¡¯t too bothered by it because he felt that he should be able to win it back soon. But now that he had lost a total of 24 million dors, he felt that it was an unbearably major loss! Tony¡¯s expression changed greatly. Suddenly, he pulled out a ck pistol from his pocket and aimed it at Lucas¡¯s head. ¡°Damn it. How dare you cheat at my casino? You must be really tired of living!¡± Chapter 225: It’s the Fourth Time

Chapter 225: It¡¯s the Fourth Time

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ah!¡± Tony¡¯s sudden outrage and usation of Lucas cheating really caught Cheyenne and Lena off guard, and they shrieked. But Lucas wasn¡¯t surprised. He had long seen that people like Tony were the kind of people who couldn¡¯t afford to lose. It was his turf in the first ce, and he was apanied by a lot of his henchmen and subordinates. Even if he refused toply and admit defeat, no one would dare to say anything. Unfortunately, Lucas wasn¡¯t the type to be frightened by a tiny pistol. ¡°Heh.¡± Lucas suddenly chuckled when he thought of something. This was already the fourth time a gun had been pointed at him in the short period of time since he returned to Orange County. The first time was in Gordon Dous¡¯s Heaven Media. At that time, Gordon aimed his pistol at Lucas, but Jordan quickly snatched it from him, not giving him any chance to shoot at all. The second time was during the Hale family¡¯s baby shower, where all their henchmen aimed their pistols at Lucas and tried to force him into apologizing. Of course, the oue was that all the Hales were brought away for investigation. If Lucas hadn¡¯t decided to spare them in the end, the Hales would have ceased to exist in Orange County long ago. The third time happened in the Brooke residence in LA just a few days ago. Simrly, all those who dared to threaten Lucas were stabbed in their eyeballs by pine needles and blinded. The Brookes also crumbled and were now fleeing in all directions. Now, in front of him, Tony was the fourth person who dared to aim a gun at him. ¡°Hmph, you can stillugh out loud even when being held at gunpoint. I have to admit that I really admire your courage.¡± Tony held the pistol and pointed it at Lucas¡¯s head with a triumphant expression, as if he was already confident of winning. He was relishing in the feeling of being in control of the entire situation. But Lucas¡¯s voice remained unchanged, and he wasn¡¯t in the least bit nervous or scared at all. Instead, he said in aposed voice like before, ¡°Mr. Zander, I originally thought that you had character since you own such a huge entertainment joint like Little Antis City. I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a sore loser.¡± ¡°Bullshit! If you hadn¡¯t cheated and tampered with the cards, how could I have lost to you? Cheaters have to have their hands chopped off when caught cheating in my ce!¡± Tony barked furiously. ¡°Ah!¡± Cheyenne was already incredibly nervous. After hearing Tony¡¯s brutal threat, she immediately screamed in fright and quickly covered her mouth while a cold chill spread throughout her body. She didn¡¯t know about the previous times that Lucas was held at gunpoint. In her opinion, a gun was one of the most powerful weapons in modern society, and a bullet was incredibly fast. Almost no one could dodge a bullet! She was especially terrified because they were now on the top floor of Little Antis City, in Tony¡¯s turf, so it was impossible to even escape! ¡°Cheyenne, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± Lena hurriedly grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s mmy hand that was as cold as ice andforted her gently. In fact, she was also shocked. But she decided tofort Cheyenne because she thought that Cheyenne was afraid that Tony would also exact those brutal means on her. Lena was actually still more biased toward Tony. Besides, she believed that Tony wouldn¡¯t harm her and Cheyenne, who were vulnerable women. In the worst-case scenario, she would reveal her identity as the daughter of Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County. She reckoned that Tony would let the both of them off on ount of her father. Lucas was not the least bit intimidated by Tony¡¯s threat. ¡°If you can¡¯t afford to keep ying because you lost too much money, I can return all the money you lost. I just want to take this woman away with me. As long as youply, I can pretend that this gamble never happened.¡± ¡°Hah, impossible! You¡¯ve made me embarrassed today, so how can I let you off easily?¡± Tony suddenly guffawed haughtily. ¡°Well then, what do you want?¡± Lucas asked indifferently. ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll give you two options. First, you be my henchman and work under me. I won¡¯t mistreat you. You can also take that woman away with you. Two, die here!¡± Tony stated his decision smugly. This young man is bold and collected. He¡¯s definitely a rare talent. Moreover, Tony was certain that Lucas must have tampered with the cards and dice! But he had resorted to intelligent tricks, so much so that Tony couldn¡¯t even figure out how he had done it. Therefore, he felt that Lucas was of great value, and all the more, he wanted to take Lucas as his henchman and use him as his greatest support. As long as he had such a powerful henchman, it wouldn¡¯t be long before he rose to be one of the big shots of Orange County! Lucas didn¡¯t immediately turn down Tony¡¯s offer and instead pondered quietly for a moment. ¡°I think we need to discuss this properly. Let the twodies go outside. It won¡¯t be convenient to talk about this with outsiders around.¡± Then Lucas winked at Cheyenne, who was behind him, and hinted for her to go out and wait for him outside. She hesitated for a moment but decided to trust him and proceeded to go outside and wait for him. She knew that even if she stayed here, she would not only not be of any help to him, but she might even be his burden. After Cheyenne and Lena left the room, Lucas was left alone with Tony and his henchmen. Lucas took off the mask that he had been wearing for a long time, casually threw it on the ground, and then went to sit on the seat that he had been in just now. Tony¡¯s face instantly became sullen. Seems that this punk doesn¡¯t take me seriously at all! ¡°Punk, you¡¯re very brazen, huh! Aren¡¯t you scared that I might shoot you dead if you provoke me?¡± Tony raised his pistol and once again aimed the ck muzzle at Lucas. But Lucas kept a straight face, picked up one of the dice on the table, and began spinning it on the table. ¡°You just said that you want to take me as your henchman, but I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not worthy enough!¡± Hearing this, Tony flew into a rage and barked, ¡°Bastard, how dare you fool me?! Do you think I really don¡¯t dare to shoot!¡± Lucas smiled and shook his head. ¡°Nope, but you can¡¯t kill me.¡± There wasn¡¯t even the slightest tinge of fear on his face nor eyes! Tony narrowed his eyes and stared at Lucas for a long while before finally confirming that Lucas really wasn¡¯t afraid that he would shoot! He didn¡¯t know if Lucas was just in ignorant and arrogant or because he had a backer. But judging from Lucas¡¯s performance during the previous rounds of gambling, Tony didn¡¯t quite think that he was ignorant and arrogant. Does this mean he¡¯s certain that I won¡¯t dare to shoot him? Tony sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t be a smart aleck! You think I don¡¯t dare to do anything to you because of all the people out there, right? Well, you¡¯re wrong then! I¡¯m the ultimate ruler in Little Antis City, and even if I shoot you to death in front of everyone, no one will hold me ountable! Do you want to try?¡± Lucas nced at him with annoyance in his eyes. ¡°Are you done talking nonsense?¡± Before Tony could have another outburst of anger, Lucas sized up the henchmen behind Tony and then fixed his gaze on a young man who was quite decent-looking. He then said, ¡°I want a new person to be in charge of Little Antis City. Whoever dares to step forward and kill this man will be the owner of Little Antis City from today onward.¡± Chapter 226: Situation Reversed

Chapter 226: Situation Reversed

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s words were like a boulder thrown into ake. Stunned by his words, they looked at each other and were at a loss for how to react. As the person Lucas was pointing his finger at, Tony nearly exploded with rage! ¡°Bastard! I think you¡¯re tired of living! Damn it. I wanted to give you a chance and groom you because you¡¯re quite capable, but since you don¡¯t know any better, go to hell!¡± Then his finger moved on the trigger, ready to shoot Lucas! Suddenly, a cold and sharp de was pressed against Tony¡¯s neck. ¡°Stop, don¡¯t move.¡± A deep but familiar voice rang beside Tony¡¯s ear. As expected, Tony didn¡¯t dare to move. As someone who had been involved with gangs for years, he could tell just from the feeling of the cold and sharp de being pressed against the artery of his neck that it must be an extremely sharp dagger! He could even sense the chillinessing from the de. It was as if the dagger would slit his throat as long as he breathed a little harder! Now, Tony didn¡¯t even dare to breathe hard, let alone shoot. ¡°Joe! What are you doing?!¡± ¡°Hurry up and let go of Mr. Zander! Or else don¡¯t me us for being ruthless!¡± ¡°Are you out of your mind? You scoundrel!¡± ... After the surrounding underlings got a clear look at what was happening and got over their shock, they whipped out their weapons and aimed at the refined-looking young man who was pressing his dagger against Tony¡¯s neck. They were all hollering at him and demanding that he let go of Tony. The young man was Joe Daniels, the manager of the Opulence, whom Lucas had met twice. Previously, Joe had lent William 76,000 dors in the Opulence, but it soon snowballed to 450,000 dors, including interest. William was threatened to pay up or have his limbs removed. Later on, Lucas delivered a truck full of coins worth almost a million dors and buried the entire hall of the first floor in them. Since then, Joe had been scrupulous toward Lucas, and he even visited Lucas and William to offer his apology with a check of 450,000 dors. Only then did the matter blow over. Lucas had noticed Joe standing behind Tony from the moment he entered this private room. There was some hatred in Joe¡¯s gaze when he looked at Tony, unlike that of the other underlings, who were scared and wary of Tony. Thus, Lucas had actually deliberately mentioned the change of owner of Little Antis City because he wanted Joe to hear it. Lucas could tell that Joe was an extremely intelligent and ambitious person. Having witnessed Lucas¡¯s prowess and abilities, Joe had be fearful and respectful toward him. As long as Lucas gave an order, Joe would definitely grasp the opportunity to take down Tony and be the new owner of Little Antis City. Indeed, Joe¡¯s actions did not disappoint Lucas. ¡°Tony Zander, get all your men to put down their weapons and retreat to the corner! Otherwise, I¡¯ll slit your neck!¡± Joe said with a firm gaze of determination in his eyes. He pressed his sharp dagger harder against Tony¡¯s neck threateningly, and a red line of blood immediately appeared below the de. Feeling a sharp pain in his neck, Tony panicked. He was incredibly scared that Joe might let his hand slip and cause the dagger to slit his neck. No longer bothered to care about the pain, he frantically eximed, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear that? Hurry up and put your weapons down and then go stand in the corner! I won¡¯t spare anyone who dares to act rashly!¡± The underlings hesitated for a moment and then did as they were told. They dropped their daggers, steel rods, and other weapons on the ground and then retreated step by step to the corner of the room. Only then did Joe lift the dagger slightly off Tony¡¯s neck. ¡°Joe!¡± Tony was gritting his teeth resentfully. He was furious and bbergasted, but he dared not speak loudly and could only question through clenched teeth, ¡°Why? I feel that I treat you well, and I even gave you the chance to work at the Opulence to gain some experience. Why are you betraying me?¡± Joe sneered disdainfully. ¡°You treat me well? Bullshit! The Opulence is a business that my friend and I worked hard to establish. You encroached on my property and even killed my friend. In the end, you forced me to work for you like a dog! You had merely offered to me what was rightfully mine like it was a benefit bestowed out of kindness on your part! ¡°This is not betrayal but revenge! You deserve all of this!¡± When Joe thought about his friend¡¯s tragic death, his eyes were full of hatred, and he became extremely agitated too, so much so that the dagger in his hand even began to tremble. ¡°You... Calm down, and let¡¯s talk things over... Joe, I admit that I did you wrong back then, but I really didn¡¯t kill your friend. It was Kevin Creed!¡± ¡°Kevin Creed?¡± Upon hearing this name, Joe couldn¡¯t help but subconsciously recall who Kevin Creed was and what feud there was between his friend and Kevin Creed. He subconsciously loosened his grip on the dagger a little. At this very moment, Tony threw his head back abruptly and mmed Joe¡¯s nose with the back of his head. Before Joe could react, he quickly grabbed Joe¡¯s hand on his neck and immediately turned around to aim the pistol, which he originally aimed at Lucas, at Joe¡¯s head! He was extremely quick. And spurred by a strong desire to live, Tony acted the fastest he ever had in his life! There was a sudden twist in the situation, and the person that had been threatened now had the upper hand. ¡°You want to betray me, huh? Go to hell!¡± Tony curled his finger around the trigger with a ruthless expression! Joe¡¯s heart was full of despair and regret! He regretted getting distracted by a few words from Tony and ending up being threatened by Tony instead. He regretted failing to act decisively enough and not slitting Tony¡¯s neck right away to avenge his friend! He was indignant! Whoosh! At the very moment that Tony was about to pull the trigger of the pistol, a tiny object darted through the air like a bolt of lightning with a lingering explosive sound. With a dull sound, this tiny object punctured and pierced through the middle of Tony¡¯s wrist. Blood immediately gushed out! Feeling a sharp pain in his wrist, he lost all power in his fingers, and the pistol he was holding fell to the ground. ¡°Ah! My wrist!¡± Tony immediately held his wrist and shrieked in misery. Horrified, everyone in the room looked over, only to see a dice stained with fresh, bright red blood stuck in the wall near them. The tiny object that just pierced through Tony¡¯s wrist was obviously this dice! And this dice had darted out from Lucas¡¯s hand! Chapter 227: Shriek of Misery

Chapter 227: Shriek of Misery

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios All of Tony¡¯s underlings looked at the dice stuck in the wall with astonishment all over their faces. Seeing that the dice had pierced through Tony¡¯s wrist and bore a hole in it, they huddled in the corner, not daring to breathe. Joe reacted very quickly. After seeing that Tony had been subdued by a tiny dice that Lucas threw, he quickly stepped forward, grabbed the dagger with resentment in his eyes, and then ruthlessly and urately shed Tony¡¯s wrist! ¡°Waahhh!¡± Tony shrieked miserably as his entire right hand was severed by the sharp dagger! His severed hand fell to the ground, and fresh blood immediately gushed out of his wrist. There was instantly a pool of blood. The underlings began shuddering in fear, feeling intimidated by Joe¡¯s ruthlessness. Due to the intense and excruciating pain in his wrist, Tony¡¯s eyes rolled backward uncontrobly, and he passed out in pain. But his miserable shriek had already prated through the walls of the room and spread outside. The people who were waiting to hear the oue of the gamble outside couldn¡¯t help but shudder in fear when they heard the miserable shriek. Then they started whispering among themselves. ¡°Wow, listen to this. He¡¯s shrieking so miserably. Tony must have taught him a hard lesson!¡± ¡°Of course. Tony is the boss of Little Antis City! That punk happened to get into a conflict with Tony here, so he must have been dealt with harshly!¡± ¡°Hey, I just advised that young man to take the money and leave, but he refused to heed my advice. Great, he might just die now!¡± ¡°No way. Would Tony really kill someone in Little Antis City?¡± asked a bewildered neer who had just arrived to gamble. ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s hard to say! After all, it¡¯s not like there hasn¡¯t been anyone who died here before. Everyone here knows that such things have happened in the past.¡± ... ¡°Oh my goodness... Tsk, it¡¯s really terrifying.¡± The crowd was lively, and they were all chatting with one another. Of course, they made sure to keep their voices low when talking about the casualties in Little Antis City. After all, there were security guards and service staff of Little Antis City everywhere. If someone added fuel to the fire and informed Tony about it, they might be dealt with severely. But they all felt that the person who had shrieked in misery was definitely Lucas, the young man who bet against Tony. None of them thought that Tony was the one who had shrieked. Cheyenne, whom Lucas had asked to go out of the room, was now standing outside the room with her face as pale as a sheet and her body extremely cold. Although she felt that the voice didn¡¯t seem to belong to Lucas, the shriek sounded really miserable, and it was almost off-key. She thought that it might have been distorted since it passed through the walls. Besides, in that private room, everyone except Lucas was Tony¡¯s underlings. There were more than ten of them, so she thought it was very likely that the only possible person who had screamed was Lucas. Cheyenne was so anxious that she couldn¡¯t think of anything else, and she wanted to dash into the room after pushing Lena¡¯s hand away. But several security guards were guarding the entrance to the room, all of whom pushed Cheyenne to the side hostilely, not allowing her to get close at all. With a look of despair in her eyes, Cheyenne felt extremely worried. But as a vulnerable woman, there was nothing she could do now. She had no choice but to grab Lena¡¯s hand helplessly and ask in a shaky voice, ¡°What should we do? Could something have happened to him? If I had known... If I had known this would happen, I wouldn¡¯t have let him go up against Tony Zander...¡± Seeing Cheyenne¡¯s bizarre reaction, Lena finally realized that the rtionship between Cheyenne and the person she thought was a crook trying to take Cheyenne away seemed to be moreplicated than she thought. ¡°Cheyenne, do you guys... know each other?¡± Lena asked hesitantly. But Cheyenne was now overwhelmed with anxiety and didn¡¯t have the time to exin to her at all. Inside the private room, Joe¡¯s eyes were full of delight as he relished in taking revenge after cutting off one of Tony¡¯s hands with his own hands. Everyone else in the room was astonished and horrified, except Lucas, who was the only one remainingposed in his seat without a change in expression. He acted as though he didn¡¯t see all that blood on the ground and the bloodied, severed hand. ng! Joe dropped the dagger in his hand, walked to Lucas, and suddenly dropped onto his knees with a loud thud. ¡°Mr. Gray, you saved my life and helped me take revenge. I will definitely be loyal to you in the future. Please give me the chance!¡± The group of people huddling up in the corner couldn¡¯t help but be incredibly shocked when they saw this. Although Joe was Tony¡¯s henchman, he was given the chance of holding a high position in Little Antis City and became the manager of the Opulence because he was extremely intelligent and good at management. Joe could be considered the person with the second-highest status in Little Antis City, second only to Tony. It was up to him to manage the staff of Little Antis City, and he held a significant position among the underground eco-chain of Orange County. But such a powerful person was now kneeling in front of the young man they had never seen before. He even wanted to submit to Lucas and be at his disposal! If they didn¡¯t know that Joe had always been a smart person, they would have thought that he was out of his mind or scared silly at this point. In their opinion, there was nothing unusual about the young man in front of them, except that he was a little bolder and wealthier than most people. They were also stunned by the fact that he had used a dice to pierce through Tony¡¯s wrist. In other words, he just had some martial arts background. But other impressive experts would definitely be able to do that too! So they were puzzled as to why Joe had knelt and defected to him. They even suspected that Lucas and Joe had colluded long ago and that today¡¯s events were all part of a n that they had devised to lure Tony into the room and then take the opportunity to attack him so that they could encroach on his power. Lucas didn¡¯t care about what they were thinking and said calmly to Joe, who was kneeling down in front of him respectfully, ¡°Get up.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Joe immediately obeyed. He stood up, walked to Lucas¡¯s side, and looked down, as if he had already be Lucas¡¯s underling. Lucas nced at the people in the corner before saying calmly, ¡°As I said before, whoever has the guts to kill Tony Zander will be the new owner of Little Antis City. From now on, Joe Daniels will be in charge of Little Antis City!¡± Chapter 228: You’re In Charge Now

Chapter 228: You¡¯re In Charge Now

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Joe was instantly on cloud nine. Lucas¡¯s words not only meant that he would officially be the person in charge of Little Antis City from today, but it also meant that Lucas had epted him as his subordinate! Since thest time they met at the Opulence, Joe had already determined that Lucas was an extraordinary person. And the series of events that happened in Little Antis City today had once again proven Lucas¡¯s absolute strength and power! Joe had always been a clear-headed person who was good at analyzing the pros and cons of every matter. He was certain that as long as he was subordinate to Lucas, his future achievements would definitely be far beyond Little Antis City! On the other hand, among the people standing at the corner, there were some who didn¡¯t agree with Lucas and simply sneered at him contemptuously. A bearded middle-aged man walked out from the crowd and shouted, ¡°Punk, I don¡¯t know who you are, but Tony is still the owner of Little Antis City! He isn¡¯t dead yet. Who are you to appoint a new owner?¡± His name was Alex Stone, a powerful figure in Little Antis City who was second only to Tony and Joe. Alex was not actually that loyal toward Tony. But rather, he was incredibly displeased with the fact that Joe was about to take charge of Little Antis City. So he stepped out to express his disgruntlement and objection. In his opinion, even after Tony¡¯s death, the management personnel of Little Antis City should be the ones to decide who the next helmsman of the entertainment joint should be. And he naturally wanted to be the next ruler of Little Antis City who enjoyed supreme authority. However, Lucas was just an outsider. Yet he intervened and made the decision to appoint Joe as the next helmsman. Alex felt that Lucas had no right to do so. He was indignant! ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to oppose my decision.¡± Lucas nced at Alex coldly before looking away. He wouldn¡¯t take the opinion of a nobody seriously at all. Alex immediately felt infuriated, perhaps because he had been agitated by Lucas ignoring him. He suddenly developed the courage to pull out a dagger that he had hidden at his waist and pounced at Lucas. ¡°Brothers, there¡¯s no need to be afraid of him! Hack this bastard to death!¡± Alex charged forward while roaring. Lucas¡¯s gaze turned gloomy, and the other dice he was fiddling with suddenly popped out from the gap between his fingers and darted out like a bullet! This dice urately hit the center of Alex¡¯s eyebrows, boring a huge hole through his forehead! Alex froze right on the spot as his body stiffened in the midst of charging forward. But the light in his eyes gradually disappeared, and a stream of crimson blood began to pour out of the hole in his forehead together with some white substance. Bang! Only after several seconds did Alex¡¯s heavy body suddenly hit the ground and turn motionless! But his eyes were still wide open in confusion, as if he hadn¡¯t figured out what happened to him before his death. Dumbfounded, everyone watched everything that happened before their eyes with their hearts hammering. The dice Lucas threw actually prated through the hard and sturdy skull of a human, resulting in a fatal injury. The power of his dice was simplyparable to a bullet! Initially, they thought that Lucas managed to make the dice pierce through Tony¡¯s wrist only because he was skillful and got lucky. But none of them dared to think so now! This young man was actually keeping a straight face even after killing Alex! He wasn¡¯t afraid to kill someone at all! As long as he was willing, he could casually kill all of them with the cup of dice on the table! With this thought in mind, they could no longer maintain a steady gait as their legs turned into jelly. They dropped onto their knees, kneeling in front of Lucas and begging him for mercy. ¡°Sir, I have no objections! From today onward, you are our boss. We are willing to listen to whatever you say!¡± ¡°Yes! Me too! I pledge allegiance to you, and I¡¯ll do whatever you tell me to do without question!¡± ... Lucas didn¡¯t pay attention to them and instead said to Joe, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you to handle everything here.¡± With these words, he once again affirmed Joe¡¯s position as the new helmsman of Little Antis City. It would also be up to Joe to decide whether those who got on their knees to beg for mercy would stay or go. ¡°Yes! Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± Joe hurriedly agreed while bowing, his heart full of joy. Seeing Lucas stand up and walk out of the door, he hurriedly went forward to ask for instructions again. ¡°Mr. Gray... what do you n to do with Tony Zander?¡± At this point, Tony hadn¡¯t died yet. He had merely momentarily fainted from the pain of having his wrist pierced through by the dice Lucas threw and then his entire hand chopped off by Joe. His body was now soaked in the blood that was gushing out of his aorta. If he wasn¡¯t treated in time, he would definitely die of excessive blood loss. Joe naturally wished he could kill Tony now to avenge his deceased friend. But Tony had a significant status that gave him great authority and influence in the industries of entertainment joints and underground gambling dens in Orange County. Joe didn¡¯t know if Lucas nned to have Tony die or not. Without stopping in his tracks, Lucas said uninterestedly, ¡°I¡¯ll leave him to you. Do whatever you want with him.¡± When Lucas reached the door of the private room and ced his hand on the door handle, he turned around and said to Joe, ¡°I¡¯m handing over Little Antis City to you because I want you to run it like a proper business and control the entire underground industry of Orange County. Ban all businesses that involve vices like prostitution, gambling, and drugs! Otherwise, I¡¯ll strip you of your position. Do you hear me?¡± Joe¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly assured solemnly, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray! I will definitely do as you say. From today onward, Little Antis City will no longer be involved in prostitution, gambling, and drugs! I will also supervise and enforce restrictions in other areas of Orange County so that such things will never appear again!¡± Such vices had harmed countless people, and although they had been repeatedly banned, it was still difficult to cut off the sourcepletely. Lucas couldn¡¯t guarantee that he couldpletely eradicate these vices, but he would do his best to make sure that the sources were cut off, at least within the area of Orange County that was within his abilities! This was also why he let Joe be his subordinate and appointed him as the new helmsman of Little Antis City. After casually taking off another new mask from the wall and putting it on, Lucas opened the door and walked out. The poker yers who had gathered outside the door and stared at it for a long time immediately fixed all their attention on the door when they saw it suddenly open and Lucas stride out of it. They were extremely curious about the oue of the gamble and the miserable shriek they had just heard. But they were extremely surprised to discover that the person walking out of the private room was the masked young man whose identity they didn¡¯t know! He waspletely unscathed. Obviously, nothing had happened to him. In that case, who was the one who let out that shriek of misery? Chapter 229: Minor Conflict

Chapter 229: Minor Conflict

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as Lucas walked out, a slender figure suddenly leaped into Lucas¡¯s arms and hugged his waist tightly. With a trace of shock on his face, Lucas gaped a little, dumbfounded for a moment. He never expected that Cheyenne would leap into his embrace and hug him tightly in front of everyone! After being dumbfounded for a while, Lucas finally snapped back to his senses. His heart was full of joy and sweetness. He reached his hands out and gently put them around Cheyenne¡¯s waist while patting her backfortingly. Fortunately, William had already left Little Antis City by this time. Otherwise, he would have definitely felt that something was amiss if he saw Cheyenne jumping into the arms of this masked man. He would then discover that the masked man was Lucas, his son-inw. On the other hand, after Lena saw what Cheyenne was doing, she was even more certain that Cheyenne¡¯s rtionship with him was extraordinary, unlike what she had thought previously. Is this masked young man her husband she mentioned to me before? The people around were still surrounding Lucas. Many of them wanted to ask him what happened in the room and who the final winner of the gamble was, which was their greatest concern. They also wanted to find out what the shrieking was about. Lucas frowned slightly, feeling annoyed that they were surrounding him and bombarding him with questions. At this moment, Joe and the other managers of Little Antis City came out of the room one after another. The security guards immediately dispersed the curious poker yers and sent Lucas and the others down the elevator. When they were far away from Little Antis City, Lucas finally removed his mask and revealed his handsome face. Lena looked at Cheyenne, who had been leaning close to Lucas, and teased with a grin, ¡°Cheyenne, aren¡¯t you going to introduce this mysterious man to me?¡± Seeing the teasing gaze in Lena¡¯s eyes, Cheyenne finally realized that she was still subconsciously tugging on Lucas¡¯ sleeve. She hurriedly let go and blushed in embarrassment. ¡°Uh, he¡¯s not a crook. He¡¯s actually my... my... Well, you know what I¡¯m talking about. His name is Lucas Gray.¡± Cheyenne hesitated for a while, but she still couldn¡¯t bring herself to call Lucas her husband in front of him and Lena. So she decided not to do so altogether. She then introduced Lena to Lucas. ¡°This is Lena Sawyer, a close friend of mine for many years.¡± Lucas nodded at Lena in greeting. He had found out long ago that Lena was Ethan Sawyer¡¯s daughter. Cheyenne took Lena¡¯s hand and sincerely apologized to her, ¡°Lena, it was tooplicated in there just now, so I couldn¡¯t exin it to you clearly. I¡¯m so sorry to have made you worry!¡± Lena waved her hand and grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s before saying with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Everything¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re safe. I was just really worried that you were taken away by a crook and might not be able to make it back alive. If I knew that you and your husband had agreed to put on an act together to make your father quit gambling, I wouldn¡¯t have meddled presumptuously! If it wasn¡¯t for me, you guys wouldn¡¯t have been targeted by Tony Zander and ended up wasting so much time.¡± Lena was a straightforward person, and she directly said her piece. Suddenly reminded of something, she hurriedly asked Lucas, ¡°By the way, what exactly happened in the private room? I heard a loud shriek and thought that something happened to you! Cheyenne was so frightened that she turned pale at the time. That was when I discovered that there was something going on between you two.¡± Hearing her best friend¡¯s description of her worried self, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help blushing again. Lucas was rather reluctant to tell the two young women about the bloodbath that had happened in the private room. So he merely shook his head and said casually, ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. A nobody offended Tony Zander in the room, so he got someone to deal with him.¡± Lena wasn¡¯t a fool, so she could naturally tell that Lucas was just being perfunctory with her. She immediately pouted. ¡°You¡¯re so stingy. You¡¯re refusing to even tell me what happened in that room. That shriek sounded really horrifying. Only a fool would believe that it was just a nobody being taught a lesson. Hmph, forget it if you don¡¯t want to tell me. Why did you have to make up a random excuse to fool me?¡± Lucas was speechless. But he had never had much patience with women other than Cheyenne. When he heard Lena¡¯s usation, he didn¡¯t bother exining either and simply said calmly, ¡°Believe it or not, that¡¯s the truth.¡± ¡°You! What kind of attitude is that?¡± Lena got even more furious and pouted her lips. Seeing that tension arose from a slight conflict between them, Cheyenne hurriedly stood in the middle and tried to give both of them an out. ¡°Lucas, Lena is my best friend, and she tried everything she could to save me just now. Don¡¯t be so harsh with your tone when you¡¯re talking to her!¡± Immediately afterward, she grabbed Lena¡¯s hand andforted her, ¡°Lena, simmer down. Lucas is just hot-tempered. He¡¯s not nitpicking on you. He gets on my nerves all the time too!¡± Lucas raised his hand and touched his nose. When did I ever get on Cheyenne¡¯s nerves? Lena wasn¡¯t a petty girl who would throw a fit over a trivial matter. After hearing Cheyenne¡¯s persuasion, the trace of dissatisfaction on her face vanished, and she humphed at Lucas. ¡°Hmph, I won¡¯t bother holding it against you on Cheyenne¡¯s ount. But since you¡¯re Cheyenne¡¯s husband, you must treat her well in the future. Otherwise, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± Then she waved her clenched fist at Lucas. Lucas looked at Lena speechlessly. Although Lena had a hostile attitude toward him, she had indeed stood out to protect Cheyenne without hesitation when she thought that Cheyenne was in danger just now. She even repeatedly tried to stop him from taking Cheyenne away, showing that she truly considered Cheyenne her best friend and truly cared about her safety. So Lucas wouldn¡¯t hold it against Lena even if it was for the sake that she was nice to Cheyenne. It was gettingte, and he decided to send Lena home together with Cheyenne. It happened that Lena lived on an estate by Pearl Lake near Lucas¡¯s vi. Lucas quickly started the engine of his ck Jaguar and drove toward Pearl Lake with Cheyenne and Lena. During the journey, Lena still couldn¡¯t help asking curiously, ¡°I¡¯m really curious about why Tony Zander let you go. Did you agree to do something for him? He¡¯s not a kind soul!¡± Chapter 231: Loose Corners

Chapter 231: Loose Corners

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas originally thought that Lena was a weak and spoiled daughter of a rich man, but he didn¡¯t expect that she was not simple-minded. ¡°Lena, the situation you were in just now was too dangerous. Why don¡¯t youe home with us for the time being?¡± Cheyenne suggested worriedly. Lena smiled and shook her head to turn down Cheyenne¡¯s kind offer. ¡°Cheyenne, thank you, but there are security guards in the vi. I¡¯ll be safe once I go inside. I¡¯ll be alright.¡± Cheyenne thought about it and felt that she was right. Since Lena was already at the doorstep of her own home, Cheyenne merely reminded, ¡°Be careful then. Ask your dad to assign a few elite bodyguards to protect you in case those crooks get up to more malice and try to harm you.¡± Lena nodded. ¡°Alright, I will.¡± Then she turned and said to Lucas, ¡°Thank you so much for saving me. I owe you my life. I¡¯ll definitely repay you for your kindness!¡± Before Lucas said anything, she turned around and walked toward the vi. When Cheyenne saw Lena walk into the vi, she finally turned around and said, ¡°Let¡¯s head home too.¡± When Cheyenne got into the passenger seat of the Jaguar, Lucas restarted the engine and continued to drive toward the vi in the center of Pearl Lake. But at this moment, Cheyenne was obviously in low spirits and seemed rather worried. Lucas knew that she was worried about Lena¡¯s safety, so he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Lena has been living abroad all along and rarelyes back to Orange County, right?¡± Cheyenne nodded. ¡°Yes, Lena¡¯s dad sent her abroad when she was at a tender age, and she has been living there since. She rarelyes back to Orange County and only does so once in a while. I got to know her when I did her a favor by chance many years ago, and we eventually became best friends. ¡°Over the years, we seldom met, and we usuallymunicate over the phone or through the inte. I only learned that she¡¯s the daughter of the richest man in Orange County some time ago. But very few people here are aware of her identity. I really wonder who the culprit behind today¡¯s incident is.¡± Lucasforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With Ethan Sawyer¡¯s abilities and resources, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll find out who the real culprit is soon. And he will definitely tighten the security measures to ensure her safety in the future. Today¡¯s incident shouldn¡¯t happen again.¡± Cheyenne thought about it carefully, and only then did she start to rx. But she soon recalled everything that happened in Little Antis City today and couldn¡¯t help but ask curiously, ¡°Speaking of which, you won three rounds in a row when you gambled with Tony Zander in Little Antis City today. Was it really because of luck, or did you resort to some other means? Have you learned how to gamble before?¡± Lucas smiled and shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯ve never yed those games before. I should have just gotten lucky today.¡± Refusing to believe him, Cheyenne asked, ¡°Was it really just luck? I don¡¯t believe it. If it was just luck, how did you dare to bet so much money each round? You even ended up with nearly thirty million dors worth of chips.¡± Lucas smiled mysteriously. ¡°I just had a feeling that I¡¯d win. That¡¯s why I bet so much. I really got lucky this time. I think it should be because you were standing next to me.¡± Cheyenne instantly blushed and tilted her head toward the side. She said softly, ¡°You¡¯ve got such a glib tongue. I wonder where you got that from.¡± Lucas chuckled and was about to speak when he heard his phone beep twice. He picked up his phone and swiped his finger across the screen to unlock it. There was a notification from the bank to inform him that 27 million dors had been transferred to his bank ount. The other notification was for a text message from Joe, informing him that the money was the money he had won from gambling with Tony in Little Antis City. Three million of it was his principal amount, while the rest was transferred from Tony¡¯s ount. There was nothing wrong with deducting the money from Tony¡¯s ount since he had lost the money to Lucas. But rightfully speaking, Little Antis City was supposed to get a certain percentage of the chips won by the poker yers there when they were finally converted into cash. Therger the amount won, the higher the percentage ofmission. For example, Little Antis City should have gotten nearly a million dors out of Lucas¡¯s winnings of 27 million. But the money that Lucas won tonight was all credited to his ount without a single cent less. It was obviously a deliberate gift to Lucas from Joe. Besides, at the end of the text message, Joe also implicitly told Lucas that Tony had died. Cheyenne was about to turn her head to say something to Lucas when she identally caught a glimpse of the text message on his cell phone, leaving her in astonishment as she widened her eyes. ¡°Twenty-seven million dors?! Why did so much money get transferred to your bank ount?!¡± Cheyenne eximed in shock. If she hadn¡¯t seen it with her own eyes tonight, she wouldn¡¯t have believed that Lucas had won more than 20 million dors in less than 20 minutes! This was even faster than printing money! ¡°Haha, that¡¯s why I said that Lady Luck was smiling at me today. Not only did I win all three rounds, but I even encountered such a wealthy fool like Tony Zander. Otherwise, how could we have such a windfall?¡± Lucas said with a deliberate smile. Cheyenne quickly calmed down after being agitated. But when she thought of her father being addicted to gambling, her heart sank, and she was once again in low spirits. Cheyenne was hurt and heartbroken when William used her as coteral during his gamble today. But when she saw how he knelt in front of Lucas and wept miserably while begging him not to take her away, she felt conflicted, and her heart was full ofplicated emotions. ¡°Lucas, what do you intend to do to my dad?¡± Cheyenne asked with a conflicted expression. Lucas nced at Cheyenne and said calmly, ¡°Actually, when he used you as coteral, I really felt that he waspletely unworthy of being a father, and I even felt an urge to kill him. ¡°But when he knelt before me and begged me to let you go, I could tell that he truly regretted it at the time and wanted to take you back. He still cares about you, but when he¡¯s obsessed with gambling, he can¡¯t care about anything else. ¡°So, I want him to wake him up and make him realize that if he continues to be addicted to gambling, he will lose his daughter, his family, everything. Only after he loses everything and hits rock bottom will hee to his senses and quit his addiction, which is the cause of these consequences! ¡°So, Cheyenne, you have to cooperate with me. You can¡¯t go easy on him. Even if he looks for you at the office, you must refuse to see him and make him truly realize what he has really lost. Otherwise, he will never be able toe to his senses and turn over a new leaf!¡± Cheyenne thought about it for a long while, and the gaze in her eyes gradually became firmer. ¡°You¡¯re right. If I let myself be softhearted and give in, all our previous efforts would be in vain. I might even end up harming Dad! Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll tell Charlotte about this and get her to cooperate with us too. No matter who Dad goes to, we won¡¯t see him!¡± The Jaguar soon stopped at the entrance of theke vi, and the two of them alighted to go home. ¡ª¡ª In the Sawyers¡¯ vi, Lena was currently bent over her desk and drawing the outline and contours of a person¡¯s face with a pencil on a piece of paper. The person she was drawing was a handsome young man. His eyebrows were sharp, his nose bridge was high and taut, and his lips tightly pressed together. It was Lucas! Lena rubbed the man¡¯s features she had drawn on the paper with her slender fingers and suddenly smiled radiantly. ¡°Cheyenne, your man is such a good catch!¡± Chapter 232: Finally Came To His Senses

Chapter 232: Finally Came To His Senses

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas, Cheyenne, Charlotte, and the others each got busy with their own matters in the meantime. As the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, Cheyenne naturally had many new ns to carry out and arrangements to make. As the acting general manager of the Stardust Corporation, Charlotte also had a lot on her te every day. She had to handle the daily affairs of the Stardust Corporation and suppress those who refused to obey her and were throwing their weight around just because they were old. She also had to handle the follow-up matters of the Oliver Harvey case and try her best to minimize the impact of this matter on the Stardust Corporation. Fortunately, Charlotte was quitepetent and managed to handle everything without Lucas¡¯s help. As for Flynn, the rightful general manager of the Stardust Corporation, he was originally supposed to return to work at the Stardust Corporation after taking the initiative to cooperate with the police in the investigation of the Oliver Harvey incident. But Lucas assigned him to take over and organize the businesses left behind by the Brookes in LA, and he would report his daily progress to Lucas over the phone every day. With Stanley providing help and presiding over the matters in LA, the families that were coveting the businesses of the Brookes suddenly gave up and didn¡¯t dare to openly snatch them away anymore. Thus, Flynn¡¯s takeover was extremely smooth and sessful. Lucas didn¡¯t idle about either. Apart from assigning tasks remotely and responding to the reports he received, he also made arrangements for people to take over the Hales¡¯ businesses in Orange County that they had voluntarily handed to him. There were also many other misceneous things that he had to do. His tense and busy days passed by just like that, and soon, more than half a month passed. It was officially summertime. Orange County was near the coast, where rainfall was abundant. Since it was near the ocean, it was usually humid and warm during summer, which was rather ufortable. What surprised Lucas and Cheyenne was that during those two weeks, William didn¡¯t appear at all, nor did he go to Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s workces to look for them. Of course, Lucas had sent someone to tail William and guard his safety secretly. This person would also report William¡¯s whereabouts to Lucas every day. In the Civic za of Orange County... It was only five in the morning, but the summer sun was already up and shining brightly. William, who had curled up and slept on a park bench for yet another night, frowned when he felt the bright rays of sunlight shining on his eyelids. It took him a long time to open his eyes with great difficulty before sitting up. He sat on the bench and froze for a long while before he finally remembered the state that he was currently in. He stood up from the bench and dragged his feet to the nearby public restroom in the park. He collected some tap water in his palm from the faucet of the public restroom and rinsed his face to wake himself up. William muttered to himself, ¡°It¡¯s time to go find a job.¡± He thenbed his fingers through his unkempt and greasy hair a few times before turning around to leave. But as he walked, tears began to well up in his eyes before finally flowing down the contours of his face and dripping onto the concrete floor. His heart was now full of regret and misery that made him feel immense heartache. He really regretted it! He originally had a harmonious andplete family, with a wife, two smart and beautiful daughters, and an adorable granddaughter. It was his fault for developing a gambling addiction and staying outte every night. He had even ended up losing several million dors. His daughters had been worried sick about him and searched high and low for him everywhere. In the end, Cheyenne even went to a sordid ce like Little Antis City to look for him. She begged him to go home with her and quit gambling. But what did he do? He hurled such malicious and hurtful words at his daughter, pushed her away, and even used her as a stake for his gamble by putting her up as coteral to aplete stranger! He ended up losing his daughter to that stranger, who took her away. The stranger was wearing a mask, so William didn¡¯t know who he was. But every time William thought of what the stranger had said to him, he felt a chill in his heart and wanted to give himself a few more loud ps on the face! The man said that if he lost his daughter to him, his daughter¡¯s future life and wellbeing would have nothing to do with him anymore! These days, he often got jolted awake from his nightmares of Cheyenne being abused and tortured to her veryst breath by a man whose face he couldn¡¯t see clearly. In his nightmares, she would often be bawling and begging him to go to her rescue and take her home. But whenever he tried to reach his hand toward her, his efforts would be futile. He would never be able to touch her no matter how hard he tried, and he could only watch her get bullied again and again. William really regretted everything that he had done! He wanted to go back to his daughter, but he just didn¡¯t know where he could go to look for her. He had once returned to the residence that they had lived in for decades. But he found that something happened during his absence, and the house was now a wreck. All of Karen¡¯s, Cheyenne¡¯s, Charlotte¡¯s, and Amelia¡¯s belongings were no longer in the house. He reckoned that they should have moved, but he didn¡¯t know where they moved. He couldn¡¯t me them for moving to another ce without informing him because he only had himself to me for spending all his time at the casino andpletely neglecting his family. He deserved to be in the plight that he was in now! But no matter what, he had to get his daughter back! Now that he was homeless and penniless, he had been living on the streets and wandering around aimlessly the past few days. He was searching for Cheyenne while also trying to find a job so that he could make some money to support himself and continue to look for his daughter. But he was old andcked work experience. Besides, due to the fact that he had been living on the streets for a long time, he now looked scruffy, filthy, and unkempt. No one wanted to employ him. He had spent all the money he had with him, and he couldn¡¯t even afford breakfast now. There was also no news of Cheyenne, and he had no idea where she was suffering now. Overwhelmed with regret, William finally couldn¡¯t stand it any longer as he squatted on the ground and sobbed loudly. ¡°Cheyenne... where are you? I really know I was wrong. I wish I could bring you home right now, but I can¡¯t find you!¡± William squatted on the ground while tugging his hair and weeping miserably with mucus and snot falling from his nose. Looking even more disheveled than before, he attracted the attention of the crowd. Many came to surround him, but he could no longer be bothered! Screech! At this moment, a car abruptly braked and stopped beside William. William wiped a handful of tears and snot, looked up, and saw Lucas getting out of the car and standing in front of him. At this moment, William felt an unprecedented sense of guilt and remorse within him. Choking between sobs, he said, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve let you down. I lost Cheyenne to someone else. I can¡¯t find her...¡± ¡°Dad!¡± At this moment, a familiar voice that was also sobbing rang in his ears. William immediately raised his head as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt and stared at the other person who got out of the car in immense disbelief. Cheyenne had long burst into tears and was now standing right before him! Chapter 235: What Is the Truth?

Chapter 235: What Is the Truth?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Frightened by the scene just now, the two receptionists had hidden behind the marble counter and shivered in fear. When they saw the people suddenlye downstairs, they hurriedly dashed toward them andined to the manager, ¡°Mr. Perry, these people tried to cause trouble in the Ocean Bathhouse!¡± As they spoke, they pointed their fingers at Lucas and the others. The person addressed as Mr. Perry immediately red at them hostilely and barked, ¡°You actually have the audacity to cause trouble in the Ocean Bathhouse. You¡¯re very brazen! You even dared to hurt my people. How are you going to settle this?¡± As soon as Perry finished speaking, several more security guards walked over from the lobby with electric batons and other weapons. They surrounded the four of them and were obviously out to settle scores with them. Once the answer given by Lucas and the rest was not to Perry¡¯s satisfaction, they would either be beaten up or suffer more severe consequences. William had rarely experienced such altercations, so as soon as he saw these people surrounding him, he became extremely nervous. He reached his arms out to shield his daughters, but ayer of cold sweat had already seeped out of his forehead. ¡°Dad, everything will be fine with Lucas here.¡± Cheyenne was touched and gently patted William¡¯s arm whileforting him softly. William took a nce at Lucas, who looked extremelyposed. Only then did he realize that his son-inw wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. As long as he was around, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let anything happen to Charlotte and Cheyenne! Lucas really didn¡¯t take these security guards seriously. Even if they were holding guns instead of electric batons, he wouldn¡¯t be scared at all. ¡°You¡¯d better find out what happened before doing anything. Otherwise, customers won¡¯t dare to patronize your ce anymore,¡± Lucas said calmly. The manager, Perry, couldn¡¯t be bothered to find out what exactly happened. In his opinion, he would deal with all troublemakers! But there were also many other customers around who rushed out after hearing themotion. Besides, considering what Lucas said, he was worried that the customers of the bathhouse might have a bad impression of it if he handled this inappropriately. So Perry forced himself to stay patient and said to a receptionist patiently, ¡°Tell me what happened just now. Why was there a fight?¡± This receptionist was the one who had called the security guards toe over and kick William out, so she definitely wouldn¡¯t give a fair ount of what had happened. ¡°Mr. Perry, here¡¯s what happened. That filthy and smelly beggar suddenly rushed over to create trouble, causing a huge hindrance for the other guests. I just kindly tried to tell him to leave, but I didn¡¯t expect him to suddenly go berserk like a madman and try to attack us. I suspect that he¡¯s mentally unsound, and I was afraid that he might scare the other guests, so I got the security guards to send him out. ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect his family to be waiting outside. As soon as they saw our security guards, they immediately started hitting them ruthlessly. They even knocked the captain out! They then caused a huge stir and said that it¡¯s our fault. They¡¯re obviously out to extort us!¡± The receptionist was very articte, and she even managed to twist the facts while adding fuel to the fire. Everyone in the lobby looked at William, Lucas, and the others with disdain. William hurriedly shook his head and rified loudly, ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that! I¡¯m not mentally unsound. I just wanted toe here to take a bath. I also brought enough money. Besides, I was even willing to pay a little more! But this receptionist called me a smelly beggar and chased me out without hesitation! Look at these footprints on my body. They¡¯re from when they kicked me out! ¡°My daughter and son-inw naturally came over to stand up for me and demand for an exnation when they saw that I was being assaulted. How is that considered extortion? You people are obviously the problematic ones. You discriminated against me and hit me for no rhyme nor reason!¡± Everyone looked at William. There were indeed lots of footprints and mud on his body. Their eyes became full of bewilderment. The receptionist hurriedly said, ¡°Those footprints and mud on your body were already there when you stepped into our bathhouse. Who knows where you got those stains? You¡¯re even deliberately trying to frame us!¡± William quickly tried to retort, but the receptionist asked, ¡°You said you¡¯re not mentally unsound, huh? Look at how dirty you are. You probably haven¡¯t showered in weeks. Which person in their right mind who has a sane daughter and son-inw would end up in such a filthy state?¡± William opened his mouth, but he was no match for the eloquent and sharp-tongued receptionist. It was a fact that he was extremely filthy and hadn¡¯t showered in weeks. All of a sudden, he couldn¡¯t find the words to rebut her, so he immediately became flustered. The onlookers around them also began discussing. ¡°I think this receptionist has a point. Which ordinary person would let themselves be so smelly and dirty? I can smell the stench from so far away. Tsk!¡± ¡°Exactly. Why did hee out before taking a shower at home? There must be something wrong with him.¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯re just here to extort money! When we were in the lounge just now, no one witnessed what happened. If it wasn¡¯t for this receptionist, we might have been deceived by them!¡± ... ¡°Did you hear that? That¡¯s the truth. What else do you have to say?¡± Hearing the discussion going on around him, Perry realized that they had started leaning toward the Ocean Bathhouse. He couldn¡¯t help but be smug and sneered. ¡°No, I really wasn¡¯t going to hit her. I just came in for a bath! You... you have to believe me!¡± William looked at the people around him and then shifted his gaze to his daughters and Lucas anxiously. He had finally reconciled with his daughters and made up his mind to turn over a new leaf, so he was really scared that they and Lucas would get the wrong idea about him. The opinions of the others paled inparison. Lucas grabbed William¡¯s hand and said sincerely, ¡°William, I believe you.¡± Cheyenne and Charlotte also looked at William with great trust. ¡°Dad, we trust you too. The staff of this bathhouse clearly bullied you!¡± ¡°The truth is right before you, yet you still have the audacity to nder us. You probably won¡¯t regret it until you see the consequence, huh?!¡± Perry flew into a rage and was about to order the security guards to chase them out. ¡°Hmph!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°It¡¯s just a few one-sided words from your own employees. How can it be considered the truth?¡± Pointing at the few surveince cameras on the ceiling around them, he hollered, ¡°Aren¡¯t there cameras in this bathhouse? Since you want to find out the truth, we can just look at the footage to see who¡¯s lying and being the bully!¡± Upon hearing his words, William was overjoyed. As long as there was footage from the cameras, they would be able to prove his innocence! On the other hand, after the receptionist heard that Lucas wanted to see the footage of the surveince cameras, her expression immediately changed drastically. Chapter 237: Change of Attitude

Chapter 237: Change of Attitude

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Joe was a rare talent in the industry of underground businesses. He used to be in charge of the Opulence and had a ruthless style of doing things that made others submit to him. He was said to have be the new owner of Little Antis City recently and was in control of almost the entire industry of underground businesses in Orange County. His power and strength were absolutely not to be underestimated. A trivial lobby manager of a bathhouse like Perry was not fit to talk to him! After learning that Joe hade to the Ocean Bathhouse, Perry had been incredibly nervous and had hurriedly instructed his subordinates to attend to Joe. But why would such a big shot like him actually stoop so low in front of Lucas and respectfully address him as Mr. Gray? Perry immediately had an ominous hunch! ¡°Is this part of the turf you manage?¡± Lucas asked calmly with a straight face, his emotions entirely concealed. Joe hurriedly shook his head. ¡°No, I just happen to be here to take a bath and discuss a business deal with someone. This bathhouse has absolutely nothing to do with me!¡± Joe had always been smart and quick-witted. When he was behind the crowd, he had already heard of the conflict and knew that there must have been some dispute between Lucas and the manager. Thus, he had to draw a clear line between himself and the bathhouse immediately, lest Lucas took it out on him and thought that it was a result of hisck of proper management or that he had given them permission to do it. Just half a month ago, Joe had pledged allegiance to Lucas of his own ord, and only then did Lucas let him manage Little Antis City. In fact, Lucas had put almost all the underground businesses in the city under Joe¡¯s management in a bid to exterminate all businesses and industries rted to the vices. Joe was tasked with a massive responsibility. Besides, the Ocean Bathhouse had never had a clean background, so Joe was worried that Lucas might me him for being ipetent. Lucas nodded and suddenly said, ¡°Since this ce has nothing to do with you, go and get someone to draw up a contract for me now. I¡¯m going to acquire this ce.¡± Lucas¡¯s words immediately resulted in a drastic change in Perry¡¯s expression. He never thought that the young man dressed in ordinary clothes in front of him would say that he wanted to buy the Ocean Bathhouse. He was really generous! But when he saw how subservient Joe was toward this young man, Perry suddenly doubted his previous thoughts as he wondered, Is this young man really a wealthy bigwig? Perry was making wild guesses in his head, but he was just the lobby manager of the Ocean Bathhouse and didn¡¯t have the authority to sell the bathhouse! Things are about to get even more troublesome! Perry frowned as the ominous feeling within him grew stronger and stronger. As the lobby manager, he was well aware of what business was being run on the top floor of the bathhouse. He knew that this bathhouse couldn¡¯t be sold! He would be in deep trouble if his negligence and mishandling of the situation just now caused the Ocean Bathhouse to be acquired by someone else! The higher-ups would definitely not spare him! Perry¡¯s heart ricocheted in his chest. And while he was thinking about how he should deal with the matter at hand, he also decided that he had to send someone to quickly notify the general manager of the bathhouse upstairs. After Joe heard Lucas¡¯s ns, his eyes widened in surprise. He then hesitated for a moment before walking to Lucas and saying softly, ¡°Mr. Gray, this is actually not just a simple bathhouse. The owner is the Taylors, one of the four major families of Orange County. ¡°Moreover, the business on the top floor of this bathhouse is actually not very proper... So you have to think this through!¡± Joe wanted to let Lucas know that the Taylors were the owners of this bathhouse so that he wouldn¡¯t identally offend them. And he also wanted to remind Lucas that they were running an illegal and improper business, so Lucas would have to pay an immense price to acquire it. In his opinion, the cons outweighed the pros. Lucas was a little surprised to hear this. He didn¡¯t expect to have ended up choosing a bathhouse with a fishy background rted to the Taylors when he intended to just randomly pick one for William to have a bath in. Not long ago, Scott Taylor had once gone to Lucas¡¯s vi at Pearl Lake and tried to purchase it from him forcefully. Now, the bathhouse that he was trying to acquire happened to be a property of the Taylors. It was truly fate. Perry was full of regret now. This young man should be a powerful figure I obviously couldn¡¯t afford to provoke. I was too careless with handling this situation! Perry swallowed his pride and forced himself to smile as he scurried to Lucas, bent forward, and said apologetically, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m so sorry to have offended you. I already have a clear idea of the situation. It¡¯s indeed the mistakes of our receptionists and security guards. I¡¯ll definitely fire them and give you an exnation! In addition, I also apologize on behalf of the Ocean Bathhouse. Please be magnanimous and forgive us! ¡°And this old gentleman, I¡¯m really sorry. You just said you wanted to take a bath, right? No problem. We will arrange a top-notch private jacuzzi room for your enjoyment and gift you with a supreme annual membership card free of charge. For a year, you cane to take a bath for free as and when you please!¡± William froze for a while before he reacted, feeling surprised and ttered. He tugged Lucas¡¯s sleeve gently and persuaded softly, ¡°Lucas, let it go. Since they¡¯ve apologized, let¡¯s not pursue it any further!¡± William was timid and conscientious by nature. Seeing the change in Perry¡¯s attitude and considering the fact that he had apologized and even promised to give him a free membership card, William was no longer disgruntled. So he persuaded Lucas to let the matter go. In his opinion, it was no big deal that he had been kicked, as he didn¡¯t lose anything else. On the contrary, Lucas kicked the security guard leader of the bathhouse to the point of losing consciousness and being severely wounded. If the bathhouse pursued the matter, they would have to bear a greater responsibility. So in his opinion, the bathhouse was being sincere enough to drop the matter and offer them an apology. After all, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble. But Lucas felt that the apology andpensation that Perry offered were insignificant. Chapter 238: Buying the Bathhouse

Chapter 238: Buying the Bathhouse

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In Lucas¡¯s opinion, Perry did that not because he really knew that they had made a mistake but because he could tell from Joe¡¯s attitude toward Lucas that Lucas might really be a big shot whom he couldn¡¯t afford to offend. So he began to be deferential and bowed to Lucas. But if Lucas was just an ordinary person, they would definitely have suffered a huge loss! If he was just an ordinary person who didn¡¯t have anybat skills, he would have definitely ended up having his limbs broken and thrown out of the bathhouse, thereby bing a cripple for the rest of his life. Moreover, the beauties Cheyenne and Charlotte would also have been stripped naked, humiliated, and thrown out of the bathhouse. That would have resulted in a huge uproar, and perhaps they would have be the subjects of public criticism and never be able to raise their heads high again. How could the matter be resolved with just an apology and a membership card? ¡°Get your boss toe out. I¡¯m going to buy this bathhouse.¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was indifferent but full of determination, leaving no room for negotiation at all. Cold sweat immediately emerged on Perry¡¯s forehead. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s all themotion about?¡± At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties with a slicked-back hairstyle slowly walked down from upstairs. He frowned while looking at themotion in the lobby below with a look of displeasure. Perry¡¯s forehead twitched, and his heart was full of dismay. He had received a report from his subordinates and specially went downstairs to deal with the ruckus. But he didn¡¯t expect it to spiral out of control, and now, things had escted to the extent of Lucas wanting to buy the bathhouse. Now, the owner of the bathhouse, Calvin Pearce, had alsoe downstairs. He found it hard to exin himself. But things had already escted to this point, so there was no way he could continue to cover it up. Perry walked toward Calvin and reported softly, ¡°Mr. Pearce, our staff identally offended these people just now, but I¡¯ve also apologized to them and offered thempensation. However, they refuse to let it go and insist on buying the Ocean Bathhouse. What should we do?¡± Anger immediately appeared on Calvin¡¯s face. Although he was not the true owner of the Ocean Bathhouse, he was the legally appointed person in charge of the bathhouse. He had also relied on the illegal business run on the top floor of the bathhouse to build connections with upper-ss figures of the county. He thought that Lucas, whom he had never seen before, probably shouldn¡¯t be a descendant of a prestigious family in the county. Besides, hisst name ¡®Gray¡¯ didn¡¯t ring a bell either because there was no prominent family with thest name Gray. But the young man in front of him actually had the guts to im that he wanted to buy the Ocean Bathhouse. In his opinion, Lucas was delusional and ignorant! Calvin narrowed his eyes and said with a gloomy expression, ¡°Punk, you want to buy the Ocean Bathhouse? You¡¯d better ask around and find out who the owner of this bathhouse is before saying that. Who are you to buy this ce?¡± Calvin¡¯s eyes were full of obvious contempt. Upon hearing his words, Joe immediately stepped forward and red at Calvin before hollering, ¡°Calvin Pearce, mind your tone! How dare you talk to Mr. Gray with such a rude tone? Are you tired of living?¡± Although Joe didn¡¯t want Lucas to confront the Taylors, one of the four top families in Orange County, he naturally couldn¡¯t stand by and quietly watch a Taylorckey insult Lucas. After all, he had pledged allegiance to Lucas, so he was Lucas¡¯s subordinate. He had to intervene now that Lucas was insulted. Although he didn¡¯t want to go against the Taylors, Calvin was only the person in charge of the bathhouse. And when it came to authority and power, Joe wasn¡¯t afraid of Calvin at all. Calvin frowned. Just a short while ago, Joe came to the Ocean Bathhouse to negotiate a business deal with some distinguished guests, and Calvin had also tasked his subordinates to serve him well in a bid to get closer to him. But he never thought that Joe would have an extraordinary rtionship with the young man in front of him and even stand up for him. Joe didn¡¯t even mind offending Calvin and the Taylors for him. The thought of it made anger surge in Calvin¡¯s heart. Although he was usually kind and polite to Joe because he didn¡¯t want to offend him, Joe¡¯s power and authority were actually inferior to the Taylors¡¯, even though he controlled almost the entire underground businesses of Orange County! If Joe dared to offend him and the Taylors because of Lucas, he would suggest to the Taylors to have Joe killed! ¡°Joe, you¡¯re just an outsider. I suggest you don¡¯t interfere in our affairs!¡± Calvin warned indifferently. Joe was about to lose his temper when Lucas shot him a nce that made him stop moving immediately. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve taken a liking to this bathhouse. Name your price. I¡¯ll buy it now,¡± Lucas saidposedly. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re very generous, huh?!¡± Calvin snorted. ¡°Which family do you belong to?¡± Lucas nced at him. But before he could say anything, the receptionist beside Calvin said, ¡°Mr. Pearce, I know who this person is! Look, the woman standing there used to be known as the most beautiful woman in Orange County, Cheyenne Carter! That man is her good-for-nothing husband! ¡°He isn¡¯t the son of a prestigious family but a poor chauffeur!¡± Hearing the receptionist¡¯s words, Calvin turned to look at the two beautiful women in the bathhouse. When he came downstairs just now, he had already noticed how stunningly gorgeous they were, but he didn¡¯t recognize Cheyenne, the former greatest beauty of the county. After he heard the receptionist¡¯s words, it finally dawned on him that the people in front of him were the same ones who had been disowned by the third-tier Carter family! Calvin burst intoughter. ¡°Hahaha, this is such a hrious joke! A good-for-nothing who got kicked out by his wife¡¯s family has the cheek to shamelessly want to buy the Ocean Bathhouse. Should I say that you are ignorant and fearless? You are really brazen!¡± Lucas shook his head regretfully and sighed. ¡°I was quite hesitant about buying your bathhouse at first because I felt that it wouldn¡¯t be worth it, but I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m going to buy it!¡± Calvin immediately stopped smiling! He looked at Lucas in disdain and sneered, ¡°You? Sure, stop blowing your horn! As long as you can take out eight million dors in cash now, I¡¯ll immediately sell the Ocean Bathhouse to you!¡± Chapter 239: Take Out Eight Million Dollars

Chapter 239: Take Out Eight Million Dors

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Eight million dors was not a small amount for any family, let alone Lucas, whom Calvin thought was a good-for-nothing the Carters had kicked out. In Calvin¡¯s opinion, it would be an impressive feat if Lucas could even take out 80,000 dors in cash. He was certain that Lucas would never be able to fork out the massive sum of eight million dors! He firmly believed that Lucas was just deliberately putting on an act and pretending to be impressive. He wanted to see how this good-for-nothing could afford to take out eight million dors! If he couldn¡¯t, Calvin would definitely make sure Lucas got on his knees and crawled out of the bathhouse! After Lucas heard the price Calvin named, his expression remained unchanged. Instead, he smirked calmly. ¡°Everyone, you heard him clearly. Calvin Pearce said that if I can take out eight million dors in cash, he will immediately sell the Ocean Bathhouse to me. All of you are witnesses.¡± Then he turned to look at Calvin. ¡°Give me your bank ount number. I¡¯ll transfer the money to you now.¡± Calvin¡¯s face twitched a little, and he sneered. ¡°Hmph, go on, keep pretending. I¡¯ll see how long you can keep at it!¡± He pulled out a bank card from his pocket and dropped it on the front desk next to him. ¡°My card is right here. Do the transfer now!¡± Their actions immediately piqued the curiosity of the customers surrounding them and watching. Since ancient times, it had been human nature to enjoy gossip and watch dramaticmotions, especially since the one taking ce in front of them now was so rare and exciting! Everyone was wondering whether Lucas could afford to take out eight million dors or if he was just putting on a front. There were also a few who were secretly specting and making guesses among themselves, wondering whether or not Calvin would really sell the bathhouse if Lucas could really afford the eight million dors. Just as everyone was watching curiously, Lucas took out his phone and typed a series of digits. Soon, a text message notification popped up on Calvin¡¯s phone screen. Everyone immediately looked at Calvin intently. Some who were eager and impatient even urged him, ¡°Mr. Pearce, hurry up and check. Has he transferred the money?¡± ¡°Did this person really fork out eight million in cash?¡± ¡°Wow, no way can a live-in son-inw really take out so much money? That¡¯s terrifying!¡± ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t worry. It might be spam!¡± ... Everyone began discussing, and Calvin began to get the chills. But he didn¡¯t believe that Lucas would really transfer eight million dors to him. He took out his phone from his pocket and opened the text message while saying contemptuously, ¡°Hmph, who knows how much money this punk actually transferred to me? He might have only transferred a dor! Let¡¯s not be fooled...¡± Before he could finish, his eyes suddenly widened in horror as he stared in disbelief at the string of numbers in the text message on his cell phone. [A sum of $8,000,000 has been credited to your savings ount (ending with 9291). Your ount bnce is now $8,041,000. Please verify as soon as possible.] Calvin looked at the string of numbers several times in disbelief. He even rubbed his eyes vigorously, wondering if he had counted the wrong number of zeros or had read the message wrongly. Seeing Calvin stand rooted to the ground for a long time without saying anything, the surrounding customers began to get impatient. A few bolder ones even went up to Calvin and craned their necks to take a look at the screen of his phone. ¡°Wow, he really transferred eight million dors! I saw it! This person really transferred eight million to Calvin¡¯s bank ount!¡± The customers gathered around immediately eximed in astonishment. There were many families in the county who had assets worth more than 15 million dors, but there were very few who had enough liquid funds to casually take out 8 million dors. Even the direct descendants of the top families in Orange County were not that financially powerful! The vast majority of people would have invested most of their money in their family businesses or in stocks, funds, or other financial products. They wouldn¡¯t leave it in the bank and rue a meager amount of interest. Besides, the fact that Lucas could casually take out that sum of money was enough to show that they were just an insignificant portion of his savings ount. There were only two possibilities. One was that Lucas had terrible financial sense and didn¡¯t know how to make his money grow itself. The other was that he was incredibly wealthy, so much so that he had more than enough not to bother about the eight million dors! With these thoughts in mind, Calvin couldn¡¯t help but inhale sharply as a wave of chilliness struck his teeth. He didn¡¯t think that such a wealthy person would have such bad financial literacy. So the truth should be that Lucas¡¯s wealth was unimaginable! In fact, Calvin had really read too much into this. The 8 million dors were actually a portion of the 24 million that Lucas had recently won from Tony at Little Antis City. Not to mention eight million dors, even if Calvin asked for twice the amount, Lucas would have transferred the money to him without hesitation. After seeing that Lucas had transferred eight million dors to Calvin, Charlotte and Cheyenne didn¡¯t seem to be surprised at all. They had already known for a long time that Lucas had a powerful background and a massive amount of wealth. Although eight million dors wasn¡¯t a small sum, it was indeed insignificant to Lucas. However, William reacted much more differently. He widened his eyes in shock, unable to believe what he just heard! His son-inw, whom he had always thought was penniless, actually managed to casually transfer eight million dors in cash. This was beyond imaginable for him! The stranger thing was that Lucas had decided to use that money to buy the bathhouse all because William had been bullied and humiliated by the staff here! This was such a generous move! At this moment, William really wondered if he was dreaming because everything happening in front of him was too bizarre, outrageous, and unbelievable! The crowd of onlookers was naturally amazed. On the other hand, Calvin, the person involved, turned as pale as a sheet. Chapter 240: Acquiring the Bathhouse

Chapter 240: Acquiring the Bathhouse

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Calvin casually said that he would sell the Ocean Bathhouse to Lucas if he could pay eight million dors in cash right on the spot because he was initially certain that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to fork out such arge sum of money. But the real owner of the bathhouse was the Taylors. Calvin was just the legally appointed person in charge of the bathhouse. How could he have the guts to sell it without permission? Calvin knew for a fact that the Taylors definitely wouldn¡¯t spare him if he dared to sell the Ocean Bathhouse! At this moment, a youngwyer in his twenties d in a suit and holding a ck briefcase entered the Ocean Bathhouse. After he scanned the crowd, he walked straight to Joe and lowered his head respectfully. ¡°Joe, this is the transfer agreement you asked us to prepare just now. The terms have been drafted, and this contract will take effect as soon as the transferor and transferee sign it.¡± Joe grabbed the document from thewyer¡¯s hand, quickly looked through the contract terms, and then handed it to Lucas after ensuring that there were no problems. He said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, the contract has been prepared ording to your orders. There are no problems. You may sign it.¡± Lucas took the transfer contract from Joe and said with a nod of satisfaction, ¡°Good.¡± He then turned around to look at Calvin and said smilingly, ¡°Mr. Pearce, what you said just now in front of everyone should still count, right? I¡¯ve already transferred the money to you and drafted the contract. Take a look at it and sign your name.¡± Calvin¡¯s face was extremely sullen at this moment. Large droplets of sweat appeared on his forehead as he stared at the contract in front of him in horror as if it was a ferocious beast. Calvin definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to sign that contract! ¡°Uh, Mr. Gray, I was just kidding. I don¡¯t intend to sell this bathhouse,¡± Calvin said embarrassedly with an awful, forced smile. Lucas stopped smiling and said coldly, ¡°In that case, do your words mean nothing at all? I didn¡¯t take it as a joke. I¡¯ve already transferred eight million dors to your bank ount. Do you think I¡¯m joking?¡± Calvin hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll transfer that money back to you now, not a single cent less!¡± Calvin then took out his phone and fumbled around while anxiously trying to transfer the eight million dors back to Lucas. Lucas grabbed Calvin¡¯s wrist to stop him before saying coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve already paid you the money. It¡¯s now time for you toplete the sale to me.¡± Then he took the transfer contract, quickly signed his name on it, and pushed it toward Calvin. ¡°Mr. Pearce, it¡¯s your turn now.¡± Calvin gritted his teeth and roared, ¡°I said I¡¯m not going to sell it!¡± At this moment, his eyes were full of fear, stemming from thinking about the Taylors. As the person in charge of the Ocean Bathhouse, Calvin knew very well what it meant to the Taylors, especially with the illegal business secretly being run on the top floor. He definitely couldn¡¯t let the bathhousend in the hands of an outsider, or else the Taylors would certainly kill him! Thus, no matter what, Calvin didn¡¯t dare to sign his name on the transfer contract. Lucas slightly narrowed his eyes that were full of impatience and annoyance. Joe instantly understood what Lucas meant. He shot a nce at the bodyguards behind him, and the both of them walked over and grabbed Calvin¡¯s arm. ¡°What are you doing? What are you trying to do?¡± Calvin hollered in fear and anger. Joe chuckled. ¡°Mr. Pearce, I think we should go to a private room to talk about this matter!¡± Then the two bodyguards held Calvin down like he was a prisoner and dragged him into a small room nearby before he could even say anything. Soon, Joe came out of the room, holding the signed transfer contract. He then handed it to Lucas with both hands. ¡°Mr. Gray, the procedures have beenpleted. You are now the new owner of the Ocean Bathhouse.¡± Lucas nodded and said politely to the surrounding customers, who were overwhelmed with astonishment, ¡°Dear guests, the incident today has affected your experience at our bathhouse. As the new owner of the Ocean Bathhouse, I hereby apologize and thank you for your support! ¡°Our staff will give you each a small gift as a token of our apologyter. At the same time, we also hope that you will patronize the Ocean Bathhouse frequently in the future! However, I hope you won¡¯t spout nonsense about what happened today.¡± The customers present nodded in agreement. ¡°Sure, you¡¯re so generous, Mr. Gray. We definitely won¡¯t spout any nonsense.¡± ¡°Yeah, Mr. Gray bought this bathhouse for eight million dors, and all the legal procedures have beenpleted. Who is to say anything?¡± In fact, the crowd had already made many guesses about Lucas¡¯s identity as soon as he had paid the eight million dors in cash. Since then, they were sure that Lucas was definitely not an ordinary good-for-nothing and that he definitely had incredible power! Seeing that Lucas had dealt with Calvin so quickly and even became the new owner of the bathhouse, they knew that the methods he had resorted to, as well as what happened in that small room, were definitely far beyond the limits of their imagination. Likewise, they wouldn¡¯t dare to spread a word about what happened today, lest they provoked Lucas and ended up having to bear severe consequences. Satisfied with the dramatic scene they had watched and Lucas¡¯s efforts to appease them by giving them valuable gifts, they all dispersed and returned to the bathing rooms, massage rooms, and lounge from where they hade. Only the former employees of the Ocean Bathhouse, such as the two beautiful receptionists, the security guards who had wanted to attack Lucas with electric batons, and Perry, all stood up with looks of shock and fright. The receptionist who had ndered William had already turned as pale as a sheet, and her legs were limp. She had despair and hopelessness written all over her face. She was well aware that since Lucas was now the owner, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let her continue working at the bathhouse! The other beautiful receptionist also looked anxious, afraid that she would be implicated and end up getting fired by Lucas too. On the other hand, after carefully looking at Lucas for a few moments, Perry smiled and walked toward him subserviently. He bent over and said politely, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m really sorry for what I did just now! Please forgive me! Do you have any other orders now? Let me know, and I¡¯ll get it done immediately!¡± His attitude had changed really quickly. But Lucas merely nced at him coldly and said indifferently, ¡°I won¡¯t keep an employee like you around. Go to finance to collect your final pay!¡± Chapter 241: By the Time He Comes

Chapter 241: By the Time He Comes

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Perry was an extremely mercenary person who would sumb to the powerful and do anything for his interests. Based on the fact that he had framed them without getting the facts right alone, Lucas would definitely not let him continue working for the bathhouse. Perry was naturally unwilling to leave. Although he was just the manager of the bathhouse, whose sry was not high and authority was limited, he could gain a lot of benefits. If he left this job, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find another oneparable to this, especially since he was already old. Bang! Perry dropped to his knees in front of Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, it was all my fault. Please give me another chance! I guarantee that I will never do anything wrong again! I have a family to feed. If you fire me, my family will not be able to make ends meet!¡± Perry was weeping miserably and trying to y the sympathy card. Lucas was well aware of what he was doing, but he wasn¡¯t moved at all and ignored him. Lucas called Joe over and instructed, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you to take care of everything in this bathhouse. Hire someone reliable to be the manager, and keep a close tab on everything that goes on here.¡± Lucas naturally had no time to personally bother about such a trivial matter like dealing with the insignificant staff. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll have someonee here and take over now!¡± Joe naturally agreed and then took out his phone to make a call in order to make arrangements. Meanwhile, Lucas strolled toward the tiny room that Calvin had just been pushed into, only to see that he was sitting despondently with a crestfallen look. When he saw Lucas enter, a trace of nervousness appeared on his face. But Lucas wasn¡¯t interested in him. He merely said indifferently, ¡°You can go now. If you don¡¯t want to die, run as far as you can.¡± As if he had been pardoned, Calvin hurriedly scurried out. With his sharp sense of hearing, Lucas had already heard everything that Joe said to Calvin in this room just now while he was outside. Joe promised to give Calvin $1.2 million as long as he signed the transfer contract. He also promised that he would help him leave Orange County and stay far from the area within the Taylors¡¯ control. If Calvin refused, he would still be forced to sign the contract and then face the wrath of the Taylors on his own. Thus, between the two choices, Calvin naturally decided to be wise and chose the first one. At this moment, Joe had already arranged for someone to take over the management of the Ocean Bathhouse and entered to report to Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve already made all the arrangements. The person wille over in a while.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Make a trip out with meter.¡± Joe naturally agreed quickly. After walking out of the room, Lucas said to William, Cheyenne, and Charlotte, ¡°William, go up and take a bath while I go out and buy some clothes for you. Cheyenne, Charlotte, get some rest here.¡± Joe asked his bodyguards to stay behind to protect Charlotte and Cheyenne, lest they got into a conflict with some mindless people. Although Lucas had long secretly arranged for some people to protect the both of them, he was pleased with Joe¡¯s decision. After leaving the Ocean Bathhouse, Joe drove Lucas along the road unhurriedly. Lucas had already sent Joe¡¯s subordinate to buy some clothes for William and merely wanted to talk to Joe about some matters. ¡°What exactly are the kinds of dubious business dealings that go on in the Ocean Bathhouse? How important are they to the Taylors?¡± Lucas went straight to the point. Joe didn¡¯t dare to hide anything and hurriedly told Lucas everything honestly. ¡°As far as I know, the Taylors were still just a second-tier family in the city more than ten years ago. Their mainstay was some underground businesses operated on a scale simr to Tony Zander¡¯s businesses. Later on, the Taylors opened the Ocean Bathhouse, but it¡¯s just a facade and smokescreen for the illegal business they run upstairs. They have brought in various beauties from all over the world and housed them upstairs to attract distinguished guests. ¡°With that alone, the Ocean Bathhouse managed to help the Taylors form close rtionships with many wealthy and powerful figures of Orange County, allowing them to build a stablework of connections. ¡°Later on, those beauties became the secret weapons that allowed the Taylors to umte wealth and expand their businesses, propelling them to the high status of being one of the four top families in Orange County. ¡°However, ording to the information I have, most of those beautiful women do note from a clean background. They were either trafficked or forced toe here, and the methods used to do so were sordid and lowly as well. I heard that they often threatened and harmed the families of these women to force them toe here. But the Taylors¡¯ sources are very secretive, and they have tight security control, so no one has been able to expose all this for many years.¡± Lucas frowned with a sharp and cold gaze in his eyes. ¡°Even if the control is strict, there¡¯s bound to be many traces and clues over the years. They¡¯ve done so many unconscionable things, so surely someone must have stepped in to control them. Even if the Taylors have opened up many channels and sources, they have plenty ofpetitors too. Do theirpetitors and rivals just leave them be?¡± Joeughed bitterly. ¡°Mr. Gray, the Taylors are rtively cautious, so they didn¡¯t register the Ocean Bathhouse under their names at all. For example, Calvin Pearce. He¡¯s the legally appointed person in charge of the bathhouse, and on the surface, he seems to have nothing to do with the Taylors. So even if someone reports the bathhouse, the Taylors won¡¯t be found to be involved, and they won¡¯t admit to it no matter what. ¡°If something really happens, they¡¯ll at most give the person in charge a littlepensation afterward and then arrange for another person to take over. There wouldn¡¯t be any evidence against the Taylors at all. ¡°Besides, the Taylors have long relied on the Ocean Bathhouse to gain a strong foothold in Orange County, and they have now developed businesses in various industries in the county. Even if the Ocean Bathhouse is eradicated now, it won¡¯t affect them much.¡± After giving Lucas a truthful exnation, Joe looked at him again. ¡°Mr. Gray, I shouldn¡¯t be the one to say this, but we definitely can¡¯t hide what happened today from the Taylors. If the Taylors find out that you bought the Ocean Bathhouse, they¡¯ll definitely take revenge on you!¡± Lucas snorted coldly, and a trace of killing intent appeared in his eyes. They really deserved to die for trafficking women and forcing them into prostitution! ¡°I¡¯ll wait for them toe knocking on my door!¡± Chapter 242: Finally Home

Chapter 242: Finally Home

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Lucas got a clear answer about the Taylors, he instructed Joe to drive back to the Ocean Bathhouse. At this moment, Joe¡¯s subordinate had also bought the clothes and was waiting at the entrance. Before Lucas got out of the car, he turned to Joe again and admonished, ¡°You must keep in mind what I told you before. I don¡¯t want to see any more entertainment joints and establishments that provide vice-rted services. The same applies to the Ocean Bathhouse! ¡°Also, keep a close eye on the dirty business that the Taylors operate on the top floor of the bathhouse. Call me if something crops up.¡± Then Lucas gave him his business card. Joe was overjoyed. He hurriedly grabbed the business card and saved Lucas¡¯s contact info. ¡°Okay, go and get busy with your matters. You don¡¯t have to tag along with me.¡± Lucas got out of the car, took the bag of clothes from the subordinate, and walked to the Ocean Bathhouse. Soon, William, who had taken a bath and changed into a brand new Armani suit, walked out of the dressing room. After washing off the dirt on his body, he looked a lot less disheveled. And due to his painstaking search for Cheyenne, he had lost a significant amount of weight, as well his beer belly. But William¡¯s hair had already grown to his shoulder. He also had a full beard that added a touch of haggardness to his middle-aged charm. ¡°Wow, Dad, you¡¯re really handsome! I just realized that men have to take care of their appearance and dress up to look good! Let¡¯s go get you a haircut. I promise you¡¯ll be a great hunk with a new hairstyle. You¡¯re going to be really charming!¡± Charlotte eximed in amazement after looking at him a few times. William poked Charlotte¡¯s forehead smilingly. ¡°Silly girl! I¡¯m already in my fifties. I¡¯m not a hunk.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only fifty. Age is just a number, and anyone can be a hunk at any age! Besides, Cheyenne and I must be so pretty because of your good genes! Right, Cheyenne?¡± Charlotte smiled at Cheyenne with her tongue out. ¡°Psht, self-praise is no praise. You¡¯re so shameless.¡± Cheyenne pinched Charlotte¡¯s face embarrassedly, and they were all smiling and chatting with each other harmoniously. Seeing this, Lucas had a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart. This was the way a family should be getting along¡ªchatting andughing together merrily. They brought William to a salon where they picked a fashionable haircut that made him look much younger. Charlotte and Cheyenne were both pleased with it. They then asked the hairstylist to give Lucas a sleek and clean cut that made him look even more handsome than he was. ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s time you dress up! You¡¯re so handsome. You look even more handsome than the celebrities on TV!¡± After Charlotte teased Lucas again, they finally packed up. Seeing that it was gettingte, Lucas drove to the kindergarten to pick Amelia up. As soon as Amelia saw William, she immediately leaped for joy. ¡°Grandpa! You¡¯re finally back! I haven¡¯t seen you for a long time! I missed you so much!¡± Amelia even gave William a kiss on his face. William was immediately moved to tears while being hugged by his chubby little granddaughter. They were all his precious family members! From now on, I won¡¯t gamble again. I won¡¯t lose my precious family again! Feeling heartened and gratified, Cheyenne and Charlotte both teared up. As long as William could kick his gambling addiction, they didn¡¯t suffer in vain. Soon, the family returned to the vi in the middle of Pearl Lake. It was the first time William came here, and he was stunned by the luxurious and dreamy decor! He had never dreamed that his son-inw, whom they all called a good-for-nothing, would be able to afford such arge vi, as well as theke ind of Pearl Lake! At this moment, William hadpletely changed his opinion of Lucas! He managed to easily buy Ocean Bathhouse with eight million dors and could afford a vi worth at least tens of millions. There¡¯s really more to my son-inw than what we see! They entered the house merrily, and Amelia dashed in and eximed at Karen, who was watching television and eating some snacks. ¡°Grandma, Grandpa¡¯s home!¡± But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Karen responded very coldly. She merely nced at William calmly before gibing, ¡°Hah, you didn¡¯te home for such a long time. I thought you died somewhere!¡± William¡¯s joyous expression immediately froze on his face. At the side, Cheyenne and Charlotte also felt extremely awkward. All of a sudden, it fell quiet in the entire living room, but Karen pretended like nothing happened and continued watching TV while snacking. After dinner, William had many things to say. But once he thought of Karen¡¯s nonchnce toward him, he felt disappointed and thought that there was nothing much for him to say to her. If he said something, she might reply to him sarcastically and destroy his confidence again. A momentter, William decided to go and talk to Lucas. There were many rooms in the vi, but Lucas had already gotten used to staying in the same room as Cheyenne, even though they slept on separate beds. When he heard a knock on the room door, he walked over in puzzlement and opened it. He saw William standing outside while rubbing his hands. ¡°I¡¯m not disturbing your rest at such ate hour, am I?¡± William asked formally. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s still early. Dad,e in,¡± Cheyenne said as she walked over after hearing the noise. William walked into the spacious master bedroom and saw Amelia sitting in a corner of the room and ying with some toys. Looking at the calmness on Cheyenne¡¯s face, he felt emotional. Two months ago, Lucas had promised him that he would let Cheyenne and Amelia live a happy life in the future. But back then, he was full of disdain and didn¡¯t believe Lucas at all. However, Lucas had proven it with his actions. William hesitated for a while before finally saying, ¡°Actually, I came here today to ask you for a favor. Lucas, can you help me find a job?¡± Chapter 243: I Want to Work

Chapter 243: I Want to Work

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios William¡¯s words took Lucas and Cheyenne by surprise. They looked at each other. Cheyenne held onto William¡¯s arm before asking softly, ¡°Dad, why do you suddenly want to go back to work? You¡¯re already in your fifties. Just stay at home and let us show our filial piety!¡± William sighed and shook his head. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve thought about it a lot these days. I¡¯ve done almost nothing my entire life. I¡¯ve lived in vain for decades! ¡°Cheyenne, I may seem to have been idling about at home all these years. But when I was younger, I also wanted to carve a career of my own. However, I used to get criticized for everything I did just because I¡¯m not a Carter, so my confidence was affected. Andter on, I gave up and decided to just stay in the Carter Corporation as an ordinary employee. ¡°But after my brother got into an ident, Dominic Carter lost his biological son, so he got furious whenever he saw me, his stepson. He chased me out of the Carter Corporation and forbade me from taking part in its management. Since then, I gradually developed an inferiorityplex. I stopped going to work and stayed at home all day, living each day as it goes by. I ended up spending more than half my life like this.¡± William sighed deeply. ¡°So, I don¡¯t want to continue living like this, wasting my life each day idling about. I might be in my fifties now, but there are still several years before I hit retirement age. I¡¯m still strong and energetic enough, so I want to do some things that I wanted to do when I was younger but never ended up doing.¡± He said with some mncholy and persistence, ¡°So, I want to ask you two to help me find a suitable job. I... I used to be a senior executive, but I haven¡¯t gone to work all these years, so I do feel a bit ipetent. But if I work from the bottom, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be fine! I just want to rely on my own abilities to earn some money and prove that I haven¡¯t lived in vain all my life!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s heart trembled. She never thought that her father, who was always either at home or outside drinking and gambling, would have such thoughts. Of course, Cheyenne was very supportive of William¡¯s decision to go to work and prove his own abilities with his own effort. Lucas also had a look of approval on his face. He was very much in approval of the fact that William, a man in his fifties who was neither old nor young, was willing to get a job and do something to prove his worth. ¡°Okay, since you have that intention, we won¡¯t stop you. Actually, I think it¡¯s an excellent idea. William, I actually own quite a fewpanies thatck management staff. Are you willing to help out at mypany?¡± Lucas asked with a smile. In fact, Lucas had several businesses under his name now. The Stardust Corporation was the business left to him by his mother, and Charlotte was temporarily in charge of it. Cheyenne naturally managed the Brilliance Corporation. He had handed over Little Antis City and the Ocean Bathhouse to Joe for the time being. And Flynn was responsible for taking over and reorganizing the businesses in LA that used to belong to the Brookes. However, hecked manpower in Orange County. The Hales had handed over many businesses to him. Although Lucas had taken ownership of them, he left them to the Hales to manage. Otherwise, huge changes in the Hales would definitely have resulted in countless trouble. There were a few other businesses that he hadn¡¯t found a suitable manager for, such as the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch that used to belong to the Brookes. Ever since the Brooke family copsed, there hadn¡¯t been a suitable person to take over. Currently, it was being managed by the experienced employees of thepany. But Lucas had heard that those employees were not very dedicated to their work, so he wanted to get someone he trusted to take over. No matter what, thepany had gained a foothold in the city with his support, so it would have great potential once it developed. He didn¡¯t want to let it go to waste in their hands. Now that William wanted a job, it gave Lucas an opportunity. When William heard that Lucas was willing to let him work in his ownpany, he immediately seemed overjoyed. But when he heard that it was as the general manager of apany, he began to get apprehensive and anxious. ¡°I... I haven¡¯t managed apany in years. I¡¯m a little worried that I won¡¯t do well...¡± William said hesitantly. Lucas reassured, ¡°It¡¯s alright. You¡¯ve had experience in management previously. Once you go there, I¡¯ll have someone help you get familiar, and you¡¯ll naturally remember the skills. Look at Charlotte. She hasn¡¯t had much work experience before, let alone management experience. But after I let her take over the Stardust Corporation, she is now the acting general manager and is doing a good job at it. Your daughter is sopetent. What else are you worried about?¡± After hearing this, William was again incredibly astonished. One reason was that he actually heard Lucas say that the Stardust Corporation belonged to him too! The Stardust Corporation was apany that all the major families in Orange County wanted to cooperate with. It was a tremendous shock to William! Second, he was also astonished to hear that his daughter Charlotte had be the acting general manager of the Stardust Corporation and was in charge of everything there. Oh my God, all this news is getting more and more astonishing! William was in huge disbelief. Seeing how astounded William was, Cheyenne red at Lucas jokingly before wrapping her arm around William¡¯s. ¡°Dad, Charlotte and I are now in charge of managing apany each. You used to hold an executive position too, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll have no problem. Besides, if you really encounter any trouble, or if you have a problem you can¡¯t solve,e and talk to us. We¡¯ll figure out how to solve it together. We¡¯re all family!¡± Lucas looked at William with a smile. ¡°Yes, we are all family. William, don¡¯t worry or feel too pressured. Just do what you want to do. I n to make you the general manager of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. What do you think?¡± After hearing their words, William regained his confidence and puffed his chest up. He said seriously, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll work hard to do a good job. I won¡¯t disappoint you!¡± Chapter 246: Deep Pit

Chapter 246: Deep Pit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as Lucas was feeling speechless while watching William run away, his phone suddenly rang. ¡°Mr. Gray, I discovered an emergency here that I need to report to you.¡± Joe started rattling on anxiously as soon as Lucas picked up. Lucas frowned immediately. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°It may not be convenient to talk about this over the phone. Mr. Gray, where are you now? I¡¯ll drive to where you are right away,¡± Joe said respectfully. Lucas pondered quietly for a moment. Since the matter was so serious that it wasn¡¯t even safe to talk about it over the phone, it was probably extremely important. Lucas said, ¡°I¡¯ll go look for you. Where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the Ocean Bathhouse,¡± Joe answered, informing Lucas of his current location. As soon as Lucas heard where Joe was, he naturally understood that Joe had to be intending to talk to him about something regarding the Ocean Bathhouse. Could there be updates on the matter I instructed him to keep close tabs on? ¡°Wait for me. I¡¯ll be right there.¡± With that, Lucas hung up, floored the gas pedal, and turned the car around to drive toward the Ocean Bathhouse. More than ten minutester, Lucas arrived at the entrance of the Ocean Bathhouse. Immediately after he got out of the car, Joe greeted him, ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re here.¡± Due to the fact that what Joe was nning to tell him was very important and confidential, he brought Lucas straight to a luxurious private room on the fourth floor of the bathhouse. The private room was specially meant for some distinguished guests, and the walls had excellent soundproofing, thus making it the most suitable ce for discussing some business cooperation and other matters. It was very much to the liking of the senior VIP customers of the Ocean Bathhouse. After they sat down, Joe cut straight to the chase and reported, ¡°Mr. Gray, we just took over this bathhouse yesterday, so the news of the change of ownership probably hasn¡¯t gotten out yet. At about three am, some people sent two gorgeous women here, probably for the business that had been operating on the top floor.¡± Joe raised his hand and pointed at the ceiling. Lucas¡¯s face turned solemn. ¡°What happened afterward? How did you deal with it?¡± Joe continued, ¡°I rushed here immediately after I got the call. I was afraid the people who sent those girls here might notice something wrong, so I let them leave the girls here. I¡¯ve put those girls in a room near here for the time being. They seem really flustered, and I reckon they were trafficked and brought here forcefully, but we can¡¯t let them go yet.¡± Lucas nodded, thinking that Joe had made an appropriate decision. ¡°Who are those people who sent the girls here? Where did theye from? Did you send anyone to follow them?¡± Lucas asked. The sordid businesses of the Taylors had harmed too many innocent women and their families, so Lucas would never sit idly by and not do a thing about it. If he could search along the clues, find all the people involved, and then get rid of thempletely, there would probably be a lot fewer women who would be harmed in this world. After Joe heard Lucas¡¯s questions, his face immediately turned gloomy. ¡°I sent someone to tail them and secretly ced tracking devices under their cars. But the news I¡¯ve heard shows that the Taylors aren¡¯t the only ones involved. There must be many other forces involved too.¡± ¡°What?!¡± This was beyond Lucas¡¯ expectations. He originally thought that the Taylors relied on this chain of businesses to rise up high back then and that they were the ones who sent others to collect beautiful women from all over the world. But after hearing what Joe said, Lucas realized that there was more to this than they thought. ¡°Have you found out where they came from, as well as the situation of the other forces?¡± Lucas asked. Joe shook his head regretfully. ¡°Unfortunately, they were very cautious, and they made numerous detours before finally pulling over at the side of an abandoned junkyard, where they got into another car and left. The tracking and listening devices we installed underneath their cars are no longer useful. In the end, we only managed to hear some of the things they said, but we can¡¯t find out clearly which forces are involved in this. I only know that there are definitely many of them, and they should be very powerful.¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°So, it seems that we have to start from the Taylors if we want to get a clear idea of the situation.¡± Bang. Bang. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door twice loudly and impatiently. Joe frowned in displeasure and got up to open the door. ¡°Joe, bad news. Preston Taylor is here!¡± a subordinate said in a panicky manner. Lucas smirked. ¡°Speak of the devil. I was intending to go look for the Taylors, but they took the initiative toe knocking on our door.¡± Joe seemed dismayed. After some thought, he reminded Lucas softly, ¡°Mr. Gray, Preston Taylor is not an ordinary person. He¡¯s the mostpetent and aplished descendant of his generation. He might be young, but he is very ruthless, and many have died at his hands. The Taylors are definitely here with wicked intentions. You have to be careful!¡± Lucas sneered nonchntly. ¡°They should be the ones to watch out, not me. Let¡¯s go downstairs and meet this aplished descendant of the Taylors.¡± Lucas sounded rather derisive because he had had his fair share of experience with these so-calledpetent scions of top families, such as Logan Hale, Aston Brooke, and others, who didn¡¯t live up to their reputations at all. Besides, there was really no one in this world whom Lucas ought to be wary of. But Joe had no knowledge of Lucas¡¯s past. When he saw how nonchnt Lucas was about Preston Taylor, he was scared that Lucas might end up having his n backfire because he underestimated thetter. He sighed but nevertheless followed Lucas downstairs. At the lobby on the first floor... A middle-aged man in his forties was questioning the receptionists with a furious expression. ¡°Tell me, where is your boss, Calvin Pearce?! Tell him toe out here and see me!¡± This middle-aged man was the very person Joe had just mentioned¡ªPreston Taylor, the most aplished descendant of his family, who would most likely take over as the helmsman of his family in the future. The receptionists were two newly recruited staff, and they were so frightened by Preston¡¯s domineering outburst that they were at a loss for words. ¡°We... We¡¯re both new here, but our boss isn¡¯t Calvin Pearce. Did you get the wrong person?¡± one of the beautiful receptionists said boldly. ¡°Bullshit! This bathhouse belongs to the Taylors. How can I be unaware of who the owner is?!¡± Preston barked furiously, causing the receptionists to shudder in fear. ¡°Since Calvin isn¡¯t around, where¡¯s Tim Perry? He¡¯s the lobby manager. Get him toe here!¡± The receptionist was on the verge of tears because, to her knowledge, their lobby manager wasn¡¯t Tim Perry. She had no idea why Preston was making such a fuss. ¡°Neither Calvin Pearce nor Tim Perry is around. Calvin Pearce has already sold this bathhouse to our boss, and I¡¯m the new manager of this ce. Sir, how may I help you?¡± At this moment, a young man dressed in a gray striped suit strode out from the back of the lobby. Chapter 247: What’s the Big Deal?

Chapter 247: What¡¯s the Big Deal?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The young man was Zane, whom Joe had appointed to be in charge of the Ocean Bathhouse. Zane had worked with Joe for a long time, and he waspetent in handling matters as well. His capability was the reason that Joe had decided to make him the manager of this ce. But he had always worked in a poker room previously and so didn¡¯t know Preston. ¡°What? He sold it?!¡± Preston asked in disbelief. A wave of fury immediately surged in his heart. ¡°Who is Calvin Pearce to sell this bathhouse?! Damn it. Get Calvin Pearce toe out here. I want to question him. What gave him the guts to sell the property of the Taylors?!¡± Preston grabbed Zane by his cor and red at him as if he was about to swallow up. Zane began stumbling on an unsteady gait while feeling furious. As a longtime worker at a casino, he naturally had some considerable strength. He grabbed Preston¡¯s wrist, squeezed it hard, and then twisted it forcefully with a loud crack. Overwhelmed by the excruciating pain, Preston shrieked uncontrobly and subconsciously let go of Zane¡¯s cor. Zane held Preston¡¯s hand and pushed him backward, causing thetter, who had never exercised before, to almost fall onto the ground. ¡°You¡¯re really brazen, huh?! How dare you attack me?!¡± As the next sessor of the Taylors, Preston had never been pushed and shoved like this before. ¡°Someone, get him to kneel down!¡± After Preston issued the order, the two bodyguards following him immediately pounced toward Zane. Zane was astonished. He didn¡¯t expect this man to have two bodyguards with him, both of whom were extremely swift and athletic, so much so that he couldn¡¯t dodge at all. In no time, the bodyguards grabbed his arms, rendering him immobile. One of them kicked Zane in the knee and caused his leg to turn limp before they both pinned him to the ground. ¡°Let go of me!¡± Zane struggled to break free, but these two bodyguards were certainly not ordinary since they were Preston¡¯s bodyguards. Their hands firmly mped down onto Zane¡¯s arms like iron cuffs, making him kneel in front of Preston. ¡°Break his hands!¡± Preston hollered while smiling in pleasure. Without the slightest change in expression, both bodyguards grabbed one of Zane¡¯s wrists each and tried to break them. Zane¡¯s heart started hammer violently when he sensed the sharp pain in his wrist. I¡¯m finished. Both of his wrists were definitely going to be broken! ¡°Stop! I guarantee I will make whoever dares to touch him again die here!¡± While Zane was in a state of despair and hopelessness, he heard an icy cold voicee from the corner of the stairs near him. An iparably domineering aura began to spread from that spot quietly. The bodyguards immediately froze as they felt an inexplicable fear from within their hearts, as if they would really die if they dared to disobey that order and attack Zane again! All of them raised their heads and looked at the source of the voice at the corner of the stairs. With a cold and dark expression, Lucas made his way down from upstairs, one step at a time, while Joe followed behind him. ¡°Joe!¡± Zane, who just had a close shave with death, eximed in surprise when he saw Joe, whom he was the most familiar with. Immediately afterward, he finally reacted and realized that the young man walking in front of Joe should be the true owner of the Ocean Bathhouse. He was also the owner of the icy cold voice that he had heard, the person whose words saved his wrists from being broken! Preston stared at Lucas with a hostile expression. ¡°Who are you? What rights do you have to stop my bodyguards?¡± Lucas sized up Preston, who looked much better than the pig-like Scott Taylor, even though he had a small beer belly and a chubby face. But the immense animosity darting out of his eyes now had destroyed the kind appearance he should have because of the chubbiness of his face. He looked rather gloomy and malicious. ¡°You¡¯re bullying someone on my turf, yet you asked me why I tried to stop you. Don¡¯t you find yourself ridiculous?¡± Lucas gibed with a faint smirk of derision. Only then did Prestone to a sudden realization. ¡°So you¡¯re the person who bought my Ocean Bathhouse from Calvin Pearce!¡± At this point, he finally saw Joe standing behind Lucas, and he narrowed his eyes. Preston had heard of Joe. And based on hearsay, he learned that Joe had recently be the new owner of Little Antis City with the help of a mysterious masked man and even gained control of almost all of the entertainment joints in Orange County. He had also almost provoked the Taylors on several asions. Is this young man standing in front of Joe that very mysterious masked man who helped him? As soon as this guess popped up in Preston¡¯s mind, he quickly dismissed it. ¡°What do you mean yours? I bought this bathhouse from the original owner, Calvin Pearce, with cold hard cash. All the legal procedures have beenpleted as well, so it seems to have nothing to do with you, an outsider,¡± Lucas said indifferently. Lucas¡¯s domineering attitude immediately made Preston feel ufortable. He was the next sessor in line and the future helmsman of the Taylors, while the young man in front of him was aplete stranger. Yet he had the audacity to speak to him like this. He probably hasn¡¯t faced the wrath of the Taylors before! Preston narrowed his eyes and said sinisterly, ¡°Punk, I¡¯m Preston Taylor, the next sessor of the family! Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t know how high our status is in this county.¡± All the employees of the Ocean Bathhouse were immediately astonished. Most of the employees here were locals of the county, so they were naturally aware of the Taylors, who were one of the four top families of Orange County. Being the next helmsman, Preston was a figure of power and prestige! Zane began to get anxious too, because he had twisted Preston¡¯s wrist and even pushed him... If Lucas hadn¡¯t hollered and interrupted them, his wrists would have been broken by the bodyguards! Since this person was of high status, he was definitely not to be provoked. What¡¯s going to happen to Mr. Gray... No one expected Lucas to remain cool and collected with a straight face even after learning of Preston¡¯s identity. He even asked rhetorically with indifference, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about the Taylors? You haven¡¯t be the true helmsman of the Taylors yet, so that makes you even less of a big deal, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Chapter 248: Do You Dare To Touch Him?

Chapter 248: Do You Dare To Touch Him?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s contemptuous attitude not only made the surrounding employees gape their mouths in shock, but it also made Preston even more exasperated! The Taylors were one of the four top families in Orange County. They had massive wealth and great power that spread to all industries and businesses of the county. They were formidable existences at the pinnacle, and many tried to get acquainted with them. There was barely anyone who dared to say that the Taylors were not a big deal right in front of a Taylor! Preston had always been proud of his identity as the next helmsman of the Taylors, yet he was being undermined by the young man in front of him. How could he not be furious? ¡°You...¡± With a grim expression, Preston was about to curse out loud, but he suddenly thought of another possibility. The young man in front of me might really have a powerful background! But he¡¯s very likely not from Orange County but a major family elsewhere! It all makes sense now. This is the very reason this young man looks really domineering and could even help Joe gain control of Little Antis City. He even managed to buy the Ocean Bathhouse from us! Preston¡¯s face was gloomy and sullen as he tried his best to suppress his fury. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re not from Orange County. In that case, where are you from? May I ask which family you belong to? Your family might have cooperated with the Taylors before.¡± Since he was called the most aplished descendant of the Taylors, Preston was undeniably not an arrogant fool who only knew to throw his weight around tyrannically. Not only could he suppress his emotions, but he even tried to pull some connections with Lucas. Unfortunately, he had made a wrong guess about Lucas¡¯s origin. Besides, everything that the Taylors had done predetermined that Lucas would never bury the hatchet between them. Lucas answered nonchntly, ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask about my origin. It has nothing to do with the Taylors anyway.¡± He then pointed at Zane, who was still kneeling on the ground with his arms pressed down, and said coldly, ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you actually. What exnation are you going to give me for barging onto my turf and harming my subordinate?!¡± Lucas was being absolutely domineering. Preston frowned in displeasure because there were very few people who dared to speak to him in such a manner. Yet the young man in front of him seemed enigmatic, and Preston couldn¡¯t confirm the reason for his dominance and boldness. Besides, the fact that Lucas refused to reveal his family background made Preston even more sure that Lucas was the scion of a certain top family. Before he could thoroughly find out the details of Lucas¡¯s identity, Preston decided to be cautious and not get into too severe of a conflict with him. Thus, Preston raised his arm high, and his bodyguards immediately let go of Zane¡¯s arms and stepped backward. Afterward, Preston turned around to face Lucas with his arms spread open to show that he had already expressed his sincerity. Lucas raised his eyebrows and snorted coldly. ¡°Is this the exnation you¡¯re giving me? It¡¯s too casual, isn¡¯t it?! If I hade two secondster just now, my employee¡¯s wrists would have been broken by you.¡± ¡°What else do you want then?¡± Preston asked, gritting his teeth and curbing his anger. Lucas suddenly looked at Zane and said, ¡°How did his men hit you just now?¡± Zane rubbed his arms, which had been squeezed so hard that they had turned red. He then propped himself up against the ground before getting up with great difficulty. When he was standing, his left knee was still trembling due to one of the bodyguards kicking that spot just now. Although Zane was also a little afraid of the Taylors, he was naturally more biased toward Lucas since Lucas was the owner who had not only saved him but was now standing up for him as well. ¡°Boss, they just kicked my leg,¡± Zane answered with his head hanging low. ¡°Go and hit them too. Since your leg is injured and you can¡¯t kick, hit them with a rod,¡± Lucas instructed. A quick-witted security guard next to him immediately walked forward to hand his baton over to Zane. As soon as Lucas said this, Zane began to seem hesitant, while Preston¡¯s expression became incredibly sullen. Previously, he wasn¡¯t aware of Preston¡¯s identity, so he had the guts to twist his hand and push him away. But now that he knew that Preston was a Taylor, he obviously didn¡¯t dare to hit them with the baton. Seeing this, Preston suddenly guffawed arrogantly, ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m a Taylor, and my bodyguards are not ordinary people either. I don¡¯t believe that a lowly employee like you would really dare to attack my subordinates!¡± Zane¡¯s expression kept changing while he was feeling hesitant and conflicted. But Lucas merely remained standing indifferently with a straight face while Joe, who was standing near him, watched Zane closely. Zane had started working here under Joe¡¯s rmendation, and if he didn¡¯t dare to obey Lucas¡¯s orders out of fear for the Taylors, Zane naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to continue working at the Ocean Bathhouse anymore. That would also be negligence in proper recruitment on Joe¡¯s part. At this moment, Zane was stuck in a huge dilemma. He feared the power of the Taylors, but Lucas was clearly bent on going against the Taylors. In that case, he only had two options! If he chickened out due to the fear of the Taylors, he would definitely end up losing his position as the manager of the Ocean Bathhouse while also losing Joe¡¯s trust forever. If heplied and adhered to Lucas¡¯s orders to take revenge on the Taylors¡¯ bodyguards, he might risk offending the Taylors, but he would also gain Lucas¡¯s trust. As long as Lucas was strong enough, the Taylors wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him! His current choice concerned the fate of the rest of his life! His eyes were full of various fleeting emotions. It seemed like a long time had passed, but he had only contemted for a few seconds. A few secondster, Zane raised his head with a look of determination in his eyes. He gripped the electric baton tightly in his hand and then walked straight to Preston¡¯s bodyguards in front of him. Preston was initially still guffawing arrogantly, as he was certain that Zane wouldn¡¯t dare to offend him. But he was soon proven wrong. He looked incredibly furious while ring at Zane gloomily, wishing he could get someone to kill him immediately. When one of the bodyguards saw Zane approaching with the electric baton, he threatened with a look of menace, ¡°Try touching me if you dare. I¡¯ll break your legs!¡± Zane paused for a while. Preston smirked a little. Seems like this nobody is still afraid of death after all. He doesn¡¯t have the guts to hit my subordinate. But in the very next instant, Preston¡¯s eyes suddenly widened in shock. The reason being Zane actually raised the electric baton and swung it hard and mercilessly onto the bend of the bodyguard¡¯s leg! Bang! The bodyguard also didn¡¯t expect Zane to dare to attack him. Caught off guard, his knee went weak, and he almost fell onto his knees. ¡°Bastard, seems like you really have a death wish!¡± The bodyguard flew into a rage. He raised his fist and punched Zane¡¯s head! Chapter 249: Compensation

Chapter 249: Compensation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The bodyguards that protected Preston were all experts that the Taylors had spent a lot of money to hire. Zane definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to take the punch. He would at least be severely injured, and in the worst-case scenario, he would die! Feeling the gust of wind blown up by the swing of his fist on his face, Zane couldn¡¯t help but close his eyes while thinking to himself in agony that he might die today! Suddenly, a phantom-like figure appeared beside Zane. Before the bodyguard¡¯s fist could strike Zane, the bodyguard was sent flying by a sudden kick! Whoosh! The bodyguard was instantly smashed through the ss door of the Ocean Bathhouse andnded far away in the middle of the road. He even almost got run over by a passing car. Everyone watched with their eyes wide open, dumbfounded and unable to react. They jolted back to their senses in horror only after hearing the screech of the tires of the car that hade to an abrupt stop and the curses of the driver who had mmed hard on the brakes. The distance between the spot on the road where the bodyguard was lying and the lobby of the Ocean Bathhouse was at least more than ten meters! Furthermore, his body had also been smashed through a thickyer of tempered ss. How strong must the impact have been?! Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look at the bodyguard lying motionlessly in the middle of the road. It was unclear if he was alive or not. What kind of person would be able to kick so powerfully?! Soon, the crowd noticed that there was another young man behind Lucas sizing Preston up with a sinister smile. The person who attacked just now must be this young man, who¡¯s clearly the other man¡¯s subordinate! He must be a supreme expert. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way he could have kicked my burly bodyguard and sent him flying by more than ten meters! Preston¡¯s facial muscles began to twitch, and he was so furious that he started clenching his teeth. It was not only because that young man had kicked his bodyguard more than ten meters away and knocked him unconscious, greatly embarrassing him. But it was because that young man was ring at him hostilely as if he was about to kick him too. Outrageous, detestable! The young man beside Lucas was obviously Jordan. In fact, Jordan had been helping Lucas gather various information for the past few days, so he naturally knew that Lucas had just acquired the Ocean Bathhouse, which used to belong to the Taylors, as well as the dirty business that went on on the top floor. He deliberately came over to see what was going on, but he happened to walk in on the Taylors causing a stir. ¡°Lucas, do you want me to get rid of this punk who¡¯s here to cause trouble?¡± Jordan asked with a cheeky grin. With a trace of anger on his face, Preston thought, Punk? I¡¯m the esteemed future sessor of the Taylors. When have I ever been addressed that way? But he didn¡¯t dare to re up for the time being because he hadn¡¯t gotten a clear idea of Lucas¡¯s background yet, but such a powerful figure had already appeared. Preston came here today with only two bodyguards, one of whom was already crippled and immobile on the road while the other was no match for Jordan. If he red up, he would be the one to suffer! ¡°Hmph, it seems that you¡¯re determined to go against the Taylors. I don¡¯t know who you are, but don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re in Orange County, and this is our turf. You¡¯re being too arrogant! You won¡¯t end up well!¡± Preston said fiercely before ring at his bodyguard and then turning around to leave. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Hold it!¡± Lucas suddenly called out to Preston, who was about to leave. ¡°Your subordinate injured mine and even smashed my ss door. You shouldpensate me for it, right?¡± Lucas said slowly. Preston turned around and red at him in exasperation, almost driven to his grave in anger by Lucas. ¡°Get your facts right. Your subordinate was the one who injured my bodyguard and smashed the ss door. I¡¯m being kind enough by not pursuing this matter. How dare you ask me forpensation?!¡± Preston hollered in infuriation. At this moment, even Joe was shocked, not to mention the other employees of the Ocean Bathhouse. He had long known that Lucas was definitely not an ordinary person and that he was exceptionally audacious. But Jordan had knocked Preston¡¯s bodyguard unconscious, and Lucas even demanded that Prestonpensate him. It was Joe¡¯s first time witnessing something like this! Lucas snorted coldly. ¡°First of all, you¡¯re the one who barged onto my turf. I didn¡¯t invite you here. Second, you people are the ones who hit us first. Even if your bodyguard is injured, it¡¯s because of his ipetence. You can¡¯t me it on anyone else. Third, the ss door was shattered by your bodyguard¡¯s body. Are you blind? ¡°Thepensation will be eight hundred thousand dors. I will let you go once you¡¯ve paid it.¡± What?! Preston naturally refused. He had temporarily let go of Zane only because he realized that the situation was amiss. But if he really paid thepensation before leaving, wouldn¡¯t he be really humiliated? ¡°One-point-five million,¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°You!¡± Preston was even more enraged because Lucas actually had the guts to double thepensation! It was a huge insult to him! ¡°Three million.¡± There was no fluctuation of emotions in Lucas¡¯s gaze as he continued to speak indifferently. ¡°...¡± Preston curbed his urge to curse and hurl vulgarities. At this moment, he could tell that the young man who appeared out of nowhere was specifically trying to go against the Taylors! If he opposed, Lucas would double thepensation amount unreasonably without mercy. It just so happened that he didn¡¯t bring too many subordinates with him and couldn¡¯t do anything to Lucas. If he didn¡¯t pay thepensation, he wouldn¡¯t be allowed to leave. It seemed that he had to take the loss today! ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll transfer the money to your ount now!¡± Preston said through gritted teeth with a gloomy gaze, as if he wanted to devour Lucas. As the sessor of the Taylors, he had never suffered such a tremendous loss before. I must investigate the background of this arrogant young man. I will never let him off! ¡°Hah, wouldn¡¯t everything be fine if you had agreed sooner? You just had to make me raise thepensation from eight hundred thousand to three million before you¡¯dply. The Taylors must have too much money to spare,¡± Lucas gibed with a smirk. Preston felt an urge to vomit blood. After he clenched his teeth and transferred three million dors out of his ount, his face turned sullen, and he immediately dashed out of the door, as he couldn¡¯t stay here a second longer. The bodyguard behind him hurriedly followed Preston and continued to protect him while calling the chauffeur toe over and carry the seriously injured bodyguard lying motionlessly on the road. As soon as Preston got inside his car, he immediately took out his phone and dialed a number with a menacing expression. ¡°Find out who exactly the new owner of the Ocean Bathhouse is. I want a clear report! Where did Calvin Pearce go? He actually had the audacity to sell the Taylors¡¯ property! I don¡¯t care what method you use. You must bring Calvin Pearce to me!¡± Chapter 250: Best Friends

Chapter 250: Best Friends

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The encounter Preston had today was the most humiliating experience in his entire life! Being insulted by such a young punk was simply akin to the prestige of Taylors being trampled all over by him repeatedly! The most infuriating thing was that the young punk actually snatched the Ocean Bathhouse away from them! Preston didn¡¯t believe that Calvin dared to betray the Taylors and sell the Ocean Bathhouse to someone else of his own ord. Back then, the Taylors had legally appointed Calvin to be the person in charge of the Ocean Bathhouse because they could tell that he wasn¡¯t too ambitious and was instead a little cowardly and extremely scrupulous toward the Taylors. So they thought that he definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to betray them. But now that Calvin had fled, Preston was certain that Lucas must have coerced and even threatened Calvin into signing the transfer contract. It didn¡¯t matter that Calvin had fled. But the fact that the Ocean Bathhouse, the dirty business secretly ran within it, and the beautifuldies had allnded in someone else¡¯s hands made Preston overwhelmed with fury! The Ocean Bathhouse was very important to the Taylors, and Preston had always been in charge of it. Once the news of this matter got out, the sly old foxes of the Taylors would definitely take advantage and cause trouble for him. Thus, he was bent on finding the traitor Calvin and regaining ownership of the Ocean Bathhouse! ... Putting aside what Preston was thinking, Joe was staring at Lucas solemnly and speaking to him in a private room of the Ocean Bathhouse. ¡°Mr. Gray, you have just ruthlessly undermined Preston and embarrassed him. He¡¯s known to be a vengeful person, so he definitely won¡¯t let it go. The Taylors are also very powerful in Orange County, so they¡¯ll definitelye looking for trouble with you. In order to avoid suffering losses... would you like to leave the city andy low for the time being?¡± Lucas sneered nonchntly. ¡°It¡¯s just the Taylors. They¡¯re not fit enough for me to be scared and avoid them. Since the Taylors are secretly involved in those sordid businesses, I¡¯m waiting for them toe looking for me!¡± Seeing that Lucas had no regard for the Taylors, Joe was still unsure of what trump cards Lucas still held. He didn¡¯t know if Lucas was really powerful or because there were other reasons, so he had no idea if he should be worried or not. In fact, Joe also secretly nned for the worst in his head. Since he had already pledged allegiance, it meant that he was Lucas¡¯s man. If Lucas really couldn¡¯t defeat the Taylors, he would try his best to make the most favorable arrangements so that he could at least save Lucas and himself. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s phone rang. It was a call from a number that Lucas didn¡¯t recognize, but he still picked up nheless. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Lucas, this is Lena. Do you still remember me?¡± said a clear and crisp voice belonging to a woman. Lucas was stunned. Lena was the daughter of Ethan Sawyer, the richest man of Orange County, and also Cheyenne¡¯s best friend. Previously in Little Antis City, she had protected Cheyenne with her life, so Lucas had a good impression of her. But the fact that she suddenly called him made Lucas bewildered. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lucas asked without much emotion. ¡°I want to treat you to lunch today to thank you for saving me the other day. Are you free?¡± Lena asked. Lucas wasn¡¯t interested in invitations from other women, so he simply said indifferently, ¡°No need for that.¡± With that, he wanted to hang up. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t hang up yet!¡± Seemingly having guessed what Lucas wanted to do, Lena quickly spoke in a tone that was much more eager than before. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not inviting you to lunch alone. I¡¯ve just returned to the country recently, and I haven¡¯t had the chance to meet Cheyenne to catch up yet. So I¡¯ve invited Cheyenne, and I¡¯m just asking you along to join us as well!¡± Hearing that Cheyenne would be going too, Lucas thought about it and agreed. ¡°Okay, send me the time and location. I¡¯ll head there now.¡± ¡°Okay, no problem. I¡¯ll see you at noon then!¡± Lena eximed, clearly overjoyed. Soon, Lena sent the address to him. It was a specialty restaurant called The Loft. It was gettingte, so Jordan naturally stood up to get ready to drive Lucas to the restaurant. Joe originally wanted to be the driver, but Lucas turned him down. ¡°Go handle the matters you have at hand. Find a way to keep an eye on that line of clues, and inform me if the Taylors show up again.¡± Then Lucas stood up and left the Ocean Bathhouse together with Jordan. ... Meanwhile, Lena called one of the higher-ups of the Sawyer Corporation. She then hung up and stared at a photo of her and Cheyenne saved on her phone while muttering to herself, ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t me me for trying to win your husband¡¯s heart. He¡¯s just such a fine man... We¡¯re best friends, so this should be fine, right?¡± There was naturally no response. But Lena had already dolled herself up, grabbed her purse, and left with a smile on her face. ... Cheyenne, who was currently in the Brilliance Corporation, had indeed received a call from Lena asking her out for lunch and also informing her that she would invite Lucas along to thank him for saving her life. Thinking that it had almost been a year since they got to spend some quality time together, Cheyenne agreed. But when she was about to leave work for lunch at The Loft, her secretary suddenly came over to report, ¡°Miss Carter, the director of the business department of the Sawyer Corporation, Mr. Mitchell, is here to discuss some cooperation matters with you in detail.¡± Although Cheyenne was a little surprised as to why Mr. Mitchell woulde at this time, since he was here to discuss business, Cheyenne, who had a strong sense of responsibility, naturally chose to talk to him about the cooperation out of obligation. So she naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to attend lunch at The Loft. Cheyenne called Lena and said embarrassedly, ¡°Lena, I¡¯m really sorry. An important client suddenly arrived, and he happens to be from the Sawyer Corporation, so I¡¯m tied up at the moment. I¡¯ll have to bail on you for lunch today.¡± While driving, Lena smiled and pretended to be vexed. ¡°That¡¯s such a pity. I¡¯ve already ordered the food, and Lucas is also on the way. But since something cropped up for you, and you can¡¯t make it...¡± Cheyenne apologized sincerely, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Why don¡¯t you two go ahead today? I¡¯ll treat you to a meal and catch up with you when I¡¯m free another day.¡± This was exactly what Lena wanted to hear. But she pretended to be embarrassed and said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem very appropriate. After all, he¡¯s your husband... Wouldn¡¯t it be inappropriate for me and him to have lunch together without you?¡± Cheyenne immediatelyughed and said considerately, ¡°It¡¯s okay. He¡¯s my husband, and you¡¯re my best friend. Besides, you¡¯ve met him before. Rest assured. He won¡¯t take liberties with other women.¡± Lena raised her eyebrows with excitement in her eyes, as if she was about to take on a challenge. She smiled. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯ve said that, I¡¯ll get going now, Cheyenne!¡± Chapter 251: I’m Drunk

Chapter 251: I¡¯m Drunk

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lucas arrived in the private room of the restaurant that Lena had booked, he saw her sitting alone in her seat. Upon seeing Lucas, Lena¡¯s eyes immediately lit up, and she stood up with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time. You¡¯re finally here.¡± As she spoke, she took the initiative to pull out the chair at the side and asked Lucas to take a seat. Lucas frowned slightly. ¡°Hasn¡¯t Cheyenne arrived yet?¡± Lena pouted her red lips slightly and said with some feigned dismay, ¡°Cheyenne got held up at the office because an important client suddenly showed up and asked to meet her. So she couldn¡¯t make it, and she wanted me to tell you to finish this meal on her behalf. Lucas, you¡¯re not nning to leave me here just because Cheyenne isn¡¯t around, are you?¡± Lena had dolled herself up beforeing. She was gorgeous in the first ce, and now that she was pouting, she looked bubbly and delicate. Cheyenne was the only beautiful woman that Lucas had ever paid attention to, and he didn¡¯t notice Lena¡¯s makeup at all. He deciphered her words simply and understood that Cheyenne couldn¡¯t make it because she was busy with work. No matter what, Lena was Cheyenne¡¯s best friend, and it would seem too childish of him if he just turned around and left. It was just a meal anyway. So Lucas shook his head and said with a polite smile, ¡°Why would I?¡± Then Lucas pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down. Lena smiled, picked up the menu on the table, and handed it to Lucas. ¡°The food served in this restaurant is very special. I¡¯ve just casually ordered a few of my favorite dishes. ce your order if there¡¯s anything you¡¯d like to eat!¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t very particr about the food he ate and would usually eat just for the sake of keeping himself full. After taking a look at the menu and seeing that Lena had already ordered several dishes, he ced the menu back onto the table because he felt that the food ordered should be enough for two. ¡°These will do.¡± Lena called the waiter over and requested for the food to be served. Soon, the table was covered in tes of fragrant, appetizing, and delectable food. Lucas ate very quickly. In front of another woman, he didn¡¯t say much and simply ate the food with his head lowered. During the meal, Lena was extremely enthusiastic and talkative. Every now and then, she would ask Lucas if the food was delicious or ask him about his food preferences, hobbies, and interests. But his answers were all very simple and brief, as he would merely say ¡®yes¡¯ and ¡®oh¡¯ or simply nod. After more than ten minutes, even Lena, who had been full of confidence and well-prepared, couldn¡¯t help but feel like she had suffered a huge blow. ¡°Lucas, are your answers always so short? I¡¯ve said so much, but you¡¯ve been giving me one-word replies. You¡¯re being perfunctory to me, aren¡¯t you?¡± Lena once again pouted in dissatisfaction andined, ¡°Is having lunch with me that boring for you?¡± She initially thought that Lucas would at least exin a little. But to her surprise, he merely nodded solemnly and said, ¡°I don¡¯t have much to say to other women besides my wife.¡± ¡°...¡± Lena was speechless. Must he be so blunt and insensitive? She wanted to say, ¡®You won¡¯t get a girlfriend if you keep talking like that!¡¯, but she immediately remembered that Lucas had long been married to Cheyenne and that they were parents to an adorable daughter. But the realization made her feel sour. It seems that he¡¯s indeed too insensitive. I can¡¯t tackle him by starting with talking and then gradually escting. Lena quickly changed her strategy. She asked the waiter to bring over a bottle of fine red wine, poured it into two tall sses, and handed one of them to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, if you hadn¡¯t saved mest time, I would be dead by now. Words are not enough to express my gratitude. Here¡¯s a toast to you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a small favor. Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Lucas said indifferently and then downed the red wine in his ss in one go. He had trained himself to develop a good liquor level during his time in the military, so the wine was just like an ordinary beverage to him. Lena followed suit and downed her ss of red wine in one go. But after she finished drinking them, she immediately coughed a few times while her face became rosy. Sitting in her seat, she propped her hands on the table, looked at Lucas, and giggled. Lucas immediately frowned and looked at Lena. Did she get drunk from half a ss of red wine? He was already full, but Lena barely ate anything because she kept talking to him just now. ¡°Have you eaten enough? We can leave after you¡¯re full. Call someone toe pick you up,¡± Lucas said. Lena burped and stood up tipsily with her eyes ssed over. ¡°I¡¯m full. Let¡¯s go!¡± She stood up and walked toward the door. But when she passed by Lucas, her legs went weak, and she fell onto Lucas, who had just stood up. Lucas subconsciously reached his hands out to hold her. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine... I¡¯m just a little giddy and lost my bnce,¡± Lena murmured while squinting and almost leaning all her weight against Lucas. ¡°Lucas, I... I drove here alone. Can you send me home?¡± she asked coquettishly, hugging Lucas¡¯s arm tightly. The warm breath she exhaled permeated through Lucas¡¯s thin shirt andnded on his chest. Lucas was suddenly at a loss for what to do. The feeling of having another woman hold onto him tightly and pressing her chest tightly against his arm was truly hard to describe. If it were any other woman, Lucas would probably have pushed her away without any hesitation, but the woman in front of him was Cheyenne¡¯s close friend. Besides, he thought that she was acting out of the ordinary only because she was drunk and that she didn¡¯t mean to behave this way. He couldn¡¯t just push her away and leave a drunk girl alone at the restaurant. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hurry up and leave.¡± Lucas had no choice but to hold onto Lena as they made their way out. But he didn¡¯t realize at all that Lena, who was buried in his arms, had a trace of triumphant joy in her eyes. Soon after they walked out of the private room, they bumped into a richly dressed young man in his mid-twenties. The young man was about to walk past the two of them, but he happened to see Lena¡¯s face, which was pressing against Lucas¡¯s body. He immediately stopped and eximed in shock, ¡°Lena?!¡± Chapter 252: Jeopardized Her Plan

Chapter 252: Jeopardized Her n

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lena heard someone call her, she squinted a little to nce at the young man before closing her eyes again immediately. She muttered, ¡°Lucas, let¡¯s hurry and head back home!¡± The young man¡¯s expression instantly became hostile. One reason was that Lena was actually lying so intimately in the arms of another man andpletely ignoring him! The second was that she even told this man to hurry and head back home. Go home?! What home? Whose home?! Immediately enraged and full of fury, the young man walked over and grabbed Lena¡¯s arm. ¡°Lena, I¡¯m Tristan Parker! Don¡¯t you recognize me?¡± the young man said, refusing to give up. Tristan Parker... Hearing his name, Lucas pursed his lips. Lena cursed at him in his head. Her n was going well at first, but Tristan just had to interfere and sabotage her n. Besides, Tristan was someone she utterly detested. But she had to pretend as if she just recognized him and spoke as if she had onlye to a realization now. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Tristan. Are you here for lunch too? Go ahead. We¡¯re going home! Bye!¡± Then Lena dragged Lucas away in a desperate attempt to leave. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± But Tristan held onto Lena¡¯s wrist and refused to let go. Pointing his finger at Lucas, he questioned, ¡°Who is this man?¡± Lena shook his hand off in annoyance. ¡°He¡¯s my friend. It¡¯s none of your business who he is!¡± ¡°Hmph. How is it none of my business? You are my fianc¨¦e, yet you are hugging another man in public. Am I in no ce to question you?¡± Tristan was incredibly furious as he red daggers at Lucas. ¡°How dare you touch my woman? Hurry up and take your filthy hands off her!¡± Lena was enraged, and she seemed to sober up in an instant. ¡°Who is your fianc¨¦e? Did I agree to your proposal?! Stop barking around here like a mad dog. If you want to throw your weight around, go home!¡± She glowered at Tristan, threw his hand off, and started walking away. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t go!¡± Furious, Tristan stepped forward to stop the both of them. He nced at Lena with an affectionate gaze containing a trace of infatuation. Lena was gorgeous to begin with, and the exquisite makeup she had put a lot of effort into putting on, as well as the rosiness on her face due to her tipsiness, made her look even more delicate and alluring. Tristan had carried a torch for Lena since he was young, and he had been pestering his father to arrange for him to marry her. But when he grew up and was about to reach marriageable age, she decided to stay abroad all year round, so it was hard for him to meet her often. Now that Lena was finally back, Tristan actually chanced upon her hugging another man¡¯s arm and behaving intimately with him. Moreover, she was giving him the cold shoulder too. How could he ept this? This scoundrel who popped up out of nowhere must have deliberately seduced Lena! ¡°Punk, let me tell you, Lena is my woman. Forget about taking her away! Hurry up and get the hell away from her!¡± Tristan red at Lucas with wide eyes. ¡°...¡± Lucas was quite speechless at this moment. He had nothing to do with either of them, but he had somehow been put in an awkward spot. Seeing Tristan putting the me on Lucas, Lena naturally couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. She stepped forward, stood in front of Lucas to shield him, and eximed loudly, ¡°I¡¯ve already said I have nothing to do with you at all. It¡¯s up to me to decide who I want to befriend. It¡¯s none of your business!¡¯ Tristan¡¯s face instantly paled before reddening again. Any man would feel embarrassed to have his fianc¨¦esh out at him and draw a clear line between them in public. He didn¡¯t want to vent his anger on Lena, but he had already thought of Lucas as the cause of his humiliation. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just trying to get together with Lena for her money, aren¡¯t you? Come on. You want money, right? I¡¯ll give it to you!¡± While speaking, Tristan took out a bank card from his pocket and threw it at Lucas. ¡°There are tens of thousands of dors in here. I¡¯ll give it all to you! Take the money and vanish!¡± After hitting Lucas¡¯s chest, the light and thin bank card bounced off it andnded on the ground, causing it to be stained with some dust. Tristan stood still in an overbearing manner and said condescendingly, ¡°What are you waiting for? Pick it up.¡± But he was destined to be disappointed. Of course, Lucas wouldn¡¯t want that card, let alone bend over to pick it up. ¡°Enough!¡± Incredibly angered by Tristan¡¯s actions, with which he intended to humiliate Lucas, Lena trembled in pique and hollered, ¡°Tristan Parker, I don¡¯t want to see you again. Get lost!¡± With anger boiling within him, Tristan reached his hand out and pointed at Lucas. ¡°Lena, are you falling out with me for this outsider? You even told me to get lost?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not an outsider. He¡¯s my friend. How many times do I have to tell you?! I¡¯ve also told you several times that I don¡¯t like you at all, and I don¡¯t want to marry you, so please stop iming to be my fianc¨¦ anding to pester me!¡± Lena was really livid. Not only had her n been ruined, but Tristan even used Lucas time and time again, so she was quite harsh with her words. When Tristan heard her heartless words, his pride suffered a massive blow, and his face turned gloomy with resentment. ¡°Fine, you¡¯ve decided to betray me for this gigolo, huh? You bitch!¡± Tristan raised his hand to p Lena¡¯s face unrelentingly. Lena¡¯s eyes widened immediately. She didn¡¯t expect Tristan, who often acted like a gentlemanly and noble scion, would suddenly hit her! His usually handsome face suddenly distorted into a hideous grimace as well! Stunned, Lena stood rooted to the ground and stared at the approaching hand that she couldn¡¯t dodge! ¡°Enough!¡± Just before the p was about tond on Lena¡¯s face, a strong and powerful hand tightly grabbed Tristan¡¯s wrist, making it impossible for him to move. Lucas despised men like him who resorted to violence after being turned down by women. ¡°Damn it, you dog. Hurry up and let go of me!¡± Tristan yelled furiously and tried to pull his hand back from Lucas¡¯s hand but to no avail because of how strong Lucas was. He was struggling so hard that the veins on his forehead began bulging. ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of conflict there is between you and Lena, but I just want to tell you that she¡¯s just my wife¡¯s close friend and that there¡¯s no rtionship beyond this between us. You guys settle your own affairs and don¡¯t get me involved. But of course, I won¡¯t allow you to hit someone in front of me.¡± After saying these words indifferently, Lucas loosened his grip on Tristan¡¯s hand. Lena¡¯s eyes dimmed when she heard Lucas say that there was nothing between them. Her heart was full of immense disappointment. But thinking that it was only their second meeting today, she felt that it was normal for Lucas not to have any special feelings for her. There¡¯s plenty of time in the future! ¡°Your wife¡¯s close friend?¡± After thinking about it, Tristan suddenly said, ¡°Is your wife Cheyenne Carter? Are you that infamous good-for-nothing husband?¡± Chapter 253: The Parkers

Chapter 253: The Parkers

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing that Tristan knew Cheyenne, Lucas narrowed his eyes and said coldly, ¡°Yes.¡± Very few people knew that Cheyenne and Lena were best friends because they rarely met and mostlymunicated through emails or text messages. The fact that Tristan knew exactly who Lena¡¯s best friend was showed that he must have deliberately investigated it. His overly-controlling behavior was truly terrifying. Tristan tilted his head upward and guffawed out loud. ¡°Haha, I was wondering who it was that dared to covet my woman. I didn¡¯t expect it to be you, a good-for-nothing who freeloads off his wife! So, are you thinking of hooking up with Lena and marrying her to be the live-in son-inw of Ethan Sawyer just because Cheyenne Carter and her parents have been disowned by the Carters? Let me tell you, forget about it! You¡¯re not even worthy enough to kneel down and lick my shoes!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough! Tristan Parker, don¡¯t go too far! Lucas isn¡¯t someone you can nder!¡± Lena was really exasperated because Lucas was the savior of her life, and she felt that there was no reason for Tristan, who had nothing except a wealthy family, to belittle him. In Lena¡¯s opinion, Tristan was just a rich second-generation heir who did nothing except idle about all day. Besides, he was also extremely possessive of her. Since a long time ago, he had been repeatedly trying to interfere with her life, her friendships, and her interests. It was to the extent that he wished he could lock her up for his sole possession. There was once a boy who confessed his feelings to Lena. But he ended up having both his legs broken, his tongue cut off, and his body battered with bruises the day after. So Lena had long developed a fear toward Tristan¡¯s excessively possessive behavior, so much so that she would shun and avoid him whenever she saw him. The thought of marrying such a person and spending the rest of her life with him gave Lena the creeps. There was absolutely no way she would marry Tristan! Seeing how protective Lena was of Lucas, Tristan flew into an uncontroble rage. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really a freeloader and a coward, aren¡¯t you? You actually need a woman to protect you. Are you still a man?! I¡¯m truly furious now! If you kneel down, kowtow to me, and swear that you¡¯ll never show up beside Lena again, I¡¯ll consider sparing you this time. Otherwise, I will make your life a living hell!¡± Tristan was smiling sinisterly with a peculiar and terrifying expression. Two tall and burly bodyguards walked over from behind Tristan to block Lucas, seeming as though they would take action once Lucas disagreed with Tristan¡¯s request. When Lena saw the terrifying expression on Tristan¡¯s face, her heart sank, and she immediately thought of the boy who had his legs broken and flesh badly mangled years ago. A tremendous sense of disgust arose in Lena¡¯s heart as she shielded Lucas and said coldly, ¡°Tristan, get your facts right. This is Orange County, not your family¡¯s home ground in LA! If you dare to mess around andy a finger on him, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± At this moment, the pretty Lena, who had been behaving delicately like a dainty woman, was giving off a menacing aura. Even Tristan was somewhat subdued by her domineering aura. But a momentter, his eyes were full of infatuation and zeal! He had never seen such a side to Lena before! She was much more attractive than before! Sensing the disgusting gaze that Tristan cast on her, Lena took out her phone and immediately dialed a number. ¡°Uncle n, it¡¯s me. Send all the senior bodyguards of the Sawyers to The Loft now!¡± As the most powerful family in Orange County, the Sawyers naturally had tighter security measures for their family members than other powerful families in the county. They had arge team ofpetent bodyguards. Lena actually called all the bodyguards over just to protect Lucas because Tristan wanted him to kneel and kowtow. Tristan¡¯s face became extremely sullen, and heughed mirthlessly before hollering, ¡°Fine, Lena, you¡¯re really heartless, huh?! I¡¯ve been putting in my heart and soul for you all these years, yet you¡¯re treating me like this for another man!¡± Looking heartbroken because Lena had let him down, he said with great disappointment, ¡°Lena, I truly didn¡¯t expect you to treat me like this!¡± Lena immediately rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve already repeated myself many times. I don¡¯t like you at all, and I¡¯ve never had feelings for you either. I just want you to stop pestering me! Please stop acting like you¡¯re so devoted to me, will you?¡± Since the beginning, Lucas had been standing still, seeminglypletely uninvolved except when he stopped Tristan from pping Lena. He turned a deaf ear to Tristan¡¯s insults and didn¡¯t feel any emotions about Lena¡¯s action to protect him. After all, regardless of what happened between them, it had nothing to do with him. The scuffle drew the attention of many patrons of the restaurant. It happened to be noon, and there were many patrons currently in the restaurant. Moreover, they were arguing rather loud too, so the patrons guessed that Lucas, Lena, and Tristan were involved in a love triangle. Besides, the bodyguards were also present, thus attracting even more attention. They whispered among themselves and began specting about the clich¨¦ scenes that usually only happened in movies. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t love and marriage exist only between two willing parties? That girl has said several times that she¡¯s not willing to be in a rtionship with him, but that man keeps pestering her. He¡¯s really going overboard.¡± ¡°Yeah! That young man didn¡¯t say anything, yet the other man wants him to kneel down and kowtow to him. He¡¯s really arrogant!¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard he¡¯s not even from this county. Why is he so arrogant? He¡¯s acting like a king.¡± ¡°In my opinion, that beauty is obviously fond of this tall and handsome young man. They were just having lunch, and this person came out of nowhere to create such a ruckus. They might get into a brawl soon!¡± ... When Tristan heard the chatter of the crowd, his face became even more gloomy and sullen as he hollered furiously, ¡°Get lost! What are you looking at? I¡¯m a Parker, and we¡¯re a top family in LA. You people are just nobodies. Get lost now!¡± After beingshed out at for no reason, the onlookers looked at Tristan like they were looking at an idiot. But many people had heard of the Parkers before, and they were indeed a wealthy family whom ordinary people like them couldn¡¯t afford to provoke. At the thought of this, many onlookers snorted coldly before silently backing away. Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. ¡°You¡¯re one of the Parkers from LA?¡± Chapter 254: I Like Kneeling Down

Chapter 254: I Like Kneeling Down

Hearing Lucas¡¯s question, Tristan immediately raised his head proudly and said smugly, ¡°Yes! I¡¯m one of the Parkers from LA, and the current family head is Charles Parker, my grandfather! Are you afraid now, punk? Hurry up and kneel down to kowtow to me twice. Once you make me pleased, I might consider letting you off!¡± Lucas smirked with some derision in his eyes. Lucas was no stranger to the Parkers. Ever since he had acquired all of the Brookes¡¯ businesses in LA, he had assigned Flynn to handle and manage them. During this period of time, Flynn had been reporting to Lucas about his progress, during which he had mentioned the Parkers several times. On the day the Brookes left LA, the Parkers had sent a junior of the family named Elliot over to try to create trouble for the Brookes. But Andrew had managed to trick him and fled. Since then, the Parkers had been very active in LA as they tried to use various means and methods to seize the major businesses the Brookes left behind. Although the Parkers failed to seed because Stanley protected them and Flynn was quitepetent too, it undoubtedly also brought a lot of trouble to Flynn and resulted in various disputes that almost got him killed. If not for the fact that Lucas had instructed Stanley and Flynn not to get anyone killed, Charles and the Parkers would have probably perished. So once Lucas heard that the man who kept pestering Lena was one of the Parkers, he couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by how small the world was. He hadn¡¯t gone to LA to settle scores with the Parkers yet, but Tristan Parker had already provoked him. Tristan thought that Lucas would definitely be scared out of his wits once he brought up his family and immediately kneel to beg for mercy. But he never expected that Lucas would remain standing with a peculiar expression and a mirthless smirk, making him really displeased. ¡°Punk, what¡¯s with that look on your face? Are you looking down on the Parkers?¡± Tristan snapped in pique. Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°It¡¯s just the Parkers. I really don¡¯t take you seriously.¡± It was not that Lucas was arrogant, but rather, he waspetent enough to get rid of top families like the Brookes. Besides, his status and wealth were superior to the Brookes too. In fact, if the Parkers hadn¡¯t repeatedly caused trouble in LA and coveted the remaining businesses of the Brookes while hindering Flynn from doing his work, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have even remembered who they were. After hearing what Lucas said, Tristan was infuriated. He was born and raised in LA, and although the Parkers were not the top family in LA, they were considered one of the few higher-status ones. He had gotten used to hearing praises and receiving the deferential treatment of others. This was the first time a young man dared to mock the Parkers. ¡°Damn it. How dare you look down on us, you fool? I must show you what we¡¯re made of! Hit him! Make him kneel down and beg me for mercy!¡± Tristan hollered furiously. The two bodyguards beside him immediately pounced toward Lucas. ¡°Tristan Parker, stop!¡± Lena shouted. But the bodyguards were Tristan¡¯s subordinates, so they naturally only obeyed him. Lena¡¯s yelling meant nothing to them. Facing the two aggressive bodyguards, Lucas merely raised his leg when they were about to hit him without even looking at them. Their vision blurred, and before the tall and burly bodyguards could even see Lucas¡¯s actions or sense his strength, they were already sent flying by his kick! ng! Whoosh! One of the bodyguards crashed onto a potted nt near them, which then shattered into pieces and stabbed into his arm. The other bodyguard was even more unlucky. He fell into the cold water of the fountain in the center of the restaurant lobby. Not only did he knock the stone fountain over, but he also turned pale in the freezing water and couldn¡¯t get out for a long time. Seemingly not hearing the shrieks, Lucas walked over toward Tristan in a casual and rxed manner. Tristan was merely an ipetent scion of a rich family. When he saw Lucas clearly harboring ill intentions and walking toward him after kicking his bodyguards away, he couldn¡¯t help retreating repeatedly. But there was a wall behind him, and he would soon reach it. Pangs of panic engulfed him as he yelled in horror, ¡°What are you trying to do? Don¡¯te here! I¡¯m warning you. If you dare to do anything to me, the Parkers won¡¯t let you off!¡± Lucas ignored him and walked forward to grab his neck. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to bother with a nobody like you, but it seems you have a death wish.¡± Lucas¡¯s cold voice rang beside Tristan¡¯s ears, making his heart ricochet while a wave of fear suddenly surged within him. He tried to move Lucas¡¯s fingers away from his neck, but he couldn¡¯t do it at all. He could only feel a massive force mping down on his throat, making it difficult for him to breathe. ¡°If... if you dare to do anything to me, my grandfather won¡¯t let you off! Hurry up and let go of me.¡± Tristan was flustered, but he still threatened him. ¡°Hah, I¡¯ve already told you long ago that I don¡¯t take the Parkers seriously at all. Why can¡¯t you understand? Whenever something happens to you, all you do is bring up your family. What else do you have apart from your wealthy and powerful family? ¡°Didn¡¯t you ask me to kneel down in front of you several times? Since you like kneeling so much, do so yourself!¡± Lucas shook his head regretfully. Then holding Tristan¡¯s neck, he pushed him onto the ground, causing him to kneel. ¡°Ah!¡± Tristan hollered loudly when his kneesnded on the ground. The physical pain was a minor issue, but he would never stand being forced to kneel in front of everyone! In the twenty-odd years of his life, he had already made many people kneel down and beg him for mercy, but he never knew how miserable it was to be forced to kneel. The sense of humiliation made him wish he could kill someone now! ¡°Bastard, how dare you do this to me? The Parkers will never spare you!¡± Tristan barked while kneeling on the ground and struggling to break free desperately. He felt extremely humiliated, and his eyes were bloodshot, seeming like he wanted to devour Lucas. Chapter 255: Where Is Your Confidence?

Chapter 255: Where Is Your Confidence?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas ignored the resentment in Tristan¡¯s gaze and stepped on his ankle. ¡°You¡¯re still so arrogant now, huh? It seems you haven¡¯t learned your lesson yet.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Tristan immediately shrieked in misery as a wave of fear surged in his heart. Lucas seemed to really have no fear of the Parkers and was also capable of doing anything. Now that his bodyguards were incapacitated, he would have to suffer no matter what. Tristan was extremely furious, but he knew that he was now in a disadvantageous position and had no choice but to suppress his anger, not daring to glower at Lucas. But deep down, he wished he could kill Lucas! At this moment, Tristan had naturally long forgotten that if he hadn¡¯te looking for trouble with Lucas, insulted him, and forced him to kneel, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have done this to him. ¡°I¡¯ve merely taught you a small lesson today. If you¡¯re feeling indignant, feel free to get Charles Parker toe look for me. Also, from now on, if I see you pestering Lena Sawyer again, it won¡¯t be as simple as making you kneel down!¡± Lena stood at the side, feeling touched and shocked. She was shocked that Lucas actually dared to attack Tristan. In her opinion, the Parkers were a top family in LA that held enormous power. Otherwise, her father, Ethan Sawyer, wouldn¡¯t have chosen to let her marry Tristan. Since Lucas beat up Tristan and his bodyguards, he was clearly going against the Parkers. In that case, the Parkers definitely wouldn¡¯t let him off! Lena¡¯s understanding of Lucas was limited to the fact that he was Cheyenne¡¯s live-in husband, who came from a poor family and practically struggled with poverty, so much so that he couldn¡¯t even pay for their wedding. This caused Cheyenne to be theughingstock of everyone in Orange County, so Lena had always had a bad impression of Lucas before. But since the incident in Little Antis City, where Lucas showed extraordinaryposure and bravery when gambling against Tony Zander, and the time when Lucas rescued her from the speeding motorcycle outside the Sawyers¡¯ vi, Lena changed her mind about him. She also secretly harbored some designs on him. Lena had deliberately nned for her and Lucas to have lunch alone together today. But just because Lena admired Lucas, it didn¡¯t mean that she felt that he was invincible. She wasn¡¯t aware of how wealthy Lucas was, nor did she know about his background. She merely felt that since he was an ordinary person, he definitely wouldn¡¯t stand to gain against the Parkers, who were like a behemoth. But Lucas beat up Tristan for her sake and even warned him not to pester her again... Tears welled up in Lena¡¯s eyes as she looked at Lucas intently with a gentle gaze. I mustn¡¯t let go of such an excellent man who¡¯s a hundred times better than a spoiled scion like Tristan Parker! ¡°Miss Lena, are you alright?¡± At this moment, Jim Baker, the butler of the Sawyers, hurriedly arrived at the restaurant. When he received Lena¡¯s call just now, he was almost frightened to death. Just a short while ago, Lena had just encountered a premeditated assassination, so the Sawyers had been extremely protective of hertely. But Lena said she had an appointment with a close friend this afternoon and ordered all the bodyguards not to apany her. Jim wasn¡¯t aware of it at first. So when he received the phone call from her informing him that she didn¡¯t have any bodyguards to protect her, he was immediately stunned and afraid that she might have gotten into some mishap. But the situation at the restaurant seemed rather bizarre now, as he hadn¡¯t seen any malicious thugs yet. On the contrary, Jim even saw two people whom he didn¡¯t expect to see. One of them was naturally Lucas, who was standing beside Lena expressionlessly. Jim had seen the Huttonsing to invite Lucas back to their family before, as well as the time when Ethan sent gifts to the Carters to try and get closer to Lucas. He was very familiar with Lucas, this powerful figure. The other person Jim was shocked to see was Tristan, Lena¡¯s fianc¨¦! Of course, it actually wasn¡¯t that surprising that Tristan was here. But to Jim¡¯s surprise, Tristan was kneeling on the ground in front of Lucas and Lena! ¡°This...¡± All of a sudden, Jim couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on between them, and he couldn¡¯t ask in too much detail since there were so many people around. Seeing that Jim had already arrived and Tristan had also suffered a loss under Lucas, Lena didn¡¯t want to continue getting involved in a scuffle with him. ¡°Tristan, I¡¯ll tell you onest time. The engagement between us doesn¡¯t count at all, and I won¡¯t marry you. You should go find another girl. Furthermore, if you have any objections, juste at me. Don¡¯t vent your anger on other people who have nothing to do with this!¡± Then she stopped looking at Tristan and said to Lucas, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lucas nodded. Soon, both of them left the restaurant together. Jim nced at Tristan without saying anything. He merely nodded slightly and left together with Lena. Behind him, Tristan slowly raised his head and eximed with an intense and vicious gaze in his eyes, ¡°I won¡¯t let you two off, you adulterers!¡± Only after leaving the restaurant did Lena snap back to her senses and realize that she had been pretending to be drunk before this to get Lucas to send her home. But after Tristan interfered and foiled her ns, she could no longer continue pretending. Lena simply stopped pretending, stood still, and apologized to Lucas, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault. If I hadn¡¯t called you out for lunch today, you wouldn¡¯t have gotten into a conflict with Tristan and even offended him.¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I really don¡¯t care about the Parkers. If they¡¯ve learned their lesson and don¡¯t provoke me again, I naturally won¡¯t make things hard for them, but if they refuse to give up ande looking for trouble, they¡¯d better not me me.¡± When Lena heard Lucas¡¯s tone, she felt that he really didn¡¯t take the Parkers seriously. She couldn¡¯t help wondering where he got his confidence from. After thinking about it for a while, Lena nevertheless gave Lucas some instructions, ¡°You¡¯re just the live-in son-inw of the Carters. You were lucky to win some money from Tony Zanderst time, but the Parkers are really not to be belittled. How about this? If they provoke you again, just let me know, and I¡¯ll ask my father to think of a solution.¡± Hearing this, Lucas couldn¡¯t helpughing. But thinking that Lena was just making this suggestion out of good intentions, he nodded casually. Jim was aware of Lucas¡¯s background and knew that even Ethan had to think of ways to get close to him. In that case, why would Lucas need their help? Fearing that Lena¡¯s words would upset Lucas, he hurriedly said, ¡°Miss Lena, Mr. Sawyer is afraid that you have gotten into a mishap and is worried sick about you! You¡¯d better go home quickly so that he will be at ease.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lena originally wanted to ask Lucas to take her home and invite him to her ce for a chat. But when she heard that her father was waiting for her, she could only give up. ¡°Lucas, I owe you another favor for what happened today. I¡¯ll treat you to a meal again!¡± Then she got into the car and left grandly together with her bodyguards before Lucas could even say anything. Chapter 256: The Current State of the Sawyers

Chapter 256: The Current State of the Sawyers

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lena returned home, she saw Ethan sitting on the couch with his brows furrowed in a frown. When he saw Lena enter, he didn¡¯t rx at all. ¡°Dad, aren¡¯t you busy today? Why are you home and waiting for me?¡± Lena asked, pretending to be rxed. She sat down beside Ethan. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just got involved in a troublesome matter, so I asked Jim to bring some people over to help me out.¡± With a furious expression, Ethan sneered. ¡°Of course I know what happened. You just wanted our bodyguards to chase Tristan Parker away.¡± Only then did she realize that her father had learned of everything that had just happened at the restaurant. She pursed her lips and leaned back on the couch. ¡°Dad, since you already know, I won¡¯t beat around the bush with you. Tristan Parker is a good-for-nothing who sponges off his family. I won¡¯t marry such a person! Dad, just go to the Parkers and break off our engagement before it¡¯s toote!¡± ¡°Outrageous!¡± Ethan flew into a rage and rebuked, ¡°You and Tristan Parker have been engaged for more than ten years, and we were all just waiting for you two to grow up and hold the wedding. Why are you still so insensible? We can¡¯t just break off the engagement like that.¡± Extremely adamant about it, Lena insisted, ¡°Dad, Tristan ispletely uneptable! He suspected me of having an affair with a friend just because I had lunch with him. Just now, he even tried to hit me! If I marry him, I¡¯d definitely face domestic violence! Dad, can you bear to watch me get bullied? Besides, I don¡¯t like him at all, and I don¡¯t want to marry him!¡± ¡°He suspects you and gets jealous because he cares about you! Arranged marriages aremon among families like ours. It¡¯s all for the sake of carrying on the family bloodline and forming unions with other suitable families! Lena, you are now in your twenties and no longer a child. Why don¡¯t you understand this?¡± Hearing the words ¡®arranged marriage¡¯, Lena felt particrly sour and upset. Feeling furious and disappointed, she snapped, ¡°Not an arranged marriage again! Dad, must I marry a good-for-nothing? You¡¯re now the richest man in the county, and we have enough money and properties tost us a few lifetimes. Why must you make me marry someone of a so-called suitable background? Can¡¯t you just let me be like an ordinary girl and marry someone I truly love?¡± There was a trace of misery and heartache in Ethan¡¯s eyes, but he soon forced himself to stay firm to his decision. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve spoiled you rotten all these years and let you live too well abroad, so much so that you¡¯repletely clueless about the situation we¡¯re in now! Do you think we¡¯re that glorious and morous because we are the richest family in Orange County? Let me tell you, that¡¯s just a superficial title! ¡°The economy has been developing rapidly in recent years, and many small families have risen. We merely had a head start, but many of our businesses have been impacted by various startups and small businesses! If we don¡¯t work harder to strengthen our foundation and businesses, they will be taken over by others sooner orter! By then, do you think we will still be able to live in thep of luxury with peace of mind? ¡°Lena, I am your father. Which father doesn¡¯t want his daughter to be happy and enjoy life the way she wants? But we can¡¯t always enjoy the freedom of doing whatever we want. I hope you can understand my reasons for making you marry Tristan! Although he¡¯s quite ipetent, there are no major problems with him. Besides, he has always been devoted to you, and he genuinely loves you. So, I hope you¡¯ll stop rejecting him and get along well with him after you two get married!¡± Ethan clearly stated the pros and cons of the marriage and decided to be honest with Lena. But his words were also realistic and cruel. Lena bit her lips tightly and hung her head low to ponder about it for a long time. Just when Ethan thought she had been convinced by him and was finally going to agree to marry Tristan, she suddenly raised her head and looked him straight in the eye with a determined gaze. ¡°Dad, now that I¡¯m aware of the difficulties we¡¯re facing. Don¡¯t worry. I will stand by you. I¡¯ve studied abroad for so many years after all, and my knowledge of business management and other aspects shoulde in handy at times like this. I¡¯m willing to shoulder the burden and face these problems together with you! But I¡¯ll never sacrifice my own happiness and rely on an arranged marriage to secure our position and status!¡± After saying these words decisively, Lena stood up and headed upstairs to go to her room. Sitting on the couch and watching his daughter leave, Ethan sighed helplessly after a long time. If possible, he would of course want his daughter to find her own happiness. But she had been living a sheltered life where she was so well-protected that she had no idea that things wouldn¡¯t always go her way in life. Perhaps Lena would only understand the reasons for his decision today only after she had personally gotten a taste of the ruthlessness of society! ... Meanwhile, Lucas headed straight to the Stardust Corporation after leaving the restaurant. Charlotte was presiding over the Stardust Corporation and was managing everything well without any major problems. Lucas was just here to check on the progress and read some reports regarding the development and other information on the recent situation of thepany. He also had to formte ns for the uing developments. But as soon as his car was near the Stardust Corporation, he saw numerous people gathered outside the Stardust Corporation office building. Among them, there were many firefighters and police officers. The police had even cordoned off the entrance. Lucas frowned. He could tell that something must have happened. He stopped his car nearby and got out, only to see that many were craning their necks and pointing at the roof of the Stardust Corporation. Lucas had always had sharp eyesight. Although the rooftop was high, he managed to get a clear glimpse of the two people standing at the edge. One of them was wearing a body-hugging business suit and standing there with a furious expression. It was Charlotte. Lucas had seen the other person with a gloomy and maniacal expression standing across from her before. It was Den Adams, the scumbag Charlotte had a crush on back in college. Lucas wouldn¡¯t suspect anything if only the both of them were standing there and talking, but the situation was clearly amiss. In particr, Den was holding a cold and shiny dagger! Lucas¡¯s pupils constricted as his face became cold and gloomy. He pulled an employee of the Stardust Corporation, who was wearing anyard with thepany¡¯s name tag, over and asked coldly, ¡°What¡¯s happening up there?¡± The employee answered anxiously, ¡°I have no idea. I heard that that man is Miss Carter¡¯s ex-boyfriend who suddenly sneaked into the office today. They somehow got into a conflict, and then he forced Miss Carter to the rooftop of the building. He even wants them to die together!¡± Chapter 257: Crisis on the Rooftop

Chapter 257: Crisis on the Rooftop

A cold glint shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes! Back in college, Den hadpletely disregarded Charlotte¡¯s sincerity and devotion. Later on, he managed to marry Estelle Brooke, the daughter of a prestigious family in LA, just because of his good looks. When Lucas had lunch with Charlotte before, they happened to run into Estelle and Den, and they had even deliberately mocked Charlotte. Afterward, Den had even gone to the Stardust Corporation to kick up a ruckus at the entrance, during which he kept pestering Charlotte. As a result, Lucas gave him a hard p on his face without mercy. He even called Aston toe over and take Den away to teach him a lesson. He reckoned that the Brookes must have punished Denter on. But the Brookes no longer had a ce in LA, and the members of the family had already fled. Mercenary people like Den, who would suck up to the wealthy and powerful and undermine the weak, naturally wouldn¡¯t leave with the Brookes, who had lost power. He had probably abandoned Estelle long ago to suck up to someone else who was more powerful. It was no secret that Charlotte had now be the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation and was in charge of handling the duties of the general manager. He reckoned that Den must have scurried over to pester her to try and get back together with her after hearing about it. But Lucas also felt that there was something amiss. If Den merely wanted to continue pestering Charlotte, he should have countless methods to do so since he was an experienced freeloader. Why would he resort to such an extreme method of holding Charlotte hostage, forcing her to the rooftop, and threatening to kill her if she didn¡¯tpromise? It didn¡¯t seem like something that Den would do! But now was not the time for him to stand here and figure out what was going on. Regardless of whether someone had instigated Den or not, Charlotte was in an extremely dangerous situation now. She had a chance of falling off the roof or getting slit by the sharp dagger in his hand! Even though the firefighters hadid intable cushions on the ground below, she would have a slim chance of survival after falling from a great height of more than 30 floors! Lucas was so anxious that he pushed the crowd apart and dashed toward the entrance of the Stardust Corporation with no regard for the fact that the police had already cordoned off the area. ¡°Hey! There¡¯s an emergency situation here. You¡¯re not allowed to enter...¡± When a police officer saw Lucas rushing in, he hurriedly stopped Lucas. But before he could finish speaking, Lucas had already vanished. ¡°Uh... Someone barged in just now... right?¡± the police officer asked the colleague beside him with uncertainty. ¡°That seems to be the case... but I didn¡¯t see him clearly...¡± said another police officer, who was just as dumbfounded and even doubted if his eyes were ying tricks on him. At this moment, there was great tension on the rooftop of the Stardust Corporation. Den was holding a sharp dagger in his hand while gripping tightly onto Charlotte with the other. He looked psychotic and maniacal. ¡°Get lost! Stay farther away from me. If youe over again, I won¡¯t be kind to her!¡± Den waved the dagger in his hand and yelled at the few special ops police on the rooftop. The police officers were afraid and worried that Den would really do something in a moment of anger. So they had no choice but to retreat to the edge of the roof. ¡°Den Adams, calm down. Don¡¯t do anything irreparable! Let¡¯s talk things over calmly. You¡¯re standing at such a dangerous spot. If you identally slip, wouldn¡¯t you have lived your life with regrets?¡± said a negotiator among the special ops police, trying to dissuade him. But Den refused to budge and simply sneered. ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t try that trick with me! I¡¯ve decided to go all out today, and I¡¯m prepared to die! Anyway, I¡¯ll drag her down with me even if I die, so that won¡¯t be a loss for me!¡± At this moment, Charlotte¡¯s heart was full of countless words that she wanted to curse out loud! She had been sitting in her office and doing some work when the madman Den suddenly barged in and ced a dagger on her neck without saying a word. He held her down and forced her to the roof, where he tried to make her jump down with him in the name of love. In the name of love? To hell with that! I no longer had anything to do with this lunatic since a long time ago! But she was being held hostage at the edge of the rooftop of the tall building, and the mere sight of the view below when she looked down was enough to put her on the verge of passing out. Furthermore, Den was holding a dagger and threatening her. ¡°Den Adams, what exactly are you trying to do? Let¡¯s sit down to talk things over slowly, alright?¡± Charlotte tried her best to control her body and avoid looking down while desperately trying to calm Den down. She wanted to persuade him to leave this dangerous ce. ¡°Shut up!¡± Den hollered furiously and waved the dagger in his hand, almost stabbing Charlotte. His action led to a series of terse shrieks of horror from the onlookers on the ground. ¡°When I came here to look for you to ask you to be my girlfriendst time, you turned me down without mercy and let that damn brother-inw of yours get the Brookes to take me home. The Brookes beat me up and even seized all my property I managed to get from that woman Estelle Brooke! If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have be penniless again! ¡°The Brookes have now fled, and I¡¯m the only one left because they abandoned me like garbage! All the efforts that I put in for so many years have been in vain! Who do you think I should me? If not for you, how could I have been reduced to this plight?! ¡°So, shouldn¡¯t I be holding you responsible?!¡± Den¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was menacing and terrifying. Charlotte forced herself to suppress the horror and repulsion within her as she tried her best to sound as gentle as possible. ¡°Okay, I can take responsibility for that, I¡¯ll give you whatever you want as long as it¡¯s within my means to do so. If you don¡¯t have any money to spend now, I can transfer some to you. If you need a job, I can also rmend you to work directly in the Stardust Corporation. It¡¯s up to you...¡± ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± Den suddenlyughed hysterically before Charlotte could finish speaking. As heughed, his face suddenly turned dark again, and he red daggers at Charlotte with a vicious gaze. ¡°Hmph, bitch, are you taking pity on me and trying to give me a handout? Hah, why bother acting all noble and mighty in front of me? Don¡¯t forget how you tried to please me desperately and beg me to notice you! ¡°Let me tell you. Even if you¡¯re capable now, you are still just a bitch! Even if I pull you along with me and jump off this building, what can you do to me?¡± As he spoke, Den took a step closer to Charlotte and squeezed her hand tightly, as if he wanted to pull her along to jump down the building with him. A strong sense of fear and humiliation surged in Charlotte¡¯s heart. No matter how many years ago it was, anyone whose sincerity and devotion were disregarded, undermined, and trampled on by someone would definitely feel furious and upset. Furthermore, Charlotte also discovered that there was no way she couldmunicate with Den now because he was just like a lunatic! Even if Charlotte was highlypetent in work, she was only a young woman in her twenties. Being forced into this desperate situation by a lunatic like Den made her feel helpless and hopeless. ¡°Den Adams, stop!¡± At this moment, an extremely familiar voice sounded near them. It was a tall and muscr man walking out of the small door on the rooftop. It was Lucas! Chapter 258: Lucas Jumps Off the Building

Chapter 258: Lucas Jumps Off the Building

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as Den saw Lucas appear, intense hatred appeared in his maniacal gaze. Although he had beenshing out at Charlotte and cursing at her, he was full of hatred toward Lucas! If Lucas hadn¡¯t beaten him up and gotten Aston involved, he wouldn¡¯t have been brought back to the Brooke residence to suffer a brutal beating. The Brookes had even seized all his money and the properties he had secretly bought! The Brookester fell because of Lucas! If Lucas was the reason Charlotte rejected him, he would be the cause of everything! ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray. I hadn¡¯t gone to look for you, but you came looking for me yourself!¡± Den hollered through gritted teeth. Deep down, he felt extremely gloomy and resentful. Charlotte was surprised and overjoyed the moment she saw Lucas. But she soon became worried and nervous after seeing the hatred in Den¡¯s eyes when he red at Lucas. Den was now close to losing his mind. And in this situation, he was capable of doing anything! Lucas narrowed his eyes and sized up the environment around them. Den was holding Charlotte close to the edge of the roof. They were indeed in a very dangerous spot. The reason the special ops police officers hadn¡¯t tried to shoot Den was that they were worried he might jump off the building together with Charlotte, the hostage. With a profound gaze in his eyes, Lucas squeezed the two coins in his pocket. He was certain that he would be able to use the coins to kill Den and still save Charlotte. But there were numerous special police officers both on the roof and downstairs, onlookers, and many reporters paying attention to the progress. If Lucas used that method to save her, he would undoubtedly expose himself and get involved with thew. After thinking about it, he gently waved his hand, shook off the special police officers wanting to hold him back from going forward, and then walked toward Den and Charlotte. ¡°Den, now that you have been abandoned, you must be feeling terrible. Is that why you¡¯re behaving like a mad dog?¡± Lucas deliberately mocked him with a derisive smile. Just as he expected, Den immediately became enraged, and his expression became menacing. ¡°Bastard! How dare you say that?! You¡¯re the reason I ended up in this state today! It¡¯s all your fault! You¡¯re the one who deserves to die!¡± Lucas raised his brows and kept walking over. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the one who destroyed all the ns you¡¯ve had all these years, but you don¡¯t dare to do anything to me at all. All you dare to do is act mighty and formidable in front of a woman! Den Adams, you¡¯re really such a coward! I¡¯m standing right in front of you now. What can you do to me?¡± His ruthless mocking was like a sharp dagger stabbing deep into Den¡¯s chest, making him hysterical. ¡°Shut up! Shut up! Don¡¯t talk anymore!¡± Den hollered furiously at the top of his lungs with his dagger in hand. ¡°I¡¯m standing right here. Do you dare to touch me? Even if I¡¯m unarmed and you have a dagger in your hand, I bet you won¡¯t even dare to take a step closer to me!¡± Lucas said with a smug and contemptuous expression while standingposedly three meters in front of Den. Charlotte could already tell what Lucas was trying to do. She knew that he was deliberately angering Den and spiting him into letting go of her so that he could deal with him! Although Charlotte had seen Lucas getting into fights with others several times before, and she also felt that Den would be no match for him, she was still worried that he might get hurt easily by the sharp dagger in Den¡¯s hand! Charlotte looked extremely nervous, and her heart was about to jump out of her chest. ¡°Who says I don¡¯t dare?! Once I go over there, you¡¯ll be the first one I kill!¡± Den was indeed agitated by his words, and he hollered furiously. Holding the dagger, he was just about to charge toward Lucas! But he suddenly stopped in his tracks. A few secondster, he seemed to have an epiphany and suddenly became cleared-headed. He burst intoughter and gibed, ¡°Hahaha, Lucas Gray, you¡¯re just trying to provoke me so that I¡¯ll deal with you and let Charlotte go, right? Hehehe, I won¡¯t let you have your way!¡± Lucas frowned slightly. This dimwit Den was just about to be fooled, but he suddenly calmed down and figured out the trick that Lucas was using. Someone had to be giving him some pointers! Lucas couldn¡¯t help looking at Den¡¯s ear. ¡°I know Charlotte Carter is your sister-inw, so you definitely want to rescue her, don¡¯t you? In that case, your Achilles¡¯ heel is now in my hands!¡± With a smug grin on his face, Den dragged Charlotte over with one hand and put the dagger against her neck. ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s right. If I want to kill you, I don¡¯t have to walk over and attack you! If you want this woman to live, you¡¯d bettere over here obediently and jump off this building!¡± Den threatened furiously with a menacing expression. The Stardust Corporation office building had more than 30 floors, which was more than 100 meters high. If he jumped off from such a great height, he definitely wouldn¡¯t survive! Charlotte¡¯s expression changed drastically, and she yelled in panic, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t listen to him! This nutcase just wants to force you to die... Mmph!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Den pressed the dagger against Charlotte¡¯s throat in annoyance and forced her not to speak. When the sharp de pressed against her delicate skin, a crimson line of blood immediately emerged. ¡°Are you going to jump or not? I¡¯ll kill her now if you don¡¯t jump!¡± Lucas¡¯s pupils constricted as a terrifying cold glint appeared in his eyes! But he didn¡¯t ignore the fact that Den implied that someone had said something to him. It wasn¡¯t the time to think about it now because this lunatic was still holding Charlotte hostage. Her life was in danger, and she could die at any moment. Lucas looked into Den¡¯s eyes and eximed coldly, ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll jump, but you must let her go first!¡± Denughed out loud hysterically. ¡°Haha, do you take me for a fool? If I let this bitch off, will you still jump?¡± ¡°Well then, how am I supposed to believe that you will let her go after I jump?¡± Lucas had already walked to a spot near Den and was stillposed. Den barked arrogantly, ¡°Hmph, you don¡¯t have a choice! If you die, I may let her go if I¡¯m happy. But if you don¡¯t jump now, I¡¯ll kill her immediately!¡± He once again waved the dagger in his hand and enjoyed the wonderful feeling of being in control of someone else¡¯s life. Lucas looked deep into Charlotte¡¯s eyes and walked toward the edge of the roof. He said lightly, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll keep to your word.¡± Then he jumped right off the roof! Chapter 259: Interrogate Him Properly

Chapter 259: Interrogate Him Properly

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Charlotte watched as Lucas vanished from the edge of the roof and screamed at the top of her lungs uncontrobly, ¡°Lucas!¡± Two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks, and she started bawling loudly, feeling as if her heart was being stabbed by daggers. In contrast, Denughed out loud in great excitement. ¡°Hahaha! What a dimwit. I managed to kill him so easily! I¡¯m going to get rich again soon. Hahaha!¡± The special police officers on the rooftop of the building couldn¡¯t stop Lucas in time and could only watch as he jumped off the building. They all shouted in horror and regret. At the same time, the crowd of onlookers on the ground also shrieked loudly in amazement. When Den heard themotion at the bottom of the building, he guffawed hysterically with great smugness. Then he grabbed Charlotte by the cor and looked at the ground to admire the scene of Lucas¡¯s badly mangled flesh after he fell off the building. Suddenly, there was a major change! A pair of hands suddenly reached over from the edge of the roof and mped down firmly on Den¡¯s ankle! Den was standing on the edge of the parapet and was caught off guard when the pair of hands dragged him off the roof with great force! He screamed in horror, and his face immediately turned pale. But the moment he fell off the building, he grabbed Charlotte and dragged her down with him! ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Oh my god! Both of them fell off the building!¡± ¡°Ahhh, this is terrible!¡± The reporters and onlookers below immediately shrieked and turned pale in horror. Countless eyes and cameras focused on the rooftop. When Charlotte was dragged off the roof by Den, she didn¡¯t feel any fear of death and was instead full of regret and misery. I caused Lucas to die... If he hadn¡¯t tried to save me, he wouldn¡¯t have had to jump to his death! If she had known earlier, she would have dragged Den and jumped off the building before Lucas did so that he wouldn¡¯t have had to sacrifice his life for nothing! It¡¯s good that I¡¯m dying now. At least Lucas won¡¯t be dying alone... Charlotte shut her eyes tightly, and two teardrops trickled down her cheeks and into the air. Just when Charlotte was ready to die, her weightless body was suddenly caught by a strong arm! Charlotte opened her eyes abruptly, only to see a familiar, smiling face. ¡°Lucas...¡± Charlotte looked at his face in shock, and for a moment, she couldn¡¯t tell if she was hallucinating or not. Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Don¡¯t space out. Hurry and get up!¡± Immediately afterward, Charlotte felt a force on her waist as the strong arm thrust her body upward and threw her into a window. Only when her hands and feet touched the cold, solid marble floor did she finally realize that she was still alive! Lucas didn¡¯t die either! Moreover, he had once again saved her! She raised her head to look at the window near her and saw that Lucas was hanging off the window with his knee bent and his calf inside. His body was still hanging outside the window! ¡°Waaa!¡± Charlotte yelled in terror. Lucas was in an extremely dangerous position, as he was leveraging only on his calf to remain hanging on the window. The slightest carelessness would cause him to slip and fall! She hurriedly dashed over to pull him up from the window. But his calf moved slightly, and using the strength of his waist, his entire body flipped over from outside the window and then leaped in from the windowsill. Seeing Lucas finally safe, Charlotte burst into tears of joy, and she suddenly hugged him while wailing. ¡°Lucas... You scared me! I really thought you were dead just now! Uwu! I¡¯m so scared!¡± At this moment, Charlotte was no longer the deputy general manager who often did a good job managing thepany. Instead, she was sobbing and wailing like a child. Lucas was caught betweenughter and tears. He patted Charlotte¡¯s shoulderfortingly and said softly, ¡°It¡¯s alright. We¡¯re safe now. You don¡¯t have to be scared anymore.¡± As Lucasforted her, Charlotte gradually felt more relieved. But at this moment, she finally realized that she was hugging Lucas tightly. She was so frightened that she hurriedly let go and looked up at Lucas with tears in her eyes. Bang! Someone suddenly mmed the door open from outside, and several special police officers hurriedly sprinted in. They immediately saw Lucas and Charlotte standing near the window and finally heaved a long sigh of relief. ¡°Great! Both of you are fine!¡± When they saw Lucas, Den, and Charlotte falling off the roof just now, they were terrified! Fortunately, the other special police officers waiting downstairs conveyed the news in time and informed them that Lucas didn¡¯t jump down but had instead hung off the window of the floor below roof in an extremely dangerous position. He had even waited for the opportunity to pull Den down and save Charlotte. The leader of the special police officers looked at Lucas with self-reproach while feeling thankful that they had survived the ordeal. He said solemnly with excitement, ¡°Sir, you mustn¡¯t do such a dangerous thing again in the future! What would have happened if something went wrong?¡± Lucas smiled faintly and ignored him. Instead, he raised his hand that he had stretched out of the window. ¡°I think you guys have to pay attention to this person.¡± He was grabbing tightly onto a fancy spotted tie coiled around Den¡¯s neck! Charlotte and the special police officers were dumbstruck. It turned out that Lucas had not only grabbed Charlotte by the waist and threw her into the room but had also caught Den while doing so! But Den had already turned pale with his eyes rolled back into his head because his weight was being suspended on the tie. He was about to suffocate to death. Upon seeing this, the special police officers rushed forward, grabbed Den over from Lucas¡¯s hand, and pulled off the necktie coiled tightly around his neck. Den desperately gasped for air, and the paleness of his face gradually faded. But he hadn¡¯t returned to his senses yet and was still in a daze. ¡°I think you have to interrogate this person properly,¡± Lucas said coldly while looking expressionlessly at the rescued Den. Chapter 260: Unwind and Relax

Chapter 260: Unwind and Rx

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Lucas could have chosen not to catch Den and let him fall to his death just now, as he ought to reap what he sowed. But the words Den said earlier made Lucas suspect that someone was instigating him. So Lucas caught him and allowed him to stay alive to interrogate him and find out more from him. But the matter of Den taking Charlotte hostage and trying to jump off the building with her had rmed almost all the police systems in Orange County. Many reporters had also hurried over with their cameras and equipment to get the firsthand news scoop. In such a situation, Lucas naturally couldn¡¯t interrogate Den personally. He simply handed Den over to the special police officers for them to investigate. The chief special police officer nodded and instructed his subordinates to send Den to the hospital. After Den came to, they would bring him in for interrogation immediately. Of course, as the parties involved in the incident, Lucas and Charlotte had to make a mandatory trip to the police station. ¡°Sorry. Although you two are the victims, you need to cooperate ande with us to the police station to have your statements taken ording to standard procedure.¡± Charlotte had just had a hair-raising experience consisting of a series of frights and falling off the building. After finally being safe, her calves were trembling slightly. Lucas looked at her and was about to refuse when Charlotte held onto his hand and said firmly, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go with you now.¡± Soon, the two of them were taken to the police station, where they were asked numerous questions, such as how they met the suspect, Den Adams, whether there was any conflict between them, and so on. There was nothing to hide regarding these things because they had already clearly exined everything. But while the police officers were questioning Lucas, the chief special police officer was especially curious about how Lucas had the guts and the shocking reflexes to do what he did. Lucas merely said calmly, ¡°I used to be in the military.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything else afterward. The chief officer admired Lucas greatly and wanted to take him under his wing, but thetter turned him down without hesitation. The chief was so curious about Lucas that he waited until after Lucas left before searching the database to find Lucas¡¯s information and see how he had done in the military. But the result he got was that he didn¡¯t have permission to check Lucas¡¯s information at all! Only then did the special police officer understand that Lucas¡¯s background was probably much more terrifying than he had imagined. Of course, this was an afterword. After Lucas and Charlotte had their statements taken and left the police station, Charlotte¡¯s face had already returned to normal, and she seemed to be the same as usual. But he had identally touched her fingers, and only then did he realize that her fingers were terribly cold and mmy. Her pupils were full of fear and horror, but she suppressed it and deliberately pretended to be fine. In fact, Charlotte was only a young girl in her mid-twenties. She had never experienced such a thing before, and it was quite a remarkable feat that she could remain calm. Lucas sighed and suddenly said, ¡°Don¡¯t go back to workter. Is there anywhere you want to go? I¡¯ll apany you.¡± Charlotte raised her head in shock, and she forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I still have a lot of things to do at the office. I...¡± Lucas didn¡¯t wait for her to finish before interrupting, ¡°Regarding what happened earlier, there must be trouble in the office. Who knows how many reporters are waiting there? Just take it that I¡¯m giving you half a day off to adjust your mood.¡± Charlotte was stunned, and her eyes were gradually full of joy. She smiled sincerely. ¡°Okay! Since you¡¯ve given me a day off, I¡¯ll definitely have to go and rx! To be honest, you¡¯ve really given me a great shock. Having lived for so long, it¡¯s my first time encountering such a matter. It¡¯s really just... too crazy! It¡¯s unlucky enough to run into a lunatic like Den Adams once. I hope I never encounter such an unlucky thing again!¡± At this point, Charlotte finally returned to normal. At this moment, Charlotte¡¯s phone started ringing. She took it out to look at the caller ID before sticking her tongue out. She smiled and said, ¡°Oh dear, it¡¯s a call from Cheyenne. She must have already found out!¡± When she answered the call, Cheyenne¡¯s worried and anxious voice immediately filled her ears. ¡°Charlotte, are you alright? Are you hurt?¡± Cheyenne had just seen on the news that the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation had been held hostage by her former boyfriend, and he had tried to force her off the building. She was so frightened that she almost fainted. After seeing the news that Charlotte had been rescued, she hurriedly called her to ask about her situation. Charlotte quickly said, ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m alright now. It¡¯s all thanks to Lucasing to my rescue. That jerk has also been arrested by the police.¡± Only then did Cheyenne realize that Lucas was involved in this incident. After hearing that Lucas had once again saved Charlotte, she was so grateful that she didn¡¯t know how to put it into words. ¡°Thank you, Lucas! Thank you so much!¡± Cheyenne eximed. She meant these words from the bottom of her heart. Lucas was standing right next to Charlotte, so he naturally heard what Cheyenne said from the other end. He chuckled and said gently, ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me.¡± Charlotte giggled. ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t worry! You can cook us some delicious food tonight to help us recover from the shock! Oh, by the way, can I borrow Lucas for a stroll this afternoon?¡± Charlotte decided to inform Cheyenne. Otherwise, she would feel a strange sense of guilt. ¡°Of course there¡¯s no problem! I¡¯m too busy with work, so let Lucas apany you on a stroll to rx!¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t hesitate to agree. Charlotte had just had such a traumatic experience. If it wasn¡¯t because she had long made an appointment with two extremely important guests and couldn¡¯t leave for the time being, she would have definitely apanied Charlotte andforted her. After hearing that Lucas was going to apany Charlotte, Cheyenne felt much more relieved. After getting Cheyenne¡¯s approval, Charlotte no longer felt worried and said happily, ¡°Lucas, let¡¯s go ride roller coasters at the amusement park. There¡¯s also the Viking ship, drop tower, pendulum ride, and bungee jumping! Let¡¯s go to them all!¡± These were all thrill rides that would give an adrenaline boost. It seemed that Charlotte had been agitated by her near-death experience today and wanted to engage in heart-pounding activities to relieve some stress. It was indeed an unusual way to relieve stress, but it was exactly like something Charlotte would do. ¡°Okay, you call the shots.¡± Lucas smiled calmly and then apanied Charlotte for the thrill rides. While they were riding them, Charlotte screamed nervously at the top of her lungs andughed heartily. The horror within her gradually vanished in the sky above the amusement park. They continued to y until the sun nearly set, and Charlotte finally left the amusement park in high spirits together with Lucas. They were about to drive to kindergarten to pick Amelia up, but Lucas suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at a bush near them. ¡°Wait for me in the car. I left something behind. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Then Lucas walked toward the bush. There was a young man squatting behind the bush and holding a camera. When he saw Lucas walking toward him, he hurriedly turned around to run away. Crap, I¡¯ve been discovered! Chapter 261: The Person Who Sneakily Took Photos

Chapter 261: The Person Who Sneakily Took Photos

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The young man, who seemed to be a famous paparazzi in the county, scurried away quickly. But after covering only a short distance, he discovered that a tall and phantom-like figure had appeared in front of him to block him from leaving. ¡°Still trying to run, huh?¡± The young man was bbergasted because the person in front of him was the same person he had been secretly snapping photos of! A few seconds ago, this person was clearly more than ten meters behind him, yet he was standing in front of him in the blink of an eye. How did he do it?! Having been discovered and even stopped by the person he was secretly snapping photos of, the young man got a little nervous and gritted his teeth. He then barked in a menacing voice, ¡°Why are you stopping me? Get lost!¡± Lucas sneered and pointed at the camera the young man was holding. He asked indifferently, ¡°You¡¯ve been tailing me all afternoon, so you must have taken a lot of pictures, right? Did you think no one could discover you when you¡¯re so clumsy?¡± Knowing that he had done something wrong, the young man gripped onto his camera tightly and argued, ¡°What nonsense are you saying? Who tailed you and sneakily took pictures of you? I was just taking pictures of the scenery in the amusement park! There¡¯s no rule against taking pictures here. You¡¯re poking your nose too far into someone else¡¯s business!¡± ¡°Is that so? Let me see your camera then.¡± Lucas reached out to grab the camera in the young man¡¯s hand. While trying to hide the camera behind him, the young man yelled loudly, ¡°Damn it! Are you trying to rob me in broad daylight?¡± Many tourists nearby, who were unaware of the truth, immediately looked over. The young man was hoping to attract the attention of the passersby by yelling loudly and get them toe over so that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to snatch the camera from him. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to ignore his yelling. Besides, as an ordinary person, he obviously couldn¡¯t stop Lucas, who had excellent reflexes. The next second, Lucas had already gotten hold of the camera. ¡°Hurry up and give it back to me! Or else I¡¯ll call the police!¡± With a look of horror and panic, the young man whipped out his phone and threatened Lucas. ¡°Go ahead and call the police, as long as you¡¯re not afraid of being arrested yourself,¡± Lucas was not scared at all, and his indifferent words immediately made the young man freeze on the spot. The young man clearly knew what he had done. If the police got involved, he would be the one in trouble! Soon, Lucas opened the man¡¯s camera and saw the pictures he had secretly snapped. In almost every picture, Lucas and Charlotte were photographed on the various rides of the amusement park, with Charlotte looking up at Lucas gleefully most of the time. There were also many photos of them walking side by side. There were at least 200 photos in the camera, all of which were taken soon after they entered the amusement park until they were about to leave just now. Apart from some blurry and out-of-focus shots, the angles they were photographed from were just right. If an outsider didn¡¯t know how they were rted and saw these photos, they would definitely think that he and Charlotte were a couple in love. ¡°That¡¯s mine. Quickly return it to me!¡± the young man hollered butcked confidence. The gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes was icy cold, and a mere nce from him caused the young man to shudder in fear and not dare to continue speaking. He had spent the entire afternoon secretly taking photos of Lucas, who had been kind and gentlemanly toward Charlotte. But after the brief eye contact made with Lucas, the young man was overwhelmed with immense fear as he felt as if he was facing a terrifying and menacing beast! The young man realized that he had very likely provoked a big shot he couldn¡¯t afford to offend! But since he had already done so, it was toote to regret it! ¡°Tell me who sent you toe take photos of us secretly?¡± Lucas asked indifferently while tossing the camera up and down in his hand twice. ¡°No one! I-I¡¯m a photographer, and I was just taking some random photos of the amusement park! Quick, return the camera to me!¡± The young man refused to admit he had been taking photos of Lucas without permission. Lucas sneered, pulled out the camera¡¯s memory card, and crushed it into pieces in front of the young man. ¡°Ah! My memory card!¡± The young man immediately shrieked and wailed. The memory card being destroyed meant that the hundreds of photos stored inside were all gone! The photos he had taken after painstakingly spending most of the day finding the best angles to shoot from while hiding in trees and bushes were all gone! ¡°Compensate me for it! Compensate me!¡± The young man flew into a rage and charged toward Lucas while waving his fists to try and punch him. But an ordinary person like him, who had never trained in martial arts before, was just like a weak chicken in front of Lucas. Lucas turned around to dodge and kicked him at the bend of his legs. He barely applied any force, but he managed to send the young man flying far and falling hard onto the ground. ¡°You... you snatched my camera and even attacked me! I must call the police to arrest you!¡± Since the memory card had been ruined, and all the photographic evidence was destroyed, the young man had nothing to worry about anymore. While lying on the ground, he started cursing loudly. Lucas sneered and walked over. Standing in front of the young man and looking down at him from above, he demanded, ¡°Drop the pretense. Speak up. Who instigated you to take photos of us without permission? If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll make sure you can never be a photographer again!¡± He raised a foot and stepped on the young man¡¯s right wrist. As long as he applied a little more force, his wrist would be crushed, and he would never be able to hold a camera again. At first, the young man thought that Lucas was just boasting and trying to scare him, so he continued to curse while lying on the ground. Only when Lucas stepped harder on his wrist did he feel the sharp pain that made him feel overwhelmed with fear. This person in front of him might really cripple his right hand! At the thought of this, the young man broke out in cold sweat while his face turned pale. Without consideration for anything else, he frantically yelled, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you! I¡¯ll tell you! Shortly after I had lunch, someone found the contact number of my photography studio and asked me to help take pictures of his wife and his wife¡¯s adulterous lover. He imed that he wanted to collect evidence to sue you two for adultery! He gave me three thousand dors and even promised to give me another fifteen thousand once he got the photos! That¡¯s all I know!¡± Fearing that Lucas would really crush his wrist in a fit of anger, the young man spilled the beans and came clean about everything in a single breath. When Lucas heard the words ¡®wife¡¯ and ¡®adultery¡¯, his face became even more gloomy. He continued to probe, ¡°Who¡¯s the person who looked for you?¡± On the brink of tears, the young man said, ¡°I have no idea. He sent me a text message and was very quick to transfer the deposit of three thousand, so I trusted that he would fulfill his promise and came here to take photos of you two. As for the rest, I really have no idea!¡± Afraid that Lucas wouldn¡¯t believe him, the young man hurriedly pulled out his phone and showed Lucas the chat history and transfer record. ¡°Look, I¡¯m telling the truth. I¡¯m not lying to you!¡± the young man eximed pitifully. Lucas noted down the number of the person who had sent the young man the message and finally moved his foot away from thetter¡¯s wrist while dumping his camera onto the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll let you off this time. But if you dare to do something like this again, the consequences will be heavier than this.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t dare to! I won¡¯t dare to do it again! Thank you, sir!¡± The young man hurriedly picked up the camera and scrambled away in a panic as if he had received a pardon. Meanwhile, Lucas took out his phone and called someone. After informing the person of the phone number, he said, ¡°Find out who owns this number!¡± Chapter 262: Another Scuffle

Chapter 262: Another Scuffle

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Lucas already had an idea about who the mastermind was, but he just needed some evidence to prove it. Ever since he had returned to Orange County and took over the Stardust Corporation, there had secretly been a lot of unrest. In particr, after Flynn had appointed Charlotte as the deputy general manager, Oliver Harvey, the director of the sales department at the time, stood out and vehemently opposed it. He even produced arge stack of digitally-doctored photos that implied an illicit affair between Charlotte and Flynn. After the conspiracy was uncovered, Flynn fired Harvey from thepany, and Harveymitted suicide by jumping off the building. Arge number of media outlets quickly caught up to cover as much information as possible. They even misled the audience and caused the Stardust Corporation to face a major controversy and be the target of public criticism for a long time. Even until now, it still wasn¡¯t peaceful. Lucaster found out that the person who secretly instigated or threatened Harvey into taking his own life was Dave Lewis, who worked for the Huttons. Shortly after Lucas found him, he died of a heart attack in his own home. Although the trail of clues had been broken, Lucas was certain that the mastermind must be someone from the Huttons. Later on, the Stardust Corporation became independent of the Huttons, and word about it gradually spread. Thus, many families in Orange County thought that the Stardust Corporation had been abandoned by the Huttons and was no longer as powerful as before. This resulted in plenty of trouble. Coupled with today¡¯s incident of Den going to the Stardust Corporation to hold Charlotte hostage and threatening to jump to his death, Lucas was sure that someone had instigated him. It was also very likely that the Huttons were the mastermind. The matter of the paparazzi taking photos without permission could also be part of the n. They only had two agendas for doing so. One was to kill Lucas, and the other was to destroy the Stardust Corporation. Lucas was well aware of this. He didn¡¯t intend to go back to the Huttons, but some of the Huttons were extremely wary of him, and they tried all sorts of methods to suppress him and even get him killed. Lucas didn¡¯t care, nor was he afraid of those who were trying to kill him, be it in private or public. But the Stardust Corporation was the only thing that his mother had left behind for him, so no matter what, he wouldn¡¯t tolerate them touching the Stardust Corporation! With a sharp and cold gaze in his eyes, Lucas raised his head and looked distantly in the direction of the DC. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t care who you really are. As long as you dare to reach your hand here, I don¡¯t mind chopping it off!¡± When Lucas reached the amusement park entrance, he saw Charlotte waiting here for him worriedly. ¡°Lucas, what did you lose? Did you find it?¡± she asked curiously. Lucas took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and said with a faint smile, ¡°I identally lost my keys. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t drop them too far away.¡± Charlotte grinned and teased, ¡°I thought that you were invincible. It turns out there are times when you¡¯re careless and end up losing your keys too! Haha!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t bother to exin. He merely nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, so you can¡¯t be careless like me. Okay, it¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s go pick up Amelia and go home!¡± Charlotte nodded happily. Soon, the two of them got into Lucas¡¯s Jaguar and sped off toward Amelia¡¯s kindergarten. ... At this moment, in a luxurious vi of the Huttons far away in DC... A young man in his twenties was reclining on a soft leather sofa with a sullen expression. There was a man in his thirties wearing a suit standing in front of him with his head hung low. The man was standing quietly with great respect, not even daring to raise his hand to wipe the cold sweat covering his forehead. ¡°So, your ns have failed?¡± the young man asked slowly without any emotion in his voice. The man in the suit immediately got down on both knees and pleaded, ¡°Mr. Leighton, I failed to get the task done well. I¡¯m ipetent! We initially found a perfect candidate, and we told him to force Lucas to jump to his death. But to our surprise, he merely pretended to jump. He even caught the person we instigated. I didn¡¯t want to risk having that person spout any nonsense about this, so I¡¯ve sent someone to get rid of him. We definitely won¡¯t be implicated! ¡°However, I¡¯ve indeed failed toplete the task well. Please punish me, Mr. Leighton!¡± The man in the suit pressed his forehead against the carpet. Edward Leighton nced at him uninterestedly. ¡°What¡¯s the point of reprimanding you and punishing you at this point? You¡¯d better think of another solution to get rid of that person.¡± Seeing that Edward didn¡¯t hold it against him, the man in the suit breathed a long sigh of relief. He then raised his head from the ground and said, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not that difficult to get rid of Lucas Gray. I¡¯ll send a few of my elite assassins. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to kill him without anyone realizing!¡± Edward snorted coldly in disdain. ¡°Dimwit! If it was that easy, why would I need you to think of a solution? Sending hitmen to assassinate him is too straightforward and crude. Grandpa will definitely find out. When he does, neither you nor I will be able to get away scot-free! ¡°Besides, it¡¯d be too easy for him if we just let him die like that! Doesn¡¯t the Stardust Corporation mean the world to him because he thinks it¡¯s something precious his mother left behind for him? In that case, I¡¯m going to destroy it bit by bit so that he can watch it get destroyed while being unable to do anything about it!¡± There was a cold gaze of resentment and viciousness in Edward¡¯s eyes. The man in the suit shuddered and hurriedly said with his head hung low, ¡°Yes, Mr. Leighton, I understand! I will definitely adhere to your orders and think of a way to destroy the Stardust Corporation!¡± Edward finally nced at the man in the suit and said with a faint smile on his face, ¡°That¡¯s what you said yourself. Within a month, I want the Stardust Corporation to bepletely destroyed! Otherwise, there¡¯s no need for you to continue living in this world.¡± The man in the suit shivered violently. Kneeling on one knee, he answered loudly, ¡°Yes!¡± ... Orange County... Soon after Lucas arrived at the kindergarten with Charlotte and picked Amelia up, he received a call from Jordan. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve checked up on that phone number you gave me. It belongs to an unregistered SIM card that can be bought off the market. The identity bound to it doesn¡¯t serve any purpose. We¡¯ve also tracked the positioning ording to thework information, and it shows that the user threw the phone into a garbage bin. For the time being, there¡¯s no other useful information. It was clearly premeditated.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± In fact, the oue was within Lucas¡¯s expectations. Since the other party was so conscientious that he had concealed his identity and even chose to contact the photography studio via text message, he definitely did so because he didn¡¯t want to leave any clues. ¡°One more thing. Den Adams regained consciousness in the hospital, but he suddenly went berserk before the police could interrogate him. He then jumped out of the window of the hospital ward and has already... fallen to his death. ¡°After that, the police and forensic pathologists recovered a tiny metal monitoring device from his left ear canal. The police are still investigating to find out if he heard any instructions through that device before his death.¡± Chapter 263: Please Come With Us

Chapter 263: Please Come With Us

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas frowned. He didn¡¯t expect Den to die despite being in police custody. But there were definitely potential loopholes everywhere. If it was really the doing of the force that Lucas guessed, the police would likely be defenseless and unable to guard against their actions. But Den¡¯s death was not in vain. At the very least, Lucas was now certain that the mastermind who instigated Den was more likely than not one of the Huttons or someone under them. Otherwise, Den wouldn¡¯t have died so easily. ¡°Okay, I know.¡± Lucas was about to hang up the phone when he noticed in the rearview mirror that there were several inconspicuous cars tailing his car. Their intentions were unclear, but he knew that they had to be up to no good. He frowned. They¡¯re really everywhere. How annoying! He wondered who sent these people to tail him. They actually waited at his daughter¡¯s kindergarten and subsequently shadowed him. It was obviously a provocation! With a trace of murderous intent in his eyes, Lucas hung up the phone and quickly made another call. ¡°Come to Amelia¡¯s kindergarten immediately!¡± Lucas parked his car by the roadside and acutely discovered that the few cars tailing behind also pulled over nearby. He sneered. Shortly after, the tall and brawny Wade appeared in front of Lucas. Charlotte, who was holding Amelia in her arms and chatting with her in the backseat, was stunned to see Wade. As soon as Wade saw Lucas and Charlotte, he lowered his head and sincerely apologized, ¡°Sorry, Mr. Gray. I failed to protect Miss Charlotte in the afternoon and ended up causing her to be frightened. Please punish me!¡± Lucas had specially sent him to protect Charlotte. But in the end, Charlotte was held hostage by the deranged Den, who even forcefully brought her to the roof of the Stardust Corporation office building, where she almost fell to her death. Wade wasden with guilt and self-reproach. Lucas knew that although he had ordered Wade to protect Charlotte secretly, Wade would generally only protect her when she was at the office or at home. He naturally couldn¡¯t follow her and stay by her side 24 hours a day. Lucas shook his head. ¡°What happened today has nothing to do with you. But from now on, you must be more cautious and protect her as well as you can. Otherwise, there¡¯s no need for me to keep you around.¡± Lucas¡¯s words were not too stern or harsh, but they made Wade¡¯s heart skip a beat. It was obvious what Lucas meant¡ªif Wade couldn¡¯t do his job well as a bodyguard, Lucas would no longer need him, and he would have no choice but to leave. That was something that Wade could never tolerate! ¡°Mr. Gray, I promise that I will do my best to protect Miss Charlotte as much as I can. What happened today will not ur again in the future!¡± Wade hurriedly guaranteed. Lucas merely chided Wade a little and didn¡¯t intend to punish him. Seeing that he was much more conscientious now, he nodded. ¡°I still have some things to take care of now. Take both of them home.¡± Since Lucas discovered that someone was following him, he nned to let Charlotte drive home together with Amelia. But he was worried that someone would harm them. Charlotte was a vulnerable girl while Amelia was a five-year-old child. In case something terrible really happened to them, Lucas would definitely regret it! So he called Wade over and asked him to send them home. This was how meticulous and cautious Lucas was. Charlotte also sensed that something was amiss and asked worriedly, ¡°Lucas, have you encountered trouble? Should we call the police?¡± Amelia was also influenced by Charlotte¡¯s nervousness, and she stared at Lucas with worry in herrge eyes. ¡°Daddy...¡± Lucas stroked Amelia¡¯s soft hair and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m alright. I just have a few things to take care of at the office. Be good and stay in the car with Aunt Charlotte. This muscr uncle will take you home.¡± He turned to say to Charlottefortingly, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I just happen to have some things to handle. I¡¯d feel more at ease with Wade sending you home.¡± Charlotte finally felt relieved. Holding Amelia in her arms, she said, ¡°Okay, be careful ande home early!¡± ¡°Yeah, got it.¡± Lucas opened the car door and got out. After watching Wade get into the driver¡¯s seat and drive the ck Jaguar far away, he finally looked away and walked toward the few small cars parked closely behind him. The people in the cars seemed to be waiting for Lucas. When they saw him approaching, they immediately opened the car doors and got out to surround Lucas. There were more than ten of them, and they were rather burly. They were obviously extraordinary bodyguards, especially since they were sorge and muscr. Lucas raised his eyebrows and asked nonchntly, ¡°Who sent you?¡± The bald bodyguard, who was their leader, nced at Lucas in surprise. In his opinion, the vast majority of people would panic and look nervous when suddenly surrounded by more than ten burly men. Yey Lucas remainedposed and didn¡¯t show the slightest trace of fear. The bald bodyguard stopped being as contemptuous as he was when he first saw how lean Lucas was. ¡°Mr. Gray, pleasee with us, and you will naturally find out who the person who sent us is.¡± He extended his arm and pointed at a Volkswagen Passat with a door opened, gesturing for Lucas to get inside. After taking a nce at him, Lucas stepped foot into the Passat without saying a word or showing too much emotion. His actions were so natural that he was like their boss. The bald bodyguard¡¯s cheeks twitched a little. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of admiration for Lucas¡¯s ability to stay cool and collected. About half an hourter, the car pulled over at a clubhouse called Snowke Entertainment. The bodyguards asked Lucas to get out and then surrounded him again before taking him to the entrance of one of the most luxurious private rooms on the top floor. ¡°Boss, Mr. Lucas Gray is here,¡± the bald bodyguard reported from the doorway. ¡°Let him in!¡± A familiar voice came from inside the private room. Lucas raised his eyebrows. He could recognize the voice. It belonged to Preston Taylor, the most sessful descendant of the Taylors and the one most likely to seed as the next helmsman of the family. He was also the former owner of the Ocean Bathhouse. Lucas had just met him this morning and extorted apensation of three million dors from him. Lucas was waiting for the Taylors toe looking for him, but he didn¡¯t expect Preston to be so impatient as to resort to such a method to ¡®invite¡¯ him over. Watching Lucas step into the private room, Preston, who was sitting on the innermost couch, snorted coldly with a fake smile. ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯ve finally invited you to my turf.¡± Preston deliberately emphasized the word ¡®turf¡¯ because he wanted to p back at Lucas for saying that the Ocean Bathhouse was his turf in the morning and forcing him topensate him. ¡°In that case, are you trying to take revenge on me now, Mr. Taylor?¡± While speaking, Lucas didn¡¯t show the slightest bit of fear at all. He sat down on a random couch across from Preston. Chapter 264: Return It to the Taylors

Chapter 264: Return It to the Taylors

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Preston saw how bold and fearless Lucas was, his facial muscles twitched a little as he gritted his teeth with great resentment and viciousness in his eyes. With a hypocritical grin, he said, ¡°Hehe, why would I do that? Since I invited you here, I naturally have something to discuss with you.¡± He thought he had hidden his intentions well. But being a sharp and shrewd person, Lucas had long seen through Preston. ¡°Mr. Taylor, don¡¯t beat around the bush with me. If you have anything to say, just say it.¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to exchange hypocritical pleasantries with him. He simply leaned against the couch and got straight to the point. Seeing Lucas taking the lead in the conversation, Preston was displeased, and his face immediately turned dark. He waved his hand, and the few scantily d beauties sitting beside him immediately walked out of the room. Soon, only Lucas, Preston, and a burly man who followed Preston wherever he went were the only ones left in therge private room. Lucas nced at the burly man and found that his muscles were bulging from underneath his clothes. He was brawny, the skin above his joints was all covered in calluses, and his temples were also slightly bulging. He was obviously a powerful elite personal bodyguard of Preston¡¯s. But he was powerful only inparison to ordinary people. In Lucas¡¯s opinion, this bodyguard was mediocre and far inferior to Stanley Ray, so he quickly looked away uninterestedly. ¡°Lucas Gray, I asked you about your background in the Ocean Bathhouse this morning, but you refused to tell me. However, we¡¯re in a modern society now, and it¡¯s a piece of cake for me to find out who you are! ¡°Six years ago, you were just a poor college student who got embroiled in a scandal with Cheyenne Carter, and subsequently, you became a live-in son-inw of the Carters. But you soon went missing to go join the military for six years. You were discharged only recently, and then you returned to Orange County, am I right?¡± Preston stared at Lucas austerely as he spoke. At the same time, he was also closely observing Lucas¡¯s expression to try and find some traces of panic or nervousness. But he was disappointed because Lucas merely remained sitting without even frowning, as if Preston was talking about an irrelevant person. ¡°Hmph, I also discovered that you¡¯re one of the Huttons, so you should have been named Lucas Hutton. Unfortunately, you and your mother were both kicked out, and you can¡¯t even keep your family name! I¡¯m right about that, aren¡¯t I?¡± There was a gloating gaze in Preston¡¯s eyes. Logically speaking, it was unlikely for the Taylors to have found out about the family affairs of the Huttons and the incident that happened more than two decades ago. But it could be that the Huttons also utterly detested Lucas and thus told the person who the Taylors sent to scout for information everything about Lucas. Initially, Preston was astonished after hearing that Lucas was a descendant of the Huttons while also feeling a little scared. After all, the Huttons were one of the eight top families in DC, and they owned businesses in various industries all over the country. They could really be considered a whale. If he confronted Hutton, Preston wouldn¡¯t be the only one in trouble, as he would implicate the rest of the Taylors too. But Preston soon learned that Lucas, this so-called member of the Huttons, wasn¡¯t even considered one of them. He not only wouldn¡¯t be able to get any help from the Huttons, but he had even ended up offending many of them. He was really considered an abandoned member of the Huttons who had no support or backer! If Preston could go against Lucas and suppress him, he might be able to win the favor of the Huttons, and it was even possible for him to build connections with the aloof Huttons! When Preston thought of this, there was even more smugness on his face. Lucas naturally knew that Preston must have had some help and encouragement from some people since he could find out so much about him. But Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid at all. There was no need to let someone like Preston know about the truth and whether or not he had been abandoned. Lucas felt that he would just keep it to himself. ¡°Did you investigate my background and identity just to show off your subordinates¡¯ great potential for bing paparazzi?¡± Lucas mocked indifferently. Preston choked in exasperation and sneered. ¡°Hmph, Lucas Gray, stop trying to y tricks by being a slick talker to me! Who are you to go against the Taylors? Listen up. I¡¯m not a bumpkin like Joe who hasn¡¯t seen much of the world. I won¡¯t be intimidated by your scaremongering words!¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? What do you want then?¡± Lucas asked indifferently, seemingly not giving a hoot about Preston¡¯s threats. Preston felt like his attempts to intimidate Lucas failed every single time, and he felt no sense of aplishment at all. Instead, he ended up being furious. Lucas Gray is atrocious! He¡¯s just a punk who got kicked out of the Huttons when he was a child. Without no family backing him, how can he still be arrogant in front of the Taylors? Preston mmed his hand hard on the coffee table while hollering viciously, ¡°Hmph, Lucas Gray, since you don¡¯t know any better, I won¡¯t waste my breath on you. At the end of the day, the Ocean Bathhouse is a property of the Taylors. Calvin Pearce was just the owner-in-name. He doesn¡¯t have the right to sell the bathhouse at all! So if you¡¯re smart enough, give the Ocean Bathhouse back to me, and I can pretend that nothing has happened!¡± As if to y along with Preston, the burly bodyguard took a step forward to approach Lucas while trying to appear as intimidating as possible. Lucas smirked and stood up rxedly. He then picked up a dice from the table, fiddled with it in his hand, and said with a faint smile, ¡°In that case, are you thinking of snatching the Ocean Bathhouse away from me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not snatching it. I want you to return it to me!¡± Preston hollered smugly with great righteousness as he leaned against the couch. The situation now was different from the morning. Lucas was now on the turf of Preston, who also had an extremely powerful bodyguard by his side. There were at least dozens of other henchmen outside, so Preston was confident that Lucas wouldn¡¯t turn him down! ¡°I see.¡± Lucas smiled faintly and suddenly flicked the dice that he was fiddling with. Whoosh! The dice suddenly emitted a loud sound as it shuttled through the air. It then struck the spot on the wall beside Preston¡¯s head with a loud bang. ¡°Waah!¡± Preston was so frightened that he shuddered, shrieked in horror, and sprang up from the couch. The bodyguard beside him also shielded him as if they were facing a great enemy. The two of them stared at the spot in the wall, dumbfounded. They saw that a huge hole had formed on the wall above the couch where Preston had sat, which was originally covered in beautiful wallpaper. There were also several cracks in the hard concrete wall around the hole, which spread all over the wall! There was an extremely ordinary dice embedded in the center of that deep hole in the wall! ¡°Mr. Taylor, what did you just say? I didn¡¯t get to hear you clearly,¡± Lucas said indifferently as he leaned back on the couch with a smile. Chapter 265: Small Request

Chapter 265: Small Request

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Preston¡¯s face was naturally extremely gloomy at this point. Lucas was clearly trying to intimidate him! It was just an ordinary dice, but the power that emerged from Lucas¡¯s hand when he threw it was not inferior to the power contained in a bullet shot from a gun! Besides, the dice Lucas shot hadnded near Preston¡¯s head. If Lucas had intended to kill Preston, he would have probably been shot in the head by now! At the thought of this, Preston felt his entire body¡¯s hair stand on end, and cold sweat rapidly seeped out of his pores, making him chilly all over. And Preston¡¯s elite bodyguard was also overwhelmed with shock. As a bodyguard, he should protect his employer¡¯s safety in any emergency situation. But the speed of the dice Lucas shot out just now was so quick that it wasn¡¯t visible to the naked eye. In fact, he only figured out what happened after hearing the terse and sharp sound of the dice shuttling through the air, followed by the loud bang. He couldn¡¯t even react in time, let alone protect his employer, Preston, from the dice full of thunderous power that had traveled at lightning speed. The elite bodyguard subconsciously touched the bulge on his waist, where there was clearly a hidden weapon. Lucas guessed that it was probably a pistol, and as soon as Preston gave the order, he would immediately pull it out and aim it at Lucas. But a pistol was just like a toy to Lucas. It didn¡¯t scare or deter him at all. So Lucas was still smiling calmly and sitting on the couch, as if he hadn¡¯t noticed the bodyguard¡¯s actions at all. ¡°Stand down!¡± Preston clenched his jaw and hollered loudly. Only then did his bodyguard put his hand down indignantly and retreated to stand behind Preston. Seeing the calm expression on Lucas¡¯s face, Preston forced himself to smile, and his attitude changed drastically. ¡°Mr. Gray, I forgot to mention something just now. I¡¯m not asking you to return the Ocean Bathhouse to me for free. Since you spent eight million dors to acquire it, I¡¯ll give you sixteen million now. I promise you won¡¯t suffer any losses. What do you say?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°Return to you? Mr. Taylor, you must have misunderstood! I bought the Ocean Bathhouse with cash, and all the legal procedures for the purchase have beenpleted. What do you mean ¡®return it to you¡¯?¡± Curbing his anger, Preston clenched his jaw. ¡°I shall rephrase my words. I¡¯ll buy the bathhouse back from you at twice the original sale price!¡± ¡°No.¡± Lucas shook his head without hesitation. ¡°Triple the price! I¡¯ll buy the bathhouse at three times what you paid!¡± Preston increased the offer. ¡°Lucas Gray, you purchased the Ocean Bathhouse from Calvin Pearce at only eight million, and within a day, you¡¯re going to earn sixteen million if you ept my offer. This isn¡¯t a deal thates by all the time!¡± In fact, Preston was anguished, as he felt the pinch of having to pay so much. He was in charge of the Ocean Bathhouse in the first ce, and the businesses run in the bathhouse, especially the one on the top floor, was indispensable for the Taylors. Yet Calvin had sold it to Lucas at a low price of eight million dors! The Ocean Bathhouse was extremely important for the Taylors, and even more so for Preston! If the old fogies of the family who had always been against him found out, they would definitely strip him of his position as the sessor! Therefore, Preston had to get the Ocean Bathhouse back before the rest of the Taylors found out! At first, he wanted to force Lucas to hand over the Ocean Bathhouse, but he was intimidated by the scene when Lucas shot the dice. So if he wanted to get the bathhouse back now, he would have to be resolute and buy it back with cash! As for the extra 16 million dors, he would have to fork it out of his own pocket. 16 million dors! The thought of giving away such arge amount of money to Lucas for nothing made Preston feel extremely devastated! But the 16 million dors that made Preston extremely upset was nothing to Lucas. Not to mention the immeasurable wealth that Lucas had, Tony Zander had recently given Lucas 24 million dors for nothing. So Lucas really didn¡¯t care for this 16 million dors. ¡°No. Even if you pay me five or ten times the price I paid, I won¡¯t sell it to you. I¡¯m sure you know better than me the exact value of the Ocean Bathhouse.¡± Lucas shook his head adamantly. Preston yed dumb and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a bathhouse. How much value can it have? The only reason I want it back is because it¡¯s the ce that built the Taylors¡¯ family fortune. Mr. Gray, if you¡¯re interested in such entertainment joints, how about I trade Snowke Entertainment for the Ocean Bathhouse? This deal will definitely guarantee you a profit!¡± Lucas sneered in derision. ¡°Mr. Taylor, let¡¯s be open and aboveboard. The Ocean Bathhouse is different from other entertainment joints, and we both know it. Otherwise, why would you be so insistent on getting it back?¡± When Preston heard this, his eyelids twitched. Actually, many members of the county¡¯s upper ss were aware of the business being run on the top floor of the Ocean Bathhouse. Otherwise, how did their clientelee about? But Preston didn¡¯t expect that Lucas, a person he thought was of insignificant status, would find out about it and even harp on it insistently. ¡°Lucas Gray, since you¡¯re already aware of it, you should know how important it is to the Taylors. I willy my cards on the table. What exactly do you want before you are willing to hand over the Ocean Bathhouse to me?¡± Preston red at Lucas. If he wasn¡¯t afraid of Lucas¡¯s impressive feat, he would have long told his bodyguard to kill Lucas! Lucas tilted his head and smiled. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not trying to be greedy and rip you off. To be honest, I only have a small request. As long as you agree, I can return the Ocean Bathhouse to you for free.¡± ¡°Do you mean it?¡± Preston was overjoyed, but he soon sensed that something was amiss. He reckoned that if it was a request that could make Lucas give up easily obtaining a profit of millions of dors, it mustn¡¯t be a simple one. ¡°What is your request? If you raise something that I can¡¯t fulfill or is far beyond my means, wouldn¡¯t that be a waste of breath?¡± Preston asked conscientiously. Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°I have a simple request, and it¡¯s definitely something that you can fulfill. I¡¯m very interested in the business that the Taylors are running on the top floor of the Ocean Bathhouse. As long as you help me rmend some business, I¡¯ll give the Ocean Bathhouse to you for free. How does that sound?¡± ¡°What?!¡± Preston never expected that to be Lucas¡¯s request! Chapter 266: Gunshot

Chapter 266: Gunshot

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No!¡± Preston refused resolutely. ¡°This isn¡¯t a small business. We¡¯ve monopolized it in Orange County! If I rmend some clients to you, won¡¯t I be giving the Taylors apetitor for no reason?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°I naturally won¡¯t run this business in Orange County and be yourpetitor.¡± After giving it some thought, Preston still didn¡¯t believe Lucas. ¡°Your roots are all in Orange County. Why should I believe that you would leave this county and go elsewhere to run this business.¡± Lucas shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s up to you to believe me or not. Mr. Taylor, please get your facts right. I¡¯m doing you a favor by asking you to rmend clients to me. Besides, I don¡¯t want to fall out with the Taylors either. To put it bluntly, the Ocean Bathhouse is in my hands now, and so are those beautiful women. Even if I take over the business directly now, what can you do to me?¡± Lucas¡¯s words made Preston¡¯s face turn gloomy again. But this was really what the current situation was like. Since that bastard Calvin had presumptuously sold the Ocean Bathhouse, Lucas was the dominant party. Since Preston wanted the bathhouse back, he would have to be led by the nose by Lucas. This made Preston furious. His face was unsightly and hostile. Lucas stood up and said casually, ¡°Think this over properly and give me a firm answer before ten tonight. Otherwise, I will change my mind tomorrow, and the Ocean Bathhouse will belong to me forever.¡± With that, he turned around and walked toward the door of the private room. ¡°Hold it!¡± Preston bellowed in exasperation. The bodyguard beside him immediately drew the pistol from his waist and aimed the muzzle at Lucas. Lucas turned around, nced at the bodyguard and the pistol he was holding, and then turned to look at Preston again. He sneered. ¡°Mr. Taylor, what do you mean by this?¡± ¡°Lucas Gray, surely you don¡¯t really think that I invited you here to negotiate the terms and let you bargain with me, do you? Don¡¯t forget. The ce where you are standing now is my turf!¡± Preston started behaving smugly as usual again and guffawed loudly. ¡°As the future sessor of the Taylors, what¡¯s going to be of my reputation if I get threatened by a punk like you? It would be a huge embarrassment and insult to the Taylors! ¡°Punk, I wanted to be kind and buy the Ocean Bathhouse back from you with cash in a fair and peaceful manner. But you¡¯re being too disrespectful to me! Who do you think you are? How dare you say you will give me a few hours to consider? Do you really think that I¡¯m afraid of you?¡± The resentment and anger that Preston had been curbing for a long time finally erupted, and he even felt that there was no need for him to be wary of Lucas and put up with his behavior previously. He decided to get his bodyguard to pull out his pistol and threaten Lucas to hand over the bathhouse. If Lucas refused toply, he would just have Lucas killed! Anyway, it wasn¡¯t like Preston hadn¡¯t killed anyone before! Lucas looked at Preston, who seemed to have gained confidence and was emboldened. ¡°Do you really think you can threaten me with a tiny pistol?¡± Preston narrowed his eyes and mocked contemptuously, ¡°Yeah! I have a pistol, so you are destined to die! I¡¯ve put up with you for a long time now. If you kneel down and apologize to me now, I will consider letting you leave this ce in one piece. Otherwise, hmph, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± As soon as Lucas said this, he suddenly vanished from the spot in front of Preston and his bodyguard! ¡°Where is he?¡± Preston blurted, and his eyes widened in astonishment. The bodyguard was shocked too. He had already aimed his gun at Lucas, yet Lucas vanished right on the spot without a trace! But the next instant, a massive force struck Preston¡¯s stomach! ¡°Argh!¡± Before Preston could even scream, he spat out a mouthful of bile! Preston¡¯s abdomen and internal organs seemed to have been shattered. He was in so much pain that he convulsed incessantly and curled up into a ball while hugging his abdomen. It took him a long time to wail loudly, ¡°Ahhh! It hurts!¡± The elite bodyguard was horrified, and he hurriedly aimed the muzzle of his pistol at Lucas and shot without hesitation. Bang! The bullet pierced through Lucas¡¯s head and struck the wall near the door. The bodyguard was just about to heave a sigh of relief when he found that Lucas, who should have copsed after being shot by the bullet, suddenly appeared in front of him. Lucas raised his hand and swiftly snatched away the pistol with immense strength that the bodyguard couldn¡¯t resist. Afterward, the bodyguard and Preston were horrified to find that the small but hard pistol looked just like a y toy in Lucas¡¯s hands. He pinched the barrel and grip into a bizarre figure 8, and the entire pistol seemed to have be a ball of scrap metal! Lucas actually managed to twist and distort the gun with his bare hands. This was simply beyond the imagination of Preston and his bodyguard! The bodyguard was shocked, and a wave of dread surged in his heart! I should have shot Lucas Gray in his head just now. How did he appear in front of me unscathed... No! He didn¡¯t manage to shoot Lucas at all. The bullet had merely pierced through Lucas¡¯s afterimage! The young man is incredibly fast! The bodyguard¡¯s eyes widened in horror, and he suddenly felt an astonishing chill in his heart. Bang! ¡°Mr. Taylor, are you alright?¡± The door of the private room suddenly opened violently from the outside, and more than ten burly bodyguards charged in. They were the same bodyguards who had brought Lucas here from the bathhouse. They had been guarding outside the room and charged in when they heard the sudden gunshot. Although they were sure that the person who fired was definitely Preston or his personal bodyguard, they decided to rush in after a moment of hesitation. The scene that appeared in front of them was very different from what they had imagined! They initially thought that since the person who shot was one of the Taylors, the person wounded or even dead from the gunshot had to be the young man they had brought over. But they never expected to see their employer, Preston, huddled up on the ground while clutching his stomach with cold sweat all over his forehead. He was in so much pain that he couldn¡¯t speak at all. Moreover, his personal bodyguard was standing still with a look of horror on his face, as if he had seen a ghost. Yet the young man was standing unscathed in the room with a ball of scrap metal in his hands and staring smilingly at the bodyguards who just entered. Chapter 267: Can’t Make Him Stay

Chapter 267: Can¡¯t Make Him Stay

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios W-what¡¯s going on? The ten-odd bodyguards who barged in red at Lucas like he was a great enemy. On the ground, Preston gritted his teeth resentfully as he struggled to raise his head to look at the bodyguards and ordered, ¡°Kill... kill him!¡± The punch Lucas threw at his abdomen left Preston in so much pain that he was on the verge of throwing up all the food he had eaten for the past few days. The slightest movement made him feel intense pain in his stomach. For the past few decades of his life, Preston had never been beaten up like this or suffered such a huge loss before! If Lucas could still leave Preston¡¯s turf under the siege of so many bodyguards, Preston would be thoroughly embarrassed! The ten-odd bodyguards and Preston¡¯s personal bodyguard acknowledged and immediately surrounded Lucas. Lucas smiled coldly and raised his leg to kick the bald bodyguard who rushed in front of him, sending him flying! ¡°Ah!¡± The bald bodyguard let out a miserable cry as his body was propelled upward before mming hard against the distant wall. He then bounced off the wall and crashed onto the ss coffee table. It was the same for the other bodyguards. Each of them got kicked in the chest and sent flying. In just a few seconds, all of them were lying motionlessly on the ground and clutching their chests while wincing in pain. They couldn¡¯t get up at all. Even Preston¡¯s personal bodyguard, whose proficiency inbat skills was better than ordinary bodyguards, was no match for Lucas at all. When facing Lucas, whose power was way above that of ordinary people, he couldn¡¯t take a blow from him either. After taking a kick from Lucas, he spat out a mouthful of blood andid motionlessly in the corner of the room, unable to get up at all. Huddled on the ground, Preston stared at the scene in front of him with his eyeballs on the verge of falling out. He didn¡¯t expect that the numerous bodyguards he had hired for so much money would be that useless. Lucas kicked each of them away effortlessly, as though they were all inferior to ordinary people who didn¡¯t know anybat skills. ¡°Good-for-nothings... Argh, all of you... a bunch of good-for-nothings!¡± Preston seethed and then let out a low, helpless roar of exasperation from his diaphragm. Bang! Bang! Lucas walked towards Preston unhurriedly. Preston had one side of his face lying against the ground, and his pupils constricted as he watched Lucas approach him bit by bit. He felt as if Lucas was a ferocious beast walking over toward him unhurriedly in a bid to rip apart his already defenseless prey. He desperately wanted to huddle up and retreat back even more, but the space of the room was limited, and he couldn¡¯t move any farther because there was arge and heavy couch behind him. ¡°You... Don¡¯te over... I-I¡¯m the sessor of the Taylors. If you dare toy a finger on me, we won¡¯t let you off!¡± Overwhelmed with fear, Preston broke out in a cold sweat and struggled to say something threatening while ignoring the pain in his chest and abdomen. The pistol was useless against Lucas, who had even twisted and bent it into a ball of scrap metal, while the ten-odd bodyguards werepletely defenseless when facing Lucas, like children who couldn¡¯t fight back. Preston no longer had anything to rely on, and he was truly scared at this point! Seeing how cowardly and terrified Preston was, Lucas sneered and chuckled softly. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t choose to do something to him now. Rather, he just wanted him to understand that he was not to be threatened or held back by force. Lucas stood in front of Preston and looked down at him condescendingly. ¡°Mr. Taylor, do you still want to hold me back forcefully?¡± ¡°N-n-no! I wouldn¡¯t dare to!¡± Preston shook his head profusely. At this point, he was afraid that Lucas would kill him in a fit of anger, so how could he dare to continue to make things hard for Lucas? ¡°Okay, in that case, I can give you one more night to think about it. The condition I just raised will remain the same. Come to the Ocean Bathhouse at nine o¡¯clock tomorrow morning and give me an answer. Do you understand?¡± Preston obviously no longer dared to turn him down. He hurriedly nodded in a flustered manner. Only when he saw Lucas leave the private room did hepletely rx. His body was drenched in cold sweat, and he shivered several times. While Preston was furious and aggrieved, Lucas called an Uber and returned to the vi in the middle of Pearl Lake. At this time, the sky was alreadypletely dark, and Cheyenne and her family had long since returned home. ¡°Lucas! You¡¯re finally home!¡± As soon as Lucas arrived home, Charlotte scurried out and held onto his arm while grinning widely. ¡°Cheyenne cooked a lot of delicious food today to celebrate us escaping unscathed and returning unharmed!¡± Feeling the warmth on his arm, Lucas subconsciously wanted to pull his arm away, but Cheyenne happened to hear the noise and walked to the front of the vi too. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re back!¡± The gaze in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes flickered a little when she saw Charlotte hugging Lucas¡¯s arm. But she soon walked forward with a beautiful smile and pulled Lucas away a little. ¡°Hurry up and go wash your hands. Dinner is ready. We can dig in after you wash your hands.¡± Lucas immediately said, ¡°Okay.¡± He then quickly retracted his arm and hurriedly strode toward the bathroom. Soon, all of them gathered at the dining table. Both Cheyenne and Charlotte were grateful that Lucas had saved Charlotte today, so they kept helping him to the food. Seeing this scene, Karen was immediately displeased. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just a good-for-nothing who sponges off of us. Who are you to let my daughters help you to the food?¡± Karen red daggers at Lucas before yelling at her daughters in displeasure, ¡°I¡¯ve painstakingly raised the both of you, but I¡¯ve never seen you helping me to food at all. Yet you¡¯re so caring towards an outsider, huh?! You two are just ingrates!¡± After hearing these words, Charlotte immediately flew into a rage. She had had such a dangerous encounter today, but Karen didn¡¯t even show her any concern! Ever since that incident in the hotel restaurant, Charlotte had beenpletely disappointed in Karen, who had broken her heart. But deep down, she still had a glimmer of hope that her mother cared about her. So at first, she had thought that Karen wasn¡¯t aware of it. But she soon found Karen sitting on the couch and watching television, on which there were news subtitles about the incident that she was involved in at the Stardust Corporation today! Feeling aggrieved, Charlotte asked, ¡°Mom, why didn¡¯t you ask me what happened to me today?¡± But to her surprise, Karen merely rolled her eyes at her while chewing on a snack before asking in displeasure, ¡°What¡¯s there to ask? You came back in one piece, didn¡¯t you?¡± Her words made Charlotte so furious that she almost questioned Karen if she was her biological mother. She had never seen anyone like Karen who didn¡¯t show any concern for her daughter who had been held hostage and had almost fallen to her death from a great height! Karen¡¯s attitude was worse than that of a stranger! Now, Charlotte and Cheyenne were just helping Lucas to the food to thank him for saving her life. Yet Karen started making such sarcastic remarks, leaving Charlotte speechless. ¡°Mom, Lucas saved my life today. Can¡¯t I help him to some food? Also, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re now living in Lucas¡¯s vi. Why are you always so mean to him?¡± Charlotte asked in exasperation. Karen immediately rolled her eyes again. ¡°Hmph, bullshit! This good-for-nothing didn¡¯t buy this vi. It was a gift from Ethan Sawyer!¡± Chapter 268: Revealing The Truth

Chapter 268: Revealing The Truth

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Karen didn¡¯t know how the ostentatious and luxurious vi came about. But she subconsciously felt that Lucas was a good-for-nothing who certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to afford such a vi. It happened that she had created a misunderstanding in front of Ethan during the banquet at the Intercontinental Hotel some time ago. She had mistakenly thought that Ethan wanted Charlotte to be his daughter-inw, only to find outter that Lucas had inadvertently done the Sawyers a huge favor. Thus, Ethan had decided to give Lucas many hefty gifts, including a luxurious sports car and properties worth several million dors. So Karen also took it for granted that the vi was a gift to Lucas from Ethan. Cheyenne couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. She rified sternly, ¡°Mom, Lucas bought this vi, and it has nothing to do with the Sawyers.¡± But Karen didn¡¯t believe her at all as she humphed in disdain. ¡°Hmph, do you take me for a fool? Six years ago, he was just a penniless man who stole fifty thousand dors from us while he was our live-in son-inw! Now that he has returned from the military, he¡¯s suddenly able to afford a vi worth over a hundred million dors. Who would believe that?¡± When Lucas heard Karen once again using him of stealing 50,000 dors from the Carters, his face turned gloomy. Karen had mentioned that matter once when he had just returned to Orange County and went to the Carter residence to see Cheyenne. At the time, he had even exined it. But unfortunately, Cheyenne seemed to be the only person who suspected that the truth might not be like what they thought. The rest of the Carters refused to believe him. ¡°Karen, shut up!¡± William flew into a rage, threw his cutlery onto the table, and said with a stern expression, ¡°I must make things clear today so that Lucas will no longer be falsely used of this! ¡°Six years ago, Lucas did borrow fifty thousand from me for the medical treatment of his seriously ill mother, who was hospitalized at the time. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t make it in time to bring the money to the hospital, and his mother passed away before he arrived. He didn¡¯t use the money and returned the entire sum to me on the very same night.¡± William nced at Karen. ¡°You are aware of this matter too. Back then, you even had a huge fight with me because you were mad that I had lent the money to Lucas. You only shut up after you saw Lucas return all of it to me without a single cent less. Less than two dayster, your nephew wanted to borrow money from you, and you lent it to him without even discussing it with me! Six years have passed, and till now, your nephew still hasn¡¯t returned the money! ¡°After Lucas left at that time, we encountered all sorts of problems, including some financial difficulties. But you couldn¡¯t tell Cheyenne and Charlotte that you lent so much money to your nephew, who hasn¡¯t returned it yet, so you made Lucas the scapegoat and used him of stealing the money before absconding with it!¡± William revealed the truth of the matter in a single breath. In fact, he had been keeping it to himself for a long time. Especially after seeing how Lucas was wholeheartedly doing his best to care for their family, he felt even more guilty for mistreating him at the beginning. He also felt really bad for using Lucas of stealing money in front of both his daughters. So he decided to take the opportunity today to reveal the truth and clear Lucas¡¯s name! After hearing this, both Cheyenne and Charlotte were astonished! It wasn¡¯t too bad for Cheyenne. After all, she had been having doubts about the truth of this matter since she heard Lucas say that he didn¡¯t steal the money. On the other hand, Charlotte was bbergasted because it was the first time she heard the truth about this matter. Fortunately, her impression and opinion of Lucas had changed drastically during this period of time. Otherwise, she might still be one of the people who pointed fingers at Lucas and berated him! At the thought of all the misunderstandings and harsh remarks she had made to Lucas in the past, Charlotte couldn¡¯t help but feel a strong sense of embarrassment as she blushed ashamedly. But Karen wasn¡¯t guilty nor embarrassed at all. After she heard William tell the truth, the first thing she did was m the table hard and holler furiously, ¡°Bullshit! William Carter, what are you talking about? When did my nephew evere to borrow money?¡± William snorted coldly and retorted, ¡°You should know very well whether or not your nephew has taken fifty thousand dors from you! Anyway, Lucas definitely didn¡¯t take the money, so don¡¯t put the me on him!¡± Seeing William also siding with Lucas, Karen flew into a rage and snapped, ¡°William Carter, you heartless thing! I¡¯ve been married to you for more than two decades, and throughout our marriage, I¡¯ve suffered so much hardship and worked hard every day to wash your clothes and cook for you. I even raised your daughters to adulthood! Even if I lent some money to my nephew, what¡¯s the big deal?! Don¡¯t forget. That money was part of our matrimonial assets, and it belonged to both of us. I have the right to spend it too! ¡°I really have such a miserable life. Not only did I marry such a useless man, but he¡¯s even reprimanding me to no end for lending money to my nephew! I did lend him some money, so what? William Carter, you scoundrel, what else do you want?!¡± Whenever something happened, Karen would scream and yell at the top of her lungs like a shrew. Usually, William, Cheyenne, and Charlotte would simply ignore her and let her rattle on. Over time, this trick had almost be Karen¡¯s trump card, as she mistakenly thought that everyone would be scared and not dare to provoke her as long as she yelled at them loudly. But today, William didn¡¯t want to put up with her any longer. ¡°Throughout the years, you¡¯ve given a lot of money to your rtives to cope with their financial difficulties. But the fifty thousand you lent your nephew six years ago was arge sum of money that I had scrimped and saved to umte over the years. I intended to use it for Charlotte¡¯s wedding and for Cheyenne and Amelia¡¯s living expenses! ¡°But what about you? You gave the money to your nephew without saying a word! Your nephew didn¡¯t even need the money for an emergency. He just squandered it! He even bragged about it to me! ¡°At that time, Cheyenne was pregnant with Amelia, and people would show up at the Brilliance Corporation to look for trouble every other day. Charlotte was still in college then, so we really needed money for many things! You lied to them and said that Lucas stole the money from us because you couldn¡¯t afford to cover those expenses! I told you to go to your nephew to urge him to return the money. Yet you vehemently refused, and you evenshed out at me. You said that I¡¯m stingy and disregarded kinship! ¡°I¡¯ve really put up with you for so many years! When Cheyenne and Charlotte were kids, I worked hard all day, while you spent all your time ying cards with your friends. You didn¡¯t cook or did any household chores. If my mother hadn¡¯te over to look after them every once in a while, they might have starved to death when they were young! ¡°When both of our daughters were in college, I gave you money to pay for their tuition,ptops, and cell phones because I didn¡¯t want them to fall far behind other children. But what did you do? You took the money and used it to buyputers and air conditioners for your family! If I hadn¡¯t asked about it afterward, you would have squandered away all the money meant for their college tuition! ¡°Later on, when the Carters snatched Cheyenne¡¯spany away from her when she waste into her pregnancy, she was so furious that she went into prematurebor. But despite being her mother, you stayed at home to take a nap every day and refused to go to the hospital to take care of her! Yet you have the cheek to say that you raised the both of them painstakingly?¡± ... William had been bottling up these emotions within him for way too long. So he took the opportunity to vent his anger today, revealing the truth of several incidents that he had never mentioned before in the past decade or so. Meanwhile, Cheyenne and Charlotte looked at Karen in utter shock and disbelief! They were aware of some of the things William exposed, but most of them were unheard of to them. In fact, they never dared to imagine it either. But they knew that William was telling the truth, and the motherly image of Karen in their hearts was utterly ruined! Chapter 269: How to Stop Someone Crying

Chapter 269: How to Stop Someone Crying

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing William mercilessly exposing many of her secrets from the past and the look of disappointment in Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s eyes, Karen immediately felt a little flustered. ¡°Cheyenne, Charlotte, these are all just lies that William Carter made up to deceive you! I¡¯m your mother. How could I have mistreated you? Even if I was negligent when I took care of you two in the past, it was just an understandable mistake. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose!¡± Karen said anxiously. But when she saw her daughters still staring at her heartbrokenly, she was furious and ashamed. She then yelled at William, ¡°William Carter, what intentions are you harboring?! I raised both our daughters to adulthood, and yet you¡¯re making things up now to drive a wedge between me and them! ¡°Are you thinking of sucking up to your daughters now that they are old enough to support you? I¡¯m no longer of any use to you, right? You¡¯re so evil and vicious. Why exactly are you doing this to me?!¡± While speaking, she reached out to scratch William¡¯s face. William blocked Karen¡¯s hand and sneered. ¡°You know better than I do whether or not I made up those facts just to sow discord!¡± With that, he directly stood up and left the dining table to return to his own room, not giving Karen a chance to throw a fit at all. There were many rooms in this vi that Lucas bought. Since William returned yesterday, Karen hadn¡¯t asked him anything about his two-week absence or shown him any concern, which was very much to his disappointment. Thus, he chose to stay in an empty room to be away from her. After William left, Karen again desperately pulled Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s hands while weeping miserably andmenting about how hard it had been for her to keep the family together while raising the both of them. She anxiously tried to convince them not to believe William¡¯s words by iming that he was lying. But Cheyenne and Charlotte were now absolutely disappointed in Karen. They were no longer children and could tell right from wrong, so they had alreadye to a conclusion about who was lying based on their own judgment. They didn¡¯t want to listen to Karen¡¯s exnations, nor were they in the mood to continue eating. They struggled to break free from Karen and then carried Amelia upstairs. Soon, only Karen and Lucas were left in the spacious dining room. Lucas nced at Karen coldly. He wasn¡¯t even aware of many of the incidents that William had just mentioned. Although his mother had died at a young age due to her severe illness, she had always exerted her utmost effort to teach him to be an upright person. Lucas almost dared not imagine that Karen, who was likewise a mother, would have such a horrid personality. Karen¡¯s actions and behavior made her unworthy of being a mother at all. After ring at her coldly, he stood up and turned around to leave the dining room. ¡°Hold it!¡± Seeing that everyone was ignoring her, Karen got increasingly furious, and she flew into a rage. She scurried to Lucas and stopped in front of him before raising her hand to p him. ¡°You¡¯re the reason for everything that just happened, you good-for-nothing!¡± Karen had always been uncouth and tyrannical. She was clearly the one who started stirring up trouble and using Lucas while everyone was enjoying the meal just now, which eventually led to William¡¯s decision to expose her lies and the shameless acts she hadmitted in the past! Yet she refused to admit that it was her mistake and even put the me on Lucas. She dared to do so only because Lucas was her son-inw, who wouldn¡¯t contradict her or hit her back whenever she berated and even hit him. So she had developed the habit of putting the me on him for everything and venting her anger on him. Just as she was about to p Lucas, he raised his hand and firmly grabbed Karen¡¯s wrist. With an icy cold gaze in his eyes, Lucas said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re Cheyenne¡¯s mother, so I¡¯m being tolerant to you for her sake. But that doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯ll keep letting you trample all over me! ¡°Also, this vi belongs to me, and no matter how it came about, my name is written on the title deed. This is the home I¡¯ve prepared for my wife, her family, and our daughter. If you behave yourself and stop stirring trouble, I won¡¯t bother with you. But if you continue to wreak havoc at home every other day, you¡¯d better get lost from here before it¡¯s toote!¡± Then he stopped looking at Karen and turned around to leave. Lucas was harsh with his words this time. In fact, it was the first time he had given Karen such a stern warning throughout the years that he had been married to Cheyenne. Karen was so stunned by Lucas¡¯s words that it took her a long time to react and realize what he meant. She flew into a rage and was fuming mad. Bang! Staring at Lucas¡¯s back as he headed upstairs, Karen clenched her jaw with all her might while she grimaced and grabbed her bowl to smash hard against the ground. ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare you speak to me like that? I must make you pay the price for it!¡± ... When Lucas walked into the room, Cheyenne was sitting on the edge of the bed and wiping her tears while Amelia sat beside her sensibly. Wiping Cheyenne¡¯s tears with a piece of tissue paper, Amelia said softly, ¡°Mommy, don¡¯t cry. Your eyes will hurt.¡± Lucas sighed. Cheyenne is really unlucky to have a mother like Karen. He walked over, took his lovely daughter into his arms, and patted Cheyenne¡¯s back to console her. Cheyenne raised her head and looked at Lucas, only to have tears flow out of her eyes again. Gazing at him apologetically, she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Mom has always been so harsh to you, and we had the wrong idea about you for such a long time.¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°We are a family. You don¡¯t need to apologize to me. Besides, Karen is your mother, and you don¡¯t have to apologize to me for her misdeeds. Take it easy. Some people just don¡¯t care much for kinship. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± After Cheyenne heard hisforting words, she felt touched and aggrieved and cried even more miserably. ¡°Uh...¡± Lucas was suddenly at a loss for what to do. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll be fine in a while.¡± Then Cheyenne hurriedly rushed into the bathroom, and soon, the sound of water gushing out of the faucet came. ¡°Ugh.¡± Lucas covered his forehead and let out a low sigh. He had always been domineering and powerful. But whenever he faced the woman he loved, he often felt powerless and clueless about what to do. Just now, he clearly wanted tofort Cheyenne, but he ended up causing her to weep even more, which was truly terrible. The intelligent and powerful captain of the Falcon Regiment was too inexperienced in dealing with women. ¡°Daddy,¡± Amelia called out and suddenly raised her head whileying in Lucas¡¯s arms. She blinked and said, ¡°Daddy, hug and kiss mommyter! She would hug me, kiss me, andfort me whenever I cried, and that made me not want to cry anymore!¡± ¡°...¡± Caught betweenughter and tears, Lucas pinched Amelia¡¯s little nose while thinking to himself that if he had done that to Cheyenne, she might stop crying, but she¡¯d definitely beat him up and kick him out of the room! Chapter 270: Move Out of the Villa

Chapter 270: Move Out of the Vi

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Soon, Cheyenne came out of the washroom. She just rinsed her face with cold water and stopped her tears from flowing, but her eyes were still red. Besides, despite being barefaced, she was still incredibly beautiful now. Lucas recalled what Amelia said just now and couldn¡¯t help feeling a little uneasy. After coughing gently, he looked away. But Amelia tugged on Lucas¡¯s sleeve in displeasure and urged, ¡°Daddy, hurry up!¡± Lucas was instantly even more shy. Cheyenne had gotten a grip on her emotions, and when she saw their strange behavior, she couldn¡¯t help asking curiously, ¡°What are you two ying?¡± Amelia immediately looked at Lucas with herrge eyes that seemed to have the ability to speak, urging him to hurry up and coax Cheyenne. Lucas sighed helplessly and pretended not to be bothered. ¡°Amelia is telling me how to coax you!¡± ¡°Huh? Coax me? How?¡± Cheyenne asked curiously. Lucas coughed a little. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t tell her what Amelia said. He merely nced at Amelia to show that it was her idea. Cheyenne sat beside Amelia and asked amusedly, ¡°Amelia, you¡¯re still a little child, but you already know how to coax me?¡± Hanging on Lucas¡¯s neck, Amelia grinned and said, ¡°Of course I do! Mommy, I usually stop crying after you hug and kiss me! So I asked Daddy to hug and kiss you too so that you won¡¯t cry anymore!¡± Cheyenne froze in shock. By the time she processed what Amelia said, she immediately blushed shyly in amusement. She finally understood why Lucas didn¡¯t tell her how he was going to coax her. Caught betweenughter and tears and blushing shyly, Cheyenne reached out to pinch Amelia¡¯s soft and tender cheeks, only to catch a glimpse of the redness on Lucas¡¯s ears. Her heart skipped a beat and soon began ricocheting against her chest. In an instant, Cheyenne and Lucas both felt uneasy. Sitting between Lucas and Cheyenne, Amelia looked up at the both of them and asked in surprise, ¡°Dad, Mom, why are you two blushing? Is it because it¡¯s too hot here?¡± After hearing Amelia¡¯s puerile voice, they immediately felt even more embarrassed. But the misery and aggrievance Cheyenne felt because of Karen¡¯s behavior had unknowingly dissipated as a warm and fuzzy feeling arose in her heart. Knock knock. There was rhythmic knocking on the door of their bedroom. Lucas held Amelia in his arms while Cheyenne immediately stood up and walked over to open the door. She saw William standing outside the room, seemingly hesitant to speak. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s sote now. Is there something wrong?¡± Cheyenne hurriedly let William into the room. After entering, William hesitated for a moment before suddenly saying, ¡°Lucas, Cheyenne, I¡¯ve already made up my mind. I will move out with your mother early tomorrow morning.¡± Both of them were extremely surprised to hear this. But they knew that it had to be because of what Karen had just done during dinner that made William decide to move out with her. Lucas quickly said, ¡°William, you don¡¯t have to think too much about it. This vi is huge, and it¡¯s more than enough for us. Why bother moving out?¡± Cheyenne chimed in and tried to dissuade him, ¡°Yes, Dad, our old house is no longer habitable. Where can you move to now?¡± William sighed, held Lucas¡¯s hand, and said sincerely, ¡°Lucas, I know you¡¯re a great kid. Despite all the terrible things we¡¯ve done to you in the past, you didn¡¯t hold it against us and even spared a thought for us in every aspect. You¡¯re such a good son-inw! ¡°However, I can¡¯t just take advantage of your kindness and good intentions and shamelessly pretend that nothing has happened. When I think about those things in the past, I feel really sorry to have let you down. How can I have the cheek to continue living in your home?¡± Lucas hurriedly shook William¡¯s hand and said very seriously, ¡°William, let¡¯s leave those things in the past. We are now a family. It¡¯s good enough if we can live together harmoniously in joy. If you move out, Cheyenne and I will be really worried.¡± William shook his head and said bitterly, ¡°I know you¡¯re filial, but it¡¯s because of how obedient you two are that I can¡¯t bring myself to continue staying here anymore. I don¡¯t want to let this mess affect and disturb your lives. ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve finally figured out a lot of things now, and I want to try living on my own terms by relying on my own abilities. I¡¯ve already made up my mind. I just looked at some properties for rent on the inte, and the rent isn¡¯t expensive. We¡¯ll move out tomorrow.¡± Lucas still wanted to continue persuading him to stay, but Cheyenne suddenly stopped him and said, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t try to stop Dad anymore. Since he¡¯s already decided, we should respect his wishes!¡± Actually, she could tell that while Karen was certainly one of the reasons William insisted on moving out, it was also because he wanted to make some achievements with his own abilities after he came to his senses a while ago. For example, he wanted to work hard to sustain a livelihood for himself. Previously, he lived in the old residence belonging to the Carters, and now, he was living in his son-inw¡¯s house. So he wanted to move out and rely on his own efforts to have a roof over his head. Even if he had to rent a ce temporarily, he had at least earned the money for the rent himself. Hearing that Cheyenne understood his intentions, William felt heartened, and he said with a smile, ¡°Cheyenne understands me best. Don¡¯t worry. Even if we move out, we are still a family. We can visit each other when we¡¯re free. That makes it morefortable for all of us.¡± Seeing that they had both made up their minds, Lucas could only sigh inwardly. In fact, it was not that he didn¡¯t understand what William was thinking. His luxurious vi did offer an excellent shelter and living environment, but it didn¡¯t belong to William at the end of the day. So he would inevitably feel ufortable about living under someone else¡¯s roof. In the past, William probably would have never felt like that. All he used to want was to have a roof over his head, a source of entertainment, and a steady supply of alcohol while he muddled through life. But William had nowe to his senses and developed his own views and determination to achieve some of his personal goals. Thus, all Lucas could do was give him his support. Chapter 271: A Ruckus and a Scuffle

Chapter 271: A Ruckus and a Scuffle

¡°Okay, William, since you¡¯ve already decided, I¡¯ll naturally respect your opinion. But you must be mindful of the safety of the ce you rent and don¡¯t let yourself suffer any mistreatment!¡± Lucas then took out a credit card and handed it over to William, but thetter immediately refused. ¡°No, please. I still have enough money to spare, and I¡¯m now getting paid quite a high sry working as the general manager in yourpany. After working for some time, I should have enough money for the down payment of an apartment, and I¡¯ll be a homeowner soon,¡± William said smilingly. He didn¡¯t seem to be forcing it at all, and in fact, he seemed to have high hopes for a promising future. Seeing that William had the right mindset, Lucas didn¡¯t say anything else. Knowing that William wasn¡¯t willing to ept the money, Cheyenne said earnestly, ¡°Dad, be careful when you¡¯re out there. If you really face any difficulties, you have to seek help from us! No matter what, I¡¯m your daughter, and it¡¯s only right for me to be filial to you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We will take care of ourselves! It¡¯s gettingte. I¡¯ll go back to my room and pack my belongings. You guys go to bed early too.¡± Then William turned around and left the room. Cheyenne stared at his back for a long time before sighing. ¡°It seems that Dad has alreadye to his senses. If only my mother would kick her old habits and change her ways like Dad has!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything. Karen was different from William. Given her character, it would be best if she could behave herself without making trouble for a period of time. Making her repent would probably be impossible. Indeed, they soon heard Karen screaming and cursing loudly, as well as the sounds of things getting smashed onto the ground. Astounded by the ruckus, Lucas was just about to put Amelia on the bed and go downstairs to check out the situation when he heard panicky footstepsing from the corridor outside the door. Charlotte anxiously pushed open the door from outside and eximed in panic, ¡°Cheyenne, Lucas! Mom and Dad are fighting!¡± By the time the trio hurried downstairs, the scuffle had already ended. Karen was sitting on the carpet in the living room, her hair unkempt and her face covered in tears and mucus. She was stomping her feet against the ground and cursing while bawling loudly. Standing near her, William seemed to be in a much more miserable state. There were a few obvious scratch marks on his face, and his cor had also been torn. Karen had clearly scratched William hard during the fight just now. ¡°Enough! You¡¯re so old, yet you¡¯re still rolling on the ground and sobbing. Aren¡¯t you embarrassed of yourself at all?!¡± William snapped furiously while touching the burning wounds on his face. Karen immediately retorted, ¡°Embarrassed? You think I¡¯m embarrassing now, huh? If you¡¯re so ashamed of me, you shouldn¡¯t have married me more than two decades ago! People say that if you marry a man, he should give you a good life. Other women get to live in thep of luxury after marrying good men! But what about me? What have I gotten after marrying a good-for-nothing like you and slogging my guts out for decades? Nothing! ¡°Now that I¡¯ve raised my daughters to adulthood and can live a slightly better life, you want me to move out with you after I just got to live in a vi for a few days! Where are you going to move to? Can you afford a mansion or a vi? You¡¯re just a good-for-nothing who¡¯s going to rent a shabby and lousy apartment for us! I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m not moving out to live in a horrible ce with you. If you want to move out, do so yourself! I¡¯m not leaving!¡± Karen was cursing incessantly like a machine gun. Only then did Cheyenne and Charlotte realize that Karen and William had gotten into a fight because of Karen¡¯s refusal to move out. Lucas looked extremely calm. For a greedy and mercenary person like Karen who wanted to live a life of luxury, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be willing to move out of a luxurious andfortable vi to live in a cramped and tiny rented house. ¡°You still have the cheek to criticize me for being ipetent, huh? Yes, I may be ipetent, but have you fulfilled your duties? No! You¡¯re staying in Lucas¡¯s house, but you¡¯re alwaysshing out at him as if he owes you millions of dors. You don¡¯t cook or do any household chores. All you do is eat and then lie down on the couch to watch TV all day! If you stay here, you¡¯ll be a burden that harms them sooner orter! ¡°I don¡¯t care what you think. Anyway, you have to move out with me!¡± William was vehement and stood firm to his decision. He had only stayed in theke vi for two days. But within those two days, he had seen thoroughly everything that Karen had done. If he let her continue staying here, she would continue to pick on Lucas and insult him. No matter how good-tempered Lucas might be, he wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate it! Cheyenne would also be put in a difficult spot, and Lucas and Cheyenne¡¯s marriage would end up being affected! So no matter what, he had to take this troublemaker Karen away for the sake of Lucas and Cheyenne¡¯s happiness! ¡°I said, I¡¯m not leaving! It took me great efforts to raise the both of them, and it¡¯s now their turn to be filial to me and let me enjoy life! Hmph, I¡¯m their mother, not their maid. If they need someone to cook and do theundry and household chores, they should hire a maid. What does it have to do with me?¡± Karen retorted scornfully while seating on the carpet. Extremely infuriated, William snapped, ¡°Do you have any shame? How was it difficult for you? All these years, when have you ever taken good care of Cheyenne and Charlotte? What right do you have to pretend to be noble and make my daughters serve you? Are you worthy of it?¡± Lucas frowned slightly and subconsciously felt that William¡¯s words seemed a bit strange. What does he mean by his daughters? Shouldn¡¯t he say that Charlotte and Cheyenne are their daughters? But Cheyenne and Charlotte didn¡¯t notice that something was amiss, and they simply stood at the side nervously, trying to find a chance to stop them from fighting. After hearing what William said, Karen looked a bit flustered and looked away. Clearlycking in confidence, she said, ¡°Anyway... I¡¯m not leaving. At most, I¡¯ll do more household chores in the future!¡± Refusing topromise, William stared at Karen and decided to go all out. ¡°You don¡¯t want to leave, huh? We¡¯ll get a divorce tomorrow, and I¡¯ll see how you can have the cheek to continue staying here!¡± With that, William turned around and left to return to his own room to pack up. Karen panicked when she heard William mention a divorce. She was already almost 50 years old, and if she divorced William, she wouldn¡¯t know what to do. Karen immediately ced her hands on the ground and got up. She leaped toward Cheyenne and grabbed both her hands before saying anxiously, ¡°Cheyenne, your father said he wants to divorce me! We¡¯ve been married for decades. If we get divorced now, it won¡¯t reflect well on you two either!¡± Cheyenne had always been gentle and approachable, unlike the feisty Charlotte, who had a quick temper. So Karen immediately grabbed Cheyenne tightly and asked her to help plead with William on her behalf. But to Karen¡¯s surprise, Cheyenne stayed still without panicking in the slightest. She then said coldly, ¡°Mom, I think Dad is right too. You¡¯ve been married to him for a couple of decades. Now that he wants to move out, you can¡¯t leave him alone!¡± ¡°You!¡± Karen was exasperated and glowered at Cheyenne. Chapter 272: Apologizing One After Another

Chapter 272: Apologizing One After Another

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Cheyenne Carter, are you thinking of kicking me, your mother, out of this house too? You don¡¯t want me anymore?¡± Karen questioned menacingly while pointing at Cheyenne. She rarely called Cheyenne by her full name, but she was probably too livid at this point. Cheyenne ignored her and maintained herposure as she said, ¡°No, I just want you to stay with Dad.¡± With that, she stopped talking and turned around to leave while pulling the dumbfounded Charlotte along with her. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t stay either. Soon, Karen was left alone in the luxurious hall again. She looked around at the opulent and exquisite decor of the vi with a reluctant gaze in her eyes. She couldn¡¯t bear to part with the vi. But when she stared at the backs of Cheyenne, Lucas, and Charlotte, her eyes were full of immense hatred again. ¡°Bastards! You¡¯re just a bunch of ingrates abandoning your mother now that you¡¯re all grown up! Sooner orter, I will make you all regret it one day!¡± Karen clenched her fist and muttered with great resentment. Unfortunately, no one else saw this scene. ... Bright early the next morning, the sky had just turned bright after dawn, but Lucas could already hear the bustle going on downstairs. By the time he and Cheyenne went downstairs, they saw three suitcases already filled with belongings in the middle of the living room. William was still stuffing some clothes and small belongings into one of them. Reluctant to see him leave, Cheyenne stepped forward and said to William, ¡°Dad, there¡¯s actually no need for you to move out...¡± William chuckled twice and said in an unprecedentedly rxed tone, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve been feeling the best I¡¯ve ever beentely! I¡¯lle back to see you guys when I¡¯m free. The ce I¡¯m moving to isn¡¯t far away from here either. I¡¯ve spoken to your mother, and she¡¯s agreed to move out with me. Rest assured! But I¡¯ll have to trouble you to take care of Charlotte. She can¡¯t live with us.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Of course we will. Charlotte¡¯s our younger sister, so we¡¯ll definitely take good care of her. Don¡¯t worry. Call us immediately if you encounter any trouble!¡± After giving each other instructions, William noticed that it was about time to go, but Karen was still in her room, so he had to go and urge her to leave. Soon, Karen followed William out sulkily. Unlike when she first moved into the vi, Karen didn¡¯t take a truckload of luggage with her. Instead, she was carrying only a small exquisite purse. In fact, she didn¡¯t even take a single piece of clothing. Actually, deep down, she didn¡¯t want to move out of the vi at all. Besides, she intended to move out with William only for a day. After which, she wouldin about the poor amodations and say that it was too ufortable for her so that she could find an excuse to move back into the vi. When William saw that Karen was only carrying a small purse, he understood what intentions she was harboring. He sneered and said, ¡°Karen, don¡¯t think you¡¯lle back soon. Since I¡¯ve decided to move out and live on my own, I won¡¯t change my mind in a day or two. If you don¡¯t bring some clothes and personal belongings with you, don¡¯t think I¡¯ll give you money to buy some after we move out!¡± Having her scheme exposed by William, Karen cursed under her breath, ¡°Petty miser!¡± She then turned around to return to her room, where she stuffed a huge pile of clothes into a suitcase before dragging it out furiously. ¡°Mom, let me help you.¡± Cheyenne reached out to help Karen with the suitcase, but Karen pped her hand away relentlessly. ¡°I don¡¯t need your hypocrisy! Go away. I¡¯ll take it that my efforts to raise you have gone in vain!¡± Karen already bore a grudge against Cheyenne for refusing to help her to persuade William. The back of Cheyenne¡¯s hand reddened, and Lucas¡¯s face turned sullen. William seemed angered too. ¡°Karen, if you keep creating so much trouble, you won¡¯t have to move out with me reluctantly anymore. We¡¯ll just go to awyer and get a divorce!¡± William barked furiously. Karen pursed her lips, humphed coldly, and stormed off while dragging her suitcase along. Cheyenne insisted on sending William and Karen to their new residence so that she could have a look at it herself and have peace of mind. Since William couldn¡¯t persuade her, he could only agree. Lucas said to Cheyenne, ¡°Okay then. Send your parents to their new ce while I send Charlotte and Amelia to the office and kindergarten. I¡¯lle look for you guys after I¡¯m done handling some matters.¡± Cheyenne and William both nodded. ¡°Are we leaving or not? You kept rushing me just now, but now you¡¯re the one who¡¯s dilly-dallying!¡± Karen barked in disgruntlement as she stood outside the door. Cheyenne and William stopped talking and moved the luggage to the trunk of the car. Cheyenne then drove the two of them to the new residence that William rented. Meanwhile, Lucas also started his car and took Charlotte and Amelia with him. Because they didn¡¯t have breakfast this morning, Lucas bought some sandwiches and coffee from a caf¨¦ along the way for them. Sitting in the backseat of the car and drinking the coffee distractedly, Charlotte suddenly said, ¡°Lucas, I feel so sorry!¡± Lucas was slightly stunned, and he asked smilingly, ¡°What are you sorry for?¡± Clenching her jaw, Charlotte exined, ¡°Actually, I should have apologized to you a long time ago. From the time you just got married to Cheyenne till when you returned from the military more than two months ago, I¡¯ve been rather rude to you, and I even did lots of detestable things. But you didn¡¯t hold it against me, and you even rescued me on several asions. I feel really guilty about it! ¡°My mother has always been like that. She says mean things to you all the time and has done so many awful things. I apologize to you on her behalf!¡± Lucasughed, unaffected by these things at all. ¡°It¡¯s okay. All of it has long passed. Yesterday, Cheyenne said something simr to me. But Karen is a separate individual from you guys. She does treat me terribly, but as long as she doesn¡¯t go overboard, I won¡¯t hold it against her since she¡¯s yours and Cheyenne¡¯s mother. Don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡± Only then did Charlotte smile gently. ¡°Okay.¡± During this period of time, the more she interacted with Lucas, the more she felt that he was a good man. So she didn¡¯t want him to have ill feelings towards their family because of Karen and her misdeeds. Lucas was quite emotional too. Karen was a mean person who would never admit to her mistakes or change for the better. Yet both her daughters felt ashamed and guilty for what she had done and even apologized to him. He wondered who they had taken after because it clearly wasn¡¯t Karen. After sending Charlotte to the Stardust Corporation office building, Lucas didn¡¯t stay long and sent Amelia to the kindergarten. Seeing that it was almost 9 a.m., Lucas drove to the Ocean Bathhouse. Back in Snowke Entertainment yesterday, Preston had promised him that he would give him an answer before 9, so Lucas wondered if he would be getting a satisfactory answer today. Chapter 273: Secret Business

Chapter 273: Secret Business

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Soon after, Lucas¡¯s car pulled over at the entrance of the Ocean Bathhouse, and it happened to be 9 a.m. sharp. Lucas pushed open the door and walked into the lobby, only to see Preston quickly stand up from the couch at the side of the lobby and greet politely, ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re here.¡± Preston had tried to force Lucas to stay behind at Snowke Entertainment, but he had instead been punched in the stomach by Lucas, causing him so much pain that he nearly passed out. But he asked someone to send him to the hospitalst night for a checkup and found that although his abdominal pain was unbearable, there was no obvious damage done to his internal organs. And even on his belly, there were no bruises or welts. Although he couldn¡¯t find any visible wounds, the pain was still overwhelming and unbearable. So the doctor had no choice but to prescribe him some painkillers and let him recuperate. He had clearly been beaten up into a pulp, yet there were no visible traces. So Preston was even more scrupulous toward Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, about the matter you mentioned yesterday...¡± Preston was about to bring up the subject when Lucas interrupted him, ¡°Mr. Taylor, let¡¯s go to the private room and talk.¡± Zane, the new manager of the Ocean Bathhouse, immediately ushered Lucas and Preston to the dubious and secretive private room that Lucas had been in previously. After all, what Lucas wanted to talk to Preston about involved some confidential matters that were not at all trivial. When only the two of them were left in the private room, Lucas took the lead and sat down on the couch. Pointing to the one across from him, he said to Preston, ¡°Have a seat.¡± Only then did Preston carefully sit down. After what happenedst night, Preston considered Lucas an enemy, but he didn¡¯t dare to offend him at all. After all, Lucas¡¯sbat skills were too terrifying. Besides, Preston also vaguely sensed that what happened to the Hales previously seemed to be rted to Lucas, so naturally, he didn¡¯t dare to offend Lucas even more. ¡°Mr. Taylor, how¡¯s your consideration of my proposal yesterday?¡± Lucas took the initiative to broach the subject. Preston hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve thought about it. I can try to help introduce my partners to you, but I can¡¯t guarantee the oue of your negotiation with them and whether they will agree to it or not.¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°So, does this mean that they have high demands?¡± Preston exined, ¡°After all, the profits of this business are high, and so are the risks. It¡¯s understandable that both parties have to be very careful.¡± Lucas nodded indifferently. In fact, it was an utterly sordid business. Moreover, since Joe installed tracking devices and listening bugs in their cars previously but was quickly shaken off by that group of people, Lucas understood how cautious they really were. ¡°Mr. Taylor, since you¡¯ve been doing business with them for nearly twenty years, you must be very clear of their background, right?¡± Lucas asked and pretended to be nonchnt as he picked up a cup of coffee and sipped on it. Preston chuckled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t know a thing about their background either!¡± Lucas asked in surprise, ¡°How is that possible?¡± Preston said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to lie to you, Mr. Gray. This is the truth. We may have had business dealings for more than a decade, but they¡¯ve always been very conscientious and have never revealed any of their personal information. Whenever they send their people over, they would arrive in different vehicles, and during the process, they would change vehicles several times. The transactions are also done in cash, so it¡¯s very difficult to find out their whereabouts. ¡°To be honest, many years ago, we also secretly tried to shadow them and investigate their background out of curiosity. But that one time, we sent several experts, and none of them returned. We even received a stern warning from them and almost lost the deal. Since then, we¡¯ve never dared to find out their background again.¡± Lucas frowned slightly. He could tell that Preston was telling the truth. But this meant that the other party was indeed extremely cautious, so it seemed that it would be a tall order to get some information about them from the Taylors. ¡°So, don¡¯t you have any contacts?¡± Lucas asked again. Preston shook his head. ¡°No. This business between us was first established by chance due to an incident eighteen years ago. But after that, they would contact us unterally for the deals, but we can¡¯t contact them. ¡°So even if I promise to introduce you to them today, I will have to wait for them to contact me first. But whether they will agree to let you join them or not and the matters after that are uncertain.¡± Lucas¡¯s face sank. ¡°I thought you were dealing fairly with each other on equal terms. But after hearing what you said, it seems that the Taylors arepletely in a passive position in this partnership! You have to wait for them to contact you first for everything. If they decide to sever the business with you one day, wouldn¡¯t you be unable to do anything?¡± Preston nodded helplessly. ¡°That¡¯s indeed the case. They hold the resources and connections to get those women, so they already have control in the first ce. Besides, the risks are too great, and there¡¯s really nothing we can do.¡± It seemed that the Taylors really didn¡¯t have any extra information. Finding it a pity, Lucas sighed. ¡°Ah, it seems there¡¯s nothing we can do. When they contact you again next time, help me make arrangements to get in touch with them. Let me know the oue. I¡¯m very interested in this business.¡± Then Lucas handed one of his business cards to Preston. Of course, given Lucas¡¯s position, he wasn¡¯t doing it for the sake of being able to run that sordid business. But rather, he wanted to get rid of this business and the people behind it entirely. ¡°Okay, when they contact me, I will definitely introduce you to them immediately and inform you.¡± Preston took Lucas¡¯s business card with both hands, but he remained seated and asked nervously, ¡°Um... Mr. Gray, when will you hand the Ocean Bathhouse back to me?¡± The reason he had agreed to Lucas¡¯s request was simply that he wanted to get the bathhouse back. ¡°It depends on you. Once you get the job done, I¡¯ll give it back to you.¡± Lucas stood up and gestured for Preston to leave. Preston had no choice but to take a few more nces at the Ocean Bathhouse that originally belonged to him before leaving indignantly. Chapter 274: Meeting An Evil Shrew

Chapter 274: Meeting An Evil Shrew

Meanwhile, Cheyenne, William, and Karen had already arrived in the neighborhood of William¡¯s new rented apartment. It was in the western part of Orange County. Although the housing estate seemed a little old, it wasn¡¯t dpidated, and there was a plethora of amenities and stores nearby, such as a supermarket, mall, hospital, and other lifestyle facilities. The traffic was good too, and it was generally quite a suitable residential area. The vehicles of non-residents were not allowed to enter the housing estate, so Cheyenne parked her car in the parking lot outside. She then took out arge suitcase from the trunk, followed by Karen¡¯s backpack, which Cheyenne carried on her back. William then carried the other two smaller suitcases, while Karen was much more rxed, as all she held was her small little purse. She began to scan and survey her surroundings with a picky and impatient expression. ¡°Dad, this estate looks pretty nice, and there are quite a few fitness facilities inside. The overall neighborhood and living environment aren¡¯t bad either,¡± Cheyenne remarked while walking. She saw an average-sized artificialke in the middle of the housing estate, with lots of greenery by theke and quite a few people sitting on the benches along the banks. Some of them were chatting, some were fishing by theke, while some were working out. They all seemed to be rxed and enjoying themselves. William said smilingly, ¡°Yes, this is really not bad. It happens to be near the office too. I can walk to and from work every day. Besides, there are many residents here, so I can easily find someone to chat and exercise with when I¡¯m bored.¡± He was full of expectations and looking forward to his future life, and his face seemed to be glowing with vitality. On the other hand, Karen humphed coldly and snapped in disdain, ¡°Hmph, good my foot! It¡¯s so noisy everywhere, and this estate is so old and shabby. I bet the people here all relocated from a demolished estate, and they must be horrible, lowly people! Thiske is so small, filthy, and stinky. It¡¯s worlds apart from thergeke around the vi!¡± She didn¡¯t want to move away from the luxurious andfortable vi in the first ce. After looking at the ordinary housing estate, she felt that everything about it was inferior and too lousy for her. William Carter is such a dimwit. He chose to move out of a wonderful vi ande to this lousy and shabby ce. He even dragged me down with him. This is uneptable! William pursed his lips, frowned unhappily, and bellowed at Karen, ¡°Mind your words! We¡¯ve just moved here. Don¡¯t end up offending everyone in this estate!¡± If others heard her criticizing the residents here for being lowly and inferior, they would feel ufortable. Karen continued to murmur for a while. She chose not to fight with him right on the spot because she could tell that he wasn¡¯t in a good mood. ¡°Hey, look who this is. You¡¯re the noble and prestigious Mrs. Carter, aren¡¯t you?¡± At this moment, a sarcastic remark suddenly sounded from behind them. Karen, Cheyenne, and William turned around in unison and saw a chubby woman in her thirties glowering at them scornfully. Karen and Cheyenne immediately recognized who she was. She was Sharon Hart, the wife of James Wilson, the general manager of the Titanium Corporation, whom they had gotten into a conflict with on several asions. In particr, when they had a meal at the hotel previously, Karen had bumped into Sharon in the washroom and got into an altercation with her over the exquisite bracelet Karen was wearing. Sharon had taken a liking to the bracelet, so she tried to cheat Karen out of it by iming that Karen had damaged the bracelet she was wearing and thus demanded that thetterpensate for it. Karen naturally refused to let herself lose out, so she immediately made a big fuss and kicked up a ruckus that eventually led to a fight with Sharon. Charlotte was unaware of the truth and even helped Karen beat Sharon up. Afterward, when Karen learned that Sharon was James Wilson¡¯s wife, she got scared and hurriedly gave the bracelet away while also pushing Charlotte out to get hit by Karen. Since that incident, Charlotte was thoroughly disappointed in Karen, and her disappointment intensified as time passed. Later on, because of Lucas¡¯s intervention, Sharon had no choice but to apologize to Karen under Wilson¡¯s coercion. She even had to return the bracelet that she had painstakingly gotten from Karen after being taught a hard lesson by Wilson. She could be said to have suffered a double loss. Sharon had been bearing this grudge in mind, and she was just waiting for the right time to take revenge! Coincidentally, she just happened to run into Karen today, and it was a godsend opportunity because Lucas wasn¡¯t around! ¡°Karen, do you know each other? Is she your friend?¡± William chuckled and asked. William wasn¡¯t around when that incident took ce at the hotel, so he wasn¡¯t aware of the feud between them and merely thought that they were friends. Before Karen could refute, Sharon flew into a rage and hollered at William with a scornful expression, ¡°Who are you to call me that?!¡± William froze on the spot and looked at Karen in bewilderment. ¡°I was speaking to my wife. What¡¯s the matter? Do you have a problem?¡± Only then did Sharon realize that she had misheard and that William was talking to the sharp-tongued wench Karen, not her! Ugh, why do our names sound so simr? I got embarrassed again!¡¯ Needless to say, Sharon¡¯s disgust and hatred for Karen¡¯s family instantly intensified. Karen burst intoughter, thoroughly amused by Sharon¡¯s blunder. ¡°Bitch, what the hell are youughing at?¡± Sharon snapped. Karen¡¯s face immediately turned pale. Given her character, she¡¯d definitely p back at anyone who called her a bitch in public and curse at them. But since the incident at the hotel, Karen already knew Sharon¡¯s identity as Wilson¡¯s wife. So despite being insulted by Sharon, she didn¡¯t dare to say anything else and merely shrank back to hide behind Cheyenne,pletely pretending that she hadn¡¯t heard anything. But Cheyenne couldn¡¯t stand by and watch her mother being insulted without doing anything. She said seriously, ¡°Ms. Hart, please mind your words.¡± Sharon didn¡¯t take Cheyenne seriously at all, especially after she knew that Cheyenne was Lucas¡¯s wife. She was brimming with so much resentment that she decided to vent all the anger she had developed due to Lucas onto Cheyenne. Sharon had already forgotten all about Wilson¡¯s previous admonishments for her not to provoke Lucas again. ¡°Who are you to lecture me? Little bitch, it seems that if I don¡¯t teach you a lesson today, you won¡¯t know who I am!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her hand and pped Cheyenne on her face before anyone could react! Smack! Chapter 275: Are You Fit To Be a Mother?

Chapter 275: Are You Fit To Be a Mother?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios No one expected Sharon to suddenly get physical. Cheyenne waspletely caught off guard by the hard p, and her head cocked to the side. She was thrown off bnce and almost fell down. Not to mention that Cheyenne was dumbfounded, even William and Karen froze right on the spot in shock. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ll pay me back for the ps your sister owes me fromst time!¡± After Sharon pped her, she was in an extremely pleasant mood, and she even felt the thrill of taking revenge. She raised her hand to p Cheyenne¡¯s face again. ¡°Stop!¡± William finally reacted. He grabbed Sharon¡¯s wrist and reprimanded furiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why did you hit someone for no reason?¡± At this point, he finally understood that Sharon wasn¡¯t Karen¡¯s friend at all but an enemy she had gotten into a conflict with before. ¡°Let go! How dare you touch me, you garbage? Be careful, or else I¡¯ll get someone to cripple you!¡± Sharon struggled to break free from William¡¯s grip. Ignoring whoever this person in front of her was, she raised her hand to p William¡¯s face. William was also enraged by Sharon¡¯s shrewish behavior. He grabbed her wrist again and raised his hand to p her. Smack! When the pnded on Sharon¡¯s face, she shrieked in pain as a bright red fingerprint immediately appeared on her face. ¡°I¡¯m giving this p back to you! My daughter isn¡¯t a pushover, and no one is to bully her!¡± William red at Sharon in disgust before turning around to look at the red and swollen fingerprint on Cheyenne¡¯s face. Feeling heartbroken, he asked, ¡°Cheyenne, are you alright?¡± Cheyenne shook her head and pulled William away. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m fine. Let¡¯s go.¡± Even though the disputested for only a short moment, many people were already looking over from a distance. Cheyenne didn¡¯t want her parents to leave a bad impression on their soon-to-be neighbors, so she chose to let the matter rest. William obviously also thought of this point. After taking a look at Sharon, who was clutching her face, he said coldly, ¡°You started getting physical first, so you have no one to me but yourself. I don¡¯t care who you are. Next time you dare to bully my daughter again, I won¡¯t care if you are a woman or not!¡± With that, Cheyenne and William turned around to leave. As for Karen, she jumped backward and retreated several meters the moment William hit Sharon, wishing she couldpletely draw a clear line between her and William. Seeing William and Cheyenne leaving, Karen looked at the resentful and furious expression on Sharon¡¯s face and hurriedly scurried forward to catch up with William. She berated in a sharp voice, ¡°William Carter, are you out of your mind? That woman just now is Sharon Hart, and her husband is James Wilson! How dare you p her? Are you tired of living? You¡¯d better go back and apologize to her and then beg her to forgive you. Otherwise, she¡¯ll definitely take revenge on you! When the timees, you¡¯ll implicate me too!¡± When William heard what Karen said, he immediately flew into a rage and stopped in his tracks. He barked, ¡°Karen, are you blind? Did you not see that just now? That woman came for you. You must have offended her before! She pped Cheyenne just now merely because she said something. As Cheyenne¡¯s mother, you simply cowered behind her and watched her get pped! Don¡¯t you think I didn¡¯t see that! ¡°You watched your daughter get bullied, and you hid behind her without saying a word. Are you even human? Are you still worthy of being a mother? It¡¯s good enough that I don¡¯t me you for causing trouble and standing at the side without doing anything. Yet you still want me to apologize to that woman? Karen, what¡¯s going on inside your head? Will that woman let us off just because of an apology? ¡°Hmph, if you are afraid of being implicated by me, let¡¯s go get divorced now! No matter what I do, you won¡¯t be implicated, okay? Are you satisfied now?! Come on. Let¡¯s go now!¡± William didn¡¯t want to go to the rented apartment anymore, so he pulled his suitcase along and turned around to walk toward the gate of the housing estate. He seemed to want to go to awyer¡¯s office to get a divorce with Karen. Karen¡¯s actions had been testing William¡¯s limits ever since he came back to his senses. As soon as Karen heard William mention a divorce, she was no longer confident and pursed her tips before saying awkwardly, ¡°I¡¯m just worried that you might get into trouble. I really am! We¡¯ve been married for so many years. Why mention a divorce? We¡¯re going to be aughingstock!¡± Of course, she wasn¡¯t willing to divorce William. For the past few years, she might not have lived in thep of luxury with William, and she had also always resented William for failing to let her do so. But she had actually lived quite a good and carefree life where everything was provided for her, and she had even managed to save quite a hefty sum of money. If it was more than 20 years ago, Karen might have been able to use her beauty to attract a richer man, but she was now almost 50 years old. After leaving William, she might not be able to find another man. Besides, now that both her daughters were bing more and more sessful working as executives in establishedpanies, she could foresee her life getting better and better. She couldn¡¯t afford to divorce William at this time! Even if she had to leave, she had to reap some benefits before doing so! Seeing Karen not say anything, William stopped paying attention to her and brought Cheyenne to an apartment building where they boarded the elevator up to the fifth floor. William opened the door of the apartment and introduced it to Cheyenne as though he was showing her a treasure. ¡°Cheyenne, look. How does this apartment look?¡± Cheyenne walked around the apartment and looked at it carefully. There were two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, upying a total floor area of only about 60 to 70 square meters. Although it was a small apartment, the decor was beautiful, and there was good lighting and venttion. The furniture and appliances were also mostly new, and the interior was spick and span. They could really move in right away. Cheyenne took a few more careful looks at the kitchen equipment, bathroom faucet, sewer pipes, the fire extinguisher ced at the door, and some other misceneous items. After discovering that there were no issues, she nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Dad, this apartment is great. It might be a little small, but it should be enough for you and Mom.¡± William chuckled in satisfaction. ¡°Exactly! I chose this ce after browsing through all the avable apartments for a long time. Of course it¡¯s good!¡± At this moment, an abrupt voice sounded from the side. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s tiny and shabby, just like a snail¡¯s shell. Only poor people with narrow horizons will like it!¡± Karen frowned in disgust, hating every detail about the apartment. Chapter 276: Arrived at the Door

Chapter 276: Arrived at the Door

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In Karen¡¯s opinion, only Lucas¡¯s vi could be considered a good house. The area of this apartment was far inferior to the living room of Lucas¡¯s vi. How could they be pleased with it? But Karen failed to consider that Lucas¡¯s vi was unique in Orange County, so it didn¡¯t make sense topare other residences with it. If she used Lucas¡¯s vi as a standard forparison, she obviously wouldn¡¯t take a liking to other properties. William didn¡¯t want to continue indulging Karen, so he snapped, ¡°If you think it¡¯s too small, you can move to arger ce and pay for the rent yourself! As long as you can afford it, I won¡¯t stop you!¡± His words made Karen speechless. Although she had money, she wasn¡¯t willing to pay at least $10,000 a month on renting a vi. ¡°Hmph, there¡¯s clearly arge vi for us to live in, but you insisted that we move out to this small and shabby apartment. You¡¯re so cheap you don¡¯t even know how to enjoy life!¡± William happened to hear Karen¡¯s incessantints. William pointed at the door and said nonchntly, ¡°Do you still have any shame at all? Even when we were living in the vi, you were picking on everything and creating trouble all day long! If you¡¯re still not satisfied, we¡¯ll get a divorce right away! I don¡¯t care where you¡¯re going. It¡¯s up to you!¡± When Karen saw that William wasn¡¯t saving her from any embarrassment at all, her face turned sullen, and she immediately sat on the floor. She then began to smack the floor and wail loudly. ¡°William Carter, you heartless thing! You¡¯ve been married to me for decades, and now you think I¡¯m old, so you¡¯re being so mean to me! What sin have Imitted? I worked so hard to raise our daughters, and now you¡¯re treating me like this. Have you got a conscience at all?!¡± With a look of annoyance, William ignored her and said to Cheyenne, ¡°Cheyenne, now that you¡¯ve seen the ce, you can put your mind at ease, right? Quick, get to work. You don¡¯t have to worry about me anymore.¡± Normally, Cheyenne would definitely go up and persuade Karen if she saw her throwing a tantrum and bawling to William. But she was now extremely disappointed with Karen, and she could also tell that Karen just wanted to live in luxury, but she didn¡¯t dare to divorce William. So she decided not to bother about her. ¡°Dad, go back in. Let me know if there¡¯s anything you need. I¡¯m going to work now.¡± Cheyenne walked toward the door and got ready to leave. William looked at Karen making a fuss and throwing a tantrum on the floor. ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to unpack. I¡¯ll go to work first and clean up when Ie back in the evening. Let¡¯s go together.¡± Neither of them was willing to take Karen¡¯s nonsense, so they stood by the door, ready to leave. At this moment, the elevator outside the door suddenly opened, and they heard the voices of the people inside before they even walked out. ¡°I saw them enter this building. No matter where they are, search every floor!¡± William¡¯s and Cheyenne¡¯s expressions changed because they could recognize the voice. It belonged to Sharon Hart! Before they could react, Sharon came out of the elevator with four tall and burly men behind her. There were two apartments on the floor of William¡¯s apartment, including his. The elevator was near the doors of both apartments, and William and Cheyenne were standing right next to it. So they saw Sharon and her men as soon as they came out of the elevator. As expected, Sharon¡¯s eyes were full of joy and exhration when she saw Cheyenne and William standing a meter away from her. She reached her hand out and pointed at them excitedly. ¡°Quick, it¡¯s them!¡± The four strong men behind her immediately walked toward William and Cheyenne aggressively. ¡°Quick, go in!¡± Seeing that the situation wasn¡¯t right, William immediately pushed Cheyenne into the apartment before closing the door with a loud bang. He then stuck the key into the keyhole and twisted it a few times before pulling it out, locking the door with a loud bang. Williampleted the entire process quickly in one go. He was so fast that Cheyenne didn¡¯t even manage to react in time. It was the fastest he had ever been in his life. The four burly men tried to stop William but to no avail. All they could do was grab William¡¯s hair tightly while punching him hard on the face. ¡°Mmph!¡± The punchnded right smack onto William¡¯s nose. Being big and strong, they broke his nose immediately, and bright red blood instantly gushed out from his nostrils. ¡°Dad!¡± When Cheyenne saw this scene, she was so frightened that she hurriedly reached out to twist open the handle of the door to try and stop the violence. But she only managed to hear the nging of metal. She couldn¡¯t open the solid metal door because William had already locked it from the outside, and she couldn¡¯t open it from the inside at all! When Karen heard themotion outside, she stopped crying and got up from the floor. She then pushed Cheyenne aside and peeked outside through the peephole, only to see William getting beaten up by the few burly men Sharon brought. She was horrified but thankful and d that William had locked the door so that they couldn¡¯t rush in to harm her. Seeing how anxious Cheyenne was and how hard she was trying to get out, Karen sneered and then pushed Cheyenne¡¯s hand away. She mocked, ¡°What are you trying to do? Do you want to go out there and get beaten up too? Don¡¯t drag me down with you! Well, at least your jerk father has the conscience to lock the door! Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape the beating either! ¡°I told him to apologize to Sharon Hart just now, but he refused to listen! He totally deserves to get beaten up by them now!¡± Even though Cheyenne was usually good-tempered, she was still angered by Karen¡¯s shameless words. She glowered at her with bloodshot eyes. ¡°Dad is getting beaten up outside, and you¡¯re gloating?! Besides, if you hadn¡¯t hit Sharon in the restaurant that time, would she havee here to create trouble?¡± Karen immediately sneered and retorted, ¡°Bullshit! Are you ming me for it? If you hadn¡¯t offended Sharon Hart just now, she wouldn¡¯t have pped you. Your father pped her for your sake. What does it have to do with me?¡± Karen would never admit to her mistake, and in her opinion, she would never be at fault. Cheyenne looked at Karen with her eyes full of disappointment. She had always known that Karen was an ipetent mother who never felt much maternal love for her and Charlotte. But William was her husband, with whom she had spent decades. Now that he was getting beaten up outside, she wasn¡¯t concerned at all. Instead, she was just being cold and selfish! Hearing the sound of kicking and punching from outside, as well as her father¡¯s suppressed groans of pain, Cheyenne felt as if her heart was being stabbed by a thousand daggers. She felt utterly powerless. Suddenly, she thought of Lucas! All the things that Lucas had done during this period of time had made Cheyenne trust himpletely. Besides, during the incident at the hotel, Sharon¡¯s husband, James Wilson, also seemed to be afraid of Lucas, so he had brought Sharon to go and apologize to Karen. With this thought in mind, Cheyenne immediately rummaged through her bag for her phone with shaky hands as though she had found a straw to clutch at. She then called Lucas. ¡°Lucas, bad news. My father is being surrounded and beaten up. Quicklye and save him! We¡¯re at Block 26, unit #501 of Golden Garden Estate!¡± Chapter 277: Emergency Rescue

Chapter 277: Emergency Rescue

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas had just finished negotiating with Preston and sent him away, so he was still in the private room of the Ocean Bathhouse and discussing the following ns with Joe. After Lucas received Cheyenne¡¯s call for help, his expression changed, and he suddenly stood up and said in a deep voice, ¡°How are you? Are you in danger?¡± When Lucas heard that such a thing had happened, the first thing he was worried about was Cheyenne¡¯s safety. ¡°I¡¯m fine. My dad locked me in the apartment, and I can¡¯t get out. But they¡¯re beating my dad up badly at the door, and I¡¯m really scared that something might happen to him...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ll be right there! Stay in the aparment, and don¡¯te out!¡± Then Lucas hurriedly strode out of the private room. Seeing that something was wrong, Joe hurried to catch up with Lucas. He asked concernedly, ¡°Mr. Gray, what happened? Is there anything I can do to help?¡± Lucas immediately thought about Golden Garden Estate, which was more than ten kilometers away from the Ocean Bathhouse. It was now the morning rush hour, so there was definitely traffic congestion. Even if he drove at the fastest speed possible, it would take him at least twenty minutes. ¡°Do you have any subordinates near Golden Garden Estate?¡± Lucas asked while walking. Joe immediately replied, ¡°I run a cyber cafe outside Golden Garden Estate.¡± Lucas immediately ordered without turning around, ¡°Hurry up and get someone to rush to Block 26, unit #501 of Golden Garden Estate to help my father-inw. He¡¯s being beaten up!¡± Joe was astonished. He hurriedly took out his phone to make a call and give an exnation about the matter. ¡°Zach, take the security guards and managers of the cyber cafe with you and rush to Block 26, unit #501 of Golden Garden Estate to stop a fight. Rescue a middle-aged man who¡¯s about fifty years old! Go now, immediately!¡± By the time Joe hung up and rushed out of the Ocean Bathhouse, Lucas had already gotten into his ck Jaguar and left. Seeing Lucas leaving in a hurry, Joe naturally didn¡¯t dare to slow down. He quickly ordered his bodyguards, took a few security guards of the Ocean Bathhouse with him as well, and drove to Golden Garden Estate. At this moment, William had already been beaten up into a pulp at the entrance of his apartment in Block 26 of Golden Garden Estate. His face was battered with bruises, and the blood from his nose had flowed down his chin all the way to his chest, staining hispel. He had taken numerous punches and kicks to his body, and he was almost unable to get up anymore. If not for the fact that one of the men was still holding William by his cor and hitting him, William would have probably long fallen onto the ground immobile. Seeing how miserable William was, Sharon felt that she had finally vented all her anger. To Sharon, getting insulted by William was extremely shameful! ¡°There are two more bitches in there! You two, don¡¯t think I can¡¯t do anything just because you¡¯re hiding in there! Immediately find the key from this old good-for-nothing and open the door!¡± Listening to themotion outside while leaning close against the door, Karen had her heart skip a beat. Afraid that Sharon would rush in from outside with her subordinates and beat her up, she paced back and forth around the room. ¡°What should we do? What should we do? They¡¯re about to rush in! Cheyenne, you... just stand here and don¡¯t tell them that I¡¯m here!¡± Then Karen turned around and dashed into a bedroom. She quickly locked the door and looked around anxiously before finally cursing softly and curling up into the closet. Cheyenne wasn¡¯t at all surprised that Karen chose to flee when there was danger because she had already gotten used to it. She stood nervously by the door and gripped her phone tightly while praying that Lucas would arrive sooner. But she also knew that Lucas couldn¡¯t possibly arrive in such a short period of time since she had just called him. After hearing Sharon¡¯s instructions, the few burly men at the door immediately reached out to frisk William to find his keys. William was currently so seriously injured that he was about to be unable to open his eyes anymore. But at this moment, he suddenly felt a burst of strength, and he suddenly broke free from the burly man holding his cor. He then tossed the key he had been holding tightly in his hand out of the venttion window in the middle of the stairwell. ¡°Damn it! This old bastard threw the key away!¡± The burly man immediately flew into a rage and pped William¡¯s face twice. ¡°Two of you, go downstairs and find the key. I don¡¯t believe that we can¡¯t catch those two bitches!¡± Sharon barked menacingly. The two burly men agreed immediately. Just as they were about to go downstairs, another man suddenly yelled at him in shock. ¡°Shit, this old man passed out. He looks like he¡¯s about to die. Something might happen!¡± Sharon and the three remaining burly men were frightened when they saw that William¡¯s eyes had already rolled back into his head, and he had passed out. His body was covered in bruises and blood. He seemed to be in an extremely terrible condition. The few burly men were getting a little scared because they were just teaching William a lesson under Sharon¡¯s orders. But they weren¡¯t nning to kill him. When Sharon saw the miserable state William was in, her heart skipped a beat, but she soon humphed coldly and said nonchntly, ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s indeed an old fogy. He can¡¯t take a beating at all. Let¡¯s spare them this time. Let¡¯s go!¡± With that, she took the four burly men with her and left in the elevator. ¡°Dad, how are you doing? Dad! Say something! Can you hear me?¡± Cheyenne was in the apartment, and when she saw William lying in the doorway covered in blood through the peephole, she was so flustered that she anxiously pped the door and yelled while crying incessantly. Shortly after Sharon and the others left, the door of the elevator on the fifth floor opened again, and eight equally strong and burly young men rushed out from inside. They were the security guards and managers of the cyber cafe outside Golden Garden Estate, who hade over under Joe¡¯s order. ¡°Huh?¡± To their surprise, they didn¡¯t see the brawl that they had expected. Instead, it was rather peaceful because there wasn¡¯t a fight but a person lying motionlessly on the ground, covered in blood. ¡°Damn it! We¡¯re toote!¡± yelled the leader of the young men, who had tattooed arms and was wearing ear studs. Judging from the appearance of the middle-aged man on the ground, they reckoned that he should be the person Joe had told them to save. But the perpetrators had already fled, and William was the only one lying on the ground. They were unsure if he was dead or alive, and the floor was covered in bloodstains. The scene was extremely terrifying. One of the men rushed to William¡¯s side and tried to feel his breathing and his pulse. ¡°Boss, he¡¯s still breathing!¡± ¡°Quick, hurry up and send him to the hospital! He needs treatment immediately!¡± the man with the ear studs hurriedly eximed. The other young men didn¡¯t dare to be slow. They immediately picked William up to carry him to the elevator and then headed downstairs. Seeing that a group of people had arrived and carried William away, Cheyenne banged the door harder while yelling, ¡°Can you hear me outside? Hello! How is my father? Who are you people?¡± Chapter 278: About The Douglas Family

Chapter 278: About The Dous Family

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Only then did the man with the ear studs realize that there was someone in the apartment next to them. He guessed that she must be rted to the middle-aged man they were tasked to save. So he walked to the door and asked loudly, ¡°We were sent to save someone. Is the injured man who passed out your father?¡± Cheyenne hurriedly said, ¡°Yes! I was locked inside, and my father threw the key out of the venttion window over the stairs. Please help me find the key and let me go out!¡± Since Joe was the one who sent them to rescue William, he naturally didn¡¯t dare to neglect William¡¯s daughter. He hurriedly instructed the three young people beside him. ¡°Did you hear her? Hurry and go downstairs to find the key!¡± The three young people looked at the venttion window and immediately ran downstairs. At this moment, the man with the ear studs called Joe and exined the situation to him in detail. When Joe heard that his subordinates were toote to stop the fight and that William was already seriously wounded to the point of lying unconsciously on the ground, he immediately cursed furiously, ¡°Are you a bunch of useless trash? I told you to rush there and save him immediately. Why were you stillte? You even let the assants escape!¡± The man with the ear studs felt extremely vexed as well. He had immediately gathered his men and rushed to Golden Garden Estate to save William after receiving Joe¡¯s call. But he had indeedete, and there was nothing he could do! ¡°Forget it. Since things havee to this, let¡¯s not waste time on nonsense! The perpetrators have already left, so hurry up and check the surveince camera footage of the estate to find out who they are and where they¡¯ve gone! Hurry up and investigate! If you mess up, you don¡¯t have to work for me anymore!¡± With that, Joe hung up furiously before urging the driver to drive faster. After hearing Joe lose his temper, the man with the ear studs tensed up. He then hurriedly called the estate management office to have them check the surveince camera footage. When his men found the key from the bushes downstairs and brought it up, Lucas happened to arrive at the fifth floor. As soon as the door opened, Cheyenne leaped out from inside. ¡°Cheyenne, are you alright?¡± Lucas held onto Cheyenne and scanned her from head to toe. Cheyenne¡¯s face was covered in tears, and she was extremely flustered. When she saw Lucas, she felt as if she had found her pir of support, and she leaped into his arms and cried, ¡°Lucas! Dad was seriously injured by them! I don¡¯t know how he¡¯s doing now! I¡¯m really scared that something might happen to him! When he saw those peopleing just now, he pushed me into the apartment and locked the door before throwing the key away to prevent them froming in. I watched him get beaten up alone outside, but there was nothing I could do to help! I¡¯m so useless...¡± Cheyenne was worried and overwhelmed with self-reproach as she hugged Lucas and wept hysterically. Lucas hugged Cheyenne, patted her on the back, andforted softly, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. William was just worried that you might be hurt, so he locked you inside. You¡¯re a defenseless woman. If you hade out, you would definitely have been injured. At that time, William would have been in greater misery. William will only be at ease if you¡¯re fine. Don¡¯t think too much about it. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about William, I¡¯ll have someone send you to the hospital to visit him. He¡¯ll definitely be fine.¡± While beingforted by Lucas, Cheyenne gradually calmed down, wiped the tears on her face with her hand, and nodded. Lucas asked, ¡°Who are those people who came?¡± Because Lucas was in a rush just now, he hadn¡¯t had time to ask Cheyenne the details of what had happened over the phone. Only after he arrived did he realize that the perpetrators had fled. Cheyenne said with bloodshot eyes, ¡°It¡¯s Sharon Hart, James Wilson¡¯s wife, who got into a conflict with my mom at the hotel restaurant over the bracelet the other day. We happened to run into each other in the estate today and got into a conflict. She then brought four men over and beat Dad up.¡± There was an icy cold glint in Lucas¡¯s eyes! Those two had had several conflicts with Lucas, but he had decided to let them off because Wilson had personally apologized and promised not to provoke them again. But unexpectedly, Sharon didn¡¯t know any better and even had the audacity to bring people over to beat William and Cheyenne up. If William hadn¡¯t locked Cheyenne up in time, she would have been bullied and humiliated by Sharon. Besides, Cheyenne was a girl, so who knows what would have happened to her. The thought of that scene made Lucas want to kill people! He took a deep breath and suppressed the immense murderous intent within him. He then said to Cheyenne, ¡°Okay, I know. Go to the hospital and take a look at William. Leave the rest to me.¡± Lucas turned around and quickly exined to Joe, who had also hurriedly arrived at the door. ¡°Take my wife to the hospital now and take good care of her. I don¡¯t want any problems to ur this time!¡± Joe¡¯s heart almost jumped out of his chest when he heard the anger in Lucas¡¯s tone. He quickly said, ¡°Yes! I will definitely protect Miss Carter and ensure that nothing happens to her!¡± Face all red and swollen, Cheyenne was very worried about William¡¯s situation, so she frantically nodded and walked to the elevator. At this moment, the sound of a door opening softly came. Karen finally peeked through the crack in the door before craning her neck to take a look outside. When she realized that Sharon and the menacing henchmen had left and that her good-for-nothing son-inw Lucas was standing at the door with a few men, she finally heaved a sigh of relief and walked out of the bedroom. But Lucas and Cheyenne merely nced at her coldly before looking away, as if they hadn¡¯t seen her. Cheyenne didn¡¯t even ask Karen if she wanted to go to the hospital with her to check on William¡¯s condition. She was afraid that she would hear Karen say some nasty things and no longer be able to suppress the anger in her heart. When Karen saw their reactions, not only did she not feel ashamed at all, but she also pursed her lips and rolled her eyes in disdain. Just as Cheyenne and Joe were about to go downstairs, the phone of the man with the ear studs rang. After he saw the caller ID, he answered immediately. ¡°What? Have you watched all the surveince camera videos?¡± Hearing that they had already found some clues in the videos, the few of them stopped and listened to what he had to say. ¡°Okay, I know. Continue to keep tabs on it!¡± After hanging up, the man with the ear studs immediately reported to Joe and Lucas, ¡°My men discovered that that woman brought her people to the Douses¡¯ vi. Her men are also bodyguards of the Douses.¡± The Douses? Why would she go there? As far as Lucas knew, the Douses didn¡¯t seem to be nearby, so he wondered how Joe¡¯s subordinates managed to find out. Seemingly having noticed Lucas¡¯s puzzlement, the man with the ear studs hurriedly said, ¡°The Douses own a vi in the Golden Palm Vi cluster nearby. They headed there!¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll go there to see them now!¡± Chapter 279: Douglases’ Villa

Chapter 279: Douses¡¯ Vi

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing that Lucas wanted to go to the Douses¡¯ vi, the man with the ear studs¡¯ heart skipped a beat. Because unlike Joe, he didn¡¯t know how powerful and domineering Lucas was. In his opinion, the Douses were a top family in Orange County, second only to the four top families. If Lucas demanded an exnation from them, he would be inviting trouble. Suddenly, Joe said, ¡°Zach, you will be responsible for taking Mr. Gray to the Douses¡¯ vi!¡± Zach, the man with the ear studs, widened his mouth in shock and pointed at himself before eximing in disbelief, ¡°Me?!¡± Immediately afterward, he grimaced and stared at Joe in hopes that Joe would change his mind. Joe turned gloomy and hollered furiously, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and show Mr. Gray the way.¡± Joe red at Zach, as if he had expected better from him. Of course, he knew what Zach was worried about. But after witnessing with his own eyes what Lucas had done to Preston, the future helmsman of the Taylors, one of the four great families in Orange County, Joe admired Lucas greatly. And he was even confident that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be on the losing end if he confronted the four top families, let alone the Douses. If Lucas hadn¡¯t ordered Joe to escort Cheyenne to the hospital, he would have followed Lucas to the Douses¡¯ vi. It was a rare opportunity that not everyone could have. Yet Zach still hadn¡¯t realized how lucky he was and was even acting as if he had to go to face a terrible situation. The infuriated Joe smacked Zach on the head and warned, ¡°Remember not to be disrespectful to Mr. Gray in any way. His orders are more important than mine. Do whatever you are told to do, do you understand?¡± Seeing the warning gaze in Joe¡¯s eyes and realizing what he meant, Zach then understood how powerful the young man in front of him was. He thought that Lucas had to be at least a big shot even more powerful than Joe, whom Joe dared not disobey since Joe said that his orders were secondary to Lucas¡¯s. In that case, following such a powerful figure to the Douses¡¯ vi wouldn¡¯t be an attempt to court death but an excellent opportunity! When Zach figured this out, his conflicted expression and look of dismay immediately turned into excitement written all over his face. He guaranteed, ¡°Yes! I will definitely follow Mr. Gray and obey all his orders!¡± At this point, Lucas had long lost his patience and headed downstairs with Cheyenne while Joe and Zach hurried to catch up. Soon, they moved quickly. Joe drove Cheyenne to the hospital where William was, while Lucas, led by Zach and several of his subordinates, headed to the Golden Palm Vi cluster where the Douses¡¯ vi was. The Golden Palm Vi cluster was just a stone¡¯s throw away from the Golden Garden Estate, so it only took them a few minutes to drive to the Douses¡¯ vi. As soon as they alighted, a young redhead jumped out from behind a rose bush near the vi and hurried to Zach. He reported softly, ¡°Zach, that woman brought her four bodyguards with her to this vi. I¡¯ve been watching outside, so they shouldn¡¯t havee out yet.¡± Zach nodded and waved his hand to get his man to stand down. He bowed to Lucas and asked, ¡°Mr. Gray, should I... send a few of my subordinates to sneak in and see what¡¯s going on?¡± Although the Douses¡¯ vi was in front of him and letting his subordinates sneak in would be dangerous, Zach thought of what Joe had said to him just now and felt that even the Dous family might be inferior to the mysterious and unpredictable Mr. Gray right in front of him. Lucas narrowed his eyes and observed the luxurious and majestic vi in front of him. Although it was a property owned by the Douses, it was not part of their main residence, though it was just as opulent. It was also equipped with amenities like a garden, a fountain, a swimming pool, several expensive cars, and arge stone monument with the Dous family name engraved on it. There were two tall bodyguards standing at the entrance of the vi and staring at the group of uninvited guests outside the vi with hostile expressions. Although Lucas andpany had yet to step within the boundaries of the Douses¡¯ vi, one of the bodyguards took two steps forward and said scornfully in a deep voice, ¡°This vi belongs to the Douses. Get lost. Don¡¯t loiter at the door!¡± ¡°The Douses are really arrogant, huh?¡± Lucas sighed calmly. Then with a sudden snap of his fingers, a ck afterimage immediately darted toward the stone monument. Bang! The nearly two-meter-tall stone monument with the Dous family name carved on it shattered into pieces, and countless stone debris shot in all directions. In the blink of an eye, itpletely copsed. The few young men beside Zach widened their eyes in disbelief as they looked at the scene in front of them! Lucas was obviously still several meters away from the stone monument a moment ago, so how on earth did it shatter into pieces?! Even the bullet shot from a gun might not be able to achieve this oue. It was as if the stone monument had been bombed! Of course, how Lucas managed to do it wasn¡¯t the point. The point was that Lucas had shattered the Douses¡¯ stone monument right in front of them. It was in and tant provocation! Most of the subordinates were unclear of Lucas¡¯s identity and merely knew that Zach was apanying him to the Douses¡¯ vi. Seeing this, they were all visibly horrified. ¡°Holy shit! He smashed the stone monument of the Douses as soon as he arrived. Isn¡¯t he inviting trouble?¡± ¡°Zach, who the hell is this punk? He¡¯d better not get us all killed!¡± ¡°Yeah! The Douses are one of the top families in Orange County, and they own lots of properties and have a lot of manpower. We only run a small cyber cafe. We¡¯ll definitely die!¡± ¡°Zach, I still have some things to handle at home. I¡¯ll get going now!¡± ¡°I... I suddenly remembered that my wife is ill today, so I have to send her to the hospital. I¡¯m leaving now, Zach!¡± ... After seeing Lucas destroy the stone monument at the entrance of the Douses¡¯ vi, Zach¡¯s subordinates panicked and wished they could curse at Lucas out loud. Of course, those who thought they were smart fled right away. Compared to offending the prestigious Dous family, they would rather offend Zach and Joe! ¡°Damn it! All of you are just a bunch of fools!¡± Seeing his subordinates fleeing like cowards, Zach was infuriated and embarrassed, and he couldn¡¯t help cursing. They might not have seen it, but Zach had seen clearly how Lucas shattered the massive stone monument using just a small pebble that he had casually picked up the ground when he got out of the car. With a tiny pebble, he managed to achieve the effect of an explosive, despiteunching it from a few meters away. He reckoned that Lucas¡¯s strength had to be far beyond the imagination of ordinary people like them! The two bodyguards at the entrance of the Douses¡¯ vi were also stunned by Lucas¡¯s strike. No one had ever dared to make trouble at the Douses¡¯ doorstep before. They finally realized what was going on. But from their perspective, they didn¡¯t see exactly how Lucas had broken the stone monument. All they knew was that Lucas was here to cause trouble! ¡°Punk, you¡¯re here to cause trouble on purpose, aren¡¯t you? Look where you are!¡± the bodyguards hollered and then picked up a rod each before charging toward Lucas. Chapter 280: The Dogs Who Get in the Way

Chapter 280: The Dogs Who Get in the Way

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing this, Zach voluntarily rushed up to stop the bodyguards before Lucas said anything. But to be honest, he was only someone in charge of a cyber cafe who had a martial arts background. Compared to these official bodyguards trained by the Douses, he was far fromparable. So in just a short while, Zach¡¯s arm was hit twice by the bodyguards¡¯ rods, causing him to grimace in pain. The redhead who had watched Douses¡¯ vi was still somewhat loyal, as he didn¡¯t flee as soon as he saw that they were offending the Douses. Instead, when he saw that Zach was no match for the two bodyguards, he clenched his jaw and dashed forward to help Zach block some of the attacks. Lucas looked at the both of them in surprise, finding them quite loyal. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t stand at the side and watch them get beaten up. He strode forward and appeared in front of the two bodyguards almost immediately. He raised his hands and grabbed one of them while twisting the other, causing them to shriek in pain. Their wrists were in so much pain that they dropped the rods in their hands. Immediately afterward, before Zach and the redhead could even get a clear glimpse of Lucas¡¯s movements, the two bodyguards were already shrieking in pain and then copsed in front of Lucas one after another. They couldn¡¯t get up at all, and the entire process didn¡¯t take more than two seconds. Lucas stepped on the wrist of one of the bodyguards. ¡°Just ten minutes ago, a woman came here with four bodyguards. Who did shee look for? Where is she now? Tell me, or I¡¯ll break your arms!¡± Feeling the immense pain in his wrist that felt like it was about to break, the bodyguard turned pale in shock and hurriedly eximed, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you! I don¡¯t know that fat woman, but she came here to look for Chris Dous, the helmsman of the family. This vi belongs to him too, and they... they¡¯re now in the master bedroom on the second floor of the vi. I don¡¯t know about the rest!¡± He was just a bodyguard who was only responsible for guarding the entrance of the vi, so he had no idea about the situation inside! Lucas narrowed his eyes. Turns out the owner of this vi is Chris Dous. In that case, I should be able to meet this ruthless and vicious man soon. Suddenly, the other bodyguard on the ground whipped out the walkie-talkie from his waist with difficulty while Lucas was questioning the first bodyguard. He was just about to call someone toe over, but Zach, who was beside him, saw it and immediately went over to kick the walkie-talkie out of his hand. ¡°You still want to call someone toe to your rescue, huh?¡± Zach kicked the bodyguard twice and then asked Lucas for instructions, ¡°Mr. Gray, in order to avoid any more trouble, I think we¡¯d better knock them both out!¡± Lucas nodded indifferently and moved his foot away while Zach and his subordinate immediately came forward to pick up the rods that the bodyguards had dropped. They then smashed them hard against the back of the bodyguards¡¯ heads to knock them out. Of course, the bodyguard who answered Lucas¡¯s questions cooperatively had merely been hit once by the rod, while the other who tried to call for help was in a miserable state. After being knocked out, he was hit by the rods a few more times. Lucas pushed open the door of the vi and walked in, followed by Zach and the young redhead. Chris Dous¡¯ private vi had extravagant and opulent decor. Although it couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Lucas¡¯ske vi, it was still an incredibly beautiful luxury property. Besides, the sound instion of this vi was clearly impressive, as the people inside didn¡¯t know anything about themotion that just happened outside. Even when the three of them reached the staircase at the end of the living room, the bodyguards standing in the corridor on the second floor by the stairway and chatting with each other still didn¡¯t notice them. ¡°Tsk, tsk, we¡¯re always told to guard the door, but what¡¯s there to guard? No outsider dares toe into this vi anyway.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, you must be envious, huh? Our boss is enjoying himself in there, but all you can do is stay here and guard the ce. Are you having a dry spell? When it¡¯s time to change shifts, I bet you¡¯ll dash out and find someone to satisfy your needs!¡± ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re not envious! But seriously, Mr. Dous has such unique taste in women. If I were him, I wouldn¡¯t want such a fat woman! I¡¯d definitely get a woman who has a nice figure.¡± ¡°Hehehe, there are plenty of women out there who have great figures. Mr. Dous must have gotten sick of them. What do you know? This is called an asional change of taste!¡± ... While the bodyguards were chuckling lewdly over this topic with an unspoken mutual understanding, they werepletely rxed and failed to notice themotion going on downstairs. The redhead had sharp eyes, and as soon as he saw them, he said to Lucas softly, ¡°Mr. Gray, those four bodyguards up there are the ones who followed that woman to Golden Garden Estate to beat that man up just now!¡± Lucas looked up at the stairway of the second floor with an icy cold gaze. They were the ones who had beat up his father-inw, William, knocked him unconscious, and caused him to be hospitalized. They had even tried to harm Cheyenne! Lucas sneered and quickly stomped his foot on the ground before pressing his hand against the handrail of the staircase. He then propelled upward like a bird with light wings, leaping up from the first floor to the second floor. ¡°So fast!¡± Zach and the redhead were both stunned by the move Lucas just pulled! They looked at each other and hurriedly followed Lucas up the stairs. Of course, they didn¡¯t have such amazing skills and could only run up the stairs. At this moment, the pupils of four bodyguards, who were cking off and chatting in the corridor on the second floor, constricted when they saw Lucas suddenly appear in front of them. They quickly got into a ready state and hollered, ¡°Who are you?!¡± Lucas said coldly with a hostile gaze, ¡°You must be the ones who severely injured my father-inw!¡± Hearing the word ¡®father-inw¡¯, they were stunned for a moment, but they soon understood. One of the bodyguards spat a mouthful of saliva and said in disdain, ¡°It turns out you¡¯re the son-inw of that old fogy. Are you thinking of taking revenge on us?¡± ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really bold to have barged into the vi! We have to teach you a good lesson, or Mr. Dous will me us for failing our duties!¡± Another bodyguard raised his fist in front of him and clenched it tightly, causing his knuckles to pop loudly. It was clearly a threat. ¡°Hah, I can beat ten of you weaklings alone!¡± The other bodyguard looked at Lucas¡¯s lean body and snorted with contemptuousughter. He didn¡¯t take Lucas¡¯s words seriously at all. As soon as he finished speaking, he charged toward Lucas and swung his fist against Lucas¡¯s face! Chapter 281: Cuckold

Chapter 281: Cuckold

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Facing these people who had injured his father-inw, Lucas lifted his leg to kick them viciously without any emotion. ¡°Ah!¡± The bodyguard shrieked as his body suddenly flew backward and mmed hard against the wall behind him with a loud thud. He then fell to the ground and passed out without saying a single word. The remaining three bodyguards widened their eyes, clearly shocked to see this. The fact that Lucas could kick such a strong and burly man away and knock him unconscious was a remarkable feat that no ordinary people could do! They finally understood now that the slim young man in front of them was actually a tough nut to crack. They stopped being contemptuous and instead exchanged nces with each other before rushing at Lucas! One of the bodyguards reached his arms out toward Lucas¡¯s arm to mp down on it. Another one focused on attacking Lucas¡¯s lower body, half-crouching and trying to sweep Lucas to make him fall to the ground. And thest one wanted to go past Lucas to attack his vital points from behind. These bodyguards usually trained hard and could coordinate very well with each other. Within a short period of time, they managed to execute three different moves in a bid to take down Lucas. An ordinary person would definitely be flustered and end up being defeated when facing three professional bodyguards who had been through rigorous training and could coordinate very well with each other. But Lucas was not an ordinary person. In his eyes, their coordination was just like child¡¯s y. Besides, their strength and skills were so insignificant to him that they posed no threat at all. Lucas stood still and watched them coldly. The moment these three bodyguards were about to surround him, he shifted his weight onto his left leg and threw a high kick into the air, sending all three of them flying away! Bang! Bang! Bang! With three thuds, the massive impact of Lucas¡¯s power kick instantly swept the three tall and strong bodyguards away, as though a fierce gust of wind swept away fallen leaves. Their bodies mmed against the wall behind them one after another! The moment they collided with the wall, their heads tilted, and their eyes rolled into the backs of their heads, passing out immediately. ¡°This...¡± Zach and the redhead, who hurried upstairs after Lucas, stared at the four unconscious brawny bodyguards lying motionlessly on the ground. Their jaws dropped in shock, and their mouths were wide enough to fit an egg. They were utterly dumbfounded. Within the brief ten seconds t they took to go upstairs, Lucas had already dealt with the four professional bodyguards. This wasn¡¯t something that ordinary people could do. Even though they were already somewhat mentally prepared for Lucas¡¯s powerful and domineering strength, his actions were continually changing the definition of ¡®formidable¡¯ to them. Zach gulped as he looked at Lucas with great respect and awe in his eyes. Now, he finally genuinely understood why Joe looked at Lucas with such a reverent gaze when he had arranged for him to tag along with Lucas earlier. Joe is such a good boss. He has given me a godsend opportunity! Lucas didn¡¯t have the time to bother about what Zach and the redhead were thinking. He looked at the corridor and saw that only the room facing south was locked. Sharon Hart and Chris Dous were most likely in that room. Lucas walked over and kicked the heavy walnut door, causing it to fall off its hinges and crash onto the ground. Bang! The door copsed, and Lucas was greeted with the scene inside the room. There was a man and a woman lying stark naked on therge bed in the center of the room, engaged in an unsightly position while staring at the door in utter astonishment. Lucas sneered in derision. This adulterous pair, who was quite an eyesore, were Chris and Sharon. After a fleeting moment of silence, Sharon immediately let out an ear-piercing scream. ¡°Ah! Who are you? Quickly get lost!¡± Sharon shrieked and frantically pulled the sheet on the bed over her fair body and wrapped herself tightly in it. Chris¡¯s face turned gloomy, and he bellowed furiously at the strangers who suddenly appeared at the door, ¡°Get lost!¡± Anyone who was suddenly interrupted by someone kicking the door off its hinges while they were performing an intimate act with their partner would definitely be displeased. However, Chris couldn¡¯t recognize Lucas, who was standing at the door. Even though he had met Lucas previously, he had brought his younger brother, Gordon Dous, along to apologize to Lucas to put the me of causing trouble to the family on Gordon. He actually didn¡¯t give a hoot about whether the crisis that struck the Douses at that time was because of Lucas or not. He didn¡¯t care if Lucas was a bigwig or not either. At that time, Chris was bent on clinching the position of the head of the Dous family from Hugo¡¯s son, Gordon. So he had painstakingly nned and created a series of premeditated idents that caused Brad Dous to die in the hospital. Subsequently, Chris had even fatally struck Hugo with an ashtray and imed that thetter died from an ident. Eventually, he took firm control of the entire Dous family. Now that he had be the helmsman of the Dous family and held great power and authority, he lived a happy, carefree life. So he naturally forgot about Lucas, a trivial pawn that he had once ¡®used¡¯. Staring at the chaotic scene and the clothes messily strewn on the floor, Lucas mocked, ¡°The helmsman of the Dous family really has such unique taste, eh? I wonder if James Wilson knows that you¡¯ve cuckolded him.¡± Lucas was not trying to be mean. In fact, regardless of what kind of woman Chris wanted to sleep with, it had nothing to do with him at all. But it turned out that Chris had slept with the wife of James Wilson, who belonged to a top family of Orange County too. This just made things even more interesting and intriguing. It seemed that he no longer needed to take action himself because Chris and Sharon had already done themselves a disservice. After hearing Lucas mention James Wilson, Chris narrowed his eyes and red at Lucas with a threatening gaze. His personal bodyguards were the only ones who were aware of his adulterous affair with Sharon, and yet a young brat who popped out of nowhere had walked in on them. If word about this got out, the consequences would definitely be terrible, especially if James caught wind of it. No man would allow himself to be made a cuckold, especially a man like James, who was extremely powerful and was the most promising candidate for the next sessor of the equally powerful Wilson family. Of course, the reason Chris decided to have an illicit affair with Sharon was precisely that he enjoyed the thrill of sleeping with someone else¡¯s wife. The Douses were currently in talks with the Wilsons for a major project. If this matter was exposed, the cooperation would definitely fall through, and they might even turn against each other to be enemies. So Chris would never allow anyone to tell the truth about this incident today! With the sheet tightly wrapped around her, Sharon screamed, ¡°Chris, you must kill this bastard! Or else, if our affair is exposed, James will definitely not spare us! Quick, get someone to kill him!¡± Chapter 282: What Is the Truth?

Chapter 282: What Is the Truth?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Chris was thinking the same thing. He decided that he couldn¡¯t let this man leave easily! But he now had lots of doubts within him. In order to keep his affair with Sharon a secret, he had chosen to stay in this private vi away from the Douses¡¯ main residence. Not only were there a couple of bodyguards guarding the entrance, but there were also some of his personal bodyguards guarding the door to this room. Yet this stranger actually managed to kick the heavy door of the room off its hinges and barge right in, while his bodyguards outside did nothing to stop him. Perhaps they were caught off guard. But now that Lucas was already standing in front of him and had said so many things to him, those bodyguards were still nowhere in sight. That could only mean that his bodyguards had been incapacitated! At this point, Chris was frightened. His personal bodyguards were not weaklings but professional bodyguards that he had hired at great cost! If even they were incapacitated, it just went to show that the strength of this young man in front of him was not to be underestimated! Countless thoughts crossed Chris¡¯s mind, and he tried to be as calm as possible. ¡°Who exactly are you? What do you want by suddenly barging into my vi?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows and smiled faintly. ¡°Chris Dous, now that you¡¯ve be the helmsman of your family, have you forgotten that you personally brought that brother of yours, Gordon, to apologize to me not long ago?¡± Hearing Lucas mention Gordon and the matter of the apology, Chris finally remembered who Lucas was. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you! You¡¯re the live-in son-inw of the Carters, aren¡¯t you? What¡¯s your name again? I can¡¯t recall your name now.¡± With a much more rxed expression, Chris picked up a bath towel that had fallen under the bedside table and wrapped it around his waist. After learning that Lucas was just someone he thought was far inferior to him, a sense of superiority surged within Chris¡¯s heart. Sharon finally recognized Lucas too, and she hurriedly eximed, ¡°He¡¯s Lucas Gray, the good-for-nothing who got kicked out by the Carters!¡± She absolutely abhorred Lucas to the core, and she merely failed to recognize him just now because she was overwhelmed with panic and nervousness. During their first encounter at the kindergarten, Lucas had humiliated her in public and stopped her from hitting Charlotte. Following this incident was an altercation at the hotel restaurant, where Lucas had pped her mercilessly and snatched away the top-quality bracelet that she had painstakingly obtained. She was even forced to swallow her pride and apologize to Karen, that uncouth shrew. In the end, her husband, James, even gave her several stern warnings. These incidents were a huge insult to the snobbish and arrogant Sharon, and the cause of it all was the man in front of her! Although James had previously warned her not to mess with Lucas or confront him, Sharon obviously couldn¡¯t take it lying down. Her husband had yet to gainplete control of the Wilson family, so he didn¡¯t have enough authority or power at the moment. Others nitpicked on him all the time, but he had to bear with it. But Chris, who was beside her, was much different. He was already the rightful helmsman of the Dous family, whom no one could disobey. Sharon wanted to take advantage of Chris¡¯s power today to get rid of Lucaspletely! Chris looked at Lucas and suddenly said with a grin, ¡°So it¡¯s you. I remember that my nephew, Brad, was severely injured by you and ended up dying during his hospitalization. ¡°That younger brother of mine, Gordon, also had his legs broken by my father because of you. Later on, he was grief-stricken by the death of his beloved son, and his injuries rpsed, so he passed away too. ¡°And my father, the former head of my family, also fell into shock and infuriation after hearing of the consecutive deaths of my nephew and brother. He identally had a fall at home and suffered a hemorrhage in his brain, causing him to pass away too. ¡°Within two days, three of my family members died, and you are the reason for it. Lucas Gray, I was nning to do justice to my family, but I didn¡¯t expect you toe looking for me before I went to you.¡± Chris spoke gloomily while staring at Lucas with a sinister gaze, as if Lucas was the one who caused those deaths. Of course, if others heard Chris¡¯s one-sided im, it might really seem that he was telling the truth. But Lucas had already thoroughly investigated Chris a long time ago. In fact, he also had evidence of Chris secretly sending someone to kill Gordon and Brad during their hospitalization. So after hearing Chris¡¯s usation, Lucas couldn¡¯t help bursting intoughter. ¡°Mr. Dous, have you been brainwashing yourself for too long and forgotten exactly how they died?¡± Chris¡¯s expression abruptly changed, and he narrowed his eyes while staring at Lucas in shock and apprehension. Hearing what Lucas said, he wondered, Does Lucas Gray know my secret? ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean,¡± Chris said after calming down, feigning ignorance. But he slowly reached his right hand under the pillow. ¡°Hah, you must be joking, Mr. Dous. You¡¯ve already done everything, and now you¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t understand? With Hugo, Gordon, and Brad Dous dead, you would be the next sessor in line. After their deaths, didn¡¯t you, an illegitimate son with no blood ties to the Dous family, seed as the helmsman?¡± Lucas said nonchntly with a derisive smirk. He had long since asked Jordan to investigate everything thoroughly. Hugo had two sons, namely Chris and Gordon, but actually only Gordon was rted to him by blood. As for Chris, he was the child that Hugo¡¯s wife had with her illicit lover. After learning the truth, Hugo had been infuriated, and he had even thought of killing Chris, this bastard. Butter on, he had no choice but to suppress those thoughts for the sake of maintaining the pride of the family and satisfying his desire for revenge. Not only did he not disclose Chris¡¯s marred birth status, but he had even sung praises about Chris and told everyone that he would make Chris his sessor. Hugo¡¯s decision to do that was just to promote Chris to a higher position and make him think that he would be the next sessor of the Dous family before ruthlessly shattering his beautiful dream. But he didn¡¯t expect that Chris had learned the truth a long time ago and had just been enduring it while making use of what Hugo said to kill him, his son, and his grandson to gain control of the family. Hugo had been outwitted by Chris, who was ruthless, merciless, and vicious. When Chris heard Lucas say the words ¡®illegitimate son¡¯, his facial muscles twitched fiercely, and the gaze in his eyes became sinister and dangerous. Chris¡¯s lowly birth status would forever be a thorn in his heart! But not many people knew about this matter, especially since the three Dous family members had died. So how did Lucas, a live-in son-inw of the Carters, find out about it? ¡°Lucas Gray, who exactly are you?¡± Chris questioned domineeringly with a menacing expression as his hand reached out to grab something under the pillow. Chapter 283: I’m Here To Look For Her

Chapter 283: I¡¯m Here To Look For Her

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios But Lucas ignored Chris and instead looked at Sharon, who was wrapped tightly in the sheet. He said coldly, ¡°Call James Wilson now and get him toe here immediately!¡± A trace of obvious panic immediately appeared on Sharon¡¯s chubby face. Thest thing she would do was to let her husband find out about her illicit affair with Chris. Why would she call him toe here? With a vicious expression, she shrieked in a sharp voice, ¡°Chris, quick, kill him!¡± Chris was also wary and full of murderous intent toward Lucas. He suddenly pulled out the hand under the pillow. In his hand was a bright ck pistol he aimed at Lucas. Lucas was not surprised by his action at all because when he saw Chris reaching his hand under the pillow quietly, he already knew that Chris must have hidden something under it. He could tell what it was without even guessing. The two people who followed Lucas, Zach and the redhead, turned pale as soon as they saw the pistol in Chris¡¯s hand. It¡¯s a gun! For low-level gangsters like them, the deterrence of a real gun in front of them was undoubtedly massive. When Zach saw Chris pointing the terrifying pistol at Lucas, his heart pounded rapidly. He was overwhelmed with horror and fear even though he wasn¡¯t the one being held at gunpoint. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He looked around and suddenly fixed his gaze on a decorative shield hanging on the wall of the corridor outside the door. The shield was gold-ted and a standard size of 50 centimeters in height with a narrow bottom. Not having the luxury of time to think about it, Zach dashed into the room as soon as he took the shields off the wall and stood in front of Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, leave quickly!¡± Zach used the shield to protect himself and Lucas, revealing only half of his eyes as he watched Chris¡¯s movements nervously. Lucas was slightly surprised. He nced at Zach in front of him, only to find that his hands were trembling while holding onto the shield, as well as his calves. He was obviously terrified and scared, yet he dashed in front of Lucas to shield him. Zach¡¯s actions honestly made Lucas change his opinion about him. Chris looked at the few people in front of him and sneered. ¡°Hah, rest assured. None of you can escape!¡± Then Chris aimed the muzzle at Zach¡¯s lower abdomen, which was not covered by the shield. Although the shield covered the vital points of his upper body, there would also be extremely serious consequences if his lower abdomen was shot by a gun. Once the ignorant person in front of him felt pain, he would naturally fall to the ground and curl up into a ball. By then, he would be able to deal with Lucas easily! Zach watched as Gordon¡¯s index finger pushed against the trigger, slowly sliding it back. His entire body stiffened, and his back was drenched in cold sweat. At this moment, he had no idea why he had dashed out impulsively, nor did he know whether what he was doing at the moment was right or wrong. All he knew was that he might be on the brink of death now! The trigger was just about to touch the bottom. Bang! There was a loud gunshot. Zach shuddered and shut his eyes tightly. But after waiting for a while, he still didn¡¯t feel any paining from anywhere on his body. Did... he miss? He mustered the courage to open his eyes a little. He saw Chris in front of him had a wide-open mouth and a shocked expression. ¡°Ah.¡± Lucas chuckled and casually tossed the copper bullet shell he was holding between his index and middle fingers onto the ground. He then pushed Zach, who was holding the shield, aside and walked straight toward Gordon, one step at a time. At this point, Gordon was more than astounded. His eyes couldn¡¯t be any wider as he stared in horror and shock at the small bullet shell Lucas had casually tossed onto the ground. Someone actually managed to catch the bullet he had shot from his pistol! Was this something that ordinary people could do? Is Lucas Gray even human?! Gordon¡¯s heart was full of horror as he watched Lucas approach him. He raised his pistol and pulled the trigger again to shoot Lucas. He didn¡¯t believe that Lucas would be able to block another bullet! But before he could shoot, Lucas¡¯s figure abruptly flickered, and he immediately appeared in front of Gordon even though he was more than two meters away a moment ago! Gordon¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted, and before he could even react, he felt an extremely excruciating pain in his wrist! Snap! The crisp sound of bones being broken filled the air! ¡°Ah! My hand!¡± Chris, who had been holding the pistol in his right hand, wailed in misery from Lucaspletely ripping off his right hand, exposing his white bone and arteries! Blood instantly gushed out from the torn arteries of his wrist. And in just a few seconds, it stained half of Chris¡¯s clothes and half of the bed, soaking it in bright red blood. ¡°Ah! There¡¯s so much blood! Murder! Someone¡¯smitting murder!¡± Cowering on the other side of the bed, Sharon paled as she gaped and screamed in horror after seeing the gruesome and bloody scene in front of her. ¡°Shut up!¡± Lucas hollered. Sharon¡¯s sharp, ear-piercing shriek immediately ceased. She looked at Lucas with terror written all over her face, and she didn¡¯t dare to make a single sound at all. She simply curled up even more, fearing that Lucas would tear off her hand too. Drenched in sweat and seething and wailing in pain, Chris clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth to stop himself from making another sound after hearing Lucas¡¯s holler. He had lived for decades, but he had never suffered so much misery before! But Lucas was now in a dominant position, so Chris didn¡¯t dare to vent his anger anymore and could only bear with the displeasure. ¡°Chris Dous, you wanted to shoot me, and I merely tore off your hand. I¡¯m doing you a favor, aren¡¯t I?¡± Lucas sat down on the couch near the bed and pulled out a few pieces of tissue from the tissue box on the desk next to him. He then slowly wiped away the bloodstain on his hand. Chris turned as pale as a sheet, and he was shivering incessantly from the immense pain and cold sweat. He was struggling to say, ¡°Lucas... Lucas Gray, what exactly do you want? How... how have I offended you?¡± Sitting on the couch, Lucas said indifferently, ¡°I didn¡¯te here for you today. My original intention was to look for this woman. Just over twenty minutes ago, she brought a few of your bodyguards and beat up my father-inw, causing him to end up in the hospital. I¡¯m just here to demand an exnation from her.¡± When Chris heard this, he turned to glower at Sharon in fury, wishing he could kill her right now! Chapter 284: James Wilson Arrives

Chapter 284: James Wilson Arrives

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Chris had been doing very well recently and focusing all his attention on acquiring all of the businesses, properties, and subordinates left behind by Hugo, so he hadn¡¯t had the time to put the me on Lucas yet. So he had wondered why Lucas had suddenly showed up. It turned out that he had been implicated by this ugly woman, Sharon! Earlier, she had called to tell him that she had been bullied while on her way to him and wanted to borrow a few of his bodyguards to help her get revenge. Chris sent his bodyguards over to help without hesitation, but who knew he would end up provoking this demon?! At this moment, Chris was full of regret and wished he could strangle Sharon to death! If it wasn¡¯t for her, his hand wouldn¡¯t have been torn off. If his hand had been severed neatly by a knife, it might still have been able to reconnect to his arm given the current advanced medical technology. But Lucas had forcefully torn off his hand and caused his flesh, blood vessels, and nerves to be badly mangled. How could he not hate Sharon for getting him into this? Seeing Chris¡¯s terrifying expression that seemed to want to devour her, Sharon panicked and was at aplete loss for words. She didn¡¯t expect to end up provoking such a terrifying person after just teaching William Carter a lesson. She hadn¡¯t even taken revenge on Karen and Charlotte yet. Lucas Gray is just a good-for-nothing live-in son-inw of the Carters. How dare he barge into Chris¡¯s vi and even assault him like this? Chris is the helmsman of the Dous family! Isn¡¯t Lucas Gray afraid that the Douses will take revenge? But regardless of how much she didn¡¯t want to believe it, the truth was clearly right in front of her. ¡°Call James Wilson immediately and tell him to rush here within ten minutes! Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for blowing things up.¡± After saying this coldly, he said to the dumbfounded Zach beside him, ¡°Go take some photos and videos of the current scene.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh... okay!¡± Zach took a long while to react and process the instructions that Lucas gave him. He then frantically pulled out his phone from his pocket to take several photos of Chris and Sharon on the bed. He even recorded a video of the both of them with the sheets wrapped tightly around them. Sharon was terribly frightened and petrified. If those photos and videos got out, her adulterous affair would be a scandal that everyone knew. Given James¡¯s character, he wouldn¡¯t let her off the hook for cuckolding him! From now on, she wouldn¡¯t be able to face anyone in Orange County anymore! Horrified and scared out of her wits, Sharon quickly scrambled out of the bed and kneeled in front of Lucas to beg him miserably with tears and snot all over her face. ¡°Lu-Lucas. I was wrong. It was my fault! Please don¡¯t take photos of me. Don¡¯t send them to others!¡± As she did this, the thin bedsheet she was covering herself with got caught on something and slipped away, revealing arge patch of her fair and chubby flesh. Sharon was severely obese. Although she used to be a gorgeous woman, which was how she managed to marry James, she was now in her forties and bby everywhere. She weighed over 100 kilograms, and now that she was kneeling in front of Lucas and begging with tears all over her face, she looked grotesque. ¡°Get lost!¡± Lucas shouted gloomily. Sharon had a great fright. When she saw the disgust and disdain in Zach¡¯s and the redhead¡¯s eyes, she finally realized that the sheet she had covered herself with had fallen off her body. She hurriedly grabbed the sheet and curled up under it again. ¡°Call him now,¡± Lucas said indifferently. With an ashen expression, Sharon dared not disobey Lucas and had no choice but to grab her phone with trembling hands and call James. She then put it on speaker ording to Lucas¡¯s instructions. ¡°Hello, Honey... I-I¡¯m now in the Douses¡¯ vi in the Golden Palm Vi cluster... Could... Could youe over right now?¡± Sharon stammered in a shaky voice. ¡°What? What are you doing in the Douses¡¯ vi?¡± Lucas could tell that the impatient voiceing from the other end indeed belonged to James. With shifty eyes, Sharon couldn¡¯t bring herself to tell the truth. She looked up at Lucas pleadingly in hopes that he would change his mind and spare her from having toe clean with James over the phone. But Lucas didn¡¯t waver. Not to mention the things that Sharon had done before, the fact that she had pped Cheyenne today and also led those bodyguards to William¡¯s ce to beat him up to the point of being hospitalized made Lucas decide that he wouldn¡¯t let her off. Now that she knows that it¡¯s shameful, she¡¯s begging me for mercy. Why didn¡¯t she feel ashamed when she was cheating on her husband with Chris Dous? Why didn¡¯t she think of the consequences when she haughtily confronted William and brought those bodyguards to beat him up? Lucas would never have any sympathy for a woman like Sharon. ¡°Tell him what you and Chris Dous did today. Every single detail. If you dare to hide the truth and lie about anything, you know what the consequences are,¡± Lucas said with an icy cold expression. Sharon shuddered, but she could only go all out. While trembling, she said, ¡°Honey, I... I¡¯m having an affair with Chris Dous, and we... we¡¯re naked now. Hurry up ande here immediately!¡± Toward the end, Sharon closed her eyes and seemed to be saying herst words with all her might. By the time she finished, her body went limp, and sheid on the bed feebly, drenched in sweat. She had full-face makeup on when she arrived, but it was now smudged by her cold sweat, making her look like a mess. ¡°What?! You bitch, say it again!¡± James roared in disbelief. He never thought that his fat wife would have the guts to cheat on him. To make matters worse, her adulterous lover was Chris Dous! The more infuriating thing was she even had the gall to call him personally to tell him about her affair with someone else. Is she provoking me and mocking me?! No man could tolerate something like this! Hearing how enraged James was, Sharon was even more frightened. She shivered in fear and didn¡¯t dare to say a single word. ¡°Bitch, just you wait! I¡¯m going there right now. Damn it!¡± James hung up furiously. Although Sharon didn¡¯t say the exact address, the Wilsons were also a top family in Orange County, so it was naturally not difficult for him to find out where Chris¡¯s vi was. While Sharon was on the phone, Chris was gritting his teeth and secretly taking out his phone to call the police, the ambnce, or his other subordinates. Whichever was fine because he couldn¡¯t hold on for much longer. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Zach was right beside him. When he saw this, he hurriedly snatched the phone away from Chris¡¯s hand. Chris clenched his jaw and said feebly, ¡°Mr. Gray... Please, can you let me go to the hospital first? I feel... feel like I¡¯m about to die.¡± Lucas had ripped off his hand and broken his arteries, thus causing arge amount of blood loss that made Chris turn pale and dizzy. Lucas nced at him and knew that Chris wouldn¡¯t die soon. He said indifferently, ¡°Let James Wilson decide if you die or not. me it on yourself for sleeping with someone else¡¯s wife.¡± As soon as Chris heard this, his face turned even paler. James was not a good-tempered and tolerant person. He definitely wouldn¡¯t let Chris off! In fact, if Chris were in James¡¯s ce, he definitely wouldn¡¯t forgive the man his wife cheated on him with! Soon, the sounds of noisy and erratic footsteps came from downstairs, and James¡¯s furious roar came from the hall downstairs. ¡°Sharon Hart, Chris Dous! You adulterers, get your asses out here!¡± Chapter 285: Repeat Yourself

Chapter 285: Repeat Yourself

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After Sharon heard his roar, she shuddered and wished she could stuff herself into the cracks of the bed. But when she saw Lucas¡¯s intimidating gaze, she could only speak up regardless of how unwilling she was. ¡°I... I¡¯m upstairs!¡± Soon, James and several bodyguards rushed aggressively to the door of the room upstairs. He had bloodshot eyes and anger written all over his face. As soon as he entered the room, he saw his wife wrapped in a thin bedsheet and cowering in the corner of therge bed in the middle of the bedroom. Only her arms were exposed, but anyone could tell that she was naked below the sheet. The weak and feeble Chris, who was simrly naked, was beside her, but he only had a bath towel covering his lower body. Their clothes were strewn messily all over the ground, and it was obvious what they had been doing just now. But they weren¡¯t the only ones in the room. Lucas and two other people were present as well. Among them, the most eye-catching one was Lucas, who was sitting leisurely on the couch across the bed, with the two roguish young men beside him. When James nced at Lucas, he naturally recognized him. Previously at the hotel restaurant, he had brought his men with him with the intention to stand up for Sharon. But in the end, Lucas had single-handedly defeated all ten-odd bodyguards as soon as they fought. Since then, James had been wary and scared of Lucas, whom he had added to his list of people not to be trifled with. Although he didn¡¯t know why Lucas had appeared where his wife and Chris were having an affair, James believed that Lucas was absolutely not one of Sharon¡¯s adulterous lovers! So he merely nced at Lucas before venting all his anger on the shameless pair of adulterers on the bed. ¡°Chris Dous, I¡¯ve always respected you for being a prestigious figure. And when you seeded as the head of the Dous family just a while ago, I even personally went to give you an expensive congrattory gift. Now, we¡¯re also business partners. Is this how you f*cking treat me? You actually slept with my wife?! Damn it. Can¡¯t you get another woman? Or are you deliberately trying to humiliate me? How have I ever offended you?¡± James cursed furiously with bloodshot eyes while wishing he could strangle Chris dead right on the spot! Chris naturally didn¡¯t know what to say, and he could only muster the energy to say with great difficulty, ¡°James, well... I have nothing to say about this. I¡¯ve indeed let you down. I¡¯m sorry. I... I will... definitely make it up to you! Even if... even if I have to give you half of my businesses and assets, I will! Now, I just hope you can send me to the hospital as soon as possible... I¡¯m really about to die...¡± Only then did James realize that Chris¡¯s face was terribly pale and that cold sweat covered his forehead. He moved his gaze downward, only to finally notice the blood that had gushed out of Chris¡¯s badly mangled wrist to stain half of the bedsheets and the hand on it. The bloody scene made James¡¯s pupils constrict. Someone had actually torn Chris¡¯s hand off... But he soon felt the thrill of seeing Chris get his just desserts. ¡°Haha, you deserve this! Chris Dous, having your hand torn off is what you get for sleeping with my wife! You actually want me to send you to the hospital? No way! Dream on!¡± James was not a saint who would send the man who cuckolded him to the hospital to get treated. He would never do such a lowly thing! ¡°What are you still standing there for? Beat him up!¡± With James¡¯s order, his bodyguards immediately charged toward Chris and hit him as hard as they could. Having lost too much blood from his torn-off hand, Chris was simply powerless to fight back. To make matters worse, his face was bruised and swollen after getting beaten up by the bodyguards, making him unable to scream or shout. At this moment, James stormed menacingly toward Sharon, who was trembling at the side. He grabbed her hair, dragged her off the bed, and kicked her hard. ¡°Bitch! Have I ever mistreated you? I provide all your living expenses and put a roof over your head. Yet you dared to fool around with another man! I must beat you to death today!¡± Sharon was being kicked so brutally that she kept shrieking, and she suffered several hard ps that made her face burn with stinging pain. She wept incessantly and begged for mercy, ¡°Honey, I know I was wrong! I won¡¯t dare to do it again! Ah! Please forgive me, Honey!¡± After giving Sharon a brutal beating, James finally vented some of his anger. ¡°Hurry up and put on your clothes, and thene home with me! I¡¯ll deal with you again when we get home!¡± No matter what, Sharon was still his woman after all, and it would be too embarrassing to continue hitting her in front of outsiders, as that would reflect badly on James too. He red at Sharon viciously and thought to himself, Once we get home, I¡¯ll teach this promiscuous and shameless bitch who had the guts to cuckold me a hard lesson! Sharon shuddered and hurriedly put on her clothes. At this point, Chris had already passed out from the severe beating of the bodyguards. With shaky limbs, Sharon cowered behind James. Suddenly remembering something, she pointed at Lucas. ¡°Honey, he... Lucas Gray got his subordinate to take photos and videos of me... and Chris. What should I do...¡± James was once again enraged. But even though he was so furious that he wished he could strangle Sharon to death on the spot, he had to get those photos and videos from Lucas. No matter what, Sharon was still his wife. If those indecent and explicit photographic content of her were leaked, Sharon would not be the only one getting humiliated. It would be a huge disgrace to James and his entire Wilson family. James turned to face Lucas and demanded in displeasure, ¡°Lucas Gray, hand me those photos and videos!¡± Because he was burning with rage, he was displeased with everyone now and thus spoke to Lucas in amanding tone. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t give in to James and allow him to talk to him scornfully. He remained seated and said, ¡°James Wilson, why don¡¯t you ask me the reason I took those unsightly photos of your wife?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what the reason is. Those photos are of my wife, so you don¡¯t have the right to keep them! Hurry up and give them to me. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being nasty!¡± James threatened with great animosity. Zach immediately stood out and interjected loudly, ¡°James Wilson, watch your tone with Mr. Gray. You didn¡¯t even ask about what happened, but you¡¯re just demanding that we hand the photos over?¡± James nced disdainfully at the row of ear studs on Zach¡¯s ears, as well as the dragon tattoo on his arm, and sneered. ¡°You¡¯re just a lowly gangster. Who are you to speak to me? Your owner hasn¡¯t even spoken yet, so what are you barking for? Get lost!¡± ¡°You!¡± Zach was so infuriated that he turned beet red. Before he could say anything, Lucas¡¯s figure suddenly shed like a phantom and arrived in front of James in the blink of an eye. Smack! He gave James a loud, hard p on his face. Lucas narrowed his eyes while James stared at him with shock and disbelief in his eyes. ¡°Try repeating what you just said.¡± Chapter 286: Not Allowed To Show Up

Chapter 286: Not Allowed To Show Up

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After receiving a sudden p on his face by Lucas, James was naturally incredibly enraged. But when he saw Lucas¡¯s cold gaze, he felt as though ice-cold water had been poured over his head, and his anger dissipated a little. James finally regained some rationality, and he subconsciously recalled the several conflicts that he had had with Lucas, as well as the consequences that he had had to bear after each of them. During the first dispute they had at Amelia¡¯s kindergarten, Lucas kicked him away without mercy. And his subordinate Jordan, who was just as terrifying, managed to beat up James¡¯s underlings all by himself. Until now, those underlings had still yet to be discharged from the hospital. Later on, during the conflict at the hotel restaurant, Lucas had beat the living daylights out of James¡¯s elite bodyguards, whom he had spent a bomb on. Since then, James knew that Lucas was not to be provoked. But he had forgotten about all of this in a moment of rage just now! Now, he had also figured out that Lucas must have been the one who tore off Chris¡¯s hand into this gruesome state! A sudden chill surged in James¡¯s heart. For someone who had the ability and was enough fearless to casually rip off the hand of the helmsman of the Dous family, it probably would be a piece of a cake for him to deal with James! ¡°Damn it. You must have a death wish!¡± Seeing James being shamed in public, his bodyguards immediately surrounded Lucas. ¡°Stop! Get lost!¡± James hurriedly roared furiously and chased his bodyguards out of the room. Damn it. I would be in a worse plight if I let these foolish bodyguards get into a fight with Lucas Gray! James finally had the time to think carefully about what Lucas had said earlier and figure out why he had kept Sharon¡¯s photos and videos... It must have something to do with this shameless bitch! James yanked at Sharon¡¯s hair and pped her face twice. He barked sternly, ¡°Bitch, what exactly did you do to Mr. Gray? Have you provoked him again?¡± Sharon screamed in a shrill voice. Her face had long be swollen, and her lips were also bleeding from the beating she got from James. At this point, she was full of fear and horror, but in the face of James¡¯s angry questioning, she dared not hide a single thing. ¡°I... I ran into his wife and her parents, and we got into a scuffle. I-I was furious, and I couldn¡¯t take it lying down, so I looked for Chris and borrowed a few of his bodyguards to go beat up his... father-inw. His father-inw passed out, and afterward... I have no clue what happened after that...¡± Sharon stammered. James red at her murderously while she shuddered, and her voice became softer. Toward the end, she was almost inaudible. ¡°As expected, you¡¯re the cause of all of this again, you bitch! I¡¯ve already warned you several times before not to provoke Mr. Gray and his family again. Why can¡¯t you just listen to me?! Are your brains not working?! Damn it. If not for the sake of my son, I would have kicked you out a long time ago!¡± James was livid. After berating Sharon, he turned around and apologized to Lucas softly. ¡°Mr. Gray, I didn¡¯t expect this bitch to be so unrepentant and actually have the nerve to provoke you and your family. I¡¯ve clearly given her several warnings, and this matter is a result of my failure to take her in hand. I¡¯m really sorry. I¡¯ll pay for all the medical expenses of your injured father-inw. As for this shameless troublemaker, you can kill her or do whatever you wish!¡± James couldn¡¯t be any more infuriated with Sharon. He had long fallen out of Sharon, whose weight had gotten out of control and whose family had declined to the point that they were no longer of any help to him. Yet she still went around causing trouble and giving him more problems everywhere. He had long wanted to kick her out. James¡¯s words made Sharon panic. Her family had already declined, and if James divorced her, what could she do for the rest of her life? Besides, James was even intending to let Lucas deal with her as he pleased. The bloody scene of Lucas ripping off Chris¡¯s hand resurfaced in Sharon¡¯s mind, causing her to turn ashen. Overwhelmed with fear, Sharon fell to her knees with a loud thud, no longer caring about her pride and dignity anymore. Kneeling in front of Lucas, she wept and pleaded for mercy, ¡°Mr. Gray, please spare me! I promise I will never dare to do anything like this again!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t pay any attention to her and simply said to James, ¡°From now on, I don¡¯t want to see this woman in Orange County again.¡± Taken aback by his answer, James blurted out, ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°Do you think I should be harsher?¡± Lucas asked sneeringly. ¡°No, no.¡± James hurriedly shook his head. ¡°Thank you so much for your generosity and magnanimity, Mr. Gray. I promise that this woman will never step foot into this city again, and she will never bother you anymore!¡± Then James kicked Sharon with his toes and hollered, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and thank Mr. Gray for being kind and magnanimous to spare your lowly life!¡± At this point, Sharon finally recovered from her shock, and she realized that Lucas didn¡¯t intend to give her any unbearable punishment and merely wanted her to never appear in Orange County again. Compared to all the gruesome and brutal scenes she had imagined just now, this was simply better than an amnesty! ¡°Yes, thank you so much, Mr. Gray. Thank you so much!¡± Sharon thanked profusely while still kneeling on the ground. But Lucas no longer had the patience to argue with them. He simply walked out of the door, followed by Zach and the redhead hurriedly chasing after him. When they headed downstairs and reached the entrance of the vi, they could still hear the noisesing from upstairs. ¡°You¡¯re such a disgraceful bitch! Once we get home, pack up immediately and stay far, far away from Orange County. You¡¯re not allowed to step foot here again!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go, I¡¯ll go. But... our son is still so young. He...¡± ¡°Shut up! Bitch, trust you to have the cheek to bring up our son. Did you remember that you¡¯re our son¡¯s mother when you were getting intimate with Chris Dous on this bed? Scram! You¡¯re not allowed to see our son again either!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ... The redhead pursed his lips. Everything he had seen and experienced alongside Lucas today was a huge eye-opener for him and would always remain as an unforgettable encounter that he would talk about for the rest of his life! As soon as Lucas stepped out of the vi, his phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Cheyenne. ¡°Hello, Cheyenne, how¡¯s William?¡± Lucas asked concernedly after answering. Chapter 288: Donation to the Hospital

Chapter 288: Donation to the Hospital

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The doctor in the white coat seemed to be in a difficult spot too. After hesitating for a while, she said, ¡°Miss Keller, I understand the situation that you¡¯re in, but your mother¡¯s illness requires a long period of time and a lot of medication to treat. I can only say that I will try my best to help you and find a way to help your mother apply for some financial aid to reduce the pressure on you.¡± Miss Keller nodded and thanked the doctor. ¡°Thank you so much, Dr. Jones!¡± Dr. Jones smiled. ¡°It¡¯s my duty.¡± Then she said someforting words to Miss Keller and left. Lucas was a little surprised because the familiar-looking Miss Keller in front of him now was none other than Grace Keller, whom Lucas had once met previously. Just about a month ago, Scarlet had tricked Amelia into leaving the kindergarten with her for the sake of taking revenge on Lucas. Amelia had then been brought to Logan Hale¡¯s vi, where there was another young woman whom Logan had abducted. She was none other than Grace. In those few hours that Amelia was held in the vi, Grace took great care of her. And for the sake of protecting Amelia, Grace even gave in to Logan¡¯s despicable request. If Lucas hadn¡¯t arrived in the nick of time, Grace might have really been vited by Logan. When they returned home from Logan¡¯s vi, Amelia also sang praises about the gentle and beautiful Grace. So Lucas had been very grateful to Grace, who was willing to sacrifice her chastity in order to protect his daughter, Amelia. For this reason, Lucas even specially gave Grace his business card and told her that she could seek help from him if she ever encountered any difficulties in the future. However, it seemed that Grace was indeed encountering some difficulties, but she didn¡¯t call him to ask for help. After thinking about it, Lucas didn¡¯t go up to greet Grace or ask about her situation but instead followed behind Dr. Jones to the entrance of an office. ¡°Hello, Dr. Jones,¡± Lucas greeted at the door. Dr. Jones turned around and sized up Lucas before pushing her sses up her nose bridge and asking in puzzlement, ¡°Who are you?¡± Lucas answered politely, ¡°Dr. Jones, I¡¯m a friend of Grace Keller. I overheard you talking to her just now. May I ask if Grace¡¯s mother is suffering from some serious illness?¡± Having a hunch that Lucas was an upright person because of the look in his eyes, and coupled with the fact that Lucas managed to say Grace¡¯s name, Dr. Jones no longer doubted his identity. She sighed, pointed to a chair in the office, and asked Lucas to have a seat so they could talk. Dr. Jones was a kind-looking female doctor in herte forties whose hair was graying a little. After sitting down on the chair in front of her desk, she said, ¡°Since you are Grace¡¯s friend, I¡¯ll be frank with you. Her mother has developed kidney failure due to excessivebor that has put a strain on her body. She needs arge amount of medication and dialysis for her condition to improve slowly. She is prone to developing uremia or even acute kidney failure, so her condition is not very optimistic. ¡°The best treatment for patients like her is a kidney transnt. However, it¡¯s difficult to find a suitable donor, and the costs of treatment are extremely high as well. I¡¯m afraid Miss Keller can¡¯t afford it at all.¡± When Lucas heard the words ¡®kidney failure¡¯, his entire body stiffened. Six years ago, his mother had developed kidney failure precisely because of years of excessivebor and fatigue. She had only visited the hospital when her illness put her in a life-threatening situation several times. But by the time she was diagnosed, her illness had already developed to a critical stage. At that time, Lucas was just a fresh graduate who didn¡¯t have enough money for his mother¡¯s treatment. Out of desperation, he had no choice but to go all out and seek help from the Huttons, only to receive their mockery and scoldings. Later on, while he was working hard to earn money for his mother¡¯s medical expenses, he somehow got involved in that scandal with Cheyenne, causing him to be the live-in son-inw of the Carters. In the end, he swallowed his pride and borrowed 50,000 dors from William to save his mother. Unfortunately, by the time he rushed to the hospital, it was already toote. His mother had lost the fight to her illness. This would forever be an agonizing memory for Lucas. Now, he could easily afford the tens of thousands, but his mother would nevere back to life. A tinge of sorrow and misery appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. He suddenly said, ¡°Dr. Jones, I would like to donate fifteen million dors to the hospital specifically to support treatment for patients diagnosed with kidney failure. What are the procedures that I have to go through to make the donation?¡± Dr. Jones sprung up from her chair immediately and asked in disbelief, ¡°What did you say? You want to donate fifteen million dors to the hospital to support treatment for patients diagnosed with kidney failure?¡± Lucas nodded solemnly. Lucas wasn¡¯t short of this 15 million dors now. But he knew very well how much pain people would be in after developing kidney failure, as well as how much pressure would be put on the family members of patients with kidney failure. If he had been able to receive such financial help when his mother was ill, she would probably have survived. But it was impossible to turn back time. If his donation could help more patients with kidney failure, he would feel much more relieved and heartened. He was certain that histe mother would definitely support his decision too. After confirming that Lucas wasn¡¯t joking, Dr. Jones was exhrated. She immediately took Lucas to the director¡¯s office to let them discuss this matter personally. Fifteen million dors was an enormous donation! The elderly director of the hospital was extremely excited as well. He grabbed Lucas¡¯s hand and praised him incessantly. They were doctors whose duties were to save lives and treat the injured, so none of them were willing to watch their patients pass away due to their inability to pay for treatment. But the treatment of some diseases truly required arge sum of money, medication, and equipment. So sometimes, they really had no choice but to watch sadly as those patients passed away. But now that Lucas was going to donate 15 million dors, there would be hope for many patients suffering from kidney failure but couldn¡¯t afford treatment! Soon, the director called some people to his office for a brief conference to talk about Lucas¡¯s donation. It was stipted clearly that a special kidney failure foundation would be established and that the 15 million dors Lucas was going to donate would be used to help those suffering from kidney failure and facing financial difficulties. The director also invited Lucas to be the person in charge of the foundation, thus giving him the right to audit and supervise the usage of the funds. Lucas didn¡¯t want to interfere with the operation of the foundation, so he declined the offer. Instead, he made a small request. ¡°I just want the money to be used for each and every person who needs help, and I also hope that the hospital will keep my donation confidential and not mention it to anyone.¡± Chapter 294: The Donor

Chapter 294: The Donor

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Themotion had rmed many people in the wards at the very beginning. Due to the fact that the inpatient wing of the hospital was supposed to be kept quiet at all times in order to allow patients to rest and recuperate properly, the slightest noise would be heard clearly even if it came from afar. In particr, when Liam and his bodyguards charged forward to confront Lucas, his arrogant and furious bellowing almost resounded through the entire floor. When they got into a scuffle, many people hurried out of the wards. They red furiously at them for creating such a huge ruckus and wanted to demand that they quiet down. But after hearing Liam announce that he was the scion of the Waces, many people dismissed the idea of going forward to confront him and tell him to keep his voice down. They didn¡¯t have a death wish, and no one was willing to offend Liam, a true scion of a wealthy family. But after Liam announced his identity, many more people began to stand around him and discuss him from afar, including some patients who were not particrly ill, some family members of the patients interested in the gossip, and a few medical staff. They didn¡¯t dare to go forward to stop Liam. But deep down, they werementing and thinking to themselves that Lucas was going to be in trouble. But the way things subsequently unfolded made their jaws drop in shock! No one expected Lucas to be that powerful. Not only did he instantly knock down the two bodyguards, but he also pped Liam hard twice on his face. He even looked as though he would continue to p Liam for every nasty thing he said. This was simply too bbergasting! Everyone was astonished. Compared to the cool and collected Lucas, Liam was hopping mad and on the verge of losing his mind! He couldn¡¯t beat Lucas, and there was nothing he could do about him at all. To make matters worse, a bunch of the surrounding onlookers were pointing fingers and making remarks about him, making him feel incredibly embarrassed! ¡°Bastard, you... just you wait!¡± Liam quickly said and then turned around to flee. He decided that once he left the hospital, he would definitely call arge group of subordinates toe over and help him. Since two bodyguards couldn¡¯t do anything to Lucas, he believed that 20 or perhaps even 200 would be enough! What could an inexperienced punk do to the Waces!?! Hmph, I¡¯m not being a coward. This is a tactical retreat! ¡°Hold it right there. Did I say you could leave?¡± Lucas suddenly stopped Liam and obstructed him from leaving. ¡°You... What exactly do you want?¡± Liam asked, feeling a little flustered. He started mentioning his family again, ¡°My grandfather is the family head of the Waces, and there are so many eyewitnesses here. If you dare to do anything to me, my grandfather will definitely not let you off!¡± ¡°Have you said enough nonsense?¡± Lucas nced at him coldly. ¡°Good. It happens that there are so many people here now. I want you to swear in front of them that you will never pester Grace Keller again in the future, and then I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Liam¡¯s face suddenly became even more sullen, and his expression kept changing. Lucas was the first person ever to dare to force him to swear! How dare this bitch Grace Keller get someone to humiliate me?! All of a sudden, his eyes were full of hatred. Grace knew that Lucas was doing this for her own good because he wanted Liam to drop the idea of ever pestering her again. But when she saw how livid Liam was, she was worried that he would hold a grudge against Lucas for it. Feeling uneasy, she whispered, ¡°Lucas, why don¡¯t we... forget about it?¡± Lucas shook his head. Liam had no choice but to grit his teeth and say while feeling incredibly humiliated, ¡°Fine, I, Liam Wace, swear that I will never pester this woman again! Is that enough?¡± ¡°Remember what you said today. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off so easily next time! Now get lost,¡± Lucas warned, ring at Liam sternly. Liam felt extremely ashamed. He glowered at Lucas and turned around to leave,pletely ignoring his bodyguards, who were still lying unconscious on the ground. Grace felt uneasy because when she saw the look on Liam¡¯s face when he was about to leave, she had a hunch that he wasn¡¯t going to just let things end here. Besides, considering how haughty and prideful he was, she knew that he would certainly try to take revenge on Lucas by all means after suffering such embarrassment and humiliation today. This matter had nothing to do with Lucas in the first ce. But he got implicated because of her and even formed a feud with Liam, as well as the Waces. Grace felt incredibly apologetic and guilty. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m sorry for getting you involved in this dispute. Liam Wace is a vengeful person who will surelye looking for you for revenge, so you¡¯d better hurry up and leave. Find a safe ce toy low for the time being and wait for things to blow over,¡± Grace said worriedly. ¡°Got it. You be careful too. If anything happens, call me immediately,¡± Lucas said with a smile. Then he suddenly asked, ¡°You still have my number, right?¡± Grace blushed slightly. ¡°Yes, I saved your number since you gave it to me the other day.¡± ¡°Okay, then remember to call me if you need anything. You don¡¯t have to be so polite with me. I¡¯ll get going now. Bye.¡± Lucas waved his hand smilingly and then turned around to leave. Grace stood still on the spot, watching Lucas leave. Only after he vanished into the elevator did she look away and ponder for a while. She then turned around to walk toward Dr. Jones¡¯s office. After hearing the good news from Dr. Jones earlier, she hadn¡¯t had a chance to thank her properly yet. Moreover, she also wanted to ask about the Samaritan who had donated therge sum of money. The Samaritan¡¯s kind gesture was a life-saving favor to her and her mother, so she was bent on expressing her appreciation. Even if it wasn¡¯t convenient for the donor to reveal their identity, Grace still intended to ask Dr. Jones to send a small gift on her behalf to thank the donor. After she entered Dr. Jones¡¯s office and made her intentions clear to her, thetter seemed very conflicted. ¡°If it¡¯s really inconvenient for you to disclose their information, I won¡¯t impose on you any longer...¡± Grace said with her head hung low, her voice full of disappointment. Just as she was about to say goodbye and leave, Dr. Jones suddenly sighed. ¡°Actually, if it was someone else who came to ask me this, I would definitely insist on respecting the wishes of that kind donor and keep his identity a secret. However, this donation actually has a lot to do with you, so I thought about it and decided that I should tell you.¡± Grace suddenly raised her head in confusion. ¡°It has something to do with me?¡± Dr. Jones nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. In fact, the Samaritan who donated fifteen million dors to the hospital specifically to provide financial aid to patients suffering from kidney failure is Mr. Lucas Gray.¡± Grace¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Dr. Jones continued, ¡°But he wanted to keep his identity a secret and told us not to reveal it to you. He¡¯s probably afraid that you might feel burdened and pressured or indebted to him. ¡°However, I understand your character well. You¡¯re a wonderful girl who knows to be grateful and insists on repaying every single tinge of kindness shown to you. You will never be at ease until you find out who that kind donor is, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll try to find him by all means to repay him. That¡¯s why I just told you straight. ¡°Actually, both of you are good people who spare thoughts for others. I just don¡¯t want to see you two getting embroiled in so much hassle because of this. That¡¯s why I quietly told you despite of Mr. Gray¡¯s request for us to keep his identity confidential. However, please keep everything I just told you to yourself. Don¡¯t tell a single soul about it.¡± Chapter 296: Grace Has a Mishap

Chapter 296: Grace Has a Mishap

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing that the situation seemed to be getting worse, Grace panicked and hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s not what you think! My name is Grace Keller, and I was abducted by Logan Hale a month or so ago. Logan Hale kept me locked in an extremely remote vi, andter on, your daughter was somehow brought there too. Amelia and I spent a few hours together, during which she told me your name!¡± Cheyenne was obviously shocked the moment she heard these words. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t forget this incident! That day, Lucas and Amelia hade homete at night, and Amelia had kept mentioning an ¡®Aunt Grace¡¯ andplimenting her for being a nice person. Amelia had even said that she wanted to go to Aunt Grace¡¯s ce to y again, making Cheyenne upset because she misunderstood that Lucas was having an affair with another woman. But afterward, Charlotte inadvertently revealed the truth of the matter. And only then did Cheyenne find out that her daughter, Amelia, had been taken away by Scarlet and brought to Logan¡¯s vi, all because they wanted to threaten Lucas with Amelia¡¯s safety. Lucas naturally managed to find Logan¡¯s vi in the end and sessfully rescue Amelia. But during the few hours that Amelia had been held captive in the vi, she was apanied by Grace, who had been very patient with Amelia and took great care of her. When Logan threatened to harm Amelia, Grace was even willing to sacrifice her own chastity! Thus, although Cheyenne had never met Grace before, she had always been grateful to her for being so kind as to take such great care of Amelia and protect her. She had always wanted to thank Grace in person. But unfortunately, Lucas didn¡¯t have her contact number, so she hadn¡¯t had the chance to do so. But she didn¡¯t expect the woman in front of her was Grace! ¡°Are you Grace Keller? Great! I¡¯ve finally met you!¡± The hostility on Cheyenne¡¯s face instantly vanished as she went forward and grabbed Grace¡¯s hands. She said gratefully with excitement, ¡°I know who you are! After Amelia came home back then, she kept telling me about how nice you were. You don¡¯t even know my daughter, but you were willing to let yourself get vited in order to protect her. I¡¯ll forever remember your kindness! ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to thank you, but I don¡¯t know where you live. I didn¡¯t expect to run into you in this hospital! Thank you, Grace! You¡¯re mine and Amelia¡¯s great benefactor!¡± With shock written all over her face, Grace watched as Cheyenne grabbed her hands tightly and thanked her profusely. She had been anxious and eagerly trying to clear the misunderstanding, but she was now at a loss for what to do. Of course, she understood that Cheyenne was extremely agitated and thankful because the matter concerned her daughter. Children always meant the world to their mothers. But Grace felt ashamed when she saw how grateful Cheyenne was. ¡°Miss Carter, please don¡¯t say that! It¡¯s only right for me to do what I did. Amelia is such an adorable little girl, and I believe anyone would want to protect her. Speaking of benefactors, your husband Lucas is the one who saved my life! If it wasn¡¯t for him, I might still be trapped in that vi now, and who knows what would have happened to me. I should be thanking you guys instead!¡± Grace shook Cheyenne¡¯s hands earnestly. While they were shaking each other¡¯s hands, Cheyenne suddenly burst intoughter, and so did Grace. The tension and hostility between them had vanished within minutes. ¡°Miss Carter, there¡¯s really nothing between me and Mr. Gray...¡± Grace still tried to give a clear exnation of the matter to resolve the previous misunderstanding. Cheyenne held Grace¡¯s hands and stopped her from exining further. She said with a somewhat awkward expression, ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin any further. I¡¯ve actually already figured it out. I¡¯ve really misunderstood you two. I¡¯m so sorry for making such an embarrassing blunder.¡± In fact, when Cheyenne had heard Lucas and Grace¡¯s conversation and saw them holding hands earlier, a strong sense of jealousy and anger surged in her heart. But she soon figured out that she must have misunderstood something. After all, given all that Lucas had done for her during this period of time, it was impossible that he would be unfaithful to her. But after she stormed off in a fury, she was actually waiting for Lucas to chase after her and exin things to her clearly. Yet Lucas didn¡¯t do so, so she remained in William¡¯s ward for a long time. The more she thought about it, the more infuriated she was. And when she saw Lucas, she decided to give him the cold shoulder, and when she met Grace again, she was full of animosity. But now that Grace had revealed her identity, Cheyenne believed that a kind girl like her wouldn¡¯t have an illicit affair with Lucas. Seeing that the misunderstanding had been resolved, Grace felt extremely relieved, as though a boulder had been lifted off of her chest. Lucas had rescued her several times and was a huge benefactor to her. If she caused any misunderstanding or conflict to arise between Lucas and Cheyenne, she would definitely be overwhelmed with guilt. But looking at Cheyenne¡¯s beautiful face and her kind smile, Grace felt that Cheyenne and Lucas were simply a match made in heaven. At the thought of this, Grace felt a little envious. Gazing at Grace, Cheyenne suddenly asked, ¡°What are you doing at the hospital? Is someone in your family ill and hospitalized too?¡± She asked out of concern. She had already noticed Grace¡¯s extremely in and simple outfit just now, leading her to guess that Grace was probably facing some financial difficulties. So she wondered if Grace needed any help. Grace answered, ¡°My mother was diagnosed with kidney failure, and she¡¯s receiving treatment in this hospital.¡± ¡°Kidney failure?¡± Cheyenne asked in shock. Kidney failure was not an ordinary disease, and in some severe cases, it was fatal. As far as Cheyenne knew, the costs of treatment for kidney failure were extremely high, as it required expensive drugs and frequent dialysis. Many families copsed because of such hefty medical bills. With a look of concern in her beautiful eyes, Cheyenne asked, ¡°Well then, is there anything I can do to help you?¡± Grace hurriedly shook her head. ¡°Not anymore. Uh... a kind person donated arge sum of money to the hospital and also set up a foundation specifically to provide financial aid for patients suffering from kidney failure like my mother. So all medical expenses my mother will incur will be provided for by this foundation, and I no longer have to worry about her bills. ¡°Speaking of which, Mr. Gray happened to be telling me about this piece of wonderful news at the time, and I got so worked up that I unknowingly grabbed his hands while asking him if it was true... Then... you happened to see us,¡± Grace said with some embarrassment. After hearing this, Cheyenne came to a sudden realization. No wonder Grace asked Lucas if he was lying to her at the time. It turns out it¡¯s because she heard this good news and got too excited. Cheyenne immediately felt embarrassed and amused. At the same time, she also suddenly became closer to Grace. They exchanged numbers and then decided to board the elevator to go downstairs together, as Cheyenne had to head back to the Brilliance Corporation, while Grace had to go downstairs to get something for her mother. ¡°Grace, I¡¯ll get going now. I¡¯ll invite you to our ce for dinner someday. Amelia has been missing you!¡± Cheyenne bade farewell to Grace smilingly. ¡°Sure, I¡¯lle over when I have time!¡± Grace answered with a smile. They parted ways at the entrance of the hospital and went in different directions. Suddenly, something happened! Screech! With the ear-piercing screech of car tiresing to a sudden halt, a pure ck Passat suddenly pulled over beside Grace. The doors opened, and a pair ofrge hands reached out to grab Grace and drag her into the backseat of the car! Cheyenne happened to see this in the corner of her eye and immediately eximed in shock, ¡°Grace!¡± Chapter 297: In Front of the Club

Chapter 297: In Front of the Club

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everything happened way too quickly. Grace didn¡¯t even have the time to scream. Before she knew it, someone swiftly covered her mouth and dragged her into the car. The next second, the car door mmed shut with a loud bang, and the engine of the ck Passat roared before it sped off quickly. The entire processsted only a few seconds! By the time Cheyenne reacted and chased after the car, she only managed to get a vague glimpse of the license te number. It was an abduction that actually happened in broad daylight! Cheyenne was at a loss for what to do, and the only thing she could think of was to call Lucas immediately! At this moment, Lucas was in William¡¯s ward when his cell phone suddenly rang. When Lucas saw that it was Cheyenne calling him, his expression immediately became serious. Cheyenne had just left the ward angrily and given him the cold shoulder because of the earlier misunderstanding. She had even stopped him from following her and refused to give him a chance to exin himself. Now that she suddenly called him, he was certain that something serious must have happened! Lucas immediately answered the call, only to hear Cheyenne¡¯s anxious voice as she hurriedly eximed in panic on the other end, ¡°Lucas, bad news! Someone forcefully dragged Grace into a car at the entrance of the hospital just now! ¡°It was a ck Passat with the license te AHT617, and it headed east.¡± Cheyenne quickly told Lucas all the information she had and said anxiously, ¡°Lucas, quickly find a way to save her!¡± ¡°Okay, I got it. I¡¯ll go now!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t have time to think about how Cheyenne got to know Grace. He simply sprung up immediately with a terrifying aura and strode out of the ward. ¡°William, I have something important to attend to now. Call me if you need anything!¡± After informing William, Lucas immediately left the ward. At the same time, he made a call. While walking, he gave his instructions over the phone, ¡°Quickly help me check this license te, AHT617, belonging to a ck Passat. It just left the entrance of Orange Coast Medical Center and is headed east. Hurry up and find out the current location of this car and the information of the people inside this car now! Keep a close tab on them!¡± When he finished giving these instructions, he had already arrived at the elevator. Lucas soon arrived downstairs and quickly ran out of the elevator. When Zach, who had been waiting near the entrance of the hospital, saw Lucas, he immediately walked over. ¡°Mr. Gray, where are you headed? I¡¯ll give you a ride!¡± Zach had sent Lucas to the hospital earlier. At this time, Lucas couldn¡¯t care less about politeness. He quickly got in the car and said to Zach, ¡°Head east along the road in front of the hospital!¡± Seeing the cold and austere expression on Lucas¡¯s face and sensing his formidable aura, Zach dared not utter another word of nonsense and swiftly got into the driver¡¯s seat. He started the ck Jaguar and sped toward the main road right outside the hospital. During the journey, Lucas¡¯s phone rang. When he answered the call, Jordan said, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve got all the information. That car belongs to the Waces, and it has now pulled over in front of Club Splendor. It didn¡¯t make any stops in between, so the people in the car should have entered the club too.¡± Waces? The Waces again?! Lucas¡¯s gaze turned cold, and a murderous intent appeared in his eyes. Liam Wace had been pestering Grace, and after getting rejected by her, he had even put the me on Lucas. Now that Grace had been forcibly taken away in a car belonging to the Waces, Lucas was absolutely certain that it had something to do with Liam! A short while ago, he had just warned Liam not to harass Grace again. And yet, Liam was getting up to such a trick now. It seemed that the punishment he had given Liam was too light, so much that thetter didn¡¯t take it seriously at all! Lucas instructed Zach coldly, ¡°Drive to Club Splendor immediately! As fast as you can!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zach was astonished. As a born and bred native of Orange County who also worked in that industry, he was naturally well aware of the businesses owned by some major families, just in case he identally offended someone he couldn¡¯t provoke. Club Splendor belonged to the Waces, one of the four most powerful families in Orange County. It was also an extremely famous entertainment joint in the city. Judging from the solemn and murderous expression on Lucas¡¯s face, Zach knew that Lucas had to be going to Club Splendor to deal with some trouble! Lucas might be going to confront the Waces! Zach thought about what happened this morning. He had followed Lucas to the Douses¡¯ vi this morning and witnessed with his own eyes Lucas ripping off Chris Dous¡¯s hand, followed by him pping James Wilson to the point thetter had no choice but to sumb. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a strange sense of pride, and he was even full of expectations! Within just a day of following Lucas around, he had managed to witness many eye-opening events that he would never have been able to imagine in his entire life! It¡¯s too thrilling! Zach was quite a good driver. After speeding up, the Jaguar sped through the endless flow of traffic on the streets of the bustling city and arrived at Club Splendor in just about ten minutes. As soon as Lucas got out of the car, a young man who was just as tall as him walked over. ¡°Lucas.¡± The young man was none other than Jordan, Lucas¡¯s best friend. Lucas nodded at him silently. Although Lucas didn¡¯t ask Jordan toe here, being Lucas¡¯spetent subordinate and close friend of many years, Jordan naturally understood that something must have happened. So after he reported to Lucas the information of the ck Passat, he immediately headed to Club Splendor to meet him. Lucas looked at Club Splendor in front of him. There was a wide range of facilities offered in the club, including almost all entertainment services and amenities such as a swimming pool and a golf course. It was also extremelyrge and spacious, just like a manor. At this moment, there were cars driving past the busy road in front of Club Splendor, and Lucas noticed that the majority of the vehicles parked in front of the club today were luxury cars of makes such as Maserati, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Porsche, and so on. There were almost no low-end cars in sight. Lucas¡¯s eyes narrowed, and a strange feeling arose in his heart. Even if most of the customers of Club Splendor were wealthy, most of the clientele should mainly be of the upper-middle ss since it was an entertainment joint. There shouldn¡¯t be a fleet of solely luxury cars lined up at the entrance. Unless... there was a special event in Club Splendor today, resulting in such a special sight. The cars parked at the entrance were all expensive cars that only the extremely rich could afford. While Lucas was deep in thought, a fragrant scent of perfume wafted up to Lucas¡¯s nose, and a woman dressed in an exquisite, strapless Chanel little ck dress suddenly extended her fair arms to hold onto Lucas¡¯s arm! Chapter 300: Invitation Card

Chapter 300: Invitation Card

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The person who spoke had a buzz cut and was wearing a tight-fitting sports singlet that exposed his muscles, which were unlike that of typical men. It seemed that he should be a frequent gym goer. The fact that he worked out regrly was the reason he wanted to taunt Lucas, who had offended his friend, after seeing hownky he was. He thought that Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t be strong, so he tried to intimidate him with his muscr build. After hearing what the muscr man with a buzz cut said, the other manughed and said, ¡°Tristan, rest assured. I¡¯m so muscr, I can easily beat this guy up!¡± This man¡¯s features were simr to that of the muscr man. But he was less brawny and merely toned. It seemed that they were siblings. But after Tristan heard the supportive encouragement of his friends, his expression changed again. His friend was indeed a fitness fanatic, who pumped iron all the time and was also the most muscr one in his social circle. During their outings, he would often attract the attention of the crowd and havepliments showered on him. But Tristan was well aware that his muscles were only for show and hisbat skills were actually inferior to a proper bodyguard. On the other hand, Lucas had the ability to effortlessly send his bodyguards flying with a single kick and render them immobile. This fact alone was terrifying enough. In short, there was no way the three of them could do anything to Lucas! After a series of changes in his expression, Tristan gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s go and get on with our business. Once we¡¯re done, we¡¯lle back to settle scores with him!¡± Since Tristan already said so, the muscr man could only say with great regret, ¡°Okay then. We¡¯ll let him off for now. That¡¯ll save me the hassle of getting all sweaty before the auction starts.¡± The few of them glowered fiercely at Lucas with warning gazes before walking past him to go to the entrance of Club Splendor. The security guards who had stopped Lucas just now were all smiling respectfully at Tristan and his friends. But they nevertheless requested to see their invitation cards. ¡°We hope to seek your cooperation. Please show us your invitation card.¡± The muscr man and Tristan each took out a golden invitation card from their breast pockets and handed it to the security guard. But the man who seemed to be the younger brother of the muscr man didn¡¯t do anything. The security guard leader received the invitation cards respectfully with both hands, and after some careful scrutiny, he returned the invitation cards to them politely. ¡°Mr. Callum Owen, Mr. Tristan Parker, there¡¯s nothing wrong with your invitation cards. You may each bring yourself plus one. May I ask if this gentleman next to you is with you two?¡± The muscr man, Callum Owen, nodded arrogantly. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my younger brother, Elijah Owen.¡± The security guards hurriedly greeted them respectfully and invited them in for some rest, treating them as distinguished guests. Callum took the invitation card back and then suddenly said in an extremely loud voice, ¡°Speaking of which, the auction here in Club Splendor tonight is very important. You guys have to tighten security and not let those hooligans who are unqualified to enter the club have a chance to sneak in!¡± Then he turned around and gave Lucas a provocative nce. It was obvious what he was implying. Since these security guards were arranged to check the invitations at the entrance, they were naturally not fools and were smart enough to catch Callum¡¯s hint immediately. ¡°Rest assured, Mr. Owen. We¡¯ll definitely check every invitation card properly and make sure that no hooligans can sneak in!¡± Callum, Elijah, and Tristan looked at Lucas with smug and triumphant gazes as if they had won a battle. Then they entered through the ss doors. Upon seeing this scene, Lucas and Jordan frowned slightly. It turned out that even prestigious figures like Callum and Tristan had to have their invitation cards checked carefully before they were permitted entry. This just went to show that the rules at the auction in Club Splendor tonight had to be very strict. Or rather, the organizers of the auction had to be from a formidable background, so much so that even those scions dared not offend them and had no choice but to let the security guards check their invitations in ordance with the rules. ¡°Lucas, it seems it won¡¯t be that easy to get into Club Splendor tonight,¡± Jordan whispered to Lucas. In fact, if they used brute force, they would be able to enter even the heavily guarded Capitol Building if they wanted to, let alone a club guarded by just a few bodyguards! But the purpose of their trip wasn¡¯t to force their way into Club Splendor but to find Grace and rescue her. If this matter escted, it would affect Lucas and some of his following ns. At this moment, a security guard saw the two of them and noticed that they had been standing near the entrance without moving for a long time, so he went forward to chase them away. ¡°What are you still blocking the entrance for? If you don¡¯t have an invitation card, hurry up and get lost! Don¡¯t get in the way of others! Do you hear me? What are you waiting for? Scram!¡± the security guard said arrogantly. A trace of murderous aura shed in Jordan¡¯s eyes, and he suddenly turned around, wanting to teach the security guard with a foul mouth a hard lesson. ¡°Shut up!¡± At this moment, a familiar voice full of anger sounded from behind them. Bruce Hale was holding a cane made of rosewood with some gold details, which was some sort of a status symbol, and walking over at a pace that seemed a little quick for his age. He seemed furious. ¡°Fool, how dare you stop and insult Mr. Gray? Do you have a death wish?¡± The security guards were shocked and hurriedly bowed to Bruce. ¡°Mr. Hale!¡± But Bruce, the head of the Hales, simply ignored the security guards and quickly walked toward Lucas. Everyone watched in shock as Bruce bent forward a little and said to Lucas with the utmost respect, ¡°Mr. Gray, had I known you wereing, I would have asked my chauffeur to pick you up and take you here!¡± Everyone was taken aback by his words! Everyone knew that the 70-odd-year-old Bruce, the helmsman of the Hales, one of the four major families in Orange County, had been a member of the upper-ss circle for numerous years. It was safe to say that nearly no one in high society couldpare to him in terms of age and seniority. Even the heads of the other families would have to show him great respect. But why would such an esteemed and prestigious figure, whomanded great power in Orange County, bow slightly to Lucas, speak to him with so much respect, and even go as far as to chauffeur him over personally? This was way too shocking! The security guards who had hollered at Lucas and told him to get lost couldn¡¯t help but break out in cold sweat now! If they still didn¡¯t know that there had to be something extraordinary about Lucas¡¯s identity, they would beplete idiots! ¡°Mr... Mr. Gray, we¡¯re sorry. We... didn¡¯t do it on purpose!¡± the few security guards stammered, their foreheads covered in cold sweat. Although they had been hired by the Waces, the four top families still showed each other adequate respect on the surface. Once Bruce called the Waces and informed them that the security guards had offended him, the Waces would definitely punish them severely! At this moment, Jordan asked with raised brows and a derisive smile, ¡°So, do you still want to see our invitation cards now?¡± ¡°No, no, no, of course not!¡± The security guards immediately shook their heads profusely and then eximed respectfully, ¡°This way, please!¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about these small fries. He simply walked straight into the club while Bruce followed closely behind. Only after entering the spacious hall did Lucas suddenly ask, ¡°What¡¯s the background of the auction tonight?¡± After looking around and ensuring that there was no one else near them, Bruce said softly, ¡°Actually, the auction is just a pretext. They¡¯re not putting up items for auction tonight. Rather, they¡¯re putting up people for auction, and beautiful women at that!¡± Chapter 301: Brazen

Chapter 301: Brazen

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s pupils constricted abruptly. Putting up beautiful women for auction? Aren¡¯t they selling humans like objects then? They were actually brazenlymitting such an illegal and immoral act in public. It seemed that they had no regard for thew at all! Lucas immediately thought of Grace, who had been abducted and brought to Club Splendor. He reckoned that the reason they had done this wasn¡¯t simple, and it was very likely that she might be one of the beauties going to be put up for auction tonight! The moment he thought of this possibility, Lucas was awash with rage and a desire to kill. ¡°How dare the Waces do such a thing?!¡± Bruce hurriedly shook his head. ¡°The auction venue may belong to the Waces, but as far as I know, this auction is held by the Kingstons.¡± ¡°The Kingstons? Hmph!¡± With a cold and terrifying gaze in his eyes, Lucas snapped, ¡°It seems I have to teach them a hard lesson this time, or else they might think I¡¯m a pushover!¡± Bruce blinked, unsure of what Lucas meant by that. Is he... referring to the Kingstons? But Lucas and the Kingstons... don¡¯t seem to have had any dealings? But Jordan, standing behind Lucas, immediately understood what Lucas meant, and his eyes were full of excitement for some action. The Kingstons indeed didn¡¯t seem to have much to do with Lucas, but he knew that the Kingstons were subordinate to the Huttons! The person who had sneakily taken photos of Lucas and Charlotte at the amusement park back then was sent by the Kingstons. The person who had spread the news of Lucas being an abandoned member of the Huttons and that the Stardust Corporation had long been disowned by the Huttons was also instigated by the Kingstons. The Kingstons were also the ones who had secretly incited many families who owned major corporations and enterprises to create trouble for the Stardust Corporation. They were just following orders given by the Huttons to suppress Lucas and make sure that he would forever be trapped in the doldrums in Orange County while watching the Stardust Corporation, which he valued the most, go bust. They were on an invisible battlefield because the Kingstons had been doing these things secretly behind the scenes. If not for the conscientious and quick-witted people Jordan had sent, it would have been very difficult to find any evidence against them. But just because they didn¡¯t openly harm him didn¡¯t mean that there wasn¡¯t any anger. If Lucas hadn¡¯t responded in time on several asions and resolved their insidious, scheming tricks, they would have probably gotten what they wanted! Thus, Jordan genuinely detested the Kingstons for their unruly behavior and the fact that they were leveraging the power of the Huttons to be so arrogant. But at this moment, Lucas thought of another problem. The auction today was organized by the Kingstons, and women were going to be put up for auction like they were inanimate objects. Moreover, there was also a mysterious organization that regrly supplied beautiful women to the Ocean Bathhouse, which used to be controlled by the Taylors. Is there a connection between these two matters? Do the Kingstons y an important role in the supply chain of beautiful women for the illegal business formerly run in the bathhouse? In fact, ever since Lucasstmunicated with Preston and learned that even the Taylors were clueless about the identity of the organization that provided them with the beautiful women for the business, Lucas had actually already developed some suspicions. The Taylors were one of the four top families of Orange County, and the fact that even they couldn¡¯t find any clues about the origin of the mysterious organization they had worked with for so many years just went to show that they probably weren¡¯t from this county. Moreover, they were most likely far more powerful than the four most powerful families in Orange County. The most likely possibility was that they were one of the eight great families in DC or the top families in the state since they could have so much power and carry out the business with so much confidentiality. However, the businesses of the eight great families were massive, and they had monopolized many key industries. They generated a massive amount of profit every single day, and it would be an understatement to say that they were as rich as a country. Thus, although providing beautiful women was a profitable industry for most, the profits were paltry in the eyes of the eight great families in the capital. Besides, it was too distasteful, and it would make them theughing stock of the other families and cause them to be mocked for being so lowly that they would make such filthy money. But such a profitable business meant differently to less prestigious families. Of course, at present, these were just Lucas¡¯s conjectures, and there was no point in specting further without any concrete evidence. Besides, in addition to these famous prestigious families, there were also some deeply hidden families who kept extremely low profiles. They were possible suspects too, making the range of spection even wider. Lucas narrowed his eyes as he looked at the ostentatious decor of the hall and the guests gathered in pairs or groups of threes he saw through the ss windows. He said softly to Jordan, ¡°Go look for Grace.¡± Jordan acknowledged the order and immediately got to it. Soon, he disappeared from the hall. Jordan had previously met Grace at Logan Hale¡¯s vi, so Lucas was not at all worried that Jordan would get the wrong person. Bruce watched carefully from the side, but he remained silent. Being a smart person, he could tell from Lucas¡¯s question that the reason Lucas suddenly came to Club Splendor today was not for the auction but for another agenda. Of course, Bruce had already pledged allegiance to Lucas together with his family, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t say anything else. Even if a conflict broke out between Lucas and someone in the clubter, he would still stand firmly on Lucas¡¯s side. ¡°How is the rtionship between your family and the Waces?¡± Bruce was shocked to hear his question. Although he didn¡¯t know why Lucas asked him this out of the blue, he nevertheless answered conscientiously, ¡°The Hales and the Waces only engage in some ordinary business dealings, and a few distant rtives of the younger generation are married to the Waces. But we¡¯re not that close to them. It¡¯s mostly the same for the four major families. We do have some connections, but we¡¯re restrained by the scruples we have for each other, so we tend not to get too close. ¡°I¡¯m here at the auction today only because I received an invitation from the Kingstons and couldn¡¯t think of an appropriate reason to turn them down, so... I-I absolutely have no intention to participate!¡± While speaking, Bruce felt that something was amiss, and he immediately broke into a cold sweat. He knew that Lucas was most disgusted by businesses revolving around vices such as gambling and drugs, as well as prostitution and human trafficking, which he hated the most! If Lucas misunderstood that he was at the auction to buy some beautiful women, Bruce would be in deep trouble! ¡°Good that you don¡¯t!¡± Lucas finally looked less austere, but he warned again, ¡°You know what my temper is like. I may have handed the businesses of your family back to you to manage, but if I find out one day that you¡¯ve gotten involved in certain industries I hate, I¡¯ll take them back from you immediately!¡± Bruce¡¯s heart ricocheted, and he hurriedly said, ¡°Rest assured, Mr. Gray. My family and I will eternally remember your admonishments, and we will never get involved in those industries again!¡± Lucas finally nodded. ¡°Take me to the auction hall now!¡± Chapter 303: Your Rights

Chapter 303: Your Rights

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Wait!¡± Tristan hurriedly grabbed the arm of Callum, who had been his best friend since they were children. Despite feeling aggrieved, he said truthfully, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate that punk. He has extremely goodbat skills. Previously, he sent two of my personal bodyguards flying several meters away with a single kick, and they couldn¡¯t get back up on their feet for a long time. If not because of that, I wouldn¡¯t have suffered such a great loss. Callum, don¡¯t mistake him for a weakling!¡± ¡°Huh? Is that punk really that impressive?¡± The muscr Callum was skeptical about it because Lucas was much leaner than him, so he doubted Tristan¡¯s im that Lucas managed to kick Tristan¡¯s bodyguards several meters away and render them immobile. The bodyguards hired by top families like theirs were not ipetent weaklings but experts hired from professional bodyguard agencies at hefty prices! Of course, Callum was still mostly surprised and didn¡¯t suspect that Tristan was deliberately putting him down by making Lucas seem impressive. In that case, it seemed that Lucas Gray was indeed not a simple person! ¡°Heh, I can make him get lost from here obediently without having to get physical with him!¡± Elijah sneered and then walked toward Lucas and the others with him. Since Bruce was an esteemed and prestigious figure, there were naturally many people who kept approaching him to try and strike up a conversation with him. Irked by the hypocrisy of the strangers, Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to entertain them and went straight to a rtively quiet ce with fewer people. Lena naturally followed Lucas. As soon as they sat down, Elijah walked up to the two of them, pointed at Lucas, and hollered, ¡°I saw you forcing your way in at the entrance without an invitation just now! You¡¯re just the live-in son-inw of an insignificant family who sponges off of your wife. You¡¯re not qualified to sit here at all! Tell me, how exactly did you manage to sneak in?¡± Elijah¡¯s voice was extremely loud and clear, and his tone was aggressive as well, thus immediately attracting the attention of many people in the auction hall. Due to the special nature of the auction held in Club Splendor today, the invited guests were mostly from wealthy top families of various big cities. Even those who came from slightly inferior families wouldn¡¯t receive an invitation at all, let alone the live-in son-inw of a small family of Orange County. Many of them frowned in disdain, especially after seeing the clothes Lucas, whom Elijah was pointing at, was wearing. All the scions and members of wealthy families present at the auction were d in designer suits worth at least tens of thousands of dors each. And they paired them with exorbitantly priced luxury watches to unt their wealth and status. But Lucas was wearing a simple and casual outfit, which was obviously made with cheap fabric and poor workmanship, in their opinion. They thought that Elijah¡¯s usations were definitely right and that Lucas had to be someone of a lowly status who had somehow managed to sneak into the auction hall. Many of them had clear displeasure in their eyes. All of them were of noble status, yet they had to breathe the same air and be on an equal footing at the auction with a penniless man who had somehow sneaked in. This made many of them who had a sense of superiority feel extremely offended. Seeing that Lucas had almost be the public enemy of the audience because of his words, Elijah was naturally extremely smug and was just waiting for the Kingstons, who were the organizers of the auction, to kick Lucas out when they found him to be an eyesore. But Lena was enraged. She sprung up from her seat to stand in front of Lucas and glowered at Elijah. ¡°It¡¯s stated clearly on the invitation card that every invited guest is entitled to bring two more guests with them! He¡¯s my guest. Is that not allowed?¡± Many people frowned. There was indeed such a use stated on the invitation cards. But due to the limited number of invitations, each family would basically receive only one invitation card. But it would seem a little too strict if only one other member from each family was allowed to attend the auction. But if there was no limit on the number of extra guests, the auction would be too crowded. So the organizers had decided to settle on this rule. Elijah sneered and said confidently, ¡°Of course I¡¯m aware of that use, but ites with a restriction. In order to avoid making the auction seem low-ss and prevent just any Tom, Dick, and Harry from entering, the organizers deliberately specified that the invited guests could only bring members of their own family or a non-family individual whose personal assets exceed fifteen million dors!¡± ¡°Miss Lena Sawyer, this person is obviously not a Sawyer but a live-in son-inw of a third-rate family that has been on the verge of copse several times. Therefore, he doesn¡¯t meet the criteria to be your guest. Even though you¡¯re the daughter of the richest man in Orange County, you¡¯re not allowed to bring him in!¡± After hearing what Elijah said, many seemed toe to a sudden realization and began to look at Lucas gloatingly with greater contempt, while Lena bit her lower lip tightly with a sullen expression. Elijah wasn¡¯t making things up because there was indeed such a restriction. Moreover, if Lucas was really just the live-in son-inw of a lowly family that had been on the verge of bankruptcy several times, it would indeed be impossible for him to own assets worth fifteen million dors, much less have the right to be here! At this moment, Lucas suddenly chuckled. ¡°Are you that certain that I don¡¯t have fifteen million dors?¡± From the moment Elijah came over to confront and use him, Lucas had been keeping a straight face and remaining seated as if he was not the person Elijah was trying to chase out. He was acting as though the matter didn¡¯t concern him at all. At this moment, he finally spoke. In everyone else¡¯s opinion, Lucas was being overlyposed, and some even began to specte whether he had some unexpected trump cards that gave him such confidence. Of course, there were also some who felt that he was putting up a pretense. Elijah nced at Lucas in disdain and said derogatorily, ¡°Do you think we¡¯re talking about monopoly money here? Even many descendants of top families can¡¯t afford to take out so much money! ¡°You¡¯re just the son-inw of a family that¡¯s about to face bankruptcy. Oh, I heard that you¡¯ve even been kicked out, so you can¡¯t rely on them anymore. If you can prove that you have fifteen million dors, I¡¯ll give you my head! ¡°Also, you¡¯re just a lowly and penniless person. What is your motive for trying so hard to force your way into this auction? The organizers of the auction should do a thorough investigation on this punk and make sure he doesn¡¯t sneak around to cause trouble!¡± After saying this loudly, Elijah nced at Lucas provocatively with eyes full of malice. Chapter 304: Checking Assets

Chapter 304: Checking Assets

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Elijah actually intended for the Kingstons, the organizers of the auction, to hear hisst sentence. It wasn¡¯t Elijah¡¯s first time attending such a secretive auction like the one today, so he knew what the greatest taboo for the organizers of such an auction was. They were naturally afraid that some people with evil intentions might sneak in and expose the sordid business that went on here. Indeed, soon after Elijah spoke, a man in his fifties dressed in a tuxedo slowly walked out from behind the curtain of the auction hall. His face was extremely solemn, and he had his lips pressed tightly together, looking dignified and intimidating. As soon as the guests in the auction hall saw this man, they immediately seemed astonished and began whispering among themselves. ¡°It¡¯s Russell Duncan! I¡¯ve only seen him in pictures! I heard that he specializes in handling all matters rted to the auctions held by the Kingstons, but he usually works behind the scenes and rarely appears in public!¡± ¡°Yeah! My father was the one who told me about Russell Duncan. I finally got to see him in person today!¡± ¡°It seems the Kingstons really take this auction tonight very seriously. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have sent Russell Duncan to personally keep an eye on the situation here. Hehe, it seems that there must be some valuable beauties up for auction tonight!¡± ¡°Mr. Russell Duncan has already intervened. It looks like that lowly and shameless punk is definitely going to get chased out!¡± ¡°Hmph, he deserves to be kicked out. He ought to have realized that this isn¡¯t a ce for him!¡± ... Russell¡¯s sudden appearance immediately caused a hugemotion in the hall. Elijah looked at Lucas with malicious intentions and suddenly mocked, ¡°Punk, you¡¯re dead meat! Russell Duncan is not to be trifled with. If you can¡¯t give him a valid reasonter, the consequences will be far more severe than just getting kicked out. Hehe!¡± With a straight face, Lucas nced at Elijah indifferently and even stood up fearlessly, as if Elijah wasn¡¯t referring to him at all. Elijah was extremely disappointed and displeased with Lucas¡¯sposed reaction as he cursed under his breath. ¡°Hmph, punk, go on. Keep pretending! Let¡¯s see if you can keep it upter!¡± Lena looked rather worried when she saw Russell walking toward them. Although she usually stayed out of the affairs between those major families, she had heard of Russell¡¯s name before. In addition to his meticulousness and conscientiousness, another reason that Russell was put in charge of handling all matters rted to the Kingstons¡¯ auctions was that he was very resourceful and authoritative. When necessary, he would be ruthless. So he had managed to upy an important role in the Kingston family for many years. Keeping his eyes fixed in front, Russell walked toward Lucas and said, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m Russell Duncan, and I¡¯m in charge of this auction tonight. I understand that you indeed entered this venue without an invitation, so please cooperate and provide valid proof of assets.¡± Russell¡¯s tone was very polite, and he didn¡¯t get influenced by Elijah¡¯s words and didn¡¯t treat Lucas like someone of a lower ss who came to cause trouble. Of course, if Lucas really couldn¡¯t prove that he had 15 million dors in assets and was found out to have a questionable motive, Russell wouldn¡¯t be so cordial toward him. ¡°Uncle Russell, he¡¯s my friend. Can you be a little more amodating?¡± Lena put her palms together and pleaded. Most people would more or less give in to the request of a beautiful girl like Lena, especially since she was the daughter of the richest man in Orange County. Unfortunately, Russell didn¡¯t waver and simply said expressionlessly, ¡°My apologies, Miss Sawyer, but these are the rules of the auction. Any apanying guest of an invited guest who does not belong to a first-rate family must undergo an asset eligibility check. Otherwise, I will have to send someone to ask this gentleman to leave immediately.¡± Faced with the strict and impartial Russell, Lena could only panic inwardly. Although she had witnessed Lucas win over 15 million dors from Tony Zander within just ten minutes in Little Antis City, she heardter that there was internal strife in Little Antis City and that Tony had died in a power struggle. So she didn¡¯t know if Lucas had obtained that sum of money or not. Besides, even if Lucas had gotten the money, it had been more than two weeks since that incident, and he might have already spent it. She thought that it was unlikely that he would keep such arge sum of money in his bank ount for others to conduct checks on! Even she, the daughter of the richest man in Orange County, didn¡¯t have 15 million dors sitting in her bank ount! This rule was clearly meant to make things hard for others! ¡°Uncle Russell, this rule is clearly too overbearing...¡± Lena frowned and wanted to continue to say something, but Russell¡¯s cold and emotionless voice interrupted her. ¡°Miss Sawyer, this is the rule of the Kingstons¡¯ auctions. Please don¡¯t interfere with our standard protocol! If you continue to do so, don¡¯t me me for asking you to leave now despite your father¡¯s status.¡± Russell didn¡¯t move his brow at all, but the overbearing dominance in his tone was self-exnatory. Since Russell already said so, Lena naturally couldn¡¯t say anything else. She could only look at Lucas apologetically with some worry in her eyes. Lucas suddenly developed an interest in Russell, whom he didn¡¯t take seriously at first. Russell was domineering, but he didn¡¯t put on airs orpel others by throwing his weight around. Instead, he was unusually austere and strictly went by the book with no room forpromise. Lucas believed that Russell was not nitpicking on Lena and that even if the Kingstons pleaded with him, he would likewise follow the rules and turn them down. People like him were rare toe by. Themotion over here had attracted almost all the guests in the auction hall. Bruce, who was talking to someone at the other side of the hall, naturally saw what was going on here. Feeling a little worried, he hurriedly walked over and reached his hand out to Russell. ¡°Mr. Duncan, this is Mr. Lucas Gray, who¡¯s also my friend. I¡¯m willing to vouch for him...¡± Before Bruce could finish his sentence, Russell raised a hand and interrupted him coldly, ¡°Mr. Hale, like I just said, I¡¯m only following the rules of this auction. If anyone else tries to interfere with my execution of the protocol, I will have to ask you to leave, even if you are the head of the Hale family.¡± Bruce originally thought that Russell would do him a favor since they had met on several asions, but to his surprise, Russell turned him down without any mercy. Bruce began to look sullen. Of course, he was not worried that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to prove that he had enough money. In fact, even if Lucas needed his help, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to transfer 15 million dors to him now. He just didn¡¯t want to see Lucas be the target of criticism and nitpicking. After all, the Hales had now pledged allegiance to Lucas, so Bruce naturally didn¡¯t want to see him get humiliated by others. At this moment, the guests standing around also began whispering to each other while looking at Lucas with curiosity and bewilderment. They were quite confused as to why the daughter of the richest man of Orange County and the head of one of the four most powerful families of Orange County would speak up for Lucas if he was just a nobody as Elijah had said. Could there be something more to this? They wondered. Just as Bruce was about to say something else, Lucas sat on a chair and suddenly said, ¡°You want to check my assets? Sure. ¡°However, if I do meet the criteria, shouldn¡¯t the person who just smeared me and tried to stir trouble by being verbally provocative toward me be punished too?¡± Chapter 305: Black Diamond Card

Chapter 305: ck Diamond Card

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Elijah heard what Lucas said, his expression changed drastically because Lucas was obviously referring to him. At first, he merely intended to let the matter blow out of proportion so that the person in charge of the Kingstons¡¯ auction would intervene and kick Lucas out. In his opinion, this was the best way he could take revenge for his friend, Tristan. But it never crossed his mind that if Lucas indeed turned out to be qualified to stay at the auction, all his previous words and actions would be deemed as nder, defamation, and deliberate provocation. Elijah suddenly began to feel flustered. Remaining expressionless, Russell nodded. ¡°As long as you meet the qualifying criteria and produce valid proof, it naturally means that you are qualified to stand here. The person who ndered you will be cklisted immediately for misconduct. He will also be kicked out at once and denied entry for all future auctions I¡¯m in charge of!¡± Elijah immediately looked extremely dismayed. Russell publicly gave Lucas a promise to punish the defamer, should there be one, and the consequences of the punishment were heavy! Although Russell said that the defamer would only be cklisted from future auctions that he was in charge of, everyone knew that Russell was in charge of almost all of the somewhat significantrge-scale auctions organized by the Kingstons. It would be tantamount to being banned from all of the auctions held by the Kingstons in the future. At this point, Callum walked to Elijah, patted him on his shoulder, and said softly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. That punk is just pretending. When he fails to produce any proof of owning fifteen million dors, he will be in deep trouble!¡± Hearing this, Elijah finally felt a little relieved, and he red at Lucas through gritted teeth. After hearing Russell¡¯s affirmative answer, Lucas took out a ck card from his pocket with a faint smile on his face and nonchntly tossed it onto the table at the side. ¡°Go ahead and check it!¡± Russell nced at the ck card, and his usually stern, emotionless, and robot-like expression suddenly changed drastically. He grabbed the ck card eagerly and began scrutinizing every detail of the card. The card was almost entirely ck, without any card numbers or bank logos. It looked just like an ordinary maic card. But at the top right corner of the card was a golden mark in the shape of an extremelyplicated and beautiful diamond! This was the very mark that made Russell so shocked that he almost lost hisposure. The others standing nearby were somewhat bewildered and confused by Russell¡¯s behavior. In their opinion, it was just an extremely ordinary card that a bank might not even issue. Does Russell Duncan have to get so worked up? they wondered. When Bruce saw the ck card, his pupils constricted, and he eximed in shock, ¡°The ck Diamond Card!¡± ¡°ck Diamond Card?¡± The guests present were all from the wealthiest families of various cities. When they heard this, they couldn¡¯t help looking astonished in great disbelief. The ck Diamond Card was a legendary card heard of by many but seen by few. There were even fewer who owned one. Legend had it that individuals could not apply for the ck Diamond Card, which the International Financial Center issued, because it was specially catered for highly influential business tycoons and celebrities worldwide. There was no credit limit on the ck Diamond Card, but cardholders could withdraw up to five billion dors at any time from any bank in the world with it. In addition, the cardholders would also enjoy countless enviable exclusive privileges and services, such as a massive amount of annual membership bonuses, invitations to some internationally renowned and highly exclusive events and various extremely private auctions and gatherings, and so on. The card would even allow the holders to deploy the local armed forces to a small extent. The ck Diamond Card could be considered the holy grail of everyone¡¯s dreams because it was the symbol of supreme status! ck Diamond Cards were extremely rare, and there were currently less than 200 cardholders in the world. In the whole of the US, the people who owned a ck Diamond Card were few and far between, and there were definitely no more than ten people! But Lucas managed to pull such a rare card from his pocket, which was precisely the reason for Russell¡¯s astonishment. As long as it was a genuine card, Lucas would definitely be able to produce a billion dors, let alone fifteen million. The question now was whether the ck Diamond Card was genuine or not. After Elijah saw Lucas take out the seemingly low-key but actually out-of-reach ck Diamond Card, he was just as bbergasted. But he instinctively thought that it wasn¡¯t genuine at all! ¡°He must have fabricated that card! It must be a trick he specifically uses to deceive others!¡± Elijah yelled with great certainty while pointing at the card. The other people around were also skeptical. Although they didn¡¯t voice their doubts right there and then like Elijah did, they were truly in disbelief, mainly because mega-rich and powerful families like theirs weren¡¯t even qualified to be issued a ck Diamond card. What right did Lucas, this young man they had never seen or heard of, have to own such a card? Without further ado, Russell solemnly handed the ck Diamond Card to a staff member behind him and ordered in a deep voice, ¡°Bring this card for inspection. Do not make any mistakes!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After receiving the order, the staff member received the card with both hands and hurriedly left the auction hall under the escort of several bodyguards armed with guns. During the short duration the staff had gone to check the card, almost everyone in the room had their eyes glued to Lucas. There were all sorts of gazes being cast on Lucas, which would definitely make any other person feel uneasy and jittery by now. But Lucas remainedposed in his seat and looked extremely rxed, as if he wasn¡¯t the center of attention but a totally uninvolved bystander. Even Russell, who had met countless types of people, couldn¡¯t help but secretly take a few more nces at Lucas and praise him in his head. At the side, Lena was gazing at Lucas with joy and surprise in her eyes. Of course, when Tristan saw this from a short distance away, he was so enraged that he gnashed his teeth and silently cursed them, calling them an adulterous pair. Soon, the staff member who just left returned. Holding the ck Diamond Card with both hands, he quickly strode to Russell with a look of excitement and whispered eagerly, ¡°It¡¯s genuine!¡± A trace of shock appeared on Russell¡¯s face! Soon, he picked up the ck Diamond Card very carefully with both hands, walked to Lucas, and said in an extremely respectful manner, ¡°Mr. Gray, you are our most honored and prestigious guest. I would like to offer my strongest apologies to you with utmost sincerity for our disrespectful behavior toward you just now. I hope to seek your forgiveness!¡± Then Russell bent forward to apologize to Lucas with a deep bow. This scene caused a huge uproar because it meant that Lucas¡¯s ck Diamond Card was genuine! ¡°No, this is impossible!¡± Elijah¡¯s expression changed drastically as he looked at this scene in great disbelief. He suddenly blurted without hesitation, ¡°He¡¯s just a good-for-nothing live-in son-inw who was theughing stock of everyone in Orange County a few years ago. How can he own a ck Diamond Card?! ¡°Besides, even if this card is genuine, there¡¯s no way it belongs to Lucas Gray! He might have stolen it from someone or picked it up somewhere!¡± Chapter 306: Blacklisted

Chapter 306: cklisted

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Shut up!¡± Russell hollered furiously while ring at Elijah. ¡°Are you doubting the Kingstons in addition to ndering Mr. Gray?¡± He had just instructed one of the staff members working for the Kingstons to bring Lucas¡¯s ck Diamond Card for a check. Apart from verifying the authenticity of the card, he had naturally also checked the name of the ount and cardholder, which wasn¡¯t something someone could forge casually. Elijah finally realized that he had a slip of the tongue and said something wrong in a moment of impatience. Shocked by the sudden realization, he hurriedly exined, ¡°No, no, that¡¯s not what I meant! I...¡± Smack! Callum gave his younger brother a hard p on his face and said with a stern expression, ¡°Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Duncan!¡± Elijah touched his numb face and immediately lowered his head to apologize to Russell. ¡°Mr. Duncan, I¡¯m so sorry. It was a slip of the tongue. I really wasn¡¯t doubting you and the Kingstons!¡± Russell snorted coldly and said austerely, ¡°You should be apologizing to Mr. Gray instead!¡± Elijah¡¯s face immediately became extremely gloomy. He apologized to Russell only because Russell worked for the Kingstons and held great power, so he didn¡¯t dare to offend him. But in his opinion, Lucas was just a nobody. Even though Lucas had an extremely prestigious-looking ck Diamond Card, he had a preconceived prejudice against him. Besides, Lucas was about the same age as him and didn¡¯t have the support of a powerful family, so he wasn¡¯t afraid of Lucas at all and felt no need to apologize to him. Overwhelmed with fury and resentment, Elijah red at Lucas, who was keeping a straight face, and couldn¡¯t bring himself to apologize. When Russell saw his actions, his face turned gloomy too. At this moment, someone interjected, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t think Elijah has done anything wrong. There¡¯s no need for him to apologize to Lucas Gray at all.¡± In shock, everyone turned to look at the person who spoke up for Elijah. It was Tristan Parker! Although Tristan knew that by saying this, he would be tantly contradicting Russell and would likely cause Russell to be displeased, he couldn¡¯t care less about this now. Elijah had insulted Lucas and attempted to get him kicked out of the auction hall only because he was trying to stand up for Tristan. But he ended up offending Russell andnded in a difficult spot. If Tristan continued to standby quietly without helping Elijah out, he was certain that Callum and Elijah would definitely sever all ties with him once they left the auction hall today! It might even affect the rtionship between the Parkers and the Owens! If that happened, his elders would never spare him! Therefore, he couldn¡¯t care less even though he was temporarily offending Russell. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Russell¡¯s face was sullen as he stared at Tristan, waiting for him to give a reasonable exnation for what he just said. Tristan pursed his lips while thinking about an excuse to give. After a while, he finally said, ¡°Actually, you can¡¯t me Elijah for questioning Lucas Gray¡¯s identity and whether he¡¯s qualified to enter this ce or not. Well, because he¡¯s notorious in Orange County!¡± Lena stood up and hollered furiously, ¡°Tristan Parker! Shut up!¡± Tristan nced at Lena sneeringly andpletely ignored her. He then continued, ¡°Six years ago, Lucas Gray was just a penniless man who just graduated from college! Later on, he resorted to god-knows-what tricks and managed to seduce Cheyenne Carter, who used to be called the most beautiful girl in Orange County. The two of them got involved in a scandal that spread around the entire country, and in the end, he had no choice but to be the live-in son-inw of the Carters. ¡°Lucas Gray is just a penniless good-for-nothing who freeloads off of his wife! So, I think it¡¯spletely reasonable for Elijah to have suspicions about Lucas Gray¡¯s identity and his motives foring here. There¡¯s no need to apologize for that at all! ¡°Many of the guests here tonight are from Orange County. Mr. Duncan, you can just ask any of them, and you¡¯ll know if what I said is true or not.¡± Many of the guests present were indeed the local tycoons of Orange County, who started discussing among themselves after hearing what Tristan said. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s not making things up. Back then, that scandal indeed caused a huge uproar in the county, and almost everyone knew about it. But I didn¡¯t remember the name of the Carters¡¯ live-in son-inw, and I only found out today that it¡¯s this young man!¡± ¡°The Carters were probably just a second-rate family in Orange County at the time. I heard that¡¯s precisely the reason he chose to be their live-in son-inw. Unfortunately, none of the Carters¡¯ descendants arepetent. They ended up offending one of the big shots of the Stardust Corporation not long ago and almost went bankrupt because of it!¡± ¡°Yeah, but I also heard that they nevertheless disowned and kicked Lucas Gray¡¯s wife and her family out even though they were on the verge of bankruptcy! I wonder what intolerable thing they did to warrant that. Logically speaking, it¡¯s impossible for someone like him to have a ck Diamond Card.¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s something very fishy about this matter... I don¡¯t believe it either!¡± ... The local tycoons of Orange County started mentioning the things that they had heard about one after another, immediately making many of the other tycoons of other cities gasp in amazement and also begin gossiping among themselves. It was Russell¡¯s first time hearing about these things, and he couldn¡¯t help but look at Lucas in surprise. But what surprised him was that despite being the subject of gossip, Lucas still maintained hisposure and was rather indifferent. There were no signs of shame or anger on his face at all, which was to the amazement of Russell, who admired Lucas¡¯s ability to keep his cool. But regardless of what Lucas had done and who he used to be in the past, it all meant nothing to Russell. All Russell knew was that Lucas was a holder of a ck Diamond Card that truly belonged to him. This was enough. ¡°Be quiet!¡± Russell raised his voice, and everyone in the auction hall soon fell silent. They understood that there was a final verdict for the matter. Russell looked at Tristan and asked, ¡°What is your name, and which family are you from?¡± His expression was much calmer than when he was sullen. Seeing that Russell wasn¡¯t angry due to his words and was instead being so courteous to him, Tristan was overjoyed and hurriedly said, ¡°Hello, Mr. Duncan! My name is Tristan Parker, and my grandfather is Damon Parker!¡± Russell nodded and then turned to ask Elijah. ¡°How about you?¡± Elijah was just as delighted as he hurriedly answered, ¡°I am Elijah Owen from LA.¡± Russell nodded and asked the rest, ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Mr. Duncan, I am Eric Hank from Orange County.¡± ¡°My name is Larry Harold.¡± ... Russell asked eight people for their names, all of whom Russell had heard insult Lucas or speak about him derogatorily just now. After asking them, Russell said to a staff member behind him, ¡°Have you written down their names?¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Duncan. There are a total of eight of them, and I¡¯ve written down all their names!¡± Just as everyone was bewildered and confused, Russell suddenly announced, ¡°From now on, these eight people will not be allowed to enter the venues of all the auctions that I¡¯m in charge of!¡± Chapter 307: Obtaining Forgiveness

Chapter 307: Obtaining Forgiveness

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Russell¡¯s words were like a stone leading to a thousand ripples, causing the crowd to be bbergasted. Everyone got into an uproar and began discussing among themselves. The eight people whose names Russell had asked for and thought that Russell had been impressed by them just now each had a drastic change of expression, as they couldn¡¯t believe what they heard at all! Soon, a staff member working for the Kingstons walked toward them and asked them to leave hostilely, ¡°Gentlemen, you are no longer wee at this auction tonight. Please leave immediately!¡± After hearing this, the eight of them finally believed that Russell was really cklisting them and that they were getting chased out immediately! Tristan was furious and disgruntled. In a moment of pique, he stood out, pointed at Lucas, and bellowed, ¡°Mr. Duncan, why? Shouldn¡¯t he be the one getting kicked out?¡± But Russell¡¯s expression remained unchanged, and he merely nced at the staff member behind him. ¡°From now on, all the Parkers will be cklisted and banned from all auctions that I participate in or am in charge of!¡± ¡°...!¡± Tristan was so furious that he froze right on the spot. He wanted to say something but couldn¡¯t bring himself to. No, I can¡¯t say anything else. If I end up provoking Russell Duncan anymore, he might punish me more severely, and I¡¯ll be dead meat! All the auctions Russell was in charge of basically included all the importantrge and medium-sized ones organized by the Kingstons. The point of such auctions was not to really buy something but rather about unting your assets and family background. They were also opportunities for building and maintaining close rtions with other wealthy families. For example, only top families would receive an invitation to enter an auction like the one held today. Obviously, their statuses were naturally much higher than those of second-rate families. They might even get to meet new people and form connections with other wealthy tycoons toy the foundation for the development of the businesses of their respective families. So after receiving the invitation, the Parkers had decided to send Tristan to represent them because they had groomed him well and believed that he could do a good job. But he had now messed things up in a fit of anger. Not only did he end up on Russell¡¯s cklist, but he even got his entire family implicated and banned from all future auctions held by the Kingstons. If the Parkers learned about this, they definitely wouldn¡¯t spare him! The more Tristan thought about it, the more frightened he was. Deep down, his heart was full of fear and some regret. He could no longer be bothered about his pride and started pleading to Russell miserably, ¡°Mr. Duncan, I know I was wrong to have said that in a moment of anger! Please give me another chance and rescind your orders! Otherwise, my family will definitely kill me!¡± Russell looked at him coldly and remained silent. Seeing this, many people around them sneered and mocked Tristan. ¡°Wasn¡¯t he very arrogant and mighty when he contradicted Mr. Duncan just now? Why is he so cowardly now?¡± ¡°Exactly! Actually, weren¡¯t they the ones who started this? That young man named Lucas Gray was just sitting there quietly, but those youngsters kicked up a fuss and tried to get him kicked out, leading things toe to this.¡± ¡°Hah, their n to bully others clearly backfired. They brought it upon themselves. They clearly deserve it! At first, they weren¡¯t aware of Mr. Lucas Gray¡¯s identity, but they should have stopped after questioning him a few times. Even after the Kingstons¡¯ staff checked the authenticity of the ck Diamond Card and proved that it belonged to Mr. Lucas Gray, they continued harping on the matter and even insulted him. They really deserve it!¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right! Besides, Mr. Duncan has always been a man of his word. Since he¡¯s already issued those orders, how can he possibly rescind them?¡± ... Tristan and Elijah paled when they heard the mockery and remarks of the people around them. Their eyes were even full of despair. Suddenly, Russell said, ¡°Actually, you haven¡¯t offended me, but Mr. Gray. If you can obtain his forgiveness, I will let you off.¡± Everyone was surprised because they just said that Russell wouldn¡¯t change his mind, but his actions now proved otherwise. Lucas raised his brows and looked at Russell in surprise, only to see the faint smile on his face. Lucas thought about it and soon understood Russell¡¯s intentions. If Russell let the people who had insulted Lucas off the hook, it would be extremely disrespectful to Lucas. If he insisted on kicking them out, he would be keeping his promise to Lucas and giving him a fair exnation that no one could nitpick. But the cklisted and expelled people would target Lucas and settle scores with him because they wouldn¡¯t dare to put the me on Russell! If not because of Lucas, they wouldn¡¯t have been kicked out. That was the logic most people would believe. But Russell now gave Lucas the chance to deal with these people. This way, if Lucas chose to let them off, they would naturally be grateful to him for his kindness. Not only would they not form a feud with him, but they might even have some dealings with him. Of course, if Lucas was really furious and unwilling to spare them, Russell would also cklist them as Lucas wished. But Lucas would have to bear the ensuing consequences. Although Lucas didn¡¯t know why Russell was being so kind to him, he nevertheless nodded at him. Logically speaking, Russell indeed gave him a reasonable solution and mediated the matter appropriately. But this request was uneptable to Tristan and Elijah. Begging Lucas for forgiveness was worse than having to die! ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have babbled nonsense and ndered you just now. I hope you¡¯ll be kind and magnanimous. Please forgive me!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. It¡¯s all my fault for spouting nonsense despite not knowing the truth. I express my deepest apologies! If you can forgive me, the Harolds will be your cordial partner in the future!¡± ¡°Me too! The Hanks are willing to form rtions with you. I hope you will forgive us for offending you!¡± ... All of a sudden, all six other people besides Elijah and Tristan hurried toward Lucas and apologized to him in a bid to seek his understanding. Chapter 308: I’ll Handle It

Chapter 308: I¡¯ll Handle It

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After a fierce inner conflict, Tristan finally decided to swallow his pride and apologize to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, I shouldn¡¯t have misunderstood you and spoke rudely to you. I hope you can forgive me for my imprudent mistake!¡± Tristan said through clenched teeth, feeling as though a sharp dagger was stabbing his heart. He felt miserable and humiliated! I swear I¡¯ll hire some experts and take revenge on this bastard after today. I must make his life a living hell! Seeing Tristan lower himself and apologize, Elijah thought of the punishment he might face from his familyter and had no choice but to apologize to Lucas reluctantly. He actually had the same thoughts as Tristan. I have no choice but to bow down to Lucas Gray today due to thepelling circumstances. After today, we¡¯ll definitely take revenge! Seeing that all eight of them had already apologized to him, Lucas didn¡¯t waste his breath on irrelevant things and simply said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve apologized, I¡¯ll let you off.¡± Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, feeling as if a giant rock was lifted off their chests, and they hurriedly thanked him, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Gray! Thank you!¡± Tristan and Elijah seemed to be overjoyed. But they looked at each other and saw the resentment and disdain they felt toward Lucas in each other¡¯s eyes. Hmph, so what if he has a ck Diamond Card? He still has to obediently forgive us out of fear of offending us scions of top families. But Lucas suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Tristan and Elijah. ¡°I won¡¯t forgive these two.¡± Elijah¡¯s and Tristan¡¯s expressions immediately stiffened. After realizing what Lucas meant, Tristan flew into a rage and hollered furiously, ¡°Lucas Gray, what the hell do you mean by that? Are you deliberately picking on us?¡± Elijah rolled up his sleeves angrily and snapped at Lucas, his and Tristan¡¯smon enemy, ¡°Lucas Gray, we apologized to you only for the sake of Mr. Duncan. Don¡¯t be shameless and take things too far!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Callum, at the side, yelled and pped Elijah hard on his face. ¡°Do not be rude to Mr. Gray again! If you dare to speak so brashly again, I¡¯ll make sure you scram back home and get grounded!¡± Elijah ced a hand on his burning cheek while feeling an urge to argue and defend himself after being pped twice in front of so many people. But when he saw the fury in his brother¡¯s eyes, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. After all, Callum was his brother and the sessor of his family¡¯s empire, who had considerable authority in the family. Elijah dared not disobey him. After Callum stopped his brother from continuing with his foolish behavior, he walked up to Lucas, lowered his head, and bowed to him in apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Gray. I failed to discipline my brother and allowed him to offend you. Please rest assured. When we get home, I will definitely teach him a good lesson so that he¡¯ll never make such a mistake again!¡± With that, Callum nodded at Russell and the members of other wealthy families, then dragged the sulky Elijah out from the auction hall. They had already embarrassed themselves greatly tonight, and Lucas had already explicitly said that he wouldn¡¯t forgive them. So instead of shamelessly insisting on staying before eventually getting thrown out, they might as well leave on their own. By doing so, they might get to save themselves from some embarrassment. It was no wonder that the Owens made Callum the next sessor. He was indeed smarter than his younger brother. Seeing that the Owen brothers had left, Tristan thought that there was no point in staying and continuing to let himself be humiliated further. He stared at Lucas sullenly before turning around to leave as well. After they left, everyone in the hall looked at Lucas in a different light. He owned a rare and precious ck Diamond Card, managed to earn the respectful treatment of the person the Kingstons had specifically appointed to take charge of the auction, and even kicked two core members of top families out of the auction mercilessly. What exactly is the origin of this young man? they wondered. But regardless of what they thought, no one in the hall dared to say anything disrespectful to Lucas now after what happened to Tristan. ¡°Mr. Gray, are you satisfied with the way we handled things?¡± Russell asked with a smile. Lucas nodded and smiled at him too. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Duncan.¡± Russell took a look at the time and scanned his surroundings in the hall. ¡°The auction tonight is about to begin soon. Dear guests, please return to your seats and get ready. I hope you will all have a great time and sessfully acquire the items you take a liking to.¡± Then he turned around to leave and returned backstage. Just as Lucas sat down, Jordan appeared silently beside him and reported very softly, ¡°Lucas, I found Miss Keller, but she¡¯s locked up with many women, and there¡¯s no way to rescue her without alerting others. But I have confirmed that Miss Keller was abducted by the Waces and taken here by force. They¡¯re going to auction her off as a finale item!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were instantly brimming with murderous intent. He had actually mentally prepared himself for the possibility that Grace might be sold as an auction item. But he was absolutely disgusted by the fact that the Waces were trafficking living humans and selling them like they were objects. ¡°Lucas, do you want me to...¡± Jordan slid his hand across his neck. Having worked for Lucas for so many years, he was naturally familiar with Lucas¡¯s preferences and habits. Besides, the Waces¡¯ unscrupulous practice was not only challenging the bottom line of morality, but it was also against thew. ¡°No, go back. I¡¯ll take care of the rest,¡± Lucas said indifferently with a wave of his hand. Jordan sighed regretfully. ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll wait for you outside Club Splendor.¡± Then he soon vanished from the auction hall. Sitting near Lucas, Lena had been watching them quietly. After Jordan left, she finally turned her head over slightly and seemed to be deep in thought. Although it was the first time Lena saw Jordan, she could tell from Jordan¡¯s agile movements and light footsteps, as well as his subconscious straightening of his back and the intimidating aura that he was trying to restrain but was still hair-raising, that he was definitely not an ordinary person either. She knew so because she had learned psychology and micro-expressions when pursuing her education abroad. Besides, it was obvious that he was subordinate to Lucas. Lena felt that Lucas was like a treasure. The closer she got to him, and the more she learned about him, the more she could feel how impressive and terrifying he was. But at the same time, he was just as attractive! Lucas Gray, what kind of a person are you exactly? At this moment, Elijah was right outside Club Splendor. Feeling extremely frustrated, he kicked a trash can at the entrance with so much force that it flew away. ¡°Callum, are you sure you can tolerate this and let that punk humiliate us like that?¡± Elijah barked furiously and got increasingly enraged as he thought about it. Callum sneered sinisterly, a stark contrast from the image of a noble gentleman he portrayed in the auction hall just now. ¡°Hah, how can I let him off so easily? No matter who he is, I won¡¯t let him off for embarrassing us and humiliating our family in public!¡± Chapter 309: Bidding For a Beauty

Chapter 309: Bidding For a Beauty

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, tonight¡¯s auction officially began in the hidden basement of Club Splendor. An elegant and beautiful woman d in an exquisite red dress appeared on the auction stage at the front. She was the emcee of the auction. She had a svelte figure and gorgeous good looks. There was a slit at the side of her body-hugging dress that entuated her curves and alluring long legs. As soon as she made her entrance, she sparked a smallmotion as people started swooning, and some yful guests even began whistling at her before she could speak. The beauty in red bowed to the guests on the left, middle, and right with a charming smile on her face. She then said enthusiastically in a provocative voice, ¡°Hello, everyone. I¡¯m Megan, the emcee of the auction tonight. This evening, we will be presenting to you some extremely rare treasures. I hope that you will be able to acquire the treasures that you like! Next, I will introduce the rules of this auction!¡± Immediately afterward, she announced the usual rules of the auction. Although everyone was already clear about them, it was mandatory to go through them because it was part of the process. Lucas patiently listened to everything she had to say. Then it was finally time for the emcee to announce the official start of the auction. The emcee unveiled the curtain to reveal the first auction item and introduced it with great enthusiasm ¡°Next up, we¡¯ll be presenting the first auction item for tonight. It¡¯s an antique porcin bowl that is fine, exquisite, and in pristine condition... The starting bid for this item is 1.2 million dors! And the minimum bid increment is 15,000 dors. Bidding begins now!¡± But there was a tinge of disappointment in Lucas¡¯s eyes. He thought that the beautiful women would be up for bid right after the auction began. But to his surprise, they put up a smokescreen at the start. ¡°1.5 million dors!¡± ¡°1.7 million!¡± ¡°2 million!¡± ... ¡°2.8 million!¡± ¡°Okay, Mr. Wales here has offered 2.8 million dors. Is anyone going to offer a higher price? ¡°2.8 million dors, going once! ¡°2.8 million dors, going twice! ¡°2.8 million dors, going thrice! Congrattions to Mr. Wales for winning the auction for this antique porcin bowl! Congrattions!¡± This first item was auctioned off very smoothly for more than twice the starting bid. Next, there were auctions for some local and foreign antiques, paintings, exorbitant gems, and other precious items. The distinguished guests invited tonight were from the top families of various major cities and had strong financial power. There were also many who would spendrge amounts of moneyvishly to unt their wealth and power. Thus, many collection items were auctioned off at staggering prices. And as the auction proceeded, the beautiful emcee, Megan, sounded increasingly excited and enchanting. With a tinge of impatience in his eyes, Lucas leaned against the back of the chair while propping his head up. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you interested in any of those items?¡± asked Lena beside him, who suddenly inched closer. She was actually not very interested in the auction items either, but she casually bought a few random ones for fun. But she was curious about Lucas¡¯s disinterest in them, as evidenced by the fact that he didn¡¯t ce a single bid. Lucas merely shook his head and didn¡¯t say anything. During the intermission, the emcee took a break for a while before announcing again, ¡°Now, we¡¯ll move on to the second half of the auction that all of you have been looking forward to the most! We¡¯ll now have the staff members bring Beauty No. 10 up onto the stage!¡± The guests in the auction hall got into a hugemotion and began moring while staring at the stage with glistening eyes. Almost all of them were interested and full of anticipation. Lucas, who had been leaning against the chairnguidly, suddenly sat up straight and kept his eyes glued onto the disy case being pushed out from behind the auction stage by two staff members. The disy case was nearly two meters tall and covered with ayer of red satin that concealed the contents inside. Seeing that Lucas was finally interested but only because the word ¡®beauty¡¯ was mentioned, Lena couldn¡¯t help pouting and threatened softly, ¡°How dare you be interested in beautiful women. Watch out. I¡¯ll go back and tell on you to Cheyenne!¡± Caught betweenughter and tears, Lucas said, ¡°It¡¯s not what you think.¡± But he soon stopped talking to Lena because Megan was pulling the red satin cloth away from the disy case on the stage. As she did so, she said, ¡°Next, we¡¯ll take a look at what Beauty No. 10 looks like!¡± Under the red satin was a ss disy case, in which there was a young girl who was scantily d in clothes that covered only her private areas. She seemed to be only in her twenties, and of course, she was gorgeous. But at this moment, the girl¡¯s beautiful eyes were full of panic and helplessness. The tears that had been brimming in them rolled down her delicate face. However, her pitiful appearance not only failed to arouse the sympathy of the guests present, but it made them even more excited as their mors and whistling got louder. An intense desire to kill shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes. How dare they really put up living people for auction like inanimate objects. They really have a death wish! At this moment, the emcee began to announce the physical details of Beauty No. 10. ¡°Beauty No. 10 is 19 this year, 1.7 meters tall, and weighs 52 kilograms. Her bust, waist, and hip measurements are 36-24-35 respectively! And she¡¯s still a virgin! ¡°The starting bid is 300,000 dors, and the minimum bid increment is 15,000 dors. Bidding starts now!¡± As soon as the emcee finished speaking, the guests below began bidding. ¡°380,000 dors!¡± ¡°450,000!¡± ¡°550,000!¡± ¡°620,000!¡± ... Soon, the bidding price of that beautiful girl soared to more than a million dors. ¡°1.1 million dors!¡± ¡°Okay, Mr. Chad here has offered 1.1 million dors. Any higher bids?¡± ¡°1.1 million dors, going once! ¡°1.1 million dors, going twice! ¡°1.1 million dors, going thrice!¡± ¡°1.5 million dors!¡± Just a second before the emcee was about to knock the gavel, Lucas suddenly raised the sign in his hand and called out his first bid of the auction. Moreover, the fact that he raised the price by a whopping 400,000 dors in one go showed how determined he was! All of a sudden, all eyes were on Lucas, and everyone stopped bidding. The beautiful emcee Megan was the only one who looked excited. She eximed loudly, ¡°Mr. Gray has offered 1.5 million dors! Is anyone going to offer a higher amount?¡± Chapter 310: Beauty No. 1

Chapter 310: Beauty No. 1

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The current bid for Beauty No. 10 had already quintupled from 300,000 to 1.5 million dors. It was indeed quite an enormous amount. Many of the people in the auction hall actually just wanted to buy a beautiful woman and use her as a ything, but 1.5 million dors was too expensive in their opinion. Besides, she was only the first beauty put up for auction, and there were many more toe. Everyone felt that it wouldn¡¯t make sense to spend so much money on a woman when they haven¡¯t seen the others yet. So almost everyone gave up and stopped bidding. ¡°1.5 million dors, going once! ¡°1.5 million dors, going twice! ¡°1.5 million dors, going thrice! Sold! Congrattions, Mr. Gray. You have sessfully bought Beauty No. 10!¡± Symbolic apuse filled the air in the hall, but many were looking at Lucas with bizarre gazes, as if mocking him for being a wealthy but foolish dimwit. Lena, beside Lucas, also looked at him in extreme disbelief. ¡°You actually spent 1.5 million dors on a beauty! Cheyenne will definitely be upset with you when she finds out! But that¡¯s not the point. What are you going to do to her now that you¡¯ve bought her? Is she going to be your kept mistress?¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°So, are you going to tell Cheyenne about this?¡± ¡°Uh...¡± Lena was stumped after hearing Lucas¡¯s righteous tone. Logically speaking, Lena was Cheyenne¡¯s best friend, and now that Lucas had spent so much money to buy a woman, she naturally should tell Cheyenne about it. But if she really told Cheyenne about it, it would definitely spark a conflict and a heated argument between Lucas and Cheyenne. Worse still, it might even affect their family, which was something that Lena didn¡¯t want to see. What should I do? Should I tell Cheyenne? While she was feeling conflicted, another beauty, Beauty No. 9, was pushed onto the auction stage, once again sparking amotion among the guests. The reason being was that Beauty No. 9 was much more beautiful than Beauty No. 10. It seemed that the beauties to be auctioned were arranged in ascending order in terms of their beauty and figures. Each beauty was prettier than the one auctioned before her. In that case, there should be eight more beauties to be put on disy. ¡°The starting bid for Beauty No. 9 is 300,000 dors, and the minimum bid increment is 15,000 dors. Bidding starts now!¡± the emcee once again eximed. The starting bid was the same as that for Beauty No. 10, but the bidding was even more intense. ¡°450,000!¡± ¡°620,000!¡± ¡°700,000!¡± ... ¡°1.2 million!¡± ¡°1.5 million!¡± When the bid price went above a million dors, Lucas once again bid 1.5 million dors. Everyone once again looked at Lucas, this time with even more displeasure in their gazes. He had just bought one beauty, but he actually continued to bid for the second one too! He seemed to be depriving others of a chance to bid for the beauties. Of course, the emcee on the stage seemed extremely excited. Since it was an auction, the rule of highest bidder wins naturally applied. To them, it would definitely be better if there were more guests like Lucas who generously offered high prices! Only when there was fiercepetition would the bids go higher. As the auctioneer, they would then be able to make a greater profit! Because the price Lucas offered was too high, no one ced any more bids after him, and he simrly bought Beauty No. 9. At this moment, Lena red at Lucas with a hostile gaze. ¡°Lucas, you actually bought a second girl! What are you trying to do? Are you trying to be like some of the rich and famous who like having orgies?¡± Lena questioned angrily. Lucas looked at Lena speechlessly. Do I seem like such a person? But the auction was still in progress, so he couldn¡¯t exin much to her at this point. He decided to keep mum and ignore Lena, who glowered at him furiously before turning to the side. Sitting on the other side of Lucas, Bruce looked at him with various emotions in his gaze. Bruce was well aware that Lucas was a morally upright person who would never touch anything rted to the vices. And in fact, he even abhorred them to the extent that he barred Bruce from operating any vice-rted businesses. Therefore, he knew that Lucas definitely didn¡¯t spend three million dors so far on those two women for the sake of doing business with the Kingstons. Next, as Bruce guessed, Lucas not only bought the first two girls, but he bought the next seven put up for auction as well. There were only ten beauties for auction in total, and Lucas had already bought nine of them! This made countless people who failed to win any exasperated. During the process, there were also some who were enraged and tried to raise the price to snatch a beauty from Lucas. But he kept offering a much higher price than each bid they ced, which far exceeded their limit. After some time, they had no choice but to give up despite being reluctant to do so. There was nothing else they could do. They were just as hopeless! In terms of family assets, they did not necessarily have less than Lucas. But during an auction, what mattered was liquid assets! No one could beat Lucas in this aspect. Lucas had a ck Diamond Card that entitled him to withdraw five billion dors from any bank. Who would dare topete with him in terms of the amount of cash they had on hand? At this point, Lena finally discovered that something was amiss. Regardless of howscivious Lucas was, it didn¡¯t quite make sense for him to buy nine girls at once. Wouldn¡¯t he be afraid of ruining his...? Lena blushed at the thought, but she was relieved too. Amid the bizarre tension that arose due to the indignation of many guests, the auction progressed towards its end. ¡°Next, let us wee the final beauty of the night, Beauty No. 1!¡± As the emcee eximed loudly, thest ss disy case, simrly covered with satin, was slowly pushed toward the middle of the auction stage. As the emcee introduced the details and measurements of Beauty No. 1, the red satin slowly slipped onto the ground, revealing the ravishing beauty who was gorgeous and ethereal like a fairy who had descended to the mortal world! Lucas suddenly narrowed his eyes with a cold and menacing gaze. The ¡®auction item¡¯ in thest disy case was naturally Lucas¡¯s target, Grace! Unlike during the previous two asions where Lucas had met Grace, she was not barefaced and dressed inly this time. Grace, now ced in a ss disy case like an object for sale, had obviously been dolled up meticulously. She had exquisite makeup on her face that, coupled with her stunning features, made her look like a ssic beauty who walked straight out of a painting. With a flustered and timid look on her face, she looked just like a princess in distress at this moment, and she immediately aroused the desire of all the men present! ¡°The starting bid for our final beauty, Beauty No. 1, is 1.5 million dors! The minimum bid increment is 80,000 dors. The bidding starts now!¡± Chapter 311: Unexpected Situation

Chapter 311: Unexpected Situation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as the emcee said the starting bid, everyone in the room got into an uproar. The starting bid of thest beauty was undoubtedly much higher than all the previous ones put up for auction! With a starting bid of 1.5 million dors, they could all imagine that the final price for Beauty No. 1 had to be above five million dors! Many of the guests began to change their minds about bidding for Beauty No. 1. It was not because they couldn¡¯t afford it but because spending millions on a woman was quite foolish and absurd, even if she was extraordinarily gorgeous. Of course, there were some who were eager to try bidding for her. After all, Beauty No. 1 was an absolutely stunning rare beauty and one of a kind. If they could reap an enormous profit from using her as a social escort, they would definitely be able to recoup the amount they spent at the auction and perhaps obtain even more profit! Thus, their gazes became more and more lewd and obscene as they ogled Grace, who was locked in the ss disy case. With an icy cold gaze in his eyes, Lucas suddenly stood up and eximed loudly, ¡°Three million dors!¡± Everyone turned around to look at Lucas in astonishment. During the biddings of the previous girls, Lucas had only ced his bid when they wereing to an end. But this time, he was the first to bid. Moreover, it was double the starting price! How are we supposed to contend with that? the other guests thought. Besides, it was just an auction where everyone would remain seated and merely raise the sign marked with their name when they wanted to ce a bid. Yet Lucas suddenly stood up. The guests wondered if he was trying to show his determination to win the auction. In fact, they had really made the wrong guess. The reason Lucas suddenly stood up was that he wanted to let Grace, who was locked in the ss disy case, see him so that she could feel slightly more relieved. Because the ss disy case was fully soundproof, the girls inside wouldn¡¯t be able to hear anything and could only see the lewd and repulsive gazes of the men gawking at them like they were scrutinizing a sale product. Despite feeling ashamed and humiliated, they had no means to escape and could only remain fearful, uneasy, and worried about their fate in the near future. Grace felt the same. Even though she usually put on a strong front, she was still just a young woman in her twenties. She was suddenly abducted on the streets and subsequently held captive in this ss disy case, where she was being put up for auction like she was merely an object subject to the scrutiny of others. The most terrifying thing was that she was clueless about how things would turn out for her in the end, and it was possible that she might end up in a situation countless times more agonizing and torturous than death. So when Grace saw Lucas suddenly stand up, joy immediately appeared all over her face, recing the panicked expression she had. She burst into tears of joy and lunged forward to lean against the ss and stare at Lucas like he was her savior. Lucas looked at Grace gently and tried to tell her with his eyes that he would definitely rescue her. Drops of tears rolled down Grace¡¯s cheek continuously, and she nodded while sobbing to express her acknowledgment. At this moment, Grace felt as if she had been rescued from hell and that Lucas was her pir of support that gave her an immense sense of relief. After Lucas called out his bid of a massive three millions dors and caused a briefmotion, the entire auction hall was once again filled with a bizarre silence and calmness as many people began contemting if they should bid. ¡°3.2... million!¡± At this moment, someone stood up indignantly and bid. Of course, he wasn¡¯t as bold as Lucas and only raised the bid by 200,000 dors. In fact, it was amon sight and practice during auctions to raise the bid little by little. cing such high bids to discouragepetitors like what Lucas had done was rtively rare. ¡°Six million dors!¡± Lucas immediately bid again resolutely. Everyone in the auction hall immediately gasped and inhaled sharply. He doubled his bid again! The guests were bbergasted. The man who bid 3.2 million dors immediately sulked. His budget for buying Beauty No. 1 was actually six million dors. But now that Lucas suddenly raised the price to six million dors, how could he continue bidding? He looked at Lucas gloomily and had no choice but to give up and return to his seat indignantly. ¡°Okay! The bidding price for Beauty No. 1 has reached six million dors! Is anyone going to offer a higher bid?¡± The emcee spoke up again excitedly, and she said coercively, ¡°As long as your bid is higher than six million dors, this rare beauty will be yours!¡± Unfortunately, after the emcee asked twice, no one in the entire auction hall bid anymore. The price had already risen to six million dors. Since the girls were being sold at such a sordid auction, they couldn¡¯t groom Grace and make her a celebrity to earn money for them even if they won the auction. They could only use her as a social escort and make money off her through some secret deals, so it would take them a long time to recoup their capital. Despite looking disappointed, the emcee could only continue with the standard process of the auction. ¡°Six million dors, going once! ¡°Six million dors, going twice! ¡°Six million dors, going thrice...¡± ¡°Eight million dors!¡± Just a second before the emcee was about to drop the gavel, a majestic voice interrupted her. Surprised, everyone looked at the person to whom the majestic voice belonged to see who it was that intervened at the critical moment and ced such a high bid of eight million dors. Lucas frowned slightly and looked diagonally at the back, only to meet a pair of familiar-looking eyes that contained a provocative gaze. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s Mr. Liam Wace!¡± ¡°Mr. Liam Wace is partaking in the auction too? I heard that Club Splendor belongs to the Waces!¡± ¡°Well, that may be the case, but the organizers of the auction this time are the Kingstons. The Waces are merely cooperating with them by providing a venue. Strictly speaking, the Waces are also qualified to participate in the auction.¡± Everyone whispered and discussed among themselves. The moment Lucas saw Liam, a fleeting trace of killing intent appeared in his eyes. He failed in pestering Grace, so he simply kidnapped her and put her up for auction at a high price like she¡¯s an object. He¡¯s worse than a beast! Beside Liam, a man and a woman were both ring at Lucas hostilely. Lucas sneered. He recognized them to be the ones he had just had a conflict with at the entrance. The woman was Gisele Taylor, a member of one of the four top families of Orange County. She had tried to use Lucas as her shield earlier, but Lucas had rejected her. Furious and embarrassed, she subsequently went on to nder Lucas and use him of outrage of modesty. And the man was Kyle Kingston, who originally didn¡¯t know Lucas but was instigated by Gisele to beat Lucas up to make Lucas kneel and apologize. But he ended up getting kicked away by Jordan. The three of them are in this together. It seems they have malicious intentions! Chapter 312: Congratulations on Winning the Auction

Chapter 312: Congrattions on Winning the Auction

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Wow, look. The one at the side is Mr. Kyle Kingston! He¡¯s attending the auction in person too.¡± ¡°I think he just came to take a look. As a member of the organizing family, he can¡¯t participate in the bidding!¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. If he had taken a liking to one of those beauties, he could have just kept her aside. Why would he botherpeting with us to bid for her?¡± ¡°Also, who is that beautiful woman next to them?¡± ¡°I know. She¡¯s Gisele Taylor, a member of one of the four top families in Orange County.¡± ... The sudden appearance of these three people caused somemotion in the auction hall. But after Lucas shot them a nce, they quickly looked away and faced the auction stage to bid again. ¡°Twelve million!¡± ¡°Wow!¡± There was immediately yet another uproar because of Lucas¡¯s bid. Twelve million dors was enough for even the creation of a model of a beautiful woman using pure gold. Yet the bidder intended to buy a woman for twelve million dors, which was an absurdly high price even if she was as beautiful as a fairy! Liam red at Lucas menacingly with a trace of hatred and jealousy in his eyes. He eximed slowly, ¡°Fifteen million!¡± Boom! There was an instant upheaval in the auction hall as everyone eximed in shock. Fifteen million dors could buy a super luxurious mansion, or if it was invested in some businesses, it would bring about massive returns. But it was now about to be spent on a woman. This was excessively extravagant! Liam stared at Lucas provocatively and gibed smugly, ¡°What? Aren¡¯t you rich? Can¡¯t you afford a mere fifteen million dors?¡± The reason he suddenly decided topete with Lucas for Grace was that he could long tell that Lucas was definitely bent on buying her and taking her away. So he insisted on going against Lucas and raising the price to a staggering amount to make Lucas break the bank. Otherwise, there was no need for Liam to buy Grace with money at all because he was the one who had sent people to capture her. Of course, after Lucas spent a tremendous amount of money to buy Grace, Liam was confident that he would still be able to snatch her back and leave Lucas with nothing! The thought of his ns made Liam smile in pleasure. As he had expected, Lucas frowned and ced a higher bid. ¡°Twenty-three million!¡± ¡°Damn?!¡± ¡°Oh my god! He actually raised the bid by eight million dors! Is he out of his mind?!¡± ¡°Even if you¡¯re rich, you shouldn¡¯t squander your money like that! Twenty-three million dors can buy you dozens of other beauties!¡± ¡°Twenty-three million dors! Oh my gosh! The money has to be paid in cash on the spot. Is he going to throw away so much money just like that?¡± ¡°Haha... impressive! All of us here today are from wealthy families, but I can guarantee that there are only a few who can fork out twenty-three million dors in cash at any time!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! However, Lucas Gray owns a ck Diamond Card, which allows him to withdraw five billion dors in cash from any bank. I reckon he should be able to afford it.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, I¡¯m so envious! Who doesn¡¯t want to own a ck Diamond Card?¡± ... The emcee on the stage was also shocked by the current bid price and couldn¡¯t help clutching her chest with her hand. Beside Lucas, Lena looked at him in disbelief. ¡°Are you nuts? It¡¯s twenty-three million dors we¡¯re talking about! Are you going to spend it all on a woman like her? Let me tell you. I can¡¯t hide this for you. I¡¯ll definitely inform Cheyenne about this!¡± Lucas nced at Lena and merely said indifferently, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Go ahead and let her know.¡± ¡°You...!¡± Lena was so furious that she was speechless. The fact that Lucas offered an unbelievable price of twenty-three million dors made all the guests in the hall get into a huge uproar that only gradually calmed down after a long time. Seeing that Lucas had really fallen for it and was going to waste an extra eight million dors, Liam was overjoyed and conceited, especially when he saw Lucas¡¯s gloomy expression. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re trying topete with me, huh? Watch how I¡¯ll deal with you! So what if you¡¯re somewhat rich now? I can still turn you into a pauper in no time!¡± Liam cursed and called Lucas a fool countless times in his heart before saying calmly, ¡°Thirty million!¡± He raised his eyebrows and stared at Lucas provocatively with a smug and contemptuous look. He was already certain that Lucas would go to all lengths to buy Grace and take her away regardless of what it took. So even if he bid higher, Lucas would have no choice but to increase his bid too because Grace was his weakness! The other people in the auction hall werepletely bbergasted by Liam¡¯s ridiculously high bid! ¡°What¡¯s going on today?¡± ¡°They keep cing such high bids, and the amount just gets crazier. No matter how gorgeous that woman is, she¡¯s still just a woman who will age and lose her beauty in a few years!¡± The guests felt that the bids were simply too exaggerated. After a burst of exmations, everyone in the room cast their gazes onto Lucas, the generous man who spent money like it grew on trees, to see how high he would bid this time. Many people were excited, and they knew that the auction today was bound to reach an extremely high climax. Even though they didn¡¯t take part in the bidding, they were spectators who had firsthand experience and would have plenty to talk about regarding this auction in the future. While everyone was keeping their eyes on Lucas and eagerly waiting for him to bid again, Lucas suddenly waved his hand and said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Wace, since you fancy this beautiful girl so much, you may have her.¡± Then Lucas sat down to indicate his withdrawal from the bidding. His words once again set off an uproar. No one expected Lucas, who had bought all the other nine beauties put up for auction tonight and was incredibly wealthy, would admit defeat and withdraw from the auction at this juncture! Some immediately thought that Lucas was smart enough to realize that it wouldn¡¯t make any economic sense to continue raising his bid and thus withdrew. They felt that it showed that he was not a reckless man just obsessed with winning. Of course, there were also many people who were hungry for more drama and excitement. Seeing the exciting biddinge to an end, they all began to criticize Lucas in their heads for being too cowardly with looks of disappointment on their faces. The other bidder, Liam, was dumbfounded and froze in ce when he saw Lucas actually withdraw from the bidding without hesitation! No! How is this possible? Why would Lucas Gray withdraw from the bidding? Doesn¡¯t he want that woman anymore? What made Liam even more flustered and horrified was the realization that he would have to pay the sum that he bid now that Lucas had withdrawn! Thirty million dors! How could he possibly fork out so much money?! ¡°Okay. Now that Mr. Gray has withdrawn from the bidding, the highest bidder so far is Mr. Wace, who has ced a bid of thirty million dors! Any higher bids?¡± The hall was dead silent because no one would bid any higher. Liam quickly broke out in a sweat that rolled down his cheeks. ¡°Thirty million dors, going once! ¡°Thirty million dors, going twice! ¡°Thirty million dors, going thrice! Congrattions, Mr. Wace. You have won the auction for our finale item, Beauty No. 1, with thirty million dors! Congrattions!¡± Chapter 313: Dug His Own Grave

Chapter 313: Dug His Own Grave

As the emcee lowered the gavel with a crisp and clear sound, a loud round of apuse resounded in the auction hall. They reckoned that he had to be incredibly wealthy since he had spent thirty million dors on a beautiful woman! The crowd congratted Liam, the winner of the auction of the finale item. Some were sincere, but many were of course secretly mocking and criticizing him for being a fool. He has too much money to spend! What a wastrel! At this moment, Liam was sulking and feeling so dismayed that he was on the verge of tears even though everyone was congratting him. Although he was the scion of the Wace family, the Waces would never let him squander money in such avish and unbridled manner. His current disposable assets were less than three million dors, let alone thirty million! ¡°Wait a minute! This auction doesn¡¯t count!¡± Liam¡¯s interjection interrupted the apuse and sessfully made everyone stunned. ¡°What does he mean?¡± Since Liam already spoke, he no longer bothered about the gazes of bewilderment being cast on him. He said self-righteously, ¡°It¡¯s all his fault for deliberatelypeting with me, so I bid so high to spite him. It doesn¡¯t count!¡± As soon as he said this, everyone was stunned and full of disbelief. Lucas sneered and stared at Liam like he was a fool. ¡°That¡¯s how things work at an auction. What does he mean by ¡®deliberately raise the price¡¯?¡± Moreover, if anyone had deliberately disrupted the bidding with malicious intentions, that person was Liam, who intervened halfway, not Lucas! Lucas sneered and looked at Liam. When Liam first intervened topete with him for Grace, he could already tell what Liam was trying to do. But the amusing thing was that Liam still took Lucas for a fool and let his greed get the better of him, as he was bent on raising the price to empty Lucas¡¯s bank ount. But he ended up making a fool of himself and made himself fall into the trap he had created himself. ¡°In that case, are you nning to deny the oue of the auction, Mr. Wace?¡± At this moment, a cold and dignified voice spread from the auction stage as Russell appeared in front of everyone with a stern expression on his face. Following him were several tall bodyguards who worked for the Kingstons, and they were exuding a domineering and terrifying aura. In all the years that he had worked as a professional and experienced auctioneer, Russell had seen countless people like Liam who got carried away withpeting against others to be the highest bidder but subsequently regretted their decision and tried to deny the validity of the auction. Thus, he immediately stepped forth to maintain order in the auction. Seeing how assertive Russell was, Liam immediately felt a little ashamed and hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, that¡¯s not what I meant. But this bastard indeed deliberately raised the price...¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Russell bellowed, interrupting Liam. He then said coldly, ¡°An auction is not a market. The rule is that the highest bidder wins. What do you mean by ¡®deliberately raise the price¡¯? ¡°Besides, if you thought that Mr. Gray was deliberately raising the price, you could have just withdrawn from the bidding. Why did you continue topete with him? Are your brains fried?¡± When Liam heard what Russell said, his face turned pale, and he looked extremely dismayed. But deep down, he was well aware that he was the one who had deliberately raised the price. However, he could only keep it to himself. But just because Liam didn¡¯t admit to it, it didn¡¯t mean that others couldn¡¯t tell. After all, he had just suddenly intervened in the bidding of the finale item, Beauty No. 1. Besides, he was also the one who kept raising the bid. Everyone had seen it clearly. The current oue was undoubtedly because Lucas was smart enough to withdraw in time, thus causing Liam to fall into the trap he had created himself. You reap what you sow! All of a sudden, many people in the auction hall started mocking Liam with disdain while waiting gloatingly to see what would happen next. A staff member dressed in a ck uniform walked up to Liam and asked with a polite but oppressive tone, ¡°Mr. Wace, please pay for the auction item that you have won the bid for immediately. The total amount is thirty million dors. Would you like to pay by bank transfer or by check?¡± This was often the case at auctions. No arrears were allowed when it came to the payment for the auctioned item. It was also to prevent some people from cing high bids for the sake of the thrill of it, only to end up failing to make the payment and thus aborting the sale of the items. Liam¡¯s face became even more sullen. There was only a little more than 150,000 dors in the bank ount linked to the card he had with him now. How could he afford to pay thirty million dors? Liam panicked and looked around anxiously. When he suddenly saw Lucas, who was sitting still, he hurriedly said, ¡°Lucas Gray, aren¡¯t you very wealthy? Hurry up and bid for the item again. I promise I definitely won¡¯tpete with you again this time! Just add another dor, and Grace will be yours!¡± Remaining seated calmly, Lucas merely smiled tteringly. ¡°Mr. Wace, have you gotten all muddled up because of how panicked you are? The minimum bid increment is 80,000 dors. How can I offer a dor higher?¡± Liam finally recalled the things that the emcee had said before putting Grace up for auction. He gritted his teeth and eximed, ¡°I can pay the eighty thousand for you! You just need to pay thirty million!¡± He said this through gritted teeth. But he still felt the pinch and also felt that he was giving Lucas an advantage. Lucas was immediately amused by his expression. ¡°Mr. Wace, do you take me for a fool? I could have bought the girl for six million, but you raised the price to thirty million. Yet you still want me to help you out of this. How are you so thick-skinned?¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Many people in the auction hall couldn¡¯t resistughing out loud. Liam¡¯s face was burning hot. But when he thought about the thirty million dors, he could no longer care about his pride. ¡°Lucas, I know you fancy that woman. Can you bear to give her up just like that?¡± Liam said furiously as he reached out to point at Grace, who was still locked in the ss disy case. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Thirty million is enough for me to buy at least a hundred beauties of different shapes and sizes. What makes you think I have to buy her?¡± Liam panicked and threatened, ¡°If you don¡¯t buy her, she willnd in my hands, and I¡¯ll turn her into my ve. I¡¯ll vite her and humiliate her every day, turning her life into a living hell! Won¡¯t you mind that?¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were full of an intense murderous intent as he red daggers at Liam! Chapter 314: I Disagree

Chapter 314: I Disagree

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Liam immediately felt as though he was engulfed by a terrifying aura, and he couldn¡¯t help shuddering a few times. Liam¡¯s words were indeed very inappropriate, and he was as crude and uncouth as lowly gangsters, which was a huge disgrace to the scions of wealthy and prestigious families. Many of the guests present at the auction began to look displeased. Russell¡¯s face was just as cold and sullen as he berated, ¡°Mr. Wace, please mind your words and manners! Also, once you¡¯ve paid the sum of thirty million dors, Beauty No. 1, who¡¯s on the stage now, will belong to you. Until then, you have no right to do anything to her. Now, please make your payment!¡± The staff member in the ck uniform asked again, ¡°Mr. Wace, would you like to pay by bank transfer or by check?¡± Liam was being forced to the point of being at a loss for what to do, and Lucas refused to fall for his trick. So he could only bite the bullet and say, ¡°I... I don¡¯t have so much money on my card now...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t? Then why didn¡¯t you think of that when you were bidding just now?¡± Russell snorted coldly. ¡°Mr. Wace, your family is wealthy and prestigious. In fact, even this auction venue we are standing in as we speak belongs to the Waces. On ount of your grandfather, I¡¯ll give you one more chance. Call your father or the senior Mr. Wace immediately and ask them to bring the money here to make the payment for you!¡± Liam¡¯s forehead was already covered in sweat. If he had to call his grandfather and inform him that he had just spent thirty million dors at the auction to purchase a woman who had nothing to offer except a pretty face, he would definitely be beaten to death! Holding his phone with trembling hands, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to dial that familiar number. ¡°Wait!¡± At this moment, Kyle suddenly interjected and slowly walked toward Liam from behind. Russell frowned slightly, but as a subordinate of the Kingstons, he had to be polite. ¡°Mr. Kingston, do you have any objections?¡± Kyle nced at Russell, but he didn¡¯t answer him directly. Instead, he turned his head to say to Lucas, ¡°I heard that you were very generous and bought the first nine beauties in a row during the auction tonight. Before Mr. Wace appeared, you¡¯ve also offered as high as six million dors for thest girl. When you werepeting with him during the bidding, your final bid was twenty-three million dors, right?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°That¡¯s right. So what?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way. Since both of you are keen on buying this girl, and Mr. Wace happens to be short of cash at the moment, let¡¯s consider his bid invalid and yours sessful. In that case, you shall take thest beauty home for six million dors,¡± Kyle said self-righteously. Without even asking Lucas if he agreed at all, he instructed the staff member beside him, ¡°Proceed with the arrangements for the payment transfer procedures for Lucas Gray. This matter is settled then.¡± Russell¡¯s face was sullen, and after some hesitation, he said softly, ¡°Mr. Kingston, I¡¯m afraid this is not an appropriate way to handle this matter. After all, Mr. Wace seeded in bidding for thest item during the auction, but he¡¯s now unable toe up with the money to pay what he bid. If we get this matter over and done with in such a hasty manner, I¡¯m afraid it will damage the reputation of the Kingstons¡¯ auctions...¡± Kyle red at Russell scornfully. ¡°I¡¯m the heir of the Kingstons, while you¡¯re just a subordinate who works for us. Are you sure you want to contradict me too?¡± Having worked for the Kingstons for decades, Russell had always been highly respected by the Kingstons, including the helmsman and staff members. This was the first time that he had ever been publicly rebuked by a junior of the Kingstons. Although he was indeed working for the Kingstons, Russell still had his own set of principles that he would abide by. For the sake of the Kingstons¡¯ reputation, he decided to try and persuade Kyle further, but thetter interrupted him with a look of annoyance. ¡°That¡¯s enough. I don¡¯t want to hear any more nonsense from you. I¡¯ve already made my mind up regarding this matter. Should there be any consequences, I¡¯ll bear full responsibility for them. Will this do?¡± When Russell heard Kyle¡¯s stubborn insistence, there was nothing else he could say. He could only keep quiet and stand quietly at the side. After giving these instructions, Kyle turned to Liam. ¡°Mr. Wace, we¡¯re friends after all, so I will help you settle this matter this time. However, you must be careful in the future!¡± Overjoyed, Liam hurriedly thanked Kyle, ¡°Thank you so much, Mr. Kingston! I owe you a huge favor for this today. Regardless of what happens to you in the future, I¡¯ll definitely go to great lengths to help you at all costs!¡± ¡°Haha, sure!¡± Kyle chuckled and then turned around to face Lucas again. He then ordered Lucas like Lucas was his servant, ¡°Okay, hurry up and pay up! Stop wasting our time here!¡± Lucas remained seated, not moving by a single inch. His lips curled into a mirthless smile as he said sneeringly, ¡°What if I don¡¯t agree?¡± From the beginning, Kyle had never asked for Lucas¡¯s opinion and presumptuously exempted Liam from bearing the consequences of his actions. He even used such a disgustingly condescending tone to order Lucas to pay up immediately. If Liam hadn¡¯t interrupted the auction halfway and tried to deal with Lucas, Lucas would indeed have paid the six million dors for the bid he ced. Unfortunately, Kyle decided to let Liam off without any consequences. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t agree to it, especially since Kyle spoke to him in such a rude and snobbish tone. Lucas wasn¡¯t bothered by the fact that he was a Kingston and wouldn¡¯t let himself be shortchanged for the sake of pleasing Kyle. ¡°Punk, I¡¯m being kind enough by not asking you for twenty-three million dors directly. How dare you turn me down? Seems like you want to do this the hard way! It¡¯s a piece of cake for me to deal with you!¡± Kyle threatened softly. They weren¡¯t speaking loudly, and only the few people nearest to them could hear them, such as Lena and Bruce, who were sitting right next to Lucas. Both of them had fury in their eyes. Lucas sneered and nced at Kyle, who was putting on airs and acting all high up in the air, before turning to look at Liam, who was looking all smug and conceited. He suddenly said loudly, ¡°I¡¯ve given up on thatst bid just now, and yet you¡¯re trying to force me to be the winner of the auction just because Mr. Wace can¡¯t afford to pay? Is there such logic in this world? It turns out that the rules of the Kingstons are so twisted. I¡¯ve gotten an eyeopener today!¡± Only then did the crowd figure out exactly what Kyle Kingston had said to Lucas. They immediately got into an uproar and looked at them with displeasure in their eyes. There wasn¡¯t a single auction where such a rule applied. Generally, if the sessful bidder didn¡¯t have enough money to pay for what they bid on, it would be deemed as malicious bidding, and they would be required to pay for the goods immediately while also being subject to penalties such as getting cklisted. If the bidder really couldn¡¯t afford to pay, he would have to bear severe consequences, and that auction would also be considered invalid. With the permission of the guests, a new round of bidding would then begin. In short, such a practice where the second-highest bidder was forced to buy the item while the malicious bidder faced zero punishment as if nothing had happened would never ur in auctions. If that were the case, there would be plenty of malicious bidders in the future, and the rules of the auctions would be thrown into jeopardy. Everyone discussed. When Kyle saw that Lucas had ruthlessly exposed the truth of this matter, his face turned sullen, and he hollered furiously, ¡°Lucas Gray, are you bent on going against me?! Don¡¯t me me for being nasty to you then!¡± Chapter 315: Forced With The Rod

Chapter 315: Forced With The Rod

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Liam mocked Lucas smugly, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t think you¡¯re an important person. Kyle is from a prestigious family, and he can easily crush you if he wants! You¡¯d better obey, pay up, and leave. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to leave even if you want to!¡± Now, not only had Liam gotten rid of the terrifying debt of thirty million dors with Kyle¡¯s help, thus saving him from the foolish mistake he had made. Furthermore, he was extremely pleased and smug because he felt that he had built a friendship with Kyle. So he spoke with a huge sense of superiority. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°What if I just don¡¯t want to?¡± Their threats meant nothing to him. If Lucas hadn¡¯t thought that those beauties the Kingstons had put up for the auction were most likely rted to the origin of those beauties of the Ocean Bathhouse, and he wanted to get to the bottom of the truth, he could have just destroyed the auction hall before going to destroy the Kingstons. Anyway, the Kingstons were the dogs of the Huttons, and they had repeatedly harassed Lucas, which was already extremely annoying. Destroying the Kingstons was easy, but Lucas still wanted to get more insider news from them, so he hadn¡¯t done anything to them. Seeing that both Liam and Kyle were angered by what Lucas said and sensing that things were about to go awry, Russell hurriedly stood out and yelled loudly, ¡°Ladies and gentleman, the auction tonight hase to an end. Thank you for attending. Please leave the venue now!¡± Russell signaled the surrounding staff members to escort the guests away. In fact, the matter regarding thest auction item had yet to be settled, so they were all very curious about how it was going to be handled. But the fact that the Kingstons were asking them to leave now showed that they clearly wanted to settle it in private instead of letting everyone find out, probably because of the pride of the Kingstons. At the thought of this, everyone could only leave reluctantly in order not to offend the Kingstons. Therge auction hall was soon empty again. But Lena and Bruce, who chose to stay in ce, stood out very starkly. Russell frowned in displeasure. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you two leaving yet?¡± Bruce also frowned. ¡°Mr. Gray is my friend, so I naturally won¡¯t let him stay here alone. Although I don¡¯t know what exactly you want to do to him, what Mr. Kingston did just now was clearly inappropriate, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Lena nodded and expressed her support for Lucas. ¡°Exactly, Liam Wace clearly tried to go against Lucas by deliberately cing high bids that are way more than what he can afford. In the end, Liam Wace ended up making a fool out of himself because he couldn¡¯t afford to pay what he bid. Why should Lucas be the one to bear the consequences? It¡¯s not the first time the Kingstons are holding an auction. Why would you do something like that?¡± Kyle rolled his eyes in displeasure. ¡°What does it have to do with you? The auction is organized by my family, and we¡¯ll handle it the way I want to. You¡¯re in no ce to intervene.¡± Russell also said sternly, ¡°This is a matter between us Kingstons and Mr. Lucas Gray. I hope you won¡¯t interfere indiscriminately, lest you get into trouble yourselves!¡± Although Russell didn¡¯t approve of Kyle¡¯s actions, he was still working for the Kingstons, so no matter what, he couldn¡¯t reprimand Kyle in front of outsiders. Russell was obviously threatening them with the future of the Sawyers and the Hales and warning them not to poke their noses into others¡¯ business. As he expected, Lena¡¯s face immediately became extremely sullen. If she was alone, she would naturally go all out and continue to support Lucas without any reservations. But if the future of the Sawyers was at stake, Lena wouldn¡¯t dare to act so presumptuously and recklessly. After all, thest time her father, Ethan, had a talk with her, he had mentioned that the Sawyers were now only glorious on the surface and that they were actually facing manyrge and small crises at this point. A slight careless mistake could lead to heavy losses, which was also why her father wanted her to marry Tristan and let their families unite. Thus, she indeed couldn¡¯t act willfully at this juncture and cause the Sawyers to suffer severe and immeasurable losses. Lena bit her lower lip reluctantly and stopped talking. But Bruce shook his head, straightened his back, and said austerely, ¡°Even if you are displeased and decide to harm the Hales, I will face all your attacks!¡± He had long seen Lucas¡¯s methods of handling things, and now that the Hales had already pledged allegiance to him, they were naturally on his side. But Bruce also believed that as long as Lucas was around, even the Kingstons wouldn¡¯t be able to get any advantages. Bruce¡¯s insistence on supporting Lucas even at the expense of getting his family harmed caught Liam and Russell by surprise. Even Lena¡¯s eyes were full of confusion. Liam narrowed his eyes and threatened with a gloomy expression, ¡°Hmph, since you¡¯re bent on protecting Lucas Gray, don¡¯t me us for being unkind to the Hales when the timees!¡± Bruce nced coldly at Liam, whose family was also one of the four top families just like the Hales. After calling Liam a good-for-nothing in his head, Bruce couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay any more attention to him. After seeing Bruce¡¯s behavior, Russell could tell even more that Lucas was extraordinary. He¡¯s a young man who has the full support of the most respected family head among the top four families of Orange County. And he¡¯s also the holder of a ck Diamond Card that¡¯s extremely rare and precious in the world... How much more is there to him than meets the eye? No matter what, Russell was reluctant to be enemies with Lucas. ¡°Mr. Kingston, since Mr. Wace can¡¯t afford to pay what he has bid, while Mr. Gray is not willing to buy Beauty No. 10 at thest bidded price, why don¡¯t we just nullify this auction? Neither of you will have to pay, and Beauty No. 10 will be kept by the Kingstons. What do you think?¡± Russell suggested, wanting to let the matter rest. Unfortunately, Lucas¡¯s purpose ining to the auction was to rescue Grace and take her away. So how could he possibly leave Grace with the Kingstons, who were just as disgusting as the Waces? Kyle was also against the proposal because, in his opinion, it was too easy of a way out for Lucas and also an insult to him. ¡°Hmph, how can an auction held by the Kingstons be nullified just like that?!¡± Kyle chuckled coldly and suddenly said arrogantly while a raised voice, ¡°Since I said that you have to pay for it, you have to obey! I initially wanted to do you a favor and let you pay only six million dors. But now that you¡¯ve angered me, I¡¯ve decided that you must pay the full sum of thirty million dors and not a single cent less! Otherwise, you will stay in this auction house forever!¡± With a sinister smile, he waved his hand, and more than ten fighters dressed in ck bodysuits appeared around them. They were all holding various weapons like knives, guns, batons, and so on as they began surrounding Lucas aggressively! ¡°Hahaha, Lucas Gray, I¡¯ll give you two minutes to make your payment obediently! Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee that you can still walk out of this hall in one piece!¡± Chapter 316: Who’s Threatening?

Chapter 316: Who¡¯s Threatening?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Both Lena and Bruce were shocked to see the armed henchmen. Neither of them expected Kyle to threaten Lucas using such a method. Russell was also a bit surprised. He frowned and said in disapproval, ¡°Mr. Kingston, these people are all experts who only appear when necessary. I¡¯m afraid...¡± Kyle rebuked hostilely, ¡°Shut up! I have my own ns!¡± Staring at Lucas contemptuously with raised brows, Kyle roared, ¡°Punk, weren¡¯t you very arrogant outside Club Splendor just now? How dare you kick me so hard that my guts still hurt even now?! You¡¯re now on my turf, and these are all my men. Let¡¯s see how you can continue to be arrogant in front of me!¡± Only then did Russell understand the reason Kyle bore such a strong hatred for Lucas and was bent on going against him. It wasn¡¯t so much as to help Liam but mostly to take revenge on Lucas. After hearing what Kyle said, both Lena and Bruce frowned, feeling rather worried. It seems that Kyle Kingston won¡¯t let Lucas off easily... What should we do now? Lena looked at the menacing and murderous-looking henchmen around her. She couldn¡¯t help biting her lower lip as her face turned pale, and she subconsciously hid behind Lucas. She had always been well protected by Ethan and so had never been in such a dangerous situation before. It was inevitable for her to be nervous and terrified. ¡°You guys leave first!¡± Lucas suddenly said to both Lena and Bruce. ¡°What... what about you then?¡± Lena asked worriedly. Lucasforted her with a light smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Hmph, things have alreadye to this, but you¡¯re still boasting! Do you really think that you can escape from my elite subordinates unscathed and in one piece? Also, no one in this hall is allowed to leave until you pay that thirty million dors!¡± Kyle said with a menacing expression. Since that chick from the Sawyers and that old fogy are bent on apanying Lucas Gray because they¡¯re worried about him, I¡¯ll show them that anyone who dares to side with Lucas Gray will die a horrible death! ¡°Hurry up. Two minutes are up. Hurry up and pay me the money! Otherwise, I¡¯ll sever both your arms!¡± With Kyle¡¯s order, the ten-odd armed elite henchmen immediately stepped forward toward Lucas threateningly, ready to pounce on him. Lena watched nervously, and her body even began to tremble slightly. Lucas nced at them and smirked. ¡°Do you really think you can do anything to me?¡± Then he stood up and walked toward Kyle,pletely ignoring these so-called elite henchmen who worked for the Kingstons. ¡°Bastard, don¡¯t be too arrogant! All it takes for me to rip you apart is a single order from me!¡± Kyle hollered furiously. But his heart soon began to palpitate as Lucas approached him, making his hairs subconsciously stand on ends. ¡°Quick, stop him! Stop him!¡± Kyle bellowed at the top of his lungs. But before the elite henchmen could make a single move, Lucas suddenly vanished out of sight! ¡°Where is he?¡± Taken aback, Kyle got flustered and hurriedly looked around. But a hand suddenly appeared in front of him and gripped his neck tightly! ¡°!¡± Kyle¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted as fear overwhelmed him! A moment ago, Lucas was clearly still several meters away from him, and the elite henchmen of the Kingstons were standing in between them. How did he break through them and dash toward me in an instant? The henchmen were just as astonished. They didn¡¯t even get a clear glimpse of Lucas¡¯s actions just now. All they felt was a chilly breeze blowing past them, and before they knew it, Lucas had already broken through their siege and strangled Kyle¡¯s neck! What horrifying speed! ¡°Let... go...¡± Kyle was strangled to the point of bing flushed as he desperately tried to reach out and push Lucas¡¯s hand away. But Lucas tightened his grip mercilessly, and Kyle immediately rolled his eyes, unable to say another word. This move sessfully managed to stop the Kingstons¡¯ elite henchmen, who wanted to charge toward Lucas and attack him, making them no longer dare to act recklessly. ¡°Mr. Gray, let¡¯s talk things over calmly. Please quickly let go of him!¡± Russell hurriedly eximed in panic. His forehead was covered in cold sweat as he tried to stop Lucas, fearing that Lucas would strangle Kyle to death in a moment of anger. Although he also hated Kyle, the scion of the Kingston family, Russell would be in trouble if Kyle really died in the auction he was in charge of, regardless of how much the Kingstons valued Russell. They were suddenly in a stalemate. Lena gently covered her mouth because when she saw Lucas moving past those henchmen as quickly as a bolt of lightning, she was reminded of when she had encountered an assassination by a biker charging toward her outside the Sawyers¡¯ vi. She initially thought that she would die, but Lucas appeared in the nick of time to rescue her like a god descending from heaven. At that time, Lucas was probably as quick as he was just now. Lena¡¯s eyes were full of sweet joy as her heart began beating rapidly. Kyle was probably the most miserable and terrified person now. He was now under Lucas¡¯s control, and there was a sharp pain in his neck. He couldn¡¯t even breathe properly, let alone speak. He was no longer as arrogant as he was a few seconds ago, and there was nothing but fear on his face. ¡°You said that you¡¯d get your men to sever my arms and not let me leave this ce in one piece if I don¡¯t pay that thirty million dors, right?¡± Lucas asked contemptuously with a smirk. But his smile seemed terrifying to Kyle, overwhelming him with so much fear that he began trembling violently. He shook his head desperately, but Lucas was strangling his neck tightly, rendering him immobile. So shaking his head made the pain in his neck intensify and even harder for him to breathe. His eyes kept rolling backward, and he seemed to be on the verge of dying. Liam spluttered threateningly, ¡°Lucas Gray, you... Let go! If you dare to harm Mr. Kingston, the Kingstons won¡¯t let you off!¡± Liam was standing near Kyle, and he was so frightened that he turned as pale as a sheet when he saw with his very own eyes that Lucas was about to strangle Kyle to death. Russell was enraged and roared at Liam, ¡°Idiot, shut up!¡± Judging from Lucas¡¯s performance, Russell was certain that Lucas wasn¡¯t the type that would relent under threats. Liam¡¯s words would only further anger Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray! I know Mr. Kingston was at fault just now. He shouldn¡¯t have offended you, but please have mercy and let us talk things over calmly! If you end up killing him, it won¡¯t do any of us here any good!¡± Russell hurriedly pleaded. If Lucas continued strangling Kyle, he would die in less than a minute! Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t kill Kyle just like that. Seeing Kyle begin convulsing, Lucas finally relented and let go of him. Kyle could no longer stand on his feet. As soon as Lucas let go, he directly copsed onto the ground. He gasped desperately for fresh air while looking thankful to have survived a near-death encounter. Lucas kicked Kyle, who was now like a dead dog. He then stepped on his chest with one foot and questioned indifferently, ¡°Now, do you still want me to pay you that thirty million dors?¡± Chapter 317: A Button

Chapter 317: A Button

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this point, Kyle had long be terrified of Lucas. He hurriedly shook his head. ¡°No, no, no, I wouldn¡¯t dare to make you pay! I¡¯ll give you that woman for free. I won¡¯t take a single cent!¡± If he had known that Lucas was so formidable and terrifying, he would have never tried to provoke him from the start! ¡°Hurry up and release her now. What are you waiting for?¡± ¡°Release her? Oh, oh, yes. I¡¯ll get to it immediately!¡± Kyle was a little dazed at this point, and his mind was in a whirlwind, so it took him a while to realize what Lucas meant. He hurriedly hollered at Russell, ¡°Are you deaf? Didn¡¯t you hear what Mr. Gray said? Quickly release that woman on the stage!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Russell didn¡¯t dare to dy. He sprinted toward the auction stage to personally open the door of therge ss disy case that Grace was locked up in. He then brought her to Lucas. All this while, Grace had been locked in the ss disy case and could only watch the auction begin with amotion, followed by the altercation between some people and Lucas, who was originally supposed to win the auction and take her away. When she saw this, her heart tensed up, and she was terribly scared that something might happen to him. Later, all the guests were made to leave the auction hall, resulting in Lucas and a few other people being the only ones left. All of a sudden, a bunch of armed henchmen surrounded Lucas, making her even more anxious. Unfortunately, she was locked in the soundproof ss disy case, so she couldn¡¯t hear the noise outside. The fact that she didn¡¯t know what was happening made her even more flustered and anxious as she continuously hit the ss walls of the disy case until abrasions formed on the skin of her elbows. Now that she was brought to Lucas and saw Kyle, whom Lucas was stepping on, she finally learned that Lucas had the upper hand in the conflict this time. She was finally going to be rescued! ¡°You two, take her away first!¡± Lucas suddenly said to Lena and Bruce. Lena immediately looked at Lucas worriedly, as she couldn¡¯t be at ease with him staying here alone. Bruce hurriedly grabbed Lena¡¯s arm and shook his head. ¡°Lena, I think we¡¯d better listen to him and leave! There¡¯s no point staying here anyway. We might even end up disturbing Mr. Gray.¡± Lena also realized that this was indeed the case. So she could only say worriedly with some reluctance, ¡°Be careful on your own then. We¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡± Soon, Lena and Bruce brought Grace away from the underground auction venue. ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡¯ve already let your friends go. Can you please let Mr. Kingston off now?¡± Russell asked anxiously. He was worried he might further anger Lucas if he said something wrong. Lucas said calmly, ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to be enemies with the Kingstons today, and I wasn¡¯t the one who started this ruckus either. I can let Kyle Kingston off today, but I hope you will remember that I, Lucas Gray, am no pushover. The reason that I choose not to create trouble is not because I¡¯m afraid. Anyone who ns to provoke me first should consider if they can bear the consequences before doing so!¡± ¡°Yes, you are right! We will definitely remember!¡± Russell hurriedly agreed on Kyle¡¯s behalf. Kyle was still being stepped on by Lucas, who was still in control of his life. Regardless of how indignant and reluctant he was, he had no choice but to bear with it for now, not daring to show the slightest displeasure on his face. Lucas moved his foot away from Kyle¡¯s chest and let him off. He then turned around and walked toward the exit of the auction hall. Kyle stared straight at Lucas¡¯s back, wishing he could kill him immediately. But after thinking about the way Lucas could suddenly appear in front of him like a phantom, he hesitated and dared not take the risk. Forget it. I¡¯ll let this bastard off for now. When the timees, I¡¯ll definitely kill him! The elite henchmen around him didn¡¯t move either because they hadn¡¯t received any orders from Kyle. They simply watched Lucas walk toward the exit of the auction hall. Liam stood next to him with a sullen expression. He had nned to make Lucas spend a ton of money today, but thetter managed to slip away like a loach. Not only did he not fall into Liam¡¯s trap, but he even humiliated him and Kyle. Liam was bent on taking revenge on Lucas! Just as Liam was ring viciously at Lucas¡¯s back, Lucas suddenly turned around and flicked something from his fingertips that swiftly darted toward Liam like a ray of light. ¡°Pfft!¡± The round object instantly prated Liam¡¯s throat, and two streams of blood gushed out from the front and back of his neck. Liam raised his hand and touched his neck in bewilderment, but he was already falling backward. With a loud thud, he copsed onto the ground. ¡°Mr. Wace!¡± Russell and Kyle were astounded. By the time they rushed forward to squat down beside Liam and take a look at his situation, his pupils had already dted and lost their luster. Liam was dead! ¡°This is... a button!¡± One of the Kingstons¡¯ subordinates hurriedly picked up a bloodstained golden button from a spot on the ground near Liam and handed it to Russell. When Russell saw the familiar-looking button, his pupils suddenly constricted, and he turned to look at Kyle¡¯s neck. Kyle was wearing a designer striped dress shirt, but the topmost button on the cor had already gone missing. The remaining buttons on the shirt were identical to the bloodstained one! The truth couldn¡¯t be any clearer. Lucas had ripped the button off of Kyle¡¯s cor when he was strangling him. At that time, Kyle was on the verge of death, so he naturally had no time to notice such trivial things. The tiny object that Lucas had flicked with his fingers when he was standing at the exit of the auction hall was this very button that pierced through Liam¡¯s throat, killing him on the spot! Everyone¡¯s eyes were full of disbelief. The door of the auction hall was nearly twenty meters away from Liam¡¯s body! Given such a great distance, even a bullet might not be shot urately at the target. Yet Lucas managed to kill Liam urately by flicking the tiny button at him. How terrifying was this?! His actions... were far beyond the abilities of a human! Bang! Lucas walked out of the door of the auction hall, and the metal gate mmed shut with a loud bang. Kyle shivered violently as he broke out in cold sweat that spread all over his body. Beside him, Russell also raised his hand to wipe the sweat off of his forehead. He said with lingering fears, ¡°Mr. Kyle, this man is too terrifying. He has incrediblebat skills and reflexes. He also has an extremely rare ck Diamond Card. You¡¯d better not go against him in the future!¡± Looking at Liam¡¯s corpse, Kyle recalled the humiliation he felt when Lucas choked him and stepped on his chest. He said indignantly, ¡°Regardless of how powerful he might be, his body is still made of flesh and blood! Next time, I¡¯ll definitely deploy my family¡¯s gun squad to besiege him. Let¡¯s see how he can hide then!¡± Russell stared at the indignant and furious but frightened Kyle and decided not to persuade him further. This stubborn fool who was almost just killed is probably going to dig his own grave soon. Why should I bother talking sense into him if he refuses to listen? Chapter 318: Asking About the Insider News

Chapter 318: Asking About the Insider News

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Meanwhile, Lucas left Club Splendor without turning back at all. Lena, Grace, and Bruce, who had been waiting outside, immediately went up to him and surrounded him. ¡°Lucas, are you alright!?¡± Two almost identical voices sounded at the same time, asking the same question in unison. Lena and Grace looked at each other and felt a little embarrassed. Lucas smiled. ¡°What could possibly have happened to me? Don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°Those henchmen of the Kingstons were very aggressive and menacing just now. They¡¯re both just scared that you might have gotten hurt,¡± Bruce said with a chuckle. As someone who had experienced a lot in life, he immediately realized what was going on. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The Kingstons aren¡¯t that scary, and Kyle Kingston is just a wimp. You don¡¯t have to bother about him. Also, Grace, Liam Wace will never be able to pester you again in the future. Rest assured!¡± Lucas said nonchntly. Bruce¡¯s eyebrows suddenly twitched. Having lived for decades and umted plenty of experience, he could naturally tell the brutality in Lucas¡¯s words. He reckoned that Liam should have already died... On the other hand, Lena and Grace seemed to fail to hear what Lucas meant. They merely thought that Lucas had just used some methods to deter Liam and stop him from creating trouble again. Lena carefully looked at Grace¡¯s beautiful appearance and suddenly asked, ¡°Lucas, so you knew this beautiful girl prior to this auction? No wonder you were willing to spend so much money to bid for her!¡± Her tone contained a subtle tinge of sourness that even she herself failed to notice. She even repeatedlyforted herself that she was just standing up for Cheyenne, her best friend. Lucas didn¡¯t notice the hint of jealousy in Lena¡¯s tone and simply said seriously, ¡°Yes, she¡¯s my friend who got abducted and brought here forcefully by that bastard Liam Wace. If Cheyenne didn¡¯t see it happen and asked me to save Grace, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t have known about it. Fortunately, I made it in time.¡± Only then did Grace realize that Lucas didn¡¯t show up at the auction house and rescue her by chance. Instead, he had specificallye here to save her! At the same time, Grace also felt even more grateful to Cheyenne. Lena now knew why Lucas suddenly showed up at the auction out of the blue. And after learning that Grace and Cheyenne also knew each other, her curiosity was piqued even further. But this was obviously not a good ce to talk. Lucas waved into the distance. Zach, who had driven him to the club and had been waiting at the entrance, immediately ran over. ¡°Mr. Gray! Are you done handling your matters?¡± Lucas nodded and said to Zach, ¡°Send Miss Keller back to the hospital. I have some other matters to attend to.¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Zach immediately acknowledged. Although Grace wanted to thank Lucas properly, he clearly had an urgent matter at hand. Moreover, she had just experienced a near-death encounter, so she wanted to go back to the hospital and have a good chat with her mother. So she didn¡¯t say anything more and instead just nodded at Lucas before heading back to the hospital with Zach. Lena also wanted to chat with Lucas for a while more. But when she saw that Lucas seemed to be in a hurry to handle some matters, she bade goodbye to him sensibly. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ll take my leave now. I¡¯ll ask you and Cheyenne out for some fun another day!¡± ¡°Alright, take care!¡± Lucas smiled and waved. After seeing Lena leave, he turned around to look at Bruce. Bruce understood that Lucas had something to say to him, so he took the initiative to ask, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve prepared some fine tea at home. Would you like toe with me to have a taste of the tea?¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go.¡± Soon, Lucas went to the Hale residence together with Bruce in thetter¡¯s car. In the guest hall of the Hale residence, Bruce led Lucas to the master seat while Bruce himself sat beside Lucas. After instructing the servants to serve some hot tea, he ordered them to leave so that he and Lucas could be alone. ¡°What exactly was going on in the Kingstons¡¯ auction tonight?¡± Lucas asked, cutting straight to the chase. Bruce¡¯s expression turned solemn. He had long guessed that Lucas would definitely ask him about this matter. After all, openly auctioning off living humans like they were objects was an extremely serious matter, especially since Lucas abhorred such hical and immoral practices. He would definitely be concerned about the origin of the auction. Bruce didn¡¯t dare to dy and hurriedly told Lucas everything he knew. ¡°The Kingstons are from San Francisco, and they started off as auctioneers decades ago, so auctions have always been very important to them. In recent years, the Kingstons held more than ten medium-sized auctions every year, and the venues are not limited to San Francisco. For example, they chose to hold one in Orange County this time. There are arge plethora of items they put up for auction each time, and almost anything can be sold at their auctions. There were even heavy firearms in past auctions! ¡°But as far as I know, they should have started putting up living humans for auction only in recent years.¡± Lucas frowned. ¡°In recent years? Roughly when did they start doing so?¡± ¡°They should have started about six or seven years ago. I remember that when the Kingstons first started putting beautiful women up for auction, it caused quite an uproar among the scions of wealthy families, so I remember this matter very clearly.¡± Lucas tapped his fingertips against the small mahogany coffee table as he fell into deep thought. He had originally thought that the Kingstons were the ones who supplied beautiful women to the Ocean Bathhouse. But Preston Taylor mentioned the other time that the Taylors had started running such a business about two decades ago. Yet the Kingstons had only started running the auctions of beautiful women about six to seven years ago. The timeline clearly didn¡¯t tally. It seemed that the Kingstons probably weren¡¯t the ones who had provided the Ocean Bathhouse with those women. But no matter what, both families were guilty of illegal trafficking and abduction of women, so there had to be some rtion between the two. It could be that the origin of those beauties was from the same source. ¡°So, do you know any insider information about the beautiful women used as escorts on the top floor of the Ocean Bathhouse?¡± Lucas asked again. After all, Bruce was old and also had a high status. Besides, the Hales were also one of the four major families in the county, making them on equal ground as the Taylors. It was entirely possible for him to have heard some insider information. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about this matter. The Taylors managed to gain a foothold in Orange County by relying on that sordid business they run on the top floor of the Ocean Bathhouse. They eventually developed into one of the top four families of Orange County. I was once curious about the source of their beautiful women too, so I sent some people to investigate it. ¡°Unfortunately, the mysterious organization supplying those beautiful women was quite careful and powerful enough to kill all the people I sent. We even received a terrifying threat from them, so I decided to give up on investigating the source. ¡°Furthermore, at the time, other families in Orange County had also sent people to investigate this matter. After all, the Taylors had reaped massive profits from that business, and many were jealous of them. But they faced the same thing as us in the end and were also issued stern warnings. At that time, there were two other families that had developed well. Refusing to believe the threats, they continued to send people to shadow those people. In the end, those two familiespletely disappeared from Orange County. ¡°Since then, everyone has treated this matter as an extreme taboo, and no one really mentions it anymore. As far as I know, even the Taylors, who run that business, are unclear of what those people¡¯s origins really are.¡± The information Bruce provided Lucas was much more detailed than what Preston had told him, but it made Lucas frown even more. The power of that mysterious organization seemed to be even greater than what he had previously thought. ¡°So, do you think that there are any secret dealings between the Taylors and the Kingstons?¡± Lucas asked. Chapter 319: One Step Further

Chapter 319: One Step Further

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing Lucas¡¯s question, Bruce immediately understood what he meant. ¡°Are you suspecting that... those beautiful women at the Ocean Bathhouse, when the Taylors owned it, were provided by the Kingstons?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°So, is there such a possibility?¡± Bruce smiled as he answered with great certainty, ¡°There have actually been some conflicts between the Taylors and the Kingstons, and there was once a major dispute. So it¡¯s impossible that the Kingstons would secretly supply those beautiful women to the Taylors to help them develop and expand their businesses.¡± Lucas raised his brows with great interest. ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± He didn¡¯t quite know much about the grudges and feuds between those top families. Besides, the Taylors and the Kingstons were in different cities, so it hadn¡¯t crossed Lucas¡¯s mind that there had been a major dispute. But Lucas had also noticed that among the guests of the Kingstons¡¯ auction tonight, there were core members of other top families of Orange County. But the only two direct descendants of the Taylors, Preston and Scott, hadn¡¯t attended the auction. The only Taylor present was Gisele, who had appeared only for a short while and entered together with Kyle. So it seemed that it was true that the Kingstons and the Taylors didn¡¯t get along with each other. Bruce exined, ¡°More than ten years ago, one of Kyle Kingston¡¯s aunts, who was very beautiful, was arranged by the Kingstons to marry a man from one of the top eight families of DC. But she fell in love with the son of the family head of the Taylors and refused toply with the marriage arrangements her family set for her. She couldn¡¯t convince the Taylors to change their minds, so she ended up eloping with her lover. ¡°Afterward, the Kingstons were enraged and nabbed the both of them before subsequently forcing them to break up. During the scuffle, one of the Kingstons identally killed the son of the Taylors¡¯ helmsman, which led to the suicide of Kyle¡¯s aunt. As a result, the Kingstons lost the opportunity to build connections with the wealthy families in DC, and since then, they formed a major feud with the Taylors and haven¡¯t been in contact with each other for many years. ¡°So, those escorts were definitely not supplied by the Kingstons.¡± Lucas nodded. Seems these two families have a strong feud with each other. In that case, I¡¯ll have to investigate both families separately. After exining the feud between the two families to Lucas, Bruce said worriedly again, ¡°Mr. Gray, since you strangled Kyle Kingston at the auction tonight, the Kingstons definitely won¡¯t let you off even though they were at fault to begin with. They¡¯re very protective of their family members, so they absolutely won¡¯t let the matter go just like that. You have to be more careful!¡± Lucas smiled nonchntly. ¡°It¡¯s just the Kingstons. They don¡¯t mean anything to me.¡± Lucas spoke with great confidence and nonchnce because he really didn¡¯t take them seriously. Bruce was slightly surprised, but he soon smiled. Previously, Lucas had shown his ability to easily annihte the Hales. But no one knew how much more power Lucas had but was still concealing. For instance, the ck Diamond Card that Lucas had taken out at the auction in Club Splendor tonight had made everyone taken aback because it was far beyond their expectations. Now that the Hales had already pledged their allegiance to Lucas, there was no doubt that the Hales would naturally receive greater benefits if Lucas became stronger in the future. Lucas took a sip of tea and suddenly asked, ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you something. Do you hope for the Hales to remain at the status quo now, or do you want to take a step further and be the strongest family in Orange County, or even surpass those top families in other cities?¡± Bruce immediately froze in shock. After he processed Lucas¡¯s words, joy instantly appeared all over his wrinkled face. ¡°Mr. Gray, do you... do you mean that... you can help the Hales be even more powerful and be on par with the families currently superior to us?¡± Bruce asked eagerly in a shaky voice. Taking your family to greater heights and leading them to be stronger while earning prestige and the respect of others was almost the holy grail of every responsible and ambitious family head. Bruce was no exception. Under his leadership, the Hales had managed to grow from a mid-tier family to be one of the four top families of Orange County. It was certainly something that he was proud of, but that was all. They had been stagnating at the status quo for more than a decade without making any more progress. After all, thepetition between families was extremely stiff, especially at their level. For them, progressing a step further was a Herculean task. But Bruce believed that Lucas was an extraordinary person who definitely meant what he said! Looking at Bruce¡¯s excited expression, Lucas smiled calmly. ¡°Don¡¯t rejoice too soon. Given the current strength of the Hales, you are still far from reaching that goal.¡± The excitement and agitation in Bruce¡¯s eyes reduced a little, and his rationality made him trust that Lucas was right. The Hales definitely still had a long way to go before they could progress. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Mr. Gray. We¡¯ll surely make up for what weck! I believe that as long as you are here, the Hales will reach that stage sooner orter!¡± Bruce said with a firm and determined gaze. Only then did Lucas smile faintly. ¡°Okay. Select some young and trustworthy people from your family tonight. They have to be under the age of thirty, physically fit, hardworking, willing to take hardship, and most importantly, loyal enough to the Hales! After you¡¯ve chosen the candidates, I will send someone over to your ce tomorrow to train them properly.¡± Thinking about Lucas¡¯s terrifyingbat skills and the fact that Hans, the martial arts expert the Hales had spent a lot of money to hire, couldn¡¯t even strike Lucas once, Bruce reckoned that the younger members of his family would certainly be elite fighters if Lucas personally sent someone to teach and train them! Even if they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold a candle to Lucas, they would definitely be countless times better than the elite guards they had hired in the past! Bruce was so excited that he nodded profusely. ¡°Yes! Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to be groomed by you!¡± Lucas smiled faintly. If he wasn¡¯t touched by Bruce insisting on speaking up for him at the expense of offending the Kingstons at the auction tonight, he might have never thought of giving the Hales this opportunity. ¡°Okay, I should get going.¡± Lucas stood up. Bruce hurriedly stood up and said solicitously, ¡°I¡¯ll send you back immediately.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Go get busy with what your own matters. You can just arrange for someone to send me to the hospital.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t want Bruce, who was advanced in years, to personally send him to his destinationte at night. Lucas wasn¡¯t the type of person who put on airs either. ¡°Yes!¡± Although Lucas said so, Bruce wouldn¡¯t be negligent and casually arrange a random driver for him. Soon, a tall andnky young man entered the guest hall. When he entered and saw Lucas on the master seat, his pupils suddenly constricted, and his body trembled. Even his foot froze in midair. Chapter 320: The Culprit

Chapter 320: The Culprit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas raised his brows when he saw him as well. The young man who entered was none other than Bruce¡¯s eldest grandson, Connor Hale. Back then, Lucas had confronted the Hales and caused a stir at their home because Logan had colluded with Scarlet to abduct Amelia. At that time, Lucas had dealt with Connor harshly for making nasty remarks, causing him to suffer many losses. When Lucas captured all the Hales overnight and put them on the verge of destruction, Connor suffered even more torment in prison. If Lucas hadn¡¯t decided to pardon them and allow them to go home, Connor would have probably died by now. Thus, Connor felt extremelyplicated regarding Lucas. When he saw Lucas, he was full of fear and respect. ¡°Why are you still standing there at the door? Hurry up ande here to greet Mr. Gray!¡± Bruce hollered at his ipetent grandson furiously. The reason he asked Connor toe over was so that he could appear more in front of Lucas and hopefully change Lucas¡¯s opinion of him. After all, Bruce was already in his seventies, and he didn¡¯t know how much longer he would live. Once he kicked the bucket, the great business empire of the Hales would be handed over to Connor. Bruce would be at ease if Connor could be on good terms with Lucas. Connor suppressed the fear within him as he walked toward Lucas. He greeted respectfully, ¡°Hello, Mr. Gray!¡± Lucas chuckled when he saw therge droplets of sweat on Connor¡¯s forehead and the way his legs seemed to be trembling a little. ¡°Hello.¡± Connor heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the friendly tone of Lucas¡¯s voice. Bruce ordered, ¡°Connor, drive Mr. Gray to Orange Coast Medical Center now.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa.¡± Connor hurriedly nodded before quickly going to the garage. He then drove the best car they had to the entrance of the guest hall to pick Lucas up. Bruce stood at the door and watched the car leave the residence before heaving a long sigh of relief. ¡°Gather everyone here for a meeting now!¡± After he issued this order, all the people in the family began to get busy. ... Meanwhile, Connor sent Lucas to Orange Coast Medical Center while making sure to drive carefully throughout the journey. ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡¯re here...¡± When Lucas opened the car door and was about to get out, Connor thought he could finally rx and calm his nerves, which had been tense all this time. ¡°Oh, by the way...¡± Lucas suddenly turned around, giving Connor such a huge fright that he shuddered. Lucas was a little speechless. ¡°Go home and tell your grandfather that I want him to find a ce to settle down the nine women I bought at the auction in Club Splendor. Make sure no one can harm them again.¡± Connor nodded repeatedly. ¡°Okay, Mr. Gray, don¡¯t worry. I will definitely ry every single word of yours to Grandpa.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lucas nodded, pushed open the car door, and got out. Sitting in the driver¡¯s seat in the car, Connerpletely rxed his mind and leaned back against the seat. He felt that his back was already drenched in cold sweat. When Lucas walked into the hospital, he called Jordan and said, ¡°Call Stanley Ray and ask him how things are going over in LA. Tell him toe over immediately if he¡¯s free because I¡¯d like for him to go to the Hales and train some of them into capable fighters.¡± Jordan immediately replied in a much louder voice, ¡°Lucas, let me do it! I happen to have a lot of time on my handstely. I¡¯ve been so idle that my skills are getting rusty! Let me go train those newbies! I guarantee I¡¯ll be able to put them through tough and arduous training and turn them into elite fighters!¡± Lucas was speechless. ¡°I actually have some other tasks I want you to do, but since you want to be their trainer, go ahead. But I still want you to ask Stanley toe over. I have some things for him to handle.¡± Jordan immediately agreed, but he soon smacked his lips and asked in puzzlement, ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re trying to help the Hales be stronger, right? Actually, with your power, you can easily conquer all of Orange County. Why do you still bother going to such great lengths?¡± With Lucas¡¯s status, he could easily conquer Orange County and even some other counties. Lucas replied calmly, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be meaningless? I want to build my power with my own abilities and make it grow to the point that I can confront the Huttons in DC!¡± After hearing this, Jordan immediately felt zeal and ardor coursing through his veins. ¡°Okay, Lucas. I promise to make all of those newbies improve by leaps and bounds within a month!¡± After ending the call, Lucas thought about it and called Joe, followed by Flynn. He instructed each of them to pick a few trustworthy people and send them to the Hales for training. Lucas had taken both of them in as trusted subordinates, so he hoped that they could have some capable underlings who could be of help to them. After all, no one would mind having too manypetent and able subordinates. After giving these instructions, Lucas walked to William¡¯s ward. But to his surprise, Cheyenne wasn¡¯t the only one in the ward. Grace was also present and was currently chatting with Cheyenne. When they saw Lucas enter, both of them beamed with joy and surprise. ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± Cheyenne immediately stood up and walked quickly toward Lucas. She sized him up and finally heaved a sigh of relief after confirming that he was unharmed. Grace couldn¡¯t leap over and check on Lucas like Cheyenne did, but she stared at Lucas with great concern in her beautiful eyes for a long time. After seeing no visible injuries or dirty stains on his body, she finally felt relieved as well. Although they had a lot to ask Lucas now, they nced at each other and tacitly decided not to say anything, lest William became worried after finding out what had happened. ... In the Waces¡¯ manor in the southern district of Orange County... At this moment, there were dozens of people standing around the entrance of the most luxurious vi in the middle. In the middle of the crowd, there was a corpse lying motionless on the ground. The corpse belonged to a young man of about 25 or 26 years old. There was a distinct hole in his throat, and his neck was covered with some dried blood. The eyes of the corpse were still wide open, out of focus and fixed on the starry sky above. He seemed to be confused, as if he hadn¡¯t figured out how he died even during hisst moments. ¡°Liam! My poor son, you¡¯ve died such a tragic death! Who killed you?!¡± a woman in herte forties shrieked at the top of her lungs as she leaped toward the corpse on the ground. Many of the Waces, standing at the side, seemed to be furious and grief-stricken. ¡°Who was it? Who the hell had the audacity to do such a vicious thing to a Wace!?!¡± a few reckless and impulsive young men hollered in rage. Kyle stood beside the group of Waces and said with a look of grief on his face, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault for failing to protect Liam well and ended up letting some viin scheme against him, causing him to die at such a young age. Mr. Wace, please punish me!¡± He had a polite attitude and was even hanging his head a little low. Liam¡¯s grandfather, Pierre Wace, had anger written all over his face as he red with his eyes wide open and full of fury. Although Liam wasn¡¯t toopetent, he was still Pierre¡¯s grandson, whom he had watched grow up. Yet Liam ended up dying tragically on their own turf in Orange County. No matter what, he would never let the culprit off the hook! ¡°Mr. Kingston, please tell us who killed my grandson.¡± Chapter 321: Not Releasing A Single One

Chapter 321: Not Releasing A Single One

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Looking sullen and grief-stricken, Kyle said, ¡°I think everyone knows about the auction we Kingstons held in Club Splendor tonight. During the auction, a young man named Lucas Gray got into a conflict with Liam over a beauty put up for auction as the finale item. I tried to mediate the conflict, but I didn¡¯t expect Lucas Gray to suddenly get physical and kill Liam a second before he left the auction hall! ¡°I wanted to nab the culprit and bring him here to take revenge for Liam, but Lucas Gray is extremely good at fighting. Even the guards working for my family couldn¡¯t hold him back, and even I almost got killed by him. If he hadn¡¯t been deterred by the power of my family at thest moment, I would have died like Liam.¡± As Kyle spoke, he raised his head to reveal the purplish-green welts on his neck from being strangled by Lucas. Pierre Wace and the other Waces were initially somewhat doubtful about Kyle¡¯s words, but the fingerprint-shaped bruises on his neck were indeed real. Only then did they believe that even Kyle was almost killed by the person who murdered Liam. Clearly, the murderer was indeed brutal and menacing! ¡°Lucas Gray? As far as I know, there isn¡¯t a top family in Orange County that bears the family name Gray. Which city is his family from?¡± Pierre asked with a frown. The Waces began pondering over it, but none of them could figure out if there was a powerful family with the name Gray. Kyle shook his head. ¡°Lucas Gray isn¡¯t a member of a powerful family from another city. I heard that he¡¯s from Orange County, and he¡¯s actually quite well-known here too.¡± ¡°What?! He¡¯s from Orange County?¡± The Waces were extremely surprised. ¡°Could it be that this Lucas Gray you mentioned is that infamous good-for-nothing son-inw of the Carters, who married Cheyenne Carter, who was formerly known as the most beautiful girl in the county, due to a scandal?¡± A few of the younger Waces blurted because they suddenly found the name ¡®Lucas Gray¡¯ extremely familiar. Kyle nodded and said with a look of agony, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him! I didn¡¯t expect a lowly live-in son-inw like him to actually have the audacity to attack Liam and me.¡± ¡°Damn it! Lucas Gray is nothing but a piece of garbage that everyone despises. How dare he provoke and challenge the Waces?!¡± After hearing about Lucas¡¯s past, several young men of the Wace family began cursing and moring about immediately going to settle scores with Lucas. ¡°There¡¯s also one more thing I think I should tell you guys. Lucas Gray seems to be very close to the Hales, which is also one of the four most powerful families of Orange County. At the auction venue earlier, Bruce Hale, the head of the Hale family, kept defending Lucas Gray. If Bruce Hale hadn¡¯t tried to stop me, Lucas Gray would probably have been caught by my family guards!¡± Kyle deliberately told the Waces about an incident he had fabricated. After all, at the time, all the other guests in the auction venue had been made to leave, and Lucas, Kyle, Russell, Liam, and the Kingstons¡¯ ten-odd experts were the only ones around. Apart from them, no one saw what had happened, so even if Kyle made things up, no one could verify the ims he made nor expose his lies. ¡°The Hales, Bruce Hale!¡± There was anger written all over Pierre¡¯s old and wrinkled face. He gritted his teeth and bellowed, ¡°I, Pierre Wace, swear that the Waces will steer clear from the Hales from now on and never be on good terms with them again!¡± With a subtle glint in his eyes, Kyle asked concernedly again, ¡°Mr. Wace, how do you guys n to deal with that bastard Lucas Gray? My family can also give you some help.¡± Pierre nced at Kyle and said coldly, ¡°This is a feud between the Waces and him, so we will naturally be the ones to take revenge! We won¡¯t bother you for now. Please take your leave, Mr. Kingston!¡± Seeing that Pierre was austere and upset, Kyle could only purse his lips and leave as he was told. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll get going now. I offer you my deepest condolences. Goodbye!¡± After Kyle left the Waces residence with both his personal bodyguards, Pierre¡¯s face turned sullen, and he snorted furiously. ¡°Hah, Kyle Kingston isn¡¯t a decent person either! Trust him to think that I¡¯d fall for his pretense and his tricks. He¡¯s such a greenhorn!¡± Pierre¡¯s eldest son, Bryant Wace, was standing right beside him. When he heard what Pierce said, he couldn¡¯t help being stunned. ¡°Dad, are you saying that that brat was lying to us on purpose just now?¡± ¡°Hmph, he might not necessarily be lying about everything, but there must be some falsehoods! Why would Liam get into a conflict with that Lucas Gray out of nowhere, and how did things escte to such an extent? ¡°From what you¡¯ve said, Lucas Gray should only be a lowly live-in son-inw of the Carters. How could he have had the guts to do something like that? This matter must have something to do with that punk Kyle Kingston! ¡°Besides, the Kingstons used Club Splendor as the venue for their auction of some secretive items tonight, which they clearly stated are to be kept hidden from the public eye. So the Kingstons must have sent plenty of their guards and henchmen to guard the ce both inside and outside! ¡°In the end, the altercation broke out on our property, but none of our subordinates were allowed to stay at the venue. As a result, we don¡¯t even know what exactly happened at the auction! The Kingstons can¡¯t shirk responsibility for this!¡± The more Pierre thought about it, the angrier he got. He ordered Bryant coldly, ¡°Send someone to investigate immediately. We must get to the bottom of the truth! I don¡¯t care who Lucas Gray is. As long as he¡¯s rted to Liam¡¯s death, we won¡¯t spare him!¡± After hearing what Pierre said, Bryant, Liam¡¯s biological father, eximed ruthlessly with reddened eyes, ¡°Yes! We¡¯ll definitely avenge Liam and get ahold of every single person who caused his death!¡± Soon, the news of Liam Wace¡¯s murder spread like wildfire throughout Orange County. After all, the Waces were one of the four most powerful families in Orange County, and the victim this time was the grandson of the Waces¡¯ helmsman. The news was especially shocking because it was said that Liam had been killed during a brawl. Someone actually dared toy their hand on a direct descendant of a top family in Orange County. How brazen! Bruce received the news early the next morning, and his eyelids couldn¡¯t help but twitch. The first thing that came to his mind was the words that Lucas said to Grace outside Club Splendor yesterday¡ª¡±Liam Wace will never pester you again.¡± Bruce was almost 100% certain that Liam¡¯s death was rted to Lucas. After hesitating for a long time, Bruce nevertheless called Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, the top families of Orange County have received a message this morning regarding Liam Wace¡¯s... demise.¡± At this moment, Lucas was on the way to the hospital to visit William after sending Cheyenne to work and dropping Amelia off at the kindergarten. Upon receiving Bruce¡¯s call, he immediately understood what Bruce was worried about and thus said straightforwardly, ¡°I killed Liam Wace yesterday in front of Kyle Kingston.¡± Chapter 322: Getting Discharged and Going Home

Chapter 322: Getting Discharged and Going Home

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Bruce had already guessed it, he was still stunned by Lucas¡¯s ability to remainposed and speak calmly. After all, the person he killed wasn¡¯t an ordinary person but a direct descendant of the Waces, one of Orange County¡¯s four most powerful families! In particr, Lucas had killed Liam right in front of Kyle and the Kingstons¡¯ employees. This was truly shocking! ¡°Mr. Gray, ording to the information I received, Kyle Kingston personally delivered Liam Wace¡¯s corpse back to the Wace residencest night and even said a lot to them. He must have smeared you and made extremely unfavorable allegations about you. The Waces should bear a grudge against you now, and they¡¯ll surely confront you soon. They also dered that they would steer clear of the Hales and swore to be at odds with us from now on.¡± Bruce said solemnly, ¡°The Hales aren¡¯t intimidated, and I¡¯m not worried that they¡¯ll try to deal with you either. But I¡¯m a little worried that the Waces might harm the people around you. You have to be careful and keep your guard up!¡± The Waces would resort to extreme methods at times. And if they really attacked the people rted to Lucas, they would definitely resort to some despicable means that could result in fatal consequences. Lucas sneered. ¡°If they have the audacity to do that, I can guarantee that the Waces will definitely vanish from Orange County immediately!¡± Lucas¡¯s family was his Achilles¡¯ heel, and anyone who dared to harm them would die, regardless of who they were! ¡°I have my own arrangements for this matter. Don¡¯t worry. Since the Waces have now dered war on the Hales, can you cope with it?¡± Lucas asked. Bruce was very confident about this. ¡°The Waces and the Hales are simr in status, and in fact, in some aspects, they¡¯re inferior to us. So they can go ahead and dere war on us all they want. I doubt they can do anything to us. ¡°Of course, if the Kingstons join them and stand on their side, it might be a little difficult to handle them...¡± Bruce wasn¡¯t blindly confident in himself. Last night in Club Splendor, he represented the Hales and stood on Lucas¡¯s side, so he reckoned that Kyle must have formed a grudge against the Hales. There was a high possibility that he would secretly collude with the Waces to deal with the Hales. ¡°Okay, inform me immediately if the Kingstons start attacking you,¡± Lucas instructed. Bruce immediately felt relieved. He said with a smile, ¡°Alright. Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± After hanging up the phone, Lucas continued to drive to the hospital. Regarding the safety of the people rted to him, as Bruce mentioned, Lucas had actually made arrangements to protect themst night. He had long arranged for Wade to stay by Charlotte¡¯s side to protect her at all times. When he called Jordanst night, he had already instructed Jordan to tell Stanley toe back from LA. Then he gave Stanley the task of secretly protecting Cheyenne at all times. As for Amelia, Lucas would send her to and from the kindergarten every day, so her safety was guaranteed. Soon, Lucas arrived at the Orange Coast Medical Center and took the familiar route to William¡¯s ward. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve been lying alone in the hospital for two days. The boredom is killing me! Hurry up and let me get discharged from the hospital!¡± Lucas heard Williamining as soon as Lucas stepped into the ward. Lucas said helplessly, ¡°You were still unconscious when you were transported to the hospital yesterday. Your injuries are quite severe, so it¡¯s better for you to rest and recuperate here for a few days.¡± ¡°Hey, they¡¯re just some superficial wounds! There aren¡¯t any serious issues with my health. I¡¯ve been hospitalized for more than a day, and I¡¯m almost fully recovered! I didn¡¯t suffer any fractures or anything, so why do I need to continue being hospitalized?¡± William deliberately jumped twice on the ground to prove to Lucas that his injuries were not serious. Lucas sighed and shrugged with his palms spread open. ¡°There¡¯s no point in asking me to help you get discharged, William. You have to get Cheyenne and Charlotte¡¯s approval.¡± William had no choice but to call his daughters again and plead as hard as he could to convince them. He even asked his attending physician to prove that his injuries were not severe and that he was indeed ready to be discharged from the hospital. Due to William¡¯s insistence, Cheyenne and Charlotte could only agree to let him be discharged and go home for recuperation. After William¡¯s things were packed, Lucas nned to take William back to the vi for a short stay of a couple of days so that everyone could take care of him. But William insisted that Lucas send him back to his rented apartment in Golden Garden Estate. ¡°Since we¡¯ve already moved out, just send me back to my apartment. Otherwise, if Karen finds out, she¡¯ll definitely kick up a fuss and go to your ce to argue with you guys. Just drop me off at the estate. Karen¡¯s home. She¡¯ll take care of me.¡± Lucas sighed. He knew that one of the main reasons that William insisted on moving out of the vi was actually that he wanted to prevent Karen from insulting Lucas and making malicious remarks about him all the time, lest she disrupted their pleasant and peaceful life. Lucas sent William to Block 26 of Golden Garden Estate and apanied him up to the apartment on the fifth floor. When they entered the apartment, they saw Karen sprawled across the couch in the living room and watching television. There were food wrappers, empty bags of chips, empty bottles, and other trash all over the floor. It was a huge mess and filthy everywhere. But Karen merelyy on the couch and continued watching TV as if she hadn¡¯t seen the garbage and mess she had created. Even when she saw William and Lucas walking in, she merely turned to nce at them nonchntly before looking away and ignoring them, let alone ask about William¡¯s injuries. William was instantly disappointed. He had been treating Karen well all these years. And apart from the time he had gotten into a physical fight with Karen in a drunken stupor, he had neverid a hand on her orshed out at her before. He would bear with her tantrums and scoldings every day and even let her be in charge of the pursestrings. This time, he had gotten beaten up at the door of his apartment and ended up hospitalized. Even Lucas, his son-inw, had made several trips to the hospital to visit him. Yet Karen, his wife of decades, didn¡¯t give him a single call, much less visit him at the hospital. Now that he hade home, she still didn¡¯t show him any concern and simply pretended like she didn¡¯t see him. This made William feel truly heartbroken. When William saw the mess in the living room, which now looked like a dumpster, he no longer wanted to stay here. After cing the items that he was holding back inside his room, William immediately left. When they walked to the square below the apartment block, Williamined to Lucas with a glum expression, ¡°Hey, Lucas, to be honest with you, I really don¡¯t want to continue living with this woman anymore!¡± Chapter 323: The Arrogant Subordinate

Chapter 323: The Arrogant Subordinate

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas looked at him sympathetically and sighed without saying a single word. In fact, Lucas was in awe of William¡¯s ability to tolerate Karen¡¯s detestable character for so many years. If he were in William¡¯s shoes, he would have long left Karen because he couldn¡¯t stand her at all. He would rather live alone than continue living with a horrid woman like her. But no matter what, Karen was still Cheyenne and Charlotte¡¯s biological mother, so Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t persuade William to divorce her. ¡°Ah, forget it. Let¡¯s stop talking about her. The mention of that woman makes me feel terrible. I¡¯m going to go to the office to take a look,¡± William said. Thepany he was referring to was naturally the Orange County branch of the Sr Corporation, which Lucas had him manage some time ago. The Orange County branch of the Sr Corporation originally belonged to the Brookes from LA. But Aston and Andrew had previously transferred 49% of the shares of the Orange County branch to Lucas in order to gain his support while feigning allegiance to him. In exchange, they wanted an opportunity to expand their family business in Orange County. Later on, the Brookes repeatedlymitted acts of betrayal against Lucas, which ultimately led to their fall. Lucas then acquired all of the businesses formerly owned by the Brookes at market price, which naturally included the Orange County branch of the Sr Corporation. But after Lucas acquired thispany, he didn¡¯t have enough manpower to spare for managing it, so he had no choice but to let William take on the role of the general manager and be fully in charge of all affairs rted to thepany in Orange County. Lucas hadn¡¯t even gone to thepany to take a look yet, not even once. Hearing that William wanted to go and take a look at the office, Lucas thought about it and decided to go with him. On the one hand, he wanted to send William there. On the other hand, he also wanted to see for himself the current operation and situation of thepany. After all, William had just taken over the responsibility of managing thepany a few days ago, and most of the current employees had been working there even before Lucas acquired it. He wondered if they would have any dissatisfaction or refusal to obey William¡¯s orders. The Sr Corporation office building was only a short distance away from Golden Garden Estate, so it only took them a ten-minute drive to get there. Lucas followed William into the office building, which had rather grand and presentable decor. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you the new general manager of ourpany, Mr. Carter? You¡¯re actually at the office today. Pigs can fly! I heard that you fell sick and were hospitalized, right? You recovered so soon!¡± Just as the two of them stepped into the office, they heard a sarcastic remark. Lucas turned around and saw a middle-aged man in his forties with a huge beer belly speaking to William with contempt and derision. ¡°Hah, Mr. Carter has someone powerful backing him up. Even if he continues being on medical leave for a long time, he¡¯d still be our general manager. Such treatment isn¡¯t something we hardworking employees can enjoy!¡± Another middle-aged man with a gaunt and long face was standing beside the man with the beer belly. Lucas had sharp eyesight, and he saw at a nce the metal nametes on both of their chests. The words ¡®Deputy General Manager: Adrian Hill¡¯ were on the namete of the middle-aged man with the beer belly. While on the thin middle-aged man with a long face were the words ¡®Directory of the Business Department: Jimmy Brown¡¯. Lucas immediately frowned. Both of them were obviously senior executives of the Sr Corporation branch in Orange County. But they were both very sarcastic and snide when speaking to William, even though he was the general manager. They didn¡¯t show him the slightest respect and even disyed a lot of animosity toward him. Their voices were rather loud when they were mocking William, so many people in the office area suddenly turned over to look at them. William¡¯s face turned sullen. Lucas had given him full authority to manage thepany. But when Lucas came to inspect the operations of the office for the first time, he was greeted with this distasteful scene of William being publicly humiliated by his subordinates. It not only meant that William didn¡¯t hold any significant authority in thepany, but it also reflected the disorderly management of thepany. Strictly speaking, it was considered William¡¯s dereliction of duty. William took a nce at Adrian Hill and Jimmy Brown before looking at the other employees in the office, who were looking at them with peculiar gazes. He ordered sternly, ¡°All of you, stop what you¡¯re doing immediately and gather in the conference hall on the first floor! I have something to say!¡± After hearing William¡¯s order, all the employees didn¡¯t get up immediately as ordered. But instead, they subconsciously turned to look at the deputy general manager, Adrian, to see what he intended for them to do. Adrian said nonchntly with a smug expression, ¡°Mr. Carter, it¡¯s unfortunate that I happen to have an appointment with a client at this time. I¡¯ll give your meeting a pass! In addition, I advise you to give notice at least a few days in advance when you decide to hold a meeting again. Who has the time to attend your impromptu meeting?¡± Then he scanned his surroundings. ¡°Mr. Carter, I¡¯m sorry, but I have an errand to run, so I have to be out of the office. I¡¯ll have to miss your meeting!¡± Jimmy, the director of the business department, said with a smile on his long face. ¡°That¡¯s right! The next time you want to hold a meeting, please inform all of us in advance. Such an impromptu meeting is really disrupting our work rhythm!¡± ¡°Haha, Mr. Carter doesn¡¯t even care about the situation of thepany. He obviously doesn¡¯t give a hoot about whether your work rhythm is disrupted or not! Our lives are so hard. We get so overwrought and caught up with working every day, but we still have to attend some nonsensical meeting! Who has time for that?!¡± ¡°Exactly! I happen to have an important project to follow up on. I won¡¯t be attending the meeting either.¡± ... All of a sudden, several senior executives of thepany declined to attend the meeting and even wanted to leave the office altogether. The remaining employees looked around to observe the situation and stayed silent while feigning ignorance. ¡°All of you, shut up!¡± William suddenly hollered and immediately told all of them to stop in their tracks. Everyone turned to look at him. William was so enraged that his face was flushed. Although he knew that many of the long-tenured employees of thepany ostracized him and would obey his instructions perfunctorily without actually putting them into action, he didn¡¯t expect them to be so disrespectful to him. It was a tant insult to him! If he couldn¡¯t find a way to subdue them today, he wouldn¡¯t have the cheek to call himself the general manager again from now on, for he had no power or authority and was getting trampled on by everyone. What a huge joke he would be! ¡°Haha, what¡¯s the matter? Mr. Carter, are you going to put on airs as the general manager in front of us?¡± Adrian sneered. What he meant was that he didn¡¯t take William seriously at all, even though he was the general manager. Chapter 324: Those Who Oppose

Chapter 324: Those Who Oppose

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Adrian had been extremely hostile to William since he had joined thepany a few days ago. The reason was very simple¡ªbefore William became the general manager of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, Adrian was the person in charge of the entire branch office! The Orange County branch of the Sr Corporation originally belonged to the Brookes, so the former general manager was one of their distant rtives. But since the sudden fall of the Brookes, all of them had left LA, and their remaining businesses were acquired by Lucas. Adrian and the other long-tenured employees remained in the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch instead of leaving with the Brookes. In their opinion, the Brookes were just the owners of thepany they worked for, so there was no need for them to go down together with the Brookes. Because Lucas hadn¡¯t had the time to manage thepany himself, he allowed the existing employees to remain in their current positions and didn¡¯t do any shuffling of duties. Adrian, who had been the deputy general manager of thepany for a long time, became the most senior employee and held the highest position in thepany. In his opinion, the position of general manager would definitely belong to him once the higher-ups from headquarters issued the next appointment letter! But Adrian never expected that headquarters would transfer someone over to be the general manager just as he was happily and conceitedly preparing to be appointed as the general manager! To make matters worse, the neer was far inferior to him in terms of seniority, experience, and prestige. How could Adrian stomach this? So from the very first day William joined thepany, he had be an eyesore and a thorn in the side of Adrian, who was often sarcastic and defiant to his orders. Furthermore, the other senior executives of thepany were also unconvinced of William¡¯s abilities and were indignant about his takeover as general manager. As a result, everyone disrespected William and even ostracized him unanimously. Previously, William felt that it would be inappropriate to be harsh with them since he had just joined thepany. He had been adopting the mindset of maintaining peace as far as possible as he tried his best to speak to them amicably. But it now seemed that his tolerance andpromises had made him seem like a weak and vulnerable pushover no one took seriously. William said coldly with a dark expression, ¡°I repeat. I want all of you to gather in the conference hall on the first floor within five minutes. No one is allowed to be absent from the meeting! Those who do not arrive at the conference hall within five minutes will be regarded as being absent from work without reason, and there will be apany notice of your misconduct!¡± William turned to his secretary and gave a stern order. The secretary immediately seemed extremely conflicted. Although he was the secretary of the general manager, those who openly ostracized William included the deputy general manager and the directors of the business department, human resources department, and finance department. Meanwhile, he was just the secretary of a powerless general manager whose authority could be overridden at any time. So the secretary was at a loss because he felt that he didn¡¯t have the power to carry out William¡¯s instructions. ¡°What? Are you, my secretary, going to disobey me too?¡± William narrowed his eyes. Although he hadn¡¯t worked in a corporate office for many years, he had at least held a managerial position before. Now that Lucas was beside him too, he sounded extremely domineering and dignified, exuding the assertive aura of a superior figure. The secretary was bbergasted and hurriedly nodded. ¡°Yes, Mr. Carter!¡± Adrian turned gloomy. He red at the secretary in a threatening manner. ¡°Louis, you have to think this through carefully. Don¡¯t take sides without considering the consequences. It might be toote for regrets when the timees! If you don¡¯t want to continue working for thispany, I can grant your wish at any time!¡± Adrian was extremely arrogant for tantly threatening the secretary. Louis, the secretary, immediately pulled a long face, feeling glum and conflicted as he was caught in between two big bosses at odds against each other. Regardless of who he obeyed, he would end up offending the other person. He was truly vexed. Lucas had been standing quietly by the side without saying anything, though his face was incredibly grim and obviously displeased. Seeing Adrian¡¯s arrogance, William stared at himposedly before suddenly saying, ¡°Adrian Hill, do you think I¡¯m really afraid of you and that I won¡¯t dare to do anything to you?¡± Adrian sneered. ¡°Haha, who doesn¡¯t know that our general manager, Mr. Carter, was transferred from headquarters and has someone powerful behind him? Even if you try to suppress me with your backer, it won¡¯t work! After all, I have been in the industry for so many years, and I have far better business skills, experience, and connections than you do! To put it bluntly, even if the two of us get into a heated dispute and blow things up to the extent that the higher-ups of headquarters have to choose between the two of us, I will be the one to stay! What else do you think you can use to suppress me?¡± William sneered too. ¡°I know that many of you are displeased with the fact that I¡¯ve suddenly be the general manager of thispany. Those who want me to step down from the position of the general manager,e forward!¡± Everyone fell silent at once. Many people looked at one another while watching the two most authoritative leaders of thepany argue with each other. For ordinary employees, it actually didn¡¯t matter who the higher-ups were. Of course, they weren¡¯t in any ce to be concerned either because it wasn¡¯t the level they could reach anyway. Thus, the people whose interests were directly concerned were naturally those who held the top managerial roles of each department. ¡°As long as I¡¯m around, none of you will need to worry. Feel free to voice your opinion,¡± Adrian guaranteed as he looked around at the employees. After two seconds of silence, Jimmy, the director of the business department, stood out and made his stand clear. ¡°I¡¯m not willing to ept you as the general manager. In my humble opinion, Adrian is the most suitable candidate for being the general manager!¡± After Jimmy took the lead, several other people proceeded to stand out too. ¡°I too am unwilling to submit to you. You shouldn¡¯t be the general manager!¡± ¡°Same for me! Mr. Hill has better qualifications and experience than you do, and he has served thispany for much longer than you have. Why should he be subordinate to you?¡± ¡°Exactly! When you were part of the Carters the past few decades, you barely participated in any corporate work for the Carter Corporation. So you don¡¯t have any experience or concept of the operations of modernpanies. If you continue to be in charge of leading the entirepany, thepany¡¯s prospects will definitely be bleak! So I¡¯m not willing to ept you as the general manager either!¡± ... In addition to Adrian, a total of six other senior executives stood out to oppose William. Looking at the few people standing in front of him, William took a deep breath and asked again, ¡°Is there anyone else who shares the same thoughts as them?¡± ¡°...¡± After several seconds, no one else moved. The seven of them had basically already ounted for half of all the top executives of the Sr Corporation branch in Orange County. But Adrian was still extremely dissatisfied with the result, and he glowered at the other few top executives who didn¡¯t stand out against William. He was expecting everyone to stand on his side andunch a major boycott against William! But at the end of the day, William was directly appointed by the higher-ups of headquarters to be the general manager, and the way he spoke with gusto and authority had also shocked some of them, deterring them from taking sides without consideration. William nced at the seven of them and suddenly said to Louis, ¡°Louis, take down the names of these people and draft seven letters of dismissal. Hand one to each of them! From this moment on, you seven are fired!¡± Chapter 325: Brazen Impostor

Chapter 325: Brazen Impostor

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°What? Fired?!¡± As soon as everyone heard William¡¯s decision, their eyes widened in disbelief. He wants to dismiss half of the senior executives, including the deputy general manager, Adrian Hill, all at once?! That¡¯s too exaggerated! Staring at William in disbelief, Adrian suddenly sneered. ¡°William Carter, what nonsense are you spouting? Your position is only one level higher than mine, and you haven¡¯t even secured a foothold in thispany yet. What right do you have to fire me?¡± ¡°On the basis that I¡¯m senior to you and that I¡¯m the general manager of the Sr Corporation, who has to be fully responsible for all thepany¡¯s affairs! Since you don¡¯t want to obey my decisions, and you insist on going against me all the time, you people will only be unnecessary scourges of thepany if I continue to let you stay. Am I supposed to be subservient to you instead of firing you?¡± William retorted hostilely. Since these people had openly stood out to oppose his leadership, there was no need for him to be kind to them. Adrian and the others instantly choked in shock. They wanted to use this method to manipte William, but they didn¡¯t expect him to suppress them using his position as the general manager. But they thought, Who does William Carter think he is? How dare he dismiss so many of us at once? ¡°William Carter, you must have gone mad from being obsessed with being the general manager. We¡¯re all pirs of thepany and long-tenured employees. It can be said that all of the achievements that thepany has made in Orange County couldn¡¯t have been possible without us! Without us, thepany will immediately fall into jeopardy! Can you afford to be responsible for this? ¡°Besides, we refuse toply with you, so your dismissal has no effect! If you have the guts,e with us to see the chairman at headquarters, and we¡¯ll see who¡¯s going to be dismissed!¡± Adrian said adamantly and aggressively. Given his personal qualifications and the contributions he had made to thepany, he was certain that William would be the one who got dismissed once they got the higher-ups of headquarters involved. ¡°Exactly, without the chairman¡¯s approval, we won¡¯t leave thepany! Who do you think you are?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If you have what it takes, let¡¯s all go to the chairman and let him decide who¡¯s fired and kicked out of thepany!¡± The few senior executives standing on Adrian¡¯s side voiced their refusal toply too. William looked at these people and suddenly said, ¡°Will you leave immediately once the chairman agrees?¡± ¡°Hmph, of course! Well, you have to get the chairman¡¯s approval before anything else!¡± Adrian said sneeringly with folded arms. ¡°Okay then.¡± William immediately turned around and looked at Lucas beside him. He said seriously, ¡°Mr. Chairman, can I dismiss them now?¡± Lucas, who had watched the entire process from the side, naturally nodded. ¡°They¡¯re arrogant, unbridled, snobbish, presumptuous, disrespectful, and defiant toward their superior. They¡¯re only going to be the scourges of thepany if they stay behind. Of course they have to be dismissed!¡± Adrian, Jimmy, and the rest were indeed astonished when they heard William calling Lucas the chairman. But when they saw that the person standing opposite them was just a young man of around 27 or 28 years old, they simply felt that it was absurd. ¡°Hahahaha, William Carter, do you take us for fools? You found a random person toe here with you and tried to use him to deceive us. You must be dreaming! I can say that I¡¯m the chairman¡¯s father. Would you believe me?¡± The others immediately burst intoughter. They were all aware that the Sr Corporation branch in Orange County was now under the Stardust Corporation. The chairman of the Stardust Corporation had always been very mysterious, and very few people had seen him in person. But no matter what, he was still a big shot. While Lucas, the young man dressed in ordinary clothes in front of them, had been following behind William ever since he entered. They felt that it was impossible that he was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation. Lucas narrowed his eyes threateningly as he exuded a cold aura. But Adrian didn¡¯t detect the danger. He was now smiling smugly, as if he was holding a powerful piece of evidence against William. ¡°Haha, how dare you impersonate the chairman of the Stardust Corporation? You two are dead meat!¡± Adrian pulled out his cell phone impatiently and tapped on Flynn¡¯s number. ¡°Mr. Davis, I¡¯m sorry to bother you. I¡¯m Adrian, the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation branch in Orange County. Just a short while ago, William Carter, the newly appointed general manager who joined us just a few days ago, brought a young man in his twenties with him to the office and tried to deceive us by making the young man pretend to be the chairman of the Stardust Corporation. He even misused the chairman¡¯s authority to dismiss us and kick us out of thepany! ¡°This is absolutely intolerable. What do you say we should do about this?¡± Flynn, who was still dealing with the work at hand in LA, was initially rather patient as he listened to what Adrian, the deputy general manager of a mere branch office, had to say. But after hearing everything, he received a great shock and sprung up from his chair in the office. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Flynn hollered furiously. Adrian thought that Flynn was also enraged by the fact that someone had the audacity to pretend to be the chairman of the Stardust Corporation and assume his authority to dismiss the old-tenured employees. So he nced at William and Lucas provocatively before exining everything once more with additional details that he made up. Afterward, he asked fawningly, ¡°Mr. Davis, should I immediately call the police and have both of them arrested?¡± ¡°Obviously no!¡± Flynn¡¯s deafening roar came from Adrian¡¯s phone, and it was so loud that even those a couple of meters away could hear the obvious anger in Flynn¡¯s tone. The deafening roar of fury immediately made the smile on the face of Adrian, who was waiting to im credit, stiffen. The rest of the people on his side also seemed bewildered and anxious. At this moment, Flynn was almost frightened and angered to death by Adrian¡¯s words! Flynn knew that William was Lucas¡¯s father-inw, and he was also the one who informed his subordinates to announce the news of William being appointed as the general manager of the Sr Corporation¡¯s branch office in Orange County. The young man in his twenties standing beside William that Adrian Hill mentioned is definitely Lucas! Impersonate the chairman my foot. He¡¯s the actual chairman! Based on the tone of Adrian Hill¡¯s voice, he must have offended Lucas terribly, and that must be why he¡¯s getting the sack! Yet this idiot had the audacity toeining to me? He even said that someone impersonated the chairman of the Stardust Corporation and is trying to throw thepany into jeopardy? This is absurd. The Stardust Corporation isn¡¯t that ipetent! After not hearing Flynn respond for a long time, Adrian bit the bullet and asked, ¡°Mr... Mr. Davis?¡± He was confused as to why Flynn hollered at him just now! ¡°You dimwit! That young man is indeed the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, and he has the final say! If you dare to offend him, I¡¯ll get someone to kill you immediately! Do you hear me?!¡± Flynn¡¯s deafening voice prated through the phone, making Adrian¡¯s eardrums tremble. Everyone else standing around also heard it clearly. In an instant, everyone seemed to be in extreme disbelief as they merely stood in ce and stared at Lucas with a deadpan expression. In particr, Adrian and the six senior executives beside him had exceptionally interesting expressions. Chapter 326: Disloyal Once

Chapter 326: Disloyal Once

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What did we just hear? The young man in front of us who seems too young to hold such a high position turns out to really be the chairman of headquarters who rarely makes an appearance?! Did we just kick up such a huge stir right in front of the chairman?! We even called him an impostor? Oh God! What have we done?! If there was a cure for regret in this world, they would go back in time to ten minutes ago and never let themselves behave so stupidly again! Unfortunately, there is no way to turn back time. And regardless of how regretful they were, there was nothing they could do except face the harsh reality. Adrian was the first to chicken out as he hurriedly lowered his head and apologized to Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Chairman! I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯re the chairman just now... I really didn¡¯t mean to offend you. Please forgive me!¡± He had been leveraging on his seniority to disobey William. But now that he was facing the person with the highest authority in thepany, he knew that he would really be chased out of thepany if he still didn¡¯t admit to his mistakes! He was at least the deputy general manager of thepany now, who drew a high sry each month and received plenty of bonuses each year too. More importantly, he could obtain lots of benefits too, making his ie much higher than the sry he was getting on the surface! If he was really fired from his job and got kicked out of thepany, he would no longer enjoy these benefits. Furthermore, he was already in his forties. It would be extremely difficult for him to get a simr job elsewhere, especially if the reason for his departure from thepany was a unteral dismissal because otherpanies wouldn¡¯t dare to hire him. Thus, it was no big deal even if he had to swallow his pride and bow down to Lucas to apologize to him and seek his forgiveness. The other six senior executives also quickly reacted after recovering from the shock and hurriedly apologized to Lucas. ¡°Mr. Chairman, w-we just made an unintentional mistake. We didn¡¯t intend to offend you. Please forgive us!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Mr. Chairman, we were wrong...¡± ... Lucas stood still without moving and merely sneered. ¡°You may not have been aware of my identity, but you were very clear that Mr. Carter is the general manager! I saw how sharp-tongued and aggressive you were just now. You people openly defied Mr. Carter and expressed your unwillingness to obey him. I almost thought you were the chairman of the Stardust Corporation!¡± Lucas¡¯s derisive scolding immediately made the senior executives, who had just apologized, speechless as their faces became flushed. Everyone knew that William was the general manager of thepany and their direct superior. But they were still disrespectful to him nevertheless. Actually, it had nothing to do with whether they were aware of his identity or not. It just showed that they thought that William was a pushover because he was transferred here to be the general manager. ¡°Mr. Carter, from now on, all employees who disobey you and deliberately cause trouble in thepany will be fired!¡± Lucas suddenly said to William. ¡°Yes, Mr. Chairman!¡± William didn¡¯t want to reveal his rtionship with Lucas in front of thepany¡¯s employees, so he was rather respectful when speaking to Lucas. Adrian¡¯s face was extremely sullen. Seeing William¡¯s secretary about to turn around to prepare the dismissal letters, he was overwhelmed with anxiety, and he finally couldn¡¯t help standing out and protesting loudly, ¡°Mr. Chairman, you can¡¯t just fire me like this! I was one of the first few employees of thepany, and I¡¯ve been around since its establishment. I won¡¯t dare to say that I deserve great credit for the rapid development of thepany over the years, but I¡¯ve at leastmitted a lot of effort, sweat, and tears to make it possible! ¡°Even till now, I¡¯m in charge of many of thepany¡¯s key projects, and I¡¯m also responsible for keeping in contact with many of our clients. If you dismiss me now, it will definitely result in major losses incurred by thepany. It will also cause the displeasure of our clients! I don¡¯t think any of us wants to see that happen, right?¡± While informing Lucas of his contributions, he was also somewhat threatening him. Unfortunately, Lucas would never sumb to threats. ¡°Do you think that thepany can¡¯t continue operating without you? As for those so-called contributions you mentioned, don¡¯t go talking about them to me. I know better than you do.¡± The Orange County branch office of the Sr Corporation was brought back to life and put on track with Lucas¡¯s help. In terms of the clientele and expansion, the Stardust Corporation had given the Sr Corporation a great push too. Furthermore, thepany was rtively new and was thus still receiving lots of resources and help from the Stardust Corporation. Adrian had imed credit to the wrong person. Adrian wanted to y the sympathy card again but to no avail after hearing what Lucas said. The other six executives gritted their teeth when they saw this and said, ¡°Mr. Chairman, we didn¡¯t intend to go against Mr. Carter! We really... Well, Adrian Hill is the deputy general manager and holds great authority. He insisted that we boycott Mr. Carter together with him and threatened to deal with us if we didn¡¯t. We really didn¡¯t have a choice!¡± ¡°Yes! Before Mr. Carter came, Adrian Hill had been calling the shots in the office. Being employees whock authority, we didn¡¯t dare to disobey him!¡± ¡°Yes, we didn¡¯t want to go against Mr. Carter either! In fact, who the general manager is makes no difference to us employees. Adrian Hill forced us!¡± ¡°Mr. Chairman, Mr. Carter, please don¡¯t fire us! We are all in our forties and fifties, have families to feed, and loans and bills to pay. If we get dismissed, how are we supposed to keep on living? We promise that we¡¯ll obey Mr. Carter and never defy him again!¡± ... They all pushed the me onto Adrian and tearfully imed that he had forced them to offend William. They even pleaded to Lucas and William to forgive them and not kick them out of thepany. ¡°You! You people...!¡± Enraged by their open betrayal, Adrian turned beet red, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say a single word. William intended to ignore them at first, but he had previously also personally experienced the difficulties of finding a job as someone in their fifties. So he couldn¡¯t help but be softhearted and relent a little. ¡°Luc... Mr. Chairman, they seem quite pitiful. Why don¡¯t we let them stay?¡± William whispered to Lucas with sympathy in his eyes. As soon as Lucas saw the look in William¡¯s eyes, he knew that William must have empathized with these people. But Lucas felt otherwise and instead shook his head with certainty. ¡°A person who has been disloyal once should never be trusted again. They ostracized you for the sake of sucking up to Adrian Hill, and now, they¡¯re pushing the me onto him for their own benefit. Next time, they might not even hesitate to sell the entirepany for their personal interests! ¡°Besides, there are so many employees in thispany, and they¡¯re not the only senior executives here. Why weren¡¯t the rest forced to go against you? So that¡¯s not a valid reason at all. ¡°Each and every person in this world has to take responsibility and pay the price for their own choices and decisions!¡± In the military, the most shameless type of people were traitors because they were despicable by nature and would easily destroy the efforts that countless people had guarded with their lives for the sake of their own benefits. Lucas would never allow such people to stay in hispany. After Lucas said these words with a straight face, even William shuddered, let alone the other senior executives who bore the brunt of it. They almost knelt down immediately! Chapter 327: Joint Conspiracy

Chapter 327: Joint Conspiracy

After hearing what Lucas said, William felt that he had a point. Employees with poor character like them indeed couldn¡¯t continue staying in thepany, let alone remain in their positions as senior executives. He had merely relented a little out of impulsiveness just now. William ordered sternly, ¡°Louis, go type out the dismissal letters for the seven of them immediately. From now on, they¡¯re no longer employees of thepany! We will decide who to fill the vacancies in the next meeting!¡± This meant that the seven senior executives who had been arrogantly ignoring William just now were about to be officially dismissed from thepany. ¡°Yes, Mr. Carter!¡± Louis agreed loudly and immediately hurried back to his office to draft the letters and documents. In contrast, Adrian, Jimmy, and the other five former senior executives had turned pale and were overwhelmed with dejection. They stood rooted to the ground and stubbornly refused to leave. They even continued to plead with William and Lucas while promising that they would never make any mistake again, in hopes that they would withdraw their orders. With some annoyance in his eyes, Lucas said impatiently, ¡°If you continue pestering us here, I¡¯ll have someone put up a public notice and expose your misdeeds to the entire county!¡± Adrian and the others immediately stopped what they were doing, not daring to continue acting indiscriminately. Although it was extremely humiliating to be dismissed, they would bepletely embarrassed if thepany put up a public notice to inform the public of what they had done. It would then be almost impossible for them to gain a strong foothold in Orange County. Thinking of that possibility, Adrian and the other six no longer dared to kick up a ruckus and had no choice but to grit their teeth, pack up, and immediately leave in dismay. As the few of them left in miserable states, the remaining people in the office all had a clear idea that in the power struggle for the position of general manager, William had obtained the support of the chairman of headquarters. Thus, William¡¯s position in thepany was firm. The employees who didn¡¯t take sides in the beginning were in a better plight. But many of them who had wavered just now were feeling extremely thankful that they hadn¡¯t foolishly followed the crowd and stood against William. Otherwise, they would have probably been dismissed too. ¡°Everyone, as per my previous instructions, gather in the conference hall on the first floor within five minutes!¡± William ordered once again. But this time, all of them answered loudly, ¡°Yes!¡± Then they immediately took action, with none of them daring to oppose again. William led Lucas to his office for some rest. ¡°William, why didn¡¯t you tell me that you were ostracized and bullied by those people in the office?¡± Lucas asked helplessly. It had been some time since he had appointed William as the general manager of the Orange County branch office of the Sr Corporation. But whenever he asked William about thepany and whether or not there were any defiant employees, William would just tell him that everything was fine. So Lucas hadn¡¯t paid much attention to this branch office. But to Lucas¡¯s surprise, he had witnessed with his very own eyes howwlessly arrogant those former senior executives were, so much so that they didn¡¯t show William any respect at all. Who knows how terribly they would have continued to bully William if Lucas, the chairman, hadn¡¯t been present. William had a trace of bitterness and embarrassment on his face. ¡°I just thought that it¡¯d be inevitable to encounter some problems since I just joined thepany. I intended to handle those issues on my own, lest I keep making you guys worried. But I didn¡¯t expect them to be so brazen as to openly contradict me and boycott me. Ah, I¡¯ve embarrassed myself in front of you today. It¡¯s all because of my failure to discipline the employees well.¡± As William spoke, he began to look a little glum. He had indeed not managed apany for years and thus failed to suppress those employees with malicious intentions, causing them to gradually be more and more brazen. Moreover, he had even almost made another grave mistake out of sympathy for them. In conclusion, he felt somewhat ashamed to face Lucas, who had handed thepany over to him to manage. Lucas patted William¡¯s shoulder encouragingly, ¡°William, since I¡¯ve handed thepany over to you, it means that I trust your abilities, so you don¡¯t have to doubt yourself. With your level ofpetency, you¡¯re definitely capable of managing thispany well for me! But you don¡¯t have to feel embarrassed to tell me about any problems you face, if any, in the future. We¡¯re all a family. If you encounter any trouble, feel free to tell me!¡± William nodded and smiled. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony then.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to stand on ceremony with me in the first ce. Just let me know if you encounter any problems. It¡¯s about time for the meeting to begin. I¡¯ll go with you. I¡¯ll just stay at the side and listen in so that I¡¯ll have an understanding of the current development of thepany.¡± ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s go together!¡± William stood up and led Lucas to therge conference hall on the first floor, where he announced the start of the first proper meeting he had ever held since he joined thepany. During the meeting, he picked out a few suitable candidates among the employees and appointed them to appropriate positions while also filling the vacancies of the seven dismissed senior executives. He also introduced somepetitive rules, reward schemes, and punishment systems, which gave hope to many employees who hadn¡¯t been promoted or given a raise in a long time. All of a sudden, all the employees, be it those who were promoted or had the potential of being promoted in the future, were all motivated and full of zeal. The atmosphere in the entire branch office of the Sr Corporation became much more positive and lively. Almost everyone admired William and was pleased that he was their new general manager. Of course, those who had just been given the sack and driven out were in drastically different moods. At this moment, the seven of them were sitting in a private room of a restaurant near the Orange County branch office. Just now, they were ring furiously at Adrian with their personal belongings in hand and nning to just leave. But Adrian suddenly stopped them and brought them to the restaurant. ¡°Why did you ask us toe here?¡± Jimmy questioned coldly. Jimmy was full of hatred for Adrian now. He had been doing well as the director of the business department and had a rtively easy job scope. There was basically nothing for him to do, but he would still get a considerable amount of salesmission and kickbacks each month. Life was pretty good for him. But he had chosen to believe Adrian and thought that William would definitely investigate him once he got used to being the general manager. Adrian had even tempted him by offering to give him more benefits if he supported the idea of making Adrian the general manager. Adrian even promised to let Jimmy take over his position as the deputy general manager then. But what happened in the end? He didn¡¯t get a single benefit but instead suffered a double loss and even ended up losing his job! The rest were also in a simr situation. If Adrian hadn¡¯t tempted them by promising to give them lots of future benefits, they wouldn¡¯t have bothered to go against William. Therefore, the few of them red at Adrian hostilely. As if he didn¡¯t notice the hatred in their eyes, Adrian said with a faint smile, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to fulfill my promises to you. Well, I¡¯m now in the same plight as you. I got fired too! However, are you willing to be driven away just like that and never have a chance to seed again?¡± Jimmy frowned slightly, as he could sense that there was a hidden meaning to Adrian¡¯s words. He couldn¡¯t help saying in annoyance, ¡°What exactly do you want to say? Just get straight to the point!¡± ¡°Exactly. Stop keeping us in suspense when things have alreadye to this point! Just hurry up and tell us straight!¡± the rest chimed in. Only then did Adrian smile and drawl, ¡°I have a n in mind, and as long as we execute it sessfully, I can guarantee that William Carter will beg us to return to thepany! But I¡¯ll need all of you to put in equal effort in order to make this n work. Are you interested?¡± Chapter 328: Conscientiousness

Chapter 328: Conscientiousness

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The other six people looked at each other. Were they interested? Of course they were! Who would be willing to be fired from their jobs? ¡°Will it really work?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± ¡°What do we need to do?¡± ... The six of them immediately started asking. After sessfully arousing their curiosity, Adrian said with a mysterious smile on his face, ¡°I¡¯m sure you guys have heard of Charlie Franco, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Charlie Franco? Are you nning to ask him for help?¡± Jimmy asked with shock written all over his face. ¡°Charlie Franco? Who¡¯s that?¡± Of course, the rest hadn¡¯t heard of this name before, so they hurriedly asked Jimmy about it. Jimmy frowned and said in disbelief, ¡°I¡¯ve only heard of this person¡¯s name, but I haven¡¯t met him in person, nor do I n to cross paths with him. I just heard that Franco is the owner of Snowke Entertainment and has plenty of underlings who often do dirty deeds for him. Besides, Franco is very ruthless. He¡¯s an ex-convict who has caused grievous harm to many people. Most people don¡¯t dare to offend him.¡± His words made everyone¡¯s heart skip a beat. One of the former senior executives said without hesitation, ¡°Adrian, are you nning to...¡± He slid his palm across his neck. ¡°... hire someone to kill William Carter?¡± The rest immediately looked at Adrian with bizarre gazes. Indeed, Adrian naturally hated William to the core and wished that he would die sooner, especially since William was now the general manager of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch office; while he, the former deputy general manager, had been driven out of thepany! Although they would usually ept bribes and fabricate false business expense ims out of greed for money, they would never dare to hire a hitman! Besides, getting William killed would only allow Adrian to vent his anger and wouldn¡¯t bring them any benefits at all. Only a fool would be willing to follow Adrian¡¯s n! Seeing everyone looking at him in horror, as though they had seen a terrifying existence, Adrian pursed his lips and hurriedly exined, ¡°No, no, you¡¯ve got the wrong idea! Why would I hire a hitman to kill William Carter? Even if we kill him, we won¡¯t be able to go back to thepany, and it won¡¯t benefit us in any way. Why would I bring up such a suggestion?¡± Everyone finally looked more relieved. ¡°What¡¯s the n you¡¯re talking about then? Hurry up and tell us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Stop being so wishy-washy and making us guess! What are you nning regarding Franco?¡± Two impatient people urged. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry and hear me out. Franco is indeed a ruthless and troublesome person, but he¡¯s not as terrifying as the rumors make him out to be. Although Franco is now the person in charge of Snowke Entertainment, Snowke Entertainment belongs to the Taylors, one of the four most powerful families in this county. In other words, Franco is now working for the Taylors. Even if I want to hire him to kill someone for me, he definitely wouldn¡¯t agree to it. So don¡¯t get the wrong idea. ¡°However, we can hire Franco to work for us. Once he can help us block the warehouse and export outlet of the branch office for a period of time and demand that I be present before he stops, I can guarantee that that scoundrel William Carter will definitely be at a loss for what to do. When the timees, he will naturally beg me to go back to thepany! ¡°As soon as I return to thepany and be the general manager, I¡¯ll be able to immediately hire all of you again. Not only will you be able to return to your original positions, but I can also fulfill all the promises I¡¯ve made to you before!¡± After listening to Adrian¡¯s exnation, they seemed to be interested in his n. The Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch office was mainly operating a logistics and transportation business. So the warehouse was the most important aspect. If people blocked it for just half a day, it would result in extremely severe consequences, let alone a day! Adrian¡¯s n seemed quite a good idea in their opinion. ¡°Will that bastard William Carter give up the position of general manager to you and ask you to return to thepany?¡± someone asked doubtfully. Adrian said with certainty, ¡°Given William Carter¡¯s capability, he¡¯s definitely no match for Franco. If Franco refuses to give in, there¡¯s nothing William Carter can do. And once he fails to solve the problem, thepany will suffer major losses. At that time, he will have to resign and leave thepany disgracefully. He might even have topensate thepany for the massive losses incurred! ¡°If hees to me for help and lets me be the general manager, I might be kind enough to give him a job. I believe he won¡¯t turn me down as long as he isn¡¯t a fool!¡± Everyone finally suddenly realized that Adrian was nning to force William into stepping down. His n seemed somewhat feasible. ¡°However, the Sr Corporation is under the Stardust Corporation, and the chairman of the Stardust Corporation was on William Carter¡¯s side today. If William Carter seeks help from him, I¡¯m afraid your n won¡¯t work out,¡± Jimmy said worriedly after some thought. Adrian remainedposed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Stardust Corporation is no longer as influential as it used to be. Everyone used to respect them because they were supported by the powerful Hutton family. Who would dare offend them? But the Stardust Corporation has already been abandoned by the Huttons, and it¡¯s now just an ordinaryrge enterprise that¡¯s iparable to the top four families of the county! ¡°Moreover, I heard that this chairman is also at odds with the Huttons. Why should we be afraid of him then? ¡°Another reason I¡¯ve decided to seek help from Franco is because he¡¯s backed by the Taylors. Even if the chairman of the Stardust Corporation wants to help William Carter, will he dare to stand against the Taylors?¡± Adrian smiled smugly while the remaining six people secretly admired him for his conscientiousness. It turned out that he was just nning to have someone block the warehouse of thepany. But Adrian had put so much thought into it without missing a single detail, and he even made sure to leave no stones unturned. They were thoroughly in awe of him! ¡°So, what about it? Do you want to join me?¡± Seeing the looks on their faces, Adrian smirked with a look of determination. ¡°Okay. As long as you can hire someone to carry it out wlessly and let us return to thepany, we¡¯ll obey you! Tell us what you need us to do!¡± Jimmy and the others thought about it for a while and finally agreed to work with Adrian to carry out his n. ¡°First things first, it¡¯s very expensive to hire someone as powerful as Franco. We need 450 grand in total to hire Franco. Each of you will just need to chip in 60 grand each, and I¡¯ll cover the remaining 90 grand,¡± Adrian said smilingly as if he was being very generous. ¡°What? We have to chip in 60 grand each!?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s too much money! That¡¯s more than what I took home each year when I worked at thepany!¡± ¡°If I cane up with so much cash right now, why would I bother trying to return to thepany?¡± ¡°Exactly! Are you kidding us?¡± They were all aghast to hear the amount of money Adrian wanted each of them to contribute. Chapter 329: Bargain

Chapter 329: Bargain

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Sixty grand in cash wasn¡¯t a small sum for the six of them. It wasn¡¯t that they really couldn¡¯t afford so much cash. But rather, they didn¡¯t think that it would be worth it to spend so much money just to get their jobs back. Adrian had long expected them to react this way. He snorted coldly. ¡°All of you were senior executives, so you have to consider things long term! It¡¯s just sixty grand from each of you. Once we return to the office, I promise you can earn this sum of money back within two months. Even surpass it! ¡°Think about it. Franco is such a powerful person, so how can we hire him without enough money? Franco is not only impressive, but he even has the Taylors to back him up. Do you think random gangsters who charge a cheap price can get the job done well?¡± Hearing this, everyone was speechless. Indeed, hiring gangsters at a cheap price to block the warehouse definitely wouldn¡¯t work. But the cost of hiring such a powerful person like Franco was too high for them! In case things didn¡¯t work out in the end, they would have made ducks and drakes with their money. But if it worked out, they would be able to get their jobs back. And ording to Adrian, he could give each of them a five-figure monthly sry. That would make their investment worth their while, as the returns were very promising! They were all caught in a dilemma as to whether or not to fork out the sixty grand each. Adrian deliberately let out a long sigh. ¡°In fact, I can very well afford the full sum of 450 grand on my own, but I just thought that I should count you guys in on this since we¡¯re friends after all. If none of you are willing to fork out the money, just take it that I didn¡¯t say anything today! ¡°However, I want to make things clear beforehand. If Ie up with the entire sum of money and gain the position as general manager, don¡¯t be envious of me once I make loads of money every day!¡± Then Adrian put down his teacup and stood up to leave. ¡°Wait! Adrian, count me in! Damn it. It¡¯s just sixty grand. I¡¯ll go all out and take on this gamble with you!¡± Jimmy stood up and eximed while gritting his teeth. If it didn¡¯t work out, he would lose at most sixty grand. But if it did, he would be able to make several times that amount within just a year. So he was willing to give it a shot! Everyone was hesitant and conflicted at first. Now that someone took the lead, they seemed motivated too. So they made up their minds, and one of them said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll join you guys too!¡± ¡°Well... I¡¯lle up with sixty grand too!¡± ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ve decided not to buy the new car I was saving for. I¡¯ll join you guys!¡± ... Soon, all six of them agreed toe up with sixty grand each to support Adrian¡¯s n. Adrian patted his chest and said righteously, ¡°Great. Brothers, since you have so much faith in me, you have my word. I guarantee that I won¡¯t let you regret your decision!¡± He was the only person who knew what his true intentions were. By the afternoon, all six of them had transferred the total of $360,000 to Adrian¡¯s bank ount. Adrian looked at the ount bnce shown on his mobile banking app with derision in his eyes. He then grabbed his bank card and drove to Snowke Entertainment. In a luxurious private room on the fifth floor of Snowke Entertainment, a burly man with a buzz cut and a square-shaped face covered with some scars was leaningfortably against the backrest of a soft and cozy couch while enjoying the service of a beautiful, scantily-d woman feeding him grapes. He casually spat out a grape seed and said to the person in front of him disinterestedly, ¡°You crook, what are you here for?¡± This muscr man with scars on his face was none other than Charlie Franco. Adrian smiled and stood in front of Franco respectfully. He said courteously, ¡°Mr. Franco, I came here today because I have a favor to ask of you.¡± Franco narrowed his eyes. ¡°You need a favor from me? That depends on whether you can afford to pay the price! I¡¯m sure you know what my rules are.¡± Adrian hurriedly said, ¡°I naturally do! Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just a small favor, and there won¡¯t be any bloodshed, nor do I need anyone killed. I just need to borrow your reputation and a few of your underlings. I can offer you this much money.¡± Adrian stretched out five of his fingers. When Franco heard Adrian say that there wouldn¡¯t be any bloodshed or murder involved, he knew that it was definitely a trivial matter. He reckoned that Adrian just needed him to appear and deter Adrian¡¯s insignificant rivals. Such a trivial task wouldn¡¯t cost much money. Just as he was about to turn Adrian down, he saw Adrian¡¯s fingers. It naturally couldn¡¯t be just five grand, so he reckoned that it should be fifty. If he could earn fifty grand just by taking a few of his subordinates out for a spin, it would be quite a good deal. Franco reached out and pushed away the beautiful girl beside him. When only the two of them were left in the room, Franco said leisurely, ¡°You want me to do you a favor for only fifty thousand? You¡¯re belittling me! Give me three hundred thousand, or you can forget about it!¡± Adrian was the one asking him for a favor now, so he naturally had to y hard to get and bargain for a higher price. Adrian cursed in his heart before pretending to be put in a difficult spot. ¡°I¡¯m naturally willing to pay such a high price for a favor from you, given how famous you are. But I¡¯m now in trouble, as I just got fired from my job. I really can¡¯t afford toe up with so much money...¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t afford it, cut the crap! Are you wasting my time?¡± Charlie spat onto the ground and glowered at Adrian menacingly. Adrian was frightened and hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, no, I wouldn¡¯t dare to do that, Mr. Franco. I mean, I only have fifty thousand in cash now. But as long as you help me out this time, I¡¯ll pay you the remaining two hundred and fifty thousand once I return to thepany and be the general manager. What do you think?¡± Franco said in annoyance, ¡°Wait for you to be the general manager? God knows when that¡¯ll happen!¡± ¡°Mr. Franco, don¡¯t be impatient. You¡¯ll understand after you hear me out.¡± Adrian smiled and briefly told him the n that he had told the six senior executives previously. ¡°The n is simple. I just need you to take your subordinates with you to therge warehouse of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch office and stay there for a day or so. Then tell them that you¡¯ll leave only if I¡¯m there. That good-for-nothing William Carter will have no choice but toe and beg me. As soon as tomorrow, I¡¯ll be able to be the general manager of thepany. When the timees, I¡¯ll definitely transfer the two hundred and fifty thousand dors to you from thepany funds. You can use the money for a feast!¡± Adrian¡¯s eyes were full of confidence and certainty. Franco red daggers at Adrian for a long time beforeughing out loud. ¡°Hahahaha, like I said, you¡¯re a crook. You¡¯re really full of evil ideas! Okay, I can ept fifty thousand from you upfront and deal with that fool for you. But once the job is done, you have to give me another five hundred thousand!¡± Before Adrian could respond, Franco said, ¡°Don¡¯t try ying games with me. That money is going toe out of yourpany¡¯s funds. You don¡¯t need to fork out a single cent from your own pocket. I¡¯m already doing you a favor! What do you think?¡± Chapter 330: Blocking the Warehouse

Chapter 330: Blocking the Warehouse

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What else could Adrian say? He could only grit his teeth andply. Anyway, he got a total of $360,000 from Jimmy and the other five executives. After giving Franco $50,000, he would get to pocket the remaining $310,000. He would deduct the remaining $500,000 he had to pay Franco from thepany¡¯s funds. Since he wouldn¡¯t have to use his own money, he naturally wouldn¡¯t feel the pinch. Franco was also very pleased with the deal this time because all he had to do was take his underlings with him to block the doors of a warehouse, and he would easily earn $550,000, which was way higher than the annual wage he drew from working at Snowke Entertainment. The two were extremely satisfied with the deal and soon agreed on the time and details of the operation. The next morning, many cargo trucks parked in front of the entrance of the warehouse of Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. Many movers and sorters were getting busy too. Logistics workers would work continuously round the clock almost without stopping. They were especially busy today because there were a few trucks of very important goods to be loaded immediately and sent to another city in the afternoon. ¡°Everyone, work faster. These goods have to be expedited. Speed up, guys!¡± A supervisor standing next to the trucks instructed loudly. ¡°You have to give us a bonus this month!¡± someone said to the supervisor smilingly. ¡°Haha, sure. I¡¯ll apply for it from the higher-ups!¡± They joked around for a while before speeding up moving the goods. Boom! Boom! Suddenly, a series of roarsing from vehicles came from outside the warehouse. Everyone raised their heads to look over, only to see more than twenty shiny ck motorcycles. One by one, they pulled over in front of the warehouse with the screeching sounds of the brakes. The roguish riders of the motorcycles were burly men with dyed hair and tattoos. They started crowding around the entrance of the warehouse with menacing expressions and steel rods in their hands. The supervisor, Tom, tensed up and hurriedly took out a box of premium cigarettes from his pocket. He walked forward and said with a deferential smile, ¡°You are...?¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Before Tom could finish speaking, the leader, whose face was covered in scars, pushed him away and hollered, ¡°Block all the doors of this warehouse! No cargo is allowed to leave here today!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The gangsters carrying steel rods answered loudly and soon guarded the doors of the warehouse tightly. The workers had never seen such a scene before. When they saw these people charging over aggressively, they hurriedly dropped the goods they were carrying and left. Although the workers outnumbered the gangsters, they were just ordinary people and obviously didn¡¯t dare to fight these gangsters wielding steel rods. Seeing this, Tom was so frightened that he started shuddering. But since he was the supervisor, he couldn¡¯t run away like the others. He could only muster his courage and ask fearfully, ¡°Gentlemen... Um... did someone offend you?¡± Franco spat saliva onto the ground and shot a nce at the red-haired underling beside him. The red-haired underling immediately stepped forward, grabbed the horrified Tom by his cor, and dragged him toward Franco. ¡°Sir, please spare me! I-I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Tom shuddered uncontrobly. He was so flustered that he began tearing up. ¡°Hmph, call your general manager, William Carter, and get him toe here!¡± Franco said furiously while sitting on a box of goods with one leg crossed over the other. ¡°Yes, yes! I¡¯ll call Mr. Carter right away!¡± Soon, William, who was still going about his daily duties in the office, received a report from his secretary. ¡°Bad news, Mr. Carter. We just received news that someone leading a gang of more than twenty people has blocked the doors of ourpany¡¯s warehouse. They refuse to let any goods be transported in or out!¡± William Carter immediately frowned. This was the first time he encountered such a thing since he took over thepany. ¡°Let¡¯s go check out the situation.¡± William stood up and instructed his secretary to go to the warehouse with him. These types of things would happen either due to personal feuds or ckmail. Regardless of the reason, William was obliged to solve the matter, as it was part of his duties as the general manager of thepany. Of course, William was not foolish enough to go there only with his secretary. He instructed some of the security guards of thepany to go with them to therge warehouse near the harbor on the outskirts of the county. Soon, William arrived at the warehouse with his men, only to see the conspicuous convoy of motorcycles at the entrance and the twenty-odd burly men blocking the entrances and exits of the warehouse. He also saw the scarf-faced Franco sitting on a box of goods and smoking some cigarettes. William didn¡¯t know who Franco was, but he could tell from his domineering aura and posture that he was the leader of these gangsters. So William walked toward Franco and said courteously, ¡°Sir, I am the general manager of thispany. Why are you doing this? Did one of us offend you?¡± Franco puffed out a ring of smoke and nced at William nonchntly. He asked in disdain, ¡°Are you the new general manager, the bastard I¡¯m looking for?¡± William¡¯s face turned a little sullen, but he nevertheless said courteously, ¡°My name is William Carter. How should I address you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not fit to know my name.¡± Franco red at William hostilely, and the hideous scars on his face made him look even more menacing. William received a great shock and turned as pale as a sheet. He forced himself to calm down and tried to negotiate with Franco. ¡°Sir, can we talk things over calmly? There¡¯s a caf¨¦ nearby. How about we have a chat there?¡± ¡°To hell with that! I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯re in no ce to speak to me. Get Adrian Hill toe here! I¡¯ll speak to him instead!¡± Franco said ferociously. Seeing that Franco knew who Adrian was, William immediately felt uneasy and wondered if Franco was Adrian¡¯s enemy or aplice. But no matter what, William continued to speak in a courteous tone, ¡°Adrian Hill... was already dismissed by thepany yesterday. He¡¯s no longer an employee of ourpany, so if there¡¯s anything you need to tell him, you can just let me know...¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Franco hollered furiously. He stepped forward and gave William a hard p on his face! ¡°Bastard, I said Adrian Hill is the only person I¡¯m going to speak to. Do you not understand what I said?¡± Chapter 331: Raising A Request

Chapter 331: Raising A Request

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The sudden p dumbfounded William! He thought that since Franco was here to create trouble, he would definitely state his requests before they negotiated the terms. But the menacing-looking Franco opposite William didn¡¯t act ording to what he had imagined at all and instead pped him hard on the face without saying much. Franco was in charge of running an entertainment joint that offered vice-rted services, so he was definitely tough and strong. His p immediately made one side of William¡¯s face redden and swell up. There was even an obvious cut at the corner of his lips, from which a stream of blood was flowing down. His entire head was buzzing. ¡°Who are you people? How dare you p our general manager, Mr. Carter?!¡± The head of the security department, whom William had just promoted yesterday, hollered furiously when he saw William getting humiliated. He quickly led more than ten security guards over to surround Franco and his men. Franco sneered. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re just a bunch of small fries. What can you do to me?¡± He gave an order to his burly underlings, who were blocking the entrances of the warehouse, and all of a sudden, more than ten of them charged over aggressively, each holding a steel rod more than half a meter long. Without hesitation, they began hitting the security guards that William had brought over. ¡°Damn it! Watch what you¡¯re saying when speaking to Mr. Franco!¡± ¡°How dare a bunch of idiotic security guards mor about noisily?!¡± They were all gangsters adept at fighting and had stained their hands with blood countless times before. How could these ordinary security guards be a match for them? Moreover, they were all holding steel rods and obviously trying to establish dominance in front of William and the security guards. So Franco¡¯s underlings viciously and ruthlessly struck the security guards on their legs, elbows, backs, and abdomens. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Stop... Stop hitting me! Ah!¡± ¡°My leg!¡± Shrieks suddenly started resounding at the warehouse together with the hair-raising sounds of iron rods striking against bones and flesh. William shivered uncontrobly as he stared wide-eyed at this chilling scene. They were all just ordinary employees of thepany! ¡°Stop! Stop hitting them! What do you want? Just tell me what you want! Why do you have to hit these ordinary people?!¡± William hollered at Franco, suppressing the fear within him. ¡°Damn it! How many times have I told you that I want to speak to Adrian Hill? Are you f*cking deaf?¡± Franco narrowed his eyes and kicked William in the chest, sending him flying far away. His dark gray suit was instantly covered in mud and dust, making him look extremely disheveled. William clutched his ribs in pain and struggled to prop himself up from the ground. As he did so, a few people took advantage of the situation to kick him a few more times. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll call Adrian Hill and ask him toe over right now. Tell your men to stop hitting them! If this goes on, things will get out of hand!¡± William eximed anxiously while trying to bear with the pain and hurriedly pulled out his phone. Franco looked at the security guards huddling on the ground while wailing endlessly in pain. He raised his hand reluctantly and gestured for his underlings to stop for the time being. ¡°Mr. Carter, something terrible has happened!¡± Louis, the secretary, was pale as a sheet as he whispered to William. ¡°They¡¯ve blocked the entrances and exits of the warehouse, so we can¡¯t load and unload the goods! We¡¯re going to incur immense losses today! Moreover, there¡¯s arge delivery order belonging to a very important client that we have to fulfill by this afternoon! Once there¡¯s a breach of contract, we¡¯ll have topensate millions of dors! ¡°And these people are too difficult to handle. They¡¯re definitely not ordinary people. What should we do now?¡± Of course, William was aware of the major consequences that would entail, which was why he had personallye to the warehouse to deal with it. Unfortunately, Franco wasn¡¯tpromising at all. Besides, although William had purposely brought a group of security guards with him to prevent such situations, the security guards were obviously helpless in the face of Franco¡¯s underlings. As a result, they ended up getting beaten up badly and had probably sustained severe injuries. William wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, looked at the security guards who had been beaten up beyond recognition, and then turned to look at the burly men still standing in front of the entrances and exits of the warehouse to block them. He had no choice but to obey Franco¡¯s instructions and call Adrian. The phone rang for a long time before Adrian finally picked up. He snapped impatiently with annoyance, ¡°Who¡¯s calling? Do you know how early it is? You¡¯re disturbing me from sleeping! Don¡¯t you have any manners?¡± ¡°Adrian Hill, it¡¯s me, William Carter.¡± ¡°Oh, I thought it was some scoundrel disturbing me. Turns out it¡¯s our most impressive Mr. Carter! You¡¯re a noble figure high above us plebeians and enjoy the great support of the chairman. Aren¡¯t you afraid of lowering yourself by speaking to someone like me?¡± Adrian said sarcastically. William could hear the sounds of vehicle engines roaringing from the other end, so he knew that Adrian was clearly outside. Yet he pretended that call had just woken him up. But of course, it wasn¡¯t the time to pursue this matter now. ¡°I¡¯m calling you because there¡¯s something important. Someone wants to have a chat with you in therge warehouse by the harbor on the outskirts of Orange County. Please make a trip here.¡± If possible, William wouldn¡¯t have called Adrian at all. At the beginning, he wasn¡¯t sure if Franco was here to look for Adrian or not, nor was he certain if Franco wanted to take revenge on him or for some other reason. After Franco and his underlings resorted to violence, William ruled out the fact that it could have been a personal grudge. After all, these people were powerful and skilled in fighting, and they had obviously been gangsters for a long time. If they merely wanted to seek revenge on Adrian, they could have gone straight to Adrian¡¯s home instead of blocking the entrances of thepany¡¯s warehouse despite knowing that he had already been fired. Besides, they definitely had plenty of ways to find Adrian¡¯s address, and there was no need for them to threaten William into calling Adrian over. It was especially suspicious because Adrian had just been fired yesterday, and yet there were gangsters here to cause trouble today while insisting on having Adrian settle the matter. William wasn¡¯t a fool, so he could naturally tell that there was something fishy about this. Adrian said mockingly, ¡°Haha, Mr. Carter, is your brain damaged? Or have you developed senile dementia at such a young age? I remember that you kicked me out of thepany just yesterday, and now you¡¯re asking me to go to that lousy warehouse? What for? Who do you take me for?¡± William gritted his teeth. ¡°As long as youe over now and help solve this matter, I can rescind my orders and let you return to thepany!¡± That¡¯s probably Adrian Hill¡¯s agenda, right? William wondered. But in order to resolve the current issue, he had no choice but to promise to let Adrian return to thepany temporarily. To his surprise, Adrian chuckled and gibed, ¡°Hah, you want me to go back and continue being the deputy general manager who still has to take orders from you? No way!¡± ¡°What else do you want then?¡± William asked with his jaw clenched. ¡°I want to be the general manager! I want you to resign from your job and rmend me to the chairman to be the general manager!¡± Adrian immediately stated the condition that he had thought of long ago. Chapter 332: My Turf

Chapter 332: My Turf

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± William refused immediately. ¡°The chairman isn¡¯t going to listen to my orders. I can¡¯t do this.¡± Adrian was immediately going to use Franco as a threat, but he changed his mind when he suddenly thought of something. ¡°Okay then. I can make do with being the deputy general manager for now, but you have to pick me up in your car and ferry me there personally to prove your sincerity.¡± Adrian made another request in a leisurely manner. William took a deep breath. ¡°Where are you? I¡¯ll go pick you up now.¡± ¡°Palm View Estate. Call me again when you¡¯re here!¡± With that, Adrian hung up right away. William held his phone with a sullen expression and then turned around to say to Franco, ¡°I¡¯ve already contacted Adrian Hill, and I¡¯m going to pick him up now. Can you...¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Franco hollered to interrupt William. ¡°Get the man here before you talk to me. Now get lost immediately!¡± Then Franco once again kicked William, causing him to fall to the ground. This time, the skin of his palm was scraped. William was covered in mud and dirt, and his face and hands were stained with fresh blood. He looked extremely disheveled. Seeing Franco refusing topromise, William had no choice but to turn around immediately and go pick up Adrian. He drove quickly so that he could bring Adrian to the warehouse and get the matter resolved as soon as possible, lest thepany incurred major losses. Unfortunately, even if William drove as quickly as he could and rushed to the entrance of Palm View Estate, he wouldn¡¯t get to see Adrian. Because Adrian was actually sitting in a car right across the road from therge warehouse at this moment! Not only had he seen everything that just happened, but he also felt particrly pleased when he saw William getting beaten up. Only after making a fool out of William and forcing him into a state of desperation would he appear and see how William would beg him! As Adrian thought about this, he restarted the car and drove to somewhere else. At this time, Lucas had just sent Cheyenne to her office and dropped Amelia off at the kindergarten. He didn¡¯t have anything to do at the moment, so he thought of going to check on William and see if there were any more issues to handle at the branch office. After he arrived at the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch office, he was told that there was a major issue at therge warehouse near the harbor on the outskirts of the county and that William had rushed over with his secretary and a group of security guards to handle the matter. Lucas frowned slightly and wanted to give William a call to ask about the situation. But William happened to be on a phone call with Adrian when Lucas tried to call him, so the call didn¡¯t get through. So Lucas decided to drive straight to the warehouse. When Lucas arrived in his ck Jaguar at therge warehouse, William¡¯s and Adrian¡¯s cars had just left one after another. Lucas drove to a spot about a hundred meters away from the parking lot and acutely sensed that something was amiss. Although it was his first time at the warehouse, he knew that Sr Corporation was a giant in the logistics industry, so there would definitely be numerous cargo trucks and busy workers at the warehouse at this time of day. But there were now many vehicles at the entrance of the warehouse while the uniformed workers were crowding together in a spot far from the entrance, all looking terrified and panic-stricken. Lucas drove his car a little closer, only to see more than ten roguish-looking and brawny men surrounding the entrance of the warehouse, as well as a burly man with a buzz cut and scars on his face sitting on a cargo box in front of the warehouse. There were also twenty-odd security guards wearing the Sr Corporation¡¯s uniform lying on the ground around him! Lucas¡¯s pupils abruptly constricted, and an icy cold gaze appeared in his eyes! He had just learned from the staff at the office that William had gone to the warehouse to deal with an issue that had cropped up all of a sudden together with a bunch of security guards. Lucas reckoned that they should be the ones who were now lying on the ground. Where¡¯s William? What exactly happened here? Lucas immediately got out of the car and did a quick scan of his surroundings. He didn¡¯t see William anywhere, but there happened to be someone standing nearby with anxiety all over his face. Lucas immediately recognized him. He went forward, grabbed his shoulder, and asked in a deep voice, ¡°What exactly happened? Where is Mr. Carter?¡± This person was none other than William¡¯s secretary, whom Lucas had met for the first time yesterday at the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch office. Louis was incredibly worried about the situation, so when Lucas grabbed his shoulder all of a sudden, he was caught off guard and almost screamed on the spot. After recognizing the person in front of him to be Lucas, he hurriedly patted his chest. He was surprised and overjoyed, as he felt he finally found a straw to clutch at. He hurriedly said to Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray! These people suddenly appeared at the entrance of the warehouse early this morning and blocked all the entrances and exits to stop our goods from being loaded and unloaded! Due to the severity of this matter, Mr. Carter and I immediately rushed here to deal with the situation, but the leader of the troublemakers was really aggressive and brutal. He refused to listen to us and even hit Mr. Carter!¡± As soon as Lucas heard that William had taken a beating, his eyes were instantly brimming with terrifying hostility. ¡°Where is Mr. Carter?¡± Lucas immediately asked. He was afraid that William had gotten into another mishap because he couldn¡¯t see him anywhere. ¡°The leader kept saying that he wanted Adrian Hill toe here before he would negotiate with us, so Mr. Carter had no choice but to call Adrian Hill. However, Adrian Hill insisted that Mr. Carter go pick him up personally, so... Mr. Carter just left in his car a few minutes ago after telling me to keep an eye on the situation here,¡± Louis quickly exined. ¡°How are Mr. Carter¡¯s injuries? Who are the people causing trouble?¡± Lucas continued to ask. Louis answered with a worried expression, ¡°Mr. Carter was pped and kicked twice by the burly leader. He appeared to be in a lot of pain. This person... seems to be called Charlie Franco, who¡¯s in charge of Snowke Entertainment. He also works for the Taylors, and I heard that he¡¯s a tough nut to crack! The security guards of ourpany tried to protect Mr. Carter, but Franco¡¯s underlings beat all of them to the ground with iron rods. They should be heavily injured!¡± Lucas red at Franco coldly and sneered. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just ackey of the Taylors. How dare you cause trouble and assault others on my turf?!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t keep his voice down, so his words spread far. Besides, he was now emitting a terrifying and cold aura, making Franco, who was sitting near him, immediately sense his murderous aura. Franco instantly stood up from the cargo box and glowered at Lucas hostilely. He barked furiously, ¡°Punk, do you have a death wish?!¡± Chapter 333: Who Is Being Surrounded?

Chapter 333: Who Is Being Surrounded?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Louis was incredibly frightened by what Lucas said. When he saw Franco flying into a rage, he was so scared that he turned as pale as a sheet, and even his calves began trembling. ¡°Mr... Mr. Gray! Please don¡¯t be impulsive. They¡¯re not to be trifled with. Franco¡¯s underlings are violent and brutal, while Franco himself will beat anyone up. Furthermore, he¡¯s working for the Taylors. Even the security guards of ourpany were beaten up badly! You... You¡¯re alone, so you¡¯d better be careful not to provoke him!¡± Despite being absolutely terrified, Louis nevertheless inched close to Lucas and quickly whispered a reminder into his ear. In Louis¡¯s opinion, Lucas was a young man who had been living in thep of luxury and had never suffered any hardship. He was definitely too weak to withstand a single punch from Franco, just like him. ¡°Where did this punke from? How dare you provoke Mr. Franco? Are you tired of living?¡± ¡°Punk, do you want to get punched by real men?¡± Seeing that Franco was obviously enraged, his underlings could no longer contain their anger as they dashed forward from the entrance of the warehouse to surround Lucas. They had menacing expressions on their faces, and the shiny iron rods in their hands were emitting blinding rays of light under the sun. Lucas sneered and stared at them coldly. ¡°Who are you people to beat up the security guards of mypany? I haven¡¯t looked for you yet, but you¡¯ve brought yourselves to me for a beating, huh?¡± These gangsters were stunned for a moment before immediatelyughing loudly. ¡°Hahaha, it seems to be the other way around, punk!¡± ¡°This brat¡¯s really arrogant! Franco, let¡¯s teach him a lesson!¡± ¡°We hafta give this bastard a good beating and knock all his teeth out, just like the trash on the ground!¡± ... Franco had a sinister smile on his face. Almost everyone who had offended him ended up suffering, especially those like Lucas who had the guts to insult his men in front of him. Franco had killed thest person who dared to do this! Franco raised his hand slightly and was about to signal his underlings to beat the living daylights out of Lucas and break his bones. But before he could issue the order, Lucas shed and vanished almost immediately! ¡°Ahhhh!¡± ¡°Wuuahh!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± Immediately afterward, incessant shrieks of misery filled the warehouse! Franco¡¯s face stiffened, and his eyeballs were about to fall out as he stared wide-eyed at the scene before him. He saw Lucas¡¯s figure dashing through his underlings quickly like a tornado. With every strike Lucasunched, the limbs of his underlings would break with loud crackling sounds, followed by the metallic sounds of the iron rods falling to the ground. When Lucas appeared in front of everyone again, Franco and the others watching from afar were stunned to see that Lucas was the only one standing in the middle of the warehouse, while the twenty-odd burly underlings of Franco had already been knocked down to the ground. Their limbs were all broken, and they were wailing while rolling on the ground, seemingly in a much more miserable state than the security guards. The entire process took only a few seconds! In fact, before many of them could react, the siege had already ended! Louis looked at everything in front of him with his eyes and mouth wide open. He couldn¡¯t help rubbing his eyes hard. Everything that happened in front of him just now resembled a scene from some exaggerated action movie. It seemed incredibly surreal to him! What did I just see? The young chairman of ourpany, who finally made an appearance in front of everyone just yesterday, managed to defeat around twenty bulky and menacing men surrounding him within just seconds? More than twenty people surrounded Mr. Gray at first, but it seems to be the other way around! This is too fantastical! Franco was astonished! He was well aware of howpetent and ruthless his men were. They were all brutal people who would never hesitate to stab anyone in the stomach and possessed excellentbat skills. Yet despite being armed with thick iron rods, they still failed tost even a few seconds fighting against Lucas, and they even had their limbs broken! This meant that Lucas had managed to break the limbs of at least four or five people every second! What terrifying speed! He managed to effortlessly break the bones of humans like they were just straw! Meanwhile, Lucas was standing still,pletely unharmed. He wasn¡¯t breathing heavily at all, and his clothes were clean and spotless. This meant that Franco¡¯s underlings might have tried to attack Lucas but failed to even touch him! What kind of a person is this? Who the hell is he?! A trace of fear, which Franco hadn¡¯t felt in a long time, suddenly surged in his heart. ¡°Punk, who exactly are you?¡± With a frown on his face, Franco asked in a deep voice that contained obvious traces of nervousness and scruples. Lucas ignored his question and simply stared at him coldly, especially his muscr arms and strong legs. ¡°Which hand and leg did you use to p and kick Mr. Carter just now?¡± Lucas asked indifferently. Franco subconsciously felt some tension in his limbs, as he could tell that Lucas was obviously here to take revenge for William. His cheek muscles twitched, and he gritted his teeth. ¡°What do you want?¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°If you choose to cripple one of your hands and one of your legs now, I¡¯ll consider letting you off for the time being. Otherwise, I guarantee that you will regret letting me do it for you!¡± For several years now, Franco was used to being ttered and having others suck up to him. When he heard what Lucas said, he immediately flew into a rage and suddenly suppressed the fear within him. ¡°Damn it, how dare you say something like that to me? Do you really think my reputation is for nothing?¡± Franco roared and ripped off his tank top to reveal the chiseled, defined, and extremely terrifying muscles of his upper body. The workers watching from afar immediately gasped in shock. Franco was scarily muscr, and his body was almost twice the width of Lucas¡¯s, which was tall and slim. Franco not only had a few conspicuous scars on his face, but various hideous scars also covered his upper body. They were all of Franco¡¯s battle scars that he had umted over the years. Facing Lucas, he flexed his bulging muscles and clenched his fists while hollering sinisterly, ¡°Punk, don¡¯t think I¡¯m afraid of you! Bring it on! I¡¯ll show you what I¡¯m made of!¡± Then he pounced at Lucas! Chapter 334: The Dog You Raised

Chapter 334: The Dog You Raised

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Franco¡¯s muscles naturally looked extremely terrifying in the eyes of ordinary people, who would be intimidated by them once he bared his body. But they were meaningless in the eyes of topbat experts like Lucas. ¡°Since you refuse to cripple your own limbs, I¡¯ll have to give you a hand!¡± Lucas sneered and charged toward Franco like a bolt of lightning. Soon, he grabbed Franco¡¯s right wrist. Franco¡¯s pupils constricted violently, and he subconsciously wanted to grab Lucas¡¯s neck with his left hand. But when he raised his left hand a little, he felt an abrupt and excruciating pain in his right wrist! Snap! With a crisp sound of bones cracking, Lucas instantly broke his wrist! ¡°Ah! My wrist!¡± Franco shrieked miserably. Now that he was facing Lucas, he finally experienced extreme horror. Beads of cold sweat emerged on his face as he hurriedly said, ¡°I... I work for the Taylors! If you dare to touch me again...¡± Snap! Crack! Snap! Before Franco could even finish speaking, a series of the sounds of bones cracking rang out. Lucas hadpletely broken his other wrist and both ankles! ¡°Ah!¡± Franco let out an extremely sharp and painful shriek that didn¡¯t sound like it came from a human. It almost resounded throughout the entirerge warehouse. Everyone couldn¡¯t help shivering when they heard it, and they looked at Lucas with their eyes full of horror. Most of Franco¡¯s underlings had only one arm or leg broken by Lucas, but they were already rolling on the ground and wailing in pain. When they saw Franco rip his tank top off, they thought that he would teach Lucas a lesson. But to their astonishment, Franco actually ended up in a state worse than theirs, as he had all four of his limbs broken and was rendered immobile! Because Franco had pped William and kicked him, Lucas decided to break all of Franco¡¯s limbs. It was absolutely terrifying! He was even more brutal than them! All of a sudden, all the gangsters wailing on the ground immediately shut up, not daring to groan in pain anymore, fearing that they might provoke Lucas and end up being dealt with harshly. If they had known there was such a terrifying man here, they would have never dared to hit those security guards! At this time, Lucas could no longer be bothered to pay attention to them. He turned around and said to Louis, ¡°Immediately get some people to send all the injured security guards to the hospital. In addition, quickly arrange for the workers to continue loading the goods and dispatching the cargo!¡± Only then did Louise back to his senses and realize that the matter had been resolved. He hurriedly nodded and ran off to make the arrangements. Lucas nced at Franco, who was lying on the ground motionlessly, and then made a call to someone. The call was soon answered, and the person who answered it spoke in a tone of surprise. ¡°Hello, Mr. Gray, are you suddenly calling me because you¡¯re nning to return the Ocean Bathhouse to me?¡± The person who answered the call was naturally Preston Taylor. The Ocean Bathhouse was the foundation that the Taylors had built their wealth on and the ce where they ran an illegal social escort business. Thus, it was extremely important to the Taylors. But due to a freakbination of factors, Lucas had managed to acquire it. Lucas originally intended to use the Ocean Bathhouse to strike a deal with Preston in exchange for the secret of the illegal business. Unfortunately, Preston didn¡¯t know much about it and couldn¡¯t satisfy Lucas¡¯s requests. So he had no choice but to wait until Preston managed to get into contact with the mysterious organization that supplied the beautiful women to the Taylors. Preston had been stressed and incredibly worried during this period of time. While fearing that his family would find out about the Ocean Bathhouse being sold to someone else, he was also anxiously waiting for news from the mysterious organization. But there still hadn¡¯t been an oue yet, so he was truly overwhelmed with anxiety. Upon receiving a call from Lucas, the first thing that came to Preston¡¯s mind was that Lucas changed his mind and decided to return the Ocean Bathhouse to him! But he was destined to be disappointed because the first thing Lucas said over the phone was, ¡°Is Franco yourckey?¡± Louis had told him just now that Franco was in charge of Snowke Entertainment, which belonged to the Taylors. Previously, Preston had brought Lucas to Snowke Entertainment to negotiate a deal and even tried to exchange Snowke Entertainment for the Ocean Bathhouse. Preston was stunned for a moment. But when he heard the hostility in Lucas¡¯s tone, he hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, he... he does work for me. What¡¯s the matter? Did that idiot offend you?¡± ¡°Come to the Sr Corporation¡¯s warehouse on the outskirts of the county immediately!¡± Then Lucas hung up. Holding onto his phone, Preston pondered about it and soon turned red with fury. He kicked the potted nt beside him and roared, ¡°Charlie Franco, you bastard! You must have created trouble for me again!¡± Preston was hopping mad. He was worried sick that Lucas wouldn¡¯t return the Ocean Bathhouse to him, so he had been trying his best to improve his rtionship with Lucas. But he didn¡¯t expect Franco, his subordinate, to offend Lucas! Furthermore, the fact that Lucas asked directly if Franco was hisckey just went to show that Franco had offended Lucas badly! While cursing furiously in his head, Preston didn¡¯t dare to dy and hurriedly drove to the address of the warehouse that Lucas had given him. Meanwhile, William was also driving very quickly, and he managed to reach the residential estate where Adrian imed he was in just a little over ten minutes, though the journey would usually take more than twenty minutes. William didn¡¯t know exactly which building Adrian lived in, so he could only call Adrian when he was at the entrance. The phone rang for a long time before Adrian picked up. Trying his best to stay calm, William asked, ¡°Adrian Hill, I¡¯ve already reached the entrance of the residential estate you live in. Can youe out now?¡± Adrian chuckled. ¡°William Carter, you¡¯re too slow. I lost my patience while waiting for you and got really hungry, so I¡¯m now eating at a restaurant outside the Ocean International Building! Drive here and pick me up immediately. Don¡¯t take too long, or you might miss me again!¡± With that, he hung up again. William¡¯s face was extremely sullen. He had already rushed over as quickly as he could, and he managed to arrive in less than twenty minutes. But the Ocean International Building where Adrian said he was at was more than ten kilometers away from where William was now, and it would definitely take him more than ten minutes to get there. There were only two possibilities. One was that Adrian lied about being at home and had deliberately made William drive to his residence to pick him up. The other was that Adrian was likewise fooling him by iming that he was having a meal at the Ocean International Building! William felt extremely frustrated as he clenched his jaw. To confirm with Adrian his exact location, William called him again several times, but Adrian refused to pick up. ¡°Damn it!¡± Incredibly exasperated, William mmed his fist against the seat of his car! Chapter 335: Deliberate Prank

Chapter 335: Deliberate Prank

However, he didn¡¯t have a choice now because he had to solve the problem at hand. Since the scar-faced Franco, who was creating trouble at the warehouse by blocking the entrances and exists, insisted onmunicating with Adrian before he would budge, William had no choice but to find Adrian as soon as possible! Otherwise, thepany would incur major losses! Left with no choice, William started the car again and quickly drove toward Ocean International Building, where Adrian imed to be. Meanwhile, Adrian was sittingfortably in a caf¨¦ and enjoying his breakfast with coffee. Staring at his phone screen that kept lighting up because of William¡¯s incessant calls, he simply ignored the alerts and smirked in derision. Of course, Adrian wasn¡¯t in Ocean International Building. But he was relishing in the thrill of watching William wrapped helplessly around his finger. After nearly twenty minutes, Adrian finished thest sip of his coffee leisurely and finally answered the call. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Adrian Hill, I¡¯ve arrived at the entrance of Ocean International Building.¡± William was trying to curb his anger. ¡°Are youing down on your own, or do you want me to go up to look for you?¡± Pretending to be shocked, Adrian eximed, ¡°Ocean International Building, why did you end up there? I clearly told you that I¡¯m at River Caf¨¦! Mr. Carter, has your hearing deteriorated now that you¡¯re getting older? How could you have made such a ridiculous mistake?¡± ¡°Adrian Hill! I¡¯ve had enough of you!¡± William could no longer stand it and hollered furiously. ¡°Is it that fun to make a fool out of me? You wanted me to express my sincerity by picking you up. Fine, Iplied and drove to several different ces! Yet you¡¯ve been lying to me all this while!¡± The goods at the warehouse had to be dispatched urgently, and every minute wasted would cause thepany to suffer increasingly heavy losses. William was panic-stricken and full of anxiousness. He obviously didn¡¯t have the time for such senseless games with Adrian. ¡°William Carter, is this the attitude you should have when you¡¯re asking someone for help? I¡¯m warning you. If you dare to continue speaking like that, you can forget about asking me to go back and help you with the issue thepany is facing!¡± Adrian sneered, extremely certain that with Franco¡¯s pressure, William would definitely have no other option than to continue begging him. William gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and suppressed the burning fury within him. He asked, ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that I¡¯m at River Caf¨¦. I¡¯ll give you ten minutes toe here. It¡¯s up to you!¡± With that, Adrian hung up again. William took several deep breaths and finally curbed his anger. He then started his car again and drove to the caf¨¦ Adrian said he was at. During the journey, William also thought about calling Lucas for help, but he soon dropped the idea. The first reason for his decision was that he reckoned Franco and Adrian should be in cahoots to humiliate him and make him let Adrian return to thepany. William felt that it was his responsibility to handle the matter, which he could resolve as long as he dealt with Adrian. If he kept asking Lucas for help with every problem he encountered, he would seem too ipetent. Second, it was naturally because he knew that Franco and his underlings were too ruthless and violent. Even the ten-odd security guards William had brought to the warehouse with him were powerless and unable to do anything against them. He was afraid that he might put Lucas in danger by asking him to help him out at the warehouse. So after much contemtion, William decided not to call Lucas and instead bit the bullet and sped off to the caf¨¦. William finally met Adrian at the caf¨¦. William wiped off the sweat on his forehead and said anxiously, ¡°Adrian Hill, the situation at the warehouse has to be taken care of urgently. I¡¯ll fulfill the conditions you raised just now and let you resume as deputy general manager of thepany. Please hurry up ande with me to the warehouse to settle things with that man!¡± As William spoke, he reached his hand out to grab Adrian¡¯s arm to urge him to leave quickly. But Adrian pushed William¡¯s hand away. ¡°There¡¯s no hurry.¡± Adrian smirked. ¡°William Carter, I told you before that what I want is not the position of deputy general manager, but general manager. Do you understand?¡± With an extremely gloomy expression, William hollered, ¡°I told you that that¡¯s impossible, and you¡¯ve already agreed at the time too!¡± Adrian raised his head and said obnoxiously, ¡°Ah, yes, I did agree before, but things are different now because I¡¯ve changed my mind again!¡± ¡°You!¡± William was so enraged that he began trembling while hating himself for trusting Adrian despite knowing that he was a vile, despicable person. ¡°You¡¯ve already wasted so much time. If you can¡¯t make up your mind now, thepany will definitely incur heavy losses! In particr, if you can¡¯t fulfill that especially important order by this afternoon and deliver the goods on time, thepany will have to pay at least a few million dors in liquidated damages. Am I right?¡± Adrian was very confident because he had long known about this important order that thepany had to fulfill, which was also the reason he chose to carry out his n on this very day. He was putting great pressure on William. ¡°William Carter, you must think through this carefully. If you obey me and let me be the general manager, I guarantee that I can solve this matter satisfactorily. But if you insist on clinging to the position of general manager and refuse to step down, thepany will have to incur losses of dozens or even hundreds of millions of dors! ¡°When the timees, you¡¯ll be a huge sinner of thepany, and even the chairman won¡¯t forgive you. That person who let you join thepany and gave you such a high position will definitely regret doing so and letting you bring about major losses for thepany!¡± Adrian¡¯s words were like sharp daggers piercing through William¡¯s heart, making him feel panicked, terrified, and uneasy. He even began to doubt himself and his capabilities. Lucas was the person who had appointed him as the general manager of thepany, and the only reason Lucas had given him this opportunity was that he was his father-inw. But if he caused thepany to suffer massive losses of hundreds of millions of dors in just half a month, how could he face his daughter and son-inw? Thinking of the current crisis thepany was facing and the massive losses that it might incur very soon, William closed his eyes tightly and said with great difficulty, ¡°Fine. I promise you that I will step down and rmend to the board of directors to make you the general manager! However, you muste with me to the warehouse now and solve the problem immediately!¡± Seeing that he had finallypelled William into agreeing to his demand, Adrian was overjoyed. Hemanded, ¡°Things could have been resolved easily if you had promised me sooner. What are you waiting for? Open the car door for me.¡± He was clearly already treating William as his chauffeur. Despite feeling furious and frustrated, William had no choice but to open the back door of his car for Adrian before getting into the driver¡¯s seat and speeding all the way to therge warehouse on the outskirts of the county. In the car, Adrian was grinning widely from ear to ear and happily sending a message to the chat group with the other six former senior executives. ¡°The matter has been settled. Everyone, gather at the entrance of the warehouse now!¡± Soon, a series of replies appeared in the group. ¡°Alright!¡± ¡°You¡¯re really capable, Adrian. You got it settled so quickly!¡± ¡°Impressive! We can all finally go back to work at thepany again!¡± ... These six former executives were naturally the ones Willian had given the sack yesterday for choosing to take Adrian¡¯s side. After each of them had given 60 grand to Adrian yesterday for hiring Franco, they had been waiting anxiously for updates on the progress of the matter. Now that Adrian ryed some good news to them in the group chat, they were finally relieved, and each excitedly drove to the warehouse. At this point, they still didn¡¯t know that there had been a drastic twist of events in the warehouse, and what was awaiting them was definitely not the scene they wanted to see! Chapter 336: Who’s Inferior?

Chapter 336: Who¡¯s Inferior?

At this time, the injured security guards at the warehouse had already been conveyed to the hospital. And the movers had returned to their stations and started working in an orderly manner. They moved the boxes of goods to the forklifts and then to the cargo trucks at the entrance. Before long, the goods of the important order were quickly loaded onto the trucks. After a final round of checks, the goods were dispatched. Seeing the trucks gradually vanishing out of sight, Louis, who had been all tensed up, finally felt relieved. As long as they fulfilled therge order and rushed toplete the other orders, thepany would basically not suffer any losses. Louis secretly nced at Lucas and thought to himself in amazement, The chairman is indeed very impressive! Unfortunately, William, the general manager, had been forced by Franco to go to pick up Adrian and still hadn¡¯t returned yet. Louis sent William a text to tell him about what had happened over here. He also informed William that the chairman had resolved the issues at the warehouse. Unfortunately, William was now rushing to the warehouse with Adrian in his car, so he didn¡¯t notice the text. There were more than twenty people kneeling on the ground in front of the warehouse, all of whom were injured. Each of them either had a broken arm or a broken leg as they kneeled with twisted bodies. Cold sweat covered their foreheads, but they didn¡¯t dare to wince or groan in pain at all. A muscr man with all four of his limbs broken was lying on the ground a distance away from them, and his face was deathly pale. It was none other than Franco, who was currentlypletely different from his arrogant and domineering self more than half an hour ago. At this moment, he was lying motionlessly on the ground like a piece of trash, with horror written all over his face. When Preston arrived at the warehouse and saw the scene before him, he flew into a rage. Without saying a word, he rushed forward and kicked Franco twice. ¡°Damn it! You bastard, didn¡¯t I tell you to work in Snowke Entertainment? Why did you bring your underlings here and create so much trouble for me?!¡± As soon as Franco saw Preston, he received a tremendous shock. He was already in agonizing pain after having all four of his limbs broken by Lucas, and Preston¡¯s kicks against his wounds made the pain worsen. He immediately let out several shrieks as the pain overwhelmed him. ¡°Ah! Mr. Taylor, please... stop! I know I was wrong. I know I was wrong!¡± Still unsatisfied, Preston kicked him twice more before hollering in exasperation, ¡°Tell me! How did you end up here? What have you done to Mr. Gray? Hurry up and give me a clear exnation of everything that happened!¡± Only then did Franco realize that Preston appeared because of Lucas. Although Franco was notorious, and many people were afraid of him, he was still working for Preston after all. Now that his limbs had been broken and he was rendered immobile, he was no longer as confident as he used to be. He didn¡¯t dare to hide it from Preston and told him honestly how Adrian had approached him and promised to pay him $550,000 in return for his help. He also told Preston that Adrian had requested him to bring his subordinates with him to the warehouse to block the exits and entrances, as well as the fact that they had beaten up the security guards. As Preston listened to his exnation, his face turned even more sullen, and he kicked Franco hard a few more times. ¡°Bastard! Have the Taylors not been paying you well? How dare you take on private jobs behind my back and do such a stupid thing for merely 550 grand? You even offended Mr. Gray! I¡¯m going to kill you, you dimwit!¡± Heshed out at Franco and reprimanded him furiously, but Franco was his subordinate and had indeed offended Lucas badly. No matter what, he had to give Lucas an exnation. Preston walked up to Lucas and said with a fawning smile, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m so sorry. I failed to take my subordinate in hand and ended up offending you. It¡¯s indeed my mistake! How do you think this matter should be settled?¡± Preston was extremely polite to Lucas. In fact, he even seemed to be fearful of Lucas and was trying to please him. Lucas merely nced at him indifferently. ¡°There are still a few other culprits who haven¡¯t arrived yet, so stand by and wait for the time being!¡± Preston¡¯s face stiffened, but he nhelessplied obediently and stood at the side quietly. Franco¡¯s jaw dropped when he saw this! He had always thought that no one dared to mess with the Taylors because they were one of the four most powerful families in Orange County. So despite knowing that the Sr Corporation was under Stardust Corporation and that he was going against the Stardust Corporation by blocking the entrances and exits of the warehouse, he didn¡¯t take Lucas, the chairman, seriously at all. But Preston, the direct descendant of the Taylors most likely to be the next helmsman, was actually so... subservient toward Lucas. It was an immense shock to Franco! Upon seeing this scene, Louis, who was standing near them, was also amazed and surprised. The chairman seems to be far more impressive than I imagined! Even the shoo-in helmsman of the Taylors, who has his nose high up in the air, seems deferential to Mr. Gray! Mr. Gray is so terrifying! At this moment, several expensive cars drove over from the other side of the warehouse, and a few familiar figures opened the doors of their respective cars and stepped out of them. With gleeful expressions, they began striding toward the main entrance of the warehouse smugly. Louis immediately recognized them to be the former senior executives who had been fired from thepany alongside Adrian just yesterday. He immediately went forward to stop them. ¡°You people have already been fired from thepany. What are you doing here now?¡± ¡°The general manager, Mr. Adrian Hill, has asked us toe back to work for thepany again. Aren¡¯t you aware of that?¡± one of them said conceitedly. Louis frowned and said in bewilderment, ¡°Wasn¡¯t Adrian Hill also fired from thepany? The general manager is now Mr. William Carter! What nonsense are you spouting?¡± These former executives were instantly displeased. ¡°Damn it. You¡¯re just a lowly secretary who knows nothing! Let me tell you, that Mr. Carter of yours is facing the end of his career and will soon be kicked out of thepany! And you, his secretary, will also have to pack your things and scram soon!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Adrian will soon be the next general manager, and you¡¯re going to be kicked out because you defected to William Carter.¡± ¡°Hey Reece, aren¡¯t you the director of the human resource department? Issue an order now to have this clueless secretary fired immediately! Anyway, Adrian definitely won¡¯t like him!¡± The few of them were extremely displeased with the fact that Louis was standing on William¡¯s side and treating them with so much disrespect. So they were moring about having him fired right there and then. Chapter 337: Untitled

Chapter 337: Untitled

Had this happened in the past, Louis might have really believed what these former senior executives had said and thought that Adrian had really made aeback, while Louis himself was going to be in huge trouble. But now that Lucas, the chairman of thepany, was standing near him, and Adrian¡¯s conspiracy had already been exposed, Louis certainly wouldn¡¯t let them have their way. Louis didn¡¯t believe them at all and naturally wasn¡¯t afraid of being threatened. ¡°Want to fire me? You can try doing it if you have what it takes!¡± Louis eximed sneeringly. His provocative attitude and taunting immediately made these former executives feel that their authority had been challenged. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re just a lowly secretary! What right do you have to be so arrogant in front of us?!¡± ¡°Reece, immediately get this bastard fired and kicked out!¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll notify thepany staff right now and have him fired immediately!¡± They glowered at Louis scornfully as the former director of the human resource department resolutely pulled out his phone and called to the office to have Louis fired. They initially thought that Louis would panic and be uneasy. But to their surprise, Louis remainedposed and stood still with his arms folded. He was even staring at them with contempt and derision in his eyes, as if he was looking at a bunch of clowns. ¡°What? Who am I? Can¡¯t you recognize my voice? I¡¯m Reece Jacobs, the director of the human resource department! What did you say? A new director was appointed yesterday, so you no longer have to take orders from me? Damn it. Do you also think that I¡¯ll never be able to return to my job? Let me tell you, you¡¯ll be the first person I fire once I get back to the officeter! Screw you!¡± Reece hung up furiously. ¡°Reece, what¡¯s the matter? Are those scoundrels in the office disobeying you?¡± The other former executives gathered around Reece and asked in disbelief. Reece was so enraged that his face flushed red. Feeling embarrassed, he hollered resentfully, ¡°Hmph, once I get back to the officeter, I must teach them a lesson and fire all those fools who defy me!¡± ¡°Reece, you¡¯re right! We should really keep those employees in line when we go back! Let¡¯s fire every single one of them who stood on William Carter¡¯s side yesterday! There are numerous people applying for a job at ourpany anyway!¡± ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s time I discipline my subordinates in the business department!¡± ¡°Same goes for the purchasing department I¡¯m in charge of!¡± These former executives tried tofort Reece and even imagined the scene of themselves establishing dominance and getting rid of those who disobeyed them back in the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch office. Standing right in front of them, Louis pursed his lips after hearing what they said. At this juncture, an extremely ordinary-looking ck Nissan sped over from a distance and came to a screeching halt in front of them. The car doors opened, and William and Adrian stepped out of the driver¡¯s seat and backseat respectively. ¡°Why did you brake so quickly? Are you trying to kill me?¡± Adrian rebuked William relentlessly. William pressed his lips together tightly and was about to tell Adrian to hurry up and settle the issue with Franco so that the goods in the warehouse could be dispatched and delivered on time. But he suddenly heard the voices of the former executives interrupting him. ¡°Adrian, you¡¯re finally here!¡± ¡°Adrian, you have no idea how disrespectful those bastards at the office are to us now, even though it¡¯s only been a day since we left thepany!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Just now, Reece called his subordinates at the office but ended up being ridiculed by them. They said that you and all of us no longer have any rights to give them orders because we¡¯ve already been kicked out of thepany! Atrocious, huh? We can¡¯t let such people continue working for thepany any longer!¡± ¡°Yeah, Adrian. When you return to thepany, you must deal with those who disregarded you!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! And this secretary of William Carter over here is absolutely obnoxious. He mocked us right in our faces and even taunted us to fire him if we have what it takes. Adrian, you must fire him just based on this statement!¡± ... Upon seeing Adrian, the former executives flocked toward him and beganining to him as though he was their closest kin. After hearing theirints, Adrian said coldly with a sullen expression, ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t worry. Once I get to the office, I¡¯ll kick all of those arrogant punks out!¡± At this moment, a cargo truck loaded with goods that had passed the final inspections and administrative processes was driving toward the main road. Adrian was astonished, and only then did he realize that the burly men originally blocking the entrances and exits of the warehouse were no longer around. Furthermore, the warehouse¡¯s workers were also doing their jobs of loading the trucks with goods and dispatching them as per usual. ¡°Damn it! Who allowed them to start loading and dispatching goods? Didn¡¯t I already say that they have to wait for me to get here before the goods can be released? Where¡¯s Franco?¡± Adrian hollered in rage. As soon as he said this, Jimmy and the other five former executives were stunned. They had noticed that the warehouse had reopened when they arrived just now. But they didn¡¯t think much of it and merely assumed that Adrian and Franco had already achieved their goal, thus allowing operations to resume at the warehouse. But ording to what Adrian just said, Franco had apparently unblocked the exits and entrances without informing Adrian. They couldn¡¯t help wondering what was going on. In contrast to their puzzlement, William sneered and seemed to have figured out something. He looked at Adrian and gibed, ¡°Turns out everything that happened was your doing! You hired that scar-faced man to do that, didn¡¯t you?¡± William had been suspecting this for a long time, but he finally heard Adrian admit to it now. Adrian had no intention to hide it from William. Besides, since he had almost achieved his goal anyway, he wasn¡¯t afraid of letting William find out at all. ¡°Yes, I was the one who did it. So what?! Let me tell you, I must be the general manager of thepany! Otherwise, I¡¯ll get Franco toe and block the warehouse every single day. In just a few days, thepany will go bankrupt and shut down. Let¡¯s see what will happen to you when the timees!¡± Adrian said arrogantly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen to him, but I know that you¡¯ll be the first to die without knowing why!¡± All of a sudden, an icy cold voice sounded behind the crowd. Adrian was startled to hear the voice, and he hurriedly turned his head around, with the other former executives following suit. They stared nervously at the source of the voice. Lucas, the young chairman of thepany who often kept such a low profile that they even thought he was an impostor at one point, was standing right behind them expressionlessly! Chapter 338: Coercion

Chapter 338: Coercion

There was also a middle-aged man in his forties standing behind Lucas with a sullen expression, but no one knew who he was. William looked at Lucas with his eyes wide open in surprise because he didn¡¯t tell Lucas about what had happened here! ¡°You... Ahem, Mr. Gray, why are you here too?¡± William asked, sounding a little unnatural. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°If I hadn¡¯te in time, I¡¯m afraid someone else would have reced the general manager of mypany without my knowledge, huh?¡± William¡¯s face was getting a little warm. Seems like Lucas has already found out everything that happened. At a loss for an exnation, William opened his mouth but ended up closing it again because he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything. Of course, Lucas wasn¡¯t trying to hold William responsible or reprimand him. He turned to look at Adrian and the former executives around him, and his gaze instantly became much more menacing. Adrian and the others had slightly guilty consciences in the first ce. And now that Lucas, their most authoritative superior, had exposed their ploy to threaten William, they immediately felt even more nervous. ¡°Mr. Gray, since you¡¯re here, there are some things that I¡¯d like to tell you in person.¡± Among the group, Adrian had the best EQ, and he was also very quick-witted. So he soon thought of an excuse and exnation to give Lucas. ¡°What is it?¡± Lucas sneered. Adrian coughed gently. ¡°Mr. Gray, you probably didn¡¯t see what happened just now. Charlie Franco, the person in charge of Snowke Entertainment, brought a bunch of his men with him to block the entrances and exits of our warehouse, causing operations to be disrupted. Even the security guards of ourpany couldn¡¯t stop them and ended up getting beaten up badly. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t asked Franco to unblock the entrance and exits, I believe that the operations of the warehouse would still be disrupted now. The orders for the goods to be delivered would have been all affected, which would have brought major losses to thepany. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re very clear about that.¡± Lucas nced at him indifferently. ¡°So?¡± With a look of determination, Adrian said, ¡°Mr. Gray, since you¡¯ve heard what I just said with William Carter, I¡¯ll get straight to the point. Franco is not only the head of Snowke Entertainment, but he¡¯s also a highly valued subordinate of the Taylors. At the same time, he¡¯s also a good friend of mine. ¡°Franco was really upset that I was dismissed from my job for no reason yesterday, and he insisted on doing me justice, so he brought his men here and blocked the entrances and exits in the morning. He told me that he would bring them here every single day and stop the cargo trucks from entering and leaving the warehouse until I¡¯m appointed as the general manager of thepany! Mr. Gray, you should know very well what that means, right? ¡°So, Mr. Gray, you¡¯re a wise person, and I believe you should know the best choice to make!¡± Adrian was eloquent, and his exnation was logical and coherent as well. He not only made himself seem close to Franco, but he also attributed the cause of everything that had happened to Franco¡¯s insistence on seeking justice for him. If Lucas hadn¡¯t already learned the truth from Franco, he would have probably really been fooled by Adrian¡¯s words. Standing behind Lucas, Preston had an incredibly gloomy expression. Charlie Franco is just ackey of the Taylors. What does he mean Franco is highly valued? Is he implying that I have poor judgment? God knows how many stupid things that bastard Franco has already done in the name of the Taylors! After hearing Adrian¡¯s threat, William flew into a rage and snapped, ¡°Adrian Hill, you¡¯re really despicable and shameless! You actually resorted to such underhanded tricks just to be the general manager!¡± Lucas shook his head andughed. ¡°How are you so certain that I can¡¯t deal with Franco?¡± Adrian said with unparalleled confidence, ¡°Charlie is backed by the Taylors, one of the four most powerful families in this county! Even if you¡¯re the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, you own only one corporation, and everyone in Orange County knows that the Stardust Corporation no longer has anything to do with the Huttons now. So, do you think you can defeat the Taylors? ¡°Besides, Franco has arge group of underlings who havemitted all sorts of violent acts such as shing and arson. Franco himself is abat expert who has been training since he was a teenager! Mr. Gray, given hownky you are, Franco can crush you with the lift of his finger! Aren¡¯t you afraid that he¡¯ll deal with you ruthlessly?¡± At the end of his speech, a sinister glint appeared in Adrian¡¯s eyes as he began to threaten Lucas¡¯s personal safety. ¡°Pfft!¡± Someone next to him suddenly burst intoughter. Seeing that everyone was now staring at him, Louis hurriedly reached his hands out to cover his mouth. Louis found Adrian¡¯s threats hrious and couldn¡¯t help himself. He wondered what expression Adrian would have on his face when he found out the truthter. ¡°In that case, you¡¯re bent on being the general manager, and there¡¯s no room for negotiation. Is that right?¡± Lucas asked with raised brows. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you too. Franco will continue to disrupt the operations of the warehouse for as long as I¡¯m not the general manager. Mr. Gray, it¡¯s up to you to decide whether you can afford to wait!¡± Adrian dropped his pretense and simply revealed his agenda and tricks to Lucas. Lucas sneered and stopped wasting his breath on Adrian. He turned around and said to Preston, ¡°Go bring that so-called highly valued subordinate of yours over!¡± ¡°...¡± Preston nced at Lucas while gritting his teeth, but he could only helplessly gesture at the bodyguards behind him. The bodyguards immediately acknowledged his order and walked toward the warehouse. Lucas¡¯s reaction made Adrian, Jimmy, and the other five people baffled as they had an ominous hunch. They were just about to crane their necks to see who the bodyguards would bring over when Lucas suddenly questioned them. ¡°Are the six of you still going to take Adrian Hill¡¯s side?¡± Jimmy and the other five people looked at each other. Soon, they saw a look of certainty in each other¡¯s eyes. They had already handed over 60 grand each to Adrian in return for the chance to return to their jobs at thepany and then make a ton of money. They couldn¡¯t give up and back out at this point. They had to be on Adrian¡¯s side! ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. We¡¯re indeed going to support Adrian in bing general manager!¡± ¡°Yes. Mr. Hill is capable, qualified, andpetent, so why shouldn¡¯t he be the general manager? If you hadn¡¯t interfered yesterday, this wouldn¡¯t have happened to the warehouse today!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We¡¯re all in this together with Adrian. We¡¯re not taking sides, but rather, we¡¯re just choosing to stand on the right side!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray, think about it carefully. Otherwise, thepany will eventually go bankrupt and shut down!¡± Lucas shook his head regretfully. ¡°I just gave you guys a chance, but unfortunately, you gave it up yourselves.¡± Jimmy and the other five all frowned in bewilderment, failing to understand what Lucas meant. At this juncture, the sounds of a noisymotion filled the air. A group of people came out from the corner outside the warehouse and walked over with bizarre gaits. Their bodies were swaying unsteadily, and many of them were limping or hopping over on one leg. All of them were grimacing and hissing in pain. At the front, the two bodyguards in ck were carrying a person whose limbs were obviously broken and hanging loosely while walking toward Lucas. Looking at these people who didn¡¯t seem to be behaving normally, Adrian panicked and subconsciously took two steps back. Pretending to beposed, he asked, ¡°Who... who are these people?¡± Lucas gibed with a smile, ¡°What? Can¡¯t you recognize your best buddy?¡± Chapter 339: Full of Regrets

Chapter 339: Full of Regrets

¡°What?!¡± Adrian received a great shock when he saw the two bodyguards in ck throwing the man they were carrying onto the ground. All four of his limbs had been broken, and he groaned in pain when hended on the ground. Adrian could clearly see the obvious scars on his now pale and twisted face. ¡°Franco?!¡± Adrian was horrified to realize that the man whose limbs were all broken and seemed to be in a miserable state was Franco, who called the shots among the gangsters in Orange County. He immediately took two steps back as a sudden chill ran down his spine. How did the mighty and formidable Franco end up in such a state? What exactly happened here? Franco, lying on the ground, immediately red at Adrian resentfully with his eyes wide open. ¡°Adrian Hill, you bastard! You cheated me and caused me to be crippled. I¡¯ll definitely settle scores with you!¡± Shocked by the terrifying hatred in Franco¡¯s eyes, Adrian frantically took two steps back again and spluttered, ¡°Franco... Franco, h-how did you end up like this?¡± ¡°Bastard, you still have the cheek to ask me that? Damn it... Ah!¡± Franco began to get worked up as he tried to get up to strangle Adrian. But as soon as he moved, he immediately felt excruciating pain in the spots where his bones were broken. He had no choice but to fall back down again. Standing beside him, William widened his eyes in shock. Before he went to look for Adrian, Franco was still unruly and arrogant. But now, he was in such a tragic state... William subconsciously looked at Lucas, who was standing beside him with aposed expression. He instinctively felt that Lucas must have something to do with Franco¡¯s current miserable plight! Seems that my son-inw is getting more and moreplicated... ¡°Are you still going to threaten me with Charlie Franco?¡± Lucas asked with a smile as he stared at Adrian. Adrian was no longer as confident and firm as he was a few minutes ago. Ever since he saw the terrible state Franco was in, he felt as if his heart had fallen into an ice-cold cave. His teeth began chattering, and he was at a loss for words. Seeing this scene in front of them, Jimmy and the other former executives had already realized that things were not in their favor. Franco had been crippled, and Adrian¡¯s n had fallen through. Moreover, they were also doomed! They looked at each other and then bit the bullet and knelt down in front of Lucas. Thud! The sound of their knees hitting the concrete ground was extraordinarily loud, but they could no longer be bothered at this point! ¡°Mr. Gray, w-we didn¡¯t want to do this either. We were all forced to do it!¡± ¡°It was all Adrian¡¯s idea. He came to us yesterday and fooled us into paying him sixty grand each to hire Franco for his n. He even threatened to make sure that we could no longer make a living in Orange County if we refused!¡± ¡°Exactly! Mr. Gray, we gave Adrian Hill 360 grand in total. It was as much as our life savings. We had no choice but to obey him... but we really didn¡¯t intend to go against you!¡± They were all weeping miserably as if they were victims who had been forced. As soon as they said all of this, Adrian became a little flustered. The reason being, he did collect 360 grand from them yesterday, but he had only given 50 grand to Franco and pocketed the remaining amount. Initially, no one would find out about the matter. But now that they had exposed him in front of Franco, Franco would certainly find out that Adrian had pocketed thisrge sum of money and gotten the better end of the deal! Franco would probably hate him even more, especially since he had all his limbs broken because of this matter. As expected, Franco instantly sat up from the ground and hollered angrily, ¡°Adrian Hill, you f*cking bastard! You collected 360 grand from them but only gave me 50! You f*cking pocketed over 300 grand and even wanted me to put my life on the line for you! Damn it! I must kill you!¡± Franco glowered at him, and the veins around his eyes were bulging. He looked incredibly horrifying, as if he was going to eat Adrian up. If he could still move now, he would personally sever Adrian¡¯s arms and legs one by one! The other six only found out now that Adrian had pocketed therge sum of the money he had collected from them! In other words, Adrian didn¡¯t fork out a single cent himself but even earned more than 300 grand from the deal, in addition to bing the general manager of thepany, if the n worked out, of course. He had tantly treated them as fools and took them for a ride! ¡°Adrian Hill, you son of a bitch! You¡¯re so despicable. How dare you deceive us?!¡± ¡°Screw you! Hurry up and return our money!¡± ¡°Adrian Hill, you¡¯re such a bastard! Pay up!¡± After realizing that they had been cheated out of their money, the six former executives furiously grabbed Adrian by his cor. Some were impatient and even punched him on his face. Adrian shrieked in pain, but no one bothered about him. Meanwhile, Preston kicked Franco furiously and rebuked, ¡°Dimwit! You had the nerve to do such nonsense behind my back for a mere fifty grand. And you even dare to make a fuss about that money now? Is that something you should worry about now? Damn it!¡± After dealing with Franco, the livid Preston walked up to Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, this stupid bastard Franco has indeed made a tremendous mistake and offended you. You can do whatever you want with him. Even if you kill him, the Taylors won¡¯t stop you!¡± The six people beating up Adrian suddenly realized that the person who had been standing by Lucas¡¯s side was Preston Taylor! In that case, they had not only offended Lucas but also Franco and the Taylors! They were in hot soup! Adrian turned as pale as a sheet, and his legs turned into jelly, causing him to fall to the ground. The funny thing was, he had just threatened Lucas by saying that the Taylors wouldn¡¯t let him off for offending Franco. But little did he know that a Taylor had been standing right there and watching him repress others in their name! Adrian had always thought that he was really smart, but he never expected that his well-thought-out n would backfire and cause him to end up in such a plight! The only mistake he had made was belittling the chairman of thepany, Lucas Gray! He had underestimated Lucas¡¯s power and wrongly assumed that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with Franco¡¯s violence or even dare to confront the Taylors. But he was utterly wrong! It was a terrible mistake! However, it was toote for regrets now! After hearing Preston say that he would hand Franco over to him to deal with, Lucas seemedpletely uninterested. He said apathetically, ¡°You can do whatever you want to a dog with all four limbs broken.¡± ¡°In that case... Mr. Gray, what would you like me to do?¡± Preston gritted his teeth. The Taylors were considered at fault for what happened today, so he had to give Lucas an exnation to appease him. Since Lucas didn¡¯t want to do anything to Franco, Preston had to make it up to Lucas in other aspects. However... he suddenly had a strange sense of uneasiness. Chapter 340: Is There A Connection?

Chapter 340: Is There A Connection?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas suddenly asked, ¡°The Taylors own arge real estate developmentpany, as well as a construction and renovationpany, right?¡± He still remembered that Scott Taylor, Preston¡¯s brother, had once brought two of his bodyguards to his vi and demanded that he let him have the vi because it was developed by a real estate developmentpany owned by the Taylors. Preston froze in shock, a little puzzled by what Lucas meant. But he answered conscientiously, ¡°Yes, Moon Pce Realty and Milton Interior Design belong to our family.¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Since you own businesses in the real estate and renovation industries, and I have a logistics and transportationpany, how about you consider cooperating with us, Mr. Taylor?¡± Only then did Preston understand that Lucas didn¡¯t want anything from him except the opportunity to cooperate with the Taylors. In fact, Lucas¡¯s request might mainly be meant for the development of hispany, but it wouldn¡¯t cause any losses for the Taylors, and Preston might even be able to use this opportunity to try and get closer to Lucas. He might even get the Ocean Bathhouse back from Lucas rightfully. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t agree to Lucas¡¯s request. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m really very sorry, but I can¡¯t agree to your request.¡± Preston shook his head regretfully. Then Preston quickly added an exnation, for fear that Lucas might have misunderstood something. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to agree to your request, but the Taylors own many businesses that various members of the family manage. There are clear rules on which industries each person is in charge of, and I happen to not be the person in charge of the real estate and construction industry, so I can¡¯t interfere and agree to your request.¡± Seeing how sincere Preston seemed, Lucas finally believed that he wasn¡¯t just making up a random excuse but that there was indeed such a rule among the Taylors. Given Scott Taylor¡¯s behavior previously, Lucas reckoned that he should be the one in charge of the real estate business of the Taylors. In that case, Preston indeed couldn¡¯t agree to his request to cooperate. So Lucas dropped the idea and said, ¡°Forget it then. Since this person already has his limbs broken, I can¡¯t be bothered to pursue this anymore. You may take him away.¡± Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t seem to be angry, Preston heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly guaranteed, ¡°Please rest assured that I¡¯ll definitely inform my subordinates not to get into a conflict with you again!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lucas then turned to look at the former senior executives of thepany, who were kneeling on the ground. After Lucas nced at them, Adrian, Jimmy, and the rest immediately shuddered and begged, ¡°Mr. Gray, we were wrong! We won¡¯t make the same mistake again! Please spare us!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. Please just forgive us this once!¡± ... They were panic-stricken. Had they known earlier that Lucas was so terrifying, they wouldn¡¯t have listened to Adrian and let him tempt them intoing here to threaten Lucas. Lucas said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve already given you a chance just now, but unfortunately, you chose to give it up yourselves.¡± Then he turned to look at William and ordered, ¡°Mr. Carter, it¡¯s up to you to deal with these people. Go investigate them and find out clearly if they¡¯ve embezzledpany funds ormitted some other illegal acts!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± William immediately acknowledged. Adrian and the others almost fainted after hearing what Lucas said. They had stayed in thepany for the sake of making money, so of course they hadmitted illegal acts. If Lucas decided to investigate them, none of them would be able to escape thew, and they would definitely be put behind bars! At the thought of the consequences, they immediately decided to forgo any dignity and prostrated to Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, we have families to feed, and if we... go to jail, our families will be ruined!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Why did you do it in the first ce then? Why didn¡¯t you consider this consequence when you were being parasites to thepany and making money without a care in the world?¡± The seven of them were deathly pale, and they were about to defend themselves further, but Lucas lost his temper and hollered, ¡°Whoever speaks another word will be silenced forever!¡± Lucas¡¯s domineering aura surged out like a beast, making them shudder and too afraid to speak. Soon, William lodged a police report and had peoplee to take all the former executives away for a proper investigation. Wanting to take the opportunity to leave, Preston hurriedly asked, ¡°In that case, Mr. Gray, I¡¯ll take my leave now, alright?¡± Lucas nced at him and suddenly asked, ¡°How are you handling the task I gave you?¡± Previously in the Ocean Bathhouse, Preston had promised Lucas to introduce him to the mysterious organization that supplied beauties to the Ocean Bathhouse. But Preston said that even the Taylors had no idea who constituted the organization and their contact info. So they could only wait passively for the organization to contact them. However, it had been a long time since then, but there was still no news. In addition, there were no longer any more beauties being sent to the Ocean Bathhousetely, so Lucas suspected that the Taylors might have already contacted them and perhaps even agreed to change the transaction location. Suddenly questioned about this matter, Preston obviously became nervous as he hurriedly shook his head. ¡°Well... they haven¡¯t contacted me, so there¡¯s nothing I can do!¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes and stared at Preston without saying anything for a long time. His gaze was so intense that droplets of sweat appeared on the tip of Preston¡¯s nose. Lucas then questioned slowly, ¡°Preston Taylor, do you think that you can fool me because I¡¯m a little too nice to you?¡± As soon as Lucas said this, Preston immediately remembered the fear he felt when Lucas strangled him. But he nevertheless shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth! Think about it. The Ocean Bathhouse is now in your hands, and I desperately want to get it back from you as soon as possible. How could I possibly deceive you? The truth is that no one knows the whereabouts of those people. I¡¯m really anxious that they haven¡¯t contacted me, but there¡¯s nothing I can do except wait!¡± With a sharp glint in his eyes, Lucas stared straight into Preston¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Have you really not been in contact with them?¡± Chapter 341: Scene in the Video

Chapter 341: Scene in the Video

Preston felt the pores on his back instantly expanding and cold sweat profusely gushing out of them. But he still clenched his jaw and eximed, ¡°No, I really haven¡¯t had any contact with them! I swear! If they do contact me, I¡¯ll definitely inform you immediately!¡± Lucas smiled and suddenly said, ¡°Okay, got it. You may leave now!¡± Feeling as if he had been spared from severe punishment, Preston hurriedly brought his bodyguards, Franco, and Franco¡¯s underlings away from the warehouse. William witnessed everything from the side, and apart from utter astonishment, all that remained in his heart was a bunch ofplicated emotions that he couldn¡¯t put into words. He thought of the times that he hadshed out at Lucas and called him a freeloading good-for-nothing when Lucas had just returned to Orange County a few months ago. Back then, he had even berated Lucas for being a disgrace to the Carters and even wanted him to divorce Cheyenne. But the many incidents that happened afterward made him change his opinion of Lucas again and again before finally discovering that his son-inw was actually so capable. The fact that Preston Taylor had been so subservient and polite to Lucas today caused William¡¯s feelings about Lucas to be even moreplicated. What other surprising things are there about Lucas that I¡¯m not aware of yet? Meanwhile, Louis looked at Lucas respectfully. Their chairman was too impressive! Not only was Lucas¡¯s status so superior that even a Taylor had to be cautious and polite when speaking to him, but hisbat skills were also extraordinary. Although he was slim and tall with an ordinary figure, he could defeat a bunch of gangsters armed with iron rods in just an instant. Even the gangsters¡¯ boss, Charlie Franco, who was touted to be extremely impressive at fighting, was weak and helpless when facing Lucas! Louis felt that Lucas didn¡¯t seem to be someone who existed in real life at all because he was too powerful and perfect! At this moment, Lucas wasn¡¯t aware that he had just gained a new fan who was full of awe for him because of his actions just now. Seeing that everything had been settled, Lucas didn¡¯t stay any longer and simply said to William, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you. I¡¯ll get going now. If something like this happens again, call me immediately!¡± William¡¯s face was a little flushed at this point. He initially thought that he could solve this matter with his own abilities and minimize the losses incurred by thepany. But he didn¡¯t expect to still have to rely on Lucas to settle it. ¡°Okay, I know what to do. Go ahead and get busy with your own matters!¡± William hurriedly said. As soon as Lucas left, Louis darted toward William excitedly and asked curiously, ¡°Mr. Carter, who exactly is Mr. Gray? He¡¯s so impressive and powerful. Even Preston Taylor was so subservient toward him! Also, Mr. Gray¡¯sbat skills...¡± William interrupted Louis and said in a deep, cold voice, ¡°Mr. Gray doesn¡¯t like others prying into his affairs, so just remember to do your job well and stay out of other matters!¡± He seemed to be warning Louis. Lucas had never made his identity public, and even his closest family members, such as William and Cheyenne, had only just learned of his true identity recently. So William naturally knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t willing to let others know who he was. Louis smiled somewhat embarrassedly and said awkwardly, ¡°I-I was just asking a casual question. I don¡¯t mean anything else!¡± At this moment, Lucas was leaving in his car and on the phone with someone. ¡°Keep close tabs on Preston Taylor and the other direct descendants of the Taylor family. See if there¡¯s anything strange about themtely, especially if they¡¯ve made any contact with suspicious people in secretive locations!¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in the home of the Waces, one of the four most powerful families of Orange County... Due to Liam Wace¡¯s demise, all the Waces were mourning, and the atmosphere in their home was somber and mncholic. Liam¡¯s funeral was held in the main hall on the first floor of the vi in front. Liam was lying inside his coffin ced in the middle of the hall, surrounded by numerous wreaths of white flowers. All the Waces had gathered in the vi in the middle of the manor, which belonged to Pierre Wace, who was now frowning with a sullen expression on his face. His eldest son, Bryant, who was also Liam¡¯s father, walked up to him and said with reddened eyes, ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve already had someone investigate this matter. Liam was indeed killed by that young man Lucas Gray!¡± A strong killing intent suddenly emerged from Pierre¡¯s eyes that were gradually turning turbid. ¡°How dare he kill my grandson? I must make him pay for it with his life!¡± Pierre¡¯s eyes were wide open and full of fury, and resentment was brimming all over his menacing face. Not only did Lucas kill Liam, but he had also insulted the Waces by doing so, and that was something that Pierre could never tolerate! Anyone who offended the Waces would have to bear the consequences for their actions! ¡°Dad, no one wants to kill Lucas Gray more than I do. I want to avenge Liam, but I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be that easy to kill him,¡± Bryant said with great difficulty through clenched teeth. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Pierre frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell us previously that that punk is just a powerless good-for-nothing and the live-in son-inw of the Carters who got kicked out of the family? Is there something about his identity that makes it impossible for us to do anything to him?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not the case.¡± Bryant shook his head and pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. Then he instructed someone to cast the video he had saved on the phone onto the 78-inch TV screen in the middle of the hall. Soon, a somewhat blurry video yed on therge screen. Based on the angle, it seemed to be surveince camera footage. ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡¯ve already let your friends go. Can you let Mr. Kingston off now?¡± Russell, the person in charge of the auction, asked extremely carefully, seemingly afraid of angering Lucas. In the center of the video, there was a young man of about 27 or 28 years old ruthlessly stepping on the chest of someone lying on the ground. The face of the man on the ground was red, and there were clear fingerprints on his neck, which seemed to be the result of being strangled. This person was Kyle Kingston! It turned out to be footage of Lucas threatening Kyle during the altercation that had urred at the auction the other day! In fact, when Kyle delivered Liam¡¯s corpse to the Waces, he had mentioned that he almost got killed by Lucas. But the Waces were skeptical about his allegation because almost no one would dare to do such a thing to Kyle, given the powerful status of his family! But when they saw the footage of the scene at that time, they were all astounded because it turned out that Kyle had told them the truth! Lucas Gray is really brazen! Chapter 342: Joint Attack

Chapter 342: Joint Attack

The footage continued ying. Lucas said several sentences, and Pierre immediately frowned when he heard Lucas say, ¡°I, Lucas Gray, am no pushover. The reason that I choose not to create trouble is not because I¡¯m afraid. Anyone who ns to provoke me first should consider if they can bear the consequences before doing so!¡± The other Waces also seemed to be extremely displeased. ¡°Who does he think he is? How arrogant!¡± ¡°Exactly! He¡¯s the most haughty person I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± The Waces were all expressing their displeasure when Pierre suddenly raised his hand to stop them from speaking. Seeing Pierre frowning and staring at the screen, everyone hurriedly kept quiet and watched the next scene carefully. After Lucas issued the warning, he lifted his foot off Kyle¡¯s chest and walked toward the exit of the auction hall. Just when everyone thought he was about to walk out the door, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and flicked something that darted out of his hand at an incredible speed. Immediately afterward, everyone saw Liam, who was nearly 20 meters away from Lucas, suddenly freeze in ce. Then he extended his hand and ced it on his neck. Soon, blood gushed out from the front and back of his neck as he fell backward! ¡°This is it! That¡¯s how Liam got killed!¡± Liam¡¯s mother eximed hysterically when she saw this scene. She was almost on the verge of throwing herself against the screen, wishing she could pull Lucas out of it and strangle him to death. Pierre waved his hand, and soon, two people pulled away Liam¡¯s mother, who was extremely agitated and worked up. He also instructed them to pause the footage. ¡°Did you all see clearly what happened? Did you see how that young man killed Liam?¡± Pierre said to everyone in a deep voice. ¡°Uh... It happened all too quickly, and I didn¡¯t get a clear glimpse of it!¡± ¡°What exactly was Lucas Gray holding in his hand? Was it a pocket-sized pistol?¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯ seem like it. He seemed to be pinching something in his fingers, and it didn¡¯t look like a pistol!¡± ... The Waces began discussing and specting. Bryant said sullenly, ¡°Continue watching the footage, and you¡¯ll find out what he was holding.¡± Pierre waved his hand again, and the footage resumed ying on therge screen. When the crowd saw the bloodstained button that the security guard handed over, everyone¡¯s eyes were full of disbelief! The weapon used to kill Liam turns out to be this tiny button?! They couldn¡¯t believe it at all. After rewinding the footage and watching it over and over again in slow motion, they finally confirmed that the button had darted out of Lucas¡¯s hand and pierced through Liam¡¯s throat 20 meters away to deal a fatal blow to him! Everyone couldn¡¯t help but inhale sharply, bbergasted by Lucas¡¯s terrifying strength! At this moment, all the Waces finally understood what Bryant meant when he said that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to kill Lucas. It wasn¡¯t that Lucas¡¯s status was so noble that he was untouchable, but rather, Lucas¡¯s reflexes andbat skills were terrifyingly powerful! His immense strength was simply mind-boggling! After everyone gradually recovered from the shock and calmed down, Bryant said, ¡°I sent someone to investigate this young man and discovered that he doesn¡¯t have a simple background. ¡°Prior to this, I only knew that he was a live-in son-inw of the Carters, and I even thought that he was just a freeloader sponging off his wife. But after some investigation, I found out that Lucas Gray is actually a descendant of the Huttons! ¡°However, he¡¯s probably an illegitimate son because the Huttons kicked him out of the family more than a decade ago, and his mother brought him to Orange County after several twists and turns. More than six years ago, his mother died of illness, and he ended up marrying Cheyenne Carter as a live-in husband because of a scandal between them. ¡°But soon after he got married, he suddenly left the Carters one day and vanished for more than six years. He finally returned to Orange County just a little over three months ago. It¡¯s said that he spent those six years serving as a soldier in the military, but I wasn¡¯t able to find out what specific unit he was in and what exactly he did during his service. ¡°That¡¯s all I managed to discover. There¡¯s no information to exin his incredible strength and the other secrets he¡¯s still harboring. All I can say is that he¡¯s an extremely mysterious and formidable enemy!¡± Bryant spoke with a conscientious expression. Of course, by saying all of this, he meant that he was too scared of Lucas, so much so that he didn¡¯t dare to take revenge against Lucas for his son. He told the Waces about Lucas because he wanted them to realize that they couldn¡¯t belittle him and that they would have to find powerful helpers in order to kill him. Pierre naturally understood Bryant¡¯s intentions. He looked at the crowd and said with a menacing gaze, ¡°I can¡¯t let Liam die in vain, and the Waces¡¯ pride and authority are not to be challenged! In any case, I want Lucas Gray dead by the end of today, regardless of what it takes!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Bryant immediately nodded. Since Pierre already said so, he would hire some elite experts at all costs and send them to nab Lucas. Once they brought Lucas back, the Waces would take revenge for Liam! At this moment, someone suddenly stood up and said to Pierre, ¡°Lucas Gray seems to be really terrifying. I doubt we can find any experts strong enough to deal with him.¡± The person who spoke resembled Bryant greatly but was slightly younger. He was Bryant¡¯s younger brother, Darren Wace. Pierre frowned, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Darren said unhurriedly, ¡°Liam died at the auction venue belonging to the Kingstons, and both Kyle Kingston and Russell Duncan witnessed his murder. But they failed to enforce tighter security measures and watched Liam get killed at their auction site. So, I think that the Kingstons have an irrefutable responsibility for this matter! ¡°Besides, the Kingstons are a prestigious family that¡¯s far more powerful than ours. They definitely have connections to more experts than we do, so I think we should contact them and have them find a top expert toe over to help us deal with Lucas Gray! In short, the Kingstons can¡¯t stay out of this matter!¡± Many of the Waces immediately agreed with Darren. Although the Waces could certainly hire some elite experts, Lucas was too powerful after all, and ordinary experts probably wouldn¡¯t be a match for him. But it would definitely be too expensive to hire top assassins. Besides, since the Kingstons were partly to me for the death of Liam, shouldn¡¯t the Kingstons find some elite experts to help kill Lucas? ¡°Yes, the Kingstons should take responsibility for this too. We must make them help us!¡± ¡°The experts the Kingstons can find should be better than ours, so we should get them to do it!¡± ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t let them sit back and do nothing!¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard that Kyle Kingston has a feud with Lucas Gray too. We can¡¯t let them reap the benefits without contributing any effort while we do all the work!¡± ... The Waces were extremely agitated, and they had all reached the consensus of making the Kingstons in charge of hiring some experts to kill Lucas. After pondering for a long time, Pierre finally made up his mind too. ¡°Okay, Bryant, I¡¯ll leave this matter to you. Contact the Kingstons and inform them about this matter. We¡¯ll join hands with them to kill Lucas Gray!¡± Chapter 343: Murderous Aura in the Villa

Chapter 343: Murderous Aura in the Vi

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, Lucas naturally wasn¡¯t aware that the Waces had already decided to hire top experts to assassinate him and had also decided to join hands with the Kingstons. Others would definitely be scared soulless if they learned that they were about to be assassinated. After all, the Waces were one of the four most powerful families in Orange County, and the Kingstons were one of the most powerful families in the state. Neither was to be belittled, let alone them joining forces. Anyone targeted by them would definitely be unable to escape death. ? But Lucas was a formidable person. Even if the Waces and Kingstons joined forces to hire top experts in California, they wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with Lucas. In fact, it was almost impossible to find someone in the country who was on par with Lucas. He was known as the invincible God of War, and he was also the captain of the Falcon Regiment. Almost no one in the world could harm him. In the afternoon, Lucas handled some matters at the Stardust Corporation. When he saw that it was about time, he proceeded to pick Amelia up at the kindergarten and then drove to the entrance of the Brilliance Corporation to pick Cheyenne up. The family of three happily headed home to theke vi. The ck Jaguar drove through the gates of the vi. As soon as the gates opened, Lucas could acutely sense an extraordinary murderous aura lurking in their vi. Lucas had experienced many life-and-death crises on the battlefield, and his personal strength andbat skills had also reached a terrifying level. So he was very sensitive to such murderous auras, and he could sense it through the air. His heart tensed up, and he stopped Cheyenne, who was about to get out of the car while carrying Amelia in her arms. Afraid of scaring his wife and daughter, Lucas said gently, ¡°Wait for me inside the car. I¡¯m just going to grab something inside. Let¡¯s have dinner at a restaurant tonight!¡± Cheyenne asked with great suspicion, ¡°We¡¯re already home. Why do you suddenly want to have dinner at a restaurant?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just suddenly want to take Amelia to a nice restaurant. The food they serve is delicious.¡± Lucas found a random excuse. Being a child, Amelia was excited when she heard that Lucas was going to take her out for dinner. She immediately eximed happily, ¡°Wow! Yay, we get to go out for a feast tonight! I want to have some pizza!¡± Seeing how excited and happy Amelia was, Cheyenne naturally agreed to it. Thus, both Cheyenne and Amelia stayed in the car while Lucas walked toward the vi alone. After pushing open the vi door, Lucas walked directly toward the stairs. The murderous aura he detected just now wasing from the master bedroom on the second floor. His footsteps were extremely light, especially when he stepped on the soft carpet. He remained silent all the way until he reached the door of the master bedroom before kicking it open! Bang! With the strong impact of his kick, the exquisite scented rosewood door flew open and mmed against the wall behind the door. ¡°Argh!¡± Caught off guard, the figure behind the bedroom door let out a muffled grunt as the wooden door mmed against his nose before he could even react and wedged him between the door and the wall. His nose started bleeding, and he was in extreme pain,pletely in a tragic plight. The man never thought that Lucas would discover him when he was hiding behind the bedroom door! How did Lucas Gray make his way up quietly? I didn¡¯t notice his presence at all! Bearing with the pain and sorenessing from his nose, the man wiped the blood off of his face and darted out from behind the door with a shiny dagger in his hand. He then charged toward Lucas¡¯s throat! The man moved extremely quickly, and he was much faster than many of the so-called experts Lucas had seen before. Others probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to react in time and suffer a fatal sh to the neck. But the moment the lightning-fast dagger was about to touch his neck, Lucas merely sneered and reached out at a speed twice as fast as the assant to grab his wrist and then snatch the dagger. Immediately afterward, Lucas thrust his knee forward and kneed the man in his lower abdomen. ¡°Argh!¡± The man immediately shrieked miserably as his body arched upward. While this was happening, Lucas took the opportunity to press him against the wall in front. He then raised his hand and stabbed the dagger straight into the center of the man¡¯s palm, pinning him against the wall! The next instant, Lucas grabbed his neck like he was grabbing that of a little chicken. The entire process took less than two seconds! Lucas rendered the man, who had been ambushing behind the bedroom door, powerless and unable to fight back at all! At this moment, Lucas had punctured his hand with the dagger, keeping him against the wall. Moreover, Lucas was choking him, not giving him the chance to struggle. Lucas finally had the time to scrutinize the assassin. It was a man in his thirties. He was bald but had unusually thick brows and a chubby face. He was obviously a ruthless and ferocious person. Moreover, he was very muscr and had calluses all over his hands. Clearly, he had undergone hard training. Besides, Lucas could tell from his swift and ruthless actions, as well as the dense murderous aura he was exuding, that he must have killed many people in the past. In fact, he killed for a living. If Lucas didn¡¯t have extraordinarily keen senses, allowing him to detect the murderous aura from outside the vi in advance, he would probably have been killed when he opened the bedroom door. ¡°Speak up. Who sent you here?¡± Lucas questioned coldly while exuding a shocking aura. Lucas would never be merciful to those who wanted to kill him or hurt his family. At this point, the assant was in a terrible state, his right hand nailed to the wall by the dagger, his face ashen, blood trickling down his face from his nostrils, and agony written all over his face. He was clearly in extreme pain. He never thought that he would end up in such a miserable state. The young man in front of him, whom he was supposed to assassinate, had strength far beyond his imagination! Suddenly, Lucas tightened his grip on the man¡¯s neck, making him feel a suffocating, painful sensation and the horrifying fear of being strangled to death. Seeing the icy cold gaze on Lucas¡¯s face, he didn¡¯t doubt for a single moment that Lucas would kill him! ¡°I¡¯ll tell you... I¡¯ll tell you! It¡¯s... the Kingstons who sent me!¡± the man said with great difficulty. Lucas narrowed his eyes. Previously, he had already warned the Kingstons not to try anything funny, but he didn¡¯t expect them to still send a hitman to kill him. It seemed that he had been too kind to Kyle by letting him off before, which was why the Kingstons hadn¡¯t learned their lesson yet and repeatedly tried to create trouble for him. Sensing Lucas¡¯s murderous intent, the man immediately had an ominous hunch and frantically tried to threaten Lucas. ¡°I work for the Kingstons. You can¡¯t kill me, or else they won¡¯t let you off! Neither will my master!¡± Snap! His words came to an abrupt end with the crisp sound of his bones being shattered! The man¡¯s eyes were wide open and full of disbelief. A few secondster, his head drooped, and he was no longer breathing. Lucas had snapped the vertebrae at his neck into two! Chapter 344: Is He Back?

Chapter 344: Is He Back?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°The Kingstons? Hmph!¡± A cold glint of sharpness appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. Heposedly headed to the bathroom to wash off the bloodstains on his hands. He then took out his cell phone and made a call. ¡°There¡¯s a corpse in my bedroom. Send someone to pick it up and dump it at the entrance of the Kingston residence. Clean up the room too.¡± ? ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± the other person immediately acknowledged without hesitating or asking about anything, as if it was just a simple order. Lucas hung up and took a look at the time. It had only been three minutes since he entered the vi. After thinking about it, he changed into a fresh set of clothes before walking out of the vi. He opened the car door and got inside. Cheyenne and Amelia were both unaware of the murder that had just urred in their home and were still excitedly discussing the restaurant where they were going to have dinner. ¡°I just called Charlotte, but she said that she¡¯s tied up with work. When we reach the restaurantter, we¡¯ll send her the address, and she¡¯ll join us when she can,¡± Cheyenne said. The three of them were living together with Charlotte in the vi. Now that they had decided to go to a restaurant for dinner, they naturally wouldn¡¯t leave Charlotte out. ¡°Okay!¡± Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t object, so he nodded, started the car engine, and began driving to the restaurant. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in a vi of the Waces¡¯ manor in Orange County... In the spacious andfortable guest hall, there was an energetic-looking,pletely bald old man in histe sixties. His cheeks were flushed, and if not for his graying eyebrows and the few deep wrinkles on his forehead, it was almost impossible to tell that he was advanced in age. His eyes were slightly closed, but his eyes seemed to glisten from time to time. There was another middle-aged man in his forties sitting up straight near him. It was Bryant Wace, Liam¡¯s father. Holding onto a small and delicate teapot, he was carefully pouring some tea for the old man in front of him. ¡°Henry, thank you for helping us get rid of a huge scourge this time. This is made from the finest Earl Grey tea leaves in my father¡¯s cherished collection. Please try it!¡± Bryant said respectfully. The bald old man picked up the teacup, gave it a sniff, and then raised the teacup to take a gentle sip of the tea. He finally sighed with satisfaction. ¡°As expected of the finest Earl Grey tea leaves, it tastes great!¡± Bryant knew to observe the expressions of others and act ordingly. He hurriedly said, ¡°My father has plenty of tea leaves left. It¡¯s our honor that you like it. I¡¯ll give you a few boxes!¡± ¡°Haha, alright.¡± Henry Salve chuckled and epted it without standing on ceremony. Seeing that Henry had epted the gift, Bryant was also in a pleasant mood. So he took the opportunity to broach the topic with Henry. ¡°Henry, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen that video I sent you. What do you think of Lucas Gray¡¯sbat skills? He should still be rather inferior to Nn, right?¡± Henry said proudly with a nod, ¡°Of course! That punk is an amateur. He¡¯s nothingpared to me and my apprentice!¡± Then Henry picked up a white porcin teacup on the table and crushed it by giving it a tight little squeeze. Immediately afterward, he picked up one of the broken pieces, ced it between his fingers, and then flicked it forcefully. In an instant, the broken porcin piece darted through the air and struck the door. Bang! A small hole was bored in the sturdy wooden door. ¡°Wow!¡± Bryant immediately gasped in amazement. It was the first time he saw with his own eyes someone boring a hole through a wooden door nearly ten meters away with a piece of a broken porcin cup! Most importantly, Henry seemed to have done it effortlessly. Yet there was already so much power in his strike, and it didn¡¯t seem inferior to Lucas¡¯s strike! Seeing the look of admiration on Bryant¡¯s face, Henry couldn¡¯t help but be smug, but he maintained an indifferent expression. He said nonchntly, ¡°What¡¯s there to make a fuss about? It¡¯s just some beginner skills. My apprentice can also do it effortlessly!¡± After seeing Henry¡¯s move, Bryant felt much more relieved. He initially thought that Lucas was already powerful and impressive enough. But to his surprise, it was just a beginner skill in the eyes of a top expert like Henry! This just showed that Henry¡¯s skills were absolutely elite, and he could easily defeat Lucas! His spirits were lifted, and he could almost imagine the scene of Henry¡¯s apprentice, Nn, bringing Lucas¡¯s head back. At that time, he would definitely carry Lucas¡¯s head and ce it in front of Liam¡¯s grave! Both of them sat quietly in the guest hall and sipped on some tea while waiting for Nn to return with good news. But as time passed, there was no news from Nn. Bryant raised his wrist quietly to look at the time and discovered that almost three hours had passed. Logically speaking, Nn should have returned long ago. ¡°Um... Henry, should we give Nn a call and ask about the situation?¡± Bryant asked, getting a little impatient. Henry¡¯s face turned sullen, and he questioned in displeasure, ¡°What? Are you doubting my apprentice¡¯s abilities? Do you think he can¡¯t deal with Lucas Gray?¡± ¡°No, no, no, I definitely don¡¯t mean that!¡± Bryant hurriedly exined. ¡°I... I just realized that it¡¯s gettingte, and it should be dinner time soon. I¡¯ve already instructed my cooks to prepare a feast for you two.¡± ¡°Hmph, are we not going to eat if he doesn¡¯t return?¡± Henry asked in displeasure. He was still acting all lofty and aloof just now. But after his face turned sullen, his aura became menacing, and it frightened Bryant to the point of shivering. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll instruct them to serve the food!¡± Bryant quickly said before leaving anxiously. Only after he was far away did he wipe the cold sweat on his forehead. Afterward, he hurriedly instructed his servants to set the table. After Bryant left the guest hall, Henry called Nn with a gloomy expression. But no one answered even after a long time. Henry darkened. It¡¯s just dealing with some punk. Hasn¡¯t Nn dealt with him yet? ¡°Henry, bad news. There¡¯s going to be trouble!¡± Suddenly, someone pushed the door open and stumbled in, his face deathly pale and full of horror. It was Bryant, who just left a short while ago! ¡°Why are you yelling? Behave yourself! Are the Waces all so ill-mannered?¡± Henry was already in a foul mood, and he got even more frustrated when Bryant suddenly charged in. ¡°It¡¯s No-Nn...¡± Bryant, who had always been calm, was so flustered that he couldn¡¯t speak coherently. ¡°What happened to Nn? Is he back?¡± Henry quickly asked. On the verge of tears, Bryant spluttered, ¡°Nn... Nn is dead!¡± Chapter 345: Gooseberry

Chapter 345: Gooseberry

¡°What did you say?!¡± Henry¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he suddenly stood up, staring at Bryant in disbelief. Although Henry had taken many apprentices under his tutge in his life, most of them hadn¡¯t learned much of his skills, except Nn, who was his favorite disciple and whom he was most proud of too. Not only had Nn learned almost 90% of his skills, but he was also set to be Henry¡¯s sessor. Henry originally thought that apart from himself, there would probably be no one in the field ofbat who could rival Nn. He didn¡¯t expect to hear from Bryant that Nn, his favorite disciple, had died! ¡°Nonsense! Who died?! Repeat yourself! Who died?!¡± Henry hollered. He was glowering at Bryant furiously as he strode toward him and grabbed him by the cor. Bryant was so frightened that his teeth began to chatter, and he could barely speak. ¡°He... he¡¯s outside!¡± ¡°Punk, you¡¯d better bear this in mind. If you dare to lie to me, I have plenty of ways to kill you!¡± With that, Henry left Bryant behind and dashed toward the door of the vi. Soon, he saw a corpse at the entrance of the vi. The corpse had a familiar face and figure, but there were no longer any signs of life on his face, and his eyes were still wide open and full of confusion, mixed with a tinge of agony and shock. It was as if he had seen a horrifying scene moments before his death. It was Nn¡¯s corpse! Because his body was lying t on the ground, the five greenish-purple marks were clearly visible on his neck, which was now soft and limp. Clearly, his hyoid bone had been crushed! ¡°Nn! My good apprentice!¡± Henry suddenly let out a deafening roar as a murderous intent instantly surged from his body. There were two security guards standing beside Nn. They were the ones who had carried Nn¡¯s corpse from the entrance of the Waces¡¯ manor to the vi. ¡°Get lost!¡± Henry roared. Then he extended his hands, which were as hard as steel, and leaped forward to grab each of them by the cor before flinging them to the sides forcefully as though they were pieces of garbage. Bang! Bang! The two security guards mmed against the two tall andrge marble statues more than twenty meters away with two loud thuds. In an instant, their skulls shattered, and all their bones broke, resulting in instant death! The violent and brutal scene immediately made everyone frightened, and they started shivering continuously. Throwing two grown adults against statues more than twenty meters away wasn¡¯t something that ordinary people could do. Without a doubt, Henry was definitely powerful and terrifying. But at the same time, his menace made everyone shudder. Bryant and the other Waces looked at Henry in fear, not daring to breathe at all, afraid that they would incur the wrath of the grief-stricken Henry, who had just lost his apprentice and might vent all his anger on them. After all, Nn had died because Bryant wanted to take revenge for Liam. ¡°No matter who killed my apprentice, I will chop him up into pieces!¡± Henry hollered furiously with clenched fists. Henry suddenly turned around and stared at Bryant. ¡°My apprentice died helping you try to kill that bastard Lucas Gray.¡± Bryant¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he gulped. Just as he was about to say something, Henry spoke again. ¡°I want all the information about Lucas Gray within five minutes! If you dare to hide anything from me deliberately, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless!¡± Then Henry picked up Nn¡¯s corpse from the ground and walked into the vi. Standing at the entrance of the vi, Bryant and the others were full of anxiety. Of course, he could immediately give Henry all the information they had found about Lucas, but there were many matters regarding Lucas that the Waces still couldn¡¯t find out. If Henry got the wrong idea and took it that they were deliberately hiding things from him, there would be no way for them to exin themselves. But this wasn¡¯t exactly bad news for the Waces. After learning about Nn¡¯s death, Henry was boiling with fury, and they knew that he would definitely personally go to avenge his apprentice. So Lucas would absolutely die without a doubt! ¡ª¡ª Elsewhere in Orange County at this moment, Lucas had juste out of a restaurant with Cheyenne, Amelia, and Charlotte after dinner. The four of them had enjoyed a pleasant and heartwarming dinner. Charlotte looked at Cheyenne and Lucas and suddenly giggled. ¡°Cheyenne, Lucas, do you two feel that it¡¯s especially warm today?¡± Cheyenne said in bewilderment, ¡°No, the weather has been fely. And it¡¯s been raining, so it¡¯s not that warm now.¡± Charlotte looked at Cheyenne, who answered her question seriously, and suddenly burst intoughter. ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re so cute. Don¡¯t you realize that there are tworge gooseberries beside you? My face is getting so warm! Am I right, Amelia?¡± With that, she bent down and took the confused Amelia¡¯s hand. Only then did Cheyenne realize what Charlotte meant. She immediately felt ashamed and embarrassed as her cheeks became flushed. She chided in annoyance, ¡°You... What nonsense are you saying? You¡¯re going to lead Amelia astray!¡± While speaking, she stole a nce at Lucas and happened to make eye contact with him, who was looking at her with a gentle and intense gaze. Cheyenne¡¯s heart began racing, and she frantically looked away, but her face became even warmer. Charlotte chuckled when she saw how shy Cheyenne was. Holding Amelia¡¯s hand, she suddenly asked, ¡°Amelia, there¡¯s a movie theater nearby. Why don¡¯t I take you there to watch a movie?¡± ¡°Sure! I want to watch Mn!¡± Amelia immediately cheered in joy when she heard that Charlotte was going to take her to the movies. Although she had already watched ¡®Mn¡¯ a few times, she was still excited to watch it again. Cheyenne immediately agreed, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go buy the tickets then!¡± Charlotte pulled Cheyenne and whispered in her ear, ¡°Cheyenne, are you that dense? I specifically suggested taking Amelia to watch a movie because I want to let you spend some time alone with Lucas. Why don¡¯t you get it?¡± ¡°Charlotte, you... seriously!¡± Cheyenne finally realized what her sister was up to, and she couldn¡¯t help pinching her face embarrassedly. ¡°Nonsense!¡± Charlotte dodged it with a smile. ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t you want to spend time alone with Lucas?¡± Cheyenne was instantly stunned. Lucas had a good sense of hearing. Even though they were whispering to each other, he could hear them clearly. When he heard the words ¡®some time alone¡¯, he couldn¡¯t help but be stunned. Chapter 346: Alone Time

Chapter 346: Alone Time

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne recalled carefully and realized that ever since she met Lucas, the two of them really hadn¡¯t spent much time alone together, let alone go out for shopping and vacations like other married couples and lovers would. When they had just gotten married, they didn¡¯t have any feelings for each other, so they almost never spoke to each other. ? Since Lucas had returned, many various incidents had urred, and now that both of them were quite busy with work, they rarely got to spend time together. Even after work or during the weekends, they would usually be with Amelia at home. So after thinking about it, she realized that they really hadn¡¯t spent much time alone together. The thought of it made Cheyenne feel a little keen on the idea. Charlotte naturally sensed it too, so she pushed Cheyenne toward Lucas smilingly. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s quite lively around here. You guys enjoy yourselves tonight. Leave Amelia to me!¡± Charlotte stuck her tongue out cheekily and took Amelia to the movie theater nearby. ¡°Let¡¯s go watch Mn, Amelia!¡± Amelia skipped along merrily and turned around to look at Lucas and Cheyenne. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t Daddy and Mommying with us?¡± ¡°Your Daddy and Mommy have some things to do, so we¡¯ll meet up with them after we watch the movie.¡± ¡°Okay! Bye-bye, Daddy and Mommy. We¡¯ll look for you guyster!¡± Amelia even turned around to wave at Lucas and Cheyenne. Soon, only Lucas and Cheyenne were left. Cheyenne was still feeling a little shy because she still wasn¡¯t used to spending time alone with Lucas yet. Cheyenne, the otherwise resolute and decisive general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, looked just like an ordinary girl in love. Lucas¡¯s heart melted, and he walked forward to take her hand naturally. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s take a stroll around the streets here.¡± Cheyenne lowered her head and nodded gently, but she didn¡¯t pull her hand out of Lucas¡¯. Hand in hand, they both felt an unfamiliar but sweet, warm, and fuzzy feeling. It was only about eight o¡¯clock in the evening, which was when nightlife began. The streets were crowded with peopleing and going, but Lucas and Cheyenne were particrly attractive, so they stood out from the crowd. Lucas was tall and handsome, while Cheyenne was petite and beautiful. They were turning heads along the way, and many people were staring at them enviously. When they passed by an Ermenegildo Zegna men¡¯s clothing store, an extremely refined and sleek dark gray trench coat behind the ss window caught Cheyenne¡¯s eye. She turned her head to look at the clothes that Lucas was wearing. Even though Lucas had an enormous amount of wealth and severalrge corporations under his name, he had never dressedvishly and instead kept to low-profile outfits consisting mostly of clothes from cheap and ordinary brands. Cheyenne suddenly thought of the fact that Lucas had contributed greatly to their family and often spent a lot of money on clothes, shoes, bags, and essories for her and Amelia. But when she thought about it carefully, she realized that she had never bought anything for Lucas. The thought made Cheyenne feel a strong urge to buy the trench coat for Lucas. Lucas had good proportions and stature, with a height of about 1.86 meters. He was in no way inferior to professional models, so Cheyenne felt that Lucas would definitely look stunning in the trench coat! ¡°Lucas, let¡¯s go inside and take a look!¡± Cheyenne pulled Lucas toward the Ermenegildo Zegna store. The two of them were walking toward the disy window when they suddenly heard someone talking about them with a tone of surprise. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Cheyenne Carter, the most beautiful girl of Orange County back in the day?¡± The two stopped and looked around in search of the source of the voice. They saw a young woman dressed in luxurious designer clothing and holding a Givenchymbskin clutch, standing about a few meters away from them. She seemed to be about 26 or 27 years old and had auburn, wavy locks, as well as a face full of exquisite makeup. The man beside her was in his thirties and had slick, neatlybed hair. He was d in a casual Armani suit with a Patek Philippe watch on his wrist, seeming wealthy. The woman who just spoke was holding onto his wrist meekly, and she even deliberately stretched out her hand to show off the huge diamond ring on her finger. From the looks of it, she should be an old acquaintance of Cheyenne. But when Cheyenne saw her, there was no change in her emotion. On the contrary, she was a little cold and aloof as she merely answered indifferently, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Rachelle George. It¡¯s been a long time.¡± She didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with Rachelle at all, but since she ran into her here, it was inevitable that she had to greet her. The moment the man beside Rachelle saw Cheyenne, his eyes gleamed with amazement. After all, Cheyenne was just too gorgeous. Although Rachelle was pretty too, she paled greatly inparison to Cheyenne, who made her seem tacky and unbearable to sight. Staring at Cheyenne¡¯s small, delicate, and pretty face that hadn¡¯t changed at all from years ago, Rachelle couldn¡¯t help being a little envious. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, you used to be the school belle back in the day, and you went on to be hailed as the most beautiful girl in Orange County. You enjoyed so much glory! But I heard that you ended up marrying a lowly chauffeur, right? Is it because of the scandal that spread like wildfire throughout the county back then? From the way I see it, there was actually no need for you to marry him. In this day and age, it¡¯s not necessary to marry a man just because you slept with him! ¡°I heard that that manes from a poor family and has nothing to his name. What were you after when you married him? Ah, it¡¯s such a pity that you lost contact with the rest of our ssmates a long time ago. I couldn¡¯t find you no matter how hard I tried! Quick, tell me. How are you and your husband now? Have you gotten a divorce yet?¡± Rachelle sounded like she was feeling unjust for Cheyenne, but she was actually rubbing salt into Cheyenne¡¯s wounds and trying to mock her. She even deliberately increased the volume of her voice when she said the words ¡®scandal¡¯ and ¡®slept with him¡¯. Her voice was rather loud to begin with, and it immediately drew the attention of the many people around them, who cast gazes of curiosity, malice, and disdain at Cheyenne. Chapter 347: Snatching for the Sake of It

Chapter 347: Snatching for the Sake of It

Cheyenne¡¯s expression was sullen, and she didn¡¯t want to speak to this woman who harbored great animosity against her. Instead, she said coldly, ¡°I have something to do now. Let¡¯s talk some other time!¡± With that, she took Lucas¡¯s hand and tried to walk away from Rachelle. But Rachelle eximed loudly as if she had just noticed that Cheyenne was holding Lucas¡¯s hand. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, who is this man? He¡¯s dressed in such shoddy clothes. Surely he¡¯s not your husband, right? Is he...¡± She deliberately chose not to finish her sentence, but this left a lot more to the imagination. All of a sudden, several people looked at Lucas, and the gossipy ones even began specting and making guesses about Cheyenne¡¯s rtionship with Lucas. They naturally imagined countless erotic scenes. Cheyenne was getting a little furious, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on Lucas¡¯s hand while saying with great determination, ¡°He¡¯s my husband!¡± ¡°Huh? So he¡¯s really that lowly chauffeur embroiled in that hotel scandal with you six years ago... Is that so?¡± Rachelle pretended to cover her mouth in surprise and said loudly, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯ve already been married for several years? Why does he still wear such shabby clothes? I almost thought that he was a servant or chauffeur of your family! ¡°Ah, I almost forgot again. I heard that the Carters have declined and almost went bankrupt a while ago. I reckon you can no longer afford to hire a chauffeur or servants, huh?! In that case, it seems the two of you are quitepatible with each other!¡± Rachelle covered her mouth while giggling. The smile she was constantly wearing on her face made it hard to imagine that she would make such derogative and sarcastic remarks. After saying all of this, Rachelle tried to rub it in further, as if she hadn¡¯t upset Cheyenne enough. She leaned against the man whose arm she was holding and acted all chummy and loving with him. She said untingly, ¡°Oh, I almost forgot to introduce you. This is my fianc¨¦, Daniel Devine. Despite being so young, he¡¯s already be a business manager of the Feather Corporation, and he draws a six-figure annual sry!¡± Rachelle looked extremely proud and conceited, as if she had found an impressive trophy husband. Moreover, the man named Daniel Devine raised his chin with a great sense of superiority. ¡°Heh.¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t help chuckling when he saw this. He just chuckled a little because her words amused him. But in Daniel¡¯s opinion, Lucas was mocking him. Daniel lost his temper and pointed at Lucas. ¡°Punk, what are youughing at?¡± Lucas didn¡¯t want to bother with the two of them at first because they were just dimwits in his opinion. But even the most good-tempered person wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate someone pointing a finger and insulting them in the face. Moreover, Lucas wasn¡¯t a good-tempered person to begin with. Seeing tension begin to build up between the two, Cheyenne pinched Lucas¡¯s hand gently and tried to make peace because she didn¡¯t want the matter to blow up further, as that would reflect badly on all of them. ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s not bother with such people. Don¡¯t let them affect your mood.¡± Lucas always respected Cheyenne¡¯s opinion. So after hearing what she said and recalling that she had openly dered that he was her husband when she stood up for him just now, he immediately felt that nothing could affect his pleasant mood. This was the first time that Cheyenne had openly said that he was her husband and the first time they were on a proper date with each other. So Lucas didn¡¯t want such awful things to ruin both his and Cheyenne¡¯s mood. After ncing at Rachelle and her fianc¨¦ coldly, Lucas said to Cheyenne, ¡°Let¡¯s go and look at some clothes.¡± Then he held onto Cheyenne¡¯s hand and walked toward the disy window they were looking at just now. As soon as the two of them reached the window, a sales assistant in a ck uniform with graceful mannerisms walked toward them and greeted them politely. ¡°Wee to Ermenegildo Zegna. Is there anything you¡¯ve set your sights on? You may try some of them on.¡± Cheyenne pointed at the dark gray trench coat she had just seen from the disy window outside. ¡°I¡¯d like to have my husband try on this coat. Please take it down for me.¡± Perhaps because she had already called Lucas her husband just now, she could do it with great ease this time. Lucas couldn¡¯t help taking a few more nces at her with a tender gaze. But after hearing Cheyenne¡¯s request, the sales assistant seemed to be put in a spot. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, but this is an haute couture piece, and it¡¯s the one and only piece created. We can¡¯t allow anyone to try it on.¡± ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Cheyenne looked at the trench coat a few more times regretfully. She had taken a liking to the trench coat at first nce when she saw it through the disy window from outside the store. She felt that it would definitely suit Lucas well and make him look dashing. Yet she was now told that he couldn¡¯t try it... ¡°In that case, please wrap it up. I¡¯m taking it.¡± After some thought, Cheyenne decided to buy the trench coat without getting Lucas to try it on simply because she felt that Lucas would look especially good in it. Besides, he had a standard figure that would fit most clothes, so she wasn¡¯t afraid that the coat would be ill-fitting. Cheyenne took out her credit card from her purse and handed it to the sales assistant decisively. ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll wrap it up for you right away!¡± The sales assistant was so excited that her voice became a little high-pitched. Although the trench coat indeed had a particrly beautiful design, its price was staggeringly exorbitant, so many people were deterred by its price tag. Now that it had finally been sold, she could get a considerable salesmission. Just when the sales assistant tiptoed to take the beautiful trench coat off the stic mannequin, someone interjected, ¡°Wait a minute! We¡¯ll take this trench coat!¡± Rachelle and Daniel suddenly squeezed their way through to stand in front of Lucas and Cheyenne andmanded the sales assistant. The sales assistant immediately seemed conflicted. She dawdled and said hesitantly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is an haute couture piece and the one and only one that has ever been created. It has already been bought by this mister anddy over here. Would you like to see other designs?¡± Rachelle immediately rolled her eyes and said with displeasure, ¡°Who bought it? They haven¡¯t paid for it, have they?¡± Daniel chimed in, ¡°Exactly. They haven¡¯t paid for it yet, so they haven¡¯t bought it!¡± Cheyenne was so furious that she turned pale. Rachelle George is clearly vying with me on purpose! She had already taken a fancy to this trench coat when she was looking at it earlier and had already decided to buy it. Yet Rachelle popped up out of nowhere and suddenly intervened by iming that she wanted it too. She was obviously vying with Cheyenne for it. Besides, the trench coat was long and would look better on tall men taller than 1.8 meters like Lucas. But Daniel seemed to be only slightly taller than 1.7 meters. The trench coat would be touching the ground and look awful on him. Rachelle was clearly vying with Cheyenne for the sake of it and obviously trying to anger her! Chapter 348: Discussion and Criticism

Chapter 348: Discussion and Criticism

Back in college, Rachelle oftenpeted with Cheyenne and vied with her in every way possible. Thus, Cheyenne had never liked Rachelle, but she didn¡¯t expect Rachelle still to be as hostile to her, even though more than six years had passed since they had graduated. Even though Cheyenne was nice and good-tempered, she couldn¡¯t stand Rachelle¡¯s behavior anymore. ¡°Rachelle George, don¡¯t go too far!¡± Cheyenne hollered furiously. Rachelle raised her curved and thin eyebrows and said with a smug and provocative expression, ¡°Who¡¯s going too far? Do you own this store? We¡¯re all customers here to buy something. Who are you to say that this coat belongs to you? Besides, my fianc¨¦ and I came to this store before you did, and we¡¯ve had our eyes on this trench coat for a long time. We wanted it first!¡± She sounded extremely self-righteous when she said this. Cheyenne ignored her and turned to ask the sales assistant, ¡°Is it true they saw the trench coat and wanted to buy it before we did?¡± With a polite smile on her face, the sales assistant shook her head and said to Rachelle, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss. You didn¡¯t seem to say you wanted to buy this trench coat earlier, so...¡± Rachelle harrumphed coldly. ¡°I was here with my fianc¨¦ to shop for some clothes, and another assistant helped us, so of course you aren¡¯t aware that we liked it first! We did indeed decide to buy it first!¡± The sales assistant blinked. In fact, she had been standing near Rachelle and Daniel the entire time. The two of them had never asked about the trench coat. But as a sales assistant, she didn¡¯t want the customers to get into a heated argument in the store, so she continued to put on a professional and presentable smile before asking, ¡°So, which sales assistant did you inform about your interest to purchase this trench coat? If she has promised to sell it to you first, I won¡¯t have the right to sell it to someone else.¡± Rachelle rolled her eyes. ¡°There are so many sales assistants here. How can I remember which one of you it was? Besides, since I¡¯ve said that I¡¯ve already decided to buy it, it means that the sale was confirmed. Why are you asking so many questions? What does it have to do with you?¡± After getting a harsh scolding for no reason, the sales assistant could no longer force herself to smile. Her professional smile faded a little, but she nevertheless tried to stay as polite as possible. ¡°Miss, if you haven¡¯t confirmed your interest to purchase this trench coat, the other customers in the store have the right to buy it. This is the rule of our store. I hope to seek your understanding.¡± ¡°You!¡± Rachelle¡¯s face turned sullen after the sales assistant contradicted her. But she naturally wouldn¡¯t argue with the sales assistant of a designer store like Ermenegildo Zegna because that would be too degrading. Moreover, Rachelle didn¡¯t forget that her enemy was not the sales assistant but Cheyenne, who was standing next to her. So she soon targeted Cheyenne again. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, are you sure you really want to vie with me for this trench coat? Ermenegildo Zegna isn¡¯t a cheap brand that you can find in a random mall. It¡¯s a top international luxury brand specializing in designer clothing for men. Each piece of clothing here costs at least a few thousand dors. Do you think you can afford it? ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m looking down on you, but the Carters are on the verge of bankruptcy. How can you still afford to buy clothes from this brand? Look. My fianc¨¦ is different. He¡¯s a business manager of the Feather Corporation and draws a six-figure annual sry. He can easily afford luxury goods and designer wear. But what about you? You just have a good-for-nothing husband who freeloads off of you and even got married to you because of a disgraceful reason. The entire county knows about your scandal! ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d be too embarrassed to even go out! Hmph, how dare youe here andpete with me for this trench coat? You¡¯re not fit to do that.¡± Rachelle hadpletely dropped her pretense and was extremely harsh with her words. Moreover, when she realized that many people around them were looking this way, she deliberately said in an even louder voice, ¡°Speaking of which, most people in Orange County should know who this woman is, right?¡± She pointed her finger at Cheyenne and said conceitedly, ¡°She¡¯s the most famous and beautiful Cheyenne Carter, who was embroiled in a scandal with her chauffeur at a young age six years ago. There were even lots of obscene photos and videos of the two of them circted everywhere. Her reputation was ruined, and she disgraced her family terribly! ¡°The man standing next to her is that very chauffeur who slept with her back then and became her live-in husband. He sponges off her, and now, his wife has to pay for the trench coat because he can¡¯t even afford his own clothes. Come on, everyone. Take a look at this distasteful couple. Aren¡¯t they a match made in heaven?¡± After hearing what Rachelle said, everyone started whispering among themselves. ¡°Wow, so this is the woman known as the most beautiful girl in the county back then! I used to hear about her all the time, but this is the first time I¡¯ve seen her in person. She¡¯s really quite pretty!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of being pretty? Didn¡¯t you hear what the otherdy said? She¡¯s a promiscuous woman who slept with her chauffeur in her early twenties. She¡¯s obviously not a decent woman.¡± ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t say that. She was already an adult at the time. What¡¯s the big deal with sleeping with her lover? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything to be ashamed of.¡± ¡°In fact, it¡¯s quite understandable. She was so pretty back then, but she ended up in a scandal with her chauffeur, who¡¯s way inferior and unworthy of her at all. Of course, it would spark an outrage!¡± ¡°Who are those people to be dissatisfied? Even if Cheyenne Carter didn¡¯t marry her chauffeur, they wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance! Besides, I think her husband is quite handsome and tall. He¡¯s not as bad as they make him out to be!¡± ... It was past 8 p.m., which happened to be the time when many would go out for a stroll on the streets after dinner, so there were many people in the store. Due to the fuss that Rachelle was kicking up, almost everyone in the store was staring at Lucas and Cheyenne while making all sorts of remarks about them. Sensing their gazes and contempt, Cheyenne felt as if she had gone back to the darkest time of her life six years ago. She got the chills and wished that she could vanish right on the spot. ¡°Let... let¡¯s go!¡± she suddenly said to Lucas while lowering her head a little. Lucas gave Cheyenne¡¯s hand a little squeeze and held it even more tightly. After hearing the disdainful remarksing from around them, Lucas was also extremely upset because he could imagine that Cheyenne must have heard those hurtfulments all the time in the past six years. Deep down, he felt even more guilty and sympathetic toward Cheyenne. Lucas put his arm around Cheyenne¡¯s shoulder and pulled her into his embrace. He said seriously, ¡°From now on, I will never let anyone bully you again!¡± Chapter 349: Insufficient Limit

Chapter 349: Insufficient Limit

The warmth of Lucas¡¯s palm spread along Cheyenne¡¯s shoulder and to her heart, dispelling the emotional trauma that had been troubling her for years. Cheyenne raised her head and looked into Lucas¡¯s eyes to see that it was full of a gentle gaze, making her feel extremely touched. ¡°Hubby...¡± When Lucas heard Cheyenne address him with such an endearing term, his heart was full of sweetness and joy. Unfortunately, now was not the time for them to express their love to each other because he had to deal with this abominable couple in front of them, who was trying to create trouble for them. Lucas looked away from Cheyenne, and by the time his gazended on Rachelle, it had be ice cold. The dauntingly cold gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes startled Rachelle, and she couldn¡¯t help feeling intimidated as she subconsciously cowered behind Daniel. But after thinking about it, she realized that she had already beat Cheyenne in the argument just now. Not only had she exposed Cheyenne¡¯s scandal in public to embarrass her, but she had also insulted her and vied with her for the trench coat! All in all, she had already obtained a huge victory, and there was no need for her to stay here and argue with these two losers any longer. ¡°Honey, let¡¯s ignore them and leave after we buy the trench coat!¡± Rachelle said. With a strange, triumphant smile on his face, Daniel pretended to be generous and took out a credit card from his wallet. He eximed loudly, ¡°I¡¯m buying this trench coat. Wrap it up for me now!¡± With an indignant look on her face, Cheyenne was about to say something, but Lucas squeezed her handfortingly to calm her down. The trench coat had been hanging on the mannequin, but Lucas had sharp eyesight and was tall enough to see the price tag on it. He already knew that the trench coat cost $90,000. He was certain that Daniel definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it. Although Rachelle had mentioned earlier that her fianc¨¦, Daniel, had a six-figure annual ie, she was naturally lying. Even if Daniel was really a business manager of the Feather Corporation, his annual ie should be less than a hundred grand. As for how Lucas knew about the annual sry of the business managers of the Feather Corporation, it was naturally because he now owned all the businesses belonging to the Hales. Although Lucas didn¡¯t know whether Daniel really worked at the Feather Corporation or not, he was well informed about the annual sries of the business managers. The $90,000 trench coat was as much as Daniel made in a year, so Lucas was sure that he definitely couldn¡¯t afford it. Even if he had enough money, he wouldn¡¯t spend $90,000 on a trench coat. The smile on Lucas¡¯s face grew wider when he nced at the Armani suit and Patek Phillipe watch that Daniel was wearing. Next to Lucas and Cheyenne, Rachelle was disgruntled by the underwhelming reaction the two had over losing the trench coat. She sneered and mocked them again. ¡°Hmph, I knew long ago that you two can¡¯t afford this trench coat at all. Yet you still put up a pretense in front of me. Seriously!¡± As soon as she said this, the sales assistant walked over with Daniel¡¯s credit card and said with a strange expression on her face, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m sorry, but your card has been declined because of an insufficient limit. Would you like to use another card or try a different payment method?¡± ¡°What? How is that possible?! My credit limit is fifty thousand. How can it be insufficient for a trench coat?¡± Daniel immediately hollered furiously. Rachelle just mocked Lucas and Cheyenne for being too poor to afford the trench coat. But in the blink of an eye, they were put to shame by the sales assistant. With a sullen expression, Rachelle followed suit and questioned, ¡°That¡¯s right. How is it possible for there to be an insufficient limit? Is there something wrong with your payment machine?¡± After the sales assistant heard this, her smile faded. If it wasn¡¯t because of thepany policy stating that all sales assistants had to smile and be polite to the customers, she would have long rolled her eyes at Daniel and Rachelle. Why are you acting like wealthy people and showboating when you can¡¯t even afford the coat?! ¡°Sir, Miss, this haute couture trench coat costs ny thousand dors, and it¡¯s the only piece avable. There will not be any discounts, and your credit card limit is insufficient!¡± After hearing the price of the trench coat, Daniel and Rachelle were both in disbelief, unable to believe their ears at all. ¡°How much? How much money did you say it costs?¡± they both asked in unison. Full of disdain toward them, the sales assistant repeated, ¡°Sir, Miss, this haute couture trench coat costs ny thousand dors!¡± Rachelle and Daniel¡¯s faces stiffened immediately. They both thought that the trench coat would cost merely a few thousand dors. They didn¡¯t expect it to cost $90,000! The surrounding onlookers couldn¡¯t helpughing after seeing the expressions on their faces. ¡°Hah, it seems they can¡¯t afford it.¡± ¡°What a joke. They should look around and see where they are now. Ermenegildo Zegna is a top designer brand for men¡¯s clothing. Isn¡¯t it normal to pay tens of thousands for an haute couture piece?¡± ¡°Exactly. I saw themughing at others just now, and I thought that they were really rich. I didn¡¯t expect them to be too poor to even afford it. This is hrious!¡± ¡°Hahahaha, exactly! That said, I came here because that woman¡¯s voice caught my attention. I bet she didn¡¯t expect that she¡¯d end up bing theughing stock!¡± ... Theughter and mockery around them immediately made Rachelle¡¯s face turn even more gloomy, and she felt especially embarrassed and furious when she heard them say that she had brought it upon herself. ¡°Hmph, who says we can¡¯t afford it? My husband just took out the wrong card!¡± Rachelle retorted loudly while glowering at the people around her. Then she secretly pinched Daniel¡¯s arm and urged him softly, ¡°Honey, hurry up and take out that card of yours that has a bnce of more than two hundred grand!¡± When Daniel heard this, his face darkened. He actually only had this one card, and he only had about $50,000 to spare. But he had once bragged to Rachelle about how wealthy he was and even imed to have a few debit cards that each contained a few hundred grand. Now that Rachelle was asking him to take one out, Daniel was suddenly at a loss for words. Seeing that Rachelle was still urging him to buy the trench coat, Daniel suddenly said with a look of disdain, ¡°Forget it. This trench coat is hideous. It looks just like those cheap clothes sold at budget clothing stores. I wouldn¡¯t want it even as a gift. I can¡¯t believe it costs ny thousand for this garbage. I don¡¯t want it anymore!¡± Chapter 350: All Counterfeits

Chapter 350: All Counterfeits

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Daniel turned around to leave, but Rachelle had wanted to buy the trench coat with the intention of spiting Cheyenne in the first ce. If they left now, it would mean that they admitted defeat in front of Cheyenne. So she would make Daniel buy the trench coat regardless of what it took! ¡°Honey, this is such a nice trench coat, and it really suits you well. It¡¯s simply made for you. Just buy it!¡± ? In Rachelle¡¯s opinion, the trench coat might be a little too long for Daniel. But no matter what, she wanted to one-up Cheyenne and outdo her. Although $90,000 wasn¡¯t a small sum of money, it wasn¡¯t like Daniel couldn¡¯t afford it, or so she thought. She felt that he had to buy it even if it was purely for the sake of her pride. At this moment, Daniel¡¯s face was utterly gloomy. This foolish woman can¡¯t even catch a hint! If I could afford a ny-grand trench coat, I would have long gotten together with a younger and prettier woman. Why would I bother coaxing this dimwit? ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s go to Valentino next door! Only cheap idiots like them would shop at a cheap and low-ss store like Zegna!¡± In order to get himself out of this awkward situation and leave with Rachelle, Daniel criticized the brand terribly. But his words made all the people in the store, be it the sales assistants or the customers, glower at him. He hadn¡¯t only undermined the brand by doing so, but he had also insulted all the customers shopping in the store. ¡°Who are you calling a cheap idiot?¡± A tall and muscr man walked over to block Daniel and red at him hostilely. ¡°What a psycho. We¡¯re just minding our business while shopping here. Who offended you? Seems like you¡¯re the cheap and lowly one!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to say this long ago. This couple doesn¡¯t look like decent people at all. Now that they can¡¯t afford to buy the coat, they decided to undermine and criticize the brand. They even took it out on us! They must be lunatics.¡± ... Many people red at Daniel with either anger or contempt in their eyes. Only then did Daniele back to his senses and realize that he had identally offended everyone here by saying that. So he frantically said, ¡°Sorry! I¡¯m sorry, everyone. I didn¡¯t mean to insult you. I was referring to this punk. He¡¯s the cheap idiot!¡± He pointed his finger directly at Lucas. Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. But before he could say anything, a tall uniformed young man walked toward them with a cold and austere expression. He was wearing a ¡®store manager¡¯ namete on his chest, evidently the store manager of this Zegna store. ¡°Sir, did you just say that all the clothes sold at Zegna are low ss?¡± the store manager questioned sternly. Seeing that the store manager hade over too, Daniel immediately felt a little scared. But he soon thought of the business mantra ¡®the customer is king¡¯ and raised his chin arrogantly. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s exactly what I said. So what?¡± The store manager wasn¡¯t a pushover, especially when the brand he worked for was insulted. He had toe forward and stand up for the brand. ¡°Sir, you called our brand low ss, but you can¡¯t even afford a trench coat that costs ny thousand dors. Who are you to make such remarks about our clothing?¡± ¡°You!¡± Daniel was instantly rendered speechless, but he soon pointed at the clothes he was wearing and barked out of anger and embarrassment, ¡°Who said that I can¡¯t afford to pay for a ny-grand trench coat? Look at this suit I¡¯m wearing. It¡¯s from Armani¡¯s high-end collection, Armani Prive, and costs a few hundred grand! ¡°And this Patek Philippe watch I¡¯m wearing also costs a few hundred grand. Since I can afford these, I¡¯m obviously a millionaire. How can I possibly be unable to afford that trench coat?¡± As Daniel spoke, he even deliberately showed off the logos of his clothes and watch to everyone. Only then did the onlookers notice that Daniel was dressed in high-end luxury brands from head to toe. Everyone knew that Patek Philippe watches had exorbitant prices. Moreover, the Armani Prive suit was haute couture, so it was naturally expensive. After Daniel ¡®unted his wealth¡¯, the people around them were dumbfounded, especially the brooding store manager. Suddenly, Lucasughed and gibed, ¡°Many people may not wear high-end designer wear, but they at least wouldn¡¯t wear knockoffs, unlike someone over here all decked out in counterfeit luxury clothing!¡± It was obvious what Lucas meant by making this remark. Everyone wondered if it meant that all the items that Daniel just showed off were knockoffs. Many people couldn¡¯t help looking at Daniel again. Rachelle immediatelyshed out at him. ¡°You¡¯re just a penniless man who can¡¯t even afford designer wear and sponges off your wife. How can you tell the difference between genuine goods and counterfeits? Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± Lucas nced at her and smiled without responding. Instead, he pointed at the Armani logo on the cuff of Daniel¡¯s suit. ¡°I reckon all of us here knows that the head of the eagle in Armani¡¯s logo is facing right. But the eagle head in the logo on your suit is facing left, which is obviously wrong. ¡°Also, there¡¯s a model number engraved on the back of the dial in the form of a ring. But almost all genuine Patek Philippe watches, except for a very few limited-edition models, don¡¯t have any model numbers or logos engraved on the back of the dial! ¡°So, why don¡¯t you tell us a little bit about what kind of high-end luxury goods your clothes and watch are?¡± Lucas¡¯s identification was spot-on. Ordinary people might not be able to distinguish between authentic luxury goods and replicas, but the vast majority of the customers now standing in the Ermenegildo Zegna store were experienced buyers of luxury goods. So as soon as Lucas pointed it out, they knew that Lucas was stating facts. All of a sudden, everyone shifted their gazes onto the cuffs of Daniel¡¯s suit and his ¡®Patek Philippe¡¯ watch to scrutinize the details that Lucas mentioned. After all, their eyesight wasn¡¯t as good as Lucas¡¯, and when Daniel was showing off just now, they didn¡¯t manage to take a close look in time. Daniel¡¯s face turned pale, and he clenched his jaw with all his might while subconsciously hiding the cuff of his suit and his watch. He was simply revealing what he intended to hide. He clearly had a guilty conscience! Everyone could tell that these so-called expensive ¡®luxury goods¡¯ that Daniel was wearing were definitely counterfeit! ¡°Oh my god, he¡¯s dressed in knockoffs from head to toe, and yet he has the cheek to im that his outfit is worth a few hundred thousand! How shameless!¡± ¡°Exactly. Fancy him iming that his suit and watch are worth a few hundred grand each. He was just blowing his trumpet!¡± ¡°Hahaha, such an embarrassment. It¡¯s hrious!¡± ... Everyone beganughing and mocking Daniel. Well, he had himself to me for showing off his apparel, only to be exposed for wearing counterfeits. All of a sudden, Daniel¡¯s face turned extremely sullen. He had never been so embarrassed before, and he wished he could dig a hole and jump right into it! Chapter 351: A Slap

Chapter 351: A p

Rachelle, who had just been bragging about her fianc¨¦ proudly, was dumbfounded at this point. Indeed, she wasn¡¯t aware of Daniel¡¯s exact financial situation. But he would show off to her all the time by boasting about clinching major business deals and obtainingrgemissions. He would also brag to her about casually spending tens of thousands of dors in a single day, and from time to time, he would even give her luxury goods from big designer brands. Thus, Rachelle had always thought that she had found herself a wealthy fianc¨¦ and was really proud of herself for it. But now that Daniel was exposed for wearing counterfeit luxury goods in front of everyone, Rachelle obviously couldn¡¯t ept it. But while Rachelle was still dumbfounded and unable toe to terms with reality, the gazes of the crowd were cast on her again. ¡°Quick, look at the Givenchy sheepskin purse she¡¯s holding. It¡¯s counterfeit too! Even the brand on the logo is spelled wrong!¡± ¡°Look at her shoes. They¡¯re not genuine Gi either. They¡¯re knockoffs!¡± ¡°Therge diamond ring on her finger and the pearl ne around her neck aren¡¯t genuine either!¡± ¡°Hahahaha, oh my gosh. They seem like rich people all decked out in designer clothing and essories, but it turns out they¡¯re all knockoffs. This is hrious!¡± ... Everyone continuously spotted more and more counterfeit goods on Rachelle as they scrutinized her, feeling as if they had discovered something incredible. Furthermore, the counterfeits they were wearing were all low-grade knockoffs, on which the logos were incorrect and brand names misspelled. With such clear and obvious ws, they could all tell that the items were all fakes even without professional authentication by experts. Rachelle and Daniel had been reduced to theughing stock of everyone present! Rachelle was embarrassed and furious. Some of the items she was wearing were indeed replicas she had bought to pretend like she was rich. But she didn¡¯t expect that even the gifts from Daniel, which she had thought were high-end luxury goods, were counterfeit products too! Although she was boiling with fury, she knew that it wasn¡¯t the right time to confront Daniel and thrash things out with him now. So she suppressed her anger and tried to draw everyone¡¯s attention to Cheyenne, who was standing by the side quietly. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, you bitch, you must be feeling pretty smug now, huh!?! Let me tell you, even if I¡¯m not wearing authentic designer goods now, I¡¯m still a thousand times better than a promiscuous woman like you! ¡°You just use your pretty face to seduce men, and you won¡¯t even spare a lowly chauffeur of your family. You slept with him and got embroiled in a scandal that made you the talk of the town back then. You¡¯re just a shameless, degenerate lowlife! ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot. Didn¡¯t you also set up apany when you were in college? At the time, you were evenuded as a ¡®beautiful CEO¡¯. Oh, please! Everyone knows that your father isn¡¯t blood-rted to the Carters, so that makes you a bastard that even your grandfather dislikes. So, where did you get the money to set up yourpany? Who knows how many men you¡¯ve slept with for money? Hmph, I find it too irksome to talk to someone as filthy as you!¡± Rachelle red at Cheyenne resentfully as she agitatedly ndered her and hurled countless insults at her. It was obvious that she had a strong hatred for Cheyenne. She was acting as if Cheyenne had killed her family! Cheyenne was dumbfounded! She never thought that someone could be so vicious, especially since she thought she hadn¡¯t offended Rachelle in any way. She couldn¡¯t figure out why Rachelle felt so much animosity toward her! Rachelle is a woman herself. How could she bring herself to say such uncouth things and nder me so maliciously? Cheyenne¡¯s face was pale, and she was so livid that she began trembling. Smack! Suddenly, an extremely loud and crisp p interrupted Rachelle¡¯s incessant insults and nders. The hard impact of the p made Rachelle cock her head toward the side uncontrobly before losing her bnce and falling to the ground. One side of her face soon became red. ¡°If you dare to insult her again, I¡¯ll rip your lips off!¡± Lucas¡¯s gaze was like a sharp dagger as he looked down at Rachelle coldly. The look in his eyes was extremely terrifying, and he looked as if he was trying to stab her with them. At this moment, Lucas was exuding a terrifying, murderous aura that made everyone else shudder. The woman on the ground had repeatedly humiliated and mocked Cheyenne, which was already beyond the bottom line of Lucas¡¯s tolerance. Cheyenne and Amelia were the people whom Lucas cared about the most. He would never let anyone bully them again! The reason he had been tolerating it was because he didn¡¯t want a wench like Rachelle to disrupt his date with Cheyenne. After all, they rarely had the chance to spend some time alone with each other. Yet Rachelle went overboard and took things too far by insulting and smearing Cheyenne. Lucas wouldn¡¯t be a man if he could tolerate letting his wife get bullied in such a manner! Cheyenne stared at Lucas in shock, but she gradually felt touched and blissful. Lucas had defended her and protected her umpteenth times. Although Lucas had pped Rachelle, Cheyenne somehow felt extremely at ease, and her heart was full of an indescribable warm and fuzzy feeling. ¡°You... you scoundrel, how dare you hit me?¡± Rachelle, sitting on the ground, hollered furiously with one hand on her face. In her opinion, Cheyenne¡¯s husband was just a penniless good-for-nothing who freeloaded off her. Yet she was pped by him! Watching Cheyenne and Lucas hold each other¡¯s gazes lovingly, while Daniel was just standing at the side cowardly even after seeing that she had gotten pped by Lucas, Rachelle was even more enraged and full of envy! She was just about to curse her heart out, but Lucas red at her ruthlessly and coldly again, causing her to shut up instantly. This man¡¯s gaze is so terrifying! Everyone around them fell silent for a moment as Lucas handed his credit card to the dumbstruck sales assistant standing next to him. He said indifferently, ¡°Since they can¡¯t afford this trench coat, we¡¯ll take it. There¡¯s no issue with that, right?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, okay!¡± The stunned sales assistant recovered from the trance that she had slipped into for a long time. She hurriedly said, ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll process the payment and wrap the trench coat up for you!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s lips moved slightly, but she didn¡¯t end up saying anything. She had initially nned to buy the trench coat as a gift for Lucas, but after hearing that it cost $90,000, Cheyenne knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it. She had basically handed all her savings from her sry to Karen previously, and she had only be the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation a short while ago. So she didn¡¯t have much cash in hand and could only let Lucas pay for it. But Cheyenne secretly decided that she had to get Lucas a gift no matter what. The store manager, who was standing behind them, eximed in shock when he saw the card Lucas handed the sales assistant. ¡°ck Diamond Card?!¡± Chapter 352: Threat and Coercion

Chapter 352: Threat and Coercion

As the manager of a store of Zegna, a leading international brand in luxury menswear, he had naturally gone through professional training in various aspects. In particr, he had specifically learned to identify emblems, logos, and symbols associated with top tycoons. Although the store manager had never seen a legendary ck Diamond Card, which was said to be internationally recognized and also a symbol of supreme status, he had seen photos of them. So he could immediately recognize it when Lucas took it out. At the same time, the store manager was astounded because he was aware of the rarity of a ck Diamond Card¡ªthere were less than 200 cards ever issued and distributed all over the world. Yet the young man in front of him managed to possess one. Clearly, his status was far beyond his imagination! He wasn¡¯t the good-for-nothing and freeloader that Rachelle used him of being! The store manager didn¡¯t dare to make any more guesses, for fear that he might anger Lucas, this distinguished customer. Immediately afterward, he hurriedly took out from his pocket a membership card made of pure gold, bent forward, and handed it to Lucas with both hands respectfully. ¡°Dear honored guest, wee to Zegna menswear. This is our gold membership card, which represents the highest membership level of our brand. With it, you will be entitled to a twenty percent discount in any Zegna store worldwide. Please ept it!¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t help ncing at the store manager a few more times. He was smart enough not to reveal Lucas¡¯s identity and instead handed him a membership card with the utmost respect, which would draw the rtionship between the two of them a little closer. The store manager could really be considered a smart person. ¡°In that case, thank you.¡± Lucas took the gold membership card and thanked him politely. ¡°Hah, don¡¯t be fooled by him. I refuse to believe that he can afford to pay for this trench coat. He better not think he can fool us with a random card!¡± Daniel, standing at the side, suddenly said to the store manager. Given the level of his status, Daniel naturally couldn¡¯t recognize the ck Diamond Card. He merely thought that the store manager was deliberately mocking him and out to embarrass him by giving Lucas the gold membership card under the mistaken belief that Lucas could afford the trench coat! This stupid store manager should really think about it carefully. Lucas Gray is dressed so shabbily, so how can he afford to buy that ny-thousand-dor trench coat? After being insulted and mocked just now, Daniel decided to go all out. Since he had already be aughing stock and was thoroughly embarrassed, he wanted to drag someone down with him! Lucas was naturally the perfect target! ¡°Hah, punk, if the sales assistant informs youter that your card limit is insufficient too, you¡¯d better not say that you¡¯ve lost your other card or left it at home! I don¡¯t want to hear excuses like the coat doesn¡¯t fit or you don¡¯t like it. Of course, you might try to flee by iming that you need to use the restroom! Hmph, let me tell you, you can¡¯t hide these tricks from me!¡± Daniel said smugly. Lucas merely nced at him indifferently and gibed, ¡°Oh, no wonder you were so natural and skillful with pulling those tricks earlier. It seems that you¡¯ve already tried all of them!¡± ¡°You!¡± Daniel¡¯s face instantly turned red, and sounds of unrestrainedughter came from the people around him. Well, Daniel only had himself to me for using those tricks before. ¡°Punk, let¡¯s see if you can continueughing and being so stubbornter!¡± Daniel cursed furiously. At this moment, the sales assistant who served Lucas had already returned from the cashier counter. With an extremely warm smile, she handed a shopping bag containing the trench coat, which had been wrapped up nicely, to Lucas with both hands. After Lucas took it, she handed the ck Diamond Card and gold Zegna membership card to Lucas with both hands. ¡°Sir, congrattions on your purchase of this haute couture trench coat. The original price was ny thousand dors. After the twenty percent discount you¡¯re entitled to with the gold membership card, the price you paid is seventy-two thousand dors! This trench coat suits you very well. Your wife has great taste in clothes!¡± Lucas turned to face Cheyenne. They both smiled while exchanging nces, both feeling the affection they had for each other. In a drastically different mood from them, Daniel immediately seemed to be in great disbelief after hearing what the sales assistant said. ¡°Impossible! This guy is a freeloader through and through! How can he possibly afford to buy such an expensive trench coat?! I refuse to believe it!¡± Daniel hollered furiously and suddenly nced at the clearly displeased store manager. He immediately came to a sudden realization. ¡°Ah, I get it now. You¡¯re disgruntled because I said that Zegna is a low-ss brand, so you deliberately colluded with this bastard to stage this act in front of everyone just so you can put me to shame, didn¡¯t you? Speak up. Are you deliberately making this scoundrel look good to get back at me?¡± Daniel¡¯s imagination was really rich, and he was too self-righteous. In fact, he even seemed delusional and paranoid for thinking that everyone wanted to harm him. If he and Rachelle hadn¡¯t taken the initiative to make Cheyenne and Lucas look bad time and time again, thetter wouldn¡¯t have bothered with them. If it wasn¡¯t because he couldn¡¯t afford to pay for the trench coat but was afraid of embarrassing himself, he wouldn¡¯t have called Zegna a low-ss brand and offended the store manager. Daniel and Rachelle had brought all of this upon themselves, but Daniel chose not to reflect on himself and simply felt that others were deliberately ying tricks to harm him. The store manager had seen plenty of people like Daniel. He frowned and said hostilely, ¡°Sir, I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re intentionally causing amotion in our store, and we do not wee nuisances like you. Please leave immediately!¡± After being insulted and put to shame by the relentless store manager, Daniel flew into a rage and bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m a business manager of the Feather Corporation, which owns this entire street! You¡¯re just a mere store manager. How dare you chase me out? Once I leave this ce, I¡¯ll make sure to get this Zegna store kicked out of this street immediately! Do you believe I will do what I say?¡± Daniel tried to pressure the store manager with the Feather Corporation, and the store manager immediately looked even more hostile. Everyone knew that the Feather Corporation was the business of the Hales, one of the four greatest families in Orange County. If they offended a senior-level employee of the Feather Corporation, this Zegna store might really be chased out of the street... Although he was the store manager in name, he was actually just a senior-level sried employee responsible for only one of the countless Zegna branches located all over the world. In fact, even if this store was made to relocate elsewhere, it wouldn¡¯t affect the business much. But the money spent on renovations and other expenses would go to waste. More importantly, Zegna was one of the top internationally-renowned luxury menswear brands in the world. If something like that happened, it would severely affect the image of the brand. As a mere store manager, he definitely couldn¡¯t afford to take responsibility for that! ¡°Hah, you want to go against me, huh? Let¡¯s see if you have the ability!¡± Seeing the store manager turning gloomy without saying anything, Daniel couldn¡¯t help bing even more smug and arrogant as he red at Lucas haughtily. He taunted, ¡°Punk, you actually had the audacity toy a hand on my woman just now. If you kneel down obediently and apologize to me for your mistake now, I¡¯ll consider letting you off the hook. Otherwise, I¡¯ll make sure you face consequences that you can¡¯t afford!¡± Chapter 353: A Phone Call

Chapter 353: A Phone Call

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas found Daniel¡¯s arrogance and foolishness absolutely ridiculous, so he smirked derisively. ¡°Hmph, what are youughing at?¡± Daniel was enraged, but he soon thought of something else and raised his head proudly. ¡°Hah, I almost forgot. You¡¯re just a penniless lowlife. I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t know how powerful the Feather Corporation is, do you? Let me tell you, the Feather Corporation belongs to the Hales, one of the four most powerful families in Orange County. You will never climb high enough to reach their level! ? ¡°Now that you¡¯ve offended me, it is tantamount to offending the Feather Corporation. I heard that the Carters are on the verge of bankruptcy. If you don¡¯t kneel down immediately, apologize to me, and beg me for forgiveness, I¡¯ll make a phone call now, and the Carters will be driven out of Orange County! Do you understand?¡± Daniel¡¯s expression was extremely haughty and condescending, as though he was the person with the highest authority in the Hales¡¯ business. He seemed to be saying, ¡®Let those whoply with me thrive and those who resist me perish¡¯. Lucas looked at Daniel like he was a fool and simply called someone, as he no longer wanted to waste any time with such a stupid person. The call was soon answered. ¡°Good evening, Mr. Gray! How may I help you?¡± Bruce Hale asked respectfully. Lucas said, ¡°Please check if there¡¯s a business department manager named Daniel Devine in the Feather Corporation.¡± Bruce Hale was stunned for a moment, but he quickly agreed, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll have someone check it out right now. I¡¯ll give you an answer within three minutes!¡± Lucas expressed assent and was about to hang up the phone when Bruce suddenly asked, ¡°Mr. Gray, did Daniel Devine offend you?¡± Bruce was extremely cautious when asking this question. Being an intelligent and experienced businessman already in his seventies, he could hear the slight trace of displeasure in Lucas¡¯s voice just now. Lucas sneered. ¡°It¡¯s just a trivial matter. This person has been throwing his weight around and kicking up a fuss in the Zegna menswear store in the downtown area. He even wanted me to kneel down and apologize to him, threatening that he would get the Hales to destroy the Carters if I didn¡¯tply. Mr. Hale, I didn¡¯t know that there was such a person whomands high authority under your family.¡± ¡°Bastard! Who does he think he is? How dare he go around threatening others in our name?!¡± Bruce flew into a rage immediately, and his mustache even curled up because of how furious he was. He hurriedly promised Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, I guarantee that I¡¯ll fire him, along with anyone rted to him, if we find outter that he indeed works for the Feather Corporation!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lucas acknowledged casually and hung up. Daniel was standing near Lucas, so he naturally heard what he said, especially the words ¡®the Hales¡¯ and ¡®Mr. Hale¡¯, which made it look like he wasmunicating directly with the helmsman of the Hales. But Daniel was not scared at all because he didn¡¯t think that Lucas had the ability tomunicate directly with the helmsman of the Hales. Even he wasn¡¯t fit enough to speak to the sessor of the Hales, let alone Lucas, whom he thought was a good-for-nothing. ¡°Oh, I couldn¡¯t tell that you¡¯re such a good actor! Hah, after hearing me mention that the Feather Corporation belongs to the Hales, you pretended to speak to the helmsman of the Hale family. You¡¯re just trying to scare me, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t even know what the helmsman of the Hale family looks like!¡± Daniel began mocking Lucas while his fianc¨¦e Rachelle, who had gotten up from the ground long ago, stood beside him and chimed in. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, I think your husband might as well be an actor since he¡¯s so good at acting. Well, at least he can make a decent living off his acting chops! He makes it seem so realistic, but I bet the helmsman of the Hale family doesn¡¯t even know who he is!¡± Cheyenne ignored both of them and simply nced at them coldly. She knew that Lucas had always hidden his identity and kept a low profile. He would never put on an act to make himself seem superior. Since he mentioned the Hales, she knew that he must have called Bruce Hale. But Cheyenne was also a bit curious about the rtionship between Lucas and Bruce. The reason being was that Lucas sounded like he was giving Bruce an order instead of requesting his help in checking the information about Daniel. It was as though Lucas was Bruce¡¯s superior. The Zegna store manager turned around and looked at Lucas. He certainly wouldn¡¯t be as stupid as Daniel and think that Lucas was just putting on an act. After all, there were not many people who could possess a ck Diamond Card. At the very least, even the helmsman of the Hales wouldn¡¯t be qualified to own one. This just meant that Lucas¡¯s status was far superior, and the person who picked up just now was Bruce Hale! After figuring this out, the store manager stopped feeling worried and was much more relieved. He believed that as long as the Hales knew about this and were aware that Daniel had offended Lucas, there was no way Daniel could use the power of the Hales to make them move the store away from this street. Daniel began to get annoyed. He was initially expecting to see Lucas kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy. But to his surprise, Lucas merely stood still in a rxed manner without saying anything after making that call. He didn¡¯t take him seriously at all! ¡°Scoundrel, what are you pretending for? I don¡¯t have the time to y such tricks with you! I¡¯ve already said, just kneel down now and apologize to me and my fianc¨¦e. I will then spare you. Otherwise, just get ready to see the Carters get destroyed! ¡°No one in Orange County can get away with offending the Hales!¡± Daniel said arrogantly. All of a sudden, someone at the side said furiously, ¡°Bastard! Who gave you the audacity to throw your weight around here in the name of the Hales? How dare you offend Mr. Gray?¡± This voice sounded somewhat familiar to Daniel. He turned around with a frown, only to meet a pair of angry eyes! Daniel was no stranger to the owner of these eyes. The instant that he saw him, Daniel got the chills and immediately had a look of horror on his face! Daniel¡¯s jaw dropped, and countless drops of sweat immediately seeped out of his forehead. He stammered, ¡°M-Mr. Hale! W-why are you... suddenly here?¡± The person who arrived was none other than Connor, the only sessor of the Hale family! Chapter 354: Give You An Explanation

Chapter 354: Give You An Exnation

As the most outstanding heir of the Hales and the most promising sessor, Bruce had long decided to make Connor the next helmsman. In other words, after Bruce passed away or stepped down from his position as the head of the family, Connor would be the one to take over. Thus, Connor wasn¡¯t someone that could be offended! But just now, Connor seemed to have heard what Daniel said and even hollered at him. Now, there was huge trouble! Daniel was full of panic while thinking about how to make up for it. But Connor pushed him away, walked straight toward Lucas, and said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m very sorry. I waste and couldn¡¯t receive you in time. Please forgive me!¡± Lucas was a little bewildered. He had just given Bruce a call less than two minutes ago, yet Connor was already here in front of him, which was really quick. Seemingly having seen through Lucas¡¯s doubts, Connor hurriedly exined, ¡°I happened to be downtown today for a meeting with a client. I just received Grandpa¡¯s call, so I rushed here immediately!¡± There was still some cold sweat on his forehead. God knows how frightened he was when Bruce called him just now to say that Lucas had encountered some trouble in the downtown area close to where he was! Since the previous incident in the Hale residence, followed by the death of Logan Hale, Connor had been full of scruples and fear toward Lucas. He was afraid that he might identally offend him. Since Connor had arrived, Lucas said, ¡°Have you checked this man¡¯s profile?¡± He was naturally referring to the matter of Daniel iming to be a business manager of the Feather Corporation. Connor nced at Daniel, who was drenched in sweat, and said with disgust, ¡°This person¡¯s father, Elias Devine, is indeed a business manager of the Feather Corporation, but Daniel Devine has nothing to do with the Hales! ¡°This man was just using the Hales¡¯ authority to throw his weight around and act tyrannically. I¡¯ll definitely give you an exnation, Mr. Gray!¡± Thud! After Daniel heard what Connor said, his face paled. He could no longer hold back as his legs went limp, and he fell on his knees immediately. Seeing how subservient Connor was to Lucas, Daniel could tell that something was amiss. Lucas clearly had a higher status than Connor! Lucas Gray wasn¡¯t acting on the phone! Feeling as if he had been struck by an immense blow, Daniel was full of regret and wished that he could turn back time to more than ten minutes ago so that he could strangle himself to death! What have I done?! Lucas didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to Daniel. Instead, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave everything here to you then. I¡¯ll get going now.¡± Connor hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. Don¡¯t worry. I will handle it well! Take care!¡± He bent forward slightly and only straightened his back again when he saw Lucas leave with Cheyenne hand in hand. Connor¡¯s respectful and deferential attitude made everyone else around him astonished. As an esteemed direct descendant and the sessor of the Hales, Connor was a powerful figure in Orange County. The fact that he was so subservient toward Lucas made them inevitably wonder how terrifying Lucas was! Unfortunately, Lucas had already left, and they didn¡¯t dare to ask Connor about Lucas¡¯s identity. As for Rachelle and Daniel, who had imed earlier that Lucas was a penniless good-for-nothing and a freeloading live-in son-inw who had gotten embroiled in a scandal with Cheyenne, they now seemed like fools in the eyes of the people around them. Everyone merely thought of their words as nonsense. Connor nced at the troublemaker Daniel with great disgust and said coldly, ¡°Notify the human resource department of the Feather Corporation to dismiss Elias Devine immediately!¡± Daniel¡¯s body trembled violently, and he hurriedly crawled forward. He then hugged Connor¡¯s calf and pleaded, ¡°Mr. Connor, I know I was wrong! I shouldn¡¯t have used the Hales¡¯ status and assumed my father¡¯s position to spout nonsense! I won¡¯t dare to do it again. Please don¡¯t dismiss my father. He doesn¡¯t know anything about this and has nothing to do with it!¡± Connor kicked Daniel away and said with disgust, ¡°It¡¯s his mistake to have failed to take his son in hand and let you lie to others that you¡¯re in the position that he holds! Also, I¡¯m going to warn you onest time. If you¡¯ve merely offended the Hales, you might have a chance to survive. But you¡¯re digging your own grave by offending Mr. Gray!¡± Connor was not only warning Daniel but also everyone else present. After hearing what Connor said, everyone in the store seemed horrified because he clearly meant that Lucas had a higher status than the Hales! Daniel copsed onto the ground in despair. Connor¡¯s words were undoubtedly the nail in the coffin of the decision to have his father dismissed from thepany. No one could change it! His father was the sole breadwinner of the family, and the high ie he earned as a business manager of the Feather Corporation was the reason the family could live in luxury. Once his father was dismissed by the Hales, it would be impossible for him to find another well-paying job in Orange County. If that happened, their livelihood would be gone, and Daniel would have no means to pay for the mortgage and loan of the house and car that his father had just bought for him! Danielpletely slipped into despair, and he was even more worried that his father might break his legs after finding out that he was the troublemaker! Rachelle¡¯s heart was ricocheting, and she was so nervous that she couldn¡¯t even breathe. Only after Connor left did she rxpletely and sit down beside Daniel dejectedly. ¡°How is it possible... Her husband is clearly a lowly chauffeur and a good-for-nothing who sponges off her...¡± Rachelle muttered to herself like she was in a trance. After hearing her voice, Daniel suddenly flew into a rage and pped Rachelle hard on her face. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, you bitch! If you hadn¡¯t gone to stir trouble and spout nonsense, how could I have ended up offending Mr. Gray? Great. Now you¡¯ve caused my father to lose his job! I¡¯m going to beat you to death, you jinx!¡± Daniel had a menacing expression as he vented all his anger on Rachelle by punching and kicking her mercilessly. He hit Rachelle so hard that she ced her arms over her head and screamed loudly while begging for mercy. Chapter 355: Sweet Time Together

Chapter 355: Sweet Time Together

Usually, most people would intervene when encountering such incidents because a man hitting women was deplorable. But everyone in the store merely stood around them and watched coldly. No one intended to go forward to pull Daniel back and stop him. They had all witnessed everything that happened just now, and they felt that Rachelle and Daniel deserved to be in their current plight. Both of them had problematic personalities and were just dogs biting each other now. If they intervened, they might get themselves into trouble, so no one wanted to bother about their matters. When Daniel finally had enough, he stopped hitting Rachelle and barked viciously, ¡°Bitch, from now on, I have nothing to do with you! Don¡¯t ever show up in front of me again, or I¡¯ll beat you every single time I see you! Now, scram!¡± After kicking Rachelle forcefully again, Daniel stormed out of the Zegna menswear store. Meanwhile, Rachelle continued bawling her eyes out on the ground, her hair all messed up and unkempt. Her face had also be bruised and swollen after being hit by Daniel, and her exquisite makeup had long be smudged, making her look hideous. But no one took pity on her. The security guard of the Zegna store walked over and said coldly, ¡°Ma¡¯am, if you want to continue crying, please do so outside the store, lest you disturb the customers in our store!¡± Rachelle could only get up on her own while cursing Daniel for lying to her and being a heartless and violent jerk. She even wanted to curse Cheyenne and Lucas out of habit, but as soon as she thought about it, she recalled how terrifying Lucas was and the warning Connor had just given. So her words stopped in her throat, and she didn¡¯t dare to say anything. Lucas and Cheyenne weren¡¯t aware of what happened here. They had already put the unpleasant episode behind them and were now strolling and window shopping on the streets, hand-in-hand like a sweet couple in love. It was a new and pleasant experience for them both. The autumn breeze was still a little warm as it gently blew on them, making them feel calm and at peace. But Cheyenne was still a bit surprised by the incident in the store. She knew quite a lot about Lucas because he had told her everything about him some time ago when they were on the rooftop garden of the Intercontinental Hotel. For example, she had learned that he was a descendant of the Huttons, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, as well as the fact that he was the leader of Falcon Regiment. She had also found out that he was the owner of the Stardust Corporation and manypanies such as the Brilliance Corporation. Furthermore, she also found out that he had impressivebat skills, and his subordinates were also just as good at fighting. Lastly, she learned that Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, had always looked at him in a different light and was very respectful toward him. But she didn¡¯t expect that even the sessor of the Hales would be so deferential to him. In that case, among the four most powerful and wealthy families in Orange County, two were already subservient to him. Coupled with the Stardust Corporation and the otherpanies he owned, she reckoned that he could be considered a powerful figure whom no one in Orange County dared to provoke. But all of this was only a part of his identity and background that she knew. She wondered just how much more he was hiding from her. For some reason, Cheyenne suddenly thought of Dominic Carter. In the beginning, Dominic Carter wasmitted to developing the family¡¯s business empire and bing more powerful at the expense of forgoing their kinship and familial ties. All he wanted was for the Carters to be one of the top families in Orange County, but he ended up angering Lucas by repeatedly bullying her. As a result, the Carters were pushed to the verge of bankruptcy on several asions, and they had even declined to be a third-rate or even fourth-rate family. If Dominic hadn¡¯t treated her and Lucas so terribly, the Carters would have probably be a top family a long time ago. They might have even joined the league of the current four most powerful families! Cheyenne began to get a little lost in thought while pondering. Lucas suddenly asked, ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Cheyenne came back to her senses and suddenly felt an urge to be yful as she mimicked a character from a TV show. ¡°I was thinking, how much more is there to you that I don¡¯t know?¡± Cheyenne had always been gentle and elegant, and she would rarely be yful and bubbly like the way she was behaving now. Lucas¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Cheyenne has let her walls down in front of me. That¡¯s why she¡¯s behaving out of the ordinary! In high spirits, he shook her hand a little and grinned. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll tell you. All the businesses that the Hales owned have be mine.¡± Cheyenne red at him and chided, ¡°I¡¯m being serious with you, yet you¡¯re fooling me with such words!¡± Lucas sighed speechlessly. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m being serious too. When have I ever dared to deceive you?¡± Cheyenne smiled without saying anything else. But she was extremely astonished. She was just joking because she knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t a boastful person who would lie and brag to others. Since he said that the Hales¡¯ businesses had be his, she knew he definitely meant it. She figured out why Connor, the next helmsman of the Hales, was so respectful to him. She didn¡¯t know how he managed to do it, but she didn¡¯t want to ask him about it either. All she knew was that her husband was a powerful yet gentle person, and this was enough! Upon seeing an ice cream parlor by the street, Cheyenne suddenly said, ¡°Lucas, I suddenly want to eat ice cream!¡± It was rare for Cheyenne to make such requests, so Lucas naturally obliged. He immediately walked over to join the line. After buying arge double-scoop cone of ice cream, he brought it to Cheyenne. Cheyenne took the ice cream cone gleefully and began nibbling on it with great satisfaction. Lucas stood next to her and gazed at her smilingly. The light from the street light casting on Cheyenne¡¯s face made her smile look incredibly alluring, and he suddenly felt a sweet and peaceful feeling within him. He even wished that time would stop so that this moment couldst forever. Although he was just watching Cheyenne eat ice cream, the feeling in his heart was sweeter than ice cream. ¡°Here, do you want some?¡± Cheyenne suddenly extended her hand to ce the ice cream cone in front of Lucas. She tilted her head slightly and looked at him with glistening eyes. ¡°Sure.¡± Without hesitation, Lucas took a small bite out of the ice cream cone she just ate. The sweet and cold ice cream immediately melted in his throat, filling his heart with joy and bliss. For the first time, Lucas found the taste of ice cream intoxicating. It was the most delicious ice cream he had ever eaten. Seeing Lucas eat some ice cream, Cheyenne smiled with even more joy in her eyes as she moved the cone back and took another bite out of it without hesitation. They took turns taking bites out of the ice cream and soon finished the entire cone. After throwing the napkin wrapped around the bottom of the cone in the trash, they exchanged nces, both finding their actions a little childish yet intimate. Lucas suddenly raised his hand and gently grazed his thumb past Cheyenne¡¯s lips to remove the remaining ice cream on them. Cheyenne suddenly blushed and abruptly turned her head away. She then said with obvious uneasiness and nervousness in her tone, ¡°W-we should go meet up with Charlotte and Amelia now!¡± Chapter 356: Nighttime Killer

Chapter 356: Nighttime Killer

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s eyes were instantly full of regret. But they had already been window shopping for nearly two hours, and the movie Charlotte and Amelia had gone to watch should have already ended. So it was indeed time to meet up with them. ? Although he and Cheyenne had only had a short two-hour date, it was the most rxed and gleeful Lucas had ever been. When the two of them returned to the entrance of the cinema, the movie happened to have ended, and Charlotte came out of the theater together with Amelia. Amelia was still jumping up and down and talking to Charlotte about the movie they just watched. When she looked up and saw Lucas and Cheyenne standing nearby, she eximed in joy, ¡°Daddy, Mommy!¡± She then pulled Charlotte along and dashed toward them. As Lucas held Cheyenne¡¯s hand and looked at his lively and adorable daughter, his heart was brimming with joy. What more can I ask for in life?! ¡°Daddy, Mommy, too bad you didn¡¯t watch the movie with us! Mn¡¯s parents were so loving, just like you and Daddy!¡± While chatting happily with one another, they slowly made their way to the street together. Suddenly, Lucas sensed several peculiar aurasing from behind them. Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. These auras were not weak, and the people behind them had to be some major force or powerful family. Lucas immediately thought of the Waces and the Kingstons from San Francisco. After all, he had killed Liam Wace, and just three hours ago, he had killed the killer sent by the Kingstons. They definitely wouldn¡¯t give up just like that. Lucas was certain that they would continue to send more people to avenge them. He didn¡¯t move and continued to stroll casually with Cheyenne, Charlotte, and Amelia as if he wasn¡¯t aware of their presence. But two familiar figures suddenly appeared beside Lucas. After secretly nodding at him, they walked away like ordinary passersby. They were none other than Wade and Stanley! Wade was a famous underground boxing champion whom Lucas had instructed to protect Charlotte. And Stanley, as a former captain of the Falcon Regiment¡¯s assault team, was extremely strong and formidable. Lucas had summoned him back to Orange County to protect Cheyenne. Thus, Wade and Stanley had actually been staying close to them during their outing today. Now that Lucas noticed something obviously wrong, both Wade and Stanley, whosebat skills were far superior to that of ordinary experts, naturally also sensed that there were people tailing Lucas and his family. At this time, it was almost 10 p.m. There were few pedestrians on the streets downtown now, and the streets were gradually bing empty. A killer tailing them tried to restrain his aura and hid behind arge garbage can outside a store. While watching Lucas and the others, he tried to change his position again. But all of a sudden, a tall andnky figure appeared in front of him, cornering him near the garbage can. ¡°Who are you?¡± the killer immediately shouted as his entire body instinctively entered a state of alert. Without saying a word, Stanley mmed the side of his palm against the killer¡¯s face. ¡°Ah!¡± Stanley was naturally merciless as he struck the killer with all his might. The killer shrieked in pain and covered his face with his hand. Bright red blood began to flow out of his nostrils, trickling down the rest of his face. Stanley had broken his nose bridge. Seeing that the situation of their peer wasn¡¯t good, the other killers lurking nearby quickly came over to surround them. There were more than ten of them, each emitting a vicious and murderous aura. Stanley sneered. Being a former captain of the Falcon Regiment, he had impressivebat skills that very few could rival, so he naturally didn¡¯t feel threatened by these so-called ¡®elite killers¡¯. Seeing the ten or so people approaching, the tall and brawny Wade, whose burly figure resembled a steel tower, suddenly appeared and coordinated well with Stanley to fight the killers. They were bothbat experts whose skills were several notches above that of so-called experts. Now that they were joining hands, the power of the punches and kicks they threw was even more explosive. Soon, they dominated the fight as they beat down these killers, causing them to shriek in pain. Before long, all of them copsed andy motionless on the ground. Cheyenne could vaguely hear a few faint shrieks of horror from afar, and she couldn¡¯t help turning around to take a look worriedly. ¡°I... I think I heard sounds of... fighting?¡± Cheyenne said worriedly. Lucas answeredposedly, ¡°It¡¯s probably the sound of the wind. Anyway, it¡¯s gettingte now. Let¡¯s hurry up and take Amelia home!¡± Looking at her delicate daughter, whose hand she was holding, Cheyenne immediately put these worried thoughts at the back of her mind. Since they were with Amelia now, there was no time to meddle with the affairs of others. It would be too silly to risknding themselves in trouble and putting Amelia and Charlotte in danger. Near the garbage can in the distance, Stanley walked toward the killer leading the group and stepped on his neck. He questioned in a deep voice, ¡°Speak up. Who sent you? Why did you tail Mr. Gray?¡± Only then did these killers realize that the two people in front of them were sent by the person they had been stalking! In other words, their actions had been exposed! One of the killers next to him suddenly injected. His gaze was cold as he issued a threat. ¡°Bastard, do you know who we work for? If you don¡¯t let us go, you will...¡± Before the killer could finish speaking, Stanley swung his dagger and shed the neck of the killer. The killer fell to the ground without making another sound. He ced his hand against the wound on his neck as blood gushed out. But in just a few seconds, he convulsed, and arge pool of blood formed under him. This scene immediately made the pupils of the other killers constrict and their hearts pound violently. They were utterly stupefied. The man in front of them had actually killed one of them without the slightest hesitation! Stanley¡¯s movements were swift, and he was resolute and merciless. Most importantly, Stanley was still keeping a straight face, as if he had just crushed a tiny ant. They realized that he seemed even better at killing people than them, even though they were seasoned, professional killers! Fear and terror surged within them. Even Wade, next to Stanley, looked at him in shock. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Who sent you here? What were you nning to do to Mr. Gray?¡± Stanley stepped harder on the leader¡¯s body, causing the bones of his throat to creak and his eyes to roll backward. By now, everyone was already scared out of their wits and frantically answered, ¡°I¡¯ll say! We were sent by the Kingstons from San Francisco. To be precise, Henry Salve instructed us toe here and kidnap Mr. Gray before taking him back to the Waces¡¯ ce!¡± ¡°The Kingstons? Henry Salve? Why do they want to kidnap Mr. Gray?¡± Stanley questioned with an icy cold gaze full of intensifying, murderous intent. Chapter 357: The Internal Strife of the Wallaces

Chapter 357: The Internal Strife of the Waces

Lucas was the leader of the Falcon Regiment, while Stanley was a former captain of the Falcon Regiment¡¯s assault team. Although Stanley had already left the Falcon Regiment for years, and he hadn¡¯t served under Lucas¡¯smand, he would never allow anyone to harm Lucas! The killer hurriedly said, ¡°The Waces requested Henry Salve to send his apprentice to assassinate Mr. Gray, but he ended up getting killed by Mr. Gray instead. That¡¯s why Henry Salve was furious and sent us to kidnap Mr. Gray and then take him to the Waces to be at their disposal!¡± When Stanley heard this, the murderous intent in his eyes intensified, and his gaze became extremely terrifying. ¡°In that case, is Henry Salve in the Waces¡¯ manor now?¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± ¡°We¡¯re just following orders. We don¡¯t have any personal feud with Mr. Gray. Please... Ah!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ... In the dim corner, several shrieks filled the air one after another, but before long, silence returned. Soon, Stanley and Wadeposedly walked out of the corner and left as if nothing had happened. At this time, Lucas just arrived back in theke vi and heard a text message alert. He opened his phone and saw the text Stanley sent. ¡°Those killers were sent by Henry Salve, who works for the Kingstons, to avenge his dead apprentice. He¡¯s now in the Waces¡¯ manor. Do you want me to get rid of him?¡± Lucas thought of the killer who had hidden in his bedroom today but was instead killed by him. With an icy cold gaze, he replied to Stanley with just one word: ¡°Sure.¡± While Cheyenne and Charlotte were helping Amelia change out of her shoes downstairs, Lucas arrived at the door of the master bedroom upstairs. The wooden door of the bedroom that had cracked after he kicked it open had already been reced by a simr one. The new door looked almost identical to the previous one, so others generally wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that it was a different one from before. He opened the bedroom door and saw that the corpse and bloodstains had already been cleaned up. Even the hole in the wall pierced by the dagger that Lucas had used to nail Nn against the wall had been filled up, and the wall looked as good as new. There were no traces of the scuffle earlier at all. After a careful inspection, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face, and he proceeded to fill the bathtub in the bathroom with water for Cheyenne and Amelia. Lucas didn¡¯t intend to tell Cheyenne about what had happened with Nn in the bedroom because he was worried that he might frighten her. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in the Waces¡¯ manor... ording to family custom, all the people in the manor were dressed in ck because the Waces were in mourning. Liam¡¯s coffin was still in the hall, and he hadn¡¯t been buried yet. Pierre, the head of the family, had already said that he would kill Lucas and offer his head to Liam! Liam¡¯s funeral would continue for as long as Lucas wasn¡¯t caught, and the Waces would also remain in mourning until then. They originally thought that with the help of Henry, an elite expert working for the Kingstons, they would be able to nab Lucas in no time and avenge Liam¡¯s death so that he could rest in peace. But they never expected that the elite apprentice Henry had sent to assassinate Lucas would actually be killed by Lucas instead! With a gloomy expression, Henry was sitting alone silently in the hall of a vi with his eyes fixed on the corpse of his favorite apprentice, Nn. He sat still for around three hours in the hall like a statue. The Waces didn¡¯t dare to disturb him at all. After all, Henry had hurled the two bodyguards standing beside him against the marble statues and killed them in a fit of anger when he saw Nn¡¯s corpse earlier. Thus, no one dared to annoy him now. In case Henry suddenly went crazy again, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill any of the Waces, and the Waces wouldn¡¯t dare to hold him ountable even if he did. Suddenly, eerieughter resounded in the silent hall. ¡°Hahaha, my dear apprentice, I¡¯ll definitely avenge you. I¡¯ll break all the bones of that punk one by one and make him wail and feel like he¡¯s in a living hell! Finally, I will seal him in your coffin alive and nail it shut to bury him with you!¡± Henry grimaced with an icy cold gaze that made him seem like a terrifying ghoul. All of a sudden, he looked up at a clock hanging in the middle of the wall of the hall. It was already ten o¡¯clock at night. Henry suddenly flew into a rage and smashed a vase on the coffee table in the center of the hall with all his might. Bang! The exquisite and beautiful vase instantly shattered into bits! ¡°Good-for-nothings. They¡¯re all a bunch of good-for-nothings! It¡¯s already been three hours, and they still haven¡¯t brought that bastard back here! Damn it! All of you deserve to die!¡± Meanwhile, in another vi within the Waces¡¯ manor, all the Waces, including Pierre, were sitting with grave expressions on their faces. They were also waiting for updates and for Henry¡¯s underlings to bring Lucas back. But as time passed, the patience of the Waces gradually wore thin. ¡°Dad, do you think there¡¯s something wrong with Henry Salve? His apprentice was killed by Lucas Gray, yet all he¡¯s doing is throwing a tantrum in our ce. Why doesn¡¯t he go take revenge on Lucas Gray himself? I doubt those killers he sent will be able to do anything!¡± Pierre¡¯s younger son, Darren Wace, asked impatiently. He was the one who had suggested that they join forces with the Kingstons and ask them to send an expert to deal with Lucas. But he didn¡¯t know how powerful Henry was, though he knew that Henry loved putting on airs all the time. Besides, he was clearly the one who had put forward the suggestion, yet Pierre sent his brother, Bryant, to host Henry instead. So Darren had been extremely displeased, feeling that his brother had taken all the credit from him again. Pierre¡¯s face darkened, and he said sternly, ¡°Shut up! You should never say such things again! If Henry Salve hears you, even I won¡¯t be able to protect you! Also, if you offend him and end up implicating the family, I won¡¯t spare you either!¡± Pierre¡¯s stern words made Darren even more furious. Darren sprung up and pointed at Bryant in exasperation. ¡°How am I implicating the family? If Bryant¡¯s son, Liam, hadn¡¯t offended someone out there, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten killed, and we wouldn¡¯t have to deal with this mess now either!¡± Chapter 358: Confronting the Wallaces

Chapter 358: Confronting the Waces

Darren had long disliked Bryant, whom Pierre favored and had decided to make the sessor just because Bryant was a year older. Pierre put a lot of effort into grooming Bryant and spent arge part of the family¡¯s resources on him. What about me? I¡¯m so much wiser, smarter, and morepetent than Bryant. But I have to give in to him all the time, and even Bryant¡¯s wastrel son bossed me around all the time. Why?! Darren had been feeling indignant for a long time. Liam had gotten into trouble and dragged the entire family down with him, forcing them to clean up his mess. To make matters worse, Pierre even reprimanded him and told him not to implicate the Waces when he wasn¡¯t the one who had caused all this trouble! Hearing Darren¡¯s furious rant, Bryant couldn¡¯t sit still anymore. He stood up and cursed at him, ¡°Liam is my son, and now that he¡¯s been killed, I¡¯m much more devastated than anyone else! Instead of thinking about how to avenge your nephew and restore the pride of the Waces, all you do is get funny ideas! ¡°Is there anything wrong with what Dad said? What¡¯s the point ofining and losing your temper? I went all the way to the Kingstons to hire Henry Salve to help us. Do you know how much time, effort, and energy I put into this?! I never onceined! If you¡¯re so indignant and dissatisfied, go find an elite expert yourself!¡± After venting his anger, Bryant stared at Darren furiously to see what he had to say. Boiling with fury, Darren naturally wanted to retort. Smack! Pierre mmed his hand against the table and barked in exasperation, ¡°Bastards! Now¡¯s not the time for you two to get into an argument! So many of our family members are watching. Aren¡¯t you ashamed at all?!¡± Pierre¡¯s words made them both fall silent in embarrassment. ¡°Darren, Liam is your nephew, and now that he¡¯s been killed, we¡¯re all grief-stricken. As his uncle, you shouldn¡¯t be saying such upsetting things,¡± Pierre said to Darren. Darren immediately argued, ¡°Dad, that¡¯s not what I meant. I¡¯m naturally upset about Liam¡¯s death! I¡¯m just a little too anxious. After all, we still haven¡¯t received any updates from those underlings Henry Salve sent, and I was just getting impatient. That¡¯s why I wanted him to personally go out and nab Lucas Gray so that we can avenge Liam!¡± Pierre nodded. ¡°I know you¡¯re just worried, but what you just said could possibly cause trouble for the Waces. They were also very hurtful to your brother, so you must never say such things again! ¡°You two are my only sons, and I hope that you can work together to bring the Waces glory!¡± Then Pierre turned to Bryant. ¡°Bryant, you¡¯re the older brother, so don¡¯t take to heart what Darren just said out of anxiousness, despite his words being harsh. Now, what we have to do is stand together to kill Lucas Gray and avenge Liam!¡± Bryant said magnanimously with reddened eyes, ¡°Dad, you¡¯re right. I will absolutely remember everything you say. After all, Darren is my younger brother. I won¡¯t hold it against him.¡± Seeing that his sons had made up with each other, Pierre smiled again and ignored the tacit exchange through the ambiguous gazes in their eyes when they made eye contact. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Suddenly, an unusual mor came from outside the vi entrance. Immediately afterward, the loud and clear sounds of things falling came. Their faces covered in shock and suspicion, the Waces in the hall immediately stood up one after another. Pierre immediately stood up and bellowed at the door, ¡°What¡¯s happening outside?¡± Soon, a security guard walked over and said with a panicked expression, ¡°Bad news! Mr. Wace, a man suddenly barged in and headed straight to Henry Salve¡¯s vi. He even kicked the door of the vi open! We couldn¡¯t stop him!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Pierre¡¯s expression drastically changed while the other Waces were astounded too. Henry was an elite expert the Kingstons had sent, and ordinary people couldn¡¯t get close to him. Besides, he was now a distinguished guest of the Waces and was in a foul mood because of his apprentice¡¯s death. Which audacious person was so brazen that he charged into Henry¡¯s vi? ¡°Bastard, this is outrageous! How dare he barge into Henry¡¯s vi? He must be tired of living!¡± Pierre hollered in exasperation. But since the matter urred in the Waces¡¯ manor, they would have to take a look at the situation as the hosts and cate Henry at the same time. In order to show their respect for Henry, the expert working for the Kingstons, the Waces had specifically arranged for Henry to stay in the vi beside Pierre¡¯s, which was in the middle of the manor. As soon as Pierre led the Waces out of the vi, they saw an enormous hole because the thick alloy door had already gone missing, revealing the spacious hall within. Henry was standing still with a gloomy expression, and there was blood flowing profusely out of a wound on his shiny bald head. Everyone was astonished because Henry, who was strong, domineering, invincible, and unbeatable, had suffered an injury for the first time! Sensing the terrifying aura exuding from Henry¡¯s body, all the Waces couldn¡¯t help shivering, and they involuntarily took a few steps back. The timid ones even had their hearts pound rapidly and their legs turn limp, almost losing their bnce out of fear. Everyone could tell that Henry was enraged, even livid! But there was only one person facing Henry. He was standing still at the vi entrance with his back to the Waces. He was tall,nky, and exuding an overwhelming and formidable aura like a sharp sword! Chapter 359: Secret Team

Chapter 359: Secret Team

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This man should be the one who had the audacity to kick open the door of Henry¡¯s vi. ¡°Who is this man?¡± Pierre frowned as he pondered while staring at the unfamiliar back of the person in front of him. ? He didn¡¯t remember ever seeing such a person in the Waces¡¯ manor before. Many of the Waces standing around Pierre, as well as the butler, spoke up. ¡°Mr. Wace, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve ever seen this person before!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m also sure this person has never appeared in our residence!¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange. Where did this persone from?¡± ... After Pierre heard the unanimous denials of knowing this person, the gaze in his eyes became deeper. ¡°Who the hell are you? How dare you barge into the premises of the Waces without permission? How brazen of you!¡± Pierre immediately hollered at the man. The most important thing to do now was naturally to express his stand and attitude in front of Henry to prove that this person who had the guts to offend Henry wasn¡¯t rted to the Waces at all. Otherwise, if Henry put the me on the Waces, they would definitely be dead meat! At this moment, Henry was standing in the middle of the hall in the vi, boiling with fury and anger that distorted his face. He had been sitting on the couch in the hall, clenching his teeth and thinking about how he should torture Lucas to take revenge for his favorite apprentice. He was so immersed in his feelings of hatred and resentment that he failed to keep his guard up. The reason being was that he knew that he was in the Waces¡¯ manor, and they were all afraid of provoking him and thus didn¡¯t dare to approach him. While he was deep in thought, the door of the vi was suddenly kicked open from the outside, catching him off guard and leaving him with no choice but to evade hurriedly. But he still ended up getting cut on his head by the metal door. This was a great insult and humiliation to a top expert like him! He red at the man standing in front of the vi coldly with a menacing gaze, wishing he could rip this bastard into pieces! But to Henry¡¯s astonishment, this man didn¡¯t have a single trace of fear on his face. Instead, he even made Henry feel an unfathomable sense of oppression that made his hair stand on end. This is an extremely difficult person to deal with! With this thought, Henry became more vignt. But at this time, the old fogy Pierre was still babbling incessantly with the sole purpose of letting him know that the person in front of him wasn¡¯t rted to the Waces. It waspletely unnecessary because if the Waces had such an incredible expert, they wouldn¡¯t have had to ask him for help. The person standing at the entrance of the vi was naturally Stanley. Staring at Henry standing in the vi, Stanley moved his fingers, and a sharp dagger spun between them in a fancy manner, looking just like an exquisite flower of light blooming in his hand. He asked coldly, ¡°Are you Henry Salve?¡± Henry frowned. ¡°Are you here for me? Who are you?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to care who I am. You just need to know that you¡¯re the person I¡¯m looking for!¡± While speaking, Stanley walked toward the vi. The Waces stood outside the vi, not daring to get too close, though they heard their conversation. ¡°It seems this person should be Henry¡¯s enemy. He barged into our manor today because he wants to deal with Henry! Thank God...¡± Darren hurriedly patted his chest and heaved a sigh of relief. Although he didn¡¯t finish the rest of his sentence, all the Waces understood what he meant. Naturally, Darren was thankful to find out that this man wasn¡¯t after the Waces. But Pierre wasn¡¯t that optimistic. Henry was a top expert who worked for the Kingstons and whom the Waces had requested to help them, making him an honored guest of the Waces. Regardless of whether the man in front of them was Henry¡¯s enemy and here to take revenge, the Waces couldn¡¯t stay out of itpletely. Otherwise, if something unfortunate happened to Henry in the Waces¡¯ manor, the Kingstons would never let them off! ¡°Bryant, go inform the gunmen toe here immediately and get ready!¡± Pierre instructed his eldest son beside him. The Waces were frightened and shocked. The armed unit of the Waces was a squad of elite gunmen that the Waces had trained in private. Only very few Waces were aware of their existence. But now that Pierre mentioned it in front of everyone, it meant that he was ready to expose the unit to them. After a moment of hesitation, Bryant answered softly, ¡°Dad, once we let the armed squad attack, this secret will no longer be a secret. I¡¯m afraid it will bring some trouble to the Waces. Think about what happened to the Hales previously...¡± Previously at the baby shower of Connor Hale¡¯s son, the entire gunmen squad of the Hale family was suddenly arrested and taken away by a military team together with the Hales. Of course, the Hales returned soon after. But the Waces didn¡¯t know what happened. At the time, the Waces and the Hales had a conflict, so they didn¡¯t send anyone to attend the party. They naturally didn¡¯t witness the incident with their own eyes and had merely heard a little about it from others. After all, all the people present had been given a gag order, so they didn¡¯t dare to tell others about it in detail. But they were certain that the Hales had gotten into trouble because they had exposed their gunmen squad. Bryant was afraid that the Waces would also follow in the footsteps of the Hales. Pierre only hesitated for a moment before saying decisively, ¡°What we heard about the Hales are only rumors. Look, aren¡¯t they all still alive and well now? Just do what I tell you to!¡± When Bryant saw how insistent his father was, he naturally didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. Besides, Darren was standing right next to them. He knew that Darren would take the initiative to bring the squad over as long as he tried to dissuade Pierre any further. Although Pierre already made up his mind, he still wasn¡¯t rxed. After all, Bryant¡¯s concerns were not uncalled for. But he didn¡¯t have another choice now because he definitely couldn¡¯t allow Henry to get hurt in the Waces¡¯ manor. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to afford to incur the wrath of the Kingstons. As Stanley got closer and closer, Henry could feel the invisible oppression intensifying. It had been a long time since he felt the fear of facing a great enemy. At this moment, Henry finally got a clear glimpse of Stanley¡¯s face, and a name popped up in his mind at the speed of lightning. ¡°You... Are you Stanley Ray?!¡± Chapter 360: Untitled

Chapter 360: Untitled

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Henry shouted in horror with shock written all over his face. Stanley was a top expert who used to work for the Brookes in LA, making him among the most elite experts in LA. ? With his protection, the Brookes had managed to defeat numerous enemies within just a few short years and became a top family in LA that no one dared to belittle. Stanley could be considered an important figure who yed the most critical role and deserved the greatest credit. The senior members of the Kingstons once thought of poaching the top expert Stanley to work for them. But regardless of the generous conditions they offered, Stanley never agreed. This was also how Henry had learned of Stanley¡¯s existence. But the two of them shouldn¡¯t have crossed paths before. ¡°Stanley Ray, I don¡¯t seem to have offended you. Why did you suddenly show up here?¡± Henry asked in displeasure with a frown. He really couldn¡¯t figure out why Stanley suddenly came for him with a dagger. Although Henry had not personally experienced Stanley¡¯s terrifying strength, he had often heard about it and naturally didn¡¯t want to go toe-to-toe against him, lest the altercation went beyond redemption. Stanley sneered. ¡°You haven¡¯t offended me prior to tonight, but you should remember that you sent more than ten underlings out to carry out a task tonight, right?¡± ¡°The subordinates I sent?¡± Henry was stunned for a moment before continuing with a look of bewilderment, ¡°I didn¡¯t send them to attack you but...¡± But halfway through his sentence, he immediately realized what was going on. ¡°It turns out you were sent by Lucas Gray!¡± Henry¡¯s eyes were soon full of anger. ¡°How are my subordinates now?!¡± Stanley sneered. ¡°What do you think could have happened? Naturally, I killed all of them.¡± He said this so casually that even his expression didn¡¯t change. But Henry was about to lose his temper! Although not all the experts under him were his apprentices, he had put in a lot of effort to train them. Just now, he was still waiting for good news from them because he thought that they would bring Lucas back. But they had all been killed by Stanley! ¡°Bastard, how dare you kill my subordinates?!¡± Henry hollered furiously with bloodshot eyes, seemingly wanting to devour Stanley. But Stanley stood still and said indifferently, ¡°Anyone who dares to attack Mr. Gray is my enemy and naturally has to die!¡± He looked up and red at Henry with a sharp gaze. ¡°The same goes for you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re just boasting!¡± Stanley¡¯s nonchnt attitude andck of fear toward Henry hadpletely provoked him. Henry roared furiously and charged at Stanley. Although Stanley was an esteemed top expert, Henry wasn¡¯t much inferior to him. In fact, Henry was confident that he might not necessarily be weaker than Stanley! What right does Stanley Ray have to belittle me?! With a bloodthirsty and hostile gaze in his eyes, Stanley snorted coldly. As the once most menacing killer of the Brookes, Stanley had killed countless experts over the years. And until he met Jordan, he had never lost before! Even though Henry was an expert working for the Kingstons, he was still worlds apart from the elites of the Falcon Regiment such as Stanley! The sharp dagger in Stanley¡¯s hand glistened as he swung in an arc and charged forward to attack Henry! The distance between them was three meters apart, but they collided almost instantly before crossing each other again! The instant their figures met, an extremely subtle sound filled the air. It seemed to be the sound of flesh being cut open or like the sound of air passing through the opening of a punctured balloon. After passing each other, Stanley soon came to a halt and stood still on the spot like a sharp sword, just like before. On the other hand, Henry failed to regain his bnce and stumbled forward several meters due to the strong inertia. He then staggered and fell to the ground as if he was in a drunken stupor. And after copsing, he never got up again. His eyes were still wide open, but they soon lost their glow as bright red blood quickly flowed out, forming arge pool of blood under his neck, seeping into the carpet. His entire body was now soaked in the blood that was gradually cooling down. Thest droplet of blood slowly trickled down the dagger in Stanley¡¯s hand. It was dead silent. There was nothing but silence! The Waces were all standing dumbfounded outside the vi, looking at the jaw-dropping scene in front of them in disbelief. Henry Salve, the powerful expert who worked for the Kingstons, died just like that! What killed him was a fatal dagger sh by thenky middle-aged man in front of them! Moreover, all it took was a single move to kill Henry as soon as their bodies touched! How was this possible?! No one could believe it! If he could kill Henry with a single move, how powerful and terrifying must his abilities be? No one dared to imagine it because the mere thought of it was so frightening that it made them feel as though their hearts were about to fall out of their chests. Stanley turned the dagger in his hand and shook off thest bit of blood remaining on it. Then he turned around to look at the Waces, who were dumbstruck and rooted to the ground at the entrance of the vi. ¡°Those who dare to provoke him will suffer a miserable fate!¡± After saying this coldly, he walked toward the entrance. But when he was a few meters away from the entrance, Pierre snapped back to his senses as though he had just woken up from a dream and yelled, ¡°Gunmen, get ready!¡± With his order, the dozen or so gunmen who had just hurriedly assembled immediately raised their pistols and aimed them at Stanley¡¯s head. Stanley stopped in his tracks and turned around to re at Pierre hostilely. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time in my life that I¡¯ve been held at gunpoint by so many gunmen, yet I¡¯m still alive and kicking today. Do you have any idea why?¡± Pierre¡¯s face twitched violently. Stanley said, ¡°Because those who¡¯ve had the guts to threaten me with a gun were all killed by me!¡± As Stanley said this, Pierre instantly felt engulfed by an incredibly terrifying aura. It was as if there was a sharp dagger being pointed right at him. His pores tightened, and his hair stood on end! This man is horrifying! Although Stanley was standing several meters away from Pierre, the murderous aura he was exuding seemed to be right in front of Pierre, instantly making him find it almost impossible to breathe! Chapter 361: Already Settled

Chapter 361: Already Settled

This was the second time that Stanley faced this situation. Thest time was when the Brookes forced him to make a choice by holding him at gunpoint at their mansion in LA. In fact, Stanley couldn¡¯t guarantee that he could retreat safely from the storm of bullets. ording to the experience and knowledge he had gained over the years, Lucas was the only one who could easily dodge bullets fired simultaneously by multiple gunmen. Stanley could hardly imagine just how terrifying Lucas¡¯s strength was. Thus, he just said those words to deter the Waces from shooting. The expression on Pierre¡¯s face changed rapidly, and Stanley could tell that he was having an extremelyplicated mental battle. From his point of view, he certainly didn¡¯t want the Waces to gain such a powerful enemy. Even the formidable Henry had been killed by a fatal sh to his throat. How could ordinary people like them be able to resist or even retaliate against such a terrifying and murderous figure? However, Henry was a guest they invited from the Kingstons, yet he suddenly died in the Waces¡¯ manor. If the Waces chose not to do anything about it and just let the murderer leave scot-free, they would definitely have to face the Kingstons¡¯ wrath! If the Kingstons became enraged, it would no longer be something the Waces can solve easily. The entire family might even perish! The gaze in Pierre¡¯s eyes changed, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°No, you can¡¯t leave!¡± Stanley¡¯s eyes were quickly full of murderous intent. ¡°In that case, you¡¯re choosing to be my enemy, huh?¡± He moved his fingers, and the dagger he just used to kill Henry began to rotate at his fingertips again while flickering with an icy cold light. At the same time, Stanley scanned his surroundings quickly to n his next move. Looking at the sharp dagger on Stanley¡¯s fingertips, many of the Waces seemed terrified. The scene of Henry having his throat slit was way too gruesome and shocking, so much so that they couldn¡¯t forget it at all. Pierre once again seemed to be conflicted, but he soon suppressed his feelings of hesitation and said resolutely, ¡°You killed Henry Salve, who worked for the Kingstons. I can¡¯t let you go just like that! We won¡¯t just kill you. We only want to keep you behind and take you to the Kingstons so that you can exin to them yourself!¡± Stanley sneered. ¡°You want to keep me behind? Let¡¯s see if you have what it takes! But you better think this through carefully. Once you decide to open fire, it means you¡¯ve chosen to be my enemy, and I will absolutely not show you any mercy! ¡°This dagger I¡¯m holding will definitely pierce through your throats when you shoot! You¡¯d better think carefully about what exactly you want to do!¡± The dagger in his hand shed with cold glints of light as he waved it through the air. Pierre immediately felt an extremely cold sensation on his neck, as if Stanley had already ced the dagger against his throat. He was stuck in a tough dilemma. As the helmsman of the family, his decision concerned his own life, as well as those of the entire Wace family. So he had no choice but to consider carefully before making a decision. At this moment, Darren inched close to Pierre and said eagerly, ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t let him off! Otherwise, the Kingstons will definitely hold us responsible. When the timees, none of us will be able to escape! ¡°I don¡¯t believe that there¡¯s really someone in this world who isn¡¯t afraid of getting shot by guns! He must be lying and boasting just to scare us. Any one of us here can fire several bullets through his body! Even if we can¡¯t kill on the spot, he will definitely sustain injuries. Even if he can fly, he won¡¯t be able to escape our premises! ¡°I don¡¯t believe that he can really hurt you! There are so many bodyguards in front of you to protect you. No matter what, he can¡¯t do anything to you!¡± Pierre quickly thought about his words and nodded lightly. But at this moment, Stanley suddenly stomped his foot against the ground and began moving! ¡°Shoot!¡± Pierre immediately yelled, his heart skipping a beat. But humans are not machines after all. From the moment they received Pierre¡¯smand to the time they pulled the trigger, only a split second passed. But in this split second, Stanley had already darted past them and vanished without a trace. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ... A series of gunshots that sounded like firecrackers filled the air, but none of the bullets hit anything. During this very short period of time, Stanley didn¡¯t retreat and instead charged straight toward Henry¡¯s vi. He had already observed the terrain outside and theyout of the houses. Because they were at the entrance of the vi, there was plenty of space and very few obstructions. The object nearest to him that could provide cover was therge marble statue more than ten meters away. So the vi, which was only a few meters away from him, was the best choice. After dodging into the vi extremely quickly to evade the bullets, Stanley ducked into the corner of the wall where the bullets wouldn¡¯t be able to reach him. Pierre knew they were in trouble and hurriedly roared in exasperation, ¡°Chase after him!¡± The gunmen immediately acknowledged the order and dashed into the vi with their pistols in hand. Then they fired several shots in a row at the corner that Stanley was hiding in. But Stanley obviously wouldn¡¯t stay in ce. He was a former leader of the assault team of the Falcon Regiment and an expert in assassination and quick escapes. He had long moved away from his initial spot, causing the gunmen to miss again. ¡°Quick! Find him immediately. You must seize him no matter what. I want him dead or alive!¡± Pierre hollered furiously at the top of his lungs. If they couldn¡¯t find Stanley and kill him immediately, none of the Waces would be able to fight back against him, given how Stanley had been able to kill the formidable Henry. The thought of having such a terrifying enemy that could kill them at any time made Pierre turn pale and break out in a cold sweat. But after searching the vi and even the entire Wace estate, they still couldn¡¯t find Stanley, which was frustrating and to their dismay. Stanley had escaped! ... Lucas, who had just bathed Amelia, received a short text message on his phone. There were only four words¡ª¡±It has been settled.¡± Chapter 364: Ruthless Deterrence

Chapter 364: Ruthless Deterrence

Pierre deliberately chose not to reveal Stanley¡¯s name, but not because the Waces wanted to protect him. Rather, they actually had the chance to shoot Stanley dead right on the spotst night, but due to their hesitation, they had let Stanley take advantage of the opportunity to escape. If Waces gave the Kingstons an honest confession of what had actually happenedst night, the Kingstons would definitely put the me on them and hold them responsible. So after a discussion among all the core members of the family, they reached a consensus to hide what had happened yesterday from the Kingstons and just say that the murderer had already escaped by the time they arrived. Marc nced at Pierre and warned with a sinister expression, ¡°I said, I want to hear the truth! Don¡¯t make me repeat myself!¡± Pierre suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, andrge sweat droplets trickled down his wrinkled face. Could Marc Kingston already know something? Various thoughts shed through Pierre¡¯s mind as he quickly tried to think of what to say. But Marc¡¯s patience was wearing thin. He pulled out a Beretta 92FS pistol and started fiddling with it. Seeing that the situation was turning awry, Pierre could no longer worry about anything else. He hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Kingston, actually,st night...¡± Bang! The loud and sudden gunshot startled everyone. Before Pierre could finish his sentence, his expression stiffened and would remain that way forever. A bloody hole had appeared in his forehead, and blood was still gushing out of it. Immediately afterward, his old and frail body weakenedpletely and copsed onto the ground with a loud thud. This scene made everyone in the guest hall fall silent, and only the sounds of their hearts pounding rapidly and the gulping of saliva could be heard. None of them had expected that Marc would be so brutal as to shoot Pierre dead right on the spot! Although they had heard a little about Marc¡¯s temper and character, it was their first time witnessing his violence in person. And to make matters worse, the person he killed was the head of the Wace family, who held the highest authority. Since Marc didn¡¯t even hesitate to kill the family head, the rest of them were obviously insignificant to him! ¡°This is what happens to those who try to lie to me.¡± Marc fiddled with the pistol in his hand and nced coldly at the Waces without even looking at Pierre¡¯s corpse on the ground. He said in a rxed tone, ¡°Now, I want to know the truth about what happenedst night. The first person to speak up will be the next helmsman of the Wace family.¡± Marc now held absolute power over their lives. Since Pierre was dead, the position of family head was vacated. Although Marc was an outsider, he did have enough power to decide who seeded it. Simply put, anyone who refused toply would die! After a brief silence, the direct descendants of the Waces vied to speak up. ¡°I know. I¡¯ll tell you!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak up!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± ... They all began scrambling to be the first to speak. With a contemptuous smile on his face, Marc pointed his finger at the first person who spoke. ¡°Okay, you will be the one.¡± The person Marc pointed at was none other than Darren, Pierre¡¯s son. Darren shot a triumphant nce at his brother, Bryant, who turned as deathly pale, before quickly saying, ¡°Henry¡¯s apprentice went to assassinate Lucas Gray yesterday, but he ended up getting killed, and his corpse was dumped in front of our ce. Henry was so furious that he sent more than ten people to hunt Lucas Gray down. Last night, we waited for the news together, but there was suddenly a loud, explosive sound outside the vi. We quickly rushed out and discovered that a man hade for Henry...¡± Darren then gave a detailed recount of what had happened inside and outside Henry¡¯s vi, including the conversation he had with Stanley, how things got physical, and how Stanley killed Henry with a single move. He also included the fact that they sent their gunmen to deal with Stanley. Sittingfortably on the chair, Marc listened quietly to Darren¡¯s exnation. While Darren was feeling extremely anxious, Marc said leisurely, ¡°That is to say, if you didn¡¯t hesitate at that moment, you wouldn¡¯t have missed the great opportunity to kill the murderer named Stanley Ray, and there was no chance he could have gotten away unscathed. But you guys were afraid of getting punished by me for this, so you made up a random excuse to deceive me by saying that you didn¡¯t see who the murderer was. Is that so?¡± Darren broke out in a cold sweat immediately. He hurriedly lowered his head and apologized, ¡°That... that was my father¡¯s decision. We all felt that it would be inappropriate to do that, but we couldn¡¯t convince my father. After all, he¡¯s the head of the family! Please rest assured. None of the Waces had the intention of trying to deceive you!¡± He put all the me on Pierre because he was already dead anyway, and there was no way he could refute it. Marc snorted coldly but surprisingly didn¡¯t continue to probe further. ¡°I¡¯ll forget it this time. But if I ever find out that you have the audacity to deceive me again in the future, your fate will be the same as this person on the ground in front of you!¡± Then he kicked Pierre¡¯s corpse without the slightest respect. All the Waces watched Marc disrespect Pierre¡¯s corpse, but none of them, including Pierre¡¯s sons, dared to say a word. If they said something wrong and ended up provoking Marc, they might end up dying too. None of them wanted to be shot by Marc¡¯s pistol. Anyway, Pierre was already dead. They used his death asfort for themselves. Darren nodded profusely and eximed, ¡°Yes! I promise that the Waces will never dare to deceive you again in the future!¡± Only then did Marc nod in satisfaction, but he soon frowned again. ¡°Stanley Ray? Why do I find this name somewhat familiar?¡± The young man who had been standing quietly behind Marc and resembled a bodyguard said, ¡°Mr. Kingston, Stanley is a top expert who used to work for the Brookes in LA. He¡¯s very skilled inbat, and assassination is his forte. Back then, the Kingstons once tried to recruit him, but he turned us down.¡± Marc immediately narrowed his eyes. ¡°How dare he turn down our offer... Hah!¡± He sneered and ordered, ¡°Immediately investigate all the information about him and report to me. Make sure to find out every single detail!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Kingston!¡± The young man immediately acknowledged. Marc stood up, and all the Waces immediately bent forward a little to bow to him respectfully. After taking a nce at them, Marc pointed at Darren and dered, ¡°From today onward, you are the head of the Wace family. You have my permission to kill anyone who disobeys you.¡± Darren was overjoyed, and he immediately thanked him, ¡°Thank you so much, Mr. Kingston!¡± With Marc¡¯s deration, he was now the rightful helmsman of the Wace family, and no one would dare to question his eligibility for the position! This included Bryant, whom Pierre had originally set to be the sessor of the family. He could no longer make anyments! Marc nced at the Waces and instructed, ¡°This matter wille to an end here. None of you are to deal with Lucas Gray again. Do you hear me?¡± Chapter 365: Qualified Lackey

Chapter 365: Qualified Lackey

Although Darren was baffled as to why the Kingstons forbade them from dealing with Lucas even after Henry¡¯s death and even seemed to have the intention of letting him off, he had no choice but to obey Marc¡¯s orders and quickly agreed, ¡°Yes, Mr. Kingston!¡± After leaving the Waces¡¯ manor, Marc raised his head to look into the distant sky with a vicious gaze in his eyes. ¡°Hmph, Lucas Gray, I¡¯ll let you live for a few more days. Soon, you will die without a grave!¡± Soon, the news of Pierre¡¯s death spread throughout Orange County. The Waces merely told everyone that Pierre had died because of a sudden cardiac arrest resulting from the shock of the tragic death of his grandson Liam. But only ordinary people would be fooled by this exnation. The people of the top families all found his death to be very bizarre. After all, even though Pierre was almost 70 years old, he had always been in good health and had never suffered from any heart diseases. So they found it unlikely that he would suffer from a sudden cardiac arrest. More importantly, Pierre¡¯s grandson Liam had died only two days ago, and his corpse was still lying in a coffin in the middle of a hall in the Waces¡¯ manor. Yet Pierre had suddenly passed, and the new head of the family was now Darren and not Bryant. All in all, everything was bizarre. At this moment, many people in Orange County were secretly discussing this matter and directing their suspicions at Lucas, suspecting that he might have something to do with everything that happened to the Waces. After all, Lucas and Liam had gotten into an altercation over the auction of a beautiful girl at the auction venue in Club Splendor the other day, which everyone present had witnessed with their own eyes. But afterward, the news of Liam¡¯s death spread on the very same night of the auction. Although it wasn¡¯t stated explicitly, many guessed that it must have something to do with Lucas. Now that Pierre had also died, all kinds of rumors about Lucas became even more rampant. Bruce, the head of the Hales, was extremely cautious when he mentioned this matter to Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve already gotten the exact news, and they say that... Pierre Wace has already died.¡± Lucas was stunned for a while, but he immediately understood Bruce¡¯s purpose for calling. Heughed and asked, ¡°Surely you don¡¯t think that I was the one who did it, right?¡± Bruce immediately understood that Lucas wasn¡¯t the culprit, but he didn¡¯t admit to his previous suspicions. Instead, he hurriedly said, ¡°How is that possible? I just think that there¡¯s something really strange about this matter. Pierre Wace is several years younger than me, and he has always been in good health. How did he just die all of a sudden? There must be something more to this.¡± Lucas agreed calmly, but he immediately thought of the Kingstons. Henry, whom Stanley had killedst night, worked for the Kingstons, and now that Pierre had suddenly died a day after Henry¡¯s death, Lucas was certain that this matter had something to do with the Kingstons. The Kingstons... A sharp glint shed across Lucas¡¯s eyes. In fact, Lucas didn¡¯t have a feud with the Kingstons in the first ce, nor had he ever crossed paths with them. But for some reason, the Kingstons had decided to stoop low and let themselves be reduced to bing theckeys of the Huttons. They obeyed the Huttons and went against Lucas all the time. First, they spread the news that Lucas was abandoned by the Huttons and that the Huttons were going to suppress the Stardust Corporation, causing the status of the Stardust Corporation in Orange County to be much lower than before. Later on, they also secretly incited Oliver Harvey, a senior executive of the Stardust Corporation, to spread false rumors about an affair between Flynn and Charlotte. Afterward, he even jumped to his death and caused the media to shed a negative light on the Stardust Corporation, resulting in public outrage. Although Lucas found outter that the culprit was Dave Lewis, the Kingstons were actually the true mastermind. The person who secretly took photos of Lucas and Amelia at the amusement park was also sent by the Kingstons. Scott Taylor even leveraged the power of his family and dered that he would seize Lucas¡¯s vi in Pearl Lake, all for the sake of pleasing Marc Kingston. Of course, in addition to these matters, they had also carried out many underhanded tricks secretly. The Kingstons put in plenty of effort to be excellentckeys of the Huttons. Lucas snapped out of his thoughts and said over the phone, ¡°How much do you know about the Kingstons?¡± Bruce was stunned and said carefully, ¡°The Kingstons are arge family from San Francisco whose power is definitely among the top. Even though the Hales are one of the four most powerful families in Orange County, we¡¯re worlds apart from the Kingstons. It¡¯s safe to say that the Kingstons can annihte us effortlessly. ¡°As far as I know, the Kingstons should have gotten the support of one of the eight greatest families in DC and have developed even more rapidly in recent years. But I¡¯m not clear which specific family is helping them.¡± Lucas acknowledged. Seems that it¡¯s not an absolute secret that the Kingstons and the Huttons are rted. During the next few days, Lucas thought that the Kingstons would continue to attack him. But they were surprisingly quiet, which he felt was bizarre. But Lucas didn¡¯t take the Kingstons very seriously and merely asked Wade and Stanley to continue protecting his family. The past few days, Amelia had been pestering Cheyenne to tell her bedtime stories, and neither Cheyenne nor Lucas could bear to disappoint their precious daughter, so they never had the chance to get intimate with each other. But apart from not being able to do the deed, their rtionship was getting better and better. They were really just like a true married couple. It was Friday. After getting off from work in the evening, Cheyenne hesitated for a while before suddenly saying to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s my cousin¡¯s wedding day the day after tomorrow. My mom said that we should go there tomorrow to add a touch of liveliness and see if there¡¯s anything we can do to help.¡± After thinking about it, Lucas nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go together then.¡± Cheyenne said with a trace of worry on her face, ¡°Do you... really want to go?¡± Lucas naturally understood what Cheyenne was worried and concerned about. Karen¡¯s harsh attitude toward Lucas just went to show that she had always been displeased and prejudiced against him. Karen¡¯s family members were also just as mercenary and materialistic as her. They would look up to the rich and despise the poor. In the past, they would make lots of nasty remarks about Lucas right in his face. Just like those who met Lucas in the Carter residence after he returned to Orange County, they all treated him like garbage. So Cheyenne was worried that Lucas would face the humiliation of those rtives at the wedding. Lucas said nonchntly, ¡°It¡¯s up to them to say whatever they want. It doesn¡¯t affect us anyway. As long as you know that I¡¯m not like what they say, I don¡¯t care about the opinions of others.¡± Cheyenne was touched to hear this and took the initiative to hug him. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go together tomorrow then!¡± Chapter 368: Tea Leaves Saga

Chapter 368: Tea Leaves Saga

When the Turners tried to get close to Keh and told him that there was a ravishing beauty in the family, Keh was indifferent because he thought that they were just exaggerating. But now that he had met Cheyenne in person, he was indeed rather tempted because he finally saw how gorgeous she was. But he didn¡¯t expect that she would ignore a dreamboat like him and insistently defend her husband, whom he thought was a freeloading good-for-nothing. He wasn¡¯t bothered because he had gotten used to seeing women who liked throwing themselves at him, so a little challenge would be interesting! Although he wouldn¡¯t marry a divorced woman, he wouldn¡¯t mind ying around with her for the sake of her beauty. ¡°Keh, don¡¯t worry. That man is just a good-for-nothing. My grandparents will never allow them to stay married. We¡¯ll soon be able to watch a good show!¡± Nikki said gloatingly. Keh smiled. ¡°Since there¡¯s going to be a good show, we can¡¯t miss it.¡± Then he took the lead to enter through the gate while Nikki tagged along behind him. There were two almost identical vis inside. The one on the left was upied by Cheyenne¡¯s maternal grandparents, while the one on the right was upied by Cheyenne¡¯s uncle. Cheyenne¡¯s maternal grandparents had a total of three children, with the eldest being Cheyenne¡¯s mother, Karen; followed by Nikki¡¯s mother, Gretchen; andstly, Cheyenne¡¯s uncle, Alex. The groom-to-be was Alex¡¯s son, Dn Turner. The wedding was tomorrow, but many of the Turners lived in other states, so they had all arrived a day in advance so that they wouldn¡¯t miss the wedding. At this moment, they were all chatting merrily in the farmhouse vi belonging to Cheyenne¡¯s maternal grandparents. Cheyenne brought Lucas and Amelia into the vi, and as soon as they entered, the rtives immediately looked at them. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s Cheyenne!¡± ¡°Cheyenne, we haven¡¯t seen each other in a few years. You¡¯ve gotten prettier and prettier, just like your mother!¡± ¡°Quick, Cheyenne, Charlotte, and this adorable daughter of yours... Her name is Amelia, right? Quickly,e in and have a seat!¡± ... Many of the rtives greeted them warmly while showering them withpliments. After all, these rtives had already heard that both Cheyenne and Charlotte were reallypetent, as they had be the general managers ofrge corporations. So they were much more enthusiastic about greeting them than before. But none of them paid any attention to Lucas, who was following them, as if he wasn¡¯t present at all. Cheyenne greeted all the elders in the room one by one. ¡°Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle...¡± The few of them smiled and greeted Cheyenne and Charlotte with benevolent expressions. But they simrly pretended not to notice Lucas¡¯ presence and didn¡¯t bother looking at him at all. Cheyenne smiled bitterly in helplessness. Then she took the gifts from Lucas¡¯s hand and distributed them one by one. ¡°Grandpa, Lucas knows you love coffee, so he specially bought you some superior-grade Civet coffee beans. He went to great lengths to get some. Please try them.¡± Cheyenne presented a bag of exquisitely packaged coffee beans to her grandfather. ¡°Grandma, Lucas knows you¡¯re a devout Buddhist, so he has specially brought you a finely carved Buddha statue from Angkor Wat.¡± Cheyenne handed the Buddha statue ced in an exquisite sandalwood box to her grandmother. ¡°Uncle, this...¡± ... Lucas had specially asked someone to prepare these gifts yesterday after learning that they were going to visit Cheyenne¡¯s maternal grandparents. He had even deliberately asked Cheyenne about the hobbies and interests of her rtives. Cheyenne handed Lucas¡¯s thoughtful gifts to the elders and even exined clearly that Lucas was the one who had prepared them in hopes that they would change their minds about him on ount of the value of these gifts. But after hearing that the gifts were prepared by Lucas, the faces of the elders, who had just received the gifts enthusiastically, immediately turned sullen. They even showed looks of great disgust. The bizarre tension immediately made everyone in the living room fall silent. Cheyenne bit her lower lip and looked at the elders in front of her nervously. Seeing how displeased they were, she subconsciously grabbed Lucas¡¯s hand. ¡°Haha!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s grandfather suddenly sneered and threw the bag of coffee beans into the garbage bin! ¡°Grandpa!¡± Cheyenne was immediately astonished that her grandfather threw away such an expensive bag of coffee beans! Of course, Cheyenne was not feeling the pinch. But rather, her grandfather¡¯s behavior was a clear insult to Lucas! ¡°Cheyenne, did you get a random bag of lousy coffee beans to fool me because you think I¡¯m old and can¡¯t distinguish between fine-grade and inferior coffee beans?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s grandfather, Eddie, said disappointedly with a look of exasperation. ¡°Grandpa, how am I fooling you?¡± Cheyenne said aggrievedly. ¡°Hah, you imed that bag of coffee beans is Civet coffee beans, yet you say that you¡¯re not fooling me!¡± Eddie snorted with an austere expression, ¡°Civet coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world. It is produced in rare amounts because the production process is very tedious. The highest price it has ever fetched is thirteen hundred dors per kilogram! ¡°That bag of coffee beans you just gave me weighed at least several kilograms. How can a good-for-nothing like him who sponges off his wife afford to spend thousands of dors on coffee beans?! ¡°Yet you still have the cheek to say that you¡¯re not deceiving me with some lousy coffee beans?¡± Eddie Turner was an avid coffee drinker and had done adequate research on expensive coffee types, so he was stating facts. After hearing Eddie¡¯s analysis, many people in the living room looked at Lucas in disdain. Hah, of all things, they tried to deceive Grandpa with coffee beans and imed that they¡¯re of the best grade. Now they¡¯re getting exposed, huh? Such an embarrassment! Cheyenne was shocked too. Of course, she knew that Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t have bought fake Civet coffee. She was shocked because Lucas had actually spent so much money on those coffee beans, which she originally thought were just ordinary store-bought coffee beans. Seeing that her grandfather had tossed the coffee beans into the garbage bin like they were rubbish, even Cheyenne, who wasn¡¯t a coffee lover, felt immense heartache. ¡°Grandpa, these are definitely genuine coffee beans!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Eddie smacked the table and hollered furiously with a frown, ¡°Cheyenne, stop speaking up for this man and deceiving me! Do you think everyone believes that he can afford to spend a few thousand dors on coffee beans?¡± The rtives sneered contemptuously. They would have believed it if Lucas had brought a gift worth a few hundred dors. But they would never believe that he could afford to spend a few thousand dors on a gift! ¡°I believe that those coffee beans are real!¡± At this moment, someone suddenly stood out and said this sentence. Everyone in the living room immediately looked over. Chapter 369: Family of Bloodsuckers

Chapter 369: Family of Bloodsuckers

The person who spoke was none other than William. Everyone watched in shock as William walked forward and said seriously, ¡°Eddie, I¡¯m very sure that what Lucas gave you is definitely authentic Civet Coffee of the best quality. It absolutely isn¡¯t fake!¡± William was naturally aware of Lucas¡¯s character and assets. Lucas had a few hundred million on hand, so how could he possibly give a fake gift? The fact that William was also supporting Lucas immediately made Eddie fly into a rage. Anyone could tell that Eddie threw the bag of coffee beans into the garbage bin because he disliked Lucas. Yet William was now standing against Eddie to defend Lucas. Many of the rtives began to change their expressions. At this moment, Charlotte stood out too and said with a look of determination, ¡°I believe that those coffee beans are authentic too!¡± The young Amelia didn¡¯t quite understand what was going on, so she simply held onto Lucas¡¯s hand tightly and said in a puerile voice, ¡°Daddy never lies!¡± ¡°...¡± Cheyenne, Charlotte, William, and Amelia all stood on Lucas¡¯s side because they believed that the coffee beans were authentic. Eddie got even more infuriated and glowered at Karen. Although he didn¡¯t say anything, it was obvious what he meant. ¡°Keep an eye on your husband and daughters!¡± Karen panicked and stood up to holler at William, ¡°William Carter, what nonsense are you saying? No one will think you¡¯re a mute if you don¡¯t say anything!¡± She turned to look at her daughters and berated, ¡°All of you are helping an outsider. Have you forgotten that I¡¯m your biological mother? Lucas is just a good-for-nothing. How can he afford to give my dad a gift that costs a few thousand dors? It¡¯s obviously impossible! I wonder what he¡¯s done to bewitch you and make all of you stand up for him?!¡± Karen criticized Lucas in front of everyone again. Although Lucas was now living in the most luxurious vi in Pearl Lake in Orange County, Karen still thought that Ethan Sawyer had given the vi to Lucas as a thank-you gift for saving his life and that there was no way Lucas could have afforded it on his own! Lucas and the rest were now living in arge andfortable vi, but Karen was made to live in a shabby apartment with William, making her feel even more resentful toward Lucas. So she started cursing out loud with no regard as to what the asion was and the fact that many rtives were watching from the side. ¡°Hmph, Lucas is a good-for-nothing who sits around waiting for death all day. How can he afford such an expensive gift? He¡¯s never bought a decent thing for me in the past few years even though I¡¯m his mother-inw, let alone give my parents any expensive gifts! He¡¯s just clinging onto my daughter now that he knows that both my daughters have be the general managers ofrge corporations! How shameless! ¡°And you, William Carter, you¡¯re not any better! You¡¯ve been idling at home and doing nothing for the past few decades. Now that we¡¯ve finally raised our daughters to adulthood, you chose to create some trouble and demand that I move out with you to live in poverty! You¡¯re so heartless! I¡¯m really unlucky to have married you!¡± Karen¡¯s cursing made many rtives of the Turners turn to look at Lucas and William with even more disdain and contempt. ¡°Tsk, tsk. These two men aren¡¯t decent human beings at all!¡± ¡°Hah, I¡¯ve heard before that William isn¡¯t the biological son of Dominic Carter, so he¡¯s been sponging off the family for years. He even makes Karen provide for them!¡± ¡°Is that true? Poor Karen! I thought she¡¯d get to live a good life after marrying!¡± ¡°Hah, I heard that the Carters are on the verge of bankruptcy and that they even kicked Karen, William, and their daughters out. Tsk, tsk! So ruthless!¡± ¡°In that case, they all rely on Aunt Karen to make ends meet, huh? Her son-inw is the same. He sponges off Cheyenne. He really takes after his father-inw!¡± ... Everyone began gossiping and going more and more overboard. Not only did they make Lucas sound like a good-for-nothing, but they even made William seem like he was freeloading off Karen. ¡°All of you, shut up! Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± William suddenly roared furiously, giving the Turners and their rtives a great shock, and they immediately stopped talking. In the hall, there was once again a peculiar silence. The Turners and rtives all looked at William in shock and disbelief. William and Karen had been married for around three decades. Apart from his ambitiousness in the beginning, he gradually became more and more ipetent in theter years. Not only did he obey Karen all the time, but he wouldn¡¯t retort even when Karen scolded him. But William now hollered at her in front of all her family. It waspletely unlike his usual behavior! After William yelled at her, Karen immediately felt ashamed because she felt that he made her look bad. ¡°William, how dare you? This is the Turners¡¯ home. Why are you being so fierce to me in front of my parents?! Do you think I¡¯m being too nice to you?¡± Karen immediately shouted at William furiously. William pointed at Karen and yelled even louder, ¡°Bitch, shut up!¡± His words immediately stunned Karen on the spot. She was about to throw a fit to regain her lost pride, but William beat her to it. ¡°I don¡¯t know what Karen has said to you to make you look down on me and my son-inw, but I¡¯m going to make it clear to you today. Karen and I have been married for decades, but I¡¯ve never spent a single cent of hers! I even let her bring all the betrothal gifts and money home after our wedding! ¡°You say that I live off the Turners¡¯ money? Hah! Why don¡¯t we calcte how much money you have taken away from the Carters?! ¡°Come, let¡¯s do the math. When Cheyenne and Lucas just got married six years ago, Cheyenne¡¯spany, the Brilliance Corporation, had a bad reputation and faced countless crises. It was on the verge of closing down several times before. At the time, Alex Turner took his son, Dn, to my home and asked for a loan. He said that he suffered heavy losses in investments and asked Karen to steal more than fifty thousand dors from us. Later, she even made me use Lucas of being the one who stole the money! ¡°Five years ago, Dominic Carter took the Brilliance Corporation away from Cheyenne just after she gave birth to Amelia. Gretchen, when we were in need of money at the time, you said that your husband contracted a terminal illness and duped Cheyenne out of all her savings of more than forty thousand dors. Afterward, you said it wasn¡¯t enough and even made Karen transfer more money to you! ¡°These two vis were also bought with the money that Karen took from me and my daughters and secretly transferred to you! ¡°You took money from us several times. But just because I don¡¯t want to say it out loud, it doesn¡¯t mean that I don¡¯t know! You call it a loan every single time, but have you ever returned a single cent? All of you are like bottomless pits that just keep taking money like nobody¡¯s business! Now, you actually have the cheek to turn the tables and say that we rely on you to provide for us. Hah, this is hrious! Karen Turner, have you ever asked your family to return me the money they took in the past few decades of our marriage? ¡°You people are just bloodsuckers who use your daughter to leech off of others. What right do you have to scold me and my son-inw?¡± William had probably been suppressing his anger for a long time and thus vented it all out now. Karen¡¯s jaw dropped, and she was at a loss for words. Meanwhile, the Turners all became gloomy. Chapter 370: Stuck in a Dilemma

Chapter 370: Stuck in a Dilemma

Karen had always thought that William wasn¡¯t aware of these things because she would often make up excuses and lie that the money had been misced or stolen. But to her surprise, William remembered every single time it happened. She didn¡¯t expect him to expose everything now. Cheyenne and Charlotte finally learned that Karen had made Lucas take the me for the missing money and used him of absconding with it just so she could take the money to her maiden family. They also realized why Karen forced them to give her arge portion of their monthly sry but had never bought them anything nice... It turned out that Karen had given all the money to her siblings and their children. Cheyenne and Charlotte had extremelyplicated emotions. The atmosphere in the living room once again became exceptionally bizarre. Alex, whom William had called out just now, stood up immediately and retorted, ¡°William Carter, what nonsense are you saying?! We bought these two vis with our own money. It has nothing to do with Karen, much less you! Don¡¯t spout nonsense! ¡°When have I ever asked you and Karen for money? Six years ago? Nothing of the sort! Do you have any IOUs to prove that I took money from you?¡± After saying this, Alex was confident and self-righteous. He was certain that William couldn¡¯t produce any evidence at all! He was Karen¡¯s brother, so she would never make him sign an IOU whenever he took money from her! Gretchen hurriedly chimed in, ¡°William, don¡¯t malign me! I... I indeed borrowed some money from Cheyenne before, but I¡¯ve never taken any money from Karen!¡± Seeing that they were all refusing to admit it, William didn¡¯t continue speaking and instead turned to look at Karen. ¡°Tell me in front of your family. Was anything I said just now untrue?!¡± Karen looked around anxiously and tried to avoid the question. ¡°Those things happened so many years ago. Who would remember?! I... I¡¯ve long forgotten about them!¡± ¡°Mom, did you do those things or not?¡± Charlotte asked while biting her lips hard and staring into Karen¡¯s eyes. Cheyenne¡¯s eyes were red too as she looked at her mother stubbornly and quietly. Thest time William and Karen had a tiff in the vi, he had once mentioned that Karen had secretly stolen the money meant for Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s college tuition and gave it to her family. At the time, they already found it unbelievable. But after hearing what William said today, they felt that it was harder to ept than what they had found out previously! At a time when their family was in a difficult predicament and needed money the most, Karen nheless ignored their problems and gave all the money to her family. How could a mother do such a thing? She kept taking money from her daughters and gave it all to her siblings, niece, and nephew. How could a mother do something like that to her children? Cheyenne and Charlotte stared at Karen, waiting to hear her answer. At this moment, Alex frantically urged, ¡°Karen, quickly tell him that I¡¯ve never taken a single cent from you!¡± Gretchen immediately chimed in, ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t take a single cent from you either. You must rify this and vouch for us!¡± With a dark face, Eddie said in a deep voice, ¡°Karen, you are my daughter. You have to think carefully before saying anything. If you dare to malign your younger brother and sister, I won¡¯t acknowledge you as my daughter from now on!¡± Eddie was clearly threatening her. As the head of the family, he was naturally aware if his other two children had ever taken money from Karen in the past few decades. But if Karen admitted that she had indeed been constantly taking money from her husband and daughters and giving it to her siblings, that would mean that she had used this money to pay for the vis they were living in now, which would be a huge embarrassment to him! The Turners were not the only ones present. There were many other rtives too. If word about it spread, they would definitely be deemed as bloodsuckers who lived off their son-inw. All the Turners, including Karen, would be hugeughing stocks! So he would never let Karen admit to it! Seeing this, Lucas sneered. He had long known that Karen was a distasteful person who had no bottom line. But he never thought that she would go that far. They had initiallye here with the intention of bringing some wedding gifts to the newlyweds and other members of the family. Lucas wanted to do Cheyenne proud so that the Turners would know that she was not aughing stock who had to be subject to the ridicule of others just because she had married a good-for-nothing. So he had specially chosen to buy expensive gifts for the Turners. Unfortunately, his kindness wasn¡¯t appreciated. And in turn, the Turners even humiliated him. As a result, William even exposed all of Karen¡¯s and their misdeeds because he could no longer tolerate it any further. But Lucas didn¡¯t have a good impression of Karen and the Turners. He felt that they had all brought it upon themselves. Hearing what her siblings and father said, Karen seemed hesitant. William Carter wanted her to tell the truth, but her family obviously wanted her to deny it. She hesitated for only a brief moment before deciding to say what her family wanted her to. At this moment, William said coldly, ¡°You really should think clearly before you say anything. If you tell a single lie, we¡¯ll get a divorce immediately!¡± Karen immediately closed her mouth! No, I can¡¯t divorce William Carter! If she got a divorce now, she would be left with nothing, and she would no longer have a share of William¡¯s and her daughters¡¯ money, as well as Lucas¡¯s vi! Besides, at her current age, it would be difficult for her to find another man to marry after divorcing William. She couldn¡¯t go back to her maiden home and live off her family either... Once she got a divorce, she would really end up with nothing! Karen began feeling extremely conflicted, as she was truly at a loss for what to do. What should I say? If she admitted to the usations and told the truth, she would definitely offend her parents, siblings, sister-inw, and brother-inw. She would also embarrass herself in front of all her rtives and end up being med for everything! But if she denied it, William would divorce her... She would then end up with nothing! In the hall, it was so quiet that even the sound of a pin dropping on the ground would be audible. Everyone stared at Karen, waiting to hear her answer. Chapter 375: Two Options

Chapter 375: Two Options

In an instant, Tristan¡¯s eyes widened, his face turned as pale as a sheet, and his heart started pounding vigorously! He never thought that Lucas would actually dare to start the car and try to run him over with it! His fear of death instantly overwhelmed everything. Tristan moved as fast as he could, which was the fastest he had ever been in the twenty-odd years of his life, and rolled away from the front of the car wretchedly. By the time he was lying t on the ground with his limbs weak, he finally realized that Lucas didn¡¯t really drive his car toward him. He had threatened Lucas first but ended up in a pathetic state because he tried to dodge the car, causing him to make a fool of himself! Tristan turned pale and sullen. Lucas nced at Tristan calmly with an indifferent gaze as if he was just looking at a tiny bug by the roadside. He then drove his Jaguar, which was badly damaged at the front, and left the building where Urban Culture Co. was situated inside. Seeing the mess Tristan was in, Lena harrumphed disdainfully and turned around to enter Urban Culture Co. Her purpose ining to LA this time was to discuss a business deal with the Parkers. Although her father, Ethan Sawyer, had been hoping for her to marry Tristan in order to forge closer ties between the Parkers and Sawyers, Lena didn¡¯t fancy Tristan at all, nor did she want to use her marriage as a bargaining chip. So she intended to try strengthening the ties between the families through a normal business cooperation. Neither Lena nor Lucas bothered to give Tristan a hand and simply left him lying on the road, all disheveled and wretched. He immediately caught the attention of many. They were at the entrance of the building where Urban Culture Co. was, and many passersby had all witnessed what happened. So they were all looking at him with derision and contempt. Feeling extremely embarrassed, Tristan quickly got up and roared through gritted teeth, ¡°Lucas Gray, you bastard, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± At the thought that Damon, the helmsman of the Parkers, had warned himst night not to provoke Lucas again, he felt even more disgruntled. After provoking Lucas at Club Splendor previously, he ended up getting chased out by Russell and caused the Parkers to be barred from all auctions that Russell was in charge of in the future. On the very same night, Tristan received a harsh beating from his father. But that wasn¡¯t all. The day after the auction, he received the news that Liam had been killed right in front of the Kingstons. Although there was no direct evidence, everyone guessed that Liam¡¯s death must have had something to do with Lucas. Just a few days ago, the Parkers received news that the Waces had requested for a top expert from the Kingstons to help them avenge Liam. But both that expert and his apprentice ended up getting murdered on the same day. Everything seemed to be vaguely rted to Lucas. Thus, Damon summoned Tristanst night and reprimanded him harshly before warning him not to go against Lucas or confront him again. Tristan obeyed his grandfather¡¯s instructions. But when he saw Lucas again today, he was so angry that he couldn¡¯t control himself. To make matters worse, he had just been humiliated by Lucas once more. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t stomach this at all! At this moment, Tristan let his anger overwhelm him and long forgot his grandfather¡¯s warning. He took out his phone and immediately dialed a number. ¡°Elijah, that punk who offended us at the Kingstons¡¯ auction in Orange County the other day is now in LA! Since he¡¯s on our turf, we can¡¯t let him get away. Let¡¯s get revenge!¡± ... Lucas drove his badly damaged car on a familiar route to the Sr Corporation office building. When Flynn got the news that Lucas had arrived in LA, he was greatly taken aback and hurriedly headed downstairs to receive Lucas personally. Then he brought Lucas to his office on the top floor. ¡°Lucas, when did you arrive in LA? Please forgive me for being unable to receive you personally!¡± Flynn poured a ss of water and handed it to Lucas carefully with both hands while bending forward slightly in a respectful manner. Lucas smiled rxedly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. My wife¡¯s cousin is getting married tomorrow, and he happens to live here, so I decided to drop by and take a look while I¡¯m here.¡± Only then did Flynn heave a sigh of relief. He thought that Lucas came here for a surprise inspection and was afraid he might have done something inadequate to upset Lucas. Although he had been working under Lucas for several months now, he would still feel nervous and scrupulous whenever he saw Lucas. After all, when they first met, Lucas had made known to Flynn that he had discovered all of his wrongdoings after a thorough investigation, so Lucas had a hold on him. Flynn also subsequently realized how terrifying Lucas was after a few interactions with him. ¡°How are things going in LA? Are you still facing any difficulties?¡± Lucas asked. Flynn hurriedly shook his head and reported gleefully, ¡°I¡¯m almost done organizing all of the businesses the Brookes left behind here in LA. I¡¯ve also closed down all of the vice-rted businesses, as well as those with heavy losses. The remaining ones have been integrated into the Sr Corporation and are now being operated as branchpanies under the Sr Corporation to facilitate easier and convenient management. ¡°Now, the Sr Corporation is thergest enterprise in LA, and there¡¯s no way the other families in this city canpare to us! ¡°But this is also thanks to Stanley Ray, whom you got to stay behind. In the beginning, there were still many families in LA coveting ourpanies, but Stanley did a great job in getting rid of them for me.¡± Flynn¡¯s voice was full of joy because he had finally sessfullypleted the task Lucas had given him, and he naturally wanted to im credit now. Lucas also understood what Flynn was thinking. After all, before he sent Flynn to LA to integrate the Brookes¡¯ former businesses, he had already said that he would arrange for Flynn to take on more important tasks in the future if he couldplete this one well. Now, Flynn had indeed lived up to his expectations and handled the matters here in LA well. So it was also time for Lucas to honor his promise. ¡°How long have you been working for me?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. Flynn hurriedly replied, ¡°It¡¯s been a little over three months since you first returned to the Stardust Corporation.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°I¡¯m very satisfied with your performance during the past three months.¡± As soon as Flynn smiled, he heard Lucas say, ¡°However, three months isn¡¯t enough for you topletely be my trusted aide.¡± Flynn was shocked and hurriedly expressed his loyalty to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, I have absolutely no other intentions apart from being loyal to you. Please believe in my sincerity!¡± Lucas had clearly seen Flynn¡¯s performance during this period of time. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t trust Flynn, but rather, he had a greater n in mind. So he wouldn¡¯t easily trust someonepletely. ¡°Don¡¯t panic yet. I¡¯ll give you two options now.¡± Lucas looked at Flynn and said seriously, ¡°One, I¡¯ll give you fifteen million dors, and it¡¯s up to you to do what you want with it, be it start your own business or whatsoever. In any case, what you do in the future will have nothing to do with me. ¡°Two, continue to work for me. But the tasks that I will be giving you may be very dangerous, and your life might even be at stake. ¡°You have two options. Make your choice!¡± Chapter 376: Choice For The Future

Chapter 376: Choice For The Future

When Lucas told him the first option and the sum of 15 million dors, Flynn¡¯s eyes only widened in surprise, but he didn¡¯t seem very excited. When Lucas revealed the second option, Flynn furrowed his brows a little, but he soon made up his mind without much hesitation and said firmly, ¡°I choose the second option!¡± Lucas raised a brow. ¡°You still don¡¯t know what I need you to do yet. Besides, I¡¯ve already told you explicitly that the tasks might be very dangerous. Are you sure you still want to pick the second option?¡± Flynn nodded seriously. ¡°I¡¯m very sure. I may get fifteen million dors in cash and livefortably for the rest of my life if I pick the first option, while the second option involves the possibility of great danger and is full of countless challenges, changes, and uncertainties. But I¡¯d like to continue working for you and experience different sides of life, Lucas!¡± Flynn was not being pretentious. Lucas¡¯s promise of a whopping 15 million dors in cash was definitely a staggering amount for Flynn, who had worked as a general manager for a long time. Many people might never even earn one-tenth or even one-hundredth of this amount after working hard all their lives. Lucas¡¯s offer was definitely considered generous. But during the three months that he had been in contact with Lucas, he had witnessed Lucas¡¯s strength and power, leaving him in awe and admiration. It was only normal to look up to the strong, and Flynn hoped to stay by Lucas¡¯s side so that he could get closer to him and learn more from him. Besides, he believed that as long as he continued to work for Lucas, he would definitely make more than 15 million dors in the future. There were countless ways to make money, but there is only one Lucas Gray in this world. If he missed this opportunity, he would definitely regret it for the rest of his life! Flynn had made his choice. Lucas was a little surprised by Flynn¡¯s answer, but at the same time, he was also satisfied with it. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so eager about making your choice. I have some things to make clear to you.¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°I reckon you should know that the Stardust Corporation in Orange County now is not aplete entity on its own. It can be said that the Stardust Corporation is just the branch of argerpany. The true giants and important industries are still under the control of the Huttons of DC. ¡°The task I¡¯m going to assign you is to infiltrate the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation in DC and act as a vanguard for me by getting rid of all the snitches and snakes.¡± A trace of excitement appeared in Flynn¡¯s eyes when he heard that Lucas wanted to send him to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters in DC. Lucas continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure you have some understanding of my situation. I¡¯ll tell you straight. The Huttons have been trying to get me to return to the family to seed their empire because of some issues. However, I didn¡¯t agree. There are some people in the Hutton family who think that my existence is a hindrance to them, so they will target me. ¡°As the general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, whom I handpicked, you will inevitably be ostracized and targeted by them when you are transferred to the headquarters in DC. Your life might even be in danger. ¡°They may not dare to kill me, but they will very likely resort to some extreme means to deal with the people I send over. ¡°So if you choose this path, you will indeed be in great danger. I¡¯m not trying to scare you, but I need you to be aware of the possible risks. You can answer me after you¡¯ve thought it through clearly and decide which path you want to choose.¡± After Lucas finished speaking, he sipped some water quietly while waiting for Flynn to make his decision. Although Lucas did want to send someone to take over the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters, and Flynn was indeed a very suitable candidate, Lucas felt obliged to inform him of the possible dangers beforehand and let him consider carefully before deciding whether to go or not. Otherwise, Lucas would just be tricking him into tempting fate. After all, most of the departments of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters in DC had been managed and controlled by the Huttons for years. Among them, there were many who didn¡¯t want Lucas to go back to DC, and the situation there might be even more dangerous than what he made it out to be. After hearing Lucas¡¯s honest exnation of the possible dangers he might encounter, Flynn slipped into a somber dilemma. Although he really wanted to continue working for Lucas and staying by his side, he also knew that it was very likely that he would lose his life because of it. So it was indeed an extremely difficult choice that he had to make. After pondering quietly for a while, Flynn suddenly asked, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯d like to ask you a question. What do the Huttons mean to you?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°They are existences that I will definitely destroy!¡± His tone was brimming with strong confidence and certainty that he would emerge victorious. Moreover, he didn¡¯t seem to perceive it as a difficult task at all but only a small goal he could easily aplish. Flynn looked at Lucas in astonishment. The Huttons were one of the eight most powerful families in DC, and they were truly authoritative and wealthy enough to be considered behemoths that could affect the country¡¯s economic system. But Lucas didn¡¯t seem to take them seriously at all, as he casually said that he would destroy them. If someone else said this, Flynn would think that that person was just blowing their trumpet. But since Lucas was the one who said it, Flynn would never doubt the truth of his words in the slightest. A great sense of pride arose in Flynn¡¯s heart as he dered loudly, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve decided I will choose the second path and go to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters in DC!¡± Making this decision was a massive gamble for Flynn. If he lost, he would lose his life. But if he won, he would obtain things far beyond his imagination! ¡°Have you really thought it through?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°Yes, I have!¡± Flynn answered firmly. Lucas smiled. ¡°Alright, in that case, I¡¯ll give you ten days to prepare. Take care of everything here at the Sr Corporation and hand over your duties to someone you trust. After ten days, I will arrange for you to take over a position in Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters! ¡°Also, I won¡¯t let you go there alone. When the timees, I¡¯ll send Stanley to stay by your side and ensure your safety.¡± Flynn was immediately overjoyed. During his stint in LA, he had seen with his own eyes how terrifying Stanley was. If he had an absolute expert like Stanley to protect him, it would definitely be safer for him to stay at the headquarters. ¡°Yes. Thank you for grooming me, Lucas. I won¡¯t let you down!¡± Flynn assured firmly. Lucas nodded with a domineering aura. He said coldly, ¡°However, I have to make things clear beforehand. If I find out that you dare to betray me, I¡¯ll definitely deal with you. You know me. I have at least a hundred ways to make your life feel worse than death. So you¡¯d better remember what I just said!¡± # Chapter 377: Lousy Tea Leaves

Chapter 377: Lousy Tea Leaves

Lucas¡¯s aura was not something that ordinary people could withstand. Even Flynn, who had been working for Lucas for a long time, felt a sudden chill down his spine. He frantically lowered his head and said, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t worry. I will let my actions do the talking!¡± Lucas had merely given Flynn a hint. Seeing that he had caught it, Lucas stood up and walked toward the door. ¡°In the next ten days,plete the handover of your duties in the Sr Corporation and take care of your remaining affairs. I¡¯m leaving now.¡± When he walked to the door, Lucas suddenly remembered that the front end of his Jaguar was badly damaged and deformed. Although it was still drivable, it was quite an eyesore that didn¡¯t fit well with the scenery of the city. ¡°Get someone to send my car in for repairs and find me a temporary recement car.¡± Lucas tossed the key of his Jaguar onto the table. Flynn hurriedly took out a Porsche car key from his pocket and handed it to Lucas. ¡°You can use my car for the time being! There are other cars avable for use in the office¡¯s garage. I¡¯ll just use one of them.¡± Without further ado, Lucas grabbed the Porsche car key and left the general manager¡¯s office. ... In the Turners¡¯ farmhouse vi... After Lucas and William left, Eddie called his children to his room and flew into a rage. Heshed out at Karen harshly because the confession she had made had put Alex and Gretchen to great shame in front of their rtives. Of course, Eddie was just being biased toward Alex and Gretchen. He keptmenting about how hard their lives werepared to hers, as she had been living in thep of luxury after marrying into the Carter family. He also said that since Karen was the oldest child, she should help her younger siblings instead of asking them to return the money they had borrowed from her. He also criticized Karen for turning her back against them and said that she was disregarding their familial ties by doing so. In the end, Eddie decided that all the loans that Alex and Gretchen had taken from Karen were to be written off. In addition, the two vis, which Karen had contributed arge amount of money to build, would no longer have anything to do with her. Even after Eddie passed away, Karen and her daughters would not get a single cent of the inheritance. Karen naturally felt extremely aggrieved, but they were her biological father and siblings after all. Besides, she had taken the initiative to give them that money. Now that Eddie had just had a hypertensive crisis, Karen didn¡¯t dare to argue with them at this moment because she was afraid of provoking Eddie to the point of copse. Thus, she had no choice but to acquiesce. Suddenly, Nikki ran in from outside and happily announced, ¡°Grandpa, my paternal grandfather is here, and he¡¯s brought the helmsman of the Morgan family!¡± All the Turners were astounded, and Eddie was overjoyed. He hurriedly said, ¡°Quick, follow me outside to greet the honored guests!¡± The two guests who arrived indeed had a higher status than the Turners. The first was Nikki¡¯s paternal grandfather, Robert Heron, an entrepreneur in LA who had founded the Heron Corp more than two decades ago. It was now developing extremely well, and he had handed thepany over to Nikki¡¯s father, Justin Heron, because he was advanced in his years. This time, he had brought Sam Morgan, the helmsman of the Morgan family, with him. Although the Morgans were not a top family in LA, they were the top among the second-rate ones and were not to be belittled. Sam and Robert met in the military when they were younger, and back in the day, they wererades of the same squad. Sam had even saved Robert¡¯s life during one of the battles they fought. So they had been very close to each other over the years. This time, Robert visited the Turners to congratte them as Gretchen¡¯s father-inw. On the other hand, Sam was just apanying Robert. Eddie immediately felt honored and ttered to have such distinguished guests over at his ce to congratte his grandson on his wedding. He led the Turners to the door and personally weed the two distinguished guests to the living room of the vi. Meanwhile, the Turners¡¯ rtives originally in the living room had the self-awareness to move to the other vi to make room for the distinguished guests. ¡°Congrattions, Eddie. Your grandson is getting married!¡± ¡°Yeah, congrattions, my dear inw!¡± After the two guests sat down on therge sofa in the living room, they both congratted Eddie. ¡°Thank you, thank you. It¡¯s a blessing for my grandson to receive your well wishes!¡± Eddie hurriedly thanked them politely. ¡°Hahaha, we¡¯re all family. There¡¯s no need to be so polite!¡± Robert chuckled loudly. Sam said amicably, ¡°Robert and I have been close friends for decades, and his inws are mine too. It just so happens that he wanted toe over to your ce today, so I decided to join him for the fun. Eddie, I hope you don¡¯t mind meing uninvited!¡± Eddie hurriedly said, ¡°Why would I? I¡¯m more than happy to have you here!¡± After the few old menughed and exchanged pleasantries, Sam ordered his bodyguard to bring over the wedding gifts he and Robert had prepared. ¡°We were nning to attend the wedding ceremony tomorrow, but an old friend we haven¡¯t seen for many years ising to LA tomorrow, so we won¡¯t have time to attend it. So we decided to send the wedding gifts here in advance,¡± Sam exined smilingly. Robert chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right. The old friend that¡¯sing over tomorrow is the former head of the military squad that we used to belong to. Sam and I are going to go meet him, so we¡¯ll have to miss the wedding!¡± In fact, given their high status, Eddie wouldn¡¯t me them for missing his grandson¡¯s wedding. Besides, the two of them had alreadye to give them some wedding gifts before the wedding, which was enough respect for the Turners! Eddie was grinning widely from ear to ear as he politely told them it was okay. ¡°Hey, I smell tea. Where is this aromaing from?¡± Sam suddenly sniffled and looked around curiously. Eddie was instructing Nikki to pour some tea for Robert and Sam. When he heard what Same said, he said conceitedly, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s some premium Silver Tips Imperial tea that I¡¯ve specially bought. It tastes pretty good. Since you two like tea, please have some.¡± Sam shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not referring to that. The aroma smells like Da Hong Pao.¡± As he spoke, he stood up and looked around, only to see the bag of tea leaves that had been tossed into the trash can near him. ¡°What are such fine tea leaves doing in the trash? What¡¯s going on here?¡± Sam asked in puzzlement. Nikki said, ¡°Mr. Morgan, those are just some lousy tea leaves that a good-for-nothing bought to fool my grandfather. He even imed that it costs a few million dors, but my grandfather exposed him immediately.¡± ¡°What? Lousy tea leaves?¡± Sam widened his eyes in shock. As soon as he smelled the aroma that seemed a little faint and far away, he knew at once that it was from premium tea leaves that were far better quality than the tea they were drinking now. Besides, the exquisite packaging was also proof that it was expensive and of superior grade. How could it be considered lousy? Sam was in disbelief and confusion, so he simply reached out to grab the bag of tea leaves from the trash can! # Chapter 378: Incorrigible

Chapter 378: Incorrigible

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Fortunately, the Turners were receiving guests today, so all the trash cans had been cleaned and lined with new stic bags prior to their arrival. Thus, there was no other trash in the can other than the bag of tea leaves. However, Sam¡¯s actions had really surprised everyone. ¡°Sam, what are you doing? That¡¯s dirty!¡± Robert was astonished by Sam¡¯s jaw-dropping actions because his old friend was a clean freak. Yet he actually picked something up from the trash, which waspletely out of the ordinary. ¡°Didn¡¯t Nikki already say that it¡¯s just a bag of lousy tea leaves? Why did you pick them up to take a look?¡± Robert asked in bewilderment, unable to figure out the reason for Sam¡¯s actions. Eddie hurriedly said, ¡°Yeah, Mr. Morgan, you¡¯d better put it back, lest it dirties your hand! This bag of tea leaves is a gift from my grandson-inw, who¡¯s nothing but a freeloader. He even imed that it was top-grade Da Hong Pao tea. Hah, he¡¯s just a penniless live-in husband who sponges off his wife. How can he possibly afford to buy such expensive tea leaves? He was just trying to fool me with some lousy goods! ¡°Ah, the sight of this bag of lousy tea leaves really angers me. I don¡¯t even want to talk about him. It¡¯s such a misfortune of our family!¡± Eddie sighed. Nikki hurriedly said, ¡°Grandpa, why are you getting so worked up because of someone like him? Calm down. Don¡¯t let your health be affected!¡± Then she said to Sam, ¡°Mr. Morgan, let me help you dispose of the tea leaves.¡± Nikki reached out to grab the bag of tea leaves from Sam. ¡°Hold it!¡± Sam suddenly yelled and moved his hand away from Nikki¡¯s hand. Instead of putting down the bag of tea leaves, he carefully opened the packaging and saw that the tea leaves had been packed into smaller bags. When he unsealed the bag, the rich aroma of tea intensified. Sam took several deep breaths, seemingly mesmerized. After a long time, he sighed and said, ¡°Yes, yes, this is the aroma I was talking about!¡± Everyone looked at Sam, dumbfounded by his bizarre and bewildering actions. Is it possible that the helmsman of the prestigious Morgan family actually has a penchant for these lousy tea leaves? Robert was puzzled too. ¡°Sam, you¡¯re quite particr when ites to tea. Why are you...¡± Sam ced the bag of tea leaves on the table reluctantly and suddenly said to Eddie, ¡°Eddie, sell this bag of tea leaves to me. I¡¯ll pay you a million dors!¡± ¡°Huh??¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°A million dors?! Sam, you must be out of your mind!¡± Everyone eximed in astonishment. Eddie¡¯s gaze froze, and he couldn¡¯t react at all. Nikki hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Morgan, these are just some lousy tea leaves from a good-for-nothing. They aren¡¯t worth much. Why are you offering such a high price for them?¡± Robert nodded and agreed with his granddaughter. ¡°Yeah, Robert. Even if you¡¯re rich, you shouldn¡¯t be splurging like this!¡± After hearing the amount of $1,000,000, Eddie received a great shock because $1,000,000 for a bag of tea leaves was absurdly expensive to him! If it were any other time, Eddie would have happily given the tea leaves to Sam for the sake of getting into his good books, even though he would feel the pinch. Unfortunately, the bag of tea leaves was a gift from Lucas, which they insistently felt were tea leaves of inferior quality. He didn¡¯t dare to give it to Sam, for fear that it would be detrimental to his health, much less sell it to him at such a staggering price. ¡°Mr. Morgan, thank you for your offer, but these tea leaves are really not best-quality Da Hong Pao. They¡¯re just some shabby inferior goods that even I don¡¯t dare to drink. Please don¡¯t crack such a joke with me!¡± Then Eddie walked straight to the table and picked up the bag of tea leaves, for fear that Sam would continue insisting that he sell the tea leaves to him. He then handed the bag to Nikki. ¡°Nikki, quickly throw these tea leaves away. Just flush them down the sewer or something. Don¡¯t let anyone drink them by ident. The consequences will be dire if it leads to poisoning!¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa!¡± Nikki answered in a clear voice. She picked up the bag of tea leaves and walked away. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t! Wait!¡± Sam stood up anxiously and wanted to stop Nikki, but being an old man in histe sixties, he was no match for Nikki, a young girl in her twenties, in terms of speed. By the time he caught up to Nikki outside, she had already swiftly poured the tea leaves into the sewer and flushed them down with a basin of dirty water that had been used for washing vegetables. The small packages of tea leaves tumbled and vanished into the sewer immediately. ¡°Grandpa, Mr. Morgan, I¡¯ve already flushed the tea leaves away. We no longer have to worry about identally drinking them and getting food poisoning!¡± Nikki said smilingly with a proud expression, seemingly trying to im credit. ¡°You... you...!¡± Sam felt extremely frustrated and furious, so much that he almost cked out. ¡°You people are a bunch of dimwits! Do you know what you just flushed away? Those are top-quality Da Hong Pao tea leaves that are the best in the world! They can fetch prices that are even higher than a million dors!¡± ¡°You refused to sell it to me, and now you¡¯ve done this... You¡¯ve ruined such a precious bag of excellent tea leaves! You people... are really going to be the death of me!¡± Sam felt like his heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were beginning to ache. He didn¡¯t want to stay here for a minute longer, or he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the urge to hit them! He huffed and puffed twice before suddenly turning around to walk out of the gates. ¡°Sam, where are you going? Hey... Wait for me!¡± Robert was stunned for a moment, but he soon hurriedly chased after Sam. The Turners were dumbfounded by the situation and unable to react for a long time. Stupefied, they stood rooted to the ground, confused as to why Sam lost his temper out of nowhere. Sam was moving very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, he already left the courtyard and reached his car. He pulled open the car door and suddenly turned around to look at Robert. ¡°Robert, on ount that we¡¯ve been friends for decades, let me give you a piece of advice. Stay away from the Turners. They are hopelessly stupid!¡± ¡°Sam, what do you mean by that?¡± After all, he and the Turners were inws, and he was rather ashamed when Sam criticized the Turners. Sam humphed coldly and said angrily, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell yet? That bag of tea leaves was authentic! A person who can easily afford to spend millions on a bag of tea leaves was actually regarded as a good-for-nothing by the Turners. They even threw the bag away like it¡¯s trash. Don¡¯t you think they¡¯re hopelessly ignorant and stupid?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. Just look out for yourself! Then Sam got into his car furiously and instructed his chauffeur to start driving away immediately. By the time the Turners came out to chase after him, Sam¡¯s car was already long gone. # Chapter 379: Complete Mess

Chapter 379: Complete Mess

Robert stood rooted to the ground as he carefully recalled what Sam said. Indeed, Sam is a tea connoisseur. Since he said those tea leaves are authentic, it should more likely than not be the case. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have offered so much money for a lousy bag of tea leaves. If the tea leaves are authentic, the young man who gifted them to Eddie shouldn¡¯t be an ordinary person. But both Eddie and Nikki called him a good-for-nothing who freeloads off his wife, and they clearly sounded contemptuous just now. They even threw the tea leaves he gave Eddie into the trash. That just goes to show that they detest him a lot. In that case, Sam is right. The Turners are indeed too ignorant and improvident. Eddie walked toward Robert and looked at the car in the distance that had long left. He said in displeasure, ¡°Robert, what¡¯s wrong with Mr. Morgan? I didn¡¯t offend him just now. I chose not to sell him those tea leaves because they¡¯re terrible and I was afraid that he might get food poisoning from them! Why did he suddenly storm off in a huff?¡± While feeling displeased, Eddie also felt rather aggrieved. He had already given up earning the one million dors and just wanted to make sure that Sam wouldn¡¯t risk drinking something harmful to his body. Yet Sam didn¡¯t appreciate his thoughtfulness and instead got upset with him. Even though he has a higher status than me, he shouldn¡¯t have lost his temper and snapped at me so unceremoniously. Robert let out a long sigh and looked at Eddie with aplicated expression. ¡°Eddie, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve really made a wrong judgment this time.¡± ¡°Wrong judgment? What do you mean?¡± Eddie asked in puzzlement. Robert said with a strange expression, ¡°Sam is a tea connoisseur. He has done due research into tea leaves and has a sharp sense of smell that allows him to urately guess the grade and type of tea leaves just based on their aroma. The tea leaves you threw out and even instructed Nikki to flush down the sewer were genuine Da Hong Pao tea leaves of the finest quality. They are the best of the best, ording to Sam. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t have ruined those tea leaves just now!¡± Robert said helplessly. At this moment, even he felt that the Turners were indeed very foolish. The Turners assumed that that bag of beautifully packaged tea leaves was lousy and tossed it into the trash without even opening it. The thought of those top-grade tea leaves worth millions being flushed into the sewer made even Robert, who didn¡¯t quite have a penchant for tea, find it a huge pity. Sam, the tea connoisseur, would undeniably feel worse. In particr, Sam had already offered to pay a high price for the tea leaves, but the Turners would actually rather flush them down the sewer than sell them to him. Anyone in Sam¡¯s ce would be furious. The Turners and their rtives started crowding over here and were all in disbelief after hearing what Robert said. Eddie gaped a little with astonishment written all over his face, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say a single word. At the time, he flew into a rage as soon as he heard that the tea leaves were a gift from Lucas. So he self-righteously assumed the tea leaves were fake and immediately tossed them into the trash. Even though Robert just told him that those tea leaves were authentic, he was still apprehensive and in disbelief. Nikki felt incredibly disgruntled when she thought of the fact that she was the one who had flushed those tea leaves down the sewer with her very own hands. It was akin to tearing apart a winning lottery ticket. ¡°Impossible! He¡¯s just a penniless good-for-nothing. How can he possibly be able to afford such an expensive bag of tea leaves? He must have been lying!¡± Nikki was frustrated and refused to believe it. Smack! To everyone¡¯s surprise, Robert pped Nikki on her face! ¡°Shut up! That was the judgment made by Mr. Morgan himself. Are you doubting the credibility of his words? Sam and I have been friends for decades, and it¡¯s not up to you to doubt him!¡± ¡°Grampa, you... you pped me!¡± Nikki covered her face, feeling aggrieved and exasperated. She thought she was an honored guest here. Yet her paternal grandfather pped her mercilessly in front of everyone, making her feel extremely ashamed and embarrassed. Nikki was so ashamed and angry that she covered her face and ran away while weeping. ¡°Hmph, the older you get, the more insensible you are!¡± Robert said indignantly. Ignoring his granddaughter, he said to Eddie, ¡°Since we¡¯ve delivered the gifts, I¡¯ll take my leave now, Eddie. I have something to do.¡± With that, Robert left in his car without waiting for Eddie to ask him to stay. Eddie was dumbfounded for a long time, but he still couldn¡¯t recover from the shock as he continued to stand in the same spot. The Turners used to be countryside vigers, and they basically had no family background or assets. They had even asked Karen for money to build these two vis that they were living in. Usually, they would rejoice for a long time whenever Karen gave them thousands of dors. If not for the fact that Eddie¡¯s youngest daughter, Gretchen, had married a wealthy husband, Robert and Sam wouldn¡¯t have bothered toe all the way here to visit them. But just a few minutes ago, they actually flushed away a bag of tea leaves worth more than a million dors into the sewer. Eddie suddenly felt like he was in a dream, as he found it hard toe to terms with the reality that someone had offered so much money for some tea leaves. Eddie thought of something and suddenly turned around to walk to the courtyard. He went up to Cheyenne, who was inside a room of the other vi, and asked anxiously, ¡°Cheyenne, are the tea leaves you gave me just now really authentic?¡± Cheyenne nodded firmly. ¡°Lucas will never give counterfeit goods as gifts.¡± Although she didn¡¯t know anything about tea, she was very certain that Lucas would never try to fool anyone by passing counterfeit goods off as authentic, especially since it was a gift. Eddie suddenly took two steps backward with a despondent expression, seemingly having suffered a huge blow. He suddenly raised his head again to look at his wife and asked anxiously, ¡°Where¡¯s that Buddha statue? The one Lucas gave you just now, where is it?¡± Mrs. Turner pursed her lips. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was fake? When I was throwing it away just now, the kids happened to see it, so they took it away and treated it as a toy.¡± ¡°What?! How could you give that Buddha statue to the kids? Quick, hurry up and get it back!¡± Eddie urged anxiously and asked everyone present to help find the Buddha statue quickly. Soon, a few of the Turners walked over fearfully with a few unlucky children. ¡°Eddie, these kids didn¡¯t know what the statue was worth, and they started smashing some walnuts against it for fun. In the end... it...¡± They couldn¡¯t bring themselves to continue and instead handed the jade fragments of the broken Buddha statue to Eddie with trembling hands. ¡°You...! Wastrels... a bunch of wastrels!¡± Eddie¡¯s expression turned incredibly gloomy as he looked up in the sky to wail in agony before clutching his chest and falling backward. ¡°Dad! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Uncle! Hang in there!¡± ¡°Grandpa, nothing must happen to you!¡± ... All of a sudden, the Turners panicked and broke into chaos. Chapter 380: Waiting To Take Advantage

Chapter 380: Waiting To Take Advantage

Fortunately, Eddie just suffered a hypertensive crisis again because of getting too agitated, which made his blood pressure rise. After taking some blood pressure medication, his breathing slowly stabilized again. But Eddie now looked visibly more haggard than before because he was as pale as a sheet and looked like he had aged several years all of a sudden. He had clearly suffered a massive blow. After recovering from the attack, he looked at his children and grandchildren standing around him. He said with a despondent expression, ¡°Cheyenne,e here and bring me back!¡± He was extremely miserable and full of regret for what he had done. Lucas, Cheyenne, Charlotte, and William had all said that the tea leaves were authentic, yet he insisted that they were fake and refused to believe them! The tea leaves worth more than a million dors were flushed down the sewer just like that, while the Buddha statue, which he was certain was made of genuine jade, was smashed into bits. How could he not be heartbroken and grief-stricken? After Cheyenne helped Eddie back to his room, Alex happened to return home and heard about the matter, leaving him in utter shock. He asked in disbelief, ¡°How is this possible? How could the tea leaves and Buddha statue that Karen¡¯s good-for-nothing son-inw gave possibly be authentic?¡± He could hardly believe it! Gretchen pped her thighs and said with great regret, ¡°Exactly. Who would have thought that those tea leaves and the jade Buddha statue were authentic? I heard that those tea leaves were worth more than a million, and that Buddha statue must be a rare and expensive item worth about the same. Yet they¡¯ve been ruined! Otherwise, we would have struck a windfall!¡± Gretchen¡¯s words made the Turners feel great heartache. ¡°But knew that Karen¡¯s son-inw would be able to give such valuable gifts?¡± ¡°Yes, this just goes to show that Karen¡¯s life is getting better and better. The gifts her son-inw gave her parents were worth so much money!¡± ¡°Exactly. Karen has always been beautiful since she was a child, and since she married into the Carter family, she has been living in luxury. What an enviable life! Now that she has such a capable son-inw, her life will definitely get even better in the future!¡± ¡°Yes, both of Karen¡¯s daughters are sopetent too. Not only are they pretty, but they¡¯ve be the general managers ofrge corporations at such a young age. They¡¯re going to bring so much money home. Ah, so envious!¡± ... Everyone in the Turner residence kept singing praises about Karen, and they were making it sound as though she was the most sessful one in the family. Karen modestly epted thepliments, but deep down, she was incredibly smug and was enjoying the praises. But when she heard these people praising Lucas, she felt extremely displeased. In particr, the fact that Lucas had given her parents such expensive gifts, which he had never given her before even though she was his mother-inw, made her extremely exasperated! In fact, Karen really wronged Lucas. Soon after Lucas returned some time ago, he had also given Karen lots of gifts, such as the top-grade diamond bracelet that James Wilson¡¯s wife, Sharon, had taken a liking to previously. It was worth several million dors, but Karen simply treated it as an inferior good and even mocked Lucas about it. Karen, like the Turners, were all improvident people who failed to recognize valuable items. ¡°Karen, Cheyenne¡¯s husband seems pretty good!¡± ¡°Yeah, he doesn¡¯t seem to be as terrible and ipetent as you made him out to be. He gave us such expensive gifts, and most importantly, he¡¯s willing to spend on your parents. He¡¯s really quite a good son-inw!¡± A few of them started praising Lucas, and even Alex had a change of attitude. He said to Karen, ¡°We¡¯re about to have dinner soon, but William and Lucas left because we made them upset just now. Quickly, give him a call and ask them toe back!¡± Feeling indignant, Karen deliberately hollered, ¡°Lucas Gray isn¡¯t as good as you make him out to be. You have no idea how sloven he is at home. He idles about all day and doesn¡¯t even have a proper job. He¡¯s just a freeloader! The tea leaves and Buddha statue he gave were bought with Cheyenne¡¯s money!¡± Of course, some people believed Karen, while some did not. Cheyenne and Charlotte were now the general managers of major corporations. It would make sense that they had spent so much money on those gifts. But some people thought that there was no way they could have earned so much money since they had only be general managers recently. ¡°Karen, don¡¯t you keep demanding that Cheyenne divorces Lucas? Are they still going to get a divorce or not? If they are, I¡¯d like to do some matchmaking!¡± one of Karen¡¯s cousins said excitedly with anticipation. Karen knew that the son of her cousin¡¯s rtive was still a bachelor, so she reckoned that her cousin was thinking of introducing Cheyenne to him. She rolled her eyes and said disdainfully, ¡°Drop the idea. I don¡¯t want my daughter to marry into your family and end up suffering!¡± Karen¡¯s cousin didn¡¯t get angry and instead said smilingly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We know we¡¯re not worthy of Cheyenne. I¡¯m referring to Lucas. If you don¡¯t want him to be your son-inw anymore, I can set him up with someone. My husband¡¯s niece happens to be single. I can introduce Lucas to her!¡± A few more rtives were inspired by her words and hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, I also know a girl in her twenties who¡¯s a suitable candidate. It¡¯ll be quite a good thing to set her up with Lucas!¡± ¡°My colleague¡¯s daughter is almost thirty but still unmarried. My colleague and her husband are worried sick. They just hope for their daughter to marry a decent man. I think we can set them up! Anyway, Karen doesn¡¯t want him to be her son-inw anymore.¡± Karen originally thought that Lucas was just a good-for-nothing whom no one wanted. But to her surprise, many of her rtives were trying to set him up with people they knew. She was displeased that they were thinking of picking up the trash she left behind. ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s just an ipetent good-for-nothing, but all of you are treating him like a gem. Hah, I¡¯m really unimpressed! Fine. I don¡¯t want him to be my son-inw anyway. You guys can take him for all I care. You don¡¯t have to inform me!¡± Karen rolled her eyes with contempt on her face. ¡°Mom, Aunt, what are you guys talking about?¡± Cheyenne walked out of Eddie¡¯s room with a sullen expression. # Chapter 381: Old Man by the Road

Chapter 381: Old Man by the Road

But Karen¡¯s cousin failed to notice the sullen expression on Cheyenne¡¯s face and said excitedly, ¡°Cheyenne, when are you going to divorce Lucas? If you get divorced, I¡¯ll introduce my niece to him. Well, since your mom said that you guys don¡¯t want him in your family anymore, let us have him. Don¡¯t allow benefits to go to others!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face became even more sullen, and she nced at Karen furiously. She had already told Karen countless times that she would never divorce Lucas, so she couldn¡¯t understand why Karen refused to listen and even told her rtives that they were going to get a divorce. Considering that there were so many people present, Cheyenne suppressed her anger and tried her best to stay calm as she said, ¡°Aunt, Mom is just kidding. Lucas is my husband, and we¡¯re in a very loving rtionship. We don¡¯t have ns to get divorced!¡± Karen¡¯s cousin was instantly disappointed, and shemented, ¡°Huh? You aren¡¯t getting a divorce? What a pity!¡± Cheyenne was enraged. Who in their right mind would tantly express their hopes for a married couple to divorce so that she can matchmake her rtive with someone else¡¯s husband? What an oddball! ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Lucas had already left the Sr Corporation and decided to head straight to the hotel he and William had agreed to check into because he had nothing else nned for the day. While driving on a street with few pedestrians, Lucas suddenly discovered that the road ahead was blocked by arge group of people crowding around the roadside for some reason. Lucas pulled over near the road and immediately heard the incessant sounds of discussioning from outside the car. ¡°That man is so old and seems quite pitiful!¡± ¡°He does look very pitiful, but who dares to help him up? These days, who dares to do good deeds like helping the elderly up unless they have millions in the bank! If he ends up being a conman and uses you of causing his injury, you won¡¯t be able to afford thepensation even if you go bankrupt!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There are so many con artists who pretend to be pitiful and vulnerable out there these days, but once you go lend them a helping hand, they¡¯ll grab you tightly and refuse to let go. They¡¯ll use you of knocking them over and causing them to get hurt, then insist that youpensate them for their medical expenses. When the timees, you won¡¯t be able to exin yourself clearly!¡± ¡°Exactly. We must refrain from touching the elderly on the streets these days! I was at a rtive¡¯s ce the other day, and I saw an old man lying on the streets. A kind-hearted young man walked over to help him up, but the old man turned out to be a swindler. In the end, the poor young man had topensate tens of thousands of dors, and now, he and his family are still facing many people showing up at their door to scold them every day!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not that the elderly have be vile, but rather, the crooks have gotten old. Anyway, I don¡¯t have the guts to go help him up. I¡¯m too poor to afford the consequences!¡± ... Lucas got a rough idea of what was happening and reckoned that an elderly man had probably copsed onto the ground on the road ahead. However, there were many bystanders crowding around him and watching, but none of them dared to go forward to help. Lucas got out of his car without hesitation and squeezed his way through the crowd to get to the front. He saw a white-haired old man lying on the ground, his face deathly pale. He seemed to be having breathing difficulties, and his body was convulsing incessantly. He even made multiple attempts to reach his hand into his breast pocket, but they were all futile because his hand would slip down every single time. Lucas was shocked, and he immediately dashed forward to rescue him. He had spent many years in the army and could tell at a nce that the old man in front of him wasn¡¯t a conman pretending to be distressed. But he was showing symptoms of a heart attack, and the situation was extremely urgent. If the old man wasn¡¯t rescued in time, he would probably die before the ambnce arrived. Seeing that the old man had tried to reach into his pocket several times, Lucas guessed that his emergency medication should be inside his pocket. ¡°Sir, hang in there!¡± Lucas muttered softly while reaching for the emergency medication in the pocket of the old man¡¯s clothing. At this moment, someone ced their hand on Lucas¡¯s arm to stop him. ¡°Young man, take my advice. Don¡¯t think you¡¯re doing good by helping him! These days, kindness doesn¡¯t necessarily beget kindness. This old man is probably pretending to be ill. Don¡¯t get yourself into big trouble by trying to save others!¡± The person speaking was a middle-aged man in his forties who seemed to have been in a simr situation before. ¡°Let go!¡± Lucas yelled and then broke free from that middle-aged man¡¯s grip. He then continued to reach his hand into the old man¡¯s breast pocket. The middle-aged man felt that Lucas was disregarding his kind intentions and couldn¡¯t help snapping indignantly, ¡°Hah, ignorant young man. I was kind enough to advise you, but you refuse to listen. Once you get swindled and end up going bankrupt trying to pay thepensation, you¡¯ll regret your decision now!¡± The others around also nodded one after another and chimed in, ¡°Exactly. This man clearly doesn¡¯t know any better. We¡¯re persuading him out of kindness because we¡¯re afraid that he might get cheated by a conman, but he isn¡¯t grateful at all!¡± ¡°Hmph, if he gets scammedter, he totally deserves it. Well, he¡¯ll only have himself to me for choosing not to heed our advice! ¡°There are too many self-righteous people like him in this world. That¡¯s why there are so many con artists these days. If everyone minds their own business, those con artists won¡¯t get the chance to cheat anyone, and they¡¯ll gradually die out!¡± ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s just wait and see how he regrets itter!¡± ... Lucas ignored their remarks and simply reached into the old man¡¯s pocket. Soon, he found a small and delicate vialbeled with the words ¡®Enhanced Aspirin¡¯. Lucas poured two pills into the old man¡¯s mouth and quickly grabbed a bottle of water from his car beforeing over again to give the old man some water to wash the pills down. He then unbuttoned a few buttons below the cor of the old man¡¯s shirt so that the old man could breathe properly while leaning against Lucas¡¯s arm. Immediately afterward, Lucas called the ambnce and exined the situation in detail to the dispatcher. After a while, the old man¡¯s breathing gradually became calmer, and the tension on his face eased up. He was no longer as pale as before, and he even slowly opened his eyes. Seeing that the old man had regained consciousness and hisplexion had be much better, the bystanders finally realized that the old man on the ground didn¡¯t seem to be a conman and had really suffered a heart attack. ¡°He... seems to have really had a heart attack.¡± ¡°Yeah, the old man¡¯splexion is obviously better. He probably didn¡¯t use makeup to make himself look pale! Besides, he didn¡¯t grab the young man and insist that hepensate him either...¡± ¡°Damn it. He¡¯s actually really sick! We actually thought he was a conman... Fortunately, this young man rescued him. Otherwise, this old man would have really died!¡± ¡°Thank God!¡± Seeing that the old man¡¯s face had eased up greatly and that he could even sit up by himself, Lucas let go of him and stood up. He looked around at the bystanders and said loudly, ¡°I understand that you don¡¯t dare to help others without consideration because you¡¯re worried about getting scammed. But in this world, crooks are a minority after all. Sometimes, the people we encounter might really be in need of help. There are many ways to prevent yourself from being cheated by others, such as taking pictures of the situation before giving help or asking the others around you to bear witness. An alternative would be to call 911 directly. ¡°If every one of us can do the same, we won¡¯t have to watch others suffer and die in agony.¡± Seeing that the people standing around were either deep in thought oring to a sudden realization, Lucas left without saying anything else. # Chapter 382: Savior

Chapter 382: Savior

He had already done everything he should, and the old man¡¯s condition had already stabilized too. He just had to wait for the ambnce to arrive. A short while after Lucas left, a red Maserati pulled over at the roadside, and a young woman in her twenties opened the car door and frantically dashed out. While yelling ¡®Grandpa¡¯, she rushed toward the crowd and leaped toward the old man. ¡°Grandpa, are you alright? Your heart rate monitor app showedrge fluctuations in your heart rate just now. I was so scared!¡± The young woman¡¯s eyes were red, and she seemed on the verge of tears. Her grandfather had a serious heart disease, so there would be people taking special care of him all the time. But today, he suddenly said that he wanted to go out to meet some oldrades in arms and thus walked around on the streets nearby. But he had a heart attack soon after he left. The white-haired old man stroked the head of the young woman lovingly andforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine now. Actually, it¡¯s all thanks to that young man who just saved me. Otherwise, I might have really died here.¡± ¡°Young man? A young man rescued you? Where is he?¡± the young woman hurriedly asked while looking around. The onlookers quickly avoided eye contact with her somewhat embarrassedly. After all, they had all thought that the old man was a conman, so none of them had dared to go forward to help and almost watched him die in front of their eyes. The white-haired old man sighed and said with regret, ¡°That young man left after seeing that I was fine. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t even have time to ask him for his name.¡± The young woman shifted her gaze onto the butler-like man who got out of the car together with her. ¡°Uncle n, there should be surveince cameras around here. Quickly find out who the young man who saved my grandfather is at all costs! Then prepare three million dors in cash as a thank you gift for that kind Samaritan!¡± After giving out instructions, the young woman turned around and stuck her tongue out at the white-haired old man. ¡°Grandpa, there¡¯s nothing wrong with this arrangement, right?¡± The white-haired old man nodded in approval. ¡°Well done. He saved my life. We really should find him and thank him properly!¡± After hearing their conversation, the onlookers were all stunned! They¡¯re giving that young man three million dors just because he saved the old man¡¯s life? How generous of them! Strictly speaking, Lucas hadn¡¯t applied any special technique when rescuing the old man but had simply taken out the emergency medication from the pocket of the old man¡¯s clothes. The onlookers felt that it was something that they could easily do! Yet Lucas would be rewarded a handsome sum of money that they might not be able to earn in this lifetime by working hard for the rest of their lives. It was even easier than winning a lottery ticket! At this moment, all the onlookers were chagrined and full of regret. If they had known earlier that the old man was so wealthy that he would casually give a reward of three million dors, they would have rushed to save him just now. Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world. Regardless of how much they regretted their passiveness, there was nothing they could do now! But many people had made up their minds and decided that they would definitely take the gamble and step up to help people in need if they ever encountered such an unexpected situation again. In case they were lucky enough to rescue a tycoon like this old man, they would no longer have to slog their guts out for the rest of their lives! The old man and his granddaughter were unaware of the changes in the mindsets of the onlookers. As the young woman and the butler beside her helped the white-haired old man to the car to take him to the hospital for a thorough checkup, another luxury Audi sedan pulled over by the road. The car doors opened, and two old men who simrly had white hair alighted. The two old men were none other than Robert Heron and Sam Morgan, who had just left the Turner residence. ¡°Mr. Cole... are you okay? When you called us just now, you said that you were about to reach the restaurant we agreed to meet at. Robert and I waited for you for a long time, but you still didn¡¯t show up, so we got really worried that you might have had a mishap!¡± Sam looked around to see that the crowd hadn¡¯t dispersed yet and looked worriedly at the old man being held by his granddaughter. The white-haired old man was Edmund Cole, the head of his family. Heughed twice and said smilingly, ¡°What are you being so formal for? We¡¯re old friends. Just call me Edmund like before! Robert, Sam, it¡¯s been a long time since west met, huh?¡± ¡°Haha, okay. Then we won¡¯t be formal with you, Edmund!¡± Robert and Sam seemed really agitated, but they were much more rxed than before. After all, although the three of them wererades in the same squad back in their military days, their statuses were now worlds apart. Since Edmund was still willing to care about their old ties, it was naturally best. ¡°Come, Alexis, greet Uncle Sam and Uncle Robert. They¡¯re my oldrades who fought alongside me through thick and thin on the battlefield back then!¡± ¡°Hello, Uncle Sam, Uncle Robert,¡± the young woman named Alexis immediately greeted the two of them graciously. ¡°Hello!¡± Robert was excited, surprised, and ttered. Strictly speaking, Sam was the one who was close to Edmund when they were in the same squad back in the day. Robert only became somewhat closer to the esteemed Edmundter because he was friends with Sam. While the few old friends were reminiscing about the old times and catching up with each other, an ambnce arrived with the sirens ringing loudly. ¡°We just received a call that there¡¯s a patient here who requires emergency rescue. Where is the patient now?¡± asked one of the first two paramedics who got out of the ambnce. Alexis Cole hurriedly pulled Edmund and said, ¡°Grandpa, you had a heart attack just now. You may have recovered from it, but we¡¯d better get you to the hospital for a thorough check!¡± Sam and Robert were shocked to hear this. ¡°Edmund, what happened to you just now? Why did you get a sudden heart attack?¡± Edmund waved his hand and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Well, it¡¯s an old ailment. I was walking over to meet you guys, but I suddenly had a heart attack along the way. Fortunately, a young man saved me. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid you two wouldn¡¯t be able to see me anymore!¡± Both of them were so frightened by what Edmund said that they broke out in cold sweat while feeling d and thankful that a young man had saved Edmund. Otherwise, he would have died on the way to see the two of them. Even though they weren¡¯t the cause of the heart attack, the Coles would probably put the me on them! ¡°Fortunately, that kind Samaritan saved you. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to live at ease for the rest of our lives. Actually, that young man is our benefactor too!¡± Sam said emotionally with lingering fears. ¡°Yeah, I wonder where that young man is now. We really have to thank him properly!¡± Robert said with a thankful expression while scanning the crowd. # Chapter 383: Scheme in the Hotel

Chapter 383: Scheme in the Hotel

Edmund sighed. ¡°That young man left immediately after saving me. I¡¯m afraid he did that exactly because he doesn¡¯t want me to thank him. But I have to thank him for saving my life! Just now, my granddaughter said that she would try to find him as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the right thing to do! You must inform us once you find him so that we can thank him in person as well!¡± Sam and Robert hurriedly said. Soon, Alexis helped Edmund get into the ambnce and sent him to the nearest hospital for a medical checkup. Sam and Robert were naturally still worried, so they drove behind the ambnce and followed it to the hospital. Edmund¡¯s bodyguard and butler tagged along at the back in Alexis¡¯s Maserati. After the group left, the onlookers who were still crowding around this spot suddenly broke into a heated discussion. ¡°Damn it. That old man is clearly not an ordinary figure! I don¡¯t know who he is, but the two who arrived after him are from LA. One of them is the helmsman of the Morgans, while the other is the founder of the Heron Corp. They¡¯re both big shots with worths of millions or even tens of millions of dors!¡± ¡°Are they such bigwigs? I noticed that they were really respectful toward that old man. That old man is probably someone extraordinary, huh?¡± ¡°Duh? He casually decided to reward his life savior with a few million dors. How could his identity possibly be simple?¡± ¡°Did you guys see the license te of the Maserati his granddaughter drove? It belongs to San Francisco, and I even heard Mr. Sam Morgan calling him Mr. Cole. Could he be THAT Mr. Cole from San Francisco?¡± ¡°Oh my goodness. They¡¯re a prestigious and elite family in San Francisco. The other top families in our city are nothingpared to such a wealthy family!¡± ¡°Ahhh! So that old man on the ground just now is the family head of the Coles. I thought he was just a conman, so I didn¡¯t dare to go help him up! If I had saved him just now, I¡¯d not only have an extra three million dors in the bank, but I would have also formed connections with a top family from San Francisco! I really regret this!¡± ¡°Cut it out! We¡¯re all full of regret too, but just now, no one was aware of his identity, so who would dare to go up and help him? Ah, that young man really got lucky! I guess this is what you call kindness begets kindness!¡± While everyone was green with envy toward Lucas, he still didn¡¯t know that he was about to receive a whopping sum of three million dors. Of course, even if he was aware, he wouldn¡¯t be bothered by it either because three million dors really meant nothing to him now. At this moment, Lucas arrived at the hotel he had booked and was about to go upstairs to look for William. But someone behind him suddenly said with a tone of surprise, ¡°What a coincidence, Lucas. You¡¯re here too.¡± Lucas turned around to see Lena quickly striding toward him with a look of surprise on her face. Lucas raised his brows. ¡°Are you staying here too?¡± When he drove William to the hotel just now, Lena happened to be in his car too. But he didn¡¯t hear her mentioning that she would be checking into this hotel too. Holding onto a small suitcase, she said smilingly, ¡°Yeah, my family¡¯s butler just gave the hotel booking details to me a short while ago. Only then did I realize that it happens to be this hotel too!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t doubt Lena¡¯s words. After all, it was the Waldorf Hotel, the best five-star hotel in the city. It was only normal that the Sawyers¡¯ butler would arrange for her to stay here. Lena suddenly asked, ¡°Which room are you staying in?¡± Lucas answered without any doubt, ¡°1606.¡± Lena shoved her suitcase toward Lucas and said, ¡°Please help me look after my stuff for a while. I suddenly remembered that I forgot to ask the front desk staff something!¡± Then she turned around and ran toward the hotel¡¯s front desk. ¡°I want the nearest room to Room 1606!¡± Lena said as she whipped out her ID and membership card. She didn¡¯t actually book a room at this hotel because the Sawyers initially intended for her to nurture her rtionship with Tristan during her trip here this time. The Sawyers and Parkers were on very good terms, and Lena would seem a little distant if she chose to stay in a hotel instead. But Lena didn¡¯t like Tristan at all, much less wanted to marry him. So she naturally wouldn¡¯t stay in the Parkers¡¯ home. Soon, she got the room card of Room 1605. Card in hand, Lena merrily returned to Lucas, overjoyed that her room was right next to his. ¡°What a coincidence. Mine¡¯s 1605. It¡¯s right next to yours!¡± Lena swung the room card in front of Lucas happily. ¡°Okay.¡± Since they were staying on the same floor, Lucas decided to just help Lena wheel her suitcase to her room while walking her there. ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s gettingte. You haven¡¯t had dinner, have you? Why don¡¯t we have dinner together? I¡¯ll treat you to a feast to thank you for helping out again today!¡± Lena suggested smilingly. ¡°My father-inw should be in his room now. He probably hasn¡¯t eaten either. Let¡¯s ask him along,¡± Lucas said. Lena then remembered that William was staying in the same hotel. ¡°Alright, go get Uncle William while I get ready. Let¡¯s head down to the lobby in a bit!¡± After Lucas entered his room, Lena immediately went back to her room and took out her phone to call someone. ¡°I want you to call William Carter, the general manager of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, and ask him out to discuss a cooperation right now. Ask him to show up as soon as possible!¡± ¡°Yes, Miss Lena.¡± Although the person she called didn¡¯t know why she gave him this order, he had to obey her because she was the heiress of the Sawyers. Just as Lucas and William walked out of the room and were about to go to the lobby together, William¡¯s phone started ringing. ¡°Hello, how are you? Ah, it¡¯s me. Yes, yes, yes! What? Are you serious? Alright, I¡¯ll head back to Orange County to meet you right now! See youter!¡± After hanging up, William said to Lucas excitedly, ¡°Lucas, I won¡¯t have dinner with you tonight. An important client called and asked to meet me to discuss a business cooperation. If possible, the contract can be signed today. I have to head back to Orange County immediately!¡± Lucas said, ¡°It¡¯s already dinnertime. Why don¡¯t you have something to eat first?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. The contract is more important. Orange County is about an hour¡¯s drive from here. I have to rush there quickly!¡± While returning to the room in a hurry to pack his things, William said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. You guys go have dinner! I¡¯ll get a cab at the entrance of the hotel. I¡¯m leaving now!¡± Then William dashed to the elevator and left in a flurry. Lucas could only sigh helplessly. At this moment, Lena walked out of her room. Pretending to be shocked, she asked, ¡°Huh? Why did Uncle William leave all of a sudden? Isn¡¯t he going toe along with us for dinner?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°Something cropped up, and he has to tend to it urgently. Since it¡¯s just us two for dinner, let¡¯s just eat in the hotel.¡± Lena said with a smile, ¡°Alright. The food served at the hotel¡¯s restaurant is delicious too. I know a few superb dishes. I¡¯ll rmend them to youter!¡± While secretly feeling triumphant, she had a conflicted gaze in her eyes, but she soon smiled with determination. I won¡¯t easily let go of the man I want! Chapter 384: The Poolside

Chapter 384: The Poolside

Soon, the two of them had dinner in the restaurant on the first floor of the hotel. Lena was very talkative during dinner. She was a bubbly person in the first ce, and since she was trying to attract Lucas, she was especially enthusiastic as she kept trying to find a good topic of conversation. In particr, she brought up lots of interesting memories she shared with Cheyenne in the past. Lucas listened smilingly, and he would ask her a few questions in return from time to time. Dinner was rather pleasant and enjoyable. After dinner, Lena suddenly said, ¡°Lucas, do you have anything scheduled forter? There¡¯s a beautiful open-air swimming pool on the roof of this hotel, and I really want to try swimming in it. But it¡¯ll be too boring by myself. Can youe with me?¡± She blinked herrge eyes and looked at Lucas pleadingly, full of expectations. Lucas didn¡¯t mind, and since Lena didn¡¯t want to go alone, he agreed with a nod. ¡°Okay. I don¡¯t have anything to doter anyway. I¡¯ll apany you then. I¡¯ll just take it as some post-meal exercise to ease digestion.¡± After Lucas agreed, Lena beamed with joy. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re the best!¡± The Waldorf Hotel was the best five-star hotel in the city. Not only because it was the tallest building but also because of therge open-air swimming pool on the roof, which was an absolute highlight. Admiring the spectacr skyline of the bustling city from the edge of a swimming pool at the highest point of the city while surrounded by buildings that were dozens of meters shorter was definitely an unforgettable experience. Although it was the weekend, it wasn¡¯t a holiday after all. Besides, the rates of the Waldorf Hotel were rather expensive, so there weren¡¯t many guests in the hotel at the moment. Apart from Lena and Lucas, there wasn¡¯t anyone else at the rooftop pool. As soon as the two of them went upstairs, they saw changing rooms, bathrooms, and a plethora of swimsuits specially catered for the guests. After changing into their swimsuits in the changing rooms, the two of them came to the poolside, d in bath towels. ¡°The pool here is enormous, and the water is very clean, much better than regr swimming pools! Also, when you swim to the edge of the pool and look downter, you¡¯ll feel exhrated. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like it! There¡¯s also an artificial hot spring where we can go for a soak and a massage if you get tiredter!¡± Lena happily introduced the various facilities to Lucas while removing the white bath towel wrapped around her body. She then tossed it aside. Lucas¡¯s eyes widened in shock! The reason for his astonishment was that Lena was wearing a racy bikini made of extremely thin fabric that covered only her private areas, baring arge portion of her fair skin and svelte figure. It wasn¡¯t that Lucas hadn¡¯t seen women before. Over the years, he had carried out many military missions that required him to go to some underground dens and sordid ces to rescue many women who had either been forced to or voluntarily became prostitutes. Thus, Lucas had seen all sorts of women. During the Kingstons¡¯ auction held in Club Splendor previously, the girls being auctioned off asmodities were also dressed in skimpy clothes. But among all the beauties Lucas had seen before, Lena was definitely one of the best, be it in terms of looks or figure. After taking a nce at Lena in her bikini, Lucas immediately turned his head away with a trace of uneasiness on his face. Lena was the best friend of his wife, Cheyenne! Now that Cheyenne wasn¡¯t around, there was definitely something very wrong about him and Lena swimming alone in the pool, especially since Lena was scantily d. ¡°I suddenly remembered that I have some matters to handle. Go ahead and swim by yourself. I¡¯ll leave first.¡± Then Lucas immediately turned around to leave without hesitation. ¡°Hey, you... wait!¡± In a moment of eagerness, Lena suddenly tripped, fell onto the floor, and then cried out in pain. Hearing Lena¡¯s painful cry, Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t ignore her and continue leaving. He stopped and turned around to see that Lena had fallen onto the floor and was clutching her ankle with pain written all over her face. Lucas immediately walked toward her and asked softly with concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did you sprain your ankle?¡± Lena frowned as if she was forcing herself to bear with the pain. She said with great difficulty, ¡°Uh, I walked too quickly just now and identally sprained it. Lucas, my ankle hurts, and I don¡¯t think I can walk anymore. Can you help me back to my room?¡± Lucas agreed. ¡°Alright.¡± He helped Lena up from the floor and was about to help her forward by holding her arm. But she suddenly winced in pain, probably because she had strained the injury in her ankle. Her body turned limp, and she fell into Lucas¡¯s arms. They were both wearing swimwear that covered very little of their bodies, especially Lucas, who was wearing nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. When Lena fell into his arms, she pressed her body tightly against his. Feeling the touch of her soft and delicate skin, Lucas instantly stiffened while his heart began beating rapidly. But he soon held Lena by her shoulders and calmly helped her regain her bnce while pulling away from her in an unnoticeable manner. ¡°Sit down on the chair and let me see your injury.¡± Lucas helped Lena sit down on a pool lounge chair at the side. Lena¡¯s eyes were instantly full of disappointment because Lucas pulled away less than a second after his warm and solid muscles came into contact with her body. But she soon concealed her disappointment and said with a face full of agony, ¡°What should I do? My ankle is so painful. It hurts as soon as I try to walk! It¡¯s not broken, is it?¡± Lucas squatted down on the ground and nced at Lena¡¯s ankle, which was only slightly red. There were no other abnormal signs. Given Lucas¡¯s years of experience in the army, he reckoned that Lena¡¯s ankle should have just been slightly sprained. It was far from hurting to the extent of being unable to walk. Of course, some girls might be more delicate and have lower pain tolerance, so it was understandable. Lucas stood up and said, ¡°Wait here while I go and get some medicine from the front desk.¡± Five-star hotels like the Waldorf Hotel would usually providemon over-the-counter drugs and medication at the front desk. Before Lena even said anything, Lucas turned around and left, soon vanishing as he entered the elevator. Seeing that Lucas had left just like that, Lena felt so aggrieved that she was on the verge of tears. ¡°Dimwit! Haven¡¯t I made it obvious enough? Do you not get the hint, or are you deliberately turning me down?¡± Chapter 385: Invitation to the Exhibition

Chapter 385: Invitation to the Exhibition

Lena had deliberately picked the most revealing bikini that would best entuate her figure just so that she could show off her beauty to Lucas. But he merely took a quick nce at her before turning away and iming that he had to leave to handle something important. She could only use the excuse of spraining her ankle to throw herself at him. But he soon pushed her away again. Is he too gentlemanly, or does he just not fancy me at all? If it was Cheyenne who sprained her ankle, he would have definitely carried her into her room... Lena bit her lip tightly and thought with great indignation, Why... why didn¡¯t I get to meet him first? Previously, a biker came speeding toward her on his motorcycle maniacally, and Lena thought that she would definitely die there and then. But Lucas suddenly appeared beside her like a knight in shining armor and carried her in his arms to rescue her from the assassination. Since then, Lucas¡¯s appearance and the warmth of his embrace were deeply etched in Lena¡¯s mind. She finally knew what it felt like to fall in love with someone. But the person she fell in love with was already married to her best friend. Lena had once wavered because she didn¡¯t want to be a homewrecker and ruin her best friend¡¯s marriage. So during this period of time, she might have repeatedly tried to get closer to Lucas and speak to him, but whenever she thought about her best friend, Cheyenne, she would hesitate and curb her feelings. Today, she had once again faced an assassination, and she almost thought she was really going to die this time. When her car swerved to the side after the Hummer collided violently into it, her hopes of surviving were all dashed. But Lucas once again appeared out of nowhere and rescued her from the dangerous situation while she was in despair! Ah, this is probably fate! Lucas and I are fated with each other! While she thought about it, her heart was full of sweetness and courage. So she decided to be brave and go to the hotel Lucas booked while pretending like it was a coincidence. She even arranged for her room to be beside Lucas¡¯s so that she could be closer to him. She then called the person in charge of the Sawyer Corporation to ask William out under the pretext of a business cooperation so that she could have some time alone with Lucas. She even went out of her way to use the art of seduction and the ruse of being injured to win Lucas¡¯s sympathy. But in the end, she still didn¡¯t manage to make him stay. Does Lucas really not have any feelings for me? Did he manage to tell something just now? Will he hate me because of this? What should I do next... While various thoughts raced through Lena¡¯s mind, Lucas had already made his way to the roof again. He had changed back into his clothes and was holding onto a bottle of muscle spray. ¡°The receptionist said that this bottle of muscle spray is very effective for treating bruises, sprains, and injuries. Give it a try.¡± Then Lucas squatted down and sprayed some of it at Lena¡¯s ankle a few times. Soon, she felt a cool sensation on her ankle. ¡°How is it?¡± Lucas asked. Lena no longer dared to continue pretending she was badly injured, afraid that Lucas might be able to tell something. So she deliberately moved her ankle a few times before saying with a look of surprise, ¡°It really works wonders! It doesn¡¯t hurt that much anymore!¡± ¡°Good to hear. Let¡¯s head downstairs then!¡± Lucas said smilingly. Soon, Lucas walked Lena to her room and bade farewell to her at the door instead of entering her room. He then returned to his own room. As soon as Lena entered her room, she buried herself under the duvet and even punched it several times, feeling embarrassed and chagrined about the failure of her n today. In the room next door, Lucas wasn¡¯t as calm as he seemed to be on the surface. In particr, when he closed his eyes, he would subconsciously think of the moment he saw Lena dressed in a bikini and looking dazzling under the setting sun. Lucas was a normal man, and he inevitably found it impossible to stay as calm andposed as usual when he saw Lena in the racy bikini. Apart from the time he had unintentionally gotten intimate with Cheyenne while he wasn¡¯t in a clear state of mind more than six years ago, he had never engaged in any other intimate behavior in the past 28 years of his life. In fact, Lucas owed it to his impressive willpower to have been able to push Lena away when she ¡®identally¡¯ fell into his arms and pressed her body against his just now. What am I thinking? Lucas came back to his senses and shook his head hard to dispel these thoughts. I wonder how Cheyenne is doing at the Turners¡¯ and whether or not they¡¯ve deliberately made things difficult for her, he thought silently. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in the Turners¡¯rge farmhouse vi in the suburbs of LA... After the tea leaves saga, which caused her to be pped by her grandfather Robert, Nikki dashed out of the house in anger. But after staying outside for two hours, she returned to the Turners¡¯ again like nothing had happened, and she soon found Cheyenne. ¡°Cheyenne, there¡¯s going to be arge exhibition of antiques and treasures at the LA Arts Center this afternoon. I heard that the pieces include exotic treasures and antiques from all over the world. It¡¯s going to be so interesting! I happen to have two tickets. Come along with me!¡± Nikki held onto Cheyenne¡¯s arm affectionately and pleaded coquettishly. Cheyenne didn¡¯t have much interest in these items, so she turned her down. ¡°I don¡¯t know much about antiques and treasures, so it¡¯d be a waste for me to attend. I think you¡¯d better ask your friend to apany you.¡± ¡°Hey, Cheyenne, juste with me! My other friends are busy. Since you¡¯re free, juste with me, okay?¡± Nikki pleaded while shaking Cheyenne¡¯s arm, seeming as if she wouldn¡¯t let go until Cheyenne agreed. Before Cheyenne could say anything, Charlotte came over from nearby and said coldly, ¡°Nikki, why are you insistently asking my sister out again? What tricks do you have up your sleeve now?¡± Charlotte didn¡¯t forget that Nikki had insulted Lucas several times in public today and had even tried to set Cheyenne up with another man. To Charlotte, Lucas was not only her brother-inw but also her life savior, her idol, and closest family member, so she would never allow anyone to insult Lucas. What Nikki did in the morning had alreadynded herself a spot on Charlotte¡¯s ck list. ¡°How could I possibly have ulterior motives? I just thought of taking Cheyenne out for some fun because I¡¯m afraid that she might get bored here. Charlotte, don¡¯t nder me!¡± Nikki continued aggrievedly, ¡°Charlotte, are you ming me because I only asked Cheyenne out and not you? I can¡¯t help it. I only have two tickets, so I can only invite one person! Why don¡¯t I ask my friend to help me get an extra ticket for you?¡± Nikki was making it sound as if Charlotte was deliberately picking on her simply because she didn¡¯t invite Charlotte. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t care about an antique exhibition. I¡¯m not going!¡± Charlotte retorted coldly. Cheyenne once again declined, ¡°Amelia is about to wake up from her nap soon. I¡¯m going to apany her, so I¡¯ll pass. You¡¯d better ask someone else!¡± A trace of displeasure appeared in Nikki¡¯s eyes, but she quickly said, ¡°Cheyenne, this is for your own good! If you miss this antique exhibition, you¡¯ll definitely regret it because it concerns the development of the Brilliance Corporation!¡± Chapter 386: Uninvited Guest

Chapter 386: Uninvited Guest

Hearing what Nikki said, Cheyenne raised her brows in puzzlement. ¡°What does that antique exhibition have to do with the Brilliance Corporation?¡± Nikki said with a smile, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re now the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. You should also want thepany to develop well and expand the scope of thepany¡¯s business to LA, right?¡± Cheyenne nodded. ¡°That goes without saying. But what does this have to do with the antique exhibition?¡± Nikki said proudly, ¡°Of course it has something to do with the exhibition. In fact, it has a lot to do with it! The organizer of the antique exhibition in the LA Arts Center today is Edmund Cole, the head of the Coles, an extremely wealthy family from San Francisco. All the upper-middle-ss families and enterprise owners in LA will definitely attend the exhibition this time to get closer to Edmund Cole and also to build some connections with other reputable figures! ¡°So Cheyenne, this is an excellent chance for you. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re not interested in the antique exhibition. Most importantly, you¡¯ll get the opportunity to socialize with the members of other prestigious families and business owners in LA! As long as youmunicate well with them, yourpany will definitely be able to expand well in LA!¡± Nikki was indeed quite convincing, and her words hit the nail on the head. Previously, Cheyenne hadn¡¯t thought of expanding the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s business to LA so quickly. But now that the golden opportunity was right in front of her, she naturally couldn¡¯t miss it since she was the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. The fact that the organizer of the antique exhibition this time was the famous and esteemed Edmund Cole from San Francisco was especially significant. ¡°Nikki, are you sure that the antique exhibition is organized by the Coles?¡± Cheyenne asked expectantly. Nikki took out two invitation cards and waved them in front of Cheyenne smilingly. ¡°Cheyenne, take a good look. It¡¯s written clearly in ck and white on these invitation cards that the organizer is Cole Antiques, one of the Coles¡¯ businesses. I¡¯m not deceiving you!¡± Given the name of thepany, it was obvious that it belonged to the Coles. After confirming it, Cheyenne agreed without hesitating further, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Seeing this, Charlotte said worriedly, ¡°Cheyenne, do you really want to go? Lucas clearly asked me to stay by your side and protect you.¡± She didn¡¯t want Cheyenne to go out with Nikki. To put it bluntly, Charlotte just didn¡¯t trust Nikki! She wasn¡¯t convinced that Nikki would be that nice to take Cheyenne out to expand herwork of connections for the development of the Brilliance Corporation in LA. Who knew what she was thinking? In any case, Charlotte felt that Nikki harbored ill intentions! Nikki covered her mouth andughed. ¡°Protect? Cheyenne, you¡¯re making it sound as if I¡¯m taking her to some dangerous ce! Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re just going to the arts center downtown so that Cheyenne can get to know more business partners in LA. How dangerous can it be? I promise I¡¯ll bring Cheyenne back safe and sound. Rest assured!¡± Cheyenne patted Charlotte¡¯s hand andforted, ¡°Charlotte, don¡¯t worry. The exhibition is indeed a good opportunity for the Brilliance Corporation. Once I build some connections and get some opportunities, I¡¯ll be able to take the Brilliance Corporation to greater heights! I hope for the Brilliance Corporation to expand well.¡± Seeing how insistent Cheyenne was and knowing that Cheyenne would never give up any opportunities when the Brilliance Corporation was concerned, Charlotte decided not to stop her any further. She said helplessly, ¡°Okay then. Go ahead, but be careful! I¡¯ll just stay here and keep Ameliapany!¡± ¡°Okay. Thank you, Charlotte!¡± Cheyenne smiled. After receiving Cheyenne¡¯s affirmative reply, Nikki took her hand eagerly and said with great excitement, ¡°Let¡¯s go quickly then. The exhibition is going to start soon. We mustn¡¯t bete!¡± While they were on their way, Nikki secretly texted someone: [Be right there!] As soon as Cheyenne left the Turners¡¯ with Nikki, Charlotte immediately called Lucas. ¡°Lucas, Nikki just convinced Cheyenne to go out with her to an antique exhibition at the LA Arts Center!¡± Lucas knew that something was amiss and immediately said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go look for her now. Don¡¯t worry!¡± He immediately hung up the phone and went straight to the hotel¡¯s underground parking lot. Soon, Nikki and Cheyenne arrived at the entrance of the LA Arts Center. As soon as they reached the entrance, they heard a familiar voiceing from the side. ¡°Hello, beautifuldies, you¡¯re here!¡± The two turned around and saw the well-dressed Keh walking toward them. Without the slightest trace of surprise on her face, Nikki pulled Cheyenne over to greet him. She said smilingly, ¡°Hehe, Keh, you must have been waiting for a long time!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face turned sullen when she saw Keh and shook Nikki¡¯s hand off of hers. She said hostilely, ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this? Nikki, didn¡¯t you say that it was only going to be us two?¡± This morning, Nikki had already made it clear that she wanted to set Cheyenne up with Keh. And now, it seemed that Keh had already agreed to meet Nikki, who had gone out of her way to convince Cheyenne toe here. Cheyenne immediately knew that she had been tricked by Nikki. Nikki was afraid that Cheyenne would immediately leave and make her efforts go down the drain. She hurriedly pulled Cheyenne and said innocently, ¡°Ah, Cheyenne, I really didn¡¯t know that Keh would be here too! Don¡¯t misunderstand! ¡°Besides, it¡¯s a good thing that Keh is here! He¡¯s one of the Parkers, a top family in LA. Everyone respects him! As long as he puts in a good word for youter and introduces you to some of his family¡¯s business partners, it will be much more convenient than trying to build connections on your own. Don¡¯t you agree, Cheyenne?¡± Cheyenne felt really ufortable when she saw Keh and had never thought of seeking his help to get to know the prestigious figures of LA. But it was a rare opportunity today, and she would be too reckless to just leave because of Keh¡¯s presence. She decided that she would just treat him like he was nonexistent. Thinking of this, Cheyenne suppressed her anger instead of leaving right away. But she naturally wouldn¡¯t have a good attitude toward Keh. ¡°Cheyenne, you seem to dislike me. Have I offended you in some way?¡± Keh suddenly asked with a look of bewilderment, seeming gentlemanly and innocent. Cheyenne frowned and chided in displeasure, ¡°We don¡¯t know each other that well, Mr. Parker. Please call me Ms. Carter instead. Not just anyone can call me by my first name!¡± # Chapter 387: We Are One

Chapter 387: We Are One

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, she would only let Lucas address her affectionately. And she would only let her close friends and family call her ¡®Cheyenne¡¯. Back then, Cheyenne hadn¡¯t epted Lucas yet, but he wouldn¡¯t call her by her full name either because that would seem inappropriate. Cheyenne felt extremely repulsed and disgusted when she heard Keh calling her by her first name and immediately chided him. The refined and polite smile on Keh¡¯s face stiffened immediately, and he was full of anger. I¡¯m the scion of the Parkers and might very well be the next helmsman. Yet a woman just rebuked me so mercilessly. A married wench at that! Putting on airs in front of me? Who does she think she is?! Keh found it difficult to maintain a warm and gentlemanly smile at this point. Noticing Keh¡¯s displeasure, Nikki hurriedly said, ¡°Cheyenne, what¡¯s wrong with you? Keh isn¡¯t an outsider anyway! Besides, let me tell you the truth. We actually received the invitations to this exhibition all thanks to Keh! Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have even been able to enter this exhibition hall today!¡± After hearing Nikki trying to im credit for Keh for the invitations, Cheyenne felt a strong urge to return the invitation card to Keh immediately. She really didn¡¯t want to be involved with Keh in the slightest, let alone owe him any favors. If it were anyone else, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad. But Keh harbored designs on her, so who knows what he would ask of her in return. She thought that she would just give this exhibition a miss since there would be plenty of other chances in the future anyway. Just as Cheyenne took out the invitation card and wanted to return it to Keh, she heard a familiar voice suddenlye from the side. ¡°Honey!¡± Upon hearing Lucas¡¯s voice, Cheyenne immediately turned around in surprise. But she soon thought of Keh standing beside her and began to get a little nervous and afraid that Lucas would misunderstand. Just this morning, Nikki had introduced Cheyenne to Keh right in front of Lucas. She even said that Eddie and his wife intended to let her marry Keh. Now, Lucas had run into her and Keh. Although she definitely didn¡¯t have any feelings for Keh, the fact that they were both at the same ce could easily lead to a misunderstanding. ¡°Hubby, I...¡± Just as Cheyenne was trying to exin to Lucas, Nikki immediately red at Lucas and said hostilely, ¡°What are you doing here, you good-for-nothing? Who said you coulde here? Cheyenne, did you ask him toe here?¡± Nikki was extremely displeased, and she even seemed to be questioning Lucas. Lucas¡¯s appearance would certainly sabotage her and Keh¡¯s n! She disliked Lucas in the first ce, and now, she wished he would just vanish and get lost as far away as possible! Lucas walked toward Cheyenne and said to her after ncing at Nikki coldly, ¡°Cheyenne is my wife. What¡¯s wrong with meing here with her? Who do you think you are? We don¡¯t need your permission to do anything. This is between my wife and me.¡± Lucas¡¯s attitude made Nikki incredibly enraged. ¡°Shut up! What are you? You¡¯re not worthy of speaking to me in such a manner!¡± Nikki rebuked aggressively and red at Lucas in contempt. Then she turned her head to look at Cheyenne. ¡°Cheyenne, aren¡¯t you going a bit too far? Keh went to great lengths to get us these invitations. Why did you get your good-for-nothing husband toe here too? ¡°I told you that the antique exhibition today is organized by the Coles, a top family from San Francisco. All the prestigious families and enterprise owners in LA will be sending their representatives to attend the exhibition, and it¡¯s an extremely high-ss gathering! Apart from embarrassing us and making others look down on us, what else can he do? You¡¯d better tell him to get lost before it¡¯s toote!¡± Nikki hated Lucas to begin with, and she had even gotten pped by her own grandfather in public because of the tea leaves Lucas gave Eddie. She had yet to exact revenge on Lucas, but now, he had made an appearance, which would thwart her ns. So Nikki utterly detested Lucas and wished she could degrade him as much as possible. ¡°Enough!¡± Cheyenne was good-tempered, but after hearing Nikki¡¯s repeated insults and derogatoryments about Lucas, she couldn¡¯t help being furious. ¡°Lucas is my husband, and I made it clear this morning that I don¡¯t want to hear you insulting him again! Lucas and I are one. Humiliating him is humiliating me too! ¡°I don¡¯t mind giving this exhibition a miss. You can have the invitation back!¡± Aftershing out at Nikki, Cheyenne stuffed the invitation card into her hand and turned around to hold Lucas¡¯s arm. She said in a gentle voice, ¡°Hubby, let¡¯s leave!¡± Lucas smiled. He knew Cheyenne¡¯s character well. She had always been good-tempered and would rarely get angry. But she actually lost her temper and scolded Nikki for his sake. Lucas felt extremely touched. In particr, he felt a sweet and fuzzy feeling in his heart after hearing Cheyenne say ¡®We are one¡¯. He didn¡¯t get the wrong idea and misunderstand that Cheyenne was here for Keh¡¯s sake. The only reason Cheyenne agreed toe to this exhibition was so that she could take the opportunity to socialize with the representatives of the prestigious families and enterprises in LA to boost the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s chances of expanding into LA. But she was willing to give up this opportunity for him. The look in Lucas¡¯s eyes became more and more affectionate as he gazed at Cheyenne. Keh narrowed his eyes menacingly with a sullen expression. The more he looked at Lucas, the greater of an eyesore he found him to be! On the other hand, the dumbfounded Nikki looked at Cheyenne, who was holding onto Lucas¡¯s arm, before looking down at the invitation card Cheyenne stuffed into her hand. She found it extremely bewildering. She remembered that Cheyenne had always disliked Lucas, the ¡®good-for-nothing live-in son-inw¡¯. Yet Cheyenne actually didn¡¯t mindshing out at her and even gave up the chance to establish greater connections for the Brilliance Corporation all for Lucas¡¯s sake. It didn¡¯t make sense to her at all! But she didn¡¯t have the time to figure out what had happened between Cheyenne and Lucas. She only knew that Cheyenne was currently enraged, and if Cheyenne left now, her n to set Cheyenne up with Keh would fall through! After Nikki stole a nce at the sullen Keh, her heart trembled. She hurriedly grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s arm and swung it coquettishly. ¡°Cheyenne, I was wrong. I won¡¯t yell at him again, okay? Please forgive me! ¡°The opportunity today is extremely rare. Most importantly, the Coles are participating. If you miss this chance, you won¡¯t get a second one! Don¡¯t let your anger get to you and leave just like that! Think about yourpany. You have to stay for its sake!¡± Cheyenne was about to shake off Nikki¡¯s hand when Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Cheyenne, she¡¯s right. Since you have such a great opportunity, why give it up for no reason? Let¡¯s just go in and take a look!¡± # Chapter 388: Stopped at the Entrance

Chapter 388: Stopped at the Entrance

Upon hearing what Lucas said, Cheyenne immediately felt rather surprised. But she soon understood what he meant. Since Keh had given Cheyenne an invitation and the opportunity to socialize with the upper-ss families and enterprises in LA, there was no reason for her to give it up for nothing. Regardless of what Keh¡¯s motive was, Lucas was now by Cheyenne¡¯s side, so there was likely no way Keh could achieve his goal. Having figured this out, Cheyenne stopped refusing. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go in and take a look then!¡± Seeing Cheyenne finally agreeing, Nikki heaved a huge sigh of relief. At the very least, Keh couldn¡¯t me her for being ipetent because she got Cheyenne to stay. Although Keh was extremely displeased with Lucas¡¯s appearance, his eyes shed, and he soon seemed excited. Soon, they walked to the front door of the arts center and were about to enter, but two security guards stopped them at the entrance. ¡°Hello, Mr. Parker!¡± The security guards greeted Keh respectfully and said with a conflicted expression, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, but there¡¯s an extremely important exhibition in our arts center today, so all guests must present their invitation to be granted entry. We know who you are, but it¡¯s our duty to check. We hope to seek your understanding!¡± Keh smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologize. You guys are doing a great job. Rules are meant to be followed, and since the guests today are all distinguished figures, the security has to be tight. Those without invitations must not be permitted entry!¡± He praised the two security guards before cooperatively handing over the three invitation cards in his hand to them. At the same time, he deliberately nced at Lucas. The security guards carefully checked the invitation cards and confirmed that they were genuine. However, there were four people in front of them but only three invitation cards. ¡°Mr. Parker, I¡¯m sorry, but you only have three invitation cards. It seems... you¡¯re missing one,¡± one of the security guards said. Keh smirked. ¡°That¡¯s right. The invitation cards are for these two beautifuldies and me. This other person has nothing to do with me.¡± The security guards immediately turned to look at Lucas and scrutinized him a little. The fact that they were tasked to guard such an important event and check the invitations meant that they weren¡¯t silly. Soon, they understood what Keh meant. Although the rules were that people needed an invitation card to enter, they didn¡¯t necessarily have to be followed strictly. If a prestigious and esteemed person wanted to bring a few friends with them, it wasn¡¯t impossible to allow it. But they could tell from what Keh said that he didn¡¯t want to let Lucas enter. ¡°Yes, Mr. Parker. These three invitations for you and the two beautifuldies beside you are valid. Pleasee in!¡± One of the security guards smiled and gestured for them to enter the arts center. The other security guard stood in front of Lucas with a hostile expression to stop him while questioning curtly, ¡°Where¡¯s your invitation card?¡± Nikki immediately gloated and gibed with derision, ¡°Hmph, the guests invited to the exhibition today are all wealthy and of noble status, unlike someone over here who doesn¡¯t have a single invitation card at all. He isn¡¯t fit to enter!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face turned sullen as she finally figured out that Keh had been waiting to humiliate Lucas at the entrance. They were not locals of LA and only came to attend Cheyenne¡¯s cousin¡¯s wedding. They naturally couldn¡¯t have received invitations in advance. Even Cheyenne was granted entry only because of the invitation card Keh had given her. So Lucas certainly couldn¡¯t have an invitation card. Cheyenne held Lucas¡¯s arm and said resolutely, ¡°Forget it. I said that Lucas and I are one. Since he can¡¯t enter, I¡¯ll pass too.¡± Keh immediately sulked. This woman really doesn¡¯t know any better! Feeling rather touched, Lucas suddenly said smilingly, ¡°Cheyenne, just go ahead and enter with them first. Wait for me inside. I¡¯ll go in to look for you in a while!¡± His gaze was full of certainty and confidence that made Cheyenne subconsciously trust him. In fact, she would believe anything Lucas said. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you inside then,¡± Cheyenne said to Lucas with a gentle smile. ¡°Hmph, you really brag without thinking it through. Do you think it¡¯s that easy to get an invitation? How foolish!¡± Nikki sneered and said to the two security guards at the entrance, ¡°Look carefully. This person doesn¡¯t have an invitation. If you let him sneak inter and he wreaks havoc inside, the Coles will be furious, and you¡¯ll be in trouble! Do you hear me?¡± Nikki spoke in amanding tone, and she was just short of asking the security guards to chase Lucas away. The security guards hurriedly agreed, ¡°Miss, please rest assured. We will definitely follow the rules strictly and not let just anyone in!¡± Then they stood in front of Lucas to stop him like they were a wall, staring at him with hostile gazes. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± In high spirits, Keh stepped into the exhibition hall of the arts center. With a triumphant smile, Nikki followed closely behind Keh and entered too. Cheyenne was at the back of the group. She looked at Lucas worriedly. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± She then entered the hall. Soon, Lucas was the only one left in front of the main entrance of the arts center. ¡°Punk, why are you still standing at the door and blocking the way? If you don¡¯t have an invitation, you¡¯d better get lost. Don¡¯t think you can bluff your way through and sneak in!¡± At this moment, there was no one else at the entrance, and the two security guards began chasing Lucas away like he was garbage. Lucas ignored them and simply looked down at the time on his watch. ¡°It should be here soon,¡± he said calmly. In the eyes of the security guards, Lucas was deliberately refusing to leave and just pretending to have an invitation so that he could loiter at the entrance. ¡°Damn it. Did you not hear what we said? We told you to get lost. With the two of us guarding here, don¡¯t even think about finding a chance to sneak in!¡± ¡°Hah, take a good look at yourself in the mirror. The guests of the exhibition today are all prestigious, and we¡¯ve seen many like you who try to sneak in and build connections with those esteemed figures. You¡¯d better give up before we teach you a lesson!¡± The security guards began yelling at Lucas, and one of them even pulled out a baton from behind his waist, waved it in front of Lucas, and gave him a stern warning. Without even blinking, Lucas said indifferently, ¡°You two better behave yourselves and not do anything. My invitation card will be delivered to me shortly.¡± The security guard sneered. ¡°Hmph, you? Quit ying tricks in front of us! Don¡¯t you understand English? Hurry up and get lost!¡± Then the security guard raised the baton in his hand and tried to hit Lucas with it! # Chapter 389: Don’t Have To Tag Along

Chapter 389: Don¡¯t Have To Tag Along

Lucas¡¯s gaze was icy cold, but he didn¡¯t dodge or look away at all. Seeing the baton getting nearer and nearer to him, he even sneered. The baton would definitely notnd on his body because... ¡°Stop! Hurry up and stop!¡± someone suddenly hollered in the distance. Although the distance was slightly far away, the owner of the voice was furious, so he was extremely loud. Like a thunderbolt, his voice immediately made the security guard freeze. The two security guards subconsciously turned around, only to see a familiar figure charging toward them in exasperation. ¡°M-Mr. Davis?¡± The two security guards panicked and quickly straightened their backs while pressing their legs together as they bowed to the man in front of them respectfully. The person who came was none other than Flynn, the general manager of the Sr Corporation. He was also the general manager of this arts center! Although the security guards had never seen the general manager in person, they had to memorize the basic information of thepany¡¯s bosses and senior executives during their employee training program. Thus, they had naturally long remembered Flynn¡¯s appearance very clearly. Flynn simply ignored the security guards. He sprinted over, pushed them away, stood in front of Lucas, and bowed to him respectfully. While panting heavily, he said, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry I¡¯mte, Lucas. There was heavy traffic along the way. Sorry to have kept you waiting for such a long time! These two fools didn¡¯t hurt you just now, did they?¡± While speaking, Flynn red at the security guards furiously, wishing he could crush them into smithereens! As soon as he got out of the car just now, he saw one of the security guards raise his baton at the entrance of the arts center and seemingly try to hit Lucas. Flynn received a huge fright! After seeing how respectful and subservient Flynn was toward Lucas, the security guards already had an ominous hunch. And when they heard Flynn greeting Lucas politely, they were scared soulless! This young man definitely has an extraordinary identity. Yet we actually yelled at him and told him to get lost. We even almost hit him... The thought of the terrifying consequences that they were about to face made the security guards break out in cold sweat, and their legs began to tremble incessantly. Although the antique exhibition today was organized by the Coles from San Francisco, the arts center rightfully belonged to the Sr Corporation. So the security officers were considered employees of the Sr Corporation. Their job at the arts center was extremelyx, and they would only have to work a few days every month during exhibitions and events, but they would still be paid for an entire month. So their jobs could be considered rtively rxed and stable. But they had now offended someone who appeared to be their boss¡¯ client. It seemed that they might just lose their jobs soon! The security guards were overwhelmed with regret. Before Flynn could say anything, they hurriedly apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir! We... we weren¡¯t aware of your identity. We¡¯re very sorry!¡± Hearing this, Flynn became even more furious and cursed, ¡°Even if you weren¡¯t aware of his identity, you shouldn¡¯t have insulted him and tried to hit him unrestrainedly. I never knew I had such snobbish employees like you!¡± It was no wonder that Flynn was furious. He had just spoken to Lucas in the morning and informed him that he had already made arrangements for the matters in LA. All thepanies under the Sr Corporation had been organized properly too. But it had only been a few hours since he assured Lucas that everything was in order, and now, it was revealed that there were such stuck-up snobs who bullied others and destroyed thepany¡¯s image working for the Sr Corporation. They had even behaved so rudely to Lucas! This just went to show that there was a huge w in Flynn¡¯s management of thepany. He had clearly given orders to the executives to strictly enforce good behavioral standards for all employees, yet the security guards chose to act against the rules. Worse yet, they had offended Lucas. Flynn was furious! ¡°Drag these two people who deliberately ruined thepany¡¯s image away. Beat them up and teach them a hard lesson! Break the arms of the one who dared toy a finger on Mr. Gray!¡± Flynnmanded the two bodyguards behind him furiously. The tall and muscr bodyguards immediately walked forward and tried to drag them away. The security guards panicked, especially the one who had wanted to hit Lucas just now. He turned as pale as a sheet and frantically got on his knees to beg for mercy. ¡°Mr. Davis, we may have been snobbish, but we definitely weren¡¯t trying to ruin thepany¡¯s image! W-we know we¡¯re at fault. We won¡¯t dare to do it again! Please let us off!¡± They were so frightened that their tears were mixed with snot, looking incredibly wretched. Lucas shook his head and suddenly said, ¡°Forget it. Just fire them.¡± Such mercenary small fries existed everywhere, and Lucas saw no need to get upset because of them. Besides, the security guard didn¡¯t manage to hit him with the baton anyway, so it wasn¡¯t necessary to break his arms. To put it bluntly, Lucas was just toozy to get involved with such an insignificant nobody. Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t seem to be angry because of this matter, Flynn decided to let them off. ¡°I¡¯ll spare you two this time on Mr. Gray¡¯s ount! But we can¡¯t keep employees like you around in the Sr Corporation. Go tender your resignations yourselves!¡± The two security guards managed to escape an ordeal. Compared to having their arms broken, being made to resign was considered a very light punishment. So they didn¡¯t dare to say anything else and immediately retreated. Only after the two of them vanished did Flynn apologize to Lucas guiltily. ¡°Lucas, the reason for this incident is myck of proper supervision. I can¡¯t shirk this responsibility. Please punish me!¡± Lucas shook his head and said indifferently, ¡°You are the general manager of the corporation, and there are too many things for you to handle. There are more than ten thousand employees in the entire corporation, including those of the branchpanies. You can¡¯t possibly know every single low-level employee, so you¡¯re naturally not to be med for this.¡± After hearing that Lucas didn¡¯t me him, Flynn heaved a huge sigh of relief. ¡°But the presence of such people will ruin thepany¡¯s image. How about this? Set up an inspection department specifically responsible for spot-checking and regting the work and discipline of employees in all departments of thepany,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Flynn naturally agreed to it frantically. ¡°Where¡¯s the thing I want?¡± Flynn immediately took out a stack of gold-embossed invitation cards and handed them to Lucas. ¡°Actually, this arts center belongs to you, so you don¡¯t need an invitation to go in... ¡°In addition, the organizer of the antique exhibition, Edmund Cole, happens to be here now. Would you like to see him?¡± Lucas pulled out one of the invitation cards from the stack Flynn was holding and said disinterestedly, ¡°There¡¯s no need to meet him. I have something to do here. You don¡¯t have toe with me.¡± # Chapter 390: Ordinary Friends

Chapter 390: Ordinary Friends

Lucas walked straight into the exhibition hall of the arts center. Although the Coles from San Francisco seemed to have an extremely high status in the eyes of the general public, they were just an ordinary family to Lucas, and he didn¡¯t think it was necessary to try and get close to them. After Lucas walked into the hall, Flynn gave it some thought and said to his secretary, James Denning, ¡°Although Lucas wants to keep his identity a secret, I want you to go inside and keep an eye on the situation in case some ignorant fools offend him. If someone tries to make things hard for him, chase them out immediately!¡± James had been working as Flynn¡¯s secretary for a long time, so he naturally knew that Lucas was the actual boss and chairman of the corporation. He immediately acknowledged and followed Lucas into the arts center. The hall had been decorated by the professionals the Coles hired and was nowrgely different from how it usually looked during most art exhibitions. Therge hall was divided into several areas where arge plethora of antiques was put on disy. Examples included antique paintings that dated back centuries, porcin ornaments, gold and silverware, antique embroidery, and many other precious items. Major changes had been made to the decor style of the hall for the sake of the exhibition. Various adjustments had also been made to the wallpaper, ceiling, and lighting to allow the visitors of the exhibition to be immersed in history. The design was certainly ingenious. But it was the first day of the antique exhibition, so it wasn¡¯t open to the public yet. The invited guests present today were all members of the prestigious families and enterprises in LA, whose purpose of visiting wasn¡¯t for the antiques. In the hall, there were entrepreneurs gathered in small groups chatting with each other. Although they were standing in front of the antiques and were seemingly interested in them, they were actually discussing business and cooperations. In particr, those of higher statuses were surrounded by more people. It was extremely lively. After Cheyenne followed Keh, a direct descendant of the Parkers, into the hall, he was soon surrounded by many people vying to greet him and get closer to him. Keh was extremely familiar with such functions and knew exactly how to behave. But when he started chatting with these people, no one paid any attention to Cheyenne at the back. Many of them simply nced at Cheyenne in amazement. But since they had never seen her before and she didn¡¯t have a malepanion of a significant status with her, no one really paid attention to her. During such functions where fame and interests were involved, most guests were wise enough to socialize only with those who were prestigious and had high statuses. They wouldn¡¯t bother paying attention to some nobodies, as they felt that it would be a waste of time and effort. Of course, many of them thought that they might have the time and chance to ¡®toy¡¯ with the beautiful Cheyenne after the exhibition ended. While chatting with people skilfully, Keh took a few nces at Cheyenne without any intention of introducing her to the people he was talking to. Although Nikki had brought it up at the entrance when persuading Cheyenne to attend the antique exhibition together with him, he knew exactly what she was here for and wouldn¡¯t fulfill her wishes that easily. At the very least, I must make Cheyenne Carter take the initiative to beg me for help. Only then will it be interesting. Keh deliberately ignored Cheyenne¡¯s presence, and Nikki naturally understood what he meant, so she stood beside Cheyenne and said smilingly, ¡°Cheyenne, didn¡¯t you say that you want to get to know some entrepreneurs of LA? I think you¡¯d better ask Keh for help. He has a very widework of connections in LA, and you¡¯ll get many contacts as long as he introduces you to them!¡± Cheyenne nced at Nikki and declined without hesitation, ¡°That¡¯s unnecessary.¡± Keh had been harboring designs on Cheyenne in the first ce. If she asked for his help, she wouldn¡¯t only owe him a favor again, but he might even take advantage and demand more from her. She didn¡¯t want to get involved with someone like Keh. Cheyenne remained standing quietly without taking the initiative to socialize with anyone. Instead, she looked at the entrance of the exhibition hall from time to time. Although Lucas had promised he would join her soon, she didn¡¯t know how those security guards would make things difficult for him and was unsure if he coulde in. After chatting with these people for a while, Keh realized that Cheyenne still hadn¡¯t lowered her pride to beg him for help, greatly displeasing him. This woman really doesn¡¯t know any better! Seems like I have to take the initiative to do something. After chatting with the people around him for some time, Keh suddenly turned around and pretended like he had neglected Cheyenne. Feeling a great sense of superiority, he slowly walked toward her. ¡°Ah, I saw many of my old friends just now, so I identally neglected you. Please don¡¯t take it to heart!¡± Upon hearing what Keh said, all the people surrounding him just now nced at Cheyenne curiously. After saying this smilingly, Keh reached his hand out to put his arm around Cheyenne¡¯s shoulder. In his opinion, Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t make him look bad by turning him down in front of so many people. As long as she still wanted him to introduce her to these people, she wouldn¡¯t dare to disobey him. So he thought that she could only obediently let him put his arm around her. Hah, Lucas Gray is going to be infuriated if he dares toe inter! Keh had a good n in mind, but to his surprise, Cheyenne actually took a step back and avoided him! Keh¡¯s outstretched hand froze in midair, and he immediately felt embarrassed and furious because everyone was watching him. How dare this damn woman put me to shame like that?! There was a sudden silence in the air. But someone soonughed and tried to give him an out. ¡°Mr. Parker, we¡¯ve never met this beautifuldy before. Why don¡¯t you introduce her to us?¡± Everyone looked at Cheyenne with amazement. Such a stunning beauty like Cheyenne was rare, even to people like them from prestigious families! Keh suppressed his anger and deliberately said ambiguously, ¡°This is Miss Carter. She¡¯s my... ahem, a close friend of mine. She¡¯s rather shy, so please be amodating.¡± His ambiguous words somewhat gave him an out, as it was an exnation as to why Cheyenne moved away from his arm away just now. After hearing this, therge group of people around him even seemed toe to a sudden realization. ¡°Wow, so this beauty is your close friend, Mr. Parker!¡± ¡°Haha, she¡¯s indeed really pretty. Mr. Parker, is she the reason that you¡¯re still a bachelor now?¡± ¡°Even heroes can¡¯t resist a beautiful woman. Mr. Parker, you should be getting married soon, huh?¡± ... Many people began to tease and tter him. Keh didn¡¯t deny it either. He merely smiled and chuckled along while ncing at Cheyenne provocatively. Cheyenne¡¯s face turned slightly sulky, and when themotion subsided, she suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, everyone, please don¡¯t get the wrong idea. Mr. Parker and I are just ordinary friends.¡± Keh was stunned but not enraged. At the very least, Cheyenne admitted in public that they were friends, which was much better than treating him like a stranger like previously. If they continued progressing, they might soon be an item. In Keh¡¯s opinion, it wasn¡¯t a tall order. But before Keh could rejoice, Cheyenne added another sentence, which made his face turn sullen immediately. Cheyenne said, ¡°Please allow me to introduce myself. I¡¯m Cheyenne Carter, the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation in Orange County. I came here today in hopes of befriending you. Please allow me the honor!¡± Chapter 391: How Are You Going To Thank Me?

Chapter 391: How Are You Going To Thank Me?

When Cheyenne dered that she was the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, she immediately had the chance to socialize with them on equal grounds. In fact, she even aroused their interest because she was a rare beautiful female entrepreneur. So they surrounded her and began asking her questions. Cheyenne didn¡¯t have stage fright either and instead chatted with the entrepreneurs of LA eloquently. Soon, they were engaged in jovial conversations. Even the people who came over earlier because of Keh were soon attracted by Cheyenne and started gathering around her to socialize with her enthusiastically. ¡°Ah, so yourpany is in the apparel processing industry. The Brilliance Corporation has arge sales chain too. If you¡¯d like, we can cooperate, Mr. Smith.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m also very interested in the proposal you mentioned, Mr. Jones. Let¡¯s settle on a date to discuss this. How about tomorrow afternoon? Does that work for you?¡± ¡°Mr. Moore, thank you so much for your recognition. I¡¯ll immediately arrange for someone toe over and talk to you about the details of the contract. How does that sound?¡± ... Cheyenne put her excellent negotiation skills to full use. Within a few short minutes, she caught the attention of many people, and some even expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Brilliance Corporation. The area where Cheyenne was was extremely lively. Standing at the side, Keh was exceptionally gloomy at this point. He initially wanted Cheyenne to beg him to introduce her to some potential business partners. But he didn¡¯t expect her to turn her situation around just by grasping a small opportunity. She was now chatting with these entrepreneurs merrily andpletely ignored him! If Keh didn¡¯t have to maintain his image in front of everyone, he would have reached out and pulled Cheyenne away. At the side, Nikki didn¡¯t expect Cheyenne to be capable of clinching three potential contracts within just a few minutes. She was momentarily dumbfounded. After ring at her with a hostile gaze, Nikki finally snapped out of her trance and realized that she should quickly stop the situation from developing further. She hurriedly squeezed into the crowd and pulled Cheyenne away while chiding, ¡°Ah, Cheyenne, even if you¡¯re a workaholic, you shouldn¡¯t be discussing business cooperations with others at such a time! It¡¯s the special antique exhibition hosted by the Coles today. If the Coles find out that you¡¯re just taking advantage of their exhibition to talk about work while ignoring these exhibits that required a great deal of effort to be put up for disy here, they¡¯ll definitely be upset!¡± As soon as Nikki said this, everyone else immediately realized something and was afraid that they would offend the Coles because of this, so they quickly gave excuses. ¡°I¡¯m so muddled. We should be enjoying the antique exhibition instead. Let¡¯s not talk about other matters now!¡± ¡°Yes, there are so many precious and exotic treasures here. I heard that many of them are rare items that the Coles specially brought over. We have to take a good look and appreciate them well so that this exhibition won¡¯t be in vain!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s discuss business another day!¡± Everyone chuckled and left after giving some excuses. Seeing this, Cheyenne naturally knew that it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to keep them any longer. But most of her efforts had undoubtedly gone down the drain. When Keh saw that the crowd had dispersed, he walked toward Cheyenne conceitedly and said with a smile, ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯ve just done you a big favor, haven¡¯t I? I helped you get to know so many people, and you might even get to clinch several deals. Tell me, how are you going to thank me?¡± Nikki quickly chimed in, ¡°Yeah, if it wasn¡¯t for Keh, those people wouldn¡¯t havee over, and you couldn¡¯t have gotten to know them, let alone have the chance to potentially cooperate with them. Cheyenne, you really have to thank Keh! How about you treat him to dinner tonight?¡± Cheyenne shot them a few cold nces before saying hostilely, ¡°Mr. Parker, I remember that you didn¡¯t introduce a single one of them to me just now. All you did was stand by the side and watch. I was the one who took the initiative to approach them and clinched the potential cooperations on my own. It seems to have nothing to do with you. Why should I thank you? ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary for us to have dinner together because I¡¯ll be having dinner with my husband. I¡¯m not that close to you either. I think we shouldn¡¯t bother!¡± Keh didn¡¯t expect Cheyenne to be so hostile to him. Regardless of how thick-skinned he might be, he was still speechless at this point. Nikki opened her mouth and tried to find some evidence to prove that Keh did help Cheyenne, but it was to no avail because they had wanted Cheyenne to beg Keh, so they chose not to help her at all. Now, they were both at a loss for a response to Cheyenne. After thinking about it, she finally found another excuse. She coughed twice and hurriedly said, ¡°Cheyenne, you can¡¯t say that! Keh just didn¡¯t get the chance to speak before you started talking to them eagerly. ¡°Besides, you¡¯ve only verbally agreed to cooperate with them and haven¡¯t signed a contract yet. The oue is still undecided! Why don¡¯t you let Keh ask those entrepreneurs out tomorrow to discuss cooperation over dinner? With Keh around, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll sign contracts with you! Keh, what do you think?¡± Keh nodded and said in a gentlemanly manner, ¡°Sure, I¡¯d be pleased to do Cheyenne a favor. Cheyenne, are you willing to let me help you?¡± Cheyenne frowned. She naturally wanted to cooperate with those entrepreneurs, but she knew that Keh wouldn¡¯t help her for nothing, and she really didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with him. Just as Cheyenne was about to decline, she suddenly heard a familiar voice from behind. ¡°Cheyenne, since someone wants to help you and is willing to host a dinner, it¡¯d be a waste if you didn¡¯t go. Just agree to it!¡± Lucas appeared beside them ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± A look of surprise appeared on Cheyenne¡¯s face, and she immediately walked toward Lucas. Indeed, Lucas told me to wait for him inside, and he showed up as promised! After being surprised, Nikki immediately reached out and pointed her finger at Lucas while rebuking hostilely, ¡°Lucas Gray?! You... How did you sneak in?¡± Just now, Keh had instructed the security guards at the entrance that they weren¡¯t to let Lucas in no matter what. Thinking that Lucas couldn¡¯t have gotten an invitation card, she wondered how Lucas managed to sneak in. Keh had an incredibly dark expression. He thought that it was impossible that Lucas could have produced an invitation card, nor did he think that Lucas had bribed those two security guards into letting him in. The only possibility was that Lucas must have sneaked in from elsewhere. After all, there was more than one entrance into the arts center. Keh narrowed his eyes and threatened, ¡°I don¡¯t care how you sneaked in, but let me warn you. You¡¯d better get lost immediately! This is an antique exhibition organized by the Coles, and not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry is fit to enter. If the Coles find out, you¡¯ll get it from them! When the timees, don¡¯t me me for not warning you!¡± # Chapter 392: Sinister Conspiracy

Chapter 392: Sinister Conspiracy

Cheyenne was a little worried. Her initial purpose in attending the exhibition was to socialize and build connections with the entrepreneurs of LA to seek some opportunities for cooperation. But after hearing what Nikki just said, those entrepreneurs didn¡¯t dare to stay here and continue discussing cooperation. In that case, there was no point for her to continue staying any longer. If Lucas really came in through some questionable means, it would really be better for them to leave on their own before the Coles found out. ¡°Hubby, why don¡¯t we just leave?¡± Cheyenne said. Lucas said with a smile, ¡°Since I¡¯ve already gone through great difficulty toe in, I¡¯ll apany you around here. Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t apanied you to such an exhibition yet.¡± While speaking, he held onto Cheyenne¡¯s hand. Cheyenne naturally wouldn¡¯t let go of him, but she felt a little shy because there were lots of people around them. Keh stared at their hands, his eyes full of fury. Seeing that her n was going awry, Nikki hurriedly rebuked, ¡°Lucas Gray, you good-for-nothing, how dare you stand here brazenly without an invitation? If you want to die, don¡¯t implicate us! What are you waiting for? Get lost!¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°If you¡¯re afraid of being implicated, you¡¯d better stay away from me! I¡¯d be more than happy if you could tell others that you don¡¯t know us!¡± Lucas wished that people with ulterior motives like Nikki and Keh would stay as far away from him as possible. ¡°What did you just say?! Bastard, listen up. If you don¡¯t get lost now, I¡¯ll immediately tell the Coles that you deliberately sneaked in to cause trouble!¡± Nikki threatened in anger. Lucas wasn¡¯t intimidated at all. He said indifferently, ¡°Go ahead. When the Colese looking for me, I¡¯ll tell them that you brought me here. Well, you¡¯re Cheyenne¡¯s cousin, so you can¡¯t shirk the responsibility.¡± ¡°You!¡± Nikki was furious. She wanted to threaten Lucas with the Coles, but she didn¡¯t expect Lucas to threaten her instead! Keh suddenly interjected, ¡°Forget it, Nikki. Don¡¯t bother with someone like him.¡± Nikki hurriedly said, ¡°In case this bastard really sneaked in through some means, the Coles will definitely me us too!¡± Keh nced at Lucas coldly and snorted. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s fine. Everyone saw that we didn¡¯te in with him just now. Even if he gets caught by the Coles, it won¡¯t have anything to do with us. Let¡¯s go!¡± Then he turned around and left. He had indeed wanted to take this opportunity to spend more time with Cheyenne. But since Lucas appeared and got in his way, he didn¡¯t have the chance to do so anymore. It would just be a waste of time to stay any longer. Only then did Nikki realize that Lucas was just trying to scare her. After glowering at him scornfully, she followed closely behind Keh and left as well. After they left, Cheyenne finally turned to ask Lucas worriedly, ¡°Speaking of which, how exactly did youe in? The Coles... aren¡¯t going to discover anything, are they?¡± She knew that Lucas didn¡¯t have an invitation card, so she was worried that he had really sneaked in through some questionable means. Lucas smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Do you remember who Flynn Davis is?¡± Cheyenne nodded and answered, ¡°Of course I do. He was the general manager of the Stardust Corporation. I went to meet him a few times regarding the cooperation with the Carters back then.¡± Lucas chuckled. ¡°Yes, but he¡¯s now the general manager of the Sr Corporation in LA, and this arts center we¡¯re in now belongs to the Sr Corporation. So it¡¯s a piece of cake for him to get an invitation card.¡± Cheyenne widened her eyes as she recalled that Lucas had informed her during their journey to LA yesterday morning that the entire Sr Corporation now belonged to him! ¡°Does that mean that this arts center belongs to you?¡± Cheyenne asked in shock. The arts center was arge five-story convention hall that upied an area of nearly 2,000 square meters. Most importantly, it was located in the center of LA, and the value of this building alone was immeasurable! Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s only a small part of the Sr Corporation. It¡¯s nothing much.¡± While being astonished, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes. He¡¯s obviously humble-bragging to show off his wealth! But this also meant that what Lucas said was the truth. Since he was the true owner of this arts center, it was naturally normal for him to be granted ess. But Cheyenne didn¡¯t dare to imagine how wealthy Lucas really was! After putting her mind at ease, she held onto his hand and started browsing the antiques on disy in the exhibition leisurely. On the other hand, after Keh and Nikki left, they went straight to another exhibition hall nearby. ¡°Keh, are you really going to let that bastard off and give up on my cousin just like that?¡± Nikki asked indignantly. With a broody and sinister gaze in his eyes, Keh said, ¡°She¡¯s in such a loving rtionship with her husband, and they¡¯re walking through the exhibition hand in hand! Hmph, do you think I¡¯d continue pestering her?¡± Nikki sneered. ¡°Who knows? Maybe that good-for-nothing relied on that trick to pester Cheyenne! But Keh, you¡¯re different from him. You¡¯re the scion of the Parkers. Besides, Cheyenne is a married woman and a mother of one. Strictly speaking, she¡¯s not worthy of you!¡± Keh snorted coldly without saying anything. Of course, he knew that Cheyenne wasn¡¯t good enough for him, and he didn¡¯t n to marry her anyway. He merely wanted to bed her and toy with her because she was pretty. But he didn¡¯t expect her to be so stubborn and resistant toward him, which infuriated him greatly. Nikki understood what Keh meant. She looked around before whispering into Keh¡¯s ear, ¡°Keh, if you just want to toy with her, I can help youe up with a good idea!¡± Keh turned to look at Nikki before asking with raised brows, ¡°Oh? Isn¡¯t she your cousin? Can you bear to let me toy with her as I please?¡± Nikki said disdainfully, ¡°Why not? I don¡¯t see her as my cousin at all. She¡¯s just a shameless bitch who¡¯s been notorious for a long time! She¡¯s deliberately putting on airs and pretending to be high and mighty just because she knows that you fancy her! She¡¯s just a horrible wench who got embroiled in a scandal with her good-for-nothing husband a long time ago. Not only is she a disgrace to the Carters, but she implicated us, her rtives, too! She¡¯s ruined our reputation! If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to care about someone like her!¡± Keh could naturally tell from Nikki¡¯s words that she was jealous of Cheyenne and was just ndering her. But he didn¡¯t care at all and merely said with great interest, ¡°In that case, if you can get her into my bed, I¡¯ll give you a luxurious BMW. How does that sound?¡± Overjoyed, Nikki hurriedly agreed, ¡°Thank you so much, Keh! Just wait while I send her to you tonight!¡± Keh licked his lips. ¡°Tonight? What do you n to do?¡± Nikki smiled cheekily and came up to Keh before whispering into his ear, ¡°Didn¡¯t her husband agree to have dinner with us tonight out of his greed for a free meal? Why don¡¯t we...¡± After whispering her n to Keh, he beamed with joy too. ¡°Sure, we¡¯ll do just that!¡± # Chapter 393: The Young Girl of the Cole Family

Chapter 393: The Young Girl of the Cole Family

At this moment, Cheyenne was naturally unaware that her cousin and Keh had already conspired and hatched a plot to make her sleep with Keh. She was standing beside Lucas and quietly admiring the plethora of valuable exhibits around them. ¡°Wow, the exhibits here are so exquisite and beautiful, as expected of treasures scoured by the Coles from San Francisco!¡± Cheyenne eximed with genuine amazement. But Lucas said nonchntly, ¡°Actually, this exhibition is average. Of the exhibits here, some are authentic, but there are also some replicas being passed off as genuine. I wonder if the Coles have poor judgment or if they¡¯ve deliberately brought these replicas to make up the numbers.¡± ¡°Huh? There are replicas? That can¡¯t be true, can it?¡± Cheyenne asked in astonishment. Lucas pointed to a three-legged cloisonn¨¦ enameled copper cauldron from the Ming dynasty in front of them. ¡°Take this enamelware for instance. It¡¯s actually a wed replica that was imitated very well.¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was not actually that loud, but as soon as he spoke, someone interjected furiously from the side, ¡°Who¡¯s spouting nonsense here? How dare you say that there are replicas in my family¡¯s antique exhibition?!¡± A young woman in her twenties was standing close by behind them, and she had clearly heard everything Lucas said. Besides, the fact that she said that it was her family¡¯s antique exhibition made it easy to deduce that she was probably one of the Coles! Lucas was just whispering to Cheyenne at first, but after hearing the young woman¡¯s furious hollering, everyone else looked over at them. In the distance, Keh and Nikki also seemed to be gloating. Seeing that Lucas already dug his own grave and offended a Cole, they hurriedly came over to see what was going on. Lucas nced at the livid young woman in front of him and said indifferently, ¡°Why is it impossible for replicas to appear at the Coles¡¯ antique exhibition?¡± The young woman retorted coldly, ¡°The Coles have always been known for never selling or exhibiting any replicas. There¡¯s no way we would pass off replicas as genuine at the exhibition today just to make up the numbers! I will regard your words as an insult to the Cole family! You have just smeared and tarnished the reputation of our family, so you must apologize to us!¡± If someone else were in Lucas¡¯s shoes, they would very likely bow down and apologize immediately after hearing that they were speaking to a Cole. No one was willing to offend the Coles and get into a conflict with them. But her identity meant nothing to Lucas. Lucas merely narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to say if it¡¯s genuine or not. Are you trying to say that even replicas will turn into genuine antiques just because they belong to the Coles¡¯ exhibition?¡± He was just having a private conversation with his wife, and moreover, he was stating facts. He didn¡¯t see the need to apologize just because someone popped up out of nowhere and used him. ¡°You!¡± The young woman was fuming. Lucas was making it seem as if she was throwing her weight around just because she was a Cole! ¡°Lucas Gray, you call yourself a man? How can you bully a girl like that?¡± Keh stood beside the young woman and naturally targeted Lucas, acting as if he was standing up for justice. Lucas nced at him coldly and said hostilely, ¡°When have I ever bullied her? If you¡¯re doing this just for the sake of sucking up to the Coles, you¡¯d bettere up with another reason. Don¡¯t get me involved! ¡°If you¡¯re just looking for trouble, you don¡¯t have to drag the Coles in to back you up! It¡¯s really distasteful of you to be so sneaky about it!¡± ¡°You! You¡¯re just a good-for-nothing. How dare you say that about me?!¡± Keh flew into a rage. Not only was he furious at Lucas for putting him to shame in front of so many people, but he also felt that Lucas had seen through his thoughts and was thus feeling incredibly ashamed and enraged. He wanted tosh out at Lucas. But if he did so in front of everyone, he would be stooping too low, which would affect his reputation as the esteemed scion of the Parker family. Keh might have his concerns, but Nikki didn¡¯t. Besides, she couldn¡¯t tolerate the fact that Lucas had the audacity to speak to Keh in such a manner. Nikki stepped forward and pointed at Lucas while cursing furiously, ¡°Lucas Gray, who do you think you are? How dare you speak to Keh like that?! He¡¯s a direct descendant of the Parkers and will be seeding his family¡¯s empire in the future. What about you? You¡¯re just a good-for-nothing who sponges off your wife! ¡°Also, everyone needs an invitation toe in! You were stopped at the entrance by the scurity guards just now because you tried to force your way in without an invitation! How did you manage to sneak in? Don¡¯t you think you owe the Coles and everyone here an exnation?¡± Nikki took the moral high ground and even pointed out that Lucas didn¡¯t have an invitation card, which immediately made everyone around look at Lucas with a frown on their faces. The guests invited to the exhibition today were all wealthy people of significant statuses, and they were extremely honored and pleased to have received an invitation from the Coles. But Lucas was dressed in extremely ordinary and shabby clothes, so they didn¡¯t think that he was from a wealthy family, especially after hearing Nikki call him a good-for-nothing. They thought, What right does he have toe in and stand together with prestigious people like us? Many of them were immediately displeased. Keh smiled smugly and said to the young woman of the Cole family, ¡°Miss Cole, this person has very likely sneaked in to cause trouble at the exhibition! I suggest that you ask the guards to take him away immediately and investigate his identity!¡± Keh thought that he was just giving her a kind reminder. But to his surprise, she red at him and rebuked, ¡°Are you teaching me what to do?¡± Keh¡¯s face stiffened. Why isn¡¯t this woman acting the way I thought she would? She¡¯s taking my kindness for granted. But she was a Cole, so he didn¡¯t dare to argue with her at all. Instead, he hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, no, how could I? I just have good intentions and don¡¯t want someone with malicious thoughts to ruin the exhibition that the Coles have meticulously prepared! This person really doesn¡¯t have an invitation. I can testify to this!¡± Nikki hurriedly raised her hand and said, ¡°I can vouch for Keh too! About ten minutes ago, he tried to sneak in with us! He was stopped at the entrance only because Keh instructed the guards to do so!¡± Seeing that these two people were nitpicking on Lucas and using him of having an ulterior motive for sneaking in without an invitation, the other people around them also looked at Lucas with hostile expressions. Something became convincing when multiple people said the same thing. Cheyenne began to panic a little, but she knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t willing to reveal his identity, so she naturally couldn¡¯t say that he was the owner of this arts center. He was definitely qualified to stand here no matter what. Suddenly, Lucas sneered and said slowly, ¡°Just half a month ago, the Kingstons held an auction in Orange County. At that auction, there was also a young man from the Parker family who questioned someone else¡¯s right to attend the auction and even tried to chase that person away. But he ended up being thrown out by the auction organizer instead. ¡°Afterward, said Mr. Parker still wasn¡¯t convinced and continued to create trouble, but Russell Duncan, who hosted the auction on behalf of the Kingstons, dered on the spot that none of the Parkers were allowed to attend any auctions that he was in charge of in the future! He created trouble for nothing and caused the entire Parker family to be cklisted by Russell Duncan! Mr. Parker, do you know who I¡¯m talking about?¡± # Chapter 394: Chased Out

Chapter 394: Chased Out

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as Lucas said this, Keh¡¯s expression changed drastically! Being cklisted by Russell Duncan, who worked for the Kingstons, was an ultimate disgrace for the Parkers! Besides, they didn¡¯t dare to argue with Russell precisely because he worked for the Kingstons. So they had no choice but to endure it and secretly cover up this embarrassing incident. Yet Lucas exposed them in public! All of a sudden, many inquisitive, curious, and gloating gazes were cast on Keh. Keh¡¯s face was so sullen that he couldn¡¯t even bring himself to force a smile. He red at Lucas furiously, wishing he could kill him with his gaze. But Lucas pretended to be shocked, as if he didn¡¯t see how furious Keh was. ¡°Mr. Parker, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know that person. That troublemaker is Tristan Parker, and he¡¯s also from LA. He also coincidentally shares the samest name as you. Could he be from your family?¡± Keh was livid, and he roared with a menacing expression, ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re deliberately provoking the Parkers! I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You¡¯re making it sound as if you¡¯d let me off even if I stand here without doing anything! You¡¯ve been the one looking to create trouble right from the start!¡± ¡°Fine, you¡¯ve got some nerve! Let me tell you, just you wait. The Parkers will release their wrath on you!¡± Keh snapped furiously. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just the Parker family. What¡¯s the big deal?¡± Lucas said nonchntly without taking the Parkers seriously at all. Keh should have been even angrier, but all of a sudden, his heart was full of an inexplicable panic. Generally, those who dared to disregard the Parkers were either too dense and ignorant to get a clear idea of the situation or simply fearless. Given how Lucas had angered Keh to the point of being speechless multiple times, he definitely wasn¡¯t a fool... Could Lucas Gray really have something to fall back on? The thought made Keh extremely anxious. ¡°Hmph, you... just you wait!¡± Keh could only issue yet another threat in the end. Lucas nced at him contemptuously without saying a single word. But he made Keh feel a hot and burning sensation in his face, as if he had been pped. At this moment, Keh saw the young woman of the Cole family who had just confronted Lucas but was now standing at the side like she was watching a show. He hurriedly said to her, ¡°Miss Cole, as you can see, this punk is arrogant and has zero respect for anyone. Just now, he deliberately imed that the items in this exhibition are replicas, but that¡¯splete nonsense. He¡¯s just smearing the Coles and ruining their reputation! We must chase him out immediately!¡± Keh was currently regretting his actions. Just now, Lucas was clearly already in trouble for offending the Coles. Yet he impatiently interjected to stand against Lucas, causing himself to end up being the target of discussion. Not only was he unable to do anything to this bastard Lucas, but he got humiliated and embarrassed unnecessarily! Now that he had gotten the Coles involved, he had put the ball back in their court. He was eager to see if Lucas would continue being so arrogant in front of the Coles! Keh devised a n in his head to make Lucas face the Coles¡¯ wrath and suffer a loss. But... ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you point fingers and order me around? I¡¯m not your servant!¡± the young woman of the Cole family chastised Keh mercilessly. ¡°Uh...¡± Keh was dumbfounded. It... it waspletely different from what he had imagined! The surrounding people also seemed to realize that the young woman particrly disliked Keh... Including the previous time, she had already rebuked him twice. Seeing Keh being scolded, his top defender, Nikki, immediately stood out and interjected righteously, ¡°Miss Cole, you must have misunderstood Keh! He was just putting forward a minor suggestion for the Coles. After all, this exhibition is organized by your family, and in case someone with an ulterior motive sneaks in to wreak havoc, your family will be the one to suffer!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± the young woman interrupted Nikki hostilely. ¡°Stop saying that it¡¯s for the Coles¡¯ sake. You think I can¡¯t tell that you two clearly have a feud with this man, so you¡¯re trying to use me to deal with him?! I, Alexis Cole, have always been open and aboveboard. I don¡¯t like mixing matters together! ¡°Since he said that there are replicas in our exhibition, I¡¯ll naturally ask him about it! But you two aren¡¯t that kind either. The fact that you keep trying to incite me to chase him out just goes to show that there¡¯s something very wrong with your moral character! I abhor you two!¡± After giving them a piece of her mind, she eximed at the people behind her, ¡°Where is security? Immediately kick these two people out of here. I don¡¯t want to see them again!¡± Nikki and Keh were dumbfounded. Neither of them expected that things would take such a sharp turn. They didn¡¯t expect Alexis to chase the two of them out instead of Lucas! Did we hear wrongly? Or is this world too fantastical? But when they saw the burly security guards walking straight toward them and seemingly about to throw them out, Keh and Nikki finally regained their senses and realized that Alexis was serious about driving them out! He was the esteemed scion of the Parkers, whom many in LA tried to suck up to. No one dared to provoke him at all, yet he was getting chased out in front of so many people today. This was an absolute insult! If other people dared to do this to him, he would have used his family¡¯s power and name to teach them a hard lesson. But the Parkers were nothingpared to the Coles, so he couldn¡¯t refute Alexis at all. The members of prestigious families and entrepreneurs of LA standing around them were all astonished. But they didn¡¯t dare to utter a single word because Alexis was the one who gave the order. Nikki stared at them in disbelief and yelled, ¡°Miss Cole! Keh is the sessor of the Parker family. Are you sure you want to throw us out?¡± The hidden threat in her words immediately enraged Alexis. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just the Parker family! He¡¯s still just a scion now and not the helmsman yet. Even if the helmsman were right in front of me now, I¡¯d tell him to get lost all the same! Don¡¯t think you guys are that big of a deal. If you get on my nerves, I can easily destroy your family! Now, get lost!¡± Alexis sounded extremely domineering and even seemed to have a touch of arrogance. Although she seemed to be only in her twenties and was much younger than everyone present, no one dared to question the truth of her words. After all, it would be a piece of cake for a giant like the Coles to annihte the Parkers! Finding Alexis overly tyrannical and unreasonable, Nikki bit her lower lip. ¡°Miss Cole, how can you...¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Keh suddenly interrupted and rebuked before Nikki could finish speaking. ¡°Miss Cole, I¡¯ll definitely make it up to you another day for offending you with my words today!¡± Keh maintained thest touch of his rationality and tried his best to make himself seem like a gentleman as he excused himself and turned around to leave. # Chapter 395: It’s a High-Grade Replica

Chapter 395: It¡¯s a High-Grade Replica

Keh was greatly embarrassed today, especially after Alexis rebuked him several times and even chased him out in front of everyone. He had never been so humiliated in his life! Keh felt extremely aggrieved as well. He had no idea what was wrong with Alexis because he had clearly said those things in the best interests of the Coles. He didn¡¯t know why they wanted to target him like that. He could barely maintain the expression on his face. After leaving the exhibition hall, his face immediately turned gloomy, and his features distorted with so much menace that he seemed to be on the verge of killing someone. Nikki hurriedly followed behind Keh and asked worriedly, ¡°Keh, you...¡± Smack! Before she could finish speaking, Keh pped her hard on her face. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, you useless piece of garbage! I wanted you to get Cheyenne Carter here, but you ended up letting her good-for-nothing husband tag along too. He kept going against me! That woman... Hmph! If you hadn¡¯t said so much crap in front of that woman from the Cole family, she wouldn¡¯t have nitpicked on me! This is infuriating!¡± Keh vented all his pent-up anger onto Nikki. Whileshing out at her, he even wanted to curse at Alexis, who had popped up out of nowhere. But he quickly stopped himself when he thought that she was a Cole, whom he couldn¡¯t afford to provoke. After hearing what he said, Nikki aggrievedly ced a hand on her face, which had turned numb because of the p. I got kicked out by that woman too. Why is Keh taking out his anger on me? But she didn¡¯t dare to argue with him, especially since he was now boiling with anger. Regardless of how aggrieved she felt, she had to bear with it. But she put the me on Cheyenne and Lucas. If it weren¡¯t for them, Keh wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer such mistreatment, nor would he vent his anger on her! It¡¯s all their fault! With a trace of resentment in her eyes, Nikki looked down and said, ¡°Keh, please calm down. I¡¯ll definitely send Cheyenne to your bed tonight so that you can take it out on her properly!¡± Hearing this and imagining the fiery, passionate rendezvous he might have tonight, Keh finally contained his anger a little. He said sneeringly, ¡°Hmph. When I get my hands on that little bitch, I¡¯ll definitely recoup my losses!¡± In the middle of the exhibition hall, Lucas, Cheyenne, and Alexis were still surrounded by many people. ¡°The detestable people are gone. Now, can you tell me why you said that there are replicas in this exhibition organized by the Coles?¡± Alexis red at Lucas furiously with her arms crossed. ¡°If you don¡¯t give me a reasonable exnation, I won¡¯t spare you easily!¡± As soon as she said this, many looked at Lucas with a sympathetic gaze. Alexis was the heiress of the Cole family, and yet Lucas had the audacity to say that some of the exhibits were replicas. They all thought that he had failed to realize how powerful she was! Just now, Keh ended up getting chased out mercilessly by Alexis for saying something she didn¡¯t like. They reckoned Lucas would end up in a worse plight! There was a trace of worry in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes. She was just chatting with Lucas at the time and didn¡¯t expect Alexis to have overheard them and get offended. Furthermore, she hadn¡¯t done much research on antiques. So even if she wanted to speak up for Lucas, she couldn¡¯t say anything that would make sense. She believed that Lucas wasn¡¯t the type who would boast and make casual remarks, but she didn¡¯t know if Lucas knew much about antiques... Cheyenne was extremely anxious. But Lucas didn¡¯t panic and instead pointed to an item that looked like a copper cauldron in the ss disy case in front of him. It wasbeled ¡®Ming Dynasty Blue Cloisonn¨¦ Enameled Three-legged Cauldron¡¯. He said, ¡°I just said that this item is a replica and not a real Ming Dynasty cloisonn¨¦ product.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Alexis shook her head and ordered someone to take out an appraisal report. She then said firmly, ¡°If you say that the other exhibits are replicas, I may still believe it. But I watched the appraisers examine this Ming Dynasty blue cloisonn¨¦ enameled three-legged cauldron with scientific instruments to analyze the material it¡¯s made of, as well as its age. This is definitely genuine enamelware of the Ming Dynasty!¡± It was possible for human errors to ur if the appraisers had merely examined it with the naked eye, and the judgment might vary depending on the appraisers¡¯ knowledge. But since scientific instruments had been used, there would basically be no room for error! All of a sudden, everyone looked at Lucas, thinking that his n to brag and show off had backfired. But Lucas shook his head. ¡°The detection of scientific instruments is not 100% urate all the time. For example, if I take the materials left over from the Ming Dynasty now and create a new item out of them, the instruments will still detect it as a relic from the Ming Dynasty. But the truth is that it wasn¡¯t even created during the Ming Dynasty.¡± Alexis¡¯s eyes lit up, and she seemed to be deep in thought. ¡°There¡¯s indeed such a possibility. But how are you so sure that this cauldron wasn¡¯t created during the Ming Dynasty?¡± Alexis¡¯s gaze was clear. She wasn¡¯t questioning Lucas but genuinely asking him for guidance. Her attitude immediately took the countless people around them by surprise. Alexis had behaved like an arrogant, domineering, and spoiled heiress when confronting Keh just now. But she was now facing Lucas with an extremely calm attitude and didn¡¯t lose her temper even when he doubted the authenticity of the antiques at the exhibition. Instead, she was discussing itposedly with him. It was indeed a little strange... ¡°As the name implies, this Ming Dynasty blue cloisonn¨¦ enameled three-legged cauldron is a cloisonn¨¦ product and one of the most famous types of metal craft in China. It requires bending soft metal wire into various patterns and then filling it with colored enamel before welding it onto the object. It was at its prime during the Ming Dynasty, and the production techniques had already reached a mature stage at that point. The enamel used was blue most of the time. ¡°I won¡¯t go into detail about its history. All I have to say is that the process of making this cloisonn¨¦ enamelware includes numerous steps such as hammering, filigree work, filling, sintering, polishing, gilding, and so on. Each step of the process is extremely tedious and demanding. The slightest carelessness and mistake will ruin the piece, and all efforts will go in vain. That¡¯s why the cloisonn¨¦ enamelware handed down throughout history are some of the finest.¡± Lucas exined a little bit about the history and process of the cloisonn¨¦ enamelware, which immediately made the entrepreneurs around them cluck their tongues in awe. Although some of them were antique collectors, most of them were focused only on the elegance of the antiques and had never done much research on antiques. Alexis¡¯s eyes were full of interest too. Since Lucas could give such a detailed exnation of the history of the cloisonn¨¦ enamelware, it was enough to show that he wasn¡¯t spouting nonsense. At the very least, he had done enough research on cloisonn¨¦ enamelware. Of course, the reason Lucas said this was indeed to prove that he wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°But what does what you said have to do with replicas? Is it because of the difficult production process that this three-legged cauldron is wed?¡± Alexis asked in bewilderment. ¡°No. On the contrary, this three-legged cauldron is extremely perfect and wless. But that¡¯s precisely the reason that it can¡¯t be a genuine item from the Ming Dynasty,¡± Lucas said lightly. But his words were like a bomb that sparked lots ofughter in the exhibition hall. # Chapter 396: No Mark

Chapter 396: No Mark

¡°Hahaha! This is the first time I¡¯ve heard anyone say that something is a replica because of how perfect it is! This is ridiculous!¡± ¡°Exactly! He¡¯s clearly spouting nonsense. I can¡¯t believe I thought he knew his stuff when it came to antiques!¡± ¡°Haha. He probably Googled that information and memorized it off a Wiki page so that he could pretend to be an expert in front of us. This is nonsense! This person is so hical!¡± ... Everyone started mocking andughing at Lucas. A trace of disappointment appeared in Alexis¡¯s eyes. But unlike others, she didn¡¯t think that Lucas was purely spouting nonsense because those familiar with antiques would know that it was indeed difficult for antique masterpieces to be perfect and wless due to the creation process and preservation methods used in ancient times. But Alexis wasn¡¯t convinced that the cauldron was a replica simply because it was too wless. Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Of course that¡¯s not the only reason. Everyone, you can turn this blue cloisonn¨¦ enameled three-legged cauldron over and take a careful look at its bottom. You¡¯ll know why I said it¡¯s a replica.¡± ¡°Bottom? What can there be on the bottom?¡± ¡°Beats me. The exhibits here are inside ss disy cases. No one can see what¡¯s inside!¡± ... Indeed, each and every single exhibit in this antique exhibition was inside an individual ss disy case in order to prevent people from identally knocking over or breaking the exorbitant pieces. Each disy case could only be unlocked with a specific key. ¡°Someone, unlock and open this disy case!¡± Alexis ordered without any hesitation. ¡°Yes, Miss Cole!¡± A bodyguard behind her immediately answered and turned around to go look for the person in charge of the exhibition. Alexis looked at Lucas¡¯s calm expression and suddenly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know so much about antiques! Do you want toe work for me? I guarantee that you won¡¯t be underpaid! I¡¯ll offer you an annual sry of a hundred and fifty thousand with other benefits and bonuses. How does that sound?¡± Everyone looked over with shock written all over their faces. They didn¡¯t expect Alexis to not only not chase Lucas out but even offer him the chance to work for her! Although an annual sry of $150,000 was peanuts to business magnates like them, it was considered a managerial-level sry for most enterprises! More importantly, it was a job offer from the Coles! As long as they could work for the Coles, they would be far superior to the senior executives of ordinarypanies! They all thought that Lucas was really lucky! Everyone stared at Lucas, green with envy. But Lucas smiled and wasn¡¯t moved at all. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but neither you nor your family is qualified to let me work for you!¡± ¡°!¡± Everyone widened their mouths in shock, almost not daring to believe what they heard. Lucas actually dared to say that the entire Cole family was not qualified to let him work for them. This was simply too arrogant! How dare he say it in front of Miss Cole? He must be tired of living! But to their surprise, Alexis was merely stunned for a moment before soon saying smilingly, ¡°Haha, you¡¯re much more untamed than I imagined! Not bad!¡± Lucas frowned slightly. She sounds like she knows me or has heard about me before. At this moment, two people in charge of the exhibition scurried over. ording to Alexis¡¯s instructions, they opened the disy case and carefully took out the blue cloisonn¨¦ enameled three-legged cauldron. They then turned it over and revealed the bottom of the cauldron. Alexis stared at the bottom of the furnace and carefully scrutinized it a few times while the people around them craned their necks to see what was on the bottom. This allowed Lucas to confirm that the cauldron was indeed a replica. ¡°There¡¯s no mark on the bottom of the cauldron,¡± Lucas reminded kindly. ¡°Mark?¡± ¡°What mark?¡± ¡°Never heard of such a thing...¡± The people standing around hadn¡¯t done much research on antiques, so most of them didn¡¯t understand what exactly Lucas meant. But the Coles had built their business empire off of antiques, so Alexis naturally understood the technical jargon and what Lucas meant. Her gaze fixed on the cauldron. ¡°There really isn¡¯t a mark!¡± Her expression became rather sullen. But many people around were still confused. Lucas exined kindly, ¡°The so-called mark refers to the traces left behind during the shaping process of porcin, pottery, enamelware, and other antique pieces. Due to the limitations of ancient craftsmanship, there would be marks of varying sizes at the bottom of the items at the end of the sculpting process. ¡°After the level of craftsmanship improved in thete Qing Dynasty, such marks gradually disappeared. The items produced closer to the modern era are even more perfect.¡± Cheyenne came to a sudden realization at this moment too. ¡°No wonder you said that this cauldron is a replica because it¡¯s too wless. It turns out it¡¯s because of the mark!¡± Lucas nodded and said to Cheyenne with a smile, ¡°Yes!¡± At this point, even those who didn¡¯t know a thing about antiques understood what Lucas meant. Given the level of craftsmanship in that period of the Ming Dynasty, it was definitely impossible to produce enamelware that didn¡¯t have any marks at the bottom. The fact that the blue cloisonn¨¦ enameled three-legged cauldron in front of them was spotless confirmed that it was absolutely impossible for it to have been a genuine item from the Ming Dynasty! Although it seemed like an unbelievable reason at first, it was actually justifiable and convincing! Everyone looked at Lucas and then at Alexis. They were all certain that Lucas really got it right! The blue cloisonn¨¦ enameled three-legged cauldron was indeed a high-grade replica made in ater era! But although Lucas was indeed right, they felt that Alexis wouldn¡¯t forgive him. After all, he had put the Coles to shame because the item they had thought was a genuine, highly-valuable antique had now been proven to be a high-grade replica. Not only did its value decrease drastically, but it also affected the Coles¡¯ reputation. Just as the crowd was making guesses about how the lofty Alexis would deal with Lucas, she walked toward him and bowed to him respectfully. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. It¡¯s indeed true that this exhibit of ours isn¡¯t genuine. I sincerely apologize for my disrespectful attitude and doubts about you just now!¡± Everyone was bbergasted! The esteemed Alexis Cole actually bowed and apologized to Lucas, the young man whom everyone called a good-for-nothing! Even Lucas was surprised. # Chapter 397: You Know Me

Chapter 397: You Know Me

Lucas also didn¡¯t expect that Alexis, the seemingly arrogant heiress of the Cole family, who had just thrown Keh and Nikki out of the exhibition hall over a slight disagreement, would really apologize to him so respectfully. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Miss Cole.¡± Lucas waited for Alexis to straighten her back before suddenly saying, ¡°Miss Cole, do you know me?¡± He felt rather puzzled. Alexis appeared in front of him for the first time when he told Cheyenne that the three-legged cauldron was a replica. At the time, she was extremely scornful and hostile toward him, probably because she thought that he was deliberately babbling nonsense to tarnish the reputation of the Coles. But after Keh and Nikki intervenedter on, Alexis¡¯s attitude changed drastically, as she seemed to direct all her feelings of hatred and abhorrence toward them. In contrast, she became much more cordial toward Lucas. In fact, she even seemed to have a trace of curiosity in her eyes from time to time. Afterward, Alexis even offered to recruit Lucas, even though she had yet to determine whether the three-legged cauldron was genuine or not. Moreover, even after he turned her down without hesitation, she didn¡¯t get angry at all and instead remained amicable toward him. This waspletely different from the haughty way she behaved when she had thrown Keh and Nikki out just now! So Lucas was really confused and wondered if Alexis knew him. Or could she have heard of my name before, so when Nikkished out at me and called me by my full name, this heiress finally realized who I am? Is that the reason for her change in attitude? Needless to say, Lucas¡¯s conjecture was what happened in reality. But Alexis didn¡¯t admit to it and instead tilted her head while saying with a cute smile, ¡°No, it¡¯s our first time meeting each other!¡± Then she turned around and walked out of the door before Lucas could say anything. When she was about to leave the exhibition hall, she suddenly turned around and blinked yfully. ¡°But I think we will meet again very soon!¡± The petite Alexis left the exhibition hall with her subordinates. Lucas and Cheyenne looked at each other, both full of bewilderment. Why does Miss Cole seem rather peculiar?! ¡ª¡ª In the best private room of the Lion Restaurant in LA... Three old men with grayish-white hair were sitting around a dining table and chatting over some wine in the elegantly furnished room. There were several burly bodyguards standing outside the private room. When the service staff walked past them, they didn¡¯t even dare to look into the room, as they could tell that the people in the room were definitely extraordinary bigwigs whom they didn¡¯t dare to offend. The three old men in the room were Sam Morgan, Robert Heron, who was Nikki¡¯s grandfather, and Edmund Cole from San Francisco. ¡°Edmund, you just got discharged from the hospital, and you¡¯re already drinking. Can your body stand it?¡± Sam asked after taking a sip of white wine. Edmund chuckled and took a sip of wine as well. Heughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s because of my chronic heart disease. Drinking has nothing to do with it. Besides, it¡¯s rare for the three of us to get together. Who knows when we¡¯ll get to meet again after this? It¡¯s a must to have a few drinks!¡± The few of themughed heartily. They were all in their seventies and had no idea how much longer they had to live. In their opinion, life would be too mundane if they had to abstain from wine. After the three of themughed and chatted for a while, Edmund suddenly asked, ¡°Sam, you mentioned just now that someone flushed millions of dors worth of top-grade Da Hong Pao tea leaves down the sewer like rubbish. What exactly happened?¡± He had only heard Sam mention it briefly with anguish just now. After suddenly recalling it, he decided to ask about it in detail. The thought of the matter made Sam¡¯s blood boil. He felt devastated that he didn¡¯t get to buy the top-grade tea leaves that had been flushed away like garbage. He couldn¡¯t help clutching his chest and said with a wave of his hand, ¡°Forget it. Talking about it makes me furious! Let Robert tell you what happened. Actually, it concerns his rtives!¡± Recalling this matter, Robert felt extremely embarrassed. He sighed. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s all because of my inws who are country bumpkins that haven¡¯t seen much of the world. They¡¯ve been preparing for their grandson¡¯s wedding for the past couple of days, so the husband of one of their grandchildren gave them a bag of top-grade Da Hong Pao tea leaves as a gift. It was of the best quality, and there was more than a kilogram in that box! ¡°But my inws have always looked down on that junior and so thought that the tea leaves he brought were imitation goods. Without even looking at it, he threw that bag of tea leaves into the trash and humiliated that junior before chasing him away. I can¡¯t even bring myself to talk about this! ¡°Later, when Sam and I went over, Sam managed to smell the fragrance of tea thanks to his sharp sense of smell, so he picked it up from the trash can and even offered to buy it for a million dors. Unfortunately, my inws didn¡¯t believe it and were afraid that the tea would be harmful to his health, so they snatched the tea leaves away and flushed them down the sewer! ¡°Sam was livid at that point, and he left without saying another word! Even I felt awkward, though I was just standing at the side!¡± Robert recounted the story briefly while Edmund widened his eyes in shock. ¡°More than a kilogram of top-quality Da Hong Pao tea leaves? I heard that less than three hundred grams of such tea leaves are produced each year.¡± Although Edmund wasn¡¯t a tea-lover, people of higher statuses like him definitely had a slight understanding of tea. Robert said regretfully, ¡°Exactly. We¡¯re talking about more than a kilogram of top-grade Da Hong Pao! It¡¯s rarely found here, and Sam definitely couldn¡¯t have made a mistake! Ah, what a pity! Those tea leaves could have at least fetched a few million at an auction.¡± Sam said furiously, ¡°Trust you to have the cheek to say that. The person who threw the bag of tea leaves into the sewer and flushed it away is your granddaughter! I wanted to tell her to stop but unfortunately didn¡¯t have time to do so. You¡¯re her grandfather, but why didn¡¯t you stop her?! I¡¯m not feeling sad about the few million dors but the tea leaves! I can¡¯t buy those top-grade leaves even if I want to!¡± His words made Robert immediately blush. ¡°Nikki is just that reckless. She was just obeying her maternal grandfather¡¯s instructions to throw the tea leaves away! I couldn¡¯t stop her even though I wanted to!¡± Edmund found it a great pity too, but as the head of the Cole family, the focus of his concern was obviously different. ¡°Robert, who is that junior of your inws? Since he could get so much top-grade Da Hong Pao tea leaves and give them away generously, he must be an extraordinary person, right?¡± Robert answered ashamedly, ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t see who he was. By the time we arrived, he had already been... driven away by my inws!¡± Edmund widened his eyes in shock. After a long time, he said with a strange smile, ¡°My gosh, your inws are really... I¡¯m speechless! They actually drove away someone who can casually give away a gift worth millions of dors. Seriously... I don¡¯t even know what to say about them! ¡°Your inw must be full of regret after knowing that he threw away millions of dors worth of tea leaves! I actually can¡¯t decide who¡¯s in a more terrible plight, him or his grandson-inw! Hahahaha!¡± # Chapter 398: Happy Times

Chapter 398: Happy Times

Robert felt incredibly embarrassed. Although he wasn¡¯t the one who did such an awful thing, the culprits were Eddie and his granddaughter, Nikki, who were both rted to him. So he felt extremely ashamed. ¡°Okay, okay, let¡¯s not talk about these vexing matters!¡± Seeing how awkward Robert was, Sam quickly interjected to give him an out. He then said to Edmund, ¡°Edmund, take it easy. The doctor just said that you shouldn¡¯t get too worked up, lest your illness acts up. Look what happened to you on the streets today. It was so dangerous!¡± Edmund said with a thankful expression, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all thanks to that young man who saved my life today! Speaking of which, young people these days are really impressive! One is capable of giving away millions of dors worth of top-grade tea leaves that money might not be able to buy, while another has the bravery to step forward and rescue someone without iming credit. They¡¯re really remarkable!¡± ¡°Yes, the new generation isn¡¯t to be underestimated. They¡¯re far more capable than we used to be at their age. We¡¯re old now!¡± Sam sighed emotionally. They clinked sses and gradually shifted the topic of the conversation. But little did the trio know that the two young men whom Edmund brought up were actually the same person. Lucas, whom they were talking about, likewise didn¡¯t know that he was being praised by three old men. At this moment, he and Cheyenne were quietly enjoying some uninterrupted alone time. After admiring all the exhibits of the antique exhibition, they had no other ns for the night. Lucas asked, ¡°Cheyenne, is there anything you particrly want to do but have never done?¡± Cheyenneughed. ¡°Why? Do you want to take me to do those things, regardless of what they are?¡± Gazing at her with a tender and affectionate gaze, Lucas chuckled. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll apany you to do anything, as long as it¡¯s something you want to do!¡± Cheyenne suddenly blushed. Lucas¡¯s sudden confession-like words put her at a loss for words because she had never experienced such a moment in her life before. After giving it some thought, Cheyenne suddenly said, ¡°I suddenly kind of feel like going to an amusement park. My parents never had the time to bring me to one when I was a kid. When I grew up and became an adult, I felt too embarrassed to go. After Amelia was born, I brought her to an amusement park for some kiddy rides, but I didn¡¯t get to sit on the rides I wanted.¡± Her voice contained mncholy and desire, which immediately made Lucas¡¯s heart ache. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to an amusement park then!¡± Lucas eximed and pulled Cheyenne into the car. He then sped off toward an amusement park. ¡°Huh? Are we really going to an amusement park? I was just making a casual remark!¡± Cheyenne eximed while sitting in the speeding Porsche and suddenly felt rather embarrassed. She was already in her twenties and the mother of a five-year-old. Yet she was going to go to an amusement park for fun like a child. It was indeed rather embarrassing. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? I told you. I¡¯ll apany you as long as it¡¯s something you want to do!¡± Lucas looked at Cheyenne with an affectionate gaze. Cheyenne gazed at Lucas affectionately. He¡¯s so handsome, responsible, reliable, and protective of me. If we can really stay together for the rest of their lives like he says, that would be wonderful! With this thought, Cheyenne smiled faintly. ¡°Alright!¡± she suddenly eximed, her voice full of joy as she decided to let herself loose. Lucas tenderly took her hand, and the two of them walked through the gates of the amusement park together. Soon, Lucas got some tickets and brought Cheyenne to ride the attractions she had never been on before. The roller coaster took several sharp turns as they shuttled through the curved and twisted tracks, leaving Cheyenne exhrated as she closed her eyes and shrieked a little. Meanwhile, Lucas held her hand throughout the ride, making her feel extremely at ease. On the pirate ship ride, they sat at the seats nearest to the ship¡¯s bow and smiled blissfully as they listened to the rhythmic screaming of the rest of the riders. During the Turbo Drop ride, Cheyenne grasped Lucas¡¯s hand tightly. And as the car slowly rose up the tower, Cheyenne felt so nervous that she closed her eyes, not daring to look below. But when the car suddenly plunged down during the drop, she couldn¡¯t help screaming. ... Lucas and Cheyenne went on several thrilling rides one after another, and her legs had already begun trembling a little. But her eyes were extraordinarily clear, and she was much more excited than usual. Although she was still a little scared when they were on the rides, Lucas stayed by her side and held her hand tightly the entire time. So she could let her hair down and scream her lungs out,pletely forgetting about all the pressure she was under. At this moment, her only identity was Lucas¡¯s wife, and they were just like any other sweet couple in love leaving behind their gleefulughter in the amusement park. Finally, the couple arrived at the edge of the high tform of the bungee jump. But when they reached the ticket booth below, they suddenly heard a long and extremely tragic scream from above their heads. There was someone hanging upside down on a long safety rope and plunging down from above. When he was about to reach the bottom, he was suddenly pulled upward again by the tension force in the rope before bouncing helplessly in the air in an extraordinarily terrifying manner. Cheyenne¡¯s face instantly paled a little. ¡°Are... are we really going to do this?¡± Cheyenne asked fearfully, somewhatcking in confidence. Lucasughed. ¡°We¡¯ve been on so many rides, but you weren¡¯t scared at all. Yet you¡¯re afraid of bungee jumping?¡± Cheyenne obviously wouldn¡¯t admit that she was scared and immediately retorted, ¡°W-who said I¡¯m afraid? I just think... it¡¯s really miserable to be swung around by a rope!¡± Lucas understood how she felt. In fact, it was normal for most people to be afraid of bungee jumping. Besides, there was no way to control the pulling force of the rope, which was the reason that the jumpers felt insecure. Lucas took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll jump togetherter. Like I said, I¡¯ll be by your side!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face turned warm again. Although Lucas¡¯s words were a simple sweet nothing, she felt a sweet and fuzzy feeling in her heart. The tension, fear, and nervousness within her all suddenly vanished. There were many people surrounding the bungee jumping tform, but there were only a few standing on it and preparing to jump. There were only two people ahead of Lucas and Cheyenne in the queue. They were also a couple who wanted to do a double jump. Cheyenne stood by the side and carefully watched as they put on the safety harnesses attached to the rope, as well as other protective equipment. She and Lucas would have to go through the same processter as well. Lucas suddenly came up to Cheyenne and whispered, ¡°Honey, which one of them do you think will scream more tragicallyter?¡± Cheyenne said without thinking, ¡°I think it¡¯ll be the girl!¡± But Lucas shook his head. ¡°I think that man will probably scream more tragically. If you don¡¯t believe me, let¡¯s make a bet!¡± His words piqued Cheyenne¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Sure! What should we bet?¡± ¡°Hmm.... A kiss from you if I win!¡± ¡°... You! Hmph, I¡¯m not going to talk to you anymore!¡± ¡°Haha! I¡¯m just kidding!¡± # Chapter 399: A Passionate Kiss

Chapter 399: A Passionate Kiss

While they wereughing and chatting sweetly, the couple in front of them had already gotten ready and were prepared to jump at any time. Suddenly, the girl said, ¡°Hon-Honey, I¡¯m so scared! I¡¯m almost going to hyperventte! Let¡¯s not do this!¡± As pale as a sheet, she grasped the safety belt next to her tightly and was so frightened that her voice was trembling. She appeared genuinely terrified. The man opposite her was about 25 years old. Upon hearing what she said, he immediatelyshed out at her with a look of displeasure, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? If you¡¯re scared, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? Now that we¡¯re already prepared to jump, you¡¯re chickening out. Aren¡¯t you just wasting my time? Besides, I apanied you here because you said that you wanted to bungee jump. Yet you don¡¯t want to jump now. Are you taking me for a ride?¡± He rebuked unceremoniously. The girl¡¯s face became extremely sullen. She was squatting half a meter behind the edge of the tform, not daring to look out or move forward at all. She initially really wanted to bungee jump, but when she finally stood on the high tform, she was petrified and overwhelmed with fear. ¡°I... I really can¡¯t do it! It¡¯s too scary! Honey, how about you jump on your own while I take a video of you?¡± the girl asked while shuddering. ¡°Is there something wrong with you? I spent a hundred and fifty bucks on these tickets for the bungee jump, and they¡¯re non-refundable. My money¡¯s going to go to waste if you don¡¯t jump! Come on. Let¡¯s do it together!¡± Then the man dragged the girl toward him adamantly and leaped off the edge of the high tform together with her. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± They screamed miserably almost at the same time. Surprisingly, the man¡¯s scream was even more distressed than the girl¡¯s! Cheyenne looked down and said indignantly, ¡°That girl clearly said she was scared, yet her boyfriend forced her to jump. He¡¯s such a jerk! I¡¯d definitely sever all ties with anyone who dared to do that to me!¡± Lucas chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Honey. I definitely won¡¯t treat you like that! Speaking of which, you¡¯ve lost the bet just now!¡± Cheyenne blushed a little as she red at Lucas. ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to bet with you. It doesn¡¯t count!¡± Seeing the chagrined and crestfallen expression that appeared on Lucas¡¯s face after he heard what she said, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help covering her mouth andughing a little. Whileughing, she looked so gorgeous that the staff around them were stunned. Only when Lucas coughed twice did the two staff members, a man and a woman, return to their senses. They hurriedly said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s your turn now!¡± Soon, both of them strapped on their safety gear and attached their harnesses to the safety rope. They were both ready to jump. Standing on the edge of the high tform and thinking that they were going to jump very soon, Cheyenne felt a little incredulous and nervous. She couldn¡¯t help taking a deep breath. Holding her shoulders, Lucas asked in a gentle voice, ¡°Are you ready?¡± Biting her lip, Cheyenne looked at the tall and handsome Lucas in front of her and nodded gently. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it then!¡± Lucas suddenly extended his hands and held Cheyenne tightly in his embrace, his arms wrapping around her waist and arms. ¡°Honey, we¡¯ll stay together forever!¡± Then Lucas plunged toward the side with Cheyenne in his arms! There was no longer any support under their feet, and they were both plunging down rapidly in free-fall motion. As the wind whistled in their ears and brushed against their bodies, they felt as if they were going through thest release before death! This supposedly horrifying moment that should leave people feeling defenseless and helpless was somewhat pleasant for Cheyenne, who was being held in Lucas¡¯s strong arms and feeling the warmth of his chest. Hearing the sounds of his heartbeat, she suddenly felt extremely at ease. She felt that she would be fearless toward anything as long as he was by her side! Cheyenne opened her eyes and looked into Lucas¡¯s eyes right in front of her. Without blinking at all, they seemed to be etching each other into the deepest parts of their hearts. Cheyenne¡¯s heart began pounding rapidly with loud thumps. It wasn¡¯t because of fear or nervousness. Rather, it was purely palpitating because of the adrenaline rush from her eye contact with Lucas. She suddenly closed her eyes and nted a kiss on Lucas¡¯s lips! It was the first time in her life that she took the initiative to kiss someone. Lucas was astonished for a moment and subconsciously opened his eyes wide. But when he felt the warm and soft touch of her lips on his, it dawned on him that she was kissing him. He tightened his arms around Cheyenne and nestled her firmly in his embrace, wishing he could hug her even more tightly. The kiss was extremely affectionate and intoxicating! The tension force of the safety rope pulled them up and swung them back and forth in the air. The trajectory of the rope gradually became smaller and eventually came to a halt. Only when their feet touched the ground did they recover from the passionate kiss. ¡°Wow, oh my god! That¡¯s so romantic!¡± ¡°Sweetheart, let¡¯s go do a double bungee jump too. I want to do what they did!¡± ¡°I¡¯m crying with envy! This couple are such thrill-seekers. They¡¯re obviously deeply in love with each other! Darling, do you think we can be as loving as them in the future?¡± ... Countless people had been standing around and watching Lucas and Cheyenne share a passionate kiss during the bungee jump. They were all green with envy. Due to therge distance between them, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying. But she knew from the fact that so many people were staring at her that they must have seen her kissing Lucas uncontrobly. She couldn¡¯t help blushing shyly. After untying the safety rope and removing the protective gear, she immediately pulled Lucas away. Lucas looked at Cheyenne¡¯s flushed, delicate face smilingly and felt extremely sweet like he had just eaten honey. The kiss just now took their rtionship to another level. Hand in hand, they walked around the amusement park and would asionally meet each other¡¯s gazes. They felt extremely blissful. Time flew like an arrow. By the time they decided to leave in high spirits after a pleasant afternoon in the amusement park, it was already dusk. Soon after they stepped out of the amusement park, they were stopped by a girl carrying a basket of flowers. ¡°Hey, handsome and gorgeous, nice to meet you! I can tell at a nce that you must be very much in love with each other. Would you like to buy some flowers for this stunning beauty beside you? Girls love it when guys are romantic. These flowers don¡¯t cost much. They¡¯re two dors a stalk!¡± The girl seemed to be a young teenager, and she had a fresh and energetic appearance. There were probably dozens of roses in her basket. Although she had been here all afternoon, the roses in the basket were still fresh, vibrant, and delicate. Cheyenne was a little surprised. ¡°You¡¯re so young, and you¡¯re selling flowers here on your own?¡± With a sweet smile, the girl pointed at a middle-aged woman around ten meters away from them. ¡°I¡¯m here with my mom! We¡¯re struggling to make ends meet, and my father¡¯s sick, so my mom and Ie here to sell flowers during my free time.¡± She didn¡¯t seem the least bit embarrassed or upset about her humble background. Instead, she was optimistic and confident, making her extremely likable. Looking at the optimistic mother-and-daughter duo who were dependent on each other for life, Lucas suddenly thought about the time when Cheyenne had single-handedly taken care of Amelia and felt rather emotional. ¡°How many roses are there in your basket? I¡¯ll take them all,¡± Lucas said smilingly after ncing at Cheyenne. # Chapter 400: Proposing Again

Chapter 400: Proposing Again

After hearing what Lucas said, the young teenage girl immediately seemed overjoyed, and she eximed gleefully, ¡°I had a hundred roses, but I sold thirty-two of them, so there are sixty-eight left. I can count them again!¡± Lucas stopped the girl when she was about to count each and every single rose. Then he took out ten twenty-dor bills from his pocket and handed them to the girl. ¡°There you go. You can keep the change. Take it as money for the basket, okay?¡± After counting the bills, the girl solemnly took out three bills from the stack and gave them back to Lucas. ¡°My mom says that we can¡¯t overcharge others. Sir, thank you for your kindness! You bought so many roses from me at once, so I¡¯ll give the basket to you for free! May you and this beautifuldy be blissful forever!¡± The girl stuffed the entire flower basket into Lucas¡¯s hand and then scurried back to her mother¡¯s side. After chatting for a while, the middle-aged woman ced her hand on the girl¡¯s head and stroked it tenderly with a gentle smile on her face. She then smiled at Lucas and Cheyenne with gratitude. Lucas also smiled faintly, grabbed the basket of roses, and left with Cheyenne hand in hand. But after walking for a while, Lucas still didn¡¯t give the basket of roses to Cheyenne. ¡°Which beautiful woman are you nning to give this basket of roses to?¡± Cheyenne finally couldn¡¯t help asking after hesitating to speak several times. Lucas smiled without saying anything. He simply took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and brought her to a stall near the amusement park. It was a hotdog stall being operated by an elderly couple. Their hair had grayed, and their movements were not as agile as young people¡¯s, but they were nheless facing their customers with smiles on their faces. When working alongside each other, they would exchange nces from time to time and feel the love they had for each other from their eyes. They were truly an affectionate couple who had loved each other until they were old and gray. Cheyenne¡¯s eyes were immediately full of envy. This elderly couple might not necessarily live a privileged life, but they nevertheless enjoyed operating a street stall together. They were smiling peacefully and full of love and devotion for each other. Cheyenne secretly nced at Lucas. Her greatest hope was for her family to be harmonious and peaceful and then be able to grow old together with her beloved, just like this elderly couple in front of her who led ordinary lives. Lucas walked forward with Cheyenne¡¯s hand in his and then handed the basket of roses to the elderly man. ¡°Sir, these flowers are for you. I hope you and your wife will enjoy eternal bliss!¡± The elderly couple was pleasantly surprised and quickly thanked Lucas. Looking at the happy smiles on their faces, Lucas felt rather d too. This is probably the joy of giving a gift. He leaned close to Cheyenne¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°We¡¯ll just be like them in the future. We¡¯ll grow old together and never leave each other!¡± Cheyenne blushed and couldn¡¯t help looking forward to it. The thought of her and Lucas still being in love with each other when they were in their seventies and their hair was all gray filled her heart with a sweet sense of happiness. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Lucas suddenly took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and walked forward. They weren¡¯t walking toward the parking lot outside the amusement park, so Cheyenne asked in puzzlement, ¡°Where are we going?¡± Lucas smiled mysteriously. ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there!¡± Cheyenne was quite surprised because Lucas had always been very reliable and would rarely keep her in suspense. Her curiosity was immediately piqued. Lucas took Cheyenne to argemercial building a few hundred meters away from the amusement park. It was evening on the weekend, so it was extremely crowded at the building. But there was now arge partitioned space in the center hall of the mall, which was decorated with all kinds of flowers and balloons. There were also numerous decorative ribbons draping all the way to the bottom from the top floor. The entire central area of the hall was decorated with a romantic theme. In the middle of the hall, fresh flowers arranged in the shape of a huge heart and gentle and romantic lights shining down formed a fairytale-like romantic haven. The visitors of the mall were all isted at the periphery and snapping photos and taking videos of the incredibly romantic scene with their phones while eximing in amazement. With a trace of envy, Cheyenne said, ¡°Is... someone going to confess their love to their crush here?¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± With a smile, Lucas suddenly took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and walked toward the heart of flowers in the center of the hall. ¡°Hey, wait a minute. You can¡¯t go there!¡± Cheyenne said, feeling flustered. A few tourists and children wanted to go inside too, but they were stopped by the mall¡¯s security personnel. But to Cheyenne¡¯s surprise, no one came to stop her and Lucas. Just as she was feeling flustered, they had already reached the center of the heart of flowers. At this moment, Cheyenne finally realized what was going on, and she covered her mouth in disbelief as her heart pounded rapidly. No way... Suddenly, melodious piano music filled the hall, and countless spots of light shone on them, shrouding them in a dreamy, fantasy-like atmosphere. All the passersby were watching this beautiful scene in front of them, fully focused and holding their breaths for fear of causing a disturbance. Lucas took out a small and exquisite jewelry box from his pocket and opened it gently to reveal a ring topped with a pink pigeon-egg-sized diamond. Under the light, it glistened and shined dazzlingly. Everyone gasped in amazement. The dazzling and beautiful pink diamond ring was the exact same one that Lucas had bought for more than thirty-five million dors at the Sawyers¡¯ auction in Orange County. Lucas smiled gently. ¡°Cheyenne, you didn¡¯t ept it thest time I proposed to you.¡± He suddenly got down on one knee with the shiny pink diamond ring in hand. Gazing at Cheyenne with great devotion, he said, ¡°This time, will you say yes and marry me? I promise I¡¯ll treat you well with all my heart and make you the happiest woman in the world!¡± # Chapter 401: Force Majeure

Chapter 401: Force Majeure

Cheyenne covered her mouth with one hand, but tears welled up in her eyes uncontrobly before rolling down her cheeks likerge crystals. At this moment, her heart was full of emotions, and she was so agitated that she couldn¡¯t say anything. Previously, on the rooftop of the Intercontinental Hotel in Orange County, Lucas had also proposed to her once with this exorbitant pink diamond ring. At the time, she could tell how sincere he was toward her, but she could only turn him down because she didn¡¯t love him yet. Butter on, many things happened between them, and they went through thick and thin together. Lucas protected and defended Cheyenne time and time again, causing her to be touched and eventually fall in love with him. Now, she was absolutely certain that she loved Lucas! ¡°Say yes!¡± ¡°Say yes!¡± ¡°Say yes!¡± ... While Cheyenne¡¯s heart was pounding and she was full of emotions, the loud exmations filled the space in therge hall of the mall. Many people were either watching the fun or sincerely giving their best wishes to Lucas and Cheyenne. The sounds of yelling spread far from the mall and attracted many passersby. Seeing more and more people crowding around them, Cheyenne looked more and more shy. Cheyenne lowered her head and then looked up at Lucas tenderly with a smile on her face. ¡°Yes!¡± There were still tears on her face, and her smile was extremely breathtaking! The two of them looked into each other¡¯s eyes for a long time. Amid the cheers in the hall, Lucas solemnly put the precious pink diamond ring onto Cheyenne¡¯s ring finger and then pulled her into her arms. More than six years ago, Lucas had already fallen deeply in love with Cheyenne. In order to be worthy of her and capable of protecting her from anything, he had joined the military without hesitation and worked hard for six years. After such a long time, he finally got to embrace Cheyenne in his arms! ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°Congrattions!¡± ¡°Awesome! I¡¯ve witnessed such beautiful love!¡± Seeing the sess of the proposal, the people in the hall immediately apuded and cheered loudly, causing the scene to be extremely lively. By the time the reporters caught wind of the news and came to look for the protagonists who caused the sensational uproar today, Lucas and Cheyenne had already left quietly long ago. The back seat of the luxurious Porsche was covered with 9,999 brightly colored roses, which Cheyenne couldn¡¯t even carry. Cheyenne sat in the passenger seat, surrounded by the fragrance of roses and gazing at Lucas next to her, her heart full of bliss. When she saw Lucas give that basket of roses to the elderly couple earlier, she was full of envy and had a trace of disappointment. But now, she had not only received a romantic proposal where Lucas put the engagement ring on her ring finger right in front of everyone, but she was also presented with a car full of roses. She had gotten everything most girls wanted! It was really the happiest day of her life! Cheyenne couldn¡¯t stop smiling, and her eyes were shining. From time to time, she would steal nces at Lucas and grin even more widely. ¡°Honey,¡± Lucas suddenly said. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t... you stay the night today?¡± Lucas¡¯s face flushed a little, but when he saw that they were almost at the hotel he was staying at, he couldn¡¯t help speaking up. After realizing what Lucas meant, Cheyenne felt like her face was on fire, and she began blushing as red as a tomato. Although the two of them had been married for nearly six years, they had only ever gotten intimate with each other once, which was that one time that caused their scandal. Since then, they had never had any further intimate actions in all these years. Since they were now aware of each other¡¯s feelings and mutually acknowledged their marriage, it was only a matter of course for them to consummate it. After saying those words, Lucas felt extremely nervous. Cheyenne blushed and hung her head low for a long time before saying softly, ¡°I... my Aunt Flo is here...¡± ¡°Aunt? Shouldn¡¯t your aunt be at the Turners¡¯ ce now?¡± Lucas asked in puzzlement, failing to catch what she meant. ¡°Ah! I mean, my period is here! Why are you so...¡± Cheyenne frowned and stared at Lucas. ¡°Huh? Oh... okay!¡± Lucas finally realized what she meant and couldn¡¯t help rebuking himself. Then he was overwhelmed with embarrassment and a slight tinge of disappointment. This is probably considered a force majeure factor... ¡°Ahem.¡± Lucas coughed awkwardly and cleared his throat before changing the subject. ¡°Are you hungry? Do you want to go eat something?¡± The sky had already turned dark, and it was now dinnertime. While Cheyenne was pondering about it, her phone suddenly rang. When she saw Nikki¡¯s name on her phone screen, she hesitated for a moment before answering. Nikki¡¯s sharp voice immediately sounded from the speaker of the phone. ¡°Cheyenne, you haven¡¯t forgotten your promise to have dinner with us tonight, have you? Keh and I have already arranged for you to meet some people from top families in LA. We¡¯ll be meetingter at seven o¡¯clock in a private room of the Lion Restaurant LA. You have toe join us!¡± Only then did Cheyenne remember that Lucas had agreed to have dinner with Nikki and Keh on her behalf when they were at the arts center in the afternoon. It would be inappropriate for her to go back on her word now. Cheyenne had no choice but to say, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s past six now. Lucas and I will head there now.¡± After hanging up the phone, Cheyenne red at Lucas menacingly and chided, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault for agreeing to have dinner with them tonight. They¡¯ve already made arrangements with people from top families. We have no choice but to go.¡± She didn¡¯t want to have dinner with Nikki and Keh at all. But considering that people from top families in LA were invited too, it would be a great opportunity for her to build some connections that would aid the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s expansion in LA. She thought that it wouldn¡¯t be good to bail on them. Lucas was feeling rather regretful too. When he agreed to have dinner with them in the afternoon, he was just trying to spite Nikki and Keh. But now that he had just proposed to Cheyenne, he really wanted to spend some quality time with her alone. How could he possibly be bothered to deal with those obnoxious people? ¡°Let¡¯s just give it a pass! With me around, you don¡¯t have to worry about expanding into the LA market,¡± Lucas said. He was now the chairman of LA¡¯srgest enterprise, the Sr Corporation, and it would be an absolute piece of cake for him to help the Brilliance Corporation expand into the market here. Cheyenne didn¡¯t need to entertain those people and build connections with them at all, so he thought that it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal for them to bail on Nikki. Cheyenne sighed and said seriously, ¡°I know you hold great power now, but I don¡¯t want to be a useless person who has to rely on you for everything. I want to be strong and capable enough to hold my head high beside you instead of being so dependent on you. ¡°I hope to stand side by side with you like a small tree and not like a fragile withering grass!¡± Lucas was stunned. He had known a long time ago that Cheyenne was an independent and strong woman, which was also why he admired her. Lucas smiled and said affectionately, ¡°Okay, you call the shots.¡± # Chapter 402: Humiliation at the Dinner Table

Chapter 402: Humiliation at the Dinner Table

More than ten minutester, Lucas and Cheyenne arrived at the Lion Restaurant LA. The decor style of this restaurant was almost the same as that of its counterpart in Orange County, which Lucas had visited before. They were actually both branches of the same restaurant chain. Lucas remembered that the Lion Restaurant in Orange County belonged to the richest man in the city, Ethan Sawyer, and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Does this restaurant also belong to the Sawyers?¡± Cheyenne shook her head. ¡°The Lion Restaurant chain actually belongs to the Bensons of San Francisco, who own several branches of the restaurant in various cities. But they¡¯re not involved in the direct management of the branches and instead hand them over to a major family in the respective cities on their behalf. The Bensons will then take a percentage of the profits. The Lion Restaurant in Orange County is under the management of the Sawyers.¡± Lucas nodded and asked again, ¡°Are the Bensons a powerful family in San Francisco?¡± He hadn¡¯t been back in Orange County for long and thus didn¡¯t know as much as Cheyenne about the hierarchy of families in the various cities. Cheyenne said, ¡°The Bensons have a significantly higher status than the four major families in Orange County. After all, they¡¯re from a big city like San Francisco. But in San Francisco itself, they¡¯re considered somewhat ordinary and should be affiliated to the Coles. They can leverage on the Coles¡¯ power and borrow a small portion of their resources to develop, but they also need to give arge share of their annual profits to the Coles every year.¡± Lucas was a little surprised. Of course, he certainly understood the concept of some families being dependent on more powerful families. An example of this was the Kingstons being dependent on the Huttons, whom they relied on to reap plenty of benefits and progress to bing one of the top families in the state. But Lucas didn¡¯t expect this practice to be somewhatmon here too. After getting out of the car, they entered the Lion Restaurant and were soon ushered to the private room where Nikki was by the waiter. The room was extremely spacious, and the seats around therge dining table in the middle of the room were already filled. There were about more than ten people present, all of whom were men in their twenties or thirties. They were likely Keh¡¯s close friends. Upon seeing Cheyenne and Lucas, Nikki immediately stood up and greeted Cheyenne, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re finally here! Come here and sit down!¡± As usual, she ignored Lucas and only greeted Cheyenne. The other people in the private room cast their gazes onto Cheyenne. They seemed amazed and awestruck. Even though they had gotten used to seeing various beautiful heiresses, Cheyenne was a rare beauty to them. Cheyenne looked around the room. Even though the dining table was quiterge, with more than a dozen people, it was rather crowded. There was only one empty seat beside Keh, and Nikki was urging Cheyenne to take this seat. But Cheyenne didn¡¯t let Nikki pull her toward the seat and instead stood at the door while continuing to hold Lucas¡¯s hand. A look of displeasure immediately appeared on Nikki¡¯s face. She felt that Lucas was getting in the way again and rebuked haughtily, ¡°We invited Cheyenne to dinner, but what are you doing here, you good-for-nothing? Have you gotten so used to leeching off of Cheyenne that you want to freeload here too? How thick-skinned of you!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face turned gloomy, and she said coldly, ¡°I told you from the start that I would bring my husband along for dinner. If you don¡¯t wee him, we¡¯ll leave right now!¡± Lucas was her husband and the person she had decided to spend the rest of her life with, so she naturally wouldn¡¯t let Nikki bully and humiliate him. Seeing this, Nikki hurriedly went forward to pull Cheyenne, afraid that she would really leave. She said coquettishly, ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t go! I¡¯ll just stop insulting him, alright?¡± Seeing the way she was behaving, Cheyenne was a little less sullen. But Nikki soon pretended to be caught in a difficult spot again. ¡°But we weren¡¯t expecting him toe along, so we didn¡¯t prepare enough chairs. Now that everyone has taken their seats, there¡¯s only one empty seat left for you. Well... where is Lucas going to sit?¡± She was clearly implying that there was no seat for Lucas in the room and that he should have the self-awareness to leave on his own ord. Without saying anything else, Cheyenne immediately said, ¡°Since there aren¡¯t enough seats, you guys go ahead. My husband and I will take our leave now!¡± Then she held onto Lucas¡¯s arm and was really about to leave. Keh, who had been sitting in his seat and acting like he was watching a joke, finally couldn¡¯t sit still anymore. He stood up and eximed, ¡°Miss Carter, please wait a moment!¡± When Cheyenne turned around, Keh said, ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ve specially invited all my friends from top families in LA just for the sake of helping you. I was nning to introduce them to you and see if there¡¯s a chance for you to cooperate with them. If you leave now, not only will you be letting my kind intentions go to waste, but it will be quite disrespectful to everyone here too.¡± ¡°Yes, I have long heard that you became the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation in Orange County at such a young age, Miss Carter. Now that I¡¯ve finally gotten the chance to meet you in person, you¡¯re actually leaving before we even get to speak to each other. That seems a little impolite of you, don¡¯t you think so?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We are all here for Keh¡¯s sake because we heard that you n to expand the business of yourpany to the LA market. That¡¯s why we decided toe here and socialize with you. Yet you suddenly want to leave even though we¡¯ve agreed to meet you for dinner. Are you looking down on us?¡± Two people at the dining table stood up and chimed in. Although both of them were acting like they were joking, there was an obvious sense of threat in their tone. In particr, they were all scions of wealthy and prestigious families in LA and had absolute say and authority in their respective families. If Cheyenne insisted on leaving now, she would end up offending all of them and would likely face plenty of hindrances and obstacles if she tried to expand her business to LA in the future. Cheyenne showed up today with the intention to make some friends in LA, not enemies. All of a sudden, Cheyenne felt conflicted and slipped into a dilemma. She naturally didn¡¯t want Lucas to be humiliated any further here. But if possible, she didn¡¯t want to give up such a great opportunity either. At this moment, the corners of Keh¡¯s lips curled into a sinister smile as he suggested, ¡°Miss Carter, since you don¡¯t wish to be separated from him, how about this? In any case, Lucas Gray is just a live-in husband of yours and knows nothing about business management. Even if he sits at the same table, there¡¯s no way he can click with us when we talk about business. Lucas, how about you make do with that table at the side? Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely get them to prepare a delicious meal for you too!¡± With that, he pointed to the innermost corner of the private dining room. Cheyenne finally realized that there was a small foldable tray table and a shabby-looking stic stool that resembled those of roadside stalls in the corner. They werepletely out of ce in the private room and ipatible with the furniture and decor. They were also so tiny that they were almost unnoticeable unless you took a careful look. The fact that Keh wanted Lucas to eat there was a tant insult! # Chapter 405: He’s A Liar

Chapter 405: He¡¯s A Liar

Harry had just seen a photo of the Heart of Romance in the news article a few moments ago, and now that he suddenly saw that valuable ring on the finger of someone right in front of him, he was really astonished. If not for the fact that he was now surrounded by a group of close friends, Harry would have suspected that he was dreaming. The rest were just as bbergasted as Harry. Even though they had never seen the famous pink diamond named the Heart of Romance, the eye-catching diamond ring on Cheyenne¡¯s finger was self-exnatory. Apart from being shocked, these people were bewildered too. Just now, Harry had said that the person who proposed with the Heart of Romance was a scion from DC. So they couldn¡¯t help wondering why the famous diamond ring appeared on Cheyenne¡¯s finger. Could this woman be the one that wealthy scion proposed to? This was simply unbelievable to them! But they took another look at Cheyenne¡¯s stunning beauty and thought it wasn¡¯t that surprising that a wealthy scion would take a liking to her. Everyone subconsciously chose to ignore the fact that Cheyenne was already married. So what if she¡¯s married? As long as that wealthy scion likes her, nothing is an issue! they thought. Nikki¡¯s eyes were so wide open that they seemed about to fall out. Staring at the diamond ring on Cheyenne¡¯s finger, she asked expectantly, ¡°Cheyenne, is... is that ring on your finger the Heart of Romance? I mean, the Heart of Romance that¡¯s worth thirty-five million dors.¡± She was full of envy and jealousy. Why would that wealthy scion fall for a woman like Cheyenne Carter, who¡¯s already married and has a child? He even gave her such an expensive ring. I¡¯m so jealous! Keh¡¯s expression also changed drastically. If that wealthy scion from DC had really taken a liking to Cheyenne and had given her such an expensive diamond, he wouldn¡¯t dare to harbor designs on Cheyenne anymore. The others were also keeping their eyes glued to Cheyenne. They thought that if that scion from DC really fancied Cheyenne, they might be able to take the opportunity tonight to befriend her and then use their friendship with her to get close to that scion! While everyone was watching, Cheyenne suddenly smiled faintly and said, ¡°This ring is a gift from my husband!¡± Then she looked at Lucas beside her. Everyone could see clearly the tenderness and pride in her eyes. She wanted to let these people know that the exorbitantly expensive precious diamond ring was a gift from Lucas, whom they looked down on! ¡°Psht, so at the end of the day, it¡¯s from this good-for-nothing!¡± Nikki looked away with disappointment before mocking gloatingly in a rxed manner, ¡°Since it¡¯s from this good-for-nothing, it must be a counterfeit! You gave me a huge shock!¡± The others also returned to their seats with disappointment in their eyes. ¡°Damn it. I thought that it was really the Heart of Romance! Turns out it¡¯s counterfeit!¡± ¡°What a waste of my feelings! I knew it. It¡¯s a pink diamond worth thirty-five million dors. I¡¯ve never seen such an expensive thing all my life. I thought I could have a feast for the eyes! This is such bad luck!¡± ¡°This good-for-nothing probably can¡¯t even afford a diamond worth a couple thousand dors! Do you have any brains? You could have just pretended that it¡¯s an ordinary diamond ring. Why did you have to pretend that it¡¯s a diamond worth thirty-five million dors? Only a fool would believe you!¡± ... After being disappointed, the crowd started mocking Lucas again. Cheyenne couldn¡¯t stand hearing others insult Lucas, so she frowned and said seriously, ¡°This diamond is real!¡± Nikki immediately said hostilely, ¡°Cheyenne, are you stupid? Harry just said that the real Heart of Romance is worth thirty-five million dors. Thirty-five million dors! Do you think your good-for-nothing husband can afford it? I¡¯m afraid he can¡¯t even afford thirty-five hundred dors! You actually still believe what he said is true. You really... I really don¡¯t know what to say about you!¡± ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯d better hurry up and divorce this liar Lucas Gray! Otherwise, I think you¡¯re going to be affected by him sooner orter!¡± The people at the side agreed one after another. ¡°Exactly. This liar is really brazen. How dare he say that this is a pink diamond worth thirty-five million dors? Miss Carter, you¡¯d better stay further away from a braggart like him!¡± ¡°Exactly! Who knows how many more times he¡¯s going to lie to you? You don¡¯t even know when he¡¯s lying and when he¡¯s not. That¡¯s so tiring!¡± ¡°I think you should really get married to someone of apatible background! Miss Carter, you¡¯re beautiful and magnanimous. You became the general manager of arge corporation at such a young age, while this husband of yours is a good-for-nothing who does nothing but freeload. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m looking down on him, but he¡¯s such a liar and aplete piece of garbage! You¡¯d better divorce him sooner!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Miss Carter, you¡¯d better divorce him. There are plenty of good men in this world. Look at Keh. He¡¯s so handsome, and he¡¯s the future sessor of the Parkers. He¡¯s got such a good character and family background. You can¡¯t find someone like him again! Miss Carter, why don¡¯t you consider giving Keh a chance?¡± ... Everyone was making derogatoryments about Lucas and singing praises about Keh to make Cheyenne fall for Keh. Cheyenne was exasperated. She finally knew that they were prejudiced against Lucas, and even if she revealed his true identity, they would probably just think that she was bragging and lying. ¡°Honey, this beef stew tastes great. Try it.¡± Lucas pushed a bowl of beef stew toward Cheyenne. His expression was calm, and he was acting as if the person they were scolding wasn¡¯t him. In fact, this was really the case. Since Lucas wasn¡¯t like what they said, there was no need for him to bother about their scoldings. Anyway, to him, they were just strangers he probably wouldn¡¯t ever see again after this meal. Lucas helped Cheyenne to some more food before starting to eat again as if no one was watching. The reason Cheyenne was furious was that she didn¡¯t want them to continue to misunderstand and insult Lucas. But after seeing how unconcerned he was about their opinions, she suddenly figured it out and calmed down. She then picked up her cutlery again to eat the food. Both Cheyenne and Lucas began eating calmly,pletely ignoring them. These few people who had been bad-mouthing Lucas and trying to set up Cheyenne and Keh suddenly couldn¡¯t bring themselves to go on anymore. They simply looked at the two of them with their eyes and mouths wide open, dumbfounded. However, Keh¡¯s eyes were full of anger. Although he had indeed invited Cheyenne and Lucas to dinner, he couldn¡¯t believe that they would really just focus on eating while turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to everything else. How infuriating! # Chapter 406: Toasting Without Drinking

Chapter 406: Toasting Without Drinking

Keh glowered at Nikki, making her heart shudder as she recalled the n they hade up with previously. She hurriedly said, ¡°Okay, okay, it¡¯s rare for us to get together, so let¡¯s not talk about those unhappy things. Come on, let¡¯s drink!¡± Soon, the atmosphere in the room became lively again. Nikki picked up a ss of wine and walked to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, I actually never liked you because I¡¯ve always thought that you can¡¯t give Cheyenne a happy life. But since she wants to be with you, I can¡¯t say anything more. I¡¯ve indeed said some hostile things to you a few times today, so I¡¯ll toast you to apologize for my rude behavior!¡± Nikki, who had been ring at Lucas and tantly insulting him unceremoniously just now, was surprisingly the first to toast him, and she even called it an apology for her behavior. She held the ss of wine in front of Lucas, waiting for him to take it. Lucas looked at her and the ss of wine in her hand coldly without showing any intention of taking it. ¡°You... Are you unwilling to ept this toast from me? I¡¯ve already tried to make it up to you by speaking to you nicely and asking for your apology. Are you not going to relent?¡± she said when she saw that Lucas was hesitant to ept the wine. Lucas sneered. ¡°What a joke. You¡¯re the one apologizing to me. Shouldn¡¯t you be the one to drink this ss of wine?¡± Nikki immediately choked. She knew Lucas had a point because she was indeed the one toasting him in the name of atoning for her mistakes. So naturally, she should be the one drinking in order to show her sincerity. ¡°Alright, here¡¯s a toast to you!¡± Nikki ced the ss of wine in front of Lucas before pouring herself another ss to the brim. She then gulped it down in one go. ¡°Great!¡± ¡°Miss Heron, you¡¯re really straightforward!¡± ¡°Miss Heron, you may be a woman, but you¡¯re so much more straightforward than a man when ites to drinking!¡± Everyone pped their hands and cheered for Nikki while indirectly criticizing Lucas. Nikki wiped the wine stains on her lips and poured herself another ss of wine. She raised it in front of Lucas. ¡°I¡¯ve already toasted you as an apology. Now I¡¯ll toast you again!¡± Lucas remained seated and took a bite of the food without showing any intentions of grabbing the wine. Nikki flew into a rage and snapped, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? I¡¯m toasting you, and you won¡¯t even take the ss!¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Is your apology as simple as drinking a ss of wine? This apology of yours doesn¡¯t seem very sincere.¡± Nikki furrowed her brows and felt like cursing. If it wasn¡¯t for their n, she wouldn¡¯t have bothered toasting Lucas! This good-for-nothing is actually ming me for being insincere. Nikki felt an urge to ssh the ss of wine in her hand onto his face! She was so furious that her chest started heaving up and down. But for the sake of her final n, she had no choice but to suppress her anger and ask patiently, ¡°How many sses do you think I have to drink to show my sincerity?¡± The corners of Lucas¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. ¡°If someone else had offended me like this, they would have to drink at least ten sses of wine. But on ount that you¡¯re Cheyenne¡¯s cousin and a woman, three sses is enough!¡± Seeing Lucas acting like he was being kind andpromising, Nikki became even more furious. But she only dared to curse at Lucas in her head and had no choice but to down two sses of wine. ¡°If I toast you again this time, you¡¯ll drink, right?¡± Nikki said as she stubbornly stood in front of Lucas, insisting that he drank the wine. Lucas smiled faintly and extended his hand toward the ss of wine that Nikki had ced in front of him. Nikki watched expectantly with joy. When Lucas¡¯s hand was about to touch the ss, he suddenly retracted it and picked up the teacup beside it. Nikki¡¯s expression suddenly froze. ¡°Sorry, I suddenly remembered that my stomach has been upsettely, and I can¡¯t drink wine. So I¡¯ll toast you with this cup of tea instead!¡± Lucas smiled and gulped it down in one go. He then showed the empty cup to Nikki. ¡°I¡¯ve already finished it. Do as you please.¡± Nikki was fuming mad. She had endured the displeasure and downed several sses of white wine just for the sake of making Lucas finish the wine in front of him. Yet he yed such a trick on her! Smack! Unable to tolerate it any longer, Nikki mmed the ss in her hand onto the table and snapped, ¡°Lucas Gray, are you deliberately messing with me? I toasted you with kind intentions, but you kept turning me down and refusing to reciprocate!¡± Lucas¡¯s face suddenly turned gloomy. ¡°Hmph, kind intentions? You? Do you take me for a fool?! From the minute I arrived at the Turners¡¯ vi, you¡¯ve been trying to find trouble with me and repeatedly insulted me. Just now, you even mocked and humiliated unreasonably at this dinner table, and now you¡¯re suddenly toasting me as an apology. Do you think I¡¯d believe you? ¡°Don¡¯t y those tricks with me. You should know very well what¡¯s in that ss of wine! Listen up. You¡¯d better behave yourself, or else don¡¯t me me for being merciless if you really provoke me!¡± Then Lucas tightened his grip on the teacup in his hand, causing the hard porcin to shatter with a loud bang. By the time he let go, his hand was full of white powdered porcin. There weren¡¯t even any porcin pieces. His move took everyone by storm! Crushing a teacup with bare hands wasn¡¯t that surprising, as those who were strong could do so easily by applying some tricks. But it was extremely terrifying to be able to crush a teacup into powder! Nikki subconsciously shuddered. If her wrist had been in the teacup¡¯s ce, it would have been broken brutally. Her bones were probably not any harder than the teacup. Keh¡¯s face was just as sullen and gloomy. He no longer looked at Lucas condescendingly with contempt and instead seemed to be rather wary of him. It was only now that he finally realized that Cheyenne¡¯s husband wasn¡¯t really a good-for-nothing like they had made him out to be. But Keh didn¡¯t intend to change his n because he was bent on getting his hands on Cheyenne! Even if Lucas was somewhat proficient inbat, the Parkers had plenty of elite bodyguards who could also crush a teacup into pieces! How could he possibly be afraid of Lucas because of that? Keh narrowed his eyes and said with a threatening tone, ¡°Lucas Gray, isn¡¯t it too disrespectful of you to be doing this at a dinner I¡¯m hosting?¡± Lucas smiled coldly and suddenly looked up. ¡°Who are you? You¡¯re just an insidious and vile scoundrel who doesn¡¯t deserve my respect at all.¡± # Chapter 407: Showing Off

Chapter 407: Showing Off

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s words were extremely harsh, and he didn¡¯t save Keh any dignity at all. Lucas had been ignoring Keh and turning a deaf ear to his snide remarks. But now, he hadpletely shed all cordiality andshed out at Keh acrimoniously. As a wealthy scion in LA, Keh was usually showered with praises, and very few people dared to put him to shame like Lucas did. He immediately wanted to lose his temper, but when he thought about how Lucas had just crushed the cup into bits, he forced himself to suppress his anger. Although it was true that some of the elite bodyguards of the Parkers could subdue Lucas, they were now in a private room of a restaurant. And due to there being too many people, he hadn¡¯t brought a single bodyguard along. If he got into a conflict with Lucas and started fighting him here, he and these wealthy scions who were all usually toozy to even go to the gym would definitely be the ones to suffer. Keh¡¯s expression changed several times. But in the end, he could only curb his anger and bear with it. He said coldly, ¡°Fine. You¡¯ve got some guts, punk!¡± Then he stopped talking. Everyone else at the dining table was surprised. Having known Keh for over a decade, they knew very well that Keh would never let himself suffer any losses. Even if he couldn¡¯t immediately get back at someone who offended him, he would definitely take revenge in the future! They reckoned that Keh had probably lost his confidence because of Lucas¡¯s actions just now. But it was never toote for revenge, and they were certain that they would teach Lucas a lesson sooner orter! ¡°Keh, have some food. We got carried away with talking and haven¡¯t tried the dishes yet!¡± Nikki hurriedly urged Keh to eat. The others spoke up one after another. ¡°Let¡¯s drink too. Some people mayck manners and etiquette, but we can¡¯t be like him! Come on, Keh, I¡¯ll toast you!¡± ¡°Okay, now it¡¯s my turn to toast Keh! Here¡¯s to living better and better in the future!¡± Soon, the atmosphere in the private room became lively again. Cheyenne helped herself to the food calmly and took small bites elegantly. But she wasn¡¯t as calm as she seemed on the surface. She knew that after what just happened, it would be impossible for her to discuss cooperating with the various wealthy families in LA. She had lost her appetite as well. If possible, she would have left immediately. The way Lucas behaved when Nikki toasted him and the things he said afterward all showed that it was very likely that the ss of wine Nikki had toasted him with had been drugged. More than six years ago, someone had once schemed against Cheyenne using some sly and underhanded means toce her drink with something. So she was extremely repulsed and disgusted by such behavior. Fortunately, Lucas was sitting calmly beside her, giving her a great sense of security. Although she didn¡¯t know how he had found out that the drink was drugged even though he didn¡¯t drink it, she trusted him and believed that he wouldn¡¯t put her in danger. In contrast to Cheyenne, who was being extremely conscientious and had lost her appetite, Lucas was almost feasting and chowing down on food continuously. From time to time, he would even pick up some food for Cheyenne from the sharing tter. Since the food was meant for everyone, there naturally wouldn¡¯t be any problems with the food, and he could put his mind at ease while eating. He had spent the afternoon at the amusement park with Cheyenne and was rather exhausted. Who knew what tricks these silly scions would pull againter, so he had to eat up in order to have enough energy to deal with them. At this moment, a man said to Nikki, ¡°Miss Heron, you seem to be very familiar with the dishes here. You should be a regr customer here, huh?¡± Nikki said with a smug smile, ¡°That¡¯s right. The Lion Restaurant is the best in LA, and I happen to have a membership card for this ce, so I dine here very frequently.¡± ¡°Huh? You actually have a membership card here?¡± One of the scions said in surprise, ¡°I heard that the Lion Restaurant is owned by the Bensons from San Francisco, and they have branches in several other major cities too. So it¡¯s not that easy to get a membership card, as they¡¯re very exclusive. Many of us can¡¯t get one!¡± Nikki pulled out a beautiful membership card from her purse and said with some smugness while pretending to be a little reserved, ¡°The Lion Restaurant is indeed the property of the Bensons from San Francisco. You guys are probably aware of the rtionship between the Bensons and the Coles, right?¡± ¡°Yes, all major families in LA are aware of it. The Bensons are dependent on the Coles, a top family from San Francisco. Thanks to the Coles¡¯ support, the Bensons have been developing well all these years, but they have to give the Coles a considerable portion of their profits each year in exchange for help!¡± one of them said, as if they were his family. ¡°Yes.¡± Nikki raised her brows and eximed smugly, ¡°My membership card was a gift from the Coles to my grandfather!¡± Hearing this, everyone was shocked and envious. Prior to this, they all thought that Nikki was just a nobody from the Heron family, which was only a little powerful because of the Heron Corp. But they suddenly learned that the Herons actually had ties with the famous Cole family! All of a sudden, their gazes were full of fervor as they looked at Nikki. ¡°What is the rtionship between your family and the Coles?¡± someone asked. Nikki, whom everyone was looking at enviously, began to feel all conceited and smug. But she suddenly remembered that her grandfather had cautioned her not to casually reveal the rtionship between their family and the Coles. She coughed, pointed at Keh, and said smilingly, ¡°Actually, the membership card I have is only an ordinary silver membership card. The one Keh holds is the impressive one. I heard that it¡¯s a tinum membership card, which is a membership level much higher than mine!¡± ¡°Wow, Keh, it turns out you¡¯re a tinum member here. Howe we¡¯ve never heard you mention it before?¡± ¡°Haha, Keh is the sessor of the Parkers¡¯ business empire. Isn¡¯t it expected of him to have a tinum membership card?¡± They surrounded Keh and started praising him and currying favor with him. With a proud expression, Keh pretended to be nonchnt as he said casually, ¡°This membership card was given to me by Matthew Benson. It¡¯s just a membership card. No big deal.¡± Everyone got into an uproar. ¡°The helmsman of the Benson family personally gave you a membership card?! Keh, you were so good at keeping it secret!¡± ¡°Impressive! As expected of Keh, even the Bensons from San Francisco value you greatly!¡± Everyone started praising Keh one after another, making him feel socent and puffed up that he couldn¡¯t help but turn around and look at Cheyenne boastfully, wanting her to see how impressive he was. But to his surprise, Cheyenne didn¡¯t look at him and was instead helping Lucas to the food! The sight of it made Keh even more furious! ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯ve had a little too much to drink and want to go to the restroom. Will you apany me?¡± Nikki suddenly said to Cheyenne. Chapter 415: Trouble-making Clown

Chapter 415: Trouble-making Clown

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Dad, help me! I-I don¡¯t want to have my limbs broken! Mr. Tyron, I know I was wrong. I really do. Please let me off!¡± ¡°Dad, please help me plead with Tyron! I really know my mistake and won¡¯t do it again!¡± ¡°Mr. Tyron, please spare my life!¡± ... Wealthy scions and yboys like Keh and his friends were usually the ones who beat others up, and they had never personally experienced the horror of being on the verge of having their limbs broken. They were all deathly pale and scared out of their wits as they stared at Tyron and begged him for mercy while also pleading for their fathers to put in a word for them. They didn¡¯t want to have their limbs broken like Wayne had! But to their great disappointment, their fathers avoided eye contact with them because they didn¡¯t dare to speak up and persuade Matthew and Tyron, especially since thetter was obviously boiling with fury! At this point, all they could do was hope for their sons to be lucky enough to be spared from sustaining overly severe injuries. Hopefully, they could still go to the hospital to have their broken bones fixed and restored. Seeing that they couldn¡¯t depend on their fathers, the scions had disappointment and fear written all over their faces. At this moment, one of them suddenly recalled something that Keh had said earlier and hurriedly turned to look at him. He beseeched, ¡°Keh, you have to save us! You¡¯re the future sessor of the Parkers. Didn¡¯t you tell us that Mr. Matthew Benson had personally given you a tinum membership card for the Lion Restaurant? Since you know Mr. Matthew Benson, the owner of this restaurant, can you please plead for mercy on our behalf and ask Tyron to spare us?! We really know our mistakes!¡± As soon as the others heard this, they also immediately started begging Keh, ¡°Keh, you¡¯re the reason we came here tonight. On ount of our friendship, you must plead for mercy for us!¡± ¡°Yeah, Keh. Since you have some connections with Mr. Benson, Tyron will definitely spare us on your ount!¡± ... They kept pleading for Keh to help them because he was the only straw they could clutch at. They believed he would be able to convince Matthew and Tyron to let them off the hook as long as he asked them to! But Keh looked incredibly gloomy now. Tyron was obviously far more arrogant than them. And based on the fact that he had broken Wayne¡¯s limbs right after he said he would, Keh knew that Tyron was definitely a ruthless person. Keh couldn¡¯t help feeling some inevitable fear toward him. But these people kneeling on the ground in front of him were his friends. If he really left them in the lurch, he wouldn¡¯t only let them down, but their families would probably steer clear of the Parkers in the future. In helplessness, Keh could only bite the bullet and walk forward to say to Tyron, ¡°Mr. Tyron, it was indeed a misunderstanding just now. They weren¡¯t aware of your identity, so they identally offended you, but please be magnanimous and forgive them this time! Besides, you¡¯ve already broken a man¡¯s limbs, so you should have already vented your anger. Now that we all know each other¡¯s identity, please bury the hatchet with them on my ount, will you?¡± Tyron lifted the crowbar in his hand and turned his head to look at Keh. He asked with great interest, ¡°I heard them say that you have a tinum membership card for the Lion Restaurant. Was it personally given to you by Matthew Benson, the head of the Benson family?¡± The expression on Keh¡¯s face stiffened, and he blinked while saying unashamedly, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m very grateful to Mr. Benson for thinking I¡¯m worthy enough and giving me a tinum membership card. However, that happened more than a year ago, so it¡¯s not surprising that you don¡¯t know about it, Tyron.¡± He thought that Matthew wasn¡¯t here, so since he had already said it, no one else could say anything. But as soon as he said this, the helmsmen of the various top LA families all seemed rather bewildered as they sneaked a nce at Matthew, who was standing right in the middle of a crowd with a smile on his face. They soon looked away. Tyron stared at Keh and asked once more with contempt, ¡°Are you sure that the person who gave you the tinum membership card is Matthew Benson from San Francisco? Seems like you have very good connections. How do I address you?¡± Thinking that Tyron believed him, Keh hurriedly announced his name proudly, ¡°I¡¯m Keh Parker, the direct descendant of the Parker family of LA!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Tyron answered ambiguously with a look of derision in his eyes, seemingly anticipating hearing a joke. He suddenly pointed at Matthew. ¡°Do you know who this person is then?¡± Tyron had a rather peculiar expression on his face at the moment. Keh carefully sized up the middle-aged man Tyron was pointing at. In fact, Keh had noticed him as soon as he came in, mainly because he was standing in the middle of the group and vaguely seemed to be the leader. He exuded a domineering aura that made it difficult to ignore his presence. But Keh only knew that this had to be a person of very distinguished status and wasn¡¯t aware of his true identity. ¡°Please pardon me for my poor judgment, Tyron. Please introduce him to me,¡± Keh said, testing the waters. ¡°Hahahahah!¡± Tyron burst intoughter while clutching his stomach. Seeing this, Keh immediately realized that he said something wrong. At the same time, he also noticed that the helmsmen standing across from him in the room seemed to be staring at him with mocking gazes. Keh frowned, not figuring out where he went wrong. ¡°Haha, what a dimwit! Didn¡¯t you just say that the membership card in your hand was personally given to you by Matthew Benson from San Francisco? What? Can¡¯t you recognize my father, Matthew Benson, now that he¡¯s standing right in front of you?¡± Tyron stared at Keh maliciously and was guffawing like a devil. ¡°What?!¡± Keh eximed in shock and took a step back. Only then did he realize what a foolish thing he had done! It turned out that the person Tyron was pointing at was his father, Matthew Benson! Keh could never have imagined that he would end up making a fool of himself when he tried to use Matthew Benson¡¯s prestige to get some clout and deceive Tyron that he shared some friendly ties with his father. In the end, it turned out that Matthew had been standing here all along and watching everything unfold with a smile while staring at him like he was a trouble-making clown! The thought of how he had bragged about his friendship with Matthew right in front of Matthew himself made Keh¡¯s face turn pale! At the same time, countless gazes of apprehension, mockery, and disbelief were cast on him, making him break out in cold sweat and sending chills down his spine! Bang. Bang. Tyron pounded the crowbar in his hand against the ground a few times and deliberately looked at Keh while asking with a chuckle, ¡°Now, tell me again. Who exactly was the one who gave you a tinum membership card of the Lion Restaurant?¡± # Chapter 417: Unexpected Opportunity

Chapter 417: Unexpected Opportunity

Lucas remained in his seat without moving a single muscle and simply said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m not in with them. Besides, I didn¡¯t touch you either.¡± A hazy gloominess appeared in Tyron¡¯s eyes. He looked at Lucas hostilely. This man indeed didn¡¯t join them in hitting me just now, but so what? I don¡¯t need a reason to hit someone! Besides, all the people in the room were shivering while kneeling in front of him, but Lucas was the only one still sitting calmly in his chair, which was a tant disregard of him! I must teach this guy a lesson so that he knows to be scared of me when he sees me in the future! With an icy cold gaze in his eyes, Tyron stormed toward Lucas with the crowbar in his hand. Just as he was about to hit Lucas with it, amotion broke out outside the private room, and a white-haired old man suddenly hurried over. ¡°Mr. Benson, I really didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯de here to LA all of a sudden. I¡¯m really sorry for failing to wee you personally!¡± The white-haired old man was none other than Damon Parker, the helmsman of the Parkers. He was obviously older than Matthew, but he was extremely polite and subservient toward Matthew, lowering his position as far as possible. This was beyond Matthew¡¯s expectations. He originally thought that the Parkers, one of the top two giants of LA now, would put on airs since they often enjoyed the ttery of others, and many would curry favor with them. Besides, Damon was a generation older than Matthew, so Matthew thought that Damon might act condescending just because of his age and demand that he let Keh off. But he didn¡¯t expect Damon to be so sly and not even mention the matter regarding his grandson Keh but instead acted like he was talking with Matthew as a peer of the same generation. Matthew said with an insincere smile, ¡°Mr. Parker, I know you¡¯re a busy man. How can you have the time to see me?¡± When Damon heard the hostility in Matthew¡¯s voice, his heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said with a smile, ¡°You must be joking, Mr. Benson. How can the Parkerspare to your family? Had I known earlier that you were here, I would have definitely weed you and entertained you properly!¡± Matthew was finally satisfied, and he said rxedly, ¡°Actually, Mr. Parker, you still don¡¯t know why I suddenly asked you toe here, do you?¡± Damon¡¯s heart palpitated. The thing on his mind finally happened. In the call, Keh had merely mentioned that he had offended Matthew Benson and asked him to rush over immediately. So Damon hadn¡¯t had the time to ask about anything else. Damon hurriedly looked at the ground and saw that his favored grandson, Keh, was now kneeling on the ground alongside his friends, who were all injured and grimacing in pain while enduring the agony. Inparison, Keh¡¯s clothes were only slightly dirty. At the very least, he was in a much better state than his friends. Damon was still at a loss, as he didn¡¯t know how on earth his grandson and his friends had offended Matthew. But that didn¡¯t get in his way of carrying out his n. ¡°Scoundrel, defiant beast! I teach you every single day at home to be polite and never ever offend anyone when you¡¯re out. Have you been turning a deaf ear to my instructions? How dare you offend Mr. Benson? How audacious of you! You¡¯ve utterly disgraced the Parkers!¡± Damon kicked Keh in the chest a few times with all his might. He wasn¡¯t acting at all and really kicked Keh hard, so much so that Keh fell to the side and copsed onto the ground, clutching his chest in pain. After teaching his grandson a severe lesson, Damon turned to Matthew and said apologetically, ¡°Mr. Benson, it¡¯s all my fault for failing to take my grandson in hand, so he ended up offending you. Please punish him as you please. Even if you want to kill this beast, the Parkers will have noints!¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± Keh widened his eyes in disbelief as he stared at his grandfather in shock. Didn¡¯t Grandpae here to plead for me? He actually said something so heartless! Of course, Damon¡¯s words not only shocked Keh, but even the helmsmen of the other families in the room were astonished. Even Matthew showed a trace of surprise. He initially wanted to take advantage of Damon pleading for his grandson to make a killing off the Parkers as much as possible and make them suffer a massive loss. But now that Damon already said that he would leave his grandson at his disposal, Matthew naturally wouldn¡¯t raise any other requests. Besides, would Matthew really kill Damon¡¯s grandson over such a trivial matter? Hmph, this old fogy Damon Parker is a cunning old fox! In that case, I¡¯ll sell this old fogy a favor. If he¡¯s smart enough, he¡¯ll naturally repay the favor in other ways. Matthew suddenlyughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. Since you¡¯ve already said so much, it¡¯ll seem petty of me to hold it against these young men for such a trivial matter. On your ount, I¡¯ll let this matter go, Mr. Parker!¡± Damon immediately praised with a look of gratitude, ¡°Mr. Benson, you¡¯re indeed very kind and magnanimous. I¡¯m in awe and admiration of you!¡± Then he kicked Keh with all his might again and hollered, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and thank Mr. Benson for being kind enough not to hold it against you.¡± Keh was overjoyed. He immediately kneeled in front of Matthew and eximed agitatedly, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Benson! Thank you so much, Mr. Benson!¡± With a smile on his face, Damon suddenly said to Matthew, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s always been something that I¡¯ve wanted to talk to you about, Mr. Benson. Unfortunately, there hasn¡¯t been an opportunity for me to do so.¡± Matthew raised his brows with great interest. ¡°Oh, is that so? What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about... a huge cooperation that will definitely benefit the Bensons. Mr. Benson, are you interested?¡± Damon squinted like a cunning old fox. Matthew chuckled. ¡°Haha, sure! It¡¯s so chaotic here. Let¡¯s go to the room next door to chat!¡± Damon naturally agreed because it was just what he wanted. ¡°Son, I¡¯m going to have a chat with Mr. Benson. I¡¯ll hand over everything here to you,¡± Matthew instructed Tyron. Tyron immediately agreed. Anyway, all the people he wanted to take revenge on had had at least an arm or a leg broken by him. Now, he just had to put an end to things and establish dominance. ¡°Keh, stay here and help Tyron handle some matters,¡± Damon immediately instructed. He was undoubtedly trying to make his grandson build better ties with Tyron. It was actually a tremendous benefit for Keh too. Matthew was well aware of this, but he didn¡¯t oppose it. There was no big deal in letting his son have one more loyal follower. Keh was overjoyed. In thest ten minutes or so, he had been on a roller coaster of emotions. He was very certain that he would have died because he thought that even his grandfather had given up on him. But he didn¡¯t expect there to be a twist of fate so soon and to receive a blessing in disguise, which was the chance to get closer to the Bensons. Keh nced at Lucas, who was still sittingposedly by the dining table, and an icy cold gaze shed in his eyes. In a while, I¡¯ll get Tyron to deal with this bastard. I¡¯ll see if he can continue remaining seated and gloating over my predicament! # Chapter 420: The Mightiness of Stanley Ray

Chapter 420: The Mightiness of Stanley Ray

As soon as Tyron issued the order, the two bodyguards behind him immediately charged toward Lucas menacingly, and they even began wing at Lucas¡¯s chest and arms to grab him and hold him down. But just as their hands reached Lucas, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them at lightning speed! Bang! Bang! The figure instantly kicked both bodyguards, sting them far away. They soon crashed on the ground beside Tyron¡¯s feet. Tyron was almost hit by the bodyguards flying backward. After yelling in horror, he suddenly got up, took two steps back, and hollered, ¡°Who are you?!¡± The figure standing in front of Lucas and Cheyenne was anky middle-aged man in his forties fiddling with a sharp dagger in his hand. No one knew where exactly he hade from. But he had moved as quickly as lightning and managed to send Tyron¡¯s strong bodyguards flying with his kicks. His strength andbat abilities were far greater than the bodyguards¡¯. He seems to be protecting Lucas Gray and Cheyenne Carter. Is this mysterious man who popped up out of nowhere their bodyguard? At this moment, Keh¡¯s eyes were full of incredulity as he finally got a clear look at the face of thisnky middle-aged man. He blurted in astonishment, ¡°It¡¯s you?!¡± His voice was obviously trembling, and clearly, he was terrified of the man opposite him. ¡°Do you know this person?¡± Tyron immediately asked. ¡°He... he¡¯s Stanley! Stanley Ray!¡± Keh revealed Stanley¡¯s name with great difficulty as his body trembled. As soon as everyone heard Stanley¡¯s name, they were greatly taken aback. There wasn¡¯t a need for Keh to introduce him at all. The reason was that they were no stranger to Stanley¡¯s name! Stanley was the top hitman in LA. He used to work for the Brookes and had secretly done a lot of things for them. He would kill all the rivals of the Brookes and those who had offended the family head. Stanley had impablebat skills. And being exceptionally good at stealth and assassination, he was a deadly killer from whose clutches none of his targets had ever been able to escape! Stanley¡¯s help was the reason that the Brookes managed to progress by leaps and bounds to be a top family in LA within just a few short years. Even the Parkers and the Owens, who were previously on par with the Brookes, didn¡¯t dare to offend them. Of course, it was mainly because they didn¡¯t dare to offend the daunting and formidable killer Stanley! Even from San Francisco, Tyron had heard about Stanley before and was thoroughly shocked by his abilities. Stanley was just as famous in San Francisco, where many families like the Kingstons had offered staggering amounts of money to poach him, only to end up being rejected by him. Strictly speaking, turning down the solicitation of a top family like the Kingstons was quite an offensive thing to do. If Stanley were anyone else, the Kingstons would have never let him off. But they didn¡¯t end up doing anything to him because they were wary and scrupulous of his terrifying abilities. Even Tyron¡¯s father, Matthew, was once tempted to hire Stanley and even confidently said to Tyron that they would no longer have to rely on the Coles to be a top family that could stand on equal footing with the Coles as long as they had an impressive expert like Stanley! Unfortunately, Stanley had even turned down the Kingstons¡¯ offer, so Matthew could only dispel the thought with disappointment. Now that they had seen the legendary killer Stanley in the flesh right in front of them, they were undoubtedly nervous and daunted. At this moment, Tyron felt the exact same fear that Keh had within him. Didn¡¯t they say this terrifying killer disappeared with the destruction of the Brookes? Why did he suddenly appear here? He¡¯s even standing in front of Lucas Gray and his wife. Could they be rted in some way? Tyron, Keh, Nikki, and the others were all thinking about it in shock and bewilderment. ¡°Lucas, how do you want to deal with them? Do you want to keep them alive or dead?¡± the legendary killer Stanley suddenly said. But his question almost made Tyron and the others pee in their pants in fear! For one, they confirmed through Stanley¡¯s words that he was indeed on Lucas¡¯s side and taking orders from him, which was simply unbelievable! Second, Stanley asked if Lucas wanted to keep them alive or dead, which meant... that he wanted to kill them all? But it wasn¡¯t impossible for Stanley to kill all of them, given the history of what he had done. Countless helmsmen of top families had died at his hands, let alone scions like them. All of a sudden, Tyron and Keh both looked at each other and saw the fear and panic in each other¡¯s eyes. Meanwhile, Nikki¡¯s legs went limp, and she fell to the ground, unable to get up anymore. At this moment, they were overwhelmed with regret. Had they known earlier that Lucas, whom they thought was a good-for-nothing, had the protection of such a powerful person, they would never have dared to stop him just now and try to fight him! They didn¡¯t end up stopping Lucas and Cheyenne but even ended up getting into trouble with a terrifying killer! ¡°I just heard you say that you were going to break my limbs and turn me into a cripple,¡± Lucas suddenly said to Tyron slowly. Tyron shuddered, wishing he could give himself two ps! But this was indeed themand he had given to his bodyguards just now, which Stanley had probably heard too. Even if he wanted to deny it, he couldn¡¯t! Tyron stared at his elite bodyguards, whom he had spent a ton of money to hire. They were now lying motionlessly on the ground, unable to get up at all. Stanley seemed to have merely kicked them just now, but the power of his legs and kicks wasn¡¯t something that ordinary people could match up to. The bodyguards were severely injured, and Stanley hadpletely crippled them! Tyron began to panic. He gritted his teeth and then dropped to his knees in front of Lucas with a loud thud, all while Keh and Nikki watched in astonishment! ¡°I¡¯m... I¡¯m sorry! I was just joking just now. I definitely don¡¯t dare to show you any disrespect!¡± Tyron was so horrified that he was on the verge of tears. His bodyguards had been crippled. And now that he was on his own, he was definitely no match for Stanley! If he really ended up provoking Lucas, even his father wouldn¡¯t be able to save him despite being in the room next door. By the time Matthew came over, he would probably only get to see Tyron¡¯s corpse. His father had once taught him to choose his battles wisely and to sumb when necessary. In an adverse situation where all the odds were not in his favor, it wasn¡¯t an embarrassing thing for a scion like him to kneel down and beg for mercy! As long as he had the chance to in the future, he would definitely take revenge and pay Lucas back in his own coin a hundredfold... Keh was bbergasted and dumbstruck to see Tyron kneeling down in front of Lucas without hesitation. His mouth was wide open, and he was stunned for a long time. But when he recovered from the shock, he immediately followed suit without hesitation and got on his knees too. He said with regret, ¡°Lucas... Lucas, I was too blind and ignorant to have offended you. I totally deserve to die! But please don¡¯t kill me. I¡¯ll definitely make it up to you. Please give me a chance to make amends and atone for my mistakes! I will never dare to disrespect you again!¡± # Chapter 429: True Agenda

Chapter 429: True Agenda

Lucas raised his head to look at Tristan, who was apanied by none other than Elijah Owen, whom he had met before at the auction venue in Club Splendor. At the time, the Owen brothers were following Tristan around and even tried to get Lucas thrown out of the auction venue. Unfortunately, in the end, it was the three of them who had gotten driven out instead. But Elijah¡¯s muscr brother, Callum, wasn¡¯t around today. Just as Lucas surveyed the surrounding situation, Tristan had already walked up to him with a hostile expression and questioned through gritted teeth, ¡°Do you two think I¡¯m dead?¡± The young people around them began gossiping. ¡°Wow! Isn¡¯t Lena Sawyer the girlfriend of that handsome guy? Why is she holding another man¡¯s arm?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that punk before. Who is he? How dare he snatch Tristan¡¯s girlfriend away? He¡¯s really bold!¡± ¡°I saw him arriving in a Porsche. He must be a scion from some wealthy family. Otherwise, how could he afford such an expensive car?¡± ¡°Haha, it seems we¡¯ll get to enjoy a good showter!¡± ... Most of the people present were young people in their twenties, all of whom were enjoying the drama and hoping that the dispute would escte further. Clearly, they were interested in watching the conflict between two men fighting over a woman in front of them. Although Tristan was a close friend of theirs, it didn¡¯t stop them from enjoying the drama. As opposed to his friends fanning the mes, Tristan was boiling with fury at the moment. Everyone present basically knew that Lena was his fianc¨¦e and that they were about to enter a marriage alliance. Besides, he had always introduced and presented himself as Lena¡¯s fianc¨¦. Yet Lena was openly holding onto Lucas¡¯s arm right in front of everyone, which was tantly insulting Tristan! Tristan suddenly felt like he had been made a cuckold. Faced with Tristan¡¯s questioning, Lena sneered. ¡°I told you long ago that I have nothing to do with you, but you keep pestering me! Besides, didn¡¯t you just say that as long as I could get someone toe here and defeat you, you¡¯d promise not to pester me again? Now that the person I¡¯m looking for has arrived, what else do you have to say?¡± She held Lucas¡¯s arm tightly. If not for the fact that Lucas had already married Cheyenne long ago, Lena would have publicly announced to them that Lucas was her boyfriend. Lucas raised his eyebrows. He could roughly guess what had happened, but he wasn¡¯t sure what he had topete with Tristan in. Looking at the numerous cars around him, he wondered if it was going to be a drag race. Although he hadn¡¯t been to Caldo Mountain before, he had heard a little about it. Caldo Mountain was steep, but there was a mountain road leading directly to the summit, so it was an excellent ce for car racing and the favorite haunt for many rich scions who liked to drag racete at night. Of course, identally driving off the cliff was amon urrence due to theck of protective barriers on the road. There would be news reports of traffic idents due to illegal racing on Caldo Mountain every year. Although racing on mountains waster officially prohibited by the authorities of LA, such idents still urred frequently, as the inspection and patrol staff simply couldn¡¯t stop these rich scions at all. But if Tristan really wanted topete with him in car racing, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be scared. But he felt that things weren¡¯t going to be that simple. At this moment, an extremely muscr and burly man walked up to Lucas and rebuked in a coarse voice, ¡°Where did youe from, punk? How dare you vie with Tristan and snatch his girlfriend? You really don¡¯t know where you stand!¡± His muscles were extremely solid and toned. He even got into a bodybuilding show pose and showed off his muscles in front of everyone while ring at Lucas threateningly. There were also three other burly men who came up quietly and surrounded Lucas. Lena immediately sensed their animosity and hostile intentions. She yelled at Tristan furiously, ¡°Tristan Parker, what are you trying to do? Are you going to hurt Lucas just because you outnumber him?¡± Tristan smirked and chuckled obnoxiously. ¡°Lena Sawyer, don¡¯t use me casually. I didn¡¯t ask anyone to make a move on him. He¡¯s just so detestable that he irked everyone as soon as he appeared. Someone doesn¡¯t like his face and wants to beat him up. What does that have to do with me?¡± ¡°You!¡± Lena was furious, and a thought suddenly shed through her mind as she came to a sudden realization. ¡°I get it now! Tristan Parker, you deliberately schemed against me by purposely making me propose this bet and telling me to call someone over. You just wanted to deal with Lucas, didn¡¯t you? ¡°Because you know that I don¡¯t have any other friends in LA, and the only person I¡¯d call is Lucas! So you made arrangements long ago and deliberately got these men to surround Lucas, right?!¡± Lena was enraged and full of guilt toward Lucas. Tristan spread both his palms and said defiantly, ¡°Lena, how can you think of me like that? You were the one who called him toe here. How could I have been able to predict who you¡¯d call? Besides, do you have proof that I arranged for these guys to be here?¡± Lena was furious yet speechless. But Lucas didn¡¯t show any change in emotion and instead even found it ridiculous. No wonder I had a hunch that things weren¡¯t that simple. Turns out Tristan Parker was ying tricks and set this up with the sole purpose of dealing with me. But does he really think that just these men can defeat me? Or is this just the first wave, and he¡¯s prepared many other attacks? But no matter how many more schemes Tristan had carefully devised against him, Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid at all. A trace of fleeting pleasure appeared in Tristan¡¯s eyes, thrilled to see that Lena was furious. He was clearly engaged to her, yet she vehemently refused to acknowledge their engagement and even behaved intimately with other men in front of him. Tristan was an overly possessive person in the first ce and naturally wouldn¡¯t let such a situation happen again and again. Even if Lena didn¡¯t have any genuine feelings for him, she would still have to marry him and be his property! ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray, since you had the guts to touch my woman, I¡¯ll make you regret it today!¡± Tristan said sinisterly. ¡°Enough. Cut the crap. What do you want topete with me in? Do you want to fight or race? I¡¯m all for it, but don¡¯tpete with me in being shameless because I¡¯m definitely no match for you when ites to that.¡± Lucas got straight to the chase, as he couldn¡¯t be bothered to listen to Tristan¡¯s nonsense. Tristan immediately choked. He roared, ¡°Fine, I was going to spare your life, but since you¡¯ve said that, I won¡¯t be polite!¡± ¡°Why do you have so much nonsense to say?¡± Lucas rubbed his ears in annoyance and looked at Lena sympathetically. ¡°I have to say, your father has really poor judgment when ites to choosing a son-inw!¡± # Chapter 430: Boxing Expert

Chapter 430: Boxing Expert

Lena, who had been extremely enraged, was amused by Lucas¡¯s words. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that so? Maybe you can persuade my dad to change his mind,¡± Lena suggested. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll talk to your father about this when I have the chance.¡± Lucas nodded, appearing to be serious about it. The two conversing while ignoring everyone else immediately angered Tristan. The others around them were also surprised to hear their conversation. Does this young man personally know Lena¡¯s father, Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County? And he even has the ability to influence Ethan Sawyer? Who exactly is this young man? After being rendered speechless by Lucas¡¯s words, Tristan was so furious that he was about to lose his mind. Elijah hurriedly pulled him back and reminded, ¡°Tristan, don¡¯t waste your breath on someone like him. It¡¯s more important to get down to business!¡± Only then did Tristan snap out of his rage and try his best to suppress the anger surging up his chest. He roared furiously, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re the one who said we canpete in anything. If you loseter, don¡¯t use me of bullying you!¡± He pointed to a young man beside him who was about 27 years old and wearing a helmet. ¡°This is a good friend of mine, Ronan. You¡¯ll race against himter. If Ronan loses, I will never pester Lena again. But if you lose, you have to scram and stay far away from Lena from now on. You¡¯re not allowed to appear in front of her ever again!¡± It sounded like a fairpetition. However... Lena pointed at Ronan and said anxiously, ¡°Lucas, you can¡¯t agree to this! Ronan is a professional race car driver and has won many awards, both nationally and abroad. This isn¡¯t a fairpetition at all!¡± Tristan smiled smugly. ¡°Lena, we agreed just now that we¡¯d each find a friend toe here andpete with each other, but no one said that I can¡¯t get a friend who¡¯s a pro! If you¡¯re scared, you can just concede defeat now!¡± ¡°You... If you continue being so shameless, I won¡¯t continue the bet with you!¡± Boiling with fury, Lena pulled Lucas away to leave. ¡°Hold it!¡± One of the brawny men suddenly stepped forward and blocked Lucas. ¡°Punk, did I give you permission to leave?¡± He clenched his hard and solid fists, raised them in front of Lucas, and waved them threateningly. The other three burly men also walked over to show their prowess. Lucas chuckled. ¡°Tristan Parker, are you trying to keep me here with these good-for-nothings that only look intimidating?¡± ¡°You weakling, how dare you belittle me?!¡± Hearing Lucas¡¯s contempt, the burly man in front swung his fist at Lucas¡¯s face before Tristan even gave any orders. The others seemed to be gloating too. The burly man wasn¡¯t an ordinary person but an ever-victorious king of underground boxing in LA, Max. There were many rules in regr boxing matches, many of which clearly and strictly prohibited malicious harm against your opponents. So many thrill-seeking scions turned their attention to underground boxing. During underground boxing matches, boxers would brutally go toe-to-toe against each other, and there would be no consequences or punishments for those who ended up killing their opponents in the ring. In fact, deaths during matches would even garner boisterous cheers andrge prizes. Max, the burly man in front of Lucas, was a well-decorated underground boxer who had made impressive achievements. More than ten boxers had died from his punches. Yet this invible underground boxing champion was mocked by Lucas for being a good-for-nothing that only looked the part. He was naturally furious. The punch he threw was extremely ferocious. It was sharp and full of aggression as it darted straight at Lucas! But Lucas remained standing in ce without dodging or avoiding it at all. ¡°Damn it. This braggart actually isn¡¯t dodging or moving an inch. Is he scared silly?¡± ¡°I bet he just can¡¯t dodge in time! Max is such a daunting boxer, and his punch is so sharp and fast. This fool probably hasn¡¯te back to his senses yet!¡± ¡°Haha, I reckon this punk is going to get killed by Max¡¯s punch!¡± ¡°Hmph, he deserves it! He only has himself to me for being so arrogant. Not only did he have the guts to snatch Tristan¡¯s girlfriend, but he even spoke to Max like that. Of course he has to die.¡± ... The people around were gloating and discussing fervently, all eager to see the tragic sight of Lucas¡¯s head being crushed on the spot by Max¡¯s fist. Tristan also showed cruel anticipation on his face. Looks like the main course I¡¯ve arranged won¡¯t be of use. Lucas Gray will probably be killed by Max soon! Max¡¯s eyes were full of a bloodthirsty murderous intent. Soon, there would be one more person dead under his fists! Seeing this fist about tond on his face and shatter his bones, Lucas suddenly moved! He ducked, and Max¡¯s fist missed him by a mere millimeter. At the same time, he stretched out his leg and fiercely kicked Max¡¯s chest. Bang! Max¡¯s muscr body, which weighed more than 100 kilograms, was immediately sent flying away more than 20 meters and collided into the front of a Land Rover, forming a huge dent in it. His body then slowly slid down to the ground. Max was now like a puddle of mud as he slumped down onto the ground,pletely unconscious. This scene made everyone dumbfounded! The favorite pastime of these scions was watching the underground boxing matches in LA to kill their boredom, and Max was their favorite boxer. They liked Max because he was strong, domineering, and menacing. Most of the time, he would let them relish in the thrill of seeing bloodshed. Countless top boxers had died at his hands. But a powerful man like him actually couldn¡¯t withstand a single kick from Lucas, who looked weak and thin. Without making a sound, he passed out. Was this young man human at all? It was beyond their imagination for someone to actually manage to kick someone so far! Tristan and Elijah both widened their eyes in astonishment, unable to believe what just happened before them. Back when Tristan first saw Lucas at The Loft, he already knew that Lucas was very powerful, and even his bodyguards were no match for him. But he always thought that it was because his bodyguards were just too weak. So as soon as he returned to the Parker residence, he sacked both of them and reced them with two new bodyguards he thought were more intimidating andpetent. In order to be safe, he had even specially invited the underground boxing king Max to help. But he never thought that Max would falter under Lucas¡¯s strike too. It was too much of a blow to take! Lucas smiled. ¡°That¡¯s why I said they¡¯re a bunch of good-for-nothings who only look intimidating. What do you think now?¡± # Chapter 432: Fast and Furious

Chapter 432: Fast and Furious

What unnerved Ronan was that Lucas¡¯s Porsche was almost 20 meters ahead of his car despite Lucas setting off only a second earlier than him. At any other time, he would have been able to close the gap within just a few moments. But regardless of how he tried to catch up to Lucas, Lucas would still be ahead of him, and the distance between them seemed to be gradually widening. This meant that Lucas was still elerating and was about to reach the maximum speed of his car! ¡°Shit! Just you wait. Once we pass this straight part, we¡¯lle to a huge S-section. I¡¯m definitely more familiar with this section than you are. At that time, I¡¯ll definitely overtake you!¡± Ronan clenched his jaw and stared at the rear of the Porsche in front of him. Riding shotgun in the blue Porsche, Lena grabbed the seatbelt tightly for dear life while looking out the window at the mountains, which seemed to be nothing but horizontal lines because of how quickly they were moving. She almost didn¡¯t dare to open her eyes at all. The extreme speed was way too terrifying! ¡°Sit tight!¡± Lucas suddenly shouted before abruptly pulling the handbrake and frantically turning the steering wheel. Squeak! The friction between the tires and the road immediately resulted in an ear-piercing screech as the rear half of the car formed a semicircle arc. ¡°Ah!¡± Lena closed her eyes and screamed. If the seatbelt wasn¡¯t wrapped tightly around her waist, she would have been flung out of the car by now. In the silver Bugatti Veyron behind, Ronan watched in shock as the blue Porsche formed such arge arc. ¡°He must be out of his mind! That¡¯s crazy!¡± Lucas actually didn¡¯t slow down at all at this nearly 90-degree sharp bend. Instead, he did a huge thrilling drift at top speed and rushed past it! It was a steep mountain road where a slight deviation could cause you to swerve off the road and fall down the cliff, which would be fatal! Even a professional racer like Ronan wouldn¡¯t dare to use such a technique on such a dangerous track, yet Lucas managed to pull it off! Moreover, his drift was perfect, and even from a professional viewpoint, Ronan couldn¡¯t find any faults with it. Is Lucas Gray really not a car racing expert who has just been hiding his abilities? A cold sweat broke out on Ronan¡¯s back. The young men waiting near the finish line of the race at the foot of the mountain were also astounded to see the scene that just took ce halfway up the mountain. From their angle, they couldn¡¯t see the cars clearly, but they could all see that the car in front was Lucas¡¯s blue Porsche, while the car far behind was Ronan¡¯s silver Bugatti Veyron! The gap between the two cars seems to be gradually widening, especially during the S-section. The distance was now even more obvious. ¡°Damn! I can¡¯t believe my eyes. Ronan is a pro racer, yet he¡¯s so far behind Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°Oh my god. I thought that Lucas Gray didn¡¯t know how to car race and that he would be far behind Ronan after the first loop. I totally didn¡¯t expect him to be in the lead! This goes against thews of science. Which one of them is the pro?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unbelievable! Who exactly is Lucas Gray? Not only does he seem to be an impressive fighter, but he also seems very skilled at racing!¡± ¡°I thought there would be no doubt about who wins the race at first. But at this rate, Lucas Gray might really be the winner! In that case... Tristan is going to be in trouble!¡± ... Everyone marveled in amazement and made several remarks. On the other hand, Tristan looked incredibly gloomy. Lucas Gray can actually race well, and he seems pretty impressive too... No, he has to lose! No, he must die!!! ¡°Have the hitmen on the top of the mountain gotten ready?¡± Elijah whispered into Tristan¡¯s ear. Tristan said with a murderous smirk, ¡°Rest assured. I won¡¯t let him make it down the mountain alive!¡± Just a few more minutes was enough! Caldo Mountain had a height of around 600, and it would take about 20 minutes to drive up to the top at an average speed. But since they were now racing at top speed, it took less than 10 minutes to drive up to the top of the mountain. Lena was nervous and flustered at the beginning, especially when they were at the bends and loops. The situation was as thrilling and dangerous as a Hollywood action movie. But although Lena sensed that the car was speeding extremely fast, she gradually and subconsciously rxed because she knew that Lucas could pull off highly technical stunts without putting them in danger. While she sensed the thrill of speeding, excitement gradually appeared in her eyes. She wanted to turn around and see how far behind Ronan¡¯s car was, but she saw that the backseat of the car was full of roses as soon as she turned around. Lena finally realized that the car was actually full of the fragrance of roses, which she had failed to notice earlier because she had been preupied with worrying about the result of the race. ¡°Uh... There are so many roses here. Did you buy them?¡± Lena asked carefully. ¡°Yes, they¡¯re for my wife,¡± Lucas answered even though he was driving at top speed. ¡°Oh... Cheyenne is so lucky!¡± Lena forced herself to smile and say these words, but she seemed to contain a trace of sourness. Lucas didn¡¯t notice the difference in Lena¡¯s tone because they were about to reach the top soon. But at this moment, a ck Maybach suddenly appeared on the mountain road a couple of hundred meters ahead of them. It had pulled over on the path that they had to pass by. But it was already close to the summit, so it would be possible to go around the side of the Maybach. But the headlights of the Maybach suddenly lit up, and two blinding rays of light shone directly at Lucas¡¯s and Lena¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ah!¡± Lena felt blinded by the light and subconsciously covered her eyes with her hands. ¡°Bend down!¡± Lucas suddenly hollered and floored the brake pedal before quickly turning the steering wheel fully countless times. Creak! Screech! The Porsche did a 180-degree drift almost instantly beforeing to a halt with the screeching sound of the tires. # Chapter 433: Mountaintop Killer

Chapter 433: Mountaintop Killer

Just as the car did a 180-degree turn, Lena ced her hands on her head and bent over, trying her best to stop herself from mming against the car interior. She could even hear two loud bangs, as if something had pierced through the ss. After the car came to aplete halt, Lena raised her head slowly and asked in shock, ¡°What... happened just now?¡± Lucas nced at the car at the back. During the short period of time just now, the Maybach in front suddenly emitted two small rays of silver light. They weren¡¯t from bullets but two metal hidden weapons. After Lucas braked and the car drifted to switch direction, the two small hidden weapons darted into the rear ss window of the Porsche. It probably didn¡¯t cause any sounds because they had been shot into the thick bunch of roses in the back. Through the side mirrors on both sides of the car, he saw a slender figure in ck getting out of the Maybach. Lena naturally saw him too, and her heart tensed up immediately while her face turned pale. Having experienced two assassinations that almost cost her her life, Lena had be extremely sensitive to strangely-dressed people who suddenly appeared at untimely junctures. She immediately asked Lucas, ¡°Who... who is he? Is he here to assassinate me?¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. This figure didn¡¯t look tall, and his walking stance and aura seemed extremely oppressive. He must be an impressive expert! Lucas immediately thought. At the same time, he had also confirmed a conjecture of his. Back when Tristan suggested that theypete in car racing, Lucas already felt that something was amiss and thought that Tristan must have had something else nned. It seemed that the person who suddenly appeared should be the ¡®surprise¡¯ that Tristan had specially prepared for him. In that case, the reason Tristan proposed such a strange bet with Lena and even asked her to call a friend over was clearly because he was targeting Lucas. Regardless of whether Lucas and Ronan could win the race or not, this person would still wait for him on the mountain summit. Lena suddenly saw a metallic item emitting a ring and sharp ray of light behind the figure and eximed in panic, ¡°Lucas, that man has a weapon in his hand!¡± This person was walking toward Lena and Lucas with an unhurried gait. As he approached, Lena also finally saw arge, thick, heavy, and long sword tied to this man¡¯s back with a leather belt. Lena gasped in horror because therge long sword was probably as tall as an adult human! It definitely weighed at least dozens of kilograms! A person carrying such a heavy sword on their back in public was a rare sight in today¡¯s society! At this moment, the headlights of another car shone at them. Ronan had also reached the mountain summit. When he saw Lucas¡¯s car being stopped, as well as the person near them carrying a heavy sword on his back and wearing a bizarre outfit, he first froze in shock beforeing to his senses and immediately realizing that he must be the person that Tristan had arranged to deal with Lucas! Although Ronan didn¡¯t know all about Tristan¡¯s exact n, Tristan had naturally revealed some information to him since he had asked him to help lure Lucas to the mountain summit. ¡°Hahahaha! Lucas Gray, even if you can drive better than me, so what? I bet you¡¯ll leave this world soon. Who told you to go against Tristan? You have yourself to me for this, hahahaha!¡± Ronan rolled down the car windows andughed derisively without restraint. Then he suddenly stepped on the gas pedal and turned the car around to speed toward the foot of the mountain. But he didn¡¯t forget to take a photo of Lucas¡¯s car. ¡°Hmph, just take this as a posthumous photo I¡¯ve taken for you out of kindness. You don¡¯t need to thank me!¡± Ronanughed smugly. Lena was extremely anxious. Now that they had been stopped at the summit, they wouldn¡¯t have the time to call the police for help even if they wanted to. Besides, Ronan seemed to imply that the mysterious man with the sword on his back was after Lucas. Did he have something to do with Tristan? Lena was extremely panicked. Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Just wait for me inside the car. Don¡¯t go out.¡± Then he opened the car door. ¡°Don¡¯t... don¡¯t go out. He has a weapon. It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Lena was incredibly worried. After thinking about it, she added, ¡°I-I¡¯ll call Tristan now and ask him if he¡¯s behind this!¡± Lucas smiled and said adamantly, ¡°Stay out of this and just remain seated.¡± Then he got out of the car. The ck figure in front of him was wearing a ck mask that covered his face entirely. But he was emitting a strong and domineering aura. He was the strongest person Lucas had met besides Stanley since returning to Orange County. He was probably countless times stronger than most of the elite bodyguards of the helmsmen of prestigious families. In the eyes of the vast majority of people, this man would probably be a peerless expert. But Lucas had seen many such experts in the Falcon Regiment. Lucas asked with a raised brow, ¡°Did that idiot Tristan Parker hire you to kill me?¡± The masked figure in ck didn¡¯t say anything, but he suddenly drew the thick and long sword from his back. Holding it tightly in hand, he shed at Lucas! Whoosh! The thick de whistled through the air toward Lucas. ¡°Watch out!!¡± Lena, sitting in the car, screamed as soon as she saw this, so frightened that her heart started hammering. Lucas swiftly dodged the sword. After missing Lucas, the masked figure immediately switched tactics and moved his wrist to brandish the sword quickly, trying to sh Lucas into two. His movements were extremely quick, and he made the thick and heavy sword seem weightless as he swung it around flexibly. Lena covered her mouth, fearing that she would scream again and affect Lucas¡¯s dodging. But this time, Lucas suddenly leaped up, his body as light as a feather. Then hended on the long sword being swung at him! Lucas threw a flying kick at the masked figure¡¯s wrist before he could even react. Under the immense force, the masked figure felt a tremendous impact on his wrist, which seemed about to break. He instantly dropped the long sword in his hand onto the ground. ng! The swordnded on the ground with a loud sound. The masked figure was shocked and immediately tried to snatch the sword back, but Lucas had already beaten him to it and stepped on the thick, long sword. ¡°deless Sword?¡± Lucas nced at the sword under his feet with a look of bewilderment. ¡°Give it back to me!¡± the masked figure shouted in panic. Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise. The person carrying therge sword that weighed dozens of kilograms was actually a woman! # Chapter 434: Final Victory

Chapter 434: Final Victory

Lucas¡¯s face turned gloomy. The sex of the assassin in front of him didn¡¯t matter to him at all. What mattered was that she had been holding the deless Sword! The 23-kilogram deless Sword was the weapon used by a martyr of the Falcon Regiment who had died in glory. But the deless Sword actually suddenly appeared here, and based on the reaction of the masked figure just now, Lucas reckoned that it probably mattered to her a lot. ¡°Hah, I didn¡¯t expect that the weapon left behind by a martyr of the esteemed Falcon Regiment would fall into the hands of ackey like you who works for a scumbag! You¡¯re not fit to hold this sword!¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was cold as he kicked the sword up and held it tightly in his hand. ¡°Give me back the sword!¡± the masked figure in ck yelled and leaped at Lucas. But even wielding a weapon, she was no match for Lucas. Now that she had lost her weapon, it was all the more impossible for her to defeat him. Lucas¡¯s gaze chilled, and he kicked her in the gut mercilessly. The masked figure grunted and immediately flew backward more than ten meters before crashing onto the ground and spitting out a mouthful of blood. ¡°I don¡¯t care how you got this sword, nor do I care if you¡¯re a descendant of that martyr or not. I¡¯ll let you off today on ount that you were holding this sword. But if I find out that you¡¯re continuing with these evil acts, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± As the former captain of the Falcon Regiment, Lucas¡¯s aura was so daunting that it made the masked figure shudder involuntarily. With that, Lucas picked up the sword and turned around to leave. ¡°No! Leave my sword behind!¡± The masked figure got up from the ground when she saw that Lucas was about to leave. Gritting her teeth, she eximed, ¡°That¡¯s mine!¡± As soon as she wiped the blood flowing under her chin with her hand, she dashed toward Lucas again. Lucas once again lifted his foot and kicked her in the gut. ¡°Argh!¡± This time, the masked figure vomited blood while she was still in midair. Even though she had a mask on, the blood spurted out from the edge of the mask. This time, she was kicked even farther away, and her body mmed against the front of the Maybach, forming a huge dent in the hard hood. She then rolled onto the ground. She felt as if all her bones had been broken and her internal organs had shifted as pain radiated throughout her body. But she once again forced herself to get up and stumbled toward Lucas. ¡°That... that belongs to me!¡± Her eyes were staring at the sword in Lucas¡¯s hand, and she was bent on getting it back. A trace of surprise appeared in Lucas¡¯s icy cold eyes. This person is so persistent. ¡°Give it... back to me!¡± The masked figure was in so much pain that she could barely even straighten her back. But she nevertheless walked toward Lucas tenaciously and tried her best to speak. Although Lucas was moved by her persistence, he didn¡¯t intend to change his mind. ¡°When you¡¯ve finally figured out the significance of this deless Sword and be fit enough to hold it, you cane find me in Orange County.¡± Then Lucas simply turned around to walk toward his car. ¡°Wait...¡± The masked figure wanted to block him, but she had been kicked in the gut twice by Lucas and was severely injured. As soon as she spoke, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, causing her to lose herst trace of strength. ¡°Mmph!¡± The masked figure fell helplessly to her knees and could only watch Lucas leave in the blue Porsche with her sword. Once Lucas got into the car, he ced the long sword diagonally inside the car, part of it resting upon the roses at the back. ¡°Lucas, are you alright!?¡± Lena immediately asked with a worried expression while scanning him from head to toe. Lucas shook his head without saying much. He merely instructed Lena to take a photo of the mountain summit with her phone. Then he restarted the car and sped off toward the foot of the mountain. He raised his wrist to look at the time. Due to the masked figure, he had wasted nearly two minutes on the summit. But he reckoned that Ronan must still be on the way down. ¡°Sit tight!¡± Lucas suddenly reminded before flooring the elerator pedal, causing the blue Porsche to speed down the mountain like a bolt of lightning. Lucas¡¯s guess was right. Ronan was currently driving slowly on the mountain road. He was certain that Lucas would die on the mountain top and thought that he no longer needed to race against him, so he didn¡¯t bother driving as fast as he did up the mountain. He had turned on the car stereo and was sting some pop music while humming along leisurely as he drove his Bugatti Veyron slowly toward the bottom of the mountain. He had already covered two-thirds of the way back and only had another two minutes to go. Suddenly, Ronan discovered a pair of headlights shining brightly behind his car and approaching him at an extremely fast speed. Ronan immediately perked up and was no longer as rxed. When he saw that the car was Lucas¡¯s blue Porsche, he was astounded! How is this possible? That punk should have already died on the mountain top! Did the expert Tristan hire fail to stop him? Ronan was flustered, but he soon forced himself to calm down again. It¡¯s okay. Even if he¡¯s alive, he¡¯s definitely going to lose this race! They were about to reach the finishing point, and it was almost just a straight road ahead. Ronan thought that if he drove in the middle of the road, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to overtake him at all! Regardless of how superb Lucas was at driving, Ronan was confident that he would be the final winner! ¡°Lucas, what should we do? The car in front of us is driving in the middle of the road. There¡¯s no way we can pass it! At this rate case, we¡¯ll definitely lose!¡± Lena said anxiously. If she lost this bet, she would never be able to see Lucas again. And worse still, she would have to marry the loathsome Tristan! This is horrible! # Chapter 435: Thrill of Overtaking

Chapter 435: Thrill of Overtaking

Lucas narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, ¡°Sit tight!¡± Then he floored the elerator pedal. The Porsche suddenly let out a loud roar and began chasing Ronan¡¯s car like a bolt of lightning! The distance between the two cars was rapidly decreasing. Ronan, who was currently ahead of Lucas, also sped up and likewise pressed his foot down on the elerator all the way. But he still couldn¡¯t increase the distance between him and Lucas. ¡°Damn it. I¡¯ll just block the middle. Let¡¯s see how you can overtake me! If you have the guts, you can crash into my car!¡± Ronan yelled hysterically in his silver Bugatti Veyron. The distance between the two cars was gradually decreasing. 300 meters! 200 meters! 100 meters! 20 meters! Lucas maintained the speed of his car at the maximum. And even though he was about to crash into the Bugatti Veyron, he didn¡¯t show the slightest intention of slowing down. Sitting beside Lucas in the front passenger¡¯s seat, Lena turned as pale as a sheet and had already shut her eyes tightly, not daring to look at the scene in front of her again. Dad, although you¡¯ve always forced me to marry Tristan for the sake of business interests, you¡¯re actually a good father too. We might have to meet in another life... Lena thought At the same time, she was full of regrets, as she felt that she still had many unfulfilled wishes. For example, she had yet to properly confess her love to Lucas... In the Bugatti Veyron in front, Ronan was also incredibly gloomy asrge droplets of sweat trickled down his face. He thought that Lucas wouldn¡¯t dare to collide into his car because the cliff was around 40 meters high, and if Lucas mmed into the rear of his car at such a high speed, both their cars would fall off the cliff, resulting in a fatal mishap! But things had now escted beyond his control, and Lucas was almost going to hit the rear of his car. At this moment, Ronan finally understood that Lucas really dared to crash into his car! ¡°Lunatic! You¡¯re f*cking nuts!¡± Ronan cursed. But in the end, he still didn¡¯t dare to put his life at risk and perish together with Lucas. So he could only turn the steering wheel abruptly and swerve to the side of the road when Lucas¡¯s car was about to touch his car¡¯s rear. The width of the mountain road was actually wide enough to fit two cars. Ronan chose the side near the mountain wall, which was rtively safer. If Lucas messed up when overtaking, he wouldn¡¯t be at fault! But Ronan soon widened his eyes in shock. Lucas had somehow pulled a stunt and managed to lift the tires near the side of the road and was driving along the road with his car tilted. Meanwhile, the two tires on the other side were moving on the guardrail of the mountain road. The position was strange yet beautiful. He immediately overtook Ronan! WhileLucas¡¯s car was moving steadily in front of his, Ronan finally realized that his body was drenched in cold sweat while his hands and feet were trembling slightly. But at this moment, victory had already been decided, and he secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Even If I lose, so be it. At least I¡¯m still alive. Even a professional race car driver like him wouldn¡¯t dare to perform such a thrilling stunt on this narrow and steep mountain road like Lucas did! In the end, everyone watched in shock as Lucas¡¯s blue Porsche crossed the finish line first. The moment she finally reached the finish line safely, Lena couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and turned around to hug Lucas. At some points just now, she thought that she was dead meat! The overtaking experience was simply too exciting and thrilling! In contrast to Lena¡¯s excitement and thrill, Tristan, who was standing at the side, was overwhelmed with horror and disbelief. Beside Tristan, Elijah also widened his mouth in disbelief. ¡°How is that possible? You... you...¡± His featurespletely twisted into a grimace, Tristan pointed at Lucas, who calmly got out of the Porsche. While he was extremely stimted, he almost blurted out, ¡°You should have died on the summit!¡± Fortunately, he returned to his senses and didn¡¯t end up saying this. But his face and eyes were full of confusion. ¡°Tristan Parker, you didn¡¯t expect it, huh? Not only have we returned, but we even won the race!¡± Lena red at Tristan with disgust as she got out of the car. The masked figure in ck on the mountain top just now was definitely sent by Tristan! If not for Lucas¡¯s impablebat skills, they would have probably died on the summit! Tristan¡¯s behavior was so despicable and shameless that Lena absolutely resented him! At this moment, Ronan arrived at the finish line in his Bugatti Veyron. The door opened, and Ronan walked out, deathly pale. He first took a quick nce at Lucas, but after realizing that Lucas wasn¡¯t in the least bit nervous at all, he turned even paler. Even he, the person who had been overtaken, was absolutely frightened by the scene just now. Yet Lucas, who had pulled off that terrifying stunt to overtake him, wasposed and expressionless. What did this mean? It meant that the dangerous move meant nothing to Lucas at all! Or rather, his driving skills had already be so impressive that everything was within his control, so he wasn¡¯t afraid at all! Regardless of what the reason was, Ronan was utterly dejected. Being a professional race car driver who had won numerous des in various races, both nationally and abroad, he thought that he should have been the most outstanding racer of his age group. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas, whom he had never heard of and who wasn¡¯t even a professional racer, would be much more skilled at driving than him! Be it in expertise or bravery, he hadpletely lost to Lucas! Ronan walked toward Tristan and said with his head hung low, ¡°Tristan, sorry, I lost the race.¡± ¡°Hmph, good-for-nothing!¡± Tristan said coldly. Anger surged in Ronan¡¯s heart, but at the thought that he had really lost, he had no choice but to endure it. ¡°I¡¯ve already won the race, Mr. Parker. Will you keep to your word this time, or are you going to break your promise again like before?¡± Lucas gibed, staring at Tristan derisively. His eyes were full of icy cold murderous intent. He wouldn¡¯t easily let off anyone who tried to kill him! He wouldn¡¯t offend anyone who didn¡¯t provoke him, but he would definitely take revenge on anyone who offended him! # Chapter 436: Want To Be Friends

Chapter 436: Want To Be Friends

¡°Hey, Lucas, it¡¯s been a long time since we met!¡± A voice suddenly came from behind them. They turned around and looked at the person who spoke. It was a young man in his thirties who had a buzz cut and a muscr body. He was none other than Callum Owen, who had once met Lucas in Club Splendor in Orange County. He was also the brother of Elijah, who was at the side. ¡°Callum? Didn¡¯t you... say you had something to do and couldn¡¯te? Why did you suddenly show up?¡± Elijah was extremely bewildered. At the same time, he sounded a little flustered too. The n tonight was decided by him and Tristan. If Callum found out, he would definitely beat him up! ¡°Callum, you¡¯re here too,¡± Tristan said respectfully, not daring to put on any airs in front of him. After all, although both the Parkers and the Owens were families of equal status and power in LA, Callum was the most highly valued descendant of the Owen family and the most likely to be the next sessor. But Tristan was only a descendant of the Parker family, and his cousin Keh had a higher status than him in the family. In the future, the one to seed as the helmsman of the family was Keh, not Tristan. Tristan had the self-awareness to know about this. Callum merely nodded at Tristan, then walked to Lucas and said with a smile, ¡°Lucas, I didn¡¯t expect you toe to Caldo Mountain for fun too.¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t polite at all as he said bluntly, ¡°We don¡¯t seem to be very familiar with each other.¡± Callum didn¡¯t think much of it and instead smiled. ¡°We live in different cities, so it¡¯s only normal that we haven¡¯t had many chances to interact. However, I feel that we might be able to be very good friends in the future.¡± Lucas shrugged without saying anything. During the auction in Club Splendor previously, they didn¡¯t have a pleasant meeting with each other, so Lucas thought that Callum was here to create trouble for him. But he didn¡¯t expect him to be here to befriend him. It was really surprising. With a look of astonishment, Elijah said in disbelief, ¡°Callum, do you know what the hell you¡¯re saying? Back in Orange County, this punk caused us to be thrown out of the auction by Russell Duncan. He thoroughly embarrassed us, and you say you want to befriend him?¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Callum immediately rebuked Elijah, and he even glowered at him, warning him not to spout nonsense. Not only was Elijah confused as to what his brother was trying to do, but even Tristan was puzzled too. But Callum had a higher status than the both of them, and whenever they went out as a trio, Callum would make the decision most of the time. So they could only keep quiet and see what exactly he was trying to do. Several of the surrounding scions of LA were staring at Callum in astonishment. But most of them were staring at Lucas curiously. This young man was just targeted by Tristan, but why is Callum Owen suddenly treating him with so much respect? ¡°Are you saying that you want to be friends with me?¡± Lucas asked in surprise. Callum smiled. ¡°The more friends you have, the more options you have in life. I admire your character, Lucas. So I really want to be friends with you. What do you think?¡± Lucas chuckled. ¡°Is that so? But I don¡¯t admire your character, and I don¡¯t want to be friends with you at all.¡± As soon as he said this, Callum¡¯s confident expression suddenly stiffened. After two seconds of silence, an uproar broke out among everyone. Callum was the esteemed sessor of the Owen family, one of the two top giants in LA and someone countless people vied to suck up to. But Callum had a cold and aloof personality, and very few people could really get close to him. Others would be over the moon to hear that Callum wanted to befriend them. Yet Lucas didn¡¯t show him any respect at all and rejected him in public. They thought that he had to be silly! The crowd started discussing, and Callum¡¯s expression changed rapidly for a while before calming down. He asked with raised brows, ¡°Lucas, are you not going to give me this chance?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You and I aren¡¯t that close. Why should I?¡± Callum didn¡¯t say anything, but Elijah could no longer stand it. ¡°Damn it! Lucas Gray, don¡¯t go too far! My brother has a high status, and he¡¯s being nice enough to stoop low and ask to befriend someone like you. If you dare to speak to him like that again, I¡¯ll immediately kill you!¡± Elijah hollered at Lucas furiously. In fact, since the time they had formed a feud against each other at the auction in Orange County, coupled with Tristan¡¯s hatred of Lucas, they decided that they wouldn¡¯t let Lucas return alive tonight. But they didn¡¯t know how Lucas had somehow made it down the mountain alive. Moreover, they didn¡¯t expect that Callum would suddenly appear here and ask to befriend Lucas! Besides, the most infuriating thing was that Lucas actually had the audacity to turn Callum down in front of everyone! Who does he think he is?! Elijahshed out at Lucas furiously, thinking that he was standing up for his brother. However... Smack! As soon as Elijah said those words, Callum raised his hand and pped his face hard! ¡°I¡¯m warning you. If you ever dare to say something disrespectful to Lucas again, I won¡¯t go easy on you, even if you¡¯re my younger brother!¡± Callum warned with a hostile expression. Everyone was instantly bbergasted! Elijah was dumbstruck by the sudden p, and he only returned to his senses after a long time. He said in disbelief, ¡°Callum, did you just p me? You actually pped me because of an outsider like him?!¡± Callum said coldly, ¡°If you continue speaking so rudely to Lucas, I¡¯ll not only hit you but kill you too!¡± He was really ruthless. Elijah¡¯s face instantly stiffened, and he felt as if his blood had frozen. Of course, he didn¡¯t know that just a short while ago, an extremely shocking event had urred in the Lion Restaurant in LA. Although Matthew had ordered all the people present at the time not to spread a word about it, no secret could be kept forever. Callum, the future sessor of the Owens, had nevertheless found out about it. After hearing about what had happened tonight, Callum was in disbelief at first. There were naturally people in this world who could break Matthew Benson¡¯s precious son¡¯s arm and get away scot-free, but he never thought that Lucas Gray would be one of them. But after hearing the descriptions of the incident from those who were aware, Callum was astonished and certain that this person was indeed the Lucas Gray he had met before. Besides, he even heard that the top expert Stanley, who had previously vanished from LA, was now Lucas¡¯s follower! Almost everyone who was born and bred in LA knew how terrifying Stanley was. All of this meant that Lucas definitely wasn¡¯t an ordinary person! In fact, he thought that the person who had managed to destroy the Brookes overnight was very likely to be Lucas too! How terrifying was that?! So when Callum happened to find out that his silly younger brother, Elijah, hade to Caldo Mountain together with Tristan to harm Lucas, he panicked and rushed over immediately. # Chapter 437: Brothers in the Car

Chapter 437: Brothers in the Car

All Callum hoped to do now was to appease Lucas and make him bury the hatchet from the previous incident and then improve his rtionship with him. But his fool brother, Elijah, had said such offensive words to Lucas again. How could he not be infuriated and want to kill this dimwit? ¡°Hurry up and apologize to Lucas!¡± Callum hollered furiously. Elijah felt extremely frustrated, but he had no choice but to lower his head and apologize to Lucas indignantly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Lucas nced at Callum. Callum was undoubtedly a smart person, but unfortunately, Lucas didn¡¯t like people like him. ¡°If you don¡¯t want the Owens to be implicated, you¡¯d better cut off all contact with the Parkers. That¡¯s all I have to say.¡± With that, Lucas turned around and drove away with Lena. With an ambiguous gaze in his eyes, Callum watched as they gradually drove away. Elijah had always been reckless and impulsive. When he saw that Lucas had left, he couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer. ¡°Callum, what was wrong with you just now? Why did your attitude toward that guy suddenly change so drastically?¡± Callum said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it when we get home. You also have to give me a clear exnation for what you¡¯ve done today.¡± Tristan frowned in confusion. ¡°Callum, what exactly is going on?¡± Callum glowered at Tristan and said in an extremely cold and distant voice, ¡°Tristan Parker, I won¡¯t hold it against you for what happened today, but you and I will have nothing to do with each other from today onward. You¡¯re on your own!¡± Then he turned around and walked away. Tristan was instantly puzzled. He had been friends with the Owen brothers since they were little, and the trio had done countless good deeds, as well as misdeeds, together. Yet Callum suddenly wanted to sever their friendship out of the blue. Why? Is it because I tried to make Elijah join me in going against Lucas Gray? Is Callum really going to give up the friendship that we¡¯ve had for so many years all because of that bastard Lucas Gray? Tristan was almost in disbelief, but he could only watch Callum leave together with Elijah. The other people around were all bbergasted. There seemed to be something wrong between the scions of the two top families in LA. They didn¡¯t know what happened, but they didn¡¯t dare to ask about it at all. After Elijah followed his brother to the car, his heart filled with infinite curiosity. Before they even reached home, he frantically asked, ¡°Callum, what¡¯s the matter? Hurry up and tell me now!¡± Since there were no outsiders in the car, Callum didn¡¯t continue keeping him in suspense and simply said, ¡°All you do is hang out with Tristan Parker. If I hadn¡¯t rushed here in time, you would have probably died by now!¡± Elijah panicked, but he was rather confused too. ¡°Callum, what do you mean?¡± Callum didn¡¯t answer him directly and instead asked, ¡°What do you think of the power of the Bensons from San Francisco?¡± After giving it some thought, Elijah answered, ¡°The Bensons are naturally very powerful. They¡¯re now backed by the Coles, one of the top families in the state. That makes them even more impressive. Even though I don¡¯t usually pay attention to these things, I know that the Bensons are not a family we can afford to provoke. Even if the Parkers and our family join forces, we¡¯re still weaker than the Bensons!¡± Then he tilted his head and asked with confusion, ¡°Callum, why did you suddenly bring up the Bensons?¡± Callum snorted coldly. ¡°It seems that you know a bit about the impressiveness of the Bensons. You should be able to understand after you hear what I say.¡± He continued with a stern expression, ¡°Just over an hour ago, that Lucas Gray you look down upon broke the arm of Matthew Benson¡¯s son, Tyron, right in front of Matthew Benson himself. He even forced Tyron to kneel down in front of him to apologize and beg for mercy. Keh Parker had to likewise do the same.¡± ¡°How... how is that possible?!¡± Elijah widened his eyes in shock, as if he had heard an unbelievable thing. He didn¡¯t dare to believe it at all. ¡°Callum, you must be joking. Are you talking about the impressive scion of the Benson family and that arrogant Keh Parker? They actually kneeled down in front of that good-for-nothing Lucas Gray and begged him for mercy?¡± He felt as if the world had be fantastical all of a sudden. It was really bbergasting! Callum nced at his brother and said indifferently, ¡°Would I joke with you about something like this? This incident happened in a private room on the top floor of the Lion Restaurant. At the time, there were also many helmsmen and scions of middle-tier and top-tier families of LA in the room. They all witnessed this matter. Besides, the actual situation is actually more exaggerated and terrifying than what I described. ¡°Matthew Benson, the helmsman of his family, is already in his fifties, and he only has one son, Tyron. He dotes on Tyron greatly, and no one dares to offend him at all. But Lucas Gray broke Tyron¡¯s arm tonight, and yet Matthew Benson let him leave unscathed. Do you think Lucas Gray, who could make Matthew Benson force himself to stomach this, is really just an ordinary live-in son-inw and a good-for-nothing like you said?¡± Elijah widened his mouth in shock,pletely speechless. He knew that Callum would never deceive him to make Lucas seem impressive. At the thought of Lucas, who had appeared below Caldo Mountain more than half an hour agopletely unscathed, Elijah was even more certain of it. It seemed that Lucas must secretly have some impressive identity. Otherwise, Matthew, who was overly protective of his son, definitely wouldn¡¯t have let him off. When Elijah thought about his previous feuds with Lucas, as well as the things that he and Tristan had nned to do to Lucas, he suddenly felt like his back was drenched in cold sweat while his face turned pale. Fortunately, Callum arrived in time, and Lucas didn¡¯t pursue the matter further either. Otherwise, Elijah would have definitely offended Lucas and ended up having his arm broken too! Seeing how aghast and disoriented his brother was, Callum frowned. ¡°Oh, by the way, you guys didn¡¯t offend him tonight, did you?¡± Elijah was instantly flustered and hurriedly said, ¡°Callum, it¡¯s not my business. What happened tonight was all arranged by Tristan, including the killer on the mountain top. It really has nothing to do with me!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Callum was so shocked that he stood up abruptly, but he forgot that they were still in the car, so his head was hit hard against the car roof with a loud bang. But Callum couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about the pain in his head. He stared hard into Elijah¡¯s eyes while cursing furiously, ¡°How dare you guys hire a hitman? Do you have a death wish? Do you really want to die?!¡± # Chapter 438: Midnight Horror

Chapter 438: Midnight Horror

Elijah rarely saw his brother behaving in such a terrifying manner with such a murderous expression. He was extremely frightened and hurriedly exined, ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t me. It was Tristan who hired the hitman! I just watched from the side! I didn¡¯t do anything at all!¡± ¡°Idiot!¡± Callum cursed furiously. ¡°I told you after we left the auction in Orange County that Lucas Gray has a rare ck Diamond Card, and regardless of how he got it, it¡¯s indeed a status symbol. I told you not to offend him! ¡°Moreover, there was never a feud between us two and Lucas Gray in the first ce. We ended up getting into a conflict with him only because of that dimwit Tristan Parker. Why are you so silly as to get involved in their feud? Why are you still being so foolish and hanging out with Tristan Parker?!¡± Callum was panting heavily and feeling a strong urge to beat his senseless younger brother up. Elijah was also starting to feel terrified at this moment. All the signs indicated that Lucas probably really wasn¡¯t someone to be trifled with. Why did I let Tristan instigate me into taking revenge on Lucas Gray? He had the guts to beat up even the scion of the Benson family. It¡¯d be a piece of cake for him to beat me up! ¡°Callum, what should I do now? Had I known this earlier, I would have never gone to provoke him! But now that I have offended him, what should I do? Will he also get someone toe break my legs?¡± Elijah was terrified and flustered. Callum red at his younger brother furiously. ¡°Now you know to be scared, huh? What did you do previously? But you don¡¯t need to worry. If he really wanted to deal with you, he wouldn¡¯t have let you off so easily just now.¡± Only then did Elijah heave a sigh of relief. ¡°Let me ask you again. Do you really have nothing to do with that hitman Tristan Parker hired?¡± Callum was still ill at ease about his silly brother and thus asked further. Elijah¡¯s expression was a little unnatural, and after panting for a long time, he admitted, ¡°That hitman asked for a million dors. I... forked out three hundred thousand!¡± ¡°You idiot!!¡± Callum flew into a rage and pped Elijah brutally on his face. ¡°How dare you lie to me when I asked you about it just now!?! Do you know how serious the consequences of hiding this matter from me are?¡± Callum was livid. Elijah put a hand on his face and said tearfully, ¡°Callum, what¡¯s done can¡¯t be undone even if you beat me to death now. Quick, help me think about what I should do now!¡± He was just as terrified because if Lucas found out that he was also involved in hiring the hitman to kill him, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t spare him! Callum glowered at Elijah in exasperation. After thinking about it, he could only say, ¡°I can¡¯t make a decision on this matter. Let¡¯s wait until we go home and ask Dad about it before deciding what to do!¡± ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, at the foot of Caldo Mountain, Tristan vaguely felt that something was amiss after the Owen brothers left. The fact that Callum had suddenly tried to get close to Lucas while keeping a distance from him made Tristan sense that something major must have happened. So he wasn¡¯t in the mood to stay at Caldo Mountain any longer and drove back home. He reckoned that he would definitely find out after asking his brother, father, or grandfather about it once he got home. Caldo Mountain was located in the outskirts of LA, far away from the city center. When he was passing through a section of deserted woods, the street lights on both sides of the road suddenly went out all at once. ¡°Damn it!¡± Tristan was shocked, and he was inplete darkness. His car was the only one on the road. For some reason, he had an extremely ominous hunch, and he felt that something dangerous was about to happen. Tristan got the creeps and subconsciously turned up the volume of the rock music ying on the car stereo in a bid to relieve the panic within him with the noise. At the same time, he also floored the gas pedal and drove out of the cked-out area at top speed. At this moment, a grayish-ck object suddenly darted toward the windshield of the car! Bang! Due to the great speed of Tristan¡¯s car, the mass of items pierced through the windshield and smashed into Tristan¡¯s face! ¡°Ah!¡± Tristan¡¯s nose bridge broke, and his eyes were injured. He shrieked in horror and turned the steering wheel in panic. Boom! The luxurious Lamborghini he was driving immediately skidded off the road without control and crashed into the woods nearby. Due to the high speed, the impact was extremely violent. The front of the car was stuck in arge tree and badly damaged. Sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, Tristan was now covered in blood and squeezed against his seat. His bones were all distorted and broken. Blood spewed out from the corners of his mouth, and his body twitched violently. Soon, he stopped moving. A figure in ck appeared a short distance behind the car like a ghost. Looking at the smoking hood of the car and the no longer breathing Tristan, the figure sneered and turned around to leave. Soon, Lucas received a text. [Tristan Parker is dead!] Before long, the same piece of news spread like wildfire throughout LA. Tristan Parker suddenly died in a car ident in the wilderness of the outskirts of LA, and it was obviously premeditated! In other words, someone deliberately killed a scion of the Parkers, a top family in LA! LA was the Parkers¡¯ turf, but now, Tristan was killed. It was not only a grievous matter for the Parkers but also a great humiliation! At this moment, in the Parkers¡¯ vi... Tristan¡¯s corpse had already been collected and ced properly on the ground in the middle of the living room. He had died a miserable death. Not only were many of his bones broken and distorted due to the car ident, but there was also arge dent in his face from behind hit by a huge object. There was arge gray stone the size of two fists with sharp edges beside his corpse. There were no fingerprints on the stone, but the Parkers were very certain that the stone definitely didn¡¯t fly into Tristan¡¯s car and smash his head for no reason. It must have been a deliberate act! # Chapter 439: Making Up His Mind to Kill

Chapter 439: Making Up His Mind to Kill

Damon Parker, the helmsman of the Parker family, was sitting on the master seat in the living room with a grim expression. The direct descendants of the Parker family were standing around him. All of them looked rather sullen. Meanwhile, Tristan¡¯s father, Ray Parker, had bloodshot eyes and was full of resentment. He had raised his son to the age of twenty-something, and yet he died all of a sudden in such a tragic matter. No one in his ce would be able to remain calm. Damon was full of anger. Tonight, the Parkers had experienced several incidents in a row. First, Keh had suddenly offended Matthew Benson in the Lion Restaurant, causing Damon to have to rush over and painstakingly try to convince Matthew, which he eventually managed to by signing a cooperation agreement that stipted that he had to give arge portion of the profit to the greedy Matthew. He had somewhat resolved the disaster with money and even got acquainted with the Bensons, which could count as a blessing in disguise. But immediately afterward, they were put to shame by the young man Lucas Gray, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Not only did he make Keh kneel down in front of him, but he even broke the arm of Matthew¡¯s son. Yet Lucas¡¯s identity was really mysterious, so much so that even Matthew didn¡¯t dare to touch him easily. But the sly old fox Matthew actually left him to investigate Lucas, and he had no clue where to start now. Next, his most ipetent grandson suddenly died in the city outskirts. All of them thought that this was definitely not a mere ident but a deliberate murder with the intention of going against the Parkers. But they couldn¡¯t find any evidence even until now. When the ident happened, there happened to be a circuit failure on the expressway, causing a major power outage that resulted in the malfunction of the surveince cameras. Furthermore, it was alreadyte at night at the time, and traffic was scarce, so no one could have witnessed the ident. Apart from the stone, on which there were no fingerprints, there were no other clues. The Parkers were even more enraged and indignant because of this. A scion of the Parker family had been killed, yet they couldn¡¯t find the culprit. It was just like a tant p on their faces. ¡°Dad, Tristan can¡¯t die without a clear reason! We must find the murderer and not let off anyone who dared to harm Tristan!¡± Ray¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and he clenched his jaw. Damon nodded and said in a low voice, ¡°That¡¯s right! A descendant of the Parkers will definitely not die in vain! No matter who the murderer is, we must make him pay for this with his life!¡± Keh¡¯s eyes were full of horror and fury as he looked at Tristan¡¯s corpse. Although he had never liked his ipetent and foolish cousin, Tristan was a descendant of the family after all. Now that Tristan had died such a tragic death, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a deep sense of sorrow. It was Tristan¡¯s turn to die today. Who knew which day the murderer behind this would target him? In short, those who dared toy hands on the Parkers had to die! At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties hurriedly walked into the vi. ¡°Sir, the people I sent have basically found out that Tristan¡¯s death is very likely to have something to do with a young man named Lucas Gray!¡± he hurriedly reported. ¡°What did you say? Lucas Gray?!¡± Damon¡¯s eyes suddenly widened, and he instantly stood up with a look of disbelief. Meanwhile, after Keh heard Lucas¡¯s name, his heart palpitated. The middle-aged man didn¡¯t dare to dy and quickly said, ¡°ording to the statements of Tristan¡¯s friends, Lucas Gray appeared on Caldo Mountain, and he was called there by Lena Sawyer. He had an intense conflict with Tristan. There are more than twenty people who can testify! ¡°Although there¡¯s no direct evidence that he¡¯s rted to the car ident that happened to Tristan, he¡¯s very suspicious! That¡¯s because Tristan has a great feud with Lucas Gray, and he even hired a hitman to kill him. But he failed in the end, so Lucas Gray very likely bears a strong grudge against Tristan. That¡¯s why he killed him on his way back to the city!¡± The Parkers had actually heard a little about the grudge between Tristan and Lucas. After all, Tristan had even gotten a knee injury because of it. At the time, some of the Parkers wanted to take revenge on Lucas, but immediately after that, the Brookes of LA faced destruction, and Damon thought that Lucas might have something to do with it. So he forced that thought down and even once warned Tristan not to provoke Lucas again. But no one expected that the feud between the two would intensify to the point that Tristan would hire a hitman to kill Lucas. If the truth was really so, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for Lucas to take revenge and deliberately pull some tricks when Tristan was on his way back to the city! Bang! Damon smashed a cup beside his hand onto the ground. ¡°Lucas Gray, you punk! How dare you kill my grandson? I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Damon¡¯s eyes were full of fury. He had once harbored some scruples toward Lucas, especially when he saw him breaking Tyron¡¯s arm arrogantly tonight, as well as the fact that Stanley had been following Lucas. He was even more reluctant to provoke Lucas until they had clearly investigated his background! But now that his grandson had died in Lucas¡¯s hands, how could he possibly take it lying down? He wanted Lucas to die immediately! With a crazy murderous look in his eyes, Damon immediately called Matthew on the phone. ¡°Mr. Benson, just a short while ago, one of my ipetent grandsons died in an ident. You¡¯re already aware of this, right?¡± It was a major matter, and the car ident had happened only about an hour or so ago, yet it had already spread like wildfire to the various families of all sses in LA. Since Matthew was now in LA, he had naturally also heard of it. There weren¡¯t any fluctuations in Matthew¡¯s emotions since the one who died wasn¡¯t his son. But since Damon had already called him, he should express his stand. Just when Matthew was about to give him his condolences and ask about whether the killer had been found yet, Damon suddenly asked, ¡°Mr. Benson, have you found out about the background of that arrogant young man in the Lion Restaurant tonight?¡± Matthew asked with raised brows, ¡°Since I¡¯ve already handed this matter to you, I didn¡¯t send anyone else to check up on it. Why? Do the Parkers have information about him?¡± In fact, he naturally did send someone to investigate because one, he didn¡¯t fully trust the Parkers, and two, Lucas had broken the arm of his precious son, so he wanted to find out more about him as soon as possible. How could he be willing to just sit at home and wait for the news? But the people he had sent were rather slow with the investigation. Without mincing words, Damon said resentfully, ¡°Yes, I have detailed information about him now! Actually, Lucas Gray isn¡¯t the scion of a prestigious family but the live-in son-inw of a mid-tier family. He¡¯s best at putting up a front and pretending to be mighty, so he deceived all of us with the airs he put on in the Lion Restaurant!¡± # Chapter 440: Questioning

Chapter 440: Questioning

Thus, Damon told Matthew all the information about Lucas his men had found out after some investigation. Of course, it was just the most superficial information that they had discovered. Moreover, Lucas had been keeping an extremely low profile to hide his true identity, so the report was full of errors and false information. It could only show that Lucas was indeed someone at the lowest tier of society who had nothing to rely on. As for some of Damon¡¯s previous spections and scruples about Lucas, he obviously wouldn¡¯t tell Matthew about them. He wanted to use the Bensons¡¯ power to deal with Lucas, so naturally, the more unpleasant he was, the better. After hearing what Damon said, Matthew stayed silent for a long time, seemingly pondering. He asked, ¡°Does that person have something to do with the death of your grandson?¡± Damon clenched his teeth and said furiously, ¡°There¡¯s indeed a connection! Although we haven¡¯t found any concrete evidence yet, ording to the information we have, the death of my grandson Tristan is definitely rted to Lucas Gray! ¡°I must make sure this person dies! So I¡¯d like to tell you now that the Parkers have decided to go against him!¡± Matthew hesitated only for a second before saying in a heartened manner, ¡°In that case, count the Bensons in! How dare Lucas Gray be so arrogant as to break my son¡¯s arm? I won¡¯t let him off!¡± In the beginning, Matthew was still nning to y it safe and wait for his subordinate to show him the investigation report beforeing to a decision. But since Damon¡¯s grandson had already died in Lucas¡¯s hands, there definitely wouldn¡¯t be anything wrong with the results of his investigation. Besides, even the Parkers wanted to deal with Lucas. As the helmsman of the Bensons from San Francisco, how could he be more timid than them? Moreover, the matter of revenge was only a matter of time. If the Parkers got rid of Lucas, how could he avenge his son? The two of them reached a consensus and discussed some more details of the action over the phone before ending the call. ¡ª¡ª However, Lucas wasn¡¯t aware of this. He and Lena happened to be staying at the same hotel. So after leaving Caldo Mountain, he drove the blue Porsche back to the Waldorf Hotel in downtown LA together with Lena. Their rooms also happened to be on the same floor and even more coincidentally right beside each other. In fact, it wasn¡¯t actually a coincidence but a deliberate arrangement of Lena, who tried to pass it off as a coincidence just to see if there was an opportunity for her to make some progress with Lucas at night. But her seduction n had failed by the swimming pool on the roof of the hotel. Besides, she had also seen therge pile of roses that Lucas had bought for Cheyenne in the backseat of the car. There were at least a thousand of them. When she thought about it, she couldn¡¯t help feeling dejected. Given how much Lucas loved Cheyenne, she thought that she wouldn¡¯t be able to seduce him easily. In fact, Lena¡¯s heart was full ofplicated emotions. On the one hand, Cheyenne was her good friend, and her attempt to seduce Lucas would definitely hurt Cheyenne. It would undoubtedly drive a wedge between them and put a strain on their friendship. But on the other hand, Lucas was really the first and only man she had ever fallen in love with so far. Every time she saw him, she couldn¡¯t help blushing and getting butterflies in her stomach as she felt an uncontroble desire to get closer to him. She had thought countless times to herself, ¡®If only Lucas and I had met before he met Cheyenne. That¡¯d be wonderful!¡¯ The elevator soon reached the sixteenth floor. After hesitating for a long time, she eventually stopped at the door of her room and thanked Lucas with utmost sincerity. She didn¡¯t dare to have any more over-the-top behavior because she was afraid that she might make Lucas be repulsed and loathe her instead, which would be terrible. Even if she couldn¡¯t advance any further with him now, they were at least friends for the time being. As for the other things, she would leave them for the future. Lucas answered with a clear andposed gaze, ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± He then returned to his room without hesitation, making Lena feel a little crestfallen. The next morning, Lena was woken up by a phone call. She picked it up groggily, only to hear Ethan shouting at her from the other end. ¡°Lena, Tristan died in the middle ofst night! Tell me honestly. Does this matter have anything to do with you?¡± Lena instantly froze in shock. ¡°What? Tristan Parker diedst night?¡± She had no idea that this had happened. But when she heard the news, all she felt was shock and a vague sense of relief, without a single trace of misery or grief. The fact that he had been overly possessive of her and had even hired a hitman to kill Lucasst night made it impossible for Lena to be upset. She was well-mannered enough not to gloat about it. But Ethan was exasperated. He had learned about the news only this morning. Ethan had called the Parkers in disbelief and tried to ask if Tristan¡¯s death was true or just a rumor because it was just too sudden. But when the call connected, Damon had hollered at him in fury and even used Lena of colluding with another man to get his grandson killed. He had even criticized Ethan for having to gall to call after what his daughter had done. Before the dumbfounded Ethan could get a clear idea of the situation, Damon mmed the phone and hung up on him. Later, Ethan called some of his friends in LA to ask about the situation. Then he roughly learned that Tristan had gotten into a huge altercation with a young man before his death. Although there wasn¡¯t any concrete evidence, it was spected that Tristan¡¯s death was very likely rted to this young man. Most importantly, Lena was the one who asked this young man to go to Caldo Mountain, and he even seemed to be very intimate with her. In fact, many people had seen Lena holding onto his arm and provoking Tristan. Ethan couldn¡¯t believe his ears when he heard this! ¡°Lena Sawyer, tell me truthfully. Did you or did you not have anything to do with Tristan¡¯s death? Who exactly is that young man you were withst night? What is his rtionship with you?¡± Ethan barked furiously. Lena was irked by his interrogative tone, and she retorted aggressively, ¡°What does his death have to do with me? I only just found out about his death! Besides, I became an adult long ago, and it¡¯s my freedom to be with anyone I want. You have no right to interfere with my life!¡± She had already guessed through her father¡¯s words that many people must have suspected that Lucas was the culprit behind Tristan¡¯s death. But she wasn¡¯t sure if this matter had anything to do with him for now and thus obviously wouldn¡¯t expose the fact that the young man was Lucas. Ethan was infuriated. ¡°You unfilial daughter, how dare you speak to me like that?! Wait for me in LA. Don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll rush there right now. When I arrive, you¡¯lle with me to see the Parkers and exin everything clearly!¡± With that, he hung up lividly. Lena put down the phone and began to feel ill at ease. Does Tristan¡¯s death really have something to do with Lucas? If he¡¯s really the culprit, the Parkers will never let him off! # Chapter 441: Toxic Aunt

Chapter 441: Toxic Aunt

After hesitating for a long while, Lena nevertheless decided to call Lucas. ¡°Lucas, uh, Tristan Parker, diedst night. Do you know about this?¡± Lena asked cautiously. Lucas¡¯s voice was calm and without a trace of emotion. ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s probably retribution for his usual misdeeds, but that will nullify your engagement with him forever. Your father won¡¯t continue forcing you either.¡± Lena froze in shock. She couldn¡¯t tell anything from his tone. In that case, does Lucas have anything to do with Tristan Parker¡¯s death? She began to contemte and hesitate, but she couldn¡¯t ask Lucas straightforwardly if he was rted to Tristan¡¯s death. Thus, she could only say, ¡°My father just called me, and he¡¯s really mad. The Parkers are furious too. You... In short, just be careful!¡± Lucas casually responded before saying, ¡°Cheyenne is calling me. I think she wants me to get ready to attend her cousin¡¯s wedding. I¡¯ve got to go now. Bye.¡± Then he hung up. Lena held her phone in hand and couldn¡¯t calm down for a long time. Hearing Lucas speak in such a calm tone, she thought, He probably didn¡¯t kill Tristan... right? In fact, Lena marrying Tristan would have definitely been beneficial to both their families, but it was also something that many people dreaded. She was victim to several assassination attempts before, so she didn¡¯t rule out the possibility that Tristan might have died due ti an assassination. Why should we assume that Lucas killed Tristan? Lena frowned and sent several text messages to her father. At this moment, Lucas, in the room next door, had also just spoken to Cheyenne over the phone and learned of the wedding venue. Although they had an unpleasant time at the Turners¡¯ farmhouse vi yesterday, those people were still Cheyenne¡¯s mother¡¯s family. Cheyenne¡¯s maternal grandparents had a total of three children, with the eldest being Cheyenne¡¯s mother, Karen; followed by Nikki¡¯s mother, Gretchen; andstly, Cheyenne¡¯s uncle, Alex, their most precious son. Karen had given birth to Cheyenne and Charlotte, while Gretchen had given birth to Nikki, her only daughter. Meanwhile, Alex had a son, Dn, who was also the only heir of the Turners. Eddie had an old-fashioned mindset, and he always thought that only male heirs could carry on the family¡¯s bloodline. So he decided to throw avish wedding for his only grandson. Even though Lucas loathed the Turners, he wanted to rush over to send congrattory gifts for Cheyenne¡¯s sake. Otherwise, they would end up being criticized for being impolite. Lucas deliberately put on the gray Zegna trench coat, which had cost $72,000, that Cheyenne had specially chosen for him previously. After putting it on, he checked himself out in the mirror. He was handsome, dashing, tall, and had good proportions to begin with, so after putting on a designer trench coat, he looked extremely refined and poised. Seems like I won¡¯t embarrass Cheyenne today. ¡ª¡ª Dn¡¯s wedding was being held in one of thergest hotels in the city. Although it was only around eight in the morning, the Turners had already rushed to the entrance of the hotel and were ready to receive guests. From time to time, the Turners¡¯ friends and rtives would arrive to send their well wishes and present the wedding gifts. They would then be weed into the hotel. Almost all the guests who came couldn¡¯t help but subconsciously look at a few of the people weing the guests. They were Cheyenne, Charlotte, and the adorable Amelia. The Turners¡¯ rtives all knew that Karen and Gretchen were both quite pretty, which was why they could marry into the somewhat esteemed Carter family of Orange County and Heron family of LA. Although these two families were second-tier families in their respective cities and couldn¡¯t be considered prestigious, their statuses were much higher than the Turners. So many of their rtives were very envious that Karen and Gretchen could marry into wealthy families. But all the guests were now even more amazed and shocked to see the gorgeous Cheyenne and Charlotte. They were both prettier than their mother, Karen, and even Cheyenne¡¯s five-year-old daughter was already much prettier than many child actresses her age. Gretchen¡¯s face became more and more sullen when she heard everyone praising Cheyenne and Charlotte. The reason being, her daughter, Nikki, was far less beautiful than Cheyenne and Charlotte. Her face was too squarish and angr, her nose was too t, and her eyes were a tad bit too small. In short, she hadn¡¯t inherited her mother¡¯s beauty! Although Nikki was considered pretty with makeup on, she was still far inferior to Cheyenne and Charlotte! Under normal circumstances, Nikki would have greeted the rtives nicely and entertained them well. But for some reason, she stood in a corner and refused to smile or greet them today. She seemed to be in a daze too. She already paled inparison to Cheyenne and Charlotte and now seemed even more inferior. Gretchen was disgruntled and furious that Cheyenne and Charlotte had stolen the limelight from her daughter, so she deliberately asked the obvious, ¡°Cheyenne, why do you keep looking around? Are you waiting for someone?¡± Charlotte nced at her and harrumphed coldly when she saw her scheming gaze. She knew that Gretchen was asking this on purpose, and once everyone looked over curiously, she would start making an issue out of Lucas again. She would even deliberately criticize and undermine Lucas. ¡°Aunt Gretchen, you¡¯re waiting for someone too, aren¡¯t you? Are you waiting for your husband? Actually, why didn¡¯t hee over with you since he¡¯s a native of LA?¡± Charlotte deliberately asked. The smile on Gretchen¡¯s face stiffened for a moment, and she soonughed while teasing, ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve just realized that you¡¯re a big girl now and almost twenty-six years old. Why don¡¯t you have a boyfriend yet? Take heart that women tend to have a harder time finding a good boyfriend the older they get! Do you need me to introduce you to a few young chaps? Or is there anyone you¡¯ve taken a fancy to here? I¡¯ll help you out with it!¡± Gretchen was speaking so loudly that many people turned to look at Charlotte. In fact, Charlotte hadn¡¯t even turned 24 years old yet and was actually at the prime of her youth. She was naturally pretty and had even be the general manager of the famous Stardust Corporation of Orange County at such a young age. She had a long list of suitors. But Gretchen was deliberately implying that Charlotte was left on the shelf and was trying to make Charlotte seem as though she was desperate to get married. Gretchen¡¯s words immediately made many mediocre men develop some ideas they shouldn¡¯t have as they stared at Charlotte with burning gazes. # Chapter 442: Verbal War

Chapter 442: Verbal War

Anger immediately surged in Charlotte¡¯s heart. She was never willing to hold her tongue, so she immediately retorted sneeringly, ¡°Aunt Gretchen, you¡¯d better worry about your own daughter! Nikki is half a year older than me, and she doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend either. If you are so worried about women being left on the shelf, quickly find a man for your daughter to marry!¡± Gretchen was so furious that she choked. Indeed, her daughter Nikki was half a year older than Charlotte, so if Gretchen thought that Charlotte was too old to be staying single, she was just pping herself in the face because Nikki was older! After a while, Gretchen continued, ¡°Hah, I don¡¯t need to worry about Nikki at all. She¡¯s now very close to the scions of the wealthy families in LA. They love hanging out with her, and maybe one day, she¡¯ll marry a rich man! Unlike someone who¡¯s so blind as to marry a penniless good-for-nothing that freeloads off of her even though she¡¯s such a great catch herself!¡± Cheyenne immediately remembered the scenest night where Nikki was with the scions in the restaurant and couldn¡¯t help sneering. Nikki was clearly sucking up to them. You call that being close? Charlotte wasn¡¯t aware of this, but she was even more displeased to see Gretchen begin making indirect snide remarks at her sister and brother-inw. She suddenly smiled. ¡°Aunt Gretchen, are you particrly fond of having a scion of a wealthy family as a son-inw? When you married Uncle Justin back then, he was a scion too, but I¡¯ve heard that he¡¯s gotten himself a mistress and that it¡¯s been a long time since he bothered to talk to you. I heard you¡¯re getting a divorce too! Aunt Gretchen, surely that isn¡¯t true, is it?¡± The news that Charlotte suddenly exposed aroused their rtives¡¯ interest for gossip. They immediately looked at Gretchen excitedly while some also began whispering among themselves. Most people would be interested in such gossip. Charlotte wasn¡¯t spouting nonsense either. Yesterday afternoon, Justin Heron had made a visit to the Turner residence, but he didn¡¯t stay long and soon received a call. Later, he said that he had something to do in the office and left. When he was on the phone, Charlotte happened to be outside at the time, with only a tree separating her and Justin. Perhaps because he didn¡¯t see Charlotte and thought that it would be safe since he was outside, he spoke freely without restraint, thus causing Charlotte to hear some things she shouldn¡¯t have. For example, he said things like, ¡®Sweetie, I miss you too¡¯ and ¡®Once I divorce that woman, I¡¯ll marry you immediately¡¯, which made Charlotte feel so disgusted that she almost washed her ears. She felt that her ears were marred by what she heard! Charlotte didn¡¯t want to bring up these shameful things at first, but Gretchen just had to act like a mad dog and kept nitpicking on her and Cheyenne. Charlotte had always been feisty and assertive, so she would definitely retaliate against anyone who repeatedly criticized her just to give them a taste of their own medicine. Gretchen¡¯s expression instantly changed! She had known for a long time about her husband¡¯s affair. In fact, she had kicked up a fuss about it in the beginning, but all she got in return was a heartless reply from Justin¡ª¡±I lost my feelings for you a long time ago. If you can¡¯t stand it, let¡¯s get a divorce, and you¡¯ll get lost from the Heron family immediately!¡± How could she bear to leave the Heron family? They were at least a second-tier family in LA, which was much better than the Turners. If she divorced Justin, what would life be like for her in the future? So she had no choice but to force herself to turn a blind eye to his affair and curb her anger while pretending like she wasn¡¯t aware of the existence of his mistress. But Justin¡¯s mistress was getting more and more overboard. She wasn¡¯t willing to only be his ndestine lover and instead wanted him to marry her. So she had been urging Justin to divorce Gretchen. Gretchen naturally refused, so Justin went more and more overboard. Not only did he give her the cold shoulder, but he also stayed outside with his mistress every single day. Whenever he saw Gretchen, he would treat her with a harsh attitude and urge her to quickly agree to the divorce. But Justin still cared about his pride after all and didn¡¯t make this matter known to everyone. And Gretchen naturally wouldn¡¯t wash their dirty linen in public and instead pretended like she had a blissful family with an impressive husband to continue making others green with envy. She had also been indulging in her delusions by choosing to ignore the truth. But the truth she had painstakingly covered up was now exposed by Charlotte! Boiling with fury, Gretchen pointed at Charlotte and barked, ¡°I¡¯m going to p your mouth! What kind of nonsense are you spouting? I¡¯m your elder, and you¡¯re talking to me like that. You¡¯re so ill-mannered!¡± After scolding Charlotte, she poked the side of Karen¡¯s face. ¡°Very good. So much for treating you like my older sister, Karen Turner. Is this how you teach your daughter? Did you teach her to say those words too? Did you deliberately say those words to nder me because you¡¯re jealous of my blissful life?!¡± Aftershing out at her ferociously, Gretchen suddenly looked aggrieved again as she turned to Eddie and her mother. She griped, ¡°Dad, Mom, you two must do me justice! I came here with good intentions to attend Dn¡¯s wedding, and yet my niece has bullied me so harshly. She¡¯spletely insulted my dignity as her elder. How can I continue living like this?!¡± Gretchen sat down and patted her thighs while bawling loudly,pletely losing her demeanor as an upper-ssdy. Cheyenne and Charlotte watched coldly and felt that Gretchen¡¯s behavior was exactly the same as when Karen threw tantrums. Indeed, they were sisters. The guests around were a little surprised, but none of them intervened. After all, it was the Turners¡¯ family matters, and it wasn¡¯t appropriate for them to intervene. They merely stood at the side and enjoyed the show while gossiping and pretending to persuade them. ¡°Enough!¡± Eddie hollered loudly. He red at his youngest daughter, Gretchen, who made him feel incredibly humiliated and embarrassed. ¡°You¡¯re already almost fifty. What are you doing sitting on the ground and crying? Quickly get up and stop making a fool of yourself!¡± Gretchen¡¯s crying stopped immediately. She was rather afraid of Eddie and didn¡¯t dare to disobey him, so she got up from the ground awkwardly. But as soon as she saw the strange looks from the people around her, she put all the me on Charlotte and glowered at her menacingly. Charlotte was about to say a few more words to retaliate, but Cheyenne stopped her. ¡°Forget it, Charlotte. Don¡¯t bother with her.¡± Although Eddie just reprimanded Gretchen, it was because he found it really disgraceful of her to be crying andining in public like a shrew. But if Charlotte continued to make malicious remarks, he would definitely reprimand her for being disrespectful too. At this moment, a blue Porsche came to a halt slowly in front of the hotel. When the door opened, a man dressed in a long gray trench coat stepped out of the car and walked toward them. ¡°Wow!¡± The guests around them widened their eyes and gasped in shock and amazement when they saw him. # Chapter 443: When Are You Going To Return The Money?

Chapter 443: When Are You Going To Return The Money?

The man was tall but had good proportions. His body was taut and toned, and his legs were long. The elegantly designed long trench coat fitted him incredibly well, and he looked even better than a model. Coupled with his handsome face and chiseled features, the aura of superiority he exuded made him the center of attention. ¡°Wow! Who is that handsome man? Even his gait is so cool. He¡¯s so dashing! Who is he? Is he a rtive of the Turners?¡± ¡°This person looks so impressive. He¡¯s just as cool as those domineeringpany presidents you see in TV shows! I wonder if he¡¯s married. I wonder if I still have a chance. Ahhh!¡± ¡°Look at his clothes. That coat seems to be haute couture from Zegna. His outfit probably costs more than forty grand!¡± ¡°Does anyone know this person? He must be the scion of a wealthy family, right? Can I get to know him...¡± ... All of a sudden, almost everyone had their curiosity piqued by the handsome and noble-looking man. Cheyenne stared at him in shock, seemingly slipping into a trance too. Beside her, Charlotte widened her eyes in shock while asking with uncertainty, ¡°Is that... Lucas?¡± Although she saw him almost every single day during the past few months, she almost didn¡¯t dare to admit that he was Lucas. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re finally here!¡± When Amelia turned around and saw him, she leaped into his arms in pleasant surprise. He caught her steadily. Seeing the gentle and familiar gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes when he was looking at Amelia and Cheyenne, Charlotte finally dared to believe that the stunning man in front of her who exuded the aura of a domineering CEO was really her brother-inw, Lucas. More importantly, Lucas would usually only dress in ordinary, low-key clothes and didn¡¯t care much about his image apart from making sure that he looked neat and tidy. However, not only was he extremely refined and elegant today, but he even deliberately styled his hair, making his aura exceptionally outstanding. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re really dashing today!¡± Charlotte praised sincerely. ¡°Your brother-inw has always been very handsome,¡± Cheyenne, who was in a pleasant mood, teased and walked forward to hold Lucas¡¯s arm. Lucas smiled gently. When Cheyenne looked at him just now, she was almost dumbfounded and, she even praised him for being handsome, making Lucas feel that his efforts to dress up hadn¡¯t gone in vain. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re dressed to the nines. Who knows where he got those designer knockoffs from?! Besides, he¡¯s just a freeloader. Cheyenne, I¡¯m not trying to criticize him, but your good-for-nothing husband is too boastful for his own good. All he does is sponge off you!¡± All of a sudden, someone remarked sarcastically. Gretchen looked at Lucas with derision and even rolled her eyes. Cheyenne¡¯s face immediately turned sullen. Since yesterday, the Turners, Gretchen, and Nikki had been nitpicking on Lucas, undermining him and insulting him. They even drove him out of the house. Previously, Cheyenne didn¡¯t fall out with them in public on ount that they were rtives. But Nikki¡¯s actionsst night had utterly ruined their familial ties. When Gretchen created trouble just now, Charlotte had retorted against her. But Gretchen was acting like they were enemies and grasped every opportunity to mock Lucas. Does she think we¡¯re pushovers?¡¯ Do they think that they can bully Lucas just because they know he¡¯ll give in in consideration that they¡¯re my rtives? Cheyenne had had enough! ¡°He¡¯s my husband. Even if he¡¯s a freeloader, he doesn¡¯t take a single cent from you. Aunt Gretchen, what right do you have to mock and insult my husband?¡± Cheyenne, who had always been mild-mannered and soft-spoken, suddenlyshed out unceremoniously. This made Gretchen shocked and embarrassed. By the time she returned to her senses and opened her mouth to teach Cheyenne a lesson, Cheyenne interrupted her and continued, ¡°Aunt Gretchen, I still address you as my aunt not because you are an elder who deserves respect but because you¡¯re my mother¡¯s sister. ¡°Aunt Gretchen, you¡¯ve always liked to unt your wealth and say that you look down on poor people. If I remember correctly, you borrowed fifty thousand from me five years ago, andter on, you even took thirty thousand from my mother. So far, you haven¡¯t returned a single cent to us! ¡°Aunt Gretchen, you seem rather well-off now, right? Look at the gold jewelry you¡¯re wearing. They must cost at least tens of thousands, right? You keep showing off your expensive clothes and designer bags that cost thousands of dors each. You should be very wealthy, huh? In that case, when are you going to return the eight thousand you borrowed from us?¡± ¡°After all, our family is poor, and we have to make do with whatever we have. Don¡¯t you agree, Aunt Gretchen?¡± Cheyenne was deliberately being sarcastic like Gretchen had, and she was speaking so loudly that almost all the surrounding guests heard her. In fact, when Gretchen was sitting on the ground and bawling, many of the guests who had already been ushered into the hotel rushed out to watch the show. This was in Cheyenne¡¯s favor because she now had arger audience. No one expected that Cheyenne would unceremoniously ask Gretchen to repay her loans right in front of everyone at Dn¡¯s wedding. Besides, Cheyenne had always been known to be gentle and magnanimous in front of everyone, and she would rarely be so sharp-tongued and curt. This was enough to exin how vile Gretchen was. Otherwise, how could Cheyenne have been forced into this? Lucas¡¯s lips curled into a smile. He was naturally pleased with the changes in Cheyenne¡¯s attitude. Most of the guests were enjoying the drama, especially since it was the first time they had heard about Gretchen borrowing tens of thousands of dors from Cheyenne and her mother but hadn¡¯t repaid a single cent over the years. They looked at Gretchen with ambiguous gazes. They thought that it shouldn¡¯t be the case since Gretchen had married a wealthy man and the Herons¡¯ business seemed to be doing well in recent years. Why would she not repay the money she had borrowed? ¡°Bull... bullshit! When did I ever borrow money from you? When did I ever take Karen¡¯s money? Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± Gretchen snapped and denied, but the panic and diffidence on her face were obvious to everyone. But she couldn¡¯t help it. Although due to the coercion of William, Karen had already admitted to giving her a loan in front of the closest rtives of the Turners yesterday, she could never admit to it in public! Cheyenne sneered and was about to speak again, but her uncle Alex suddenly walked up to her and said softly, ¡°Cheyenne, it¡¯s your cousin Dn¡¯s big day today. For my sake, let¡¯s talk about these matters in private!¡± Cheyenne looked at Alex and shook her head coldly. # Chapter 444: Nothing But Slander

Chapter 444: Nothing But nder

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne and Charlotte had already saved Alex and Gretchen from enough embarrassment yesterday. But when Gretchen scolded them just now, Alex didn¡¯te forward to stop her. Now that she had merely pped back at Gretchen once, Alex intervened and asked her to settle the matter in private. Why should she agree to it? Cheyenne said coldly, ¡°Uncle Alex, the two vis belonging to the Turners were built with the money you guys took from my mother. We¡¯ll put aside the vi that Grandpa and Grandma are staying in and just consider it as Mom¡¯s act of filial piety toward them. But shouldn¡¯t you return us the money for the vi you and your son are living in? You¡¯re a man after all, Uncle Alex. It doesn¡¯t seem reasonable for you to be taking money from your sister to build a house for yourself, right? ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t seem to be cash-strapped. You drive expensive cars that cost more than a hundred thousand, and I also heard that you often gamble with stakes that start from at least a few thousand dors. I reckon you¡¯d definitely be able to return the two hundred thousand you borrowed from us, right?¡± The surrounding guests were once again stunned. After exposing Gretchen¡¯s refusal to return the tens of thousands of dors she had borrowed from them, Cheyenne went on to reveal that her uncle had also borrowed a huge sum of money from them. The fact that even the money that the Turners had used to build their vis was from Karen was indeed very appalling. It was especially surprising because this was said by Cheyenne, who had always been gentle and mild-mannered. Alex¡¯s face immediately turned gloomy, and he denied straightaway, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?! Of course we paid for our vi with our own money. What does it have to do with the Carters?!¡± Then he hollered at Karen, who was standing near them, ¡°Karen Turner! Your daughter is spouting nonsense. What are you waiting for? Hurry up ande here to give everyone an exnation.¡± He had always been the most precious and favored child of the Turners. Now that he was enraged, he didn¡¯t even bother to speak to Karen respectfully and even called her by her full name. He was incredibly furious. Yesterday at the Turners, they had already been embarrassed in front of their closest rtives because of this matter. And afterward, Eddie even deliberately gathered them in a room to force Karen to deny that they had ever taken money from her. But now that Karen was allowing her daughter to expose these matters in front of all the guests again, he felt extremely embarrassed! After being yelled at by her brother, Karen immediately scurried over to order Cheyenne to apologize to Alex. But as soon as she met Cheyenne¡¯s icy cold gaze, which was very different from usual, she fell silent and couldn¡¯t bring herself to rebuke her. At the same time, she remembered the usations her daughters had made against her yesterday, making her feel rather afraid and ashamed. ¡°Um... Cheyenne, he¡¯s your uncle. Watch your tone with him,¡± Karen said, greatlycking in confidence. Cheyenne sneered. ¡°Mom, you know clearly whether I¡¯m spouting nonsense or not. Why are you trying to stop me from talking even at this point?¡± Karen¡¯s face stiffened. ¡°It¡¯s Dn¡¯s big day today. Let¡¯s talk about these matters in private as a family after the wedding. By mentioning this now, others are just going tough at us!¡± She was half pleading and half threatening Cheyenne. Moreover, Cheyenne¡¯s sudden cold and harsh attitude made herck confidence. ¡°There are some things that we can¡¯t pretend like they don¡¯t exist just because we choose not to talk about it. Besides, even if we end up making fools of ourselves, it¡¯s because of some people¡¯s mistakes, isn¡¯t it?¡± Charlotte said furiously, no longer able to stand it. As their mother, she simply stood at the side without saying anything to defend her daughters even after seeing Gretchen rebuke them. Now that Alex had merely hollered at her, she immediately stepped forward and stopped Cheyenne and Charlotte from continuing to speak to fulfill his wishes. What a ¡®good¡¯ mother she was. Karen gritted her teeth and said softly with a trace of annoyance, ¡°Take it that I¡¯m begging you, okay? After all, it¡¯s your cousin¡¯s wedding today, and it won¡¯t be nice to cause amotion here, right? Let¡¯s talk after it ends, okay?¡± Cheyenne looked around and realized that many people were indeed looking at them like they were fools. She didn¡¯t want to ruin her cousin¡¯s wedding either. If not for Gretchen and Alex¡¯s overbearing attitude, she wouldn¡¯t have washed their dirty linen in public. Seeing that Karen seemed to be put in a spot, Cheyenne finally gave in. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s wait until the wedding is over to talk about this, but that¡¯s on the condition that Aunt Gretchen and Uncle Alex don¡¯t go overboard with their words again.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, that¡¯s certainly fine. Your aunt and uncle are your closest rtives, and they didn¡¯t mean to say what they said just now, so don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Karen immediately promised on their behalf. ¡°Trust you to say that they didn¡¯t mean to...¡± Charlotte was indignant and wanted to say something, but Lucas immediately interrupted. ¡°Charlotte, forget it.¡± Hearing this, Charlotte could only keep quiet in a disgruntled manner. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Seeing that Cheyenne and Charlotte hadpromised, Gretchen gibed with a triumphant expression on her face. ¡°Hah, he¡¯s just a good-for-nothing, yet you¡¯re treating his words like a royal edict. I merely criticized him, and you startedshing out at me. How amusing!¡± Charlotte was already nning to ignore them, but she didn¡¯t expect Gretchen to be so overbearing. She immediately retorted, ¡°Haha, it¡¯s even more amusing that some people actually have the cheek to mock others when they refuse to pay back the money they owe!¡± Gretchen immediately flew into a rage and pointed at Charlotte while shouting at her, ¡°Little bitch, how dare you say that about me? Do you have any manners at all?¡± Charlotte¡¯s face turned gloomy, and she refused to show any weakness. ¡°Who are you calling a bitch? This is the first time I¡¯ve seen anyone call their niece a bitch. Your upbringing is indeed excellent. No one canpare to you. Besides, you indeed refuse to pay us back the money you owe. Is there anything wrong with what I said?¡± Gretchen could no longer hide the resentment in her eyes. Since they had already fallen out, she immediately rebuked, ¡°We naturally have a better upbringing than you, you little bitch! Hah, do you think you¡¯re that great? Do you think you could have made it to the top without sleeping with a man and selling your body? Do you think you could have be the general manager of the Stardust Corporation otherwise? I¡¯m being nice enough by calling you a bitch because that¡¯s an understatement!¡± Her face red from fury, Charlotte widened her eyes and snapped, ¡°Gretchen Turner, stop ndering me! I didn¡¯t do such a thing!¡± She didn¡¯t expect that Gretchen would nder her to such a terrible extent or even hurl such nasty insults at her. Charlotte was enraged, and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to call Gretchen her aunt at all, so she called her by her full name. Gretchen said with a contemptuous expression, ¡°Who would believe you? You¡¯re just a young girl in your early twenties who joined the Stardust Corporation for a few months. How could you have been promoted straight to the position of general manager from a junior employee? You have no experience and no connections, and the Carters couldn¡¯t evene to a cooperation agreement with the Stardust Corporation. If you hadn¡¯t sold your body, how else could you be the general manager?¡± Many people around them seemed toe to a sudden realization. # Chapter 445: Delivering The Legal Letter

Chapter 445: Delivering The Legal Letter

In fact, that was the mindset of most people. When they saw a sessful person with achievements that they couldn¡¯t obtain, the first thing that came to mind tended to be that the sessful person must have used some shortcut or tricks to achieve sess. They would never redit it to other reasons. Therefore, while many were envious of Cheyenne and Charlotte¡¯s ability to be the general managers of sizablepanies, many were also specting that they had resorted to sordid means to reach their positions. But none of them dared to voice their guesses out loud. However, now that Charlotte¡¯s biological aunt had said so herself, they reckoned that it must be true. So many people began to cast strange gazes at Charlotte and Cheyenne. Aftershing out at Charlotte, Gretchen didn¡¯t give her any chance to retort and immediately turned to scold Cheyenne. ¡°Same goes for you! Just like your younger sister, everyone knows what you did to climb up and reach the position of general manager. Yet you¡¯re still putting on airs and pretending in front of us. You think we don¡¯t know, huh? Psht, you¡¯re a shameless bitch too! ¡°Also, are you crazy about money? How dare you say that I borrowed eighty thousand from you? I¡¯m the daughter-inw of the Heron family, while the Carters have long declined to a third-rate family. How can I possibly borrow money from your family? What a joke! If you need money, just ask the men you hooked up with to give you some.¡± Gretchen not only insulted Cheyenne but also ndered and used her of something she didn¡¯t do. Lucas¡¯s face darkened. He definitely wouldn¡¯t let off anyone who dared to nder and insult his wife in public! Had Cheyenne been humiliated like this in the past, she would have probably been infuriated to the point of bursting into tears. But after having experienced the malicious behavior of the Carters and the distasteful way the Turners behaved yesterday, Cheyenne waspletely disappointed in them and no longer considered them her rtives. At this moment, she seemed to have already expected this, even though she was enraged. After hearing the uncouth and callous insults Gretchen hurled at her and her sister, Cheyenne remained calm and clear-headed. ¡°My younger sister and I are both innocent and aboveboard, unlike some people who are so vile that they¡¯re willing to do anything for a small profit! ¡°You smeared us without concrete proof. I won¡¯t let this matter rest easily! Moreover, it¡¯s a fact that you¡¯ve been refusing to return the money you owe us. I wanted to save you from the embarrassment because you¡¯re an elder, but now it seems that it¡¯s not necessary!¡± With that, Cheyenne raised her head to beckon at a white Passat parked nearby. Soon, a woman in her mid-thirties d in an elite business suit stepped out of the car and walked toward Gretchen. After handing a document to her, she said, ¡°Hello, Miss Turner. I¡¯m Joan Mills from H.Y. Law Firm, and I have been entrusted by Ms. Cheyenne Carter to issue awyer¡¯s letter to you regarding your default in repaying the loan for many years. If you are unable to repay the loan that you have taken from Ms. Cheyenne Carter within a week, we will take legal action and hand it over to the courts. Awsuit will also be filed against you, and we will apply for legal enforcement actions to be taken.¡± The femalewyer¡¯s tone was t with barely any emotion, but it caused an uproar among the crowd. Things had actually escted to the point that a legal letter had been issued. In that case, it seemed that it was true that Gretchen hadn¡¯t repaid the money she owed Cheyenne! Holding the legal letter in her hand, Gretchen almost fainted and fell backward in exasperation. She never thought that Cheyenne would actually hire awyer and send her a legal letter to warn her! I¡¯m Cheyenne Carter¡¯s elder. How outrageous! ¡°What... what evidence do you have to prove that I owe you money? If you don¡¯t have concrete proof, that makes it a false usation, and I can countersue you!¡± Gretchen shouted ferociously. Cheyenne sneered. ¡°Surely you haven¡¯t forgotten what happened when you borrowed money from me, have you? When you borrowed the fifty thousand from me, you wrote an IOU, and I can produce it as evidence when need be. Also, although there¡¯s no IOU for the thirty thousand my mother lent you, there¡¯s a bank transfer record, and we can just retrieve it when the timees. Do you think you can get away with it just by denying it?¡± Gretchen felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and she widened her eyes speechlessly. Now, she recalled that Cheyenne had indeed made her write an IOU when she borrowed money from her back then. At the time, Gretchen was displeased because she felt that such documents weren¡¯t necessary since they were rtives. Besides, she didn¡¯t intend to return the money anyway. So she kept giving excuses and refused to write an IOU, saying that it was too troublesome to do so. But Cheyenne was running her ownpany at the time and was extremely strict about signing all kinds of documents of proof, so Gretchen had no choice but to write an IOU reluctantly. After getting the money, she immediately forgot about the matter. I can¡¯t believe this little bitch still has the IOU! There was also the bank transfer record for the money Karen gave her, which indeed made it impossible for her to deny it. There was no way she could find a reasonable reason to exin that it wasn¡¯t a loan. Holding thewyer¡¯s letter in her hand, Gretchen felt like she was holding a hot potato. Her entire face was a little pale. Lucas looked at Cheyenne, who was acting very differently from usual. She was cool and collected. He gave her a smile of approval. This showed that Cheyenne had improved greatly, which he was happy to see. He knew that after the incidents at the Turner residence yesterday, as well as the fact that they had driven Lucas away, Cheyenne no longer expected much from them. She had quickly collected all the evidence and also decisively found a reputablew firm to make all the preparations. This was initially only ast-minute n that Cheyenne came up with on a whim, and she didn¡¯t intend to fall out with them to the point of no return. So she had merely mentioned the debt to suppress the conflict for the time being so that they could wait until Dn¡¯s wedding was over to settle the matter. But Gretchen was being too overbearing. Not only did she harp on the issue, but she even ndered Charlotte and Cheyenne with such lewd and callous remarks. Cheyenne naturally couldn¡¯t stand it and thus used her trump card. ¡°Also, everyone present has heard all the false usations you¡¯ve made against me and my sister, so I¡¯ll have Ms. Mills send you another legal letter to pursue this!¡± Cheyenne said indifferently. ¡°Exactly! Cheyenne and I are both innocent. Why should we allow you to nder and smear us with those disgusting usations? Gretchen Turner, you openly created rumors and insulted us. You won¡¯t escape thew!¡± Charlotte stood by Cheyenne¡¯s side and stared at Gretchen coldly as well. # Chapter 446: There’s A Big Shot

Chapter 446: There¡¯s A Big Shot

Facing the emotionless gazes of Cheyenne and Charlotte, as well as the austere-facedwyer standing in front of her, Gretchen quickly weighed the pros and cons in her head. Cheyenne had the IOU and the damn bank transfer record, so there was no way she could deny it. Instead of going to court and embarrassing herself in LA, she thought that it would be better to swallow her pride now and appease Cheyenne and Charlotte first. Gretchen raised her head, and a smile suddenly appeared on her face. Deliberately trying to be rxed, she said, ¡°Ah, Cheyenne and Charlotte, I was just joking with you. Look how anxious you¡¯re getting. You even invited awyer here. We¡¯re all rtives, and your mother is my close sister. Why make things go awry? ¡°I really forgot about the money I borrowed from your family and didn¡¯t mean to dy repaying. I¡¯m getting on in my years, and my memory sometimes fails me. Hahaha! Don¡¯t worry. As soon as Dn¡¯s wedding is over, I¡¯ll go home and find a way to raise the money to repay you immediately!¡± Gretchen was all smiles and tried to reach out to hold Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s hands to act as if nothing had happened. But her true character had long been exposed through her words and actions just now. Cheyenne and Charlotte naturally avoided her hands like they were snakes and took two steps back to stay far, far away from her. At this moment, the guests who witnessed the whole process began discussing it. ¡°What an entertaining show! Didn¡¯t Gretchen say that she¡¯s married into the Heron family and couldn¡¯t have possibly borrowed money from Cheyenne and the Carters? Now she¡¯s contradicting herself!¡± ¡°So it¡¯s true that she borrowed money and refused to repay it. This woman is so thick-skinned! She was just denying it moments ago and iming that that youngdy is crazy about money. But as soon as she received thewyer¡¯s letter, her attitude changed drastically. How shameless!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And she even called her nieces bitches and ndered them for giving sexual favors in exchange for high positions in theirpanies. If I had such a rtive who had the audacity to nder my daughters and made up such rumors, I¡¯d definitely chop their head off!¡± ¡°Ah, poor girls. They were kind enough to lend so much money to Gretchen Turner, but not only did she refuse to repay the money, but she even insulted them in public. This is atrocious! She has the cheek to call herself their aunt. How shameless!¡± ... In just a short while, Gretchen¡¯s reputation was ruined, and everyone looked at her with condemnation and mockery. Even though Gretchen was usually thick-skinned, she could no longerugh in this situation. Her face was particrly sullen, and she pursed her lips before scurrying away from the crowd with her head hung low. She didn¡¯t have the cheek to stay here any longer! Just after Gretchen fled from the crowd, an extremely resentful gaze red intently at Cheyenne¡¯s body, as if it was about to bore a hole through her. Lucas suddenly shot the owner of the resentful gaze an icy cold nce, making her so startled that she immediately lowered her head, not daring to re at Cheyenne again. Lucas then looked away. Nikki Heron, you¡¯d better not do anything stupid again. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off this time! Eddie didn¡¯t witness what just happened because he had gone to the bathroom. But Alex, who was standing outside, had watched how matters unfolded. He initially wanted to teach Cheyenne and Charlotte a lesson as their uncle so that they would learn to respect their elders. But when he saw that everyone was taking Cheyenne and Charlotte¡¯s side, coupled with the fact that Gretchen¡¯s actions were indeed unreasonable, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything. Besides, he was actually a little scared. After all, the money used to build the Turners¡¯ vis had indeed been secretly transferred to him by Karen. Likewise, there were records of it. Alex was also afraid that Cheyenne and Charlotte would also give him a legal letter to force him to repay the money he had borrowed to build the vis, as well as the other loans he had taken from them. It was his son¡¯s wedding day, and if it was exposed that he had been surviving on his nieces¡¯ money, he would be thoroughly disgraced. Alex walked toward Cheyenne and Charlotte, and afraid that others might hear, he said softly, ¡°Cheyenne, uh, I¡¯ll have a good chat with you after Dn¡¯s wedding is over tonight! Don¡¯t worry. After we calcte how much money was spent on the vi, we will definitely return every single cent to you!¡± Cheyenne looked at her uncle, who was looking at her with a hypocritical smile on his face. Despite feeling repulsed, Cheyenne gave it some thought and said, ¡°Okay.¡± After all, what Alex said today wasn¡¯t as overboard and uncouth as what Gretchen had. Besides, no matter what, it was her cousin Dn¡¯s wedding today, and she was here to attend the wedding and congratte him, not ruin things for him. Seeing the look of relief on Alex¡¯s face as he greeted the guests and asked them to enter the ballroom, Charlotte came up to Cheyenne¡¯s ear and said with a smile, ¡°Cheyenne, you were awesome! You¡¯ve just subdued that detestable Gretchen and frightened her to the point that she doesn¡¯t dare to say anything about us anymore! Hehe, you were so domineering!¡± Cheyenne sighed. ¡°If they hadn¡¯t gone overboard, I wouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± She had always been gentle, mild-mannered, and patient. She wouldn¡¯t have fallen out with them in public if she hadn¡¯t gotten bullied by them. Charlotte hugged Cheyenne¡¯s arm and saidfortingly, ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t dwell on it. I know you¡¯ve always valued kinship, but look at what they¡¯ve done. When have they ever treated us as rtives? I¡¯d rather not have such rtives! It would be best to sever ties with them and never be in contact with them again. We¡¯re not the ones who are going to suffer anyway!¡± Cheyenne thought about it and smiled in relief. In any case, even if they severed all ties with these rtives, it wouldn¡¯t pose any disadvantages to them, and in fact, it would even be a relief to them. In that case, why should she feel uneasy? The people who should feel guilty and regretful should be the ones who bullied them and drove them away! At this moment, a luxury Mercedes-Benz pulled up at the entrance of the hotel. Soon, a middle-aged man in histe forties stepped out of the car and raised his hand to straighten his tie with a look of displeasure on his face. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re finally here!¡± A voice of surprise suddenly sounded. It was Gretchen, who had scurried out of the hotel ashamedly just now. When she saw the middle-aged man, she immediately scrambled toward him from a caf¨¦ beside the hotel gleefully. She initially thought that her husband was going to stand her up again today and go have a rendezvous with his mistress instead. But she didn¡¯t expect him to do her the favor ofing to attend her nephew¡¯s wedding. When she thought of how she had gotten bullied by Cheyenne and Charlotte, Gretchen wanted toin to her husband. The middle-aged man was none other than Gretchen¡¯s husband, Justin Heron, who was Nikki¡¯s father and Robert Heron¡¯s son. He pushed Gretchen, who was about toin to him, away with disgust and said with a look of annoyance, ¡°If my father hadn¡¯t told me that a big shot wasing here today, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to attend the wedding at all.¡± It was just the wedding of a young descendant of the Turners, which he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to waste time attending. He would rather spend time with his beloved mistress! Gretchen was extremely displeased that Justin had pushed her away and was about to say something when she suddenly grasped Justin¡¯s keyword. ¡°Which big shot ising?¡± Gretchen asked with bewilderment, looking forward to hearing his answer. # Chapter 447: Fanning The Flames

Chapter 447: Fanning The mes

As soon as he saw Gretchen¡¯s expectant gaze and mercenary expression as if she was devising something, Justin got even more annoyed. Before Gretchen married him, she was quite pretty and often acted kind and understanding, which was what had made Justin fall head-over-heels in love with her, so much so that he was determined to marry her despite his family¡¯s opposition and the fact that she was from the countryside. But after they got married, Gretchen gradually became more and more tacky, uncouth, mercenary, and calctive. Whenever she got into a conflict or a tiff, she would sit on the ground and throw a fit like a shrew with no regard to her image. She didn¡¯t have the temperament or demeanor of an upper-ss woman at all, making Justin feel rather ashamed of her. So after hearing Gretchen¡¯s question, Justin snorted in disdain. ¡°Hah, even if I tell you, you won¡¯t know who he is because you¡¯re in ignorant.¡± With that, he stopped paying attention to Gretchen and simply walked straight into the ballroom of the hotel. Gretchen stomped her feet furiously behind him but nevertheless followed him into the hotel. Justin couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to her at all, but she was insistent on finding out which big shot it was! After Justin entered the ballroom, he scanned his surroundings but didn¡¯t see any powerful big shots. He was just following the instructions of his father, Robert, who informed him that there would be an extremely significant big shot attending Dn¡¯s wedding today and insisted that Justin attend it too. But after scanning the ballroom, he realized that the person he wanted to see wasn¡¯t here. He wasn¡¯t disappointed. He thought that since it was still early now, that big shot probably hadn¡¯t arrived yet. He exhaled and walked toward Eddie and his wife. He said smilingly, ¡°Congrattions! It¡¯s Dn¡¯s big day today. You two can finally stop worrying about his marriage and just wait for Dn to give you a great-grandson!¡± Justin was good at socializing, and his words made Eddie and his wife grin widely, as they had always looked forward to Dn getting married and carrying on the family bloodline. ¡°Justine, you¡¯re here! Quick, have a seat. Alex, hurry over and entertain your brother-inw.¡± Eddie immediately asked his son toe over. Although Justin was his son-inw, the Herons were a notable second-tier family in LA, and Justin would also be inheriting his family¡¯s business in the future. Moreover, there had been rumors about Justin intending to divorce Gretchen spreading aroundtely. This definitely couldn¡¯t happen, so they had to entertain Justin well. Alex immediately hurried over and greeted Justin. ¡°Hey Justin, you¡¯re here. We¡¯ve been waiting for you all day!¡± Justin smiled and handed him an envelope. ¡°Congrattions, Alex! Here¡¯s a small token from me to Dn to congratte him on his wedding. I wish him conjugal bliss and to have a child soon!¡± Alex was so ted that he immediately grabbed the thick envelope. Based on its thickness, he reckoned that there should be close to $10,000 in there. As expected of the heir of the Heron family, Justin was much more generous than their poor family rtives who gave only tens of dors. Alex happily brought Justin to the table where Eddie was seated. ¡°Justin, you¡¯re being too polite! Come on. We¡¯ve reserved a seat for you for a long time. Quick, take a seat!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± At this moment, Nikki, who was sitting next to him, let out a long sigh. Hearing her sigh, Justin looked over, only to find that his daughter, who had inherited some of his skills and had always been very sociable, was acting out of the ordinary today. She was sitting quietly with a sullen expression, and she also had dark eye bags and appeared quite haggard. ¡°Nikki, what¡¯s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?¡± Justin immediately asked. Although he disliked the ignorant bumpkin Gretchen and even wanted to divorce her, he still cared a little for his only daughter. Seemingly having woken up from a dream, Nikki raised her head before quickly lowering it again to cover up. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Dad. I... I just didn¡¯t sleep wellst night. That¡¯s all.¡± Alex¡¯s wife, Carrie, who was standing at the side and greeting the guests, immediately said, ¡°Nikki, I think you¡¯re just too kindhearted. You treat them as your cousins, but they insulted and humiliated your mother in front of the rest of our rtives! If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stomach this at all!¡± Justin¡¯s face immediately turned dark. ¡°What exactly is going on?¡± Although he didn¡¯t like Gretchen, he hadn¡¯t divorced her yet, and she was representing the Herons as well. So he wondered just who had the guts to humiliate her in public. Nikki bit her lower lip aggrievedly but still chose to stay silent. But Carrie refused to let go of this opportunity and hurriedly griped, ¡°Karen¡¯s daughters just openly humiliated Gretchen and called her out for refusing to repay her loans. They spoke so callously and even got awyer toe here and give Gretchen a legal letter in front of everyone. She even threatened to sue Gretchen. There was so much tension just now! ¡°In fact, we¡¯re all rtives. Why can¡¯t we just talk things over calmly? She just had to cause such a scene. They really went overboard!¡± Carrie recounted everything that had happened just now, not forgetting to fan the mes. Although she had been busy entertaining guests in the hotel, she had heard everything that happened in front of the hotel. In Carrie¡¯s opinion, Cheyenne¡¯s behavior was extremely disgraceful to the Turners, and she had clearly humiliated them. Moreover, of all days, Cheyenne chose to create trouble for them on her son¡¯s wedding day, right in front of so many guests! Cheyenne even mentioned the two vis of the Turners and insisted that they return the money, which was simply overboard in her opinion! She wanted to go out and reprimand Cheyenne. But unfortunately, Gretchen, who was even more aggressive and feisty than her, was rendered speechless after being put to shame. Carrie was afraid that she might receive a legal letter if she scolded them too. If that happened, her son¡¯s wedding today would be aplete joke! So she had no choice but to endure it all the way until now. When she saw Gretchen¡¯s husband, Justin, she hurriedlyined to him to spur him to teach the wayward Cheyenne and Charlotte a lesson. Indeed, after hearing this, Justin flew into a rage and mmed his hand on the table. He hollered, ¡°Where is Karen? Karen, you are Gretchen¡¯s sister, yet you allowed your daughters to bully my wife and daughter? Get them toe here and apologize!¡± # Chapter 448: Furious Rebuke

Chapter 448: Furious Rebuke

Justin was full of confidence, as he had gotten used to being haughty. Although he was the son-inw of the Turners, he had a higher status. When the Carters were still a second-tier family in Orange County, Justin disliked William because they all knew that William wasn¡¯t the biological son of Dominic Carter and didn¡¯t have a high status in the Carter family. He couldn¡¯t get any money from the Carters, and his status was just for show. But Justin was different. The Herons were a second-tier family in LA and were much richer than the Carters. Furthermore, he was the biological son of Robert Heron and would be taking over the family¡¯s empire in the future. So hepletely looked down on William, who couldn¡¯t even get a proper job and could only live off of the annual dividends from the Carters, which were like handouts. Besides, the Carters had now been reduced to an insignificant third-tier family, and William¡¯s family had even been kicked out by the Carters. It was simply a tremendous disgrace. But William and Karen¡¯s daughters had openly humiliated his wife and used her of refusing to repay her loans. It was simply a joke! So Justin called Karen¡¯s name and even unceremoniously demanded that she make Cheyenne and Charlotte apologize. Justin¡¯s shouting immediately attracted the attention of all the guests in the ballroom, and they cast their gazes at him. Sitting near them, Karen shuddered and immediately stood up in panic. The Herons were much more powerful than their family now, and Karen didn¡¯t dare to disobey. She only knew that Justin had found out about what Cheyenne had done and was infuriated! Karen was terrified and hurriedly urged Cheyenne, ¡°Your Aunt Gretchen and Uncle Justin are angry with you! Hurry up and apologize to them!¡± Anxiety and resentment were written all over her face, and she wanted to make Cheyenne apologize. The people around them stared at Karen in contempt like they were watching a joke. They had all seen what had happened earlier, so they were well aware that Cheyenne and Charlotte had retaliated only because Gretchen had repeatedly provoked them again and again. Besides, it was a matter of fact that Gretchen owed them money and refused to repay her debts. Those who had seen Gretchen¡¯s reaction just now were aware of it. But now that Gretchen¡¯s husband had arrived, he lost his temper and yelled at Karen while insisting that she make her daughterse over and apologize to them. Yet Karen pushed her daughters to apologize without exining anything at all. This wasn¡¯t something that a mother should do at all. Cheyenne stood up and said calmly, ¡°What did I do wrong? Why should I apologize to you?¡± Justin didn¡¯t expect Cheyenne to have the guts to contradict him, and his face turned extremely gloomy. ¡°My wife is your elder no matter what. Not only do you not have any respect for her, but you even humiliated her in front of all the guests. And now, you dare not admit your mistake? Is this how Karen raised you?¡± Cheyenne retorted coldly, ¡°How did I humiliate her? She borrowed tens of thousands of dors from our family and never mentioned a single thing about paying us back. I just asked her to return the money. You call that humiliating her?¡± Justin sneered and roared, ¡°Lies! The Herons are a big family in LA, and the Heron Corp. alone is worth hundreds of millions! How can we possibly owe your family tens of thousands?¡± Refusing to show any weakness, Cheyenne said calmly, ¡°Yeah, that baffles me too. Your family is so rich. Why did you still take money from us and refuse to return it? ¡°I thought about it, and there are only two reasons. If Aunt Gretchen doesn¡¯t have a problematic personality and is deliberately not intending to return the money, the only possibility is that the Heron Corp. is actually facing cash flow problems, and you can¡¯t even afford to return eighty thousand. Uncle Justin, which do you think is the reason?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s words were extremely sharp, and they immediately made Justin¡¯s face turn even more gloomy while everyone else began discussing it. Indeed, there were only two possibilities for not repaying the money she owed. One was that she didn¡¯t have enough money, and the other was that she had a problematic personality and refused to repay the loans. Could Cheyenne be right, and that the prestigious Heron Corp. only seemed to be doing well on the surface but actually couldn¡¯t even afford to take out $80,000? Or was it that the wife of Justin Heron had such poor character that she refused to even return the money that she borrowed from her sister and niece? Regardless of the reason, it was an immense embarrassment for the Herons. Justin was extremely furious because he realized this too. ¡°Hmph, the Heron Corp. is doing very well. You¡¯re just a girl. What do you know? If you continue spouting nonsense and smearing the Herons, I¡¯ll have thepany¡¯s legal team sue you for nder and disinformation regardless of the fact that we¡¯re rtives!¡± After giving the stern warning, he nced at Gretchen, who just entered. But his heart dropped when he saw Gretchen¡¯s diffident and shifty gaze. Did this damn fool really refuse to return the money she borrowed? But now that they were in front of so many people, he couldn¡¯t ask Gretchen about it and could only use Cheyenne of ndering them in hopes that he could threaten her into keeping quiet. Unfortunately, Cheyenne was no longer a pushover, and she wouldn¡¯t be shocked by Justin¡¯s words. She eximed resolutely, ¡°Go ahead and sue me if you want! I would love for you to sue me, but I¡¯m afraid the result won¡¯t be what you want!¡± ¡°You!¡± Justin was so furious that he choked. Cheyenne had always been cowardly and attached great importance to kinship. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have slogged her guts out in the Carter Corporation for years even after the Carters had snatched the Brilliance Corporation away from her. Is she possessed? How dare she talk to me in such a harsh tone?! Lucas was standing beside Cheyenne and staring coldly at Justin, who was so furious that his lips almost twisted. But before Justin could lose his temper at Cheyenne again, the sounds of amotion and cars spread over from outside the hotel. As the host, Alex couldn¡¯t worry about watching Justin teach Cheyenne a lesson and hurriedly rushed out to greet the guests. It didn¡¯t take long for him to enter with arge group of guests. ¡°Justin, these are all the guests you¡¯ve invited. Thank you so much!¡± Alex said to Justin smilingly as soon as he entered. The guests that he had invited were all distinguished guests from the various prestigious families of LA. Although there were no people from top families, they were still rare and honored guests to the Turners, who used to live in the countryside. Alex felt extremely proud and dignified that so many people hade to congratte his son on his wedding all at once. My brother-inw is indeed impressive! # Chapter 449: Grand Arrival

Chapter 449: Grand Arrival

Therge group of people who came in greeted Justin one after another. ¡°Mr. Heron, I¡¯mte today. I¡¯ll punish myself by toasting you thrice in apology!¡± ¡°Congrattions, Mr. Heron!¡± ¡°Haha, Mr. Heron, we came together, so we¡¯re a littlete. Please don¡¯t take offense! Congrattions!¡± ... All smiles, Justin couldn¡¯t care less about being upset with Cheyenne and had long walked over to greet and chat with these people. Justin was totally acting like the host, and those who didn¡¯t know might think that Justin¡¯s son was the one getting married today! But Alex wasn¡¯t jealous at all and was instead ted. Just now, these members of prestigious families had already said that they were attending the wedding all because of Justin¡¯s invitation. As long as they were present at his son¡¯s wedding, it would be giving him immense glory. As for who entertained them, it didn¡¯t matter to Alex at all. Instead, Alex had to thank Justin for it. ¡°Justin, you¡¯re really impressive! All thanks to you, so many noble and distinguished guests are here to attend Dn¡¯s wedding!¡± Alex said to Justin with utmost gratitude after the distinguished guests were seated. Justin was proud of himself, but he pretended to be modest by saying, ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s just a trivial matter! If I had asked them in advance, those currently away on a business trip would have been able to attend the wedding too. There would be many more guests here now.¡± He was stating a fact. It was indeed ast-minute decision of his toe and attend the wedding. If not for his father telling him that a big shot would be turning up at Dn¡¯s wedding today and asking him to hurry over to form some good rtions with the Turners in order to befriend said big shot, Justin wouldn¡¯t even be here today, let alone invite his friends and business partners along. One of the reasons that Justin had invited so many of them was to show off his capabilities and greatwork of connections to the big shot. Moreover, thepanions he brought along with him would definitely stand on his side and praise him endlessly on his strengths. He reckoned that when the time came, the mysterious big shot would definitely be impressed by him! ¡°Justin, you¡¯re really something. We definitely couldn¡¯t have invited so many distinguished guests without your help. You¡¯ve arranged everything in such a short period of time. That¡¯s really impressive! I can¡¯t even imagine how grand Nikki¡¯s wedding will be!¡± Carrie praised, full of admiration and envy, which was to the pleasure of Justin. Gretchen also came over and said conceitedly, ¡°That goes without saying. My husband is just so powerful. As long as we¡¯re in LA, even those top families will do my husband a favor, let alone the less powerful ones!¡± Eddie said with a heartened expression, ¡°Justin is undoubtedly the best son-inw of our family. You¡¯ve brought us so much glory as soon as you arrived! Hahaha!¡± ¡°Hahaha, you are too polite. Since we¡¯re all a family, it¡¯s only right for me to do so!¡± Justin said smilingly. Gretchen took the time to nce at Cheyenne and Karen with a triumphant and provocative expression. Looking at the Turners surrounding Justin and praising him incessantly, Cheyenne indeed felt a little bitter. Justin had merely hypocritically asked a bunch of people to attend the wedding together with him, and yet Eddie and the rest were so grateful that they were putting him on a pedestal. On the other hand, Lucas had specially prepared so many valuable gifts for them, only to be chased out and subjected to their humiliation and insults. She thought they were going overboard! Cheyenne felt extremely aggrieved for Lucas. She bit her lip and looked at Lucas apologetically, only to meet his gaze immediately. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m so sorry for making you suffer...¡± Before Cheyenne could finish, Lucas held onto her hand and said tenderly, ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize to me on their behalf. You¡¯re different from them. I only care about you and Amelia, and it¡¯s none of my business what other people think.¡± Lucas truly meant this from the bottom of his heart. If they hadn¡¯t insulted Cheyenne just now, he wouldn¡¯t have taken the words of nobodies like them seriously. But he wouldn¡¯t just let it go since they had made Cheyenne upset by doing so. Cheyenne raised her head again and saw the gentle gaze in his eyes that were full of love. She instantly got butterflies in her stomach, and her heart was beating so hard that it seemed to be on the verge of jumping out. She even blushed coyly. Charlotte watched their loving interaction from the side and couldn¡¯t help smiling enviously. It¡¯s really wonderful that Cheyenne can have such a good husband who sincerely loves her and treats her well! Suddenly, there was amotion at the entrance of the ballroom. Another middle-aged man in his forties appeared at the door. Confusion was written all over Alex¡¯s face as he wondered, Is this man here to attend Dn¡¯s wedding? But he seems to be a fresh face. He¡¯s not a rtive of ours, and I don¡¯t know him at all! ¡°Hello, how may I address you?¡± Alex walked forward and asked even though he didn¡¯t know the man. Justin inadvertently nced toward the door and immediately opened his mouth wide in astonishment. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, the middle-aged man standing at the door was Flynn Davis, the general manager of the Sr Corporation, who had recently risen to fame in LA! The Sr Corporation could be considered thergest enterprise in LA, and purely in terms of the total amount of assets and business scope, even the two giants, the Parker and the Owen families, couldn¡¯tpare to it at all. As the general manager of the Sr Corporation, Flynn was definitely a bigwig. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t very fond of attending banquets and social gatherings, so it had been extremely difficult for many helmsmen of the major families in LA to invite him out for a meeting and a meal. Yet this bigwig, who rarely showed up at social functions, suddenly appeared at the Turners¡¯ wedding. Justin immediately remembered his father¡¯s reminder, and he wondered, Is this the big shot I¡¯m supposed to build connections with today? He didn¡¯t dare to be negligent at all and immediately strode toward the entrance. He bowed to Flynn respectfully and greeted, ¡°Mr. Davis, I didn¡¯t expect you to show up here too. Please forgive me for waiting until now to wee you.¡± At the same time, he quickly pulled Alex, who was still dumbfounded, over and bent forward to whisper into his ear, ¡°What are you waiting for? This is Mr. Davis, the general manager of the Sr Corporation. Hurry up and greet him.¡± Alex was instantly astonished! As a resident of LA, he had naturally heard of the Sr Corporation, especially after Flynn took over and quickly incorporated all of the variouspanies into the corporation, making the Sr Corporation one of thergestpanies in LA. Almost every single day, he would see Flynn Davis¡¯s name being mentioned on the finance channel of LA. But he had never expected that such a big shot would suddenly turn up at his son¡¯s wedding. It was simply a surprise beyond his imagination! Alex was so excited and exhrated that he was at aplete loss for words. He hurriedly bowed respectfully and eximed agitatedly, ¡°Mr. Davis! Wee!¡± Flynn frowned and looked at the two people in front of him blocking the way. ¡°Who are you?¡± Justin hurriedly introduced himself, ¡°Hello, Mr. Davis. I am Justin Heron, the general manager of the Heron Corp. It¡¯s such a great honor to meet you!¡± Alex quickly said, ¡°I-I¡¯m Alex Turner, the father of the groom today. Mr. Davis, we are truly honored by your presence at my son¡¯s, Dn¡¯s, wedding. Pleasee in quickly!¡± Both of them were really excited, and the other guests who recognized Flynn were also extremely surprised. But Flynn¡¯s reaction was beyond their expectations. Flynn said coldly, ¡°Who said I¡¯m here to attend the wedding? Get lost!¡± # Chapter 450: Delivering The News

Chapter 450: Delivering The News

The merciless rebuke made the fawning and enthusiastic smiles on Justin¡¯s and Alex¡¯s faces immediately freeze. The surrounding guests were also shocked. Alex didn¡¯t mind getting rebuked. After all, the Turners didn¡¯t really have a high status. But Justin was the general manager of the Heron Corp., and he would inherit all of the Herons¡¯ assets and business empire in the future. Yet Flynn had just shamed him unceremoniously. Justin had an awkward look of embarrassment on his face, but he was very clear of Flynn¡¯s current status. So he wouldn¡¯t dare to show a single trace of anger even if Flynn pped him in public. The general manager of the Sr Corporation wasn¡¯t someone whom a second-tier family like the Herons could afford to provoke. Justin took a deep breath to suppress the embarrassment of being rebuked in public, but he was extremely bewildered. Flynn had made it clear that he wasn¡¯t here to attend Dn¡¯s wedding, so that meant that he probably wasn¡¯t the big shot rted to the Turners whom Robert had told him about. What is he here for then? Could... Flynn Davis have also received the tip and is here to wait for that mysterious big shot? Justin sucked his teeth while feeling frightened. In his opinion, Flynn was already quite a powerful bigwig. If even Flynn was waiting for the mysterious big shot, how shocking must his power be?! All of a sudden, Justin was shocked and agitated. Furthermore, he had made up his mind to do everything he could to befriend the powerful big shot! Flynn no longer cared about Alex and Justin and headed straight into the ballroom. Alex naturally didn¡¯t dare to stop him, but he also didn¡¯t dare to arrange a seat for Flynn. Cheyenne and Lucas had naturally noticed themotion at the entrance. There were traces of amazement in Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s eyes. They both knew Flynn and were surprised as to why he had suddenly appeared here. Lucas was also a little surprised. Since he didn¡¯t call Flynn over, something must have happened. Flynn walked straight to Lucas¡¯s table, but he didn¡¯t sit down next to Lucas and instead sat down beside Charlotte. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve met, Miss Carter,¡± Flynn said in a gentle voice, a stark contrast to his harsh and cold tone when he was at the entrance. Facing her former boss, Charlotte hurriedly said, ¡°Hello, Mr. Davis! I¡¯m so d to meet you here.¡± She looked at Flynn before taking a few nces at Lucas. She knew very well that Flynn used to be Lucas¡¯s subordinate. But now, he didn¡¯t even take a nce at Lucas and instead just greeted her. This made Charlotte baffled, but she naturally wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to ask him out loud. Apart from some of the Turners¡¯ rtives, whose statuses were too low to even know who Flynn was, the vast majority of the people present were no stranger to the name Flynn Davis. Seeing that even Justin, who had the highest status among the guests in the ballroom, had been rebuked by Flynn, many who wanted to take the opportunity to talk to Flynn couldn¡¯t help but dismiss these thoughts, for fear that they would not only fail to befriend him but end up offending him instead. But after seeing that Flynn had sat down and spoken to others, they flocked forward in unison to try their luck. ¡°Mr. Davis, how are you? Pardon me for interrupting, but I¡¯m...¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± A young man was the first to walk up to Flynn and wanted to introduce himself, but thetter interrupted and glowered at him impatiently. Flynn was naturally aware of their intentions, but he didn¡¯t have the time nor patience to deal with them. The expression on the young man¡¯s face immediately froze. But he didn¡¯t dare to show any dissatisfaction at all. In fact, he had a faint sense of fear within him. He knew that Flynn wasn¡¯t an ordinary person, and he had heard that Flynn used to be from Orange County. But since the overnight destruction of the Brookes, Flynn had taken over all of their properties in a domineering and powerful manner. Even the other families in LA, including the top families like the Parkers and the Owens who had tried to take a share of the loot, didn¡¯t receive a single benefit. Next, in a little over a month, Flynn quickly integrated all the industries left behind by the Brookes to develop a mega business empire, turning the Sr Corporation into thergest empire in LA. Flynn¡¯s status in LA wasn¡¯t at all inferior to the Parkers and Owens. There had even been many rumors that the destruction of the Brookes was caused by Flynn. Some also said that Flynn was backed by an extremely powerful force, which was why he could take down the Brookes in such a short period of time and develop the Sr Corporation to such a great extent. Thus, all the major families in LA were scrupulous toward Flynn. They wanted to befriend him but were also afraid of offending him. However, Flynn clearly didn¡¯t want them to disturb him. They looked at each other before silently retreating backward. No one dared to go forward to talk to Flynn again, fearing that they would anger him. The people whom Justin had invited gathered around him and discussed quietly among themselves. ¡°Mr. Davis is really scary. My heart was almost going to jump out of my chest when he red at me. I was so scared that I might have identally offended him.¡± ¡°Me too. But since Mr. Davis isn¡¯t here to attend the wedding, what is he doing here? Based on his appearance, he seems to be waiting for someone.¡± ¡°His status is so high. It should be very simple for him to meet anyone he wants to. It¡¯d probably only take a phone call. Why is he waiting here? Unless...¡± ¡°Unless the person he¡¯s waiting for has a higher status and is far beyond his reach! Could the person he¡¯s waiting for be a big shot from a top family of San Francisco?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Why would a big shot from a top family of San Francisco attend the wedding held by the Turners? That¡¯d be too strange!¡± ... Everyone was chatting incessantly, but they kept their volume low, for fear of identally being overheard by the person they were talking about. Justin had a glum expression on his face. He also felt that Flynn was probably here to wait for the legendary big shot. But the Herons¡¯ status was too low to be acquainted with a big shot from a top family in San Francisco. As long as Flynn was around, a big shot of such a high status would definitelymunicate only with him. Justin didn¡¯t have the guts to vie with Flynn! At this moment, at the table that the crowd had voluntarily backed away from, Lucas suddenly asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± The reason that Flynn would pretend not to see Lucas was that he knew that Lucas didn¡¯t want to reveal his rtionship with him in front of outsiders. So he was secretly trying to find an opportunity and a good time to speak to Lucas. But since Lucas had now taken the initiative to speak to him, Flynn naturally wouldn¡¯t continue pretending any further. He immediately sat next to Lucas and whispered, ¡°Mr. Gray, I just received an urate piece of news that Damon Parker, the helmsman of the Parker family, said that you killed his grandson Tristan. So he¡¯s going to gather his men to rush here and harm you!¡± # Chapter 451: Sudden Change

Chapter 451: Sudden Change

This didn¡¯t surprise Lucas. When Lena called him in the morning, he already knew that many people, including the Parkers, would me him for it. Lucas naturally didn¡¯t feel any fear toward the Parkers, and he didn¡¯t waver in the face of their decision to take revenge against him. He merely sneered. ¡°They¡¯re just a bunch of nobodies who are overestimating their strength.¡± Flynn wasn¡¯t here for the sole purpose of giving Lucas a warning. As a person who was well aware of Lucas¡¯s abilities, he had long known that the Parkers alone wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to Lucas. In fact, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to get past him. ¡°Mr. Gray, don¡¯t worry. I already made arrangements before I came. If the Parkers really do anything untoward to you, they can wait to be doomed! If they go overboard, their family will be destroyed today!¡± Flynn said confidently. Lucas was a little surprised. He had always liked to act based on solid evidence and disliked frivolous people who liked to boast. Flynn had been working under him for several months and was naturally well aware of this. But now that Flynn said that he could destroy the entire Parker family within a day, he must have made all the preparations and would definitely do as promised. Lucas was a little interested in the arrangements he had made. Justin watched them talk and was extremely astonished! Flynn, who had just treated him with disdain,shed out at him loudly, and even told him to get lost, was actually speaking to Lucas politely! Justin was naturally no stranger to Lucas, whom he thought was just a freeloading good-for-nothing and Cheyenne¡¯s live-in husband. He had never taken Lucas seriously before. But Lucas actually had the chance to speak to Flynn without being told to get lost. Not only was Justin shocked, but the Turners were also in disbelief. The scene in front of them was simply unbelievable. Actually, Flynn¡¯s sudden arrival at the hotel where Dn¡¯s wedding was being held was shocking enough. But Flynn had also tantly stated that he wasn¡¯t here for the wedding, thus making the Turners even more confused about the purpose of his visit. They didn¡¯t dare to ask about it, much less ask Flynn to leave. So they just remained respectful and left him to do as he pleased. But they were puzzled as to why someone so prestigious like him would speak to a good-for-nothing like Lucas. Did they know each other? Filled with suspicions, Eddie called Karen over and asked, ¡°Does Mr. Davis know that good-for-nothing Lucas?¡± Karen said sourly, ¡°Hmph, the reason Mr. Davis would talk to that good-for-nothing is because of my daughter. You¡¯ve seen it yourselves. Mr. Davis spoke to Charlotte first. How could Lucas have the ability to speak to someone like Mr. Davis?¡± Eddie hurriedly asked, ¡°What do you mean by that? Is it possible that Charlotte and Mr. Davis are close to each other? Is Mr. Davis here for Charlotte?¡± All of them had seen Flynn walk directly to Charlotte¡¯s table and even sit beside her to speak to her. Listening from the side, Gretchen was so envious that her eyes were almost bloodshot. Karen had a smug expression on her face, and her smile widened, especially after seeing the look of envy on Gretchen¡¯s face. She said smugly, ¡°Exactly. Charlotte is now the general manager of the Stardust Corporation, but before she assumed the position, the general manager was Mr. Davis! Charlotte was groomed by Mr. Davis, so of course they¡¯re close!¡± Karen was naturally trying to make it seem as though Charlotte was valued highly by Flynn and perhaps even his designated sessor. Alex¡¯s eyes lit up, and he eximed excitedly, ¡°In that case, Charlotte is really impressive, huh? She¡¯s a talent whom Mr. Davis personally groomed, and when Mr. Davis came to LA, he handed over the Stardust Corporation in Orange County to Charlotte. So if Mr. Davis gets another chance to rise higher one day, Charlotte will probably be the general manager of the Sr Corporation, right?!¡± Eddie grinned. ¡°In my opinion, this is a very big possibility! In that case, Charlotte¡¯s status in LA will be on par with the heirs of the Parkers and the Owens. If we can ask Charlotte to put in a good word for the Turners in front of Mr. Davis and ask Mr. Davis to give us some help, we can also rise to be a notable family in LA too. No, maybe we can even be the third major family alongside the Parkers and the Owens!¡± The more Eddie thought about it, the more excited he became, and he couldn¡¯t help imagining that scene. At this point, Gretchen didn¡¯t care about the conflict between her and Karen anymore as she hurriedly grabbed Karen¡¯s hand and begged, ¡°My dear sister, quickly ask Charlotte to put in a good word for us in front of Mr. Davis! The Herons are a second-tier family in LA now. As long as Mr. Davis gives us some help, we can immediately be a first-tier family in LA! ¡°At that time, the Herons and the Turners will be top families in LA, and when we join forces, even the Parkers and the Owens won¡¯t be our match! Karen, quickly go inform Charlotte!¡± Eddie nodded in approval of Gretchen¡¯s ambitious thoughts, and he quickly urged, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! We are going to be the top families of LA! Karen, quickly go look for Charlotte and tell her to put in a good word for us!¡± The rtives of the Turners began to get really excited. Although they were just distant rtives of the Turners, they would definitely stand to gain some benefits as long as the Turners rose to greater heights and became a top family in LA! The people around Karen got into a hugemotion. There were people urging her to hurry up and talk to Charlotte while many were praising her for being lucky to have such a good daughter. Karen was exhrated, and she was about to agree to their requests and go to speak to Charlotte when there was a sudden change! Bang! Bang! Whoosh! With the loud and chaotic sounds of ss shattering, arge bunch of men in ck suddenly appeared in front of the hotel with iron rods in their hands. Without uttering a single word, they began smashing the ss windows of the hotel into pieces! # Chapter 452: Who Are You Here For?

Chapter 452: Who Are You Here For?

¡°Ah!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Who are these people? Ah!!!¡± ¡°Quick, hide! It¡¯s too scary!¡± ... The guests in the ballroom were so frightened that they shrieked in horror and began hiding and retreating. As the hosts of the wedding, the Turners were shocked out of their wits by the sudden change, so much so that they began trembling. Soon, ten-odd men d in ck and holding iron rods stood neatly in two uniform rows at the entrance after smashing all the ss windows. Another two men in ck carrying a roll of thick, superior-grade carpetid the carpet across the ground, which was now covered in ss pieces, in between the two rows of people. One end of the carpet extended to the door of a Rolls Royce parked outside the hotel, and the other end was ced inside the hotel. All the guests looked at the ck Rolls Royce at the entrance, feeling terrified and aghast. Anyone in the right mind would be able to tell that the person in the car was definitely a big shot. The door of the Rolls Royce opened, and a white-haired old man with a domineering aura stepped out of it. Stepping on the thick cashmere carpet, he slowly made his way into the hotel ballroom. He looked around domineeringly, exuding a mighty aura. There were more than ten stern-faced men in ck behind him, and they appeared so aloof and austere that many of the guests in the ballroom instantly broke out in cold sweat. ¡°It¡¯s the helmsman of the Parker family, Damon Parker!¡± After getting a clear glimpse of the old man¡¯s face, many people shrieked in fright uncontrobly. The people of LA were no strangers to the helmsman of the Parkers, one of the two giants of the city. But they never expected to see Damon here at Dn Turner¡¯s wedding. Moreover... he was making an appearance in such a peculiar manner! Many people¡¯s hearts pound wildly. As soon as Damon arrived, he made his subordinates smash the ss windows of the hotel. He didn¡¯t seem to be here to attend the wedding, but rather, he seemed to have hostile intentions. The Turners had all turned deathly pale. Apart from Gretchen, who had once seen Damon from afar when she tagged along with Justin, it was the Turners¡¯ first time to see Damon in the flesh. They should have felt honored and overjoyed at first, but they were truly frightened by the men¡¯s act of smashing the ss windows. They remained still on the spot, not daring to move at all. After recovering from the initial shock, Justin immediately greeted him and said with a smile on his face, ¡°Mr. Parker, wee! Pleasee in...¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Before Justin could finish his polite greeting, a man in ck standing beside Damon raised his hand and pped Justin hard on his face! These men in ck were not ordinary people but expert bodyguards that Damon hired, each of whom was extremely strong. The p made Justin stumble backward immediately and almost fall onto the ground. Immediately afterward, half of his face turned numb and began swelling. This time, even the most daft ones would know that Damon hade with hostile intentions, though they didn¡¯t know who his target was. All of a sudden, everyone in the ballroom felt that they were in danger. As the hosts of the wedding, the Turners were horrified. Their legs went limp, and they almost fell onto the ground. The Turners were just an ordinary family. But the person in front of them was the helmsman of one of the top two families of LA. It could be said that if the helmsman of the Parkers was out to make trouble for the Turners, he could easily exterminate them in public, and no one would dare to defend the Turners! Thus, the Turners were utterly terrified! But even after racking their brains, they couldn¡¯t figure out how and when they had ever offended a top family like the Parkers! The others were no better, and they were all dead silent, not daring to make a single sound. They tried their best to huddle up in a corner to make their presence as inconspicuous as possible. After receiving the p, Justin didn¡¯t dare to speak again and merely stood in the corner, his face as pale as a sheet. Damon walked to the middle of the ballroom, sat down on a chair domineeringly, and said slowly, ¡°Lucas Gray is here, right? Get him toe out immediately!¡± Only then did everyone figure out that Damon had brought his subordinates with him with such pageantry for the sake of targeting Lucas. The Turners immediately heaved a sigh of relief. Within those few short seconds just now, they felt their backs drenched in cold sweat. But a wave of anger soon surged in their hearts. If not for this bastard Lucas provoking Damon, thetter wouldn¡¯t have shown up with his subordinates to scare them and ruin the wedding that they had so painstakingly nned! Alex was furious because the wedding of his only son was now ruined due to Lucas. He was full of resentment toward Lucas! His hatred overrode his fear, and Alex immediately stood out to point at Lucas, who was sitting in a corner. He shouted, ¡°Lucas Gray, you good-for-nothing, get your ass out here. How dare you offend the esteemed helmsman of the Parker family? You must be tired of living! Hurry up and kneel down to Mr. Parker to apologize to him!¡± All of a sudden, everyone turned to look in the direction Alex was pointing in, only to see Lucas. Damon looked over with a sharp gaze in his turbid eyes and a bloodthirsty smile on his face. ¡°Hubby, what should we do?¡± Cheyenne tugged on Lucas¡¯s coat nervously. Damon had brought so many subordinates with him, and he was clearly here to deal with Lucas. She was extremely worried. Although she knew that Lucas was proficient in martial arts, she thought that no matter how good he was, there was no way he would be able to beat more than ten bodyguards armed with iron rods, especially since he was weaponless and outnumbered! Lucas patted the back of Cheyenne¡¯s hand and saidfortingly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I told you yesterday. I don¡¯t take the Parkers seriously at all. If the Parkers want to continue standing against me, the only fate they will suffer is to follow in the footsteps of the Brookes and be destroyed overnight!¡± Since no one dared to speak, the ballroom was extremely quiet, and everyone heard what Lucas said. In an instant, a look of disbelief appeared on everyone¡¯s face. Who exactly is this Lucas Gray? How dare he disrespect and undermine the Parkers? wondered the guests who didn¡¯t know who Lucas was. Damn it! I heard Lucas Gray is just a live-in husband. How dare he speak about the Parkers so arrogantly? He even had the audacity to say that he would destroy the Parkers. Is he out of his mind, or does he have a death wish? thought everyone who knew Lucas¡¯s identity. Crap! Damn it! How dare that good-for-nothing say that! If he wants to die, he can go do so himself! Don¡¯t drag us down with him! This bastard is outrageous! We must kill this fool!!! thought almost all the Turners. Damon¡¯s face turned gloomy. This young man has repeatedly disregarded the Parkers. Seems that I must let him understand where he stands! Lucas met Damon¡¯s murderous gaze fearlessly and suddenly said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Parker, you just apologized to me yesterday and made your grandson kneel in front of me to beg for my forgiveness. Yet you¡¯ve now barged into this ce with so many people. What exactly do you mean by this?¡± As soon as Lucas said this, a look of astonishment appeared on everyone¡¯s faces. # Chapter 453: Confrontation Between Big Bosses

Chapter 453: Confrontation Between Big Bosses

Everyone looked at Lucas in disbelief and then at the gloomy Damon. They couldn¡¯t believe what Lucas said at all. How could the helmsman of the Parker family have apologized to him while the scion knelt down in front of him and begged for forgiveness? He must be out of his mind, right? How is that possible? But when they saw Damon¡¯s furious expression, some of them couldn¡¯t help but begin to suspect something. Could what that fellow named Lucas Gray said actually be true? Damon was iparably annoyed when he failed to gain the upper hand. Instead, to his anger, he was mocked by Lucas. If it wasn¡¯t because he had already sent people to investigate Lucas¡¯s background, Damon might have really been fooled again by hisposure and sharp tongue into thinking that he was really the scion of a prestigious family. ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t think you¡¯re that eloquent! Let me ask you. Do you have anything to do with the death of my grandson Tristan?¡± Damon stared straight into Lucas¡¯s eyes. The people around him were instantly even more shocked. Many of them knew about Tristan¡¯s fatal identst night and hadmented about it for a while. It turned out that the reason Damon Parker brought so many people here to confront and question Lucas Gray is because he¡¯s rted to Tristan¡¯s death. If this is true, Lucas Gray is too daring! The Parkers will definitely kill him! At this moment, Flynn stood up and asked in a cold voice, ¡°Mr. Parker, do you have any evidence to back your suspicion?¡± Damon narrowed his eyes and looked at Flynn. Damon had been staring at Lucas and focusing all his attention on him just now, and only now did he notice that Flynn, the general manager of the Sr Corporation, was actually present and right next to Lucas. Regardless of whether or not he was friends with Lucas, Flynn indeed interfered in the affairs of the Parkers by speaking up now. Damon said coldly with a warning gaze, ¡°This is a matter between the Parkers and Lucas Gray. It¡¯s better for outsiders not to intervene.¡± Flynn insisted, ¡°Sorry, Mr. Gray¡¯s business is my business. If you intend to make things difficult for Mr. Gray, I will definitely not stand by and watch.¡± Damon threatened, ¡°Mr. Davis, you are the general manager of the Sr Corporation, and the Parkers have always stayed in our ownne. The Parkers have been avoiding you out of courtesy, not fear. Besides, you are only the general manager of the Sr Corporation, not the owner. If your boss finds out that you¡¯ve offended the Parkers and stood against us for an outsider, you¡¯ll probably lose your position as the general manager, huh? I advise you to think clearly before you speak!¡± Flynn sneered. ¡°In that case, I might as well make it clear to you, Mr. Parker. Anyone who wants to harm Mr. Gray is my enemy! Although I am only the general manager of the Sr Corporation, my boss doesn¡¯t take you people seriously! ¡°In short, as long as you dare to harm Mr. Gray, I will remove the Parkers from LA immediately! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can try!¡± Damon flew into a rage, and he was so furious that his beard curled up. He didn¡¯t expect Flynn would actually defend Lucas so vehemently, so much so that he didn¡¯t mind bing enemies with the Parkers! If someone else had said those words in front of him, he would think that they were boasting. But Flynn, as the general manager of the Sr Corporation, did have the right to say so! The hostile tension between the two immediately shocked the people around them. One was the helmsman of one of the two top families in LA and had an extremely high status in the hearts of the people of this city for many years. The other one was a new hotshot who had risen to power in LA in thest two months and was currently in control of thergest enterprise in the city. Both of them were not to be offended. But these two prestigious and powerful men were having a hostile confrontation in front of so many guests. In particr, the core of their conflict was Lucas, whom they were all treating with disdain. The puzzling thing was that Flynn was firm in his decision to stand on Lucas¡¯s side and even said that Lucas¡¯s business was his business. He even said anyone who stood against Lucas would be his enemy. It was simply too bizarre! Everyone wondered just how Flynn was rted to Lucas. The Turners didn¡¯t dare to believe it at all. ording to what Karen had said earlier, Flynn had only spoken to Lucas because of Charlotte, so their rtionship shouldn¡¯t be as close as it now seemed. Normally, the Turners would definitely be overjoyed to hear such words from Flynn and even wished for him and Lucas to be closer. But Flynn and Lucas were now going against Damon, the helmsman of the Parkers, making them feel reallyplicated. If the Parkers held a grudge against the Turners, what should they do? Besides, it was Dn¡¯s wedding today, but now, the atmosphere had been ruined. Damon was enraged by Flynn¡¯s insistent defense. ¡°Flynn Davis, you¡¯re not qualified to remove Parkers from LA! I must take Lucas Gray away today. Let¡¯s see what you can do to the Parkers!¡± Damon stopped issuing threats and said to the bodyguards behind him, ¡°Grab that kid. If he resists, break his legs!¡± Four tall, ck-clothed bodyguards immediately walked toward Lucas. ¡°Mr. Parker, I¡¯ve already warned you. Don¡¯t regret itter!¡± Flynn¡¯s face turned sullen as he directly grabbed his phone without saying another word and issued an order. The short text consisted of only two words: [Take action!] Everyone couldn¡¯t help looking at Lucas as the bodyguards approached, only to see that Lucas was still sitting leisurely in his seat as if he didn¡¯t see the aggressive bodyguardsing toward him. Some people began to worry, while some gloated. It seemed that Lucas was in trouble! Nikki¡¯s eyes were full of excitement and hatred. The thought that Lucas would soon be killed by the Parkers and Cheyenne would soon be a widow made her so excited that she could hardly contain herself! Flynn naturally wouldn¡¯t leave Lucas alone. He raised his hand and waved it. Several bodyguards immediately darted out from behind him to protect Lucas and confront Damon. Damon narrowed his eyes. He had brought more people with him, and there were nearly twenty of them, so he didn¡¯t have to be afraid of the people Flynn had brought. He was about to fall out with Flynn and instruct his men to take down Flynn¡¯s bodyguards before taking Lucas away. But his phone suddenly rang at this moment. Damon frowned but answered when he saw the caller ID. But a few secondster, his expression changed dramatically as he stood up abruptly and shouted, ¡°How is that possible? Repeat yourself!¡± # Chapter 454: Just An Appetizer

Chapter 454: Just An Appetizer

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The person on the other end of the phone spoke again with fear and anxiousness. Damon rebuked with a gloomy expression, ¡°There must be a mistake! The Parkers¡¯ business empire is sorge. How could the bank suddenly freeze our funds? Go find out the reason. I want to know the results within ten minutes!¡± Damon directly hung up, and countless eavesdropping people immediately turned around, pretending to be confused and dumbfounded. But deep down, they were terrified. The Parkers were one of thergest families in LA, and they had billions in assets. Why did the bank suddenly freeze their funds? They all thought that there had to be something strange about the matter. Not only was Damon furious and puzzled, but they were extremely curious too. Right after Damon hung up, he received another call before he could even put his phone back inside his pocket. . He picked it up with exasperation written all over his face. But soon, his face turned several times more sullen. ¡°What did you say? Buzzlight Corp., Joy Co., and the Trident Group are going to terminate their contracts with us?! All at the same time? What is the reason? Did they state the reason clearly? What a bunch of good-for-nothings. Although they¡¯re refusing to speak, can¡¯t you go check it out yourself? Go find out immediately!¡± After ending the call, Damon looked even more enraged and hostile as he mmed his phone against the table. Petrified, no one dared to say a single word, but they couldn¡¯t hide the shock on their faces at all. Although thosepanies were not owned by any top families, they were definitely powerful. Besides, they seemed to have cooperated with the Parkers for numerous years. But they actually asked to terminate their cooperation with the Parkers at the same time. There had to be something fishy about it! Sitting in the corner, Lucas seemed to realize something after hearing the names of thepanies. More than half a month ago, when Flynn had just integrated the numerouspanies and assets left behind by the Brookes, he had asked Lucas for funds to acquire some of the local businesses and enterprises in LA. On the surface, Flynn was only the general manager of the Sr Corporation. But in fact, he had bought severalpanies in private, though they weren¡¯t under the name of the Sr Corporation. So the rtionship between thesepanies and Lucas and Flynn couldn¡¯t be investigated easily. Buzzlight Corporation, Joy Co., and the Trident Group were a few of thepanies they had acquired. Even Lucas had to admit that these secret arrangements would definitely lead to unexpected results if used well. He also had to admit that Flynn was indeed a good manager and skilled at strategizing and nning. He was indeed capable of taking on a tremendous responsibility. Lucas smiled in satisfaction. On the other side, Damon¡¯s wrinkled face was incredibly dark. He pondered for a moment before raising his head to stare at Flynn. ¡°Were you the one who did it?¡± Flynn had just threatened him and warned him not toy a finger on Lucas, or he would immediately destroy the Parkers. He then sent his bodyguards to deal with Lucas, but right afterward, he received two pieces of bad news. Damon wasn¡¯t a fool. He could guess right away that this must have something to do with Flynn! Flynn didn¡¯t hide anything and simply nodded to admit to it. ¡°Yes. I just said that if you must stand against Mr. Gray and make him your enemy, I won¡¯t mind getting the Parkers removed from LA.¡± With mes in his eyes, Damon roared furiously, ¡°Okay, you really have the guts to make us your enemy! But do you think you can destroy the Parkers with something of this level? You¡¯re really naive!¡± Flynn chuckled. ¡°Of this level? Of course not. What just happened are merely appetizers! Since you think they¡¯re too trivial, let¡¯s add a few more main dishes!¡± Then he immediately picked up his phone and called someone. ¡°Take it up a notch!¡± Damon¡¯s eyelids immediately twitched a few times. Does Flynn Davis really have more powerful ns? No, I don¡¯t believe it! ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just boasting. Let¡¯s see what tricks you cane up with!¡± Damon said sternly. But he had a vague feeling of uneasiness in his heart. He waved his hand, and his personal secretary behind him immediately walked forward and bent down. Damon whispered a few instructions in his ear. The middle-aged secretary nodded solemnly before turning around to leave the ballroom. Flynn didn¡¯t stop him and merely looked at everything coldly. He then turned around and said to Lucas with a smile, ¡°Mr. Gray, just stay here and watch the show with peace of mind! As long as I¡¯m around, no one can do anything to you.¡± Lucas nced at Damon¡¯s gloomy expression and smiled. ¡°Thank you very much then!¡± Cheyenne was sitting beside Lucas, and when she saw how calm both Lucas and Flynn were, she gradually felt relieved. Now, it seemed that the Parkers really couldn¡¯t do anything to Lucas. Seeing the two of thempletely disregarding him and chatting merrily, Damon became even more enraged. A glint of hostility shed in his eyes, and he looked at his bodyguards to hint them to take Lucas away immediately. Even if Flynn had any powerful tricks up his sleeve, he wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to the Parkers as long as Lucas¡¯s life was in his hands. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t develop in the direction Damon hoped, and his n didn¡¯t work out. Flynn¡¯s bodyguards were no less skilled than the ones he brought. So even if both parties got into a brawl, neither side would stand to gain any advantage. At this moment, Damon¡¯s phone rang again. The phone rang incessantly, and Damon hesitated for a while before answering. Although he had already mentally prepared himself, the news he heard made his face turn pale again. This time, he didn¡¯t say anything, so there was no way for others to tell what the caller actually said. But everyone could guess from Damon¡¯s expression that it definitely wasn¡¯t good news. In fact, it was probably even more serious than the freezing of the Parkers¡¯ assets and the sudde ncontract terminations initiated by several majorpanies. What exactly happened? Many of them were desperate to find out. Flynn smiled faintly and gibed, ¡°Mr. Parker, I wonder if you¡¯re satisfied with the sumptuous course you¡¯ve just been served? If it¡¯s not enough for you, I have several more prepared. Let¡¯s see how long you canst.¡± Damon¡¯s face was exceptionally dismal. In the past decade or so, no one had ever been able to force the Parkers to such an extent! ¡°Flynn Davis, don¡¯t think I¡¯m afraid of you! I know you want to protect this punk Lucas Gray. But let me tell you. This punk has offended not just me but also the Bensons from San Francisco!¡± Damon threatened, ¡°He not only bullied my grandsonst night but also bullied the precious son of the helmsman of the Bensons! This punk is dead meat today!¡± Flynn said coldly with a straight face, ¡°So what if it¡¯s the Bensons? I told you long ago that no one can touch Mr. Gray, not even Matthew Benson!¡± ¡°Hah, how haughty! I¡¯ll see who dares to be so arrogant in front of me, Matthew Benson!¡± At this moment, a voice full of anger sounded from the entrance of the ballroom. # Chapter 455: Each Expressing Their Own Stand

Chapter 455: Each Expressing Their Own Stand

With this voice, a middle-aged man in his fifties strode in with an imposing gait. A few domineering bodyguards were following behind him. Based on what he said just now, even those who had never met the middle-aged man were now clear about his identity. ¡°Matthew Benson? The helmsman of the Benson family?!¡± ¡°My god! Mr. Benson is really here! I once saw him from afar, and he¡¯s indeed Matthew Benson!¡± ¡°Now, it seems that the helmsman of the Bensons is on the Parkers¡¯ side. In that case, the Sr Corporation, Mr. Davis, and that punk Lucas Gray are going to be in trouble!¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. The Bensons are a big family from San Francisco. Even if Flynn Davis is in charge of the Sr Corporation, it won¡¯t be enough for him to rival the Bensons! As long as the Bensons are willing, the Sr Corporation might even have a change of ownership!¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, that punk Lucas Gray deserves it. He only has himself to me for messing with giants like the Parkers and the Bensons!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that Mr. Davis will be unlucky too! It¡¯s all his fault for running his mouth and saying such absurd things just now, only to be overheard by Mr. Benson.¡± ... After a brief moment of shock, the crowd started to discuss among themselves quietly, and out of fear for Matthew¡¯s powerful status and authority, no one dared to speak loudly. The helmsman of the Bensons of San Francisco had a far superior status to that of the Parkers of LA. To them, a figure like him waspletely legendary! Before Damon and Flynn appeared, the person with the highest status in the ballroom was Justin, the scion of the Herons, who were just a second-tier family in LA. Most of the other guests were rtives of the Turners, and they were ordinary small business owners. They had never seen such a formidable scene before. Justin stood beside the Turners, all riled up and excited. Could the big shot Dad told me about be Matthew Benson? There was no doubt that among everyone present, Matthew had the highest status and could absolutely be considered a big shot! He immediately wanted to go forward. But as soon as he moved his feet, he immediately remembered the p Damon had given him and thus stopped in his tracks. Bigwigs like them usually had entric tempers, so he reckoned that he should... wait and observe the situation before deciding what to do next! Upon seeing Matthew¡¯s sudden appearance, Flynn had a trace of surprise on his face. But he didn¡¯t seem nervous at all. If he was alone, he would probably have scruples about the imposing power of the Bensons. But Lucas was now sitting right next to him. Flynn was naturally well aware of how powerful Lucas was. Even the scions of the top families like the Coles and the Kingstons meant nothing to him, let alone the Bensons. Even the eight top families of DC had never been taken seriously by Lucas. Although Lucas might not be powerful enough to destroy one of them yet, dealing with the Bensons would be a piece of cake for him. Of course, this was Lucas¡¯s individual power, and Flynn¡¯s trump cards were probably insufficient for him to deal with the Bensons. So Flynn remained seated while various ideas ran through his mind. Damon immediately walked over and weed Matthew to the seat he was just at. ¡°Mr. Benson, if Flynn Davis hadn¡¯t suddenly appeared and jeopardized our ns, I would have already nabbed that punk Lucas Gray and brought him back for you to vent your anger on him!¡± Matthew nced at Flynn, only to discover that he wasn¡¯t looking at him at all. He wondered if Flynn was scared or too ignorant to realize how powerful he was. As for Lucas... He shifted his gaze to look at Lucas, but he found that Lucas was still smiling without showing any panic or fear. As soon as he saw the expression on Lucas¡¯s face, anger surged in his heart. Last night in the Lion Restaurant, Lucas had also managed to fool him with thisposed expression and an inexplicably superior aura! ording to the information the Parkers had obtained from their investigation, Lucas was just a live-in son-inw from a small family and didn¡¯t have any other powerful background. The thought of getting fooled by this young man, who had even broken his precious son¡¯s arm in front of him, made the anger within him explode like a volcano. Damon sat down on a chair beside Matthew, sneered, and looked at Flynn with a provocative gaze. ¡°Mr. Davis, weren¡¯t you very imposing earlier? You said that you want to get the Parkers removed from LA and even issued lots of threats to me and caused my family to be in chaos. Why are you sitting there quietly now? ¡°Oh, right, you even said that if the helmsman of the Bensons was here, he wouldn¡¯t be able toy a finger on Lucas Gray. Now that the helmsman of the Bensons is right in front of you, you can try! You¡¯re just the general manager of the Sr Corporation. You¡¯re taking yourself too seriously!¡± Now that he had a backer, Damon was much more confident, and he kept mocking Flynn. Flynn¡¯s actions just now had truly angered him. Of course, under the disturbances, the Parkers were inevitably affected. But as long as the Bensons were on his side, these problems could be resolved easily! Moreover, if the Parkers could get the support of the Bensons, they might surpass the Owens in the future! The Parkers would be the absolute overlord of LA and be able to control the economy of the city and hold the power to decide the life and death of many families! In order to achieve this goal, he had to try his best to get close to Matthew and pull him over to his side! At this moment, Justin saw the situation in front of him and realized that the two bigwigs detested Lucas greatly. So he immediately stood out and pointed at Lucas righteously before cursing, ¡°Lucas Gray, trust you to have the cheek to remain sitting! Didn¡¯t you hear what Mr. Parker and Mr. Benson said? You¡¯ve done something wrong and offended them, so you¡¯d better get your ass over here and apologize to them! Do you hear me?!¡± Justin was hollering at Lucas and acting like he was teaching his grandchild a lesson. After seeing Justin¡¯s words and actions, Alex, who was beside him, immediately reacted and roared at Lucas, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, you punk! If I had known, I would have driven you out immediately! We already threw you out yesterday, and yet you still have the cheek toe here today. You¡¯re really thick-skinned! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get over here to kowtow to Mr. Parker and Mr. Benson in apology!¡± Although he was following behind Justin, he also expressed his stand in front of the two big shots and drew a clear line between him and Lucas, lest they vented their anger on the Turners instead. Thus, he scolded Lucas in an extremely callous manner. Cheyenne¡¯s eyes immediately reddened. # Chapter 456: Murderer

Chapter 456: Murderer

If not for the fact that the Turners were considered his rtives, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have bothered to lower himself and attend this wedding, where he was subjected to the gossipy and snidements of the people here. But Alex made Lucas out to be such a terrible and shameless man, as if Lucas had insisted on attending Dn¡¯s wedding! This wasn¡¯t the case at all! Cheyenne stood up and was about to say something when Eddie, next to Alex, interjected, ¡°Alex is right. If we had known this would happen, we would have just kicked you out and prevented you from embarrassing the Turners here! Karen, look at this good-for-nothing son-inw you picked. Apart from constantly causing trouble for us, what else can he do? A loser like him should have been kicked out of your family a long time ago!¡± Eddie had resentment written all over his face. He had learned from Robert and Sam yesterday afternoon that the box of tea leaves Lucas had given to him wasn¡¯t any inferior tea but a top-grade tea that could be auctioned for millions. He was incredibly chagrined, so he had silently made up his mind that he had to try to ease the tension and strain in his rtionship with Lucas today. He at least also had to find out how much money Lucas had and whether or not Lucas would give him another gift worth a few million dors. So when he saw Gretchen in a conflict with Lucas and Charlotte at the entrance of the hotel earlier, he had merely rebuked Gretchen without reprimanding Charlotte for being disrespectful to her elders. He had also saved Lucas from a scolding then. But he never expected that Lucas would be such a troublemaker and end up causing two big wigs to show up here today to settle scores with him,pletely ruining his precious grandson¡¯s wedding. He absolutely hated Lucas to the core and detested him much more than before! Besides, by doing so, Eddie was trying his best to paint a good image of the Turners in front of the helmsmen of the Parkers and the Bensons. As long as these two big shots were willing to give the Turners a hand, it would be a godsend opportunity to them. They would be able to break away from the identity of a farmer family and rise to be the subject of envy! Eddie didn¡¯t expect much. He would be satisfied as long as the Turners could be a top-tier family in LA. A second-tier one would be fine with him too. Eddie immersed himself in his fantasies gleefully. Karen had always been afraid of getting berated by Eddie. So as soon as she heard his rebuke, she immediately felt that it was all Lucas¡¯s fault. She immediately rushed toward him and raised her hand to p his face. ¡°You damn good-for-nothing! I¡¯ve wanted you to divorce my daughter for a long time, but you¡¯ve been shamelessly staying in our ce and refusing to leave. Great, now you¡¯ve created trouble for me. Why didn¡¯t you die out there before? Hurry up and get lost. Get on your knees to apologize to Mr. Parker and Mr. Benson!¡± Smack! Of course, Karen¡¯s p didn¡¯tnd on Lucas¡¯s face, as one of Flynn¡¯s bodyguards stopped her. Karen was about to lose her temper. But when she saw the tall and burly bodyguard and felt the excruciating paining from her wrist being squeezed, she didn¡¯t dare to say a single word. Bullying the weak and fearing the strong had always been Karen¡¯s style. Thus, although the Turners didn¡¯t dare to make a direct move against Lucas, they all hurled insults at him. All of them were ming Lucas for causing trouble for the Turners by offending big shots that they absolutely couldn¡¯t afford to offend. One by one, they all wanted to bring Lucas to Matthew and Damon with their own hands and make him get on his knees to apologize. Cheyenne looked at her rtives and turned pale as she heard their callous and hurtful remarks. Deep down, she was extremely disappointed with these so-called rtives. Charlotte¡¯s delicate face was tensed up sullenly with anger written all over it as she clenched her fists. She gritted her teeth with all her might while bearing in mind the faces of these people in front of her humiliating Lucas. What bullshit rtives? They¡¯re all a bunch of garbage! At this moment, Nikki, who had been cowering in the crowd and hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time, suddenly squeezed through the crowd to step forward and say something to Damon loudly. Her words immediately made all the people in the ballroom look at her with great astonishment. She said, ¡°Mr. Parker, I know who killed your grandson!¡± Damon¡¯s gaze immediately darted over like the de as he stared at Nikki. ¡°What did you say?¡± Justin¡¯s heart skipped, and he hurriedly chided, ¡°Nikki, you shut up!¡± He never expected that his daughter, who had always been well-behaved, understanding, and presentable, would suddenly speak up at this juncture about the very issue that the helmsman of the Parkers was most concerned about. Nikki wasn¡¯t even at Caldo Mountain when Tristan and his scion friends had gathered for a racest night, so how could she know who the real murderer was? Moreover, as far as he knew, even the Parkers hadn¡¯t been able to find any evidence at the scene of the car crash, so how could Nikki know? The only possibility was that she was just making a wild guess! It would be fine if she made the right guess. But if she was wrong, Damon, whose grandson was the victim, definitely wouldn¡¯t spare her. She might even get the Herons involved too! Nikki is so reckless, and she¡¯s acting presumptuously without discussing this with me beforehand. She really needs to be disciplined properly! Damon narrowed his eyes. He remembered meeting Nikki at the Lion Restaurantst night and knew that she had a deep hatred for Lucas. ording to Keh¡¯s ountst night, she had sowed discord and tried to create trouble several timesst night, which caused him to suffer in Lucas¡¯s hands. She had even caused Tyron to offend Lucas, who ended up breaking his arm. Thus, Matthew flew into a rage and wanted to let his bodyguards toy with her. In the end, she only managed to escape from the fate of getting vited and marred by his bodyguards all because of Lucas. Yet Damon saw extreme resentment for Lucas in her eyes, and she seemed to hate Lucas even more now than she didst night, which Damon found interesting. This woman is indeed a vicious and shameless bitch! But it doesn¡¯t matter. As long as she resents Lucas, she can be considered to be on my side, so I might as well use her to my benefit. ¡°If you¡¯re intending to tell me that my grandson¡¯s death is rted to Lucas Gray, you can save it,¡± Damon deliberately said coldly. In fact, even though they hadn¡¯t found any solid evidence to prove that Lucas had murdered Tristan, they were certain that he was the culprit and needed that conjecture to pin the crime on Lucas. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing if the esteemed Parker family couldn¡¯t even find out who the murderer of their descendant was. No one actually cared if Lucas was really the murderer or not. Even if he was wrongly used, they could just kill the real murderer when they found him. That would be enough to avenge Tristan! So Damon was a little curious as to what Nikki had to say now. Nikki pointed at Lucas and said loudly in a righteous manner, ¡°The person who killed Tristan is none other than Lucas Gray! I witnessed it with my own eyes!¡± # Chapter 457: Getting Credit

Chapter 457: Getting Credit

Everyone was extremely shocked by Nikki¡¯s usation. Although they had somewhat guessed that Tristan¡¯s death might be rted to Lucas as early as when Damon brought his people over to confront him, the impact was still different now that someone had directly testified against him. Everyone looked at Lucas, who was sitting in the corner. How dare Lucas kill a direct descendant of the Parkers? He¡¯s really brazen! Everyone¡¯s eyes were full of wariness and disgust, as if Lucas was a maniacal murderer. Anger was written all over Cheyenne¡¯s face as she yelled at Nikki furiously, ¡°Nikki Heron! Don¡¯t spout nonsense and make false usations!¡± She looked at Nikki, her cousin, and was utterly disappointed in her. Last night, Nikki had targeted her several times and even tried to harm her. But when Matthew threw Nikki to those two bodyguards, Cheyenne had begged Lucas to help Nikki. Despite the grudges between them, the two of them had decided to save Nikki at the risk of offending Matthew again. Yet Nikki not only didn¡¯t thank them, but she even came forward to use Lucas of murder. It was simply an ungrateful act of harming her savior! Besides, Cheyenne believed that Lucas definitely hadn¡¯t killed Tristan, and she knew that Nikki must have lied about having witnessed Lucasmitting murder! Lucas nced at Nikki indifferently. As soon as Nikki met Lucas¡¯s indifferent gaze, she immediately lowered her head, not daring to look him in the eye again. Although she hated Lucas, she was also afraid of him for some reason, especially after seeing Lucas break Tyron¡¯s arm expressionlesslyst night. Damon also noticed that Nikki was slightly fearful of Lucas, but this was just what he wanted. He just needed someone to stand up against Lucas and identify him as the murderer. He didn¡¯t really care if Nikki was telling the truth or not. ¡°Girl, what is your name?¡± Damon suddenly asked Nikki kindly. Nikki was ttered, and a hint of joy appeared on her face as she hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Parker, my name is Nikki Heron! My grandfather is Robert Heron, the chairman of the Heron Corp. Do you have an impression of him?¡± She cleverly only mentioned her grandfather without saying a word about her father, who was standing right here, because Justin had identally incurred the wrath of the furious Damon when he came in, which cost him a hard p on his face. Now, his face was still red and swollen, and it really wasn¡¯t appropriate to bring him up now. Damon, of course, couldn¡¯t remember the name of an old man of a second-tier family, but Heron Corp. was considered a good enterprise in LA, so he vaguely remembered having heard of it. He smiled. ¡°Okay, you don¡¯t have to worry. You have given me important information, and I will not mistreat you. From today onward, Heron Corp. will be a business partner of the Parkers. After today¡¯s matter is over, I will arrange for someone to go to the Herons to discuss the cooperation matters.¡± Nikki was immediately over the moon and thanked him repeatedly. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Parker! The Herons won¡¯t let you down!¡± She had just boldlye forward to use Lucas in order to do the Parkers a favor and suck up to them in hopes that they could help the Herons. Now, she had achieved her purpose! She had been hanging out with the scions of major notable families of LA for a while now just to find an opportunity to hook up with one of them. For example, she had tried to get closer to Keh and had even gone out of her way to give her cousin Cheyenne to him as a bargaining chip just to gain his support for the Herons. But now that Damon had given her his promise, her n would proceed more smoothly! Justin stood at the side, and after hearing Damon¡¯s assurance, euphoria appeared on his face. To be able to cooperate with the esteemed Parkers was simply a great blessing for the Herons! Soon, the Herons would be able to rise with their help and be a first-tier family in LA! Justin was so exhrated that he couldn¡¯t wait to praise his precious daughter! Before today, he still somewhat disliked his only daughter, Nikki, because she wasn¡¯t a boy and thus couldn¡¯t inherit the family business. Moreover, she wasn¡¯t pretty enough to be married to a big family, nor could she bring him more benefits. But his daughter had now managed to get Damon to offer them a chance to cooperate just with a single sentence. He felt that she was really capable! The others were looking at Nikki with envy. With just one sentence of hers, she was given such a great benefit by Damon, who didn¡¯t ask any further details nor verify the authenticity of her words. If they had known, they would have rushed to step forward to use Lucas of being the murderer before Nikki did! Ugh, what a failure! Sitting next to Damon, Matthew acted like he was watching a show. Of course, he had long been able to tell that Nikki wasn¡¯t simple-minded, and he knew that she was probably just doing this on purpose to please the Parkers. But he wouldn¡¯t expose anything. After all, identifying Lucas as the murderer was not in conflict with his desire to kill Lucas and avenge his son, Tyron. ¡°Hah, Flynn Davis, now that the evidence is conclusive, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get out of the way and hand over Lucas Gray to me,¡± Damon said aggressively. When Flynn saw that the two big shots had calmly reached a unanimous goal and that there were a few more people who wanted Lucas dead, his face was extremely sullen. Since he had just said that he would protect Lucas and prevent anyone from harming him, he naturally wouldn¡¯t sit around and wait. He pulled out his phone and made a call. ¡°I want all of the Parkers¡¯ businesses to go bust in half an hour!¡± Damon flew into a rage and roared, ¡°Flynn Davis! Didn¡¯t you hear what I just said? Now that things havee to this point, and it¡¯s an established fact that Lucas Gray killed my grandson Tristan, are you still going to go against the Parkers and the Bensons?¡± Flynn didn¡¯t waver at all. ¡°I just said that as long as I am here, no one is allowed to harm Mr. Gray!¡± He turned his head and nced at Nikki with contempt. He then continued, ¡°What facts? Is this woman¡¯s one-sided im considered evidence? Mr. Parker, you have lived for so many years, so you should have a clear idea of the difference between testimony and nder, right? ¡°Everyone can tell that you are displeased with Mr. Gray, so you made an issue of a baseless remark and tried to make Mr. Gray a murderer! If I said that I saw your grandson getting killed by a Benson, would you also confront the Bensons and hold them ountable?!¡± ¡°You!¡± Damon was so enraged that his face was beet red and his beard shook. Flynn was almost insinuating that he was bullying the weak and deliberately framing Lucas. # Chapter 458: Replaced With an Annoying Face

Chapter 458: Reced With an Annoying Face

Lucas remained silent and rxed in his chair, as if he was an outsider that wasn¡¯t involved at all. He wanted to see how far Flynn could go. Flynn also understood that Lucas was letting him handle the situation as he wished. Besides, Lucas was sitting right behind him anyway. Even if he couldn¡¯t deal with it, Lucas would have his back, so there was nothing he had to worry about. Matthew narrowed his eyes. It was the first time in recent years that he came to LA, and it was the first time he met Flynn, the new hotshot who had just risen to power in LA. But Flynn¡¯s behavior took him by surprise. Although he didn¡¯t know what kind of rtionship there was between Flynn and Lucas, he wouldn¡¯t let Lucas off simply because he had broken the arm of his precious son! ¡°Flynn Davis, you¡¯d better stop what you¡¯re doing. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences of offending the Parkers and the Bensons for the sake of a penniless punk without a powerful background! I doubt you¡¯d be so foolish as to lose your life for an outsider, right?¡± Matthew¡¯s tone was extremely threatening. It was clear what he meant: if Flynn insisted on taking Lucas¡¯s side, he would kill Flynn. Given the power and methods that the Bensons had employed in the past, it would be a piece of cake for them to get someone killed. Flynn thought about it for a second before looking up with a sneer. He gibed, ¡°Mr. Benson, you seem to think that the Bensons are invincible, don¡¯t you? Well, I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t like to be threatened. Since you insist on getting involved, all of the Bensons¡¯ businesses in LA will also cease to exist starting today!¡± Then he took out his phone again and made another call. ¡°Get rid of all of Matthew Benson¡¯s businesses in LA!¡± Flynn was directly falling out with the Bensons! Everyone was dumbfounded and couldn¡¯t believe their ears. It¡¯s the Bensons of San Francisco! Is Flynn Davis out of his mind? Even if the Sr Corporation can be considered thergest enterprise in LA now, it¡¯s only a megapany. The Bensons are definitely more powerful and richer than the Sr Corporation! Furthermore, the Bensons had a widework of connections with the giants of LA and the support of the Coles. In their opinion, Flynn was undoubtedly overestimating his own strength and courting death by confronting people who were more powerful than him! ¡°Flynn Davis must really be out of his mind, right? Just now, he said that he wants to destroy all the businesses owned by the Parkers. And now, he¡¯s saying that he wants to eradicate all the Bensons¡¯ businesses in LA! Who does he think he is? He¡¯s just the general manager of the Sr Corporation!¡± ¡°In my opinion, Flynn Davis is just beingcent because he¡¯s been doing well in LAtely and turned the Sr Corporation into the biggestpany in LA.¡± ¡°Yes! I think he¡¯s too conceited to remember how treacherous society is! It¡¯s the esteemed Parker and Benson families we¡¯re talking about. How dare he say such things to the two helmsmen?¡± ¡°I heard that punk Lucas Gray is just the penniless live-in husband of Eddie Turner¡¯s granddaughter and doesn¡¯t have a powerful background. Flynn Davis is being too stupid by offending these two giants for the sake of someone like that!¡± ... Everyone started whispering among themselves and even criticized Flynn, undermining him and making him out to be a worthless person. They were certain that he had to be crazy. Only Lucas remained sitting with a faint smile as he gave Flynn a look of approval. Perhaps in the eyes of others, Flynn¡¯s actions were indeed very irrational and possibly even crazy. But Lucas knew that Flynn wasn¡¯t acting recklessly, but rather, it was because he knew that he had Lucas¡¯s support. Taking advantage of the situation, being resourceful, and employing powerful means to deal with an enemy whose strength was significantly superior was an excellent quality of an outstanding person. In Lucas¡¯s opinion, if Flynn was still helpless against the Parkers and Bensons even with his support, there was no way he would be able to survive in dangerous situations when he went to deal with the Huttons in DC in the future. He wouldn¡¯t be able toplete the tasks Lucas assigned to him either. Flynn¡¯s counterattack and his immediate order to have the Bensons¡¯ businesses in LA eradicated angered Matthew, who had always been praised and highly regarded in LA. He didn¡¯t expect that someone who was just the mere general manager, not the chairman, of a corporation in LA would be so defiant toward him. Not only was he not intimidated by his threats, but he even made a move against the Bensons. Who gave him the audacity to do that? With a cold and bloodthirsty gaze in his eyes, Matthew said with a smile, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re very gutsy, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯ll see how you can make the Bensons vanish from LA!¡± He had already developed the desire to kill Flynn. He had already killed countless small fries with the audacity to confront him in the past, and one more wouldn¡¯t matter! The atmosphere in the ballroom was extremely somber. The two big bosses were visibly displeased, so no one dared to incur their wrath at this moment. Nikki, who had just impressed Damon, was also sensible enough to keep her mouth shut at this point. But as the host of the wedding, the Turners were full ofplicated emotions. Eddie red at Karen with a gloomy face and chided softly, ¡°It¡¯s all because of that son-inw of yours! Dn is my one and only precious grandson, and it¡¯s his big day today. But now, you¡¯ve ruined it all! Lucas has also offended those two bigwigs. If he implicates the Turners, I won¡¯t care about the fact that you¡¯re my daughter at all. I¡¯ll surely sever ties with you and throw your family out!¡± Alex rebuked resentfully, ¡°If I had known this would happen, I wouldn¡¯t have invited you! You¡¯ve caused so much trouble and ruined our mood, as well as Dn¡¯s wedding! Karen, I¡¯m telling you, if Dn can¡¯t get married today, and we end up upsetting Dn¡¯s wife and her family, I¡¯ll make sure youpensate us with at least tens of thousands. Do you understand?¡± Alex was extremely harsh and hostile, with no regard for the fact that Karen was his biological sister. Karen opened her mouth, but she couldn¡¯t say a single word. When Flynn came over to speak to Charlotte just twenty minutes ago, all the Turners and their rtives had been surrounding Karen and showering her with endlesspliments. They had even urged her to put in a good word for them in front of Charlotte to get Flynn to help them, which had made Karen really smug. But her happiness was short-lived. It had been less than twenty minutes since then, and everyone already began to turn their backs on her. They started pointing fingers at her, ming her, and even threatened to sever ties with her. She was really aggrieved too! Karen naturally didn¡¯t dare to me her parents, brother, and family. All she could do was re at Lucas with resentment. In short, this is all Lucas Gray¡¯s fault! If not for him, I would still be enjoying thepliments of my rtives instead of standing here and suffering this infuriating mistreatment! Suddenly, several cars pulled over at the entrance of the hotel, and a group of people in suits strode in quickly. The crowd looked over in bewilderment. Who are these people walking in now? # Chapter 459: Acquaintances Have Arrived

Chapter 459: Acquaintances Have Arrived

But before they could continue to specte, the people that entered had already walked up to Damon and Matthew and began bowing to them one after another. ¡°Mr. Benson, Mr. Parker! I am Jude Morris of Culture M. I¡¯m at your disposal!¡± ¡°I am Kurt Fowler, helmsman of the Fowler family in LA. I¡¯m also at your disposal!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Clyde Banks of Urban Apparel. I¡¯m at your disposal!¡± ... The people standing in front of Damon and Matthew revealed their identities, and most importantly, they dered that they were at the disposal of Damon and Matthew. There was a huge uproar in the ballroom. These people in front of them were no small fries but bigwigs whose families were also considered top-tier in LA. Although they weren¡¯t as powerful as giants like the Parkers and Owens, they were far superior and more difficult to reach than ordinary people. Now, they were all gathered here and had taken the initiative to show their allegiance to Damon and Matthew. A trace of surprise appeared in Matthew¡¯s eyes. He had met many of these people in the private room of the Lion Restaurant yesterday. But he was baffled as to why they suddenly gathered here to show their loyalty to him. However, despite being surprised, Matthew didn¡¯t show it and instead felt rather satisfied. With these peopleing here to stand behind them, Flynn seemed even more insignificant. At the side, Damon seemed very satisfied. He had arranged for them toe here. As soon as Flynn revealed his intentions to go against him, Damon had already tasked his secretary to find some people toe here and show their support for him. Now, he happened to have done Matthew a favor too. With these people at his disposal, Damon was much more confident. He raised his head and slowly said to Flynn, ¡°You were really arrogant just now, weren¡¯t you? You said that you wanted to destroy the Parkers¡¯ businesses and make sure they disappear from LA. Try repeating yourself.¡± Before Flynn could reply, the group of people from the top families of LA began sneering and mocking him. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear that wrongly, did I? How dare Flynn Davis say something like that?! Do you think that we¡¯re all afraid of you just because we chose not to stoop low to your level?¡± ¡°You just don¡¯t know any better! Do you think you can offend the Parkers and the Bensons?¡± ¡°You¡¯re only in charge of the Sr Corporation. What else do you have? How dare you speak so shamelessly and im that you want to deal with the Parkers and Bensons? It¡¯s time you get a reality check and know where you stand!¡± ¡°Hah, you¡¯re really bold, and you¡¯ve got a huge appetite! As long as we¡¯re around, I¡¯m afraid the Sr Corporation will be the first to be destroyed! Forget about dealing with the Parkers and Bensons!¡± All of them mocked Flynn. Although they had wanted to build a good rtionship with Flynn, and many of them had even somewhat regarded Flynn as someone who could be on equal footing as Matthew and Damon, they felt that Flynn was courting death now. Not only had he offended the Parkers, but he also offended the Bensons from San Francisco. So they had to immediately draw a clear line between themselves and him! Furthermore, the reason they had rushed here was that they had received a notice from Damon to stand on his side to drive Flynn out of LA. Once they did so, they would naturally split the Sr Corporation among themselves! Before arriving, they only knew that Flynn had offended Damon, so there were a few others who were too timid and gave excuses not toe. But now that they learned that the Bensons were also on their side, they felt that there was nothing to be afraid of! Those who chose to chicken out would probably be full of regret after learning the truth! Flynn¡¯s gaze turned solemn as he faced the group of people in front of him. They were not ordinary people. Among those standing against him now, there was the helmsman of the Parker family, one of the two top giants in LA, and the Bensons, a whale in San Francisco with the backing of the Coles, as well as the helmsmen of seven top families in LA. Their powerbined was definitely not to be underestimated! But theirmon goal now was to grab Lucas, something that Flynn would never allow! ¡°Since you all want to interfere just as Mr. Parker does, you can all disappear from LA together with him,¡± Flynn said with an indifferent expression, as if he was talking about a trivial matter. But the crowd around him burst intomotion! ¡°What did he say? He said that he wanted these families to disappear from LA together?!¡± ¡°Oh my god! He¡¯s so arrogant! He¡¯s merely the general manager of the Sr Corporation. How can he possibly do that?¡± ¡°He must have lost his mind! A normal person would never say such things. I think we should send him to the mental hospital for a proper examination of his mental state.¡± ¡°All these people in front of us are the heads of the top LA families! Flynn Davis must be dreaming. I bet the Sr Corporation will definitely be eradicated after tonight!¡± ... In their opinion, Flynn was no longer just being arrogant. He was beingpletely brainless! If he had the ability to destroy so many top LA families in one day, shake the financial foundation of the Parkers, and get rid of the Bensons from LA, how could he still be just the general manager of merely onepany? If Flynn could fulfill just one of these things, they would kneel down and call him daddy, not to mention all three together! Just as the crowd was bashing Flynn, two more people hurriedly walked in from outside. Lucas looked up a little with some interest in his eyes. The two who arrived were people he knew. He reckoned that they must have shown up here out of nowhere because of Tristan¡¯s deathst night. But he didn¡¯t know what their attitudes would be like. The two people who just entered were none other than the richest man in Orange County, Ethan Sawyer, and his daughter, Lena! Ethan didn¡¯t see Lucas. He merely took a quick nce around the ballroom after entering. He then looked at Damon, who was sitting in the middle of the hall, and immediately walked over while pulling Lena along. ¡°Mr. Parker, I¡¯ve specially brought my insensible daughter here today to apologize to you!¡± Then he bent forward to bow to Damon as a junior. All of a sudden, the crowd got into an uproar again! # Chapter 460: A Small Lesson

Chapter 460: A Small Lesson

Ethan¡¯s status today was already quite high as the helmsman of one of the four top families in Orange County and the richest person in the county. He was very well known as well. But he was really a junior in front of Damon, who was in his seventies and a friend of Ethan¡¯s father. Previously, they had agreed on the marriage alliance between Lena and Damon¡¯s grandson. So no matter what, Ethan could indeed be considered a junior of Damon. As he was the richest man in Orange County, his words immediately made many people gasp in amazement. ¡°So this is Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County? He looks very young!¡± ¡°Why is the richest man in Orange County here too? He even said that he brought his daughter here to apologize to Mr. Parker. Did something happen?¡± ¡°I once heard that Tristan Parker was engaged to Ethan¡¯s daughter, and now that Tristan is dead, he¡¯s probably here to discuss the matter of their engagement. But why does he want to apologize? Could Tristan¡¯s death be rted to his daughter?¡± ¡°Shh! Do you have a death wish? Don¡¯t spout nonsense like that! That¡¯s the richest man in Orange County. You¡¯re dead meat if he hears you!¡± ... All of a sudden, another enthusiastic discussion was sparked because of Ethan¡¯s arrival and his mention of making Lena apologize. The Turners were almost numb from being overjoyed at the continuous arrival of such big shots. During normal circumstances, they would definitely be over the moon to have so many bigwigs at Dn¡¯s wedding. But no one was considering the matters of the wedding now, as all their attention was drawn to Damon, Matthew, the group of helmsmen of the top LA families, Flynn, and Ethan. The Turners had absolutely no say in front of so many big shots, let alone building some connections and getting acquainted with them. Justin¡¯s eyes were also wide open. These bigwigs were streaming in one after another, and at this point, he really couldn¡¯t tell which one of them was the big shot his father wanted him to please. The dozen or so people in front of him were all of higher status than the Herons. And to him, they were all powerful figures, so he was really stuck in a dilemma! After Ethan bent forward to apologize, he noticed that his daughter, who was standing beside him, was still keeping her back straight, which angered him. Ethan poked Lena¡¯s head and urged, ¡°You unfilial daughter! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Parker! At the same time, tell him truthfully about everything you know regarding the incident yesterday!¡± Lena remained standing stubbornly and refused to bow down and apologize. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?¡± Noticing that Damon was frowning, Ethan gritted his teeth and pped Lena¡¯s face! Smack! After giving her a tight and loud p on the face, Ethan rebuked furiously, ¡°How dare you talk back to me? I told you first thing this morning toe over and apologize to Mr. Parker and then exin to him who the young man with you at Caldo Mountainst night was! That person is the likely suspect of the murder. You¡¯d better hurry up and speak up. You don¡¯t want the Sawyers to be used of covering up for a murderer, do you?¡± In fact, the Parkers must have gotten a clear investigation of who the person with Lenast night was. After all, Tristan was the only one who died, and there were at least twenty of his scion friends there too. They could easily find out who the man was by asking any of them. But Ethan did this mainly to express his attitude to the Parkers and show that he was really unaware of the situation. He also wanted to show that Lena wasn¡¯t in an illicit rtionship with that young man either. Unfortunately, Lena refused to reveal the identity of the young man who was with her. Ethan was angry and anxious, but there was nothing he could do. While everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Ethan and Lena and trying to find out some insider information about the death of Tristan from them, Charlotte came over to Lucas and whispered, ¡°Lucas, you should hurry up and leave while they¡¯re being distracted and focusing on the Sawyers! I went around checking, and I discovered that there is an inconspicuous storage room not far away. There¡¯s a window in that room you can definitely escape from!¡± Only then did Lucas realize that Charlotte had disappeared for a short while just now to find an escape route for him. There were so many powerful figures present, and they were all standing against Lucas in unison, while Lucas only had Flynn to protect him. They were clearly outnumbered and possibly outssed! Charlotte was afraid that they would really unite, stop Lucas from leaving, and take him away! Lucas was naturally touched by Charlotte¡¯s behavior. But he was not going to escape through the window of a storage room. If he left, these people would definitely not spare his wife, Cheyenne, Charlotte, and Flynn. So there was no way he would escape on his own without them. Besides, Lucas didn¡¯t need to escape at all because these people in front of him could do nothing to him. ¡°Hmph! You guys are actually thinking of escaping? With me here, you can¡¯t escape anywhere!¡± All of a sudden, a sharp voice sounded beside them. Charlotte was startled when she saw Nikki standing beside them with a menacing expression on her already unattractive face, which was now twisted into a grimace of excitement and hatred. Charlotte suddenly felt that her cousin, who was only a few months older than her, was just like aplete stranger. She was absolutely terrifying and just like a ghost! Nikki deliberately yelled loudly, instantly attracting everyone¡¯s attention. She felt she couldn¡¯t intervene when Damon was speaking, but she was worried that Lucas might take the opportunity to sneak away. So she had deliberatelye over to guard them and prevent them from leaving. It just so happened that she overheard Charlotte and Lucas¡¯s conversation! ¡°Nikki, you¡¯re such a viin!¡± Seeing the smug and conceited expression on Nikki¡¯s face, Charlotte boiled with fury and raised her hand to p her face. Smack! Charlotte didn¡¯t hold back at all. She didn¡¯t know the disgusting things that Nikki had done to Cheyenne and Lucasst night. But Nikki¡¯s act of exposing her n to escape and standing on Damon¡¯s side was enough to make Charlotte feel repulsed by her, who had no concerns for her kin and was only interested in selfish benefits. Nikki covered her swollen and painful cheek for a while before reacting and yelling, ¡°Charlotte Carter, you bitch! How dare you p me?!¡± She was so livid that she raised her hand and reached out to scratch Charlotte¡¯s face with her long nails! Ahhhh! This is infuriating! She was determined to scratch Charlotte¡¯s charming face and see how she could still be a general manager! But before she could reach Charlotte¡¯s face, her wrists were grabbed by a pair of iron mp like hands. As soon as Nikki raised her head, she was met with Lucas¡¯s icy cold eyes. The next second, Nikki felt an immense blow to her stomach that sent her flying away! Bang! Nikki¡¯s body collided with a concrete pir several meters away before falling heavily to the ground. Amid everyone¡¯s shocked gazes, Lucas calmly moved his foot away and said coldly, ¡°She should have been taught this lesson a long time ago!¡± # Chapter 461: Difficult To Fathom

Chapter 461: Difficult To Fathom

Nikki had been creating trouble incessantly, and Lucas had been tolerating her nonsense for a long time. Moreover, Lucas had just been sitting still like he was just watching a show while letting Flynn handle the matter. Now that he had witnessed Flynn¡¯spetency and capabilities, he didn¡¯t mind intervening to personally deal with these big shots of major families, as he reckoned that even Flynn wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with so many powerful opponents. Lucas¡¯s sudden kick caught many people off guard. In particr, Ethan was staring at him with his eyes so wide open that they seemed to be about to fall out. ¡°Mr... Mr. Gray!?! You... What are you doing here?¡± Ethan asked in surprise. He had arrived thetest, so he wasn¡¯t aware of the tension in the ballroom and the previous conflicts that had broken out. Besides, he was here only to apologize to Damon, so he dragged Lena with him and headed straight to where Damon was as soon as he entered. He didn¡¯t notice the other people around him at all. Not to mention Lucas, who was sitting in the corner and blocked by many people, Ethan didn¡¯t even notice Matthew, who was sitting near Damon. It was only when Lucas stood up to send Nikki flying with a kick, attracting the attention of the crowd, did Ethan finally discover Lucas¡¯s presence. Moreover, he was smart enough to immediately guess from the gazes in the eyes of those around him that Lucas wasn¡¯t in a favorable position right now. But Ethan wasn¡¯t the least bit worried about Lucas. Among all the people here, Ethan was probably the one who knew most about Lucas¡¯s true strength and power. When Lucas returned to Orange County more than three months ago, Ethan had personally gone to the airport to pick up Lucas with Chad Kennedy, the Huttons¡¯ butler. Chad had also ryed the intentions of the helmsman of the Huttons for Lucas to return to DC and take over the family. They were the Huttons, one of the eight major families in DC! They held immeasurable power, and it would be no exaggeration to say that they were almost as wealthy as the country. Although Lucas had directly and unceremoniously rejected the Huttons, Chad didn¡¯t get angry in the slightest. Instead, he told Lucas that he could return to the Huttons to take over the family at any time as long as he was willing to. This just showed how terrifying Lucas¡¯s true power really was! Apart from this, Ethan had also discovered that Lucas had done many amazing things even without the help of the Huttons¡¯ power. Except for the Stardust Corporation, which the Huttons had returned to Lucas, the rest of the businesses he now owned, such as the Ocean Bathhouse, Little Antis City, and the Sr Corporation, were acquired on his own. Moreover, Ethan also sensed that Lucas¡¯s true power was probably far more terrifying than this! Just as Ethan was thinking about the problem, two people immediately ran to Nikki, who had been kicked away by Lucas. After taking a look at her, they raised their heads and glowered at Lucas in exasperation. ¡°Lucas Gray! How dare youy a hand on my daughter?! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Justin saw Nikki curled up on the ground, clutching her gut and throwing up some of the food she had eaten. He was enraged and red at Lucas like he wanted to devour him alive! In the beginning, he didn¡¯t value Nikki much. But she deserved great credit for obtaining Damon¡¯s offer to cooperate with the Herons earlier. Thus, she was no longer worthless in his eyes, so he was livid at this moment. Moreover, Nikki was his daughter, and the fact that Lucas had hit her in front of so many people was a tant insult to him and the Herons. To make matters worse, Justin had always treated Lucas as a good-for-nothing, yet Lucas had the guts to hit Nikki, something that he wouldn¡¯t let go of no matter what! Gretchen shrieked and leaped toward Nikki while howling in a shrilling voice. ¡°Ahh! Lucas Gray, you scoundrel. How could you hit my daughter so severely?! I¡¯ll never spare you. I¡¯m going to kill you! My poor Nikki, wake up quickly! Don¡¯t scare me! If anything happens to you, I¡¯ll bury Lucas Gray with you!¡± The faces of the other Turners were also extremely gloomy. In their opinion, Nikki had a higher status than Charlotte and Cheyenne because she was the granddaughter of Robert Heron, the head of a second-tier family in LA. But she had just gotten hit by Cheyenne¡¯s good-for-nothing husband! How could this do? Eddie was so furious that his face paled, and he vented all his anger on Karen. ¡°Karen, look at this trash you¡¯ve chosen for a son-inw! What else can he do besides causing trouble? Oh, he also knows to hit his rtives. How impressive!¡± Alex chimed in sarcastically, ¡°Karen, I told you, your son-inw is aplete wastrel! He doesn¡¯t dare to say a word when he¡¯s targeted by others, but he¡¯s so haughty and harsh to his own rtives. Hah! If I had known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have invited you guys! All you do is create trouble for me!¡± Karen¡¯s face turned red from getting rebuked, but she couldn¡¯t reply at all. So she could only re at Lucas scornfully while making up her mind that she would definitely drive Lucas, whom she perceived to be a jinx, out of their lives! But before that, she decided that she had to get her hands on Lucas¡¯s vi and his assets! At this moment, Justin was so exasperated that he picked up arge bowl on the table next to him and hurled it at Lucas. ¡°Go to hell!¡± The heavy porcin bowl flew toward Lucas¡¯s head. ¡°Stop it!¡± Ethan¡¯s expression changed drastically as he roared angrily and immediately rushed toward Justin. But he was still a little too far from Lucas and couldn¡¯t make it in time. Fortunately, the porcin bowl was blocked by the few bodyguards that Flynn had arranged earlier to stand by Lucas¡¯s side. Ethan rushed over in fury and kicked Justin! ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare youy a hand on Mr. Gray?!¡± Ethan cursed furiously and continued to kick Justin, appearing to have not vented his anger yet. Not far away, Lena looked at the scene in front of her with her eyes so wide open that they were about to fall out. W-what¡¯s going on? Am I hallucinating? Didn¡¯t Dad bring me here to confront Lucas and force me to tell the Parkers all about Lucas to seek forgiveness from Mr. Parker? But why... why does Dad seem to be... defending Lucas now? # Chapter 462: Crushed Into Bits

Chapter 462: Crushed Into Bits

However, she soon saw a scene that left her in disbelief. After kicking Justin, Ethan walked straight toward Lucas and stopped in front of him. He bent forward a little and said respectfully with enthusiasm, ¡°Mr. Gray, had I known earlier that you were here in LA too, I would havee to see you a long time ago.¡± This scene not only stunned Lena but also the people around them. Dumbfounded and shocked, their jaws dropped. They all wondered if they had heard him wrongly. The richest man in Orange County was actually so polite to Lucas, and he even spoke to him in such a deferential tone. It was simply unbelievable! Lucas smiled. ¡°Mr. Sawyer, you are the wealthiest man in Orange County, while I¡¯m just a penniless man with nothing to his name. I don¡¯t deserve to hear that from you at all.¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was calm and indifferent, but it made Ethan so nervous that his heart started beating rapidly. Did I offend Lucas somehow? He quickly thought about it in his mind while chuckling awkwardly. ¡°Mr. Gray, quit kidding around with me. That¡¯s just a superficial status. I can¡¯t hold a candle to you at all!¡± Lucas continued calmly, ¡°Is that so? But I heard with my own ears just now that you wanted your daughter to tell Mr. Parker all about me.¡± Ethan froze in shock and frantically shook his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not true! I just asked Lena...¡± But halfway through his speech, he came to a sudden realization and abruptly widened his eyes in shock while staring at Lucas. ¡°Could... the young man who was with Lenast night be you, Mr. Gray?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows and nodded nomittally. Ethan immediately looked embarrassed, which was rare of him. The reason he had asked Lena to tell him everything about the young man with her sidest night was that he had already assumed that the man who had gotten into a conflict with Tristanst night was most likely Tristan¡¯s murderer. So he had wanted to take Lena to see Damon and exin things clearly to him. But after he learned that the young man was actually Lucas, his heart immediately sank. Regardless of whether or not Lucas was the one who killed Tristan, Ethan would never go against Lucas. Besides, he had secretly observed the expressions on the faces of all the people in the ballroom, especially Damon, who was ring at Lucas with clear hatred in his eyes. So he knew that the Parkers must have decided that Lucas was the one who killed Tristan. In that case, Damon¡¯s purpose for showing up here with such arge group of people was undoubtedly to deal with Lucas. When he thought about how he had just gone to Damon to apologize and evenpelled his daughter to tell him about Lucas, Ethan felt a chill rushing up his spine from the bottom of his feet, causing him to shiver. Oh my god, what have I almost done?! The man in front of him was a colossus who could take over the Hutton family at any time! No one here could do anything to Lucas at all, not even the Parkers! After breaking out in cold sweat, Ethan immediately came back to his senses and yelled at the people around him, who were glowering at Lucas with threatening gazes. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what exactly happened here, Mr. Gray is my best friend, and anyone who dares to disrespect him will be my enemy!¡± No one expected that Ethan, who had just apologized to Damon, would suddenly stand on Lucas¡¯s side in the blink of an eye. He even seemed to be particrly resolute about defending Lucas. His words were also simr to what Flynn had said earlier. Does he not know that there¡¯s an irreparable feud between Lucas Gray and Damon Parker? Everyone was in extreme disbelief. Even Lena was astounded, but she was ted and heartened that her father was standing on Lucas¡¯s side instead of going against him. She subconsciously let out a long sigh of relief, ran over, and also stood beside them. She even winked at Cheyenne, who was standing by Lucas¡¯s side. However, Damon was in a terrible mood now. He didn¡¯t expect Ethan would suddenly stand on Lucas¡¯s side even though the Parkers and Sawyers had been friends for decades. He even dered that anyone who disrespected Lucas would be his enemy, which really angered him! Damon narrowed his eyes and asked with a threatening tone, ¡°Ethan Sawyer, what do you mean by this? Are you sure you want to help that punk?¡± Ethan nodded without a single moment of hesitation and even advised Damon, ¡°Mr. Parker, on ount of the friendship between the Sawyers and the Parkers over the years, I advise you to investigate carefully who the real murderer of your grandson is. Mr. Gray isn¡¯t an ordinary person.¡± Although there was no conclusive evidence to prove that it wasn¡¯t Lucas who had killed Tristan yet, Ethan felt that even if Lucas was indeed the murderer, he must have done so because Tristan had gone overboard and provoked Lucas by doing something intolerable. In that case, he thought that Tristan deserved to die! He understood Lucas well enough to know that thetter wouldn¡¯t kill anyone for no reason. If Lucas really killed someone, it would only mean that that person hadpletely angered him. Moreover, if Lucas really killed Tristan, Ethan wouldn¡¯t feel sad at all. He would just think that he must have been blind to think that Tristan would be a good husband for Lena. So he merely gave Damon that piece of advice. Even if the Parkers broke off all ties with the Sawyers in the future, Ethan would still stand on Lucas¡¯s side. After hearing what Ethan said, which seemed like a warning, Damon became even more infuriated. ¡°Ethan Sawyer, are you really going to stand against me for the sake of a mere outsider?¡± Damon slowly said while staring straight into Ethan¡¯s eyes. He had been friends with Ethan¡¯s father for decades, and he had practically watched Ethan grow up, though the two families grew distant in theter years because the Sawyers developed in Orange County while the Parkers did so in LA. They grew further apart after the passing of Ethan¡¯s father. But no matter what, they were still family friends for decades, and some time ago, they had even settled on Lena¡¯s and Tristan¡¯s engagement. Yet Ethan had now chosen to go against him for an ignorant man who was highly suspected of being the murderer of his grandson. Damon felt like he had been betrayed and was boiling with unspeakable anger. Ethan sighed, but he still said with unusual determination, ¡°I mean what I just said from the bottom of my heart. Mr. Parker, I hope you¡¯ll think twice before acting! Also, as I¡¯ve just said, Mr. Gray isn¡¯t an outsider but my best friend. He once saved my life, so anyone who makes an enemy of him is choosing to make an enemy of me!¡± He didn¡¯t dare to expose Lucas¡¯s identity in front of outsiders, so he merely used the pretext that Lucas was his life savior. He had already reminded Damon twice not to make Lucas his enemy, but if Damon stubbornly refused to heed his advice, there was nothing he could do. ¡°Will I also be your enemy if I choose to deal with Lucas Gray? If it¡¯s a powerful family from San Francisco that wants to deal with Lucas, what can you do?¡± Damon questioned sneeringly with disappointment all over his pale face. ¡°That¡¯s right! The same applies even to you!¡± Ethan nodded and continued firmly, ¡°As for others, they cane as they please! Even if it takes all the power and even the foundation of the Sawyers, I will definitely stand on Mr. Gray¡¯s side!¡± # Chapter 463: Mass Declaration of War

Chapter 463: Mass Deration of War

As soon as they heard those words of determination, everyone was incredibly astonished! Many of them knew that the Sawyers and the Parkers had a close rtionship and had been family friends for decades. Yet Ethan was now willing to fall out with the Parkers for a live-in husband that everyone despised, and he even said that he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to lose all he had for Lucas! Even if Lucas had saved his life, he didn¡¯t have to go to such lengths! In today¡¯s society, there are heartless and unfeeling ingrates everywhere. Would Ethan Sawyer really be willing to give up his life and everything the Sawyers had just to repay Lucas for saving his life? It was really incredible! Matthew, who had been sitting at the side quietly, narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin with his hand as a strange gaze appeared in his eyes. Damon had told him that Lucas was just a nobody who didn¡¯t have a powerful background and, at best, was an illegitimate son who had been kicked out by the Huttons two decades ago. Damon had also said that Lucas was a penniless good-for-nothing who had no power or status and was surviving by freeloading off of his wife. But after seeing Ethan¡¯s sudden change of attitude and his unwavering determination to stand on Lucas¡¯s side¡ªjust like Flynn, who had shown he would rather offend all of them than leave Lucas¡ªMatthew began to have a change of mind. Flynn and Ethan were naturally not fools, so he wondered if Lucas, whom they were defending vehemently, was really just a powerless good-for-nothing. He definitely didn¡¯t believe that Lucas¡¯s mere association with the Huttons would make them want to protect him to such an extent. Besides, he also didn¡¯t believe that Ethan would put so much on the line to protect Lucas just because thetter had saved his life. There had to be a reason for this that he didn¡¯t know about! Just as Matthew was still pondering about it, Damon had already flown into a rage. ¡°Very well! That¡¯s what you said. You¡¯d rather be the Parkers¡¯ enemy. In that case, I hereby officially dere that the Sawyers from Orange County are now our enemies!¡± Damon roared furiously. As soon as he said this, several more people stepped forward. They were the helmsmen of the top LA families, whom Damon had called over. ¡°The Sawyers from Orange County will also be our enemies from now on!¡± ¡°I second that! The Sawyers will also be the enemies of the Fowlers from today onward!¡± ¡°Me too! The Sawyers will be the enemies of the Banks!¡± ... In an instant, seven helmsmen chimed in and echoed Damon, dering their animosity toward the Sawyers. The scene was incredibly overwhelming and shocking for everyone present, as they had never seen anything like this before. It... it was simply much more exciting than the scenes in TV shows! For most of the people in the ballroom, being able to see so many magnates and prestigious people all at the same ce at the same time was something that they could brag about for years. Moreover, so many powerful families had now dered war against another family simultaneously. It was really exciting! They reckoned that Ethan had to be panicking now that so many powerful families were standing against him at the same time. But to their disappointment, he wasn¡¯t. Ethan remained standing indifferently, as if these families in front of him who had just dered war against him werepletely insignificant. Even some of the sharp-eyed ones could see a trace of pity and contempt in Ethan¡¯s eyes. Pity? Contempt? Impossible! I must have seen wrongly! At this moment, Lucas suddenly looked at Matthew, who had been keeping mum. He asked with a smile, ¡°They¡¯ve made their choices. What about you?¡± Matthew didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would actually ask about his standposedly at a time when everyone had dered themselves enemies with Ethan. Of course, in Matthew¡¯s opinion, Lucas was just behaving so because he knew that Ethan was on his side. So he was emboldened and confident enough to question him. Since Matthew had arrived in LA, he had been praised and regarded highly by everyone, who was trying to please him. They would all speak to him respectfully and deferentially. Lucas was the only one who dared to speak to him in such a nonchnt tone. ¡°Punk, did you get the guts to speak to me with such a tone just because you have someone backing you up?¡± Matthew questioned with clear hostility in his eyes. Lucas smiled with nonchnce and retorted, ¡°Matthew Benson, do you think that you¡¯re naturally a ss above others and that others must speak to you subserviently with utmost respect?¡± ¡°Outrageous! How dare you call Mr. Benson by his name? Are you tired of living?¡± ¡°This punk is really too arrogant! Just because he has two people backing him up, he has the audacity to disregard Mr. Benson. I bet he has a death wish!¡± ¡°Hah, his backers are just the general manager of the Sr Corporation and the Sawyers. With so many of usbined, we can easily destroy them without even needing the help of the Bensons. How dare you be so smug and cocky to us?! Indeed, you¡¯re such a good-for-nothing!¡± ¡°Mr. Benson, Mr. Parker, as long as you issue the order, we will immediately help you to destroy the Sr Corporation and the Sawyers!¡± ... After hearing what Lucas said, the people standing in front of Matthew beganshing out at Lucas and hurling insults and vulgarities at him, for fear that Matthew might think that they weren¡¯t defending him well enough. Matthew said with a pleasant smile, ¡°Punk, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard this saying that goes, ¡®With money, you can get whatever you want¡¯. I¡¯ll have these people teach you a lesson on my behalf without having to issue any orders. This is indeed what makes me a ss above others. Do you understand?¡± Everyone¡¯s hearts palpitated. Indeed, the rich could act as they pleased to arge extent. And the reason these people were trying all they could to build connections with the rich and powerful was precisely that they were hoping to be as wealthy as Matthew so that they could do whatever they wanted too. But Lucas snorted coldly and gibed, ¡°You¡¯re just lucky to have been born to a wealthy family, which saved you years of hard work. What gives you such a strong sense of superiority? There are countless people who are richer, more powerful, and more capable than you. You¡¯re just a dog raised by the Coles. What is there to feel superior about? What makes you think you¡¯re a ss above everyone else?¡± Matthew¡¯s smile immediately stiffened. It was true that the Bensons¡¯ wealth was umted with the old money passed down from their ancestors. Furthermore, Matthew had made several mistakes that resulted in heavy financial losses, and he had even almost lost all of his family¡¯s assets. It was only through attachment to the Coles, the top family in San Francisco, that the Bensons managed to gradually develop and grow in the past few years. Every single one of Lucas¡¯s words had indeed struck a sour note within him, particrly the part about him being a dog raised by the Coles. His face immediately grew gloomy. He said through clenched teeth, ¡°No one has ever dared to say such infuriating words to me. Punk, you¡¯vepletely angered me this time! I¡¯ll definitely teach you a hard lesson!¡± A bloodthirsty gaze began to form in Matthew¡¯s eyes. # Chapter 464: Amid The Battle

Chapter 464: Amid The Battle

Utterly fearless, Lucas sneered. ¡°Cut the crap. If you have what it takes, bring it on. I can¡¯t be bothered to argue with you!¡± Lucas really couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his time on a narrow-minded person like Matthew, who couldn¡¯t see the clearer picture and realize the situation he was in. Matthew had always had a great sense of superiority and went around with his nose in the air because he felt that since he was from a notable family in San Francisco, he was definitely better than the rest. Just now, he even said that he could do whatever he wanted with money. Indeed, in most cases, being rich would give you the luxury of doing whatever you wanted. But in terms of wealth and financial power, the Stardust Corporation alone was already worth much more than the Bensons. In fact, it could be said that thebined wealth of all of the people present was barelyparable to what Lucas had. In terms ofbat abilities, Lucas was definitely a top expert who was rare in this world. There were very few in the country who were a match for him. Only a powerful person like him, who owned a massive amount of wealth and had incredible strength, could im that he had the ability to do whatever he wanted. However, he didn¡¯t do so and instead chose to keep a low profile. Matthew was nothingpared to him. Lucas nced at Flynn and said straightforwardly, ¡°Mr. Davis, I hope that you can deal with these people and make sure they end up with nothing within two days!¡± Flynn answered loudly, ¡°Yes!¡± A look of excitement appeared on his face. Lucas¡¯s words meant that he had given Flynn the green light to do as he deemed fit and even use a portion of Lucas¡¯s power to ruin all these families, including the Parkers, in one fell swoop! Not wanting tog behind either, Ethan said, ¡°Mr. Gray, the Sawyers will help too!¡± Flynn nced at Ethan and said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Sawyer, you¡¯re the wealthiest man in Orange County. With your help, we¡¯ll be able to take down these families within a day!¡± Flynn¡¯s words immediately made the helmsmen standing behind Damon look indignant. Flynn and Ethan had seriously undermined and disrespected them! Matthew burst intoughter. ¡°Hahahaha, Flynn Davis, Ethan Sawyer, it seems that I really overestimated you two! You actually have the cheek to say such an absurd thing as taking down all of our families in one day? No wonder you¡¯re friends with Lucas Gray. You¡¯re so ipetent but very good at bragging!¡± Damon sneered and ordered the bodyguards in ck behind him, ¡°Go grab that punk! Let¡¯s see what he¡¯s capable of!¡± With hismand, four bodyguards in ck immediately charged straight toward Lucas. Flynn scowled and shouted angrily, ¡°How dare you?!¡± The few bodyguards he had brought along with him immediately went over to stop the four bodyguards, preventing them from taking another step closer to Lucas. Matthew turned gloomy and waved his hand at the people behind him. ¡°You guys, join them!¡± In an instant, six more tall and strong bodyguards darted toward Lucas and surrounded him. The surrounding guests had long started shrieking and backing away, leaving arge space in front of them for fear that they might identally get hurt by the intimidating bodyguards during the scuffle. Flynn hade with only four bodyguards, and now, there were nearly ten bodyguards belonging to Damon and Matthew standing against them. They were clearly outnumbered. Ethan panicked because he had only brought two bodyguards with him since he and Lena hade here in a rush. At this moment, he also instructed them to join in. But Damon hade prepared to grab Lucas today, so he had brought more than ten bodyguards with him. Now, he instructed a few more of them to rush forward, giving them arge advantage in manpower. There were more than ten of them against six of the bodyguards of Flynn and Ethan. Justin and Gretchen had both helped Nikki up a long time ago. At this moment, Nikki was standing at a safe spot and staring resentfully at Lucas, who was at the back. Her eyes were glistening with anticipation as she was waiting eagerly for the ten-odd bodyguards to immediately rush to Lucas, grab him, and beat the living daylights out of him so that she could vent her frustration! Lucas had sent her flying away with a kick just now, causing her to throw up her gastric juices, and even until now, her stomach was still aching! If Lucas and Cheyenne hadn¡¯t left her so cruellyst night, she wouldn¡¯t have met with such a revolting encounter. Thus, she med it all on Lucas! With the hatred stemming from the various incidents of the past, Nikki wished she could kill Lucas right there and then! The rest of the Turners also hid far away and watched the scene unfold. They weren¡¯t the least bit worried about Lucas¡¯s life, and they even hoped that he could be beaten to death. Even if he died, they would have no objections. They would be thankful as long as the Parkers could vent all their anger and the Turners could stop being involved. In their opinion, if Lucas ended up dead, he absolutely deserved it! Among the Turners, the happiest and most excited was Karen! Her pretty face was now twisted into a grimace, and there was excitement written all over her face. She wished Lucas could be killed on the spot! As long as Lucas died, she would be able to take possession of all of his things rightfully, such as theke vi upying the entireke ind, as well as the other expensive gifts that the Sawyers had given Lucas. When the time came, Cheyenne would also return to her side, and this time, she would definitely find a rich man for Cheyenne to marry. She heard that Tyron, Matthew¡¯s only son, was still a bachelor, so she thought that it would be a good idea to matchmake him with Cheyenne. If they got married, she would be the mother-inw of the Bensons! Regardless of where she went, that identity would earn her the praises of everyone she met. This was the life Karen wanted! Despite the fact that many people present were harboring ill intentions, Flynn and Ethan didn¡¯t feel much when they saw that their bodyguards seemed to bepletely outssed by Damon¡¯s and Matthew¡¯s. The reason being, they both knew that Lucas actually didn¡¯t need the protection of bodyguards. Even if Damon and Matthew arranged for more bodyguards to deal with him, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt him at all. Hah, do these fools really think that Lucas is a pushover? # Chapter 465: Damon’s Epiphany

Chapter 465: Damon¡¯s Epiphany

Since they had provoked Lucas, all these top families, including the self-righteous Bensons, would face a destructive blow. And it was hard to guarantee if the Bensons could continue to stand tall in San Francisco in the future. Only these fools would still think that they would obtain victory at this juncture! Flynn and Ethan nced at each other, and sure enough, they heard Damon¡¯s gloating and excitedughter. ¡°Hahahaha, Ethan Sawyer, do you regret it now? I told you a long time ago that this is our turf. You¡¯re just the head of a family in Orange County, and yet you had the audacity to speak to me with such disrespect and make an enemy of the Parkers for a nobody. Now, you know the difference between us, huh?! ¡°As long as I want, I can deploy another twenty, thirty, or even a hundred bodyguards and send them here whenever I want. Let¡¯s see how you can still fight with me then! I have to say, you are worlds apart from your father!¡± After mocking Ethan, he looked at Flynn with a triumphant smile. ¡°Flynn Davis, for the past couple of months, I have allowed you to develop yourpany and rise to power in LA without stopping you, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m afraid of you! I am the helmsman of the Parker family, but you are just the general manager of apany. You are nothing in my eyes! How dare you speak shamelessly about destroying the Parkers?!¡± Matthew sneered and couldn¡¯t be bothered to stay any longer. He ordered, ¡°Go deal with those three people and make sure not to spare a single one of them. Break all their limbs and then drag them over here to me!¡± All the bodyguards started to take action together. In fact, they even got physical with Flynn and Ethan, who practically had nobat skills. Lucas¡¯s eyes immediately darkened. At this moment, a figure in ck suddenly darted in from the shattered ss window like a bolt of lightning. As soon as he arrived, he kicked the three bodyguards trying to grab Flynn and Ethan. ¡°Arrgh!¡± ¡°Urgh!¡± ¡°Oww!¡± Amid their miserable shrieks, the figure stood right in front of Lucas while exuding an intimidating aura that deterred others froming close. ¡°It¡¯s... it¡¯s Stanley Ray!¡± someone finally eximed in shock. Stanley was the nightmare of almost all the helmsmen of LA families. As soon as he appeared, he immediately caused amotion as everyone panicked. Justst night, the helmsmen of several families, including Matthew and Damon, had already met Stanley in the Lion Restaurant. At the time, Stanley was standing by Lucas¡¯s side, causing a great deterrent to them, which was also why Damon and Matthew feared Lucas then. Thus, although the information they had received from some investigation was that Lucas wasn¡¯t the scion of a powerful and noble family as they had thought, they were extremely cautious and full of scruples because they were unsure of why Stanley was standing by Lucas. Even though they hade here to confront Lucas, they had also sent people to investigate beforehand and decided toe over only after confirming that Stanley wasn¡¯t following him today. But they didn¡¯t expect that the formidable killer Stanley would suddenly appear just when they were about to catch Lucas! Damon and Matthew looked at each other, both having a hunch that things were about to get troublesome. As they expected, Stanley was emitting a shocking murderous aura while spinning a shiny silver dagger between his fingers and ring daggers at the numerous people in front of him, as if he was picking out the target to strike. The elite bodyguards couldn¡¯t help but feel intimidated by his aura, and they each took a step back. Without even saying a word, Stanley managed to intimidate his opponents into being too scared to take a step forward just by ring at them. Moreover, Damon didn¡¯t dare to say a word to reprimand the bodyguards or call them useless because the person in front of him was the formidable Stanley, who was well known throughout LA! His notoriety couldn¡¯t be concealed. As the helmsman of one of the top LA families, Damon was definitely well aware of how terrifying Stanley was. In the past ten years or so, Stanley had been the Brookes¡¯ trump card. Those who had tried to deal with the Brookes or posed a threat to them would mostly die silently in their own homes without any evidence to prove that their deaths were Stanley¡¯s doing. Therefore, Damon had never wanted to go against the Brookes, for fear that his family would incur the wrath of the deadly and merciless Stanley. Because Mathew wasn¡¯t from LA, although he had heard of Stanley, he wasn¡¯t as afraid of him as Damon was. A thought suddenly surfaced in Damon¡¯s head when he saw Stanley protecting Lucas! Previously, the Brookes had been destroyed overnight, and all of them had fled LA immediately. The Parkers had thought about going to the Brookes to take their share of the loot, so they had sent a junior from the family over. But it turned out to be a trick of the helmsman of the Brookes. After they scared that Parker away using Stanley¡¯s name, they quickly fled from LA with all the important members of the family. Later, the Parkers also sent people to search and stop them, but they were all stopped instead by some mysterious people they didn¡¯t know. As a result, the Brookes managed to escape, and the Parkers couldn¡¯t find anyone they could fish for information about the destruction of the Brookes. But since then, all the businesses left behind by the Brookes had been taken over by Flynn, who then integrated them and developed them into the current Sr Corporation. He had the valid official documents signed and sealed by the helmsman of the Brookes, as well as the legal ownership of the Brookes¡¯ businesses. Thus, despite very much wanting to, the other major LA families hadn¡¯t been able to get a share of those businesses from Flynn. Coupled with Stanley¡¯s reappearance in LA and the various times he had helped Flynn deter the crowd that coveted the businesses, they gradually stopped daring to provoke them. Now, Flynn, who had acquired all of the Brookes¡¯ properties, was standing in front of Lucas and defending him vehemently. He had even said that he would make all the other families vanish. Furthermore, Stanley, who had helped Flynn acquire all the Brookes¡¯ remaining businesses, was also standing in front of Lucas and clearly defending him. He was also treating Lucas with utmost respect. In addition, ever since the destruction of the Brookes, there had been a rumor circting in LA¡¯s upper-ss circle that the Brookes were destroyed by some mysterious big shot who stood behind Stanley. All this information pointed to an extremely terrifying truth. To make things worse, this wasn¡¯t all! When Ethan, the richest man of Orange County, had brought his daughter over just now, he was still apologizing to Damon respectfully, clearly not wanting the rtionship between the two families to turn sour because of Tristan¡¯s death. But Ethan¡¯s attitude changed drastically the moment he saw Lucas, and he hadn¡¯t hesitated to fall out with the Parkers or make enemies of all the powerful LA families just so he could stand on Lucas¡¯s side. Damon had watched Ethan grow up and knew that he was definitely smart. Otherwise, Ethan wouldn¡¯t have been able to be the sessor of his family and even develop the Sawyers into the richest family in Orange County. Everyone thought that Ethan must have lost his mind like Flynn had, but Ethan still insisted on doing so. What did this mean? It could only mean that Lucas, whom Ethan was willing to give his all to defend, was definitely of high status. In fact, he was perhaps even more terrifying than all of their powerbined! After Damon thought about it and figured it out, his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat! When he looked at Lucas, his gaze was no longer contemptuous but full of scruples. ¡°Who... who exactly are you?¡± # Chapter 466: Life Savior

Chapter 466: Life Savior

Lucas smiled faintly and asked rhetorically, ¡°What do you think?¡± Lucas¡¯s casual reply made Damon even more convinced, so much so that he turned pale. It seemed that he had... really made an extremely terrifying enemy for himself... But Matthew had yet to notice it. With a look of determination in his eyes, he looked at Stanley, who had an intimidating aura and had just scared off more than ten elite bodyguards with merely one nce. ¡°Stanley,e work for the Bensons! I guarantee that I¡¯ll pay you five times more than what this punk is paying you, regardless of how much it is! What do you think?¡± Matthew offered. He had thought about recruiting Stanley a long time ago. But unfortunately, at the time, even the Kingstons had failed to poach Stanley, despite having offered attractive conditions. So the Bensons had given up on the idea. But now that Stanley¡¯s former employers, the Brookes, were no longer around, and Lucas was just a penniless man in his mind, Matthew felt that Lucas couldn¡¯t possibly offer Stanley any attractive terms. So he offered to pay Stanley five times what Jordan had offered, believing that Stanley would be tempted! As long as Stanley agreed, Lucas would be at his mercy! But Matthew didn¡¯t expect Stantly to reject his offer unceremoniously without hesitation. Stanley said, ¡°Get lost!¡± Matthew¡¯s face instantly darkened, and a trace of killing intent appeared in his eyes! ¡°I was nice enough to offer you a chance. But since you¡¯re so ignorant, I won¡¯t be kind to you!¡± After speaking sternly, Matthew nced at a bodyguard in gray who had been standing close to him. The gray-clothed bodyguard suddenly pulled out a pistol from his waist and aimed it at Stanley. The people around him immediately shrieked, and those who had already backed quite a great distance away once again retreated in fear. They were intimidated by the pistol. Matthew looked rather smug as he stared at Stanley, who seemed to be too scared to move while being held at gunpoint. No matter how good of a fighter Stanley Ray is, can he dodge bullets? ¡°I¡¯ll give you one more chance. If you¡¯re not willing toe work for me, then you¡¯ll have only one oue!¡± Matthew¡¯s eyes were full of certainty that Stanley wouldn¡¯t dare to disobey him at this point. Stanley looked at the gun in the bodyguard¡¯s hand coldly with menace on his face. At this moment, a cold voice suddenly sounded at the entrance of the hotel. ¡°Matthew, you¡¯re really mighty!¡± Four people suddenly appeared at the entrance of the hotel, most of whom were elderly men in theirte sixties or seventies. Only the person at the back was a young and beautiful girl in her twenties. The person who just mocked Matthew was an old man in his seventies standing with his back straight. ¡°Old man, who the hell are you? How dare you call Mr. Benson by his name?!¡± One of the helmsmen immediately stepped forward and rebuked when he saw the old man in in clothes. The moment Matthew heard this old man¡¯s voice, he shivered, and ayer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He was so frightened that he almost peed his pants after hearing the rebuke from the foolish helmsman beside him! ¡°Bastard! That¡¯s the helmsman of the Coles family. How dare you insult him, you scoundrel?¡± Matthew pped this helmsman hard on the face, and the powerful force made him fall to the ground. As soon as he turned his head, he saw that the gray-clothed bodyguard behind him was still holding the pistol in his hand. He hurriedly cursed, ¡°And you, bastard! Who told you to take your pistol out? Do you have a death wish?¡± Despite being lectured harshly, the bodyguard didn¡¯t dare to retort and immediately put the pistol away. Matthew¡¯s unusual behavior and the fact that he called the elderly man ¡®Mr. Cole¡¯ gave the people present a clear idea of the identity of this old man. It was Edmund Cole, the helmsman of the Cole family! ¡°Oh my god! Could he be the helmsman of the legendary Cole family from San Francisco?¡± ¡°I once heard that the Bensons are subordinate to the Coles? Could he be the helmsman?¡± ¡°Wow. I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯d be able to meet this legendary figure in my lifetime! It¡¯s the esteemed Mr. Cole! They¡¯re truly a noble family that¡¯s countless times superior to even the Parkers!¡± ... Edmund¡¯s appearance caused yet another uproar in the ballroom. Aftershing out at that helmsman who spoke rudely to Edmund, Matthew immediately ran to him and said with a fawning smile while wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. ¡°Mr. Cole, what brings you here all of a sudden?¡± Edmund said coldly with an indifferent expression, ¡°If I hadn¡¯te, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten the chance to see you behaving so arrogantly, would I?¡± Matthew¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and ayer of cold sweat once again broke out on his face. He hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Cole, I... I was just scaring that good-for-nothing with my gun. I definitely wouldn¡¯t really dare to shoot him dead!¡± ¡°Good-for-nothing? Who are you calling a good-for-nothing?¡± Edmund¡¯s gaze was cold and austere. Matthew¡¯s bodyguard had been aiming his gun at Lucas and Stanley. Matthew didn¡¯t dare to say that he had been trying to force Stanley to work for him because Edmund knew of Stanley too. Matthew was afraid that Edmund might also be here to poach Stanley. He merely pointed at Lucas, who was behind Stanley. ¡°I... This good-for-nothing disrespected me. That¡¯s why I wanted to scare him!¡± Edmund suddenly hollered in exasperation, ¡°How dare you?! How dare you call my life savior a good-for-nothing? Matthew, have you lived in luxury for too long and forgotten what you really are?¡± He used to be from the military, so he was extremely stern by nature. At this moment, he flew into a rage and roared at Matthew with a thunderous voice, causing thetter¡¯s legs to turn limp as he fell to his knees. Thud! Matthew¡¯s heart started beating wildly, and his face was deathly pale asrge beads of sweat trickled down his face. Edmund¡¯s sudden rage almost scared him to death! But he found Edmund¡¯s words to be even more terrifying. What did I just hear? Lucas Gray is Mr. Cole¡¯s life savior?! W-what¡¯s going on? Not only was Matthew frightened, but everyone else in the ballroom was also in fear and stunned by Edmund¡¯s words. It turned out that Lucas, whom they thought was a good-for-nothing, was acquainted with Edmund. Could it be that Mr. Cole is here for Lucas Gray too? # Chapter 467: Really Good Luck

Chapter 467: Really Good Luck

Edmund didn¡¯t bother to look at the expressions of others and merely stared at Matthew sternly as he drawled, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for this young man you called a punk, I¡¯d be dead now! How dare you point a gun at him? You must be tired of living! ¡°From now on, the Coles will no longer have anything to do with the Bensons. All the cooperations between us will cease!¡± Edmund ordered in a cold voice. The expression on Matthew¡¯s face immediately froze, and immediately afterward, a strong sense of fear surged from the bottom of her heart. Edmund was undoubtedly expressing that the Coles were abandoning the Bensons and would no longer be their backer from now on. The Bensons would no longer receive any help from the Coles! In the past few years, the Bensons had relied on their connections with the Coles to develop their struggling business and be a second-tier family in San Francisco now. If the news of the Coles severing ties with the Bensons got out, the rivals the Bensons had provoked in the past would definitely encroach on everything they had within a short period of time! At the thought, Matthew was so terrified that he got on his knees and begged Edmund, ¡°Mr. Cole, it¡¯s indeed my fault today! I didn¡¯t know this person was your savior. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to touch him! I really know my mistakes. Please withdraw your orders and give me another chance! I promise I won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± Edmund didn¡¯t waver and merely nced at Matthew coldly. ¡°You have to pay the price for your mistakes! If you aren¡¯t satisfied with my punishment, I won¡¯t mind letting the Bensons vanish from San Francisco immediately!¡± As soon as he heard this, Matthew looked as though he had been dealt a huge blow, and he didn¡¯t dare to plead any further. He knew that Edmund had always been a man of his word, especially because he used to be from the military. It would be very difficult to change his mind. If he continued to plead with Edmund, the Bensons might perish today before theirpetitors and rivals even tried to do anything to them. Matthew seemed devastated and aghast as he started trembling while kneeling on the ground. The other powerful helmsmen around them also seemed rather horrified as they had all turned terribly pale. They were naturally thrilled when they had ganged up against Lucas, Flynn, and Ethan just now. But now, Edmund, who was several social sses above them, was standing on Lucas¡¯s side! Even the Bensons, who had just been high up in the sky and arrogant, had been abandoned by the Coles like a dog. Since Matthew didn¡¯t even dare to say a word in front of Edmund, what would happen to them? How did Lucas Gray coincidentally turn out to be Edmund Cole¡¯s savior? Ethan had previously mentioned that he was willing to stand on Lucas¡¯s side at all costs because Lucas was his life savior. Now, Edmund was also standing on Lucas¡¯s side for the same reason. Why is Lucas Gray so lucky? Why am I not the one who saved Edmund Cole? All of a sudden, an uncontroble sense of envy toward Lucas rose in the hearts of all the people present. If Lucas could read their minds, he would probably burst intoughter. These helmsmen, who had been living in thep of luxury for years and were only interested in climbing thedder of power and gaining more benefits, would probably just think that Edmund was an old man blocking their way if they saw him on the streets. They definitely wouldn¡¯t save him. After all, when Edmund had a heart attack and copsed on the street, there had been arge group of people around him, but none of them had been willing to give him a helping hand out of fear that he might be a conman out to swindle their money. Even ordinary people refused to help, let alone these ruthless and unfeeling helmsmen who cared only about profits. At this moment, Damon stood at the side nervously, his heart pounding rapidly. If Edmund really stood on Lucas¡¯s side, he would definitelysh out at him and question him after finding out about what had happened in the ballroom. The reason being, Damon was the one who had brought his men with him to confront Lucas to avenge his grandson. Later on, he had also called over the helmsmen of the top LA families to join forces against Lucas and Flynn. Even Matthew hade here to go against Lucas after obtaining information from Damon and getting instigated by him. Regardless of the perspective from which the matter was perceived, Damon was still the culprit. Even if Edmund let him off, Matthew wouldn¡¯t spare him! The moment he thought of the storm he might have to face next, Damon¡¯s body began to shake while his heart hammered rapidly. He almost lost his bnce too. At this moment, the young girl who had been following Edmund suddenly smiled at Lucas yfully. ¡°Hey, Lucas! We¡¯ve really met again!¡± Lucas had felt a hint of surprise from the moment he saw Edmund. He didn¡¯t expect that the old man who had suffered a heart attack and was rescued by him on the road yesterday would be the helmsman of the Coles, a top family in San Francisco. The appearance of this young woman also caught him by surprise. It turned out that the young woman of the Cole family he had met at the antique exhibition in the LA Arts Center yesterday afternoon was the granddaughter of the Cole family helmsman. Her attitude toward him at the exhibition yesterday had been rather bizarre. She was infuriated to hear him questioning the authenticity of the Coles¡¯ antiques at first. But after she got a clear look at his face, her attitude changed drastically. In particr, she repeatedly rebuked Nikki and Keh, who had been hostile to Lucas, and even threw them out of the exhibition. In hindsight, Lucas reckoned that she must have recognized him to be the one who had saved Edmund. Lucas smiled faintly without saying anything. Beside him, Cheyenne immediately recognized the young woman too and couldn¡¯t help being surprised. Standing nearby, Nikki naturally also recognized her to be the one who had driven her and Keh out of the exhibition hall yesterday, which caused her to end up in a wretched state and even suffer a p from Keh. She was naturally displeased, but she knew that the young woman was from the Cole family and thus definitely had a superior status. Since Nikki couldn¡¯t afford to provoke her, she had no choice but to bear with the disgruntlement. But Lucas now turned out to be the savior of Edmund, which meant that the entire Cole family, including the young woman, would be on Lucas¡¯s side! Lucas would thus have several powerful people to help and protect him, making it even harder to kill him! Nikki¡¯s heart was brimming with resentment, and she was clenching her fist so tightly that her nails dug into her palms while she glowered at Lucas. Why... just why is this good-for-nothing so lucky? He was already about to be shot dead by Matthew Benson, yet such a powerful person popped up out of nowhere to help him. Why?! # Chapter 468: Extremely Pleased

Chapter 468: Extremely Pleased

The other people in the ballroom naturally had no time to pay attention to Nikki¡¯s mood. After Edmund saw Lucas, he chuckled and walked toward him smilingly. ¡°Little friend, I¡¯ve finally seen you again! If it wasn¡¯t for your help yesterday, I would have already died! You are truly my savior!¡± Edmund smiled with excitement. After regaining consciousness yesterday, he had wanted to thank the young man who saved his life. But he didn¡¯t expect thetter to leave without iming credit after making sure that he was fine. Fortunately, the Coles had a widework of connections and managed to find Lucas soon. He had originally wanted to thank Lucas yesterday afternoon. But his granddaughter Alexis had still been worried, so she had forced him to go for a full-body checkup in the hospital. They had ended up spending too much time at the hospital, and it was already quitete by the time he finished. So he had to wait until today to thank Lucas. Facing Edmund¡¯s grateful expression, Lucas said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just a small favor. Don¡¯t mention it, Mr. Cole.¡± When Edmund heard this, his eyes lit up, and he was even more pleased with Lucas. Yesterday, when he suddenly had a heart attack and copsed on the street, many onlookers had slowly gathered around him, but none of them had dared toe forward to lend him a helping hand. Although he had some special medicine that would save his life during a heart attack in his breast pocket, no one had dared to go forward to help him. While he was experiencing difficulties and feeling like he was about to die, Lucas ignored the warnings of the people around him and shoved the life-saving pill into his mouth. When he could finally breathe properly again, Lucas had already vanished quietly from the crowd before he could thank him. Lucas didn¡¯t have expectations of being thanked by him either. Even now, after learning of Edmund¡¯s identity, Lucas still didn¡¯t seem to have any change in expression, unlike the others who were getting agitated, excited, anxious, and nervous. Even when Edmund dered that Lucas was his savior and expressed his intentions to repay him for his kindness, Lucas didn¡¯t seem overjoyed and merely said indifferently that it was just a simple favor. Indeed, it might have been an effortless favor for Lucas. But for Edmund, it was a tremendous favor because he had saved his life! The qualities Lucas showed made Edmund thoroughly pleased with him, and he even felt a sense of admiration for Lucas despite having met all kinds of people in life! ¡°Young man, Lucas, how old are you this year?¡± Edmund asked with a benevolent smile. ¡°I¡¯m twenty-eight this year,¡± Lucas answered with raised brows. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re still so young, so you should still be single, right? My granddaughter is a nice girl. What do you think of her?¡± Edmund asked with a smile as he pushed the young woman beside him toward Lucas smilingly. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Alexis immediately felt awkward and embarrassed as she blushed andined, ¡°What are you doing? He got married a long time ago to the beautifuldy beside him!¡± During the antique exhibition in the arts center yesterday, Alexis had already seen Lucas holding hands with Cheyenne and calling her his wife. What¡¯s up with Grandpa today? He¡¯s trying to set me up with someone without even informing me in advance. This is so embarrassing! Hearing Alexis say that Lucas was already married, Edmund immediately looked disappointed and awkward. He hurriedly looked at Lucas and the extremely gorgeous Cheyenne beside him. He frantically apologized, ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t know you two were already married. I didn¡¯t mean to offend you in any way. I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Edmund, the esteemed helmsman of the Cole family, was actually apologizing to the two of them in such a personable manner. Lucas and Cheyenne naturally wouldn¡¯t pursue the matter, and they were merely amused by it. They didn¡¯t expect that Edmund would want Lucas to marry his granddaughter despite having only met Lucas once, making them feel caught betweenughter and tears. The others around them were surprised to see the prestigious Edmund speaking to Lucas in such a nice and grounded way. The scene of Edmund losing his temper and making Matthew Benson kneel down in front of him was still fresh in their memory. But he was now behaving like apletely different person toward Lucas. Besides, Edmund actually immediately took a liking to Lucas and even wanted him to marry his granddaughter, making countless people so surprised that their jaws dropped. The Turners looked incredibly sullen. They had always despised Lucas, this live-in husband, but Edmund looked at him differently, making them somehow feel extremely frustrated and depressed. The two other old men who followed Edmund were Sam and Robert, who had previously visited the Turners as well. Robert saw his son, Justin, standing in the crowd with his head hung low and hesitating to go forward despite having already seen his father. He inwardly cursed Justin for being stupid, but he nevertheless asked him toe over. ¡°Justin, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up ande over to greet your Uncle Edmund!¡± Justin was still afraid of Edmund¡¯s imposing aura at first. But when he noticed that his father seemed quite close to Edmund and had even walked in together with him, he immediately hurried toward them gleefully. He then greeted Edmund respectfully, ¡°Hello, Uncle Edmund! I¡¯m Justin.¡± Robert happily pulled Justin over and introduced him to Edmund. ¡°Edmund, this is my son, Justin. I¡¯ve already handed over the Heron Corp. to him, and he¡¯s doing quite well in all aspects.¡± Edmund nced at Justin indifferently and merely said, ¡°Oh.¡± Standing at the side, Sam immediately felt that something was amiss. As an oldrade of Edmund, Sam understood him very well and thus knew that Edmund hated people trying to seek connections with him the most. So despite being longtime friends with Edmund, he had never tried to rmend anyone to Edmund or try to leverage the Cole family¡¯s power. Otherwise, his family¡¯s status in LA wouldn¡¯t have stagnated at the second-tier level for such a long time. But Robert actually now took it upon himself to introduce his son to Edmund and even praised thetter for hispetency. He was obviously hoping that Edmund would give his son more help. This was an enormous taboo for Edmund! Although the three of them were friends and even considered themselves fellowrades, Sam was, strictly speaking, the only one actually close to Edmund. Back then, Robert hadn¡¯t had much interaction with Edmund in the army, and he had merely gotten to know him through Sam muchter. So Robert actually didn¡¯t know Edmund too well and was thus unaware of this taboo. But Sam couldn¡¯t exin this explicitly to Robert now, and all he could do was shoot him a meaningful nce in hopes that Robert would catch his hint and stop provoking Edmund. Unfortunately, Robert failed to notice Sam¡¯s efforts and was still praising his son in front of Edmund smilingly. ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re here too!¡± At this moment, Nikki walked over and greeted Robert obediently before looking at Edmund with a gleaming gaze. She had already noticed that her paternal grandfather, Robert, was acquaintances with the prestigious Edmund Cole, so she definitely wouldn¡¯t let go of such a great opportunity. Sam¡¯s heart sank. Is Robert going to act foolishly again? # Chapter 469: Sowing Discord

Chapter 469: Sowing Discord

Indeed, upon sight of his granddaughter Nikki walking toward him to greet him, he immediately said to her, ¡°Quick, Nikki. This is Edmund. Hurry up and greet him.¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. Cole!¡± Nikki immediately greeted obediently with a sweet smile on her face. She had always been good at socializing, and she naturally knew that the elderly who belonged to the same generation as her grandfather all liked obedient and sensible juniors. Thus, she behaved very well. Unfortunately, Edmund didn¡¯t even look at her and simply turned a deaf ear to her greeting as if he didn¡¯t see her at all. Thinking that Edmund merely didn¡¯t hear her, Robert introduced again, ¡°Edmund, this is my granddaughter, Nikki. She...¡± ¡°Robert, cut it out!¡± Sam hurriedly pulled Robert¡¯s arm and whispered to him to hint him to stop talking. At this moment, Robert finally noticed that Edmund seemed extremely displeased. It wasn¡¯t that he hadn¡¯t heard Edmund, but rather, he was ignoring him on purpose. His heart tensed up, and he finally realized that Edmund wasn¡¯t an ordinary person but the helmsman of the Cole family, who had a noble and prestigious status and was not someone that ordinary people could get acquainted with. Yesterday afternoon, Robert had managed to speak to Edmund for quite a bit, thanks to his friendship with Sam. So he unknowingly thought he was considered close friends with Edmund now and tried to rmend his family members to him. Seeing that Edmund wasn¡¯t buying it at all and that his face was sullen, only then did Robert realize that he had been too presumptuous, so he hurriedly kept quiet. Nikki suddenly winced in pain and clutched her stomach with a grimace on her face before clenching her jaw and pretending to be alright. But her cry of pain had already attracted the attention of several people around her. Only then did Robert notice that there seemed to be something wrong with his granddaughter. Not only was she clutching her stomach with her hands, but she seemed to be in pain, and even her clothes were stained with filth. There seemed to be traces of dust and water stains on her clothes, as if she had rolled around on the floor before this. It was definitely not the appearance that someone should have when meeting guests. Robert¡¯s face immediately darkened, and he frantically asked, ¡°Nikki, what¡¯s wrong with you? Did someone bully you?¡± Nikki deliberately pretended to be aggrieved and gritted her teeth while her eyes turned red and watery, as if she was on the verge of tears. Pointing at Lucas, she said, ¡°Grandpa, it was him. He just kicked me hard in the gut and caused me to be unable to stand up for a long time. My stomach really hurts now...¡± She was a woman, and she was deliberately making herself look pitiful like she had been bullied. Those who didn¡¯t know would definitely think that she had been bullied. After all, no matter what happened, hitting a woman and kicking her in the gut was really quite horrid. Nikki really hated Lucas. She initially felt extremely dejected when she saw that Edmund knew Lucas and was even standing on his side. She was full of resentment toward Lucas. But now, tables had turned, and she was surprised to find that her grandfather turned out to actually know Edmund too and had evene over with him. She thought that they were obviously close to each other. She thought that since Robert had already asked her toe over and greet Edmund, they were obviously closer to the Coles than Lucas was. So she naturally wouldn¡¯t let go of this opportunity, and she thought that she had toin about Lucas to Edmund so that thetter would know who exactly Lucas was and then do her justice! As soon as she finished speaking, there was a peculiar silence around her. Robert widened his eyes in disbelief. ¡°What did you say? Did... did Lucas Gray bully you?¡± An ominous premonition arose in his heart. After what happened just now, he had already gotten quite a clear idea of the situation, so he didn¡¯t have a sense of superiority like Nikki did. He didn¡¯t think that Edmund valued his family much either. In fact, if not for his friendship with Sam, Edmund wouldn¡¯t have known him at all, nor would he have had any dealings with the Herons. However, Lucas had saved Edmund¡¯s life! Robert could easily figure out who was more important to Edmund. How could he allow his granddaughter to get into a conflict with the Cole family? Robert suddenly felt really troubled. Justin hurriedly chimed in, ¡°Yes, Dad! Lucas Gray is really vile! You missed what happened earlier. That punk is so arrogant that he not only beat up Nikki, but he even got someone to kick me. Dad, look. His footprints are on my body!¡± Then Justin showed the footprints on his body left by Ethan¡¯s kicks. ¡°...¡± Edmund didn¡¯t say a single word nor show any emotion on his face. Robert felt really embarrassed that his middle-aged son, who was already in histe forties, was stillining about someone much younger than him. Besides, he still wasn¡¯t entirely certain of what Edmund¡¯s attitude toward Lucas was like and thus didn¡¯t dare to be too firm about his stand. He merely glowered at his son and rebuked, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Lucas is Edmund¡¯s life savior. Hurry up and keep your mouth shut.¡± Justin said indignantly, ¡°What life savior? That punk is just a penniless live-in son-inw. With his abilities, how could he have possibly saved Uncle Edmund? I bet he¡¯s just a conman who imed credit for someone else¡¯s effort, right?¡± Nikki also hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, Lucas Gray likes deceiving others. That¡¯s how he managed to trick my cousin back then. Yesterday, he even lied to the scions of the Parkers and Bensons that he was the grandson of a prestigious family. He totally had us fooled. That¡¯s why Mr. Parker and Mr. Benson are here today to confront him!¡± She looked at Edmund again and said with a sincere expression, ¡°Mr. Cole, your status is prestigious. Lucas Gray must have gotten information from some source and deliberately impersonated the person who saved your life. He¡¯s trying to lie to you and make you think that he¡¯s your savior. Don¡¯t fall for his trick!¡± She let her tongue run. Not only did she allude to the reason for Matthew and Damon¡¯s arrival here and said that Lucas deserved it for being a liar, but she even tried hard to nder Lucas in front of Edmund, making him out to be an unscrupulous viin who was full of lies. Lucas sneered and said nothing. Cheyenne was enraged. Just as she was about to defend Lucas, someone suddenly rebuked furiously. ¡°Stop spouting nonsense, you vicious and stupid wench!¡± The one who rebuked her was none other than Alexis, who looked just as repulsed and furious. # Chapter 470: Two-Faced

Chapter 470: Two-Faced

As the heiress of the Coles, Alexis hated the scheming tricks of pretentious women. Just now, Nikki was still pretending to be a pitiful victim of bullying, and now, she called Lucas a chronic liar who couldn¡¯t be trusted. Alexis remembered how conceited and arrogant Nikki was at the antique exhibition yesterday. She also remembered how the man beside Nikki kept insulting and humiliating Lucas and Cheyenne. Yet she was now deliberately pretending to be a vulnerable woman. Who was she putting on a show for? She looked at Nikki coldly and said with disgust, ¡°Do you think the Coles are all fools who can¡¯t even find out who saved my grandfather¡¯s life and would be duped by an impersonator?¡± Nikki received a great shock and hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, no, Miss Cole, I definitely didn¡¯t mean that! I really just wanted to give you a reminder out of good intentions...¡± ¡°Save your good intentions! I don¡¯t want to hear any more of this stupid nonsense that you¡¯re saying to sow discord! Don¡¯t think everyone is as stupid as you are. If you dare to say one more word of nonsense, I will make the Herons vanish from LA immediately!¡± Although Alexis was young, her tone was full of an imposing and formidable aura. Besides, she was the heiress of the Cole family, so she definitely had the confidence to say this and wasn¡¯t just trying to scare her. Nikki waspletely intimidated and deterred by Alexis¡¯s aura, so much that she shuddered and immediately fell silent, not daring to say another word. She was obviously displeased to be chided by a young woman several years younger than her, but the Coles were clearly prestigious and powerful, so she didn¡¯t dare to show her emotions. Seeing that Nikki had angered the heiress of the Cole family with just a few words, Robert was so enraged that he wanted to p Nikki on the spot. ¡°Ignorant brat, hurry up and apologize to Miss Cole!¡± He had merely managed to get acquainted with the Coles because of his friendship with Sam. If his foolish granddaughter ruined it for him, he might even have the desire to kill her! Petrified, Nikki hurriedly lowered her head to apologize to Alexis, ¡°Miss Cole, I... really didn¡¯t mean it! I¡¯m indeed a fool who didn¡¯t think twice before speaking, so please be magnanimous and not hold it against someone like me!¡± Alexis harrumphed coldly in disdain. ¡°Of course I can¡¯t be bothered to stoop to your level.¡± She turned her head to look at Robert and said coldly, ¡°But Mr. Heron, you ought to take your granddaughter in hand. I just arrived in LA yesterday, and I¡¯ve already met her twice. She has left a very bad impression every single time. She¡¯s either deliberately bullying others or pretending to be weak and vulnerable just to frame others. I¡¯m magnanimous enough not to bother, but if your granddaughter ends up offending someone else and digging her own grave, they may not be as kind and forgiving as me.¡± Robert turned pale while being chided by a junior and felt extremely awkward. But Edmund merely stood at the side without saying anything, so he clearly agreed with his granddaughter¡¯s words, making Robert feel even more dismayed. He wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. ¡°Yes! Miss Cole, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll definitely discipline my granddaughter and prevent her from creating any trouble again from now on!¡± Seeing that even the patriarch of the Heron family was being so respectful to a young woman in her twenties, all the guests didn¡¯t dare to say anything more. Although she was young, she was still the heiress of the Cole family, and it was only normal for her to be spoiled and arrogant. The guests were in no ce to make anyments. Even Matthew and Damon didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. But the next second, Alexis, who was an arrogant heiress in the eyes of everyone, grinned at Lucas radiantly and even beamed with joy when she saw the lovely little girl beside him. She immediately walked over and bent down. ¡°Wow! Lucas, is she your daughter? She¡¯s so pretty!¡± When the Coles sent their subordinates to find out who Edmund¡¯s savior was yesterday, they hadn¡¯t only found out about Lucas but also checked out his family. So Alexis knew since yesterday that Lucas was not only already married but also had a five-year-old daughter named Amelia. But after seeing Amelia for the first time, she was immediately full of adoration for Amelia, who had inherited the excellent genes of both Lucas and Cheyenne. If not for the fact that there were so many people around, she would have gone forth to pinch the cheeks of the incredibly adorable and doll-like Amelia. Amelia was frightened by Alexis¡¯s enthusiastic gaze and quickly cowered behind Lucas, but she nheless said politely, ¡°You¡¯re very pretty too.¡± Although she was still young, she could tell the difference between good and bad by intuition. After watching Alexissh out at Nikki, who often badmouthed her parents, Amelia had developed a good impression of Alexis. Alexis¡¯s heart was about to melt from Amelia, who was keeping her eyes wide open. After making a strange sound, she immediately squatted down beside Amelia to speak to her. Now, she no longer had the domineering and intimidating aura of an heiress, which made many people¡¯s jaws drop in shock. The difference in attitude was immense! Edmund had long gotten used to seeing his granddaughter behave in such a manner, so he didn¡¯t bother about her. He merely said to Lucas smilingly, ¡°Lucas, is it your rtive¡¯s wedding today?¡± The flower stands, congrattory slogans ced at the hotel entrance, and decorative arrangements in the hotel lobby were all signs of a wedding. The ss doors and windows at the entrance seem to have been shattered, and there was also an awkward tension in the lobby. But Edmund was a knowledgeable person who had seen a lot of the world and naturally didn¡¯t ask about what had happened. Lucas was about to speak. But from the side, Eddie immediately strode over, with his heart skipping. Heughed and interjected, ¡°Mr. Cole, nice to meet you! I am Lucas¡¯s grandfather-inw, Eddie Turner, and it¡¯s my grandson¡¯s wedding day today. It¡¯s a great honor to have you here, and we are all pleasantly surprised and ttered! ¡°This way, please. Lucas, don¡¯t just stand there. Quickly invite Mr. Cole to take a seat!¡± Eddie¡¯s face was flushed, and he was now speaking to Lucas with unprecedented enthusiasm, as if he had never mocked Lucas and looked down on him before. The drastic change in his attitude didn¡¯t take Lucas by surprise because most of the Turners were just that mercenary and would tend to bully the weak while fearing the strong. They had probably inherited it from Eddie. Although Lucas found it ridiculous, he didn¡¯t want to embarrass Eddie in public on Cheyenne¡¯s ount. However, while Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to get back at him, Charlotte couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer because she was absolutely disgusted by the Turners¡¯ mercenary attitude and hypocrisy. ¡°Grandpa, did you forget something? You refused to acknowledge Lucas as your grandson-inw and kept forcing him to divorce my sister. Just now, you even yelled at him like you were going to kill him. Why are you suddenly calling yourself his grandfather-inw now? Is it just because Lucas now knows a powerful bigwig?¡± # Chapter 471: Enraged

Chapter 471: Enraged

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Charlotte¡¯s words were clear and merciless. Eddie¡¯s expression changed drastically. If not for the fact that the Coles were right beside him, he would have really given his trouble-making granddaughter two tight ps on her face! ¡°Charlotte, what are you babbling about? I did have some misunderstandings about... Lucas before this, but they¡¯ve long been resolved. He and Cheyenne got married a long time ago, and I¡¯ve long treated him as my grandson-inw. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have invited him to attend my grandson¡¯s wedding today,¡± Eddie hurriedly exined and then red at Charlotte to hint to her to behave herself and not cause any more trouble. Charlotte was unmoved, as she felt that Eddie was being totally absurd and ridiculous. Lucas had deliberately given them gifts worth millions of dors, but they had thrown them away like garbage and even hurled all sorts of insults at him. When Damon and Matthew hade to confront Lucas earlier, the Turners had not only not put in a single word for Lucas, but they had even wanted Lucas to kneel down and apologize to them. They had alsoshed out at him for creating trouble for them and said that they would have driven him out if they had known earlier. . Those uncouth words made Charlotte feel extremely upset, so how could the Turners have the cheek to make Lucas help them entertain the extinguished guest and build connections for them? They were simply ridiculous! She knew that Lucas didn¡¯t want to hold it against them for hers and Cheyenne¡¯s sake. But it was precisely this reason that she didn¡¯t want these people who had bullied Lucas to gain benefits by making use of him and his connections! ¡°Grandpa, just a few minutes ago, you guys said that you wanted to kick Lucas out and even wanted him to get on his knees and apologize. Why didn¡¯t you consider the fact that Lucas is your grandson-inw at the time?¡± Charlotte rebuked sullenly. ¡°Shut up!¡± Eddie roared loudly with obvious anger on her face. Cheyenne stepped forward, walked toward Charlotte, and then said to Eddie firmly, ¡°Charlotte is right. Why should she shut up?¡± Tears welled up in her eyes as she slowly said, ¡°Yesterday, Lucas gave you some premium tea leaves worth more than a million dors, as well as some other expensive gifts. But you discarded them into the trash can in front of us, used Lucas of giving you imitation tea, and even drove him out of the house. Did you spare a thought for our feelings then? Did you consider Lucas your grandson-inw at the time? ¡°Today, Lucas was chastised and insulted by Aunt Gretchen for no rhyme or reason at all, but did you stand up for him? No, you didn¡¯t. When the helmsmen of the Parkers, the Bensons, and several notable LA families ganged up against him earlier, did you stand up for him? No, you didn¡¯t! ¡°Not only did you not stand up for him, but you even made things worse by wanting him to get on his knees to apologize. You even eagerly tried to draw a line between him and yourself because you were so scared that you would be implicated! ¡°Now that you¡¯re aware Mr. Cole has a higher status and that Lucas knows him, you¡¯re making Lucas help you serve him, and you¡¯re finally acknowledging him as your grandson-inw. Grandpa, I¡¯m really disappointed in you. You¡¯re supposed to be our family and kin, but why have you be like this?¡± Cheyenne was extremely disappointed, and she also felt aggrieved for Lucas, so she couldn¡¯t control herself and burst into tears. Eddie turned pale, and he felt extremely embarrassed to be rebuked in public by his granddaughters. But he couldn¡¯t find a reason to refute, so he could only stammer and exin, ¡°Cheyenne! Ah, I... I don¡¯t know how things turned out like this either. I... I can¡¯t help it! I¡¯m just an old man. What can I say?¡± Alex couldn¡¯t stand it any longer andshed out at Cheyenne as her uncle. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, what nonsense are you saying? He is your grandfather. Do you have any manners at all? Is this the way you should be speaking to your grandfather?¡± Cheyenne was even more enraged! She sneered and looked at Alex. ¡°Who are you to chide me for being rude? All these years, you and your family have been loafing around and leeching so much money from us. Even the money used to build your house was taken from my mother. It¡¯s normal to borrow money from rtives, but you actually denied it and used us of cheating you out of your money instead. How ridiculous! ¡°You are my mother¡¯s younger brother, and you¡¯re living off my mother¡¯s money. Yet you called her by her full name and spoke to her rudely. Do you think you¡¯re fit to talk to me about manners?¡± Alex was so infuriated that he was speechless. He was the only son in the family, so he had been treasured by Eddie and his wife since he was a child. Not only had he gotten used to taking money from Karen, but he would even scold her whenever he was displeased with something. But he didn¡¯t expect Cheyenne to chide him using these reasons. Since he had alreadyshed out at his biological sister, he indeed wasn¡¯t fit to scold Cheyenne for being rude. Seeing that things were going awry, Gretchen quickly said, ¡°Cheyenne, we¡¯re all family. Why...¡± Before she could finish speaking, Cheyenne turned to face her and snapped, ¡°And you too! Aunt Gretchen, you love throwing your weight around as an elder, but since when have you acted like one? You deliberately created trouble time and time again and even insulted Lucas and Charlotte. When I was going through the toughest time of my life, you told me that yourpany was facing financial difficulties, so I lent you all my savings. However, not only did you owe me money for such a long time, but you even said that I maligned you because I¡¯m money-crazy!¡± Gretchen looked extremely petnt as well. Previously, they had already embarrassed themselves because of this matter, and things had finally blown over after a while. Yet Cheyenne once again exposed her in front of everyone mercilessly. Even the rest of the Turners were sullen. Cheyenne turned to look at Nikki, who had been staying silent at the side but had secretly rolled her eyes. She snapped, ¡°You¡¯re the most detestable one! For so many years, I have always treated you like a cousin and taken good care of you. But what about you? You tried to use me as a bargaining chip with other men and repeatedly tried to set me up! If not for Lucas, I would have beenpletely ruined by you now! ¡°But despite all this, I still thought of you as my cousin and begged Lucas to save you. But how did you repay us? Today, you have deliberately provoked and insulted him again and again, and you even badmouthed him in front of others! You¡¯re just an ingrate who bites the hand that feeds you!¡± Cheyenne looked at the Turners around her and said with anger and disappointment on her face, ¡°I¡¯ve really had enough of all of you so-called rtives! Ask yourselves. We have treated you as our family, but what about you people? Have you ever treated us as your family?¡± Cheyenne flew into a rage, which was rare of her. The Turners were rendered utterly speechless. The other guests looked at each other in dismay, secretly shocked by the Turners¡¯ behavior. Amid the awkward silence, Cheyenne pulled Lucas¡¯s and Amelia¡¯s hands and said without any hesitation, ¡°Hubby, let¡¯s go!¡± Then the three of them walked toward the exit. # Chapter 472: Wedding Guests Disperse

Chapter 472: Wedding Guests Disperse

Charlotte looked at the dumbfounded Turners and harrumphed coldly while following closely behind Cheyenne, Lucas, and Amelia. They left the hotel lobby. There was dead silence in the ballroom. Now that things had developed to this point, no one dared to say a word. Even Damon and Matthew, who hade to confront Lucas, as well as the helmsmen of top LA families, all fell silent and didn¡¯t dare to chase after Lucas as they watched him leave. After all, there was a terrifying figure in the ballroom, so they didn¡¯t dare to create trouble at all. In fact, they were all anxious, terrified, and on tenterhooks. Even a fool would be able to tell that Edmund was clearly going to stand on Lucas¡¯s side, so they didn¡¯t know what the Coles would do to those who hade to confront Lucas and make things hard for him! Edmund nced at the sullen-faced Eddie coldly and said indifferently, ¡°Most people tend to belittle those who are inferior and suck up to those who are more powerful. However, it¡¯s too harsh to be doing this to your family! You have an excellent grandson-inw, but you don¡¯t even know how to cherish him at all. No one can help you!¡± As Eddie was being reprimanded, his face turned red, and he lowered his head while trembling. He muttered softly, ¡°You... you¡¯re right!¡± He was now full of regrets. If he had known earlier that Lucas had some ties with the noble Edmund and ended up saving his life, he would never have treated Lucas like this today! As long as Lucas put in some good words for the Turners in front of Edmund and asked him to stay for Dn¡¯s wedding, it would definitely have given the Turners¡¯ status a huge boost. It would only have been a matter of time before they became a top family in LA. Unfortunately, he had done something wrong, and all of this would remain only as his imagination! Edmund turned to look at Robert and his family again, and he couldn¡¯t help frowning when he saw Nikki again. ording to what Cheyenne had said, Nikki might look weak and vulnerable on the surface, but she was actually very vicious and ruthless. She was truly an ingrate, as she hadn¡¯t hesitated to harm Cheyenne and do so repeatedly even after receiving her help. Edmund shook his head and frowned at Robert. ¡°You must never neglect the education of your children and grandchildren! Your son¡¯s and granddaughter¡¯s characters are really uneptable. Stop thinking of trying to expand yourpany and connections. It¡¯s time you start handling the things that you ought to manage!¡± Robert¡¯s face was as red as a tomato, and he lowered his head in embarrassment while nodding inpliance. Just a few minutes ago, he had been singing high praises about his son and even tried to get his granddaughter acquainted with Edmund. But in the blink of an eye, his son and granddaughter were criticized for having uneptable characters. From now on, they would probably be the subject of ridicule. And to make matters worse, he even got chided by Edmund. He was chagrined and full of regret. Edmund looked at Sam, seemingly having expected better from him. He reprimanded, ¡°You¡¯re already advanced in years. How are you still so poor at judging others? You should sever ties with him before it¡¯s toote!¡± Sam looked at Robert with a bitter smile, nodded, and sighed guiltily. ¡°Edmund, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m far inferior to you when ites to judging people¡¯s character!¡± Robert¡¯s body stiffened! He wasn¡¯t a fool, so he could naturally tell that Edmund was referring to him. Sam¡¯s reaction also showed that he would probably choose to unfriend Robert, thus causing thetter to lose a backer forever! The members of the big and powerful families of LA didn¡¯t dare to say a word and quickly lowered their heads. Oh dear! Edmund will probably criticize us next! Edmund nced at this group of people and said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve heard a little about what happened between you and Lucas. You¡¯re all a bunch of dignified figures of status, and yet you¡¯re here to bully a young man in his twenties just for the sake of sucking up to someone more powerful. You people are really shameless!¡± These helmsmen of wealthy families were so ashamed and guilty that they wished they could bury their heads in the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you people think. All of you who offended him just now, go and apologize to him! If he refuses to forgive you, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for your families to continue to exist!¡± After Edmund said this, the helmsmen were overwhelmed with fear. He stopped looking at the expressions on their faces and left the hotel together with his granddaughter, Alexis. When the Colespletely disappeared from the hotel, the people who had been holding their breaths quickly came back to their senses. It was just too... terrifying! Although Edmund didn¡¯t lose his temper andsh out at them just now, his mighty aura and status as the helmsman of the Cole family made everyone horrified. The first to react were the helmsmen of the top LA families. They reacted immediately after recovering from the fear. Their top priority now was to quickly get Lucas¡¯s forgiveness. Otherwise, with the Coles¡¯ influence, getting rid of them would be a piece of cake! They couldn¡¯t be bothered to bid farewell to Damon, Matthew, and the others. Moreover, they couldn¡¯t be bothered to say any nonsense to the Turners and simply scurried out of the hotel. Damon and Matthew both looked rather sullen, but they couldn¡¯t care less and also hurriedly left the hotel with their respectivepanions. Many of the guests of the Turners also left after bidding farewell to Eddie. Dn¡¯s wedding was considered to have beenpletely ruined, and the reputation of the Turners had also been tarnished. Rtives tended to only be close to each other on the surface, and most people stayed connected to their rtives in hopes that their rtives would be able to give them a helping hand during times in need. But they had all seen clearly everything that had happened today. The Turners were so cruel and harsh even to their close family members, let alone normal rtives. If something really happened, the Turners would definitely flee faster than anyone else. How could they possibly be willing to help them? The Turners all seemed extremely gloomy and were trying their best to make them stay, but none of them was willing to stay. Sam looked at Robert with aplicated expression. In fact, he had already talked to Robert about Edmund¡¯s taboos and strong abhorrence for those who liked relying on connections to climb the socialdder. But Robert had been all muddled up and let the temptation of sucking up to the Coles get to his head, thinking that he would be able to let the Herons rise to power and save themselves at least a decade of hard work. However, it turned out to be a tremendous loss. He didn¡¯t expect Robert¡¯s son and granddaughter to have such uneptable characters. Previously, he had still thought that they were obedient and capable. Edmund is right. I¡¯m indeed terrible at judging people! ¡°Sam, we¡¯ve been friends for decades. You...¡± Robert still wanted to give it onest try. Sam looked deeply at his old friend of decades and suddenly felt like he was aplete stranger. ¡°Robert, you... you¡¯re on your own now!¡± With that, Sam also turned around and left. Although he and Robert had been oldrades for years, he had also helped the Herons countless times before, and he no longer owed Robert anything in the future. Watching his old friend walk farther and farther away, Robert understood that he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to salvage things. Thus, he was enraged. Smack! Smack! He pped Justin hard on his face, followed by Nikki! Both their faces immediately reddened and swelled. ¡°Bastards!¡± # Chapter 473: Vying To Be the Driver

Chapter 473: Vying To Be the Driver

Robert was enraged andshed out at Justin, ¡°You dimwit! I told you early this morning that a big shot would be here today, so you ought to behave yourself and never offend anyone. Is this how you should behave? What a disgrace!¡± After scolding his son, he turned his head to Nikki and rebuked unceremoniously, ¡°And you! I thought you were smart, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be so foolish! Are you so blind that you couldn¡¯t tell that Mr. Cole values that punk Lucas Gray greatly? Or are you deaf, so you didn¡¯t hear Mr. Cole saying that Lucas Gray is his life savior? How dare you use him in front of Mr. Cole and even ask him to help you deal with Lucas Gray? Have you lost your mind?¡± Both Justin and Nikki couldn¡¯t even hold their heads up while being scolded, let alone argue with Robert. But a trace of greater resentment appeared in Nikki¡¯s eyes. Lucas Gray! It¡¯s all because of Lucas Gray! If not for him, I wouldn¡¯t have not only failed to suck up to the Coles, but I even ended up offending Mr. Edmund Cole and caused Grandpa to lose two powerful backers for no reason! All of this is his fault! Robert didn¡¯t notice this. After reprimanding his son and granddaughter, he looked at Eddie with a hostile expression and said coldly, ¡°Eddie Turner, don¡¯te looking for me when your family faces any trouble again in the future! Nothing good will evere out of getting involved with your family! Hmph!¡± After snorting coldly, he walked straight toward the hotel entrance before the Turners could even react. He even rebuked, ¡°What are you two waiting for? Hurry up and apologize to Lucas Gray immediately!¡± In a short while, only a few people were left in the hotel, which had still been extremely crowded just now. The Turners¡¯ faces were exceptionally gloomy. They were initially all prepared and ready to show off during the wedding, but their ns were now allpletely ruined. When Dn brought his bride and her family over to the hotel at noon, they would be greeted with an unsightly scene. ... After exiting the hotel, Lucas and his family walked directly to the parking lot not far away, intending to leave. The wedding ended prematurely on an unhappy note, and they wouldn¡¯t be returning to the Turners. Thus, they decided to head straight back to Orange County. Stanley was originally ordered by Lucas to show up and protect Cheyenne, so he naturally tagged along. But on the way, Stanley came close to Lucas¡¯s ear and whispered something to him. Lucas pondered quietly for a moment before saying to Cheyenne, ¡°Honey, you guys head home first. I still have some business to take care of in LA. I¡¯ll return once I¡¯m done.¡± Cheyenne nodded. She knew that the matters in LA had yet to be resolved and that the Parkers were still suspecting Lucas of being rted to Tristan¡¯s death. Many of the matters regarding the families in LA had yet to be resolved as well. She was worried about Lucas. But she also knew that even if she stayed, she probably wouldn¡¯t be of much help to him. On the contrary, she might even hinder him. So after giving a nod of agreement, Cheyenne said worriedly, ¡°Be careful then. You must make sure to pay attention to your safety. If anything happens to you, you must inform me too!¡± With the support of Edmund and the presence of Flynn and Ethan, she wasn¡¯t worried that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to handle those matters. But she was afraid that someone would interfere or secretly resort to some unscrupulous means. Lucas nodded and said with a faint smile, ¡°Rest assured! I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Then he solemnly instructed Stanley next to him, ¡°Their safety is in your hands!¡± Stanley had already shown up, so Lucas simply got straight to the point and openly arranged for him to protect and escort Cheyenne, Charlotte, and Amelia back to Orange County. Wade would also follow them and protect them in secret. Lucas¡¯s family was his greatest weakness, so he would protect them at all times. Stanley, as the former assault team leader of the Falcon Regiment, had incredible reflexes. And now that he had gained Lucas¡¯s trust, he was definitely the best candidate for protecting Lucas¡¯s wife and daughter. Stanley naturally understood that Lucas trusted him, so he said solemnly, ¡°Rest assured, Lucas! I¡¯ll definitelyplete my mission properly!¡± ¡°Okay, be careful along the way.¡± After Lucas watched Stanley drive away with his family, he finally turned around and was about to go to the ce Stanley had told him about when he suddenly heard someone calling out to him from behind. ¡°Lucas! Lucas! Wait for us!¡± Lucas turned around and saw Edmund hurrying toward him with his granddaughter, Alexis. Lucas stood in ce and waited for Edmund, who was panting heavily, to walk to him. He asked, ¡°Mr. Cole, you¡¯ve already thanked me earlier. Is there something else?¡± Seeing how nonchnt Lucas was, Edmund couldn¡¯t help being dumbfounded for a moment. He appreciated Lucas even more. Because of his identity as the helmsman of the Cole family, most people would subconsciously be scrupulous and respectful toward him whenever they saw him. The people who knew his status either feared him or would try their best to suck up to him. But people like Lucas, who wasposed and calm as if he was just facing an ordinary passerby, were really rare. Alexis also looked at Lucas with great interest and asked curiously, ¡°Lucas, my grandpa is the helmsman of the Cole family. Since you saved my grandpa¡¯s life, you are the benefactor of our family. Aren¡¯t you curious about what benefits you can get from us?¡± Lucas shook his head indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that me saving Mr. Cole was just a lift of a finger. It¡¯s not that great of a favor, and I¡¯ve never thought of getting any benefits from you. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± Alexis¡¯s eyes widened in shock. She could tell that Lucas really didn¡¯t take the fact that he had saved Edmund seriously and wasn¡¯t expecting Edmund to thank or repay him. This made Alexis be even more interested in Lucas. At this moment, Flynn and Ethan both hurried over. Seeing Lucas in the parking lot, Ethan immediately said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Gray, where are you going? Let me send you!¡± Flynn nced at Ethan with displeasure. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go to the trouble, Mr. Sawyer. I¡¯m more familiar with LA, so I can send Mr. Gray to his destination!¡± He had been working for Lucas for a while now, and Lucas had also set high expectations for him. So even though Ethan was the richest man in Orange County, Flynn reckoned that he mattered more to Lucas! Edmund looked at the two people in front of him, who were both scrambling to be Lucas¡¯s driver, and felt a little amused and shocked. ording to the information he had obtained, Lucas really didn¡¯t seem to have any powerful status or background. He was just the husband of Cheyenne Carter from Orange County. But the two people vying to be his driver were Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, and Flynn Davis, a powerful figure who had recently risen to fame in LA. They were both extremely respectful to Lucas. In fact, they even seemed to have failed to notice Edmund, who was standing right in front of them. Could Lucas have an extraordinary identity?! He had only asked people to find out the identity of the Samaritan who had saved his life, so his subordinates had merely done a brief check on Lucas¡¯s background. But it seemed that he had to run a thorough check on Lucas¡¯s identity! While thinking about it, Edmund suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Lucas, I know you don¡¯t need any gifts, but no matter what, you¡¯ve saved my life. How about this? It¡¯s about time for lunch. Regardless of where you¡¯re going, you still have to eat. Why don¡¯t I treat you to a meal to thank you? What do you think?¡± Chapter 474: Veteran of the State of Calico

Chapter 474: Veteran of the State of Calico

Lucas thought about it for a while and agreed, ¡°Since you¡¯ve offered, alright. Pardon me for disturbing you.¡± Lucas had quite a good impression of Edmund. And since Edmund was a powerful figure of a top family in San Francisco, forming friendly rtions with him would be beneficial to his future expansion of the Stardust Corporation. Although he didn¡¯t care to do so, he wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to vehemently push away those who had good intentions toward him. Edmund was overjoyed to see Lucas agreeing to have a meal with him. The reason he had rushed out of the hotel to meet Lucas was that he hadn¡¯t even had time to speak to Lucas inside before he had been interrupted by various people and incidents. At first, he had just wanted to contact Lucas to repay him for saving his life. But now, he was more interested in Lucas as a person. The more he looked at Lucas, the more he appreciated him. To an old man like him who had met countless people, Lucas was a rare find. Thus, Edmund happily asked Lucas to get inside the car while inviting Ethan and Flynn along. Together with his granddaughter, Alexis, they made their way to the Royal Lake Restaurant in a grand manner. When the helmsmen of the top LA families rushed out from the hotel and learned that Lucas had left together with Edmund, their expressions became even more interesting. ¡­ In therge and luxurious private room on the top floor of the Royal Lake Restaurant, all the dishes had been prepared ording to Edmund¡¯s instructions. After they took their seats, Alexis personally poured wine for Edmund and Lucas. Edmund lifted his ss and grinned at Lucas with pleasure. ¡°This is a toast to Lucas. Thank you so much for saving my life!¡± Lucas lifted his wine ss and clinked sses with him, after which both of them downed it all in one go. ¡°Haha, great!¡± Edmund wiped the wine stains on the corners of his lips with his hand andughed out loud. ¡°Mr. Gray, you really are a nice youngd! Young men like you who are brave enough to do a good deed to save others are rare these days!¡± Flynn and Ethan had only heard Edmund say that Lucas had saved his life, but they didn¡¯t know exactly what had happened and so asked about it. Edmund didn¡¯t put on any airs as he told them straight about the incident that had happened yesterday morning when he suddenly passed out from a heart attack on the road and had fortunately been saved by Lucas, who had helped him up and fed him the pill. At the end, there was a trace of nostalgia in his eyes as he said emotionally, ¡°But it¡¯s no wonder that people are now afraid to do good. There are just too many con artists out there who have ruined society. Back in the day, when we were just soldiers fighting on the battlefield in Calico, people were much simpler! Even when someone knocked into you by ident, they¡¯d ask if you were okay and needed help, not to mention save someone who passed out on the road. Such people basically don¡¯t exist anymore these days!¡± When Lucas heard the familiar words ¡®Calico¡¯ and ¡®soldiers¡¯, his hand shook slightly while holding his wine ss. ¡°Mr. Cole, you served as a soldier when you were young?¡± The proudest thing in Edmund¡¯s life was not the great fortune he had created but his experience as a soldier in the state of Calico decades ago. So he was immediately enthused when he heard that Lucas also seemed to be interested in it. ¡°Haha yes! When I joined the army back then, I was only twenty years old, and I was a soldier who fought in Calico for more than ten years. I fought in dozens of battles!¡± As he spoke, Edmund began to tell Lucas about the war affairs and anecdotes of his past as a soldier, the victories and des he had earned, and the sacrifices of hisrades. While listening to Edmund¡¯s recount, Lucas also seemed to have been transported back to the time when he was a zealous soldier of the military. Although Edmund had not been in the Falcon Regiment, and the two of them had different experiences in different times, the desire to defend their country and the precious camaraderie in the military camp were all so rare and valuable. Alexis had already heard about the history of her grandfather¡¯s military experience countless times before. She originally thought that Lucas would perhaps get bored and impatient from listening to her grandfather talk about these old stories. But she discovered that Lucas was listening very seriously, and as her grandfather recounted the past, he seemed nostalgic and emotional from time to time. Alexis blinked, feeling even more curious about Lucas. While the few of them were having a conversation about Edmund¡¯s past in the army over the meal in the private room on the top floor of the Royal Lake Restaurant, there were more than ten people feeling uneasy on the first floor of the restaurant. The manager of the restaurant was naturally aware that they were the helmsmen of the top LA families. Usually, it was rare to see any of them. But now, so many of them had appeared at once. Even Damon Parker, the helmsman of one of the two top LA families, was present. The manager was overjoyed and hurriedly ran out to greet these distinguished guests to have them be seated in the luxurious private room on the top floor, but his offer was rejected. ¡°Okay, you go about your business. We¡¯ll just stand here as we wait for someone.¡± One of the helmsmen impatiently dismissed the manager, who had offered his hospitality. Thus, they became the focus of discussion. ¡°Wow! Guess what I just saw? The helmsmen of a bunch of notable LA families are all gathered in the lobby on the first floor, and they seem to be waiting for someone!¡± ¡°Wow! Is something big happening? Or is there some big shoting? I saw the helmsman of the Parker family standing in the crowd on the first floor. Could the person they¡¯re waiting for have a higher status than the Parkers?¡± ¡°For sure! Would the helmsman of the Parkers wait for someone with a lower status? But it doesn¡¯t seem right. Why do they need to stand there and wait? Even if they¡¯re waiting for a certain person, they can just do so in a private room!¡± ¡°I have a feeling that they¡¯re in some kind of trouble. Look at their faces. They don¡¯t seem right! Everyone looks worried and fidgety. I¡¯m afraid something has really happened.¡± ¡­ There were quite a few peopleing and going in the Royal Lake Restaurant, and the news soon spread like wildfire. Many people spected about the intentions of these big shots. ¡­ And at this moment, in the Owens¡¯ vi in LA¡­ Callum was sitting on the couch and looking at thetest news about the stock market on his phone, but he seemed rather distracted. His younger brother, Elijah, was resting his long legs on the coffee table. After taking a look at the time, he couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Callum, it¡¯s almost time, isn¡¯t it? That punk should have been crippled by the Parkers by now, right?¡± ¡°Well, probably,¡± Callum answered casually. Although things were going ording to his n, he somehow had a vague uneasiness within him. Elijah asked with puzzlement, ¡°Callum, why does it seem that you¡¯re not in the least bit happy about this? Aren¡¯t things going ording to your n?¡± He moved his legs off of the couch and said with great interest, ¡°Those fools from the Parkers all think that punk Lucas Gray killed Tristan and will definitely go confront him. No, actually, they¡¯ve already gone and have definitely crippled him! In that case, even if that punk really has some powerful background, it will be the Parkers incurring his wrath and offending him. We just have to sit back and watch them fight. Once the Parkers¡¯ power is weakened, we will be the greatest family in LA! Callum, you have a wonderful n. What else are you still worried about?¡± Chapter 475: Deviation In Plan

Chapter 475: Deviation In n

Callum frowned, rubbed the middle of his forehead, and said faintly, ¡°No. Before the final oue is determined, there are still a lot of variables to consider. Anything can happen.¡± Seemingly responding to his words, his phone suddenly started vibrating. It was an iing call from one of his subordinates responsible for following up on the matter. Callum immediately picked up the phone. ¡°What¡¯s the oue?¡± ¡°B-bad news! Mr. Owens, something terrible has happened!¡± On the other end, the subordinate sounded extremely flustered. It turned out that their n had gone awry. Callum¡¯s expression changed, and he immediately asked loudly, ¡°What happened in the end? Hurry up and tell me clearly!¡± The subordinate didn¡¯t dare to dy any longer and hurriedly told Callum the information he had found out this afternoon. ¡°Everything was going smoothly at first, and things were proceeding exactly ording to your n. Damon Parker brought arge group of bodyguards with him to the wedding venue and confronted Lucas Gray. The bodyguards were really about to break Lucas Gray¡¯s legs in public, but the general manager of the Sr Corporation, Flynn Davis, suddenly arrived at the scene and sent his bodyguards to stop Damon Parker¡¯s bodyguards. Later on, the richest man in Orange County, Ethan Sawyer, also rushed over. And for some reason, he stood on Lucas Gray¡¯s side. No matter how Damon Parker forced him, it didn¡¯t work. ¡°Later, Damon Parker called the helmsmen of many LA families toe over and dere their stand to go against the Sawyers. Even the helmsman of the Bensons stood on his side and asked his bodyguards to take Lucas Gray away forcefully. Their bodyguards were so close to nabbing Lucas. Then Edmund Cole from San Francisco suddenly rushed over too! ¡°Edmund Cold said that Lucas Gray saved his life. With him around, no one couldy a finger on Lucas Gray. Moreover, Edmund Cole dered that he would be severing ties with the Bensons and made all the LA helmsmen who offended Lucas go and beg for his forgiveness. Otherwise, he will get their families removed from LA! ¡°Now, it¡¯s said that Lucas Gray and Edmund Cole are having a meal in the Royal Lake Restaurant, and the helmsmen of many LA families are waiting in the lobby on the first floor to apologize and make it up to Lucas Gray!¡± The subordinate told him about everything that had happened in one go. At the beginning, Callum¡¯s expression began to change. Toward the end, it became increasingly gloomy. ¡°Got it. Continue keeping an eye on the situation!¡± Callum immediately hung up and stayed silent for a long time. People often say, ¡®Man proposes, God disposes¡¯. People could make ns, but as detailed as they might be, they were bound to face changes. But an intelligent and shrewd nner would take variables into consideration and thus would be able to put their thwarted ns back on track through some backup means and ns. However, the variables brought about by the news his subordinate gave him were far beyond Callum¡¯s expectations. Flynn¡¯s and Ethan¡¯s sudden appearance and decision to protect Lucas were just a minor hup, and it wouldn¡¯t have affected Callum¡¯s ns as long as the helmsmen of the Parkers and the other families went against them. It might have even brought him some unexpected gains. But now that Edmund had forcefully intervened, the oue of the n had rapidly developed in an unfavorable direction. If he was careless, even he, the mastermind behind this n, would probably get involved too. Callum¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. Elijah asked in bafflement, ¡°Callum, what did he say over the phone? Is there an oue now?¡± Callum slowly nodded and told him a summary of all the things his subordinate had said to him just now. ¡°Uh, Callum, although it has deviated from your initial n, the oue isn¡¯t that bad!¡± Elijah thought about it and suddenly pped his thighs before eximing, ¡°Think about it. That punk Lucas Gray may have escaped a disaster, but the Parkers and the other top LA families have alreadypletely offended him. That¡¯s tantamount to offending Edmund Cole! If we use some tactics and make Edmund Cole get rid of them, wouldn¡¯t LA be ours to control? That¡¯d be even better than the expected oue of your original n!¡± Callum red at his younger brother, whom he had expected better from, and rebuked, ¡°Why do you only take things at face value? If we don¡¯t handle this well, our family will be in big trouble!¡± ¡°How is that possible? We¡¯re obviously in a favorable situation. How can we possibly be in big trouble?¡± Elijah questioned in disbelief with a frown. Callum said in a deep voice, ¡°Don¡¯t you forget that Tristan didn¡¯t really get killed by Lucas Gray but the person we hired! If Lucas Gray is really that close to Edmund Cole, his investigation may lead to us as long as he leverages the power of the Coles! When that happens, we will face a huge crisis, and we can forget about dominating the whole of LA!¡± Elijah was shocked to hear this, and he finally thought of the danger involved. Indeed, his former best friend, Tristan, had not been killed by Lucas but by a henchman they had hired ording to his brother¡¯s n. If the Coles investigated and found out about this matter, the Owens would definitely not be able to gain any benefit. Not only would they face the wrath of the Parkers, but they would also be dealt with by the Coles at the same time, as well as the mysterious force behind Lucas. Moreover, his reputation would also bepletely ruined! After all, he and Tristan used to be close. And over the years, many people had thought that they were best friends. If someone exposed the fact that he had killed his ¡®best friend¡¯ and even framed someone else for it, his life would be over too! ¡°The Coles have a prestigious status. I doubt they¡¯d help Lucas Gray investigate such a matter. Besides, we didn¡¯t leave behind any evidence that night, and... everyone knows that we¡¯re close to Tristan. No one will suspect us!¡± Elijah was overwhelmed with fear, and he seemed to beforting himself with these words. Callum didn¡¯t agree with him. ¡°Edmund Cole said that Lucas Gray saved his life, and he even threatened the helmsmen of so many LA families to force them to apologize to Lucas Gray. If Lucas Gray says that he didn¡¯t kill Tristan and asks Edmund Cole to help him with the investigation, he definitely won¡¯t turn him down. ¡°Also, although the Parkers didn¡¯t manage to find any information, this n of ours isn¡¯t seamless, and we¡¯re not necessarily safe. At the very least, the person we hired is still alive, and our mary transaction records aren¡¯t that well hidden. As long as someone suspects us, it¡¯s not difficult for them to find evidence against us.¡± Elijah¡¯s face gradually paled as he listened to Callum¡¯s analysis. He initially thought that no one would ever find out about their n, but Callum made it sound like the scandal about to be unraveled. He definitely didn¡¯t want to be exposed in such a manner and then have his reputation ruined! Elijah was so anxious that he was about to get riled up. ¡°Callum, what should we do? Hurry up and think of a solution! I don¡¯t want my reputation to be ruined nor anything to happen to our family! Callum, you¡¯re the smartest person in the family, and you¡¯re the one who came up with this n too. You must have a solution, right?¡± # Chapter 476: Asking for Forgiveness

Chapter 476: Asking for Forgiveness

Callum chastised, ¡°Look at the way you¡¯re behaving. We¡¯re not being investigated yet, but you¡¯re already so flustered. Are you trying to expose yourself?¡± Elijah scratched his head and ruffled his hair, causing it to be extremely messy. He said with a bitter expression, ¡°Callum, didn¡¯t you say that they might find out that we¡¯re the culprits very easily? Why are you ming me for being too panicky? Aren¡¯t you worried?¡± ¡°I mean, you shouldn¡¯t let your guard down and think that everything will be fine just because you can rest easy now. Besides, I also said that they might be able to find some clues only if they suspect us. Otherwise, how can it be that easy when it¡¯s like finding a needle in a haystack?¡± Callum said with displeasure, feelingpletely speechless about his brother, who was far less intelligent than him. Seeing Elijah¡¯s face immediately light up, Callum warned him again in a deep voice, ¡°Anyway, only the two of us know about this matter. Remember to keep your lips sealed about this. No one is to hear about this, not even Grandpa! ¡°Furthermore, you¡¯d better stay at home the next few days and don¡¯t go anywhere. Don¡¯t meet your sordid friends for drinks either. If you spread a single word about this, the Owens will be dead meat. You hear me?¡± Elijah hurriedly nodded. ¡°Okay, okay! I¡¯ll stay at home. I won¡¯t go anywhere! You can rest assured, Callum!¡± Callum was slightly relieved to see that Elijah had finally understood. He was actually saying these words to himself too. Yes, we shouldn¡¯t panic. We¡¯re usually very close to Tristan, so they¡¯re definitely not going to suspect us. Just like that, no one will know the truth. However, Callum was still feeling anxious, and his eyelids twitched, as if something major was about to happen. Naturally, none of the Owens was aware of this matter. ¡ª¡ª In the private room on the top floor of the Royal Lake Restaurant in LA, Lucas, Edmund, and the rest were almost done eating. After rattling on for an hour about his past in the military, Edmund was finally satisfied and was even more pleased with Lucas, who was willing to hear his stories. He had found it a pity a few times. In his opinion, Lucas was a handsome young man with a good character, and the two had plenty of topics inmon. He was a good candidate to be his grandson-inw, but unfortunately, he had settled down, gotten married, and had a child a long time ago. He naturally couldn¡¯t break Cheyenne and Lucas up, so he merely inwardlymented. Ah, why didn¡¯t I meet this young man earlier? It¡¯s such a pity! After the few of them chatted, Edmund suddenly said, ¡°Lucas, what do you n to do with those people downstairs?¡± The LA helmsmen below were waiting for the news, so naturally, someone had alreadye to inform them a long time ago. Lucas gave it some thought and said, ¡°Just leave this matter to me to handle. You don¡¯t have to bother any longer, Mr. Cole.¡± A trace of surprise and appreciation appeared in Edmund¡¯s eyes. He was surprised because he had already hinted to Lucas just now that he could help him get rid of these people anytime if Lucas wanted it. Even if Lucas wanted to make these ten or so powerful families disappear from LA overnight, he would be able to do it. But Lucas seemed to be implying that he didn¡¯t need Edmund¡¯s help, which was a direct rejection of his good intentions. As for the appreciation, it was naturally because of Lucas¡¯s temperament. He chose to solve issues with his own abilities instead of asking others for help, which was truly the attitude of a powerhouse. This also meant that Lucas could easily deal with these families without his help. Regardless of whether Lucas was capable and strong because of his own abilities or whether he just had a powerful background, Edmund was even more interested in him. Alexis also seemed extremely surprised. She blinked and asked in puzzlement, ¡°Lucas, are you really going to turn down my grandpa¡¯s help? In fact, with just one word from my grandpa, he can help you perfectly settle this matter. Wouldn¡¯t it be more troublesome for you to handle it yourself? Is that really okay?¡± ¡°Alexis, don¡¯t butt in. He has his own ns,¡± Edmund whispered to his granddaughter and told her to stop. Then he turned to Lucas and said seriously, ¡°Lucas, you don¡¯t have to be polite with me. If you ever need my help in the future, just feel free to say so!¡± While speaking, Edmund handed Lucas a business card with his personal cell phone number on it. He generally didn¡¯t like people who sucked up to him through connections, so there were very few people who could have Edmund¡¯s personal number. But Lucas was someone he valued and the person who had even saved his life. Edmund wished Lucas would quickly ask him for a favor so that they could be closer. ¡°Sure.¡± Lucas nodded, took Edmund¡¯s business card, and casually put it in his pocket. Apart from Edmund, Alexis, and Lucas himself, Flynn and Ethan stood firmly on Lucas¡¯s side because both of them knew that Lucas was actually a part of the Hutton family from DC. Hence, they didn¡¯t react much when they saw Edmund handing him the business card. If it was anyone else in LA, they would have been agitated, thrilled, or jealous because of this small business card. By the time the few of them reached the first floor via the elevator, the helmsmen of the major LA families, who had been waiting here for more than an hour, immediately came over with great excitement. ¡°Mr. Gray, I was reckless and offended you this morning. I¡¯m the owner of Breeze Culture. I sincerely apologize to you!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray! I, too, didn¡¯t think through what I said this morning and offended you. Please forgive me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m the owner of Glory Fashion. Please be magnanimous and forgive me for being disrespectful to you, Mr. Gray!¡± ... The helmsmen of the top LA families who had previously taunted Lucas, Ethan, and Flynn had now all swallowed their pride to apologize to Lucas one after another while fearing that they might not gain his forgiveness if they weren¡¯t sincere enough. After all, Edmund had already said that if they couldn¡¯t get Lucas¡¯s forgiveness, there wouldn¡¯t be a need for their families to continue to exist in LA. Even Damon bit the bullet and went all out to apologize to Lucas. But to their surprise, Lucas merely nodded at Edmund beside him and then got inside Flynn¡¯s car with Flynn without paying any attention to them! ¡°What... what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°It looks like he hasn¡¯t forgiven us yet. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have left without saying a word.¡± ¡°But what should we do next?¡± ¡°Continue looking for chances to apologize to him?¡± ¡°Or should we send some money or gifts to him instead? Maybe he doesn¡¯t think a verbal apology is sincere enough.¡± The crowd was at a loss for a moment. Some people wanted to ask for Edmund¡¯s opinion on what they should do, but unfortunately for them, Edmund had already left. ¡°Mr. Parker, what should we do? Lucas Gray doesn¡¯t seem to want to forgive us at all!¡± The few helmsmen asked Damon for some suggestions with sorrowful expressions. Damon was just as stumped and vexed. He said with great annoyance, ¡°If I knew what to do, would I still be standing here like an idiot?¡± With that, he stormed away in exasperation without looking at their reactions. On the other side, Lucas sat on the backseat of Flynn¡¯s car and told him an address. ¡°Drive to this ce.¡± Flynn acknowledged. ¡°I know. That¡¯s where Stanley locked up the real murderer after catching him, right?¡± # Chapter 477: The Killer in Black

Chapter 477: The Killer in ck

The two men drove the car to a private house in a remote area of LA. After pushing the door open and entering, they saw a man in ck skin-tight clothes tightly secured to a chair with a ck cloth covering his eyes and a towel stuffed in his mouth to prevent him from yelling. Lucas stood in front of him. Flynn understood what he meant, so he went forward and pulled away the cloth around his head and the towel in his mouth at once. The man in ck squinted and tried to adapt to the light for a while before he raised his head and looked at Lucas and Flynn in front of him, his eyes full of hatred and intimidation. He was about forty years old, and his entire body reeked of a faint odor of blood. Lucas knew at a nce that this man had taken many lives. ¡°I¡¯m warning you. This is illegal detention! You¡¯d better let me go, or I will definitely sue you!¡± he bellowed. Lucas remained expressionless and merely sneered. ¡°You¡¯re just a hitman who kills for a living and has no bottom line, but you have the nerve to sue us?¡± The man in ck¡¯s pupils constricted as a trace of obvious panic appeared on his face. ¡°I... I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare try to deny it.¡± Lucas stood in front of him and said in an icy cold voice, ¡°My subordinate caught you near the scene of Tristan Parker¡¯s car ident yesterday. There is concrete evidence. You can¡¯t deny it.¡± Seeing the immediate change in the man in ck¡¯s expression, Lucas questioned overbearingly in a condescending manner, ¡°Tell me. Who actually sent you to kill Tristan Parker?¡± Indeed, the person who killed Tristan was not sent by Lucas. Last night, Tristan had hired an assassin to kill Lucas at the top of Caldo Mountain, so Lucas would naturally not let Tristan live any longer. So after going down the mountain, he had arranged for Stanley to take action on Tristan. But before Stanley could do it, he discovered that someone had gotten ahead of him and killed Tristan first. Due to the sudden power outage and sparse traffic on the roads on the outskirts at the time, it was difficult to find useful clues. But Stanley had personally witnessed the incident, and he had immediately controlled the murderer at the scene. Lucas was initially just curious about who else would want Tristan dead, but then he soon thought of Lena. Lena had also encountered several sudden assassination attempts. If he had not happened to be at the scene to rescue Lena, she would have probably been dead by now. Tristan and Lena had previously been engaged, and through his intuition, Lucas sensed that there might be some kind of connection between the two. The most direct spection Lucas made was that someone didn¡¯t want the marriage alliance between the Sawyers and the Parkers to happen. But they could use open means to stop it, so they resorted to assassinating either Lena and Tristan in order to prevent the marriage. So Lucas made Stanley control Tristan¡¯s murderer to find out who exactly the person who repeatedly sent people to assassinate Lena was. They couldn¡¯t keep their guards up all the time either, so only by finding the mastermind behind the assassination could Lena be free from danger. However, when Damon brought arge group of people over to use Lucas of being Tristan¡¯s murderer and wanted to take him away to avenge his grandson, Lucas realized that the plot behind this matter wasn¡¯t that simple. The killer in ck sneered and said adamantly, ¡°Do you think I will tell you? In our line of work, the rule of thumb is to keep our lips sealed about our clients¡¯ information. I won¡¯t tell even if you kill me!¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. The killer seemed to be quite a person of principle. But seeing the panic on his face that he couldn¡¯t hide, Lucas reckoned that he probably wouldn¡¯t be as tight-lipped as he imed to be. If subjected to some torture methods, he certainly wouldn¡¯t be so unrelenting. Lucas had been in the Falcon Regiment for six years and caught many spies from various forces, so forceful interrogation with torture methods was not new to him. He had more than a hundred ways to force this killer to speak. But Lucas really couldn¡¯t be bothered. ¡°The person who sent you to kill Tristan Parker is Callum Owens, right?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. A fleeting trace of surprise appeared on the face of the killer, and he blurted, ¡°How do you know...¡± He immediately stopped himself from going on when he realized what he was saying, but it was already toote. His action just now was enough to prove that what Lucas said was absolutely true. Since he already confirmed from the killer who the mastermind was, there was no need for Lucas to ask about anything else. Lucas had long suspected the reason for Callum¡¯s actions, and it actually wasn¡¯t hard to guess something based on the rtionship between the Owens and the Parkers. Lucas turned around and casually said to Flynn, ¡°This person has killed many people. I¡¯ll leave him to you.¡± With that, he walked toward the door. Flynn had astonishment written all over his face. He initially thought that they would have to interrogate the killer to get the information they wanted. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to guess who the mastermind was just by taking a nce at him. He also didn¡¯t expect that the real killer was Callum, a scion of the Owen family. Based on the information he had gathered during his time in LA, Callum and his brother, Elijah, had always been very close to Tristan. If Lucas hadn¡¯t pointed it out, he wouldn¡¯t have believed that they were the ones who had plotted to kill Tristan! Flynn was extremely curious as he wondered, How on earth did Lucas guess it? It should be the first time Lucas has met this killer, so how does he know that he has killed many people? However, he could only keep his thoughts to himself. After all, Lucas had always been an extraordinary person. So even though he had worked for Lucas for a long time, he couldn¡¯t guess what other abilities and secrets Lucas had. Now, his most important task was to finish the task Lucas gave him. Flynn gestured toward the bodyguards behind him, and the two elite bodyguards immediately stepped forward toward the killer. The bodyguards naturally had experience in getting rid of people in a clean and fast manner. The killer¡¯s eyes suddenly widened as he realized that Lucas¡¯s words just now were not merely a casual remark. Rather, he was really going to have someone kill him! ¡°No! No, you can¡¯t kill me! I am a member of the Peerless Martial Association. If you dare to kill me, the rest of us will definitely not spare you!¡± the killer roared in exasperation. When Flynn heard the name ¡®Peerless Martial Association¡¯, his expression changed slightly. # Chapter 478: Peerless Martial Association

Chapter 478: Peerless Martial Association

Flynn had heard a little bit about this organization on a few asions, and it was said that the Peerless Martial Association was arge martial arts association that had recruited many skilled martial artists. It was said that many of its experts were often paid tomit illegal acts for others and were extremely protective of one another. Once a member of the organization died, it would send many experts to take revenge. If this person in front of them was really a member of the Peerless Martial Association, Lucas would encounter more trouble in the future, given its usual practice. ¡°Uh¡­ Lucas, what do you think we should do?¡± Flynn hesitated for a moment but decided to ask Lucas¡¯s opinion. In his opinion, although he had heard about the Peerless Martial Association from others, there was a great possibility that it was indeed true. He felt that it would be best to avoid getting into a conflict with the Peerless Martial Association as much as possible. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m sure you have heard of the Peerless Martial Association. If you let me go, I can still pretend that nothing has happened, and I can also not hold it against you for catching me. Consider us even!¡± The killer seemed to see Flynn¡¯s scruples, and a smug expression appeared on his face as he said dangerously, ¡°But if you dare toy a hand on me, the members of the Peerless Martial Association will definitely kill you to avenge my death!¡± Lucas¡¯s expression turned dark as he said coldly, ¡°Kill him!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Flynn was shocked, but he immediately agreed. The killer¡¯s certain and smug expression stiffened. He didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would actually order for him to be killed even after knowing the name of the organization he belonged to! Is he not afraid that the Peerless Martial Association will make him its enemy? Or is this person the type that hates being threatened? However, regardless of the reason, the killer panicked in the face of impending death and hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ll tell you anything you want to know! Yes, it was a young man named Callum Owens who gave me a hundred and fifty thousand USD to get me to help him kill Tristan Parker without leaving a trace! If you have any other questions, I will definitely tell you everything I know! Just don¡¯t kill me! Please¡­ ah!¡± Lucas frowned and picked a small stone on the table next to him. Then he flicked it at the killer. Pfft! Like a bullet out of a gun, the marble-sized stone directly pierced through the brow of the killer, making him stop speaking. He would never have the chance to say anything again in his life. If the killer could be as tough as he was at the beginning and abide by the rules of his industry, perhaps Lucas would have still thought highly of him. But Lucas didn¡¯t see the need to be kind to someone who was greedy for money, afraid of death, and would kill anyone through unscrupulous means for money. The stone was the exact same thing that the killer had used to cause the ident that killed Tristan. Now that he had died at the hands of his own weapon, he had brought it upon himself in a certain sense. Flynn and his bodyguards were also shocked. They had just witnessed Lucas flicking a small stone and achieving an effectparable to a pistol without any firearms or other weapons. It was too terrifying, and it could be considered an inhuman means! Flynn couldn¡¯t help gulping and asked cautiously, ¡°Lu-Lucas, the Peerless Martial Association¡­¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just a minor assassin. Even if the president of that Peerless Martial Association is standing right in front of me, I have nothing to fear.¡± He exuded a shocking aura, confident and powerful. It was as if no one could make him take a step back at all. Flynn felt uncontrobly exhrated.?What¡¯s there to fear when working for a man like Lucas? ¡°Lucas, since the Owens are behind this matter, and they even framed you, I will go to them and demand an exnation, okay?¡± Flynn asked. Lucas shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to do anything to them for now. Go to the Parkers now, and remember to take this killer¡¯s corpse with you.¡± Flynn dly obeyed. ¡ª¡ª At the Parkers¡­ Damon had waited a long time for Lucas at the Royal Lake Restaurant, but he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to leave arrogantly without giving any of them a chance. This made Damon enraged, but there was nothing he could do except go home and think of a solution. As soon as he returned, a bunch of people rushed out from the vi and looked at Damon with an expectant expression. ¡°Dad, did you catch that punk and bring him back?¡± ¡°Dad, Lucas Gray killed my son. Hand him to me, and I will make his life a living hell to avenge Tristan!¡± ¡°Yeah, Grandpa. Where is that bastard? I will skin him alive!¡± ¡­ They were all direct descendants of the Parkers, the most anxious of which were the parents of Tristan and several other juniors. Although Tristan had been ipetent and had long been ruled out as a potential sessor by Damon early on, he was still his grandson and a direct descendant of the family after all. Yet he had now died an unclear death in the outskirts of LA, which was simply a tant provocation and humiliation to the Parkers! Although the dead couldn¡¯t be brought back to life, they had to avenge Tristan and bring the brazen murderer to justice while also torturing him to death! Damon was already overwhelmed with anger, and now that he was surrounded by a group of people asking about Lucas¡¯s whereabouts, he felt even more annoyed and frustrated. ¡°Get lost!¡± he hollered. He pushed away the few family members blocking the way and went straight back to his vi. They almost fell to the ground and looked at each other in dismay. Based on Damon¡¯s reaction, they reckoned that things probably didn¡¯t develop as they expected. Moreover, the fact that none of Damon¡¯s bodyguards had returned was enough to indicate that Damon had failed to bring Lucas back and might have also encountered something. Seeing Damon¡¯s furious expression just now, they didn¡¯t dare to follow him in at this time and ask him for a clear exnation. The only one who went in and tagged along behind Damon was Ray, Tristan¡¯s father. Immediately after he went in, he learned about the events that had urred today from the secretary that Damon had brought there and also found out that that punk Lucas Gray had suddenly gotten into the good books of Edmund Cole. Not only did Edmund warn them against harming Lucas, but he even forced all the helmsmen present to apologize to Lucas and seek his forgiveness. Otherwise, their families would be removed from LA. ¡°How did that happen¡­¡± Ray was in disbelief. He couldn¡¯t believe that the murderer of his son would actually be that lucky to save Edmund Cole and gain his protection. The helmsmen of many top LA families even had to apologize to him. It was as absurd and dramatic as the plot of a third-rate novel! But when he saw his father¡¯s pale face, he understood that it was absolutely true! Why is my son¡¯s murderer getting the help of a nobleman even after causing my son to die tragically? Doesn¡¯t this mean that I¡¯ll never be able to avenge him?!?He was indignant! At this moment, someone hurriedly ran in from outside. ¡°Mr. Parker, bad news. A man named Lucas Gray has barged in with his men!¡± Chapter 479: Visit

Chapter 479: Visit

Damon and Ray were both enraged. They wished they could skin Lucas alive, but they had to apologize to Lucas and ask for his forgiveness under Edmund¡¯s orders. But they had now already returned to the Parker residence, and Lucas was being too much of a bully if he trespassed and barged into their home! ¡°Let¡¯s go. I want to see what else he wants to do!¡± Damon was boiling with fury, and with a roar of exasperation, he led Ray to the gates of their residence. Damon saw from some twenty meters away that Lucas was standing at the gates with Flynn. It seemed that they didn¡¯t bring anyone else with them. Given the current situation, they reckoned that Lucas probably wasn¡¯t here to confront them and pick a fight. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been so foolish as not to bring a bodyguard with him. However, Damon was still as infuriated. Many of the Parkers¡¯ bodyguards were crowding around Lucas and ring at him intently. Although Lucas wasn¡¯t from LA, and many of the Parkers didn¡¯t know him, there were some who knew him, such as Keh. So Lucas was surrounded by the bodyguards as soon as he arrived at the Parker residence. If not for the fact that Damon, the helmsman of the Parkers, had ordered them against doing so, they would have instructed their bodyguards to beat Lucas to death at the entrance as a warning to those who tried to harm them. ¡°Lucas Gray, how brazen of you to show up here!¡± Damon red at Lucas gloomily and walked through the crowd that parted for him toward Lucas. Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°What? Mr. Parker, are you trying to threaten me? So much for bringing a gift for you.¡± ¡°Gift?¡± Damon narrowed his eyes with suspicion. He wasn¡¯t that naive to think that Lucas would really bring him any gift. Given the current rtionship between the two parties, he would have had someone break Lucas¡¯s limbs this morning if Lucas didn¡¯t have the protection of Edmund. He reckoned that Lucas was well aware of this too. Lucas didn¡¯t say much either. He raised his hand and tossed the killer behind him. The heavy corpse fell to the ground, revealing the look of panic and horror that had already stiffened on his face. There was a hole in the middle of his eyebrows, from which blood was gushing out endlessly. Clearly, the corpse belonged to a person who had just died. Greatly startled, Damon and the rest of the Parkers subconsciously took two steps back. Many of them even eximed in astonishment. But Damon had been through all sorts of situations and had broad horizons after all. Moreover, he was the head of the Parker family. So he quickly calmed down and questioned Lucas coldly, ¡°Lucas Gray, do you mean by this? Are you trying to threaten us with a corpse?¡± Ray was even more enraged, as he felt that Lucas was insulting them by tossing a corpse at them. ¡°Dad, now that he has brought himself here, let¡¯s just kill him and take revenge for Tristan!¡± Ray red at Lucas with bloodshot eyes. Flynn sneered and said coldly, ¡°Mr. Parker, if this stupid son of yours continues to speak with such an arrogant attitude, there¡¯s no point for us to keep wasting our breaths and time here.¡± ¡°You!¡± Ray flew into a rage after hearing Flynn¡¯s hostile words. ¡°Shut up!¡± Damon red at his son, from whom he had expected better. If Lucas was someone who could be killed directly, Damon would long have ordered the Parkers¡¯ bodyguards to take him down. There wouldn¡¯t be a need for them to continue wasting their time talking nonsense here. He initially thought that Lucas was just an ordinary live-in son-inw of the Carters. Even though he used to be one of the Huttons from DC, he had been kicked out more than twenty years ago and didn¡¯t have any power or useful connections to back him up. But Flynn and Ethan had both been defending Lucas today and behavingpletely out of the ordinary, as if they had been bewitched. They were willing to put everything they had on the line and stubbornly refused to change their minds. This made Damon baffled, but at the same time, he also had more scruples. Were Ethan and Flynn dimwits? Obviously not. In that case, their full-swing efforts to protect Lucas at the risk of losing everything were very questionable. Besides, the fact that Edmund valued Lucas highly seemed to be very unusual too. Even if Lucas had saved his life, it would be perfectly fine for Edmund to repay Lucas with some money and gifts. For a prestigious and notable family like the Coles, giving mary gifts to repay favors was much simpler than returning the favor in the same manner. But Edmund was overly defensive and protective over Lucas. Not only did he stand on Lucas¡¯s side and forbade others from harming him, but he even threatened the helmsmen with the future of their families to force them to apologize to Lucas. If Lucas didn¡¯t have any outstanding qualities, he wouldn¡¯t have deserved such great treatment from Edmund. So Lucas certainly should also not be so naive as to show up at their door with a corpse with the sole purpose of deterring them. After thinking about it for a long time, Damon finally made up his mind and said, ¡°What do you have to say? Come inside and talk.¡± ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t!¡± Ray immediately tried to stop it. ¡°Shut up!¡± Damon rebuked coldly and then chased his son, who was overwhelmed with anger, out. He then brought Lucas and Flynn to the hall of the vi. ¡°What exactly are you here for?¡± After Damon sat down on the couch, he didn¡¯t intend to beat around the bush and simply cut straight to the chase. Lucas sat down on the couch opposite Damon and only nodded at Flynn, who was beside him. ¡°You tell him.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Flynn answered and then said to Damon, ¡°Mr. Parker, do you want to be the most powerful and wealthy family of LA?¡± Damon had been sizing up the two of them, and from the moment he saw Lucas sitting down by himself and casually giving an order, which Flynn obeyed deferentially and stood at the side like a subordinate, Damon¡¯s heart pounded rapidly. The scene in front of him could only mean that Lucas had a superior status to Flynn, who was clearly subservient toward him. W-what¡¯s going on? Before he could even think about it, he suddenly heard Flynn¡¯s words, which made him nearly lose hisposure. ¡°What do you mean by that? Do you have the ability to ruin the Parkers to such a state? No. If you really have this ability, I¡¯m afraid you would be the one to benefit, Mr. Davis. Otherwise, why would you give us such a great benefit?¡± Damon said with a derisive gaze in his eyes. He could almost guess what Lucas and Flynn¡¯s purpose ofing to the Parkers was. He was just trying to give him false hope and then use the Parkers¡¯ resources to rake in profits for himself! Having lived for decades, he had seen countless such tricks before. At the thought of this, Damon couldn¡¯t help but be less scrupulous about Lucas.?That¡¯s it? Flynn sneered. ¡°This is a rare and precious opportunity for the Parkers given by Mr. Gray. If you¡¯re willing to ept it, we will help you eliminate the Owens. If you don¡¯t, there won¡¯t be a need for your family to continue to exist in LA.¡± ¡°You¡­! No, wait!¡± Damon subconsciously wanted to lose his temper, but after hearing what Flynn said, he clearly felt that something was amiss. ¡°What do you mean by that? What¡¯s the matter with the Owens?¡± Flynn smirked. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re not that stupid. See that corpse at the door? That is the real murderer of your grandson Tristan. The mastermind behind this is the Owens!¡± Chapter 480: How To Decide

Chapter 480: How To Decide

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Damon stood up abruptly with a huge change in expression. He blurted, ¡°Impossible!¡± ¡°What¡¯s impossible? Do you think the Parkers and the Owens get along that well with each other? Just think about the marriage alliance between the Parkers and the Sawyers, and maybe you¡¯ll have the answer. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ve already handed the murderer over to you and said what we have to say. It¡¯s up to you to decide the oue that you want. By the end of tonight, you must give us a clear answer. Otherwise, you shall bear the consequences!¡± After saying this coldly, Flynn turned around to look at Lucas and said softly, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve said my piece. We can go now.¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Damon¡¯s mind was in a whirlwind as he had countless questions for Lucas. He wanted to ask how Lucas found out who the real murderer of his grandson was and how he managed to discover that the Owens were the culprit.. He also wondered if this was all just a grand scheme devised by Lucas. He also wanted to ask what Flynn¡¯s words meant and whether they could really make the Parkers the only top family in LA. Of course, what he wanted to ask more than anything else was why Lucas was doing all this and what his agenda was. Due to the fact that there were too many questions surfacing in his mind at once, and he didn¡¯t know which one he should ask first, Damon called out to them but was at a loss for words. Lucas answered with a faint smile, ¡°To tell you the truth, I need someone who will help me take charge of the affairs in LA. Even if I make the Parkers the only top family in LA, the person who has the power to make the final decision is me. In other words, if I let the Parkers rise to the top, you will have to take care of everything in LA for me. ¡°Once, the Brookes also pretended to pledge allegiance to me while secretly betraying me because of theirck of foresight. All of you have seen what happened to them in the end. I think Mr. Parker should be wise enough not to repeat the same mistake as the Brookes, right?¡± Lucas stood up, and although he had a smile on his face, Damon somehow felt a chilliness surging from the bottom of his heart. Damon didn¡¯t react for a long time, even after Lucas and Flynn left. The overnight destruction of the Brookes had left all the notable families in LA in fear. They had once spected about the reason and eventually unanimously agreed that the Brookes must have provoked a terrifying existence, which caused them to be destroyed overnight. Some even spected that the destruction of the Brookes might be rted to the people behind the Sr Corporation because the Sr Corporation took the documents left behind by the Brookes and took over all of the Brookes¡¯ businesses rightfully. Prior to this, Damon did think that Lucas might have something to do with this matter, especially since the general manager of the Sr Corporation was always defending Lucas, as well as the fact that Stanley, who used to work for the Brookes, was now following Lucas around and protecting him. However, Damon could never have imagined that the truth would be even more shocking than he had guessed¡ªLucas was the mysterious and unfathomable person behind Flynn! Furthermore, the destruction of the Brookes was indeed rted to them, but it was also the Brookes who had once recognized Lucas as their master. But they ended up betraying him, which was the reason they faced such a cmity and disappeared from LA overnight! The moment he thought of the force that Lucas might have behind him, Damon couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat. If the truth was really as Lucas said, the Parkers¡¯ behavior in the past few days waspletely tempting fate! Moreover, Damon didn¡¯t think that Flynn was lying about the fact that the Owens were the ones who had plotted Tristan¡¯s death. In particr, when Flynn mentioned the engagement between Tristan and Lena, Damon had a sudden realization. Since the destruction of the Brookes, the Parkers and the Owens were the remaining two top families. Had the Owens ever thought of suppressing the Parkers and bing the only top family of LA? They definitely had! Damon didn¡¯t believe that the Owens had no qualms and intention to stop the marriage alliance between the Sawyers and the Parkers, which would create a win-win situation for both families! Tristan¡¯s life had been rather peaceful in the past few years. But he had been in several dangerous idents in thest two months, during which the news and rumors of the marriage alliance between the Parkers and the Sawyers had been spreading. Sometimes, some things might seem unassuming, but once you thought about it carefully, you would find that there were many traces and clues. However, Tristan had always been close friends with the Owen brothers, so the Parkers had never suspected the Owens of being the culprit of Tristan¡¯s murder. But now, he could no longer think so! He reckoned that his assumption of Lucas being the real murderer and attempting to seek revenge on him was also part of someone¡¯s scheme! If he had really done something to Lucas, he reckoned that the entire Parker family would have been destroyed by now! Damon stood in the middle of the empty hall, his expression constantly changing with his thoughts, and he couldn¡¯t utter a single word for a long time. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s wrong with you? Is everything okay?¡± After seeing Lucas and Flynn leave the Parker residence safely, Ray was displeased and wanted to ask Damon what exactly they had said. But to his surprise, Damon¡¯s face seemed extremely sullen, and he couldn¡¯t help but ask this question. Only then did Damone back to his senses, and at the same time, he made up his mind and said, ¡°Go and call all the direct descendants here. I have something important to talk about!¡± ¡°Is it about that bastard Lucas Gray? Do you want me to get someone to go bring them back here right now?¡± Ray immediately asked excitedly. ¡°Dimwit! Just do as I say and call them here. Don¡¯t do anything presumptuous, or I¡¯ll break your legs!¡± Damon was really enraged. Ray was incredibly frustrated and indignant, but he could only suppress his hatred for Lucas and go to call over all the direct members of the Parkers as Damon had instructed him to. ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Lucas and Flynn were on their way back. Flynn was still rather uncertain. ¡°Lucas, what if the Parkers end up choosing the wrong path?¡± Sitting in the backseat, Lucas said indifferently, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Flynn was bbergasted for a moment, and he also quickly responded. Lucas was not dead bent on getting the Parkers¡¯ help, but rather, he had just gone to them out of convenience. From the beginning, what Lucas wanted was just a family who could help him manage the businesses in LA, and it didn¡¯t matter which family it was. If the Parkers had a death wish, Lucas could always rece them. In fact, if not for the fact that Flynn would soon be rushing to DC to help Lucas at the Stardust Corporation headquarters there, Flynn would bepletely capable of managing everything here. Lucas looked out of the window at the passing scenery with an icy cold gaze. ¡°But I won¡¯t let off those who dare to use me! The Owens must die!¡± # Chapter 481: Huge Blow

Chapter 481: Huge Blow

At the Parkers... Ray¡¯s actions were swift, and he soon gathered all the direct descendants of the family in Damon¡¯s vi. There were more than ten of them, and they were all standing together, waiting for Damon¡¯s instructions. But when Damon officially gave the orders, many of them were astounded. Damon said, ¡°I dere that the Parkers and the Owens are mortal enemies from now on! Everyone, immediatelye up with a n to deal with the Owens!¡± After a brief moment of astonishment, everyone was puzzled. ¡°Damon, we¡¯ve always been close to the Owens, and we have several cooperation projects with them. There has always been mutual support between us and them, so why are we suddenly going against them?¡± ¡°Yeah, Grandpa, what exactly is going on?¡± ¡°Could the Owens have done something to harm us behind our backs? But we don¡¯t seem to have suffered any lossestely! Is there a misunderstanding or something?¡± ¡°Dad, could this matter have something to do with Lucas Gray, who just came over? Did he sow discord between us and the Owens? Why are we suddenly going against them?¡± ¡°Even if we want to make an enemy of the Owens, it seems... too hasty to implement this n all of a sudden. We should at least spend some time preparing...¡± The Parkers began discussing incessantly and voicing their opinions, but most of them seemed puzzled. There were also some who absolutely resented Lucas and thus thought right away that Lucas must have fooled Damon. Smack! Damon¡¯s face was solemn as he mmed his hand against the table with all his might. He hollered furiously, ¡°All of you, shut up!¡± When he lost his temper, everyone immediately fell silent, not daring to make a single sound. ¡°I called you all here to inform you of my decision, not to discuss it with you! I have already made up my mind to go against the Owens, and I won¡¯t change it! All you have to do now is to follow my instructions ande up with an effective and feasible n to strike them immediately! ¡°When the Owens are destroyed, you will naturally find out why I want to deal with them!¡± With a stern and domineering attitude, Damon adamantly made his decision. He nced at his family members and said indifferently, ¡°I know that some of you have dealings with the Owens, but if anyone dares to spread a single word about this matter, I will immediately expel them from the family! Have you all understood?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone chorused in unison. Although they were all surprised and in disapproval of Damon¡¯s decision, Damon was the head of the family and held the highest authority after all. No one dared to oppose his decision. Soon, the crowd began to n to strike the Owens and decide which aspects to target first. After the people came up with a preliminary n of attack, Damon went to his study alone, took a deep breath, and made a call to Flynn. ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind, and the Parkers are ready too. We can start taking action against the Owens at any time!¡± Flynn immediately ryed Damon¡¯s words to Lucas. Although Damon didn¡¯t state so explicitly, he had indeed already chosen to pledge allegiance to Lucas. Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°You will cooperate with the Parkers and carry out the n together with them!¡± ¡ª¡ª Inside the garden of the Owens residence in LA... Joseph Owen, the helmsman of the family, was standing in a corner of the garden and focusing all his attention on trimming the branches and leaves of some potted chrysanthemums carefully with a pair of silver scissors. In high spirits, he hummed an unknown tune while trimming the branches. At this moment, the Owens¡¯ butler dashed in. As soon as he saw Joseph in the corner of the garden, he eximed with a look of panic, ¡°Mr. Owen, bad news. Something terrible has happened!¡± Joseph was so shocked that he identally snipped a precious chrysanthemum bud to pieces with the scissors in his hand. Heartbroken, he picked up the half flower bud and roared in exasperation, ¡°Why are you being so flustered? You¡¯ve ruined a good pot of precious flowers!¡± The butler touched the cold sweat on his forehead and didn¡¯t have time to apologize at all. He said, ¡°Mr. Owen, something terrible has really happened! I received a report just now that many of our mainstays and pir businesses have been notified of issues with our products, so we have to cease operations at the factories for inspections. If it¡¯s serious, the factories will be shut down immediately, and legal action will be taken against us! ¡°The bank also called to say that there are issues with our asset evaluation and that they¡¯re going to withdraw all our loans. We are also given a time limit of one week to pay off all our existing loans from the bank! ¡°There are also severalpanies that have made major financial mistakes. We are now being suspected of serious tax evasion, and people from the IRS will being over to investigate! ¡°And...¡± The butler revealed a series of shocking news. Every single one of these pieces of news was enough to make the Owens overwrought, what more so many serious issues at once. It was like a nuclear weapon-level disaster to them! The silver scissors in Joseph¡¯s hand had long since fallen to the ground. At this moment, he could no longer care about trimming his potted flowers and nts. His expression changed drastically, and he grabbed the butler by his cor. ¡°Why is this happening? Why did these problems suddenly break out at once? Or is someone deliberately trying to harm us?¡± The butler was being strangled so hard that he could hardly breathe. His face deathly pale, he eximed, ¡°I-I don¡¯t know either, Mr. Owen! All these pieces of news have just been urgently ryed to us, and we¡¯re waiting for you to make a decision! If any of these issues are mishandled, the Owens will be doomed!¡± The butler had worked for the Owens for decades. In the past, he used to work as Joseph¡¯s secretary, so he had a clear idea of how detrimental the impact of all this bad news would be on the Owens. The slightest mistake would result in extremely serious consequences to the family! ¡°Summon everyone immediately and get them toe over. I want to know the details of everything!¡± The matter happened so urgently that Joseph waspletely caught off guard. Regardless of how capable he was, he would first have to get a clear idea of what exactly had happened and who he had offended so that he would be able to resolve these disasters. While the Owens were in chaos, Damon, who was in the Parker vi several kilometers away, had also learned of the disastrous issues that the Owens were facing through various channels. When Damon heard his subordinate¡¯s report, his heart started beating rapidly. Each of the crucial issues was enough to deal a massive blow to the Owens, and the sudden onught of so many left the Owens with no room to breathe at all. They were simply forced into desperation. None of these things were part of the Parkers¡¯ n but were actually done by Lucas and Flynn. Compared to their menacing means, the Parkers¡¯ n, which they had spent an hour on devising, waspletely ineffective! Even if it was slightly effective, the time it would require to take effect was exceptionally long. There was no way they would be able to render the Owens powerless within such a short period of time. Only then did Damon finally believe that Lucas was really powerful enough to destroy the Owens! What would the Parkers, who were on par with the Owens, do if they faced such a brutal strike from Lucas? At this moment, Damon finally felt a sense of fear as he thought about it in hindsight. If he had chosen to go against Lucas an hour ago, the Parkers would probably be the ones to suffer from these terrifying blows now. Fortunately, he had chosen to stand on Lucas¡¯s side instead of making an enemy of him! Damon wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, feeling extremely thankful for the decision he had made. # Chapter 482: Surrender The Culprit

Chapter 482: Surrender The Culprit

After just two hours, the Owens faced the greatest crisis they ever had. But despite investigating soboriously, they still didn¡¯t manage to find out who they had offended. Moreover, the situation going on at the Owens¡¯panies were not false usations either. There were indeed issues with their products, and they were also guilty of tax evasion. Not only had many of their factories been closed for rectification, but many of their business partners had also ceased cooperation with them after hearing the news. Not only did the Owens have to repay arge sum of money to the bank, but they also had topensate numerous partnerpanies for breach of contract. They also had to pay the penalties for the taxes they had evaded on top of this. Now that the bank had cut off their financial source, the Owens definitely wouldn¡¯t be able toe up with such an enormous amount of cash. Thus, they were left with thest resort¡ªdering bankruptcy and liquidating their assets, including all their immovable properties and financial securities. They also had to auction off all their other valuables. Only then would they be able to pay off such an immense amount ofpensation. But this wasn¡¯t all. Since the news of the Owens¡¯ predicament spread, the share prices of theirpanies plummeted within a short period of time. The senior executives of thepanies tendered their resignations one after another while the shareholders showed up at their doorstep furiously to curse their hearts out at the Owens. Within just a few short hours, the entire Owen family was reduced to a wretched state. At this moment, Damon led all the Parkers to the main hall of the Owens¡¯ vi. Joseph Owen seemed to have aged several years within just these few hours. The moment he saw Damon, he thought that Damon hade to help him, and an expectant expression immediately appeared on his face as he quickly went over to wee him. ¡°Damon, you¡¯re here! The Owens are in deep trouble!¡± Joseph walked over with an expectant expression, but to his surprise, he discovered that Damon didn¡¯t seem worried at all. Instead, there was only an indifferent expression and a faint sense of pleasure. ¡°Damon, you... What are you doing?¡± An ominous premonition rose in Joseph¡¯s heart, but he didn¡¯t dare to think in that direction. Damon sneered and said without any intention to hide, ¡°Joseph, I didn¡¯t expect this to happen to the Owens one day!¡± As soon as he said this, all the Owens knew that Damon was definitely not here to help them but to gloat. Joseph¡¯s face turned sullen, and he snapped, ¡°Damon, you and I have been friends for decades, and I have never offended you. Now that my family¡¯s in trouble, not only are you not helping us, but you¡¯re rubbing it in and kicking us when we¡¯re already down. Why are you doing this?¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Damon sneered twice and said coldly, ¡°You¡¯ve never offended me? Yes, you may not have personally done something to offend us. But your grandsons Callum and Elijah are really daring to have disregarded us. Those beasts are even thinking of scheming against us! Do you think that¡¯s considered an offense?!¡± Only then did Joseph realize that Damon¡¯s anger seemed to be directed at his grandsons. Have my grandsons really done something traitorous out there? In particr, Damon had even used the word ¡®beast¡¯ and said that his grandsons had schemed against Parkers and wrapped them around their fingers. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder what was going on as he turned to look at Callum and Elijah, who were standing at the back of the crowd. The rest of the Owens looked over in confusion too. Callum had a calm expression, and he even seemed bewildered, seemingly unable to understand what Damon just said. But next to him, Elijah wasn¡¯t as good at hiding his guilty conscience as his brother was. Panic was written all over his face. His eyeballs darted around, his face turned pale, and drops of sweat emerged from the tip of his nose and forehead. ¡°Joseph, I advise you to hand over these two beasts immediately. On ount that we¡¯ve known each other for decades, I can consider sparing their lives!¡± Damon said coldly. A gloomy expression formed on Joseph¡¯s face. He had already guessed that his grandsons must have done something terrible to offend Damon, but he couldn¡¯t possibly hand over his grandsons just because he was being threatened by Damon. Even if the Owens were going to be destroyed, they couldn¡¯t let their dignity be trampled on! ¡°Damon, if you have anything to say, say it properly. If you¡¯re thinking of threatening me into handing over my grandsons to you, you can forget about it because that¡¯s impossible!¡± Joseph stood firmly in front of both his grandsons. Damon¡¯s gaze darkened, and he sneered, ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re not willing to hand them over to us, I¡¯ll have to have people take them away by force!¡± With that, he gestured towards his back, and more than twenty heavily armed bodyguards immediately walked out from behind and toward Callum and Elijah. ¡°How impudent of you to forcefully take my grandsons away on my turf!¡± Joseph bellowed furiously at the top of his lungs and immediately instructed the Owens¡¯ bodyguards toe forth and shield Elijah and Callum. Although the Owens had been severely struck, their bodyguards were still considered their employees, and naturally, they would defend them. There were more than twenty people from each side, and they were all aggressively about to strike each other, seemingly ready for a full-swing brawl. Seeing how protective Joseph was of his family, Damon suddenly felt a touch of sadness for him. ¡°Joseph, you¡¯re still thinking of defending these beasts even though things have alreadye to this. You still have no idea what they¡¯ve done, and you don¡¯t know that this disaster that you¡¯re facing today is caused by your dear grandsons. How pathetic!¡± Joseph¡¯s heart sank further. ¡°Isn¡¯t the disaster we¡¯re facing today caused by you? No, the Parkers shouldn¡¯t be able to do so alone. Otherwise, you would have long been the only top family left in this city! Is someone secretly helping you?¡± Damon shook his head and said regretfully, ¡°What a pity. Your family has already reached a dead end, and you still don¡¯t know who you¡¯ve offended. How pathetic and sad!¡± Joseph frowned. ¡°What do you mean by that? Make yourself clear!¡± Damon didn¡¯t bother to reprimand him for his attitude and merely said with aplicated expression, ¡°You¡¯re right. It is indeed impossible for the Parkers alone to have your family destroyed in such a short period of time. However, I will let you die with a little more understanding of the reason for your fate! ¡°Not only did those two grandsons of yours send someone to kill my grandson Tristan, but they even tried to frame someone else for it so that my family and that person would both end up suffering heavy losses. This would have destroyed my family! Now, do you understand why I want you to hand over these two grandsons of yours?¡± Lucas had indeed instructed Damon to take Callum and Elijah away, but it was what Damon wanted to do too. They were the culprits who had killed his grandson, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t let them off! After hearing Damon¡¯s words, Joseph was instantly astonished. The rest of the Owens also looked at Elijah and Callum in huge disbelief. What did we just hear? Tristan Parker was actually killed by someone sent by Elijah and Callum? # Chapter 483: Mastermind

Chapter 483: Mastermind

Callum had always had a high EQ, so even though Damon had called him out, his expression remained unchanged as he said calmly, ¡°Grandpa, there must be a misunderstanding. We and Tristan have been close friends for years, and almost everyone in LA knows this. How could we have killed him? I bet the Parkers are just using this as an excuse to attack us. Can they produce any evidence?¡± He was actually not as calm as he seemed to be on the surface. The fact that the Parkers had already suspected them meant that it was definitely a huge warning. If they searched along the clues, they would definitely be able to find traces of evidence from their bank transaction records and call history pointing to them. They had nned this murder too hastily. In fact, Callum had begun devising it immediately after Lucas rejected his friendship and he left Caldo Mountain, which was less than an hour before Tristan¡¯s death. Thus, he hadn¡¯t been able to leave all stones unturned. But his greatest reliance was his friendship with Tristan, which seemed close in the eyes of outsiders. So basically no one would suspect him. However, now, not only did the Parkers suspect him, but they also urately imed that he had tried to frame someone else for the matter to make him the scapegoat. So he ended up harming the Owens instead. Callum knew that the person he had framed was none other than Lucas, so he wondered if the disaster was caused by Lucas. That¡¯s incredible! But no matter what, the top priority now was to absolutely not admit that he was the one who had plotted Tristan¡¯s murder! At the side, Elijah also nodded and chimed in, ¡°Yeah, Grandpa, we¡¯ve been friends with Tristan since we were kids, and everyone knows that we¡¯re best buddies. How... how could we have possibly plotted his murder? Mr. Parker, you... you can¡¯t put the me on us and make my grandfather lose his grandsons too just because yours is dead, right?¡± His EQ was no match for Callum. So although he was also defending himself, he stammered from time to time, and his voice was obviously shaky too. ¡°Hmph, how ridiculous!¡± Damon sneered. ¡°You two are really shameless! You made such a big mistake, but you still refuse to admit it. You¡¯re even using me of setting you two up, huh? Don¡¯t think that your n is seamless. As long as we investigate it, we can naturally find countless evidence and clues! Don¡¯t try to deny it in front of me!¡± He nced at the Owens and continued, ¡°The disaster that your family is facing today is all because of you two bastards. Now that things havee to this, you still refuse to admit it. Do you want to drag the entire Owen family down with you?¡± Elijah immediately looked even more flustered. Callum¡¯s face also turned pale, and he could no longer seem as innocent as before. Seeing the changes in their expressions, the Owens also vaguely guessed the truth and couldn¡¯t help resenting Elijah and Callum. ¡°I was wondering why the Owens were suddenly facing such a disaster when we were doing fine before. It turns out it was caused by the two of you!¡± ¡°You guys actually dared toy your hands on Tristan Parker? You are really terrifying. To think that you¡¯d actually backstab your best friend! We don¡¯t mean anything to you, do we? Mr. Parker is right. You guys are just out to drag us down with you!¡± ¡°Joseph, the truth of the matter hase to light. These bastards Callum and Elijah did something unforgivable and caused such a big mess for our family! I suggest we kick them both out immediately and hand them over to the Parkers to deal with!¡± ¡°I agree! These two scourges must be disowned! They¡¯re the reason we¡¯vended in this mess! Mr. Parker, I hope you and that mysterious man will spare us innocent people!¡± ... Many of the Owens members were enraged and demanded that Elijah and Callum be expelled from the family immediately to quell Damon¡¯s anger. Callum¡¯s face was gloomy and extremely ugly. At this point, Joseph could tell that his grandsons must have done something malicious to implicate the entire family. Regardless of how protective he was, even if he wanted to let the matter rest, the angry, implicated family members wouldn¡¯t agree. In the end, Joseph nodded with a bitter smile and said through clenched teeth, ¡°Okay, I can hand them over to you. But you must promise me to let the Owens go and not to make another move against us!¡± Within just a little over two hours, they had been dealt a massive blow that was bigger than ever. It could be said that there was only a fine line between bankruptcy and annihtion. But if the Parkers and the people behind them were willing to stop and let them off, they would at least be able to keep their reputation and slowly make aeback despite having taken a big hit. Callum¡¯s and Elijah¡¯s hearts sank in dejection. Since Joseph already said this, it meant that he was really going to hand them both over to Damon. They were indeed the masterminds who had plotted Tristan¡¯s murder, and the Parkers wouldn¡¯t let them off lightly! All of a sudden, they turned pale, and Elijah¡¯s legs went limp as he fell straight onto the ground. To their surprise, Damon slowly shook his head after hearing Joseph¡¯s request. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to spare the Owens. It¡¯s not me you¡¯ve offended but someone else. This is what he wants to do.¡± Joseph¡¯s face became even more sullen, and after thinking about it, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Since you can¡¯t make the decision, let me go talk to him!¡± Damon raised his head, looked at Joseph like he was a fool, and then burst intoughter. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible? The Owens are destined to be exterminated by that man. Only then will his anger be appeased. This is the price you pay for offending him and trying to use him!¡± Damon didn¡¯t want the Owens to continue surviving either. As long as the Owens were destroyed, the Parkers would be able to be the absolute hegemon of the city. Although they would still have to follow Lucas¡¯s orders from now on, it wouldn¡¯t affect them much as long as no one knew about it. The Parkers would only be valued by Lucas after the Owens werepletely destroyed. They would then no longer have to worry about Lucas changing his mind and deciding to support the Owens instead. Regardless of the perspective, the Owens had to die! Joseph moved his mouth, but a sense of misery surged in his heart immediately. Things were truly unpredictable in this world. Just a few hours ago, he was leisurely trimming flowers in his garden. But in the blink of an eye, the building copsed, and the Owens were about to vanish in his hands. This was the ce where he had put in decades of hard work and also the efforts of his ancestors. Joseph was extremely indignant to let his family get ruined just like that! ¡°Damon Parker, you¡¯re not qualified to decide if the Owens can survive or not! No matter what, I have to speak to that mysterious man behind you!¡± Joseph said with exceptional determination. Damon frowned slightly and was just about to say something, but he suddenly saw a blue Porsche park at the Owens¡¯ doorstep and a familiar figure stepping out of it. ¡°Mr. Gray!¡± Damon immediately eximed in panic! # Chapter 484: Finding Out the Truth

Chapter 484: Finding Out the Truth

After seeing Lucas also arrive at the Owen residence, Damon immediately went forward to greet him respectfully. The Owens were stunned by Damon¡¯s respectful attitude toward him. Joseph looked at Lucas walking over, and countless thoughts shed through his mind immediately.?Seems like this young man is most likely the mysterious person Damon mentioned. Standing among the Owens, Callum and Elijah were extremely stunned to see Lucas. In particr, Callum had long guessed that Lucas¡¯s identity might be extraordinary, so he had taken the initiative to express his intentions to befriend Lucas but had been unceremoniously rejected by thetter. He also knew that it was only a matter of time before Lucas would find out that Tristan and Elijah had hired someone to assassinate him. Thus, he had simply decided to go all out and kill Tristan and then frame Lucas for it to make the Owens go toe-to-toe against him. This would have made both parties lose a lot of their power, and the Owens would have then been able to take advantage and rise to greater power. Lucas would have also no longer had time to settle scores with the Owens. Although Callum had made excellent ns, things didn¡¯t go ording to n, and he even ended up exposing himself while offending powerful people like the Parkers and Lucas. It could be said that his n was aplete failure. Now that Lucas showed up here, they were certain that he must be here to hold them ountable! Callum clenched his fists, his palms covered in cold sweat. Watching Lucas walk toward him, Joseph suddenly said, ¡°Are you the person behind Damon? Are you the one who wants to annihte my family and take away my grandsons?¡± Lucas nced at him coldly. ¡°They hired someone to kill Tristan Parker and even framed me for it. They only have themselves to me!¡± Joseph gritted his teeth and insisted, ¡°You said my grandsons hired a murderer, but do you have any evidence to prove that? Aren¡¯t you going overboard by making false usations against my grandsons and forcing us to hand them over?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Evidence? It seems that it¡¯s not over ¡¯til it¡¯s over for you, huh? Fine, I¡¯ll be merciful and satisfy you. In order to prevent you from saying that I¡¯m falsifying evidence, I¡¯ll make your grandsons admit the truth themselves!¡± Then he walked toward Callum and Elijah. ¡°What are you¡­ you trying to do? Quickly stop him!¡± Callum¡¯s face was all tensed up as he shouted sternly at the Owens¡¯ bodyguards standing in front of him. The few tall and burly bodyguards immediately stood in front of Lucas, stopping him from continuing to walk forward. ¡°Get lost!¡± Lucas roared furiously, raised his leg, and kicked the bodyguard in front of him, causing him to fly away immediately! The man, who weighed about 90 kilograms, was flung more than ten meters away in midair before crashing on the ground like a heavy sandbag. He had fallen so hard that he couldn¡¯t get back up at all! This scene immediately made the remaining bodyguards¡¯ bodies tremble as they subconsciously took two steps back, not daring to continue blocking Lucas. They weren¡¯t fools. They had seen how Lucas had rendered the bodyguard immobile with a hard kick that had sent him flying. Clearly, they wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Lucas. The Owen brothers were obviously terrified. A sudden chill surged in Callum¡¯s heart while his hands and feet began to tremble. But he was still barely standing and maintaining a trace of decency. Elijah had a guilty conscience to begin with. When he saw Lucas kick the bodyguard away with a single kick and walk toward him aggressively, he was so frightened that he fell to the ground and began shivering in fear. Lucas walked straight up to Callum, looked at his calm face, and said indifferently, ¡°Callum Owens, you sent someone to kill Tristan Parker and framed me for it. You¡¯ve even been secretly spreading rumors and urging Damon Parker to deal with me, haven¡¯t you?¡± Callum naturally refused to admit it, so he stubbornly denied, ¡°I didn¡¯t do those things at all. These are all just one-sided allegations from you! You and Tristan have long had several altercations because of Lena Sawyer! ¡°Andst night at Caldo Mountain, Tristan deliberately challenged you to race against a professional car racer he had brought to the mountain, and he had even hired a killer to ambush you at the top. But you escaped and came down safely, but you must have borne a grudge against him. That¡¯s why you wanted to take revenge and pay him back in his own coin! Isn¡¯t that so? ¡°Elijah and I have always been on good terms with Tristan, so how could we possibly kill him? You¡¯re just spouting nonsense!¡± After Callum said this, Lucas¡¯s expression still remained unchanged. But Damon, standing near them, instantly had a change of expression. He knew that his ipetent grandson had indeed had a few minor conflicts with Lucas over Lena, but he didn¡¯t know that Tristan had hired someone to kill Lucas before his deathst night! If Tristan was still alive now, Damon would have definitely brought him here and given him two tight ps on the face! With Lucas¡¯s ability to destroy the Parkers with a lift of his finger, the stupid thing Tristan had done yesterday would alone be enough to provoke Lucas into annihting them! Although Damon first thought that Callum¡¯s allegation that Lucas had killed Tristan for revenge seemed to make sense, he quickly dismissed the thought. The reason was simple. It was because the incredible power that Lucas had shown had greatly deterred him. If Lucas had really killed Tristan because he had offended him, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have had to deny it in front of him at all because the Parkers wouldn¡¯t have any power to fight back against him anyway! Lucas raised his eyebrows and continued to ask, ¡°Oh? But no one else should have known that Tristan Parker hired a killer to assassinate me at the top of the mountain yesterday, right? How do you know about it? Did Tristan Parker specifically make it a point to inform you about it before he did so? Or did you guys hire that killer to assassinate me together?¡± After hearing Lucas¡¯s words, Elijah began to shiver while looking at Callum pleadingly in a moment of panic. Lucas had guessed the truth! What should they do now? Callum¡¯s heart sank as well. He had been too preupied with drawing attention to Lucas¡¯s motive of murder that he had forgotten that he shouldn¡¯t have been aware that Tristan had hired someone to assassinate Lucas. Callum quickly thought of an excuse and retorted, ¡°Ahem, of course this matter has nothing to do with us! I merely heard Tristan mention it after you left. That¡¯s how I found out.¡± Anyway, Tristan was already dead, and there was no evidence to refute his ims. Naturally, they had to take his word for it. Lucas looked at him and suddenly raised his hand to give Callum a hard p on the face. Smack! This p was so forceful that it immediately knocked Callum¡¯s head to the side and caused his front teeth to dart out of his mouth with blood. Callum also fell hard onto the ground. Seeing Lucas suddenly hit his grandson, Joseph shouted angrily, ¡°Callum!¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re still so stubborn even on the brink of death. I hope your younger brother can be as stubborn as you are.¡± Lucas sneered and walked up to Elijah, who had long gone limp and was now lying on the ground. Staring at him from above, he said in an emotionless tone of voice, ¡°It¡¯s your turn to speak now.¡± Chapter 485: Clarifying The Truth

Chapter 485: rifying The Truth

Elijah had long been shocked by the scene just now. Seeing Lucas walking toward him with an oppressive and domineering aura, he was so frightened that he started shuddering and shrinking backward while yelling, ¡°I... I don¡¯t know anything! Don¡¯t ask me!¡± Although he said he didn¡¯t know, anyone could tell that he definitely knew about the situation. Lucas stared at the look of horror on his face condescendingly and smiled. ¡°I haven¡¯t asked you anything yet, and you already said you don¡¯t know. It seems you¡¯re just being perfunctory with me.¡± His face suddenly turned gloomy, and Elijah was so terrified that he was almost going to scream. ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question now! Answer me honestly! If you dare to lie or hide anything from me, I¡¯ll break your limbs right away! I¡¯ve always had a bad temper. Do you know what to say now?¡± Elijah was overwhelmed with panic, and he was on the verge of peeing in his pants out of fear. He knew that Lucas was definitely not scaring him by saying that he would break his limbs. He knew that Lucas would definitely do it, so he didn¡¯t know what he should do now. Seeing his grandson panicking, Joseph couldn¡¯t bring himself to continue looking at him. He stopped Lucas in displeasure. ¡°Young man, are you trying to malign and punish an innocent person?¡± Lucas frowned and nced at Joseph coldly before saying indifferently, ¡°Those standing at the side better shut up when I¡¯m questioning someone!¡± His eyes were sharp like daggers that immediately made Joseph panic and shut his eyes tightly. Joseph¡¯s heart began pounding rapidly. The way Lucas red at him made him feel horrified, even though he was advanced in years and had experienced plenty in life. Only then did he understand why Damon would be that respectful to Lucas. It was because Lucas was indeed someone he couldn¡¯t afford to provoke! Lucas looked at Elijah again and asked softly, ¡°Now, tell me. How did Tristan Parker die?¡± His tone was soft, but after Elijah heard his words, his throat tensed up, and he was so nervous that he could barely breathe. ¡°He... he...¡± Elijah swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva resentfully, but he didn¡¯t dare to say those words again. In the face of Lucas¡¯s questioning, he didn¡¯t dare have any intentions to lie and make up excuses to muddle through. Of course, his intelligence couldn¡¯t allow him toe up with any other lies. But if he told the truth, his and Callum¡¯s reputation would be ruined, and the Owens would all be dragged to rock bottom by them. In short, it was a dead end! At this juncture, he regretted it immensely and thought, Why did I choose such a path? In fact, he even developed some feelings of resentment toward Callum foring up with this idea. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a predicament. What exactly should I do now? ¡°Speak up! Who exactly killed Tristan Parker?!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t have the time to care about what was going through Elijah¡¯s mind, nor did he want to continue wasting time here. So he suddenly snapped and hollered at him. His holler made Elijah shiver violently in absolute fright. At the same time, a warm liquid gushed out from thehers of his body. Elijah shuddered, and he was on the verge of tears. While trembling, he said, ¡°I... I¡¯ll tell you! He... he...¡± ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t say anything!¡± Callum suddenly let out an angry roar. He had just received a hard p from Lucas, which knocked out several of his teeth, causing air to move through the gaps in his teeth when he spoke. But he was panic-stricken and anxiously wanted to stop the dimwit Elijah from spilling the beans at all costs. He had already told Elijah long ago that he had to vehemently deny it regardless of what happened. If he denied it insistently, Lucas wouldn¡¯t really do anything to them in front of so many members of the Owen family, and they would still have a way out. But if Elijah told the truth, they would all be finished! Lucas had reached the limit of his patience with Callum. He could already tell since a long time ago that the smart-looking Callum was the mastermind who hade up with the idea and devised the n. ¡°You¡¯re being too noisy!¡± Lucas nced at Callum coldly, and with a flick in his hand, a shiny coin flew out of his hand and immediately pierced through Callum¡¯s neck, cutting his vocal cords. At the same time, the aorta of his neck was sliced too. Bright red blood instantly gushed out from the wound in Callum¡¯s neck and reached nearly a meter high. Callum covered his neck with his hand but to no avail. He could only watch the blood spill over his head as his body began convulsing. Everyone was horrified! They didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would be so ruthless and have the audacity to kill someone in front of so many people! Moreover, he was able to directly kill a person just by flicking an ordinary coin with his finger. How terrifying must his strength be?! ¡°Callum!¡± After a brief moment of shock, Joseph yelled at Lucas furiously, ¡°How dare you kill my grandson? I¡¯m not going to spare you!¡± Then he rushed toward Lucas and looked like he was going to fight to the death with him. Lucas nced at him coldly, and his following words immediately caused him to freeze. ¡°If you take him to the hospital now, there might still be a chance to save him,¡± Lucas said expressionlessly while pointing at Callum on the floor. Joseph gritted his teeth and finally turned his head to yell at the bodyguards and others standing next to him. ¡°What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and take him to the hospital for emergency rescue!¡± Although Callum¡¯s carotid artery had been cut, he was notpletely out of breath yet, so if he was sent to the hospital in time, there might still be a glimmer of hope. The Owens hastily carried Callum to a car and sent him out as fast as they could. But the matter had yet to be resolved. Lucas once again fished out a coin from his pocket, stood in front of Elijah, and said indifferently, ¡°You haven¡¯t told me the answer to the question I just asked you. Do you have an answer to why Tristan Parker died now?¡± There was still arge amount of blood on the floor, and it was emitting a foul and terrifying odor. The coin in Lucas¡¯s hand, which was like a murderous weapon, was emitting a frighteningly cold aura in front of Elijah. Elijah had long broken downpletely and burst into tears. ¡°Yes... I¡¯ll tell you everything! It¡¯s my brother! My brother hired someone to kill Tristan! He said that you definitely wouldn¡¯t let us off for the mistake we¡¯ve made and that we should just... go all out and kill Tristan! That way, you wouldn¡¯t take revenge on us, and we¡¯d be able to destroy the marriage between the Parkers and the Sawyers. You and the Parkers would also get into a huge conflict, and we could even take advantage of the opportunity to kill you! That way, the Owens would be the most powerful family in LA!¡± Lucas raised an eyebrow and continued to ask, ¡°You were afraid that I¡¯d take revenge on you? What else have you done?¡± # Chapter 486 - The Mightiness of Deterrence

Chapter 486: The Mightiness of Deterrence

Elijah said while crying, ¡°The hitman you¡­ you metst night on Caldo Mountain was hired by Tristan and me. Callum said that you¡¯d definitely find out that it was us and that you¡¯d definitely take revenge on us. So he said we might as well kill you first!¡± At this point, Joseph¡¯s expression was already extremely ugly. He never thought that his grandchildren, who seemed to be quite sensible, would do such a thing in private! ¡°In that case, were you the ones behind Lena¡¯s repeated assassinations?¡± Lucas asked again. Elijah hurriedly nodded. ¡°That was my brother¡¯s doing! He said that if the Parkers and the Sawyers united in a marriage alliance, they would surpass us sooner orter! Lena wasn¡¯t the only one. He even hired people to assassinate Tristan several times, but he happened to escape.¡± Elijah was so intimidated by Lucas that he almost revealed everything. At the end, he begged Lucas repeatedly, ¡°Those things were all done by my brother! I didn¡¯t know anything about it¡­ No, I was just aware of his ns at most, but I didn¡¯t get involved in them at all. It had nothing to do with me. Please let me off! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± At this point, it was no longer necessary to continue asking any more questions. The faces of the Owens were all gloomy. Even if they still wanted to continue to argue, what Elijah said cut off all their possibilities of defense. Joseph looked like he had aged more than ten years, and he couldn¡¯t even keep his back straight anymore. His unfilial grandchildren had done such a terrible thing, so much so that he was really ashamed and disappointed. Lucas looked at Damon behind the crowd and instructed him, ¡°The matter is already clear. I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡± He actually already knew the truth of the matter a long time ago. But topletely deter others, he decided to make a trip to the Owens to expose the truth and reveal everything. He knew that Callum was cunning. And if he was allowed to defend himself, he would definitely try to distort the facts and even turn the situation around, causing Damon to misunderstand. Damon might waver and betray Lucas some time in the future. As such, now that Damon knew the truth of the matter, he wouldn¡¯t be worried anymore and would even be grateful to him. Besides, he had just deliberately attacked Callum ruthlessly in front of so many people. It was certainly because Lucas wouldn¡¯t let off anyone who dared to frame him and make use of him. The other reason was obvious¡ªto deter them! Not only was he trying to deter Damon so that he wouldn¡¯t dare to have second thoughts about him, but he was also trying to deter the Owens and the rest of the families in LA so that they wouldn¡¯t dare to provoke him. Damon walked up to Lucas and said sincerely, ¡°Mr. Gray, thank you so much!¡± Not only was he thanking Lucas for helping him figure out the truth about his grandson¡¯s murder, but he was also thanking Lucas for destroying the Owens¡¯ empire and giving them the chance to be the strongest family in LA. If it wasn¡¯t for Lucas¡¯s magnanimity, the fact that his grandson had atrociously hired someone to assassinate Lucasst night alone was enough to trigger Lucas to destroy the Parkers. Lucas looked at him and said in a deep voice, ¡°I don¡¯t want to say anything else. You only have to remember one thing. I will never tolerate any form of betrayal! If the Parkers dare to betray me in the future, I guarantee that you will definitely end up much worse than the Brookes!¡± Damon¡¯s heart tensed up, and he quickly lowered his head and promised, ¡°There will definitely not be such a day! I swear that the Parkers will be loyal to you, Mr. Gray. From now on, we will never betray you in the slightest!¡± He could now say that he was convinced by Lucas, be it because of the massive power Lucas had disyed when he destroyed the Owens or the fact that Lucas had casually shot a coin through Callum¡¯s throat. These actions were daunting enough to make Damon too terrified to disrespect him. He didn¡¯t dare to have the slightest intention of betraying Lucas because he didn¡¯t want to die! After leaving all the matters here to Damon, Lucas didn¡¯t say anything else and simply drove away with Flynn. After Damon saw Lucas leave, he walked up to Joseph, raised his head, and asked with a gloomy expression on his face, ¡°Joseph Owen, your grandson has already admitted to hiring someone to kill my grandson Tristan. He even admitted that your family was behind the previous assassinations. What else do you have to say now?¡± Joseph¡¯s face was ashen, but he couldn¡¯t defend himself at all and could only let out a long sigh. ¡°My family is unfortunate. My grandsons have done such an unforgivable thing, and I won¡¯t defend them anymore. Damon, we have let you down! But this is all Callum¡¯s doing, and the rest of us were unaware of it. I still hope that you will be merciful and spare the rest of us!¡± As he said this, his emotions were extremelyplicated. His son didn¡¯t have much talent and just liked leading avish lifestyle and squandering money. On the other hand, his grandson Callum had always been smart, reliable, and decisive, so Joseph had valued him greatly. He had even decided to let Callum take over and be the next helmsman of the Owens in the future. Joseph also heard that the reason that Callum had done those things was that he hoped to suppress the Parkers and make the Owens the most powerful family in LA. He had the talent and wits, but he had unfortunately taken the wrong path. And even more so, he had misjudged Lucas¡¯s strength, which led to the total destruction of their family. Since things had alreadye to this point, he had to give up even if he couldn¡¯t bear to let his grandson go. Damon sneered. ¡°You¡¯re trying to shirk all responsibility and make me let you people off while putting all the me on your grandsons? How can there be such an easy deal?!¡± Putting aside the fact that his grandson Tristan had been fooled by Callum and Elijah and even ended up dying in their hands; putting aside the fact that they had also tried to frame Lucas for the murder so that the Parkers would face a huge disaster, the various battles that the Parkers and Owens had been fighting against each other alone made Damon determined not to let go of this opportunity to take advantage and beat the Owens while they were down. ¡°The Owens have already declined to such a state. What else do you want?¡± Joseph bellowed furiously. The Owens were almost reduced to bankruptcy after the heavy blows today. Even if they sold all of their non-liquid assets, such as factories, vis, and stores, they would only be able to pay off the massive amount of fines andpensation for breach of contract. After Callum¡¯s murder n was exposed, there was no way the Owens would be able to rise again either. The Owens no longer posed any threat to the Parkers, so why was Damon still refusing to spare the rest of them? Damon looked at Joseph gloomily. ¡°If you were in my position, would you let go of the enemy who killed your own grandson so easily? I want everyone in your family to cut off their own arms in order to avenge myte grandson! This is also the punishment for all of you!¡± Chapter 487 - Supreme Existence of LA

Chapter 487: Supreme Existence of LA

As soon as Damon finished speaking, all the Owens had a drastic change of expression. In a moment of fear, many of them immediately pleaded, ¡°Mr. Parker, please withdraw your orders! We really weren¡¯t aware of the evil things that Callum had done!¡± ¡°Exactly. How could Callum have possibly told us what he did in private? Why should we cut off our own arms because of his mistakes?¡± ¡°Mr. Parker, please! My son is just under ten years old this year. If he really cuts off one of his arms, how is he supposed to continue with his life in the future?¡± ¡°Yes, our family is no longer the same as it used to be in the past. Without money, we will definitely have to go out and get a job so that we won¡¯t starve to death! If we lose an arm, who will want to hire us? You¡¯re severing our livelihoods!¡± ¡­ Hearing the Owens¡¯ words, Joseph, the head of the family, began trembling violently as he went through aplicated emotional struggle. Finally, Joseph suddenly got down on both knees in front of Damon. His knees hit the ground with a loud thud, which sounded extremely painful. Damon was stunned by Joseph¡¯s sudden move, and for a moment, he didn¡¯t know how he should react. Joseph was an extremely arrogant person. But now, he actually gave up his dignity and knelt in front of him! ¡°Mr. Parker, I know that my grandsons havemitted an unforgivable mistake, and it¡¯s understandable that you¡¯d refuse to forgive them, but the rest of us are really innocent. If you make each of us cut off an arm, we won¡¯t be able to make a living in the future! If you must punish us before your anger is appeased, I¡¯m willing to give my life in exchange for the safety of all the Owens! All I beg is that you¡¯ll spare them! They¡¯re innocent!¡± Joseph was kneeling on the ground with a look of determination on his face. At this moment, Damon gained some respect for this old rival of his. He was willing to use his own life to exchange for the safety of his family. Even as a rival, he had to admit that Joseph was indeed worthy of the position of the helmsman of the Owens. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t teach his grandsons well, causing his family to be reduced to such a state. Damon even thought that if Callum hadn¡¯t done something that not only offended Lucas but also touched his bottom line, Lucas might have chosen to let them take over his matters here. When the time came, the Owens would definitely have been in the Parkers¡¯ current position instead of the other way around. If that happened, would I be able to sacrifice my grandsons¡¯ lives? What decision will Joseph Owen make? Damon once again confirmed, ¡°Are you really willing to die for the sake of your family?¡± Joseph nodded without hesitation. ¡°Yes! Anyway, I¡¯ve already lived for decades, and I have experienced everything. I¡¯ve lived long enough, and it¡¯s no big deal even if I die. But there are dozens of people in our family, and they all have long lives ahead of them. Besides, they¡¯re really innocent. Please let them off!¡± Although his face was ashen and despondent, he was extremely determined. Clearly, he had long made up his mind. After thinking for a long time, Damon finally sighed and nodded. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯ve made such a request, I will fulfill your wishes! However, I have one request. From now on, everyone from the Owen family must leave LA and promise not to take revenge on the Parkers! If anyone disobeys, we Parkers will definitely do our best to kill all the Owens!¡± When Joseph saw Damon agree, a trace of joy appeared in his eyes. He stood up, looked around at the Owens, and warned solemnly, ¡°All of you, you¡¯d better listen up clearly. Leave LA by today and nevere back again! And you must never take revenge on the Parkers. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to die in peace!¡± ¡°Damon!¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± ¡°Dad!¡± ¡­ All the Owens understood what was going to happen soon, and one by one, tears filled their eyes as they tearfully agreed to Joseph¡¯sst request. They all understood that the reason that they could be safe and sound was that Joseph had given up his dignity and got on his knees. Joseph smiled faintly and said to Damon, ¡°Thank you so much, Damon!¡± Then he suddenly took out a pair of silver scissors and stabbed himself in the chest with it! ¡°Mr. Owen!¡± the butler eximed in a shrilling voice. It was the scissors that Joseph usually used for trimming the branches of his flowers. But now, it had be the weapon that killed him. The silver scissors pierced deeply into his left chest, and his white shirt became soaked in blood. He slowly fell to the ground and closed his eyes forever. ¡°Damon!¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± ¡°Mr. Owen!¡± ¡­ The Owens were devastated and grief-stricken as they got on their knees and began wailing. Damon was full of uneasiness. He was the one who forced Joseph to his death, and things developed to this point because of him too. But he wasn¡¯t at all pleased to see Joseph dying like this. However, if he could turn back time and start all over again, he would still choose to do the same. The reason was that the Owens hadmitted a huge mistake, and someone had to take the me! Well, at least he was still smiling during hisst moments out of relief that Damon had promised to spare the rest of the Owens. Damon stayed silent for a long time before suddenly eximing, ¡°Send Mr. Owen off!¡± ¡°Send Mr. Owen off!¡± ¡°Send Mr. Owen off!¡± ¡­ All the Parkers who Damon had brought with him also eximed. Joseph¡¯s decision deserved all their respect! It didn¡¯t take long for the news of the destruction of the Owen family and Joseph¡¯s demise to spread throughout LA. In the past two hours or so, major events had repeatedly urred in the Owen family, and the news of their family¡¯s copse and the resignations of the senior executives of theirpanies spread quickly. Everyone ced their attention on the Owens as they were eagerly waiting to see the subsequent developments. However, they didn¡¯t expect that what happened next would be beyond their expectations. The head of the Owen family hadmitted suicide, and Callum, the one most likely to seed him, had sumbed to his injury while being conveyed to the hospital for emergency treatment. The great Owen family was exterminated in just one short day! The d¨¦j¨¤ vu scene made many people in LA shudder, and they didn¡¯t even dare to talk about it publicly. After the destruction of the Owens, the Parkers rightfully became the most powerful family in LA, gaining a supreme and unparalleled position. The Parkers had be the well-deserved hegemon of LA! But Damon knew that it was all thanks to Lucas. The Parkers were now under Lucas¡¯smand. Chapter 488 - Unexpected Person

Chapter 488: Unexpected Person

Over the next few days, Flynn was extremely busy handing many affairs to Damon. Lucas had initially arranged for Flynn to be in charge of all the affairs of LA, but since there were unexpected changes, he now had new arrangements for Flynn. He nned to have Flynn go and take over the matters at the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC. So Lucas had once told Flynn to hand over all the matters to someone he could trust and even gave him ample time of one month to do so. But since the Parkers had already surrendered and pledged allegiance to Lucas, and the Parkers had already developed their empire in LA for decades, Flynn could now just leave the matters here to Damon, the head of the current hegemon family of LA. Moreover, he wouldn¡¯t need a month¡¯s time. Once Flynn was done handing over the matters to Damon, he would be ready to leave for DC at any time. Just one weekter, Flynn appeared again in the chairman¡¯s office on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation building in Orange County. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve already handed over all the matters in LA, so I can leave for DC at any time,¡± Flynn said, full of vigor and still dressed in an immacte suit. Lucas shot him a deep nce and said slowly, ¡°I told you before that the situation in DC is full of dangers. Are you really sure you want to go there?¡± Flynn nodded with determination and said with a resolute gaze, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m already prepared!¡± In fact, to be honest, the reason he agreed to go to the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC was mostly that he wanted to take a gamble. Although he believed in Lucas¡¯s abilities and wanted to stay by his side in hopes that he could carve an outstanding career for himself, he had still been anxious and flustered. But what Lucas had done to the Owens in LA a week ago gave him a new understanding of the power Lucas possessed and more confidence about his trip to DC. Although he had yed a role in the Owens¡¯ destruction, he had learned those terrifying and formidable means from Lucas. He had unknowingly gotten hold of so many trump cards that could destroy his opponents. Flynn didn¡¯t even dare to think about how much power Lucas still had. So he was sure that his n to go to DC would definitely be a huge sess this time! This was how much Flynn believed in Lucas. ¡°Great, since you¡¯re all prepared, you can leave for DC this afternoon!¡± Lucas then looked at Stanley, who was standing behind him. ¡°Stanley, get ready to go to DC together with Flynn. You will be responsible for protecting him and ensuring his safety throughout the whole process. Make sure that there are no mistakes!¡± When Stanley saw the serious expression on Lucas¡¯s face, he understood that this matter was absolutely important, so he immediately answered loudly, ¡°Yes! I willplete the mission!¡± Lucas looked at the two people in front of him and smiled. He said softly, ¡°Even I can¡¯t predict what will happen in DC. So if you really encounter a difficult problem or end up in a dangerous predicament where your lives are at stake, you must make it back alive, even if it means having to give up your mission! It doesn¡¯t matter if you fail the mission, but I want you both to be safe and sound. Do you understand?¡± Flynn and Stanley both appeared rather touched. All along, they had always seen Lucas as a powerful and domineering man who would never fail in any way. So they had already made up their minds that they would still try toplete the mission Lucas gave them even if they had to go all out and risk everything. But Lucas would rather they fail toplete the mission and return in one piece than have them lose their lives. This just went to show that Lucas valued their lives more than the goal he wanted to achieve. How could they not be touched by this? ¡°Lucas, I will do my best toplete the mission!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lucas. I¡¯ll also do my best to protect Flynn¡¯s safety until hees back in one piece!¡± Flynn and Stanley both guaranteed. Lucas patted their shoulders without saying anything else. Everything was tacit. Soon, the two of them packed their bags and took an afternoon flight to DC. Lucas stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor, looking into the distant east with some uneasiness in his heart. ¡°The Huttons, just you wait! One day, I will go back there and settle the scores that you owe me from back then!¡± ¡­ This afternoon, Lucas suddenly received a call from Lena. ¡°Lucas, do you have time tonight? My dad said he wants to invite you to dinner. Are you willing to ept his invitation?¡± Lucas asked with some yfulness in her voice. Lucas burst intoughter, gave it some thought, and soon agreed. ¡°Okay, just send me the time and address.¡± Although Ethan had some rtions with the Huttons, he was smart enough to have taken the initiative to contact Lucas a long time ago. Besides, Ethan had also given him lots of help since he returned to Orange County. In fact, strictly speaking, Ethan was not associated with the Huttons but merely shared a friendship with the chief butler, Chad Kennedy. In particr, when Lucas was besieged by the group of helmsmen, including Matthew and Damon, Ethan had stood firmly on his side. Regardless of what Ethan¡¯s motive was, Lucas was touched. Since it was just a meal, Lucas was still willing to give Ethan this courtesy. Soon, Lena sent him the address of the restaurant where they would be having dinner. Lucas couldn¡¯t help smiling when he saw the name of the restaurant. The Lion Restaurant. It was indeed a familiar ce. When Lucas first dined at the Lion Restaurant, he had thought that it was the property of the Sawyers until he learned that the proprietor of the restaurant chain was actually the Bensons from San Francisco, and Ethan was just a sole franchisee of the Orange County branch. But since Matthew offended Lucas in LA, Edmund, the head of the Cole family, had publicly severed all ties with the Bensons, causing thetter to take a tremendous blow and fall to the doldrums. Even the Lion Restaurant that they owned became Ethan¡¯s property. In fact, if the Bensons had behaved themselves, they wouldn¡¯t have declined to such a sorry state even if the Coles had severed ties with them. But Matthew had always been ruthless and spared no mercy toward others. Besides, he had also been guilty of tyranny and throwing his weight around just because he had leveraged the power of the Cole family. So after the news of the Coles¡¯ unteral severance of ties with the Bensons spread, the Bensons faced great suppression in all aspects, and many of their businesses were easily acquired. For example, this Lion Restaurant had officially be the property of the Sawyers. After Lucas called Cheyenne to inform her about the dinner, he drove to the venue. As soon as he walked into the lobby and was about to go to the reserved private room under the ushering of the waiter, he suddenly heard an ear-splitting noise in the lobby. ¡°Are you blind or crippled? How dare you spill vegetable soup on my clothes? Do you know how expensive my clothes are? A waitress at the bottom of society like you won¡¯t be able to afford to pay for my dress even if you work here for years! Tell me! What you should do!¡± The woman¡¯s voice was so sharp and shrill that it instantly prated the entire hall on the first floor of the restaurant, attracting the attention of many people. Lucas initially didn¡¯t want to bother with this, so he just casually nced over. But to his surprise, he actually saw a very familiar person. Lucas stared and wondered,?What is she doing here? Chapter 489 - Old Friend Gets Humiliated

Chapter 489: Old Friend Gets Humiliated

There was a young woman, who, despite being decked out in designer wear, seemed a little tacky and uncouth, seated by the window. She was yelling her lungs out at a slender woman d in waitress¡¯s clothes and continuously lowering her head to apologize. ¡°Yes¡­ Sorry, Miss, I really didn¡¯t mean to do it!¡± Perhaps because it was her first time encountering such a thing, she was panic-stricken and at aplete loss for what to do. She was almost on the verge of tears. ¡°Sorry, and that¡¯s it? Listen up. This dress is from Prada¡¯stest collection, and it¡¯s worth more than fifty grand. It¡¯s my first time wearing it today, and you spilled soup on it. You¡¯ve ruined my dress! What¡¯s the point of saying sorry? I want you to return the money for this dress to me!¡± the well-dressed woman cursed furiously. At this moment, a middle-aged chubby man wearing a tagbeled ¡®lobby manager¡¯ pinned on his chest walked over and asked the angry woman politely, ¡°Miss Taylor, may I ask what happened here?¡± ¡°Are you blind? It¡¯s all your waitress¡¯s fault. God knows what¡¯s wrong with her eyes. She spilled the soup all over me. Now that my dress is soiled. How can I wear it? This restaurant owes me an exnation!¡± When the chubby lobby manager heard this, he immediately scolded the waitress next to him, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes? Or is there something wrong with your brain? All you had to do was serve the soup, and yet you spilled it all over Miss Taylor! ¡°Do you know who Miss Taylor is? She¡¯s Miss Gisele Taylor from one of the four top families of Orange County. Her dress costs more than fifty grand, a price you can¡¯t even afford even if you work here for a decade! Tell me, what do you want to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡­ I really didn¡¯t mean to do it. I don¡¯t know how it happened¡­¡± The waitress was so frightened that tears of desperation streamed down her cheeks, of which one side was still a little red and swollen from the p she had received. Gisele¡¯s fingerprints were also on her face. How could she possibly afford to pay tens of thousands of dors? Gisele sneered while looking at the tear-stained face of the weeping waitress with a fleeting trace of jealousy and resentment in her eyes. She suddenly stretched out her hand to pick up a bowl of rice on the table and then poured it onto the floor. She then spat on it twice and looked up at the waitress with a malicious smile. ¡°I doubt you can ever afford to buy this dress I¡¯m wearing, and I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t even fork out a penny topensate for it! How about this? I will be merciful and let you off the hook this time as long as you finish every grain of rice on the floor. Once you do, I¡¯ll stop holding it against you for ruining my dress. How does that sound?¡± As soon as she said this, a series of shrieks filled the room. ¡°Huh? Did I hear that right?¡± ¡°Oh my God. She asked the waitress to eat the bowl of rice she poured onto the floor. She even spat twice onto it. How disgusting! It¡¯s too humiliating!¡± ¡°Must she do that? Didn¡¯t she just get her clothes stained a little? If she takes it to the dry cleaners now, I¡¯m sure the stains can be removed. It¡¯s not necessary to pay tens of thousands of dors, right? This woman is even making her eat the filthy rice on the floor. That¡¯s too much!¡± ¡°Shh! Keep your voice down! Didn¡¯t you hear the manager say that this woman is one of the Taylors, a top family of Orange County? How dare you speak ill of her? Be careful not to get yourself in trouble!¡± ¡°She¡¯s actually a Taylors? Ah, in that case, this waitress is in trouble¡­¡± ¡­ The incident attracted the attention of many patrons in the restaurant because it happened in the lobby, where many people wereing and going. Gisele¡¯s voice was sharp and shrill, so almost all eyes were on her, and many began discussing softly among themselves. Many people were naturally in disapproval of her bullying, but they didn¡¯t dare to speak out against her behavior because they feared the power of her family. Besides, the victim of her bullying was just a waitress who didn¡¯t have a powerful background. In their opinion, it wouldn¡¯t be worth it to offend Gisele for her! The waitress remained still and clutched her hands tightly while trembling incessantly. Her face was as red as a tomato because of her anger and embarrassment. She clenched her teeth tightly, but her tears kept flowing down uncontrobly. She didn¡¯t know why things had suddenly turned out like this. She had just followed the instructions she was given and served the food to the patrons who ordered it. She had also ced the food on the table ording to the rules, but Gisele suddenly instructed her to get her a bowl of soup. In order to abide by the motto of ¡®the customer is king¡¯, she obediently got a bowl of soup and ced it in front of Gisele. But at this time, Gisele suddenly waved her hand, causing the bowl of soup to topple over. Before she could even respond, Gisele gave her a hard p on her face andshed out at her for spilling the soup and getting her clothes soiled. Gisele even demanded that the waitress pay her the original price of over 50 thousand dors topensate for the dress. But how could she possibly afford this? But if she didn¡¯t pay, Gisele would force her to eat the rice covered in her spit on the floor. How could she stand such humiliation? While she was contemting and finding herself stuck in a dilemma, Gisele lost her patience and urged, ¡°Are you going to eat or not? I was kind enough to give you a chance. If you don¡¯t cherish it,pensate me now! Let me tell you, my patience is limited. Do you know what to do now?¡± ¡°Exactly! Don¡¯t be ignorant and stubborn. Miss Taylor is kind enough to give you this chance to eat something in exchange for thepensation. If you keep hesitating, you¡¯ll lose this chance too!¡± the chubby lobby manager chimed in callously. After a long internal psychological struggle, the waitress finally nodded in reluctance. ¡°Okay¡­ I-I¡¯ll eat it! Miss Taylor, I hope you¡¯ll keep to your word and not pursue this matter any further.¡± A smug smile appeared on Gisele¡¯s face, and she said slowly, ¡°That¡¯s for sure. As long as you polish off the rice on the floor, I¡¯ll forgive you for soiling my dress!¡± The waitress gritted her teeth and slowly squatted down to eat the filthy, saliva-stained rice while curbing her nausea. All of a sudden, a strong hand grabbed her arm to stop her. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her!¡± A mellow and familiar voice suddenly rang in the waitress¡¯s ears. She raised her head in surprise and happened to face Lucas¡¯s angry gaze. ¡°Lucas?! Why are you here too?¡± The waitress blinked. Her face was extremely familiar to Lucas. This waitress was none other than Grace Keller, with whom Lucas had had a few encounters! Chapter 490 - Malicious Humiliation

Chapter 490: Malicious Humiliation

At this moment, Grace¡¯s face was stained with tears and was all red and swollen, but her eyes lit up with surprise and joy. She looked just like a vibrant and delicate rose, so beautiful that she seemed to be glowing. Lucas had seen everything that happened just now. Lucas had also met Gisele, the other person involved in this incident. More than half a month ago, Grace had suddenly been abducted by the Waces and brought to the auction in Club Splendor. When Lucas rushed to save Grace, he had run into Gisele at the entrance of the auction. At the time, Gisele had wanted to force Lucas to pose as her boyfriend so that she could use him as a shield to get rid of Kyle Kingston and make him stop pestering her. After Lucas had turned her down without hesitation, Gisele had flown into a rage and immediately framed Lucas by using him of insulting her. She had even made Kyle deal with Lucas. Thus, Lucas loathed Gisele. He looked at Gisele, who was sitting in front of him. She was indeed wearing a Prada dress, but it was clean andpletely unstained by the soup. Lucas nced at the young man sitting across from Gisele, who looked just like a pretty boy with handsome features. But the gaze in his eyes seemed a little lewd, and he kept staring at Grace. Almost in an instant, Lucas guessed what had happened. He reckoned that the pretty boy sitting opposite Gisele must have started lusting for Grace because of her beauty. Moreover, he had also revealed his liking for Grace, which made Gisele jealous and thus deliberately set Grace up to make things hard for her. Gisele was just trying to humiliate Grace on purpose by making herpensate for the dress and forcing her to eat the rice dirtied with saliva on the floor. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s really funny. Your clothes are clean, and there are no soup stains at all. Yet you want my friend topensate you with more than fifty grand. That¡¯s such a low-level trick to scam and extort money from others,¡± Lucas said coldly as he stood in front of Grace, blocking the line of vision of the lecherous pretty boy. Ever since Lucas suddenly appeared and stopped Grace from eating the dirty rice on the floor, Gisele had been wearing a hostile expression on her face. But when she saw Lucas, she immediately recognized him. Soon, anger was written all over her face. ¡°You¡¯re actually here too!¡± The chubby lobby manager looked at Lucas and then at Gisele. He asked cautiously, ¡°Miss Taylor, do the two of you know each other?¡± Overwhelmed with fury, Gisele red at the lobby manager menacingly. ¡°I have such a high status. How could I possibly know such a penniless piece of trash?¡± The lobby manager initially wanted to suck up to her and build some connections to her, but he ended up angering Gisele, so he was instantly frustrated. After Gisele rebuked the lobby manager, she turned to Lucas and Grace, the two people who put her in a foul mood. She was infuriated. ¡°How dare you call me a swindler? I¡¯m an heiress of the Taylor family. Why would I deliberately try to scam a restaurant waitress? My dress is from a high-end designerbel, and it¡¯s ruined after being stained a little. What do you know? You¡¯re just a pauper. ¡°Seriously, do you people take this restaurant for a market? Can any Tom, Dick, or Harrye here? That¡¯s so degrading! You even let this penniless man who can¡¯t afford to have a meale in. Do you n to turn this ce into a charity and feed poor people? Because it seems you¡¯re not worried that they won¡¯t pay up after eating! ¡°Hmph, but I still have a lot of leftovers here. If you really don¡¯t have money to pay for your meal, I can do some charity and give them to you!¡± With a malicious glint in her eyes, Gisele proudly poured the leftover fish scraps on the table onto the pile of soiled rice on the floor. Behaving like a queen, she said smugly, ¡°Since you want to be a hero and save the damsel in distress, go ahead and be with her, you bottom-feeder! Finish up the scraps on the floor, and I¡¯ll let you off!¡± The lobby manager froze in shock for a moment. But in the blink of an eye, he hurriedly chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right! You two, hurry up ande here to polish off all the food on the floor. Miss Taylor has magnanimously decided not to pursue this matter against you and is even offering you such a delicious meal. You two should be grateful!¡± After saying this, he even extended his leg and pressed the filthy soles of his leather shoes onto the food scraps on the floor to crush them. He then said to them like he was giving them great mercy, ¡°Count yourselves lucky today. The Lion Restaurant is the most expensive restaurant in Orange County, and people like you won¡¯t even get a chance to dine here! ¡°But now, Miss Taylor is generous enough to reward you with so much food. Do you know that this rice is top-grade rice imported from Thand? Each small bowl costs close to three hundred dors. And this broth and the crab shells may be leftovers, but they are from dishes that cost a few hundred dors each. This makes the scraps on the floor worth a couple hundred dors altogether! What are you two waiting for? Hurry up and eat it. After you do, remember to thank Miss Taylor!¡± The chubby lobby manager¡¯s eyes were glistening with malice as he mocked and humiliated Grace and Lucas. Although he had nothing against them, he thought that it was their fault for offending Gisele.?They really deserve it! After hearing Gisele¡¯s and the lobby manager¡¯s words, Grace felt aggrieved and humiliated, and she had an apologetic expression on her face when she looked at Lucas. Although she didn¡¯t know Gisele prior to this, she could tell from her outfit that she was definitely from a wealthy family. Besides, the lobby manager had also revealed her identity to be a member of the Taylor family, one of the four great families in Orange County. Thus, she knew that Gisele was definitely someone she couldn¡¯t afford to provoke! This matter initially had nothing to do with Lucas, but he got involved because he wanted to help her. As a result, he ended up incurring Gisele¡¯s wrath. Lucas had helped her out on several asions, but she had only ever implicated him and be a huge burden. Grace felt really bad about it. ¡°Lucas, this matter has nothing to do with you. Leave quickly! Don¡¯t get involved!¡± Grace said to Lucas anxiously. Lucas smiled faintly. Grace was still the same as before. The first thing she would do was not to seek help to get herself out of trouble but to try her best not to implicate others. She was indeed still as kindhearted as before. But before Lucas could respond to Grace, Gisele¡¯s face turned sullen while the chubby lobby manager immediately stopped in front of Lucas. ¡°Hah, are you trying to leave just like that after offending Miss Taylor? You¡¯re being overly idealistic! If you two don¡¯t finish the food on the floor, neither of you will leave!¡± Chapter 491 - Taste of His Own Medicine

Chapter 491: Taste of His Own Medicine

Grace looked at the fierce and hostile lobby manager and pleaded, ¡°Sir, this matter really has nothing to do with my friend. I¡¯ll eat the scraps. Please just let him leave!¡± Her beautiful face was still stained with undried tears, and despite wearing a waitress uniform, she was still as beautiful as ever. Many people in the hall couldn¡¯t help but be amazed by her beauty and take pity on her. They could also tell that Gisele abhorred Grace because of thetter¡¯s stunning looks and thus decided to humiliate her in public. But everyone knew that Gisele was from a prestigious and formidable family, so no one was willing to stand up for a waitress at the expense of offending the Taylors. Many people turned their faces away and stopped looking this way. Gisele smirkedcently. She had initially just wanted to deal with Grace, whom she felt was a vixen that went around seducing others. But she didn¡¯t expect this waitress to be friends with Lucas, who had embarrassed her before. When she first met Lucas at the entrance of Club Splendor on the day of the auction, she had felt that Lucas was quite good-looking, and she had also intended to make him pose as her boyfriend. However, she didn¡¯t expect him to reject her without any hesitation at all. He had even avoided her when she threw herself at him, and there was even a trace of infuriating disgust in his eyes. Gisele always had a bunch of men vying for her favor and buttering her up. Yet Lucas was blind and dared to reject her, which was a huge insult to her! When she instigated the dimwit Kyle to deal with Lucas, Kyle had failed and even ended up being taught a lesson by Lucas together with his bodyguard. From that day on, Gisele was really frustrated and also felt a strong urge to humiliate Lucas. Today, the chance to do so fell straight into herp! How could she easily let Lucas off? After seeing Gisele¡¯s expression, Lucas was certain that they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to settle the matter peacefully today. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the manager, who was putting on airs. ¡°Did you just say that the food on the floor is worth a couple hundred dors and it¡¯s our blessing that Miss Taylor is willing to reward us?¡± The looby manager immediately raised his head and said proudly, ¡°That¡¯s right! Otherwise, you paupers wouldn¡¯t be able to afford the food in the Lion Restaurant at all. I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t be ignorant. You¡¯d better gobble up all the food on the floor before I let you off!¡± Lucas snorted coldly in contempt before raising his legs and walking toward the chubby manager. Staring at the cold smirk on Lucas¡¯s face, the manager suddenly had an ominous feeling. ¡°What¡­ what are you trying to do? I told you to eat the food on the floor. Are you deaf?¡± he hollered again. Grace also sensed something and looked at Lucas worriedly. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡­ Please don¡¯t do anything!¡± Previously, she had seen with her own eyes that Lucas could knock over more than ten bodyguards mercilessly. If he was now furious at the manager, he would definitely beat the manager up. By then, neither the Lion Restaurant nor Gisele would let Lucas off! Lucas smiled faintly at her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t do anything to him.¡± He continued walking toward the lobby manager. As the distance between them got closer and closer, the chubby manager¡¯s heart became more and more nervous. He subconsciously took two steps backward and yelled in a moment of panic, ¡°Stop! You¡¯re not toe closer again! If youe closer, you¡­ you¡¯ll then be deliberately creating trouble, and I¡¯ll get security to beat you up!¡± Lucas sneered and suddenly moved before appearing directly in front of the lobby manager. Under everyone¡¯s horrified eyes, Lucas grabbed the manager¡¯s hair and then dragged him directly to the dining table where Gisele was. Then he kicked the lobby manager in the bend of his knee, causing him to fall onto his knees. Holding the manager¡¯s hair, Lucas pressed his head onto the food scraps on the floor that had been spat on by Gisele and dirtied by the filthy soles of the manager. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that this meal is worth hundreds of dors and it¡¯s a blessing to be able to eat it? I¡¯ll now give you this blessing. Polish it off for us!¡± The lobby manager¡¯s face was pale, and he was desperately struggling to break free from Lucas¡¯s hand. But Lucas¡¯s hand was like an iron mp secured tightly around his head, making it impossible for him to get up. Lucas¡¯s gaze was cold, and his face was expressionless as he was exuding a terrifying aura. Everyone got the chills. This young man is so domineering! After seeing his behavior, many people felt a sense of relief andfort. Just now, the lobby manager was like a dog barking for Gisele, and his fawning look made others feel like throwing up. Moreover, the words he said were really inhumane. He had deliberately stepped the food thrown onto the floor and forced them to eat it using the excuse that it was a blessing. It was absolutely disgusting! Many people had already cursed at the manager furiously, but they didn¡¯t dare to speak out because of Gisele¡¯s identity. Lucas happened to do something they didn¡¯t dare to do, which was simply a tremendous pleasure! Many people secretly cheered for Lucas because they felt that this was exactly how the vile and mercenary manager should be dealt with! When Gisele saw the manager being pinned to the ground in front of the food like a dog, anger surged in her heart, and a grimace of fury appeared on her face. But she soon nced at the staff at the back of the restaurant with an icy cold gaze.?Hah, Lucas Gray, you punk, just continue being smug. In no time, you won¡¯t be able to cry at all! The manager¡¯s face was being pressed on the pile of dirty food, but he naturally refused to eat it, so he desperately moved his head to the side while spitting out the rice that had touched the corners of his mouth. He roared in rage, ¡°Punk! You¡­ Hurry up and let go of me! Otherwise¡­ I¡¯ll teach you a lesson!¡± He started retching. The pile of food on the floor had not only been soiled by Gisele¡¯s saliva but also dirt from the soles of his shoes, as well as the leftover food scraps. It was absolutely revolting, and after some of this food mixture was forced into his mouth, the manager couldn¡¯t help but throw up. ¡°You¡¯re the one who concocted this upscale dish, and you also said it yourself that it¡¯s a blessing to be able to eat such a meal. So, gobble it all up!¡± Lucas said coldly. The manager was practically on the verge of copsing. He had nned to humiliate Lucas, but it backfired, and he ended up having a taste of his own medicine. It simply felt horrible! ¡°You¡­ Don¡¯t act like a madman! Cleve! Cleve, help!¡± The manager suddenly yelled for help. When Grace heard this name, she shuddered and immediately said to Lucas, ¡°Oh no! Lucas, leave quickly! Now! Leave right now!¡± But it was already toote. As soon as she finished speaking, several burly men with their arms exposed walked out of the staff aisle not far away and surrounded Lucas aggressively. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re trying to leave after beating someone up? Have you asked for our permission?¡± The moment Grace saw these people, her heart sank to rock bottom! Chapter 492 - Blocking Cleve

Chapter 492: Blocking Cleve

Although Grace had only worked at the Lion Restaurant for a few days, she had heard of Cleve before. The Lion Restaurant was the most high-end restaurant in Orange County, so there would inevitably be some gang bosses to guard the ce. Cleve and his underlings were in charge of guarding the restaurant. These people had arrived so soon, probably because someone had gone to inform them. When they came, they happened to see the scene of Lucas pressing the manager¡¯s head onto the pile of food scraps on the floor. Grace¡¯s face instantly paled as she muttered, ¡°Oh no¡­ This is terrible! Lucas, I¡¯ve implicated you again¡­¡± After seeing these peoplee, the people nearby all became grave. ¡°Cleve is actually here too. Seems like he is in deep trouble. He won¡¯t be unable to bear the consequences of his actions!¡± ¡°Who is Cleve? Why does everyone look so frightened and flustered? Is he that terrifying?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never heard of Cleve? He¡¯s a big figure. Not only is this Lion Restaurant under his protection, but many of the businesses belonging to Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, are too. Don¡¯t you think he¡¯s impressive?¡± ¡°What? The businesses belonging to the richest man in the county are under this man¡¯s protection? Ethan Sawyer must admire and value him greatly, huh? This young man has already offended a Taylor heiress, and now he¡¯s offended the Sawyers too. He¡¯s offended two of the four major families in Orange County. I bet he¡¯s doomed!¡± ¡°Exactly! I think this young man is definitely dead meat. It¡¯s such a pity. I thought he was quite brave just now, but it¡¯s such a shame that he can¡¯t deal with the Taylors and the Sawyers.¡± Many people felt extremely sorry for Lucas. Although he had just pressed the manager¡¯s head directly onto the filthy food on the floor, which was very much to the pleasure of the other patrons that felt unjust for Grace, Lucas was alone after all. Besides, they also assumed, based on Gisele¡¯s words, that Lucas was extremely poor and didn¡¯t have a powerful background or identity to rely on. They felt that this young man would definitely end up in a miserable plight in Cleve¡¯s hands! The manager, who was being pressed to the floor, started begging Cleve for help when he saw him, as if he had found his savior. ¡°Cleve! Cleve, quickly save me! I¡­¡±?Retch!?¡°I¡¯m going to be bullied to death by this punk! You¡­ you must do me justice!¡± The person addressed as Cleve merely nced at the manager contemptuously before turning away without bothering to save the pig-like manager being pinned onto the ground. When he nced at Grace, a trace of obvious amazement immediately appeared in his eyes, and when he saw the waitress uniform she was wearing, his eyes began to look a little lewd. What a gorgeous babe! Why haven¡¯t I discovered her in the restaurant before??Cleve thought lustfully. Grace had naturally discovered that Cleve was gawking at her in a repulsive manner, and she was so scared that she couldn¡¯t help cowering behind Lucas. Cleve¡¯s fiery sight was blocked by Lucas, and only then did he begin to look at Lucas, the young man who caused themotion in the restaurant. ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got some nerve. How dare you cause trouble in my territory? You must have a death wish!¡± Cleve narrowed his eyes, and his arm muscles began twitching with an intimidating aura. Generally, people would shudder in horror when sensing his aura, and those who were timid would even be frightened to the point of peeing their pants, exposing the unsightly sides of themselves. But the young man in front of him was not the same as the others. Despite facing his tyrannical and intimidating stance, Lucas kept a straight face, as if he couldn¡¯t feel it at all. He was still pressing the manager¡¯s head against the floor as he said in a t andposed tone, ¡°You had the nerve to say that in front of me. You¡¯re the one with a death wish.¡± Cleve was stunned, and immediately after, heughed out loud. ¡°Hahahaha, interesting. You¡¯re the first person who dared to talk to me like that!¡± The others began whispering to each other. ¡°Damn it. I thought he was a smart guy, but I didn¡¯t expect him to be stupid enough to mock Cleve right in his face! He¡¯s really brazen!¡± ¡°Cleve has the grounds to say such arrogant things! He¡¯s backed by the Sawyers, and Cleve and his underlings all have extraordinarybat skills. You can tell from their strong muscles! But what exactly does this young man have? He has nothing, and yet he has the audacity to be so arrogant in front of Cleve. I bet he has no idea what he has to face!¡± ¡°Too bad! I was just thinking that if he pleaded with Cleve and begged for mercy, Cleve just might let him off. But nothing good wille out of offending Cleve!¡± In the eyes of the people familiar with the hierarchy of notable families in Orange County, Cleve was not to be trifled with. No one thought that Lucas, who spoke arrogantly in front of Cleve, would still be able to walk out of this ce in one piece. The managerughed out loud and said with a menacing expression, ¡°Kid, you must be tired of living. How dare you speak to Cleve like that? You¡¯re dead meat!¡± Just now, Cleve just casually nced at him without showing any intention to rescue him. So the manager had thought that Cleve had given up on him. Yet Lucaspletely disregarded Cleve. In that case, Cleve would definitely teach him a lesson that he would never forget! At the mention of the tragic state that Lucas would soon face, the manager was suddenly full of hope and expectations! Sitting at the side, Gisele smirked smugly, feeling triumphant that her n had seeded. She knew that Cleve had gotten used to being arrogant and proud all the time. Moreover, he was extremely lecherous, so she was certain that he would definitely get his hands on the beautiful, vixen-like Grace. Furthermore, Lucas was standing up for Grace, so he would surely go against Cleve. This way, Cleve would teach Lucas a lesson for her. But now, it seemed that things were going better than she nned because Lucas, who didn¡¯t know any better, actually had the audacity to mock Cleve in his face. This was simply a death wish!?Hmph, let¡¯s see how Lucas Gray diester! Chapter 493 - Stop Immediately

Chapter 493: Stop Immediately

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Grace was extremely anxious as she tugged the corner of Lucas¡¯s shirt with a pale expression on her face. Cleve narrowed his eyes. ¡°Punk, you¡¯ve got some nerve! But on ount of your girlfriend, I¡¯ll let you off for now. Get lost immediately!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes lit up, and he pretended to be happy. ¡°Thank you so much, Cleve. We¡¯ll leave now.¡± Then he pulled Grace and walked toward the entrance of the restaurant. But the two of them had just taken a few steps when they were stopped by Cleve, who had flown into a rage, and his underlings. ¡°Stop!¡± Cleve roared in fury. ¡°Punk, are you an idiot, or are you deliberately pretending to be stupid in front of me? I told you to get lost and leave the woman behind! If not for your girlfriend¡¯s sake, I would have broken both of your legs by now!¡± Then he looked at Grace threateningly. ¡°Babe, a woman like you should find a man who can protect you. This punk next to you can¡¯t protect you at all. If you stay with him, you¡¯re going to suffer all the time. So you might as well be with someone else sooner! ¡°If you follow me, I guarantee that you¡¯ll live in luxury, and you won¡¯t have to be a waitress here anymore. How about it? You just need to sleep with me. Hahaha!¡± Cleve squinted and looked at Grace lewdly with a fiery gaze. Grace was infuriated. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re shameless!¡± Cleveughed out loud. ¡°Hehe, I like how aggressive you are when scolding others. Hahaha!¡± A trace of icy cold murderous intent appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. He regarded Grace as a friend, and she was also the savior of his daughter. Now that she was being insulted by this insolent man in front of them, Lucas really felt an urge to kill him.?Based on the way Cleve is behaving, he must have done such things countless times in the past. Such scumbags deserve to die! ¡°You¡¯re just a gangster, but you¡¯re quite boastful, huh? Who are you to do that?¡± Lucas sneered mercilessly with contempt. Cleve¡¯s arrogant expression stiffened, and he immediately stopped guffawing. No one had ever dared to say something like this in front of him! The chubby manager snickered in joy. ¡°Bastard, how dare you say that to Cleve? It seems that you definitely won¡¯t be able to leave here alive today!¡± He was extremely aggrieved when Cleve told this punk to get lost just now because he had been bullied by Lucas, yet Cleve didn¡¯t speak up for him and even nned on letting this bastard leave. In that case, wouldn¡¯t all his grievances be for nothing? But when he thought about how brazen Lucas was to contradict Cleve, he thought that Lucas was definitely dead meat! Cleve¡¯s face was gloomy. He had been working for the Sawyers for so many years and often leveraged their power and authority, so he had never been insulted like this before! He swore that he had to kill Lucas! ¡°Punk, you must have a death wish. In that case, I¡¯ll be kind and fulfill your wish! I¡¯ll definitely crush all your bones and make you suffer endlessly. I¡¯ll make you regret what you¡¯ve said today! ¡°Hmph, didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m not worthy of having your woman? I¡¯m going to have her and show you how I toy with your woman!¡± With a twisted and menacing expression, Cleve started ogling at Grace even more unscrupulously. If not for the fact that this was a public ce and the Sawyers¡¯ restaurant, he would have gotten intimate with Grace on the spot! ¡°To hell with that!¡± Lucas roared furiously with murderous intent in his eyes, no longer able to stand Grace being humiliated by this scumbag. ¡°Damn it. Punk, do you dare to fight?¡± ¡°Cleve, just let us go cripple this punk and teach him how to speak to you!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll beat the shit out of him! This punk doesn¡¯t know where he stands at all! Let us bros break his bones!¡± The burly men under Cleve all began to yell arrogantly. Cleve was just as furious. He swung his hand forward and shouted, ¡°Go! Break his limbs and make him get on his knees to beg me!¡± ¡°Yes, Cleve!¡± The muscr men chorused in unison, clenched their fists impatiently, and rushed at Lucas. Grace¡¯s face immediately turned pale. She knew that these people were all Cleve¡¯s capable subordinates, and they were all much more brawny than Lucas. Moreover, they were all ruthless gangsters, so Lucas would definitely be in danger under their siege! Sitting at the side, Gisele immediately had a trace of excitement and expectation. She had long been waiting to see Lucas get beaten up! She even stood up to find the best view as she waited for Lucas to be beaten up. ¡°Stop!¡± The moment both sides were about to start fighting, a sudden violent shout rang out from the entrance of the restaurant. A trace of displeasure surged in Cleve¡¯s heart, but he immediately realized who the voice belonged to. He shuddered and roared, ¡°Stop! All of you, stop! Didn¡¯t you hear me? No one is to move again!¡± After stopping his underlings, Cleve immediately put a smile on his face and scurried toward the angry middle-aged man standing at the entrance. He nodded and greeted the middle-aged man. ¡°Mr. Sawyer, why are you suddenly here?¡± He was now feeling extremely anxious and flustered. Ethan had already warned him several times to keep a low profile and not get physical at every turn like before unless as ast resort. Cleve had given Ethan his promise and also behaved well in front of him. But now, Ethan chanced upon him trying to hit someone in the Sawyer¡¯s restaurant! The only thing he was thankful for was that he had yet to hit anyone himself. He decided to tell Ethan that Lucas had been causing trouble, so he sent his subordinates to take Lucas down in hopes that Ethan would let him off. Just as Cleve wasing up with an excuse toin to Ethan about, Ethan didn¡¯t even look at him and walked straight toward Lucas. Afterward, Cleve watched as Ethan walked up to Lucas and suddenly bent forward respectfully. ¡°Mr. Gray, sorry to have kept you waiting! I haven¡¯t been strict enough with my subordinates! I¡¯m really sorry that he has offended you!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Cleve¡¯s eyes were about to fall out! All the people in the lobby on the first floor of the Lion Restaurant were astonished and fell silent. There was instantly dead silence in the lobby! Chapter 494 - Just Deserts

Chapter 494: Just Deserts

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The cold sweat on Cleve¡¯s face immediately trickled down. He was just thinking of putting all the me on Lucas and framing him in front of Ethan. But the next instant, Ethan ran toward Lucas to apologize to him in a particrly respectful manner. As long as his brains were working fine, he¡¯d be able to figure out instantly that he had definitely offended the wrong person this time! Lucas wasn¡¯t someone he could afford to provoke at all! At this moment, Lena walked in behind Ethan toward Lucas with a smile. ¡°Hey, Lucas, it¡¯s been a while!¡± Lucas nodded at her slightly. In fact, only a week had passed since the two of them had parted in LA. At this moment, Lena suddenly discovered to her surprise that there was a young woman dressed as a waitress standing still. She was absolutely gorgeous and stunning! The beauty¡¯s face was still stained with tears, and she looked delicate and timid as she held the corner of Lucas¡¯s shirt with worry and panic written all over his face. Lena couldn¡¯t help frowning and looked curiously at her a few more times.?Who¡­ exactly is this pretty woman? But Lucas didn¡¯t bother paying much attention to Ethan or Lena and instead looked at Cleve, whose forehead was drenched in cold sweat. ¡°You just said that you were going to break my limbs and make me kneel on the floor and beg you?¡± Lucas questioned expressionlessly. ¡°No, no¡­ It was all just a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! I¡­ just said it casually. I definitely wouldn¡¯t really dare to do it!¡± Cleve stammered as cold sweat flowed down his face, no longer as overbearing as he was just now. Lucas sneered. ¡°Misunderstanding? Just now, you said you wanted to crush all the bones in my body and make me wail in pain endlessly. You even said that you wanted to insult my friend right in front of me. Is this considered a misunderstanding?¡± Cleve was utterly panicked. But before he could say a single word, someone at the side suddenly roared, ¡°Bastard!¡± Ethan flew into a rage. ¡°Cleve, who gave you the guts to speak to Mr. Gray in such a manner?! Who allowed you to act so waywardly in my restaurant?!¡± He knew that Lucas actually bore a slight grudge against him because of the Owens, so he was trying his best to help Lucas in every way. It wasn¡¯t just because of the instructions given by Chad Kennedy, the Huttons¡¯ butler, but also because he wanted to get closer to Lucas. He knew that Lucas had been in the military before and that he absolutely hated evil, as well as those who bullied others. He especially hated people who bullied weak and vulnerable women. But when he invited Lucas to dinner at his restaurant, Lucas actually got insulted by his subordinate. What would Lucas think of him then? The image he painstakingly maintained in front of Lucas had now been ruined by Cleve! When Cleve saw how infuriated Ethan was, his heart skipped a beat, and his knees immediately went weak as he knelt down in front of them. ¡°Mr. Sawyer, I know I was wrong! I¡¯ll apologize to this gentleman. Sir, please forgive me!¡± Cleve was behaving like apletely different person from before. He was now kneeling on the floor and shivering in fright while kowtowing incessantly. He was hitting his head so hard on the ground that his forehead started bleeding, but he didn¡¯t dare to stop at all. Cleve was well aware that Lucas was right about him being merely ackey that many feared and tried to suck up to only because he was backed by the Sawyers. But once he offended the Sawyers and Ethan¡¯s honored guest, his power and status would all vanish. Moreover, nothing good woulde out of offending the Sawyers! So Cleve was really scared, and he would rather kneel and beg for mercy in front of so many people than be abandoned or killed by Ethan. Seeing this scene, many of the guests in the lobby were dumbfounded. They saw Cleve as an arrogant and formidable person earlier. But now, he was just like a dog in front of Ethan as he begged miserably on his knees. He waspletely disheveled and embarrassing. Apart from Cleve and his underlings, the most disappointed person present was Gisele. She originally thought that Lucas would be beaten into a pulp by Cleve and his underlings. But before she could rejoice, Ethan had suddenly arrived and stopped everything. He even treated Lucas with so much respect and deference. She couldn¡¯t understand why Ethan was suddenly treating Lucas with so much respect because he was just a good-for-nothing to her. Facing Cleve¡¯s kowtowing and pleas for mercy, Ethan didn¡¯t have the slightest bit of forgiveness. If he hadn¡¯t arrived in time, this bastard would havepletely offended Lucas! He decided that he had to settle this score clearly with Cleve! Ethan gritted his teeth and ordered ruthlessly, ¡°Brazen dog, how dare you say you want to crush Mr. Gray¡¯s bones? Come, crush all of his bones and dump him at the entrance of the restaurant so that everyone can see his fate! And for all those people who dared to touch Mr. Gray earlier, break one leg of theirs each and throw them out. We¡¯ll see who dares to do this again in the future!¡± Since he could be the richest man in Orange County, he was definitely not a kindhearted person. The lobby was instantly full of cries for mercy. These arrogant and muscr men all began kneeling on the ground like Cleve was. ¡°Mr. Sawyer, please let us off! We were just following Cleve¡¯s orders!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Sawyer. We¡¯re just Cleve¡¯s subordinates. We didn¡¯t dare to defy his orders to hit Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°Mr. Sawyer, please have mercy and let us off! I promise I won¡¯t dare toy a finger on Mr. Gray again!¡± ¡°Mr. Sawyer, I really know my mistakes. Please give me another chance! I promise that I¡¯ll treat Mr. Gray well in the future and serve him to the best of my abilities. Please let me off and let me redeem myself!¡± ... Ethan remained unmoved as he instructed coldly, ¡°Do it immediately!¡± Soon, arge group of agile bodyguards rushed in from outside the restaurant and immediately pinned Cleve and his underlings onto the ground. Then they pressed down on them. Snap!?With the sounds of bones cracking, Cleve let out a miserable cry. ¡°Ah!¡± All his joints and limbs had all been crushed! But the punishment wasn¡¯t over yet because he had made outrageous threats to crush all of Lucas¡¯s bones. So now, it was his turn to bear the consequences of this. Snap! Crack! Crack! With several more cracking sounds, the few elite bodyguards pinning Cleve onto the floor crushed all the bones in his body except for his skull and spine. At this moment, Cleve couldn¡¯t even scream, and his body was drenched in cold sweat, looking as though he had been fished out of water. His underlings didn¡¯t escape the punishment either. Each of them had one of their legs broken and was dragged to the entrance of the restaurant. After the bodyguards threw all these people out of the restaurant, Ethan carefully asked Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, those people have all been taken care of. Do you think this is fine?¡± Lin Chen nodded casually. Cleve and his underlings were crooks who often got up to malicious misdeeds, so they deserved this fate. But¡­ there was still another person. Lucas suddenly looked at Gisele, who immediately became flustered. Gisele suddenly felt as though a menacing beast was staring at her, and her body stiffened! Chapter 495 - Slapping Herself

Chapter 495: pping Herself

Gisele didn¡¯t dare to look at Lucas again and hurriedly said to the pretty boy sitting opposite her, ¡°We¡¯ve finished eating. Let¡¯s leave quickly!¡± Then she stood up with her purse in hand to leave. Seeing how flustered she was, Lucas sneered. ¡°Miss Taylor, we¡¯re not done with the matters here yet. You want to leave just like that?¡± Gisele¡¯s face was extremely sullen, but she pretended to be calm. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s just a dress. Since it¡¯s ruined, I¡¯ll just get another one. I won¡¯t hold it against this woman! Let¡¯s go now!¡± She quickly tried to leave again. ¡°Hold it!¡± Lucas stopped her again. ¡°Weren¡¯t you really arrogant just now? You even tried to force the two of us to eat the food scraps soiled with your saliva. You want to leave just like that?¡± ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± Gisele was angry and ashamed. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t go too far! I¡¯m an heiress of the Taylors, and now, I¡¯ve decided not to hold the waitress liable. What else do you want?¡± Ethan walked over and said with hostility, ¡°Oh, the Taylors have really given you a good upbringing. Their descendant actually forced a waitress to eat soiled food on the floor of a restaurant. I¡¯ll have to ask your father just how he raised you!¡± From the moment he heard Lucas¡¯s words, he had noticed the small pile of rice and food scraps beside Gisele¡¯s table. He initially thought that the food was identally spilled by customers. Only now did he learn that the soiled food had been thrown onto the floor by Gisele to force others to eat it to humiliate them. If Gisele wanted to insult others, Ethan wouldn¡¯t necessarily bother to intervene, but he would never allow her to humiliate Lucas! Although the Sawyers and the Taylors were two of the four major families in Orange County, Ethan actually was on equal footing as her grandfather since he was the head of the family. To him, Gisele was just a junior who needed to be taught a lesson! Gisele really didn¡¯t dare to behave tyrannically in front of Ethan. Her face turned pale, and she didn¡¯t dare to say a single word at all. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°ording to the punishment Cleve received, I should make you gobble up this pile of food on the floor. After all, it¡¯s your masterpiece.¡± Gisele¡¯s expression instantly changed drastically. What? He wants me to eat this dirty food on the floor? I will never eat it no matter what. Over my dead body! She was certain that if Lucas dared to force her, the Taylors would never let him off! But Lucas also knew that she definitely wouldn¡¯t eat it, so he suddenly turned around to look at Grace. ¡°Grace, this woman pped you, right?¡± Lucas asked. Grace was shocked, and she instinctively reached out to ce her hand on her face. She stammered, ¡°No¡­ no one hit me.¡± Although she desperately wanted to cover up, her skin was fair and tender, so the red fingerprints on her face were particrly obvious. The reason Grace didn¡¯t dare to admit it was that she knew that Gisele was an heiress of the Taylor family. She didn¡¯t want Lucas to go against them, so she chose to subside the conflict. Lucas¡¯s n to let Grace p Gisele back seemed to be impossible. In fact, this was good too, lest Gisele held a grudge against Grace. Lucas stopped looking at Grace and said to Gisele, ¡°On ount that you¡¯re a woman, I won¡¯t make you eat the soiled food. But since you¡¯ve pped her once, p yourself ten times, and I¡¯ll let you go.¡± ¡°What did you say?! You want me to p myself? Are you out of your mind?!¡± Gisele screamed in disbelief. Lucas sneered. ¡°If you¡¯re not willing, I can do it myself!¡± With that, he pped his hand hard against an empty dining table beside him. Bang! A dent in the shape of a palm immediately appeared on the wooden dining table. When those nearby saw this scene, their eyes were about to fall out! As one of the most expensive restaurants in the county, the Lion Restaurant had a plethora of carefully chosen hardware and facilities. For example, although the dining tables in the lobby weren¡¯t as good as the mahogany tables in the luxurious private rooms on the top floor, they were made of high-grade solid wood. Even if someone ground the de of a sharp knife against the tables, there wouldn¡¯t be obvious traces. But Lucas actually left an almost two-centimeter deep palm-shaped dent in the table with his hand. How terrifying must his strength be?! He was just like a martial arts expert of action moves, for he had impable martial arts that were just too exaggerated! Gisele, who was right in front of the table, gasped in horror and turned pale when she saw the obvious palm print on the table. She staggered backward in horror and grabbed the pretty boy she had brought with her tightly as if she had found a straw to clutch at. But the pretty boy was extremely timid and cowardly even though he was quite tall and muscr. When Ethan ordered his subordinates to break the bones of Cleve and others, he merely remained sitting. He was shivering so hard that he couldn¡¯t even stand up. But Gisele had provoked such a terrifying enemy who could easily leave a deep mark on the solid wood table. If his palmnded on his head, it would definitely be crushed like a watermelon. The thought of the scene just now made the pretty boy so frightened that he was about to pee his pants. Seeing Gisele grabbing his arm, the pretty boy screamed in horror before immediately shaking her hand off. ¡°Ah! What happened today has nothing to do with me! I-I just happened to apany her out for a meal. The other matters have nothing to do with me, sirs!¡± The pretty boy cried out in fear and then ran toward the exit. But he was just an insignificant person, so no one stopped him. Soon, only Gisele was left standing in the middle of the lobby. Although she seemed a bit wretched and pitiful at the moment, none of the people present sympathized with her. Just ten minutes ago, this heiress of the Taylor family had arrogantly and overbearingly forced a waitress to eat the dirtied rice mixed with her saliva on the floor. The scene was still fresh in the minds of the onlookers. Now that she was being made to p herself, she brought it upon herself. Gisele¡¯s face turned pale. She didn¡¯t want to do such a humiliating thing as pping herself. But if she didn¡¯t do so, Lucas¡¯s terrifying p wouldnd on her face. Even if it didn¡¯t kill her, it would definitely disfigure her! Gisele¡¯s face was extremely sullen, but Lena still added fuel to the fire by mocking her, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it really enjoyable when you pped her just now? Now that it¡¯s your turn to p yourself, you don¡¯t dare to do it?¡± ¡°You!¡± Gisele was furious, but now that Lucas had the support of the Sawyers, she had no choice but to suffer the loss! So she could only endure her anger and look at Grace. While bearing with the grievances, she said, ¡°Miss, previously¡­ it was indeed my fault, and I shouldn¡¯t have pped you or made youpensate me just because you spilled some soup on me. I hereby apologize to you!¡± Then she immediately rolled her eyes up, looking as though she was being forced to bear the humiliation of apologizing. Grace looked at her, then at Lucas, and said softly, ¡°Lucas, I think we should just let it go.¡± Chapter 496 - Todays Humiliation

Chapter 496: Today¡¯s Humiliation

Grace obviously wanted to put things to rest and didn¡¯t want to let Lucas get into a conflict with Gisele. Although Lucas understood her intentions, he didn¡¯t intend to let Gisele off ording to her wishes. ¡°No, it¡¯s not the first time this woman hase looking for trouble with me. If I let her off this time, she won¡¯t learn her lesson! If you¡¯re worried that I will offend the Taylors because of this, that¡¯s unnecessary. A mere Taylor family doesn¡¯t mean anything to me,¡± Lucas said firmly. Grace immediately recalled that when Lucas had helped her deal with Liam Wace pestering her, he seemed to have also said that the Waces meant nothing to him. In the end, Liam died. But Lucas was still well and alive, without having to face the revenge of the Waces. She also thought of the fact that Lucas could donate millions of dors to the hospital, as well as the respectful attitude of Ethan, the richest man in Orange County, when facing Lucas. This just went to show that Lucas was a wealthy person who held a certain level of power and authority. In that case, he indeed wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being targeted by the Taylors. Ethan stood out and said, ¡°Mr. Gray is right. There¡¯s indeed no need to be afraid of the Taylors! If the Taylors have an issue with it, they cane to me!¡± As soon as he said this, Gisele¡¯s face became even more sullen. Ethan was clearly standing on Lucas¡¯s side too, and he didn¡¯t mind supporting Lucas at the expense of falling out with the Taylors! Atrocious! Why does this bastard deserve such treatment from the Sawyers? The restaurant lobby wasn¡¯t thatrge, and their conversation was soon heard clearly by the onlookers, who were waiting for the matter to develop further. ¡°Who exactly is this young man? Ethan Sawyer is on his side, and he doesn¡¯t mind going against Miss Taylor for this young man!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I reckon he must be someone with an incredible identity! No wonder he insisted on confronting Cleve and Miss Taylor. It turns out he really has what it takes to do so!¡± ¡°Hehe, do you guys think Gisele Taylor will p herself? Just look at how arrogant she was. Now, she¡¯s finally defeated. I¡¯m so happy!¡± ¡°Hahaha, why don¡¯t we have a bet? Let¡¯s see if Miss Taylor will p herself or not.¡± ¡°Shh, shut up! Keep your volume down. Be careful they might take revenge on you! You¡¯re not like that young man who has the power to go against the Taylors!¡± ¡­ All sorts of whispering spread to Gisele. She was so enraged that her face flushed, and she felt a strong urge to nab these gloating people to beat them up. But she was now alone and vulnerable, so she had no choice but to swallow her anger. ¡°I¡¯m giving you ten seconds. If you still don¡¯t p yourself, I¡¯ll do it myself!¡± Lucas urged impatiently. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a bully! I¡¯ve already apologized. What else do you want?¡± Gisele said furiously. Lucas sneered. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that as long as you p yourself, I will let you off. This isn¡¯t something resolvable with just an apology. It¡¯s what you said previously! You have to pay the price for your mistakes. My patience is limited. You have five seconds left! ¡°Five¡­¡± ¡°Four¡­¡± ¡°Three¡­¡± ¡°Two¡­¡± There were a bunch of outsiders in the restaurant interested in the gossip, and they helped Lucas count down. Gisele was simply about to copse. What should I do? What exactly should I do now? Lucas would definitely not let her go, so her only options now were to p herself or let Lucas p her. The former would make her feel insulted, but thetter would cause her to be disfigured. She didn¡¯t want to choose either option! But the passage of time didn¡¯t stop under Gisele¡¯s determination. The few people had already reached thest second of the countdown, and Lucas had also raised his arm. Gisele finally couldn¡¯t withstand the fear any longer and closed her eyes tightly as she raised her arm to p herself. Smack! Her face was numb and in pain, but what hurt more than the pain was the humiliation. Gisele had never been so aggrieved in her life before. She wished she could vanish immediately, but there were still nine ps she had to give herself. Gisele gritted her teeth and raised her arm to p herself again. Smack! Smack! ¡­ The crisp sound of pping echoed in the restaurant lobby, and everyone was staring at the spectacr scene of Gisele pping herself. Soon, she finished delivering all ten ps. With flushed and swollen cheeks, Gisele yelled furiously, ¡°Can I leave now?¡± Her eyes were full of humiliation and resentment. Lucas nced at her coldly, and Gisele hurriedly lowered her head to cover her look of resentment. ¡°Get lost. The next time I see you bullying others, it won¡¯t be as simple as today!¡± Lucas said coldly. Gisele gritted her teeth and scurried out with her hand on her face. Ahhhh! Ahhhh! I must return the humiliation today! After dealing with those people, the only person who was yet to be dealt with was the chubby manager. The manager, who had been putting on airs, had long been terrified ever since Cleve and his underlings had their bones broken. He was frightened to the point of being paralyzed on the floor, not daring to move at all. After watching Gisele p her more than ten times before she could leave, the manager was even more horrified. It turned out that this young man actually had such a powerful background, so much so that even Ethan defended him like this. When he thought of the insults he had hurled at Lucas and the fact that he had wanted to force Lucas to eat the soiled rice on the floor that he had stepped on with his shoes, he felt like he was really going to die! Had he known that things would have turned out like this, he would never have offended Lucas for the sake of sucking up to Gisele! ¡°Mr. Gray¡­ Mr. Gray, I was blind to have offended you! Please forgive me!¡± The manager no longer cared about anything else and crawled toward Lucas to beg him. Lucas kicked him away coldly. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have a good time being Gisele Taylor¡¯sckey just now? It¡¯s toote to regret now!¡± Seeing this, Ethan immediately understood that the lobby manager was also one of the people who had deliberately bullied Lucas. ¡°Bastard! Mr. Gray is my honored guest. You¡¯re really daring! Bodyguards, break this man¡¯s limbs and throw him out!¡± Ethan roared in fury. Soon, the vile manager, who had been willing to be a loyalckey to Gisele only because she was powerful, was brought away by the bodyguards. After all the ignorant people had finally been dealt with, Ethan heaved a sigh of relief. He then turned to look at the woman in the waitress uniform. He said amiably, ¡°Mr. Gray, is she your friend?¡± Chapter 497 - Lenas Intentions

Chapter 497: Lena¡¯s Intentions

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Grace recognized Ethan to be the biggest boss of the restaurant and immediately greeted, ¡°Mr. Sawyer!¡± Lucas smiled slightly and pointed to Grace as he introduced, ¡°Her name is Grace, and she once saved my daughter.¡± Ethan and Lena were both greatly surprised. They both thought that there might be some other rtionship between the beautiful Grace and Lucas. But they didn¡¯t expect that Grace had saved Amelia. It was no wonder that Lucas had helped her just now and had even forced Gisele to p herself ten times in the face in order to help her get justice. Lena¡¯s heartstrings, which were tensed up, suddenly eased up as a smile bloomed on her face. ¡°So you once saved Amelia. That¡¯s great!¡± Lena said smilingly as she held Grace¡¯s hand. Grace felt a little embarrassed. ¡°Actually¡­ I didn¡¯t help Amelia with anything. I¡¯m not really considered her savior.¡± Lucas said firmly, ¡°You helped Amelia, and you did indeed save her life.¡± He deliberately said this for the Sawyers to hear. Although he didn¡¯t know why, Grace was now working in Ethan¡¯s restaurant after all. If he said the reason, Ethan might value Grace even more. Lena asked curiously, ¡°Miss Keller, why are you working in our family¡¯s restaurant? Ah, I don¡¯t mean to offend you, but I just feel a little curious. With your looks and capabilities, surely you should be able to find a more suitable job, right?¡± Lucas was also a little curious because Grace was definitely capable of more than just being a waitress. Grace seemed a little embarrassed, but she didn¡¯t state the reason. Since it wasn¡¯t convenient for her to reveal the reason now, the crowd naturally had the awareness not to probe any further. After looking at Grace, Ethan suddenly asked, ¡°Miss Keller, since you are the savior of Mr. Gray¡¯s daughter, it¡¯d be such a waste for you to be just a waitress! How about this? It just so happens that I have to rece a batch of service staff now. From today onward, you¡¯ll be the general manager of this restaurant!¡± Naturally, Grace was extremely surprised and hastily declined. But Ethan¡¯s attitude was extremely resolute, and Lucas didn¡¯t object either, so the matter was thus settled. ... In a luxurious private room on the top floor of the Lion Restaurant¡­ Lucas, Ethan, and Lena were sitting around therge round table, on which was a spread of specialty dishes of the Lion Restaurant. There were also two bottles of fine wine that had been stored in the cer for several years. Ethan was the one who invited Lucas here for dinner tonight. And if he hadn¡¯t been held up along the way due to a traffic jam, Lucas probably wouldn¡¯t have gotten involved in that altercation. Ethan poured a ss of wine, brought it to Lucas, and bowed. He then poured another ss for himself and sincerely thanked him. ¡°Mr. Gray, I invited you here today mainly to express my gratitude to you. ¡°When Lena suddenly encountered a motorcycle assassination in front of my vi, it was all thanks to you for saving her in time that she managed to survive. A week ago, Lena again met with someone who tried to kill her by running her over with a car, but you happened to be there and rescued her from danger. You¡¯ve saved my daughter¡¯s life twice! ¡°Moreover, you helped us find the culprit behind the assassinations and brought the evil Owen family to justice! Mr. Gray, I really can¡¯t thank you enough or repay you for the great kindness you¡¯ve done for Lena!¡± After toasting Lucas, Ethan downed the full ss of white wine in one go. Lena also raised a ss of wine with a grateful expression on her face and said with a smile, ¡°Lucas, thank you so much! You¡¯ve truly saved my life. If not for the fact that you¡¯re already married, I would have wanted to give myself to you in thanks!¡± Lena said jokingly. Lucas smiled slightly. ¡°You two are being too polite. It¡¯s all just a coincidence. Besides, Miss Lena is Cheyenne¡¯s best friend. I naturally won¡¯t leave her in the lurch.¡± Ethanughed out loud, ¡°Mr. Gray, you coincidentally saved my daughter¡¯s life during both incidents. You two are really fated! Come, I¡¯ll toast you again!¡± Although Lena was smiling, she wasn¡¯t genuinely happy. Instead, she seemed a little despondent and resigned.?Hah, what am I feeling lost about? She knew from the start that Lucas had been helping her only because she was Cheyenne¡¯s close friend. With a self-deprecating smile, Lena raised the ss of wine in her hand and covered the feelings of indignation within her. Since the time that Lucas had rescued her by pulling her into his arms to save her from the fatal impact of the speeding motorcycle, she found a strong sense of peace in his embrace. She had never been attracted to any man in the past twenty years of her life, and the only time she fell in love was with her best friend¡¯s husband. She knew she shouldn¡¯t be doing this, but she couldn¡¯t control her feelings. Even though she had desperately suppressed these feelings in her heart, she would always think of him from time to time, unable to forget him at all. About a week or so ago, she had suddenly encountered another crisis in LA that put her life in danger, and Lucas had once again appeared by her side like a deity from heaven. He had once again saved her from the brink of death. Since then, she could no longer suppress her feelings! She had suffered two death crises. Lucas had saved her once in Orange County and once in LA, a ce they both rarely went to, so she believed that fate had brought them together. Unfortunately, Lucas cared only about his wife, Cheyenne. He didn¡¯t like her at all. Even if he helped her, it was only because she was Cheyenne¡¯s best friend. How pathetic!?Lena had a bitter smile. Both men at the other side of the dining table didn¡¯t notice Lena¡¯s emotions. Ethan gleefully toasted Lucas while speaking to him. He had always wanted to find an opportunity to get closer to Lucas, and the meal today was the best opportunity. After three rounds of toasting, Ethan suddenly said, ¡°That woman from the Taylor family definitely won¡¯t let the matter rest since she got humiliated today. The Taylors are very protective of their children. You have to be careful!¡± He continued, ¡°Of course, if the Taylors really dare to deal with you, the Sawyers will be the first to stand by your side. Even if the Sawyers¡¯ lives are at stake, I won¡¯t let the Taylorsy a single finger on you!¡± Lucas said with a faint smile, ¡°I don¡¯t take the Taylors seriously, but now, I wish they¡¯lle looking for trouble with me sooner!¡± Chapter 498 - Cant Wait To Meet

Chapter 498: Can¡¯t Wait To Meet

The Ocean Bathhouse, which formerly belonged to the Taylors, was now still in Lucas¡¯s hands, and he had yet to find out the origins of those mysterious beauties. If he wasn¡¯t worried about alerting the Taylors and causing him to lose the clues, he would have long seized and destroyed a dirty family like the Taylors. Ethan naturally understood that Lucas had nothing to fear from the Taylors, given his background and strength. After some thought, he nheless reminded softly, ¡°Mr. Gray, the Taylors are actually not as simple as they seem on the surface. Although the Taylor family isn¡¯t the top family of the four major families in Orange County, and they even allowed me to take the title of being the richest person in Orange County, much of their power is hidden. And it¡¯s very likely that they¡¯re far more powerful than the Sawyers, Brookes, and Waces!¡± Lucas immediately thought of the mysterious organization that sent beautiful women to the Taylors. ¡°Is it because of the influence of that mysterious organization behind the Taylors?¡± Lucas asked with a frown. Ethan was surprised. ¡°Mr. Gray, do you also know about the organization behind the Taylors?¡± Lucas nodded. Bruce Hale had told him before that the mysterious organization had done a wless job in dealing with those trying to investigate them, and it had even deterred the Brookes and other families. This was why no one knew its exact identity even after so many years. ¡°Do you know where this mysterious organizationes from?¡± Lucas asked. Ethan shook his head regretfully. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find out, and they¡¯ve only ever had contact with the Taylors. The rest of us tried to investigate their details, but we all failed in the end and received a stern warning instead. In the past few years, this mysterious force has never appeared again. ¡°However, when I say that the Taylors¡¯ power shouldn¡¯t be underestimated, I mean that it very likely has something to do with this mysterious force behind them. For more than a decade, the Taylors were just a small second or third-rate family in Orange County, but they¡¯ve now be one of the four major families alongside us.¡± Ethan sighed. ¡°In fact, bing one of the four major families of Orange County is possible only with a certain power behind you. For example, the Waces managed to do so only because they are good friends with the Kingstons, from whom they¡¯ve received a lot of help. For my family, we¡¯ve also managed to rise to this level because of the help we got from Mr. Kennedy of the Huttons. As for the Brookes, it¡¯s because of their ancestors, so they had a head start. ¡°The Taylors are the only ones who started with a weak foundation and didn¡¯t have a clear supporter. The reason they managed to be one of the four major families is also due to the help of this mysterious force. Therefore, the power the Taylors have shown on the surface doesn¡¯t represent their true strength. ¡°So, Mr. Gray, you have to be very careful when dealing with the Taylors,¡± Ethan advised earnestly. After hearing Ethan¡¯s words, Lucas fell into deep thought. Among the four great families of Orange County, the Brookes were the only family that rose to be one of the four great families by relying entirely on their own strength and heritage. Ethan managed to get Chad¡¯s help only because they were longtime friends, and the rtionship between the Sawyers and Chad probably didn¡¯t have to be maintained with money and interests. Since the Waces obtained help from the Kingstons, the Waces probably also gave some benefits to the Kingstons, though they might not be much. Only the Taylors had risen to their current status with the help of the beauties whom the mysterious force had supplied to them. They were undoubtedly the most reliant on the organization, so they had to be giving arge portion of their profits over the years to the mysterious force. But even so, the Taylors were still able to firmly upy a position as one of the four major families, so the mysterious force was certainly of great help to them. This force definitely wouldn¡¯t only supply beautiful women to the Taylors. If this organization was also supporting several other families in other cities and even other states and likewise received a portion of their revenue, how terrifying would the wealth they had amassed over the years be? Previously, Lucas had conjectured that the mysterious organization behind the Taylors shouldn¡¯t be a wealthy family from San Francisco. And it was even likely to be one of the eight major families of DC because only a force of this size wasrge enough to handle such great financial profit! Lucas coted the information he had in his mind. But no matter how powerful this force really was, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be afraid at all, much less have any scruples about the Taylors because of it. Having spoken enough and eaten his fill, Lucas looked at the time to see that it was almost 9 p.m. He stood up and said goodbye to Ethan, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s stop here today!¡± ¡°Okay. Thank you for the honor, Mr. Gray! If you ever need me in the future, feel free to ask me. I am ready to risk life and limb at any time!¡± Ethan also hurriedly stood up with a smile and diligently sent Lucas to the entrance. After watching Lucas get inside his car and leave, he happily brought Lena home. Along the way, Ethan was in high spirits, as his meeting with Lucas was fruitful today and he had achieved his goals. Lucas was now closer to the Sawyers. Uh, at the very least, he was a lot less distant. However, in contrast to Ethan¡¯s cheery appearance, Lena was obviously much more silent than usual. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Lena? Are you not happy?¡± Ethan asked with concern. Lena shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m really happy too. I just¡­ feel a little tired.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Ethan didn¡¯t care too much about her attitude and merely instructed, ¡°You must contact Lucas more in the future. You know, he¡­¡± Halfway through his sentence, Ethan suddenly stopped. He had just momentarily forgotten that he had to keep the truth about Lucas being a Hutton under wraps for the time being, even though she was his daughter. He coughed and rephrased his words. ¡°Anyway, you and Lucas are about the same age, and you¡¯re close friends with Cheyenne too. You must get closer to him.¡± Lena nodded silently. Ethan suddenly thought of another idea and looked at the youthful and pretty Lena while thinking to himself that it would be wonderful if she could be with Lucas! Unfortunately, Lucas was already married. Ethan couldn¡¯t help letting out a long sigh. ¡°Ah, it would be great if you could have met Lucas a few years earlier!¡± Lena felt as if her heart had been stabbed by a knife.?Yeah, if I had met Lucas before Cheyenne did, that would be great¡­ Meanwhile, Lucas was driving home. When he reached the road leading to his pearlke vi, a figure suddenly dashed out and stopped in front of his car! Chapter 499 - Weak Descendant

Chapter 499: Weak Descendant

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Screech! Lucas mmed on the brakes, and the car came to an abrupt halt as the tires rubbed against the ground with an ear-piercing screech. This road led straight to his pearlke vi, so there shouldn¡¯t be anyone else on the road except for the owner of the vi, who was Lucas. Lucas looked at the ck figure blocking the road, stepped out of the car door, and said coldly with a hostile expression, ¡°I let you offst time. Do you have a death wish this time?¡± This road was the one closest to Lucas¡¯s family, so the fact that she chose to take action here immediately made Lucas develop a murderous intent toward her. ¡°I¡¯m not here to seek revenge on you. Return the deless Sword to me, and I¡¯ll leave immediately!¡± A woman¡¯s voice came from under the ck tight-fitting clothes. This woman was none other than the assassin Tristan had hired to kill Lucas on the summit of Caldo Mountain in LA. At the time, Lucas had let her off in the end because she held the deless Sword, which weighed 23 kilograms. He had merely knocked it out of her hand and confiscated it. He didn¡¯t expect this woman to rush to Orange County from LA to ask for the deless Sword from him. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you thest time we met that those who work for evil are not worthy of owning this sword left behind by a martyr of the Falcon Regiment! Get lost, or I can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll let you off this time!¡± Lucas roared angrily. The woman in ck stayed silent for two seconds before walking toward Lucas. ¡°My grandfather left this sword behind for me. You must return it to me!¡± Light shone on her face, revealing her features. Thest time they met, she had been wearing a mask, concealing her facepletely. But this time, her face was not covered, and Lucas could tell that she was probably around 27 or 28 years old. She wasn¡¯t very pretty, and her sharp and indifferent gaze, as well as her lips that were tightly pressed together, made her seem extremely cold. ¡°What if I don¡¯t give it to you? You should know very well that you are no match for me. Even if you try, you won¡¯t be able to snatch the deless Sword from me!¡± Lucas said coldly with raised brows. ¡°I will fight with all my might. I must get the deless Sword back even if it¡¯s at the expense of my life!¡± Then the woman charged straight at Lucas with a look of determination in her eyes. Just as she said, she went all out and tried to knock Lucas down to snatch the deless Sword back from him. Bang! She quickly threw a punch at Lucas, who raised his hand to catch it. When she tried to pull her hand back, she discovered that Lucas¡¯s strength was beyond her imagination as he grasped her fist tightly in his palm. When the woman in ck realized that she couldn¡¯t pull her hand back, her expression changed rapidly, and she quickly switched tactics. She raised her long and powerful leg that resembled a steel rod and then kicked Lucas. Bang! There was an exchange of blows, and Lucas caught the woman¡¯s ankle, rendering her immobile. With one hand and one foot caught tightly in ce, the woman finally maintained her bnce and didn¡¯t fall down. But she was now in an extremely awful position. ¡°Let go!¡± She couldn¡¯t break free from Lucas¡¯s restraint and could only curse at him furiously. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you long ago that you¡¯re no match for me and that you can¡¯t snatch your sword back from me! Come back to me when you¡¯re worthy of the deless Sword!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was icy cold, and his face was expressionless as he pushed the woman backward. The woman in ck was caught off guard and flung several meters away. But she ignored the pain from falling onto the ground and immediately got up. She then continued to shout at Lucas, ¡°I told you, I want you to return the sword to me!¡± After Lucas effortlessly threw her away again, the woman still stubbornly got up from the ground with her hand clutching her gut, as she had yet to recover from the previous injuries. But she still wanted Lucas to return the sword to her. Lucas suddenly asked, ¡°Did you just say that the deless Sword was given to you by your grandfather? What is your name?¡± ¡°My name is Skr Creed,¡± the woman in ck said through gritted teeth. Lucas remembered that the martyr of the Falcon Regiment who had used the deless Sword back then indeed also had thest name Creed. In that case, it seemed that this woman in front of him was indeed the heir of this martyr. But Lucas was not going to return the sword to her just because of this. ¡°Back then, your grandfather was a heroic martyr of the Falcon Regiment in Calico, and this deless Sword of his was used to kill the enemy. Unlike him, you¡¯ve be someone else¡¯sckey, and you even tried to use this sword to kill someone innocent! ¡°That¡¯s why I said that you aren¡¯t worthy of this sword at all! ¡°I told youst time that you coulde to me when you could one day figure out the significance of this sword and be worthy of it! You can leave now!¡± Lucas spoke sternly. He would never leave the items left by martyrs in the hands of their descendants who got up to malicious acts that would tarnish the prestige of the martyrs and that of their items. Skr¡¯s body stiffened, and she bit her lip tightly with a somewhat ashamed and miserable expression. ¡°I¡­¡± She seemed to want to say something. But after only saying one word, she once again tightly shut her mouth. Lucas felt that, in a certain sense, she was not quite the same as she was when they had met before. After thinking about it, he suddenly asked, ¡°Do you have any difficult reasons? Or is there some problem you can¡¯t solve? If you tell me, I might be able to help you once on ount of your grandfather.¡± However, after Skr heard this, her face moved a little. But she didn¡¯t speak anymore and instead turned around to leave quickly! ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Lucas roared. ¡°Don¡¯t you want this sword anymore?¡± Skr slowed down a little and said in pain, ¡°You¡¯re right. The current me is indeed not worthy of this sword!¡± With that, she quickly dashed forward a few steps. Just as her figure was about to vanish into the dark shadows of the night¡­ Whoosh!? A wave of unusual footsteps suddenly rang out all around, and several people d in ck suddenly appeared and surrounded Skr. ¡°Hah, Skr Creed, where else do you want to run off to now? You¡¯ve made us look for you for such a long time. You¡¯re really something!¡± Skr¡¯s expression changed drastically, and she immediately put her guard up. ¡°You people are really everywhere! I¡¯ve already told you before that I¡¯ve already quit. I have nothing more to do with you guys!¡± Skr hollered with a cold expression. ¡°Hah, you want to quit just like that? Dream on! The chief has already instructed us to tell you that he will give you another chance if youe back with us obediently. If you don¡¯t know any better, the only thing you¡¯ll face is death!¡± the leader, a man d in ck, said coldly. ¡°Give up! I won¡¯t go back there even if I die!¡± Skr yelled furiously through gritted teeth. ¡°Hmph, since you¡¯re so stubborn, prepare to die!¡± The leader issued an order, and five people around him immediately gathered to surround Skr. As soon as Skr moved her foot, she dashed in a certain direction to break free. Unfortunately, she had just been seriously injured, and her wounds had yet to recover. Now that she was outnumbered, she didn¡¯t have a chance to escape at all. Soon, she was pinned to the ground. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Will youe back with us or not?¡± the man in ck interrogated in a condescending manner. Skr shut her eyes tightly. ¡°I won¡¯t return even if I have to die!¡± ¡°Okay, you said it yourself. I¡¯ll make your wishe true now!¡± The leader roared and struck at the back of Skr¡¯s head with the side of his palm. They were all martial arts experts, and the strike would directly shatter the back of Skr¡¯s head, as well as her spine! ¡°Stop it!¡± A thunderous shout suddenly filled the air! Chapter 500 - Bloodbath Late at Night

Chapter 500: Bloodbath Late at Night

These few people in ck had long discovered that there was a passerby nearby. But they didn¡¯t care because most passersby would immediately be frightened after feeling their murderous aura and leave far, far away. But to their surprise, this passerby not only did not have the self-awareness to get lost, but he even had the audacity to tell them to stop. After hearing the loud shout, Skr immediately opened her eyes with a fleeting trace of surprise in them.?Why is he¡­ ¡°Punk, you¡¯d better not poke your nose into our business, or you¡¯ll die without even knowing why!¡± A man in ck sneered and threatened Lucas. Lucas stood still without moving and said expressionlessly, ¡°Let go of her, and I¡¯ll let you leave safely. Otherwise, you¡¯ll all die!¡± The men in ck were stunned. Then they realized that the young man in front of them wasn¡¯t a brave and righteous passerby but awless and arrogant punk! ¡°Haha, where did this foole from?¡± ¡°How dare you threaten us? You said we¡¯ll die? Punk, you must have a death wish!¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen someone so impudent. I suddenly want to y with him. I must rip off his limbs and head and kick it like a ball!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so eager to kill him. This punk doesn¡¯t seem too old, so his organs should be able to fetch a high price. We¡¯ll kill him after we sell his organs!¡± ¡°Psht, he¡¯ll die by the time we sell the organs. That¡¯s no fun at all!¡± The few men started discussing what to do with Lucas¡¯s organs,pletely treating him as a dead person. Lucas sneered. ¡°You people are thinking of touching me with those lousy skills of yours? I¡¯m afraid you aren¡¯t enough! I repeat. Let go of this woman, and I¡¯ll let you leave in one piece.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too arrogant. Who do you think you are?¡± The leader sneered. ¡°You want to save this woman, huh? I¡¯m going to p her to death in front of you!¡± Then he once again smacked Skr¡¯s neck with his palm! ¡°Pfft!¡± Just before the ck man¡¯s palm was about to strike Skr¡¯s neck, a silver ray of light darted out like a shooting star, and a bullet-like object immediately pierced through the middle of the man in ck¡¯s wrist. ¡°Ah!¡± The man cried out in pain and instantly lost strength in his wrist. He could no longer cause any harm to Skr, who was on the ground. The few people around them were stunned by this sudden twist in events. When they heard the sounds of metal nking, they came to a sudden realization that the item that pierced through their captain¡¯s wrist was not a bullet but a coin! ¡°Punk, how dare you attack him?!¡± another man shouted. At this moment, Skr opened her eyes. Truth be told, she thought she was really going to die just now. When she felt the strong winding at the back of her neck, she was already prepared for death. But the sudden scream, the sound of metalnding on the ground, and themotion caused by the men in ck all told her clearly that she had been saved! The person who saved her was the same person who had just fought with her! ¡°Punk, report your name! Who exactly are you?¡± The man in ck held his bleeding right wrist pierced by the coin while clenching his teeth and glowering at Lucas. Lucas raised his eyebrows. Most people would be overwhelmed with immense pain when they received such an injury, and very few would be able to remain so calm and only let out a short cry of pain at the start. This was enough to show that he definitely wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. Lucas guessed that these people probably came from the same organization as Skr did. However, Skr suddenly wanted out of the organization for some reason, but they weren¡¯t willing to let her go, so they sent people to capture her. As for the chief these men in ck had mentioned, Lucas reckoned that he was probably the head of one of the organization¡¯s branches. Lucas nced at them calmly and said in a frigidlyposed tone, ¡°You¡¯re not qualified to know who I am! You just need to remember that if you still don¡¯t get lost in a minute, you will have to stay here forever!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t take them seriously at all, immediately making these men in ck greatly agitated. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re too arrogant! Bear this in mind. As long as you offend the Peerless Martial Association, we¡¯ll hunt you down to the ends of the world!¡± the captain of the men in ck roared resentfully through gritted. ¡°Peerless Martial Association?¡± Lucas raised his brows. It was his second time hearing the name Peerless Martial Association. Thest time he had heard this name was during the interrogation of the person who killed Tristan in LA. ¡°Yes! We have branches all over the world, and there are dozens of branches in the US alone. Even if you have some skills, you will never be a match for our entire Peerless Martial Association! ¡°This woman is a traitor of the Peerless Martial Association, and we¡¯re just getting rid of her as a matter of course. Who are you to intervene?¡± ¡°Hmph, how dare you injure the wrist of our captain? Now, no one in the association will spare you! Just wait to fight to the death with us!¡± The other men in ck smirked and looked at Lucas mockingly. Lucas sighed and said rather regretfully, ¡°It seems like it¡¯s impossible for us to make peace with each other, huh?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Punk, just wait to die! You guys, hold this woman down and stop her from leaving. The rest of you,e with me! I don¡¯t believe he can handle all of us alone!¡± A man in ck roared and rushed at Lucas with the remaining three! A trace of anxiety finally appeared on Skr¡¯s face. Although she and Lucas were enemies before, and Lucas had snatched away the only item her grandfather had left to her, be it in LA or during the fight just now, Lucas didn¡¯t kill her, showing her mercy several times. Now, Lucas was even going against the people of the Peerless Martial Association to save her! She wasn¡¯t someone who didn¡¯t have any morals, and her grandfather had always taught her to be grateful to those who helped her. So Skr was now extremely anxious. When she saw the four people quickly surrounding Lucas, she wanted to rush forward to help him. But unfortunately, she was held down firmly by two people and couldn¡¯t break free from them at all! ¡°You¡­ you won¡¯t be able to fight them alone! Run away quickly!¡± Skr shouted. Reminding Lucas to flee while he still could was the only thing she could do now! She was well aware of the abilities and strength of these men in ck. Each one of them was almost as powerful as she was before she was injured. Although Lucas¡¯sbat skills did seem to be better than hers, he was now besieged, and she was certain that he had no chance of winning! The only way to survive was to run as far away as possible! But less than two seconds after Skr¡¯s shout, the emotion in her gaze turned from worry to extreme shock! The four men in ck charging at Lucas suddenly froze and then copsed onto the ground. Immediately afterward, puddles of red blood gushed out from the bodies of these people, staining the ground red. They actually all died without even touching Lucas! Chapter 501 - Killing Seven People in Seconds

Chapter 501: Killing Seven People in Seconds

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Skr widened her eyes in utter shock! As a former member of the Peerless Martial Association, she naturally knew that the four dead people were not ordinary people but martial arts experts. But Lucas had killed such powerful opponents in seconds! This was enough to show that Lucas¡¯s strength was far beyond her imagination! It was simply inhuman¡­ The two men in ck responsible for guarding Skr and the leader with the wounded wrist all had drastic changes of expressions. They couldn¡¯t describe the shock in their heats in words! At the same time, an intense sense of fear and horror toward Lucas surged in their hearts. Their strengths were all almost on par. Since Lucas could easily kill their four peers effortlessly in merely a second, he could of course easily kill them too! When they saw Lucas looking at them, their hearts trembled violently, and they subconsciously cowered with timid gazes. ¡°You¡¯re really something, punk. Let¡¯s withdraw for now!¡± The leader of the men in ck quickly thought things through and then shouted at hispanions beside him. With such a powerful enemy, they could no longer worry about killing Skr. They thought it was better to retreat first and then find an opportunity to kill the two of them! The few of them moved quickly, wanting to retreat immediately. ¡°Did I say you could leave?¡± Lucas looked at them expressionlessly as a few shiny coins appeared between his fingers once again. The pupils of the three men in ck constricted, and one of them immediately yelled, ¡°What else do you want? We won¡¯t catch this woman today!¡± Lucas smiled mirthlessly. ¡°It¡¯s already toote.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, the coins in his hand immediately darted out, and the shiny metal surface of the coins reflected the panic-stricken faces of the three men trying to dodge. But the next instant, the coins urately prated through the throats of these three people. Three jets of blood spurted into the air as the three men in ck froze in ce. A few secondster, they copsed onto the ground with loud thuds and could no longer move. Blood gradually spread across the ground with an intense iron odor. Skr sat on the ground in a daze, staring at the corpses on the ground. All of them were killed in seconds! It was incredible! Skr¡¯s jaw dropped as she looked at Lucas in disbelief. She moved her lips, but she couldn¡¯t say a single word. The power of this man in front of her far exceeded her imagination! Seven experts from the Peerless Martial Association were actually killed in seconds without any way to resist! Initially, Skr should have felt terrified and horrified. But Lucas killed these men only for the sake of saving her, so she was feeling extremelyplicated. ¡°Uh¡­ I have to tell you that these people are from the Peerless Martial Association, and the other members are definitely going to find out. When the timees, you¡¯ll be in huge trouble.¡± Lucas remained unmoved. ¡°So what? If they reallye looking for me, then I don¡¯t mind making the Peerless Martial Association disappear from this world!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Skr looked at Lucas with a dumbfounded expression, wondering if he was joking or being serious. The Peerless Martial Association wasn¡¯t a small organization but a behemoth that had gathered countless martial arts experts and was in control of various forces all over the world! The young man in front of her, who seemed to be only in his twenties, actually said that he could destroy the entire Peerless Martial Association! If she hadn¡¯t heard it herself, she would definitely not believe such arrogant words. But she now believed that this young man wasn¡¯t an ordinary person who liked blowing his trumpet. In other words, he was being serious! Skr was so astounded that she forgot she was still sitting on the ground. Lucas nced at her without saying anything and then returned to his Jaguar to retrieve the deless Sword. He tossed it to Skr, and itnded on the ground with a ng. ¡°I¡¯ll return the sword to you for now. But if I find out that you use it to get up to nonsense and ruin your grandfather¡¯s reputation, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Skr looked at the long deless Sword inserted into the ground in front of her in a daze before looking at Lucas quietly with aplicated gaze. ¡°If you really want to break free from the Peerless Martial Association,e look for me at the Stardust Corporation tomorrow morning.¡± Then Lucas turned around and drove away. Skr stared at the light from the front of Lucas¡¯s car shining on the road ahead, forming a ray of extraordinarily bright light in the darkness. Gradually, the light drifted away. She couldn¡¯t stand up for a long time. When the bright light was no longer visible, Skr stood up and touched the thick and heavy deless Sword in front of her. She said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t know your name yet, but I¡¯m really grateful to you!¡± After driving the car far away, Lucas immediately made a call to arrange for people to take care of the corpses and bloodstains on the road, lest others became scared, resulting in unnecessary chaos. As for why he suddenly wanted to help Skr, one reason was that she was the granddaughter of Tom Creed, a martyr of the Falcon Regimen. Second, her persistence and determination had gained his appreciation. Third¡­ The reason Skr agreed to assassinate Lucas on Caldo Mountain was probably rted to the Peerless Martial Association. Moreover, he had a better impression of her when he saw that she would rather die than go back to the organization to help it do evil. At the very least, he reckoned that her character shouldn¡¯t be that bad since she was aware that her actions were wrong and wanted to turn over a new leaf. So he might as well help her. In addition, if possible, he would also have another helper. Stanley had now gone to DC with Flynn, and Lucas nowcked manpower. If Skr was willing to help him, he could nurture and train her. Soon after Lucas arrived home, he received a call from Jordan informing him that the traces had been cleaned up. Lucas responded and hung up. Then he picked up Amelia in his arms to tell her a bedtime story. The night passed silently. When Lucas went to the Stardust Corporation early the next morning, he saw Skr waiting at the building. Although she was still dressed in ck, her clothes were much looser than before and didn¡¯t attract much attention. As soon as she saw Lucas, her eyes lit up, and she immediately walked toward him. Lucas brought her to the chairman¡¯s office on the top floor. ¡°Have you thought about whether you want to break free from the Peerless Martial Association or not?¡± Skr nodded firmly. ¡°Yes! However, it¡¯s easy to enter the Peerless Martial Association but extremely difficult to leave.. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been chased by those people they sent yesterday. Can you really solve this matter?¡± Chapter 502 - Unexpected Clues

Chapter 502: Unexpected Clues

Lucas could hear the expectant tone in Skr¡¯s voice, but there was also a tinge of obvious anxiousness in it as she looked at him nervously. He raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°Do you not believe that I have the ability to do so?¡± Skr pursed her lips, but she nevertheless said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you know about the Peerless Martial Association, but it¡¯s actually a colossal organization. There is not only an enormous amount of experts, but it also has forces and branches all over the world. They¡¯re not to be trifled with. My abilities aren¡¯t considered extraordinary, and there are many people much better at martial arts than I am. So even the eight major families of DC are trying their best to cooperate with the Peerless Martial Association. They don¡¯t dare to be hostile to them either. ¡°So¡­¡± Looking at Lucas with aplicated expression, she said cautiously, ¡°Going toe-to-toe against the Peerless Martial Association will bring about a huge tragedy if you¡¯re not careful. I have to inform you about this. Actually, I¡¯m very grateful to you for saving my life yesterday, so you don¡¯t have to¡­¡± Before Skr could finish speaking, Lucas interrupted her. ¡°It¡¯s just a Peerless Martial Association. It¡¯s no big deal. What I saidst night still stands. If theye to me on their own, I don¡¯t mind just destroying them altogether!¡± Lucas was not being arrogant. In fact, Jordan had already found some information about the Peerless Martial Association and sent it to him. Although the Peerless Martial Association indeed had a lot of forces and branches all over the country and even the world, there were actually not that many experts in this world. Those on par with Lucas were few and far between. If there was really such a powerful opponent, Lucas would actually be a little interested. Skr was once again shocked by Lucas¡¯s assertiveness and confidence. But the strange thing was that even though it sounded extremely far-fetched and unbelievable, she didn¡¯t have the slightest doubt that the man in front of her could really do such a thing! She stood still and pondered about it for a moment before suddenly saying, ¡°I want to know how you know about the deless Sword. Did you and my grandfather¡­ know each other?¡± Previously, on Caldo Mountain, Lucas had kicked the deless Sword toward her, and while doing so, he had mentioned its name and said that it was an item left behind by a martyr. Skr was very concerned about this. A trace of reminiscence and nostalgia appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes before he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve never met the senior who wielded the deless Sword before, but I¡¯m aware of his name and his heroic deeds because I¡¯m from Calico just like him. He¡¯s considered arade of mine whom I¡¯ve never met. Do you understand now?¡± A look of surprise appeared in Skr¡¯s eyes. She didn¡¯t expect the young man in front of her to also be from Calico, this mysterious and sacred ce. She immediately felt a little more affection for Lucas, and she rxed too. The decision she had been pondering over for a night became clearer. ¡°I was wrong about assassinating you previously, and I¡¯m very sorry for it! You saved me yesterday and even thought of helping me. I hope that I can stay by your side and be at your disposal!¡± Skr suddenly said firmly. Lucas was slightly surprised. Although he did think about recruiting Skr, he didn¡¯t expect her to take the initiative to pledge allegiance to him so soon. Lucas naturally didn¡¯t decline and merely asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on with you and those peoplest night? Why did they say you¡¯re a traitor and want to take you back with them?¡± A touch of remorse appeared on Skr¡¯s face, and she didn¡¯t bother hiding it at all. ¡°For some reason, I joined the Peerless Martial Association a few years ago. I initially thought that it was just a loose organization that held sparring sessions between people skilled in martial arts. However, I didn¡¯t expect to have gradually discovered that the scale of the Peerless Martial Association is so enormous. Furthermore, there are lots of sordid businesses going on, which includes assassination. ¡°I initially didn¡¯t want to do these kinds of things, but I already mistakenly got myself into trouble, so I couldn¡¯t leave easily. I had no choice but to take on some tasks, lest they continuedpelling me. One of those tasks was the assassination you faced on Caldo Mountain that day. ¡°But that night, your warning awakened me and made me realize that my cowardice of not daring to resist was simply helping viins do evil. If myte grandfather knew about it, he would probably be ashamed of me!¡± Skr smiled self-deprecatingly. ¡°In short, from that day on, I made up my mind that I had to break away from the Peerless Martial Association and leave with a clean te so that I wouldn¡¯t disgrace the reputation of the deless Sword my grandfather left behind! ¡°However, the Peerless Martial Association has very strict management of its members, and I couldn¡¯t leave that easily. I had no choice but to leave on my own, but it was seen as a betrayal of the Peerless Martial Association. That¡¯s why they sent people to capture me and take me back. If it wasn¡¯t for your help yesterday, I¡¯m afraid that I would have be a corpse left in the wilderness.¡± Lucas nodded and continued to ask, ¡°Do you remember them saying that the chief won¡¯t let you off if you don¡¯t return? Who is the chief?¡± Skr quickly exined, ¡°The Peerless Martial Association has several forces all over the world, and those people who came to kill mest night but ended up getting killed by you are from the branch in San Francisco. ¡°In addition, there are other branches in various cities and counties. In each branch, there are other subordinate organizations. The person in charge of each branch is called a chief and directly under the orders of the president of the Peerless Martial Association. Of course, because the Peerless Martial Association ces great emphasis on strength, each chief is very strong.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t care much about this and instead asked, ¡°The Peerless Martial Association forced you to do some disgusting things like assassinating others. Was there anything else?¡± Skr nodded and said honestly, ¡°Yes, apart from assassination, there are many other terrible things. As long as it¡¯s a task that offers easy money, the Peerless Martial Association will basically agree to it. They¡¯re also secretly supporting a lot of powerful families and forces. ¡°Oh, right, and they also ask members to go around to solicit beautiful women and send them to powerful families and forces as social escorts used in exchange for benefits. Although I haven¡¯t done such a thing, I¡¯ve witnessed it several times.¡± Chapter 503 - Person Knocking on the Door

Chapter 503: Person Knocking on the Door

After Skr spoke, a look of guilt and shame appeared on her face. She had once been in such a filthy organization, and she had never done anything to stop those malicious things, making her despise herself greatly. At the same time, a trace of gratitude and joy also rose in her heart. If not for Lucas, she would probably still be trapped in that mire-like abyss of filth until shepletely lost herself. Lucas was surprised to hear Skr¡¯s words. The supply of beautiful women to powerful families by the mysterious organization was the very thing that he had been wanting to investigate. Although Bruce and Ethan had both said that they had sent many experts to track down the mysterious organization that sent beautiful women to the Taylors, none of their investigations was fruitful, and they had even been warned. Since then, they didn¡¯t dare to pursue this matter again. However, since Lucas learned about the Taylors, he had been determined to investigate the matter. But after he acquired the Ocean Bathhouse, the mysterious organization supplying beauties never appeared again, so he couldn¡¯t find a clue even if he wanted to investigate. Soter, Lucas had arranged for people to keep an eye on the Taylors¡¯ actions to try to find if they still kept in contact. He wanted to search along the clues to get closer to the mysterious organization. But it was unknown whether it was because they acted too carefully or that the organization had temporarily abandoned the Taylors. Lucas¡¯s subordinates had been keeping an eye for a long time, but they didn¡¯t manage to find any useful information. Now, he suddenly obtained a possible clue from Skr. ¡°What¡¯s the address of that branch?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°It¡¯s in San Francisco.¡± Lucas pondered for a moment and said, ¡°Stay in Orange County for the time being. No one can take you away here. After some time, I will personally go to the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s San Francisco branch to settle this matter.¡± Astounded, Skr hurriedly said, ¡°No, you¡¯d better not go! The chief of the San Francisco branch has solicited experts from all over the state, and many experts are there. Even if you¡¯re powerful, you¡¯ll be at a huge disadvantage if you¡¯re besieged by numerous experts at once! ¡°Moreover, even if you can deal with the people of the San Francisco branch, such a serious matter will definitely be reported to the headquarters of the Peerless Martial Association. When the timees, all the experts of the hundreds of branches around the world will besiege you. No matter how powerful you are, you won¡¯t be able to handle it!¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this matter another time.¡± Although he hated the behavior of the Peerless Martial Association and was determined to deal with it, Lucas knew that its forces and influence were widespread, and the people of the various organizations within the association would amount to an enormous force. Even if Lucas had the best martial arts in the world and didn¡¯t need to be afraid of anyone, there was no way he would be able to deal with the entire Peerless Martial Association that was tens of thousands of people strong. Moreover, Lucas was no longer alone and single. He now had an Achilles¡¯ heel¡ªhis wife, Cheyenne, and daughter, Amelia. So he definitely wouldn¡¯t do something as reckless as killing the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s San Francisco branch. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t be rash about this and could only leave it for the future. Skr stopped talking because she knew that Lucas was a decisive person with his own ideas. Since she had already pledged allegiance to him, she just had to obey his instructions and act ordingly. This was due to her faith in Lucas after being saved by him anding to her senses. ¡ª¡ª In the apartment on the fifth floor of Block 26, Golden Garden Estate¡­ It was the apartment William was renting. Karen was sprawled across the couch in the living room and snacking on some watermelon while watching TV all by herself and switching channels out of boredom. Since she moved to this apartment, she had been full of resentment toward William for forcing her to move out of the spacious and luxurious vi to this tiny and cramped rented apartment. Besides, Karen had never worked a day in the past two decades or so and was currently unemployed. She wasn¡¯t concerned that William had been leaving home early anding homete every day, nor did she bother to do any household chores. She didn¡¯t even make the effort to cook her own meals and instead ordered delivery. Whenever she saw William, she wouldpletely ignore him and treat him as if he didn¡¯t exist. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Karen grunted in annoyance and slowly walked over to open the door in her slippers, only to see a familiar figure standing outside. The expression on her face immediately changed from impatience to surprise, and she greeted her warmly. ¡°You¡¯re here. Quick, quicklye in, Nikki!¡± The person at the door was none other than Nikki. Nikki entered the apartment with Karen, and she immediately felt her senses being assaulted by an extremely foul odor. When she saw the garbage, takeout boxes, and food scraps strewn all over the table, she couldn¡¯t help wanting to turn around and leave. She forcibly resisted the urge and walked in with Karen, who was pulling her in enthusiastically. Before Karen sat down again, Nikki said impatiently, ¡°Aunt Karen,st time you said you had a way to deal with Lucas Gray. Is this true?¡± Since Dn¡¯s wedding in LA a week or so ago, there had been many great happenings. Damon, the head of the Parkers from LA, and Matthew, the head of the Bensons from San Francisco, had both wanted to deal with Lucas. But they had been stopped by Edmund Cole. She didn¡¯t know how Lucas got lucky enough to have happened to save Edmund, the head of the Coles, which was why Edmund chose to stand on Lucas¡¯s side. Nikki and Justin, who had disrespected Lucas, were immediately used as a warning to others. Not only had they embarrassed themselves in front of so many top LA families, but they had even offended the Coles and lost the help of the Morgans. All of a sudden, everyone shunned the Herons like the gue. The Herons were suppressed by the wealthy families wanting to please the Coles and Lucas and almost went bankrupt. Furthermore, everyone avoided Nikki and no longer wanted to have anything to do with the Herons, for fear of being implicated. Thus, Nikki¡¯s hatred for Lucas was even more intense, and she only wanted Lucas to die now! This incident had also dealt the Turners a severe blow. Initially, Eddie was extremely proud of having so many big shots attending his grandson¡¯s wedding. He had even wanted to take the opportunity to build some connections with them, in hopes that it would give the Turners a boost. Unfortunately, all his hopes were dashed, and the Turners even became the biggestughing stock of LA. Still, the Turners were originally a family of farmers and didn¡¯t own anypanies, so they weren¡¯t that affected. But all the Turners knew that their hopes of bing wealthy werepletely ruined. Karen put all the me on Lucas. If not for him, how could the Turners have suffered such embarrassment? She wouldn¡¯t have been scolded by her family, who almost severed ties with her. The two people who hated Lucas hit it off well and immediately got together. So when Nikki came over today, she eagerly asked Karen about it because Karen had told her before that she had a way to get Lucas killed. ¡°Aunt Karen, how exactly are you going to get him killed? Hurry up and tell me!¡± Nikki asked eagerly, full of hatred. Chapter 504 - Malicious Plot

Chapter 504: Malicious Plot

At the mention of Lucas, Karen immediately gritted her teeth. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ve wanted to kill him a long time ago! But he now has the protection of the Coles and seems quite skilled in martial arts too. Even if we get someone to kill him, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be of much help. That¡¯s why I asked you toe over. If we work together, we¡¯ll definitely make him die!¡± This was exactly what Nikki wanted. She quickly asked, ¡°What solution do you have? Aunt Karen, quickly tell me!¡± The thought of the impending death of the culprit of her suffering made Nikki¡¯s face twist into a grimace of hate. Karen said with a sinister expression, ¡°I¡¯ve naturally thought of the best solution. But before that, we have to think of a way to kill another person!¡± Nikki was a little surprised and asked doubtfully, ¡°Who? Are you referring to the bodyguard or expert who has been following Lucas around?¡± Karen shook her head and said slowly, ¡°No, it¡¯s William Carter!¡± William Carter? Isn¡¯t he her husband, the father of Cheyenne and Charlotte?!?Nikki was so astonished that she couldn¡¯t utter a single word.?She actually said that we have to kill her husband first?! ¡°Wh-what exactly is going on here?!¡± After a while, Nikki barely managed to suppress her shock. ¡°Why do you want to kill him? Besides, the person we want to kill is Lucas Gray. What does it have to do with William Carter?¡± She was really puzzled as to why Karen would suddenly want to kill her husband. Besides, how would William¡¯s death even impact Lucas? She really couldn¡¯t understand what Karen was thinking. Karen said with a ruthless and menacing expression, ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. There¡¯s a great connection between the two!¡± She looked at Nikki. ¡°Well, you now know what kind of ce I¡¯m living in, huh?¡± Nikkie scanned her surroundings, the messy and filthy rented apartment, and then shrugged without saying anything. What else could she say about such a horrid ce? Karen continued, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to tell you the truth. Lucas Gray previously saved the life of Ethan Sawyer. So in order to repay him, he showered Lucas Gray with loads of expensive gifts, including an extremely luxurious vi, which I used to live in before moving here. ¡°But God knows what happened to that idiot William¡¯s brain. He insisted on moving out of the vi and into this shabby and tiny apartment. Not only is he stupid, but he even forced me to move out with him! I bet he¡¯s determined not to let me live a good life! ¡°In that case, I no longer have to care about our marriage. Once he dies, I can just move back to the vi! This way, I will have the opportunity to be in more contact with that bastard Lucas Gray. It will then be much easier to kill him secretly!¡± Karen had an evil expression on her face as she talked about her scheme. She had spent decades with William, but she had never gotten to enjoy any luxury, so she saw no reason for her to suffer with him. Besides, he had tried threatening her with a divorce several times before, which was simply atrocious! As long as William was dead, Karen would no longer have to worry about his threats, and she would be able to enjoy the things she should have enjoyed with peace of mind. Once William was dead, she would be a widow, and she was confident that Cheyenne, Charlotte, and Lucas wouldn¡¯t throw her out of the vi regardless of how overboard she was in the future. To her, William was just an eyesore and a stumbling block! Nikki cocked her head to the side. ¡°Aunt Karen, are you saying that the two of us should get rid of Uncle William so that you can take the opportunity to move back into the vi they¡¯re living in before finding the opportunity to take action against Lucas Gray? But if your motive is just to return to the vi to find a chance toe into contact with him, there shouldn¡¯t be a need to kill Uncle William, right?¡± With a delirious expression on her face, Karen eximed, ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand. That despicable man William Carter is bonkers and refuses to let me move back into the vi. He even threatened to divorce me if I did so! So I have no choice but to do this!¡± The hatred and menace on her face made Nikki¡¯s heart shudder. In order to go back to living in the luxurious vi, Karen didn¡¯t mind killing her husband. She was truly ruthless! It was as if this was Nikki¡¯s first time seeing Karen. She found Karen¡¯s supposedly familiar face somewhat unfamiliar and terrifying. But Nikki didn¡¯t particrly care about it. After all, they were now on the same side and shared themon goal of killing Lucas. In fact, Karen¡¯s character had nothing much to do with her. At worst, she would keep a distance from her in the future. ¡°But Aunt Karen, how do you n to kill William Carter?¡± Nikki asked. Karen immediately smiled. ¡°That¡¯s why I need your help with this, Nikki!¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m just a young woman. How can I help you? Besides, you and he spend time together every day, so you should have more opportunities to take action against him.¡± Nikki kept trying to turn her down tactfully, but she immediately became wary.?Surely this evil aunt of mine isn¡¯t intending to ask me to kill William Carter, right? She wasn¡¯t that foolish as tomit such a crime! Karen grinned and quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I just need you to give me some money. Leave the rest to me!¡± ¡°You need money? Are you thinking of hiring a killer¡­?¡± Nikki immediately asked. Karen nodded and said sinisterly, ¡°That¡¯s right. After all, we¡¯re both women, and it¡¯s really difficult for us to kill a man ourselves. Besides, if William dies at home, I will be the first one suspected, so we can only hire an outsider to do it. Of course, this will require a lot of money. ¡°Nikki, as you can see, I¡¯m living in a tiny and shabby apartment, and I don¡¯t have much savings. I¡¯m really poor, and ording to the information I¡¯ve inquired, we¡¯ll need at least a hundred and fifty grand to hire a reliable killer. I¡¯m counting on you!¡± Only then did Nikki understand the reason Karen had asked her to join forces. It turned out that she needed money to hire a killer. ¡°Got it, Aunt Karen. But the Herons have been having a hard timetely, and the Heron Corp. is about to go bankrupt. How can I possibly take out so much money?¡± Nikki was naturally not too happy about this. Karen took her hand and persuaded glibly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Nikki. Like I just said, Lucas Gray has received lots of mary gifts from Ethan Sawyer. As soon as I return to the vi, I can immediately return all the money you lend me! ¡°Moreover, as soon as Lucas Gray dies, those big families in LA will naturally stop suppressing the Herons in order to please the Coles. When the timees, your family will naturally be able to get through this crisis. You can have as much money as you want in the future. ¡°By then, you¡¯ll get the most credit for this, and your grandfather and your father will definitely be impressed by you. All you have to do is cover a part of the cost in advance. Soon, you will be able to recover it and obtain tremendous benefits. Wouldn¡¯t that be great?¡± What Karen said was really convincing. At the very least, Nikki was really tempted. Chapter 505 - Car Accident

Chapter 505: Car ident

Yeah, I just need to take out a hundred and fifty thousand in advance. Once William Carter dies, Aunt Karen will be able to pay me back soon. Once Lucas Gray dies, I¡¯ll not only be able to take revenge, but I can also help the Herons tide through this crisis. It¡¯s indeed a good deal. While she was carefully calcting the gains and losses in her head, Karen added, ¡°Of course, if you have a better idea that will save us from spending so much money, that¡¯ll be much better.¡± Nikki quickly thought through the n in her head and discovered that Karen¡¯s n was indeed feasible. She really couldn¡¯t think of a way to get a person killed quietly without arousing any suspicion. However¡­ ¡°But if you have to hire an assassin to kill William, then how can you guarantee that you will be able to kill Lucas Gray quietly after returning to the vi?¡± Nikki quickly asked when she sensed something amiss. Not flustered at all, Karen said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll find a way to get some drugs when the timees and make that bastard Lucas Gray get into some kind of ident. That will do the trick.¡± Nikki pursed her lips and asked in bewilderment, ¡°If this method of yours works, there isn¡¯t a need for us to spend so much money to hire a killer to kill William Carter. You can just kill him on your own.¡± ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Karen let out a long sigh before saying, ¡°You can¡¯t use the same method to kill two people one after another in a short period of time, right? If you want to see Lucas Gray die quickly, we have to get someone to kill William Carter and make sure he dies in an ident.¡± Only then did Nikkie to a sudden realization. They chose not to get someone to deal with Lucas right away purely because Lucas¡¯s martial arts seemed superb, so they weren¡¯t sure if they could kill him directly. But William was just an ordinary person who was almost fifty, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to escape their clutches. Nikki thought of her bank ount bnce. Although the Herons were now facing the crisis of bing bankrupt, they weren¡¯t exactly poor yet. She had more than $200,000 in her ount left, so it should be enough. Nikki finally made up her mind and said to Karen, ¡°Okay, I will transfer money to youter, but you have to do a good job, Aunt Karen. There better not be any blunders!¡± ¡°Haha, rest assured. Just wait for my good news at home!¡± Karenughed heartily with satisfaction. The two of them settled on the n. But William, whom they were plotting against, waspletely clueless. He probably would never have thought that the person who had been sleeping on the same bed beside him for nearly the past three decades would want to kill him. At this moment, William was still busy working in the Sr Corporation. When he was about to leave work, he suddenly received a call from Cheyenne. ¡°Dad, let¡¯s have dinner together as a family after you get off work!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s voice came from the other end. She had just inadvertently learned that her mother didn¡¯t show her father any concern at all. After work, William wouldn¡¯t get to eat a hot meal at all and could only order takeout or have some instant noodles. It really broke Cheyenne¡¯s heart to see him like this. But there was no way she could change her mother¡¯s mind, so she could only ask William and the others out for a meal. Cheyenne also called Karen, but for some reason, Karen didn¡¯t answer her phone nor reply to any of her messages, so Cheyenne could only give up. William was extremely touched, and he agreed gleefully. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m getting off work now. Thanks to you, I¡¯m going to have a feast today! Where do you guys n on eating? I haven¡¯t seen Amelia for a while, and I miss her. Text me the address after, and I¡¯ll rush there¡­¡± William chuckled and spoke while leaving the office building and heading toward the parking lot across the road. Suddenly, a red car came out from the corner, and seemingly out-of-control, it sped straight at him from behind! Bang! William, who was chatting with Cheyenne, was immediately caught off guard and hit flying by the car! With the sound of a loud collision, William¡¯s body was flung nearly twenty meters away like a broken kite. The surrounding people were all stunned! But just a few secondster, the red car ran straight into a building nearby like a cannonball and mmed into it with an even more violent impact. The front of the car waspletely stuck in the wall, and the chassis was utterly warped. It was unclear if the driver was alive or not! Everyone was astonished as they looked at the tragic car ident, and some even screamed at the top of their lungs. Cheyenne was talking to William on the phone, and her expression changed drastically when she suddenly heard a loud noise followed byplete silence. She yelled into her phone, ¡°Dad? What happened?! Say something, Dad!¡± But there was no longer any sounding from the other end. Cheyenne¡¯s body began shaking, and she feebly dropped the phone in her hand. Lucas happened to grab it quickly. Noticing something off, Lucas immediately asked in concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Cheyenne? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Charlotte, who was ying with Amelia at the side, also noticed something wrong, especially when Cheyenne¡¯s expression became extremely terrified. She hurriedly asked, ¡°Cheyenne, what happened? Weren¡¯t¡­ weren¡¯t you calling Dad and asking him out for dinner?¡± Cheyenne was swaying from side to side as she muttered softly, ¡°No¡­ Impossible. Dad will definitely be fine! Nothing will happen to him!¡± Then she immediately dashed out. At this time, even the most daft person would be able to guess that William must have had an ident. Lucas put Amelia into Charlotte¡¯s arms. ¡°Charlotte, stay here and take care of Amelia. I¡¯ll go check out the situation!¡± With that, he ran out after Cheyenne, not having time to say anything else. Cheyenne was so flustered that she just ran toward William¡¯s workce by instinct, but she was at least several kilometers away, so how could she reach it on foot? Lucas rushed forward and pulled Cheyenne into his embrace. ¡°Cheyenne, calm down! No matter what has happened, I will face it with you! Don¡¯t panic,¡± he said softly to Cheyenne. Only when Cheyenne was in his embrace did she snap out of her panic. As soon as she saw Lucas¡¯s concerned gaze, she burst into tears. ¡°Lucas! I-I-I just heard a sudden loud noise from Dad¡¯s side, and there were people screaming near him. He fell silent afterward. He must have had an ident! I¡¯m so scared!¡± Lucas saidfortingly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll rush over there now!¡± He brought Cheyenne into his car and sped all the way toward the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. But halfway there, he suddenly received a phone call. ¡°Lucas, my subordinates just received news that William just had a car ident in front of the office and is now being rushed to the nearest hospital!¡± Chapter 506 - Outside the Emergency Room

Chapter 506: Outside the Emergency Room

Lucas was shocked to receive this call.?How did William suddenly get into a car ident in front of the office? He immediately instructed the person on the other end, ¡°Immediately find out how the ident happened. You must find out clearly if it¡¯s purely an ident or deliberate murder! Also, immediately contact the best doctors in Orange County and send them all to the hospital!¡± Jordan agreed right away. After hanging up, Lucas applied the emergency brakes, turned around, and drove toward the hospital. Cheyenne grabbed Lucas¡¯s sleeve nervously. ¡°Lucas, how¡­ how is my dad?¡± From the moment she heard the words ¡®ident¡¯, ¡®murder¡¯, and ¡®hospital¡¯, her heart seemed to have sunk into an abyss, and her face turned deathly pale. She stared deep into Lucas¡¯s eyes, afraid that she would hear an uneptable answer from him. Lucas patted her hand gently andforted, ¡°It¡¯s just a car ident. William has been brought to the hospital, and we¡¯re heading there now. Don¡¯t worry. William will be fine!¡± Only then did Cheyenne heave a sigh of relief, but she was still extremely nervous and anxious. Soon, the ck Jaguar arrived at the entrance of the Orange Coast Medical Center. But William had already been sent to the emergency rescue room. No matter how anxious they were, they could only wait for the result outside the door. Lucas looked at Cheyenne being fidgety and ill at ease. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. At least William is still alive. All the best surgeons in the city have rushed here too. He¡¯ll definitely be fine!¡± After giving it some thought, he decided to call Charlotte, gave her a brief exnation of the situation, and asked her toe to the hospital as well. After all, as his daughter, Charlotte definitely should be informed of such a major ident. ¡°What did you say?! My dad actually got into a car ident?! Okay, I¡¯ll head there right now!¡± Charlotte was bbergasted and panic-stricken. She quickly hung up and rushed to the hospital. But Lucas was somewhat surprised that Karen arrived sooner than Charlotte. Lucas didn¡¯t expect it because he and Cheyenne had tried to call Karen, but they couldn¡¯t get through to her, so they had no idea how she had learned of the ident. With two streams of tears on her face, Karen scurried from the elevator to the entrance of the emergency room, looking extremely worried. But the light at the entrance of the operating theater was still red, and they didn¡¯t know what the situation inside was. Karen stood at the door for a while before suddenly leaping at Lucas, extending her arm, and smacking him. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, you bastard! ¡°William was doing fine at home. It¡¯s all your fault for making him go to work every day. That¡¯s why he met with a car ident in front of thepany. You¡¯re such a scourge! ¡°I told you long ago that you¡¯re a jinx who¡¯s specially here to harm us! Now, William has gotten into a car ident and ended up in the hospital. We don¡¯t even know if he can be rescued. This is all your fault! ¡°I¡¯m telling you, if anything happens to William, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Karen was like a mad demon as she pped Lucas¡¯s body with all her might and glowered at him with a menacing gaze as if he was her enemy. Facing the crazy Karen, Lucas could only choose to avoid her, but he still ended up getting hit several times. ¡°Enough!¡± Cheyenne finally had enough and shouted at the top of her lungs to stop Karen¡¯s shrewish behavior. ¡°Dad is still lying in the emergency room. If you keep throwing a fit and disturbing the doctors, you may get out of here!¡± Cheyenne yelled in exasperation with bloodshot eyes. It was rare of her to lose her temper, so she immediately shocked Karen. Lucas¡¯s phone suddenly started ringing. Lucas looked at the caller ID and walked toward a quiet and secluded corridor before answering. ¡°Speak.¡± The phone call was from Jordan. ¡°Lucas, ording to the information I found, the driver who hit your father-inw didn¡¯t slow down after hitting him and instead quickly drove into a building nearby. He died on the spot.¡± Lucas¡¯s face turned gloomy. ¡°Even if he¡¯s dead, you still have to find out the exact cause of the ident and whether or not there¡¯s someone behind the driver. I want a clear report of his identity, family situation, and financial transactions!¡± Lucas truly felt that there was something fishy about this matter. William had encountered the ident in front of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch office. But that road was very wide, and it was rare for car idents to ur there. Lucas had a gut feeling that this ident wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed to be. After hanging up and returning to the emergency room, Lucas discovered that Charlotte had also brought Amelia here. The two of them were standing at the entrance of the emergency room, their faces as pale as a sheet. They tried to look into the room anxiously, eager to hear the results but also afraid to hear any bad news. Karen¡¯s face was stained with tears, and her eyes were full of anxiousness. Her behavior now was a stark contrast to her usual attitude toward William. Lucas looked at her with surprise, not expecting that she still seemed to show some concern as William¡¯s wife now that his life was on the line. Unfortunately, Lucas guessed wrongly this time because he never thought that Karen could be that evil. In fact, the reason Karen had hypocritically appeared here all of a sudden was that she just wanted to find out immediately if William had died in the car ident or not. William had sustained severe injuries, so the emergency surgery would take at least more than ten hours. Lucas, Cheyenne, and Charlotte naturally wouldn¡¯t leave the emergency room to get some rest. But Amelia was still young, and she couldn¡¯t possibly stay here for so long. But Lucas and Cheyenne didn¡¯t feel safe leaving her alone at home. At this moment, Lucas inadvertently saw Grace walking down the corridor a short distance away. Grace¡¯s mother was diagnosed with severe kidney failure and happened to be receiving treatment in the hospital. So Grace would take some time out to visit her mother every day. After giving it some thought, Lucas bent down and said, ¡°Amelia, do you remember Aunt Grace?¡± Amelia nodded obediently. ¡°Yes! Aunt Grace is very nice. She even said she would teach me how to bake a cakest time. I remember!¡± Lucas gently stroked his daughter¡¯s soft and tender hair. ¡°Okay, tonight, we¡¯ll wait here for Grandpa to wake up while you go to Aunt Grace¡¯s house. She¡¯ll keep youpany, and we¡¯ll pick you up first thing in the morning, okay?¡± Amelia pouted and said aggrievedly, ¡°I like Aunt Grace a lot, but I also want to stay here with you and Mommy to wait for Grandpa to wake up!¡± Chapter 507 - Becoming A Vegetable

Chapter 507: Bing A Vegetable

Seeing how cute and well-behaved Amelia was, Lucas became softhearted. ¡°We know that you¡¯re obedient, Amelia, but you¡¯re still young and need to grow up. You have to rest well at night. Be good and go stay with Aunt Grace tonight!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s eyes were red as she said to Amelia, ¡°Amelia, listen to Daddy. Mommy and Daddy can¡¯t leave the hospital today, so stay with Aunt Grace so that we can feel at ease.¡± Amelia considered it for a long time before saying reluctantly, ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll go to Aunt Grace¡¯s ce tonight. But you guys have toe and pick me up early tomorrow! But where is Aunt Grace now?¡± Lucas caressed her hair again before going to Grace¡¯s mother¡¯s ward and calling out to Grace. ¡°Hey, Lucas, what are you doing here?¡± Grace looked at Lucas in surprise. Generally, people would show up at the hospital either to visit their sick rtives and friends or to have their illnesses treated. Lucas briefly told her about William getting into a car ident and undergoing surgery in the emergency room, as well as how they couldn¡¯t leave. ¡°We don¡¯t feelfortable leaving Amelia to other people, so I hope you can help us take care of her tonight.¡± Grace smiled. ¡°No problem. I like Amelia a lot, and I¡¯d be more than happy to keep herpany!¡± Thus, the matter was settled. Amelia left with Grace. Of course, Lucas didn¡¯tpletely leave Amelia in Grace¡¯s care and sent Jordan to keep an eye on Amelia and protect her. After all, Amelia was his only daughter, and he couldn¡¯t let anything happen to her. Time seemed to be crawling by while they waited anxiously. At daybreak, William was finally pushed out of the emergency room. ¡°Dad!¡± Cheyenne and Charlotte rushed forward. When they saw William being connected by tubes to some machines instead of covered by ayer of white cloth, they seemed toe back to life again. Great! Dad¡¯s still alive! Thank god! The two burst into tears of joy. The moment the door to the emergency room opened, Karen was jolted awake from her nap. But a trace of disappointment quickly appeared in her eyes when she saw that William was still alive. How can William Carter still be alive? This jerk is too lucky! Did I waste my money in vain? While Karen was thinking evil thoughts, Cheyenne anxiously asked the doctor, ¡°Doctor, how is my father¡¯s condition? Is it serious? How long will it take for him to recover?¡± The main surgeon pushed his sses up his nose wearily and said in an apologetic tone, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. Although your father¡¯s life is temporarily out of danger, the injuries he sustained are too serious, and he suffered arge impact to his brain. He¡¯s very likely¡­¡± ¡°Very likely what?¡± Charlotte asked agitatedly. ¡°The patient¡¯s injuries are too serious. We¡¯ve already done our best, but it¡¯s still very likely that he will remain bedridden forever, which is known as being in a vegetative state. Of course, if the situation turns for the better, he might still be able to regain consciousness.¡± The doctorforted them helplessly and then dragged his exhausted body away. Cheyenne and Charlotte stood rooted to the ground for a long time before realizing what the doctor meant, after which they immediately burst into tears of misery. Looking at the sisters crying miserably and then at William lying lifelessly on the hospital bed with the venttor and lots of tubes attached to him, Lucas felt rather sorrowful too. William was just his father-inw, and they didn¡¯t share a very close rtionship in the past. In fact, it could be said that William had been extremely hostile to Lucas. But he was still the biological father of Cheyenne and Charlotte after all. After William decided to turn over a new leaf, his attitude toward Lucas changed drastically too. He was almost about to be a real family member of Lucas. But William was now in a vegetative state after the sudden car ident, and it was almost impossible for him to regain consciousness ever again. Lucas had a heavy heart, but he suddenly heard an exmation from the side. ¡°Cheyenne!¡± Lucas abruptly looked up, only to see that Cheyenne had gone limp and fallen to the floor. He immediately reached out and caught Cheyenne¡¯s slumping body. Holding her in his arms, he saw that her eyes were tightly shut and her face was pale. She had passed out from all the crying. The few of them sent the seriously injured William and the unconscious Cheyenne to the ward. There were no major issues with Cheyenne, and she had merely passed out because she was too sad. She woke up after ten minutes. But after waking up, she immediately looked to the side at William, who was lying lifelessly on the hospital bed. She teared up uncontrobly. Charlotte¡¯s face was also covered in tears. She was incredibly grief-stricken. Karen, who had been sitting at the side, wiped her eyes andmented tearfully, ¡°William, you must wake up! What is going to happen to me if you die?!¡± But no one noticed the absence of a single trace of grief in her eyes, as well as the smug smirk that shed across her face. A vegetable¡­ He didn¡¯t die, but this is a good oue too. Since he can¡¯t regain consciousness, he won¡¯t be able to get in my way. Moreover, these two unfilial girls can¡¯t possibly leave William Carter to fend for himself, can they? They¡¯ll definitely take us back to the luxurious vi. Lucas¡¯s heart ached when he saw how devastated they were, especially Cheyenne, who was crying so badly that she was about to lose her bnce. He walked out of the ward and went to a secluded area to make a call. Soon, a woman on the other end asked in surprise, ¡°Huh? I didn¡¯t think that you¡¯d take the initiative to contact me, Lucas. That¡¯s so rare of you! But you¡¯ve never liked catching up with old friends and reminiscing about the past. Are you calling me this time to ask for help?¡± Lucas didn¡¯t beat around the bush. ¡°Maddy, I¡¯m indeed calling you because I need your help with something. My father-inw got into a car identst night and just came out of the emergency room. There¡¯s a very slim chance that he¡¯ll wake up again. I¡¯d like to ask if there¡¯s any way to treat his condition?¡± Chapter 509 - Asking For Clues

Chapter 509: Asking For Clues

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The phone call was from Jordan, who quickly exined what he had discovered. The driver who had hit William two days ago was named Craig Valis. After losing control of his car and hitting William, he died in another tragic car ident nearby. Of course, Lucas suspected that this was very likely not purely an ident, and the information Jordan had found out proved this. Craig¡¯s wife and daughter had suddenly vanished from their apartment the day before the ident. So over the past two days, Jordan had targeted his investigation here to get a clear exnation from Craig¡¯s wife and daughter. Now, he finally found their whereabouts. ¡°Lucas, do you need me to go bring these two people back so that you can question them? Their hiding ce is nearby. It¡¯s a private house near the outskirts of the city,¡± Jordan said. Craig wasn¡¯t very old, so Lucas reckoned that his daughter must be rather young. If they suddenly brought them over, they might frighten them. Luca thought about it and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go over together.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Jordan naturally acknowledged. Soon, Jordan drove to Lucas¡¯s side, picked him up, and then went to a somewhat chaotic area where low-ie people lived. It was a shabby district with lots of disorderly and short buildings, narrow and dirty alleys, and many miserable-looking people. During the journey, Jordan said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, Craig¡¯s wife is named Sarah, and their daughter is now six years old. Due to time constraints, we haven¡¯t found much detailed information. We only know that the ce they¡¯re living now is allegedly a residence belonging to a distant rtive of theirs.¡± Lucas nodded slightly. He suspected that someone had instigated Craig, but he couldn¡¯t be convicted now. So he came here today to ask about this. The alleys here were extremely narrow and cramped, and cars couldn¡¯t even fit inside. Lucas and Jordan got out of the car and walked in. Perhaps because there was arge number of low-ie residents here, the walls on both sides of the alley were full of all kinds of misceneous objects, making it difficult to walk. Lucas followed Jordan all the way to a small house in front of the deep alley. This was basically the innermost part of the alley, which was even shabbier and more dpidated than the streets outside, and there were no pedestrians. In front of the small house were a wood pony and a pale-faced girl sitting on it, staring at the sky with a nk expression. For some reason, Lucas¡¯s heart suddenly wrenched up when he saw the crestfallen expression on the face of the little girl who should have been full of vitality. The little girl noticed the movements here. As soon as she saw the two strange men approaching, a trace of panic immediately appeared on her face, and she leaped off the small pony in a flustered manner and ran toward the door at the back. They could clearly tell that she wasn¡¯t in good health. Not only was she gaunt, but she almost fell onto the ground after just running a couple of steps. Jordan raised his brows and pointed at the house the little girl ran into. He said with a trace of surprise on his face, ¡°What a coincidence. The Sarah we¡¯re looking for is living in this house.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything and only signaled Jordan to go over and knock on the door. Jordan walked to the half-hidden door and was about to knock on it when the door suddenly opened from the inside to reveal a middle-aged woman in her fifties. Looking at the two strangers outside the door, she immediately became vignt and grabbed the door frame warily. She asked in a deep voice, ¡°Who are you?¡± Jordan smiled. ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯re here to see Sarah.¡± When the middle-aged woman heard the name ¡®Sarah¡¯, a trace of panic shed across her face, and she quickly said, ¡°You¡¯vee to the wrong ce. There¡¯s no one here named Sarah.¡± Then she wanted to close the door. But her speed was naturally no match for that of Jordan, who had extremely quick reflexes. As soon as she moved her hand, he immediately grabbed the door frame, making it impossible for her to close it. ¡°You¡­ what are you doing? I¡­ I¡¯m warning you. This is my home. If you dare to trespass and get up to anything funny, I¡¯ll definitely sue you! If you dare to do anything in broad daylight, as long as I shout, someone will immediatelye here and grab you! Hurry up and leave!¡± The middle-aged woman was obviously panicking, but she still pretended to be calm and threatened him. Jordan grinned. ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯re not crooks. We¡¯re here to look for Sarah. We just have some questions for her. We won¡¯t do anything bad, so rest assured!¡± Although Jordan usually had a roguish smile, he now wanted to get into the good books of this middle-aged woman to reduce her vignce, so he smiled obediently. The middle-aged woman was a bit skeptical, but she was still clutching the door frame tightly, not daring to let anyone in. Lucas walked over and handed a stack of bills from his pocket to the middle-aged woman. ¡°Ma¡¯am, we really don¡¯t mean any harm. We just want to ask Sarah some questions. Please ask her toe out.¡± Jordan had casually taken this stack of bills from the car just now, and it happened toe in handy now. There were around 50 bills. The middle-aged woman¡¯s eyes were immediately glued to the stack of bills. Most people living in such a shabby ce were struggling to make ends meet and earned meager wages. This stack of bills was worth about a thousand dors, enough to cover a few months¡¯ worth of living expenses for the woman. All that was required of her was to ask someone toe out. It was really effortless. For people used to being poor, such a temptation was really difficult to resist. Thus, after being conflicted for a while, the middle-aged woman finally opened the door, reached out to ept the money, and said with some slight embarrassment, ¡°Ah, you are so polite. It¡¯s just a small favor. You¡¯re being too kind, haha.¡± After smiling, she yelled inside, ¡°Sarah,e out!¡± Two secondster, a female voice sounded inside the house, ¡°Aunt, you called me? Wait a minute. I¡¯ll be right out!¡± After about eight seconds, a woman in her thirties came out from behind the rusty iron door. She was wiping the water and foam on her hands against her apron. She seemed to have been washing clothes. ¡°Aunt, what¡¯s wrong?¡± the woman asked in bewilderment. After receiving the money, the middle-aged woman became much more enthusiastic. She pointed at Lucas and Jordan and said with a cheerful grin, ¡°These two people are here to look for you. They said that they have questions for you.¡± Sarah finally saw the two tall men standing behind the middle-aged woman. She immediately panicked and waved her hands. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know them, and I have nothing to say to them! I¡­ I don¡¯t know what they want to ask either. I still have lots to do, so I¡¯ll get going now!¡± Seeming terribly frightened, she immediately turned around, wanting to go back inside. But the next instant, Jordan suddenly appeared behind her and blocked her from going back into the house. Chapter 510 - Dont Want Any Compensation

Chapter 510: Don¡¯t Want Any Compensation

Sarah immediately appeared horrified as she took two steps back. ¡°You¡­ what are you trying to do?¡± Jordan grinned. ¡°We just need to ask you a few questions. Why are you so scared?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know anything. Don¡¯t ask me!¡± Sarah said right away. ¡°Haha.¡± Jordan chuckled. ¡°We haven¡¯t asked you anything yet, but you¡¯re already saying that you don¡¯t know. In that case, I guess you must know what we want to ask about, right?¡± Sarah was just an ordinary housewife. Hearing what he said, she instantly panicked and was at aplete loss for words. She could only pinch her fingers. But Jordan and Lucas didn¡¯t urge her any further and instead just looked at her quietly. The atmosphere became rather tense all of a sudden. The middle-aged woman couldn¡¯t stand it any longer either. She could tell that Jordan and Lucas really seemed to have no evil intentions and merely wanted to ask Sarah some questions. ¡°Sarah, they just want to ask you a few questions, or else they wouldn¡¯t havee all the way here. Just tell them what you know,¡± she said. Sarah stayed silent for a long time before finally lowering her head. Since they had found her within such a short time even though she had moved to such a shabby ce, she figured that she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape even if she tried to. Moreover, she also roughly guessed what they wanted to ask her about, for she knew that this day woulde sooner orter. After a long time, she said quietly, ¡°Okay, since you want to know,e inside. I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± Then she walked toward the door of the house. Jordan, who had been stopping her at the door, moved aside and let her in before following Lucas in. The middle-aged woman sighed and didn¡¯t follow them. Instead, she stood outside. The house was small, gloomy, and narrow, with only a tiny room that doubled as a living room and bedroom. The little girl who had just run in from outside was sitting on a stool against the wall. Seeing these two strangers, she subconsciously huddled up, revealing only half of her pale little face. Lucas¡¯s heart softened when he looked at her. Sarah said softly to the terrified little girl, ¡°Chloe, don¡¯t be afraid. These two men aren¡¯t bad guys.¡± The little girl was a lot more relieved, and she sat on the stool quietly. She was so obedient that it was heartbreaking. After they all entered, Lucas cut straight to the chase. ¡°Two days ago, your husband ran his car into my father-inw before his fatal car ident. My father-inw is now lying unconscious in the hospital, and the doctor said that he¡¯s very likely to be a vegetable and never wake up again. I¡¯d like to ask if you¡¯re aware of this matter.¡± Sarah immediately clenched her fists. She was feeling extremely conflicted, and she eventually knelt on the ground. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know how to exin this, but we¡­ we really don¡¯t have money to pay for your medical expenses. I¡¯m sorry!¡± She burst into tears uncontrobly, andrge drops of tears rolled down her eyes and hit the floor. Seeing her mother kneeling on the ground, the little girl next to her began to bawl loudly. She was terrified as she stumbled over to hug her mother. ¡°Mommy, Mommy¡­¡± The little girl didn¡¯t know what was going on, so she simply hugged Sarah¡¯s legs tightly in panic and burst into tears. Sarah pulled the thin and feeble girl into her arms as tears streamed down incessantly. ¡°I really don¡¯t know how to apologize to you, but my daughter has cancer, and we can¡¯t afford such expensive medical expenses. Chloe¡¯s condition is getting worse and worse. We really have no way out! ¡°Just a few days ago, someone found my husband and instructed him to run over someone for fifty thousand dors. We were very reluctant at first, but we really had no other way. Chloe¡¯s treatment can no longer be dyed, and we really can¡¯t bear to see our obedient and sensible daughter passing away just like that¡­ ¡°But this is murder after all. I persuaded my husband not to do it, but he also had serious lung cancer. His cancer cells had metastasized and spread. He said that since he couldn¡¯t live for long anyway, he might as well use his life in return for Chloe¡¯s medical expenses! ¡°So¡­ so my husband epted the offer. I-I¡¯m really sorry for what happened to your father-inw! But we really don¡¯t have any more money topensate you. The fifty thousand is for saving Chloe¡¯s life. I beg you not to take it away¡­ I¡­ I know that we¡¯ve let you down, and if possible, I can give you my life topensate for it. I just hope you can let Chloe live!¡± Sarah¡¯s miserable crying was heartbreaking. In particr, she said at the end that she was willing topensate with her own life in hopes that her daughter could be saved. This was really heartbreaking and admirable. From Sarah¡¯s words, Lucas finally determined that William¡¯s car ident was not an ident but a premeditated act. Moreover, he also learned that the reason Craig had tried to kill someone in such a tragic way where he died was that he had been terminally ill and wouldn¡¯t live long. So he wanted to use his own life in exchange for money that could sustain his daughter¡¯s life. He had just seen outside that the five or six-year-old girl in front of him was indeed extremely thin and weak, clearly very unwell. Looking at their clothes and the environment they lived in, Lucas could see that they were indeed living on a very tight budget. For an ordinary family, a seriously ill person could destroy the entire family, let alone this poor family where two people were seriously ill at the same time. In that case, it seemed understandable that they decided to use this way in exchange for money in a desperate attempt for their daughter¡¯s treatment. Lucas¡¯s mood became extremelyplicated at this moment. He hade to investigate the reason behind William¡¯s car ident. Craig had hit William with his car and made him almost a vegetable. From now on, he would probably be lying in bed for the rest of his life, never to wake up again. His wife, Cheyenne, was very sad that her father had suddenly suffered such misfortune. So after learning that Craig had deliberately tried to run over William because he had epted money from someone who had instigated him to do so, Lucas should have hated such people who lost their bottom line for money. But he couldn¡¯t develop any hatred when he looked at the weeping woman and the sick and vulnerable little girl. Instead, he felt really upset. Although Craig was the culprit who had injured William, Lucas still had to admit that Craig was indeed a good father who deserved respect. But this didn¡¯tpletely absolve him of his sins. Craig had long since died in the car ident that day, and Lucas could no longer hold him responsible. But he wouldn¡¯t put this responsibility and sins on the poor orphan and widowed mother in front of him. The one he should hold responsible was the one who had paid Craig 50 thousand dors and instigated him to kill! This person was the true culprit behind this plot, and Lucas swore that he would find out their identity. He looked at the mother and daughter who were hugging and bawling in front of him and sighed. ¡°Ma¡¯am, please get up. I¡¯m not here to ask you forpensation, and I can also help with your daughter¡¯s medical expenses.¡± Sarah suddenly raised her head in shock, unable to believe what she just heard! ¡°What¡­ what did you just say?¡± Chapter 512 - Wicked Mother-in-Law

Chapter 512: Wicked Mother-in-Law

Lucas seemed to catch something. In fact, he found it strange that Karen had rushed to the hospital on the day of William¡¯s ident even though no one had informed her about it. But he didn¡¯t think much about it then. But after hearing the information from Jordan, he couldn¡¯t help developing a terrifying conjecture. Who was Nikki? She was Cheyenne¡¯s cousin and Karen¡¯s niece. Lucas wouldn¡¯t have cared if Nikki had been showing up at the apartment frequently because they were close rtives. But more than a week ago in LA, Nikki had repeatedly targeted and framed Lucas and Cheyenne. If Cheyenne hadn¡¯t chosen to put the past behind her and plead for mercy for Nikki on ount that they were rtives, Lucas would have long allowed Matthew¡¯s subordinates to teach her a lesson. However, Lucas could long tell that Nikki was just an ingrate. Since she failed to get what she wanted and had even suffered a loss because of Lucas and Cheyenne, she would definitely put all the me and responsibility on them and not remember the multiple times they had saved for her. On the day of the wedding, Nikki had even tried to sow discord to get Edmund to deal with Lucas in the hotel, which angered Edmund and also caused the Herons to be suppressed by many families in LA, resulting in heavy losses. So Nikki had to hate him very much. And it just so happened that Karen also resented Lucas very much. It was very possible that the two had joined forces to deal with him. But the problem was that if William¡¯s car ident was really part of their scheme, there were lots of doubtful points. They should be targeting him instead. There was no reason to kill William¡­ Lucas¡¯s phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Sarah, who he had just parted with not long ago. ¡°Mr. Gray, I suddenly remembered something. Just two hours before my husband¡¯s ident, I heard him answering a call, and the person on the other end was a woman. My husband seemed to have called her Miss Turner!¡± Miss Turner?! Apart from Karen, he almost couldn¡¯t think of anyone else who had thest name Turner and was also rted to William! Lucas found it extremely incredible.?Karen and William have been married for nearly thirty years. She couldn¡¯t have tried to kill William, right? Since William sustained severe injuries from the car ident, causing him to be hospitalized, Karen¡¯s attitude had changed drastically. It seemed she had finally understood her true feelings for William, so she was no longer as cold and uncaring toward him. This thought had made Lucas feel slightly awful before, so he hadn¡¯t dared to think much about it. But the name Sarah mentioned made him stop imagining any other possibilities. Now, he began to ponder over Karen¡¯s various actionstely, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that there were quite a few clues. First of all, Karen and William were not a loving couple, and it could be said that their rtionship was extremely strained for some time now. William had initiated a divorce several times before, but Karen had refused to agree. Even Lucas could feel that Karen was not only unwilling to divorce William, but she was even afraid of him initiating a divorce. The most obvious thing was that Karen had been unwilling to move out of the vi in the middle of Pearl Lake. But William had used divorce to threaten her, so she had no choice but to agree to it with great disgruntlement. Previously, during the wedding in LA, Karen had refused to admit to lending their money to her siblings and paying for Alex¡¯s vi. She had admitted to it only because William had threatened her with divorce. Why was this so? There had to be some secret he didn¡¯t know. The second thing was that Karen¡¯s arrival at the hospital that day had been too early. Lucas and Cheyenne had heard the ident from the phone call with William, so they had rushed to the ident site and then quickly headed to the hospital. They had traveled very quickly, but Karen had arrived only a littleter than them. It was as if she had received the news first or that she had been informed in advance. In addition, Nikki had appeared several times in the apartment where Karen lived. Lucas was basically sure that William¡¯s ident was premeditated and that it had something to do with Karen and Nikki! A chill emerged in his heart. Lucas didn¡¯t know why Karen would do this to William, and at present, he didn¡¯t have any evidence to prove that those two were the masterminds, but he was furious. It was not only because of William, who was seriously injured and likely to be a vegetable for the rest of his life, but also because of Cheyenne and Charlotte. They were still feeling d because Karen suddenly changed her attitude and became like a real gentle mother. If they knew the truth of this matter, how could they ept such a cruel reality? Now, was it still necessary to investigate Karen¡¯s crimes? Jordan looked at Lucas¡¯s dark face and didn¡¯t say anything. He also guessed that the mastermind behind the murder was most likely Karen, William¡¯s shrew-like wife.?Tsk, what a crazy woman! She even tried to kill her husband. How terrifying! ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in Orange Coast Medical Center¡­ After getting some rest, Karen began experimenting with various methods on William¡¯s body with great enthusiasm again. She stretched out her long nails, lifted his hospital gown, and pinched his body extremely hard, leaving crescent-shaped marks all over. While she was pinching, she was thinking that she should probably go and buy some needles tomorrow so that she could stab him with them. Creak!?Suddenly, the door of the ward opened. Karen was greatly startled, and she reflexively covered up William immediately. When she turned around and saw that the person who entered the ward was none other than Lucas, she raised her eyebrows and started cursing, ¡°Is there something wrong with you? You didn¡¯t even knock before entering. You almost frightened me to death! ¡°Everyone says you¡¯re a good-for-nothing freeloading off your wife, and it¡¯s indeed true! Both my daughters are working hard to earn money, yet you just idle around all day. Looking at you makes me furious!¡± Lucas ignored her insults. When he saw the messy nket and William¡¯s crumpled clothes, his heart sank. He frowned and asked in a deep voice, ¡°What were you doing just now?¡± Chapter 513 - About To Be Exposed

Chapter 513: About To Be Exposed

Karen was shocked, and she quickly pretended to be angry. She questioned, ¡°What could I have done? Of course, I wiped his body and changed his clothes! He¡¯s my husband. Even if he¡¯s seriously injured and unconscious now, I still have to take good care of him. I¡¯m not like you. You don¡¯t care about anything at all, and all you do is wander around all day!¡± Lucas stared at Karen for a long time before suddenly asking, ¡°Why did Nikki visit you on the afternoon of William¡¯s ident?¡± Karen¡¯s expression changed drastically. She had a guilty conscience, so when she heard Lucas ask about that day, she immediately became nervous. But she came back to her senses the next moment and thought that it was impossible for Lucas to know what she and Nikki had talked about in her apartment that day. ¡°Hmph, Nikki is my niece. How is it any of your business that she came to talk with me?¡± Karen rolled her eyes in disdain. Lucas said coldly, ¡°It seems that you two have a really good rtionship. In the past few days, you two met several times, and she had to travel here all the way from LA each time. You two really have endless things to talk about, huh?¡± Karen¡¯s heart dropped and skipped a beat.?How does this bastard know that I¡¯ve met Nikki several timestely? Did he investigate me? No, that¡¯s impossible. My n with Nikki is extremely secretive and well-hidden. No one should have found out! He must have gone to ask the security guards at the entrance of theplex. But she began to feel a little afraid and less confident. She snapped, ¡°What are you poking your nose into my business for? I can meet and talk with anyone I want. You¡¯re just a good-for-nothing husband. Are you trying to teach me what to do? ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯ve been displeased with you for a long time. If you keep creating trouble, I¡¯ll definitely make Cheyenne divorce you one day!¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°I was just asking a few casual questions. Why are you so upset? Could it be that you and Nikki have really done something against your conscience?¡± ¡°Bullshit! You¡¯re the one who did something against your conscience!¡± Karen immediately cursed. But at the same time, she subconsciously clenched her fists and looked at Lucas with a wary expression. It can¡¯t be. Does this punk really know something??She couldn¡¯t help being a little worried. Lucas saw all her actions and sneered in his head. He had been worried that he might have wronged Karen. But now that he saw her reaction, he knew that William¡¯s ident was obviously and definitely very much rted to her! He really didn¡¯t have anything to say to a woman like Karen. The only question now was, if Karen was indeed the one who had tried to get William killed, now that William was still alive, thoughatose and nearing a vegetative state, would she find another opportunity to strike again? Numerous thoughts immediately shed through Lucas¡¯s mind, and he subconsciously walked toward William¡¯s bed. In a moment of panic and shock, the frightened Karen hurriedly covered William¡¯s body with the bedsheets. But if someone took a close look now, they would immediately find something wrong with his clothes under the sheets. They would also discover the numerous pinch marks all over his body that Karen couldn¡¯t cover in time. Karen immediately took two steps forward and pushed Lucas away. ¡°What are you doing? Stay far away. Don¡¯te close. I get annoyed when I see you!¡± Lucas kept his eyes fixed on William for a while, but he remained standing a little farther away and didn¡¯t go nearer to him. He said in a clear voice, ¡°William, just sleep well here. I¡¯ve already looked for a verypetent medical expert and invited her over. You¡¯ll soon be cured and regain consciousness.¡± Karen¡¯s fingers immediately trembled for a moment.?What? This bastard even found some medical expert to cure William Carter? She started to panic, but she soon felt that it was impossible. ¡°Hmph, what are you bragging about? A medical expert? What kind of expert can a good-for-nothing like you find?¡± Karen mocked mercilessly. Lucas said with a faint smile, ¡°It¡¯s a medical expert that the Coles found for me. They should be considered reliable, right? Karen, don¡¯t you want William to wake up sooner?¡± As soon as she heard that it was someone the Coles of San Francisco invited, Karen, who was thinking that she would definitely chase away any doctor that Lucas found regardless of who they were, was immediately speechless. Karen would never dare to chase away an expert the Coles invited! At the same time, Karen began to get flustered. She reckoned that the person the Coles invited had to be an excellent doctor who was at least better than the doctors here. If William was rescued and regained consciousness, what would happen? If William was rescued, all her ns would be foiled, and the tens of thousands of dors she had spent would go to waste. Moreover, Karen had also heard that most people in vegetative states could still hear and feel everything. They just couldn¡¯t move their bodies. Over the past two days, she had thought that William would never be able to regain consciousness, so she had physically abused him whenever there was no one around. She would even hurl vicious insults at him and whisper into his ear that she was the mastermind who had nned his ident. If William regained consciousness, he would expose all her misdeeds! It went without saying what William would do to her then. No, I can¡¯t let this happen!?Karen thought nervously, her heart full of fear, her hands trembling. Lucas watched coldly as she slipped into a panic because he had mentioned saving William. He snorted coldly and turned around to leave the ward. After exiting, he immediately called someone. ¡°Arrange for a few reliable people toe here and protect my father-inw.¡± If he guessed correctly, Karen would definitely act against William again out of fear that he would regain consciousness now that she had heard what he said. Lucas would then be able to grasp evidence of her attempting to kill William again. As he expected, shortly after he left, Karen was so anxious that her forehead was drenched in sweat. But she couldn¡¯t think of a solution for a while, so she had no choice but to call Nikki. ¡°Nikki, bad news!¡± she said in a panic. ¡°Lucas Gray just came to the hospital and said that he found a medical expert to treat William Carter, and it is very likely that he will regain consciousness! He also knows that you¡¯vee to my ce several times. Do you think he¡¯s started to suspect us? What should I do now?!¡± Chapter 514 - Murderous Intent

Chapter 514: Murderous Intent

Nikki was shocked to hear Karen¡¯s words. But soon, anger arose in her heart, and she snapped furiously, ¡°You told me that I just had to give you a hundred and fifty thousand and that you¡¯d get everything settled. But now that I¡¯ve given you the money, you¡¯re telling me that there are so many problems! You even have the nerve to ask me what to do. How would I know?!¡± Feeling just as indignant, Karen exined, ¡°It¡¯s not my fault. I¡¯ve gotten the job done well. Even though William Carter isn¡¯t dead, he has be a vegetable who¡¯s immobile and incapable of speech. This should have achieved our goal. But who knew that bastard would suddenly pop up out of nowhere with this? Nikki, you¡¯ve always been a smart girl. Quickly help me think of a solution!¡± Although Nikki was upset with Karen for failing to carry out the task, they were now in this together, so they had no choice but to work together to find a solution to this matter. Like Karen, she was also angry at Lucas for suddenly popping up and foiling their ns. The hatred in their hearts intensified. ¡°Aunt Karen, isn¡¯t William Carter still unconscious? Kill him now and make sure he can never speak again. Wouldn¡¯t that ensure that he can never expose this matter?¡± Nikki suggested with a fiery gaze in her eyes. ¡°Kill him? But¡­ I-I have never killed anyone¡­¡± Karen¡¯s voice trembled a little. Nikki harrumphed in disdain. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re still afraid of now! Weren¡¯t you the one who suggested killing William Carter? Moreover, you were the one who found someone to kill him, but it just happened that he didn¡¯t die. What are you hesitating for now? He¡¯s right next to you, unconscious and unable to resist. You can kill him easily. ¡°Besides, he¡¯s already seriously wounded and aatose vegetable. For the past two days, he¡¯s been relying on various machines to live. Even if something happens to him and he suddenly dies, no one will suspect you. This is a great opportunity, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Nikki¡¯s words immediately made Karen freeze. Yeah, I was the one who proposed killing William Carter, and my n was for him to die. Now, I¡¯m just making up for my failure. Karen turned around to look at William, who was lying on the hospital bed not far away, feeling extremely conflicted. She did want him to die, but hiring someone to kill him and killing him herself were fundamentally different. After gritting her teeth, she said sobbingly, ¡°No, Nikki. I¡­ I don¡¯t dare to do it.¡± Nikki cursed her for being stupid and became impatient. ¡°If you don¡¯t dare to do it, what else do you want? Do you want me to do it? At this point, do we have another choice except to kill him immediately? ¡°You know very well that once he regains consciousness, the matter of you hiring someone to murder him wille to light. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t need me to tell you what will happen to you then! Forget it. Think about it on your own. If you don¡¯t dare to do it, stop calling me. The consequences you¡¯ll face in the end will have nothing to do with me either!¡± ¡°Nikki, what¡­ are you saying? What do you mean it has nothing to do with you? Both of us are in this together. Are you trying to get rid of me?¡± Karen immediately understood the meaning of Nikki¡¯s words and panicked. Nikki rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you nned the murder. All I did was lend you some money. If this matter is really exposed and you try to implicate me, I can honestly say I knew nothing about it. Do you understand? So you¡¯d better not do anything useless and foolish!¡± After speaking in a stern voice, her tone became mellower. ¡°Aunt Karen, don¡¯t me me for speaking harshly, but this is the truth. Think about it. If William Carter wakes up and reveals what you¡¯ve done, you¡¯ll be charged for being the mastermind of the murder. That¡¯llnd you in jail for at least twenty years! Do you want to go to jail, Aunt Karen? ¡°So the most urgent thing to do now is to silence him forever. Think about what you should do!¡± The blood in Karen¡¯s body went cold all of a sudden. She had only thought of killing William secretly before, so she had never thought about the consequences of murder. Especially after the driver had died on the spot, she had felt that she could rest easy since there was no longer any evidence. But she never imagined that Lucas, whom she thought was a good-for-nothing, dared to leverage on his rtionship with the Coles in order to save William. If she went to jail for more than two decades, she would be in her seventies by the time she got out. How could she ept this?! She didn¡¯t want to spend the rest of her life in prison! ¡°Nikki, I¡­ still don¡¯t dare to do it, and I think that bastard is already suspecting me. I really don¡¯t dare to kill him! Why don¡¯t you get someone to kill Lucas Gray first?¡± Karen pleaded. Nikki immediately burst into mirthlessughter. ¡°Aunt Karen, have you been scared silly? Don¡¯t forget that you first asked me to join forces because you wanted to get Lucas Gray killed! I even lent you money to get William Carter killed because you said you could take the opportunity to go back to the vi and wait for a chance to kill Lucas Gray. If I had a way to get that guy killed, why would I need to cooperate with you? ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t even dare to kill William Carter, who¡¯s lying in bed andpletely immobile. Why should I trust that you can help me kill Lucas Gray afterward? ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve already said what I should say. It¡¯s up to you to decide what to do!¡± With that, Nikki directly hung up. Karen held her phone in hand, out of sorts. She had initially gone to Nikki for help because she was panicking and wanted Nikki to give her some ideas. But the thought of the terrifying consequences made her even more flustered. What should I do? The thought that William would soon wake up in a few days made Karen terrified. This was probably the fear of having done something wrong and facing the risk of being exposed. After Karen contemted for a long time, a terrifyingly ruthless expression appeared on her face. She finally made up her mind.?Yes, I should take action and silence William Carter forever! She raised her head, walked to William¡¯s side, and looked at his lifeless face as hey on the hospital bed. Soon, a maniacal expression appeared on her face. She looked at the door of the ward and walked over to lock it, though it was normally prohibited to do so. Then she returned to William¡¯s side and adjusted his clothes to cover the pinch marks that she had left on his body. Afterward, Karen looked at the oxygen mask on William¡¯s face and the infusion needles and other tubes. Her expression became even more hysterical. ¡°William Carter, I don¡¯t want to kill you with my own hands, but you forced me into this! ¡°I wanted to live a good life, but why did you have to force me to suffer? It¡¯s all your fault! ¡°You¡¯re always threatening me with a divorce too. Haha, let me tell you, when you die, the secret between us will never be exposed, and I will never have to worry about you threatening me again! Now, I just hate myself for not thinking of killing you earlier! ¡°Haha, you can go to hell now!¡± Karen gritted her teeth and reached her hand toward the oxygen tube next to her. Snap! The moment her hand touched the oxygen tube, the sound of the door handle being twisted suddenly rang out. ¡°Huh? Why is the door locked?¡± A voice came from outside the door. Chapter 515

Chapter 515: Impable Acting Skills

The noiseing from the door was like a thunderp to Karen! Her heart started pounding rapidly, and she immediately retracted her hand as though she had been electrocuted.?That was close! She took several deep breaths and finally calmed herself down. Then she raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat on her face before turning her head to look at the door. There was a small ss window on the door of the ward, and Karen could see Cheyenne standing outside. Only then did she heave a sigh of relief. She was almost scared to death just now! But it shouldn¡¯t be time for Cheyenne to leave work yet. Why is she here now? Although there were doubts in her heart, Karen immediately put her acting chops to y and pretended to be motherly as she walked over to open the door. ¡°Cheyenne, why are you back so early today? Are you done with work?¡± Cheyenne walked in and ced the bag of fruit and snacks she was holding on the table at the side. William was now severely injured and unable to eat anything. He could only rely on regr infusions to remain nourished. Cheyenne specially brought these fruits for Karen. ¡°Yes, things haven¡¯t been too busy at the officetely, so I can take some time out. It¡¯s the same for Charlotte. She and I have agreed to take an hour or two out of our schedule every day to apany Dad. Mom, it¡¯s hard for you to take care of Dad here alone, isn¡¯t it? Yourplexion doesn¡¯t seem too good. Are you exhausted?¡± Cheyenne asked out of concern. Karen turned her head unnaturally and smiled. ¡°Not at all! Your father doesn¡¯t need much care right now. I¡¯m just sitting here to keep himpany. Why would I get tired from this? ¡°I think you and Charlotte should go back to work with peace of mind. Both of you have be the general managers. God knows how many people are coveting your positions and wishing that you¡¯ll make mistakes so that they can snatch your positions! ¡°So you two should put more effort into your work. Work hard. I¡¯ll stay here in the hospital!¡± Karen seemed to be very concerned about her daughters, but she was actually very anxious. Cheyenne and Charlotte woulde over to the hospital every day after work to apany William. If they took turns, Karen wouldn¡¯t have a chance to strike. Cheyenne smiled, but she didn¡¯t intend to change her mind. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mom. Thepany is doing very well, and there isn¡¯t much for me to dotely. Charlotte and I won¡¯t affect our work even if we take the time toe apany Dad. Besides, the doctor also said that there¡¯s a chance that he¡¯ll regain consciousness. If we talk to him more, Dad might wake up sooner!¡± ¡°No!¡± Karen yelled. When Karen saw the look of astonishment on Cheyenne¡¯s face, she realized that she had a slip of the tongue just now. Her greatest fear now was that William would suddenly wake up and reveal everything that she had done. ¡°Ahem, I mean, you guys are still young. You are clueless about the scheming office politics that goes on inpanies! Anyway, just listen to me and go to work. I¡¯ll apany your father!¡± Karen insisted. Cheyenne hung her head low, her eyes red and brimming with tears. ¡°But Mom, now that Dad has suddenly ended up in this situation, Charlotte and I can¡¯t go to work at ease. Even if we stay in thepany all day, we will be more worried about Dad. Rest assured. Thepany is running well.¡± If she worked in anotherpany and took some time off every day for a long period of time, the higher-ups and her colleagues would definitely have an opinion about it. But Cheyenne knew that Lucas was the owner of both the Brilliance Corporation and the Stardust Corporation that she and Charlotte worked at respectively. But Karen didn¡¯t know this, so she thought that Karen was just worried because she cared about them. Karen looked at her with an aggrieved expression. ¡°Cheyenne, do you think¡­ I¡¯m really useless? Even if I stay in the hospital, I can¡¯t take care of your father. Is that why you¡¯re so worried?¡± Cheyenne was astonished and hurriedly said, ¡°Mom, how could I possibly think that?! You¡¯ve been taking good care of Dad these days! We¡¯re all aware of this!¡± Karen teared up. ¡°No, you just don¡¯t trust me! Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t choose to risk losing your job over leaving your Dad to me!¡± She wiped her tears. ¡°I knew it. You¡¯re all grown up now, and I¡¯m old too. I can no longer control you anymore, so you guys don¡¯t take me seriously! ¡°I¡¯m here working hard to take care of your father, yet you suspect me of being inattentive. You¡¯re just like that good-for-nothing husband of yours!¡± Cheyenne frowned. ¡°Lucas? What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Karenined sobbingly, ¡°He dislikes me in the first ce, and now that your father is unconscious, he doesn¡¯t take me seriously anymore. When I was wiping your father¡¯s body today, he suddenly barged in, said a bunch of strange things to me, and even used me of having an ulterior motive. He used me of wanting your father dead. I¡­ I¡¯ve really been wronged! ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re my daughter, but now you¡¯re doubting me too. Do you also suspect that I have an ulterior motive, like your husband does? Now that your father has be like this, I can only count on you and Charlotte, but you¡¯re already treating me like this when your father is still alive. I¡¯m really miserable!¡± Karen wept miserably as if she was really aggrieved. Cheyenne felt really ufortable watching her cry. While handing a piece of tissue to Karen, she asked softly, ¡°Did Lucas really say such callous things?¡± ¡°Of course! Would I deliberately create rumors and sow discord between you and him? I¡¯m really sad!¡± Karen cried even louder. Cheyenne subconsciously frowned. With her understanding of Lucas, she believed that he shouldn¡¯t have said such things. But the person using him in front of her was her mother, and it pained her to see Karen crying so sorrowfully. But no matter what, it was a matter of fact that Karen hated Lucas, and it was possible that Lucas did say some meanments. But she believed it definitely wasn¡¯t as bad as Karen made it out to be. Seeing that Karen was about to bawl her eyes out again, Cheyenne hurriedly said, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll call him and tell him off. You¡¯re my mother. How could he say such things about you? He¡¯s gone overboard!¡± She spoke furiously, pretending to be angered. Chapter 516 - Trust Between A Married Couple

Chapter 516: Trust Between A Married Couple

Karen was pleased, but she still took a mile after being given an inch. ¡°That¡¯s more like it! But just scolding him a few times is too easy for him! I¡¯ve been painstakingly taking care of your father here, but I can¡¯t even get a thank you from him. Why do I have to endure this infuriation? I don¡¯t want to see him at all. Tell him to stay away from the hospital for a while. I get really fed up when I see him. If I copse from being provoked by him, there won¡¯t be anyone to take care of your father!¡± Karen deliberately made such a request and used the threat of falling sick from anger to keep Lucas away from the hospital. She already hated Lucas enough, and now that he seemed to know something and became suspicious of her, she didn¡¯t want to see him anymore. In particr, she was now nning to find an opportunity to make a move on William. She could find a way to convince Cheyenne and Charlotte to go back to work, thus easily grasping their work andmuting timings. But in her opinion, Lucas was a loafer who idled around all day. She wasn¡¯t certain when he would suddenly appear in the hospital again, so she had no choice but to drive him far away and not let hime back to ruin things for her! Cheyenne nodded and dialed Lucas¡¯s number directly in front of Karen. Lucas smiled and picked up Cheyenne¡¯s call, only to hear a slew of angry usations. ¡°Lucas, what¡¯s wrong with you? My mom is taking care of my dad in the hospital day and night. Why did you have to go so far and say such callous things to her? She¡¯s my mom! I¡¯m telling you, I don¡¯t want to hear any more from you. Anyway, from today onward, you¡¯re not allowed toe to the hospital and provoke my mom!¡± With that, Cheyenne hung up abruptly. Lucas held the phone with a bewildered look on his face, his heart full of bitterness. Looking at this situation, he reckoned that Karen must have made up a lot of bad things about him and used him in front of Cheyenne again. He could ignore the fact that Karen had ndered him, but Cheyenne¡¯s attitude toward him made him feel extremely dejected. He had thought that he had already established a tacit understanding with Cheyenne and that she would always believe him. But why¡­ But before Lucas could continue to think any further, his phone screen lit up again because of a text from Cheyenne. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m sorry!¡± When Lucas saw these few words, the bitterness and dejection surging in her heart instantly vanished. He understood that Cheyenne didn¡¯t mean to say those words just now. Cheyenne was obviously helpless and had only called him because of Karen¡¯s request, which exined why she sent him an apology message immediately after berating him on the phone. When he thought of what Karen had done and how she had just tried to use Cheyenne to forbid him from going to the hospital, he immediately guessed that Karen wanted to make a move against William again and was afraid that he would foil her ns. A murderous intent shot out from Lucas¡¯s eyes. He had arranged for some people in the hospital to keep an eye on Karen at all times. As long as she dared toy her hands on William, she would immediately be caught red-handed. She totally deserved to face this. But if Karen¡¯s evil deeds came to light, it might be a tremendous blow to Cheyenne and Charlotte! Their mother trying to kill their father twice was a difficult fact for anyone to ept. But Karen¡¯s behavior was like a bomb. Even if Lucas didn¡¯t want Cheyenne to be sad and chose to cover it up, Karen wouldn¡¯t show the slightest tinge of remorse and would insteadmit even more crazy and terrifying acts in the future. In that case, it would be better to reveal Karen¡¯s viciousness early on while it was still possible! At this moment, a knock on the door interrupted his contemtion. ¡°Come in!¡± The door of the chairman¡¯s office opened, and Charlotte entered with a stack of documents. As the general manager of thepany, Charlotte was in charge of all affairs. But she still had to report some important matters to Lucas for him to make a decision. But today, she seemed to be out of sorts and suppressing her anger. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lucas asked in puzzlement. Charlotte ced the stack of documents in front of Lucas. ¡°Lucas, the secondary partners suddenly all want to terminate their recently signed contracts with ourpany. It¡¯s as if they agreed beforehand.¡± Lucas frowned. Their secondary partners were medium-sized enterprises. The Stardust Corporation had been developing smoothly recently and had expanded to the LA market because of their ties with the Sawyers and Hales, two of the four major families in Orange County. Thus, the overall situation was going well. In this situation, several secondary partners suddenly wanted to terminate their contracts and even on the same day. It was simply bizarre no matter how he looked at it. After some thought, Lucas said, ¡°What are the contract amounts? Has thepensation for termination been agreed upon?¡± Charlotte flipped open the documents on the table and let Lucas skim through them before saying, ¡°Because it¡¯s the first time we¡¯re cooperating with them, the amount is not particrlyrge. They have also promised to follow the normal terminationpensation procedures and pay us the fullpensation for the breach of contract. ¡°However, we have already started these projects and invested a lot of manpower and material resources in the preliminary stages. Their sudden termination has resulted in heavy losses for us. Although theirpensation for the breach of contract can probably offset our losses, the arrangements we¡¯ve made in San Francisco will be almost all paralyzed. In general, the impact will be great.¡± This was exactly what Charlotte was upset about. The contract terminations of the other parties had made all the efforts of many people on their side go down the drain. Lucas frowned. ¡°Are all of these secondary partners enterprises in San Francisco?¡± Charlotte nodded and said indignantly, ¡°Yes, we spent a lot of money on expanding to San Francisco. But now, all our efforts and money will be going down the drain. Moreover, I suspect that there must be someone behind this matter. Otherwise, it¡¯s impossible for so many partners to terminate their contracts with us at the same time.¡± Lucas thought so too, but he really didn¡¯t have time to deal with it now. ¡°Let¡¯s put this matter aside for now and put off the expansion to San Francisco for the time being too. When we resolve the matter about William, I will personally deal with this matter.¡± Refusing to give up, Charlotte said with some indignation, ¡°But we¡¯ve already invested a lot of money and resources into these projects. If we put them on hold, a lot of our efforts will be wasted! I¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Even if we put this n on hold temporarily, it won¡¯t have a huge impact on thepany. It will just affect our profits. But the matter regarding William is far more important than making money,¡± Lucas said calmly. The Stardust Corporation was naturally very important to Lucas. However, the development of thepany could be done slowly. But William¡¯s life was at stake, and his safety was Lucas¡¯s main concern at the moment. Gratitude appeared on Charlotte¡¯s face, but at the same time, she was also a little puzzled. ¡°Is there anything else¡­ wrong with my dad?¡± she asked, blinking her eyes. Although the fact that her father had been seriously injured and ended up in a vegetative state due to the car ident also made Charlotte extremely miserable, she felt that there seemed to be more to Lucas¡¯s words. Lucas looked at her and hesitated for a moment, but he nevertheless asked, ¡°If¡­ and I mean if. If you find out one day that your mother is the mastermind of the ident that caused your father to end up like this, how would you feel?¡± Chapter 517 - New Conspiracy

Chapter 517: New Conspiracy

¡°What did you say?!¡± Charlotte¡¯s eyes immediately widened in shock and disbelief. ¡°How is that possible? My mom¡­ How could my mom do such a thing?!¡± Lucas hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m just saying what if. It¡¯s hypothetical.¡± Only then did Charlotte let out a huge sigh of relief and pat her chest. ¡°You scared me. I really thought my mom did something like that! Why did you suddenly ask such a strange question?¡± Lucas slowly sighed. ¡°There are many things that seem unbelievable but have really happened. That¡¯s why I¡¯m emotional about it.¡± Looking at Lucas¡¯s face, Charlotte suddenly felt a little panicked as her heart sank. ¡°Lucas¡­ d-do you mean¡­?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°No. Like I said, it¡¯s just hypothetical. I was merely asking a casual question. Okay, go ahead and do your work.¡± Before Charlotte could say much, Lucas had already gotten an answer from her. No matter what, Karen was still their biological mother. Even if Charlotte¡¯s rtionship with Karen had been strained, she still couldn¡¯t ept it when she heard what he said. Needless to say, Cheyenne¡¯s reaction would be even more intense. Lucas sighed slightly. At the same time, he felt rather angry at Karen. She has such a good pair of daughters, so why on earth did she do such a terrible thing? Has she never spared a thought for Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s feelings once the evil deeds she did to William are exposed? How can a mother be so selfish and terrifyingly ruthless? Charlotte lowered her head, walked to the office door, and suddenly said softly, ¡°If she¡¯s really done such a thing, I¡¯ll be extremely upset and miserable, but I will never forgive her either! ¡°Everyone has to bear the consequences of doing wrongs and breaking thew. I will make sure gets the punishment she deserves. And I believe my sister will make the same choice as me.¡± With that, she left the office without looking back. Only, she bit her lower lip hard to hold her tears back. She knew that Lucas would never ask her about such a terrifying thing out of nowhere. Since he did so, it must have already happened. Thinking of this fact, Charlotte covered her mouth and dashed into the restroom while bursting into tears. Lucas couldn¡¯t calm down at all. At the end of the day, Karen was their mother. And after finding out what she had done, anyone in their ce would definitely feel miserable and hopeless, as if the world had copsed. Even Charlotte was terribly upset, what more Cheyenne, who was much more delicate and even regarded Karen as a loving mother. ¡°Karen Turner, I¡¯ll give you onest chance. You¡¯d better stop now¡­ Otherwise, no one can save you,¡± Lucas muttered to himself with an ice-cold gaze in his eyes. However, he didn¡¯t ignore the collective termination of contracts with the Stardust Corporation by thepanies of San Francisco. If he guessed correctly, this matter was probably also rted to that family. Lucas picked up his cell phone and called someone. Then hemanded in a deep voice, ¡°Several new clients that the Stardust Corporation have recently signed contracts with have all suddenly unterally terminated their contracts at the same time. Go find out what¡¯s going on and get to the bottom of this.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, at the Kingston residence in San Francisco¡­ Marc was leaning against a couchnguidly with his eyes closed, enjoying the shoulder massage given by a beautiful masseuse. A middle-aged man in a suit walked in on with a light gait and bowed to Marc. ¡°Mr. Kingston, as you have instructed, we¡¯ve already severed the hands that the Stardust Corporation has extended to San Francisco. But those businesses have paidpensation for breaching the contract. I reckon they must have suffered heavy losses and won¡¯t be able to do much for the time being.¡± Marc narrowed his eyes slightly and acknowledged nonchntly before saying, ¡°Not bad, but that¡¯s far from enough. Speed up the execution of the n. I want to see the Orange County branch of the Stardust Corporationpletely be a thing of the past!¡± ¡°This¡­¡± The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment but nevertheless bit the bullet and said, ¡°It¡¯s easy to overthrow the Stardust Corporation, but to do it within ten days¡­ I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a Herculean task.¡± Marc opened his eyes with a cold glint in them. ¡°Remember, I¡¯m only giving you ten days. Come up with a solution on your own. And if you can¡¯t do it, you know what¡¯ll happen to you!¡± ¡°Yes! Mr. Kingston, I will do my best to get it done!¡± the panic-stricken middle-aged man immediately said in fear. The man in front of him was the most outstanding heir of the Kingston family. He had a fickle and entric temper. If he upset him, the middle-aged man would definitely face an oue worse than death. ¡°Get down. I hope you will bring me good news next time.¡± After the middle-aged man left, Marc waved his hand, instructing the woman behind him to leave too. Sitting on the sofa, he snorted coldly. ¡°Hmph, Jace Hutton actually wants me to destroy the Orange County branch of the Stardust Corporation within a month. Seems like the situation on the Huttons¡¯ side isn¡¯t going too well either. But no matter how they fight, it¡¯s impossible for Lucas Gray, an abandoned son, to return to the Hutton family! ¡°A month¡¯s time¡­ But the sooner Iplete the task, the more I¡¯ll be valued.¡± Marc took a sip of red wine and picked up the document on the table that he had already perused several times with a contemptuous smile on his face. It was information about Lucas that the Huttons had given him. ¡°Hah, they all say that Lucas Gray is a good-for-nothing who sponges off his wife and is looked down upon by his mother-inw. Yet no one knows that he¡¯s actually a scion of the Huttons. How hrious! ¡°However, I can use his mother-inw, Karen Turner.¡± A bloodthirsty and cold glint appeared in Marc¡¯s eyes. ¡ª¡ª At this point, Karen naturally didn¡¯t know that a terrifying person was targeting her, and she was still sitting in William¡¯s ward, her eyes full of frustration that she was almost unable to hold back. The reason was that Cheyenne was also in the ward and sitting beside William¡¯s bed while speaking to him non-stop. ¡°Dad, I remember you love spicy pasta the most, but when Charlotte and I were kids, we couldn¡¯t eat spicy food, so you had no choice but to cook tomato pasta for us while you secretly made spicy sauce for yourself. ¡°Let¡¯s go have pasta together when you wake up. You can have it as spicy as you want. Now, Charlotte and I can enjoy spicy food with you! ¡°Oh, and Amelia has been really well-behaved these days, and she keeps asking about you and when you¡¯re going to wake up so that you can y with her. She even made a y figurine at school and keeps saying that she wants to give it to you!¡± ¡­ Cheyenne¡¯s voice was calm, and she kept bringing up matters of their childhood and family in hopes that William could hear her and suddenly wake up. Ever since the doctor said that it would help those in a vegetative state regain consciousness, she and Charlotte woulde over whenever they were free and try their best to say some things to him. But Karen was annoyed to hear it. She was looking for an opportunity to take action against William, but Cheyenne was staying by his side and talking to him incessantly. She was anxious and worried that William would suddenly wake up as the doctor said! Chapter 518 - Finally Striking Treacherously

Chapter 518: Finally Striking Treacherously

Karen finally couldn¡¯t help but interrupt Cheyenne. ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t say anything. Your father won¡¯t wake up so soon. We¡¯d better wait for some time. Hurry up and go home to get some rest!¡± Cheyenne shook her head. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m just sitting here and chatting with Dad. I¡¯m not tired. You should be much more tired than us since you¡¯ve been staying in the hospital for the past few days! Let me stay by Dad¡¯s side tonight. Go home and get some rest!¡± Karen immediately shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not tired at all. I just help your father wipe his body and call the nurse. I¡¯m not of much help. Unlike you two, I don¡¯t have to go to work in the day ande to the hospital at night to talk to your father. It¡¯s more tiring for you guys. Look at you. You¡¯ve lost so much weight in the past two days.¡± She touched Cheyenne¡¯s face and seemed really heartbroken. Cheyenne immediately felt touched. ¡°Mom, it¡¯s been hard on you too!¡± She said sincerely, ¡°Once Dad¡¯s situation stabilizes, I¡¯ll speak to Lucas. You can move back in with us. Before Dades to, he might have to remain hospitalized. You can¡¯t stay outside alone for the long term, so you¡¯d better move in with us.¡± Karen was instantly overjoyed. ¡°Are you serious?¡± The reason she wanted to kill William was precisely to find a chance to move back to the vi and live like the wealthy. Cheyenne nodded seriously. ¡°Of course I¡¯m serious. But Mom, Lucas isn¡¯t like what you think. He¡¯s actually very nice. When we live togetherter, can you be nicer to him and not target him anymore? After all, the vi belongs to him, and if your rtionship is strained, it won¡¯t be good for anyone.¡± Karen immediately shook her head but then nodded vigorously. ¡°Definitely. Actually, I¡¯ve figured out a lot of things during this period of time. Since you are already married and also have Amelia, I won¡¯t be mean to him anymore on your ount. Rest assured!¡± It¡¯s just a verbal promise anyway. Not a big deal. Once I go back to the vi, I will make sure it gets transferred to Cheyenne. No, I¡¯ll transfer it to my name and then kick Lucas Gray out! Cheyenne naturally didn¡¯t know these dark thoughts in Karen¡¯s mind, and she still thought that her mother had really repented. When the sky turned dark, Karen started to urge Cheyenne to hurry home. ¡°Cheyenne, it¡¯ste. It¡¯s not safe for you to go home alone toote at night. You¡¯d better head home soon. Just leave your father to me.¡± She was thinking about how to kill William without anyone else finding out. But with Cheyenne here, she couldn¡¯t find any opportunity at all. But after hearing what she said, Cheyenne insisted, ¡°I¡¯ll stay by Dad¡¯s side tonight. Mom, go back and get some rest!¡± The ward William was in was considered the best VIP ward in Orange County. But there was only one other bed inside for visitors, so normally only one person could stay the night. ¡°That won¡¯t do. I¡¯ll be alone even if I go home. It¡¯s better if I stay here with your father. At least I¡¯ll have peace of mind,¡± Karen said. Cheyenne hesitated for a moment but nevertheless said, ¡°How about you move back to the vi tonight? Charlotte is tied up with work and doesn¡¯t have time toe over now, but she¡¯ll be at home at night.¡± During normal times, Karen would have immediately agreed to Cheyenne¡¯s offer of letting her return to the luxurious vi. But she couldn¡¯t do so today because she had yet to get rid of William, who could wake up at any time. How could she give up such a rare opportunity? Who knew when the medical expert Lucas invited woulde? She had barely any time left. In the end, neither of them convinced the other, and so they had no choice but to stay together for the night. One of them had to sleep on a sofa on the other end of the ward. It was soonte at night. Karen naturally slept on the visitor¡¯s bed, which was closer to William, while Cheyenne slept on the sofa, which was further away. Because Cheyenne had been busy in thepany all day and had spoken a lot with William at night, she was already exhausted and quickly dozed off. Laying on the bed, Karen quietly listened for any movement from Cheyenne. After a long time, she tried to test the waters by calling out to her and found that there was no response. Only then did she confirm that Cheyenne was already asleep. She quietly sat up from the bed and looked at William lying on the bed not far away. A twisted and maniacal joy mixed with murderous intent filled her eyes. It was finally her chance to kill William! She stood quietly in front of her husband, whom she had lived together with for decades, without any emotion or feelings of attachment in her heart. She hadn¡¯t married William because she loved him. After they got married, William not only failed to provide her with the luxurious life that she had imagined, but he was even a good-for-nothing, which made her feel ashamed all the time. Even when she finally managed to live the life of her dreams in the luxurious vi thanks to Cheyenne, William had ruined it for her again. She hated him! During these two days in the hospital, Karen genuinely felt irritated. She had no good feeling for William at all, let alone feel any desire to take care of him and help wipe him down. But in order to pretend to be a qualified wife and mother in front of Cheyenne and Charlotte, she could only pinch her nose and bear with it. Moreover, ever since Lucas said those words in front of her, Karen¡¯s heart was overwhelmed with panic and fear, afraid that William would suddenly wake up and reveal everything she had done! So she had been on tenterhooks for the entire day, and time seemed to crawl by for her. Now, she finally had a chance to kill him! Karen slowly stretched out her hand, which was trembling, perhaps out of excitement or fear. There were two thoughts running through her mind simultaneously. She had never killed anyone before, and she was so nervous and terrified that she almost wanted to give up. But if she didn¡¯t do it now, she would be ruined for the rest of her life once William woke up! She eventually reached out her trembling hand and pinched the oxygen tube. With one hard pull, it wouldn¡¯t be long before William would be dead! ¡°Go to hell!¡± Karen clenched her jaw as her heart thumped rapidly. Finally, she gave the oxygen tube a hard tug! ¡°What are you doing!?!¡± Before Karen could even smile, an angry roar full of astonishment came from behind her. Chapter 519 - Crimes Exposed

Chapter 519: Crimes Exposed

¡°Ahhhh!¡± Karen was already feeling nervous and guilty because of her first murder, so the sudden roar scared her soulless. Before she could turn her head, she was suddenly pushed to the side by a strong force. Trembling with extreme anger and fear, Cheyenne looked at the oxygen mask on William¡¯s face with the unplugged oxygen tube. With trembling hands, she gritted her teeth and immediately reattached the oxygen tube that Karen had just ripped away. Although William¡¯s condition was not severe to the extent that he couldn¡¯t breathe immediately with the oxygen tube unplugged, he was seriously wounded and heavily reliant on the oxygen tube. But Karen had actually just pulled out the tube keeping her father alive! Cheyenne¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot as she stared into Karen¡¯s eyes and once again questioned word by word, ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what the hell were you doing just now?¡± Karen, caught red-handed trying to kill William, was so shocked that she hardly knew what to say and could only splutter, ¡°I¡­ I-I was just checking to see if there was anything wrong with the oxygen tube! Yes, I was just checking it!¡± Cheyenne seemed miserable and agonized. ¡°No, you¡¯re lying! Why would you do such a thing? What exactly did Dad do to you to make you hate him so much that you want to kill him?!¡± she shouted in grief and anger, her face already stained with tears. Just this evening, she had suddenly received a message from Charlotte, asking her to be more careful of Karen¡¯s behavior. Finding it strange, she had asked Charlotte why, but Charlotte had told her to keep her guard up without saying anything else. Due to the doubts in her heart, she had insisted on staying despite Karen¡¯s request for her to leave. She had pretended to fall asleep and remained awake even though she was already exhausted just to see what Karen would actually do. But she had never expected that Karen, who thought Cheyenne was asleep because she didn¡¯t respond to her call, would actually get up and walk over to rip off William¡¯s oxygen tube! If she hadn¡¯t seen with her own eyes, she would never have believed this truth in front of her. Her mother actually tried to kill her father! They are husband and wife. What on earth is this for? Karen waspletely panic-stricken as she hurriedly defended herself. ¡°No, no, Cheyenne, you must have misunderstood! I just said I was just checking if there was anything wrong with the oxygen tube! I wasn¡¯t trying to harm your father!¡± Cheyenne shook her head with tears streaming down her face. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m still a child? No one will believe such a lousy reason! Check the tube? Do you keep the lights off when you check something? Why do you have to do this kind of thing while I¡¯m asleep? ¡°I was awake the whole time, so I saw everything from the time you stood in front of Dad! What else do you want to argue about? You¡­ were trying to kill someone. I¡¯m going to call the nurse and the police!¡± Cheyenne sobbed and choked in agony as tears rolled down her face endlessly. She took out her phone to call the police. This woman who dared to kill her father was too terrifying! Karen grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s wrist and begged, ¡°Cheyenne, please don¡¯t call the police! I know I¡¯m wrong. I¡­ just got carried away for a moment! In the future, I will never do such things again. Please forgive me this time! I am your mother and gave birth to you. Do you want to send me to jail? Can you bear to do that?¡± She frantically used her mother-daughter rtionship with Cheyenne while bawling her eyes out in an extremely pitiful manner. Seeing Cheyenne seeming to be conflicted, she hurriedly continued, ¡°Besides, the reason I did this was all for you and Charlotte! ¡°Your father is now in such a critical state, and he might end up bedridden forever and never regain consciousness again. If it¡¯s just for a day or two, you can still find time to spend with him and talk to him every day. But if he stays like this for months or even years, how heavy will the burden be on you? That¡¯s certainly not something your father would want to see. ¡°So I had no choice but to think of giving him relief and also ease the burden on you and Charlotte. I struggled for a long time before finallying to this decision! You think I tried to kill your father because I really hate him? I¡¯ve been married to him for so many years after all, and you two are already grown up. What reason do I have to do this?¡± Karen was sharp and quickly made up a seemingly reasonable reason. Indeed, in this world, it was also true that there were many people who had to pull the oxygen tubes of their loved ones as ast resort. But Karen¡¯s words didn¡¯t convince Cheyenne. She cried and said, ¡°But Dad isn¡¯t dead. He¡¯s justatose for the time being, and we all still have hope for him. Why do you have to take away the possibility of Dad waking up and deprive him of the right to live?¡± Although she said so, she was undeniably softhearted and gradually put down the phone in her hand. Seeing this, Karen was overjoyed and quickly struck the iron while it was hot. ¡°Cheyenne, I really just made the wrong decision in a moment of folly. Don¡¯t worry. I now know I was wrong. I really didn¡¯t consider your thoughts and feelings before making that presumptuous decision. I was really wrong! I definitely won¡¯t do it again. Just forgive me this time!¡± Cheyenne took a deep breath and said firmly, ¡°I can let you off this time and not call the police, but you tried to kill Dad. There¡¯s absolutely no way I can forgive you either! ¡°So go away now and don¡¯t appear in front of us again!¡± This was already the limit of her patience. Cheyenne didn¡¯t believe what Karen said because she knew what kind of a person her mother was. Thus, letting her off and deciding not to pursue legal action against her for attempted murder was already the limit of what she could do. The reason Karen wanted to kill William was so that she could return to the vi and live the life of luxury she had been looking forward to all her life. But now that Cheyenne actually wanted her to leave, how could she ept it? ¡°Cheyenne, do you not want me as your mother anymore? Just because I had a moment of folly and made the wrong decision? Besides, nothing really happened to your father, and I won¡¯t do it again in the future. Can¡¯t you just forgive me once?¡± Karen asked anxiously and even went as far as to kneel down before Cheyenne. But this time, Cheyenne, who had always been good-tempered and softhearted, didn¡¯t agree even after seeing her kneeling. ¡°No, I will never forgive you for what you¡¯ve done to Dad. Letting you leave and not telling others about it is the best I can do. If you¡¯re still not satisfied, I¡¯ll have no choice but to call the police.¡± Chapter 520 - Pulling Up Beside A Black Car

Chapter 520: Pulling Up Beside A ck Car

Hearing Cheyenne say that she was going to call the police and seeing the serious look of determination on her face, Karen was finally sure that Cheyenne wasn¡¯t going to change her mind. The thought that she might be arrested and spend the rest of her life in prison made her shudder. She hurriedly got up from the ground and said eagerly, ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll leave now. You can¡¯t call the police!¡± With that, she hurriedly dashed out, fearing that Cheyenne would change her mind if she ran slowly. Cheyenne watched her figure disappear from the hospital shrouded in the darkness of the night. She finally couldn¡¯t help but fall to the ground and hug her knees and cry sorrowfully. At this moment, Lucas, who was far away in the vi, also received the news. ¡°Lucas, do you want to get rid of that woman?¡± Lucas stayed silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Since Cheyenne has decided to let her off, let her go.¡± Then he hung up the phone. But Lucas was a little worried. He was worried about Cheyenne. He reckoned that after witnessing the horrendous side of her mother, Cheyenne would definitely be miserable and break down. Lucas closed his eyes for a moment before immediately getting up and rushing to the hospital. Right now, he should be by Cheyenne¡¯s side. ¡ª¡ª It was close to midnight, and there was a ck Nissan car parked quietly in front of the hospital. It was hidden under the dim street lights, seemingly without a sense of presence at all. Karen cursed all the way as she made her way out of the hospital. She had just been caught red-handed trying to kill William, and Cheyenne didn¡¯t want to see her again. Now, there was nowhere else she could go, so she had to go back to the shabby apartment. At the thought of Cheyenne¡¯s ruthlessness, she was even more resentful.?Hah, so much for raising you to adulthood. How dare you treat me like this?! Just you wait for me! When she walked by the ck Nissan, the door suddenly opened, and two people came out and moved extremely quickly toward Karen. Karen was terrified and wanted to shout for help, but her mouth was already covered by someone¡¯s hand. ¡°Mmph!¡± She struggled desperately, but she was no match for the two burly men and was soon shoved into the car. The ck Nissan was like a phantom, silently parked in the hospitalte at night. No one knew what was happening here. ¡­ Only after Karen was dragged into the car did the hand move away from her mouth. When Karen broke free, she immediately yelled, ¡°Who the hell are you people? What are you trying to do by dragging me into this car? ¡°I¡¯m telling you, this is abduction and illegal detention. It will get you sentenced to jail. Do you understand? ¡°If you let me go right now, I promise I won¡¯t sue you and hold you responsible. If you¡¯re smart, let me out of the car now!¡± The two burly men who had forced her into the car nced at each other, and both tacitly remained quiet. Karen¡¯s intimidation had no effect on them. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re really funny!¡± A woman dressed in ck sitting in front suddenly snickered. ¡°You just attempted to kill someone, and you even hired someone to kill the same person before. Yet you¡¯re talking to me about thew now?¡± Karen was instantly astonished, and her heart was in her throat. Why does this woman know what I¡¯ve done? I just left William Carter¡¯s ward. How does she know about the attempted murder? Could this woman have been watching every move of mine? Karen¡¯s heart went cold, and she forced herself to feign ignorance as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about! I don¡¯t know anything about hiring a killer or attempted murder! You¡­ Who are you people? Have you¡­ been following me all this time? I don¡¯t remember ever offending you!¡± As she spoke, her face became terribly pale, and even her voice trembled. The woman in ck sneered. ¡°You don¡¯t need to care about who we are. You just need to know that you yourself are a scumbag who even has the heart to kill your own husband. That¡¯s enough!¡± Karen suddenly felt as if her heart had plunged into an abyss.?Oh my god! They really know what I¡¯ve done! She had always thought that she had done it very secretively, but where exactly did it go wrong? Who are these people? She was panic-stricken, but now that she had been pulled into the car, it was impossible to escape. God knows where they¡¯re taking me¡­ While thinking, she suddenly realized that the car hadn¡¯t moved and was quietly parked in ce. Even the engine wasn¡¯t started. ¡°You¡­ what exactly are you doing?¡± Seeing this situation, Karen immediately began to struggle again. ¡°Shut up. Don¡¯t move, or I¡¯ll kill you now!¡± The woman in ck in front suddenly turned around with terrifying killing intent in her eyes. Like a ferocious beast, she instantly made Karen shut her mouth in fear, too petrified to move. Soon, a ck Jaguar drove over and slowly stopped in front of the Nissan. The woman in ck immediately opened the door, got out, walked to the Jaguar, and respectfully weed a tall young man. ¡°Lucas, Karen has been controlled by us and is now in the car,¡± the woman in ck said respectfully to the young man. ¡°Okay, thanks for your efforts,¡± the young man said indifferently. The tall young man was naturally Lucas, while the woman in ck was Skr, who had only started being Lucas¡¯s subordinate two days ago. The person Lucas had arranged to secretly protect William was Skr, so she naturally knew every move of Karen like the back of her hand. Karen, who was extremely nervous in the car, was terribly frightened when she saw Lucas, and her eyes widened in horror! ¡°You! Lucas!¡± After she saw Lucas get inside the car, she immediately stretched out her finger andshed out at him. ¡°How dare you! I¡¯m your mother-inw. How dare you get someone to kidnap me? Do you believe that I will inform Cheyenne of this and make sure that you can¡¯t bear the consequences?¡± She was afraid of others, but she had gotten used to facing Lucas, who often let her curse at him without saying a word in the past. So she not only didn¡¯t feel the slightest fear toward him, but she even reflexively scolded him without hesitation. ¡°How dare you!¡± Skr shouted and pped Karen hard on her face. ¡°If you dare to insult Lucas one more time, I will kill you immediately!¡± Chapter 521 - Waves Rise Again

Chapter 521: Waves Rise Again

Skr had been saved by Lucas, and now that she had decided to follow Lucas, she would naturally be biased toward him. More importantly, Skr was responsible for monitoring Karen¡¯s behavior during this period of time, and she had witnessed with her own eyes Karen¡¯s terrifying and menacing true colors. She had seen Karen repeatedly abusing her seriously wounded husband, who was stitose and lying on the hospital bed, and even trying to kill him with her own hands. So in Skr¡¯s eyes, Karen was an extremely vicious wench who was in no ce to scold Lucas! Karen was not afraid of Lucas, but Skr¡¯s murderous eyes just now were still fresh in her memory, leaving her terrified. She immediately kept quiet in fear after taking a p from Skr. At the same time, a rare sense of scrupulous fear toward Lucas arose in her heart. This terrifying woman in ck in front of her actually seemed very respectful to Lucas¡­ Even when Lucas saw Skr pping Karen, his expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest. In fact, if not for the fact that he was concerned about Cheyenne¡¯s feelings, Lucas would have long stopped tolerating Karen. He remained sitting and said indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t think that no one knows about those evil things you¡¯ve done. I have concrete proof. Initially, I should have sent you to prison for trying to harm my father-inw twice! ¡°But for the sake of Cheyenne and Charlotte, I¡¯m choosing to let you off once more. But remember, this is thest time. If you show up in front of us unrepentant and upset the both of them again or provoke me, you¡¯d better think about what will happen to you!¡± After speaking, Lucas grabbed a stainless steel wrench from the equipment box in the car and bent both ends lightly. The stainless steel sturdy tool instantly formed an arch! Everyone watched in shock as his hands twisted and crumpled the wrench into a ball as though it was dough. Finally, he threw it onto the ground, and itnded in front of Karen with a loud ng. Karen¡¯s eyes were about to fall out! When she heard the loud ng, she finally realized that it was a genuine wrench that weighed several pounds. If Lucas used this force on her body, her neck and bones would definitely break since they were obviously not any more durable or harder than the wrench! At the same time, she also saw the murderous intent buried deep in Lucas¡¯s eyes. She suddenly shivered violently, and her teeth started chattering. At this moment, she finally felt an unprecedented fear toward Lucas, her son-inw she had always despised! Lucas nced at her onest time in disgust and said to Skr, ¡°Send her to the Turner residence in LA. Tell them to keep an eye on her and make sure that she never shows up in front of us again!¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Skr immediately agreed. Karen naturally didn¡¯t dare to say no. Lucas got out of the car and watched Skr and the others leave the hospital in the Nissan before walking toward the hospital impatiently. But at this juncture, Lucas had no idea that Cheyenne had witnessed everything from upstairs. She had just exposed Karen and stopped her from trying to kill William, but Karen was still her mother after all. Although she had told Karen to never show up in front of her and Charlotte again, she couldn¡¯t help but go to the window to see her off for thest time. This was most likely thest time she would be seeing Karen as a mother¡­ Cheyenne¡¯s face was stained with tears as she watched Karen slowly walk toward the hospital¡¯s main entrance. But at this moment, Cheyenne was surprised to see Karen being pulled into an inconspicuous-looking car on the side of the road. Cheyenne was so frightened that she shrieked in horror and almost called the police. Fortunately, she soon saw the familiar ck Jaguar belonging to Lucas and finally heaved a sigh of relief. She trusted Lucas and knew that he would never hurt Karen. She also guessed that he had probably already found out about Karen¡¯s actions tonight, so he came here on purpose to give Karen a warning. Soon, the car Karen was shoved into left while Lucas walked toward the hospital. Although Lucas¡¯s figure seemed rather small from above, he was still tall and reliable. Cheyenne suddenly felt aggrieved and miserable. When the door of the ward opened and the upright figure walked in, Cheyenne immediately dashed over, hugged Lucas, and burst into tears. The tears she had been suppressing for a long time rolled down her face. Cheyenne cried her heart out in the embrace that made her feel at ease the most. Since William got into a car ident and was diagnosed to be a vegetable, she had been really miserable, but she had still tried her best to suppress her feelings. Whenever she talked to William, she would try her best to talk only about happy things. But this evening, she had witnessed the terrible act of her own mother trying to kill her father, putting her on the verge of breaking down! Only when she was in Lucas¡¯s embrace could she finally vent all her emotions. Lucas hugged her back and wrapped his arms around her waist, allowing her to cry in his arms. They hugged each other in tears, but their hearts became closer than ever. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in a vi belonging to the Taylors in Orange County¡­ A chubby man in his forties or fifties was lying on a bed and snoring loudly in his sleep. There was a woman lying naked beside him, cuddled up in his arms. Suddenly, an ear-splitting ringtone came from the cell phone he had ced on the bedside table, disrupting the silence of the night and jolting the man awake. He picked up his phone in annoyance andshed out at the person who called. ¡°Why did you call sote at night? Do you want me to kill you immediately?¡± The person on the other end didn¡¯t dare to dy any further and hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Taylor, I have something important to report! Our people just found out that the woman named Karen Turner has been taken away from the hospital. I¡¯ve sent someone to keep an eye on her whereabouts!¡± This chubby man was none other than Scott Taylor, who belonged to one of the four most powerful families in the county. He was also the one who had tried to snatch Lucas¡¯s vi to suck up to Marc Kingston. Today, he had received a task from Marc¡¯s subordinate¡ªto destroy the Stardust Corporation within ten days. Scott naturally learned from the Kingstons that Lucas was the true owner of the Stardust Corporation, and with a hint from them, he soon thought of a wonderful idea. The people he sent to keep tabs on things at the hospital finally brought him some good news! After Scott heard this piece of news, his annoyance diminished, and he immediately sat up straight on the bed. ¡°Okay, immediately bring that woman Karen Turner to me! I need her for something!¡± Chapter 522 - Midnight Interception

Chapter 522: Midnight Interception

At this moment, the inconspicuous ck Nissan that Karen was in was traveling on the road from Orange County to LA. Karen was sitting in the backseat, her heart in a mess. She hated that her n failed and that she had been exposed by Cheyenne. She hated the fact that that bastard William Carter didn¡¯t die in the car ident. She hated Cheyenne for being so ruthless as to chase her out. Of course, the person she hated the most was still Lucas. If Lucas hadn¡¯t been an eyesore to her, she wouldn¡¯t have decided to cooperate with Nikki or tried to kill William in order to move back to the vi. It could be said that one mistake of hers had led to many other mistakes, but the cause of it all was Lucas! But she didn¡¯t dare to show her hatred for Lucas now, and the mere thought of it made her feel extremely horrified. At this point, many of the details she had deliberately chosen to ignore before surfaced in her mind. Lucas, the son-inw she had always despised, had now proven himself to be really capable, and he was no longer the penniless good-for-nothing who had needed to borrow money from the Carters for his ill mother¡¯s treatment. Had I known, I would have been a little nicer to him, and things wouldn¡¯t havee to this¡­?Karen was full of regret! Squeak! Just when she was immersed in her own regretful emotions, the Nissan came to a sudden stop with the screech of the tires. Caught off guard, Karen hit her head against the seat in front of her, causing her to fall into a dizzy spell. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡­¡± Karen put her hand on her head and raised her head. Just as she was about toin, she suddenly saw that another car had stopped in front of the car she was in. There were also several burly men standing in front of this car. They seemed rather aggressive and obviously had hostile intentions. She immediately fell silent and cowered in the corner of the backseat, not daring to utter another word. Meanwhile, the woman in ck, Skr, who was sitting in front, and the other two men in the car had solemn expressions on their faces. These people in front of them must have a motive for blocking them. The burly man in the driver¡¯s seat asked in a low voice, ¡°Skr, what should we do?¡± Skr gripped the hilt of her long deless Sword and said softly, ¡°I¡¯ll go out to ask them what they want and control them. You guys immediately turn around and leave. You must ensure the safety of this woman! Also, remember to inform Lucas and the others!¡± The mission Lucas had given her was to safely deliver Karen to the Turners in LA, so she couldn¡¯t let anything happen to her. After speaking, Skr grabbed the deless Sword and got out of the car. The other two people in the car were members of the Hales, and they had been learning martial arts from Jordan recently. So they naturally knew who Skr was referring to. Because they hadn¡¯t expected people to stop them, they only had the three of them, and they even had to protect a woman who couldn¡¯t do anything at all. They were facing six people and outnumbered. Now, the best thing to do now was indeed what Skr said. But before the two of them had time to turn around, several rays of bright lights darted over from the road behind them. Another three cars drove over and lined up in a row,pletely preventing them from leaving. Even Skr¡¯s expression became extremely gloomy. Karen was just an ordinary woman with nomon sense or much knowledge. So after seeing this situation, she immediately trembled in fear. ¡°Aaahh! Who are these people? Are they enemies you provoked?¡± Karen cried out in horror. Standing in front of the Nissan, Skr asked in an icy cold voice, ¡°Who are you? What are you trying to do by blocking us?¡± A bald and burly man walked out and spat the gum in his mouth onto the ground. He said slowly, ¡°Leave the woman in your car and get lost or die!¡± With an intimidating aura and a muscr body, he looked to be their leader. Skr was a bit surprised. She initially thought that these people might have been sent by the Peerless Martial Association to track her down, but it turned out that their target was Karen! To be honest, Karen was just an ordinary woman who, though vicious, neither had a powerful background nor the chance to offend other big shots. In that case, who would want to capture her? Inside the car, Karen also heard those words, and she immediately shrank and huddled up, wishing she could embed herself into the seat. ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t offend anyone. Why are they looking for me?¡± Karen cried as she sneaked a nce at these people, but she was quickly frightened by their terrifyingly well-developed muscles. Although Skr disliked Karen, Lucas had instructed her to send Karen back to the Turner residence, so she naturally wouldn¡¯tpromise. ¡°That won¡¯t do. I can¡¯t hand this woman over to you!¡± Skr refused outright and continued, ¡°If you have other demands, either money or something else, we can discuss it amicably. How does that sound?¡± Skr and the rest were at a disadvantage, so they naturally had toe up with a solution instead of rushing up recklessly to die. They at least had to stall for some time The people in the car must have informed Lucas by now. If they were lucky, they might be able to hold out until reinforcements came. The bald man, however, had no intention of negotiating with Skr. ¡°If you don¡¯t hand her over, all of you will die here!¡± He issued an order, and several people around him, as well as those who got out of the cars blocking the road behind, surrounded the Nissan. Skr immediately raised her huge deless Sword and confronted the enemies. The two members of the Hale family in the car naturally didn¡¯t sit by idly. They gritted their teeth and got out of the car, leaving behind only the moring Karen. ¡ª¡ª Just a minute ago, Lucas, who was holding Cheyenne in his arms andforting her in the hospital, suddenly received an urgent call. ¡°Lucas, bad news! More than ten people have intercepted us along the way, and their target is Karen. We need support!¡± Lucas¡¯s expression immediately changed. He hadn¡¯t expected his subordinates to be intercepted while sending Karen back to LA. But there was no time to think about it now. He had no choice but to pat Cheyenne¡¯s back and say regretfully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cheyenne. I have some urgent matters to deal with now, so I have to get going.¡± Cheyenne stood up from Lucas¡¯s embrace. Although she was still a bit reluctant for him to leave, she had always been an understanding woman. She asked in concern, ¡°What happened? Is it serious?¡± Afraid that she would be worried, Lucas didn¡¯t tell her that people had intercepted Karen and merely said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Just some small matter at the office I can resolve quickly. Rest well!¡± ¡°Okay, you too!¡± Lucas nodded and left William¡¯s ward. Just as he walked away, he immediately took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Gather people to support Skr¡¯s group on the section of the road leading from Orange County to LA near Pyramid Lake!¡± Chapter 523 - Blade Battle

Chapter 523: de Battle

Bruce Hale, who had already fallen asleep, was awakened by this call from Lucas, but he didn¡¯t dare to dy at all. He immediately gathered all his men as quickly as possible and rushed to the location that Lucas had informed him about to provide support. At the same time, Lucas himself started his ck Jaguar and sped all the way to where Skr and Karen¡¯s group was. Although he didn¡¯t know who the people trying to capture Karen, a woman of little value, were, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the consequences of losing Karen. Cheyenne would definitely misunderstand him when she found out. Just as both Lucas and the reinforcements he had sent were speeding to the scene, the fight there had already reached the climax. Despite being a woman, Skr managed to carry the heavy and long deless Sword and wield it with one hand, keeping all the enemies trying to approach the Nissan beyond the de. Her fighting style was extremely menacing and ferocious. She shed all those trying to rush past her without the slightest hesitation. From time to time, severed limbs would fly and blood would ssh out, but Skr¡¯s eyes were full of determination and ruthlessness. She was fighting with all her might, shocking everyone and leaving them with no guts to charge forward recklessly. Restraining their fear, they surrounded Skr. The bald man had also put away his confidence and contempt as he red at Skr with a much more solemn gaze. He hadn¡¯t expected that a woman could achieve such a feat and cause his subordinates, who were used to bloodshed, to be too scared to approach. ¡°Who exactly are you? I, Bald Lee, am a powerful figure in this area, but I¡¯ve never seen a woman as incredible as you. Tell me your name!¡± Bald Lee stared at Skr and suddenly licked his lips. He became interested in this powerful woman. It was the first time he had seen such a powerful woman in his life. If he could get his hands on her, it would definitely be more fun to toy with her than other women! Skr looked at Bald Lee¡¯s sinister gaze and immediately felt disgusted. ¡°You¡¯re not fit to know my name!¡± ¡°Bitch, don¡¯t be so shameless!¡± Bald Lee flew into a rage after being put to shame. He raised his sword and took a few steps forward while instructing his subordinates, ¡°Let me deal with this woman. Get rid of the remaining two and get that woman out of the car too!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The remaining ten or so people immediately rushed toward the two experts of the Hale family. Some went to smash the ss windows of the car to take Karen away. Skr was anxious. She immediately raised her deless Sword and caught up with them to drive them back. But another heavy sword suddenly collided with hers. ng! The deless Sword and the heavy sword collided violently, instantly emitting a crisp metallic ng. At the same time, Skr felt a tingling vibration in her hand. She gritted her teeth. It seemed that the bald man in front of her wasn¡¯t just burly, but he was good at wielding a sword too! The des of their weapons bounced back upon collision. But the next instant, they swung their weapons and exchanged blows back and forth. But Skr was held up by Bald Lee, and the other two at the side were no match for the ten or so people. They were beaten into a pulp and soon fell to the ground, covered in blood. The windows of the ck Nissan had also been smashed. Karen screamed as she was dragged out. ¡°Ahhh! Ahhh! Help¡­! Let me go! I don¡¯t know you! You must have gotten the wrong person! Please, please let me go!¡± Skr was extremely anxious. She tried to go over to provide support and get Karen back on multiple asions, but Bald Lee¡¯s sword kept stopping her. ¡°Get lost!¡± Seeing how critical the situation was, Skr could no longer worry about anything else. She shouted and charged forward to sh Bald Lee. Whoosh! The long de instantly formed an afterimage with the momentum of a thunderbolt as it shed at Bald Lee¡¯s head! Bald Lee didn¡¯t dare to be careless. He forcefully waved the sword in his hand and put it above his head to block the thunderous blow. ng! The two des once again collided violently as a deafening ng and sparks immediately emerged from the point of collision, which were especially obvious in the dark. Although the deless Sword didn¡¯t strike Bald Lee¡¯s head, the invisible sword pressure that emerged from an expert of Skr¡¯s caliber cut Bald Lee¡¯s head. Blood flowed down from the top of his head and down his forehead. ¡°Ah!¡± Bald Lee roared in anger when he saw that he was injured. Skr gritted her teeth with all her might and pressed her sword down. Although she was much stronger than the average man, the difference in physical qualities between men and women couldn¡¯t be negated easily, especially when she was facing a powerful opponent like Bald Lee. Bald Lee gritted his teeth and suddenly bellowed. His muscles bulged all over as he pushed Skr¡¯s sword away with his instantaneous explosive power. Pushed back, Skr subconsciously moved two steps backward. But before she could stand still, Bald Lee kicked her in the gut and sent her flying. Immediately afterward, he gripped his sword, quickly caught up with her, and shed at Skr, who had fallen to the ground. This time, he no longer treated Skr as a ything like before. He decided that he had to kill this woman who could injure him! Skr¡¯s pupils constricted. She couldn¡¯t get up in time, so she rolled on the ground twice to dodge Bald Lee¡¯s sword. While dodging, she saw the opportunity to swing her sword hard against the ground, aiming at Bald Lee¡¯s calf. Bald Lee hadn¡¯t expected Skr would still be able to counterattack at this moment, so he couldn¡¯t block it in time. He had no choice but to leap up in an attempt to dodge this attack. But he jumped too soon and didn¡¯t manage to dodge at all. Although he was lucky enough to avoid being cut in the calf, the bottom of his foot was ruthlessly struck by the long deless Sword. He immediately yelled in pain and took several steps backward. He painstakingly regained his bnce, but his calf and foot were still trembling slightly from the intense pain. If word about him actually getting wounded by a woman got out, Bald Lee¡¯s reputation would be ruined in a few days! His gaze was gloomy, and he wished he could kill Skr right away. But unfortunately, his foot was now injured, and it was inconvenient to move. If the fight continued, he would probably be the one to lose! He quickly scanned around the battlefield. Karen had already been caught by his subordinates and shoved into the car. They hadpleted the mission, so there was no need for him to stay here and continue being embroiled with this atrocious woman. ¡°Just you wait!¡± Bald Lee spat a mouthful of saliva and then limped toward the car. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The group quickly started the cars and left the scene. Skr propped herself up against the ground and tried to get up. Just as she was about to pursue them, blood suddenly spurted out from her throat! Chapter 524 - Kill to Silence

Chapter 524: Kill to Silence

The kick Bald Lee had just thrown at Skr caused her to suffer a severe injury. She raised her hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth while still struggling to stand up and chase after Karen. But they were driving and vanished without a trace in no time. Even if she restarted her car to catch up now, it would definitely be toote. Damn it!?Skr mmed her fist hard against the hood of the car with bloodshot eyes. It was the first mission Lucas had given her, yet she actually failed¡­ She was really indignant! Screech! At this moment, a ck Jaguar car sped from the depths of the darkness of the night and pulled over beside Skr. The next moment, Lucas appeared in front of Skr. Immediately upon seeing Lucas, Skr quickly lowered her head and half-knelt down in front of him to seek forgiveness. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lucas. It¡¯s all my fault for being too ipetent to stop them!¡± When Lucas saw her covered in blood and dirt, he immediately frowned and helped her up. ¡°Are you alright? Did you get hurt?¡± A look of surprise quickly appeared in Skr¡¯s eyes. When she was in the Peerless Martial Association, everyone would only care about whether she hadpleted the mission or not. No one had ever cared if she had been injured or not. The first reaction Lucas had was not to berate her for failing her mission but to show her concern and ask if she was hurt. It was a fresh yet touching experience for her. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just got kicked¡­?cough!?There are no other problems,¡± Skr answered, barely able to conceal her agitation. Lucas scanned the surroundings and found the obvious traces of a fight on the ground. There were bloodstains and even some severed limbs. In addition, the Nissan had been smashed up. The two martial arts experts of the Hales were also lying on the ground, covered in blood. Lucas checked their condition and found that both of them were still alive, but their bodies were battered with wounds. Clearly, they were severely injured. It was enough to show how intense the fight had been. It wasn¡¯t that surprising since there were only three of them, while the other side had more than ten people. The disparity in manpower and strength was too much. At this moment, a few more cars dashed over. They were the reinforcements Bruce Hale personally brought over with him. But when he saw how gloomy Lucas, as well as the traces of a violent fight around him, he immediately understood that they were toote. ¡°Mr. Gray¡­¡± Bruce Hale called out cautiously, not daring to say anything more. Lucas ignored him and didn¡¯t me him for beingte. Instead, he asked Skr, ¡°Do you know who did it?¡± Skr replied, ¡°The leader called himself Bald Lee. As his nickname suggests, he¡¯s bald, and he¡¯s very burly too. He brought more than ten people with him and took Karen Turner away.¡± ¡°Bald Lee?!¡± Bruce seemed a little astonished as soon as he heard this name. Seeing Lucas and Skr both looking at him, Bruce didn¡¯t beat around the bush. ¡°He¡¯s a notorious gangster in Orange County who¡¯s famed for using swords. He¡¯s been using swords for more than two decades and is superb at using them. But he doesn¡¯t belong to any family and simply epts money to work for others like a mercenary.¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°In that case, find him immediately! I want to see who had the audacity to snatch someone away from me!¡± An intimidating aura emerged from his body as his eyes shed with cold light. ¡°Yes!¡± Bruce didn¡¯t dare to look at Lucas more than once and immediately agreed as a thinyer of cold sweat seeped out on his forehead. Now that Lucas was enraged, Bald Lee and the person who had instigated him would surely have a hard time! The Hales acted quickly. Before Bruce returned to Orange County, the order to search the county for Bald Lee¡¯s whereabouts had already spread throughout the family. But at this moment, the target of the search, Bald Lee, was limping painstakingly with an injured foot while escorting Karen to the Taylors. In the middle of the hall, Bald Lee threw the frightened Karen directly on the floor and said to Scott, who was sitting on the couch, ¡°Mr. Taylor, I¡¯ve brought this woman to you as you¡¯ve instructed. I even got injured!¡± He grinned and even deliberately revealed some bloodstains on his body and the swollen sole of his foot. Scott eximed exaggeratedly, pretending to be shocked. ¡°They actually injured you. That must have been tough!¡± Bald Lee nodded. ¡°Indeed. I met my match today. She was so difficult to deal with. Not only was I injured, but my underlings were too. Some of them have severed limbs, and it¡¯s over for them now. Since I¡¯m their boss, I mustpensate them in some way. So, Mr. Taylor, what do you think?¡± Scott sneered in his heart, but he was still smiling. ¡°Of course. How can I let you suffer a disadvantage? How about this? We originally agreed on a remuneration of four hundred thousand. How about I give you a million? What do you think?¡± Bald Lee was immediately overjoyed, and he grinned widely. ¡°Thank you so much, Mr. Taylor!¡± In fact, he had lost a bit today. He had initially thought that it would be easy for him to deal with a random defenseless woman, so when Scott offered him $400,000, he had felt like it was a godsend and epted it immediately. But now, Skr had injured his subordinates and severed their limbs, so thepensation definitely wasn¡¯t a small sum. This was why Bald Lee wanted to increase the amount. But he didn¡¯t expect Scott to more than double the remuneration without saying much at all. Scott handed a check to Bald Lee. ¡°This is a check for a million dors. Thank you and your brothers!¡± Bald Lee grabbed the check andughed out loud. ¡°No problem, no problem! Mr. Taylor, if you ever need help with something like this again, feel free toe to me! I¡¯ll definitely help you!¡± ¡°Haha, great. I¡¯ll call you again next time!¡± Scott also responded with a big grin. After the two finished handing over Karen and the money, Bald Lee turned around and walked toward the vi entrance. But just as he turned around, a hole appeared in his heart with a loud bang, and blood immediately gushed out of it along with a bullet! Bald Lee widened his mouth in disbelief and turned around with difficulty. ¡°Why¡­ W-why did you¡­?¡± Scott raised his eyebrows and said with a smug smile, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s to¡­ silence you! Don¡¯t you do such things all the time? Why? Have you forgotten how things are now that it¡¯s your turn?¡± Bald Lee had a trace of remorse in his eyes, but it was all toote! The light in his eye dimmed as he fell to the ground with a muffled thud. Scott looked at his corpse without blinking and instructed the person next to him, ¡°Drag the corpse out and dispose of it!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Two men immediately came over and carried Bald Lee¡¯s corpse out of the house, leaving a bright red trail of blood on the floor. Karen had long been so frightened that she almost passed out! Although she had tried to kill William, she had never witnessed such bloody scenes before! More importantly, what was she about to face? She huddled up in a ball, wishing she could vanish from Scott¡¯s sight. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t go her way, and Scott was already holding the pistol in his hand while looking at Karen. ¡°Next, it¡¯s time to deal with you!¡± Chapter 525 - Worse

Chapter 525: Worse

Seeing the ck pistol in Scott¡¯s hand and the trail of blood on the floor left behind by the corpse that was dragged away, Karen was scared out of her wits. She looked at Scott slowly walking toward her and quickly retreated backward as if she had seen a ghost. She was now so scared that her arms and legs turned limp, and she could barely stand. She could only crawl backward like a dog. On all fours, she begged, ¡°I beg you, don¡¯t kill me! I¡­ can do anything you want me to!¡± Panicked, she scanned her surroundings and looked at the people around her with a pleading gaze in her eyes. But they were all Scott¡¯s subordinates, so no one woulde to her rescue. Karen desperately hid in the corner since there was nowhere else to hide, and she could only watch the chubby Scott walk toward her with a suffocating sense of oppression. ¡°You¡­ Ah!¡± Karen was finally overwhelmed with fear. She rolled her eyes and passed out. This was probably her body¡¯s instinctive protective mechanism when overwhelmed with fear. With a look of disgust and annoyance, Scott immediately picked up a fruit knife and stabbed Karen¡¯s palm ruthlessly. Pfft!?Blood sttered everywhere. ¡°Ah!¡± The intense pain in Karen¡¯s hand immediately made her wake up and remember the situation she was in. She screamed shrilly. ¡°If you dare to faint again, I¡¯ll cut your face immediately!¡± Scott threatened coldly, immediately making Karen shut up. Karen¡¯s face was so pale that there was no trace of blood at all. She was so frightened and afraid of the man in front of her that she knelt on the ground without any dignity and begged for mercy sobbingly, ¡°Sir, please let me off! I beg you! As long as you can let me off, I will be willing to be a dog and slog my guts out for you!¡± Scott sneered. ¡°You want me to let you off? How is that possible! You just saw me kill someone. If I let you off, wouldn¡¯t I be finding trouble for myself?¡± Karen hurriedly assured, ¡°No, no, no! I definitely won¡¯t say a word about it! I didn¡¯t see anything! I really didn¡¯t! I don¡¯t even know who you are, so how could I possibly say anything about you? Besides¡­ I¡­ really don¡¯t know you. You¡¯ve caught the wrong person¡­¡± She was really about to go crazy. She had been living a mediocre life, and at most, she only knew a few rich women with whom she often yed cards and went on shopping trips. Thest time she saw a lot of big shots was at Dn¡¯s wedding. She really didn¡¯t know when she offended such a terrifying person! Scott had a sinister look on his face as he said, ¡°Hah, it¡¯s true that we don¡¯t know each other. But you can only me yourself for being Lucas Gray¡¯s mother-inw. If you want to me someone, me him. When you die, look for him. Don¡¯t get the wrong person!¡± Then he raised the pistol in his hand again and aimed the muzzle at Karen¡¯s head. Once he gently pulled the trigger, Karen¡¯s head would immediately be blown up like a watermelon. Karen¡¯s hatred for Lucas rose to the peak at this moment. She never thought that the hopeless disaster she was now facing was also caused by that damn Lucas Gray. But she was really wronged! ¡°Wait¡­ wait! I¡¯m wronged!¡± Karen yelled in panic, afraid that Scott would immediately shoot her dead. She frantically said, ¡°Although Lucas Gray is my son-inw, he¡¯s also my enemy! I¡¯ve always looked at him with displeasure and always wanted to drive him out of my family. I¡¯m definitely not on his side! ¡°You hate him too? It just happens that I can help you deal with him! Please don¡¯t kill me because of him!¡± Only then did Scott deliberately say, ¡°Is that so? But I don¡¯t trust you. Besides, you¡¯re just a stupid woman. What can you do to help me?¡± Karen was really anxious because she knew that if she couldn¡¯t show how useful she was, she would only die. The man in front of her was like a menacing ghost who killed without hesitation. He wouldn¡¯t care about her life at all. ¡°I¡­ I can do whatever you want me to! I¡­ know some things about Lucas Gray, and I can tell you all about them! And I can also be your ve and dog! I¡¯ll do whatever you want! Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± Karen begged bitterly, afraid that Scott wouldn¡¯t believe her. She even knelt on the ground and began kowtowing. ¡°Want to be my dog? Haha, interesting. Try doing it. If I¡¯m not satisfied, I¡¯ll kill you immediately!¡± Scott said with great interest. Seemingly finding a straw to clutch at, Karen immediately knelt on the ground and barked like a dog. ¡°Woof! Woof woof!¡± Karen¡¯s barking was really realistic, and she did sound like a dog. ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± Scott burst intoughter while the others in the hall guffawed too. At this moment, Scott¡¯s heart was full of a twisted sense of satisfaction.?Lucas Gray is so arrogant and aloof. If he finds out that his own mother-inw is acting like a dog and wagging her tail in front of me, how would he feel? With an inted and distorted sense of satisfaction, Scott sat down on the couch next to him with one leg crossed over the other. ¡°On ount of your sincerity, I¡¯ll spare you. But from now on, remember that you¡¯re just a dog to me!¡± Hearing that she finally had a chance to live, Karen didn¡¯t care about anything else and simply nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, yes! From now on, I am your dog, Master. I will do whatever you tell me to do!¡± Scott was naturally very satisfied. The reason that he went through all the trouble of capturing Karen from Lucas was naturally not because he just wanted to kill her. She was an extremely crucial part of his n to deal with Lucas from now on. What he did just now was meant to frighten Karen and make her feel too scared to disobey him! Sitting on the couch with his legs crossed, Scottmanded, ¡°Shameless dog, immediately crawl over and lick my shoes clean!¡± At this moment, Karen hadpletely lost all her dignity, and she obediently crawled over like a dog on all fours while barking. After crawling to Scott, she hesitated for a moment before immediately sticking out her tongue to lick his leather shoes. As Scott looked at the cheap and shameless woman in front of him licking his shoes vigorously, an evil fire surged in his heart. Although Karen was almost fifty years old, she had never suffered much in her life and usually livedfortably. She spent loads of money on beauty products to upkeep her youth and looks, so she was still rather pretty. He was quite attracted to her. Chapter 526 - Good Show

Chapter 526: Good Show

Scott grabbed Karen¡¯s hair and barked at the underlings beside him, ¡°All of you, get lost!¡± Soon, only Scott and Karen were left in the vi. ¡°You know how to serve me well, right?¡± Scott cupped Karen¡¯s chin and reached his hand into her shirt. ¡°Yes! I promise to serve youfortably!¡± ¡ª¡ª Several hourster, Lucas stood on the upper floor of his vi and watched the darkness of the night fade away as the faint light of dawn slowly rose. But a hint of anxiety lingered in his heart. The people who went to search for Bald Lee and Karen had yet to return with good news. This meant that Karen was either still in his hands or had already met with a mishap. Although he didn¡¯t care whether Karen was dead or alive, he wouldn¡¯t know how to exin it to Cheyenne and Charlotte if something happened to her after she was taken away from him. But Lucas had already sent all the subordinates he could, so he could only stay at home to wait for news. Just as the first rays of sunlight in the morning shone into his eyes, which were full of weariness because he hadn¡¯t slept all night, the cell phone in front of him suddenly rang. ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡¯ve found Bald Lee!¡± Bruce said over the phone. ¡°Where is he?¡± Lucas immediately asked. Bruce¡¯s voicegged for a moment before he continued, ¡°Uh¡­ Bald Lee is already dead. We only found his corpse.¡± ¡°What? Dead?¡± Lucas revealed a look of great surprise, but his face soon became gloomy. ¡°Where¡¯s Karen?¡± Bruce said carefully, ¡°Sorry, we haven¡¯t found her yet¡­¡± Lucas frowned. He didn¡¯t care that Bald Lee was dead, but he had an ominous feeling because he didn¡¯t know if Karen was dead or alive. Sincest night, there had been several questions hovering in Lucas¡¯s heart. Karen was just an uncouth and vicious woman. Although she was detestable, she knew to pick her battles wisely and often bullied the weak while fearing the strong. So it was unlikely that she was facing the revenge exacted by a powerful person she provoked. Of course, in order to rule out this possibility, Lucas had also asked people to check if Karen had offended any big shot with a powerful background in recent years. In the end, the only thing discovered was Karen¡¯s feud with James Wilson¡¯s wife, Sharon, because of the jade bracelet incident. However, Lucas had chased Sharon out of Orange Countyter, and James Wilson had also been behaving himself. He thought that it was unlikely that they took revenge on Karen. In addition, Karen¡¯s maiden family was just an ordinary farmer¡¯s family. Moreover, she and William had been disowned by the Carters, so she shouldn¡¯t have been implicated even if the Carters¡¯ enemies were striking them. So the only possibility was that they were targeting him by abducting Karen. Moreover, Bald Lee was an expert at using the swords, and Bruce¡¯s wordsst night also confirmed that the people who could hire him were definitely affluent. Bald Lee¡¯s death also proved that the force behind the person who snatched Karen had to be powerful. Its strength should at least be simr to that of the four major families. In that case, he could only use the elimination method to think about who the mastermind behind it was likely to be. Of the four major families in Orange County, the Sawyers and the Hales were on his side, while the Taylors and the Waces were not. Of course, the Kingstons and Bensons from San Francisco both had grudges against him too, so they were likely suspects as well. As for the Huttons in DC, they were also very likely to attack him. But they were extremely powerful and should disdain to do such trivial things. Even if the Huttons wanted to use Karen to deal with him, they should have gotten another family to do it on their behalf. So Lucas soon figured out a few suspects. ¡°Focus on the Taylors and the Waces. Don¡¯t let off the Kingstons and Bensons of San Francisco either. Let¡¯s start from them!¡± he ordered in a deep voice. ¡°Yes!¡± Bruce immediately answered. After Lucas hung up the phone, his mood still didn¡¯t improve. The fact that Karen was missing was like a gloomy cloud looming over his head. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in the Taylors¡¯ vi in Orange County¡­ Scott was lying on afortable bed, sound asleep and snoring slightly. In the corner of the room was an iron cage half the height of a human. Karen was locked up in it, stark naked, without a single piece of clothing to cover her. There was even a heavy iron cor hanging around her neck, making her look like a real dog. Scott¡¯s phone on the bed suddenly rang, disturbing his beautiful dream. He picked up his phone in annoyance and answered the call without even looking at it. He immediately cursed, ¡°Do you have a death wish? Who the hell is calling so early when I¡¯m sleeping? Do you believe that I¡¯ll immediately kill you?!¡± ¡°Scott Taylor, do you have a death wish?¡± An icy cold voice came from the other end. After hearing this voice, Scott was immediately frightened awake, as if a pot of ice water had been poured onto his head. ¡°M-Mr. Kingston! I¡¯m sorry. I was muddled and didn¡¯t know it was you. Please forgive me!¡± he said in horror while quickly getting up and kneeling on the bed. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re actually in the mood to sleep? If you don¡¯t carry out the task I¡¯ve given you well, you won¡¯t have to live anymore! Got it?¡± Kyle¡¯s voice was full of a merciless, murderous aura, immediately causing a denseyer of cold sweat to emerge on Scott¡¯s forehead. Scott hurriedly nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already got Karen Turner in my hands, and I¡¯ll soon be able to put her to use! When the timees, there will be no way for Lucas Gray and hispany to make aeback. He will definitely die!¡± ¡°I hope so. Otherwise, you know what will happen to you!¡± With that, Kyle immediately hung up. Scott was full of lingering fears. Ever since he knew how perverted and violent this sessor of the Kingston family was, he was extremely nervous every time he spoke to him, fearing that he might provoke him with a slip of the tongue. Scott got off the bed, went to the iron cage where Karen was, and kicked it. ¡°Bitch! Why are you still lying in there? Immediatelye out and help me wash up!¡± Karen was startled and immediately woke up. As soon as she saw Scott, she subconsciously put on a deferential expression and began to bark like a dog. There were numerous whip marks and pinch marks on her naked body, as well as some undried blood stains too unbearable to look at. Karen had clearly had an extremely unforgettable nightst night. But Scott was not satisfied. Not wanting to have a hideous monster lying beneath him yesterday, he had only pped Karen¡¯s face, leaving only some red and swollen palm prints. But this didn¡¯t bring about the effect he wanted. Scott pulled Karen out of the dog cage and punched and kicked her in the head and face. Amid Karen¡¯s incessant screaming, her originally well-maintained and still somewhat charming face waspletely beaten into a pulp, leaving it swollen and bruised. Only then Scott was satisfied. He retracted his hand and smiled sinisterly. ¡°This looks more like it. Now, it¡¯s time for a good show!¡± Chapter 527 - Livestream Trap

Chapter 527: Livestream Trap

Two hourster, outside the door of a remote and dpidated old house in Orange County¡­ Three vans drove over slowly and pulled over at the entrance of the old house. Arge group of people carrying cameras, light boards, and other filming equipment got out together with four fashionably dressed young men and women wearing exquisite makeup on their faces. After seeing that everyone had arrived, Scott finally got out of a white Porsche at the side. As soon as these young men and women saw Scott, they immediately surrounded him and said with respectful expressions, ¡°Mr. Taylor, you¡¯re actually waiting for us here personally. We¡¯re really ttered!¡± The Taylors¡¯ business in the entertainment industry was running well, and various livestreamers had be popr in recent years, so there were quite a few streamers signed with the Taylors¡¯pany. The young men and women in front of him were the most popr streamers that the Taylors had promoted so far. Scott smiled casually and asked, ¡°I¡¯m sure you all know why I¡¯ve asked you toe here today, right?¡± The streamers nodded hurriedly. ¡°Yes, we all know. Everything will be done ording to your instructions, Mr. Taylor!¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good.¡± Scott smiled in satisfaction and said to these streamers who were determined to make a name for themselves, ¡°Perform well! Once today¡¯s business is done, I¡¯ll give each of you a bonus!¡± The young streamers were overjoyed. ¡°Yes, Mr. Taylor! We all have millions of fans, and thepany has been actively promoting us. When the streams startter, the data will definitely soar, and the event will immediately shock everyone and grab attention!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. You can rest assured, Mr. Taylor!¡± The streamers vied to speak. Scott nodded in satisfaction and then took the lead to walk into the old house. This old house could probably be considered a dangerous building, as it was dpidated and shaky. There was nothing inside except some simple wooden beds and a brick stove. It looked like a house from nearly a century ago. Karen was standing and trembling in fear in this old house, looking at Scott anxiously. ¡°Later, you must perform well and act like the dog that you are in front of me. Do you hear me? If you do well, I will set you free and reward you with some money. But if you perform poorly, you¡¯ll face the same fate as that baldy yesterday! Do you hear me?¡± Scott walked up to her and threatened in a low voice. Karen trembled and immediately nodded her head repeatedly. Two of her teeth had been knocked out, so air moved through her teeth when she spoke. ¡°Yes, I understand. I will definitely do a good job!¡± Scott pinched her twice unrestrainedly before turning around to yell at the people outside, ¡°Come in!¡± Soon, the group of streamers and staff carrying cameras immediately came in and started the pre-filming preparations in an orderly manner. They set up the cameras, attached the microphones, put up the light boards, and so on. Soon, the ce turned into a small shooting site. ording to their arrangement, Karen sat on a shabby wooden bed. She looked extremely miserable and out of sorts, her hair all messed up and her face bruised. ¡°Begin!¡± Someone nearby pped the pperboard once, and the shooting officially began. ¡°Dear fans and friends! Hello everyone! I¡¯m your most adorable streamer, Little ck Cat!¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m TigerWhoLovesEatingFish!¡± ¡°Long time no see my fans. I am your beloved streamer, Green Grass!¡± ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Amy. Are all my fans watching now?¡± The four popr streamers appeared on their streams at the same time and greeted the viewers, immediately causing their fans to scream in a frenzy. All the fans were ecstatic and began spammingments. ¡°Ahhhhhh! My baby baby actually suddenly went live at this time! And it¡¯s together with three other major streamers. How shocking!¡± ¡°Oh my god! Little ck Cat, TigerWhoLovesEatingFish, Green Grass, and Amy have appeared at the same time. What an epic and dream coboration!¡± ¡°Impressive! They¡¯re actually doing a stream together. The content must be really shocking. I¡¯m already eager!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to call my buddy toe over. This is such a rare scene. If he¡¯s not here, he will definitely regret it!¡± ¡°Ah, me too. I have to hurry up and inform my besties so that they can hurry over to watch the four of them doing a stream together!¡± ¡­ All of a sudden, there was a huge uproar on the inte because of the four streamers, and countless people tuned in to see the stream produced by these four big names. A few minutester, the number of viewers of each of their streams exceeded two million, and only then did they finally introduce the content of the stream today. ¡°Dear viewers and fans, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all aware that the four of us rarely get together for a stream. But today, we¡¯re making an exception for a poordy. ¡°Thisdy has a husband who loves her and two beautiful and gentle daughters who are both working adults. One of them has gotten married and has a child, so it can be said that thisdy¡¯s life is very sessful. She should soon be able to enjoy familial bliss. ¡°But such a happy family was soon ruined! And the person who caused it is thisdy¡¯s son-inw! ¡°Just over a week ago, thisdy¡¯s husband unfortunately met with a car ident that left him seriously injured and unconscious. This should have been a time for the family tofort each other and cheer each other up, but none of them expected that thisdy¡¯s son-inw would develop evil thoughts! ¡°In order to seize the property belonging to thisdy¡¯s family, he found the opportunity to drive her out of the house and even viciously beat her up! He even threatened to break her legs if she went against his warning and revealed this matter to her daughters! ¡°Desperate and penniless, thisdy had no choice but to end up living helplessly on the streets. She eventually found her way to this shabby ce where she sought shelter to barely shield herself from the wind and rain. ¡°Now, let¡¯s hand over the microphone to this pitifuldy and listen to what she has to say!¡± With that, the streamers handed a microphone to Karen, and at the same time, the cameras next to them all immediately panned to her. A bruised, swollen, and almost distorted face appeared on the screens of cell phones andputers belonging to countless people. Chapter 528 - Excellent Acting Skills

Chapter 528: Excellent Acting Skills

At this moment, in the chairman¡¯s office on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation building¡­ Lucas was holding a few reports in his hand, but he wasn¡¯t focused on them. Instead, he seemed slightly lost in thought. He was pondering about something. In the past few days, William had suddenly met with a car ident that left him seriously wounded and even hospitalized. It was unknown if he could regain consciousness. Even Maddy might not be certain about curing him when she returned from abroad to take a look at his condition. Cheyenne and Charlotte would take time to go to the hospital and chat with William every day. At the same time, things seemed to be rather chaotic at the Stardust Corporation as well. Since two days ago, several secondary partners had all unterally terminated their contracts with the Stardust Corporation, thus causing many of the already formted ns and strategies to be greatly affected. They had to redo andy down many of the crucial steps all over again. Of course, finding out the mastermind behind this was the most important thing. Lucas had a nagging feeling that the contract terminations were only one part of the ns and that there were very likely further ns. Lucas¡¯s phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Cheyenne. ¡°Cheyenne¡­¡± Lucas picked up the phone. Just as he spoke, she anxiously interrupted him. ¡°Lucas, where is my mom now?¡± Cheyenne asked with an unprecedented austerity in her voice. Lucas was stunned, but he soon felt a little guilty. He touched his nose and could only say, ¡°I-I don¡¯t know.¡± Yesterday, he had wanted to send Karen back to the Turners and warn them to keep a close eye on her. But some people suddenly attacked and snatched Karen away on the road. When Skr¡¯s group called to inform Lucas about it, he was still with Cheyenne. In order to prevent her from worrying, he chose not to tell her about it and nned to wait until he managed to get Karen back. But Lucas hadn¡¯t expected to be unable to find Karen even until now. So when he heard Cheyenne ask about it, he was naturally at a loss for words. He couldn¡¯t tell Cheyenne that her mother had been abducted and was missing. So he could only tell her that he didn¡¯t know. ¡°Do you¡­ really not know where my mom is?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s tone seemed a little off, with a tinge of fragileness. She seemed to be gritting her teeth too. Lucas could tell something, but he kept his lips sealed and only said, ¡°I really don¡¯t know. Cheyenne, did something happen to you?¡± He heard Cheyenne take a deep breath and say, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Then she hung up. Lucas looked at his phone with a bitter smile. He didn¡¯t want to deceive Cheyenne. But now, William was still lying on the hospital bed, and who knew when he would regain consciousness. Cheyenne and Charlotte were already extremely miserable, grief-stricken, and emotionally and physically exhausted. If the news of Karen¡¯s disappearance was revealed, Cheyenne definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to ept it. Lucas really couldn¡¯t bear to do so. The only thing he could do was to send as many people as possible to try and get the abducted Karen back as soon as possible! But the somewhat bizarre tone of Cheyenne¡¯s voice still bothered him.?She¡­ isn¡¯t aware of anything, is she? ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Cheyenne, who was sitting in the general manager¡¯s office of the Brilliance Corporation building, burst into tears immediately after hanging up. But she bit her lower lip to prevent herself from crying loudly asrge teardropsnded on her desk. On the monitor in front of her was a stream ying, and the protagonist of the stream was her mother, Karen! Although her face was beaten up and so swollen that it was almost beyond recognition, Cheyenne was her daughter and had been living with her for decades, so she could definitely recognize her face! At this moment, Karen, who was in a horrible state on the monitor, was looking at the camera and telling everyone about her tragic experience. ¡°Yes, I actually had a blissful family at first, and my daughters have both bepetent adults with sessful careers. One of them is the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, and the other is the general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. And my husband is also working as a manager of apany. It could be said that our family¡¯s ie and financial situation were quite good. ¡°But all of this was ruined by my son-inw, Lucas Gray! ¡°Lucas was just a penniless punk with no background. Butter, he wooed my daughter and became her live-in husband. ¡°I thought he was a good man. Although he was poor and my daughter was out of his league, I thought that I¡¯d just bite the bullet and let him be my live-in son-inw as long as his character was eptable. ¡°But I never thought that Lucas Gray was just a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing! ¡°God knows what tricks he resorted to to be the person in charge of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, but he knows nothing about managing apany. He just likes pretending to be mighty, so he ended up offending lots ofpanies. They¡¯ve all decided to terminate their contracts with the Stardust Corporation!¡± Hearing this, many of the Orange County audience burst into an uproar in front of their screens. The Stardust Corporation was quite arge enterprise in Orange County. And previously, it had the support of the Huttons, so many of therge and small businesses were all proud to cooperate with it. Even those who didn¡¯t care about wealthy families and businesses had at least heard of the Stardust Corporation. But they only knew that there was a general manager with thest name Davis, and they didn¡¯t know that there was another person in charge named Lucas Gray. This was new information to them. As for what Karen said about the contract terminations, some people had indeed heard about it. It seemed what she said was probably true. But what Karen said next immediately caused all the people watching to be in disbelief. Weeping miserably, Karen said, ¡°Because of Lucas¡¯s recklessness, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch has suffered heavy losses. He¡¯s afraid that he won¡¯t be able to exin it, so he tried to collect money to fill the deficit. But he doesn¡¯t have enough money himself, so he tried to take it from us! ¡°So just a few days ago, he deliberately got someone to run a car into my husband and turned him into a vegetable so that he would be the only man in our family and could rightfully call the shots! ¡°When I identally found out about it, this ck-hearted Lucas Gray beat me up into a pulp, causing me to end up in this state. He even fabricated lies iming that I caused my husband¡¯s car ident. He even threatened me not to talk to anyone about it, or he would beat me to death! ¡°I was going to suck it up, but I¡¯m really worried about my daughters! They have no idea that the man they live with is a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing! ¡°Cheyenne, Charlotte, you must believe me and realize the true colors of this sinister and ruthless man as soon as possible! He¡¯s truly inhumane! ¡°If I really die one day, it will definitely be because Lucas Gray killed me! But it doesn¡¯t matter if I die. I just can¡¯t bear to let my dear daughters continue being deceived by that beast!¡± Karen teared up as she spoke, pretending to be a loving mother who was willing to expose the viin Lucas at the expense of her own life, despite having suffered lots of abuse and aggravation. Countless viewers wept in front of their screens. At the same time, more people were full of rage toward Lucas! Chapter 529 - I Trust You

Chapter 529: I Trust You

Once Karen¡¯s stream aired, it immediately sparked a great reaction on the inte. Apart from the streams on the major tforms, there were also many people who took screen recordings of the stream and uploaded it onto the inte. Even the major news media tforms in Orange County immediately released reports about it. ¡°Oh my god! Thatdy is really pitiful! Her son-inw named Lucas Gray is really a scoundrel!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I heard he¡¯s a live-in husband who sponges off his wife. How dare he maliciously want to kill his father-inw and encroach on their family assets? He even beat thisdy up into such a terrible state. How vicious!¡± ¡°Lucas Gray is the person in charge of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. Since the Stardust Corporation has such an immoral helmsman, let¡¯s all boycott the Stardust Corporation from now on!¡± ¡°Yes! The Stardust Corporation is also an aplice! Boycott it and let it go out of business!¡± ¡°Get lost from Orange County, Stardust Corporation!¡± ¡­ Gradually, thements began to sway toward a general direction, and they were all moring about boycotting the Stardust Corporation. Cheyenne quietly looked at Karen¡¯s miserable face, which had been beaten up terribly, andrge teardrops rolled down incessantly. Cheyenne quietly listened to Karen¡¯s words, which were full of false and untrue information. But it was an irrefutable fact that she had ended up in this miserable state. After making Karen leavest night, Cheyenne still couldn¡¯t allow herself to bepletely ruthless toward Karen. So when she watched Karen leave the hospital, she unexpectedly saw Lucas¡¯s subordinates pulling Karen into a car. She thought that Lucas just wanted to give Karen a warning before getting people to take her away. But she could have never imagined that Karen would end up in such a sorry plight less than a dayter. So she immediately called Lucas to ask about it, but he actually said that he didn¡¯t know where Karen was. ¡°Lucas¡­ why did you lie to me? Why did you¡­ do such a thing to my mom¡­¡± Cheyenne slumped onto her desk in agony and began crying in pain. At the same time, her heart was full of remorse. If she hadn¡¯t made Karen leavest night, this wouldn¡¯t have happened to her now! When Karen wept and said that she was doing it all for her daughters and even said that she might die there, it made Cheyenne even more grief-stricken. Lucas¡¯s decision to hide it from her and her mother¡¯s tragic situation made her feel devastated and miserable! At this moment, Lucas received a sudden phone call from Bruce, the helmsman of the Hale family. ¡°Mr. Gray, Karen Turner has suddenly appeared on a livestream. You can watch it by tapping the notification on your phone. The content is extremely disadvantageous to you!¡± Hearing this, Lucas immediately opened the app. But at this moment, Karen¡¯s stream had just ended. Due to the great impact and influence of the public opinion caused by this matter, there were lots of recordings of the stream avable on the homepage of Twitter even though it had already ended. Lucas immediately clicked on the video. But the more he watched, the more sullen his expression became. Karen had totally twisted facts and made up stories. Moreover, when Lucas saw the tragic state she was in, he immediately understood that Karen must have been instigated or forced into this by someone. This also meant that Karen was in an extremely dangerous situation at the moment! Lucas couldn¡¯t help frowning. Besides, he thought about the phone call from Cheyenne just a few minutes ago, during which she had asked him where Karen was. Given the unusual tone of her voice, he reckoned that she had probably already watched the stream. Lucas didn¡¯t dare to imagine what kind of mood Cheyenne was in at the time¡­ Karen was Cheyenne¡¯s mother, but the former even degraded him and smeared him on the inte. He thought that Cheyenne would also probably more or less believe what Karen said¡­ At the same time, Karen¡¯s words had not only left a tremendous lethal impact on Cheyenne and his rtionship, but it also dealt a destructive blow to the Stardust Corporation. The power of thements online was imaginable. Karen¡¯s stream had just ended, but the videos had already spread across all the major media tforms in Orange County. It was also the current hot topic of discussion. Due to Karen¡¯s words and her deliberate attempt to mislead the public, the Stardust Corporation was about to face an unprecedented crisis. Thepany¡¯s stock price and market value would plummet immediately. This would be a massive blow to the future development of the Stardust Corporation. Without a doubt, the person who snatched Karen awayst night had deliberately resorted to so many tactics in order to target Lucas and the Stardust Corporation. Moreover, there was another issue that couldn¡¯t be ignored?¡ªKaren¡¯s safety. If Karen was still of some value to the mastermind, killing her and then framing Lucas for it was undoubtedly their n. When the time came, be it the Stardust Corporation or Lucas himself, they would undoubtedly receive k and be ostracized by the public. The Stardust Corporation might even face the crisis of annihtion! With a gloomy expression, Lucas clenched his fists tightly. ¡°Damn it! No matter who is behind all of this, I won¡¯t let them off!¡± Bang! Suddenly, the door of the chairman¡¯s office opened from the outside, and Charlotte stumbled in. Panic-stricken and flustered, she looked at Lucas and asked incoherently, ¡°Lucas, is all that¡­ true ? My mom¡­ That¡¯s not true, is it? Where is she now?¡± The bottom of Charlotte¡¯s eyes was red, and she was about to break down entirely. Just a moment ago, she had watched the stream on her phone. She had initially wanted to just turn it off, but she was still Karen¡¯s daughter, so she had instantly recognized that the woman beaten into a pulp was her mother, Karen! Although her rtionship with Karen was strainedtely because of Karen¡¯s actions, thetter was still her mother, so how could she not show her any concern? After hearing all of Karen¡¯s usations against Lucas, Charlotte was instantly astounded. Of course, she knew that many of the things Karen had said were untrue. But how could Karen, who was supposed to be taking care of her father in the hospital, suddenly end up in such a state? So she immediately called Cheyenne, who told her that it was indeed Lucas¡¯s subordinates who had taken Karen awayst night. Charlotte felt that her views of life had been severely impacted! She always knew that her mother and Lucas had a bad rtionship, but she didn¡¯t expect it to be so terrible! Lucas looked at Charlotte¡¯s panicked look and disbelief and let out a long sigh. He said softly, ¡°If I say that I didn¡¯t do all of that and that Karen was just making things up to spread rumors, would you believe me?¡± Charlotte tightly bit her lower lip and remained silent. Just as Lucas felt a little disappointed, he suddenly heard Charlotte¡¯s answer. ¡°I believe you!¡± Lucas nced at Charlotte in surprise and found that her gaze had be firm. She repeated, ¡°I trust you, Lucas!¡± Chapter 530 - Great Influence

Chapter 530: Great Influence

The feeling of being trusted made Lucas feel a great sense of relief. At the same time, he also felt heartened. Since Charlotte was willing to believe him, Lucas stopped hiding the truth from her and gave her a brief exnation of everything that had happenedst night. ¡°She did something unforgivable, so I arranged for people to send her back to the Turner residence in LA. But she was suddenly abducted by some people along the way. I¡¯ve been checking her whereabouts, but I haven¡¯t been able to find her until she appeared on the stream just now and said those things.¡± Charlotte frowned. ¡°Who could be trying to harm my mom? And why did she suddenly say those things¡­ Ah!¡± She suddenly shrieked, and her expression immediately changed drastically as she grabbed Lucas¡¯s arm. ¡°I know! Someone is deliberately going against you and the Stardust Corporation. That¡¯s why they abducted my mom and even forced her to say those things on the stream. Is this the case? This means my mom is definitely in danger now! Don¡¯t you think so, Lucas?¡± Lucasforted seriously, ¡°Charlotte, I can¡¯t guarantee anything now, and I can¡¯t say that I¡¯ll be able to bring your mom home safely either. But I¡¯ll definitely do my best to find her!¡± Charlotte understood that Lucas had searched for Karen for an entire night, which meant that the other party should have hidden their tracks very well. Since they could target the Stardust Corporation as well, they also had to be extremely powerful. So she could understand that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to guarantee that he could bring Karen home. ¡°I know, Lucas. So, what should we do now? Are we supposed to just wait at home for news?¡± She gritted her teeth, feeling extremely indignant. ¡°Charlotte, there¡¯s no point in being so anxious now. Leave it to me to search for your mom. ¡°Moreover, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re now the general manager of the Stardust Corporation. The stream earlier has already left a serious impact on ourpany¡¯s image, and the subsequent matters will also trigger a series of drastic changes. I¡¯ll leave it to you to handle everything!¡± Only then did Charlotte suddenly realize that she had been too preupied with asking about Karen in a moment of panic, so much so that she didn¡¯t realize until now how tremendous a blow Karen¡¯s words had dealt the Stardust Corporation. Indeed, since she was now the general manager of thepany, she had to take responsibility and handle this matter properly! ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. Just leave all the matters regarding thepany to me! I¡¯ll definitely handle this unexpected crisis well and protect ourpany!¡± There was determination written all over her face. Since she couldn¡¯t help with finding Karen, she at least had to fulfill the responsibility required by her job and handle thepany¡¯s situation well so that Lucas wouldn¡¯t have to worry. She could also foil the ns of those who abducted her mother! ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave thepany to you.¡± With that, Lucas turned around and left the office. Seeing Lucas¡¯s slightly fatigued figure, Charlotte suddenly felt that he seemed even more noble to her now. At the same time, she felt a little more heartache. Charlotte had seen how Karen used to treat Lucas, and it could be said that Karen simply treated him like an enemy. Even though she and Cheyenne had long epted him, and even their father had also changed his attitude toward him, Karen¡¯s attitude was still as hostile as ever. It was as if she¡¯d kick Lucas out of their home at any time. Now that Karen suddenly encountered a mishap, he actually put the past behind him and sent people to find and save her. Besides, Charlotte had just seen how bloodshot his eyes were. She reckoned that he must have stayed up all night to wait for news about Karen! How could Charlotte not admire a man like him? ¡­ After Lucas left the office, he called Bruce. ¡°Have you found out anything from those streaming websites?¡± Bruce didn¡¯t dare to dy and immediately said, ¡°Yes! We¡¯ve already investigated and found that the four streamers are signed to the Taylors¡¯ entertainmentpany. This matter must be rted to the Taylors! However, I haven¡¯t been able to find where Karen Turner is.¡± ¡°The Taylors¡­ hmph!¡± Killing intent shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes. ¡°She definitely won¡¯t be in the same ce. They must have already moved. The Taylors, hah!¡± With a sneer, Lucas hung up and drove to the Taylors¡¯ vi. On the other end of the phone, Bruce¡¯s eyes were full of immense joy. It seemed that Lucas was bent on seeking trouble with the Taylors. Therefore, the Taylors would no longer need to exist in Orange County! The Hales might be able to rise and truly be the top family in Orange County! The thought of the scene alone made Bruce extremely excited. ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Scott Taylor was holding his phone in his vi and reporting the situation on his side to Marc. ¡°Mr. Kingston, have you watched the stream that just sparked an uproar on the inte? The effects werepletely beyond our expectations, and the influence is far greater than we expected. Are you satisfied?¡± Scott was smiling smugly as he tried to ask Marc for credit. ¡°Are you a fool?¡± To Scott¡¯s surprise, Marc not only didn¡¯t show any joy or praise him, but he evenshed out at him, causing Scott to be stunned! ¡°I told you to destroy only the Orange County branch of the Stardust Corporation helmed by Lucas Gray. Who told you to draw ire to the entire Stardust Corporation? Great. Now the entire Stardust Corporation is implicated because of your idiotic n. Thepany¡¯s market value and image have been greatly affected. Even if you sell the entire Taylor family, you won¡¯t be able to fill this hole! ¡°You¡¯re utterly stupid. Trust you to have the cheek to ask me if I¡¯m satisfied. I¡¯ll rip your head off right now. Will you be satisfied?¡± Marc roared in fury. Scott should really be grateful that the two of them were on the phone right now. Otherwise, Marc would definitely break his neck! Scott failed to take credit and was scolded instead. He was afraid and aggrieved for a bit, but he hurriedly defended, ¡°But Mr. Kingston, I didn¡¯t say that Lucas is the chairman of the Stardust Corporation! I just got Karen Turner to say that he is the head of the Orange County branch¡­¡± Hearing this, Marc was even more enraged! ¡°Are you really a fool? You made such a big stir online, and everyone only knows that Lucas is the head of Stardust Corporation. No one cares which branch it is! Your approach was ridiculous! ¡°You created such a big mess. All you idiots can go to hell! All theizens are cursing the Stardust Corporation and want to boycott the entire Stardust Corporation. When the Huttons find out, they¡¯ll skin you alive! You¡¯re just deliberately giving me trouble, aren¡¯t you?!¡± ¡°What?!¡± The thought that this matter would blow up to the extent of offending the Huttons made Scott instantly shudder and fall to the ground! Chapter 531 - Interrogating To Find Her Whereabouts

Chapter 531: Interrogating To Find Her Whereabouts

Scott¡¯s body was drenched in cold sweat. On the other end of the phone, Marc said, ¡°I don¡¯t care what you do. You must reduce the impact of this matter to the minimum in the shortest possible time! Make sure all the videos and news are deleted, and don¡¯t get the entire Stardust Corporation involved again. Do you hear me? Otherwise, don¡¯te begging me to save you when the Huttonse!¡± With that, Marc hung up. Scott sat on the ground in a daze, panic written all over his face. He initially thought that his method was extremely lethal to Lucas and would meet Marc¡¯s requirements as soon as possible. So he had used all his resources to spread this matter like wildfire. But he didn¡¯t expect his n to bootlick Marc by getting the matter done fast to backfire and result in the opposite effect. Moreover, public opinion was spiraling out of control, and even if he wanted to withdraw his n now, it would be extremely difficult. ¡°Damn it!¡± Scott clenched his fist tightly and punched the table with all his might. Bang! Suddenly, the sound of an explosion filled the air outside the gates of his vi. ¡°F*ck! What happened outside?¡± Scott hollered in exasperation. Two of his subordinates hurried in from outside and reported, ¡°Bad news, Mr. Taylor. A man suddenly barged in and even rammed his car through the gates of the vi!¡± These words angered Scott further. ¡°Damn it! I¡¯m in a foul mood now. Who has the audacity to barge into my house? Come on! Let¡¯s go outside to take a look!¡± They rushed out of the vi, only to see a ck Jaguar parked in the yard in front of them. The door of the car opened, and a tall figure slowly stepped out of it. With his appearance, the temperature in the entire yard seemed to plunge by several degrees. ¡°Lucas Gray, it¡¯s you?!¡± Scott bellowed through gritted teeth. It wasn¡¯t the first time he met Lucas. In fact, he initially didn¡¯t have anything to do with Lucas. Previously, Marc had called him to say that he had taken a liking to Lucas¡¯s Pearl Lake vi, which the Taylors had developed, and instructed Scott to acquire it for him. At the time, Lucas had already paid for the vi at the center of Pearl Lake. Although Scott was aware of it, he nevertheless tried to forcefully take it from Lucas to give to Marc. This was why Scott got into a conflict with Lucas and even bore hatred for him. Scott was more than happy to ept the task given by Marc to deal with Lucas and hispany. In fact, he even felt a great sense of satisfaction when he insulted Karen yesterday. Oh, Lucas Gray, weren¡¯t you really cocky in front of me? Your mother-inw is just a dog that wails underneath me! Now, Scott watched as Lucas walked straight in with a hostile expression. He immediately realized that Lucas had probably investigated and found out about Karen¡¯s current situation and was here to question him. But he naturally wouldn¡¯t dare to admit to it. Scott looked at the ten-odd bodyguards beside him. Feeling a sense of security, he glowered and shouted at Lucas, ¡°Lucas Gray, you punk, you¡¯re really bold. How dare you barge into my vi? Since you¡¯ve rammed through my gates, I won¡¯t let you leave easily!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Karen Turner?¡± Lucas cut straight to the chase without wasting his breath. Scott mocked, ¡°Who? What Karen? I don¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking about! You¡¯re still so arrogant, huh? Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re now on my territory. You¡¯d better mind your manners when you¡¯re speaking to me!¡± Lucas ignored the bodyguards who stepped forward and simply said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Where is Karen Turner? Tell me, and I¡¯ll spare your life. Otherwise, you will die!¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes, and his aura became even more imposing. Scott was frightened and subconsciously cowered a little. But he soon thought,?This is my turf. With so many bodyguards around me, I won¡¯t be beaten up like I was at the Pearl Lake vi. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really arrogant. I¡¯ll let you know the consequences of being arrogant!¡± Then he beckoned the bodyguards around him. ¡°Go!¡± But as soon as he issued hismand, Lucas suddenly vanished from sight! The next instant, Lucas suddenly appeared half a meter in front of Scott. Scott was greatly taken aback andpletely caught off guard, so much so that he couldn¡¯t even react in time before he took a strong blow in his stomach and was sent flying backward! Bang! Bang! The first sound was from Scott¡¯s chubby body hitting the vi door behind him, mming the sturdy stainless steel carved door wide open. The second sound was the sound of Scott¡¯s body hurtling through the living room before mming hard against the wall. The distance between the two positions was almost ten meters, and Scott¡¯s body came to a halt only when he rammed into the wall. The violent impact made him scream in pain. While falling to the ground, he opened his mouth, and blood gushed out. The bodyguards didn¡¯t process what was going on until Scott began vomiting blood on the floor. Their expressions changed drastically as they red at Lucas. Scott¡¯s internal organs were almost disced by Lucas¡¯s kick. After struggling greatly to get up from the floor, he shouted, ¡°Kill¡­ kill this bastard! I want him dead right now!¡± The ten or so bodyguards immediately charged toward Lucas. Lucas didn¡¯t even bother ncing at them and simply walked toward Scott at the back of the living room as if no one else was around. ¡°Go to hell!¡± A bodyguard swung his fist fiercely at Lucas. Lucas merely raised his hand to block the fist before folding it effortlessly, instantly breaking the bodyguard¡¯s wrist. ¡°Ahhh!¡± The bodyguard cried out in pain. After holding the bodyguard¡¯s fist, Lucas pushed him back five meters. He was in so much pain that he had already broken out in cold sweat and lost his power to fight. Seeing this, the other bodyguards started being more cautious when attacking Lucas. But no matter how hard they tried, all their moves were futile in front of Lucas. They were all like preschool children being beaten up by an adult, their strengths worlds apart. Lucas knocked down the more than ten bodyguards one after another. During this process, not only did he not have the slightest change of expression, but there was no change in the rhythm of his gait as he walked forward! At this moment, Lucas was just a terrifying killer to Scott! There was finally some horror in Scott¡¯s eyes. In particr, when he watched Lucas approaching him one step at a time, he began shuddering. ¡°Lu-Lucas Gray, I¡¯m a direct descendant of the Taylor family. If you dare toy a finger on me, the Taylors definitely won¡¯t let you off¡­ Ahhhh!¡± Before Scott even finished issuing his threats, Lucas took a step forward and stomped on his chest. ¡°I don¡¯t have much patience. I¡¯m asking you onest time. Where is Karen Turner?¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were brimming with icy cold murderous intent. Chapter 532 - Why Should I Spare You?

Chapter 532: Why Should I Spare You?

Scott was almost frightened to the point of peeing in his pants when he saw the murderous gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes. As a scion of the Taylor family, he had done countless horrible things such as torturous interrogations and murder. For instance, he had scared Karen to the point of peeing her pants by holding her at gunpoint. She had been so terrified that she obediently sumbed to bing a shameless and cheap dog in front of him. But now that it was his turn under Lucas¡¯s coercion, he finally realized how terrifying this feeling was! He initially thought that it would be possible for him to take down Lucas with his ten or so bodyguards because they were all elites the Taylors had spent a huge sum to hire. It waspletely possible for a single bodyguard to beat up around ten ordinary people without any problem. But he never expected that Lucas had merely walked over casually and effortlessly defeated all his bodyguards. It was simply inhumane strength! In particr, since Lucas had spent several years in the army, experiencing many near-death situations and killing countless enemies, people like Scott, who only knew to use their power to coerce others, naturally couldn¡¯t resist Lucas¡¯s terrifying pressure. Scott¡¯s body was now drenched in cold sweat, and he immediately wanted to tell Lucas everything thetter wanted to know in hopes of being spared. But when he thought about how Marc definitely wouldn¡¯t spare him if he really talked, he was overwhelmed with fear again. ¡°I¡­ I really don¡¯t know¡­¡± Scott was on the verge of bursting into tears. Lucas was a formidable killer he couldn¡¯t afford to offend, but Marc was also a terrifying psychopath. If Marc found out that he had spilled the beans, he would definitely skin Scott alive! ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to speak up, die!¡± Lucas looked down coldly at him from above and stepped even harder on his chest. ¡°Ahh!¡± Scott immediately howled in pain. He felt his ribs and internal organs creaking under an irresistible force and pain surging from the depths of his body. The air in his alver and trachea was squeezed out, making him open his mouth, but he couldn¡¯t utter a single word at all. The fear of death made himpletely break down. His tears and mucus flowed out, and he was looking at Lucas with a pleading gaze full of regret. He truly regretted his actions now! If he offended Marc, he would just have to face the fear of Marc settling scores with him. But now that he had offended Lucas, he might just die right here on the spot! Only when Scott¡¯s eyes rolled backward did Lucas move his foot away and shout in a deep voice, ¡°Speak up! Tell me everything you know!¡± Scott felt the immense pressure on his chest suddenly disappear and cool air re-enter his trachea. Only now did he feel rescued from death. He gasped for air and breathed heavily, looking extremely distressed and repulsive with tears and mucus all over his face. But he couldn¡¯t care less now. As soon as he heard what Lucas said, he immediately said frantically, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you, I¡¯ll tell you! I¡¯ll tell you everything! ¡°It was Marc Kingston from San Francisco. He also took Karen Turner away!¡± He was terribly frightened and immediately revealed that Marc was the mastermind. Although he would probably face Marc¡¯s wrath afterward, he felt that was better than being killed right now! ¡°Marc Kingston,¡± Lucas murmured, seemingly already expecting it. Several years ago, the Kingstons had be subordinate to the Huttons from DC. The Huttons were also the instigators behind the various incidents in the past, such as the spread of the news of the Huttons abandoning Lucas, Charlotte and Flynn being ndered for having an affair with each other because of digitally-doctored photos, and Oliver Harvey¡¯s suicide in an attempt to make the Stardust Corporation the target of public criticism. It could be said that the Kingstons were justckeys to the Huttons. Although the Huttons had sent someone to bring Lucas back to DC to take over the Hutton family when he had just returned to Orange County from the Falcon Regiment, it was only the decision of the helmsman. The other members of the family were definitely not willing to see him, a disowned member they had painstakingly driven out of the family for many years, return to the Hutton family to snatch their authority away. Although Lucas didn¡¯t intend to go back, the rest of the Huttons didn¡¯t think so, so they just kept thinking about suppressing him outside so that he couldn¡¯t do anything. ¡°Hah, the Huttons! You people are targeting me, but you actually also want to use the people around me to bring down the Stardust Corporation my mother left to me. Unforgivable!¡± A frightening killing aura glowed in Lucas¡¯s eyes. Scott had been staring at Lucas¡¯s face, and when he saw his killing intent, he started shivering uncontrobly. Lucas looked down at him. ¡°Were you the one who snatched Karen away from my peoplest night?¡± Scott didn¡¯t dare to lie and could only bite the bullet to say, ¡°Yes¡­ but Marc Kingston made me do it! As you know, the Kingstons are one of the wealthiest families in the state, and the Taylors are currently dependent on the Kingstons for many matters. So I¡­ I didn¡¯t dare to disobey him! Please spare me!¡± ¡°Did he also instigate you to beat up Karen Turner badly and force her to lie and smear me on the stream?¡± Scott¡¯s face was covered in cold sweat, but he didn¡¯t dare to say that it was all his own idea, fearing that Lucas would kill him right away. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Yes! All of it is Marc¡¯s idea. He sent me to capture Karen Turner to deal with you!¡± Now, he could only try to put all the me on Marc. After all, it was Marc¡¯s idea for Scott to abduct Karen to deal with Lucas and hispany. Lucas sneered. ¡°Even if the idea was his, the person who carried everything out was you. What makes you think I will spare you?¡± He kicked Scott¡¯s fat body. Scott shrieked miserably in horror, fearing that Lucas would kill him. He hurriedly said, ¡°No! Y-you can¡¯t kill me! I am a direct descendant of the Taylor family, and my father is the head of the family. If you dare toy a finger on me, the Taylors will definitely not let you off. The Kingstons won¡¯t take it lying down either!¡± At this time, he could only bring up the Taylors and Kingstons in an attempt to deter Lucas. Since Lucas returned to Orange County, he had heard such words no less than ten times, so he had already gotten sick of them. What else could these good-for-nothings do except throw their weight around because of their family¡¯s power and authority? ¡°What can the Taylors and Kingstons do to me?¡± Lucas sneered imposingly. Then he shouted at Scott, who was on the ground, ¡°Why did Marc Kingston want to take Karen Turner away? What other instructions did he give you? What other ns do you have? Give me a clear and honest exnation! Otherwise, I will immediately send you to hell!¡± Chapter 533 - Sudden Gunshot

Chapter 533: Sudden Gunshot

Scott had long been terrified of Lucas and didn¡¯t dare to y any more tricks. He answered Lucas¡¯s question truthfully. ¡°I¡­ I actually don¡¯t know what other ns Marc Kingston has. He merely instructed me to destroy the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch within ten days and capture Karen Turner to use her against you. But¡­ after the livestream incident today, he reprimanded me and instructed me to control the scope of public opinion. He wants me to destroy the branch while not affecting the entire Stardust Corporation itself. ¡°Also, shortly after the stream ended, about half an hour or so ago, Marc Kingston¡¯s subordinates took Karen Turner away, but I don¡¯t know where they took her! ¡°I¡­ I swear what I¡¯m saying is true! I was just acting upon Marc¡¯s orders. He didn¡¯t tell me anything else. So I really don¡¯t know much about the rest! Lucas, I¡¯ve told you everything I know. Please just spare me this once!¡± ¡°She was taken away half an hour ago¡­¡± Lucas pondered quietly. He didn¡¯t know where Marc would take Karen, but he reckoned that he would likely just kill Karen and then frame Lucas for her death so that he would bebeled a devil and be a public enemy. His reputation would then be ruined. Lucas didn¡¯t care about Karen¡¯s life and death. In fact, if not for Cheyenne being her daughter, he would have long killed her himself. Although she deserved to die, now wasn¡¯t the time. He had lost Karen when she was under his escort. So if she died, there would definitely be some discord between him and Cheyenne and Charlotte. The only solution now was to go to the Kingstons as soon as possible to look for Marc and force him to speak up. Regardless of whether Karen was now dead or alive, he needed a clear answer! The thought of it made Lucas not want to waste any more time here. Lucas nced at Scott coldly. ¡°Even if you aren¡¯t the mastermind, you can¡¯t be spared from the punishment!¡± Then he stepped on Scott¡¯s arm and broke it. Ignoring Scott¡¯s miserable shriek, Lucas turned around and walked away. At this moment, his heart was brimming with anger. The Huttons owed him and his mother plenty to begin with, and he had yet to settle the score with them, but they had been offending him at every turn! He had yet to develop his current foundation well and would still have to pay a tremendous price to destroy the Huttons. But the Kingstons from San Francisco were willing to be the Huttons¡¯ckeys and had repeatedly offended him. In that case, they shouldn¡¯t me him for being ruthless and destroying the Kingstons! Clutching his broken arm, Scott got up from the floor with great difficulty, full of resentment toward Lucas. At any other time, he would have thought about how to exact revenge on Lucas for his broken arm and leg. But he somehow didn¡¯t feel any urge to take revenge now because the thought of the murderous gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes made him subconsciously terrified! It was as though Lucas was a giant that was impossible to defeat! While thinking about this with his face deathly pale, Scott suddenly felt that he should tell the rest of the Taylors about this or at least inform his father, Frederick Taylor, the helmsman of the family, of how terrifying Lucas was. That way, they would be able to properly weigh whether it was worth it for the Taylors to go toe-to-toe against such a terrifying enemy because of the Kingstons! With this thought, he tried to bear with the pain and picked up his phone to make a call. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s me. I have something to tell you.¡± Scott¡¯s tone became cautious in front of his father. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Speak up!¡± Frederick answered tersely as usual. ¡°Dad, just now, Lucas Gray, whom the Kingstons sent us to deal with, came over, and he¡­¡± Before Scott could finish speaking, a whistling bullet instantly prated his heart! Bang! The bullet was still echoing, but Scott had already frozen in ce. He lowered his head a little and looked at the ck hole in his chest. He opened his mouth slightly, but he couldn¡¯t say anything. Scott¡¯s phone slipped and fell to the floor as he copsed quietly. The bodyguards, whom Lucas had defeated earlier, were extremely shocked. ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Two bodyguards immediately became rmed and hollered furiously, but it was already toote! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ¡­ With a burst of intense gunshots, the ten or so bodyguards crumpled down, all shot dead by the bullets that prated their heads and other vital parts! Hearing the sudden bursts of gunshotsing from the other end, Frederick, who had always beenposed and collected, was immediately frightened. His heart tensed up, and he suddenly stood up from his seat and shouted, ¡°Scott! What happened?! Scott, hurry up and answer me!¡± But there was no longer any sound on the other end of the phone. Frederick¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he immediately realized that something must have happened to Scott! Frederick flew into a rage and roared at the top of his lungs, ¡°Send people to look for Scott immediately! Find out clearly what exactly happened!¡± It instantly made all the Taylors panic as they started searching for Scott frantically, not daring to be negligent at all. Standing alone in the room, Frederick felt his heart sink continuously. Although he was still holding onto the hope that nothing had happened to Scott and that Scott could still be rescued, he was clear after hearing the gunshots that it was unlikely that he would survive. But no matter what, he had to find out what had happened to avenge his son¡¯s death! Soon, the butler hurriedly ran over and reported, ¡°Mr. Taylor, one of the bodyguards with Mr. Scott has returned. He ims to have something important to tell you!¡± Frederick immediately got up and barked, ¡°What are you waiting for? Bring him to me immediately!¡± Soon, a bodyguard with a broken wrist and a body battered with wounds stumbled in. As soon as he saw Frederick, he immediately got down on his knees and apologized. ¡°Please forgive me, Sir! I failed to protect Mr. Scott. He¡­ he was shot dead tragically by a vile man!¡± Although he had long been prepared, Frederick still got a dizzy spell after receiving the news of his son¡¯s death. After finally standing still, he immediately roared with reddened eyes, ¡°I want to know what happened! Who did it? Tell me immediately!¡± Only then did the bodyguard raise his head and say with great resentment, ¡°It¡¯s Lucas Gray! He suddenly barged into Mr. Scott¡¯s vi and shot him dead!¡± Chapter 534 - Invitation To Form An Alliance

Chapter 534: Invitation To Form An Alliance

¡°Lucas Gray!¡± Upon hearing this name, Frederick roared with extreme viciousness and resentment. As the helmsman of the Taylor family, he was no stranger to this name. Moreover, Frederick was well aware that Marc had asked the Taylor family to cooperate with him to deal with Lucas. But he could have never imagined that Lucas would have the audacity to kill his son! At the thought of Scott¡¯sst phone call to him before the gunshots, he suddenly realized that Scott seemed to be telling him that Lucas had just barged in. A second after that, the gunshots sounded! Frederick had no doubt that his son had definitely been killed by Lucas for revenge! He clenched his fist fiercely and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Where is my son now? Even if he¡¯s dead, his corpse has to be sent back to the Taylors!¡± The bodyguard immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ve brought Mr. Scott back. He¡¯s in the hall downstairs!¡± Without saying another word, Frederick pushed open the door of the room and rushed downstairs, only to see at a nce the familiar body ced in the center of the hall. His face was still the same as before, and his body was rotund as usual. In fact, it was still warm. But the fabric of his floral shirt on his chest was already soaked with blood, and blood was still gushing out from the gunshot wound in his chest. His eyes were still wide open, and his lips were slightly parted, as if at the moment of his death, he was extremely shocked and in immense disbelief. ¡°Scott!¡± Frederick shouted in extreme grief and indignation. The rest of the Taylors stood at the side, not daring to move at all, all seeming to be in disbelief. After a long while, Frederick took several deep breaths and suddenly opened his eyes with a terrifying aura emanating from his body. ¡°Lucas Gray! I want him dead! Bring him back to me alive immediately. I want to kill him myself to take revenge for my son!¡± The Taylors didn¡¯t dare to disobey the family head at all, especially now that he was enraged! Although many of them usually didn¡¯t have any good feelings about Scott, they all felt that anyone who dared to kill a Taylor was making an enemy of all of them! Lucas was just an abandoned son of the Huttons. But now, he had actually killed Scott, the son of the helmsman. This was an enmity of life and death! After sending all thepetent people in the family to track Lucas down, Frederick got increasingly furious as he looked at his son¡¯s face. He took out his cell phone and immediately called Darren Wace, the current head of the Wace family. Frederick didn¡¯t say much nonsense and immediately asked, ¡°Mr. Wace, I¡¯m calling you this time to ask you if the death of your nephew Liam was the doing of Lucas Gray.¡± After the sudden death of the former helmsman, Pierre Wace, Darren seeded his position. In terms of age and seniority, Darren was a generation junior to Frederick, so Frederick was very straightforward with his words. Of course, Frederick still didn¡¯t know that Pierre hadn¡¯t died of a sudden serious illness, but rather, he had been shot dead on the spot by Marc Kingston. Darren frowned and then said, ¡°Mr. Taylor, what exactly do you want to say? You can just say so.¡± Frederick said straightforwardly, ¡°Just ten minutes ago, my youngest son, Scott, was killed by Lucas Gray! I¡¯ve already made up my mind. I¡¯m going to do my best to seize that punk. Previously, I heard that Liam was also killed by Lucas Gray. How about we join hands to capture that punk and torture him to death to avenge our murdered family members?¡± Darren was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas to have killed Frederick¡¯s youngest son too. In that case, Lucas¡¯s prospects were bleaker and bleaker! But Darren didn¡¯t agree with the Taylors¡¯ decision to rope other forces in. Instead, he feigned ignorance and asked, ¡°My nephew was killed by Lucas Gray? I had no idea. Mr. Taylor, how did you learn about it? This is definitely a rumor. I haven¡¯t even found out the cause of my nephew¡¯s death yet!¡± Previously, the Waces had tried to work together with the Kingstons to deal with Lucas, but the experts they sent were useless. In the end, even the elite sent by the Kingstons had gotten killed by Stanley, Lucas¡¯s bodyguard. Later on, the Kingstons told them to stop dealing with Lucas for some reason. Darren naturally couldn¡¯t ask for more. Anyway, the one who died was Liam, his brother Bryant¡¯s son. Bryant was now going against him both openly and secretly because he was disgruntled over the fact that he was the new helmsman of the Waces. Frederick had a look of surprise because he didn¡¯t expect Darren to refuse to admit to this matter. So he naturally knew that Darren wouldn¡¯t join hands with him to deal with Lucas. He was also an extremely arrogant person. Since the Waces weren¡¯t willing, he wouldn¡¯t force them. He said coldly, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then forget it!¡± With that, he simply hung up. After thinking about it, Frederick called Ethan Sawyer and Bruce Hale, the helmsmen of two of the four major families, in hopes of finding an alliance. He even said that after Lucas¡¯s destruction, thepany and properties under his name would be equally divided among them. Of course, Ethan and Bruce had long been on Lucas¡¯s side, so they naturally wouldn¡¯t agree to his request to form an alliance. After being rejected by the helmsmen of the other major families, Frederick couldn¡¯t help feeling enraged. Frederick stared at his phone with a vicious and menacing expression as he muttered to himself, ¡°Hah, do these idiots really think I need their help?¡± The reason he decided to call the helmsmen of the other three families was undoubtedly to test them and see if they were willing to stand on the Taylors¡¯ side. The truth had now proven that these three families were too ignorant for their own good. In that case, he decided that he didn¡¯t have to show them any respect from now on! ¡°Once the matter regarding Lucas Gray is settled, the Taylors will no longer have to conceal our strength and bide our time!¡± Frederick had a domineering and tyrannical certainty in his eyes. ¡°It will be a piece of cake for the force behind the Taylors to conduct a big wipeout of the forces of Orange County!¡± ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Lucas, who was driving to San Francisco, received phone calls from Ethan and Bruce one after another. They even reported to him that Frederick, the helmsman of the Taylor family, was trying to rope in the two of them to join forces against Lucas. With an expressionless face, Lucas replied indifferently, ¡°Since the Taylors are courting death, they¡¯d better be prepared to be annihted!¡± His words immediately made Ethan and Bruce both excited and agitated. The dynamic of the four major families in Orange County had been fixed for many years, and the Taylors, who had the support of that mysterious force behind them, definitely had a hidden agenda. The Taylors might one day bite at the other three families. With Lucas¡¯s assurance, they could now anticipate the impending doom of the Taylors! By then, the Sawyer and Hale families would rise greatly! Just as Lucas hung up the phone and was about to drive away from Orange County, a white BMW suddenly drove up near the entrance of the highway and stopped directly in front of his car. The door opened, and a slender young man stepped out of it. Staring coldly at Lucas sitting in the Jaguar, he smirked and got into a provocative stance. Chapter 535 - I Must See The Corpse

Chapter 535: I Must See The Corpse

Lucas frowned. He was a top expert to begin with, and he had a very keen sense of the aura of others. When he saw the young man with an evil smile on his face, he immediately felt ufortable. The bloodthirsty intent in the young man¡¯s eyes was extremely intense, and the ufortable aura he exuded was sufficient evidence that he had killed many people before. Standing in front of Lucas¡¯s car with folded arms and a sinister smile, he ordered self-righteously, ¡°If you immediately get out of the car ande back with me to the Taylors to admit to your mistakes, I can spare your life!¡± Lucas got out of the car without uttering a single word. After taking a nce at the menacing young man, hemanded coldly, ¡°Get lost!¡± A look of bloodthirsty anger immediately appeared on the young man¡¯s face. ¡°Hahahaha, punk, you are really arrogant! Thest person who dared to speak to me like that is long dead!¡± He red at Lucas arrogantly, licked the corners of his lips, and chuckled sinisterly. ¡°In that case, let me see just how hard your bones are!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Anyone can blow their trumpet. I just hope that your bones aren¡¯t too brittle!¡± With a look of menace on his face, the young man roared, ¡°Punk, how dare you mock me? I¡¯ll make sure you can never say a single word again!¡± Then his figure shed and immediately dashed toward Lucas. Lucas had to admit that this menacing and bloodthirsty young man nicknamed Bloody Fiend was indeed deserving of being arrogant. He was extremely fast, and the angle he had attacked from was particrly tricky. If someone wasn¡¯t careful, it would indeed be tough to dodge his attack. Lucas clearly detected from the punch that Bloody Fiend threw that there were some almost imperceptible sharp objects resembling metal spikes between his fingers. An ordinary person would probably have a hard time defending against his move and end up being struck. It could be said that this man was indeed worthy of being a powerhouse who had taken countless lives. Hisbat skills and killing techniques were far superior to those of the people Lucas had met before. But the fact that he met Lucas predetermined that his killing techniques would never work! Just as the young man was about to strike Lucas between his waist and abdomen from an extremely tricky angle, Lucas lifted his long leg at lightning speed and threw a flying kick at Bloody Fiend. He immediately crumbled like a broken sandbag and flew backward before colliding into his BMW. Bang! The hood of the BMW was dented while the sturdy front windshield shattered and fell to the ground. Bloody Fiend kept vomiting blood under the immense force and instantly lost consciousness. ¡°It seems that your bones are really not that hard,¡± Lucas said coldly and turned to return to his car. But at this moment, his phone suddenly rang, and an unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. Lucas nced at Bloody Fiend, who was lying unconscious on the hood of the BMW. He swiped the screen on his phone and answered the call. ¡°Lucas Gray? I¡¯m Marc Kingston. You must have heard of my name before.¡± A young man¡¯s voice came from the other end. Hearing his voice for the first time, people would think that he was a refined and easy-going person. Lucas frowned. He was now intending to go to San Francisco to ask Marc about Karen and settle scores with him at the same time. But he hadn¡¯t expected Marc to take the initiative to call him instead. It was indeed beyond Lucas¡¯s expectations. ¡°Since you¡¯ve called me, you must know why I¡¯m looking for you, right?¡± Lucas asked coldly. ¡°Ah, of course I do.¡± Marc chuckled. ¡°I was initially waiting for you toe to me on your own. After all, killing you when you¡¯re on my turf seems more interesting. ¡°But now, I¡¯ve changed my mind. No matter what, you¡¯re still a descendant of the Huttons, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be displeased if I kill you directly. They might even bring me some trouble. ¡°I know that you¡¯reing to ask me something. In that case, I don¡¯t mind telling you directly. That woman named Karen Turner is now dead!¡± Lucas¡¯s pupils constricted.?Karen is dead? Before Lucas could even say anything, Marc continued speaking in a seemingly nonchnt tone, ¡°What? Do you hate me so much now that you can¡¯t wait toe here and kill me? ¡°Unfortunately, you can only think about it because I, Marc Kingston, am the next sessor of my family! ¡°If you¡¯re not stupid, you should be able to find out how powerful the Kingstons are. I might as well tell you that if you want toe to San Francisco to kill me now, you¡¯ll just be courting death! ¡°So I kindly suggest you get lost back to Orange County immediately, and I can guarantee that I won¡¯t harm you. Sparing you is considered being benevolent to you, right?¡± After Marc spoke, Lucas¡¯s face was incredibly gloomy. He didn¡¯t take Marc¡¯s threats seriously at all. But he kept thinking about what Marc said. Karen is dead? Karen is actually already dead?!¡¯ How do I exin this to Cheyenne? How do I exin this to Charlotte? Murderous intent surged in Lucas¡¯s heart. ¡°Did you say that Karen Turner is dead?¡± Lucas asked in an icy cold voice. Marc chuckled. ¡°Of course she is! I¡¯m sure you know that only when that woman is dead can she be of the greatest value to me! ¡°I¡¯m going to use her death in exchange for the destruction of your reputation and the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. It¡¯s a really good deal, isn¡¯t it?¡± There was somecency and smugness in his tone. Initially, he had called Scott and scolded him because the matter had spiraled out of control and escted to the point that the entire Stardust Corporation¡¯s reputation had been ruined, displeasing the Huttons. But Marc didn¡¯t expect Jace Hutton to praise him for doing a good job instead of scolding him when he reported this matter to him and asked for forgiveness. After this matter, Marc understood that as long as he could destroy Lucas, the Huttons wouldn¡¯t mind the consequences. So Karen¡¯s remaining value was her death, which he could use to smear Lucas as a despicable viin ording to Scott¡¯s n and deal with him using the shame of being a heartless person! Lucas closed his eyes and asked calmly, ¡°So, where is her corpse?¡± Marc burst intoughter. ¡°Are you going to tell me that you want to see her, be it dead or alive? Well then, I¡¯ll tell you. That woman¡¯s body is of no use to me, so I sent my men to feed it to the dogs. Even if you want it, you can¡¯t get her corpse. Haha!¡± Bang! The concrete pavement beneath Lucas¡¯s feet shattered with a loud bang as an invisible and raging aura emerged from his body! He was truly enraged! Chapter 536 - The Taylors Powerhouse

Chapter 536: The Taylors¡¯ Powerhouse

Marc seemed to sense Lucas¡¯s anger, and his voice became even more joyful. ¡°Haha, you must be furious now, huh? Unfortunately, it¡¯s already toote to be angry. After all, the woman you want to see has already be a feast for my beloved dogs! ¡°I called you this time to give you a kind reminder. After all, not any Tom, Dick, or Harry is allowed into the residence of a noble family like ours! Although I don¡¯t intend to kill you, the Huttons can¡¯t me me if I do if you insist on barging into my home!¡± With that, he hung up. After hearing how arrogant and condescending Marc was, Lucas boiled with fury. Lucas found it really difficult to ept that Karen¡¯s corpse had been fed to dogs. Even if he hated Karen, he didn¡¯t want her corpse to be desecrated. Moreover, Karen was Cheyenne and Charlotte¡¯s biological mother, so they would definitely break down if they heard this news! He had no doubts about what Marc said because he knew that the most useful thing about Karen was her death. He clenched his fist in chagrin, and his gaze became firm. Even if Karen was dead and her corpse was iplete, he would still go to the Kingstons to make Marc hand over her remains! At the same time, he had to punish Marc for all his crimes! Just as Lucas was about to get into his car and continue driving to San Francisco, several cars suddenly drove over and stopped around Lucas simultaneously,pletely surrounding him. It was yet another group of people with evil intentions! Lucas stood quietly in ce with a hostile expression on his face. Nearly twenty people d in ck fighting gear alighted from the cars one after another. They were also holding daggers, swords, and other weapons while surrounding Lucas. The leader of the group, a middle-aged man, came forward. He looked at Lucas as if he was an object at the mercy of others and said indifferently, ¡°Punk, I¡¯m sure you know that you¡¯ve offended someone, so you¡¯d better behave yourself and give up. If you do, we may still let you live. Otherwise, your only option left will be to die here!¡± In his opinion, under the siege of the twenty or so experts at his side, it was absolutely impossible for this young man in front of him, who was less than thirty years old, to escape unscathed. Lucas raised his head to look at them with an icy cold gaze. ¡°I¡¯m not in a good mood now.¡± The middle-aged man froze for a moment before bursting intoughter. ¡°Haha! What a joke! What does it have to do with us if you¡¯re not in a good mood? Don¡¯t be mistaken. We¡¯re here to capture you and take you back to the Taylors, not to please you!¡± Lucas ignored him and continued, ¡°During normal circumstances, I might consider letting you go. But I¡¯m in a bad mood now, so if you don¡¯t want to die, get lost right now!¡± These people didn¡¯t take his stern warning seriously. In their opinion, Lucas was just issuing an empty threat, which was just a joke to them! ¡°Ahhh, I¡¯m so scared. Boss, he actually said he could let us off the hook? Haha, that¡¯s hrious!¡± ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really too blind to realize what¡¯s going on! There are twenty of us here, and we can easily turn you into a fool! What are you still pretending in front of us for?¡± ¡°Boss, let¡¯s hurry up and teach him a lesson. Let¡¯s see if he can continue blowing his trumpet in front of us!¡± ¡­ The men in ck had probably never seen anyone like Lucas, who still arrogantly issued threats even while being badly outnumbered. They all started mocking him. The middle-aged man was also full of contempt for Lucas. ¡°Oh, since he has a death wish, we don¡¯t have to be kind to him! Mr. Taylor said that we just need to bring him back alive, and it doesn¡¯t matter if he¡¯s disfigured or his limbs are broken! Brothers, hit him now!¡± At hismand, the twenty or so powerhouses of the Taylor family immediately charged at Lucas with weapons in their hands! Anger surged in Lucas¡¯s eyes, and his entire body seemed to be covered in frost. He raised his head abruptly with a menacing aura, causing the breath of a few experts of the Taylor family to freeze! ¡°Kill him!¡± the experts said through gritted teeth and charged at Lucas, using their best moves. Lucas raised his hand expressionlessly and grabbed the wrist of a man brandishing a dagger. He then twisted his wrist and snapped it like a twig! ¡°Ah!¡± The man let out a miserable cry. Next, Lucasunched a kick at his gut, causing him to fly backward immediately andpletely lose hisbat power. Then still moving as quickly as lightning, Lucas turned slightly to the side to dodge a machete shed by another man. Likewise, he twisted his wrist hard to snap it into two. ¡°Ah!¡± The man screamed miserably. Lucas lifted his entire body and used him as a shield to block the military knife of another man trying to stab him. The sharp knife stabbed directly into the second man¡¯s stomach. Blood gushed out everywhere as the second man let out a miserable shriek. The Taylor family expert holding the knife was stunned for a moment. He had waited for an excellent opportunity to stab Lucas, but he hadn¡¯t expected him to be much faster than he thought. And before he had time to react, he had stabbed the knife in his hand straight into hispanion¡¯s body! Lucas shuttled through the group of more than twenty people like a phantom. Everywhere he passed, there would be a burst of screams as he broke their limbs. But the Taylor family experts didn¡¯t get a single chance tond a hit on Lucas. Instead, they ended up striking theirpanions. Of course, it was naturally all due to Lucas. After less than a minute, these twenty or so experts almost all copsed on the ground as crimson blood spilled all over. The revolting odor of blood pervaded the air. However, their wounds were not caused by Lucas but by the weapons in the hands of theirpanions. In the blink of an eye, the twenty or so experts, including the middle-aged man taking the lead, ally on the ground, clutching their wounds and wailing incessantly. Lucas was the only one who remained unscathed and stood still in front of them. ¡°Go back and tell Frederick Taylor that after I return from the Kingstons, it will be the Taylors turn next. Get him to wash his neck and wait!¡± Lucas said coldly. Then he got into his ck Jaguar and headed for San Francisco. Chapter 537 - Pondering About The Future

Chapter 537: Pondering About The Future

This time, no one dared to stop him again. Lucas made up his mind to bring Karen¡¯s corpse back no matter what! He wouldn¡¯t let Marc and the Kingstons off either! Just as Lucas was speeding toward San Francisco in his Jaguar, a pair of brothers were sitting in a luxurious living room,pletely rxed and leisurely enjoying a massage given by two beautiful women. ¡°Marc, do you think Lucas Gray wille here, or will he be scared out of his wits and run back to Orange County to hide?¡± asked a lustful-looking young man of about 27 or 28 years old. This young man was Kyle, who had previously formed a feud with Lucas at the entrance of Club Splendor in Orange County because of Gisele¡¯s instigation. Although Kyle and Marc were cousins, their statuses in the Kingston family were worlds apart because of the great disparity between their aptitudes. Marc was valued by everyone in the family, who all had high hopes for him, and he was the next sessor of the Kingston family, while Kyle was just a scion in name. In terms of power and authority, even other wealthy families couldn¡¯tpare to Marc at all. Just as Marc said, in the Kingston family, he was the only one deserving of being addressed in a respectful manner and deemed as the scion. This was also why Gisele Taylor didn¡¯t fancy Kyle at all and had wanted to use Lucas as a shield. Marc narrowed his eyes and said confidently, ¡°With my understanding of him, he definitely won¡¯t go back to Orange County obediently. He will definitelye here!¡± ¡°But Lucas Gray is highly proficient in martial arts. During the auction in Orange County, he managed to kill Liam Wace just by flicking a button at him from nearly twenty meters away. Are you sure you can take down such a strong enemy?¡± Kyle was feeling a little worried and looked up at the middle-aged man in histe forties standing behind Marc like an iron tower. Marc looked up a little without saying anything much. He merely said to the middle-aged man behind him, ¡°Coby, my cousin doesn¡¯t seem to have much faith in your ability, so show him your skills.¡± Coby nodded indifferently. He took a step forward and picked up a decorative solid bronze statue on the small table next to him. He then twisted and kneaded it into a ball as if it was dough. Finally, he grasped it, and five deep pinch marks appeared on the ball! Coby tossed the distorted copper ball into Kyle¡¯s hand and then stood behind Marc. Holding the heavy copper ball in hand, Kyle realized that the pinch marks on it were extremely clear. Even if he exerted all his strength, he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave any traces on it. Only then did he finally understand just how powerful this expert was! ¡°Marc, he¡­ is really strong,¡± Kyle eximed in shock. Marcughed out loud. ¡°Of course! As long as Coby is around, Lucas Gray will be crushed into pieces and die in pain once hees here!¡± Kyle couldn¡¯t help getting excited. Ever since he had gotten into a conflict with Lucas in Orange County and ended up getting kicked out by him instead, Kyle utterly hated him. But before he could think of a way to get back at Lucas, he learned that Lucas had killed Liam effortlessly with a button, which immediately made him drop the idea of taking revenge on Lucas. Now that Marc had found such apetent expert to take Lucas¡¯s life, Kyle was naturally more than pleased! But because Kyle still feared Lucas, he was worried that Coby would make a blunder and suggested, ¡°Marc, I think we should prepare some backup ns in addition to Coby. In case Lucas Gray gets away, all our nning will be in vain!¡± Marc nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°Lucas Gray is just a small fry. I¡¯m already being nice enough by sending an expert like Coby to deal with him! What? Do you think Coby can¡¯t defeat him?¡± For some reason, Marc loathed Lucas greatly the moment he heard his name. He didn¡¯t want to hear others praising Lucas either. Kyle hastily denied, ¡°No, no, no, no! I just thought that it¡¯s better to take precautions. But on second thought, Coby is powerful enough, so there¡¯s indeed no need to arrange for others to deal with him!¡± Only then did Marc nod in satisfaction. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just a mere Lucas Gray. How can he be worthy of the Kingstons?¡± He suddenly asked, ¡°Have you done what I told you to?¡± Kyle replied proudly, ¡°Rest assured, Marc. I¡¯ve already made all the necessary arrangements. The news of Karen Turner¡¯s death has been spread on the inte, and I¡¯ve also gotten people to stir up public opinion. Everyone is saying that Lucas Gray killed Karen Turner out of anger, and the online discussions are really heated now. Everyone is definitely going to m Lucas Gray! ¡°Marc, you should achieve your goal of annihting the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch soon!¡± Hearing this, Marc smiled in satisfaction. The Huttons gave him a month toplete the mission, but only a few days had passed since he started, and he was already about toplete the task. If Jace heard about this, he¡¯d definitely be impressed by hispetence. He might even be highly valued by the Huttons in the future! Marc was pleased when he imagined the scene. But Kyle was a little worried. ¡°Marc, are you really going to kill Lucas Gray? No matter what, he¡¯s a descendant of the Huttons. If we really kill him, will the Huttons settle scores with us?¡± Marcughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Am I that brainless? I naturally got the Huttons¡¯ approval to kill Lucas Gray. Otherwise, why would I go out of my way to offend the Huttons? ¡°Jace Hutton¡¯s position in the Hutton family is undoubtedly high, and he personally assured me this. As long as we act ording to his intentions, we¡¯ll be able to prosper once he takes over the family!¡± Only then did Kyle feel relieved. With Jace¡¯s assurance, it¡¯d only be a matter of time before the Kingstons dominated San Francisco! Even he would gain great benefits. While the two of them were thinking about the future, public opinion erupted on the inte as explosive news quickly became the headline of various major social media tforms. ¡°#KarenTurnerIsDead!¡± ¡°#ViciousSon-inwFinallyKillsMother-In-Law! #TheEvilnessOfHumanNature!¡± ¡°Lucas Gray, head of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, kills mother-inw to seize the family assets!¡± ¡°#LucasGrayKarenTurner¡± ¡­ All of a sudden, a series of juicy headlines and topics quickly made it to the front page of almost all inte news and media tforms. Chapter 538 - Reaction To Death

Chapter 538: Reaction To Death

As soon as the news of Karen¡¯s death came out, it immediately sparked a tremendous uproar. Just this morning, Karen had done a livestream with the few popr streamers and nearly ten million fans on four major tforms, during which she had wept the entire time and used Lucas of trying to kill his father-inw by creating the car ident that had turned him into a vegetable, followed by beating his mother-inw after being exposed by her. She had even used Lucas of being inhumane and driving her out of the house. At the end of the stream, Karen said herself that if she suddenly died, it had to be because Lucas killed her to take revenge. As soon as the stream ended, a hugemotion fermented on the inte because of the brutal nature of the incident. Now, only a few hours had passed, and Karen, the protagonist of the incident, had actually died just like that. For a while, everyone targeted Lucas, the murder suspect. The sounds of discussion were getting louder and louder on the inte. ¡°Oh my god. That poor woman Karen Turner actually died. Without a doubt, it must have been her scumbag son-inw who did it!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anyone as vicious as Lucas Gray. It has really broadened my imagination!¡± ¡°Exactly! If not for the Carters, he would just be a penniless good-for-nothing. How dare he be so arrogant and kill his parents-inw for the sake of the family¡¯s assets?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! How can such a scumbag still be in charge of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch? It seems that he and hispany are peas of the same pod. How disgusting!¡± ¡­ The online media tforms were flooded with all kinds of simr abusivements. Countless people were full of righteous indignation and cursing their hearts out at Lucas. As the head of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, Lucas was embroiled in this mess and became the target of public criticism. Thepany¡¯s image was greatly affected, and all of a sudden, thepany¡¯s stock price plummeted too. Charlotte, sitting in the general manager¡¯s office and handling thepany¡¯s public rtions affairs, was dumbfounded when she saw the just-released earth-shattering news on the inte. ¡°No¡­ That¡¯s impossible. How can Mom be dead? Lucas clearly promised me he would bring her back! How can she be dead?!¡± She stared nkly at the shocking news on the monitor, not wanting to believe a single word of it. But theizens were actively discussing this matter, which meant it was almost impossible that she was hallucinating. Charlotte didn¡¯t want to believe that Karen was dead. But just because she didn¡¯t want to believe it, it didn¡¯t mean that it hadn¡¯t happened. She held her head andid on the desk while crying in pain. Of course, she didn¡¯t believe the usations on the inte that Karen had been killed by Lucas, but it was true that her mother was already dead! How could she not be devastated at this moment? Charlotte¡¯s best friend and secretary, Sophie, quietly walked over and put her hand on Charlotte¡¯s shoulder tofort her softly with reddened eyes. ¡°Charlotte¡­ I didn¡¯t expect your brother-inw¡­ I mean, thepany chairman to be such a person! Don¡¯t worry. If you n to sever ties with him and leave thepany, I will definitely go with you too! No matter what happens, I¡¯ll always be your best friend and stand on your side forever!¡± Charlotte choked and raised her head while crying in pain. ¡°No, that¡¯s not the case. That¡¯s not the truth! All of you have misunderstood Lucas! ¡°He¡¯s not the person that the inte says he is, and my mom wasn¡¯t killed by him. Everything on the inte is rumors and usations to nder him. My mom was forced to say those things on the stream this morning too! ¡°But¡­ but I really don¡¯t know what to do now. Sophie, I feel terrible!¡± Sophie seemed astonished. ¡°What? You said that Aunt Karen was forced to say those things on the stream this morning? Were the people who forced her the same ones who killed her? But the people online are all saying that the chairman did it. They¡¯reshing out at him and calling him all sorts of unbearable names. They even said that ourpany deserves to close down sooner with a person like him in charge¡­¡± ¡°Bullshit! Those people don¡¯t know anything and are just going with the flow and believing that nonsense!¡± Charlotte gritted her teeth and clenched her fist before punching the table. After a long while, she finally took a few deep breaths. Seemingly having made up her mind, she said, as if she was speaking to herself, ¡°You¡¯re right. There¡¯s something else I should do now, and that is to help Lucas keep hispany running! ¡°I can¡¯t let those bastards with malicious intentions who killed my mom and framed Lucas and ourpany get what they want!¡± Her eyes were filled with firm conviction. Sophie was astonished. She grabbed Charlotte¡¯s hand and said firmly, ¡°Okay, I will stand by you and face it with you. We will protect ourpany together!¡± Charlotte nced at her best friend gratefully, quickly dried her tears, pulled herself together, and then said firmly, ¡°Summon all thepany executives to the conference room on the top floor for a meeting!¡± ¡°Yes, Miss Carter!¡± Sophie replied with gusto. Both of them looked extremely resolute, as if they were preparing for war. It was indeed a war to protect the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch! ¡ª¡ª At the same time, in the hospital¡­ Cheyenne, who was taking care of William in the ward, had a drastic change of expression when she inadvertently overheard the gossip of the nurses. When she stumbled back into William¡¯s ward, she unlocked her phone and saw the overwhelming news andments on the inte, making her break down immediately! ¡°Mom! How did you¡­ It¡¯s all my fault. I was the one who caused this to happen to you! If I hadn¡¯t chased you outst night, you wouldn¡¯t have encountered all of this! ¡°It¡¯s my fault! It¡¯s all my fault! Mom, please don¡¯t die! Pleasee back alive, okay? I promise I will never drive you away again. Mom!¡± Cheyenne was bawling so hard that she almost fainted. When she saw the pale and motionless William on the bed, she cried even harder and more uncontrobly. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s all my fault! If I hadn¡¯t chased Mom outst night, she wouldn¡¯t have met with a mishap at all! It¡¯s all my fault! ¡°Dad, wh-what should I do now?¡± She was wailing without any regard for her image, just like a pitiful child. In fact, she didn¡¯t believe that Karen was killed by Lucas. As his wife, Cheyenne knew better than anyone else what kind of person Lucas was. Even if Lucas hated Karen, he had always been patient because she was her mother, and there was no reason for him to kill her. Moreover, with Lucas¡¯s skills and power, Karen wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to denounce him openly on a stream if he really wanted to kill her. Right, the stream! That stream this morning is extremely suspicious! Karen had always been a conservative person who wasn¡¯t open to new things and technologies. When she was at home, she would spend most of her time watching TV and reading all sorts of fashion and makeup magazines. But she rarely spent time on the inte, let alone watch streams. Besides, she had only been taken away by Lucasst night. So how could she have gotten to know prominent streamers overnight and even get them to help her nder Lucas publicly? She thought that Karen must have been kidnapped andpelled into doing so. All of a sudden, Cheyenne¡¯s heart was full of guilt and misery because of Karen¡¯s death and also because of Lucas. She also hated her powerlessness and cried even harder. But she failed to notice that William, who had been lying motionless on the bed, suddenly moved his pinky outside the sheet twice. The movement soon stopped, so no one knew what just happened. Chapter 539 - How To Take Sides

Chapter 539: How To Take Sides

Outside the gates of the Kingston manor in San Francisco¡­ A ck Jaguar sped up and came to a halt with a rattle, stopping at the entrance of this beautifully decorated and gorgeous manor. Lucas got out of his car with a straight face and then red at the gilded statue at the entrance of the manor. He stepped forward and immediately kicked the two-meter tall statue with the Kingstons¡¯ family name engraved on it, causing it to break immediately! Bang! The stone statue shattered, and stone chips flew everywhere. When the Kingstons¡¯ bodyguards heard the noise, they quickly swarmed over and stared at Lucas with hostile expressions. ¡°Where did this punke from? How dare he kick and break the Kingstons¡¯ symbolic statue?!¡± Lucas stared at them coldly, and a majestic aura suddenly surged. ¡°Today is the day that the Kingstons will die! Go inside and tell Marc Kingston that I, Lucas Gray, aming for him!¡± ¡ª¡ª While Lucas was in San Francisco to confront the Kingstons and settle scores with them, there wasn¡¯t any peace in Orange County either. Ethan was still preparing for a great battle against the Taylors as he gathered some trusted members of his family to discuss the next step of the n, ording to Lucas¡¯s intentions. But after Ethan suddenly received a phone call, his expression changed. And when he returned to the conference room, he stopped listening to the opinions and suggestions put forward by the family. Instead, he waved his hand sullenly and said, ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s put these matters aside for the time being. All of you may leave now!¡± Although the participants were extremely puzzled and unable to figure out why Ethan suddenly changed his mind when they had already decided on it and were about to put forward their suggestions, they were naturally smart enough not to probe since Ethan had already said so. Besides, they could tell from his sullen face that he wasn¡¯t in a good mood. Only Lena, who had overheard Ethan¡¯s conversation on the phone, frowned and asked, ¡°Dad, I think I just heard you say to someone that Lucas has gone to San Francisco to confront the Kingstons? Shouldn¡¯t we think of a way to help him?¡± Ethan looked at his daughter with a frown and chided, ¡°Who allowed you to eavesdrop on my call? You¡¯re so unruly.¡± Lena pursed her lips and said worriedly, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to eavesdrop. I just happened to hear a little bit when I walked past! Dad, you haven¡¯t answered me. How exactly are you going to help Lucas?¡± Ethan let out a long sigh. ¡°The Sawyers can¡¯t help with this. As you know, the Kingstons are a powerful and wealthy family in San Francisco. We can¡¯t intervene at all. Moreover, it¡¯s a matter between Lucas and the Kingstons and has nothing to do with us. So there¡¯s no point in getting ourselves involved.¡± Lena widened her eyes in astonishment. ¡°Dad! What are you saying? When we were in LA back then, didn¡¯t you say that you would stand by Lucas¡¯s side even if it meant having to risk losing everything when we were facing Matthew Benson in LA? Why have you suddenly changed your mind now that he¡¯s really encountered a crisis?¡± Ever since her father had said those words to support Lucas, and because Lucas had saved Lena¡¯s life several times before, making her fall in love with him, she thought that her family had already formed a good partnership with him and would always be on the same side. But she hadn¡¯t expected Ethan to chicken out when Lucas was facing such a huge crisis! Ethan was rendered speechless by Lena¡¯s words. After a long time, he finally sighed and said, ¡°Things are different now! You just don¡¯t understand. In short, just listen to me and stay out of this matter. Let Lucas resolve his feud with the Kingstons alone. We can¡¯t intervene!¡± Lena¡¯s eyes were full of immense disappointment. ¡°I see. It¡¯s for your so-called interests again, right? You¡¯re afraid of going against the Kingstons and offending them. You said that you¡¯d be on Lucas¡¯s side back when we were in LA only because you knew that the Coles would definitely be on Lucas¡¯s side, right? Dad, you¡¯re so mercenary and terrifying! ¡°But don¡¯t forget that you also told me before that Lucas is a Hutton and that we should build a good rtionship with him. Surely you¡¯re not afraid of a mere Kingston family?¡± Lena mocked. ¡°Shut up! Is this the attitude you should have when speaking to your father?¡± Ethan turned and said angrily, ¡°You¡¯re simply clueless! Do you know that the person who just called me is from the Hutton family? ¡°I¡¯m sure you know that I managed to gain a firm foothold in Orange County, and our family managed to be one of the four major families in Orange County today, only because I received help from Chad Kennedy, the head butler of the Hutton family. But the person who called me just now is the legitimate scion of the Huttons, and he warned me not to get involved in Lucas¡¯s affairs. What do you think I can do? ¡°If it was just the Kingstons, I naturally wouldn¡¯t be afraid. But now that the Huttons have given me a warning, wouldn¡¯t I be courting death if I still had the audacity to go against them? What would you do if you were in my ce?¡± He took a deep breath and said in a mellower tone, ¡°Lena, I hope you can understand my difficulties.¡± In fact, he was also rather ill at ease. Actually, his friendship with Lucas was considered the strongest in the circle of Orange County. From the first day Lucas had returned to Orange County, it was Ethan who had received him at the airport together with Chad. Later on, he had also tried to get closer to Lucas because he had faith in him and Chad had also instructed him to do so. But now that the scion of the Huttons had personally called to give him a warning, what else could he do? Lena fell silent for a long time before saying bitterly, ¡°Even the Huttons are out to deal with him¡­ Is this all we can do¡­¡± ¡ª¡ª However, Ethan was not the only one who received a call from the Huttons. The other helmsmen of the four major families in Orange County, as well as many powerful figures in Orange County and LA, also received that warning from the Huttons. The Taylors and the Waces were naturally overjoyed to receive this news because it meant that the Huttons wouldn¡¯t be Lucas¡¯s backer. Instead, they were going against him. Both of their families happened to have a feud with Lucas, and they were naturally eager to see this scene. But Bruce, the helmsman of the Hale family, fell into deep thought. After putting down the phone, he kept himself locked up in his study, where he paced back and forth with a gloomy expression while constantly letting out long sighs. When Connor walked in to talk to him, Bruce snapped back to reality. ¡°Grandpa, what exactly happened? Why are you so vexed?¡± Connor asked in bewilderment because he clearly remembered that the old man was still speaking to him energetically just a short moment ago. Soon, the Hales would have an enormous opportunity. Bruce thought about it and said to his only grandson, ¡°Connor, I¡¯m asking you, if someone forced you to choose between the Huttons and Lucas, and you have to be hostile to the other person, what would you do?¡± Connor blinked, and his expression immediately turned grim too. Chapter 540 - Barging Into The Kingston Manor

Chapter 540: Barging Into The Kingston Manor

Connor was a smart man, so he immediately understood his grandfather¡¯s troubles. He reckoned that it must have been a message from the Huttons. In fact, Connor had absolutely hated Lucas at the beginning. During the birthday banquet of Connor¡¯s son, Lucas had kicked up a ruckus at the venue because Logan had kidnapped Amelia, and Lucas had even shoved his head into a bowl of soup despite him being the most promising scion of the Hale family. He had been utterly embarrassed. Afterward, Lucas used his own strength to take out the experts and gunmen that the Hale family had hidden for a long time. He even found close to two hundred armed soldiers and armored vehicles and sent them to surround the Hale residence before throwing all of them into that terrifying prison. If Lucas hadn¡¯t spared their family out of consideration for Bruce Hale¡¯s sincerityter, the Hale family wouldn¡¯t exist in Orange County now. Thus, from a certain point of view, Lucas was once the enemy of the Hale family, who had personally banished them to a living hell. But at the same time, Lucas was also their benefactor. Without him, only his three-month-old son would be the sole survivor of the Hale family now. After this incident, the Hale familypletely surrendered to Lucas, and they even transferred their businesses to him, though he appointed them to be in charge of managing them on his behalf. But in terms of legal ownership, all these businesses actually belonged to Lucas. Now, if the Hale family had to pick between Lucas and the Huttons¡­ ¡°I choose Mr. Gray!¡± Connor said with unusual determination. ¡°Why?¡± Bruce looked straight into his grandson¡¯s eyes, paying attention to every single microexpression of his. Connor said firmly, ¡°Because if it wasn¡¯t for Mr. Gray, the Hale family wouldn¡¯t exist in Orange County now. We¡¯re following Mr. Gray now, and even if we lose the bet, the result won¡¯t be any worse than our current situation. But after what happenedst time, I believe that Mr. Gray isn¡¯t a simple man. Even if he¡¯s facing the Huttons, he might not necessarily lose! Hence, I choose him!¡± Bruce stared silently at Connor with a straight face. Connor stood still in ce with his back straight, allowing his grandfather to stare at him without any changes in the determination in his eyes. ¡°Haha, good!¡± A few secondster, Bruce suddenlyughed, raised his hand, and patted Connor on his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re really worthy of being my grandson. You¡¯re brave and intelligent! It seems that the Hale family does have a sessor!¡± He said with a grateful smile, ¡°Since Lucas is in trouble now, the Hale family is obliged to help him! Bring our top experts to the Kingston manor in San Francisco to help Lucas! ¡°When you return from San Francisco, I will let you seed me as helmsman of the family!¡± Connor was surprised for a moment, but he was soon agitated and excited. Although he had long known he would take over the family one day, he didn¡¯t expect it toe so soon. ¡°Yes, Grandpa! I won¡¯t let you down!¡± Connor¡¯s body was brimming with energy as he strode outside. Bruce Hale looked at the back of his grandson, who was full of ardor, and felt rather emotional. Although he had long decided to make Connor the next helmsman, the various events that had happened previously made him too scared to leave the Hale family in his hands. However, Connor¡¯s growth was extremely obvious, as he had clearly be more intelligent and more responsible. Now, he could finally hand over the position of helmsman to his grandson with peace of mind. Apart from the Hale family, Joe, the manager of Little Antis City in Orange County, and Damon Parker from LA had also received warnings from the Huttons, who called to tell them to keep their distance from Lucas and not to meddle in his affairs or offer him any help. However, Joe, Damon, and the others coincidentally chose to continue to stand on Lucas¡¯s side after some deliberation. Joe himself was well aware that if not for Lucas¡¯s help, he would still be nothing more than a manager of a small clubhouse like the Opulence. He would have never had the opportunity to take revenge on Tony Zander either, much less take control over Little Antis City, a top entertainment joint in Orange County. Lucas was the one who had given him all of this, so he had to stand on Lucas¡¯s side out of loyalty no matter what. Damon¡¯s reasons were simr too. If Lucas hadn¡¯t put aside their differences and unraveled the Owen brothers¡¯ conspiracy, the Parkers might have fallen apart long ago, let alone get ahold of many of the Owens¡¯ businesses and rise to be the top family in LA. They wouldn¡¯t have gotten the chance to help Lucas manage the Sr Corporation either. Damon had made up his mind early on that he had to stand by Lucas¡¯s side. Moreover, he was extremely confident in Lucas! After making up their minds, Joe, Damon, Connor, and the others all gathered their mostpetent subordinates and then drove to the Kingston manor in San Francisco in a long, snakelike convoy. Even if they couldn¡¯t give Lucas much help, they should at least make their attitudes clear so that the Kingstons would be wary of Lucas and not dare to harm him easily! ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Kingston manor in San Francisco¡­ After Lucas kicked the stone statue at the entrance of the Kingston manor, numerous bodyguards swarmed out to surround him. In particr, the Kingstons were further enraged when they heard Lucas tell Marc to wash his neck and get ready. ¡°Where did that punke from? How dare he speak to Mr. Marc in such a manner?!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve destroyed the Kingstons¡¯ symbolic statue and spoke to Mr. Marc so rudely. You will die here today!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath on speaking nonsense with him. Capture him and bring him to Mr. Marc!¡± The ten or so bodyguard guards charged at Lucas. But what they thought was an act of bravado was actually extremely poorly executed and unbearable in Lucas¡¯s eyes. Lucas didn¡¯t even look at them. Each time he waved his hand and foot, one person would be flung away forcefully and rendered immobile on the ground. ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Ahhh!¡± Bang! ¡­ Soon, there were miserable screams from time to time. The bodyguards were all knocked down without even touching the corner of Lucas¡¯s clothes, no longer able to get up on their feet. At this moment, the arrogance and certainty in their eyes had long since vanished and was reced with horror and disbelief. The young man in front of him seemed to be only around 25 years old, and he didn¡¯t have any terrifyingly bulging muscles either. But he managed to effortlessly send these professional bodyguards flying, which meant that his strength was far beyond theirs! After knocking down these small fries, Lucas stood in the yard of the manor and yelled, ¡°Marc Kingston, I¡¯m already here. Are you going to act like a coward and hide inside without daring to show yourself?¡± His voice was like a bell containing a certain rhythm, and it surprisingly reached all corners of the massive Kingston manor clearly! Chapter 541 - Fighting and Catching Up

Chapter 541: Fighting and Catching Up

In the vi in the middle of the Kingston manor¡­ Lance, the helmsman of the Kingstons, was sitting on a couch in the middle of a hall. His face immediately turned gloomy upon hearing the voice. He looked at his grandson Marc, who was standing beside him, and asked coldly, ¡°What¡¯s going on? What kind of person did you provoke to our home?¡± Marc hurriedly smiled and exined, ¡°Grandpa, don¡¯t be angry yet. This person should be Lucas Gray, whom the Huttons told us about. He¡¯s just an abandoned son who was kicked out by the Huttons. The scion, Jace Hutton, has long disliked him and can¡¯t wait to get rid of him. So I¡¯m just helping the Huttons with a minor issue. ¡°I got him toe to me on purpose, and I¡¯ve already made all the necessary arrangements. As long as he breaks into our manor, I guarantee I won¡¯t let him walk out alive!¡± Lance frowned. ¡°You want to kill him? What are the rest of the Huttons¡¯ stand on this?¡± Marc said confidently, ¡°I¡¯ve already obtained permission to kill Lucas Gray from Mr. Jace Hutton, so there won¡¯t be an issue. Moreover, he promised me that if we can help him kill Lucas Gray, he¡¯ll help us deal with the other Huttons. He will even give us aid in the future.¡± Only then did Lance nod in approval, but he then warned, ¡°Since you¡¯ve alreadymunicated with the Huttons, I¡¯m relieved. But remember, if you want to kill him, do a clean job and be resolute. Leave no stones unturned, and make sure he doesn¡¯t escape to create trouble for us instead!¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa!¡± Marc nodded in agreement before turning around and walking toward the front yard. Since Lucas Gray has already entered the Kingston manor, it¡¯s impossible for him to leave! I just need to catch him¡­ Marc, who had a confident smile on his face, instantly had a drastic change of expression when he saw therge group of bodyguards. These bodyguards were not mediocre ones. They were elite bodyguards the Kingstons had transferred over from various ces specifically to trap Lucas in the Kingston manor before killing him with Coby, his best trump card. But things werepletely different from what he had expected. Only two short minutes had passed from the time he received the news of Lucas¡¯s intrusion. Within two minutes, he was able to knock nearly thirty elite bodyguards onto the ground? Marc had a look of disbelief on his face. What was even more unbelievable to him was that Lucas hade here alone, yet he had managed to defeat nearly thirty people besieging him in just a couple of minutes. It was simply too terrifying. Just as Marc¡¯s heart was full of waves, Kyle, standing next to him, looked extremely gloomy. In fact, his heart was full of horror. He would never forget that when he was at the auction venue held in Club Splendor in Orange County, Lucas had been as rxed as he was today. In the blink of an eye, he had effortlessly killed Liam Wace by shooting him in the neck with a small button. ¡°Marc, what¡­ what should we do? Lucas Gray is too powerful. Our bodyguards don¡¯t seem to be his match at all!¡± Kyle said with a frightened look. ¡°Shut up!¡± Marc hollered coldly. ¡°What are you afraid of? Yes, I also admit that Lucas Gray is indeed very powerful. But he¡¯s alone, while I can transfer at least a hundred bodyguards. If we besiege him, he¡¯ll definitely die!¡± ¡°Besides, even if he can really defeat all our bodyguards, I still have Coby, a top expert. Furthermore, there are also a few top experts around Grandpa. I can guarantee that he won¡¯te back! What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± Although Marc was a little surprised by the terrifying strength that Lucas was disying, he definitely didn¡¯t think that Lucas could be a match for Coby, the top expert he had hired. He would first get the bodyguards to fight Lucas to exhaust him to give Coby an advantage! Anyway, he had to keep Lucas in the Kingston manor today and make him die! Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to face his grandfather and Jace Hutton. Standing behind Marc, Coby looked at Lucas, who was nearly finished suppressing all of the bodyguards, with excitement in his eyes from seeing his opponent. ¡°Please rest assured, Mr. Kingston. Lucas Gray is no match for me! As soon as you give the order, I¡¯ll immediately take him down!¡± Coby said arrogantly. Kyle was slightly relieved after hearing Marc¡¯s words and Coby¡¯s confidence.?That¡¯s right. Even if these bodyguards are elites, they¡¯re just bodyguards. Real experts such as Coby have yet to make a move. What am I worried about? At this moment, Lucas didn¡¯t even change expression in the slightest after seeing the constant stream of bodyguards surrounding him. They were just small fries to him, and it wouldn¡¯t take much effort for him to deal with them. He thought Marc was just being delusional by thinking that they would be able to consume his energy. Back when Lucas carried out a mission in Calico, he had once fought enemies for four days and three nights. During that time, the enemies that had died at his hands exceeded four figures. Hundreds of bodyguards in front of him were nothing. Moreover, the situation now was different from then. He was on a battlefield back then, so he had to make sure to kill every single enemy. But now, these bodyguards were just following orders from their bosses. Lucas just had to break their legs and arms to stop them from fighting. Inparison, this was much easier and effortless. Soon, the number of people lying around Lucas¡¯s feet increased as he steadily approached Marc step by step. ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, on the road to San Francisco, nearly fifty cars were converging in amon direction. The long line of cars traveled in single file, and the conspicuous logos on them made everyone widen their eyes in shock. ¡°Why is there such a long convoy? Is some notable family holding a wedding today?¡± ¡°No, there aren¡¯t any ribbons on the cars. It¡¯s certainly not a wedding! Do you see their license tes? They seem to be cars from Orange County and LA.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen that Orange County license te of 66666 before. That car belongs to the helmsman of the Hale family from Orange County!¡± ¡°I also remember now that the car with the license te of 99999 is from LA. It belongs to the helmsman of the Parkers from LA! A friend of mine took pictures of it and showed me them before. There can¡¯t be a mistake!¡± ¡°So many cars are traveling together. Are they trying to do something? Is something major going to happen in San Francisco?¡± ¡­ Just as countless passersby marveled at these vehicles, the convoys heading to San Francisco finally discovered each other¡¯s presence. ¡°Hah, that car across belongs to the Parkers from LA. I wonder why they¡¯re suddenly here. I heard that there was a conflict between the Parkers and Mr. Gray previously. If they¡¯re going over to take advantage of the situation, they¡¯d better not me the Hale family for being hostile to them!¡± Connor stared at the car at the front on the other side with a look of determination in his eyes. At the same time, Damon also saw the convoy belonging to the Brookes from Orange County. ¡°Hmph, Bruce Hale has always been a sly old fox. Who knows if there¡¯s a link between him suddenly going to Orange County, Mr. Gray, and the Kingstons. Anyway, we have to get to Mr. Gray first!¡± The convoys sped up in unison toward the Kingston manor. ¡ª¡ª In the Cole residence in San Francisco¡­ Alexis suddenly barged into Edmund¡¯s study and eximed anxiously, ¡°Grandpa, bad news! Something has happened to Lucas!¡± Chapter 542 - Surging Waves

Chapter 542: Surging Waves

Edmund was caught off guard, and he immediately spurted out a mouthful of tea. He put down the teacup and wiped his drenched chin before saying in displeasure, ¡°Alexis, you¡¯re not a child anymore. Why do you still speak so rashly and carelessly?!¡± The moment he finished chiding his granddaughter, he suddenly thought of the keywords in the sentence he just heard. He asked in astonishment, ¡°Wait, what did you just say? Something happened to Lucas?¡± Alexis hurriedly nodded and said anxiously, ¡°Yes, I just found out online that the incident Lucas is embroiled in has already spiraled out of control! Everyone on the inte is saying that he killed his mother-inw, and he¡¯s getting mmed badly, so I immediately sent someone to ask around. I found out that Lucas¡¯s mother-inw wasn¡¯t killed by him but taken away by Marc Kingston! Lucas has barged into the Kingston manor to take revenge on Marc Kingston, and both sides are fighting now!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Edmund stood up abruptly in shock. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why did the Kingstons suddenly capture Lucas¡¯s mother-inw and kill her? ¡°Besides, I don¡¯t think Lucas is a reckless person. How could he have gone to the Kingstons¡¯ alone to take revenge? The Kingstons are one of the top families in the state. They have countless bodyguards and elite experts. What can he do by barging in alone?¡± Alexis hurriedly said, ¡°Ah, Grandpa, stop dwelling on why these things happened. The most important thing now is to rush to the Kingston manor. Since Lucas went there alone, he definitely isn¡¯t at an advantage!¡± Hearing this, Edmund hurriedly nodded. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll go to the Kingstons¡¯ right now and tell them not to hurt Lucas!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Alexis hurriedly followed behind her grandfather. Both Edmund and Alexis were incredibly anxious. Since Lucas saved Edmund¡¯s life, Edmund had always wanted to help Lucas. Even though he felt that Lucas was too reckless to confront the Kingstons at this time, he couldn¡¯t ignore his savior no matter what. Alexis had simr thoughts. Apart from the fact that Lucas had saved her grandfather¡¯s life, she also felt that he was an interesting person. So as soon as she heard that he was in trouble, she immediately panicked and proceeded to look for her grandfather. However, the two of them didn¡¯t know much about Lucas¡¯s identity and background. When they were in LA, they had anxiously looked for Edmund¡¯s savior, so when they found Lucas, they had merely briefly checked his family members and general origin. So they only knew that he was a former son-inw of the Carter family. Edmund didn¡¯t let his people investigate in detail, so he didn¡¯t know about Lucas¡¯s rtionship with the Huttons. After all, he had investigated Lucas because he was grateful to him for saving his life and not because he wanted to invade the privacy of his savior. Thus, they didn¡¯t know much about Lucas¡¯s identity and abilities. So as soon as they heard that he had barged into the Kingston manor alone, they immediately went to look for him. This also showed that Edmund and Alexis were righteous people. For the sake of saving Lucas, they didn¡¯t hesitate to go against the Kingstons, who were another top family in San Francisco. At the same time, many other powerful families in San Francisco had also gotten the news through their own channels. After all, the Kingstons were a top family in San Francisco, and the fact that a young man had suddenly barged into their home was quite a shocking thing. Regardless of the final result, it could greatly satisfy their curiosity. However, no one felt that this young man could really do anything to the Kingstons. After all, it was obvious who the final victor of the battle between a young man and a top wealthy family would be. Compared to this matter, they were more concerned about other news. Hearing that the helmsmen of several top families in Orange County and LA had rushed to San Francisco and seemed to be going to the Kingstons¡¯, they wondered if there was any link between the two matters. Since they had developed a strong curiosity, these top families from San Francisco tried to get the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of a favorable position. So they unanimously sent their family members to the vicinity of Kingston manor to find out what was happening. Everyone had a premonition that something big was probably going to happen in the Kingston manor! While there was amotion outside the Kingston manor, Lucas had already defeated the bodyguards who had rushed over to court death and was now approaching the main vi. Looking at the closed vi door, Lucas moved like a bolt of lightning and soon arrived at the vi door ten meters away to kick it open with a flying kick! ¡°What?!¡± Marc and Kyle, who were hiding behind the vi door and watching the battle, immediately screamed in horror. If not for Coby¡¯s quick reflexes and him pulling them back by their cor in the nick of time, they would have probably had their faces hit by the door that was suddenly kicked open. The main reason was that they hadn¡¯t expected that Lucas, who was nearly ten meters away just a second ago, would suddenly appear in front of them in an instant. Marc¡¯s heart was full of fury. Lucas¡¯s actions just now almost caused him to have his face hit by the door, which was a great insult to him! He stared at Lucas gloomily and said slowly, ¡°Lucas Gray. Hah, I have to say that you do have a lot of guts. You have managed to anger me.¡± Lucas immediately looked at him. He had already heard Marc¡¯s voice over the phone once, so as soon as he heard it again, he immediately recognized him. Lucas sneered. ¡°Really? So what if I¡¯ve angered you? Weren¡¯t you the one who tried to goad me intoing? Now that I have, you¡¯ve been hiding behind the door like a turtle and peeping like a coward. How hrious!¡± ¡°You!¡± Marc was so enraged by Lucas¡¯s mocking that his face turned beet red. As the rightful sessor of the Kingstons, he had been praised by others since he was a child, and never had he been called a coward nor berated by others. What angered him further was the fact that he couldn¡¯t even refute Lucas because he had indeed been hiding behind the door just now and secretly watching Lucas fight!?How infuriating! Kyle, next to him, was secretly thrilled to see something like this finally happening to his cousin, who had always outshone him in every aspect. But after a brief moment of pleasure, Kyle became even more scrupulous toward Lucas. After defeating the hundred-odd bodyguards of the Kingstons, Lucas still remained unscathed, and even his breathing was as regr as ever! Moreover, he had just suddenly dashed over to the door from ten meters away. His incredible speed made Kyle feel terrified. Without the vi door, he wouldn¡¯t have had time to react or struggle if Lucas wanted to grab his neck and crush it! Kyle was petrified and couldn¡¯t help retreating far away from the terrifying enemy, Lucas. But at this moment, Marc was furious at Lucas and said with a menacing expression, ¡°Punk, don¡¯t forget that you are now standing on the Kingstons¡¯ turf. If I want you dead, you have to die!¡± Then he hollered to Coby beside him, ¡°Coby, immediately kill him! I want his detestable tongue cut off and fed to the dogs!¡± Coby acknowledged, and the knuckles of his fists made cracking sounds as he immediately rushed at Lucas! Chapter 543 - Trump Card

Chapter 543: Trump Card

It was no wonder that Coby had been hired at a high price. His grasp was so fierce that it even produced a whistling sound in the air as his thick-jointed hands extended toward Lucas¡¯s face. If Lucas couldn¡¯t dodge this move, his eyes would definitely be poked by him, and there would be more bloody holes in his face. Smack! Lucas raised his hand lightly, blocked the swift blow, and then immediately grabbed Coby¡¯s wrist. Coby immediately switched tactics and tried to grab Lucas¡¯s wrist too. A triumphant smile appeared on Marc¡¯s face. He knew that Coby¡¯s greatest strength was his nimble hands and fingers. For instance, he could easily crack a solid bronze sculpture or even steel with his fingers, just as he had demonstrated to Kyle earlier! Now, Coby had already grabbed Lucas¡¯s wrist, and he thought that he would definitely be able to crush his wrist into bits in the next instant! ¡°Ah!¡± Indeed, the next moment, a miserable and shrilling scream rang in Marc¡¯s ears. ¡°Hahahaha, Lucas Gray, I said that you were going to die today¡­ What?!¡± After hearing the miserable shriek, Marc startedughing in triumph until he suddenly noticed that something was amiss. Hisughter abruptly stopped, and his eyes immediately widened, looking as if he had seen a ghost. The person shrieking in front of him was Coby, for whom he had high hopes! The person whose wrist was crushed was not Lucas, but Coby! Coby¡¯s right hand had already been disced and broken, while his face, which had always had a smug and confident expression, was covered in bulging veins and distorted beyond recognition. Large beads of sweat emerged from his face at a visible speed. Across from him, Lucas was still standing in ce with a straight face,pletelyposed and unperturbed. ¡°This¡­ is impossible!¡± Marc blurted out. His pupils seemed to be undergoing a magnitude 10 earthquake as they trembled nonstop. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing! ¡°Is this your trump card? Seems like it¡¯s no big deal,¡± Lucas said coldly. Then he turned to the side and immediately kicked Coby in the chest! Bang! Coby¡¯s body was propelled backward, and the bones and internal organs in his chest immediately shattered. By the time hended on the ground more than ten meters away, he was no longer breathing, and his heart was no longer beating either. With a single kick, a top expert died just like that! Marc¡¯s jaw dropped as he stood rooted to the ground with a magnitude-twelve tsunami of shock surging in his pupils. His body began to sway unsteadily from the extreme shock and horror. ¡°No¡­ This can¡¯t be! This is absolutely impossible!¡± He couldn¡¯t believe this result at all. Coby was an expert he had spent millions of dors to poach from elsewhere. He had always been very confident in him, and of course, Coby had never disappointed him before. But Marc couldn¡¯t believe that this expert he had pinned all his hopes on would fail tost even a round against Lucas and end up getting killed in seconds! In that case, how terrifying was Lucas?! When he thought of his confident threats and the promise to kill Lucas that he had made in front of Kyle and Lance, as well as to Jace Hutton, his heart began to sink. Only now did he finally realize that he had greatly underestimated Lucas¡¯s strength, which was why he was caught in this situation now. What will Lucas Gray do next? Will he kill me? If Lucas wanted to kill him now, there was no way for him to stop him! At this moment, Marc¡¯s heart was full of regret. Back when Kyle advised him to leave some backup ns in addition to Coby, he had felt that Kyle was deliberately making Lucas seem more impressive, so he had rejected him without hesitation. Now, he just wished that he could turn back time. If he could, he wouldn¡¯t have made a move against Lucas easily, and he would have at least done a proper background check on Lucas! Unfortunately, it was toote for regrets now! Seeing Lucas looking at him with a cold and ruthless gaze, Marc felt as if the shadow of death was looming over him. He shuddered uncontrobly before suddenly remembering that he had set up a trump card earlier. As long as he seeded in pulling it, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to kill him and might even sumb to being an obedient dog to him! ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray, do you think you¡¯ve defeated me? Let me tell you, you¡¯re wrong, and you¡¯ll regret it right away!¡± Marc wiped a handful of cold sweat from his face and gritted his teeth while guffawing menacingly. ¡°Is that so? You¡¯ve said that several times before.¡± Lucas snickered and continued walking toward Marc. ¡°Stop!¡± Marc suddenly hollered. ¡°Don¡¯t you want your wife, Cheyenne Carter, to stay alive?¡± Hearing this, Lucas suddenly stopped in his tracks, and his face, which was expressionless most of the time, gradually turned cold. He red daggers at Marc. ¡°How dare you threaten me with her life? You must die today!¡± A terrifying murderous aura immediately emerged from Lucas¡¯s body, and even the pebbled ground under his feet cracked under the pressure of his domineering aura. Marc was frightened by Lucas¡¯s intimidating aura. But as soon as he thought that he was still holding Lucas¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel, he immediately had the courage to confront him again. He grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve long gotten people to investigate you. You attach great importance to your wife, Cheyenne, and for her sake, you were even willing to suffer while living with the Carters. Even that bitch Karen Turner could climb all over you and disrespect you as she pleased. So, your wife must be your biggest weakness, right? ¡°Since I dared to call you toe here, I must have prepared well. Your absence from Orange County has given me the perfect opportunity! As long as your wife falls into my hands, you can only obey me like a dog. Otherwise, I¡¯ll immediately have people cut off her hands and feet and sh her face. Then I¡¯ll let my men have fun with her before finally killing her!¡± Every time Marc said something, Lucas¡¯s face would be increasingly cold and hostile. In the end, his eyes were a bloodthirsty red as a strong killing intent emerged. Marc truly enjoyed angering Lucas. ¡°What? Do you hate me so much that you want to kill me immediately? But you can¡¯t. If you dare toy a finger on me, I can guarantee that your wife will end up in a living hell!¡± He burst into unrestrained and arrogantughter. Hah, so what if Lucas Gray is good at martial arts? As long as I get hold of his greatest weakness, he won¡¯t dare to resist. Even if he¡¯s furious, he doesn¡¯t dare to say anything unpleasant to me anymore. But at this moment, Lucas suddenly smirked in contempt and looked at Marc as if he was looking at a fool. ¡°Do you really think that your men can get their hands on my wife?¡± Chapter 544 - Full of Ardor

Chapter 544: Full of Ardor

Hearing this, Marc took out his phone with certainty andughed out loud. ¡°I see you¡¯re still holding out hope until thest moment! Okay, I¡¯ll show you who¡¯s in control of your wife now!¡± He tapped his phone a few times to make a call. As soon as the call connected, he turned on the loudspeaker with a triumphant expression and said to Lucas, ¡°I¡¯ll let you hear your wife begging for mercy onest time!¡± Soon, the sounds of someone talking came from the other end, but it was totally different from what Marc had expected. ¡°Lucas, we¡¯ve settled the matters here. A few bugs sneaked over and tried to harm Cheyenne, but we¡¯ve tied them all up! As long as I¡¯m here, no one will dare toy a finger on her!¡± It was a cheery voice belonging to a man. The man was Jordan, who had followed Lucas back from the Falcon Regiment in Calico and had been acting as Lucas¡¯s right-hand man! ¡°Impossible!¡± Marc¡¯s expression changed drastically when he heard the wordsing over the phone. ¡°Impossible! The people I sent there are absolute experts! They definitely wouldn¡¯t have failed!¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re the idiot who sent those bugs to try to capture Cheyenne? Hmph, how dare you harbor malicious intentions about her? You¡¯re dead meat!¡± Jordan said with contemptuousughter, dealing a huge blow to Marc. Marc immediately hung up, as if he¡¯d be able to get rid of his defeat by doing so. Lucas sneered and remarked snidely, ¡°Hah, idiot!¡± Ever since Cheyenne, Charlotte, and Amelia had gotten into dangerous situations one after another, Lucas had been extremely concerned about their safety and went to great lengths to protect them. Previously, Wade had been following Charlotte for a long time to protect her while Stanley protected Cheyenne and Amelia. Generally, Jordan would also secretly protect them afterpleting his tasks. After Stanley left Orange County and went to DC with Flynn some time ago, Lucas had instructed Skr to take over Stanley¡¯s task of protecting Cheyenne and Amelia in secret. When Lucas left Orange County to go to San Francisco to look for Marc, Jordan, whom he had previously sent to train the Hale family members in martial arts, was also transferred back to protect Cheyenne and Amelia. With the degree of protection Lucas had arranged for his family, it would be impossible for anyone to harm them or take them hostage to threaten him, even if his enemies sent true top experts. ¡°It seems that yourst trump card is gone. What other tricks can you y next?¡± Lucas looked at the pale Marc, and the killing intent in his eyes intensified further. Although Marc¡¯s move hadn¡¯t seeded, his presumptuous attempt to kidnap Cheyenne and the things he had just said were enough to make Lucas feel an urge to kill him! Marc was now truly panic-stricken, and he desperately retreated with all his might. But his legs went weak, and he almost tripped over himself. He began to look extremely wretched, and he no longer seemed as confident as earlier. At this moment, an old yet austere voice suddenly came from the side. ¡°Kid, you¡¯d better not be so overbearing! Today, you¡¯ve trespassed in the Kingston manor and wounded so many of our bodyguards. Now, you¡¯re even trying to harm my grandson. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re going overboard?¡± Lucas looked over in the direction of the voice and saw an old man with white hair supporting himself with an expensive wooden cane embellished withrge emeralds while walking out from the vi in a rather majestic manner. When Marc saw him, he immediately rushed over as if he had found a straw to clutch at. ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re finally here! This punk actually wants to kill me!¡± The old man who walked over was Lance Kingston, Marc¡¯s grandfather and the current helmsman of the Kingston family. There were also two ck-clothed guards with intimidating auras standing behind him, one on his left and one on his right. Their temples were slightly bulging, and they had obviously trained in martial arts. Lucas burst intoughter. ¡°Overbearing? Look who¡¯s speaking! ¡°I didn¡¯t have any dealings with the Kingstons in the past, but your grandson Marc held my mother-inw captive and killed her. Not only that, but he even used her death to frame me. You have lived for so long, so you shouldn¡¯t be an old fool. Why don¡¯t you tell us who¡¯s being the bully?¡± Lance¡¯s face immediately turned sullen. As the head of the Kingstons, a notable family in San Francisco, he was already being kind enough to be willing to step forward and speak to Lucas. But he hadn¡¯t expected Lucas to be so insensitive as to mock him and call him an old fool. He was indeed extremely detestable! ¡°It¡¯s a good thing for young people to have a sense of pride. But if you¡¯re too arrogant, you¡¯ll bring a deadly disaster upon yourself! If you leave obediently now, I can take it that nothing has happened and spare you this once!¡± Lance glowered at Lucas with a somewhat intimidating gaze and seemed to be admonishing and threatening him. He was behaving like he was high up in the air, and his tone was full of condescension, as if he was giving Lucas a huge concession by doing so, and Lucas should just be grateful to him and immediately leave. ¡°Hmph!¡± Lucas snorted coldly andughed in anger. ¡°Spare me? You¡¯ve misunderstood something! I want to kill Marc Kingston now!¡± Lance was angered by Lucas¡¯s arrogance. ¡°Punk, seems like you want to do this the hard way. Since you¡¯ve angered the Kingstons, I¡¯ll make sure you can¡¯t leave this ce today! Don¡¯t forget. This is the Kingstons¡¯ territory, and you¡¯re not fit to cause a stir here!¡± If not for the fact that he had noticed how terrifying Lucas¡¯s martial arts were when he was watching him fight just now, Lance would have long sent his men to kill Lucas instead of wasting his breath talking to him! ¡°You said that Mr. Gray isn¡¯t fit enough to provoke you, huh? Well then, count the Parkers in!¡± An old man¡¯s voice suddenly came from behind them. Damon stood with his back straight and walked over on a steady gait with around forty elite bodyguards behind him. Standing together, they emitted an intimidating aura! ¡°If that¡¯s not enough, then count the Hales in too!¡± As another young voice sounded, Connor also strode in imposingly with dozens of men behind him! ¡°Count the Little Antis City in too!¡± Joe also appeared in front of the crowd with a group of subordinates, full of zeal and ardor. ¡°And us¡­¡± ¡­ In an instant, the vast front yard of the Kingston manor was all upied by the hundred-odd people who rushed in. The Kingston family bodyguards who were lying on the ground and wailing just now were all being treated as sacks getting in the way and thrown to the side one after another. When Lance saw this scene, his usually austere face became covered in bulging veins because he was boiling with fury! Chapter 545 - Firm and Unwavering

Chapter 545: Firm and Unwavering

Lance dared to swear that in all his years of life, he had never encountered such humiliation! Indeed, it was a tant insult and humiliation! If the people who spoke in front of him were from notable and powerful families in San Francisco, it would still be quite a decent threat. But the people in front of him were from families in LA and Orange County that he belittled. Yet they actually dared to talk to him in such a manner. They were simply disregarding the Kingstons! ¡°Hah, do you people think you¡¯re qualified to make a mor like this in the Kingstons¡¯ territory?¡± Lance red at Damon, Connor, and Joe, who were in the lead. ¡°You are just nobodies from Orange County and LA. Together, none of you are even worthy of carrying my family¡¯s shoes! How dare you threaten me? You must be dreaming!¡± Damon retorted, ¡°Yes, the Parkers may be very weakpared to the Kingstons. But even families like us know to have some shame and proper manners. The Kingstons are at fault to begin with, but you won¡¯t let others seek justice?¡± Connor calmed himself down and said in a deep voice, ¡°Yes! If Marc Kingston hadn¡¯t abducted Mr. Gray¡¯s mother-inw by force and killed her, he wouldn¡¯t havee here to confront you and seek justice! The Kingstons are at fault in the first ce. We are willing to help Mr. Gray, and it has nothing to do with family status!¡± Joe also stepped forward and said firmly, ¡°Indeed, as you¡¯ve said, Mr. Kingston, I¡¯m just a nobody. But even a nobody like me knows what loyalty and righteousness are. Even I know how to tell right from wrong! Mr. Kingston, if you can still differentiate between right and wrong, hand over Marc Kingston to us!¡± ¡°Yes, immediately hand over Marc Kingston and make him give us a clear exnation about Karen Turner!¡± ¡°Indeed. Marc Kingston randomlyid his hands on someone from Orange County. Do you think we¡¯re pushovers?¡± ¡­ All of a sudden, Damon, Connor, and the others demanded that Lance hand over Marc, the culprit of it all. The men they had brought with them also chimed in and yelled, ¡°Hand over Marc Kingston!¡± ¡°Hand over Marc Kingston!¡± ¡°Hand over Marc Kingston!¡± ¡°Hand over Marc Kingston!¡± ¡­ When Lance heard these yells in unison, his face turned red.?How dare these pieces of trashe here to kick up a ruckus andpel me? Outrageous! ¡°Shut up! Aren¡¯t you afraid of the Kingstons retaliating and exterminating your families?¡± he barked furiously at the top of his lungs. Damon, Connor, Joe, and the others looked at each other with some tacit understanding before answering in unison, ¡°If we were afraid, we wouldn¡¯t havee here!¡± They had indeed thought about it for a long time ago before deciding toe to San Francisco to help Lucas. Since they were willing to proceed, they had naturally already considered all the gains and losses, including the possible oue of facing the revenge and retaliation of the Kingstons and so on. But regardless of the final oue, it was enough for them to know that their consciences were clear! Lance was truly enraged. ¡°It seems that the Kingstons have been keeping too low a profile recently, so much so that you small fries have the delusion that you¡¯re capable of throwing a fit here in my residence. In that case, I¡¯ll use my strength to show you the consequences of going against the Kingstons!¡± Then Lance raised his hand and waved it forward. Thirty men in ck immediately emerged from all corners of the manor, forming a loose siege around the more than hundred experts that Damon and the others had brought. The strength of these men was on apletely different level from those bodyguards that Lucas had knocked down earlier. It could be said that these men in ck were the powerful force that the Kingstons had secretly kept in reserve. The expressions of Damon and the others all became grave. Although they had each brought the most powerful subordinates and bodyguards working for them, their resources were indeed a far cry from those of the Kingstons. So even though the strength of these people they had brought wasn¡¯t too bad, they paled inparison to these men in ck who worked for the Kingstons. All of a sudden, everyone seemed to be dismayed. ¡°Hmph, do you know the difference between the Kingstons, a notable family of San Francisco, and you teeny families now? Of course, there is no great unresolvable feud between us. If you take your people away and leave obediently, I can still pretend that nothing has happened and let bygones be bygones! Otherwise¡­ hah!¡± Lance issued a threat and left it to Damon, Connor, and the others to choose. Of course, he would release these people who had the audacity to provoke the Kingstons. But he would definitely destroy themter to make up for the humiliation he had suffered today! Damon, Connor, Joe, and the others looked at each other while gritting their teeth, none of them willing to retreat by a single step. Just as Lance¡¯s face was incredibly gloomy and he was nning to order the men in ck to make a move against Lucas, Lucas suddenly stepped forward and said, ¡°Mr. Kingston, I don¡¯t mind giving you a warning. Marc Kingston has killed my mother-inw, so I¡¯ll definitely take him away today. If you know any better, I¡¯ll take him alone. But if you don¡¯t, don¡¯t me me for making the Kingstons¡¯ blood flow all over the ground today!¡± When Lance was threatening Damon and the others just now, Lucas didn¡¯t step forward to interject or say anything because he wanted to see what choice they would make. If it was just purely for the sake of interests, the smart thing to do would naturally be to obey Lance and draw a clear line between Lucas and themselves. But these people in front of him didn¡¯t choose to do so. Instead, they would rather go against the Kingstons and face their retaliation than turn their backs on him. Lucas was pleased with the oue, and he even felt a little touched. Of course, as long as he was around, he wouldn¡¯t let the Kingstons do whatever they wanted. ¡°Yes, hand Marc Kingston over!¡± ¡°Hand Marc Kingston over!¡± ¡°Hand Marc Kingston over!¡± ¡­ All of a sudden, their yelling filled the air of the manor! Lance was so furious that his stern face distorted. The rest of the Kingstons were also enraged. Being bullied by a group of people who showed up at their ce to force them to hand over their family member was the worst humiliation they had ever suffered in the past decade or so! Meanwhile, Marc, the person they were yelling about, was grimacing in fury. He was the most qualified andpetent member of the Kingston family and also the next sessor they were all grooming. Rarely would anyone call him by his full name. Now, everyone was yelling at him and calling him by his full name in an unbridled manner. It was simply a huge insult! Lance hollered furiously, ¡°You want to take my grandson away? Dream on!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Your grandson killed my mother-inw. Why can¡¯t I take him away? I¡¯m sure you¡¯re clear on what a life for a life means!¡± ¡°Bullshit! My grandson has such a noble status, while your mother-inw is just an ignorant woman from the countryside. She¡¯s not fit to bepared to my grandson at all!¡± ¡°Hey, Lance, that doesn¡¯t seem right, does it?¡± All of a sudden, a bell-like voice belonging to an old man came from the gate of the Kingston manor. Chapter 546 - Fight If You Want

Chapter 546: Fight If You Want

The voice immediately caught everyone¡¯s attention as they looked over. At the entrance of the Kingston manor, an elderly man who was also in his seventies but was still tall and robust walked over slowly with a young and pretty woman in her twenties. ¡°Mr. Cole¡­ what brings you here?¡± Lance red at him, his expression bing even more hostile than before. The person who arrived was none other than Edmund Cole, one of the top giants in San Francisco! And the young and beautiful woman beside him was naturally his granddaughter Alexis. Although the Kingstons and the Coles were both top families in San Francisco, the Kingstons had always been a notch inferior to the Coles. They had only managed to somewhat go against the Coles with the help of the Huttons two years ago. Lance and Edmund didn¡¯t get along too well with each other. And in fact, there was a strong tension between them whenever they met. Today, Edmund had suddenlye to the Kingstons¡¯ and rebuked Lance for speaking callously, greatly displeasing him. Before Edmund could answer Lance, Alexis was already smiling at Lucas and asking, ¡°Lucas, are you alright?¡± Lucas nodded at the young and enthusiastic girl. Edmund immediatelyughed out loud. ¡°Lucas, why didn¡¯t you inform me that you¡¯vee to San Francisco? If my granddaughter hadn¡¯t told me about it, I wouldn¡¯t have known at all!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just here to handle a personal matter, so I naturally can¡¯t impose on you, Mr. Cole.¡± ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re making our rtionship sound distant. You and I are close enough. It won¡¯t be considered imposing on me,¡± Edmund said with great enthusiasm, immediately revealing his close friendship with Lucas. Indeed, Lance¡¯s face became even more sullen after hearing this. He hadn¡¯t expected that Edmund actually knew Lucas and was even standing on his side. The thought of it made Lance even more frustrated. ¡°Edmund Cole, you¡¯re here to back this punk up and speak up for him, aren¡¯t you?¡± Edmund didn¡¯t hide anything and simply said straightforwardly, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already briefly heard what the matter is about. Since your grandson is at fault in the first ce, he should be handed over to Lucas as a matter of course!¡± Edmund was simply treating Lucas as a close friend. This scene not only made all the people in the front yard of Kingston manor look at each other in puzzlement and dismay, but it also caused the jaws of the members of the other wealthy families in San Francisco, who were trying to find out more about the situation, to drop. The young man in front of them named Lucas seemed to be only about 27 or 28 years old, and there wasn¡¯t a single piece of designer clothing on him. Moreover, they didn¡¯t know of any notable families with thest name Gray. But when they saw how nice Edmund was to Lucas and how he seemed to value Lucas greatly, they couldn¡¯t help wondering why. Moreover, given the current situation, Lucas had already barged into the Kingston manor and even beat up so many of their bodyguards and flung them aside like they were sandbags. No matter what, they were certain that the Kingstons wouldn¡¯t let Lucas off. But now, not only was there Connor, a member of one of the four major families of Orange County, there were also Damon Parker, the helmsman of the top family in LA, and the other forces of Orange County. They had all rushed to San Francisco to protect Lucas at the expense of offending the Kingstons. Edmund had alsoe forth to express his friendship with Lucas and his stand to support Lucas, which suddenlyplicated the situation too. If it was just a few small families, the Kingstons wouldn¡¯t bother paying much attention to them. As long as they wanted to, the Kingstons would have the opportunity to get rid of them any time they pleased. But the Coles¡¯ intervention had greatly reduced Lance¡¯s confidence. If the Kingstons had been able to deal with the Coles, they wouldn¡¯t have been at a disadvantage throughout their battle against the Coles over the years. Neither would they have to rely on the Huttons¡¯ help in order to rival the Coles. ¡°Edmund Cole, this is a matter between the Kingstons and Lucas Gray. You¡¯re just an outsider, and you have no right to interfere in the matter between us! ¡°Moreover, we have always stayed in our ownnes. If you must intervene in this matter regarding my grandson, don¡¯t me me for taking advantage of the opportunity to kick you when you¡¯re down in case something happens to the Coles in the future! ¡°Furthermore, Marc is my grandson and also the promising sessor that the Kingstons havemitted to grooming and nurturing. How can I easily let anyone take him away? If I do as they say today, how can I stand firm in San Francisco in the future?! ¡°Here¡¯s some advice for you. Stay out of the affairs of others and get lost from the Kingston manor immediately. Or else, the Kingstons won¡¯t mind starting a war with the Coles!¡± After speaking menacingly, Lance seemed extremely overbearing. But Edmund wasn¡¯t one to be trifled with. Since he joined the military in his early years, he had developed a firm and authoritative personality, bing someone who would never allow others to defy him. Moreover, the threatening tone of Lance¡¯s voice made Edmund extremely displeased. ¡°Are you threatening me? Hmph, let¡¯s get this war started. I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡± Edmund was just as angry and feisty. He wasn¡¯t afraid of threats at all, making Lancepletely speechless. That wasn¡¯t all. He immediately took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Get ready! I might go to war with the Kingstons at any time! Find out all evidence we can get against the Kingstons. I want you to make sure that we can annihte them!¡± Edmund said openly without trying to hide anything at all. Lance instantly had a drastic change of expression. He hadn¡¯t expected Edmund to take his casual threat seriously and had even taken the lead in preparing for a war against the Kingstons by sending his men to collect evidence against the Kingstons in a bid to annihte them! He¡­ he¡¯s being too arrogant!?Lance was trembling in fury.?Is Edmund Cole brainless or what? Apart from the Kingstons and the Coles, there was another top family in San Francisco that had always been rivals against the other two, and that was the Walkers. If the Coles and Kingstons suddenly went to war, they would certainly fight to the death. By then, regardless of the oue, the Walkers would stand to gain an advantage. At that time, the Walkers would be the dominant giant of San Francisco, while the Coles and Kingstons would be downgraded a notch. The losing party might even be eradicated from the city! Has this dimwit Edmund Cole not thought of the consequences? Is it worth it for a young man like Lucas Gray? Lance simply couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on in Edmund¡¯s head! The other members of the Kingston family and the people secretly watching were all in disbelief. Chapter 547 - Dilemma

Chapter 547: Dilemma

As two of the three top giants in San Francisco, the Coles and the Kingstons had decided to go toe-to-toe against each other because of a young man! If word about this matter spread, everyone would probably think that it was just rumors because it waspletely unbelievable. But it was a fact that they heard with their own ears! For a moment, everyone stopped speaking, and the Kingstons¡¯ front yard fell into silence. Lance¡¯s face constantly changed between blue and red. Eventually, he raised his head, gritted his teeth, and asked Edmund, ¡°Edmund Cole, are you sure you want to go to war against the Kingstons?¡± Without hesitation, Edmund immediately replied, ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to go to war with you but that you¡¯re forcing me to! ¡°I¡¯ve just said it. Your grandson has made a mistake, so he should bear the consequences for it. It¡¯s only right that Lucas hase to look for him since he killed his mother-inw! It was you who threatened me with going to war first. It¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to fight or not. Regardless of your choice, I will fight you to the end! Anyway, no matter what, Lucas is my life savior, and the Coles will stand firmly behind him!¡± Only then did Lance realize why Edmund was standing so firmly on Lucas¡¯s side. Lucas had saved his life! He was enraged! Lance was so angry that he wanted to flip a table. He knew that Edmund had always had a straightforward military-style character. He had also always been the type to take revenge where it was due and likewise repay the kindness others showed him. Since Lucas had saved his life, Edmund would never change his position! In other words, if he vehemently refused to hand over Marc, the Coles would definitely go to war with the Kingstons, and that was no joke at all! Feeling touched, Lucas looked at Edmund. In fact, Edmund had always called him his life savior, but Lucas had always felt that he had just done Edmund a small favor, so he was rather touched by Edmund¡¯s kindness. In the end, Lucas could only say softly, ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Cole!¡± He hadn¡¯t thought of relying on the Coles¡¯s power to solve this matter, nor had he ever thought of getting them involved. But he would always remember this kindness that the Coles showed him. And if they ever needed help in the future, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to offer them a hand. Alexis smiled and said, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t worry. With me and Grandpa on your side, the Kingstons won¡¯t do anything to you!¡± She smiled sweetly, as if she didn¡¯t even take the matter of the two families going to war seriously. With a faint smile, Lucas turned around to look at Lance. ¡°Mr. Kingston, my stand remains. I just need to take Marc Kingston alone. I hope you can consider this properly.¡± In fact, when Lucas barged into the Kingston manor alone earlier, he had just been thinking of solving this matter on his own. If the Kingstons refused to cooperate, he wouldn¡¯t mind annihting them. But as Damon, Connor, Joe, Edmund, and Alexis appeared, he slowly began to change his mind. The reason was that the power of so many peoplebined would certainly attract lots of spection and probing gazes. Thus, Lucas¡¯s n to exterminate the Kingstons would be too high-profile, which would also inevitably draw the attention of many parties to him. At this point, Lucas didn¡¯t want to have such a high profile due to various considerations. Lance seemed to hesitate. There were only two options before him. One, hand over his grandson Marc to Lucas, but that would be a tant insult and shame to the Kingstons. Two, protect his grandson and go to war against Lucas, the Coles, and the various families from Orange County and LA! The consequences would be unimaginable, and it would also very likely bring about enormous losses to the Kingstons. He didn¡¯t want either of the options. Seeing his grandfather hesitating, Marc couldn¡¯t help panicking as he quickly advised from the side, ¡°Grandpa, you can¡¯t agree to their request! Don¡¯t fall for their scheming tricks! If the Kingstons really sumb to theirpulsion and hand me over, what dignity will we have left? ¡°Grandpa, they¡¯re just threatening to go to war with us because they want to intimidate us. If we really go to war, will the Kingstons be afraid of them? Even the Coles are just on par with us, let alone the other families. If you agree, won¡¯t you be bowing down to them?¡± Marc was overwhelmed with anxiety, fearing that his grandfather would cave in to the pressure and hand him over to them. But Lance didn¡¯t say anything while the rest of the Kingstons remained in a bizarre silence too. In their opinion, if the Kingstons really went to war against the Coles and the other families, the oue wasn¡¯t something they could be optimistic about. Moreover, this matter was originally caused by Marc, so they thought that it was only a matter of course for him to be handed over. Most people were selfish, even rtives. To most people, interests and profits were the top priority. Marc became even more flustered, and he couldn¡¯t help inciting his grandfather. ¡°Grandpa, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Are you also afraid of Edmund Cole and feel that you¡¯re inferior to him?¡± Lance flew into a rage and raised his hand to p Marc¡¯s face. ¡°Bastard, trust you to have the cheek to say that. You are the cause of this trouble! ¡°You didn¡¯t listen to all the admonishments I gave you, did you? Why did you kill that woman for no reason? If you hadn¡¯t done it, would the Kingstons be facing the current crisis?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Marc felt really aggrieved! The Huttons were the ones who had given them the task of dealing with Lucas and the Stardust Corporation, which Lance was aware of too. He also knew that Marc was nning to use Karen¡¯s death to frame and suppress Lucas, so he couldn¡¯t figure out why he was getting med for it. He was indeed rather indignant and extremely aggrieved. While chiding him, Lance winked at Marc and then continued, ¡°You¡¯ve indeed made a mistake. As your grandfather, I can¡¯t indulge you any longer. From today onward, you will be grounded andid off from your current duties. You aren¡¯t allowed to step out of the house for half a year! Do you hear me?¡± Lance¡¯s tone was extremely assertive and fierce, but Marc was overjoyed to hear his words. Since his grandfather was going to confine him at home, it meant that he wasn¡¯t going to hand him over to Lucas! He immediately said gleefully, ¡°Yes, Grandpa! I promise to stay at home in confinement and won¡¯t set foot outside!¡± After hearing what Lance said, Edmund turned gloomy. ¡°Lance Kingston, so you¡¯ve decided that you want to protect your grandson and not hand him over, right?¡± Chapter 548 - Finally Declared War

Chapter 548: Finally Dered War

¡°Yes!¡± Lance said firmly. Although Marc was indeed his most valued grandson, who had received the most careful guidance and the most resources of the Kingstons, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to give Marc up if he waspelled by circumstances. However, he couldn¡¯t give Marc up in this situation! Just as Marc said, if he handed him over to them now, everyone would think he was afraid of Edmund, and the Kingstons would be aughing stock from now on! The families who had close friendly ties to the Kingstons or were reliant on them would probably despise them from the bottom of their hearts and then turn their backs on them. The series of terrible consequences that would be brought about by this was what Lance absolutely dreaded. So inparison, he would rather directly go to war with the Coles and other families because that would at least give him a 50% chance of changing the situation for the better. If the Kingstons ended up in the worst-case scenario, they could seek help from the Huttons. He was certain that the Huttons would help them since this situation was resultant from the Kingstons helping them deal with Lucas! The thought of it made the determination in Lance¡¯s eyes intensify. ¡°We canpensate Lucas Gray with five million dors for the mistake my grandson unintentionallymitted. I think this should be more than enough to offset the life of that countryside woman! If you¡¯re still not satisfied, I can increase the price and make my grandson apologize to him too.¡± In his opinion, giving him a massive sum of five million dors in exchange for the death of an insignificant old woman was already an expression of the Kingstons¡¯ utmost sincerity. Everyone knew that it was impossible to bring the dead back to life, so regardless of how big of a ruckus Lucas kicked up, it would be futile, as there was no way Karen coulde back to life. Instead of forming a feud between the two families without standing to gain any benefit, he thought that it would be much better for Lucas to just leave with the money so that they could all be at peace. Unfortunately, he was bound to be disappointed. Lucas didn¡¯t care about the five million dors. Instead, he merely said sneeringly, ¡°Are marypensation, an apology, and an insincere promise to ground your grandson for half a year the only solution you cane up with to solve this issue? ¡°I don¡¯t ept it. Since you can¡¯t show your sincerity, I¡¯ll do it myself!¡± Then Lucas stepped forward toward Marc. At the same time, the man in ck who had been standing behind Lance and didn¡¯t have much of a presence silently stepped in front of Marc to shield him. Edmund¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly held onto Lucas¡¯s arm before persuading softly, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t be impulsive! The Kingstons have many elite subordinates. You¡¯ll definitely be at a loss if you charge forward rashly!¡± Alexis also hurriedly chimed in, ¡°Yes, Lucas, just listen to my grandfather! We won¡¯t harm you!¡± As a top family in San Francisco, the Coles naturally knew quite a lot about the Kingstons. For example, the man in ck with a scar on his face, who was now shielding Marc, was the Kingstons¡¯ most esteemed andpetent powerhouse. He had impable martial arts, and even Edmund was intimidated by the bloodthirsty look in his eyes. A thin man like Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able tost a few rounds against this man in ck with a scar on his face. Moreover, the ck-clothed bodyguards of the Kingstons were all staring intently. Once Lucas moved, they would definitely swarm forward together, putting Lucas in an extremely dangerous situation! Seeing that Edmund had stopped Lucas, Lance couldn¡¯t help having a tinge of smugness on his face. ¡°Indeed, you still don¡¯t know what the wisest decision to make is, huh? The five million I promised you is a massive sum that many can¡¯t get even after working hard for an entire lifetime! ¡°As far as I know, that mother-inw of yours is just an uncouth and foolish woman who¡¯s extremely mean-spirited. She was always hostile to you, so I reckon you don¡¯t really care much about her. Even though my grandson killed her, you don¡¯t actually have to take revenge for her. ¡°Moreover, you¡¯d be making a huge profit from thepensation I¡¯m willing to give you. Haha! ¡°As for the apology, that¡¯s no big deal. Marc, apologize to Mr. Gray!¡± Lance was full of contempt for Lucas¡¯s behavior, which he perceived as an act of standing up for his mother-inw whom he didn¡¯t care about. He thought that Lucas was just out to make himpensate for Karen¡¯s death. Before long, Marc apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to hurt your mother-inw.¡± His attitude was extremely perfunctory, and just like Lance, he also felt that Lucas was just putting on an act for the sake of getting marypensation. Lucas was furious yet amused by their arrogant attitudes, which left a terrible impression on him. ¡°The Kingstons¡¯ sincerity is really ¡®breathtaking¡¯. In that case, why don¡¯t I just kill Marc Kingston now and thenpensate you with five million dors? This matter will then be settled. How does that sound?¡± Lucas mocked. ¡°Looks like you want to do this the hard way!¡± Lance stared at Lucas with a sullen expression. ¡°That mother-inw of yours was just an ignorant woman. How can shepare to my grandson? ¡°I¡¯m willing to give you five million dors inpensation only because of Mr. Cole. Don¡¯t push your luck! ¡°How can my grandson¡¯s life beparable to a lowly woman¡¯s?¡± He bombarded Lucas with scoldings. But before Lucas even said anything, Edmund immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Lance Kingston, don¡¯t go overboard! I¡¯ve long said that Lucas is my life savior. Insulting him is tantamount to insulting me! Since you insist on protecting that grandson of yours, I hereby announce that the Coles are officially dering war on the Kingstons!¡± Alexis said without hesitation, ¡°Yes, Grandpa!¡± Then she took out her phone and made a few calls. ¡°The Coles have officially dered war on the Kingstons. You must annihte them regardless of what it takes!¡± Although she was only in her twenties, she also carried the domineering aura unique to the Coles, just like her grandfather. Lance didn¡¯t expect Edmund to actually be so hot-tempered as to dere war on the Kingstons just because of his conflict with Lucas. But since things hade to this point, he had long been mentally prepared to go to war with the Coles when he chose to protect his grandson. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go ahead then. Do you think the Kingstons are afraid of you? I hereby announce that the Kingstons are dering war on the Coles too!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The rest of the Kingstons immediately acknowledged and gave out instructions to get ready. Tension immediately arose in the yard, and everyone was full of aggression. Chapter 549 - Scarface of the Kingstons

Chapter 549: Scarface of the Kingstons

No one had expected that the two top families would go to war just because of this! Once war broke out between the Kingstons and the Coles, they would go to war in all aspects, such as business, reputation, the stock market, public opinion, personal connections, resources, and even actualbat. It would be arge-scale war that would result in a massive impact. Regardless of the final oue of the war between the two families, it would greatly impact the economic market of San Francisco. Lucas nced at Edmund. He hadn¡¯t expected that Edmund would really dere war with the Kingstons without hesitation just for his sake. He was emotional and touched, finding Edmund to be truly righteous and loyal. After the Coles and Kingstons dered war on each other, Damon, Connor, Joe, and the others on Lucas¡¯s side, who had gone out of their way toe all the way here, also expressed their stand. ¡°The Parkers dere war on the Kingstons too!¡± ¡°The Hales dere war on the Kingstons too!¡± ¡°Little Antis City stands against the Kingstons too!¡± ¡­ The group all looked extremely determined as they stood behind Lucas. Lance¡¯s face became even more gloomy. ¡°Since all of you want to stand against the Kingstons, then you will all stay here today. None of you will leave!¡± He hollered at the top of his voice, issuing orders to the thirty or so men in ck around him, ¡°Attack immediately!¡± After hearing the order, the men in ck standing around the crowd started taking action. They raised their weapons and attacked. ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Kill them!¡± ¡°Kill!¡± ¡­ On the other side, Damon, Connor, Joe, and even Edmund had all brought the top powerhouses of their families. There were around 150 people. Although theirbat abilities were inferior to that of the Kingstons¡¯ henchmen, they weren¡¯t outnumbered. Seeing everyone fighting, Lucas was touched. They were all fighting for him. Edmund took Lucas¡¯s arm and admonished, ¡°That top expert from the Kingstons hasn¡¯t struck yet, so be careful! Beside me is Iron Wolf, the elite guard of the Coles. He will protect you!¡± Edmund pointed to the middle-aged man beside him and said, ¡°You must protect Mr. Gray¡¯s safety. No mistakes allowed!¡± He sent his personal elite bodyguard to protect Lucas. Iron Wolf took a casual nce at Lucas and said indifferently, ¡°As long as you don¡¯t stray too far from me, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± He looked rather arrogant, seemingly not taking Lucas seriously at all. But in fact, Lucas didn¡¯t need his protection. He smiled and said, ¡°Protect Mr. Cole and Miss Cole. You don¡¯t have to care about me!¡± Then Lucas headed straight toward Marc. Iron Wolf immediately frowned and roared from behind him, ¡°Hold it right there! The ck-clothed man with a scar on his face behind Lance Kingston is very powerful, and even I am not confident I can defeat him. Are you rushing to die?¡± He looked extremely displeased. He had initially only needed to protect Edmund and Alexis. But now, Edmund suddenly put him in charge of Lucas¡¯s safety. He was full of discontent for Lucas for causing all of this. Seeing Lucas charging toward the experts working for the Kingstons, he criticized Lucas for being brainless and reckless. Edmund and Alexis panicked and hurriedly said, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t be impulsive!¡± Lucas turned around to look at them with a smile before dashing forward. A mere expert of the Kingston family wasn¡¯t enough to intimidate him! Lance also noticed Lucas unexpectedly rushing out from the crowd and charging toward his grandson Marc. He narrowed his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re courting death yourself!¡± ¡°Scarface, kill that punk right now!¡± he bellowed coldly. The man in ck named Scarface charged at Lucas without making a single sound. There was no doubt that he was the top expert of the Kingston family. He moved at lightning speed and appeared in front of Lucas almost instantaneously. Edmund was astonished. Afraid that Lucas would be hurt, he immediately ordered, ¡°Iron Wolf, go save him immediately! Don¡¯t worry about us!¡± Iron Wolf¡¯s heart tensed up. The moment he saw Lucas in critical danger, he wanted to go forward and save him. But he was toote. By the time he started rushing toward them, they had already started fighting! ¡°Shit!¡± Iron Wolf¡¯s expression instantly changed drastically. The Coles and the Kingstons had been at odds against each other for years and knew each other rather well, so they were naturally familiar with the strongest experts of each other¡¯s family. Iron Wolf had said earlier that he might not be able to defeat Scarface of the Kingston family, but that wasn¡¯t him being humble at all. In terms ofbat abilities, they might be considered equal. But once Scarface entered battle mode, he would be extremely ferocious, as though he was on steroids. In particr, when he saw blood, he would almost go berserk like a menacing beast that didn¡¯t feel any pain. Iron Wolf had only fought with Scarface once a few years. But since then, he never wanted to fight with that madman again. He thought that the tall and thin Lucas, who only had ordinary martial arts, was probably going to end up in a miserable state! Scarface appeared in front of Lucas almost instantaneously. A cold light appeared in his hand, followed by a dagger stabbing toward Lucas¡¯s chest. This blow was extremely swift, and the people in the distance could only see a cold glint, let alone Lucas, who was right in front of him. How could he react in time? Indeed, Lucas didn¡¯t dodge at all. He remained in ce like a fixed target. Oh no!?This thought quickly shed in Iron Wolf¡¯s mind, and his eyes immediately sank.?Lucas Gray failed to dodge in time, and Scarface¡¯s dagger will definitely stab him at such close range. He¡¯s dead! ¡°Hahahaha! Lucas Gray, you im you want to destroy us, but your strength is so mediocre. You can¡¯t even block a single blow from our family¡¯s top expert!¡± ¡°Hehehe, Scarface is the strongest person in the Kingston family, and Lucas Gray is going to die from being stabbed by Scarface¡¯s dagger!¡± ¡°He deserves it! How dare he kick up a ruckus in our home with that mediocre strength of his? But he¡¯s getting an easy way out by dying just like that!¡± Lance, Marc, and the othersughed out loud with relief. Seeing this scene from a short distance away, Edmund and Alexis were furious and shouted, ¡°Lucas!¡± Damon, Connor, and the others also immediately yelled, ¡°Mr. Gray!¡± Chapter 550 - Death of the Strongest Powerhouse

Chapter 550: Death of the Strongest Powerhouse

Everyone was extremely horrified. The reason they had appeared here and gone out of their way to confront the Kingstons was that they wanted to back Lucas up. But if Lucas just died here like this, all their efforts would have been in vain! They would even face the terrifying retaliation of the Kingstons! How could they ept that?! Just when the crowd was all in a state of shock and fright, the Kingstons beganughing out loud, while Lucas, who had been standing still without moving, suddenly moved. He raised his hand, revealing the dagger that Scarface had been holding and should have prated Lucas¡¯s chest. It was now in his hand,pletely intact. The smile on the faces of the Kingstons immediately stiffened! Lucas Gray didn¡¯t get stabbed by Scarface? Could even Scarface have missed from such close range? But at this moment, the one who looked the most shocked was Scarface. His eyes suddenly widened, and he seemed to be in extreme disbelief. ¡°You¡ª!¡± Just as he uttered a word, Lucas interrupted him coldly, ¡°I¡¯d better return this to you!¡± Then the dagger in Lucas¡¯s hand moved much faster than when Scarface brandished it and instantly pierced straight into Scarface¡¯s chest! The sound of flesh being stabbed rang clearly in everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°Pfft!¡± Scarface immediately spurted out a mouthful of blood. He stared incredulously at the dagger almostpletely submerged into his chest with a face full of disbelief. ¡°You¡­ How did you¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Lucas turned his hand holding the sharp dagger and formed a conical hole in Scarface¡¯s chest. Scarface¡¯s body immediately jerked, and more blood seeped out of his chest and mouth. He opened his mouth, but he couldn¡¯t say a single word at all. ¡°Do you want to ask me how I managed to dodge your lethal attack? You can find out in your next life!¡± Lucas pushed Scarface¡¯s body backward, causing him to fall to the ground. The light in his eyespletely vanished. Scarface, dead! Lucas looked at his hand, which was unstained by a single drop of blood. Then he turned around and smirked mockingly at Lance and the others. ¡°Is this the strongest fighter of the Kingstons? He didn¡¯t seem to be that impressive.¡± Everyone watched the scene in shock, utterly dumbfounded. The supposedly strongest powerhouse of the Kingstons had died in Lucas¡¯s hands just like that! Iron Wolf¡¯s eyes were the widest they had ever been. He totally couldn¡¯t imagine that the overbearing enemy that he could barely deal with had been killed by Lucas effortlessly! If not for the fact that he had really fought with Scarface before and knew how powerful he was, he would probably only think that Scarface was a rookie fishing for fame after seeing Lucas¡¯s effortless victory! Was Scarface a rookie? Of course not! This could only mean that this young man called Lucas in front of him had impable martial arts far superior to that of Scarface! Naturally, Lucas¡¯s strength and abilities were also far above his own! The faces of the people of the Kingstons immediately turned deathly pale. The Kingstons¡¯ strongest fighter, who had never lost a single fight, had been easily defeated by Lucas! They simply couldn¡¯t believe it. But Scarface¡¯s corpse was lying in front of them, reminding them that this was the cold hard truth. Upon seeing the oue, Edmund, Alexis, Damon, Connor, and the others were immediately overjoyed and greatly relieved. At the same time, they felt a great sense of pride too. ¡°Hahahaha, didn¡¯t the Kingstons just brag about being very powerful? Their so-called top powerhouse wasn¡¯t that impressive after all. He couldn¡¯t even take a single blow from Mr. Gray!¡± Damon was the first tough out loud. ¡°You were moring about taking Mr. Gray¡¯s life just now, but who¡¯s the dead man now?¡± Connor also had a mocking smile on his face as he sneered at Lance and the rest a few times. Joe looked at Lucas reverently before taunting the Kingstons. ¡°That¡¯s right! Who exactly is the ignorant and arrogant one? The Kingstons are nothing more than this!¡± Even Edmundughed with contempt and mocked, ¡°Lance Kingston, weren¡¯t you bragging about how powerful your family¡¯s top expert is every single day? Now, it seems like he wasn¡¯t that great, just like what Lucas said! Or is it that you have hidden your true expert? ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem too good! After all, things have alreadye to this. If you¡¯re still hiding anything, your grandson will be dead!¡± Lance was so furious that his face turned pale for a while. At this point in time, how could he still hide anything?! Edmund was clearly mocking him! He was extremely furious. Scarface had seemed extremely strong and powerful just now, and he could really be called a top expert whom almost no one in San Francisco could rival! However, Scarface lost! Besides, he had lost in such a simple way that it made him seem ipetent! Lance couldn¡¯t help panicking and feeling infuriated. Scarface was his greatest reliance, and now that Scarface was dead, the rest of the Kingstons wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Lucas from killing them at all. Lance gritted his teeth as he looked at Lucas and asked in disgruntlement, ¡°Lucas Gray, what exactly do you want?¡± Lucas stood in front of him and said indifferently, ¡°I told you a long time ago that since your grandson has killed my mother-inw, I just want you to hand him over.¡± In fact, things had already escted to the point where the top subordinates and bodyguards of the Kingstons had been defeated, leaving only a dozen or so still resisting. Under the pressure that Lucas and the others put on them, they wouldn¡¯t be able tost for long. It would be a piece of cake for Lucas to exterminate the Kingstonspletely. But today¡¯s incident had blown up, and the numerous people surrounding the Kingston manor were observing the situation, so it wasn¡¯t a good time to destroy the Kingstons. Lucas was willing to let the Kingstons off the hook for now, but he had to take Marc, the culprit, away! After hearing Lucas¡¯s request, Lance once again seemed to be struggling and put in a spot. He hadn¡¯t expected Lucas to be that powerful. It could be said that the moment Lucas killed Scarface, he hadpletely turned the tables and changed the situation today. Lance had initially been still nning to do everything he could to protect the Kingstons¡¯ dignity, even if he had to fight to the death with Lucas and his supporters. But now that their greatest reliance, Scarface, had died, the entire family was in Lucas¡¯s hands. So it wasn¡¯t up to him to consider if he would be aughing stock in the city. At this point, there was nothing he could do! Lance slowly turned his head to face Marc, and determination gradually appeared in his eyes. Chapter 551 - The Kingstons’ Compromise

Chapter 551: The Kingstons¡¯ Compromise

Seeing his grandfather looking at him, Marc could acutely sense that Lance had already made up his mind. He felt his heart sinking. ¡°No, Grandpa! You can¡¯t do this! I¡¯m your grandson, and you¡¯ve treated me the best since I was a kid. Moreover, you¡¯ve even decided to groom me to be the next helmsman of the family. How can you give me up now? Besides, if you really hand me over to them, the Kingstons¡¯ pride will really be trampled on!¡± Marc desperately tried to dissuade his grandfather. If even his grandfather gave up on him, he would end up miserable once he was in Lucas¡¯s hands. ¡°Shut up!¡± Lance hollered furiously, ¡°Now that things havee to this, do you still have the cheek to say such things? Everything that happened today was caused by you! If it wasn¡¯t for you, how could the Kingstons have ended up in such a state today?¡± He was really enraged at this moment. In the beginning, the Kingstons had indeed taken on Hutton¡¯s task to destroy Lucas and the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch within a month. Given the Kingstons¡¯ status and connections in San Francisco, it would have taken less than a month for the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch to copse if they had taken things one step at a time and dealt major blows to the Stardust Corporation through business tactics, just like how they had previously secretly warned those enterprises in San Francisco to terminate their contracts with the Stardust Corporation. But Marc, his most valued and smartest grandson, had hated how slow they had been progressing, and he couldn¡¯t wait to destroy the reputation of Lucas and the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. So he hade up with the idea of using Lucas¡¯s mother-inw, Karen, as a catalyst for their n. And just as Marc had expected, Karen had indeed yed quite a significant role, as she had sparked a tremendous uproar on the inte within a day. Just as they wished, Lucas¡¯s and the Stardust Corporation¡¯s reputation had sunk to rock bottom. But Lucas¡¯s revenge on the Kingstons had also been much more intense than they had expected. Not only had he barged into the Kingston manor on his own, but he had also gotten the help of so many top families, who had joined hands to back him up and dere war on the Kingstons. In fact, Lucas¡¯s strength was so intimidating that the top expert of the Kingstons had been finished off in seconds! All of this had foiled Lance and Marc¡¯s original n! Even their lives were in Lucas¡¯s hands at this moment. If Marc had listened to him instead of being a smart aleck, none of this would have happened! Lance was now boiling with fury and put all the me on Marc,pletely forgetting that he had actually given silent consent to Marc¡¯s ns. Seeing that his grandfather had really flown into a rage, Marc was frightened and terrified, so much so that he immediately fell to the ground and pleaded in agony, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m indeed to me for what happened! I shouldn¡¯t have been so eager for quick sess. I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have gotten ahead of myself and been a smart aleck! Grandpa, just save me one more time. If even you give up on me and hand me over, the only oue I¡¯ll face is death!¡± Lance clenched his teeth forcefully and ignored the pleading gaze of despair in his grandson¡¯s eyes. He made his mind up and said relentlessly, ¡°Since you also know that you¡¯ve made a mistake, you should know the consequences that you have to bear. Go!¡± He looked at his grandson, who was once his most favored heir and the one he had the highest hopes for. ¡°From now on, Marc Kingston is no longer a descendant of the Kingstons!¡± Lance surprisingly expelled Marc from the Kingston family and even disowned him! His actionspletely caught all the Kingstons off guard! Marc had a superior status in the family, and his authority was second only to Lance, the helmsman. At the same time, he was also the chosen sessor of Lance. Yet he was now getting expelled! Countless gazes were on Marc¡¯s face. Marc felt as though he had been struck by a thunderbolt that suddenly split his body and caused him to freeze on the spot while his head began buzzing. His grandfather had really given up on him, not giving him the slightest chance at all! Even if he didn¡¯t end up dying at Lucas¡¯s hands, he had been disowned by the Kingstons and lost everything he once had! ¡°No, no! Grandpa, you can¡¯t be so cruel to me! Everything I¡¯ve done is for the Kingstons! You know very well that it¡¯s true, Grandpa! I¡¯ve done so much for the family. Why are you driving me out, and on what grounds are you expelling me from the family?!¡± Marc roared furiously while feeling incredibly flustered too. He moved forward on his knees and hugged Lance¡¯s leg tightly while pleading in misery, ¡°Grandpa, just give me one more chance! Don¡¯t throw me out!¡± ¡°Go away! You are no longer my grandson!¡± Lance ruthlessly kicked Marc, who was hugging his thigh, away. He gritted his teeth with bloodshot eyes and said to Lucas, ¡°I¡¯ll hand Marc over to you as you wish! ¡°You can take him away, but the other matters must be put to rest! The Coles, the Parkers, and the Hales dered war on me just now, so I hope that this matter stops here. From now on, we¡¯re even! Let¡¯s not bring this up again! ¡°Let¡¯s all take a step back each andpromise. This is my bottom line. If you don¡¯t agree, we can just fight to the death, and none of you will benefit from this!¡± Lance was actually taking a gamble and banking on Lucas being a man of his word. In his opinion, the Kingstons had already suffered defeat today and lost everything they had, including their pride. He couldn¡¯t stop Lucas from taking Marc away forcefully either. Even if Lucas wanted to really destroy the Kingstons, they simply couldn¡¯t do anything to stop him. Therefore, he hoped that Lucas could keep his promise and take Marc away while leaving the rest of them alone. Lucas looked at the old man in front of him, who seemed extremely nervous and was about to go all out. He simply said nonchntly, ¡°Okay, I agree.¡± He had no intention ofpletely destroying the Kingstons today, nor did he want the Coles, the Parkers, and the others to fight the Kingstons head-on just for the sake of helping him. The Coles, the Parkers, the Hales, and even the members of Little Antis City all had good intentions to help him, so he didn¡¯t want them to waste their energy on this pointless fight. Marc was currently in great despair. He had now been abandoned by the Kingstons. Although he was looking at his former family members with a pleading gaze in his eyes, none of them were willing to take another nce at him. At this moment, a tall and cold figure suddenly appeared in front of him. Towering over Marc, Lucas looked down at him and questioned coldly, ¡°Where is Karen Turner¡¯s corpse?¡± Chapter 552 - Pleading For Him

Chapter 552: Pleading For Him

Marc shivered and didn¡¯t dare to raise his head to look at him. At this moment, Lucas was in control of his life, causing horror to surge in his heart. Lucas¡¯s main purpose of barging into the Kingston manor was to collect Karen¡¯s corpse. No matter what, she was the mother of Charlotte and Cheyenne. Lucas didn¡¯t manage to save Karen and bring her back alive. But he had to bring her corpse back to bury her and let her rest in peace. Otherwise, if Cheyenne and Charlotte learned that Karen¡¯s corpse wasn¡¯tplete, they would definitely break down further. Marc trembled for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve already told you that I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve fed her corpse to the dogs!¡± If he still wanted a chance to live and turn the situation around, he had to rely on Karen! No matter what, he couldn¡¯t tell Lucas about it! Bang! Lucas lost his cool and immediately kicked Marc in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground and grimace in pain. ¡°You¡¯re not telling the truth even at this point, huh? I¡¯ll see how hard your bones are!¡± Lucas stared into Marc¡¯s eyes, and an ominous, unparalleled killing intent instantly engulfed him! What kind of a figure was Lucas? He had fought hard in Calico with the Falcon Regiment and relied on his own hard work and abilities to be the leader of the Falcon Regiment, thus bing the mythical ¡®Invincible God of War¡¯. He had long be an expert at interrogation and delving into the human mind. Lucas had been incredibly enraged when Marc told him smugly over the phone that Karen was already dead and that he had fed her corpse to the dogs. Lucas believed him then, but after seeing the fleeting avoidance in Marc¡¯s eyes when he questioned him, he knew that Marc was lying! Although Lucas was still unclear about what exactly he was lying about, he wasn¡¯t bothered by it because he was certain that he would hear Marc confess the truth as long as he probed further. ¡°Wh-what are you trying to do? You can¡¯t kill me!¡± Marc screamed while cowering continuously. Lucas said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let you die now, but I¡¯ll make your life feel worse than death!¡± Then he lifted his foot and stomped on Marc¡¯s calf with all his might. Snap! With the crisp sound of bones cracking, Marc immediately raised his head and shrieked miserably at the top of his lungs. ¡°Ah!!! My leg!¡± His shrilling voice echoed throughout the front yard of the Kingston manor, making everyone¡¯s scalp tingle and turn numb. Lucas¡¯s stomp crushed the middle section of Marc¡¯s calf, making his flesh badly mangled and impossible to restore. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you once more. Where is Karen Turner¡¯s corpse?¡± Lucas once again questioned overbearingly. At the same time, he stepped onto Marc¡¯s other leg. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s expression was cold, and he was exuding an intimidating aura, looking just like a god of murder. Marc was almost scared soulless, and he was trembling incessantly in the face of the pressure. Even the others couldn¡¯t help being horrified too. Even Edmund was astonished to see Lucas¡¯s actions. He only knew Lucas¡¯s most superficial identity and had even thought he was just an ordinary person with high proficiency in martial arts. So when he heard that Lucas had broken into the Kingston manor andnded himself in a dangerous situation, he had rushed over immediately. But the Lucas he was seeing today was very different from what he had imagined. Lucas¡¯s martial arts were impressive and far beyond Edmund¡¯s imagination. His intimidating and formidable aura,posed state of mind, and determination to kill were definitely not qualities that ordinary people could possess. But Edmund didn¡¯t dislike Lucas for them. Instead, he was in greater awe and curiosity toward him. What kind of experience would actually make a young man in histe twenties develop such a terrifying dominance, power, and state of mind? At this moment, Marc was on the verge of peeing his pants because he was petrified and overwhelmed with horror from the murderous aura Lucas was exuding. His head was covered in cold sweat, but he nevertheless gritted his teeth and still insisted stubbornly, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. I¡­ I¡¯ve really fed her to the dogs, and there isn¡¯t a single bit of her body left!¡± Snap! Without further ado, Lucas once again stomped on Marc¡¯s other calf, crushing it and mashing his flesh together. ¡°Ahhhh!!!!¡± Marc finally couldn¡¯t bear with it any longer and passed out due to the excruciating pain. Lucas frowned, squatted down, and was about to press his philtrum to wake him up. But he suddenly heard someoneshing out at him loudly. ¡°That¡¯s enough! Lucas Gray, you¡¯re going overboard by bullying someone who has no means to resist!¡± The person who interjected was a man in his fifties. He stepped out from the crowd with anger written all over his face. Seeing that he was full of righteous indignation, Lucas suddenly sneered and gibed contemptuously, ¡°I¡¯m being overboard? Why didn¡¯t you step out and say that Marc Kingston was overboard by kidnapping my mother-inw, killing her, and then feeding her corpse to dogs? ¡°Now I¡¯ve only crippled his legs. On what grounds are you using me of being overboard? ¡°Are you Kingstons nobler than others? You don¡¯t need to put on airs and take the moral high ground in front of me. You people are the assants, so you have no right to do so!¡± ¡°You!¡± Lucas¡¯s words immediately made that man who stood out to use him turn red with embarrassment, rendered speechless. Marc had casually killed someone and fed her corpse to dogs, which was an incredibly cruel act. It was only reasonable for his victim¡¯s family to retaliate against him as they pleased. At this moment, Edmund also stood out and said to the man, ¡°Moses, even if you want to speak up and defend your son, this isn¡¯t the time and ce to do it. Marc deserves this because he did such a cruel and psychotic thing. He has also been kicked out of the family by Lance, so why are you still trying to turn the situation around? ¡°Besides, Lance agreed to hand Marc over to Lucas. Are you trying to go back on the promise now?¡± Moses was immediately speechless. Although he was Marc¡¯s father and Lance¡¯s son, he hadcked talent since he was a child, so he had never been valued by Lance. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t dare to defy Lance¡¯s decision. ¡°But¡­ that woman is dead after all. Even if you take revenge on Marc, it won¡¯t help! How about this? Spare my son¡¯s life, and I promise to fulfill any request of yours as long as it¡¯s within my means!¡± Moses said through clenched teeth. Since he had been pressured by Lance just now, he could only watch as his son got handed over to Lucas and kicked out of the family without daring to voice his objection. However, now that Marc¡¯s legs had been crushed by Lucas, and he was screaming in misery, Moses finally couldn¡¯t endure it and stepped forward. Lucas was surprised. Based on the scene just now, he thought that the Kingstons were merely some selfish and vile people who would only protect themselves. He hadn¡¯t expected one of them to be willing to save Marc. ¡°Are you willing to do it as long as it¡¯s within your means?¡± Lucas suddenly asked with a smirk. Only then did Moses see a glimmer of hope, and he hurriedly eximed, ¡°Yes, I will keep my word!¡± Lucas suddenly pointed at Marc on the ground and said coldly, ¡°I want you to kill him with your own hands right now. Can you do it?¡± Chapter 553 - Shes Alive

Chapter 553: She¡¯s Alive

Moses froze for a moment, but his expression soon changed drastically as he barked, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Lucas frowned and said coldly, ¡°Since you can¡¯t do it, don¡¯t make empty promises! You want me to let him off? Impossible! ¡°If you continue to pester me, I¡¯ll immediately kill him!¡± ¡°You!¡± Moses was so enraged that he was about to explode. But he knew that he was in a passive position, and Lucas was in control of everything now. If he angered Lucas, his son would definitely die! He had no choice but to suppress his anger, keep quiet, and stand at the side. Without the interference of others, Lucas squatted down beside Marc and pressed down hard on his philtrum. ¡°Mmph!¡± Marc grunted softly and came to his senses. But the instant he woke up, he was overwhelmed by the immense pain in his legs again, making him scream in misery. ¡°Shut up!¡± Lucas roared coldly to stop him before asking again, ¡°I¡¯ll ask you onest time, and you¡¯d better answer me honestly. Where is Karen Turner¡¯s corpse? I¡¯ve run out of patience.¡± He had already given Marc three chances to tell the truth. If he chose to continue hiding it, there wouldn¡¯t be a need for Lucas to continue to keep him alive. He thought that he would eventually get an answer from the Kingstons regarding the whereabouts of Karen¡¯s corpse. Marc¡¯s body was already drenched in cold sweat, and he looked as though he had been fished out of the water. His eyes were already somewhat ssed over and out of focus, but he subconsciously wanted to continue lying to use it as a straw to clutch at. ¡°She¡­ she is really¡­¡± ¡°Marc Kingston! You¡¯d better tell the truth immediately!¡± Explosive yelling suddenly sounded in Marc¡¯s ears. Lucas wasn¡¯t the one who shouted. Rather, it was Moses. ¡°You¡¯re already on the brink of death. What else do you care about? Tell me everything you know immediately!¡± Moses hollered. Just now, he sensed Lucas¡¯s intention to kill. If Marc¡¯s answer was still unsatisfiable, he would definitely not spare him! At this moment, he was so furious that he wanted to beat his intelligent son into a pulp. They all said that a father knew his son best. As Marc¡¯s father, he obviously knew that he was hiding something. Regardless of the reason, he would be aplete fool to be so stubborn despite being on the brink of death! Stunned by the scolding of his father, who had always been meek and mellow, he finally came back to his senses. Yes, if Lucas ran out of patience and wanted to kill him right now, none of his trump cards would be of use! He gritted his teeth and looked at Lucas before suddenly asking, ¡°Can you let me off if I tell you the truth?¡± Lucas sneered in response. ¡°I¡¯m not negotiating with you. You¡¯d better remember this clearly.¡± Marc raised his hand with difficulty to wipe off the cold sweat about to flow into his eyes and said with menace, ¡°If you don¡¯t promise me, I won¡¯t tell you the answer even if I die!¡± A trace of mania appeared in his eyes. Although he was about to die, he still wanted to take a gamble and bank on Lucas being desperate to know about Karen¡¯s information. However, he was soon filled with disappointment, or rather, despair! Reason being, Lucas¡¯s expression didn¡¯t even change in the slightest, and he merely sneered. ¡°In that case, go to hell!¡± Amid Marc¡¯s horrified gaze, Lucas¡¯s foot was like a giant mountain erging in his view as it stomped down toward his head. The fear of death instantly upied Marc¡¯s mind. Unable to tolerate it any longer, he yelled hysterically, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you! I¡¯ll tell you! Karen Turner isn¡¯t dead!¡± ¡°¡­¡± A fierce and powerful gust of wind blew past Marc¡¯s face. He closed his eyes tightly and gasped for air when he finally felt that he could still breathe and knew that he had escaped death. But his body was now limp and weak. He didn¡¯t want to experience the horror of escaping a near-death situation again. Lucas¡¯s foot was less than a centimeter away from his face. After hearing what Marc said, he amazingly stopped right at that instant. Had Marc been half a secondter with his confession, he would have already died by now. ¡°What did you just say? Repeat yourself.¡± Lucas¡¯s icy cold tone contained some bewilderment. Although he had sensed long ago that Marc was lying, he hadn¡¯t expected to hear that Karen was still alive! If Karen didn¡¯t die, things would be much better because he would at least be able to answer to Cheyenne and Charlotte! Otherwise, not only would Lucas be perpetually uneasy, but the kindhearted Cheyenne would live in self-reproach and be riddled with guilt for the rest of her life, for she would forever regret her decision to drive Karen away from the hospitalst night. Marc stabilized his mental state before saying while trembling, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth this time. I intended to kill her at first, but I didn¡¯t do it in the end, so she¡¯s still alive now.¡± ¡°Where is she now?¡± Lucas immediately probed. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ at the Taylors¡¯!¡± Marc immediately came clean after being utterly frightened out of his wits by his close shave with death. ¡°The Taylors?¡± This was beyond Lucas¡¯s expectations. He had first gone to confront Scott Taylor, who had told him that Karen had been abducted by Marc. ¡°If you dare to lie to me again, I¡¯ll immediately kill you! Tell me exactly what¡¯s going on,¡± Lucasmanded in an aggressive tone. Seeing that he was enraged, Marc immediately said, ¡°I won¡¯t lie again! She¡¯s really at the Taylors¡¯. I said that I killed her and fed her corpse to the dogs only because I wanted to anger you and goad you intoing here to die¡­ Anyway, I really didn¡¯t take her away! ¡°Think about it. If I really wanted to kill her, I could have just gotten Scott Taylor to get rid of her on the spot. Why would I have brought her all the way back to San Francisco?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows, finding that Marc¡¯s words did make some sense. If he really wanted to kill Karen, he truly only needed to tell the Taylors to do it instead of going to the trouble of taking her back to San Francisco. Marc also said that his purpose was to use Karen¡¯s death to force Lucas intoing to the Kingston manor and then lock him inside before sending his so-called experts to kill him. If not for the fact that Lucas was too powerful, he might have really been tricked by Marc. After hearing what Marc said, Edmund snorted coldly. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s called being a smart aleck. You thought you could take down Lucas with this stupid n you devised, but I bet you didn¡¯t think you would end up in this situation today, huh!?¡± Damon, Connor, Joe, and others all sneered at Marc in contempt. ¡°When you harm others, you¡¯ll eventually end up harming yourself! The old saying is indeed true!¡± ¡°Since she¡¯s still at the Taylors¡¯, we should immediately head there and tell them to hand her over!¡± Joe suggested. Connor agreed. ¡°Yes, since Mr. Gray¡¯s mother-inw is still alive and at the Taylors¡¯, we should immediately go back to Orange County and get them to hand her over!¡± Damon hurriedly eximed, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you! Although I¡¯m not from Orange County, with the Parkers¡¯ current status, I¡¯m sure I can deter the Taylors!¡± But just as everyone was discussing going to the Taylors to make them hand Karen over, Edmund suddenly frowned and said solemnly, ¡°We can¡¯t be too reckless about this!¡± Chapter 554 - Going to the Taylors Again

Chapter 554: Going to the Taylors¡¯ Again

Edmund¡¯s words made Lucas nce at him in surprise. Logically speaking, with the strength of the Coles in San Francisco, they wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Taylors at all, unless there was something more to this. At the thought of Edmund being old and experienced, Lucas knew that he definitely knew more than him, so he chose to consider his opinion first. At this moment, Marc, who had both legs crippled and was now lying on the ground with a miserable look on his face, suddenly said, ¡°Lucas¡­ Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve already told you everything you want to know. Please spare my life!¡± His father, Moses, also quickly walked over and begged for mercy on Marc¡¯s behalf. ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Gray. Today¡¯s incident was indeed my son¡¯s fault. But now that your mother-inw is still alive, and you¡¯ve already taught Marc a lesson by crippling both his legs, please spare him!¡± While speaking, he hurriedly took out a bank card from his breast pocket and handed it to Lucas. ¡°Of course, if you are willing to spare my son, I¡¯m willing to give you all my life savings. I have more than fifteen million, and I¡¯ll give it all to you! The password is written on the card!¡± He had never been valued by the Kingstons. So he had earned most of his money from the businesses he owned and his investments in futures. Moses was going all out to save his son. Lucas looked at him and couldn¡¯t help sighing. Although most of the Kingstons were ruthless and unloyal, he was impressed by Moses¡¯ fatherly love. As Moses said, if Karen had been killed by Marc, Lucas would have definitely not let him off since he was the murderer. But now that Karen was still alive, while Marc was destined to be crippled for the rest of his life, he should have learned his lesson. Therefore, Lucas didn¡¯t want to pursue it further. However¡­ ¡°Before I find Karen Turner, I¡¯ll let you keep your life for the time being. But if I find out that you dared to lie to me again, I will definitelye back and take it away from you!¡± After speaking coldly, he grabbed the bank card from Moses and turned around to leave. Although he didn¡¯t need the money, the Coles, the Parkers, the Hales, Joe, and the others had brought arge number of people over to help him. They had even fought with the Kingstons¡¯ bodyguards, and many of them were injured. Thus, Lucas took the money on their behalf. It was considered a reward andpensation for them. As Lucas turned around to leave, all the people who had followed him here left with him too. The Kingstons¡¯ affairs should naturally be handled by themselves. After leaving the Kingston manor, Lucas finally looked at Edmund and asked, ¡°Mr. Cole, what did you mean by what you said earlier?¡± Edmund took a deep breath, looked at Lucas seriously, and asked, ¡°Do you really want to make a move against the Taylors?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows and asked rhetorically, ¡°Based on what you¡¯re saying, it seems that the Taylors can¡¯t be touched, huh? Are they more domineering than the Kingstons?¡± Edmund shook his head, but he said solemnly, ¡°In terms of strength, the Taylors of Orange County naturally can¡¯tpare with the Kingstons of San Francisco. But their backer isn¡¯t simple! ¡°On the surface, the Taylors¡¯ backer seems to be the Kingstons. After all, the Kingstons have always been supporting them, and the Taylors have been obeying their orders and have helped them more than once or twice. But the true backer behind the Taylors is another entity. ¡°That is¡­ the Peerless Martial Association!¡± When he said thest four words, even Edmund had a scrupulous gaze in his eyes. Lucas was no stranger to the Peerless Martial Association. After all, he had already dealt with the members of this organization twice. The first time was when he caught the murderer who had killed Tristan. At the time, he had mored that he was a member of the Peerless Martial Association. And he even said that if Lucas dared to hit him, he would definitely face the revenge of the Peerless Martial Association. The second time was the night he saved Skr. Lucas had killed seven members of the Peerless Martial Association who were after Skr in seconds. Moreover, Skr, who was now Lucas¡¯s subordinate, was also a former member of the Peerless Martial Association. Previously, Skr had mentioned to him that the Peerless Martial Associationmitted all sorts of evils, one of which was searching for beautiful women everywhere and forcing them to work for the organization as social escorts to win over others or to coerce them and whatnot. At the time, Lucas had recalled the mysterious organization that supplied beautiful women to the Taylors. After hearing what Edmund said, Lucas was almost certain that the organization that had sent beautiful women to the Taylors had to be the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°The Peerless Martial Association¡­ I¡¯ve also heard some information about it. It¡¯s said that in DC, the Peerless Martial Association is so powerful that even the eight great giants of DC will not easily offend it.¡± Edmund nodded. ¡°Yes, the Peerless Martial Association is an extremely tightly-knit and massive organization, and it has branches in almost every state and many branches all over the world. It is truly a behemoth, but at the same time, it is very low-profile and secretive. Generally, very few can detect its existence. ¡°Take San Francisco, for example. Everyone only knows that the Coles, the Kingstons, and the Walkers as the powerful trinity. But in fact, the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s San Francisco branch has far greater financial strength and power than us. ¡°I also inadvertently learned about the contact between the Taylors and the Peerless Martial Association. So if you aren¡¯t well-prepared and just take your men to the Taylors¡¯ to ask them to hand over your mother-inw, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be that simple. This is why I told you not to act rashly,¡± he said earnestly. Lucas nodded, but he said with a faint smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I have to go to the Taylors eventually. If the Peerless Martial Association doesn¡¯t appear, I¡¯ll forget it, but if it must interfere with my affairs, I¡¯ll annihte it!¡± Lucas¡¯s entire body was emanating an imposing aura, and his handsome face was full of confidence. ¡°¡­¡± Edmund was so shocked by Lucas¡¯s words that he couldn¡¯te back to his senses for a long time. If he had heard Lucas¡¯s words prior to today, he would haveughed at him for being overly ambitious and idealistic or even somewhat ignorant. But now, after witnessing Lucas¡¯s terrifying strength and his surging, righteous aura, he couldn¡¯t help feeling that Lucas might really be able to achieve it. No, in fact, as long as he said it, he could definitely do it! ¡°Good, you¡¯re very ambitious! It¡¯s time for me to admit that I¡¯m already an old man!¡± Edmundughed and looked at Lucas with more appreciation in his eyes. Lucas answered with a smile, ¡°Mr. Cole, you helped me today, and you even went out of your way to be enemies with the Kingstons for my sake. I will always remember our friendship. If you ever need my help in the future, don¡¯t hesitate to let me know!¡± Although Lucas hadn¡¯t really needed it, he would always remember those who were willing toe over to stand on his side today and oppose a strong enemy like the Kingstons. Edmundughed heartily. ¡°Hey, what is this? You saved my life, and I merely showed my support for you. I didn¡¯t help with anything. Haha, Lucas, you¡¯re standing on ceremony!¡± After talking andughing with him for a while, Edmund bid goodbye and left with his granddaughter Alexis. ¡°Bye, Lucas!¡± Alexis waved at Lucas smilingly and then left with Edmund. Damon, Connor, and Joe walked over. ¡°Mr. Gray, shall we go to the Taylors¡¯ to ask them to hand Karen Turner over?¡± Damon asked with excitement. Lucas shook his head. ¡°No, you are from LA, so it¡¯s not suitable for you to go to the Taylors¡¯. Go back to LA first. I will call you if I need your help with anything. However, don¡¯t spread a single word to anyone about what happened today. Inform your subordinates too!¡± Damon immediately agreed. After he left, Lucas walked toward his Jaguar. Connor, Joe, and the others all walked over and asked, ¡°Mr. Gray, where are you going? To the Taylors¡¯?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going to the Taylors¡¯!¡± Chapter 555 - The Taylors Secret Meeting

Chapter 555: The Taylors¡¯ Secret Meeting

When Connor and Joe heard that Lucas was going to the Taylors¡¯, their eyes immediately lit up. In Orange County, the Taylors were merely on par with the Hales, so they would be much easier to deal with than the Kingstons! ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s merely the Taylor family. It doesn¡¯t warrant your effort. I¡¯ll go to the Taylors¡¯ immediately and tell them to hand over your mother-inw!¡± Connor said confidently. Joe also agreed. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll go with Mr. Hale. We¡¯ll definitely bring her back!¡± But Lucas shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to the Taylors¡¯ by myself. You guys have already helped me today, and I¡¯m afraid it has already caused you to attract a lot of attention. You¡¯d better go home first!¡± Then Lucas went straight to his car and drove back to Orange County. Connor and Joe naturally didn¡¯t oppose Lucas¡¯s arrangement, and they could only watch him leave before proceeding to assemble their subordinates and return to Orange County. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in the hall of the Taylors¡¯ main residence in Orange County¡­ At this moment, the hall had already turned into a small conference room, where all the direct descendants of the Taylor family had gathered with grave expressions on their faces. The head of the family, Frederick Taylor, was sitting at the main seat. They had just received the news that the numerous experts they had sent to seize Lucas had failed their mission and let him escape. Frederick clenched his fists. ¡°I think all of you must be aware of what happened. Lucas Gray crippled almost all of the experts we sent and escaped sessfully. I asked all of you to gather here to discuss what to do next!¡± After a moment of silence, someone finally said, ¡°Lucas Gray actually had the audacity to kill our men and made Scott die so tragically. We can¡¯t let him off! Since he escaped this time, let¡¯s go find an even more powerful expert to capture him at all costs!¡± ¡°Yes! The Taylors¡¯ pride and dignity can¡¯t be trampled on by him just like that. We must capture him and use his blood as a sacrifice to ourte family member!¡± ¡°Yes, we can¡¯t let him escape!¡± ¡­ All of the Taylors were full of indignation as they swore to capture Lucas back. But one of them had remained silent with his brows furrowed tightly throughout, seemingly pondering about something. ¡°What about you, Preston? What do you think?¡± Frederick suddenly looked at Preston, who hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time. Only then did Prestone back to his senses and hurriedly say, ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve just been thinking that Lucas Gray probably didn¡¯t escape at all.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Frederick asked with a frown. ¡°Based on my understanding of him, that guy has always been arrogant and would neverpromise, so it¡¯s impossible for him to escape. Moreover, he clearly defeated so many of the experts we sent out, so it¡¯s even less likely that he fled. I think he left Orange County because he had something else to do. We mustn¡¯t let our guard down regarding this person!¡± Preston had previously dealt with Lucas before, and he was the one in the family who knew him the best. Truth be told, he even felt that the reason Lucas suddenly left Orange County was to go to San Francisco to confront the Kingstons. But Preston didn¡¯t quite believe that Lucas would be so stupid as to shoot himself in the foot by doing something tantamount to suicide. For some reason, he had an ominous hunch that trouble was about to strike him. He didn¡¯t know if this feeling was rted to Lucas or not, but the truth was clear. The Taylors couldn¡¯t stop Lucas at all, and if Lucas decided to deal with them, they would never be able to stop him. ¡°I suggest we immediately ask the Peerless Martial Association for help with retaliating against Lucas Gray!¡± Preston said firmly. The moment he said this, all the Taylors were taken aback. ¡°Preston, do you know what you¡¯re saying? You actually want us to ask the Peerless Martial Association for help to deal with Lucas Gray, who¡¯s nothing but a small fry?¡± a middle-aged man stood out and rebuked sternly with an austere expression on his face. This middle-aged man was none other than Preston¡¯s elder brother, Gaston Taylor. He said with righteous indignation, ¡°Do you know what doing that means? It will only make the people of the Peerless Martial Association think that the Taylors are a bunch of ipetent fools who can¡¯t even deal with a mere live-in husband. If theybel us as useless, how can we possibly continue to cooperate with them in the future? ¡°Also, I heard people say that you lost the Ocean Bathhouse a long time ago. Do you know how important the Ocean Bathhouse is to us? Moreover, you haven¡¯t even told us about it until now. Are you nning to continue hiding it?!¡± Gaston¡¯s questions immediately made Preston¡¯s face turn sullen. In particr, hisst question exposed all the things that Preston had been trying so hard to conceal. Frederick, the head of the Taylors, had a drastic change in expression, and he suddenly stood up to question Preston. ¡°What?! The Ocean Bathhouse is gone? What¡¯s going on? Preston Taylor, tell me the truth immediately!¡± The rest of the Taylors appeared astonished too. Every descendant of the Taylor family knew that Ocean Bathhouse was the root of the Taylors¡¯ development and their channel to connect to the mysterious, unpredictable, and powerful Peerless Martial Association! When Frederick handed it to Preston to manage back then, countless members of the family had been green with envy. Yet Preston actually lost it. They wondered,?How did he lose it, and whose hands is it in now? Countless pairs of eyes focused on Preston. Preston gritted his teeth, well aware that Gaston definitely wouldn¡¯t give him the chance to defend himself since he had deliberately chosen to expose him during this meeting with all the family members gathered. Although Preston, Scott, and Gaston were blood brothers, they weren¡¯t very close to each other because they were all vying to be the next helmsman of the family. In particr, now that Scott had died, the two of them were the only ones leftpeting for the position of the next helmsman. Thus, Gaston wouldn¡¯t let go of this wonderful opportunity to condemn his mistake. Preston took a deep breath before saying, ¡°Dad, the reason I said we should ask the Peerless Martial Association for help is precisely because the person who took the Ocean Bathhouse away from me is Lucas Gray! ¡°It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t want to inform you about it. But rather, I didn¡¯t want you to worry about it for nothing. I decided to try and get the Ocean Bathhouse back from Lucas Gray with my own means. But unfortunately, he¡¯s very cunning. Moreover, he has the protection of a top expert like Stanley Ray. I simply couldn¡¯t find an opportunity! ¡°Now, Lucas Gray has snatched away the Ocean Bathhouse originally belonging to us and the Peerless Martial Association and even killed a direct descendant, so the Peerless Martial Association definitely won¡¯t ignore our request for help! ¡°Furthermore, Lucas Gray is definitely not a mere nobody that we can deal with easily. I suspect that the annihtion of the Brookes from LA and the subsequent destruction of the Owens are both rted to him!¡± The revtion of these several pieces of earth-shattering news immediately made all the Taylors dumbfounded! Chapter 556 - Expert of the Association

Chapter 556: Expert of the Association

¡°What did you say?!¡± Gaston was the first to doubt him. ¡°I bet these are just excuses you came up with to cover up for your mistakes and ipetence!¡± Preston said coldly, ¡°Of course I¡¯m not making up excuses! If I had only mentioned Lucas Gray, you would probably have still thought that he was just an ipetent live-in son-inw of the Carters. But all of you should have heard of Stanley Ray, right? He was the best expert of the Brookes in LA, and he had never lost a single fight before. He even helped the Brookes take out countless enemies, both openly and secretly. It can be said that without Stanley Ray, the Brookes wouldn¡¯t have made it that far! Even many top families in San Francisco have extended an olive branch to him. ¡°Yet such a powerful man actually appeared beside Lucas Gray after the overnight destruction of the Brookes. The massive businesses left behind by the Brookes have also been integrated to form the incredible Sr Corporation. And the general manager of the Sr Corporation is Flynn Davis, the former general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch! ¡°And I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all heard of the news that caused an uproar on the inte today. It turns out that Lucas Gray is actually the person in charge of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch! Do you still need me to tell you in detail what all this information means when you connect them together?¡± Upon hearing this, the Taylors looked even more astounded. They had indeed heard of most of this information, such as the general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch suddenly bing the general manager of the Sr Corporation in LA. They had also heard the shocking news that Lucas was actually the person in charge of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. When they heard these pieces of news, they were all shocked and in disbelief. But after Preston connected the dots for them, they finally discovered the shocking truth. Lucas, whom they thought was nothing more than a small fry, actually had such a terrifying influence! ¡°So¡­¡± Preston turned to face his father, Frederick, and once again firmly suggested, ¡°I think Lucas Gray is an extremely dangerous person, and if we¡¯re a little careless, the Taylors will also face the risk of destruction! So, send a message immediately and ask the Peerless Martial Association for help!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Frederick pondered about it quietly for a long time before finally making up his mind. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the Peerless Martial Association immediately to ask for help!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Preston was overjoyed and secretly relieved, feeling as if a huge boulder had been lifted off his chest. As long as they had the help of the Peerless Martial Association, Lucas would never be able to escape again! Besides, the Ocean Bathhouse, which he had identally lost, would be back in his hands, and he would be even closer to the position of the head of the family, which he had always wanted! ?¡ª?¡ª San Francisco was a seven-hour drive away from Orange County. Lucas drove his ck Jaguar all the way back to the border of Orange County and then drove directly toward the Taylors¡¯. Soon, the ck Jaguar stopped at the entrance of the Taylor manor. He stepped out of the car and looked at the que with the words ¡®Taylor Family¡¯ written on it, his eyes disying an astonishing imposing manner. In the living room of the Taylors¡¯ main residence¡­ At this moment, a powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association had already arrived, and he was enjoying the admiration and praise of the crowd alongside Frederick, Gaston, and Preston. It was a man in his fifties, wearing a ck suit and looking rather gaunt. But his eyes were bright, and his skinny hands were particrly conspicuous. They could tell at a nce that he was definitely a true expert with richbat experience. He was Jude York, an expert of the Peerless Martial Association. At this moment, one of the Taylors¡¯ servants hurried in and reported, ¡°Mr. Taylor, bad news! Lucas Gray has already arrived and is fighting the bodyguards at the door!¡± Frederick immediately stood up and bellowed, ¡°How many people has he brought with him?¡± The flustered servant froze for a moment before answering, ¡°He¡­ he¡¯s alone!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Stanley Ray? Didn¡¯t hee with him?¡± Frederick asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone else. Lucas Gray barged in alone!¡± the servant answered truthfully. Frederick looked at Jude, who was sitting at the side, and said respectfully, ¡°Mr. York, I¡¯ll have to trouble you then!¡± Jude suddenly burst intoughter. ¡°The Taylors are really bing more and more useless! You can¡¯t even deal with a punk, and you want me to help you with such a trivial matter. How boring!¡± The faces of Frederick, Preston, and Gaston suddenly stiffened. To them, thement ¡®useless¡¯ was a p on their faces! In fact, they invited Jude over not because they were afraid of Lucas but because they were afraid of Stanley, who had a terrifying reputation. But they hadn¡¯t expected Lucas toe without Stanley. However, Jude was from the Peerless Martial Association. And regardless of how harsh his words were, the Taylors didn¡¯t dare to refute at all! Still, in the end, Jude stood up and saidzily, ¡°But since I¡¯m already here, I¡¯ll go out and take a look at how arrogant and conceited he is!¡± Then he walked straight out. ¡­ At the entrance of the Taylor manor, there was a one-sided battle taking ce. Lucas effortlessly knocked down all the bodyguards who dared to attack him. He was sharp, resolute, and ruthless as he broke their arms or legs. So all of a sudden, the Taylors¡¯ bodyguards were terrified of him and only dared to surround him from afar. No one dared to go forward to block him. Lucas¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest as he leisurely stepped onto the bodies of the wailing bodyguards, making his way to the main vi of the manor. ¡°Oh, are you that punk Lucas Gray that Frederick mentioned? You seem decent!¡± Jude suddenly remarked while looking at Lucas with a hint of interest in his eyes. Lucas raised his eyebrows slightly.?Seems like this thin middle-aged man is a significant figure since he called Frederick Taylor by his name in his territory. ¡°Who are you?¡± Lucas asked. Jude¡¯s face darkened a little. As an expert of the Peerless Martial Association, even the helmsman of the Taylor family had to speak to him respectfully. Yet this greenhorn in front of him actually dared to question him in such a rude manner. ¡°Punk, hasn¡¯t anyone taught you to be polite when talking to your elders?¡± Jude chastised coldly. Lucas sneered in disdain. ¡°Who do you think you are? Throwing your weight around in front of me just because you¡¯re old, huh? You¡¯d better save those words for your unfilial children and grandchildren!¡± ¡°Punk, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Jude flew into a rage! He stomped his foot, and his aura suddenly exploded, causing the green stone ground beneath his feet to crack into web-like cracks. ¡°Don¡¯t be arrogant! I¡¯ll discipline you right now!¡± Before Jude even finished speaking, he was already charging at Lucas like an arrow leaving a bow! Chapter 557 - Be My Subordinate

Chapter 557: Be My Subordinate

However, when Jude was about a meter in front of Lucas, he came to an abrupt halt. Reason being, he noticed that Lucas¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t contain the slightest trace of panic, nor was he eager to block and dodge like others. He even stood still in ce without avoiding. This degree of mental fortitude in young people was extremely rare. Jude stroked his beard and suddenly said, ¡°Kid, you are indeed a bit different from others. How about this? I¡¯ll give you a chance. From today onward, you will stay by my side and be loyal to me. I promise I won¡¯t mistreat you. How does this sound?¡± Frederick and the others, who were tagging along behind Jude, simply couldn¡¯t believe their ears. ¡°Uh¡­ Mr. York, we invited you over because we wanted you to help us deal with Lucas Gray. Why do you suddenly¡­ want to ept him as your subordinate?¡± Preston and Gaston were also full of astonishment. Jude frowned in displeasure. ¡°I don¡¯t need your permission to do anything.¡± Frederick¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly lowered his head. ¡°No, no, no. That¡¯s not what I mean. I definitely don¡¯t dare to interfere with your actions!¡± He naturally hoped that Jude would kill Lucas straight away and take revenge for his son. But since Jude wanted to let Lucas off, he didn¡¯t have the right to oppose. ¡°It¡¯s settled then! From now on, Lucas Gray is my subordinate. The Taylors are not to look for trouble with him again. Your feud is resolved, and no one can pursue this matter again! Frederick, you don¡¯t have an opinion, do you?¡± Jude ordered sternly. Frederick¡¯s heart was full of fury, but he didn¡¯t dare to refute him at all. He had no choice but to say, ¡°In that case, we¡¯ll go ahead with your decision, Mr. York! The Taylors have no objections.¡± Since Frederick said so, the rest of the Taylors naturally wouldn¡¯t disobey. A somewhat chubby woman was ring at Lucas with anger and indignation. Gisele was really furious. Ever since she knew that a top expert from the Peerless Martial Association had arrived at their residence to deal with Lucas, she had been waiting excitedly to watch him get killed. Thest time she was at Lion Restaurant, she had been displeased with a vixen-like waitress and had merely taught her a lesson. But she had ended up getting humiliated by him and forced to p herself ten times on the face! She had been bearing the humiliation in mind, and she would be infuriated whenever she thought of it. Finally, the Taylors were going to deal with Lucas. Yet all their bodyguards were good-for-nothings who, despite outnumbering him, didn¡¯t manage to harm him at all! Then Jude, the expert of the Peerless Martial Association, was finally going to deal with Lucas. But for some reason, he decided to make Lucas his subordinate and even warned the Taylors not to harm him. She was really infuriated! Preston looked incredibly sullen. Unlike the rest of the Taylors, he knew very well why Lucas had suddenlye to their residence. Without a doubt, it was for Karen. Karen was now in Preston¡¯s hands! If Lucas was really taken in as a subordinate by a noble man like Jude, whom they couldn¡¯t afford to offend, he would certainly satisfy Lucas¡¯s wish as a benefit for him. In that case, he would no longer be able to hide the matter about Karen! Moreover, there was a more secretive and fatal matter that he couldn¡¯t let anyone find out! The reason he had strongly encouraged Frederick to invite Jude over was to kill Lucas. However, he hadn¡¯t expected that Jude would take a liking to Lucas, making it impossible for him to harm Lucas! Now, there was nothing he could do anymore. In order not to get exposed on the spot, he could only find a way to leave the Taylors as soon as possible and then think of another solution! He looked at the people to his left and right. After seeing that their attention was all on Lucas and Jude, he quietly moved backward. Jude said to Lucas domineeringly, ¡°Okay, from now on, you are my subordinate. I¡¯ll take you to the Peerless Martial Associationter. You¡¯re not allowed to pursue this matter any further either.¡± He made the decision for Lucas. Lucas looked at Jude like he was looking at a fool. ¡°Who do you think you are? You¡¯re in no ce to make arrangements for my affairs. And you want to take me as your subordinate? Seriously, you?¡± It was totally a tant p in the face! For a moment, the Taylors stared at Lucas in disbelief with their eyes wide open. He¡­ he actually dared to speak to Mr. York like this! How bold. He must be courting death! Preston immediately stopped in his tracks while the resentment in Gisele¡¯s instantly turned into euphoria. They had thought that Lucas was going to escape by making use of Jude¡¯s power, but they hadn¡¯t expected that he would dare to undermine Jude in front of so many people. He totally had a death wish! Jude¡¯s face instantly turned gloomy. With a dark face, he questioned sinisterly through clenched teeth, ¡°Punk, what did you just say? Repeat yourself!¡± Lucas stood in ce and said slowly, ¡°Are you too old to hear me clearly? Then, it doesn¡¯t matter if I say it again. You are not qualified to make me work for you!¡± Jude was instantly enraged, so much so that his face turned beet red. The Taylors hurriedly chimed in from the side, ¡°Mr. York, please calm down. This punk is just a fool. So many people are dying for a chance to work for you, but they can¡¯t impress you at all. Yet this punk actually insulted you. He must be tired of living!¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s disgusting! You intended to give him a hand, but he doesn¡¯t know any better at all. He ought to be taught a lesson!¡± ¡°Mr. York, you want to groom a talented person, but this punk is horrendous! He¡¯s absolutely crazy! The Taylor family has to stand up for you no matter what! He¡¯s all alone now, so we can make him stay without your help! When we seize him, we will definitely bring him to you so that you can vent your anger on him!¡± Frederick hurriedly said. Jude had been humiliated in their residence, and if they couldn¡¯t let him vent his anger, he would probably me the entire Taylor family too. Since Lucas came alone without an expert like Stanley, the Taylors probably wouldn¡¯t have to put in much effort to take him down. Jude was furious, and he sneered incessantly. ¡°Good, do it then. You must catch him and bring him to me! I will personally teach him a lesson and teach him the right way to talk to me!¡± At this moment, he changed his mind to take Lucas as his subordinate after being mocked by him. He didn¡¯t need a disobedient and disrespectful subordinate! He snorted and walked into the Taylors¡¯ vi, leaving the Taylors to deal with Lucas. He wasn¡¯t interested in dealing with Lucas, who didn¡¯t know any better. Seeing Jude enter the vi, Frederick roared, ¡°Where are the bodyguards?!¡± Hearing hismand, all of the remaining bodyguards of the Taylors immediately surged out and surrounded Lucas. Chapter 558 - Failed Show of Force

Chapter 558: Failed Show of Force

¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t think you can continue being arrogant. You definitely won¡¯t leave the Taylors¡¯ alive!¡± Frederick shouted. ¡°Go, break his limbs for me! Just leave him on hisst breath!¡± Then he turned around and went back into the vi to appease Jude, who was in a bad mood. In Frederick¡¯s opinion, Lucas¡¯s oue was already set in stone, so the most important thing for him now was to try his best to get close to the expert sent by the Peerless Martial Association. Otherwise, if Jude badmouthed them to the Peerless Martial Association in a fit of anger, they would be doomed. ¡°Haha, Lucas Gray, I¡¯ve been looking forward to this day for a long time! I¡¯ve always wondered when you would die!¡± Gisele finally couldn¡¯t suppress her inner excitement and stood out tough at Lucas, who was being surrounded. With a slight frown, Gaston hurriedly looked at his daughter and asked with concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? My dear daughter, did that punk Lucas Gray offend you?¡± Gisele nodded vigorously. ¡°Yes! Dad, do you still remember how I was forced to p myself when I was out diningst week? The person who forced me is this bastard!¡± She momentarily remembered the humiliating feeling she had at the time, and her eyes reddened again. Gaston remembered that there was indeed such an incident. Gisele had seemed out of sorts when she returned home that day, and he knew that something was wrong. At the time, he had even asked her who had bullied her, but he had been soon called to a meeting by Frederick. Later on, he had been so focused on getting dirt on Preston that he forgot about it for a while. At this moment, Gaston was boiling with fury after hearing his daughter say that Lucas had forced her to p herself! ¡°Punk, how dare you treat my precious daughter like this?! Today, you even barged into our residence alone andnded yourself in our hands. You¡¯ve brought this upon yourself!¡± Lucas sneered indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s still not certain who the one in trouble is today. Maybe it¡¯s your family.¡± Gaston burst intoughter. ¡°Are you dreaming? You are now surrounded by our guards. How dare you still blow your trumpet? I bet you won¡¯t fear death until you face it!¡± Then he nced at Preston in contempt. ¡°You actually let such a fool who doesn¡¯t know any better snatch the Ocean Bathhouse away from you? You¡¯re so useless!¡± Preston¡¯s face turned ugly. His older brother, Gaston, was just out to find faults with him and undermine him. Had Gaston been in his position, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep the Ocean Bathhouse either. What right did he have to mock him? Gaston and the several bodyguards behind him walked straight toward Lucas and said arrogantly in a high and mighty manner, ¡°Punk, you humiliated my daughter and forced her to p herself, right? In that case, kneel down and apologize to her right now. Then p yourself ten, no, twenty times, and admit your mistake!¡± ¡°Oh? Why don¡¯t you ask your daughter what she did to deserve such punishment?¡± Lucas said coldly. Gaston didn¡¯t care about this and instead said brutally, ¡°My daughter is the princess of the Taylor family. No matter what she has done, you¡¯re in no ce to bully her! Now, we¡¯re much more powerful than you, so if you immediately get on your knees and p yourself, I may still let you suffer less. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be polite!¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re more powerful? Since that¡¯s the case, I won¡¯t be polite either!¡± Lucas sneered and pped Gaston directly on the face. Smack! Gaston¡¯s body was hit so hard that he spun around twice and then fell to the ground! His face immediately swelled with several bright red p marks, and he spat out a few broken teeth. ¡°You! How dare you hit me?!¡± Gaston¡¯s head was buzzing from the blow. By the time he realized what had happened, he was so furious that his brain was spinning. He immediately got up from the ground, and seemingly having lost his rationality, he leaped at Lucas with a menacing expression. ¡°I¡­ must kill you!¡± Bang! Lucas leaped up and kicked Gaston in the chest. ¡°Aaahhhh!¡± With a long and miserable scream, Gaston¡¯s entire body flew straight up and crashed heavily into the vi door behind him! ¡°You¡¯re not worthy of threatening me!¡± Everyone watched in horror as Lucas walked directly through the Taylors¡¯ bodyguards, who had yet to recover from the shock, to the vi door. Gisele¡¯s eyes were almost about to fall out! She could have never imagined that Lucas would dare to strike at her father while surrounded by bodyguards. The infuriating thing was that none of the bodyguards stopped him! She was so livid that she wished she could rush forward. But she found that her legs had already gone limp, so she could only watch Lucas walk past her. She didn¡¯t even dare to move! Atrocious! How obnoxious! For a while, she didn¡¯t know if she was angry at the useless guards or at herself for not daring to move in front of Lucas. ¡­ In the vi, Frederick was standing beside Jude deferentially and chatting with him about the Taylors¡¯ recent development while hinting that they would be giving Jude arge sum of money. Only then did Jude feel much more pleased. But at this moment, the vi door suddenly mmed open with a loud bang from outside. At the same time, a figure darted in and mmed hard against the ground. Upon seeing the figure¡¯s face, Frederick immediately stood up in shock. ¡°Gaston!¡± Before he could send someone to find out what was going on, a tall figure stepped into the vi and stood in front of them. It was the indifferent-looking Lucas! ¡°You¡­ How did you get in? Shouldn¡¯t you have been seized by the guards?¡± Frederick looked at Lucas in shock and suspicion before quickly looking at the bodyguards outside. When he saw the way these guards, who he had had high hopes for, were all cowering at the entrance in fear because they were too timid to step forward, he was so enraged that he almost vomited blood. ¡°Garbage! There are so many of you, but you couldn¡¯t even take down someone alone!¡± Frederick cursed furiously. The guards outside were also extremely aggrieved. Lucas had knocked down arge group of bodyguards on his own when he had just arrived at the Taylors¡¯. Besides, he had just kicked Gaston a dozen meters away, so who would dare to stubbornly go against him? Getting berated by Frederick was better than rushing forward to fight and then losing an arm or leg! Frederick helped Gaston, whose face was covered in blood, up and red at Lucas with a deadly gaze! ¡°Lucas Gray, you bastard, I will kill you to vent my hatred!¡± Jude¡¯s face turned gloomy again. He looked at Lucas standing proudly in front of him and once again found him to be really extraordinary. It had been a long time since he came across such an excellent young man, so he felt that it would be a shame to kill him now. ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll give you one more chance. As long as you work for me, I will forget about today¡¯s matter! Consider it carefully! This is a very rare opportunity!¡± he offered again. However, Lucas said with a faint smile, ¡°I already told you. You¡¯re not fit to do that! But if you want to work for me, I can consider giving you the rare opportunity to do so. Think about it carefully!¡± Chapter 559 - The Power of A Blow

Chapter 559: The Power of A Blow

¡°Hah, kid, you¡¯re really arrogant!¡± Jude was so furious that heughed out loud mirthlessly and stood up before drawling, ¡°I was going to give you another chance to let me groom you, but you¡¯ve angered me again and again! Since you don¡¯t know any better, go to hell!¡± While he was speaking, a terrifying massive aura burst from his body! Numerous cracks immediately appeared on the ss coffee table in front of him, and the invisible aura spread out in all directions with Jude as the center! Unable to withstand the pressure, Frederick and Gaston frantically retreated several steps and cowered far behind a sofa in the living room. Only half of their heads were exposed, and only then did they feel some relief from the suffocating aura. As expected of a top expert of the Peerless Martial Association, his aura was enough to make ordinary people terrified! But at this moment, Frederick and Gaston were overjoyed despite the shock. Such a terrifying powerhouse was standing on their side! They knew without a doubt that Jude would definitely kill Lucas! At this moment, Lucas¡¯s always indifferent eyes had a slight change. He was slightly surprised because Jude seemed to be a little stronger than he had imagined. But he was only slightly surprised. He wasn¡¯t in the least bit scared at all. The intimidating and astonishing aura erupting from Jude¡¯s body couldn¡¯t even get close to Lucas or lift a single hair of his. In fact, the strength disyed by Jude was nothingpared to the real powerhouses that Lucas had fought in the past. But in the eyes of ordinary people, Jude was indeed a top expert. To Lucas, Jude was just someone sent by the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch. How many powerhouses like Jude were there in the entire Peerless Martial Association? How strong was the leader of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch or even the chairman of the Peerless Martial Association? Lucas was surprised by the true strength of the entire Peerless Martial Association, which was revealed from Jude¡¯sbat power. But before Lucas could think about it further, Jude¡¯s body suddenly swayed and instantly disappeared from the spot he was standing. The next moment, he appeared 20 centimeters in front of Lucas and reached his thin, talon-like fingers toward Lucas¡¯s throat to grasp him! He was extremely fast. Ordinary people definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge in time, and they would end up being choked by Jude! But his speed was still sub-parpared to Lucas. Lucas tilted his head backward and leaned back to dodge Jude¡¯s attack perfectly. Without waiting for Jude to make another move, Lucas twisted his waist and then turned to the side to kick Jude in the waist, sending him flying straight away! Bang! Caught off guard, Jude felt as though a cannonball had shot him in the waist. He was instantly flung out several meters and mmed against the wall! An enormous indent formed in the wall that Jude mmed into, and spiderweb-like cracks began to spread out, upying half of the wall. ¡°¡­¡± Frederick and Gaston were dumbstruck while watching the horrifyingly surreal scene in front of them and feeling as if they had suffered a tremendous visual and emotional impact! Under the wall with the enormous indentid Jude, who had been emitting a formidable aura just now. But now, his bones were distorted abnormally, and his spine had already broken into two, starting from his waist. After the powerful impact, his internal organs were alsopletely shattered. He vomited blood, looked at Lucas, and used thest bit of his strength to ask Lucas a question. ¡°Who¡­ exactly¡­ are you?¡± Lucas looked at Jude indifferently and remained silent. But Jude suddenly seemed to remember something as he said with horror all over his face, ¡°I remember now. You¡­ you are from the Falcon¡­ Ah!¡± Before he could finish speaking, a small chess piece suddenly darted out from Lucas¡¯s hand andpletely pierced his throat, causing blood to spurt out in a jet. Jude couldn¡¯t utter another word as his widened eyes slowly closed. He died right on the spot! Lucas nced at his corpse coldly, and the gaze in his eyes once again turned calm and indifferent. He knew what Jude¡¯sst words were and was aware that Jude had probably guessed that he was a member of the Falcon Regiment in the state of Calico. But Jude probably would never have thought that Lucas was not only a member of the Falcon Regiment but also the leader, who was known as the mighty ¡®Invincible God of War¡¯. But Lucas didn¡¯t n to have his identity and rtionship with Calico revealed, so he didn¡¯t let Jude finish his sentence. Just as Lucas finished doing everything, Frederick and the others were almost going mad. Jude, the incredibly powerful top expert of the Peerless Martial Association, had been killed by Lucas just like that! He died in the Taylor residence! For a while, Frederick couldn¡¯t even figure out if he was petrified because Jude died in his home, which was impossible for him to exin to the Peerless Martial Association, or because Lucas had actually killed Jude in seconds, disying a horrifying strength and power that was far beyond his imagination. ¡°Lucas Gray¡­ do you know what you¡¯ve done? You actually killed Jude York! He¡¯s from the Peerless Martial Association. They won¡¯t let you off!¡± Frederick hollered hysterically in anger. Lucas said coldly, ¡°You¡¯d better worry about your family first!¡± His words had hit the nail on the head because this was exactly what Frederick was afraid of! But he didn¡¯t want to show weakness in front of Lucas, so he gritted his teeth and argued, ¡°No matter what, there is a cooperative rtionship between us and the Peerless Martial Association. So regardless of how furious they are, they won¡¯t do anything to us because you¡¯re the one who killed Jude York! You can¡¯t escape their punishment no matter what! Since Jude York is dead, the Peerless Martial Association will definitely send more people to investigate and pursue this matter. Just wait to die!¡± Frederick hoped to see some fear on Lucas¡¯s face but to no avail because, to his disappointment, Lucas was still asposed as ever. There wasn¡¯t a single fluctuation in his emotions at all. He said, ¡°I can easily kill Jude York. What can the rest of the Peerless Martial Association do to me? I¡¯ll kill anyone who dares to make a move against me!¡± Lucas¡¯s domineering and condescending aura immediately made Frederick feel furious and frightened. At the same time, a vague thought appeared in his mind¡ªLucas didn¡¯t seem to be an ignorant fool who was just arrogantly blowing his trumpet. Jude¡¯s corpse was still lying not far away from them. Most importantly, Lucas had killed Jude effortlessly after merely bending his back to dodge. Jude had been killed within seconds! This was enough to show that Lucas probably hadn¡¯t exerted his true strength yet. In that case, even if the Peerless Martial Association sent more experts here, their efforts might be futile. He was incredibly dejected. Meanwhile, Gaston was deathly pale. Lucas nced at them, walked over, and said calmly, ¡°In fact, I¡¯m here today with the sole purpose of asking you to hand someone over. You¡¯ve taken my mother-inw away. I hope you will hand her over.¡± Chapter 560 - I Didnt Kill Him

Chapter 560: I Didn¡¯t Kill Him

¡°What?!¡± Hearing what Lucas said, Frederick asked in puzzlement, ¡°Why would your mother-inw¡­ end up in my home? What exactly happened?¡± Lucas frowned. ¡°Are you not aware?¡± Frederick immediately eximed, ¡°I really don¡¯t know about this! When did it happen?¡± Seeing that he didn¡¯t seem to be faking it, Lucas reckoned that Frederick was really kept in the dark about this. ¡°Then you should be aware of the livestream that went viral on the inte tonight, right? Your son Scott sent his subordinates to abduct my mother-inw and even threatened her to defame me on the stream. He even paidizens to mor about boycotting the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch! Now, my mother-inw is still being held captive in your home, and you¡¯re telling me that you don¡¯t even know about it?¡± Lucas questioned. Frederick¡¯s heart dropped, and he hurriedly asked, ¡°Is your mother-inw Karen Turner? You mean, Scott forced her to say those things on the stream?¡± At this moment, he felt like his brain was starting to run out of oxygen. Of course, Frederick was aware of the stream that had caused a tremendous uproar in Orange County. Even though he usually didn¡¯t watch streams, the content of Karen¡¯s stream today involved quite arge number of things, such as the revtion of Lucas Gray being the person in charge of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch and the fact that he had allegedly tried to kill his parents-inw in order to seize the family fortune to fill thepany¡¯s financial deficit. Be it the impact on the economic situation of the Stardust Corporation or the entertainment value of watching everyone fight for money, everyone reported the matter to Frederick. But he had never expected to hear from Lucas that this matter was done by Scott and that Karen was now in their home, so Lucas wanted him to hand her over! Everything seemed surreal to him. Seeing Lucas ring at him with an icy cold gaze in his eyes, Frederick immediately shivered and hurriedly said, ¡°I¡­ I really don¡¯t know about this matter! I only read the news about the stream, but I know nothing about the rest! Could there be some kind of misunderstanding in between?¡± Lucas smiled sarcastically. ¡°There¡¯s no misunderstanding. Get Scott Taylor toe here now, and you¡¯ll find out the truth! He¡¯s now hiding my mother-inw, and I¡¯vee to make him hand her over! ¡°In addition, this stream has caused me and mypany to suffer heavy financial losses. I want you to make a rification andpensate the Stardust Corporation for the losses. You don¡¯t have an issue with this, do you?¡± Lucas saw Frederick¡¯s eyes widening all of a sudden, as if he was incredibly shocked. Afterward, his expression became extremely sullen. ¡°What? Do you have an opinion, Mr. Taylor?¡± Lucas frowned. Frederick¡¯s face was extremely gloomy, and his lips were trembling hard. Only after a long while did he ask while shivering, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t you know that my son Scott is dead?¡± ¡°What? Scott Taylor is dead?¡± This time, it was Lucas¡¯s turn to be extremely surprised. He quickly frowned and said with disbelief, ¡°I just saw Scott Taylor more than an hour or so before I went to the Kingstons¡¯. How could he die so soon? How did he die?¡± Hearing this, Frederick revealed a mirthless smile while tearing up. He murmured, ¡°In that case, were you the one who killed Scott?¡± Lucas frowned. ¡°Of course not.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he realized something and asked, ¡°You mean, you¡¯ve always thought that I killed Scott Taylor?¡± Frederick nodded and said through clenched teeth, ¡°He was suddenly shot dead while speaking to me on the phone about two hours ago. The bodyguard who escaped and returned told me that it was you who killed Scott!¡± Lucas was quite speechless at this moment. Based on the chronological events, Lucas spected that after he had just confronted Scott, Scott should have been killed while he was on his way to the Kingston manor in San Francisco. In that case, it made sense for Frederick to harbor so much animosity against him and treat him with so much hostility by making his bodyguards besiege him the moment he arrived here. ¡°Look, you should really investigate the internal situation of your family,¡± Lucas said indifferently without exining much. He knew that Frederick would definitely understand the meaning of his words. Indeed, Frederick had understood from the moment Lucas said that he wanted to question Scott in person?¡ªLucas definitely hadn¡¯t killed Scott. Lucas even had the guts to kill Jude of the Peerless Martial Association, so why would he need to cover up his actions if he had really killed Scott? The only truth was that Scott¡¯s death had nothing to do with Lucas, and the bodyguard who had escaped to testify against Lucas for murdering Scott was the most problematic one! Standing at the side, Gaston was overwhelmed with shock. Lucas nced at him for a moment, only to discover that he probably wasn¡¯t faking his astonishment. Therefore, this matter probably had nothing to do with Gaston. By using the method of elimination, it seemed that the identity of the mastermind became clear. ¡°People!¡± Frederick suddenly yelled at the door. The two bodyguards outside didn¡¯t dare to dy at all and immediately hurried in. But as soon as they entered, they saw Jude on the ground and dead in an extremely bizarre position. They couldn¡¯t help being agitated. The expert of the Peerless Martial Association, whom even the helmsman of the Taylor family respected, had actually died just like that¡­ The two bodyguards were so frightened that they didn¡¯t dare to look at him any longer. They quickly hung their heads low and asked, ¡°Mr. Taylor, wh-what orders do you have?¡± Frederick said coldly, ¡°Clean up this corpse and make sure no one finds out! ¡°Also, bring the bodyguard who followed Scott and was the only one who returned alive here. Remember, you must catch him and bring him back once you see him. There mustn¡¯t be any mistakes!¡± Frederick finally gritted his teeth andmanded, ¡°Also¡­ bring Preston here too!¡± The bodyguards received orders and immediately carried Jude¡¯s corpse out of the vi through the back door. Frederick looked at Lucas and slowly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Gray. If this is really¡­ We will definitely give you an exnation!¡± At this moment, it was as if he had aged several years at once, and even his spine was hunched. But Lucas didn¡¯t feel any sympathy for him. At the end of the day, these were just the internal affairs of the Taylor family, while Karen¡¯s plight and the cyber attacks and the financial losses that the Stardust Corporation had suffered were indeed caused by the Taylors. Soon, the two bodyguards hurried over and said anxiously, ¡°Mr. Taylor, bad news! The bodyguard who followed Scott is dead! Also, we can¡¯t find Preston anywhere, and no one knows where he has gone!¡± Chapter 561 - Finding His Mother-in-Law

Chapter 561: Finding His Mother-in-Law

¡°The bodyguard is dead, and Preston is missing?¡± Frederick was stunned for a moment before immediately flying into a rage. ¡°Find him! Find Preston at all costs, even if you have to deploy all your subordinates! ¡°Also, find out how exactly that bodyguard died and who he saw before dying!¡± At this moment, anger was surging in his heart. The bodyguard who had testified against Lucas and alleged that Lucas was the person who had killed Scott was already dead. In that case, someone must have killed him to silence him. Furthermore, the fact that Preston suddenly disappeared at this juncture meant that he was a likely suspect! He had initially wanted to question his son to find out if there had been a misunderstanding or if someone else in the Taylor family was deliberately stirring up trouble. But now that Preston had escaped, it almost immediately rified something. Once Preston was pinpointed as a suspect, many of the suspicious points regarding the previous matters surfaced too. For example, when they received news of Scott¡¯s death, Preston had been the first to suggest asking the Peerless Martial Association for help in getting rid of Lucas. At the time, Frederick had thought that it was because Preston cherished his brother and was somehow terrified of Lucas¡¯s power. But now, he understood that Preston had wanted to invite an expert of the Peerless Martial Association toe over and kill Lucas directly so that he wouldn¡¯t be exposed for framing Lucas. As for why he had wanted to kill Scott and frame Lucas for it, it was probably rted to the fact that he had lost the Ocean Bathhouse. He had lost the important venue of the Taylor family and didn¡¯t dare to mention it to the rest of the family, but he couldn¡¯t get it back with his own abilities. Without a valid reason, he couldn¡¯t get Frederick to agree to ask an expert of the Peerless Martial Association to help them. Thus, he had decided to take the risk and scheme against Lucas to frame him for killing Scott. Besides, Preston probably didn¡¯t really care much about Scott as a brother. But rather, he had just seen Scott as a stumbling block in his pursuit for the position of the future head of the family. This was probably why he had chosen to be so ruthless! But they would have never known that the reason Frederick turned a blind eye to his sons¡¯ power struggle was that he wanted them to all feel a sense of crisis so as to hone their abilities and be even more outstanding! The thought of it made Frederick¡¯s eyes turn slightly red.?We¡¯re all family. Why must we do this?! He blinked and suppressed the bitter emotions within him before saying to Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, please wait a moment. Just a moment ago, I saw Scott standing outside the door. He may have escaped now, but he couldn¡¯t have gone too far yet. I¡¯ve sent all the Taylors to look for him, and I believe we will have results soon!¡± His attitude toward Lucas was much more respectful now. First of all, he knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t the murderer of his son but instead a victim who hade to seek justice. And second, he was afraid of Lucas¡¯s formidable and horrifying abilities. If he identally angered Lucas, the family¡¯s fate probably wouldn¡¯t be any better than that of Jude, who had just been dragged out. Lucas nced at Frederick and said coldly, ¡°I hope you act fast. I don¡¯t have much time to waste with you here. If you can¡¯t find Preston within half an hour, I¡¯ll hold all of you ountable!¡± It wasn¡¯t that Lucas wanted to intimidate him intentionally. After all, Scott was Frederick¡¯s son, and in case Frederick had tender feelings for him and decided to hide him somewhere secretive, Lucas couldn¡¯t just sit back and wait. Frederick hurriedly nodded. ¡°Yes! Within half an hour, I will give you an answer no matter what!¡± Time passed, but there was still no news of Preston. Frederick secretly nced at Lucas¡¯s face and began to panic. Then he shouted at the Taylors and instructed them to bring Preston back as soon as possible no matter what. The deadline of half an hour was about to arrive soon. Frederick¡¯s face was covered in cold sweat, and he was extremely anxious. As for Gaston, who had been staying at his side with half his head battered with bruises and his hand on his dreadfully painful stomach from the kick he had suffered, he didn¡¯t even dare to look for a doctor to have his wounds treated without Lucas¡¯s permission. At this moment, a bodyguard finally ran in and said hurriedly, ¡°Mr. Talyor, we just received news that Preston has been found! But he refuses toe back and demands that you and Mr. Gray go meet him! He¡¯s holding the woman Karen Turner hostage, so we didn¡¯t dare to do anything to him and came back to report to you first!¡± ¡°How dare he?!¡± Frederick sprung up and mmed his hand against the table. ¡°Preston is really audacious! How dare he demand that Mr. Gray and I rush to see him and threaten us with a hostage? Outrageous! ¡°Where the hell is that beast now?¡± The bodyguard hurriedly said, ¡°He¡¯s in a vi two streets away from here. It¡¯s a property he secretly bought!¡± Lucas stood up and said, ¡°Since he¡¯s asked to meet me, let¡¯s head there now. Lead the way!¡± Frederick didn¡¯t dare to disobey. He frantically yelled at the bodyguard, ¡°Quickly take us there!¡± The group soon arrived at a vi located two streets away. When they walked into the entry hall of the vi, they saw Preston, who had disappeared for some time, standing in the middle of the hall openly with a sharp dagger in his hand. The de of the dagger was pressed against a woman¡¯s neck. The woman¡¯s face was bruised and swollen, and her facial features were mostly distorted. Her body was also marked with purplish bruises and welts, seemingly having been abused. Under the threat of the dagger, she shivered incessantly. But as soon as she saw Lucas enter, her eyes lit up, and she called out loudly to him for help. ¡°Lucas! Lucas, quickly save me!¡± Lucas immediately heaved a sigh of relief. Although he absolutely abhorred Karen, he had to admit that he was sincerely relieved to see that she was still alive. Cheyenne and Charlotte wouldn¡¯t have to be that devastated. He wouldn¡¯t have any emotional burden because of it either. Seeing this scene, Frederick almost erupted with fury. Although he had already made some mental preparations, he didn¡¯t expect things to turn out the same way as Lucas had mentioned¡ªPreston had abducted Karen and was holding her captive in such an obvious manner! It was so obvious that it was impossible for him to even find a reason to justify the foolish acts of his idiotic son. ¡°Scoundrel, what exactly are you doing? Hurry up and let go of her!¡± Frederick hollered at Preston in fury. Preston subconsciously shuddered. But he soon got rid of the instinctive fear he had toward his father and suddenly burst into hystericalughter. He seemed to be delirious, and all of a sudden, everyone was confused about his motive. Chapter 562 - Discord Between Father and Son

Chapter 562: Discord Between Father and Son

Preston ignored Frederick and regained someposure before turning his head to say to Lucas, ¡°I have to make it clear to you that I didn¡¯t take this woman from you. The person who abducted her was Scott, not me.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°I know. If you let her go right now, I won¡¯t hold you responsible for it.¡± Indeed, the person who had abducted Karen was Scott, so Lucas wouldn¡¯t put the me on Preston. But at the same time, he wouldn¡¯t just forget that Preston was using Karen as a hostage now. He was just dealing with them separately because they were two different things by nature. Frederick hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, Preston, hurry up and let her go! We can talk things over calmly. Even¡­ even if you¡¯ve killed your brother Scott, you are still my son. I won¡¯t press charges against you.¡± As soon as he heard what Frederick said, Preston became even more agitated instead. His expression became maniacal again as he asked, ¡°Your son? I don¡¯t care to be your son! Frederick Taylor, do you think that you¡¯re being a great and noble father by choosing to bury the hatchet and not hold it against me despite knowing that I killed your other son? ¡°Damn it! You¡¯re just a devil! You¡¯re a devil who treats your sons like pawns and toys with them as you please! You¡¯re the reason I ended up in this plight today!¡± Devil? A devil who treats his sons as pawns? Frederick was extremely bewildered by this description, but he was also full of fury. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? If you have a problem with me, you can tell me everything when we get home! Now, I want you to let go of her immediately. Do you hear me?! As your father, I¡¯m ordering you to let go of this woman right now!¡± ¡°Father? You don¡¯t deserve to be my father!¡± Preston hollered furiously. ¡°When have you ever treated us as your sons? Ever since we were children, you¡¯ve been telling us that if we want something, we have to fight for it ourselves and take it from others! Whoever is the best at getting what they want is your best son! The passive one who chose not to fight or snatch things away from others was berated harshly by you for being ipetent, useless, and not driven enough to take on important responsibilities in the future! ¡°That¡¯s how you have taught us since we were children! So you¡¯re the one who has honed and turned us into such heartless creatures now. What right do you have to make us obey you and order us around by throwing your weight around as our father?¡± He was extremely emotional, and the dagger in his hand shook a little because of how agitated he was. Several times, the de almost slid past Karen¡¯s neck, scaring her so badly that she closed her eyes and screamed in horror. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t kill me! Help! Please, please don¡¯t kill me!¡± ¡°Shut up! Make another sound, and I¡¯ll kill you right now!¡± Preston yelled at Karen impatiently, immediately making her shut up tactfully. But at the same time, the gaze in her eyes was full of eagerness and resentment when she looked at Lucas. She seemed to be upset with the fact that Lucas was still standing in ce instead of saving her from the lunatic. Lucas sighed slightly without saying anything or moving. Preston wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind, so he wouldn¡¯t let her go easily. Besides, as long as Lucas was here, it was impossible for Karen to die. Frederick¡¯s entire face paled for a moment after hearing his son¡¯s usations. He felt as if his heart had been stabbed by a sharp dagger. ¡°Spare the rod and spoil the child. I did what I did all for the sake of shaping you brothers into better people! In the current era, if you don¡¯tpete and vie with others for what you want, others will snatch your things away from you! I-I just wanted you all to develop such consciousness from a young age. Only then can the Taylors keep improving! Was I wrong to have done so?¡± he exined with a frown, trying to make Preston understand the rationale of his actions. ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that at all! You just treat us as pawns and tools for helping the family develop. You just like seeing the ugly sight of us fighting for things!¡± Preston retorted sternly. ¡°Have you ever cared about what we think? Have you ever cared about our feelings? No! Not at all! ¡°I was born to a different mother from Scott and Gaston, so they¡¯ve been bullying me since I was a child, calling me a bastard and an illegitimate child. Even the servants bullied me. And when I went to you crying and airing my woes, you¡¯d only chastise me for being useless and crying over such a trivial matter, which shouldn¡¯t be expected of a man! ¡°I also thought of avoiding them and choosing not topete with them because I thought they¡¯d let me off if I did so. But neither of them did because you told them that as your sons, they must bepetent enough to snatch things away from others, or else they¡¯ll be considered good-for-nothings! ¡°I was almost killed by them several times. They pushed me down the stairs, put snakes in my nket¡­ Once, they even pushed me into a pond and caused me to almost drown. Yet you merely lightly reprimanded them a few times for their nonsensical behavior, and that was it! You never intervened again! ¡°Have you ever treated me as your son? My life and wellbeing don¡¯t matter to you at all! All you need is the most obedient and useful pawn who can fight and snatch what you want! ¡°Soter on, in order to survive, I also learned to fight and be vicious and malicious. Yet you started praising me for being apetent and capable son, and you even said that I¡¯m very likely to be your sessor in the future. But do you know that your words caused me to be a thorn in their flesh, and I almost died at their hands on several asions! ¡°No, you knew. You were aware of all of this, but you chose to ignore it. What kind of sons are we to you?! What kind of father are you?¡± Preston was hollering at the top of his lungs, so much so that his voice became hoarse. He had obviously bottled up lots of grievances and anger over the past decades and was venting all of it now in one go. Frederick was astonished to be used by his son. He hadn¡¯t expected that the education approach he had always taken pride in was so detrimental in the eyes of his son Preston. Only at this juncture did he suddenly realize that he had indeed been focusing too much on the oue, such that he rarely paid attention to what his sons had thought and felt. He really had nothing to say about these grievances and anger that Preston harbored. ¡°Preston, I admit that I may not have been a good father because I¡¯ve ignored your feelings. But I really never treated you guys as pawns. I really did it for your own good! If it has hurt you, I will change in the future and treat you well! Just forgive me!¡± Frederick said remorsefully. ¡°Change? How can you change? You are already in your seventies, and I¡¯m almost fifty. Most of my life has passed, so what¡¯s the point of you changing now? ¡°Moreover, ever since you killed my mother back then, I was certain that I¡¯d never be able to forgive you in this lifetime!¡± Preston gritted his teeth, and a strong hatred emerged from his eyes. The expression on Frederick¡¯s face suddenly stiffened as he said in disbelief, ¡°What? How do you know about this?¡± ¡°Because I happened to be hiding in the closet when you killed her with your own hands. I witnessed everything!¡± Preston roared with all his might, and at the same time, his tears finally rolled down his cheeks. ¡°You killed my mother because you wanted to take me back to the Taylors¡¯ with you, but she was dead against it! She didn¡¯t want me to be another one of your pawns, so you brutally killed her! I will always remember this scene, and I¡¯ll never be able to forgive you!¡± Then Preston suddenly turned to Lucas. ¡°Lucas Gray, if you kill Frederick Taylor right now, I¡¯ll immediately return Karen Turner to you!¡± Chapter 563 - Last Option

Chapter 563: Last Option

Lucas didn¡¯t expect Preston to hold Karen hostage and even say so much just to get him to kill Frederick. Although he had just been watching everything from the perspective of an outsider, he couldn¡¯t help feeling some sympathy for Preston, who had been educated and raised in such a monstrous way, especially after hearing that Preston¡¯s mother had been killed by Frederick. But he was still surprised that Preston asked him to help him kill his father. If Preston really hated his father so much, he could have done it himself since he had countless opportunities to do so. Why would he need an outsider to help him? ¡°Why do you want me to help you?¡± Lucas asked indifferently with his arms crossed. After hearing what Scott said, Frederick immediately flew into a rage. ¡°You unfilial thing! I am your biological father, but you want to kill me! Aren¡¯t you afraid of being struck by lightning?!¡± Preston ignored Frederick and closed his eyes as he said to Lucas, ¡°I can¡¯t do it myself precisely because he¡¯s my father. This is also my only purpose. As long as you help me kill him, I will let this woman go immediately!¡± Frederick¡¯s heart sank, and he hurriedly said to Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, you mustn¡¯t trust him! He¡¯s gone mad. Even if you kill me now, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t let your mother-inw off and instead will raise even more demands!¡± He was really terrified. After all, he also knew that Lucas¡¯s goal was to get Karen back. And since he and the others were not friends with Lucas, their lives meant nothing to him at all. If Lucas really wanted to kill him in exchange for Karen, he would have absolutely no means to resist. ¡°I¡¯m not crazy, and I¡¯ll keep to my word! As long as you kill Frederick Taylor, I promise that I won¡¯t hurt this woman. But if you don¡¯t, I will have to force you to do it!¡± Preston said through clenched teeth. The dagger resting against Karen¡¯s neck suddenly moved, and the sharp de immediately formed a small slit on Karen¡¯s fragile neck. Blood slowly seeped out. ¡°Ah! I-I¡¯m going to die!¡± Karen immediately screamed and shouted at Lucas, ¡°Lucas! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and save me! If I die, I¡¯ll see how you can exin it to my daughters!¡± Lucas looked at the small slit on Karen¡¯s neck and narrowed his eyes slightly as he said to Preston, ¡°If you let her go right now, I can still give you a way out.¡± Prestonughed out loud. ¡°Since I¡¯ve made this choice, I have no intention of continuing to live! But before I die, I must see this old viin Frederick Taylor die in front of me! Lucas Gray, just tell me if you¡¯re going to do it or not! If you don¡¯t kill him, I¡¯m going to move the dagger in my hand!¡± Frederick panicked and hurriedly said, ¡°Preston, you must not be impulsive! Why do you want to seek death? I promise you now. As long as you let this woman off, I won¡¯t hold you responsible. And when you return to the Taylors, I will immediately hand over my position as helmsman of the family to you.¡± ¡°Hmph! Do you think I care?¡± Preston sneered coldly. ¡°I just said, if you don¡¯t do it, I¡¯m going to!¡± Then he immediately cut Karen¡¯s neck again with his dagger. This one was even deeper thanst. Karen felt a cold and hot paining from her neck, after which she felt some kind of liquid sliding down her neck. She was totally scared out of her wits. ¡°Ah! Ah! I¡¯m really going to die! Lucas Gray, you dog, are you really going to watch him kill me? ¡°If I die, I¡¯ll see how you can have the cheek to face my daughters! ¡°Hurry up! Obey him and kill that old man! Anyway, he¡¯s already lived for so many years and has one foot in the grave. I¡¯m your mother-inw. Are you willing to watch me die for the sake of an outsider?¡± Karen was really petrified, and she began screaming at the top of her lungs callously. The corners of Frederick¡¯s mouth twitched when he heard one of the sentences she said.?What does she mean I¡¯m old and have one foot in the grave? Is that even something a human would say? But he looked at Lucas next to him and could only pretend that he didn¡¯t hear Karen¡¯s words. Lucas nced at Frederick, but he didn¡¯t intend to kill him. No matter what, this was a conflict between Preston and Frederick, and he didn¡¯t intend to get involved in it. Moreover, he didn¡¯t like being threatened to do things. If Frederick had angered him, he would have killed him without saying much. But since Preston was forcing him to kill Frederick, he wouldn¡¯t do it. At some point, he had an inconspicuous coin in between his fingers. ¡°Preston Taylor, I don¡¯t have any more time to spend here. I¡¯ll tell you onest time. Let go of her immediately, and I can spare your life.¡± Lucas gave an ultimatum coldly. Frederick looked at his son heartbrokenly and said in misery, ¡°Preston, no matter what, you are my son! Perhaps my previous education approach was indeed wrong, but I really do love you with all my heart! Now, I¡¯ve lost one son, and you and Gaston are the only two left. If you hate me, I can promise that I will make it up to you in the future, and I will give you the entire family. You can have whatever you want, okay?¡± Looking at Preston¡¯s indifferent face, he even got down on both knees! ¡°Preston, just take it that I¡¯m begging you! Please stop what you¡¯re doing! I really don¡¯t want to lose another son!¡± His old eyes were full of tears as he begged miserably. The moment Preston saw him getting on his knees, there was a clear trace of movement on his face. But soon, it turned into even more intense hatred. ¡°Now, it¡¯s toote for you to say anything! I won¡¯t trust you anymore! ¡°I¡¯ve already done so much and gone so far. How can I still go back to the Taylors as if nothing has happened? And how can you just ept me as if nothing has happened and let me take over the family? ¡°Do you think I¡¯m still the same gullible kid I was back then? I¡¯m afraid that just before I return to the Taylors, I will die under the men you send! ¡°Back then, you were the one who said the gentlest words while strangling my mother until she took herst breath! Do you think I¡¯ll still believe you? ¡°The reason that I¡¯ve lived in misery until now and ended up in this plight is all thanks to you! My greatest wish now is to see you die in front of me!¡± Preston had a hysterical look on his face. Just as he said, he no longer cared about his own life because the only thing he wanted to see was the immediate death of his father, who had tormented him for decades. ¡°Preston, aren¡¯t you going to give me another chance to change my ways?¡± Frederick pleaded. ¡°Impossible. Since things havee to this, it¡¯s impossible!¡± Preston also seemed rather sorrowful. Then he turned to Lucas again and said with a calm look on his face, ¡°Between Frederick Taylor and this woman, only one of them can live, and it depends on who you choose. I¡¯ll give you twenty seconds to think about it. If you still don¡¯t kill him, I¡¯ll immediately end this woman¡¯s life!¡± Now, he had indeed left his life and wellbeing at the back of his mind as a look of determination formed on his face. Chapter 564 - Taking His Mother-in-Law Home

Chapter 564: Taking His Mother-in-Law Home

After hearing Preston¡¯s ultimatum, Karen immediately panicked.?There¡¯s only twenty seconds left. Why is that damn Lucas not saving me yet? ¡°Lucas! Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and save me! I¡¯m your mother-inw! If I die, how will you exin to Cheyenne and Charlotte? You¡¯re simply leaving me in the lurch! Even if I die, I won¡¯t spare you! ¡°Lucas, I¡­ I may not have treated you very well before, but I¡¯m your elder after all. So what if I chided you? Do you still hold a grudge against me? I promise I¡¯ll treat you well in the future as long as you save me. I won¡¯t force you to divorce Cheyenne again! ¡°And there¡¯s more! The things I said during the stream this morning must have impacted you greatly, huh? If you want to rify things, I¡¯m the only one who can help you! If I die, you won¡¯t be able to clear your name for the rest of your life! ¡°Also, if Cheyenne finds out that you chose to leave me to die, she¡¯ll definitely hate you for the rest of her life and never forgive you! ¡°Lucas, please just quickly save me!¡± At this juncture, where she was on the brink of death, Karen vented all her emotions at Lucas hysterically. She wouldsh out at him for a while and then start threatening him before pleading in misery. It could be said that if not for theck of time, she would have put her lifelong experience of scolding others to use and cursed her heart out at Lucas! But Lucas turned a deaf ear to her and merely kept a close eye on Preston¡¯s actions. ¡°You have five seconds left!¡± Preston gritted his teeth and began the countdown. ¡°Five¡­ ¡°Four¡­ ¡°Three¡­ ¡°Two¡­ ¡°One!! ¡°Time¡¯s up!¡± When he counted down to thest second, he looked at Frederick with a bizarre smile on his face. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. If this woman dies, you won¡¯t live either! I¡¯ll see you in Hell soon, my dear father!¡± Then he moved his dagger toward Karen¡¯s neck! ¡°Ah!¡± Karen was frightened out of her wits, and she started yelling at the top of her lungs with her eyes tightly shut. Lucas moved his fingers, but he didn¡¯t end up flicking the coin in his hand. At the same time¡­ Bang! With the clear and loud sound of a gunshot, a tiny hole appeared in the middle of Preston¡¯s forehead! A look of confusion appeared on his face. Regardless of how indignant he was, he couldn¡¯t say anything at this point. ng! The dagger in his hand fell to the ground. Then his body fell backward! A pool of blood gushed out from the back of his head. ¡°Mr. Taylor, he¡¯s dead!¡± At this moment, a bodyguard walked up to Frederick and pinned the lever-release rifle in his hand to the ground. It turned out that the person who had shot Preston at the veryst second was Frederick¡¯s subordinate. Frederick looked at Preston¡¯s corpse on the ground, and a look of grief and misery appeared on his face. Only after a long time did he look away and say with incredible fatigue, ¡°Bring his corpse back to the Taylor estate and let it rest in peace!¡± Then he turned to Lucas and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m relieved that you¡¯ve finally retrieved your mother-inw safely. ¡°As for the negative impact my son has caused to the reputation of you and yourpany, I¡¯ll hold a press conference to rify this matter to the public. ¡°My family will alsopensate for the losses yourpany incurred! ¡°Also, in order to avoid inconveniences, I¡¯ll make sure that no one knows about this. You didn¡¯te to my home today, and Jude York vanished without a trace after leaving my ce. Please rest assured that I will arrange for everyone to have the same testimony and ensure that no one breathes a word about this.¡± After taking a final nce at Lucas, he walked toward the door. But his back seemed much more hunched than before. Lucas felt rather emotional looking at Frederick. But he was only an outsider, so he wasn¡¯t in any position toment on it. In the end, he could only sigh silently. Lucas took Karen, who was so frightened that she had passed out, to the hospital. The wound on her neck wasn¡¯t that serious, as they were just two tiny cuts. She just had to get them disinfected and covered with band-aids. But Karen had sustained much more severe injuries when she was held captive by Scott. The bruises, swelling, cuts, and welts on her body were meticulously taken care of by the nurse. The moment Cheyenne saw that Karen was still alive, she burst into tears of joy. But while watching the nurse take care of Karen¡¯s injuries from the side, she felt extremely worried too. Over the course of one short day, Karen had ended up in such a sorry plight, making Cheyenne feel uneasy and ridden with guilt. So when Karen woke up, Cheyenne immediately hugged her and cried loudly, ¡°Mom, you¡¯ve suffered! If I hadn¡¯t driven you outst night, you wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a state! It¡¯s all my fault!¡± Karen had escaped from the brink of death and finally left the terrifying Taylor brothers. In the ward, she hugged Cheyenne and cried uncontrobly. ¡°Cheyenne! I almost couldn¡¯t see you again! I¡¯ve been through so much misery today! You have no idea how much I suffered!¡± Both Karen and Cheyenne wept incessantly while hugging each other. Lucas watched from the side and couldn¡¯t help frowning slightly. Karen was now using her miserable plight to sessfully make Cheyenne forget about her attempt to kill Williamst night. But Lucas knew that she just wouldn¡¯t change her ways. As long as there was still a possibility that William woulde to one day, she definitely wouldn¡¯t let him go. Reason being, as long as William woke up, the evil misdeeds she had done would be exposed! If she wanted to stop this from happening, she would still try to harm him. Lucas sighed in his heart. Then he called Charlotte, who was working at the office, to inform her that Karen had already returned safely. As expected, Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief and felt extremely grateful to Lucas. She told him that she would immediately rush over to see Karen after getting off work. No matter what, they had been living as mother and daughter for decades. There was no way Charlotte could forgo her feelings for Karen easily. After hearing what Lucas said over the phone, Cheyenne finally recalled something extremely important. ¡°Mom, you said those things during the stream this morning because you were coerced into it, right? But this matter has sparked a huge uproar on the inte and affected Lucas and the Stardust Corporation very negatively. You¡¯d better find an opportunity to rify this matter immediately!¡± Cheyenne hurriedly said. Due to the fact that what Karen had said on the stream was still a trending topic on all the major tforms, Lucas was still being insulted and berated by the public. Moreover, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s image had already hit rock bottom, and the economic losses it had suffered were very severe too. Karen wasn¡¯t d at all. In her opinion, the worse Lucas¡¯s image was, the better she would feel. In that case, why would she bother rifying things for Lucas? She pursed her lips and stayed silent without saying yes or no. Cheyenne immediately began to get anxious. ¡°Mom, aren¡¯t you going to help rify things for Lucas?¡± Chapter 565 - Clarification of Everything That Happened

Chapter 565: rification of Everything That Happened

Of course, Karen didn¡¯t want to help Lucas. But she also knew that she had to do it. After all, the things she had said might deceive thepletely cluelessizens. But Cheyenne, Charlotte, and the people around them all knew that her words were pure nonsense. Now that she had been brought back safely by Lucas, if she continued to let the rumors spread, her daughters, Cheyenne and Charlotte, would be displeased. After thinking about it, she acted like she was crying and said, ¡°Cheyenne, I was forced to say those things during the stream this morning! You can¡¯t me me for it! ¡°And¡­ about what I did to your dadst night¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to do it at all. The Taylors were the ones who forced me to do it. If I didn¡¯t obey them, they would definitely have killed all of us! ¡°I was so terrified and frightened. I really had no other solution. In order to save you and Charlotte, I had no choice but to be ruthless to your father, especially since he¡¯s already in this state!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°What? The Taylors forced you to do that to Dad too? Why? And why didn¡¯t you tell me yesterday?¡± Karen¡¯s eyes flickered for a moment, and she quickly thought of a better way to phrase it. She then continued to cry sorrowfully and said, ¡°Just like what they forced me to say during the stream, they wanted to kill your dad and then frame Lucas for it so that it would be convincing! I didn¡¯t tell you about it because the Taylors threatened me not to say anything, or they would take you and Charlotte away! That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t reveal anything to you even though you drove me away¡­¡± When Cheyenne heard this, she couldn¡¯t help tearing up. She had been furious and upset about Karen¡¯s attempt to kill Williamst night and had already decided not to see her again for the rest of her life. But after hearing about the cruel truth from her mother, her anger turned into an intense wave of regret. She hugged Karen while bursting into tears. ¡°Mom, it¡¯s my fault for ming you! I didn¡¯t know you were forced into it and that you went through so much torment. I¡­ I even said such harsh things to you and chased you away. I was really wrong to have done that! Mom, I¡¯ve let you down!¡± The mother and daughter hugged each other and wept bitterly. Standing next to them, Lucas immediately frowned upon seeing this scene. He was bbergasted by how shameless Karen was being. She conveniently took advantage of the situation and pushed the me on her attempt to take William¡¯s lifest night onto the Taylors¡¯ coercion so that she could clear her name in front of Cheyenne. Since Cheyenne wasn¡¯t able to sever ties with Karenpletely, deep down, she was unwilling to believe that her mother was a vicious woman. So after hearing Karen¡¯s seemingly reasonable exnation, she immediately took her word for it and forgave her. But Lucas merely nced coldly at the pretending Karen and didn¡¯t say much. If he told Cheyenne that Karen wanted to kill William because of her own intentions and not because of any coercion, Cheyenne probably wouldn¡¯t be able to ept it. Forget it. Given Karen¡¯s character, she¡¯ll reveal her true colors sooner orter. I don¡¯t have to rush it yet. After both of them calmed down, Cheyenne once again requested Karen to rify the matter about Lucas. ¡°Mom, the stream¡¯s impact is still continuing to escte on the inte. It¡¯s better to rify things as soon as possible to minimize the damage. Shall we start making arrangements immediately?¡± This time, Karen didn¡¯t make any more excuses to dy and agreed. Soon, with the help of the Taylors¡¯pany tform that Frederick had arranged, Karen and the Taylors released a joint rification on a stream to exin what had happened and even apologized to Lucas and the Stardust Corporation solemnly. Since it was a rification made by the protagonist of the stream this morning, who was now assuming the role of the victim, together with the helmsman of the prestigious Taylor family, the stream sparked an enormous reaction amongizens once it started. ¡°Oh my god! When I saw the stream this morning, I was so angry that I kept cursing. Yet it turns out to be fake? My feelings have been wasted!¡± ¡°What a twist! This is such a great twist! Sure enough, I shouldn¡¯t be so quick to take sides. Now, I¡¯ve been proven wrong! Lucas Gray, I apologize to you for scolding you and the Stardust Corporation!¡± ¡°Scott Taylor is really malicious! How shameless of him to do such a heartless thing!¡± ¡°Surprisingly, the Taylors¡¯ helmsman has personally stepped forward to rify. It seems legitimate! Ah, I¡¯m suddenly speechless. I hereby apologize to Lucas Gray and the Stardust Corporation for ndering them for no reason!¡± ¡­ Due to the fact that the matter had a tremendous impact and the plot twist waspletely unexpected, the rification once again became a hot topic on major tforms on the inte. Soon, topics and hashtags such as #KarenTurnerTruth #OweLucasGrayAnApology #TheStardustCorporationIsPitiful reached the top of the hot search lists. Below the news, there were countless people spontaneously apologizing to the victims. And although Karen had lied to them this morning, she didn¡¯t receive a scolding because she was a victim who had been forced. Instead, many began to be sympathetic toward her. All in all, after this rification, the immense negative impact that the stream had on Lucas and the Stardust Corporation was negated immediately, and the public even specially apologized or took sympathy on them. There were also some people with an overwhelming sense of justice who specially showed more support to the Stardust Corporation as a means of apology. Two hourster, Charlotte called Lucas and said in an exceptionally excited and rxed tone, ¡°Good news, Lucas! The crisis we¡¯ve faced this time has been eradicated! Public opinion has changed, and the stock price has increased again. It¡¯s even better than before! ¡°Also, many of the business partners who terminated their contracts with ourpany have called one after another to say that the termination is null and that they will signrger contracts with us! ¡°In addition, there are many new partners who have taken the initiative to contact us. Also, the sales of some of ourpany¡¯s stores and online stores have surged within thest two hours! ording to our preliminary deduction, today¡¯s incident not only recovered all the losses for thepany but also gave us a boost in poprity and profits. It¡¯s totally a blessing in disguise!¡± Charlotte was so excited that she spoke for a long time, reporting all kinds of good news to him. At the end, she hurriedly said, ¡°My assistant just brought some new contracts. I have to seize the time and take a good look. Lucas, I¡¯m hanging up now!¡± Then Charlotte, who was full of energy, hung up the phone and went to deal with the matters regarding the new cooperation contracts. Lucas smiled. ¡°Honey, were you talking to Charlotte? Why are you so happy all of a sudden?¡± Cheyenne walked over and put her arms around Lucas¡¯s arm while looking at him with a warm and gentle expression. Chapter 566 - Hope For Treatment

Chapter 566: Hope For Treatment

Lucas smiled. When he saw that there was no one else around, he reached out and gently pulled Cheyenne into his arms. Only then did he let out a long breath of relief. Only he himself knew how flustered and vexed he had been when he lost track of Karenst night and even mistakenly thought that she had been killed. He had been afraid that Cheyenne would bear a grudge against him because of Karen¡¯s death. They had just reconciled a short while ago, and he had been afraid that their rtionship might be strained again because of Karen and never go back to the way it used to be. Fortunately, Karen didn¡¯t die in the end. He was d that Cheyenne would no longer bear a grudge against him. He took a gentle whiff of the faint fragrance emanating from the top of Charlotte¡¯s head and then told her about what he had talked about on the phone. ¡°Charlotte just called to tell me that the Stardust Corporation has tided through the crisis, and we even obtained a lot of new contracts and business opportunities. It¡¯s a blessing in disguise. This will also be beneficial to the future development of thepany, which is good news.¡± Hearing this, Cheyenne felt happy for Lucas too. ¡°That¡¯s great. This is yourpany, and Charlotte is also thepany¡¯s general manager. I¡¯ve been really worried. Now that things are resolved, I¡¯m finally relieved for you guys!¡± she said sincerely from the bottom of her heart. But she didn¡¯t know that the matter today wasn¡¯t caused only by the maniption of the Taylors but also the Kingstons from San Francisco and the Huttons from DC. In order to avoid making Cheyenne worried, Lucas didn¡¯t even tell her that he had gone to the Kingston manor in San Francisco to confront them. At this moment, Lucas looked at Cheyenne¡¯s rxed smile and said with a faint smile, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll have to trouble Charlotte. During this period of time, it¡¯ll definitely be very busy at the office. I¡¯m afraid that we won¡¯t have much time toe and visit William.¡± Cheyenneughed. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Since she¡¯s busy, she can go ahead with her matters. I¡¯ll try to spend more time with Dad. That¡¯ll be enough.¡± All nestled in Lucas¡¯s arms, she suddenly said, ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m sorry for what happened previously!¡± Lucas froze for a brief moment, but he soon realized what Cheyenne meant. Just this morning, Cheyenne had called Lucas and questioned him about Karen¡¯s whereabouts right after Karen started the stream. At the time, she didn¡¯t believe everything Karen said. But she had also suspected that Lucas had something to do with her mother¡¯s ident. But Lucas didn¡¯t mind it anymore. After all, Cheyenne was a kind and filial person, so it was only normal for her to be concerned because she still cared about Karen. Lucas stroked her hair and said gently. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s all in the past.¡± ¡ª¡ª At this moment, far away in DC¡­ In an extremely gorgeous vi belonging to the Huttons, a young man was sitting in the study with a sullen expression. There was a video ying on theputer on the desk. It was the scene of Frederick Taylor and Karen Turner making a joint rification. Thement section below the video was full of scoldings and criticisms for the maniptors behind the scenes and apologies to Lucas and the Stardust Group. While the young man listened to the rification of the two people in the video, his face became increasingly sullen as he looked at the infuriatingments. Bang! An exquisite, white porcin teacup was violently smashed against the floor and shattered into countless pieces with a loud bang. ¡°Lucas Gray, I didn¡¯t expect you, my good-for-nothing brother, to be somewhat capable. Despite the desperate situation, you could turn the situation around. I¡¯ve really belittled you! ¡°But you can only rely on luck to pull these little tricks! You¡¯ve long been driven out of the family, and not many people in the Huttons are aware of your existence. And I, Jace Hutton, am the most promising sessor of the family. You are nothing in front of me! ¡°Since you¡¯ve been abandoned, you should have stayed in yourne and continued being a good-for-nothing. Why did you suddenly return and create such a stir?! ¡°Just you wait. I have greater power and authority than you. Even if you can survive for the time being, it won¡¯t be long before I trample you under my feet and make it impossible for you to make aeback!¡± Jace clenched his fists menacingly, and his furious roar echoed in the study without anyone else. ¡ª¡ª In the evening, Lucas and Cheyenne had just finished their dinner and were about to walk back to the hospital ward when Lucas¡¯s phone suddenly rang. As soon as he saw the number, his face lit up with joy. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve finished my mission here and cane back tonight! You¡¯re in Orange County now, right? I¡¯ve already booked the earliest flight back!¡± Maddy said cheerfully over the phone. Lucas said with delight, ¡°That¡¯s great. What time will your ne arrive tomorrow? I¡¯ll go pick you up at the airport tomorrow.¡± Maddy smiled. ¡°If there¡¯s no dy, I¡¯ll arrive tomorrow at noon.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll pick you up tomorrow at noon!¡± Lucas was still smiling after hanging up, clearly in a good mood. ¡°Lucas, who called?¡± Cheyenne felt a little sour because she had heard a woman¡¯s voice on the other end. Lucas had never talked much with other women. But now he was suddenly so delighted, and he even said that he would personally pick up that woman at the airport¡­ But before she could continue to be jealous, Lucas quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s my formerrade. She¡¯s an extremelypetent medical expert. She is highly skilled in medicine and internationally renowned. I¡¯ve already sent her information about William¡¯s condition, and she said there¡¯s a great chance that he can wake up again. But she just finished a mission abroad and won¡¯t be back until tomorrow to check on William¡¯s condition.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Cheyenne was immediately overjoyed, and she grabbed Lucas¡¯s hand with great excitement. ¡°Can Dad really wake up again? Can that expert really cure him?¡± It was no wonder that Cheyenne was so excited. Ever since William had suddenly gotten into such a serious car ident and was diagnosed to be a vegetable by the doctor, Cheyenne had been in great agony. Who would want to see their father unconscious and bedridden forever? Cheyenne was especially hopeless when she heard the doctor announce that the chances of William waking up were extremely slim and that they could only wait for a miracle to happen. Now that she had received this piece of good news, she burst into tears of joy. ¡°Can Dad¡­ Can he really recover?¡± Lucas smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes, Maddy¡¯s medical skills are very impressive, and she has cured countless patients withplicated conditions. As long as shees to help William, there will be no problem!¡± Cheyenne was so touched that she couldn¡¯t contain herself and excitedly wiped her tears. ¡°Hubby, thank you so much!¡± She leaned forward and gave Lucas a loud kiss on his face. Lucas was instantly stunned. Chapter 567 - Whereabouts Leaked

Chapter 567: Whereabouts Leaked

After Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help herself from kissing Lucas¡¯s face, she immediately noticed that the two of them were still standing on the street, and people wereing and going. She blushed, quickly turned her head, and coughed twice. ¡°Ahem, let¡¯s¡­ quickly go back to see Dad!¡± With a gentle smile on his face, Lucas reached out to hold Cheyenne¡¯s hand and grinned. ¡°Okay!¡± Hand in hand, the two of them returned to William¡¯s ward with a sweet look of joy on their faces. Tonight, the two of them would stay by William¡¯s side on the spare bed beside William¡¯s in the ward. Cheyenne held onto William¡¯s hand and whispered into his ears with determination, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll regain consciousness soon!¡± They were both silent for the rest of the night. The next morning, after finishing handling some daily affairs in the Stardust Corporation, Lucas drove to the airport near noon to pick up Maddy. In fact, it had been nearly two years since hest met Maddy. This time, Maddy came to help him treat William, which was a huge favor to him. He thought that he had to thank her well. ?¡ª?¡ª Meanwhile, in a hospital in San Francisco¡­ In one of the VIP wards, Marc¡¯s legs had medicine carefully applied to them and then bandaged with snowy white gauze. A young nurse gave Marc, who had broken out in cold sweat from the excruciating pain, a painkiller injection and left. Standing at the side with a look of dejection, Marc¡¯s father, Moses, said to the attending doctor, ¡°Doctor, is there really¡­ no way to save my son¡¯s legs?¡± The attending doctor let out a long sigh and said with an apologetic tone, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the bones in the calves of your son¡¯s legs have all suffered severe fractures, and his muscles and tendons are severely damaged. We really don¡¯t have a solution, and the only thing we can do in his case is to amputate his legs.¡± ¡°Amputation? No way!¡± Moses gritted his teeth, suddenly grabbed the doctor¡¯s cor, and hollered furiously, ¡°How can you not do anything?! My son is the most promising descendant of the Kingston family, and now his legs are terribly injured¡­ No matter what, you must find a way to cure him and let him stand up again!¡± Marc had already been expelled from the Kingston family by Lance, the head of the family. But because this incident was humiliating to the Kingstons, they had given a strict order at the time that no one was allowed to breathe a single word about what had happened yesterday morning at the Kingston manor. Therefore, not many people were aware that Marc had been expelled from the family, apart from those who were there at the time. For the sake of his only son, Moses had evenpensated his life savings. From beginning to end, he always cared about his son. Now that Marc¡¯s legs were injured, and he might be a disabled person who could no longer stand and walk for the rest of his life, how could he possibly continue living? Moreover, Marc had always been the most valued grandson in the eyes of Lance, and Moses firmly believed that his father had only agreed to kick him out because he waspelled and left with no choice. As long as Marc¡¯s legs were cured, and they thought of some other solutions, they would definitely be able to convince Lance to rescind his order and ept Marc again! But the premise for all of this required that Marc¡¯s legs be restored to how they used to be! Moses knew that if Marc¡¯s legs couldn¡¯t be cured, he¡¯d be crippled, and there was no way the Kingstons would let him go back and inherit the family! The attending doctor¡¯s heart jumped, and he felt rather suffocated because of the strain on his neck. There was nothing he could do about Moses¡¯s fury! ¡°Wait, wait! Even if you act like this, I still can¡¯t cure Mr. Kingston¡¯s legs¡­ Oh, right! If you can find the expert Maddy Stone, Mr. Kingston¡¯s legs might still be curable!¡± ¡°Maddy Stone? Who is that?¡± Moses immediately asked, finding a straw to clutch at. ¡°Uh, Miss Maddy Stone is an extremelypetent doctor. Rumor has it that she has extraordinary medical skills, almost reaching a legendary level. Of course, this might be a little exaggerated. But her medical skills are really superb. If there¡¯s someone in this world who can cure Mr. Kingston¡¯s legs, it must be her!¡± The attending doctor hurriedly revealed what he knew. Moses overjoyed for a moment and hurriedly asked, ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s great! Where is she now!¡± ¡°This¡­¡± A look of hesitation appeared on the doctor¡¯s face. In fact, a medical practitioner of Maddy¡¯s level wasn¡¯t someone a mere attending doctor like him could know. The main reason he knew about her was that when he was on the phone with his mentorst night, he had inadvertently overheard his mentor mentioning that the top medical expert Maddy Stone would arrive in Orange County tomorrow. His mentor was rather emotional and regretted that he was too far away to meet this legendary expert. Strictly speaking, the attending doctor didn¡¯t have the right to reveal Maddy¡¯s whereabouts. He was also a little worried that he might get himself into some unnecessary trouble because of this. Moses was extremely anxious, and he hurriedly took out a check from his pocket, signed it with a whoosh, and handed it to the doctor. ¡°Here¡¯s four hundred thousand! I just need you to tell me her whereabouts!¡± The doctor naturally agreed happily because he just had to give Moses an address, and he could obtain a few years¡¯ worth of his sry. ¡°I got the news just yesterday that Miss Stone is touching down in Orange County at 12:30 p.m. today. You can go there to try your luck, but I can¡¯t guarantee the rest,¡± the attending doctor said while taking the check from Moses. ¡°Okay, no problem, as long as I can find her! Also, I don¡¯t know Miss Stone, so we¡¯ll need you to provide us with a picture of her.¡± The attending doctor naturally agreed. Although he didn¡¯t have a picture of Maddy, he was certain that his mentor, who admired her a lot, definitely had one, so he could just send a copy to him. Soon, the attending doctor sent Maddy¡¯s flight information and photo to Moses. At the side, Marc saw all of this. He had already lost interest in life and had been dejectedly waiting for his death. But when he suddenly heard the good news that he could still be cured, he became extremely excited. ¡°Dad, is it really possible for me to stand up again?¡± Moses said with great certainty, ¡°Definitely! I will certainly invite Miss Stone over to treat you! Don¡¯t worry. One day, you will be able to stand up again, and then you¡¯ll still be the glorious scion of the Kingston family!¡± Marc eximed excitedly, ¡°Thank you, Dad! If I really get well, I will definitely meet your expectations and not let you down!¡± Both father and son had excitement written all over their faces. Without dy, Moses immediately set off for the airport after speaking to Marc for a while. No matter what, he had to bring Maddy over so that his son could be treated! Chapter 568 - Stopping A Doctor Halfway

Chapter 568: Stopping A Doctor Halfway

At this moment, in the airport¡­ An aircraft on an international flight was about tond. A tall and slenderdy nearly 1.75 meters tall strutted out in a pair of high heels. She was wearing a pair of dark brown sunsses, making her face look really small. She had a high nose bridge and diamond-shaped red lips. Even though only half her face was visible, she was obviously a beauty. Moreover, she was tall and had an excellent figure. Exuding a valiant aura, she was particrly outstanding as she walked through the crowd, attracting the attention of many people around her. She was holding a small suitcase in her hand while walking forward leisurely. She raised her hand and looked at the exquisite Chanel J12 watch on her wrist. Seeing that the big hand wasn¡¯t pointing at 12 yet, she couldn¡¯t help sighing. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to arrive so early today because flights are usuallyte. How rare.¡± She took out her phone and was about to call Lucas when three figures suddenly approached her eagerly and asked, ¡°Are you the medical expert Dr. Maddy Stone?¡± Maddy looked over and saw that the person asking her was a man in the fifties, with two bodyguards in ck suits standing behind him. She was a little puzzled because she was expecting to see only Lucas. But now, Lucas was nowhere in sight.?Lucas couldn¡¯t make it because something cropped up at thest minute, so he sent someone to pick me up? ¡°Did Lucas send you?¡± she asked in puzzlement. The middle-aged man suddenly smiled with joy and eximed, ¡°Dr. Stone, we finally get to meet!¡± He was so ted that he didn¡¯t even notice what Maddy said. He stretched out his hand. ¡°I am Moses Kingston from San Francisco, and I¡¯m here to pick you up. Nice to meet you, Dr. Stone!¡± Maddy immediately frowned. Hearing his words, she could tell that he obviously wasn¡¯t Lucas¡¯s subordinate but someone who had probably learned of her identity through some other channel. Over the past few years, her attainments in the field of medicine had been rather high, and her fame had risen again and again along with it. She often had many peopleing up to her all of a sudden to try to get to know her or ask her to help treat someone, so she had been rather annoyed. Generally speaking, she would keep her whereabouts private and known only to a few people. Clearly, the middle-aged man in front of her was one of those who came to her because he had heard about her somewhere. Maddy had never been polite to such people. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t know you, nor do I intend to get to know you. I have something important to do now. I¡¯ll get going.¡± Then she walked toward the side. But just as she took two steps, the two bodyguards in ck suits immediately stood in front of her. ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± Maddy immediately flew into a rage and red at Moses with a frown. Moses said domineeringly, though with an apologetic look on his face, ¡°Dr. Stone, I don¡¯t harbor any ill intentions toward you. I have no choice but to stop you. The doctor told me that you¡¯re the only one who can save my son from having his legs amputated! ¡°My son hasn¡¯t even reached the age of thirty yet, nor has he even gotten married and had children. How can he live for the rest of his life if his legs are amputated? My son has lost the courage to continue living because of his injury, and as his father, it really hurts me to see him like this! ¡°So, I beg you. Please save my son. No matter how much money you want, I¡¯ll give it to you as long as you can save my son! ¡°Oh yes, I¡¯m from the Kingston family, one of the top families in Calfornia, and the family head, Lance Kingston, is my father. We will fulfill any request you have, and we won¡¯t shortchange you! As long as you cure my son, the Kingstons will owe you a favor, and we¡¯ll help you solve all trouble you encounter as long as it¡¯s within California!¡± Finally, Moses dered his family¡¯s status, partly because he wanted to make Maddy have faith in their financial power. Another reason was naturally to deter her. Almost no one in California dared to offend the Kingstons. Of course, the only exception was Lucas, who had gone to their door to confront them yesterday. Maddy could naturally tell what Moses meant, so she felt a little repulsed. But she had seen many patients¡¯ families who were mostly extremely anxious or callous with their words because they were too worried. Out of benevolence as a doctor, Maddy felt a trace ofpassion after hearing about the tragic situation of Moses¡¯s son. If she could save a young man who was seriously injured to the point that he was suicidal, she wouldn¡¯t reject it. But she had agreed to meet Lucas and treat his father-inw first after all. Be it because of principals or her ties with him, she should treat his father-inw first. Besides, Lucas¡¯s father-inw was an urgent patient to deal with. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I have two patients here in Orange County who are in urgent need of treatment. I¡¯ll contact you to help you with your son¡¯s illness as soon as I finish with things here. How about that?¡± Maddy said. To be honest, she was already doing this out of the kindness of a doctor and consideration of Moses and his son¡¯s rtionship. Otherwise, if she agreed to help just anyone who ran up to her and asked her to help save their family members, she would have died of exhaustion long ago. But Moses panicked when he heard that she had to treat other patients before helping his son. He immediately took out the check for 4 million dors from his pocket and handed it to Maddy. ¡°Dr. Stone, here¡¯s four million dors! As long as you promise to save my son, this money will belong to you immediately! Furthermore, this is just an advance payment. Once my son recovers, I¡¯ll give you another six million. How does that sound?¡± Although he had forked out his life savings of about 15 million dors yesterday in order to redeem his son¡¯s life from Lucas and imed that it was all he had, he obviously wasn¡¯t as stupid as to give away all his savings. He hadn¡¯t really been regarded highly in the family all these years and couldn¡¯t gain any direct benefits from them. But it also meant that he received less attention, so it was more convenient for him to do other things. Therefore, he had secretly stashed away arge sum of money over these decades. He was actually a very scheming person who knew to keep a low profile. Even though Marc had been expelled from the Kingstons, Moses was confident that he would be able to be the next helmsman as long as he put his mind to it. At that time, his son, Marc, would naturally be able to return to the family again! As long as his son¡¯s leg could be cured, he wouldn¡¯t mind paying a few million dors or even tens of millions of dors. Maddy was extremely displeased with the way Moses was trying to entice her with money. He was acting as if she would agree to treat his son as long as he paid her. This, on the contrary, made Maddy feel rather disgusted. ¡°I just told you that I have two very important patients to treat in Orange County. Once I¡¯m done treating them, I¡¯ll naturally go take a look at your son,¡± she said coldly. Moses said indignantly, ¡°No, my son¡¯s condition is very serious, and we can¡¯t afford to dy treatment any longer! How about this? I¡¯ll give you another six million dors now to make it ten million! When my son¡¯s legs get better, I¡¯ll give you another four million!¡± Maddy was really enraged this time. ¡°Can¡¯t you understand English? It¡¯s not about money! Get out of the way!¡± Then she turned around and tried to bypass them. ¡°No, you can¡¯t leave!¡± Moses¡¯s face turned gloomy, and he waved his hand. Both his bodyguards trapped Maddy in between them, preventing her from leaving. Chapter 569 - Its Actually Him

Chapter 569: It¡¯s Actually Him

Moses narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly, ¡°Dr. Stone, I¡¯ve already told you just now that the Kingstons are one of the top families in California. And I will soon be the next helmsman of the family, and my son will be my sessor. You understand what I mean, right? ¡°Although I don¡¯t want to use power to oppress you, my son has a noble status that no one in Orange County canpare to! So I don¡¯t care if you¡¯ve made appointments with any important patients before. They¡¯re nothingpared to my son¡¯s injuries! ¡°I don¡¯t want to use force against you, but if you continue to insist on staying here, I can only take you back to San Francisco by force. I hope that you will consider it carefully, Dr. Stone!¡± Moses¡¯s words were full of threats. At this moment, he hadpletely forgone pleasantries. Although he said that he did not want to use the power of his family to oppress Maddy, his words meant otherwise. Moreover, his words undermined everyone in Orange County to be worthless, as if only his son was the most honored and noble. ¡°Hmph!¡± Maddy sneered. What kind of person was Maddy? She was internationally renowned, and the heads of many countries would receive her personally with gifts. She really didn¡¯t take a mere Kingston family seriously. Only a frog at the bottom of the well like the Kingstons would think they were impressive and throw their weight around. Her gaze became extremely hostile, and she said coldly, ¡°If you leave now, I might still save your son. Otherwise, you can let him get amputated!¡± She had just promised to save Moses¡¯s son, but it was only out of kindness. It didn¡¯t mean that she was a pushover who would let anyone manipte her! If he angered her and coerced her, she could only say sorry and refuse. Moses was angered by Maddy¡¯s hostility and refusal to cooperate. In his opinion, anyone who dared to speak to him so rudely had to be taught a lesson! ¡°Dr. Stone, don¡¯t push your luck! If you still refuse toe with us, then I have no choice but to resort to force!¡± He barked at the two bodyguards, ¡°Take her away immediately!¡± The two bodyguards immediately went forward to hold Maddy¡¯s arm. ¡°Get lost!¡± Maddy shouted angrily. With a lift of her long leg, she instantly kicked the bodyguard in front of her in his vital area. ¡°Arrrghhh!¡± The bodyguard instantly covered his vital part, cried out in pain, and bent down. As for the bodyguard behind her, she abruptly stomped her foot before he could grab her and nailed one of the sharp and thin heels of her high heels like a spike on his foot. ¡°Aahhhh!¡± The bodyguard behind felt excruciating pain, as if he had been shed by a knife on his feet, and almost lost his bnce. Then he immediately inhaled sharply as Maddy kicked him away. Moses was astounded. He had originally thought that Maddy was just an ordinary woman whom his burly bodyguards would definitely have caught easily. But he hadn¡¯t expected that the woman in front of him would dare to resist and had decent martial arts! His bodyguards had not only failed to seize her but were even dealt heavy blows by her. Maddy sneered. Although she appeared to be a delicate woman, she had spent a lot of time in the Falcon Regiment, where numerous experts gathered. Even though she was an expert in medicine and hadn¡¯t formally trained in martial arts before, she had at least witnessed many brawls and could defend herself adequately with simple self-defense skills or grappling. She wouldn¡¯t bepletely unable to fight back like other ordinary women. Moses flew into a rage and hollered at his bodyguards, ¡°Good-for-nothings, you can¡¯t even capture a woman. What do I need you for?¡± After being reprimanded, the two bodyguards forced themselves to endure the pain and grabbed at Maddy again. This time, they put away their contempt and moved much faster than earlier. After all, they were bodyguards that Moses had spent arge sum of money to hire, and they were much stronger than the average person. Just now, they had missed because they didn¡¯t take Maddy, a woman, seriously and were thus caught off guard. Now that they were being serious, Maddy, who hadn¡¯t undergone any professional training, immediately couldn¡¯t fight back. She managed to avoid the hand of one bodyguard, but the other bodyguard appeared behind her and reached out to grab her hair. Maddy caught sight of this scene from the corner of her eye, but she couldn¡¯t physically react in time. She saw that she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. But at this very moment, the bodyguard behind her suddenly shrieked and was sent flying away. Bang! Bang! The two bodyguards surrounding Maddy were instantly kicked away with two loud bangs beforending hard on the clean floor of the airport. They even skidded away a long distance. ¡°How dare youy a hand on her, Moses Kingston? Do you want to have your legs broken too?¡± The cold and merciless voice filled the air, making Moses¡¯s expression immediately change. ¡°Lu¡­ Lucas Gray?!¡± His heart was beating wildly as he looked at the familiar young man who suddenly appeared in front of him, filled with disbelief. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re here!¡± After hearing Lucas speak, Maddy immediately looked over with a look of surprise and hurried toward him. When Moses saw that Maddy was acquainted with Lucas, his heart sank to rock bottom. He suddenly remembered that Maddy seemed to have asked him if he was sent by Lucas when they first met. But at the time, he didn¡¯t quite care. He finally realized that Maddy was referring to his arch nemesis, Lucas Gray! Lucas turned to face Maddy and asked in concern, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Maddy shook her head and smiled. ¡°Luckily you came in time. Otherwise, I would have been in trouble!¡± Lucas said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I agreed to pick you up, but I caused you to encounter this because I waste.¡± ¡°You¡¯re notte. My ne just arrived ahead of schedule. I didn¡¯t expect the first flight to Orange County to arrive half an hour early. It¡¯s rather rare,¡± Maddy said with a smile. Seeing that the two of them were chatting amicably and seemed familiar with each other, Moses was flustered yet furious because they didn¡¯t seem to be taking him seriously. The legs of his precious son had been crushed by Lucas¡¯s feet, and Marc was so badly injured that even the best hospitals in California couldn¡¯t treat him. The only resort at present was an amputation. Moses was full of resentment toward Lucas! But at the end of the day, he didn¡¯t dare to take revenge on Lucas. The image of Lucas showing his prowess yesterday at his home was still fresh in Moses¡¯s mind. What could he do to take revenge on Lucas, who could kill the Kingstons¡¯ strongest expert, Scarface, within seconds? He had finally received news that Maddy could treat Marc¡¯s legs, but when he was about to bring her back, Lucas suddenly popped up out of nowhere and even turned out to be friends with her! At this moment, Moses strongly felt that he had been yed by destiny. Chapter 570 - Three Demands

Chapter 570: Three Demands

After Lucas and Maddy exchanged a few pleasantries, he said to her, ¡°Let¡¯s go. My car is right over there.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Maddy agreed and followed behind Lucas, and the two of them walked toward the parking lot outside the airport. ¡°Hold it!¡± Moses could no longer think about anything else and immediately stopped the two upon seeing them leaving. ¡°Lucas, since you and Dr. Stone know each other, I¡¯ll get straight to the point. As long as you ask your friend to help cure my son¡¯s legs, I won¡¯t pursue the matter of you causing trouble at the Kingston manor yesterday. I¡¯ll also forget about the feud between my family and you!¡± he said through gritted teeth. Lucas sneered and looked at him like a fool. ¡°Do you have a problem with your brain? Don¡¯t forget. It was you Kingstons who took the initiative to make peace with me yesterday, and you even gave me money. That¡¯s why I agreed to let you off for the time being. Now, you¡¯re bargaining with me and saying that you won¡¯t pursue the matter? Hah, how arrogant of you! ¡°Besides, I crippled your son¡¯s legs because it¡¯s the punishment he deserves. Yet you want my friend to cure your son. What makes you think I should help?¡± Moses was so furious that he was about to fly into a maniacal rage. But at the same time, his rationality told him that everything Lucas said was true. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t be too arrogant! ¡°It¡¯s true that the Kingstons begged for peace first yesterday, but do you think we¡¯re afraid of just you? If not for the Coles and those families from Orange County and LA who came over together to cause trouble when we weren¡¯t keeping our guard up, do you think you would have seeded? ¡°Also, do you think that we¡¯re really afraid of you guys and that we don¡¯t dare to go to war with you? You¡¯re gravely mistaken! The Kingstons have been operating in San Francisco for many years. I can¡¯t say that we are invincible and have all the connections, but the Kingstons will at least be able to gather around twenty allies. What are small families like yours considered? ¡°We just didn¡¯t want to blow things up. That¡¯s why we chose to let this matter blow over. If you think the Kingstons are afraid of you, then you¡¯re being too arrogant! ¡°Now, I¡¯m willing to give you another chance. As long as you ask your friend to cure my son¡¯s legs, I can guarantee in the name of the next helmsman of the Kingston family that I definitely won¡¯t make life difficult for you again in the future!¡± Moses¡¯s tone was full of gusto while speaking, and he genuinely meant it from the bottom of his heart. In his opinion, the reason that Lucas was able to defeat the Kingstons and leave safely yesterday was only that they weren¡¯t prepared and had their guard down. Even if Lucas was good at martial arts, he believed that the Kingstons would be able to defeat and kill him if they sought help from other experts or even the Huttons. Therefore, if Lucas was smart, he shouldn¡¯t refuse to ept Moses¡¯s offer. Otherwise, when the Kingstons were fully prepared, he would probably die to make up for the humiliation they had suffered. At the side, Maddy couldn¡¯t help bing interested. She had just returned to the US today and wasn¡¯t aware of the feud between Lucas and the Kingstons. But after hearing what Moses said, she realized that his family seemed to have suffered a huge loss at Lucas¡¯s hands yesterday and were feeling disgruntled now, so they were using the excuse of being unprepared. Hah, so interesting! As expected of Lucas, he¡¯s still as impressive as ever, even after leaving the Falcon Regiment. He won¡¯t let anyone bully him! In response to Moses¡¯s threats, Lucas sneered. ¡°In that case, from today onward, none of the Kingstons are to appear in Orange County again. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill every single one I see! ¡°All the Kingstons¡¯ businesses will vanish from Orange County and LA. Mark my words! ¡°Also, you can get lost now. If I discover that you¡¯re still in Orange County after half an hour, don¡¯t me me for being rude to you!¡± After saying this domineeringly, Lucas stopped looking at Moses and left with Maddy. Behind him, Moses almost flew into a rage! By mentioning these three things, it was apparent that Lucas didn¡¯t take the Kingstons seriously at all! Not only did he want to drive all the Kingstons out of Orange County and LA, but he also threatened to make the Kingstons¡¯ businesses vanish from both cities. Lucas Gray is too conceited and arrogant! Hah, I¡¯ll see how exactly you can make the Kingstons¡¯ businesses vanish from these ces! Moses cursed furiously, but in his heart, there was a trace of uneasiness. Although Lucas was indeed really infuriating, he wasn¡¯t joking when he said those arrogant remarks. For example, when he said that he was going to war with the Kingstons yesterday and that he was going to break Marc¡¯s legs, he seemed arrogant, but he had indeed done it in the end. This was the most terrifying thing about Lucas! Moses didn¡¯t dare to usemon sense to specte on Lucas¡¯s behavior, nor did he dare to gamble with his life as a stake. Although he was enraged, he could only grit his teeth and leave the airport. As for the medical expert Maddy, she obviously wouldn¡¯t return with Moses to treat Marc¡¯s legs since she was Lucas¡¯s close friend. Moses left Orange County furiously and indignantly. ¡ª¡ª In the ck Jaguar, Maddy looked at Lucas with a smile and joked, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve suddenly discovered that you¡¯re really kindhearted today! The Kingston family must have offended you badly, huh? But you merely crippled his son¡¯s legs, and you actually let him off today. You¡¯re the invincible God of War of Calico and the leader of the Falcon Regiment. You used to be murderous and decisive, but you were so soft-hearted this time. How rare!¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°After all, we¡¯re in Orange County now and not the battlefield in Calico. If I kill people at will, it will cause a lot of trouble. Besides, it¡¯s just a wealthy family in San Francisco. Even if they¡¯ve offended me, they can¡¯t do anything to me, so I just let it go.¡± In the past, he used to be harsh and decisive in killing because the enemies he faced were those who posed a threat to his country, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t be merciful to them. But he didn¡¯t take a mere Kingston family seriously at all. After a moment of silence, Maddy suddenly asked, ¡°Lucas, are you not going to return to the Falcon Regiment ever again?¡± Lucas was stunned for a moment, and a trace of nostalgia appeared in his eyes. He nodded gently. ¡°Well, I won¡¯t go back. Now that the situation in Calico has already calmed down, I can retirepletely. It¡¯s not a bad thing toe back and live the life of an ordinary person here.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Maddy stayed silent for a while before saying reluctantly, ¡°To be honest, I was quite sad when you left all of a sudden. Moreover, you came back to Orange Country for your wife and daughter, right?¡± Lucas immediately and subconsciously smiled warmly. He nodded and admitted, ¡°Yes, I owed them too much in the past, so I can only use the rest of my time to make it up to them.¡± Seeing the gentle expression on his face, which was extremely rare, Maddy was immediately stunned and couldn¡¯te back to her senses for a long time. Lucas, the former mighty and domineering leader of the Falcon Regiment, actually revealed such a gentle expression. The jaws of theirrades would definitely drop if they saw it! Chapter 571 - Dont Regret

Chapter 571: Don¡¯t Regret

Seeing the rare gentleness on Lucas¡¯s face, Maddy couldn¡¯t help smiling and sighing emotionally. ¡°It seems you really love your wife and daughter! Your wife must be beautiful, huh?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes, but her beauty isn¡¯t the only reason I love her. She¡¯s also a very good woman. Once you meetter, you¡¯ll like her too.¡± The mention of Cheyenne put a gentle and blissful smile on Lucas¡¯s face. Maddy smiled in relief.?This isn¡¯t bad either! Ten minutester, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the hospital in Orange County. As soon as they got out of the car, Jordan, who had been guarding outside the hospital, immediately greeted them with a smile on his face. ¡°You¡¯re finally here, Maddy!¡± Maddy smiled at him. ¡°Jordan, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still sticking to Lucas! It¡¯s been more than a year since west met. You¡¯ve grown more handsome!¡± Jordan¡¯s face, which had always been somewhat roguishly handsome, was a little rosy as he got shy, which was rare of him. ¡°Nah, Maddy, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s getting prettier and prettier!¡± The twoplimented each other before smiling and following Lucas into the hospital. Lucas didn¡¯t lead them straight to William¡¯s ward but instead proceeded to the director¡¯s office. Previously, Lucas had told the director that he would invite a highly-skilled expert to help treat William. The director had plenty to consider and couldn¡¯t just casually agree to let someone treat William. Otherwise, in case something untoward happened to him, it would be difficult for the hospital to shirk responsibility. But after Lucas introduced Maddy to the elderly director, the director grinned widely in joy from ear to ear. ¡°What? You¡­ you are that famous medical expert. I didn¡¯t expect you to be so young. You¡¯ve got a promising future!¡± The director¡¯s eyes were shining, and he looked as though he had finally met his idol. He eagerly dragged Maddy away to discuss some issues that had puzzled him for a long time. ¡°Dr. Stone, I¡¯d like to ask you about cardiovascr resuscitation¡­¡± Maddy barely had time to say anything before she was pulled away by the director, who proceeded to bombard her with questions. She couldn¡¯t refuse and could merely turn around to look at Lucas resentfully. Lucas responded with a helpless shrug. Although he had always known that this elderly director was extremely concerned about all kinds of conditions and patients and was a truly respectable old doctor, he didn¡¯t expect him to be so eager as to drag Maddy away and bombard her with questions before she could even greet him properly. Looking at the two people in the office using medical jargon they couldn¡¯t understand, Lucas dragged Jordan out of the office. ¡°Haha, Maddy is still as impressive as ever! Even the elderly director is full of praise for her.¡± Jordan stared at her through the ss window with a proud expression on his face. Lucas looked at Jordan and suddenly said, ¡°Jordan, if you don¡¯t express your feelings this time, Maddy is going to marry someone else.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Jordan eximed in astonishment immediately, as if he had been struck by lightning. Jordan¡¯s face turned pale immediately, and he asked in a flustered manner, ¡°Maddy is going to marry someone? Who? When?¡± Seeing him finally getting anxious, Lucas stopped trying to agitate him and said seriously, ¡°Although she hasn¡¯t married anyone yet, Maddy¡¯s family is already arranging a marriage alliance for her. So if you don¡¯t seize the opportunity, you¡¯ll miss your shot with her forever.¡± As apanion who had spent a lot of time together with Jordan in the Falcon Regiment, Lucas had naturally long discovered that Jordan had feelings for Maddy. However, Jordan had been keeping his feelings for her well hidden in his heart, and he had never revealed them to Maddy before. As Jordan¡¯s best friend, Lucas had to remind him at this time. He wasn¡¯t trying to scare Jordan, but he was stating facts. When they were having a casual chat on the way to the hospital, Maddy had told Lucas with a bitter smile that her family was urging her to get married and was looking for a marriage partner for her. After all, Maddy was already in her thirties. Her talent and achievements in the field of medicine were extremely high, and she was well known in the international medicalmunity. But in the eyes of conservative people with backward mindsets, a woman¡¯s value was not reflected in her career but her marriage, children, the wealth of her husband, and so on, which was really sad and ridiculous. In particr, Maddy¡¯s family was a big family in DC, and most women born in families like hers had already gotten married in marriage alliances in their twenties. They were treated as goods and married off to the scions of other wealthy families, leaving many green with envy. Thus, a woman like Maddy, who was in her thirties but had yet to get married, had already be an anomaly in the eyes of many people. While Maddy was talking about these things, a trace of self-deprecation and misery had appeared in her eyes. Lucas knew that if a smart and independent woman like Maddy was really forced to marry a man she didn¡¯t love due to the pressure put on her by her family, she would be reduced to an ordinary woman who stayed home to serve her husband, which was destructive to her. So Lucas decided to tell this to Jordan, who had a crush on Maddy. If Jordan could be brave enough to take that step, and if Maddy also happened to fancy him, they wouldn¡¯t have to face such a tragedy. But Jordan stayed silent for a long time and finally said with a self-deprecating smile, ¡°I¡­ How am I worthy of her?¡± Jordan clenched his fists tightly and said with agony, ¡°She¡¯s from the notable Stone Family in DC, while I¡­ am just an orphan without a high status or powerful background. Even if I love her, there¡¯s absolutely no way I can marry her, and confessing my feelings to her will only get us both in trouble.¡± Indeed, he had long had a crush on Maddy since a few years ago when he got severely wounded on a certain battlefield and was rescued by her. He had gradually fallen in love with her even though she was five years older than him. But after he nervously and expectantly asked his otherrades about Maddy¡¯s family, his heart that was beating wildly from the butterflies slowly sank. Jordan was no longer an ignorant teenager who only knew to be rash when it came to love. He already knew that, as much as he wanted it, it was impossible for them to be together when there was such a huge difference in their family backgrounds. Looking at Jordan¡¯s brooding expression, Lucas opened his mouth a little and seemed to want to persuade Jordan. But he didn¡¯t end up saying much. Instead, he patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Maddy will be staying in Orange County for some time. While she¡¯s here, think about it carefully. You only live once, and no matter what, don¡¯t make a choice that you¡¯ll regret!¡± Chapter 572 - Gathering of Three

Chapter 572: Gathering of Three

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jordan suddenly clenched his fists tightly. Would he regret it¡­ If he didn¡¯t confess his feelings to her, would he regret it in the future? Or would he regret it more if he chose to confess now? Jordan was momentarily confused. ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel inferior at all. You¡¯re not an orphan who has nothing to your name. You are my best friend and my best brother!¡± Lucas looked at Jordan with a confident smile. Ever since they got to know each other in Calico, the two of them had been through several life-or-death situations, during which they built their brotherhood. The ties and bonds between them were extremely precious to them. Even though they now had a superior-subordinate rtionship in the eyes of outsiders, who even thought that Jordan was just an underling working for Lucas, Lucas had always treated him as his best friend and brother. Jordan raised his head and seemed rather touched. He had always followed Lucas and was full of admiration for him. But after hearing Lucas say that he was his best friend and brother, Jordan still couldn¡¯t help feeling a surge of emotion and zeal within him. He was no longer just someone who lived all alone in the world without any kin. ¡°Thank you, Lucas!¡± Jordan thanked him from the bottom of his heart as tears welled up in his reddened eyes. Lucas smiled. ¡°Hey, you¡¯d better think carefully about Maddy. Since you love her, are you going to watch her marry someone else just because youck the courage to even confess your love to her?¡± Jordan nced at the woman talking to the director about medicine in his office. When he saw how attractive she was because of her confidence, a trace of admiration appeared in his eyes, but he soon lost his confidence. ¡°She¡¯s from the Stone family in DC after all. I¡­¡± This time, Lucas interrupted, ¡°So what? You should know that I don¡¯t even take the eight major families of DC seriously. What¡¯s the big deal about the mere Stone family? If you¡¯re afraid her family won¡¯t approve of it, I¡¯ll personally apany you to the Stone family and ask for Maddy¡¯s hand in marriage for you! ¡°The only thing you need to consider is how to let Maddy know how you feel about her and make her fall in love with you. You don¡¯t have to consider the rest! ¡°With me around, you don¡¯t even need to consider those unnecessary things!¡± Lucas¡¯s words were extremely domineering. Jordan was instantly motivated. Indeed, Lucas didn¡¯t even take the eight giants of DC seriously. Now, the Stone family no longer seemed that out of reach. ¡°Lastly, think about it again. Do you think Maddy is willing to be a pawn of her family and marry a man she doesn¡¯t like or even know? Since you love her, you must want her to be truly happy, so think about what kind of life will truly make her happy!¡± Lucas said. Jordan nodded and said more firmly, ¡°Lucas, I understand! I won¡¯t let Maddy end up living a miserable life. Only I can give her a happy future!¡± Lucas had a heartened smile on his face. At this moment, they saw through the ss windows of the office that Maddy had finally finished chatting with the diligent elderly director, who was also an avid learner. She walked out. Maddy seemed to have lingering fears, while the elderly director said with a look of satisfaction, ¡°Dr. Stone, your guidance today has really enlightened me and benefited me greatly. You are indeed a top medical practitioner with excellent skills in the field of medicine! Mr. Gray has informed me of your purpose for visiting, and I¡¯ll proceed to help you with the procedures now. You may treat the patient diagnosed as a vegetable as a medical expert of our hospital. There won¡¯t be any issues.¡± Lucas and Maddy both said in unison, ¡°Thank you, Director!¡± After leaving the director¡¯s office, Maddy glowered at Lucas and Jordan. ¡°And you two call yourselves my friends. You two left me alone to speak to the director while you ran outside to hide. So annoying!¡± Lucasughed. ¡°You were discussing medicine. Jordan and I couldn¡¯t understand anything. What would be the point of us staying there?¡± Jordan looked at Maddy¡¯s slightly fatigued face. Considering that she had flown back from abroad overnight and had rushed straight to the hospital without getting any rest after her flight, he reckoned that she was exhausted. It happened to be lunchtime, and they hadn¡¯t eaten lunch yet. Jordan suggested, ¡°Lucas, Maddy, why don¡¯t we go out for lunch? It¡¯ll take some time for the administrative procedures to finish. Even if you want to provide treatment for Lucas¡¯s father-inw, you¡¯ll have to wait until the afternoon.¡± Lucas nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve already made a reservation at a restaurant. Let¡¯s go there now. We¡¯ll talk about the treatment in the afternoon.¡± After all, Maddy had just returned from a long trip abroad. Besides, she had always been a workaholic, so she would definitely start working on the treatment n for William immediately. Once she started, she might forget to eat. They headed to a restaurant called ¡®vors¡¯ near the hospital and went to the private room that Lucas had booked. Soon, all the food was served. They were chatting while eating. Seeing that Jordan wanted to help Maddy to some food but was blushing because he was too shy to do so, he couldn¡¯t help being amused. Since Jordan was his best friend, he naturally had to help him. Halfway through the meal, Lucas suddenly pretended to ask casually, ¡°By the way, Maddy, you mentioned before that your family wants to arrange a marriage alliance for you, right? What¡¯s up with that?¡± Jordan suddenly froze while eating and quickly turned to look at Maddy to listen to her words carefully. Maddy sighed despondently. ¡°Ah! I can¡¯t help it. I¡¯m already in my thirties, and in the eyes of many people, I¡¯m an old woman. Naturally, tongues will wag at home. My parents can¡¯t withstand the pressure, so they¡¯ve been urging me to get married! ¡°But I have never wanted to marry a man I don¡¯t like and then have children and spend my life raising them. I don¡¯t want to muddle through the rest of my life. So I pursued what I was most interested in and started learning medicine. For this reason, I went to Calico, where I met you. One of my purposes at the time was to give myself a chance to put my medical skills to use and save the patients who needed to be saved. I also wanted to realize my own value. The other purpose is also to stay far, far away from home. ¡°Only in this way could I temporarily escape the oppressive environment where I was forced to get married. Only then could I feel like an independent person worth more than just being a pawn of the family or someone¡¯s wife.¡± The light in Maddy¡¯s eyes gradually dimmed, and she said in a low voice, ¡°But I can never be a resolute person. The responsibility of being a member of my family, my parents¡¯ usations, and so on have all determined that I can never be unfettered. ¡°So when my parents heard that I was returning, they eagerly told me that they had already found a great partner for me from the Smith family. They¡¯re just waiting for me to return to DC to take a look. Maybe we¡¯ll get engaged then if there are no issues.¡± Her tone was full of despondence and helplessness. Jordan kept clenching his fists before releasing them again and then clenching them again. Finally, he couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer and mmed it against the table.?Bang! ¡°How¡­ how can they make arrangements for your life like this?¡± Chapter 573 - Revealing Her Intentions

Chapter 573: Revealing Her Intentions

Jordan¡¯s face was full of anger. ¡°You are clearly an excellent doctor and much more outstanding than anyone else. On what grounds are they making you marry someone you don¡¯t even know or like and turn you into an ordinary housewife?¡± Jordan was really furious. Seeing the dim light in Maddy¡¯s eyes and herckluster gaze, he was full of pain in his heart, and anger erupted within him. Maddy was surprised to see how furious Jordan was, and she was so touched by his words that she felt an urge to cry. ¡°Jordan, you¡­¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t acting like myself!¡± Jordan also realized that he had overreacted, so he frantically apologized and picked up the cup of juice next to him. He quickly tookrge gulps to cover up his embarrassment, only to suddenly choke and cough loudly. ¡°Puff! Ahem, ahem!¡± Maddy was amused. She hurriedly handed him some tissue paper whileining, ¡°You¡¯re already an adult. Why are you still behaving like a child? You actually choked while drinking?!¡± After wiping the juice from the corners of his mouth, Jordan looked at Maddy and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you¡­ go against your family?¡± Maddy sighed. ¡°In fact, girls from families like mine are generallypelled to ept our families¡¯ arranged marriages when we reach adulthood. Those like me who have been able to stay single until now are already considered rare. My parents have been put under a lot of pressure because of me, and I can¡¯t continue to be willful. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s said that a man¡¯s life begins at the age of thirty. But generally, a woman is considered an old woman who will be left on the shelf if she doesn¡¯t get married after thirty. So I¡¯m afraid no one will want me if I still don¡¯t get married!¡± Jordan immediately said with excitement, ¡°Who said that? You are so nice. How can no one want you? I¡­¡± But when he saw Maddy¡¯s puzzled gaze, his lips moved for a long time, and his face was flushed, but he still couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it. Seeing this, Lucas felt anxious, but he also understood that Jordan¡¯s feelings had been buried deep in his heart for many years. Even if he wanted to confess now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to reveal it so simply. Moreover, he didn¡¯t know how Maddy felt about Jordan now. If Maddy didn¡¯t fancy him or merely saw him as a younger brother, it would be awkward once he confessed. Indeed, he had previously encouraged Jordan to bravelye to terms with his feelings, but rtionships were the mostplicated thing ever. He hoped that Jordan would get what he wanted and pursue the person he loved. But at the same time, he also hoped that Maddy could obtain true happiness. So he thought that he¡¯d better get a clear idea of how Maddy felt before Jordan confessed. ¡°Exactly, Jordan¡¯s right. Maddy, you¡¯re such a great person. How can you possibly be left on the shelf? If anyone dislikes you, he must be blind!¡± Lucas chuckled. He was not onlyforting Maddy but also giving Jordan an out. Maddy smiled faintly. ¡°Haha, thanks a lot, you two!¡± With that, she raised her ss of juice and said, ¡°Come, let¡¯s toast. I can¡¯t drink alcohol today, so I¡¯ll toast you two with this!¡± All three of them clinked their sses with a smile and downed the juice in one go. Maddy elegantly wiped the corner of her mouth with her handkerchief. ¡°It¡¯s rare for the three of us to get together, so let¡¯s not talk about those unhappy things. Let¡¯s talk about something else instead!¡± She looked at Jordan and smiled. ¡°Jordan, now that Lucas has gotten married and has a five-year-old daughter, how about you? Have you got a girlfriend?¡± Jordan nced at her and shook his head. ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you hurry up and find one too? I heard there are lots of pretty girls here. You¡¯ve been here for almost half a year, but you haven¡¯t even met a girl you like?¡± Maddy couldn¡¯t help asking curiously. With reddened cheeks, Jordan took a deep nce at Maddy, but he nevertheless mustered up the courage to say, ¡°I¡­ actually have been carrying a torch for someone for a long time, but I¡¯ve¡­ never been able to tell her how I feel!¡± After saying this, he couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and turned his face away like he was fleeing. He pretended to look at the scenery outside instead of Maddy¡¯s eyes. ¡°¡­¡± Maddy wasn¡¯t a fool, and Jordan¡¯s behavior surprised her. Is it possible that¡­ Impossible! I¡¯m almost five years older than him. This is a huge difference! For a while, the atmosphere in the private room was a little bizarre. ¡°Ahem!¡± Lucas coughed. ¡°We¡¯re more or less done with eating, right? I think the director should be done too. Let¡¯s go back to the hospital, and Maddy can help me check on my father-inw¡¯s condition. Maddy, quickly get some rest afterward! Your flightst night was more than ten hours, and you haven¡¯t had any proper rest!¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go then!¡± Maddy and Jordan quickly said in unison. After the three of them returned to the hospital and received the temporary employment agreement stamped with the hospital¡¯s official seal from the director, they went to William¡¯s ward. Cheyenne was sitting next to William¡¯s hospital bed and talking to him as usual. There was someone else next to her¡ªKaren. Lucas frowned slightly but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Cheyenne,e here. Let me introduce you to¡­¡± Lucas was about to introduce Cheyenne and Maddy to each other. Upon getting a clear look at Cheyenne¡¯s face, Maddy¡¯s eyes lit up, and she said happily, ¡°You must be Lucas¡¯s wife, Cheyenne. You¡¯re really gorgeous!¡± Cheyenne was stunned and looked at the woman in front of her. She was tall and beautiful yet also extremely valiant. Lucas took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and introduced her. ¡°This is Maddy Stone, whom I mentioned to you before. She¡¯s an internationally renowned doctor!¡± With a look of surprise on her face, Cheyenne walked over excitedly and immediately held Maddy¡¯s hand. ¡°Hello, Maddy! I¡¯ve heard a lot about you from Lucas, and now I finally get to meet you! You are much more beautiful than I imagined!¡± Maddyughed. ¡°Haha, you too! When I saw you just now, I thought I saw a fairy descending upon the world! Lucas is really lucky to have a beautiful wife like you!¡± Hearing thepliment, Cheyenne felt a little embarrassed. ¡°No, not at all. Maddy, you¡¯re the beautiful and elegant one.¡± Seeing the two of themplimenting each other non-stop upon their first meeting, Lucas couldn¡¯t help bursting intoughter. ¡°Well, you two can take your time chattingter. Maddy, why don¡¯t you help me check my father-inw¡¯s condition first?¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m on it.¡± Maddy immediately got serious at the mention of this. She walked to William¡¯s side and was about to take his pulse when her hand was suddenly grabbed by another hand! ¡°Wait! Who the hell are you? Are you a doctor who works here? Are you qualified to examine my husband¡¯s condition?¡± Karen hollered menacingly while clutching Maddy¡¯s wrist. Chapter 574 - Throwing a Tantrum and Stopping

Chapter 574: Throwing a Tantrum and Stopping

Maddy was immediately stunned by the interruption, and she subconsciously looked at Lucas.?She¡­ should be his strange mother-inw, right? Before she returned yesterday, she had browsed the inte to see if there was any news worth paying attention to, only to see the news about Lucas being ndered by his mother-inw, Karen, and the subsequent plot twist. At the time, Maddy had found it hrious. The esteemedmander of the Falcon Regiment in Calico actually appeared in the news in such a manner. But she was naturally on Lucas¡¯s side, and she reckoned that his mother was probably not easy to get along with. As expected, after she entered the ward, Lucas didn¡¯t even introduce her to his mother-inw, which just went to show that their rtionship was extremely strained. Now that Karen had grabbed her wrist and bombarded her with interrogative questions, her impression of Karen became even worse. Her tone of voice and expression werepletely like those of an uncultured shrew. Moreover, her voice was extremely shrilling and unsettling. It was difficult for others to like her. Seeing this, Cheyenne hurriedly went forward and pulled Karen¡¯s hand away. ¡°Mom, what are you doing? Maddy is Lucas¡¯s close friend and an internationally renowned medical expert. She¡¯s returned from abroad this time specially to treat Dad. Maddy has seen Dad¡¯s medical report, and she thinks there¡¯s a high chance he will regain consciousness! She just wants to check his condition again.¡± As soon as Karen heard this, she seemed even more flustered and furious. As early as a few days ago, she had learned from Lucas that he would be inviting a top medical expert from abroad to treat William. But how could Karen let William wake up again? William had already been diagnosed as brain damaged, and he would remain in a vegetative state. The probability of him regaining consciousness again was extremely low, so Karen had directly treated him as a dead person. Not only had she abused him to her heart¡¯s content, but she had also told him about all the evil things she had done, including how she had hired someone to murder him in a vengeful tone. If William remained unconscious for the rest of his life, everything would be fine. But if he suddenly came to, all the things that she had done would be exposed. So the moment Karen heard Lucas say that he had invited a medical expert from abroad, she had gotten a great fright and finally took the desperate decision to attack William again. But she had been unexpectedly discovered by Cheyenne, which led to many other subsequent events. She had just escaped from the brink of death at the Taylor residence just now and hadn¡¯t had time to ponder about how to continue dealing with William. But the doctor Lucas invited had already arrived and was going to treat William. How could she allow it?! No matter what, she had to find a way to stop it! Karen nced at Maddy in disdain and harrumphed coldly. ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t let them fool you! Look at this woman, she should only be less than thirty years old, and she¡¯s dressed so scantily. Who knows what she really works as? Do you believe that she¡¯s an internationally renowned doctor just because she says so? Which highly respected doctor would be so young? ¡°I bet she¡¯s just some wild woman Lucas Gray found out there and colluded with to find a chance to kill your father!¡± Karen seemed to believe her own lies as she spoke, and she suddenly smacked her thigh. ¡°Yes, this must be the case! I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re the one who caused William to get into that ident, right, Lucas Gray? ¡°You deliberately tried to kill Cheyenne¡¯s father because you think it¡¯d be easy to bully us when once I¡¯m widowed and Cheyenne has lost her father, right?¡± She glowered at Lucas furiously. And after making this long, illogical speech, sheined to Cheyenne tearfully, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re just too soft-hearted and kind-hearted. You were tricked by this adulterous pair! Think about it. Even the most distinguished doctor in this hospital has said that the chances of your father waking up again are extremely slim, so how can this young woman know anything about medicine and treatment? They¡¯re just lying! ¡°Didn¡¯t you also say before that there¡¯s something fishy about your father¡¯s car ident? Maybe Lucas and this shameless woman arranged it! Now that things havee to this, they¡¯re pretending there¡¯s a doctor who can heal your father so that they can sneakily try to kill him again! ¡°This adulterous pair must not have any good intentions. Cheyenne, don¡¯t trust them! Don¡¯t let them touch your father!¡± After Karen said all of this hysterically, Maddy was dumbfounded! Although she already had a terrible first impression of Karen, she was a qualified doctor who had dealt with many members of upper society. The foul words that came out of Karen¡¯s mouth really made Maddy bbergasted! She never knew that a woman¡¯s imagination could be so rich and vicious, so much so that Karen had developed dirty thoughts about her and Lucas as soon as she saw her. She even ndered them, making Maddy so shocked that she couldn¡¯t even feel angry at all. Instead, she found it really ridiculous. Lucas¡¯s eyes instantly darkened. He had gotten used to being insulted by Karen, so he could just pretend not to hear her. But he wouldn¡¯t tolerate her insulting his friend. He looked at Karen¡¯s viinous expression and suddenly asked, ¡°Are you that afraid that William will wake up after his condition gets better?¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Karen was instantly shocked because Lucas¡¯s words hit the nail on the head, making her panic. But she obviously couldn¡¯t admit to it. Looking as if she had been gravely insulted, Karen burst into tears aggrievedly. ¡°Cheyenne, look at your husband. How can he say something like that to me? No matter what, I¡¯m his mother-inw. Yet he actually thinks that I¡¯m such a vicious person. I¡­ I¡¯m really going to be angered to death by him! ¡°Cheyenne, look at what kind of a life I¡¯m living. Your father is still lying in bed unconscious, and I¡¯m already so old. I can only rely on you and Charlotte to support me in the future, but Lucas actually did this to me. How am I supposed to live in the future? I might as well die here or let the Taylors kill me yesterday so that I wouldn¡¯t be such an eyesore here and face your insults!¡± Karen was really good at being shameless, a skill she had perfected after decades of training and practice. She could tear up as soon as she wanted to and make herself look extremely aggrieved as if she had been bullied. In the past, Cheyenne would have shown Karen lots of sympathy and caved in. But after learning about Karen¡¯s horrendous misdeeds, Cheyenne was no longer going to be the good daughter who would immediately be at a loss upon seeing Karen cry. Cheyenne looked at Karen calmly and said coldly, ¡°Mom, no one is bullying you. If you keep behaving so nonsensically and interfere with Dad¡¯s treatment, you should leave the hospital right now!¡± Chapter 575 - Diagnosis Outcome

Chapter 575: Diagnosis Oue

As Karen¡¯s daughter, Cheyenne began to realize more and more that whenever her mother decided to be unreasonable, it was mostly because she had deliberately caused a stir out of a guilty conscience. The words Karen used to scold Maddy were extremely awful and vulgar. Even though it was the first time she met Maddy, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t bear to hear those malicious remarks. If not for the guilt she felt for driving Karen away and making her suffer from the abduction by the Taylors, she probably wouldn¡¯t have agreed to let Karen stay in the hospital. Karen¡¯s jaw dropped. She was deeply shocked by Cheyenne¡¯s unusual action! ¡°Cheyenne, you¡­ What are you saying? Do you not believe me? Are you going to take this woman¡¯s side instead?¡± ¡°Are you silly?! This woman is obviously not a decent person. Which doctor behaves and looks like her? She and Lucas are colluding to deceive you. I¡¯m your biological mother. Why would I harm you? ¡°Look at the two of them. Lucas brought her here, and he¡¯s now defending her too. Do you really think they¡¯re innocent? ¡°I¡¯ve been in such situations. I can tell at a nce what tricks this little vixen is using! She ims to be trying to treat your father¡¯s illness? That¡¯s nonsense!¡± Karen tried to persuade Cheyenne earnestly while not forgetting to continue framing Lucas and Maddy. Maddy was so enraged that her face flushed red. She rified, ¡°Ma¡¯am, you can¡¯t spout nonsense about such things! Lucas and I are innocent! You can¡¯t nder us! If you tarnish my reputation like this again, don¡¯t me me for suing you in court for defamation!¡± Maddy wasn¡¯t a pushover who could be manipted easily. She decided to use thew as a weapon to warn Karen against spouting nonsense again. Karen got a great shock, but she soon sneered. ¡°Hah, it seems that you¡¯re really the same as Lucas! I¡¯ve merely made some remarks about you, and you already want to take me to court. I bet you¡¯re intent on driving me away from Cheyenne so that you can take the opportunity to kill Cheyenne¡¯s father and then bully my daughter as you wish, right? ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you two can dream on! As long as I¡¯m around, you won¡¯t be able to bully me and my daughter!¡± Karen was still acting as if she was an advocate of justice as she continued to insult them righteously. ¡°Enough!¡± Lucas finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and yelled, immediately stopping Karen. Karen merely thought that Maddy was a weak and vulnerable woman who couldn¡¯t stand up for herself, so she had been bullying her and nitpicking on her at every turn. Her agenda was to insult Maddy callously and make her leave. Thus, she wouldn¡¯t have to be afraid of Maddy checking on William¡¯s condition and saving him so that he would regain consciousness. How evil and vicious!?Lucas thought. Maddy was hisrade and the person he had specially invited. Why should he stand here and allow a shrew like Karen to continue insulting him and Maddy? ¡°If you dare insult us again, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless!¡± Icy cold killing intent appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes, immediately making Karen recall many terrifying memories. She couldn¡¯t help shuddering. Only then did she remember that her son-inw was no longer the weak and ipetent son-inw he used to be. Instead, he really held the power that could kill her at any time. At the thought of this, Karen didn¡¯t dare to speak again. Although she really wanted to immediately kick out Maddy, who said that she could cure William, so that he would never regain consciousness again. But she was now indeed at a loss for what to do, leaving her with no choice but toe up with another solution. Lucas turned to Maddy and looked at her apologetically. ¡°Maddy, I¡¯m so sorry. Please take a look at my father-inw¡¯s condition now.¡± Maddy nodded and let out a sigh, expelling all the pent up anger within her because of Karen¡¯s malicious remarks. She walked over and gently ced her index and middle fingers on William¡¯s pulse to take it carefully. Traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture were her forte, and she had already seen the CT scan of William¡¯s brain, as well as the other data that Lucas had shown her. Maddy was now using traditional Chinese medicine as an alternative treatment method. For a while, the few people in the ward fell silent, not even daring to breathe, for fear of disturbing Maddy from reaching an urate diagnosis. Karen also stood in the ward with her head hung low instead of going outside. When she saw that Maddy was actually using a traditional Chinese medicine method to take William¡¯s pulse, she pursed her lips and subconsciously felt an urge to mock her. At this moment, Lucas red at her fiercely with a warning gaze in his eyes. Karen¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but she finally remained silent. She knew that Lucas¡¯s patience with her was about to run thin. If she tried to continue to interfere with Maddy¡¯s treatment, there would only be one oue¡ªshe would immediately be driven out by Lucas! After taking his pulse, Maddy carefully examined William¡¯s eyes, tongue, and other body parts. More than ten minutester, she finallypleted the diagnosis. She straightened her back and said to Lucas and Cheyenne with a smile on her face, ¡°His condition isn¡¯t too bad. It¡¯s actually a little better than I thought. He¡¯s already showing initial signs of recovery. If I use acupuncture and medicine to stimte his recovery and condition his body, he¡¯ll probably be able to wake up within five days.¡± Cheyenne said gleefully, ¡°Really? That¡¯s great! Thank you so much, Maddy!¡± Tears of joy welled up in her eyes. Lucas heaved a sigh of relief. Hearing that William would be able toe to in a few days was definitely a piece of great news to him. Only Karen, who was having trouble maintaining her worried expression, was almost on the verge of erupting. Deep down, she yelled with indignation,?Ahhhhh! Why? Why is that dog William Carter going to regain conscientiousness? If he wakes up, what on earth am I going to do? Damn Lucas and this damn woman! You all deserve to die! She clenched her fists with all her might to stop herself from losing control and strangling Maddy to death on the spot. But she didn¡¯t dare to look up, afraid that she could no longer hide the strong resentment in her eyes. Maddy chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re wee. You¡¯re Lucas¡¯s wife, and that¡¯s like being my sister. Okay, I¡¯ll go prepare the prescription and some western medicine. I¡¯ll have to see if they¡¯re avable in this hospital. I¡¯ll return in the evening and begin his acupuncture treatment.¡± She smiled faintly and turned around to walk out of the door. But Lucas keenly noticed that although Maddy was smiling, she was in low spirits at the moment. Cheyenne naturally also discovered this, so she said to Lucas guiltily, ¡°Hubby, I¡­ I feel very sorry toward Maddy. She obviously came here to help Dad out of kindness because of you¡­¡± Although the person who had insulted Maddy wasn¡¯t her but her mother, Cheyenne still felt very sorry about it. Lucas shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Besides, Maddy is not that petty. I will exin it to her properly. ¡°But the most important thing to do now is to help William regain consciousness sooner. By that time, I¡¯m afraid that the truth that some people have been trying to hide will be unraveled.¡± With that, Lucas nced at Karen, who was at the other side of the ward, and smiled coldly. Chapter 576 - So Determined

Chapter 576: So Determined

After Karen heard this, she couldn¡¯t help shuddering. Lucas¡¯s words were like a death notice striking at Karen¡¯s head, causing her to break out in a cold sweat. Indeed, once William regained consciousness, the things she had been trying to hide would all be exposed! What should I do? What should I do now? The only way to stop this is to make sure that William can never regain consciousness! ¡°The truth? What do you mean?¡± Cheyenne asked in bewilderment. Lucas looked at Karen sneeringly and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that William¡¯s car ident was rather fishy and that you even suspect I hired someone to do it? In that case, once Williames to, it will be clear as day who was behind the ident and who actually tried to kill him.¡± Karen didn¡¯t dare to look into Lucas¡¯s eyes and quickly retorted in a moment of panic, ¡°When did I say that there was something fishy about William¡¯s car ident? Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± Just now, she was so focused on framing Lucas and Maddy that it slipped her mind that she had given him the chance to grab hold of what she had said to put the me on her. But her flustered denial made Cheyenne suspect something all of a sudden. Since William¡¯s car ident, the official investigation had determined it to be purely an ident, and the party that caused the ident had also died. So Cheyenne hadn¡¯t been thinking about the other aspects. Even when Karen said there was something fishy about the car ident, she didn¡¯t pay too much attention to her words because she thought that Karen was just trying to frame Lucas, given how much she hated him. But now that Lucas said that there might be someone else behind the ident, Karen¡¯s behavior seemed rather wrong. In fact, Karen was quite silly, so most of the time, her acting skills were terrible. For example, she couldn¡¯t hide the look of panic on her face now at all. Cheyenne¡¯s heart suddenly sank. She looked at Lucas and asked worriedly, ¡°Lucas, Dad¡¯s car ident isn¡¯t purely an ident, is it? Are you already aware of something?¡± She wasn¡¯t a fool, and she could tell that Karen was behaving strangely. She would be a fool if she still hadn¡¯t realized what was going on here. The only thing she wanted now was for Lucas to tell her clearly that William¡¯s car ident had nothing to do with Karen¡­ A few nights ago, when Cheyenne discovered that Karen had secretly unplugged William¡¯s oxygen tube in the middle of the night in an attempt to kill him, Cheyenne had almost broken down in misery. After Karen had been rescued by Lucaster, she had wept and told Cheyenne that she had beenpelled by the Taylors to do it to William. Cheyenne had believed her and felt really sympathetic toward her predicament. She had also felt extremely apologetic and guilty for indirectly causing Karen to end up in such a plight. But she now couldn¡¯t help but suspect and wonder if she could really believe Karen¡¯s exnation.?Was it really the Taylors who forced her to kill Dad? The moment she thought of a certain possibility, Cheyenne felt as if she had plunged into icy cold water again, and her heart was full of chilliness. Karen suddenly panicked and hurriedly asked with tears in her eyes, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re my daughter. Don¡¯t you trust me at all?¡± Cheyenne said with difficulty, ¡°I really want to believe you, but I really can¡¯t tell which of your words are true and which are not. How can I trust you?¡± If possible, no one would want to doubt their own biological parents. But what Karen had done had really made Cheyenne extremely disappointed. She closed her eyes in misery. Seeing this, Karen panicked even more, and she anxiously tried to emotionally ckmail Cheyenne with kinship. ¡°Cheyenne, you can¡¯t do this! I¡¯m your mother. How much pain did I suffer to give birth to you back then? You¡¯re a mother yourself. You went through ten months of pregnancy to give birth to Amelia, so you should know how I feel! I¡¯m so hurt by your words! ¡°I worked so hard to raise you and Charlotte. I cooked for you two, did yourundry, and showed you concern all the time. I was afraid that you¡¯d catch a cold when it was cold, and I was so anxious every time you got sick when you were little. Now that you¡¯re all grown up and have a family of your own, you don¡¯t need me anymore, so you¡¯ve cast me aside and said those things to me! ¡°Cheyenne, touch your heart and tell me. Do you still have a conscience? Do you have filial piety? ¡°I¡¯m really disappointed and heartbroken now! I¡¯ve worked so hard to raise you, and you¡¯re doubting your own mother for this man who¡¯s only been back for a few months! I wish I could die right now and end up in the same state as your father. I¡¯d be better off dead, lest I suffer from being angered by you!¡± Karen began to act like an aggrieved mother again as she wept incessantly in a pitiful manner. If it was the old Cheyenne, she might have been guilt-tripped by Karen¡¯s words and be overwhelmed with regret. She would have felt extremely unfilial to have caused her mother to be so upset. She would have then cried and hugged Karen, begging her to stop saying those words and promise to treat her well in the future while continuously ming herself. Karen had long mastered the art of maniption using kinship. Unfortunately, Cheyenne once again took her by surprise. Although Cheyenne was feeling terrible because of Karen¡¯s words, she didn¡¯tpromise this time. Instead, she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Mom, you don¡¯t need to say those things now, and I don¡¯t have to exin anything to you either. Anyway, Maddy just said that Dad will definitely wake up within five days! ¡°Once Dad wakes up, no matter what you¡¯re hiding from me and no matter what the truth is, everything wille to light! ¡°If, and I mean if, Dad¡¯s ident really has something to do with you, I will definitely not be as soft-hearted as I wasst time and just tell you to leave. If you¡¯re the culprit who wanted to kill Dad, I will surely do justice and make you pay the price!¡± At the end, tears streamed down her cheeks, but she had a firm look of determination on her face! Even Lucas was a little surprised. But immediately afterward, a trace of heartache appeared in his eyes. Cheyenne, who was gentle and kind-hearted, had to be full of agony since she was forced to say such ruthless words. After Karen heard what Cheyenne said, her expression changed drastically, and she became incredibly flustered. Chapter 579 - She Actually Made A Voice Recording

Chapter 579: She Actually Made A Voice Recording

William can actually move his fingers. He¡¯s probably not far from regaining consciousness¡­ No way! I have to think of a way to get him killed sooner! But over the next two days, Karen hadn¡¯t been able to find any opportunity to make a move. During these two days, not only Lucas had been staying in the ward, but even Cheyenne had taken her annual leave to stay here and wait for William to regain consciousness. During this period of time, Maddy had beening to the ward twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, to perform an acupuncture treatment on William. She was indeed quitepetent. After her treatment, William¡¯s condition had been improving significantly, and the doctors gathered around Maddy to learn were all singing praises about her. Seeing this, Karen felt extremely anxious. Knowing that William might open his eyes and regain consciousness at any time, Karen panicked. But she couldn¡¯t find any opportunity to do anything and could only watch fearfully with anxiety. Finally, she found an opportunity to run to a hidden corridor of the hospital and call someone. ¡°Nikki, you have to help me!¡± Karen yelled anxiously. Nikki frowned, but she nevertheless asked, ¡°Aunt Karen, what¡¯s wrong? What happened again?¡± Karen quickly told Nikki what had happened in the past few days, saying that Maddy, the female doctor Lucas had found, was verypetent and that William¡¯s condition was getting better and better. Thus, he might regain consciousness very soon. ¡°Nikki, what do you think I should do now? If he wakes up, we¡¯ll both be done for!¡± Karen called Nikki for help only because she couldn¡¯t find a solution herself. ¡°Done for? Aunt Karen, what do you mean by that? I don¡¯t seem to understand! What do Uncle William¡¯s affairs have to do with me?¡± Nikki said gloatingly. Karen immediately panicked, and her voice got louder. ¡°Nikki, are you trying to shirk responsibility? Don¡¯t forget. It was you who came to me at first. That¡¯s why we decided to take action together. Besides, even the money¡­ used to hire a killer came from you. Are you trying to say it has nothing to do with you?¡± When saying thetter sentences, Karen couldn¡¯t help looking around guiltily like a thief as she lowered her volume. Nikki sneered. ¡°Aunt Karen, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying. All I did was lend you some money. I don¡¯t know anything else! But don¡¯t me me for this. If you continueing to me, I¡¯ll have to expose all your misdeeds personally!¡± She was inplete denial now. If William had died, Karen would have been able to carry out the second step of their n smoothly. But it turned out that the person Karen found didn¡¯t work efficiently and had merely turned William into a vegetable who was now about to wake up any time soon. So why should she continue working with a fool like Karen? Nikki clearly didn¡¯t want to continue being embroiled in this, so Karen immediately panicked. ¡°Nikki, how can you be like this? If it wasn¡¯t urgent, I wouldn¡¯t have called you for help! Hurry up and help mee up with a solution! ¡°Over the past two days, William has been surrounded by many people, so I couldn¡¯t even find a chance to do anything. I¡¯m begging you! ¡°If we wait until William wakes up, then everything will be over! Nikki, as long as you help me once more and get William killed, I will surely think of a way to help you deal with Lucas immediately!¡± She spoke urgently. But Nikki harrumphed coldly in disdain .¡±Aunt Karen, you can¡¯t even deal with an unconscious, vegetative person who¡¯s hospitalized. How can I still expect you to help me deal with Lucas Gray now? ¡°I¡¯m staying out of this forever. Don¡¯t contact me again in the future!¡± With that, she immediately hung up. ¡°Nikki! Nik¡­!¡± Karen yelled twice anxiously, only to discover that the call had already ended. She gnashed her teeth furiously. She called Nikki twice more. But without exception, they were all declined by Nikki. Nikki, you bitch! We were in this together in the first ce. Do you think you can get away with it and shirk responsibility? Don¡¯t you dare think so! I won¡¯t let you get what you want! Even if it¡¯s hell, I¡¯ll drag you down with me! Karen browsed through her phone, found a short recording, and sent it to Nikki. ¡°Nikki, this is the voice recording of our discussion at the time. If you¡¯re smart enough, you should know what to do!¡± Far away in the Herons¡¯ home in LA¡­ Since she received Karen¡¯s phone call, Nikki was in an extremely foul mood because the ipetent Karen had caused her more than 100 grand to go to waste. She couldn¡¯t even get William killed and had repeatedly called for help. How could she expect Karen to help her get Lucas killed? The thought of it made her exasperated! Thus, she declined all of Karen¡¯s calls, not wanting to speak to her at all. If William really came to and exposed Karen, she wouldn¡¯t let herself be implicated in any way! At this moment, her phone suddenly rang with a new text. When she saw the message from Karen, she almost flew into a rage after hearing the content of the audio recording. ¡°Karen Turner, you bitch! How dare you make a voice recording?!¡± She suddenly raised her hand and directly smashed a vase in front of her onto the floor. Bang! The beautiful vase instantly shattered, and the bright red roses scattered all over the floor. Nikki never thought that a stupid woman like Karen would be so scheming as to record their discussion about hiring someone to murder William. Although Karen had sent her only a short audio clip, she had every reason to believe that Karen must have theplete recording. She had actually been schemed against by such a foolish woman, who now had evidence against her. There was no way Nikki could shirk responsibility now! If Karen was really exposed, she would definitely expose Nikki too! ¡°Ahhhhh! This is infuriating!¡± ¡°Damn it, Karen Turner! Damn Lucas Gray!¡± Nikki grabbed her hair frantically and hollered. ¡°Nikki, what¡¯s the matter with you? Did something happen?¡± All of a sudden, a deep voice came from behind, and a middle-aged man who was nearly fifty years old walked in and asked with a look of concern. The middle-aged man was none other than Nikki¡¯s father, Justin. ¡°I heard something breaking in your room just now. I knocked on your door a few times, but I didn¡¯t hear you say anything. Are you okay? You look awful. What exactly happened?¡± Justin asked with a frown. Chapter 583 - The Hitman Confesses

Chapter 583: The Hitman Confesses

The mask on the hitman¡¯s face had fallen off, revealing a menacing face full of indignation. ¡°You¡­ I advise you to behave yourself and let me go. Otherwise, you will know what happens!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes constricted. Without hesitation, he stepped on the hitman¡¯s arm, instantly crushing it. Snap!?The crisp sound of bones cracking was exceptionally distinct in the silent ward. ¡°Aaahhh!¡± The killer immediately widened his mouth and screamed. But Lucas moved extremely swiftly as he stepped on the hitman¡¯s mouth with the sole of his shoe and warned, ¡°Shut up! If you dare to make another sound, I¡¯ll crush your head!¡± The hitman¡¯s eyes were immediately filled with panic and horror. He clenched his teeth and burst into cold sweat, but he didn¡¯t dare to utter another word. After the brief encounter just now, he had already profoundly understood that the young man in front of him was not someone he could deal with. He knew that Lucas was extremely resolute and ruthless. If he dared to disobey him, he would end up miserable! ¡°Now, tell me honestly. Who sent you?¡± Lucas stood with his back against the light and his face shrouded in shadows, looking just like a devil. The hitman¡¯s heart trembled, and he didn¡¯t dare to hide at all. He hurriedly revealed everything he knew. ¡°It was Mr. Kairo who sent me. I¡¯m one of his subordinates, and he asked me toe to this hospital ward in Orange County to kill a bedridden man in a vegetative state!¡± ¡°Who is Mr. Kairo? Also, you¡¯re not from Orange County?¡± Lucas asked. The hitman hurriedly exined, ¡°Yes, we¡­ we are from LA. Mr. Kairo is in charge of the underground joints in LA, and all the underground dealings are under his control! I-I¡¯m just his subordinate, and I was just following his orders. Please spare me!¡± LA??Lucas raised his eyebrows, not expecting the hitman to actually be from LA. This probably meant that the mastermind who hired him should also be from LA. Now that the Parkers, the most powerful family in LA at the moment, had alreadypletely submitted to Lucas, the various other forces and families shouldn¡¯t have the guts to openly go against him. But because this was yet another assassination targeted at William, a woman¡¯s face immediately surfaced in Lucas¡¯s mind. Although there was no concrete evidence yet, Lucas was almost certain that this matter had to be rted to her! The murderer at his feet was still begging for mercy, annoying Lucas to the point of kicking him in the head and knocking him unconscious. Afterward, Lucas said softly to the door, ¡°Someone,e here.¡± Two tall men immediately appeared at the door of the ward, walked up to Lucas with their eyes fixed in front, and bowed. ¡°Mr. Gray.¡± These two men were the experts of the Hale family who Lucas had arranged to guard William¡¯s ward. He had long known that Karen had ill intentions, so he definitely had to be prepared. How could he let Karen be alone with Cheyenne? So even though Lucas had left for a short while, the situation in William¡¯s ward was under Lucas¡¯s control at all times. First, he wanted to monitor Karen, and second, he wanted to secretly protect William and Cheyenne. ¡°Take this man away and make him vanish forever,¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°Yes!¡± The two men immediately acknowledged and swiftly carried the hitman away. It had only been less than three minutes since the sudden appearance of the hitman. Karen watched all of this with her eyes full of confusion, and she couldn¡¯t stop shivering at all. Karen¡¯s nerves were greatly impacted and stimted by Lucas¡¯sbat abilities, as well as the expression on his face when he stomped on the hitman¡¯s arm without hesitation. What does it mean to make that person vanish forever? Does that mean killing him? Karen¡¯s teeth began chattering. At the same time, an unprecedented fear and tension rose in her heart. Lucas actually appeared here all of a sudden, and he even had someone guarding outside the door¡­ If the hitman pretending to be a doctor hadn¡¯t suddenly appeared just now, the person who would have been exposed for attempted murder now would be her! The thought of what she would have faced if she had really gotten caught by Lucas made Karen so scared that she could barely even stand on her feet, and she slumped down onto the floor. ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± she stammered, seemingly wanting to ask Lucas why he had suddenly returned and wanted to exin to him that she hadn¡¯t done anything to William. Lucas nced at her coldly and ignored her. He walked to Cheyenne, and after hearing her breathing peacefully, he finally felt relieved. When he saw Karencing her drink with something just now, he had felt a strong desire to kill her. But he knew that Karen had merely added some strong sleeping pills to her drink, which wouldn¡¯t be harmful to her health. So he forced himself to hold back instead of exposing Karen immediately. Since they were just sleeping pills that wouldn¡¯t harm Cheyenne¡¯s health and would even let her have a good rest for the night, Lucas decided to allow Karen to continue. Otherwise, if Karen had fed Cheyenne some harmful drug, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have let her off! He took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Go investigate a person named Kairo in LA. He just sent his subordinate to the hospital to assassinate my father-inw. Pry open his mouth and find out who instigated him,¡± Lucas instructed coldly. The person on the other end was astonished, and he hurriedly eximed, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll send someone to investigate immediately!¡± After hanging up, Lucas sat down at the end of Cheyenne¡¯s bed and waited quietly for the news. Karen waited for half a day, but she didn¡¯t see Lucas doing anything else. Only then did she get up from the floor in fear and return to the bed quietly. But at this moment, she was overwhelmed with anxiety and uneasiness. Had Lucas questioned her, she could still make up some excuses and muddle through. Since she didn¡¯t seed in killing William earlier, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to me her for anything. If he had to me something, he could only me the fact that she hadn¡¯t realized the phony doctor¡¯s trick. After all, she was nearly fifty years old, and it was only understandable that she failed to see through his facade. Karen kept giving herself psychological prompts to calm herself down. Only then did she feel slightly less flustered. But Lucas didn¡¯t say anything or ask her any questions. Instead, he remained sitting calmly, quietly putting Karen under massive psychological pressure. It felt as if there was a knife hanging above her head, but she didn¡¯t know when it would fall. Time passed, and Lucas¡¯s phone suddenly rang. Karen was startled to see Lucas answer the phone and directly press the loudspeaker. Soon, a man¡¯s voice came from the other end. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve just found out clearly. Kairo¡¯s subordinate confessed that the person who sent him to kill your father-inw is Justin Heron from LA!¡± After hearing Justin¡¯s name, Karen was so shocked that she suddenly stood up from the bed with a pale face, her heart pounding rapidly. She now finally knew that Justin had hired the hitman to help Nikki! Chapter 584 - Great Change Late At Night

Chapter 584: Great Change Late At Night

Karen should have been d to learn that Nikki had really sent someone to deal with William as she had wished. Well, only under the premise that the hitman had gotten the job done. But the situation now was that the hitman had tried to harm William but failed to do so and instead got caught by Lucas. He might even very likely end up dying. How could Karen possibly be happy in this situation? She was now incredibly terrified! Since Lucas had now found out that Justin was behind this, he might easily find out the deal she had made with Nikki! In the past, Karen would probably still think that Lucas wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to her because she was Cheyenne¡¯s mother. But now, Cheyenne was gradually getting out of her control while Lucas¡­ Just recalling the scene of him stepping on the hitman¡¯s arm and crushing it with a straight face just now made Karenpletely convinced that he definitely dared toy a hand on her or even kill her! When she thought about this, her face became extremely ugly, and she wished she could immediately escape. The person who brought the news to Lucas was none other than Damon, the head of the Parkers. Lucas had long guessed that the person who sent the hitman was Nikki. Damon¡¯s investigation had to confirm his suspicion. Lucas ordered through the phone, ¡°I believe you should know what to do. I hope the Herons willpletely disappear from LA, and I want you to get rid of that person called Kairo too. From now on, manage the underground businesses of LA for me. Don¡¯t do anything to Justin Heron¡¯s daughter, Nikki, just yet. Leave it to me.¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. I will obey your orders and get everything settled before tomorrow morning!¡± Damon promised. Since the phone was on loudspeaker, Karen undoubtedly heard his voice too. Damon Parker? The person calling Lucas is actually Damon Parker, the head of the top family in LA?! Karen was shocked, and she almost couldn¡¯t believe it. But she had indeed heard Damon¡¯s voice during Dn Turner¡¯s wedding previously, which was almost exactly the same as the oneing from the phone¡¯s speaker just now! It seemed that the person on the other end was undoubtedly Damon. The most frightening thing was that the high and mighty head of the Parker family was like an underling in front of Lucas, bowing down and obeying his orders. This was what frightened Karen the most! Why? Why is it like this? Has my son-inw already be more powerful than the Parkers from LA? She couldn¡¯t believe it at all. But the truth was right in front of her, so she had no choice but to believe it. Overwhelmed with massive fear, Karen shuddered and tiptoed toward the door. She was terrified! She was desperately trying to stay as far away from the hospital and the damned Lucas as possible. ¡°Where are you going?¡± An icy cold voice suddenly filled the air in the quiet ward. Karen froze during her attempt to sneak out. She chuckled twice and said extremely unnaturally, ¡°I¡­ I-I just want to go to the restroom!¡± After saying this, she felt incredibly nervous and wretchedly walked into the restroom in the VIP ward, moving her hands and feet at almost the same time. Staring at her flustered back, Lucas sneered silently. Karen was petrified and wanted to flee, but he obviously wouldn¡¯t let her get what she wanted. If he let Karen flee just like that, he would not only be letting her off easy, but he also wouldn¡¯t be able to exin it to Cheyenne. Sitting beside Cheyenne¡¯s bed, Lucas stared at her face while she was in a deep sleep. He gently moved away the few strands of hair on her face. She was the person he loved the most in this life. He chose to tolerate Karen¡¯s offensive behavior only because of Cheyenne. But Karen had now repeatedly tried to kill William, Cheyenne¡¯s father, and Lucas wouldn¡¯t allow it. It was destined to be a chaotic night. It was almost 11 p.m. In the vi of the Parker family in LA¡­ Damon, who should have fallen asleep long ago, was now sitting in the hall and giving instructions to a few of his subordinates. ¡°You must carry out these two tasks immediately. You must take care of them before dawn!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Parker!¡± The few men immediately acknowledged the orders and retreated. Damon rubbed the middle of his brows, feeling extremely displeased with both the Heron family and Kairo for offending Lucas. ¡°Hmph, they¡¯re just a small family that can¡¯t even be considered a second-tier family. There¡¯s also a pretentious gang leader who only took over because his predecessor died. How dare they try to harm Mr. Gray¡¯s father-inw? They really don¡¯t know any better!¡± ¡ª¡ª In a gold mine under LA¡­ Although it was already midnight, a time when most people in the city had gone to sleep, the ce was still brightly lit and lively. After scanning the ce, Kairo, the owner of the ce, returned to his mostfortable and luxurious private room, where hey downfortably on arge bed. There were two beautiful women with incredible figures sitting beside Kairo, serving him fruit and wine. From time to time, they would let him take liberties with them. One of the women fed him a grape with her mouth and then asked smilingly, ¡°Mr. Kairo, your business is getting bigger and bigger. Now, the situation in LA has changed. The Brookes have long been annihted, the Owens have just been destroyed, and the Parker family is the only tyrant left. Mr. Kairo, don¡¯t you want to take advantage of the opportunity to get arge slice of the pie?¡± Kairo narrowed his eyes and said in disdain, ¡°Tyrant of LA? Is the Parker family worthy of that?¡± The other beautiful womanughed. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just a mere Parker family. Their reputation means nothing. I bet they¡¯re no match for you at all, Mr. Kairo! You¡¯ve just been keeping a low profile. You¡¯re rich and resourceful, and you have so many subordinates. Just send a few, and you¡¯d be able to kill the Parkers! ¡°In my opinion, you¡¯re being too kind, Mr. Kairo. If you take action, there¡¯s nothing we wouldn¡¯t be able to do. It¡¯d be more appropriate for you to be the most powerful man in the city!¡± Kairo was overjoyed to be showered with praises, and he pulled the beautiful woman into his chest. He started groping her while saying, ¡°Hahaha, baby, you¡¯re really good at talking! Indeed, as long as I want to, all of LA will belong to me. The Parkers mean nothing at all!¡± The two of them immediately embraced each other. Not wanting to be left out, the other beauty quickly chimed in, ¡°You¡¯re right, Mr. Kairo. The Parkers will bow down to you and be at your disposal one day!¡± Kairoughed and held the beauties in his arms with great pleasure. Bang! Suddenly, the door of the luxurious private room was kicked open, and a group of people instantly swarmed in. Startled, Kairo immediately cursed, ¡°Where did you dogse from? How dare you barge into my exclusive private room? Are you blind?¡± ¡°Mr. Kairo? Hah!¡± Among the people who barged in, the leader, a middle-aged man dressed in a dark gray suit, sneered and pulled out a gun from his waist. He pointed it at Kairo¡¯s head and said, ¡°Soon, you¡¯ll just be a dead man!¡± Chapter 587 - Too Late To Regret

Chapter 587: Too Late To Regret

Nikki didn¡¯t answer the phone for a long time, but Karen refused to give up and called Gretchen. As soon as the call connected, a voice said urgently before Karen could speak, ¡°Karen! I was going to call you. Something terrible has happened at home! Nikki was taken awayst night! We haven¡¯t found her yet! Karen, you must help us! Nikki is your niece!¡± Karen turned pale immediately. Nikki had really been abducted! This meant that the phone call Lucas received was indeed from Damon, the head of the Parkers! On the other end, Gretchen continued, ¡°Karen, are you going to help me or not? Say something!¡± Karen¡¯s heart was in turmoil at this moment, and she stammered, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m just a¡­ a weak woman who has no power or influence. I really want to help you, but I can¡¯t!¡± ¡°No, Karen, you can! Isn¡¯t your son-inw very powerful? He knows a lot of people, including the head of the Coles from San Francisco! If you ask him to help contact those bigwigs and ask them to look for Nikki, we¡¯ll definitely find her soon!¡± Gretchen immediately promised, ¡°You¡¯re my biological sister, so you must help me! If Nikki is found, I will definitely go to Orange County to thank you properly!¡± When Karen heard Gretchen say she wanted her to go to Lucas to ask for help, her face turned even paler. She really wanted to tell Gretchen that the daughter she was trying to find was taken away by Lucas¡¯s subordinate, and it would be just a dream to find him to get his help. But out of fear for Lucas, Karen didn¡¯t dare to say this to Gretchen at all. She could only continue to make perfunctory excuses. ¡°Gretchen, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you. But¡­ you also know that my rtionship with Lucas is terribly strained, and we usually don¡¯t speak to each other at all. Even if I go beg him, do you think he will help me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re his mother-inw. Do you think he will really dare to disobey you if you ask him to do it? I bet you just don¡¯t want to help me, right?¡± Gretchen said furiously. Karen was extremely irritated too. If Lucas didn¡¯t dare to disobey her, she would have be the queen calling the shots in the family by now. Why would she still be staying here with trepidation and fear, afraid that he wouldn¡¯t forgive her after learning the truth? She thought about it and asked, ¡°Gretchen, aren¡¯t the Herons very powerful too? The Heron Corp. has a lot of connections in LA too. Didn¡¯t you guys activate your connections?¡± At the mention of this, Gretchen began to get even more worked up. She cried and eximed, ¡°The Herons¡­ the Herons have fallen! We¡¯re going to go bankrupt today, and my father-inw has copsed and been sent to the hospital. Who would be willing to help us when we¡¯re down?¡± ¡°How¡­ how did this¡­ happen?¡± Karen murmured. But she recalled Lucas¡¯s conversation on the phone with Damon just now. ¡°The Herons have suffered a tremendous blow. They¡¯ll definitely go bankrupt today. Robert Heron is so furious that he¡¯s already been hospitalized, and the rest of the Herons are all just like headless flies overwhelmed with panic¡­¡± She felt all her strength drain away, and even the phone she was holding in her hand was as heavy as a thousand pounds, so much so that she could barely lift it. It was all done by Lucas¡­ The Herons, the family whom her sister had married into and left her green with envy, was destroyed overnight¡­ What kind of terrifying strength is this?! The more Karen thought about it, the more petrified she was. She wished she could hang up right now and escape from the hospital, the farther, the better. On the other end, Gretchen continued crying, ¡°Karen, there¡¯s no one else I can go to for help now. You must help me! Nikki is my only daughter! Please help me beg Lucas. As long as he agrees to help, he will be able to get Nikki back soon! When the timees, your family will be our great benefactors!¡± Karen was obviously not going to be convinced. She could barely protect herself now, so how could she possibly help Gretchen? ¡°Hello? Hello? Gretchen, can you still hear me? Why is the signal so bad? Hello? I can¡¯t hear anything. What¡¯s going on?¡± Karen deliberately pretended to act a bit before hanging up. In case Gretchen called again, she decided to turn off her phone. After hanging up, Karen stood alone on thewn as numerous thoughts ran through his mind. At this moment, she really regretted it. If she hadn¡¯t hired someone to hit William with a car, she wouldn¡¯t be in this situation now. If she hadn¡¯t kicked up a fuss with Lucas and her daughters at the vi, she wouldn¡¯t have been dragged outside by William. In fact, if she could have been nicer to Lucas before, she would still be his mother-inw now and live a luxurious vi gloriously. Why did I be like this? Karen thought about all the things that had happened in the past six months and finally came to the conclusion that it was all Lucas¡¯s fault! Yes, it¡¯s all your fault! If you hadn¡¯t deliberately pretended to be poor and ipetent in front of me in the first ce, how could I have treated you that way? You¡¯re obviously really wealthy and powerful, but you refused to say anything. If you had said something, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have been so harsh and mean toward you. I wouldn¡¯t have looked down on you, and things wouldn¡¯t have gotten to the point they are today! So all of this is your fault! Lucas Gray!!! Karen gritted her teeth, her expression distorting with resentment. If she got the opportunity, she would definitely make Lucas die a horrible death! ¡ª¡ª In a hospital in San Francisco¡­ In a superior-ss ward on the top floor of the inpatient wing, Marc was lying in bed with a dull gaze, not saying a word. The crushed parts of his calves had been gradually showing signs of deterioration. Ever since Moses confidently went to the airport two days ago to invite Maddy but ended up failing, Marc had been lying motionless in bed, not even wanting a bite of food. He seemed to have lost his drive for life. But if someone came close to him and wanted to talk, he would immediately turn into a depressive maniac and roar curses like a madman. Therefore, in the past few days, the doctors and nurses didn¡¯t dare to approach him unless it was necessary for medicine or injections. ¡°Marc, don¡¯t be like this. You¡¯d better eat something. You haven¡¯t eaten for two days. How can your body stand it? ¡°I¡¯ll definitely find a better doctor to treat you. I¡¯m sure I can cure your legs! But if you don¡¯t eat or drink like this, it¡¯ll cause too much damage to your body. Even if we find a good doctor, it¡¯ll be pointless because your body can¡¯t take it. Don¡¯t you agree? ¡°Come, I¡¯ll help you up. Have some chicken soup. This was your favorite when you were a child.¡± Moses carried a bowl of chicken soup over, ced it on his bed, and tried to help him up. ¡°Get lost! Just get lost! I don¡¯t need you to care about me!¡± Marc flew into a rage and pped Moses¡¯s hand away. Chapter 588 - Mandatory Amputation

Chapter 588: Mandatory Amputation

Marc¡¯s eyes were so dark and deep that they seemed bottomless. He said sorrowfully, ¡°You keep telling me that you will definitely find a better doctor to cure my legs, but where¡¯s the doctor? Have you found one yet? Don¡¯t talk nonsense in front of me if you haven¡¯t! ¡°You know what? The more you say that, the more miserable I feel! ¡°All you do is say some nice things to me, but that¡¯spletely useless! Two days ago, you told me that you would definitely bring that medical expert Dr. Stone back to treat me, but you couldn¡¯t even get this little thing done properly. You¡¯re a good-for-nothing! ¡°I don¡¯t have a good-for-nothing father like you! Get out of here immediately! I don¡¯t want to see you at all! Get lost now! Scram!!¡± Marc cursed hysterically, and his movements were so vigorous that he strained the injuries in his calves, causing him to feel an excruciating pain that made him even more frustrated and livid. In a fit of anger, he flipped over all the things on the bedside table, including the piping hot bowl of soup, scattering them all over the floor. A trace of bitterness and pain appeared in Moses¡¯ eyes. But when he saw his son being in pain, he couldn¡¯t bring himself tosh out at him. All he could do was remain silent. Yes, he¡¯s right. I¡¯m indeed too ipetent to hire a good doctor. That¡¯s why his legs can¡¯t be treated. I¡¯m really¡­ such a failure! Hearing the loudmotioning from the ward, the few nurses outside didn¡¯t have the slightest trace of surprise in their eyes because they had already be ustomed to it over the past few days. At this moment, a doctor in a white coat walked over, knocked on the open door, and said to Moses, ¡°Mr. Kingston, I have something to discuss with you. Pleasee out.¡± Moses walked out the door and closed it. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The doctor let out a long sigh and said with a grave expression, ¡°I have to inform you that the injuries on Marc¡¯s legs are extremely serious, and the best option for him now is amputation. But¡­ In short, there¡¯s a severe infection in his legs, and his wounds have already be red, swollen, and inmed. There are also signs of ulceration, and there has been necrosis in many tissues. No amount of antibiotics will help now. ¡°Hence, we can¡¯t continue to dy any longer. We have to carry out the amputation of his legs immediately in order to save his life. Otherwise, once all kinds of infections andplications ur, even God can¡¯t save him!¡± The doctor¡¯s words were like a heavy hammer that immediately made Moses dizzy. It took several seconds for him to register what the doctor said and react to it. ¡°What¡­ what did you say? You said that my son has to undergo amputation immediately, or else his life will be in danger?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe it at all. He grabbed the doctor¡¯s cor and shouted in anger, ¡°You quack! Didn¡¯t you tell me two days ago that you could save my son¡¯s legs once we got a good doctor here?¡± The doctor was strangled to the point of being unable to breathe. He hurriedly protected his neck with his hands and said softly, ¡°I-I did say that, but things are different now. Mr. Kingston¡¯s legs were just injured a couple of days ago, so if Dr. Stone hade over immediately, there was indeed a possibility that he could have been cured! ¡°However, the¡­ situation has already changed because we¡¯ve already missed the best treatment time for Mr. Kingston. The injuries in his legs are getting more and more serious, and there are already signs of serious infection. At this juncture, even the best doctor can¡¯t do anything to help!¡± Moses was dumbfounded, and all that was running through his mind was ¡®we¡¯ve already missed the best treatment time¡¯. He let go weakly, feeling as if all the energy within him had been drained. He took two steps back until he reached the wall. Only then did he barely keep his body straight. ¡°Doctor, is there really no other solution?¡± he asked with reddened eyes, as if he was making a final prayer. The attending doctor sighed and said regretfully, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Mr. Kingston. If there were another solution, I would have definitely told you about it. Alright, please make a choice as soon as possible!¡± Then he straightened his crooked cor and sighed as he left. Moses leaned against the wall in silence, his heart filled with self-reproach and remorse. If he had been mellower to Maddy at the airport the other day and spoke to her nicely instead of attempting to take her away by force, she would probably have rushed over to help with the treatment. After all, she could head over from Orange County quickly. At worst, they could have arranged for people to send Marc to the hospital in Orange County, where he could have been treated by Maddy. That day, he had met Maddy first, and if he could have negotiated with her beforehand, Maddy probably wouldn¡¯t go back on her word once he begged her nicely, even if Lucas was displeased. That way, he wouldn¡¯t have offended Maddy or provoked Lucas. His son¡¯s legs might have also been saved then. Moses was full of remorse. If he could turn back time, he wouldn¡¯t have used such a silly method as to try and leverage on the Kingstons¡¯ power and money topel Maddy. However, it was toote to say anything now! Now, he only had two options, or rather, he was left only with one option. His son¡¯s legs had to be amputated! Moses was in so much misery that he felt as if his heart was about to bleed. He knew that Marc had always been extremely proud and arrogant. Once his legs were amputated and he became disabled, it would definitely be a massive blow to him! The thought of his son¡¯s appearance after the amputation made Moses¡¯s heart clench. But since things hade to this, it was his only option. He took a deep breath and thought about how to talk to his son about this matter as he turned around with a solemn expression and pushed the door of the ward open. But what he saw in the ward made his pupils abruptly constrict and his heart almost stop beating. He shouted in shock, ¡°Marc, what¡­ what are you doing?!¡± In the ward, Marc, who had been lying on the hospital bed, was now sitting on the sill of the open window, and the wind was blowing in from outside, causing his hair and hospital gown to flutter. Seeing this scene, Moses got even more frightened. His son could be blown downstairs by the wind at any time. ¡°Son, you¡­ quicklye here. If you want to enjoy the scenery, I¡¯ll apany you to go outside and watch the scenery every day once you recover, okay?¡± While speaking in a mellow tone, Moses slowly approached Marc. Moses sneered. ¡°Once I recover? Now that things havee to this, you¡¯re still lying to me! I heard everything the doctor just said you! The doctor said that my only option is to get an amputation immediately, or I¡¯ll die, right? Now, you¡¯re thinking about how to tell me about the amputation, right? You¡¯re a liar! What else can you do other than lie to me?!¡± The more he spoke, the more agitated he got, and toward the end, he was hollering. Chapter 589 - Jumping To His Death

Chapter 589: Jumping To His Death

Moses¡¯s heart twitched. When he saw his son being in pain and agony, there was nothing else he could do except tofort and deceive him. ¡°Son, you must have misheard just now. The doctor told me that there¡¯s still hope for you! Don¡¯t worry. No matter what, I will bring in the best doctors to heal your legs! When the timees, you¡¯ll still be my proudest son and the Kingstons¡¯ most outstanding descendant! ¡°After I take over the family, I will definitely pass the position of helmsman to you in the future as well! ¡°Even if your legs have to be amputated now, you¡¯ll forever be my favorite son! In the future, you can also have prosthetic limbs installed. Besides, we have money, and the Kingstons hold so much power too. You can continue to live without worrying about food and clothing! ¡°In short, you must not do anything stupid!¡± Moses persuaded him earnestly while gradually moving closer and closer to Marc. No matter what, he had to calm Marc down before pulling him down from the dangerous window. However, Marc obviously discovered what Moses was thinking. ¡°Stand still! Stand there and don¡¯t move! If you take another step forward, I will jump down immediately!¡± Marc suddenly yelled. ¡°Fine, fine, I won¡¯t move!¡± Moses immediately stopped and looked at Marc with a pleading expression. ¡°Son, calm down and quickly get down! You¡¯re still so young, and you have plenty of time in your life. ¡°Just take it that I¡¯m begging you toe down quickly! You¡¯re my only son. If you die, what will I do in the future? Can you bear to leave me? If you¡¯re gone, who will I pass my position to even if I take over the Kingstons in the future?¡± Marc¡¯s expression changed, and he seemed to be somewhat touched by Moses. As soon as a trace of joy appeared in Moses¡¯s eyes, Marc suddenly said, ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t believe a single thing you say at all! I have plenty of time in the future? Nah, I¡¯ll be a crippled good-for-nothing from now on. What life is there left for me to enjoy? ¡°As for the Kingstons, I¡¯ve been expelled from the family a long time ago. How can I still go back to the Kingstons? Besides, Grandpa has more than one grandson apart from me. You¡¯re not his only son either. What makes you think that you can be the head of the Kingstons? ¡°Look, I¡¯ve been lying in the hospital for a few days now, and not a single member of the family hase to see me. Not a single one! They no longer see any value in me because I¡¯ve already been kicked out of the family, and I¡¯m now just a wastrel with crippled legs! ¡°In the past, they all treated me with respect and were polite to me. But what about now? Hah! You¡¯re just deliberately trying to say some nice things to cajole me!¡± Marc¡¯s words were like needles stabbing into Moses¡¯s heart. Indeed, in the past, even if Marc had just caught a cold, the Kingstons would panic and show him endless concern. They would ask him if he needed medicine and treat him like a precious gem. But now that he had been hospitalized for a few days with severe injuries in his legs, not a single one of the Kingstons hade to see him. The drastic difference in attitude had caused Marc, who had always been proud and arrogant, to suffer a huge blow. ¡°Son, don¡¯t be too anxious. If they refuse toe, it¡¯s because they¡¯re blind andck a conscience! One day, I¡¯ll be the head of the family, and when the timees, you¡¯ll still be the scion of the Kingstons who no one will look down on!¡± Moses said with great sincerity. Marc looked at him and suddenly grinned widely. ¡°Dad, thank you.¡± But he soon looked at his gauze-covered legs with his eyes full of resentment. ¡°But I¡¯d rather die now than remain crippled for the rest of my life! ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll repay you for raising me in my next life!¡± With that, Marc abruptly leaned back and plunged down the building like a kite with a broken string. ¡°No! Son!¡± Moses dashed toward the window and reached his hand out to grab Marc. But his hand only touched a thin corner of his clothes and failed to grab anything. He could only watch as Marc fell from the 28th floor! Almost in the blink of an eye, it was as if time had stretched into countless years. Finally, Marc¡¯s bodynded on the cement ground at the bottom of the 28th floor and formed a pool of blood. ¡°My son!¡± Moses screamed as tears rolled down his cheeks. ¡ª¡ª Soon, the news of Marc¡¯s death immediately spread throughout San Francisco. The celebrities and upper ss circle were definitely no stranger to Marc¡¯s name. After all, he had been a direct descendant of the Kingstons, a top family in San Francisco, and also the most valued scion. Almost everyone knew that he had had a high possibility of being directly appointed as the next helmsman of the family. Within San Francisco, he had been the top scion whom no one had dared to provoke at all. Yet such a famous big shot had died just like that! ¡°What¡¯s going on? I heard that Marc Kingstonmitted suicide by jumping off a building in the hospital. What happened?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even know why he was in the hospital, so how could we possibly know how he died?¡± ¡°Hey, speaking of which, I do know a little bit of inside information! I heard that just two days ago, the Coles and severalrge families from LA and Orange County suddenly all went to the Kingstons¡¯ ce together. I heard that there seemed to have been some kind of conflict. After those people left, Marc was immediately conveyed to the hospital!¡± ¡°Seriously? Does that mean Marc was at home when he got beaten up and sustained injuries? Someone dared to beat up a direct heir of the Kingstons on their turf? That¡¯s crazy. If that¡¯s really the case, howe I haven¡¯t heard any of the experts mentioning it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re silly. Since the Kingstons have been hiding this news, they¡¯ve very likely been defeated! Otherwise, with the Kingstons¡¯ style, they would have long killed people to warn others!¡± ¡°In that case, Marc really jumped off the building after getting beaten into a pulp? That¡¯s really strange! I bet the Kingstons will definitely not let go of those families from Orange County and LA now that Marc is dead!¡± Numerous powerful families in San Francisco were discussing this matter. Of course, some people had gotten close that day and heard some of the inside story. But in order to avoid getting into trouble, they were smart enough to keep their mouths shut and didn¡¯t say anything. At this moment, Moses, who was full of grief and anger, brought Marc¡¯s corpse directly back to the Kingston manor and barged into Lance¡¯s room. ¡°Dad, Marc is dead! Someone must pay the price for this and sacrifice his blood to Marc!¡± Moses¡¯ eyes were brimming with hatred. Chapter 592 - Theres A Voice Recording

Chapter 592: There¡¯s A Voice Recording

Karen had expected Cheyenne to take at least 20 minutes to bring a doctor over from the outpatient wing. But Cheyenne actually took only less than two minutes to return! At this moment, Karen was astonished. She was also extremely thankful that she hadn¡¯tmitted to her action just now. Otherwise, Cheyenne would have caught her, and she would be dead meat then! ¡°Mom, why are you standing there? I told you not to move around just now!¡± Cheyenne immediately walked over and helped Karen sit down by the bed. She exined smilingly, ¡°I was lucky enough to run into Dr. Stevens, so I asked him toe here. If you need any medicer, I¡¯ll go get it.¡± ¡°Ha, so that¡¯s what happened! Indeed, we¡¯re very lucky.¡± Karen chuckled wryly. Dr. Stevens entered and checked Karen¡¯s ankle. Although Karen said that it hurt, there was neither redness nor swelling, much less any misalignment. It was just an ordinary ankle twist, and there weren¡¯t any major issues. ¡°There are no major issues with your mother¡¯s ankle. She just has to rest here for a while,¡± Dr. Stevens said calmly. ¡°It¡¯s not serious? Doesn¡¯t she have to apply some medicine or something?¡± Cheyenne asked worriedly. Dr. Stevens looked at Karen. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. Maybe your mother has a low pain tolerance, but there¡¯s actually no major issue at all.¡± Karen¡¯s expression was a little unnatural as she hurriedly said, ¡°There really doesn¡¯t seem to be any major issue with me! I think that I might have suddenly sprained my ankle, so I received a great shock! Haha, Cheyenne is just really filial, so she immediately looked for a doctor when she saw that I had twisted my ankle. Sorry to have embarrassed myself in front of you, Dr. Stevens! Dr. Stevens smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay as long as there is no major problem with you. I¡¯ll get going now then.¡± Then he left the ward straight away. Cheyenne saw the doctor out and thanked him several times before returning to the ward and asking, ¡°Mom, does your ankle still hurt now?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ it seems much better than before. It basically doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± Karen pretended to move her ankle a few times and then took a few steps. Cheyenne sighed in relief. ¡°I¡¯m relieved then!¡± But she didn¡¯t notice that Karen was even more relieved than her. I was so close! I was so close to being discovered! Fortunately, she had managed to give herself an out, thanks to her wits! When Karen turned around, she raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat on her forehead from fright. But at the same time, she also made up her mind. She probably wouldn¡¯t be able to kill William! Every time she wanted to make a move against him, various incidents would crop up, be it intentional or not. Including the three failed attempts before this, William had experienced five assassinations in total. The first assassination was the violent car ident, which strangely didn¡¯t kill William but only turned him into a vegetable. Moreover, it was very likely that he might wake up within two days. The second time, she had tried to remove William¡¯s oxygen tube but was interrupted by Cheyenne, who hadn¡¯t fallen asleep. During the third and fourth times, Karen had been hindered by the hitman disguised as a doctor, who had been sent by the Herons. In the end, the hitman had failed and had been tortured by Lucas. Today, it was already the fifth time. She had tried to look for an opportunity to kill him. But before she could take action, her ns had been foiled by the doctor who hade early. Even though Karen wasn¡¯t a superstitious person, she couldn¡¯t help wondering if William was being protected by some entity. Why is he always so lucky??Karen was indignant, but she was really terrified too. Today, she had already found the best opportunity. But she reckoned that even until William woke up, she wouldn¡¯t be able to find another chance to take action. So she decided to run away immediately before William woke up and escape as far as possible! She wouldn¡¯t mind escaping to another state either! In short, she didn¡¯t want to see the fiend Lucas ever again! After resting patiently for a while, Karen said, ¡°My ankle is fine now, Cheyenne. I¡¯ll go out to get something.¡± Seeing that Karen could walk properly, Cheyenne said, ¡°Alright, go ahead. Be careful on your way, and watch out for cars on the road.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I got it!¡± Karen agreed perfunctorily before picking up her purse and scurrying out of the hospital. First of all, she would return to the lousy apartment William rented and hide all the jewelry, bank cards, and other valuables in her suitcase. She would then think of a way to return to theke vi to get more things¡­ While Karen was letting her imagination run, someone stood in front of her to hinder her from leaving. Caught off guard, she almost collided into this person. She stopped and immediately red at him. ¡°Who are you? Don¡¯t you have any eyes? Can¡¯t you see that there¡¯s someone in front of you?¡± The person who stopped in front of Karen was a middle-aged man in his fifties. He didn¡¯t mind Karen¡¯s vicious words and instead asked directly, ¡°You must be Ms. Karen Turner, right? I have a wonderful n I want to work on with you. I think you will definitely be interested.¡± The visitor seemed very sure of himself. Karen¡¯s first reaction was that she had met a conman, and she immediately yelled, ¡°I don¡¯t have any money, and I don¡¯t want to invest in anything. You¡¯d better find someone else! I¡¯m busy now! Don¡¯t get in my way!¡± With that, she wanted to walk around the strange middle-aged man. ¡°Ms. Turner, if you leave just like that, I bet you will definitely regret your decision in the future because what I have in my hands willnd you in prison and keep you behind bars for the rest of your life!¡± The gloomy voice of the middle-aged man sounded. Karen stopped in her tracks and was instantly terrified. ¡°You¡­ What nonsense are you babbling about? I¡­ I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± Karen naturally denied it. The middle-aged man took out his phone and waved it in front of Karen. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I think you will definitely change your mind after listening to this recording I have.¡± He clicked on the audio of a recording on his phone. ¡°Craig, you should know very well that you don¡¯t have long to live and that your daughter has also been diagnosed with cancer and requires a lot of money for treatment! Anyway, I¡¯ve already told you that I have fifty grand here. Although it¡¯s not much, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to earn that much money even before you die! ¡°I will give you this money now to cure your daughter. You just need to use your life to do this one matter for me. I think you¡¯re smart enough to know what to choose! ¡°Surely you don¡¯t want your daughter to die at a young age, do you? Besides, it¡¯s not like I need you to do this. If you don¡¯t agree, I will go to someone else¡­¡± ¡°Okay! I agree! But you have to promise to give me the fifty grand in cash!¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯s a deal then!¡± The recording only had the voices of a man and a woman, but Karen¡¯s face was already terribly pale. She never thought that the conversation between her and the driver she had hired to assassinate William would end up in the hands of aplete stranger! Chapter 593 - Agreeing to Cooperate

Chapter 593: Agreeing to Cooperate

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Wh-who exactly are you? How did you get this?¡± Karen¡¯s body was trembling, and her face was as pale as a sheet. The middle-aged man looked at her, and the corners of his mouth curled into a sinister smile. ¡°Of course, Craig recorded this to protect his interests. Everyone thought that his cell phone was damaged in the car ident, but it actually wasn¡¯t. Even though it¡¯s an old phone, it can be sold for a small sum of money. ¡°So before Craig used his life to work for you, he sold the phone to a junk dealer at the entrance of the alley for thirty bucks. I just happened to buy the phone from this junk dealer and naturally got hold of the recording in it.¡± Karen felt as if her world was spinning. She hadn¡¯t expected Craig, whom she thought had died without evidence, would leave behind such deadly evidence, and it would actually fall into someone else¡¯s hands. In this way, the evidence of Karen hiring a murderernded in the hands of the middle-aged man in front of her. No matter how she defended herself, it would be useless! Karen was so furious and scared that she was about to faint. ¡°Don¡¯t panic yet. I didn¡¯t say I would send you to jail now. I said that I¡¯m here to cooperate with you,¡± the middle-aged man said at the right time. ¡°Wh-what cooperation?¡± Karen asked apprehensively after hearing the keyword. ¡°I want you to work with me to kill Lucas Gray!¡± the middle-aged man suddenly said with a menacing expression, his eyes filled with anger and killing intent. ¡°What?!¡± Hearing this, Karen was astonished! She had originally thought that this middle-aged man who suddenly appeared wanted to use the recording, which was evidence of her crime, to threaten her to do something untoward or to extort money from her. However, she never expected this man would have the same agenda as her! ¡°Why? Did he offend you too?¡± Karen blurted. The middle-aged man¡¯s face was covered in gloomy killing intent. ¡°Yes, my only son was killed by him, so I must kill him to avenge my son!¡± Euphoria surged in Karen¡¯s heart!?Wonderful! Indeed, there¡¯s always a way out! She had long hated Lucas to the core, and the reason she had conspired with Nikki to kill William was to ultimately kill Lucas. But William kept getting saved, and she hadn¡¯t been able to kill him at all. Instead, she had even made Lucas suspect her, leaving her with no choice but to flee far away. If this middle-aged man is willing to help, then¡­! But Karen didn¡¯t be overwhelmed by the surprise. If Lucas could be killed so easily, she wouldn¡¯t have gotten herself into such a situation now. Besides, she didn¡¯t even know the identity of the middle-aged man. How could she rashly agree to cooperate with him? In case it failed again, she really wouldn¡¯t have the chance to flee at all. After thinking about it, Karen immediately rejected with righteous indignation, ¡°Since you know me and Lucas, you must know that he¡¯s my son-inw. What makes you think I would cooperate with you to kill my own son-inw?¡± The middle-aged man sneered. ¡°Karen, since I was able to find you, it means that I know everything about you. You should know that I¡¯m well aware if you and Lucas Gray get along harmoniously or if you two are at odds, so drop the act in front of me! ¡°I¡¯ve known for a long time that you hate him so much that you even wish you could kill him with your own hands, but you haven¡¯t been able to find a way to do so, right? ¡°I have to remind you once more that when I say I want to cooperate with you, I¡¯m not giving you a choice but instead just informing you. If you¡¯re not willing to listen, then this recording in my hand will immediately be sent to Lucas Gray! You should know very well what will happen to you then!¡± Then he took out his phone and waved it in front of Karen¡¯s face to threaten her. Karen¡¯s eyes were fixed on the phone, and her heart tensed up. As the middle-aged man said, he had evidence against Karen, so there was no way she could negotiate with him! ¡°Okay, I¡¯m willing to cooperate with you! But afterward, you must destroy the recording and not save any backups!¡± Karen gritted her teeth and revealed her only condition. The man agreed without even thinking, ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not interested in you at all. I just want to kill Lucas Gray and avenge my dead son!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Karen remained silent.?Fine, him not being interested in me is better than him targeting me for no reason. The middle-aged man was none other than Moses Kingston! Ever since his son Marcmitted suicide by jumping off a building this morning, he was about to break down. He had gone to Lance to seek justice for his son, but Lance had refused without hesitation. Moses waspletely disappointed. Now, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about the family interests. His only purpose was to make Lucas die alongside his son! If not for Lucas crushing Marc¡¯s calves, how could Marc have faced amputation and jumped to his death as a result? The culprit was Lucas! So after identifying his target, he immediately began to investigate the situation around Lucas. He then looked at two people around Lucas. Karen was an important tool. This was why he had deliberatelye here to cooperate with her. Although Karen agreed to this middle-aged man¡¯s request, she wouldn¡¯t feel carefree just because of it. ¡°We do share amon goal to kill Lucas, but I think you should know that if Lucas could be killed that easily, I would have gotten him killed long ago! ¡°So, what¡¯s your n? If you¡¯re trying to get me to help you kill Lucas, then you¡¯d better change your mind as soon as possible,¡± Karen hurriedly said. She was now really worried that the middle-aged man would force her to kill Lucas by using methods such as poisoning him when he didn¡¯t have his guard up. If so, she could never do it. Lucas was extremely vignt, and he would never fall for her trick. Moses shook his head slowly. ¡°No, I want you to do something else. Leave it to me to kill Lucas Gray! I want to kill him with my own hands and use his blood as a sacrifice for my son!¡± Hearing that he didn¡¯t intend for her to kill someone but to help with something else, she immediately heaved a sigh of relief and asked with some doubt, ¡°Then¡­ what exactly do you want me to help you do?¡± With his eyes full of hatred, Moses slowly said, ¡°I want you to hand Lucas Gray¡¯s daughter to me, and then I¡¯ll use her as bait to kill him!¡± Chapter 597 - Senile Dementia

Chapter 597: Senile Dementia

Lucas took Amelia to William¡¯s ward. Overjoyed to see Amelia, Cheyenne hugged her fragrant, soft, and adorable daughter and kissed her incessantly. Amelia still didn¡¯t know what William¡¯s condition was, and she merely thought that he was sleeping because he was sick. So she even said a lot of childish things to him under Cheyenne¡¯s teaching. The family of three had a wonderful time in the hospital ward. ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, Karen immediately called Moses after she was far away from Lucas¡¯s sight. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why didn¡¯t you answer my calls just now?¡± Moses questioned. Karen thought in displeasure,?If you hadn¡¯t taken your sweet time going to the kindergarten, would things have turned out this way? She told him how Lucas had suddenly appeared when she was waiting with Amelia at the entrance of the kindergarten and brought Amelia to the hospital, which resulted in the failure. Moses flew into a rage and yelled unceremoniously, ¡°Are you stupid? You can¡¯t even handle such a simple matter! Since I couldn¡¯t arrive in time, couldn¡¯t you have found a ce yourself and taken the kid away first?¡± Karen was enraged to be yelled at, and she retorted, ¡°I called you beforehand. If you hadn¡¯t beente, I would have handed Amelia to you. What¡¯s the point of yelling at me now? How could I have known that Lucas would suddenly appear?!¡± ¡°Shut up! I won¡¯t allow you to talk back to me!¡± Moses was infuriated too. He had indeed gone over at the agreed time. But his car had suddenly broken down on the way, so he had to move to another car. But halfway through the journey, he had encountered a roadblock due to a traffic ident, leaving him with no choice but to take a detour and end upte. It wasn¡¯t like he wanted to bete. Karen was clearly the ipetent one who didn¡¯t even have themon sense to take Amelia away. He felt that she was aplete fool! ¡°Do whatever you must, but you have to hand Lucas¡¯s daughter over to me before two tomorrow afternoon! Otherwise, you know what the consequences will be!¡± ¡°What? Do you know that my granddaughter has already returned to her parents¡¯ side now? How am I supposed to bring her out?¡± Karen immediately screamed. Even when she went to pick up Amelia from kindergarten today, she had to act like a good mother in front of Cheyenne for a long time before she could finally get the opportunity to carry out her n. But it was the weekend tomorrow, and since Amelia wasn¡¯t going to school, it would be impossible for Karen to try and pick her up again! ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s what you have to think about! Anyway, I must see her before two tomorrow afternoon!¡± Moses ordered in amanding tone and hung up before Karen could even say anything. Karen looked at her phone¡¯s screen, which showed that the call had ended, and was furious. Moses could actually speak to her in such amanding tone, yet she had no room to retort because he had evidence against her. She sulked and thought about it for a long time before finallying up with a solution. She then walked toward William¡¯s ward. Upon returning to the ward, Karen immediately heard the sound of warmughter. Lucas, Cheyenne, and Amelia were all sitting by William¡¯s side and chatting. They wereughing non-stop and smiling happily. But theirughter and smiles were an eyesore to Karen. She was now living in fear every single day, yet these people opposite her were all smiling happily. It was an utter eyesore to her! Lucas nced at Karen and suddenly asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you were going to buy something? What did you buy?¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Only then did Karen remember that she had hurried away to call Moses just now under the pretext that she was going to buy something. In the end, she was so preupied with worrying about how to abduct Amelia before noon tomorrow that she forgot to buy anything again! ¡°Uh¡­ I¡­¡± Karen quickly tried toe up with an excuse. At this moment, Cheyenne frowned slightly and said worriedly, ¡°Mom, did you forget to buy something again? You¡¯ve said twice today that you wanted to buy something, but you ended uping back empty-handed. Are you¡­ really exhaustedtely? Why don¡¯t you go for a full-body checkup?¡± Cheyenne was really worried. In the afternoon, Karen had said that her memory was failing her because she was getting old. She had evenforted Karen then. But forgetting the same thing twice within a day was not a good sign. If she was forgetful because she was exhausted, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad. But if it was because of a disease like senile dementia¡­ it would be terrible! Thus, Cheyenne felt that it was better to arrange a full body checkup for Karen right away, in case there was really something wrong with her. Since the medical expert Maddy was still around, she could help look at Karen¡¯s condition as well. Karen chuckled wryly and quickly refused, ¡°Nah, I¡¯m fine! I¡¯m just¡­ too worried about your father¡¯s condition, and it¡¯s all that¡¯s been on my mindtely, so I keep forgetting what I have to do. I¡¯m perfectly fine. Don¡¯t worry!¡± Cheyenne persuaded her a few more times, but Karen firmly said that there was nothing wrong with her health. Only then did Cheyenne give up for the time being. The few of them gathered around Amelia to chat for a while more when Cheyenne suddenly smacked her forehead and said to Lucas with some chagrin, ¡°Look at me. I almost forgot that it¡¯s the weekend tomorrow! What should we do about Amelia? Surely we can¡¯t make her stay with us in the hospital all day, right?¡± Although there was a TV in William¡¯s ward, it was usually off because they didn¡¯t want it to be too noisy. Besides, there was no other entertainment equipment here. Amelia was only a five-year-old child, and she¡¯d definitely be bored out of her mind if she stayed in the hospital for an entire day. Lucas said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take Amelia home tomorrow to rest for a day and keep herpany? With me watching William in the hospital, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡± Before Cheyenne could say anything, Amelia tugged Lucas¡¯s sleeve and pulled Cheyenne¡¯s finger with her other hand. She said aggrievedly, ¡°No, I want to stay with Mommy and Daddy! It¡¯s been so long since we spent time together! I¡¯ve missed you guys so much!¡± Seeing Amelia¡¯s eyes, both Lucas and Cheyenne couldn¡¯t reject her. They had been so busytely that they didn¡¯t have any time for their daughter at all. They could only leave her in Grace¡¯s care, which had been making them riddled with guilt. How could they possibly reject her tiny request? Karen was ted, and she hurriedly said, ¡°You guys have to stay by your father¡¯s side all day. How about I take Amelia out tomorrow? She told me today that she wanted to go to the amusement park. But I didn¡¯t agree because I thought it was toote to go there today. In the end, she got upset and said she wanted to ignore me.¡± She shamelessly put the me on the five-year-old Amelia just because she was a child. She even revealed the n that she had just thought of when she was downstairs. Indeed, her n was to take advantage of the weekend and take Amelia out again! Chapter 598 - Another Venomous Plan

Chapter 598: Another Venomous n

Because of what had happened at the kindergarten earlier, Amelia was still extremely upset with Karen for yelling at her and breaking her promise. So she didn¡¯t want to go out to y with Karen at all. Besides, she had already decided to stay by her parents¡¯ side. She immediately rejected in a puerile voice, ¡°I¡¯m not going out to y. I¡¯m staying here with Mommy, Daddy, and Grandpa!¡± Amelia pulled Lucas¡¯s and Cheyenne¡¯s fingers, refusing to let go as if she would be taken away as soon as she let go. Cheyenne smiled and agreed with her. ¡°Okay, as long as you don¡¯t mind staying here and being bored, you can stay! I¡¯ll ask someone to buy two storybooks for you to readter!¡± Amelia immediately agreed with glistening eyes. ¡°Great! That¡¯s great!¡± Seeing this, Karen was so enraged that she gritted her teeth, but there was nothing she could do about it. Amelia also slept in the hospital tonight. Although the hospital bed was only 1.2 meters wide, Cheyenne was rather petite, and Amelia was a young child, so the two of them could share the same bed. Karen was upying the other bed. As usual, Lucas slept on the long sofa by the window of the ward. Tonight, Amelia and Cheyenne were sleeping soundly. Lucas had always been alert and a light sleeper who would wake up as soon as there was any movement. Karen was the only one who was full of anxiety, and she kept thinking about how to bring Amelia out smoothly, but she couldn¡¯t think of any good solutions. She was simply distraught. After a long and painful night, Karen got up in the morning with dark circles under her eyes. She had almost zero sleepst night. The thought of theck of time and the consequences that would ur if she failed to bring Amelia to Moses on time made her feel so flustered that she couldn¡¯t sleep at all. ¡°Huh? Mom, did you not sleep wellst night?¡± Cheyenne asked in startlement when she saw the haggardness of Karen¡¯s face after she helped Amelia wash up. ¡°Ah, uh, it¡¯s probably because there was a mosquito buzzing in my ear all night, so I was a little bit disturbed. It¡¯s nothing!¡± Karen hurriedly said. She was a little worried that Cheyenne would try getting her to undergo a full body checkup again if she said that she hadn¡¯t slept well. Now that she was pressed for time and hadn¡¯t figured out a good solution to deal with Amelia, she obviously didn¡¯t have any time for a medical checkup. So no matter what, she had to force herself to perk up and look energized. Lucas nced at her, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly, but he didn¡¯t say anything. After breakfast, Maddy came to William¡¯s ward on time at 9:30 am to begin the daily acupuncture treatment for him. As soon as she came today, she saw Amelia, who looked as pretty and cute as a doll, and her heart melted. ¡°Wow, Lucas, is she your daughter? She¡¯s really beautiful! She looks just like a doll. How adorable!¡± Maddy squatted in front of Amelia with glistening eyes, appearing like a strange woman. Women her age seemed to find adorable children irresistible. Even though it was the first time they met, she was especially doting on Amelia, seemingly suddenly developing a ¡®motherly love¡¯ for Amelia. Amelia received a great shock when she saw the gaze in Maddy¡¯s eyes, and she couldn¡¯t help hiding behind Lucas. She merely popped half her head out to look at Maddy, the beautiful strange woman she was meeting for the first time. Of course, her action immediately melted Maddy¡¯s heart even more. Lucas burst intoughter as he stroked Amelia¡¯s head and introduced her. ¡°Amelia, this is Daddy¡¯s close friend. You can call her Aunt Maddy.¡± ¡°Hello, Aunt Maddy, my name is Amelia. Nice to meet you!¡± When Amelia learned that the beautifuldy was her father¡¯s good friend, she immediately felt that she definitely wasn¡¯t a strange woman and extended her hand toward her politely to shake her hands like a little adult. Maddy was overjoyed and immediately shook Amelia¡¯s tender fingers as herrge sassy eyes narrowed and her smile broadened. But several doctors soon entered William¡¯s ward one after another. Maddy remembered that her job was to continue with William¡¯s treatment, so she coughed twice and stood up as her expression returned to normal. She was an extremely professional doctor. Once it came to medical professionalism, she would instantly forget all unnecessary thoughts and be extremely serious. The doctors who came in were naturally those who worked at the hospital, and they came to observe and learn from Maddy. Since Maddy had promised to let them observe the acupuncture treatment the first time she had performed it on William, the doctors had already formed the habit of spontaneously gathering here whenever it was time for Maddy to give William treatment. Of course, when Maddy was performing the acupuncture and massage, all of them would stay silent and observe quietly from the side. Only when she finished the treatment would they gather around her and ask her questions. After all, Maddy was an internationally acimed medical expert, and there were not many opportunities to get her personal guidance. Karen frowned. She hated Maddy and the doctors who came in with her. Every time she saw them, Karen felt that William would probably open his eyes at any moment under their treatment and reveal all the things she had done. She wanted William to die immediately, so she absolutely hated them. But she couldn¡¯t find a way to chase them away or disturb them. Disturb? All of a sudden, a thought appeared in Karen¡¯s mind, causing her eyes to light up and euphoria to appear on her face. Got it! She thought of a good solution! Karen looked at the group of people surrounding William, preparing to start the treatment for the day. She then quietly sneaked out of the ward. She found an obscure corner with no one around and immediately called Moses. ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a way to take Amelia away, but I¡¯ll need your help!¡± She told Moses her n, and he stayed silent for a moment before agreeing. ¡°Okay, I will send some people to help you, and I¡¯ll rush over to meet you immediately. Just bring the kid to the hospital entrance. But this time, there is no room for error, you hear me?¡± Moses¡¯s austere voice came from the other end. Although Karen pursed her lips disdainfully, she nevertheless agreed, ¡°Okay, I promise there will be no problem this time! Just wait for my good news!¡± Chapter 599 - Creating Chaos

Chapter 599: Creating Chaos

When Karen returned to William¡¯s ward, Maddy was still treating him, but she was almost done. The speed of Maddy¡¯s movements significantly decreased, and she still had time to give some pointers to the doctors beside her. ¡°Dr. Stone, I¡¯ve observed that the patient¡¯s brain activity seems to be getting higher and higher sincest night. He should be showing an obvious response to the outside world, but why hasn¡¯t he regained consciousness yet? Theoretically, he should have almost recovered at this point,¡± an elderly doctor nearly 60 years old asked in puzzlement. Maddy said with a light smile, ¡°That¡¯s normal. After all, the patient was in a serious car ident, and his bodily functions haven¡¯t recovered to the same level as before. Even though he hasn¡¯t regained consciousness, he likely just needs some minor stimtion, and he¡¯lle to sooner orter.¡± There was some other meaning in her words, but the doctor in front of her naturally didn¡¯t understand it. Maddy¡¯s usual acupuncture treatment took only about half an hour toplete. Seeing that she was about to finish her treatment, but there was still no one at the hospital entrance, Karen started panicking and subconsciously looked at the door. Fortunately, Maddy didn¡¯t know what was going on today. After the acupuncture treatment, she continuedmunicating andughing with the doctors, making Karen feel a little less anxious. Suddenly, a noisymotion came from outside the usually quiet ward. There seemed to be countless people running outside, and even the floor began to tremble slightly. The director frowned in displeasure. ¡°This is a hospital, not a market. Who¡¯s running outside and disturbing the patients¡¯ recuperation?¡± A young doctor immediately said, ¡°Director, I¡¯ll go outside and see what¡¯s going on.¡± He walked toward the door of the ward. But before he could get close to the door, the in door was violently pushed open from outside with a loud bang. Immediately afterward, arge group of people rushed in. The young doctor was shocked and immediately asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± The people who rushed in all seemed agitated and full of zeal, making the young doctor misunderstand that there was an emergency in the hospital. ¡°Is Dr. Maddy Stone here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re here to see Dr. Maddy Stone. We heard she¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Dr. Stone, please help! My son has had cerebral palsy for many years, and no one has been able to cure him. I heard that you are highly skilled in medicine. You must save my son!¡± ¡°My father suffers from paraplegia and hasn¡¯t been able to get out of bed for years. Dr. Stone, please save him!¡± ¡°And my wife, she became a vegetable because of a traffic ident. I heard that you¡¯re treating a patient suffering from the same condition now, so please help my wife too! She¡¯s only in her thirties, and our kids are only a few years old. They have no mother to take care of them now!¡± ¡­ All at once, around ten people began moring loudly one after another before surging toward Maddy, who was standing by the hospital bed. Their hands were all reaching out to grab her. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± The director yelled but to no avail because the people rushing forward seemed to have lost their minds, and they were only staring at Maddy. Even the nearly 70-year-old hospital director was pushed to the side unceremoniously. He almost fell. But fortunately, a pair of hands pulled him in time, avoiding the possibility of a bad fall, which would have been detrimental to him at his age. After holding the old director, who almost fell because of the push, Lucas stood beside William¡¯s bed and blocked all the hands reaching over. Although William¡¯s ward was a senior VIP ward, the area was only about twenty square feet after all. Moreover, there were a few beds and escort beds and other furniture and furnishings, so there was barely any empty space. With the sudden influx of twenty-odd people, almost all the empty space was full, and more were desperately squeezing into the ward, which was extraordinarily shocking. Lucas stopped these uninvited guests in front of him expressionlessly while ncing at Karen as a cold smile appeared on his lips. He knew that Karen would definitely take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble. Because all these people suddenly barging inpletely caught Cheyenne off guard, she could only protect Amelia with one hand out of motherly instincts and bring her to the corner of the ward, where she shielded her with her body. Karen kept an eye on Amelia¡¯s movements at all times. She had nned to pull Amelia away as soon as the crowd rushed in. But unfortunately, Cheyenne was a step faster than her, so she had no choice but to squeeze through the crowd and stand beside the two of them. She said anxiously, ¡°Cheyenne, so many people have suddenly barged in. I¡¯m afraid something terrible might happen! Although Lucas is now in front of your father¡¯s bed, there¡¯ll be serious trouble if he can¡¯t stop them and a fight breaks out!¡± Cheyenne naturally also realized that the people who had barged in were harboring ill intentions because there was something suspicious about the way they were asking Maddy to save their family members. They were practically coercing her and even threatening her, as if they wished they could drag her out immediately. Moreover, the news that Maddy was here to treat William wasn¡¯t spread around and kept known only to the hospital director and a few trusted doctors. Yet these people were flocking over like madmen. Where exactly did they get the news? But it wasn¡¯t the time to consider these things now because the most important thing now was to protect their safety. With Lucas¡¯s protection, there shouldn¡¯t be any major problems on William and Maddy¡¯s side for the time being, so Cheyenne¡¯s main concern was Amelia, who was still a tender young child. There would be serious consequences even if she was only bumped into lightly. ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯ll take Amelia out right now and find a safe ce to hide, lest these people hurt her. Then I¡¯ll get hospital security to help you!¡± Karen immediately said. Seeing the chaos in the ward, Cheyenne also felt that Karen¡¯s idea was the optimal solution for now. After all, Amelia¡¯s safety was the most important thing at the moment. ¡°Okay, Mom, take Amelia out right now and find an empty ward to stay in for the time being. Lucas will handle the situation on his side alone, so I have to go help protect Dad. I¡¯ll leave Amelia to you!¡± Cheyenne took Amelia¡¯s hand, handed her over to Karen, and gently instructed, ¡°It¡¯s too chaotic here, Amelia. Go outside with Grandma now, and we¡¯lle see youter, okay?¡± Amelia nodded obediently and took Karen¡¯s hand. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you and Daddy outside with Grandma!¡± Overjoyed, Karen took Amelia¡¯s hand and walked toward the door without even saying a word. It was rather strange that the people crowding in the ward actually made way for Karen when they saw her walking over while holding Amelia¡¯s hand. Soon, Karen took Amelia out of the chaotic ward. Chapter 600 - Taking Amelia Away

Chapter 600: Taking Amelia Away

Karen didn¡¯t stop at all as she brought Amelia straight to the elevator, walking as fast as she could to pull Amelia out of the hospital. Amelia was only five years old, and her legs were short, so she couldn¡¯t walk fast. There were several times where she almost fell to the floor because of Karen¡¯s pulling. ¡°Grandma, where¡­ where are we going?¡± Amelia asked while panting and trying to keep up with Karen¡¯s pace. Karen said casually and perfunctorily, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see it? There were suddenly so many people in the ward, and it was really dangerous. Of course I¡¯m bringing you somewhere safe!¡± At this moment, she was holding Amelia¡¯s delicate wrist tightly and anxiously, as if she was holding her destiny. When she saw a person stepping out of a Passat parked near the hospital entrance and walking toward her, her eyes lit up, and she hurriedly pulled Amelia along and made her way over. ¡°Karen Turner, huh? We are the people Mr. Kingston sent to pick you up,¡± the tall middle-aged man in a gray suit said indifferently. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s us!¡± Karen immediately nodded and followed the man to the Passat, only to find that there was no one inside. ¡°Strange, didn¡¯t Mr. Kingston say he woulde in person?¡± Karen murmured. The middle-aged man looked at her. ¡°Mr. Kingston has a high status. Why would hee personally? Just leave with us. We¡¯ll bring you to meet up with Mr. Kingston.¡± Karen thought about it and felt that he made sense.?Mr. Kingston is a big shot. Why would he lower his status ande to the hospital in person? If anyone sees him, it¡¯ll be difficult for him to exin himself. Karen pulled Amelia into the car without further hesitation. When Amelia saw the car and two strangers in front of her, she couldn¡¯t help feeling a little nervous, and she whispered timidly, ¡°Grandma, who are they? Where are we going now?¡± Karen¡¯s mind was now full of thoughts about how to get the voice recording from Moses after handing Amelia over to him. It would be best if she could get him to find a way to kill William. Since she was thinking about how to save her life, she obviously didn¡¯t have the time to pay attention to Amelia or listen to her. Seeing Karen ignoring her, Amelia became even more nervous. She shook Karen¡¯s hand and cuddled up in her arms. ¡°Grandma, did you hear me¡­¡± Karen snapped out of her train of thoughts and immediately flew into a rage. She pushed Amelia away before Amelia could even finish speaking. ¡°What are you making a fuss for? Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m thinking about something? How annoying!¡± After being pushed, Amelia¡¯s tiny body became unsteady and fell onto the backseat. It wasn¡¯t very painful, but she was extremely nervous now. Karen¡¯s impatience and rudeness made Amelia feel aggrieved and devastated. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes, but she pursed her lips and bit them hard, trying her best not to make a sound as she cried. The middle-aged man driving in front had a cold, murderous intent in his eyes as he watched them through the rearview mirror. Even though he was just an outsider, he couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°She¡¯s just a child, and she¡¯s been treating you as her grandmother all these years. Must you do that to her?¡± the middle-aged man said coldly. Karen thought that he was just one of Moses¡¯ subordinates, so she was puzzled as to why he dared to say this to her. She harrumphed coldly and rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m talking to my granddaughter. It¡¯s none of your business! Just focus on driving. You meddle too much for a servant!¡± The middle-aged man nced at Karen and stopped paying attention to her, but he said to Amelia, ¡°Amelia, I¡¯m not a bad guy. Don¡¯t be scared. Do you like ying with jigsaw puzzles?¡± The teary-eyed Amelia nced at the middle-aged man in front of her and felt slightly relieved when she realized that she didn¡¯t have any aversion toward him. She nodded obediently. ¡°Yes.¡± The middle-aged man took out a few children¡¯s jigsaw puzzles from the glovepartment and handed them to Amelia. Amelia had been learning to fix jigsaw puzzles in kindergartentely, so she immediately concentrated on fixing them. Watching the middle-aged man coax Amelia, Karen secretly pursed her lips without saying anything. But she didn¡¯t notice that the middle-aged man could call out Amelia¡¯s name easily. The Passat continued to drive on the road, and Karen wasn¡¯t too concerned about where their destination was. She was finally relieved now. As long as she waited for a while and handed Amelia over to Moses, not only would she be able to get back the voice recording of her crime, but she would also soon be able to look forward to Lucas¡¯s death! This was undoubtedly great news for her! As soon as Lucas died, she wouldn¡¯t have to be afraid of the good-for-nothing William anymore. She was no longer the same person she was before, who didn¡¯t dare to deal with William and could only get Nikki to cooperate with her to hire a hitman to kill William. Karen had already made several attempts to kill William personally. If not for the fact that she had been stopped because of a freakbination of factors, William would have died in her hands. As long as Lucas died, William would definitely die too! When the time came, she would be able to return rightfully to Lucas¡¯s extremely luxurious vi in the middle of Pearl Lake and enjoy the life of a rich woman that she had dreamed of for most of her life. No one would be able to stop her anymore! Karen became really excited at the thought of being able to take over everything in the luxurious vi, including the fairy-tale dream-like pce vi itself, which boasted of gorgeous furnishing and decor that included a huge swimming pool, garden, dock, and cruise ship outside. She was also tempted by thepany and the massive amount of money Lucas had. Soon, all of this would belong to her! This was the wonderful life she should be enjoying! Karen quickly thought about the life she would lead in the future, and a bizarre smile subconsciously appeared on her face. She was so engrossed in her fantasy that she didn¡¯t even notice that the two middle-aged men driving in front of her were looking at her with contempt. After about twenty minutes or so, the car finally stopped at the entrance of a quiet vi. The middle-aged man took out his phone and sent out a series of messages before saying coldly to Karen, ¡°We¡¯re here. Get out.¡± Karen opened the door and got out of the car. After looking around, she asked, ¡°Is Mr. Kingston waiting for me inside?¡± ¡°No, Mr. Kingston is a bit busy and hasn¡¯t arrived yet. Just wait inside,¡± the middle-aged man said with a straight face. Karen was extremely displeased. She had already sent her granddaughter to Moses as he wished, yet he was still putting on airs in front of her and asking her to wait for him. He was going overboard! But the other party¡¯s power was definitely greater than hers. Besides, Moses was in control of the voice recording, so Karen had no choice but to enter the vi and wait for him even though she was indignant. As she took a stroll around the vi, she discovered that the decorations were far less luxurious than that of theke vi. What are you pretending to put on airs for? This ce is worse than the vi I used to live in! Only then did Karen suddenly remember that she seemed to have forgotten something. ¡°Where¡¯s Amelia?¡± Chapter 601 - In Whose Hands?

Chapter 601: In Whose Hands?

The middle-aged man nced at Karen and said mockingly, ¡°Amelia has already been picked up by someone. You don¡¯t have to care anymore.¡± Karen immediately frowned. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me you¡¯ve already taken her away? She¡¯s my granddaughter!¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s only your former granddaughter. She no longer had anything to do with you when you brought her here.¡± The middle-aged man sneered. ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that! Even if I have to hand her over, I must hand her over to Mr. Kingston personally! Who are you to take her away from me? I¡­ I still have something to say to Mr. Kingston!¡± Karen immediately became anxious. Initially, it was a deal between her and Moses. Only when she handed Amelia over to Moses would he give her the recording or destroy it all in front of her. The two of them would then discuss how to deal with Lucas. In the end, Amelia was taken away while she was distracted, leaving her with no chance to negotiate at all! Karen anxiously wanted to go outside. But the middle-aged man pulled out the dagger at his waist and brandished it in front of her. ¡°You¡¯d better behave yourself and stay here! Don¡¯t make any more noise or ask any more questions! Mr. Kingston will being over in a while. Why are you in such a hurry? ¡°If you continue to make trouble, I don¡¯t mind letting you die here now!¡± Seeing the cold and shiny dagger, Karen shook violently and immediately kept quiet. Indeed, Moses was much more powerful than her. Even if he really went back on his word and snatched Amelia away, she would have nowhere to air her grievances and would have no choice but to suffer the loss. Fortunately for her, since the middle-aged man said Mr. Kingston wasing, this meant that she still had a chance! Despite her reluctance, Karen could only stay in the vi and continue waiting. But she was in an unfamiliar environment and was still unaware of what exactly Moses was thinking. She didn¡¯t know if he would keep his word andplete the deal with her or burn the bridge after crossing it. Being alone in the hall, she couldn¡¯t stop her imagination from running wild. The more she thought about it, the more horrified she was. With her short understanding of Moses and the fact that he could even use the five-year-old Amelia to avenge his son, she doubted that he would really let her off instead of choosing to silence her now that she knew so much. Right, he will kill me to silence me!?The thought of this possibility made Karen¡¯s hair stand on end. She suddenly sprung up from the couch, no longer able to sit still. Karen looked at the shiny dagger in the middle-aged man¡¯s hand and asked carefully, ¡°When¡­ when is Mr. Kingstoning?¡± ¡°How would I know? Just stay here and wait obediently. He¡¯ll naturallye when the timees!¡± the middle-aged man said hostilely. Karen panicked and hurriedly said, ¡°I¡­ I suddenly remember that I have something important to do. Since I¡¯ve already brought Amelia here andpleted my mission, I¡¯d better get going! When Mr. Kingston is free, I¡¯lle and see him again!¡± Karen was about to walk toward the door. But the middle-aged man guarding the door obviously wouldn¡¯t let her leave so easily. ¡°Stand still! If you dare to step out of the door, I will immediately kill you. This is an order from Mr. Kingston. If you don¡¯t want to die, then sit still obediently!¡± The middle-aged man fiddled with the weapon in his hand and stared at Karen¡¯s eyes. He wasn¡¯t joking or threatening her, but rather, he really dared to kill her! Karen¡¯s legs trembled, and she no longer dared to take half a step outside! At this moment, she really wanted to cry. She was both terrified and chagrined. Had she known this would happen earlier, she wouldn¡¯t have chosen to cooperate with Moses because it was simply courting death! But if she could turn back time, she would probably still be willing to sell Amelia and work with Moses. She was an extremely selfish woman. While Karen was feeling anxious, the middle-aged man suddenly answered a phone call and respectfully said ¡°Yes!¡± to the phone several times. This made Karen, who was trying to eavesdrop from the side, unable to get any useful information. All of a sudden, the middle-aged man turned to look at Karen. ¡°Mr. Kingston will arrive in three minutes. I¡¯m going outside to receive him. Stay here and don¡¯t move. Otherwise, you know what the consequences are!¡± With that, he stopped looking at Karen and opened the vi door to leave. Karen peeked out sneakily. For a moment, she also thought of sneaking away. But she immediately dismissed the thought. She wasn¡¯t familiar with the terrain in this area, and she didn¡¯t have a car. Where could she run to with her legs? Besides, she reckoned that since Moses was alreadying, he probably wouldn¡¯t kill her to silence her and that it was very likely that she had read too much into things. This is really infuriating. They all think they¡¯re big shots, huh? Hmph! When I live in the big vi and get my hands on the money, I¡¯ll definitely hire a bunch of bodyguards to escort me around. Let¡¯s see which one of you will still dare to be arrogant in front of me!?Karen thought resentfully. While she was waiting anxiously, the sounds of footsteps came from the door, soon followed by the sounds of a car. Clearly, Moses had arrived! Karen suddenly got nervous and stood still helplessly. In a few seconds, footsteps sounded at the door, and the vi door opened. With a hostile aura of displeasure, Moses strode in from outside. ¡°Mr. Kingston, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Karen immediately smiled and greeted him. Moses nced at her coldly and looked behind her before frowning. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°What? Who are you talking about?¡± Karen had been prepared for many things, but she was still caught off guard by Moses¡¯s words. Moses immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Who do you think I¡¯m talking about? Of course it¡¯s the person I want! Where is Lucas Gray¡¯s daughter? Didn¡¯t you say that you already brought her out and were going to hand her over to me? Are you ying dumb in front of me now?¡± This time, it was Karen¡¯s turn to be utterly dumbfounded. She looked at the door and stammered, ¡°Amelia, she¡­ Wasn¡¯t she already taken away by your men? It was the middle-aged man you sent to pick me up who took her away!¡± Moses immediately felt his anger surge within him. ¡°Karen Turner, do you take me for a fool? When did I send people to pick you up? You were the one who texted me to say that it was inconvenient at the hospital entrance, so you sent me this address and told me to rush here and take the kid from you. Yet you¡¯re spouting nonsense to me now! ¡°If I had already taken the kid away, would I still be standing here and wasting my breath on you? ¡°Tell me honestly. Where is the kid now? Or did you not get your hands on her, so you deliberately made up this nonsense to fool me? Do you have a death wish?!¡± The sudden angry scolding immediately made Karen freeze in shock. Amelia¡­ wasn¡¯t taken away by Moses¡¯s subordinates? Then¡­ where exactly is she now? Chapter 602 - Five Thunderbolts

Chapter 602: Five Thunderbolts

Karen was so shocked that her face turned pale. She immediately argued, ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t use me! If your people didn¡¯t pick me up, how could I have ended up here? Moreover, I already brought Amelia here and handed her over to your subordinate! He told me that he took Amelia away! ¡°It¡¯s the middle-aged man who just went out to receive you. He looks really hostile and austere, as if everyone owes him money! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can call him over right now and ask him where he took Amelia!¡± But after hearing what she said, Moses sneered. ¡°My subordinate? I¡¯ve already said that I didn¡¯t send anyone over, and no one came out to receive me. Who do you want me to rify with, huh?¡± But after saying this, Moses also discovered that something was amiss. Karen sounded reasonable, and she didn¡¯t seem to be lying either. Otherwise, the fact that she had the guts to ask him to meet her at such a faraway ce when Amelia wasn¡¯t with her was enough for him to teach her a hard lesson. Given how scared she was of death and how she liked to bully the weak while fearing the strong, he thought that she probably wouldn¡¯t dare to deceive him. In that case¡­ Could people have really impersonated my subordinates just now and brought Karen and her granddaughter here before quietly taking the kid away? The text message he received to change the location of the handover had probably not been sent by Karen. Besides, after receiving the text message, he had called Karen several times, but he had never managed to reach her. He reckoned that someone had probably gotten up to some nonsense in between! Who exactly¡­ A great sense of uneasiness suddenly surged in Moses¡¯s heart, as if his actions had been exposed to a pair of invisible eyes, leaving him with nowhere to hide. A sudden chill rose in his heart, and he couldn¡¯t help shuddering. Bang!?The door of the vi suddenly opened violently from outside. Moses was startled as he watched several tall and burly men streaming in from outside. Karen jumped up in shock too, but she soon pointed at a middle-aged man among the crowd and said excitedly to Moses, ¡°Look over there! It¡¯s the man on the far right! He¡¯s the one you sent to pick us up, and he¡¯s the one who took Lucas¡¯s daughter away!¡± But at this moment, Moses didn¡¯t even look at the middle-aged man Karen identified. All his attention was on the elegant young man in his thirties in the middle of the crowd. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Joe Daniels!¡± Moses recognized Joe because he had supported Lucas at the Kingston manor when Lucas broke into it just a few days ago. Reason being, his looks were unlike that of a big boss, but it happened that he was the person in charge of Little Antis City and was responsible for all the underground businesses in Orange County. Thus, Moses recognized him. He¡¯s on Lucas¡¯s side, so he probably¡­ While Moses was thinking about it, figures suddenly walked in from outside, almost all of whom were people Moses was familiar with! Bruce Hale, head of the Hales! Damon Parker, head of the Parkers! And¡­ Lucas Gray! In fact, when Moses saw Joe appear alone, he still fantasized a little. After all, Joe was in charge of the underground businesses in Orange County, and his underlings were all over Orange County. If he had noticed his behavior, it wouldn¡¯t be that strange. But when he saw Damon and Bruce, his heart immediately sank to rock bottom. When he saw Lucas, his face was already incredibly ugly. As soon as he saw the great enemy who had killed his son, a wave of resentment and killing intent kept gushing out from his body beyond his control. But he wasn¡¯t a fool and knew that he couldn¡¯t act rashly at this moment. He also knew that the current situation was extremely bad for him. Lucas and the several forces that had once supported him at the Kingston manor appearing here at the same time was definitely not a coincidence. Recalling what Karen had said to him earlier about Lucas¡¯s daughter being taken away by people who pretended to be his subordinates, Moses naturally could guess easily who the mastermind was! In fact, they had probably long seen all his actions! Standing at the side, Karen didn¡¯t know Joe and Bruce, but she nevertheless widened her mouth in horror when she saw Damon and Lucas behind them! She had abducted Amelia and intended to hand her over to Moses. So now that she saw Lucas, she felt extremely guilty and once again felt as though she was about to face a huge disaster. It¡¯s over. Lucas must have already found out! But what shocked her even more was still toe. After Lucas appeared, Cheyenne and Charlotte actually appeared too, and the more outrageous thing was that they were pushing a wheelchair. The person sitting in the wheelchair was someone Karen thought could never be here! ¡°William¡­ William Carter?!¡± She was so shocked that she couldn¡¯t control her voice for a moment, and she even screamed at the top of her lungs. She felt as if she was being sted by five thunderbolts, and there was a massive explosion in her head. The man whom she had been treating as a vegetable and someone half-dead was now sitting alive and well in a wheelchair, glowering at her furiously. Karen subconsciously shuddered and wanted to find a ce to hide. Fury was written all over William¡¯s face as he stared at Karen as if he was looking at a snake. ¡°Karen, although we¡¯ve lived together for almost three decades, it¡¯s only now that I¡¯ve realized what your true colors are! I didn¡¯t expect you to be such a vicious woman! Amelia is so young, yet you actually brought her to a stranger. Are you even human?¡± Beside him, Cheyenne and Charlotte looked at Karen with disbelief. In particr, amid Cheyenne¡¯s sorrow, there were also a few traces of hatred and mockery. ¡°At this point, I can no longer bring myself to call you ¡®Mom¡¯ because your actions are not something that a mother could possibly do! I trusted you so much that I asked you to bring Amelia away to a safe ce, but what did you do? You brought Amelia straight to Lucas¡¯s enemy! Have you ever thought about what Amelia would have faced? ¡°She¡¯s only five years old! You watched her grow up, and she calls you Grandma so affectionately every single day. How could you bear to do such a thing? You¡­ you¡¯re simply¡­¡± Chapter 603 - All Sorts Of Excuses

Chapter 603: All Sorts Of Excuses

Cheyenne¡¯s heart was aching, and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say the rest. She had already been on guard against Karen. Despite knowing that she had done something unforgivable, Karen¡¯s crocodile tears and borate lies, coupled with their familial ties, had made Cheyenne believe that she had really repented and wanted to be a good mother again. Thus, Cheyenne had trusted Karen so much that she had handed Amelia to her without hesitation. She had never thought that her mother would actually harm her daughter! If Lucas hadn¡¯t been aware of this and hadn¡¯t prepared people to be on standby to rescue Amelia, Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t have dared to imagine what plight Amelia would be in now. The thought of her tender and soft daughter getting hurt, abused, or even killed because of this made Cheyenne¡¯s heart ache so much that she couldn¡¯t breathe. Charlotte looked at Karen with disappointment on her face, utterly disappointed by her cruel and heartless actions. ¡°When you treated me that way previously, I knew you didn¡¯t care about us as your daughters at all. The only person you¡¯ve ever loved is yourself! But I never thought that you would be able to do something so heartless! You don¡¯t deserve to be our mother! You don¡¯t even deserve to be a human being!¡± Charlotte shouted, her eyes full of anger and sorrow. If possible, who would want to say this about their own mother, the person who had given them life and raised them? But Karen¡¯s behavior had trampled on the bottom line of their tolerance as her daughters again and again. Amelia was still so young. How on earth could Karen bear to make such a decision? Was she really that heartless?! Compared to the grief and anger felt by Cheyenne, Charlotte, and William, Lucas seemed much calmer. Reason being, Lucas had long seen through Karen and her true colors. But even so, he couldn¡¯t suppress the massive killing intent that arose in his heart when he saw that Karen had decided to trade his most cherished daughter to Moses in exchange for her own benefit. Joe, Bruce, Damon, and others were also clear about what had happened, and they all looked at Karen as if they were looking at trash. They all said that even a monster wouldn¡¯t hurt its own children. This woman in front of them had not only tried to kill her husband several times, but she had even handed her young granddaughter to an enemy. She was simply inhumane. Looking at the resentful and condemning eyes in front of her, Karen couldn¡¯t stand it even though she was really thick-skinned. There was a single thought that kept running through her mind¡ªsince the matter of her abducting Amelia had been exposed, her repeated attempts to kill William would soon be exposed too. It was over for her! Karen was so flustered and terrified that she couldn¡¯t think of any way out. She simply ran to William¡¯s wheelchair and knelt. The next instant, two lines of tears rolled down from her eyes. ¡°Honey, I-I was forced to do it! I didn¡¯t have a choice either! You were in aa before, so you didn¡¯t know. The Taylors threatened me with Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s lives and forced me to kill you. I really had no choice! ¡°Moses Kingston also forced me to abduct Amelia. If I hadn¡¯t listened to him and brought Amelia here, our entire family would have suffered! I was really forced to do it. Honey, Cheyenne, please forgive me!¡± Crying and pretending to be miserable was the only way Karen could think of to deal with the situation in front of her. But she had already used these tricks too many times before, and her character had also beenpletely exposed, so no one believed her at all. William lowered his head and looked at Karen, who was crying in front of him and unable to get a grip on her emotion. He said indifferently with some contempt, ¡°Karen, do you still treat us as fools now? ¡°Don¡¯t you forget. Although I was a vegetable previously because of my severe injuries, I was just immobile. It didn¡¯t mean that I couldn¡¯t hear what you said and feel those things you did! ¡°The first two days I was hospitalized, you deliberately acted like a virtuous wife and mother when there were people around. But after they left, you abused me, insulted me, and even thought of ways to kill me! ¡°And you also told me that you nned the car ident that left me seriously injured andatose. You even admitted that you hired someone to murder me! You also told me yourself that you had wanted to get rid of me for a long time because not only could I not give you the luxurious life you wanted, but I had also obstructed you in every possible way and became a stumbling block for you. That is why you¡¯ve been trying to get rid of me! ¡°Now, you¡¯re still trying to make up excuses in front of me and iming that you were forced into it. Hah. Do you think I¡¯d believe you?¡± Toward the end, William¡¯s face was also covered in misery. After all, she was his wife, with whom he had been living for nearly three decades. They also shared a pair of beautiful daughters. Although he had always been dissatisfied with her, he hadn¡¯t divorced her. And although he didn¡¯t let Karen live in thep of luxury, he had at least let her live without worrying about food and clothing. Therefore, he had never expected that the woman he had been sleeping next to for years would have such terrible thoughts about him and do such terrifying things for the sake of a ridiculous reason. He was truly disappointed! When Karen heard William exposing all her misdeeds in public, her expression changed drastically, but she gritted her teeth and hurriedly argued, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t do such things. It must be because you¡¯re muddled up, so you¡¯re remembering things wrongly. Maybe you dreamed it! Yes, this must be it! ¡°You weren¡¯t even conscious at the time, so how could you have heard what I said and did? Honey, could it be that you¡¯ve always seen me as such a vicious woman?¡± She was crying so miserably that her face was covered in tears, as if William had really misunderstood her and had also broken her heart. Karen definitely couldn¡¯t admit to the truth, so she could only make a big deal out of William¡¯sa. But William would no longer believe her words. ¡°You should know best if I was dreaming or not! The wounds you pinched and pierced on my body are still there! Are you going to argue that these wounds were all done by me, aatose vegetable?¡± He sneered and lifted the clothes around his waist, revealing a piece of skin covered with crescent-shaped nail pinch marks with blood. They didn¡¯t fade even after two to three days, so it was clear how ruthless the pinches were at the time. Karen¡¯s face turned pale, and she didn¡¯t dare to observe her ¡®masterpiece¡¯. However, her eyes rolled, and she immediately eximed, ¡°Honey, it definitely wasn¡¯t me. You have to trust me! It was Lucas! He told you those things to try and make you suspect me. William, can¡¯t you see that Lucas just wants to harm us and take our assets!¡± Karen suddenly raised her hand and pointed her finger at Lucas, putting the me on him. Chapter 604 - Feeling Hopeless

Chapter 604: Feeling Hopeless

Seemingly having found someone to put the me on, Karen immediatelyshed out at Lucas and tried to make things hard for him. ¡°Do you guys think Lucas is that good? Psht, he¡¯s just an evil crook! All of you were called over by him today, right? He deliberately set this up to frame me and make all of you get the wrong idea about me! ¡°Also, he usually tries to sow discord between me and my daughters, Charlotte and Cheyenne. Before he returned, they were very close to me, and our family got along harmoniously! ¡°But since he returned, he¡¯s been deliberately badmouthing me in front of you guys just because I don¡¯t like him. That¡¯s why my daughters have turned against me, and my husband treats me as his enemy! All of this is caused by this bastard who has been setting me up!¡± With a look of misery on her face, she pointed at Lucas and cried loudly, ¡°I was just a little too harsh with what I said to you when you first returned. Why must you be so vindictive and vengeful? Why can¡¯t you stand seeing us getting along? Will you be happy only when you see my family crumble and fall out with one another? ¡°You evil person, you¡¯re just coveting our family¡¯s assets. Had I known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have let you marry Cheyenne as a live-in husband!¡± This time, she framed Lucas for several things. But all the Carters were speechless. Even Bruce, standing at the side, couldn¡¯t listen anymore. ¡°That¡¯s enough! Stop making false usations!¡± Bruce shot her a look of disgust. ¡°You im that Mr. Gray is coveting your family¡¯s assets? In that case, how much do you have that¡¯s worth Mr. Gray coveting? Do you have millions? Or hundreds of millions? Or billions? ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you today. The Hales are one of the four major families in Orange County, and we have billions of dors in assets. But today, the entire Hale family belongs to Mr. Gray! Now all our businesses belong to Mr. Gray! ¡°So, do you think Mr. Gray still needs to covet that tiny bit of your family¡¯s assets?¡± Karen eximed in shock, ¡°You¡­ what are you saying? All of the Hale family¡¯s assets now belong to Lucas? How is that possible?!¡± She screamed inplete disbelief at this news. At the side, Damon looked at Bruce, who had been a step ahead, pursed his lips, and stepped forward. He dered, ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just the Hale family. Even all the businesses of the Parker family now belong to Mr. Gray!¡± Karen was once again astonished! ¡°What? Even the Parkers of LA are¡­¡± Joe stood out and said with a faint smile, ¡°That¡¯s not all. Everything in Little Antis City also belongs to Mr. Gray!¡± Seeing the three giants in front of her saying that all the huge businesses under them actually all belonged to Lucas, Karen felt that reality was really unbelievable. It was as if she was hearing a far-fetched tale! ¡°Impossible! All of you must be lying to me! Lucas was just a penniless man. Even if he¡¯s lucky enough to have gotten the opportunity to be the person in charge of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch now¡­ but¡­ but they are the esteemed Hales of Orange County and the Parkers of LA! ¡°How could their things belong to Lucas? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!¡± Karen frantically shook her head inplete disbelief, as if she could deny everything Lucas owned and her own stupidity. Staring at Karen, William shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re indeed just a tacky woman who¡¯s ignorant andcks good judgment. All you know is that Lucas was a penniless man in the past, yet you have no idea how powerful he is now. Besides, you¡¯re still as obstinate as before, and you view him with such contempt. You¡¯re such a snob too! ¡°You just said that you don¡¯t like him, and that¡¯s undoubtedly because you despise the fact that he isn¡¯t the scion of a wealthy family! If Lucas were a rich heir, you¡¯d probably have rushed over to curry favor with him, just like what you did with Seth Miller, whom you set your sights on in the past! ¡°You probably don¡¯t know that the Sr Corporation I¡¯m working at now belongs to Lucas, huh?!¡± Cheyenne took a step forward. ¡°The Brilliance Corporation I¡¯m working at as the general manager now also belongs to Lucas! He deliberately took it back from the Carters for me!¡± ¡°The Stardust Corporation I¡¯m working at also belongs to Lucas. I¡¯m not talking only about the Orange County branch but the entire corporation. It belongs to Lucas entirely!¡± Charlotte stepped forward. Hearing what they said, Karen was on the verge of losing her mind. ¡°How is that possible? How is that possible?!¡± Her eyes were so wide open that her eyeballs were about to fall out of their sockets. Seemingly hysterical, she yelled, ¡°Even if you want to lie to me, you should find something more realistic! ¡°Do you know that the properties you¡¯ve mentioned, such as the assets of the Hales and the Parkers, Little Antis City, the Sr Corporation, and the Brilliance Corporation, add up to a massive amount? ¡°How could you say that they belong to Lucas? How can he possibly be so rich? How do you expect me to believe that?! ¡°I don¡¯t believe it at all! You must be deliberately deceiving me! If he was so rich, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have looked down on him!¡± Karen was screaming her head off, but everyone present merely sneered. Moses, who had been standing still and staring at Karen, the Carters, and William coldly while trying to find a chance to escape, couldn¡¯t help being shocked too. Although he previously felt that Lucas wasn¡¯t simple and that he definitely had something to fall back on, he never thought that Lucas¡¯s bottom card would actually be so terrifying. And¡­ ¡°Hahaha!¡± Moses suddenlyughed out loud and said with a look of contempt, ¡°No wonder the Parkers, the Hales, and Joe Daniels all chose to stand on Lucas Gray¡¯s side even at the expense of bing enemies of the Kingstons. It turns out that all of you have already be his subordinates! Haha, this is such an irony! ¡°You¡¯re actually hiding so many cards. I bet no one else would have known about this unless they mentioned it themselves today. No, maybe you still have more trump cards in hand, but you just haven¡¯t exposed them yet! ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re really a terrifying opponent who hides your true abilities. My son has already been killed by you. He¡¯s not considered ipetent¡­ Haha! Marc, you¡¯re really pitiful!¡± Moses was still smiling widely, but he seemed to be on the verge of tears. The power Lucas had revealed today was already enough to surpass the Kingstons. What could Marc have used topete with Lucas? Losing to him had been inevitable! Moses, who was initially still intending to take revenge for his son, was now totally hopeless after seeing the power Lucas had. In terms ofbat power, Lucas could easily crush him. Moreover, his n to abduct Lucas¡¯s daughter to threaten him had already been foiled. After seeing Lucas¡¯s massive power, he really felt hopeless. Mosesughed out loud sadly before suddenly whipping out a gun from his pocket! Chapter 605 - Death By Suicide

Chapter 605: Death By Suicide

As soon as the ck shiny gun was revealed, Joe immediately stood in front of Lucas and hollered, ¡°What are you trying to do?!¡± Bruce and Damon were both a step slower because they were already on in their years. But they were close behind. Without hesitation, they stood in front of Lucas, Cheyenne, and Charlotte. At this moment, these helmsmen who controlled the lifelines of great families seemed to have forgotten their superior identities as they stood in front of Lucas without hesitation. Even Cheyenne and Charlotte, the two women, didn¡¯t flinch in the slightest and merely panicked for a moment when they saw the pistol. But they were standing beside Lucas without retreating at all. Moses had nned to use his pistol as ast resort to kill Lucas and take revenge for his son. But after seeing this scene in front of him, he suddenly felt a sense of dejection. His son had actually lost to such a person¡­ How pitiful! He couldn¡¯t kill Lucas. The only thing he could do for his son now was probably to end his own life and join him in the afterlife. While thinking about it, Moses had a miserable smile on his face. Then he pressed the muzzle of the pistol against his temple. Everyone watched in shock as Moses slowly pulled the trigger. Bang!?A small hole appeared in Moses¡¯ temple, and blood immediately gushed out as his body slowly fell to the ground. ¡°¡­¡± Everyone fell silent. They had originally thought that Moses was just trying to make ast-ditch effort to kill Lucas. But no one had expected Moses to shoot himself instead of them. Everyone¡¯s expressions wereplicated. Cheyenne and Charlotte gradually stopped feeling so tense and nervous after seeing Moses die. Lucas looked at Moses¡¯s corpse, but he didn¡¯t feel any emotion. Indeed, Moses had wanted to take revenge on Lucas and had even wanted to kidnap his five-year-old daughter. He had really resorted to all means. But as a father himself, Lucas could understand Moses¡¯s feelings and desire to avenge his son. Seeing that Moses had killed himself, Lucas sighed and instructed Bruce, ¡°In a while, have someone send his body back to the Kingstons¡¯ to be buried!¡± This was Lucas¡¯sst form of respect to Moses, who was also a father. When Karen saw therge pool of blood flowing from Moses¡¯s corpse, she trembled in fear and crawled backward with all her might to get farther away from the corpse. At the same time, her heart was full of even more fear. Even Moses, who had seemed really powerful, had killed himself in front of Lucas. What would happen to her then? She still wanted to beg for mercy or think of other ways to save herself. But Lucas had already walked up to her and said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s time you get punished for your sins!¡± As he said this, the two young men dressed in military uniforms walked in. They bowed to Lucas and walked straight toward Karen with handcuffs. Karen instantly realized that they were here to arrest her! She immediately tried to retreat. But as soon as she stood up, the two men grabbed her shoulders, rendering her immobile. ¡°Let go of me! Quickly let go of me! ¡°Lucas, if you dare to let them take me away, Cheyenne will never forgive you for the rest of her life! ¡°I¡¯m her biological mother! You can¡¯t do this to me!¡± Karen screamed hysterically. Cheyenne took a deep breath and tried her best to remain calm. ¡°No, Mom, you¡¯re wrong. I won¡¯t me Lucas. You¡¯ve brought this upon yourself, and it¡¯s your fault that you ended up in such a plight. It has nothing to do with him! I told you before that I could believe what you said, but if I found out that you were just lying to me, I would definitely send you to prison myself! ¡°Not only have you tried to kill Dad time and time again, but you¡¯re still so unrepentant, and you even tried to ruin Amelia! She¡¯s only five, and she¡¯s usually so well-behaved and cute. Yet you could actually bring yourself to do that! You¡¯ve done so many terrible things, so how do you still expect me to forgive you? ¡°I¡¯ve given you so many chances, but unfortunately, you didn¡¯t know how to cherish them. You¡¯ve trampled on my kindness and sincerity time and time again, and you even took advantage of me. You went from bad to worse! If I continue to foolishly forgive you, Dad, Charlotte, and Amelia will continue getting harmed and made use of by you. ¡°So, I can no longer forgive you! Just go to the ce where you should go and reflect on the mistakes you¡¯ve made!¡± Cheyenne spoke hysterically, and tears were already rolling down her cheeks uncontrobly. Karen was her mother and her dearest family member but also an enemy who wanted to harm her father and daughter. Cheyenne was full of love for her, but at the same time, she also began to develop hatred for her. The excruciating misery made Cheyenne feel extremely painful. Karen panicked when she saw Cheyenne¡¯s resolute attitude. But now that things hade to this, she no longer had a better solution and could only defend herself vehemently. ¡°Cheyenne, you¡­ you can¡¯t do this to me! I¡¯ve already told you that I didn¡¯t want to do those things at all. I was forced to do them! If I knew that Lucas was so powerful at the time, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have been coerced by the Taylors. At the end of the day, it¡¯s all Lucas¡¯s fault, and yours too! It¡¯s your fault for not telling me! ¡°Also, isn¡¯t William still alive and well? Amelia is also safe and sound. Why have you guyse to arrest me? Besides, you don¡¯t have any concrete evidence. On what grounds are you condemning me? I¡¯m not going to concede!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You want evidence, right? I can give you evidence anytime you need so that you canpletely give up!¡± He nodded at Damon beside him and instructed, ¡°Bring her in!¡± Damon immediately agreed, then turned around and left the vi. He soon entered with a panicking woman behind him. When Karen saw this woman¡¯s face, her expression changed, and she shrieked in shock, ¡°Nik¡­ Nikki Heron!¡± The woman Damon brought in was none other than Nikki, who had been taken away from the Herons previously! Probably because she had been imprisoned in the Parker residence for two days, Nikki was now no longer as arrogant as before. Instead, she seemed to be panicking. Clearly, she had been taught a lesson in thest two days. ¡°Nikki Heron, I¡¯m sure you know that as long as you can give a full ount of what you¡¯ve done and provide evidence, you will get credit where it is due and have your sentence lightened. You should know what to do now, right?¡± an officer in military uniform said indifferently. Chapter 606 - Exposing Her True Colors

Chapter 606: Exposing Her True Colors

Nikki had long hated Karen to the core. If this woman hadn¡¯t coerced her, how would she have gotten involved in this matter? The more detestable thing was that this woman actually dared to threaten her into helping her with a voice recording! As a result, she had nownded in such a terrible plight. During the two days she had spent in the Parker residence, she had suffered greatly. It could be said that the torment she had been put through was all caused by the shameless Karen! Now, since she could expose Karen¡¯s crimes and reduce her time in jail, Nikki wouldn¡¯t hesitate at all! She pointed at Karen and said furiously, ¡°All of this was nned by Karen Turner! She was the one who looked for me and said that she wanted to deal with Lucas Gray. But before doing so, she had to kill William Carter, who was getting in her way. Once she did, she would be able to find a chance to return to theke vi where Lucas Gray lives! ¡°In order to kill William Carter, she asked me for a hundred and fifty thousand dors to hire a murderer named Craig. Later on, William Carter got into an ident! ¡°Also, because William Carter didn¡¯t die but became a vegetable, she was afraid that he would expose her misdeeds after he became conscious, so she resorted to various means to try to kill him again! Later, she even forced me to help her kill him, threatening to expose our ns if I refused. She wanted me to suffer and die with her! ¡°In short, Karen Turner is the mastermind! If it wasn¡¯t for her, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten involved in this matter at all, and I wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this situation now!¡± In one breath, Nikki revealed all the things she and Karen had done with each other. Karen naturally refused to admit it, and she was still resisting and vehemently denying, ¡°No! You¡¯re lying! You¡¯ve made this all up! You¡¯re trying to frame me! When did I ever ask you for a hundred and fifty grand to hire a murderer? When did I ever threaten you to kill someone for me? These are all false usations! I didn¡¯t do such things!¡± In response to her rebuttal, Nikki merely sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the recording you sent me when you threatened me. It¡¯s still on my phone! And the full version of the recording has every single thing we discussed that day at your ce. I¡¯m sure you have the full recording! ¡°I also have the evidence of you threatening me. Even if you try to deny it, you can¡¯t! There¡¯s also the record of my $150,000 transfer to you. Do you think you¡¯ll be fine just because you¡¯ve denied it? What a fool!¡± She hated Karen so much that she wanted her to die right on the spot. Needless to say, she would take the initiative to bring out any evidence she had. Karen¡¯s face paled. At this moment, Lucas said, ¡°Nikki, you said you gave Karen $150,000, but she only gave $50,000 to the man named Craig and kept the remaining $100,000. Hah, she really never misses the chance to get money!¡± Hearing this, Nikki became even more enraged. ¡°Karen Turner, you bitch, how dare you pocket the money and still have the cheek to ask me for so much money? Have you gone insane from being too poor? It¡¯s no wonder you can¡¯t get anything done! You deserve it! You deserve to end up in this plight. You brought this all upon yourself!¡± There were still some things that she couldn¡¯t say in front of Lucas and William. The $150,000 she gave Karen was enough to hire a decent hitman who could definitely kill William! Yet this dimwit Karen could only bear to spend $50,000, which definitely wasn¡¯t enough to hire an elite hitman. It was no wonder that the man she had hired couldn¡¯t get the job done. It could be said that things went awry all because of Karen¡¯s greed for money! If possible, she really wanted to run over and give Karen a few hard ps! Karen looked at the furious Nikki and then at the Parkers, who were utterly disappointed and resentful toward her. Deep down, she also understood that there was no way she could defend herself any further. Moreover, Charlotte, Cheyenne, William, and Lucas would never let her off again! Her body was icy cold, and she directly copsed on the ground. Just when everyone thought that she had nothing more to say and would be arrested, Karen suddenly raised her head again with an extremely bizarre smile on her face. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, do you know why I¡¯m doing this? Now, I¡¯ll be straightforward and honest with you. I¡¯ve always hated you! I¡¯ve always wished for you to be dead!¡± She suddenlyughed out loud at Cheyenne. Cheyenne widened her eyes in astonishment. ¡°You¡­ what did you say? Why?¡± Suddenly hearing such hostile words from her mother, Cheyenne was shocked. ¡±Karen Turner, shut up immediately! Shut up!¡± William¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he immediately shouted sternly, trying to stop Karen from continuing. But at this moment, Karen had already decided to go all out. ¡°Haha, anyway, none of you want to let me off, and all of you are trying to put me in jail. Why should I continue to spare a thought for you and cover up the truth? I¡¯m going to spill the beans!¡± Karen was yelling hysterically with a hostile and malicious expression on her face. She continued to yell at Cheyenne, ¡°Because I¡¯m not your biological mother at all! You¡¯re just a substitute for my deceased biological daughter! Even your name belongs to my deceased daughter. It¡¯s not meant for you at all! ¡°Every time I see you, I think of my unfortunate daughter. If you hadn¡¯t jinxed her to death, she would still be by my side now! I worked so hard to raise you to such an age, and now you¡¯re treating me like this. You¡¯re such an ingrate! ¡°Had I known you¡¯d treat me like this, I wouldn¡¯t have adopted you and raised you to adulthood as my daughter! ¡°I¡¯m not your biological mother or Amelia¡¯s grandmother. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t care about your lives at all! Don¡¯t you want to arrest me and send me to jail? I¡¯m telling you right now. I won¡¯t let you get away with it! You owe me for the rest of your life! You¡¯ll never be able to pay me back, and I¡¯ll never let you live well in this life!¡± ¡°Let me tell you. I¡¯m not the only one who hates you. Do you think William Carter likes you that much? He actually hates you too because you¡¯re not his biological daughter! You¡¯re just an abandoned baby of unknown origin who was discarded like garbage by your biological parents!¡± Karen¡¯s words were like daggers stabbing into the softest part of Cheyenne¡¯s heart. Cheyenne¡¯s body stiffened, and she stood still in ce, feeling as if her head was about to explode. Chapter 607 - Events of the Past

Chapter 607: Events of the Past

When Lucas saw Cheyenne turn as pale as a sheet and start swaying unsteadily, his heart ached, and he quickly went forward to hold her. ¡°Cheyenne!¡± Cheyenne had now lost all her strength. If Lucas wasn¡¯t holding her, she would have probably already copsed straight to the ground. William was livid and hollered at Karen in fury, ¡°Bitch, shut up! Only a vicious and vile woman like you would me everything on a child who knew nothing about the matter! Regardless of whether she¡¯s biologically rted to me or not, Cheyenne is still my daughter! I¡¯m not like you! Don¡¯t project your narrow-mindedness and malice on me and casually make wild spections to denigrate the rtionship between Cheyenne and me!¡± Although Cheyenne was indeed not his biological daughter, he had long regarded her as his own after having adopted her for over two decades. Yet the abominable Karen actually used him of abhorring Cheyenne and deliberately tried to hurt her while sowing discord between their father-daughter rtionship. William absolutely resented her! Seeing how miserable Cheyenne was and how exasperated William was, Karen felt a twisted sense of aplishment. She continued to say smugly, ¡°Haha! You¡¯re not even biologically rted to each other, yet you say that you treat her as your own. How ridiculous! ¡°Cheyenne Carter, no one wanted you ever since you were born, and even your biological parents didn¡¯t want you. Clearly, you¡¯re a huge failure! ¡°Do you think your husband Lucas Gray really loves you? No, he¡¯s only attracted to your beauty. If you were ugly or old, he¡¯d definitely leave you immediately! ¡°Also, do you think William Carter loves you? No, he just treats you as a cash cow because you¡¯re rich now, thanks to Lucas Gray! Think about it. Did William ever treat you nicely when you were just a pathetic nobody that everyone in the Carter family bullied every single day? ¡°And¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Lucas suddenly roared, interrupting Karen from continuing to hurl vicious and hurtfulments at Cheyenne. He said to the two men in military uniforms next to him, ¡°Take her away immediately! After all the evidence has been collected, you will be judged severely!¡± The two men acknowledged and immediately grabbed Karen¡¯s arms, each holding onto one. Ignoring her struggles, they dragged her away. At the same time, Nikki was also taken away. After the two of them were taken away, everyone looked at Cheyenne worriedly. Her eyes were ssed over andpletely lifeless, seemingly no longer able to react to anything in the outside world. Feeling extremely pained to see her like this, Lucas held her in his embrace and spoke into Cheyenne¡¯s ear several times before she reluctantly came back to her senses. But the moment she came to her senses, she recalled the words Karen just said, and it felt like sharp daggers were stabbing her heart. Tears immediately poured out of her eyes and pattered down one by one onto the back of Lucas¡¯s hand. The warmth of her tears made him feel heartbroken. When Damon and Bruce saw this, they knew that everything that would happen next was Lucas¡¯s family matters and that it would be inconvenient for them to remain. So being self-aware, they immediately bade farewell and left. Charlotte¡¯s face was stained with tears as she asked William tearfully, ¡°Dad, was¡­ what she said just now true? Is Cheyenne really not your biological daughter? What about me? Was I also adopted by you two, just like Cheyenne?¡± Looking at his daughters crying incessantly, William felt miserable and sorrowful. Sitting in his wheelchair, William let out a long sigh before making up his mind and saying, ¡°In fact, there are some secrets that I wanted to hide from you guys and take with me to my coffin so that you will never find out about them in your lifetime. But since things have alreadye to this, I have no choice but to tell you the truth.¡± He raised his head and saw that only his family remained in the vi. Then he said slowly, ¡°Although Karen ran her mouth and said lots of absurd things just now, there was one thing she wasn¡¯t lying about, and that is you¡¯re indeed not our biological daughter, Cheyenne.¡± Cheyenne shivered and closed her eyes in despair as her tears trickled down her face even faster. Before William spoke, she still had thest trace of extravagant hope in her heart, hoping that Karen was just telling an absurd lie to take revenge on her. But after hearing William¡¯s confirmation, her veryst glimmer of hope was dashed. Charlotte¡¯s heart sank, but she soon continued to ask nervously, ¡°What about me? Am I not your biological daughter either?¡± ¡°No.¡± William shook his head and then looked at Charlotte with aplicated gaze. ¡°You¡¯re different from Cheyenne. You¡¯re our biological daughter.¡± After hearing this answer, Charlotte didn¡¯t know whether she should feel relieved, lost, or sad. She was indeed William¡¯s daughter, which made her feel somewhat relieved. After all, it also meant that she wasn¡¯t an abandoned child whose parents¡¯ whereabouts were unknown. But this also meant that she and Cheyenne were no longer biological sisters. For the past twenty-plus years of her life, Charlotte had always treated Cheyenne as her sister and the closest person she relied on. But their rtionship was now ruthlessly damaged. She was at a loss for what to do, and she even felt a wave of extreme panic, which made her immediately hold Cheyenne¡¯s hand, for fear that her sister would leave her. ¡°Sis, regardless of whether we¡¯re blood-rted or not, you are still my sister, and it¡¯ll never change in this life, Cheyenne!¡± She hugged Cheyenne, and they immediately burst into tears while holding each other. Lucas stood silently by the side, looking at Cheyenne with a gentle gaze of concern in her eyes. Even if Cheyenne wasn¡¯t a Carter and didn¡¯t know who her parents were, she had always been the most important person in Lucas¡¯s life. After crying, Charlotte and Cheyenne calmed down slightly. Charlotte wiped her tears clean and asked, ¡°Dad, wh-what exactly happened?¡± William looked at Cheyenne and Charlotte with a heartened gaze in his eyes. A look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes, and he felt emotional at the thought of the past 28 years. ¡°We¡¯ll have to start from twenty-nine years ago. At that time, Karen and I had just gotten married, and we were in a loving rtionship at the beginning. She got pregnant soon after we got married. ¡°After learning the news of her pregnancy, she was overjoyed and looking forward to the birth of our baby every single day. She was excited, and she kept thinking about what she should name the child. ¡°She thought about it every day for several months, and she finally chose a name. She decided that if it was a boy, she would name him Chester, and if it was a girl, she would name her Cheyenne.¡± At this point, Cheyenne¡¯s fingers trembled slightly. Indeed, her name was meant for Karen¡¯s daughter! Chapter 608 - Great Day

Chapter 608: Great Day

Charlotte held Cheyenne¡¯s hand worriedly while Lucas stood behind her, supporting her tacitly with his strong and muscr arms. After feeling the silent support of the closest people around her, Cheyenne had a warm feeling in her heart, and she could better withstand the incident. ¡°What about afterward?¡± Cheyenne stood still and took the initiative to ask. ¡°Afterward¡­¡± With a trace of agony in his eyes, William continued, ¡°Later on, two days before Karen¡¯s due date, she had a sudden fall and started bleeding heavily on the spot. I rushed her to the hospital, and it took painstaking efforts to rescue her, but the baby passed away two days after she was born¡­¡± His eyes were red too. After all, it was his firstborn child, and although it had been many years, William still felt devastated when he recalled how he felt when he lost his child. Cheyenne and Charlotte were both silent. Cheyenne was especially empathetic because she had also gone through lots of danger when she was pregnant with Amelia. She had even almost experienced a difficultbor, so she could understand very well how agonizing it would be to lose a child. ¡°Karen suffered such a huge blow that she wept and cursed every single day, demanding that the doctor return the baby to her. She even became more and more irrational. At the time, we couldn¡¯t even have a proper conversation with her, and she started to kick up a ruckus as soon as she heard our voices. Onlyter did the doctor tell me that she was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety. She was miserable because of the loss of our child, so I could understand how she felt. Even though her personality changed a little afterward, I couldn¡¯t say much to her. ¡°She was in tears and agony every day then, and she even attempted suicide. But on the day we left the hospital to go home, we saw a baby beside a garbage can near the hospital. The baby was you.¡± William looked at Cheyenne, and the scene of Cheyenne as an infantying by the roadside vaguely surfaced in his head. Cheyenne¡¯s body tensed up as she continued listening to William speak. ¡°When Karen saw you, she immediately ran over and picked you up, and she kept saying that you were the daughter the doctor had made her lose. At the time, she was in a dangerous psychological condition, so we brought you home and raised you as our own. ¡°Three yearster, Karen became pregnant again with Charlotte. ¡°In the past few years, a lot of things happened, and I didn¡¯t fulfill my duties as a father. I¡¯ve neglected you two greatly, and Karen¡­ has also be increasingly boorish and mercenary. All she cares about is money. Kinship and our marriage probably gradually dissipated in her eyes. ¡°But I didn¡¯t notice it, and I failed to show you and Charlotte more love and concern. It¡¯s all my fault too!¡± William spoke seriously and looked at Cheyenne with an apologetic gaze. ¡°Cheyenne, I can assure you that I have always treated you as my daughter. And in my heart, both you and Charlotte are equal. I love you two equally, and I definitely won¡¯t abhor you or resent you! ¡°Karen¡­ has already been bewitched. Besides, she¡¯s extremely indignant about her current plight. That¡¯s why she said those things to agitate you. Don¡¯t take to heart what she said! No matter what, you are still my daughter!¡± Charlotte grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s hand tightly and said with an equally serious face, ¡°Me too, Cheyenne! No matter what, you are still my sister! We will always be a family!¡± Cheyenne felt extremely touched, and tears welled up in her eyes. In fact, she should have been an orphan who had been abandoned. William was the one who gave her a home, and he had always been nice to her since she was a child. At the very least, everything he gave Charlotte, he gave her too. William had never shown any favoritism toward Charlotte or loathed her. Cheyenne and Charlotte were about the same age, and due to Karen¡¯s negligence toward the two of them since they were young, they had always only had each other to rely on. Thus, they supported each other throughout their growing years and were extremely close to each other. With these two family members who loved her wholeheartedly, she felt that it didn¡¯t matter that she wasn¡¯t biologically rted to them. When she thought of this, her panic and anxiety vanished like a puff of smoke. There were still tears on her face, but her lips were now curled up into a warm smile of relief. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll forever be a family like we always have and always will be!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Yes, we will always be a family!¡± Cheyenne, Charlotte, and William were all smiling warmly, looking relieved. Moreover, after today¡¯s incident, they had be much closer to each other than before. ¡ª¡ª Although it had been an eventful day, William had finally regained consciousness, and Karen had finally faced her retribution and was put behind bars. Amelia was still safe and sound, and even the Carters¡¯ secrets and differences had been resolved. Needless to say, it was indeed a day worth celebrating. If not for the fact that William¡¯s injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet and he still had to recuperate in the hospital for a while, they would have gone to a restaurant to celebrate. After dinner, Cheyenne followed Lucas back to theke vi because William had already awoken and didn¡¯t need them to stay by his side all the time. After washing up, Cheyenne blushed shyly, but she nevertheless snuggled up into Lucas¡¯s embrace without hesitation and hugged him tightly. ¡°Honey, thank you for doing all of this for me! And¡­ I love you!¡± Cheyenne wrapped her arms around Lucas¡¯s neck and kissed him coyly. Lucas looked at the woman in his arms with a tender and fiery gaze and gradually tightened his embrace around her. He could barely stop himself. ¡­ It was a passionate night! The following morning, Lucas looked at the dainty woman who was still sleeping soundly while nestling in his arms. The corners of his mouth curled into a gleeful smile. They had finally be the most intimate couple! Chapter 609 - Getting Engaged Immediately

Chapter 609: Getting Engaged Immediately

Because they had finally taken thest step to consummate their marriage, their feelings and rtionship became more intimate. A mere moment of eye contact could make them feel immense love for each other. During breakfast, Charlotte naturally noticed it at a nce and couldn¡¯t help teasing them, ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯ve discovered that you¡¯re extraordinarily beautiful today. Indeed, a woman who has been nourished by love is different!¡± Cheyenne was extremely shy and embarrassed. She red at her and said angrily, ¡°You¡¯re already a general manager, yet you¡¯re still so rude. How dare you tease your sister!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Charlotte didn¡¯t care at all. She made a face and fled with a piece of bread she hadn¡¯t finished eating yet. ¡°You two take your time. I won¡¯t y gooseberry!¡± She scurried away while giggling. ¡°You¡¯re so serious when you¡¯re in the office. Why are you acting like a child at home?¡± Cheyenne muttered, but she was beaming with joy. Charlotte was still teasing her, just like usual. This meant that nothing had changed, and they were indeed a real family. So despite being teased by Charlotte, Cheyenne was still overjoyed. But she soon thought of something. ¡°Did Maddy call youst night and say that she would be leaving soon?¡± Cheyenne asked. Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes, she came to Orange County to treat William and help improve Grace¡¯s mother¡¯s condition. Now, William has regained consciousness, and he can be discharged after recuperating for a while, so she¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow.¡± ¡°So soon?¡± Cheyenne was a little surprised. She thought about it and said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m truly grateful to Maddy. If not for her excellent medical skills, I¡¯m afraid Dad would probably still be a vegetable at this point. While Maddy was helping, we were keeping watch in the hospital and didn¡¯t get to thank her properly. But she¡¯s leaving so soon. ¡°How about we invite Maddy to dinner tonight to thank her? Shall we go to the Lion Restaurant?¡± Lucas nodded in agreement ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell her about it. Let¡¯s set the time for six-thirty. We¡¯ll head to the Lion Restaurant after you get off work this evening.¡± Soon, both of them and Amelia finished breakfast. As usual, Lucas first dropped Amelia off at the kindergarten and then drove Cheyenne to the Brilliance Corporation. After William regained consciousness, Cheyenne, the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation, naturally canceled her annual leave and returned to work at the office. Lucas returned to the Stardust Corporation to check on thepany¡¯s development. During the days he was in the hospital, Charlotte had been mainly in charge of all thepany¡¯s affairs. Fortunately, she did a good job, and after the training during this period of time, she had be more and more familiar with being a good general manager. While at the office, Lucas called Maddy and asked her out for dinner at half past six at the Lion Restaurant. Maddy naturally agreed with pleasure. Although she didn¡¯t know where the Lion Restaurant was, Jordan had been by her side these few days, so he would be tagging along with her to dinner. She didn¡¯t have to worry about it at all. By nearly 6 p.m., Lucas had already driven to the entrance of the Brilliance Corporation to pick up Cheyenne. The two of them then headed to the Lion Restaurant together. They parked the car in the parking lot nearby. When they reached the entrance of the Lion Restaurant, they saw Maddy and Jordan. Cheyenne was about to say hello to them when she suddenly realized that something seemed wrong. Maddy¡¯s and Jordan¡¯s faces weren¡¯t so good, especially Maddy, who was frowning and sulking. There was a man dressed like a wealthy scion in front of them, all decked out in designer wear. Jordan stood in front of Maddy to shield her and shouted at the wealthy young man, ¡°Who are you?¡± The wealthy scion also looked at Jordan with animosity. ¡°I¡¯m Roy Smith from DC and Maddy¡¯s fianc¨¦. Where did youe from? What are you trying to do by being so close to my fianc¨¦e?¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes moved slightly. He was slightly surprised. Although there was still a distance of dozens of meters between him and Maddy, his sense of hearing was far superior to others, so he naturally heard their entire conversation. He imed to be a Smith from DC and said that Maddy was his fianc¨¦e. In that case, he had to be the person Maddy¡¯s family had arranged for her to marry, as she had mentioned earlier. He hadn¡¯t expected Roy toe to Orange County and even run into Maddy and Jordan. The Smiths were not a simple family, and they were actually one of the eight most powerful families of DC. Their strength could be said to be on par with the Huttons¡¯. Roy wasn¡¯t alone. Behind him were two tall and strong bodyguards, whose size and aura were not inferior to Jordan¡¯s. These two should be his personal bodyguards. Seeing Roy and Jordan getting into a conflict, the two bodyguards immediately emitted a powerful aura. They were vaguely targeting Jordan, and once Roy issued an order, they would attack Jordan at once. Even Cheyenne could tell that their aura was hostile. She took Lucas¡¯s hand and said worriedly, ¡°Lucas, it seems that Maddy and Jordan have run into someone creating trouble for them. We¡¯d better hurry over and take a look!¡± Lucas nodded and walked over with Cheyenne¡¯s hand in his. Maddy¡¯s face became even more sullen after she heard Roy¡¯s self-introduction. Without hiding her displeasure, she said coldly, ¡°Roy Smith, since when are we engaged?¡± Roy looked at Maddy¡¯s cold and peeved expression and felt that it was very interesting. Despite looking displeased, Maddy was indeed a ravishing beauty who was much more attractive than the countless tacky-looking girls. With a smile that he thought was very elegant and charming, Roy said to Maddy, ¡°Miss Maddy Stone, this is a joint agreement between our families. Hasn¡¯t your family told you that we will soon be engaged?¡± Maddy¡¯s eyebrows suddenly furrowed even deeper. Engaged? He must be joking. Maddy didn¡¯t know Roy at all, and it was her first time meeting him today. She didn¡¯t know anything about his temperament, interests, hobbies, manners, personality, and so on. What kind of an engagement was this? Besides, what made her even more depressed was that her family didn¡¯t discuss such a major matter with her!?Are they nning to hide the news from me and then suddenly announce it to me only when I return to DC, then force me to put a square peg into a round hole? At this moment, Lucas and Cheyenne walked up to them. Lucas smiled at Jordan and Maddy, as if he hadn¡¯t seen Roy at all. ¡°Hey Jordan and your missus, Cheyenne and I are a littlete. Sorry to have kept you waiting.¡± He had deliberately said ¡®missus¡¯ to Maddy. Chapter 610 - Questioning on the Streets

Chapter 610: Questioning on the Streets

After hearing what Lucas said, both Jordan and Maddy were surprised. But the two soon understood what he meant and didn¡¯t refute. Instead, they inched closer to each other and seemed to be apatible couple. Roy immediately narrowed his eyes and looked at Lucas with a threatening expression. ¡°Punk, what did you just say? Whose missus did you say she is? Who¡¯s a couple?¡± Lucas pretended to look at him in shock, ¡°I¡¯m talking to my buddy and his girlfriend. What does it have to do with you? Who are you?¡± Roy flew into a rage, reached out to point at Lucas, and cursed, ¡°Punk, what are you babbling about? This woman is my fianc¨¦e! My property!¡± Maddy couldn¡¯t bring herself to listen any longer and sneered. ¡°When did I be your property?! As I said earlier, I don¡¯t know you at all, and I haven¡¯t heard of any engagement. Go elsewhere if you want to look for a fianc¨¦e! Don¡¯t drag me into this!¡± ¡°Maddy, do you know what you¡¯re saying? My marriage to you was decided by our families! From the moment our marriage was arranged and settled, you were already my fianc¨¦e! ¡°But now, you¡¯re admitting that you¡¯re this punk¡¯s girlfriend, and you¡¯re getting all touchy with him here. You¡¯re provoking my dignity as a man and the pride of the Smiths! If this gets back to DC, I¡¯ll see how you can exin it to our families!¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to exin? I¡¯ve never agreed to be engaged to you at all, and the idea of an unmarried couple is even more ridiculous. So why should I give you an exnation? ¡°There is no rtionship between you and me. Who I¡¯m willing to be with has nothing to do with you either!¡± Maddy was so enraged that she simply held onto Jordan¡¯s arm and looked at Roy provocatively. When Roy saw Maddy¡¯s actions, he was boiling with rage, and he felt a strong urge to go forward and chop off the arm she had wrapped around Jordan¡¯s arm. Maddy¡¯s words made him feel humiliated and that his dignity had been trampled on. He had clearly told her that she was his property, but she actually had the audacity to disobey him and openly behaved physically intimately with another man in front of him. It was a tant insult to him! ¡°Very well! Maddy Stone, aren¡¯t you afraid that what you¡¯re doing now will bring your family a great deal of trouble? As long as I tell my parents about what happened today, they won¡¯t be willing to suffer the loss. When the timees, your family will be doomed! Let¡¯s see how you¡¯ll make it up to me and admit your mistakes in front of me then!¡± He mentioned his family, one of the eight great families in DC, to threaten Maddy. He seemed full of certainty, clearly because he was sure that Maddy¡¯s family would definitely be pressured by the Smiths into forcing her to apologize and admit to her mistakes. Maddy was so livid that her face turned pale. Just before she was about to speak, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°So, you¡¯re relying on your family¡¯s power and forcing her to marry you, huh? What else do you know apart from using your family topel others?¡± Lucas¡¯s words were full of contempt. He really did despise these arrogant and ipetent scions. If Roy had taken a fancy to Maddy and truly pursued her in his own manner, Lucas might not have said much. Although he hoped that Jordan could get what he wanted and be with Maddy, he also respected Maddy¡¯s choice. But Roy was acting in a way that made Lucas feel disgusted. He looked at Maddy with a revolting possessiveness in his eyes, and as soon as he spoke, he said that Maddy was already his fianc¨¦e and even openly treated her as his own property. Hepelled her by saying that she couldn¡¯t resist because their families had already agreed to it. Lucas absolutely hated people who treated others as objects of trade without any respect at all and only knew to threaten others by leveraging on their family¡¯s power. Maddy was a unique and wonderful woman with outstanding medical skills. If she really fell into the hands of a vulgar and ipetent person like Roy, she would bepletely ruined! Lucas would never allow such a situation to happen! Immediately after hearing what Lucas said, Roy flew into a rage as if he had been poked in the lung. ¡°You bastard! Do you know who I am? I am a Smith, a member of one of the eight most powerful families in DC. We can easily crush you to death with just the lift of a finger. Yet you¡¯re so arrogant in front of me. It seems that if I don¡¯t teach you a lesson today, you won¡¯t know how ipetent you are!¡± Roy roared furiously and then ordered the two bodyguards behind him. ¡°Go catch him and beat him up! It¡¯s best to knock out all of his teeth. Let¡¯s see what he can say in a bit!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, the bodyguards behind him immediately obeyed the order and walked directly toward Lucas. But as soon as they started to move, Lucas¡¯s body suddenly swayed and disappeared in front of them! The next second, he appeared directly in front of Roy and grabbed his neck. ¡°Mr. Smith!¡± The two bodyguards were instantly astonished and horrified! Lucas was so fast that even these two bodyguards, who prided themselves on being top experts, didn¡¯t see his movements at all. They only felt a strong gust of wind passing by them, and the next second, he appeared in front of Roy. These two were the bodyguards that the Smiths had specially assigned to Roy. If something happened to him, they definitely wouldn¡¯t end up well either! The faces of Roy¡¯s bodyguards turned pale, and one of them shouted at Lucas, ¡°Quickly let go of Mr. Smith!¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Lucas sneered and tightened his grip on Roy¡¯s neck, causing Roy¡¯s eyes to roll backward. ¡°If you don¡¯t want him to die, get lost now!¡± In an instant, his voice seemed to st into the minds of these two bodyguards like a thunderous roar, causing them instantly to turn ashen and take several steps backward while breaking out in cold sweat. Only then did they realize that the young man in front of them was far more powerful than them! Lucas choked Roy in one move, causing him to have trouble breathing. He had long peed in his pants out of fear. Lucas stared at him coldly and suddenly sneered. ¡°You actually want to marry Maddy by force? On what grounds? ¡°Your family is one of the eight big giants in DC and can crush me to death with just the lift of a finger, huh? I wonder who¡¯s the one being strangled now. ¡°I just said that the people who leverage only on their family¡¯s power are garbage. People like you are worse than trash! ¡°You want to marry Maddy and teach me a lesson? Are you worthy?¡± Lucas¡¯s questioning was like thunderbolts striking Roy¡¯s heart. Chapter 611 - Dont Kill Anyone

Chapter 611: Don¡¯t Kill Anyone

The hand of death Lucas was strangling his neck tightly with made Roy frightened out of his wits. The suffocating pain and the fear of dying made him experience an unprecedented sense of terror. ¡°You¡­ let go! Otherwise, the Smiths¡­ Mmph!¡± Roy was struggling and still trying to threaten Lucas with the power of the Smiths. But Lucas immediately forcefully strangled his neck, making it impossible for him to utter another word. Seeing this, Maddy hurriedly persuaded, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t be impulsive!¡± She knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of the Smiths, but they were one of the eight most powerful families in DC and possessed massive power that shouldn¡¯t be underestimated. If Lucas killed Roy here, it would definitely bring him great trouble. After all, Maddy was the indirect cause of this matter, so she¡¯d definitely feel extremely sorry and be riddled with guilt. Besides, her family would definitely be implicated and would end up being targeted or even destroyed once they fell out with the Smiths. As a member of the Stone family, she couldn¡¯t bring about a disaster to her family even if she didn¡¯t feel a sense of belonging. Cheyenne hurriedly pulled Lucas¡¯s arm and also persuaded, ¡°Hubby, calm down! Don¡¯t do anything foolish because of someone like him! It¡¯s not worth it!¡± She was also afraid that Lucas would identally strangle Roy to death. Naturally, Lucas wouldn¡¯t really kill Roy. Although he was angry, he didn¡¯t lose his rationality because of it. After seeing the look of concern in Cheyenne¡¯s and Maddy¡¯s eyes, he exhaled softly and warned Roy, ¡°I¡¯ll let you off today on Maddy¡¯s ount. But if you dare to appear in front of her and harass her again, I won¡¯t let you off! Get lost!¡± Then Lucas flung Roy away. Roynded on the ground. Although he had a wretched fall, his breathing became smooth again because his neck was free from Lucas¡¯s iron-like grip. He was gasping for breath, and his heart was brimming with the ecstasy of surviving this ordeal. His bodyguards immediately ran to his side and held him up. ¡°Mr. Stone, are you alright?¡± Roy touched the spot on his neck that was vaguely throbbing with pain. It was already bruised from being strangled by Lucas. Although he hated Lucas so much that he wanted to kill him on the spot, the fear he had of him had already be deeply rooted in his heart after the near-death experience just now. Thus, Roy didn¡¯t dare to say a single word about taking revenge until after Lucas took Maddy and Jordan inside the Lion Restaurant. ¡°Mr. Smith¡­ What should we¡­¡± a bodyguard cautiously asked. Smack!?Before he could finish his sentence, Roy smacked his face hard. ¡°Good-for-nothings! My dad sent you guys to protect me, but neither of you managed to even touch a corner of that punk¡¯s clothes. You even allowed him to almost strangle me to death! Why should I keep garbage like you around?!¡± Roy hollered furiously and vented all his pent up anger on the bodyguards. ¡°We were ipetent. Please punish us, Mr. Smith!¡± The bodyguards didn¡¯t argue and instead got on their knees to ask for Roy¡¯s punishment. These bodyguards had been working for the Smiths for a long time. If Roy went home andined about them to his family, they wouldn¡¯t just get sacked. Their lives would be in danger! They had no choice because they were facing a terrifying scion of the Smith family. After venting his anger, Roy gradually calmed down. Although his bodyguards were so ipetent that they couldn¡¯t even defeat a young man in histe twenties and even caused him to be on the brink of death, he had only brought two bodyguards with him to Orange County this time. If he got rid of them now, his safety wouldn¡¯t be guaranteed. The thought of it made Roy feel extremely irritated. He waved his hand impatiently. ¡°Get up. If you dare to be so useless again next time, I won¡¯t spare you! Now, go find out the identity of that pretty boy with Maddy!¡± He gritted his teeth furiously at the entrance of the Lion Restaurant, which was already empty. Roy was a scion of one of the eight major families of DC. Even in DC, he was an existence praised by others all the time and enjoyed the pleasure of ordering others around. As a scion of a powerful family, he should enjoy the treatment that royals received once he dered the name of his family! Yet in Orange County, he actually got humiliated by a young man and almost died at his hands. He had been so frightened that he didn¡¯t even dare to say anything harsh to him. It was absolutely a humiliation! He swore that he would never let off the pretty boy who had the audacity to snatch his fianc¨¦e, as well as Maddy, whom he thought didn¡¯t know any better! ¡­ Meanwhile, Lucas, Maddy, Jordan, and Cheyenne had already arrived at the private room of the Lion Restaurant that they had booked in advance. It should have been a joyous gathering, but due to the episode just now, Maddy was in low spirits now and even seemed to be forcing herself to look happy. Seeing this, Jordan felt anxious. Lucas also roughly understood what Maddy was worried about. Maddy had been single for a long time, so he reckoned that the Stones must have be impatient. Besides, they were definitely tempted by the possible benefits they would enjoy from the marriage alliance with the Smiths. So despite Maddy¡¯s objection, they took the liberty to set up a verbal engagement with the Smiths. This was why Roy dared to dere directly that Maddy was already his fianc¨¦e and his property. But given Maddy¡¯s character, it was naturally upsetting for her because her family hadpletely ignored her feelings. This in itself was already a very sad thing. For a moment, Jordan was at a loss for how tofort her, and he could onlyfort her softly, ¡°Maddy, don¡¯t be sad. No matter what, you still have us! As long as you don¡¯t want to, the Smiths can¡¯t touch you!¡± Cheyenne also took Maddy¡¯s hand and said sympathetically, ¡°Yes, marriage is a matter between two people. If there are no feelings between you two at all, a forced marriage built based on your families¡¯ interests will only cause you misery. Maddy, we have your back. As long as Jordan and Lucas are around, the Smiths won¡¯t be able to hurt you!¡± Lucas chimed in, ¡°Yes, Maddy. As long as it¡¯s something you don¡¯t want to do, no one can force you against your wishes. We will all stand on your side!¡± Maddy looked at the three people in front of her, her heart filled with a warm feeling. ¡°Thank you!¡± she said from the bottom of her heart. Lucas and Jordan were both herrades she had met at the Falcon Regiment, so she naturally trusted them and had faith in their abilities. She also trusted that they would definitely keep their word. Even Cheyenne, whom she had only known for a few days, was standing on her side and supporting her. It made Maddy feel extremely touched. But Maddy felt even more unwilling to let them be hurt precisely because they treated her so well. ¡°I¡¯m going to go back to DC tomorrow,¡± she suddenly said. Chapter 612 - Shocking News

Chapter 612: Shocking News

Lucas and Jordan were both a little surprised. Although Maddy had said that she would be leaving Orange County tomorrow, the destination she had in mind at the time wasn¡¯t DC. The sudden change was probably an impromptu decision. ¡°Maddy, if you go back now, will¡­ you encounter some trouble?¡± Jordan asked concernedly. He was naturally referring to Maddy¡¯s and Roy¡¯s families. If Roy added fuel to the fire and exaggerated the matter when heined to his family, Maddy would probably face the wrath of two families at the same time. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I have to give my family a clear exnation for this matter. After all, they¡¯re my parents and my family. I can¡¯t keep being too willful.¡± Although Maddy had a faint smile, there was obvious bitterness in it. Jordan¡¯s heart suddenly sank. He already knew that if Maddy could reach an amicable oue after negotiating with her family, she would probably be able to regain her freedom for a while again. But the more likely oue would be her family putting her under enormous pressure and coercing her by telling her that it was all for her own good and for the sake of her family. They might even callously say that she would be unfilial if she objected to the marriage. Maddy probably wouldn¡¯t be able to stand it. The thought of it made Jordan¡¯s face gloomy, but he remained silent and chugged arge mouthful of beer. Lucas was in low spirits too. He admired Maddy greatly for herposure, wisdom, intelligence, and impable medical skills. But her sex as a woman and the fact that she was born to a notable family left her with no choice but to be bound by the stereotypes and ridiculous standards of prestigious families. In the eyes of her family and rtives, all of her achievements were insignificant. Not only would they not be proud of her because of her achievements, but they would even criticize her for not behaving like the nobledy she was because she was always receiving attention from the public. Besides, she was still unmarried at 30. In the eyes of many people, she was considered an anomaly who would soon be left on the shelves. No one cared about her capabilities, value, and dreams. Lucas honestly hoped that Maddy and Jordan could be together. As long as they were willing, he was confident that he could help them deal with the pressure imposed by the Stones and the Smiths and help them enjoy a blissful life of freedom. Unfortunately, Jordan and Maddy had spent too little time alone together. In the past few days, Maddy had developed a liking for Jordan, but it was probably more ofradeship and sisterly affection. She saw Jordan as a younger brother, and their rtionship was far from romantic, much less an unwavering love that they would be willing to stand together against the world. This was precisely why Jordan could only remain silent in response to Maddy¡¯s decision to return to DC. There was no way he could say, ¡°I¡¯m willing to go with you and face this together with you.¡± The supposedly joyous gathering ended up bing gloomy and somber. ¡ª¡ª At the same time, an uninvited guest showed up in the Kingston manor in San Francisco. A middle-aged noblewoman in her forties to fifties dressed in expensive clothes was sitting in the master seat of the hall. On the other hand, Lance, the helmsman of the Kingstons, was sitting anxiously next to her. ¡°Mrs. Smith, I didn¡¯t expect that you would suddenly visit San Francisco. It¡¯s our honor to have you here!¡± Lance said fawningly and then instructed the servants to serve the best tea the family had. Lance was really annoyed when he first learned that a woman hade to visit him today. But when he learned that she was from the Smiths, one of the eight major families of DC, his attitude immediately changed drastically. She was from a prestigious family from DC! Although the Kingstons had contact with the Huttons, another of the eight great families of DC, they were subservient to the Huttons, and Lance had almost never personally received anyone from the Huttons. The eight major families of DC were simply legendary existences. The Kingstons were insignificantpared to these behemoths. If he was a bit careless and ended up offending those from truly powerful families, the Kingstons would probably be destroyed. On the contrary, if he responded amicably and left a good impression on these noble people, he would probably be able to find a powerful backer for the Kingstons that would help them advance to a higher level! But the nobledy known as Mrs. Smith was staring sharply at Lance¡¯s face. She pursed her lips tightly and furrowed her brows. Clearly, she was in a terrible mood. She stared at Lance with a hostile gaze and suddenly said, ¡°Lance Kingston, let me ask you. How did my son, Marc, and my ex-husband, Moses, die?¡± Boom! Hearing this, Lance suddenly sprung up from his seat with shock all over his face. If it wasn¡¯t because his heart was strong enough, he would have probably had a heart attack and died of sudden cardiac arrest! What did he just hear? This nobledy just said that his son Moses was her ex-husband and his grandson Marc, whom everyone once had high hopes for, was her son! Lance was extremely astonished and at a loss for words. He didn¡¯t know what facial expression he should have either. After opening his mouth for a long time, he finally said with some puzzlement and disbelief, ¡°Wh-what did you just say? You¡­ you¡¯re my son¡¯s ex-wife? And my grandson¡¯s mother? His biological mother?¡± Thedy¡¯s eyes suddenly darkened, and she said in displeasure, ¡°I think I¡¯ve already made it very clear! Or do you want me to repeat it again?¡± ¡°No, no, no. I¡­ I was just too shocked. After all, my son Moses never mentioned it to me!¡± Lance hurriedly exined. At the same time, he was also very bewildered by Moses¡¯s behavior.?When did my son marry a woman from such a powerful family? He never mentioned it to me before! She was from one of the eight most powerful families in DC! If he had known this earlier, the Kingstons would have long formed connections with the Smiths from DC. He might have already expanded the family¡¯s power to DC! Seemingly having seen through Lance¡¯s thoughts, Mrs. Smith sneered and said with some contempt, ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. But even Moses doesn¡¯t know my true identity, so of course you wouldn¡¯t!¡± Hearing this, Lance became more surprised and curious.?Could Moses have married a woman without knowing her true identity? At this point, Lance finally began to recall the past events from 29 years ago. Chapter 613 - Events of the Past

Chapter 613: Events of the Past

Because it had happened a long time ago, Lance could no longer remember the details clearly. He only remembered that 29 years ago, a young Moses suddenly returned home with a child in his arms less than two years after graduating from college and said that the child was his son, Marc. At the time, Lance was naturally shocked, and the Kingstons already owned a business empire. In order to prevent having illegitimate children in the family, he immediately found someone to do a paternity test for Moses and Marc. After determining that Marc was indeed Moses¡¯s biological son, Lance finally epted him. But when Lance asked Moses who the child¡¯s mother was, Moses remained silent and didn¡¯t say anything. Only when he waspelled to a corner did he say, ¡°My child¡¯s mother has long died.¡± Thus, Moses married another woman, who then became Marc¡¯s stepmother. This woman was someone whom Lance had long wanted Moses to marry. But a few years after they got married, the woman died duringbor, along with the unborn child. Moses dropped the idea of getting married again, and he had always only acknowledged Marc as his only son. But Marc had just jumped to his death two days ago, and Moses had just shot himself dead after a failed attempt to take revenge on Lucas. The corpse had yet to be buried, as it had only been delivered back to the Kingstons yesterday. Later on, someone from the Smiths in DC suddenly arrived and said that she was the ex-wife of his poor son and the mother of his grandson. No matter how he looked at it, it still seemed unbelievable! Most importantly, as soon as she came, she asked Lance how his son and grandson had died, putting him in a difficult spot. ¡°I¡­ Could I ask what happened between you and Moses?¡± Lance asked, full of puzzlement about this matter. Mrs. Smith¡¯s name was Wendy. She moved her eyes and said indifferently, ¡°There isn¡¯t much. Simply put, we met and fell in love in college, but I didn¡¯t tell him my true identity. Later on, I got pregnant, but he said that his family forbade him from getting married, so I handed our son to him after giving birth. I also severed all ties with him and cut off contact with him. Are you pleased with that answer?¡± Wendy flew into a sudden rage, making Lance shudder. Only then did he suddenly remember that there did seem to be such an incident many years ago. At the time, his son Moses had just graduated from college, and one day, he called home to say that he wanted to marry a college schoolmate who came from a humble family. Of course, Lance objected to it because he had already picked a suitable marriage partner for Moses¡ªthe daughter of a notable family in San Francisco. Her family was verypatible with the Kingstons, so Lance strongly opposed his son¡¯s decision regardless of his insistence. In the end, he even threatened to sever ties with Moses to force him to break up with the woman from a humble family. But now¡­ Large drops of sweat immediately emerged on Lance¡¯s forehead. He had never thought that the woman his son loved would be a daughter of the eight major families of DC. The reason she didn¡¯t reveal her identity and family background to his son was probably that she wanted to seek love that wasn¡¯t built on materialistic interests. It was likely because of a childish mindset! The thought of it made Lance feel agonized. He regretted his past actions and was afraid that Wendy would cause trouble for him because of them. Fortunately, Wendy was not the same girl as back then. After staring at Lance for a while, she moved away and said coldly, ¡°At this point, I¡¯m not here to pursue the matter and hold you responsible for what happened. I just want to know how my ex-husband and my son died. Tell me everything honestly!¡± Only then did Lance rx a little, but he didn¡¯t dare to dy at all. He hurriedly said, ¡°Mrs. Smith, Moses and Marc were both killed by a young man named Lucas Gray! If it weren¡¯t for him, my son and grandson would still be alive and well! Maybe you would have been able to reunite with them someday!¡± He told her everything that had happened in the Kingston manor a few days ago, including the feud between Marc, Moses, and Lucas. Of course, he didn¡¯t tell her about how he waspelled into kicking Marc out of the family and then disowning him. He also hid the fact that he had rejected Moses without hesitation when thetter said that he wanted to avenge Marc after Marcmitted suicide. Furthermore, he had even exaggerated Lucas¡¯s might and domineering nature, as well as the grief and misery he felt after finding out about the death of his son and grandson. But Wendy hade prepared. She sneered. ¡°In that case, do you also feel sad for my son and ex-husband? But I heard that you were the one who kicked my son out of the family and disowned him! ¡°Moreover, when my ex-husband asked for your help to avenge my son, you also turned him down without hesitation. After his corpse was returned to the Kingstons, you didn¡¯t show any signs of taking revenge for him. Even his funeral was held perfunctorily, huh?¡± Lance¡¯s heart dropped. This was the part that he had hidden from Wendy just now, but she seemed to know everything. As expected of someone from one of the eight major families in DC, she was really terrifyingly capable! He was now filled with regret. Had he known Wendy¡¯s identity long ago, how could he have thrown Marc out of the family? He would have agreed to Moses¡¯s request instead of letting him die out there and be carried back home as a corpse. But what was done couldn¡¯t be undone. It was toote for regrets! Moses was anxious and uneasy, but he could only say miserably, ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t want that to happen either! Mrs. Smith, I don¡¯t know how much you know about the Kingstons, but I can swear to you that I never treated Moses and Marc badly! I was grooming him to be the next sessor of the family even before that incident. He was the grandson I favored the most. If it wasn¡¯t because of the circumstances, how could I have driven the grandson I had the most hopes for out of the family?¡± Chapter 614 - Looking for a Helper

Chapter 614: Looking for a Helper

Wendy believed that Lance used to value Marc greatly. She might have long since severed her ties with Moses and married someone else, but Marc was still her own flesh and blood after all. She would send people to keep an eye on the Kingstons from time to time and report the situation about Marc to her. ording to the information she had received, Wendy could indeed believe that the Kingstons had treated Marc well in the past twenty years, especially when he slowly grew up and revealed his intelligence and resourcefulness. Among all the Kingston descendants, her son was indeed treated the best. Lance indeed didn¡¯t lie about it. Lance had been secretly paying attention to Wendy¡¯s face, and when he saw that she seemed rather calm and didn¡¯t have any otherrge emotional fluctuations, he continued, ¡°The person who caused all this is that punk named Lucas Gray! ¡°He suddenly barged into our home with arge group of people, and that punk is so good at martial arts that even all of our top bodyguards and elite experts werepletely no match for him! He killed the Kingstons¡¯ most powerful expert with just one move, so I had no choice but to give up Marc and Moses because of his power. I felt terrible too! ¡°That young man is really powerful. If I had insisted on seeking revenge on him, not only would I have not been able to avenge Moses and Marc, but it would have caused us to suffer even heavier losses! So I¡¯ve been seeking opportunities and external aid for the past couple of days. I¡¯d definitely be more than happy if there¡¯s someone who can help me kill Lucas Gray!¡± After speaking, Lance looked at Wendy intently with his eyes full of hope, seemingly trying to invite her to join him in carrying out his n. On the one hand, it was because Lance wanted to show Wendy his determination to avenge his son and grandson. On the other hand, he really hoped that he could use the power of the Smiths to help him get rid of Lucas. Lucas had not only trampled on the pride of the Kingstons by killing lots of their members, but he had even colluded with the Coles from San Francisco and the heads of several other families from Orange County and LA. Since he could threaten the Kingstons¡¯ status, Lance had to get rid of him immediately! As one of the eight greatest families in the country, the Smiths definitely had that kind of power! Looking at Lance¡¯s fawning gaze, Wendy pondered for a while before asking, ¡°Is what you said the truth? A young man about the same age as Marc actually had the ability to kill the top expert of the Kingstons?¡± ¡°Yes, many of us witnessed it with our own eyes and can testify to it! Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills are terrifying,¡± Lance hurriedly said, afraid that Wendy would me him for being cold-blooded and ruthless for not saving Marc from death. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to help his grandson and son, but rather, there was nothing he could do because his opponent was too powerful. Wendy wasn¡¯t foolish. With her understanding of the Kingstons, they were one of the strongest three giants in California after all, so their expert had definitely been extraordinary. But even so, the fact that Lucas could kill this expert in one move without resorting to any scheming or dirty trick was enough to show that Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills should be far above that of the Kingstons¡¯ expert! Is there really such a powerful person in Orange County? Even in a ce like DC, where elite martial artists were everywhere, anyone with such a terrifying level of power would make countless people vie with each other to hire them. ¡°Master Eli, what do you think of this?¡± Wendy stayed silent for a long time before asking the middle-aged man standing silently behind her with his aura suppressed to the point of being almost unnoticeable. Eli was Wendy¡¯s personal bodyguard and an extremely powerful expert of the Smiths. He possessed a considerable amount of strength and power. Wendy didn¡¯t know much about martial arts, but she reckoned that Eli definitely knew something based on his rich experience. Eli nodded and suddenly asked Lance, ¡°Mr. Kingston, how strong is your best expert? He¡¯s already dead now, so find me the second best and let me see the difference in strength.¡± Lance was stunned for a moment before quickly saying, ¡°Okay, the Kingstons¡¯ previous top expert was named Scarface, who died that day. Our strongest expert now is indeed inferior to Scarface. Shall I ask him toe here now?¡± Eli assented while Lance gave instructions for his servant to bring the most powerful expert they had now to the door of the vi. ¡°Master Eli, Zack is our strongest expert now.¡± Lance pointed at the young man with a pair of knives in his hands who had an extremely soft physique that seemed rather effeminate. Ever since Lucas killed Scarface, Lance had quickly recruited this powerful man. Eli, who now suddenly had an imposing aura despite his very low presence just now, walked toward Zack. Zack was a little unimpressed at first, but he was instantly shocked by his domineering aura and immediately used his own to resist. But despite exerting all his aura, Zack still seemed to pale inparison and was helpless against Eli. His aura was so fragile that it seemed that a slight carelessness would cause him to be devoured. ¡°Ah!¡± Under the overwhelming pressure, Zack roared at the top of his lungs. He moved his hands, and the two sharp des resembling butterfly wings shed at Eli¡¯s neck and abdomen. Zack moved very swiftly, and especially since the angles of the two knives were extremely tricky, it required a lot of skill to block the attack. Facing the sudden and sharp attack, Eli actually remained still in ce. In fact, he didn¡¯t even get into the most basic defensive stance. Only when Zack¡¯s des were about to reach Eli, and the people around them panicked, did Eli finally and suddenly move! His hands immediately cut through the air, one upward and one downward. Ding! Crack! The two different sounds filled the air at the same time. Everyone looked over, only to see that Zack¡¯s knives had been blocked by Eli in an instant. Eli managed to sp the de aimed at his neck firmly with his index and middle fingers. He held it so tightly that the de could no longer move a single millimeter. Below, Eli smacked away the knife aimed at his abdomen and broke it into pieces with his knife-like palm even though it was made of steel. The surroundings immediately fell dead silent! Chapter 615 - Great Difference

Chapter 615: Great Difference

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Being able to hold a de firmly between two fingers despite the incredible force of Zack¡¯s sh was enough to show how skilled Eli was. Moreover, the fact that he could break the other de into two with just one palm was even more shocking. His martial arts skills were simply extraordinary! Lance¡¯s eyes widened, and he almost couldn¡¯t believe what was before his eyes. The expert named Zack in front of him was drenched in cold sweat. He could obviously feel that all his strength resembled an ant trying to shake a tree in front of Eli. He had no chance of victory at all! Even one of the hard and sharp steel knives he usually used was actually broken into two by Eli¡¯s hand. This was way beyond the strength of ordinary humans. The more frightening thing was that Eli waspletelyposed, and he seemed to haveunched his move effortlessly without exerting his full strength. Eli pushed back the hand holding the de in front of his face, causing Zack to retreat several steps. ¡°Very weak indeed.¡± Then he stopped looking at Zack and simply stood behind Wendy, once again bing an inconspicuous person with almost no presence. Only then did Lance let out a long sigh of relief ande back to his senses from the incredible shock just now. Completely astounded, he said to Wendy agitatedly, ¡°Amazing! This is really amazing! Master Eli¡¯sbat skills are incredible! Not only are they much stronger than Zack¡¯s, but they¡¯re much more powerful than those of my former number one expert, Scarface! ¡°In my opinion, even if Lucas Gray came, he wouldn¡¯t be able tost two rounds against Eli!¡± Eli stood with his hands by his side, as if he hadn¡¯t heard thesepliments at all. In reality, Eli had been showered with so much praise andpliments over the years that he had long gotten sick of them. Besides, he didn¡¯t think that a young man in his twenties would be a big threat to him. He thought that Lance was afraid of him only because the Kingstons were too weak. For example, Zack was the strongest expert that the Kingstons could afford to send out, but he had been so fragile in front of him. Thus, Eli didn¡¯t think that Lucas, who could beat up all the Kingstons, was that impressive. Wendy had a look of satisfaction on her face. Eli was her personal bodyguard and extremely powerful, so she didn¡¯t think that it would be hard for him to deal with Lucas at all. But Wendy didn¡¯t intend to let Eli go and capture Lucas so rashly. Possessing such powerfulbat skills and being gutsy enough to barge into the Kingston residence alone and force them to submit temporarily was definitely not a feat that an ordinaryte twenties young man could achieve. ¡°Who exactly is Lucas Gray?¡± Wendy asked. She had always done things prudently, so she decided that she had to get more information about her enemy, Lucas, who had killed her son and ex-husband, before killing him in one blow. Only then did Lance remember that he still had a very important thing to tell Wendy. ¡°Mrs. Smith, actually, Lucas Gray is indeed not an ordinary person either. He¡¯s actually from the Hutton family. But he and his mother were kicked out of the family two decades ago, and he was even forbidden from using hisst name. ¡°However, just half a year ago, he suddenly returned to Orange County, and the Stardust Group that he¡¯s now in charge of is said to have been handed over to him by the head of the Huttons. But that¡¯s also the reason the Huttons dislike him. The feud between the Kingstons and Lucas Gray arose because of this. ¡°Moreover, to be honest, the Huttons are one of the eight top families of DC after all. We¡¯re far inferior to them. There¡¯s a saying that themoners tend to be the ones to suffer when powerful people fight. The Kingstons have been implicated, and even Marc and Moses have died because of Lucas Gray¡­¡± Lance wiped his eyes with misery. Wendy raised her brows and muttered to herself, ¡°It turns out Lucas Gray is actually a descendant of the Huttons. This reminds me of some of the past events from ages ago. But no matter which family he belongs to, I have to make him pay the price for killing my son and ex-husband!¡± If Lucas was still a member of the colossal Hutton family, Wendy might still have some scruples toward him. After all, both the Smith and the Hutton families were top giants in DC and on par with each other. There was no way her family would go to war with the Huttons for the sake of her ex-husband and son, whom she had never revealed to the public. But Lucas was now just an abandoned descendant of the Huttons, who had long been kicked out of the family. Even the Huttons themselves wished that he could vanish from this world immediately. She believed that even if she resorted to cruel means to take revenge, the Huttons probably wouldn¡¯t have any objections. They might even p and rejoice. ¡°Master Eli, please¡­¡± Wendy was about to instruct Eli to get rid of Lucas when a young man suddenly barged in from outside angrily. ¡°Aunt Wendy, you have to get justice for me!¡± he immediately eximed to Wendy, who was sitting at the head seat, as soon as he entered the hall. Lance was about to reprimand this young man who suddenly barged in, but he immediately kept his mouth shut when he heard the word ¡®aunt¡¯. Since he could address Wendy in such a manner, he was definitely also a Smith! Wendy immediately frowned slightly. But the next second, she looked at the young man¡¯s wretched appearance and the frightening bruises on his neck. Wendy immediately stood up and asked furiously, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you, Roy? How did you get those injuries on your neck?¡± The Smiths were absolutely powerful enough to be dominant in this state, so Wendy was furious that someone dared to hit Roy. Roy touched the marks on his neck, which he had sustained from being strangled and were still faintly hurting. He gritted his teeth andined, ¡°It¡¯s a punk from Orange County! He¡¯s really arrogant and obnoxious. I already told him the status of our family, but it didn¡¯t stop him from beating me up and almost strangling me to death! Aunt, you have to seek justice for me!¡± ¡°What? A punk from Orange County actually had the guts to hit you? He really doesn¡¯t take the Smiths seriously at all!¡± Wendy mmed her hand against the table in exasperation. If it was an arrogant scion from San Francisco who didn¡¯t take the Smiths seriously because of some other backers, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad. But she felt that that arrogant punk who had hit Roy must have a death wish! Wendy was furious, and she looked straight at Lance. ¡°Lance Kingston, your family is at least one of the most powerful families in California. You should be able to deal with a mere punk from Orange County, right?¡± A nobody from Orange County doesn¡¯t warrant us to take action at all! Lance hurriedly said, ¡°Of course! Even if he¡¯s the heir of a prominent family in Orange County, I¡¯ll definitely bring him back and hand him over to you to be at your disposal!¡± Chapter 616 - Disrupting The Romance

Chapter 616: Disrupting The Romance

Lance, who now needed help from the Smiths and also wanted to get closer to them, immediately agreed to do so without hesitation. ¡°But Mr. Smith, do you know the name of that punk who had the audacity to hit you?¡± Since he wanted to help Roy take revenge, he had to at least find out which impudent person it was who had dared to harm Roy. Feeling extremely aggrieved, Roy said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what that punk¡¯s full name is, but the people around him called him Lucas. He¡¯s about the same age as me, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and 1.85 meters tall. He has quick hands! And he has a very pretty woman by his side, who seems to be his wife.¡± He told Lance all the basic information about Lucas that he had obtained from meeting Lucas just now. Although he had instructed his bodyguard to stay in Orange County and find out Lucas¡¯s identity, Roy had yet to receive a call from his bodyguard, so he could only describe him in such a general manner. After Lance heard what Roy said, his expression slowly became grave and gloomy. Lucas¡­ ¡­ twenty-seven or twenty-eight¡­ ¡­ 1.85 meters tall and fast at fighting¡­ ¡­ has a very pretty wife¡­ After piecing all this information together, a figure that he was reluctant to see immediately surfaced in his mind.?No way¡­ While he was thinking about it, his expression became rather subtle. He seemed shocked, angry, and on the verge of tears as the corners of his mouth twitched vigorously. Wendy acutely sensed his reactions, and she narrowed her eyes before asking with a frown, ¡°Lance Kingston, you look like you know who that person is.¡± Roy quickly looked at Lance and asked eagerly, ¡°Do you know who that bastard is? Great. Who is he?¡± Lance smiled bitterly. ¡°If I¡¯m guessing correctly, the person who got physical with Mr. Smith should be Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s him too?¡± Wendy was shocked, but a look of vicious resentment and hatred soon appeared on her face. ¡°Hmph, it seems that Lucas Gray is indeed very arrogant. He killed my¡­¡± She looked at her nephew Roy, who was still dumbfounded and clueless. She stopped herself from saying the words ¡®son and ex-husband¡¯ she almost just blurted and rephrased it. ¡°¡­ After killing my friend, he bullied my nephew. He must have a death wish!¡± With a cold expression on her face, Wendy clenched her fists tightly and meticulously tended to her broken fingernail, which was painted with red nail varnish. ¡°Since that person is Lucas Gray, Mrs. Smith, I think we¡¯ll have to ask Master Eli to deal with him¡­¡± Lance said cautiously. He had just pitted the Kingstons¡¯ strongestbat expert against Eli, but Eli had easily defeated him. Even if Lance sent him to deal with Lucas, it would probably be futile. Wendy naturally knew this as well. She said directly to Eli, who was behind her, ¡°In that case, Master Eli, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to go to Orange County and bring Lucas Gray back to me! ¡°Also, Mr. Kingston, send me a copy of the information regarding Lucas Gray. You should have his photos, address, and other information, right? I don¡¯t want Master Eli to go all the way to Orange County, only to end up wasting his time on something useless.¡± Eli and Lance both immediately agreed. Soon, Eli headed to Orange County with the simple information about Lucas that the Kingstons provided. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Lucas and the others in Orange County were naturally unaware of this matter. They had just finished their meal in the Lion Restaurant and left. Because Maddy would be leaving for DC soon, and her family was forcing her to ept an arranged marriage, the few of them were in low spirits. In particr, Jordan seemed worried and reluctant to part with her. Lucas nced at him and suddenly said, ¡°Jordan, Maddy will be leaving tomorrow. But before she leaves, you still have to protect her, okay?¡± After being stunned for a while, Jordan immediately stood up straight and promised loudly, ¡°Yes!¡± He understood that Lucas was deliberately giving him this task so that he could continue to stay by Maddy¡¯s side under the pretext of protecting her. Even if he only had one day left, he could make hisst effort to change the way Maddy felt about him¡­ Maddy smiled faintly without saying anything. In fact, it wasn¡¯t that she couldn¡¯t sense Jordan¡¯s feelings for her. But due to their age gap and the resistance from her family that she would inevitably face, Maddy had only ever been able to treat Jordan as her younger brother andrade. She didn¡¯t dare to think about anything else at all. Soon, the two bade goodbye and left. Lucas and Cheyenne were the only ones left by the roadside. Cheyenne naturally held Lucas¡¯s arm, and they were behaving just like any other loving couple. As a bystander, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help feeling anxious and sympathy for Jordan and Maddy, who couldn¡¯t tell each other their feelings and had to part ways because of various reasons. At the same time, she also felt happy and thankful. She looked at Lucas beside her. More than six years ago, she and Lucas had gotten married out of a helplesspromise and not because of a sweet romance or love. The two had been distant from the beginning, andter on, numerous events had urred. When Lucas vanished for six years, Cheyenne had been full of resentment toward him. So during the period of time after Lucas suddenly returned to Orange County, Cheyenne had been extremely cold toward him. But even so, Lucas had never given up and had instead been silently protecting her and loving her through his own means, which allowed their rtionship to develop to this stage. The thought of the intimacy they had just shared made Cheyenne blush and her heart race. It turned out that the feeling of being in love was really the most blissful thing in the world. It was so fortunate that she could meet Lucas! Cheyenne looked at Lucas affectionately, and he gazed at her adoringly. They shared a tacit understanding through their warm eye contact, filling their hearts with sweetness. It was still early, and it had been long since they got to enjoy some time alone. So they weren¡¯t in a rush to go home. Hand in hand, Lucas and Cheyenne slowly walked through the streets and alleys amid the early autumn breeze. But their peaceful time together was short-lived because Lucas suddenly stopped in his tracks not long after they walked a bit. He turned his head to look in a certain direction with his eyes full of anger. His rare quality time with Cheyenne was going to be disturbed by some ignorant people. ¡°Wh-what¡¯s the matter?¡± Cheyenne was walking when she suddenly sensed something amiss with Lucas. Chapter 617 - Confrontation in the Alley

Chapter 617: Confrontation in the Alley

Lucas squeezed Cheyenne¡¯s handfortingly and said softly, ¡°Honey, I suddenly have something to handle now. Go to the parking lot and wait for me inside the car.¡± Cheyenne¡¯s heart tensed up. She grabbed Lucas¡¯s arm worriedly. ¡°Is it something¡­ troublesome? Will there be any danger?¡± After getting to know Lucas during this period of time, she certainly knew that certain things would happen around Lucas from time to time, which made her feel extremely worried. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s just a trivial matter that I¡¯ll resolve soon. Wait for me in the car. I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡± Seeing the look of reassurance in Lucas¡¯s eyes, Cheyenne nodded, took Lucas¡¯s car key, and left. She knew that she couldn¡¯t help Lucas in many aspects, so the only thing she could do now was to trust him and not create any trouble for him. Lucas watched Cheyenne walk far before turning around and walking toward an ally nearby. There were two rows of buildings along the alley, which were part of a demolition area. The residents staying here had moved away a long time ago. Basically, it was a remote ce where very few came and went. However¡­ Lucas walked to the entrance of the alley and shouted expressionlessly, ¡°Get your ass out here!¡± A figure suddenly appeared in the alley, which was originally empty and void of any people. He initially had an extremely low presence, like an inconspicuous antique going unnoticed in this dpidated alley. Even if someone walked past him, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to notice his presence. But Lucas¡¯s senses were so keen that he could immediately lock onto the direction from which the killing intent was spreading toward him. He then saw the seemingly inconspicuous man in gray in front of him. This person in gray was none other than Eli, who followed Wendy. Eli narrowed his eyes and sized up Lucas before suddenly saying, ¡°Sharp senses like yours are really rare. You¡¯re young, but you¡¯re really something! No wonder you dared to barge into the Kingston residence on your own and deterred them from taking revenge on you.¡± There were a few traces of appreciation on his face. Lucas frowned. ¡°Are you here for the Kingstons?¡± Eli shook his head and sneered. ¡°No, the Kingstons can¡¯t order me around.¡± His words contained a trace of arrogance, seemingly not taking the Kingstons seriously at all. This made Lucas raise his brows. The Kingstons were a top family and an unreachable existence in the eyes of most people. But the disdainful tone in the voice of the man in front of him when he talked about the Kingstons was evidence that his status was far higher than the Kingstons¡¯. Although the man in gray had restrained his aura to the point where most people would feel that he was just an ordinary person with such a low presence that he was almost inconspicuous, in the eyes of experts like Lucas, his concealment skills were mediocre. But his strength could be discerned from his breathing, footsteps, speech, walking posture, and other subtle aspects. If Lucas had to describe it, the man in gray in front of him did have an overbearing aura. At the very least, he was much stronger than Scarface, the Kingstons¡¯ previous top expert. This just meant that the man in gray was either an expert from one of the giants in DC or an expert simr to those of the Peerless Martial Association. ¡°Oh, so who sent you?¡± Lucas asked slowly. ¡°The Smiths from DC!¡± Eli didn¡¯t hide it and simply revealed his origin. He then grinned and asked, ¡°You should still remember what you did today, right?¡± Then he released his aura, immediately turning from a mellow and harmless middle-aged man to a menacing beast. The dust and fallen leaves in the air seem to be deterred by his aura as they suddenly rippled away. The scene was extremely shocking. Lucas smiled faintly. But he seemed to have not sensed anything as he said calmly, ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s the Smiths. Roy Smith went back toin and ask for help so soon! It seems that I was too easy on him. I decided to let him live on ount of someone else, but I didn¡¯t expect him to be so eager about dying.¡± Lucas¡¯s nonchnce immediately made Eli reveal a trace of surprise. He initially thought that Lucas probably wasn¡¯t aware that Roy was from one of the eight top families in DC when he beat him up. So he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to remainposed even after revealing his identity and his overbearing aura that could shock most experts beyond resistance. Eli had been famous for a long time, and he had never been belittled by a young man to such an extent! He was good at hiding his strength, but this didn¡¯t mean that he was someone who didn¡¯t care for fame and fortune. Instead, it was because he liked seeing others being shocked and horrified when they saw him revealing his strength and turning from an insignificant nobody to a menacing monster. Now, he had already released all his aura, thinking that he could scare Lucas out of his wits. But the other party didn¡¯t even bother to look up. This waspletely ignoring him and denying him. Anger surged within him, and he said with a cold expression, ¡°Kid, if you obediently make a trip with me to go and beg Mrs. Smith for mercy, maybe you can still save your life. Otherwise, death will be your only oue!¡± ¡°Mrs. Smith? Who is that now?¡± Lucas asked in bewilderment. Which woman from the Smith family? Maybe it has something to do with that good-for-nothing Roy??Lucas immediately thought of this. Eli said arrogantly, ¡°Mrs. Smith is the daughter of the head of the Smith family. Her name is Wendy Smith! Since you¡¯ve thoroughly offended Mrs. Smith, just wait till you go to hell to regret it!¡± Lucas frowned. ¡°I offended her? Because I hit Roy Smith?¡± Eli sneered. ¡°I¡¯ll let you die with some understanding. Do you still remember Moses and Marc Kingston, who died because of you? ¡°Moses is Mrs. Smith¡¯s former husband, and Marc is her biological son! Do you know why you deserve to die now?¡± The news waspletely beyond Lucas¡¯s expectations. He had never expected that Moses would marry the daughter of the helmsman of the Smith family in DC and that the two of them would give birth to Marc. If this was true, why didn¡¯t Moses and Marc use the power of the Smiths against him? Even when Marc was begging for forgiveness and threatening him, he had always used the Kingstons¡¯ power to suppress him without mentioning his mother¡¯s family, the Smiths, at all. Perhaps, there was something hidden in it. But the Kingstons had nothing to do with Lucas. Marc had taken the initiative to provoke Lucas, then had his legs crippled and jumped to his death afterward. Moses had been exposed during his n for revenge, and after his failed attempt at revenge, he had killed himself. Lucas wouldn¡¯t feel any guilt over their deaths. He would never go and make amends to Mrs. Smith, who had appeared out of nowhere! Lucas remained quiet and indifferent. Eli narrowed his eyes and threatened, ¡°It seems that you¡¯re trying to hold out hope until you face death! In that case, I¡¯ll take you down personally, cripple your legs, and make you go and apologize to Mrs. Smith!¡± Then he leaped up high and kicked Lucas¡¯s head hard! Chapter 618 - Tit For Tat

Chapter 618: Tit For Tat

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Eli was in midair and saw that Lucas was standing still despite him stomping down hard on him, a trace of mockery appeared on his lips. Eli was unsure if Lucas had yet to process what was happening or because he had underestimated his enemy and overestimated his ownbat skills. In short, the stomp of his foot was so hard that he could even form a hole in a steel te! Even if Lucas used his arms to defend himself, he would stomp onto Lucas¡¯s arms and head to crush them all in a pulp! But the moment his foot was about tond on Lucas¡¯s head, the figure beneath him vanished! ¡°What?!¡± Eli was astonished. He had been staring at Lucas, but in that instant just now, Lucas actually vanished out of sight before he could even blink. This could only mean that Lucas¡¯s speed was far faster than he could imagine! But the biggest question now was just where Lucas was hiding¡­ Before Eli could finish thinking about it, a chilling aura suddenly came from his right. Before he could even react, he was kicked hard in the right side of his torso and knocked to the ground from midair by an unimaginably massive force. Bang! Eli was like a fly being pped to the ground from the air by a fly swatter. There was even arge pit in the solid stone ground that waspletely sted into pieces! ¡°Pfft!¡± Eli spat out a mouthful of blood as soon as he raised his head. The spots in his waist and abdomen that Lucas had just kicked were so painful that he almost fell unconscious while his internal organs were almost all dislocated under this violent blow! The pain was simply excruciating! This blow was so strong that it made him lose most of hisbat power! ¡°Phew¡­ phew¡­¡± Eli was gasping heavily, and a look of extreme shock appeared in his eyes. It was only at this time that he truly understood what Lance really meant when he said that the Kingstons¡¯ strongest expert was killed in a second by Lucas! The funny thing was that he hadn¡¯t thought so previously and only thought it was because the Kingstons¡¯ so-called ¡®expert¡¯ was weak. Now, he had truly experienced the terrifying feeling of being knocked out in a second! Lucasnded lightly from the air and stood in front of Eli, still asposed as ever. He walked toward Eli one step at a time. A long-lost fear surged in Eli¡¯s heart, making him retreat subconsciously. But it was so painful that almost half of his body was about to go numb. His almost broken leg hurt so badly that he couldn¡¯t move away at all. ¡°You just said that you want to cripple my limbs and bring me to that Mrs. Smith?¡± Lucas said coldly from above Eli. Eli immediately felt an ominous hunch. ¡°I¡­ Ah!!!¡± He had only managed to spit out one word before Lucas stepped directly on his ankle bone and crushed it into pieces! Snap! Snap! Snap! With three crisp sounds in session, Eli¡¯s limb bones were all crushed! When dealing with people who took the initiative to provoke him and threaten to break his limbs, Lucas had always done to them exactly what they said they would do to him. It wasn¡¯t his fault at all. Eli had long lost his previous appearance of an expert, and he was in so much pain that he was rolling around and wailing at the top of his lungs. The cold sweat flowing out had already drenched him. Fortunately, it was a very inconspicuous alley, and due to the uing demolition, humans were scarce here. Otherwise, Eli¡¯s scream would have definitely attracted a crowd. At this moment, Eli was full of horror and regret. Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills were so terrifying that even he couldn¡¯t resist a single strike from Lucas. He was severely injured by one kick! If he had known that he was such a terrifying expert, he wouldn¡¯t have been so arrogant as to provoke him¡­ Unfortunately, it was toote for regrets now! He still had a pistol hidden in his waist. But Lucas had already broken his hands, depriving him of hisst chance to live! ¡°Spare¡­ spare my life. There¡­ there isn¡¯t any f-feud between us. I was j-just following orders! Please¡­ spare my life!¡± At this moment, in the face of the threat of death, Eli gave up his dignity and began to beg Lucas for mercy. As he spoke, he even dragged his broken limbs with great difficulty and knelt on the ground. Lucas sneered. The man in gray in front of him had appeared in a dignified manner. But now, he could only miserably crawl on the ground and beg Lucas for forgiveness. He no longer had the backbone of a martial artist. In fact, even if Lucas spared his life, he was alreadypletely crippled. Lucas was not a murderous and bloodthirsty person. Besides, as the man in gray said, he indeed didn¡¯t have any personal grudges against him, so Lucas didn¡¯t want to kill him. But although Lucas didn¡¯t kill him, the fate of this man in gray would probably be far worse than death. ¡°I won¡¯t kill you, but you have to go back and warn Mrs. Smith that Moses and Marc Kingston died from suicide, which they brought upon themselves. If she must take revenge against me, I won¡¯t be polite to her!¡± With that, Lucas stopped looking at Eli, who had be crippled, and turned around to leave. He walked to the spot where Cheyenne was waiting for him. ¡ª¡ª San Francisco, Kingston residence¡­ Wendy was still sitting in the hall and enjoying the best VIP treatment. Lance was still talking to her fawningly and trying to get close to her. But Wendy merely responded perfunctorily and half-heartedly. Although in terms of seniority and their past rtionship, Wendy should probably still see Lance as an elder. But she had a noble status. Lance had even ruined her rtionship with Moses, causing her to suffer for half her lifetime. Now, she was willing to sit down and talk to him only on ount of herte ex-husband and son. She obviously wouldn¡¯t show any kindness to the Kingstons. But as time passed, Wendy began to get anxious and impatient. ording to the time, Eli should have long arrived in Orange County and defeated Lucas. Why hasn¡¯t Eli called yet? ¡°Uh¡­ Master Eli has been gone for a long time. I wonder if he¡¯s caught Lucas Gray yet,¡± Lance asked worriedly. Wendy sneered and mocked, ¡°Haven¡¯t you already seen how capable Master Eli is? Don¡¯tpare him with the ipetent trash of the Kingstons! He¡¯ll definitely be able to capture that damn Lucas Gray!¡± Roy said with great disdain, ¡°Exactly. Master Eli is a top powerhouse of our family, whom the family head specially sent to protect my aunt. It¡¯s a piece of cake for him to seize Lucas. Just because the Kingstons can¡¯t do it, it doesn¡¯t mean that we can¡¯t either!¡± Lance¡¯s face flushed, but he didn¡¯t dare to retort at all. At this moment, Roy¡¯s phone suddenly rang. When he answered, he heard a terrified voice spread over. ¡°Mr.. Smith, bad news. Master Eli¡¯s limbs have been broken, and he has sustained severe injuries!¡± Chapter 619 - Unforgivable

Chapter 619: Unforgivable

¡°What?!¡± After hearing this news, Roy was so shocked that he instantly sprung up and didn¡¯t even notice that he had dropped the teacup next to him onto the floor. The subordinate who called him was the very same bodyguard that he had left behind in Orange County to investigate Lucas. He was in charge of investigating Lucas in Orange County, so he naturally saw the fight between Lucas and Eli, which had ended in less than a minute. But he didn¡¯t get close to the alley, and by the time he rushed over to the vicinity, Eli had already been kicked to the ground by Lucas¡¯s leg whip. This bodyguard was so frightened that he shivered and immediately went to hide. Only after Lucas left did he dare to go over. He then saw Eli¡¯s serious injuries and crippled limbs. ¡°Mr. Smith, Master Eli¡¯s limbs have been broken by Lucas Gray, and he¡¯s lying beside me! I¡¯m not very clear about the details. Should I send Master Eli back now and let him talk to you personally?!¡± the bodyguard said fearfully. ¡°Duh? What are you waiting for? Send Master Eli back immediately! Right now!¡± Roy hollered at the top of his voice before hanging up. At the side, Wendy vaguely heard something and had shock written all over her face. ¡°Roy, you just received a call? What¡¯s the matter? Did something happen to Master Eli?¡± Roy hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, Aunt Wendy, My subordinate in Orange County called to say that Master Eli lost the fight with Lucas Gray and even had his limbs broken. We¡¯ll only know the details of the situation after Master Eli is brought back to us!¡± Wendy had disbelief all over her face. Even Lance looked horrified, and he sprung up and blurted, ¡°How is that possible?¡± If he hadn¡¯t witnessed Eli¡¯s martial arts skills personally, he might have been indifferent about it. But the incredible power that Eli had disyed earlier was enough to suppress the Kingstons¡¯ strongest expert and beat him to the ground. Yet he ended up having his limbs broken by Lucas.?That¡­ is too terrifying. Could Lucas Gray¡¯s strength have really reached that terrifying degree? ¡°No matter what, we have to ask Master Eli to rush back so we can hear what he actually says!¡± Wendy gritted her teeth. Waiting was always the most arduous thing ever. In the next half hour or so, Wendy, Roy, and Lance were all very restless. When the Kingstons¡¯ butler came to report that Roy¡¯s bodyguard had returned with the injured Eli, the few of them went all out and rushed to the vi entrance without any regard for their status. When they saw with their own eyes Eli¡¯s crushed wrist and ankle bones, as well as his weak and wretched appearance, they couldn¡¯t help inhaling sharply. ¡°Master Eli, what on earth happened? Quickly tell us. How exactly did Lucas Gray beat you up to this state?¡± Roy asked anxiously. While drenched in cold sweat, Eli endured the tremendous paining from his body and replied, ¡°We¡­ underestimated Lucas Gray. He is by no means an ordinary expert. He¡¯s so fast that even I¡­ I didn¡¯t see how he actually moved. He kicked me in the waist and caused me to be so severely injured that I¡­ I can¡¯t even get up. ¡°He¡­ he isn¡¯t easy to deal with, and he strikes ruthlessly without mercy. If you can, I suggest that you don¡¯t mess with him. Otherwise, you will definitely get into huge trouble!¡± he said ashamedly while feeling extremely guilty and fearful of Lucas¡¯s unpredictablebat skills. Roy inhaled sharply and immediately recalled the scene of himself getting choked by Lucas and almost suffocating to death in Orange County today. A sudden chill instantly surged from the bottom of his feet straight to the top of his head. ¡°Aunt Wendy, it seems Lucas Gray is indeed very difficult to deal with! Master Eli is already a top expert of our family and the strongest one around us now. Even he got beaten up into a pulp by Lucas, so wouldn¡¯t we be¡­ seeking death if we provoked him now? Aunt Wendy, we¡¯d better get out of here and go back to DC! In case Lucas Grayes over, we won¡¯t be able to deal with him at all!¡± Roy was now truly terrified of Lucas. Even Eli wasn¡¯t a match for Lucas, and he only had two ipetent bodyguards remaining, who didn¡¯t even dare to breathe in front of Lucas. It made him extremely insecure, for fear that Lucas would suddenly appear in the Kingston residence to choke him to death again. Roy belonged to one of the eight top families of DC and grew up in thep of luxury. He had almost never even suffered a minor wound in the nearly three decades of his life. But this time, he was nearly strangled to death by a man of his age. He didn¡¯t want to ever feel the horror of a near-death experience again! Wendy frowned and remained silent with a sullen expression on her face. The fact that she was gritting her teeth was enough to show that she was in a terrible mood at the moment. But Roy didn¡¯t notice it and wished he could run to her and shout into her ears, ¡°Aunt Wendy, why are you still hesitating? We¡¯d better leave right now while we can! In case Lucas Grayes here, we¡¯ll be dead meat!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Wendy was furious and raised her hand to p Roy on the face. Smack! The loud p and the numbing paining from Roy¡¯s face immediately made his body freeze. But at the same time, he recovered from the fear of being on the verge of copse. ¡°¡­ Aunt Wendy, what are we going to do now? We can¡¯t continue to just stay here, can we? We don¡¯t have enough people around us, and the Kingstons don¡¯t have any experts who can provide protection¡­¡± Roy asked cautiously, covering his face while glowering indignantly at Lance. Lance felt very maligned.?Am I to me for the fact that the Kingstons can¡¯t find an expert who can rival Lucas Gray? Didn¡¯t you Smiths praise Eli to no end? Yet he ended up having all his limbs broken, didn¡¯t he? At the same time, Lance was also rather worried despite the criticism. If Lucas knew that the Kingstons and Wendy were the ones who had sent Eli, maybe he would barge into the Kingstons¡¯ again to fight. Among the several people present, Wendy seemed to be the mostposed. She took a deep breath and said, ¡°Since Lucas Gray only crippled Master Eli¡¯s limbs but didn¡¯t kill him, I think he should just want to warn us and doesn¡¯t intend to drive us to death.¡± Eli hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, I think so. Lucas Gray also asked me¡­ to ry a message to you. He said¡­ he said that Moses and Marc Kingston both died from suicide, which they brought upon themselves. If you must take revenge against him, he won¡¯t be polite to us!¡± ¡°Hmph, as expected, Lucas Gray is warning us!¡± Wendy gritted her teeth. The Smiths had always been the ones to threaten others and never the other way around. Yet they were now being threatened by a young man in his twenties. It was a tant insult! Lucas had even dared to say that her ex-husband and son had brought their deaths upon themselves. This was simply unforgivable! Chapter 620 - Each Harboring Ill Intentions

Chapter 620: Each Harboring Ill Intentions

Lance, at the side, couldn¡¯t help trembling after hearing Lucas¡¯s warning. He initially merely wanted to use the power of the Smiths¡¯ expert to get rid of Lucas in one fell swoop. However, not only did he fail to get what he wanted, but he ended up offending Lucas again. Wendy and Roy had the powerful Smith family behind them, and they could return to DC and stay far, far away. Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to exact revenge on them either. But the Kingstons¡¯ roots were in San Francisco, so if Lucas wanted to take revenge against them, they would have nowhere to run! When Lance thought of this, a look of extreme fear appeared on his face. After struggling for a while, he finally couldn¡¯t bear the tremendous pressure in his heart and got down on his knees in front of Wendy. ¡°Mrs. Smith, please save the Kingstons!¡± Wendy was taken aback. Logically speaking, Lance was her ex-husband¡¯s father, so she should see him as her former father-inw. Although she disliked him, he was on in his years, and it was a fact that she found it hard to ept it when she saw him suddenly kneeling in front of her. ¡°Wh-what are you doing? Quickly get up before you say what you want!¡± She hurriedly reached out to pull Lance up. Lance stood up, still looking as worried as ever. With a pleading gaze, he begged, ¡°Mrs. Smith, at this point, the Kingstons are about to face a huge crisis soon. You¡¯re the only one who can save us! ¡°When Lucas Gray came to cause a stir in our home previously, he warned us not to go against him again, or he definitely wouldn¡¯t let us off. He even threatened to kill all of us! Now¡­ now that we¡¯ve provoked him, he definitely won¡¯t spare us! ¡°Mrs. Smith, no matter what, Moses and Marc used to be part of the Kingstons, and we¡¯re all family members. Now, you¡¯re the only one who can save us! Please don¡¯t leave us in the lurch!¡± Two lines of tears streamed down his wrinkled face, making him look incredibly miserable. Roy was afraid that his aunt would agree, so he quickly stopped her, ¡°Aunt Wendy, don¡¯t listen to him! The feud is between the Kingstons and Lucas Gray to begin with. What¡¯s it have to do with us? Now that Lucas Gray is so powerful that even Master Eli is no match for him, what can we do? ¡°In my opinion, we shouldn¡¯t get involved in this mess! Otherwise, even we won¡¯t be able to save ourselves!¡± Then he glowered at Lance again and cursed, ¡°Old fogy, you offended Lucas Gray yourself and couldn¡¯t deal with him, so you tried to drag us all into this, huh? You¡¯re really evil. How shameless of you!¡± Wendy didn¡¯t say anything, but countless thoughts rushed through her mind. In fact, the reason she came to San Francisco this time was entirely for Moses and Marc. She had been so in love with Moses back then that she had secretly concealed her identity and went through painstaking means to hide her family background just so she could get together with him. She had even gotten pregnant with his child. Butter on, Lance¡¯s vehement refusal forced Moses to leave her while Wendy¡¯s parents reprimanded her in disappointment and demanded that she get an abortion before marrying someone else. In the end, she agreed to her parents¡¯ request to ept the marriage they had arranged for her on the condition that she could give birth to the child. She then secretly sent the child away so that none of the Smiths could find out his whereabouts. In order to protect Marc and Moses, she never once returned to San Francisco over thest three decades or so. But every single day, she would secretly wonder to herself about how they were doing. When she missed them badly, she would have a trusted confidante secretlye to San Francisco to find out about Marc and Moses¡¯s situation to relieve her longing for them. But she never dared to make it too obvious because she knew that once she revealed any hints, the Smiths would definitely take action against both Moses and Marc as soon as they found out. Besides, her current husband would definitely not tolerate the fact that she had had a child out of wedlock. Thus, day by day, she waited and looked forward to hearing about them. But she suddenly received the news of the sudden and unexpected deaths of both Moses and Marc. Wendy was on the verge of losing her mind after hearing the news. Therefore, she no longer cared about anything else and simply found a random excuse to take her nephew over to San Francisco with her, where she embarked on her pursuit for the truth of the matter and carried out her n to avenge Moses and Marc! But she didn¡¯t expect that her most powerful bodyguard, Eli, wouldn¡¯t be a match for Lucas at all. From a rational point of view, she should indeed give up retaliating against Lucas for the time being and rush back to DC as soon as possible so as not to arouse the suspicions of the Smiths and her husband in any way. But if she gave up just like that, her ex-husband, Moses, and her son, Marc, would have died in vain. The thought of the two people she loved having now turned into cold corpses while the culprit who killed them was still living freely waspletely intolerable for Wendy! ¡°Okay, Mr. Kingston, you have my word. I promise to help your family and do everything I can to get rid of Lucas Gray!¡± Wendy said decisively. Lance was immediately overjoyed at her words, and the furrows on his face eased up while he thanked her profusely. But Roy¡¯s face suddenly turned sullen, and he advised earnestly, ¡°Aunt Wendy, calm down! I¡¯m not even going to take revenge on Lucas anymore, so why do you want to get yourself embroiled in this mess? Lucas Gray is a martial arts expert, and we don¡¯t have anyone who can deal with him!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind, so just do as I say! Also, you are not to breathe a word about this to our family. Otherwise, you know full well what I can do to you!¡± Wendy looked at Roy coldly, her eyes full of determination. Roy was startled by the rarely-seen gaze of indifference in her eyes. But he knew that she wasn¡¯t an ordinary person, and the things she had done in the past were simply ruthless and vicious. Thus, he never dared to offend her even though she had already moved out after getting married. ¡°We can¡¯t tell the rest of the family either? Aunt Wendy, why exactly do you want to do this? Could you have some other hidden reasons?¡± Roy asked in bewilderment. ¡°Shut up. You¡¯d better not ask about things that you shouldn¡¯t!¡± Wendy chided sternly. ¡°Okay¡­ I know.¡± Roy nodded calmly and agreed, but he was full of disbelief. He thought that his aunt was probably out of her mind for insisting on going against Lucas. He wasn¡¯t nning to stay behind and be buried here with her. He decided that once he left, he would find an opportunity to leave San Francisco immediately and go back to the Smiths¡¯ home in DC. He would, of course, tell the authoritative figures, such as his parents and the family head, about Wendy¡¯s actions. While thinking about this, he failed to notice that Wendy had already seen through him and the emotions he was showing on his face because he had never been able to hide his feelings well. Chapter 621 - Beyond Expectations

Chapter 621: Beyond Expectations

Wendy frowned at Roy and suddenly asked, ¡°Speaking of which, you said that you were going to look for your fianc¨¦e in Orange County. What happened afterward?¡± At the mention of this matter, Roy immediately forgot what he was nning just now and flew into a rage. ¡°Aunt Wendy, recalling this matter makes me furious. That shameless bitch Maddy Stone refused to acknowledge the engagement between our families, and she¡¯s even dating a pretty boy, with whom she publicly humiliated me!¡± Although this seemed to be a private matter for Roy, denying the engagement with a Smith was a tant insult to the family! Wendy was enraged. ¡°A shameless bitch indeed! My father only decided to let you marry that woman because of her good medical skills. She has quite a good reputation and will be useful to us in terms of forming connections. She seems to be quite pretty too. But since she dares to insult you and the Smiths like this, she really deserves to die! ¡°I will definitely make the Stones give you and our family an exnation for this matter!¡± There was anger written all over Wendy¡¯s face. Roy hurriedly said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m not even minding the fact that she¡¯s old, yet she has the guts to look down on our family. Aunt Wendy, you must seek justice for me!¡± His status in the Smith family wasn¡¯t outstanding, and the way he was treated was far inferior to the highly valued descendants. This was why the Smiths had decided to make Roy marry Maddy, who was over 30 years old and an old woman in his opinion. He had no right to oppose even if he wanted to. But he heard that Maddy was very beautiful despite her age and had just recently returned to the country. So he wanted to take the opportunity to go and take a good look at his future wife while he was out on a trip with Wendy. If she was pretty, he would just make do. But he never thought that even though he had taken a liking to Maddy, she would actually dare to treat him that way and even openly hold another man¡¯s hand in front of him. She didn¡¯t even deny it when someone else said that she was that man¡¯s girlfriend, which was tant disregard for Roy! The matter was too embarrassing and humiliating after all. If heined to his family about it, it likely wouldn¡¯t result in any effect and would even cause him to be ridiculed by his peers for being ipetent. Even his fianc¨¦e looked down on him. But if Wendy was the oneining to the rest of the family, the oue of the matter would immediately be very different. Not only would Maddy suffer, but the Stones would have to pay the price for it. Wendy said with a faint smile, ¡°No matter what, you are still my nephew, and we are both from the same family, so I will naturally stand on your side.¡± Only then did Roy feel relieved and hurriedly thank Wendy, ¡°Thank you, Aunt Wendy! But we just need to teach the Stones a lesson. Please let Maddy off. After all, I still want to marry her.¡± Although he disliked the fact that Maddy was older, her supermodel-like figure and unique elegance that was very different from other women made him feel an urge to conquer her. Wendy smiled. ¡°Okay, got it.¡± Just as Roy was feeling smug, he suddenly saw Wendy pull out a small silenced pistol from her waist and point the ck muzzle at him. ¡°Aunt Wendy, what¡­?!¡± Roy widened his eyes in shock. But before he could say anything, Wendy¡¯s finger on the trigger had already moved. Whoosh! With a dull gunshot that sounded strange due to the silencer, a finger-thick hole immediately appeared between Roy¡¯s eyebrows, and blood instantly gushed out of it. Roy still had shock and disbelief all over his face as his pupils gradually dimmed. Then he slowly fell backward to the floor. ¡°Mrs¡­ Mrs. Smith! Wh-what are you doing?¡± Lance, standing at the side, witnessed the entire process and was dumbstruck by her sudden move. He pointed at Roy¡¯s corpse with his mouth open in horror, barely able to say aplete sentence. This scene was far beyond his imagination! At this moment, Eli, lying on the ground with his limbs already crippled, had a change of expression because he had already guessed the intention behind Wendy¡¯s move. Moreover, he was well aware that her next target would definitely be him! Indeed, the next moment, Wendy aimed the silenced pistol in her hand at Eli, with a look of ruthlessness. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know anything. I won¡¯t say anything! I swear on my life¡­ Ah!¡± Eli¡¯s plea for mercy came to an abrupt end as another bullet flew out of the pistol in Wendy¡¯s hand and struck Eli¡¯s head with great uracy. ¡°I never believe in oaths, and you have long be useless to me. Keeping you behind won¡¯t bring me any benefits!¡± Wendy watched as Eli¡¯s body convulsed violently for a short while beforeing to a stop. She then blew the muzzle and slowly ced the pistol back into the sheath on her waist. His former daughter-inw actually killed two people in front of him with a straight face, one of whom was her bodyguard and the other her biological nephew. This was simply beyond what Lance couldprehend! ¡°Ahhh!¡± Wendy suddenly sighed slowly and said to Lance with a bitter smile, ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t want to do this, but I didn¡¯t have a valid reason to ask the family for help. ¡°Only with Roy¡¯s death would the Smiths take this matter seriously and send a stronger, elite expert to deal with Lucas Gray. Now, do you understand my approach? Roy and Eli have both been killed by Lucas Gray, right?¡± Wendy nced at Lance. Lance shuddered and hurriedly said, ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it! Mr. Kingston found out that Lucas Gray¡¯s friend snatched his fianc¨¦e, so he felt insulted and brought Eli with him to take revenge on Lucas Gray. However, both of them were brutally killed by Lucas Gray!¡± At this moment, his back was drenched in cold sweat. For the sake of achieving her goals, Wendy was actually able to kill her biological nephew and personal bodyguard of years without even batting an eyelid. If he acted inappropriately, she would probably not show him any mercy! Hearing what he said, Wendy said with a cruel smile, ¡°It¡¯s good that you know. I will contact the Smiths in DC now, and soon, I will be able to take revenge for my love and son!¡± Chapter 622 - Do You Regret It Now?

Chapter 622: Do You Regret It Now?

At this moment, Lucas naturally didn¡¯t know that Wendy had been so ruthless and even killed her biological nephew just to get the Smiths to send someone to deal with him. But with Lucas¡¯sbat skills and abilities, he didn¡¯t care what kind of an expert the Smiths would send. In this world, there were very few experts on par with him. And even experts from the eight top families of DC would probably be far from rivaling Lucas. After settling the matter with Eli, he went straight to the parking lot outside the Lion Restaurant and took Cheyenne, who was obviously relieved, back to the vi. Charlotte had picked up Amelia long ago, and the family enjoyed a rxing and pleasant evening together. Since it was Sunday tomorrow, Lucas looked at Amelia obediently lying on the bed and listening to Cheyenne¡¯s story and suddenly remembered what Karen had said when she tried to trick her. ¡°Let¡¯s take Amelia to the amusement park tomorrow.¡± Amelia was stunned for a moment before eximing in joy and asking with glistening eyes, ¡°Really? Really? Can we really go to the amusement park?¡± Her tender face was full of anticipation as she looked at Lucas and then at Cheyenne. ¡°Mommy said she would take me therest time, but she¡¯s been really busy and telling me that she doesn¡¯t have time¡­¡± Cheyenne immediately seemed guilty. She had indeed made such a promise to Amelia before. But due to William¡¯s ident, she had no choice but to renege. She touched Amelia¡¯s head apologetically and said gently, ¡°Amelia, I was just too busy before and couldn¡¯t find any time to apany you. But Mommy and Daddy will definitely take you to y to your hearts¡¯ content tomorrow, okay?¡± ¡°Wow! Yay! I can finally go to the amusement park! Mommy, you¡¯re the best! I love you so much!¡± Amelia jumped up on the bed happily, wrapped her arms around Cheyenne¡¯s neck, and kissed her face. ¡°Haha, Daddy, I love you too!¡± Before Lucas could get jealous, Amelia jumped into his arms and kissed him on the same spot on his face. She then held one of their hands in each hand and smiled gleefully. ¡°Daddy, Mommy, I feel like the happiest person in the world! I¡¯m the happiest person in the world! I¡¯m so happy!¡± Seeing their well-behaved and adorable daughter being so joyful because they fulfilled a small request of hers, Lucas and Cheyenne looked at each other with love and bliss in their eyes. The next day, Lucas got up before dawn. He took a nce at his sleeping wife and daughter and smiled faintly without disturbing them. He quietly put on his clothes and quickly drove to the airport. Justst night, Maddy had sent him a text to inform him that she would be returning to DC at seven in the morning. She had initiallye to Orange County to help Lucas with William¡¯s treatment and also with Grace¡¯s mother¡¯s condition, treating all her post-surgical symptoms. Maddy had done Lucas such a huge favor, and as her formerrade, he thought that he had toe personally to see her off. After parking his car in the parking lot outside the airport and entering the terminal building, he scanned around and immediately saw Maddy and Jordan inside. The two were standing together and whispering to each other. But given the distance between them, he understood that there was still not much progress between them. Come to think of it, Maddy has always been a very opinionated, smart, and independent woman, not the type to let love hinder her progress in life. Besides, she only stayed in Orange County for a few short days, and it¡¯s basically impossible for her rtionship with Jordan to progress to that extent. At the thought of this, Lucas sighed slightly in his head and walked over. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Lucas.¡± When Jordan and Maddy saw Lucas walking over, they immediately greeted him. ¡°It¡¯s too early, and Cheyenne is still taking care of Amelia at home. I didn¡¯t ask her toe with me, but she told me to thank you properly. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I¡¯m afraid my father-inw wouldn¡¯t have regained consciousness yet. But you have a tight schedule. When youe to Orange County again, we will definitely host you properly!¡± Lucas said with a smile. Maddy smiled without restraint. ¡°We¡¯re so close. You don¡¯t have to be so polite to me! Besides, when you¡¯re both free, you can bring Amelia to DC to visit me!¡± ¡°Sure, it¡¯s a deal!¡± Lucas smiled. In fact, he also wanted to persuade Maddy to stay for a few days longer. But he also knew clearly that one of the major reasons why Maddy was rushing back to DC was to find out about her family¡¯s attitude. It was her family and life, so he couldn¡¯t interfere much. ¡°Attention all passengers, boarding for flight CA788 from Orange County will begin soon. Please proceed to gate A1 for check-in¡­¡± At this moment, a gentle announcement voice rang out in the terminal. Both Lucas and Jordan knew that it was time for Maddy to leave. Lucas looked into Maddy¡¯s eyes and said solemnly, ¡°When you get back to DC, remember to take care of yourself. If anything happens, give us a call. Don¡¯t ever be out of touch. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to marry that kid from the Smith family, Jordan and I will rush over to support you even if your family forces you!¡± Jordan nodded very seriously and assured, ¡°Maddy, we¡¯ll definitely rush to you, stand on your side, and help you without any hesitation as long as you need our help!¡± Feeling touched, Maddy smiled and opened her arms to hug Lucas, followed by Jordan. ¡°Okay, I will remember. If I really need your help, I¡¯ll call you. Bye!¡± With that, she waved her hand and turned away suavely without even looking back. Jordan subconsciously started raising his fingers. But in the end, he could only slowly put them down with a sorrowful expression. Maddy would probably marry someone else. After all, her family was the one who wanted her to get married and have children! But he couldn¡¯t do anything except watch her leave. In fact, he didn¡¯t even tell Maddy how he felt about her. All of a sudden, Jordan felt bitter. ¡°Do you regret it now?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. Chapter 623 - Suitable Candidate

Chapter 623: Suitable Candidate

Jordan abruptly raised his head and looked at Lucas. But less than a secondter, he turned his head away and clenched his fist without saying anything. Lucas sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve told you before that you like Maddy, but you haven¡¯t been able to profess your feelings to her. If she really chooses to marry a man she doesn¡¯t love, you¡¯ll definitely regret it! ¡°Moreover, you¡¯ve always felt that you¡¯re not worthy of Maddy. But if you hadn¡¯t chosen to leave everything behind in Calico to stay by my side, even the Stones wouldn¡¯t dare to look down on you, given all your previous achievements and status. In fact, I¡¯ve also told you before that as long as you¡¯re willing, I¡¯ll be able to help you ask the Stones for Maddy¡¯s hand in marriage immediately. But you refused to let me. What a shame!¡± Lucas had called Jordanst night and asked about things between him and Maddy, but Jordan seemed to be full of worries. Jordan hung his head low without saying another word. After a long time, he finally said with a bitter expression, ¡°I want to give Maddy happiness, but after spending the past few days with her, I don¡¯t think she likes me that way. She¡¯s always treated me as a brother andrade, and she has never been romantically interested in me. So I don¡¯t want to force things, lest the rtionship between us bes awkward. ¡°At least, we can now still get along asrades and friends, and that¡¯s enough for me.¡± Hearing this, Lucas was both angry and amused. ¡°You¡¯re so silly! I don¡¯t know if Maddy has any romantic feelings for you, but if she doesn¡¯t like you, how could she possibly allow you to stay by her side for the past few days? She¡¯s not the type who likes to get too close to men. You should be very sure about that. But has she shown any displeasure toward you the past few days?¡± Jordan pondered for a bit and realized that this really seemed to be the case. Maddy had an independent and resolute character, just like a rose with thorns. In the past few years, there had been many men who had professed their feelings to her or went out of their way to do nice things for her. But she didn¡¯t hide her displeasure and disdain toward them, much less treat any of them nicely. But for the past few days, Maddy had been chatting with Jordan merrily until they suddenly ran into the obnoxious Roy yesterday. ¡°In that case, does Maddy¡­ really like me a little?¡± Jordan raised his head to look at Lucas as he asked apprehensively, feeling rather worried. At this moment, Jordan was like a young man who had just fallen in love for the first time in his life. He was no longer as suave, unfettered, and demonic as he usually appeared. Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°You must be too muddled and paranoid. As I¡¯ve said before, if you like Maddy, take a brave step forward and pursue her. Even if things don¡¯t work out in the end, you¡¯ve at least tried your best and won¡¯t keep regretting the chances you didn¡¯t take. Don¡¯t you agree? ¡°Can you really ept it if you suddenly receive a wedding invitation from Maddy one day and end up seeing her holding hands with another man, exchanging rings, and sharing a kiss with him while you can only watch from the corner of the wedding hall? Do you want to end up having to force yourself to give her your blessings? ¡°You know that Maddy doesn¡¯t fancy anyone now, and if she chooses to get married when she returns to DC, it¡¯ll only be apromise to her family. But she will have to be bound to a man she doesn¡¯t love at all for the rest of her life. Her talent and smarts will diminish day by day after she gets married and gives birth to children. Eventually, she will be a dull and miserable person. Can you bear to see that? ¡°Moreover, the man she marries might be a yboy who has domestic violent tendencies or emotionally abuses her. Or he might also be a phnderer who loves womanizing all day. Take Roy Smith for example. Can you bear to see Maddy spending the rest of her life with an ipetent scion like him?¡± Lucas¡¯s words were like sharp daggers stabbing straight into Jordan¡¯s heart. The thought of the scene Lucas described and the possibility of his beloved woman being horribly mistreated made Jordan¡¯s heart ache in misery. ¡°If¡­ If her husband dares to mistreat her, I¡¯ll definitely seek justice for her and not let anyone bully her!¡± Jordan clenched his fists and assured angrily in a soft voice. ¡°How can you assure that?¡± Lucas looked at his best friend expressionlessly. ¡°Once she really gets married, she¡¯ll be someone else¡¯s wife, while you¡¯ll just be an outsider. How can you guarantee that no one will bully her then? When the timees, you¡¯ll be in no ce to show her concern at all!¡± Lucas¡¯s seemingly cold and heartless words immediately destroyed Jordan¡¯s forcedfort. Jordan closed his eyes in agony.?Yeah, just as Lucas says, if she really ends up marrying someone else, what right would I have to meddle with her affairs? If he appeared beside Maddy at that time and stood up for her, they would definitely face countless criticism and push her into an even more unfavorable position. The thought of it made Jordan overwhelmed with a massive wave of regret, leaving him in so much pain that he started pulling his own hair. ¡°Lucas, what¡­ should I do?¡± he murmured. Lucas sighed. ¡°Jordan, I hope you can understand that whether you want to give up Maddy or not, it not only concerns your own happiness and determines if you will regretter in life, but it also concerns her future happiness. You haven¡¯t confessed your love to her or fought for the happiness you want. How can you be so sure that it¡¯s impossible between you and Maddy then? Think about it carefully yourself.¡± After saying this, Lucas decided not to persuade him any further and instead left him to figure it out quietly by himself. But in the end, he said, ¡°I intend to send another person to DC to help Flynn with the matters there.¡± Jordan was stunned for a moment beforeing to a sudden realization. He asked in shock and disbelief, ¡°Lucas, do you mean that¡­ that I can go to DC?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I intend to send you to DC. The Huttons¡¯ control over the Stardust Group headquarters is even greater than I expected. Flynn is getting overwhelmed handling the matters there on his own. Stanley has already put in a lot of energy to protect Flynn, while the Huttons are constantly making things hard for him. So there¡¯s no way Stanley can continue to help him. Therefore, if I want to break the situation in DC, I have to send apetent and reliable person over. ¡°You¡¯re undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.¡± Chapter 624 - One of the Smiths

Chapter 624: One of the Smiths

After hearing what Lucas said, Jordan felt extremely touched because he felt valued by him. But since Lucas suddenly brought up this matter, it probably wasn¡¯t only because he needed Jordan to be in DC. ¡°Lucas, if you¡¯re just trying to help me, you don¡¯t actually have to do this¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lucas immediately interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m not saying this just to help you either. I¡¯ve already had ns for this matter beforehand. You should know how important the Stardust Corporation is to me. I¡¯m very determined to get my hands on it! ¡°I¡¯ve only just returned to Orange County four months ago, and the development of my power is mainly concentrated in Orange County and LA. I¡¯ve only sent Flynn and Stanley to DC, so my manpower there is indeed a little weak. A careless mistake might cause both of them to die in DC. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re my best friend whom I value the most. You¡¯re much stronger than Stanley, and your ability to gather intelligence and analyze is superb. If you go to DC, you¡¯ll be of great help to Flynn and Stanley. To be honest, I really can¡¯t find a better candidate than you.¡± Lucas said to him seriously, ¡°Of course, I do hope that you and Maddy can spend more time together and solve your issues as soon as possible. Once you go to DC, you¡¯ll be the first to know regardless of what happens to the Stones. That way, we can all be at ease. This can be considered a selfish reason of mine. You are all my brothers and friends, and I want all of you to have happy lives too!¡± Jordan was touched for a while because he knew that Lucas really treated him as his brother, which was why he would say so much to him and create such an opportunity for him. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ll go. I promise I willplete all the missions and help you get back the Stardust Corporation so that you can have peace of mind!¡± Jordan stood up straight and said loudly with the arrogance and confidence restored within him. Lucas smiled, patted him on his shoulder, andughed. ¡°You have to hurry home to pack up and then catch a flight to DC, right?¡± ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s right! That¡¯s right!¡± Jordanughed out loud while touching his hair. ¡ª¡ª At about the same time, a silver-white ne crossed the sky at daybreak beforending slowly at San Francisco International Airport. Soon, a middle-aged man wearing a pair of sunsses slowly walked out of the exit with a cold and stern aura. Two extraordinarily tall and burly bodyguards were following behind him. The three of them had an intimidating and unapproachable aura. Everyone in their path seemed to avoid them consciously because they knew that they were not to be trifled with. No one wanted to get into trouble. Only Wendy, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately greeted the three of them with glistening eyes. ¡°Vince, you¡¯re finally here!¡± She quickly walked up to the cold and solemn middle-aged man in front andined with tears in her eyes, ¡°Vince, it¡¯s all my fault for failing to take care of Roy well. It¡¯s all my fault that¡­ something happened to him!¡± The middle-aged man was none other than Wendy¡¯s cousin, Vince, Roy¡¯s father. Although Wendy¡¯s father was now the helmsman of the Smith family, Vince¡¯s father was his biological brother. Thus, Vincemanded great power in the family, and he was even a strong contender for the next family helmsman. Even Wendy, who could kill her biological nephew without even blinking, didn¡¯t dare to be perfunctory with the stern Vince. Since Wendy was already like this, Lance, who had gone to the airport with her, didn¡¯t dare to show any disrespect to him at all. Although Vince was one generation younger than him and only about the same age as his own son, Lance nevertheless greeted Vince respectfully, ¡°Greetings, Mr. Smith.¡± On the way to the airport, Wendy had already told him about the person she would be picking up today and the status he had. So Lance didn¡¯t dare to offend this powerful big shot of the Smith family. Vince took off his sunsses, revealing his falcon-like eyes. Without even looking at Lance, he questioned Wendy coldly, ¡°I just want to know how my son Roy died and where his corpse is. How did Master Eli die?¡± After receiving the news of his son¡¯s death from Wendy on the phonest night, he flew into a rage right on the spot. Afterward, Wendy started telling him the general story of the matter while crying, but Vince was livid while they were speaking on the phone, so he hadn¡¯t urately grasped every detail of her story. Thus, he immediately asked these questions as soon as he saw Wendy. Looking at the murderous look on his face, Wendy felt a little guilty and scared. But she soon adjusted her emotions and hurriedly told him the story that she and Lance had fabricated together. ¡°Roy and I just arrived in San Francisco yesterday, and I met an old friend, the helmsman of the Kingston family. We were chatting, and Roy became bored, so he went out. We found outter that Roy¡¯s fianc¨¦e was in Orange County, so he headed there with Master Eli. ¡°At the time, I teased him and said that he was too childish. But I didn¡¯t expect him never to be able to return again! ¡°The one who killed Roy is a young man named Lucas Gray from Orange County. As far as I know, Lucas Gray isn¡¯t an ordinary person but an illegitimate son of the Huttons from DC. He was expelled from the family two decades ago and left to his own devices in Orange County. ¡°But there are indeed a few strange things about him. The people I sentst night informed me that he had indeed been living properly in Orange County, but life had been tough for him. Six years ago, his mother died, and he became the live-in son-inw of a mediocre family in Orange County. ¡°But he suddenly left without saying goodbye and disappeared from Orange County until about four months ago, when he suddenly returned. He¡¯s now very different from before. ¡°No one knows where he actually went during these six years and what he experienced, especially from where he learned his martial arts, but his skills are superb. So¡­ so Roy and Master Eli weren¡¯t able to escape his clutches!¡± After speaking, Wendy raised her hand again and wiped her reddened and swollen eyes. ¡°If I had known that Lucas Gray was so difficult to deal with, I would have kept an eye on Roy and not let him go look for him!¡± Vince sneered, his voice as cold and harsh as the cold wind blowing in through the ss. ¡°Hah, a Hutton? If he was a direct descendant of the Huttons, I might show him some respect. But he¡¯s just an illegitimate son. Who gave him the guts to kill my son?! ¡°Since he has the guts to kill my son, I won¡¯t let him off regardless of how difficult he is to deal with!¡± Chapter 625 - Great Ambitions

Chapter 625: Great Ambitions

Vince¡¯s cold words, coupled with the piercing and distorted killing intent on his face, immediately made both Wendy and Lance subconsciously shudder. In particr, Lance wasn¡¯t as vicious and scheming as Wendy, so his heart was pounding wildly at the moment. If Vince knew that his son Roy hadn¡¯t been killed by Lucas but had died in the Kingston residence, he probably wouldn¡¯t spare the Kingstons even if they weren¡¯t the ones who killed Roy. He carefully looked at Wendy, who was still as calm as usual, before secretly gulping and forcing himself to calm down. No matter what, since things had already developed to this point, he and Wendy were already on the same boat. Even if the truth came to light, he would have Wendy to take the me. As long as he controlled his facial expressions well and avoided arousing suspicion, Roy¡¯s incident would probably remain a secret forever. At this moment, Wendy was secretly sizing up the two bodyguards behind Vince, whom she had previously met at the Smith residence. They were elite experts that were in no way inferior to Master Eli. After all, Wendy was already married, while Vince was a rightful sessor who held true power and authority in the Smith family. The experts he brought were naturally the elites of the elites. ¡°Vince, since you¡¯ve brought your people here, should we head to Orange County immediately to capture that punk Lucas Gray to avenge Roy?¡± Wendy asked. Vince didn¡¯t answer her directly and instead confirmed again, ¡°You said that Master Eli escorted Roy to Orange County, but they both ended up being killed by Lucas Gray, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wendy nodded and pretended to be angry and grief-stricken. She said slowly, ¡°Master Eli has been with me for so many years, and he was my most skilled bodyguard. That¡¯s why I sent him to protect Roy so that he wouldn¡¯t be bullied by others, But I never thought that Lucas Gray would be so powerful. Even Master Eli was no match for him and instead even died in his hands¡­¡± She raised her hand to wipe her tears, seemingly extremely miserable about this matter. Lance also hurriedly took the opportunity to say, ¡°Mr. Smith, Lucas Gray is indeed quite evil, and his martial arts skills are incredible. Moreover, he isn¡¯t alone and has other experts following him. In short, he¡¯s very difficult to deal with! ¡°Moreover, although he was abandoned by the Huttons, for some reason, they handed the Orange County branch of the Stardust Corporation to him to manage. So he does hold some power. Apart from a few top wealthy families in LA and Orange County, even the Coles, who are on par with us in the state, have gathered around Lucas Gray. He¡¯s really very difficult to deal with! ¡°Previously, the Kingstons also suffered heavy losses and lost several top experts in order to deal with him. Even my son and grandson were both killed by Lucas Gray!¡± Toward the end, Lance gnashed his teeth and did his best to show that his desire to take revenge against Lucas was as strong as Vince¡¯s in hopes that they could be closer. Indeed, after hearing Lance¡¯s words, Vince looked at him, an old man of nearly seventy years old, for the first time. He asked with raised brows, ¡°You are?¡± Previously, Lance had greeted him, but Vince didn¡¯t notice him at all. Wendy quickly introduced, ¡°Vince, this is Lance Kingston, the head of the Kingstons, one of the top three wealthiest families in California.¡± Lance hurriedly bowed and said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Smith, you can just address me as Lance!¡± ¡°The three top families in California¡­¡± Vince nced at Lance and suddenly smiled. ¡°It seems that it¡¯s quite coincidental. I¡¯m here in San Francisco this time to avenge my son and also to do something important.¡± Hearing this, Lance immediately understood that the matter Vince wanted to do was probably rted to him. Overjoyed, he frantically said, ¡°Mr. Smith, our family has been in San Francisco for nearly three decades, and we have a significant status here. Please feel free to tell me any requests you may have! We will definitely try our best to help you fulfill them!¡± ¡°Something important?¡± Wendy pondered. As far as she knew, she had never heard of the Smiths having anything to do in California. Otherwise, the Smiths might have long found out about the matters between her and Moses.?It seems that this matter was likely decided by the Smiths or Vince recently. Vince didn¡¯t keep him in suspense. He said straightforwardly, ¡°I want to make all of California be the Smiths¡¯ turf!¡± His words were decisive and full of a domineering aura. Wendy widened her eyes in surprise, but she soon calmed down. Although this matter was beyond her expectation, it wasn¡¯t that shocking. After all, the Smiths had already be one of the eight most powerful families in DC many years ago and had been expanding their power in recent years. Although their goal of taking over all of California did sound a little too ambitious, it was still possible to achieve it if they did their best. Moreover, as long as Vince could sessfully take over California, he would probably be the next sessor. But what Vince said made Lance immediately widen his eyes in shock! The Smiths didn¡¯t only want to dominate San Francisco but all of California! It was a terrifying goal! Although he had always known that the Smiths were one of the eight most powerful families in DC, the Smiths¡¯ scope of influence had always only been in DC and the surrounding areas. But now, they wanted to take over all of the economically prosperous California. Their ambition was far beyond Lance¡¯s imagination! Of course, Lance¡¯s family was only one of the three great families of San Francisco, and he hadn¡¯t been able to unify the city, let alone the state. In this instant, he strongly felt the great difference between him and a main member of the Smith family. At the same time, a wave of excitement and exhration surged in his heart. Since Vince could reveal his n directly in front of him, he clearly wanted to use the power of the Kingstons. After all, in order to take control of all the forces in California, the Smiths couldn¡¯t possibly send people to take over everything everywhere. The easiest method with the least hassle was to select a fewrge families in California and make them the Smiths¡¯ representatives to control all of California. And as one of the top three top families in California, getting an opportunity to work with the Smiths was simply a godsend opportunity! As long as he could seize the opportunity and obtain the trust of the Smiths to be a representative, the Kingstons would have a powerful backer to rely on and soar to greater heights soon! The thought of that scene made Lance look incredibly excited. After thinking about it, he smiled fawningly at Vince. ¡°Mr. Smith, since you want to take revenge and take over all of California, I have a good n to help you quickly achieve both goals at the same time!¡± Chapter 626 - Lance Contributes His Idea

Chapter 626: Lance Contributes His Idea

Vince nced at the smug-looking Lance and sneered before saying indifferently, ¡°Since Wendy introduced you, you should also know the kind of speech I hate the most, right?¡± Lance¡¯s heart trembled before suddenly recalling what Wendy had told him about Vince¡¯s character while they were on the way to the airport. One of the very important things that he had to take note of was never to beat around the bush. He should never try to keep him in suspense either! The thought of it made Lance break out in cold sweat on his forehead. He had only gottencent because he had suddenly thought of a good idea, so he had subconsciously revealed some of the habits he had when dealing with other businessmen. At this moment, after hearing Vince¡¯s warning, he clearly didn¡¯t dare to keep him in suspense anymore. He quickly lowered his head and said, ¡°Mr. Smith, I¡¯m very sorry! This is what I think. In California, the most powerful families are probably the top three in San Francisco¡ªthe Kingstons, the Coles, and the Walkers. Our families have simr strengths, so we¡¯ve only been able to keep each other in bnce in recent years, forming a tripartite. ¡°But just a short while ago, Lucas Gray suddenly barged to the Kingston residence, and only then did I discover that the Coles had joined Lucas Gray at some point in time, so have the Hales, one of the four major families of Orange County; Little Antis City, thergest underground force of Orange County; and the Parkers, who have recently risen to power in LA. ¡°Each individual force may seem too weak, but they all have one thing inmon¡ªthey are all on Lucas Gray¡¯s side. If they unite under Lucas Gray, I can confidently say that no force in California will be able to contend with them alone! ¡°Therefore, in order topletely get rid of Lucas Gray and retaliate against him, we have to get rid of these forces behind him too. So, Mr. Smith, if you want to deal with Lucas Gray, you can start with the Coles in San Francisco and remove the biggest force on his side first! ¡°When Lucas receives the information andes to their rescue in San Francisco, you can let these two experts around you make a move. They¡¯ll definitely be able to kill Lucas Gray in one fell swoop! This way, all the other forces in his hands will belong to you, and half of your goal to take over all of California will be aplished!¡± Lance revealed his n. Worried that Vince didn¡¯t understand the situation in California since he was a big shot from DC, Lance exined to him the distribution of the forces in Orange County, LA, and other major cities. Since he and Vince had exactly the same goal in some aspects, such as killing Lucas and getting rid of the Coles, he exined his n in great detail. Now that the Kingstons had such an excellent godsend opportunity, Lance would seize it and make use of the Smiths¡¯ power topletely get rid of all his eyesores. After hearing what Lance said, Vince merely raised his brows without saying anything. Seeing this, Lance couldn¡¯t help feeling cold sweat breaking out on his back again. He kept feeling as if Vince¡¯s sharp eyes had long seen through his agenda. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s do as you suggest and destroy the Coles in San Francisco first.¡± But in the end, Lance had been too nervous. Vince finally spoke and agreed to his n, and his tone seemed rather rxed too. While Lance was feeling greatly relieved, ecstasy surged in his heart. Since Vince had epted his suggestion, the Smiths would probably make the Kingstons their general representative in San Francisco! ¡°Thank you for your trust, Mr. Smith. I will definitely help you with the arrangements!¡± Lance bent over with an extremely respectful expression, as if he had already received a greatmendation. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave it to you to take care,¡± Vince said indifferently, but a mocking smile appeared on his face. But Wendy, standing next to him, secretly frowned, acutely sensing that something seemed amiss. Except when he had asked her about Roy¡¯s death with some anger at the beginning, there was no longer any irritation on his face now. It seemed as if he came here with the main purpose of developing the Smiths¡¯ scope of influence and dominating California, as if taking revenge for Roy was incidental. This is indeed somewhat out of the ordinary.?Wendy thought to herself, but she didn¡¯t say anything, though she kept her guard up. After all, she couldn¡¯t let Vince find out the real cause of Roy¡¯s death. Otherwise, she would be doomed even though she was Vince¡¯s cousin! ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, in Orange County¡­ At this moment, Lucas had returned to the Pearl Lake vi from the airport. When he left for the airport earlier, it had only been about five in the morning. And now, it was about eight. Cheyenne and Amelia had just gotten out of bed. Both of them were wearing cute pajamas and had just finished washing up. Cheyenne was in the closet, picking out an outfit for Amelia. Last night, they had already discussed it and decided to take Amelia out for a day of fun in the amusement park since it was Sunday. So the five-year-old Amelia was extremely excited after waking up. She grabbed her whitece princess dress and wanted to put it on herself. Lucas leaned against the bedroom door, looking at the heartwarming scene of the mother-daughter duoughing in the room. His heart melted, and a gentle, heartened smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. When Cheyenne saw his reflection in the dressing mirror, she immediately turned her head and smiled at him. ¡°You¡¯re back from the airport? Has Maddy already left?¡± ¡°Yes, the ne has already taken off,¡± Lucas said as he walked in. ¡°That¡¯s such a shame. Maddy has painstakingly returned from abroad this time and helped us save Dad¡¯s life, but it feels like I haven¡¯t even had the chance to thank her properly!¡± Cheyenne said regretfully. ¡°It¡¯s okay. There will be opportunities in the future. She said that we should go to DC to hang out with her when we have time in the future. I think it¡¯s a good idea.¡± Lucas smiled. He was bound to go to DC in the future, and Cheyenne and Amelia had never been there before. He would definitely take them in the future. Lucas didn¡¯t say much about Maddy and Jordan¡¯s rtionship. Indeed, once Amelia heard that they could go to DC to y, herrge eyes immediately lit up, and she began jumping on the carpet in her princess dress. ¡°Great! I¡¯ve never been to DC! I want to go there to y!¡± Watching their daughter being as happy as ark, Lucas and Cheyenne both looked at each other and smiled, tacitly expressing their feelings. This was the rapport they shared. Chapter 627 - Receiving An Invitation Again

Chapter 627: Receiving An Invitation Again

Lucas, Cheyenne, and Amelia slowly had breakfast. By the time they packed up and got ready to leave home, it was already past ten in the morning. But it was the weekend, where he had the rare opportunity to rx with his wife and daughter, so there was no need to rush. Lucas drove to the amusement park with Cheyenne and Amelia in his ck Jaguar. It was an amusement park for kids, to which Amelia had been longing to go. They apanied her to countless rides and then headed to the mall together to buy some clothes, toys, and other misceneous items. After enjoying a feast for dinner, they returned home happily. Today was particrly enjoyable for Amelia. Not only did she finally get to go to the ce she had been longing for and had a whale of a time there, but she had also finally got to spend an entire day with her parents. For a young child like her who hadn¡¯t been able to see her parents for several days because William had been seriously ill, there was nothing more awesome than this! ¡°Daddy, Mommy, can we still go out to y together tomorrow?¡± Amelia asked intently with her eyes wide open, still longing for more fun. Cheyenne shook her head. ¡°No, you¡¯re going to kindergarten tomorrow, so you can¡¯t go out to y anymore! You were also supposed to have a piano lesson today, but you skipped it, so you have to do a make-up lesson tomorrow.¡± ¡°Huh~~ Why?!¡± Amelia pulled a long face and frowned the instant she heard this. She leaned backward and plonked her tiny body against the soft couch. She protested, ¡°Mommy, I don¡¯t like piano lessons. Can I skip it?¡± She pouted. Since the start of the new semester, Cheyenne had enrolled Amelia in several enrichment programs such as piano, painting, dance, and Frenchnguage sses because Amelia was already over five years old. Thus, Amelia¡¯s extracurricr time and weekends had be much less rxing than before. Amelia was somewhat interested in painting and dancing, but she had no interest in piano at all. Whenever she had to attend piano and French lessons, she would sulk in reluctance. ¡°No, these enrichment sses are all for your own good. You can¡¯t skip them!¡± Although Cheyenne¡¯s tone was gentle, her attitude was firm. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t convince Cheyenne, Amelia immediately looked at Lucas with herrge eyes that seemed to have the ability to speak. She pleaded coquettishly, ¡°Daddy, help me! I don¡¯t want to learn to y the piano and French!¡± Lucas nced at Cheyenne before shrugging helplessly. ¡°Amelia, Mommy¡¯s right. It¡¯s good to learn more things. Besides, ying the piano and learning French are very interesting too!¡± Although he felt that it was indeed too early to send Amelia to so many enrichment sses at the age of five, he still respected Cheyenne¡¯s decision since she was Amelia¡¯s mother. In particr, he couldn¡¯t indulge Amelia and spoil her in front of Cheyenne. Otherwise, it would cause Cheyenne to seem a lot less authoritative. It was definitely not a good way to teach and raise children! This was something that Lucas had learned after reading arge amount of material about parenting in thest few months. In fact, it had been less than four months since he returned to Orange County from Calico and learned that Amelia was his daughter. Lucas was definitely inexperienced in teaching and nurturing children. But fortunately, he could still go through other channels to learn how to be a good father and a qualified husband. Cheyenne was clearly pleased with Lucas¡¯s answer as she grinned at him beautifully before bending forward and saying to Amelia, who was still pouting in displeasure, ¡°Amelia, as long as you attend your lessons, Daddy and Mommy promise to take you out to y next weekend. We¡¯ll take you to the aquarium to look at the fishies. How does that sound?¡± Amelia was an obedient and sensible child to begin with. After hearing what Cheyenne said, she immediately stopped throwing a fit and instead nodded gleefully. ¡°Alright! Mommy, you have to remember your promise. I¡¯ll attend the sses so that we can go to the aquarium together next week!¡± Cheyenne hugged Amelia, gave her a kiss, and then pressed her forehead against hers. ¡°You¡¯re so obedient, Amelia!¡± The family of three were chatting happily in the living room. Soon, Charlotte returned home from work. Although it was the weekend, there were numerous things to handle at the Stardust Corporationtely, so Charlotte, the general manager, naturally couldn¡¯t take a break and rx properly. Now that Karen had been thrown behind bars, and William hadn¡¯t recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital, the four of them were the only ones at home. Since Lucas, Cheyenne, and Amelia ate out tonight, they bought some of Charlotte¡¯s favorite food home for her. So after arriving home, Charlotte didn¡¯t have to cook. ¡°Wow, you guys actually still remembered to bring me my favorite food even though you were out for a day of fun as a family today. I¡¯m so touched!¡± Charlotte returned to her childish state after getting home and was joking andughing. ¡°Even food can¡¯t stop you from talking. Quickly eat the food while it¡¯s still hot!¡± Cheyenne smiled. Halfway through the meal, Charlotte suddenly remembered something. She took out arge envelope from her bag and handed it to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, your name is the addressee of this parcel, but it was delivered to thepany, so I brought it home for you.¡± Surprised, Lucas grabbed the envelope and opened it to see that it was arge gold-embossed invitation card with a red base. ¡°Huh? An invitation card? Who sent it?¡± Charlotte asked curiously. After skimming through the content of the invitation card, Lucas suddenly narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s the Kingstons from San Francisco. They¡¯re holding an Elite Business Exchange in San Francisco in two days, and they¡¯ve invited me.¡± ¡°Elite Business Exchange?¡± Cheyenne asked with surprise when she heard this name. ¡°Do you know about this exchange?¡± Lucas turned to ask Cheyenne. Cheyenne nodded. ¡°Yes, the Elite Business Exchange is an event that only first-tier families and businesses in various regions of California are invited to. Because Grandpa¡­ Mr. Dominic Carter used to be extremely eager to receive an invitation to the Elite Business Exchange, I know a little bit about it too. ¡°The Elite Business Exchange isn¡¯t an annual event, but one held on average once every three years. Furthermore, there are high requirements to qualify to be a guest, and each session is hosted by a top wealthy family in California. It is a very exclusive event, and a spot at it is very valuable. ¡°As far as I know, it¡¯s actually just an exchange simr to a party. It allows the heads of various top families in California to get together and showcase their strengths while providing a tform for them to exchange pointers and cooperate with one another. ¡°However, it is different from ordinary parties because the exchange is meant for the current organizer to assess theprehensive strength of each family or force to determine the hierarchy of the first-tier families and so on. Some families who perform outstandingly will also gain recognition from everyone and be promoted, while others who have declined will be demoted or even removed from the list of elite businesses. ¡°So, to be exact, the Elite Business Exchange should be considered a semi-official assessment of top wealthy families, and it can also be called a power reshuffle within California.¡± Cheyenne told Lucas all the information she knew about the Elite Business Exchange, and she even felt a little surprised. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯d receive an invitation to the Elite Business Exchange even though you¡¯ve only been back in Orange County for a few months.¡± Chapter 628 - The Exchange

Chapter 628: The Exchange

Cheyenne was indeed surprised, and at the same time, she felt extremely emotional as well. She was surprised because it had only been a few months since Lucas returned to Orange County and a few days since he was revealed to be the chairman of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. The others qualified to receive invitations to the Elite Business Exchange were all established families in California. And she was emotional because the Elite Business Exchange reminded Cheyenne of the years she had spent working hard to run the Brilliance Corporation when she was still part of the Carter family. The invitation to the Elite Business Exchange that Dominic Carter had racked his brains and tried to obtain but to no avail was actually delivered to Lucas when he hadn¡¯t put in any effort at all. It really made Cheyenne emotional. Cheyenne reckoned that if Dominic had known that Lucas would possess the power and attainments he did today, he probably wouldn¡¯t have treated Lucas and her family that harshly. But the Carters had long be a part of the past, so Cheyenne merely sighed softly before pushing the unpleasant past to the back of her mind. Lucas had already gained a rough understanding of the nature and purpose of the Elite Business Exchange. But after noticing that the organizer and inviter of this year¡¯s session were the Kingstons of San Francisco, he subconsciously felt that things were not as simple as they appeared. After all, even if the power he held could indeed push him past the threshold of the Elite Business Exchange, the Kingstons just had a tremendous conflict with him, which caused the deaths of Moses and Marc, whom the Kingstons had valued greatly. The Kingstons should hate him to the core at the moment, and it seemed unlikely that they would be so generous as to send him an invitation. He thought that there had to be a hidden reason or agenda unknown to him. While Lucas was thinking about the possible motives behind the Kingstons¡¯ action, his cell phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Maddy, who had just returned to DC. ¡°Lucas, do you know that Roy Smith is dead?!¡± As soon as the call connected, Maddy broke a shocking piece of news to Lucas. ¡°When did he die?¡± Lucas frowned. ¡°I only learned about it from hearsay. He should have died yesterday. I only know that Roy¡¯s father, Vince, rushed to San Francisco overnight, so he must be there now. Vince Smith is not a simple person, and he¡¯s the most promising sessor of the Smith family. In short, you have to be careful, Lucas!¡± Maddy said concernedly. Although she didn¡¯t think that Roy¡¯s death was rted to Lucas, she was afraid that Vince would confront Lucas in a moment of anger since Roy was his only son after all. And Lucas did teach Roy a lesson in Orange County yesterday in order to help her. Lucas nodded and said calmly, ¡°Okay, I know.¡± After hanging up, he frowned slightly. He had only met Roy yesterday afternoon. Although there was a small conflict between them where Lucas even strangled him, Lucas eventually just gave him a warning. What caused Roy¡¯s sudden death then? With his inexplicable intuition, Lucas could sense that Roy¡¯s death would probably end up implicating him. At this moment, his cell rang again. This time, it was a call from Bruce Hale. Lucas answered and heard Bruce¡¯s voice. ¡°Lucas, do you know about the Elite Business Exchange?¡± ¡°Yes, I just received the invitation letter from the Kingstons.¡± ¡°Today, the Hales, the Parkers, and Joe of Little Antis City all received invitations to the Elite Business Exchange. However, I¡¯m afraid that there are malicious intentions behind the invitations. It¡¯s very likely that they¡¯re out to harm us!¡± Lucas asked with raised brows, ¡°Oh? Why do you think so?¡± ¡°Because the organizer of the exchange this time was originally the Watsons of Sacramento, and the event was scheduled to take ce in mid-November, which is usual for every Elite Business Exchange. But this time, there was a sudden change in the date and the organizer, from the Watsons in Sacramento to the Kingstons in San Francisco. ¡°This probably means that the Watsons should have reached some kind of agreement with the Kingstons, or even directly defected to them. That¡¯s why they gave their rights to host the event to the Kingstons.¡± ¡°This is what makes the Elite Business Exchange this time even stranger. Logically speaking, the Kingstons just lost their most valued family members of the second and third generations a few days ago. Their corpses haven¡¯t even been buried yet, but they¡¯re already so eager to take over as organizers of the Elite Business Exchange. ¡°A greater reason is that they¡¯re supposed to resent us for showing up at their home together and forcing them almost to go to war with us. The deaths of their direct descendants are also somewhat rted to us. It just doesn¡¯t make sense for them to give us the invitations at this juncture!¡± After all, Bruce was advanced in years and extremely experienced in various aspects. He had attended the Elite Business Exchange held only once every three years several times. Therefore, it was even more convincing now that he raised these doubts. Of course, these were all just spections based on the details that were obviously fishy. Bruce even had some conspiracy theories in his heart. But he didn¡¯t voice them out because they were all just his conjectures, and there was no concrete evidence to prove them. Lucas actually also had some vague guesses about what Bruce said. But since the Kingstons dared to deliver an invitation to him, he definitely wouldn¡¯t avoid it! ¡°Got it. You guys get ready. We¡¯ll meet at the Elite Business Exchange in San Francisco when the timees,¡± Lucas said calmly. Bruce was still somewhat worried, and he tried to dissuade Lucas, ¡°Lucas, since you know that the Kingstons have ill intentions, you¡¯d better give it a pass. Anyway, the Elite Business Exchange won¡¯t have much of an effect on us.¡± Lucas smiled faintly and said with great dominance, ¡°The Kingstons aren¡¯t daunting enough to make me have scruples about them! If even a mere family like this scares me, how can I possibly establish my path of dominance?¡± Lucas didn¡¯t hide his ambitions at all, and his tone was extremely domineering. Bruce instantly thought of all of Lucas¡¯s past deeds and the time he had arranged for almost 200 armed military personnel to appear at the Hale residence. He knew that Lucas definitely wasn¡¯t bragging because he did possess great power. The power that Lucas had shown thus far was only the tip of the iceberg, and he reckoned that Lucas hadn¡¯t shown his true power yet! At this moment, Bruce was full of pride. Following Lucas had broadened his horizons in ways he could never have imagined! Chapter 629 - Birthday Invitation

Chapter 629: Birthday Invitation

The moment he thought of that scene, Bruce had zeal and ardor coursing through him, feeling as if he was ten years younger all of a sudden. He had already handed over the position of the helmsman of the Hale family to his grandson Connor. And this time, he actually nned to let Connor attend the Elite Business Exchange on behalf of the family so that he could rest. But after hearing Lucas¡¯s ambitions, he felt a desire not to resign to his fate of being old and guffawed heartily. ¡°Okay! Lucas, since you¡¯re going to meet them, I¡¯ll go with you too! No matter what kind of schemes and tricks the Kingstons have up their sleeves, there¡¯s nothing we fear as long as we¡¯re by your side!¡± Soon after Bruce hung up, Damon and Joe also called and talked to Lucas about the Elite Business Exchange. Likewise, after hearing Lucas¡¯s ns, they decided to go forth and stand by his side too, just as Bruce had done. They decided to go to the Elite Business Exchange together and see what the Kingstons were nning to do! Cheyenne and Charlotte, who overheard Lucas¡¯s conversations over the phone, were shocked. Lucas had absolutely no intention of avoiding them while on the phone, so they had heard everything. Although Damon, Bruce, and Joe had already publicly stated that all the businesses they owned actually belonged to Lucas when Karen and Moses¡¯ plot was exposed, Cheyenne and Charlotte¡¯s main focus had been on Karen and Moses at the time. So even though they had been surprised to hear what they had said, they didn¡¯t take their words to heart. Once again hearing many big bosses of Orange County and LA speaking to Lucas so respectfully, Cheyenne and Charlotte finally realized just how powerful Lucas was. ¡°Lucas, you¡­ you are really amazing!¡± Charlotte gave Lucas a thumbs-up. A few months ago, if someone had told her that Lucas could subdue the Hales, one of the four major families of Orange County, and make them subordinate to him, she might have thought that this person was exaggerating. But the power Lucas now possessed had far exceeded Charlotte¡¯s imagination, and she even felt that he might have more trump cards than she imagined, given howposed he was. ¡°Lucas, just how many more surprising things and bottom cards do you have that we don¡¯t know about, huh?¡± Charlotte asked with a sigh. Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°Well¡­ there should still be some. You just need to know that I can easily defeat the eight great giants of DC if I want to.¡± He made it sound extremely casual and rxing. If someone else had said it, she would definitely think that they were joking or bragging. But Lucas was the one who said it. So while Cheyenne and Charlotte were incredibly shocked, they strongly believed that he was definitely not blowing his trumpet but was really that powerful! ¡°Wow!¡± Charlotte gasped in amazement and then inhaled sharply again. ¡°Lucas, you¡­ you¡¯re really powerful.¡± Even Cheyenne was astounded. ¡°Hubby, you¡­¡± Although she had long known about Lucas¡¯s extraordinariness and the fact that he was once the leader of the Falcon Regiment in Calico, as well as the feud between him and the Huttons, she never thought that his true power could be so terrifying. The eight giants of DC were top families out of reach to many people in the country. For example, although the top families in Orange County and San Francisco were also wealthy, they weren¡¯t on the same level as the eight giants of DC at all. The families in San Francisco and Orange County, such as the Kingstons of San Francisco and the Taylors of Orange County, would be overjoyed if they could be acquainted with the eight giants. But Lucas said that he could easily defeat the eight giants and subdue them. It was simply beyond imagination. Lucas smiled slightly. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. Anyway, Charlotte, just continue to work hard. Perhaps one day, you might be able to develop further.¡± Charlotte felt slightly touched, and she wondered if Lucas meant that it was possible for her to go to DC for development in the future and take on greater rights and responsibilities from him. Although Charlotte was still young, she had already undergone superb training and improvements during the time she served as the general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. She was entirely capable of handling the position of general manager. Therefore, Lucas really had high hopes for her because he knew that he would definitely go to DC one day and go against the Huttons, one of the eight giants of DC, to which his father belonged. When the time came, people such as Charlotte, who was capable and trusted by Lucas, would definitely be arranged to take on important positions. The reason Lucas deliberately mentioned this matter in front of Charlotte and Cheyenne today was to give them some mental preparation. He naturally wouldn¡¯t hide these things from Cheyenne since he was his wife and the woman he loved the most. Another person Lucas trusted was William. Once he recovered and was discharged from the hospital, Lucas would slowly tell him about these things. DC was a ce that Lucas was bound to go. He hoped that his family members like Charlotte and William would be able to join him and work with him to develop in DC! ¡°Got it. Lucas, I will definitely work harder and help you when the timees!¡± Charlotte assured confidently. Cheyenne smiled tenderly, ¡°Hubby, I will definitely support you in whatever you decide to do!¡± Even Amelia, who was looking at picture books because she didn¡¯t understand what the adults were talking about, suddenly raised her little head and said, ¡°Me too! Daddy, no matter what you want to do, Mommy, Aunt Charlotte, and I will definitely support you!¡± Amelia¡¯s childish yet serious words broke the somber and emotional atmosphere, making the few of them burst intoughter. After spending some heartwarming time together, Lucas was about to go to bed at about 10 p.m., but he received a phone call again. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve thought about it for a while, and I¡¯ve decided that I still want to tell you that it¡¯s my birthday in two days, and I¡¯d like to invite you to my birthday party. Are you free toe?¡± The voice on the other end was very sweet and young. This time, the call was from Alexis Cole in San Francisco. Chapter 630 - Indecisiveness

Chapter 630: Indecisiveness

Lucas was honestly pretty surprised by the call. After all, he and Alexis had only met a few times and barely spoke to each other. But Lucas had a good impression of her. However, he had other ns tomorrow, including some matters in the Stardust Corporation and a trip to the hospital to visit William together with Cheyenne. He also had to send Amelia to her piano lessons in the evening and so on. At the thought of this, Lucas nced at Cheyenne lying next to him. He didn¡¯t ept Alexis¡¯s invitation immediately. Seemingly sensing Lucas¡¯s hesitation, Alexis instantly lowered her gleeful voice and said with some disappointment, ¡°Uh, it¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t make it!¡± Lucas thought about it and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s your birthday, and the birthday girl has even called me personally, how can I possibly turn you down? What time is your birthday party, and where will it be held?¡± No matter what, Alexis was the granddaughter of Edmund, of whom Lucas had a good impression. When Lucas and his people were at the Kingston manor and confronting the Kingstons, Edmund had resolutely decided to go to war with the Kingstons in order to protect Lucas without any regard for the possible losses that his family might suffer. This made Lucas feel extremely touched. The Elite Business Exchange would be happening in three days, so Lucas might also need the Coles¡¯ help during the function. Therefore, he should attend Alexis¡¯s birthday party in both logic and emotion. When Alexis heard Lucas¡¯s question, her disappointment instantly turned into joy as she eximed happily, ¡°That¡¯s great! The party will be held at my home in the evening the day after tomorrow. Lucas, you can arrive before seven!¡± Lucas calcted the time. It took six hours to drive from Orange County to San Francisco. If he left tomorrow evening, he would still have time to stay overnight in a hotel and freshen up. Before leaving, he would also be able to send Amelia to her enrichment sses. His ns wouldn¡¯t be disrupted, so it was good. ¡°Okay, I know. I will definitely arrive on time,¡± Lucas said softly. After hanging up, Lucas turned around, only to meet Cheyenne¡¯s sparkling eyes staring at him closely. For some reason, Lucas suddenly felt nervous and quickly exined, ¡°Uh, the person who called just now is Alexis, the granddaughter of Edmund, the helmsman of the Coles, whom you¡¯ve met before. She¡¯s celebrating her birthday in two days, so she specially called to invite me to her birthday party. I also happen to have to meet Mr. Cole for something, so I¡¯ve decided to go over and take a look.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Cheyenne said leisurely, keeping herrge beautiful eyes fixed on Lucas. Lucas immediately felt his heart tensing up, feeling that something was a little amiss. He quickly raised his hands to show that he was innocent. ¡°It¡¯s true! Her birthday party is in the evening the day after tomorrow. I¡¯ll apany you to the hospital to visit William during the day tomorrow, and then¡­ How about we let Amelia skip her piano lessons, and we can all head to the Coles¡¯ together?¡± Amazingly, Lucas could somehow immediately sense that there was something wrong with her emotions. But she didn¡¯t quite seem to be jealous either, so he quickly tried to make things better. Cheyenne stared at him for a long time before turning around and saying indifferently, ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed. We have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow.¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t an insensitive man who didn¡¯t know to observe the situation. Seeing that Cheyenne seemed to be upset, he immediately panicked and put his hand on her shoulder before cupping her face to make her face him. He said gently, ¡°Honey, don¡¯t be upset. If you have anything to say, you can talk to me directly. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to attend the birthday party in two days, I¡¯ll stay home and apany you and Amelia, okay?¡± He had just thought about it, but he still couldn¡¯te up with any reason. But since Cheyenne was upset after hearing that Alexis had called him, he decided not to go at all, thinking that perhaps Cheyenne would stop being upset if he chose not to go. It was important to maintain a rtionship with the Coles, but Cheyenne was the woman Lucas loved the most. If he could make her happy again, turning down the invitation wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. As soon as he said this, Cheyenne immediately said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not asking you not to attend Miss Cole¡¯s birthday party!¡± She looked Lucas in the eye. ¡°I know that Mr. Cole has always said that you¡¯re his life savior, so he has been helping you all the time. Logically speaking, it is only right for you to go to Miss Cole¡¯s birthday party and visit her family. I won¡¯t stop you because of that.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Lucas started speaking in bewilderment. But before he could finish, Cheyenne suddenly reached out, hugged him, and buried her head in his chest. She said gently, ¡°Hubby, I want you to hug me¡­¡± With her soft hair resting on his chest, he immediately felt a tingling feeling. Lucas was instantly full of zeal, and he took a deep breath before lowering his head to kiss his dainty wife, unable to hold back any longer. ¡­ More than half an hourter, the two of them were nestled in each other¡¯s embrace,pletely drenched in sweat and enjoying the post coital warmth. Cheyenne was still blushing coyly as she panted with her eyes closed. Lucas lovingly tucked the sweaty strands of hair on her face behind her ear and asked, ¡°Honey, why¡­ why were you angry just now?¡± Cheyenne struggled to open her eyes before ring at him feebly. ¡°I¡¯m not upset anymore. Don¡¯t ask.¡± Then she quickly sat up and put on her pajamas, afraid that Lucas would continue asking questions. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m going to take a shower now.¡± She immediately got out of bed and walked into the bathroom before Lucas could say anything. Lucasy on the bed, smiling helplessly. They all said that a woman¡¯s heart was difficult to understand. He was indeed confused now,pletely unable to understand Cheyenne¡¯s thoughts. But since Cheyenne didn¡¯t want him to continue asking, he decided that it was better not to ask. He believed that one day, she would really bare her heart to him, and they would eventually be able to talk about everything under the sun. Meanwhile, Cheyenne, who was hiding in the bathroom, was biting her lower lip while standing under the gushing water in the shower. For some reason, she suddenly felt a strong uneasiness in her heart after Lucas answered Alexis¡¯s call. As her husband got more and more powerful, his socialwork was also expanding, and there were more and more outstanding figures of high status around him. Cheyenne somehow felt a strong sense of crisis and dejection. She even began to feel insecure and paranoid. Only when Lucas was holding her gently and passionately could she feel that the person embracing her was her husband, the man she loved the most. No, I can¡¯t go on like this. Since he¡¯s surrounded by so many outstanding people, I have to be better too! Chapter 631 - Selecting Gifts

Chapter 631: Selecting Gifts

The next day, Lucas went to the Stardust Corporation office building in the morning and handled some reports and documents before heading to the hospital with Cheyenne. Since William regained consciousness, his physical condition had improved greatly, and he was gradually recovering from the injuries he suffered because of the car ident. In the afternoon, Lucas personally went to the kindergarten to pick Amelia up before sending her to her piano ss. Lucas looked at Amelia and the group of children about the same age, watching them pressing their soft and tender fingers against the piano keys in the ssroom. ¡ª¡ª Late afternoon the next day, just as Lucas was about to leave for the Coles¡¯, he suddenly smacked his head as he recalled that he seemed to have forgotten something very important. Since he came to attend Alexis¡¯s birthday party, he had to prepare a birthday gift for her no matter what. Unfortunately, he had been in a rush, so itpletely slipped his mind. Moreover, he also nned to visit Edmund. Since it was his first time visiting the Coles, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to show up empty-handed. Looks like I have to go and prepare some decent gifts!?Lucas decided to drive to the famous Union Street in San Francisco. It was a famous ce for luxury items in San Francisco. Although Lucas hadn¡¯t been here before, he had at least heard about it, and there were indeed plenty of fine antique pieces or luxury goods for sale here, though there might sometimes be counterfeits. Cole Antiques was the most famous boutique antique store in San Francisco. But since Lucas wanted to pick out some gifts for the Coles, he couldn¡¯t possibly buy them from Cole Antiques and then give them to Edmund and Alexis. He parked his ck Jaguar in the parking lot along the street and started window shopping. When he came across an antique store named the Heavenly Pavilion, it immediately captured his attention. First of all, the Heavenly Pavilion had arge floor area, with the first floor being more than three times the size of other ordinary stores. It was extremely grand, and there was a que with the words ¡®Heavenly Pavilion¡¯ engraved on it above the entrance. The calligraphy was beautiful and probably done by a master calligrapher. Furthermore, the entire Heavenly Pavilion itself was a luxurious, antique-style building that had a total of five floors, with carved eaves and arches. It was magnificent and full of splendor. The fact that it could upy such arge space on Union Street, where every inch ofnd cost a hefty amount, proved that the owner of the store was wealthy enough and that the items sold here were definitely genuine treasures. With this in mind, Lucas confidently strode toward the Heavenly Pavilion. After entering, Lucas discovered that it was indeed worthy of being thergest and grandest antique store on the street. It might be an understatement to call it just an antique store. To Lucas, it was almost like an antique gallery. In the middle of the hall, there were dozens of antique-style shelves arranged in a staggered manner. There were various antiques such as ceramics, sculptures, jade, and other ornaments disyed aptly on them. There were also several famous paintings and calligraphy pieces hung on the walls all around him. Lucas took a quick and casual nce at the items. He had seen lots of high-quality antiques before, and there were even plenty of antiques in his vi. He could tell at a nce that the many items in the hall on the first floor weren¡¯t just ordinary shy ornaments worth only a few thousand dors. After he entered, a few uniformed staff standing near him in the hall, who were prepared to entertain customers, nned to serve him out of habit. But they unanimously stopped in their tracks when they saw him. As salespeople, they had long developed sharp vision and experienced judgment. They were very knowledgeable in luxury goods and designer apparel. Lucas was dressed in extremely in, simple, and casual clothing, none of which were designer. They assumed that he was just a passerby who came in to browse antiques casually without any intention of purchasing. Therefore, it would be a waste of their efforts to entertain him. Based on the way Lucas dressed, they were certain that he wouldn¡¯t be able to afford anything from the Heavenly Pavilion. They had encountered many such people before and knew that as long as they ignored them, they would naturally be conscious enough to leave out of their own ord. Lucas nned to make some inquiries to a salesperson, but he noticed their indifferent faces. Some even secretly rolled their eyes. At this moment, a young saleswoman walked up to Lucas with a polite smile and asked personably, ¡°Hello, Sir, is there anything I can help you with? We have arge variety of items in the Heavenly Pavilion. What kind of items would you like to inquire about?¡± Seeing her behavior, the few salespeople standing still nearby pursed their lips in disdain. This young man is obviously penniless. The Heavenly Pavilion is an upscale store, and even the cheapest thing here costs over five grand. Each piece probably costs several times his monthly sry. Only that fool who can¡¯t receive proper customers would entertain such a lowly and useless passerby. Lucas remainedposed as he observed their expressions. He then said to the saleswoman in front of him, ¡°I¡¯d like to get two gifts. One is a birthday gift for a young woman in her twenties, and the other is for an elderly man in his seventies. However, I don¡¯t know what gifts to get. Please rmend some items to me!¡± He nced at the namete of the saleswoman and saw the name ¡®Jane¡¯. Jane smiled and nodded, then continued to ask, ¡°Alright, Sir, may I ask what your price range is? Do the recipients have any special preferences?¡± Her attitude was serious, and the questions she asked were professional, causing Lucas to have a good impression of her. ¡°I don¡¯t know what special preferences they have. Just rmend some items to me. I¡¯m expecting the value of each gift to be about a million dors. Of course, you can rmend more expensive things if they¡¯re more suitable. It doesn¡¯t matter if the price is higher,¡± Lucas answered. The price of both gifts would probably add up to two million dors, which was definitely not arge sum of money to Lucas. But his rtionship with Edmund and Alexis was worth more than that. Since they were a birthday gift and a gift for his first visit, he didn¡¯t want toe across as miserly or overly shy. After hearing what Lucas said, the few salespeople standing near them began to sneer. Chapter 632 - College Classmates

Chapter 632: College ssmates

Who would believe that this shabbily dressed young man would really spend millions on two gifts? They had received people who stepped into the store and pretended to be generous spenders, only to hem and haw for a long time while refusing to pay for the items the salespeople had painstakingly picked out for them. They would also escape under the pretext of going to the restroom. So they were certain that Lucas was one of those people. Suddenly, a woman¡¯s voice full of surprise rang in Lucas¡¯s ears. ¡°You¡­ Are you Lucas Gray?¡± Lucas turned his head and looked in the direction of the voice to see that the woman who called out to him was also wearing the standard uniform of the Heavenly Pavilion. Her face seemed slightly familiar to him, but he couldn¡¯t recall who she was. But when he saw the namete pinned on her chest read ¡®Supervisor Kylie Reed¡¯, he remembered who she was¡ªa ssmate from college. However, Lucas didn¡¯t have a deep impression of her. When he was in college, he had to juggle work and studying all the time. Apart from attending ss, he spent most of his extracurricr time working and was rarely in school. On the other hand, Kylie seemed to be a popr figure in his major and was rather well-known in school. Even Lucas, who hadn¡¯t cared much about campus gossip, had heard some unsavory rumors about her. There were rumors of her being a sugar baby, getting an abortion, and so on. In short, she didn¡¯t have a good reputation. Apart from this, Lucas barely had any impression of her. Of course, even when they were ssmates in college, they had almost never spoken to each other before, so it could be said that the two had nothing to do with each other at all. He was actually rather surprised that Kylie could actually recognize him to be her former ssmate. ¡°Haha, Lucas, it¡¯s really you! Speaking of which, we seemed to be ssmates in college, right? In the blink of an eye, it¡¯s been six years since we graduated, and we haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time! Where are you working now? You can actually afford to shop here at the Heavenly Pavilion. You must be doing pretty well, huh?¡± Although Kylie was smiling, her tone made Lucas feel particrly ufortable, especially when she added, ¡°I remember that your family was struggling to make ends meet, right? When we were in college, you were the only one working alongside studying, and you¡¯d head straight to your part-time jobs of distributing flyers and so on after ss and during vacations. So, what happened? Did you strike it rich?¡± Before Lucas could even speak, she continued to speak like she was bragging, ¡°I¡¯m nothingpared to you! It¡¯s been six years since we graduated, and I¡¯ve only managed to be a lowly supervisor. I must be worlds apart from you, aren¡¯t I?¡± While speaking, Kylie deliberately puffed up her chest, for fear that Lucas wouldn¡¯t notice her title printed on the namete on her chest. Lucas was still a little surprised to run into his former ssmate a moment ago. But now, he was full of disdain toward her and didn¡¯t have any intention of catching up with her at all. Of course, anyone who wasn¡¯t blind would be able to tell from Kylie¡¯s attitude that she was just deliberately trying to provoke Lucas and showing off in front of him. Lucas was amused by her behavior. They had almost never interacted with each other in college, so he was curious as to why Kylie was showing him this inexplicable hostility out of nowhere. ¡°I¡¯m just running a small business to maintain a livelihood. I can¡¯t bepared to you at all,¡± Lucas said indifferently and detachedly. As he expected, a tant look of smugness appeared on Kylie¡¯s face as soon as she heard what he said. ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t get too conceited and have your nose up in the air now that you have some money! You probably still don¡¯t know that we sell only the finest products here in the Heavenly Pavilion, and even the most ordinary items in the hall on the first floor cost at least five thousand or so. As for the high-end items upstairs, they can easily reach hundreds of thousands and even millions! ¡°I suggest you¡­ stop puffing yourself up at your own cost. Even if you want to get some gifts, you should visit other stores that offer cheaper things on Union Street! ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be mean, but look at what you¡¯re wearing. I think you¡¯d better save your money and spend it on some decent clothing instead! It¡¯s been several years since we graduated, and you¡¯re still dressed like this. Even we, your former ssmates, feel embarrassed for you!¡± Kylie¡¯s hostility began to get more and more obvious. And now, she was just short of pointing her finger at Lucas and ridiculing him for being a penniless loser and telling him to get lost from the Heavenly Pavilion. Lucas was somewhat amused and bewildered. He had barely even spoken a word to her in his four years of college. Why would she do this? He couldn¡¯t be bothered with someone like Kylie and was about to casually say a few perfunctory words to her to get her to leave. But at this moment, two more people came into the store. It was a man and a woman in their mid-twenties who seemed to be a couple. They were both decked out in luxury designer wear. The man was d in a sharp Versace suit with an expensive Vacheron Constantin watch on his hand, and the woman was wearing thetest Chanel dress and holding a Givenchymbskin clutch in her hand while strutting in on one of thetest pairs of shoes from Prada. They seemed affluent. As soon as the salespeople saw the couple, their eyes immediately lit up, and they were eager to receive them. But when they saw Kylie, they were instantly smart enough to stop in their tracks. Although these two distinguished customers were indeed wealthy, and the salespeople would be able to get quite a considerablemission by selling some items to them, Kylie was their supervisor, so it was impossible that they¡¯d get such a good opportunity. If they dared to snatch Kylie¡¯s potential clients insensitively, not only would they not get anymission, but she might even find a random excuse to dock their sry. Something like this had happened before, and the salespeople were long familiar with her overbearing tyranny. With a bizarre triumphant smile on her face, Kylie mocked with contempt, ¡°Lucas, if you want to continue to shop in the Heavenly Pavilion, then feel free to do so. But the items in this store don¡¯te cheap. You must be careful not to touch them! Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to afford to pay for one even if you exhaust all your money.¡± Then she took two steps toward the door. Seemingly recalling something, she ordered Jane, the salesperson who was serving Lucas, ¡°Jane, keep a close eye on the items in the store. If anything gets dropped, damaged, or stolen, I¡¯ll hold you ountable!¡± After saying this aggressively, Kylie turned around and walked toward the couple dressed in designer clothing from head to toe. With a fawning and deferential smile on her face, she greeted the two of them affectionately. Upon seeing this scene, the other salespeople in the Heavenly Pavilion all looked at Lucas and Jane gloatingly. Chapter 633 - Two Precious Items

Chapter 633: Two Precious Items

In today¡¯s society, where materialistic desires thrived, many people had long be mercenary and gotten used to judging and measuring others by their wealth. If Lucas couldn¡¯t afford to buy the things in Heavenly Pavilion and ended up being deliberately humiliated, no one would take pity on him, and they would only think that he deserved it for bringing it upon himself. But Lucas didn¡¯t take to heart these gloating gazes of mockery, though he now had a bad impression of the Heavenly Pavilion. With such snobbish salespeople, thepany culture of the Heavenly Pavilion was obviously extremely mercenary too. Just as Lucas was about to turn around and leave, the saleswoman named Jane was still standing in front of him with a smile as though she hadn¡¯t heard Kylie¡¯s warning just now. Still as sincere as before, she asked, ¡°Sir, you just said you wanted to buy two high-end gifts at an estimated price of a million dors each, right?¡± Lucas was a little surprised, but he nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s roughly my budget, but I don¡¯t mind paying a little more if the items are really superb.¡± Jane smiled. ¡°Okay, understood. The items disyed on the first floor are rtivelymon, and the items within your estimated budget are on the fourth floor. I¡¯ll take you up there to take a look now, alright?¡± Her attitude was extremely easygoing and professional. Even though Lucas didn¡¯t like the entire Heavenly Pavilion and even had the intention to leave, he couldn¡¯t help being impressed by her sincerity that made him stay and take a look. ¡°Okay, lead the way,¡± Lucas said. Watching Jane usher Lucas to the elevator for VIPs, which led directly to the high-end goods disyed upstairs, the few salespeople on the first floor all cast disdainful nces at them. They thought,?He¡¯s obviously a penniless bumpkin. He probably can¡¯t even afford the cheapest and most ordinary item in the store. Only that underperforming dimwit Jane would believe his nonsense and even take him to view the high-end items upstairs. In the end, it¡¯ll all just be a waste of effort. All she¡¯ll end up doing is giving that loser a feast for his eyes without being able to sell anything. They wouldn¡¯t do such a troublesome but unrewarding thing! Jane led Lucas up to the fourth floor, where the items of the highest value and best quality were. Lucas took a casual nce at the items and found that they were indeed much better than the ordinary ones downstairs. Jane walked to a disy case full of high-grade emerald jewelry and pointed to a set of exquisitely crafted jewelry. ¡°You mentioned that one of the gifts is for a girl in her twenties. This set of emerald jewelry is perfect. They are cut and carved exquisitely and are highly transparent. The color is bright, vibrant, and beautiful. It¡¯s especially suitable for girls in their twenties. ¡°This set of jewelry was crafted exquisitely by a leading jeweler in the industry. The lines are perfect and smooth, making them seem ethereal. But this set is going to exceed your budget. It costs about 1.4 million dors. What do you think?¡± Jane looked at Lucas with some apprehension. Its price had indeed exceeded the budget of one million that Lucas mentioned, so she was very nervous, for fear that he wouldn¡¯t be able to ept it. Although she was a trainee salesperson who had been working in the Heavenly Pavilion for more than two months, she would, for some reason, often get interrupted when she was trying to receive customers. So thus far, she hadn¡¯t closed a single deal yet, let alone receive anymission or bonuses. This time, the other salespeople snobbishly looked down on Lucas and weren¡¯t willing to waste their time to entertain him just because they felt that he was dressed shabbily. This gave Jane the opportunity to serve him and introduce him to high-grade treasures. In her opinion, although Lucas wasn¡¯t d in luxury designer clothing like most of their wealthy customers, whose affluence was apparent at a nce, she could vaguely sense from his calm temperament and dignified attitude that he was not as shabby as he seemed on the surface. Even if Lucas couldn¡¯t afford the items she rmended, she had fulfilled her duty as a salesperson and rmended what she thought was appropriate to the customer, so her conscience was clear. Lucas took a look at the set of emerald jewelry, which he thought was indeed beautiful and should be suitable for a youngdy of Alexis¡¯s age. But he didn¡¯t make up his mind immediately and instead said to Jane nomittally, ¡°Show me something suitable for an elderly man around seventy.¡± Seeing that she wasn¡¯t getting any feedback for her rmendation, Jane felt a little lost. But she soon readjusted her expression. She didn¡¯t try to hard-sell the item to Lucas and instead continued smiling as she led him to the other end of the hall near a row of disy cases for high-grade items, in ordance with his request. ¡°Most of the items here are more suitable for elders, such as this whole ivory carved statuette, this emerald pendant, this two-hundred-year-old Breguet clock, and antique vases from the Yuan Dynasty, etc. Sir, which one would your elder prefer?¡± Jane introduced the items enthusiastically while observing Lucas¡¯s expression to see which one he was interested in. All of a sudden, Lucas pointed to a rather inconspicuous-looking string of Buddha beads in a separate disy case. ¡°What¡¯s the background of this?¡± Surprised to hear his question, Jane answered, ¡°This is¡­ a string of Bodhi ancient wood beads carved from the essence of an ancient Bodhi tree bark, which has a history of thousands of years. ¡°Since the Bodhi tree was extremely old and grown in a field of valuable herbs, it has a refreshing medicinal scent mixed with notes of sandalwood. It is extremely rare, so the value of this string of Bodhi beads is also far from what ordinary Bodhi wood canpare to. Its price is 2.5 million dors, so it¡¯s a lot higher than your expected price range¡­¡± ¡°The price doesn¡¯t matter. Please take it out and let me have a look at it,¡± Lucas interrupted. When he saw the Bodhi beads just now, he could already sense an extremely antique and peaceful aura from it. The faint scent of herbs and sandalwood Jane mentioned wafted up to his nose even though the beads were enclosed in the ss disy case. If he guessed correctly, this string of Bodhi beads was indeed very rare and had a significant effect on clearing the mind and prolonging life. If itnded in the hands of someone who needed it or knew their stuff, its value would definitely be far beyond 2.5 million dors. ¡°Sir¡­ Sir, are you really nning to buy this string of Bodhi beads? We have strict rules in our store that disallows us from taking items out of disy cases unless the customers are certain about buying them¡­¡± Jane looked at Lucas with some difficulty and said embarrassedly. Chapter 634 - Showing Prowess

Chapter 634: Showing Prowess

There was nothing Jane could do about this rule. In the past, there was a customer who had identally damaged a valuable treasure in the store but was unable to afford topensate for it. Later on, the Heavenly Pavilion established a rule that stipted that any vition of the rule by salespeople who took expensive items out of disy cases without permission would lead to severe punishment. Of course, it didn¡¯t mean that customers wouldn¡¯t be given the opportunity to take a closer look at the items. If the customers were really interested, the salespeople were allowed to invite them to the VIP reception room on the fifth floor to take a look after obtaining permission from a supervisor and making sure that the customers had the means to buy the items. In another situation where the customers really wanted to buy the items directly, the salespeople were naturally allowed to take the items straight out of the disy cases for the customers to take a look. But the customers would have to make payment immediately. Jane quickly exined both scenarios to Lucas, who said without hesitation, ¡°Let¡¯s settle the bill now then. I¡¯ll take the set of emerald jewelry you just showed me too.¡± He was in a hurry to go to the Cole residence for Alexis¡¯s birthday party, so naturally, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to spend all this time waiting for the application process. ¡°What?!¡± Jane was utterly shocked, and her mouth was slightly open. ¡°Sir, did¡­ did you just say that you want both the Bodhi beads and the emerald jewelry set? They cost four million in total!¡± She remembered that his previous budget was around two million, which everyone already felt that he couldn¡¯t afford. So she wondered if he could afford these items that cost about four million dors. She wasn¡¯t worried that he was a liar who was just bragging. But rather, she just found it incredible and was afraid that he didn¡¯t hear the prices clearly. Lucas nodded with a calm expression. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take both of them and make the payment now.¡± Jane immediately became excited. ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll help you go through the procedures now!¡± Even in the Heavenly Pavilion, which generated a high sales revenue every single day, a $4 million transaction was considered shocking. In particr, this was the first sale that Jane, a new trainee, had closed in the Heavenly Pavilion after working for such a long time. This order alone could bring Jane at least $40,000 inmission, which was quite amazing. Even the experienced salespeople, who were good at reading people, would take about six months to earn $40,000 inmission. Jane was so exhrated that she grabbed the string of Bodhi beads Lucas wanted out of the disy case and was about to hand it over to him when someone suddenly shouted from the side. ¡°Jane! What the hell are you doing? Hurry up and put it back!¡± Jane was taken aback when she saw that Kylie had somehowe up to the fourth floor disy area and was glowering at her in exasperation. ¡°Jane, you¡¯ve been working here for more than two months. Don¡¯t you even understand this rule? Who gave you permission to take out the items and show them to someone else? Even if I sell you away, we can¡¯t afford to pay for any damage!¡± Kylie rebuked angrily. Jane hurriedly exined, ¡°Miss Reed, this gentleman here has decided to buy these two items, so I took them out to show him. It¡¯s not a vition of the store rules!¡± ¡°Shut up! Stop arguing with me. How can a poor loser like him afford to buy the items in the Heavenly Pavilion¡¯s Treasures Pavilion? Are you a stupid pig? You don¡¯t even have the ability to make good judgment!¡± Kylie reprimanded. Behind Kylie, a few salespeople who had followed her up to watch the fun began to sneer. ¡°Miss Reed, you¡¯re right. This man obviously can¡¯t afford to buy the things on the fourth floor. Yet Jane actually believed his words and showed him things worth more than a million. How daring!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Besides, she didn¡¯t even ask for permission from Miss Reed beforehand and just acted presumptuously. How unruly!¡± ¡°Hah, that¡¯s why we say that she¡¯s a dimwit. She¡¯s been here for almost three months, right? Why is she still so silly, and why is her EQ so low? It¡¯s no wonder that she hasn¡¯t been able to close a single sale after working here for so long!¡± ¡°She¡¯s just stupid! She keeps going against Miss Reed too. It seems that she will definitely be thrown out this time!¡± ¡­ Being humiliated and mocked by her colleagues, Jane felt disappointed and aggrieved. Indeed, she had started working in the Heavenly Pavilion right after graduation and hadn¡¯t closed a single sale since then, but it wasn¡¯t her fault! On her first day at work, she had been full of enthusiasm and was lucky enough to receive a low-profile whale who decided to buy an item worth $500,000 without thinking about it at all. At the time, Jane was overjoyed to clinch her first sale on the first day of work. But before she could process the order for the customer, Kylie used her identity as a supervisor to snatch the customer from her. Thus, Kylie naturally got themission instead. Jane didn¡¯t say anything. But when her second and third customers were also snatched by Kylie in the same way, she couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and said to her, ¡°Miss Reed, this is my customer. I believe I can serve him well on my own.¡± From then on, Jane became a thorn in Kylie¡¯s side, and thetter would alienate and suppress her at every turn while secretly instructing the other salespeople to bully Jane. She was just a trainee who had only started working in the Heavenly Pavilion for a few days, but Kylie was a supervisor. So the salespeople were naturally smart enough to be on Kylie¡¯s side, and it became their habit to bully Jane. Thus, she had been unable to clinch any sales even when her training period was almost over. Lucas was her first customer, but Kylie was targeting him harshly. Jane was indignant, and she felt a sense of empathy with Lucas, so she clenched her fingers and argued, ¡°Miss Reed, I just said that this gentleman is indeed nning to buy these two items, and I was about to settle the payment for him. There is no vition of any rules of the store!¡± Hearing Jane, who had always been bullied and oppressed by her, actually dared to ¡®talk back¡¯, Kylie immediately became even angrier. ¡°Are you deaf? Didn¡¯t you hear what I just said? I already said that Lucas Gray is my former college ssmate, and I know better than you what kind of person he is. The string of Bodhi beads you¡¯re holding is priced at 2.5 million. Do you think he can afford to pay for it? ¡°If you don¡¯t follow the rules yourself and have bad judgment, you will be breaking the rules of Heavenly Pavilion! If everyone acts like you and casually shows valuable items worth millions of dors to customers and ends up losing or breaking them, I¡¯ll see how you canpensate! ¡°You are dismissed! Go pack up your things immediately, settle the resignation procedures with HR, and get out of the Heavenly Pavilion!¡± Kyliemanded, exercising her rights as a supervisor and looking at Jane condescendingly as if she was a queen. She then looked at Lucas, sneered, and mocked, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t me me for being unceremonious. You¡¯re not fit toe to the Heavenly Pavilion with your current status at all. If you¡¯re smart enough, leave now. Don¡¯t make a fool of yourself here!¡± Chapter 635 - All Out

Chapter 635: All Out

After being mocked and criticized by Kylie repeatedly, Lucas couldn¡¯t help bing furious. He initially only felt that her mockery was rather bizarre, and he was confused as to why she was finding trouble with him for no reason. But since they used to be college ssmates, he decided not to hold it against her. However, she seemed to treat him as a pushover and wouldn¡¯t stop until she trampled him to death. Besides, Jane had merely handed the Bodhi beads to him upon his request as a customer. Yet Kylie dismissed her for ¡®viting the store rules¡¯, which was truly overboard and arrogant of her. ¡°Kylie, what do you know about me? Have we even spoken to each other before? On what grounds are you concluding that I can¡¯t afford the items in the Heavenly Pavilion?¡± Lucas said coldly with a dark expression. He was giving off a naturally domineering and invible aura, making Kylie¡¯s face stiffen. And she couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of diffidence and weakness. But she soon snapped back to her senses and was even more infuriated by the fact that she had actually been intimidated by Lucas for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re just a penniless man who became Cheyenne Carter¡¯s live-in husband, which is why you can freeload off of her. You think I don¡¯t know about those distasteful matters of yours? You¡¯re just a freeloading piece of garbage who¡¯s dirtying the Heavenly Pavilion by stepping into this ce!¡± Kylie¡¯s words were extremely hostile. Especially when she said Cheyenne¡¯s name, her tone was full of hatred and envy. Lucas instantly understood that her inexplicable hatred toward him probably stemmed from him being Cheyenne¡¯s husband. But after giving it a casual thought, he immediately recalled that although Kylie had a bad reputation in school, she often boasted about being the campus belle, thinking that she could subdue countless boys because of her beauty. But at the time, the person everyone in the school recognized to be the school belle was Cheyenne, not Kylie. Later on, Cheyenne was evenuded as the ¡®most beautiful woman in Orange County¡¯. In the eyes of Kylie, Cheyenne was an existence who made her crazy with envy. Seeing the twisted look of resentment and envy on Kylie¡¯s face, Lucas only felt that she was incredibly ridiculous. When Lucas and Cheyenne were in college, they had never had any contact with Kylie. Moreover, after graduating for more than six years, they bumped into each other in San Francisco by chance, yet she came to him and barked at him like a mad dog, making him feel utterly repulsed. ¡°Miss Reed, how can you say that? Even if Mr. Gray is your former college ssmate, he is now here as a customer of the Heavenly Pavilion. No matter what, you shouldn¡¯t speak so maliciously when speaking to customers.¡± As an outsider and a junior employee of the Heavenly Pavilion, Jane couldn¡¯t stand hearing Kylie¡¯s words at all. She said seriously, ¡°Every single day, many customerse to the Heavenly Pavilion. Some people genuinely want to purchase something, but most people are here to browse without any intention of buying. But we can¡¯t chase customers out of the store just because we assume that they can¡¯t afford anything here. ¡°Besides, Mr. Gray has already said that he wants to buy these two items. How can you assume that he can¡¯t afford to pay for them? Won¡¯t it be clear whether or not he can afford them when it¡¯s time to make the payment? Why do you have to be so overbearing and insult Mr. Gray so aggressively? ¡°Furthermore, I haven¡¯t vited any of the store rules, and you have no right to fire me without a valid reason!¡¯ Jane went all out and blurted all the things she had wanted to say but had been suppressing all this while. She knew that her actions today mightpletely anger Kylie and cause her to lose her job, but she had already been suppressed by Kylie enough. After nearly three months, she didn¡¯t manage to close a single deal at all. She even had to suffer bullying constantly. Instead of being branded as an ipetent employee and getting kicked out at the end of her probation period, she would rather just reveal all the things she wanted to say. She would at most just quit. She was a university graduate, so how could she possibly starve to death just because of the loss of this job? Jane¡¯s unusual behavior immediately made Kylie, who had always been arrogant and used to bossing others around, enraged. She had always been the one to reprimand her subordinates, yet she was now being rebuked for her behavior by a salesperson in front of everyone, making Kylie feel embarrassed. Anger surged from her heart, and she blew her top. She raised her hand to p Jane and snapped, ¡°Outrageous! Who do you think you are? How dare you try to teach me?¡± Jane waspletely caught off guard as she watched Kylie p her. She was just an ordinary girl who led an ordinary life. Since she was a child, let alone being in any fights, she had never even watched others fight. Facing such a brutal and tyrannical woman like Kylie, who got physical at every turn, she was immediately stunned. She froze in shock and even forgot to dodge! Kylie¡¯s fingernails were long, and her p was very hard. If this pnded on Jane¡¯s face, it would be scratched! Smack! Just as Kylie was about to scratch Jane¡¯s face, Lucas suddenly raised his hand and grabbed Kylie¡¯s wrist, preventing her from continuing. ¡°You want to p her just because you can¡¯t outargue her? Aren¡¯t you going overboard?¡± Lucas stared at Kylie¡¯s eyes coldly. Only then did Jane return to her senses and see the sharp fingernails right in front of her and about to poke her face. She cried out in shock and hurriedly took two steps back away from Kylie. Only then did she feel relieved. But she was also surprised. She didn¡¯t expect that Lucas, who seemed to be extraordinarily good-tempered, would help her stop Kylie from pping her. A trace of shock appeared on Kylie¡¯s ruthless face. She remembered Lucas to be taciturn in college. Although he was good-looking, he was often ostracized and bullied because of his humble background. At the time, he would just suck it up and remain silent. But Lucas, whom she thought was a wimpy good-for-nothing, actually dared to grab her hand and stop her! ¡°Lucas Gray, are you tired of living? You actually dared to grab my hand? If my husband finds out, he definitely won¡¯t spare you!¡± Kylie hollered menacingly while trying her best to retract her hand. Lucas sneered. ¡°Do you think all men want to take advantage of you just because you¡¯re a woman? You¡¯re being too narcissistic!¡± With that, he let go of her wrist as if he was throwing away something dirty. ¡°Ah!¡± Because Kylie had been struggling hard, she was thrown off bnce. Moreover, she was wearing a pair of 12-centimeter tall stilettos, so she lost her bnce and fell onto the floor on her butt. Chapter 636 - Husband or Father?

Chapter 636: Husband or Father?

¡°Miss Reed!¡± ¡°Miss Reed, are you alright?¡± Seeing this, the salespeople watching from the side immediately gathered around Kylie and showed her concern. It wasn¡¯t that they were actually concerned about her or were trying to be affectionate on purpose. But rather, Kylie was the type who would think that anyone who didn¡¯te up to show her concern had something against her. She would then torment those people. They understood Kylie¡¯s temper and character like the back of their hand. Moreover, there was a person behind Kylie whom they couldn¡¯t afford to mess with¡­ After the crowd helped Kylie up, she didn¡¯t even care about the attentiveness and concern the people around her were showing. Instead, she glowered at Lucas viciously and said with a menacing expression, ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare youy a hand on me? In that case, I won¡¯t be polite to you either!¡± Then she took out her phone and called someone. In a disgustingly coquettish voice, sheined, ¡°Hubby, it¡¯s me! I¡¯m on the fourth floor of the Heavenly Pavilion, and I got bullied! Hurry up ande here to seek justice for me~¡± Seeing Kylie calling her husband, Jane immediately panicked because she knew who her husband was. Although she and Lucas had met each other for the first time today, she no longer treated him as merely an insignificant customer, perhaps because both of them were yelled at and bullied by the same person. Besides, Lucas had even stopped Kylie from pping her just now. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯d better hurry up and leave while you can! Kylie¡¯s husband is the general manager of Heavenly Pavilion. He¡¯s hot-tempered and extremely protective of his wife. He also has the power tomand all the security guards in the Heavenly Pavilion. If hees here to stand up for Kylie, you¡¯ll be in hot soup. Even if you don¡¯t die, you¡¯ll definitely suffer! Hurry up and leave before he arrives, or else you won¡¯t be able to leaveter!¡± Jane urged softly and anxiously beside Lucas. Seeing the genuinely worried look on her face, Lucas had a good impression of her, the only salesperson who had decided to serve him. Generally, the other salespeople of the Heavenly Pavilion, as well as Kylie, a supervisor, had made him rather displeased. But he felt that Jane¡¯s character wasn¡¯t too bad. However, Lucas was destined to let Jane¡¯s kind reminder go to waste. He didn¡¯t even care about the Kingstons in San Francisco or the eight giants of DC. What could the mere general manager of an antique store do to him? Leave? That definitely wasn¡¯t something Lucas would do. Seeing Lucas not moving, Jane thought that he still didn¡¯t realize how serious things were at this moment. She persuaded anxiously, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. Hurry up and leave, or else you will really suffer!¡± Kylie, who had just hung up the phone, happened to hear this. With a smug smile, she threw her head back andughed. ¡°Haha, you want to leave? Impossible!¡± She turned around and instructed two salesmen beside her, ¡°Go to the elevator and wait. Don¡¯t let him leave! Otherwise, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson!¡± When the two young salesmen obediently went to the elevator door and stood there, Kylie turned to stare at Lucas triumphantly and sneered. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you can leave! You just grabbed my arm and caused me to fall. I will never let you off easily!¡± Jane retorted furiously, ¡°Kylie, you know clearly what really happened just now. Why are you using him now? He didn¡¯t do anything to you at all. If you just want to vent your anger, take it out on me. Why do you have to act like this?¡± Kylie snorted coldly. ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t think I¡¯ve forgotten about you. I still remember what you said to rebut me just now! You¡¯re just a small trainee who I can kick out at any time. What right do you have to be so proud in front of me? ¡°Moreover, isn¡¯t this the first time you¡¯re meeting Lucas Gray today? Why are you speaking up for him? Do you think he can really afford to spend four million on the items of the Heavenly Pavilion? Is that why you¡¯re eagerly sucking up to him? Haha, what a joke! ¡°I¡¯m telling you, this man is just a good-for-nothing live-in husband mooching off his wife! Ah~ Could it be that you¡¯ve also taken a liking to his face, so you want to make him your boy toy? I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re a step toote. He already has a wife. Unless you can rece his wife, you¡¯ll forever be his mistress!¡± Kylie¡¯s words were getting more and more unbearable, making Jane, a fresh college graduate who had never even been in love, blush in humiliation. ¡°You¡­ How can you say that? Mr. Gray and I just met for the first time today, and he is my customer. We¡¯re innocent, and there¡¯s nothing between us, unlike the nasty things you said! You¡­ you are the¡­¡± Jane didn¡¯t know how to curse, and the few sentences Kylie said had already made her blush. Even though it was true that Kylie was once the mistress of a married man, Jane couldn¡¯t bring herself to say it out loud. Lucas narrowed his eyes. Kylie was indeed going overboard by smearing a fresh college graduate who was only in her early twenties with such vicious words. At this moment, the elevator door suddenly opened, and a balding middle-aged man in his forties or fifties with a beer belly walked over. He questioned boorishly, ¡°You said someone bullied you. Who is it? Is he still here?¡± Kylie immediately leaped into the arms of this middle-aged man with a beer belly aggrievedly and feebly andined sobbingly, ¡°Honey, it¡¯s him. He just grabbed my arm and pushed me to the floor. I¡¯m in so much pain!¡± While pouting, she pointed the long fingernail of her index finger at Lucas. The few salespeople at the side seemed to be used to the scene before them as they remained silent. Only one of them had twitching lips and was vaguely expressing some emotion. Lucas looked at the scene in front of him and found it unsightly. He snorted and burst intoughter. ¡°Kylie Reed, is this your husband or your father? Are you sure you didn¡¯t address him with the wrong term?¡± Lucas asked, pretending to be puzzled. As soon as he said this, the surroundings fell silent. Kylie, who wasining coquettishly, froze right on the spot. Chapter 637 - Come With Me

Chapter 637: Come With Me

After a long time, Kylie finally understood what Lucas was driving at with his ridiculing remark. Her face, covered with thick foundation, was about to explode because of how exasperated she was! ¡°Lucas Gray, you bastard, how dare you mock him?!¡± She red at Lucas as if she had the most unpleasant and distasteful side of her exposed. Even her voice became extremely sharp and shrill. Even the chubby bald man withrge ears turned over to re at Lucas hostilely. ¡°Punk, who do you think you are? How dare you poke fun at me?¡± He squinted sinisterly, making his eyes look even smaller than the rest of his chubby face. Lucas looked at the two of them embracing each other in an unsightly manner and gibed, ¡°You two are a perfect match. The items sold in the Heavenly Pavilion aren¡¯t bad. It¡¯s just a pity that you two are here. It¡¯s no wonder that you barely have any customers.¡± Then Lucas looked at Jane beside him and said to her, ¡°Your talent will only go to waste if you stay here. There¡¯s no harm in quitting this job. Leave with meter, and I¡¯ll give you a job way better than this. Your talent andpetency won¡¯t be trampled on by these tacky, vulgar, and repulsive people.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t decide this on a whim. Through his brief contact with Jane just now, he could tell that, despite being a fresh graduate without much work experience, she was a woman of principle and wouldn¡¯t let societal norms sway her. Even her horrid work environment in the Heavenly Pavilion, due to Kylie abusing her authority as a supervisor, didn¡¯t dull her talent and nature. Lucas now owned manypanies. And seeing Jane, he felt a strong urge to nurture her because he felt that a capable and principled person like her would definitely have a better time working in anypany he owned than staying here. Lucas¡¯s words made Jane extremely surprised and touched. Although she wasn¡¯t familiar with him and didn¡¯t even know if he was telling the truth or not, his words resonated with her thoughts. She had also decided deep down that if she continued staying in the Heavenly Pavilion under the control of Kylie and the general manager, she would never be able to develop further and get ahead in life. In fact, even her values and views would be ruined here. ¡°Alright, thank you in advance, Mr. Gray!¡± Jane beamed with joy while facing Lucas. After hearing their conversation, Kylie was about to hit the roof. The chubby middle-aged man next to her also seemed extremely displeased, and he hollered, ¡°Dream on! Jane, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re still an employee of the Heavenly Pavilion! Besides, did I say I would let you two leave?¡± The elevator door opened, and more than ten strong and burly men d in security uniforms walked straight to the middle-aged man. The leader of the guards stood in front and said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Frey, I heard that someone is causing trouble here. Please give us your instructions!¡± The chubby manager immediately pointed at Lucas smugly. ¡°This is the troublemaker! Catch him, teach him a hard lesson, and throw him out! In the future, the Heavenly Pavilion definitely won¡¯t allow this man to appear here again. Beat him up every single time he appears!¡± When Frey said this, his expression was extraordinarily domineering, and it was as if he was the owner of the Heavenly Pavilion, or rather, the leader of the entire world. ¡°Yes, Mr. Frey!¡± The security guard leader immediately agreed and pointed at the ten or so bodyguards. ¡°Did you hear what Mr. Frey said? Seize this punk immediately!¡± ¡°Stop it! I¡¯ll see which one of you dares to touch him!¡± Just as one of the security guards was about to take action, a furious voice came from behind, and a figure hurriedly rushed over from the elevator. The voice immediately drew the attention of all the people present. A young wealthy scion around 27 or 28 years old and d in an immacte, high-end suit was storming toward them. He had two elite bodyguards who seemed intimidating and unapproachable following him from behind. Frey shuddered, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face when he heard the voice. He pushed Kylie away from his arms and scurried toward the young man. With a fawning smile, he asked, ¡°Mr. Parker, why are you suddenly here? Had I known earlier you¡¯d be here, I would have gone downstairs to receive you¡­¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± the young man roared angrily and pushed Frey away before striding straight toward Lucas. Then amid everyone¡¯s shocked gaze, the scion lowered his head, bent forward, and said to Lucas respectfully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Gray. I failed to take my subordinate in hand, and he ended up offending you. Please forgive me!¡± This scene made everyone¡¯s jaw drop! Not only were Jane and the other salespeople of the Heavenly Pavilion shocked, but even Kylie¡¯s eyes were wide open. Frey was full of disbelief, as if he was hallucinating. A¡­ noble scion actually behaved so respectfully and politely toward this shabbily dressed young man. He even sounded so sorry and deferential! What a fantastical world! Lucas was the only one who kept a straight face in the Heavenly Pavilion. He merely raised his eyebrows with a slight hint of surprise. Reason being, the young man currently standing in front of him and apologizing to him with utmost respect was none other than Keh, the scion of the Parker family. Recalling how Keh had coveted his wife, Cheyenne, when he was in LA and even went against him several times, Lucas felt amazed that Keh was now standing in front of him in fear, as if Lucas was going to punish him. But it was a matter of course. After all, the Parkers had already pledged allegiance to Lucas, and the helmsman, Damon, had also be one of his most powerful subordinates. What more a junior like Keh? What surprised Lucas was that Keh owned the Heavenly Pavilion. Suddenly, a sharp and shrill voice that was getting uncontrobly louder because of extreme astonishment rang out beside them. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Parker, are you¡­ mistaken? Lucas Gray isn¡¯t a big shot at all. He¡¯s just a good-for-nothing freeloading off of his wife! I¡¯m his former college ssmate, and I can¡¯t be clearer about what kind of a person he is. You must have mistaken him for someone else! ¡°Otherwise, Lucas Gray has deceived you by telling you that he¡¯s some big shot. You mustn¡¯t be fooled by him!¡± Kylie yelled hysterically, unable to control her expression and emotions.?Lu-Lucas Gray is clearly just a good-for-nothing and a bottom feeder of society. Why would the chairman of the Heavenly Pavilion, the scion of the Parker family, be so respectful and polite toward a loser? ¡°Shut up!¡± Keh, whose face was terrified and panicked, immediately shouted in anger. He turned his head to re daggers at Kylie. ¡°Who do you think you are to speak to me? How dare you nder and insult Mr. Gray? You deserve to die! Security, drag her out immediately! No matter what her previous position was, she¡¯s now dismissed from the Heavenly Pavilion!¡± Chapter 638 - Expelled

Chapter 638: Expelled

Keh was incensed. He had happened to be in the vicinity to inspect the operations of his family businesses. But he suddenly received a report that the staff of the Heavenly Pavilion, one of his businesses, had gotten into a conflict with a customer. Keh didn¡¯t take it seriously at first because it was just a trivial matter that didn¡¯t require his attention. But when he heard that the customer involved in the conflict was Lucas, he was frightened out of his wits! He immediately dropped everything and hurried over, just a second before the Heavenly Pavilion¡¯s security guards were about to get physical with Lucas. He managed to stop them from stupidly offending Lucas just in the nick of time. He, the esteemed scion of the Parker family, had no choice but to bow down and apologize to Lucas. Yet this silly woman actually had the audacity to jump out and insult Lucas in front of him.?Isn¡¯t she afraid of further incurring his wrath? Kylie¡¯s eyes widened in shock, and she spluttered in disbelief, ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Parker, what did you say? You actually want to dismiss me? For a¡­ wastrel like Lucas Gray? I¡¯ve been a veteran employee of the Heavenly Pavilion for years!¡± Seeing this, Frey hurriedly tried to speak up for Kylie. ¡°Yeah, Mr. Parker. Kylie is a supervisor of the Heavenly Pavilion, and she has made a lot of contributions to thepany over the years. She¡¯s been the top sales achiever every single year. If you dismiss her just like that, it¡­ it will really be inappropriate! ¡°Furthermore, we have a lot of regr customers. Kylie has top-notch managerial abilities and strongmunication skills. If she¡¯s dismissed rashly, not only will the other employees of the Heavenly Pavilion find it unjust, but I¡¯m afraid that our regr customers will be affected and thus result in a great impact on our overall sales volume. Mr. Parker, please reconsider your decision carefully!¡± As soon as Frey said this, many of the staff of the Heavenly Pavilion, including Jane, had indescribable expressions. They had never seen any of Kylie¡¯s so-called superb workpetency, managerial abilities, andmunication skills, but they were certain that she was the top sales achiever. Reason being, she would abuse her authority as a supervisor and leverage on the power of her backer, Frey, to snatch away all the big spenders, iming credit for their hard work and snatching their sales. She would often let them handle the sales with low transaction amounts of about a few thousand to tens of thousands. So it, of course, made her seem verypetent. Moreover, Frey¡¯s words made Kylie seem extremely important, as if the Heavenly Pavilion would copse and slip into a major crisis without her, a mere supervisor. It was absolutely ridiculous. But the staff didn¡¯t dare to reveal their emotions in front of Kylie and Frey. Even Lucas didn¡¯t say much and merely stood calmly on the spot with raised brows, waiting to see how Keh would handle this matter. However, Keh was extremely annoyed after hearing what Frey said. ¡°Hah, so, this supervisor named Kylie is an indispensable pir in the Heavenly Pavilion, huh? Without her, the Heavenly Pavilion will fold and go bankrupt immediately because you¡¯re just an ipetent general manager. Is that what you mean?¡± Keh questioned furiously with a gloomy expression on her face. Frey immediately broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly defended himself, ¡°No, no, Mr. Parker, that¡¯s not what I mean¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Keh hollered, immediately interrupting him. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what exactly you have in mind. When I came in, this woman was nestled in your arms and calling you ¡®Honey¡¯. I know very well that you¡¯re already almost fifty years old and a married man with children! ¡°I¡¯m afraid this woman is about the same age as your daughter, isn¡¯t she? Trust you to be able to embrace each other and address each other with such endearing terms. How revolting! ¡°I don¡¯t care how you fool around and how many mistresses you have out there, but since you¡¯ve brought your filthy affairs to the Heavenly Pavilion and dirtied this ce, I can¡¯t spare you! ¡°I just took over the Heavenly Pavilion not long ago, and I¡¯ve yet to find time to deal with you scoundrels, but you¡¯ve already offended Mr. Gray. In that case, you two get out now! There¡¯s no room for people like you in the Heavenly Pavilion!¡± With a look of disgust on his face, Keh ordered that both Frey and Kylie be expelled from the Heavenly Pavilion together. Hearing this, Kylie and Frey felt as if they had suddenly been pped twice. Their faces were stinging and burning, and they were full of disbelief. Neither of them had expected that Keh, who had never personally managed the family¡¯s affairs, to be so ruthless and unmerciful to them for the sake of Lucas! Kylie had only worked in the Heavenly Pavilion for a few years, while Mr. Frey had already been an employee for more than ten years. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to call him a senior employee. Yet Keh actually dismissed him too for Lucas¡¯s sake. When Kylie saw Keh¡¯s cold and solemn face, a sudden chill and wave of horror surged in her heart. For the past year or two, she had been acting tyrannically at work by relying on her rtionship with her backer, Frey. Not only did she get the position of a supervisor, which came with a high annual sry, but she also managed to get tens of thousands of dors inmission from the sales she snatched from others. Besides, she also had a high status, and everyone, including her superiors, would be extremely respectful toward her, afraid of offending her. It was as if they were facing Frey in person. Kylie had always been an overly ambitious person who felt that she was beautiful. In addition, she was treated like a queen in the Heavenly Pavilion, causing her to be unbridled and capricious with her words and actions. Keh¡¯s words were like a bucket of water pouring over her, snapping her back to reality. Without Frey and the Heavenly Pavilion, she was nothing! She had long gotten used to living an extremely privileged life with her annual sry of hundreds of thousands. And she barely had to do anything in exchange for this. All she had to do was serve Frey, an old man about the same age as her father, and bully the people she disliked every single day. Life was really carefree and pleasant for her! Once she really got fired, she wouldn¡¯t be able to earn even $20,000 a year! The expression on Frey¡¯s fat face was also changing incessantly. All of a sudden, Frey got on his knees in front of Keh,pletely disregarding his pride. He cried loudly, ¡°Mr. Parker, I was wrong! But this is all Kylie Reed¡¯s fault. I-I was just deceived by her! ¡°She told me that someone was deliberately causing trouble here. That¡¯s why I brought security over to handle the issue! I¡­ I had no intentions of targeting Mr. Gray! Please give me another chance to make up for my mistakes! I will definitely take care of this matter properly!¡± Frey knelt on the ground with horror written all over his face. Chapter 639 - A Thorough Investigation

Chapter 639: A Thorough Investigation

Frey was now truly terrified. He had been with the Heavenly Pavilion for more than ten years and now had the position of general manager. He enjoyed glory, and his ambitions were all fulfilled. The Heavenly Pavilion was thergest antique store on this street. With the excellent work conditions provided by the Parkers, the annual sry, including the overridingmissions drawn from his sales team easily, amounted to more than $200,000. Coupled with the little tricks that he had resorted to in secret, he had managed to umte a considerable fortune for himself within just a few years. If he got sacked, how could he possibly get a good job now that he was almost 50 years old? Moreover, he would definitely get a bad rep for being dismissed and kicked out of thepany. In particr, he had been working here for more than ten years, and the people in the industry basically all knew him. Once the news of him being fired by the Parkers spread, no business in the antique industry would dare to hire him. In short, if Frey was fired from the Heavenly Pavilion, it would be over for him. So even though he was old, he could only go all out and get on his knees to beg Keh while putting all the me on Kylie. Filled with disbelief, Kylie looked at the old man who had always treated her as a gem with great disappointment. At this moment, Frey was obviously going to make her take the me andpletely abandon her! ¡°Hah, why should I keep an ipetent man like you whom women can manipte at will in the Heavenly Pavilion?¡± Keh said coldly, not moved by Frey at all. Frey¡¯s face stiffened, feeling that he had shot himself in the foot by saying those words just now. He hurriedly changed his statement and begged, ¡°Mr. Parker, I admit that I was muddled for a moment. But please forgive me this time for the sake that I have been working diligently in the Heavenly Pavilion for more than ten years. I ought to deserve credit for my hard work! Please don¡¯t kick me out of the Heavenly Pavilion! I am already so old, and I¡¯m just a couple of years away from retirement. Mr. Parker, please¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, Keh was already annoyed with his incessant rattling and the fact that he kept throwing his weight around as a veteran employee. He directly interrupted, ¡°Hmph, you still want to stay in the Heavenly Pavilion to retire? Okay, you don¡¯t want to leave, huh? I¡¯ve given you a chance, but since you don¡¯t cherish it, don¡¯t me me for being nasty!¡± He red at Frey and took out his phone to call his assistant. ¡°Go and investigate the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion in San Francisco. I don¡¯t know his name, but he has a fat face andrge ears. Screen through all thepany ounts that he has handled, as well as the economic activities he has participated in. If you find any irregrities or negligence in his duties or abuse of authority for personal gains, report to me immediately! If anyone dares to conceal any information, you know what to do!¡± ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Parker¡­¡± Frey immediately felt as if he had plunged into the ice cer as he shuddered uncontrobly. Although the Parkers were the owner of the Heavenly Pavilion, they didn¡¯t send their descendants to manage it directly. It could be said that all the financial activities of the Heavenly Pavilion had been handled by Frey in recent years. As long as the profit figures of his quarterly and annual reports tallied, the Parkers wouldn¡¯t intervene in the actual operation of the store. In this situation where he was given great power without supervision, Frey¡¯s boldness and appetite got bigger and bigger. He even secretly did lots of terrible things. Now, Keh was really going to send people to investigate him. Since it happened too suddenly, Frey simply didn¡¯t have time to deal with the aftermath. As soon as he thought that things he had done might be exposed, Frey was drenched in sweat. He hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Parker, I-I know my mistakes now! I¡¯ll leave the Heavenly Pavilion immediately!¡± Then he wanted to turn around and leave. Now, he only wanted to get away and prayed that he would be lucky enough for the Parkers not to discover him. He obviously couldn¡¯t be bothered about the person who wanted to continue staying in the Heavenly Pavilion to make money. ¡°Hold it!¡± Keh yelled coldly to stop him. ¡°You chose not to leave when I allowed you to do so earlier, and now you want to escape because you¡¯re afraid that you¡¯ll be implicated once the investigation results are out. When the investigation results are out, I¡¯ll let you leave if you¡¯re innocent!¡± Keh initially didn¡¯t n to pursue the matter against Frey. He was the scion of the Parkers and in charge of many of the Parkers¡¯panies, so he understood that being overly strict might not allow people to reap enough benefits. He knew that many senior executives would make use of their jobs to reap some mary gains for themselves, but he also knew that it wasmonce. So at the beginning, he simply chose to dismiss Frey without looking into his behavior at work on ount that Frey had indeed worked for the Heavenly Pavilion for more than ten years. However, not only had Frey not been grateful for his graciousness, but he had even thrown his weight around using his experience and credit. Keh didn¡¯t want to indulge him any longer. In particr, Frey and this silly woman had both offended Lucas! Even Keh didn¡¯t dare to be rude to Lucas. How could they have the audacity to offend Lucas? Seeing how resolute Keh was and realizing that there was no room for discussion, Frey appeared desperate and full of regret. When he saw Kylie sitting next to him, his remorse immediately turned into immense fury, spurring him to raise his hand to p Kylie on the face. Smack! A bright red p mark appeared on Kylie¡¯s face. Frey grabbed Kylie¡¯s hair and whispered into her ear sinisterly, ¡°You stupid woman, this is all your fault! If you hadn¡¯t made trouble with someone here and called me to help you by misleading me into thinking that someone was causing trouble here, things wouldn¡¯t have turned out like this. Idiot! I¡¯m telling you, if something happens to me, you won¡¯t have it easy either! Whatever it is, anything that happens to me will happen to you too. Don¡¯t you forget!¡± He was venting his anger and also giving her a warning. Frey was telling Kylie that if Keh discovered his misdeeds, Kylie would also be implicated because she was his aplice! At this moment, Kylie was shivering incessantly. After getting fired from the Heavenly Pavilion, she had indeed lost a great money-making job. But if the Parkers found out what she and Frey had done, she would probably have to go to jail for the rest of her life! The thought of the consequences made Kylie so terrified that she was about to wet in her pants. She immediately turned to face Lucas, knelt by his feet, and pleaded, ¡°Lucas, no matter what, we¡¯re former college ssmates. Quickly help me beg for mercy from Mr. Parker! Otherwise, I¡¯ll be in huge trouble. Hurry up and ask him to spare me!¡± Seeing the drastic difference in Kylie¡¯s attitude now and that of her arrogant self minutes ago, Lucas only found it ridiculous. Chapter 640 - Misappropriation of Large Funds

Chapter 640: Misappropriation of Large Funds

Lucas looked down at the panicked Kylie with a look of contempt and mockery on his face. ¡°Have you suddenly remembered that we¡¯re former college ssmates now that things havee to this? You shouldn¡¯t have forgotten how you deliberately picked a fight with me previously and insulted me, your ¡®former ssmate¡¯, huh? If you hadn¡¯t looked for trouble with me, this incident wouldn¡¯t have happened at all. Who are you to ask me to beg for mercy on your behalf? ¡°Moreover, even now, you¡¯re still acting arrogant. Is this the attitude you should have when asking for help? You and I have nothing to do with each other in the first ce, and there¡¯s no reason for me to help someone hostile toward me for no reason. Get lost!¡± Lucas immediately stopped Kylie from reaching over to grab his calf. Only at this moment did Kylie realize that Lucas was no longer the taciturn person who would allow anyone to bully him whom she remembered. But¡­ but why?! This bastard Lucas is obviously just a good-for-nothing! Even if he married Cheyenne Carter as a live-in husband, he¡¯ll forever be a good-for-nothing! ¡°Mr. Parker, do you know that Lucas Gray is really just a loser who has nothing to his name? Why do you have to protect him so much and even go so far as to kick veteran employees like me and Mr. Frey out of the Heavenly Pavilion? I¡¯m really indignant!¡± The more Kylie thought about it, the angrier she got. She was overwhelmed by envy and anger, so much so that she actually began questioning Keh. Keh narrowed his eyes slightly as a trace of killing intent shed in his eyes. He was the only scion of the great Parker family, and most people were respectful toward him. Since when had he ever been questioned by such a lowly woman? In particr, herments targeting Lucas were ridiculous, absurd, and silly. If Lucas was really a useless and penniless man, would he have to be so cautious and on tenterhooks in front of him? Keh wasn¡¯t a fool. This woman is an idiot. She doesn¡¯t even know to observe! Keh naturally wouldn¡¯t reveal Lucas¡¯s true identity in front of Kylie and just sneered. ¡°If you still want your tongue, you¡¯d better shut up. If you dare to disrespect Mr. Gray and make me angry again, I can¡¯t guarantee what I will do!¡± Keh had always been the most arrogant one among his circle. If not for Lucas¡¯s presence today, he would have long gotten rid of this stupid woman who dared to question him and lose her temper at him. But he didn¡¯t want Lucas to think that he was ruthless, and he wanted to cut her some ck because she was Lucas¡¯s former college ssmate. After hearing the cruel warning from Keh, Kylie shuddered and suddenly snapped back to her senses.?I-I must have been muddled to have dared to question the scion of the Parker family loudly. I let my anger get the better of me! After receiving Keh¡¯s warning, Kylie started to behave herself, not daring to say anything else. Suddenly, Keh¡¯s phone rang. It was a call from his assistant. ¡°Mr. Parker, regarding the investigation about the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion, we haven¡¯t done a thorough one yet, but we¡¯ve discovered something extremely important that I need to report to you!¡± his assistant said solemnly over the phone. ¡°Speak!¡± Kehmanded tersely and pressed the speaker button to transmit the assistant¡¯s voice clearly to the ears of everyone present. ¡°We found out that just half a month ago, a sum of ten million dors was suddenly transferred from the Heavenly Pavilion¡¯s ount to a personal bank ount belonging to Sean Frey. But the usage of this sum was not reflected in the financial statements!¡± ¡°Therefore, we have reasonable grounds to suspect that Sean Frey embezzled thisrge sum!¡± As soon as the assistant said this, Frey¡¯s fat face turned pale. He copsed helplessly on the floor, andrge sweat droplets emerged from his forehead. The other people around them were just as astonished. Ten million dors was by no means a small sum. In fact, it was a massive amount! Most people struggled to save even a hundred thousand dors after working hard all their lives, let alone ten million dors. It was absolutely outrageous! Even Keh was shocked, and his face immediately turned as dark as ink. He had indeed guessed that Frey wouldn¡¯t abide by the rules, and he also knew that people in high positions would inevitably be greedy for some benefits. But Keh had never expected Frey to be so greedy as to have the guts to do a one-time transfer of 10 million dors from thepany ount to his personal ount! The annual profit reported by the Heavenly Pavilion in recent years was only about 15 million dors at most, and this was on the basis that the store¡¯s top antiques were sold with the Parkers¡¯ prestige. Frey had pocketed most of the Heavenly Pavilion¡¯s revenue in one bite. It was simply intolerable in Keh¡¯s opinion! ¡°Bastard, what else do you have to say now? How do you n to exin to me about the ten million dors?¡± Keh roared furiously. Frey was trembling incessantly as he stammered an exnation, ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Parker, the money, I-I just borrowed it for an¡­ an emergency. I never nned to em-embezzle it!¡± After hearing his argument, Kehughed in anger. ¡°You pocketed so much money without the permission of thepany¡¯s senior management. Yet you¡¯re telling me that you borrowed it temporarily? Regardless of your reason or what you used it for, you were clearly misappropriatingpany funds!¡± ¡°If I hadn¡¯t sent my people to check it out, would you have hidden it from me and made up a reason on the report when the time came so that you could just pocket the money without anyone finding out? You bastard, you really came up with a great n, huh? ¡°Tell me, where is the ten million dors now?¡± Keh was really livid. Frey¡¯s actions had not only damaged the Parkers¡¯ interests but also revealed their management issues. Moreover, this matter was exposed in front of Lucas! Now that the Parkers had already be Lucas¡¯s subordinates and were helping him manage the Sr Corporation in LA, as well as other businesses, the revtion of management ws in apany under his management might arouse Lucas¡¯s displeasure. If his grandfather heard about his mismanagement, Keh might be abandoned for being ipetent! The thought of this possibility made Keh feel a strong urge to kill this audacious dimwit, Sean Frey! Chapter 641 - Refusing To Admit

Chapter 641: Refusing To Admit

Seeing that he couldn¡¯t deny it at all, Frey was frightened, especially after noticing the murderous gaze in Keh¡¯s eyes. He hurriedly pulled Kylie over from the side and pointed at her. ¡°Mr. Parker, this bitch is to me for everything! She told me that the stock market is booming now and that the stocks are all following a bullish trend. She told me that I¡¯d be able to make a big profit immediately as long as I invested my money in some stocks. She also fooled me into secretly transferring money from thepany¡¯s ount to my own ount to invest in the stock market. Once I made some money, I¡¯d transfer the ten million back into thepany¡¯s ount, and there wouldn¡¯t be any problems anymore! ¡°But I was unlucky, and all my stocks plunged. On the first day I invested, I lost about a million! I¡­ I wanted to recoup my losses and get my capital back so that I could return the money to thepany. But I didn¡¯t expect to keep losing money for the next few days. I-I-I really had no choice!¡± When Keh heard that this bastard had actually used thepany¡¯s money to buy stocks, his face became even gloomier. Everyone knew that investing in stocks was risky. But this fool in front of him actually had the guts to buy stocks with the Heavenly Pavilion¡¯s funds and even ended up suffering a huge loss. He really felt a strong urge to skin Frey alive! ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve lost all ten million dors on the stock market!¡± Keh gnashed his teeth. Frey hurriedly said, ¡°No, I didn¡¯t lose it all in stocks. After a few days of losing, my losses totaled more than four million dors. I didn¡¯t dare to continue specting anymore, so I withdrew all the money. But only about five million is left¡­¡± Toward the end, his voice gradually became softer, and he seemed really ashamed of this result. Keh was so enraged that he was about to explode. Within just a few days, he had lost more than four million dors. Frey was an absolute dimwit! Even the most idiotic people invested blindly, they wouldn¡¯t suffer such huge losses. Moreover, the money Frey lost was all funds belonging to the Heavenly Pavilion! ¡°¡­ What about the rest of the money?¡± Keh desperately tried to control his urge to rip the man in front of him to pieces. Frey immediately pointed at Kylie beside him. ¡°This woman has the rest of the money! She told me that she has good channels and could help me recoup the five million dors in the shortest possible time, so I transferred all the money to her!¡± Everyone was staring at Frey¡¯s finger and watching him shift it to Kylie¡¯s body. Seeing that things were going awry, Kylie hurriedly shirked all responsibility, ¡°What nonsense are you saying? I didn¡¯t know about this at all, and I never took five million dors from you. Why are you putting the me on me when you¡¯re the one who made the mistakes? Let me tell you. I¡¯m not a vulnerable woman that will put up with taking the rap!¡± Frey flew into a rage. ¡°How dare you deny it now that things havee to this? You¡¯re the one who instigated me to embezzle thepany¡¯s money and told me that you had a way to make quick money. That¡¯s why I transferred the remaining five million dors to your ount. Yet you¡¯re trying to shirk responsibility now?!¡± Kylie craned her neck, raised her head, and eximed, ¡°I said, I don¡¯t know about these things at all. Don¡¯t try putting the me on me!¡± She took off the namete on her chest, threw it onto the floor, and said resentfully, ¡°None of you try to use me! I¡¯m quitting this job! None of you have the right to stop me!¡± With that, she got up from the floor and wanted to walk toward the elevator. ¡°Hold it!¡± With the loud shout, one of the bodyguards following Keh immediately stepped forward to stop Kylie. Keh suppressed the anger within him and threatened through gritted teeth, ¡°No one is going to leave until this matter has been rified! If you dare to continue acting like a shrew or feign ignorance, I¡¯ll have someone amputate both of your legs right here! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can try it!¡± If Lucas wasn¡¯t still watching, he wouldn¡¯t have only threatened Kylie. As the scion of the Parker family, whom Damon had taken under his wing and nurtured for years, Keh wasn¡¯t a fool. If it was only a one-sided ount by Frey, Keh would have wondered if he was deliberately framing a woman in order to draw attention away from himself and confuse the public. But Kylie¡¯s anxiousness to leave clearly showed that she had a guilty conscience and revealed what she intended to hide. Frey¡¯s embezzlement of $10 million of thepany¡¯s funds was definitely rted to her! When Kylie heard Keh¡¯s warning, her heart trembled, and she didn¡¯t dare to act rashly anymore. Kylie, who had been a supervisor of the Heavenly Pavilion for a few years, was naturally well aware of Keh¡¯s identity. Even in the early years, Kylie had once thought of seducing Keh and marrying him in order to climb her way up to fulfill her dreams of bing rich. But after hearing about some of the things he had done, she immediately swept away this delusion and felt genuine fear toward a powerful scion like Keh. She was now very certain that if she didn¡¯t do what Keh wanted her to, she would definitely suffer a miserable fate worse than death! But if she admitted to the things Frey used her of, her oue wouldn¡¯t be any better. Now, her only option was to deny it outrightly, as she was sure that Frey would never be able to produce any evidence! ¡°M-Mr. Parker, I¡¯ve really been wronged! Sean Frey embezzled the funds out of his own ord. And now that he¡¯s been exposed, he wants to drag me down with him and take the me for him. This is a false usation! Mr. Parker, you must believe me. I really had no idea what he did, and these things have nothing to do with me at all! I¡­ If I had the five million dors, I¡¯d have absconded a long time ago. Why would I continue working in the Heavenly Pavilion?¡± Kylie denied firmly. Staring at Kylie¡¯s familiar yet unfamiliar face, Frey said sneeringly, ¡°Kylie Reed, do you actually think that you can deny it because I don¡¯t have any evidence? Haha, fortunately, I¡¯ve always kept my guard against you, and I have never trusted youpletely. Otherwise, I would have been stabbed in the back by you today!¡± Frey suddenly took out his phone from his pocket and tapped on an audio file to y it. When Kylie heard the recording of the familiar conversation, her face turned deathly pale! Chapter 642 - Three Recordings

Chapter 642: Three Recordings

An audio recording of a man and a woman transmitted smoothly from Frey¡¯s phone. Anyone could tell that the voices belonged to Kylie and Frey. ¡°Honey, I¡¯ve told you several times that the stock market is boomingtely. I invested a hundred and fifty grand and made over a dozen grand within just half a month. But my capital is too small. If we have millions of dors as capital, I guarantee that we will be able to earn at least a million within half a month! This is much more than what our jobs pay! ¡°Besides, thepany¡¯s money is lying around in thepany¡¯s ount anyway, and it¡¯d be a waste just to leave it there. We might as well withdraw it for us to make a good deal of money! Anyway, thepany¡¯s finances and ounts are now under your control, and you have no superior to supervise you. What are you afraid of?¡± ¡°But¡­ in case the Parkers suddenly check the ounts¡­¡± ¡°Ugh, what are you afraid of!? I told you. We¡¯re just going to transfer the money away temporarily. We¡¯re not going to withdraw all of it anyway. We¡¯ll just take about ten million. When we make a profit of about three million in the stock market, we will naturally return the money and tally the ounts. No one will find out! ¡°Besides, once we get the three million or so, it¡¯ll be much faster for us to continue investing in stocks or do other investments. Don¡¯t you agree? ¡°Honey, what are you hesitating for? Nowadays, those who starve to death are the timid ones, and those who are courageous are livingrge. Just listen to me. I guarantee there won¡¯t be any problems, so just wait to get rich!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll listen to you and take a gamble!¡± ¡­ After the recording yed, Frey red at Kylie. ¡°Now, what else do you have to say? You instigated me into embezzlingpany funds to specte in the stock market. What other excuses do you have now that there¡¯s concrete evidence?!¡± ¡°You¡­ you actually recorded our conversation?!¡± Kylie blurted in astonishment. She had thought that she had Frey, this chubby old man, all wrapped around her finger and within her control. But she hadn¡¯t expected him to keep his guard up against her and even secretly recorded their conversation! Now, the fact that she had instigated and encouraged Frey to use thepany¡¯s funds to specte in the stock market was a nail in the coffin! After a short period of panic, Kylie said, ¡°Fine, I admit that I indeed told you about this before. But at the time, I was just thinking about it! The financial power of the Heavenly Pavilion lies in your hands, and you¡¯re the one who put the massive sum of ten million into your private ount. I didn¡¯t force you to do it! ¡°Also, this money has been in your hands since the beginning, and I haven¡¯t seen a single cent of it. Don¡¯t say that you gave me the money! If you don¡¯t believe me, show us the transfer records, and we¡¯ll see who you transferred the five million to!¡± Kylie was full of confidence and gusto when she said herst sentence. Reason being, she indeed wasn¡¯t the recipient of the funds transferred from Frey¡¯s ount. No matter what the foolish Frey said, she would never hand over this sum of money! Frey looked at the smug expression on Kylie¡¯s face and suddenly smiled. ¡°Kylie Reed, are you trying to hold out hope until the very end before you face death? Fine. I¡¯ll make youpletely convinced, you vicious woman!¡± Then Frey clicked on another voice recording on his phone. Kylie¡¯s and Frey¡¯s familiar voices were in it too. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re just unlucky this time. That¡¯s just how the stock market is. There¡¯s nothing we can do about it! But fortunately, we still have more than five million, so it¡¯s not aplete loss. Don¡¯t be too vexed about it!¡± ¡°How can I not be vexed? I took ten million out of thepany¡¯s ount! Now that we only have five million left, there¡¯s no way I can make up for the deficit even if I use all the money I¡¯ve saved over the years! If the Parkers investigate this, I¡¯ll be doomed!¡± ¡°Honey, don¡¯t worry. Hear me out. I have a friend who specializes in running some secretive dealings, such as money-lending and other stuff. If you give me the remaining five million, I can definitely help you earn ten million or even more within a month or two! Just trust me!¡± The audio recording confirmed the authenticity of Frey¡¯s previous statement about Kylie instigating him to transfer the remaining five million dors to her ount. Immediately afterward, Frey sneered and clicked on another audio recording without waiting for Kylie to say anything. ¡°Kylie, why doesn¡¯t this ount number you gave me belong to your personal ount?¡± ¡°Rest assured, Honey. This is my friend¡¯s ount. You can just transfer the money straight to his ount. Even if you transfer the five million to me, I¡¯ll still have to transfer it to him. Don¡¯t you think this extra step is redundant?¡± ¡°Okay then. I¡¯ll transfer the money to the ount number you gave me!¡± ¡°Okay, Honey, just wait for a while. My friend is really impressive, and we¡¯ll definitely be able to earn double of the capital you invested!¡± ¡­ By the time the recording ended, Kylie¡¯s calm face had already shattered into countless pieces, and she was now as pale as a sheet. She hadn¡¯t expected Frey to record all three of these conversations! Just how wary was he against me?! Does he have any more incriminating voice recordings? But she couldn¡¯t be bothered to think of anything else now because the three voice recordings that Frey had yed were enough to condemn her for her misdeeds and leave her with no means of rebuttal. At this moment, the others present were appalled by their behavior. On the one hand, they were shocked by their audacity to conspire and embezzle a massive sum of $10 million from thepany¡¯s ounts to specte on stocks while keeping their guards up against each other. Moreover, while Kylie was addressing Frey with mushy and endearing terms, she had alsoe up with the idea of making Frey transfer the money to someone else¡¯s ount to shirk the responsibility. On the other hand, Frey was just as amazing. While being bewitched by Kylie and colluding with her, he had secretly left a backup n for himself by recording their conversations. The two of them were reallypatible because they were equally dishonest! Seeing how miserable Kylie was and how she was at a loss for words, Frey looked rather thrilled and resentful at the same time. ¡°Bitch, you¡¯re the cause of these matters. You want to push all the me on me and escape just because you think I don¡¯t have any evidence? Dream on! ¡°Now that there is concrete proof, can you continue to defend yourself? Let¡¯s see what you have to say! I told you. Even if I go to hell, I will definitely drag you down with me too, you vicious wench! Haha!¡± Freyughed hysterically. Chapter 643 - Kenneth Shows His Goodwill

Chapter 643: Keh Shows His Goodwill

At this point, there was nothing Frey could say to defend himself. Besides, only five million of the massive sum of ten million dors that he had embezzled was left, which was now in Kylie¡¯s hands. Even if he added all his assets together, he wouldn¡¯t be able to pay it back. Moreover, he knew that the Parkers would never let him off the hook. In that case, he had to drag Kylie, this shameless woman who caused him to be reduced to such a state, down with him no matter what! Keh was furious too. But he looked at Lucas respectfully and asked, ¡°Mr. Gray, what do you think is the best way to deal with this matter?¡± It wasn¡¯t that he was indecisive. But rather, he was thinking about what Kylie said previously about her and Lucas being former college ssmates. So he wondered if Lucas would show her some mercy on ount that they used to be ssmates. Lucas was standing silently at the side and watching everything. But after hearing Keh¡¯s question, he said without even looking at him, ¡°Do what needs to be done.¡± He was never friends with Kylie in the first ce, and she was the one who had provoked him first. Now that it was revealed that she had done such a thing, Lucas was already kind enough not to kick her when she was down. Hearing Lucas¡¯s answer, Keh immediately knew what to do. He yelled at the group of security guards of the Heavenly Pavilion, who were cowering in a corner and pretending to be invisible. ¡°Why are you cowering there? Are you waiting to be paid without doing any work? Immediatelye here and send these two people to the police station. Tell the police what they did and make sure you file a report so that the police will investigate!¡± Then Keh nced at the staff in the store, who had peculiar expressions, and lectured them, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see such a terrible thing happen again. Do you all understand what I mean?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°We got it, Mr. Parker!¡± ¡­ The security guards and salespeople immediately nodded profusely. Soon, Frey and Kylie were sent to the police station. Since there was concrete evidence, the results of the investigation would probably be released soon, and it would be time for them to be sent to the ce they should be. But before Kylie was taken away, she turned around and stared at Lucas with an extremelyplicated expression. Even until now, she still didn¡¯t know why she ended upnding herself in prison when she had clearly only wanted to mock Lucas because she disliked him. Lucas Gray is clearly a bottom feeder of society who makes less money in a year than I do in a month. He should feel ashamed in front of me forever, but why have things turned out like this? On what grounds does he manage to make the scion of the Parkers treat him with so much respect and defend him? If not, I wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a state! But no matter how resentful she was, it was already toote. After settling everything, Keh cautiously looked at Lucas and asked, ¡°Mr. Gray, are you fine with the way I handled things?¡± He hadn¡¯t forgotten the reason he had rushed to the Heavenly Pavilion was that he was afraid his subordinates would end up offending Lucas and upsetting him. Lucas assented nomittally before raising his wrist to look at the time. It was almost half past six in the evening. He had nned to pick up two decent gifts from the Heavenly Pavilion before going to Alexis¡¯s birthday party. But he had ended up running into Kylie out of nowhere, causing him to waste a ton of time. Since he had already picked the gifts, he stopped dying any further and said to Jane next to him, ¡°Please wrap up the two gifts I¡¯ve chosen. I¡¯m in a hurry.¡± Jane seemed to wake up from a dream as she hurriedly answered, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll help you go through the procedures immediately!¡± The scene just now had left the young Jane shell-shocked, not only because of how audacious and shameless Frey and Kylie were but also because of Lucas¡¯s identity. Even the scion of the family who owned the Heavenly Pavilion, Keh, was extremely polite and deferential toward Lucas, so much so that he even had to seek his opinion when handling the matter. She wondered,?Who¡­ exactly is this man¡­ While thinking about this matter, Jane didn¡¯t slow in her actions. She immediately proceeded to ce the string of high-quality wooden Bodhi beads and the set of emerald jewelry inside exquisitely designed gift boxes. At this moment, Keh finally understood why Lucas suddenly showed up in the Heavenly Pavilion. It turned out that he was here to pick out some gifts. After realizing this, Keh immediately said, ¡°Mr. Gray, so you came here to get some gifts. We have plenty of treasures in the Heavenly Pavilion. If there¡¯s anything you like, just tell me! If you want, I¡¯ll take you to go look at them now.¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve already picked two just now.¡± The gifts were for Edmund and Alexis. In fact, the Coles ran an antique business, so even if Lucas gave them other antiques, they would probably find them simr. Besides, he was already friends with the Coles. So as long as the gifts were appropriate, he didn¡¯t need to care about anything else. While they were talking, Jane had already returned with two beautifully wrapped gift boxes. She handed them to Lucas and asked politely, ¡°Mr. Gray, these two items cost a total of 3.8 million. Do you wish to pay by credit card or check?¡± Before Lucas could say anything, Keh immediately got anxious and chided Jane, ¡°What credit card? It¡¯s just two items. We naturally can¡¯t let Mr. Gray pay a single penny for them! Mr. Gray can take away any item he likes in the Heavenly Pavilion for free, let alone just two antiques! Bear this in mind!¡± Hearing this, a look of astonishment once again appeared on Jane¡¯s face. The value of the gifts Lucas had selected were close to four million dors. Yet Keh not only gave them to him for free, but he even said that Lucas could take anything he wanted from the Heavenly Pavilion for free in the future. The total value of the antiques in the store was at least a billion dors! Who exactly is this Mr. Gray, who¡¯s dressed in in and simple clothes¡­ Lucas wasn¡¯t surprised by Keh¡¯s act of giving him these expensive gifts. Even though Lucas had intended to pay for the gifts with his own money if Keh hadn¡¯te, his rtionship with the Parkers was now very different. If he had to spend his own money at a store belonging to the Parkers, it wouldn¡¯t be him being polite, but rather, it would be putting the Parkers to shame. Thus, Lucas didn¡¯t stand on ceremony with Keh and dly epted his kind gesture. ¡°Alright, thank you very much then, Mr. Parker.¡± Lucas took the two gift boxes and smiled at Keh. This immediately made Keh let out a huge sigh of relief. This was enough to show that Lucas wasn¡¯t upset with him and the Parkers because of what had happened today, which was good! ¡°However, your general manager is no longer here, so shouldn¡¯t you consider appointing someone to rece him?¡± Just before Lucas was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly gave this suggestion while looking at Jane in front of him. Chapter 644 - Smash The Car

Chapter 644: Smash The Car

Keh froze for a moment, but he soon understood what Lucas meant. Although he camete and wasn¡¯t quite sure if there was any rtionship between Lucas and Jane, he naturally wouldn¡¯t ignore Lucas¡¯s rmendation since he had already expressed his intention so clearly. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re right! I think¡­ Miss Jane is quite a suitable candidate for the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion. What do you think?¡± Keh asked, which was rather smart of him. Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°I believe you won¡¯t regret your decision today.¡± Hearing this, Keh instantly felt relieved. Regardless of why Lucas was impressed with Jane, a salesperson of the Heavenly Pavilion, to the extent that he directly rmended her to be the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion, Keh was very confident in Lucas¡¯s judgment. Keh immediately announced loudly, ¡°From today onward, Jane is officially the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion. She will be responsible for managing all the affairs within the Heavenly Pavilion. Remember, I¡¯ve personally appointed her. If any of you have any objections or defy me behind my back, don¡¯t me me for being impolite!¡± None of the salespeople who were feeling sour about it dared to express their displeasure. Keh was clearly supporting Jane, so who would dare to make things difficult for her? They still wanted to make a living in the Heavenly Pavilion! Besides, Jane was young and had a good temper. Despite having been mocked by them over thest two months, she had never lost her temper. So they were positive that she¡¯d make a better general manager than the lecherous Frey and overbearing Kylie. The salespeople had no objection to his decision, except for two who became anxious because they used to bully Jane badly. Meanwhile, Jane, the person in question, was dumbfounded. She never imagined that she would turn from a new employee about to be sacked just a few minutes ago for offending her supervisor and underperforming in sales to the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion in the blink of an eye. It made her feel overwhelmed with surprise. Confused and nervous, she looked at Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡­¡± Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°You¡¯repetent enough to take on this role. If you¡¯re still feeling uneasy about it, convince everyone with your abilities!¡± ¡°Yes, I will! Thank you very much, Mr. Gray! And thanks a lot, Mr. Parker! Thank you for the trust you¡¯ve given me!¡± Jane turned to face Lucas and Keh with a confident smile on her face. The matter here finally came to an end. Lucas was in a rush to go to the Cole residence, so he didn¡¯t stay any longer and left with the gifts after saying goodbye. Keh personally saw Lucas all the way to the entrance of the Heavenly Pavilion and let out a long sigh of relief when he saw Lucas leaving. Ever since he saw Lucas¡¯s formidable behavior in LA, Keh had a deeper understanding of this man who, despite being around his own age, possessed power so terrifying and unfathomable that even his grandfather Damon was extremely cautious when facing him, let alone Keh himself. When facing Lucas, Keh felt as if he was facing an extremely tall and lofty mountain range, so he subconsciously felt very nervous. A breeze blew past, and a sudden chill passed through Keh¡¯s body. Only then did he notice that he had unknowingly broken out into cold sweat, coating a thinyer on his back and forehead. ¡°Mr. Parker, who was that¡­ young man just now?¡± someone standing behind Keh asked. Keh raised his hand to wipe a bead of sweat from his face and said with aplicated expression, ¡°He is Lucas Gray, but no one knows exactly how terrifying his power is. You just need to remember one thing¡ªdon¡¯t ever provoke this man. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to afford the consequences!¡± Seemingly having remembered something terrifying, Keh shuddered. Seeing Keh¡¯s actions, the person who asked the question was astonished. Since he could induce fear within Keh, the usually fearless scion of the Parkers, he definitely wasn¡¯t an existence that could be provoked! ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Lucas had already driven to the Coles¡¯ manor in his ck Jaguar. Due to the dy in the Heavenly Pavilion, Alexis¡¯s birthday party was about to begin by the time Lucas arrived. At this juncture, most of the guests had already arrived, so Lucas could see that the extremely spacious parking lot outside the Coles¡¯ manor was basically full of all kinds of luxury cars. It seemed that most of the guests attending Alexis¡¯s birthday party were from prestigious families. Lucas found an empty parking space and casually parked his Jaguar. He got out of his car carrying the two gift boxes in his hand and walked toward the entrance of the Coles¡¯ manor. ¡°Hey, kid, hold it right there!¡± At this moment, someone yelled curtly behind Lucas. When he turned around, he saw a young man dressed in luxury goods and designer clothing from head to toe with red highlights in his bangs in front of his forehead. He was poking his head out of a Maserati sports car and ring daggers at Lucas. Lucas nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Punk, immediately move your car away! No parking here! This is my parking spot! With your lousy car worth only a hundred thousand, how can you be qualified to park here?¡± The red-haired young man spoke in a bossy, overbearing, and arrogant tone, as if Lucas was just a servant of his family. Lucas simply didn¡¯t bother paying attention to this scion who self-righteously thought that he was invincible and instead turned around to leave. ¡°Hey! Punk, I told you to stop! Didn¡¯t you hear me?!¡± The red-haired young man shouted angrily several times. But Lucas turned a deaf ear to him and quickly went straight into the gate of the Coles¡¯ manor, vanishing out of sight. The red-haired young man was about to explode with anger and immediately yelled at the two bodyguards in the car, ¡°You two, go smash that punk¡¯s car! It¡¯s just a Jaguar. How dare he ignore me? No matter what, I¡¯ll teach that punk a lesson!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Nick!¡± The two burly bodyguards in the car immediately took out tools like wrenches and crowbars from the toolbox, went forward, and smashed Lucas¡¯s Jaguar. Bang! The windshield and rearview mirrors were all smashed into pieces. The initially smooth front hood had also been smashed uneven. Almost in an instant, Lucas¡¯s ck Jaguar was smashed to pieces beyond recognition! Chapter 645 - The Coles Banquet

Chapter 645: The Coles¡¯ Banquet

At this moment, Lucas had already entered the Coles¡¯ manor and was still unaware that his car had been smashed in the parking lot outside. Even though Lucas didn¡¯t have an invitation card with him, when the person in charge of receiving guests at the entrance saw him, he politely brought him to the main hall where Alexis¡¯s birthday party was being held. Lucas followed the usher all the way and scanned his surroundings in the Coles¡¯ manor. The Coles really lived up to their reputation as one of the top three wealthiest families in San Francisco. The entire manor covered arge area, and the interior was different from the usual European luxe decor preferred by many wealthy families. Instead, it had a simple but elegant decor style, with some decorative water features and pavilions interspersed between. However, the main hall, where Alexis¡¯s 20th birthday party was being held, was a detached modern European-style vi. After all, most of the guests Alexis invited to her party were young, so the Coles deliberately chose to hold the party here. ¡°The party is being held here this evening, Mr. Gray. Pleasee in!¡± the usher said as he opened the ss doors of the banquet hall respectfully. Lucas nodded and entered. At this moment, it was almost the start of the banquet, and most of the guests had already arrived, dressed in fancy clothes and holding various drinks while chatting with each other. It was a typical scene of a gathering among the rich. Most people present were the heirs and heiresses of various top families, so they were all wealthy and noble. But it did make sense since Alexis was the pampered heiress of the Coles, who had a high status and argework of connections. Those who were qualified to attend were naturally also ofparable statuses. Therefore, Lucas, who suddenly appeared at the birthday banquet hall, became an anomaly. As soon as he entered, he immediately saw many pairs of eyes full of ambiguous gazes. After all, among the wealthy scions anddies present, Lucas was the only one wearing an extremely casual outfit, making him stick out like a sore thumb. He was just like a wild hen among a flock of eye-catching peacocks, unique and different from the rest. But Lucas had always ignored these peculiar gazes that he would get for the way he dressed. He simply acted as though he didn¡¯t see them and sat down in the nearest corner. He didn¡¯te here with the intention ofmunicating with the children of wealthy families today. He was merely here to deliver the gifts because Alexis invited him to her birthday party. Lucas wasn¡¯t interested in participating in anything else. ¡°Lucas Gray? You¡¯re here too?¡± a woman eximed in surprise near Lucas. Lucas turned around and saw Lena, who was wearing a ck halter bustier dress made of chiffon. She walked toward him smilingly. ¡°Lena, you¡¯re here too.¡± Lucas was slightly surprised and greeted her. ¡°Haha, of course. Today is the birthday of Alexis, the princess of the Cole family. Although my family isn¡¯t very close to the Coles, we should stille and show our support no matter what! Even many prestigious families in other cities in California are proud to receive an invitation to the party!¡± Lena seemed to be in high spirits, as she was extremely chatty with Lucas. ¡°However, I¡¯m still a bit surprised to meet you here. Given your character, I thought that you might not enjoy attending such banquets!¡± Lena grabbed two cocktail sses from the tray in the hands of a passing waiter and handed one to Lucas. Lucas took it politely, but he merely held it in his hand without taking a sip. He said casually, ¡°I happen to be friends with Mr. Edmund Cole and Alexis, so I¡¯m just here to take a look.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. When we were in LAst time, I heard that you saved Mr. Cole. I was shocked!¡± Lena suddenly blinked at Lucas and asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m pretty today?¡± She was here to attend the birthday party today, and on such asions, every woman attending wouldn¡¯t be willing to let others outshine them. So Lena was dressed today in an elegant ck dress that not only entuated her voluptuous and alluring figure but also made her skin look incredibly fair. Moreover, she was a gorgeous beauty to begin with, and her exquisite outfit, as well as essories, made her look even prettier. Lena¡¯s beauty stood out from most of the other women present and was extremely eye-catching. Lucas praised sincerely, ¡°You¡¯re indeed very pretty today!¡± ¡°Haha, thanks!¡± Lena answered with a shy smile. At this moment, the ss doors of the banquet hall opened again, and a tall and handsome young nobleman walked in from outside. His appearance immediately caused amotion because extraordinarily handsome men like him were rare even at such asions, where heirs of noble families gathered. ¡°Wow, who¡¯s this handsome guy who just came in?¡± ¡°I know him! He¡¯s Connor Hale from Orange County. Although he¡¯s only thirty, he has officially be the head of the Hale family just a few days ago!¡± ¡°Really? He¡¯s already be the head of the Hale family at such a young age? He should be the youngest among the helmsman of first-tier families, right? I heard that the Hales are one of the four top families in Orange County and are extremely powerful! Has Connor Hale really be the head of his family?¡± ¡°Of course. Although he¡¯s young, he definitely isn¡¯t an ordinary person. Otherwise, Bruce Hale wouldn¡¯t have favored him and passed him the position of family head!¡± ¡°That¡¯s incredible. He became the helmsman of his family at such a young age, and the thing is, he¡¯s so handsome. He¡¯s just like the prince charming of my dreams! I¡¯m starting to like him!¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯d better wake up. He¡¯s already married, and his son was born not long ago. He even threw a full moon party for his son!¡± These words made many nearby sigh, finding it a huge pity. ¡­ Connor attracted the attention of many women as soon as he entered due to his outstanding appearance. But at the same time, many wealthy scions were staring at Connor, who was now officially the helmsman of a top-tier family. This point alone had already set him apart from others his age. While countless people were staring at Connor, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly strode toward Lucas. Connor stood in front of Lucas, bent forward slightly, and said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, I didn¡¯t expect you to be here too. If I had known earlier that you wereing, I would have gone to pick you up personally!¡± This scene immediately caused many people to widen their eyes in bewilderment. Chapter 646 - Young Helmsman

Chapter 646: Young Helmsman

Connor was very respectful toward Lucas. In fact, he was even somewhat in awe of him. Even though he had now be the actual helmsman of the Hale family, he didn¡¯t dare to be rude to Lucas at all. During his son¡¯s full moon shower back then, Lucas had practically wiped out the Hales overnight with a singlemand. Later on, the dozens of Hales were spared also because of Lucas¡¯s power. It could be said that Lucas had full control over the life and death of the Hales, so Connor was naturally afraid of a terrifying figure like him. In fact, he had even once broken out in cold sweat from being in the same car as Lucas. But the Hales had now be subordinate to Lucas. In fact, everything the Hales had actually belonged to Lucas, which caused the drastic change in Connor¡¯s attitude. He no longer feared Lucas and instead genuinely submitted to him out of subservience to a superior. Lucas looked at Connor and smiled lightly. ¡°Yes, Alexis invited me, so I came to take a look.¡± Connor raised his head, and only then did he notice the beautiful woman beside Lucas. He smiled and said, ¡°Miss Sawyer, you¡¯re here too.¡± Lenaughed and teased, ¡°Now, I have to see you as the helmsman of the Hale family. You didn¡¯t see how much attention you got from all the beautiful women as soon as you entered! You¡¯re the youngest person to be the head of a first-tier family in thest decade or so. I¡¯m also about the same age as you, but now, I¡¯m still just a vulnerable woman!¡± She and Connor were both from families among the top four in Orange County, so they had interacted with each other rather often. They were also more familiar with each other than others. Connor looked at Lucas, standing beside Lena, and said ambiguously, ¡°How is that possible? Miss Sawyer, you and Mr. Gray are so close to each other. You will definitely be a sessful person in the future, so who would dare to despise you?¡± Lucas immediately realized that Connor had probably misunderstood the rtionship between him and Lena. But when he saw Lena blushing with shame and embarrassment and then saw many people nearby secretly paying attention to them, he merely coughed gently without saying anything to exin. Anyway, he knew that there was nothing between him and Lena, and this was enough. If he exined anything, it would make it seem like he was getting defensive from trying to cover it up. Since Lucas didn¡¯t exin, all the more Lena wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to exin anything. In fact, she felt a sweet and fuzzy feeling after hearing that Connor had gotten the wrong idea about them. How wonderful would it be if¡­ Lucas and I were really in that kind of rtionship?! But after fantasizing, Lena acutely sensed something that shocked her. Connor¡¯s attitude toward Lucas was really too good to be true. In fact, he was extremely respectful toward him. Even when Connor was still just the esteemed scion of the Hale family, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily need to be so respectful and polite to Lucas, let alone now that he was the helmsman of the family. Does this mean that Lucas has a higher status than Connor, the helmsman of the Hale family? The three of them were just having a simple conversation here. But many other people in the hall could barely suppress their surprise. Initially, when Lucas just entered, he had attracted many disdainful gazes from the other guests because his in outfit made him stick out like a sore thumb. Later on, the ravishing beauty Lena, who attracted the attention of most of the men in the room, took the initiative to walk up to Lucas to greet him. After her, Connor, who attracted most of the women in the room, did the same and even seemed to be extremely respectful toward him, leaving many puzzled. Who exactly was this young man dressed shabbily? Lucas casually nced around the hall and saw a few people he knew, such as the two young people of the Wace family, as well as Gisele and other Taylors. However, most here were rich children from San Francisco and other cities, so he didn¡¯t know them. The moment Gisele saw Lucas, she subconsciously shrank, for fear that he woulde over and create trouble for her. Thest time Lucas had confronted the Taylors and made Preston hand over Karen, he was really powerful and overbearing. Not only had he beaten all the bodyguards of the Taylors to the ground, but he had also killed the powerful expert of the Peerless Martial Association. This made Gisele no longer dare to seek revenge against Lucas. Instead, she was now like a mouse seeing a cat, absolutely petrified. But Gisele was overthinking things, as Lucas would never take a nobody like her seriously or be in the mood to find trouble with her. Well, unless she took the initiative to provoke him. At this moment, a few men and women standing in the middle of the hall and chatting suddenly walked toward the corner where Lucas was. ¡°Lena, why did youe over here?¡± The leader of these people was a wealthy heir of about twenty-seven years old, who was dressed fashionably in an expensive and decent suit. The red segment of hair hanging in front of his head was particrly eye-catching. He then looked at Lucas and drawled in a light tone, ¡°Hey, who¡¯s this? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen him before. Lena, won¡¯t you introduce him to us?¡± Despite asking for an introduction, he had his head raised high and his nose facing Lucas, clearly full of contempt toward him, whom he belittled. Lena seemed to have a bad impression of this wealthy heir as she nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°This is my friend, and we¡¯re here to talk. Mr. Walker, do you have an issue with this?¡± The wealthy heir with red hair hanging in front of his foreheadughed. ¡°Lena, I¡¯m just asking. Why do you have to be so hostile to me?¡± Looking at him, Lucas couldn¡¯t help sighing. The person who had called out to him and ordered him to give up his parking spot like a subordinate outside the Coles¡¯ manor just now was exactly this man. But Lucas didn¡¯t know his identity just now. After hearing Lena say hisst name, he reckoned that he should be one of the Walkers, who were on par with the Coles and the Kingstons. Connor also frowned slightly. He had never had any close ties with Nate Walker and merely knew of his existence. Nate seemed to be hostile to Lucas, or rather, despised Lucas. The condescending expression he had on his face when he looked at Lucas made Connor¡¯s impression of him worsen, and he didn¡¯t want to pay attention to him at all. ¡°Hey, Connor Hale, can¡¯t you see that Mr. Walker is standing in front of you and speaking to you? How dare you not greet him. What do you mean by this?!¡± a square-faced young man following behind Nate shouted in displeasure. Chapter 647 - Who is He?

Chapter 647: Who is He?

Connor nced at the young man with the square face who had just spoken rudely. After giving it some thought, he finally recalled that the young man should be Das Watson. The Watsons were initially only a small family in California who had somehow managed to get close to the Walkers of San Francisco. They then developed and rose to be a first-tier family. This was why the Watsons had almost be subordinate to the Walkers while Das, the scion of the Watsons, often followed Nate Walker around like ackey. Connor couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to ackey of Nate, who was extremely hostile to Lucas, and sneered. ¡°Who are you?¡± Das froze for a moment before shouting in anger, ¡°What did you say? You actually asked me who I am? You don¡¯t know who I am? I am Das Watson from San Jose!¡± ¡°Oh, I thought you were some incredible big shot. You¡¯re making it sound as if everyone should know who you are. It turns out you¡¯re just a Watson from San Jose,¡± Connor said indifferently, but his wordspletely angered Das. Before Das could lose his temper again, Connor continued, ¡°Besides, you only belong to the younger generation of the Watsons, while I am the helmsman of the Hale family. You¡¯d better watch your tone when you talk to me. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me when I question your elders about the upbringing of their descendants.¡± As soon as Connor said this, the people around him were utterly shocked. None of them expected Connor to be so hostile and relentless toward Das as to reprimand him forcking manners right in front of everyone. Even if the Watsons¡¯s strength was slightly inferior to that of the Hales, Das was following Nate! As the saying went, to humiliate the protected was to humiliate the protector. Yet Connor reprimanded Das right in front of everyone, which was a tant insult to Nate. ¡°Although Das was indeed a little hostile to Connor, they¡¯re actually about the same age, so it¡¯s really not necessary to be so particr about rules and status, is it?¡± ¡°Exactly. Das is Nate¡¯s follower no matter what. Connor Hale is being too harsh with him. He¡¯s clearly out to embarrass him by saying that!¡± ¡°I reckon Connor Hale has probably be way too arrogant because he became the helmsman of his family at such a young age. He doesn¡¯t even show any respect to the scion of the Walkers. He¡¯s really gone overboard!¡± ¡­ Many of Nate¡¯s friends, who were standing around them, as well as those eager to suck up to the Walkers, started rebuking Connor. After hearing this, Das, who was already angered by Connor, became even more infuriated, as if he had been provoked. ¡°Connor Hale, you only got to be the helmsman of the Hale family merely because your grandfather is old. Do you really think you¡¯re that capable and impressive? ¡°How dare you reprimand me here? Fine. I¡¯m indeed just a junior of the Watsons now, and I don¡¯t have as high a status as you, but this man standing here is Nate Walker, the scion of the Walkers. How dare you be so rude to him? You won¡¯t even greet him. Aren¡¯t you being too arrogant and cocky?¡± Das immediately mentioned his backer, Nate Walker. Connor then looked at Nate and pretended to be surprised. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. So, you¡¯re Mr. Walker. I really didn¡¯t recognize you just now. I¡¯ve been too impolite. I¡¯m sorry! But seriously, Das, since you¡¯re so close to Mr. Walker, why didn¡¯t you introduce us just now?¡± Connor¡¯s words were rather perfunctory, and anyone could tell that he did it on purpose. However, his expression was so serious that it made many riled up, but they couldn¡¯t find any fault with him at all. This made Nate, who had always thought highly of himself and was proud and arrogant, extremely gloomy. ¡°Connor, although you and I are about the same age, you probably no longer take us seriously since you¡¯ve now be the helmsman of the Hale family at such a young age, huh?¡± Nate wanted to make Connor seem arrogant and conceited so that all the scions here would develop animosity against him. Of course, Connor wouldn¡¯t take the bait. He smiled and said, ¡°Nah, Mr. Walker, there are many outstanding people among people our age, such as young talents like you. In fact, there are some whom I look up to and are far superior to me.¡± He nced in Lucas¡¯s direction, took a half step back, and stood behind him. Nate immediately frowned. The young man in front of him, who was dressed extremely shabbily and looked incredibly out of ce in this upscale party, seemed to have the ability to make Connor bow down to him despite already being the helmsman of his family. Who exactly is this person? Apart from a small number of good-for-nothings who really loafed around all day, most of them were good at reading people from their bodynguage. Connor¡¯s actions were not particrly secretive, so they all noticed what he just did. All of a sudden, many became interested in Lucas¡¯s identity. Another voice suddenly sounded near them. ¡°Mr. Gray, so you¡¯re here to attend Miss Cole¡¯s birthday party too. Had I known earlier, I should have apanied you.¡± The person who spoke was none other than Keh Parker from LA. He and Lucas had just met in the Heavenly Pavilion 20 minutes ago. Lucas had been there to buy some gifts, but Keh didn¡¯t expect that these gifts were for Alexis. The people around them showed a trace of surprise again. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Keh, the scion of the Parkers from LA? He¡¯s actually here too, and he seems to know that young man as well.¡± The Parkers had officially be the supreme hegemon of LA now, whose status and strength were evenparable to that of the Coles in San Francisco. With the rise of his family, Keh¡¯s status was also much higher than that of many other scions here. This time, more eyes were cast on Lucas. Lucas raised his eyebrows and looked at Keh, not expecting him to be here too. Seeing how bewildered Lucas was, Keh took the initiative to exin, ¡°Initially, my grandfather wanted toe personally. But when he heard that most of the guests were young people, he asked me toe instead, leaving the task to me.¡± Lucas nodded without saying anything. Indeed, most of the people in the hall were in their twenties, which was about the same age as him. There were very few elderly because Edmund clearly stated that he wouldn¡¯t be attending the party, and he hoped that the young people could have fun on their own. This was also why many elderly chose not toe at all and simply sent their younger descendants. After Keh came over, he consciously stood behind Lucas with an expression almost as respectful as Connor¡¯s. This scene immediately made the numerous young people present even more curious about Lucas¡¯s identity. Nate, standing opposite Lucas and the others, began frowning. Chapter 648 - Triggered By A Touch

Chapter 648: Triggered By A Touch

Nate initially thought that Lucas was just a nobody from a poor family who was trying to mingle with them and join the party through connections because he was dressed in extremely in and ordinary clothes. He reckoned that his outfit probably cost less than a hundred dors in total. Compared to therge fleet of luxury cars in the parking lot, Lucas¡¯s Jaguar, which cost only about 80 grand, seemed extremely shabby too. Yet such a shabby small fry had actually snatched Nate¡¯s parking space, making him extremely displeased. So he had immediately stopped Lucas from leaving and told him to move his lousy car away. He didn¡¯t expect the man, whom he thought was penniless, would be so ignorant as to ignore him and disregard his presence. Nate lost his temper and instructed his bodyguards to smash Lucas¡¯s car to teach him a lesson. But it was now revealed that Connor, the current helmsman of the Hale family, and Keh, the scion of the Parker, both actually knew Lucas and were extremely respectful toward him. This made Nate¡¯s heart skip a beat. Could this young man actually be the scion of a wealthy family who usually keeps a low profile? If it was someone from a wealthy family in California, he would still be inferior to him because no one in the state was on par with the top three families of San Francisco. In that case, the only possibility was that Lucas was from another state. He thought that perhaps Lucas was the scion of a wealthy family in DC! As soon as Nate thought of this possibility, an ominous feeling surged in his heart while ayer of cold sweat broke out on his back. After all, he had just ordered his bodyguards to smash Lucas¡¯s car to pieces! Nate began to panic and get a little flustered, but he nevertheless forced himself to seem calm as he asked, ¡°It seems to be the first time I¡¯ve seen you, buddy. Which family are you from?¡± He thought he was hiding it well, as if he was just casually getting to know someone new, but the nervousness and worries deep in his eyes couldn¡¯t escape Lucas¡¯s eyes. Although Lucas didn¡¯t know that Nate had smashed his car, he knew that Nate had quite a bit of scruples toward him and was thus pretentiously trying to find out his identity. Lucas saidposedly, ¡°I¡¯m not the son of some wealthy family. I¡¯m just someone who doesn¡¯t have parents or a family to protect me. I can¡¯t bepared to you, Mr. Walker.¡± Lucas¡¯s mother had passed away because of an illness six years ago, and he had never acknowledged the man from the Hutton family, his so-called father, as his parent at all. As long as the Huttons didn¡¯t create trouble for him every other day and tried to suppress him in every possible way so that he couldn¡¯t make aeback, he would be thankful enough. He would never get any protection or help from this family. Of course, Lucas didn¡¯t consider himself a Hutton either. The Huttons were nothing but his enemies, and one day, he would return to the Huttons to take back everything that should rightfully belong to him and his mother. There was no other rtionship between him and them beyond this. Nate didn¡¯t believe Lucas¡¯s words. If Lucas was really an orphan who didn¡¯t have a family to back him up, how could the prideful Connor and Keh possibly stand behind him and willingly show him so much respect? Nate wasn¡¯t a fool. He felt that Lucas was definitely the scion of some top wealthy family and that he deliberately said those words in order to conceal his identity. He naturally didn¡¯t believe it and wanted to ask a few more questions, but someone suddenly sneered beside him. ¡°Hah, you brat, given your status and background, how dare you attend Miss Cole¡¯s birthday party? Who gave you the guts? Also, what¡¯s up with your attitude when Mr. Walker is speaking to you?! How dare you speak to him so casually? It seems that you¡¯re indeed a bottom-feeder of society who needs to be taught a lesson!¡± Das rebuked while pointing at Lucas with a contemptuous expression. The faces of the four people present immediately turned dark. Connor, Keh, and Lena were all piqued. ¡°Das Watson, how dare you insult Mr. Gray? Apologize to Mr. Gray immediately!¡± Connor¡¯s face turned sullen as he exuded the aura of a superior helmsman of a notable family, and a massive sense of oppression weighed down on Das. ¡°Yes. Do you think someone like you can humiliate Mr. Gray? Apologize to him immediately, or else the Parkers won¡¯t let you and your family off!¡± Keh stared at Das with a gloomy expression. Lucas was now the actual controller of the Hale family and the Parker family. Even they didn¡¯t dare to offend him, and yet Das had the audacity to speak to him so rudely! Besides, both of them knew that Lucas was definitely not a pushover. If he was angered, he would definitely put anyone to shame regardless of the asion. If Alexis¡¯s party was ruined because of them, the Coles would likely be displeased too. None of them wanted to see that scene. Lena said indignantly, ¡°I don¡¯t think Lucas was being rude at all. Das, you¡¯re just picking on him! Moreover, who are you to lecture Lucas? Lucas is a guest invited by the Coles, and since the Coles haven¡¯t even said anything, who are you to disparage a guest?¡± The three of them were all on Lucas¡¯s side, and since they had amon enemy, they were all very united, making Das overwhelmed with fury. Nate looked disgruntled too. He had wanted to find out Lucas¡¯s identity by asking, but the dimwit Das suddenly interjected and made everything even worse than before. He frowned and tried to make Das shut up, but Das was angered by what Connor, Keh, and Lena said. So he leveraged on his identity as Nate¡¯s friend and mocked them without hesitation. ¡°Connor Hale, Keh Parker, and Lena Sawyer, you don¡¯t actually have to lick Lucas Gray¡¯s boots. He¡¯s just a penniless punk who has nothing to his name and no family to support him. You people are the only ones who treat him as a gem. There must be something wrong with you! ¡°Look at his shabby clothes. It probably adds up to less than a hundred bucks. What kind of garbage is that? If not for the fact that today is the birthday party of Alexis, the Coles¡¯ little princess, I would have already taught him a lesson! ¡°And, Mr. Walker, look at them. None of them take you seriously at all. I really feel so aggrieved for you! This is absurd!¡± After criticizing them, Das even deferentiallyined about them to Nate like a dog, deliberately fanning the mes. Nate¡¯s face was about to turn pale, but the foolish Das actually thought that he was mad at Lucas and Connor because of his instigation. He even smiled smugly. The rest of the guests looked over and thought to themselves that they were in for a good show! At this moment, the piano music in the banquet hall suddenly changed, and amotion broke out among the crowd. Someone eximed, ¡°Look, our birthday girl ising out!¡± Chapter 649 - The Coles

Chapter 649: The Coles

With the exmation, everyone turned to look at the spiral staircase on the second floor. They saw Alexis, the star of today¡¯s party and the princess everyone adored. She finally made her appearance! Alexis was wearing a silvery-blue starry dress with a tight halter top cinched at the waist. Starting from her waist down, the rest of her dress began to look like stardust flowing down to the hem at the bottom, with the color of the fabric gradually turning from white to ocean blue. The ethereal design made the already youthful and beautiful Alexis look like a fairy that had descended on earth. The numerous tiny diamonds at the hem of her dress were shimmering brightly under the light. It was luxurious, graceful, ethereal, and refined. She was Alexis, the host of the party and the birthday girl at the center of attention. ¡°Wow, she¡¯s gorgeous!¡± ¡°Her beauty is divine. She¡¯s really pretty!¡± ¡°I¡¯m so attracted to her!¡± All of a sudden, the banquet hall was full of exmations of awe and admiration. Many women began to praise Alexis genuinely from the bottom of their hearts, not to mention the wealthy scions in the banquet hall¡ªtheir eyes were all glued onto her. There was a middle-aged couple standing beside Alexis, and those familiar with the Coles knew that they were Alexis¡¯s father and mother, Clement Cole and Jennifer Lane. Clement stood on the steps, looking at the crowd in the hall below, and said with a cordial smile, ¡°It¡¯s my daughter¡¯s, Alexis¡¯s, twentieth birthday today. Thank you all foring to join us in the celebration. I hope you enjoy yourselves tonight!¡± Jennifer was dressed in a presentable lc dress, looking exceptionally graceful and elegant. She said to the crowd with an amicable smile, ¡°Most of you here are our old friends. Thank you all very much foring to celebrate my daughter¡¯s birthday!¡± ¡°Uncle Clement and Aunt Jennifer, you¡¯re both too polite!¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s our honor to receive an invitation to the birthday party of the beautiful Miss Cole!¡± ¡­ In an instant, the atmosphere in the hall became extremely lively, and countless people greeted Clement and Jennifer. Of course, most of them were also praising Alexis, the star of the party. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t do this. He simply stood in ce quietly and shook the cocktail in his hand like aplete outsider. But it was the first time he saw Alexis¡¯s parents, and based on first impressions, they seemed to be rather easygoing. ¡°They¡¯re Alexis¡¯s parents, right? How are they?¡± Lucas asked softly. Since he and the Coles were fated to share some ties, and they would definitely have some dealings in the future, he should learn more about them, especially since Alexis¡¯s parents were also important people. Only then did Connor realize that Lucas wasn¡¯t close to the Coles in the past and that this was his first time meeting Clement and Jennifer. He inched closer to Lucas and exined softly, ¡°Clement is Mr. Edmund Cole¡¯s only son, but he didn¡¯t inherit his father¡¯s character. I heard that he¡¯s pretty ipetent, and he once created a lot of trouble for the Coles because of his mistakes. Later on, Mr. Cole decided not to let him take over as helmsman. That¡¯s why he¡¯s still holding power now.¡± Standing beside Lucas, Keh also said softly, ¡°Indeed, Clement Cole looks smart and shrewd, but many people criticize him for his ipetence. I heard my grandfather mention in the past that Mr. Cole used to say openly that the position of the helmsman of the Cole family will never be handed to Clement unless Mr. Cole passes away.¡± Lucas seemed surprised to hear what they said, and he couldn¡¯t help looking at Clement a few more times. Based on appearance, he really couldn¡¯t tell that Clement was so ipetent. But there are all sorts of strange things in this world, so it wasn¡¯t that surprising to him after all. Lucas was more surprised by the fact that Clement waspletely different from Edmund, who was righteous, good at socializing, powerful, strategic, and skillful, which was the very reason that he had managed to build his business empire from scratch and develop the Coles to what they were today. Moreover, although Alexis was young, she was quirky, smart, and valiant, very much like Edmund. Yet why was Alexis¡¯s father, Edmund¡¯s son, so ipetent? ¡°What about Alexis¡¯s mother?¡± Lucas asked. Connor said, ¡°I heard that Alexis¡¯s mother, Jennifer Lane, is a very capable person born to a notable family in DC. She¡¯s disciplined and proper. Now, she holds quite a significant amount of power in the Cole family, at least much greater than her husband. ¡°I¡¯ve also heard that if it wasn¡¯t for her helping Clement with his affairs, Mr. Cole would have handed his position straight to Alexis.¡± This time, Lucas was really a little surprised. He again looked at Jennifer, who was standing on the staircase steps on the second floor with a warm and amicable smile. ¡°Is this woman that capable?¡± Lena chimed in, ¡°Aunt Jennifer is indeed verypetent. She may seem gentle and nice, just like other wives of wealthy men, but she¡¯s not any less skillful than men. If not for her help, I¡¯m afraid the whole world would have heard about how ipetent Clement Cole is by now.¡± ¡°Yes, my grandfather often says the same. He said that if Clement Cole was aspetent as his wife, the Coles might have be thergest hegemon in San Francisco, and the trinity of forces would no longer exist,¡± Keh added. Hearing thements made by Connor, Keh, and Lena, Lucas understood that Clement was probably an extremely ipetent person who only looked good on the surface. All of a sudden, Lucas felt sorry for Edmund. He hadn¡¯t had much contact with Edmund. But when they drank and chatted together in the Lion Restaurant, Lucas had already learned some of Edmund¡¯s past, including the fact that he had once fought in Calico during his younger days. As far as Lucas knew about Edmund, he felt that Edmund wasn¡¯t a power-hungry person. So logically speaking, he could have handed over his position as family head to his descendants long ago and stayed at home to enjoy his retirement. But Edmund was now in his seventies and suffered from serious heart disease. Yet he still hadn¡¯t passed on the position of family head to his only son. Instead, he was still running the family despite being old and sick. Since his only son, Clement, was weak and ipetent, and Alexis was only 20 years old, which was way too young to take over for him, who could he hand his position to? It wasn¡¯t that Edmund didn¡¯t want to pass the power to someone else. But rather, his son simply couldn¡¯t gain his trust! At this moment, anothermotion started in the hall. Lucas looked up to see a servant pushing an enormous and tall cake over. It was time to deliver birthday wishes and to blow out the candles. Chapter 650 - Public Confession

Chapter 650: Public Confession

The lights in the banquet hall dimmed, and amid the uniform and loud singing of the birthday song, Alexis put her hands together, made a wish, and then blew out the twenty birthday candles on the cake in one breath. As the candles were blown out, the atmosphere in the entire birthday party instantly reached its climax. The sounds of joyful cheers and firecrackers filled the air, turning the hall into a sea of fun and bliss along with falling confetti. Next, Alexis made the first cut on the tall birthday cake, after which someone took the knife from her and cut the cake into smaller slices. Each slice of cake was ced on an exquisite te before being served to the guests. Now, the highlight and main segment of the party was over. Next, it was time for Alexis¡¯s friends and rtives to present her with the gifts they brought. Logically speaking, Alexis¡¯s elders and rtives should be the first to give their well wishes and gifts, followed by her friends and other guests. But at this moment, Nate stepped forward in front of everyone and stood in front of Alexis. He suddenly got down on one knee and held up a small red velvet box in his hand. The lid of the velvet box opened, revealing the dazzling diamond ring inside. ¡°Alexis, it¡¯s your birthday today, and I¡¯d like to give you this diamond ring. It symbolizes my love and admiration for you, which is stronger than steel! I hope you will ept it!¡± Nate said with great devotion and affection. The significance of a man giving a woman a diamond ring on one knee during such an asion was self-exnatory. Everyone was stunned for a moment, but they soon started cheering and apuding joyfully. By doing this, Nate was obviously confessing his love to Alexis or even proposing to her! No one expected that the scion of the Walkers would pull such a move and propose to the little princess of the Coles out of the blue! ¡°Oh my! Nate Walker actually suddenly proposed to Alexis Cole!¡± ¡°Are the Walkers and the Coles nning to be inws? Why haven¡¯t I heard about this previously? Besides, isn¡¯t there a conflict between them?¡± ¡°The past is the past. The situation has now changed, and the two families have decided to let their descendants marry each other. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that! Besides, the Coles and the Walkers are among the three top families in San Francisco, so they¡¯re definitelypatible. Furthermore, Nate is really handsome while Alexis is gorgeous. They¡¯re practically a match made in heaven!¡± ¡°Ahhh, I¡¯m so jealous! I¡¯m feeling really sour! This is so romantic! If I were Alexis, I¡¯d definitely take that ring and say yes to him immediately!¡± ¡°Tsk, Alexis is such a beautiful little princess, and Mr. Walker is going to marry her. Unfortunately, my status isn¡¯tparable to the Walkers¡¯. Otherwise, I would have also proposed. Ugh!¡± ¡­ All of a sudden, the hall became incredibly lively. Some people were seriously considering the possible effects of the marriage between Alexis and Nate, while many were staring at them, green with envy. But the cheering, whistling, and misceneous noise didn¡¯tst for long as the crowd gradually quieted down. Reason being, anyone could see clearly that Alexis, who was just confessed to, didn¡¯t show the slightest trace of joy or shyness. Instead, she was extremely indifferent and in fact slightly piqued. ¡°Nate Walker, you and I aren¡¯t even friends. Aren¡¯t you being too presumptuous by suddenly giving me this gift?¡± Alexis said hostilely. As soon as she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room stagnated, and Nate¡¯s gentle and affectionate face also stiffened instantly. He initially thought that by confessing to Alexis in front of everyone at her birthday party, she would definitely be touched and say yes to him immediately. He had assumed that she was a hopeless romantic, like the majority of young girls her age. He thought that even if she didn¡¯t agree on the spot, she would at least give him some response. He would then find some people to convince her, and they could finally establish their rtionship. But Alexis actually didn¡¯t save him from any embarrassment even though they were in front of so many people. Most of the people in the banquet hall were children from various wealthy families in California. Now that Alexis had tantly rejected him in front of everyone, he felt that he would be too embarrassed to speak to them in the future. But Alexis hadn¡¯t finished saying her piece. ¡°Also, Nate, I seem to remember telling you before that I never want to see you again. I don¡¯t remember inviting you to my birthday party either. Why are you here? You owe me an exnation! Feeling even more ashamed and embarrassed, Nate hurriedly said, ¡°Alexis, everything that happened previously was all just a misunderstanding! I really love you very much. Aren¡¯t you even willing to give me a chance?¡± Alexis sneered and looked at Nate with disgust. ¡°After something like that happened, how dare you call it a misunderstanding? Hah, you¡¯re really thick-skinned! Not everyone is fit to call my name. Stop disgusting me by calling my name! ¡°Moreover, I¡¯ve told you long ago that I don¡¯t want to see you again. Please get out of my sight now! Scram!¡± Alexis¡¯s words were extremely stern and serious. Everyone could tell that Alexis was not only hostile toward Nate, but she even seemed to hate him deeply. She didn¡¯t bother to save him from any embarrassment and instead told him to get out. Nate¡¯s face became extremely sullen while the crowd around him stayed silent. Alexis¡¯s father, Clement, standing at the side, frowned slightly while looking at the scene before him. He opened his mouth and seemed to want to say something, but Jennifer tugged his arm, so he tactfully kept quiet. Nate said unwillingly, ¡°Alexis, you have a huge misunderstanding about me. I really hope that you will stop being hostile to me. Can we have a good talk?¡± He looked extremely sincere, like a misunderstood devoted lover. But in Alexis¡¯s opinion, his expression was extremely repulsive and hypocritical. Lucas raised his eyebrows and guessed that there must have been a severe conflict between them in the past, given Alexis¡¯s hostility toward Nate. At this moment, Connor came close to Lucas and said softly, ¡°As far as I know, Nate used to openly woo Alexis shortly after she turned eighteen. But something happenedter, and she became very repulsed by him. She even said that she never wanted to see him again. ¡°Moreover, the Coles and the Walkers were at odds during that time, and they almost became irreconcble enemies. ¡°Later, I heard that Nate¡¯s status in the Walker family declined greatly. Although he¡¯s a direct descendant of the Walkers, he isn¡¯t valued anymore. Manypanies under his management were taken away from him and handed to other people. Nate was gradually marginalized, but since then, the Coles and the Walkers startedmunicating again.¡± After hearing the gossip and secrets from Connor, Lucas¡¯s mouth twitched involuntarily. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell that you were actually so well-informed about these matters.¡± Chapter 651 - The Person I Like

Chapter 651: The Person I Like

Lucas didn¡¯t expect Connor, a handsome nobleman who had gotten married and had a child a long time ago, would pay attention to the gossip of wealthy families. Connor also seemed a little embarrassed. Heughed and said, ¡°Ahem, this isn¡¯t really a secret. Back then, many major families knew about it. But based on the way they handled it afterward, it should be the Walkers at fault.¡± Keh also nodded. ¡°That should be the case. Nate isn¡¯t a good person at all, and he¡¯s definitely considered a yboy among the scions of his generation. He¡¯s so much more of a womanizer than I used to be.¡± Noticing Lucas¡¯s bizarre gaze, Keh coughed twice and hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m no longer the same as before, and I¡¯ve long kicked a lot of my bad habits. But ording to a few of my friends, Nate is still a womanizer who has plenty of lovers out there. We¡¯re all men, and we can tell that he was obviously lying about loving Alexis. ¡°Besides, given the status of the Walkers, Nate¡¯s marriage will be nothing more than an alliance between two families. He was obviously lying about being in love with Alexis. I¡¯m certain that Nate Walker did this on purpose!¡± After all, Keh was also a scion of a wealthy family, so he knew Nate¡¯s mentally very well. Although what Keh said about marriages in wealthy families being nothing but loveless alliances between families didn¡¯t sit too well with Lena, she had to admit that what he said made sense. If Nate really fancied Alexis, he could have confessed to her at any other time, but he chose her 20th birthday party. Clearly, he had an ulterior motive. But it was true that not everyone present could be so insightful. Many young women in their twenties were impressed by Nate¡¯s behavior and were rather bewildered by Alexis¡¯s decision to reject him on the spot. ¡°Seriously, isn¡¯t Alexis being a little too heartless? Nate has already said all of that, and he even specially chose to confess to her on her twentieth birthday. Isn¡¯t it really romantic!?! Why did she turn him down?¡± ¡°Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Nate is from a top-tier family in San Francisco! If he proposed to me, I would definitely say yes to him without a second thought!¡± ¡°Hey, Miss Cole is just too condescending, and her standards are too high. If even a man like Nate can¡¯t even impress her, what kind of man does she want? She really doesn¡¯t know how lucky she is.¡± ¡­ Most of them were young women who were hopeless romantics that cared only about love. Although their voices were soft when they gathered together to chat, Lucas had an impable sense of hearing, so he heard everything they said clearly. He smiled a little with contempt before turning around to look at Alexis to see what decision she would make. Alexis wasn¡¯t touched by Nate¡¯s pestering and clingy confession. Instead, she was extremely disgusted. ¡°Nate, do you not understand humannguage? I said that there¡¯s no misunderstanding between us, and I¡¯m repulsed by everything you do! ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like a silly young girl or try to coax me like I¡¯m one. You know best just what your motive is. Don¡¯t take everyone for a fool!¡± Nate clenched his teeth with all his might before barely managing to control his expression. Alexis¡¯s disgust toward him was really far beyond his imagination, making him furious. I may be at fault for that incident, but two years have passed since then. Why is Alexis still being so calctive and bearing a grudge against me? After taking a deep breath, Nate continued to act like a devoted lover and said with determination, ¡°Alexis, I know that no matter what I say today, you will still have misunderstandings about me, so I won¡¯t go on any further. I really adore you, and I want you to be my wife. I¡¯ll never give up on this!¡± Alexis was about to hit the roof because of how shameless and thick-skinned Nate was. Does this shameless man not understand English? Aren¡¯t my disgust and rejection obvious enough? Why does he keep talking and acting like he¡¯s so devoted to me? Seeing the pretentiously devoted look on his face, Alexis felt nauseous. ¡°Nate, that¡¯s enough! No matter what you say, I won¡¯t like you because there¡¯s someone else I adore. So, just give up!¡± Alexis hollered in exasperation. ¡°What? There¡¯s someone you like?¡± Nate was stunned for a moment, and a fleeting trace of anger suddenly surged in his heart But he soon came back to his senses and said with an affectionate expression, ¡°Alexis, I know you¡¯re upset with me. But even so, you don¡¯t have to turn me down with such an excuse, do you? I know you won¡¯t fall for someone else.¡± With his understanding of Alexis, the noble little princess of the Cole family, who had high standards and wouldn¡¯t take ordinary people seriously, he felt that she wouldn¡¯t easily fall for anyone. He thought so because she had always been hostile toward him even though he was self-admittedly outstanding and had put in so much effort to pursue her. Thus, Nate was very certain that Alexis must have said it as an excuse to reject him. The others in the hall also started discussing Alexis. ¡°Does Alexis really have someone she likes? I¡¯ve never heard her mention it before. I wonder which scion it is.¡± ¡°Who knows? We¡¯re pretty close to Alexis, and we¡¯ve never heard her mentioning anything about having a crush on someone! Could it be that she¡¯s just finding an excuse to turn Nate down, just like he said?¡± ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Just because Alexis doesn¡¯t like Nate, it doesn¡¯t mean that she can¡¯t be in love with someone else, right? But it¡¯s her birthday today, so the person she¡¯s in love with should also be here, right? We just don¡¯t know who he is.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is Alexis going to announce the identity of her crush today? The scions of California are all here today. That means Alexis¡¯s crush must be here too!¡± ¡°But Nate should have the highest status in the whole of California, right? If Alexis doesn¡¯t even like Nate, which scion do you think she would fall for?¡± ¡­ While everyone was discussing, Alexis suddenly said sneeringly, ¡°Nate, do you think I must be in love with you? Let me tell you. The person I like is really right here!¡± Then under everyone¡¯s surprised gaze, Alexis walked straight toward a spot near a corner. Chapter 652 - Your Identity

Chapter 652: Your Identity

Alexis¡¯s bbergasting statement just now and the fact that she was now clearly walking toward someone sparked a huge uproar in the hall as countless people eximed in unison. ¡°Could¡­ the person Alexis likes really be here?¡± ¡°Wow, this is so exciting! I thought Alexis just said that casually to reject Nate, but now it seems she really does like someone, and she¡¯s nning to announce it now.¡± ¡°Look in the direction Alexis is walking! That¡¯s Connor Hale from Orange County and Keh Parker from LA! Could the person Alexis likes be one of these two?¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t someone just say that Connor Hale is already married and even has a child? In that case, it seems the only person left is Keh Parker? Is the person Alexis likes actually Keh?¡± ¡°Ah, right, now that you¡¯ve said it, I remember now. Didn¡¯t Alexis happen to go to LA with Mr. Cole Sr. some time ago? Maybe Alexis and Keh fell in love at that time!¡± ¡°Wow! It¡¯s true! This is definitely huge news!¡± ¡­ The gossipy eyes and topics spread throughout the entire hall almost instantly. Since Keh was standing there and still single, everyone immediately guessed that he was the one. As for Lucas, who was standing next to him, he was directly treated like air. Only Lena, standing beside Lucas, instinctively felt something with a woman¡¯s sixth sense. She subconsciously wanted to stand in front of him and block the sight of the others, especially Alexis¡¯s. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m only telling you now that you¡¯re the person I like!¡± Alexis stood in front of Lucas with a bright smile on her face. Her words immediately left everyone in astonishment, like a bomb exploding in the party. ¡°What?!¡± The person the little princess of the Coles, Alexis liked¡­ was the person whose origin and background they didn¡¯t know at all? In an instant, countless gazes of disbelief were cast on Lucas. Lucas¡¯s eyes also suddenly widened in astonishment, and a rare look of dismay appeared on his face. But seeing the pleading gaze in Alexis¡¯s eyes, he immediately understood why she had suddenly said that. Alexis didn¡¯t really fancy him and merely wanted to use him as a shield to stop Nate. After figuring this out, Lucas secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He was fine with being Alexis¡¯s shield, but he would be at a loss if Alexis really liked him. Seeing that Lucas understood what she meant, Alexis smiled at him slyly and then walked forward to hold his arm intimately. Almost all the people present were so shocked that their jaws dropped! Although they didn¡¯t know who thiste twenties man in front of them was, they assumed that, based on his shabby attire, he had to be a poor man who couldn¡¯t even afford a decent suit. But who is Alexis? She is the precious princess of the Coles! Edmund, the head of the Coles, only had one son, Clement, whose only daughter was Alexis. No matter what, Alexis was bound to take over the entire Cole family in the future. Moreover, Alexis naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to handle so many of her family¡¯s businesses on her own, so she would definitely need the help of her future husband. In other words, as long as he married Alexis, it would be akin to getting hold of the Coles¡¯ empire. Yet this godsent opportunity was going tond in the hands of a nameless poor man! At this moment, Nate was undoubtedly the one who looked the most upset. The reason he confessed to Alexis and tried every possible way to marry her was naturally for the sake of the Coles¡¯ massive empire. But Alexis was now standing next to the penniless Lucas and holding his arm, making Nate extraordinarily enraged. In Nate¡¯s heart, Alexis had long been his woman, whom he would grasp tightly sooner orter. Moreover, he saw the Coles¡¯ empire as his belonging that no one else was allowed to covet. Thus, in Nate¡¯s opinion, Lucas had snatched away the woman who should belong to him, together with the Coles¡¯ empire. This made him feel a strong urge to kill Lucas immediately. ¡°Nate, the person I like is Lucas, so stop pestering me now. I will never like you, so just give up!¡± Alexis held Lucas¡¯s hand and looked at Nate with a straight face. Feeling extremely humiliated, Nate wished he could curse at them and call them adulterers to vent his hatred. But he fortunately still had thest trace of rationality in his head and knew that he was still on the Coles¡¯s turf and surrounded by the Coles¡¯s friends and rtives, as well as the children of other wealthy families in California. Trying his best to hold his anger back, he asked resentfully, ¡°Kid, who exactly are you?¡± He had previously already asked Lucas about his identity because of his uneasiness due to Connor¡¯s and Keh¡¯s overly respectful attitude toward Lucas. Unfortunately, Lucas had merely said that he was an orphan who didn¡¯t have a family to support him. He didn¡¯t reveal any other information. But now, even Alexis, whom Nate had been longing for a long time but hadn¡¯t been able to conquer, actually said that she liked Lucas, making him feel extremely indignant. If¡­ if Lucas was really the scion of some big family in DC, Nate would be willing to bow down and admit defeat. But if Lucas was really just a penniless man, Nate would never be willing to ept defeat! Seeing Nate glowering at Lucas as though he was about to devour him, Alexis frowned in displeasure, stood in front of Lucas with her chest puffed up, and chastised, ¡°What are you doing? It¡¯s my freedom to date who I want. What else do you want?¡± Seeing Alexis defending Lucas like this, anger and sourness surged in Nate¡¯s heart. ¡°Lucas Gray, if you call yourself a man, answer me honestly. Don¡¯t keep hiding behind a woman and making her stand up for you. I really despise you!¡± Nate questioned again. He was about to suffocate to death if he still couldn¡¯t find out Lucas¡¯s true identity! Lucas looked at his furious face and smiled gently. ¡°You¡¯re not qualified to know what my identity is. You just need to bear in mind that I¡¯m not someone you can afford to provoke. Don¡¯t appear in front of me again!¡± Lucas¡¯s words were extremely domineering and arrogant. He didn¡¯t even take Nate, the scion of one of the top three families of San Francisco, seriously. As soon as Lucas finished speaking, the entire hall fell dead silent. Chapter 653 - Is It A Wealthy Family?

Chapter 653: Is It A Wealthy Family?

If Lucas was standing there alone, dressed in such ordinary and shabby clothes, everyone would have been nonchnt toward him or even wondered if he was out of his mind. But Connor Hale, the youngest helmsman of the four top families in Orange County, was standing behind Lucas. Moreover, Lena, the daughter of Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County, and Keh Parker from LA were standing beside him with respectful expressions. Furthermore, Alexis, the heiress of the Coles, had even openly dered that she had a crush on him. With all these elements, would anyone still think that Lucas was a penniless man who didn¡¯t have a high status or a powerful background? Many were shocked by Lucas¡¯s domineering words, but they no longer saw him as a penniless man talking big and blowing his trumpet. Instead, they started seriously pondering about which wealthy family he was from. With his formidable and imposing aura, they thought that he was very likely from one of the terrifying families in DC! But not everyone thought so. Das, Nate¡¯s longtimepdog, immediately came forth and looked at Lucas with a contemptuous expression. He eximed to the surrounding guests, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by him. Lucas isn¡¯t the scion of a wealthy family at all. He¡¯s just a penniless man who likes bragging and pretending! ¡°Look at the clothes he¡¯s wearing. Which scion would dress so shabbily? Even if they prefer to keep a low profile, they would at most choose not to wear clothes withrge designer logos. Who would really wear these cheap clothes that cost less than a hundred bucks? ¡°Also, you guys probably don¡¯t know that this guy came alone without any bodyguards, and he drives a lousy Jaguar only worth around fifty grand. Even our servants don¡¯t drive such cheap cars. ¡°Besides, even if he¡¯s pretending to be low-key, he can just do so when there are lots of people. But even when no one was paying attention to him outside just now, he still looked so shabby. What does that say about him? It means that he¡¯s really just a penniless man who¡¯s putting up a pretense in front of us! ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by his seemingly domineering words into thinking that he¡¯s impressive. In my opinion, Mr. Hale and the others might have been fooled by his appearance into thinking that he¡¯s the heir of some big family!¡± Das¡¯s remakes made many people subconsciously waver and second-guess Lucas¡¯s identity. What he said did make some sense. If Lucas was really the noble scion of a wealthy family, there was no need for him to pretend to be poor even when there was no one around. Who would he be pretending to be poor for? Well, unless¡­ he wasn¡¯t pretending but was poor to begin with, which was why he wore such low-ss clothes and drove a car that was unimpressive in the eyes of the ultra-rich. Hearing the derogatory remarks about Lucas, the few people standing beside him were instantly annoyed. Alexis was the fastest to act. Almost immediately, she frowned and shouted angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense here! You don¡¯t know anything, so why are you trying to mar Lucas¡¯s reputation? Do you know who he really is? How dare you babble nonsense.¡± Being scolded, Das shrank back in fear. But having gotten used to being Nate¡¯spdog, he had be much more thick-skinned than the average person. He hurriedly said yfully, ¡°Miss Cole, don¡¯t be upset with me. I¡¯m just being kind because I¡¯m afraid that you might get deceived by some people with evil intentions.¡± He couldn¡¯t afford to offend Alexis, but he didn¡¯t take a penniless man seriously at all. ¡°Brat, you sounded really impressive when you were speaking to Nate just now. You even said that you¡¯re someone whom even Nate can¡¯t afford to provoke. You sounded really confident, but you should see if you have the grounds to do so! ¡°It happens that everyone here has prepared gifts for Alexis since it¡¯s her birthday today. In that case, why don¡¯t you show us the gift you brought and let us see if you have what it takes to be Miss Cole¡¯s boyfriend. ¡°If you say that you¡¯ve forgotten to bring the gift or try to brush us off with a gift that costs a couple of hundred dors, you¡¯d better drop the act in front of us now!¡± For a moment, countless gazes were on Lucas. Indeed, although Das was Nate¡¯s loyalpdog, and what he said was rather unpleasant, his idea wasn¡¯t too bad. If Lucas was unwilling to reveal his identity and was deliberately pretending to be a low-key penniless man, the gift that he would give Alexis shouldn¡¯t be too cheap and unpresentable. Nate¡¯s eyes instantly lit up. Indeed, since he couldn¡¯t find out the truth from Lucas, he decided to gauge Lucas¡¯s financial power through the gift he prepared for Alexis. If he couldn¡¯t present a decent gift or took out one with a low value, it would be enough to show that he was lying! ¡°That¡¯s right, Lucas. Since you want to be Alexis¡¯s boyfriend, you won¡¯t give her a cheap birthday gift, will you? Hurry up and show us what you¡¯ve got!¡± Nate said with an expectant look on his face. Keh sneered. The gift Lucas prepared for Alexis was from his Heavenly Pavilion, so it naturally wouldn¡¯t be something shabby. Nate and Das, who wanted to shame Lucas, were probably going to end up proving themselves wrong. But after Alexis heard what Nate and Das said, her expression changed slightly. Lucas had saved Edmund¡¯s life and thus ended up bing friends with them. Because he was Edmund¡¯s savior, both Edmund and Alexis respected him enough not to send anyone to investigate his background. ording to the information Alexis had received before, she only knew that Lucas had married Cheyenne Carter and became her live-in husband. It seemed his family conditions had been really poor at the time, and he didn¡¯t have parents, so he had lived with his wife¡¯s family. When Lucas barged into the Kingston manor in San Francisco, Alexis finally learned that he was the person in charge of Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, and he also had some ties with the Hales and the Parkers. But how much could he possibly achieve within a few short years? Therefore, in Alexis¡¯s opinion, Lucas might not be poor, but there was definitely a gap between him and Nate, who had his family¡¯s massive wealth. Thus, she assumed that Lucas¡¯s birthday present for her wouldn¡¯t be particrly expensive. Once he presented a gift iparable to Nate¡¯s and Das¡¯s gifts, he would probably be ridiculed relentlessly right on the spot. At the thought of it, Alexis immediately stood up and rebuked loudly, ¡°Lucas¡¯s gift is meant for me, so why should I show it to you? What right do you people have to pass judgment and make remarks about his gift to me?¡± Chapter 654 - The Value of the Gift

Chapter 654: The Value of the Gift

Das shook his head and said with a smile, ¡°Miss Cole, don¡¯t say that. We¡¯re doing this for your own good! Think about it. You¡¯re being so nice to Lucas, and you defend him all the time. But if he really gives you a gift worth only a few hundred bucks, that¡¯ll be enough to show that you don¡¯t mean much to him at all! Are you sure you want to continue letting such a man fool you?¡± Nate took the opportunity to chime in, ¡°That¡¯s right, Alexis. Don¡¯t be fooled by this man. How about this? The diamond ring I just gave you costs a million dors, and it¡¯s also a symbol of my devotion to you. The receipt is in my car, and I can bring it over for everyone to see at any time. ¡°But since you said that you like Lucas, his gift for you as your boyfriend should at least not be any worse than mine, right, everyone?¡± Some gossipmongers in the hall who enjoyed watching drama immediately yelled loudly, ¡°That¡¯s right! If his gift to Alexis as her boyfriend is less valuable than Nate¡¯s gift, I think she should get a new boyfriend!¡± ¡°Haha, that makes sense! In the past, people used to say that it¡¯s the thought that counts. But if a man isn¡¯t even willing to spend money on his girlfriend, he shouldn¡¯t be called a man at all!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Hurry up and let us see what you got Miss Cole!¡± ¡­ Amid the uproar andmotion, Das looked at Lucas sneeringly and said condescendingly, ¡°Based on how shabby you look, I bet you can¡¯t afford any decent gift, let alone oneparable to Nate¡¯s! If you can present a gift more expensive than Nate¡¯s diamond ring, I¡¯ll kneel on the ground and lick your shoes! ¡°Likewise, if you can¡¯t, then you will kneel on the ground to lick my, no, Nate¡¯s shoes. How about that? Hahaha!¡± Das guffawed arrogantly. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Alexis flew into a rage and was just about to lose her temper when Lucas suddenly reached out to stop her. He looked at Das and drawled, ¡°That¡¯s what you said. If my gift is more expensive than Nate¡¯s, you¡¯ll get on your knees and lick my shoes, huh?¡± With a contemptuous smile on his face, Das said, ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s what I said! But if your gift is worse than Nate¡¯s, you will kneel in front of Nate and lick his shoes!¡± They didn¡¯t keep their volumes down, and the people around them could hear their conversation clearly. Soon, this exciting bet spread throughout the entire banquet hall. Kneeling on the ground and licking someone¡¯s shoes was definitely an incredible bet! In an instant, the crowd around them came closer to see the final oue. ¡°Fine, since you want to lick my shoes so much, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish!¡± Lucas looked at Das¡¯s face and suddenly smiled. Seeing his smile, Das felt his heart sink. Lucas appearedpletely confident about winning. What¡¯s going on? Surely he can¡¯t produce a gift worth more than Nate¡¯s, can he? In fact, the families of these scions were indeed rich. But the wealth and assets belonged to their families, and they were only given a small portion. For example, Das had only about two million dors in liquid funds. The rest was in real estate and other immovable assets. So his gift for Alexis was only a crystal sculpture worth a little over a hundred thousand dors. Besides, most of the gifts of their peers ranged from tens of thousands to a few hundred thousand dors. Das was certain that no one would be able to give Alexis a million-dor gift like Nate did. Once he thought of Nate¡¯s ability and financial power, Das was finally relieved. ¡°Punk, stop bragging. Hurry up and show the gift to everyone!¡± Das urged impatiently. Lucas stopped speaking and simply took out his gift. When the exquisite gift box with the two words ¡®Heavenly Pavilion¡¯ appeared in front of everyone, Das¡¯s face instantly turned pale. ¡°Hah. Even if it¡¯s something from the Heavenly Pavilion, that can¡¯t prove it¡¯s expensive. After all, the items on disy on the first floor of the Heavenly Pavilion are specially meant for bottom feeders trying to look rich! The items sold there are a few hundred dors. Who knows what¡¯s in your box?¡± Das even smirked contemptuously. Lucas simply ignored him and handed the gift box to Alexis beside him. ¡°This is a set of emerald jewelry I chanced upon. I think it suits you well, so I bought it as a gift for you. Open it and see if you like it.¡± Lucas smiled. Alexis took the gift box curiously, opened it, and immediately beamed with joy and surprise. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so beautiful!¡± The set of emerald jewelry Lucas had chosen was carved from the same piece of top-quality emerald, and it included a ne, two bracelets, and two earrings. The emerald was highly transparent and carved exquisitely, making them extraordinary pieces. In particr, they were now glistening under the light and emitting an ethereal aura. The color and style were very much to Alexis¡¯s liking. The crowd, craning their necks to watch, eximed in amazement. ¡°What a beautiful set of emerald jewelry! The color and transparency are so beautiful!¡± ¡°Ahhhhh! I¡¯ve been telling my mom that emeralds look better on older people and that it¡¯s not popr among young people. But now, I eat my words. This set of emerald jewelry is gorgeous! It totally suits young women like us! Look at the transparency and color. It¡¯s so mesmerizing!¡± ¡°I saw this set of emerald jewelry in the Heavenly Pavilion before, and I remember that it cost over a million dors!¡± ¡°What? It¡¯s more than a million dors? It doesn¡¯t seem to have required much material. This is really expensive!¡± ¡°The material is not the issue. The key depends on the quality of emerald and the workmanship! If the shape and design are ordinary, they may not be worth much. This set of emerald jewelry is so beautiful that even I¡¯m tempted! If I had known, I would have asked my father to buy it for me!¡± Many people, especially women who loved jewelry, wouldn¡¯t be able to resist their desire for beautiful gemstones and jewelry. Many of them were specting and discussing the value of the emerald jewelry. After Das heard the price, his face twitched vigorously before turning sullen immediately. Next to him, Nate felt extremely furious. He initially thought that his gift, which was worth more than a million dors, was already extremely expensive. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas¡¯s gift to be even more expensive than his! Chapter 655 - Seriously?

Chapter 655: Seriously?

Alexis looked at the beautiful set of emerald jewelry with fondness and joy written all over her face. She then removed the diamond ne, bracelets, and earrings she was wearing before excitedly putting on the emerald jewelry Lucas had given her. But it wasn¡¯t very convenient for her to put on the ne herself, so she looked at Lucas with great anticipation and asked, ¡°Lucas, can you help me put this ne on?¡± Slightly stunned to hear this, Lucas smiled and said, ¡°Of course.¡± He had always treated Alexis as his sister and didn¡¯t harbor any other intentions, so he naturally didn¡¯t pretentiously decline. He picked up the exquisite emerald ne, ced it across Alexis¡¯s slender and fair neck, and quickly fastened both ends of the ne. Alexis turned around and smiled at Lucas radiantly. Upon seeing this scene, Nate gritted his teeth, filled with jealousy. Donning the full set of emerald jewelry and the ombr¨¦-colored starry dress that already made her look like a fairy in the first ce, Alexis exuded an ethereal aura. As green light glimmered with every movement of hers, she looked even more like an angel that had descended on the world. ¡°Wow! Alexis is really pretty today!¡± ¡°She¡¯s simply like a fairy and a celestial princess! We all seem so tacky next to her. I¡¯m so envious!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided that I must get an identical set of emerald jewelry. The jewelry goes so well with the dress!¡± ¡­ Many women looked at Alexis enviously. With her outfit and jewelry, Alexis was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman in the hall! Lena looked at Alexis, who became even more beautiful and ethereal after putting on the emerald jewelry. Her eyes were full of envy when she saw the emerald jewelry on her wrists, ears, and neck. At this moment, she was extremely jealous of Alexis for receiving such a beautiful set of jewelry from Lucas and getting to hold his hand in front of everyone with the identity of his girlfriend. Despite knowing that it was just an act, she was green with envy! ¡°I remember someone saying that he would get on his knees and lick Mr. Gray¡¯s shoes if Mr. Gray¡¯s gift for Miss Cole was more expensive, right?¡± Connor suddenly said with a grin while looking at Das. Hearing this, everyone suddenly remembered the good show that was about to begin and immediately rubbed their hands eagerly. Das was particrly arrogant and condescending to everyone just because he was close to Nate. He often criticized others and thus ended up offending plenty of people. But most of them chose not to hold it against him on the Walkers¡¯ ount. Since Das was the one who had proposed the bet, many guests present seemed to be gloating and waiting to see what this arrogantpdog would do. ¡°Das, you are a wealthy scion after all. Are you really going to get on your knees and lick someone else¡¯s shoe? That¡¯s really shocking!¡± ¡°Hahaha, this is definitely a rare scene thates once in a blue moon. I must take a video of this for remembrance!¡± ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re too malicious! But I like it. I¡¯m also going to record a video of what our noble Mr. Watson looks like when licking someone else¡¯s shoe!¡± ¡­ When Das heard the taunts around him, his face immediately flushed red. Lucas said with a smile, ¡°Like I told you before, since you like to lick shoes, I¡¯ll fulfill your wishes. Das Watson, please!¡± He cooperatively put one leg forward, raised his foot, and swung his toes in front of Das. Das¡¯s face flushed as red as a tomato. He felt an unprecedented sense of humiliation! He said through clenched teeth, ¡°Do you think you won?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the cost of the gifts just now. Do you think a million dors is more than 1.4 million dors?¡± ¡°Hmph, who knows where you got those fake emeralds to pass off as a 1.4-million jewelry set from the Heavenly Pavilion. Do you take all of us for fools?¡± Das insisted that Lucas bought a counterfeit emerald jewelry set and even rebuked loudly, ¡°If you can really afford such an expensive gift, why would you dress so shabbily and drive such a lousy car? Hmph! I¡¯m right. Pretending is your forte, and you¡¯re an out-and-out swindler!¡± ¡°Huh? That jewelry set is fake?¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be. It has high transparency, which is impossible for fakes to replicate.¡± ¡°Yeah! The jewelry looks gorgeous on Miss Cole. How can it be a counterfeit?¡± ¡°Miss Cole is from a top-tier family, and she has seen all sorts of fine things since she was a child. Moreover, the Coles run an antique and treasures business. If Lucas really gave her a bunch of counterfeits, how could she fail to identify it? Besides, how could she possibly wear a bunch of fakes on her body?¡± ¡°Psht, Das Watson must be deliberately ndering Lucas because he¡¯s a sore loser!¡± ¡°Haha, that must be the case. But Das Watson, you¡¯re the one who lost the bet, and you have to lick Lucas¡¯s shoes. Are you going back on your word?¡± ¡­ For some time, the air was full ofmotion and mockery. Alexis was now donning the set of emerald jewelry that Lucas gave her, so it was obviously genuine. Das was just trying toy a trap for Lucas, but he didn¡¯t expect to end up harming himself instead. With a look of annoyance, Das wanted to continue arguing, but Keh interjected from the side. ¡°Das Watson, Mr. Gray personally picked out this set of emerald jewelry in the Heavenly Pavilion. As the proprietor of the Heavenly Pavilion, I can guarantee that it¡¯s definitely not counterfeit. If you insist on iming that the jewelry is counterfeit, you¡¯re no longer just using Mr. Gray but using our Heavenly Pavilion of selling counterfeit products. Is that what you mean?¡± He red at Das hostilely with a mirthless smile. At this moment, many people suddenly came to the realization that the Parkers were the owners of the Heavenly Pavilion. Keh was the one who vouched for Lucas, and he was clearly on good terms with him too. How could Lucas possibly give Alexis a set of counterfeit emerald jewelry? The truth was now clear, and it was that the emerald jewelry set Lucas gave Alexis was more expensive than the diamond ring Nate gave her. Das and Nate both lost the betpletely. In that case, what they said about the loser having to lick the shoes of the winner¡­ Chapter 656 - Heart Racing

Chapter 656: Heart Racing

Das¡¯s face repeatedly changed between red and pale. ¡°Hah, so what if his gift is more expensive? It¡¯s just 1.4 million dors. Who can¡¯t afford that? What¡¯s there to show off?¡± Connor sneered. ¡°Who¡¯s showing off? Weren¡¯t you the ones who kept making trouble for Mr. Gray by wanting him to take out his gift for Alexis? You were also the one who proposed the shoe-licking bet? Now that you¡¯ve lost, do you want to go back on your word?¡± ¡°You!¡± Das was ashamed and furious. He roared at Lucas, ¡°I¡¯m not going to fulfill the bet, so what? Can you kill me?¡± Lucas looked at him coldly and pursed his lips in disdain. ¡°Even if you want to lick my shoes, I¡¯d find it dirty! But you should be d that it¡¯s Alexis¡¯s birthday today, so I don¡¯t want there to be any bloodshed. Otherwise¡­ Heh.¡± He sneered with a sharp gaze in his eyes, piercing into Das¡¯s eyes like a sharp dagger. ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Das was so frightened that he took two steps back. He originally wanted to issue some threats, but the murderous gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes really intimidated him so much that he didn¡¯t dare to act rashly or even say anything. Why does this damn Lucas Gray have such a terrifying gaze? Alexis had been watching the farce from the side, and at this point, she could no longer tolerate it. ¡°Das Watson, Nate Walker, I¡¯ve had enough of you two! ¡°You two have ruined my birthday party! I don¡¯t want to see you again! Please get lost immediately! ¡°If you still insist on making a scene at my birthday party, it will be a provocation to the Coles! If you can afford to bear the consequences, go ahead and continue making a scene!¡± Alexis was still young and usually seemed lively and bubbly, which made her seem non-threatening. But once she really lost her temper, she would be as domineering and intimidating as her grandfather Edmund. Das felt like it was his first time knowing Alexis, and he was frightened by her aura. It was only now that he finally remembered he was at Alexis¡¯s birthday party, so he was simply courting death by going against her boyfriend! He had always been Nate¡¯sckey, and he had gotten used to leveraging Nate¡¯s power to throw his weight around and provoke others everywhere. But he had forgotten that the Coles were a top-tier family in the state, and Alexis, the Coles¡¯ only heiress, had a status far higher than that of Nate, who had been marginalized by the Walkers! After Das thought about this, his back broke out into cold sweat from fear. The Coles wouldn¡¯t attack the Walkers easily, but it would be a piece of cake for them to target the Watsons or even kill Das! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Cole! I¡­ I lost my mind for a moment. I didn¡¯t mean to create trouble. Please forgive me! I-I¡¯ll get lost right now. I won¡¯t annoy you!¡± Das almost crawled out of the hall as he fled. ¡°What about you? Aren¡¯t you going to scram?¡± Alexis looked at Nate again. Nate had made a fool out of himself today and even got chased out by Alexis. In just one day, he felt humiliation that he had never suffered before in his life! Looking at Alexis¡¯s cold and disgusted gaze, the contemptuous smile on Lucas¡¯s lips, and the peculiar looks being cast on him by the people around them, Nate felt extremely embarrassed and enraged. ¡°Okay, just you wait and see!¡± In the end, Nate could only say these words before leaving Alexis¡¯s birthday party in disgrace. But before he left, Nate glowered at Lucas with a resentful and threatening gaze. He med Lucas for all the humiliation he suffered today. Lucas narrowed his eyes. He didn¡¯t have anything to do with the Walkers currently, but if Nate insisted on courting death and creating trouble for him, he wouldn¡¯t be kind to them. After the annoying Nate and Das both left, Alexis sighed in relief and then puffed her cheeks at Lucas. She said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for causing you trouble today, Lucas.¡± The reason she had asked Lucas to be her shield was that she had gotten sick of Nate pestering her. So in a moment of anger, she had blurted out that she had a crush on someone. Furthermore, the only male present she had a good impression of was Lucas, so she had asked him to be her shield. But Alexis hadn¡¯t expected things to turn out this way. Alexis felt extremely apologetic at the thought that she had inadvertently made Nate hold a grudge against Lucas. Lucas simply smiled without taking it seriously. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t worry. The Walkers can¡¯t do anything to me.¡± Seeing how confident and imposing Lucas was, Alexis suddenly felt her heart racing as an unprecedented feeling surged within her chest. If¡­ Lucas were really my boyfriend¡­ No! No! Alexis immediately raised her hand and pressed it on her chest to force herself to curb these dangerous thoughts. Lucas is already married and has a child. How can I think that way? I definitely can¡¯t do such a thing! Lena, next to Alexis, felt her heart sink when she saw the way Alexis looked at Lucas and the way she frantically lowered her head with her hand covering her chest, as well as the faint rosiness on her face. Could¡­ Alexis have really fallen in love with Lucas? At the thought that she was already having a hard time courting Lucas, but now she suddenly had a young and beautiful ¡®love rival¡¯, she felt even more ufortable. The party soon resumed. Meanwhile, outside the Coles¡¯ manor¡­ Nate stormed out of the Coles¡¯ manor furiously and saw hispdog Das waiting for him outside. As soon as he saw Das¡¯s face, Nate felt a strong urge to p him. If not because of this idiot, he wouldn¡¯t have embarrassed himself so terribly in front of everyone nor get kicked out by Alexis. He had a gloomy look and was about to lose his temper when he suddenly heard Das say, ¡°Nate, I¡¯ve just investigated and found out the true identity of Lucas Gray!¡± Chapter 657 - Meeting Alexis’s Father

Chapter 657: Meeting Alexis¡¯s Father

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as he heard Das¡¯s words, regardless of how angry Nate was, he could only suppress his anger and ask, ¡°Who exactly is he? Quickly tell me!¡± ¡°I just called a friend of mine in Orange County to ask about Lucas Gray, and he told me that Lucas Gray used to be the live-in husband of a woman from the Carter family, a third-rate family there. He seems to be quite well-known in Orange County because of this matter,¡± Das hurriedly told Nate what he had found out. ¡°What? He¡¯s already married? And he¡¯s a live-in husband?¡± Nate was astonished. Das nodded. ¡°Yes, Lucas Gray married his wife six years ago as a live-in husband because of a scandal. They were caught red-handed in a hotel¡­ Afterward, almost all of Orange County knew about this scandal, so the Carters decided to let him marry their daughter. ¡°I thought that it was impossible for the matter of a man and a woman getting intimate in a hotel to be the talk of the town. Butter, I found out that Lucas Gray¡¯s luck was good because the woman he married was known as the most beautiful woman in Orange County. She is quite well-known there, so their scandal spread like wildfire and blew out of proportion. ¡°But this also means that my friend didn¡¯t lie to me. Many people in Orange County are aware of this matter too.¡± Das said with an excited expression, ¡°Nate, I told you Lucas Gray is just a pauper pretending to be a rich scion! If he really belonged to a prestigious family, how could he possibly be a live-in husband?¡± Nate thought about it and said decisively, ¡°No, there must be something amiss about this. If Lucas Gray is really just a live-in husband without a powerful background, why are Connor Hale and Keh Parker so close to him? They even speak up for him and defend him all the time. Logically speaking, the two of them are figures of high statuses who don¡¯t have to care about the live-in husband of a woman from a third-rate family.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Das also noticed the w in the logic of this matter. But after thinking about it, he came to a sudden realization. ¡°Nate, I know! It must be because of his wife! I heard that she¡¯s gorgeous and is only around 27. Since she wasuded as the most beautiful woman in Orange County, a ce with numerous beauties, she must be exceptionally stunning! ¡°Connor Hale and Keh Parker are both men. Who doesn¡¯t like a pretty girl? Moreover, Lucas Gray¡¯s wife is the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation in Orange County. So I reckon that they both must want to get their hands on Lucas Gray¡¯s wife. That¡¯s why they¡¯re deliberately being nice to him. They¡¯re trying to make him lower his guard before slowly cuckolding him!¡± A lewd smile appeared on Das¡¯s face as he talked about this. His exnation was somewhat usible, but Nate didn¡¯t believe it. Given the statuses of Connor and Keh, they had countless means to get a woman. There was no need for them to please her husband in order to get their hands on her. Besides, Nate kept feeling that Connor and Keh were rather deferential toward Lucas, as if they were facing someone superior, which bothered him a lot. At this thought, Nate decided to call someone himself. ¡°Immediately investigate a matter for me. There¡¯s a man in Orange County named Lucas Gray, whose wife is said to be the former most beautiful woman in Orange County and is also the general manager of the Brilliance Corporation. Find out who exactly Lucas Gray is!¡± Since he was now aware that Lucas was from Orange County and had a wife famous in the city, it would be much easier to find the information he wanted. After just a few minutes, Nate¡¯s phone started ringing, and his subordinate told him all the information he had found about Lucas. Nate raised his eyebrows in apprehension at first. But soon, he smiled a little, and eventually, his smile widened. When he finally hung up the phone, Das immediately asked impatiently, ¡°Nate, how is it?¡± Nateughed contemptuously. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s pretty much as you said. Lucas Gray is really just a live-in husband. He was just putting on an act in front of us!¡± Das immediately asked to take on the task. ¡°Nate, since this guy is just a good-for-nothing, leave it to me to handle! How dare this bastard want me to lick his shoes? He really doesn¡¯t know any better. I definitely won¡¯t spare him!¡± Nate sneered. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave it to you then! Lucas Gray, how dare you snatch my woman and cause me to be so embarrassed? I¡¯ll definitely make sure you die a horrible death! Das, remember to abuse him to death. Only then can I vent my resentment!¡± ¡°Yes, Nate! I will definitely do it!¡± Das immediately promised with a ruthless expression and a menacing smile on his face. ¡ª¡ª Meanwhile, after staying at the birthday party for a while, Lucas decided to find an excuse to visit Edmund and deliver his gift to him. Afterward, it would be time to head home. Lucas didn¡¯t really like this social function of high society, where almost all the children of notable families got together. At this moment, a butler-like man from the Cole family suddenly walked up to Lucas and said, ¡°Mr. Gray, Mr. Cole would like to speak to you.¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise. He reckoned that the butler should be referring to Alexis¡¯s father, Clement. He had never spoken to Clement, and he didn¡¯t even know him, so he was puzzled as to why Clement wanted to speak to him. Despite feeling doubtful, he knew that Clement was the only son of Edmund and Alexis¡¯s father, and he was now in their home, so he naturally had to be courteous and agree to the request. ¡°Alright, please lead the way,¡± Lucas agreed readily. Under the lead of this butler, he arrived at a room in a vi next to the hall where the party was being held. Clement was dressed in a neat suit and frowning, seemingly in a bad mood. ¡°Mr. Cole, Mr. Gray is here,¡± the butler informed quietly and then retreated. Lucas and Clement were the only ones in the luxuriously decorated room. ¡°Nice to meet you, Clement.¡± Lucas took the initiative to greet him. Clement raised his head and looked at Lucas, staring at him quietly. If an ordinary young man saw this, he would probably be at a loss for what to do and even wonder if he had done something wrong. But Lucas merely blinked and stood calmly in ce, allowing Clement to stare at him somewhat hostilely. It wasn¡¯t until nearly ten secondster that Clement stopped looking at him and said slowly, ¡°Lucas Gray, it¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve heard your name.¡± Hearing Clement¡¯s slightly contemptuous tone, Lucas was finally certain that he had some animosity toward him. In that case, Lucas decided not to be a respectful junior. He stood in ce and said lightly, ¡°Clement, is there a reason you suddenly asked me toe here?¡± Chapter 658 - Extremely Stupid

Chapter 658: Extremely Stupid

¡°Lucas Gray, twenty-eight years old, abandoned by the Huttons and kicked out of his home in DC more than twenty years ago. Afterward, he lived with his mother in Orange County. Six years ago, his mother died of illness, and he married Cheyenne Carter before soon disappearing for many years. A little over four months ago, he returned to Orange County and formed a feud with the Taylors, the Waces, the Kingstons¡­¡± Clement looked into Lucas¡¯s eyes and read out the information about Lucas that he had obtained. Lucas frowned. Lucas could understand his rationale if he had just sent someone to investigate him. But there was clearly another meaning by reading out his information right in front of him. ¡°Clement, what are you trying to say by reading this to me?¡± Lucas asked indifferently. Clement nced at Lucas and said sneeringly, ¡°You and I aren¡¯t close. Don¡¯t try to act like we¡¯re close by addressing me by my first name. You¡¯d better address me as Mr. Cole.¡± Since Clement didn¡¯t show him any respect, Lucas decided that he didn¡¯t have to treat Clement like an elder on ount of Edmund and Alexis. ¡°Lucas, let me give you a piece of advice. Young people ought to be more grounded instead of being overly ambitious and coveting things that don¡¯t belong to you,¡± Clement drawled with a smirk. Lucas frowned. ¡°Mr. Cole, if you have something to say to me, just say it directly.¡± Clement narrowed his eyes. ¡°Do you really not understand, or are you just feigning ignorance? I¡¯ll cut to the chase then. I don¡¯t care what you¡¯re thinking, but my daughter isn¡¯t someone you can covet. I hope you can have some self-awareness and stay away from Alexis.¡± Hearing his relentless warning, Lucas didn¡¯t get really angry but instead found his words ridiculous and absurd. It turned out that Clement had called him over just to warn him not to have any intentions about Alexis. He reckoned that Clement must have seen how Alexis used him as a shield by saying that she was in love with him just now. Thus, Clement got the wrong idea about him and began to feel hostile toward him. But Lucas felt that he needed to exin to Clement that he didn¡¯t have any ideas about Alexis, and everything that happened just now was merely an act. ¡°Mr. Cole, you¡¯ve misunderstood. There¡¯s nothing between me and Alexis. Ask her yourself if you don¡¯t believe me. I already have a wife and daughter, and I have no intention of being unfaithful to my wife, so you can rest assured, Mr. Cole,¡± Lucas said without lowering himself. But Clement refused to believe Lucas. He pointed to the stack of documents about Lucas on the table and said with certainty in an extremely firm tone, ¡°You were just a penniless boy six years ago, but you suddenly married Cheyenne Carter. Didn¡¯t you do it for the sake of the Carters¡¯ wealth and power so that you would struggle less? ¡°Now, the Carters, which used to be a second-tier family in Orange County, have been reduced to a lowly family. Meanwhile, the Coles are one of the top families in the state. If you can find a way to marry my daughter, you¡¯ll be able to gain control over the entire Cole family. That¡¯s a goal that you can¡¯t achieve even after struggling for ten lifetimes. Are you really not tempted? I don¡¯t believe it.¡± Clement stood up from the desk and walked to Lucas. ¡°I also hope that you stay away from my father! ¡°I know that you saved my father¡¯s life by chance. My father was a soldier when he was young, and he¡¯s very righteous. That¡¯s why he takes such good care of you and has always called you his benefactor. ¡°I think you know very well that all you did to save my father was to take out the pills from his pocket and feed one to him. It was a simple task. Moreover, my father has already given you enough in return, hasn¡¯t he? ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t deny that you¡¯ve indeed saved my father¡¯s life, and I don¡¯t want others to think that the Coles are ingrates who are harsh to their benefactors. He took out a bank card from his pocket, put it on the table next to him, and said in a condescending tone, ¡°Here¡¯s ten million dors, an amount that you¡¯ll never be able to earn in several lifetimes. If you listen to me, take this card and leave. Don¡¯t ever get involved with my father and daughter in the future, do you understand?¡± Clement had said a lot of things to Lucas. From his tone, it was obvious that he was full of contempt toward Lucas and felt that he was greedy and pushing his luck. Lucas almost burst outughing at Clement¡¯s words. At this point, he finally realized why Connor and Keh had told him that Clement was so ipetent that even Edmund wanted to give up on him and hadn¡¯t handed the position of family head to him. The fact that Clement said such absurd things to him based on his own prejudices and preferences showed that he was indeed not a capable person. Without even looking at the bank card that Clement threw on the table, Lucas said sneeringly, ¡°So, Mr. Cole Sr¡¯s life is worth only ten million dors in your eyes.¡± Clement frowned in displeasure. ¡°You think it¡¯s too little? Given your abilities, let alone ten million, even earning one million must be difficult for you. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know how you got the set of jewelry you gave to Alexis, the Coles won¡¯t take advantage of you. Send the invoice for the jewelry to me, and I¡¯ll reimburse you for every penny you¡¯ve spent. Just take it that the Coles bought it from you. ¡°As for other matters, don¡¯t have any delusions!¡± Clement once again warned Lucas. Lucas looked at the austere expression on Clement¡¯s face and suddenly burst intoughter. Clement¡¯s behavior was simply more foolish than he had expected. Clement was conceited, arrogant, superficial, short-sighted, foolish, liked jumping to conclusions, and often projected his shorings onto others. He had an incredibly wed personality. If he had bothered to think a bit more when investigating Lucas, he wouldn¡¯t have reached this conclusion today. At this moment, Lucas really took pity on Edmund. He indeed couldn¡¯t hand over the Cole family to his son. Otherwise, he would probably lose the entire family in no time. Clement merely mentioned the families Lucas had offended but didn¡¯t mention a thing about the families close to Lucas. He had either deliberately chosen not to bring it up, or¡­ ¡°Do you think that I befriended the Hale family from Orange County, the Parkers from LA, and the others all because of the Coles?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. Chapter 659 - Resolute Rejection

Chapter 659: Resolute Rejection

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Clement frowned and asked rhetorically, ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really true.¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows and smiled faintly. ¡°In that case, Mr. Cole, why don¡¯t you call Bruce Hale and Damon Parker to ask if they¡¯re friends with me because of the Coles?!¡± He had a look of mockery on his face. He had long guessed it. Clement indeed thought that Lucas had borrowed the Coles¡¯ power in order to establish a rtionship with the Hales and the Parkers. Just now, he even used Lucas of taking advantage of the Coles, which was simply hrious. ¡°Also, I hope that you won¡¯t casually specte on my intentions. I¡¯m not interested in being your son-inw, nor am I interested in the Coles¡¯ assets. I only treat Alexis as my younger sister. ¡°As for my friendship with Mr. Cole Sr., this is a matter between us. You don¡¯t seem to have any right to interfere, do you? ¡°Mr. Cole, like you said, you and I aren¡¯t rted to each other at all, so there¡¯s no need for you to poke your nose into my business, right?¡± Lucas finally understood that if he was polite with Clement, thetter would just think that he was afraid of the Coles¡¯ power. In that case, he might as well not be polite and make things clear. Indeed, as soon as Lucas said this, his words immediately angered Clement, who thought highly of himself. ¡°Bastard, how dare you speak to me with such a tone? As long as I make a call now and tell them to sever ties with you, I¡¯ll see how you can still be arrogant in front of me!¡± Lucas shrugged his shoulders indifferently. ¡°Oh, go ahead and call then.¡± Before Clement even reacted, Lucas walked directly toward the door of the room. ¡°If you asked me toe here just to hear you utter nonsense, I think there¡¯s no need for us to continue talking anymore.¡± ¡°You¡­ you stop right there!¡± Clement hollered in exasperation. Lucas turned a deaf ear to him and suddenly stopped when he reached the door. He looked at Clement with an almost sympathetic gaze. ¡°To be honest, I really pity Mr. Cole Sr. for having a son like you despite having been respected all his life. Even though he¡¯s sick, he doesn¡¯t dare to hand the family to you. How pitiful.¡± With that, Lucas pulled open the door and walked out. Bang! The door closed, but Clement was so angered by Lucas¡¯s words that his body was trembling. ¡°Bastard! Brat! How dare you say that about me?! Who the hell do you think you are? ¡°Ah! This is so infuriating!¡± Clement caught a glimpse of the bank card on the table that Lucas hadn¡¯t even touched and snapped it in half to vent his anger. Snap! Clement mmed the broken halves onto the floor. ¡°Bastard, do you really think I can¡¯t do anything to you? I¡¯ll see what else you can do once I stop letting you leverage on the Coles¡¯ reputation and status.¡± Clement picked up his phone and called Bruce, who was in Orange County. ¡°Bruce Hale? I¡¯m Clement Cole from San Francisco.¡± He reported his name immediately. On the other end, Bruce was a bit surprised to hear Clement¡¯s voice. He had never interacted with Clement before, so he found the sudden call surprising. ¡°Hello, Mr. Cole! What made you call me all of a sudden today?¡± Bruce asked in a kind and gentle tone. Strictly speaking, although Clement was a generation younger than Bruce, he was Edmund¡¯s only son after all. So Bruce was rather amodating toward him. ¡°I heard that the Hales have been very close to Lucas Graytely, right? From now on, I want you to sever all ties with him and never provide him any help!¡± Clement ordered coldly. ¡°¡­¡± Bruce fell silent. Clement waited for several seconds, but Bruce still didn¡¯t reply, so he couldn¡¯t help snapping at him angrily, ¡°Bruce Hale, didn¡¯t you hear what I just said? Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± Bruce sighed and said slowly, ¡°Mr. Cole, I can¡¯t promise you that. Mr. Gray is an honored friend of ours, and no matter what, we can¡¯t sever ties with him. May I ask the reason for your sudden decision?¡± The Hales already belonged to Lucas now, so how could they sever ties with him? Clement¡¯s request was extremely abrupt as well. Lucas was clearly on good terms with Edmund and Alexis, plus he was Edmund¡¯s life savior. The Coles shouldn¡¯t be going against Lucas all of a sudden. Bruce thought about it for a long time and felt that it was Clement¡¯s personal request, which was rather ridiculous. Clement was shocked because he didn¡¯t expect Bruce to reject him without hesitation! ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re saying, Mr. Hale? You don¡¯t have to be friendly with Lucas Gray for the sake of our family. I don¡¯t mind telling you that Lucas Gray has offended me, which is akin to offending the Coles. You¡¯re a smart person. You should know what to do, right? ¡°Also, if the Hales sever ties with Lucas, I can allow you to start cooperating with us and provide you help. How does that sound?¡± Clement clearly stated his displeasure toward Lucas. In his opinion, Lucas managed to befriend the Hales entirely because he leveraged on the power of the Coles. As long as he made it clear to the Hales what the Coles¡¯ attitude toward Lucas was, he believed that Bruce would draw a clear line with Lucas immediately. He reckoned that Bruce would agree, especially since he had promised some benefits and extended an olive branch. Those wealthy families would eagerly agree immediately. ¡°Mr. Cole, I¡¯ve already told you that it¡¯s impossible!¡± Bruce¡¯s tone became cold and harsh, with extreme determination and some anger. ¡°Regardless of what yours and the Coles¡¯ attitude toward Mr. Gray is, the Hales will never sever ties with Mr. Gray! ¡°Mr. Cole, if you called me today just to talk about this matter, then we don¡¯t need to talk anymore. I still have something important to do, so I¡¯ll hang up now. I¡¯ll visit Mr. Cole Sr. another time.¡± With that, Bruce hung up immediately. Seeing the ¡®call ended¡¯ words on the screen, Clement couldn¡¯te back to his senses for a long time. ¡°How dare Bruce Hale hang up on me?! ¡°How infuriating!¡± What was even more annoying was that Bruce had adamantly refused his request. Bruce seemed to mean that the Hales hadn¡¯t befriended Lucas only because of the Coles. In fact, they even seemed to be stating that the Hales would never sever ties with Lucas even if the Coles made an enemy of Lucas. ¡°Is Bruce Hale out of his mind? ¡°Damn it!¡± Clement cursed viciously. But he thought that there was another person, so he ignored the Hales for now. He took two deep breaths to suppress his anger before calling Damon, the head of the Parkers. ¡°Mr. Parker? I¡¯m Clement Cole from San Francisco, and I looked for you to discuss something.¡± This time, Clement¡¯s attitude was a little more mellow.. At the very least, he didn¡¯t call Damon by his full name. Chapter 660 - Another Refusal

Chapter 660: Another Refusal

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Like Bruce, Damon was also surprised to receive a sudden call from Clement. ¡°So it¡¯s you, Mr. Cole. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Damon¡¯s tone was extremely calm and indifferent. Currently, the Parkers had already be thergest and supreme family in the whole of LA with Lucas¡¯s help. They had even taken over many businesses, so their overall power and strength were on par with the three giants of San Francisco¡ªthe Coles, the Kingstons, and the Walkers. From a certain perspective, Damon¡¯s current status was actuallyparable to Edmund¡¯s, while Clement was just a junior. Thus, Damon didn¡¯t need to have any scruples and respect for him. Clement was aware of this too, so he spoke much more politely in front of Damon. ¡°Mr. Parker, here¡¯s the thing. I have something to ask of you,¡± Clement said politely. ¡°Haha, Mr. Cole, you must be joking. You are a member of the Cole family. If there¡¯s anything, you can just say so directly. If I can provide any help, I will definitely help.¡± Damon chuckled. He had dealt with Clement twice before. But on those two asions, Clement had behaved haughtily and ordered Damon around without any respect even though Damon was as old as his father. Clement¡¯s polite attitude today was a stark contrast to before. Damon felt proud because of this. But Damon was well aware that all of this was given to him by Lucas. Otherwise, the Parkers would still bepeting against other families in LA today, and Clement wouldn¡¯t be taking him seriously at all. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re so straightforward, I¡¯ll cut to the chase. Mr. Parker, I hope that the Parkers will sever all ties with Lucas Gray and not provide him with any help in the future!¡± Clement said. ¡°What?!¡± Damon rubbed his ears, wondering if he heard wrong. ¡°Mr. Cole, what did you just say? Who do you want the Parkers to sever ties with?¡± Damon asked again with his brows furrowed. ¡°Lucas Gray, that penniless orphan who managed to climb his way up after marrying Cheyenne Carter as a live-in husband. You should know him right, Mr. Parker?¡± Edmund asked through gritted teeth. Damon frowned, the furrow between his brows so deep that a fly would be mped to death between them. He corrected in a strange tone, ¡°Mr. Gray isn¡¯t an orphan. He¡¯s a Hutton from DC.¡± Clement snorted withughter. ¡°How is he considered a Hutton? ording to my information, he was disowned and kicked out by the Huttons twenty years ago, and the Huttons don¡¯t even acknowledge him! Mr. Parker, you¡¯ve probably been deceived by him. ¡°But that¡¯s understandable. Lucas is very cunning, and he¡¯s really good at leveraging on the power of others. It¡¯s no wonder that he¡¯s still doing well now. ¡°But this young man is way too arrogant and conceited. Relying on the power he borrowed, he goes around causing trouble everywhere. Not only has he offended the Taylors and the Waces of the four top families in Orange County, but he even had the guts to go to the Kingston residence to cause trouble. In the end, the Kingstons spared him only because of the power of the Parkers and the Coles. ¡°He¡¯s just a nobody wreaking havoc everywhere. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for you to befriend him, right, Mr. Parker?¡± Due to his dissatisfaction with Lucas, Clement made Lucas sound incorrigible and even belittled him greatly. But every time Clement belittled Lucas, Damon¡¯s face became even darker. Toward the end, he looked absolutely gloomy. ¡°Mr. Cole, so you want the Parkers to sever all ties with Lucas Gray?¡± Damon said through clenched teeth. But Clement failed to notice the suppressed burning fury in Damon¡¯s tone, and he even thought that Damon was seriously considering his suggestion. He quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s right! To be honest, my family and I are already extremely dissatisfied with that punk Lucas Gray. Yet he¡¯s still behaving arrogantly by relying on these rtions. So I really hope that your family can sever ties with him and teach him a good lesson! ¡°Also, I won¡¯t let the Parkers y the bad guy for nothing. In the future, as long as the Parkers need help, the Coles will definitely support you! If you intend to develop in San Francisco, the Coles can also serve as a solid backer for your family!¡± Clement once again offered a tempting condition. The caller on the other end stayed silent for two seconds before Damon suddenly roared furiously, ¡°Clement Cole, is there something wrong with you? Who are you to decide who the Parkers befriend? ¡°Don¡¯t think that everyone is as stupid as you! You¡¯re not qualified to judge what kind of a person Mr. Gray is! Let me tell you, Mr. Gray is the most honored guest of our family. Even if the Coles fall out with us, I will definitely not agree to sever ties with Mr. Gray. Do you understand?¡± Aftershing out at Clement, Damon immediately hung up without giving Clement the chance to respond. ¡°¡­¡± Holding his phone tightly in hand, Clement stood dumbfounded in ce without reacting for a long time. Damon¡¯s words were still ringing in his ears. As the only son of Edmund, the head of the Cole family, it had been a long time since Clement got reprimanded badly and had someone hang up on him. If it was someone else, Clement would have used the power of the Coles to kill them. But since he was facing Damon, the helmsman of the Parkers, who had recently risen in strength and was almost on par with the Coles, Clement had no choice but to bear with it. If this matter spread to his father¡¯s ears, he would probably say that Damon had done a good job reprimanding him. He might even force him to apologize to Damon. Thus, he could only grit his teeth and tolerate it for now. But Damon¡¯s attitude clearly showed that the Parkers would rather go to war with the Coles than sever ties with Lucas. ¡°Damn it! What the hell is this? ¡°Lucas Gray is just an abandoned son of the Huttons. He doesn¡¯t have any family protection and is merely a live-in son-inw. Why are these two old fogies acting so strangely and going all out to defend him? ¡°Do I really have to watch that punk act all arrogant in front of me while being unable to do anything to him? Damn it!¡± Clement was so furious that he started cursing before mming his phone onto the floor. Smack! The screen of thetest Apple iPhone instantly cracked. At this moment, Bruce and Damon were telling Lucas about Clement¡¯s phone calls to them.. Chapter 661 - Happy Chat

Chapter 661: Happy Chat

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas had long expected Clement to call Bruce and Damon to tell them to sever ties with him. Of course, Clement¡¯s impatience worsened Lucas¡¯s impression of him. ¡°Got it. Ignore him,¡± Lucas said indifferently on the phone. He returned to the party hall and said to Alexis, ¡°Is your grandfather avable at the moment? I¡¯d like to pay him a visit and then return to Orange County.¡± Alexis looked at Lucas, reluctant to part ways with him. ¡°Lucas, are you leaving so soon? We have a ballter and some other activities lined up. Are you not going to stay and join us?¡± She really couldn¡¯t bear to see Lucas leave so soon. Despite knowing that nothing romantic woulde of her interaction with Lucas, she just wanted to look at Lucas for a little longer. Lucas shook his head. ¡°No, I came here today to wish you a happy birthday. I¡¯m not interested in other activities. You can go ahead and have fun with your friendster.¡± Hearing this, Alexis couldn¡¯t continue trying to make Lucas stay any longer, so she brought him to where Edmund was. It was an ancient-style building that revealed simplicity and elegance. After pushing open the door, Lucas was surprised to find that there were no trees and flowers in the garden. Instead, there were neat rows of all kinds of vegetable and fruit nts. ¡°Grandpa, look who¡¯s here?¡± Alexis said to the elderly man squatting in front of a vegetable patch. Only after the figure stood up and turned his face around did Lucas realize that the farmer-looking man covered in dirt with mud spots all over his pants was Edmund, the esteemed helmsman of the Cole family. Lucas was very surprised. ¡°Lucas? You came too?¡± Edmund was just as surprised to see Lucas. ¡°Mr. Cole.¡± Lucas walked up to him and smiled. ¡°I came today to attend Alexis¡¯s birthday party and also visit you.¡± ¡°Hahaha, yes, Alexis finally turned twenty today. I saw those youngsters having fun together, so I didn¡¯t join in. I didn¡¯t expect you to still remember me, Lucas! Haha!¡± Edmundughed heartily and rubbed his mud-stained fingers on his clothes. ¡°In that case, give me a moment. I¡¯ll pick some fruits for you to taste the things I nted with my own hands.¡± Edmund picked up a small bamboo basket and filled them with a lot of seasonal fruits from his garden. Seeing how rxed and happy Edmund was while gardening, Lucas couldn¡¯t help feeling a trace of envy. Enjoying peace and tranquility in a garden was the most holy and ordinary idealistic lifestyle for many people. Perhaps one day, he and Cheyenne would be able to enjoy a peaceful life like Edmund. They would tend to the fruits and vegetables in their gardenfortably or bask under the sun on rocking chairs. To him, this was ultimate bliss. When Edmund walked out from the garden with a basket full of fruits, Lucas reached out to help him carry the basket and walked to the center of the yard with him and Alexis. ¡°Alexis, you are the protagonist of today¡¯s party. Quickly go back. Lucas and I will just talk here,¡± Edmund said to Alexis. Alexis pursed her lips. Although she was slightly reluctant to part with Lucas, she was no longer a child who could behave willfully and presumptuously anymore. She would indeed be a poor host if she left her guests and friends at her birthday party without entertaining them. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go back now. Lucas, you must drop by our house often in the future! Grandpa and I both like you a lot!¡± Alexis smiled yfully and winked before leaving. ¡°Hah, indeed, she¡¯s still a child at heart,¡± Edmund said dotingly while looking at the back of his beautifully dressed granddaughter. After rinsing the basket of fruits under a tap, a servant ced them on a fruit tray, brought it over to the courtyard, and ced it on a stone table under a tree. This resting corner was decorated in an idyllic style, with a small stone table and three antique round tree stumps around it. Edmund warmly asked Lucas to sit down on a tree stump. ¡°Quickly take a seat and try the fruits I nted myself. They are definitely better than what you can get elsewhere!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Cole. I¡¯m in for a treat today then.¡± ¡ª¡ª At the same time, in the vi where Clement was¡­ Clement had lost his temper just now from his failed attempts to convince Bruce and Damon to sever ties with Lucas. He had even smashed his phone. He had to down several mouthfuls of tea to calm down. At this moment, the butler-like man who had previously invited Lucas hurriedly came in from outside and reported, ¡°Mr. Cole, that punk named Lucas Gray didn¡¯t leave but was taken by Miss Cole to Mr. Cole Sr¡¯s garden!¡± Clement suddenly stood up, and the anger he had just suppressed surged in his heart again. ¡°What did you say? How dare he go to my father? It seems that he didn¡¯t take my warning and me seriously!¡± He suddenly pounded the table and yelled angrily, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the garden now. I want to see how that punk managed to get into my father¡¯s good books! Punk, aren¡¯t you really good at pretending? Just you wait. I¡¯m going to remove your facade and reveal your true colors. Let¡¯s see what else you can do!¡± Clement furiously brought his subordinate with him to Edmund¡¯s residence. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Lucas and Edmund were talking while eating the fruits Edmund had grown. Just as Edmund boasted, these fruits he had grown with his own hands were extremely juicy and sweet, much tastier than those bought in markets. ¡°They¡¯re really delicious! Mr. Cole, I¡¯m surprised that you not only know how to fight on the battlefield and do business, but you¡¯re even really good at growing fruits and vegetables. I truly take my hat off to you!¡± Lucas praised from the bottom of his heart. If these words came out of anyone else¡¯s mouth, Edmund might think that the other party was ttering him on purpose in order to curry favor with him. But Lucas was definitely not the kind of person who would deliberately suck up to him. Since Lucas said they were good, they definitely were. So Edmund was even more pleased and overjoyed to hear Lucas¡¯spliment. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s just a little hobby of mine that isn¡¯t worth mentioning! If you like them, I¡¯ll have someone pick some for youter, and you can bring them home for your wife and child to try,¡± Edmund said in high spirits. ¡°Let me thank you on behalf of my wife and daughter then, Mr. Cole!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t decline and dly epted Edmund¡¯s kind gesture. ¡°Speaking of which, it¡¯s my first time visiting the Coles today, so I¡¯ve brought you a gift too. I hope you don¡¯t mind it.¡± Then Lucas took out the gift he had brought for Edmund.. Chapter 662 - Disciplining His Son

Chapter 662: Disciplining His Son

Seeing the gift box with the words ¡®Heavenly Pavilion¡¯ on it, Edmund revealed a trace of surprise. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas¡¯s gift to be from the Heavenly Pavilion. Moreover, the box wasbeled as a top-grade good, meaning that it was worth at least a few million dors. When he opened the gift box and saw the bodhi bead bracelet exuding a faint herbal fragrance, his eyes immediately lit up. The Coles ran an antique business as well, so Edmund definitely had sharp judgment. When he smelled it, he immediately concluded it was definitely an extremely rare bodhi bead bracelet! ¡°This¡­ bracelet seems different!¡± Edmund excitedly held the bracelet in his hand and began scrutinizing it. ¡°This material and naturally-formed pattern, as well as the soothing medicinal fragrance¡­ It¡¯s indeed a top-grade product! I didn¡¯t expect there to be such a treasure in the Heavenly Pavilion that my people hadn¡¯t discovered before!¡± The more Edmund looked at it, the more he liked it, and he began rubbing it back and forth in excitement. Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°This bodhi bead bracelet does have some amazing properties. Not only can it help the wearer calm their mind, but the medicinal properties infused in it over the years will also provide great benefits for the wearer. I bought this bracelet because I think it especially suits you.¡± ¡°Hahaha, good, you indeed have excellent judgment, Lucas! Since you bought this good item for me, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony. Thank you!¡± Edmund was not a wishy-washy person, so he epted the bodhi bead bracelet from Lucas and immediately put it on his wrist. The bracelet was from the Heavenly Pavilion, so it had to be extremely expensive. But since Lucas could give it away, Edmund didn¡¯t bother about whether it was too expensive for Lucas. Lucas was not the kind who would puff himself up, and the friendship between the Coles and Lucas was more than that. There was no need for Edmund to dwell on such a trivial matter. Edmund and Lucas were sitting on the in tree stump chairs and ate the sweet fruits while chatting and enjoying the night view harmoniously. Bang. Bang.?Suddenly, there was knocking on the wooden door outside the idyllic residence. ¡°Come in!¡± Edmund said casually. The wooden door was opened with a creak, and Clement entered from outside. Edmund subconsciously frowned upon seeing his son. ¡°Why are you here? Shouldn¡¯t you be helping Alexis with the party?¡± Clement didn¡¯t say anything. Right from the beginning, he was staring at Lucas, who was sitting beside Edmund. When Clement saw that a significant portion of the fruit tter in front of Lucas had been eaten, his face became even more sullen. Although Edmund nted some vegetables and fruits in this garden, the output was small after all. He cherished them like treasures and would usually only share them with Alexis. Even Clement, his own son, didn¡¯t get to eat the fruit and vegetables grown by his father. But this outsider Lucas was actually able to gain Edmund¡¯s favor and eat so many of his fruits. Why?! ¡°Dad, how could you let this punke to your residence? You even¡­ shared the fruits you grew with him!¡± Clement eximed furiously. Edmund was bewildered, but he could tell that Clement was very prejudiced against Lucas. His face darkened. ¡°This ce belongs to me. I can let anyone I want in and feed my fruits to anyone I want. How dare you interfere in my business?¡± ¡°Dad, it¡¯s not that I want to interfere with your matters, but this punk can¡¯t be trusted at all. Do you know that he¡¯s just an illegitimate son kicked out by the Huttons in DC? He has nothing to his name, and he relied on joining a second-tier family as a live-in husband to make connections everywhere in order to get to where he is now! ¡°He¡¯s not someone you should befriend at all. He¡¯s now trying to please you because he wants to rely on the Coles¡¯ power and status to expand his connections! ¡°Yes, I know that he saved your life before, but so what? The Coles have long repaid him for his kindness, so why is he still clinging to you? I clearly already warned him not to get close to you and Alexis anymore, but he didn¡¯t take it seriously at all. He even came here right after to pretend to be nice to you! ¡°Dad, you¡¯d better sever ties with such a scheming person who¡¯s good at nothing except plotting against others. Otherwise, the Coles will really be his springboard!¡± Due to his anger and resentment toward Lucas, Clement was venting his anger and revealing all the information he had found out, as well as his assumptions. ¡°Shut up!¡± Edmund was so furious that his face turned pale. He glowered at Clement with his eyes wide open. ¡°What kind of nonsense are you saying about Lucas? I¡¯ve lived so long, and I¡¯ve seen more people than you. Yet you¡¯re now using me of being muddled and not knowing how to judge people. Do you think you¡¯re the only one who can read the hearts of others? ¡°Hah, why don¡¯t you look at what you¡¯re worth yourself?! Do you need me to remind you of the stupid things you did in the past? If I had another son, I would have long kicked you out of the Coles! ¡°Although Lucas is a generation younger than you, he¡¯s much better than you in all aspects, and he carries himself so much better than you! Trust you to have the cheek to badmouth him here! ¡°Also, who gave you the permission to investigate Lucas¡¯s identity and background? Didn¡¯t I tell you that he¡¯s my life savior, so you must all respect him and never investigate him in private? How dare you disobey me behind my back?! ¡°Besides, you just said you warned Lucas not to interact with me and Alexis anymore. When did you do it? Who gave you permission? He saved my life, and I approve of him! Are you treating me like I¡¯m dead now, so you can turn a deaf ear to all my instructions?¡± In the face of Edmund¡¯s wrath, Clement was berated so severely that his face paled. Although Edmund would chide him for his wrongdoings in the past, he had nevershed out at him to the point of him being unable to raise his head like today. His father actually reprimanded him so mercilessly because of Lucas, an outsider. Clement, who was almost fifty years old, was so embarrassed that he almost couldn¡¯t face anyone. At the same time, Clement¡¯s anger toward Lucas intensified. If not for Lucas, why would his own father treat him like this? His face red, Edmund pointed at the door and barked at Clement, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you now. Get lost immediately. You¡¯d better think carefully and reflect on your mistakes!¡± Clement raised his head and fixed his eyes on Lucas. ¡°Punk, don¡¯t get too smug! You may have bewitched my father with your schemes and tricks, but I won¡¯t let you continue beingcent! One day, I will definitely expose you and leave you with nowhere to escape!¡± With that, he swung his hand and kicked open the wooden door to leave without turning around.. Chapter 663 - Link Together

Chapter 663: Link Together

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Bastard!¡± Even after Clement¡¯s figure disappeared into the night, Edmund¡¯s chest was still heaving up and down vigorously. He was clearly still livid. ¡°How on earth did I give birth to such a dimwit? What a great misfortune for my family!¡± Edmund rattled on, his face full of disappointment about Clement. Lucas wanted tofort Edmund, but he didn¡¯t know how to start. After all, Clement was really foolish beyond Lucas¡¯s expectations, and he could fully imagine how frustrated Edmund was now. He knew that Clement was prejudiced against him and would definitely try to find trouble with him. But he didn¡¯t expect that Clement would actually barge into Edmund¡¯s residence and criticize him right in front of Edmund. Lucas didn¡¯t know what to say about his behavior. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m really sorry. It¡¯s myck of proper discipline that resulted in my son saying such unpleasant things to you. Please don¡¯t take it to heart!¡± Edmund said to Lucas apologetically. Lucas shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t care about it. Don¡¯t take it to heart, Mr. Cole, lest your health gets affected.¡± Edmund took two deep breaths, and together with the burst of calming herbal fragrance emanating from the bodhi bead bracelet on his wrist, he finally gained control of his emotions. ¡°Ah, God knows what sins Imitted in my past life to end up with a son like him. If he had some brains, I would have left the Coles in his hands long ago and stayed in this ce or gone to the countryside to spend the rest of my retirement in peace.¡± Edmund¡¯s tone was full of dejection and somberness. Lucas couldn¡¯t make a judgment about this matter, so he could only stand at the side silently and hand a cup of tea to Edmund. Edmund took the cup of tea, drank it slowly, and let out a long sigh before changing the subject. ¡°Speaking of which, tomorrow is the day the California Elite Business Exchange will be held. I heard that you also received an invitation. What do you think about this matter?¡± Lucas¡¯s gaze was focused. ¡°I also just learned about the existence of this Elite Business Exchange. It¡¯s said that it¡¯s only held once every three years, and the organizer this time should be the Watsons and not the Kingstons. It should have been held in a month too, but it was suddenly brought forward.¡± Edmund nodded with a solemn expression. ¡°You¡¯re right. That¡¯s why I have a feeling that the Elite Business Exchange this time isn¡¯t that simple. Moreover, I have an ominous premonition that something will happen.¡± In fact, Lucas also sensed the peculiarity about this Elite Business Exchange. Lucas had to keep his guard up, especially since the organizer of the exchange this time was the Kingstons, who had just formed a feud with him and obtained the hosting rights from another family. ¡°Mywork of connections may be a bit wider than yours. ording to the information I received, figures among the eight giants of DC may be here at the Elite Business Exchange this time. Their agenda is very likely to be all of California,¡± Edmund suddenly said. Lucas was a little surprised. ¡°The eight giants of DC? Are some of them nning to take action in California?¡± ¡°That¡¯s very possible,¡± Edmund said with a grim expression. ¡°In the past few years, there has been lots ofpetition going on among the eight giants of DC, especially in the areas around it. Many of them have been divided up between the forces of the eight giants, who are also secretly supporting many other families. ¡°But California had been a neutral area over the years. It became an area that no one dared to touch because everyone wanted a share of it, so they restrained each other. Although there are some families in contact with the eight giants, California doesn¡¯t belong to any family. ¡°However, I¡¯m afraid this situation is going to change soon.¡± Edmund¡¯s eyes were worried. The development of California in recent years had been rtively peaceful, and the Coles had also reached a tripartite bnce with the Kingstons and the Walkers. Although they had minor conflicts every now and then, they were all getting along rtively peacefully. But if the eight giants of DC suddenly intervened, the calm and peace of California would definitely be broken. In fact, there was a high probability of another power reshuffle. When the time came, it would be difficult to say what would be of the various families. ¡°I heard that the rules of the Elite Business Exchange stipte that the invitees are limited to the top-tier families in California, so I was surprised to be invited this year. Can people from the eight top families in DC participate directly?¡± Lucas asked in confusion. Edmund smiled and exined, ¡°It¡¯s not surprising that you were invited. Although you haven¡¯t established a top-tier family yet, the power you have in your hands has long been enough to qualify to get an invitation. So it¡¯s not truly a vition of the rules. ¡°But the people from the eight top families of DC probably won¡¯t resort to any extreme means to intervene. I¡¯m guessing that they¡¯re probably going to find a suitable family within California and support it in order to gain control over the state. The people from the eight top families will just need to control the family and tell them what to do. ¡°Therefore, I think that this time¡¯s Elite Business Exchange is precisely for this purpose. The family whom that family wants to support is most likely the Kingstons, who snatched the hosting rights from another family.¡± After all, Edmund was an experienced businessman who not only had broad horizons but also sharp judgment. So he quickly managed to find the crux to this. Through the information given by Edmund, Lucas silentlybed through the information in his mind. In the beginning, there was no feud between him and the Kingstons. But the Kingstons had instigated the Taylors of Orange County to abduct Karen and then make her do the live stream with the intention of destroying the reputations of Lucas and the Stardust Corporation. In order to bring back Karen, Lucas broke into the Kingston residence in San Francisco, killed two of the Kingstons¡¯ elite bodyguards, and crushed Marc¡¯s legs. Later, Marc jumped to his death. His father, Moses, hated Lucas for it, so he threatened Karen and tried to abduct Amelia in order to use her as a bargaining chip. But his n fell through, so Moses ended up shooting himself dead. Immediately afterward, the Smiths, one of the eight top families in DC, suddenly appeared. After Lucas had some conflict with Roy, a scion of the Smiths, because of Maddy, a person who imed to be Mrs. Smith¡¯s bodyguard suddenly appeared in front of Lucas and tried to kill him. But Lucas crippled his limbs in the end. But Lucas did find out from the bodyguard that Mrs. Smith was Marc¡¯s biological mother and Moses¡¯ former lover. Thus, the reason she sent someone to assassinate Lucas was to take revenge for her ex-husband and son. Afterward, Roy suddenly died, and Lucas subsequently received an invitation to the Elite Business Exchange. All these matters wouldn¡¯t mean anything alone. But after Lucas pieced everything together, it was obvious that there was an issue. The Kingstons and the Smiths!?A cold glint shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes! Edmund had been watching Lucas¡¯s expression. Seeing this, he asked, ¡°Lucas, what did you think of?¡± Lucas looked at him. ¡°Mr. Cole, do you know a person called Mrs.. Smith from DC?¡± Chapter 664 - Situation Analysis

Chapter 664: Situation Analysis

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Mrs. Smith?¡± Edmund murmured doubtfully. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. ¡°I remember. I¡¯ve heard of her before. She should be from the Smiths, one of the eight top families in DC. Why did you suddenly mention her?¡± Lucas said, ¡°Just two days ago, Wendy Smith arrived in San Francisco, and she¡¯s been staying with the Kingstons. This is enough to show that the Smiths and the Kingstons share an extraordinary rtionship. Besides, there are definitely a lot of other matters in between.¡± After thinking about it, he told Edmund about Wendy¡¯s actual rtionship with Moses and that Marc was their son. He also added that Wendy had sent someone to kill him to avenge Moses and Marc. Just as Eli, the assassin Wendy sent, had said, this matter should be very confidential. If the assassin didn¡¯t think that Lucas would definitely die, he wouldn¡¯t have told him about it. Lucas guessed that there must be very few people who knew about this matter. Even Lance, the helmsman of the Kingston family, might not necessarily know about it. Otherwise, when Lucas and his people went to the Kingston residence, the Kingstons could have suppressed him with the name of the Smiths. But they didn¡¯t do so. Thus, Lucas thought that Edmund probably wouldn¡¯t know this secret. ¡°What? Is there such a thing? Marc is the son of Moses Kingston and Wendy Smith? This¡­ is really surprising!¡± Indeed, after Edmund heard what Lucas said, shock appeared on his face. He had always known that the Kingstons had some dealings with the Huttons of DC. But he didn¡¯t expect the Kingstons to have an even closer rtionship with the Smiths of DC! Moreover, Edmund also thought that although Marc and Moses had bothmitted suicide, Wendy would definitely take revenge on Lucas, especially since she had already sent her subordinate to assassinate him. He knew that she definitely wouldn¡¯t just give up. The Kingstons already bore a grudge against Lucas, and now that the Smiths had joined in, it seemed that they were hosting this Elite Business Exchange to target Lucas. ¡°Lucas, you must be very careful! The Smiths are very powerful in DC, and Wendy Smith isn¡¯t a kindhearted person. They definitely wouldn¡¯t let you off! ¡°Furthermore, I suspect that the sudden death of Wendy¡¯s nephew was caused by Wendy herself! ¡°Because the most powerful assassin around her was no match for you, and you even crippled his limbs. So if she wants to continue killing you, she has to go back to the Smiths and ask them to send more powerful people to deal with you. But since the matter between her and Moses is a secret of hers, she won¡¯t reveal it herself. Hence, the best reason she can use to draw more of the Smiths¡¯ experts to deal with you is the death of her nephew Roy! ¡°Only then can she possibly use the power of the Smiths to deal with you while keeping her secret!¡± Indeed, Edmund was old and experienced. After hearing some key points from Lucas, he immediately deduced Wendy¡¯s n. Lucas was naturally very impressed by this. Edmund was truly experienced and wise! But this wasn¡¯t the end of Edmund¡¯s analysis. ¡°If I guess correctly, the Smiths will probably send a heavyweight figure to this Elite Business Exchange too, and this figure is very likely to be Roy¡¯s father, Vince Smith!¡± ¡°Vince Smith? What is this person like?¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t very worried and was merely just curious. There was a trace of reminiscence in Edmund¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never had any dealings with Vince. But he¡¯s indeed someone most people don¡¯t dare to offend. ¡°The current helmsman of the Smith family is Wendy¡¯s father. But because Wendy is a married woman, she naturally can¡¯t inherit his position and be the head of the Smiths. On the other hand, Vince¡¯s father is the brother of the current family head, so Vince has a very high status and holds great power in the family. He¡¯s considered a strong contender for the position of the next helmsman. ¡°The rule of the Smiths is that the mostpetent descendant will be the next helmsman. Vince is the most promising one. He holds great power and has numerous experts around him. I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s why Wendy wants to use Vince to deal with you. ¡°Moreover, the one who died this time is Vince¡¯s son, Roy. Given his character, he will definitelye to deal with it personally. I¡¯m almost one hundred percent sure that Vince will definitelye to San Francisco!¡± Lucas pondered. ¡°In that case, it seems that Vince should have arrived in San Francisco by now. But he hasn¡¯t made a move against me yet.¡± Edmund narrowed his eyes in thought. After a while, he said, ¡°Since Vince has arrived in San Francisco but hasn¡¯t taken action against you yet, it can only mean that he¡¯s still nning something more important. ¡°For example, the Elite Business Exchange!¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that he must want to support a powerful family at the Elite Business Exchange to help him gain control of California while also targeting you at the exchange!¡± Thus, all the conjectures he had made previously added up. The Smiths were the ones who wanted to take over all of California, and the Kingstons were most likely the ones receiving their support! ¡°Now, there¡¯s a feud between you and the Kingstons and the Smiths. It seems that the Elite Business Exchange tomorrow will be extremely dangerous for you!¡± Edmund looked at Lucas worriedly. Lucas sighed in his heart. He didn¡¯t want to confront the eight giants of DC so soon. But he hadn¡¯t expected things to escte to this point, where a confrontation between him and the Smiths was inevitable. So what if they were one of the top eight families in DC? Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of them at all. He would just take it as training before dealing with the Huttons. ¡°If the Smiths insist on dealing with me tomorrow, I¡¯ll show them what real danger is!¡± Lucas said with a menacing gaze as an unstoppable domineering aura instantly emerged from his body! Chapter 665 - Collision By The Road

Chapter 665: Collision By The Road

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Edmund looked at Lucas, who was like the sharpest de in the world that had just been unsheathed. He was emitting a murderous aura that made Edmund¡¯s heart skip a beat, even though he had already gotten used to witnessing countless deaths on the battlefield. Because Lucas had saved his life, Edmund respected him enough not to investigate his identity and background. He had just found out from his son, Clement, that Lucas had been abandoned by the Huttons. But a person like him who didn¡¯t enjoy the protection of his family actually had such a terrifying aura, making Edmund certain that Lucas was definitely not an ordinary person and that he had definitely been through countless unimaginable situations! ¡°Lucas, I don¡¯t care what your identity is. In any case, you¡¯ve gained my recognition, and you¡¯re my life savior. The Coles will forever value your friendship!¡± Edmund said firmly. ¡°Even if the Kingstons and the Smiths both want to deal with you, I will stand by your side and protect you even if I have to fight with everything the Coles have to offer!¡± Edmund was righteous and knew to repay kindness where it was due. Lucas was not only his life savior but also an approved friend of his, he would never watch Lucas get bullied by others. Although Lucas didn¡¯t fear the Kingstons and the Smiths, he was still touched to see how protective Edmund was of him. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Cole. However, neither the Smiths nor the Kingstons can do anything to me, so you can rest assured!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything more because everything he wanted to express was done so in these words. Soon, Lucas got up and bade goodbye to Edmund, who specially sent one of his butlers to walk Lucas to the parking lot outside the Coles¡¯ manor. But Lucas soon saw his terribly smashed and deformed Jaguar. His face immediately became gloomy, and soon, a figure surfaced in his mind. Nate Walker. When Lucas arrived at the Coles¡¯ manor and parked his car, Nate had suddenly called out to him and ordered him to move his Jaguar to make space for his car. Lucas didn¡¯t pay attention to him, so Nate must have been furious and thus smashed his car to give him a warning. When the Coles¡¯ butler saw the car, which was damaged beyond recognition, he immediately understood what had happened and inhaled sharply. Although he had been standing a distance away and didn¡¯t hear Edmund¡¯s conversation with Lucas earlier, he had clearly seen the heartened and joyful smile on Edmund¡¯s face. Now that Lucas hade to attend the Coles¡¯ party but ended up having his car smashed in their parking lot, it was¡­ a serious negligence of duty on the Coles¡¯ part. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m very sorry. This is negligence on our part. I¡¯ll have someone prepare another car for you. Once your car has been repaired, I¡¯ll have it sent back to Orange County for you,¡± said the butler in his fifties. Lucas checked the car slightly and shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± Although his car looked like an extremely ordinary Jaguar on the surface, the various internal parts had actually been modified and strengthened. The front windshield and hood might have been smashed, but it didn¡¯t affect the car¡¯s performance in the slightest. But even so, Lucas was still in a terrible mood. In particr, while he was driving his smashed car back to Orange County, he saw a Land Rover tailing him, and his mood worsened further. The tall Land Rover wasn¡¯t far behind Lucas¡¯s car, and it began getting closer and closer when they reached a less-popted area. Then at an intersection where Lucas had to turn, the Land Rover suddenly elerated violently. The engine roared loudly, and the Land Rover started speeding straight at Lucas¡¯s car. Lucas had already noticed the Land Rover, so how could he let it catch him off guard and hit him? Screech! At the most critical moment, Lucas turned the steering wheel with all his might and then mmed on the brake pedal. The tires of his Jaguar rubbed against the road with an ear-piercing screech, and the Jaguar drifted away, narrowly avoiding the Land Rover from crashing into him. The Land Rover couldn¡¯t brake in time and crashed into the concrete pir and guardrail by the roadside. An enormous dent formed in the hard front hood. ¡°Damn it. How are you so useless? You couldn¡¯t even hit his car. You really deserve to die!¡± At this moment, a young man was cursing incessantly as he got out of the backseat of the Land Rover with his hand on his head. Clearly, during the impact just now, the man in the backseat had identally hit his head against the seat in front of him. This young man was none other than Das, Nate¡¯s topckey, who had targeted Lucas at every turn at the Coles¡¯ party. He looked at Lucas with a sinister expression. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re really scheming!¡± Lucas suddenly found it hrious. ¡°You¡¯re the one who wanted to hit me with your car. I merely avoided you, yet you called me scheming. What does that make you, the person who tried to crash your car into mine? A vicious scumbag?¡± ¡°Damn it, punk, how dare you insult me?! Do you have a death wish?¡± Das flew into a rage and roared. With his roar, three burly men who looked like bodyguards got out of the Land Rover and lined up behind him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who has a death wish?¡± Lucas smiled and looked at the people in front of him as if he was looking at dead people. At Alexis¡¯s birthday party earlier, Das had repeatedly found trouble with Lucas. He eventually put himself to shame and even got chased out of the house by the furious Alexis. First, Nate had smashed Lucas¡¯s car. Then this idiot Das had followed him and tried to kill him with his car. These repeated provocations made Lucas feel an urge to kill Das. ¡°Hah, punk, you sure are used to pretending! There are only a few of us here, so save your breath. Do you think you can still fool me by iming that you¡¯re a scion of a powerful family? I¡¯ve already investigated that you¡¯re a penniless live-in husband sponging off your wife! What are you pretending for? ¡°I have three bodyguards with me, and I can obviously beat you into a pulp. You¡¯re already on the brink of death, yet you still dare to be so arrogant in front of me. I¡¯ll show you what I¡¯m made of!¡± Das said smugly. Das was the one who had requested to deal with Lucas. From Das¡¯s point of view, Lucas was just a swindler andpletely no match for his burly bodyguards. Although Lucas was tall, he felt that Lucas couldn¡¯t take a beating at all and that his bodyguards could easily kill Lucas. ¡°Have you finished spouting nonsense?¡± Lucas looked at Das coldly with a trace of impatience on his face. ¡°Hah.. Bastard, since you want to die so soon, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish now!¡± Dasughed hysterically and ordered the bodyguards, ¡°Go kill him!¡± Chapter 666 - Completely Spineless

Chapter 666: Completely Spineless

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With Das¡¯smand, the three bodyguards behind him immediately rushed toward Lucas. Das smirked smugly. Seeing how thin and weak Lucas looked, he assumed that hispetent bodyguards would be able to beat Lucas into a pulp in less than a minute. Suddenly, Das¡¯s phone in his pocket rang. He took it out and saw that it was Nate calling. Das hurriedly picked it up and said respectfully, ¡°Hey, Nate.¡± ¡°How¡¯s your business going? How¡¯s that kid now? Did you manage to catch him?¡± Dasughed out loud twice. ¡°Nate, you called at the right time. That punk is getting beaten up by my bodyguards right now, and he¡¯s going to die soon. Hear that? He¡¯s already screaming¡­¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Waahhh!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± There were three sessive screams of misery. While smugly reporting the situation to Nate, Das suddenly realized that something was wrong. These screams¡­ didn¡¯t seem to be from Lucas but his bodyguards¡­ Das raised his head and looked over. His eyes immediately widened in utter shock. The scene in front of him was a one-sided beating. However, the person being beaten up was not Lucas but his three bodyguards! Lucas was singlehandedly beating up these three strong and burly bodyguards, and they were utterly powerless to resist! In just a few moments, Das¡¯s bodyguards were thrown toward him like sandbags. They were vomiting blood, and the bones of their limbs were all distorted to the point that they couldn¡¯t even stand up. Das stared nkly at everything in front of him while Nate¡¯s voice was stilling from his phone. ¡°Seems like that punk is dead meat, huh? Das, get your people to hit him harder. You must beat the living daylights out of him and then drag him back so that I can finish him off personally! How dare he snatch my woman? He must be tired of living!¡± Nate¡¯s voice was full of excitement and a twisted mania. He, the scion of the Walkers, had beenpletely humiliated at Alexis¡¯s birthday party just now. Not only had he been rejected by Alexis on the spot, but he had also been defeated by Lucas, whom he saw as a penniless swindler. He would never tolerate this humiliation! In fact, two years ago, Nate had received instructions from his family to woo Alexis soon after she turned eighteen. Alexis was Clement¡¯s only daughter, and she would inherit all of the Coles¡¯ empire in the future. Regardless of who she married, her husband would also get to take over the businesses of the Coles. As the most favored scion of the Walkers, Nate thus became the first candidate his family considered. Nate naturally epted this task, which could be considered an enjoyable one, with great pleasure. The Coles were rich and powerful. As long as Nate married Alexis, he would be the future sessor and next head of his family. Besides, Alexis was gorgeous and young, so he didn¡¯t think he would lose out at all by marrying her. Unfortunately, despite his wonderful n, Nate failed to consider the fact that Alexis wasn¡¯t a tacky and gullible girl. Even though he had exhausted all his means, he couldn¡¯t get Alexis to notice him, let alone fall in love with him. After having been rejected by Alexis repeatedly, he decided to go all out and force himself on her. Once the deed was done, the Coles would have no choice but to marry her to him for the sake of covering up the scandal. Unfortunately, after Nate secretly drugged Alexis¡¯s drink and was about to seed in his n, an expert secretly protecting her foiled his n. Since then, Alexis absolutely abhorred Nate. Edmund flew into a rage because of this matter, and the Coles and the Walkers almost fell out and went to war. Afterward, the Walkers paid a tremendous price and even severely punished Nate by stripping him of his position and power as a core descendant. Since then, he had be an alienated figure in the family. At that time, if Nate¡¯s father, the sessor of the family, hadn¡¯t begged for mercy from the helmsman, Nate would have probably been kicked out of the family. Now, Nate had finally gotten his grandfather¡¯s permission to woo Alexis again. As long as he was sessful, the Walkers would value him again and make him a core member. He would also regain his status and power. But the confession he had meticulously prepared today was once again ruthlessly rejected by Alexis, while the damn Lucas became the person she admitted to liking. It made Nate hysterical with jealousy! Thus, he was bent on killing Lucas! After waiting for several seconds and not getting a response, Nate urged impatiently, ¡°Hey, what are you doing? Say something!¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Das stammered, unable to speak aplete word. Lucas was walking toward him one step at a time while exuding a terrifying aura. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you mute? Why are you stuttering? I¡¯m asking you how that punk Lucas Gray is now? Have your people beaten him half to death yet? Remember, don¡¯t kill him right away. Keep him at his veryst breath, and let me finish him off. Do you hear me?¡± Nate¡¯s voice continued toe out of the phone. Lucas suddenly took the phone from Das¡¯s hand and said with a smile, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. It seems that you can¡¯t achieve this goal anymore!¡± ¡°You¡­ Lucas Gray? Why are you the one speaking? Where¡¯s Das?¡± Nate immediately bellowed angrily. But he couldn¡¯t get any response because Lucas hung up right away. ¡°F*ck!¡± Nate cursed angrily. He tried calling Das again, but he could no longer reach him. ¡­ Meanwhile, Das watched as Lucas hung up on Nate and then threw his phone into a nearby puddle. He couldn¡¯t even say anything to stop him. As the scion of the Watson family of San Jose, who managed to get close to Nate, Das was used to throwing his weight around. But this was the first time he felt fear, which he hadn¡¯t experienced for a long time. Lucas had effortlessly defeated his three strong bodyguards and even crippled them. If Lucas acted against him, there was no way he¡¯d be able to escape! At this moment, Das was full of remorse. In order to kill Lucas, he had deliberately chosen this remote and deserted location in hopes that few people would pass by. But now, Das was the one in this terrifyingly dire situation where his efforts to call out for help were futile! ¡°Lu-Lucas, I¡¯m sorry! I was wrong! I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have targeted you and tried to harm you. This¡­ Nate Walker forced me! As long as you let me off, I¡¯ll give you two¡­ no, five million dors. How about that?¡± Das was no longer as arrogant as earlier. He knelt in front of Lucas and begged spinelessly.. Chapter 667 - Corpse In The Car

Chapter 667: Corpse In The Car

At this moment, Das was truly terrified of Lucas. He saw the obvious killing intent in Lucas¡¯s eyes. If Lucas wanted to kill him here, he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist at all. His heart full of contempt, Lucas stared coldly at Das, who was crying miserably and begging him without any concern for his image. ¡°If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first ce? It¡¯s toote to regret now.¡± After speaking indifferently, Lucas kicked Das in the throat. Das¡¯s cervical vertebrae snapped with a loud crack, and he immediately stopped breathing. Lucas wasn¡¯t being ruthless, but rather, he knew very well that Das didn¡¯t deserve to be spared. Even though Lucas hadn¡¯t provoked him in any way, Das had repeatedly provoked him and targeted him. He had even made his driver try to crash his car into Lucas¡¯s and instructed his bodyguards to beat Lucas into a pulp. Afterward, he would have sent him to Nate and let Nate kill him. Lucas was no saint, and he wouldn¡¯t spare the life of someone who repeatedly tried to kill him, let alone believe the nonsense about Das wanting to turn over a new leaf. If Lucas really spared him, the first thing Das would do after getting out of danger would probably be to gather the experts of his family and the Walkers to kill him. In that case, Lucas obviously wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to let him go home and then return to cause him trouble. After taking onest look at Das¡¯s corpse on the ground, Lucas returned to his car and drove toward Orange County without looking back. The three seriously injured bodyguards lying unconscious on the ground and the corpse whose eyes were staring at the sky were the only ones remaining to describe what had happened here. ¡ª¡ª In a vi of the Walker in San Francisco¡­ Nate¡¯s expression was extremely ugly. Just now, he had tried to call Das several times, but no one answered. After associating it with Das¡¯s bizarre silence and stammering, as well as Lucas¡¯s clear sentence, Nate had an ominous premonition. Generally speaking, Das, his shamelessckey, would never have the guts to ignore his calls. And logically speaking, his phone shouldn¡¯t have ended up with Lucas unless¡­ Something had happened to Das! The moment he thought of this possibility, Nate found it really hard to ept. He understood that Das was terrified of death. And since he was dealing with Lucas for him, he had definitely brought several bodyguards with him, which was exactly what Das had done. Now, the issue was, how could Lucas force Das to stay silent and even snatch away his phone under the protection of so many bodyguards? The only possibility was that¡­ Lucas managed to subdue all of Das¡¯s bodyguards in that short period of time! Nate thought that it should be impossible because the Watsons were a top-tier family in San Jose after all. The bodyguards they sent to protect Das, their direct descendant, had to be verypetent. How could Lucas defeat them so easily? He reckoned that there were some other variables. But he couldn¡¯t get through to Das¡¯s phone, so it was impossible to ask him about the situation! While Nate was feeling extremely irritated, his phone suddenly rang. He felt a surge of excitement in his heart, thinking that Das was finally calling. But he was soon disappointed because the phone number on the caller ID was one he didn¡¯t recognize. He wanted to decline the call. But for some reason, he suddenly felt that he shouldn¡¯t miss the call. So he subconsciously pressed the answer button. ¡°Hello, who is it?¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. Walker! Sorry for taking the liberty to call and disturb you. I¡¯m Das¡¯s father, Reynold Watson. May I ask if my son¡­ is okay now? Is he with you?¡± The voice of a middle-aged man came. His voice was obviously trembling, and he seemed extremely nervous. Nate frowned and snapped in displeasure, ¡°I don¡¯t know where he is now. I can¡¯t get through to him either. Besides, why are you calling me to look for your son? I¡¯m not his father!¡± ¡°Mr. Walker¡­ Here¡¯s the thing, I¡­ I just received a phone call from a stranger who¡­ who told me that Das failed toplete the task you gave him, so¡­ so you got someone to kill him. Is that true?¡± Reynold¡¯s voice trembled more and more, and it was even full of suppressed anger and panic. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Nate was astonished. He sprung up from the couch and roared angrily, ¡°What did you say? Das has always been with me. How could I send someone to kill him? Who the hell told you that?¡± Hearing that Nate had lost his temper, Reynold hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Walker, I¡­ I just got flustered and muddled because I haven¡¯t been able to contact my son, and I even received that phone call just now. That¡¯s why I panicked and called you to confirm the truth¡­ I-I never intended to offend or use you! ¡°As for that phone call, it was an anonymous number. When I called back, I was told it was an unregistered number. There¡¯s no way for me to find out who the caller was. If you have any news about my son, please inform me. Thank you very much!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll let you know if I have any news about him.¡± Nate hung up the phone ruthlessly. But he was increasingly certain that something was amiss. Initially, he was concerned about what had happened between Lucas and Das. But he didn¡¯t believe that Lucas could defeat Das¡¯s bodyguards and snatch Das¡¯s phone. But now that Reynold said someone had informed him that Das was killed by Nate, the matter seemed even fishier. Of course, Nate knew very well that he didn¡¯t get anyone to kill Das, but he wondered how Das was doing now. Is he safe and sound, or has he really died, just as that stranger said on the phone? At this moment, Nate¡¯s personal assistant suddenly rushed in in a hurry. Without even knocking on the door, he reported with panic written all over his face, ¡°Bad news, Mr. Walker! The chauffeur just found¡­ a corpse in the trunk of your car!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Nate didn¡¯t have time to bother with the assistant rudely barging because he was instantly stunned by the bbergasting news. He strode forward and grabbed the assistant¡¯s cor. ¡°Whose corpse is it?! Tell me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Das Watson¡¯s corpse!¡± Chapter 668 - Destroying the Corpse and Wiping Out the Traces

Chapter 668: Destroying the Corpse and Wiping Out the Traces

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Nate was thunderstruck, and his mind was exploding because of this news. Only after several seconds did he return to his senses and bellow angrily, ¡°Where is it? Where are the car and the corpse now?¡± ¡°Outside in the garage!¡± After the assistant finished stammering this, Nate pushed him away and rushed toward the garage outside the vi as quickly as he could. There was a fiery red Maserati parked right at the door of the luxurious and spacious garage. It was thetest Maserati model. It was incredibly cool and stylish, so Nate had been driving it aroundtely. Several panic-stricken servants were standing nervously beside the Maserati with cloths and tools in their hands. They had obviously been preparing to wash Nate¡¯s car when they suddenly discovered the corpse in the trunk. ¡°Get out of my way!¡± Nate hollered. The servants, already terrified by the sight of the corpse, immediately scattered and vanished out of sight. Nate walked toward his Maserati, looked into the trunk, and immediately recognized the man stuffed inside to be his loyal follower Das. At this moment, Das¡¯s eyes, which had long lost their luster, were fixed on Nate. Coupled with his ashen face, he looked extremely terrifying. A sudden chill surged from the bottom of Nate¡¯s feet. He took several steps back, his heart pounding wildly. This man, who had been alive and kicking an hour ago, had turned into a corpse that seemed to have died with indignation in just the blink of an eye. It utterly frightened Nate. It was definitely the closest he had been to death! Das¡­ was actually dead! His corpse was even stuffed into the trunk of his car! Who¡­ who did it??Nate¡¯s mind was a mess, but Lucas¡¯s face was the first to pop into his mind. Could Lucas Gray have really dared to kill Das? ¡°Mr. Walker, what should we do now? Should¡­ we inform the Watsons?¡± The assistant who came to report the news to Nate just now asked with great caution. As Nate¡¯s personal assistant, he was naturally very clear about the rtionship between Das and Nate. Although to them, Das was just Nate¡¯sckey, they had to admit that Das¡¯s status wasn¡¯t low. The Watsons were a top-tier family in San Jose, and Das¡¯s father, Reynold, was the current helmsman of the Watson family. Since Das was his only son, he would definitely have be the next helmsman. Although the Watsons were almost attached to the Walkers, the Watson had been developing well in recent years thanks to the power of the Walkers. Thus, they were no longer as subservient to the Walkers as before. In particr, the Watsons and the Kingstons, another top family in San Francisco, had gotten acquainted some time ago. The Watsons had even given the hosting rights of the Elite Business Exchange to the Kingstons. Therefore, the Walkers¡¯ control over the Watsons was no longer as secure as before. If Reynold found out that his son had died and the corpse was in Nate¡¯s car, he would have a hard time exining. Nate was not aplete fool. He frowned and pondered for a long time before suddenly saying, ¡°Immediately drive to the woods in the south of San Francisco and burn Das¡¯s corpse! Remember to do it without anyone noticing and leaving any traces behind. Do you hear me? ¡°As for this car, I never want to see it again. Destroy it somewhere. Push it off a cliff or drive it into the river, just get rid of it for me. Got it?¡± Although he had spent a hefty amount to buy his beloved Maserati not long ago, Das¡¯s corpse was in the trunk after all, and Nate definitely wouldn¡¯t touch it again. Besides, who knew what traces were left in the car? While giving instructions to his assistant coldly, Nate stared straight into his eyes and warned, ¡°You must keep your lips sealed about this. No one is to breathe a word about this! If I find out that someone has heard about it, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± The assistantined inwardly,?This is definitely a thankless task. In case anything goes wrong, I¡¯ll probably be the first person held ountable. But as Nate¡¯s personal assistant, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and ept the task. ¡°Yes, Mr. Walker. I won¡¯t spout any nonsense about this. I will definitelyplete the task!¡± ¡°Go. Remember, the faster you settle it, the better. Make sure not to leave any traces!¡± Nate instructed again. Only after watching the assistant close the trunk and drive the Maserati away warily did Nate turn around sullenly. In fact, he should have told the Watsons about Das¡¯ death and all of his conjectures about Lucas. But they were just his spections. Without any evidence to prove that Das had died at the hands of Lucas, Nate would instead arouse the suspicion of the Watsons because Das¡¯s corpse appeared in the trunk of his car. After all, Lucas was just the live-in son-inw of a run-down family in Orange County, so no one would believe that he had the ability and the guts to kill the future sessor of the Watsons. Besides, with the mysterious stranger¡¯s anonymous phone call to Reynold, he reckoned that Reynold would definitely think that he had killed Das and then framed Lucas for it. After all, almost all the guests of Alexis¡¯s birthday party were aware that Nate and Lucas had gotten into a conflict at the party. So after thinking about it, Nate decided not to let the Watsons know that he had found Das¡¯s corpse in the trunk of his car. The best solution at hand was to first destroy the corpse and let everyone think that Das was missing. This way, no one would suspect him. As for Lucas, the likely culprit, it wouldn¡¯t be toote to deal with himter! ¡ª¡ª The Watsons¡¯ home in San Jose¡­ Reynold Watson, the head of the Watson family, was sitting in his study uneasily. Although the secretary next to him was still reporting to him the information regarding the preparation for the Elite Business Exchange taking ce tomorrow, Reynold didn¡¯t process anything he said. Just a short while ago, he had received a call out of the blue, saying that his son had died at the hands of Nate Walker. Since then, Reynold¡¯s heart had been in his throat. Afterward, he had made numerous calls to Das, but they all went unanswered. He had even called Nate, but thetter had denied it outright. He was now at a loss for what to do. Most importantly, he had to find his son as soon as possible to determine if he had gotten into a mishap. ¡°Okay, stop talking to me about the exchange. I¡¯m not in the mood to listen to it now. Has there been any news from the people sent out? Has Das been found?¡± Reynold unceremoniously interrupted the secretary¡¯s report and asked about the matter that concerned him the most. ¡°Uh, not yet¡­¡± As soon as the secretary answered, Reynold¡¯s phone on the table suddenly started ringing. But it was actually a text message. ¡°Nate Walker¡¯s people are preparing to burn Das¡¯s corpse in the woods 30 kilometers southeast of San Francisco. It¡¯ll be toote if you don¡¯t head there right now.¡± Reynold¡¯s pupils suddenly shook. ¡°What? Burning my son¡¯s corpse? Are they nning to destroy his corpse and wipe out the traces?!¡± Reynold suddenly sprung up and punched the table.. Chapter 669 - Intercepting the Corpse

Chapter 669: Intercepting the Corpse

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This sudden message was like a shocking thunderbolt striking the top of Reynold¡¯s head. A chill ran down his spine all the way to his feet, making him feel as though he had plunged into an ice cer. ¡°No, this is impossible. My son is definitely not dead. This¡­ text is definitely some made-up nonsense!¡± Reynold shook his head profusely, inplete disbelief of this bad news. However, at this moment, his phone received another message. But this time, it was a short video only about ten seconds long. Reynold pushed on the y button with trembling fingers. ¡°Immediately drive to the woods in the southeast of San Francisco and burn Das¡¯s corpse! Remember to do it without anyone noticing and leaving any traces behind. Do you hear me? ¡°As for this car, I never want to see it again. Destroy it somewhere. Push it off a cliff or drive it into the river, just get rid of it for me. Got it?¡± Nate¡¯s familiar yet cold voice sounded when the video yed. The person in the video was clearly Nate. Reynold had seen him countless times and would never mistake him for someone else, so it was impossible for someone to pretend to be Nate and doctor the video. Thetest red Maserati sports car beside him and the license te number on it were extremely familiar to Reynold. The corpse in the open trunk of this Maserati was revealed. Although the resolution of the video was low, Reynold could tell at a nce that the corpse in the trunk of Nate¡¯s Maserati was none other than his precious son, Das! ¡°Das!¡± the grief-stricken Reynold howled furiously while gripping his phone tightly as tears gushed out of his eyes. He actually had two sons. But when his eldest son was only five years old, he had identally fallen down the stairs and hit his head due to the negligence of the servants. As a result, his eldest son had died on the spot. Later, Reynold became infertile because of an ident. Therefore, Reynold doted on his only son, Das, greatly. He cherished him so much that he spoiled him as much as possible. Later, the Walkers and the Watsons became rather close, so Reynold simply asked Das to befriend Nate. In Reynold¡¯s opinion, Nate had an extremely high status in California, and no one in the state would dare to offend him. He thought that if his son became close to Nate, no one would be so ignorant as to bully Das. But Reynold never thought that his precious son would suddenly die, and his corpse was even in Nate¡¯s car! After receiving the text message, Reynold didn¡¯t believe that Nate had murdered Das. But he had now seen his son¡¯s corpse in the video with his own eyes and heard with his own ears Nate instructing his subordinates to destroy his son¡¯s corpse! If Nate didn¡¯t murder Das, why didn¡¯t he tell Reynold? There was no reason for him to hide it from him and even order his men to get rid of Das¡¯s corpse quietly without leaving any traces. ¡°Gather all the people still in the Watson residence right away. Come with me to the woods near San Francisco immediately!¡± San Jose was southeast of San Francisco, and the woods were between the two cities. Because it was remote and left undeveloped, the grass and trees had all overgrown, making it a good ce for hiding the evidence of crimes and destroying corpses. Since Reynold had already found out about it, there was no way he could just watch them burn his son¡¯s corpse without an exnation and destroy the evidence for him to avenge his son. Reynold gritted his teeth and roared furiously, ¡°No matter what, we must rush ahead of the Walkers and bring Das¡¯s corpse back!¡± The secretary, who had heard the whole thing at the side, was already drenched in cold sweat. ¡°Yes! Mr. Watson, I¡¯ll get to it immediately!¡± Fifteen minutester, the Watsons¡¯ convoy sped all the way and overtook numerous cars to arrive in the woods. They pulled over at a mountain road junction that automobiles inevitably had to pass. San Jose was geographically closer to the woods, and since the Walkers wereing from San Francisco, they had to go around a steep mountain. Thus, Reynold was confident of catching up with the Walkers before they arrived here. Just as he expected, after waiting for around six minutes, a pair of headlights appeared, and a bright red Maserati drove over at a moderate speed. As soon as Reynold saw the striking color of the car, a terrifyingly cold glint of hatred appeared in his eyes. The corpse of his son, Das, was lying in the trunk of this car! Nate¡¯s assistant, driving the Maserati, was already covered in goosebumps because he had to drive in the middle of the night with a corpse in the trunk. As soon as the car turned into the mountain road leading to the woods, it was suddenly blocked by several ck Mercedes-Benz on the narrow mountain road, making it impossible for him to pass. The assistant panicked a little. But at the thought that he was Nate¡¯s valued assistant, he felt a great sense of pride again. There were very few people in California who dared not to respect the Walkers. Nate¡¯s assistant mmed on the brakes and honked several times. But the convoy in front of him didn¡¯t move an inch. Not only did they not make way for him, but a few burly men even walked out. The assistant rolled down the window and yelled, ¡°Get out of the way! Didn¡¯t you hear me honking? I work for the Walkers of San Francisco, and I¡¯m Nate Walker¡¯s assistant. If you don¡¯t hurry up and get out of the way, you¡¯ll be making an enemy of the Walkers. Can you afford to bear the consequences?¡± After working for Nate for a long time, the assistant had gotten used to bossing others around and being all arrogant. ¡°Hah, get out the way, my foot! You¡¯re just a dog of the Walkers. How dare you throw your weight around in front of me!?¡± Reynold¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he hollered lividly, ¡°Go kill him!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Walker!¡± Six tall and strong bodyguards in ck suits came out from behind Reynold and rushed straight toward the red Maserati. Only then did Nate¡¯s assistant realize that things were amiss. Flustered, he wanted to roll up the windows and turn around to flee, but how could he have the time to do so? Before he could start the car, a toned and muscr arm reached into the car through the window to grab his neck and pulled him out of the Maserati.. Chapter 670 - Dog Eat Dog

Chapter 670: Dog Eat Dog

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Help! Who¡­ who the hell are you? I¡¯m the assistant of Nate Walker. If you dare toy a finger on me, the Walkers won¡¯t spare you!¡± After being dragged out of the car, the assistant was still issuing a threat while struggling. Eyes full of hatred, Reynold slowly walked up to the assistant. ¡°Won¡¯t spare me? Let me ask you. Where is my son, Das Watson?!¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re the helmsman of the Watsons?!¡± Nate¡¯s assistant¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at Reynold in disbelief. After hearing that Reynold was looking for Das, he instantly froze in ce, and his body turned mmy all over. Oh my god! The Watsons already found out about Das¡¯s death! ¡°Kill him!¡± Reynoldmanded coldly. Before the assistant could even react, the hand gripping his neck tightened and twisted. With a loud crack, Reynold¡¯s bodyguard broke the assistant¡¯s neck. The assistant instantly died. His body turned limp and fell to the ground with a thud. Reynold took a deep breath, stood next to the trunk of the Maserati, and opened it with shaky fingers. A curled up corpse whose eyes were still wide open and staring out of the trunk appeared in front of Reynold. His son had died clearly with indignation. ¡°Son¡­¡± Reynold looked at the corpse of his beloved son and could no longer hold back from crying as tears fell on the cold and stiff corpse. At this moment, he was no longer the powerful helmsman who controlled the entire Watson family but a father who had lost his only son. The bodyguards standing beside Reynold also had a drastic change in expression. Only at this moment did they finally understand why the helmsman had suddenly summoned them and rushed to this deserted woods. They also understood why he had mercilessly instructed them to kill Nate¡¯s assistant. It turned out that the only scion of the Watson family had already died, and his corpse had been stuffed into the trunk of the car of the Walkers¡¯ scion! The bodyguards didn¡¯t dare to think or even ask about the exact situation. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, it was alreadyte at night. In the Walkers¡¯ vi¡­ Nate was in his bedroom, but he wasn¡¯t the least bit sleepy. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to sleep, and he was even incredibly vexed and frustrated. It was almost midnight, but the assistant he had sent to get rid of Das¡¯s corpse had yet to return with good news. It had been more than two hours since he left for the woods. No matter what, a long time had passed, so he should have finished. Could something have happened to this kid along the way? Or did he flee? Or did he get greedy and secretly sell my new Maserati before absconding with the money? While Nate was thinking about all sorts of possibilities, his mood worsened. Finally, after midnight passed, he couldn¡¯t wait any longer. He took out his phone and called his assistant. But to his anger, no one answered. Refusing to give up, Nate made several calls, but no one answered. Damn it! What the hell is going on? Where is this bastard now? Could he have really run away? Nate was exasperated. He picked up themp on the bedside table and smashed it on the floor. But no matter how furious and loud Nate was, his assistant was already dead and would never answer his phone call again. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, in the woods, Reynold wept in front of Das for a long time before bringing his corpse back home. He instructed his servants to store Das¡¯s corpse in a cold storage room in the Watson residence to freeze it. Reynold didn¡¯t disclose the news of Das¡¯s death to the rest of the Watsons, and he even ordered his secretary and bodyguards who had witnessed the incident today to keep their lips sealed. If anyone present today dared to breathe a word about what had happened, they would definitely be killed! It wasn¡¯t that Reynold didn¡¯t want to avenge his son, but rather, the Watsons¡¯ status and power were far lower than the Walkers¡¯. If the matter blew out of proportion now, he couldn¡¯t count on the Walkers to hand Nate over to pay for his son¡¯s life. They probably wouldn¡¯t even punish Nate! After all, in the Walkers¡¯ opinion, they had helped the Watsons get everything they owned today, so the Watsons should be loyal to the Walkers. They felt that they could demand anything from the Watsons, but the Watsons couldn¡¯t ask them for justice. Reynold was clenching his jaw so hard that his gums were almost bleeding. But at this moment, he had to force himself to bear with it regardless of how angry and full of hate he was. Reynold could only wait for the right opportunity to deal with the Walkers and make Nate pay for the death of his son. In Reynold¡¯s mind, the scale was gradually tipping toward the Kingstons. Like the Walkers, the Kingstons were one of the top three families in San Francisco and an even match for them. Just a short while ago, the Watsons had transferred the hosting rights of the Elite Business Exchange to the Kingstons, thus forming a close connection with them. Lance, the helmsman of the Kingstons, had informed Reynold that the Kingstons would be making a great move at the uing Elite Business Exchange. If nothing unexpected happened, the Kingstons would be the new overlord of California. Once the Kingstons dominated California, the Watsons, as their allies, would also gain tremendous benefits. At that time, the Wastons wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Walkers and could even trample on them. When the time came, Reynold decided that he had to tie the murderer Nate to his son¡¯s corpse and then use his blood as a sacrifice to his son, who had been killed unjustifiably! Reynold¡¯s eyes shed with hatred. Finally, he gave his son¡¯s corpse in the cold storage room onest look before leaving with gritted teeth. ¡ª¡ª At this moment, Lucas had already returned to his vi in Orange County. After he washed up andy in bed, his phone suddenly vibrated with a text message. ¡°Everything has been settled ording to n.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t seem surprised. He calmly put his phone down and gently held Cheyenne, who was already asleep, in his arms. Neither Nate nor Reynold knew that Lucas was the culprit behind everything that had happened tonight. Since Nate and Das wanted to kill him, he decided to turn them against each other. They had brought it upon themselves.. Chapter 671 - Venue of the Exchange

Chapter 671: Venue of the Exchange

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lucas and Cheyenne headed downstairs after getting up the next morning, they discovered that Charlotte had already left in a hurry. After breakfast, Lucas asked, ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯m going to San Francisco today to attend the Elite Business Exchange. If you¡¯re free today, do you want toe with me?¡± Cheyenne thought about it but eventually declined. ¡°No, I¡¯ll give it a pass. I heard that the Elite Business Exchange will be held until veryte. Charlotte is especially busy these days, and Dad is still hospitalized. If I go with you, there won¡¯t be anyone to look after Amelia when shees home from school. I¡¯ll just stay home and wait for you toe back to tell me about the exchange.¡± She smiled warmly. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell you about it when Ie back.¡± Lucas smiled gently and kissed the adorable and delicate Amelia beside him before walking out of the vi. Lucas¡¯s Jaguar had been smashed by Natest night and couldn¡¯t be repaired within a short time. He originally intended to drive another car in the garage to San Francisco, but he discovered that two of the Hales¡¯ cars were already parked outside the gate. Bruce and his grandson Connor were standing beside a low-profile ck Porsche, waiting for Lucas. Lucas immediately walked straight toward them and got inside the Hales¡¯ car. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m afraid this Elite Business Exchange will be extremely unfavorable to you. Do you really still want to go?¡± Bruce Hale asked worriedly. He had already mentioned this issue about the Elite Business Exchange before. This time, the Elite Business Exchange was suddenly brought forward by a month, and the hosting rights were even given to the Kingstons, who had a feud with Lucas. Regardless of how he looked at it, the exchange seemed unfavorable to Lucas. Lucas smiled. ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Bruce shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m already old, and I¡¯ve seen enough of the world, so I¡¯m brave enough. But I¡¯m worried about you. After all, the Kingstons are joining forces with the Smiths, one of the eight most powerful families in DC. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be easy to deal with them!¡± Just now, Lucas had already told Bruce about the conjectures he and Edmund had made yesterday. Since Lucas and the Hales were now no longer in an ordinary rtionship, he wouldn¡¯t hide this important information from the Hales. Therefore, Bruce became even more worried than before. But Connor, sitting in the passenger seat, wasn¡¯t as worried as his grandfather after he saw how calm and confident Lucas was in the rearview mirror. ¡°Grandpa, Mr. Gray isn¡¯t an ordinary person. Even if the Kingstons and the Smiths join forces, I¡¯m afraid that they won¡¯t be a match for Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray will never do anything that he¡¯s not sure about, so what¡¯s the point of worrying about these unnecessary things, Grandpa?¡± After witnessing Lucas¡¯s ability numerous times, Connor had already developed iparable trust in Lucas. He knew that he wasn¡¯t the type who would put on a brave front and fight recklessly. If he seemed confident without showing the slightest trace of panic, then he truly had the absolute strength to obtain victory. Hearing his grandson¡¯s words, Bruce was stunned for a moment before shaking his head andughing. ¡°Look at me. I¡¯m really getting old. Connor is right. With Lucas¡¯s strength, there is no need for me to worry at all even if the other party is the powerful Smith family!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Smiths can¡¯t do anything to me. Not to mention the Smiths, even in the entire country, there¡¯s probably no one who can defeat me!¡± Lucas¡¯s words were full of a domineering aura that carried condescension for the world. If someone else said this, they would definitelye off as hopelessly arrogant. But the amazing thing was that there seemed to be nothing wrong with this sentence when Lucas said it. Instead, it made others feel heartfelt admiration. For example, Bruce and Connor were both full of endless confidence in Lucas and had a strong motivation to fight, their previous worries gone without a trace. Due to the uing Elite Business Exchange, there were a lot of vehicles from various cities gathered in San Francisco, causing huge traffic jams. When they arrived in San Francisco, the city was much livelier than usual, with countless vehicles and pedestrians everywhere. When they arrived at the Walton Hotel in San Francisco, the official venue of the Elite Business Exchange, the traffic outside was even more congested. ¡°Because the Elite Business Exchange is held only once every three years, and the invitees are all the top-tier families and forces in various cities in California, many uninvited second and third-tier families aren¡¯t willing to let go of this opportunity to exchange. So there will also be another business exchange with lower entry requirements, specially open to those second and third-tier families.¡± Knowing that it was Lucas¡¯s first time attending the Elite Business Exchange, Bruce took the initiative to exin to him. ¡°The second business exchange is being held in the stadium opposite Walton Hotel, so there¡¯s a huge flow of human traffic here.¡± Lucas nodded. Bruce added, ¡°When we arrive at the Walton Hotel in a bit, we¡¯ll be able to enter directly as long as we show our invitation cards. There are all sorts of services inside, so we basically don¡¯t have to go out. ¡°Also, some small gatherings and sales events will be held in the exhibition hall on the top floor of the Walton Hotel. People with fine items they¡¯d like to sell and people who want to purchase antiques, luxurious houses and cars, manor and real estate, and so on may go there to take a look. ¡°Of course, correspondingly, the ordinary business exchange has this segment too. There are countless vendors with all kinds of things to sell. There¡¯s plenty of good stuff, but it¡¯s alsomon for people to spend a lot of money on counterfeits. ¡°But all of this depends on the judgment of each individual. Lucas, do you want to browse the stalls outside or go to the hotel to get some rest? After all, the Elite Business Exchange won¡¯t officially start until seven in the evening. Until then, you have ample time to do what you want.¡± Bruce informed Lucas of all the details and other things he knew about the Elite Business Exchange. Lucas wasn¡¯t very interested in resting in the hotel. Instead, he was somewhat interested in visiting the markets affiliated with these exchanges. ¡°I¡¯ll just walk outside and show up at the exchange when it¡¯s almost time. You don¡¯t have to worry about me. Go ahead and do your own thing,¡± Lucas said with a faint smile. He knew that the Hales, with their current status, definitely had to do all kinds ofworking, especially since they were at a grand event like the Elite Business Exchange. So he sent Bruce and Connor off and got out of the car to stroll leisurely outside the hotel. Before he could take a few steps, Lucas suddenly heard a voice of surpriseing from behind him. ¡°Lucas? You¡¯re here too! What a coincidence!¡± Lena appeared in front of Lucas with a bright smile.. Chapter 672 - Accompany Me To Shop

Chapter 672: Apany Me To Shop

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing Lena, Lucas raised his brows in surprise. ¡°Are you also here for the Elite Business Exchange?¡± Lena nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, the Elite Business Exchange is only held once every three years, so it¡¯s a rare opportunity for me toe. During thest exchange, I was still abroad and couldn¡¯te back. This time, I decided I had to witness its splendor. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to wait another three years.¡± While she spoke, another familiar figure appeared in front of Lucas and greeted him, ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re here to attend the Elite Business Exchange too. That¡¯s wonderful!¡± This person was none other than Ethan Sawyer, who hadn¡¯t shown up in front of Lucas for a long time. Beside him was a young woman of about 23 years old who somewhat resembled Lena. She was a few years younger than Lena and still had some baby fat on her face. But she was currently frowning petntly, seemingly in a bad mood. Lucas reckoned that she was Lena¡¯s younger sister, whom he hadn¡¯t met before. Lucas nced at Ethan but didn¡¯t respond to his words. Instead, he nodded with an indifferent expression. When Karen¡¯s matter was getting out of hand, and the reputations of Lucas and the Stardust Corporation were thoroughly tarnished, Lucas had gone to the Kingstons in San Francisco to get Karen back. At the time, the Parkers, the Hales, and Joe of Little Antis City had all rushed to the Kingston residence unanimously and stood firmly on Lucas¡¯s side despite the risk of bing enemies with the Kingstons. On the other hand, Ethan never once showed up or even gave Lucas a phone call. Only after there was a twist in events in the matter between Karen and Lucas and aplete turnaround for Lucas and the Stardust Corporation did Ethan call him to show him concern, as if he had just learned about the matter. This incident alone was enough to clearly show everyone¡¯s true colors. Lucas was already disappointed in Ethan. So now that they met again, although Lucas didn¡¯t face him with a hostile attitude on Lena¡¯s ount, it was impossible for them to return to the way they used to be. Noticing Lucas¡¯s indifference toward him, Ethan knew what was going on and couldn¡¯t help looking a little ashamed. But as an experienced businessman who managed to be the wealthiest man in Orange County, he was naturally very thick-skinned. He turned around and said to the youngdy beside him, ¡°Yvette, this is Mr. Lucas Gray, whom I¡¯ve mentioned to you many times. Hurry up and greet him.¡± The youngdy nced at Lucas and said in a withdrawn manner that made it seem as if she was justpleting a task, ¡°Hello, Mr. Gray. I am Yvette Sawyer. Nice to meet you.¡± Lucas was somewhat amused because she was clearly being forced by her father to introduce herself to a stranger. ¡°Hello.¡± He returned the greeting with a faint smile. Lenaughed. ¡°She¡¯s my sister, and she just returned from abroad recently. She doesn¡¯t know many people yet! By the way, Lucas, are you going to the Walton Hotel now?¡± Lucas shook his head and looked across the wide road at the lively stalls in front of the stadium. ¡°No, I¡¯m nning to stroll around and browse the stalls outside for a while before going inter.¡± Lena immediately smiled radiantly and said with surprise, ¡°Wow, what a coincidence! I¡¯m also nning to look at the stalls. We can go together!¡± Before Lucas could say anything, Ethan said smilingly, ¡°That¡¯s really a coincidence. Lena, how about you stroll around with Mr. Gray. If you see anything you like, go ahead and buy it. I¡¯ll take your sister inside. I happen to have some old friends I¡¯d like to meet.¡± After saying goodbye to Lucas, Ethan took Yvette into the Walton Hotel. Now, only Lucas and Lena were standing here. Lena looked behind Lucas and asked curiously, ¡°Lucas, are you here alone today? Didn¡¯t Cheyennee with you?¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s busy and has to pick up Amelia from school in the evening, so she didn¡¯te,¡± Lucas answered. ¡°I see.¡± Lena wanted to pretend to find it a shame, but she couldn¡¯t help sounding somewhat d as she beamed with joy. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go over there together. I heard that there¡¯s some good stuff for sale in the markets every year!¡± Lena said happily while suddenly reaching out to hold Lucas¡¯s arm. Lucas was surprised and immediately wanted to retract his arm. Cheyenne was the only woman he had ever had such intimate interactions with. ¡°Hey, Lucas, I¡¯m not taking advantage of you. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m in heels today, and I can barely keep my bnce while walking. Just do me a favor and lend me your arm for a while, okay?¡± Lena lifted her head and looked at Lucas with a yful expression on her face. She was indeed walking shakily in a pair of stilettos with thin, ten-centimeter long heels. Since Lena had already asked him to do her a favor, Lucas couldn¡¯t just push her aside. ¡°Since your shoes are making walking inconvenient for you, I think you¡¯d better go to the hotel to rest,¡± Lucas said somewhat helplessly. ¡°No, what¡¯s the point of staying in the hotel? My dad will surely take me to meet his business partners again. In addition to socializing, I have to maintain adylike smile the whole time. My face is going to be stiff. I don¡¯t want to go!¡± Lena pouted andined coquettishly, then she suddenly smiled. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go over there and see what good things there are!¡± She excitedly held onto Lucas¡¯s arm tightly and took the lead to walk toward the stalls across the road. Lucas naturally had to follow Lena, allowing her to rest a small part of her weight on him as she walked across the street toward the entrance of the stadium. Just across the road, Lucas bumped into another familiar face. It was none other than Alexis¡¯s father, Clement Cole. Yesterday at the Coles¡¯, Lucas got into a conflict with Clement twice. The first time, Clement had taken the initiative to call Lucas to his study and warned him to stay away from his daughter, Alexis, and his father, Edmund. He had even offered Lucas three million dors to repay Lucas for his kindness to Edmund. But Lucas had left without paying attention to him. The second time, Clement ran to Edmund¡¯s garden andined to Edmund about Lucas in an attempt to get Edmund to drive Lucas away from the Colespletely. But Clement ended up getting reprimanded by Edmund and left in exasperation. Both times, Clement failed to get rid of Lucas and even suffered losses. So he was full of displeasure when he saw Lucas. ¡°Hey, I was wondering who you were. Aren¡¯t you Lucas Gray, the man who stole the limelight at my daughter¡¯s party yesterday? You¡¯re really despicable. You seduced my daughter, and now, you¡¯re behaving intimately with another woman. You¡¯re a scumbag indeed!¡± Clementshed out hostilely without hiding his disgust and abhorrence for Lucas at all.. Chapter 673 - Charlotte Gets The Wrong Idea

Chapter 673: Charlotte Gets The Wrong Idea

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°¡­¡± Lucas was speechless. He had already told Clement that he treated Alexis as a sister and merely acted as her shield at her party yesterday. Yet Clement made him out to be a viin who seduced his daughter with ill intentions. Now, Clement had gotten the wrong idea about him and Lena too. ¡°Mr. Cole, you¡¯ve misunderstood,¡± Lucas said with a frown. ¡°Hah, whether I¡¯ve misunderstood or not doesn¡¯t change the fact that you¡¯re a scumbag! I¡¯m warning you. You¡¯d better stay away from my daughter in the future. Otherwise, I definitely won¡¯t let you off!¡± Clement glowered at Lucas and then left arrogantly with his bodyguards. Lucas felt helpless. There was no way to usemon sense to reason with Clement. Moreover, he was way too prejudiced against Lucas, so they couldn¡¯tmunicate properly at all. Holding onto Lucas¡¯s arm, Lena said with an apologetic expression, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lucas. It seems I¡¯ve caused you to be misunderstood!¡± ¡°Lucas?! You¡­ you guys¡­¡± Suddenly, another extremely familiar figure appeared in front of Lucas and Lena. She was staring at them in shock, especially at the way Lena was holding onto Lucas¡¯s arm. Lucas immediately retracted his arm from Lena¡¯s grip almost with a whoosh. He looked a little awkward and felt slightly panicked. The person standing in front of them was none other than Charlotte. ¡°Charlotte, why are you here in San Francisco too? Howe I didn¡¯t hear you mention it before?¡± Lucas frantically asked, somehow feeling guilty. Charlotte looked at Lucas with disappointment and aplicated gaze in her eyes. ¡°Lucas, if I hadn¡¯te, I wouldn¡¯t have seen what you were doing. How can you do this to Cheyenne?¡± She stared closely at Lucas, her eyes full of emotions like disappointment, resentment, anger, and so on. After finally clearing the misunderstanding she had about Lucas at the beginning, her impression of Lucas had been getting better and better. In her opinion, he was strong, tall, handsome, domineering yet gentle, and extremely nice to her, Cheyenne, and her family. So Charlotte had always felt that Cheyenne was very lucky to have married Lucas. But she never thought that she would witness her brother-inw linking arms with another woman here. To make matters worse, the woman was her sister¡¯s best friend! At this moment, Charlotte strongly felt the anger of being betrayed and extremely unjust for Cheyenne. ¡°Charlotte, you¡¯ve misunderstood. There is nothing between me and Lena. We just happened to run into each other here, and she was having a hard time walking in heels, so I was giving her a hand. There¡¯s definitely no other meaning!¡± Lucas exined anxiously. If it were an irrelevant outsider like Clement, Lucas wouldn¡¯t bother to exin anything even after they had misunderstood his rtionship with Lena. But since it was Charlotte, he panicked because he didn¡¯t want her to misunderstand him at all. The only woman he had ever loved in his life was Cheyenne. If Cheyenne heard about the misunderstanding, he would never be able to exin himself clearly. Seeing how unconvinced Charlotte was, he hurriedly urged Lena, ¡°Lena, quickly exin to Charlotte that we¡¯re just ordinary friends and nothing like what she thinks!¡± The moment Lena saw Charlotte, she felt a pang of panic. But she began to feel extraordinarily ufortable after hearing how desperate Lucas was to prove that there was no other rtionship between them. ¡°Uh, yes, Lucas is right. He and I are just ordinary friends. I wanted to visit the stalls here, but I¡¯m wearing heels, making it inconvenient to walk properly. So I asked Lucas to let me hold onto his arm while I walked! There¡¯s really nothing¡­ between us! Also, you mustn¡¯t tell your sister about this. Just take it that I¡¯m begging you, okay?¡± Lena hurriedly exined. Perhaps because she was too nervous, she looked panic-stricken and flustered when she exined, just like someone caught red-handed doing a misdeed. It made Charlotte feel that she was deliberately hiding something. ¡°Is it really a misunderstanding? Or did you do something immoral, so you have a guilty conscience facing me? If you¡¯re really innocent, why are you afraid that I¡¯ll tell my sister about it? Tell me!¡± Charlotte hollered at Lena furiously. Although she hadn¡¯t interacted much with Lena, she knew that Cheyenne cherished her friendship with Lena and would often mention thetter in front of her. During holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, she would specially send some gifts and food to Lena, who was far away from home. Thus, Charlotte was even more enraged when she saw that the woman holding onto Lucas¡¯s arm was her sister¡¯s best friend. Hearing Charlotte¡¯s overbearing questions, Lena looked even more helpless and flustered. She seemed to be at a loss for how to exin what happened today and could only plead over and over again, ¡°Charlotte, your sister and I have been best friends for so many years. I¡­ How could I ever betray her? This is really just a misunderstanding. You must believe me! ¡°I beg you not to tell your sister about this. I don¡¯t want her to overthink. If she misunderstands me and takes me for that kind of woman, how can I still have the cheek to see her? ¡°I¡­ I really don¡¯t want to lose my friendship with Cheyenne, so Charlotte, please promise me not to tell her about this!¡± The more Lena exined in such a manner and repeatedly asked Charlotte not to tell Cheyenne, the more it made Charlotte feel that she and Lucas had really done something they shouldn¡¯t have done. Charlotte couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and snapped, ¡°Enough! You know best whether you¡¯ve done anything or not! Trust you to still im to be best friends with my sister. You don¡¯t deserve to be my sister¡¯s friend, nor do you deserve the care she¡¯s given you over the years! ¡°You¡­ you really disgust me! ¡°And you, Lucas, so much for treating you as my good brother-inw. I even saw you as my brother. You¡¯ve really disappointed me! I¡¯ll definitely tell Cheyenne about this. None of you try to take Cheyenne and my family as fools!¡± With that, Charlotte glowered at them before turning around to storm off. ¡°Charlotte¡­¡± Lucas wanted to exin some more, but Charlotte had already left. He stood rooted to the ground with his mouth wide open, at aplete loss for words. Although it was obviously just a misunderstanding, and Lucas felt that he only needed to exin it clearly, Charlotte somehow got angrier after hearing the exnation. In the end, she seemed to believe that there was an illicit rtionship between him and Lena. Lucas was helpless and troubled. Chapter 674 - The Heartbroken Person

Chapter 674: The Heartbroken Person

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios More seriously, if Charlotte really went home to tell Cheyenne about it, causing her to misunderstand too, Lucas simply couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of scene would happen then. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s all my fault. If I hadn¡¯t asked you to help, things wouldn¡¯t have turned out this way. I think I¡¯d better go to Charlotte¡­¡± Lena looked at Lucas with an apologetic expression. But before she could finish speaking, Lucas interrupted her, ¡°No need. I¡¯ll exin to Charlotte and also tell Cheyenne clearly what happened today.¡± ¡°No, you mustn¡¯t tell Cheyenne!¡± Lena immediately said anxiously. ¡°Cheyenne¡­ I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll overthink if she finds out. Besides, even if you rify that it¡¯s a misunderstanding, I think she¡¯ll bear a grudge against me from now on. Lucas, please don¡¯t tell her!¡± She looked at Lucas with a pleading look. After hearing what Lena said, Lucas felt an ufortable feeling in his heart. He and Lena werepletely innocent to begin with, and even if they were misunderstood, there wouldn¡¯t be any more problems as long as they exined things clearly. Lucas understood Cheyenne¡¯s character very well, so he knew that she definitely wouldn¡¯t hold a grudge or get into a conflict with Lena because of it. On the contrary, Lena seemed to have no trust in Cheyenne at all, and she also seemed to make Cheyenne sound like a narrow-minded person who liked to overthink, which made Lucas very ufortable. ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anymore. Cheyenne is not that kind of person at all,¡± Lucas said coldly and stopped talking to her. He chased after Charlotte. No matter what, he had to exin the matter clearly to Charlotte, the person who witnessed it, to clear up her misunderstanding. ¡°Hey, Luc¡­¡± Lena tried to call out to Lucas to make him stop, but he was so fast that his figure had already vanished into the bustling crowd in just a few seconds. As Lena watched Lucas disappear among the sea of people, her face gradually dimmed, and she felt utterly dejected. After a while, she hung her head low.?Lucas, am I really just an ordinary friend to you? You refuse to say even one more word to me, yet you¡¯re afraid that she will misunderstand you. Is Cheyenne so important to you¡­ I¡¯m really¡­ so unwilling! Lena clenched her fingers tightly, and her long fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm. But she seemed unaware of it as her heart was full of bitterness and frustration. The first time she had met Lucas in the Opulence Club, she had been very unimpressed with him, the man Cheyenne had married, because she felt that apart from his handsome face, he was good for nothing. But when a roaring motorbike suddenly appeared in front of the Sawyers¡¯ vi shortly after their first meeting, Lucas appeared as if he had descended from Heaven and rescued her from her crisis in the nick of time. From this moment on, Lena discovered that her heart, which had never beaten for anyone, suddenly pounded vigorously. So afterward, she couldn¡¯t help bing more and more concerned about Lucas, desperately wanting to know everything about him and get closer to him. Afterward, when she was once again almost assassinated in LA, Lucas once again suddenly appeared and saved her again. She thought that it had to be God¡¯s will and arrangement to let her true love rescue her from danger twice. Lena always thought so. Thus, even after she tried to seduce Lucas at the pool on the top floor of LA¡¯s Intercontinental Hotel by wearing a bikini and pretending to sprain her ankle but was ultimately rejected by him, Lena still didn¡¯t want to give up. When she ran into Lucas outside the Walton Hotel just now, she was extremely surprised and stopped behaving restrainedly. She even used her high heels as an excuse to get the opportunity to hold onto his arm. God knows how blissful she felt just now. Lena hoped that time would stop at this moment forever and never flow forward again. Even when Clement got the wrong idea about her rtionship with Lucas, she didn¡¯t think about exining at all and instead felt a burst of joy. But the wonderful moment was short-lived,sting only two short minutes before Charlotte¡¯s sudden appearance interrupted it. When she saw Lucas¡¯s somewhat panicky exnation and heard him rify that she and he were just ordinary friends, Lena felt that her heart was about to shatter into pieces. Now, Lucas left her behind and ran after Cheyenne¡¯s sister without looking back for fear that she would misunderstand and eventually upset Cheyenne. What about me then? I¡¯m so miserable now. Will anyone care if I¡¯m sad or not? Bitter tears streamed down Lena¡¯s cheeks quietly. ¡­ Meanwhile, the tall and long-legged Lucas quickly caught up with Charlotte and tried to exin to her that it was a misunderstanding. ¡°Charlotte, what just happened was really just a misunderstanding. I only gave Lena a hand because she¡¯s Cheyenne¡¯s friend. I really don¡¯t mean anything else! ¡°Don¡¯t you know what kind of a person I am? You should be very clear that Cheyenne is the only woman I love. ¡°I¡­ Ah, I don¡¯t even know what to say. Anyway, this is definitely a misunderstanding, and I swear that there definitely isn¡¯t anything between me and her!¡± ¡­ Lucas kept chasing after Charlotte to exin to her. She was extremely furious and annoyed at first and wanted to ignore him, but when she saw how anxiously he was exining, she slowly began to calm down. In fact, in hindsight, she recalled that although Lena had indeed been holding onto Lucas¡¯s arm, he had actually stretched his arm out rather far, so he didn¡¯t really have any intimate contact with her. If he was really cheating on Cheyenne with Lena, their actions should have been more intimate. Besides, they were right in the middle of the Elite Business Exchange and the ordinary business exchange, whererge crowds wereing and going. Many of them were definitely people of the major families of Orange County, as well as people who knew either Lucas or Lena. Even if they were in an affair, they shouldn¡¯t have openly shown their affection for each other in public because they couldn¡¯t possibly want everyone to find out. Thus, it was very likely that it was indeed a misunderstanding, as Lucas said. Actually, Charlotte knew how well Lucas treated Cheyenne, so she reckoned that he wouldn¡¯t betray Cheyenne. After Charlotte figured everything out, her angry face eased up slightly, and she slowed down a little. But the thought of the expression on Lena¡¯s face when she was holding Lucas¡¯s arm just now still made Charlotte ufortable. Indeed, it was possible that Lucas was honest and aboveboard and didn¡¯t have any other feelings for Lena, but there was definitely something wrong with Lena! Thinking of this, Charlotte puffed up her cheeks again. She turned around and stared at Lucas angrily. ¡°Fine, on ount that you¡¯ve exined so much, I¡¯ll believe you this time! ¡°But you must stay away from Lena, that pretentious and scheming bitch, in the future. And even more so, you are not allowed to be alone with her again! Otherwise, I¡¯ll tell Cheyenne about it right away!¡± Charlotte said unyieldingly.. Chapter 675 - Meeting An Old Friend

Chapter 675: Meeting An Old Friend

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although the corners of Lucas¡¯s mouth twitched involuntarily after he heard Charlotte calling Lena a pretentious and scheming bitch, he agreed to her request immediately. He only got to know Lena because she was Cheyenne¡¯s best friend, and there was no strong friendship between them, so it didn¡¯t matter to him that they couldn¡¯t spend any time alone. As for Charlotte¡¯s threat of telling Cheyenne about it, Lucas didn¡¯t take it to heart. He had a clear conscience, so he wasn¡¯t afraid of what Charlotte would say. ¡°Hmph, your attitude is good.¡± Seeing that Lucas agreed without hesitation, Charlotte¡¯s face eased up, but she quickly added, ¡°Oh yes, apart from that pretentious bitch Lena, you¡¯re not allowed to spend any time alone together with other women. No intimate contact either! ¡°Also, if there are other women, especially those with ulterior motives, who want to approach you in the future, you must be smart enough not to let yourself get taken advantage of, got it?¡± ¡°And you have to be wary and careful when attending gatherings, cocktail parties, and social functions in the future, especially when you eat and drink. Don¡¯t let others spike your drinks or food and then end up waking up beside some strange woman. If you bring a pregnant woman home one day, Cheyenne and I won¡¯t allow it. Do you understand? ¡°And¡­.¡± Charlotte was talking about some ordinary things at first. But toward the end, she got more and more absurd, leaving Lucas being caught betweenughter and tears. He reckoned that Charlotte must have read lots of strange novels, hence her¡­ rich imagination. ¡°Okay, I promise! I¡¯ll definitely keep an appropriate distance from all other women and respect myself. I will also pay attention to my food and drinks and not let women with ulterior motives have the possibility of getting close to me. Will this do?¡± Lucas said helplessly with a bitter smile. ¡°Hmph, you have to keep to your word!¡± Charlotte yfully crinkled her nose and finally forgave Lucas this time. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the stalls over there and stroll around again! Just now, I set my sights on something, but I haven¡¯t even had time to buy it yet! Lucas, you have to buy it for me!¡± Charlotte said coquettishly as he held onto Lucas¡¯s arm. ¡°¡­¡± Lucas pointed to his arm Charlotte was holding and said speechlessly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that I¡¯m not allowed to have physical contact with any other woman?¡± ¡°Am I any other woman? I¡¯m your sister!¡± Feeling a little ashamed and furious, Charlotte pinched Lucas¡¯s arm. Seeing Charlotte¡¯s appearance, Lucas couldn¡¯t helpughing. But it was true that he had always treated Charlotte as his sister, and now that she really took herself as his sister, he felt ted. ¡°By the way, why did you suddenlye to San Francisco today? I haven¡¯t heard you mention anything abouting here before. Do you have something to handle here in San Francisco?¡± Lucas asked curiously. When he went out this morning, Charlotte had already left home early. If he had known that she was alsoing to San Francisco, they could have traveled together. ¡°Of course I¡¯m also here to attend the exchange!¡± Charlotte answered. ¡°You too¡­?¡± Lucas was a bit surprised. After all, he had learned from the helmsmen Damon and Bruce that there were strict entry requirements for the Elite Business Exchange, and only the top-tier families and forces within California would receive an invitation. He was surprised to hear that Charlotte had received an invitation to the exchange too. Seeing how surprised Lucas was, Charlotte said with some displeasure, ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken. The exchange I¡¯m attending isn¡¯t the Elite Business Exchange you¡¯re attending. It¡¯s just an ordinary one that the second and third-tier families and businesses are attending. It¡¯s going to be held in the stadium.¡± Only then did Lucas recall that Bruce had indeed mentioned this to him. The stadium where the ordinary business exchange was held was opposite the Walton Hotel, where the Elite Business Exchange was held, which was the reason for therge human traffic. Charlotte was now the general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch and rather influential. It made sense for her to attend the ordinary business exchange. Just as the two were about to reach the stalls at the entrance of the stadium, someone at the side called out in surprise. ¡°Charlotte?¡± It was the voice of a young woman. Lucas and Charlotte turned around and saw a woman wearing brown aviator shades next to them, looking at Cheyenne in surprise. Her arm was wrapped around a young man who looked like a wealthy scion beside her. Both of them were wearing expensive clothes, almost all from designer brands. Charlotte looked at the woman and asked in confusion, ¡°Excuse me, do you know me?¡± She felt that the woman¡¯s voice sounded familiar, but therge aviator shades were covering almost half of her face, revealing only her wavy hair and bright red lips. Charlotte really couldn¡¯t recognize her. ¡°It¡¯s me! I¡¯m Vanessa Jensen. Charlotte, can¡¯t you even recognize me?¡± The womanughed while taking off her aviator shades, revealing her face covered in exquisite makeup. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you, Vanessa!¡± Charlotte immediately recognized the woman, and she eximed in surprise, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to run into you here today! What a coincidence!¡± She initially wanted to immediately go up and hug Vanessa, her long-lost friend. But she decided not to do so after seeing Vanessa holding onto the arm of the man beside her, who was obviously her boyfriend. But she was still beaming with joy as she quickly introduced her to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, this is Vanessa, my best friend in high school! We haven¡¯t even seen each other for years.¡± Lucas nodded politely. ¡°Hello.¡± At this moment, Vanessa finally realized that there was a man standing beside Charlotte, whose arm she was holding. It seemed that Charlotte¡¯s rtionship with this man should be simr to her own. However¡­ Vanessa¡¯s eyes quickly swept over Lucas. He was wearing extraordinarily shabby clothes, which were not of any proper brands, let alone luxury brands like Armani, Versace, Zegna, etc. They seem like clothes from random brands. Oh, it turns out that Charlotte has a penniless boyfriend. What a waste of her beauty..?A wave of contempt surged in her heart as she arrogantly shifted her gaze away from Lucas. Chapter 676 - Best Friends on the Surface

Chapter 676: Best Friends on the Surface

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Vanessa and Charlotte beganughing and reminiscing about the past. But the man beside Vanessa suddenly said, ¡°Vanessa, you haven¡¯t introduced this beautifuldy to me yet.¡± Only then did Vanessa remember that she forgot to introduce her and quickly said, ¡°Honey, this is Charlotte Carter, my best friend back in high school. We were like sisters back then!¡± She covered her mouth andughed. ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Carter. I¡¯m Vanessa¡¯s boyfriend, Brian Klein.¡± Brian immediately extended his hand to give her a handshake. Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. From the first moment he saw Charlotte, he had been keeping his eyes glued to her. Moreover, the look in his eyes didn¡¯t contain the pure admiration for a beauty, but rather, it was repulsively lewd. It was the same now. He extended his hand in a seemingly gentlemanly manner, but the way he looked at Charlotte was even more unrestrained and unpleasant. After being stared at for a long time, Charlotte naturally felt something. In particr, when she raised her head and saw the lecherous gaze in Brian¡¯s eyes, her impression of this man became terrible. If not for the fact that he was Vanessa¡¯s boyfriend, Charlotte would have long cursed at him. ¡°Hello,¡± Charlotte, suppressing her anger, replied indifferently without any intentions to shake his hand. Brian¡¯s facial expression immediately stiffened. He had nned to take liberties with Charlotte during the handshake and see just how soft the hands of the woman who was prettier than his girlfriend was. A trace of disappointment and anger appeared on his face, but he could only awkwardly retract his hand while striking up a conversation on his own. ¡°You two are high school ssmates. It should have been a long time since you¡¯ve met, huh?¡± Vanessa said, ¡°Yeah. After graduating, we went to college in different cities. It¡¯s been more than five years since west met! It¡¯s a rare opportunity for us to meet here today, so we have to catch up and chat more!¡± Although Charlotte was displeased with the way Brian was gawking at her, she was still d to meet her best friend from high school. Charlotte had been shopping together with Lucas, and now that Vanessa and her boyfriend wereing along, she should still ask for Lucas¡¯s opinion. Seeing him nod slightly, she agreed, ¡°Sure. It happens that we¡¯re shopping here too. Let¡¯s go together!¡± Vanessa saw the subtle action. She was shocked, and at the same time, she couldn¡¯t help feeling some disdain. Lucas was dressed like an ordinary penniless man. Vanessa was surprised that Charlotte had gotten such a boyfriend. Worse still, she had to seek his opinion before making a decision, an act of stooping too low in Vanessa¡¯s opinion. She felt that she was no longer the cold and aloof school belle she used to be. Back then, although Vanessa was close friends with Charlotte, Charlotte was much prettier than her and thus became the school belle early on. Wherever she went, she would receive love letters and confessions from countless boys. On the other hand, although Vanessa was easy on the eyes too, she paled inparison to Charlotte. Compared to girls with average looks, she would definitely be considered pretty, but she was no match for Charlotte. So almost no one noticed her when she was next to the school belle. At the time, Vanessa was once envious and wanted to sever her friendship with Charlotte and never hang out with her again. But Charlotte came from an affluent family and would bring snacks and little gifts for Vanessa every now and then. Besides, many boys who wanted to get into Charlotte¡¯s good books were also smart enough to bribe Vanessa with all sorts of food and gifts after knowing that she was Charlotte¡¯s best friend. So for the sake of the many benefits Vanessa obtained without any effort, she reluctantly continued to stay by Charlotte¡¯s side as her best friend for three years. But she had to admit that the deep-rooted envy and hatred buried deep within her had always been a thorn in her flesh. Now that she had met Charlotte again and saw that she had found such a mediocre boyfriend, she was truly thrilled. Hah, so what if Charlotte was the school belle that everyone pursued back then? She has a poor loser for a boyfriend now, and she¡¯s going to suffer for the rest of her life. Unlike her, I¡¯ve found a young and promising boyfriend like Brian. From now on, I can definitely trample on Charlotte Carter and defeat her! The thought of it made Vanessa feel a proud sense of superiority and confidence. ¡°By the way, Charlotte, did you also rush here from Orange County to join the fun because you know that the exchange here happens only once in three years and that there¡¯s lots of good stuff to pick up at the entrance?¡± ¡°Uh, no¡­¡± Before Charlotte could finish speaking, Vanessa interrupted her immediately, ¡°Hey, those are just rumors. The really good stuff has long been bought at high prices by others. There¡¯s no way we¡¯d be able to get a good deal. We might even lose out and be deceived! ¡°If you really want to buy something good, just ask your boyfriend to get it for you! Oh, sorry, I almost forgot that your boyfriend probably can¡¯t afford anything good. Look how shabbily dressed he is. ¡°Charlotte, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m trying to criticize you, but you used to be the school belle, and you¡¯re still young and pretty now. You can get any guy you want. Why did you get together with such a¡­ Ah, I don¡¯t even know what to say to you.¡± While speaking, Vanessa didn¡¯t bother to keep her volume down or avoid anything. Instead, she looked at Lucas and almost pointed at his nose. ¡°Vanessa, he¡¯s not¡­¡± Charlotte knew that Vanessa must have misunderstood her rtionship with Lucas and wanted to exin that Lucas was just her brother-inw. But Vanessa interrupted her as soon as she spoke. ¡°Charlotte, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m deliberately trying to show off in front of you, but do you know about the Sr Corporation in LA?¡± When trying to speak, Charlotte was interrupted by Vanessa twice in a row. And thetter didn¡¯t seem to want to listen to her at all because she was focusing only on what she wanted to say. Besides, the remarks she made were a tant expression of her disdain toward Lucas, which made Charlotte feel extremely ufortable. The enthusiasm she felt upon seeing her old friend after years gradually faded. But Charlotte definitely knew about the Sr Corporation. She was very familiar with it because it belonged to Lucas. What does Vanessa mean by mentioning the Sr Corporation out of nowhere? After noticing the bewilderment in Charlotte¡¯s eyes, Vanessa held onto her boyfriend¡¯s arm and said smugly, ¡°Brian has be the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation at such a young age. Impressive, huh? ¡°He¡¯s here to attend the exchange on behalf of the Sr Corporation today! Let me tell you. If you want to get a boyfriend, you have to get one like mine, right?¡± As soon as she said that, Lucas immediately had an extremely strange expression on his face.?The man with the lewd gaze turned out to be the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation? Chapter 677 - Youre Mocking Me

Chapter 677: You¡¯re Mocking Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Lucas really wasn¡¯t sure who the current deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation was. Previously, Lucas had left the entire Sr Corporation in Flynn¡¯s hands. But just a short while ago, he sent Flynn to the Stardust Corporation Headquarters in DC. Thus, Flynn left the Sr Corporation to a subordinate he trusted. But if the deputy general manager of Sr Corporation was Brian, Lucas felt that he really had to consider thoroughly and carefully review the organizational structure of the current Sr Corporation. After hearing what Vanessa said, Charlotte had a trace of surprise appear on her face. She turned to look at Lucas with a tinge of doubt in her eyes, but she was smart enough not to voice her question out loud at this moment. ¡°So¡­ he¡¯s the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation. That¡¯s very impressive.¡± Charlotte could only give a perfunctorypliment. But after hearing thepliment, Brian immediately puffed his chest up and said confidently and smugly, ¡°It¡¯s not too bad. It¡¯s mainly because I¡¯m quite outstanding and driven. Although I can only represent the Sr Corporation to attend the ordinary business exchange, I believe that in a few more years, I can definitely qualify with my own abilities to be invited to the Elite Business Exchange, a top event in the whole of California!¡± ¡°Wow, Honey, you¡¯re really impressive! I¡¯m sure you can do it! You¡¯re still so young, and you¡¯re already the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation. Maybe you¡¯ll be promoted to general manager soon. Afterward, you¡¯ll continue growing step by step and eventually be invited to the Elite Business Exchange!¡± Vanessa hugged Brian¡¯s arm and praised with admiration and joy written all over her face. ¡°¡­¡± Charlotte looked at their expressions and then at the silent Lucas. She was suddenly full ofplicated emotions, and she even felt some sympathy for Vanessa and Brian. If they found out that Lucas, standing right in front of them, was the chairman and true owner of the Sr Corporation, who could single-handedly decide Brian¡¯s future career path and had already received an invitation to the Elite Business Exchange they longed for, she wondered how they would feel. But seeing how ted and proud they were, Charlotte decided not to tell them the cruel truth. ¡°Oh, I guess you two probably still don¡¯t know what the Elite Business Exchange is, right? It¡¯s okay. Let me exin it to you!¡± Brian suddenly said, perhaps because he noticed theck of awe in their reactions to his great ambitions. Before Charlotte could decline, he had already started babbling non-stop. ¡°Generally speaking, only the top-tier families and forces in each city of California, such as the Coles, the Kingstons, and the Walkers of San Francisco, are invited to the Elite Business Exchange. These three are the top families in California, and they¡¯re bound to participate in the Elite Business Exchange every year. ¡°Then you have the four major families that you people in Orange County are familiar with. They¡¯re all powerful top-tier families, so they¡¯re invited too. ¡°Of course, the Parkers of LA are even more outstanding this year. Initially, the Parkers and the Owens were the two major families of LA. But not long ago, the Owens were destroyed, leaving the Parkers alone to dominate. Now, their power has far surpassed that of most first-tier families and can almostpare to the top three giants of San Francisco. ¡°The Sr Corporation now belongs to the Parkers, who should be able to go further during this Elite Business Exchange. Hence, the Sr Corporation will definitely get arger space for development, and we may even be able to expand to the San Francisco market in full swing!¡± Brian was behaving like an experienced person as he rattled on and on about the matters of the top families in California. But at the end, he shifted the topic back to himself because his main intention was to praise himself and brag about how impressive he was. Unfortunately, the expression on Charlotte¡¯s face remained indifferent, and she seemed to bepletely uninterested, making Brian, who was determined to impress her, feel dejected and frustrated. But what made him even angrier was that Lucas, next to Charlotte, didn¡¯t show any envy or awe at his achievements either, and he even seemed to be smirking. It was obviously just a very faint smirk, but Brian found it an eyesore and thought that Lucas was clearly mocking him. ¡°Why are youughing? Do you think that what I said is ridiculous?¡± Brian suddenly snapped at Lucas angrily. ¡°Did Iugh at you?¡± Lucas asked innocently. Although he really felt that Brian¡¯s behavior was ridiculous and amusing, he had, in all fairness, shown Brian due courtesy by holding hisughter back and refraining from making any remarks. ¡°You¡¯re still denying it, huh? You were clearly mocking me by smirking. What right do you have to mock me?¡± Brian hollered in exasperation. He had just spoken to show off in front of Charlotte to make her realize how high his status was. But she waspletely unfazed, and Lucas was even smirking, so he started venting all his anger on Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m in a good mood now. Why can¡¯t I smile?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows, surprised by Brian¡¯s reason. ¡°You weren¡¯t smirking at any other time. But when I talked, you smirked. You clearly did it on purpose! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re really thinking!¡± Brian looked indignant. Those who didn¡¯t know would probably think that Lucas had done something to him. Of course, Vanessa stood on her boyfriend¡¯s side, and she shouted at Lucas, ¡°What are you?! How dare you mock my boyfriend? I¡¯m afraid you haven¡¯t even heard of the things he just said. He was kind enough to exin things inyman terms, but you mocked him. You¡¯ve really gone overboard! ¡°Now, you must apologize to my boyfriend immediately!¡± Charlotte instantly frowned. She was initially in a good mood to suddenly meet Vanessa, her best friend from her high school. But Lucas merely smiled and was rebuked by both Brian and Vanessa as if he hadmitted a heinous crime. Why? ¡°Vanessa, when did Lucas ever mock your boyfriend? You¡¯re saying that he mocked your boyfriend just because he smiled. That¡¯s absurd! If you¡¯re forcing him to apologize just because of such a ridiculous reason, I won¡¯t allow it!¡± Charlotte said extremely sternly. An aura of a superior emerged from her body, instantly making Vanessa feel overwhelmed by a domineering might. Chapter 678 - Showing Off

Chapter 678: Showing Off

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After all, Charlotte had been the general manager of argepany like the Stardust Corporation for nearly two months, so her aura and austerity had definitely developed after some honing. If this wasn¡¯t the case, how could she possibly manage argepany with more than a thousand people in such an orderly manner? But she would generally only release her aura at work. When in front of her family and friends, she would generally behave like an ordinary young and lively woman in her twenties. But Vanessa and Brian¡¯s behavior had really angered her. Noticing that Charlotte suddenly seemed to have be a different person and was releasing a domineering aura, Vanessa immediately felt terrified as if she had seen her boss. She found this Charlotte unfamiliar, so she felt she shouldn¡¯t insult her and Lucas as she pleased. Vanessa was good at reading people from their bodynguage. As soon as she saw that Charlotte was displeased, she took the initiative to walk forward, swing Charlotte¡¯s arm, and say affectionately, ¡°We¡¯re just joking, Charlotte. I¡¯m not really demanding an apology from him! ¡°Look, you actually took it seriously and got mad at me! We¡¯ve been bosom friends for so many years! Okay, calm down. It¡¯s my fault, so I¡¯ll apologize to you, okay?¡± Vanessa said coquettishly, using the same trick she used to pull on Charlotte back in high school. Although she was full of disdain, she had just met Charlotte again after years, and there were still many things she had yet to show off to her. How could she fall out with her at this time? Seeing her best friend acting this way and Lucas shaking his head to indicate to her not to mind, Charlotte decided not to be bothered about Vanessa¡¯s actions. Brian pursed his lips in displeasure, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Charlotte, there¡¯s really nothing good in the small stalls here. Why don¡¯t we go to Union Street to take a look? There¡¯s all sorts of good stuff there. Even if you don¡¯t intend to buy anything, it¡¯s good to go there for an eye-opener. Let¡¯s go!¡± Vanessa didn¡¯t care whether Charlotte agreed or not as she simply grabbed her hand and walked toward Union Street nearby. While walking, she said, ¡°Charlotte, do you know that the best store around here is called the Heavenly Pavilion? There are all sorts of treasures, antiques, and precious stones and jewelry. The high-end jewelry is incredibly beautiful! As women, we have to go there and take a look!¡± ¡°Look at this diamond bracelet that my boyfriend got for me from the Heavenly Pavilion. It costs more than three hundred grand! ¡°Look at my earrings too. They¡¯re emeralds! This tiny pair cost over a hundred and fifty grand! ¡°Also, this diamond ring on my hand is a top-quality twenty-carat South African diamond that my boyfriend bought from the Heavenly Pavilion. It also costs more than a hundred and fifty grand! ¡°Hehe, I always tell Brian not to spend so much money on gifts for me, but guess what he said? He said that men work hard to make money precisely for the sake of buying nice things for their women. Hehe, he makes me feel so blissful!¡± While pulling Charlotte along, Vanessa kept showing off the expensive gifts her boyfriend had bought her and how good her boyfriend was to her. Charlotte was indeed quite put off by Vanessa¡¯s tant unting of her boyfriend¡¯s wealth. But seeing how happy and proud Vanessa was, she really couldn¡¯t bring herself to be a wet nket, so she merely chimed in asionally. After all, Vanessa was her best friend in high school, and Charlotte didn¡¯t want to quarrel with her over such a trivial matter. The two of them were holding hands like a pair of extremely close sisters. As for their malepanions, Lucas and Brian, they were trailing a few steps behind. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really lucky to have managed to get your hands on a beautiful woman like Charlotte,¡± Brian suddenly said softly to Lucas, guessing that the twodies probably couldn¡¯t hear them. As a man himself, Lucas immediately heard a trace of envy and jealousy in his tone. This made Lucas¡¯s impression of Brian be even worse. He clearly had a girlfriend, yet he was coveting his girlfriend¡¯s best friend on their first meeting. It was really vulgar of him. Lucas didn¡¯t bother to exin his true rtionship with Charlotte to Brian and instead went along with it. ¡°Yes, but you¡¯re wrong about one thing. I didn¡¯t woo her at all. She wooed me. She probably likes me the way I am! ¡°Hah, look at you lying through your teeth. You¡¯re so shabby. What¡¯s so good about you that you can attract her and make her take the initiative to court you?¡± Brian sneered at Lucas¡¯s words. ¡°Not every woman is materialistic, and I just happened to meet such a good woman. Based on this alone, I¡¯m indeed luckier than you,¡± Lucas said indifferently. Lucas had a sharp sense of hearing, so he had heard everything Vanessa said to brag to Charlotte. He reckoned that Brian wasn¡¯t that thrilled to have gotten together with such a superficial and materialistic woman. But Vanessa was indeed a little stupid because she hadn¡¯t actually taken advantage of Brian. Brian¡¯s face became even more gloomy.?Could that gorgeous woman Charlotte really not be a materialistic woman who only cares about money? Otherwise, she shouldn¡¯t be dating a man like Lucas who looks penniless! At this thought, Brian became even more envious and jealous of Lucas. Soon, the four of them arrived at the entrance of Union Street. Union Street has always been a prestigious ce in San Francisco. Especially since the two business exchanges were held today, it was even more crowded than usual, and there were people everywhere. ¡°Wow, there are so many people here!¡± Charlotte eximed. She had been to Union Street before, but she had never seen such a crowded situation. It was almost like a New Year¡¯s celebration. ¡°Haha, today is a special day after all! Let¡¯s go directly to the Heavenly Pavilion. The things there are high-end, and most people can¡¯t afford to go there, so there will probably be fewer people. We can go straight to the fourth floor to take a look. All the good stuff is there!¡± Vanessa pulled Charlotte and walked straight toward the Heavenly Pavilion, appearing very familiar with it.. Chapter 679 - I Want A New One

Chapter 679: I Want A New One

But after taking a few steps, Vanessa seemed to suddenly remember something and turned around to look at Brian. She said coquettishly, ¡°Honey, I identally chipped the more than two-hundred-thousand-dor emerald pendant you bought for me from here¡­¡± ¡°Ahem, is that so?¡± Brian coughed twice, and his eyes flickered slightly, but he still said generously, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a two-hundred-thousand-dor pendant? I¡¯ll get you a new er!¡± ¡°Wow, Honey, you¡¯re great!¡± Vanessa immediately let go of Charlotte¡¯s arm, scurried toward Brian, put her arms around his neck, and kissed his cheek. Muacks! The public disy of affection attracted the attention of quite a few people, making Charlotte feel embarrassed for them. But the parties involved didn¡¯t seem to care. Vanessa was still hugging Brian¡¯s neck as she said to Charlotte with a proud look, ¡°See, Charlotte? My boyfriend is so good to me! I¡¯m not trying to put you down, but you should get a boyfriend like mine who¡¯s not only wealthy but also willing to spend on me. Only men like him are good men! ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to suffer for the rest of your life!¡± Charlotte¡¯s face suddenly stiffened, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words for how to respond to her former best friend. But Vanessa noticed that Charlotte seemed upset, so she quickly rushed forward again to hold onto her arm, for fear that her ¡®best friend¡¯ would be provoked into leaving. ¡°Charlotte, I didn¡¯t mean it! Okay, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore and go inside Heavenly Pavilion to have a look!¡± With that, she pulled Charlotte into the wide and luxurious entrance of the Heavenly Pavilion. Lucas silently followed behind them. The Heavenly Pavilion was indeed much livelier today than it was when Lucas dropped by yesterday. There were numerous people browsing the ordinary products on the first floor. But even the cheapest items here cost at least $5,000, and most cost more than $15,000. So there were very few people actually here to buy something. ¡°Charlotte, the things on the first floor are mediocre. They¡¯re just some cheap stuff that costs thousands to tens of thousands. We have to go upstairs to look at the good stuff! ¡°But the items upstairs cost at least a hundred and fifty thousand. Ordinary people can¡¯t afford them at all, and they don¡¯t even have the opportunity to look at them! ¡°If I hadn¡¯t found a rich boyfriend who loves me, I wouldn¡¯t be able toe here to shop or have so many pieces of jewelry from the Heavenly Pavilion! Seriously, my boyfriend is so good to me!¡± Vanessa was really busy at this time. She would extend her arms and fingers to show off to Charlotte the expensive things that her boyfriend had bought for her from the Heavenly Pavilion while rattling on incessantly about her boyfriend. She was just out to make Charlotte green with envy. Right from the beginning, Charlotte had wanted to tell Vanessa clearly about her exact situation. But Vanessa kept acting as if she had brought her here for an eye-opener to broaden her horizons. She even talked non-stop about her boyfriend and unted his wealth. So toward the end, Charlotte lost her urge to speak. A woman dressed in the sales assistant uniform of the Heavenly Pavilion walked over to greet them. ¡°Hello, dear customers, may I ask which kind of goods you would like to see today?¡± ¡°The items on the first floor are all too ordinary. We want to look at the things on the fourth floor. Please show us the way!¡± Vanessa raised her head and proudly instructed. ¡°Okay, this way, please.¡± Seeing that Vanessa and Brian were well dressed and aware that the goods on the fourth floor were of a higher grade, the sales assistant ushered them to the VIP elevator with a smile on her face. The moment the doors of the elevator were about to close, the sales assistant suddenly recognized Lucas, and her eyes widened in shock. But before she could greet Lucas, a distinguished guest of the store, the elevator doors closed with a ding and rose to the fourth floor. When the few of them got out of the elevator and entered the fourth floor, they immediately found that it was indeed much cleaner than the space downstairs. After all, the items on this floor were all high-end, and not everyone was qualified toe here. ¡°Dear customers, wee.¡± A soft and tender female voice sounded, and a young woman dressed in the Heavenly Pavilion¡¯s standard uniform with a ¡®general manager¡¯ namete pinned to her chest walked over. When she saw Lucas among the four of them, she immediately beamed with joy and surprise. ¡°Mr. Gr¡­¡± Before she could greet Lucas, she stopped because she had already noticed him shaking his head slightly at her, indicating for her not to reveal his identity. This woman was Jane, whom Lucas had met in the Heavenly Pavilion yesterday. She was initially only a trainee sales assistant. But due to her excellent performance and Lucas¡¯s request yesterday, she was promoted to the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion. Thus, Lucas naturally became her benefactor. Jane was a smart person to begin with. As soon as she saw Lucas¡¯s gesture, she knew what his intentions were and immediately pretended not to know him. Instead, she started serving Vanessa and the others. ¡°Do you have anything you¡¯re interested in? I can introduce and rmend some things to you,¡± Jane said with a smile. Vanessa said, ¡°My boyfriend bought me an emerald pendant worth more than two hundred thousand dors from here. But unfortunately, I identally chipped a corner, so we¡¯re nning to get a new one.¡± Jane thought about it and kindly made a suggestion. ¡°Did you bring the pendant here? We have a team of professional antique restoration masters in the Heavenly Pavilion, so if the damage is not serious, we can help minimize the loss through various craft techniques and re-carving.¡± ¡°Huh? You provide such services here too? But that¡¯s not necessary. I don¡¯t want it anymore since it¡¯s already broken. My boyfriend has already promised to get me a brand new one.¡± Vanessa condescendingly declined the restoration service and held onto Brian¡¯s arm. She said with a sweet smile, ¡°Right, Honey? You just said you were going to get me a new pendant. Can I get a better one?¡± An unnatural look appeared on Brian¡¯s face, but he still seemed indifferent and nonchnt. ¡°Yes! Since you¡¯ve said so, I will buy you whichever one you fancy!¡± ¡°Wow, Honey, you¡¯re so nice!¡± This time, Vanessa nted a kiss on Brian¡¯s lips. Charlotte and Jane turned their faces away in unison, feeling rather awkward. ¡°Ahem¡­ So, Sir, Ma¡¯am, may I ask what your approximate budget is? I can rmend some items for you.¡± After all, Jane was an employee of the Heavenly Pavilion. She quickly turned around and pretended that nothing had happened. ¡°Five hundred thousand¡­ No, make it a million dors! As long as it¡¯s within a million dors, it¡¯s fine! Even if it costs a little bit more, it doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Vanessa immediately said with excitement. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Brian opened his mouth, suddenly at a loss for words.. Chapter 680 - Nitpicking

Chapter 680: Nitpicking

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Honey, do you think a million is too cheap? It seems to the case. After all, you¡¯re worth hundreds of millions now, and a million really means nothing to you. How about I pick two¡­ or three items today? We¡¯ll set the budget at between 1 to 1.5 million dors. Apart from a pendant, I¡¯d also like a pair of emerald bracelets and some other good jewelry. May I, Honey?¡± She blinked at Brian coquettishly. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ let¡¯s just take a look. If there¡¯s anything good, we¡¯ll buy it,¡± Brian said with a stiff smile and a stiff voice. ¡°Pleasee with me.¡± Jane brought them to a special disy cab full of emerald products and introduced, ¡°The price of the items in this cab happens to be all between 1 to 1.5 million. Please take a look. If there¡¯s anything you take a liking to, I can give you a 20% discount.¡± The items of the Heavenly Pavilion would never be on discount. Jane had offered a discount entirely because of Lucas. After Lucas left yesterday, Keh had specially instructed her to give Lucas anything he wanted from the Heavenly Pavilion for free, regardless of its value. She just had to report it to Keh. If Lucas brought his friends over to the store, they would enjoy a t 20% discount, which was considered a favor from the Heavenly Pavilion to Lucas. They wouldn¡¯t make any money off of Lucas¡¯s friends. Coincidentally, Lucas happened to bring a few friends here today. As soon as she heard what Jane said, Vanessa was a little surprised. ¡°Huh? The Heavenly Pavilion offers discounts too? I¡¯ve never heard about this before! But it¡¯s okay. My boyfriend is rich, so we don¡¯t need the discount!¡± She declined domineeringly. At this moment, Brian really felt like vomiting blood. This silly woman Vanessa actually asked for three items worth between 1 to 1.5 million dors each, which meant that he would have to spend 3 to 4.5 million dors. With the 20% discount, he would be able to save about 600,000 to 900,000 dors! Yet she turned it down without hesitating at all! ording to the information he had found, the items in the Heavenly Pavilion would never be on discount! Now, there was such a rare opportunity, but Vanessa turned it down just like that. He was at aplete loss for words. Does she really think I¡¯m a fool who will never run out of money? Hah, he couldn¡¯t even afford to buy an item that cost $500,000 from the Heavenly Pavilion, let alone $5 million! Seeing Vanessa already choosing items from the disy case with great excitement, Brian really wanted to drag her out immediately. Does she really think I¡¯m so rich that I¡¯d just casually give her jewelry that costs several hundred thousand every now and then? She should take a look at her face and ask herself if she¡¯s worth that much! Brian cursed his heart out at Vanessa in his head, wondering what kind of reason he should useter to refuse to buy the things she picked. But he happened to hear her eximing happily. ¡°Honey, look at this emerald pendant. The quality of the emerald is so much better than the one you gave me before! It¡¯s so beautiful! I want it. It costs only around 1.4 million!¡± Vanessa pointed at an extremely lustrous and translucent pendant, which was obviously made of top-quality emerald, in the middle of the disy case. Her face was full of excitement. ¡°Uh¡­ this isn¡¯t that nice. It doesn¡¯t suit your skin tone at all,¡± Brian said with a frown. ¡°Is that so? Honey, do you think it¡¯s unsuitable because my skin is nicer than this piece of emerald? Hehehe. I know you like my fair and tender skin the most! Okay, since this pendant doesn¡¯t suit me, I¡¯ll get another one!¡± With a shy smile, Vanessa pointed at a pair of emerald bracelets in the disy case. ¡°These bracelets are beautiful! They¡¯re made of the finest quality emerald, and the pattern is gorgeous too! It looks like a fantasy world of snow in the bracelets! I want these bracelets!¡± When Brian nced at the series of zeros on the price tag under the part of bracelets, which was 2 million dors, his heart skipped a beat, and he gritted his teeth. ¡°This isn¡¯t great. Don¡¯t buy it.¡± ¡°Oh, okay then! What about this pair of bracelets? It¡¯s very translucent.¡± ¡°It looks too tacky. It doesn¡¯t suit you either.¡± ¡°Well, what about this pair?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too old-fashioned. It¡¯s not nice either.¡± ¡­ Vanessa pointed at seven or eight pendants and bracelets in a row, but Brian rejected all of them for various reasons. ¡°Oh, it seems that the items below 1.5 million aren¡¯t that good.¡± Vanessa pouted and suddenly said to Jane, ¡°In that case, take us to see the ones between two to three million. I don¡¯t believe that I can¡¯t pick a decent bracelet today!¡± She spoke as if she was epting a challenge. In fact, Jane had already realized something from Brian¡¯s expression. He didn¡¯t seem to be nning to buy anything from the Heavenly Pavilion. But these two had entered together with Lucas after all, so she kept mum and pretended not to know. Now that Vanessa was requesting to look at the more expensive items, Jade still agreed with a presentable smile. ¡°Okay, pleasee with me.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Brian suddenly said and stopped Vanessa, who was about to follow Jane. His facial expression changed twice, and he suddenly said with a smile, ¡°Vanessa, I think we should just forget it. The things here are all so-so. There¡¯s nothing too special or outstanding. ¡°How about this? I heard that there will be a high-end auction after the exchanges today, and there will be all kinds of top-grade goods worth over ten million for sale. I¡¯ll get you the best pair of bracelets at the auction! These mediocre items only worth a few million aren¡¯t good enough for you at all!¡± Vanessa was touched and incredibly excited. Even her breathing became much more rapid. ¡°Honey, are you really going to buy me top-grade jewelry worth over ten million? Wouldn¡¯t¡­ wouldn¡¯t that be too expensive?¡± ¡°Hah, you¡¯re my woman. How can it be a waste when I¡¯m spending money on my beloved woman?¡± Brian said affectionately with a tender look on his face. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re too good to me! I¡¯m so happy I met you!¡± Vanessa immediately looked at him blissfully and snuggled into his embrace. Of course, she naturally didn¡¯t forget to nce at Charlotte untingly. Although she didn¡¯t say a single word, it was obvious from her gaze that she was saying, ¡°See? This is my man! He¡¯s willing to buy me jewelry worth ten million dors without batting an eyelid. Do you have a boyfriend like him? I¡¯m afraid your boyfriend can¡¯t even afford something that costs a hundred thousand!¡± Charlotte didn¡¯t even look at the two of them hugging each other, so she naturally failed to see what Vanessa was trying to convey with her gaze. Jane hesitated for a moment before reminding out of kindness, ¡°Uh, I¡¯m sorry. Although it may not be appropriate for me to say this, I still want to remind you that there won¡¯t be an auction after the business exchanges today, be it the Elite Business Exchange or the ordinary business exchange. The information this gentleman got is probably wrong..¡± Chapter 681 - Compensation

Chapter 681: Compensation

As the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion, she couldpletely ignore what the customers said. But these two came with Lucas after all. Moreover, Jane was worried that Brian might have received some misleading news and mistakenly thought that there would really be an auction after the exchanges. Thus, she decided to give him a kind reminder. But when Brian heard her words, his face instantly turned gloomy. ¡°What did you say?¡± There was anger in his voice. Jane thought that Brian was displeased to learn that there was no auction, so she exined further, ¡°Sir, I can confirm that there are no ns for an auction after both exchanges today. ¡°But there are Heavenly Pavilion exhibition halls set up in the venues of both exchanges. The items there are simr to the ones in our store, except that the prices of the items in the exhibition hall are slightly more expensive than the prices in our store out of consideration for the venue fees and other reasons. If you¡¯d like to get anything, it¡¯s more cost-effective to buy it in our store,¡± Jane said, fulfilling her duty. Brian¡¯s face turned even uglier, and his eyes were about to burst with anger. Both Charlotte and Lucas had been invited to the ordinary business exchange and the Elite Business Exchange respectively, so they were extremely clear that there indeed wouldn¡¯t be an auction after the exchanges. If there really was one, then it would have been advertised early on so that those interested would be able to prepare for it in advance. At this moment, even Charlotte could tell that what Brian said about the Heavenly Pavilion¡¯s items being mediocre and his promise to buy Vanessa a piece of top-grade jewelry at the auction after the business exchanges were excuses. Brian was currently incredibly furious. He had painstakingly found the perfect excuse to get this silly woman Vanessa to stop pestering him to buy expensive jewelry from the Heavenly Pavilion. Yet Jane had actually exposed him directly to his face. How could he go on then? ¡°Hah, look at you sounding like you know it all. Do you know a lot about today¡¯s exchanges? Did you also receive an invitation?¡± Brian questioned hostilely. Jane shook her head and said honestly, ¡°I¡¯m just an employee of the Heavenly Pavilion, and I¡¯m not qualified to represent the Heavenly Pavilion to attend the exchange.¡± ¡°Hmph, since you don¡¯t even have an invitation, how can you conclude that there¡¯s no auction after the exchanges? Who told you there isn¡¯t?¡± Brian strained his neck and said forcefully, ¡°You¡¯re just an employee of the Heavenly Pavilion. How dare you talk back to me? Do you know who I am? ¡°Let me tell you. I¡¯m the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation in LA. Have you heard of the Sr Corporation? It can afford ten Heavenly Pavilions! I¡¯m here to attend the exchange on behalf of the Sr Corporation. Of course, I know the program lineup of the exchange better than you. What a joke! ¡°Do I need someone like you to teach me what to do? How ridiculous! Vanessa, I think this person is just trying to fool us into buying things from the Heavenly Pavilion. She keeps saying that the things here are cheaper. Psht! Am I the type to go for cheaper things? ¡°Let¡¯s go, Vanessa. We won¡¯t buy anything from Heavenly Pavilion! I¡¯m going to drive them mad! ¡°Don¡¯t you just want a pair of top-grade emerald bracelets? Let¡¯s go to the auction, and I¡¯ll buy you the most expensive pair! Even if they cost dozens of millions, I¡¯ll buy them for you! When the timees, let¡¯s see what she has to say!¡± When Vanessa heard that Brian was leaving, she thought she wouldn¡¯t get any bracelets today. But when she heard thest sentence, she was overjoyed. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the auction to buy the most expensive bracelets. Honey, you¡¯re so nice to me¡­!¡± Bang! Before Vanessa could finish speaking, she was suddenly interrupted by the loud sound of something cracking. She had been in a hurry to catch up with Brian and didn¡¯t watch where she was walking, so she had identally swung her arm and knocked the vase on one of the disy cases onto the floor. It immediately shattered. The loud sound instantly attracted the attention of many people around. In particr, when some people saw the broken vase fragments on the floor, they inhaled sharply. ¡°Oh my God!¡± ¡°No way. She actually broke that vase? It seems she has to pay for it!¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t know if this woman can afford it. The vase is really expensive! My dad liked it a lot, and he hesitated for a long time, but he didn¡¯t buy it!¡± ¡­ Several people around them began discussing. When Vanessa discovered that she had identally broken something in the store, she panicked a little. But when she saw that she had merely broken a vase, she was a lot less flustered. ¡°It¡¯s just a vase. What¡¯s the big deal? ¡°My boyfriend is rich, and he¡¯s even going to buy me a pair of jade bracelets worth several dozen million. What¡¯s the big deal about breaking a vase? Right, Honey? ¡°You just want me topensate for it, don¡¯t you? We¡¯ll just do it. God knows how long this lousy vase has been on disy here. Maybe no one wants it at all. You¡¯ll be making a huge profit when Ipensate you! ¡°Honey, let them swipe your card!¡± Vanessa said with great confidence and arrogance. Not only did she not apologize for identally breaking something in the Heavenly Pavilion, but she was even nonchnt and behaved as if the store was receiving a huge advantage from her. ¡°¡­¡± Brian was incredibly gloomy. If he could, he really wanted to p the foolish Vanessa several times on her mouth! If she hadn¡¯t walked without watching where she was going, he wouldn¡¯t have topensate such arge amount for nothing. He even had the impulse to leave right away. But when he noticed that Charlotte was still looking at him and that the guests around him seemed to be figures of status, he felt that it would be extremely embarrassing if he met them on any other asion in the future. He couldn¡¯t afford to be that embarrassed. After thinking about it for a long time, Brian finally took out a bank card from his pocket with great reluctance and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Swipe this card!¡± Jane walked over and was about to take the card from his hand. But Brian suddenly glowered at her and threw the card onto the floor. Anyone could tell that it wasn¡¯t a slip of the hand but that Brian did it on purpose! Chapter 682 - Falling Out

Chapter 682: Falling Out

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jane was just a young woman who had just graduated from college. Now that she suddenly suffered such humiliation, her face instantly flushed red. At the same time, she felt very aggrieved and bewildered. She had just given him a kind reminder on ount that he was Lucas¡¯s friend. She couldn¡¯t fathom Brian¡¯s anger toward her. Did I really anger Mr. Gray¡¯s friend because I was too nosy? Jane felt aggrieved. But when she thought about how it wasmonce for many wealthy people to be temperamental and enjoy trampling on the dignity of others, coupled with the fact that Brian was Lucas¡¯s friend, she had no choice but to force herself to endure the humiliation. She bent down to pick up the bank card on the floor. ¡°Wait. Don¡¯t pick it up,¡± Lucas suddenly interjected coldly. Although she didn¡¯t quite understand why Lucas suddenly stopped her from epting the humiliation his friend was subjecting her to, Lucas was her great benefactor, who had helped her a lot yesterday. So she subconsciously obeyed and stood up again. Brian was displeased with Lucas. ¡°Punk, what are you doing?¡± Brian chided unceremoniously. Lucas looked at Brian and Vanessa coldly. ¡°Since you¡¯repensating for something, you should swipe your card properly. Such behavior is uneptable. You¡¯ve gone overboard.¡± The Heavenly Pavilion was the property of the Parkers from LA, and the Parkers had already submitted themselves to Lucas. Thus, it could be said that Lucas was the biggest boss behind the Heavenly Pavilion and that Jane was his employee. How could Lucas stand by and watch Brian take his anger out on his employee after breaking something in his store? ¡°Damn it. Who are you to lecture me?!¡± Brian flew into a rage and cursed at Lucas while pointing at his face. Vanessa chimed in angrily, ¡°My boyfriend is a thousand times better than you. How dare you teach us what to do when you¡¯re just a penniless man? You must be joking. If it wasn¡¯t for Charlotte, a loser like you wouldn¡¯t even be qualified to speak to us. Who gave you the audacity to denounce us?¡± Still not appeased aftershing out at Lucas, she turned around and vented her anger on Charlotte. ¡°Charlotte, it¡¯s not that I have to keep criticizing you, but look how terrible your boyfriend is! My boyfriend and I were kind enough to bring him to the Heavenly Pavilion for an eye-opener so that he wouldn¡¯t be too embarrassing when he¡¯s out with you, but what about him? How dare he help an outsider criticize us and say that we¡¯re overboard?! He¡¯s too ungrateful. ¡°Worst still, how did he get the courage to criticize my boyfriend? My boyfriend is so young, but he¡¯s already the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation, a hugepany worth billions, and his worth is hundreds of millions. What about your boyfriend? I¡¯m afraid all the clothes on his body add up to less than a hundred dors. Even if you marry him, you¡¯ll have to suffer with this penniless man, and in no time, you¡¯ll be old and haggard! ¡°Back in high school, you were the school belle and star student. So many boys courted you every day. Why has your taste in men be so terrible? ¡°They all say that the gap between people will widen five years after graduation, and it really seems to be the case! When I marry my boyfriend, I¡¯ll be the wife of the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation. Furthermore, in less than two years, I might be the wife of the general manager! And you? You won¡¯t be able to get ahead in life if you marry this penniless man! ¡°If your man has so much time and effort to spare on reproving my boyfriend, he might as well spend it on improving himself and learning how to behave! ¡°If he¡¯s willing to admit his mistakes and apologize to my boyfriend, I might even ask Brian to arrange for him to be a driver or take on random jobs!¡± Vanessa said a long list of words, which she had been curbing the urge to say for a long time. Anyway, she had shown off enough to Charlotte, and she was already getting ready to leave now. So she didn¡¯t bother to pretend to be extremely close to Charlotte anymore, and her words became harsh and sarcastic. Charlotte didn¡¯t expect Vanessa to suddenly fall out with her and even speak in such a callous manner. At first, Charlotte was actually ted to see Vanessa, her former best friend in high school. But as she continued to chat with Vanessa, she began to find her intolerable. Given the way Vanessa behaved, she clearly didn¡¯t have any intention to chat with her at all. Instead, she was just unting. Charlotte had been tolerant toward her on ount of their friendship. But now, Vanessa had not only taken the initiative to fall out with her, but she even nitpicked on Lucas and humiliated him greatly. She was not a good-tempered person in the first ce, and at this moment, she was exasperated. ¡°Enough! Vanessa, what are you putting on airs and unting in front of me for? What does my life have to do with you? Can¡¯t you live without putting me down? Do you have to be so vicious? ¡°Don¡¯t think I couldn¡¯t tell why you dragged me here today. Wasn¡¯t it just to show off to me? You just wanted to show off how rich your man is and how much he loves you. But what¡¯s there to show off? Do those things belong to you? Without your man, what do you have to show off in front of me? ¡°What about your own job? How about your sry and savings? Do you dare to show them off? Do you have what it takes to show off? ¡°In my eyes, you are just a parasite sponging off a man. If your man leaves you one day, won¡¯t you immediately end up with nothing? I really don¡¯t know why you have the courage to show off in front of me when you¡¯re living such a life! ¡°Also, do you know anything about us? Do you even know who Lucas is? You don¡¯t know anything, but you jumped to conclusions. All you do is judge others by their appearance and mock them as you please. In my opinion, you two are the greatest jokes ever!¡± Charlotte was a hot-tempered person to begin with, and now that she had lost her temper, she was definitely an even match for Vanessa. Every single word of hers hit the nail on its head, and she even called Vanessa out for being a parasite who was nothing without a rich man. Charlotte¡¯s words struck a sour note within Vanessa, and she immediately flew into a rage and hollered, ¡°Hah, I bet you¡¯re just being sour grapes! My boyfriend is just that capable. If you have what it takes, find yourself a boyfriend who¡¯s rich and loves you! You¡¯re just saying that because you¡¯re inferior to me. You¡¯re the joke! ¡°Just hold on to your poor boyfriend and live the rest of your life in misery! If you ever end up being too poor to eat and be a beggar showing up at my house, I won¡¯t give you a morsel of food!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Charlotte sneered. She suddenly felt that there was nothing for her to talk about to Vanessa, who wanted nothing but to rely on a man and viewed money as the most important criterion. They weren¡¯t on the same page at all, and it would be a waste of time for her to say anything more. Seeing Charlotte stop talking, Vanessa immediately felt that she had won the argument. But when she noticed that everyone else around them seemed to be watching a drama, she no longer wanted to stay here. She rebuked Jane, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and pick up the card on the floor and swipe it. I don¡¯t want to stay in this lousy ce for another second!¡± Jane was stuck in a dilemma, unsure if she should pick up the card or not. At this moment, Lucas stopped her again and said to Brian, ¡°Pick up the card yourself and apologize to this youngdy!¡± ¡°Damn it! You¡¯re pushing your luck. Do you believe I¡¯ll beat you to death right now?¡± Boiling with fury, Brian rolled up his sleeves, raised his fist, and red at Lucas threateningly.. Chapter 683 - Insufficient Balance

Chapter 683: Insufficient Bnce

Afraid that Brian and Lucas would really get into a fight, Jane quickly said withposure, ¡°Don¡¯t fight! I¡¯ll pick up the bank card now.¡± She bent down to pick up the bank card at Brian¡¯s feet. In fact, Jane¡¯s thought process was simple. She thought that since Lucas was not only a valued guest of Keh, the owner of the Heavenly Pavilion, but also her benefactor, she couldn¡¯t let Brian really beat up Lucas no matter what. As long as she picked up Brian¡¯s bank card as soon as possible and swiped it toplete thepensation procedure, they could leave quickly, and everything would be fine. Lucas once again reached out to stop Jane. ¡°I appreciate your attitude toward customers, and that¡¯s why you¡¯re now the general manager of the Heavenly Pavilion. However, that¡¯s also why all your words and actions now represent the Heavenly Pavilion and no longer just yourself personally. ¡°Today¡¯s incident is their fault in the first ce, so they shouldpensate for breaking the vase in the store. If you really give in and submit to someone humiliating you and the Heavenly Pavilion, it means that the Heavenly Pavilion is stooping low to bow down to them. In that case, how can the Heavenly Pavilion¡¯s image be preserved in the hearts of the customers? Will there be more and more peopleing here to cause trouble and take the opportunity to trample all over you? ¡°I know you¡¯re putting up with this today for the sake of settling this matter peacefully, but others may not think so. They¡¯ll only think that you and the Heavenly Pavilion are weak pushovers! ¡°If he identally dropped his bank card, it would be understandable for you to help him pick it up. But he¡¯s clearly the one who made a mistake in the first ce, yet he¡¯s still acting all high and mighty. Since he doesn¡¯t treat you as human, you don¡¯t have to be nice to him! Respect between people is mutual, and we are all born equal. You work hard to make a livelihood, and you¡¯re not inferior to them at all! ¡°Besides, you¡¯re the general manager of Heavenly Pavilion. How could you really be afraid of him? If someone really dares to cause trouble here, the Parkers will definitely not ignore it!¡± Lucas would rarely say so many words at once. But Jane was a talent he recognized, and he didn¡¯t want to see this intelligent girl with a strong backbone getting bullied like this. He wanted to nurture and train her. Moreover, Lucas really couldn¡¯t tolerate Brian and Vanessa. After hearing what Lucas said, Jane looked extremely touched. During the time she had worked as a sales assistant, she had often been bullied by others and ordered around by haughty customers. No one had cared about the dignity of the sales assistants. Lucas was the only one who had stopped her from bending down to pick up the card to protect her dignity, and not just once. Charlotte was also looking at him with glistening eyes and admiration written all over her face. At the same time, the people who had witnessed the entire incident around them stood on Lucas and Jane¡¯s side. They couldn¡¯t stand the arrogant and domineering behavior of Brian and Vanessa. ¡°Those two people are really outrageous! They spent so long browsing through the items here, but they refused to buy anything using all sorts of excuses. They knocked over the vase, but not only did they not apologize, they¡¯re acting so snobbish. They even deliberately threw the bank card to the floor. How uncultured! ¡°God knows where they¡¯re from. Do they think they¡¯re a big deal just because they have some money? Those who can enter the Heavenly Pavilion are all rich, but no one is as arrogant as them!¡± ¡°Hah, I think it¡¯s hard to say for sure that they¡¯re really rich! These look like they¡¯re wearing designer clothing, but they¡¯re actually high-end knockoffs! My family is the agent for a luxury menswear brand, and I can tell at a nce!¡± ¡°Wow, they¡¯re really something. They¡¯re wearing counterfeit products, yet they still have the audacity to be so arrogant. I saw them being picky and criticizing the items without buying anything. I bet they¡¯re really too poor to afford anything.¡± ¡­ Countless usatory voices came from all around. When Brian heard the first few remarks, his face turned beet-red with anger. But when he heard the next few, he felt so ashamed that he didn¡¯t even dare to lift his head. Reason being, these people were right. The designer clothes and essories he was wearing were actually all high-end counterfeits that cost only a few hundred dors. The customers of the Heavenly Pavilion in front of him were genuinely wealthy, so they could definitely expose his lies. At this thought, Brian couldn¡¯t care less about Jane. Now, all he wanted to do was immediately settle the matter and leave. ¡°Fine, I was wrong!¡± he said through gritted teeth. He picked up the bank card on the floor, handed it to Jane, and quickly said, ¡°I¡¯llpensate you for it. Quickly swipe my card!¡± Brian began chickening out and wanted to leave as soon as possible. But Vanessa felt that he was greatly wronged, and the ones responsible were Lucas, the culprit, and Charlotte, his aplice. ¡°Lucas Gray, do you think you¡¯re really great? Do you think we¡¯re afraid of you? Let me tell you. My boyfriend just doesn¡¯t want to create unnecessary trouble. That¡¯s why he apologized. It¡¯s not because he¡¯s afraid of you! ¡°After leaving the Heavenly Pavilion, my boyfriend is still the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation. He¡¯s in charge of thousands of employees and has an annual sry of millions! He also easily earns more than ten million a year just from bank deposit interests, stock options, and investments! ¡°But what about you? After you leave the Heavenly Pavilion, you¡¯re still just a bottom feeder of society. Do you even make more than minimum wage? ¡°Charlotte Carter, you¡¯re really blind to have fallen for such a man! You deserve to be unlucky for the rest of your life and never make aeback! Haha, I really find it amusing when I think about how I used to be your best friend! You and I belong to two different worlds, and I will never speak to you again!¡± Facing Vanessa acting like a mad dog barking, Lucas and Charlotte didn¡¯t bother to pay any attention. From now on, Charlotte would no longer see Vanessa as her best friend. Besides, their situations werepletely unlike what Vanessa said, so she obviously wouldn¡¯t care about what Vanessa said. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m sorry, but the bnce in your bank card is insufficient to pay for the vase¡­¡± Jane suddenly walked back from the cashier with Brian¡¯s bank card, looking rather awkward. ¡°What? How is it possible that the bnce is insufficient? I have a million in that card! How can it be insufficient for that stupid vase?¡± Brian immediately shouted angrily. Jane said with an apologetic look, ¡°If you really only have a million in your card, it¡¯s indeed insufficient because the vase you two just broke is a blue-and-white porcin vase from the Ming Dynasty, which is extremely rare and precious. Its retail price is 2.8 million dors, and the bnce in your card is quite far from this.¡± Brian and Vanessa widened their eyes in shock, almost wondering if there was something wrong with their ears! Chapter 684 - Severing Ties

Chapter 684: Severing Ties

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°How much did you say it costs?!¡± Brian asked in disbelief, his voice about to crack. ¡°2.8 million dors, Sir,¡± Jane repeated, deliberately slowing down her speech to quote the price carefully. ¡°How is that possible?! It¡­ it¡¯s just a vase. How can it be so expensive?!¡± Brian yelled hysterically, almost on the verge of breaking down. If the vase was sold at a less prestigious ce, he might have thought it was only worth a couple dozen dors. But since it was ced in a store like the Heavenly Pavilion, where cheap goods didn¡¯t exist, Brian had braced himself and raised his expected price to about $150,000. Thus, he gritted his teeth and took out his bank card with a bnce of one million, thinking that it should be more than enough. But to his surprise, the vase had a staggering price tag of $2.8 million! The money he had was less than half of the vase¡¯s price! How could he afford topensate for it? He didn¡¯t have that much money. With shock written all over her face, Vanessa questioned aggressively, ¡°Are you people trying to extort us? It¡¯s just a stupid vase. How can it be so expensive? Are you deliberately raising the price because you saw that we agreed topensate for it? I¡¯m telling you. I won¡¯t tolerate such behavior! I¡¯m going to sue you! Don¡¯t think that we¡¯re pushovers!¡± Facing her harsh voice and threats, Jane kept a straight face and said calmly, ¡°Miss, the prices of the items in our store are all marked very clearly. The price of this Ming Dynasty blue-and-white porcin vase is also clearly indicated on the disy stand. You may take a look at it yourself. ¡°In addition, the price of an antique is not determined by its actual use but by its age, craftsmanship, and collection value. This Ming Dynasty vase has been in our store for some time, and no one has ever said that it¡¯s not worth the price. We also have an appraisal certificate issued by the authorities, and you may also bring the broken pieces away for authenticationter. This should prove that what you just broke is indeed a precious Ming Dynasty blue-and-white porcin vase. ¡°The Heavenly Pavilion has always marked our prices very clearly, and we would never cheat anyone. We are definitely trustworthy, and we will absolutely nevermit deliberate exhortation.¡± Jane was neither servile nor overbearing during her speech, and she also managed to refute Vannessa¡¯s usatory remarks about the Heavenly Pavilion extorting them. Some guests gathered around them also spoke up in agreement. ¡°Indeed, the porcin vase has been here for about half a month. My father used toe here every day to look at it, and he really wanted to buy it. But unfortunately, it was too expensive, so my father was hesitant about it. If he hears that this vase was broken, he¡¯ll probably be so upset that he won¡¯t be able to eat¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a precious porcin vase from the Ming Dynasty and extremely valuable, so it¡¯s reasonable for it to be priced at 2.8 million dors. I can also vouch that the vase has always been sold at this price. The Heavenly Pavilion didn¡¯t deliberately increase the price to extort you!¡± ¡°If a vase from the Ming Dynasty were sold for only a few hundred thousand dors, it would definitely be a crazy sale. Anyone selling it at this price, please give me a dozen of them. I¡¯ll take everything!¡± People spoke up one after another. Vanessa¡¯s face suddenly flushed red. She really didn¡¯t know the value of these antiques. She only knew that the luxury goods such as jewelry and gemstones were expensive. She hadn¡¯t expected that an unassuming vase she didn¡¯t even take a liking to was worth so much money. ¡°Hmph, isn¡¯t it just a few million? My boyfriend is worth hundreds of millions. He can easily afford to pay for it.¡± Vanessa rolled her eyes at the people around her with disdain. She turned her head and said to Brian, ¡°Honey, you must have taken the wrong card just now. The one million in this card should be the spending money for me, right? Give me this card and quickly take out your other card with arge bnce! Hmph, it¡¯s merely a few million. It¡¯s peanuts to you!¡± Then Vanessa hurriedly snatched that bank card from Jane¡¯s hand and held it tightly with sweet bliss written all over her face. A few days ago, she had coquettishly asked Brian for some spending money after they were intimate with each other. He had agreed to give her a card with a million for her to spend as she pleased. She thought that he was trying to give her a surprise by hiding it from her even though he had already prepared it. Vanessa indulged in her thoughts happily. Charlotte couldn¡¯t contain her amusement any longer and burst intoughter. She wasn¡¯t trying to be rude, but rather, Brian¡¯s current expression was just too hrious. It was almost as if he was full of resentment as he stared at Vanessa gripping the card tightly in her hand, wishing he could snatch it from her right away. But Vanessa was still obliviously showing off Brian¡¯s wealth. It was really funny! Hearing Charlotte¡¯sughter, Vanessa immediately rebuked in anger, ¡°Charlotte Carter, why are youughing? My boyfriend can casually give me a million as spending money. Can yours do the same? I¡¯m afraid your penniless boyfriend won¡¯t even give you a thousand, huh?¡± Charlotte had a hard time holding in herughter before saying, ¡°Haha, you¡­ should ask your boyfriend if the money in this card is for your spending money or not. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s all the money your boyfriend has. You¡¯d better hurry up and return it to him. Otherwise, he¡¯ll eat you up immediately. Haha!¡± Vanessa was further enraged. She turned toin to Brian, ¡°Honey, look at her! She even said that the money in this card is everything you have. How can she insult you like that? You obviously have at least a few hundred million in your card. How can you possibly only have a million?!¡± Brian gritted his teeth and ordered, ¡°Give me the card!¡± His eyes were menacing, and he wished he could kill the stupid Vanessa on the spot. ¡°Huh? Honey, what¡­ what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Vanessa finally discovered something amiss with Brian¡¯s expression. He was ring at her like she was an enemy, making her frightened. ¡°Honey¡­ what¡­ what¡¯s gotten into you? I¡­ I¡¯m your precious sweetheart!¡± Vanessa said carefully. ¡°My sweet bullshit! Return the card to me immediately!¡± Brian could no longer contain his anger. He cursed at her and grabbed the card back from her by force. Vanessa was still stunned and bewildered. Brian said, ¡°This woman is the one who broke the vase. If you wantpensation, get her to pay for it! I have nothing to do with this woman from now on. You don¡¯t have to let me know regardless of what happens to her!¡± With that, Brian glowered at Vanessa before turning around to leave. He actually broke up with Vanessa and severed ties with her at this juncture! Everyone was stunned. Meanwhile, Vanessa¡¯s jaw dropped, and she waspletely dumbstruck, unable to process what was going on! Chapter 685 - Exposing The Truth Himself

Chapter 685: Exposing The Truth Himself

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as Brian was about to walk to the elevator, the elevator doors suddenly opened, and a young man with a cold and hostile aura walked out. He hollered, ¡°Who is it? Who dares to cause trouble on the Parkers¡¯ turf?!¡± Six tall and burly bodyguards followed him out of the elevator. They were firmly blocking the elevator as a murderous tension filled the air. Brian panicked and took several steps backward, his heart full of nervousness and panic. As someone from LA, he naturally recognized at a nce who the nobly-dressed young man in front of him was. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Parker!¡± Brian hurriedly greeted him. The young man was none other than Keh, the scion of the Parkers and the owner of the Heavenly Pavilion. Brian didn¡¯t dare to offend him in the slightest. ¡°Brian Klein, what exactly do you mean by what you just said? Repeat yourself!¡± Vanessa finally processed what Brian had just said, but she was inplete disbelief of this fact. She dashed over and grabbed Brian¡¯s shirt. She and Brian were clearly deeply in love with each other, and Brian had even promised to meet her parents to ask for her hand in marriage. So she was confused as to why he would suddenly break up with her and say that he would no longer have anything to do with her. Vanessa refused to believe it no matter what! ¡°Let go!¡± Brian pushed Vanessa away forcefully, pushing her onto the floor. She had a hard fall, but he didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid, and his face was covered in disgust and disdain. ¡°I¡¯ve long had enough of you, you incorrigible, foolish, and shameless wench! What else do you do every day besides pouting, whining, acting coquettish, and pestering me to buy you clothes and jewelry or give you money? ¡°If you hadn¡¯t thrown yourself at me and climbed into my bed, do you think I would have given you a second nce? People always say that the ugly ones are the greatest troublemakers, but why do you still think you¡¯re some angel? Why don¡¯t you take a look at yourself in the mirror and see if you still look decent without makeup? ¡°What else do you see besides money? What does how much money I have have to do with you? Have you ever earned a single cent yourself? You¡¯re just like a bloodsucking leech who only knows to pester me to buy you this and that! ¡°I was just toying with you, you hideous and shameless woman. Do you think I¡¯d really spend so much money on you? ¡°Hmph, I might as well tell you the truth. Your emerald bracelet, earrings, ring, clothes, and handbag are all high-grade counterfeits that I got someone to help me get from the ck market! They cost less than a few hundred dors in total! ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of your stupidity. You¡¯re such an idiot! You just had to drag me to the Heavenly Pavilion and ask me to buy you things worth millions. Do you think my money grows on trees? Even if it does, why should I spend my money on you? ¡°You¡¯re the one who broke the vase yourself, so you should pay for it. What does it have to do with me? We¡¯re just friends with benefits who have slept with each other for a few months. I never had anything to do with you! ¡°I¡¯m also making it clear to you today that you¡¯re not allowed toe pester me again in the future. Otherwise, I¡¯ll beat you up whenever I see you. Do you hear me?!¡± Brian roared furiously, revealing the truth about everything in order to break off ties with Vanessapletely. Vanessa never thought that the truth would be so cruel. She thought that she had finally found the perfect man and kept bragging about him, but he was just toying with her. He had even fooled her with worthless counterfeits! After getting pushed by Brian, Vanessa fell onto the floor. But the physical pain was nothingpared to the emotional pain she was feeling! She thought she had finally found a rich man who could give her a life of luxury. But now, she felt as if she had fallen from the sky, as if her whole world had copsed. A woman getting ruthlessly abandoned by a heartless man should have been something worthy of sympathy. But except for Keh and his men, everyone else present had witnessed how arrogant and domineering Vanessa was. She had humiliated and mocked her former best friend and her penniless boyfriend just because she had found herself a rich boyfriend. Now that Vanessa had been dumped by her boyfriend, whom she often bragged about in every way, everyone felt that she deserved it and had brought it upon herself. No one sympathized with her at all. Vanessa was the only person unwilling to ept this reality. Sitting on the floor, she began shaking her head hysterically. ¡°No, this is impossible! Brian, you clearly said that I¡¯m the person you love the most and the one you want to marry and spend the rest of your life with. How could you possibly do this to me? ¡°You even said that you¡¯d visit my parents soon and ask for my hand in marriage. You also said that you¡¯ve prepared an expensive betrothal gift for me! ¡°The emerald bracelet and diamond ring you gave me were clearly bought from the Heavenly Pavilion. You told me you spent millions just so I could be happy. How can they possibly be cheap counterfeits? ¡°Brian, tell me that you¡¯re just joking with me. You must be joking, right? Everything you just said to me is a lie, right?¡± Tears were streaming down Vannessa¡¯s face, but she still couldn¡¯t help looking at Brian expectantly, hoping to hear an affirmative answer from him. But Brian merely nced at her tear-stained face covered in smudged makeup. With disgust in his eyes, he said coldly, ¡°What a fool. I¡¯ve already told you everything. What are you expecting? Are you still dreaming of being Cindere? Yes, my family is indeed richer than yours, but why should I marry an ugly, poor, and stupid woman like you? ¡°Even if I get married, I will definitely marry someone worthy andpatible with my family. Look at yourself. What about you is worthy of me? ¡°In terms of looks, you¡¯re just mediocre. You¡¯re not pretty at all! ¡°In terms of family background¡­ Hah, you keptining to me about how poor your family is. Your family is still expecting you to feed them, aren¡¯t they? ¡°In terms of character and talent¡­ Hah, you have no ambitions, and you¡¯re just a materialistic, tacky, and ipetent woman. In thest two years, has your monthly sry ever been above three thousand? ¡°Hmph, tell me. Just what attribute of yours is good enough for me?¡± Brian was merciless as he relentlessly criticized Vanessa to the point where she seemed worthless. Vanessa was heartbroken and unwilling to believe the fact that she had just been dumped like this. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it! I don¡¯t believe it! You¡­ said so many sweet nothings to me and gave me so many gifts. You clearly still love me! I don¡¯t believe it!¡± she yelled hysterically. Brian said in annoyance, ¡°How can you be so stupid?! If you don¡¯t believe me, then take off the ring and bracelet you¡¯re wearing and let the staff of the Heavenly Pavilion authenticate them. I wish you¡¯d hurry up and die so that you¡¯ll stop pestering me!¡± Hearing this, Vanessa hurriedly got up from the floor as if she had found a straw to clutch at and rushed to the service desk nearby. She frantically took off the diamond ring, emerald bracelet, and earrings she was wearing and pushed them to the jewelry appraiser in front of her. ¡°Sir, quickly help me authenticate them and tell me if they¡¯re genuine or not. Tell me if they¡¯re from the Heavenly Pavilion,¡± she said with great panic.. Chapter 686 - On What Grounds?

Chapter 686: On What Grounds?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The bespectacled treasure appraiser pushed his sses up his nose bridge and picked up the emerald bracelet. He took a few nces at it and then put it down. Then he picked up the twenty-carat diamond ring and the so-called emerald earrings. He looked at them a few times before shaking his head, letting out a long sigh, and pushing them all back to Vanessa. ¡°How is it? You¡¯ve finished so soon? Don¡¯t you need to take a closer look? Are these genuine or fake?¡± Vanessa asked profusely. The treasure appraiser said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss, but these items are not from the Heavenly Pavilion. Moreover, they¡¯re all artificial gems. These things are very cheap, and you can probably get them for a few dozen dors. If you wear them for a long time, they will be harmful to your health. Try not to wear them again in the future!¡± Vanessa felt as if she was struck by lightning. Her eyes were wide open, and she stood rooted to the spot,pletely dumbstruck. These items¡­ were things she cherished and wore every single day, and she¡¯d go around showing them off. But it turned out that they were all counterfeits worth only a few dozen dors. Worse still, they were harmful to her health! Brian actually deceived her with such terrible counterfeit goods! Vanessa stood in ce dejectedly,pletely lost and out of sorts, seemingly having suffered an immense blow. But no one sympathized with her. Lucas had also been standing at the side and watching everything. He felt that Vanessa had brought it upon herself. From the time Vanessa met Charlotte by chance today, she had been showing off and unting her boyfriend¡¯s wealth and their sess. She had also insulted Charlotte and Lucas from time to time. Lucas could ignore all of this. But when Vanessa and Charlotte fell out just now, Vanessa had cursed at Charlotte and said lots of unpleasant and callous things to her. She had even behaved in an extremely condescending manner, making Lucas feel disgusted. Vanessa, a materialistic gold digger who only knew to rely on men, had a twisted mind. She had put her former best friend to shame and trampled all over her, so she totally deserved to end up in such a plight today. Seeing Vanessa finally stop pestering him, Brian hurried toward Keh and said nervously, ¡°Mr. Parker, that woman is the one who broke the vase, and I have nothing to do with her now. If you want someone topensate for it, look for her. She really isn¡¯t rted to me in any way!¡± Then he scurried toward the elevator door in a bid to flee. ¡°Stop! Did I say you could leave? If you dare to take another step, I¡¯ll make your family vanish from LA!¡± Keh roared coldly. His words made Brian freeze in ce. He stood nailed to the spot, not even daring to tremble. A bean-sized droplet of sweat trickled down his face. Brian didn¡¯t doubt Keh¡¯s threat at all. The Parkers were now thergest and most powerful family in LA. A small family like the Kleins would definitely be annihted as long as Keh issued amand! ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Parker, but that woman is really the one who broke the vase. The¡­ the people here can vouch for me!¡± Brian was on the verge of tears. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ve just heard someone report the situation. You broke up with that woman after breaking the vase in my store, which means that you were still in a rtionship with her when the vase was broken. You two were even holding hands then. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you two do after this. But now, you two must pay for the broken vase! Otherwise, I¡¯ll have someone go to the Klein family and ask your elders how this matter should be handled!¡± Keh couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue with Brian. After making himself clear, he stopped paying attention to him. Brian felt that the sky was about to copse on him. The vase was worth $2.8 million! It was absolutely not a small sum of money! Keh demanded that he and Vanessapensate for it together, but Brian knew that Vanessa was so poor that she probably didn¡¯t even have $30,000, which was far from enough. In the end, he would still have to pay for it. But the Kleins were not even a second-tier family in LA, and theirbined assets were probably only around 10 million dors. Moreover, this amount was almost all in real estate and immovable properties. They probably had less than 2 million dors in liquid funds! In other words, if they had to pay thepensation of $2.8 million, the Kleins would have to sell their houses or stores. If his elders found out, they would definitely beat him to death! Brian¡¯s face turned pale, and he felt devastated. Meanwhile, Keh had already walked up to Lucas and asked cautiously with great respect, ¡°Mr. Gray, thismotion hasn¡¯t affected your mood, has it?¡± He had just been chatting happily with some business partners in the Walton Hotel, where the Elite Business Exchange would be held, under the guidance of his grandfather. But he was suddenly informed that someone was causing trouble in the Heavenly Pavilion, and Lucas was there again. Keh was almost frightened to death! Just yesterday, Lucas had visited the Parkers¡¯ Heavenly Pavilion for the first time and had been provoked by the idiotic Kylie and general manager Frey. Keh hurried over to teach them a lesson and promoted Jane, whom Lucas rmended. He also admonished all the employees of the Heavenly Pavilion. But just one dayter, there was yet another slip-up, and Lucas had encountered an unhappy incident in the Heavenly Pavilion again. Keh felt that he was too embarrassed to face Lucas again. He was also particrly worried that Lucas might scold him for his poor management and ipetency. If he were in Lucas¡¯s ce and ended up encountering an unhappy experience in a store run by his subordinate twice in a row, he would definitely think that his subordinate was poor at managing. Fortunately for him, Lucas wasn¡¯t upset with him. Instead, he smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m just here to watch the drama.¡± Of course, Lucas wouldn¡¯t me Keh for today¡¯s incident. Actually, the Heavenly Pavilion was also unlucky to have met these two scourges. Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t seem upset, Keh finally heaved a sigh of relief and stood up straight. His respectful and conscientious behavior, as well as the subservient way he addressed Lucas, made everyone stunned! In particr, Brian and Vanessa were so astounded that their eyes were about to fall out. The scion of the Parkers actually behaved so deferentially toward Lucas. How was this possible?! On what grounds?! Chapter 687 - The Black Card Appears Again

Chapter 687: The ck Card Appears Again

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Just as the crowd was full of astonishment, Keh greeted Charlotte. ¡°Miss Carter, you¡¯re here too.¡± Charlotte smiled. ¡°Hello. I didn¡¯t expect your business to have expanded to such arge scale, Mr. Parker. There are indeed many good things here in the Heavenly Pavilion. It has given me an eye-opener.¡± She was very polite. After all, Charlotte already knew that the Parkers had an extraordinary rtionship with Lucas. Now that she learned the huge Heavenly Pavilion actually belonged to the Parkers, it was reasonable for her to give him somepliments out of courtesy. Kehughed and said with a great sense of pride, ¡°Miss Carter, if there¡¯s anything you¡¯ve taken a liking to in the Heavenly Pavilion, feel free to take it. You can have it for free!¡± Cheyenne hurriedly waved her hand and thanked Keh for his kindness. Each of the items on this floor of the Heavenly Pavilion was worth at least $150,000. She had never bought such an expensive item before, so she obviously couldn¡¯t bring herself to ept such a gift from Keh for free. Charlotte would never be able to ept a gift from someone for no reason, especially a gift of such high value. Lucas smiled, walked to the disy case of emerald jewelry, and pointed at two emerald pendants inside. ¡°Wrap these two up.¡± One of the two emerald pendants was highly translucent and had an alluring red hue that was as ethereal as mist, appearing extremely beautiful and romantic. The other was a ssy purple emerald that was also translucent and gorgeous. When Vanessa was looking at the emerald jewelry, Lucas had noticed that Charlotte had taken several nces at the pendant. She obviously liked it, but she quickly looked away after ncing at the price and didn¡¯t say a word about it. Reason being, the price of this pendant was 2.5 million dors, which was far more than Charlotte could afford. So after merely taking a few nces at it, she looked away decisively. Lucas decided to give the other pendant to Cheyenne. Since he was already in San Francisco and had shopped in the Heavenly Pavilion twice, he naturally had to get a gift for his wife. Due to the rare material and color of the pendant, it was even more expensive at three million dors. The total price of both items was 5.5 million dors. ¡°I¡¯ll pay by card!¡± Lucas took out a ck card from his pocket. It was none other than his ck Diamond Card that had once caused an uproar and was a top status symbol that had a credit limit of five billion dors anywhere in the world! At this moment, many of the people in the Heavenly Pavilion were from prestigious families and had extensive knowledge. After seeing the gold pattern on the ck card Lucas took out, many people eximed in astonishment, ¡°It¡¯s actually a ck Diamond Card!¡± ¡°Oh my God. I¡¯ve always only heard about this ck Diamond Card, but I¡¯ve never heard of anyone actually owning one. I got to see it in the flesh today. It¡¯s exactly what it looks like in the photos online!¡± ¡°Who is this young man? How can he possess a terrifying ck Diamond Card?! Even the people of the top three families of San Francisco haven¡¯t been able to get a ck Diamond Card!¡± ... Even those who didn¡¯t know what the ck card signified found out from the exmations just how prestigious this card was! For a while, countless gazes of shock, envy, and intrigue were cast on Lucas. In particr, Brian¡¯s and Vanessa¡¯s eyes were about to fall out of their sockets. They couldn¡¯t believe this at all! Lucas was clearly just a penniless man who couldn¡¯t even afford a decent set of clothes. How could he suddenly take out a ck Diamond Card that was so impressive that it left everyone present incredibly shocked? Vanessa was extremely ufortable! Just a few minutes ago, she had bragged to Charlotte about how rich her boyfriend was and how good he was to her. But in the blink of an eye, the shameless Brian dumped her and even revealed that he had been lying to her all this while and that his gifts for her were all worthless pieces of garbage. Now, Charlotte¡¯s boyfriend, who was supposed to be poor, turned out to be the owner of an impressive ck Diamond Card! The great contrast, as well as the resentment and pain of being inferior to Charlotte again, was almost on par with the pain of being abandoned by Brian! Jane was just as surprised. She didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s identity, and yesterday, she had even once thought Lucas was just an ordinary person with a mediocre life. Seeing Lucas actually holding a ck Diamond Card that was extremely rare in the world, she was also incredibly astonished, so much so that it took a long time for her toe back to her senses. ¡°Ah, okay¡­¡± Just as Jane was about to reach out to take the ck Diamond Card in Lucas¡¯s hand, Keh stopped her. ¡°Mr. Gray, if there¡¯s anything you like in the Heavenly Pavilion, just take it away. How can I ept your money? ¡°Given your rtionship with the Parkers, you can take away everything here as you please, let alone just two pendants worth around 5.5 million dors. If you pay for anything from the Heavenly Pavilion, my grandfather will definitely scold me when he finds out!¡± Keh said in the most sincere tone possible. He even seemed bizarrely afraid that Lucas wouldn¡¯t take the items for free. The people around them became even more shocked. After hearing what Keh said, Vanessa became so envious that she was about to burst into tears. The Heavenly Pavilion was massive, and the total value of the items in the store was probably at least several billion dors. Yet Keh actually said that Lucas could take whatever he wanted, even if he wanted to take everything away. This left everyone wondering just how Lucas was rted to the Parkers. If she could get her hands on these items, she¡¯d no longer have to work for the rest of her life, and she could even spend the rest of it in luxury! Ahhhh! Ahhhh!?Vanessa was about to lose her mind from envy. ¡°Hah, dimwit! Now you know to be envious, huh? Weren¡¯t you having a good time pointing at them and mocking them earlier?¡± Brian mocked sarcastically while looking at Vanessa. ¡°Just look at how respectful Mr. Parker is to him. Lucas Gray isn¡¯t a penniless loser at all. He¡¯s definitely an impressive figure with an absurdly powerful background! ¡°Hmph! It¡¯s all your fault, you idiot. You and Charlotte were former best friends in high school. Since she has such an impressive boyfriend, you¡¯d definitely get lots of benefits after just saying a few pleasant words. But you didn¡¯t take them seriously and even fell out with Charlotte! ¡°Great, now he can take away multi-million-dor items for free as he pleases, but you and I have topensate almost three million dors for the vase! You¡¯re such a jinx. Anyone close to you is bound to be extremely unlucky!¡± Brian was full of envy, jealousy, and regret, but he could only vent his anger on Vanessa. Chapter 688 - Envious and Twisted

Chapter 688: Envious and Twisted

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Keh refused to ept Lucas¡¯s money. Seeing Keh really not wanting to ept the money, Jane helped persuade, ¡°Mr. Gray, since Mr. Parker sincerely wants to give you these two emerald pendants, you should ept them!¡± Keh said with a pleading look on his face, ¡°Mr. Gray, just ept them. Or else, I won¡¯t be able to exin to my grandfather!¡± Lucas shook his head, ¡°If I wanted them for myself, I wouldn¡¯t be polite with you. But these are gifts meant for my family.¡± If Keh wanted to give something to Lucas for free, he wouldn¡¯t mind epting it. But he thought that it was insincere to gift his family things someone else gave him. After figuring this out, Keh stopped persuading him and quickly said to Jane, ¡°Wrap the two pendants up for Mr. Gray immediately and give him a twenty percent discount!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t decline the 20% discount, which meant he would only be paying the cost price. ¡°Yes, Mr. Parker!¡± Jane carefully took the ck Diamond Card from Lucas with both hands and proceeded to help him with the procedures. Soon, she returned with two beautiful and exquisite gift boxes and handed them over to Lucas together with his ck Diamond Card. Lucas put the ck Diamond Card, which made countless people envious, into his pocket before handing the red emerald pendant directly to Charlotte. ¡°This is for you. The fiery red color matches your aura.¡± Charlotte was stunned for a moment. She frantically waved her hand and declined, ¡°No, no, this is too precious. You¡¯d better keep it for yourself or give it to Cheyenne! I¡¯ll pass!¡± Although she really liked the red emerald pendant, the price tag of 2.5 million dors was expensive enough to discourage her from epting such an exorbitant gift. Lucas shook the purple emerald pendant in his hand and said with a faint smile, ¡°There¡¯s one for Cheyenne too. Both of you are my family members, and you sisters get one each. Just ept it.¡± Lucas treated Charlotte as his younger sister, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal to get his sister a gift she liked. After hearing what Lucas said, Charlotte was slightly relieved, and she no longer felt that the expensive gift was hard to ept. ¡°Okay then. Thank you!¡± She wasn¡¯t a pretentious person, so she epted the red emerald pendant and immediately put it on her neck joyfully. ¡°This beauty really has great taste and good judgment. She found herself such a nice boyfriend who gave her a gift worth more than two million dors!¡± ¡°Yeah, her friend even shamed her for dating a penniless man just now. But look. How is he poor in any way? He¡¯s obviously super wealthy!¡± ¡°Ah,parison really drives one mad! I¡¯m so envious! How wonderful would it be if I had such a generous boyfriend who treats me so well?!¡± ¡°Hey, wake up. You¡¯re a man. What are you thinking about?¡± ... Many people around them looked at Charlotte enviously, and they all thought that Charlotte and Lucas were a couple. Hearing their words, Charlotte couldn¡¯t help blushing a little. Lucas was indeed a good man who was rare and hard toe by, and she would probably fall in love with him if he wasn¡¯t her brother-inw. But she thought that it was nice being his sister-inw too. The fact that he was just like her brother was enough to make her happy. Hearing the words of envy, someone felt incredibly miserable. Standing at the side, Vanessa looked at the bright red emerald pendant around Charlotte¡¯s neck and the way Lucas was smiling gently at her. She was clenching her fists so hard that her fingernails were almost digging into her flesh. She was incredibly envious! How could Charlotte be so lucky? At this moment, Vanessa suddenly remembered something. From the first moment she ran into Charlotte today, she had made up her mind to let Charlotte know how well she was doing now. So she had been showing off in front of Charlotte and unting her boyfriend¡¯s wealth, his well-paying job, and his status. She had also shown off how nice her boyfriend was to her. But now, she had been mercilessly pped in the face by the cruel fact that her boyfriend, whom she thought would be her lifetime support, had treated her like a ything and a joke. He had just been toying with her and deceiving her with worthless gifts. Moreover, once something bad happened, he had immediately dumped her like she was garbage. But Charlotte, whom she had ridiculed and mocked, was now standing in the middle of the crowd and enjoying their admiration and envy. Furthermore, her penniless boyfriend Lucas suddenly became a powerful figure far beyond her. Even Keh Parker had to be respectful toward him and eagerly begged him to ept gifts worth more than five million dors. Lucas wasn¡¯t short of money at all, and he casually pulled out a ck Diamond Card that shocked everyone. He even casually refused Keh¡¯s gifts without batting an eyelid! How did Charlotte Carter get so lucky and find herself such a rich man? Why?! The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Vanessa rushed toward Charlotte and yelled at the top of her voice, ¡°Charlotte Carter! You did this on purpose, didn¡¯t you? ¡°You deliberately hid your boyfriend¡¯s identity from me and watched me show off in front of you just so you could shame me, didn¡¯t you?! ¡°Well, now you¡¯ve got your wish. I was dumped mercilessly by that shameless man, and all he gave me was some worthless garbage. I became aughing stock in front of everyone. Did you enjoy the show? ¡°Charlotte Carter, we¡¯ve been best friends for years, yet you actually wanted to see me make a fool out of myself. You felt pleased to see me getting deceived andughed at like a clown, didn¡¯t you? You vicious wench!¡± The extreme rage, envy, and indignation made Vanessa¡¯s mind twisted and her face distorted. ¡°You shameless bitch!¡± She suddenly raised her hand to p Charlotte on her face! Chapter 689 - Best Friends

Chapter 689: Best Friends

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lucas saw this, his face instantly darkened, and he wanted to stop her. But the next second, he suddenly stopped moving. Charlotte was not to be trifled with either. Seeing Vanessa about to hit her, she raised her hand, grabbed Vanessa¡¯s wrist, and pushed her backward. ¡°That¡¯s enough! Vanessa, do you really think that I¡¯m a pushover? When you got bullied in school, I stood up for you every single time. Hah, now you actually want to hit me. Do you really think I¡¯ll stand here and let you hit me just because we used to be best friends?¡± Charlotte stood still and shouted overbearingly in fury, ¡°Vanessa, how dare you say that we¡¯re best friends? Fine. Since you¡¯re feeling indignant, I don¡¯t mind making things clear to you! ¡°Since you¡¯ve met me today, you haven¡¯t asked me how I¡¯m doing now. All you did was brag to me about your boyfriend¡¯s job, the expensive gifts he got you, and how nice he was to you! ¡°Moreover, you not only bragged about yourselves, but you kept mocking me and shaming my boyfriend for being poor and inferior. I tried to exin to you multiple times, but you interrupted me every single time. You didn¡¯t even care about what I wanted to say, nor did you care to hear about what was going on with me. You just wanted to show off your superiority to me! ¡°If I didn¡¯t care about the fact that we used to be best friends, I would have turned around and left after seeing what you did. Why would I bother to listen to your nonsense for such a long time? ¡°Yet you actually used me of hiding it from you on purpose and watching you be aughing stock. Haha, you kept rattling on incessantly and interrupting me when I was trying to talk to you. Did you even give me the chance to speak? ¡°Besides, you¡¯re the one who chose your boyfriend yourself, and you were also the one who kept showing off to me. Now that his true colors have been revealed, you can¡¯t ept it, so you¡¯re ming me for it? ¡°Hah, you¡¯re really ridiculous!¡± Charlotte exuded her imposing aura as the general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. All her words made sense, and her retort immediately made Vanessa turn pale and rendered her speechless. Vanessa was still full of indignation, but the truth was just as Charlotte said. Charlotte had repeatedly tried to speak to her earlier, but she had eagerly wanted to show off, so she ignored her and kept interrupting her. If she had known Charlotte¡¯s boyfriend was such a powerful person, she would have never treated them with such an attitude! If she hadn¡¯t fallen out with Charlotte and Lucas, she wouldn¡¯t have had topensate the Heavenly Pavilion with $2.8 million! Think of this, Vanessa felt remorse and despair. No, I¡¯m not at the most hopeless stage yet. Maybe there¡¯s a turning point! Seemingly finding a straw to clutch at, Vanessa suddenly jumped in front of Charlotte. With her attitude greatly changed, she said with a pleading look on her face, ¡°Charlotte, I¡¯m wrong! I really know I¡¯m wrong now! ¡°Please forgive me for being muddled this time on ount that we used to be best friends! I really didn¡¯t mean to treat you like that! Please forgive me this time. We will still be best friends forever, okay? ¡°Also, your boyfriend is so close to Mr. Parker that he¡¯s even willing to give your boyfriend things worth more than five million dors for free. Help me beg Mr. Parker, okay? I broke the vase by ident. I really didn¡¯t mean to do it. Please ask him to drop the matter, okay? ¡°Charlotte, you know that my family is so poor that I can¡¯t even afford ten thousand dors, let alone over two million. Charlotte, you¡¯re the only one who can help me now! Don¡¯t leave me in the lurch! ¡°I¡­ I will never look for any trouble with you again. We¡¯ll be best friends who are closer than sisters from now on, okay?¡± Vanessa¡¯s face was full of fawning and pleading,pletely different from her arrogant self just now who wanted to hit others. Many onlookers began looking at her with contempt. Vanessa was really thick-skinned. Previously, she had cursed at Charlotte and even said that if she became a beggar and came knocking on her door to beg for food, she wouldn¡¯t give her a morsel of food. Just now, she had even tried to p her out of envy and indignation. Yet she was now sucking up to her and asking to be best friends with her forever. She even begged Charlotte to help her get away without paying thepensation of 2.8 million dors. It was impressive how thick-skinned she was. Charlotte pushed Vanessa away expressionlessly and said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s already toote. You¡¯ve just said it yourself that we¡¯re no longer friends! From now on, there will be nothing between us!¡± Hearing what Charlotte said, Vanessa immediately froze on the spot. She didn¡¯t expect that Charlotte, someone she had taken advantage of for years, would turn her down without mercy! If Charlotte didn¡¯t help her, what¡­ was she supposed to do? She would never be able to afford thepensation of 2.8 million dors! Although Brian¡¯s family would probably be able to afford it, she was the one who had broken the vase at the end of the day. The Kleins definitely wouldn¡¯t let her off, and they would definitely make her pay them back! When the time came, she probably wouldn¡¯t be able to pay them back even if she was sold to them as a ve and slogged her guts out for the rest of her life. At the thought of this miserable situation, Vanessa felt cold all over. She was terrified and in utter despair. But she only had herself to me for this, so no one took any sympathy on her. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Parker¡­¡± At this moment, the elevator doors opened with a ding, and a middle-aged man with waxed hair hurriedly ran out toward Keh. ¡°Mr. Parker, I¡­ I¡¯m this bastard Brian Klein¡¯s uncle. My name is Leon Mason. I just¡­ just found out that my ipetent nephew caused trouble here. I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m really sorry! Please forgive me!¡± Leon was likely in a great hurry when he ran over because he was still panting heavily, and his face was covered in glistening drops of sweat. Keh probably knew him too because he merely nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°In that case, you should be clear about what kind of trouble your nephew caused, right?¡± Leon nodded profusely. ¡°Yes, I know! This is all my nephew¡¯s fault!¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re aware of it, you should know how to handle it, right?¡± Keh said calmly. There was no happiness nor anger in his tone, but it was full of oppression.. Chapter 690 - Impersonation

Chapter 690: Impersonation

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Leon quickly nodded. ¡°Yes, Mr. Parker, I know! I¡­ I have a total of three million dors in this card. After deducting thepensation, the remaining money is a token of my apology to you, Mr. Parker! I hope you will ept it!¡± Keh sneered. ¡°Do you think I care about a couple hundred thousand dors?¡± The smile on Leon¡¯s face immediately stiffened. But Keh couldn¡¯t be bothered to stoop to the level of such an insignificant small fry. He merely said indifferently, ¡°You shouldpensate the full amount for the vase and not a single cent more. Jane, take him to swipe his card for payment.¡± Jane hurriedly obeyed and brought Leon to the service desk, where she processed the payment, deducted $2.8 million from his card, and returned the card to Leon. Thus, the matter was considered settled. The rest had nothing to do with Lucas, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to stay here any longer. He said to Charlotte, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Charlotte readily agreed. Keh hurriedly took a few steps forward. ¡°Mr. Gray, Miss Carter, let me walk you down.¡± At this moment, Leon, who had just walked back from the service desk, saw Lucas. His eyes were immediately full of immense shock. Leon sprinted toward Lucas and asked carefully, ¡°Are you¡­ Lucas Gray, Chairman Gray?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Lucas frowned. He didn¡¯t know the middle-aged man who imed to be Brian¡¯s uncle. Besides, very few people who didn¡¯t know him would call him Chairman Gray. Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t deny it, Leon immediately became even more agitated. He frantically said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m Leon, the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation! I¡­ Before Mr. Davis left, he specially showed all the senior executives a picture of you and told us to obey your instructions. But this is my first time meeting you in person!¡± As soon as the words ¡®deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation¡¯ came out of his mouth, Lucas, Charlotte, Vanessa, and the rest all began to look rather strange. In particr, after Brian heard the respectful way Leon addressed Lucas and spoke to him, his face became deathly pale. ¡°You said that you¡¯re the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation?¡± Lucas had a yful look on his face. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s indeed me!¡± Leon answered carefully while bowing slightly. ¡°In that case, who is he?¡± Lucas pointed at Brian. When Brian and Vanessa were bragging about their status earlier, they had said more than once that he was the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation and hade over to San Francisco to attend the ordinary business exchange on the corporation¡¯s behalf. ¡°H-he¡¯s my nephew,¡± Leon said with bewilderment. He had already indicated their rtionship when he came in just now. He didn¡¯t know why Lucas asked him again. ¡°I mean, what is Brian Klein¡¯s position in the Sr Corporation? What kind of work does he do?¡± Lucas asked again patiently. ¡°Uh? He¡­ My nephew isn¡¯t an employee of the Sr Corporation!¡± Leon looked even more bewildered. Lucas, Charlotte, and the others looked at Brian with an even more peculiar gaze. At this moment, Leon realized that there seemed to be something he didn¡¯t know about and quickly yelled at Brian, ¡°You bastard! What else have you done behind my back? Hurry up and tell me the truth! Or else I will immediately break your legs!¡± Brian was so frightened that he finally couldn¡¯t hold on any longer. He leaped toward Lucas and dropped to his knees. Bang! Ignoring the paining from his kneecaps, he hurriedly cried and begged for forgiveness. ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s all my fault! I¡­ I was too vain. I don¡¯t work for the Sr Corporation at all, let alone am the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation! My uncle is the deputy general manager. I used his identity to deceive Vanessa! ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to pretend to be the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation. Mr. Gray, I beg you to let me off this time!¡± Only then did Leon realize what his nephew had done. It turned out that his nephew had assumed his position in the Sr Corporation and even shown off in front of the chairman. It was no wonder that Lucas¡¯s gaze was so bizarre when he heard him say that he was the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation! ¡°You¡­ you bastard! How dare you impersonate me outside and discredit the Sr Corporation? You even offended Mr. Gray! I have to teach you a lesson for your father today. Otherwise, who knows what other crazy and stupid things you¡¯ll get up to!¡± Leon lifted his foot and kicked Brian hard, then he punched and kicked him. Leon spared no mercy when beating Brian, causing thetter to shriek in pain and misery. Soon, his face was bruised and swollen, and he started begging for mercy. ¡°Uncle Leon, I was wrong! Please don¡¯t hit me again¡­ Ahhh! Argh! I was really wrong! Please let me off! Ahhh!!!¡± Brian was rolling around on the floor and screaming incessantly, but he couldn¡¯t go against Leon, who was boiling with fury. Lucas watched coldly without saying anything. He originally thought that Brian was the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation and thus thought that there was a major w in the management of the Sr Corporation. He had even decided to investigate and rectify it properly after he returned. But now, it seemed that things were not that bad. At the very least, one of his senior executives wasn¡¯t a vile dimwit like Brian. Moreover, the fact that Leon was hitting his nephew so savagely without any mercy showed that he was at least a smart person. With a nk expression, Vanessa stared at the man being beaten into a pulp near her and once again suspected if she had been blind before. She had always thought that she was lucky to find a rich and prestigious man. She had even bragged to Charlotte that she was now dating the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation and that she would be his wife while he would be promoted to the general manager in a couple of years. She would then enjoy a life of luxury. But she finally found out that this man had even lied to her about his status! He wasn¡¯t the deputy general manager of the Sr Corporation but a liar who had been using his uncle¡¯s position to deceive her! From head to toe, from judgment to luck, she was iparable to Charlotte in any way, shape, or form! She had utterly lost! Vanessaughed in sorrow.. She wanted to see if Charlotte was staring at her mockingly. But to her surprise, Charlotte and Lucas had already left the Heavenly Pavilion! Chapter 691 - Meeting Again

Chapter 691: Meeting Again

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After leaving the Heavenly Pavilion, Charlotte still felt amused by the scene just now. ¡°Lucas, did you see it? Vanessa¡¯s face was so ugly. I¡¯ve never seen her so upset in the years we were best friends. It¡¯s incredible!¡± ¡°Uh¡­ You don¡¯t feel bad that your former best friend ended up in such a plight, do you?¡± Lucas asked hesitantly. Charlotte gave it some serious thought before saying casually, ¡°At the beginning, I did feel a little sad. But after everything that¡¯s happened today, I¡¯vepletely seen Vanessa¡¯s true colors. Now that I think about the things that happened in high school, I realize she probably never genuinely treated me as her friend! ¡°So, she¡¯s merely shown her true colors now. I was never really her best friend before, and now, we have nothing to do with each other. I didn¡¯t really lose anything. After thinking about it like this, I feel more rxed!¡± Charlotte waved her hand, seemingly throwing away the unpleasant memories of the past, and then suddenlyughed. ¡°But speaking of which, she has a terrible character, and she¡¯ll probably be very miserable in the future! She was the one who broke the vase, but Brian¡¯s uncle paid for it. I reckon she¡¯ll have to slog her guts out to pay it back! ¡°I hope she¡¯ll learn her lesson and not revolve her life around finding a rich man to marry! ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not talk about her anymore! Lucas, I¡¯m a little hungry now. Let¡¯s go eat something!¡± Charlotte said gleefully. She was indeed in a pleasant mood. Lucas naturally agreed. In the next half a day or so, the two of them had lunch, then proceeded to a few other popr attractions in San Francisco and bought some souvenirs along the way. Before they knew it, it was already 4 p.m. Lucas sent Charlotte to the entrance of the stadium, where they met in the morning. The ordinary business exchange that Charlotte was attending would soon begin in about an hour. ¡°Your exchange starts and ends earlier than mine, so you can just head home after it ends. You don¡¯t have to wait for me. Be careful,¡± Lucas said to Charlotte. The Elite Business Exchange would begin at 8:30 p.m., and there was bound to be something big happening at this exchange, which was definitely targeting Lucas. Who knew when it would finish. So he could only get Charlotte to return to Orange County first. ¡°I see¡­ Okay then!¡± Charlotte said with a bit of disappointment. She had enjoyed herself strolling around with Lucas this afternoon. She had behaved like a little girl again, and she felt that the time she spent with Lucas was really pleasant. Seeing Charlotte pulling a long face, Lucas found it hard to part ways with her. ¡°Okay. We have time in the future. I¡¯ll apany you out again!¡± ¡°Really? Lucas, I¡¯ll hold you to your word! When I look for you again during a day off, you can¡¯t make excuses or go back on your word!¡± Charlotte immediately beamed with joy. Then she waved her hand and ran off into the stadium. She really still acts like a child!?Lucas shook his head helplessly and turned around to walk toward the Walton Hotel across the street. Although there were still nearly four hours before the Elite Business Exchange began, Lucas had to make some preparations since he knew that some people had ill intentions and were plotting against him at the exchange. There were also a few people he had to meet in advance. As soon as Lucas walked to the entrance of the Walton Hotel, two security guards walked over and stopped him politely. ¡°Excuse me, Sir. Please show your invitation!¡± Since the peopleing to the Elite Business Exchange today were all distinguished guests with high statuses, the security check at the entrance was extremely strict. Lucas casually took out his invitation card and handed it over. After carefully checking and verifying the invitation card, the two security officers respectfully handed it back to Lucas with both hands. ¡°Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Gray. Please enter!¡± Lucas nodded. As soon as he took a few steps into the Walton Hotel, a cold and solemn voice full of hostility came from the side. ¡°Are you Lucas Gray?¡± Lucas turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in his fifties with a squarish face staring at him interrogatively. Standing beside him was a woman in her forties. Despite her age, she was quite attractive, and it was possible to tell that she must have been a great beauty during her younger days. Lucas didn¡¯t know either of them. But there was someone that Lucas knew standing behind the two of them. It was Lance, the helmsman of the Kingstons. The moment he saw Lance, he instantly guessed the identities of the middle-aged man and woman. The middle-aged man with a squarish face should be one of the Smiths¡¯ heirs and Roy¡¯s father, Vince. The middle-aged woman should be Marc¡¯s biological mother, Wendy Smith. Lucas had expected them to show up here. There wasn¡¯t a single trace of surprise on his face, nor did he have any intention of exchanging pleasantries with them. He merely said indifferently, ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± Lucas¡¯sposure immediately made Vince frown slightly. An overwhelming aura emerged from his body, and his eyes had a terrifying murderous intent. ¡°You killed my son, Roy. Why do you think I¡¯m looking for you?¡± Vince was indeed worthy of being a man who had been in a superior position in the Smith family for a long time. His aura was indeed terrifying. If ordinary people were facing Vince, they would probably be too frightened to speak. But the expression on Lucas¡¯s face remained unchanged, seemingly not sensing his aura at all. Vince narrowed his eyes and took this young man in front of him even more seriously. Behind Vince was a martial arts expert with slightly bulging temples, exuding a domineering aura unique to martial art experts. Lucas took a quick nce at him before looking away.?A rare expert, indeed. Lucas looked at Vince and said calmly, ¡°I heard that you are the Smiths¡¯ most promising sessor-to-be, so you shouldn¡¯t be a fool. You should be able to find out who killed your son. ¡°I don¡¯t know who told you that your son died at my hands, but that person must have ulterior motives. As for whether you¡¯re really foolish enough to have been deceived or if it¡¯s because of some other reason, that¡¯s all your own business. I don¡¯t want to entertain you.¡± Lucas nced at Wendy with an ambiguous gaze andughed with contempt before turning around to leave. ¡°Hold it!¡± Wendy shouted angrily.. The way Lucas looked at her as if he knew everything sent a chill down her spine. Chapter 692 - Exposing The Truth

Chapter 692: Exposing The Truth

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Roy had actually been killed by his biological aunt Wendy. So after she heard Lucas¡¯s ambiguous words, her expression changed in astonishment. In particr, Lucas¡¯s suggestive gaze made her feel diffident because she had done something terrible that left her with a guilty conscience. Afraid of Vince suspecting her of being the culprit, Wendy had to call out to Lucas immediately. If she remained silent and let Lucas leave, Vince would definitely suspect her! Lucas stopped and said teasingly, ¡°Mrs. Smith, why did you ask me to stop? Do you want to hear the details of the information I have? I thought you weren¡¯t willing to let others know what you¡¯ve done, especially this person next to you!¡± The moment Wendy heard this, her fingers immediately tightened, and her face was full of shock. Vince frowned and nced at Wendy. He wasn¡¯t a fool, and he understood what Lucas meant. He knew Lucas was hinting to him that Roy¡¯s death had nothing to do with him but with his cousin Wendy. What else is Wendy hiding from me? Wendy¡¯s scalp tingled, and she immediately rebuked in anger, ¡°Lucas Gray, what nonsense are you spouting? You¡¯re clearly the one who killed my nephew Roy. Are you still trying to deny it now? How ridiculous of you to me it on someone else! If you know my identity, then you should know that I¡¯m Roy¡¯s aunt! Seeing Wendy refusing to admit it and still trying to use him of being the murderer, Lucas sneered and revealed the things Wendy was hiding. ¡°Heh, so what if you¡¯re his aunt? Is he more important to you than your biological son and ex-husband?¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Wendy was so furious that she was at a loss for words. At this moment, she really couldn¡¯t describe the shock within her. Only a few people were aware of her rtionship with Moses and the fact that Marc was their son. Even the Smiths and her husband¡¯s family had no idea. She was puzzled as to how Lucas managed to get this information. She still didn¡¯t know that her uncontrolled expression of extreme shock caused a trace of gloominess to appear in Vince¡¯s eyes as he looked at her. Lucas smiled faintly, ¡°I¡¯m sure you must be wondering how I know your secrets. After all, you must want to hide such a scandal from the Smiths, and not many people in this world should know it. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s very simple. You should still remember Eli, the expert you sent to assassinate me in order to avenge your son and ex-husband, right? ¡°At the time, Eli thought I would definitely die, so he told me everything so that I could die knowing the reason for my death! ¡°Although I let Eli off, you¡¯re actually using me of killing Roy Smith. In that case, you must have gotten rid of Eli too, huh?¡± Lucas¡¯s words were like sharp daggers piercing directly into Wendy¡¯s heart, ripping open the facade she was trying so hard to maintain. Wendy suddenly panicked and broke out into cold sweat, feeling as if she had plunged into an ice cer. Vince¡¯s face became extremely gloomy. He had no idea that his cousin Wendy had had an affair with another man and even given birth to a child decades ago. But what Lucas said was reasonable, and he knew Eli, so he reckoned that Lucas wasn¡¯t making things up. Could it be that Wendy killed Roy and put the me on Lucas Gray to get me to take revenge, thereby allowing her to avenge her ex-husband and son? As soon as he thought of this possibility, his eyes were full of fury. Seeing that things were going awry, Wendy hurriedly yelled menacingly, ¡°What nonsense are you saying? Do you think you can sow discord between me and Vince just by making up some stories?¡± ¡°Heh, you should know best whether I¡¯m talking nonsense or not!¡± Lucas said coldly. Then he stopped looking at them and turned around to leave. ¡°Hold it!¡± A burly figure suddenly blocked Lucas¡¯s path. It was an elite bodyguard following Vince. Lucas frowned and shouted angrily, ¡°Get lost!¡± An invisible aura immediately emanated from Lucas! The bodyguard¡¯s face stiffened, and he took a step back as if he was facing a great enemy. Then he gritted his teeth to hold on and rebuked, ¡°Punk, Mr. Vince hasn¡¯t given you permission to leave. How dare you go?¡± Lucas sneered and kicked the bodyguard in the chest without saying anything. Bang! Lucas¡¯s kick sent the bodyguard, who weighed nearly a hundred kilograms and was extremely muscr, flying far away. Afternding on the floor of the hotel lobby a dozen meters away, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°Mr. Smith, I¡¯ve helped you teach your dog a lesson. You don¡¯t mind, right?¡± Lucas smiled. Vince¡¯s face darkened. The bodyguard had gone to stop Lucas and provoke him under his instructions. He wanted to test Lucas¡¯s skills and find out if he was really as powerful as Wendy had said. But Lucas¡¯s kick immediately sent his bodyguard flying and crippled him. Apart from the fact that Lucas was indeed rather powerful and good at fighting, there was no other information about hisbat skills. The middle-aged expert standing behind Vince whispered. ¡°Mr. Smith, this punk isn¡¯t simple! I¡¯m not fully confident I can subdue him!¡± Vince¡¯s face became even gloomier. Lucas smiled and turned around to walk away. This time, no one dared to stop him. As Vince watched Lucas¡¯s back disappear around the corner of the hotel, the anger in his eyes grew stronger and stronger. But he tried his best to restrain it. This was what his character was like. He had to be fully prepared before killing his enemy in one shot! Until then, he would endure it for a while. He could still tolerate it! Besides, aside from avenging his son, he had a more important purpose foring to San Francisco this time. His goal was to dominate the entire California market and get the Smiths to be the true ruler of the state of California! However¡­ Vince suddenly looked at Wendy next to him and said coldly, ¡°Wendy, you¡¯d better tell me the truth honestly.¡± Chapter 693 - Pre-Exchange Interactions

Chapter 693: Pre-Exchange Interactions

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wendy immediately tensed up in fear and hurriedly exined, ¡°Vince, trust me. I really didn¡¯t do it. That punk is just making things up to sow discord between us! Don¡¯t fall for his trick!¡± Vince looked at her for several seconds before slowly saying, ¡°This had better be the case. If I find out you lied to me, you should know what will happen to you! Regardless of who killed my son, I will definitely make them pay the price in blood!¡± A menacing and murderous aura erupted from him. He was a strong contender for the next head of the Smith family, and he wouldn¡¯t show any mercy to Wendy even though she was his cousin and the daughter of the current helmsman! Vince snorted coldly and strode into the Walton Hotel. The expert behind him naturally followed closely behind. Wendy and Lance were the only ones remaining at the hotel entrance. Lance was almost scared to death when Lucas mentioned Wendy¡¯s ex-husband and son just now. If Vince found out that Wendy had had an affair with Moses and that Lance had also participated in killing Roy, the Kingstons would definitely be dead meat. Wendy took a deep breath and warned Lance, ¡°Mr. Kingston, I don¡¯t need to say much. You should know the consequences once this matter is exposed.¡± Lance shuddered and hurriedly said, ¡°Yes! I know, Mrs. Smith. Please rest assured. My lips are sealed!¡± This was not only about Wendy¡¯s life and death but also the Kingstons¡¯. Now, the Kingstons and Wendy were on the same boat, and they could only insist on denying it. The Walton Hotel was indeed worthy of being a fixed venue for holding the Elite Business Exchange. Everything was arranged well for the exchange. Before the exchange officially started, there was a special reception room for the attendees of each of the major cities in California. Those from the same city would share a room. After taking a quick nce, Lucas walked toward a reception room with the sign ¡®Orange County¡¯ on it. ¡°Lucas! You¡¯re finally here!¡± Just as Lucas walked in, a voice of surprise came. Lena quickly walked over to him. But perhaps because she recalled the embarrassing incident this morning, she had a dismayed expression, afraid that Lucas would dislike her. Lucas said, ¡°Regarding the matter this morning, I¡¯ve already exined it to Charlotte. It¡¯s just a misunderstanding, so you don¡¯t need to be bothered by it anymore.¡± Hearing the words ¡®just a misunderstanding¡¯, Lena felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart, but she couldn¡¯t express it at all. She could only force an awkward smile on her face. Lucas was puzzled. At this moment, a few more people walked over to greet Lucas. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray.¡± ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re here.¡± These people were none other than Bruce and Ethan, as well as Connor and Lena¡¯s sister, Yvette, behind them. In the spacious reception room, there were the Sawyers and the Hales, whom Lucas was familiar with, as well as Frederick Taylor, the head of the Taylor family, and Darren Wace, the young helmsman who had recently seeded his position. Behind them were the juniors of the Taylors and the Waces, but Lucas had no friendship with them. In the reception room for the Orange County attendees, except for Lucas, everyone else was from the four top families of Orange County. After all, the invitations to the Elite Business Exchange were strictly for only top-tier families and forces. After the Hales and the Sawyers greeted Lucas, he picked a random seat and sat down. As soon as Lucas sat down, Frederick suddenly asked, ¡°Mr. Gray, I wonder what your thoughts are about today¡¯s Elite Business Exchange.¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°Mr. Taylor, you must be joking. It¡¯s my first time attending this exchange, so I¡¯m just here to gain some knowledge and experience. Mr. Taylor, you should know more than me, right?¡± Frederick narrowed his eyes. ¡°Mr. Gray, let¡¯s be frank with each other. I¡¯ll get straight to the point! The Elite Business Exchange this time is extremely unusual! There¡¯s definitely going to be a great difference between this exchange and the usual ones. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s no longer going to be a peaceful exchange but a meeting to divide the pie and determine a new order! ¡°The pie that¡¯s going to be divided belongs to the three top families of San Francisco, the Kingstons, the Coles, and the Walkers. The ones getting a share are the forces here in California! ¡°So, I think that if the major families of Orange County can¡¯t stand together and unite against amon enemy, we will be powerful only in name!¡± As soon as Frederick said this, everyone present was shocked. After all, these words were too bold and unbelievable. The Hales and Sawyers were fine. Apart from feeling surprised by Frederick¡¯s straightforward actions, they weren¡¯t too shocked about what he said. After all, they had already received a lot of useful information from Lucas, and they had long known that the Kingstons and the Smiths would be doing something during the Elite Business Exchange today. Since the Taylors were backed by the powerful Peerless Martial Association, getting some insider information was definitely easy. Inparison, Darren, the helmsman of the Waces, waspletely uninvolved and the one most surprised. ¡°Mr. Taylor, what you said just now is too fearmongering,¡± Darren said with disapproval. ¡°The top three families of San Francisco have been in power for a long time, but they¡¯ve never shown such ambition in the past. It¡¯s not that they don¡¯t want to but that they¡¯re not capable enough! ¡°Even if these three top families are the strongest in California, the other powerful families are not pushovers either. Take LA for example. The Parkers are about to catch up to the top three families. ¡°The Coles, Kingstons, and Waces are probably not strong enough to take the entire pie for themselves!¡± Actually, Darren made sense. But the problem was that with the interference of the Smiths from DC, other considerations had to be taken into ount. Frederick ignored Darren, who had insufficient information, and instead stared closely at Lucas, paying attention to his opinion. Based on his previous dealings with Lucas, Frederick had long known that he wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. The fact that the heads of the Hales and the Sawyers had personally stood up to greet Lucas respectfully as soon as he entered was enough to show that he must have a high status in their eyes. Thus, he just needed to find out Lucas¡¯s attitude in order to find out the general attitudes of the Hales and the Sawyers. As for the remaining Wace family, they wouldn¡¯t matter. Frederick looked at Lucas and asked cautiously, ¡°Mr. Gray, what is your opinion?¡± Chapter 694 - Joining Forces

Chapter 694: Joining Forces

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ethan pondered for a while before saying cautiously, ¡°I think Mr. Taylor is right. We should really consider it thoroughly! ¡°The Watsons from San Jose should have hosted the Elite Business Exchange this time a monthter, but they suddenly handed over the hosting right to the Kingstons without any official exnation. Something we¡¯re unaware of must have happened.¡± Frederick nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s precisely because I find it bizarre that I have a hunch that something will definitely happen at this Elite Business Exchange. That¡¯s why I suggest that we, the forces of Orange County, unite together in order to prevent the worst-case scenarios from happening. Only then can we tide through any unexpected ordeals.¡± Bruce didn¡¯t say anything and just turned to look at Lucas. His meaning was obvious. He would go along with Lucas¡¯s opinion. Thus, Frederick and a few others looked at Lucas and waited for his opinion. Lucas fiddled with the teacup in his hand for a while and suddenly smiled indifferently. ¡°Let¡¯s go with Mr. Taylor¡¯s idea then. Let us, the forces of Orange County, join forces to deal with all the unexpected situations.¡± In fact, even if Frederick didn¡¯t make this suggestion, the Hales and the Sawyers would all still stand on Lucas¡¯s side. Coupled with the Parkers from LA and the Coles from San Francisco, the power Lucas could gather was alreadyrge enough. But since Frederick had a clear idea of the current situation and wanted to unite, Lucas would give him the chance to do so. ¡°Great. In that case, Mr. Gray and Mr. Taylor both agree with my idea. What about you, Mr. Hale?¡± Frederick asked with joy written all over his face. Bruce nodded. ¡°The Hales will follow Mr. Gray¡¯s lead. We agree.¡± The Waces were now the only ones who had yet to take a stand, but their opinion no longer mattered much now. Seeing this, Darren hurriedly said, ¡°The Waces naturally agree as well!¡± What a joke. There were only four families from Orange County here. And since the other three families and Lucas had all reached a consensus, the Waces obviously wouldn¡¯t be able to gain a foothold in Orange County in the future if they took an opposing stand. ¡°Alright, since we¡¯ve all reached an agreement, this matter is settled! We will stand together and cooperate to safeguard the interests of our families! If someone betrays us, he will be themon enemy of the other forces!¡± Frederick said with a cold and stern expression while taking a few more nces at Darren. Darren immediately felt an urge to curse at Frederick.?Is Frederick Taylor deliberately targeting me and giving me a warning?? But in terms of strength, the Waces were indeed no match for the three other major families. In particr, since he hadn¡¯t been the helmsman for long, there was a group of people among the Waces led by his brother, Bryant, who were against him. Thus, Darren really didn¡¯t have the courage to stand against Frederick. ¡°Hahahaha! I didn¡¯t expect that you people from Orange County would reach a consensus here. Do you really think that with just your four families, you¡¯ll be able to cope with everything that will happen at the Elite Business Exchange today? ¡°You are really too naive!¡± At this moment, the door of the reception room meant for the forces of Orange County was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and two people entered with a look of disapproval on their faces. The faces of the four helmsmen instantly became displeased. No one wanted others to overhear their conversation while they were discussing an important matter, especially when the two people who entered seemed to be their enemies with conflicting interests. One of the two people who entered was a middle-aged man. He was Reynold Watson, the head of the Watson family. The other middle-aged man standing beside him was Phil Harold, the helmsman of another top-tier family in San Jose. The person who just spoke in disapproval was Reynold. ¡°What do you mean, Mr. Watson? Eavesdropping on other people¡¯s conversations isn¡¯t something a gentleman should do!¡± Frederick said coldly with a sullen expression. Reynold smiled. ¡°Everyone, I don¡¯t have any malicious intent. I just want to say that with merely the few of your Orange County families alone, it¡¯s basically impossible for you to win. But if the Watsons and Harolds from San Jose join you, there might be a chance of winning.¡± His words immediately surprised all the people from Orange County present. The Watsons didn¡¯te to go against them but instead offered to join forces with them? It was really bizarre! Frederick narrowed his eyes. ¡°Mr. Watson, please don¡¯t say those words casually. If I remember correctly, the Elite Business Exchange was supposed to be hosted by the Watsons, but you suddenly transferred the hosting rights to the Kingstons. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already reached some agreement with the Kingstons or had an exchange of interests. Yet you¡¯re now saying that you want to join forces with us to go against the Kingstons. Don¡¯t you think you are contradicting yourself?¡± Reynold smiled, but a trace of gloominess appeared on his face as he said indignantly, ¡°The Elite Business Exchange is held only once every three years, and each time the organizers gain great benefits. Do you think that the Watsons would give up such a great opportunity for nothing? Who would do such a foolish thing if they had a choice?¡± The people of Orange County were all surprised to hear this. Did the Watsons hand over the hosting rights to the Elite Business Exchange unwillingly? Reynold gritted his teeth. ¡°That¡¯s right. The Kingstons threatened us and demanded that we hand over the hosting right of this Elite Business Exchange to them! Otherwise, they¡¯d make our family decline and be removed from the list of top-tier families! If not for this, how could I have given up the hosting rights to the Kingstons?¡± Phil chimed in from the side, ¡°I can vouch for Mr. Watson. The day the Kingstons sent people to the Watson residence to demand the hosting right, I also happened to be present and witnessed this matter with my own eyes!¡± With Phil¡¯s testimony, the credibility of this matter indeed increased. But all the helmsmen here were not greenhorns who had little life experience, and they wouldn¡¯t believe Reynold¡¯s sincerity and ept his and Phil¡¯s offer to join forces based on his statement. If they joined forces but got betrayed by the Watsons and Harolds, no one would be able to afford the consequences. Reynold must have understood this because he took the initiative to offer some information. ¡°I can give you an urate piece of information.. When the Kingstons sent people to contact me, they mentioned one thing¡ªthe Smiths, one of the eight great giants in DC, also sent someone to San Francisco. They intend to support the Kingstons at this Elite Business Exchange and make the Kingstons the overlord of California!¡± Chapter 695 - Representing Orange County

Chapter 695: Representing Orange County

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as the news came out, everyone except for Lucas, Bruce, and Frederick, who already knew about it, was astonished. The eight great giants of DC were unchallengeable behemoths in the hearts of many people! If the Smiths really decided to get involved with the situation in California, they would definitely be extremely tyrannical! Ethan and Darren looked glum and somber. Frederick narrowed his eyes. ¡°Mr. Watson, since the Kingstons have even told you such a thing, then they must have promised you a lot of benefits in order to win you over, right?¡± He was implying that since the Watsons had gotten a promise from the Kingstons, there was no need for them to form an alliance with them and go against the Kingstons. It didn¡¯t make sense. Reynold nodded and said without hiding anything, ¡°Indeed, the Kingstons promised to support my family fully and help us be the second strongest family as long as we keep supporting the Kingstons when they be the true overlords of California!¡± ¡°In that case, why are you¡­¡± Darren looked confused. As soon as he said a few words, Reynold interrupted him, ¡°However, I just learned that we¡¯re not the only ones the Kingstons gave that promise to. They also gave it to many other families! So this verbal promise of the Kingstons means nothing at all. How can I believe them?¡± Reynold cursed and sneered. Hearing this, everyone in the reception room was shocked. The Kingstons¡¯ action was clearly giving false hope and using it to draw in other top-tier families in California so that they would all side with the Kingstons. They initially thought that this Elite Business Exchange was for the three giants of San Francisco to unite and divide the power of the other forces in California. But it now seemed that the Kingstons had long colluded with the Smiths and secretly bribed many families in order to dominate all of California and be the Smiths¡¯ official agent here. In that case, wouldn¡¯t the other families have to submit to the Kingstons and follow the orders of the Kingstons and the Smiths? Reynold looked at everyone¡¯s expression and slowly said, ¡°I, Reynold Watson, am not willing to watch my family, which I¡¯ve singlehandedly developed, be reduced to a subordinate taking orders from others. I don¡¯t want to see the Kingstons bing the overlord. I think all of you should think simrly to me, right? ¡°We are all local families of California. If we join forces, the Kingstons might not be able to seed just with the support of the Smiths! There¡¯s a saying about how you can¡¯t beat the local tyrant on his turf no matter how strong you are! ¡°Now, what do you n to do?¡± After Reynold finished speaking, the entire reception room immediately fell silent. Everyone looked at each other for a few moments before turning to look at Lucas. Tap-tap.?Lucas tapped his finger on the table before saying, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s join hands.¡± His sudden words instantly attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Reynold looked at Lucas but suddenly frowned and rebuked, ¡°Who are you? We helmsmen are discussing something important. What right does a junior like you have to speak?¡± He hadn¡¯t met Lucas before. Seeing how young he was, he thought he was an ill-mannered junior from one of the four major families of Orange County. Lucas sat still without saying a word and merely looked at Reynold with a mirthless smile. Bruce immediately stood up and chided with a stern look on his face, ¡°Reynold, don¡¯t be rude to Mr. Gray! He isn¡¯t a junior of one of our families, but an honored guest officially invited to the Elite Business Exchange. Moreover, Mr. Gray can make decisions on behalf of the Hales!¡± Reynold was surprised. He was from San Jose, so he only knew that Orange County was dominated by the four major families for a long time. He didn¡¯t know when there had ever been a powerful Mr. Gray. What Bruce said almost made Reynoldugh. ¡°How can the Hales follow the orders of a young man who¡¯s an outsider? Mr. Hale, you¡¯re not really muddled, are you?¡± Reynold said with contempt. Ethan suddenly stood up and said austerely, ¡°Mr. Gray can also make decisions on behalf of the Sawyers! Mr. Watson, are you trying to say that I¡¯m old and muddled too?¡± Previously, when Lucas went to the Kingston residence to get Karen back and confronted them, Ethan had chosen to stand by and give up the opportunity to follow Lucas because he was afraid of the pressure from the Kingstons and the Huttons. When heter learned that the Hales, the Parkers, and even Joe from Little Antis City had followed Lucas to San Francisco to stand on the side of Lucas, who gained the upper hand in the conflict, Ethan was full of regret. At the same time, Ethan also felt some fear and nervousness. He was the first person to offer an olive branch to Lucas. But because of this incident, Lucas probably already disapproved of him. He reckoned that the status of the Hales and Parkers had surpassed the Sawyers¡¯ in Lucas¡¯s heart. So this time, he wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity again, and he had to stand on Lucas¡¯s side firmly. Otherwise, he would never have the opportunity to approach Lucas again! ¡°Mr. Sawyer, what are you saying?¡± Even Ethan had made his position clear and also openly said that Lucas could make decisions for the Sawyers too, shocking Reynold even more. Frederick also slowly said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Mr. Gray has a special status. He can make decisions on behalf of the forces of Orange County.¡± Both the Hales and the Sawyers would obey Lucas¡¯s instructions, and Lucas¡¯s own strength was not to be underestimated. So if he wanted to unite the forces of Orange County, Lucas was undoubtedly the most important person with the most decision-making power. Darren hesitated for a moment before saying wisely, ¡°Me too.¡± Although his words were somewhat ambiguous, at least they proved that he and the other major families of Orange County were indeed on the same side. Seeing that the helmsmen of the four great families of Orange County all valued and respected a young man so greatly and even said that he could make decisions on behalf of all of Orange County, Reynold was shocked beyond belief. He even began to wonder what was wrong with the world. ¡°You¡­ Isn¡¯t this too absurd? I¡¯m afraid this young man isn¡¯t even thirty. Do you expect a greenhorn like him to represent all of Orange County? Hah, I have to say that you people from Orange County have lost thest of your backbones!¡± Reynold felt that this matter was too ridiculous, and he didn¡¯t take Lucas seriously, so he sneered and mocked them. ¡°Reynold Watson, I¡¯ve already warned you not to insult Mr. Gray again!¡± Bruce yelled furiously while glowering at Reynold. Ethan stood up and said coldly, ¡°Reynold Watson, if this is the attitude you have, you¡¯re not only insulting Mr. Gray but all of us from Orange County. There¡¯s no need for us to join forces with you. Hurry up and get lost!¡± ¡°You!¡± Reynold was enraged, and tension immediately arose in the room. Chapter 696 - Exchange Venus

Chapter 696: Exchange Venus

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Alright, stop arguing.¡± Frederick stood up to smooth things over. ¡°Mr. Watson, Mr. Gray is indeed part of our Orange County alliance. Please show him due respect as well. If you have really decided to work together with us, let¡¯s officially settle on it and unite together at tonight¡¯s exchange. Anyone who dares to betray the agreement or an ally will be our enemy!¡± Reynold bit his lower lip before finally saying, ¡°Okay, the Watsons have decided to join forces with you!¡± Phil raised his eyebrows. ¡°The Harolds as well.¡± The four great families of Orange County and Lucas agreed to let the Watsons and the Harolds join the alliance. Thus, the small alliance was officially established. But when Reynold and Phil looked at Lucas, they had disdain in their eyes. Because Lucas was too young and had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, they simply didn¡¯t believe that he was capable in any way. Regarding this, Lucas naturally didn¡¯t bother to say much to them. ¡ª¡ª At the same time, in the Kingstons¡¯ reception room¡­ Because the Kingstons were one of the top three wealthy families of San Francisco, they didn¡¯t have to share a reception room with other families, unlike the families of other cities. Instead, they had a spacious and luxurious reception room all to themselves. At this moment, Vince and Wendy Smith were also in the reception room. Vince took a sip of top-quality tea and asked slowly, ¡°How are the preparations going?¡± Lance hurriedly replied, ¡°Mr. Smith, rest assured! I¡¯ve already united most of the families in California. If anyone dares to disobey and cause trouble, my people are prepared to deal with them. There won¡¯t be any problems at the exchange tonight!¡± Vince acknowledged without saying anything. But in his heart, there was always a hidden worry that he couldn¡¯t erase. Vince knew very well what was causing his worry. It was the young man Lucas Gray. For some reason, the thought of Lucas¡¯s domineering appearance at the entrance of the Walton Hotel just now made Vince extremely worried. Lucas was a man he couldn¡¯t figure out. But today¡¯s Elite Business Exchange was extremely important for Vince, and he couldn¡¯t afford any failure at all! As long as he could sessfully take the profitable pie that was California, he would definitely be the sessor of the Smiths with this merit and no longer just a candidate! At the same time, if he failed, he would definitely face the retaliation of many powerful families in California. At that time, he would probably also be attacked by the other members of the Smith family. He might even lose the position of helmsman from then on. After all, because of the fierce and cruelpetition going on in the Smith family, there were many eligible people for the position of family head, and they would never let go of such a good opportunity. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t the only one who hade out. He came to California with the intention to dominate the market here, but other Smiths also went to other states to do something simr. Once Vince failed, or seededter than someone else, he would be at great risk! Thus, his n at the Elite Business Exchange tonight had to seed! ¡ª¡ª Time passed quickly, and soon, it was 8 p.m. Since the Elite Business Exchange would officially begin at 8:30 p.m., the venue, which was on the top floor of the Walton Hotel, was open for admission. This time, a total of 69 top-tier families and forces from numerous cities in California were invited to the Elite Business Exchange. It could be said that all the top giants of California were present. Some cities had more forces representing it, such as Orange County, which had five invitees representing it in total. In some cities, there were very few invitees due to various reasons. For example, the Parkers were the only family from LA because the Brookes and Owens had been annihted. Of course, the helmsman of each family was allowed to bring a few family members and bodyguards with them. Thus, there were hundreds of people, and it was extremely lively. Of course, the venue of the Elite Business Exchange was extremely spacious so that all the guests could enjoy the best treatment. But even then, the venue became extraordinarily noisy and lively as people from various forces arrived one after another when the Elite Business Exchange was about to begin. It was extremely boisterous. ¡°Quick, look. That¡¯s Damon Parker, the helmsman of the Parkers from LA!¡± All of a sudden, amotion sparked in the crowd. It turned out that Damon and his grandson Keh had arrived at the exchange venue. Since the Parkers had taken over many of the Owens¡¯ businesses with Lucas¡¯s permission, they had be much stronger than before. Not only had they be the great hegemon of LA, but they had also be almost on par with the Coles, the Kingstons, and the Walkers of LA. Thus, the Parkers¡¯ appearance at the exchange immediately attracted the attention of countless people. ¡°Look over there. Edmund Cole, the helmsman of the Cole family, is here too!¡± ¡°And there, it¡¯s Herman Walker, the helmsman of the Walkers!¡± ¡°Look! Lance Kingston, the helmsman of the Kingstons!¡± When the helmsmen of the three top families of San Francisco showed up almost at the same time, the atmosphere in the venue reached its peak. But many sharp-eyed people immediately noticed something different. ¡°Hey, look at the middle-aged man standing in front of the Kingstons¡¯ helmsman! He seems to have a domineering aura, but he¡¯s a new face. I¡¯ve never seen him before!¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t only standing in front of the Kingstons¡¯ helmsman. Do you notice that Lance Kingston seems to be extremely respectful to this person, and he¡¯s even bending over slightly!¡± ¡°Oh my god! Even Lance Kingston has to be so polite and respectful toward him. Just who is he?¡± ¡°Even Lance Kingston has to be so deferential. I¡¯m guessing that the middle-aged man might be from one of the big families in DC!¡± Suddenly, the already boisterous venue was full of countless spective voices. Lucas sat down on his seat and saw Vince, who was standing in front of Lance. And at the same time, Vince seemed to sense Lucas¡¯s gaze and turned around. Their gazes collided in their air. The stare-downsted less than a second because Lucas had already turned his head awayposedly, as if he had only taken a random nce at an insignificant person. On the other hand, Vince narrowed his eyes and stared at Lucas as a murderous intent gradually appeared in his eyes. Chapter 697 - The Exchange Begins

Chapter 697: The Exchange Begins

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Vince red at Lucas for a long time before looking away. Then he took the initiative to sit on the master seat at the front of the Elite Business Exchange venue. Lance, the organizer of the exchange, sat at a position below Vince. The seating order shocked many. Apart from those families who had secretly joined the Kingstons and knew that the Smiths were attending the Elite Business Exchange, many other attendees were shocked. Not only were they guessing who this mysterious middle-aged man was, but they were also constantly specting about his intentions. It was almost 8:30 p.m. At this time, the bigwigs from the dozens of families in California had already taken their seats one after another. In order to avoid confusion, the seats were arranged ording to the city each family belonged to, and families from the same city generally sat together. The people at the Orange County section were Lucas, the Sawyers, the Hales, the Taylors, and the Waces. As for LA, there were even fewer representatives, with only Damon¡ªthe helmsman of the Parkers¡ªhis grandson Keh, and two other juniors from the Parkers. Ding¡­ The moment the clock struck 8:30 p.m., the majestic sound of a bell filled the air in the venue. Everyone immediately stopped whispering and sat upright to look in front. The Elite Business Exchange officially began! As the organizer, Lance stood up and said loudly, ¡°Hello, everyone. I am Lance Kingston. Thank you all foring to this Elite Business Exchange! ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone still has some doubts. After all, ording to the previous process, the Exchange should be held in a month, and the organizer should have been the Watsons from San Jose. However, Mr. Watson thought that it would be better for the Kingstons to host it and thus gave me the rights to host the Elite Business Exchange.¡± Lance sounded extremely domineering, and his words rified the doubts about this Elite Business Exchange. But only a very small number of people epted this reason. Most people didn¡¯t believe it. After all, the Elite Business Exchange was held only once every three years, and the opportunity to host it was extremely rare. Moreover, the organizer would usually enjoy great glory and benefits every single time. The Watsons had gone through great pains to finally obtain the hosting rights this time. How could they suddenly feel that the Kingstons were more suitable for hosting it and take the initiative to hand over the hosting rights? Countless eyes shifted to Reynold, and there was amotion in the venue. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Watsons to take the initiative to hand over the hosting rights to the Kingstons. That¡¯s such a shame! Since when did they have such a good rtionship with the Kingstons?¡± ¡°Hah, I don¡¯t believe the reason the Kingstons gave! Anyone in their right mind wouldn¡¯t voluntarily give the hosting rights to someone else!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! From the way I see it, the Kingstons must have wanted the hosting rights. And since the Watsons couldn¡¯t go against the Kingstons, they had no choice but to suck it up!¡± ¡°If I were Reynold Watson, I would vomit to death!¡± ... Reynold, the center of discussion, was sitting quietly at the San Jose section while gritting his teeth. It was unclear what he was thinking. Lance didn¡¯t bother to care about what people were thinking. He just had to give an official reason. ¡°Next, I would like to introduce you to two distinguished guests from DC!¡± Lance moved his palm to Vince, who was sitting at the master seat. He respectfully introduced, ¡°This is Mr. Vince Smith, the future heir to the Smith family, one of the eight great families of DC. His father is the brother of the current family head!¡± Then he pointed to Wendy, who was sitting next to Vince. ¡°She is also a distinguished guest from the Smiths, Mrs. Wendy Smith. Her father is now the head of the Smith family! ¡°Let¡¯s wee these two distinguished guests with the warmest apuse!¡± After speaking extremely enthusiastically, Lance took the lead in apuding. The other people in the venue looked extremely shocked, but they subconsciously apuded too. Many people had guessed that the mysterious middle-aged man had an extraordinary identity and was likely from one of the big families in DC. But they didn¡¯t expect that he was actually a Smith! Their identities were extremely esteemed! The eight whales of DC were powerful figures to any wealthy family in California. Seeing a minor figure from these families was already considered a glorious matter, let alone two members from the Smiths¡¯ direct family line. Wendy was a woman and should have married, so even though she was the daughter of the Smiths¡¯ family head, the shock she caused was still limited. But Vince¡¯s identity was even more impressive. As a promising candidate for the next family head of the Smiths, his sudden appearance at the Elite Business Exchange definitely had a greater meaning. ¡°Seems like the Elite Business Exchange isn¡¯t going to be peaceful this time. I have a hunch that something big will definitely happen at today¡¯s exchange!¡± ¡°Since the helmsman of the Kingstons and the two bigshots from the Smiths are on such good terms with each other, the trinity of the three whales of San Francisco might bepletely broken after this exchange! The Walkers and the Coles are probably going to be sacrificial victims!¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. We¡¯d better wait and observe!¡± ... While the crowd was talking and specting, many people carefully looked at the expressions of the Coles and the Walkers in hopes of finding some clues. ¡°However, before the exchange officially begins, I have a personal matter to handle. Please pardon me,¡± Lance suddenly said and then looked at someone from Orange County. Many followed Lance¡¯s line of sight and looked over, but they couldn¡¯t tell who he was targetting. ¡°Bruce Hale, not long ago, you brought arge group of people to the Kingston residence to cause trouble. It seems that you haven¡¯t given the Kingstons an exnation for this matter yet..¡± Lance narrowed his eyes and stared at Bruce Hale. Chapter 698 - Tyrannical Conditions

Chapter 698: Tyrannical Conditions

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Many people were shocked. Back then, the matter ended with the Kingstons sumbing. Lance felt that it was extremely embarrassing, so he had immediately ordered everyone to keep their lips sealed about what had happened that day or face death. Thus, apart from a very small number of local families in San Francisco, who had secretly found some clues after snooping around, the others weren¡¯t aware of this matter at all. It was the first time that the big shots of the other cities heard about this matter. In their opinion, the Kingstons were a top family in San Francisco, and they were definitely among the top three in California in terms ofprehensive strength. Besides, the Hales were just a top-tier family in Orange County and far inferior to the Kingstons. Is Bruce Hale out of his mind? How dare he bring people with him to create trouble at the Kingstons¡¯? Despite being called out in public all of a sudden, Bruce remained sittingposedly with a straight face. ¡°Mr. Kingston, your words are too biased. Your family kidnapped someone from Orange County, and all I did was go to your ce to ask you to hand her over. Why are you twisting facts and making it sound as if we¡¯re the ones who started the trouble? ¡°Are you trying to bully us just because you¡¯re powerful? ¡°I only have one thing to say. The Hales have never been afraid of anyone or been at the mercy of anyone!¡± Bruce spoke in a righteous manner, without any fear of the powerful oppressiveness that Lance was exuding. Lance narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly with a threatening look on his face. ¡°Mr. Hale, you¡¯re really eloquent. But it¡¯s an irrefutable fact that you brought people to my ce and even injured many of my family¡¯s bodyguards! The Hales must give the Kingstons an exnation! ¡°I can give you two choices. One, immediately surrender and submit yourselves to the Kingstons. From now on, everything belonging to the Hales will belong to the Kingstons! Two, immediately break your arm andpensate my family with half of your family¡¯s assets!¡± As soon as Lance stated his conditions, it instantly sparked an uproar. These two choices were actually both very tyrannical and unreasonable. If he chose the first, it would be equivalent to giving the Hales¡¯ empire away to the Kingstons. The Kingstons would be considered kind enough if they allowed the Hales to continue managing these businesses. But the Kingstons would more likely than not take away the Hales¡¯ businesses and then make them leave with nothing, which was very toxic. The second condition was not much different. The Hales would suffer immense damage if they gave half of their assets to the Kingstons. Not only would they lose their status as one of the four major families in Orange County, but their remaining assets might be divided up by other forces before they could even make aeback. The condition of asking Bruce to break his arm was just as bad. Bruce was in his seventies, and the heavy blow would leave him suffering for the rest of his life. The Kingstons¡¯ demands were indeed rather overboard. Many people thought so, but due to the Kingstons¡¯ power and status, no one questioned their sinister intentions. Bruce sneered. ¡°Hah, the Kingstons are obviously out to encroach on my family¡¯s assets. You¡¯re really shameless.¡± Lance was extremely adamant about it. ¡°You should have thought about the consequences before taking people to my home, shouldn¡¯t you? I said it before. This is the price you have to pay for offending my family! Mr. Hale, have you thought about which option to choose?¡± Bruce gritted his teeth and thought about it for a while before finally saying, ¡°I choose¡­¡± Everyone stared at Bruce with bated breath, wondering which choice he would make. ¡°To hell with that!¡± Bruce suddenly hollered. ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re the king and you can do whatever you want? If you have what it takes,e at us. We will never give you our empire for nothing!¡± Bruce seldom lost his temper easily, but he actually just cursed at the overbearing Lance, and he was even more aggressive than the Kingstons! Since the Kingstons were coveting the Hales¡¯ assets, he might as well fall out with them! Bruce¡¯s vigor and spirit made many of the attendees extremely surprised. Someone even felt some admiration and respect for Bruce. But there were even more people who felt that Bruce was shooting himself in the foot by challenging someone way above his league. After all, the Hales¡¯ strength was worlds apart from the Kingstons¡¯! Lance¡¯s face turned sullen. He didn¡¯t expect Bruce to have the guts to confront him aggressively. ¡°Okay, since you don¡¯t know any better and have a death wish, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish!¡± Lance said coldly and then ordered the people behind him, ¡°Bring Bruce Hale and his family out of here!¡± With hismand, around thirty tall bodyguards swarmed out from all around the venue and charged toward the Hales to surround them. Many bursts of exmations erupted in the venue. No one had expected that the Kingstons would suddenly attack the Hales and send so many people to exact violence on the Hales. Although they imed that it was to ensure people¡¯s safety, most families could only bring a few bodyguards with them to the venue. How could they possibly defeat thirty people? Vince and Wendy, who had been sitting in the master seat at the front, were nonchnt about it. They seemed to be leaving it entirely to the Kingstons to deal with while supporting them from behind. Many people who felt that the Kingstons were being too arrogant and tyrannical or those who had friendly ties with the Hales suppressed their urge to stand up for the Hales and remained seated when they saw Vince and Wendy. They would be in deep trouble if they offended the Kingstons and the Smiths. But just as the Hales were about to be dragged away, a majestic and stern voice suddenly sounded. ¡°Mr. Kingston, aren¡¯t you going overboard with this?¡± The person who stood forth was Damon, the helmsman of the Parkers. Lance frowned. ¡°Damon Parker, do you n to get involved in this mess?¡± ¡°This mess?¡± Damon sneered. ¡°Since you remember that the Hales went to your ce to cause a stir, I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t forgotten that the Parkers were present that day too, right, Mr. Kingston? I¡¯m definitely getting involved in this mess! ¡°I doubt you¡¯d let the Parkers off after dealing with the Hales! Am I right, Mr. Kingston?¡± He stared at Lance tantly with his glistening eyes. Tension suddenly arose in the venue! Chapter 699 - Killing Three Birds With One Stone

Chapter 699: Killing Three Birds With One Stone

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone in the venue was astonished. Through the information Damon just revealed, everyone figured out that the Parkers and Hales had gone to confront the Kingstons together. What was the reason then? Bruce said it was because the Kingstons had abducted someone from Orange County, so they confronted the Kingstons to get them to hand over this person. But they had questions about who the person was and why the Parkers and the Hales had gone to the Kingstons¡¯ together. There were too many strange points about this matter, and many people who didn¡¯t know the truth began to ask around to find out what had happened at the time. But just as Damon said, the Kingstons would definitely not let the Parkers, who had offended them too, off the hook since they were now holding the Hales responsible for what had happened. Unlike the Hales, the Parkers were now powerful enough to be almost on par with a top-tier family like the Kingstons. If two such powerful families went against each other, the consequences would be extremely different! In that case, there would be a good show to watch. Lance narrowed his eyes angrily and threatened, ¡°Mr. Parker, I don¡¯t seem to have said that I wanted to make things hard for your family. Are you nning to help this old fogey Bruce Hale and go against the Kingstons?¡± Damon smirked indifferently. ¡°If that¡¯s what you think, sure. Anyway, it¡¯s not the first time the Parkers have gone against the Kingstons, is it? ¡°I¡¯d also like to tell you something, Mr. Kingston. The Hales are friends with the Parkers, so if you want to harm the Hales, it¡¯ll be equivalent to making an enemy of the Parkers!¡± ¡°The Parkers¡¯ strength may indeed be slightly inferior to the Kingstons¡¯, but we¡¯re not afraid of you either!¡± His words were tantamount to a direct war deration. Most of the other families in the venue looked at each other in shock and dismay.?Aren¡¯t things escting¡­ a little too quickly? In merely a few sentences, things had escted to the point where they were going toe-to-toe against each other and neither refused to give in! Generally speaking, the moreparable the strength of the families, the more cautious they would be about being hostile to each other. Yet the Kingstons and the Parkers were almost about to get into a brawl at the slightest disagreement. After all, they were at the Elite Business Exchange, and they couldn¡¯t issue threats and then pretend that nothing had happened, especially since there were so many wealthy families. But once these two massively powerful families went to war, it might have a significant impact on the situation in all of California! ¡°Hah, this is the Elite Business Exchange held by the Kingstons. If anyone dares to create trouble here, don¡¯t me me for being merciless! ¡°Immediately kick the Hales out of the venue! If anyone resists, kill them without mercy!¡± Lance ordered coldly. The bloodthirstiness in his voice made everyone else present shudder. Kill without mercy¡­ This means aplete fall out, right? ¡°Yes, Mr. Parker!¡± responded the tall and burly bodyguards of the Kingstons in unison. Then dozens of them immediately surrounded the Parkers. Since the Kingstons were the host of the Elite Business Exchange today, they were responsible for all the security measures and personnel. But the Kingstons actually wanted to kick both the Parkers and the Hales out because of a personal feud. The Kingstons definitely had an absolute advantage in numbers and were abat force that no other family could resist. Suddenly, many other families began to worry. Why did this Elite Business Exchange seem like a facade for a treacherous plot? The Kingstons had the hosting rights and a strong force of subordinates. If anyone got into a conflict of interests with them, wouldn¡¯t they be bullied and driven out without any dignity like the Hales and Parkers? Moreover, there would be nothing they could do. ¡°Lance Kingston, you¡¯re really getting more and more brazen! All the Kingstons are doing is helping to host the exchange this year. Do you really think you¡¯re the king and hold the power to control the life and death of others?¡± At this moment, another person came forward and scolded furiously with a frosty expression on his face. ¡°That¡¯s Edmund Cole, the head of the Coles of San Francisco! He actually stepped out too!¡± ¡°Wow! Are the Coles nning to go against the Kingstons as well?¡± ¡°Oh my god. These big shots areing forward one after another. What kind of situation will this turn into? Three of the four most powerful families of California have alreadye forward, and the Parkers and Coles are standing against Lance Kingston. The Walkers are the only ones left who have yet to take a stand!¡± ¡°I said before that something major would definitely happen at today¡¯s exchange, and it really seems so! It¡¯s only been ten minutes since the exchange started, but there¡¯s already such a scene! Instead of an exchange, it¡¯s more like a battlefield!¡± Edmund¡¯s appearance caused anothermotion among the astounded crowd. ¡°Edmund Cole, this doesn¡¯t seem to be any of your business, right? Why are you standing up for them?¡± Lance glowered at Edmund. But he actually felt extremely smug when he saw Edmunding forward. Indeed, Lance had deliberatelyshed out at the Hales in order to show how arrogant and overbearing he was! His goal was to force all the families rted to Lucas to step forth and then drag Lucas out before getting rid of them in one fell swoop! Now, with the Smiths as his backer, Lance became much more bold. In his opinion, no matter how arrogant and good at fighting Lucas was, he was just a small fry who wouldn¡¯t survive for long in front of the formidable Vince, the future sessor of the Smiths, as well as the experts around him. Thus, Lance would not only be able to avenge his son and grandson, but he would also take revenge for Wendy and Vince and get rid of the forces against them. It was simply killing three birds with one stone! At the thought of the Kingstons bing the hegemon of California, Lance stared at Lucas with a fiery gaze. But Lucas¡¯s reaction made Lance somewhat bewildered. Seeing that his allies, the Hales, the Parkers, and the Coles, had alle forward one after another and were facing a dangerous situation where they were almost going to war, Lucas remained calm andposed, as if what was happening in front of him had nothing to do with him at all. Lucas was indeed a person who couldn¡¯t be seen through easily! But it doesn¡¯t matter.. When I clip your wings and get rid of your helpers, let¡¯s see if you can still remain so calm!?Lance thought with a cold and sinister look in his eyes. Chapter 700 - Treacherous and Unpredictable

Chapter 700: Treacherous and Unpredictable

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Hah, Edmund Cole, do you also want to get involved? I¡¯m now the host of this exchange, and I have the right to chase the Hales and the Parkers out for causing trouble! Do you have a problem with that?¡± Lance looked at Edmund with a look of arrogance. Edmund said disdainfully, ¡°Lance Kingston, aren¡¯t you embarrassed to say that?! You know best just how you managed to obtain the hosting rights. Who would believe your bullshit? ¡°Why did the Hales and the Parkers cause trouble at the exchange? Isn¡¯t it because you provoked them first because of a personal feud? ¡°I just can¡¯t stand seeing such things! If you have the guts, target the Coles too and chase us out together!¡± After all, Edmund had been in the army for many years. And when it came to being domineering and acting rouge, there were very few people who could match him. He angered Lance as soon as he spoke. Lance really wanted to fall out with the Coles right now. He had long abhorred Edmund. The other day at the Kingstons¡¯, Edmund had helped the Hales and the Parkers dere war on the Kingstons, eventually forcing him to give in. He decided that he would sooner orter get even with Edmund! But the exchange just began, and he had yet to even dere the main purpose of the exchange today. So it was indeed not suitable to start a conflict with the Coles now. When Lance thought of this, a smile suddenly appeared on his originally gloomy face. ¡°Mr. Cole, you¡¯re already so old. There isn¡¯t a need to get so upset, is there? ¡°I know you¡¯re friends with Bruce Hale and Damon Parker, so you¡¯d naturally want to speak up for them. But no matter what, the Kingstons are indeed hosting today¡¯s exchange. Yet the Hales and the Parkers openly provoked the authority of the Kingstons. Why can¡¯t I teach them a lesson and kick them out of the venue? ¡°Edmund Cole, you¡¯d better not be too nosy. If your family hosts an event in the future and my family keeps ordering you around and telling you what to do, would you be happy?¡± Lance said with a threatening tone of voice. ¡°Hah, you can try it!¡± Edmund didn¡¯t take it to heart in the slightest, and he said decisively, ¡°I just said that if anyone dares toy a finger on the Hales and the Parkers, they¡¯d better not me me for being unceremonious!¡± Then he took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Split up into two groups. One group will go to the Walton Hotel, and the other will go to the Kingstons¡¯ manor and surround it. Don¡¯t let anyone enter or leave!¡± Lance¡¯s expression changed drastically! In order to gain firm control of the venue, the Kingstons had already deployed most of their personnel. In addition to the fifty elite experts in the venue, there were others spread around the vicinity of the Walton Hotel to prevent any unexpected situations. But at the same time, the guards in the Kingstons¡¯ main residence were unprecedentedly empty because Lance simply didn¡¯t think that anyone would have the courage to attack the Kingstons¡¯ home at this juncture! But Edmund didn¡¯t act ording to Lance¡¯s expectations! As someone who had dealt closely with Edmund for most of his life, Lance was very clear about Edmund¡¯s personality and knew that he had never been afraid to kill because of the numerous years he had spent on the battlefield a long time ago. He was definitely able to do what he said he would! If he really wanted to do something to the rest of the Kingstons, there was no way he could stop it! Just as Lance¡¯s expression changed drastically, another voice sounded. ¡°You can start moving. Make sure to surround the Kingston residence within ten minutes and then act on my orders!¡± This time, it was Damon who ordered the person on the other end of his phone. He actually ordered his subordinates to surround the Kingston residence again! Everyone was astounded! Edmund could order his people to surround the Kingston residence because the Coles were arge family in San Francisco and could quickly gather manpower. But Damon¡¯s family was a family from LA, yet he could also get people to surround the Kingston residence within ten minutes? LA was quite a long drive from San Francisco. Damon definitely couldn¡¯t have made this decision on the spur of the moment. This could only mean one thing¡ªDamon had long anticipated that the Kingstons would deliberately target the Parkers at today¡¯s exchange. Thus, he made arrangements in advance so that all the Parkers¡¯ manpower had arrived in San Francisco and were ready to act at any time! His ability to predict in advance left many in awe. ¡°Ry my orders. Everyone, get to the entrance of Walton Hotel within ten minutes and wait for my instructions!¡± Another domineering voice sounded. This time, it was Bruce! In an instant, the three big shots had issued orders one after another and openly went against Lance, thus sparking an uproar. It was no longer a deration of war but a preparation to start the war at any moment! Lance¡¯s face was extremely gloomy. He really wanted to blow things up by suppressing the Hales, the Parkers, and the rest before getting rid of them as well as Lucas. But he had never expected that these families had already prepared and secretly arranged their people to head to San Francisco! If the Kingston residence and the Walton Hotel were surrounded by the people of these three families, the Kingstons¡¯ previous arrangements would have no chance of winning. Besides, the Kingstons in the main residence would probably be hostages to be used against him! For a moment, Lance felt that the current situation was beyond his control, so he had no choice but to look to Vince for help. He wanted to use the power of the Smiths to help him deal with the current situation. But Vince remained sitting calmly in his seat, without even ncing at Lance, as if the matter had nothing to do with him. ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡­¡± Lance panicked and bent over to Vince¡¯s side to beg him again. At this moment, an extremely loud and majestic voice filled the air in the venue. ¡°Do you people not take the Walkers seriously anymore?¡± Herman, the head of the Walkers, stood up with a cold and arrogant look on his face. Everyone was shocked! Chapter 701 - Triggered By a Touch

Chapter 701: Triggered By a Touch

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios From the moment Herman Walker stood up to speak, the battlefield of the four most powerful families in California became even more dangerous and tense. In the beginning, everyone thought that this was a battle between the Coles, the Parkers, and the Hales against the Kingstons. In contrast, the Walkers, who had always been uninvolved, might choose to sit this one out and reap the spoils when the others fought to the deathter. They were sure that the Walkers would definitely be the final winner. No one expected that the Walkers would take the initiative to jump out and join the battle at this time. But no one could guess whose side the Walkers would take. Lance narrowed his eyes and suddenly realized that Herman seemed to be behaving differently from usual today. He wasn¡¯t behaving like the usual low-key old man. If he had to describe Herman as a sword, the old Herman would be like an ordinary sword sheathed in a scabbard, which didn¡¯t look harmful in any way. But the current Herman standing in front of the crowd now seemed to have left his scabbard, revealing cold rays of light emanating in all directions. For some reason, Lance suddenly had an ominous premonition. Simrly, Edmund frowned slightly. He also discovered that Herman was different from usual. But he was more curious about Herman¡¯s purpose for standing up at this time. Edmund thought that if Herman was after the ultimate benefits, the safest solution would be for the Walkers to wait until the end, sit the battle out, and then reap the benefits. ¡­ Unless Herman¡¯s purpose wasn¡¯t that simple. At this moment, many people were discussing Herman after he suddenly stood up. But there was one person whose muscles tensed up the moment he saw Hermaning forward. ¡°The Walkers!¡± Reynold Watson gritted his teeth while wishing that the Walkers would die right in front of him immediately! The Walkers were the targets he really wanted to deal with tonight! Reason being, the bastard Nate had killed his only precious son, Das, so he had to take revenge against the Walkers! ¡°Mr. Walker, what do you mean by that?¡± Lance questioned, but his tone was very amicable when speaking to Herman. After all, Lance wasn¡¯t willing to be enemies with another powerful person before rifying Herman¡¯s stand and purpose. Edmund asked, ¡°Mr. Walker, what do you mean?¡± Herman looked at the two big shots from San Francisco on par with him and smiled slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t have a deep meaning. I just think that since today¡¯s Elite Business Exchange is a grand event held once every three years in California and the Kingstons are the host, there seems to be nothing wrong for Mr. Kingston to chase out a few families that are in the way and causing trouble, right?¡± As soon as he said this, everyone immediately understood the meaning of his words. They were surprised that he was supportive of the Kingstons. Lance was also a bit surprised because he didn¡¯t expect Herman to speak up for his family. Logically speaking, Herman shouldn¡¯t be helping the Kingstons, so everyone wondered if there was some other hidden reason. Is Herman Walker choosing to help me because he disapproves of Edmund Cole? But regardless of the reason, Herman was on the Kingstons¡¯ side now, which was good news for him! On the other hand, Edmund¡¯s face darkened slightly. ¡°Mr. Walker, does that mean you¡¯ve decided to stand on the Kingstons¡¯ side?¡± Herman didn¡¯t admit or deny it. He merely smiled and said, ¡°Mr. Cole, the Walkers, the Coles, and the Kingstons have been the three giants of San Francisco for more than a decade, right? ¡°I actually don¡¯t want to see the bnce broken because once a conflict breaks out between our three powerful families, the other forces in California will definitely be implicated too. ¡°So, I suggest that we leave it to the Kingstons and the Hales to resolve their feud on their own. Mr. Cole, it¡¯s better not to get involved! ¡°Of course, if you insist on your decision and help these families fight against the Kingstons, I can¡¯t just sit back and watch. When the timees, the Coles probably won¡¯t be our match even if you join hands with those few small families! ¡°Mr. Cole, since you¡¯re already advanced in years. You shouldn¡¯t meddle with these affairs. Isn¡¯t it better to live well?¡± Herman looked extremely helpless, as if he was just a peacemaker who had no choice but to do so. But Edmund could hear the threats in his words. Only now did the other people in the venue finally understand that the Walkers were really here for the Coles. ¡°It seems that the Coles are in trouble this time! The Kingstons and the Walkers are both top families on par with the Coles. The Coles won¡¯t be a match for them if they join forces!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe that Mr. Walker chose to stand on the Kingstons¡¯ side. When did the two of them start getting along so well?¡± ¡°For the peace of all of California? Why does it sound so fake? But speaking of which, what exactly are the Walkers¡¯ intentions? I have a feeling that it¡¯s not that simple!¡± ¡°Who knows? Anyway, now that the situation is bing moreplicated, I wonder what choice Mr. Cole will make!¡± ... Everyone was talking about the current situation and couldn¡¯t help looking at Edmund to see what choice he would make. Edmund stood upright in the field and asked loudly, ¡°Herman Walker, do you really want to get involved in the feud between our families?¡± Herman said with a confident smile, ¡°It¡¯s not that I have to interfere. I¡¯m just being fair. If you don¡¯t get involved in it, I naturally won¡¯t interfere either!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Edmund sneered and said with a hostile look on his face, ¡°In that case, do as you wish! Anyway, I have made my stand clear. The Hales and the Parkers are friends of the Coles, and I won¡¯t be kind to anyone who wants to harm them! If you want to go to war, then let¡¯s do it! The Coles aren¡¯t afraid!¡± As soon as he said this, several bodyguards behind Edmund immediately got their guards up and put their hands into the inside of their suits, ready to make a move. At the same time, Bruce, Connor, Damon, and Keh also stood up while the bodyguards behind them became vignt. All of a sudden, the exchange venue was full of the terrifying aura of an impending war. The war seemed about to begin! Chapter 702 - The Watsons Retaliate

Chapter 702: The Watsons Retaliate

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Amid the tense atmosphere, Lucas remained sitting in his seat and even sipped tea very leisurely, as if everything in front of him had nothing to do with him. But there was a trace of mockery in his lowered eyes. The Kingstons thought that they were chosen by the Smiths to be their representatives, so they had been taking the lead everywhere. But the Walkers suddenly appeared at this juncture. Lucas didn¡¯t believe that the Smiths hadn¡¯t instructed them to do so. Everything Lance hoped and expected would probably end in vain, and he would have paved the way for others. Herman looked at the Coles, the Parkers, and the Hales with a contemptuous smile on his face. ¡°Mr. Cole, I¡¯m asking you onest time. Are you really going to go to war with us for the sake of the Hales and the Parkers?¡± Edmund said impatiently, ¡°I¡¯ve said it several times now. Do you take my words as nonsense? If you want to fight, just do it. Cut the crap!¡± ¡°Haha, Edmund Cole, you¡¯re really conceited!¡± Hermanughed loudly and then suddenly raised his voice to say to the people in the conference hall, ¡°Everyone, Mr. Cole is stubborn and insists on going to war to break the peace in California. Do you want to see this situation?¡± ¡°No! The Morrisons object!¡± ¡°The Crawfords oppose too!¡± ¡°The Dawns are against it as well!¡± ... As soon as Herman finished speaking, more than ten helmsmen of various families immediately stood up and responded to Herman in unison. When Lance saw this scene, his face darkened. Now, he finally realized what was amiss and the reason for his vague ominous feeling earlier! The helmsmen who stood up to respond to Herman were exactly the ones who had been solicited by Lance and agreed to support the Kingstons at the exchange! But they didn¡¯t even look at him now and were all on Herman¡¯s side! Lance knew better than anyone else what this meant. His heart sank to rock bottom! At the same time, Wendy, sitting beside Vince, had a trace of shock on her face. She originally thought that her cousin Vince had also chosen the Kingstons as the Smiths¡¯ future representative in California. But only at this moment did she realize that the Walkers were the ones Vince had chosen! Vince didn¡¯t ask her for her opinion before deciding on this matter or even informed her about it! Does this mean that Vince no longer trusts me??Wendy thought anxiously. At this moment, Edmund¡¯s face also turned slightly pale. He didn¡¯t expect that the Walkers had already won over so many families either. Besides, the Walkers¡¯ appearance was beyond his expectations in the first ce. Edmund originally thought that the Kingstons would be the ones causing trouble at the exchange since they were Smiths¡¯ckeys. But it had only been a short while since the exchange started, yet they had surprisingly been reced by another family. ¡°See, Mr. Cole? This is everyone¡¯s unanimous consensus. Do you really want to be enemies of all the other families in California?¡± Herman smiled confidently, assured he would win. Edmund clenched his fists tightly, and the veins at the corners of his forehead twitched. From his standpoint, he indeed wouldn¡¯t be afraid of going to war with the Kingstons and the Walkers. Even if it caused the Coles to suffer major losses, everyone would only end up in a lose-lose situation. But now that nearly half of the families and forces were on Herman¡¯s side, the situation was absolutely not in their favor. Thebined strength of nearly thirty first-ss families wasn¡¯t something that one or two top families could rival! Even though Edmund was usually fearless, he clenched his fists and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, an iparably angry voice sounded. ¡°Herman Walker, do you like poking your nose into other people¡¯s business that much? Why don¡¯t you settle the score with the Watsons first?!¡± The person who spoke was none other than Reynold, the head of the Watsons! Another uproar immediately broke out. No one expected that the Watsons would suddenly jump out at this time and target the Walkers, one of the top three families! The people present were all the heads of the first-tier families. Many of them knew that the Watsons of San Jose had actually relied on the Walkers¡¯ support to develop so quickly to a first-ss family today in just a few years. It could be said that the Watsons had always been as obedient as dogs in front of the Walkers, always doing whatever they were told. Even Reynold¡¯s precious son, Das, was known to be the most loyalckey of the Walkers¡¯ scion, Nate Walker, among the upper-ss circle of California. Reynold Watson actually has the guts to settle scores with the Walkers? Wh-what exactly is going on here?? Herman, who had a calm smile on his face just now, became a little gloomy. He didn¡¯t know that Das had died yesterday and his corpse had been in Nate¡¯s car. In Herman¡¯s opinion, the Watsons had always been obedient, yet they were now trying to beat the hand that fed them, making him extremely displeased. Herman narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly with an aura of oppression, ¡°Reynold, why don¡¯t I know what there is to settle between our families?¡± ¡°Hah, you¡¯ll have to ask your grandson what he¡¯s done!¡± Reynold stared at Nate, who was standing behind Herman. His gaze was like that of a venomous snake. Nate subconsciously shuddered. From the moment Reynold suddenly came forward to speak, Nate had had an ominous premonition. His heart was pounding, making him feel as if there was an unknown force overwhelming him. Justst night, Das¡¯s corpse had suddenly appeared in the trunk of Nate¡¯s car. Out of fear of causing a misunderstanding with the Watsons, he had arranged for his assistant to destroy Das¡¯s corpse. But the assistant had vanished without a trace and hadn¡¯t been found yet. Nate was extremely tense to begin with, afraid that Reynold would suddenly mention Das. But things didn¡¯t go ording to n. The more he dreaded it, the more likely it would happen. Aftering into contact with Reynold¡¯s bloodthirsty gaze, Nate screamed in his heart,?Everything I dread has happened. How can I exin it clearly now? Herman nced at Nate with a frown and then turned to look at Reynold. He said with annoyance, ¡°What exactly do you want to say? Just say it!¡± His eyes were already full of a murderous aura. The Watsons were just his dogs in the beginning. But now that they were biting the hand that fed them and disrespecting him in front of everyone, Herman was furious. Reynold had to avenge his son. So facing Herman¡¯s threatening gaze, he gritted his teeth and said word by word, ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll make it clear what happened! Yesterday, my son, Das, was mercilessly killed by your grandson, Nate Walker!¡± Chapter 703 - Sufficient Evidence

Chapter 703: Sufficient Evidence

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Reynold¡¯s voice was full of anger and resentment. At the thought that he almost lost the chance to see his son¡¯s body yesterday, he wished he could skin Nate alive! If not for the fact that the Watsons¡¯ power was inferior to the Walkers¡¯, he would have long gone to Nate to demand that he pay for it with his life. There would have been no point in enduring until now. He initially nned to use the power of the several major families in Orange County to deal with the Walkers slowly. But when Reynold saw Herman¡¯s actions, he knew that he couldn¡¯t afford to wait any longer. If he had continued waiting, the Walkers would probably be the greatest hegemon of California. In that case, he would never be able toplete his n for revenge. In that case, no matter what, he had to expose the Walkers¡¯ evil deeds so that the families who wanted to rely on the Walkers, faithfully follow them, and slog their guts out for them would see what would happen at the very end! Lucas looked up at Reynold with a glimmer of interest in his eyes. It seems that Das, his only son, really held a significant position in his heart, making him not hesitate to fall out with the Walkers to take revenge for his son. Unfortunately, Reynold had some ability, but his son was just that kind of person. If Das hadn¡¯t repeatedly provoked Lucas, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have killed him. Indeed, as soon as Reynold finished speaking, it immediately caused an uproar in the venue. ¡°What did he say? Reynold Watson¡¯s son actually got killed by Nate Walker yesterday?¡± ¡°Oh my God. He only had one son, and he cherished him like a gem. Yet he was killed. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand it!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I remember that Das and Nate are very close. Why was he suddenly killed by Nate?¡± ¡°Since Reynold Watson said so, it¡¯s likely true! Even if there was a conflict between the two, he shouldn¡¯t have killed him! It¡¯s too much!¡± The crowd was discussing the matter with an unbearable look on their faces. Even for those who didn¡¯t know about the rtionship between the two families, there were some enthusiastic people beside them who introduced the situation to them. At this moment, Herman and Nate had the ugliest looks. Herman asked with a frown, ¡°Reynold Watson, you need proof to make such ims. How can you conclude that your son died in my grandson¡¯s hands?¡± Nate hurriedly said, ¡°Grandpa, I didn¡¯t kill him! Reynold Watson is spouting nonsense! Das is my best friend. How could I have killed him?¡± Reynold was trembling with anger as he pointed at Nate. ¡°How dare you say that my son is your best friend? He¡¯s done so much for you, but what about you? ¡°You brutally killed him and even wanted to drag his corpse to the wilderness to destroy it! If I hadn¡¯t arrived in time, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t have even gotten to see my son¡¯s corpse! ¡°How dare you say that I¡¯m spouting nonsense, you coward who doesn¡¯t even dare to admit what you¡¯ve done?!¡± Reynold hollered with reddened eyes. Being rebuked like this in front of so many people, Nate¡¯s face reddened, and he replied in shame and anger, ¡°W-who are you calling a coward?¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Herman shouted, immediately making Nate tremble and keep quiet. But Nate was extremely indignant. He didn¡¯t kill Das, but his corpse had somehow suddenly appeared in his car¡¯s trunk. He couldn¡¯t exin it at all. In particr, he did make his subordinate destroy the corpse. Based on what Reynold said, it was no wonder that his subordinate had gone missing for an entire day and night. He reckoned that his assistant was more likely than not dead. When Nate thought of this, his mood worsened. Herman knew that if he didn¡¯t handle the Watsons¡¯ matter properly, the families whom he had roped in might have other ideas, and the scene might escte beyond control. He thought for a while, took a deep breath, and said as pleasantly as he could, ¡°Mr. Watson, I understand your feelings very well. But given the close rtionship between our families, my grandson definitely wouldn¡¯t have killed your son for no reason. Is there some misunderstanding in this?¡± Upon hearing this, Edmund sneered. ¡°Hmph, how hypocritical.¡± Herman narrowed his eyes slightly but ignored Edmund. He continued to look at Reynold with a look of sincerity. Reynold smiled mirthlessly. ¡°I also hope there¡¯s some misunderstanding. Unfortunately, it can¡¯t be any truer! However, if I don¡¯t show some evidence, the Walkers will probably keep denying it, right? In that case, I¡¯ll show you the evidence!¡± He directly instructed the two people behind him, ¡°Go, show them everything!¡± These two people immediately stood out. One held aptop while the other carried a projector as they walked to the open space in front of them. Soon, a short video started ying on the projector screen. In the middle of the screen was a bright red Maserati. There were two figures standing at the rear of the car where the trunk was, one of whom was Nate. Immediately afterward, their talking voices came. ¡°Immediately drive to the woods in the southeast of San Francisco and burn Das¡¯s corpse! Remember to do it without anyone noticing and leaving any traces behind. Do you hear me? ¡°As for this car, I never want to see it again. Destroy it somewhere. Push it off a cliff or drive it into the river, just get rid of it for me. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Walker. I won¡¯t spout any nonsense about this. I will definitelyplete the task!¡± ¡°Go. Remember, the faster you settle it, the better. Make sure not to leave any traces!¡± Nate instructed again. ... The acoustics in the venue were excellent, so everyone could hear clearly that one of the people speaking was indeed Nate! Moreover, the trunk of the Maserati was open, and they could see the body inside. The evidence was conclusive! Chapter 704 - Refusing To Admit

Chapter 704: Refusing To Admit

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Some people who had seen Das immediately eximed, ¡°That¡¯s indeed Das Watson¡¯s corpse!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that Das is really dead!¡± ¡°The red Maserati indeed belongs to Nate. It¡¯s his license te. Based on the background, it should be in the Walkers¡¯ vi!¡± ¡°Oh my God. They all say that Das is Nate¡¯s topckey and extremely obedient to him. I can¡¯t believe that Nate really killed him.¡± ¡°Hey, I heard that the Watsons have always been respectful to the Walkers, but I never thought that such a thing would happen. He actually killed Reynold Watson¡¯s only son and even denied it. He¡¯s gone overboard!¡± ¡°I think we have to be careful in our cooperation with the Walkers! If we encounter this kind of thing one day, we¡¯ll end up really miserable!¡± ¡°Yeah, who do the Walkers think they are? Do they take us cooperative partners as ves they can easily bully?¡± ... At first, many people were shocked that Das had really died in Nate¡¯s hands. But soon, the topic of the conversation turned to the Walkers¡¯ cruelty and viciousness toward their partner, whom they had kicked to the curb after they¡¯d outlived their usefulness. Lucas smiled faintly. No one knew that a few key people taking the lead to influence the others were arranged to do so by him. Reynold said with anger and misery, ¡°Has everyone seen clearly? My son was killed by Nate Walker, and he even ordered his corpse to be destroyed! The Walkers must give me an exnation for this!¡± Although he was now worth hundreds of millions, his only son was dead. Regardless of how high his status was and how wealthy he was, it no longer mattered! Thus, he could go all out and resolutely seek justice from the Walkers without any fear. Edmund sneered and said sarcastically, ¡°Herman Walker, what¡¯s the problem with your family?! I remember that the Watsons have always had a very good rtionship with the Walkers, and your families have always been allies. But it doesn¡¯t seem right for you to condone your grandson killing the son of an ally, does it?¡± Damon said mockingly, ¡°Maybe the Walkers have a new target and no longer need the Watsons¡¯ help. That¡¯s why they disregarded the life of someone else¡¯s son!¡± ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s what the Walkers¡¯ tradition is like. It¡¯s really scary. Fortunately, we¡¯ve never had many ties with the Walkers in the past. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid my children and grandchildren might have died without knowing why, and even their corpses would be missing!¡± Bruce chimed in sarcastically. They were gloating at Herman, who had been incredibly arrogant in front of them just now. Nate¡¯s face turned pale, and he panicked before frantically saying, ¡°No, I really didn¡¯t do it! I¡­ I really didn¡¯t kill Das!¡± Seeing everyone around him looking at him as though they were saying, ¡®Do you think we would believe you? The evidence in the video is clear and unmistakable, yet you¡¯re still trying to defend yourself¡¯, Nate immediately felt hopeless. He didn¡¯t know how the video was shot and even sent to Reynold. He and his assistant should have been the only ones present! But now, he couldn¡¯t figure out what had gone wrong. He only knew that someone had plotted against him in this matter right from the start! Nate kneeled down in front of Herman andined sobbingly, ¡°Grandpa! I really didn¡¯t do it! I only learned that Das had been killed when the servants in my vi came to report to me that his corpse was in the trunk of my car! I was shocked as well! ¡°I can swear to God that I really didn¡¯t kill Das! Grandpa, you must believe me! Although I¡¯m usually quite a bastard, I wouldn¡¯t kill someone!¡± Nate was really terrified. He also knew that things had blown out of proportion and that it would greatly affect the image and reputation of the Walkers! The fastest way to cate Reynold and let the matter blow over was either for Nate to produce concrete proof that he didn¡¯t do it or for him to be handed over directly to Reynold. But if he could produce convincing proof, he wouldn¡¯t have to beg like this! But before Herman could speak, Reynold had already lost his temper and roared, ¡°Nate Walker, do you really think that all of us are fools that you can deceive? ¡°If my son wasn¡¯t killed by you, but by someone else, why didn¡¯t you tell the rest of your family or me after you found his corpse in your car? ¡°I remember yesterday afternoon that I specifically called you to ask you where my son was, and I asked you to inform me as soon as you had news! But what did you do? ¡°After you saw my son¡¯s corpse suddenly appear in your car, you didn¡¯t say anything or tell anyone about it. Instead, you secretly got your subordinate to take his corpse to the wilderness to dispose of without leaving a trace! Who would believe that you didn¡¯t do it because of a guilty conscience? ¡°Besides, that car is your favorite car, and your driver and servants are watching it at all times. Who would be able to get past your family guards and ce such arge corpse into your car¡¯s trunk? ¡°Come on. Didn¡¯t you say you were innocent? Didn¡¯t you say that you didn¡¯t murder my son? Give me an exnation then!¡± Reynold¡¯s body was trembling violently as two streams of warm tears flowed down his face. A tough man like him was so overwhelmed with grief and misery that he had been reduced to such a state. Many people present were parents themselves, and they were full of empathy for Reynold. Influenced by his sorrow and anger, they looked at Nate with some hostility. If their child was killed so brutally by someone who imed to be their best buddy and even denied having killed them, they would also be just as grief-stricken and would also seek justice for their child even if it meantpletely offending the Walkers. Herman¡¯s face was extremely terrifying. He looked around at the crowd while countless thoughts raced through his mind. From a rational point of view, the best thing to do now was probably to hand over his grandson Nate to Reynold and leave him at thetter¡¯s disposal. Then he would apologize and try to gain these families¡¯ understanding to save the Walkers¡¯ image and dispel their suspicions. However, such an approach would bruise his ego! He was about to be the hegemon of all of California and dominate all the families in California. He saw no reason for himself to bow down to them and hand his grandson over. Moreover, he would never forgive Reynold for daring to betray the Walkers at this juncture, let alone cate him! ¡°Reynold Walker, what can this short video exin? Do you have the video of my grandson murdering him? No. If this video alone is enough proof to convict my grandson, it¡¯d be really absurd!¡± Herman said arrogantly with his hands behind his back. Reynold didn¡¯t expect that Herman would still deny it even though things had alreadye to this.. He was so furious that he was almost rendered speechless. Chapter 705 - The Real Murderer

Chapter 705: The Real Murderer

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Herman¡¯s arrogance and refusal to admit it was intolerable to many people. Edmund sneered. ¡°Walker, I know you¡¯ve always been thick-skinned. But now that there¡¯s video evidence in front of you, you¡¯re still feigning ignorance. I really take my hat off to you for being so shameless!¡± Damon chimed in with a contemptuous smirk, ¡°Mr. Walker, you¡¯ve gone to great lengths to protect your grandson, and you¡¯ve really done a good job at lying through your teeth! We¡¯re really inferior to you. I admit defeat!¡± Bruce touched his goatee and shook his head while sighing. ¡°Otherwise, how could the Walkers have be one of the three most powerful families in San Francisco? None of us can catch up to you in terms of your ability to twist facts!¡± Ethan had misery all over his face as he said slowly, ¡°Mr. Walker, you may be my elder, but I have to say, the video evidence is already in front of you. You can¡¯t just undermine it with a single sentence. In my opinion, you should give the Watsons an exnation, shouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Mr. Watson¡¯s son can¡¯t just die in vain, right? No matter what, the Watsons must be given an exnation today!¡± ¡°Yes, this matter can¡¯t be swept under the carpet. We¡¯re all parents, and we can understand how Mr. Watson feels!¡± ... After the few of them spoke, several helmsmen of powerful families came forward and denounced Herman for his inappropriate behavior. The statuses of these few families weren¡¯t simple. Although some helmsmen didn¡¯t say anything, there was a clear look of disapproval and displeasure on their faces. Herman¡¯s face slowly became increasingly gloomy. This meant that many people present didn¡¯t approve of his behavior. Seeing that the situation wasn¡¯t in his favor, Nate hurriedly pleaded with Herman, ¡°Grandpa, please save me quickly! I really didn¡¯t do it!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Herman hollered at him in annoyance. ¡°If you spout nonsense again, I¡¯ll ignore you immediately!¡± Nate instantly kept quiet. Based on Herman¡¯s words, he knew that his grandfather wasn¡¯t going to give him up! Bruce narrowed his eyes. ¡°Herman Walker, are you going to sweep the matter of your grandson killing Mr. Watson¡¯s son under the carpet?¡± ¡°Who are you? This is a matter between the Walkers and the Watsons. Who are you to intervene?¡±Herman said with disdain. ¡°Mr. Walker, if you keep doing evil, you will court your own death one day! I don¡¯t think your family has reached the point of being invincible, has it? Aren¡¯t you going overboard?¡± Damon said coldly. Herman red at Damon and threatened, ¡°The Parkers have just begun to climb up thedder, yet you¡¯re already so eager to challenge my family? Are you not afraid that the Parkers will vanish from LA in a few days?¡± ¡°You!¡± Damon was furious. Just as he was about to say something, a cold voice interrupted him from the side. ¡°Forget it. Don¡¯t bother talking nonsense with him.¡± The person who spoke was none other than Lucas, who had been sitting quietly and calmly in his seat. For a while, all eyes were on him. At this critical moment when these top bigwigs were targeting each other, a young man actually interjected in such a nonchnt tone that even sounded somewhatmanding. It made many people bewildered. They began to wonder who this young man they had never seen before was. Herman nced at Lucas, enraged by his condescending tone so much so that he burst intoughter. ¡°Punk, who do you think you are? Do you have the right to interrupt us talking?¡± Damon¡¯s face immediately darkened, and he shouted at Herman, ¡°Herman Walker, who are you to be disrespectful to Mr. Gray!¡± Ethan also stood up and said austerely, ¡°Mr. Walker, Mr. Gray isn¡¯t someone you can shout at as you please!¡± Bruce¡¯s face turned cold as he warned, ¡°Whoever dares to be rude to Mr. Gray like this again, the Hales won¡¯t spare you!¡± In an instant, the helmsmen of these three top-tier families all came forward to defend Lucas and even retorted against Herman. This scene left everyone present in disbelief. ¡°Who¡­ who exactly is this young man? Howe the helmsmen of these three great families are all defending him and even respectfully call him Mr. Gray?¡± ¡°It¡¯s really strange. These people don¡¯t even take Herman Walker and Lance Kingston seriously. Why are they being so polite and protective of this young man?¡± ¡°Does anyone know who this young man is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t seen him before. Could he also be a big shot from one of the top families in DC?¡± ... In just a moment, many people in the venue started specting about Lucas¡¯s identity. However, Herman snorted coldly with a disdainful smile. ¡°What Mr. Gray? This is hrious!¡± If Vince hadn¡¯t told him Lucas¡¯s details beforehand, he would have probably been surprised by the scene in front of him and really thought that Lucas was a big shot from some big family in DC! However, Vince had already told him before that Lucas was just a good-for-nothing who had been expelled from the family by the Huttons many years ago. Thus, there was no need to care about him. He only felt that the helmsmen in front of him were fools for thinking that Lucas was some great big shot and putting him on a pedestal. ¡°Haha, isn¡¯t he just a good-for-nothing kicked out of his family years ago? You people are pitifully shallow. Trust you to be the helmsmen of top families! ¡°In terms of family power, Mr. Vince Smith has a much higher status than this punk. He¡¯s the future sessor of the Smiths, one of the eight top families in DC. Why aren¡¯t you showing him the same amount of respect? A bunch of idiots!¡± Herman didn¡¯t take Lucas seriously at all, and he even praised and sucked up to Vince. Vince sat on the master seat and leisurely took a sip of tea, looking rxed andfortable. It seemed that it wouldn¡¯t be long before it was his turn to appear. At this moment, Nate looked at Lucas, whom the helmsmen of several powerful families were defending, and felt extremely shocked and jealous. But a bright light suddenly shed in his mind, and he suddenly thought of something that he had ignored for a long time. ¡°I know! I know who killed Das Watson!¡± He shouted, looking extremely shocked. ¡°Who?¡± Herman immediately asked. ¡°It¡¯s him! The murderer of Das is Lucas Gray!¡± He pointed straight at Lucas! Chapter 706 - What Is The Truth?

Chapter 706: What Is The Truth?

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone looked in the direction Nate was pointing, and they couldn¡¯t help being surprised. The video evidence was still being yed on the projection screen. Everyone thought that Nate was nonsensically shirking responsibility and putting the me on Lucas. If Nate had known who the murderer was, why did he only speak up after a long time of being unable to produce any evidence to prove his innocence? Reynold said angrily, ¡°Nate Walker, enough! The evidence in the video is solid proof of your crime. You¡¯ve already sent your subordinate to drag my son¡¯s corpse out to be destroyed. Surely you don¡¯t think you can push the me to someone else, do you?¡± Nate panicked and hurriedly said, ¡°No, Mr. Walker, what I said is true. Lucas Gray is definitely the person who killed your son! ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone knows that Das and Lucas Gray had a conflict during Miss Alexis Cole¡¯s birthday partyst night. This is no secret at all, and many people present saw it with their own eyes, right?¡± Nate and Das were eventually kicked out of her birthday party by Alexis, which was certainly very humiliating. But Nate couldn¡¯t be bothered at this point because he wanted to clear himself of the suspicion of murdering Das, so he decided to mention it again. There were indeed many people present who had attended Alexis¡¯s birthday party yesterday, and the memory of the conflict was still fresh in their minds. However, they could objectively say that it wasn¡¯t exactly a conflict between Lucas and Das, but rather, Das¡¯s repeated provocation toward Lucas. ¡°Ahem.?Anyway, after we left the party, Das told me that he couldn¡¯t take it lying down and wanted to teach Lucas Gray a lesson. Then he left. ¡°But I didn¡¯t expect Das to turn into a corpse and appear in my car¡¯s trunk when I saw him again! ¡°I was anxious and terrified at the time, and I was worried that it would cause Mr. Watson to get the wrong idea about me. That¡¯s why I sent my subordinate to suppress this matter for the time being. But I can swear that I definitely didn¡¯t kill Das! ¡°During this time, Das went to look for Lucas Gray, so he must have been killed by this punk!¡± Nate spoke earnestly. For fear that others wouldn¡¯t believe him, he told them everything he knew at once. Herman raised his eyebrows. ¡°Mr. Walker, you¡¯ve heard it. Nate indeed made a mistake in suppressing the matter in a moment of panic, which he shouldn¡¯t have. But it was because he didn¡¯t want you to get the wrong idea. It was indeed inappropriate of him not to tell you the truth and instead get his man to destroy the corpse. I admit that he shouldn¡¯t have done that, and I can apologize to you for it. ¡°However, he exined everything very clearly. Lucas Gray definitely has a greater motive for killing him! ¡°Furthermore, there are some obvious questionable points in this matter. For example, how could it be so coincidental for there to be a video of Nate ordering subordinates to destroy the corpse and then sent to you afterward? ¡°Mr. Watson, aren¡¯t you curious about who the mastermind is? ¡°I reckon that you, who loves your son so much, definitely don¡¯t want to be used by the real murderer, do you?¡± After speaking, Herman deliberately nced at Lucas, seemingly hinting at something. After hearing these words, Reynold hesitated. Indeed, the unknown number that had sent him the video had been a thorn in his heart. Unfortunately, try as he might, he couldn¡¯t find the slightest clue about the anonymous number, and he didn¡¯t know how this person had managed to take the video and send it to him. This person even urately told him the exact location of where the corpse would have been destroyed. Could the real murderer be Lucas Gray, and his motive is to use me to deal with the Walkers??He looked at Lucas, filled with suspicions. ¡°What? Mr. Watson, are you going to be influenced by those provocative words and suspect that I¡¯m the murderer instead?¡± Lucas looked extremelyposed and even seemed to be mocking him a little. He didn¡¯t show the slightest bit of panic after being exposed, leaving Reynold doubting his own thoughts again. He really couldn¡¯t see through this young man in front of him. If he was really his son¡¯s murderer, Lucas¡¯s thoughts and intelligence were way too terrifying. But Lucas was only a young man in his twenties, so he doubted that Lucas would really be able to do it. ¡°Lucas Gray, stop arguing! Das was clearly killed by you, and you hid his body in my car to frame me! At this point, you still dare to say that you didn¡¯t do it?¡± Nate hollered. He actually didn¡¯t have any evidence to prove that Lucas was Dar¡¯s murderer. But as long as he could put the me on Lucas, he would be innocent. So he shouted extremely loudly, afraid that everyone present wouldn¡¯t hear him. Lucas looked up at Nate, who suddenly stood up, let out a long sigh. ¡°You¡¯re so anxious to convict me, but you don¡¯t have any actual evidence. How ridiculous! It seems that the Walkers aren¡¯t willing to own up to it and give the Watsons an exnation, huh? In that case, let me give the Watsons some help!¡± Then Lucas moved his long legs and walked toward Nate. Nate¡¯s heart trembled, and he immediately felt as though he was facing a terrifying enemy. But immediately afterward, he saw Walker¡¯s bodyguards around him and his grandfather and felt relieved. He didn¡¯t believe that Lucas would dare to harm him in public when there were so many bodyguards around him! ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t be too arrogant! Das was killed by you, and now you¡¯re pretending to be merciful in front of us? The greatest way you can ount to the Watsons is to kill yourself right now!¡± Nate shouted maniacally. Now, he was just trying to provoke Lucas on purpose, to make him so angry that he would lose his rationality and attack him. In that case, many of the Walkers¡¯ elite bodyguards could take him down immediately! As long as Lucasnded in their hands, he couldn¡¯t deny the crime of murdering Das! Nate had a menacing and ruthless look on his face. At the same time, Herman was also looking at Lucas with a yful and contemptuous expression. In his opinion, Lucas was just shooting himself in the foot by choosing to confront them alone.?Is he courting death? ¡°You don¡¯t know any better!¡± Just as Lucas was about to reach within five steps of where the Walkers were, an elite bodyguard d in ck suddenly roared furiously, raised his fists, and charged at Lucas! Chapter 707 - A Shocking Strike

Chapter 707: A Shocking Strike

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With the appearance of this person, many people eximed in shock. ¡°Ah, that person is Freddie, the most powerful elite expert of the Walkers!¡± ¡°Oh god! Freddie isn¡¯t an ordinary expert. He¡¯s the best in California! He has even defeated the top experts of the Coles and the Kingstons!¡± ¡°Freddie was the first to make a move, so the Walkers are clearly determined to defeat Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°I think this young man will certainly be killed by Freddie!¡± Freddie was an experienced expert of the Walkers, whom the helmsmen of many prestigious families knew. At this moment, many people were surprised to see Freddie attack Lucas. Moreover, almost everyone thought that he would defeat Lucas without any suspense. Freddie was indeed worthy of being the top expert of the Walkers, as he was as quick as lightning and appeared in front of Lucas almost instantaneously. Then he swung a crushing fist at Lucas¡¯s face! With this punch, an explosive sound suddenly filled the air. ¡°The Eight Extreme Fists! The strike Freddieunched is the Eight Extreme Fists!¡± A few people with some knowledge and understanding of martial arts eximed. It was said that this martial art was extremely tough and incredible, so much so that someone who mastered it would be able to use it to shatter rocks or pierce through steel tes. Those struck by it were usually almost killed or badly wounded! Furthermore, Freddie¡¯s punch was extremely quick, and almost no one would be able to dodge it. All of a sudden, everyone could almost imagine the miserable scene of Lucas having his skull split open by the blow. ¡°Ah!¡± Lena, sitting among the crowd, eximed in horror and immediately stood up with her hands clutching her chest tightly while she stared nervously. The other people present also stared without blinking. Only very few of them couldn¡¯t bring themselves to witness such a tragic scene and closed their eyes tightly. Bang! With the sounds of flesh being hit, the bloody image of Lucas¡¯s head being split open didn¡¯t happen, unlike what everyone had expected. Freddie¡¯s fist, which was almost capable of cracking rocks, was being held firmly in Lucas¡¯s palm! An invisible energy swept wildly in all directions from their hands, as if there was a gale in the venue! ¡°Ah!¡± Some families closer to them could even feel the sharp and cold murderous aura from the sudden gale. They were immediately frightened and began screaming as they retreated far away to make space for them. Those farther away also looked extremely shocked. They had all witnessed the power of Freddie¡¯s fist, but Lucas actually managed to block his swift punch effortlessly with one hand. He looked extremely rxed, as if it was just a casual act. If not for the wind that emanated from the two of them, it would have probably been extremely difficult to imagine the level of the confrontation between them. ¡°Damn! The wind caused by their fists is really terrifying! I¡¯ve only seen such scenes on TV!¡± ¡°I never thought that Lucas would be able to catch Freddie¡¯s punch! The two of them seem to be evenly matched? That¡¯s incredible!¡± ¡°Freddie is a top powerhouse in California! But Lucas caught his punch with barely any effort. Is he an absolute expert too?¡± ¡°Impossible! Freddie is almost fifty years old, and he has been practicing martial arts for most of his life. But Lucas is still so young, so how could he possiblypare to Freddie? That move just now must be a coincidence! Lucas will likely lose soon!¡± ... The people in the venue were discussing, and there were many different opinions. Herman¡¯s confident face instantly changed, and he was much more serious than he was just now. As the strongest expert of the Walkers, Freddie had been working for them for at least two decades, and he had even taken on theirst name. It could be said that Herman was the person who knew his abilities the best, so he knew very well how powerful Freddie¡¯s punch was. But Lucas actually managed to effortlessly block the strike powerful enough to break rocks. This was beyond Herman¡¯s expectations. He didn¡¯t expect that Lucas, an abandoned child of the Huttons, would be good at martial arts. This was something that Vince hadn¡¯t told him before. At the thought of this, Herman couldn¡¯t help turning his gaze to Vince, but he was shocked when he saw Vince¡¯s face. In fact, even Vince was appalled by the strength that Lucas disyed. Although Wendy had already told him before that Eli, her elite expert, had been defeated and killed by Lucas, Vince didn¡¯t quite believe it. So when he entered the Walton Hotel, he had deliberately asked one of his bodyguards to test Lucas¡¯s abilities. But Lucas actually managed to send the bodyguard flying with a clean and swift kick. Apart from realizing how strong Lucas was, he didn¡¯t find out anything else about him. But Lucas had now effortlessly caught the full-swing punch by the esteemed Freddie, giving Vince a visualparison of Lucas¡¯sbat strength and Freddie¡¯s. Lucas was truly strong and capable, and he shouldn¡¯t be underestimated! He has such great strength at such a young age. I¡¯m afraid very few people are his match in the entire capital! Lena let out a long sigh of relief, as if a boulder had been lifted off of her chest. In contrast, the Hales and the Parkers, who had witnessed Lucas¡¯s strength many times and were fully confident in him, were full of joy, acting as if it was only a matter of course that Lucas could block Freddie¡¯s attack. In their minds, it would be an unimaginable thing if Lucas was hit by Freddie! At this moment, the person under the most pressure in the venue was undoubtedly Freddie, who was fighting toe-to-toe against Lucas. He had felt that his punch was enough to blow Lucas¡¯s head apart. But his punch was stopped midway by Lucas¡¯s palm, preventing him from moving forward! He could even feel an immense force from Lucas¡¯s palm, which almost crushed the bones of his hand! ¡°Punk, let go!¡± Freddie gritted his teeth and shouted angrily while holding a knife in his left hand and shing at Lucas with it! Chapter 708 - Dodging

Chapter 708: Dodging

With a faint smile, Lucas retracted his hand and lightly took a step back to avoid the p from Freddie. Freddie¡¯s blow missed again, and he became enraged. But he was no longer a young man full of vigor and zeal. Lucas, the young man he was facing, was clearly not someone he could deal with easily. He became serious and used all his skills. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Freddie¡¯s ¡®Eight Extreme Fists¡¯ strikes were extremely fierce, and each punch and kick of his seemed to stir up one strong gust of wind after another in the venue. Unfortunately, no matter how fast he was and how hard his punches and kicks were, they all missed, and not a single one touched the corner of Lucas¡¯s shirt. Although Lucas was right in front of him, and it seemed that he was extremely close to hitting him, he was unable to reach the crucial point. The more he fought, the more frightened he became. But no matter how hard he tried to speed up and change the angle of his attacks, Lucas was still like a visible phantom that wandered outside his attack range with ease. He even looked as though he was taking a walk in the park and mocking him silently. ¡°Ah!¡± Freddie roared angrily as he exerted his strength to the fullest. But all his attacks still hit the air, and he still couldn¡¯t hit Lucas at all. Herman¡¯s face gradually darkened. Although Lucas had caught Freddie¡¯s punch with his palm just now, many people thought that it was a matter of sheer luck. But after noticing how indignant and furious Freddie was about failing to hit Lucas, who was dodging effortlessly and incredibly rxed at the moment, even those who knew nothing about martial arts could realize something. ¡°Herman Walker, is this really the style of the Walkers¡¯ strongest expert? He seems average to me. He didn¡¯t even manage to touch the corner of Mr. Gray¡¯s clothes!¡± ¡°Exactly. Surely you¡¯re not going to say that the Walkers¡¯ expert is deliberately not Mr. Gray hitting, are you? After all, the Walkers are the best at being brazen, right?¡± ¡°Mr. Walker, your expert doesn¡¯t seem that impressive! Did hee out just to show us these tricks?¡± Damon, Bruce, and others sneered. Herman looked at them mockingly and said coldly, ¡°Hah, the Lucas Gray you¡¯re talking about is just a wastrel who can only hide. He¡¯s no match for our expert at all! ¡°Just pray that he can dodge a little longer. Or else, as long as he¡¯s a littlete in dodging and Freddie hits him, you can just wait to collect his corpse!¡± Unwilling to show any weakness, Bruce and Damon retorted, ¡°Just wait and see then. See if the Walkers¡¯ expert can touch a single hair of Mr. Gray!¡± The two of them could be considered the ones who understood Lucas¡¯s strength the best. After all, Lucas had inadvertently disyed his outstanding skills in front of them before. Thus, they had absolute confidence in Lucas. Even though Lucas¡¯s opponent was the most powerful expert of the Walkers, they didn¡¯t think Lucas would be defeated by him. Ethan and Lena stood next to the two of them. Lena had her hands sped in front of her chest and nervousness on her face. But an amazing brilliance was shining in her eyes as she stared at Lucas¡¯s dashing figure dodging attacks. She couldn¡¯t hide the admiration and joy in her eyes at all. She couldn¡¯t take her eyes off Lucas for a single second. Suddenly, Ethan grabbed Lena¡¯s arm, lowered his head, and whispered into her ear with some suppressed excitement, ¡°Lena, you have to do your best. Whether or not we can be closer to Mr. Gray will depend on you!¡± There was clearly a hidden meaning to his words that immediately made Lena blush. But this was indeed what Ethan had in mind at this moment. When Lucas encountered a crisis previously, Ethan had given up on Lucas once because he was afraid of angering the powerful Huttons and didn¡¯t follow him in the end. He was now full of regret, especially after seeing that Lucas had more and more connections and was disying increasingly terrifying power. If his daughter¡¯s rtionship with Lucas could develop further beyond friendship, the rtionship between Lucas and the Sawyers would be unbreakable, and the Sawyers would rise even higher in the future! ¡°This¡­!¡± Edmund, watching the battle, began to find that things were increasingly amiss. He had a sh of inspiration and immediately recalled something. He looked at Lucas with his eyes full of astonishment! From the moment Lucas began dodging Freddie¡¯s strikes, he had vaguely felt an iparably eerie familiarity. But only now did Edmund finally have an epiphany and realize the reason he found Lucas¡¯s dodging familiar was that his footwork was unique to the Falcon Regiment! Back then, when Edmund was still a soldier in Calico, he had once had the honor of learning this advanced dodging footwork. He had to admit that it was an extremely efficient and useful movement technique. But the dodging footwork that Lucas was currently disying was even more refined and elegant than what Edmund had witnessed before, which was why he couldn¡¯t recognize it at first. Lucas is definitely a powerhouse from the Falcon Regiment! Moreover, given his strength, he was definitely an expert whose abilities were not to be underestimated even in the Falcon Regiment. He was certain that Lucas definitely had a significant position in the regiment! When Edmund thought of this, his blood seemed to boil. He couldn¡¯t wait to ask Lucas about his identity in Calico. At this moment, Freddie couldn¡¯ty his finger on Lucas no matter how hard he tried. So he began to panic and was about to explode. ¡°Punk, are you a grasshopper? Is all you can do is hide? ¡°If you¡¯re still a man, fight me! ¡°Or do you simply not dare to take a blow from me?¡± Freddie mocked Lucas in a bid to provoke him. Although he couldn¡¯t hit Lucas, he had thrown every single punch and kick with all his might. At this rate, he would be exhausted before he could hit Lucas, which would be an absolute disgrace for a famous powerhouse like him! In Freddie¡¯s opinion, Lucas was only relying on his footwork to be faster, and he was confident that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to take a single strike from him. Lucas smirked and raised his brows rxedly. ¡°Fine. Since you want to die sooner,e over, and I¡¯ll fulfill your wish!¡± Then Lucas suddenly stopped and stood still while curling his index figure at Freddie, beckoning him toe over. Freddie was so livid that he was about to explode! Chapter 709 - Killing To Assert Dominance

Chapter 709: Killing To Assert Dominance

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Thinking that he was a powerhouse who had dominated San Francisco for years, whom few dared to provoke, the arrogant Freddie was furious that a young man less than 30 years old actually dared to belittle him. How could he tolerate it? ¡°Brat, you are too arrogant! Okay, I¡¯m going to take your life! Go to hell and regret it!¡± Freddie roared furiously. He raised his fists while pouncing at Lucas. But at this moment, Freddie was shocked to find that Lucas, not far in front of him, suddenly emitted an iparably terrifying aura. It was as if the person in front of him had... suddenly turned from a non-threatening unknown animal to a menacing prehistoric beast opening its mouth and revealing its terrifying fangs! Even an elite master like Freddie immediately felt an indescribable horror as his body began trembling uncontrobly. The other people in the conference hall all felt a strange and freezing air although they didn¡¯t understand what exactly was happening. The cold air was like a sharp dagger viciously scraping their bodies, causing them all to shiver violently. ¡°What... what¡¯s going on?¡± This was the suspicion everyone had. Suddenly, in the center of the venue, Lucas moved! His body created an afterimage in the air, and the next moment, he appeared in front of Freddie. ¡°!¡± Freddie¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted. But before he could even react, his body was propelled away like a cannonball with a boom. In this instant, he seemed to feel an immense impact on his waist. But before his senses could register the pain, his vision cked out, and he lost the ability to feel pain forever. The moment Lucas¡¯s fist smashed into his waist, Freddie died! Bang! His body crashed in front of the Walkers, and the hard wooden floor immediately buckled as a deep crater formed in it. Freddie¡¯s body was twisted all over, and his bones appeared broken everywhere. His eyes were wide open, and he was no longer breathing! ¡°Ah!¡± Several Walkers instantly turned pale and took several steps back in shock, not daring to look at Freddie¡¯s corpse on the floor after his tragic death. Herman, the head of the Walkers, turned ashen, and his face and fingers started trembling incessantly. Freddie was the most powerful expert of the Walkers, and he had made countless achievements for them. Yet he was killed by Lucas with one punch and died right on the spot. Herman couldn¡¯t believe it at all! If it wasn¡¯t because Freddie¡¯s corpse was close at hand and his blood was slowly flowing out, Herman would have thought what he saw just now was an illusion. The entire venue was dead silent. Everyone looked at the scene in front of them, utterly dumbfounded. The legendary Freddie, the extremely powerful master of the Walkers who had the ability to dominate California, was killed by a punch from Lucas! If they hadn¡¯t witnessed it with their own eyes, they would have found it unbelievable! Gulp. Finally, someone gulped, making a strange and abrupt noise in the dead silent hall. Lucas¡¯s strength... was way too terrifying. Suddenly, Lucas, the focus of everyone¡¯s attention, moved and walked toward the Walkers. ¡°I already said it just now. If the Walkers aren¡¯t willing to give an exnation to the Watsons, I¡¯ll give you a hand.¡± Lucas looked indifferently at Nate. After Lucas nced at Nate, Nate was so frightened that he almost wet his pants! Even Freddie, the Walker¡¯s most powerful master, was killed by Lucas. What could he do now? Lucas was clearly going to take it out on him! There were several other bodyguards of the Walkers, but their martial arts skills were far inferior to Freddie¡¯s. How could they possibly stop Lucas? What should I do? Nate wanted to run away immediately. But unfortunately, under Lucas¡¯s terrifying aura, his legs went limp, and he was so weak that he could barely stay standing. When Nate saw Lucas getting closer and closer, terror filled his heart, and immense regret also surged. Outside the Coles¡¯ manor yesterday, when he saw Lucas parking his ordinary Jaguar and wearing ordinary clothing, he had subconsciously ordered Lucas to move his car away, thus starting a feud with him. Later, he had also targetted Lucas and made things difficult for him at every turn during the birthday party. In particr, after Alexis rejected his marriage proposal and publically announced that Lucas was the person she liked, Nate¡¯s resentment toward Lucas reached the peak. Therefore, after he and Das were thrown out of Alexis¡¯s birthday party, Das, who also had a conflict with Lucas, wanted to please Nate, so he took the initiative to propose that he would deal with Luca and kill him. Nate didn¡¯t stop him and was even happy to see it happen. He even called Das to tell him to leave Lucas at hisst breath so that he could kill Lucas himself. Butter, Lucas didn¡¯t die, and the person who ended up dying was Das, after which his body was stuffed into the trunk of Nate¡¯s car. There was even a video of it, causing the Watsons to turn against them on the spot. He initially thought that Lucas didn¡¯t have the ability to do such a thing, so he didn¡¯t think that Lucas had killed Das. Even when he used Lucas of being Das¡¯s murderer, he didn¡¯t have concrete evidence. He just wanted to shirk the responsibility as soon as possible. But after witnessing Lucas kill Freddie, the Walkers¡¯ top expert, with such ease, Nate was certain that Lucas had indeed killed Das. He was definitely someone he couldn¡¯t afford to provoke! Unfortunately, his realization happened toote! When Nate saw Lucas about to walk in front of him, his legs went limp, and he copsed onto the floor with fear and horror written all over his face, unable to utter a single word at all. Herman¡¯s fingers were also trembling violently. But as the helmsman of the Walkers, he couldn¡¯t possibly retreat and be timid at this juncture no matter what! ¡°Lucas, you¡¯ve already killed someone from my family. Don¡¯t go overboard!¡± He narrowed his eyes and stood in front of Lucas to stop him with a menacing look on his face. Although Nate was his grandson, the Walkers had many descendants, and it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal even if one of them died. But while Nate¡¯s death was a small matter, the Walkers¡¯ pride was at stake! Since they were at the Elite Business Exchange, the people present were all the leaders of top families and forces in California. If the Walkers couldn¡¯t even protect a direct descendent in front of so many people, they would definitely be greatly humiliated! Chapter 710 - Sharpshooter Gaia

Chapter 710: Sharpshooter Gaia

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing Herman¡¯s threat to Lucas, Damon and the others couldn¡¯t help bursting intoughter. ¡°Herman Walker, even your most powerful expert is no match for Mr. Gray. On what grounds are you stopping Mr. Gray?¡± Damon said smilingly. Bruce mocked with a smile, ¡°Mr. Walker, someone from your family has murdered someone, but you refuse to admit it. Mr. Gray was just helping the Watsons seek justice from you. Your man was the one who took the initiative to attack just now. But he ended up being defeated by Mr. Gray because his skills are inferior. Even though he¡¯s dead, Mr. Gray has shown him due mercy. How can you say that Mr. Gray has gone overboard? In terms of being overboard, you Walkers are clearly the ones who have gone too far with your words and deeds! ¡°Yes, if you had admitted the truth just now and made a fair decision instead of putting the me on others, Mr. Gray wouldn¡¯t have taken the initiative to target you. Mr. Walker, don¡¯t you agree?¡± Ethan said leisurely. Many people present nodded slightly in agreement. At least, from their perspective of the truth, the Walkers were indeed at fault. Even though Lucas had killed Freddie in front of everyone, not a single person dared to say that he had done wrong. As Herman listened to these voices, his face became even gloomier. He suddenly looked at Lucas and burst outughing. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t think that just because you know martial arts and you¡¯ve defeated my subordinate Freddie, you can be condescending and ignore everything else! Even if you¡¯re good, can you dodge bullets?¡± Then he quickly signaled a skinny and petite man behind him. The petite man immediately stepped forward and raised the ck and shiny pistol in his hand, aiming straight at Lucas¡¯s head. His finger was firmly on the trigger, and as soon as Herman issued the order, he could immediately pull the trigger and take Lucas¡¯s life! ¡°I know him! He¡¯s the ¡®Sharpshooter¡¯, Gaia!¡± a young man suddenly eximed in astonishment while looking at the skinny and petite man with surprise all over his face. Hearing this, several people in the crowd eximed. ¡°So it¡¯s him? Gaia used to represent California in the national marksmanshippetition and even earned himself the title of Sharpshooter. He has never missed a shot, and he¡¯s indeed an impable marksman!¡± ¡°Oh my God. It¡¯s Sharpshooter Gaia! I can¡¯t believe that he¡¯s now working for the Walkers! In that case, Lucas Gray is definitely dead meat. No matter how fast he is, he won¡¯t be able to dodge bullets!¡± The appearance of Sharpshooter Gaia sparked an uproar in the venue. Reason being, they all knew that Sharpshooter Gaia had participated in many notable tournaments before and that he was a true elite! Someone had once said that when Gaia held a gun in hand, he was the god who dominated everything. No living being within the range of his pistol could dodge his bullets! Gaia was obviously enjoying themotion caused by his appearance. Holding his gun steadily in hand, he narrowed his eyes at Lucas and said smugly, ¡°Punk, I advise you to get on your knees, surrender, and admit your mistakes to Mr. Walker now. If you do so, you¡¯ll perhaps still have a chance of survival. Otherwise, when I make a move, you will die without a doubt!¡± After seeing the pistol in Gaia¡¯s hand, Damon, Bruce, and Edmund, who were looking rxed just now, all immediately tensed up. ¡°Herman Walker, you¡¯d better noty a finger on Lucas, or else, you will definitely regret it!¡± Edmund said furiously. After witnessing the dodging footwork unique to the Falcon Regiment, he had already roughly guessed Lucas¡¯s identity in Calico. If Herman really ordered someone to shoot Lucas, it would definitely bring disaster to the Walkers, and even the dynamics of the forces in California would drastically change! But Herman was naturally oblivious to this. He nced at the tensed and exasperated Edmund and only felt some relief for all the pent up frustration within him. ¡°Hmph, since this punk killed my subordinate and even has the audacity to try and harm my grandson, how can I let him off so easily? ¡°I just want to tell everyone here, if you dare to provoke the Walkers, your only fate will be death!¡± Herman said confidently. With Gaia standing beside him, Herman felt that Lucas was already a man who could die at any moment. He definitely didn¡¯t think that Lucas could dodge the bullets at such close range! Sharpshooter Gaia was one of the secret trump cards that Herman had prepared. Everyone only knew that he had the elite expert Freddie. But they didn¡¯t know that his greatest reliance was Gaia, who rarely appeared in front of others because once Gaia struck, he would definitely shoot his target urately. No one had ever been able to escape his bullets! Vince, sitting in the master seat, seemed to have already expected this. He flicked his finger without moving. Some of the things that had happened earlier were indeed beyond his expectations, such as the Walkers being rted to Das¡¯s death, as well as the incredible power Lucas just disyed. But all in all, the exchange today was still within his control. Lucas was indeed very powerful and capable. But Vince didn¡¯t think that Lucas would be able to dodge the bullets fired by a sharpshooter who had won several professionalpetitions. Lance couldn¡¯t adapt well, so Vince had long given him up and chose to rece him with Herman. In the current situation, Herman was extremely ruthless, and he had even prepared a backup. He was indeed a better candidate than Lance! If he could easily deal with the current situation andplete the tasks, Vince wouldn¡¯t mind giving the Walkers a hand and helping them be the hegemon of California. Of course, if Herman ended up failing too, Vince wouldn¡¯t mind it either. He would at most just select another obedient family. Anyway, with the power of the Smiths, they were definitely considered invinciblepared to these families in California, so it didn¡¯t matter which one they supported. After Vince looked at all of them condescendingly, Lance, sitting at the side, had intense resentment in his eyes. After Herman¡¯s sudden appearance and the sounds of acknowledgment that followed, Lance understood that Vince hadpletely abandoned the Kingstons. They were not the ones whom the Smiths wanted to support! When he realized this, Lance was infuriated. The Kingstons had been busy for such a long time and had always treated the Smiths as their most respected guests. They had even painstakingly snatched the hosting rights to the Elite Business Exchange just to pave the way for the Smiths to take control of California. Yet it was all to the advantage of Herman! Lance was enraged, and he wished he could fall out with him immediately, but he didn¡¯t dare to. First, the Smiths were too powerful, so he didn¡¯t dare to offend them, and second, he couldn¡¯t do anything else apart from obeying Vince¡¯s instructions! But deep down, Lance really wanted to see Lucas and the Walkers immediately fight to the death so that both parties would suffer defeat! The Kingstons would then have the chance of being used by Vince again! Now, almost all the people present turned to look at Lucas to see what decision he would make. Lucas stood still with his head held high. Despite facing the ck muzzle, there wasn¡¯t a single trace of panic or horror on his face. Instead, he said to Gaia calmly, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance too. If you kill Nate Walker now, I can let you off.. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die.¡± Chapter 711 - Traces Vanish

Chapter 711: Traces Vanish

After Gaia and Herman heard what Lucas said, they both threw their heads back and guffawed loudly, as if they had heard the greatest joke ever. ¡°Hahaha, punk, I have to say, you¡¯re really brazen! You can actually still crack such a joke in front of me while being held at gunpoint by Gaia. Hah, your courage is really rare! It¡¯s a pity that you seem to becking a brain! ¡°Don¡¯t forget. Your life is in my hands now. And if I want you to die, you¡¯ll drop dead in front of me right away! Where do you get the guts to negotiate or threaten us?¡± After mocking him coldly, Herman paused for a while before continuing, ¡°I know your martial arts are good. But in the face of the power of bullets, your mere body made of flesh can never dodge them! ¡°However, it would really be a pity if I killed you. How about this? I¡¯ll give you another chance. If you surrender to me and pledge your allegiance to me, I won¡¯t kill you and instead offer you some benefits! Think about it!¡± Herman said arrogantly, as if he was being benevolent and offering Lucas some kindness. He had indeed wanted to kill Lucas directly, which was also the task Vince had given him. However, now that the elite expert often by his side had been killed by Lucas, whose physical strength was even stronger than Freddie¡¯s, he reckoned that his family would be even more powerful if he could recruit Lucas. Herman believed that if Lucas wasn¡¯t a fool, he should know what the better choice between death and allegiance was. Hearing this, Vince immediately frowned. He had clearly given Herman the task to kill Lucas, but he didn¡¯t expect that Herman would actually dare to defy him and take Lucas under his wing. Even though Herman was smart, Vince was displeased with him for behaving presumptuously. Besides, Herman knew very well that his action would definitely irk Vince to a certain extent, but he couldn¡¯t care less at the moment. Herman wasn¡¯t a fool, and he had long been able to tell that the Smiths just wanted to choose an obedient family in California to help them control the entire state. The reason Vince chose him was due to the Walkers¡¯ status. But in fact, Vince could also abandon him at any time, just like he had abandoned Lance, whom he had used as a pawn. In that case, why should he obey all of Vince¡¯s instructions? If he could rely on his own abilities to make the Walkers be the true hegemon of California, he would have what it took to deal with the Smiths even if they were against him. After all, the Walkers dominated California, while the Smiths¡¯ roots were far away in DC. As the saying went, one could never beat the local tyrant. Once his family dominated California, the Smiths wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him even though the Smiths were one of the eight giants of DC! Lucas¡¯s expression became bizarre after he heard Herman¡¯s request for him to pledge allegiance to him. The Walkers were really brazen! There was probably no one who could make Lucas, the respectable captain of the Falcon Regiment, who was also known as the God of War, pledge allegiance to them! Lucas shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not qualified to make me pledge allegiance to you.¡± Herman narrowed his eyes threateningly. ¡°So, are you rejecting me? In that case, just die! Do it!¡± Hearing the suddenmand, Gaia, holding his pistol aimed at Lucas¡¯s head, immediately pulled the trigger without any hesitation. Bang! The loud gunshots immediately caused many people in the hall to scream. They were all familiar with guns. But if Gaia identally misfired, it would be easy to identally injure the people here. But after a shortmotion among the panicked crowd, everyone was even more shocked to find that Lucas, whom they all thought would be shot dead, actually didn¡¯t die! He not only dodged the bullet fired by Gaia that was almost impossible to avoid, but he even appeared behind Gaia, several meters away, as if he had teleported! No one could see how Lucas had actually moved! At this moment, the most shocked person was none other than Gaia himself! The important reason that Gaia could earn himself the title of ¡®Sharpshooter¡¯ was his amazing dynamic vision. For example, the vision chart that people looked at during vision tests was a typical static vision chart. Almost everyone had static vision, but the strength of dynamic vision varied between individuals. Dynamic vision was an extremely importantponent of human vision, and it referred to the human eye¡¯s ability to capture moving images and observe the details of moving targets. This ability was apanied by processing the information of the captured images in the brain within a short period of time and the organism¡¯s corresponding reaction. This was why Gaia could quickly capture the trajectory of moving objects in front of him and shoot urately in time. It was also the reason for his outstanding performance in many professional tournaments and his title of Sharpshooter! But under Gaia¡¯s dynamic vision, which he had always been proud of, he discovered Lucas had vanished out of sight almost at the instant he fired! Yes, it was as if he had disappeared abruptly! Gaia had imagined the scene of the bullet from the pistol in his hand rotating at high speed while flying toward Lucas. Its trajectory was very clear, but the target had vanished without a trace! It was almost Gaia¡¯s first time encountering such a situation. Excluding supernatural powers and so on, the only usible reason was that Lucas was faster than the bullet, so much so that even his sharp eyes couldn¡¯t capture his traces! But was it really possible for humans to be so terrifying? Gaia was astonished! But the next moment, a breath that gave him the creeps had already appeared on his neck, giving him goosebumps! Lucas¡¯s indifferent and cold voice sounded as if the reaper had descended.. ¡°The thing you¡¯re holding is useless to me!¡± Chapter 712 - Complete Embarrassment

Chapter 712: Complete Embarrassment

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Gaia was astounded, and he immediately wanted to turn around and aim his pistol at Lucas again. But as soon as he moved, his hand was suddenly empty, and the pistol he was holding was gone! Lucas tilted his head slightly and fiddled with the pistol, his battle spoil, with a trace of yfulness in his eyes. Gaia was astonished! Lucas had snatched the pistol away from him, but he hadn¡¯t been able to see Lucas¡¯s movements once again! At this moment, the people in the venue finally realized what had happened, and everyone¡¯s faces showed shocked expressions! Lucas had actually dodged the bullet with his reflexes! Besides, he had not only dodged the bullet, but he had even appeared behind Gaia in a sh and snatched the pistol away from him! I-Is this the speed that humans can have? Vince, who had been sittingposedly in the master seat, finally had a drastic change in expression. People who could dodge bullets at a close range of ten meters did exist, but none of them were as young as Lucas! Even in the whole of DC, there wasn¡¯t an expert like him! For a moment, Vince couldn¡¯t help having great scruples for Lucas. If he couldn¡¯t find a way to get rid of Lucas as soon as possible, it would definitely be an enormous problem for him in the future! At the same time, Lance, sitting beside Vince, couldn¡¯t help clenching his fists with panic within him. The Kingstons had long formed a deep feud with Lucas, and he had even deliberately targetted Lucas today. They could be considered archenemies now. The more powerful Lucas appeared, the more threatening he was, which wasn¡¯t something that Lance hoped to see. Meanwhile, Herman¡¯s face was extremely gloomy. He totally didn¡¯t expect that Lucas could actually dodge the bullet fired by Sharpshooter Gaia and even disarm him. After losing the Walkers¡¯ strongest martial artist, Freddie, Gaia became Herman¡¯sst and greatest trump card, who had given Herman the confidence to kill Lucas. But Lucas¡¯s actions were like a hard p on Herman¡¯s face, making his assertion of dominance and attempt to recruit Lucas seem ridiculous. ¡°Who¡­ who are you?¡± Gaia¡¯s hand, which had always been quite steady, was already trembling slightly. Having lost his pistol, he no longer posed a threat to Lucas. Instead, he was now at Lucas¡¯s mercy because Lucas could shoot him dead at any time. Seeing Lucas aiming the ck muzzle at him, he immediately got on his knees with a loud thud and begged frantically, ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! I-I was just following orders. As long as you spare my life, I¡¯ll never provoke you again!¡± At this moment, Gaia could no longer care about his dignity as a man and sharpshooter, as well as his reputation. In the face of death, Gaia just wanted to survive. There was nothing else he cared about at this point! Gaia¡¯s kneeling was like another heavy p on Herman¡¯s face. Gaia was a powerful subordinate of the Walkers, and he had spinelessly gotten on his knees in front of Lucas and begged for mercy. Herman was terribly embarrassed and disgraced, especially since this was happening right in front of so many other top-tier families! Lucas fiddled with the pistol in his hand and nced down at Gaia kneeling in front of him. He said without any fluctuations in his emotions, ¡°If you want me to let you off, you have to give me a reason to do so.¡± Gaia began racking his brains before saying flusteredly, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m a very sharp marksman. If you¡¯re willing to spare my life, I¡¯ll be your personal bodyguard, or your assassin, or whatever you want me to be!¡± With a faint smile, Lucas said, ¡°Bodyguard? Do you think I need a bodyguard like you? Also, you¡¯re now a subordinate of the Walkers, yet you¡¯re pledging allegiance to me. Do you think I can trust you?¡± A sharpshooter paid a hefty sry by the Walkers actually turned his back on them and surrendered to another person. Who would trust him and believe that he was loyal? At least, Lucas would never employ him. Gaia panicked and hurriedly said, ¡°I-I mean it! No matter what you want me to do, I will do exactly as you say, Mr. Gray! All I ask is that you spare my life!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Lucas said nomittally and suddenly turned to look at Nate next to him. Nate¡¯s body trembled, and his heart was full of horror and panic. He wished he could vanish immediately! ¡°How about you kill him first?¡± Lucas pointed at Nate with his chin indifferently. Gaia was stunned for a moment, but he immediately realized that this was the task Lucas gave him. Once he killed Nate, Lucas would let him off! At the thought of it, Gaia said loudly with joy written all over his face, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± He stood up from the floor, already holding anotherpact pistol that he had just pulled out from his boot. Lucas had long noticed Gaia¡¯s move, but he merely smiled without saying anything. Gaia raised his arm and aimed the gun at the petrified Nate. ¡°Nate Walker, although you are a Walker, since you¡¯ve offended Mr. Gray, you deserve to die!¡± He pressed his finger against the trigger with a cold, murderous intent on his face. ¡°Gaia, how dare you?!¡± Seeing that Gaia had defected from the Walkers and followed Lucas¡¯s instructions to hold Nate at gunpoint, Herman lost his temper. Gaia gritted his teeth. ¡°Mr. Walker, don¡¯t me me for turning on you. Since things havee to this, do you still want to protect this ipetent grandson of yours?¡± Herman red at Gaia angrily and rebuked, ¡°Even if he¡¯s ipetent, he¡¯s still my grandson! Don¡¯t you forget who supported you for so many years and gave you a generous sry to live afortable life!¡± Gaia sneered. ¡°You¡¯re wrong to say that, Mr. Walker. I didn¡¯t take your money for nothing, and I didn¡¯t sell myself to you either! Now, I¡¯m loyal to Mr. Gray, and you no longer have the right to order me around!¡± With that, he stopped answering and simply aimed his gun at Nate¡¯s head. He was just waiting for Lucas¡¯s order. Upon seeing the terrifying muzzle that looked like a ck hole, Nate was so frightened that he wet his pants. His legs went limp, and he fell to the floor, unable to stand up at all. ¡°Lu¡ªMr. Gray! Please let me off! I know I was wrong before, and I shouldn¡¯t have smashed your car at the Cole residence, much less provoked you all the time and even instigated Das to kill you! ¡°I can give you all my assets, and I definitely won¡¯t dare to oppose you again. Please let me off this time! ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll be loyal to you and do your bidding. I will never disobey you!¡± Nate was crying so badly that snot and tears were all over his face. He looked extremely disheveled and wretched. For the sake of convincing Lucas to let him off, he had swallowed his pride to say so many subservient things. He was no longer a prideful scion. At the side, Herman was exasperated. He was still trying to think of a way to save his ipetent grandson, yet Nate had embarrassed himself and stooped low spinelessly. It was a huge disgrace to the Walkers! Herman felt his face burning up, as if he had been pped several times on the face. This made him feel even worse than he did when Gaia kneeled and begged just now! Chapter 713 - Guessing His Identity

Chapter 713: Guessing His Identity

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was the venue of the Elite Business Exchange in California, and all the people present were the heads and juniors of the top-tier families of the major cities in California. So Nate¡¯s actions turned himself into aughing stock, causing everyone to perceive the Walkers differently from before. Lucas¡¯s face was calm as he suddenly said coldly, ¡°Kill him!¡± Gaia didn¡¯t hesitate and pulled the trigger with his index finger. Bang! With the loud gunshot, a round bullet hole appeared in the middle of Nate¡¯s forehead, and blood instantly gushed out from it. Nate still looked horrified, but his eyes gradually lost their luster as his body slowly turned limp and fell backward. There was dead silence in the hall, which had hundreds of people! No one had expected that Lucas would actually make Gaia, the former top gunman of the Walkers, shoot Nate, the direct descendant of the Walkers, right on the spot! Herman¡¯s face was ashen, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing incessantly. But he still retained thest trace of sanity, which stopped him from going forward to fight Lucas. But Lucas¡¯s action was the biggest provocation and humiliation to the Walkers! ¡°Mr. Gray, I have already killed Nate as you instructed. Can you trust my sincerity now? If you¡¯re still not satisfied, tell me who else you¡¯d like me to kill, and I¡¯ll immediately follow your instructions!¡± Gaia said to Lucas with a fawning look on his face, for fear that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with what he just did. But Lucas ignored him and instead turned around to look at Reynold, who was standing in the middle of the crowd. He said indifferently, ¡°Mr. Watson, as I said, I¡¯d seek justice for you if the Walkers weren¡¯t willing to give you an exnation. Now, the person who killed your son is dead, so I¡¯ll leave the rest to you!¡± With that, Lucas walked straight back to his seat and picked up the teapot in front of him to pour himself a cup of drink as if everything that just happened had nothing to do with him anymore. ¡°¡­¡± Reynold looked at Nate¡¯s corpse that was still gushing blood and then looked at Lucas with an extremelyplicated expression. Lucas was just a young man only about the same age as his own son. But he actually had the ability to kill Freddie, the top expert of the Walkers, with just one punch, and even instruct Gaia, the top gunman of the Walkers, to shoot Nate right on the spot in front of everyone. His actions were domineering and formidable, making it extremely difficult to believe that he was just a young man who was less than thirty years old and didn¡¯t have the support of a powerful family. In addition to Reynold, the other people present were also extremely astonished. But they were still guessing if Lucas¡¯s domineering and fearless behavior was because he had some top family behind him. The angriest person present was Herman. He clenched his fists tightly, and the veins on his forehead throbbed as he stared at Lucas for a long time, wishing he could pierce countless holes through his body. He now wanted Lucas dead more than anyone else. But of the Walkers¡¯ two most powerful experts, one had been punched to death by Lucas, and the other had defected to him. It made Herman incredibly enraged, but there was nothing he could do about it. Wanting him dead was and having the ability to kill him were two utterly different things. Lance was extremely riled up. When Lucas confronted the Kingstons long ago and even killed Scarface, the Kingstons¡¯ most powerful expert, before stepping on Marc¡¯s legs to crush them in front of the rest of the Kingstons, he already knew that Lucas was extremely powerful and difficult to deal with. But seeing that the Walkers had been defeated by Lucas, Lance felt a great sense of relief. But at the same time, he also felt panic. Even the Walkers, who had two great experts, couldn¡¯t do anything about Lucas. He wondered if he could only watch Lucas continue being arrogant and unstoppable. As someone who had a feud with Lucas, Lance definitely didn¡¯t want to see this. But things might not be as bad as he thought. He reckoned that there had to be someone here who could deal with Lucas! Lance quietly turned to look at Vince sitting near him, as well as the elite expert dressed in ck standing behind him. He was certain that if a top expert of the Smiths made a move, he would definitely be able to defeat Lucas! ¡°Lucas Gray, huh? You¡¯re so young, yet you actually have the audacity to kill someone in front of so many people. You¡¯re indeed very arrogant!¡± Vince finally spoke as he stared at Lucas with menace in his eyes. Lucas had already created a hugemotion thatpletely disrupted his original rhythm. If he left Lucas be, the exchange would bepletely pointless for the Smiths. Lucas looked at him and said indifferently, ¡°This is a matter between us. You¡¯re from another state, so you¡¯d better shut up. Here, you¡¯re in no ce to say anything!¡± Everyone was astounded! Vince was a core descendant of the Smith family, one of the eight giants of DC, and the most promising sessor of the family. Yet Lucas told him to shut up and said that he was in no ce to speak here. How audacious of him! The helmsmen of top-tier California families were all on tenterhooks when facing Vince, fearing identally offending him. Yet Lucas actually dared to rebuke Vince! Should they say that he was an ignorant greenhorn who didn¡¯t know the danger he was facing? Or was he just a fool who didn¡¯t know any better?¡¯ Only Damon, Bruce, and their group, who had always stood firmly on Lucas¡¯s side, felt excited by Lucas¡¯s iparably domineering words. They felt that having chosen to pledge allegiance to Lucas, who waspletely unafraid of any family¡¯s threat, was the right thing to do! Edmund had a trace of shock on his face. But at the same time, he appreciated Lucas even more. Since Lucas saved him, Edmund had been constantly surprised by him time and time again. It was only when Lucas and Freddie were exchanging blows earlier did Edmund realize that Lucas¡¯s dodging footwork was unique to the Falcon Regiment in Calico. Seeing how calm and domineering Lucas was, Edmund suddenly thought of something. A year or two ago, one of his formerrades hade to visit him in San Francisco, and they had talked about the events on the battlefield in Calico. Hisrade had said with shock and emotion, ¡°Edmund, you probably still don¡¯t know that the captain of Falcon Regiment is now a young man only in his twenties. Although he¡¯s young, his strength is terrifying! It¡¯s the world of young people now. We¡¯re old!¡± At the time, Edmund was slightly surprised. But after chatting with his oldrade, he put this matter to the back of his mind. After all, he had left the battlefield of Calico a long time ago. But after seeing Lucas¡¯s unparalleled martial arts skills and domineering aura, as well as his dodging footwork unique to the Falcon Regiment, a thought suddenly emerged in Edmund¡¯s mind.?Could the young captain of the Falcon Regiment be Lucas? Chapter 714 - Great Acting Chops

Chapter 714: Great Acting Chops

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although this idea sounded a bit absurd at first, the more Edmund thought about it, the more he felt that it was likely. The way he looked at Lucas became fiery as he felt the blood in his body surging. After being rebuked by Lucas, Vince was in a terrible mood. Even in DC, where numerous wealthy and powerful families gathered, no one had ever belittled Vince, much less in California. Yet a junior like Lucas actually had the guts to tell him to his face that he wasn¡¯t qualified to interrupt. It was really rare! Vince narrowed his eyes and said sneeringly, ¡°Hah, you¡¯re just an abandoned child kicked out by the Huttons. But you¡¯re really arrogant! Even your father doesn¡¯t dare to speak to me like that!¡± What he said immediately caused an uproar in the venue. ¡°What? What did Mr. Smith just say? He said that Lucas Gray is actually a Hutton? The Huttons who are one of the top eight families in DC?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Lucas Gray to be a Hutton! No wonder he¡¯s so confident and dares to fight against the Walkers and even kill one of them! No wonder he¡¯s so overbearing even when facing the Smiths!¡± ¡°Yes! No wonder Damon Parker, Bruce Hale, and that group are standing firm on his side and would rather be at odds against the Kingstons and the Walkers than give him up! They must have known a long time ago that Lucas Gray is a Hutton. With the Huttons¡¯ help, the Kingstons and the Walkers indeed don¡¯t pose any threat to him!¡± ¡°But Vince Smith said that Lucas Gray is an abandoned child kicked out by the Huttons. What does that mean?!¡± Everyone began discussing Lucas¡¯s identity as a Hutton. It was big news! But Lucas turned a deaf ear to all these discussions. Although he had always refused to admit his identity as a descendant of the Huttons and had never leveraged their power, these were private matters between him and the Huttons. He didn¡¯t want to exin it to so many people. He merely looked at Vince and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s my business how I wish to speak. You just need to know that as long as I¡¯m here, you¡¯re destined to fail!¡± Vince wanted to make all of California his turf and let the Smiths do whatever they wanted. But Lucas would definitely not allow it! ¡°Haha!¡± Vince sneered. ¡°Okay then, I won¡¯t mention anything else to you now. Let¡¯s talk about how my son Roy actually died! Lucas Gray, don¡¯t you think you owe me an exnation for this?¡± His words were once again like a heavy bomb thrown into the water, causing the guests in the venue, who had just calmed down, to get into an uproar again. Does Vince Smith mean that his son¡¯s sudden death has something to do with Lucas Gray? In other words, did his son also die at the hands of Lucas? How daring is he? When Vince said this, Wendy, who had been sitting quietly at his side, suddenly had her pupils constrict while a trace of panic appeared on her face. She quickly restored herposure and even made herself seem angry and sad. Lucas sneered. If Wendy were an actress, she¡¯d probably win an award or two. She was pretending as if there was really such a thing. Those unaware of the situation would think that she was devastated about her nephew¡¯s death! ¡°A smart person like you should know how exactly your son died, Mr. Smith,¡± Lucas said with raised brows and then shifted his gaze onto the person beside Vince. ¡°Mrs. Smith, what do you think?¡± Wendy¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but she still said with extreme sadness, ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re so young but so ruthless! How exactly did my nephew offend you? Why did you have to be so ruthless to him? ¡°My nephew was still so young. He was only twenty-seven years old this year. Even if he did something wrong, it was just a conflict between young people. You can¡¯t just kill him!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, many people who were still specting immediately confirmed it. ¡°Oh my God, it turns out that Vince Smith¡¯s son was really killed by Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°That¡¯s incredible! Is Lucas Gray out of his mind? Even if he¡¯s a descendant of the Huttons, the Smiths are also one of the eight giants of DC. Isn¡¯t he afraid of causing a conflict between the Smiths and the Huttons? ¡°Didn¡¯t Vince just say that Lucas has already been kicked out by the Huttons? They probably don¡¯t acknowledge him as a member of the family. In that case, he¡¯s no longer a Hutton. Yet he dared to kill Vince¡¯s son. He¡¯s really daring! Tsk tsk!¡± ¡°Impressive. How impressive! I just came to the Elite Business Exchange today to watch the fun, but I didn¡¯t expect to hear such shocking news. It seems I didn¡¯t make a wasted trip!¡± ... Perhaps because it was human nature to gossip and enjoy drama, especially when the drama had nothing to do with them, everyone could rx and watch the fun without any fear. The Elite Business Exchange, which was originally only an exchange between top families, had already be apetition between Lucas and Vince. The others, including the three top families of San Francisco, were not qualified to intervene. Lucas looked at Wendy, who was very engaged in her act, and suddenly said to Vince, ¡°This woman¡¯s acting skills are really great. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Vince said indifferently, ¡°She is my family member. Am I supposed to believe you over her? You¡¯re too inexperienced to be ying the trick of sowing discord in front of me!¡± Lucasughed. ¡°It seems that you¡¯re pretty good at deceiving yourself and others.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean by that.¡± Vince narrowed his eyes. ¡°Forget it if you can¡¯t understand. But I don¡¯t have the patience to apany you two in your drama here.¡± Lucas stopped smiling and said indifferently, ¡°If you must me me for your son¡¯s death, suit yourself. If you want to use the opportunity to deal with me, it¡¯s up to you.. But if you expect me to be afraid of you, then you¡¯re mistaken. Don¡¯t be a smart aleck and end up suffering the consequences of your actions because your n backfired!¡± Chapter 715 - Join The Alliance

Chapter 715: Join The Alliance

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Vince¡¯s cheek muscles trembled, and he immediately felt like he couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. As a direct descendant of the Smiths, who had been raised to be the sessor since he was a child, Vince had held power for many years and was naturally not a foolish person whom others could manipte. When he entered the Walton Hotel and met Lucas earlier, the few words Lucas had said and the evasive look in Wendy¡¯s eyes had been enough for Vince to figure out who had actually killed his son. He could basically conclude without any additional evidence that his son¡¯s death definitely had something to do with his cousin Wendy! But so what? His most important task today was to help the Smiths take over California. Once hepleted this task, Vince would gain the greatest merit and would undoubtedly be the only candidate for the family¡¯s next sessor. He definitely wanted to avenge his son, but Roy wasn¡¯t his only son. Besides, the Smiths had always ced little emphasis on kinship. Even though Roy was his own flesh and blood, he didn¡¯t actually have much affection for him. The most crucial thing he had to do now was to deal with Lucas, who had suddenly popped up and gotten in his way. As for the real murderer of his son, it wouldn¡¯t be toote for him to settle scores with herter! At the thought of this, Vince stopped arguing with Lucas and instead said coldly, ¡°I shall see who will have thestugh! You think you¡¯re great, huh? But you¡¯re nothingpared to the Smiths!¡± Then Vince stood up, looked around the room, and announced loudly, ¡°Since we¡¯re all here for the California Elite Business Exchange, I, Vince Smith, hereby announce that the Smiths are going to establish a Smith Business Alliance. Everyone here has the right to join! ¡°Once you choose to join the Smith Business Alliance, you will be able to enjoy the support of the Smiths¡¯ resources, and we¡¯ll also help you to expand into the DC market, as well as the areas where the Smiths hold power. ¡°Every family that joins the alliance will be my family¡¯s ally, and the outstanding descendants of your family can also be sent to my family to learn and be nurtured. They may even have the chance to take on positions in the Smiths¡¯ major enterprises! ¡°Additionally, all the families who join the Smith Business Alliance will receive the help of the alliance regardless of whether you are attacked by other families or face a sudden crisis. This is truly an alliance where there is mutual aid! ¡°Everyone here is the leader of your respective families, so I¡¯m sure you all naturally know how much the business alliance will benefit you! Now, you can all choose for yourselves whether to join the Smith Business Alliance or not!¡± Vince dropped a bomb out of the blue. No one expected that the Smiths would set up the Smith Business Alliance and rope in the various families of California! Did this mean that the Smith Business Alliance would be the greatest organization in California in the future? In other words, from now on, all the families in California would be under the control of this business alliance! Lance and Herman were both astonished. They weren¡¯t aware of Vince¡¯s n prior to this. They had initially thought that the Smiths would choose either the Kingstons or the Walkers to represent the Smiths in California and take charge of the entire state for them. But since the Smiths wereunching this alliance n, it meant that they didn¡¯t intend to choose any family to be their agent and instead wanted the Smiths to take control of the entire alliance! Thus, the Smiths¡¯ control over California would be much firmer than in the previous n. If the alliance could be established, California would be under the Smiths¡¯ control. ¡°¡­¡± After a short period of silence, the helmsman of several families stood up. ¡°The Ansons wish to join the alliance!¡± ¡°The Browns as well!¡± ¡°The Jasons want to join the Smith Business Alliance!¡± ... After these people started, more and more helmsmen of various families spoke up and expressed their desire to join the Smith Business Alliance. There were 69 first-tier families and forces participating in the Elite Business Exchange. And in just a minute, the 20 helmsmen spoke up one after another and agreed to join the alliance. Lance¡¯s and Herman¡¯s faces became even more sullen. The scene in front of them was very much like the situation earlier where several families responded to Herman¡¯s call in front of Lance, who had known nothing about it. Anyone with brains would know that they shouldn¡¯t decide whether or not to join the alliance within such a short time. The only reasonable exnation was that Vince must have roped them all in beforehand. This also meant that right from the start, Vince had never wanted to give California to the Kingstons nor the Walkers for them to take control on his behalf. All along, he had been using them! Their faces were incredibly gloomy. But since Vince was a Smith, there was nothing they could do regardless of how furious they were. They didn¡¯t even dare to show a tinge of their opposition to the Smiths. When the candidates who joined the Smith Business Alliance were confirmedter, the Kingstons and the Walkers could only pretend to smile and join the alliance as the core! Looking conceitedly at the increasing number of families standing in front of him, Vince smiled smugly at Lucas. ¡°Punk, do you see this? In such a short time, more than half of the families here are already willing to join my alliance. It¡¯s only a matter of time before the rest agree! This is what holding crushing power is! You¡¯re all alone. What right do you have to go against me?¡± He expected to see shock and frustration on Lucas¡¯s face. But unfortunately, Lucas kept a straight face throughout. ¡°Is that so? Things haven¡¯t been set in stone yet, but you already think you¡¯ve won. Aren¡¯t you rejoicing too soon?!¡± Lucas sneered with contempt. If what he expected happened, the Smiths¡¯ brazen act of encroaching on all of California would definitely cause another major force to be displeased. He just didn¡¯t know when this force woulde. ¡°Hah, by doing this, the Smiths don¡¯t take us seriously at all!¡± A voice as loud as thunder suddenly came from the door of the venue. The door opened, and a majestic figure in a ck trenchcoat entered with a domineering gait, surrounded by arge group of imposing, tall, and burly men. Chapter 716 - The Peerless Martial Association Intervenes

Chapter 716: The Peerless Martial Association Intervenes

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The people who came in were all dressed in ck, and there was the word ¡®Peerless¡¯ embroidered in gold on the chest area of their clothes. Thus, their identities were recognizable at a nce. ¡°Th-these people are from the Peerless Martial Association!¡± someone eximed. The people present were all from the top families and forces of California, so they were naturally no stranger to the Peerless Martial Association, a massive behemoth in California. However, although the Peerless Martial Association was extremely powerful, they basically wouldn¡¯t intervene in the disputes between the powerful families in California. They wouldn¡¯t send their representatives even to the Elite Business Exchange, which was held only once every three years. Thus, their appearance immediately surprised everyone. The majestic old man at the front was probably in his early sixties. He had his white hair tied neatly behind his head, but he didn¡¯t seem old at all. Instead, his hair made him seem even more imposing and authoritative. ¡°My goodness. The person standing in front is Axel Fox, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch! He actually came here in person today!¡± ¡°I heard that the Peerless Martial Association has a branch in each state, and the power of each branch head is extremely terrifying. Furthermore, they¡¯re chosen by the headquarters, and no one has ever seen the true strength and power of Mr. Fox!¡± ¡°Now that he¡¯s suddenly here, and he even denounced the Smiths¡¯ approach, is the Peerless Martial Association going to get involved in this messy situation?¡± ... The sudden appearance of the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch sparked an uproar among the people in the hall because he rarely appeared. They all began to specte on the purpose of his visit. The vote to join the Smith Business Alliance was only halfway through before it was suspended because of the sudden appearance of this person. A sharp glint of displeasure shed in Vince¡¯s eyes. It should have been an exchange led by the Smiths, but such unexpected situations kept cropping up. Moreover, the venue should have people from the Kingstons guarding outside, yet no one informed him that the group from the Peerless Martial Association had suddenly arrived. It showed that their arrival wasn¡¯t impromptu but premeditated. The Peerless Martial Association was indeed very powerful. In fact, in terms of overall strength, it was even more powerful than the eight giants of DC. But this was rtive to the entire Peerless Martial Association. The Smiths wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch alone. Vince, the most likely sessor of the Smiths, wouldn¡¯t be afraid of an old branch head at all. ¡°Mr. Fox, doesn¡¯t the Peerless Martial Association im to never interfere in the affairs between the major families? Now that you¡¯ve suddenly appeared, isn¡¯t that out of line with the rules of the Peerless Martial Association?¡± Vince said in displeasure. Axel chuckled. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true that the Peerless Martial Association never interferes in such trivial matters among families. But since you are giving orders here today even though you¡¯re not California, the Peerless Martial Association won¡¯t sit by and let you disrupt the long-standing peace here! ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense that an outsider like you can show off your power while the Peerless Martial Association, which originally belongs to California, can¡¯t even join in. Don¡¯t you think so, Vince Smith?¡± Axel didn¡¯t give Vince any respect as he denounced him for overstepping his boundaries. Besides, he was a martial arts practitioner to begin with, so his voice was full of vigor, and it was almost deafening, causing the ears of the people present to ring. The face of the expert behind Vince didn¡¯t look good at this moment. He had already found it difficult to deal with Lucas. Yet there was now an old man who seemed to be extremely highly skilled in martial arts, and he had brought countless experts of the Peerless Martial Association with him, making him feel even more stressed. Beforeing to San Francisco, he felt that it would definitely be easy since he just had to help deter and get rid of some juniors. But he no longer dared to be so arrogant now. Lucas was overjoyed to see the tense situation between the Smiths and Axel of the Peerless Martial Association. He picked up his teacup and leisurely took a sip. Slightly gloomy, Vince said half-threateningly, ¡°Mr. Fox, I suggest you stay out of this. Or else, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to answer to the headquarters. After all, the Smiths have rather strong ties with the headquarters of the Peerless Martial Association!¡± The Peerless Martial Association was a powerful organization, while the Smiths were one of the eight giants of DC, so they naturally had a lot of dealings with each other. The Smiths had entrusted the Peerless Martial Association to carry out some private tasks on their behalf, which were otherwise inconvenient for them to do themselves. It could be said that they were often in contact. ¡°Hah! Don¡¯t throw your weight around with the Smiths¡¯ name. Do you think I¡¯m afraid of you?¡± Axel spat hostilely. ¡°The Smiths are from another city, so they¡¯re not qualified to meddle with the affairs of California! Even if you go home andin to your father, I will still say the same thing! His voice was extremely loud, and he didn¡¯t show any respect at all. Vince was so furious that his face paled. The others in the venue didn¡¯t dare to breathe at all. They all lowered their heads, pretending not to hear these words. Be it Vince or Axel of the Peerless Martial Association, these helmsmen couldn¡¯t afford to offend either of them. In a situation where two hegemons were at odds, their best bet was to stay as far away as possible. If they identally got these two big shots to think that they were mocking them, they would be really unlucky! In therge venue with hundreds of people sitting, they were all staying silent with bated breath, not daring to utter a single word. At this moment, Vince was furious. He hade to San Francisco this time with the assumption that things would definitely go well for him, so he had only brought a top powerhouse with him, the middle-aged man standing behind him. Usually, this expert would be enough for him to deal with any enemy he might face in California. But Vince didn¡¯t expect to be confronted by people from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch. He was suddenly a little uncertain because he knew that the Peerless Martial Association would not keep any good-for-nothings around. Since Axel could be appointed as the head of the California branch, it showed that his martial arts were definitely far superior to ordinary experts. If Axel was determined to make an enemy of the Smiths, Vince would have no choice but to give up on his n because he really couldn¡¯te up with a better solution at the moment. ¡°Mr. Fox, why do you have to be so overbearing? Even if the Smiths take control of California, it shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with the Peerless Martial Association, right? Besides, I think it¡¯ll only benefit you if anything!¡± Vince¡¯s tone became mellower as he tried to convince Axel not to oppose mm and instead stand on his side by highlighting their mutual interests. If he could sessfully persuade Axel, then he would have one less formidable enemy and one more ally who could help him deal with Lucas! Chapter 717 - A Conflict Breaks Out

Chapter 717: A Conflict Breaks Out

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Vince had a good n in mind, Axel didn¡¯t buy it at all. ¡°Get lost! Who are you to y tricks in front of me? Psht!¡± Axel nced at Vince in disdain before ncing at all the people in the venue. He said in a voice that was as loud and bright as a bell, ¡°To be frank with you and to make things clear beforehand, anyone who chooses to stand on the Smiths¡¯ side shall be deemed as a traitor and an enemy of the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°Now, I¡¯ll give you three minutes to think it over and decide whether you want to choose to join Smith Business Alliance and be a dog of the Smiths or stand firm on our side! ¡°Remember, there is no turning back or room for regrets after you make your choice. If you¡¯ve decided, don¡¯t regret it! ¡°The three-minute timer starts now!¡± After deciding to turn against Vince, Axel gave his ultimatum and asked the families present to choose their sides immediately. Those who intended to cooperate with the Smiths and join their business alliance would all be treated as traitors of California! It caused a huge uproar! Axel¡¯s decision sparked anothermotion in the conference venue. The Smiths and the Peerless Martial Association were both big shots that none of them could afford to offend. Yet they were now forced to make a choice between the two and were thus stumped as to what decision they should make. The Parkers of LA, the Hales and the Sawyers of Orange County, and the Coles from San Francisco, who never intended to join the Smith Business Alliance in the first ce, weren¡¯t in much of a dilemma. Instead, they merely spected about what the Peerless Martial Association would do in the future. As for the twenty-odd families who had already voted in public and expressed their stand to join the Smith Business Alliance, they were all shocked and frightened, almost on the verge of crying in panic. After all, this was a matter of great importance to the survival of their families. And if they weren¡¯t careful enough, they would be victims of the power struggle between the Smiths and the Peerless Martial Association. Lance and Herman also began pondering about it seriously. Previously, Lucas and the Smiths were the ones confronting each other, so they were still confident the Smiths would emerge victorious against Lucas. Although the benefits of joining the Smith Business Alliance were certainly much less than they had expected, it was still eptable. However, the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s sudden intervention had caused things to take a turn for the worse, and it became a battle between the Smiths and the Peerless Martial Association. Since these two families were from California, they knew how powerful the Peerless Martial Association was and were certain that Vince¡¯s chances of victory were definitely going to be reduced significantly. Besides, the Smiths were rooted in DC. Even if Vince lost, he could just leave. But the Kingstons and the Walkers were local families rooted in California. If they lost, they would definitely face consequences that were just as unbearable and torturous as that of the lower-level families. It was really a tough choice! Axel looked at the big clock on the wall and said expressionlessly, ¡°There is still onest minute left!¡± Now, themotion in the venue became even more obvious, and many families felt a great sense of oppression and urgency asrge sweat droplets emerged on their faces. ¡°Thirty seconds left!¡± Another devilish voice announced. At this moment, a family head finally stood out and said fearfully, ¡°W-we, the Perezes, withdraw from the Smith Business Alliance!¡± After this helmsman took the initiative to stand out, it was easier for the rest to follow suit. Next, the helmsmen of more than ten families began to express their stand one after another. ¡°The Ansons wish to withdraw from the alliance!¡± ¡°The Jasons wish to withdraw from the Smith Business Alliance!¡± ¡°The Michaels wish to withdraw from the alliance!¡± ... As they continued to do so, Vince¡¯s face turned even more sullen. ¡°Time¡¯s up!¡± By the time the three minutes were up, four families still decided to choose to stand on the Smiths¡¯ side. But they were all terrified and flustered, and they didn¡¯t dare to raise their heads to look at Axel. Since they had bitten the bullet and insisted on choosing to stand on the Smiths¡¯ side, they were taking a gamble that Vince could defeat the Peerless Martial Association or at least be able to save their families. ¡°Okay, so the four of you and your families have decided to be traitors and make an enemy of the Peerless Martial Association, huh?¡± Axel suddenly said while staring at these family heads coldly. ¡°Kill them!¡± Without wasting any time or effort, Axel issued the order. Six men in ck immediately appeared behind him and swiftly leaped toward the people of the four families. They were as quick as cheetahs killing their prey. ¡°Axel Fox, how dare you!?!¡± Vince immediately hollered, his eyes full of menace. At the same time, more than ten bodyguards dashed out from behind him,unching an attack on the six people from the Peerless Martial Association. However, although there were many bodyguards behind these families, they were far inferior to the six experts of the Peerless Martial Association, and they were badly defeated. In less than a minute, the bodyguards were almost all beaten to the ground, with only one person still standing¡ªthe expert Vince brought over from DC. This scene immediately made countless people astonished. The strength of these bodyguards and that of the experts of the Peerless Martial Association were worlds apart! The helmsmen of these four families looked at each other, their hearts filled with terror as they got on their knees and began kowtowing to Axel, begging for mercy without any regard for anything else. ¡°Mr. Fox, the Troys will withdraw from the Smith Business Alliance immediately!¡± ¡°The Barts will withdraw from the Smith Business Alliance immediately too!¡± ¡°The Nelsons will also withdraw from the Smith Business Alliance!¡± ¡°The Carsons are withdrawing from the Smith Business Alliance too!¡± These helmsmen who had joined the Smiths were terrified when facing the absolute power and threat of the Peerless Martial Alliance, so much so that they chose to withdraw from the Smith Business Alliance. ¡°Damn it!¡± Vince was so furious that he couldn¡¯t help cursing. At this point, everyone had withdrawn from the Smith Business Alliance that he had started. His ns werepletely foiled today! It was a huge insult to the arrogant Vince! However, Axel looked at thest four families who had withdrawn and smirked. ¡°I¡¯ve already said previously that there is no room for regret. Once you¡¯ve made your choice, there¡¯s no turning back! Kill them!¡± As soon as he said this, the six men in ck from the Peerless Martial Association each took out a dagger from their waist, put it on the neck of these helmsmen, and then slit their necks! Blood gushed out high, and the four helmsmen were all horrified as they clutched their necks and fell to the ground. The helmsmen of four top families had their throats slit and were killed right on the spot! Chapter 718 - Hurry Up and Get Lost

Chapter 718: Hurry Up and Get Lost

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The incredibly bloody scene immediately made many people throw up on the spot. Many others with poor tolerance fell to the floor in horror while clutching their faces in misery. No one dared to question the actions and power of the Peerless Martial Association. Vince was enraged as he stared at Axel and roared, ¡°Axel Fox, don¡¯t go too far!¡± Axel was simply shaming him by doing this! If possible, Vince wished he could kill Axel now! Unfortunately, he only had one capable bodyguard with him now, and the ones he had just sent out had all been killed by the six experts of the Peerless Martial Association. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ve long said that this is a matter that concerns California, but you¡¯re just an outsider. Who are you to interfere?¡± Axel nced at Vince with extreme disdain. He said sarcastically, ¡°Maybe the Smiths are used to being arrogant in other ces and like calling the shots for everything. But in California, you¡¯re in no ce to issue any orders as long as I¡¯m helming the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°Now, take your people with you and leave California immediately! Otherwise¡­ Hmph!¡± ¡°Otherwise, what? I¡¯m a Smith. Do you really dare toy a hand on me?¡± Vince was enraged. ¡°Hah, if Iy a hand on you, wouldn¡¯t that be what you want? Rest assured. I won¡¯t do anything to you. But once I force you out of California, don¡¯t me me for being too rough!¡± Axel said aggressively, unafraid of Vince¡¯s threats. ¡°You!¡± Vince had never experienced the feeling of being chased out by others before, and his face darkened. ¡°What are you waiting for? Why aren¡¯t you getting lost yet? Do you need us to send you off?¡± Axel glowered at him. ¡°What are you waiting for? Why aren¡¯t you getting lost yet? Do you need us to send you off?¡± Edmund also suddenly bellowed at Vince. He had long been displeased with Vince. And now that Axel was telling Vince to get lost from California, he felt like his anger had been vented. ¡°What are you waiting for? Why aren¡¯t you getting lost yet? Do you need us to send you off?¡± Damon also shouted. Now, everyone knows that Vince had alreadypletely lost and no longer had the capital to continue showing off here. He happily chimed in to insult Vince. Since the conflict could no longer be appeased, he thought that he might as well curse at him to make himself happy. ¡°What are you waiting for? Why aren¡¯t you getting lost yet? Do you need us to send you off?¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Why aren¡¯t you getting lost yet? Do you need us to send you off?¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Why aren¡¯t you getting lost yet? Do you need us to send you off?¡± ... Next, Bruce, Connor, Ethan, and the helmsmen of many other families in California shouted at Vince to get lost immediately. The Elite Business Exchange today was originally an event that belonged only to the first-ss families in California. But because of Vince and his ambitions, there was a drastic change in the event. Everyone shouted in unison for Vince to get out, and themotion was getting so loud that it seemed to almost set off a tremor in therge hall. Vince was so furious that his eyes were bloodshot, and he was clenching his fingers tightly, his nails digging into the flesh of his palm. But regardless of how livid he was, he had no choice but to bear with it now because the dozens of families in front of him had already gathered under the lead of the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch. He couldn¡¯t rival against such a huge force alone! Even the Kingstons and the Walkers, who used to curry favor with him, didn¡¯t dare to stand on his side at this moment. It was extremely obvious. After all, Axel actually had the guts to kill the helmsmen of four great families right on the spot in front of so many people. How could the Kingstons and the Walkers possibly stand on the Smiths¡¯ side? They didn¡¯t have a death wish! ¡°Very good. I¡¯ll remember all of you! Just you wait and see. One day, I will make all of you kneel before me and regret what you¡¯ve done to me!¡± Vince¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth and memorized the faces of all the helmsmen present. Then he stood up and looked straight at Axel. ¡°You can make me go and give up my n to dominate California, but you must promise me one condition. There¡¯s one person here that I must kill!¡± Vince stared at Lucas without hiding the resentment in his eyes at all. Axel sneered. ¡°I¡¯ve already done you a favor by letting you leave California on your own, yet you¡¯re still trying to negotiate with me?¡± Vince said without anypromise, ¡°Axel Fox, don¡¯t think that I¡¯m leaving because I¡¯m afraid of you! The strength of this expert beside me is not necessarily inferior to yours! It¡¯s not impossible for me to fight you to the death!¡± Axel narrowed his eyes, seemingly pondering about Vince¡¯s words seriously. Indeed, although several of Vince¡¯s bodyguards had died, his strongest expert was truly extremely powerful. If he really wanted to fight him, it would really be somewhat difficult. Of course, Axel had more than ten members of the Peerless Martial Association with him, and they could definitely win the fight in the end, but the price to pay would definitely be enormous. Besides, there was a high probability that they might really form a feud with the Smiths because of this matter, so it didn¡¯t seem like a wise choice. ¡°So, who do you want to kill?¡± Axel asked with raised brows. By asking this question, it meant that he agreed to Vince¡¯s request. Without thinking, Vince directly raised his hand and pointed straight at Lucas. ¡°Lucas Gray, scram here. It¡¯s your time to die!¡± The crowd was shocked. Only then did they remember that just before Axel and the Peerless Martial Association intervened, Vince had been in the midst of a confrontation with Lucas and had mentioned that his son had been killed by Lucas. This also exined why Vince didn¡¯t mind threatening a life and death fight with Axel before he left. He wanted to kill Lucas. Lucas didn¡¯t bother raising his head at all, as if he hadn¡¯t heard the killing intent in Vince¡¯s voice at all. He continued to drink the tea gracefully. His nonchnce, contempt, andplete disregard of Vince made thetter enraged again. But before he could lose his temper, a faint voice beside Lucas said, ¡°Vince Walker, do you really think that we¡¯re all at your mercy?¡± Edmund stood next to Lucas and looked at Vince with a firm and formidable gaze in his eyes. Vince sneered. ¡°He killed my son, and it¡¯s only right that I take revenge on him to seek justice! You¡¯re just the helmsman of the Coles. What right do you have to meddle in my affairs?¡± ¡°As long as I¡¯m here, you won¡¯t be able toy a single finger on Mr. Gray!¡± Edmund didn¡¯t budge and waved his hand. The Coles¡¯ bodyguards behind him immediately rushed forward to firmly protect Lucas behind them.. It was clear that he wanted to protect Lucas. Chapter 719 - Courting Death

Chapter 719: Courting Death

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Edmund Cole! Are you really going to go against the Smiths? You should know what will happen if you go against me, right?¡± Vince was enraged. When Axel Fox of the Peerless Martial Association rebuked him just now, he had tolerated it because the association was extremely powerful and strong atbat. So it was understandable for him to bow down for the time being. But he felt that Edmund had no right to be moring in front of him. Edmund was just the helmsman of the Coles, a lowly family that he could easily destroy! ¡°Vince Walker, if you want to act like a big shot, get lost back to DC. This is California!¡± Edmund eximed without the slightest bit of fear. ¡°Mr. Gray is a valued guest of the Coles. If you try toy a finger on him, we won¡¯t take it lying down!¡± Ever since he had inadvertently guessed that Lucas was the captain of the Falcon Regiment, Edmund had been full of excitement and zeal. The fact that he now addressed Lucas as ¡®Mr. Gray¡¯ as opposed to just ¡®Lucas¡¯ like in the past was proof of the respect he had for Lucas. The Falcon Regiment was the holy grail of countless soldiers, as it was a regiment that represented god-like strength and the power to protect. And the captain of the Falcon Regiment was an existence called the God of War and someone not to be desecrated. Although Edmund had left the battlefield of Calico for nearly two decades, the years he had spent fighting and shedding blood would forever be engraved in his mind! Thus, he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to disrespect Lucas, let alone hurt him in front of him! Bruce also stepped forth and stared at Vince with a hostile gaze, ¡°Mr. Cole is right. Mr. Gray is also the Hale¡¯s valued guest, and I can¡¯t tolerate an outsider like you throwing your weight around and disrespecting Mr. Gray!¡± Damon stood up and said formidably, ¡°Count me in! Mr. Gray isn¡¯t someone you can touch. Vince Walker, you should take your people and get lost from California!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Ethan also stepped forth and spoke self-righteously. ¡°Vince Walker, we won¡¯t let youy a finger on Mr. Gray. Otherwise, the Sawyers won¡¯t let you off!¡± Despite confronting Vince, several helmsmen of powerful families stood out in a row to defend Lucas. This scene was shocking to the other powerful families in the venue. Lucas remained sitting without saying a word. But so many families had stood up for him and protected him. They even told Vince to get out of California immediately! Vince was a highly valued direct descendant of the Smiths in DC. He was also very likely to inherit his family¡¯s empire in the future! Axel had the guts to point at Vince¡¯s nose and tell him to get lost because he had the backing of the powerful Peerless Martial Association. Besides, these helmsmen had only dared to yell a few times bravely because they wanted to express their stand in front of Axel. After all, no one would dare to disobey the Peerless Martial Association. But they definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to yell at Vince and tell him to get lost again now. Was it really worth it for these powerful families to offend the Smiths for Lucas, someone abandoned by the Huttons? At this moment, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch seemed cautious. The helmsmen standing out to protect Lucas were not from ordinary families. Besides, the young man whom they were taking risks to protect was certainly not a simple person either. At this moment, Vince once again experienced what it was like to have a wolf by the ears. He initially wanted the expert behind him to kill Lucas immediately. But the bodyguards of these helmsmen had already surrounded Lucas, protecting him from danger. Even if Lucas didn¡¯t know any martial arts, it would be difficult for Vince¡¯s subordinates to kill Lucas while he was under the protection of so many people. To make matters worse, once he got his bodyguard to take action, it would mean that he was formally going against these families. When the time came, he would be standing here alone and at aplete loss for how to settle the matter. At the end of the day, it was all because he had underestimated his enemies beforehand and had brought only one top expert with him to San Francisco. As a result, he waspletely outnumbered now. If the ten or so experts of the Smiths were with him now, he wouldn¡¯t be subject to the threat of these few families in California! ¡°Indeed, those who have a death wish and court death on their own ord can never be stopped.¡± While they were in a stalemate, Lucas finally put down the teacup in his hand, sighed slowly, and stood up. With his movements, he exuded an invisible aura that was as cold as the winter wind. It quickly swept across the entire hall, causing people to shiver uncontrobly. They felt the chill from the bottom of their heart and deep within their bones. The face of the expert standing behind Vince suddenly changed, and he subconsciously took a step forward to block Vince. At the same time, a look of shock appeared in Axel¡¯s eyes, and he began to look at Lucas warily and solemnly. Even he couldn¡¯t tell the strength of the young man in front of him, but he knew that this young man was extremely dangerous! It was the intuitive sense that powerhouses had! Lucas took two steps forward, stared at Vince, and said yfully, ¡°You said you want my life?¡± When Vince saw Lucas¡¯s calm and nonchnt look, anger surged in his heart again. ¡°That¡¯s right. Since you¡¯ve killed my son, you should understand the principle of a life for a life! Now, it¡¯s time for you to pay for my son¡¯s life!¡± Vince said with a face full of hatred, but his heart was full of frustration. He didn¡¯t want to waste his time talking to Lucas here at all. He just wanted the expert he brought to kill Lucas right away. Unfortunately, the situation wasn¡¯t up to him, and he didn¡¯t dare to act rashly. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ve told you more than once that you should be searching for the real murderer of your son, yet you keep trying to frame me for it? Do you really think I¡¯m a pushover?¡± Lucas sneered, not wanting to repeat himself for the third time. Vince gritted his teeth. In fact, at the very beginning, he really only treated Lucas as an insignificant small fry. So despite knowing that Lucas might not be his son¡¯s murderer, he didn¡¯t want to change his mind at all. But he had already realized that this young man in front of him was really not a pushover but a tough nut to crack. When Wendy, next to him, heard that the topic of conversation was about Roy¡¯s death again, she hurriedly stood up andshed out at Lucas, for fear that Vince would suspect her again. ¡°You are deliberately shifting the me. You are responsible for the death of my nephew, and Lance Kingston, the head of the Kingston family, can testify to it. How dare you deny it?!¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°Oh? Lance Kingston is aware of it too. Why don¡¯t you tell me why I killed Roy Smith? Also, did you witness it with your own eyes? Or do you have any other evidence?¡± As soon as he asked this series of questions, a trace of nervousness immediately appeared on Wendy¡¯s and Lance¡¯s faces. Chapter 720 - Evidence of the Truth

Chapter 720: Evidence of the Truth

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wendy nced at Lance and said, ¡°Now that things havee to this point, do you still want to deny it? Good, then I shall reveal everything so that you can die a justified death! ¡°Why did you kill my nephew? It¡¯s because your friend Jordan stole my nephew¡¯s fianc¨¦e, so there was a conflict between the two of them. Because you¡¯re good at martial arts, you beat up my nephew and humiliated him before chasing him away! ¡°My nephew obviously couldn¡¯t take it lying down, so he got my bodyguard, Master Eli, to seek revenge on your friend. But in the end, you killed both Eli and my nephew in Orange County!¡± Lance gritted his teeth and stood out to say, ¡°That¡¯s right. At the time, Mrs. Smith was a guest at my home. So I¡¯m also aware of this matter. The truth is as it is! Roy and Master Eli were both shot to death by you, and their corpses are now still at my house!¡± Although Vince had lost in front of Axel today, Lance still had to stand on Wendy¡¯s side and help her cover it up. After all, if the real cause of Roy¡¯s death was exposed, Wendy and the Kingstons would both be doomed! Moreover, if he could help the Smiths convict Lucas, the Smiths would probably remember it and give him credit for it. They might even help the Kingstons. But Lance and Wendy had tallied their statements beforehand, though Lance couldn¡¯t say many of the details. ¡°Oh, you said that I shot Roy dead. Where is the evidence? Or did you see me shoot and kill him and his bodyguard with your own eyes?¡± Lucas sneered. Lance immediately tensed his neck and said, ¡°Of course I have evidence! That day, when you killed the two of them, the roadside surveince cameras captured your actions! Mrs. Smith and I have seen the footage, and we have determined that you are the murderer!¡± ¡°Oh~ so there¡¯s actually camera footage as evidence, huh? Very well, quickly show it to us. I also want to know how I actually shot and killed that Smith scion!¡± Lucas said with a face full of mockery. There was naturally no surveince camera footage. Two beads of sweat appeared on Lance¡¯s forehead. But he quickly thought of something to say and revealed a sad and indignant look as he pointed at Lucas and rebuked furiously, ¡°How dare you ask me for the camera footage as evidence when things have alreadye to this? Haven¡¯t you long snatched the footage? I really want to ask you for it, but I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve destroyed it long ago!¡± Their justified way of twisting facts made Lucas burst intoughter. ¡°Okay, since you say I toke the video evidence, it just so happens that I have a video clip, so I might as well y it for everyone! Let¡¯s see what this so-called murder evidence is all about!¡± While speaking, he took out a small USB sh drive from his pocket and waved it at Lance and Wendy with a bizarre smile at the corner of his mouth. Lance and Wendy looked at each other, and both couldn¡¯t help having an ominous hunch. The two of them knew, of course, that Lucas hadn¡¯t killed Roy at all. Roy and Eli had actually died in the living room of the Kingstons¡¯ home, so how could there possibly be any footage from the roadside surveince cameras? In that case, what was the content of the video that Lucas wanted to show them? Connor volunteered to take the sh drive from Lucas and then walked to the projector at the front of the venue. After a series of actions, a clear image appeared on therge projector screen. Everyone stared intently at the projection screen, wanting to know what Lucas was showing. The scene on the screen was shot in the living room of a mansion, and there were three people standing inside. In addition to Wendy and Lance, who were currently present, there was also a young man in his twenties. ¡°Thank you, Aunt Wendy! But we just need to teach the Stones a lesson. Please let Maddy off. After all, I still want to marry her,¡± the young man said to Wendy. After hearing the way he addressed Wendy, everyone figured out immediately that he was probably Vince¡¯s son Roy. ¡°Okay, I got it.¡± Wendy smiled and agreed. But the next second, she pulled out a small pistol from her body and aimed the dark muzzle at Roy. ¡°Aunt Wendy, you¡­?!¡± Roy was astounded, and his eyes suddenly widened. But the next moment, the dull and bizarre sound of a gun with a silencer attached filled the air. A finger-thick hole immediately appeared between Roy¡¯s eyebrows, from which blood flowed out. Roy still had shock and disbelief all over his face as his pupils gradually dimmed. Then he slowly fell backward to the floor. ¡°Mrs¡­ Mrs. Smith! Wh-what are you doing?¡± Lance was terrified and utterly shocked in the video. Immediately afterward, Wendy took the gun and aimed it at the middle-aged man resembling a bodyguard kneeling on the floor. She then pulled the trigger and ended his life. ¡°Ah¡­ Actually, I didn¡¯t want to do this, but I didn¡¯t have a valid reason to ask the family for help. ¡°Only with Roy¡¯s death would the Smiths take this matter seriously and send a stronger, elite expert to deal with Lucas Gray. Now, do you understand my approach? Roy and Eli have both been killed by Lucas Gray, right?¡± Wendy nced at Lance. Lance shuddered and hurriedly said, ¡°Yes! That¡¯s it! Mr. Kingston found out that Lucas Gray¡¯s friend snatched his fianc¨¦e, so he felt insulted and brought Eli with him to take revenge on Lucas Gray. However, both of them were brutally killed by Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that you know. I will contact the Smiths in DC now, and soon, I will be able to take revenge for my love and son!¡± ... The video footage ended here. Although itsted only a short two to three minutes, all of them had watched clearly how Roy and the bodyguard died. The moment she saw the video, Wendy got the chills, and even her blood froze, as if she had been thrown into a cer. Next to her, Lance¡¯s face was no better than hers. Deep down, he thought,?Oh dear! It¡¯s over. We got exposed! At that moment, Wendy couldn¡¯t wait to run over and unplug the damned USB sh drive from the projector before destroying the videopletely so that no one could see it! But as soon as she moved, an iron grip caught her arm hard. ¡°Hold it. If you dare to move a single step, I will immediately kill you!¡± Vince said in a voice full of murderous aura. Even though the lights were off and his expression was barely visible, Wendy could feel her cousin gritting his teeth. So, in the next two to three minutes of the footage yback, Wendy¡¯s heart was skipping beats, and she was full of fear. Only after the video came to an end and the lights in the venue lit up again did Wendy raise her head and see the anger on Vince¡¯s face. ¡°This is what you call the truth, huh?¡± Vince had a terrifying gaze in his eyes, and he wished he could devour Wendy alive. Chapter 721 - Apologize To Me

Chapter 721: Apologize To Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Wendy couldn¡¯t endure it any longer. Her legs went limp, and she fell straight to the floor. ¡°Vince, I¡­ I was just bewitched. That¡¯s why I made that mistake. I¡¯m sorry, Vince. Please forgive me. I¡¯ll never dare to do this kind of thing again!¡± she pleaded while shuddering. Lance also trembled in fear. He knelt in front of Vince and begged for forgiveness. ¡°Mr. Smith, t-this is none of my business! I was also very shocked and surprised, but Mrs. Smith forced me to help her cover up the truth. If I didn¡¯t listen to her, none of the Kingstons would have been able to survive. I had no choice but to help her lie to you. Please have mercy and spare my life!¡± The others at the scene looked extremelyplicated. The scene shown in the video, as well as the two people kneeling before Vince and crying and begging for mercy, was simply the best plot twist. It was much more exciting than the plot of some corny soap operas. It turned out that while Wendy and Lance both identified Lucas as Roy¡¯s murderer, the truth was that Wendy was actually the murderer. In order to frame Lucas for it, she had even plotted with Lance. Indeed, women were the most vicious! It was no wonder that people often said that art came from life, but life was far more melodramatic than art. Furthermore, many people were interested in Wendy¡¯s ex-husband and son, whom she mentioned in the video. The dramatic secrets between big families had always been a hot topic of gossip that everyone liked hearing. Everyone craned their necks forward to watch, not wanting to miss any detail. But at the same time, they were trying their best to control their expressions, lest they seemed overly enthusiastic. After all, such a thing was definitely a disgrace to the Smiths. With nothing but cold indifference in his eyes, Vince looked at the two people kneeling in front of him. The Smiths were not a close-knit family in the first ce, and there wasn¡¯t much of a father-son rtionship between Vince and his son Roy. Even when he received the news of Roy¡¯s sudden death, he didn¡¯t feel grief-stricken and was merely angry. If Roy¡¯s death could bring him and the Smiths some benefits, he would have died a worthy death. Even if Vince had to kill Roy personally, he would definitely not be reluctant about it. But Roy had actually died at the hands of Wendy, and the reason was just to avenge her damn son and ex-husband. It made Vince furious. Moreover, if word about this matter spread back to DC, the Smiths would be the talk of the town and everyone¡¯sughing stock! Vince would never tolerate that! ¡°Kill!¡± Vince roared. The expert behind him immediately stepped forward and smacked Lance¡¯s head with his palm without the slightest hesitation. Crack! The palm of martial arts experts was powerful enough to split a boulder. Lance¡¯s skull instantly shattered as his eyes bulged out. He died without even being able to make a single sound! This scene made Wendy tremble in horror. ¡°V¡­ Vince, I-I really know I was wrong. Please just spare me! I-I won¡¯t dare to do anything like this again in the future. I can give you all my assets too. I¡­¡± Wendy was frightened out of her wits. Seeing Vince¡¯s subordinate approaching her, she desperately begged him for mercy. Without waiting for her to finish, Vince ordered coldly, ¡°Kill her!¡± Crack! With another p, Wendy ended up with the same fate as Lance. Her skull shattered, and she died violently on the spot! Vince had resolutely taken two lives just like that, and one of them was even his cousin. Everyone had a deep understanding of how cold and cruel Vince was, and they unanimously lowered their heads, not daring to look at him again. Vince didn¡¯t even look at the two corpses at his feet. He merely stared at Lucas viciously before turning around to leave. ¡°Hold it. Did I say you could leave?¡± Lucas suddenly spoke up in a domineering tone to stop Vince from leaving. The crowd was astonished. A maniacal murderous intent appeared in Vince¡¯s eyes. He stopped, turned around, and hollered furiously, ¡°Punk, what else do you want?¡± With a cold look on his face, Lucas said, ¡°You seem to have forgotten something. I was framed by the Smiths for no rhyme or reason, and you repeatedly tried to kill me. Now that the truth hase to light, and it¡¯s proven that I didn¡¯t kill your son, aren¡¯t you going to give me an exnation?¡± Only then did the crowd understand that Lucas had called out to Vince to stop him to give him an exnation. Lucas was way too daring. Vince was from one of the top eight families of DC. Even if the helmsmen present had been wrongly used, they would be overjoyed if the Smiths didn¡¯t continue to pursue the matter against them. They obviously wouldn¡¯t dare to ask for an exnation. Lucas was really outrageously daring! At this moment, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch had a hint of surprise in his eyes. The reason he dared to confront Vince was that the iparably powerful Peerless Martial Association backed him, giving him great confidence. But the young man in front of him was just an abandoned son of the Huttons, who had been kicked out of the family for years. How could he have the courage to call Vince out and demand an exnation from him? While the others thought so, Vince, the person in question, was boiling with fury. ¡°Punk, who do you think you are? How dare you ask me for an exnation? Do you think the Smiths are afraid of you and that we can let just anyone trample all over us?¡± Vince¡¯s eyes were full of infuriation. ¡°When you¡¯ve wronged, you should naturally apologize. Haven¡¯t your elders taught you this?¡± Lucas said in exasperation. ¡°You want me to apologize to you? No way! Do you have the qualifications?¡± Vince roared angrily. Lucas raised his eyebrows and said calmly, ¡°Qualifications¡­ In that case, I¡¯ll have to resort to other methods to tell you whether I have the qualifications or not!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, there were countless buzzing discussions from the crowd. ¡°This kid is really arrogant. No matter what, Vince is a Smith. He¡¯s just shooting himself in the foot by doing this. How stupid!¡± ¡°Even if you want to kick him when he¡¯s down, you ought to consider who he is! Vince isn¡¯t someone whom an abandoned child like him can afford to mess with!¡± ¡°I bet this punk is just getting carried away. Everything would have been fine after Vince left, but he just had to do this. I¡¯m afraid he might not be able to escapeter!¡± ... There are many different opinions, but almost everyone thought that Lucas was dead meat for sure. Lucas turned a deaf ear to the discussions. Lucas really didn¡¯t take the Smiths seriously. Besides, he wasn¡¯t even facing the helmsman of the Smiths but merely a direct descendant. Furthermore, if Lucas wanted to, he could go back to DC at any time and be the helmsman of the Huttons, making his status far above Vince¡¯s. Not to mention Lucas¡¯s other identity¡ªthe esteemed captain of the Falcon Regiment of Calico, titled the God of War of Calico. Vince chuckled mirthlessly and stared at Lucas coldly.. ¡°Come on. I want to see how exactly you can make me apologize to you!¡± Chapter 722 - Tyrannical Lucas

Chapter 722: Tyrannical Lucas

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as Vince finished speaking, Lucas took two steps toward him. At this moment, the heart of the middle-aged expert behind Vince skipped a beat because he actually sensed a danger that resembled a gale and massive waves during a high tideing from Lucas¡¯s seemingly calm gait. ¡°Mr. Smith, it¡¯s dangerous! Go quickly!¡± He abruptly took a step forward to shield Vince. Lucas caused him to feel overwhelming pressure, so much so that cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He felt as if Lucas was a tall and majestic mountain towering over him. He was even petrified with fear, without the slightest confidence in defeating Lucas. After hearing the caution and nervousness in the middle-aged expert¡¯s tone, Vince was also astonished. He knew very well that this expert was one of the Smiths¡¯ best experts, and he enjoyed a good reputation in DC. But he was now uncertain if he could deal with Lucas and even asked Vince to leave. Without waiting for Vince to ponder any further, Lucas eximed coldly, ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± At the same time, Lucas¡¯s feet moved, and he vanished right on the spot before appearing behind Vince! Axel, sitting nearby, suddenly eximed in shock as he stood up with disbelief all over his face. Initially, Lucas and Vince were only over ten meters apart from each other, with the middle-aged man in between them. But Lucas actually suddenly appeared behind Vince in a second. His speed was so incredible that it left Axelpletely astounded. Of course, this was also because Axel had shown up toote and hadn¡¯t been able to witness with his own eyes Lucas¡¯s incredible speed when he was confronting Gaia, the Walkers¡¯ former sharpshooter. Vince felt that Lucas had vanished from in front of him in the blink of an eye. Immediately afterward, he felt a terrifying auraing from behind him. The next instant, a hand directly pressed on his shoulder. ¡°Apologize!¡± An incredibly cold voice sounded beside his ear as Lucas pressed Vince¡¯s shoulder down farther. ¡°Ah!¡± Vince felt as if there was a boulder on his shoulder, making him unable to support himself. He shrieked in misery and fell hard to the floor! Bang!? The sound of his knees smashing against the floor was extremely loud! One of the future sessors of the Smiths was directly pressed on his knees to the floor by Lucas! This scene left everyone dumbfounded! How is this possible?! How dare he do that?! Everyone¡¯s hearts were surging with these thoughts, and they were all horrified. Even Axel¡¯s heart was shaking, and he couldn¡¯t utter a single word for a long time. Even he wouldn¡¯t dare to do what Lucas did! He actually forced the future sessor of the Smiths to get on his knees. What a maniacal move! If Axel had the guts to do this, he would definitely provoke the Smiths and cause a huge conflict to break out between the Smiths and the Peerless Martial Association. This would be a terrible consequence that he absolutely couldn¡¯t bear! Yet Lucas actually dared to do so! Is he really not afraid that the Smiths will take revenge??Even Axel couldn¡¯t tell if Lucas was bold or reckless and brainless. He could only look at Lucas with shock while cursing incessantly in his head. On the other hand, Damon and Bruce, who were on Lucas¡¯s side, had unspeakable excitement and a great sense of pride in their eyes. He was the person they had pledged allegiance to, and he was so domineering. Regardless of which family people were from, they would always have to get on their knees in front of him! An overbearing person like him was the person they should sincerely follow and trust! Next to them, Ethan also clenched his fists tightly as a look of excitement emerged on his face. How many people could be like Lucas, a domineering and tyrannical young man who actually didn¡¯t take the eight giants of DC seriously at all? Only now did he finally understand why the chief butler of the Huttons had been tasked to bring Lucas back to DC when he had just returned to Orange County. Such an excellent and outstanding talent was the sessor that every family wanted! Previously, Ethan had even been worried that Lucas was too weak and might lose the battle, especially since he didn¡¯t have the support of the Huttons. Thus, he wavered. Looking at the incredibly domineering figure standing behind Vince, Ethan wanted to give himself a tight p on the face. Which of the Huttons would be able to fight against a man like Lucas? Lena looked at Lucas with admiration, her pretty little face flushed with excitement while her heart pounded rapidly. He was such a domineering, powerful, and handsome man. How many women would not be moved by such an outstanding man? After meeting such a rare and outstanding dreamboat like Lucas, there wouldn¡¯t be any other man in the world who could attract her or win her heart. Lena wasn¡¯t the only one who felt this way. Many other female attendees, from teenage girls todies in their forties, gazed at Lucas with glistening eyes, their hearts racing. After hearing the sound of Vince¡¯s knees hitting the floor hard, the middle-aged expert in front of him finally came to his senses and turned around in panic, only to see Vince being held down on his knees. ¡°Punk, hurry up and let go of Mr. Smith!¡± the middle-aged roared at Lucas furiously with wide eyes. He raised his hand to smack Lucas to force him into letting go of Vince. ¡°Get lost!¡± Lucas raised his head and roared. Then an invisible aura surged toward the middle-aged expert. The middle-aged expert only felt a violent trembling in his heart as the aura made it palpitate. He waspletely terrified, as if he was seeing a menacing beast baring its fangs and pouncing toward him. ¡°Ah!¡± The middle-aged man was horrified, and cold sweat gushed out from every pore of his body, immediately soaking his clothes. Stomp! Stomp! Stomp! The middle-aged man took six steps backward in a row before he could finally stabilize his body. His entire body seemed to turn limp like a deted balloon, and he no longer had the courage to take a step forward. Lucas had merely roared angrily, yet he managed to make Vince¡¯s most outstanding expert withdraw far, far away! The scene made the people in the venuepletely dumbstruck! Chapter 723 - Kneeling To Beg For Mercy

Chapter 723: Kneeling To Beg For Mercy

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The sharp paining from his knees made Vince grimace. But what was even more unbearable was the humiliation of being forced to get on his knees in front of the crowd! Never in the five decades of his life had he ever suffered such humiliation! ¡°Y-you, let go of me!¡± Vince¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he hollered furiously while struggling to break free from Lucas¡¯s grip. Unfortunately, the strength Lucas possessed was simply not something that Vince could resist. Try as he might, he couldn¡¯t break free from Lucas¡¯s hand at all. ¡°I told you that you have to give me an exnation! I will use my own methods to make you do it!¡± Lucas said coldly while looking down at Vince. ¡°It seems you haven¡¯t experienced it enough yet.¡± Then Lucas suddenly tightened his grip on Vince¡¯s shoulder, digging his hand like a w into the flesh of Vince¡¯s shoulder. Crack! The hair-raising sound of bones cracking clearly reached the ears of everyone around. ¡°Ahhhhhh! My¡­ my shoulder!¡± Vince suddenly tilted his head up and let out a miserable shriek. His shriek immediately made countless people subconsciously shiver. The designer white shirt Vince was wearing became stained with fresh blood gushing out of the holes that Lucas made in his flesh. It was terrifyingly red and bloody. ¡°Do I have the qualifications to receive an apology from you now?¡± The expression on Lucas¡¯s face didn¡¯t change in the slightest, as if he was just pinching a puppet while asking this question coldly. Vince began inhaling cold air inrge mouthfuls, his face covered in cold sweat. The excruciating paining from his shoulder caused his vision to turn ck as he wailed in pain, unable to answer Lucas¡¯s question at all. ¡°My patience is limited. I¡¯ll give you tenst seconds. If you don¡¯t apologize, you¡¯ll die now!¡± Lucas gave an ultimatum coldly. Others didn¡¯t dare toy a hand on Vince because they were afraid of facing the Smiths¡¯ retaliation. But Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid at all. Vince had repeatedly tried to kill him even after knowing that he wasn¡¯t his son¡¯s murderer. Lucas was being nice enough by only asking for an apology. If Vince still didn¡¯t know what to do, Lucas definitely didn¡¯t mind killing him. At this moment, Vince was kneeling on the ground, his knees, shoulder, and heart in immense pain! He was the future sessor of the Smiths, but he was now being forced to get on his knees to apologize by a young man in his twenties. If this matter spread back to DC, the Smiths would definitely strip him of his position as a sessor! For a top wealthy family like the Smiths, the family¡¯s honor and pride were more important than anything else. Moreover, the fact that he had disgraced the Smiths had already be a stain on their reputation, and he would definitely lose the chance to take over the family in the future. He would even be theughing stock of other wealthy families in DC. Therefore, Vince didn¡¯t want to give in at all. Be it for the sake of his dignity as a man or his future, he wasn¡¯t willing to give in to Lucas, the Huttons¡¯ outcast. But if he held on without apologizing, Vince didn¡¯t have the slightest doubt that Lucas would really kill him! He was definitely not scaring him but really dared to do it! ¡°Five¡­ ¡°Four¡­ ¡°Three¡­ ¡°Two¡­ ... Lucas began counting down expressionlessly. Just as he was about to count to thest second, Vince finally couldn¡¯t withstand the tremendous psychological pressure andpletely bowed down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! ¡°I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have listened to others without finding out the truth and mistakenly thought you killed my son! ¡°And I shouldn¡¯t have tried to kill you twice because of it¡­ I¡¯m sorry! I was wrong! I hope¡­ you can forgive me!¡± Vince lowered his head, gritted his teeth, and spoke these words with great reluctance. The meeting hall that amodated several hundred people was extremely quiet, and even the sound of breathing could barely be heard. Everyone opened their mouths wide in shock while looking at Vince in disbelief. Vince, who was previously extremely domineering and aloof, whom no one dared to offend, was actually forced by Lucas to apologize to him and beg for forgiveness in such a humiliating manner! If they hadn¡¯t seen this scene with their own eyes, they would probably never have believed it! Axel looked at Lucas¡¯s domineering figure, and a thought suddenly appeared in his mind. Such a powerful and formidable young man had terrifying future potential! If he could get him to join the Peerless Martial Association, Lucas would probably be able to enter the headquarters and hold true power within a few years! At that time, the benefits he could gain as the introducer would be unlimited! The more he thought about it, the more intense the gaze in his eyes. He even subconsciously licked the corners of his mouth. ¡°You can get lost now.¡± Lucas looked down at Vince coldly. Vince gritted his teeth with all his might, feeling extremely humiliated. He struggled to get up from the floor while enduring the pain in his body. He then walked toward the door of the venue without saying a word. Seeing this, the middle-aged expert hurriedly chased after him. ¡°Wait a moment!¡± Lucas suddenly said. The middle-aged expert shivered, wishing he could flee immediately. But he knew that there was no way he could escape from Lucas¡¯s terrifying speed. He timidly turned his head and carefully asked, ¡°Wh-what else do you want?¡± Lucas raised his finger and pointed to the floor next to him. ¡°Take the corpse of your family member away.¡± Wendy¡¯s corpse was lying on the floor. The middle-aged expert heaved a sigh of relief, hurriedly walked over, picked up Wendy¡¯s corpse, and dashed out of the hall. The Smiths had finally left. However, the atmosphere in the venue wasn¡¯t much more rxed, and everyone looked at Lucas nervously. The reason was none other than that the power Lucas just showed was simply too shocking. He could even force the future heir of one of the eight giants of DC to kneel and apologize, and he could kill anyone he wanted. These families were nothingpared to him. At this moment, the other two of the three top whales of San Francisco looked at Lucas with great fear and nervousness. The corpse of Lance, whom Vince¡¯s expert had just killed, was still on the floor, and no one dared to go forward to collect it. The rest of the Kingstons were also worried that Lucas would continue to retaliate against them, but they couldn¡¯t help huddling up, not daring to even look at Lucas. The Walkers were even more panicked and horrified. Herman clenched his fists and tried his best to maintain a calm look on his face. But his trembling lips and ashen face were already revealing the panic within him. Just a short while ago, he had sent two of the Walkers¡¯ experts to kill Lucas. The martial arts expert Freddie had not only failed to subdue Lucas, but he had even gotten killed by Lucas¡¯s counterattack on the spot. On the other hand, Sharpshooter Gaia had surrendered on his knees in front of Lucas¡¯s terrifying strength and even pledged allegiance to Lucas by killing Nate. The two failed attempts to threaten and harm Lucas had not only caused the Walkers to suffer a great loss, but they had undoubtedly formed a deadly feud with Lucas. Lucas forced Vince to kneel down and apologize on the spot because he had misunderstood him and wanted to kill him. This meant that he definitely wasn¡¯t someone who could be fooled easily. How would Lucas retaliate against the Walkers then? All of the Walkers were extremely nervous. They watched in horror as Lucas turned around, red at Herman, and suddenly said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s your turn next. I¡¯ll give you the chance to do it yourself!¡± Chapter 724 - Surprise Shot

Chapter 724: Surprise Shot

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Herman¡¯s heart suddenly sank. Lucas was undoubtedly implying that he should die to atone for his mistakes. All the Walkers showed misery and sadness to part with him, but no one dared toe forward to oppose Lucas. Now, Lucas had already shown his immeasurable strength that families like theirs could no longer defy. Moreover, the families that had chosen to follow the Smiths earlier also seemed anxious and agonized. Lucas didn¡¯t pursue the matter against the rest of the Walkers and instead only told Herman to kill himself, which meant that he was letting the other Walkers off. After all, Herman was the one who had ordered to kill Lucas. Herman opened his mouth and wanted to plead with Lucas. But as soon as he saw the cold and indifferent gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes, he understood that there was no way that Lucas would let him off. He smiled bitterly, and his old face seemed to have instantly aged by several years. He had already lived until such an old age, and even if he died now, he didn¡¯t have much to regret. In fact, he was willing to give up his life in exchange for the safety of the other Walkers, so he wouldn¡¯t die for nothing. However, Herman was indignant!?Why should I die? Herman suddenly raised his head with maniacal hatred in his eyes as he stared at Lucas. He pulled out the pistol hidden in his pocket and pointed it at Lucas. ¡°If you want me to die, then go to hell and explore the way for me first!¡± Herman had a hysterical look on his face, and his hand holding the pistol was trembling slightly due to the intense agitation in his heart. This made his move even more dangerous because he might pull the trigger at any moment. As long as Lucas died, there would no longer be a threat to the Walkers. From now on, the Walkers would still be the top family in San Francisco! This scene immediately caused many people present to scream. No one had expected that Herman had hidden a pistol on his body and that he would aim it at Lucas at this moment. ¡°Herman Walker! Stop!¡± Edmund shouted as he stood up with anxiety and anger. ¡°Herman Walker, if you dare to shoot Mr. Gray, the Coles will definitely be your enemy. Even if I have to use up all the Coles¡¯ resources, I will make sure to drench the Walkers in blood! Try it if you don¡¯t believe me!¡± He was truly enraged. Lucas was the captain of the Falcon Regiment, so how could he possibly be shot by someone like Herman? Axel of the Peerless Martial Association narrowed his eyes, stood out, and said slowly, ¡°Herman Walker, I advise you not to make a move against Lucas Gray. Otherwise, I won¡¯t spare your family either!¡± He saw a lot of potential in Lucas, and he was even ready to introduce him to the Peerless Martial Association. How could he allow Herman to hurt Lucas? ¡°Herman Walker, if you dare toy a hand on Mr. Gray, I definitely won¡¯t let you off!¡± Bruce, Damon, and Ethan also stood out and rebuked Herman furiously. Looking at the scene in front of him, Herman felt extremely miserable. Seeing that he wanted to kill Lucas, several people from these powerful families of California immediately came forward to protect him. But when Lucas wanted to kill him, none of his former allies came forward to speak up for him or ask for mercy on his behalf. In fact, none of the Walkers dared to plead for him either. Why? Am I that inferior to this young man Lucas Gray? What have I done wrong as the head of the Walkers? There wasn¡¯t any enmity between him and Lucas prior to this, and he had previously wanted to kill Lucas only because he wanted to curry favor with the Smiths, so as to give the Walkers a better chance to be stronger. Was there anything wrong with this? Who is Lucas Gray to force me to kill myself as an apology??Herman was indignant! The more Herman thought about it, the more agitated he became, and his hand holding the pistol trembled more and more, as if he would pull the trigger at any moment. The numerous people standing immediately looked extremely nervous, fearing that he would really shoot Lucas dead. Butpared to the people next to him, Lucas, who was held at gunpoint, was much calmer. He stood still with a slight smirk on his face. ¡°Herman Walker, as I said earlier, things like guns are useless against me. Do you really think you can hit me? ¡± Then heughed and walked straight toward Herman as if he was just taking a leisurely stroll. ¡°You¡­ Hold it right there! If you dare to take another step forward, I¡¯ll shoot you immediately!¡± Herman yelled frantically, his face covered in sweat, his hand trembling violently. Seemingly not hearing the threat at all, Lucas didn¡¯t stop, and he said with a smile, ¡°Try shooting then. No one¡¯s going to stop you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think I won¡¯t dare!¡± Herman roared and then pulled the trigger. Bang!?There was a loud gunshot. However, to everyone¡¯s astonishment, Lucas was unharmed. But instead, Herman, the one with the gun, had a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. There was obvious shock and confusion on his face, as if he couldn¡¯t understand why he had been shot. Then his body fell backward. With¡¯s Herman¡¯s death, everyone looked at the only other person here holding a gun. This person was none other than the Walkers¡¯ former Sharpshooter Gaia. Gaia had his arm raised, and there was still faint smoke wafting out of the muzzle of the pistol in his hand. ¡°Mr-Mr. Gray¡­!¡± Gaia gulped hard and stammered, ¡°I-I just wanted to help you¡­ He actually tried to shoot you. He deserved to die!¡± If someone who didn¡¯t know the inside story saw it, they would definitely think that Gaia was worried about Lucas¡¯s safety, so he had resolutely killed his former boss and saved Lucas. But Lucas smiled coldly while looking at him. He had always had sharp senses, and he was already aware of it when Gaia stood not far behind him and took out his pistol. Moreover, he also knew that Gaia¡¯s pistol was not aimed at Herman at all but at the back of his head. If Lucas hadn¡¯t quickly shifted his head to the side the moment Gaia fired, the bullet would have probably pierced through his head! The fact that this person actually dared to pretend to be a loyal servant in front of him seemed extremely ridiculous to Lucas. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fool? For people who try to kill me, they will only die!¡± Lucas said coldly. Then he flipped his finger, and a pistol suddenly appeared in his hand. It was the one he had taken from Gaia earlier. Bang! Without giving Gaia a chance to argue, Lucas simply fired a shot and used the bullet that Gaia was most familiar with as thest gift of his life. Gaia¡¯s eyes were wide open as blood kept gushing out of the bullet hole between his eyebrows. The luster in his eyes faded away, and he slowly fell to the floor. There was dead silence in the venue! Chapter 725 - Untitled

Chapter 725: Untitled

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Perhaps Gaia would never be able to figure out how Lucas had evaded his sudden attack from behind. Besides, Lucas didn¡¯t bother to guess Gaia¡¯s motives. After all, he wouldn¡¯t have trusted someone like Gaia who could betray his former employer. Axel admired Lucas even more. He had seen clearly from the side just how Lucas had managed to evade the sudden attack from behind. Lucas was a cautious and powerful young man who was resolute when it came to killing. He was certain Lucas had excellent potential and a great future! Lucas looked around the room and said indifferently, ¡°From today onward, the Walkers and the Kingstons willpletely disappear from California! If I see anyone from either of your two families in California starting tomorrow, I will kill them!¡± His cold and overbearing words were like arge stone thrown into a pond, causing everyone to exim in astonishment. The Kingstons and the Walkers looked terribly dismayed. But they were also aware that the Kingstons and the Walkers had already offended Lucas badly and that the helmsmen of their families had already died here. Facing the powerful and capable Lucas, the two families hadpletely lost their ability to resist and could only obediently do as he said. Moreover, Lucas was already showing them mercy by merely demanding that they leave California instead of killing them or taking advantage of the opportunity to seize their properties. The three top families of San Francisco, who were evenly matched before, had their trinity broken in the blink of an eye. And now, the Coles were the only family left. Edmund couldn¡¯t help sighing in amazement. Of course, he didn¡¯t sympathize with the Kingstons and the Walkers. These families had their greed to me for ending up in this situation today! However, Edmund also understood that from now, all of California would probably be Lucas¡¯s turf. With the absolute strength he showed today, no family in California would dare to be disrespectful towards him in the future. This was the deterrence that came from absolute power! Of course, as the captain of the Falcon Regiment, Lucas could easily dominate merely California. Even if he went to DC one day to take all eight families under his wing, Edmund wouldn¡¯t be surprised because Lucas waspletely capable of doing this with his power! After the Kingstons and the Walkers left the venue with the bodies of their respective helmsmen, the atmosphere in the venue became somber again. At this moment, Edmund suddenly came forward to stand in front of Lucas and said solemnly, ¡°From today onward, the Coles are willing to pledge allegiance to Mr. Gray!¡± Edmund¡¯s words were like another boulder immediately setting off a huge wave in the venue. Who was Edmund Cole? He was the helmsman of the Coles and the only surviving one of the top families in San Francisco. It could be said that the Coles had be the most powerful family in California now that the two other families were about to be eradicated! Yet the head of the Coles actually pledged allegiance to Lucas in public! The shock and disbelief in the crowd¡¯s hearts were imaginable! ¡°The Hales are also willing to pledge allegiance to Mr. Gray and take orders from him!¡± At this moment, Bruce and the new helmsman of the Hales, Connor, both stood out and expressed their allegiance to Lucas. ¡°The Parkers are also willing to pledge allegiance to Mr. Gray and take orders from him!¡± Damon strode forward and bowed to Lucas with great respect. ¡°The Sawyers are going to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray too!¡± Ethan also stood out and loudly announced his allegiance. ... As the helmsmen of these families stood out to pledge allegiance, the rest of the people present also understood that this was irreversible. ¡°The Summers are going to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray too!¡± ¡°The Kellers are going to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray too!¡± ¡°The Julians are willing to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray too!¡± ... After the few most powerful families in California took the lead in pledging allegiance, the rest of the sixty-odd families stood forth one after another to pledge allegiance to Lucas. In the end, apart from the Taylors of Orange County and Axel, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s Californian branch, the rest of the forces at the exchange had already pledged allegiance to Lucas. Such a matter was really unprecedented! Frederick, the head of the Taylors, began to panic, and he couldn¡¯t help looking at Axel. The Taylors had a close rtionship with the Peerless Martial Association, and they had always been dependent on the Peerless Martial Association. In fact, many of the Taylors¡¯ decisions were actually made ording to the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s wishes. For example, before today¡¯s Elite Business Exchange meeting began, Frederick¡¯s proposal to form an ally with Lucas and the others in Orange County¡¯s exclusive reception room was actually an order given by Axel. Thus, now that all the families had pledged allegiance to Lucas, Frederick was at a loss for what to do because, in reality, the Taylors had already pledged allegiance to the Peerless Martial Association. Before receiving Axel¡¯s approval, Frederick definitely didn¡¯t dare to pledge allegiance to Lucas, not even verbally. Axel narrowed his eyes dangerously. He had brought the people of the Peerless Martial Association here, but he didn¡¯t expect that after he suppressed Vince, Lucas would suddenly intervene. Lucas had even used his domineering power to snatch that position away. Axel was now in a somewhat unhappy mood. ¡°Lucas Gray, I advise you not to rejoice too soon. You should know that the Smiths aren¡¯t going to let you off easily once they learn that you¡¯ve just forced Vince to kneel down and apologize to you, right?¡± Axel suddenly said. Unlike everyone else who had changed the way they addressed Lucas to ¡®Mr. Gray¡¯, Axel didn¡¯t show any respect at all. Lucas nced at him with raised brows and said nonchntly, ¡°And then?¡± Axel¡¯s lips, which were always pressed together, thus making him seem extremely mean, were curled into a peculiar smile at the moment. ¡°I can guarantee that even if the Smiths are one of the eight top families in DC, the Peerless Martial Association will be able to protect you! The only condition is that you join the Peerless Martial Association and be one of us!¡± Chapter 726 - Refusal To Join

Chapter 726: Refusal To Join

Axel¡¯s words immediately shocked everyone. No one had expected that Axel wanted Lucas to join the Peerless Martial Association. Even Lucas was rather surprised as he immediately looked at Axel with a strange expression. ¡°You want me to join the Peerless Martial Association and be one of you?¡± Axel nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes! The Peerless Martial Association is an extremelyrge organization with branches all over the world. We¡¯re definitely more powerful than the eight families in DC! So even if the Smiths want to find trouble with you, they definitely won¡¯t be able to do anything to you when you¡¯re a member of the association. ¡°In addition, the Peerless Martial Association attaches great importance to martial arts. Your skills are very good, so once you join us, I believe that you¡¯ll be able to surpass my position in a few years and even directly be able to enter the headquarters to hold great power! ¡°At that time, whether it¡¯s wealth, power, status, beautiful women, or anything else, you can have it all! Isn¡¯t this the life all men dream of?¡± Axel said to tempt him. Didn¡¯t all people work hard for these things? Axel believed that Lucas was an extremely ambitious man, and he was certain that Lucas would be tempted by his conditions! Countless people wanted to join the Peerless Martial Association every year just so that they could enjoy these privileges. Unfortunately, most people didn¡¯t qualify to join. For example, many people present were green with envy after hearing Axel¡¯s invitation to Lucas. If they could, they also hoped to join such a powerful organization like the Peerless Martial Association. But unfortunately, they knew that they didn¡¯t have the qualifications to do so. Axel was still calcting many things in his mind. Once Lucas joined the Peerless Martial Association, it was basically the same as taking all the families in California with him. Given Lucas¡¯s power, he would definitely enter the headquarters of the Peerless Martial Association in the future and hold great power. When the time came, it would be time to reap the most benefits for himself. Axel never even considered the possibility that Lucas would reject him. So after hearing Lucas¡¯s following words, he was stunned as he rubbed his ears in disbelief. ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°I said,¡± Lucas looked at him and repeated word for word, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in joining you guys.¡± Axel¡¯s face immediately changed slightly. He had never thought that Lucas would reject him and refuse to join the Peerless Martial Association! This was something that many could only dream of, yet Lucas actually didn¡¯t know any better! Indeed, Axel admitted that Lucas had great strength. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have thought of getting Lucas to join. But one persons¡¯ strength was indeed limited. Does he really think that he can ignore all other forces just because he¡¯s good at martial arts? Axel¡¯s face darkened as he said with extreme displeasure, ¡°Lucas Gray, do you know what you¡¯re turning down? The invitation to join the Peerless Martial Association isn¡¯t extended to anyone.¡± ¡°Mr. Fox, Mr. Gray has already said that he doesn¡¯t want to join the association. Why do you have to be so overbearing?¡± Edmund stepped forward and spoke up for Lucas. In fact, he felt rather annoyed. Lucas was the captain of the Falcon Regiment and titled the God of War. Axel had to be dreaming by asking Lucas to pledge allegiance to the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°I¡¯m asking Lucas Gray. Shut up!¡± Axel roared at Edmund. Lucas¡¯s refusal had already taken him by surprise andpletely disrupted his future ns. Axel was extremely unhappy, and Edmund¡¯s sudden interruption made him feel even worse. Edmund had wanted to say something. But after seeing that Axel was clearly enraged, he didn¡¯t want to cause any more trouble for Lucas, so he could only stand by indignantly without saying anything. ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Are you really going to turn down my invitation to join the Peerless Martial Association? After today, I won¡¯t give you another chance even if you want to join in the future. You¡¯d better think this through!¡± Axel said threateningly. If Lucas refused to join the Peerless Martial Association, all of the wishful ns Axel had made in his head would fall through. In fact, he would even have to try and snatch the position of California¡¯s hegemon from Lucas. Lucas would either be a member of the Peerless Martial Association or an enemy of the Peerless Martial Association! In response to Axel¡¯s threat, Lucas merely said, ¡°Get lost!¡± His words stunned everyone! No one expected Lucas to speak so rudely to the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California Branch and tell him to get lost. Axel was dumbfounded too. When he reacted, he was boiling with fury. ¡°Punk, what did you say?!¡± As the head of the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association, he enjoyed the respect of many people. But now, a young man in his twenties actually reprimanded him! It was shameful! A terrifying murderous intent quickly gathered in Axel¡¯s eyes as he glowered at Lucas. The ten or so ck-clothed men in Peerless Martial Association uniforms behind him also flew into a rage, and they red at Lucas with the intention of starting a fight as soon as Axel issued an order. As experts of the Peerless Martial Association, they could easily defeat the bodyguards of several top families, and they were confident that the ten of them could easily defeat Lucas! Facing these Peerless Martial Association experts ring at him, Lucas said indifferently without batting an eyelid, ¡°I told you to get lost. Didn¡¯t you hear me clearly?¡± ... There was a dead silence. Many people in the venue closed their eyes, not daring to look at the scene in front of them anymore. How audacious of Lucas Gray. He has definitely angered Axel. What¡¯s going to happen next? Will Lucas Gray and the people of the Peerless Martial Association really get into a fight here? In fact, these families had just pledged their allegiance to Lucas, so they didn¡¯t want to see both parties fighting. If Lucas won, he would be the arch nemesis of the Peerless Martial Association, and there would probably be constant turmoil in the future. But if Lucas lost, the Peerless Martial Association would probably find trouble with those loyal to him. What exactly would happen next? Everyone wondered to themselves in fear.. Chapter 727 - Acknowledging Him As Their Master

Chapter 727: Acknowledging Him As Their Master

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really too arrogant! You have to know that young people who are too arrogant usually don¡¯t end up well!¡± Axel said through gritted teeth. He desperately wanted to instruct the people behind him to take down Lucas immediately. Unfortunately, based on the strength Lucas had disyed earlier, Axel could conclude that his strength might not beparable to Lucas¡¯s, and he didn¡¯t have the confidence to make a move against Lucas. Reason being, it was apparent that everything Lucas had shown was far from his true strength. Even though he had many people on his side, he wouldn¡¯t have any advantage if the gap between their martial arts skills was toorge because it would be like a group of young children fighting against a tall and strong adult. Lucas sneered. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. At least, I¡¯m still alive and well now, and none of those who have tried to go against me ended up well. I hope you¡¯ll remember this!¡± ¡°You!¡± Axel was once again stumped by Lucas¡¯s words to the point that he was about to vomit blood. At this moment, Edmund finally couldn¡¯t bear it anymore. ¡°Mr. Fox, the Peerless Martial Association has always boasted about not interfering in the affairs of the top families. But now, you keep trying to force Mr. Gray to join the Peerless Martial Association. Isn¡¯t that too much?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s Mr. Gray¡¯s freedom to choose if he wants to join the Peerless Martial Association or not. He has clearly stated that he doesn¡¯t want to join you, yet you refuse to give up. You¡¯ve really gone overboard!¡± Bruce used righteously. ¡°Yes, the Peerless Martial Association has indeed gone overboard!¡± Damon also stood by Lucas. ¡°Indeed, the Peerless Martial Association is being too much!¡± Ethan said. The other major families looked at each other before standing up and saying in unison, ¡°The Peerless Martial Association has gone overboard!¡± Axel¡¯s face became even more gloomy. He was already extremely displeased that Lucas had the audacity to reject his offer and even rebuke him, which was an absolute insult to Axel. Now, the helmsmen of these families of California dared to stand on Lucas¡¯s side and reprimand him for being overboard, making him even more furious. Moreover, it was all caused by Lucas! With so many families helping Lucas, there was nothing he could do to Lucas now, let alone take his anger out on these families. ¡°Okay, you people are very good! Since you¡¯ve all chosen to take his side, don¡¯t regret your decisionter!¡± Axel looked around at the crowd angrily before turning around to leave with the people of the Peerless Martial Association. ¡°Congrattions, Mr. Gray, for bing the leader of California today. Furthermore, the Hales have acknowledged Mr. Gray as our master.¡± With a smile on his face, Bruce took the lead to get on one knee in front of Lucas while pulling Connor down as well. They knelt to Lucas at the same time. The Hales had actually pledged allegiance to Lucas a long time ago and had even acknowledged him as their master. Bruce and Connor took the initiative to reveal their identities in front of everyone to show the rtionship between the Hales and Lucas. Bruce and Connor¡¯s actions immediately shocked the families present. Just a short while ago, they had all decided to pledge allegiance to Lucas. But now, the Hales actually acknowledged Lucas as their master, which was a big deal! Unless there was an immense gap in power, or they greatly trusted the other party, a family would never easily acknowledge another person as their master. As one of the four top families of Orange County, the Hales actually took Lucas as their master. It was simply too shocking! ¡°From today onward, the Parkers will also acknowledge Mr. Gray as our master!¡± But before everyone¡¯s shock subsided, Damon also took the Parkers¡¯ direct descendants with him to Lucas and got down on one knee in front of him. The Parkers and the Hales were actually in a simr situation, and they had also pledged loyalty to Lucas a long time ago. Damon was extremely impressed by Lucas¡¯s abilities, so he was the second to publicly acknowledge Lucas as his master. ¡°From today onward, the Sawyers will acknowledge Mr. Gray as our leader!¡± Not wanting to be left out, Ethan hurriedly got on his knees in front of Lucas after the Hales and the Parkers did. He had given up on Lucas once before, and even now, he often regretted his decision, especially after witnessing Lucas¡¯s powerful strength today. It made Ethan convinced that Lucas definitely had a limitless future. Thus, he had to seize this opportunity to strengthen the rtionship between Lucas and his family! ¡°The Coles of San Francisco will acknowledge Mr. Gray as our master from today onward!¡± Edmund also stepped forward and got down on one knee in front of Lucas. ¡°What?!¡± Three top families¡¯ actions of acknowledging Lucas as their master one after another had already shocked the crowd. Edmund¡¯s actions pushed their shock to the peak! Edmund not only represented the top family in California now, but he had always been a tough, righteous, and zealous person who had never submitted to anyone in all these years. Yet he actually got on one knee in front of a young man in his twenties and willingly offered his service to him! This scene deeply agitated everyone in the room! Clement, standing next to Edmund, was shocked silly! He could never have imagined this. Justst night, he had condescendingly thrown a four-million-dor bank card at Lucas and demanded that he stay away from his daughter and father. But in just one day, Lucas became the master of the Coles with his overbearing power and had a status far superior to his. ... Seeing that even the strongest Cole family in California had recognized Lucas as their master, the helmsmen of the other families looked at each other and all knelt down on one knee toward Lucas. ¡°The Julians are willing to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°The Kellers are willing to acknowledge Mr. Gray as our master!¡± ¡°The Sheldons are willing to acknowledge Mr. Gray as our master!¡± ... All of a sudden, all the major families at the venue got on one knee and pledged allegiance to Lucas. In the end, only the Taylors of Orange County were left standing and sticking out like a sore thumb. Lucas stood proudly among the crowd and nced at Frederick indifferently. Frederick, the head of the Taylors, immediately stiffened as sweat gushed out of his body. Chapter 728 - The Dust Settles

Chapter 728: The Dust Settles

The gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes was extremely calm, but Frederick felt an invisible pressureing straight down from above his head. Bang! Frederick could no longer endure the pressure and immediately got on one knee on the floor. He said in a hoarse voice, ¡°From today onward, the Parkers will also acknowledge Mr. Gray as our master.¡± By now, apart from the Kingstons and Walkers, who had been kicked out of California, the rest of the sixty-odd top families of California had pledged allegiance to Lucas. It was an unprecedented event! Lucas had achieved the goal that Axel Fox and Vince of the Smiths, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, had failed to achieve with all their efforts! Lucas felt extremely emotional. When he came to the Elite Business Exchange, he had to worry about facing the malice and retaliation from the Kingstons and the Smiths. But to his surprise, the situation changed drastically in just two hours. Even Lucas hadn¡¯t expected these changes. ¡­ It was already past 10 p.m., and the lights outside were shining brilliantly in the darkness. A silvery-gray Ferrari was speeding on the highway leading to the San Francisco International Airport. Vince, who had just left the Walton Hotel, was sitting in the backseat. But he looked extremely ill-tempered, and he was clenching his jaws. The middle-aged expert in the front passenger seat asked cautiously, ¡°Mr. Smith, should we ask the family for help and get the family to send more experts?¡± The incident that just took ce at the Elite Business Exchange was still vivid in the middle-aged man¡¯s mind. He had followed Vince for many years, so he naturally knew how frustrated and furious he must be after suffering so much humiliation. At the same time, he was also very frightened and nervous. Reason being, he had been frightened into retreating six steps under Lucas¡¯s shout and had failed to protect Vince, causing him to suffer extreme humiliation by being forced to kneel and apologize. If Vince wanted to take his anger out on him and me him for it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to defend himself. Vince raised his head in annoyance and said coldly, ¡°Shut up! If you dare to breathe a word about what happened today to the family, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± What had happened today at the exchange was the biggest shame of his life. The thought of it made Vince boil with fury and the strong urge to people him immediately! The middle-aged man¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly kept quiet, not daring to utter a word. After a long while, Vince finally raised his hand to touch the wound on his shoulder and said resentfully, ¡°One day, I¡¯ll make sure to pay back double the humiliation and pain I suffered today! But for now, I can only forcibly endure it and wait for the right moment! ¡°If the Smiths hear about what happened today, not only will the reputation of the Smiths be tarnished, but even the others in the family will use this opportunity to attack me. When the timees, my position as the next helmsman won¡¯t be guaranteed! ¡°Also, since the Peerless Martial Associated intervened in the situation in California, even if I seek help from the family, it¡¯s impossible to regain California. Instead of seeking revenge on that punk, what I should do now is to find another ce as soon as possible and strive to make achievements to secure my position in the family! Do you understand?¡± Hearing this, the middle-aged man understood his considerations. Vince had just suffered humiliation in a way he had never experienced before. But he actually managed to weigh the pros and cons in such a short time and suppress his desire for revenge while thinking about the most important thing he should do to turn the situation around. Vince was indeed worthy of being the most valued helmsman candidate of the Smiths and the one with the greatest chance of bing the helmsman. ¡°Okay, Mr. Smith, I understand. But what if those families in California expose what happened today?¡± the middle-aged man asked worriedly. He was a little worried that Vince might think that he was the one who spread the news in case this matter was really revealed. Vince snorted coldly in disdain. ¡°Unless those families really dare to be an enemy of the Smiths, they won¡¯t dare to breathe a word about what happened today! ¡°As for the people from the Peerless Martial Association, Axel will likely order them to keep their lips sealed about today¡¯s matter. After all, I¡¯m an heir of the Smiths, yet they watched me get humiliated. If word about this spreads, it won¡¯t do them any good, and it will instead make the Smiths hate them. I believe he won¡¯t do such a stupid thing.¡± Vince trusted the middle-aged man beside him, who had protected him for many years, so he exined the matter to him patiently, which was rare for him. After hearing Vince¡¯s exnation, the middle-aged man suddenly felt relieved. This trip to California was aplete failure, but Vince had already designated a new goal and n. As for taking revenge on Lucas, there was a lot of time for this! The silvery-gray Ferrari sped through the night and headed straight to the airport. ¡­ Meanwhile, Axel was also furious after leaving the Walton Hotel. Just now, he had basically been kicked out. It had been more than ten years since he experienced such humiliation! ¡°Damn Lucas Gray! You¡¯re just a greenhorn. Do you really think you¡¯re some big shot? ¡°How dare you talk to me like that? How dare you treat me that way? I won¡¯t let you off! ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back for all this today. Just you wait!¡± Sitting in the backseat of a car, Axel had a murderous look on his face, wishing he could kill Lucas immediately! But he knew that while Lucas was arrogant, he had the capital to be. Given the power Lucas showed tonight, Axel was shocked to find that Lucas¡¯s strength was definitely above his! The even more frightening thing was that Lucas was less than thirty years old, and he still had a lot of room for improvement. He had countless possibilities in the future. Even he was not Lucas¡¯s opponent, so no one in the Californian branch could deal with him. Unless he asked for help from the headquarters and asked them to send a stronger expert, he wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with Lucas. But the Peerless Martial Association also had its own rules. If there was no valid reason, people couldn¡¯t easily ask for help from the headquarters. While Axel was vexed, one of his subordinates suddenly said, ¡°I have a good solution.. Maybe I can help you kill that scoundrel Lucas Gray!¡± Chapter 729 - Killing Three Birds With One Stone

Chapter 729: Killing Three Birds With One Stone

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios This subordinate¡¯s name was Heath, and he had been by Axel¡¯s side for a long time. Although he wasn¡¯t very good at martial arts, his advantage was his intelligence and his ir for strategizing. He was a strategic genius whom Alex had always valued. ¡°Oh, what solution do you have? Let¡¯s hear it.¡± Axel immediately developed an interest. Heath didn¡¯t say it directly and instead kept him in suspense and asked, ¡°Mr. Fox, do you still remember the matter of Jude?¡± Axel frowned. ¡°Jude has been missing for more than two weeks. Have you found his whereabouts?¡± Heath shook his head. ¡°No. ording to my conjecture, Jude is likely dead after being missing for so long.¡± ¡°Dead?¡± Axel immediately frowned. ¡°How can you tell? Is this all your spection?¡± Heath nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, but I don¡¯t have any proof yet. Jude is a top-level member of our Peerless Martial Association branch. Although he usually relies on his brother¡¯s status to behave recklessly, he basically rarely causes big trouble and has almost never disappeared for so long without informing anyone. ¡°So I suspect that he encountered an ident outside or was killed by someone.¡± Axel¡¯s face immediately darkened. At the same time, he felt extremely vexed and frustrated. He punched the leather seat and cursed, ¡°Damn it!¡± The reason was that Jude¡¯s brother, Julian, was a member of the Peerless Martial Association Headquarters, and his status was much higher than that of Axel, the head of the California branch. If Julian found out that Jude had died in the California branch¡¯s turf, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let Axel off! Now that there was another thing to worry about, Axel was even more frustrated. He started pondering. Heath was clearly telling him that he had a solution to deal with Lucas, so why did he suddenly mention Jude¡¯s death??Is there a connection between the two? ¡°What do you mean?¡± Axel asked with a frown. ¡°I think we can frame Lucas Gray for Jude¡¯s death.¡± Heath narrowed his eyes and revealed his n confidently. ¡°You mean, frame Lucas Gray and then let Julian deal with him?¡± Axel pursed his lips after figuring it out. Heathughed. ¡°That¡¯s right! Since you think that kid isn¡¯t easy to deal with, it means that his martial arts skills are very impressive. At the very least, he¡¯s on the same level as you. In that case, it won¡¯t be a problem to say that he killed Jude.¡± ¡°Jude¡¯s brother, Julian, is part of the Peerless Martial Association Headquarters, and his martial arts skills are even more superb. As long as we tell him that Jude was killed by Lucas, he will definitelye to California to avenge his brother! ¡°In that case, Lucas Gray will have to die!¡± ¡°After that, as long as Lucas is dead, who in California will be able to contend with you? When the timees, you can just kill a few disobedient ones to warn the rest, and the other families will then behave themselves. At that time, all of California will be back in your hands, right?¡± Heath said eloquently with a smug smile. The more Axel listened, the happier he was. The idea Heath gave him could be described as killing three birds with one stone! He would be able to get rid of Lucas, shirk responsibility for Jude¡¯s death, and even be able to get his hands on California in the end. It was simply perfect! ¡°Okay, Heath, you¡¯re indeed very smart! Once we solve all these matters, I¡¯ll reward you! Hahahaha!¡± Axel patted Heath¡¯s shoulder andughed out loud. ... In the Walton Hotel of San Francisco¡­ The Elite Business Exchange, which was held only once every three years, officially came to an end. Although the exchange this year was much more eventful than the previous ones, it was considered to have passed sessfully. Lucas ordered everyone not to spread a word about what had happened at the exchange today. All the people present nodded in agreement before they walked out of the venue with a sigh of relief. But before Edmund left, he looked at Lucas several times, seemingly wanting to say something, making Lucas bothered. So he asked him to stay. After everyone left, and only Edmund and Lucas remained in the venue, Edmund took a deep breath, walked up to Lucas, and performed a military salute respectfully. ¡°I, Edmund Cole, a warrior of the Fifth Army under the Falcon Regiment, solemnly salute you, Captain!¡± Edmund seemed extremely agitated. There was a trace of surprise on Lucas¡¯s face because he didn¡¯t expect Edmund to have guessed his identity and perform a perfect military salute to him so solemnly. Zeal surged in Lucas¡¯s heart, and he raised his right hand to return a standard military salute to Edmund. ¡°I, Lucas Gray, the former captain of the Falcon Regiment, salute to you, veteran!¡± Only after saluting each other did Lucas say helplessly with a bitter smile, ¡°Edmund, you really didn¡¯t have to do that. I¡¯ve now left Calico, and I¡¯m no longer the captain of the Falcon Regiment either.¡± Edmund had now received the confirmation from Lucas. Although Lucas said he was no longer the captain of the Falcon Regiment, he was still the supreme God of War not long ago, and it was enough to make Edmund feel overwhelmed and proud. ¡°Although you¡¯ve now left Calico, the contribution you¡¯ve made there, as well as the blood, sweat, and tears you shed, will always be worthy of being remembered! In my heart, you will always be the captain of the Falcon Regimen and worthy of my salute and respect!¡± Edmund said earnestly with the zeal of a soldier. Lucas also admired Edmund, a veteran warrior who had also contributed several years of his youth on the battlefield of Calico. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not talk about this. I have other matters to ask you about, Edmund,¡± Lucas suddenly asked. Edmund said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, please go ahead. I¡¯ll answer all your questions!¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t quite get used to Edmund¡¯s respectful attitude toward him. However, he also knew that even if he wanted Edmund to change his mind now, Edmund probably wouldn¡¯t agree. So he thought that it would be better to wait a little longer. ¡°What I want to say is that although I¡¯ve unified California by a freakbination of factors, this doesn¡¯t mean peace. Instead, there may be many hidden dangers lurking everywhere. At least, the Smiths and the Peerless Martial Association will definitely not give up, and they will definitely have follow-up actions. ¡°Now that they¡¯ve suffered a little loss, they will definitely send stronger powerhouses the next time theye.. Edmund, do you have any suggestions?¡± Lucas asked sincerely. Chapter 730 - Battle Analysis

Chapter 730: Battle Analysis

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, this was exactly the case. Before Lucas came to the Elite Business Exchange, he never thought that he would actually unify all of California and be its hegemon. If not for the ambitions of the Kingstons, the Walkers, the Smiths, and the Peerless Martial Association, who kept forcing Lucas at every turn, Lucas probably wouldn¡¯t have made an aggressive move and shocked everyone. But since things had alreadye to this, Lucas wouldn¡¯t shirk responsibility and do nothing. Therefore, he had to prepare for the future crisis that California might face so that he wouldn¡¯t be caught off guard. The Coles were initially a top family in San Francisco, and now, they were the only powerful one. They undoubtedly had the greatest impact on the other families of California. Edmund had rich experience, so Lucas wanted to ask him for advice on this issue. Edmund pondered for a while before saying cautiously, ¡°Mr. Gray, I think the Smiths probably won¡¯t make any trouble for the time being, but we have to keep our guards up against the Peerless Martial Association!¡± Lucas said with raised brows, ¡°I¡¯d like to hear more.¡± Edmund exined in detail, ¡°Here¡¯s how it is. Let¡¯s talk about the Smiths first. Today, you forced Vince to kneel down and apologize in public. Not only has he been humiliated, but the Smiths have also been disgraced. If the Smiths hear about this, Vince will probably lose his position as one of the sessors. ¡°As far as I know, there are five people within the Smithspeting with Vince for the position of the next helmsman. Once they find out about this, they will definitely attack Vince with all their might until he loses hispetitiveness! ¡°That¡¯s why I think Vince will definitely try his best to hide what happened today from the Smiths!¡± ¡°At the same time, California is not the only option for the Smiths. Vince can go to another state to carry out his ns. So I think his most important goal at the moment is to find ways to obtain results to stabilize his position among the Smiths. Coming to California to take revenge is not his first choice, so we can ignore the threat posed by the Smiths for now.¡± Lucas nodded, thinking that Edmund¡¯s analysis was reasonable. Given Vince¡¯s character, he would indeed choose the solution that was more beneficial to him. He would likely postpone the matter of taking revenge until he became the helmsman of the Smiths. Seeing Lucas nodding and agreeing to his point of view, Edmund was overjoyed. His following analysis became even more earnest. ¡°Next, let¡¯s talk about the Peerless Martial Association. The California branch of the Peerless Martial Association has established itself in California for years, and they have a lot of intelligence in their hands. Although I¡¯m still not sure why the Peerless Martial Association suddenly wants to take charge of California, which has been peaceful for years, our families and the Peerless Martial Associate have always stayed in our ownnes. We don¡¯t want to be controlled by them. ¡°Today, Axel also suffered losses at the exchange, so he¡¯s definitely upset. But since he could be the head of the California branch for so many years, he¡¯s definitely not a dimwit. He can¡¯t beat you, Mr. Gray, so he¡¯ll definitely get help from external sources. ¡°Moreover, I reckon that in all likelihood, he¡¯ll find some experts from the Peerless Martial Association Headquarters to deal with you. The Peerless Martial Association is full of powerhouses, and those with the best martial arts skills are almost all at the headquarters. Therefore, the people whoe out of the Peerless Martial Association Headquarters will absolutely be extremely difficult to deal with!¡± Toward the end, Edmund¡¯s expression became solemn. He knew better than anyone else how lethal a peerless powerhouse could be. For example, at the Elite Business Exchange that just ended, the Walkers, the Kingstons, and Axel would have probably long killed Lucas if not for his extraordinary martial arts skills that deterred them from acting rashly. Lucas nodded. ¡°If the Peerless Martial Associationes after me, I won¡¯t be afraid regardless of what experts they send. But I¡¯m worried about whether they will attack you or not.¡± ¡°After all, at the exchange just now, it was because the Coles, the Parkers, the Hales, and the others supported me and took the lead in pledging allegiance to me that the rest of the families followed suit, making matters reach the current situation. ¡°If the Peerless Martial Association holds a grudge against you because of this and wants to kill you, the matter will be very troublesome.¡± With Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills, he wasn¡¯t afraid of any top expert of the Peerless Martial Association, but he was only one person and couldn¡¯t protect all these families. If these people who followed him wholeheartedly were instead implicated by him, Lucas would feel guilty and upset. This was the issue he was the most worried about now. Edmund smiled graciously. ¡°Mr. Gray, don¡¯t worry! Although the Coles don¡¯t have top-level experts like the Peerless Martial Association does, we are no pushovers, and we won¡¯t let them bully us. We have many bodyguards and some firearms. I don¡¯t think everyone can dodge bullets like you, right, Mr. Gray?¡± Lucas¡¯s worries eased slightly. Indeed, how could a top family like the Coles not have some self-protection skills? For example, the Hales and the Brookes of LA all had their own gunmen squads, and even top experts might not be able to escape a bullet barrage. After all, there were very few people who could do this. ¡°Okay, as long as you know. Just be careful!¡± Lucas said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Gray. I definitely will!¡± Edmund agreed smilingly. The two of them chatted casually for a while before Lucas left the Walton Hotel. Just as he walked out of the hotel, a crisp and familiar voice came from the side. ¡°Lucas!¡± Charlotte was standing yfully at the entrance of the hotel. As soon as she saw Lucas, she immediately walked to him. ¡°Charlotte, it¡¯s sote. Didn¡¯t you go back to Orange County?¡± Lucas was a little surprised to see Charlotte here. Reason being, Charlotte was the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch representative, so she should have attended the ordinary business exchange in the gymnasium opposite the hotel. The ordinary business exchange meeting started at 5:30 p.m., and it should have ended long ago. Moreover, Lucas had instructed Charlotte not to wait for him and to return to Orange County first. Charlotte pursed her lips. ¡°The exchange just ended, so I came here to wait for you.¡± The bright light at the hotel entrance shone on Charlotte¡¯s face, and Lucas surprisingly discovered that Charlotte¡¯s eyes were red. Her expression was rather unnatural too, as if something had happened. Lucas¡¯s expression immediately became solemn. ¡°Charlotte, did something happen to you?¡± Chapter 731 - Feud of the Past

Chapter 731: Feud of the Past

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing Lucas¡¯s question, Charlotte immediately smiled, shook her head, and denied, ¡°No, it¡¯s just that this exchange didn¡¯t quite go as I imagined. The process wasn¡¯t that smooth.¡± He reckoned that it probably had something to do with the Stardust Corporation. Lucasforted her, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about thepany. You will find out tomorrow that the Stardust Corporation is about to take a huge leap, and it¡¯s very likely to be thergest enterprise in California.¡± Lucas was very confident about this. He was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, and he had just established his dominance at the Elite Business Exchange. Now, all the powerful and wealthy families of California were under his control. Even if he didn¡¯t do anything, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s share price and future contract volume would definitely skyrocket to a terrifying level. It was definitely not an exaggeration to say that the Stardust Corporation would be soaring straight to the top. ¡°Is that so? I hope so!¡± Charlotte forced a smile. Having spent several months interacting with his sister-inw, Lucas could read her expressions well. He knew that she was obviously troubled and fretting over something. Even her smile didn¡¯t seem genuine. She looked extremely worried, seemingly having a heavy heart. ¡°It¡¯s already sote. You probably haven¡¯t had dinner, right? Let¡¯s go grab a bite!¡± Lucas suggested. ¡°There¡¯s a specialty food street near Union Street. I heard it has delicious food from all over the world there. Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Charlotte nodded and followed behind Lucas. But unlike her usual bubbly self, Charlotte didn¡¯t say a single word. Instead, she was hanging her head low, seemingly in low spirits. Lucas tried to find out what was going on, but Charlotte merely shook her head and gave him perfunctory replies such as ¡®I¡¯m alright¡¯ and other simple replies. Charlotte was a hot-tempered person, so if anyone provoked her, she would usually snap back at them immediately. She would rarely keep quiet about anything and stay in low spirits like she was now. Lucas could tell that she really didn¡¯t want to talk, so he didn¡¯t force her to speak. But he was worried. Who knew what had happened at the ordinary business exchange to make Charlotte like this. In the end, the two chose to eat at a Victorian-style restaurant. The restaurant¡¯s decor was extremely exquisite and unique, with extravagant and ornate furnishings. The waiters and waitresses were also dressed in Victorian-style uniforms, making them appear very distinctive. But Charlotte merely nced at them without showing any interest. Lucas sighed silently. He was about to find a secluded table with Charlotte when a slightly familiar voice suddenly came from behind them. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you Miss Charlotte Carter, the general manager of Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch? Haven¡¯t you embarrassed yourself enough at the exchange just now? How dare youe here to continue making a fool of yourself!?!¡± Upon hearing the woman¡¯s voice, Charlotte immediately turned around to re at her, her face turning red with fury. Lucas frowned and looked over at the person who had just ridiculed Charlotte in public. He found that she was someone he had met before. He vaguely remembered that her name was Estelle Brooke, and she was from LA. Her cousin Aston Brooke had once pretended to pledge allegiance to Lucas before repeatedly offending him. Eventually, Lucas had destroyed the entire Brooke family overnight, and all of them had left LA in a day. Speaking of the feud between Estelle, Lucas, and Charlotte, it was actually caused by Estelle¡¯s husband, Den Adams. Den was Charlotte¡¯s senior in college and also her crush back then because she had been too foolish then. Unfortunately, Den had merely treated Charlotte¡¯s love for him as bragging rights. He had eventually gotten together with Estelle, an heiress of the Brookes, who were still wealthy at the time. But Den was just an ordinary man with a humble background in the first ce. He had married Estelle only for her wealth so that he could freeload off of her. When he ran into the beautiful and sessful Charlotte in Orange County again, he secretly became tempted and even harassed Charlotte at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s office building. Lucas had eventually stopped him and then called the Brookes over for them to deal with Den themselves. The Brookes were furious. They beat Den into a pulp before kicking him out. Den ended up with nothing. So he developed a grudge against Charlotte and kidnapped her to threaten Lucas. But Lucas eventually saved her while Den fell to his death from the roof. If not for Estelle suddenly appearing in front of him, Lucas would have almost forgotten about this. Estelle¡¯s mockery and malice toward Charlotte was evidence of her hatred toward Charlotte. Estelle didn¡¯t appear here alone. A young man in his thirties with a roguish gaze was standing beside her and nonchntly sizing up Charlotte and Lucas. ¡°Estelle, is this the punk you said she¡¯s having an affair with? Her brother-inw, right?¡± The young man deliberately sounded ambiguous. Lucas immediately frowned. Estelle had been staring at Charlotte and failed to notice that Lucas was standing right beside her. She immediately panicked. She remembered how Lucas had dealt with the Brookes and eradicated them overnight, forcing them to flee LA overnight. So as soon as she saw Lucas, she subconsciously retreated in fear. But she soon remembered the young man beside her. Her cousin had a prestigious status, so there was nothing Lucas could do to them. At the thought of this, Estelle immediately felt confident, and she even felt the thrill and pleasure of revenge. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the two of them. She actually has an affair with her brother-inw. How shameless!¡± Estelle said with a vicious look of malice. The young man had a lewd expression on his face as he clucked his tongue in amazement. ¡°What an awful scandal! But then again, this punk is really something for being able to sleep with both sisters! How lucky! Even I have to bow down to him!¡± This wretched-looking young man was Jake. And the words that came out of his mouth were even more disgusting. Charlotte couldn¡¯t hold back any longer, and she snapped angrily, ¡°Mind your words! Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± ¡°Nonsense? How is that nonsense? The fact that you and your brother-inw have an extraordinary rtionship and have been sleeping with each other is no longer a secret. Am I wrong?¡± Jake burst intoughter and deliberately spoke loudly in an exaggerated tone. There were many other guests in the restaurant.. After hearing what Jake said, they looked over and started whispering among themselves about Charlotte. Chapter 732 - Stripping In Public

Chapter 732: Stripping In Public

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Charlotte¡¯s face turned even redder with anger. But before she could refute, Estelle hurriedly beat her to it and eximed loudly, ¡°You¡¯re right, Jake! This bitch Charlotte Carter is a promiscuous slut! My husband and I had a loving marriage back then, but this bitch seduced him and caused us to divorce! ¡°After my husband died, she went to seduce her brother-inw! I¡¯ve never seen such a lowly and shameless woman like her! She thinks about seducing other people¡¯s husbands all day long. She¡¯s born cheap!¡± ¡°Come on, everyone. Come look at what this vixen really looks like! If she and her brother-inw are innocent, and there¡¯s nothing between them, why are they having a meal together sote?¡± Estelle began moring loudly. As soon as she yelled, everyone in the restaurant looked over and shot dirty looks at Charlotte. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s my first time seeing a homewrecker being mmed andshed out at in public! What a thrill!¡± ¡°That woman is really pretty too. Why would she ruin people¡¯s marriages? She even snatched her sister¡¯s man. How inhumane of her. How much does she hate her sister?¡± ¡°Hah, you probably don¡¯t know. Only pretty women are qualified to be homewreckers and mistresses. How could she possibly snatch people¡¯s husbands if she¡¯s not pretty enough?¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, she¡¯s so young and good-looking. Why does she have to do such a shameless thing? What a disgusting hussy!¡± ... All of a sudden, everyone started using and denouncing Charlotte. Estelle held her head high with a smug expression. Charlotte was almost on the verge of bursting into tears because of these words. The usually eloquent and sharp-tongued youngdy was now incredibly infuriated by the uncouth and callous nder about her, but she couldn¡¯t utter a single word. ¡°Hah, since you¡¯re so fond of snatching other women¡¯s men, you¡¯re either doing it for money or because you need a man too desperately, right, Miss Carter? How about you be my woman? I can pay you too. How does eight thousand dors for every time you sleep with me sound?¡± Jake leered lustfully at Charlotte¡¯s face. Estelle chimed in sneeringly, ¡°Jake, don¡¯t be fooled by her. God knows how many men she¡¯s slept with. She¡¯s just a whore, and even two hundred is too much to sleep with her! Eight thousand is enough to book her for an entire month!¡± ¡°Haha, good idea, Estelle! Eight thousand a month is indeed more than what those hookers cost.¡± Grinning, Jake turned to look at Charlotte with fiery eyes. ¡°Miss Carter, did you hear that? If you stay with me for a month, I¡¯ll give you eight thousand immediately. Of course, if you serve me to my satisfaction, I¡¯ll give you a bonus. How does this sound?¡± It was totally a public humiliation! Tears began welling up in Charlotte¡¯s eyes, and she bit her lip hard, for fear that she would immediately burst into tears once she spoke. ¡°Where did these mad dogse from? Do you want to die?¡± Lucas stepped forward with a cold gaze as he shielded Charlotte. He red at the two people in front of him with a murderous gaze.?How dare these two nder and insult Charlotte? They really deserve to die! Seeing Lucas defending Charlotte, Jakeughed out loud. ¡°Haha, your brother-inw indeed can¡¯t stand it anymore. Is he defending his lover?¡± Estelle had a contemptuous look on her face. ¡°Hah, he¡¯s indeed defending this little bitch! You¡¯re just a live-in son-inw. What right do you have to speak here? Even if you¡¯re good at fighting, can youy a finger on my cousin? If you dare to touch him, his family won¡¯t spare you!¡± She hated Charlotte and Lucas! Although Den had been ipetent, he had been suave and handsome enough to make Estelle fall in love with him. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have gone through all the trouble to get the Brookes to agree to let her marry Den, who came from a humble background. She thought that if not for Lucas and Charlotte, Den wouldn¡¯t have been seduced and bewitched, the Brookes wouldn¡¯t have forced them to get a divorce, Den wouldn¡¯t have died, and the Brookes wouldn¡¯t have ended up fleeing from their home! She med Lucas and Charlotte for everything! Thus, Estelle will never let them off. Relying on the fact that Jake belonged to the Watson family, a top-tier family in San Jose, she wasn¡¯t afraid that Lucas would do anything to them! Charlotte had already learned of Jake¡¯s identity at the business exchange just now. Hearing Estelle¡¯s threat at this moment, she gritted her teeth and whispered to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, let¡¯s go. Don¡¯t bother about them!¡± She wasn¡¯t afraid of the two of them, but she didn¡¯t want Lucas to be implicated because of this. After all, the Watsons were the most powerful family in San Jose, and Lucas would encounter a lot of trouble if he went against them. So Charlotte decided to endure her anger, not wanting to implicate Lucas and cause things to escte to the point of being unmanageable. Charlotte would rather let herself suffer and wanted to leave, but Estelle didn¡¯t want to let her off so easily. Let her go? That¡¯d be letting her off too easily!? ¡°You want to leave after doing such a shameless thing? You must be dreaming!¡± Estelle sneered. She grabbed Charlotte¡¯s wrist and shouted, ¡°How can we let such a hussy off so easily? Everyone, shouldn¡¯t we strip this shameless woman in public and teach her a lesson so that she won¡¯t dare to seduce other men again?¡± The shocking statement immediately made all the people around them excited. Many even began whistling and moring. ¡°Go ahead! Strip her! If you don¡¯t, you¡¯re not human!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a good show to watch! Isn¡¯t it too exciting to watch someone get stripped in public?!¡± ¡°My God, I¡¯ve made the right decisioning here to eat today. If this beauty really gets stripped in public, there will be a feast for our eyes!¡± ... Hearing these voices, Estelle felt a strong sense of aplishment, and she raised her hand to tug Charlotte¡¯s cor. ¡°Stop it!¡± Before Estelle could touch Charlotte¡¯s cor, a strong hand grabbed her wrist, rendering her immobile. At the same time, Lucas¡¯s iparably cold voice drilled into Estelle¡¯s ears, sounding as if it came from hell.. ¡°Try touching her if you dare.¡± Chapter 733 - Im Your Father

Chapter 733: I¡¯m Your Father

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas¡¯s fingers, like iron pincers, tightly grasped Estelle¡¯s wrist. ¡°Oww! Let go! Let me go!¡± Estelle yelled frantically as her face distorted in pain. Next to her, Jake immediately lost his temper. He rolled his sleeves up and charged over to hit Lucas. ¡°Damn it, punk. Let go of my cousin!¡± He clenched his fist and punched Lucas. With a cold and austere look on his face, Lucas dragged Estelle forward, causing Jake¡¯s punch tond on her face. ¡°Oww!¡± Estelle immediately shrieked in misery and covered her eyes with her other hand. ¡°Jake, you¡­ you hit my eye!¡± she cried in pain. Jake was also dumbfounded, and he quickly said, ¡°Estelle, I didn¡¯t mean to hit you! It¡¯s all this asshole¡¯s fault!¡± Then he kicked Lucas¡¯s waist with a ferocious gaze in his eyes. ¡°Ah!¡± Estelle shrieked once again as she held her waist. ¡°J-Jake! You kicked me. It hurts!¡± Jake was infuriated. He had clearly aimed his kick at Lucas, yet when his kick was about tond, Lucas dragged Estelle over again. ¡°Punk, if you have what it takes, stand still right there. I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson!¡± Jake roared angrily. Being yed like a fool by Lucas made him boil with fury. Lucas naturally didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to Jake¡¯s roguish behavior and directly took out his phone to make a call. ¡°Tell Reynold Watson toe to a restaurant called The Monarch on the food street next to the Walton Hotel within fifteen minutes. I want to see him!¡± After giving the order, Lucas hung up. When Jake heard Lucas say Reynold¡¯s name, he was shocked. But he soon recalled the information Estelle had told him about Lucas and sneered. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re really acting big! Reynold Watson is the head of my Watson family. You thought of him because you heard that I¡¯m a Watson, huh? ¡°It¡¯s obviously impossible for you to know him. Who are you trying to scare by making that phone call here? ¡°You¡¯re ordering him toe here in fifteen minutes? Haha, you¡¯re hrious! I¡¯m warning you. Don¡¯t y tricks in front of me, or the Watsons won¡¯t spare you!¡± As soon as Jake finished speaking, Lucas¡¯s phone suddenly rang. It was an unfamiliar number, but the caller ID showed that it was a number from San Jose. Lucas guessed who was calling and answered it directly. ¡°Mr. Gray, I heard that you¡¯re looking for me in a hurry? I¡¯m rushing over to the food street now. May I ask what the matter is?¡± Reynold¡¯s voice was full of cautiousness. Lucas nced at Jake and said, ¡°Is there a person named Jake Watson in your family?¡± Reynold thought for a moment before answering, ¡°Yes, there¡¯s indeed such a person. Did that bastard offend you, Mr. Gray?¡± ¡°Yes, he even told me that the Watsons won¡¯t spare me,¡± Lucas said calmly. These words frightened Reynold, who was nothing in front of Lucas and had to behave extremely carefully. Yet some unworthy bastard in his family actually had the audacity to speak to Lucas in such a manner. ¡°How dare that bastard speak to you like that?! Mr. Gray, this is indeed my junior¡¯s fault. I¡¯ll head there right away! You can deal with Jake Watson however you want. I won¡¯t have any objections even if you kill him right on the spot! ¡°Now, may I please have a word with that damn bastard?¡± Reynold asked fearfully. Lucas pressed the speaker button. ¡°Go ahead.¡± On the other end, Reynold barked in fury, ¡°Jake, you idiot. How dare you offend Mr. Gray? I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯d better get on your knees in front of Mr. Gray and apologize to him now to get his forgiveness! Otherwise, by the time Ie over, you¡¯ll be dead. Do you hear me?¡± Jake froze for a moment before cursing loudly, ¡°Who the f*ck are you? How dare you order me?¡± Probably because of the distortion of the voices through the phone and the fact that Jake hadn¡¯t had much contact with Reynold, he couldn¡¯t tell that it was Reynold on the other end. ¡°I am Reynold Watson, the head of the Watson family of San Jose! Am I qualified to order you or not?¡± Reynold was so enraged that he was about to die. But Jake still failed to recognize his voice. Instead, he mocked in disdain, ¡°Haha, how dare you impersonate the Watsons¡¯ helmsman? I know. You must be in cahoots with this punk. You two are putting on an act and expect me to fall for it? ¡°You idiot, if you are the Watsons¡¯ helmsman, then I am your father!¡± On the other end, a wave of anger surged straight to Reynold¡¯s head, and he was about to explode in fury. ¡°Okay, wait for me. I¡¯ll go over and clean you up right now! Even if Mr. Gray spares your life, I can¡¯t spare you!¡± Reynold roared through gritted teeth. ¡°Haha, fine, I¡¯ll wait for you right here. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t dare toe, you f*cker!¡± After hurling a vulgarity, Jake ended the call. Then he looked at Lucas with a mocking expression. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re still too young to be ying this trick in front of me! Come on. I¡¯ll be waiting here now. Let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to continue lyingter! ¡°If no oneester, you and your scoundrel friend won¡¯t get away with impersonating the helmsman of the Watsons! I will definitely let you know the consequences of offending the Watsons and pretending to be our helmsman!¡± Estelleughed sarcastically. ¡°Hah. Since you¡¯re so fond of acting, you might as well be an actor! That¡¯s much better than freeloading!¡± The two yed along, and under their deliberate ndering, the people around them started pointing fingers at Lucas and Charlotte. Charlotte was so angry that she wanted to go up and fight with them, but Lucas stopped her. He saw no need to stoop to their level. The Elite Business Exchange had ended not long ago, and he reckoned that Reynold must not be far away.. He should be able to rush over soon, and then Lucas would leave it to him. Chapter 734 - Time Is Up

Chapter 734: Time Is Up

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jake raised his hand, looked at the time on the watch, and said sternly, ¡°As far as I know, just a few minutes ago, the Elite Business Exchange held in the Walton Hotel ended. I¡¯m waiting to see if the Reynold Walker you mentioned can make it here within fifteen minutes!¡± Estelle said fawningly, ¡°Speaking of this Elite Business Exchange, I heard that it was supposed to be hosted by the Watsons this time, but the hosting rights were transferred to the Kingstons. I¡¯m sure the Kingstons must have given the Watsons a lot of benefits, right?¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s for sure!¡± Jake said smugly. ¡°The Elite Business Exchange happens only once every three years, and the people invited are all from the top forces of California. The rest aren¡¯t even eligible to participate! The organizer of every session gets to reap a lot of benefits, and since we gave the hosting rights to the Kingstons, the Kingstons will definitely not mistreat us! ¡°Heh. Although the Watsons are already the top family in San Jose, as long as we get the Kingstons¡¯ support, it¡¯s just a matter of time before we expand into the San Francisco market. Who knows? We might be the fourth most powerful family in California in the future!¡± He spoke proudly and behaved arrogantly as if the Watsons were already the fourth most powerful family in California. After hearing what Jake said, many people here showed looks of shock and envy. It seemed that this descendant of the Watsons would definitely be able to rise even higher in the future due to the Watsons¡¯ status. But Lucas revealed a trace of mockery. Jake kept leveraging the power of the Watsons and talking about how great the Watsons were. But in fact, he couldn¡¯t even enter the Walton Hotel. Reynold had brought a few of the Watsons¡¯ juniors over, but Jake wasn¡¯t among them. This was enough to show that he wasn¡¯t a core member of the Watsons at all. The fact that he couldn¡¯t even recognize Reynold¡¯s voice meant that he had had very little contact with Reynold. He was basically a distant rtive, yet he bragged and threw his weight around, which was ridiculous. In addition, the incident in the Walton Hotel had just ended a bit ago, and Lucas had issued an order for everyone to keep their lips sealed about it. Thus, Jake wasn¡¯t aware that the Kingstons, whom he revered and hoped to gain the support of, had already be a thing of the past and would be eradicated from San Francisco in another hour. And it was all done by Lucas, the man in front of him whom he despised. A trace of anxiety appeared on Charlotte¡¯s face. If the Watsons really received help from the Kingstons, coupled with the fact that the rtionship between the Watsons and the Walkers had always been close, the Watsons¡¯ future would definitely be bright. Although Lucas was blood-rted to the Huttons of DC, he had been expelled from the Huttons twenty years ago. He seemed to have nothing to do with the Huttons over the years, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to get any help from the Huttons. In Charlotte¡¯s opinion, although Lucas had also received an invitation to the Elite Business Exchange, he was still far inferior to hegemons like the Kingstons and the Walkers of San Francisco. If the Watsons really wanted to deal with Lucas, there was no way he could resist it. It was also because of her fear and scruples about the Watsons that she had been extremely tolerant of Jake and Estelle¡¯s verbal abuse and insults to her today. She was worried that she might cause trouble for Lucas. ¡°Lucas, forget it. Why don¡¯t we just go?¡± Charlotte said softly with a pleading gaze in her eyes. She really didn¡¯t want to implicate Lucas in this and then have him face the retaliation of the Watsons, the Kingstons, and the Walkers. As for what Lucas said earlier about having the Watsons¡¯ helmsmane over within 15 minutes, Charlotte didn¡¯t dare to carry too much hope even though she didn¡¯t think Lucas was lying and acting. Lucas smiled at herfortingly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re just like my sister. Since they bullied you, I¡¯ll definitely seek justice for you!¡± A warm stream of heat immediately surged in Charlotte¡¯s heart. She had never had a brother, but Lucas was really protecting her like he was her brother. ¡°Oh wow, now you¡¯ve be his sister again, huh?¡± Jake said with a lewd smile. ¡°So, are you his god sister or a ¡®sister¡¯?¡± He was deliberately implying something lewd. Estelle beganughing maliciously. ¡°Hahaha, look at how lovey-dovey they are. How disgusting.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Lucas red daggers at them, immediately frightening them into not daring to speak vulgarly again. ¡°Hmph, continue being tough. I¡¯ll wait here and see what else you can sayter!¡± Jake spit on the ground, moved a chair from the side, and sat opposite Lucas and Charlotte. He stared at them, for fear that they would take the opportunity to run away. Time passed by minute by minute, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten minutes had passed. Charlotte was somewhat uneasy, and she repeatedly looked at the entrance of the restaurant, only to see no one here yet. She clenched her fists tightly. On the other hand, smug smiles appeared on Jake¡¯s and Estelle¡¯s faces. It had almost been fifteen minutes since Lucas¡¯s call. But unfortunately, Reynold hadn¡¯t appeared yet. Jake shook his watch in his hand and said smugly, ¡°Kid, fifteen minutes are up! Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d make Reynold Watson appear in fifteen minutes? Where is he now?¡± Estelle covered her mouth andughed coquettishly. ¡°Jake, this punk is just lying! The Watsons have such a high status! How could the helmsman do the bidding of a live-in husband? ¡°Besides, Jake, you¡¯re from the Watson family. Why would the helmsmane here to reprimand you for an outsider? That actor this punk hired to impersonate Mr. Watson even wanted to make you get on your knees and apologize to this bastard. That¡¯s hrious! ¡°Jake, I think you don¡¯t have to show any mercy. Why don¡¯t you make both of them kneel and admit their mistakes to you? They can get up when you¡¯re happy! They were just shooting themselves in the foot by suggesting this idea.. They really deserve it!¡± Estelle suggested with vicious resentment on her face. Chapter 735 - Please Punish Me

Chapter 735: Please Punish Me

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Estelle absolutely hated the two of them. She was originally the heiress of a top family of LA and lived in thep of luxury with her handsome and obedient husband, Den Adams. But ever since she met Cheyenne and Lucas, her life had changed drastically. Her husband had been seduced by this shameless woman, and he had even been kicked out by the Brokes before eventually falling to his death. The Brookes, her family, had also been destroyed by Lucas, and she had been forced to go far away and live with her grandmother¡¯s maiden family, the Watsons. Since she was now living under someone else¡¯s roof, she obviously couldn¡¯t live asfortably as before. Now, the Watsons would soon gain the support of the Kingstons and the Walkers and subsequently rise to another level. Now that she had once again run into the two people she saw as the culprits whonded her in such a plight, she naturally wouldn¡¯t let go of this great opportunity to take revenge! ¡°Who is going to get on their knees and apologize to scumbags like you? I have never provoked you, yet you keep pestering me, ndering me, and humiliating me by leveraging the Watsons¡¯ power. You keep making up these crimes, framing me, and ming me. You people are the ones who should be apologizing to me!¡± Charlotte yelled furiously with red eyes. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re already on the brink of death, yet you¡¯re still being so stubborn!¡± Estelle red at Charlotte in disdain. Then she suddenly said to Jake with malicious intent, ¡°Jake, in my opinion, these two people are refusing to kneel down and admit their mistakes. How about you get this woman to serve you for a few days to atone for her sins? What do you think?¡± She was deliberately tempting Jake. Once Jake really began lusting over Charlotte and developing the urge to get fresh with her, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t let him off, and the two of them would surely get into a fight. Since Jake wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat Lucas, he would definitely be beaten up terribly. In that case, how could the Watsons possibly let Lucas off? This was Estelle¡¯s n to get Lucas killed. Even if Lucas killed Jake, her n to take revenge on Lucas would work once the Watsons sought revenge on him! After hearing what Estelle said, Jake narrowed his eyes at Charlotte and burst intoughter. ¡°Haha, good idea, Estelle! ¡°Miss Carter, since you want a man, I think I¡¯m pretty good-looking. If you apany me for two days, I will let you and your so-called brother-inw go. How does that sound?¡± Then Jake reached out his hand to raise Charlotte¡¯s chin like an absolute lecher. A murderous look shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes. Just as he was about to make a move, a figure suddenly dashed in from outside. ¡°Stop it!¡± The person who came was a middle-aged man of about fifty years old. He was drenched in sweat and had horror written all over his face as he glowered at Jake, wishing he could chop off the hand reaching to molest Charlotte! As soon as Jake heard the voice, his body immediately stiffened, and he frantically turned around. The moment he saw the person¡¯s appearance, he was so scared that he shivered, and he could barely speak clearly. ¡°Un-Uncle Reynold, w-why are you here?¡± The middle-aged man who arrived was none other than the helmsman of the Watsons, Reynold Watson. He finally realized that the person Lucas had talked to was indeed Reynold. But he really couldn¡¯t tell over the phone just now. Now, seeing that the real helmsman had really appeared in front of him, Jake was beyond shocked.?This punk actually knows the Watsons¡¯ helmsman and can even order him! At this moment, Reynold stared at Jake, wishing he could strangle this ipetent imbecile immediately. ¡°Heh, if I hadn¡¯te, wouldn¡¯t you be making trouble for me? Who said that he¡¯d be my father if I¡¯m really Reynold Watson?¡± As soon as Jake heard this, he was even more frightened, and his legs went limp as he fell to his knees. ¡°Please spare me, Uncle Reynold! I¡­ I must have been deaf to have failed to recognize your voice. Otherwise, even if you beat me to death, I wouldn¡¯t dare to say such treacherous words! ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for being such a fool!¡± Jake reached his hand out and pped himself on both sides of his face. Smack! Smack! In order to appease Reynold, Jake didn¡¯t dare to go easy on himself and pped himself so hard that red palm marks soon appeared on his face. This scene immediately shocked many people around them. Just a minute ago, Jake was still smug and full ofcency. But now, he actually got on his knees and pped himself out of his own ord. Clearly, the person standing in front of him was indeed the helmsman of a top family. Not everyone could see the helmsman of a top family, yet they actually got to see the helmsman of the Watsons in person, which gave them absolute bragging rights! But what surprised them even more was that since the person in front of them was the real helmsman of the Watsons, it meant that the phone call Lucas had made earlier was absolutely true. With just a casual phone call, he managed to make the helmsman of a top family immediately rush over. Clearly, Lucas¡¯s identity was far more prestigious than that of the Watsons! Who exactly is this young man??They wondered. But Reynold simply ignored Jake, who was kneeling on the ground and smacking himself. Instead, he walked to Lucas, and then¡­ Thud!? The esteemed helmsman of the Watsons got on both knees in front of Lucas! This scene instantly made everyone present utterly astonished! W-what¡¯s going on??Jake looked at the scene in front of him and was so dumbfounded that his eyes almost fell out of their sockets! He was the high and mighty helmsman of the Watsons, yet he actually knelt down in front of Lucas. How incredible! Estelle, next to them, also had her jaw drop in shock. The Brookes were now living with the Watsons, so of course, she knew how proud and arrogant Reynold usually was. He would basically ignore them and be aloof. Yet he was now kneeling on both knees in front of Lucas! ¡°No¡­ th-this is impossible! It must be an illusion!¡± Estelle shook her head frantically, unable to believe the scene in front of her. Charlotte gaped in surprise and utter disbelief as she stared at the middle-aged man kneeling in front of Lucas.?Is he¡­ really the Watsons¡¯ helmsman? Why is he suddenly¡­ Before she could ovee her shock, Reynold prostrated on the floor with extreme respect and a shameful look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Gray. There was a traffic jam on the road, and I was a minutete. Please punish me!¡± His words immediately left everyone in utter astonishment again! Chapter 736 - Admitted To It Himself

Chapter 736: Admitted To It Himself

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone was still guessing the reason the helmsman of the Watsons had knelt down to Lucas. Even though the Watsons had offended him, there was no need for him to make such a grand gesture. But the truth was far more frightening than they had imagined. Reynold had merely arrived a minuteter than the time Lucas had given him, but he had actually gotten down on both knees to apologize to him! The people watching felt as though they were about to lose their minds! If they weren¡¯t all hallucinating or Reynold hadn¡¯t suddenly gone mad, the only possibility was that Lucas¡¯s identity was far more prestigious than that of Reynold! Thus, he had to get on his knees to apologize and seek forgiveness from Lucas even though he was only a minutete because of heavy traffic! In that case, since Jake had said so many insults to Lucas just now, how would Reynold solve this problem? As their focus shifted to this issue, everyone turned to look at Reynold. At this moment, Jake was shocked beyond words. He had never expected that Reynold would be so subservient and respectful toward Lucas. This could only mean that Lucas was definitely not just an ordinary live-in husband as Estelle had imed. Now, he was full of regret, and he wished he could drag this bitch Estelle over and p her a few times! Lucas ignored Reynold kneeling in front of him and turned his gaze to Jake. He said coldly, ¡°You just said that you wanted me to kneel and apologize to you, and you even wanted my sister-inw to serve you for a few days before you would let us off, huh?¡± How could Jake dare to think so now? He hurriedly shook his head. ¡°No, no, no! I was too blind and offended you and your sister-inw, Mr. Gray. I¡¯ve got a foul mouth, and I babble nonsense all the time. Please don¡¯t take it to heart. Just take it that I was talking nonsense. Please forgive me!¡± Jake was worlds apart from his arrogant self just now, and he was about to cry out in fear. Even the head of the Watsons had kneeled in front of Lucas and apologized for being a minutete. Yet he, a distant rtive of the Watsons, had said so many crazy and offensive things to Lucas. He had to have a death wish! Jake wished he could rewind time to twenty minutes ago. If he could start all over again, he would never offend Lucas, this terrifying person. Lucas turned to Estelle again and asked coldly, ¡°You just said that my sister-inw is a mistress who deliberately seduced your husband to destroy your marriage?¡± Estelle was about to be frightened to death at this point. She had known previously that Lucas¡¯s methods were very powerful. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t have forced the Brookes to the point of having to flee LA. Estelle once again recalled the scene of Lucas remaining unscathed despite having numerous gunmen of the Brookes shooting him. He had even used pine needles to blind them. She really shouldn¡¯t have gone to provoke this terrifying enemy, but she was too indignant. Besides, she had thought that she had found a backer in the Watsons, so she could easily take revenge and trample all over him. This was why she had tried hard to urge and influence Jake. It was so that the Watsons would go against Lucas. But Estelle never expected the head of the Watsons to be so humble and subservient in front of Lucas! Or rather, Lucas¡¯s status today had greatly exceeded Estelle¡¯s imagination. It finally made her realize that she would probably never be able to take revenge against Lucas! At this moment, when she saw Lucas¡¯s icy cold gaze, she no longer dared to think about taking revenge against the two of them. Now, she only wanted to protect herself, and she just hoped that Lucas would spare her! ¡°No, no. She¡­ Charlotte isn¡¯t actually a mistress, and she didn¡¯t seduce my husband either. My¡­ my husband pestered her because she¡¯s beautiful! ¡°Also, the reason my husband and I divorced was that he has been freeloading off of my family while still looking for other women. So the elders of my family couldn¡¯t stand it and decided to kick him out! It had nothing to do with Miss Carter! She didn¡¯t destroy my family either! ¡°Also, I¡­ I¡¯m jealous of Miss Carter, so I deliberately spread those rumors. Actually, Miss Carter has never seduced a man before, and they¡­ they¡¯re all rumors I made up!¡± Estelle revealed all her crimes in one go, for fear that Lucas would punish her even more severely. After she finished speaking, there was a hugemotion around them. Just now, Estelle had kept moring that Charlotte was a homewrecker and brazen hussy who had seduced Estelle¡¯s husband and her brother-inw. She had even wanted to strip Charlotte in public and had been inciting the onlookers. Thus, they thought that Charlotte was a vixen and had badmouthed her. Yet she had now confessed so quickly that everything was just rumors she had made up out of jealousy and vengeance! The sudden twist in events immediately made many people incredibly furious because they felt that Estelle had used them. ¡°This woman is so cheap! Her husband went around harassing thisdy, yet she used thisdy of being a mistress who seduced her husband. She really twisted the facts!¡± ¡°She¡¯s too detestable! I really believed her nonsense and scolded Miss Carter several times. Now, I feel very sorry for her! It¡¯s all this woman¡¯s fault. She¡¯s atrocious!¡± ¡°Yeah, despite knowing how important a woman¡¯s reputation is, she kept harping on this and using her. She¡¯s really too much!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Miss Carter¡¯s brother-inw is so powerful, and she¡¯s so beautiful. How could she possibly snatch the man of an ugly woman inferior to her in every way? It¡¯s really too outrageous!¡± ... All of a sudden, the surrounding crowd felt cheated and beganshing out at Estelle indignantly. Meanwhile, Estelle shrank back without daring to say a word. ¡°It seems that I was too kind to your family before.¡± Lucas looked at Estelle coldly. ¡°Previously, I left a way out for your family.. As long as you left LA, you wouldn¡¯t be punished. Now, you¡¯ve destroyed it yourself, so don¡¯t me me for being ruthless!¡± Chapter 737 - The Brookes Disaster

Chapter 737: The Brookes¡¯ Disaster

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Estelle¡¯s heart sank. She felt as if she had been struck by lightning. If she really brought a devastating blow to the Brookes because she had offended Lucas today, her father and grandfather would definitely not spare her! The moment she thought of this, her heart began trembling. She could no longer care about anything else and immediately fell to her knees in front of Lucas. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, what happened today is all my fault! I¡¯m sorry! I¡­ I¡¯ll kowtow to you! Please spare the Brookes. Don¡¯t let my grandfather and family find out!¡± Estelle Brooke begged miserably. She even clenched her jaw and began kowtowing on the ground. Bang! Bang! ... Estelle was really terrified at this moment, so she kowtowed very forcefully. Soon, her forehead was red and swollen. But Lucas remained unmoved. To Lucas, the Brookes were just a small family that he had once defeated, and they posed no threat to him at all. He didn¡¯t intend to kill them. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have let the Brookes leave LA and let them off the hook for all their previous misdeeds. He had given the Brookes a way out on the premise that they would no longere and cause trouble for him. But now, Estelle had actually taken the initiative to jump in front of him and even ndered and defamed Charlotte. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t go easy on the Brookes. As for whether the entire Brooke family should atone for Estelle¡¯s mistakes, Lucas didn¡¯t feel that there was any issue. He had already warned the Brookes, but the Brookes had failed to take their family in hand. They had allowed Estelle to wreak havoc and randomly use others, so they should naturally also take the me. At this moment, Reynold also understood what stupid things Jake and Estelle had done through their conversation. He didn¡¯t expect that while he was trying to find ways to get closer to Lucas, the new hegemon of California, a distant rtive of the Watsons and a woman with a differentst name, who hade to join the Watsons, would dare to offend Lucas so terribly! At the beginning, when the Brookes in LA were destroyed overnight, the Brookes¡¯ helmsman, Andrew, had brought many members over to join the Watsons. Because Andrew¡¯s wife was a Watson, Reynold had epted the Brookes on the ount that they were rtives. He had even prepared two vis for them to live in. He was rather benevolent to them. But Reynold hadn¡¯t expected that the person who overthrew the Brookes was Lucas. Now, an ipetent woman of the Brookes had actually offended Lucas once again, causing trouble for the family. The reason Jake had offended Lucas, whom he didn¡¯t even know, must have also been because Estelle had instigated him! ¡°Reynold, I heard that the Brookes are currently staying with the Watsons. Is that right?¡± Lucas asked. Reynold wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and answered carefully, ¡°Yes, we¡¯re just distant rtives¡­¡± Lucas interrupted him and directly instructed, ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of rtionship you have with them, but from today onward, I don¡¯t want to see anyone from the Brookes appearing in California. Do you hear me? If you can¡¯t do it, the Watsons will also be eradicated from California!¡± When Reynold heard this, his heart instantly pounded rapidly. From what Lucas said, it seemed that he didn¡¯t want to let the Brookes off, but he surprisingly didn¡¯t pursue the matter against the Watsons. It finally made Reynold relieved. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. I promise to do it! From tomorrow onward, there will no longer be any Brookes in California!¡± Reynold agreed without hesitation. Then he stood up from the ground and looked at Jake and Estelle, who were still kneeling next to him, his eyes full of disgust. He instructed his bodyguards, ¡°Take these two people back immediately and punish them severely! Those who have offended Mr. Gray can¡¯t escape death!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Several burly bodyguards immediately came over and firmly held the terrified Estelle and Jake. They even covered their mouths and dragged them out of the restaurant. The surrounding people covered their mouths. Based on what Reynold said in the end, these two people probably wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. But they had all witnessed the matter from the beginning to the end. These two people could only me themselves for taking the initiative to provoke Lucas, a person whom they couldn¡¯t afford to provoke. No one sympathized with them at all. Lucas had wanted to bring Charlotte here to have ate-night snack before returning to Orange County, but they had suddenly encountered Estelle. Moreover, all the people in the restaurant were looking at the two of them withplicated gazes in their eyes. There were even a few people who came over to try and befriend them. Seeing this situation, Lucas and Charlotte were no longer interested in eating. ¡°Shall we go back?¡± Lucas looked at Charlotte and asked softly. ¡°Huh? Oh¡­ okay!¡± Charlotte finally snapped back to her senses before leaving with Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ll see you two off!¡± Reynold tagged along fawningly until he sent the two of them to their car. Even after this, he was still standing from afar and watching them leave. The car was driving back to Orange County. Charlotte, sitting in the front passenger seat, was silent for a while. Eventually, she finally couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Lucas, Mr. Watson¡­ His attitude toward you¡­ Something must have happened at the Elite Business Exchange today, right?¡± She was now the general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, and she had be much sharper and better at observing than before. Besides, Reynold had made it so obvious today. So Charlotte naturally thought that something big must have happened at the Elite Business Exchange today, and it also had to be rted to Lucas. Lucas thought that many things did happen at the Elite Business Exchange today, and most of them were astonishing and would take California by storm. But he didn¡¯t like praising himself, so he smiled indifferently. ¡°Some things indeed happened, but they¡¯re good for us. You¡¯ll know in the future.¡± Seeing that Lucas was unwilling to mention more, Charlotte stopped asking. But since Lucas said that they were good things, and Reynold was indeed respectful to him, she didn¡¯t need to worry. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s what you said! As long as they¡¯re good, I¡¯m also waiting to see more good news from you!¡± Charlotte stopped feeling burdened and instead smiled radiantly. It was the first pleasant smile she had since she had started being gloomy for a long time. Lucas smiled lightly and drove smoothly to his home in Orange County. At this moment, far away in a vi of the Watsons in San Jose, the Brookes had yet to know the terrifying disaster about to strike them. Chapter 738 - Severance of the Future

Chapter 738: Severance of the Future

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the Watsons¡¯ luxurious vi, Andrew, the head of the Brookes, who used to be a top family in LA, was wearing silk pajamas and sitting in the middle of a hall while sipping teafortably. Although the days of living with the Watsons in San Jose weren¡¯t asfortable as they were when he was a family head in LA, Reynold treated the Brookes well. In addition to providing them with two four-story vis, he also asionally gave them some tea leaves, tobo, wine, and so on. Andrew wasn¡¯t sitting here alone. Sitting on the sofa opposite him was a middle-aged man in his fifties. He was Andrew¡¯s son, Shaun Brooke, the father of Aston and Estelle. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s already sote. The Elite Business Exchange held in San Francisco must already be over, right?¡± Shaun asked while rubbing his hands together with glistening eyes. Andrew looked at the time and nodded. ¡°Logically speaking, it should be almost over. I think it won¡¯t be long before Reynoldes home.¡± He let out a long sigh and said with regret, ¡°If nothing had happened to the Brookes, we should have also been invited to the exchange this time. We wouldn¡¯t have to sit here and wait for Reynold¡¯s news.¡± When Shaun heard this, a trace of resentment appeared in his eyes. ¡°Yes, the Brookes used to be a top family in LA. If it wasn¡¯t because of that bastard, we wouldn¡¯t have to stay with the Watsons and depend on them. We could have participated in this Elite Business Exchange to build more connections! It¡¯s all that bastard¡¯s fault! Dad, when I think about this, I want to rip that bastard apart alive!¡± With a gloomy look, Andrew eximed resentfully, ¡°I¡¯m just like you! However, we have to endure it for a while longer! But the opportunity might being soon! ¡°This time, the Elite Business Exchange should have been hosted by the Watsons at first. But since the Watsons gave the rights to the Kingstons, the Kingstons will definitely vigorously support the Watsons. In that case, it likely won¡¯t take long for the Watsons to be able to expand into the San Francisco market, and there¡¯ll be a chance for them to be the fourthrgest magnate in San Francisco! ¡°When the timees, we will be able to borrow the Watsons¡¯ power and make aeback. With the help of the Watsons, we should be able to gain a firm foothold in San Jose soon. Within a few years, the Brookes might be able to be the next top family in San Jose! ¡°At that time, we will seek revenge on Lucas Gray. Let¡¯s see how long that punk can continue being arrogant!¡± While Andrew spoke, a terrifying murderous intent appeared in his eyes. Back then, the Brookes had been fighting for many years in LA, and they had painstakingly managed to be a top family almost on par with the Parkers and the Owens of LA. But because of Lucas¡¯s appearance, their efforts in the past two decades had gone down the drain overnight, and the Brookes even had to sell their hard-earned businesses to him! He would take revenge on Lucas sooner orter! Shaun also had a murderous gaze in his eyes. ¡°Yes, that punk ruined the Brookes and also caused my son to be crippled. I must settle scores with him! If I don¡¯t kill him, I swear I won¡¯t be a man!¡± Once Lucas was mentioned, both Shaun and Aston clenched their jaws in hatred. After a moment of silence, Andrew changed the topic. ¡°Esttele went to San Francisco this time. I wonder if there¡¯ll be any gains.¡± At the mention of his daughter Estelle, Shaun smiled. ¡°Estelle is pretty good at socializing, and she¡¯s already made friends with several of the powerful families in San Jose. She followed a young man named Jake Watson to San Jose this time. She even managed to enter the ordinary business exchange. I reckon we¡¯ll be able to form some new connections that will be of great benefit to the Brookes¡¯ future development.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s not bad.¡± Feeling heartened, Andrew nodded. ¡°You taught your daughter well. Moreover, you can introduce her to some men so that she can find a suitable marriage partner as soon as possible. That¡¯ll be of great help to the Brookes¡­¡± Bang!? While the two were still discussing how the Brookes were going to develop and grow their power in the future, the vi¡¯s door was suddenly mmed open from outside. Afterward, a dozen or so burly men donning the uniforms unique to the Watsons¡¯ bodyguards rushed in from the outside. Andrew and Shaun were both shocked. They immediately stood up from the couch and looked at them with displeasure. ¡°You should be the Watsons¡¯ bodyguards. Why did you barge in so rudely without even knocking on the door? Tomorrow, I¡¯ll ask Mr. Watson just who gave you the guts!¡± Shaun hollered at the bodyguards furiously. But when one of the bodyguards standing at the front heard this, his face didn¡¯t change at all, and he merely said coldly, ¡°By Mr. Watson¡¯s order, the Brookes are to be eradicated from LA from today onward for offending the master of California!¡± With his order, these bodyguards behind him immediately whipped out their daggers, which were shining with a chilling murderous glint. Andrew and Shaun were shocked.?This¡­ this is genuine murderous intent¡­ Are the Watsons going to kill us today? Andrew stepped forward and forced himself to endure the horror in his heart to ask extremely reluctantly, ¡°I¡­ I want to ask clearly. How exactly did the Brookes offend anyone? Who is the master of California? Even if you want us to die, you have to let us know the reason!¡± At this moment, he was really full of reluctance and indignation! As the head of the Brookes, he had been devoted to promoting the Brookes and leading them to glory in thest two decades or so. Initially, he had already been close to seeding, and the Brookes had painstakingly be a top family in LA. But just because he had misjudged Lucas¡¯s strength and tried to make use of him, he had identally caused the entire Brooke family to copse overnight. His years of hard work had gone to waste and fell into Lucas¡¯s hands! Now, he could finally see some hope of aeback and was nning a beautiful future. Yet he was suddenly cruelly told that the Brookes had offended the master of California, who wanted them to disappear from this world immediately. How could Andrew ept this? But since the other party was called the master of California, it meant that his status was far above the Brookes and the Watsons, and he was an existence not to be disobeyed! However, even after Andrew racked his brains, he still didn¡¯t know who this person was and how the Brookes had offended such a terrifying existence! The lead bodyguard sneered.. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll fulfill your request before you die. The master of California is an extremely young man with thest name Gray from Orange County, and he has a feud with your family!¡± Chapter 739 - The Brookes Disappear

Chapter 739: The Brookes Disappear

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Last name Gray, from Orange County, has a feud with the Brookes?¡± A figure quickly surfaced in Andrew¡¯s mind¡ªLucas Gray. But how could Lucas be the supreme ruler of California? There must be something wrong with this! Both Andrew and Shaun were in disbelief. ¡°No, no matter who that master of California is¡­ the Brookes have been in San Jose. We couldn¡¯t have offended him!¡± Shaun said anxiously. The lead bodyguard said, ¡°You have to ask your daughter, Estelle Brooke! She maliciously humiliated Mr. Gray and his sister-inw in San Francisco, and she even tried to urge a member of the Watsons to deal with Mr. Gray. She¡¯s absolutely unforgivable! ¡°Mr. Gray has already given us orders. If any of the Brookes are still alive in California after today, the Watsons will no longer exist either. ¡°So, you can all die in peace now!¡± Several bodyguards came forward and shed their daggers in their hands. Andrew and Shaun knew that they were about to die. Andrew had a look of despair on his face. He didn¡¯t expect that his granddaughter he had just praised would cause this huge disaster. He was certain that the ¡®Mr. Gray¡¯, who was the ¡®master of California¡¯, was Lucas without a doubt! Lucas had already given them a chance before and allowed them to leave LA alive. Yet Estelle had just offended him terribly. He knew that they were bound to die this time! ¡°Hahahaha! This is probably God¡¯s will. It¡¯s the Brookes¡¯ retribution. Hahaha! ¡°But even if I have to die, I will do it myself. I don¡¯t need you to do it!¡± Andrew looked up to the sky andughed a few times, his voice filled with despair and sarcasm, as well as endless regret. He remembered that he had once pledged his allegiance to Lucas. If he hadn¡¯t done so for the sake of using Lucas and had instead been sincere about it, the Brookes would have probably be much stronger than before. They might have even be the top family in California. Unfortunately, he had been muddled at the time and chose to be hostile to Lucas, which caused the destruction of the Brookes¡¯ foundation, leading them to their current plight. He really regretted it now! Andrewughed miserably a few times before suddenly picking up the fruit knife on the coffee table and slitting his neck with it! Screech!? Blood spurted out of his neck as he fell to the floor. Blood continued to gush out of the cut artery of his neck! ¡°Dad!¡± Shaun cried out in despair and lunged forward to cover Andrew¡¯s throat but to no avail. He could only watch Andrew twitch a few times before dying. The once mighty and powerful helmsman of a top family had died just like that! Shaun looked at his father¡¯s lusterless eyes, and a smile of despair appeared on his face after he spaced out for a while. Even his father had given resisting andmitted suicide. He obviously knew that the Brookes had already fallen into a terrible plight of no return. He picked up the fruit knife Andrew had dropped on the floor and stabbed himself in the heart. Soon, he also closed his eyes forever and left the world, following the steps of his father. The lead bodyguard looked at the fallen figures of Andrew and Shaun on the floor, and his expression changed slightly. But he soon regained hisposure and ordered indifferently, ¡°Kill all the other Brookes!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The bodyguards immediately rushed to the other rooms of the vis. Soon, the vis were full of panicked cries and screams. None of the Brookes lived! But Lucas, far away in Orange County, didn¡¯t know all this yet. In fact, he had instructed Reynold that he didn¡¯t want to see any of the Brookes in California and only intended for him to drive the Brookes out of California. But Reynold had used the most brutal way to exterminate the Brookes. It was something that Lucas didn¡¯t expect. For some people, this was thest night of their lives. But for the vast majority of people, it was an iparably ordinary night. But bright early the next morning, there were several shocking pieces of news and headlines that astonished everyone. ¡°The Elite Business Exchange experiences major change. Two of the three top giants of San Francisco disappeared overnight!¡± ¡°The overbearing and invincible master of California has appeared and unified the major powerful families in the state!¡± ¡°More than sixty top families have submitted to the master of California!¡± ... Therge and eye-catching fonts on the front pages were all about news that shocked countless people in California. When the first relevant piece of news appeared, everyone thought it was just a lousy joke. But soon, when all the major news media in California were reporting these events at the same time, people realized that this wasn¡¯t a joke at all, but an astonishing fact! The person who could make so many top families submit at the same time had really appeared! Many people with a keen sense of smell were also secretly rmed because they knew that there were going to be enormous changes in the entireyout of California. Everyone was guessing who the master of California was. But all the media tforms seemed to have agreed that the only information they should reveal was that the master of California was known as Mr. Gray. There was no other information. After all, Lucas had ordered everyone to keep quiet about the incident and his identity before the exchange ended. How could they dare to reveal his identity? But there was no mention of the Smiths of DC, who had tried to seize control of California, and the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch. While the outside world was abuzz with the sudden appearance of the master of California, Lucas, the person in question, was living a quiet andfortable life in Orange County. He sent Cheyenne and Amelia to and from work and school every single day, living a warm and happy life. William¡¯s injuries had gotten much better, and he could go home to recuperate. However, Charlotte was almost too busy to do anything. Due to Lucas, many top wealthy families in California had submitted cooperation offers to the Stardust Corporation. The daily operations of thepany were enough to make Charlotte so busy that she barely had time to eat. She worked overtime every day until veryte before going home. Lucas was speechless and said to Charlotte, ¡°It¡¯s good to be busy with work, but you can¡¯t wear yourself out! There are some things that you should leave to your assistant and secretary. If you don¡¯t have enough staff, you should find a few more people instead of tiring yourself out.¡± Charlotte said, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t worry about it. I can handle it! Besides, the Stardust Corporation is so important to you, and we¡¯re at an extremely critical moment, so I don¡¯t feelfortable leaving this in someone else¡¯s hand! I¡¯d better take care of it myself!¡± Lucas was touched. The Stardust Corporation was indeed very important to him because it was the only thing his mother had left him. Yet Charlotte cherished it so much that she would rather keep herself busy to the point of missing meals and not getting enough sleep than let Stardust Corporation suffer harm. Lucas really felt touched. ¡°Charlotte, thank you!¡± Lucas looked at Charlotte with heartfelt gratitude. Chapter 740 - The Howards Noblewoman

Chapter 740: The Howards¡¯ Noblewoman

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Charlotte giggled before saying, ¡°As long as you don¡¯t forget. Take me out to y whenever you¡¯re free!¡± Lucasughed. ¡°I won¡¯t forget. Once you¡¯re free, I¡¯ll take you out. I never go back on my word.¡± Charlotte immediately became joyful and smiled. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯ve said that, I¡¯ll be even more motivated at work! I¡¯ll try to finish up sooner!¡± Lucas stayed in thepany for a while longer. Seeing that everything was proceeding smoothly and that nothing had gone wrong because of the sudden business, he left the Stardust Corporation confidently. But just as he arrived downstairs and walked out of the office, a tall and burly man wearing sunsses suddenly blocked him. ¡°Are you Lucas Gray? My madam wants to see you.¡± The man went straight to the point without wasting his breath on any nonsense. Lucas immediately frowned.?Madam? Who wants to see me? Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t interested at all. There was no one in California who was qualified to summon him. ¡°No matter who your madam is, she has toe to meet me in person if she wants to see me,¡± he said coldly and then walked past the man toward the parking lot nearby. A trace of anger immediately appeared on the man¡¯s face. ¡°Punk, don¡¯t be ignorant! Do you know how honorable my madam is?¡± he shouted angrily and appeared in front of Lucas in a sh to block him. This time, perhaps because he was angry, he was exuding an extremely powerful aura and ready to force Lucas into submission with physical force. This aura made Lucas slightly surprised. The aura emanating from the man in front of him was more imposing than anyone Lucas had seen since he returned to Orange County! Even Stanley was no match for this man. Clearly, the person who could have a bodyguard of this level definitely had an impressive identity. Lucas raised his eyebrow. ¡°Who is your madam? You can¡¯t possibly be unable to tell me your family background, right?¡± The man replied proudly, ¡°My madam is a Howard, the Howards who are one of the eight giants of DC.¡± Seeing Lucas remaining nonchnt after hearing the Howards¡¯ name, the man had a look of displeasure. ¡°My madam said that she wants to speak to you about Cheyenne Carter.¡± If Lucas had only heard the previous sentence, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered to pay attention. So what if she was a Howard? Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of her family and wouldn¡¯tpliantly speak to her. But what the man said afterward immediately made Lucas¡¯s expression change. A noblewoman from one of DC¡¯s eight most powerful families wanted to talk to him about his wife. Since it was about Cheyenne, Lucas wouldn¡¯t ignore it regardless of what she wanted to say to him. ¡°Lead the way,¡± Lucas said indifferently. The man pursed his lips, seemingly dissatisfied with Lucas¡¯s attitude, but he didn¡¯t say anything else. He led Lucas to a rtively low-key ck Mercedes-Benz nearby and opened the door of the backseat. A noblewoman dressed very luxuriously was sitting inside the car. She seemed to be in her early forties and had maintained her appearance very well. ¡°Madam, I¡¯ve brought him here.¡± The man bent forward slightly and reported. The noblewoman in the car raised her head and looked at Lucas. ¡°You¡¯re Lucas Gray, the live-in husband of Cheyenne Carter?¡± Her voice was quite gentle and pleasant, but her tone was full of contempt and condescension, which was rather unpleasant. ¡°Since you¡¯ve specially had someonee look for me, you must have already found out about my identity long ago. What¡¯s the point of asking me that redundant question?¡± Lucas said coldly. A trace of displeasure appeared in the noblewoman¡¯s eyes, as if Lucas had offended her with his words. ¡°Get in the car and talk!¡± shemanded with an icy cold expression, her voice much colder than before. Lucas was also very ufortable with this woman who suddenly appeared, and hermanding attitude made Lucas frown even more. But at the thought that she was going to talk to him about Cheyenne, he got inside the car patiently. In the spaciousmercial car, there were no other people. Even the driver had gotten out. Lucas and the noblewoman were the only ones in the car. ¡°Tell me what you want from me.¡± Lucas said directly without any nonsense. But the noblewoman didn¡¯t say anything and instead sized Lucas up several times with a critical gaze. Lucas noticed that she was looking at his face very seriously, as if she was trying to find something on it. But when she looked at his ordinary clothes, she pursed her lips slightly with a disdainful and condescending expression. Lucas sat still, allowing her to size him up. After a long while, the noblewoman finally looked away and said, ¡°Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, the child kicked out by the Huttons together with Emma back then has already grown so old.¡± Lucas¡¯s heart stirred when he heard this woman mention his mother¡¯s name. ¡°You knew my mother back then?¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. The noblewoman facing him smiled faintly. ¡°Of course. Your mother was a famous figure in DC back then. She was beautiful and sessful at a young age, and she even established the Stardust Corporation. She was much more capable than the children and grandchildren that many powerful families had dedicated to training. ¡°At the time, nearly half of DC¡¯s rich and powerful scions were infatuated with her. They wished they could marry her immediately. ¡°Unfortunately, although Emma was very capable, she came from an ordinary background with no powerful family to rely on. None of the powerful families considered letting her marry their male descendants. ¡°Butter on, she got together with Michael Hutton and even got pregnant out of wedlock, causing countless tongues to wag in DC. In the end, due to the gossip and Emma being pregnant with the flesh and blood of a Hutton, the Huttons allowed her to give birth to the child and then brought her home. But they never gave her a proper status. ¡°Later on, the year you turned seven, Emma and you were kicked out by the Huttons and forbidden from returning to DC for the rest of your lives. Am I right about all this?¡± The noblewoman nonchntly recounted everything that had happened to Lucas and Emma in her gentle tone. When Lucas heard this and Michael Hutton¡¯s name, he exuded a shockingly cold aura. Michael Hutton, the head of the Huttons, one of the eight most powerful families in DC today, was Lucas¡¯s biological father! Chapter 741 - Biological Mother

Chapter 741: Biological Mother

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lucas was driven out of the Hutton family together with his mother twenty years ago, he was already seven years old, so he would never forget the scene back then. He remembered clearly what kind of life his mother had lived afterward and the reason she had died so early! That heartless man wasn¡¯t worthy of being called a husband and a father! Sensing the cold and terrifying auraing from Lucas, the noblewoman was shocked. The aura he was exuding wasn¡¯t simple. She sighed. ¡°Then, have you ever thought that the reason your father did it is because he might have had difficulties? After all, all the Huttons had been against him marrying your mother¡­¡± Lucas coldly interrupted her, ¡°I don¡¯t care what reasons he had. I only know that from the moment he drove us out, he was no longer my father! ¡°If he did it because he sumbed to the Huttons, he should have never messed with my mother in the first ce, let alone get her pregnant! ¡°If he truly loved my mother, he could have given up everything in the Hutton family and taken my mother away to start a new life! ¡°But what did he do? In the end, he let my mother down and abandoned her for the sake of the Huttons¡¯ power and the position as their helmsman. I will never acknowledge a weak, ipetent, and greedy scumbag who abandoned his wife and child as my father!¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was cold and full of hatred when speaking about Michael. He looked at the noblewoman with a trace of annoyance. ¡°You probably didn¡¯t invite me here to talk about these old matters of the Huttons, did you?¡± Seeing that he didn¡¯t want to talk about the Huttons, the noblewoman decided to change the topic. ¡°First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Florence Howard, and I¡¯m here to talk to you about Cheyenne Carter.¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°Cheyenne is my wife. You¡¯re just from the Howard family who lives far away in DC. What do you have to say to me about her? She has nothing to do with you, right?¡± Florence¡¯s expression wasplicated for a while. ¡°How can I have nothing to do with her? Cheyenne Carter is my biological daughter!¡± ¡°What?!¡± The news waspletely beyond Lucas¡¯s expectations, causing him to lose his usualposure. More than two weeks ago, he had already known that William and Karen were not Cheyenne¡¯s biological parents. Cheyenne had been picked up outside and adopted by them. After learning about this, Lucas had spected about what Cheyenne¡¯s biological parents were like. But 27 years had passed, and the clues from back then had long been broken, without any way to recover them. Besides, Cheyenne seemed to have been deliberately abandoned beside a garbage can. Lucas thought that perhaps because Cheyenne¡¯s parents didn¡¯t want her, he didn¡¯t even think about helping her find her biological parents. But this noblewoman of the Howards actually said that she was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother. It was too shocking! Lucas looked at Florence and began to scrutinize her carefully. Florence¡¯s real age should be around fifty years old, but she had maintained her looks well and seemed to be only in her early forties. There weren¡¯t many fine lines on her face. On closer look, Florence had beautiful features, with a small and exquisite face,rge eyes, and fair skin. She had definitely been beautiful in her younger days. Most importantly, the shape of her eyes, nose, and lips were indeed simr to Cheyenne¡¯s. But there were many people who looked alike in this world. So based on looks alone, he couldn¡¯t be sure that Cheyenne was really Florence¡¯s daughter. ¡°How can you prove that Cheyenne is your daughter?¡± Lucas asked, suppressing the shock within him. Florence bit her lower lip. ¡°I have already done a paternity test. It¡¯s because I¡¯ve determined that she¡¯s my daughter that I came to see you.¡± If a paternity test had been done, then Cheyenne being Florence¡¯s daughter was a sure thing. For a while, Lucas¡¯s emotions were extremelyplicated. Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother had appeared. Lucas wondered how Cheyenne would feel when she found out. ¡°Since you are her mother, then why did youe to me? You should have gone to see her first, right?¡± Lucas asked doubtfully. Florence had a cold and indifferent look on her face. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. I came to look for you today because I have a request for you.¡± Her icy gaze was fixed on Lucas. ¡°What request?¡± An ominous hunch surged in his heart. ¡°I want you to divorce my daughter and leave her immediately,¡± Sure enough, Florence made a request that Lucas absolutely couldn¡¯t ept. At the same time, Lucas found the request to be absurd and ridiculous. At the beginning, Karen, his fake mother-inw, had tried in every possible way to make him divorce Cheyenne. And now, Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother had suddenly appeared in front of him with the same demand. Could it be that I¡¯m destined to be unable to get along with my mother-inw? When Lucas saw Florence¡¯s hostile gaze and how she didn¡¯t treat him as a son-inw in the slightest, his face also turned cold as he said indifferently, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be qualified to interfere in our marriage.¡± A trace of anger appeared in Florence¡¯s eyes as she said firmly, ¡°I¡¯m Cheyenne¡¯s mother, so I naturally have the right to take care of her affairs!¡± ¡°Mother?¡± Luca¡¯s face showed clear mockery and contempt. ¡°A woman who has never been in Cheyenne¡¯s life has the nerve to call herself Cheyenne¡¯s mother? ¡°Have you ever shown any concern for Cheyenne? Have you ever raised her? Now, you suddenly showed up to disrupt Cheyenne¡¯s life before even seeing her. Who are you to do that? ¡°Cheyenne is now in her twenties, and she is in charge of her own life. You¡¯re in no ce to make arrangements for her! ¡°Even if you¡¯re really her biological mother, so what? Cheyenne is my wife and my daughter¡¯s mother. No matter who you are, you can¡¯t break up our family!¡± With a dark expression, Lucas rejected Florence¡¯s unreasonable request. Chapter 742 - Unworthy of Being a Mother

Chapter 742: Unworthy of Being a Mother

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios He and Cheyenne hade a long way and had gone through many twists and turns before finally reaching the current stage of their rtionship. They were now deeply in love with each other. How could Lucas possibly end their rtionship because of a woman who suddenly appeared and imed to be Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother? If the woman facing him wasn¡¯t actually Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, Lucas would have fallen out with her just after hearing what she said. Florence sneered, clearly displeased with Lucas¡¯s ignorant rejection. ¡°Hah, your marriage with my daughter was originally a mistake from the very beginning! ¡°You¡¯re just an abandoned descendant kicked out by the Huttons. You¡¯ll never be allowed to return to DC in your life. Even until you die, you will live in poverty, and you¡¯ll never make any outstanding achievements or make a name for yourself! ¡°But my daughter is different from you. She¡¯s my flesh and blood, and she¡¯ll definitelye home with me to the Howards¡¯. When the timees, she¡¯ll be my family¡¯s princess. Her status is very noble, and she¡¯s not someone you can cozy up to! ¡°She still has a bright future and a promising life. Being with you will only hamper her and waste her life! ¡°If you still spare a thought for her, you¡¯d better quickly leave her and let her be free. Don¡¯t hold her back! Otherwise¡­ with the Howards¡¯ power and status, you¡¯ll die easily!¡± Florence sounded extremely self-righteous, and in particr, she used her family¡¯s power to threaten Lucas. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t ept her threat. But deep down, his impression of Cheyenne¡¯s mother, who had suddenly popped up out of nowhere, became much worse. ¡°You¡¯re a woman yourself. Do you think a woman¡¯s happiness only depends on whether her husband¡¯s family ispatible with hers and whether he¡¯s wealthy and powerful enough? Do you not consider the happiness of your daughter? ¡°Frankly speaking, a mother like you really disappoints me. ¡°I might as well tell you this. No matter what you really think, the only person who can give Cheyenne happiness is me, so I will never give her up. I won¡¯t let people like you make arrangements for her life! ¡°If you insist on destroying our family and disturbing our life, I don¡¯t mind eradicating the Howards!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were full of gloominess, but he sounded very serious. If Florence and the Howards were determined to interfere with his and Cheyenne¡¯s lives, he would definitely eradicate the entire Howard family! Seeing the determination in Lucas¡¯s eyes, Florence was shocked.?This young man is serious! As this thought shed in her mind, her heart trembled, and she felt a great sense of oppressioning from Lucas. She had rarely felt this before, and it even caused a sense of fear within her. But she soon came to her senses and was infuriated. Lucas actually threatened her, a member of the esteemed Howard family! ¡°Young man, do you know what you¡¯re saying? Even your father, Michael Hutton, wouldn¡¯t dare to speak like that in front of me. You¡¯re so young, but you¡¯re terribly arrogant! ¡°I¡¯ve had someone investigate your situation. You used to live in poverty, and you were just a broke and worthless pauper. If not for the fact that someone had deliberately tried to humiliate Cheyenne by getting her to marry a lowly scumbag, do you think you would have been able to be a live-in husband? ¡°Now, although the Huttons have given you your mother¡¯s formerpany, the Stardust Corporation, you only control a tiny branch in Orange County. The headquarters of the Stardust Corporation is still under the firm control of the Huttons. What can you get from it? ¡°Furthermore, you disappeared for six years without saying goodbye soon after you married my daughter and only returned to Orange County half a year ago. How strong can your rtionship with my daughter be? ¡°So, don¡¯t talk to me about happiness. How deep is your rtionship with my daughter? What kind of happiness can you bring her with your conditions? You¡¯re just paying lip service to me!¡± Florence retorted angrily and undermined him to the point that he seemed worthless. Of course, in the eyes of a Howard from DC, the Orange County branch of the Stardust Corporation was indeed not worth mentioning at all. Lucas didn¡¯t get angry because of this and instead said with a calm gaze in his eyes, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true that Cheyenne and I haven¡¯t spent much time together. However, the strength of a rtionship isn¡¯t something that can be measured by time but lies in the heart. ¡°You¡¯ve never been by Cheyenne¡¯s side for a single day of her life or even said a word to her. You¡¯ve never understood her life, and you know even less about her rtionships. On what grounds are you concluding that there are no strong feelings between us? ¡°Moreover, do you know Cheyenne¡¯s likes and dislikes? Do you know what she thinks? Do you know what kind of life she lived in the past and what she has experienced? You don¡¯t know anything about her, yet you want to make arrangements for her life just because you¡¯re her biological mother. You even im that you¡¯re doing it for her happiness. How ridiculous! ¡°In fact, you didn¡¯t even speak to Cheyenne beforeing to me to say all of this. Have you ever spoken to her or asked her for her opinion? Have you respected her wishes? ¡°What rights does someone like you, who knows nothing about her and has no regard for her wishes, have to interfere with her life?¡± Lucas was extremely hostile and sharp-tongued, almost not giving Florence any respect at all. In his opinion, Florence had only given Cheyenne life, but she hadn¡¯t raised her a single day of her life. She didn¡¯t deserve to be called a mother at all. Lucas didn¡¯t know how Florence, the esteemed heiress of the Howards, one of the eight top families of DC, could bear to let her own daughter be stranded outside for so many years without showing her any concern. He didn¡¯t know if there were any hidden reasons. But if Florence really wanted to act like Cheyenne¡¯s mother, she should have looked for Cheyenne to make up for theck of concern that she had shown her and for the familial love that they had missed in the past decades instead of treating Cheyenne like her property and making presumptuous decisions for her future self-righteously. Lucas wouldn¡¯t recognize this woman to be Cheyenne¡¯s mother at all! ¡°You!¡± Florence was so enraged by Lucas¡¯s merciless words that she could barely speak. For many years, no one had ever dared to speak so rudely in front of her, especially when the other party was the punk she thought wasn¡¯t worthy of her daughter and had even taken advantage of thetter. ¡°Don¡¯t put on airs or show your arrogance as a member of one of the eight top families of DC in front of me. You¡¯re nothing to me!¡± Lucas said coldly and then stopped looking at Florence, who was shaking with anger. He opened the car door and stepped out to leave. ¡°Hold it!¡± The bodyguard wearing sunsses, who had been guarding outside the car door, immediately yelled and stopped in front of Lucas when he noticed that Florence didn¡¯t seem happy. Chapter 743 - Important Agenda

Chapter 743: Important Agenda

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas stared coldly at the man blocking him. ¡°Get lost!¡± The bodyguard wearing sunsses looked inside the car and then shouted, ¡°How arrogant!¡± Then he clenched his fist and swung it at Lucas. Since Florence had already given him the green light to hit Lucas, the bodyguard naturally wouldn¡¯t stand on ceremony. ¡°Hmph!¡± Lucas sneered. He raised his fist and swung it directly at the other party¡¯s striking fist. Bang!? Both fists shed fiercely. The tremendous force from their fists emitted a loud sonic boom in the air. Lucas didn¡¯t move, while the bodyguard took seven steps backward before he could barely stabilize his figure and stand firm on his feet. The bodyguard¡¯s fingers were trembling and twitching violently, but the shock in his heart was indescribable! He was actually punched so far back by a young man only in his twenties. If he hadn¡¯t rapidly retreated to mitigate the force, the unparalleled forceing from his opponent¡¯s fist would have been enough to shatter the bones of his hand! ¡°If you dare to attack me again, I won¡¯t let you off so easily!¡± Lucas said to the bodyguard coldly before leaving without turning back. ¡°¡­¡± Inside the ck Mercedes-Benz business car, Florence¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. This bodyguard was the strongest expert beside her, and Florence was very clear about how powerful he was. Her bodyguard¡¯s strength ranked among the top even in all of DC. But he had just been knocked back seven steps by Lucas¡¯s punch. Even his hand was almost crippled! ¡°Madam¡­¡± The bodyguard walked back to Florence with a grave and somber expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Madam. That punk¡¯s martial arts skills are far superior to mine. I can¡¯t deal with him.¡± Hearing the bodyguard say this himself, Florence immediately dug her fingers into the cushion of the backseat with all her might. ¡°He¡¯s actually more skilled than you. How is that possible? ¡°ording to the information we found, Lucas Gray is clearly just an ordinary, penniless man! ¡°Something must have happened in the six years he disappeared! Unfortunately, we weren¡¯t able to find out any information about him during that time¡­ Could he have obtained some unknown opportunities?¡± Florence muttered, analyzing the situation. The bodyguard was also extremely shocked. In fact, there was one more thing he didn¡¯t say just now¡ªthe immense power of Lucas¡¯s punch was almost enough to shatter the bones of his right hand. But even so, Lucas hadn¡¯t used all his strength. If Lucas really used all his strength and wanted to take his life, he would have almost no room to fight back. Even in DC, Lucas¡¯s strength was extremely terrifying, not to mention that he was now only in his twenties. At this moment, Florence felt a sense of panic surge within her. It was as if she had just identally lost something extremely important, causing her to feel a vague uneasiness. Florence forced herself to put aside her uneasy thoughts and said calmly, ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s not talk about him for now. Don¡¯t forget that besides dealing with Lucas Gray, there¡¯s a more important matter on our agenda for our trip to Orange County this time!¡± She hade to Orange County for two purposes this time. She had initially thought that she could easily deal with Lucas, and it should have been just a matter of a few words. Thus, she came to Lucas first. But she didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be so defiant, causing her to face a setback in the execution of her first n. However, her other n was the key purpose of her visit to Orange County this time. The bodyguard frowned slightly. ¡°Madam, ording to the information that we¡¯ve found, I¡¯m afraid this matter won¡¯t be easy to handle.¡± Florence¡¯s beautiful eyebrows furrowed tightly as she said with frustration, ¡°Yes. I heard that at the Elite Business Exchange in California, even the Smiths and the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association intervened. Vince Smith and Axel Fox, the head of the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association, both wanted to get a piece of the pie. However, they had both lost to the Master of California. ¡°I heard that the Master of California is still very young, but he¡¯s domineering, tyrannical, andpetent. Even Vince Smith, who¡¯s usually fierce and stern, was forced to kneel down and apologize in public. A man like him is really godly! No matter what, the Howards must find a way to befriend him and get closer to him!¡± A look of determination to get what she wanted appeared on her face. Indeed, she hade to Orange County this time because the Howards had received some news. So they had specially sent her to Orange County and instructed her to think of a way to establish a connection with the famous Master of California and get close to him. Even if they couldn¡¯t recruit him to join the Howards, it wouldn¡¯t be toote to devise a strategy to rope him inter once they established a friendly and cooperative rtionship. A young man only in his twenties actually managed to dominate all of California, making some 60-odd top families and forces in California bow down to him. What kind of a terrifying talent was he? He was definitely talented andpetent enough to spur any of the eight giants in DC to do everything possible to form friendly ties with him! If the Howards could seize the opportunity first, it would be of crucial help to their future development. ¡°Andy, immediately mobilize all the forces you have at your disposal to find out the identity of the Master of California is!¡± Florence ordered in a deep voice. ¡°Yes, Madam!¡± Andy, the bodyguard wearing sunsses, immediately agreed, and then he asked hesitantly. ¡°In that case, how should we handle Miss Cheyenne?¡± At the mention of Cheyenne, Florence¡¯s eyes had an extremelyplicated gaze. After a long time, she sighed and said firmly, ¡°No matter what, she¡¯s my flesh and blood that I gave birth to after nine months of pregnancy. She must acknowledge me as her mother! ¡°As for Lucas Gray, although his martial arts skills are good and even better than yours, so what? Can hepare to the Master of California? ¡°They¡¯re both young men, but Lucas Gray is much worse than the Master of California, who unified all of California! ¡°Even if my daughter is married, she should be married to a powerful man like the Master of California! If she does, she will not only be able to obtain an extremely prestigious status, but she will also be able to help the Howards take control of California! ¡°Lucas Gray is just a stumbling block getting in the way! If he chooses to be stubborn and refuses to leave my daughter, I¡¯ll have no choice but to get rid of him!¡± A ruthless murderous intent emerged in Florence¡¯s eyes. Chapter 744 - Searching Everywhere

Chapter 744: Searching Everywhere

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Andy frowned and said worriedly, ¡°Madam, are you trying to matchmake Miss Cheyenne with the Master of California? But the family¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, Florence interrupted, ¡°Save it. My daughter is naturally the Howards¡¯ best candidate. How can Pam Howardpare to my daughter?¡± Pam was a female descendant of the Howards, whom they had selected to matchmake with the Master of California. Pam was only about twenty-five years old this year, two years younger than Cheyenne. She had also inherited the excellent genes of the Howards and was gorgeous. In addition to having a good family background, she was beautiful and of marriageable age. Thus, Pam was extremely popr among the upper-ss circle in DC, and countless wealthy families liked her. She had plenty of suitors who had openly confessed their love to her. But Pam¡¯s standards were very high, and she had always been indifferent toward the wealthy young scions who relied on their families¡¯ power. She was also extremely resistant to her family¡¯s various marriage arrangements. This time, the Howards toughened up and didn¡¯t intend to pay any attention to Pam¡¯s refusal because they wanted to have a good rtionship with the Master of California, who had an unlimited future. Instead, he instructed Florence to bring Pam to Orange County so that she could seize the opportunity to create more chances to develop a rtionship between Pam and the Master of California as soon as possible. This showed how much importance the Howards attached to the Master of California, who had popped up out of nowhere. However, since Florence was aware of the extremely young Master of California and his promising future, she was naturally reluctant to let her niece have the wonderful opportunity to marry him. Such a good man should be left to her daughter! She reckoned that once the Master of California fell for Cheyenne and married her, her status in the Howard family would definitely rise since she would then be the mother-inw of the Master of California. Thus, no matter what, she had to find a way to make things work between Cheyenne and the Master of California! Seeing that Florence seemed unhappy, Andy hurriedly bent forward and said respectfully, ¡°Of course. Madam, your daughter is naturally outstanding. Everything is up to you. You call the shots!¡± Only then did Florence¡¯s face ease up a little. But she was now faced with a big problem that she had to solve before she could set Cheyenne up with the Master of California-finding out the identity of the prestigious Master of California. Based on the various information, all they knew was that the Master of California was an extremely young man from Orange County known only as ¡®Mr. Gray¡¯. Apart from this, there was no other information they could find about him. An extremely bold thought suddenly shed in Andy¡¯s mind as he said in shock, ¡°The Master of California also has thest name Gray¡­ and he¡¯s from Orange County too. Madam, do you think the Master of California could possibly be Lucas Gray?¡± He mainly felt that Lucas was way too powerful! With just one punch, he had knocked Andy backward so far, which showed that Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills were far superior. Moreover, like the Master of California, hisst name was Gray, and he was a young man from Orange County. His information seemed very simr to the Master of California¡¯s. Florence was dumbfounded, but a momentter, she shook her head and denied vehemently, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! ¡°Lucas Gray is just an abandoned descendant of the Huttons, and the small business in his hands is just what the Huttons had given him out of sympathy. ¡°On the other hand, the Master of Californi is able tomand sixty-odd top forces in California and make them pledge allegiance to him. How can Lucas Gray have such great power?¡± Florence would never believe this spection. Andy thought about it and felt that Florence had a very reasonable point. Orange County was arge ce with millions of people, and there were thousands of young men with thest name Gray. It was unlikely that there would be such a great coincidence that Lucas was the Master of California. It seemed that he was still affected by the strength that Lucas had just shown, so he kept letting his mind wander. ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s useless to keep guessing here. Let¡¯s head to San Francisco right now and ask the Coles¡¯ helmsman directly. These people in California are as stubborn as mules, but I refuse to believe that he¡¯ll be so obstinate as to not tell me the true identity of the Master of California!¡± Florence said with indignation. She was particrly enraged when she thought of the situation when she met the heads of a few top families earlier. She had actually boarded a flight to Orange County this morning. Afterward, she visited the four top families in Orange County in order to find out the true identity of the Master of California. The helmsmen of these four families were all surprised by her sudden visit. But once she asked about the Master of California, their faces changed, and they either deliberately changed the topic or said with a bitter face that they couldn¡¯t reveal any further information. Even though Florence tried to shock and deter them with her family¡¯s status, they refused to speak at all, as if the Master of California¡¯s status was higher than her family¡¯s. She was truly furious. Now, her remaining hope was that the head of the Coles, the only top family in San Francisco, could provide her with some actual information! Just as Florence took Andy and her entourage to San Francisco, Lucas suddenly received a phone call from Bruce, the former helmsman of the Hales. ¡°Mr. Gray, there is one thing I think I should report to you,¡± Bruce said. ¡°Just a short while ago, ady from the Howard family in DC came to pry into the matter of the Master of California. But ording to your previous instructions, I didn¡¯t say anything about you.¡± When Lucas heard this, his lips curled into a strange smile. ¡°The woman you¡¯re talking about should be named Florence Howard, right?¡± Bruce instantly replied, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Furthermore, ording to the information I just received, she also went to the Sawyers, the Waces, and the Taylors. But I doubt she managed to get any information about you. ¡°Since you ordered all of us to keep silent about you at the Elite Business Exchange, I reckon the other families won¡¯t dare to reveal your identity.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Okay, I know.¡± Then he hung up. But he was feeling rather weird at this moment. Not long ago, he had just met Florence, who put on airs and behaved high and mighty in front of him, demanding that he divorce Cheyenne immediately. Now, he received news of Florence asking around for information about the Master of California. How would she react if she found out that he was the very Master of California she was looking for? It would definitely be an exciting scene! But at the thought of the rtionship between Florence and Cheyenne, he was no longer amused. Should I tell Cheyenne about this? Lucas looked up at the logo of the Brilliance Corporation on the building not far away from him. Chapter 745 - Begging The Coles

Chapter 745: Begging The Coles

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As StudiosLogically speaking, the sudden appearance of Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother was definitely good news, especially since Cheyenne had been feeling extremely insecure after learning that Karen was not her biological mother and that the Carters had adopted her. Even though William and Charlotte both said that they had long regarded Cheyenne as a part of their family and didn¡¯t change the way they interacted with her, Cheyenne still felt flustered. Lucas could understand the feeling of someone not knowing where they came from and why they had been abandoned, wandering around without being able to find their roots. If Cheyenne knew that her biological mother had appeared, she would definitely burst into tears of joy! But Florence was actually so mercenary. Having a snobbish adoptive mother who exploited her all the time had already made Cheyenne very miserable. If her biological mother was also like this-constantly using her status as her mother to get Cheyenne to do things against her wishes-then Cheyenne would be even more miserable. If Cheyenne knew that her mother wanted her to divorce Lucas, she would definitely be extremely miserable.Of course, Lucas and Cheyenne had already developed a very loving rtionship over this period of time. Even if Florence demanded Cheyenne to ply, she wouldn¡¯t agree to it. But she would definitely be extremely sad and miserable. Lucas definitely didn¡¯t want to see this. He didn¡¯t want the woman he loved to feel any misery at all. The Howards.. I hope you won¡¯t go overboard. Otherwise, I cant guarantee what Ill do. In the end, he still decided to hide the truth about Florence from Cheyenne for the time being. He didn¡¯t want the kindhearted and sensitive Cheyenne to be miserable. In the Coles¡¯ guest hall in San Francisco. ¡°Haha, Madam Howard, you¡¯re truly a distinguished guest. It¡¯s our honor! Please have a seat.¡± Edmund chuckled and let Florence take the master seat. After all, she was an honored guest from one of the eight most powerful families in DC, so Edmund naturaly wouldn¡¯t be negligentFlorence took a sip of tea. Then without saying any nonsense, she cut straight to the chase and made her intention clear. ¡°Mr. Cole, I won¡¯t beat around the bush with you. To be honest, I¡¯m here today because there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask you about, Mr. Cole Upon hearing this, Edmund had a look of surprise on his face. He smiled and said, ¡°Your family is so powerful, while Im just an old man. What can I possibly help you with, Madam Howard? He obviously didn¡¯t want to reply to Florence, making her feel infuriated. She was clearly from the esteemed Howard family, and she was willing to lower her pride ande to ask him a question. A family like the Coles should have answered all her questions respectfully instead of being perfunctory. However, once Florence thought of the fact that she was now on Edmund¡¯s turf, she didn¡¯t vent her anger immediately. But her voice was much colder than before. ¡°Mr. Cole, why bother being so humble? Since over a week ago, when the Kingstons and the Walkers, who were originally the Coles¡¯ rivals, were eradicated, the Coles have be the most powerful family in San Francisco, or rather, in California. As the helmsman of the Coles, what could you not know? Mr. Cole, you just don¡¯t want to help me.¡± When she said thest sentence, a wisp of anger clearly appeared in her eyes.But Edmund simply picked up the teacup in front of him and sipped it slowly, as if he didn¡¯t see it at all. In fact, long before Florence arrived, Edmund had already received news from Bruce that she was asking around for infomation about Lucas, the Master of California. Since he knew her intention, and he couldn¡¯t possibly tell her about Lucas, why would he bother with her? Edmund narrowed his eyes slightly and sipped on his tea calmly like an old monk. Florence had a gloomy gaze in her eyes as she silently red daggers at Edmund. Standing behind Florence, Andy stared at Edmund with a cold gaze while clenching his fists. No one said anything, and the tension in the hall was palpable After nearly one minute, Florence finally couldn¡¯t endure it anymore a coldly, ¡°Mr. Cole, I just want to know one thing. Who is the Master of Califormia? Edmund touched his eyebrows without putting down his teacup. He merely said indifferently, ¡°The Master of California is the Master of California. Please pardon me. I have no otherments.¡±¡°Edmund Cole!¡± Florence smacked the table and hollered furiously, ¡°I don¡¯t like people beating around the bush with me! Since you know my identity, I want you to tell me all the information about the Master of California immediately. This concerms not only me but also the Howards! If you mislead the Howards, your family will no longer have to exist!¡± She unceremoniously mentioned the Howards to threaten Edmund. The polite smile on Edmund¡¯s face faded as he said with a cold expression, ¡°Madam Howard, is this the attitude you should have when you¡¯re begging someone for information?¡± ¡°Huh? The attitude of begging¡± Florence raised her head upward andughed loudly, as if she had heard an extremely hrious joke. She said disdainfully, ¡°What kind of identity do I have? What kind of identity do you have? Why must I beg you? Do you have the qualifications? Edmund said coldly, ¡°In that case, take your time. I won¡¯t see you off!¡± He didn¡¯t say any nonsense and simply told Florence to leave. Florence had never suffered such exasperation from such a minor figure, and her hands began trembling with anger. Behind her, Andy had a dark expression as he suddenly stepped forward and shouted, ¡°How dare you! Edmund Cold, how dare you be so rude to Madam Howard? Are the Coles tired of living?Edmund simply ignored him and said coldly, ¡°This is the Coles¡¯ turf! It¡¯s not your turn to order me around here! After he said this, several bodyguards of the Coles darted out from the corners of the hall, all amed with pistols on their waists. They were ready to draw anytime. When Florence and Andy saw the bodyguards amed with guns, their expressions abruptly changed. Lightning struck their minds as they immediately sobered up with shock on their faces. The Coles actually dared to get their bodyguards to surround them with guns! Chapter 746 - Half-Truths 746 Half-Truths At this moment, Florence''s face was extremely sullen. Edmund was right. They were in California, on the Coles'' turf, where Edmund couldmand as many people as he wanted. Andy was the only expert she had brought to protect her. She wanted to force Edmund with her power, but Edmund didn''t buy it at all. If the two sides really fought each other, Andy might be able to kill Edmund, but the two of them definitely wouldn''t be able to survive under the guns of the Coles'' bodyguards. Besides, Florence''s main purpose ining to California this time was to win over the Master of California. Thus, it wasn''t a good idea to make enemies of the powerful families of California. Moreover, there used to be three top families in San Francisco. But after the exchange, the other two families vanished, leaving only the Coles. This was enough to show that the Coles and the Master of California had an extraordinary rtionship. Unless necessary, Florence wouldn''t dare to make enemies of the Coles. "Okay, you''re fierce!" Florence forced herself to say through gritted teeth as her chest heaved up and down vigorously. She was in a terrible mood. Ever since she came to California, starting from when she had visited the four major families of Orange County, she hadn''t been able to get any useful information. Lucas had even reprimanded her mercilessly, making her infuriated. Now, she still didn''t gain the slightest benefit from the Coles. Not only did she not get any news about the Master of California, but Edmund even told her to leave without the slightest regard for the threat of the Howards. An extremely absurd thought suddenly emerged in Florence''s mind, and she wondered if the influence and deterrence of the prestigious Howards had be so weak in California. If her family learned about her repeated setbacks, who knew how they wouldugh at her and ridicule her! It would absolutely be shameful! Florence was full of anger, but she couldn''t vent it. Her face became extremely gloomy. But the thought of her family''s order for her to build a good rtionship with the Master of California left Florence with no choice but to put up with it. After taking a final nce at Edmund, she said to Andy beside her, "Let''s go!" "Goodbye!" Edmund said without seeing Florence off. Instead, he remained seated leisurely and continued drinking tea. Florence''s face became even gloomier, and she angrily left the Coles with Andy. But the moment Florence disappeared outside the gates of the Cole residence, Edmund immediately put down his teacup, took out his cell phone, and called Lucas to tell him about the situation in detail. In response to Edmund telling Florence to leave, Lucas merely said, "Well done!" Lucas was really impressed with Edmund. Doesn''t Florence like leveraging the Howards'' power to bully people everywhere? Then let her also have a taste of being crushed and suppressed! As for the possible retaliation of the Howards that she said, Lucas didn''t take it seriously at all. ... At about the same time, a distinguished guest appeared in the San Francisco branch of the Peerless Martial Association. As the domineering and overwhelming figure stepped inside the branch, an extremely powerful pressure immediately engulfed everyone. "Wee, Mr. York!" "Wee, Mr. York!" ... Under the lead of Axel, the branch head, and Heath, his assistant, everyone in the California branch put their right hands in front of their left chests and bowed. The person who came was none other than Julian York from the headquarters. Julian ignored the other people of the Peerless Martial Association and stared straight at Axel with his hawk-like eyes. "I just need you to tell me how my brother, Jude, died." A trace of grief appeared on Axel''s face. "The murderer of Jude is named Lucas Gray, and today, he''s well known as the Master of California!" "Master of California. Hmph!" A clear trace of mockery appeared on Julian''s face. Seems like he''s really brazen. How dare he use the title the Master of California?! Seeing that he had seeded in provoking Julian''s hostility toward Lucas, Axel smiled smugly. "Mr. York, please listen to me slowly, and you will know why despite having no definite evidence, I can still conclude that the person who killed Jude is definitely Lucas Gray!" Axel was only saying this to pin Lucas as the murderer. Reason being, he knew that Julian was a tyrannical but particr person who paid great attention to evidence. Since he said that Jude had been killed by Lucas, Julian would definitely try to find out from him how Jude had gotten into a conflict with Lucas, how he died, and where his corpse was. Axel naturally couldn''t produce this evidence because he had framed Lucas for Jude''s death in the first ce. Since he didn''t even know where Jude had died, how could he produce usible evidence? So he had to take the initiative to report the matter to him clearly. After Julian heard what Axel said, his face immediately darkened. "In that case, do you have any evidence?" Axel hurriedly exined, "Mr. York, please listen to me slowly, and you will know why I''m certain that the person who killed Jude is definitely Lucas Gray even though I have no definite evidence. "There aren''t many experts in California, and Jude is your brother, so he''s naturally very powerful. In the California branch, hisbat power is second only to mine. Generally, it''d be difficult for anyone to defeat him, let alone kill him. "This time, Jude somehow disappeared for a long time for no reason. I sent my people out to search for him and eventually determined that he should have been killed. But I haven''t been able to find any clues as to who killed him. "But a week or so ago, I found an extremely powerful young expert at the Elite Business Exchange in California! "Although this young man named Lucas is less than thirty years old, his martial arts skills are impressive. Even the expert brought by a sessor of the Smiths of DC wasn''t a match for Lucas Gray. He was so scared by the opponent''s shout that he didn''t dare to step forward, and he could only watch Lucas Gray press Vince Smith down onto the floor and force him to apologize on his knees! "Lucas Gray is extremely arrogant, and he kills people at every turn. He even killed several people who were disrespectful to him in front of so many families, and he didn''t take the Peerless Martial Association seriously at all! "In addition, ording to the news from my men, Lucas took in a woman who betrayed us, and all the experts I sent were killed by him even though they already announced that they were from the Peerless Martial Association. "He''s powerful and extremely hostile toward us, so it''s not surprising that he killed Jude." Axel indignantly spoke many half-truths. This was the method Heath had taught him previously¡ªto mix some falsehoods among the truths. Chapter 747 - Gisele Taylor

Chapter 747: Gisele Taylor

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Julian had an exceptionally gloomy look on his face. ¡°It seems that this kid is indeed quite arrogant. How dare he look down on the Peerless Martial Association and kill my brother? I will never let him off!¡± Axel hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. York, it¡¯s also my fault that I¡¯m not capable enough to beat that kid Lucas Gray, so I had no choice but to ask for help from the headquarters. But fortunately, a top expert like you came. Once you make a move, that punk definitely won¡¯t be able to escape!¡± While speaking, he ttered Julian. Julian wasn¡¯t moved at all. He merely stared at him coldly. ¡°I naturally have no qualms about avenging my brother. But if I find out one day that you got up to some nonsense, you should know what I¡¯m capable of!¡± Axel¡¯s heart skipped a beat, afraid that Julian had discovered something, His heart was about to leap out of his chest. But fortunately, he was experienced and sly, so he still had good control over his facial expression. Making himself look as sincere as possible, he said earnestly with a tinge of grievance, ¡°Mr. York, I won¡¯t dare to tell any lies to you to fool you! I¡¯m telling the truth. Everything is true!¡± ¡°Hmph, I bet you wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Julian snorted coldly. ¡°Where was my brother before something happened to him?¡± Since Axel imed that he had been investigating Jude¡¯s disappearance for a long time, it was impossible that he wouldn¡¯t be able to find out such a trivial matter. Axel quickly said, ¡°The Taylor residence in Orange County! At that time, Jude received a request for help and went there. There are records in the branch! But since then, Jude has never returned. ¡°We also went to the Taylors to ask about it. However, they said that Jude had indeed gone to their ce that day, but he soon left. They don¡¯t know where he went afterward.¡± Julian pondered for a moment before narrowing his eyes slightly. ¡°Hmph, regardless of whether there¡¯s anything wrong with the Taylors, I have to make a trip there! Immediately arrange a driver and a car for me.!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. York!¡± Axel knew that Julian was about to take action. He was overjoyed, so he immediately agreed and proceeded to make the arrangements. Only when he saw the ck Bentley carrying Julian and vanishing at the intersection did Axel feel relieved, feeling as if a boulder had been lifted off his chest. He waspletely rxed. Moreover, it was nly at this moment that he finally discovered that his singlet was drenched in sweat. He had unknowingly broken out in cold sweat. It indeed required great emotional capacity to lie in front of a terrifying expert like Julian. Heath walked over and said with a smile on his face, ¡°Sir, don¡¯t worry. As long as Julian York makes a move, Lucas Gray will die for sure! And we¡¯re not exactly framing him. After all, Jude died for no apparent reason, and Lucas Gray is the greatest suspect. ¡°Besides, even if he really didn¡¯t kill Jude, he can only me himself for behaving too arrogantly and courting disaster.¡± Heath smiled insidiously. After thinking about it, Axelughed. ¡°That¡¯s right. He only has himself to me! I hope Julian¡¯s trip goes well and he beheads that punk. That way, I¡¯ll be able to take California back!¡± But if Julian fails, I will be in great danger. But this is almost impossible! Axel thought with certainty. In the Taylor residence in Orange County It was just after six o¡¯clock in the evening, the time when ordinary people generally started eating dinner. The Taylors were no exception either. But there were only three people at the Taylors¡¯ dining table. Frederick initially had three sons, Gaston, Preston, and Scott. But not long ago, Preston and Scott had died one after another because they were involved in a series of events rted to Karen. Now, Gaston was Frederick¡¯s only remaining son. The third person at the table was Gaston¡¯s daughter, Gisele, the heiress of the Taylors. The Taylors had lost many descendants, so Frederick particrly doted on his granddaughter Gisele. In fact, even after dinner, he deliberately asked Gisele to apany him and have a chat in the courtyard. Frederick looked at his granddaughter, who had grown up well, and suddenly remembered that she was still unmarried. For some reason, a domineering figure surfaced in his mind, and he couldn¡¯t help being shocked. In fact, there wasn¡¯t arge age gap between Gisele and Lucas, and their backgrounds were also quitepatible. He reckoned that he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the Taylors¡¯ development in the future if he could matchmake Gisele with him. Perhaps because Frederick had been staring at Gisele for too long, she couldn¡¯t help finding it strange. ¡°Grandpa, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?¡± Gisele deliberately asked yfully. Frederick returned to his senses, but he still wanted to try asking. ¡°Gisele, you saw everything that happened at the Elite Business Exchange that day. I want to ask you. What do you think about Lucas Gray?¡± As soon as she heard this question, her face became extremelyplicated. To be honest, she didn¡¯t want to hear Lucas¡¯s name at all now. She and Lucas had probably met about five times in total. The first time was at the entrance of the Waces¡¯ Club Splendor, where she had wanted to use Lucas as a shield to avoid the ipetent Kyle¡¯s pursuit. She had tried to ask him to pretend to be her boyfriend, only to have him reject her on the spot. She felt belittled, and her ego was bruised. Thus, she deliberately incited Kyle to teach Lucas a lesson. But instead, Lucas taught Kyle a lesson and warned her sternly. That time, Gisele had a terrible first impression of Lucas. The second time was at the auction in Club Splendor, where she chanced upon a conflict between Lucas and Marc, Liam, and Kyle. But the rich scions ended up on the losing end, while Lucas bought all the beauties up for auction that day. At the time, Gisele was still very ufortable with Lucas¡¯s arrogance, but she had no choice but to admit that he did seem to be very rich, as he had spent tens of millions to buy multiple women. He waspletely like a lecherous upstart with nowhere to spend his money. Gisele was disgusted with Lucas after her first two encounters with him.. Afterward, the third meeting made her impression of him worsen to the point that she hated him to the core! Chapter 748 - Questioning

Chapter 748: Questioning

Trantor: As Studios Editor:As Studios The third time the two met was in the Lion Restaurant, where Gisele was having a meal with a gigolo whom she was infatuated with at the time. During the meal, they met a beautiful waitress who caught the gigolo¡¯s attention, and he kept gawking at her. As a matter of course, Gisele taught her a lesson. But Lucas turned out to be the waitress¡¯s friend and even stepped out to protect her. He even forced Gisele to p herself ten times, greatly shaming her. From that day on, Lucas became the person Gisele hated the most, and she wished she could kill him immediately. The fourth time they met was when Lucas came to the Taylor residence to question Preston and demand that he hand Karen over. At the time, Gisele mocked Lucas for being a fool and taking the initiative toe to her door to seek death. She thought that she could finally avenge herself for the humiliation she had suffered at his hands previously. But she didn¡¯t expect Lucas to have such terrifying strength. Not only did he beat the Taylors¡¯ bodyguards alone, but he even easily defeated Jude, the expert the Taylors had specially invited from the Peerless Martial Association. Gisele didn¡¯t actually witness the battle between Lucas and Jude in the vi that day. But afterward, Lucas left the Taylors¡¯ unscathed, while Jude, the martial arts expert of the Peerless Martial Association, never appeared again. This was enough to exin the result. From that day on, Gisele understood that she would probably never be able to take revenge on Lucas. Even the expert of the Peerless Martial Association was killed by Lucas, so what else could she do? The fifth time they met was at the Elite Business Exchange in California more than a week ago. Lucas was the center of attention at the exchange. ¡®When she saw that the experts of the Kingstons, the Walkers, and the Smiths were going to deal with Lucas, Gisele was exhrated, thinking that she could finally see him being taught a lesson and put to death. But she ended up being disappointed. Lucas¡¯s strength was so terrifying that he defeated the several experts one after another, and even bullets couldn¡¯t do anything to him. In fact, Lucas even managed to force Vince Smith to get on his knees and apologize to him in front of so many top families before eventually bing the Master of California! When the family heads all knelt down on one knee in front of Lucas and addressed him as the Master of California, Gisele was on the verge of yelling in exasperation, but she didn¡¯t dare to. In the end, she could only humiliatingly follow behind the Taylors and get down on one knee in front of Lucas, whom she hated. Upon hearing her grandfather¡¯s sudden question about her opinion of Lucas, she really had mixed feelings and an ominous hunch. Truth be told, of course she wanted Lucas to die immediately. But by now, she also understood that this was only something she could think about in her head. Lucas was so strong that even the helmsmen of the 60-odd top families of California were subservient to him, and the same was true of the Taylors. Thus, if she badmouthed Lucas now, she would only make her grandfather dislike her. ¡°Lucas Gray... I think he¡¯s indeed a powerful person since he has be the Master of California at a young age without his family¡¯s help. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s difficult to find such a person out of a million people,¡± Gisele said reluctantly with her head hung low. No matter how much Gisele hated Lucas, she could only admit that he was indeed very outstanding. Frederick looked at Gisele, who had her head lowered, and thought that she had to be shy. He smiled. ¡°Hehe, indeed, many girls should like a young and talented man like Lucas Gray.¡± He looked at Gisele and suddenly said, ¡°Gisele, would you agree if I asked you to be Lucas¡¯s woman?¡± ¡°What?!¡± Gisele abruptly raised her head with shock all over her face. ¡°Grandpa, what are you saying? He...¡± But before she could finish, a strong chill suddenly surged in the Taylors¡¯ courtyard, and a figure appeared like a menacing god descending. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Frederick shouted angrily and subconsciously pulled Gisele behind himself to shield her. At the same time, a dozen bodyguards immediately poured from the corners of the courtyard to surround the figure that suddenly appeared. But the aura emanating from the figure was extremely strong. He was just like a fierce beast wanting to devour others, making the Taylors¡¯ bodyguards feel as though they were facing a formidable enemy, and they didn¡¯t dare to act rashly. Frederick was shocked and furious, but the figure was obviously not to be trifled with, so he tried his best to ask calmly, ¡°Who are you? Why did they suddenly barge into the Taylors¡¯te at night?¡± ¡°Are you Frederick Taylor, the helmsman of the Taylors?¡± The person who came stood on the courtyard wall that was more than two meters high like a god looking down at the Taylors in the courtyard. His voice was extremely cold, seemingly filled with the snowy wind of winter. The person had obviouslye for the Taylors with hostile intentions! This made Frederick keep his guard up. ¡°Who exactly are you? Why are you here?¡± Frederick asked cautiously with narrowed eyes. ¡°I¡¯m Julian York from the Peerless Martial Association. Jude York is my brother. Do you know who I am now?¡± Bruno said coldly and arrogantly. Boom! As soon as he heard Julian¡¯s name, Frederick immediately felt his scalp turn numb and his heart pound rapidly. The person who came was Jude¡¯s brother! In that case, Julian had to be here to take revenge. The scene that had urred in the Taylor residence surfaced in Frederick¡¯s mind again. He knew clearly just how Jude had died and how the corpse had been dealt with! But he knew that he couldn¡¯t breathe a word about what had happened that day. Otherwise, the Taylors would all die today! Enduring his horror, he gulped several times before forcing himself to smile calmly. ¡°It turns out that you¡¯re Mr. Jude York¡¯s brother. I¡¯m sorry! Pleasee down to my humble abode and let me host you.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Julian sneered furiously. ¡°Screw you! I didn¡¯te here to have tea with a small fry like you. Thest time Jude appeared was in your house. Later, he went missing and seemed to have been killed. Let me ask you. Was he killed or not?¡± Julian had an extremely terrifying aura, so much so that the bodyguards surrounding him couldn¡¯t help taking two steps back, not daring to get close to him.. Chapter 749 - Please Wait

Chapter 749: Please Wait

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Cold sweat trickled down Frederick¡¯s head incessantly while his heart pounded rapidly. But he controlled himself and said with a look of shock, ¡°What? Jude went missing and even died. I really didn¡¯t know about this! ¡°Mr, Jude York dide to the Taylors¡¯ the other day, but he left right after he finished his business. I don¡¯t know what happened at all!¡± ¡°Quit pretending in front of me!¡± Julian roared angrily. He ignored the Taylors¡¯ bodyguards below the courtyard wall and jumped to the spot in front of Frederick. ¡°You¡¯d better tell me honestly what happened here that day. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill you right now!¡± Julian¡¯s eyes were full of unconcealed murderous intent. Frederick¡¯s heart was beating wildly, but he nevertheless followed the lines he had thought of beforehand. ¡°The Taylors have always had a strong cooperative rtionship with the Peerless Martial Association. Just a short while ago, the Taylors encountered a troublesome matter that we couldn¡¯t solve ourselves, so we asked the Peerless Martial Association for help, and the person who came was Mr. Jude. ¡°But even Mr. Jude was no match for that man. After a brawl, Mr. Jude sustained some injuries and left in anger. I have no idea what happened afterward!¡± After Jude had died in the Taylors¡¯ vi, Frederick had someone secretly dispose of Jude¡¯s body, fearing that the Peerless Martial Association would find out and take revenge. He had even made sure that all the family members had the same story and instructed them to give the same answers regardless of who questioned them. The Taylors were told to say that Jude¡¯s whereabouts were unknown to them ever since he left the Taylor residence that day. Although Frederick was still speaking ording to his previous n, he was diffident andcking in confidence. The reason was the terrifying aura that Jude¡¯s brother, Julian, was exuding. It was even more horrifying than that of Axel Fox, the head of the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association. This was enough to show that the powerhouse from the Peerless Martial Association in front of him was probably much more powerful than the head of the California branch. Lying in front of such an expert put terrifying psychological pressure on one¡¯s mind and soul. Thus, it really wasn¡¯t an easy task at all. Aslight bit of carelessness would arouse Julian¡¯s suspicion, and then not only him but all the Taylors would face destruction. Julian¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Nonsense! Jude¡¯s strength is iparable to ordinary people¡¯s. Apart from Alex Fox, who else in California can hurt him? ¡°Given Jude¡¯s character, how could he possibly leave in indignation after suffering an injury? Who is the person who hurt him? ¡°You¡¯d better tell me the truth about everything. If I find out that you¡¯re lying to me, I¡¯ll destroy the Taylors immediately!¡± Frederick¡¯s hand hidden in his sleeve was trembling, but he said persistently, ¡°That¡¯s indeed the truth. I wouldn¡¯t dare to lie to you at all! ¡°As for who hurt Mr. Jude, his¡­ his name is Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°Lucas Gray¡­¡± Julian had an uncertain expression on his face after hearing this name. If Axel was the only one who had said that his younger brother¡¯s murderer was Lucas Gray, Julian wouldn¡¯t trust him. This was why he had gone to the Taylors to confirm it himself. But now that the helmsman of the Taylors had also said that the person who had injured his younger brother was the young man named Lucas, Julian was almost certain Lucas had done it. ¡°Is Lucas Gray the one being called the Master of California recently?¡± Julian asked coldly. ¡°¡­ Yes. Lucas Gray¡¯s martial arts skills are extremely impressive, and he¡¯s the one who just became the Master of California!¡± Frederick pushed the me to Lucas because he would rather Lucas be the one to face Julian¡¯s wrath. Anyway, Lucas was very powerful. Even against a top expert like Julian, he should be on par with him. Besides, Jude had indeed died in Lucas¡¯s hands, so he wasn¡¯t really framing him. But the Taylors had to draw a line between this incident and themselves no matter what! Julian narrowed his eyes. Since Axel and Frederick had already said so, he reckoned that Lucas had to be very powerful. It wasn¡¯t impossible for Jude to die in his hands. But the fact that he could achieve such terrifying strength at such a young age meant that he was undoubtedly a rare elite expert. It would indeed be a pity to kill him just like that. If he could rope Lucas in and bring him back to the Peerless Martial Association, Lucas would be of great help to him and give his status in the headquarters a boost. But if Lucas had really killed his younger brother, he couldn¡¯t forget this hatred just like that. Julian pondered about how he should deal with Lucas, and Taylors¡¯ courtyard fell silent for a while. Since Julian wasn¡¯t saying anything, no one dared to speak. ¡°Where is Lucas Gray now?¡± Julian asked after a long time. Frederick hurriedly said, ¡°I know. He lives in the vi in the middle of Pearl Lake in southern Orange County. That ce is very eye-catching and easy to find.¡± At this moment, he heaved a long sigh of relief in his heart. As long as Julian went to look for Lucas, the Taylors would be safe today. As for the situation following that, he would have to see who won between Lucas and Julian before he could slowly make ns. Julian shot Frederick a deep nce before snorting coldly and walking toward the gates of the Taylor residence. From beginning to end, he didn¡¯t take the Taylors¡¯ bodyguards seriously at all, as if there was no one around. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. York, please wait a moment!¡± A clear voice suddenly called out to stop Julian from leaving. Frederick¡¯s expression changed drastically. He turned around and saw Gisele standing up behind him. The voice belonged to Gisele. Frederick was furious and flustered. He couldn¡¯t wait for the terrifying Julian to leave. But just as thetter was about to go, his granddaughter actually took the initiative to call out to him and stop him! What is Gisele trying to do? Julian stopped, slowly turned around, and stared at Gisele with his sharp eyes. ¡°Did you call out to me for something important?¡± Gisele gritted her teeth and said loudly, ¡°I want to tell you that Lucas Gray really killed your brother, Jude!¡± The moment she said this, a look of shock and panic appeared on Frederick¡¯s face.. Chapter 750 - On the Brink of Death

Chapter 750: On the Brink of Death

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Does Gisele know what she¡¯s doing? Does she want to reveal everything that happened that day right in front of Julian York? Does she not know that once she tells the truth, even the Taylors will be implicated and won¡¯t be able to escape death? At this moment, Frederick really wanted to pry open the head of her granddaughter, who had always been well-behaved and sensible, to see just what it contained! ¡°Gisele, you¡­¡± Frederick tried to stop Gisele. But Gisele didn¡¯t wait for him to finish and simply said, ¡°I was there that day, so I saw everything that happened. Mr. Jude York was indeed injured by Lucas Gray, but after he was injured, Lucas Gray didn¡¯t let him off but instead chased after him. Since then, Mr. Jude has been missing, so I think that he must have died in Lucas Gray¡¯s hands!¡± Gisele spoke flusteredly and quickly, and her eyes were resentful and maniacal. ¡®When Julian revealed his identity just now and said that he came to avenge Jude, Gisele knew that it was the perfect opportunity that she had long been waiting for to kill Lucas! Julian was extremely powerful and undoubtedly even more powerful than Jude and Axel of the Peerless Martial Association. Since this top expert hade to seek revenge on Lucas, how could Gisele possibly let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? After hearing what Gisele said, the nervous Frederick finally rxed a little. Sure enough, his granddaughter wasn¡¯t so stupid as to tell Julian the entire truth about what had happened that day. Instead, she made up another lie to me Lucas for Jude¡¯s death. He now finally understood that his granddaughter probably didn¡¯t have any romantic interest in Lucas but instead hated him to the core and even wished that he would die right away. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have called out to Julian to stop him and get him to hate Lucas. But Gisele¡¯s action was indeed very dangerous because Julian was clearly not someone she could deceive. The slightest mistake would cause all the Taylors to perish! Frederick really wanted to stuff Gisele¡¯s mouth with something and make her stop talking. After hearing Gisele¡¯s words, Julian immediately appeared in front of Gisele and strangled her. ¡°You said you witnessed everything with your own eyes?¡± A terrifying light shed in Julian¡¯s eyes as he stared into Gisele¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you dare to lie to me again, I¡¯ll strangle you to death immediately!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying murderous aura surged from his body, causing Gisele to feel so suffocated that she couldn¡¯t breathe. Her face was pale, and only then did she understand how terrifying this middle-aged man was! A trace of remorse shed in her eyes. Perhaps she had really done the wrong thing and shouldn¡¯t have called out to this terrifying person. Frederick was horrified as he watched Julian strangling Gisele and quickly begged for forgiveness. ¡°Mr. York, my granddaughter is still young and ignorant. Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t lower yourself to her level!¡± Julian didn¡¯t even look at him. He merely stared at the petrified Gisele and said coldly, ¡°Tell me exactly what happened that day! If you dare to make use of me, the only consequence you¡¯ll face is death!¡± Julian had been in society for many years and had trained himself to have sharp eyes. When Gisele spoke earlier, he saw that her eyes were full of resentment and madness. Clearly, Gisele resented Lucas, so it was difficult to be certain whether she had told the truth or was just making something up to harm Lucas. Julian hated being made use of the most. In particr, this woman was just a small fry from a lowly family, yet she actually had the audacity to try and make use of him. She was simply courting death! At this moment, Gisele was also utterly stunned by the genuine killing intent in Julian¡¯s eyes. Tears and snot gushed out of her eyes and nose as she said hurriedly, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll say it! I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡± Julian threw Gisele onto the ground in disgust and said coldly, ¡°Speak!¡± Large sweat droplets had already appeared on Frederick¡¯s head. He knew that if his granddaughter really told the truth under Julian¡¯s threats, the Taylors would all have to die today! ¡°Gisele, don¡¯t talk nonsense. You should know what happened that day.¡± Frederick had no choice but to use this way to warn Gisele about what she could and couldn¡¯t say. ¡°Shut up!¡± But as soon as he finished speaking, Julian instantly flew into a rage and sent Frederick flying with a vicious kick. Bang! Frederick, who was already about seventy years old, was kicked by Julian and rolled ten meters away before colliding into the tree trunk at the wall and finally stopping. But Frederick had long lost consciousness under the kick. ¡°Mr. Taylor!¡± The Taylors¡¯ bodyguard cried out in panic, but none of them dared to go forward to deal with Julian. His power and strength were far beyond what they could deal with. Even if they risked their lives to rush forward, they would only die in vain. ¡®Witnessing all of this, Gisele slumped to the ground and began trembling in fear. Julian was way too ruthless and terrifying! She truly regretted it now. She knew that she shouldn¡¯t have stopped this terrifying man from leaving because of her resentment for Lucas. ¡°Hurry up. My patience is wearing thin!¡± Julian shouted, his menacing eyes enough to kill. Gisele shuddered, and the overwhelming horror finally crushed her, causing her to be unable to hang on any longer. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll speak!¡± Gisele stammered, ¡°That day, Lucas Gray came to our house looking for trouble. Mr. Jude also came, and they fought in the vi. I didn¡¯t witness the scene, but my grandfather saw everything. ¡°Later, Lucas came out of the vi in one piece. My grandfather¡­ my grandfather even sent him out of the Taylor residence. But since then, Mr. Jude never appeared again! ¡°Then¡­ then my grandfather instructed all the Taylors not to breathe a word about this matter and also made all of us tally our statements. We were all told to say that Mr. Jude left on his own after getting injured and we don¡¯t know anything about what happened after! ¡°So I¡­ I think that Lucas Gray¡­ has already killed Mr. Jude in the vi that day¡­¡± Under Julian¡¯s terrifying aura, Gisele didn¡¯t dare to hide it and stammered out everything that had happened that day. Bang! Hearing this, Julian had anger written all over his face. He moved his feet, and the thick green stone tiles on the ground immediately crumbled. ¡°Great! Lucas Gray and the Taylors are really something!¡± An extremely angry and violent aura burst out from Julian¡¯s body. Chapter 751 - The Taylors’ Annihilation

Chapter 751: The Taylors¡¯ Annihtion

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Amid the terrifying aura, Julian was like a fierce goding out of hell. His entire body was exuding a shocking murderous intent. ¡°No!¡± This was the thought that emerged in the heads of every single person who felt this murderous intent! And the very next moment, Julian¡¯s body moved and streaked through the air to appear beside Frederick, who had long passed out. Snap! Julian raised his foot and stepped on Frederick¡¯s chest mercilessly. With the terrifying sounds of bones breaking, all the bones in Frederick¡¯s chest snapped, and his chest copsed. As for his heart and lungs, they had already be badly mangled under the foot. ¡®The helmsman of the Taylors was killed by the stomp of his foot! Moreover, his death was extremely tragic! The Taylors were all horrified. No one thought that Julian would make such a ruthless move without saying anything! But this was just the beginning. Julian, who had heard the truth from Gisele, obviously wouldn¡¯t let the Taylors off. His younger brother, Jude, hade to help the Taylors solve their problem, but the Taylors had instead allowed Lucas to kill his brother and tried to hide the truth! This was absolutely unforgivable! With a crazy desire for revenge in his heart, Julian rushed toward the Taylors and killed everyone he saw. All the Taylors, even the bodyguards and the servants, none of them could escape Julian! ¡°ah!¡± ¡°Help¡­¡± ¡°Spare me¡­ Ah!¡± Countless pleas and shrieks resounded as Julian took countless lives like a devil without any humanity. They didn¡¯t care who had killed them. Even though such a major thing had happened, their immediate reaction was to split the Taylors¡¯ assets overnight! The next morning, the news of the Taylors being exterminated overnight spread throughout California. The Taylors were one of the top four families in Orange County and had long risen to the top, but this powerful family was wiped out overnight. It caused many other families to panic. Many people turned their attention to Lucas. After all¡­ just after he became the Master of California, the Taylors suffered this tragic extermination. It was undoubtedly a provocation to Lucas. Thus, many people wanted to see how Lucas would handle this matter. At this moment, Lucas was sitting in the chairman¡¯s office of the Stardust Group, watching a video ying on the monitor in front of him. Edmund, the helmsman of the Coles, was sitting on the couch beside him and frowning. Only after Lucas watched the video did Edmund say solemnly, ¡°As you¡¯ve seen, only one man went on a killing spree and annihted the Taylors yesterday. He must be an elite expert!¡± Lucas nodded, agreeing with Edmund¡¯s judgment. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± The video ying on theputer just now was footage taken from one of the Taylors¡¯ surveince cameras, which had recorded the massacre that had urred in the Taylors¡¯ courtyard. Although the video was extremely blurry because of the weather and other reasons, and people¡¯s faces couldn¡¯t be seen clearly, it was obvious that the person who did it was a tall, middle-aged man who was fast, sharp, and ruthless. Edmund had gotten the video from a camera installed by a spy that he had ced in the Taylor manor. But the spy had also died in the massacre. ¡°What do you think of this person?¡± Lucas looked at a certain freeze frame in the video. Looking at the blurry figure in the video, Edmund said grimly, ¡°This person is extremely powerful. Although the bodyguards hired by the Taylors are not top experts, they actually died so simply. ¡°Moreover, none of the more than one hundred people in the Taylor manor managed to escape. Clearly, this person moved very quickly and killed everyone without giving them the chance to react and escape. ¡°I¡¯s almost impossible to find someone so powerful in California. I think that apart from the eight top families in DC, only the Peerless Martial Association has such top experts. ¡°Therefore, I think that the murderer in the video is very likely to be from the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°But the Taylors have always had a good rtionship with the Peerless Martial Association, which is their backer. I can¡¯t think of a reason why someone from the Peerless Martial Association would kill them. ¡°But¡­¡± Edmund raised his head and looked at Lucas..¡±I have a premonition that this person might be after you!¡± Chapter 752 - Martial Arts Competition

Chapter 752: Martial Arts Competition

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Lucas frowned, pondering why the Peerless Martial Association would suddenly make a move against the Taylors, who were almost considered their subordinates. But he suddenly recalled something that he had almost forgotten. ¡®When he went to the Taylor residence to ask about Karen¡¯s whereabouts previously, he had gotten into a conflict with the Taylors and had also killed an expert named Jude of the Peerless Martial Association. At the time, the Taylors were afraid of the strength he showed, and they were also afraid that the Peerless Martial Association would know about it and not let them go. Thus, they took the initiative to dispose of Jude¡¯s corpse and tallied their statements. Since the Taylors had been exterminated by the Peerless Martial Association, it meant that it was very likely that the matter had been exposed. Other than that, Lucas couldn¡¯t find any other reason to exin the extermination of the Taylors. Moreover, in that case, the other party probably wouldn¡¯t let him off either. Lucas took a sip of tea and said indifferently, ¡°It seems that this is likely the reason, and they are indeeding for me.¡± Edmund¡¯s heart trembled, and he became a little nervous. ¡°Then, what should we do? Based on the video, it seems that that person is terrifyingly powerful. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s a high-level member of the Peerless Martial Association. If he¡¯s reallying for you, then you¡¯re in an extremely dangerous position!¡± Although Lucas was very powerful too, he was facing a top expert of the Peerless Martial Association. Most importantly, they didn¡¯t know how many people that expert had brought with him. If a team of strong powerhouses attacked Lucas, Lucas might not be able to handle it. Edmund was really worried that Lucas would be in danger because of this. Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°It¡¯s okay. After annihting the Taylors, that person didn¡¯te to me immediately, so he must have some concerns. But no matter who he is, I will definitely teach him an unforgettable lesson as long as he dares to appear in front of me!¡± His words were extremely confident. It was as if he didn¡¯t take any strong enemy seriously at all. Besides, Lucas indeed had the confidence! If he couldn¡¯t even deal with a few Peerless Martial Association experts, how could he have be the leader of the Falcon Regiment and hold the title of the invincible God of War? Edmund remembered Lucas¡¯s identity. A sense of pride immediately rose in his heart, and he felt much less nervous than before. Knock-knock. At this moment, someone outside suddenly knocked twice on the door of the chairman¡¯s office. An assistant walked in and handed arge red invitation card to Lucas respectfully. ¡°Chairman, this is an invitation someone just sent. He wanted me to ensure that I deliver it to you personally,¡± the assistant said carefully. Lucas nodded, took it, and gestured for the assistant to go out. Looking at the words ¡®Peerless Martial Association¡¯ printed on the invitation card, followed by the contents of the invitation, Lucas chuckled. ¡°Mr. Gray, is this¡­ invitation from the Peerless Martial Association? What do they want?¡± Edmund asked curiously after seeing the strange expression on Lucas¡¯s face. ¡°Take a look at it yourself.¡± Lucas handed the invitation card to him. Edmund took it, opened it, and saw a few concise lines written on the front page of the invitation card. ¡°Dear Mr. Lucas Gray, the Peerless Martial Association will be holding the California Martial Arts Tournament at the Orange County Exhibition Center at 10 a.m. on the 15th of October. When the timees, we will determine the true Master of California through a martial artspetition. You are wee toe! ¡ª¡ªPeerless Martial Association California Branch.¡± After Edmund read these few lines, his expression immediately changed. Just a week or so ago at the Elite Business Exchange, Lucas had be the veritable Master of California, after which 60-odd top families pledged allegiance to him. But the Peerless Martial Association had suddenlye up with a martial artspetition to determine the true Master of California by force, which was a tant denial of Lucas¡¯s position. They were even trying to rece him! It was aplete provocation to Lucas! Edmund was hot-tempered by nature, so he immediately flew into a rage. ¡°These bastards! At the Elite Business Exchange, Axel Fox was no match for you, so he cowered before you and fled like a chicken. Now, they¡¯re suddenly ying this game because they¡¯ve invited experts from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters. That¡¯s why they are so arrogant. ¡°since when did these bastards of the Peerless Martial Association be the ruler of California? Does anyone approve of this bullshitpetition? Who are they to suddenly send you this invitation and want to select a new Master of California?¡± Lucas¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much, and he merely said indifferently, ¡°Since they want to fight, I¡¯ll fight them until they¡¯re convinced.¡± Edmund hurriedly advised, ¡°Actually, given your status, you canpletely ignore these people! You¡¯re already the Master of California. All the first-ss families in California recognize this, so why bother confronting these people personally?¡± In his opinion, Lucas was not only the Master of California but also the leader of the Falcon Regiment. His status was high enough for him to ignore this unreasonable request from the Peerless Martial Association. Lucas said calmly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. One day, I have to go to DC. It¡¯s not a bad thing to find out more about the Peerless Martial Association in this tournament.¡± Lucas had some other ns in mind, but it was not the time to reveal them yet. Seeing Lucas¡¯s resolute attitude, Edmund didn¡¯t advise any further. The Peerless Martial Association had not just sent an invitation card to Lucas alone. The other first-ss families in California also received the invitation cards from the California branch, or rather, the letter of challenge to Lucas one after another. This matter immediately sparked an uproar in California. Justst night, the Taylors had just been destroyed by unknown people. While everyone was on edge, many smart ones reckoned that this should be a provocation to Lucas, the new Master of California. Immediately afterward, all of the top families received an invitation from the Peerless Martial Association that openly dered that they would hold the California Martial Arts Tournament and usebat skills to determine the true Master of California. This could be considered a deration of war on Lucas. It seemed that the Peerless Martial Association was going to fight against Lucas this time! Be it the Peerless Martial Association or Lucas, none of these families could afford to provoke them. Although all the powerful families were invited to participate in thepetition for the title of the Master of California, those who were not stupid could tell that thispetition had nothing to do with their families. The ultimate Master of California would only be between the Peerless Martial Association and Lucas. It was undoubtedly another thrilling and exciting event for these powerful families of California! Chapter 753 - On-Site Observation

Chapter 753: On-Site Observation

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios The helmsmen of these prestigious families felt a strong urge to curse. At the Elite Business Exchange exchange a week ago, Lucas had managed to rise to be the leader of all the powerful families in California with his domineering and powerful strength. After an intensepetition thatsted for over two hours, Lucas had managed to gain the allegiance of countless powerful families and be the Master of California. Although a small number of families weren¡¯t convinced, the unification of California without any turmoil was already something worth celebrating for them. However, the peace was short-lived. Just a few dayster, they had to experience the terrifying process of picking a side to stand on again, which made all of them horrified. During thest Elite Business Exchange, the helmsmen of four families were killed on the spot by Axel for standing on the wrong side. The Kingstons and the Walkers had also been eradicated overnight. If they identally stood on the wrong side this time, who knows what kind of fate they would face! Under this pressure that concerned the future of the entire family, many families held emergency meetings to discuss what choice they should make. ¡°The Peerless Martial Association is really aggressive this time. It¡¯s said that they invited several top experts from the headquarters. That¡¯s why they provoked Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°also heard that the Taylors¡¯ extermination was actually done by that expert from the Peerless Martial Association to establish dominance!¡± ¡°Hey, two powerful forces are fighting each other. What can our small families do? In case we¡¯re on the wrong team, we¡¯ll be dead meat!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case? Whether it¡¯s the Peerless Martial Association or Mr. Gray, they¡¯re both extremely powerful. We really don¡¯t know which side to stand on!¡± Among the powerful families in California, there were such voices almost everywhere. Ina luxurious vi in Orange County, Florence was sitting in the garden with a look of impatience. Since she came to California, things hadn¡¯t been developing well, making her wonder if California was not the ce for her. At this moment, a middle-aged bodyguard with sunsses walked up to Florence and reported to her, ¡°Madam, we just got the news that Alex Fox, the head of the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association, has sent invitations to all the big families in California. It says that a martial arts petition will be held at 9:00 a.m. on October 15th at the International Exhibition Center in Orange County, and the purpose of the event is to formally determine the true Master of California!¡± The middle-aged bodyguard was Andy, who had been following beside Florence. Florence¡¯s face showed a hint of surprise. ¡°What did you say? The Peerless Martial Association is actually going topete with Mr. Gray for the position of the Master of California? I heard that the Peerless Martial Association has always stayed out of the affairs between these powerful families! What¡¯s going on?¡± Andy said, ¡°That¡¯s right. It used to be the case in the past, and the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association has almost never interfered in any disputes between the powerful families in California. However, the situation has now changed. I also heard that Julian of the Peerless Martial Association headquarters has alsoe to Orange County. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s the reason that the Peerless Martial Association sent the invitations.¡± ¡°Julian York? He actually came to Orange County?¡± Florence looked even more shocked. The Peerless Martial Association was a powerful force in DC. And because the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters was in DC, Florence was familiar with Julian. Even in DC, where there were countless talented people, Julian was a famous top expert. This time, he had personallye to Orange County, and it seemed that he was determined to obtain the status of the Master of California. Andy nodded. ¡°It¡¯s Julian York. That¡¯s not all. Last night, he already created a bloodbath at the Taylor residence on his own. He killed more than a hundred people of the Taylor family, and I heard it¡¯s because they¡¯re rted to the death of his brother, Jude. Moreover, his action is also a show dominance toward the Master of California. It seems that something big is indeed about to happen here in California.¡± Florence smiled and thought about how the change in the situation would affect her trip to California this time. She came to California on the order of the Howards, and her greatest mission was to find a way to befriend the Master of California and, better yet, rope him in. In order to fulfill this, the family had even gotten her to bring the Howards¡¯ most suitable heiress, Pam, to get into a marriage alliance with him. But so far, Florence had yet to even see the Master of California. Rather, she hadn¡¯t even figured out who he really was. But the Peerless Martial Association had already begun to challenge the Master of California. The Howards and the Peerless Martial Association shared the same goal of wanting to take over California and make this ce of riches their own. However, the Howards wanted to win over the Master of California and use him to indirectly take control of California, while the Peerless Martial Association was much more domineering and wanted to use force to take away the Master of California¡¯s authority to directly control California. The Peerless Martial Association¡¯s move was indeed a big variable to Florence¡¯s initial n. Once the Peerless Martial Association really seized the position of the Master of California, Florence¡¯s n to win over the current Master of California through marriage would naturally have to be aborted. Florence¡¯s brows furrowed tightly, and she didn¡¯t speak for a long time. ¡°Madam, there are too many variables in this matter. I think we should immediately report to the family so that they can make a decision!¡± Andy persuaded. This matter concerned way too many things. Once something went wrong, the Howards¡¯ n to seize control of California would bepletely ruined. Florence raised her head and looked at Andy, her eyes full of warning. ¡°Andy, I don¡¯t like people who talk too much. Remember who you are. I¡¯m the only one who can make decisions!¡± Yesterday, Florence had intended to get her daughter, Cheyenne, to marry the Master of California in ce of Pam, going against the Howards¡¯ decision. At the time, Andy had been too talkative and identally said something that made Florence displeased. Now, Andy had interjected again and tried to tell her what to do while she was still pondering, thus making Florence, who had always been arrogant, fly into a rage. She couldn¡¯t tolerate his behavior at all. Andy was startled and hurriedly exined, ¡°Sorry, I¡­ I¡¯m just worried that the situation here in California has changed too much, and I¡¯m afraid that your mission will fail. That¡¯s why I was talkative¡­¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Florence interrupted hostilely and said coldly, ¡°You just have to be responsible for my safety and obey my orders. I¡¯ll be in charge of everything else. Do you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes, Madam! I remember!¡± No matter what Andy was really thinking, he still agreed respectfully. Florence naturally didn¡¯t want to report the incidents that happened in California to her family. Once the Howards knew that even the Peerless Martial Association was involved, they would definitely take action and arrange for other people to handle the matter. She had initially made ns for some things, but they probably had to fall through. Of course, Florence couldn¡¯t tolerate it. ¡°In short, let¡¯s wait and observe for now, Don¡¯t disclose a single word to the family!¡± Florence stared at Andy and instructed sternly.. Chapter 754 - Mother and Daughter Meet

Chapter 754: Mother and Daughter Meet

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Andy didn¡¯t dare to ck and hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am! You call the shots!¡± ¡°You are dismissed. Continue helping me inquire about other information, especially about the Master of California. I need to find out about him as soon as possible!¡± Florence instructed and waved her hand to gesture for Andy to leave. After Andy vanished, Florence showed a trace of exhaustion. She knew that the uncertainties and possibility of failure in her mission would greatly increase because of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s involvement. But there was nothing else she could do. She had toplete her ns! Cheyenne was Florence¡¯s daughter. If Cheyenne could marry the Master of California, Florence would not only be able to reunite with her and let her live an affluent life, but she would also be able toplete the tasks her family had assigned to her. In the future, her position in the family would also greatly improve. Most importantly, once the Master of California became her son-inw, her status would skyrocket and far surpass the other Howards. The mere thought of this scenario and the kind of power she could have in the future immediately made her feel an immense sense of satisfaction. Ihave to achieve my goals! And you, Lucas Gray, you are just a stumbling block that must get out of my daughter¡¯s life! Two ruthless lights shed in Florence¡¯s eyes. She firmly believed that it was the best choice for her and her daughter. Unfortunately, Florence waspletely unaware that Lucas, whom she disliked and had even warned to stay away from her daughter, was actually the Master of California, whom she desperately wanted to find and set up with her daughter. Who knew how she would feel after finding out the truth. It was 5.30 p.m., and the closing time for mostpanies. ¡®There was a ckmercial car parked quietly near the entrance of the Brilliance Corporation. After work, people in groups of twos and threes were streaming out of the Brilliance Corporation building. ¡®When a slender and slim figure appeared at the entrance of the building, Florence, who had been waiting for a long time in the ck car, suddenly had a change of expression and became agitated. The person walking out of the Brilliance Corporation office building was none other than Cheyenne. She raised her head and looked around. She didn¡¯t see Lucas¡¯s car, which woulde to pick her up from work every day. She lowered her head and took out her phone to call Lucas. The door of the ck car nearby opened, and a noblewoman wearing an exquisite dress and a white sheepskin coat walked toward Cheyenne. Cheyenne watched in doubt as Florence stopped in front of her and stared straight at her. She asked confusedly, ¡°Who are you?¡± But when Cheyenne looked up and saw the noblewoman¡¯s facial features, an indescribable emotion suddenly surged in her heart. She kept feeling the noblewoman was familiar-looking. Florence was full of excitement at this moment. The beauty standing right in front of her was her biological daughter. Holding back the excitement within her, she smiled as calmly as she could and asked, ¡°May I ask if you are Miss Cheyenne Carter, the chairman of the Brilliance Corporation?¡± Cheyenne nodded in puzzlement. ¡°I am. May I ask who you are?¡± Florence smiled. ¡°I am the chairman of Flor Group, Florence Howard. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Carter!¡± She extended her hand. The Flor Group was an enterprise under the Howard Corporation. It was extremely famous in DC, and it was also a Fortune 500pany. Cheyenne was the chairman of the Brilliance Corporation and had been running thepany for years, so she was naturally familiar with the Flor Group. She was surprised to learn that the noblewoman in front of her was the chairman of the Flor Group, but she didn¡¯t lose her poise because of it. She extended her hand politely and shook Florence¡¯s hand in a business-like manner. ¡°Hello, Ms. Howard. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Cheyenne quickly retracted her hand after the brief handshake. But to her surprise, Florence gripped her hand tightly, refusing to let go. ¡®At the same time, Florence was staring at Cheyenne with an extremelyplicated gaze of excitement and eagerness, as well as pride and contentment. Cheyenne was her biological daughter. But after so many years, it was Florence¡¯s first time interacting with her own daughter. So she didn¡¯t want to let go of Cheyenne¡¯s soft and tender hand at all. Her daughter was now a great beauty who had inherited her beauty. Even in DC, where there were countless beautiful women, she was definitely a ravishing beauty standing out from the crowd. Beauty was a woman¡¯s best weapon. Florence was confident that with Cheyenne¡¯s looks, she could get any man. Florence looked at Cheyenne, her eyes shining vibrantly. Not only was she staring at her daughter, but she was also staring at a glistening gem. Florence had been holding onto Cheyenne¡¯s hand and staring at her with a peculiar expression, which gave her goosebumps. ¡°Ms. Howard!¡± Cheyenne broke free from Florence¡¯s grip and even took two steps back while looking at her warily. Why is this woman who ims to be the chairman of the Flor Group behaving so strangely? If not for the fact that Florence was an older, dignified woman, Cheyenne would have suspected that she had some strange fetishes. Only then did Florence realize that she was behaving inappropriately. She said awkwardly, ¡°Ah, Miss Carter, I¡¯m so sorry. When I saw you, I felt like I was looking at an old friend, so I lost myposure for a bit.¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t want to delve into the reason. Regardless of how noble of a status Florence had, Florence was still just a stranger whom she was meeting for the first time. ¡°Ms. Howard, may I ask why you are looking for me?¡± Cheyenne asked in a detached manner. Florence smiled. ¡°I would like to ask you for a favor.¡± Before Cheyenne could say anything, she continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s definitely something good. I don¡¯t like beating around the bush, so I¡¯ll be straight with you. I¡¯m going to set up a branch of the Flor Group here in Orange County, and I¡¯d like to hire you to be the general manager.¡± Hearing this, Cheyenne was very surprised. She never thought that the chairman of the famous Flor Group woulde to ask her to be the general manager of the group¡¯s Orange County branch! Chapter 755 - That Dimwit

Chapter 755: That Dimwit

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Cheyenne was surprised, but she still turned Florence down without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ms. Howard. Thank you for your appreciation and trust in me, but I am now the chairman of the Brilliance Corporation, so I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to turn you down.¡± Florence had expected this. Before she came, she had already sent someone to check on Cheyenne¡¯s current situation, so she naturally knew that she was now the chairman of the Brilliance Corporation. But so what? ¡°Miss Carter, I¡¯ve actually checked on the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s situation. To be honest, the scale and annual turnover of the Brilliance Corporation really isn¡¯t that great. ¡°In Orange County alone, apany like the Brilliance Corporation can barely be considered a second-rate enterprise. Butpared to therge enterprises in DC, it¡¯s total garbage. ment ¡°How can such a garbagepany be worthy of your capabilities and status, Miss Carter? ¡°The Flor Group is different. Not to mention that the Flor Group¡¯s headquarters in DC¡¯s assets have already exceeded two billion dors. Even if I want to set up a branch in Orange County, my start-up capital is a full one hundred million dors. And the subsequent value created by the brand will be far stronger than that of the Brilliance Corporation that you currently work at. Don¡¯t you agree? ¡°As for yourpensation, you can rest assured. I¡¯ll give you a six-figure annual sry and twenty percent of the branch¡¯s shares! You will be the biggest shareholder of the branch besides me!¡± Florence ruthlessly belittled the Brilliance Corporation and offered an extremely attractivepensation in a bid to poach Cheyenne to herpany. A registration capital of 100 million dors and 20% of the branch¡¯s shares, which amounted to 20 million dors, was an extremelyrge amount! Florence seemed certain that Cheyenne would definitely agree as she added, ¡®T¡¯ve already drawn up the contract. Miss Carter, I just need your signature, and the contract will take effect immediately!¡± Then she instructed Andy beside her, ¡°Go to the car and bring me the contract.¡± While doing this, she didn¡¯t look at Cheyenne¡¯s expression or think about whether Cheyenne would agree with her proposal or not. She simply made the decision right away. Of course, Florence had never considered the possibility that Cheyenne would reject her. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary,¡± Cheyenne said coldly, interrupting Florence from getting the contract. She was in a rather bad mood right now. Florence¡¯s offer was so attractive that it could be described as a godsend opportunity falling into herp. Anyone would be pleasantly surprised by the staggering amount of 20 million dors and agree to it immediately. Unfortunately, the person Florence was facing was Cheyenne. In particr, Florence had even belittled the Brilliance Corporation in front of Cheyenne and called it a garbagepany. This was something that Cheyenne couldn¡¯t tolerate at all! ¡°Ms. Howard, did you just say that the Brilliance Corporation is garbage?¡± Cheyenne asked with pursed lips. Florence said righteously, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve already had people check the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s situation. It didn¡¯t develop well in the past few years, and it has been going downhill since. The situation only became slightly better in thest few months. But the annual profit rate is not optimistic at all, and the yearly profit is only around four million dors. ¡°But the Flor Group branch that I want to set up in Orange County has a registered capital of a full one hundred million dors. Given ourpany¡¯s reputation and the Howards¡¯ status, we will achieve amazing growth as long as thepany is established. I believe it¡¯s better than you staying in the Brilliance Corporation, right? ¡°¡±Tbelieve that in just a few months, the operation scale of the Flor Group¡¯s Orange County branch will far exceed that of the Brilliance Corporation, which has been established for eight years. ¡°Inparison, isn¡¯t the Brilliance Corporation aplete garbagepany?¡± Florence had an extremely proud expression. In her eyes, the Brilliance Corporation was indeed a smallpany that wasn¡¯t worth mentioning at all and that Cheyenne shouldn¡¯t be wasting her time in this garbage-likepany. ¡®The Howards had countlesspanies, any one of which was much better than the Brilliance Corporation that Cheyenne was currently working at. After Cheyenne heard what Florence said, her expression was even worse. ¡°T would like to ask you a question, Ms. Howard. I¡¯m just the chairman of a garbagepany. Why are you willing to give so much to get me to be the general manager of the Flor Group¡¯s Orange County branch?¡± Cheyenne asked. Florence raised her eyebrows. ¡°Of course it¡¯s because I appreciate your ability, Miss Carter. That¡¯s why I want to ask you to help me manage mypany.¡± She gave an almost wless and foolproof reason. ¡°Is that so? But I¡¯m just the head of a small garbagepany, so how did you manage to see my abilities?¡± Cheyenne sneered slightly, stressing the words ¡®small garbagepany¡¯. At this moment, Florence finally noticed that Cheyenne was displeased, and she became slightly panicked. ¡°Well, this is actually very obvious. The Brilliance Corporation¡¯s original business situation was even worse. But after you became the chairman, thepany developed well. Isn¡¯t that enough to prove your ability?¡± Florence smiled faintly and praised Cheyenne. But Cheyenne¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change. Instead, she suddenly asked a question that surprised Florence. ¡°Ms. Howard, do you know who the founder of the Brilliance Corporation is?¡± ¡°Founder?¡± Florence frowned. She had merely looked at the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s profile twice. Apart from knowing that thepany was around eight years old, she didn¡¯t really pay attention to who the founder was. After all, it wasn¡¯t within the scope of her concern. ¡°T don¡¯t know who the founder of the Brilliance Corporation is. But after so many years, the Brilliance Corporation is still operating on such a small scale. That¡¯s enough to show that the founder¡¯s ability is really mediocre. They¡¯re probably just a dimwit. ¡°If it were me, I would definitely develop the business and make it be stronger in the fastest time possible so that it can be the leading enterprise in the region and industry. The Brilliance Corporation is obviously far from achieving this. 7 ¡°T doubt that dimwit is even qualified to carry your shoes, Miss Carter.¡± Florence insulted the founder of the Brilliance Corporation to the point of worthlessness and even praised Cheyenne in the end. But all Cheyenne responded with was a sneer. ¡®Tm really sorry then. I¡¯m the dimwit you¡¯re talking about. Ms.. Howard, you should reserve your invitation for those who are truly talented!¡±7 Chapter 756 - True Relationship

Chapter 756: True Rtionship

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios ¡®What Cheyenne said instantly made Florence freeze on the spot. ¡°What? You¡­ you are the founder of the Brilliance Corporation?¡± she asked in disbelief, her mouth wide open. Cheyenne was expressionless as she merely nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve disappointed you.¡± Boom! Florence only felt as if her brain had been smashed. Cheyenne was actually the founder of the Brilliance Corporation! She was the founder of the garbagepany that she had criticized as worthless! At this moment, Florence deeply felt what it meant to shoot herself in the foot. The reason she just denounced the Brilliance Corporation and its founder as garbage was to make Cheyenne recognize the difference between them. She would then immediately leave thepany and join hers instead. But she never expected that Cheyenne was the founder! If she had known that this was the case, she wouldn¡¯t have needed to attract Cheyenne with the establishment of a branch office. If she had directly extended an invitation for cooperation to the Brilliance Corporation, she could have even quickly built a close rtionship with her! After Cheyenne finished speaking, she remained gracious and nodded. Then she turned around and left without looking back. ¡°Hey, wait¡­ wait a minute!¡± Florence was shocked. She hurriedly chased after him while yelling nervously, ¡°Miss¡­ Miss Carter! I identally said something wrong just now. I really didn¡¯t know you were the founder of the Brilliance Corporation! ¡°But I didn¡¯t mean to humiliate you. Please listen to my exnation! ¡°Miss Carter, I really didn¡¯t mean it that way!¡± Florence was wearing stilettos with seven-centimeter high heels and a slim-fitting dress that made her look elegant and dignified. But she didn¡¯t care about maintaining her image as she ran after Cheyenne. But what she said earlier was too hurtful, so Cheyenne was unwilling to hear the nonsense of a person who had denounced herpany, which she treated as her child. A tall figure suddenly appeared in front of Cheyenne and blocked her. ¡°Miss Carter, Madam would like you to stay.¡± Andy blocked in front of Cheyenne to stop her. Cheyenne recognized this person blocking the way to be Florence¡¯s bodyguard. Her delicate face turned sullen as she shouted angrily, ¡°Get out of the way!¡± ¡°No, Madam has something to say to you. You¡¯d better finish listening to her.¡± Andy stood still domineeringly. Cheyenne was so furious that her face turned red, but the man in front of her looked like a bodyguard who couldn¡¯t be provoked easily. She couldn¡¯t force herself through him and could only stand still in ce, waiting to see what Florence had to say. Florence caught up reluctantly in her stilettos and said anxiously, ¡°Miss Carter, I truly didn¡¯t mean to humiliate you. It¡¯s just that I really value your ability, so I hope you can join mypany. ¡°Tm sorry if I hurt you with my thoughtless words! In order to express my apology, I¡¯ve decided not to set up a Flor Group branch but to invest one hundred and fifty million dors in the Brilliance Corporation! ¡°[ sincerely want to cooperate with you. This money is to express my sincerity. As for thepany operations, I won¡¯t interfere at all. I¡¯ll leave it all to you, Miss Carter! ¡°Also, I don¡¯t need any of thepany¡¯s dividends. I just hope that you can use this money to give full y to your talents and achieve your goals in life!¡± Florence was extremely sincere, and she even promised to invest 150 million dors in the Brilliance Corporation. It was no different from giving Cheyenne 150 million dors for nothing since she didn¡¯t even want the management rights of thepany and dividends. Now, she didn¡¯t know how to salvage her rtionship with Cheyenne, so she could only use money, which she had the most, to try and touch Cheyenne. If it was anyone else, they would be immediately moved. Unfortunately, Cheyenne would never buy this. Besides, she had never believed that anything would fall into herp. The more earnest Florence behaved, the more wary Cheyenne became. People often said that random acts of kindness out of the blue were for evil intentions. To Cheyenne, Florence was just a stranger whom she had met for the first time, but she actually offered 150 million dors to her. Cheyenne knew that there had to be a trap. ¡°No need, Ms. Howard. I won¡¯t ept a single penny of your investment. You¡¯d better keep it for yourself,¡± Cheyenne refused without hesitation. Hearing this, Florence thought that Cheyenne felt that 150 million dors was too little. She quickly said, ¡°Miss Carter, if you don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough, I can invest three hundred million dors or even five hundred million dors! As long as you ept my investment, you can immediately turn the Brilliance Corporation into one of thergest enterprises in Orange County, or rather, in California!¡± Five hundred million dors was already thergest amount Florence could get from the Howards. In order to reconcile with Cheyenne so that she would obey her arrangement to marry the Master of California, Florence really went all out. But what she said made Cheyenne even more disgusted. ¡°I just said that I won¡¯t ept your investment. It¡¯s not that it¡¯s too little but that I don¡¯t want to ept any investment from you, regardless of the amount! Ms. Howard, take care of yourself. That¡¯s all I have to say!¡± ¡®With that, Cheyenne turned around again and left. Florence looked extremely dismayed. She didn¡¯t expect Cheyenne to turn her down even though she had used her full authority to invest a huge sum of 500 million dors in Cheyenne¡¯spany! The Brilliance Corporation was just a smallpany with a market value of only 100 million dors and a total annual revenue of less than 15 million dors. Its profit was only around four million dors. With such a volume, her five hundred million dor investment could easily buy fivepanies like the Brilliance Corporation. But Cheyenne actually rejected her kind intentions without even a hint of hesitation. Why? It isn¡¯t a wise act at all! Moreover, Florence was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, and she had already lowered her pride enough. How could she still talk to her with such an attitude? Anger suddenly surged in Florence¡¯s heart. ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Cheyenne turned around and saw the look of irritation on her face, but she somehow thought to herself, It¡¯s finallying. ¡°Ms. Howard, are you angry just because I refused to ept your investment? In fact, it¡¯s unnecessary. You don¡¯t need to use the reason of investing in mypany to deceive me. What exactly is your purpose? Just tell me straight, lest you make things awkward for us both,¡± Cheyenne said calmly. She had never believed that Florence would be so kind as to invest hundreds of millions in the Brilliance Corporation, which was still operating on a small scale. Cheyenne wanted her to remove her hypocritical pretense and directly dere her purpose. ¡®The expression on Florence¡¯s face was changing rapidly. She originally nned to start contacting Cheyenne through business before pretending to inadvertently discover that she was her biological daughter and then acknowledge her. This method would be more natural, and there would be much less bad blood between them. But her original n was no longer feasible. In that case, she had to use a more direct method. In the end, Florence raised her head and asked directly, ¡®Do you know who I really am?¡± Chapter 757 - Another Warning

Chapter 757: Another Warning

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Hearing what Florence said, Cheyenne immediately found it ironic. These people from noble families often liked using their family and status to force others. It seemed that Florence was the same. Cheyenne stood still and said loudly, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in your identity at all. If you just want to use the Howards or the Flor Group to suppress me, I won¡¯t sumb just because of this.¡± In the past, she might have chosen to swallow her pride for the survival of the Brilliance Corporation, which she saw as her child. But her thoughts had now changed under Lucas¡¯s influence. Even if Florence really wanted to use the power of the Howards and the Flor Group to suppress her, she had a strong and reliable husband who definitely wouldn¡¯t stand by and watch her get bullied. Furthermore, as Lucas¡¯s wife, Cheyenne was very clear about the power and ability he had. If Florence really made a move, it¡¯d be uncertain who would end up suffering! Florence was almost driven mad to her grave by Cheyenne. She didn¡¯t expect Cheyenne to be so obstinate and difficult to convince. As her mother, she had tried hard to talk to her. But Cheyenne kept being so adamant, making Florence, who had always been very controlling, furious. But she didn¡¯t consider the fact that although Cheyenne was her daughter, she had never met her before, and they were just like strangers. Besides, Cheyenne didn¡¯t even know that she was her mother, so how could they possibly have any bond? ¡°What do you know? I am your¡­¡± ¡°You are nothing!¡± ¡®While Florence was enraged and wanted to reveal their mother-daughter rtionship, an extremely cold and indifferent voice suddenly interrupted her. Lucas stood beside Cheyenne and said coldly, ¡°No matter what your identity is, I won¡¯t let you off if I ever see you try to bully my wife again!¡± He stared at Florence, his eyes full of warning. ¡°Lucas Gray, how did you¡­?!¡± When Florence saw this person suddenly appear in front of her and even interrupt her, a trace of surprise showed in her eyes. Florence had purposely arranged for someone to lure Lucas far away before she came to look for Cheyenne, afraid that Lucas would suddenly turn up and cause trouble. But she didn¡¯t expect him to appear and stop her from revealing her rtionship with Cheyenne. Andy¡¯s expression immediately became solemn as he subconsciously blocked Florence, as if he was facing a great enemy. After all, Lucas¡¯s strength was far above his. If he suddenly attacked Florence, it would be difficult for Andy to block him. The moment Cheyenne saw Lucas, a trusting and blissful smile instantly emerged in her eyes. She quickly walked to Lucas and took his arm. The moment Lucas appeared, she felt a great sense of security because no one could harm her anymore. Be it getting used by others or other forms of harm, she no longer had to worry now that Lucas was by her side. Lucas smiled at Cheyenne. ¡°You can just ignore people you don¡¯t want to talk to in the future. If you can¡¯t deal with them, immediately call me.¡± ¡°Okay, Hubby,¡± Cheyenne saidpliantly. Ever since she and Lucas opened their hearts to each other, she became more and more of a gentle and adorable wife because she knew that Lucas was always thinking of her. Seeing how intimate they were, Florence was even more enraged. Since she still wanted to break up Cheyenne and Lucas and then get Cheyenne to marry the Master of California, she obviously couldn¡¯t stand watching them being so loving in front of her. Florence pointed at Lucas in annoyance and rebuked, ¡°Lucas Gray, what right do you have to interfere with what I want to do?¡± Lucas merely nced at her lightly and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t appear in front of us, I won¡¯t bother about whatever you want to do. ¡°But if you want to break our peaceful lives, I won¡¯t forgive you easily. You¡¯d better remember my words! ¡°If you really annoy me, I won¡¯t care what your identity is. In my eyes, you will just be an enemy! I don¡¯t think you want to try my methods!¡± Lucas¡¯s words were full of domineering threats, and the murderous aura exuding from his eyes seemed substantial, making Florence¡¯s heart skip a beat. Beside her, sweat gushed out from Andy¡¯s tense and nervous face. But Lucas didn¡¯t have the intention to take action now. He merely nced at them before pulling Cheyenne¡¯s hand and leaving. It was only when their figurespletely disappeared from sight that Florence clenched her fists and roared angrily, ¡°This damn Lucas Gray! I must make him vanish from the world immediately!¡± From the first time they met, Lucas had defied her wishes and reprimanded herself mercilessly. Since then, Florence had a bad impression of Lucas, not only because she felt that he was a stumbling block getting in Cheyenne¡¯s way but also because she felt that he was an unruly bastard who had no respect for her. At the thought that he had stopped her from revealing her identity to Cheyenne and even threatened her, Florence was so mad that she wished she could destroy Lucas immediately. She was the eldest daughter of the Howards and a born noblewoman. Yet she was repeatedly rebuffed in front of Lucas, whom she thought was penniless. Even her daughter Cheyenne, as well as Edmund and the other heads of notable families in California, didn¡¯t seem to take her seriously. This made Florence, who had always thought highly of herself, extremely peeved. Andy thought about it, but he still didn¡¯t hold back and reminded, ¡°Madam, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be difficult to make that punk Lucas Gray vanish immediately. Even I am no match for him. You¡­¡± Before he could finish, Florence interrupted him harshly, ¡°Shut up! Trust you to have the cheek to say that! Don¡¯t you always pride yourself on being one of the top five experts of the Howards? What happened? You can¡¯t even beat this kid who¡¯s only in his twenties! What a good-for-nothing!¡± Andy¡¯s face turned pale and then red. But he could only hang his head low and keep silent, not daring to speak again. After Florenceshed out at Andy, the anger and frustration filling her heart finally eased up alittle. She stared in the direction Lucas and his wife had disappeared and said with a gloomy expression, ¡°Just let him be smug for two more days. As long as I can find the Master of California and make him attracted to Cheyenne, Lucas Gray will naturally be a thorn in his flesh! ¡°When the timees, the Master of California will personally kill him! No man can tolerate the woman he loves being in a rtionship with another man! ¡°When that timees, it will be Lucas Gray¡¯s time to di She spoke viciously, as if she could already see Lucas dying under the hands of the famous and powerful Ruler of California at a young age. But Florence didn¡¯t know that the image she envisioned would nevere true.. COMMENT 11ments Chapter 758 - The Change

Chapter 758: The Change

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Meanwhile, Lucas was driving Cheyenne to Amelia¡¯s kindergarten. Cheyenne, sitting in the front passenger seat, kept thinking about everything that had just happened. ¡®The sudden appearance of Florence out of the blue and her inexplicable actions, especially when she said ¡°I¡¯m your¡­¡±, were impossible for Cheyenne to ignore. Moreover, she could tell from the way Lucas and Florence spoke that it was obviously not the first time they had met. ¡°Do you know the woman just now?¡± Cheyenne asked doubtfully. Lucas nodded and said while driving, ¡°Yes, I met her once yesterday. I heard she¡¯s from the Howard family in DC, but she¡¯s a really strange woman. It¡¯s best that you ignore her. Strange, this word was apletely perfect description of Cheyenne¡¯s impression of Florence. But since Florence was a noblewoman of the Howard family, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, there obviously wasn¡¯t anything wrong with her brain. In that case, was there a deeper meaning behind her actions? Cheyenne said with some concern, ¡°But no matter what, she¡¯s from the Howard family, one of the eight giants in DC. Yet you just threatened her like that. Aren¡¯t you afraid she¡¯ll take revenge on you? ¡°After all, she¡¯s a Howard, and she owns the Flor Group, a Fortune 500 enterprise. Although I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll lose, having another enemy isn¡¯t a good thing, right?¡± Lucas merely smiled before saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She can¡¯t do anything to me. Your husband is no longer a pushover that anyone can bully! Besides, if she hadn¡¯t taken the initiative to provoke you, I wouldn¡¯t have warned her.¡± A sudden warmth surged in Cheyenne¡¯s heart. Indeed, the reason Lucas and Florence went toe-to-toe against each other was to help her get rid of this trouble. She looked at Lucas with a gentle gaze. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m so happy I met you.¡± Lucas smiled without saying anything else. Anyone who wanted to take Cheyenne away from him was his enemy, even if this person was Cheyenne¡¯s mother! Today, he didn¡¯t tell Cheyenne about Florence¡¯s true identity and even stopped Florence when she was about to speak. It wasn¡¯t that Lucas wanted to hide the truth. But after interacting with Florence twice, he could almost conclude that she had an ulterior motive for trying to reconcile with her long-lost daughter. Lucas would never let anyone treat Cheyenne like a pawn and manipte her as they pleased, not even her mother! So before finding out Florence¡¯s true purpose, Lucas didn¡¯t want Cheyenne to reconcile with her mother. In his heart, Cheyenne was kind and innocent. Once Cheyenne reconciled with her mother, she would definitely have deep feelings for her. If she learned that Florence had an ulterior motive, she would absolutely fall into misery. This had been the case with Karen too. Therefore, Lucas didn¡¯t want Cheyenne to feel this pain a second time. ¡°But I keep having a weird feeling. When I saw Florence, I found her really familiar, but I¡¯m certain that I¡¯ve never seen her before,¡± Cheyenne said in bewilderment. Hearing this, Lucas couldn¡¯t help tensing up. That¡¯s probably the wonderful sense between those rted by blood. In order not to let Cheyenne dwell on this, Lucas hurriedly changed the subject. ¡°Honey, let¡¯s take Amelia out for some fun this weekend.¡± ¡°Huh? You want to take her out to y again? We just took her to the amusement parkst week, and she still has enrichment sses on the weekend!¡± ¡°Amelia is still young, and she should have fun during her childhood. As for her interest and enrichment sses, there are plenty of opportunities for her to attend them. Besides, it¡¯s very rare for us to go on a holiday together as a family of three.¡± ¡°.. Okay, but where are you going to take Amelia this time?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to Dinosaur Valley this time, or maybe the Science and Technology Museum. You and Amelia can decide when the timees.¡± The two were soon full of excitement while discussing the weekend outing with Amelia, and Cheyenne gradually forgot about the matter with Florence. The orange-reddish light of the setting sun shone in through the car window, casting on Cheyenne¡¯s face and making her look gentle and beautiful. As Lucas looked at the tender and beautiful smile on Cheyenne¡¯s face, his heart seemed to be immersed in warm wine, making himpletely intoxicated. Such simple and happy moments was the life he wanted. After picking up Amelia from kindergarten, the family of three happily retumed to their home at Pearl Lake vi. But Lucas¡¯s cell phone rang the moment he returned home. It was a call from Edmund. After Lucas answered the phone, his expression instantly became glum, and a strong sense of fury surged in his heart. But he didn¡¯t show it and instead said to Cheyenne, ¡°I still have something to do. I have to go out.¡± Only after Lucas drove his car out of the Pearl Lake vi did anger finally show on his face. ¡®What Edmund said on the phone was extremely brief but extremely important. Edmund had said that just this afternoon, one of the top wealthy families in Oregon had been exterminated by the Peerless Martial Alliance. Oregon was right next to California, and the family that was exterminated today was the Ledger family. In terms of status, they were simr to the Coles of California. This top family was destroyed by the Peerless Martial Association within such a short period of time. If it was just this matter alone, Lucas wouldn¡¯t take it seriously. After all, it happened in a neighboring state, and Lucas¡¯s power didn¡¯t extend that far. But Edmund¡¯s other news was why he looked extremely gloomy. Edmund said that all the powerful families in Oregon had also received invitations from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s Oregon branch. The content of the invitation was the same as what the families of California received. Even the date was almost identical. On the 15th of October, a martial artspetition would be held in Oregon to determine the Master of Oregon! Both were branches of the Peerless Martial Association, and they had sent out invitations to the top families to join thepetition used to determine the position of the master of the respective states. Anyone could tell that the Peerless Martial Association was going to start a big operation! Chapter 759 Joint Conference Chapter 759 Joint Conference In this situation, the major families of Oregon contacted each other urgently and also contacted several major families of California to discuss how to deal with the Peerless Martial Association. As the Master of California, Lucas was also invited to the joint conference between the two states. Edmund had called mainly to tell Lucas about this. After Lucas received the call, he drove straight to the border of Oregon. ... In the Campbell residence in Oregon¡­ The Campbells were the second most powerful family in Oregon after the Ledgers. Since the Ledgers'' extermination by the Oregon branch of the Peerless Martial Association, the Campbells had be the most powerful family in Oregon. In the spacious living room, there were already dozens of helmsmen of powerful families in Oregon. They were all called over to discuss important matters by the helmsman of the Campbells, Noah. But among these attendees, there were two people who didn''t belong to Oregon sitting at the conference table. They were Edmund Cole and Damon Parker of California. After the Kingstons and the Walkers retreated from California, the Coles became the top family of San Francisco, while the Parkers were the second family after the Coles. Even here in Oregon, the two of them were still at the top. At this moment, the dozens of people attending the conference were all holding a glistening, golden invitation card in their hands, which was the same as the one Lucas received before. But the sender had changed from ''The Peerless Martial Association California Branch'' to ''The Peerless Martial Association Oregon Branch''. A solemn-looking old man stood up, looked around at the helmsmen in the room, and said in a deep voice, "By now, I think everyone here has received this invitation from the Peerless Martial Association''s Oregon branch and that you''re all aware that the Ledgers havepletely disappeared from the history of Oregon this afternoon. "I would like to hear your opinions regarding this matter." The old man who spoke was the current helmsman of the Campbell family, Noah. After the people at the conference table looked at each other, a man with a gaunt face stood up and said indignantly, "What else is there to say about this? The Peerless Martial Association is obviously trying to take over Oregon. That''s why they resorted to this trick! "First, they exterminated the Ledgers, the strongest in this state, to establish their dominance in front of us. Next, they sent us these invitations, which is clearly a ploy to force us to admit that the Peerless Martial Association will be the overlord of Oregon! With this person taking the lead, the other helmsmen began discussing as well. "Yes! This is clearly a trick the Peerless Martial Association is ying! They also said that the Ledgers suffered their tragedy because they offended the Peerless Martial Association." "That''s right! The Peerless Martial Association previously imed that they would never interfere with the feuds between us powerful families. Yet they have now taken the initiative to jump out and exterminate the Ledgers. They even sent us these invitations. It''s obvious what they''re trying to do! Everyone knows it! I''m not willing to submit to the Peerless Martial Association and do their bidding!" "Now that the Ledgers are dead, who knows which family will be the next to die? To this overbearing strategy that makes us panic, I refuse to sumb!" "Yes! The Peerless Martial Association has gone overboard. I won''t agree either!" ... The crowd got into an uproar as the helmsmen began to rebuke the Peerless Martial Association for being too cruel and brutal. At this moment, Noah turned his attention to Edmund and Damon, who hadn''t spoken much. "What do you two think?" Edmund frowned. "Justst night, a first-ss family in Orange County, California, was also exterminated by the people of the Peerless Martial Association. And early this morning, the people of the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association also sent invitations to all the top families of California. They imed that they were going to hold a martial artspetition in California on the 15th of October to determine the true master of California. "The content of the invitation is almost identical to the ones you''re holding now. The word California is just reced with the word Oregon. "This is enough to show that the branches of the Peerless Martial Association in California and Oregon are both doing the same thing at the same pace. As for the other states, there''s no news from them yet, but it also shows that the Peerless Martial Association is running a full operation to take over California and Oregon. "If we can''t use any effective means to stop them, I''m afraid that we will all be the vassals of the Peerless Martial Association. "I think you are facing the same situation as us in California. We''re facing the same crisis and the same enemy. "Therefore, I think that our families should unite and resist together against themon enemy that is the Peerless Martial Association!" Edmund was clearly dering his stand that he wouldn''t sit back and do nothing. Instead, he would work together with the powerful families. After hearing what Edmund said, many of the Oregon families, who were feeling anxious at first, finally heaved a sigh of relief and rxed. Damon chimed in, "That''s right. This is no longer just a matter of California and Oregon. The Peerless Martial Association is so powerful that if we can''t unite and resist together, we will only end up facing defeat." When Noah heard what two helmsmen representing the two strongest forces within California said, a hint of joy appeared on his face. "Mr. Cole, Mr. Parker, since you two are willing to lend a helping hand to fight against the Peerless Martial Association together with us, I hereby express my gratitude to you on behalf of the major families in Oregon!" Noah bent forward and saluted to both Edmund and Damon. Edmund hurriedly held him. "Mr. Campbell, there''s no need for that! In the face of the threat of the Peerless Martial Association, it''s only right for us to stand together!" Noah stood up straight and suddenly asked, "I wonder when Mr. Gray, the Master of California, will arrive. We''re going to discuss proper business soon. We need this big shot around!" Nowadays, everyone knew about the famous and esteemed Master of California, who had suddenly emerged. They were discussing the major events of California and Oregon today, so they naturally wouldn''t dare to leave out this big shot who could control all of California. Edmund looked at his watch and said, "Orange County is quite a distance away. Mr. Gray should still be on his way now, but he''s probably almost here." "Hmph!" At this moment, an extremely disdainful voice suddenly came from the conference table. "He''s just a young man in his twenties. How dare he im to be the Master of California? You people are too funny! "Moreover, so many heads of powerful families are waiting here for a brat. I''m afraid that if word gets out, you people will be a joke!" a middle-aged man with a squarish face sitting beside Noah said with extreme disdain. Chapter 760 - Original Form Revealed

Chapter 760: Original Form Revealed

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After the square-faced middle-aged man finished speaking, the crowd in the spacious hall immediately fell into a strange silence. Smack! Edmund mmed the table and was the first to fly into a rage. He red at the person who spoke and snapped, ¡°What did you say? How dare you be so disrespectful to Mr. Gray?!¡± Damon also looked coldly at the middle-aged man. ¡°Insulting Mr. Gray is unforgivable! Apologize now! Otherwise, you will be an enemy of the families in California!¡± ¡°Hah... Who are you to represent the families of California? Just with the title of the worthless Master of California that you keep talking about?¡± the middle-aged man with the squarish face said with contempt. ¡°This is my territory. It¡¯s not up to you two outsiders from California to tell me what to do! And you want me to apologize? No way!¡± Edmund was so livid at this man¡¯s careless attitude that his face turned blue. It was the same for Damon. ¡°We are the honored guests specially invited by Mr. Campbell. So you can tell him that we outsiders aren¡¯t in any ce to interject! ¡°Besides, Mr. Gray isn¡¯t someone people like you can criticize and insult as you please. You don¡¯t even have the right to talk about him!¡± Edmund said furiously. ¡°How dare you?!¡± The middle-aged man was enraged and mmed his hand against the table. Bang! With the mming of his hand, a shocking crack appeared on the solid rosewood table with a thickness of about six centimeters. Countless pieces of debris flew up and scattered everywhere. ¡°ant¡± ¡°Waahhh!¡± The few people sitting on the edge of the conference table screamed and took several steps backward, their faces full of shock. The p from the square-faced middle-aged man actually broke the sturdy conference table in half! This scene shocked countless people around. It was a thick solid wood conference table with a thickness of about six centimeters and made of a hard material. Yet the middle-aged man¡¯s casual p smashed it into pieces like it was a piece of tofu. Edmund and Damon were also shocked. Not everyone could do this! ¡®The atmosphere in the hall was stifling for a while before Noah finally said, ¡°Master Lewis, please calm down on my ount. Don¡¯t get too worked up.¡± ¡°Hmph, okay, for your sake, I won¡¯t hold it against these two dogs. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn¡¯t spare them!¡± The square-faced middle-aged man known as Lewis nced at Edmund and Damon with a hostile gaze, his tone full of contempt and derision. But it seemed that Noah didn¡¯t hear the insults in Lewis¡¯s words. Instead, he smiled and called his men toe over and clean up the messy venue. This time, Edmund and Damon both look displeased. Lewis, who had been sitting beside Noah from the beginning, was obviously an expert who worked for the Campbells. But when Lewis insulted Lucas, Noah didn¡¯t stop him. Instead, he merely asked him to calm down after he broke the table in half. Afterward, he even turned a deaf ear to Lewis¡¯s tant humiliation to the two of them. Based on their actions just now, Edmund and Damon could conclude that the purpose of Noah¡¯s invitation to them was definitely not for them to work together to deal with theirmon enemy, the Peerless Martial Association. Instead, he had another purpose. Noah nced at the helmsmen of the powerful families in the meeting hall and said indifferently, ¡°Since Mr. Gray is not here yet, we don¡¯t have to wait for him. The meeting shall proceed.¡± After Lewis revealed himself, Noah¡¯s attitude changed drastically. Before, Noah had had an easygoing and benevolent attitude, like he was a nice brother. But now, he was ambitious and domineering, and he no longer cared about anyone¡¯s opinions. He was like a beast that had been hibernating for a long time finally revealing its true colors. In this regard, not only Edmund and Damon but also the other helmsmen attending the confereince felt this way. But these powerful families of Oregon didn¡¯t say much about it. After all, after the destruction of the Ledgers, the former top family in Oregon, the Campbells became the strongest. Noah said proudly, ¡°Although the Peerless Martial Association is aggressive, it¡¯s a great opportunity! ¡°We all know that just over ten years ago, California and Oregon were originally one, and this time, we will unite again too!¡± Edmund¡¯s expression changed slightly, and heughed coldly. ¡°Mr. Campbell, what do you mean by uniting again?¡± Noah smiled. ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s for our two states to unite under themand of a certain force.¡± ¡°Mr, Campbell, you have quite a big appetite. Don¡¯t forget. There¡¯s still the Peerless Martial Association waiting in front of you. It¡¯s too early to say that!¡± Edmund mocked. Noahughed indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s not that I have a big appetite, but it¡¯s just a natural reaction since things havee to this! ¡°Nowy, it¡¯s almost beyond doubt that the Peerless Martial Association is going to fight against us, and it¡¯s either us or the Peerless Martial Association that wins. ¡°If it¡¯s thetter, we don¡¯t have to say anything else. We¡¯ll all just be under the Peerless Martial Association¡¯smand.¡± Noah¡¯s eyes were full of a scheming gaze. Edmund frowned. ¡°We naturally want to remain status quo! The two states will deal with matters within their own matters without interfering with each other!¡± Noah shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! If the Campbells fight hard against the Peerless Martial Association and end up winning, won¡¯t you people of California just take advantage without putting in any effort? How can there be such a good thing?!¡± ¡°Hah, Mr. Campbell, thepetition with the Peerless Martial Association hasn¡¯t even started yet, but you¡¯re already thinking about how to divide the pieter. You¡¯re even trying to interfere in the affairs of the California families. Aren¡¯t you being too hasty?¡± Edmund looked coldly at Noah. ¡°One more thing, Mr. Campbell, if you¡¯re bent on taking things that don¡¯t belong to you, what makes you different from the Peerless Martial Association?¡± Damon suddenly burst intoughter and interjected, ¡°Mr. Cole, you have no idea that there¡¯s an obvious difference between the Campbells and the Peerless Martial Association! At least, the Peerless Martial Association is much stronger than the Campbells. The Peerless Martial Association, however, is far inferior to the Campbells in terms of shamelessness!¡± ¡°Hahahah, Mr. Parker, you¡¯re right!¡± Damon and Edmund immediately fell out with the Campbells and mocked them for being shameless. Noah¡¯s face turned gloomy, and a hostile gaze appeared in his eyes. At this moment, Master Lewis, sitting next to him, said mnhappily, ¡°Mr. Campbell, I told you long ago that we don¡¯t need to bother about these disobedient people. We just have to kill them! I promise the rest will be obedient then..¡± Chapter 761 - Joining Qualifications

Chapter 761: Joining Qualifications

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios ¡®As soon as Lewis finished speaking, the faces of the people present changed one after another. It was too overbearing to kill people just because they didn¡¯t agree! ¡°How dare you?!¡± With a sudden shout, a bodyguard in ck who had been standing quietly behind Edmund stepped forward and shielded him while ring at Lewis vigntly. He was Iron Wolf, the Coles¡¯ top expert who had followed Edmund for years! Iron Wolf was also a top expert. But he felt a power from Lewis that made him shudder. This square-faced man is likely much stronger than me! Iron Wolf thought with a wary look. Lewis nced at Iron Wolf and said disinterestedly, ¡°You¡¯re too weak. I suggest you get lost! Otherwise, you will only die!¡± Lewis said this because he was confident in himself. He was a secret trump card that the Campbells had hidden for a long time, and his martial arts skills were extremely good. ¡®The Campbells had poached him over and had nned to find an opportunity to deal with the Ledgers. But unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. Before they could even do anything to the Ledgers, the Ledgers were killed by the Peerless Martial Association. But a powerful expert like Lewis couldn¡¯t go to waste just because of this. Thus, he became an important figure in the conference between the families of the two states today. He was responsible for deterring the families. Noah had absolute trust in Lewis¡¯s ability. Even the experts of the Peerless Martial Association wouldn¡¯t be Lewis¡¯s opponent, let alone the people of California. ¡®As long as they wanted to, they would be able to get rid of Edmund, Damon, and the bodyguards they had brought from California at any time. Seeing the situation in front of them, the bodyguards around Damon also stepped forward and protected them together with Iron Wolf. But Edmund and Damon both looked very displeased. They originally thought that they were only here to cooperate with each other and unite the strengths of the two states to fight against the Peerless Martial Association together. But they didn¡¯t expect that Noah would suddenly have a change of attitude and want to take control of both California and Oregon for himself. Thus, Edmund and Damon were in an extremely dangerous situation. Even if Noah didn¡¯t kill the two of them, he could use them as hostages to threaten Lucas and the others in California. They had been too careless and trusting toward Noah. But at the thought that Lucas was on his way here and would arrive soon, Edmund and Damon felt a sense offort. ¡®As long as Lucas was here, there was no way something would happen to them! This was how confident they were in Lucas! ¡°Noah Campbell, what we should first do now is unite forces and prepare for war against the Peerless Martial Association. Are you trying to start internal strife?¡± Edmund questioned. Noah shook his head andughed. ¡°No, internal strife isn¡¯t the right word. But since we¡¯re talking about joining forces, I think we should first assess if your abilities are enough for us to join forces. This is understandable, isn¡¯t it? ¡°If the people around you are all inexperienced greenhorns, this so-called joining of forces is pointless. Once we seed, I¡¯ll share half of the achievements in Oregon with you. No matter how we look at it, it doesn¡¯t seem fair, does it? ¡°You two are the two strongest families in California, and the strength of the bodyguards following you should also be at the top in California. How about this? Get two of your bodyguards to work together and see if they can beat Master Lewis. How about it?¡± Although he really didn¡¯t take Edmund and Damon seriously, he didn¡¯t want to kill them now either. It would have to wait until Noah tookplete control of both states and obtained the allegiance of all the powerful families. ¡°Hah, those two are nothing but good-for-nothings.¡± Lewis cracked his fingers leisurely,pletely ignoring Iron Wolf and the Parkers¡¯ expert. He then hooked his finger at the two of them insultingly. ¡°How arrogant!¡± No one would be able to stand getting insulted and provoked like this! The Parkers¡¯ expert roared angrily and charged at Lewis, his fists stirring up a gust of wind. Iron Wolf moved almost the same time as him. He exerted force with his feet and darted at Lewis like an arrow leaving its bow to attack him from the other side. Iron Wolf new that he was no match for Lewis with his strength alone. But if he and the Parkers¡¯ expert attacked together, there was a chance of victory. Besides, the Campbells were the ones who proposed a two-on-one. They weren¡¯t bullying an outnumbered party. Bang! But before the Parkers¡¯ expert could touch Lewis¡¯s chest, Lewis kicked him hard in his waist. ¡°Ugh!¡± His kick was too fast, and the angle was so tricky that the Parkers¡¯ expert waspletely caught off guard. His body flew backward and mmed against the wall. Then he slid down the wall with blood gushing out of his mouth. This scene shocked the countless people waiting to see an exciting fight. This¡­ this was clearly a one-move defeat! There was an absolute disparity in strength! Meanwhile, Iron Wolf¡¯s pupils constricted. The kick he had just thrown was easily dodged by Lewis. Moreover, the n to attack Master Lewis from both sides had failed the moment his teammate was taken out. Iron Wolf gritted his teeth and dealt with Lewis¡¯s attacks on his own. But their strengths were obviously not on par. Even though Iron Wolf exerted his full strength, he could barely touch Lewis¡¯s clothes. Instead, Lewis managed tond punches on Iron Wolf from time to time, and every strike made him feel like he was being hit hard by a sledgehammer, causing unbearable, excruciating pain. ¡°Hah, is this the strength of a top powerhouse of California? It¡¯s nothing much!¡± Lewis mocked mercilessly while punching and kicking Iron Wolf like a cat teasing a mouse. Iron Wolf¡¯s face instantly flushed red, and he became even more menacing. Unfortunately, the difference in strength was too much after all. Tried as he might, he couldn¡¯t touch Lewis¡¯s clothes. ¡°Enough!¡± Lewis seemed tired of fighting and punched Iron Wolf on his chest. Bang! Iron Wolf¡¯s body instantly flew backward and crashed onto the floor with a heavy thud. Everyone was astonished! Lewis stood with hands behind his back and said with contempt, ¡°The experts of California are nothing much.. How disappointing!¡± Chapter 762 - Agreeing To The Bet

Chapter 762: Agreeing To The Bet

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios It was dead silent in the spacious conference hall. Everyone stared at Lewis and the two experts on the floor who had been easily defeated. ¡®As Noah said before, how could the personal bodyguards of the two most powerful helmsmen of California be ordinary? But Lewis had defeated these two experts in a two-on-one situation without breaking a sweat! In that case, how terrifying was Lewis¡¯s strength? While the crowd was shocked, some quick-witted people immediately began to praise him. ¡°As expected of Master Lewis. Such incredible martial arts skills!¡± ¡°Even the two top experts from California couldn¡¯ty a finger on Master Lewis. Master Lewis is truly amazing!¡± ¡°Yes, as long as Master Lewis is around, even the Peerless Martial Association won¡¯t be a match for him!¡± ¡°Master Lewis will undoubtedly be the winner of the martial artspetition on October 15th!¡± Amid the praises of the crowd, Lewis looked at Edmund and Damon with pride and contempt written all over his face. Edmun4d felt furious and vexed after seeing Iron Wolf, his longtime bodyguard who had worked for him for years, get beaten up into a pulp by Master Lewis. Seeing how smug Lewis was, he couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°You¡¯ve merely defeated my bodyguard. Is this worth being so proud of? Yes, I admit that the Coles¡¯ experts are no match for you, but Mr. Gray is the strongest in California! ¡°Wait until you surpass Mr. Gray before you show off! But I don¡¯t think you will have this chance!¡± Damon said, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray is the strongest person in California, and his power is beyond your imagination!¡± But after the two of them finished speaking, many people began mocking them. ¡°Hah, who doesn¡¯t know how to brag? We can¡¯t take your word for it just because you say he¡¯s strong. Who knows what his true abilities are?¡± ¡°Surely it¡¯s not that you people from California can¡¯t afford to lose, right? If you have what it takes, get your Mr. Gray toe here and give us an eyeopener. Let¡¯s see how powerful he really is.¡± ¡°Haha, the Mr. Gray they¡¯re talking about is the Master of California. I¡¯m really curious about how powerful he is. I hope these people aren¡¯t just bragging about him.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the Master of California woulde soon? Howe he hasn¡¯t appeared yet? Is he too scared toe?¡± The helmsmen of all the powerful families in Oregon were full of contempt and mockery. Edmund and Damon were both infuriated. But Lucas hadn¡¯t arrived, so no matter what they said, it wouldn¡¯t be convincing. Only after these people witnessed Lucas¡¯s strength with their own eyes would they know how ridiculous their mockery was! Noah was ted as he admired the look of frustration on the faces of these two helmsmen. ¡°Mrr. Cole, Mr. Parker, it seems you¡¯re still unconvinced. How about we make a bet?¡± Noah smiled. ¡°What trick are you trying to y?¡± Edmund snapped in displeasure. Noah said with a raised brow, ¡°Actually, we all know that the people we need to deal with the most urgently now is the Peerless Martial Association. In that case, let¡¯s make a bet on who will defeat the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°If the people of Oregon defeat the Peerless Martial Association, the Campbells will be the overlord of California and Oregon from now on. All the families in both states will have to submit to us! ¡°But if you people of California defeat the Peerless Martial Association, both states will bow down and pledge allegiance to the Coles! What do you think of this bet?¡± It wasn¡¯t that Noah suddenly became generous and wanted to give the families of California a chance. But rather, he felt that it wouldn¡¯t be ideal topletely fall out with them and have internal strife before the showdown with the Peerless Martial Association. Thus, he had toe up with a reason to make them calm down for the time being. But Noah had a lot of faith in Lewis¡¯s strength, and he believed that Lewis would be the ultimate winner. Thus, there was no harm in giving them an empty promise for now. After hearing Noah¡¯s proposal, Edmund sneered and immediately agreed. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s what you said. I just hope you¡¯ll keep your word when the timees!¡± Noah burst intoughter. ¡°Haha, the helmsmen of so many powerful families are witnessing it. Are you still afraid that I will deny it? ¡°Anyway, on October 15th, the families of California and Oregon will each send a team. Whoever wins in the end will be the hegemon of the two states!¡± There was a look of certainty on his face. Edmund mocked, ¡°You¡¯re quite talkative now, but don¡¯t cry when the timees!¡± ¡°Cry? Hah, you can say those words when someone from the Coles defeats Master Lewis. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll end up embarrassing yourself when the timees!¡± Noah retorted, refusing to show any weakness. Lewis couldn¡¯t be bothered to hear them talk. He simply sneered and said, ¡°On the day of thepetition, I¡¯ll kill all the people sent by the Peerless Martial Association! As for the others, we don¡¯t have to bother about them at all!¡± He was really domineering to say that he would kill every person sent by the Peerless Martial Association. Everyone¡¯s jaws dropped. What kind of a terrifying existence was the Peerless Martial Association?! Lewis actually had the confidence to say that. His courage alone made the countless people present bow down to him! ¡°Haha, how ridiculous!¡± A hoarse voice full of ridicule suddenly spread from a dark corner of the conference hall. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Noah shouted angrily. Everyone looked over at the corner. slender figure slowly walked out from the dark shadows in the corner. He was wearing ckpression wear. If he hadn¡¯t taken the initiative to speak, the people present wouldn¡¯t have noticed when he had stealthily entered and how long he had been lurking in the corner. The man in ck ignored Noah¡¯s question and instead turned to look at Lewis. ¡°You just said that you¡¯d kill any member of the Peerless Martial Association that you see, right?¡± His eyes were like a poisonous snake as he stared intently at Lewis¡¯s face.. Chapter 763 - Quickly Taking A Side

Chapter 763: Quickly Taking A Side

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone was shocked. This person was actually from the Peerless Martial Association! Noah¡¯s face immediately darkened. This was a conference organized by the Campbells, so all the security matters were the Campbells¡¯ responsibility. Yet this member of the Peerless Martial Association had somehow snuck in. There was no telling as to how much information he had heard. ¡°This is the Campbells¡¯s territory! How did you get in here?¡± Noah questioned furiously. ¡°Hah, what¡¯s so great about the Campbells? I, Kai, cane here as and when I please. Can any of you idiots possibly discover me?¡± The man in ck, Kai, smirked mockingly. But as soon as he said his name, an uproar immediately broke out. ¡°He¡¯s Kai? He actually came here on his own?¡± ¡°T¡¯ve only heard this person¡¯s name before, but I didn¡¯t expect to see Kai here in person!¡± ¡°Who... is Kai?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even know Kai? He is an expert of the Peerless Martial Association headquarters, and he is also the eldest disciple of the extremely terrifying Master Julian York. His martial arts skills are superb!¡± ¡°Wow, he¡¯s definitely a big shot then! In that case... did he hear everything we said earlier?¡± Kai¡¯s appearance caused amotion in the conference hall. ¡®The reason they had gathered here for a conference was to discuss how to deal with the Peerless Martial Association. But it turned out that a top expert from the Peerless Martial Association had been stealthily lurking here and had even witnessed everything. Some of the helmsmen who had just bad-mouthed the Peerless Martial Association were so frightened that they turned pale. ¡®They didn¡¯t want to experience the feeling of being caught red-handed on the spot, especially in front of such a terrifyingly strong person, again! ¡°Kai, right? It¡¯s not very polite of you to trespass into the Campbells¡¯ conference hall,¡± Noah said with a solemn look while suppressing his shock. He was the head of the Campbells and the host of this conference. Despite feeling extremely nervous, he had to bite the bullet and say this. ¡°Hah, what damn politeness? Is it edible?¡± Kai snorted coldly. ¡°I was just curious about what you losers coulde up with during your discussion. It turns out that it¡¯s just bullshit! ¡°Lcan¡¯t be bothered to talk to you. In short, my master sent me here to ry a message to you. Regardless of what ns you have, you will only end in failure! ¡°Also, if you guys want to rope in other experts, it¡¯s up to you! ¡°I don¡¯t care. My master said that if the families of Oregon are willing to join the Peerless Martial Association, we might even give you some credit when we take over Oregon in the future. ¡°But if you want to oppose the Peerless Martial Association, we won¡¯t be polite to you! ¡°This is a choice that affects your life and your family¡¯s future! You have three minutes to think about whether you want to stand on the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s side or go against us! ¡°Once you¡¯ve made up your mind, you can¡¯t go back! The countdown begins now!¡± After saying his piece, Kai pulled a chair over, sat on it with his legs crossed, and took a sweeping nce at the crowd. His words were like a boulder thrown into ake, instantly stirring up a huge ssh. Everyone looked horrified and uneasy. They had to make a choice concerning their life and death. There was a reason for the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s name. It was an absolutely peerless force with branches all over the world, and even the eight top families of DC didn¡¯t dare to offend it easily! Although they were currently discussing how to deal with the Peerless Martial Association, it was because of the unification of the dozens of families from California and Oregon that they had the courage to do so. If they had to face the Peerless Martial Association alone, no one would be able to withstand the tremendous pressure! Indeed, Kai was really here to pressure them by giving them only three minutes to consider which side to stand on. Kai¡¯s carrot-and-stick strategy was indeed very effective. The helmsmen of several families were clearly struggling to make a choice. The Peerless Martial Association was very powerful, and it was difficult to defeat them. If they chose to follow the Peerless Martial Association, and if the Peerless Martial Association won, their families would gain strong backing and be able to develop further. On the contrary, if they choose to be hostile to the Peerless Martial Association, these families would be miserable if the Peerless Martial Association won. ¡®Thus, many of these helmsmen began to waver. But no one wanted to be the first to take a stand, so they all looked around at each other, waiting for someone to stand first. Watching this scene, Edmund and Damon frowned. Although the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s method was simple, it was very effective, as it managed to easily divide the families of California and Oregon, which were in a state of disunity in the first ce. Besides, once the first person who chose the Peerless Martial Association came forward, the situation would probably blow out of proportion and be even worse. Noah was very clear of this too. He had long coveted Oregon and even California, and it took him a lot of effort to get to this situation today. How could he be willing to let the people of the Peerless Martial Association ruin things for him and snatch away these families¡¯ allegiances, which should belong to him? The furious Noah pointed at Kai and threatened, ¡°Kai, don¡¯t be too arrogant! Don¡¯t think that the Campbells are afraid of you! I advise you to behave and leave now, or else you won¡¯t be able to leave even if you want toter!¡± With an extremely exaggerated smile, Kai patted his chest and made himself look terrified. ¡°Ah, I won¡¯t be able to leave even if I want to? I¡¯m really scared. Psht!¡± He spat on the floor. Noah¡¯s chest heaved up and down violently, clearly infuriated by the deliberate mocking. With an icy cold gaze, he turned to Lewis beside him.. ¡°Master Lewis, it seems that I¡¯ll have to trouble you!¡± Chapter 764 - Determining Victory With One Move

Chapter 764: Determining Victory With One Move

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios ¡°Hah, it¡¯s just a small fry from the Peerless Martial Association. I can beat ten such people alone!¡± Lewis stared at Kai with a chilling expression. He was extremely displeased as well. After he had just said that he would kill every person of the Peerless Martial Association who came, Kai had humiliated him in public. Given Lewis¡¯s arrogant nature, he had long lost his temper. After hearing Lewis¡¯s domineering words, many frightened helmsmen immediately returned to their senses, as if they had found their pir of support. ¡°That¡¯s right! Master Lewis is so powerful. So what if he¡¯s an expert from the Peerless Martial Association?¡± ¡°Yeah! We were discussing going against the mysterious and powerful Julian York. Now, the person who came is only Julian York¡¯s apprentice. What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± ¡°Master Lewis is so powerful, so he can definitely defeat Kai! Why should we bother taking a side? There¡¯s no need for it at all!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Master Lewis, you must get rid of Kai from the Peerless Martial Association and show him who¡¯s boss!¡± Lewis raised his head even higher amid these praises. He felt extremely proud. Kai suddenly grinned. ¡°Haha, Master Lewis? How dare a small fry call like you calling yourself a master in front of me?¡± ¡°Even your master wouldn¡¯t dare to be so arrogant in front of me! ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, get lost right now, and I can spare your life! Otherwise, I can kill a small fry like you easily!¡± He was even more arrogant than Lewis! ¡°Hmph. Let me see what you¡¯re capable of and what qualifications you have to talk like this in front of me!¡± Lewis had been enraged by the merciless mocking, and his desire to fight surged. He stood up and stepped on the floor with all his might, causing the wooden floor to crack with the spot under his feet as the center. Bang! At the same time, Lewis used the recoil to shoot toward Kai like an arrow shot from its bow! ¡®These two top powerhouses were finally going to exchange blows! ¡®The numerous people present couldn¡¯t help standing up to look at the battle in front of them agitatedly. ¡°Quick, take a look! Master Lewis is as quick as lightning! Kai hasn¡¯t even reacted yet. He¡¯s still sitting on his chair stupidly!¡± ¡°Haha, I think he¡¯s just a braggart. In terms of ability, he¡¯s nothingpared to Master Lewis!¡± ¡°He¡¯s just throwing his weight around because he¡¯s from the Peerless Martial Association! Just wait. Master Lewis will beat him into a pulp!¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t he very arrogant just now? He even gave us three minutes to pick a side. Hah! He¡¯s going to be beaten to death by Master Lewis. Let¡¯s see how arrogant he can be then!¡± In the hall, apart from Edmund and Damon, everyone else was from Oregon. ¡®They naturally hoped that Lewis, who represented Oregon, could put the Peerless Martial Association to shame. Although the battle just started, Master Lewis¡¯s act of breaking the wooden floor with his foot was already shocking enough. On the other hand, Kai was still sitting on his chair with his legs crossed, seemingly yet to react. ¡®The ending was almost certain! Noah said proudly to Edmund, ¡°Mr. Cole, this is Master Lewis¡¯s power. I¡¯m afraid there isn¡¯t a single person in California who canpare to him, right?¡± But before he could finish speaking, a loud bang resounded. A thunderous sound caused the entire hall to shake. Someone inhaled sharply. ¡°How is that possible?¡± Edmund sneered. ¡°You¡¯d better first take a look at how badly the Master Lewis you¡¯re so proud of is doing!¡± Noah couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to Edmund and hurriedly turned his head to look in the center of the hall. Kai was still sitting on his chair with his legs crossed. But there was a foot about ten centimeters to the right of his brain. However, the foot didn¡¯tnd on Kai¡¯s head, and instead, a hand grasped the ankle tightly, rendering it immobile. It looked like a scene out of a martial arts movie! The loud sound was from the collision of Maser Lewis¡¯s foot and Kai¡¯s palm! The contact of their bodies alone could produce such a loud sound. Clearly, their power and speed were incredible. ¡®The most terrifying thing was that Kai still looked extremely rxed, seemingly not using his full strength at all! On the contrary, veins were bulging from Master Lewis¡¯s forehead. He was clenching his jaws, his face was red, and even his grabbed leg was trembling. Anyyman could tell who lost. ¡°Master Lewis? ¡°Kill every single member of the Peerless Martial Association that you see? ¡°Want to teach me a lesson?¡± Kai said teasingly. Every sentence he said was like a hard p to the faces of Master Lewis and the bigwigs of Oregon. Noah was extremely upset. He didn¡¯t expect that Master Lewis, the top expert he had ced high hopes on, would be restrained and subdued by Kai in one move! ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just the first time you¡¯ve exchanged blows! Master Lewis hasn¡¯t brought his strength into full y yet, so why are you so proud? Master Lewis, you don¡¯t have to hold back with him. Just defeat him with all your might! Even if you kill him, the Campbells will negotiate with the Peerless Martial Association!¡± Noah said loudly through clenched teeth. What he meant was that Master Lewis had shown Kai mercy only because he was concerned about the power of the Peerless Martial Association. As a result, he lost the first round to Kai. Hearing what Noah said, many helmsmen seemed toe to a sudden realization. ¡°I knew it. How could Master Lewis not defeat Kai? It turns out he¡¯s going easy on him.¡± ¡°Master Lewis, don¡¯t go easy on him. We¡¯ll take responsibility if you end up killing him!¡± After hearing Noah¡¯s words, Lewis felt like cursing at him! Are you f*cking blind!?! My leg is about to break. How am I supposed to defeat him? Use my head? It¡¯s okay to kill him? Damn it. The person in danger now is me! Lewis was about to roar! Chapter 765 - Lucas Appears

Chapter 765: Lucas Appears

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, from the first moment Lewis saw Kai, he felt that Kai was not a simple expert at all. The fact that he had failed to notice Kai had been lurking in the venue was enough to arouse Lewis¡¯s wariness. But he had merely thought that Kai was someone he couldn¡¯t deal with easily. In Lewis¡¯s heart, Kai was no match for him at all because Lewis¡¯s target was Kai¡¯s master, Julian York! So Lewis was furious at Kai¡¯s ridicule. Deep down, he wanted to teach Kai a hard lesson. Therefore, Lewis didn¡¯t hold back when he kicked him just now. Instead, he went all out and exerted all his power! But when his kick was about tond on Kai, he suddenly felt a terrifying aura erupting from Kai¡¯s seemingly nonchnt eyes. The next moment, Kai effortlessly stopped his kick! Even though he was exerting all his strength, he couldn¡¯t break through nor break free from Kai¡¯s palm! But as the expert of the Campbells, Lewis had the dignity of a powerhouse. Although he now knew that he had suffered a loss for underestimating his enemy and was actually no match for Kai, he wasn¡¯t willing to admit defeat and beg for mercy. He gritted his teeth and used Kai¡¯s grip on his foot as leverage to draw closer to Kai while putting his fingers together and striking at Kai¡¯s face with his palm like it was a knife in a bid to force Kai to let go of his ankle. But at this moment Snap! An extremely clear sound of bones breaking spread to the ears of everyone present! At the same time, an iparably harsh and miserable scream emanated from Lewis¡¯s throat, making people¡¯s scalp tingle! ¡°Abhbhhh!¡± Lewis¡¯s ankle bones were actually crushed by Kai! ¡°Hmph, you overestimated yourself!¡± Kai snorted coldly. Then he lifted Lewis¡¯s crushed calf, raised him upside down like a sack, and swung him around in the air before smashing him hard onto the floor. Bang! Kai¡¯s m was so powerful that when Lewis¡¯s head mmed into the floor, his brain immediately exploded. He was no longer alive! This bloody and terrifying scene instantly made countless people scream. Noah¡¯s pupils constricted violently, his fingernails dug into his hand, and he began shuddering vigorously. The powerhouse Lewis, whom the Campbells had been the proudest of, actually died in Kai¡¯s hands! Moreover, he had managed to do so using only two moves! He died so miserably that his corpse wasn¡¯t even recognizable! Not only Noah, but also all the noblemen of Oregon felt a chill run down their spines when they saw this. Horror! Kai¡¯s strength was terrifying! ¡°Hah, you people asked for this. You want to deal with the experts of the Peerless Martial Association? Seems like you¡¯re nothing!¡± Kai pped his hands disdainfully. His words instantly made almost everyone present fall into despair. Indeed, the reason they had gathered here was to discuss ns and to find experts to deal with the people of the Peerless Martial Association. Lewis was the strongest expert in Oregon! But even he had been killed so easily by Kai, so how could they possibly defeat his master, Julian? At the martial artspetition on October 15th, who else could they use topete with the Peerless Martial Association? Everyone was terribly dejected. ¡°As I said earlier, I¡¯ll give you three minutes to think it over and decide if you want to stand on the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s side or oppose us and be our enemies. ¡°although there were hups in between, your three minutes are up. You should have already made your choices! ¡°Now, tell me what your choice is!¡± Kai stood in the center of the venue and looked at everyone domineeringly. With the bloodied corpse of Lewis as deterrence, the helmsmen of the big families of Oregon didn¡¯t dare to hesitate any longer and immediately chose to join the Peerless Martial Association. ¡°The Peerless Martial Association is really domineering!¡± But at this moment, a mocking voice came clearly from the entrance of the venue. Hearing this familiar voice, Edmund and Damon burst with surprise and turned their heads to look at the entrance. They eximed joyfully in unison, ¡°Mr. Gray!¡± Lucas was finally here! With Damon¡¯s and Edmund¡¯s shout, the crowd in the hall immediately understood the identity of the person who appeared. The only person who could be called ¡®Mr. Gray¡¯ by the heads of the tworgest families in California was the Master of California! But although the crowd had heard of the Master of California and knew that he was very young, they were still shocked to see him in person. Was this young man who seemed harmless and innocent really the Master of California, who had unified all of California? Noah sneered. ¡°Hah, I thought the Master of California would be some heroic figure, but I never expected him to be just a greenhorn! It seems that there really aren¡¯t anypetent people in California. This young man actually managed to make dozens of big families in California acknowledge him as their master. What a joke!¡± Edmund retorted, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him being a young man? If strength is measured by appearance and age, then an old and ugly person like you should be a peerless master! The Master Lewis you invited wasn¡¯t young either. You bragged so much about him, but so what? ¡°If you think Mr. Gray is ipetent, then stop struggling and surrender your allegiance to the Peerless Martial Association right now. We don¡¯t have to bother with the martial artspetition either. We¡¯ll just take the Peerless Martial Association as our master!¡± Edmun¨¦d criticized Noah so badly that he was speechless. Although he didn¡¯t approve of Lucas, he was absolutely unwilling to kneel down to pledge allegiance to the Peerless Martial Association! There were many people in the venue who shared the same thoughts as Noah. It was mainly because they all felt that Lucas was too young and wouldn¡¯t be a match for Kai. This Master of California was really a disappointment to them! But the moment Kai saw Lucas, he suddenly stopped looking nonchnt and became solemn. From Lucas¡¯s seemingly calm body, He could sense a hidden aura that even made him feel frightened. Since he could have this terrifying ability to conceal his aura, Lucas definitely wasn¡¯t a simple person! ¡°Are you the Master of California?¡± Kai asked as he stood up from his chair, seemingly preparing to face a great enemy.. Chapter 766 - Fragile

Chapter 766: Fragile

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios As Julian¡¯s personal apprentice, the reason Kai hade to the conference of the families of the two states held by the Campbells wasn¡¯t as simple as breaking up the alliance between the two states and making the major families in Oregon submit to the Peerless Martial Association. The other reason was to test Lucas¡¯s skills. Julian could be among the top ten experts in the headquarters of the Peerless Martial Association was certainly not just because of his martial arts skills. Since he could reach such a high position, he obviously had a brain. Last night, he had learned from the Taylors that his brother, Jude, had indeed been killed by Lucas. After causing a bloodbath at the Taylors¡¯, Julian had truly wanted to kill Lucas immediately to avenge his brother. But just before he went, he forcibly held back his n. This was because he learned from Gisele that Lucas had killed Jude in a very short amount of time, and it could almost be considered an instant kill. Julian was very clear about his brother¡¯s strength. Someone who wasn¡¯t powerful enough absolutely wouldn¡¯t be able to kill him! He had always been a cautious person, so he had simply given Kai the task of testing Lucas¡¯s ability. Thus, Kai didn¡¯t take Lucas lightly just because he was a young man under thirty years old. Instead, he was extremely cautious and wary from the start. If he wanted to seize control of California and Oregon at the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s martial artspetition in seven days, Lucas definitely had to die! ¡°Who are you?¡± Lucas asked rhetorically while standing with his head held high. ¡°Me? I¡¯m the one who came to take your life!¡± Kai shouted before dashing toward Lucas. He was as quick as a bolt of lightning as he cut a streak in the air and instantly appeared in front of Lucas. This attack waspletely unexpected, and there seemed to be no time for Lucas to react at all. His purpose was to test Lucas and kill him directly if possible. There was no point in standing there and talking so much nonsense. Only when Kai appeared in front of Lucas did many people present realize that they had already started fighting over a slight conflict! ¡°Mr. Gray, be careful!¡± Edmund eximed anxiously. Beside him, Damon looked at Lucas worriedly. Noah, standing on the other side, narrowed his eyes slightly. His mood was a bitplicated now. On the one hand, Noah didn¡¯t want to admit that this young man in front of him was the Master of California, and all the more, he didn¡¯t want to believe that he was more powerful than Lewis. Even Lewis had lost to Kai, so this young man named Lucas Gray would definitely not be a match for him! If he could beat Kai, wouldn¡¯t it mean that the expert he had found was no match for him? Thus, Noah didn¡¯t want to see Lucas win. But on the other hand, if Lucas also lost to Kai, the various families present would probably be deterred by the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s strength and surrender to them. When the time came, there would be nothing he could use topete with the Peerless Martial Association for the title of the Master of Oregon. The weak and powerless Campbells would lose all hope! From this perspective, he still hoped that Lucas could defeat the Peerless Martial Association. No one paid attention to the look of dilemma on Noah¡¯s face, as everyone¡¯s eyes were attracted to Lucas and Kai. Kai was extremely fast, and he reached Lucas almost immediately. He raised his hand and threw a ferocious hook at Lucas¡¯s face. But Lucas stood still, seemingly dumbfounded, as he watched Kai¡¯s fist getting closer and closer to him. ¡°Damn it. Is this kid scared stupid?! Why is he standing there motionlessly?¡± ¡°Is this the Master of California? What a lousy reaction and performance! What kind of expert is this?¡± ¡°Why is he standing there like a log! Given his level, any of my family¡¯s bodyguards can easily be the Master of California. How lousy!¡± The helmsmen of the wealthy families of Oregon began yelling when they saw Lucas standing still because they had expected better from him. Seeing Lucas not moving, Kai couldn¡¯t help feeling a touch of disappointment in his heart. This Master of California¡¯s strength seemed to be much worse than he thought. He couldn¡¯t even dodge a punch from him. But even if Lucas couldn¡¯t dodge it, Kai had no intention of going easy on him. If someone was not as good as others, their only fate would be death! ¡°Go to hell!¡± Kai smashed his fast at Lucas¡¯s fist! Whoosh! But to his surprise, his ferocious punch that was supposed to hit the target suddenly missed! Lucas, who had been less than 20 centimeters away from his fist, suddenly disappeared in an instant! Indeed, he seemed to have vanished instantly. So the punch, which contained all the power he umted, hit the air, and Kai lunged forward because of the inertia. Before he could think about what happened, a strong sense of danger suddenly came from behind him, giving him goosebumps. Oh god! As this thought shed through his mind, Kai quickly adjusted his body in the air to avoid the danger. But it was already toote! He had just started to move when a massive and unparalleled force came from behind him and struck him in the back like a huge mountain! Bang! Bang! Two explosive impact sounds rang out almost consecutively. The first sound was the sound of Lucas¡¯s leg viciously smashing into Kai! The second sound was that of Kai¡¯s body mming into the floor! The force of this blow was so great that a deep crater formed in the wooden floor beneath Kai, and countless spider web-like cracks burst around it and spread in all directions. Kai¡¯s spine was broken, and his face was full of horror, but his life was over! This scene left everyone shocked! Everyone looked at the young figure in astonishment, unable to speak for a long time. All that was left was the sound of rapid heartbeats and gulping. Just a few minutes ago, Kai, an expert of the Peerless Martial Association, beat Lewis, the Campbells top expert, to death in two moves. But now, the young man Lucas killed him in one move! Did this mean that Lewis and Kai were weak and unable to take a single blow? No, it only meant that Lucas was far stronger than them! Chapter 767 - Stronger Expert

Chapter 767: Stronger Expert

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios After a long period of dead silence, Edmund was the first to return to his senses andughed out loud. ¡°Hahaha! Did you see that? That¡¯s the strength of Mr. Gray, the Master of California!¡± At this moment, there was joy written all over Edmund¡¯s face. He felt confident and proud. He initially thought that the meeting at the Campbells¡¯ today was just a discussion for the families of the two states. But he didn¡¯t expect the Campbells to be so ambitious as to want to be the ruler of California and Oregon. Edmund hadn¡¯t been well prepared, and since he was in Oregon, he was restricted and restrained in every aspect, making him feel tied up. Until this moment, when he saw Lucas killing the arrogant Kai in one move, he immediately felt refreshed, energetic, and proud. It was the same for Damon. Lucas¡¯s move was aplete blow to the pride of the Campbells and the people of Oregon. It brought prestige to the families of California! ¡°Haha, as we said before, Mr. Gray is the strongest person in California. As long as he¡¯s around, there¡¯s no reason to fear the Peerless Martial Association!¡± Damon burst intoughter. Then he seemed to recall something as he smiled at Noah, who looked sullen beside him. ¡°Mr. Campbell, the bet you mentioned earlier should still stand, right? In both states, anyone who can defeat the Peerless Martial Association will be themon hegemon of California and Oregon!¡± Noah¡¯s face was extremely gloomy, but he had indeed proposed this bet in front of all the families here. Now, he naturally couldn¡¯t deny it. Otherwise, the prestige of the Campbells would be tarnished! ¡°Hmph, there are still seven days until thepetition. Before then, we families of Oregon will definitely find a stronger powerhouse! We don¡¯t know the final oue yet, so don¡¯t get toocent!¡± Noah said resentfully. Edmund and Damon both took it as Noah being stubborn and didn¡¯t bother with him. Instead, they walked toward Lucas happily. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Mr. Gray!¡± ¡®Thus, it had only been two minutes since Lucas appeared in the meeting hall before he left under the escort of Edmund and Damon. Lucas was in a daze for a moment. He drove several hours to get here, but what exactly did hee here for? Did I just settle the matter by killing a person from the Peerless Martial Association? ¡°Haha, Mr. Gray, the matter here has indeed been settled. I¡¯ll tell you the details when we¡¯re in the car!¡± Edmund said excitedly and invited Lucas into the car. On the other hand, in the Campbells¡¯ meeting hall, there was nothing but dead silence for a long time until Lucas andpany left. From time to time, some people turned to look at Noah, while others secretly nced at the corpses of Kai and Lewis on the floor. Everyone had amon thought. Lucas Gray, the Master of California, is so strong. Do we still have any chances of winning? ¡°Mr. Campbell, there are only seven days left until thepetition. Can we really find a supreme expert who¡¯s strong enough to rival the Master of California within such a short period of time?¡± Finally, one of the helmsmen spoke up. Everyone immediately looked at Noah, waiting for his answer. Right now, the Campbells were the strongest family in Oregon and also the initiator of this conference to discuss measures for dealing with the Peerless Martial Association! Seven dayster, thepetition would not only be a battle between the families of Oregon and the Peerless Martial Association but also a battle with California. It was because Noah had proposed a bet that stipted that the final winner would be the overlord of both California and Oregon! ¡®When Noah proposed this bet, all the powerful families of Oregon had the utmost confidence in Lewis, especially after seeing him easily deal with the bodyguards of the helmsmen of the two most powerful families of California. Therefore, when Noah and Edmund both proposed this bet, none of the families of Oregon stepped forward to oppose it. After all, the conditions were favorable to them at the time, so why not? But there was now a drastic change in the situation. Lewis, whom they had had high hopes for, had been killed in seconds by Kai of the Peerless Martial Association. But the powerful Kai had unexpectedly been killed in seconds by Lucas Gray of California! Didn¡¯t this mean that Lucas, the young man from California, would be taking over the hegemony of the two states? They, the wealthy families of Oregon, would actually have to bow down to a young man from another state. Such a result waspletely uneptable to them! Noah¡¯s face was naturally extremely gloomy as he faced the questioning gazes of these helmsmen. Lewis had been a top expert that the Campbells had hidden for many years. Noah had nned to use this opportunity to make the Campbells be the overlord of the two states. But he didn¡¯t expect his ns to be foiled. Now that Lewis was dead, where else could he go to find an even more powerful expert within seven days? But Noah naturally couldn¡¯t tell the truth to these wealthy families. Otherwise, the situation that he had worked so hard for would immediately copse, and the wealthy families of Oregon would no longer respect the Campbells. Noah would never be able to tolerate that! He bit the bullet and said, ¡°Everyone, rest assured. Since there are still seven days left, I will definitely find a stronger powerhouse. We families of Oregon won¡¯t lose!¡± ¡°There are only seven days left, so how can you be sure that you¡¯ll be able to find a top powerhouse?¡± someone asked from below. With a trace of displeasure, Noah said, ¡°Since I have already said this, I will definitely not go back on my word! If any of you are in doubt, you may go find some powerful experts yourself. The Campbells won¡¯t interfere!¡± As soon as he said this, the members of the other families closed their eyes in thought. ¡°Okay, I hope the Campbells will find an expert soon!¡± ¡°Our hopes are lying on you, Mr. Campell!¡± ¡°Mtr. Campbell, we¡¯re depending on you!¡± The families bade farewell one after another. In no time, only a few direct members of the Campbells were remaining in the spacious conference hall. A middle-aged man in his forties stepped forth and asked worriedly, ¡°Dad, can we really find an expert stronger than Master Lewis andparable to Lucas Gray in such a short time?¡± This middle-aged man was Noah¡¯s eldest son, Marvin. Many other Campbells also looked at Noah anxiously. How could an expert stronger than Lewis be found so easily? Noah pondered for a long time before suddenly saying, ¡°There is a ce where we might be able to find a supreme expert. ¡°We¡¯ll have to go to the academy that Master Lewis came from, the Octa Faction!¡± Chapter 768 - Bloodbath and Feud

Chapter 768: Bloodbath and Feud

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios ¡°The Octa Faction?¡± Marvin eximed in amazement. As a direct descendant of the Campbells, he naturally knew the origins of Lewis¡¯s mastery. The Octa Faction was a force in Oregon that was not to be belittled. But the Octa Faction had alwaysid low and rarely got involved in conflicts or feuds between other families. ¡°Yes, the Octa Faction!¡± A strange look appeared in Noah¡¯s eyes as he continued, ¡°Master Lewis is the junior of the faction leader. The leader will definitely not stand by and do nothing if he finds out that his junior was killed by someone from the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°Of course, the Campbells will certainly pay some price if we want to invite this top powerhouse. However, before we achieve our family¡¯s ultimate goal, this is nothing!¡± He looked up at his excited son and instructed, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you to handle this matter. No matter what, you must invite the leader of the Octa Faction toe over!¡± ¡°Yes, Dad. I¡¯ll immediately get someone to prepare some gifts and invite the faction leader, Mr. Alonso, toe over!¡± Marvin promised with fists in the air and then ran out to make preparations with great enthusiasm. In San Francisco. In the middle of San Francisco was a vi cluster that covered an enormous area. It was the base of the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association. At this moment, in one of the vis, there were several figures sitting upright and looking at the middle-aged man sitting in the master¡¯s seat, waiting respectfully for him to speak. ¡°Lasked you toe here to inform you of something.¡± The middle-aged man opened his eyes, looked around at the crowd in the room, and drawled, ¡°Kai is dead!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Hearing this, the few people present were in disbelief. ¡°Master York, Kai is favored by you, and he¡¯s very capable. Who here could kill him?¡± Axel Fox, the head of the California Branch of the Peerless Martial Association, said in surprise. Julian was a senior member of the Peerless Martial Association and rarely left DC, but his apprentice Kai was often on various missions outside. Thus, Axel and the others were very familiar with Kai¡¯s strength. Strictly speaking, Kai was even stronger than Axel. How did an expert who could almost dominate California suddenly die? Anger welled up in Julian¡¯s eyes. He narrowed his eyes and said through gritted teeth, ¡°It¡¯s Lucas Gray! I underestimated him, so I sent Kai to test the waters. But Kai ended up getting killed by him!¡± His eyes were red, and his fists were clenched. If Lucas was in front of him right now, he would definitely crush his head! ¡°It¡¯s really Lucas Gray!¡± Deep horror appeared in Axel¡¯s eyes. He had only met Lucas once at the Elite Business Exchange not long ago. But he had left an unforgettable impression on Axel at the time because of how domineering he seemed to be. He had been humiliated by Lucas, but he felt that he couldn¡¯t defeat Lucas himself. Thus, he had asked for help from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters and used Jude¡¯s death to invite Julian, a powerful killing god, to California. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would immediately kill Kai, Julian¡¯s top apprentice! While being shocked, a trace of joy welled up in Axel¡¯s heart. He felt thankful for choosing not to put on a brave front and confront Lucas himself back then. Otherwise, he would have probably died. ¡°Lwant you to give me all the information about Lucas Gray. Do not leave out a single detail!¡± Julian said coldly as he glowered at Axel with a terrifying look on his face. ¡°Yes, Mr. York!¡± Axel¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he hurriedly agreed. He immediately sent his subordinates to cote all the information about Lucas. Sitting in the master seat, Julian was full of fury and regret. Kai had been his most favored apprentice, and he had intended to have him take over his position in the future. He might even make greater achievements in the Peerless Martial Association in the future. But Kai ended up dying just because Julian had sent him to test Lucas¡¯s true power! He had to get revenge for him! ¡°Notify them that the martial artspetitions that the Peerless Martial Association is holding in seven days in California and Oregon will both be changed to the same venue, the San Francisco International Expo Center! ¡°On October 15th, the Peerless Martial Association mustpletely take down California and Oregon!¡± ¡°If you fail, these two branches will no longer have any value or reason to exist! Do you understand?¡± Julian exuded a domineering aura that overwhelmed the crowd. The people present, all of whom were from the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association, had a change of drastic expression. Julian, a top expert of the Peerless Martial Association, had the right to decide the affairs of these branches. If the California branch was really abolished, those who originally belonged to this branch would definitely be reassigned to other local branches, and everything they had worked hard for years to obtain would be gone. They would have to start from scratch! None of them wanted to encounter that! Axel hurriedly promised, ¡°Mr. York, we will do our best! The final winner of the tournament will definitely be the Peerless Martial Association!¡± His assistant, Heath, and several senior members of the California Branch all spoke up and pledged that they would definitely take control of California and Oregon. Julian looked at the crowd in front of him, and a dense murderous intent gradually appeared in his eyes. ¡°Lucas Gary, first you killed my brother Jude, and now you killed my apprentice Kai. I¡¯m definitely going to go all out against you for this feud!¡± At this moment, Lucas was still sitting in Edmund¡¯s car and making his way back to California from Oregon. Edmund reported all these events that had happened in the Campbells¡¯ home in Oregon today to Lucas. ¡°In that case, it was Noah Campbell who took the initiative to propose a bet with you that as long as the experts of both states can defeat Julian from the Peerless Martial Association, they will be able to be the overlord of California and Oregon?¡± Lucas asked with a somewhat strange expression. Edmund nodded and said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s right! However, Lewis, whom the Campbells imed was their top expert, died at the hands of Kai of the Peerless Martial Association. And then Kai was killed by you, Mr. Gray. So it¡¯s safe to say that as long as you defeat Julian atpetition seven dayster, you will be the overlord of both states!¡± Zeal and fervor suddenly surged in his chest. Lucas was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect that things would actually develop into such a situation so quickly. Of course, Lucas wasn¡¯t worried about whether he could defeat Julian or not. What he was thinking about now was how much help it would bring to his future n once he really became the overlord of California and Oregon. After all, Lucas would deal with the Huttons one day! Chapter 769 - Heartwarming Moment

Chapter 769: Heartwarming Moment

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Edmund wasn¡¯t worried about whether Lucas could beat Julian or not. He said with a smile on his face, ¡°Mr. Gray, with your current strength, the Peerless Martial Association is no match for you at all. When the timees, you will be the lord of both California and Oregon, holding the power of hundreds of first-ss families in your hands. With such a force, even the eight giants of DC won¡¯t dare to treat you with contempt! ¡°Tm really looking forward to October 15th. Haha!¡± There was joy all over Edmund¡¯s face, but Lucas wasn¡¯t as optimistic as him. ¡°Tm afraid thispetition won¡¯t be that simple.¡± ¡®When Edmund heard this, the smile on his face faded, and he asked solemnly, ¡°Did you discover something?¡± Lucas shook his head without any further exnation. In fact, he didn¡¯t hold any evidence in hand, but his inherent intuition told him that everything that had happenedtely was extremely unusual. In the previous years, the eight giants of DC had been standing at the top of the hierarchy in the country for a long time. Although the conflicts between them were inevitable, they would almost never interfere with the matters between the giants of other states. But there was obviously a change in the pattern during this time. For example, Vince, the sessor of the Smiths, one of the eight giants of DC, wanted to take over California. Florence, who had suddenly appeared in Orange County in the past couple of days, was from the Howards, which was also one of the eight giants of DC. Besides, Lucas was certain that she definitely wasn¡¯t here just to acknowledge her daughter, Cheyenne. In addition, the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s actions were also extremely strange. Before this, the Peerless Martial Association clearly never interfered with the feuds between the powerful families in the states. But at this moment, they had also made a deration of their intention to take control of California and Oregon through this battle. Of course, these were only a few families that Lucas knew about. He had no idea if there were other families that were secretly taking action. But just by adding these unusual things together, Lucas felt that this matter was like a bottomless pool where he could never see what was still lurking below the surface of the water. Edmund thought about it and said, ¡°Since things are unusual, why don¡¯t you just choose not to participate in thepetition in seven days? ¡°You are now the esteemed Master of California. This is a fact that more than sixty families in California have recognized. Even if the Peerless Martial Association refuses to recognize it, it¡¯ll be pointless! Besides, they are not qualified to send an invitation to provoke you!¡± A look of annoyance appeared on his face. If the Peerless Martial Association hadn¡¯t interfered, there wouldn¡¯t have been such a nonsensicalpetition at all. Lucas was already the Master of California right now, so why would he have to fight with them for the title once more? Lucas looked at Edmund standing up for him and couldn¡¯t helpughing. ¡°No, I¡¯m still going to attend thepetition, even though this is indeed a provocation from the Peerless Martial Association. ¡°If I don¡¯t show up, the Peerless Martial Association may think that I¡¯m afraid of them, and they¡¯ll probably act even more recklessly and arrogantly in the future. When the timees, I¡¯m afraid that it won¡¯t be clear who the true Master of California is. ¡°So not only do I have to attend, but I also have to achieve a beautiful victory to give them a hard p on the face to let them know who calls the shots in California!¡± Lucas¡¯s face was calm, but his tone of voice was full of dominance and aggression. Edmund was a man who was determined and never afraid of sacrifice. He immediately said full of pride, ¡°Yes! We¡¯ll let those bastards know who calls the shots in California now!¡± By the time Lucas returned to his home in the middle of Pearl Lake, it was already past 1 a.m. At this moment, everyone in the family was already asleep. Lucas took a shower in the bathroom downstairs and returned to his bedroom with light footsteps. Just as he was about to lie down on the bed, Cheyenne turned over and said softly, ¡°You¡¯re finally back.¡± Only then did Lucas realize that Cheyenne had actually been lying on the bed, wide awake and obviously waiting for him. ¡®When he went out earlier, he had merely told Cheyenne that he was going out to do something because the matter had been urgent. Cheyenne must have stayed up because she was worried about him. Asense of guilt surged in Lucas¡¯s heart. He gentlyid down on the bed, held Cheyenne¡¯s hand, and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you worried and keeping you up sote.¡± Cheyenne shook her head, and her soft hair brushed lightly over the pillow as she moved. She said gently, ¡°I¡¯m your wife. I¡¯m naturally worried about you, but it¡¯s a good thing that you¡¯re back.¡± Cheyenne¡¯s kindness and concern made Lucas feel a sense of bliss. This is what home feels like. ¡®When you¡¯re outside, there¡¯s always someone at home waiting for you and worrying about you. When youe home, they¡¯ll be ready to wee you with open arms and a reassuring smile. This was the happiness that Lucas wanted the most. He lowered his head and kissed Cheyenne¡¯s brow, only to find in surprise that Cheyenne had already fallen asleep. It seemed that she was very sleepy and had only been forcing herself to stay awake because she was worried about him not being home yet. After seeing him arrive home safely, she waspletely relieved and fell asleep at ease. Lucas gently brushed away the hairs in front of Cheyenne¡¯s forehead and gazed at her beautiful sleeping face withplicated emotions. At the same time, he felt guilty. He had previously promised Cheyenne that he would make her the happiest woman in the world. But their life had never been able to calm down because he had been facing troubles one after another, leaving him without much free time to spend at home with his wife and daughter. Instead, he even made them worried. But there were some things that he had to do. As soon as he thought about how his mother had been treated, he knew that his trip to DC to confront the Huttons was inevitable. Besides, the enemies he was facing now were bing stronger and stronger. Although Lucas was not afraid of danger, he was afraid that his wife and daughter would be in danger. This was what he feared the most and felt the most guilty about. Looking at Cheyenne, who had already fallen asleep, and Amelia, who was fast asleep in her bed with her limbs spread, a look of determination appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. No matter what, I will protect your safety and won¡¯t let anyone hurt you in the slightest! He took out his phone and immediately sent two messages. ¡°You must rush back to Orange County before October 15th!¡± Chapter 770 - Biological Mother Apologizes

Chapter 770: Biological Mother Apologizes

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The next morning, after breakfast, Lucas sent Amelia to the kindergarten before sending Cheyenne to work at the Brilliance Corporation as usual. But when the ck Jaguar pulled over beside the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s office building, Lucas saw a familiar ck Mercedes-Benz sedan parked in front of the Brilliance Corporation. The person standing beside the door was Florence¡¯s bodyguard, who was always wearing sunsses. There was no doubt that Florence hade to look for Cheyenne again. At this moment, Cheyenne also saw the familiar middle-aged man with sunsses. She said with a sullen look on her face, ¡°Why is she here again?¡± Florence had honestly left a bad impression on Cheyenne yesterday. First, she had wanted to poach Cheyenne to be the general manager of the Flor Group¡¯s nned Orange County branch. She had even criticized the Brilliance Corporation, which was founded by Cheyenne, before saying that she wanted to invest a staggering sum of five hundred million dors in her pany. If not for the fact that Cheyenne had indeed seen what the chairman of the Flor Group looked like in the media, she probably would have thought that Florence was a liar or a lunatic. Yesterday, she had clearly rejected Florence and refused to go to herpany or ept her investment. Yet she came over again early in the moming. She still hadn¡¯t given up yet? An icy cold gaze appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. He thought that Florence hade to see Cheyenne again today because she was indignant after getting stopped from revealing her true identity yesterday. ¡°I¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll get out of the car with you.¡± Lucas patted Cheyenne¡¯s handfortingly and took the lead to get out of the car. Seeing both Lucas and Cheyenne getting out of the car, Florence opened the door of her car and stepped out too. She then walked straight toward them. Andy, the bodyguard wearing sunsses, followed closely behind Florence, with an expression of facing an enemy. Although he knew that if Lucas really wanted to fight, he would be no match for him. But he still had to fulfill his responsibilities as a bodyguard. But Lucas didn¡¯t even look at him and merely nced at Florence indifferently. ¡°Ms, Howard, why are you here?¡± Cheyenne said to Florence with a cold expression. Florence suddenly said, ¡°Miss Carter, I came here today to apologize to you! I didn¡¯t do my due research yesterday and ended up inadvertently offending you and your Brilliance Corporation. It was indeed my fault, and I hope to seek your forgiveness.¡± She was already an elegant noblewoman, and now that she was apologizing gently with an sincere expression on her face, she immediately seemed very magnanimous. Cheyenne was stunned for a moment. She didn¡¯t expect the chairman of the Flor Group, a Howard, woulde so solemnly just to apologize to her. Florence¡¯s attitude was so good that it even made Cheyenne subconsciously think that she had really misunderstood her yesterday. Lucas quietly took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and said coldly, ¡°Madam Howard, if you can stay out of my wife¡¯s life and not disturb her from now on, I think that would be a better form of apology.¡± Florence raised her head, looked deeply at Lucas, and suddenly smiled. ¡°Mr. Gray, it seems you still have a strong misunderstanding of me. But that¡¯s fine, we still have plenty of time in the future, and I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll clear the misunderstanding.¡± Then she showed an ambiguous smile and tured around to get inside her car to leave with Andy without further ado. This move surprised Lucas. He originally thought that Florence would use this opportunity today to put on another dramatic act in front of Cheyenne or directly reveal that she was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother. He didn¡¯t expect her to really leave after just apologizing. But herst sentence was rather meaningful. Cheyenne watched Florence¡¯s car drive away and suddenly felt a little sympathetic. ¡°She... came to apologize to me. Were we a little too harsh with her?¡± Lucas burst intoughter, thinking to himself that Florence likely deliberately staged this because she knew how soft-hearted Cheyenne was. He definitely didn¡¯t think that a woman who always had her nose high up in the air and had a strong desire for power and control would reallye to offer a sincere apology for going overboard with what she said. ¡°Cheyenne, this woman is from one of the eight most powerful families in DC, and she is the chairman of the Flor Group. Ordinary people will never be able to imagine how scheming she is. You¡¯d better stay far away from her before knowing her agenda. After all, you¡¯re too kindhearted,¡± Lucas said earnestly. Cheyenne listened attentively, but she blushed a little at Lucas¡¯sst sentence. She red at him. ¡°We¡¯re at the entrance of the office. What nonsense are you saying? I¡¯m going to work. You should get about your own business too!¡± Lucas smiled. gently, ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll pick you up when I get off work.¡± In the backseat of the ck Mercedes-Benz sedan, Florence, who had just left the Brilliance Corporation, was thinking about something with her eyes narrowed. While driving, Andy hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Madam, can an apology really change Miss Carter¡¯s attitude?¡± Florence opened her eyes and said indifferently, ¡°ording to my investigation, she¡¯s a very soft-hearted person. Today, I waited at her office early in the morning and deliberately lowered my pride to apologize to her. She may not forgive me immediately, but she will definitely be soft-hearted. As long as I look for more opportunities to contact her, she wille to my side sooner orter!¡± At the mention of her daughter, she didn¡¯t have any motherly feelings for her. Instead, she was like an extremely shrewd businesswoman who chose the most appropriate n to target the human heart after collecting sufficient information about her. Andy was surprised, but since this was between Florence and her daughter, he had no say in the matter as an outsider. ¡°Well then... Madam, what should we do about Miss Pam?¡± Andy asked. At the mention of Florence¡¯s niece, a look of displeasure appeared in her eyes. She was the best candidate chosen by the Howards to marry the Master of California and win him over. But deep down, Florence wanted her daughter to marry the Master of California. So she could hardly have any friendly feelings toward Pam. Besides, Pam had been studying abroad for years and wasn¡¯t close to her at all. ¡°You¡¯re right. Since we¡¯re already in Orange County, we have to go and meet this niece of mine.¡± Florence picked up her phone, dialed a number, and said kindly, ¡°Pam, this is Aunt Florence speaking. Are you still in the hotel? I¡¯ll go over to you now.¡± After she hung up, a cold smile appeared on her lips. All the stumbling blocks getting in her daughter¡¯s way had to be kicked away! Chapter 771 - Lover

Chapter 771: Lover

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Half an hourter, Florence saw her niece Pam in an upscale suite of the Oasis Hotel in Orange County. Inall fairness, Pam was indeed very beautiful. She had a pair ofrge eyes, a pointed chin, and fair, supple skin. Her appearance was typical of many Howards. Moreover, she was in her prime at only 25 years old. But Florence and Pam didn¡¯t have many opportunities to meet in the past because Pam had spent four years in college and a couple more years in graduate school abroad. She had only returned to the US a few months ago, so there had been barely any interaction between them. ¡°Aunt Florence.¡± ¡®The two met at the entrance of the hotel suite, and Pam merely greeted Florence lightly before letting her in without saying anything further. She also knew Florence¡¯s purpose for taking her to California, but the highly educated Pam absolutely couldn¡¯t ept a marriage alliance. Florence took the initiative to walk toward Pam and said lovingly, ¡°Pam, do you hate the marriage alliance that much? The Master of California is a handsome and talented young man. At such a young age, he¡¯s already¡­¡± ¡°Aunt Florence, you don¡¯t have to go on,¡± Pam interrupted before Florence could finish. ¡°No matter how good that person you mentioned is, I won¡¯t like him. I already have feelings for someone else, and I won¡¯t marry anyone except him!¡± Despite keeping a straight face, Florence was overjoyed. Although Pam was the candidate the Howards had chosen to marry the Master of California, it would be hard to say what would happen if Pam wasn¡¯t willing to do it. Besides, Florence didn¡¯t want Pam to marry the Master of California at all because she felt that her daughter was the one who should marry him! Pam being unhappy was exactly what she wanted! But Florence naturally wouldn¡¯t show these intentions. She frowned slightly and advised as an elder, ¡°You can¡¯t think like this. You have to understand that you¡¯re a daughter of the Howards, and the family has raised you to this age. Isn¡¯t it time to repay the family? ¡°Besides, this marriage is an order from the helmsman. If you can¡¯tplete it, you will have no ce in the Howards in the future. What should have originally belonged to you will also be confiscated and redistributed to others. You have to think through this carefully!¡± She knew that Pam didn¡¯t like to hear such words about a woman¡¯s duty being to repay her family for raising her. Thus, she deliberately said so to invoke a sense of rebellion in Pam. ¡°It¡¯s not up to me to decide which family I¡¯m born in. I can work for the family to repay them. But if I have to sacrifice my happiness for the rest of my life and marry a man I don¡¯t even know and am not interested in, I would rather die! ¡°Also, I don¡¯t care for those things that the family has given me. Anyone can take them away!¡± With that, Pam no longer wanted to talk to Florence about this matter and immediately asked her to leave. ¡°Aunt Florence, I¡¯m feeling under the weather today, so I won¡¯t chat with you anymore. Please leave!¡± ¡°_.¡± Blorence was silent for a moment before continuing to say gently, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get going first then. Have a good rest. I¡¯ll contact you again after I find the Master of California.¡± After waiting for Florence to leave, Pamy on the bed and took out a photo from her phone case. In the photo was a young soldier dressed in a camouge uniform. He was in his twenties, and he was staring in a certain direction with a zing gaze. Pam brushed her finger gently against the young soldier¡¯s cheek with love and adoration in her eyes. ¡°Where are you now?¡± she gently murmured while looking at the person in the photo. If Florence saw this photo, she would be extremely astonished because the person in the photo was actually Lucas, whom she had already met twice! But Lucas was wearing a camouge uniform in the photo, and his hair was much shorter than his current hairstyle. Moreover, from the angle of the photo, the photographer had clearly taken it without permission. Looking at the resolute-looking man in the photo, Pam couldn¡¯t help having her mind wander off to a year and a half ago. At the time, she had still been studying in Canada and was extremely influenced by many romantic cultures. Pam had decided to use the summer break to travel to some scenic towns on her own. She had even recorded her journey as a memoir of her youth. But she didn¡¯t expect to suddenly encounter a terrorist attack in a remote town! These attackers were obviously a gang, and there was crossfire between two gangs for some unknown reason. Pam was extremely unfortunate to have been near the area. Pam, who had lived in a peaceful andfortable environment since she was a child, had never seen such a scene. She immediately turned pale with fear and tried to find a ce to hide. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t lucky enough. When one of the gangs hadpletely wiped out the other and was about to retreat, they discovered Pam, who was hiding in a corner and shivering. ¡°Hey, quickly, look what I found. There¡¯s a beautiful girl here!¡± After discovering Pam, a man covered in blood immediately grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out while calling out to his brothers. With his shout, ten-odd masculine men gathered around and looked at the petite and beautiful Pam with lustful and lecherous smiles on their faces. ¡°Haha, this chick isn¡¯t bad! She¡¯s gorgeous and young too! I like her!¡± ¡°Heh, this beautiful girl should obviously be enjoyed by the boss first! When he¡¯s done having enough fun, it¡¯ll be our turn!¡± ¡°Hahahaha, no problem!¡± Theyughed bizarrely before reaching out to grab Pam. Pam was scared out of her wits and could only beg for mercy to the group, ¡°You¡­ don¡¯te over! Please let me off! My family is rich, and I can give you lots of money! I¡¯ll give you all the cash and bank cards I have. Please let me go!¡± But Pam didn¡¯t know that the more a beautiful woman begged for mercy pitifully, the more it would invoke men¡¯s desire to torture. It was impossible to let her off. ¡°Haha, little beauty, just stop struggling. You¡¯re mine now!¡± ¡®The leader of the gang went up to Pam, pressed her onto the ground in public, and wanted to rip off her clothes. Pam desperately struggled, wailed, and screamed her lungs out. But a petite and vulnerable woman like her obviously couldn¡¯tpete with the strong and bloodthirsty men. Therge group of people around them cheered, and Pam wished she could die right there and then. At this moment, a clear and cold voice prated the repulsive hellhole, striking her in her heart. ¡°Stop what you¡¯re doing, scumbags!¡± Chapter 772 Karma of Past Events Chapter 772 Karma of Past Events The moment she heard his voice, Pam was shocked because it was an ent that she was familiar with! While she encountered a crisis in a border town far away from home, she suddenly heard the voice of a fellow countryman. It almost made Pam burst into tears! "Who''s there?" The leader of the gang immediately raised his head and searched around for the owner of the voice in a rage. The other burly men all raised their guns and searched around for suspicious people. At this moment, Pam, who was lying on the ground, widened her eyes in shock. A figure wearing a military camouge uniform jumped down from a tree more than ten meters tall beside her andnded next to her like a god descending. This person was naturally Lucas. Although he jumped down from a high position, the fall was silent, and even the dust on the ground wasn''t stirred up at all. His movements were as lithe as a cat''s. This scene immediately made the burly men, whose bodies were covered with bloodstains,pletely dumbfounded. But the gang leader soon came back to his senses and shouted angrily, "Who are you?!" Then he picked up the rifle at his waist and aimed the muzzle at Lucas''s head. The other people around him immediately followed suit and aimed all sorts of guns at Lucas. Just a short while ago, they had used these guns to kill another gang of nearly fifty people. Bow that they were facing only one person, they felt that they could definitely turn Lucas into a sieve. Pam''s heart immediately tensed up. This unknown fellow countryman was all by himself, and she was certain that he wouldn''t be able to deal with all these people armed with firearms! If this person died trying to save her, Pam wouldn''t be at ease even if she died. But surprisingly, even when he was being held at gunpoint by so many people, the young man didn''t panic or get scared. Instead, he said indifferently, "Those things you''re holding are useless to me. "If you don''t want to die, put down your weapons and surrender with your hands on your head." But as soon as he said this, the people around immediately burst into contemptuousughter. "Hahaha, is this pig joking with us?" "He actually said that our guns are useless and wants us to put down our weapons to surrender?" "He probably hasn''t woken up yet! I think we need to teach him a lesson!" "Boss, kill him immediately!" "Kill him!" ... Everyone in the gangughed out loud, and no one took Lucas seriously. Even though he had just jumped down from a tree more than ten meters tall unharmed and seemed rather light, what did this mean? It was undoubtedly a special martial arts skill. But with these ''martial arts'', it was clearly impossible for him to dodge so many bullets! "Bastard, how dare you be so arrogant to the Red River Gang? For that, I''ll send you to hell now! Reflect on your actions on your way to hell and never poke your nose into others'' business again!" After the leader of the Red River Gang finished speaking, a ferocious grin appeared on his face as he pressed his finger against the trigger of his rifle and shot Lucas! Bang! The loud gunshot shook everyone''s eardrums. The gangsters smiled smugly. The only oue for those who dared to go against them was death! But the smile on their faces soon stiffened. It was because the young man who should have died under the bullet actually appeared in front of their leader in one piece,pletely unscathed. All of them had shock and bewilderment written on their faces. None of them had seen how the young man in front of them had avoided the bullet from such a close distance. "I warned you earlier," Lucas said indifferently before pressing his finger down. Snap! With this sound, the leader''s neck was immediately crushed. His eyes were still full of disbelief, but his head had already drooped down, and it was impossible for him to speak anymore. This scene immediately shocked the other gang members. "He¡­ he actually killed the boss!" "We can''t let him go! Kill him immediately!" "Everyone, shoot him. Shoot together! We must kill him!" The gang panicked and frantically yelled while pulling the triggers of their guns aimed at Lucas at the same time. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ... dagger in his hand. He cut the man''s neck with a swish! Before the body fell to the ground, Lucas had already reappeared behind another person with the The sound of intensive gunfire rang out continuously, and bullets began flying everywhere. But Lucas, at the center of their shooting, disappeared again like a phantom. When he reappeared, he was already standing behind one of the gang members and holding a thin dagger in his hand. He cut the man''s neck with a swish! Before the body fell to the ground, Lucas had already reappeared behind another person with the bloody dagger to end another life. Lucas''s figure was like an intangible phantom moving around the gangsters. Every time he appeared, he would be like the coldest god of death and mercilessly take lives. Less than a minuteter, all thirty-odd gangsters were on the ground. The blood that spurted out from their necks hadpletely dyed the ground blood-red. The air was full of the suffocatingly intense odor of blood. The only living person left on the scene, except for Lucas, who was not stained with a trace of blood, was the disheveled Pam sitting on the ground. Despite being surrounded by this hell-like scene of blood and corpses, Pam didn''t notice these things at all. She was staring at Lucas with glistening eyes. Just a few minutes ago, she had felt that her life had reached the end, and she had been full of despair and unwillingness. But this young man, who fell from the sky like a god from heaven, had saved her and killed all the gangsters. The way he moved around them suavely and slit the enemies'' necks coldly were deeply etched in Pam''s mind. From this moment on, Lucas became a god in Pam''s heart and the man she loved most in her life. From then on, Pam never became interested in any other man in the world. He was the only person she would marry! But her family was now forcing her to be in a marriage alliance and marry a stranger. How could she tolerate this? Even if she angered her family and ended up losing their protection and everything to her name, she wouldn''tpromise! Looking at the handsome and resolute face in the photo, Pam''s eyes were full of determination. One day, I will definitely find you! Chapter 773 - The Martial Arts Competition Is Around The Corner

Chapter 773: The Martial Arts Competition Is Around The Corner

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios In fact, Lucas, the person involved, had long forgotten about this incident that Pam was reminiscing over. After all, in the past few years, he had carried out too many simr missions and saved countless people. Pam was just one of the countless people he had saved. Even though Pam was gorgeous, Lucas was not a man who cared about looks. Moreover, his wife, Cheyenne, was much more beautiful than Pam. Thus, when he saved Pam, he didn¡¯t feel any emotions, and he soon forgot about it. Even if Pam was standing in front of Lucas now and told him about the incident, he would probably only think of it as one of the missions that he had been on. In the blink of an eye, seven days passed quietly, and it was soon time for the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s martial artspetition with the strongest people of California and Oregon to determine the ruler of both states. Over the past few days, the major noble families in California and Oregon had been keeping themselves busy as they sent people out on a search to invite experts from all over the world to increase their chances of winning thepetition. The final venue for thepetition was set in San Francisco, and it was an extremely important event that caused a huge uproar in California. So during this period of time, many people had been rushing to California to witness the event. At the same time, all the major hotels in California were full, and the tickets to the San Francisco International Expo Center, the venue of the martial artspetition, had all skyrocketed up to tens of thousands of dors. Even then, it was still difficult to get one. All the news media and discussions revolved around the unprecedented meeting. Of course, the core discussion revolved around two points. One was the true identity of the mysterious Master of California and whether or not he would show up at the martial artspetition. Two was who the final winner of thepetition would be and who the ruler of California would be. There were heated discussions about it online. But Lucas, the subject of the discussions, ignored all thements. On October 15th, he was dressed in an ordinary outfit as usual. He first drove Amelia to the kindergarten and then sent Cheyenne to the Brilliance Corporation before driving to the San Francisco International Expo Center by himself. There were at least tens of thousands of people standing around outside the San Francisco International Expo Center. Not only were there people who came from all over California but also many who came from all over Oregon to watch the battle. After all, thepetition today concerned the fate of both states. ¡°Lucas Gray!¡± Lucas parked his car at a ce near the periphery. Just as he got out of the car, he heard an extremely surprised voiceing from the side. Lucas turned around and saw a ck Mercedes-Benz parked nearby. Florence and her personal bodyguard Andy were getting out of the car and looking at him in surprise. Although Lucas had no good feelings toward Florence and was keeping his guard up against her to prevent her from approaching Cheyenne, she was still Cheyenne¡¯s mother after all. As long as she didn¡¯t take the initiative to cause trouble, Lucas would be willing to give her some respect. Thus, he nodded at Florence in greeting. Florence sized Lucas up. Seeing that he was still dressed shabbily, she looked at him with a critical and disdainful gaze and asked coldly, ¡°Do you know where this ce is? What are you doing here?¡± She would often speak to Lucas in a condescending tone, as if she was questioning him. Lucas nced at her and said indifferently, ¡°What does it have to do with you?¡± His impolite reply immediately made Florence re at him. She thought that Lucas was just a small fry married to her daughter, so he should answer her questions obediently. But she didn¡¯t expect his attitude to be as terrible as before. Florence looked at Lucas with annoyance. ¡°Everyone in California knows that the highly-anticipated martial artspetition concerning the hegemony of California and Oregon will be held here at the SF International Expo Center today. Many people from both states are here to watch! ¡°Unfortunately, the tickets for thepetition have already sold out. Even the tickets for the outermost seats of the venue have gone up to more than twenty grand each! You¡¯re here too. Do you want to go inside to take a look? ¡°Hah. Look at what your status is! You¡¯re just a live-in husband relying on my daughter for support. You probably bought the ticket with my daughter¡¯s money, huh? ¡°You¡¯re here squandering my daughter¡¯s money, yet you¡¯re asking what it has to do with me? It¡¯s only right that I deal with you!¡± Florence shouted angrily at Lucas. But what she said was enough to show how poor her understanding of Lucas was. In fact, Florence had simply asked someone to investigate Lucas¡¯s basic information. Ever since she knew that Lucas was a penniless man who only married Cheyenne as her live-in husband because he was framed in a scandal, she felt that he was a bottom feeder of society. Even when sheter saw in the information that Lucas used to be from the Huttons of DC, she thought that he was just an outcast driven out by the family and that the so-called Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch was just an empty shell handed over to him to fool him. In Florence¡¯s heart, Lucas was just a stumbling block hindering her daughter from marrying the Master of California, so she didn¡¯t even bother to get to know Lucas. Lucas looked at her with amusement. ¡°Don¡¯t you refuse to acknowledge that I¡¯m your son-inw? What right do you have to meddle in my affairs? How ridiculous.¡± With that, he ignored Florence and turned around to leave. Florence didn¡¯t expect Lucas to have the audacity to speak to her like this. For a while, she was so upset that she couldn¡¯t even maintain her usualdylike demeanor. ¡°You damn piece of garbage! You¡¯re just a stumbling block in my daughter¡¯s life! You¡¯re not worthy of her at all! Just you wait. I¡¯ll definitely make you divorce her! ¡°Only someone like the Master of California is worthy of my daughter! You¡¯re not even worthy of carrying the shoes of the Master of California! ¡°Ah! I¡¯m so angry!¡± Florence vented her anger without restraint. Unfortunately, Lucas had long left and didn¡¯t hear a single word. Seeing how furious Florence was, Andy thought about reminding her that she was losing herposure. But at the thought that she had reprimanded him for giving her a reminder previously, he decided to keep his mouth shut and not look for a scolding. But Andy looked at Lucas and had a vague conjecture that perhaps the legendary Master of California was Lucas! Chapter 774 - Old Friend

Chapter 774: Old Friend

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Ever since Lucas effortlessly struck him back that day, Andy kept feeling that Lucas was an extremelyplicated person. Previously, he had wondered if Lucas might be the mysterious Master of California and mentioned it to Florence. But she had denied it outright. Later on, he had suggested to Florence that she should investigate more about Lucas. But she thought that Lucas was just a wastrel kicked out by the Huttons and that there was no point in investigating him. So although Andy was feeling extremely uneasy, he didn¡¯t want to tell Florence about his conjectures anymore. ¡°Aunt Florence.¡± At this moment, a beautiful woman wearing a beige trench coat got out of a car nearby. She was Pam, Florence¡¯s niece. She didn¡¯t want toe here at first, but Florence had informed her early in the morning that she had toe and take a look at the heroic appearance of the legendary Master of California. She couldn¡¯t out-argue her aunt, so she could onlye. But her car was parked a little farther away, and she happened to miss Lucas¡¯s appearance. ¡®When she got closer, she found that Florence had a sullen expression and couldn¡¯t help asking doubtfully, ¡°Aunt Florence, did someone make you angry just now?¡± Florence took two deep breaths to calm the anger within her before saying, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s merely a brat who doesn¡¯t know any better. ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s not talk about this. The martial artspetition is about to begin soon. We¡¯d better enter the venue quickly! You¡¯ll be able to witness the heroic Master of California soon!¡± A trace of impatience immediately appeared on Pam¡¯s face. She had already made it clear to Florence that she had no interest in the Master of California and wouldn¡¯t agree to marry him. She was upset that her aunt kept forcing her. ¡°Aunt Florence, there are too many people here. I think I¡¯d better give it a pass,¡± Pam said and then turned around to walk out of the parking lot. ¡°Hey! Pam, wait a minute. don¡¯t leave!¡± Florence hurriedly grabbed Pam¡¯s arm and persuaded her like a caring elder. ¡°Okay, I understand your point, but we¡¯re already here, so why don¡¯t we just go in to take a look? I mean, there¡¯s nothing to lose from doing this, right? As for whether you can like the Master of California, let¡¯s wait until after thepetition, okay?¡± Although Florence wished that Pam wouldn¡¯t get involved with the Master of California, there were still some superficial motions she needed to go through. Otherwise, when the Howards asked about it, if they found out that she didn¡¯t even bring Pam to attend the martial artspetition where the Master of California would appear, she wouldn¡¯t be able to answer to the family. Under Florence¡¯s repeated persuasion, Pam eventually stayed and entered the San Francisco International Expo Center. Meanwhile, Lucas had already walked to one of the entrances of the expo center and was about to enter. ¡°Huh? Are you... Lucas Gray?¡± A slightly familiar male voice came from behind Lucas. Lucas stopped and turned around to take a look. Ashort distance behind him, a young man was walking over with surprise written all over his face. Beside him were two women dressed to the nines. One of them was holding onto the arm of the young man. Lucas took a closer look at the young man and revealed a surprised expression. ¡°It¡¯s you, Asher Holmes! It¡¯s been years since we¡¯ve met!¡± Asher walked over to hug Lucas excitedly and patted his back twice. ¡°It looked like you in the distance just now, but I didn¡¯t dare to acknowledge you. It tuned out to be you! We haven¡¯t seen each other for years!¡± Asher and Lucas had been ssmates in high school, and they had gotten along pretty well. At the time, Lucas was only 17 years old, and due to poverty, he often dressed shabbily and didn¡¯t have good food to eat. He was gaunt and often bullied in school. Back then, Asher was tall and burly, and he had a great sense of justice. He couldn¡¯t tolerate seeing Lucas get bullied, so he would often help him. Thus, the two of them became very close friends. But after graduating from high school, the former ssmates went their separate ways. It had been nearly ten years since theyst met. At this moment, the two of them were naturally excited. ¡°Lucas, I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here today. Are you also here to see the martial artspetition?¡± Asher asked excitedly. Just as Lucas was about to answer him, the woman holding onto Asher¡¯s arm suddenly snorted withughter. ¡°Asher, are you blind? Look at how he¡¯s dressed. Does he look like someone who can afford to enter the venue? He probably works here!¡± ¡®The woman¡¯s voice was slightly high-pitched, and she was looking at Lucas with clear contempt in her eyes. Lucas¡¯s simple outfit was indeed very ordinary. The people attending the martial artspetition today were all from the powerful families of California and Oregon. Those who could afford the expensive tickets were all wealthy and powerful, which was apparent from the way they dressed. And Lucas¡¯s clothes were so ordinary that they seemed to cost less than a hundred dors. Indeed, he didn¡¯t look like he could afford the expensive tickets for thepetition. Asher understood. Lucas¡¯s family had been poor since he was in high school, so it made sense that he couldn¡¯t afford to buy a ticket to the venue. He was afraid that his girlfriend¡¯s words would be too straightforward and embarrass Lucas, so he hurriedly changed the subject. He said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s okay, buddy. I just happen to have an extra ticket here. I¡¯ll give it to you!¡± Then he took out a ticket for the expo center from his pocket to hand to Lucas. But as soon as Asher stretched his hand out, a hand with fingernails painted with bright red nail polish immediately reached over from the side and took the ticket away. ¡°Asher, are you out of your mind? Do you know how much this ticket can be sold for here? Look at all the people gathered outside. They¡¯re all trying their best to get tickets to watch thepetition! As long as I take this ticket and announce that I¡¯m selling it, it will immediately sell for more than thirty grand! ¡°But you actually want to give away this expensive ticket for nothing? I don¡¯t agree with that!¡± Asher¡¯s girlfriend said with a sullen face. Asher looked extremely embarrassed and a little upset. ¡°Anyway, we have exactly one extra ticket in our hands, and you didn¡¯t intend to sell it at first, so what¡¯s wrong with giving it to my buddy? Are you going to keep it and waste it?¡± His girlfriend rolled her eyes. ¡°Who said I was going to keep it and waste it? I promised to give this ticket to my friend a long time ago, but he hasn¡¯t arrived yet!¡± Then she ced the ticket directly into the Givenchy clutch in front of Asher and Lucas, making it clear that she wasn¡¯t willing to give it to Lucas. This time, Asher¡¯s face was covered with displeasure.. Chapter 775 - Still Close Friends

Chapter 775: Still Close Friends

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing that Asher seemed about to get into a tiff with his girlfriend because of this, Lucas hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can go in. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Although he hadn¡¯t seen Asher for nearly ten years, Lucas knew that Asher¡¯s family wasn¡¯t wealthy. Furthermore, based on the situation just now, although Asher¡¯s attire was decent, his girlfriend¡¯s was much more luxurious than his. She was covered in famous name-brand clothes, and the jewelry on her body was worth over a hundred thousand dors. She was likely a wealthy heiress. Lucas could tell from her rude behavior toward Asher that she was the dominant one in the rtionship. In that case, Lucas didn¡¯t want his former best friend to get into an argument with his girlfriend because of him. Besides, as the protagonist of the event, Lucas could enter the venue without a ticket. After being refuted by his girlfriend in public, Asher felt extremely ashamed toward Lucas and said apologetically, ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯l think of a solution for you and try to get you another ticket as soon as possible. Wait for me here.¡± Then he walked out of the expo center. On his way here, he had seen a few scalpers at the entrance and nned to try his luck there. Lucas felt touched by Asher¡¯s action. A close friend whom he hadn¡¯t met in nearly a decade actually racked his brains toe up with a solution to help him. It was rather rare. But he really didn¡¯t need Asher to get him a ticket. Lucas hurriedly grabbed Asher and was about to speak when Asher¡¯s girlfriend said coldly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear him saying that he can go in by his own means? He doesn¡¯t need your help!¡± Asher frowned. ¡°How can he enter without a ticket? He¡¯s just afraid of troubling me because he saw you put the ticket away. That¡¯s why he said that.¡± His girlfriend raised her eyebrows and was about to lose her temper when the other woman, who had been keeping silent, said sarcastically, ¡°There are many ways to enter! He has plenty of reasons to enter, especially since he works here. What are you worried about?¡± Asher looked at the tight security around the entrance and immediately frowned. ¡°It¡¯s the day of thepetition that will decide the ruler of California and Oregon. The people who can enter the venue are all rich, so the security measures here today are extremely strict. All of them are powerful experts, and they won¡¯t let anyone try to fool their way in!¡± He looked at Lucas and said seriously, ¡°So, buddy, don¡¯t get the wrong idea. Don¡¯t try to find a way to mix in with the crowd to sneak in, or you¡¯ll be in deep trouble! If it¡¯s serious, you might even die! ¡°How about this? I have about thirty thousand in this card. Take it and go outside to buy a ticket from a scalper!¡± He took out a bank card from his wallet and passed it to Lucas. While Lucas was still surprised by Asher¡¯s action, his girlfriend had already snatched the bank card from him. She pointed her finger at him andshed out furiously. ¡°Damn it, Asher! How dare you give my money to someone else?!¡± Asher didn¡¯t expect his girlfriend to bring him down and put him to shame repeatedly in front of his friend, whom she had done the same to as well. He felt that she was going overboard. ¡°Lily, that¡¯s my card!¡± Asher shouted angrily as he tried to snatch the card back from her. Lily put her hands behind her back to hide the bank card from Asher. She cursed, ¡°What do you mean your bank card? You¡¯re now a penniless man, and I pay all your expenses! Even the money in this card I transferred to you! ¡°You¡¯re just freeloading off of me now. Don¡¯t you heve a clear understanding of your current status? What right do you have to let someone else use my money?¡± Ashen was so infuriated that his face turned beet red. ¡°What... what did you say?!¡± ¡°Am I wrong? You managed to live till now by freeloading! If not for my family employing you and me providing for you, would you still be able to live as good as you are now? ¡°Asher, I¡¯m warning you. Everything you have now, you got from me! Now, you actually want to use my money to do someone else a favor! You¡¯ve really pissed me off. Get lost now and stay with your penniless loser friend!¡± With anger written all over her face, Lily even reached out to scratch Asher a few times. ¡°Yeah, Lily is right. Asher, you¡¯re just lucky that Lily has taken a liking to you. Thanks to her, you can live afortable life! You can¡¯t forget your roots! If you upset Lily, you won¡¯t be able to make it up to her!¡± the woman beside Lily chimed in sarcastically. Asher was so embarrassed that his face turned pale. He clenched his hands tightly, and the veins on his hand were popping, seemingly about to explode. But in the end, his shoulders dropped, and he slowly unclenched his fists despondently. He looked at Lucas apologetically and parted his lips a few times with difficulty before saying with a bitter smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, buddy. I...¡± Before he could finish, Lucas reached out to pay Asher¡¯s shoulder and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m d to see that you still consider me a close friend after so many years. ¡°Besides, I really don¡¯t need you to help me buy a ticket. Don¡¯t worry about it. You can go inside. I¡¯ll see you thereter. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I definitely won¡¯t sneak in and get caught!¡± After all, they were adults, and Lucas could understand Asher¡¯s difficulties. He didn¡¯t want Asher to feel bad or be put in a spot because of him. But Lily sneered. ¡°Hah, the venue is strictly guarded today. Not any Tom, Dick, or Harry can sneak in! ¡°The ones here today are all from the top families of California and Oregon. The others qualified to go in and watch are worth at least millions. Someone over here should really reflect on themselves and consider if they¡¯re qualified to sit with these people! ¡°Besides, the mysterious new Master of California will also appear at thepetition today. Many people are here for him. He¡¯s a top powerhouse. How can some loser be able to meet him easily?¡± Lily gave Lucas the side-eye and said mockingly, ¡°If you can go in, I¡¯ll eat this bank card in my hand on the spot!¡±2 Chapter 776 - Gathering at the Venue

Chapter 776 Gathering at the Venue

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Asher really couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. He shouted furiously, ¡°Lily, shut up! Lucas didn¡¯t offend you. Why do you keep mocking him? If you do this again, don¡¯t me me for being rude to you!¡± ¡°Asher, how dare you threaten my best friend? Who gave you the guts?¡± Lily¡¯s best friend, Summer, stood up for Lily. ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t go too far!¡± Asher said with a sullen expression through gritted teeth. Seeing that Asher seemed to be really angry, Lily finally pulled Summer¡¯s hand and rolled her eyes. ¡°Hmph, do you think I like wasting my time with a loser? Summer, let¡¯s go in!¡± After the two of them vanished at the entrance, Asher looked at Lucas apologetically and said with embarrassment, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m really¡­¡± He was initially really excited to see Lucas, and he also wanted to help Lucas get inside the venue. However, he not only failed to help him, but he even caused him to be humiliated by his girlfriend. Asher was so embarrassed that he didn¡¯t dare to speak to Lucas again. Lucas smiled. ¡°Enough. I know you¡¯re my buddy, and that¡¯s enough. Well, thepetition is about to start soon. Go inside first! Rest assured. I¡¯ll look for youter!¡± Seeing that Lucas wasn¡¯t angry, Asher felt slightly better. ¡°Okay, buddy, I¡¯ll wait for you inside. But if you really can¡¯t get in, it doesn¡¯t matter. After thepetition is over, we can find another ce to catch up!¡± Asher patted Lucas¡¯s shoulder and then entered the expo center. Lucas looked at Asher¡¯s back and sighed. Back in high school, Asher had been happy and straightforward. But now, he seemed depressed and subservient. Although he was still handsome and suave, he was no longer as spirited as when he was younger. Besides, he and his arrogant girlfriend didn¡¯t seem like an ordinary couple. But Lucas hadn¡¯t met Asher for nearly a decade, and he wasn¡¯t clear about his current situation. It would be better to ask him about it when they met again another time. Lucas looked at his watch and saw that it was already 8:40 p.m. There were still 20 minutes before the tournament officially began. ¡°Lucas!¡± He was about to enter when a crisp voice called out to him from behind. Lucas turned around and saw a beautiful young girl walking toward him joyfully. It was Alexis, the heiress of the Cole family. Lucas smiled and nodded at her. He had always had a good impression of her. ¡°Greetings, Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°Greetings, Mr. Gray.¡± Edmund and Clement, a few steps behind Alexis, immediately walked over to greet Lucas. They didn¡¯te alone either. Apart from the two bodyguards who didn¡¯t leave their sides, there was also another expert whom Lucas had never seen before. Originally, the Coles¡¯ top expert was Iron Wolf. But since he got seriously injured by Lewis at the Campbells¡¯ conference, he could no longer represent the Coles to participate in thispetition. So this time, it was a middle-aged man following Edmund. The man, whose face was thin, had his lower lip pursed and his forehead furrowed deeply. He was clearly a man of few words who was not to be provoked. Lucas could sense the powerful auraing from the middle-aged man, who was at least much stronger than Iron Wolf. This middle-aged man should be the expert that Edmund had spent a lot of money to hire in thest few days. ¡°Mr. Gray, Mr. Cole, Mr. Parker!¡± At this moment, there were a few more greetings. The people who came this time were all people Lucas knew. They were Damon Parker and his grandson Keh. They were all acquaintances. There were also several other experts among the Parkers¡¯ team, whom Lucas hadn¡¯t seen before. But in terms of aura, they were inferior to the middle-aged man from the Coles. It clearly wasn¡¯t that easy to find more powerhouses within seven days. Strictly speaking, as long as Lucas represented California and won against the experts sent by the Peerless Martial Association, he would emerge victorious and be the overlord of both California and Oregon. But for safety precautions and also to prove to the people of Oregon and the Peerless Martial Association that there were powerhouses in California too, the families came to a consensus to each bring an expert. Although the experts they prepared might not be able to join thepetition, they at least couldn¡¯t lose out in terms of momentum. ¡°Ah, Mr. Gray, everyone, you¡¯ve arrived earlier than me!¡± Immediately afterward, Bruce appeared with Connor and the Hales. These people, together with their families¡¯ descendants, bodyguards, and experts they brought, added up to more than twenty people. At first, the people walking by didn¡¯t notice anything wrong. But after someone saw Damon, Edmund, Connor, and other famous bigwigs of California, they were all astonished. It was really shocking that these bigwigs, who usually rarely made an appearance, were now all gathered around a young man and smiling at him gently. ¡°It¡¯s my first time seeing these big shots up close! The tens of thousands of dors I spent on buying two tickets toe watch thispetition were worth it.¡± ¡°Yes, Edmund Cole and Damon Parker are both here! So are Connor Hale and Bruce Hale! Just getting to see these big shots together makes my trip this time worthwhile!¡± ¡°But what is the origin of the young man in the middle? He must have a great status for these helmsmen to surround him. Do any of you know this young man?¡± ¡°Not only are they surrounding him, but they seem very respectful toward him too. This is amazing! Who exactly is he?¡± There were many people specting about Lucas¡¯s identity. Someone also thought of something and suddenly said excitedly, ¡°Surely this young man isn¡¯t the legendary Master of California, right? Doesn¡¯t everyone say that the Master of California is also very young? I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s him!¡± ¡°What? He¡¯s the legendary Master of California? But¡­ but look at the way he¡¯s dressed. He looks so ordinary.¡± ¡°What do you know? This is the style of a master! People at his level don¡¯t need to dress in luxurious clothing to prove their status. Just look at his aura. It¡¯s absolutely incredible!¡± For some time, countless voices of spection and envious gazesnded on Lucas. Lucas was already standing in the center of the helmsmen, and many passersby caught wind of the situation and rushed over to watch. All of a sudden, this small area became extremely lively. ¡°Hah. Mr. Gray, you¡¯re really ostentatious!¡± A mocking voice suddenly came from the crowd.. Chapter 777 - Fleeing at the Last Minute

Chapter 777 Fleeing at the Last Minute

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios Everyone¡¯s eyes turned toward a certain direction. ¡°It¡­ it¡¯s the Campbells!¡± Some people from Oregon eximed in surprise and immediately revealed the identity of the people walking over. The old man walking in front was Noah, the helmsman of the Campbells from Oregon. Apart from his bodyguards and a group of juniors apanying him, there was also a rge group of people from the powerful families of Oregon following behind him. n addition, a ck-robed man in his fifties with a long beard and an ethereal aura was walking beside Noah. Lucas was surprised to find that the aura emanating from this ck-robed man was extremely strong, much more than the middle-aged man the Coles hired! Moreover, Lucas could sense the undisguised hostility and murderous gaze in the eyes of the ck-robed man from the moment he saw him. But Lucas merely nced at him without taking it to heart. Even if the ck-robed man was powerful, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be scared. Edmund looked at Noah, who was aggressive as soon as they met, and felt ufortable. ¡°In terms of ostentation, we can¡¯tpare to you, who has everyone at your beck and call, Mr. Campbell. Oh right, Master Lewis, whom you respected greatly, ended up losing miserably at the hands of the Peerless Martial Association. Have the Campbells found a stronger expert? Don¡¯t repeat the same mistake!¡± Edmund mocked. oah narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling a vague ache in his heart. He really didn¡¯t want to recall the feeling of being shamed again. ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t be too happy! We still don¡¯t know who will have thestugh! Do you know exactly who | invited this time?¡± Noah sneered. He pointed his palm upward at the ck-robed old man beside him and introduced arrogantly, ¡°The person standing beside me is Mr. Alonso, the leader of the Octa Faction in Oregon! With him around, there¡¯s no way California can win!¡± As soon as he said this, the people standing around cried out in shock and inhaled sharply. ¡°What? This is Mr. Alonso, the leader of the Octa Faction? I¡¯ve always heard of him, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯m seeing him in person!¡± ¡°Oh my God, the Campbells actually managed to invite Mr. Alonso!¡± ¡°Mr. Alonso is a top expert! With him here, Oregon is bound to win!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. With Mr. Alonso here, no one can defeat him, not even in the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California and Oregon branches!¡± The Octa Faction was quite famous, and Mr. Paul Alonso was an unreachable existence in the eyes of many top experts. Even the many powerful helmsmen present were more or less aware that Paul was indeed a powerhouse. These families had visited Paul before to invite him. But regardless of how tempting the conditions they promised were, Paul never agreed. They didn¡¯t expect Noah to be able to invite him. In the face of such a strong enemy, all the helmsmen of the families of California became gloomy. ¡°Uh¡­ Mr. Campbell, I suddenly remembered that I have something urgent to attend to at home, so I¡¯ll take my leave now. I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t be able to attend the petition today!¡± the expert brought by the Dreyer family suddenly said with a pale face. Before Mr. Dreyer could even say anything, he immediately sprinted away, as if there was something terrifying chasing him. ¡°Damn it!¡± Mr. Dreyer cursed bitterly, his expression angry. The other people of the Dreyer family also felt very humiliated. They didn¡¯t expect that the expert the Dreyer family had found would be so frightened to the point that he would find an excuse to escape immediately after hearing Paul¡¯s name! His behavior had embarrassed the Dreyer family in front of the numerous helmsmen. As expected, several disturbances broke out in the California camp after Mr. Dreyer¡¯s expert fled. ¡°Uh, Mr. Goldman, I suddenly remembered that my wife is due forbor today. I have to go to the hospital to take care of her. I¡¯ll take my leave now!¡± ¡°Mr. Ross, my old ailment is acting up, and I can¡¯t fight now. Please find someone else!¡± ¡°Mr. Walter, my mother-inw ising to my ce today, so I have to get going. I¡¯m sorry!¡± After hearing that Paul of the Octa Faction was on the other side, many of the experts invited topete today immediately fled with far-fetched excuses. In the end, except for the middle-aged man following Edmund, almost all of the experts from the other families had run away and vanished without a trace. Seeing this scene, the helmsmen became disgruntled. It was really embarrassing that the experts they had hired at a high price fled at thest minute one after another! Contrary to the atmosphere on the California side, the helmsmen of Oregon immediately burst intoughter. ¡°Hahahaha! Hrious! Thepetition hasn¡¯t even started yet, and Mr. Alonso¡¯s name was merely mentioned, yet those people of California have fled like mice seeing a cat!¡± ¡°Haha, so this is the style of the Master of California! I¡¯ve gotten an eye-opener today! They almost scurried away! Hahaha, I¡¯mughing my head off!¡± ¡°People from California, are things okay on your side? I think all the people on your side have run away. Will you have enough people topeteter?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re so afraid, why don¡¯t you just surrender now? You can also save yourself some embarrassmentter!¡± Lucas was a bit curious. A single name was actually enough to make so many experts from California abandon thepetition and leave. He wondered if this ck-robed man was really that powerful. Facing the ridicule and mockery from the families of Oregon, Edmund stepped forward and said coldly, ¡°Today¡¯s martial artspetition is not a contest of who has the most people! Only after you have defeated the powerhouses of California and the Peerless Martial Association can you have the right to be arrogant to us!¡± Noahughed smugly. ¡°Hah, with Mr. Alonso, why would we have to be worried about winning? ¡°In no time, you¡¯ll have to kneel down and concede to the powerhouse of Oregon! ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± With thismand, he turned around and led the group of people from Oregon into the venue. Lucas watched them go in before saying indifferently, ¡°Let¡¯s go too.¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± The helmsmen of California agreed and gathered around Lucas as they made their way into the venue. This martial artspetition, which attracted the attention of the two states, would officially begin in a few minutes!. Chapter 778 - In the Audience

Chapter 778 In the Audience

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios The moment the group entered the venue, they immediately sparked an uproar. ¡°Look! The helmsmen of many wealthy and powerful families in California are here!¡± ¡°I know the one walking in front. He¡¯s Edmund Cole! The Coles are the strongest family in California! The beautiful girl beside him is his granddaughter Alexis! Ahhh, I¡¯d be willing to die if I could marry her!¡± ¡°Dream on! Everyone wants to marry Miss Cole. If you could marry her, you¡¯d get all the Coles¡¯ assets. The point is, she absolutely won¡¯t like you!¡± ¡°Oh, the one behind is Damon Parker, the head of the Parkers from LA! Next to him is his grandson Keh. I heard that he isn¡¯t married yet. If | had the chance to marry the Parkers, I¡¯d smile in my sleep!¡± ¡°The helmsman of the Hales from Orange County is here too! Connor Hale is the youngest family helmsman ever, and the key is, he¡¯s really suave too! Unfortunately, he¡¯s already married. Ah, why did a good man get married so early?!¡± ¡°These people are the top forces of California. What are you saying? Are you here to pick a spouse?¡± an older man beside them said with displeasure. ¡°Nonsense! Today is a rare event in the two states. With so many prestigious figures and young people around, even those sitting outside are mostly trying to get close to these wealthy families and establish marriage alliances. Otherwise, who would spend thousands of dors to watch thepetition for fun?!¡± ¡°Yes! If the heir or heiress of a wealthy family takes a liking to you, it will be a godsend opportunity! Even if you can¡¯t get in touch with the top-tier families, the others who could afford the tickets here are not from poor families either. This makes for a great opportunity tomunicate with them. Don¡¯t tell me that that¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking!¡± ¡°Okay, fine. Our goals are about the same.¡± Thepetition between California, Oregon, and the Peerless Martial Association was indeed not only a grand event concerning the future fate of the two states but also a high-profile and high-level gathering. Many people had racked their brains and spent thousands of dors buying tickets to enter. They were naturally not here just to watch the fun. At this moment, Asher was sitting in the middle of the audience together with his wealthy girlfriend, Lily, and her best friend, Summer. All three of them were looking at the VIP passage excitedly. ¡°Ahbhh, Lily, look! The top bigshots of California have finally appeared!¡± Summer was so excited that her face was red, and she clutched Lily¡¯s hand tightly. She couldn¡¯t take her eyes away from the few young heirs. ¡°The Coles, the Parkers, the Hales¡­ Ah, it¡¯s such a pity that we¡¯re sitting too far away and can¡¯t see their faces!¡± The San Francisco International Expo Center wasrge enough to amodate more than 20,000 people, so even though they were sitting in the middle, they couldn¡¯t get a clear glimpse of the people sitting in the VIP aisle at the front. Thepetition stage was in the middle of the expo center, with severalrge screens around, which was enough for even those sitting in the outermost seats to see the situation on the stage. ¡°Hey! Lily, quickly take a look at who that young man among the big shots is!¡± Summer pointed eagerly at a person sitting among the wealthy families of California. Most importantly, this young man had a special position. He was like a star surrounded by many, and all the big shots of California kept a respectful distance from him. He was obviously extraordinary. Lily craned her neck and looked for a long time. But unfortunately, he was too far away, and she couldn¡¯t see his looks clearly. ¡°Although I can¡¯t see clearly, I can roughly guess that this young man is definitely the main character of today¡¯spetition and the mysterious Master of California!¡± Lily stared at this figure with a strange gaze in her eyes. ¡°It seems he is indeed the Master of California, but it¡¯s a pity we can¡¯t see his looks clearly!¡± Summer was chagrined and furious. ¡°I brought a small telescope with me, but that damned guard just had to confiscate it!¡± Lily smiled andforted, ¡°It¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t see him clearly. He¡¯ll be on stageter anyway. By then, you¡¯ll definitely be able to see his face clearly!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right!¡± Summer stared at Lucas with a look of infatuation. ¡°Lily, I really like the Master of California! Although I can¡¯t see him clearly, I can tell from his figure that he¡¯s exceptionally charming and refined! He¡¯s indeed worthy of being the Master of California! ¡°You must help me. I really want to see him immediately and then speak to him and marry him!¡± Two pink hearts almost popped out of her eyes. Lily said, ¡°As your best friend, I don¡¯t want to discourage you, but I still have to say that¡¯s impossible! This person is the Master of California, an overlord who controls more than sixty top families in California! You¡¯ll be fortunate enough to be able to talk to him, but now, you¡¯re still thinking of marrying him? ¡°He¡¯s so young, but he already has such a high status. I bet the women who want to marry him can line up around the borders of all of California. He can have any woman he wants. Why would he like¡­ people like us?¡± Lily had a sense of awareness. Her and Summer¡¯s families might be wealthy and considered richer than most people, but they were worlds apart from the Master of California. Summer pouted. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s not certain! What if the Master of California happens to like me? Besides, I¡¯m not dreaming of marrying him. I¡¯d be happy to be able to have a one-night stand with such a brilliant man!¡± Her face was flushed, and she was a little shameless. At this moment, Asher, who had been silent, was staring at the figure in the crowd and said in shock, ¡°The¡­ the Master of California is actually Lucas Gray!¡±. Chapter 779 - Yes or No

Chapter 779 Yes or No

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios After hearing what Asher said, Lily and Summer were stunned. After they figured out who Asher was talking about, they revealed contempt. ¡°Asher, is there something wrong with your brain? He¡¯s the Master of California. How can youpare him to your loser high school ssmate? ¡°It¡¯s an insult to the Master of California to mention them in the same sentence! To think that you¡¯re actually saying that your ssmate is the Master of California. You must be daydreaming! You haven¡¯t even had a drink yet, but you¡¯re already spouting nonsense!¡± Asher hurriedly exined, ¡°I¡¯m not spouting nonsense. It¡¯s true! Look at what the Master of California is wearing. Isn¡¯t his outfit exactly the same as what Lucas was wearing outside the door just now? ¡°Also, his stature, body shape, and posture are¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Before Asher could finish, Lily pped his face. ¡°You fool, do you have a death wish? If others hear what you said, it¡¯s definitely an insult to the Master of California! If you want to die, die alone. Don¡¯t drag us down with you!¡± She actually hadn¡¯t even paid attention to Lucas¡¯s outfit just now. After taking a casual nce, she could already tell that his clothes were cheap, so she didn¡¯t look at Lucas seriously anymore. But she wouldn¡¯t allow Asher to continue saying nonsense! How could that damn loserpare to the Master of California, one of the main characters of today¡¯spetition? The loud pnded on Asher¡¯s face. Asher covered his face, his eyes full of humiliation. At this moment, he really wanted to stand up immediately and p Lily back before leaving. But the thought of his poor sister made him freeze in ce. He couldn¡¯t stand up at all. Summer nced at Asher in disdain. ¡°A man like you is indeed a piece of garbage! Lily was kind enough to bring you here to see the world, so you¡¯d better behave yourself and watch obediently! But you keep spouting hysterical nonsense that pisses everyone off. You deserved to get pped by Lily. me it on yourself for failing to keep your mouth shut! ¡°If Lily didn¡¯t think you were useful, how could you have found a girlfriend like Lily with your status? Psht!¡± These insults made the seven-foot-tall Asher so furious that he trembled all over. But when he thought that his sister had to rely on Lily to survive, he could only grit his teeth and force himself to bear with it. If he wasn¡¯t so useless, if he could be a little more capable, he wouldn¡¯t have to be here to suffer at the insults of Lily and Summer! While Asher was caught in the pain of self-me and repression, he suddenly heard a familiar voice. ¡°Asher, I¡¯m here.¡± Asher turned his head around and saw a man standing in the aisle next to him, looking at him with a smile. It was none other than Lucas. Lily and Summer, sitting on the inner side, looked over when they heard the voice. Their faces changed drastically the moment they saw Lucas. It was not only because Lucas, whom they had been certain wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the venue, had actually managed to do so. But more importantly, they discovered that the clothes he was wearing were indeed simr to that of the Master of California, whom they just saw from afar! ¡°Lucas, you¡­ you¡¯re the Master of California, aren¡¯t you?¡± Asher hesitated for a long time before asking. He clearly saw that the person standing among the bigwigs of California was Lucas. He was very familiar with Lucas, and he was certain he wouldn¡¯t mistake someone else for him! Lucas smiled. He didn¡¯t intend to hide his identity from Asher. Besides, he would definitely fight in the martial artspetitionter, and Asher would recognize him then. ¡°he¡± Just as Lucas was about to admit his identity, a sharp female voice interrupted him. ¡°Asher! I¡¯ve already warned you not to spout nonsense. Did my words fall on deaf ears? Or do you think that the p just now was too light, so you didn¡¯t learn your lesson?¡± Lily said ferociously. At the same time, Summer sized Lucas up with a look of mockery. ¡°You¡¯re just a loser. How can you possiblypare to my dreamboat, the Master of California? Even if you¡¯re wearing a simr outfit, it¡¯s just a coincidence. How could the Master of California possibly wear a shabby and unrefined outfit like yours? ¡°A bottom-feeder like you reeks of poverty, and you¡¯re worlds apart from the gentlemanly Master of California! Don¡¯t think you¡¯re really the Master of California just because you¡¯re wearing a simr outfit! Even if you were wearing a crown, you¡¯d never be a prince!¡± Aftering here, before Lucas could even say aplete sentence, he was immediately scolded from head to toe by Lily and Summer. Asher was also scolded. At this moment, he even suspected that he had seen wrongly. Perhaps Summer was right. The Master of California happened to be wearing simr clothes as Lucas, and they happened to have the same stature and body shape too. Asher began to wonder if he had really made a mistake. At this moment, he finally recalled that Lucas had suffered from poverty since he was in high school because he had lived with only his ill-stricken mother. She would have to go out to work every day to support Lucas and herself. Back then, Lucas wore extremely simple clothes that could even be considered shabby. Besides, due to his poor family, Lucas would often be bullied by some vile kids who didn¡¯t understand what it was like to go through hardships. So at the time, Asher, who had a strong sense of justice, couldn¡¯t stand it and decided to help Lucas. The two then became close friends. In hindsight, it had only been around seven years since Lucas graduated. During this short period of time, how could he go from a penniless boy who had nothing to an overlord that could dominate California? It seemed impossible regardless of how hard he strove. Indeed, he was wrong! Thinking of this, Asher took a deep breath and looked at Lucas apologetically. ¡°Sorry, buddy. My eyes were ying tricks on me. I almost saw you as the Master of California and asked you a silly question. My bad!¡± Seeing this, Lucas stopped speaking and smiled before sitting down beside Asher. He didn¡¯t have to say some things. Anyway, they would naturally know when the time came. He didn¡¯t have to waste his breath now. In the VIP seats at the front, the rich and powerful people of California and Oregon were taking their seats one after another. At this time, there were only two minutes left before the official start of thepetition at 9 p.m.. Chapter 780 - Friend’s Hidden Story

Chapter 780 Friend¡¯s Hidden Story

Trantor: As StudiosEditor: As Studios There was a round ring of about a hundred square meters in the middle of the expo center. Around the ring was a vacant area that no one was allowed to enter to prevent idental injury inflicted by the people fighting in the ring. The outer circle was the security protection area where security was the tightest. It was a safety arranged by the forces of California, Oregon, and the Peerless Martial Association. The VIP seats closest to the ring were in this circle. The VIP seats were mainly divided into threerge areas¡ªthe forces of California, the forces of Oregon, and the two branches of the Peerless Martial Association. The outer area was divided into three categories ording to the distance from the ring, namely the priority viewing seats, the ordinary viewing seats, and the peripheral viewing seats. Each category was priced differently, but the seats were not fixed. Lucas¡¯s original position was in the middle of the VIP seats belonging to the forces of California. But because he had promised Asher when he was outside the venue that he woulde to him after entering the exp center, Lucas decided to sit with Asher at the ordinary viewing seats. Although Lucas was sitting on Asher¡¯s side and not getting in the way of Lily and Summer, they were extremely displeased with his arrival and frowned as if Lucas reeked of an overwhelming odor. ¡°Hmph, God knows how he sneaked in. He¡¯d better not implicate us if he gets caughtter!¡± Summer frowned at Lucas with displeasure. Lily harrumphed contemptuously and then said to Summer, ¡°Just ignore him! Quickly look at where the Master of California you¡¯ve been longing for is sitting.¡± Summer stared at California¡¯s VIP seats for a while before saying disheartenedly, ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t see him anywhere. Maybe the Master of California has gone to the backstage lounge and will only appear when it¡¯s time to go on stage! ¡°He¡¯s really too mysterious! | bet ny-nine percent of the audience are eager to know what the Master of California looks like! But he¡¯s already my man, and one day, I¡¯ll definitely marry him!¡± Summer said confidently with clenched fists. Lily smiled. ¡°Okay! You¡¯ll definitely marry the Master of California! Good luck!¡± Lucas, sitting at the side, almost burst intoughter when he heard what they said. The two women were so disdainful of him that it seemed they wanted to drive him out of the venue immediately, lest he polluted the air they breathed. Yet they were talking about marrying the Master of California. How would they react if they knew that the Master of California was Lucas? Although Lucas had tried his best to contain hisughter, Lily caught him grinning slightly. ¡°What are youughing at? Do you think what we said is funny?¡± Lily pulled Summer along and found another reason to snap at Lucas. Lucas shrugged and said innocently, ¡°Am I not allowed to be in a good mood?¡± ¡°Hah! I don¡¯t know how you sneaked in. You¡¯re just a penniless man, yet you don¡¯t feel ashamed about sitting with rich people like us. You even say that you¡¯re in a good mood. How shameless!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I can¡¯t tell what you¡¯re thinking. You¡¯re mocking us, aren¡¯t you? Just you wait. Once I get to know the Master of California and marry him, I¡¯ll deal with you!¡± Summer glowered at Lucas while gritting her teeth. Asher¡¯s face turned sullen as he said coldly, ¡°Enough! Lucas didn¡¯t say anything at all, yet you two keep yelling at him. He didn¡¯t mock you!¡± ¡°Shut up! I won¡¯t allow you to defend him in front of me!¡± Lily reprimanded Asher domineeringly without saving him any pride. Asher¡¯s face turned red. But once he thought of his sister, he suppressed all the anger and indignation within him. Lucas watched coldly. At this point, he already had a rough idea. Did Asher fall in love with this mean-spirited rich girl because he¡¯s be a masochist? Lucas thought that there must be some hidden reason for Asher to date a woman like Lily and suffer the humiliation. If Asher needed help, Lucas wouldn¡¯t hesitate to give him a hand because Asher had protected him and helped him back in high school. But now was obviously not a good time for an open and honest exchange because amotion broke out again when another group of people walked into the cold venue through the VIP passage. ¡°This time, it¡¯s the Peerless Martial Association!¡± ¡°Look, that¡¯s Axel Fox, the head of the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association! The one on his right is Heath, the steward of the California branch!¡± ¡°There are also people from the Oregon branch!¡± ¡°Huh? Who is the middle-aged man walking in front of them? He looks very domineering! Could he be¡­?¡± The crowd spected about the identity of the middle-aged man who could walk at the front of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s team. ¡°It really is him, Julian York!¡± Edmund was staring at the gloomy middle-aged man as a grim look appeared on his face. ¡°No wonder the Peerless Martial Association is suddenly brave and confident enough to take control of California and Oregon. It turns out it¡¯s because they invited Julian York from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters!¡± Damon frowned. ¡°Julian York¡­ I¡¯m not familiar with him, but I heard that he has a high rank in the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters. Suchbat strength indeed shouldn¡¯t be underestimated! Mr. Cole, can your expert deal with him?¡± Edmund didn¡¯t answer directly but looked at the middle-aged expert sitting beside him and asked politely, ¡°Master Byron, what do you think?¡± The middle-aged expert didn¡¯t reply to Edmund immediately and was instead staring at Julian, who was walking toward the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s VIP seats. He was pursing his lips with a solemn expression. He sensed a surging power emanating from Julian¡¯s body, making him feel as if arge mountain was pressing him down. ¡°This person is really strong!¡± Byron finallymented after a while. ¡°Even I am not certain of defeating him. But since I promised you to join thispetition, I will naturally give my best effort and do my best to defeat him!¡± But his words made Edmund¡¯s heart tremble and sink slightly. Chapter 781 - Blowing Your Trumpet First

Chapter 781: Blowing Your Trumpet First

Byron was a top expert that Edmund had hired from abroad at a high price. He rarely appeared in the nation, so very few people knew his name. But he was an internationally renowned expert specialized in killing. He had sessfullypleted countless missions, and many experts had died at his hands. Edmund originally thought that Lucas might not need to fight in thispetition because he had found a powerful expert like Byron. But after looking at Byron¡¯s expression, Edmund knew that Julian, the expert from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters, was indeed incredibly powerful, and even Byron wasn¡¯t certain of defeating him. ¡°Just do your best!¡± This was the only thing Edmund could say in the end. If Byron was defeated, Lucas was likely the only one who could take over. While they were talking, Julian led the people from the Peerless Martial Association and sat down at the VIP seats reserved for them. After taking his seat, Julian immediately looked at the VIP seats for California. But after looking around, he frowned slightly. Reason being, Lucas wasn¡¯t among these people. The reason he came to California and asked the people of the California branch of the Peerless Martial Association to organize thispetition was not only to be the overlord of California and Oregon but, more importantly, to kill Lucas and avenge his brother Jude. Lucas could be considered Julian¡¯s most important opponent in today¡¯spetition. But Lucas didn¡¯t even show up! Axel Fox, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch, had the same thoughts as Julian. He had deliberately tricked Julian intoing here from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters to watch him trample all over Lucas or even kill him. Only then could he relieve his hatred. But Lucas was not at the venue. ¡°Gentlemen of California, thepetition is about to start. Why hasn¡¯t Mr. Gray, whom all of you admire, appeared yet?¡± Axel stood up and said contemptuously to the people seated at the VIP seats for California. ¡°Is the Master of California scared and hiding, or has he fled from the scene like those people you found?¡± He was an expert deliberately raising his voice to humiliate Lucas, so his mocking voice immediately spread throughout the venue. There was an uproar! The helmsmen of the top families of California looked extremely sullen. Just now, the experts that many families of California had found were frightened and had run away after hearing that Mr. Alonso, the head of the Octa Faction, was here. Now that Axel brought up this humiliating matter and even mocked Lucas, they felt even more embarrassed. The people from Oregon began mocking andughing without restraint. ¡°So, he¡¯s too scared to appear. It seems the Master of California is no big deal!¡± Noahughed out loud with contempt written all over his face. ¡®Mr. Fox, it seems the person who fled from the exchange venue that day after being shouted at by Mr. Gray was you, right? Since you aren¡¯t scared and hiding, why would Mr. Gray hide?¡± Edmund sneered at Axel. Since Lucas wanted to keep what had happened at the Elite Business Exchange a secret, no one spread the news about Axel bringing a group of experts from the Peerless Martial Association with him, only to be defeated by Lucas. But now, Axel was mocking Lucas in public, so Edmund wasn¡¯t afraid of exposing Axel in public and putting him to shame. Sure enough, as soon as Axel heard this, what had urred at the Elite Business Exchange immediately surfaced in his mind, causing his face to sink. Edmund didn¡¯t care how he looked and immediately targeted Noah. ¡°And you, the helmsman of the Campbells, a week ago, your family¡¯s expert was as weak as a chicken in front of the Peerless Martial Association. If Mr. Gray hadn¡¯t appeared in time and killed the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s expert, I¡¯m afraid your family would have disappeared that day! Where do you get the courage to mock Mr. Gray?! ¡°If Mr. Gray is mediocre, the Campbells are dog shit!¡± Edmund cursed at Noah without mercy. His words, and the amount of information revealed in them, immediately sparked an uproar in the venue. ¡°Oh my God! The helmsman of the Coles ridiculed the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch. It looks like there¡¯s definitely going to be a good show today!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all! It turns out that Mr. Gray, the Master of California, has already faced Axel Fox before, and he even chased him out by shouting at him. How shocking!¡± ¡°Also, Mr. Gray actually killed the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s strongest expert in Oregon? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Mr. Gray is really powerful! Since he¡¯s so strong, he definitely won¡¯t Summer was so excited that her face turned red, and she patted Lily¡¯s hand repeatedly. ¡°Did you hear that? As expected of the man I like, he even killed an expert of the Peerless Martial Association. How domineering! ¡°How cool. I must marry him!¡± Lily also praised with a look of admiration, ¡°Yeah! A man like the Master of California is truly a real man at the top!¡¯ Even Asher couldn¡¯t help sighing. ¡°The Master of California is indeed a real man!¡± Sitting at the side, Lucas had a subtle expression on his face. Florence, sitting near the front row of priority seats, listened to the awe and praises about the Master of California with a proud look on her face. After all, the Master of California was the outstanding man she had chosen for her daughter. As long as the Master of California emerged victorious today, he would be the overlord of California and Oregon, increasing his status. Florence just needed to find the right opportunity to let Cheyenne marry the Master of California, and she would be given the greatest credit by the Howards and be the mother-inw of the Master of California! Power, status, and all the other things she wanted would be close at hand! Thus, she was determined to achieve her goal no matter what! Chapter 782 - Within Plan

Chapter 782: Within n

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Pam, sitting next to Florence, was bored. She was a Howard from DC, so she didn¡¯t care about who took charge of Oregon and California. She wasn¡¯t interested in the fights between men either. The only reason she was sitting here was that her family was forcing her toe and see the legendary Master of California, Mr. Gray. Her n was to leave this ce immediately after seeing the Master of California, but unexpectedly, he hadn¡¯t shown up. ¡°Aunt, is the Master of California reallying? Is he really afraid?¡± Pam said uninterestedly. Florence smiles. ¡°What¡¯s the rush? Today¡¯spetition hasn¡¯t officially started. Or are you already eager to meet the Master of California?¡± ¡°Who says I¡¯m eager to meet him? I just think that this martial artspetition is boring, so if I see him sooner, I¡¯ll be able to leave sooner,¡± Pam said indifferently. Although Pam seemed uninterested in the Master of California, which was exactly what Florence wanted, she was still a little worried. ¡°Pam, are you really not interested in the Master of California? Once he wins today, he will be the overlord of California and Oregon. He¡¯ll have so much power at such a young age. It¡¯s impossible for even the heirs of the eight top families of DC. Aren¡¯t you curious about such a good man?¡± Florence teased while staring closely at Pam¡¯s expression to find out how she really felt. Pam said impatiently, ¡°Aunt Florence, I¡¯ve already told you that no matter how outstanding the Master of California is, I already have someone in my heart, and he¡¯s the only person I will marry in this life! I won¡¯t consider anyone else! I hope you will remember this and stop saying these things to me.¡± Florence raised her eyebrows. ¡°Pam, I¡¯m your aunt, and there are no outsiders here. Just tell me the truth. Do you really have a man you like, or do you just not want to obey the family¡¯s marriage arrangements for you?¡± Pam sighed. She looked at Florence and said calmly, ¡°Of course I mean it. Since I saw the man I like, I¡¯ve started treating other men like shadows. Even the Master of California won¡¯t be able to win my heart!¡± ¡°Are you... truly not willing to marry the Master of California?¡± Florence confirmed. ¡®Yes, I¡¯m not willing! Aunt Florence, just give up!¡± Pam answered loudly without hesitation. Florence was overjoyed, but she didn¡¯t reveal it. She had met countless people, and she could tell whether Pam was telling the truth or not. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re really not willing to marry the Master of California, as your aunt, I won¡¯t force you.¡± Florence finally heaved a sigh of relief before adding, ¡°But if you can promise to do one thing for me, I¡¯ll agree to you not marrying the Mastery of California, and I¡¯ll talk to the family for you as well. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Pam¡¯s eyes immediately lit up, looking at Florence with surprise and anticipation. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re my niece, and we¡¯re both women. Am I really supposed to force you to marry a man you don¡¯t like? Wouldn¡¯t that harm you for the rest of your life?¡± Florence said with a doting look. ¡°Great! Aunt Florence, you treat me better than my mom does!¡± Pam was extremely touched, and she immediately leaped over to snuggle in Florence¡¯s arms, all smiles. She hadn¡¯t been able to sleep well for days because of her family¡¯s order to marry the Master of California. But even though she protested andined to her parents, she didn¡¯t get any relief. They would only tell her that it was the family¡¯s decision and that it was for her own good, so she should behave. But she had finally grown up and had the chance to enjoy freedom for so many years abroad, so why should she marry a man she didn¡¯t like and spend the rest of her life with him? Besides, she was already in love with someone she couldn¡¯t erase from her memory. She couldn¡¯t ept any other man in this lifetime. What Florence said immediately touched Pam¡¯s heart, and she had a drastic change in attitude toward Florence, whom she rarely met. In fact, she even had some admiration. Pam agreed to help Florence without saying anything else. ¡°Okay! Aunt Florence, what do you need me to help you with? As long as it¡¯s not about marrying the Master of California, I¡¯m willing to do anything!¡± Pam said with a smile of satisfaction. ¡°No hurry. I¡¯ll tell you about it after thepetition!¡± Florence also smiled. Her ns were unfolding. She finally dealt with the stumbling block Pam and even got her to be her helper. Next, she would acknowledge Cheyenne and then find a way to create a chance for Cheyenne to meet the Master of California and slowly fall in love with him. At that time, she would almost be finished with the matter. As for Lucas, she wasn¡¯t worried about him because as long as the Master of California fell in love with Cheyenne, he would definitely take the initiative to get rid of Lucas, the greatest obstacle, himself. A smile of victory gradually appeared on Florence¡¯s lips. The uproar of shock in the venue due to what Edmund said had yet to end. Noah stood up furiously and pointed at Edmund. ¡°Mr. Cole, don¡¯t spout nonsense! Even if that kid didn¡¯t show up that day, the Campbells wouldn¡¯t have been in any trouble! I¡¯ve already brought an expert here today, but where¡¯s the Master of California? Ask him toe out here!¡± Edmund sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush to defend yourself. We all know what happened that day! ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re invincible now that you¡¯ve found an expert. When Mr. Gray shows upter, you¡¯ll naturally know how ridiculous you are now!¡± The two of them started bickering, refusing to give in to the other. ¡°You¡¯re talking too much nonsense!¡± Julian suddenly scolded coldly, his voice like thunder resounding throughout the expo center. It immediately made everyone tremble as they closed their mouths and looked over at him in shock. Ignoring the people around him, Julian stood up and stepped onto the table to jump into the air. In the blink of an eye, he had already leaped a distance of eight meters andnded directly on the martial arts stage in the middle of the venue. Boom! As hended, cracks appeared all over the concrete floor, and dust flew everywhere.. Chapter 783 - With A Single Punch

Chapter 783 With A Single Punch

The cameras arranged around the ring immediately captured this scene and projected it onto therge screens above, giving everyone a clear view of the stage. ¡°Wow!¡± Gasps of amazment and sharp inhtions immediately sounded in the venue. ¡°He¡­ he jumped eight meters away with a single jump! Is that a level humans can reach?¡± ¡°The floor of the ring is concrete. He crushed the floor just by stomping on it. If he stepped on a human, the consequences would be worse than some broken bones. His victim would definitely die!¡± ¡°How terrifying! Is this the power of a top expert? I¡¯ve only seen such scenes on TV before. I thought those martial artists were just phonies, but now I really believe it! Such powerhouses really do exist!¡± Countless people were stunned by Julian¡¯s sudden move. Some top families who initially thought they could at least fight against the Peerless Martial Association had their hearts tremble, and they began to think of retreating. non Se ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste my breath on any more nonsense. The powerhouses of California and Oregon cane in the ring if they want to challenge me!¡± Julian stood proudly in the middle of the field, facing the top families of California and Oregon domineeringly. But under his gaze, the families of California and Oregon couldn¡¯t help lowering their heads. None of them dared toe forward to fight him. The experts of the two states initially nned to have fights between the experts of the three forces before deciding victory with a fight between the most powerful ones. No one expected that Julian, the expert of the Peerless Martial Association, would be the first to step onto the ring and challenge everyone else. His action made the rest too scared to go up. Noah looked at Edmund and suddenly said slyly with glistening eyes, ¡°Since thispetition is being held in California, we should have an expert from Californiae up first!¡± Although the Campbells had invited Paul Alonso, an extremely powerful expert from the Octa Faction, they didn¡¯t know how powerful Julian was. So he decided to let the experts of California fight first so that they could gauge Julian¡¯s abilities while consuming his physical strength. Edmund nced at Noah and immediately knew his purpose. But it really wasn¡¯t up to the people of California to retreat now. He looked at Byron next to him and asked, ¡°Can you fight this battle?¡± Byron nodded. ¡°I can give it a try.¡± Then he stood up and walked toward the ring. His appearance may be far less impressive than Julian¡¯s, but he was very genuine. He merely walked toward the ring one step at a time and then made his way up the special steps. The host of the conference, whom Julian had interrupted, finally found the chance to hurry back to the ring and say to the audience through the microphone in his hand, ¡°Everyone, listen up! The one standing on the stage now is Julian York, a top powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association. And the person about to challenge him is Master Byron, the powerhouse of the Coles, the top family in California! Let us wait and see who the final victor is! ¡°The first match shall begin now!¡± The moment he announced the start, both people on stage moved at the same time! Watching the clear scene projected on therge screens, the crowd was shocked to find that they were moving terrifyingly fast. Almost within the blink of an eye, they closed a distance of nearly ten meters and suddenly appeared in the center of the ring! Then they raised their fists and punched at each other without any fancy moves. It was the most ordinary andmon probing move and also the most stable way to face an opponent you were meeting for the first time. Boom! The collision of their fists instantly emitted an explosive sound. Suddenly, a figure flew out backward, forming a dazzling streak of red in the air. It¡­ it was blood gushing out! Everyone¡¯s jaws dropped, and their eyes widened as the figure smashed straight into the open space below the ring, slid across the smooth floor, and mmed into the guardrail in front of the VIP seats. Then he stopped and remained motionless. In just an instant, victory was decided! Everyone looked at this scene in disbelief. Many had bewilderment written all over their faces. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± ¡°Someone was sent flying in an instant and lost just like that?¡± ¡°I¡­ I just blinked, and it ended?¡± After a short period of dead silence, the venue immediately erupted. The person still standing steadily in the middle of the ring was none other than Julian, who looked gloomy and domineering. The person knocked out with one punch and was now lying on the floor and vomiting blood was the top killer Byron, whom Edmund had hired from abroad at a high price! Byron was defeated before he could even throw a punch! At this moment, the rey of the scene just now appeared on the screens, ying the moment their fists collided in slow motion. In the slow-motion rey, Julian¡¯s powerful punch shattered the bones of Byron¡¯s hand, wrist, and arm the moment they touched! The punchnded heavily on Byron¡¯s chest. The slow-motion action clearly showed Byron¡¯s chest sinking under the pressure of the devastating wind stirred up by the punch before it even hit him. When Julian¡¯s fist hit his chest, Byron spat out blood, and his ribs copsed. Afterward, his body was knocked away. This heavy punch was enough to make his chest copse. In that case, Byron¡¯s internal organs must have been crushed. There was no possibility of survival! as A The scene made everyone feel a chill in their hearts. He managed to kill another top-level powerhouse with just one punch. Julian from the Peerless Martial Association was indeed a terrifying and ruthless character! Under the crowd¡¯s fear and awe, Julian stood in the middle of the ring with his head held high. His sharp gazended on the audience, and he said coldly, ¡°Aren¡¯t youing out to fight yet?¡± Chapter 784 - Intense Fight

Chapter 784 Intense Fight

Julian¡¯s terrifying strength caused almost everyone present to have a drastic change in expression, and they all looked at him with awe. ¡°Th-this powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association is too strong!¡± ¡°Looking at the slow-motion yback just now, the power of his punch is terrifying! He crushed most of his opponent¡¯s arm and even sent him flying so far. Even his ribs and internal organs were crushed. How brutal!¡± ¡°The scene just now was so bloody! My heart is still pounding!¡± ¡°That was awesome! That¡¯s what a real top expert should be like! I feel my blood boiling just looking at it!¡± ¡°But who is he talking to, and who is he going to fight?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not looking at the VIP seats in California and Oregon but at the audience. Is the person he¡¯s challenging among the audience?¡± Amid the exmations andmotion, the atmosphere in the venue was extremely lively, and the spection continued. But the venue was enormous, and there were at least thousands of people where Julian was looking. Everyone was looking at each other and guessing who the person Julian was looking at was. ¡°Why do I feel¡­ like he¡¯s looking at us?¡± Asher, sitting beside Lucas, said with a trembling voice. Being under Julian¡¯s terrifying gaze, Asher froze, not daring to move an inch at all. Lily and Summer, next to them, felt the air around them plunge in temperature, as if they were in winter. ¡°It¡­ shouldn¡¯t be! But the look in his eyes is too scary! My heart is almost jumping out of my chest!¡± Lily and Summer grabbed each other¡¯s hands, both feeling horrified. They weren¡¯t the only ones. Even the people sitting nearby felt that Julian¡¯s murderous gaze was on them, making them flustered. Julian¡¯s aura alone shocked everyone! Lucas narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly. At this moment, someone among the VIP seats stood up. ¡°A powerhouse from the Peerless Martial Association is indeed very arrogant and domineering. In that case, let me experience your skills. I also have to settle scores with the Peerless Martial Association!¡± The faint and indifferent voice immediately caught everyone¡¯s attention. This person stood up from the VIP seats for Oregon. After the host was stunned for a moment, a look of ecstasy appeared on his face. He immediately said loudly into the microphone, ¡°Everyone! This personing forward to fight is Master Paul Alonso, a powerhouse from the Octa Faction, whom the Campbells invited!¡± It was a duel between two top powerhouses! ¡°Did you hear that? He¡¯s actually Master Alonso from the Octa Faction! He¡¯s here too!¡± ¡°Oh my God! Master Alonso is often living in recluse, yet he actually came out to help the Campbells!¡± ¡°He probably came out because his junior died at the hands of the Peerless Martial Association.¡± ¡°Even I¡¯ve heard of Master Alonso. He¡¯s a true powerhouse! The person from the Peerless Martial Association is also a top expert. A fight between these two is like aet colliding into Earth! How exciting!¡± ¡°The ticket was definitely worth the money. To be able to witness the battle between two top powerhouses, it¡¯s definitely worth it!¡± Paul¡¯s appearance pushed the liveliness of the scene to the peak. The top families of Oregon felt honored to have a top expert like Paul on their side. In fact, they even felt that the scales of victory had tipped toward them. Many people among the VIP seats of the Peerless Martial Association had solemn expressions. Axel, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch, stood up and said calmly, ¡°Master Alonso, you are the head of the Octa Faction. But now, you¡¯re actually at thepetition between the Peerless Martial Association, California, and Oregon. That doesn¡¯t seem right, does it? Does the Octa Faction also want to get involved?¡± As an expert of the Peerless Martial Association, Axel was certainly aware that Paul was a powerful enemy who wasn¡¯t easy to deal with. wa Nd. Paul was wearing a light gray robe, exuding an ethereal aura of a top expert. He looked at the people of the Peerless Martial Association and said indifferently, ¡°If not for the Peerless Martial Association taking innocent lives, including my junior¡¯s, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here. Besides, the Octa Faction is in Oregon too. Why can¡¯t I represent Oregon?¡± As soon as he said this, the people of Oregon immediately supported them. ¡°Master Alonso is right! The Octa Faction is an organization within Oregon, so why can¡¯t it represent us? Surely the Peerless Martial Association isn¡¯t afraid, right?¡±. ¡°Hahaha, Master Alonso is extremely powerful. If you¡¯re afraid, you should surrender as soon as possible!¡± ¡°Master Paul Alonso is the strongest person in Oregon. Even the people from the Peerless Martial Association are no match for him!¡± ¡°Here¡¯s a piece of advice. If you don¡¯t want to suffer a terrible defeat, surrender immediately! Otherwise, you won¡¯t even know how you¡¯ll die!¡± All the families of Oregon were full of confidence in Paul. On the stage, Julian didn¡¯t pay any attention to the shouting from the people of Oregon. Instead, he only looked at Paul with some interest. ¡°Did you just say you¡¯re here because someone from the Peerless Martial Association killed your junior?¡± Julian sneered. ¡°That¡¯s right. Just a week ago, someone from the Peerless Martial Association killed my junior, and everyone from Oregon witnessed it. You can¡¯t deny it,¡± Paul said indifferently as he leaped onto the ring. It immediately sparked exmations of awe. Julian said, ¡°Hah, since you¡¯re ipetent, it¡¯s only right for you to be killed! Are you trying to take revenge on the Peerless Martial Association? Or¡­ ¡°Is this just an excuse you made to hide your true agenda?¡± Paul¡¯s expression froze for a moment before he smirked. ¡°True agenda? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Since the Peerless Martial Association killed my junior, you must be prepared to face revenge. You can¡¯t be the only ones killing without allowing me to retaliate, right?¡± ¡°Haha, stop taking the moral high ground!¡± Julian said sarcastically. ¡°It¡¯s all for the sake of profit. You don¡¯t have to make yourself out to be so righteous! If there wasn¡¯t a final prize for thispetition, I bet you wouldn¡¯t havee out! ¡°But since you¡¯ve decided toe out of recluse, don¡¯t act like an expert in front of me. Hmph, you might have a good reputation, but I won¡¯t be scared of you!¡± At this moment, Noah, who had been standing in the VIP seat, suddenly eximed in the direction of the ring, ¡°Master Alonso! Kill Julian York! ¡°Once you kill him, you will be the overlord of Oregon and California! The Campbells are willing to pledge allegiance to you!¡± Chapter 785 - Duel

Chapter 785 Duel

Following Noah¡¯s yell, the helmsmen of the top families of Oregon beside him also yelled one after another, ¡°The Hummers of Oregon are willing to pledge allegiance and obey your orders, Master Alonso!¡± ¡°The Keiths are willing to pledge allegiance to you and obey your orders too, Master Alonso!¡± ¡°The Thompsons are willing to pledge allegiance to you and obey your orders too, Master Alonso!¡± ¡°The Marlins are willing to pledge allegiance to you and obey your orders too, Master Alonso!¡± For a while, these helmsmen pledged allegiance one after another. Except for these families of Oregon who had already discussed this privately beforehand, everyone else was astonished! No one had expected that the Campbells, the most powerful family in Oregon, would voluntarily give up the position of the overlord, which the winner would obtain, to Paul Alonso, the head of the Octa Faction! Julian wasn¡¯t that surprised. Instead, he seemed to have expected it long ago. ¡°Haha, I knew the reason you agreed to make a move for the Campbells definitely wasn¡¯t simple. It seems you¡¯re indeed after the position of the overlord of both states! ¡°But your ns won¡¯te true because you won¡¯t be a match for me. The position of the overlord of both states will definitely belong to the Peerless Martial Association!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, an overwhelming and domineering aura suddenly erupted from his body, making his clothes and hair shockingly blow without wind. Everyone saw this scene through the screens and eximed in amazement. Paul was still behaving in an aloof manner. He narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°The Peerless Martial Association is truly arrogant and domineering. You started thispetition for the sake of seizing the hegemony of California and Oregon. ¡°Even if I defeat you and obtain the final victory, it¡¯ll just be exactly what the people want. ¡°The final oue will only be known after we fight!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Julian burst intoughter. ¡°How arrogant! But it doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll see your true skills soon!¡± Then he stomped his feet violently, and several deep cracks appeared under his feet again. Julian darted straight toward Paul like an arrow leaving its bow! In the blink of an eye, Julian arrived in front of Paul and raised his leg to throw a spinning kick! Bang! Paul was fast as well. He raised his elbow and used his technique to block the ferocious kick that was powerful enough to crack rocks. This exchange of blows between the two immediately caused an extremely loud sonic boom in the air. Immediately afterward, the two fought back and forth quickly. After blocking Julian¡¯s blow with his elbow, Paul crouched forward extremely close to the floor. With his left leg bent as an axis and his right leg straightened, he spun around and threw a sweeping kick! His leg was full of thunderous force, which could definitely kill or badly injure an average person upon contact! Julian didn¡¯t block the swift sweeping kick but jumped backward quickly to avoid it. But Paul reacted swiftly too. Seeing Julian dodging his strike with just a jump, he immediately changed his stance and shifted his body weight to his right foot. Then he turned his sweeping kick into a midair kick! His kick was aggressive, and he struck when Julian was still in midair. If the kick hit Julian, it would probably hit him out of the ring. ¡°Hmph!¡± Julian sneered in midair. He reached out to grab Paul¡¯s leg and used it as a leverage point to shift his body in the air. In an instant, he defused the strike and even counterattacked Paul. Bang! Bang! Bang! They were moving as fast as lightning, and the gray and ck figures could be seen fighting on the ring. There were countless sounds of kicks and punches colliding. It was extremely terrifying! The duel between two peerless experts was simply amazing! Watching their quick movements live on therge screens, the audience cheered in excitement. The battle on the field far exceeded the scope of their imagination. This was what a battle between experts should be like. It made their blood boil! ¡°Damn! It¡¯s awesome! It¡¯s the first time in my life I¡¯ve seen a fight at this level! The tens of thousands of dors I spent on my ticket wasn¡¯t in vain!¡± ¡°How amazing! I can brag about seeing this fight for the rest of my life!¡± ¡°Are they still human? They¡¯re absurdly fast! I can¡¯t even tell who¡¯s who or see their movements clearly! Even the cameras can¡¯t capture their movements! This isn¡¯t something that humans can do!¡± ¡°Too strong! These two people are like shocking killers. I¡¯m so far away, but the sounds of their blows are like thunderps in my ears. How terrifying!¡± The audience, who had never seen such an incredible fight, screamed one after another, their faces flushed with agitation. Asher, sitting beside Lucas, looked at the two people in the ring and cheered with excitement. ¡°Amazing! These are the skills of top martial artists! If I could have such powerful skills one day, I¡¯ll wake upughing from my dreams!¡± Asher¡¯s eyes were full of envy. When he was a student, he had dreams of bing a hero like the ones in novels. Thus, he had often worked out with sandbags and trained with body weights. He had even dragged Lucas to work out with him once. But this was only a dream during his youth. With time, it became a distant dream. ¡°Psht! You want powerful martial arts skills? Dream on!¡± Lily immediately sneered. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t bought the ticket for you, you wouldn¡¯t even be qualified to enter the venue and watch this fight. How ridiculous of you to have delusions of bing a top expert like them!¡± Summer said, ¡°Although I think the two of them are very powerful, the strongest expert in my heart is still my Prince Charming, Mr. Gray, the Master of California! When Mr. Gray shows up, he will definitely be more powerful than them! It¡¯s just a pity that he hasn¡¯t appeared yet!¡± Summer was totally head-over-heels infatuated with the Master of California and had the utmost confidence in the lover of her dreams. She felt that no one in this world couldpare to him. Lucas was speechless. He was in aplicated mood at the moment. For some reason, Summer had be a hardcore fan of the Master of California. He was actually sitting right next to her, but she kept mocking him and insulting him. God knew what Summer was swooning over. There was another person present who was not the least bit interested in the battle. Her mind was full of thoughts about a young soldier. ¡°Pam, who do you think will win among the two in the ring?¡± Florence suddenly asked. Pam said disinterestedly, ¡°Who cares about them? Anyway, these two people are no match for the man I love. He¡¯s the strongest man in the world!¡± Chapter 786 - The Crushing Defeat of the Faction Head

Chapter 786 The Crushing Defeat of the Faction Head

It wasn¡¯t the first time that Pam had mentioned the man she loved in front of Florence. But after hearing Pam¡¯spliments about that man, Florence found them absurd. Sure enough, she was still a young girl who ridiculously thought that the man she loved was the best in the world and that no one could match up to him. ¡°In your eyes, probably no one canpare to the man you love, huh?¡± Florence teased without taking the man seriously. Pam nodded seriously. ¡°Yes, no one in this world is better than him!¡± Then she grabbed her phone and thought about the photo she had always kept in her phone case. She said with some anxiety, ¡°Aunt Florence, the Master of California isn¡¯t going to bail, is he? If he isn¡¯ting, I want to leave now.¡± She only came here because Florence persuaded her toe and take a look at the Master of California. She waspletely uninterested in the fight between the experts on stage. In Pam¡¯s opinion, this fight couldn¡¯tpare to the one the young man she loved had been in when he saved her from the bullets of the terrifying gang. He had killed almost 40 gangsters alone. ¡°The Master of California will definitely appear!¡± Florence said firmly. Although the powerhouses were fighting hard on stage with their amazingbat prowess, no matter who won or lost, Florence couldn¡¯t use them to her benefit. But the Master of California was different. Florence had long included the Master of California in her future ns and even pinned all her hopes on him, for she was certain that he would win the tournament. So she firmly believed that he would show up! Watching the mesmerizing fight between the two on stage, Noah smiled with satisfaction. Just now, the expert called Byron hired by the Coles had died after Julian struck him with merely one low. Inparison, Paul, the top powerhouse of Oregon, was having an equal exchange of blows with Julian. This was the difference in strength! ¡°Mr. Cole, do you see this? The experts of Oregon are far stronger than those you recruited from California, right?¡± Noah said proudly to Edmund. Edmund merely nced at him indifferently before sneering. ¡°Master Alonso is indeed very powerful, but if you think there¡¯s no one better in California, then you¡¯re very wrong! ¡°Once Mr. Gray is here, Master Alonso will be no more than just mediocre, and he won¡¯t be able to defeat Mr. Gray!¡± Edmund was extremely confident in Lucas. After all, Lucas was the leader of the Falcon Regiment of Calico, an existence known as the invincible God of War! Unconvinced, Noah sneered. ¡°You keep boasting about the greatness of that Mr. Gray, but unfortunately, he¡¯s a coward. Even till now, he hasn¡¯t dared to appear! But you¡¯re still bragging about him to me? ¡°There aren¡¯t anypetent people in California anyway. Why don¡¯t you surrender quickly? Otherwise, once Master Alonso wins and bes the overlord of both states, the wealthy families of California will have a hard time!¡± Edmund remained sitting without any change in his expression. He merely snorted coldly. ¡°Wait until he defeats Julian York before you say anything! If you brag too early, you¡¯ll jinx it!¡± ¡°Hah, continue being stubborn. Let¡¯s see how you can continue being smugter!¡± Noah said with a trace of menace in his eyes. With that, he turned to look at the stage. Now, the two people in the ring were still fighting intensely. In the eyes of the audience, the two people seemed to be evenly matched, but only Julian and Paul knew that the difference between them was gradually showing ¡°Paul Alonso, you may have been famous for years, but if this is all you¡¯ve got, it¡¯s indeed very disappointing!¡± Julian said with a smile after a close sh. Paul felt the intense paining from his fists, and his fingertips began trembling uncontrobly. His ethereal indifferent expression gradually became solemn. He originally thought that he should be able to easily defeat everyone at the martial artspetition today, including the expert from the Peerless Martial Association in front of him. But after exchanging blows, Paul knew that he waspletely inferior to Julian¡¯s strength! In fact, Julian was far stronger than him! Besides, Julian looked extremely rxed. It seemed that he hadn¡¯t exerted all his power! This made the heart of Paul, who had exerted his full power, sink. No, I won¡¯t lose! ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll show you my true power!¡± Paul gritted his teeth and gathered all his strength in his fist before swinging it at Julian¡¯s head! This was the most powerful punch that Paul could throw in this lifetime! ¡°Hah, that¡¯s all you¡¯re capable of!¡± Julian smirked, and his aura surged. He seemed to have risen by another level. Compared to before, his speed and strength had also almost doubled. His body flickered and avoided Paul¡¯s strike. ¡°Oh shit!¡± Paul was already familiar with Julian¡¯s speed and attack rhythm. Thus, he had punched at Julian¡¯s opening and was certain that Julian wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid the blow! But Julian suddenly became much faster than before and dodged the punch effortlessly! After throwing a full-strength punch, Paul lost his bnce and immediately revealed a w, falling into a passive position. Julian naturally wouldn¡¯t let go of this opportunity. A sinister smile appeared on his face as his elbow struck like lightning on the back of Paul¡¯s neck! Paul felt a cold and sharp winding from behind his neck, but he was struck before he could even react! Bang! There was excruciating pain in his neck, as if it was about to be chopped off. His vision turned dark, and he almost passed out on the spot. But at this moment, he had already lost his bnce and was thrown forward uncontrobly! Bang! Julian didn¡¯t let go of this opportunity. He grabbed Paul¡¯s cor and raised his leg to knee him in the chest and abdomen. ¡°Arrgghh!¡± Paul screamed uncontrobly. Immediately afterward, he spurted out arge mouthful of blood along with some pieces of his internal organs all over the floor. After suffering two heavy blows in session, Paul lost all mobility and was thrown onto the ground like garbage by Julian. Boom! Paul was convulsing on the floor as the pool of blood below him began spreading outward. ¡°Hmph, I told you a long time ago that you don¡¯t have any chances of winning against me!¡± Julian said coldly as he stood proudly in the ring Chapter 787 - I’ll Fulfill Your Wish

Chapter 787 I¡¯ll Fulfill Your Wish

The entire venue immediately fell dead silent! The people of the top families of Oregon all stood up, and their jaws dropped when they saw Paul¡¯s terrible state. The corners of their mouths twitched, and they almost immediately passed out. Paul Alonso, whom they all had high hopes for, had been defeated by Julian! Seeing how he was vomiting blood incessantly to the point that he was convulsing and unable to even stand up, as well as the blood and pieces of internal organs scattered around him, anyone could tell clearly that Paul wouldn¡¯t survive. ¡°How¡­ how is this possible?!¡± Dumbfounded, Noah stared at the scene before him in horror, his face deathly pale. To the people of Oregon, Paul was like an immortal, yet he was actually about to die at the hands of Julian of the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°No, this is impossible!¡± Noah suddenly roared hysterically, unable to believe the truth before him. If Paul died, it meant that his ambitions to be the overlord of California and Oregon woulde to aplete end! How could this happen?! Edmund looked at Noah¡¯s maniacal expression, thought about how Noah¡¯s ns had all fallen through, and felt as thrilled as how arrogant Noah had been. ¡°Mr. Campbell, it seems that the overlord you want all of us to pledge allegiance to has to be reced now!¡± Edmundughed mockingly. Noah immediately turned beet red, and heshed out at Edmund with a sullen look, ¡°You don¡¯t need to gloat! At least Master Alonsosted for a long time, but what about the expert from California? He was killed as soon as he got on stage! What right do you have to mock me?¡± Edmundughed, ¡°It¡¯s true that the Coles¡¯ expert wasn¡¯t skilled. But I have Mr. Gray on my side, and he will definitely be the final winner of thepetition today!¡± His eyes were full of confidence in Lucas. Staff members were hurriedly carrying Paul, who was on hisst breath, away from the ring. Exuding a cold aura, Julian stood still as his gaze that was as sharp as a knife swept across the audience again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going toe out yet? If you still don¡¯te up, I¡¯ll go find you!¡± His voice was like a thunderp resounding in everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°Since you can¡¯t wait to die, I¡¯ll have to fulfill your wish.¡± With a cold voice, a figure slowly appeared among the audience. His voice wasn¡¯t loud, and his tone was calm too. But his voice resounded in everyone¡¯s ears clearly. In fact, it was even more shocking than Julian¡¯s roar. ¡°Lucas, you¡­ you¡­¡± Asher¡¯s eyes were wide open, and his jaw dropped so much that almost two whole eggs could fit in it. He never thought that his buddy Lucas, who was sitting next to him, would suddenly stand up and say something like that to Julian, this terrifying expert! ¡°He¡­ He¡­¡± Asher¡¯s girlfriend, Lily, and Summer were both looking at Lucas in dismay, as if they saw a ghost. They had a conjecture that they could almost blurt out, but they couldn¡¯t say it out loud because they didn¡¯t dare to believe that it was the truth at all! After being named and challenged by Julian, there was only one person who could respond! It was the mysterious Master of California, who hadn¡¯t made an appearance since the start of thepetition! The audience around Lucas widened their eyes in shock. The drone cameras monitoring the arena at all times under the control of the backstage staff immediately aimed their lens at Lucas. The scene was quickly projected on the big screens around the venue. The crowd suddenly mored in excitement. Was this young man the mysterious Master of California?! At this moment, Pam frowned and raised her head impatiently while the crowd was eximing with enthusiasm. When she looked at therge screen in front of her and saw the familiar face that had haunted her for countless nights, she felt as though she had been struck by lightning. She immediately stood up flusteredly and turned her head to look at Lucas. Indeed¡­ The man she had fallen head-over-heels in love with at first sight was standing right there! She finally found him! While trembling, Pam covered her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks! Florence had shock written all over her face as she looked at this scene in disbelief. Lucas, the Lucas whom she utterly despised, was actually the one standing up! After a brief moment of silence, Lily and Summer returned to their senses when they saw that all eyes were on them. ¡°Sit down! ¡°You¡­ you loser, why did you suddenly stand up? He¡¯s challenging the Master of California. Why are you trying to join in? ¡°Also, how dare you speak to the top expert of the Peerless Martial Association with that tone? Do you have a death wish? ¡°If you want to die, go far, far away. Don¡¯t get us implicated! Sit down before the powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association loses his temper!¡± The two of them red at Lucas furiously, wishing they could immediately pin him to the floor and stomp on him. Although they had once thought of the possibility that Lucas was the Master of California, they had immediately dismissed the thought. They thought that the Master of California wouldn¡¯t dress so shabbily and sit in the ordinary seats with them to watch the match, let alone allow them to mock him without saying anything! After a moment of being stunned, Asher reacted and thought that his thoughts were too stupid just now. He had to be out of his mind to actually think that Lucas was the overlord of California. How could this be possible?! ¡°Lucas, stop making trouble. Hurry up and sit down! If you identally provoke these big shots, we¡¯ll be in serious trouble!¡± Asher was so anxious that his heart was about to jump out of his chest as he frantically pulled Lucas¡¯s hand to get him to sit down. But Lucas smiled faintly at Asher and said lightly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As your buddy, I¡¯d like to give you a piece of advice. It¡¯s better to break up with a stupid and vile woman before it¡¯s toote!¡± With that, Lucas stopped paying attention to them and walked toward the ring one step at a time. Chapter 788 - Center of Attention

Chapter 788 Center of Attention

¡°What did you say¡­ you! How dare you say that to me? You¡­¡± Hearing what Lucas said, Lily immediately flew into a rage. But seeing howposed he was, she suddenly felt her heart race in panic and couldn¡¯t bring herself to curse at him. Summer immediately reassured her from the side. ¡°Lily, don¡¯t bother with this loser! The top powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association in the ring is clearly looking for the Master of California and asking him to go up on stage. Yet he¡¯s pretending to be the Master of California and running up there himself! Since he has a death wish, we shouldn¡¯t stop him. Anyway, he won¡¯t end up well!¡± ¡°¡­ Yes, you¡¯re right. Since he dares to impersonate the Master of California, he deserves to die!¡± Lily said through gritted teeth despite feeling uneasy. After hearing the two women beside him iming that Lucas was impersonating the Master of California, Asher turned to look at them with an extremelyplicated expression. He and Lucas had been close friends for years, so he naturally knew Lucas¡¯s previous character very well. Although Lucas was quiet most of the time, he was definitely a smart person and would never court death. In particr, anyone could tell that Julian, who had killed two top experts from California and Oregon, was challenging the Master of California now. It wasn¡¯t a good thing that warrantedpeting for glory and credit. Who would recklessly court death by impersonating the Master of California at this time? Besides, the top families of California were all sitting in the VIP seats in front of them. Who would have the audacity to impersonate the overlord to whom they were all loyal? The only possibility was that Lucas was the true Master of California! Although Asher didn¡¯t know exactly how Lucas did this incredible thing, he waspletely convinced now! A pang of worship and excitement suddenly surged in Asher¡¯s heart. He clenched his fists tightly, and his heart almost jumped out of his chest because of how agitated he was. At this moment, he was iparably proud of Lucas. But at the same time, he also felt extremely worried about Lucas¡¯s situation in the near future. At the same time, Asher also understood the meaning of Lucas¡¯sst sentence. Lily and Summer, who had been specting about Lucas¡¯s thoughts with the most malicious and stupid mindsets, were the ones who were truly hopelessly stupid! If possible, he wanted to draw a clear line between himself and these two stupid and arrogant women. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t do it now! As Lucas walked toward the ring with light footsteps, a spotlight shone down from the above and started following him closely, bathing him in bright and dreamy light. He was like a god descending in this world, whom everyone admired. As Lucas appeared, the helmsmen of all the top families in the California VIP seats stood up and bowed to Lucas. ¡°I, Edmund Cole, wee the Master of California!¡± ¡°I, Damon Parker, wee the Master of California!¡± ¡°I, Bruce Hale, wee the Master of California!¡± Several loud and respectful voices sounded in the venue. The atmosphere started boiling because of the reactions of the helmsmen to the Master of California. ¡°He¡­ that young man is really the Master of California! Oh my gosh, he¡¯s so young and imposing!¡± ¡°The helmsmen of so many powerful families are bowing to him in greeting. There¡¯s no mistake. He must be the Master of California! He¡¯s so handsome!¡± ¡°His aura is so domineering! This is the greatness of the Master of California, and I got to see him in person! Ahhh! The tens of thousands of dors I spent to be here today is really worth it!¡± Countless people were screaming in amazement. Afterward, someone shouted in an extremely rhythmic voice, ¡°Master of California! Master of California!¡± ¡°Master of California! Master of California!¡± ¡°Master of California! Master of California!¡± ¡°Master of California! Master of California!¡± The crowd was really agitated, and everyone was driven by the intense atmosphere. They yelled the Master of California¡¯s name loudly in unison and joined the grand wee ceremony. Among the crowd, Pam dropped her demeanor as a demure heiress of one of the top eight families of DC. With excitement all over her face, she began screaming loudly without any regard for her image. At this moment, all she could see was the tall figure walking out of the crowd calmly, shrouded in brilliant light. Next to her, Florence was finally certain of Lucas¡¯s identity. She didn¡¯t expect that Cheyenne¡¯s good-for-nothing husband, whom she had despised, was actually the Master of California, whom she had been looking for and wanted to marry her daughter to! She looked at Lucas¡¯s figure with an iparably stunned look on her face, not noticing in the least the unusual reaction of her niece Pam right next to her. Among the ordinary audience, Asher was extremely excited. His former best friend had now achieved such a terrifying status and received so much apuse and praise. Tears welled up in his eyes as he felt proud of Lucas. But the two people next to him, Lily and Summer, werepletely dumbfounded. The cheers filling the arena were like loud ps hitting their faces. ¡°He¡­ h-he¡¯s actually¡­ actually the Master of California!¡± The two looked at each other and stammered in disbelief, feeling as if they were dreaming. But soon, this dream-like feeling turned into horror and post-nightmare palpitations. Lucas was really the Master of California. Just what did they say and do to him just now?! The two almost didn¡¯t dare to recall the ugly things that they had said or done! As the audience cheered, Lucas reached the ring and slowly made his way up the steps, walking in a rxed and ordinary manner. He didn¡¯t carry the domineering aura of Julian when he flew eight meters to the ring and smashed the floor with one foot, nor the etherealness of Paul. Lucas was like an ordinary person as he stood in the ring. But Lucas¡¯s calm and indifferent face made Julian feel an unprecedented terrifying pressure. Chapter 789 - Who Dies?

Chapter 789 Who Dies?

¡°You¡¯re the Master of California? Lucas Gray?¡± Julian narrowed his eyes and sized Lucas up with a sharp gaze. This was the first time he saw the enemy who had killed his brother and who was also the opponent preventing the Peerless Martial Association from dominating California. Julian found that Lucas was indeed young, and he was exuding a vigorous vitality from head to toe. The cogen and muscles of his body were much more delicate than the masters he usually saw. But since this young man possessed the strength to kill his brother Jude and make the helmsmen of dozens of top families of California acknowledge him as their master, he definitely wasn¡¯t simple. However, even though Lucas was standing right in front of Julian, Julian couldn¡¯t sense any pressure or auraing from him, as if he was facing only an ordinary person. If he ran into him elsewhere, Julian probably wouldn¡¯t have paid much attention to him. But this just showed how terrifying Lucas was! Julian couldn¡¯t see through Lucas¡¯s true strength at all. Facing Lucas, Julian felt as if he was facing an unfathomable, bottomless pool. This made Julian keep his guard up. ¡°Not bad,¡± Lucas said lightly, seemingly not taking Julian seriously at all. Anger surged in Julian¡¯s heart. As a top expert of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters, he had always been praised and admired by others. Never had he faced a young man speak to him with such nonchnce. ¡°Lucas Gray, let me ask you. Did you kill my brother Jude?¡± Julian stared intently into Lucas¡¯s eyes. Lucas raised his eyebrows. He reckoned that Julian must have appeared in California this time because of Jude. When Lucas confronted the Taylors at their home to ask for the whereabouts of Karen, they had specially invited Jude from the Peerless Martial Association over to deal with him. But he ended up getting killed by Lucas. From the day the Taylors were wiped out overnight, Lucas knew that the person who had eradicated the entire Taylor family would confront him sooner orter. Lucas didn¡¯t intend to evade Julian¡¯s question and instead nodded calmly. ¡°Yes. He tried to kill me, but unfortunately, he was too ipetent and died.¡± Julian immediately flew into a rage, and two rays of resentment shot out of his eyes as he glowered at Lucas. ¡°It¡¯s indeed you! Since you¡¯ve killed my brother, I will never let you off! You will die in this ring today!¡± remember you saying yourself just a few minutes ago that those who are ipetent deserve to die. Since your brother tried to kill me, he deserves to be killed by me. ¡°But the Peerless Martial Association must have already gotten used to double standards. So, only you can bully others, but others aren¡¯t allowed to resist you? ¡°For example, what does thepetition today and the Master of California have to do with you? Since you insist on interfering and taking control of California and Oregon, I will definitely make sure your ns fail today!¡± Sternness appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. On the surface, the Peerless Martial Association imed that they wouldn¡¯t interfere with the affairs of top families. But in fact, they had never stopped interfering and taking control. For example, the Taylors, whom Julian had ughtered, had be one of the four major families in Orange County due to the Peerless Martial Association and the help they had rendered in the filthy business of sending beautiful women to Orange County for prostitution. The dark and secretive prostitutionwork had spread throughout California and even to other states. Based on this alone, Lucas wouldn¡¯t let off the Peerless Martial Association, which harmed innocent girls and used them for filthy transactions. Now that the Peerless Martial Association had taken the initiative to stir up trouble here in California, Lucas simply decided to take this opportunity to get rid of the Peerless Martial Association from Californiapletely! ¡°Kid, you¡¯re really arrogant!¡± Julian roared with a resentful gaze. ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t get too smug. You¡¯re going to face the same fate as the two people who died just now! Go to hell and repent to my brother!¡± Before he finished speaking, his body suddenly swayed and turned into a streak that appeared beside Lucas almost instantaneously. ¡°Shameless! How dare you sneak attack?!¡± In the audience, Edmund stood up and shouted furiously. It was a formal martial arts match. Even though the host didn¡¯t y a significant role, the match should have at least begun after he announced the start. But Julian clearlyunched an attack before the host called for them to begin. This was a tant sneak attack. Someone with slow reactions would have probably been killed by Julian¡¯s sudden sneak attack! But Julian¡¯s lightning-fast sneak attack naturally didn¡¯t cause any harm to Lucas. With Lucas¡¯s strength, he could easily kill Julian within seconds, so avoiding this attack was naturally a piece of cake. ¡°Wow! Julian¡¯s punch was so fast! He struck before the host even announced the start. Is that allowed?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the saying, rules are meant for the majority? In the eyes of top experts like Julian York of the Peerless Martial Association, strength is everything, and thest man standing on the stage is the winner. What are rules?¡± ¡°Look! Mr. Gray dodged this punch! It seems that he¡¯s worthy of the title of the Master of California. He¡¯s very fast!¡± ¡°But Julian has already killed two very strong experts and basically crushed them easily. As for Mr. Gray¡­ Well, I¡¯m trying to belittle him, but he¡¯s still too young after all. Even if he started practicing martial arts since he was a child, he couldn¡¯t have trained for more than twenty years. But Julian York has been practicing martial arts for decades. There¡¯s no way Lucas Gray is going to win!¡± ¡°I hope that Mr. Gray, the Master of California, can win. But Julian York is indisputably powerful. Mr. Gray really seems to be in a dangerous predicament!¡± Chapter 790 - Unexpected Change

Chapter 790 Unexpected Change

The audience wasn¡¯t very optimistic about Lucas. After all, Lucas, the newly rising Master of California, was still too mysterious and unfamiliar to them. Most people still didn¡¯t know how strong he was. Besides, Lucas was too young, and he didn¡¯t have the mighty and burly muscles typical of martial artists. Thus, they didn¡¯t have much confidence in him. But Julian was different. From the moment he stepped into the ring, he had been exhibiting an extremely ferocious and domineering aura. He had even managed to kill the powerful Byron from California with a single punch. During the second battle, he had crushed the internal organs of Paul, the reputable leader of the Octa Faction. Paul eventually vomited blood to death. His terrifying strength was really daunting Julian¡¯s punch was simr to the one he threw at Byron when he first stepped into the ring. But his speed and force were much fiercer than before. He wanted to replicate his previous battle and knock Lucas out in a second! As everyone watched nervously, Julian¡¯s mighty fist had already smashed into Lucas¡¯s eyes. But Lucas suddenly reached out to grab Julian¡¯s fist. Bang! Violent air currents suddenly erupted from the point of collision of their hands! Boom! The concrete floor couldn¡¯t withstand this pressure and soon exploded all around the two of them. ¡°Oh my God! The Master of California actually blocked this punch!¡± ¡°Damn! This is so impressive! They¡¯re about to break the ring!¡± ¡°How terrifying! It¡¯s like an explosion site! Is this really the effect of two human beings punching each other? It¡¯s way too exaggerated!¡± ¡°The even more terrifying thing is that Mr. Gray stood still without moving. He merely raised his hand to block Julian¡¯s attack!¡± ¡°So powerful! Mr. Gray might really beat Julian!¡± ¡­ The audience was astonished as they discussed the terrifying scene in front of them. The strength of the two of them was extremely terrifying. In the face of Julian¡¯s astounding speed and force that far exceeded those of ordinary people, Lucas simply stood stillposedly and blocked his opponent¡¯s attack. His casual attitude made everyone feel even more shocked. In the ring, Julian¡¯s full-strength punch was stopped. Although his fist was only ten centimeters away from Lucas¡¯s face, it couldn¡¯t move another inch forward to strike his target. The flesh on Julian¡¯s face trembled slightly for a few moments as shock surged in his heart. Lucas looked up a little and said contemptuously, ¡°Is this your full strength? It¡¯s pretty mediocre.¡± ¡°Go to hell!¡± Julian retracted his hand, only to find that Lucas¡¯s grip was holding onto his fist tightly, and he couldn¡¯t pull it out at all. He kicked Lucas. ¡°Let go!¡± A cold smile appeared on Lucas¡¯s lips as he raised his arm calmly. He grabbed Julian¡¯s ankle and held it tightly in his hand. Julian¡¯s face became even gloomier. He knew the force of his own kick. It contained almost all his strength. If his leg hadnded on stone or even steel, it could crush and kick through them! If ordinary people dared to block his kick with their hand, their arm would definitely be badly mangled. Although Lucas clearly didn¡¯t have any burly muscles, his hands seemed to be even stronger and more solid than the hardest steel te! His full-strength punch and kick didn¡¯t seem to cause any damage to his hands! Is this boy¡¯s defensive power that much stronger than mine? How is this possible? Julian was already panicking. ¡°Since you want me to die, I should return the favor.¡± He suddenly tightened his grip, and a massive force enclosed Julian¡¯s wrist and ankle. At the same time, excruciating pain spread from both spots and went straight to his head! ¡°Ah!¡± Under the unbearable pain, Julian could no longer endure it and screamed in misery,pletely unlike a powerhouse. He tried to break free from Lucas¡¯s hands with all his might but to no avail! Lucas¡¯s hands were much stronger than Julian imagined! An ominous thought crossed his mind. Lucas¡¯s intentions were clear. He wanted to take this opportunity to crush his wrist and ankle bones andpletely ruin him! If Lucash really crushed his wrist and ankle, the oue of the fight would be decided immediately, and from then on, Julian would be crippled! Even if his injuries could be healed, he was already in his fifties, so it was impossible for his bones to recover and be like those of a young man. In other words, his future life would end here! Large droplets of sweat trickled down Julian¡¯s face. It had been years since he felt such horror and misery! ¡°Stop!¡± The veins on Julian¡¯s forehead were exposed and bulging as he clenched his jaws. ¡°If you dare to do anything to me, I guarantee that your wife and daughter won¡¯t survive!¡± ¡°What did you say!?!¡± Lin Chen¡¯s face immediately darkened. A smug smile appeared on Julian¡¯s face as he endured the severe paining from his hand and foot andughed triumphantly. ¡°Do you think that after you killed my brother, I woulde here unprepared and have a fair fight with you?¡± Julian had a scheming look on his face, ¡°Today, you must lose this fight to me and die here as the consequence for killing my brother and offending me and the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°I don¡¯t mind telling you now that your wife and daughter are both in my hands! Haha, didn¡¯t expect it, huh? ¡°If you don¡¯t want to see them die, you¡¯d better stop resisting and let me kill you! Otherwise, I guarantee that they will die miserable deaths!¡± Julian¡¯s eyes were full of mania and resentment! Chapter 791 - Wife and Daughter Are Hostages

Chapter 791 Wife and Daughter Are Hostages

Julian initially thought that Lucas would immediately look shocked, furious, and helpless after hearing what he said. But to his surprise, he found that Lucas looked much calmer than he had imagined. He merely stood there and looked at him calmly with a contemptuous smirk. ¡°What are you waiting for? Let go of me immediately.¡± Julian shouted, but he inexplicably felt an ominous premonition. ording to the information he had received from Axel, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch, Lucas¡¯s greatest weaknesses were his wife and five-year-old daughter. Regardless of whether Lucas could win this match or not, Julian thought that kidnapping his wife and daughter and holding them hostage was an excellent n, as he could use them to provoke Lucas at the most critical moment. He could use them to anger Lucas and make him feel indignant yet helpless because he could only watch them die! This was Julian¡¯s n for revenge against Lucas. Not only did he want Lucas dead, but he also wanted him to die in misery! But the expression on Lucas¡¯s face now was not what he expected, instantly making Julian feel uncertain, a stark contrast to his earlier smug look. In short, it seemed as if something was out of his control, making him feel vexed and troubled. Lucas was still tightly gripping Julian¡¯s wrist and ankle without loosening his grip in the slightest. ¡°I originally only nned to cripple a hand and a leg so that you could survive,¡± Lucas said softly with a smile. His voice was extremely soft, but it gave Julian the creeps. ¡°But I¡¯ve changed my mind now. ¡°You¡¯ve touched people you shouldn¡¯t have and crossed my bottom line. So you must die now!¡± An extremely powerful aura instantly emerged from Lucas¡¯s body like a monstrous wave striking Julian! Julian felt as if his brain had exploded. Sensing the menacing killing intent, he shivered uncontrobly and immediately got the goosebumps! Lucas seemed to have suddenly turned into a terrifying beast about to devour him! ¡°Do¡­ do you really not care if your wife and daughter die?¡± Under the massive pressure, Julian felt an aura of death that he hadn¡¯t felt for a long time crashing down from the top of his head! Large beads of sweat flowed down Julian¡¯s pale and horror-filled face. At this time, he already understood how terrifyingly powerful Lucas was. Fortunately, he still had his trump card! Ring¡­ Suddenly, the phone in Lucas¡¯s pocket rang. ¡°Haha, you¡¯d better hurry up and answer it! Otherwise, you might not have the chance to hear your wife and daughter¡¯sst words!¡± Julian smiled maliciously. Lucas nced at him coldly. Since he was holding Julian¡¯s wrist and ankle with both hands, he naturally didn¡¯t have a spare hand to answer the phone. But the expression on his face didn¡¯t change much as he casually pushed Julian away. Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp! An immense force immediately pushed Julian¡¯s body ten meters away. Julian couldn¡¯t keep his bnce and ended up getting pushed to the floor by Lucas. He was naturally shocked and furious. At the same time, countless exmations came from the audience. ¡°Wow! Mr. Gray is so powerful!¡± ¡°Based on that punch, it¡¯s Mr. Gray who has the upper hand!¡± ¡°To be able to push a top expert of the Peerless Martial Association that far away in one go, Mr. Gray is really something!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray is naturally extraordinary! The victory of today¡¯spetition will definitely be Mr. Gray, the Master of California!¡± The representatives of the top families of California all cheered for Lucas. On the other hand, the families of Oregon all had extremely gloomy expressions. Paul, their top expert, had died at the hands of Julian. But Lucas actually obtained the upper hand against Julian. However, the people below the stage could only see some images, but they were clueless about what the two people on the ring said. After all, when Julian threatened Lucas with the lives of his wife and daughter, he had deliberately lowered his volume because this dishonest method shouldn¡¯t be announced to the public. He and Lucas were the only ones who knew. After Julian was pushed away by Lucas, he was extremely enraged. But when he saw Lucas taking out his phone and answering the call in public, he could no longer restrain his maniacal malice. Hah, just wait for the bad news. You say you love your wife and daughter like they¡¯re your life. In that case, between your own life or the lives of your wife and your daughter, what will you choose? Julian thought viciously. He didn¡¯t take the opportunity to attack Lucas while he was on the phone. Instead, he stood still and stared at the expression on Lucas¡¯s face, not wanting to miss any of his frenzied and painful expressions. Julian would be overjoyed as long as he could make Lucas feel pain! The person on the other end of the call reported, ¡°Lucas, the people from the Peerless Martial Association really came to cause trouble, but they¡¯ve all been killed. Cheyenne and Amelia are safe and sound. Rest assured!¡± It was Jordan. Lucas simply replied calmly, ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± Then he hung up without much of an expression. A sharp glint appeared in his eyes. In fact, since the Taylors were exterminated, Lucas knew that a powerful and brutal person hade from Peerless Martial Association and was likely here for him. Lucas was naturally not afraid of Julian, but what Julian had done was too bloody and brutal. Lucas was worried that he would act crazy and attack his wife and daughter. Thus, Lucas had texted Jordan and Stanley, who were far away in DC, and asked them to rush back to California before thepetition started today so as to protect Cheyenne and Amelia. Although Stanley¡¯s martial arts skills were not top-notch, Jordan had been through thick and thin with Lucas in the Falcon Regiment for several years, so the people of the Peerless Martial Association naturally weren¡¯t a match for Jordan. ¡°Punk, are you done with your phone call? You¡¯re helpless now, huh? It¡¯s time you surrender!¡± A menacing glint appeared in Julian¡¯s eyes, and the malicious smile on his face was like a venomous snake unting its sharp teeth. Chapter 792 - The End of the Road

Chapter 792 The End of the Road

Lucas closed his eyes and suddenly stepped forward, walking toward Julian. His head was slightly lowered, and there was no emotion on his face. ¡°Haha! Hey, host, this guy has admitted defeat. You can now dere the result!¡± Julian shouted at the host beside him with a smug glint in his eyes. Judging from his findings on Lucas, there was absolutely no way Lucas would give up his wife and daughter, so this was his only option! ¡°Uh... this...¡± The host was confused and puzzled. There was indeed this rule in today¡¯spetition. As long as one side admitted defeat, the other side would win automatically. But Lucas didn¡¯t admit defeat, and he seemed to be much stronger than Julian. How could he announce the result? Seeing the hesitation of the host, Julian was upset. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and announce the result!¡± Julian roared furiously. He couldn¡¯t wait for thispetition to end. Once it did, he would bring Lucas to that ce and then make him watch his wife and daughter die in front of him! At this moment, Lucas had already walked two meters in front of Julian. He slowly raised his head and sneered at Julian. ¡°Admit defeat? I don¡¯t remember saying this.¡± ¡°Do you... really not care about the lives of those two people?¡± Julian narrowed his eyes in disbelief while trying to threaten Lucas again. ¡°Think carefully. If you choose to provoke me now, I can make them disappear from the world at any time!¡± Lucas remained unmoved, and there was only a killing intent that had condensed in his eyes. ¡°Have you finished talking nonsense? If you¡¯re done, you can die!¡± Lucas would never forgive anyone who dared to harm his family! ¡°You!¡± Julian was furious. ording to his past practice, he would have killed him long ago. But the brief exchange with Lucas just now made Julian aware that Lucas was stronger than him. Even if he fought him head-on, he would barely have a chance of winning. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re so heartless, I will send your wife and daughter to hell!¡± Julian gritted his teeth, took out his cell phone, and immediately made a call. While doing so, he stared at Lucas very defensively, in case Lucas suddenly rushed forward to grab his phone. But there was nothing. Lucas didn¡¯t even move. Instead, he stood quietly two meters away, as if he was deliberately giving Julian enough time to make the call. The ominous hunch that Julian had be even more intense. Then his heart sank even more because no one answered. Julian hurriedly dialed another subordinate¡¯s number, but there was still no answer. ¡°No... No!¡± Julian panicked and hurriedly made several more calls out to the subordinates he had sent to abduct Lucas¡¯s wife and daughter, but none of them responded. Julian¡¯s fingers began trembling. He would be aplete idiot if he was still clueless about the change in the situation. ¡°You... Have you guessed it long ago? ¡°Did you kill all the people I sent? ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible! The people I sent are all experts of the Peerless Martial Association, and there¡¯s hardly anyone in California who can defeat them! ¡°Besides, you¡¯re standing here, and you can¡¯t save them. How... how did you manage to do it?¡± Julian didn¡¯t believe it at all, and he quickly bombarded Lucas with several questions. All he got in response was a contemptuous smile from Lucas. ¡°What do you think? ¡°The truth is right before you. Be it your ns to take control of California and Oregon or to abduct my wife and child, I won¡¯t let you get what you want!¡± Julian understood that it was all over for him. He gritted his teeth and suddenly fell to the floor on his knees! Bang! A thud resounded between his knee and the floor. ¡°Mr. Gray, I know I was wrong. Please just let me off! I admit defeat in thispetition today! Besides, the ruler of the two states is already you, Mr. Gray. The Peerless Martial Association won¡¯t dare to covet it!¡± Julian knelt on the floor and begged Lucas for forgiveness. Boom! This scene sparked an uproar among the audience. They didn¡¯t know what was happening. Right from the start, they only saw Julian punch Lucas and then kick him, but Lucas stopped him and even pushed him eight meters away. But afterward, Lucas suddenly answered a call in the ring, and then Julian made the host announce that Lucas had admitted defeat and that Julian was the final winner. This made the audience confused about what was going on. What happened next was even more confusing. Lucas said something to Julian, and then Julian took out his phone and made a call, his face incredibly sullen. But even so, everything that happened previously was far, far less shocking than Julian suddenly getting down on his knees to beg Lucas for forgiveness! ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± ¡°Is the Master of California already so powerful that he doesn¡¯t need to do anything to shock the expert of the Peerless Martial Association into making him beg for mercy?¡± Lucas looked down at Julian, who was kneeling and admitting defeat, without feeling any emotions. Moreover, Lucas knew that Julian would never really admit defeat. ¡°From the moment you dared to take action against my wife and daughter, you should have already expected this. Let you off? Impossible. ¡°You can say yourst words now.¡± Lucas looked at Julian indifferently. Julian¡¯s fingers pressed against the floor began to curl. He knew that Lucas would never let him off! ¡°Go to hell!¡± Julian suddenly shouted, sprung up from the ground, and rushed straight at Lucas. He was holding a dagger glistening with ck light! The bright dagger was emitting a sharp and cold light under the bright lights of the venue. The strange light on the de was shing with an ominous aura. It was a poisonous dagger! If the dagger cut someone, they would immediately die! Julian suddenly burst forward without any warning. Moreover, he was so close to Lucas that the dagger appeared in front of Lucas in an instant. ¡°Ah! Watch out!¡± someone in the audience shrieked! Chapter 793 - Overlords of Two States

Chapter 793 Overlords of Two States

With the sudden changes in the ring, many people couldn¡¯t help screaming in horror. In the VIP seats, Edmund, Damon, Bruce, and the others immediately stood up with anxious and nervous expressions on their faces, wishing they couldsh out at Julian. Everyone knew that today¡¯s event was a martial artspetition held in the San Francisco International Expo Center in the name of fairness and equality. It was agreed in advance that all participants wouldpete against each other with their own abilities without using any weapons. However, Julian of the Peerless Martial Association had not only taken out a weapon that he had hidden, but he even sneak attacked, which was utterly disgraceful! Facing this sudden and swift blow, Lucas seemed to be frozen in ce and unable to react. A trace of maniacal euphoria appeared in Julian¡¯s eyes. So what if Lucas was much stronger than him? He was confident Lucas would soon die and that he would be the final winner! The people in the audience would have to admit that he won and acknowledge his status even if they were indignant! The winner was king! This was an unchanging truth! But the moment before the sharp edge of the dagger in his hand touched Lucas, Julian¡¯s pupils constricted, and his body immediately froze. Lucas was standing in front of him, but no matter what, he couldn¡¯t push the dagger any farther! A soft sound of air leaking spread from Julian¡¯s neck. He stretched out his hand in bewilderment and touched his neck, only to see bright red blood covering his hand. Blood was gushing out of Julian¡¯s throat endlessly like a fountain. ¡°Uh¡­ You¡­¡± Before Julian could finish, his body could no longer persist and suddenly fell to the floor. Even when he died, he kept his eyes wide open unwillingly. At this moment, the audience became dead silent! No one expected that Julian, who was so domineering and extreme that he had killed two experts of Oregon and California, would die in Lucas¡¯s hands! Seeing that Lucas won, the helmsmen of the top families of California were excited and even in awe of him. Although Lucas had used his strength and power to gain the allegiance of more than sixty top families in California, they now truly understood how powerful he was! Most people from Oregon looked extremely shocked as they all cast their gazes on the determined and upright figure standing in the ring If there were no other idents, the young man in the ring would also be the overlord of Oregon! Everyone looked extremely gloomy. In particr, Axel, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s California branch, had already turned pale. A sudden chill ran down his spine, his entire body frozen, and his fingers were trembling underneath his sleeves. Julian was an absolute powerhouse who ranked among the top in the Peerless Martial Association. He was far stronger than Axel. This was why Axel had baited him intoing to California to deal with Lucas. But he could have never imagined that a powerhouse like Julian would actually die in Lucas¡¯s hands! Before Julian died, he had even knelt down in front of Lucas. It was simply unbelievable! How strong was Lucas to be able to make Julian, who had always been so high and mighty, do this in public without any regard for his pride? The more he thought about it, the more terrified Axel felt. He had even thought of taking a terrifying existence like Lucas under hismand and getting him to work for him. Later, he had even tried to kill him. The thought of these things made Axel feel as if his body was drenched in cold sweat. ¡°The¡­ the winner of this match is Mr. Gray from California!¡± Amid the silence, the unlucky host stammered and announced the end of thispetition. ¡°Good! As expected of Mr. Gray, he¡¯s amazing!¡± Edmund was the first to stand up. He apuded loudly, his face full of excitement. The others seemed to wake up from their dreams, and they all pped to congratte Lucas on his victory. Despite their reluctance, the top families of Oregon could only follow suit to p and congratte him perfunctorily. ¡°Mr. Campbell, you haven¡¯t forgotten our bet, have you?¡± Edmund suddenly turned to Noah and grinned. Noah¡¯s face flushed red with exasperation, awkwardness, and regret. He feltplicated emotions. A week ago, he had thought that Lewis, the expert who worked for the Campbells, could defeat the powerhouses of the Peerless Martial Association. Thus, he had initiated the bet with Edmund, which stipted that whoever defeated the Peerless Martial Association would be the overlord of both Oregon and California. But Lewis, whom the Campbells had high expectations for, had long died in the hands of the Peerless Martial Association. Paul Alonso, the person Noah had painstakingly hired at a high price, had also been killed by Julian. In the end, Lucas was the winner of thepetition. Not only did he lose two experts, but he even had to submit to someone else. It was way too humiliating to him! The feeling of paving the way for someone else¡¯s sess made Noah regret it so much that he wished he could vomit blood. Had he known this would happen, he would never have proposed the bet! He was extremely unwilling to ept the terms of the bet, but now that there were nearly 30,000 people watching, he couldn¡¯t say that he regretted his actions and renege. ¡°Hah, do I need you to say it?¡± Noah glowered at Edmund furiously before walking away from the VIP seats and quickly getting down on one knee while facing the ring. He said loudly, ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re indeed a rare powerhouse. The Campbells are willing to acknowledge you as our leader!¡± His actions immediately took Edmund, who thought that he would go back on his word, by surprise. Moreover, as the strongest family in Oregon nowadays, the Campbells were extremely influential in the state. Seeing the helmsman of the Campbells, Noah, already pledging allegiance to Lucas, the other powerful families of Oregon naturally didn¡¯t dare to have other thoughts. Even if they had those intentions, it was pointless because no one dared to show any disobedience to Lucas¡¯s power. ¡°The Alcotts are willing to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°The Kellers are willing to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°The Masons are willing to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°The Johnsons are willing to plead allegiance to Mr. Gray!¡± All of a sudden, the fifty-odd helmsmen of top Oregon families also got down on one knee to pledge allegiance to Lucas. The helmsmen of the top California families also got down on one knee. This scene was extremely shocking and greatly stimted the audience. In a seat not far away, Florence looked at the scene in front of her with an extremely sullen expression. She clenched her fists tightly, so much so that she didn¡¯t even know that she had broken a long fingernail. Chapter 794 - The Overlord

Chapter 794 The Overlord

The moment Lucas stepped forward and revealed that he was the Master of California, Florence felt frenzied. She never thought that the poor good-for-nothing whom she had always despised and had been trying to force to divorce Cheyenne was the Master of California, to whom she had tried every possible way to get closer. She even wanted her daughter to marry him. She felt suffocated when she imagined what Lucas thought of her when she said those things to him. No, it¡¯s not my fault. It¡¯s all because of Lucas Gray. He¡¯s clearly my son-inw, but he didn¡¯t reveal his true identity to me. It¡¯s not my fault! Moreover, Lucas turned out to be the person she had been trying hard to get close to, meaning that her wish for the Master of California to be her son-inw had already been fulfilled long ago. She didn¡¯t have to bother about this anymore! It was an unexpected happy event for Florence. In addition, Lucas was now not only the Master of California but also the overlord who unified all the noble and powerful families of Oregon and California. Now that his status and power were even greater than before, it was a good thing for Florence. But the first thing she needed to deal with now was to find a way to get rid of Lucas¡¯s hostile feelings for her as soon as possible and then improve their rtionship so that she could reap greater benefits from him in the future! On the other side of the seats, Asher was in apletely different mood. ¡°Asher, oh, Asher, I didn¡¯t expect you to hide it so well. You actually know such an impressive man like the Master of California! This is amazing!¡± Lily changed her usual derisive attitude for Asher and instead smiled at him fawningly with a scheming gaze. Her boyfriend was close friends with the Master of California, or rather, the overlord of California and Oregon. This would be of great help to her socialwork and life in the future. As long as Lucas helped them a bit, they would no longer have to worry about being able to live in luxury for the rest of their lives! They could hold their heads high anywhere they went! Only she could bully others, and no one could bully her! ¡°Asher, we¡¯ve been in a rtionship for a long time. In fact, we should have gotten married long ago. How about this? Let¡¯s register our marriage tomorrow afternoon! ¡°You don¡¯t need to buy a house or any betrothal gifts! My family will take care of the wedding too, okay?¡± Lily held onto Asher¡¯s arm shyly and said coquettishly. ¡°Asher, since Lucas is your close friend and I¡¯m your wife¡¯s best friend, help me out and introduce me to him! As long as I can marry him, you¡¯ll be my greatest benefactor, and I definitely won¡¯t mistreat you!¡± Summer held onto Asher¡¯s other arm and pleaded fawningly. ¡°Oh, by the way, isn¡¯t your sister still short of money for her medical treatment? My family has nothing but money. I¡¯ll transfer you four hundred thousand to youter and also ask my father to find the best doctors to treat her!¡± At the thought of this matter, Summer hurriedly took out her phone and immediately wanted to transfer the money to Asher. ¡°Hey, Summer, don¡¯t go too far! Asher is my man, and his sister is naturally my sister. I will pay for her treatment. I don¡¯t need your help!¡± Lily looked at Summer, who was still holding Asher¡¯s hand and trying to please him in front of her, and flew into a rage. She went forward to grab her hands and flung them away. ¡°Hey! Lily, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s going too far! Asher is my friend too. Why can¡¯t I help him?¡± Summer retorted indignantly. At this moment, the pair of best friends who had always liked insulting others together began quarreling. ¡°Enough!¡± Asher shouted, interrupting their argument. He looked at the two people arguing in front of him for the sake of pleasing him to make use of him. Just ten minutes ago, Lily had treated him like a dog she could order around, scold, and beat up at will. Lily¡¯s best friend, Summer, was exactly the same as her. She didn¡¯t treat Asher like a human at all but as a lowly beggar who had to rely on Lily¡¯s family to survive. They had even humiliated and mocked his close friend Lucas even though they knew nothing about him. If not for his sister¡¯s illness, he would have long been unable to tolerate a woman like Lily! Now that they knew Asher was close friends with Lucas, the new overlord of the two states, they immediately treated him differently. They undoubtedly wanted to rely on his friendship with Lucas to get some benefits from him. Summer was even more ridiculous. She had delusions about marrying Lucas. Asher would never introduce such a stupid and toxic woman to Lucas! Lucas stood in the ring while the helmsmen of the powerful families of both states were all kneeling to him. Axel and the others from the Peerless Martial Association were on tenterhooks and at aplete loss for what to do. At this moment, Lucas suddenly turned to face them, giving Axel the goosebumps. ¡°Mr. Gray, you won thepetition this time, and the Peerless Martial Association is willing to concede. From now on, we will never get involved with the matters of Oregon and California!¡± Axel said boldly while trying his best to remain calm. He was now terrified. If Lucas wanted to, he could kill him at any time! Lucas nced at him coldly. ¡°From now on, the Peerless Martial Association branches in California and Oregon will no longer exist!¡± ¡°Yes! I promise that the Peerless Martial Association will stay far away from California and Oregon and never appear again!¡± Axel immediately agreed, his heart tense. He was well aware that given the feud between Lucas and the Peerless Martial Association, Lucas would never allow the Peerless Martial Association to exist in the two states. That was unless the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters sent powerful experts to intervene. Of course, it was no longer something that a branch head like Axel could take part in. ¡°Get lost!¡± Lucas said coldly. By saying this, he was letting off the other people of the Peerless Martial Association and didn¡¯t want to take their lives. As if he had been spared from a death sentence, Axel hurriedly bowed. ¡°Yes! Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± With that, he fled the venue with the rest of the members of the Peerless Martial Association. They were no longer as domineering and condescending as they were before. Standing on the ring with his hands behind his back, Lucas looked around at the audience full of majesty. ¡°From now on, Oregon and California will belong to me!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was as loud as a bell and instantly spread throughout the venue. Chapter 795 - Drink the Poisoned Wine

Chapter 795 Drink the Poisoned Wine

Lucas¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t very stern, but no one dared to take him lightly, let alone disobey him. This was the deterrence brought about by absolute power! ¡°Yes!¡± The hundred-something helmsmen of wealthy families of Oregon and California agreed in unison, their voices as loud as thunder! Thus, the martial artspetition initiated by the Peerless Martial Association came to an end with Lucas bing the overlord of both states. After everything was over, Lucas had nned to leave the exhibition center. But he saw Noah, the head of the Campbells of Oregon, and several other helmsmen of wealthy Oregon families walked up to him. ¡°Mr. Gray, may we¡­ talk with you?¡± Noah said. ¡°Why? Noah Campbell, you just pledged allegiance to Mr. Gray in front of so many people and decided to ept him as your master, but you¡¯re going back on your word so soon?¡± Edmund, who had been following Lucas, sneered. Noah glowered at Edmund. But at the thought that he was in Lucas¡¯s presence, he didn¡¯t dare to act rashly and quickly lowered his head. ¡°How is that possible? We¡¯re here to apologize to Mr. Gray sincerely! ¡°Back in Oregon, we wronged Mr. Gray and said a lot of things that we shouldn¡¯t have. Mr. Gray, please don¡¯t lower yourself to our level. Please forgive us!¡± ¡°Yes, we were all blind and didn¡¯t know any better. That¡¯s why we offended you, Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray, please forgive us!¡± ¡°Yes, please be magnanimous and forgive us!¡± ¡­ The few people that Noah brought with him all apologized to Lucas and asked for his forgiveness. In fact, not only had all of them spoken rudely to Lucas at the conference the Campbells held a week ago, but they had even mocked Lucas in public. Although Lucas didn¡¯t mention anything about holding them responsible, none of them would be able to escape if Lucas suddenly wanted to settle old scores! With Lucas¡¯s terrifying strength, killing these people was a piece of cake! Instead of waiting to be held ountable and punishedter, they decided to bite the bullet to take the initiative to own up to their mistakes and apologize to Lucas. They thought that perhaps Lucas would spare them on ount that they had taken the initiative to apologize. Lucas nced at the few of them, and a strange smile suddenly appeared on his face. ¡°Okay,e with me if you want me to forgive you!¡± Soon, Lucas led this group of confused and uneasy Oregon helmsmen to a reception room Edmund just had prepared. It was also a ce in the San Francisco International Expo Center dedicated to entertaining distinguished guests. ¡°As you all know, you¡¯ve offended me terribly before. Even if I want to kill you or even exterminate your entire family and support other forces, it¡¯s only a matter of a few words. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to make me forgive you. Those who have done wrong have to pay the price for their misdeeds,¡± Lucas said while sitting on the couch in the middle. The faces of the Oregon helmsmen immediately changed. Indeed, not only had they been verbally disrespectful to Lucas and said many insulting words about him, but they had also tried to have him killed. This was indeed not something that he could just forget about easily. ¡°What¡­ do you want then?¡± Noah¡¯s face trembled, and he gritted his teeth unwillingly. Although he had been the first to recognize Lucas as the hegemon of the two states on behalf of the forces of Oregon, he merely chose to do so because of the circumstances. Noah didn¡¯t actually acknowledge Lucas as his leader at all! The position of the hegemon of the two states came about due to his painstaking efforts and countless preparations. It was the position he wanted the most, but he had lost it at thest juncture, giving Lucas the chance to obtain it. Besides, Noah thought that they were showing Lucas enough respect by taking the initiative to apologize to him and admit their mistakes. If Lucas was sensible enough and didn¡¯t want his rtionship with the helmsmen of Oregon to be too strained, he should immediately forgive them and not make them pay the price! There was anger in Noah¡¯s tone. The faces of the other Oregan helmsmen also turned gloomy. They felt extremely uneasy not knowing what price Lucas wanted them to pay. Lucas nced at them with a calm gaze and merely pointed at the eight sses in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s very simple. People who offend me usually won¡¯t end up well. As long as you drink the poisoned wine in front of you, I will spare your families. ¡°As for those who are not willing to drink, I will spare your lives, but your family must vanish from Oregon! ¡°It¡¯s up to you to decide what to do.¡± There were eight sses on the coffee table in front of Lucas, all filled with a dark blue liquid that gave people an ominous feeling. ¡°Wha!?!¡± What Lucas said immediately caused the faces of the helmsmen to turn pale in horror. ¡°You¡­ you actually want our lives? You¡¯re going overboard!¡± Noah roared angrily. ¡°Noah Campbell, mind your attitude!¡± Edmund, standing beside Lucas, immediately rebuked. He would never allow anyone to be disrespectful to Lucas. Noah clenched his fists and lowered his head, hiding the maniacal anger about to burst from his eyes. The other helmsmen looked just as miserable. They didn¡¯t want to die, nor did they want to see their families annihted because of it. Some of them wanted to plead with Lucas. But after seeing the cold and indifferent look in his eyes, they understood that it wasn¡¯t something they could change just by pleading for mercy. He was the overlord of two states, and his orders were not to be defied! Suddenly, the helmsman of a top Oregon family gritted his teeth and stepped forward to ask, ¡°Mr. Gray, as long as I drink this poisoned wine and die, will you spare my family?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay. In that case, I¡¯ll drink it! I was the one who made the mistake of offending you before, and I¡¯ll take responsibility for my actions. I just hope that you keep your promise after I die, Mr. Gray!¡± Then he walked toward the coffee table, picked up a ss, and downed the blue liquid. With someone starting, the remaining helmsmen all walked over to the coffee table and downed the poisonous liquid in one go after a tough emotional struggle. Soon, seven of the eight helmsmen of top Oregon families chose to drink the poisoned wine to atone to Lucas and have him spare their families. Noah was the exception. He stood still for a long time without moving or stepping forward, seemingly not wanting to drink the poisoned wine to ept his punishment. ¡°Mr. Campbell, does that mean you¡¯re not willing to drink the wine, and you¡¯d rather the Campbells be destroyed?¡± Edmund looked at him coldly. ¡°No, I¡­¡± Noah slowly shook his head. Finally, he slowly raised his head with a strange light in his eyes. ¡°What do you want?¡± Edmund frowned slightly with a solemn and cautious gaze. His intuitions told him that there seemed to be something wrong with Noah¡¯s state of mind. ¡°I¡­ I want you to die!¡± With this roar, Noah suddenly took his hand out of his pocket, and in his hand was a dark pistol. He aimed the muzzle right in the middle of Lucas¡¯s forehead! Chapter 796 - Test

Chapter 796 Test

Seeing Noah¡¯s actions, the people present had a drastic change in expression. ¡°Noah Campbell, what are you trying to do?! Hurry up and put the gun down!¡± Edmund shouted at Noah, pointing his finger at him with a look of horror on his face. Damon frantically rebuked, ¡°Noah Campbell, do you know what you are doing? If you dare to shoot Mr. Gray, none of your family members will survive!¡± ¡°Hah, you people already want me dead. Do you still want me to sit back and do nothing?¡± Noah held the pistol with a look of mania. ¡°I¡¯m about to die now. Why should I bother about the Campbells? Since you want me dead, I¡¯ll kill you first!¡± Sitting on the couch, Lucas lookedposed as he said contemptuously, ¡°I knew you¡¯d rebel against me. In that case, I can¡¯t keep you around.¡± ¡°Screw you! Go to hell now!¡± Noah shouted and suddenly pulled the trigger. Bang! There was an explosive sound, but it wasn¡¯t the sound of a bullet leaving the pistol. Instead, it was the sound of the pistol suddenly breaking into two. Even though Noah¡¯s finger had already pulled the trigger, the internal parts of the gun were already destroyed, so it was no longer functional. Deep horror appeared in Noah¡¯s eyes. He couldn¡¯t figure out what had happened and why the pistol suddenly broke and turned into a pile of scrap. Immediately afterward, a sharp pain came from Noah¡¯s wrist. ¡°Ah! M-My wrist!¡± Noah wailed in pain as he held his wrist. Just now, a thin business card suddenly darted out of Lucas¡¯s hand. Although it was just a thin piece of paper, it was like the sharpest de in the world. Not only did it cut the hard gun barrel into two but also Noah¡¯s wrist! Blood gushed out of Noah¡¯s severed wrist as he shrieked in misery, making people¡¯s hearts tremble. The seven helmsmen, who had just drunk the poisoned wine, were frightened by the situation in front of them and were shuddering from head to toe, not daring to breathe at all. Lucas managed to cut the barrel of a gun and sever Noah¡¯s wrist with a business card that he casually flicked out. They didn¡¯t doubt the consequences if the business card struck someone¡¯s neck. It¡¯s no wonder that Mr. Gray is the overlord of both states. How terrifying! Edmund instructed the bodyguards behind him, ¡°Drag him away!¡± The two bodyguards immediately stepped forward and dragged Noah, who was shrieking and rolling around, out of the room. No one asked where Noah would be taken because the result was already obvious. From the moment he dared to aim his gun at Lucas, he was destined to die. The other people were trembling incessantly, clueless about what would happen to them next. Moreover, they had all just chosen to drink the poisoned wine, and they didn¡¯t know when they would die. They still wanted to return to their families before their deaths so that they could arrange some matters and say theirst words to them. ¡°You guys should go, but I hope that you can all remember one thing. I won¡¯t mistreat those who serve me with sincerity. But if you have a change of heart and decide to betray me in the future, you will face the same fate as Noah Campbell!¡± Lucas nced at the helmsmen of the seven Oregon families indifferently. A trace of puzzlement appeared on the faces of the seven helmsmen. What did Lucas¡¯s words¡­ mean? Didn¡¯t they already drink the poisoned wine? What else was there? ¡°Do you really think that Mr. Gray would poison you all to death?¡± Edmund smiled. ¡°You have passed the test. This is a chance that Mr. Gray has given you! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and thank Mr. Gray!¡± Only then did it dawn on them that Lucas didn¡¯t intend to poison them. But rather, he was just testing them using the poisoned wine. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°In the future, you will be the overlord of both states, and we won¡¯t betray you!¡± ¡°Yes, we will do whatever you tell us to do in the future, Mr. Gray. We absolutely won¡¯t betray you!¡± These helmsmen promised one after another. They had all thought that they would die for sure, but they didn¡¯t expect to get a chance of survival. Everyone was full of excitement. ¡°How can I trust someone willing to abandon their own family to be loyal to me?¡± Lucas said indifferently and then stood up to leave the reception room. Shortly after Lucas left the San Francisco International Expo Center, someone immediately greeted him from not far away. But when he was about to reach Lucas, he subconsciously stopped and said somewhat nervously, ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray.¡± Lucas nced at the man. ¡°What Mr. Gray? We¡¯ve been buddies for years. What are you getting up to?¡± This person was Asher, Lucas¡¯s close friend back in high school. Asher was extremely nervous, mainly because he was worried that he might not be able to speak to Lucas like he used to since Lucas¡¯s current status was very different from before. After hearing what Lucas said, he finally believed that Lucas¡¯s attitude toward him was still the same as before, making him feel much more rxed. Just as Asher smiled and was about to talk to Lucas, two eager voices suddenly came out from behind him. ¡°Mr. Gray! Hello, I¡¯m Asher¡¯s fianc¨¦e, Lily. Since you and Asher are buddies, that makes us all friends!¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. Gray! I¡¯m Asher¡¯s good friend Summer and also your admirer- I didn¡¯t expect to meet you here today. Words can¡¯t describe how happy I am!¡± Both Lily and Summer sprinted over on high heels to greet Lucas fawningly. They refused to mention that they had just mocked Lucas and humiliated him in various ways and instead pretended that nothing had happened as they started introducing themselves to Lucas. Lucas sneered and said sarcastically, ¡°I¡¯m just a poor loser, as you two have mentioned earlier. I¡¯m probably not qualified to talk to you.¡± Even though Lily and Summer were thick-skinned, they were a little embarrassed at this moment. But they would never let go of the opportunity to get acquainted with the overlord of two states! ¡°It¡­ it was all a misunderstanding. We didn¡¯t mean that at all, hehehe. Asher, quickly help us exin to Mr. Gray! Hurry!¡± Lily smiled awkwardly and secretly poked Asher with her arm, urging him to speak up for her. Chapter 797 - The Truth Between Buddies

Chapter 797 The Truth Between Buddies

Asher pushed Lily away and shouted, ¡°Enough! Lily, I¡¯ve put up with you for a long time! If you hadn¡¯t been deliberately dying paying for my sister¡¯s medical treatment and threatening me with her life, I wouldn¡¯t date a woman like you. I even have to put up with your scoldings and beatings every day, just like a dog being at your beck and call! ¡°When you didn¡¯t know my buddy¡¯s identity, you mocked him. Now that you¡¯ve found out he¡¯s a big shot, you¡¯re sucking up to him and asking me to help you exin? ¡°Hah, I¡¯ve never been your fianc¨¦, never was and never will be! Get out of my sight right now. I don¡¯t want to see you again, you vicious woman!¡± Asher¡¯s eyes were red and brimming with tears. He was sad and furious, and he wanted to vent all the anger he had umted after being humiliated for so long. Lily was enraged. Asher had always been like a dog in front of her, and it was the first he had yelled at her in public. ¡°Asher, you¡­¡± She was about tosh out at him when she suddenly heard Lucas say coldly, ¡°He told you to get lost. Didn¡¯t you hear him?¡± His voice was icy cold, and so was the gaze. He immediately made Lily and Summer so frightened that they were about to wet their pants. The two of them didn¡¯t dare to say a word and immediately fled in a flurry without looking back. After they, Lucas turned to look at Asher. ¡°Did you just say that Anna is sick?¡± When Lucas and Asher became close friends back in high school, Asher had often invited Lucas to his ce for dinner. So he had quite a deep impression of Asher¡¯s younger sister, Anna, who was an adorable young girl. Asher smiled bitterly and told Lucas everything He had been waiting for Lucas at the entrance of the expo center because he wanted to ask him for help. Anna had stomach cancer and urgently needed a lot of money for treatment. But Asher¡¯s family wasn¡¯t rich, and they had lost a huge amount of money due to a business failure previously, so they couldn¡¯t afford to pay for Anna¡¯s treatment. At this moment, Asher got to know the wealthy Lily, who took a liking to the tall and handsome Asher. Thus, she offered to pay for Anna¡¯s treatment. But she wanted Asher to obey her, do her bidding, and make her happy like he was her dog Asher was naturally reluctant to agree to these humiliating conditions. But whenever he saw his sister¡¯s increasingly gaunt face and deteriorating health as she stepped closer to death day by day, he gritted his teeth and agreed to Lily¡¯s request. But it had already been a couple of months, and Anna¡¯s condition was worsening. Except for the money she had given Asher at the beginning, Lily had never paid for the treatment. Instead, she had found all sorts of excuses to put it off and forced him to agree to her unreasonable demands. She had no intention of lending money to Asher for Anna¡¯s treatment at all. Asher had long been unable to tolerate Lily. But because of Anna, he couldn¡¯t fall out with Lily. But Lucas¡¯s appearance finally allowed Asher to see a glimmer of hope. ¡°Lucas, I don¡¯t have any other option now. I can only beg you. Could you lend me fifty thousand? As long as Anna can undergo surgery and get treated, I¡¯m willing to do whatever you want me to do in the future!¡± Asher had tears in his eyes as he gritted his teeth and knelt in front of Lucas. He was willing to do anything for his sister. ¡°Asher, what are you doing? Get up quickly!¡± Lucas hurriedly pulled Asher up. He said sincerely, ¡°You¡¯re my buddy, and your sister is my sister too. Now that she¡¯s sick, I¡¯ll definitely help you if I can! Don¡¯t be so formal with me!¡± Looking touched, Asher held Lucas¡¯s hand and thanked him profusely with tears in his eyes. ¡°Lucas, thank you! Thank you so much!¡± Full of emotions, Lucas patted his hand. Now that Asher was aware of his current identity, he could no longer be as casual with his words and actions as before. Instead, he was much more restrained. But it was an inevitable matter that Lucas couldn¡¯t change. Afterward, Lucas apanied Asher to the hospital and looked at Anna, who was now skin and bones. Seeing her like this, Lucas felt upset. He helped Asher transfer Anna to the best hospital in San Francisco and also called the best oncologist to give Anna the best medical treatment. Lucas covered all the medical expenses. Tens of thousands of dors was a massive amount of money for Lucas in the past. But for the current Lucas, it was peanuts. After Asher thanked him, Lucas settled everything and then returned to his office in the Stardust Corporation. After today¡¯spetition, Lucas officially became the overlord of California and Oregon. Since his rtionship with Stardust Corporation was already known to many people, the business and scale of Stardust Corporation were about to progress greatly. Thus, there were some things Lucas had to arrange in advance. He also instructed Charlotte, the general manager, to get ready. At around 5 p.m., Lucas put down his work and left the office. When Lucas went downstairs and walked out of the office building, he saw a familiar Mercedes-Benz car parked at the entrance. This car was familiar to Lucas because it belonged to Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, Florence. Seeing Lucas appear, Florence immediately opened the car door and walked over to Lucas with aplicated expression. ¡°Lucas, so you¡¯re the Master of California. You¡¯ve been hiding your identity from me so well!¡± Florence said usingly. Lucas smiled coldly. ¡°I hid it from you? You¡¯ve never asked about my identity right from the start, and you simply assumed that I¡¯m a good-for-nothing sponging off of your daughter. ¡°What right do you have to use me of hiding it from you?¡± Florence was dumbfounded. She had indeed assumed that Lucas was a good-for-nothing, and she had even racked her brains and tried all means to get him to leave her daughter. From the time she first met Lucas, she had never looked him in the eye. Lucas really wasn¡¯t to me. ¡°Ah!¡± Florence let out a long sigh. ¡°Okay, even though I¡¯m to me for what happened previously, the reason I did it was to make my daughter happy.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t care about what she had done, and he didn¡¯t believe that Florence came to him just to talk nonsense. Based on his previous encounters with Florence, he knew that she was hungry for power, and she was now speaking to him only because she knew his true identity and status. ¡°Just say what you have to say. I still have something to do. I don¡¯t want to listen to your nonsense here,¡± Lucas said bluntly. Chapter 798 - Taking For Granted

Chapter 798 Taking For Granted

A trace of anger shed in Florence¡¯s eyes, but she quickly suppressed it. In her eyes, even though Lucas was now a bigwig and the overlord of Oregon and California, he had married Cheyenne. Thus, he was also her son-inw and should respect her, his mother-inw. But Lucas was still speaking to her in this tone, making Florence extremely displeased. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t waste my breath on babbling nonsense with you. You should know that I came to California because of a mission given by the Howards, right?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows without answering. Of course he knew that Florence suddenly appeared in California to achieve a certain goal. Because she had gone around asking about the Master of California, he could guess what the Howards¡¯ ns were. Furthermore, he was now not only the Master of California but the overlord of both California and Oregon. He was likely even more valuable to the Howards. Lucas wanted to hear what the Howards were nning to do with him. Looking at Lucas¡¯s expression, Florence said, ¡°In fact, I was tasked by my family to have a girl from the family marry the Master of California. ¡°But it turns out that you married my daughter long ago, which means you¡¯re my son-inw. Hence, many things have be much simpler. ¡°Since you are now a member of the Howard family, you must follow some of our orders! ¡°I will report the matter here to the Howards, and in a few days, we¡¯ll send someone to Orange County. When the timees, cooperate fully regardless of what they say.¡± Florence¡¯s tone was unquestionable andmanding, as if it was a matter of course for her to make decisions and arrangements for Lucas¡¯s life. Lucas found it really ridiculous. For some reason, Florence could self-righteously tell others what to do, and her confidence that she could make arrangements for other people¡¯s lives at will was rather absurd. From the first time they met, she had already been trying to make presumptuous decisions for Cheyenne¡¯s life before even reuniting with Cheyenne. For example, she had wanted to force Lucas to divorce Cheyenne and then arrange for Cheyenne to marry a man she thought was suitable for her. If not for the fact that Lucas happened to be the Master of California, who knew what methods Florence would have used against him. After she learned that he was her son-inw, she began ordering Lucas around as if it was a given. Lucas was beyond disgusted by her confidence and taken-for-granted attitude. ¡°To be honest, I really quite admire your shamelessness,¡± Lucas suddenly said, his lips slightly curled. ¡°Wh-what do you mean by that?¡± Florence immediately frowned, displeasure on her face. ¡°I really admire you. You¡¯ve never raised Cheyenne or did you part as her mother, yet you¡¯re acting like her mother and arranging her life. ¡°Before, you wanted to force me to divorce Cheyenne so that she could marry the Master of California, whom you thought would be useful to you, right? At the time, you didn¡¯t even know who the Master of California was, what he looked like, and what his personality was. ¡°However, even though you didn¡¯t know anything about him, you still imed that he was the best choice for your daughter¡¯s husband. It¡¯s in ridiculous. Do you have the slightest respect for your daughter¡¯s wishes? What you call the best and happiness are nothing more than the power and benefits you see! ¡°Do you know how disgusting the way you¡¯re trying to arrange Cheyenne¡¯s life as you please is?! You don¡¯t deserve to be her mother at all! ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true that I¡¯m Cheyenne¡¯s husband, but it has nothing to do with you. Who are you to order me around and arrange my life? ¡°You have no right to meddle with my and Cheyenne¡¯s affairs!¡± Lucas¡¯s resolute words were like sharp knives piercing the self-righteous Florence, causing her expression to change immediately. At this moment, she finally realized that Lucas wasn¡¯t a junior whom she could easily make arrangements for. He was now the one and only overlord of two states. He even dared to kill an expert from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters. How could he possibly obey her orders so easily? The person in front of her was not an obedient cat but a lion that could easily rip apart any prey. Only then did Florence finally figure out something. She thought that she could control Lucas through Cheyenne, but she only discovered now that she meant nothing to Lucas. But Florence wouldn¡¯t give up just like that. After all, Cheyenne was indeed her daughter, which was a sharp weapon she was still holding. ¡°Lucas, no matter what, I¡¯m Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother. I carried her for ten months in my womb before giving birth to her. You can¡¯t deny that, right? ¡°I admit that, at first, I really detested you and even persuaded you to divorce Cheyenne because I wanted her to marry the Master of California. That¡¯s because I wanted my daughter to marry a wealthy and powerful man so that she wouldn¡¯t have to suffer for the rest of her life! Am I wrong to think like this? ¡°What mother in the world doesn¡¯t want her daughter to have a good life? Is it wrong for me to want her to marry a powerful man with a high status? ¡°Besides, if you had told me earlier that you were the Master of California, would I have forced you to get a divorce? I would have happily epted you and given you my blessings. ¡°Moreover, now that you¡¯ve married my daughter, you¡¯re already my son-inw, so isn¡¯t it only right for you to help your elder out? Do you call that an order?¡± Florence argued unreasonably. Lucas sneered in response. A woman like Florence would never realize her mistake. After arranging the lives of others with a high and mighty attitude, she still argued that it was for their own good. It was so ironic that she was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother. ¡°Enough. I¡¯ve had enough of your nonsense. If it wasn¡¯t because you gave birth to Cheyenne, I wouldn¡¯t have had the patience to listen to your revolting words. ¡°Don¡¯t show up in front of me and say anything like this to me again. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be polite to you anymore!¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Florence¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°You¡­ you actually told me not to appear in front of you again, or else you won¡¯t be polite? I¡¯m your mother-inw and Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother. How dare you speak to me like that?¡± Lucas looked at her coldly. ¡°If you weren¡¯t Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, do you think you could still be standing in front of me in one piece? ¡°Now, both California and Oregon are under my control. Do you believe that I can make you disappear from here forever with just one word, and the Howards won¡¯t be able to find any clues?¡± A menacing killing intent appeared in his eyes, proving that he wasn¡¯t just threatening her. Chapter 799 - Must I Tell You?

Chapter 799 Must I Tell You?

Of course, Lucas didn¡¯t want to really kill Florence. After all, she was indeed Cheyenne¡¯s mother no matter what. Even though Cheyenne wasn¡¯t aware ofit yet, Lucas wouldn¡¯t do such a thing. But teaching Florence a lesson and getting her kicked out of the Howards to turn her from an heiress high up in the air to a nobody was just Lucas¡¯s threat. In Lucas¡¯s opinion, people like Florence simplycked experience with hardship. Everything went well for her, and her family was rich and powerful, so she ended up with this temperament today. If Florence wanted to reunite with Cheyenne and get along well with her, Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t oppose. But if Florence¡¯s agenda for approaching Cheyenne was only to make use of her to achieve her ambitions, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t let her off. ¡°How... How dare you threaten me? Do you know that the Howards definitely won¡¯t let you off if you dare toy a finger on me?!¡± Florence shouted in anger and shock. Andy, Florence¡¯s bodyguard in sunsses, immediately stood beside Florence, looking as if he was facing an enemy. He clenched his fists, but his face was pale and covered in sweat. Andy knew full well that he was no match for Lucas. If Lucas really wanted to keep them both in California, he wouldn¡¯t even have the ability to struggle and resist! Lucas sneered at the two of them. ¡°As you¡¯ve said, the Howards are in DC, but we¡¯re in California now, so I call the shots! ¡°If you¡¯re still in California before the sun rises tomorrow morning, don¡¯t me me for being rude to you!¡± Then Lucas took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Listen up. If Florence Howard is still in California before seven o¡¯clock tomorrow morning, make her disappear from California forever!¡± After ending the call, he nced at Florence, who had anger, shock, and horror written all over her face, and said calmly, ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. If you want to know whether I dare to do it or not, you can try.¡± With that, Lucas stopped paying attention to Florence and left straight away. ¡°He... That bastard! How dare he threaten me! I... This is going to be the death of me! How infuriating!¡± Florence didn¡¯t return to her senses until after she saw Lucas walking away. She was so furious that she was trembling. She even broke two of her nails, which she had just gotten done at a manicure session. She was simply exasperated. How dare Lucas Gray speak to me like that? He tantly threatened me! Outrageous! ¡°Madam, I think we should leave now!¡± Andy suddenly persuaded. ¡°No, I¡¯m not leaving! If I leave like this, doesn¡¯t it mean that I¡¯m afraid of him? I¡¯m not leaving! I¡¯m a Howard, and he¡¯s my son-inw. I want to see what he can do to me!¡± Florence refused angrily. ¡°...¡± Andy looked at Florence speechlessly. But after thinking about it, he merely said, ¡°Madam, why do you think he doesn¡¯t dare to make a move? Previously, Lucas Gray harmed Vince Smith, making him return to DC in shame. And he also killed Julian York of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters. He¡¯s not scared of the Howards at all! ¡°As for your status as his mother-inw... Given his actions just now, do you think he really cares about that? To put it bluntly, you haven¡¯t reunited with Miss Cheyenne Carter yet, so even if Lucas Gray does anything to you, she won¡¯t know. He doesn¡¯t have to worry about it at all!¡± Hearing this, Florence immediately froze in ce, as if she had been drenched by cold water. Indeed, based on Lucas¡¯s words and actions, he didn¡¯t care about the Howards¡¯ power, nor did he care about her being his mother-inw. In that case, why wouldn¡¯t he dare to harm her? If he wanted to kill her, there was no way she could resist. Besides, just as Lucas said, even if she died in California, her family wouldn¡¯t be able to get any evidence, and she would die for nothing! The scene of Lucas killing Julian easily back in the ring of the San Francisco International Expo Center suddenly surfaced in Florence¡¯s mind, making her so scared that she shivered. Lucas was indeed a terrifying young man... Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to take control of Oregon and California and hold so much power at such a young age. ¡°But if I leave California like this, my mission will be aplete failure! Those people in the family will definitely mock me, and I¡¯ll never get what I want!¡± Florence was really indignant, and she didn¡¯t want to leave just like this. ¡°Madam, if you leave right now, you won¡¯t be able toplete your mission, but there¡¯s still a long road ahead. You might be able toe up with a better n in the future. But if you refuse to leave, you might really die, and there won¡¯t be another chance for you again!¡± Andy persuaded earnestly. In fact, he was extremely speechless now. Andy had suggested more than once that Lucas was very likely the Master of California and even persuaded Florence to check up on him more. But she stubbornly refused every single time. If she hadn¡¯t put on that high and mighty look when she first met Lucas and made him divorce Cheyenne, or if she had taken his suggestion to heart and sent someone to investigate Lucas, their rtionship probably wouldn¡¯t have be so strained, and things wouldn¡¯t havee to this. But there is no point in saying these things now. ¡°No, I still have one more thing to do before I leave!¡± Florence suddenly said as she bit her lower lip with a firm gaze in her eyes. Meanwhile, Lucas had already driven to the Brilliance Corporation to pick Cheyenne up from work. He hadn¡¯t been able to decide if he should tell Cheyenne about Florence. Cheyenne¡¯s life had been hard, and she was an emotional person, so she had chosen to put up with Karen despite being bullied by her repeatedly in the past. She had even let her off again and again only because Karen was her mother. But even though Cheyenne was already a good daughter, Karen nevertheless viciously hurt her by revealing to her that she was not Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother. Now that Cheyenne had juste out of the shock that Karen had given her, how could Cheyenne possibly ept the fact that her mother was such a terrible person? If Karen had ill-treated Cheyenne because she wasn¡¯t her mother, Cheyenne might not feel as pained. But if her mother schemed against her, she would definitely be miserable. Moreover, thest thing Lucas wanted to see was his beloved woman in misery. Thus, Lucas had been hesitating about telling Cheyenne the truth. Chapter 800 - Facing Her Biological Mother

Chapter 800 Facing Her Biological Mother

¡°Hey, Honey!¡± While Lucas¡¯s car was parked below the Brilliance Corporation office building and he was still hesitating, the door of the passenger seat suddenly opened, and Cheyenne got into the car. But she looked a little bit fatigued. ¡°Was it busy at the office today?¡± Lucas asked with concern. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know why, but there are suddenly a lot more clients today. And they¡¯re all renownedpanies and families who want to cooperate with us, so there are a lot of things to do.¡± Cheyenne was exhausted, but there was a trace of joy in her eyes. The fact that there were so many new and important clients meant that the Brilliance Corporation would get even better in time toe. As the general manager of thepany, Cheyenne was naturally ted. Lucas was very clear about the reason. At thepetitionst night, he had defeated Julian, a top powerhouse from the Peerless Martial Association, and became the overlord of California and Oregon,manding more than a hundred of the top families of both states. After learning that Lucas owned the Stardust Corporation, the Brilliance Corporation, and other businesses, these top families would naturally hand out olive branches in a bid to please Lucas. The terms in the cooperation offers made by thesepanies had to be favorable to the Stardust Group and Brilliance Corporation. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t refuse the goodwill of these families. ¡°If things are too overwhelming, you can hire a few more assistants and secretaries to help you share the burden. I¡¯m afraid that thepany will be even busier in the future, and I¡¯m worried that you will be exhausted,¡± Lucas said in a soft voice with a touch of heartache in his eyes. Cheyenne smiled and hugged Lucas¡¯s arm. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not too bad now. The Brilliance Corporation was founded by me, and now that it¡¯s developing so well, and so many new clients are taking the initiative to contact us, I¡¯m really happy! So even if I¡¯m a little bit tired for the time being, I¡¯m d to be so!¡± Lucas could only smile bitterly. But he understood how Cheyenne felt. If Cheyenne wanted, he could use his power at any time to make the Brilliance Corporation thergest enterprise in California. But it was Cheyenne¡¯s heart and soul, and what she hoped to see most was herpany growing well day by day rather than it suddenly transforming into a toppany. ¡°Oh, by the way, that woman we met called me again,¡± Cheyenne suddenly said. ¡°Florence Howard?¡± Lucas immediately asked. Cheyenne nodded and said with uncertain anticipation, ¡°She said¡­ she has some things to tell me in person. She imed that it¡¯s¡­ about my biological mother. ¡°I don¡¯t know if what she said is true or not, but¡­ but I¡­¡± Cheyenne clenched her fingers, clearly extremely unsettled. She had actually long been prepared to never find her biological parents in her life. After all, she had been abandoned as an infant and left to fend for herself by a trash can outside the hospital. If Karen hadn¡¯t lost her daughter then and brought Cheyenne home because she wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind, she wouldn¡¯t know if she would be living in this world now. After hearing Karen yelling at her hysterically and telling her that her biological parents hated her, Cheyenne had long been prepared to never know who her parents were. But Florence Howard, the chairman of the Flor Group, suddenly told her that she had news about her mother. Cheyenne naturally couldn¡¯t calm down. Lucas furrowed his eyebrows tightly, and his face darkened. He had already warned Florence to stop appearing in front of him and Cheyenne, but he didn¡¯t expect her to dare to take the initiative to contact Cheyenne. It looked like she wanted to reunite with Cheyenne. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why don¡¯t you seem happy to hear about my biological mother?¡± Cheyenne asked with bewilderment after noticing the change in Lucas¡¯s expression. Lucas had once offered to help Cheyenne search for her biological parents. But now that there was finally a clue about her biological mother, he didn¡¯t seem happy. Lucas sighed. ¡°Cheyenne, do you really want to find your biological parents? If they¡­ I mean, if they are not good to you¡­¡± Cheyenne was stunned for a moment before smiling bitterly. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. But I think that there shouldn¡¯t be any parents who don¡¯t love their children. So I want to ask them face to face why they abandoned me. ¡°If they did it because they had no choice, I will probably forgive them. ¡°But if¡­ they abandoned me because they didn¡¯t like me or for some other reason, then I¡¯d like them to give me an exnation. I will then give uppletely.¡± Cheyenne bit her lip and spoke with difficulty before suddenly turning around to look at Lucas. ¡°Honey, you¡¯ll support me, right?¡± Lucas looked at the expectant look in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes and looked down, his eyshes trembling. ¡°In that case¡­ if they¡¯re as mercenary and money-grubbing as Karen, and they want to reunite with you for the sake of using you, what will you do?¡± Cheyenne immediately fell silent as she imagined the scene. The damage Karen had done to her was too much. During this period of time, Cheyenne had been trying to avoid thinking about Karen, but Lucas¡¯s words raked up the unhappy past. Lucas couldn¡¯t bear it either, but he had to mention Karen at this moment. In a way, Florence and Karen were the same type of people. In fact, Florence was even more brutal. Lucas had no right to decide for Cheyenne whether she should reunite with Florence or not. But he hoped that he could at least give Cheyenne a reminder so that she wouldn¡¯t have any peachy fantasies about her mother. Once the truth eventually surfaced, she would at least be prepared and not end up suffering a huge blow. After thinking for a long time, Cheyenne finally raised her head and said firmly, ¡°Even so, I still want to meet them. I want to ask them why they abandoned me.¡± After pausing for a moment, she suddenly asked Lucas, ¡°Honey, do you already know something?¡± Given her understanding of him, he wouldn¡¯t just say those words for no reason. She reckoned that he must already know something Lucas sighed. At this point, there was no need for him to hide it from her anymore. ¡°Actually, the woman who called you is your biological mother.¡± Chapter 801 - Why Did You Abandon Me? Chapter 801 Why Did You Abandon Me? Cheyenne blinked and didn¡¯t react for two seconds. ¡°What... what did you just say?¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything and merely looked at Cheyenne with heartache and sympathy. After being stunned for several seconds, Cheyenne finally understood what Lucas meant. She was so shocked that her jaw dropped, and she looked as if she had been struck by lightning, causing her mind to go nk for a long time. This news was too shocking! Cheyenne naturally knew who the woman who called her was. But she didn¡¯t expect her to be her biological mother! The expression on Cheyenne¡¯s face was bizarre, and she seemed to be caught between tears andughter. ¡°It turns out... she¡¯s my biological mother! ¡°No wonder she looks at me so strangely... ¡°No wonder she wanted to invest so much money in the Brilliance Corporation...¡± Cheyenne lowered her head and muttered to herself with an extremelyplicated expression. But Cheyenne didn¡¯t get extremely emotional because of this and instead tried her best to remainposed and restrained, making Lucas admire her strength even more and feel more sympathy for her. He didn¡¯t say anything more but silently started his car and drove toward Amelia¡¯s kindergarten. He knew that Cheyenne must be in aplicated mood now, so he was willing to give her enough time to think through this matter properly. But regardless of what choice she made in the end, he would face it together with her. If Florence could put aside her schemes and genuinely treat Cheyenne as her daughter, Lucas would be willing to cut her some ck on Cheyenne¡¯s behalf and even give the Howards some help. But if Florence only treated Cheyenne as a pawn and tried to make use of her with kinship as an excuse, Lucas would never let her off! On the way to pick up Amelia and on the way home, Cheyenne kept frowning while pondering over this matter. But when they were about to arrive home, Cheyenne finally made up her mind and said, ¡°Honey, I¡¯ve decided. I want to see her!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything and nodded calmly. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Since Cheyenne had made up her mind to meet Florence, he had no reason to oppose. It was Cheyenne¡¯s right to make this decision, and even though he was her husband, he wouldn¡¯t meddle with the reason that he was doing it for her own good. This was the greatest difference between him and Florence. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re so kind!¡± Cheyenne grabbed Lucas¡¯s left hand gently. With William and Charlotte at home, as well as Jordan and Stanley, whom Lucas had sent to be their guards, Amelia would definitely be well protected. Thus, Lucas sent Amelia back home and then drove Cheyenne away. Florence and Cheyenne had arranged to meet at the Lion Restaurant in Orange County. Half an hourter, Lucas and Cheyenne arrived outside the Lion Restaurant and entered the private room that Florence had booked. Florence and her bodyguard Andy had been waiting in the private room for a long time, fidgety and anxious that Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t show up or Lucas wouldn¡¯t let here. Upon seeing the door of the private room opening, followed by Cheyenne¡¯s beautiful face, Florence finally heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Miss Carter, you¡¯re finally here.¡± At this moment, Florence still didn¡¯t know that Lucas had already revealed her identity to Cheyenne. Florence nned to first get close to Cheyenne at the dinner table, then mention that she was her biological mother and exin to her that she had abandoned her back then because she had had no choice. She would finally tell her how sad she was at the time. She expected that they would have a touching reunion scene with the two of them hugging each other, and Cheyenne would naturally stand on her side because of how touched she was. The moment she saw Lucas enter after Cheyenne, her face stiffened for a moment before greeting him warmly. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re here too. Quickly have a seat!¡± It was as if she had already forgotten about the conflict she had with Lucas at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation building. In Florence¡¯s opinion, she and Cheyenne were blood-rted, and there was nothing Lucas could do to sow discord. His obstructions would only push Cheyenne toward her. Lucas knew full well what Florence was thinking, but he didn¡¯t expose her and instead raised his brows and stood beside Cheyenne. But Cheyenne didn¡¯t take a seat and instead stared at Florence. ¡°Since you¡¯re my biological mother, why did you abandon me back then?¡± Her question immediately made Florence, who was smiling pretentiously, freeze right on the spot. She never thought that Cheyenne had already found out that she was her biological mother, disrupting her ns. ¡°You... you already know!¡± Florence smiled unnaturally and raised her hand to brush the hair at the corner of her forehead. Looking at Cheyenne standing in front of her and questioning her, Florence suddenly burst into tears and felt miserable. No matter what, the woman standing in front of her was indeed her daughter, to whom she had carried in her womb for nine months and given birth. Seeing the tears in Florence¡¯s eyes, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help breaking down into tears too. Ever since she learned from Karen that she had been abandoned by the roadside as a child, she had been feeling a sharp thorn in her chest. Although Cheyenne didn¡¯t show anything in front of William, Charlotte, and Lucas, who showed her great concern, she couldn¡¯t help herself and start wondering who her biological parents were and why they had abandoned her. Cheyenne had imagined countless reasons why. Perhaps her parents had left her by the roadside because they were too poor to raise her, or maybe they had gotten into an ident and had to give her up. But she now knew that her biological mother was Florence Howard, a member of the Howard family, one of the eight top families of DC. It meant that she held great power and wealth. Besides, even if she had identally lost Cheyenne, given the abilities of the Howards, she could have easily found her. But in the past two decades or so, Florence had never once appeared in her life. Even when she showed up in front of her, she had never acknowledged her either. Why? Cheyenne just wanted to ask her why she had abandoned her in the first ce and why she didn¡¯t want her. Cheyenne¡¯s questioning left Florence speechless. After a long time, she finally said, ¡°It has been years since it happened. All you need to know now is that you are the daughter of Florence Howard, and you¡¯re the future sessor of mypany, the Flor Group. You only need to know that I love you very much. That¡¯s all!¡± She didn¡¯t answer Cheyenne¡¯s question. A trace of disappointment appeared in Cheyenne¡¯s eyes. She didn¡¯t care about being the sessor of Flor Group or whatever. All she wanted to know was why Florence had abandoned her back then. ¡°Answer me. What happened back then? Why did you abandon me?¡± Cheyenne questioned once more, tears staining her face. Florence turned her face away and gritted her teeth without answering. ¡°For the sake of power and status!¡± At this moment, the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open from outside, and a gorgeous young woman entered. Chapter 802 - 2 Inexplicable Reason

Chapter 802 Inexplicable Reason

¡°P¡­ Pam?!¡± When Florence saw Pam, her expression changed drastically in shock. Lucas turned his head to look at the young woman who suddenly entered. She was wearing a cream-colored trench coat, with her waist-length hair draped behind her, exuding a unique feminine charm. Her facial features were so exquisite that they seemed hard carved. She had defined brows, a perky nose, sweet cherry lips, and porcin skin. She was a ravishing beauty. A trace of surprise appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. The young beauty in front of him was on par with Cheyenne in terms of features and figure. She even seemed to exude a dazzling noble temperament and aura. For some reason, Lucas felt that he had met her somewhere before. ¡°Pam, what nonsense are you babbling here? I have important things to talk about with the two guests here. You should leave!¡± Florence snapped with displeasure, her face sullen after hearing what Pam said. But Pam didn¡¯t pay attention to her at all and instead looked at the gorgeous Cheyenne with an inexplicable look in her eyes. ¡°Let me introduce myself first. I am Pam Howard and technically your cousin.¡± Pam walked up to Cheyenne with a smile and took the initiative to extend her hand for a friendly handshake. Cheyenne looked at Pam warily and didn¡¯t reach out to shake hands with the equally gorgeous beauty. Even though Pam said that she was her cousin, Cheyenne didn¡¯t have the slightest sense of closeness to her just because of this. On the contrary, Cheyenne felt ufortable about the way Pam had looked at her just now. There was a strong aggression hidden deep in her friendly gaze and smile, making Cheyenne subconsciously keep her guard up. ¡°For power and status? What do you mean?¡± Cheyenne asked with a frown. Pam didn¡¯t care about Cheyenne¡¯s reluctance to shake hands with her and instead withdrew her hand gracefully with a magnanimous smile. Looking at Florence, she said with a smile, ¡°Aunt Pam, you never told me that Mrs. Gray is your biological daughter! ¡°Since you two have reunited with each other, you should tell Cheyenne what happened back then, shouldn¡¯t you?¡± Florence narrowed her eyes, anger written all over her face. ¡°This has nothing to do with you! Pam, get lost immediately! Do you hear me?¡± But Pam obviously wasn¡¯t afraid of incurring Florence¡¯s wrath. The smile on her face remained unchanged as she said, ¡°Aunt Florence, how can this be none of my business? You can¡¯t forget what your mission foring to California is. No matter what, I¡¯m the one chosen by the family, aren¡¯t I?¡± Neither Lucas nor Cheyenne understood what Pam¡¯s statement about being the chosen one meant. But Florence was well aware of what she meant. Previously, the Howards had arranged for Florence to bring Pam to California to look for the famous Master of California and then try to get closer to him so that Pam could marry him. Although Cheyenne was Florence¡¯s daughter and also carried the blood of the Howards, she wasn¡¯t from the family¡¯s direct lineage, unlike Pam. But due to Florence¡¯s selfishness, she wanted to let her daughter marry the Master of California. Moreover, Pam imed to be in love with someone else and wasn¡¯t willing to marry the Master of California. Thus, Florence had been neglecting the issue. Now that Pam mentioned it, it suddenly dawned on Florence that Pam was going to get involved. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me before that you wouldn¡¯t agree toplete this mission even if you died?¡± Florence questioned coldly with a gloomy expression. She hade up with an excellent n at first. Pam wanted to choose her own marriage, so she was d to go along with it. Previously, she had put on the act precisely to make Pam reveal her unwillingness to marry the Master of California as part of a marriage alliance. In this way, Florence could facilitate the marriage of her daughter, Cheyenne, and the Master of California. Like this, she would not only be able toplete the mission the Howards gave her, but she would be able to use the power of the Master of California to stabilize her position in the family. Florence had already calcted and made ns for everything, but she didn¡¯t expect Pam to interfere at the critical moment of her n. mes were about to emerge from Florence¡¯s eyes as she glowered at Pam. Pam smiled faintly. ¡°That was before thepetition began. Now, I¡¯ve already changed my mind!¡± ¡°You!¡± Florence flew into a rage and was about to teach Pam a lesson as an elder. ¡°Enough!¡± Cheyenne interrupted in annoyance. ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of mission or n you have or how your rtionship is. Please take your argument about this outside. I¡¯m asking a question now!¡± After both of them fell silent, Cheyenne looked at Florence and asked again, ¡°I already said it. I just want to know why you abandoned me in the first ce.¡± A trace of agony appeared on Florence¡¯s face, and she didn¡¯t answer Cheyenne¡¯s question as she changed the subject. ¡°Cheyenne, let bygones be bygones, okay? I don¡¯t want to talk about what happened back then. You just need to know that you are indeed my daughter and that I love you very much now. I will surely treat you well in the future to make up for my past regrets over the years, okay?¡± ¡°Aunt Florence, this is your fault. You haven¡¯t seen your daughter for years, yet you refuse to tell her the truth. If I were your daughter, I wouldn¡¯t believe your empty promises!¡± Pam smiled and followed up with a question. ¡°Is it possible that you can¡¯t bring yourself to tell her what happened back then?¡± ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re in no ce to talk here!¡± Florence was livid. ¡°If you continue acting like this, don¡¯t me me for being rude to you!¡± Hearing this, Pam didn¡¯t be annoyed and instead stuck her tongue out like a young girl pretending to be cute. ¡°She¡¯s right. At this point, you still refuse to tell me the truth. I¡¯ll ask you onest time. Why did you abandon me back then?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s eyes were red and swollen, and there were still teardrops on her eyes as she looked at Florence with misery and disappointment. She wondered if things were really as Pam said, that Florence couldn¡¯t give her a valid reason because the truth was unbearable. Facing Cheyenne¡¯s bright eyes, Florence suddenly turned her face away and chose to continue hiding it from her. ¡°Cheyenne, let¡¯s not rake up the past and just live well together from now on, okay?¡± ¡°Fine! Since you won¡¯t tell me, we don¡¯t have to acknowledge each other! Honey, let¡¯s go!¡± Tears were streaming down Cheyenne¡¯s face as she took Lucas¡¯s hand, turned around, and walked out of the private room. ¡°No, Cheyenne! Wait, don¡¯t go!¡± Florence immediately panicked and hurriedly ran forward to grab Cheyenne¡¯s wrist. Chapter 803 - Incredibly Disappointed

Chapter 803 Incredibly Disappointed

Florence was extremely anxious as she held Cheyenne¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯m really your mother! Can you bear to disown me? ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about you all these years and wondering if you¡¯ve been living well, eating well, and dressing well. You¡¯re my flesh and blood. How can I not care about you and love you? ¡°I¡¯ve always thought that maybe one day, we will be able to reunite, and I¡¯ll be able to make up for what I haven¡¯t done for you in thest two decades! ¡°Don¡¯t you like running apany? You should inherit mine! I was the one who founded the Flor Group, and it has nothing to do with the Howards. As long as you reunite with me, the entire Flor Group will belong to you! ¡°I¡¯ve also amassed some businesses, properties,nd, stores, and savings over the years. In the future, they will all belong to you! ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯ll make up for theck of maternal love! I came to California to take you back to the Howards so that you can live like a princess! Orange County isn¡¯t the ce for you!¡± Florence spoke anxiously. However, she only said she wanted to make it up to Cheyenne and even made a bunch of promises. But she never exined why she abandoned Cheyenne when she was still just a baby and why she never came to see her all these years. Moreover, she even said that she would hand the Flor Group over to Cheyenne in the future and even take Cheyenne away from Orange County to live with the Howards in DC. Her tone was self-righteous, seemingly not intending to ask Cheyenne for her opinion at all. Cheyenne looked at Florence with her eyes full of disappointment. A mother who kept mentioning inheritance and interests at every turn wasn¡¯t the mother she had imagined. She merely wanted to hear the truth from Florence and for Florence to be sincere and genuine toward her, yet Florence was constantly being evasive. ¡°Forget it. We don¡¯t have to acknowledge each other, and we shouldn¡¯t meet again in the future!¡± After Cheyenne finished speaking, she shook off Florence¡¯s hand and hurried toward the door of the private room. ¡°Stop!¡± Florence shouted furiously,pletely angered by Cheyenne¡¯s disobedience. ¡°Are you trying to y a trick on me? ¡°No matter what, I¡¯m your biological mother, and you¡¯re my child. That¡¯s a fact you can never change! ¡°It¡¯s true that I abandoned you, but it¡¯s been more than two decades. Why must you insist on making me tell you the reason? ¡°I¡¯m your biological mother. I have the right to make arrangements for you! Come home with me to the Howards tomorrow. You¡¯re not allowed to throw a tantrum. Do you hear me?¡± Perhaps because the kinship card she yed and the interest she offered didn¡¯t have the effects she expected, she stopped pretending to be a miserable mother and simply ordered Cheyenne aggressively. In Florence¡¯s opinion, children were the property of their parents, and the daughter she had given birth to should naturally obey her arrangements! This was something Florence had learned from her father, the helmsman of the Howards. Lucas nced at Florence coldly without saying anything It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to defend Cheyenne, but there were some decisions that she had to make herself. Just like when Cheyenne was still part of the Carter family and was bullied by Dominic and Bryce Carter back then, Lucas was heartbroken. But he could only let her see with her very own eyes just how despicable and shameless the Carters were and how they treated her like a tool. Only then would she realize the cruel truth, free herself from the shackles of kinship, and regain freedom and life. It was the same for Florence. She was indeed Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, but she didn¡¯t have the intention to be a good mother. All she wanted was to control Cheyenne and make use of her. Only Cheyenne could realize this herself. Cheyenne turned around in disbelief and looked at Florence, who still seemed self-righteous. Her eyes were full of disappointment. ¡°You gave birth to me, but other than that, have you ever taken care of me or shown me any maternal love for even a single day? ¡°Apart from you being blood-rted to me, what¡¯s the difference between you and a stranger? ¡°Do you know how I felt when I found out that I wasn¡¯t the daughter of my adoptive mother but a baby abandoned by my biological parents? ¡°I thought to myself countless times that maybe it was because I was unlikeable, so my parents threw me away like I was garbage right after I was born! Do you know how sad and heartbroken I am? ¡°Do you know how excited and expectant I was after hearing from you that my biological mother was still alive? ¡°But what about you? You don¡¯t love me at all. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have waited so many days to reunite with me even though you¡¯ve been in Orange County for so long. You wouldn¡¯t have kept the truth from me when we spoke. Even though it¡¯s our second time meeting each other, you¡¯re still ordering me around and insisting on taking me back to the Howards. You don¡¯t care about what I think, do you? ¡°Do you think you can make arrangements for my life just because you gave birth to me? Who gave you the right? ¡°I¡¯m a living human being, not a toy you created and can throw away or pick up as and when you please! ¡°You¡¯re not qualified to be my mother at all, let alone decide my life for me! ¡°You¡¯re not worthy to do so!¡± Cheyenne was so agitated that she shouted at the top of her lungs to vent all her pent-up grievances as tears rolled down her eyes one after another. ¡°Shut up! Shut up!¡± Florence yelled in exasperation. Many of Cheyenne¡¯s words struck the untouchable parts of her heart, causing her to fly into a rage. ¡°How dare you speak to your mother like that. Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t teach you a lesson!¡± Florence was so furious that shepletely lost her poise as a noblewoman. She rushed toward Cheyenne and raised her hand to p her. ¡°Stop! If you dare to touch her, I¡¯ll chop your hand off immediately!¡± A cold and stern voice suddenly sounded in Florence¡¯s ear like a sharp knife. His voice was full of chilling murderous intent! Florence¡¯s hand immediately froze in midair, and her face turned pale. She didn¡¯t dare to move at all. She had no doubt that Lucas would absolutely chop her hand off if she really pped Cheyenne! Chapter 804 - I’m Taking It

Chapter 804 I¡¯m Taking It

Andy knew that things were going awry, so he hurried forward to shield Florence. Lucas¡¯s aura was too aggressive and domineering, so much so that even Andy couldn¡¯t withstand it. He felt as if Lucas was about to rip him apart, let alone Florence. He had no doubt that Lucas would really kill Florence if she angered him! Moreover, Andy was a martial arts practitioner who could keenly perceive the menacing and murderous auraing from Lucas. Generally, only people who had spent years killing people on the battlefield would possess such an aura. He was certain that Lucas must have killed countless people before! The thought of it made Andy¡¯s heart tremble. Lucas looked to be less than thirty. What¡­ what exactly had he gone through? At the side, Pam saw Lucas¡¯s murderous gaze, and her heart started pounding rapidly while her face flushed red. Just over a year ago, Lucas had the same expression as he had now when he appeared in front of Pam at that terrifying moment when gangsters were bullying her. He was like a god descending from the sky. His sharp and murderous gaze, tall and muscr figure, and handsome face were deeply etched in Pam¡¯s heart. She had never once forgotten him in thest year. Now, she had finally found this man. Pam was willing to do anything to win his heart! Florence¡¯s body was stiff, and all she felt was the cold sweat gushing out of her back. Seeing Lucas¡¯s eyes, she felt extreme horror. ¡°You¡­ No matter what, I¡¯m your mother-inw and your elder. Who speaks to their elders like this?¡± she said while trembling and bearing with the fear. She told herself over and over again that Lucas was just her son-inw. If she bowed down and showed fear to him, it would be difficult for her to establish her dominance as his mother-inw in the future. Lucas stared at her coldly. ¡°I don¡¯t care what your identity and seniority are. I won¡¯t let off anyone who wants to act against my wife! You¡¯re no exception! ¡°Mother-inw and elder? Hah¡­ Do you think you¡¯re worthy? ¡°Also, no matter what kind of mission you¡¯re on, and regardless of what you¡¯re nning to use my wife and me for, you¡¯d better drop your ideas immediately! Otherwise, if something happens in the future, I won¡¯t be polite to you!¡± Lucas stopped looking at the expression on Florence¡¯s face and immediately held Chyenne¡¯s cold hand as he led her out of the private room. ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Florence could only helplessly watch Lucas and Cheyenne ignore her and leave the restaurant. She was so exasperated that she was about to go mad, and her face twisted into a hideous grimace. ¡°Outrageous! They¡¯re both bastards! How dare he threaten me?! One day, I¡¯ll make him pay!¡± Florence was so furious that she grabbed a ss on the dining table and smashed it on the floor. Andy¡¯s lips moved slightly. He wanted to persuade her, but at the thought of Florence¡¯s temper, he was afraid that she would take her anger out on him. So he wisely shut his mouth and made himself scarce. Anyway, his duty was only to protect Florence, and he didn¡¯t want to bother about other matters. Seeing Florence losing herposure, Pam crossed her arms and smiled. ¡°Aunt Florence, you don¡¯t look like a noblewoman now but a shrew. Even if you¡¯ve failed the mission, you don¡¯t have to lose yourposure like this.¡± ¡°Pam Howard!¡± Florence turned around and stared grimly at Pam. If Pam hadn¡¯t suddenlye and said that Florence had abandoned Cheyenne for power and status, Cheyenne would have probably already reunited with her long ago. Things wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this, where Cheyenne refused to acknowledge her as her mother. It was all Pam¡¯s fault! ¡°Pam, what¡¯s wrong with you? Why did you suddenlye out to stop me and Cheyenne from reuniting?¡± Florence stared at Pam with extreme displeasure, feeling a strong urge to give her beautiful niece two ps on the face to make her wake up. Pam sneered. ¡°Florence, you¡¯re not going to me me for this, are you? I¡¯m not going to take the me for this!¡± She didn¡¯t even bother to address Florence as her aunt now and simply called her by her name. Clearly, she intended to fall out with Florence. ¡°Pam, what are you doing? I am your aunt! If you hadn¡¯t suddenly jumped and caused trouble, my daughter would have acknowledged me long ago!¡± Florence said angrily. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re clearly the one who said that you¡¯re in love with someone else and refused to marry the Master of California no matter what. That¡¯s why I tried to look for my daughter to get her toplete this mission! ¡°But what about you? Not only did you not help me, but you kept sabotaging me and opposing me! Let me tell you. You¡¯re entirely to me for the failure this time! How dare you gloat in front of me? I¡¯ll definitely tell the family the truth about what happened!¡± Pam¡¯s face turned sullen. ¡°Don¡¯t try to push the me on me! Since you want to y the me game, I¡¯ll make things clear with you! ¡°From the first day you arrived in Orange County, you¡¯ve been nning to marry your daughter to the Master of California. Yet you still pretended and deliberately provoked me. Wasn¡¯t it just to make me admit that I don¡¯t want to marry the Master of California, which is exactly what you wanted? ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what your intentions are and what you¡¯ve secretly done. Do I look that stupid to be at your mercy? ¡°I wanted to let you and Cheyenne reunite out of good intentions, but you acted up and ruined everything yourself! You made Cheyenne and the Master of California so upset that they left! ¡°Now, you¡¯re still trying to me me for the failure of the mission. How can I keep silent and take the me?¡± Pam was exceptionally stubborn. As an heiress of the Howards, who had received elite education abroad, she wasn¡¯t a pushover at all. ¡°In that case, don¡¯t me me for being unkind to you too! I¡¯m telling you. I¡¯m taking Cheyenne¡¯s husband!¡± Pam said with a look of determination, as if she was waging war. Chapter 805 - Deep Affection

Chapter 805 Deep Affection

Florence was furious at first. But when she heard Pam¡¯sst sentence, she was so astonished that she opened her mouth but couldn¡¯t say a word. She didn¡¯t expect Pam, who was clearly extremely resistant to the Master of California before, to dere that she wanted to snatch Lucas away from Cheyenne after learning they were married! At this moment, Florence felt a trace of regret. She knew that her niece Pam was extremely ruthless. If she really wanted to snatch Cheyenne¡¯s husband away, she would definitely seed! In fact, Pam wasn¡¯t any less beautiful than Cheyenne, and she was over three years younger. She was at her prime, where she was gorgeous and attractive to the opposite gender. Besides, Pam was an heiress of the Howards and grew up carefully nurtured. She had also studied abroad for several years, so she was definitely scheming and resourceful. With these conditions added together, her kindhearted daughter might really not be Pam¡¯s match. Moreover, Lucas was a man after all. Most men tended to be fond of the new and dislike the old, and most of them lusted over young and beautiful women. If Pam really snatched away Lucas, the overlord of California and Oregon, Florence¡¯s n would bepletely destroyed! When the time came, things would be terrible! After thinking about it, Florence quickly changed her attitude and smiled at Pam. ¡°Oh, Pam, what¡¯s the point of you doing this? It was my fault just now for saying something wrong in a moment of panic. I didn¡¯t mean to scold you. Please don¡¯t take it to heart! ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t have to say that on purpose just because you¡¯re mad at me! I know you¡¯re already in love with a handsome andpetent Prince Charming who¡¯s countless times better than Lucas Gray. And you said that you wouldn¡¯t marry him, didn¡¯t you? I will definitely find a way to help you achieve your life goal! ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about the family either. As long as Cheyenne and I reconcile, Lucas Gray will be my rightful son-inw, and even the family won¡¯t have any objections. They won¡¯t force you to marry anyone else either!¡± Florence put on the benevolent look of an elder and made many promises to Pam. She also deliberately mentioned the man that Pam was in love with to use him to tempt Pam into changing her mind. But Florence simply didn¡¯t know that the Prince Charming whom Pam was in love with was none other than Lucas. Thus, her persuasion was futile. ¡°Aunt Florence, it¡¯s already toote for you to say that! I must get my hands on Lucas Gray!¡± Determination to get Lucas appeared in Pam¡¯s eyes as she smiled at Florence before turning around to leave nonchntly. Lucas was the man she wanted, so she would never give him up. Even if she had to be a homewrecker whom everyone despised, she was bent on taking the man she adored back from another woman! Only the dumbfounded Florence remained in the private room. Why? Pam had clearly told her that she was in love with someone, but why would she suddenly decide to snatch Cheyenne¡¯s husband away? Did Pam have a change of heart after seeing Lucas at the martial artspetition today? This is ridiculous! What should I do now? Florence waspletely flustered because of what Pam said. Meanwhile, Lucas was already driving back to his home at Pearl Lake Vi with Cheyenne. On the way, Cheyenne didn¡¯t say a word and simply spaced out while watching the passing scenery. Looking at Cheyenne, Lucas felt heartbroken, but he couldn¡¯t find any words tofort her. After all, in such situations, all words offort seemed pointless. ¡°Honey, do you think I¡¯m really not destined to have parents?¡± Cheyenne suddenly asked. Just as Lucas was about to speak, Cheyenne continued, ¡°In the past, I thought that Karen Turner was my mother. Although she didn¡¯t treat me well and kept trying to exploit me, I really felt that she might dislike me because I wasn¡¯t good enough. ¡°So I tried my best to be more well-behaved and sensible in hopes that she would praise me and treat me better. But in the end¡­ ¡°At that time, I felt really relieved after learning that she wasn¡¯t my biological mother. ¡°It turned out that it wasn¡¯t because I didn¡¯t do well enough that she didn¡¯t like me but because I wasn¡¯t her biological child. So no matter how well-behaved or outstanding I was, she wouldn¡¯t like me. While I was thinking like this, I thought I might not be that bad. ¡°But after that, I began to wonder again and again just why my biological parents abandoned me and left me by the side of the road. I thought about plenty of possibilities. ¡°So today, when I received that phone call from¡­ her, I was really happy because I thought that I had finally found my biological mother. I had even already imagined reuniting with her. ¡°But she¡­ couldn¡¯t even tell me the reason she abandoned me. I don¡¯t want to me her or denounce her. I just wanted to know why she abandoned me back then. Even if she really abandoned me because of some absurd and terrible reason, I think I¡¯d forgive her as long as she admitted her mistakes to me sincerely. ¡°But she¡­ she really let me down too much. ¡°So, I want to ask myself if I had done something wrong or if I shouldn¡¯t have been born at all.¡± Tears streamed down Cheyenne¡¯s face. Cheyenne doesn¡¯t usually cry easily, and when she did, she usually teared up quietly, making her look exceptionally sympathetic. Seeing Cheyenne like this, Lucas felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. ¡°Cheyenne, it¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s their own issues for treating you that way.¡± Lucas slowly parked the car by the road and reached his arms out to pull the crying and trembling Cheyenne into his embrace. ¡°Each of us is not necessarily liked by other people, including our own parents. But we can¡¯t choose our parents, so there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. ¡°But there are also many people who are deeply in love with us. Amelia and I are your family members, and we will never leave you. We¡¯ll love you forever!¡± Lucas stroked Cheyenne¡¯s long hair gently. This was Lucas¡¯s promise to Cheyenne. ¡°Honey!¡± Cheyenne was wrapped tightly in Lucas¡¯s muscr and warm arms, her heart full of a tender and fuzzy feeling. She hugged Lucas tightly and even began kissing him passionately. She felt really lucky to have a man who loved her so much and stayed by her side unconditionally! Chapter 806 - The Smiths Are Here Again

Chapter 806 The Smiths Are Here Again

After a deep kiss, the two of them hugged each other and quietly enjoyed the warm moment that belonged only to them. But at this moment, a menacing murderous aura suddenly came from outside the car! Lucas¡¯s expression instantly changed as he pushed Cheyenne away and looked at a certain spot outside the window. A powerful expert had just deliberately exuded a murderous aura. Instead of charging forward directly, he exuded a killing intent. He clearly wanted Lucas to take the initiative to look for him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Honey?¡± Cheyenne looked at Lucas in confusion. She was just an ordinary woman, so she couldn¡¯t sense the mystical killing intent. Instead, she was bewildered by Lucas suddenly pushing her. ¡°Cheyenne, drive home on your own. I still have some matters to handle,¡± Lucas said to Cheyenne softly. They were already very close to their Pearl Lake vi, and Stanley and Jordan were guarding nearby too. Even if Cheyenne drove home alone, she wouldn¡¯t be in any danger. Besides, he was the target of the mysterious man, so the mysterious man shouldn¡¯t do anything to Cheyenne. Cheyenne pursed her lips and looked at Lucas. She nodded and said sensibly, ¡°Okay, be careful then.¡± She had always known that she couldn¡¯t help Lucas with some things, so the only thing she could do was listen to Lucas¡¯s arrangements and not drag him down. Lucas got out of the car and turned to look at a certain spot after Cheyenne drove away. ¡°Come out!¡± As soon as he said this, two figures walked out of the shadows. The person walking in front was a middle-aged man in histe forties. He wasn¡¯t tall and had a medium build. He had a wide forehead, a squarish face, and slick hairbed back neatly. With a faint andposed smile on his lips, he exuded the noble aura of an upper-ss individual. But Lucas merely nced at him before turning to look at the old man behind him. The old man looked to be in his sixties or seventies, with a gaunt red face covered in wrinkles, resembling a dried date. But despite the wrinkles piled up to his eyelids, his eyes had a glistening light. He was clearly not an ordinary person. More importantly, Lucas could sense the aura of a top expert from his gait. The murderous aura just now came from this old man. It was no exaggeration to say that this was the strongest aura Lucas had ever seen since he left the Falcon Regiment in Calico. Even Julian York, the top expert from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters, was no match for this old man. While Lucas was guessing the identity of this old man, thetter was sizing Lucas up as well. ¡°As expected of Michael Hutton¡¯s son, you¡¯re indeed something,¡± the old man suddenly said. Lucas wasn¡¯t surprised that the old man knew his identity. Ever since the martial artspetition, many people had learned about Lucas¡¯s identity, and the reason these people in front of him came looking for him was clearly that they had already investigated his background. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lucas asked indifferently. The middle-aged man in front of him seemed rather interested as he praised with a smile, ¡°You really have character! ¡°Let me introduce myself first. My name is Oscar Smith, the Smiths who are one of the top eight families of DC. I¡¯m also one of the heirs to the future head of the Smiths. ¡°Vince Smith, who came to California and confronted youst time, is my cousin. ¡°Speaking of which, I really have to thank you. If you hadn¡¯t forced Vince to kneel in front of everyone and embarrassed the Smiths, the helmsman wouldn¡¯t have stripped him of his position as sessor. I probably wouldn¡¯t have gotten this great opportunity either!¡± Oscar spoke with a smile on the corners of his mouth. Those who didn¡¯t know him would probably think that he was nice and amiable. But in Lucas¡¯s eyes, Oscar was a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing. Lucas nced at Oscar calmly before saying coldly, ¡°Cut the crap. What¡¯s your motive?¡± He didn¡¯t intend to listen to Oscar¡¯s nonsense about the Smiths. Oscar¡¯s face immediately stiffened. He thought that since he was the sessor of the Smiths and now willing to look for Lucas personally, he was already showing him enough respect. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be so harsh and cold as to not take him seriously at all. He frowned slightly and then said with a smile, ¡°It seems that you¡¯re really anxious, so I won¡¯t beat around the bush. Vince may have disgraced my family, but he¡¯s still one of us and a direct descendant after all. ¡°You forcing him to kneel and admit his mistake in public is too disgraceful to my family. So naturally, the Smiths can¡¯t just pretend that nothing happened and let you off. ¡°So if you¡¯re now willing to hand me the control you have over all the forces in California and Oregon, I can represent the Smiths to forgive you for your previous transgression and give you a chance to serve the Smiths. ¡°What do you think of this proposal?¡± With a smile on his face, Oscar spoke as if this was a magnanimous offer to Lucas. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appealing.¡± Lucas smirked with contempt. If he had been afraid of the power of the Smiths previously, he wouldn¡¯t have confronted Vince and even forced him to kneel and apologize. This heir of the Smiths seemed to have also inherited the arrogance of the family. As soon as he arrived, he wanted to take control of California and Oregon. He even acted high and might as he said that he would give Lucas a chance to pledge allegiance. It was ridiculous. Lucas thought that after the Smiths abandoned Vince, they would select apetent sessor. But it turned out to be a mediocre person. He couldn¡¯t evenpare to Vince. Did the Smiths not have anyone better than this man to nurture? After hearing Lucas¡¯s refusal, Oscar narrowed his eyes and threatened, ¡°Kid, do you think you¡¯re in a position to negotiate with me? You only have two options! ¡°One, surrender control of the two states and bow down to the Smiths from now on. If you do so, I can guarantee you a lifetime of wealth and glory. Two, die here and use your life to wash away the shame you made the Smiths suffer!¡± Chapter 807 - I Choose Death

Chapter 807 I Choose Death

Lucas raised his eyebrows with a tinge of amusement. It wasn¡¯t his first time hearing such a threat. But whenever he saw these people threatening him seriously and forcing him to make a decision, he still found it amusing. Oscar looked at Lucas¡¯s expression and continued, ¡°I know you¡¯re great at martial arts, and I heard that you even defeated Julian York, one of the top ten in the Peerless Martial Association. But so what? ¡°The expert next to me is nicknamed Invincible Phantom Hands, and he¡¯s one of the top three powerhouses of the Smiths. Even in all of DC, very few people are his match, and even Julian York is far from being his match! ¡°Invincible Phantom Hands was protecting the helmsman previously. He¡¯s far superior to those small fries you¡¯ve dealt with before. I can have you killed with a single word! ¡°If you¡¯re smart enough, you should know what choice to make.¡± Oscar was full of confidence and arrogance, as if he was now the helmsman of the Smiths and could control Lucas¡¯s life at will. Lucas looked at him with amusement. ¡°Since you¡¯re here to see me, you should know why I made Vince Smith kneel down and apologize. ¡°You¡¯re actually repeating the same mistake. You¡¯re even more stupid than I imagined! ¡°I really wonder if the Smiths are out ofpetent family members. Is that why they sent someone like you?¡± Oscar flew into a rage. ¡°Don¡¯tpare me with that idiot Vince Smith! He¡¯s now been abandoned by the Smiths. I, on the other hand, am now the most valued person in the family! ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t have any top experts like the one I brought! Invincible Phantom Hands is famous in DC, and there¡¯s no way you¡¯re a match for him!¡± Lucas ignored what Oscar said and instead narrowed his eyes and looked carefully at the old man named Invincible Phantom Hands. The fact that this person could be one of the top three top powerhouses of the Smiths and was the personal guard of the Smiths¡¯ helmsman before, which was an extraordinary identity, was enough to show that he was indeed very powerful. Although this person was absolutely no match for him, Lucas believed that Invincible Phantom Hands should be a top martial artist even in DC. Yet this powerful expert was sent to protect someone like Oscar. Could Oscar Smith not be as ipetent as he appears on the surface but actually has other talents? But whether or not Oscar was a wastrel had nothing to do with Lucas because he didn¡¯t care about such things. Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his breath with Oscar any longer and directly turned around to leave. Seeing Lucas ignore him and want to leave, Oscar roared angrily, ¡°You¡­ Hey, stop right there!¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t made a choice between the two paths I just mentioned. You want to leave just like that?¡± Lucas turned around to look at him and sneered. ¡°In that case, you can assume that I chose the second option. I choose to die¡­ if you have the ability to kill me!¡± Lucas turned around once again and left. Lucas¡¯s choice had exceeded Oscar¡¯s expectations. ¡°Hey! Hold it right there! If you take one more step forward, I¡¯ll immediately have you killed!¡± Oscar shouted. Unfortunately, Lucas simply ignored him and quickly walked away without a trace. ¡°Invincible Phantom Hands, didn¡¯t you hear what I just said? Why didn¡¯t you stop him?¡± Oscar, who felt greatly humiliated, had nowhere to vent his anger and could only yell at the elderly expert beside him. ¡°My mission is only to protect your safety. Other matters are not within the scope my responsibilities,¡± Invincible Phantom Hands said coldly with his arms crossed. His words immediately made Oscar even more irritated. But Invincible Phantom Hands was indeed stating facts. He was the personal bodyguard of the Smiths¡¯ helmsman, and he hade to California this time with Oscar only to protect him. Given his current status, Oscar couldn¡¯t order him. ¡°Damn it! So damn annoying!¡± Oscar was so angry that he smashed his fist in the air and looked in the direction Lucas had disappeared. He swore furiously, ¡°Brat, since you chose to die, I won¡¯t give you an easy death!¡± On the other hand, Lucas ignored Oscar and Invincible Phantom Hands and walked straight home. As soon as he entered the house, Cheyenne, who had been waiting in the living room, immediately greeted him, sized Lucas up, and asked with concern, ¡°Honey, are you okay?¡± Cheyenne hadn¡¯t even changed her clothes and shoes. Instead, she was worried about Lucas and waiting for his return. Her waiting for him filled Lucas¡¯s heart with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Lucas held Cheyenne¡¯s hand and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s just a trivial matter. Your husband is verypetent!¡± Then he wrapped his arms around Cheyenne¡¯s waist and picked her up. ¡°Ah!¡± Cheyenne eximed and immediately wrapped her arms around Lucas¡¯s neck to maintain her bnce, her pretty face red. ¡°What are you doing? Quickly put me down. What if they see us?¡± Cheyenne said shyly. Lucas smiled and kissed Cheyenne¡¯s forehead. Then he carried her straight to the bathroom. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s wash up together!¡± The night passed quickly. The next morning, Lucas sent Cheyenne to the office and Amelia to the kindergarten as usual before driving to the Stardust Corporation and going to the chairman¡¯s office. Because the news that Lucas had won the martial artspetition two days ago and had be the overlord of California and Oregon had spread, there were numerouspanies and familiesing to the office to cooperate with the Stardust Corporation. As the general manager of thepany, Charlotte was as busy as a bee. Although thepany had already assigned a few assistants and secretaries to Charlotte, and she also had the help of various departments, there were many things that needed to be handed over to the general manager to decide on. Seeing that Charlotte was about to lose her mind, Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t leave her alone. He took the opportunity to help her handle some cooperation offers while in the office. After Charlotte presented some verified contracts to Lucas, she pped her forehead as she suddenly recalled something. ¡°Lucas, there¡¯s something really important I almost forgot to tell you! ¡°There¡¯s going to be and auction at Emerald International at ten this morning. One of the plots ofnd is near the Haven Manor, which belongs to Stardust Corporation. Would you like to acquire it?¡± Chapter 808 - Turn into a Cemetary

Chapter 808 Turn into a Cemetary

Haven Manor was a top-tier vi district developed by the Stardust Corporation and one of the best in Orange County at present. Lucas had thought about acquiring all thend around Haven Manor before, but these plots ofnd were not for sale previously, so he could only give up. Unexpectedly, one of them was about to be auctioned off now. ¡°Yes. The Stardust Corporation must get this plot ofnd!¡± Lucas said with certainty. Thend around Haven Manor was very suitable for constructing a new vi district or other facilities. ¡°But Lucas, we have too many cooperation orders to screen and approve now. I don¡¯t have time to handle this. Can you attend the auction at Emerald International?¡± Charlotte asked pitifully. She wanted to go to thend auction, but there were numerous contracts piling up in her hands, so she really didn¡¯t have the time to go. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go then,¡± Lucas naturally agreed. Charlotte handed an invitation letter to Lucas, who took it and read it. The venue was in the Emerald International Building, and the auction would begin at ten in the morning. It was already half past nine. Without dy, Lucas headed straight downstairs and drove toward Emerald International. About twenty minutester, he had already parked his ck Jaguar at the entrance of Emerald International. As soon as Lucas got out of his car, he saw two acquaintances walking out of a Porsche nearby. They were none other than Oscar Smith and the elite bodyguard he had brought with him, Invincible Phantom Hands. ¡°Lucas Gray? I didn¡¯t expect you toe too!¡± Oscar saw Lucas at a nce. A trace of surprise appeared on his face before it immediately darkened. ¡°Heh, you must be here for thend by the river too.¡± Thend opposite Haven Manor was right by a river. There was a river flowing through the area, so before the piece ofnd was officially sold, it was known as thend by the river. Lucas frowned slightly. Based on Oscar¡¯s behavior, Lucas thought that he was probably here for this plot ofnd too. co Lucas didn¡¯t say anything yet, but Oscar said, ¡°Hah, I¡¯ve already sent someone to investigate. The Haven Manor by the river is the property of the Stardust Corporation, which is owned by you, right? I heard that it¡¯s one of the top vi districts in Orange County, and thend prices there have been rising rapidly. Even the surroundingnd has had great fluctuations in prices. ¡°If I were you, I would keep an eye on this plot ofnd and link them together to maximize the value of thend! ¡°Unfortunately, your n is destined to fail because I¡¯ve already set my sights on this plot ofnd! ¡°Haha, but I won¡¯t be building vis there. Why don¡¯t you guess what I will do with thisnd?¡± A malicious smile appeared on Oscar¡¯s face. Lucas didn¡¯t want to pay any attention to him and simply wanted to leave. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go! Forget it. I¡¯ll be merciful and tell you! ¡°I¡¯m nning to build thergest cemetery in Orange County on thend opposite Haven Manor! ¡°Once the cemetery is built, do you think the prices of Haven Manor will still be stable? Hahahaha!¡± Oscarughed smugly. Hearing this, Lucas suddenly stopped. At this moment, he finally realized that Oscar was waiting for him here. As Oscar said, if he really acquired thend by the river and turned it into a cemetery, the prices of Haven Manor would definitely plummet, and the residents who had already bought vis there would protest or demand a full refund andpensation. The Stardust Corporation would also be greatly affected. Furthermore, most of the people who could purchase a home in such a top-tier vi district were definitely wealthy and influential. Once they expressed their displeasure and caused the matter to blow out of proportion, the consequences would be very serious. Oscar was obviously out to destroy the Haven Manor and strike the Stardust Corporation. Lucas finally discovered that Oscar indeed wasn¡¯t just an arrogant idiot. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes. ¡°No, no, no!¡± Seeing the anger on Lucas¡¯s face, Oscar raised a finger smugly and shook itnguidly. ¡°This isn¡¯t a threat but a teaser! ¡°Are you mad and upset? But it¡¯s useless! I¡¯m definitely taking thisnd!¡± ¡°Speaking of which, thisnd is surrounded by mountains and water, so it¡¯s the most suitable ce for building a public cemetery. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Before Lucas could say anything, Oscar continued, ¡°I have already investigated your situation. The Stardust Corporation has a good reputation, but you¡¯re only in charge of the branch in Orange County, and you can¡¯t draw much cash. a ¡°Even if you put together all your properties, you can probably gather only a couple hundred million dors. ¡°But I¡¯m different. I¡¯ve prepared four hundred million for this auction today! How can you defeat me? ¡°Just wait to cry on your knees in Haven Manor! Hahaha!¡± Oscar revealed his intentions and cards without hiding anything andughing in a rxed and smug manner. He was certain that even if Lucas knew about it, there was nothing he could do. Oscar had the support of the Smiths, one of the eight top families of DC, but Lucas had been abandoned by the Huttons. There was no way he couldpete against the Smiths! Looking at Oscar¡¯s viinous face, Lucas sneered. ¡°It seems you don¡¯t know that much about me! After talking so big, the person cryingter will be you!¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Oscar¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he felt a strange hunch that made his smile fade. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ll find out in a bit!¡± Lucas ignored him and stepped straight into the Emerald International Building. Chapter 809 - Pamela Appears

Chapter 809 Pam Appears

Lucas¡¯s appearance immediately sparked amotion in the auction hall. Ever since Lucas showed his skills at thepetition and became the overlord of California and Oregon with his undisputable strength, he had be a popr figure that everyone in California knew. Everyone qualified to be invited to the auction today was from a powerful and wealthy family in California, so they naturally knew Lucas. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect Mr. Gray, the overlord of two states, to show up too!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray, are you also interested in the plots ofnd being auctioned today? If you¡¯re also interested in the plot I have my sights on, I¡¯ll have to give up!¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure! Mr. Gray is now the overlord of two states. Who would be so blind as topete with him? Do they have a death wish?!¡± ¡°Hey, I just hope that Mr. Gray and I haven¡¯t taken a liking to the same plot ofnd. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have made a wasted trip!¡± All the people present were whispering among each other. But many people already seemed frustrated and dejected because they were extremely worried about the final result of the auction. But Lucas didn¡¯t care. He found an empty seat and sat down. His purpose ining here was to acquire thend by the river, and he wasn¡¯t interested in the other plots ofnd. Afterward, Oscar and Invincible Phantom Hands entered the auction venue. Since neither of them was from a top family in San Francisco, almost no one recognized them. They merely nced at them curiously before looking away. But before Oscar took his seat, he took a deep look at Lucas with confidence and menace. Lucas was indeed not easy to deal with, as he didn¡¯t ept any cajoling or threats. Since he dared to force Vince, the former sessor of the Smiths, to kneel on the floor and apologize in front of the top families of California, Lucas was clearly extremely courageous and had no scruples about the Smiths. So when Oscar came to California with the mission his family gave him, he deliberately brought the family¡¯s elite bodyguard, Invincible Phantom Hands, to protect him so as to avoid the humiliating and embarrassing incident that had happened to Vince. Oscar originally thought that Lucas would be scrupulous about a top bodyguard like Invincible Phantom Hands. But he actually had a calm and somewhat mocking expression, seemingly not taking Invincible Phantom Hands seriously. He was determined to make Lucas pay for his arrogance! ¡°Hello, Mr. Gray, we meet again!¡± Soon after Lucas sat down, a beautiful and ethereal figure appeared beside him and greeted him sweetly while stretching her fair hand out. Lucas raised his head and saw a beautiful face with supple skin. This ravishing beauty was Pam, Cheyenne¡¯s cousin, whom Lucas metst night. Before Lucas said anything, everyone eximed in amazement. ¡°What a beautiful woman! Which family is she from? Howe I¡¯ve never seen her before?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to be from Orange County. She¡¯s really gorgeous! I¡¯ve never seen such a beautiful woman!¡± ¡°I heard that Mr. Gray¡¯s wife was known as the most gorgeous beauty in Orange County! She shouldn¡¯t be any worse than this woman here! They¡¯re both breathtakingly beautiful!¡± ¡°But this woman has an impressive bodyguard following behind her, so she seems to be from a powerful family. I wonder if she¡¯s from California.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be great if we could find out her name and where she¡¯s fromter. Hehe!¡± Most of the people present were wealthy men, and most men were attracted to beautiful women. Pam¡¯s appearance immediately attracted the attention of many people and sparked numerous discussions. If not for the fact that this beautiful woman was standing beside Lucas and chatting with him, many suits would have likely surrounded Pam already. But now, they were too afraid to disturb Lucas. Lucas looked at Pam calmly before looking away and ignoring her outstretched hand. Pam felt a little awkward, and her outstretched hand began trembling slightly. Over the years, no one had ever been able to ignore her great beauty. But he was indeed worthy of being the man she was in love with because he was extraordinary and unlike other lustful men whose eyes were glued to pretty girls whenever they saw one. Pam pouted and asked aggrievedly with her pale fingers still outstretched, ¡°Mr. Gray, do you dislike me?¡± Pam looked extremely pitiful. Lucas looked at her expressionlessly and said indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t like the Howards.¡± Florence caused Lucas to loathe the Howards. Although the woman in front of him was indeed very beautiful and didn¡¯t have any feud with him, Lucas didn¡¯t want to have any contact with her because she was a Howard. Hearing Lucas finally answering her and saying he didn¡¯t have a personal grudge against her, Pam was overjoyed. It was great that the man she loved didn¡¯t hate her! With a faint smile, Pam withdrew her hand and sat down beside Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, if you have any bad impression of the Howards because of Florence Howard, it is too unfair to us! Florence Howard is Florence Howard. The Howards are the Howards. Mr. Gray, this isn¡¯t fair to us!¡± Lucas was slightly surprised to hear what Pam said because she actually referred to Florence by her name instead of ¡®aunt¡¯. Quite interesting. ¡°I won¡¯t hide it from you, Mr. Gray. My aunt and I came to California with the task of forming a good rtionship with the Master of California and to never make an enemy of you no matter what. ¡°However, my aunt took matters into her own hands and presumptuously offended you, Mr. Gray. ¡°But please believe me that this is definitely not the intentions of the Howards! So, Mr. Gray, it¡¯d be really unjust to us if you me us for Florence¡¯s misdeeds!¡± Pam wrinkled her nose aggrievedly. Lucas had to admit that a stunning beauty like Pam indeed managed to reduce his animosity toward the Howards with her aggrieved appearance and humble attitude. Chapter 810 - Bidding For Land Chapter 810 Bidding For Land In fact, if not for Florence creating so much trouble and even wanting to make use of Cheyenne, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have harbored such animosity toward the Howards. No matter what, the Howards were indeed blood-rted to Cheyenne. If possible, he naturally hoped to be on good terms with the Howards. This would not only be beneficial to Cheyenne but also give him more support when he went to DC in the future. Florence had ruined Lucas¡¯s impression of the Howards, but Pam¡¯s appearance seemed to have spurred him to want to salvage the rtionship between him and the Howards. Lucas smiled and suddenly asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Pam was stunned, but she soon felt disappointed. It turned out that... he didn¡¯t remember saving her a year ago. She had introduced herself to him yesterday, but unfortunately, he still didn¡¯t seem to remember her. ¡°My name is Pam Howard. You have to remember my name this time!¡± Pam perked up and smiled sweetly and delicately. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s fine if he¡¯s forgotten about me. We can make a fresh start. I must make Lucas remember me and fall in love with me! Lucas looked at Pam a little strangely before nodding. ¡°Got it.¡± A simple nod and answer from him immediately made Pam¡¯s face bloom like a flower, making her look exceptionally beautiful. This simple response was enough to show that Lucas¡¯s attitude toward her and the Howards had mellowed down and that he would remember her name. She believed that as long as she continued to work hard, she would definitely be able to build a good rtionship with him. While the two of them were having a brief exchange, Oscar recognized Pam and pulled a long face. He didn¡¯t expect the Howards to show up in California at this time and interact with Lucas. Although the Howards and the Smiths were among the eight top families of DC, they didn¡¯t have a good rtionship, and there were conflicts from time to time. Oscar hade to California under the orders of the Smith¡¯s helmsman to find a way to deal with Lucas so that they could take control of California and Oregon. The Howards might be after this too. Seeing Pam smiling beside Lucas, Oscar concluded that the Howards were tempting Lucas with a beauty. He cursed them for being despicable. Soon, it was ten o¡¯clock, and the auction officially began. The auctioneer brought a huge sand table to the front of the auction stage and started the auction while exining the location and size of every plot ofnd. There were seven plots ofnd today, distributed across the urban and suburban areas of Orange County. At the beginning, all the participants of the auction were still a little anxious, and from time to time, they turned to look at Lucas. But after seeing Lucas not speaking during the auction of the first few plots ofnd, they sighed in relief and began bidding freely. Land auctions were rare but excellent for the wealthy these days. CO As long as they could sessfully win a good plot ofnd and develop it well, they would definitely rake in huge profits. Of course, if the bids were too high, the profits would end up being too low, and they might even incur losses. The numerous people present were almost all old and experienced businessmen. So each round of bidding was very intense, and the final prices were basically within their expectations. ¡°Okay, next, we¡¯re going to bid for the finale of this auction. Its listing number is 2020-S-1031. This plot ofnd is located on the west bank of the Sierra River, and its size is about 9,865 square meters. The prices of the surroundingnd are also rather high, so the starting bid for thisnd is thirty-five million dors! ¡°Those interested in thisnd may begin bidding!¡± The auctioneer was a middle-aged man in his fifties who was slightly rotund. He was holding up the microphone and shouting. ¡°Thirty-five million dors!¡± ¡°Forty million!¡± ¡°Forty-five million!¡± ¡°Fifty million!¡± Almost as soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, countless people raised their bid cards and began to bidpetitively. The price soared. Of course, although the price was getting higher and higher, the number of bidders gradually decreased. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy to decide on something worth tens of millions. ¡°Eighty million!¡± Someone ced this bid. Afterward, the other two people bidding against him fell silent and didn¡¯t continue cing higher bids. Clearly, this price had really reached the maximum budget of many. If the price exceeded this amount, their profit margin would be too low. ¡°Okay, the currency price is eighty million dors! Is there any higher bid?!¡± the auctioneer eximed excitedly. ¡°Eighty million dors, going once! ¡°Eighty million dors, going twice! ¡°Eighty million dors, going thrice¡ª¡± Just as the auctioneer was about to announce the bid for the third time to finalize the auction, a cold voice suddenly sounded. ¡°Eighty-one million dors!¡± Everyone immediately looked at the person bidding The joy on the face of the middle-aged man who thought he had sessfully won the auction immediately stiffened. With anger all over his face, he was about to see who had suddenly foiled his ns, only to see that it was a young man. ¡°Uh... so, it¡¯s Mr. Gray bidding on thisnd. Of course, I¡¯ll give up. Haha!¡± The expression on this middle-aged man¡¯s face immediately turned from fury to delight as he stretched out a hand palm up toward Lucas and smiled. Who was Lucas? He was the new ruler of two states, and more than a hundred top families had pledged allegiance to him. Who would dare to vie with him fornd? The reason Lucas waited until this time to ce his bid was not because he wanted to deliberately snatch it from someone else at thest moment but because he didn¡¯t want to ruin the auction price. If he had started bidding when the price was only forty million dors, no one would bid against him. Winning the auction at a low price would be too overbearing of him, and this wasn¡¯t something Lucas wanted to see. ¡°Mr. Gray, congrattions on acquiring this plot ofnd today for eighty-one million dors!¡± ¡°Haha, this small plot ofnd is exactly opposite Haven Manor, which belongs to Mr. Gray. Since they¡¯re adjacent, thisnd should rightfully belong to Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The most suitable owner of thisnd is Mr. Gray!¡± All of the surrounding wealthy and powerful people gave Lucas their well wishes and congrattions. But suddenly, an extremely discordant voice rang out in the auction hall. ¡°Who said thisnd is his? I¡¯m bidding one hundred and fifty million!¡± Chapter 811 - Three Godly Figures

Chapter 811 Three Godly Figures

Everyone was shocked! Everyone widened their eyes as they looked at the middle-aged man sitting in the middle. Everyone in the room knew Lucas¡¯s identity, but no one thought that anyone would dare to openly vie with Lucas for thend! Besides, Lucas¡¯s bid was 81 million dors, yet this person actually bid 150 million dors, which was almost double Lucas¡¯s bid. At this price, it was basically very difficult to profit from thisnd. ¡­ Unless this person¡¯s motive was just to go against Lucas! This person was naturally Oscar, who had already made up his mind to vie with Lucas for this plot ofnd. But to the various top families of Orange County, he was just a stranger. ¡°Damn it. Which fool is bidding? How dare he go against Mr. Gray? He must be tired of living!¡± ¡°Yeah, Mr. Gray is the overlord of two states. Who is so audacious as to go against him openly?¡± ¡°Quickly look there. It¡¯s him. I haven¡¯t seen him before. Do you know who he is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s probably from another state, and he definitely doesn¡¯t know Mr. Gray¡¯s identity. That¡¯s why he¡¯s foolishly vying with Mr. Gray! Tsk, tsk, who knows where he got his invitation from!¡± ¡°Haha, he¡¯s going to be in trouble for offending Mr. Gray. He¡¯s going to cryter!¡± The people in the room began mocking Oscar one after another. Pam seemed to be gloating as if she was watching an interesting show. She even looked at Oscar with sympathy as if she was looking at a dead person. Lucas definitely wasn¡¯t a pushover who would let anyone walk all over him. She reckoned that the Smiths must have instructed Oscar to confront Lucas. After all, in DC, it was no longer a secret that Vince Smith had been forced to kneel and apologize by Lucas. However, Oscar was undoubtedly courting death andpletely destroying any possibility of reconciliation between the Smiths and Lucas. Lucas wouldn¡¯t be merciful to a family that repeatedly offended him. Oscar ignored the surrounding gazes as he remained sitting and asked smugly, ¡°Lucas Gray, if you change your mind now and decide to submit to the Smiths, I can give you another opportunity and give you thisnd as a gift. How about it?¡± Lucas sneered. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to speak to Oscar. But while Lucas didn¡¯t say anything, the people from California couldn¡¯t sit still anymore as they burst intoughter after hearing what Oscar said. ¡°Hahahaha, this is hrious. This fool is actually demanding that Mr. Gray pledges allegiance to him? How ridiculous!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray is the overlord of California and Oregon. Who in this world can make him submit? This person is dreaming!¡± ¡°Who on earth is this fool? He said that hisst name is Smith. Is there a wealthy Smith family in California?¡± ¡°No, no, he¡¯s probably from one of the eight top families in DC! Shut up, everyone!¡± ¡°W-what? The Smiths of the eight top families of DC?¡± At first, these people from powerful families wereughing at Oscar¡¯s overestimation of his own abilities. But when someone guessed that Oscar was from the Smiths of the eight top families of DC, those mocking him immediately had their jaws drop and began shivering and sweating. The reason they spoke just now was to please Lucas. But when they knew that the person they mocked was a big shot from one of the eight top families, they were instantly frightened and wanted to shove their words back into their mouths. The two big shots were having a showdown! They could no longer be involved in who won and obtained thend in the end. Just as Lucas narrowed his eyes and was about to ce another bid, Pam suddenly beat him to it and raised the bidding card in her hand. ¡°Three hundred million!¡± Everyone was in an uproar! Pam¡¯s bid was twice Oscar¡¯s! The starting price of over 35 million dors for a piece ofnd has now increased multiple times to 300 million dors. It was simply crazy! ¡°Oh my God! Who is she? This beautiful woman even offered three hundred million in one breath. This is too amazing!¡± ¡°Three hundred million! I¡¯m going to have a heart attack! I¡¯ve never seen three hundred million dors in cash in my life! But this piece ofnd¡­ will definitely incur losses at a price of three hundred million!¡± ¡°This¡­ It was originally two big shots fighting, and now another one has appeared. This level ofpetition is simply not something we¡¯re qualified to attend!¡± The auction hall was noisy and boisterous, and the slightly chubby auctioneer fell into a frenzy of excitement because of the sudden sky-high prices. His voice even broke as he said, ¡°Three hundred million! This beautifuldy has bid three hundred million! Does anyone want to bid higher?¡± Oscar¡¯s face was so gloomy and sullen that the veins on his forehead were bursting out as his fingers tightly gripped the armrest of his chair. He wanted to snatch thend from Lucas¡¯s hand and use it to attack Lucas and hispany. In his prediction, Lucas could at most put together a hundred and fifty million dors or so, which was iparable to his financial power. He nned to use the Smiths¡¯ financial strength to suppress Lucas and take thend by the river to build thergest cemetery in Orange County so as to force Lucas to bow down to him and the Smiths. But at this time, the woman from the Howards actually jumped out and intervened! ¡°Hmph, does the Howard family want to get involved too?¡± A trace of ruthless menace appeared in Oscar¡¯s eyes as he stared at Pam. But Pam smiled radiantly and said, ¡°Uncle Oscar, it¡¯s not right for you to say that. This is an auction where all participants have the right to bid. You can¡¯t forbid the Howards from bidding.¡± Oscar shot her a look of abhorrence and warned, ¡°Don¡¯t give me that smile! I advise you not to get involved in this mess!¡± ¡°Uncle Oscard, are you scared?¡± Pam was not afraid of Oscar¡¯s threat at all and provoked him. ¡°If you¡¯re afraid and don¡¯t dare to bid against me, you should quit!¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Oscar sneered and raised the bidding card in his hand. ¡°Three hundred and one million!¡± Chapter 812 - On Fire

Chapter 812 On Fire

Of course, Oscar wasn¡¯t willing to lose the bid to Pam, a young girl. It would be too embarrassing. But he wasn¡¯t that generous either. He had merely bid a million dors more than Pam did. Pam immediately covered her mouth andughed. ¡°Uncle Oscar, you¡¯re so miserly. You bid almost double the previous bid just now and increased the price by nearly seventy million dors! I just learned from you and bid double your bid. Anyway, the Howards are rich enough to y this game. ¡°But you don¡¯t seem to be in the right state now. You added only a million dors. Isn¡¯t that embarrassing to the Smiths? If the Smiths don¡¯t have enough money, you¡¯d better withdraw sooner and stoppeting with me!¡± Pam¡¯s tone was full of contempt and mockery. How could Oscar stand being mocked by such a young girl? In particr, the Smiths could never lose to the Howards! ¡°You actually said that the Smiths are poor. Hmph!¡± Oscar raised his bidding card and shouted, ¡°I bid thirty hundred and fifty million dors!¡± After cing his bid, he looked at Pam provocatively, only to see a trace of contempt in her eyes. Oscar immediately felt an ominous hunch and some regret. He had been too impulsive just now! This time, he had prepared only 300 million dors, which was the biggest financial support his family could give him. But he had just bid 350 million dors. Where was he supposed to find 50 million dors? He had wanted to force Lucas at first, but he didn¡¯t expect Pam to get involved, causing things to change drastically. Lucas, whom he should have attacked, was sitting in his chair with a rxed expression like a spectator watching a show. This made the feeling of displeasure in Oscar¡¯s heart even stronger. ¡°Okay, now the price for this plot ofnd has reached three hundred and fifty million dors! ¡°Is there a higher bid than this?¡± The auctioneer was so excited that his face was red, and his voice was extremely loud. Three hundred and fifty million dors was definitely a staggering price fornd. Themission he would get as the auctioneer would be enough tost him a lifetime! Given how high the price was, there was naturally no one daring to bid higher, including Pam, who had just bid against Oscar. She was now sitting without any intention of continuing to raise her card. ¡°Girl, weren¡¯t you justpeting with us Smiths and saying that you Howards are rich? Why aren¡¯t you bidding anymore?¡± Oscar said to Pam provocatively while suppressing his panic. Pam tilted her head and showed a girly and mischievous smile. ¡°Uncle Oscar, please don¡¯t take what I just said to heart! I¡¯m just a young girl. How can I possibly make decisions about so much money for the Smiths? ¡°I¡¯m not like you, Uncle Oscar. You¡¯re already one of the sessors of the Smiths, and you might even be able to take charge of the whole Smith family in the future. All you need to do is say something, and your family¡¯s billions of dors will be at your disposal. You¡¯ll be able to use the money as you please. I can¡¯tpare to you at all!¡± Pam¡¯s words were full of hidden mockery and sarcasm, making Oscar even more furious. At the same time, the ominous hunch in his heart became increasingly intense, causing him to break out in cold sweat. ¡°Wh-what do you mean by that? Do you not want to continue bidding? Or is it that the Howards are admitting defeat?¡± Oscar suppressed the panic in his heart and sneered at Pam. ¡°Haha, Uncle Oscar, I told you. I was just joking with you. How can I possibly dare topete against you for thisnd? ¡°I¡¯m just a weak woman of the Howards, and I don¡¯t have any right over the family¡¯s money. It¡¯s naturally impossible for me to spend so much money. If you want topete with the Howards, wouldn¡¯t it be more appropriate for you to go to my father and grandfather?¡± Pam tilted her head and smiled slyly. Her words almost drove Oscar to his grave! He had initially bid 150 million dors just to force Lucas to admit defeat and bow down to the Smiths. But Pam actually jumped out all of a sudden and bid 300 million dors, only to say that she was just joking! If this matter spread back to DC, and his family members learned that he had been fooled by a girl from the Howard family, his reputation would bepletely ruined. The Smiths had always valued their reputation. After Vince was forced to kneel down and apologize to Lucas, the Smiths had already been embarrassed, so much so that he lost his position as a sessor. And now, the fact that he was fooled by a young girl was just as embarrassing, and he was certain that the Smiths wouldn¡¯t forgive him! After Pam provoked him, he had impulsively bid 350 million dors, but he only had 300 million dors in total. There was no way he could make up for the remaining 50 million. If no one else bid, he would definitely have to proceed with buying thend for 350 million dors. Once he failed to get enough money to buy it, it would be even more embarrassing. Beads of sweat gushed out of Oscar¡¯s body one after another. He turned pale, and he even started swaying unsteadily as if he was about to die. ¡°Hey, Uncle Oscar, what¡¯s the matter with you? You don¡¯t seem veryfortable. Are you sick?¡± Pam looked at Oscar and pretended to be surprised. ¡°But Uncle Oscar, you were fine just now. Did you suddenly fall ill? Ah, that¡¯s terrible. Your family will be worried sick when they find out. ¡°Wait, Uncle Smith, why do you look even more awful now? Do you want to hide this matter from your family? That¡¯s strange! ¡°Could it be that it¡¯s not because you¡¯re sick but because you can¡¯t afford to take out the three hundred and fifty million dors you bid? ¡°Ah, if that¡¯s the case, it¡¯ll be horrible! If you really can¡¯t afford it, it¡¯ll be such an embarrassment to the Smiths! I¡¯m afraid they might strip you of your position as a sessor too. That would be terrible!¡± Pam seemed to be dead bent on driving him mad as she spoke sarcastically. Oscar¡¯s face was flushed, and he was panting so heavily that the veins on his forehead were bulging. He clenched his fists tightly. Pam was driving him mad. Although this was what he really thought, he was still infuriated that a malicious young girl was calling him out in public. ¡°Shut up!¡± Oscar roared at Pam before turning to face Lucas. He snapped furiously, ¡°Punk, weren¡¯t you very arrogant earlier? Didn¡¯t you say that you would fight with me for thisnd? Why are you being cowardly now? ¡°Is that all you¡¯re capable of? Do you have to hide behind a woman because you don¡¯t even dare to bid against me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already bid. If you don¡¯t dare to beat my bid, just surrender to the Smiths! What kind of an overlord do you think you are? ¡°Don¡¯t forget. Once I win the auction for thisnd, I¡¯ll build Orange County¡¯srgest cemetery on it. When the timees, I¡¯ll see what you can do!¡± Oscar yelled at Lucas to goad him into bidding. As long as Lucas¡¯s bid was a little bit higher than his, he would immediately give up bidding and put all the pressure on Lucas instead. But Lucas merely sneered. ¡°Instead of trying to goad me, you¡¯d better worry about how to take out three hundred and fifty million dors!¡± Chapter 813 - Settled With a knock off the Gavel Chapter 813 Settled With a knock off the Gavel A look of despair appeared on Oscar¡¯s face. He never expected that Lucas would rather be mocked by him than take over this troublesome matter! What could he do now? ¡°Is anyone else bidding a higher price for this plot ofnd? ¡°The highest bid now is three hundred and fifty million dors. Three hundred and fifty million, going once! ¡°Three hundred and fifty million, going twice!¡± The auctioneer didn¡¯t care about their arguing at all. He raised the auction gavel in his hand enthusiastically. Oscar looked so sullen at the moment that aghast was not enough to describe his expression. He appeared extremely nervous, and he was sweating profusely. In fact, he was panic-stricken. He had always prided himself on being the smartest person in the Smith family. After learning that Vince was stripped of his position as the family¡¯s sessor because he had embarrassed the family, Oscar had been feeling extremely smug. He even assumed that he was already set to be the future helmsman of the Smiths. But he had bid 350 million dors now, and if he couldn¡¯te up with the money, the Smiths would definitely remove him as a sessor for embarrassing the family! But regardless of how unwilling he was, the gavel in the auctioneer¡¯s eventually fell! ¡°Three hundred and fifty million, going thrice!¡± Smack! With the sound of the gavel, it meant that this auction was officially set in stone and could no longer be changed! The auctioneer, whose face was flushed, shouted agitatedly, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s congratte today¡¯s winner, Mr. Smith! Congrattions to Mr. Smith for sessfully winning the auction for thend by the river at a price of three hundred and fifty million dors! Congrattions!¡± ¡°Congrattions!¡± ¡°Three hundred and fifty million is a sky-high price!¡± ¡°As expected of one of the Smiths of DC, how wealthy and powerful. Impressive!¡± Everyone apuded and congratted Oscar. But many of them were looking at him like he was a fool. Although thend by the Sierra River was good, the total area was less than 10,000 square meters, and the actual usable area was even smaller. Yet he spent 350 million dors on it. Regardless of what he used it for, it would definitely incur losses! Even if he built another Haven Manor, he wouldn¡¯t be able to recoup his various investments and construction costs. Moreover, Oscar had said that he would use thend as a public cemetery. It was a huge waste that was akin to throwing away 350 million dors. The Smiths were probably the only ones who would have such a wastrel of an heir! Despite being surrounded by people congratting him, Oscar didn¡¯t process a single word they said but instead remained sitting limply. He had only wanted to force Lucas topromise and surrender to him, which was why he had wanted to snatch thend from him and provoked him by saying he would build a cemetery on it. But he didn¡¯t expect to end upnding himself in trouble! ¡°Uncle Oscar, you are really courageous. It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re a Smith! It¡¯s really rare for anyone to be so generous as to spend three hundred and fifty million dors on a plot ofnd in a ce like Orange County! ¡°If word of this gets back to DC, I¡¯m afraid many people will envy the Smiths¡¯ financial power. ¡°But frankly speaking, I wouldn¡¯t dare to do such a thing because I¡¯d be afraid of people thinking that I¡¯m out of my mind for spending so much money on a plot ofnd in this county. I¡¯m not as thick-skinned as you are, Uncle Oscar! ¡°But I just don¡¯t know what the helmsman and the other members of the Smiths will think after hearing about this. Haha, what do you think, Uncle Oscar?¡± Despite smiling, Pam was kicking Oscar when he was down and rubbing salt into his wound. Oscar¡¯s face turned darker with every word she said. Her words were like knives stabbing his heart. Infuriated, Oscar suddenly stood up and yelled at Pam, ¡°Shut up! Shut up! ¡°It¡¯s all your fault for creating trouble, you little bitch. Yet you¡¯re still being sarcastic to me. If you dare to utter another word, I will immediately get someone to strip you naked and show you to the public!¡± He was now extremely annoyed and furious at Pam. The moment he spoke, he issued a vicious threat. ¡°You... you...¡± Pam was exasperated. No matter what, she was only a young woman of 25 years old. She turned beet red in embarrassment after being humiliated and threatened in public. At this moment, the auctioneer walked over and asked cautiously, ¡°Mr. Smith, since you¡¯ve won the auction for thisnd, may I ask... how you would like to pay for it?¡± Although he now knew that Oscar was a member of the Smiths in DC, after hearing his conversation with the stunning beauty, the auctioneer felt rather worried. If Oscar won the auction but wasn¡¯t willing to pay, things would get tricky. Oscar was in a terrible mood right now. After the auctioneer asked him this question, he immediately snapped in annoyance, ¡°This auction isn¡¯t valid!¡± He pointed at Pam and cursed angrily, ¡°It¡¯s all this little bitch¡¯s fault. If she hadn¡¯t deliberately bid up the price, I wouldn¡¯t have ced this bid! This auction doesn¡¯t count at all!¡± Oscar¡¯s brazen words immediately caused everyone around him to be in disbelief. He¡¯s going back on his words? Is he joking? They began to wonder if this person in front of them was really the future sessor of the Smiths, one of the eight great families of DC. ¡°Haha, this is really funny!¡± Pam sneered. ¡°It¡¯s an embarrassment to the Smiths to have a sessor like you! ¡°Auctions are all fair bidding. If you think I deliberately bid up the price, you could have chosen not to bid after me! ¡°The person who bid three hundred and fifty million is you. No one held you at gunpoint and forced you to ce that bid.¡± Oscar said angrily, ¡°You just admitted yourself that you don¡¯t have the money on hand, nor do you have the right to use the Howards¡¯ assets. Yet you still bid three hundred million. Weren¡¯t you deliberately raising the price?¡± Refusing to give in, Pam retorted, ¡°I did bid three hundred million. But if you thought that what I did wasn¡¯t right and you couldn¡¯t afford it, you shouldn¡¯t have bid more than me! At that time, it would have been my problem whether or not I could afford it. It would have had nothing to do with you. ¡°But you insisted onpeting with me, or rather, you insisted on trumping the Howards, so you bid three hundred and fifty million. Is it my fault?¡± ¡°ording to your logic, in the future, no one should bid against you in any auctions that you¡¯re participating in. You should be the only one bidding. Otherwise, everyone else will be raising prices on purpose! ¡°Also, whenever the Smiths bid high prices to pressure others but can¡¯t afford to pay, they can also invalidate the auction by using others of raising prices on purpose, huh? ¡°I must tell my father and grandfather, as well as other families in DC, about this so that they can judge if the Smiths have the right to change the rules of auctions at will! Pam was sharp-tongued, and her words struck a sour note in Oscar. It was almost as if she was scolding him for ming others for his act of stupidity. Oscar was so enraged that he was about to lose his mind. ¡°Bitch, you¡¯re courting death! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t dare to deal with you!¡± Pam wasn¡¯t afraid. ¡°What do you want? If you dare to touch me, my grandfather will definitely not let you off!¡± ¡°Hmph, as long as I don¡¯t kill you, what can your grandfather do to me? Are the Smiths afraid of the Howards?¡± Oscar said sinisterly while staring at Pam¡¯s pretty face and svelte figure. All of a sudden, there was malice all over his face. ¡°I¡¯m going to strip you naked here and show everyone the most beautiful side of a woman from the Howard family! Hehe, would your grandfather dare to make a fuss and bring this matter up again? ¡°Invincible Phantom Hands, go strip this woman naked. Fully naked!¡± With Oscar¡¯s order, Invincible Phantom Hands, who was standing behind him, immediately rushed toward Pam! Chapter 814 - The Only Turning Point

Chapter 814 The Only Turning Point

Pam was astonished, and her bodyguard immediately charged out in a bid to stop Invincible Phantom Hands. But the bodyguard that she brought was only an ordinary expert, and he was no match for Invincible Phantom Hands. He was flung out after an exchange. Whoosh! Pam looked extremely uneasy and immediately grabbed Lucas¡¯s arm. In her opinion, Lucas was her Prince Charming, her savior, and he could definitely save her! Lucas looked down at the person grabbing his arm tightly and said indifferently, ¡°Hello.¡± Pam raised his head with a nervous and pleading look on her face. ¡°Help¡­ help me, Lucas!¡± ¡°¡­ If you promise me one thing, I can help you solve the trouble you¡¯re facing,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Okay, I promise!¡± Pam immediately agreed without thinking or asking what Lucas wanted of her. ¡°As long as you help me solve the trouble, I¡¯ll agree to¡­ anything!¡± Pam thought of something and began blushing shyly. Seeing Lucas step forward and stand in front of Pam, everyone revealed a trace of puzzlement on their faces. Is Mr. Gray¡­ going to confront the Smiths, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, for the sake of this beautiful woman? With a threatening look, Oscar snapped, ¡°Kid, are you trying to save the damsel in distress? This is a fight between the Smiths and the Howards. Are you sure you want to intervene?¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Aren¡¯t I the person you wanted to deal with the most in the first ce? I¡¯ll give you a chance. If you leave Orange County with your people right now, I can spare your life. Otherwise, you¡¯ll never leave Orange County again!¡± It was a threat! A tant threat! Everyone in the auction venue was shocked. After a brief moment of dead silence, they got into an uproar. ¡°Impressive! As expected of Mr. Gray, the Master of California. He¡¯s so domineering! He doesn¡¯t even take the eight top families of DC seriously!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray has never taken the Smiths seriously. Have you guys forgotten how he had the guts to force Vince Smith to kneel and apologize in public before he even became the Master of California? He even chased him out of California. Now that Mr. Gray is the overlord of our two states, he¡¯s only going to be even more dauntless!¡± ¡°However¡­ the Smiths are still one of the eight great giants of DC after all. They¡¯re a true hegemon. Will Mr. Gray cause a disaster by offending them?¡± Most of the people attending the auction were from the powerful families in California, and the majority of them appreciated Lucas¡¯s domineering spirit. But there was also a small number of people who felt worried. After all, Lucas was dealing with the Smiths of DC! Oscar was utterly infuriated by what Lucas said. His face turned red, and his entire body felt like it was burning with a raging fire. He clenched his fists and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Brat, it seems that you won¡¯t know what death is if I don¡¯t teach you a lesson! ¡°Invincible Phantom Hands, since this punk is so disrespectful to the Smiths, then grant him his death wish!¡± Oscar said to Invincible Phantom Hands, who was in front of him. But Invincible Phantom Hands didn¡¯t follow his order and immediately attack Lucas. Instead, he stood in front of Lucas and looked at him cautiously. Invincible Phantom Hands wasn¡¯t a fool like Oscar, who wasn¡¯t proficient in martial arts. Although Lucas was just standing there indifferently, he felt the aura unique to top-level powerhouses from Lucas¡¯s body. Although the young man in front of him was only in his twenties, he had impressive battle records. He had first forced the Smiths¡¯ expert protecting Vince into retreating and then defeated Julian York, an expert from the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters. He then went on to be the overlord of two states. If he really had to face Lucas, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could kill him. It was even hard to say who would win and who would lose. ¡°Punk, the Smiths aren¡¯t people you can mess with, so you¡¯d better not poke your nose too far! Otherwise, you¡¯ll bring a huge disaster upon yourself,¡± Invincible Phantom Hands said with a grim expression. If he could, he wanted to try to convince Lucas without fighting him. ¡°Invincible Phantom Hands, don¡¯t waste your breath on saying so much nonsense with him! I told you to take him down immediately. Didn¡¯t you hear me? ¡°If you don¡¯t, I will call the helmsman immediately!¡± Oscar hollered furiously. He was about to burn with rage. First, Lucas and Pam had provoked him one after another, and he had just done something foolish and embarrassing. No matter what, he had to defeat Lucas immediately to get his pride back, instead of talking to him! Hearing this, Invincible Phantom Hands merely sighed before charging at Lucas. Although it was true that he only needed to be responsible for protecting Oscar¡¯s safety, the image of the Smiths was now greatly affected, so he had to obey Oscar¡¯s order. With a drastic change of expression, Pam blurted, ¡°Lucas, watch out!¡± Although she had long known that Lucas was powerful¡ªhe was her beloved man after all ¡ª she knew Invincible Phantom Hands¡¯ reputation well. He was indeed a tough opponent for Lucas, and she didn¡¯t know if Lucas could defeat him. The other people in the auction hall hurriedly retreated toward the corners of the venue when they realized that a fight was about to break out, leaving arge open space in the middle, lest they were affected in the process. Lucas was indeed powerful, but the powerhouse of the Smiths was just as impressive. Once they fought, ordinary people wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it. ¡°Hahahaha, Invincible Phantom Hands, kill him! Once this bastard dies, California and Oregon will belong to the Smiths!¡± Oscar guffawed menacingly. It was his only shot at regaining his lost pride! As long as Lucas died, he could use Invincible Phantom Hands to deter the top families of California. At that time, the disgraceful matter he had just done impulsively¡ªbidding for a plot ofnd at a staggering price but being unable to pay for it-wouldn¡¯t be spread around, let alone be discovered by his family in DC. Otherwise, once they found out, he would probably suffer the same fate as Vince. Thus, the matter would be solved once Lucas died! Seeing that Invincible Phantom Hands had already rushed to Lucas¡¯s front and was about to swing his fist at Lucas, who was still standing still without reacting, Oscar couldn¡¯t helpughing ¡°Haha, what bullshit overlord of two states? Your reputation is just people blowing¡ª¡± Before Oscar could finish, his pupils constricted, and astonishment appeared on his face. A second before Invincible Phantom Hands was about to strike, Lucas suddenly raised his foot and violently kicked thetter in the chest! Bang! Chapter 815 - I Want To Shame Him Chapter 815 I Want To Shame Him Invincible Phantom Hands was kicked far away by the massive force and knocked over several tables and chairs before finally rolling across the floor in a wretched state. Even Julian, the top expert from the Peerless Martial Association who had killed two experts on the arena, was no match for Lucas, so it was no surprise that the Smiths¡¯ expert was no match for Lucas. The only person at the scene who was extremely shocked was naturally Oscar. He never thought that Invincible Phantom Hands, his grandfather¡¯s personal bodyguard and one of the top three experts of the Smiths, would be kicked far away and defeated by Lucas in one move! Are Lucas Gray¡¯s martial arts skills already so terrifying? ¡°You just said that you wanted someone to kill me, right?¡± Lucas retracted his leg and walked toward Oscar one step at a time. It was as if he was stepping directly on Oscar¡¯s heart one foot after another. Oscar was no longer as arrogant as before. He was sweating profusely as he hurriedly retreated backward. He warned sternly, ¡°You¡­ Don¡¯te over! I-I¡¯m¡­ the future sessor of the Smiths. If you dare to do anything to me, the Smiths won¡¯t spare you! ¡°You¡­ Stop! Don¡¯t move any farther!¡± he shouted frantically while backing away in a panic. Unfortunately, there were many tables and chairs set up in the venue. In a panic, Oscar tripped over the leg of a chair and fell to the floor in a disheveled state. The shock and fear on his face were even more obvious. But why would Lucas listen to him? As Lucas approached him step by step, Oscar was on the verge of a breakdown. ¡°I-Invincible Phantom Hands, hurry up and will be the first one that family won¡¯t let go!¡± Oscar screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice almost cracking. Invincible Phantom Hands, who had already been kicked to the corner of the auction venue, clutched his chest and endured the excruciating paining from within as he struggled to get up from the floor and shield Oscar behind him. Invincible Phantom Hands stared at Lucas and said with great difficulty, ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡­ you¡¯d better think about this carefully. If you really harm him, the Smiths will fight Lucas looked at them expressionlessly. ¡°You wanted to kill me first. You should have long expected what would happen when you¡¯re inferior to others.¡± Invincible Phantom Hands was speechless. Although he had heard from Vince and the Smiths¡¯ bodyguard just how impressive Lucas was, he hadn¡¯t cared. In fact, after hearing that Lucas had defeated and killed Julian York, Invincible Phantom Hands felt that Lucas must have used some despicable means. But now that he truly fought Lucas, he finally realized that the power gap between experts could be worlds apart! Lucas¡¯s kick earlier had been extremely fast. He had only caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye before he could react in time and was kicked far, far away. If not for the fact that he had trained his bones to be flexible and strong for decades, allowing him to be much more resistant to beatings than ordinary people, Lucas¡¯s kick would have made him terribly injured and unable to get up. Although Lucas was young, he was indeed a top powerhouse who was rare toe by! ¡°Even then, I must stop you!¡± Invincible Phantom Hands gritted his teeth and charged toward Lucas with all his might. Bang! Lucas kicked Invincible Phantom Hands in his gut. Although Invincible Phantom Hands was already mentally prepared this time, he still didn¡¯t manage to block Lucas¡¯s kick and was sent flying far away! Oscar watched everything with a dumbfounded expression, unable to believe the facts before his eyes. Invincible Phantom Hands was one of the Smiths¡¯ most powerful experts, but he was sent flying twice by Lucas¡¯s kicks, unable to retaliate at all! Lucas was probably even stronger than the Smiths¡¯ most powerful expert. Oscar¡¯s teeth started chattering, and he was full of remorse. If he had known that Lucas was so strong, he would have used a different method right from the beginning instead of opting for such a rough and crude approach just because he had the support of the family¡¯s expert. I should have used a gentler and smarter way to deal with Lucas¡­ ¡°Watch out!!¡± While Oscar was letting his imagination run wild, Invincible Phantom Hands, on the floor at the side, suddenly shouted to warm him. Oscar snapped back to his senses and raised his hand, only to see Lucas¡¯s terrifying figure appearing in front of him like a demon. The next second, Lucas lifted Oscar up by his cor. Before he even had the time to panic and ask Lucas what he was going to do to him¡­ Smack! A loud pnded on Oscar¡¯s face mercilessly! Oscar¡¯s head cocked to the side, and a bright red p appeared on his face. Everyone in the auction venue watched the scene in shock,pletely dumbfounded. They never thought that Lucas would actually p Oscar¡¯s face so hard! Oscar was so furious that he was about to lose his mind. He had lived for decades, but he had never been shamed in public like this before! It was a huge insult to him! ¡°You¡­ How dare you¡­ Ah!!¡± But before he could finish, Lucas pped him again! Smack! Smack! Smack! Lucas kept a straight face and pped Oscar like he was a pping machine. After more than ten ps, Oscar¡¯s face became swollen. Blood was flowing from his mouth, and he had lost several teeth. Of course, Lucas had controlled his strength. Otherwise, if he pped Oscar with all his might, thetter¡¯s head would long have been crushed. ¡°Don¡¯t the Smiths care about their reputation the most? I¡¯m going to p your face right now to insult them!¡± Lucas said coldly as he threw Oscar onto the floor. Chapter 816 - Gift Chapter 816 Gift Everyone present heard Lucas¡¯s words clearly. They finally understood why Lucas pped Oscar on the face in front of everyone. The Smiths of DC cared a lot about their reputation because their previous sessor had been forced by Lucas to kneel down and apologize for his mistakes, which caused him to lose his position in the family and be reced by Oscar. But now that Oscar had offended Lucas and had been pped more than twenty times, these ps hit not only Oscar but also theSmiths! Standing in front of Oscar and looking at him from above, Lucas stepped on his chest and said coldly, ¡°You clearly said that the Smiths wouldn¡¯t let me off if I dared to hit you. Now, I¡¯d like to hear how you¡¯re not going to let me off.¡± At this moment, Oscar looked extremely disheveled. Not only had his fair and chubby face be red and swollen like a pig¡¯s, but he had lost several teeth, and blood was flowing out of his mouth. He looked utterly miserable. He was no longer the arrogant and unreasonable sessor of the Smiths. Invincible Phantom Hands had a look of despair. He had just watched Lucas p Oscar, making him anxious. Unfortunately, he had struggled to get up and stop him several times, but he couldn¡¯t move due to his injuries from Lucas¡¯s kicks. He knew that he hadpletely failed in protecting Oscar this time! This time, the Smiths had really suffered. Next, they would probably have to fight to the death with Lucas. Lucas¡¯s strength was so terrifying that even if the Smiths¡¯ top expert came personally, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with Lucas. On the floor, Oscar spat out his teeth and blood with great difficulty while panting heavily with horror all over his face. He was struggling to get up, but Lucas was stepping on his chest, making it impossible for him to break free. ¡°Mm¡­ You¡­ I¡­¡± Oscar said with difficulty. But due to the swelling of his face and most of his teeth having been knocked out, he couldn¡¯t speak coherently, and no one could understand what he was trying to say. But ording to spection, Oscar should be begging Lucas to let him off. ¡°What are you trying to say? I can¡¯t hear you clearly.¡± Lucas bent forward slightly, seemingly ready to listen to him. ¡°I¡­ Mmph¡­.¡± ¡°You want me to let you off, and the price you¡¯re willing to pay is to give me thend by the Sierra River?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that the Smiths will also pay for everything in full?¡¯ ¡°Mmph! I¡­ Mmph¡­¡± ¡°Fine. On the ount of your sincerity, I¡¯ll spare your life for now.¡± With that, Lucas smiled and removed his foot from Oscar¡¯s body. The crowd could only hear Oscar grunting and whimpering incoherently, but Lucas actually managed to ¡®hear¡¯ what he said. Regardless of whether Oscar really said this or not, everyone was clear that the plot ofnd that Oscar had bought at a staggering price of 350 million dors would be given to Lucas for free now. Even if Oscar couldn¡¯t afford to pay for it, the Smiths definitely had enough money. But they had no qualifications to pay attention to whether or not the Smiths would fork out the money obediently or settle scores with Lucas. Besides, Oscar had already disgraced himself in front of Lucas today. The Smiths would probably want to rece him as sessor. While everyone was watching withplicated gazes, Lucas turned around to leave. Only after Lucas vanished did Invincible Phantom Hands finally get up and walk toward Oscar, whose body was limp on the floor. He picked Oscar up with great difficulty before leaving the auction hall. He had a solemn expression on his face, and he was determined to report what had happened to the helmsman of the Smiths as soon as possible so that he could decide what to do next. Oscar would probably be the next person to be abandoned by the Smith family. ¡°Lucas¡­ Mr. Gray, wait for me!¡± As soon as Lucas stepped out of Emerald International, the sound of panting suddenly came from behind him. Pam caught up to him from behind in her stilettos. Lucas stopped and looked at Pam with bewilderment. Since the matter had already been settled, why did she chase after him? Pam took two breaths gently before asking, ¡°Mr. Gray, didn¡¯t you mention that you would help me solve the trouble if I agreed to one of your requests? I¡¯d like to ask you¡­ wh-what your request is? ¡°I-I¡¯ve already told you before that I¡¯d agree to all your requests¡­¡± Perhaps because she had been running too fast or because of some other reason, Pam had a red glow on her face. She was a beautiful person to begin with, and now that she was panting shyly, she was absolutely gorgeous. Moreover, her words really left a lot to the imagination. Lucas was stunned for a moment before finally recalling that he had indeed made this casual remark earlier. But the woman in front of him had probably misunderstood. ¡°I have only one request. I don¡¯t want to see any of the Howards appearing in California and Oregon again from now on. Go back and tell this to your grandfather,¡± Lucas said his request in an indifferent voice. Pam suddenly raised her head and looked at Lucas in disbelief. The redness of her face faded immediately and turned pale. She thought that¡­ Lucas would be interested in her, so he said that he would save her. Besides, she had the mentality of a young girl and even wondered what kind of request Lucas would make. But she never expected that Lucas didn¡¯t seem to have that intention for her. He even wanted the Howards to stop appearing in California and Oregon in the future. Crack! Pam seemed to hear the sound of her heart shattering She had been thinking of the man in front of her for more than a year. But now that she finally got to meet him, their interaction had actually ended up like this. ¡°I¡¯ve said my piece. Goodbye!¡± Lucas left without looking back. Pam stood frozen in ce, watching Lucas¡¯s figure walking farther and farther away. Her nose crinkled up as tears flowed from her eyes. But no one knew that she was crying. Meanwhile, after taking Oscar back to their amodations, Invincible Phantom Hands immediately called the helmsman of the Smiths, reported everything that had just happened in Orange County, and waited for further instructions. Chapter 817 - The Smiths’ Plan Chapter 817 The Smiths¡¯ n The Smiths in DC¡­ In a luxurious vi in the middle of arge estate, an old man in histe seventies was sitting on arge couch. He was wearing a body-hugging silk suit consisting of a white top and a ck bottom. His hair was white and spotted but neatlybed back. He looked extremely smart and sharp. There were wrinkles on his face and a pair of oval-shaped gold-rimmed sses resting on his nose bridge. His eyes were flickering beneath the lenses. There was another old man in his sixties in a gray butler¡¯s uniform standing respectfully beside this old man. ¡°Master, is it news from California?¡± the butler asked. The bespectacled old man on the couch was Tyson Smith, the helmsman of the Smiths. After hanging up, Tyson Smith looked extremely gloomy. He said through gritted teeth, ¡°It¡¯s indeed news from California, but it¡¯s not good news. Oscar lost to Lucas Gray and was shamed in public. He¡¯s been beaten up so badly that he can¡¯t say aplete sentence!¡± ¡°What?!¡± The butler was astonished for a moment. He hurriedly asked, ¡°It¡¯s Lucas Gray again? He actually hit Mr. Oscar? He¡­ he¡¯s way too arrogant!¡± Tyson nodded and mmed his fist on his desk. ¡°That¡¯s right! This kid is way too arrogant. He¡¯s just an abandoned outcast of the Huttons. He¡¯s actually shamed the Smiths again and again! Last time, he forced Vince to kneel in public, and this time, he pped Oscar! ¡°His behavior is a tant insult to the Smiths! ¡°How dare he provoke the Smiths and our dignity?! If we continue to let him be, outsiders will think that the Smiths are pushovers! I must make him pay the price!¡± The butler hesitated for a moment before continuing, ¡°But¡­ this time, Invincible Phantom Hands, a top expert, was by Mr. Oscar¡¯s side. How could he have been hit by Lucas?¡± In order to prevent Oscar from facing the same humiliation as Vince did, Tyson had sent his personal bodyguard, Invincible Phantom Hands, to protect Oscar. But how¡­ Tyson said furiously, ¡°It was Invincible Phantom Hands who called. He told me that Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills are extremely good and that he¡¯s no match for the kid. Instead, he was even injured by him!¡± ¡°What? Even Invincible Phantom Hands is no match for Lucas Gray?!¡± The butler was in disbelief. ¡°But¡­ ording to the information we received, Lucas is only a young man in histe twenties. Even if he started practicing martial arts since he was born, he could have trained for only around twenty years. How can hepare to Invincible Phantom Hands, who has trained for nearly fifty years?¡± Tyson roared impatiently, ¡°How would I know? This punk Lucas Gray is too bizarre! We can¡¯t take this lying down!¡± ¡°Master, are you¡­ nning to dispatch that person to kill Lucas?¡± the butler asked carefully while staring at Tyson¡¯s sullen face. ¡°Of course!¡± Tyson said firmly. ¡°If we can¡¯t kill this punk, there will be no way for the family to wash ourselves of the shame. The Smiths will be aughing stock! No matter what, this punk must die!¡± After thinking about it, the butler shook his head and persuaded, ¡°Master, I think this solution is a little inappropriate.¡± Before Tyson lost his temper, the butler hurriedly continued, ¡°Think about it. We know very well how strong Invincible Phantom Hands is, and his martial arts skills are in the top three among the Smiths. But even he¡¯s no match for Lucas Gray. Even if we sent that man, he might not be able to defeat Lucas. ¡°Once he fails, the Smiths won¡¯t have a stronger expert. At that time, we¡¯ll probably never regain our dignity. ¡°So, I think we should think of another solution that will absolutely allow us to defeat Lucas Gray! If nothing works, we can consider inviting that man. What do you think?¡± Having been by Tyson¡¯s side for most of his life, the butler had already gained his trust. If not for the butler advising Tyson and helping him do many things back then, Tyson probably wouldn¡¯t be the helmsman now. Thus, Tyson had always valued his opinion greatly Besides, what the butler said made sense. The first two times they had sent the family¡¯s experts to follow their family members to California, they had all been defeated by Lucas. So it was indeed time to consider trying a different approach. ¡°What do you think we should do now? What is the solution you mentioned?¡± Tyson immediately asked eagerly. The butler¡¯s eyes gleamed as he said slowly, ¡°First of all, I think we can¡¯t provoke Lucas Gray. Instead, we should take the initiative to show him some goodwill and try our best to get closer to him¡ª¡±. ¡°No!¡± Tyson immediately interrupted. Tyson frowned angrily. ¡°Lucas Gray bullied two of my sons and even shamed the Smiths. You want us to show goodwill to him? Are we supposed to ept the previous insults? This is absolutely impossible!¡± ¡°Master, calm down. Hear me out.¡± The butler hurriedly pacified Tyson. ¡°Those who dare to provoke the Smiths and shame us must not be spared. We won¡¯t let him off, but there¡¯s no need to rush now. ¡°What I just said about getting on good terms with him for the time being is only the first step of the n. The second step is the most crucial¡­¡± He inched closer and whispered his n into Tyson¡¯s ear. Tyson was furious at first, but after hearing the butler¡¯s n, the anger on his face turned into joy as he repeatedly eximed in approval, ¡°Good! Great! You¡¯re indeed intelligent. What a wonderful n. We¡¯ll definitely kill this punk!¡± The butler smiled. ¡°Since you approve of my idea, let me go to California personally to meet Lucas Gray and see what kind of a person he is!¡± Tyson nodded. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re my confidante, and I value you the most. In that case, I¡¯ll hand this matter to you. ¡°No matter what, make sure to make this punk sense our goodwill!¡± A sly look appeared on Tyson¡¯s face. ¡°Yes! I will definitely live up to your expectations, Master!¡± A scheming and sinister smile appeared on the butler¡¯s face as well. Chapter 818 - Events of That Year Chapter 818 Events of That Year While the Smiths were preparing to deal with Lucas, Lucas had just left the auction venue of Emerald International and returned to the Stardust Corporation. But when his car arrived at the entrance, he found a familiar-looking ck Mercedes-Benz parked nearby. Seeing his Jaguar approaching, Florence immediately opened the rear door of the ck Mercedes-Benz and stepped out, seemingly having waited for Lucas for a long time. Lucas frowned. What is this woman doing here again? When Lucas got out of his car, Florence walked over and said, ¡°Lucas, I need a word with you. Shall we find a ce to chat?¡± This time, Florence finally stopped behaving arrogantly and ordering him around. But Lucas still felt that he had nothing to say to her. ¡°If you have anything to say, you can say so here. I still have something to do, and I don¡¯t have much time to listen to your nonsense,¡± Lucas said calmly. Anger instantly surged in Florence¡¯s heart. She had already lowered her pride and spoken to him politely, yet he was still being so hostile and disrespectful to her, his mother-inw! But once she thought of her purpose for looking for Lucas, she could only suppress her anger. Lucas noticed all the subtle changes in her expression. Florence took a step back and said politely, ¡°Okay, what I want to tell you is very important, and I can¡¯t let others know about it. If possible, could you pleasee inside my car to talk?¡± Lucas nced at her and thought that she might have something to say about Cheyenne, so he nodded and got inside Florence¡¯s ck Mercedes-Benz. Florence was furious to have been left behind. She took two deep breaths before walking back to her car and opening the door to get in. Andy, her personal bodyguard, consciously got out of the car and stood a short distance away from the door, giving the two of them enough space to talk. ¡°Lucas, first of all, I¡¯d like to apologize for my previous impulsiveness and arrogance! Please forgive me!¡± The first thing Florence did was apologize to Lucas. This was beyond Lucas¡¯s expectations. But because Lucas didn¡¯t have a good impression of Florence, he found her apology a bit pretentious and didn¡¯t believe that she was sincere. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me toe here just to say this nonsense, did you?¡± Lucas said indifferently. Florence immediately tightened her grip, wishing she could strangle him to death. She had painstakingly swallowed her pride to apologize to this kid. But he didn¡¯t reciprocate at all and even said that she was speaking nonsense! She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, there were tears in them. ¡°Lucas, I am Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, and I truly hope to be able to reunite with her so that I can also make it up to her properly. Please help me persuade her!¡± Lucas snorted coldly. ¡°When you met her yesterday, Cheyenne asked you several times why you abandoned her, but you kept avoiding her question. There was no sincerity from you at all. You even tried to take her back to the Howards by force. Why should I help someone like you?¡± Florence lowered her head sadly. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to tell her, but¡­ the truth is too cruel. I don¡¯t want Cheyenne to be sad. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t tell her!¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows and looked at Florence, waiting for her to continue. Florence slowly said, ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to talk about these things again. But now, I have a request for you, so I can only tell you the truth so that you know that I¡¯m not hiding it from Cheyenne without reason. ¡°As the daughter of the helmsman of the Howards, I enjoyed a life of luxury and was respected by everyone, but all this changed after I met that man. ¡°When I was young, I thought love was the most beautiful thing in this world, so when I fell in love with him, I was willing to give up my wealth, status, and family in order to be with him! ¡°I left everything behind and followed this man to a faraway cepletely unfamiliar to me. ¡°But this man deceived me. When I was overjoyed to be pregnant with our child, he suddenly left without saying goodbye, and I never heard from him again! ¡°Do you know how hopeless and miserable I felt when I was pregnant and all alone in a small rental room, waiting for a person who would never return?!¡± ST SOI Two streams of tears rolled down Florence¡¯s face. Florence gritted her teeth and cried bitterly. Lucas didn¡¯t know whether what Florence said was true or not, so he only remained silent. ¡°Later on, I relied on the meager amount of money I had left to painstakingly give birth to the baby, but little did I know that her birth was the beginning of a nightmare! ¡°You know what? After I gave birth to Cheyenne, I struggled to feed her and take care of her alone. At the time, I was a spoiled heiress who had never done a single chore in my life. I had no idea how to take care of a newborn. ¡°Moreover, I was all alone in a small room, enduring the severe pain after giving birth. I didn¡¯t have a single person to take care of me. Instead, I had to take care of a baby who kept crying every day while constantly thinking about a man who treacherously abandoned me. I was living a nightmare of regret and pain every day! ¡°So I developed postpartum depression and wanted to die! And the worst part was that I hated my baby! At the time, I felt that it was her father¡¯s fault that I was in that hellhole, so I hated him and his child! ¡°There were even times when I almost killed my child! ¡°I was on the verge of losing my mind and breaking down!¡± Florence¡¯s face was full of agony. She couldn¡¯t take it any longer. She covered her face and bawled loudly while shivering with lingering fear. Lucas¡¯s heartstrings were tugged by Florence¡¯s current behavior. He couldn¡¯t help thinking of his wife, Cheyenne. When he left, Cheyenne had been pregnant with Amelia, and she had to give birth to her and raise her alone. Cheyenne must have experienced the same thing back then. ¡°Later, I couldn¡¯t stand this pain anymore, and I was afraid that I would end up killing my own daughter, so I could only carry her out and put her on the road in front of a hospital, hoping that some kind soul would take her home. ¡°I hid in the corner until I saw a couple carrying her away before leaving in a daze. ¡°Can you imagine the dilemma and agony of wanting to kill your own daughter and having no choice but to ruthlessly hand her over to someone else? ¡°But these things are only a small part of the matter. What happened next is the true despair that made me want to die immediately!¡± Florence wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and choked with sobs as she continued speaking. Chapter 819 - Cruel Past Chapter 819 Cruel Past What Florence said made Lucas feel some sympathy for her, and he quietly listened to her continue. ¡°After giving Cheyenne away to someone else to raise, I had no choice but to return to the Howards in DC. ¡°But my father was furious at me for leaving my family for that man, so I knelt in front of his door for two days and two nights, begging him to forgive me. Only when my knees were bleeding did he finally agree to see me. ¡°However, he told me that if I wanted the family to ept me again, I had to contribute to the family by marrying a man from the Lambert family, a top family in DC. ¡°At the time, I had been betrayed by the man I loved, and my heart was practically dead. I no longer had any hope for all men in the world, so it didn¡¯t make any difference to me who I married. ¡°So I agreed to the marriage alliance and married into the Lamberts without hesitation. ¡°But after doing so, I found out that things weren¡¯t as simple as I thought. The man I married had violent tendencies. He was a domestic abuser and an alcoholic, and he would hit me and insult me at every turn. My life was a living hell! ¡°I tried my best to endure it, and I did everything I could to help that man take control of the Lambert family. But the night he did, I killed him! And then I took over everything!¡± Florence sniffled. While she recalled the past, her face seemed to be full of misery. Lucas¡¯s eyebrows twitched. Florence had actually killed her husband with her own hands. She was indeed ruthless. ¡°Back then, I seemed to have reached the peak of my life. I had all the power and wealth of the Lamberts. No one would hit me, verbally abuse me, and bully me again. I thought my life would remain this way forever. But when the truth came out, everything was so cruel and bloody! ¡°You probably can¡¯t believe that my life waspletely controlled by my father! ¡°Everything from my marriage to controlling the Lambert family was within my father¡¯s n. ¡°And you know what? My father was the reason my husband treated me so terribly and abused me every other day. My father told my husband everything about my rtionship with the man I loved and even showed him some intimate photos! That¡¯s why he couldn¡¯t tolerate me! ¡°And all the people I trusted around me were sent to my side by my father. Their purpose was to confuse me and persuade me to gain control of everything of the Lamberts before turning their wealth and assets into the Howards¡¯ property! ¡°E-everything I did was within my father¡¯s n. I was just his pawn! ¡°That¡¯s how my father treated me and made use of me, his biological daughter. Scary, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ The expression on Florence¡¯s face twisted into a grimace of contempt and extreme pain. She was mocking those years of her life. ¡°And the sad thing is that this isn¡¯t the end and the entire truth. ¡°Later, because of my control over the Lamberts, my father symbolically gave me some power to make it up to me. ¡°But I never imagined that I would inadvertently discover something extremely terrifying! ¡°It turned out that the man I loved, Drew Cruise, didn¡¯t actually abandon me when I was pregnant! ¡°After learning that I was pregnant, he didn¡¯t want me to continue living in the small and messy rental room and give birth to our child there. Moreover, we eloped without taking our ID, so we couldn¡¯t get a marriage certificate, and our child would be born out of wedlock. ¡°So he quietly went to the Howards alone, hoping to convince my father to let us be together openly, but my father killed him! ¡°No wonder Drew left without returning. I waited for him in the rental room for a long time, thinking that he had abandoned me and the baby in my womb. I hated him for so long! But I was wrong! ¡°He didn¡¯t abandon me and our baby. He went to beg my father for our sake, but my father killed him!¡± ¡°When I learned about this, the sky copsed on me! I¡¯ve never felt so hopeless and regretful!¡± Seemingly unable to bear that pain any longer, Florence broke down and burst into tears. Lucas was stunned and unable to speak. He could sense that Florence wasn¡¯t faking her breakdown and that she wasn¡¯t lying about what she just said. The truth was actually so cruel that even though Lucas was just an outsider, he could sense her suffocating despair and agony. The Howards, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, actually had such a filthy and dark past. But at the same time, Lucas couldn¡¯t help thinking about himself and his mother. Back then, when he and his mother were driven out of the Huttons and left to fend for themselves on the streets, didn¡¯t he also experience this filth and darkness? His mother had been seriously ill, but when he went to the Huttons for help, they had mercilessly rejected him. After crying for a long while, Florence finally calmed down and stared at Lucas with her red and swollen eyes full of tears. ¡°Lucas, the reason I¡¯m telling you this is that I want you to sympathize with me and pity me. To be honest with you, I need your help now. Only with your help can I take control of the Howard family andpletely free myself from my father¡¯s control!¡± Florence looked at Lucas expectantly. Lucas saw her determination, hatred, and ambition in her eyes. The fact that her life had always been in her father¡¯s hands and that her father had killed her lover was why she pursued greater power. She wanted to overthrow the person controlling her fate. It was indeed an undeniable goal. Lucas could indeed give her a lot of help in attaining this goal. But he didn¡¯t want to help her. ¡°I can see your hatred for your father in your eyes, but I don¡¯t see any guilt and love for Cheyenne,¡± Lucas said with disappointment. ¡°What happened to you is indeed tragic, but Cheyenne didn¡¯t do anything wrong. I thought you¡¯d feel a little guilty and sorry toward your daughter, whom you had wrongfully hated for years, almost killed, and even gave up for adoption after learning the truth. ¡°But I can¡¯t see anything from your eyes.¡± ¡°Maybe Cheyenne is just a pawn to you too. You want to use her as a tool to rope in people so that they can take revenge for you. You must have tried to make Cheyenne marry the Master of California because of this!¡± ¡°But Cheyenne somehow married me, and I happened to be the one you were looking for. ¡°You actually don¡¯t love Cheyenne at all. And you still hate her, don¡¯t you?¡± Lucas kept his sharp eyes fixed on Florence. What he said made her heart skip a beat. Chapter 820 - You Must Help Me Chapter 820 You Must Help Me Hearing what Lucas said, Florence shook her head profusely in denial. ¡°No! Don¡¯t spout nonsense! ¡°I gave birth to Cheyenne after a full pregnancy, and she¡¯s the child I had with my lover. How could I possibly hate her? Don¡¯t talk nonsense. You¡¯re not me. How can you know what I think?¡± But the way she was behaving now was different from when she was telling her story. Lucas could still tell whether she was telling the truth or not. ¡°The reason is simple. In your heart, you still think that if you weren¡¯t pregnant with Cheyenne, the man you loved wouldn¡¯t have gone to look for your father because he was worried about your future. If he hadn¡¯t gone to the Howards, he wouldn¡¯t have been killed, and you wouldn¡¯t have been so miserable. ¡°So you¡¯ve always felt that Cheyenne is the culprit, and your feelings for her are veryplicated. Maybe you used to love her a little, but you hate her even more! ¡°If there¡¯s someone in front of you who can help you take revenge on the condition that you give up your daughter and sacrifice her lifelong happiness, you definitely wouldn¡¯t hesitate to agree. In your eyes, revenge is the most important thing, while Cheyenne is just a child you wish was dead long ago.¡± With a look of contempt, Lucas slowly revealed Florence¡¯s true feelings. ¡°Since you¡¯ve never loved Cheyenne and actually hate her so much, why should I help you take revenge? ¡°I can pretend I never heard what you said today, and I won¡¯t say a word about it to the Howards. It¡¯s up to you if you want to take revenge or whatever. ¡°But I hope you won¡¯t show up in front of me and Cheyenne again,¡± Lucas said firmly. Although he sympathized with Florence¡¯s life experience, he would never allow her to make use of Cheyenne. He would rather Cheyenne never reconcile with Florence in her life than allow her to be harmed by Florence. ¡°No! What makes you¡­ think so? ¡°Who are you to forbid me from appearing in front of Cheyenne again? I¡¯m her biological mother! Even you don¡¯t have the right to stop me from seeing her! ¡°Also, who are you to specte on what I think? What do you know about me? Can you understand my feelings?!¡± Florence shouted frantically, no longer looking like the noblewoman from before. Instead, she was just like a shrew now. Lucas remained unmoved and said calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to meddle with your affairs. But if you want to use Cheyenne and hurt her, I will never allow it! ¡°If you insist on pulling Cheyenne into your vortex of revenge, I will pay you back in your own coin and reveal all your ns to your father, the helmsman of the Howards whom you hate and fear. ¡°If he learns that you hate him so much and that you¡¯re seeking revenge against him and want to take away the Howards from him, I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t let you get what you want!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was extremely calm. But his threat was like a basin of ice water pouring down on Florence¡¯s head, causing her to calm down instantly. Indeed, if Lucas told her father what she just said, given his desire to be in control, he would never let her off! In this person¡¯s eyes, she was not his biological daughter but just a pawn that he could discard at any time. She was certain that he wouldn¡¯t show her any mercy! The thought of it made Florence¡¯s heart overwhelmed by fear. She raised her tear-stained eyes, which resembled Cheyenne¡¯s, and gazed at Lucas pitifully. ¡°Lucas, no matter what, you¡¯re my son-inw, and I gave birth to your wife. Do you really have no regard for all this and want to watch me die? ¡°Do you know that if I fail toplete the task the family gave me this time, I will be severely punished, and even the little power I hold will be taken away! ¡°If that happens, my goal of taking over the Howards and getting rid of that man will be even more impossible to achieve!¡± ¡°Do you want me to remain as a pawn in someone else¡¯s hands for the rest of my life? If Cheyenne knew what happened to me, she definitely wouldn¡¯t stand by and watch her mother suffer, would she? ¡°Lucas, can¡¯t you help me on Cheyenne¡¯s ount? This is clearly a cooperation that will benefit the both of us!¡± Florence persuaded earnestly, ying the sympathy and kinship cards. She even mentioned Cheyenne. Lucas remained unmoved. ¡°I already said that I won¡¯t let Cheyenne get involved. You can solve the grudge between you and your father yourself. You haven¡¯t cared about Cheyenne for so many years, and now, you can continue to pretend that she doesn¡¯t exist. You don¡¯t have to think about her again.. You¡¯re on your own now.¡± With that, Lucas moved his hand to the handle of the car door, wanting to leave. ¡°No! No, you can¡¯t! I won¡¯t allow it!¡± Florence suddenly screamed hysterically. ¡°You can¡¯t ignore me! You have to help me! ¡°I can kill or do anything for the sake of revenge! You know it! ¡°If you refuse to help me, I will go to Cheyenne and talk to her personally! She is a kind girl, and she definitely won¡¯t leave me alone after knowing that her biological father died so tragically and her biological mother suffered so much!¡± This was Florence¡¯s threat to Lucas. Lucas¡¯s face immediately darkened, and a cold light shed in his eyes. ¡°If you dare to do that, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± Florenceughed. ¡°You want me to shut up and disappear? What can you do? Lock me up or kill me? ¡°No, these things are impossible now! Cheyenne already knows about my existence, so you can¡¯t make me disappear anymore! ¡°Moreover, even if you want to shut me up, I have long made arrangements. Even if I disappear, someone will find Cheyenne and ry my message to her! You can¡¯t stop me unless you can stay by Cheyenne¡¯s side for the rest of your life and never leave her for a minute. But is that possible?¡± Florenceughed hysterically. Regardless of whether Lucas was willing to help her or not, she had to get him to agree. He was the best help she could find right now! ¡°You¡¯d better give me a clear answer before nighttime today. Otherwise, I will reveal everything to Cheyenne. Think it through carefully!¡± Chapter 821 - Conflicted Chapter 821 Conflicted Florence¡¯s threat made Lucas extremely ufortable. She knew that Cheyenne was extremely important to Lucas, so she used her to threaten him. But Lucas really had no solution to this. Just as Florence said, it was impossible for Lucas to make her shut up. No matter what, she was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, so there was no way he could go overboard with her. But if she told Cheyenne about these things, with her gentle personality, she would most likely choose to help Florence. If that happened, Lucas would have no choice but to stand on their side and help Florence take revenge. Florence was indeed extremely smart but extremely heartless as well. Even after Florence¡¯s car drove far away, Lucas was still standing in front of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s office building with a conflicted look. What should I do? Florence didn¡¯t actually love Cheyenne at all, and now, she just wanted to use Cheyenne and her rtionship with Lucas to get him involved so that he would help her take revenge. So from this perspective, Lucas didn¡¯t want to help her at all. If other people dared to make use of Cheyenne to threaten him, he would have long killed them. But because she was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, Lucas didn¡¯t want to cross the line and cause Cheyenne any sadness. Moreover, although Cheyenne had indeed had an unhappy conflict with Florence, Lucas knew Cheyenne¡¯s character well and was aware that she couldn¡¯tpletely ignore her biological mother. He knew that she would reunite with her sooner orter. Lucas actually fell into a dilemma, which was rare for him. Updates by . At five in the afternoon, Lucas drove to the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s office building as usual and picked Cheyenne up. After getting inside the car, Cheyenne suddenly said, ¡°Honey, that woman contacted me again today.¡± Without needing to think further, Lucas immediately knew that the woman Cheyenne was talking about was Florence. ¡°What does she want this time?¡± Lucas frowned while driving. Florence had clearly told him to give her an answer before night fell. He wondered if she had alreadye and informed Cheyenne about the matter in advance. His heart tensed up. ¡°She¡­ she said that she still loves me and wants to reunite with me. But she still isn¡¯t willing to tell me why she abandoned me, so I rejected her,¡± Cheyenne said with disappointment, pain, and dejection on her beautiful face. ¡°She abandoned me so many years ago, and now, she suddenly came looking for me and said that she loves me. But I¡­ I don¡¯t know how I should treat her. She isn¡¯t even willing to tell me the truth about what happened back then. How can I trust her?¡± Lucas finally heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Cheyenne say this. It seemed that Florence hadn¡¯t gone mad to the extent of spouting nonsense to Cheyenne. Otherwise, Lucas would never let her off. ¡°Hubby, you¡­ Why¡­ is she hiding it from me? Why won¡¯t she tell me the truth regardless of how much I ask? ¡°I¡¯ve actually thought about it. Even if she abandoned me for the sake of gaining power, I might forgive her, but¡­ she refuses to tell me anything.¡± Cheyenne¡¯s eyes reddened, and tears welled up in them. In fact, she eagerly yearned to reconcile with her birth mother and find out about her roots, but Florence¡¯s behavior made Cheyenne extremely disappointed. She waspletely different from the mother she had imagined! When Lucas saw Cheyenne forcing herself not to cry, his heart tensed up, and he felt really sorry for her. Cheyenne was a kindhearted and sensitive person. If she learned about the truth of the past, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to take it. Furthermore, because Florence was pregnant with Cheyenne, her father had taken the risk to go and plead with the Howards¡¯ helmsman for mercy, only to end up losing his life. Because of this, Florence hated and resented Cheyenne. She felt that Cheyenne¡¯s appearance was the reason her lover had died tragically and her life had turned into a mess. If Cheyenne knew about all of this, she would probably also feel that she was at fault and that her appearance had caused her father¡¯s death and her mother¡¯s misery. Cheyenne would probably be overwhelmed with agony and guilt and never be able to recover from it. This was thest thing Lucas wanted to see. Thus, he couldn¡¯t let Cheyenne know about what happened back then! ¡°Honey, I don¡¯t know what I should do anymore. Should I reconcile with her? Or should I never see her again and take it that she never appeared in my life again? I¡­ I¡¯m in so much pain!¡± Cheyenne finally couldn¡¯t endure it anymore and burst into tears. Lucas felt as though his heart was being stabbed. He sighed, pulled over by the side of the road, turned around to look at Cheyenne, and reached out to gently wipe away the tears on her face. ¡°You¡¯re conflicted now because she refuses to tell you about why she abandoned you. ¡°But what if¡­ what if she refuses to tell you because the truth is really extremely cruel, and she doesn¡¯t want you to be in misery because of it? ¡°In that case, would you forgive her and reunite with her?¡± Lucas asked seriously while holding Cheyenne¡¯s shoulders. After some thought, Cheyenne suddenly asked, ¡°Honey, do you already know something?¡± She had always been a very smart woman, so she immediately sensed something from what Lucas said. But Lucas didn¡¯t n to tell Cheyenne about those cruel matters. He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t. It¡¯s just my guess. But it¡¯s up to you to decide if you want to reconcile with her or remain as strangers in the future. I will support your choice.¡± In fact, Lucas hoped that Cheyenne would steer clear of Florence, but kinship and blood ties were predestined. Lucas respected Cheyenne¡¯s wishes and didn¡¯t want to meddle too much. Cheyenne¡¯s eyes showed intense conflict. Because she couldn¡¯t decide for herself, she hoped Lucas could make a decision for her. Unfortunately, he left the choice in her hands. Lucas could only sigh helplessly, start the car, and drive to Amelia¡¯s kindergarten. After picking up Amelia, Cheyenne forced a smile and said a few words to her. For the rest of the journey, she remained silent with a heavy heart. After returning to their home at Pearl Lakeside Vi, Cheyenne even locked herself in the room in low spirits. After hesitating for a long time, Lucas finally decided to step into the room and sit down beside Cheyenne. He had some things to say to her. Chapter 822 - Asking About Her Biological Father Chapter 822: Asking About Her Biological Father In their room, Cheyenne was sitting alone on the edge of the bed and weeping silently. Heartbroken, Lucas went forward, put an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t cry. There¡¯s no need to feel so sad over that woman. She¡­ she doesn¡¯t treat you as her daughter at all.¡± Lucas sighed. Cheyenne¡¯s body stiffened. She immediately raised her head to look at Lucas with her teary eyes. ¡°Honey, you do know something, don¡¯t you?¡± Lucas was silent for a while before saying, ¡°I can¡¯t exin the past clearly, but she has a motive for reuniting with you, and her goal isn¡¯t innocent.¡± ¡°Why¡­ why do you say so?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s fingers grabbed Lucas¡¯s clothes tightly, her face much paler than before. Lucas said, ¡°Actually, she already came to see me on the first day she arrived in Orange County. At the time, she didn¡¯t know that I was the Master of California and merely thought that I was just an abandoned son of the Huttons who sponges off of you. So her first request was for me to leave you and divorce you. ¡°At the same time, she wanted to make you marry the Master of California so that she could use your marriage to gain a powerful helper to increase her status in the Howard family. ¡°But after thepetition ended and she learned my identity, she tried to use you to persuade me. She even wanted me to submit to the Howards and be at their disposal. ¡°The main reason she wants to reunite with you is because you¡¯re of great use to her.¡± Although these words were cruel, Lucas nevertheless told Cheyenne truthfully. After hearing these words, Cheyenne felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Her face paled, and even her body shook uncontrobly. ¡°She came to reunite with me only because I¡¯m useful to her now. Is that so? Updates by . ¡°That makes sense. She already abandoned me for so long and has never shown me any concern all these years. She¡¯s never spent a day with me, so why would I think that she cares about me as her daughter?¡± Grief appeared on Cheyenne¡¯s face. Lucas hugged her gently in his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. At least you have Amelia and me. ¡± ¡±.William has always treated you as his own daughter, and Charlotte sees you as her biological sister. You still have us by your side.¡± Cheyenne threw herself into Lucas¡¯s arms and burst into tears. In fact, Lucas was right. Even if she wasn¡¯t destined to have a good rtionship with Florence, she still had her other family members. But it was truly saddening that the mother she had longed for for so long turned out to be someone like that. After a long time, Cheyenne finally adjusted her mood, wiped away the tears on her face, and raised her head from Lucas¡¯s arms. ¡°I have onest question now. Do you¡­ you know about my biological father?¡± When Florence revealed their rtionship, Cheyenne only knew that she was her biological mother. But Florence never mentioned a thing about her father. Cheyenne also wanted to know who her father was and what kind of person he was. As soon as Lucas heard her question, an unnatural expression appeared on his face. Matters about her father were thest thing he wanted her to know. Cheyenne immediately noticed the fleeting change in Lucas¡¯s expression. She grabbed his arm tightly and asked anxiously, ¡°You know about his situation, right C-can you tell me? ¡°Who¡­ is my father? Is he¡­ still alive now?¡± The look in Lucas¡¯s eyes immediately became extremelyplicated. He didn¡¯t want to tell Cheyenne about her father at all, but she asked about him. He wasn¡¯t good at lying, so he didn¡¯t know how to tell her about it. Cheyenne¡¯s heart sank. She reckoned that Lucas seemed so conflicted because the answer wasn¡¯t good. ¡°Please tell me. Is he still alive?¡± Cheyenne held Lucas¡¯s arm tightly with a pleading expression. ¡°He¡¯s gone.¡± Lucas could only say this. Cheyenne instantly stiffened. After a long time, she suddenly smiled bitterly. ¡°That makes sense. Actually, I¡¯ve never met him before, and we¡¯re basically strangers. I don¡¯t even know his name or what he¡¯s like. Even if he¡¯s dead, it has nothing to do with me.¡± She didn¡¯t continue asking Lucas about her biological father, making Lucas feel relieved, but an inexplicable sense of guilt surged in his heart at the same time. ording to what Florence had told him, Cheyenne¡¯s father should have loved Cheyenne a lot. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have gone to the Howards¡¯ helmsman to beg for mercy because he wanted his child to have a better life. If Drew was still alive, he would dote on Cheyenne very much. Unfortunately, he had passed away years ago. In order not to hurt Cheyenne, Lucas could only hide everything about Drew from her. ¡°Okay, please go out and apany Amelia. I¡¯d like to be alone for a while,¡± Cheyenne said with reddened eyes. ¡°Sure.¡± Lucas nodded, walked out of the room, and considerately closed the door. But the moment the room door was about to close, Lucas heard Cheyenne letting out a heartbreaking cry. Although she just said that Drew was just a stranger who had nothing to do with her, he was her biological father after all. But he was gone before she even had the chance to see him. How could she not be sad? ¡°¡­¡± Lucas leaned against the door in silence instead of going inside tofort Cheyenne. He knew that what Cheyenne needed the most now was to vent all the pain and sadness within her. Cheyenne¡¯s father had long passed away, and she would never get the chance to meet him, while her mother, who had been missing from her life, now wanted to reconcile with her only because she was useful to her. What a tragic fate. After staying silent for a long time, Lucas walked toward the balcony outside and made a call. Soon, Florence¡¯s voice came from the other end. ¡°Have you thought it through?¡± Lucas replied indifferently, ¡°I can agree to build friendly ties with the Howards, but you have to promise me two things!¡± Chapter 823 - Cooperation Invitation

Chapter 823: Cooperation Invitation

Hearing Lucas agreeing to her request, Florence was instantly overjoyed. She said in excitement, ¡°Sure. Tell me the conditions!¡± Lucas said, ¡°First, I¡¯m only going to befriend the Howards, but I¡¯ll still be in control of California and Oregon. The Howards are not to interfere in any way!¡± Now, he had already be the overlord of California and Oregon. Although he didn¡¯t care about fame and power, the Hales and the Sawyers from Orange County, the Parkers from LA, and the Coles from San Francisco all had strong ties with Lucas. Lucas could only ensure the interests of these families if he continued to control both states. If he handed the control of California and Oregon to the Howards, he couldn¡¯t be certain what they would do for the sake of profit. Thus, Lucas wouldn¡¯t give them away. Florence thought for a while and said, ¡°I can promise you this. The Howards have never thought about controlling California and Oregon. My purpose is to get you and my family to have a friendly rtionship. This is enough for me to go back andplete the mission. ¡°So, what is your second request?¡± Lucas said firmly, ¡°My second request is for you to never mention a single word about Cheyenne¡¯s father to her!¡± This was the most important condition to Lucas. If Florence disagreed, he would rather fall out with her. Florence sneered. ¡°I can promise you this. In fact, I don¡¯t want to mention anything about those unhappy things either. If it wasn¡¯t to express my sincerity to you, I wouldn¡¯t have told you about them at all!¡± ¡°You¡¯d better keep to your word!¡± With that, Lucas hung up. In order to prevent Cheyenne from being embroiled in the matter, Lucas could only temporarily agree to Florence¡¯s request. But Lucas didn¡¯t believe that the Howards would really be willing to give up control of California and Oregon. Updates by . The current situation was very different from before. Not only had the Smiths, the Howards, and the Peerless Martial Association shown interest in California, but there were probably some other major families secretly plotting to take control of California and Oregon. Lucas believed that since the Howards¡¯ helmsman was so shrewd and ruthless, he definitely wouldn¡¯t sit back and let others take control of California and Oregon. But it was too early to consider these matters. He would take everything in stride and deal with the situations as they came. ¡­ When Cheyenne woke up the next morning, her eyes were as swollen as walnuts. Lucas was heartbroken. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a day off and stay at home today? Just leave it to your subordinates to handle matters at the office.¡± Cheyenne was also shocked when she saw her swollen eyes in the mirror, but she was in a much better mood today. She even made an ugly face at herself in the mirror. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just ice my eyes with a cold towel. Thanks to you, thepany has had a lot of businesstely. I won¡¯t feel at ease if I don¡¯t go.¡± Seeing Cheyenne seeming to be in a good mood despite her red and swollen eyes, Lucas finally felt relieved. After sending his wife and daughter to the office and kindergarten as usual, Lucas drove to the Stardust Corporation. But just after he got out of the car, an old man in his sixties wearing a gray tuxedo suddenly stopped in front of Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. There¡¯s something that I¡¯d like to discuss with you. Is it convenient for us to have a word now?¡± His white hair was meticulouslybed back, and he bowed slightly as he spoke. Based on his mannerisms and temperament, he was probably from a major family. ¡°You are?¡± Lucas asked with raised brows. ¡°Oh dear, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I am Charlie, the chief butler of the Smiths in DC. I¡¯m here in California to have a chat with you under the orders of the helmsman,¡± the old man in the tuxedo said politely. Charlie was very courteous and spoke amiably as well. After Lucas heard that he was the Smiths¡¯ butler, a trace of surprise appeared on his face. He didn¡¯t expect the Smiths to send their chief butler over to have a discussion with him after he had humiliated two sessors of the family. Not only did they not make a fuss, but they were even extremely humble and friendly toward him. ¡°If you¡¯re nning to criticize me or make me submit to the Smiths, you can forget about it,¡± Lucas said indifferently. ¡°No, Mr. Gray, you¡¯re mistaken. I¡¯m here to ask you for your cooperation,¡± Charlie said with a smile. ¡°Cooperating with the Smiths? Sorry, I¡¯m not interested!¡± Lucas refused outright and turned around to leave. Considering what he had done to the sessors of the Smiths, he knew for sure that there was something wrong with the Smiths wanting to cooperate with him. Lucas wasn¡¯t a fool. How could he possibly believe Charlie¡¯s words? ¡°Mr. Gray, please wait! The cooperation I¡¯m talking about is rted to the Huttons. Don¡¯t you want to hear about it first?¡± Charlie raised his voice a little from behind Lucas. The mention of the Huttons indeed made Lucas stop. ¡°Mr. Gray, although the Smiths indeed have had some unhappy matters with you in the past, I believe that there are no permanent enemies. Don¡¯t you agree? ¡°I might as well be honest with you. Although the Smiths and the Huttons both belong to the eight top families in DC, we¡¯ve been at odds in many fields. So it can be said that both families are hostile to each other. ¡°The Smiths have long been displeased with the Huttons, but unfortunately, the Huttons are also a prominent family with strong roots. It¡¯s not easy to defeat them. ¡°Mr. Gray, as far as I know, the rtionship between you and the Huttons isn¡¯t cordial either. In fact, many Huttons are still targeting you. So from this perspective, the Huttons are ourmon enemy. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re undoubtedly very powerful, but it¡¯s a pity that you don¡¯t have the support of a top family that¡¯s powerful enough. Although the Smiths are one of the top families in DC, weck a powerful expert like you, Mr. Gray. ¡°So if we join forces, won¡¯t we be able to exert an enormous powerbined? ¡°Mr. Tyson Smith, the family helmsman, has already made it clear to me that as long as you¡¯re willing to join hands with us to deal with the Huttons, we will give you the support to be the next helmsman after the matter is done! Mr. Gray, what do you think?¡± Charlie spoke his mind. He had indeed investigated many matters and was aware of the feud between Lucas and the Huttons. In his opinion, Lucas would definitely ept the cooperation offer, be it for the sake of taking revenge against the Huttons or taking control over them. ¡°Hah, idiot!¡± After saying this coldly, Lucas turned around to leave while Charlie was dumbstruck. He was actually rejected by Lucas! Chapter 824 Chapter 824: Solving The Trouble Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t agree to such a stupid cooperation request from the Smiths. He indeed bore a hatred for the Hutton and resented them for their ruthless act of driving him and his mother out of the family back then, which eventually led to his mother¡¯s fatal illness. But this was a feud between Lucas and the Huttons, and no other forces could interfere. Moreover, on the first day he returned to Orange County from Calico half a year ago, Chad Kennedy, the Huttons¡¯ butler, had gone to the airport to receive Lucas and even asked him to return to DC to take charge of the Huttons. If Lucas wanted to be the helmsman of the Huttons, he could do so anytime. There was no need for him to collude with the Smiths. Therefore, this seemingly reasonable and incredibly tempting offer was extremely idiotic in Lucas¡¯s opinion. He wouldn¡¯t bother with the Smiths at all. Charlie widened his eyes. It was only after he saw Lucas¡¯s figure disappear into the Stardust Corporation¡¯s building that he was convinced that Lucas really wasn¡¯t attracted by his offer and had turned him down without hesitation! Lucas Gray is indeed very arrogant! Does he really think that he can deal with the Huttons on his own? Charlie thought indignantly. After he proposed this n to Tyson yesterday and received Tyson¡¯s strong support, he had bought a ne ticket and flew to Orange County overnight. The first thing he did after arriving this morning was toe here and wait for Lucas. He had thought that as long as he made it seem like the Smiths had decided to bury the hatchet and not pursue the matter of Lucas insulting those two sessors of the Smiths before offering to cooperate with him against the Huttons and promising to make him the helmsman of the family, Lucas would definitely be overjoyed and agree without hesitation! Since they would be cooperating, Lucas should pay a certain price too. The Smiths would then effortlessly take over the control of California and Oregon from Lucas. As for whether or not Lucas would be the head of the Huttons, it would be a matter for the future. Besides, Lucas was just a pawn they would be using. Unfortunately, Lucas, the young man whom he couldn¡¯t grasp at all, actually turned him down without the slightest gestation. This foiled Charlie¡¯s initial n. Charlie immediately took out his phone and called Tyson Smith. ¡°Mr. Smith, I¡¯m sorry. The n failed. That punk Lucas Gray refused!¡± Tyson was surprised. ¡°He actually refused to cooperate? Hah, seems like he wants to do this the hard way! Since he doesn¡¯t know any better, we don¡¯t have to be polite to him! Execute n B immediately!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Smith!¡± Charlie immediately responded loudly. During their discussion yesterday, they hade up with more than one n. If Lucas was ignorant and refused to cooperate, they would execute another n. But the second n was much moreplicated than the first one. ... Lucas was in the general manager¡¯s office of the Stardust Corporation, dealing with official business. With a surge in contracts, even just signing and sealing them was taxing. The various departments of the Stardust Corporation were already running in full swing, and everyone was as busy as a bee. Of course, Lucas wouldn¡¯t treat his employees poorly. He had Charlotte inform the staff long ago that everyone¡¯s sry would double for the month. As soon as the news spread, everyone was full of motivation. When it was almost noon, Lucas¡¯s stack of documents finally became a little shorter. At this moment, Charlotte knocked on the office door and walked in with a grave expression. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Lucas immediately asked with concern. ¡°Lucas, I just received news that construction on the plot ofnd by the Sierra River has begun today! The Smiths have released news that they¡¯re going to turn this plot ofnd into thergest cemetery in Orange County, and there are owners of units in Haven Manor expressing their repulsion.¡± Charlotte looked extremely sullen. Haven Manor was adjacent to the Sierra River, and the idea of living close to a cemetery didn¡¯t sit well with many people. If the Smiths really constructed a cemetery there, the owners of units in Haven Manor would definitely protest, and thend prices there would plummet, resulting in serious consequences. ¡°Hmph, they sure act fast,¡± Lucas said coldly as he put down a contract in his hand. Ever since he rejected Charlie¡¯s cooperation offer this morning, Lucas knew that the Smiths would definitely not give up just like that because their agenda was to take control of California and Oregon. He wasn¡¯t willing to cooperate with the Smith, which foiled their ns, so they would definitely find other ways to deal with him. The deration to build thergest cemetery in Orange County opposite Haven Manor, which Lucas owned, was a threat to Lucas to force him to makepromises with the Smiths. Unfortunately, the Smiths had miscalcted. Lucas wasn¡¯t the type who would allow himself to be threatened by some little tricks. ¡°Luas, how should we deal with this?¡± Cheyenne asked worriedly. 1 Lucas said calmly, ¡°Leave this matter to me. Don¡¯t worry. The Smiths will definitely change their mind today!¡± ¡°Okay, there will definitely be no problem if you¡¯re handling it! But you have to be careful!¡± Charlotte said with concern. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Lucas smiled. In the afternoon, Lucas left the Stardust Corporation and drove toward a constructionpany named Peak Constructions. Peak Constructions was a constructionpany recently acquired by the Smiths, and it would be in charge of the uing construction of the cemetery on the west bank of the Sierra River. In fact, the plot ofnd that Oscar had spent 350 million dors to purchase at the auction was a massive loss for the Smiths. It was an incredibly high price that was difficult to recoup regardless of whether they built an upscale vi district or amercial cluster on thend, let alone a cemetery. Its greatest function was to provoke Lucas and force him topromise to the Smiths. After getting out of his car, Lucas headed straight to the office of Peak Constructions. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re finally here. I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time!¡± As soon as Lucas entered the meeting hall, someone spoke to him with malice and resentment. This person was Oscar, the sessor chosen by the Smiths. Furthermore, the meeting hall of Peak Constructions was currently full of people. It was as if they were long prepared and were just waiting for Lucas to show up. Chapter 825 - You Said You Would Give Me It

Chapter 825: You Said You Would Give Me It

In the middle of the meeting hall was a long, oval conference table, and Oscar was sitting in the master seat. Invincible Phantom Hands was standing behind him with a stern expression. Compared to his previous state, Invincible Phantom Hands seemed a little pale and depressed. Clearly, he hadn¡¯t recovered from the two kicks Lucas had given him yesterday. The moment Invincible Phantom Hands saw Lucas, the muscles on his face subconsciously tensed up while a deep sense of fear appeared on his face. Just yesterday, he had followed Oscar¡¯s order to deal with Lucas, but he didn¡¯t even manage to touch the corner of Lucas¡¯s clothes. Instead, he had been kicked twice by Lucas so hard that his organs almost fell out. If not for the fact that Invincible Phantom Hands had trained his muscles and bones for decades, he might have already died due to Lucas¡¯s kicks. Thus, as soon as he saw Lucas, he couldn¡¯t help feeling nervous and horrified. Sitting beside Oscar was an old man in a gray tuxedo. He was none other than Charlie, the butler of the Smiths who had spoken with Lucas this morning. The other people standing around the conference table were all unfamiliar faces, but Lucas guessed that they should also be from the Smith family and Peak Constructions. ¡°Mr. Gray, have you already changed your mind and are nning to cooperate with the Smiths?¡± Charlie asked with a smile on his face. The reason he got Peak Constructions to begin construction on that plot ofnd was to force Lucas toe over. With a triumphant smile on his face, he thought that he would be able to see some regret and indignation on Lucas¡¯s face. Unfortunately, Lucas kept a straight face without any emotion on it at all. He was much better at keeping hisposure than some sly old foxes decades older than him. ¡°Lucas Gray, are you here to submit to the Smiths? Why are you showing a poker face?¡± Oscar said harshly while staring at Lucas with gritted teeth. Yesterday, Lucas had picked him up and pped him more than twenty times until his face became as swollen as a pig¡¯s. Even now, the swelling hadn¡¯t gone down yet. His face was still swollen, bruised, and extremely unsightly. Lucas had knocked out half of his teeth. When he spoke, air kept leaking through, and his speech became bizarre. Lucas looked at Oscar like he was a fool. ¡°It seems that I went too easy on you yesterday.¡± Updates by . As soon as he said this, Oscar¡¯s body shuddered, and the numbing pain immediately returned to his face. ¡°You!¡± He was about to say a few more ruthless words. But when he saw the contempt in Lucas¡¯s eyes, a sense of fear surged in Oscar¡¯s heart, rendering him unable to utter a single word. ¡°Mr. Gray, I initially thought that you came to us now because you already figured things out. But from what you just said, it seems that you¡¯ve made the wrong choice, and you¡¯ve decided to go against the Smiths to the end?¡± Charlie said nonchntly while looking at Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m speaking to your master. Who are you to interfere?¡± Lucas nced at Charlie indifferently, not taking him seriously at all. ¡°Punk! How dare you disrespect Mr. Charlie, the head butler of the Smiths!¡± A Smith executive sitting beside Charlie immediately stood up, glowered at Lucas, and shouted angrily, ¡°Today, I¡¯m going to teach you how to respect your elders!¡± Then he rushed directly at Lucas and waved his hand to p Lucas. The Smith executive had been brought here from DC by Charlie, so he had no idea of how powerful Lucas was. He was just following his usual custom of doing his best to suck up to Charlie. He would p everyone who was disrespectful to Charlie a few times. Seeing how rude Lucas was to Charlie, he immediately felt like it was time for him to perform. ¡°Stop!¡± Charlie¡¯s expression changed, and he immediately shouted to stop the executive from courting death. But it was toote! Just as the executive¡¯s hand was about to reach Lucas¡¯s face, Lucas grabbed his wrist and twisted it, breaking it. Snap! ¡°Ah! Ah!¡± With the sound of bones cracking, the executive immediately shrieked in misery, resembling a pig being ughtered. Lucas snorted in annoyance. Irked by the shrill screams, he kicked the man¡¯s chest. Bang! The executive immediately flew far away, mmed against the wall, and slid to the floor. At this moment, he was like a dead pig, and blood was pouring out of his mouth, though he had already passed out. Lucas stood still calmly, as if everything that just happened was trivial. This scene immediately made all the people in the meeting hall turn pale. With a casual twist of his hand, he had broken the executive¡¯s wrist like it was a cucumber. And with a casual kick, he had caused thetter to vomit blood and fall into aa with severe injuries. If Lucas wanted to, he could kill them at any time! Lucas stood in front of the crowd and said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m here today to collect a debt, not to kill anyone. I hope you don¡¯t have a death wish.¡± Oscar¡¯s face was streaming with sweat, but he still feigned ignorance despite knowing the truth. ¡°What debt are you collecting? The Smiths don¡¯t owe you a thing!¡± ¡°Are you suffering from amnesia or Alzheimer¡¯s? You personally promised to give me the plot ofnd on the west bank of the Sierra River for free at the auction in Emerald International yesterday.¡± Lucas pulled up a chair and sat down calmly. Oscar¡¯s face was brimming with fury. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?¡± ¡°Everyone heard it at the auction yesterday when you were lying on the floor and begging me to let you off. Have you forgotten so soon?¡± Lucas said deliberately. Everyone else except Oscar and Invincible Phantom Hands looked at Oscar in disbelief. The sessor of the Smiths had actually lied on the floor and begged Lucas to let him off! Moreover, in order to survive, he even promised to give Lucas thend he bought at a high price of 350 million dors for free. He was the future helmsman of the Smiths? Lucas¡¯s words made the Smiths¡¯ impression of Oscar sink to rock bottom. Oscar remembered how he had been beaten up to the point of having his mouth full of blood, more than half of his teeth missing, and his face as swollen as a pig¡¯s, so much so that he was unable to speak. At the time, Lucas had also stepped on his chest, and while he was unable to speak, Lucas said that he would give Lucas the plot ofnd that he had bought at the auction. Oscar originally thought that Lucas was just humiliating him, but he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to use this reason to ask for thend from him! It was simply shameless! It was tant snatching! Oscar was about to explode with fury. ¡°You said it yourself! I never said that I would give you thend for free! Stop daydreaming!¡± Thend had been auctioned for 350 million dors. Why should he give it to Lucas just like that? He wouldn¡¯t agree to it, nor would the Smiths! ¡°Seems like you¡¯re nning to default on your debt.¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows and sneered. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll ask you again personally. Did you promise to give me that plot ofnd or not?!¡± Then Lucas stood up and walked toward Oscar. Chapter 826 - Who Is More Despicable? Chapter 826: Who Is More Despicable? ¡°Wh-what do you want to do?¡± Oscar immediately became anxious, and his hair stood on end as he watched Lucas approach him one step at a time. Lucas wouldn¡¯t pay attention to him. He was getting closer and closer to Oscar. ¡°Stop! Stop right there. Don¡¯te any closer!¡± Oscar yelled frantically. He screamed, ¡°Invincible Phantom Hands, quickly stop him!¡± Invincible Phantom Hands was utterly unwilling to confront Lucas, but protecting Oscar was his duty. Now that Charlie, the Smiths¡¯ butler, was present too, he could only bite the bullet and move forward to try and stop Lucas. ¡°If you dare to make a move, I won¡¯t spare your life again.¡± Lucas nced at Invincible Phantom Hands coldly. Invincible Phantom Hands immediately stopped. After yesterday¡¯s encounter with Lucas, he already knew how powerful Lucas was. He would have no problem killing him. Betweenpleting his mission and staying alive, his life was naturally more important. Invincible Phantom Hands stood still without moving and helplessly watched as Lucas walked toward Oscar. ¡°Good-for-nothing!¡± Oscar scolded angrily. But no matter how he cursed at Invincible Phantom Hands, it was pointless because the most important thing now was to save himself from Lucas! 1 ¡°Charlie! Charlie, quickly think of a solution! Save me!¡± Oscar yelled at Charlie anxiously. Charlie was a very important and special existence in the Smith family. Thanks to Charlie¡¯s intelligence and wit, Tyson had be the helmsman of the Smiths. Thus, Tyson regarded Charlie highly, and Oscar and the younger generation also relied on him. Now, Invincible Phantom Hands was frightened by Lucas¡¯s words and was of no use to Oscar at all. The only life-saving straw Oscar could clutch at was Charlie. With a gloomy expression on his face, Charlie stood up and threatened, ¡°Lucas Gray, stop! If you dare to touch him, the Smiths will definitely...¡± But before he finished speaking, the threatening look on his face was reced by fear. Lucas had already walked straight up to Oscar and squeezed his neck with one hand. Lucas¡¯s long, slender, and powerful fingers were wrapped tightly around Oscar¡¯s neck. Given how he could easily break the wrist of that Smith executive, he could easily twist Oscar¡¯s neck and break it! Everyone in the meeting hall was dumbfounded as they watched the scene in front of them in utter horror! Is... is he going to kill Oscar Smith in public? Does he really not care about the Smiths¡¯ threat at all? ¡°Lucas Gray, quickly let go of him! Otherwise, I won¡¯t be polite!¡± Charlie screamed hysterically with cold sweat all over his face. As he yelled, the door of the meeting room opened, and several armed bodyguards immediately dashed in and aimed their pistols at Lucas. 1 ording to Charlie¡¯s arrangements, they had already been hiding in the small room next to the meeting hall early in the morning, waiting for Lucas toe over. Once they fell out and broke into a conflict, the bodyguards would appear and force Lucas to obey them with their guns. Otherwise, they would kill him on the spot. But there would always be unexpected changes in life. Everyone, including Charlie, didn¡¯t expect Lucas to behave so unreasonably as to walk straight to Oscar and grab his neck. This put them in a passive position. The gunmen squad lurking next door could only immediately appear to deter Lucas. ¡°Lucas Gray, I advise you to let go of Mr. Oscar immediately! Otherwise, these bodyguards will definitely fill you with holes!¡± Charlie shouted with immense murderous intent in his eyes. Originally, he had wanted to rope Lucas in for his own use so that he could not only take control of California and Oregon from Lucas¡¯s hands but also give the Smiths another powerhouse. But Charlie now knew that Lucas was an untamable falcon. Since he couldn¡¯t get Lucas to help the Smiths, he could only destroy him, lest he became the Smiths¡¯ enemy! 1 Facing the seven pistol muzzles in front of him, Lucas kept a straight face. He was still holding Oscar¡¯s neck tightly in his hand as he drawled, ¡°If you don¡¯t want him to live, go ahead and shoot.¡± Charlie¡¯s expression changed instantly. He didn¡¯t expect that Lucas could remain calm under the threat of so many pistols. But his life was still in Lucas¡¯s hands, so he didn¡¯t dare to disobey him at all. Oscar was Tyson¡¯s only biological son. If he died here, Charlie wouldn¡¯t be able to absolve himself of the me! ¡°You... You¡¯re actually holding him hostage. How despicable!¡± Charlie didn¡¯t dare to order the gunmen to shoot, so he could only shout and curse at Lucas. ¡°Hah, the Smiths hid so many gunmen just to deal with me. Isn¡¯t that despicable?¡± Lucas sneered and tightened his grip on Oscar¡¯s neck, causing his eyes to roll backward. ¡°You... What do you want? As long as you let go of Mr. Oscar, you can name any condition. I will agree as long as it¡¯s within my means!¡± Charlie gave in to Lucas with nervousness written all over his face. He was really afraid that Lucas would strangle Oscar to death. Oscar was scared to death. He was ashen, and cold sweat was pouring out from all over his body. It was as if he had been fished out of water. The sweat slid down Oscar¡¯s swollen face and touched Lucas¡¯s hand. ¡°Tsk!¡± With a look of disgust, Lucas suddenly let go and pushed Oscar away. A look of immense joy appeared on Charlie¡¯s face. He thought that what he said had tempted Lucas, so he had let go of Oscar¡¯s neck. Charlie had a wicked and smug joy in his eyes. Lucas Gray is an idiot. If he still held Oscar hostage, I would be scrupulous and not dare to shoot. But now that he¡¯s let go of Oscar, it means that it¡¯s time for him to die! ¡°Do it now! Shoot him!¡± Charlie suddenly hollered. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ... With hismand, the surrounding gunmen immediately shot Lucas without hesitation. Sparks emerged from the muzzle of the gun. It was almost impossible to escape from such intense gunfire! But to everyone¡¯s surprise, the moment the gunshots sounded, Lucas instantly vanished from where he was standing! Chapter 827 - Boundless Fear Chapter 827: Boundless Fear Lucas, who should have been struck by the bullets, vanished into thin air in front of everyone! ¡°Where... where is he?¡± Charlie asked in disbelief, his eyes almost falling out of their sockets. It was not just him. Everyone in the meeting hall was shocked as they stared at the spot where Lucas vanished, full of astonishment! How could a living person disappear in an instant? It was like magic! ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Waahhh!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± While everyone was looking around for Lucas frantically, a few gunmen shrieked in unison. The crowd looked at the sound in horror, just in time to see several bloody hands falling off of the wrists of the gunmen. These severed hands were each still holding a ck and heavy pistol! Thud! Bang! Bang! ... A series of thumps sounded. The seven severed hands and the pistols they were holding all fell to the floor as a massive amount of blood gushed out. Shrieks and wails burst out in the hall. Everyone looked at this with deathly pale faces. No one knew how Lucas had suddenly disappeared from the main seat of the conference table, perfectly avoiding all the bullets, and appeared several meters away beside the gunmen. They didn¡¯t know how he managed to sever the hands of the gunmen so quickly and precisely either! He was just like a phantom, and his actions were beyond the abilities of ordinary humans! 2 ¡°How... how is this possible?¡± Charlie¡¯s pale face was full of shock and horror. Lucas was simply... beyond human! For the first time in his life, Charlie felt incredibly out of his element. He had no idea how terrifying an enemy the Smiths had gotten embroiled with! Invincible Phantom Hands stood still with maniacal excitement and shock on his face. ¡°He... he¡¯s so fast and skilled. He¡¯s definitely at the level of a grandmaster!¡± Grandmaster was the title for the extremely rare supreme powerhouses of the world! Invincible Phantom Hands¡¯ master had been a top expert as well. A long time ago, he had once told Invincible Phantom Hands that there was a ss of powerhouses that ordinary people couldn¡¯t reach. Like superheroes, their strength was far beyond the imagination of ordinary people. His master had always had the goal of bing a grandmaster, but unfortunately, he never reached this realm even until he died. Invincible Phantom Hands used to think that his master was just telling him legends and that it was impossible for anyone to reach this realm. Yet he witnessed a miracle with his own eyes today. Moreover, this legendary grandmaster-level powerhouse was actually a young man less than 30 years old! Looking at the extremely calm Lucas, Invincible Phantom Hands¡¯ eyes suddenly had a look of frantic worship. Only a person like him could be considered a top powerhouse! Along with the wailing of the gunmen and the odor of blood filling the room, Lucas once again walked toward Oscar. ¡°No... No... Don¡¯te over! Please... I¡¯m begging you...¡± Oscar looked at Lucas as if he was looking at a murderous goding out of hell. He frantically tried to hide. Unfortunately, he was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he couldn¡¯t move at all. All he could do was lean against the wall and watch Lucas approach him. ¡°Oscar Smith, now tell me. Did you agree to give me thend by the river for free?¡± Lucas walked up to Oscar and looked down at him. An extremely menacing and mighty aura emanated from Lucas¡¯s body, causing Oscar to be able to bear it any longer and copse to the floor. ¡°Yes... yes! I promised you that I would... that I would give you thatnd!¡± Oscar was frightened out of his wits. He hurriedly agreed with Lucas, fearing that Lucas would kill him if he was unhappy. ¡°That¡¯s what you said. What if you go back on your word again?¡± Lucas smirked like a cat teasing a rat. ¡°No! Absolutely not! I... can write a letter of transfer. I won¡¯t go back on my word!¡± Oscar hurriedly said. He immediately instructed a secretary of Peak Constructions to prepare the transfer contract. Lucas finally smiled. ¡°In that case, thank you, Mr. Smith!¡± Soon, the frightened secretary returned with the transfer contract and handed it to Oscar to have him sign and seal it. Then he handed it to Lucas with trembling hands. Lucas casually nced at it to ensure that there was no mistake, nodded, and put the transfer contract into his pocket. ¡°Uh... M-Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve given you thisnd, and I will... nevere to California again! I-I¡¯ll get lost to the airport right now and never show up in front of you ever again in my life!¡± Oscar said with fear and trepidation, his bodypletely drenched. Lucas nodded casually and didn¡¯t stop him. Oscar had almost died. He was so terrified that he wouldn¡¯t dare to provoke Lucas again. After Oscar stumbled out of the meeting hall, Charlie wiped the cold sweat from his face and hurriedly bid farewell to Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Gray! I hope you won¡¯t mind my mistakes! I¡¯ll leave California immediately and never show up in front of you again!¡± With that, he ran toward the door of the reception hall. ¡°Stop! Did I say you could leave?¡± An extremely cold voice resembling the voice of a demon from hell rang in Charlie¡¯s ears. Charlie stiffened immediately. Even though he was desperate to leave this ce, his legs were no longer under his control. After hearing what Lucas said, he was frozen in ce, not daring to move an inch. Fear surged in Charlie¡¯s heart, and he shuddered violently. He never thought that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be willing to let him go! He wondered how Lucas would deal with him. Chapter 828 - Phone Call

Chapter 828: Phone Call

In the meeting hall, everyone couldn¡¯t help looking at Charlie. Lucas obviously wasn¡¯t going to let off the butler of the Smiths so easily. Cold sweat broke out on Charlie¡¯s back as he mustered his courage to force a smile and say fawningly, ¡°Mr. Gray, I was wrong for what happened previously. Please don¡¯t stoop to my level. I¡¯m willing to make amends, and you may make any requests to Mr. Tyson. We will certainly give you a satisfactory answer!¡± He had long lost hisposure, and now, he just wanted to cate Lucas¡¯s anger toward him and quickly leave. He was well aware that he had already offended Lucas terribly by ordering his men to shoot Lucas. Charlie could only hope that Lucas would be appeased and spare his life. Lucas¡¯s strength had far exceeded Charlie¡¯s imagination. Even the Smiths¡¯ top powerhouse was no match for Lucas. He had to inform Tyson about this! While Charlie was terrified, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Call Tyson Smith right now.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Charlie stood rooted to the floor in shock, unable to react for a long time. Lucas looked at him coldly. ¡°Do you want me to repeat myself?¡± ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± Charlie hurriedly said. At the same time, he finally confirmed that Lucas indeed wanted him to call Tyson. Although he vaguely felt that something was amiss, he had no room to reject him now. Charlie gritted his teeth, took out his phone, and called Tyson. ¡°Put it on speakerphone,¡± Lucas instructed. Updates by Charlie didn¡¯t dare to dy. He quickly followed Lucas¡¯s instructions and put it on speakerphone. Soon, the call connected, and an old voice sounded from the other end. ¡°Charlie, how are things going? Has that punk agreed to cooperate?¡± Tyson asked. Charlie wanted to quickly tell Tyson about what was happening here, but with Lucas staring at him menacingly from the side, he simply didn¡¯t dare to say another word. ¡°No¡­ Mr. Smith, he turned us down!¡± Charlie stammered. ¡°What? It seems that punk is really arrogant and stubborn! ¡°Does he think that his martial arts skills and meager power are enough for him to go against the Huttons? He doesn¡¯t know any better! ¡°Since he¡¯s so ignorant, let¡¯s go ahead with our previous n and execute n B. Compel him, tempt him, or whatever the method, we must snatch the power of California and Oregon from him! If this doesn¡¯t work, just get rid of him! ¡°I remember you brought a group of gunmen there. Let them do it. Even if that punk¡¯s good at martial arts, he can only die!¡± Tyson¡¯s tone was very domineering, as if it was a piece of cake for him to kill Lucas. Charlie was on the verge of tears. He had already sent the gunmen, but they had been of no use at all. Lucas had even severed the hands of these gunmen, and they were still lying on the floor, bleeding profusely! Furthermore, Lucas was listening from the side, but Tyson waspletely clueless. He even revealed all of their previously discussed ns, causing Charlie to break out in cold sweat. He wished he could Tyson¡¯s side and cover his mouth to get him to stop talking. ¡°Uh¡­ Mr. Smith, it¡¯s like this. After I¡­ I interacted with Mr. Gray, I realized that he¡¯s indeed a talent who¡¯s rare toe by. No matter what, we shouldn¡¯t offend him. Instead, we have to treat him with respect!¡± ¡°Furthermore, given Mr. Gray¡¯s martial arts skills and abilities, there are very few people in this world who can deal with him. So¡­ we¡¯d better not be enemies with him. ¡°In my opinion, since¡­ since Mr. Gray isn¡¯t willing to agree to the cooperation, it should be because we¡¯re not being sincere enough, and we should give Mr. Gray more benefits. ¡°When the timees, we will cooperate with Mr. Gray. Even if we can¡¯t take down the entire Hutton family, we¡¯ll definitely be able to deal them a severe blow!¡± Charlie wished he could tell Tyson directly that Lucas was an extremely powerful monster who wasn¡¯t to be provoked at all. But he couldn¡¯t say so directly and could only try his best to tell Tyson in a roundabout manner in hopes that he would understand the meaning behind his words. Unfortunately, Tyson was thousands of miles away and didn¡¯t receive Charlie¡¯s meaning. He asked doubtfully, ¡°Charlie, what are you saying? Weren¡¯t you the one who came up with the ns to deal with Lucas Gray? ¡°Besides, when did we say we would really deal with the Huttons? This is just an excuse to get Lucas Gray on our side. What we want is to gain control of California and Oregon and make him our pawn so that he will fight to the death with Huttons while we reap the benefits from their feud. ¡°Moreover, even if that punk fails to cause any damage to the Huttons, it will have absolutely nothing to do with the Smiths. Regardless of what happens, he¡¯s the one doing everything, and the Huttons won¡¯t be able to do anything to us. This is the perfect n to kill two birds with one stone you brought up!¡± Hearing Tyson reveal the ns they had discussed, Charlie simply wanted to die. In particr, after Charlie heard Tyson say that these were all his ns, his heart skipped a beat as he felt Lucas¡¯s gaze bing colder. Ahhh! Tyson Smith, you idiot. Are you trying to kill me? If I die, you won¡¯t live long either! Damn it, this is infuriating! Charlie wished he could fly back to the Smith residence in DC to choke Tyson and ask him if he was an idiot because he failed to understand the meaning of what he said earlier! ¡°No, Mr. Smith, you must have misunderstood what I meant! I¡­ I actually don¡¯t mean that at all. Anyway, Mr. Gray is a young and impressive powerhouse with infinite potential. The Smiths must not offend him. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Charlie said through gritted teeth. Tyson finally sensed that something was amiss. What Charlie was saying now waspletely different from what they had discussed yesterday at the Smith residence. Moreover, he seemed to sense that Charlie¡¯s voice was faintly trembling! This gave Tyson an ominous hunch. Charlie didn¡¯t seem to be in the right state of mind! After staying silent for a moment, Tyson suddenly said, ¡°Is that punk next to you? Get him to answer the phone!¡± He was the helmsman of one of the eight top families of DC after all. He wasn¡¯t aplete idiot, and he could easily guess the truth. Charlie heaved a sigh of relief.?Tyson finally guessed it. Since Tyson guessed it himself, Lucas Gray probably won¡¯t me me for it¡­ While thinking about it anxiously, Charlie looked at Lucas. ¡°Uh¡­ Mr. Gray, Mr. Smith wants to talk to you.¡± Chapter 829 - I Want To Pledge Allegiance

Chapter 829: I Want To Pledge Allegiance

Lucas said indifferently, ¡°I heard.¡± The sound of teeth grinding immediately came from the other end. At the thought that Lucas had heard what they said, Tyson was so furious that his teeth were chattering. Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°Mr. Smith, I didn¡¯t expect that you not only want to snatch Oregon and California away from me, but you even want me to work for you. What a good n!¡± On the other end, Tyson sneered. ¡°Kid, since you¡¯ve heard it all, it doesn¡¯t matter! As long as you are willing to serve the Smiths and work for us, I can help you deal with the Huttons and take revenge for you and your mother!¡± A cold light shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes. ¡°The matter has already been exposed, so stop trying to fool me with the same reason. Your behavior makes it seem like you¡¯re treating everyone else like a fool. Of course, the real fool might be you, Mr. Smith.¡± ¡°Bastard! How dare you?!¡± Tyson flew into a rage. ¡°I¡¯m the helmsman of the Smiths! Punk, are you that impatient to die?¡± Lucas mocked, ¡°Those two sessors of the Smiths said the same thing in front of me several times, but I¡¯m still alive and well.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so smug in front of me! The Smiths have yet to deal with you officially! Just you wait. I¡¯ll make you die miserably! I¡¯ll make you regret what you said today!¡± Tyson roared in exasperation. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait.¡± Lucas showed a dangerous smile. ¡°Let me tell you something then. From now on, I¡¯ll kill every Smith I see in California and Oregon! ¡°I hope you won¡¯t regret it in the future.¡± With that, Lucas crushed the phone! Tyson¡¯s lungs were about to explode when he heard Lucas¡¯s threat. The helmsman of one of the eight top families in DC was actually threatened by a kid! The more annoying thing was that this kid actually hung up without saying a single word! Updates by Enraged, Tyson called back, but this time, the phone was no longer reachable. He angrily swept a pile of documents on his desk onto the floor. After a while, Tyson finally began to think about what just happened. Logically speaking, Charlie should be with Oscar and Invincible Phantom Hands. But now, he was clearly under Lucas¡¯s control, and even this call was under Lucas¡¯s supervision. In that case, where was Invincible Phantom Hands? Given Tyson¡¯s understanding of Invincible Phantom Hands, he knew that Invincible Phantom Hands was very loyal. Thus, the only reason he couldn¡¯t protect Charlie was that he had gotten into a mishap too. The greatest possibility was that Invincible Phantom Hands had been defeated by Lucas! In that case, things were truly awry! ¡­ In the office building of Peak Constructions in Orange County¡­ In the meeting hall, after crushing the phone, Lucas turned to look at Charlie and said coldly, ¡°Since your master won¡¯t cooperate, I¡¯ll have no choice but to kill you here.¡± With horror written all over his face, Charlie suddenly got on his knees in front of Lucas. Thud! His knees smashed against the floor with a dull sound, and excruciating pain instantly assaulted him. But Charlie could no longer care about the pain, as he was already under the shadow of death. With fear all over his face, he said, ¡°Mr. Gray¡­ please! Please let me go! I-I¡¯m just a butler, and I¡¯m merely following orders. I never intended to offend you! ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m already sixty-four years old. Please let me off and spare my life!¡± The wrinkly-faced Charlie was kneeling on the floor with a pleading gaze in his eyes, looking extremely pitiful and miserable. The other people in the meeting hall didn¡¯t dare to breathe as they watched everything with horror all over their faces. Oscar, the sessor of the Smiths, had already fled far. Charlie, the Smiths¡¯ butler, was now kneeling on the floor and begging Lucas to spare his life. In that case, what would happen to them, the ordinary employees of the Smiths? They could only pray that Lucas wouldn¡¯t take them, a bunch of small fries, seriously and not hold them ountable. Lucas lowered his head and looked at Charlie indifferently. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let you die just yet. I still need you for something. ¡°Stand up ande with me.¡± Hearing that Lucas would spare his life for the time being, Charlie immediately burst into excitement and hurriedly thanked Lucas. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Gray! Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± As for what Lucas wanted him to do, Charlie could no longer worry about it. Lucas turned around and was about to leave when a figure suddenly rushed over and knelt down in front of Lucas with a thud. ¡°Mr. Gray, I am willing to pledge allegiance to you. I beg you to give me this chance!¡± The person kneeling in front of Lucas was Invincible Phantom Hands, one of the Smiths¡¯ top powerhouses! His action immediately caused everyone to have a look of disbelief. One of the top three experts of the Smiths was actually kneeling in front of Lucas and begging him for a chance to pledge allegiance to him. It was¡­ simply iprehensible! The Smiths were one of the eight great families of DC. Be it for status or power, it was better to follow them than Lucas, right? Charlie was shocked. As the chief butler who had worked for the Smiths for years, Charlie was very clear about what kind of person Invincible Phantom Hands was. His strength ranked among the top three in the Smiths, and he had gained the trust of the Smiths. Besides, Invincible Phantom Hands was an extremely arrogant person. In order to recruit him, the Smiths had spent arge amount of money. His current annual sry was a high seven figures. But Invincible Phantom Hands actually took the initiative to beg to pledge allegiance to Lucas. It was really hard to understand! However, Charlie was only guessing the inner thoughts of Invincible Phantom Hands with the mind of a normal person, so it was naturally impossible for him to guess what kind of a person he was. Invincible Phantom Hands was a martial arts practitioner and a top expert in the eyes of the general public. What he had seen and was in pursuit of was naturally different from that of Charlie and the others. Invincible Phantom Hands was very certain that Lucas¡¯s strength had now definitely reached the legendary grandmaster level. Even his master hadn¡¯t reached this level and ended up dying with regrets. Now, he had an extremely rare opportunity! As long as he could follow Lucas and receive some pointers from him, he might one day be able to step into that threshold himself and be a transcendent grandmaster, aplishing what his master hadn¡¯t been able to back then! But Lucas merely lowered his head and nced at Invincible Phantom Hands indifferently. ¡°I don¡¯t need a traitor to pledge allegiance to me.¡± Chapter 830 - The Smiths In Chaos

Chapter 830: The Smiths In Chaos

Invincible Phantom Hands¡¯ face immediately sank. He had indeed been a little too hasty and reckless, but he didn¡¯t want to give up this rare opportunity. He said to Lucas, ¡°I¡¯m just an employee of the Smiths. It doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m one of them, so this isn¡¯t a betrayal! ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re the first person I want to pledge allegiance to, so please give me this chance!¡± His attitude was extremely determined and sincere. He even kowtowed and didn¡¯t get up for a long time. Just when everyone thought that Lucas would agree to ept Invincible Phantom Hands, Lucas shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already said my piece.¡± With that, Lucas bypassed Invincible Phantom Hands and walked out the door of the meeting hall. Watching Lucas leave, the people in the meeting hall were all surprised. ¡°Mr. Gray actually rejected Invincible Phantom Hands¡¯ allegiance!¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t figure it out. Invincible Phantom Hands is a top powerhouse ranked among the top three in even the Smith family. He¡¯s a famous expert in DC. I heard that the Smiths paid a high price to hire Invincible Phantom Hands! But now that he¡¯s voluntarily pledging allegiance to Mr. Gray, he was rejected?¡± ¡°Invincible Phantom Hands is indeed very strong, but Mr. Gray is even stronger than him! That¡¯s why Mr. Gray doesn¡¯t need his allegiance at all!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Mr. Gray is much stronger than him. He really doesn¡¯t need the allegiance of someone weaker than him¡­¡± ¡­ Invincible Phantom Hands was still kneeling on the floor. Hearing the discussions around him, he gritted his teeth. But he was only a little dejected but not too shocked. After all, Lucas was a rare grandmaster-level powerhouse, so how could he let just anyone be his follower. But Invincible Phantom Hands would never give up! As Invincible Phantom Hands said himself, he was only an employee of the Smiths, and his contract was about to expire. Even if he had topensate for the breach of contract, he was determined to sever all ties with the Smiths. It was impossible for him toply with the Smiths and go against Lucas. Reason being, he had a greater goal! ... Meanwhile, Lucas had already left Peak Constructions with Charlie. Sitting in Lucas¡¯s car, Charlie clenched his fist, feeling extremely uneasy. He didn¡¯t know where Lucas was taking him nor what Lucas would do to him next. The feeling of beingpletely under the control of someone made Charlie extremely ufortable. But now that he was already at Lucas¡¯s mercy, he didn¡¯t have a choice. The only fortunate thing was that Lucas said that he wouldn¡¯t let him die for now. As long as he could stay alive, it was the greatest fortune! More than twenty minutester, Lucas drove his Jaguar into a beautiful manor. Connor, the current helmsman of the Hales, immediately walked out of the manor and greeted Lucas respectfully. ¡°Mr. Gray, do you have any orders for me today?¡± Lucas pointed at Charlie next to him and instructed Connor, ¡°This is Charlie. He works for the Smiths in DC. He¡¯ll be staying with the Hales during this period of time, and you will be responsible for watching over him. Nothing can go wrong. Do you understand?¡± Shock immediately appeared on Connor¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t expect this ordinary-looking old man in front of him to be the butler of the Smiths, one of the eight top families in DC! Lucas intended to keep him under strict supervision at the Hale residence! Connor naturally didn¡¯t have the guts to ask Lucas what had happened. He merely felt that Lucas trusted the Hales since he handed this task over to them! Connor agreed respectfully, ¡°Yes! I promise to keep a close eye on him and make sure that he doesn¡¯t leave the Hale residence!¡± Lucas continued, ¡°He¡¯s just a prisoner. If he behaves strangely, kill him right away!¡± This sentence immediately made Charlie shudder in fear! He originally thought that since he worked for one of the eight top families of DC, if hepelled him with power and status, he would definitely be able to make the young Connor release him. But Lucas¡¯s words made Charlie instantly dispel these thoughts. Although the young helmsman of the Hale family might not really dare to kill him, Charlie didn¡¯t dare to take the risk. After settling Charlie¡¯s affairs, Lucas didn¡¯t stay at the Hales¡¯ and drove away. Soon after, a sensational piece of news suddenly began spreading in DC. ¡°Charlie, the butler of the Smiths, one of the eight great families in DC, has died!¡± This news shocked many powerful DC families. Who was Charlie? He was the Smiths¡¯ chief butler, whose status was almost on par with that of Tyson! Moreover, it could be said that Tyson was now the helmsman all thanks to Charlie¡¯s schemes and ns. The Smiths¡¯ current development was also rted to Charlie! Such an important person actually suddenly died elsewhere! ¡°With Charlie¡¯s death, the Smiths will be in chaos!¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure! Tyson managed to secure his position as the helmsman because he relied on Charlie¡¯s help and advice. With Charlie¡¯s death, Tyson and his brothers definitely won¡¯t sit back and do nothing. I reckon the Smiths are going to be caught in internal strife again!¡± ¡°Of those whopeted with Tyson for the position of helmsman, there are still two who are alive and well! Both of them are far more talented than Tyson, but because Charlie had helped Tyson, Tyson eventually became the helmsman of the family. Now that Charlie is dead, the Smiths are going to be in trouble!¡± ... Although Charlie was only a butler, he wasn¡¯t an ordinary one. He was actually extremely important to the Smiths. As soon as the news of his death spread, it immediately sparked an uproar in DC. Not only did the Smiths¡¯ internal turmoil begin, but many other families who had feuds with the Smiths also began taking action. They were waiting for the Smiths to start their internal strife so that they could take the opportunity to kick them when they were down and crush them in one fell swoop. All of DC was in turmoil because of this piece of news. In the Smiths¡¯ manor in DC¡­ In the most luxurious vi, Tyson, the head of the Smith family, was sitting in the master seat with several people around him. ¡°Tyson, what exactly is going on here? This is spreading like wildfire out there. Shouldn¡¯t you give us a reasonable exnation?¡± An old man sitting next to Tyson, who looked a bit simr to him but was balding with barely any hair left on his head, questioned aggressively. ¡°Thomas, I just said that Charlie isn¡¯t dead! It¡¯s just fake news that some people are spreading to cause unrest within our family. What else do you want me to exin?¡± Tyson retorted angrily. Thomas was Tyson¡¯s second brother, and he hadpeted with him for the position of the helmsman of the family for most of their lives. As soon as he heard the news of Charlie¡¯s death, he immediately came over to question him. How abominable! Had he known that this would have happened, he would have tried every way to kill his two brothers! Chapter 831 - Turned into a Lunatic Chapter 831: Turned into a Lunatic ¡°Tyson, you im that he¡¯s still alive, but you can¡¯t produce any evidence. How can you convince us? Okay, since you say that Charlie isn¡¯t dead, summon him immediately! ¡°As long as Charlie appears in front of everyone, the rumors will naturally copse on their own. Wouldn¡¯t that be more useful than trying so hard to exin it here?¡± Thomas said unrelentingly. He didn¡¯t believe what Tyson said at all, and he had to make Charlie appear. Tyson raised his brows and said furiously, ¡°I¡¯ve already said it several times. I¡¯ve sent Charlie to carry out a confidential mission, and he¡¯s not in DC now!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Thomas pped the table in annoyance. ¡°You keep saying the same things. Tyson, don¡¯t think that we¡¯re all fools who will be deceived by you! ¡°You¡¯re saying he went out to carry a secret mission, huh? In that case, tell me what mission it is that even we, the core members of the family, can¡¯t know? ¡°Also, even if Charlie went on a mission, he must have brought his phone with him. But now, we can¡¯t even reach him. No one¡¯s picking up! Surely you¡¯re not going to say that he went to some mountain where there¡¯s no reception to carry out his mission, are you? ¡°Only you¡¯d believe your bullshit excuses! ¡°There are all kinds of rumors spreading out there. If you can¡¯t give us a reasonable exnation, I won¡¯t give up!¡± Anger surged in Thomas¡¯s chest. ¡°Thomas is right. You must give us a reasonable exnation about Charlie!¡± ¡°Yes, you can¡¯t act arbitrarily here. If you can¡¯t give us a clear exnation, step down from your position as helmsman and hand it over to someonepetent!¡± ¡°The position of the helmsman is meant for those who are capable. If you can¡¯t resolve the crisis at hand, you might as well step down and give way to someone else!¡± The people present all had high seniority in the family. They spoke up at once without cutting Tyson any ck at all. They simply demanded that he step down as helmsman. Reason being, they all knew that Tyson was just an ipetent wastrel who wouldn¡¯t have be the helmsman without Charlie! Tyson was extremely furious. There were unverified rumors about Charlie, and these elders all turned against him and even demanded that he step down as the helmsman. It was outrageous! But Tyson couldn¡¯t lose his temper and deal with these old men because they had high seniority in the family. If they stood together, they would definitely be able to overthrow him and strip him of his position as helmsman. How could he let this happen? Tyson gritted his teeth and said to the people around him, ¡°In that case, I can promise you that I will definitely give you an exnation and tell you all about my n at this time tomorrow. But I can¡¯t do so now!¡± ¡°Tomorrow? Are you trying to dy? What difference does an extra day make?¡± Thomas mocked. Smack! Tyson mmed the table. ¡°I said that I would give you all an exnation at this time tomorrow! If you try to force me now, I won¡¯t be polite to you! ¡°Don¡¯t forget. I¡¯m the helmsman of the Smiths now. If you turn against me, I don¡¯t mind fighting to the death with you! Let¡¯s see who wins in the end!¡± Seeing him lose his temper, the elders fell silent. In fact, Tyson was right. The elders could indeed stand together to remove him from his position. But given that he had been the helmsman for years, he certainly had some trump cards in his hands. If they really fought, neither side would be at an advantage, and they would only end up benefiting the enemies who were waiting for an opportunity. At that time, the entire family would be in danger of being annihted. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll give you another day! If you still can¡¯t give us a reasonable exnation and solution to solve our troubles by this time tomorrow, you should resign from the position of helmsman yourself, lest things turn too ugly!¡± Thomas glowered at Tyson with hatred. Then he turned around and mmed the door as he left. With his departure, the other senior members left one after another. Tyson was soon the only one left in therge living room. He sat on his chair for a long time before mming the porcin cup in his hand on the floor and roaring, ¡°Lucas Gray, it¡¯s you again, you bastard!¡± Tyson knew that Lucas could be the only person who spread the news in DC! It was because Charlie was in Lucas¡¯s hands! But even Tyson didn¡¯t know now if Charlie was still alive or not. Having lost his right-hand man, Tyson felt like he had lost his greatest reliance, and he was full of anxiety and anger. He guessed correctly. Lucas had indeed released the rumors to sow discord within the Smiths and cause them to fall into internal strife. While Tyson was still venting his anger, a subordinate came in shakily and reported, ¡°Mr. Smith, Mr. Oscar is back!¡± Tyson immediately yelled, ¡°Quickly tell him toe in here to see me! I have to ask him what happened in California!¡± ¡°This...¡± The subordinate looked conflicted and terrified, seemingly not daring to continue. ¡°What are you waiting for? I told you to get him toe!¡± Tyson hollered and kicked the subordinate¡¯s leg. The subordinate was on the verge of tears, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, ¡°Mr. Oscar... has gone mad!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Tyson was bbergasted! ¡°Mr. Oscar... As soon as he returned, he began... speaking incoherently. He seems to have suffered a huge blow!¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Tyson froze for a moment before roaring again. He immediately kicked his subordinate aside and then rushed out of the vi. Oscar was Tyson¡¯s only biological son, and his vi was right next to Tyson¡¯s. There was a figure huddling under therge tree at the entrance of the vi, looking panic-stricken. ¡°I beg you, please don¡¯t kill me! ¡°I... I know my mistakes. I won¡¯t evere to California or show up in front of you again! ¡°And... and I¡¯ll give you that plot ofnd for free! Please don¡¯te here. Stay away!¡± The figure was Oscar! He was no longer as high-spirited as before. Instead, his eyes were nk, and he was shuddering from head to toe, with fear written all over his face,pletely terrified of being touched. Oscar had really be a lunatic!. Chapter 832 - Maddy’s Getting Married

Chapter 832: Maddy¡¯s Getting Married

There were many Smiths around Oscar, all looking at him with astonishment. A few of them wanted to help him. But Oscar seemed to see something terrifying as he screamed and tried to smack the man away with all his might before huddling up behind the tree trunk behind him. ¡°Ah! No, d-don¡¯te here! I¡¯ll give you everything! Please don¡¯t kill me! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± Oscar shouted with horror all over his face. ¡°Oscar!¡± Seeing his son¡¯s plight, Tyson¡¯s eyes were wide with anger as he violently pushed aside the surrounding crowd and rushed toward Oscar. ¡°Ahhhh! Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯te over!¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m begging you! Don¡¯t kill me! Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± Oscar could no longer recognize Tyson. Seeing Tysoning over, he immediately yelled and began kowtowing frantically. ¡°Oscar, I¡¯m your father! Open your eyes and take a good look at me. I¡¯m your father!¡± Tyson yelled with reddened eyes as he grabbed Oscar¡¯s shoulders and stopped him from continuing to move. ¡°Please, I¡­ I¡¯ll kowtow to you! Please spare me! I won¡¯t go against you in the future! I won¡¯t go to California again! ¡°Mr. Gray, please! Spare me!¡± Oscar screamed hysterically while struggling with all his might. Looking at what his only son had be, Tyson felt like a knife was cutting his heart! In particr, when he heard his son say the words ¡®Mr. Gray¡¯ in fear, his anger surged right up to his head! ¡°Lucas Gray! I want you to die. I¡¯ll make sure you die a horrible death!¡± Tyson roared at the sky, so angry that he was about to lose his mind. Oscar and Wendy were his only children. Vince was the son of his brother Thomas. Previously in Orange County, Wendy had set up Vince¡¯s son, Roy, for the sake of killing Lucas. Later, Vince had killed her mercilessly in Orange County. Tyson initially wanted to take revenge for his daughter, but he faced the unanimous opposition of the Smiths, who felt that Wendy had brought it upon herself for killing Vince¡¯s son. Thus, Tyson could only bear with the anger and pin all his hopes on his only son, Oscar. However, his only son was now so terrified by Lucas that he had lost his sanity. How could he possibly ept this?! ¡°Damn you, Lucas Gray! If not for you, my daughter wouldn¡¯t have died! My son wouldn¡¯t have gone mad either! ¡°You¡¯ve ruined my children! I will never live in peace with you in this lifetime!¡± ¡°I must kill you! You must die a miserable death! I will make you watch your wife and child die in front of you so that you understand my pain!¡± Tyson¡¯s eyes were burning with fury as he clenched his fists tightly. If Lucas was in front of him now, he would want to devour him! Looking at his son still screaming in agony, Tyson smacked Oscar on the nape of his neck, knocking him out. ¡°Send my son to the hospital immediately!¡± Tyson ordered with clenched jaws. The stunned Smiths immediately responded and sent Oscar to the hospital. Meanwhile, Tyson gloomily returned to his own vi and immediately made a call. ¡°Get the servants to prepare expensive gifts for the Stones!¡± ... The people far away in Orange County weren¡¯t aware of the things happening in DC. In the chairman¡¯s office of Stardust Corporation¡­ When Charlotte saw Lucas taking out the transfer contract for thend by the Sierra River, she was utterly astonished. ¡°Lucas¡­ t-thisnd auctioned for three thunder and fifty million dors! ¡°The Smiths gave it to you just like that? How¡­ how did you do it?¡± Lucas smiled lightly, ¡°Probably because of my charm.¡± Of course, he wouldn¡¯t tell Charlotte what means he had used to force Oscar to give thend for free. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re really charming. Is it possible that Oscar Smith has been really charmed by you? Isn¡¯t this too entric for an old man in his forties,¡± Charlotte said with a deliberate smile. Lucas patted Charlotte¡¯s head in annoyance. ¡°Girl, what are you thinking? ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be leaving Orange County for some time in the near future. I¡¯ll need you to tend to thepany at that time.¡± Charlotte was stunned. Lucas¡¯s decision was beyond her expectations. She hurriedly asked, ¡°Lucas, where are you going? Will you be in any danger?¡± Charlotte had always known that Lucas was not an ordinary person, so he wouldn¡¯t stay in Orange County forever. But since Lucas suddenly had to leave for some time, she was certain that something must have happened. Looking at Charlotte¡¯s worried expression, Lucas smiled slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m very powerful. Who could put me in danger?¡± Looking at the confidence on Lucas¡¯s face, Charlotte thought that he was indeed too powerful for ordinary people to hurt and felt slightly relieved. But she was aware that as Lucas¡¯s status continued to rise, the enemies he offended would be stronger and stronger. The Peerless Martial Association and the Smiths of the eight top families of DC were hegemons not to be trifled with. ¡°Lucas, I know you have your own matters to do, and there are many things that I can¡¯t help you with at all, but I hope that you can protect yourself well. Otherwise, Cheyenne, Amelia, and I will all be extremely worried about you!¡± Charlotte frowned worriedly. ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± Lucas was very touched and made a promise with the simplest words. In fact, Lucas hadn¡¯t nned to leave for DC so early. His original n was to settle the scores with the Huttons, seek justice for his mother, and get everything he deserved. But things had changed, and Lucas had to change his n and head for DC in advance. Reason being, just an hour ago, Jordan suddenly called and anxiously reported a piece of news to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, Maddy is getting married soon!¡± Maddy was the international medical expert who became friends with Lucas and Jordan when they were in the Falcon Regiment in Calico back then. This news immediately surprised Lucas. Jordan had been secretly carrying a torch for Maddy for years, so when Maddy came to Orange County to help treat William, Lucas had created opportunities for the both of them to get closer to each other. The reason Lucas had sent Jordan to DC was to let him spend more time with Maddy, as well as protect Flynn. Lucas naturally hoped that both Jordan and Maddy would be able to obtain their own happiness. Over time, Maddy¡¯s attitude toward Jordan had also changed a lot, and their romance was already budding. But Maddy was suddenly going to marry someone else! ¡°Do you know who Maddy is marrying?¡± Lucas asked in a deep voice. Jordan immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ve asked around. The person she¡¯s marrying is from the Dempsey family, whom the Smiths are supporting. And their power in DC is on par with the Stones.¡± After learning that Maddy was going to get married, he immediately went to find out about these things. ¡°The Smiths!¡± As soon as Lucas heard mention of the Smiths, he immediately understood why Maddy was suddenly getting married! Chapter 833 - Returning To DC

Chapter 833: Returning To DC

¡°Lucas, are you saying that the Smiths are the reason that Maddy is getting married?¡± Jordan asked in surprise. Lucas didn¡¯t hide it from Jordan and told him everything about the feud between him and the Smiths. During the previous martial artspetition, although Lucas had called Jordan back to Orange County, he was only responsible for protecting Cheyenne and Amelia from the Peerless Martial Association. After everything was over, Jordan immediately returned to DC, so it was his first time learning that so many things had happened between Lucas and the Smiths. ¡°Seems like the Smiths are courting death!¡± Jordan gritted his teeth in anger. After thinking about it for a long time, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°The Smiths are suddenly giving such a great gift. We can¡¯t ignore it. We have to go take a good look at Maddy¡¯s wedding!¡± Jordan was shocked. ¡°Lucas, you want toe to DC now?¡± As Lucas¡¯s good friend, Jordan naturally knew about Lucas¡¯s matters and his ns. ording to the original n, Lucas shouldn¡¯t be going to DC at this time. Lucas naturally didn¡¯t forget the ns he had made before. When the Huttons kicked Lucas and his mother out of their home 20 years ago, they had even threatened them not to enter DC again. Thus, Lucas had once said that once he returned to DC, he would destroy the Huttons! Although the power he held now might not be enough topletely wipe out the Huttons, it still wasn¡¯t an issue for him to teach them a lesson. Besides, there was now a change in situation, and Lucas couldn¡¯t just stand by and watch Maddy forced to marry someone she didn¡¯t love, ruining hers and Jordan¡¯s happiness. ¡°I¡¯m going to DC this time, not to fight the Huttons to the death but for Maddy,¡± Lucas said with determination. The reason the Smiths were forcing Maddy to marry someone from the Dempseys was definitely that they had found out about Maddy¡¯s rtionship with him through some channel. Thus, they wanted to use this method to force Lucas to go to DC. Strictly speaking, Lucas had actually implicated Maddy. Besides, Maddy was Lucas¡¯s friend and the person Jordan liked. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way Lucas could watch Maddy fall into a fiery pit. Although he could also ask Jordan to take Maddy away immediately, the Stones were Maddy¡¯s family after all, and doing so would result in a negative impact. Once Maddy left, the Stones would definitely incur the wrath of the Smiths and the Dempseys, and Maddy definitely didn¡¯t want this. Thus, even though he knew that this was the Smiths¡¯ plot to force him to go to DC, he still had to go. He wanted to solve these things personally! ¡°Okay, thank you, Lucas!¡± Jordan was incredibly grateful, but his words of gratitude turned into this simple sentence. Everything was encapsted by silence! ¡­ At ten o¡¯clock the next morning, argemercial ne from California slowlynded at the DC International Airport. A tall figure slowly walked out of the airport. When Lucas stepped onto thisnd that he hadn¡¯t been on for a long time and smelled the air of DC, his heart was full of mixed emotions. Back then, at a young age, he basically didn¡¯t have much time to spend away from the Hutton residence. So he actually didn¡¯t have much of an impression of DC. When the Huttons drove his mother and him out, Lucas finally took a quick look at this massive city. But the images in his memory were all gray and sad. Twenty years had passed, and DC had long since be very different from what he remembered. Standing here, Lucas couldn¡¯t help thinking about his mother and the harm the Huttons had inflicted on them. Lucas let out a long sigh. Just as he was about to leave, an exmation of shock suddenly sounded behind him, and a figure rushed toward Lucas. Given Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills, how could he let anyone touch him? With a slight movement of his feet, he was already half a meter away from his original position. In his former position was a fashionably dressed young man falling to the ground with his teeth bared. ¡°Damn it! Why did you hide? If you hadn¡¯t suddenly dodged, I wouldn¡¯t have fallen!¡± The young man who fell to the ground was decked out in luxury goods. He probably listened to punk music, and there were lots of jewelry pieces dangling from his clothes. There were also many long chains hanging from his hip-hop-style pants. He suddenly fell probably because he had tripped over the various chains he was wearing. But instead of feeling that it was his own problem, he cursed at Lucas, ming him for not standing there to give him a cushion, which caused him to fall to the ground. Lucas could not help feeling amused as he mocked, ¡°You came from behind and almost hit me. Not only did you not apologize, but you even med me for not standing still to cushion you?¡± The young man immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Damn it! Do you know who I am? Do you know how valuable I am? I am a Dempsey, and my grandfather is Phil Dempsey! ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me almost hitting you? What¡¯s wrong with getting you to shield me? It¡¯s your fortune to be able to do it! ¡°I scolded you, but you actually dared to talk back to me. Do you believe that I¡¯ll make you die in DC right now?¡± Shane said, eagerly revealing his identity with arrogance all over his face. He was treating Lucas this way because of how he was dressed. If Lucas was wearing luxurious clothes, Shane definitely wouldn¡¯t be so arrogant. After all, the eight major families still existed in DC. Although the Dempsey family was very powerful, there was still a significant gap between them and the eight major families. If he acted presumptuous in front of these big shots, he would be dead meat! But Lucas was a fresh face and wearing ordinary clothes. People from powerful and wealthy families wouldn¡¯t wear such cheap clothes. Thus, he assumed that Lucas was a bumpkin who just arrived in DC, and he naturally wouldn¡¯t let go of the chance to bully him. Shane was speaking very loudly, as if he was afraid that the surrounding people wouldn¡¯t hear him. Indeed, since he announced his family name, many people were surprised. After all, the Dempeys were indeed powerful, though inferior to the eight major families in DC. After Lucas heard Shane reveal his status, a strange look appeared on his face. The family that Maddy would soon marry also had thest name Dempsey and was a powerful family in DC. Lucas wondered if this young man was a member of the Dempsey family. What a coincidence! Chapter 834 - Junior of the Dempseys

Chapter 834: Junior of the Dempseys

Their conflict immediately attracted the attention of many people around them. ¡°Hey, young man, you must have just arrived in DC from elsewhere, right? You probably don¡¯t know the Dempseys¡¯ status yet. I advise you not to argue with him and quickly apologize!¡± ¡°Yes, young man, if you offend the Dempseys, you¡¯ll be in trouble! Besides, you¡¯re from another ce, and you might even know how you¡¯ll dieter! You¡¯d better hurry up and apologize to Mr. Dempsey!¡± ¡°These days, dignity is not as important as your own life. You¡¯re a young man who probably doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s important. Anyway, we¡¯re all doing this for your own good. So you¡¯d better quickly apologize to the Dempseys. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be in deep trouble!¡± Some of the elderly people here were aware of the status and power of the Dempseys, and they were kind enough to advise Lucas to quickly apologize to Shane and let the matter blow over. Listening to how much the people around him feared or sucked up to the Dempseys, Shane became even more smug. He stood in front of Lucas with a smirk and his head held high, pointing his nostrils at Lucas. ¡°Kid, did you hear that? The Dempseys aren¡¯t people just any hillbilly can provoke! ¡°On ount that you¡¯re from elsewhere and don¡¯t know who I am, I can give you a chance. ¡°As long as you immediately kneel down, apologize to me, and call me your grandpa, I will consider letting you off the hook. Otherwise, you can just wait to die! Hahaha!¡± Shaneughed arrogantly. It was clearly Shane¡¯s fault, and Lucas had only dodged when he was about to be hit. Yet he was being forced to kneel and call Shane his grandfather. It was too much! Many people around looked at Lucas with sympathy in their eyes. But he was facing a scion of the Dempsey family. Even if they felt unjust for Lucas, no one dared to go forward and speak up for him. They would be in dire straits if Shane vented his anger on them! Lucas¡¯s face darkened. He came to DC this time to solve the issue of Maddy marrying the Dempseys. Although the Smiths were the main culprit behind this matter, the Dempseys were also involved. Lucas would definitely confront the Dempseys. Now, he had yet to look for trouble with the Dempseys, but a young scion of the Dempseys actually provoked him and even dared to make him kneel down, beg for forgiveness, and call him his grandfather. Hmph, this is hrious!?Lucas smirked with a trace of faint sarcasm. ¡°Young man, take my advice. Don¡¯t be impetuous! Kneeling down and apologizing isn¡¯t going to cost you a piece of your flesh. It¡¯s better than losing your life!¡± ¡°Yes, young man, you¡¯re still so young, and you¡¯ve just arrived in DC. You don¡¯t know how things are around here, so you¡¯d better quickly apologize! Consider it a lesson learned! DC is full of wealthy scions. You have to pay more attention in the future!¡± ¡°You¡¯d better apologize and leave. Otherwise, the consequences will be even more serious! This is the advice from someone who has been in the same situation as you. Young man, you must take our advice!¡± Although the people around didn¡¯t dare to plead and speak up for Lucas, they still had good intentions and didn¡¯t want to see a young man die here because of this matter. They all persuaded Lucas. Although Lucas thanked them for their good intentions, he would never kneel down, apologize to Shane, and call him his grandfather! Seeing Lucas standing still with a calm look and showing no intention of kneeling down and apologizing to him, Shane felt that he was being belittled and flew into a rage. ¡°Punk, I told you to kneel down and apologize to me. Are you f*cking deaf? I can still spare your life while I¡¯m still in a good mood. But if you make me angry, it won¡¯t be just a simple matter of kneeling down and apologizing! Do you hear me?!¡± Shane yelled maniacally. Who was he? He was a direct descendant of the Dempseys and the most beloved grandson of the Dempseys¡¯ helmsman. He usually got things his way, and he had the power tomand people to do whatever he wanted. Any defiance was an open provocation to his pride! Facing the obnoxious and arrogant junior of the Dempseys, Lucas revealed a cold smile. ¡°It¡¯s obviously your own problem, but you¡¯re taking it out on someone unrted and forcing me to kneel down, apologize to you, and call you my grandfather. How mighty! ¡°The Dempseys in DC seem to be no better than that! Are all the children and grandchildren raised by your family a bunch of uncultured and mannerless imbeciles?¡± Lucas questioned sarcastically. He didn¡¯t give the Dempseys any respect, and what he said immediately made the surrounding people shocked. This young man from out of town actually had the audacity to reprimand the Dempseys and say that theycked proper upbringing! He was incredibly audacious! ¡°Damn it! What did you say? Say it again!¡± Shane was furious, and he held his head high like an enraged rooster. In his more than 20 years of life, except for the people of the eight great families in DC, who would dare to say that about his family? Is this son of a bitch sick of living?! Lucas smirked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me clearly? Do you want me to say it again? I asked if your family raised a bunch of uneducated and mannerless imbeciles like you.¡± Lucas really did repeat himself and said that the Dempseyscked proper upbringing. ¡°Ahhhhh! Scoundrel! Bastard! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Shane was so furious that he drew out a dagger at his waist and charged at Lucas. The shiny silver dagger cut a blinding arc of light under the sun. ¡°Ah! Watch out!¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually a dagger!¡± ¡°Quick, get out of the way! Watch out!¡± Several screams filled the air. None of the onlookers expected Shane would suddenly take out a dagger and try tomit murder in public. But before Shane¡¯s dagger could stab Lucas, a leg suddenly flew over from the side and fiercely kicked Shane out of the way! ¡°Ah!¡± ng! Shane screamed miserably as he flew away, and the dagger in his hand naturallynded on the ground. Bang! Shane was directly kicked a full ten meters away, and he spat out a mouthful of blood when he crashed on the ground. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m here to pick you up.¡± Jordan stood in front of Lucas respectfully with a calm expression, as if he wasn¡¯t the one who kicked Shane at all. Chapter 835 - Trap

Chapter 835: Trap

In fact, Jordan¡¯s kick just now was already merciful. Otherwise, with his powerful kick that could break stone, if it hadnded on Shane, he would have died terribly. Shane spat out a mouthful of blood and got up from the ground with difficulty. Most of the chains and essories on his body had fallen off, and there was arge conspicuous footprint on his shirt at the chest area. ¡°Bastard¡­ h-how dare you kick me?¡± His eyes were wide in disbelief as he looked at Jordan and Lucas with resentment. ¡°So what if I kicked you? What do you think you are?! I¡¯m already being merciful by not killing you on the spot for daring to make a move against Lucas!¡± Jordan said coldly, his eyes full of killing intent. Ever since he found out yesterday that Maddy was suddenly going to get married, Jordan was incredibly infuriated. If Lucas hadn¡¯t said that he woulde to handle this matter, Jordan would have killed the Stones and the Dempseys and taken Maddy away. He was furious to begin with, and after rushing to the airport to pick up Lucas, he happened to hear the arrogant Shane openly insulting Lucas. He even wanted to harm Lucas. If Lucas hadn¡¯t told him not to kill anyone easily, Shane would have long be a corpse! ¡°Do you¡­ you know who I am? I¡­ I¡¯m from the Dempsey family in DC!¡± Shane was so furious and revealed his identity to Jordan. He thought that Jordan dared toy a hand on him only because he didn¡¯t know his identity. He reckoned that once he knew Shane was a Dempsey, he would definitely be scared out of his wits! ¡°Hah, the fool of the Dempseys!¡± But to his surprise, Jordan not only remained unmoved but even insulted him. ¡°You!¡± Shane wished he could p Jordan on the face, but his chest was still hurting from Jordan¡¯s kick, so he knew that he was no match for Jordan. People like him had always bullied the weak and feared the strong. Once he found out that his target had a better family background or was far stronger than him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to let out a single sound. None of his bodyguards were by his side, so he didn¡¯t even dare toy a hand on Jordan or threaten him. ¡°Forget it. There¡¯s no need to bother with a piece of trash. Let¡¯s go!¡± Lucas turned around and left without even ncing at Shane. To Lucas, a nobody like Shane was no different from a stinking bug on the roadside. Jordan, who always followed Lucas¡¯s lead, followed closely behind Lucas and left the airport. The surrounding passersby looked at the scene in front of them with dumbfounded expressions. The person in front of them was a direct descendant of the Dempseys! But these two people left just like that after hitting a direct descendant of the Dempseys. Shane was so infuriated that his face was beet red. He felt as though he was burst into mes. He was a direct descendant of the Dempseys, ¡°Search our n?wno?el.?rg¡±yet he was beaten up by two bumpkins in DC. If this matter spread, how could he face anyone in the future? What a disgrace! An absolute disgrace! ¡°Bastards, if I find you again, I will make your life worse than death!¡± Shane roared impotently while looking in the direction the two left. ¡°Mr. Shane! We¡¯re sorry we¡¯rete!¡± At this moment, two bodyguards hurried over to Shane¡¯s side and eximed the moment they saw Shane¡¯s miserable state. ¡°Ah! Mr. Shane, what¡­ what happened to you? Who did it?¡± ¡°Damn it! You good-for-nothings, have you been eating shit at home? I¡¯ve been beaten up like this, but it took so long for you losers to show up!¡± Shane raised his hand and pped the two bodyguards in the face hard. The two bodyguards took the ps without even daring to make a single sound. They frantically bent over and apologized, ¡°We¡¯re sorry, Mr. Shane! It was negligence on our part! Please punish us!¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯ll punish you! But now, I want you to get the surveince footage and find out who and where those bastards are! ¡°When I find them, I¡¯ll y them to death. I¡¯ll make them know what they¡¯ll get for offending me!¡± Shane¡¯s face was full of resentment and menace. He was so furious that his face, which was already entric-looking, became even more twisted, looking just like a devil¡¯s. ¡°Yes! Mr. Shane, we¡¯ll go investigate and find out the whereabouts of those two people immediately. We won¡¯t let them off!¡± the bodyguards hurriedly agreed with trembling hearts. ... Meanwhile, Lucas had already gotten into Jordan¡¯s car and was heading toward a certain ce in DC. ¡°How¡¯s the situation now?¡± Lucas was naturally asking about Maddy. Jordan frowned. ¡°Things aren¡¯t going well. The Dempseys suddenly went to Maddy¡¯s family yesterday to ask for her hand in marriage. Both families agreed on the spot, and they¡¯re hastily holding the wedding today. ¡°It¡¯s like what you said, Lucas. The Smiths deliberately did this to lure you to DC. ¡°The wedding venue is at the DC Maestro International Hotel, and we¡¯re heading there now.¡± The DC Maestro International Hotel was a five-star hotel located in the center of DC. It was extremely posh and luxurious, and it was a popr spot for weddings among many of DC¡¯s wealthy and powerful families. The Dempseys and the Stones were powerful families in DC. Thus, even though the wedding was being held hastily, it was still grand and luxurious. At the entrance of the DC Maestro International Hotel, there were decorations of flower bouquets and balloons and numerous luxury cars parked at the entrance. The atmosphere was very lively. After all, the Dempseys and the Stones were both powerful families, so of course they had to throw avish wedding. When Lucas and Jordan arrived at the hotel, they saw guests arriving one after another. There was a huge crowd and countless cars. At the entrance was a photo of the newlyweds. In the photo, the couple was wearing expensive wedding clothes, but the woman in the photo seemed reluctant and not in the least bit happy. Upon seeing Maddy in the photo, Jordan couldn¡¯t help stopping in his tracks. He felt his heart wrenching up. She was the woman he loved. But now, she was being forced to marry another man and was so unhappy. How could he tolerate it? Lucas patted Jordan¡¯s shoulder, signaling for him to calm down. The two entered the hotel lobby and then the ballroom. The ballroom was decorated in a gorgeous and dreamy manner, with luxurious and romantic vibes everywhere. The ballroom was spacious enough to amodate nearly a hundred tables, and distinguished guests were streaming in one after another. The venue was extremely lively. Lucas casually found an empty table and sat down while Jordan stood right beside him and looked around. ¡°Lucas, they¡¯re indeed prepared.¡± With just one sweeping nce, he had already found several spots where people were hiding with a vague murderous aura. It was a treacherous plot, an ambush set up to deal with Lucas! Chapter 836 - How Do You Want To Die?

Chapter 836: How Do You Want To Die?

The wedding banquet today was actually targeted at Lucas. But Lucas and Jordan didn¡¯t take these small fries seriously. Not long after, several guests came to Lucas¡¯s table, but they didn¡¯t know each other and found it unnecessary to greet each other. At this moment, a young man in his twenties d in a silvery gray suit walked over. His waxed ck hair wasbed neatly on his head, the middle of his nose was slightly bulging, and his lips were thin, making him look mean-spirited. He had a ss of champagne in his hand and behaved extremely gentlemanly. The guest sitting next to Lucas immediately looked surprised when he saw the young man approaching. He hurriedly stood up and greeted him respectfully, ¡°Mr. Jessey! H-hello!¡± This young man was Jessey, the eldest grandson of the Dempseys¡¯ helmsman, Phil Dempsey. Because he was the first grandson, Phil doted on him greatly and had even handed over many of the family¡¯s businesses to him. The guest beside Lucas was just a distant rtive of the Dempseys. At this moment, he was so excited to see Jessey in person that he was at a loss for what to do. ¡°Move aside.¡± Jessey pointed at the chair he was sitting on with his toes. The man froze for a moment before hurriedly reacting and saying, ¡°Yes! Please take a seat, Mr. Jessey!¡± He sensibly gave up his seat. After sitting down, Jessey ced the champagne ss in his hand on the table and looked at Lucas with a smile. ¡°This gentleman over here, you look familiar. Which family are you from?¡± Lucas smirked a little and ignored him. From the moment this man walked over, Lucas had already noticed him because he had been keeping his eyes fixed on Lucas. He had obviously noticed Lucas a long time ago. But he still pretended not to know Lucas and exchanged pleasantries with Lucas, who found it ridiculous and amusing. Lucas picked up an empty ss on the table, and Jordan picked up a bottle of wine and filled Lucas¡¯s ss. Lucas picked up the ss, swirled it twice, and took a sip without any intention of paying attention to Jessey. The smile on Jessey¡¯s face stiffened. As the eldest grandson of the Dempseys, he had always been showered withpliments and ttered. But now that he took the initiative to speak to Lucas, he actually got ignored. In particr, he felt even more embarrassed due to the guests sitting at several tables nearby looking at him. Lucas was deliberately trying to embarrass him! Anger surged in Jessey¡¯s heart, but he nevertheless tried to restrain himself as he said coldly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you too arrogant? It¡¯s my younger brother¡¯s wedding today, and as the host, I came over to speak to you personally, yet you ignored me. Aren¡¯t you going overboard?¡± He knew that this man in front of him was the person the family wanted to deal with. The wedding between the Dempseys and the Stones was indeed very rushed. They had just confirmed the marriage yesterday afternoon, but they were already holding the wedding today. There were many conjectures among the guests. But as a core member of the Dempseys, Jessey naturally knew the reason. Although the Dempseys were powerful, they were supported by the Smiths, one of the eight giants of DC, and they had to obey the Smiths in many aspects. Moreover, the Smiths exined that Maddy¡¯s wedding was all for the sake of dealing with a young man from California. On his family¡¯s orders, Jessey hade over to speak to Lucas to find out more about him. But this man in front of him was even more arrogant than him, the eldest grandson of the Dempsey family. He didn¡¯t even look him in the eye once! It was outrageous! Lucas continued to ignore him, but Jordan suddenly said, ¡°My buddy doesn¡¯t like hearing strangers rambling on about nonsense. If you have something to say, do so quickly and then get lost!¡± Jordan didn¡¯t keep his volume down, so all the guests around them heard him clearly. They immediately eximed in surprise. It was the wedding day of a Dempseys¡¯ heir, yet Jessey, a part of the host family, was yelled at by a young man and told to stop spouting nonsense and get lost! Who are those young men??Everyone looked at Lucas and Jordan. The Dempseys were not a small family but a top-tier one, second only to the eight top families of DC. Moreover, they had the support of the Smiths, so people generally didn¡¯t dare to offend them. Offending the Dempseys meant offending the Smiths to a certain extent. Generally, no one would court death like this. After a moment of surprise, the ballroom was immediately bustling with activity. ¡°My God, who is that young man? How dare he rebuke the eldest grandson of Dempseys? How daring!¡± ¡°Those two young men seem to be fresh faces. Don¡¯t they know how powerful the Dempseys are? But then again, if they don¡¯t know the Dempseys, why did theye to the wedding? Could they be rted to the Stones?¡± ¡°Even if they¡¯re rtives of the Stones, it doesn¡¯t make sense. All of us here know that the Stones and the Dempseys are about to join in marriage. Even the most ignorant rtives wouldn¡¯t choose to offend the Dempseys at this time.¡± ¡°The two of them seem to be looking for trouble. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯vee with hostile intentions!¡± ¡°There¡¯s going to be something interesting to watch¡­ Hehe!¡± ... Everyone in the ballroom was discussing incessantly. But most people thought that Lucas and Jordan¡¯s behavior was simply courting death. It was a joyous day for the Dempseys, so they definitely won¡¯t allow these two young men to embarrass their family and ruin the wedding today. Jessey¡¯s face was incredibly sullen. He spoke to Lucas, but Lucas simply ignored him, and Jordan, Lucas¡¯s follower, even spoke to him rudely! ¡°This dog by your side seems to be a bit unruly. I was talking to you, but he suddenly interjected. If you don¡¯t know how to train your dog, I don¡¯t mind helping you teach him some rules!¡± With a gloomy face, Jessy raised his hand and made a gesture. Two burly bodyguards immediately came over from not far away and walked directly toward Jordan. They were clearly nning to drag Jordan out of the wedding venue. Only then did Lucas finally put down the ss in his hand and nce at Jessey. But his eyes contained a de-like murderous intent that almost scared Jessey soulless! Jessey shuddered violently. His heart was pounding rapidly, and his hands were covered in cold sweat. A mere nce made Jessey feel horror from the depths of his soul! ¡°Since you¡¯ve insulted my buddy, how do you want to die?¡± Lucas said coldly and indifferently. Chapter 837 - I’ll Handle It

Chapter 837: I¡¯ll Handle It

¡°How dare you talk to me like that? This is the Dempseys¡¯ turf!¡± Jessey was terribly frightened, but at the thought that this was the Dempseys¡¯ turf and that they had made many preparations with the support of the Smiths¡¯ powerhouses, he felt a sense of security and hollered at Lucas. Lucas nced at him and said coldly, ¡°Kill him!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Jordan suddenly moved! The two bodyguards who had just walked toward Jordan were instantly sent flying by Jordan¡¯s kicks. The next moment, Jordan had already appeared in front of Jessey and squeezed his throat with one hand. Jessey¡¯s face was full of fear, but before he could even say anything, he felt an immense force on his neck. Snap! Jordan crushed his throat! Only when Jessey¡¯s head drooped down and his body stopped moving did Jordan let go. His body crumpled to the floor. The people around them were shocked that Jessey died just like that! All of them stared at the scene in front of them, dumbstruck. This surreal feeling made them feel like they were in an absurd dream. Who could believe that Jessey, a direct descendant of the Dempseys, would actually be killed at the wedding held by the Dempseys?! How could these¡­ two young people have the guts to do this?! They obviously knew that they would end up forming a feud with the Dempseys and that both the Dempseys and the Smiths definitely wouldn¡¯t let them off. Do these two have a death wish? Everyone looked at the scene in front of them in disbelief, feeling shocked and puzzled. Jordan, who had just crushed Jessey¡¯s throat, calmly grabbed a wet tissue from the table, carefully wiped his hands, and then returned to Lucas¡¯s side. He picked up the bottle of wine and refilled his ss. Seeing Jordan¡¯s movements, everyone looked at Lucas in horror. Indeed, Jordan¡¯s act of snapping Jessey¡¯s neck in an instant was shocking. But Lucas, who was drinking wine, was even more terrifying! Based on their movements and behavior, Jordan was obviously deferential to Lucas. Like just now, if he hadn¡¯t ordered Jordan to kill Jessey, Jordan wouldn¡¯t have done so at the Dempseys¡¯ wedding. What is this young man¡¯s identity? Not everyone had seen the scions from the eight giants of DC, ¡°Search our n?wn0?el.?rg¡±but they had basically seen photos of them and knew what they looked like, lest they offended a big shot. But the young man in front of them was a fresh face whom theypletely couldn¡¯t recognize. They didn¡¯t know which family he was from at all. Many people were making spections in their heads that Lucas was probably the heir of a secretly powerful family or an unknown illegitimate son of one of the eight great families in DC. ¡°Son! What happened to my son?!¡± Suddenly, a furious roar filled the air in the banquet hall as a middle-aged man of about fifty in a ck suit hurried over from the other end of the hall. There was a bright red corsage pinned to his chest, and his hair, which was initially neatlybed back, fell in front of his forehead messily because of his running. The middle-aged man was Sylvester, Jessey¡¯s father! ¡°Ah!!! Son!¡± When he arrived, Jessey, who was slumped on the ground and had already stopped breathing, shouted in anger and grief before leaping toward Jessey¡¯s cold body. The guests next to him had extremelyplicated expressions. The groom of the wedding was Sylvester¡¯s other son. It was originally a joyous asion, yet his son died at the wedding venue of his other son. It was really a saddening example of how unpredictable life could be. Holding Jessey¡¯s corpse, Sylvester suddenly raised his head and stared at Lucas and Jordan. ¡°You two¡­ actually killed my son! I won¡¯t let you off! ¡°I won¡¯t let you leave this ce today. The two of you must die together with my son!¡± he roared with resentment and murderous intent in his eyes. But Lucas acted as if Sylvester didn¡¯t exist at all and simply disregarded his words. He remained seated calmly and continued drinking wine. He came here today for Jordan and Maddy¡¯s sake. As long as Jordan could handle the situation, he wasn¡¯t going to make a move. Besides, the person he was waiting for should being soon. ¡°Young man, which family are you guys from? What kind of grudges do you have against the Stones and the Dempseys? ¡°It was supposed to be a great day for the Stones and the Dempseys to be inws, yet you killed one of us. How arrogant of you! ¡°If you can¡¯t give us a reasonable exnation, I¡¯m afraid you two will have to stay here forever!¡± A middle-aged man withrge eyes and thick eyebrows walked over. There was also a red corsage on his chest. Since he imed to be from the Stone family and also had a corsage pinned to his chest like the groom¡¯s father, Sylvester, it meant that he was the father of the bride, Carlos Stone! A trace of interest shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes the moment he appeared. The person he was waiting for finally arrived. It was Lucas¡¯s first time meeting Maddy¡¯s father. Jordan had already found out his appearance when he was spending time with Maddy in the past. After hearing Carlos¡¯s usations, Jordan not only did not lose his temper, but he even lowered his head a little, seemingly finding it hard to face Carlos. Carlos was stunned for a moment. After just seeing Jordan strangle Jessey with his bare hands, Carlos was scrupulous toward him. But he had no choice but to step forward and say what he did because the Stones and the Dempseys were about to be inws. If he still didn¡¯t step forward to say something at this moment, it would definitely result in severe consequences. However, Carlos never thought that Jordan, who had just killed someone like they were a chicken, would have such an expression. He¡­ seems to be somewhat afraid of me? Wh-what exactly is going on? However, before Carlos could wonder for long, Lucas, who had been sitting in his seat without moving, slowly stood up and looked at Carlos. ¡°Hello, Mr. Stone. I¡¯m here today to ask for your daughter¡¯s hand in marriage on behalf of my buddy Jordan! ¡°I hope that you will let your daughter, Maddy, marry Jordan!¡± Chapter 838 - Where’s Your Sincerity?

Chapter 838: Where¡¯s Your Sincerity?

As soon as Lucas said that, it sparked an uproar in the venue! No one expected this young man to be here to ask for Maddy¡¯s hand in marriage! Even Carlos was dumbfounded, unable to react for a long time. At this moment, the crowd fell into amotion because of what Lucas said. ¡°Did you hear that? That young man just said that he¡¯s asking for a Stone¡¯s hand in marriage for his buddy!¡± ¡°Carlos only has one daughter¡ªMaddy, the bride of today¡¯s wedding! This is the wedding of a Stone and a Dempsey! What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I seem to suddenly understand something! No wonder they were so aggressive to the Dempseys today. It turns out that they¡¯re trying to snatch the bride!¡± ¡°Wow! That exins it! But what exactly is the rtionship between these people? Is that young man named Jordan and Maddy already¡­¡± ... Everyone had all sorts of spections. After hearing what Lucas said, the Dempseys in the banquet hall looked extremely sullen. Another man was suddenly going to propose to the bride of today¡¯s wedding. Everyone couldn¡¯t help wondering what was going on. Likewise, the Stones were all displeased. If it was before the marriage between Maddy and the Dempseys was confirmed, the Stones might agree that a daughter with numerous suitors was something to be proud of. But now that Maddy was about to marry a son of the Dempseys, and something like this suddenly cropped up, it was a severe p in the Dempseys¡¯ face. At the same time, it made the Stones embarrassed. Besides, if they couldn¡¯t handle this matter appropriately, there would definitely be a strain on the rtionship between the Stones and the Dempseys. In particr, now that a descendant of the Dempseys had died, the Dempseys definitely wouldn¡¯t leave it at that. They might even take their anger out on the Stones! Carlos glowered at Lucas. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? My daughter is already engaged to the Dempseys, and it¡¯s their wedding today. What nonsense are you babbling here?!¡± Hearing Carlos¡¯s words, Jordan finally raised his head. Since this matter concerned his and Maddy¡¯s happiness, he couldn¡¯t avoid it or escape! ¡°Mr. Stone, I¡¯m here to propose a marriage to you with utmost sincerity. I hope that you can agree to the marriage between me and Maddy!¡± Jordan said extremely seriously. He had had a crush on Maddy for several years, and during this period of time, he had already slowly confirmed that Maddy actually liked him. There was only one step missing between them. He definitely couldn¡¯t watch Maddy marry someone else, especially a man she didn¡¯t like. Even if it wasn¡¯t the right time to ask for her hand in marriage today, Jordan had to express his attitude to the Stones. Even if the Stones were upset, he¡¯d definitely ept it! ¡°Haha, what a joke! ¡°I don¡¯t even know you, your identity, and anything else about you. But you¡¯ve suddenlye here to ask for my daughter¡¯s hand in marriage. ¡°¡±You want to marry my daughter? How is that possible? You two are clearly here to cause trouble with the intention to disrupt the wedding. ¡°Tell me. What is your motive? What grudges do you two have against the Stones and the Dempseys? ¡°Did someone instigate you to do this? You¡¯d better tell me everything clearly now, or else the Smiths won¡¯t let you off!¡± Carlos questioned with a stern look. Of course, he meant to show that the Stones didn¡¯t actually know Jordan and that they wouldn¡¯t ept his proposal. In case the Dempseys misunderstood something, things would go awry. Thus, Carlos would also help the Dempseys deal with these two young people who suddenly appeared. A trace of sadness appeared in Jordan¡¯s eyes after he heard what Carlos said. But he didn¡¯t want to give up. He said very sincerely, ¡°Mr. Stone, I¡¯m very sincere about this! Maddy and I are already in love with each other, so please give us your blessing!¡± Carlos immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Punk, how dare you spout nonsense and tarnish my daughter¡¯s reputation?! ¡°My daughter has always been abroad, and she¡¯s only returned recently. How could she possibly know you? How could she be in love with you? You¡¯re spouting nonsense. You¡¯re a liar! ¡°Guards! Come here immediately, tie up this kid in front of me, and drag him out!¡± With Carlos¡¯smand, several tough bodyguards in ck immediately rushed over from the corners of the hall and surrounded Jordan. Lucas frowned and said to Carlos, ¡°Mr. Stone, you haven¡¯t even figured out the truth of the matter, but you¡¯ve already concluded that my buddy is spouting nonsense and lying to you?¡± ¡°Hah, do I need to figure it out? All I know is that you two are strangers who havee to my daughter¡¯s wedding, spouted nonsense, and even murdered someone! ¡°Come clean about your agenda, or don¡¯t me me for being hostile!¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes, and his aura surged immediately. ¡°I want to see how you¡¯re going to be hostile to me!¡± Lucas had never wanted to use force against the Stones, but if they were stubborn and insisted on making Maddy marry the Dempseys, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be polite either. Lucas¡¯s strength was so terrifying that even though he was only exuding a slightly domineering aura, it had already made everyone frightened. Carlos looked at Lucas in horror. He could sense that the young man in front of him seemed to have changed in an instant and became extremely terrifying. In fact, the Dempseys naturally knew the ultimate purpose of the wedding today. It was a task the Smiths had given them. But the Stones didn¡¯t know the inside story. They only knew that the Smiths had suddenly gone to visit the Stones together with the Dempseys yesterday to ask for Maddy¡¯s hand in marriage. They had even asked for the wedding to be held the next day. Although the Stones felt that it was too rushed, they didn¡¯t dare to offend the Smiths and had no choice but to agree to it. But since the wedding was already underway, and the marriage between the Stones and the Dempseys was already set in stone, he wouldn¡¯t allow for any changes to the wedding. Lucas¡¯s aura sent a chill into Carlos¡¯s heart. He sneered and snapped, ¡°You im to be sincere in asking for my daughter¡¯s hand in marriage, yet you¡¯re threatening me with your aura. Is this your so-called sincerity?¡± Lucas smiled, ¡°No, you¡¯ll see our sincerity soon.¡± As soon as he finished, six burly fancily-dressed men entered the Maestro International Hotel with severalrge boxes. Chapter 839 Chapter 839: Marriage Confirmed Everyone in the banquet hall immediately looked at the few people and the boxes. At this moment, an immactely dressed middle-aged man stepped out of the crowd with a thick gift list in hand and began reading aloud. ¡°For Miss Maddy Stone¡¯s hand in marriage, we offer the following betrothal gifts! ¡°Ny percent of the Sr Corporation in LA! ¡°A set of luxury vis in DC! ¡°A limited edition Maserati sports car! ¡°Neen percent of Chariot Court Hotel in DC! ¡°Nine stores in the International Commercial Building of DC! ¡°Nine shopfronts in Peak International Commercial Building in Oregon!¡± ... ¡°A cash gift of fifteen million dors!¡± As the contents of the gifts were read out, the guests couldn¡¯t help widening their eyes in shock. Regarding the gifts in California and Oregon, these people might not be too clear about the value. But the hotel and stores in DC were all in prime locations, and they were worth hundreds of millions. The value of shares of the Sr Corporation and stores in Oregon was worth close to 600 million dors! These betrothal gifts alone were already worth so much money! Even the Stones¡¯ total assets were only around two billion dors, yet the gifts in front of them were worth about half of the Stones¡¯ assets. It was an incredible sum! Everyone was stunned,pletely speechless as they stared at the gift boxes in front of them. Carlos was just as astonished, and he couldn¡¯t help inhaling sharply! He thought that Jordan and Lucas were just joking. But after seeing the terrifying amount of gifts, he no longer dared to think so. Moreover, the fact that they could offer gifts worth nearly a billion dors meant that they definitely weren¡¯t ordinary people. He was certain that Lucas and Jordan had a powerful background! But he began to wonder if these two young people really knew Maddy and if Jordan and Maddy were really in love with each other. Carlos didn¡¯t know about these things. Perhaps, I should ask Maddy about it, shouldn ¡®t I? Carlos was confused. ¡°Mr. Stone, are you satisfied with our sincerity?¡± Lucas said calmly. Carlos didn¡¯t know what else to say now because he was in an extremelyplicated mood. Jordan, standing beside Lucas, had excitement all over his face, and his eyes were slightly red. He didn¡¯t know that Lucas had prepared such a hefty gift for him. Jordan knew that he was just an orphan. After reaching adulthood, he had joined the army and toiled for years before eventually following Lucas. He didn¡¯t have many possessions himself, so he hadn¡¯t even dared to think about showing affection to Maddy or even asking for her hand in marriage. But Lucas silently helped him prepare this hefty gift, bringing him glory. Jordan could never repay this kindness. He could only keep it in mind and try to repay Lucas in the future! While Carlos was at a loss for words, an old but energetic man suddenly walked over. This old man was around 70 years old, and his hair was already white. With a stern look on his face, he had an indescribable majesty. ¡°Young man, I have to say that your sincerity is indeed sufficient, and I believe that most people would be moved. ¡°However, since the Stones have already agreed to marry the Dempseys, it¡¯s impossible for us to terminate it halfway through and let my granddaughter marry someone else! ¡°Besides, the matter of you killing a Dempsey descendant can¡¯t be dismissed just like that. You must give the Dempseys an exnation!¡± The old man rejected Lucas and Jordan¡¯s marriage proposal as soon as he spoke. Given the way he was dressed, his demeanor, and the way everyone was looking at him, the old man was undoubtedly one of the Stones. Since he had more authority than Carlos, he was very likely the helmsman of the Stones. ¡°Dad!¡± Carlos called out to this old man. Then he walked over and supported his arm. Sure enough, the only person who could make Carlos address him like this was the Stones¡¯ helmsman, Geoffrey. ¡°Mr. Stone, are you saying that you must marry Maddy to the Dempseys?¡± Lucas asked. Geoffrey nodded. ¡°The engagement has been settled after all.¡± Geoffrey was a smart person. What he said just now not only defended the Dempseys, but he didn¡¯t offend Lucas either. Although he didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s identity, the fact that the betrothal gifts were worth nearly a billion dors was enough to show that Lucas was definitely not ordinary. Geoffrey would never be so foolish as to offend such a terrifying young man. Although the Dempseys and the Stones were on par, the Dempseys had the support of the Smiths, whom the Stones absolutely couldn¡¯t afford to offend. So when he spoke, his tone was extremely appropriate so that neither side would feel any animosity toward the Stones. Lucas naturally understood that this sly old fox didn¡¯t want to offend both parties. In that case, he probably wouldn¡¯t intervene to help the Dempseys during their confrontationter. He smiled. ¡°Thank you very much then, Mr. Stone.¡± ¡°Punk, you¡¯re indeed arrogant. Not only did you kill a Dempsey descendant at their wedding, but you¡¯re even trying to snatch my granddaughter-inw. You have no respect for the Dempseys at all!¡± Phil, the helmsman of the Dempseys, walked out with anger written all over his face. He had a chubby, wrinkly face, a high forehead, deep-set eye sockets, and a pair of eyes shaped like inverted triangles, which were shooting out a resentful light. Lucas merely nced at him coldly. ¡°You know very well why I¡¯m here today! Get your master toe out and speak to me. You¡¯re not qualified!¡± ¡°Wh-what did you say?¡± Phil was immediately ashamed and furious. Hearing what Lucas said, the surrounding guests were instantly astonished. Everyone knew that the Smiths, one of the top eight families in DC, were standing behind the Dempseys. Yet Lucas now told the Smiths toe out and speak with him. Moreover, he went so far as to say that the Dempseys¡¯ helmsman wasn¡¯t qualified to speak to him. He was way too arrogant! ¡°Who exactly is this young man? He¡¯s too obnoxious. He even ims that the helmsman of the Dempseys isn¡¯t qualified to speak to him!¡± ¡°He even dared to tell the Smiths toe out. Does that mean he¡¯s here for the Smiths?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t even take the Smiths seriously. He¡¯s too ignorant!¡± ¡°Maybe this young man has a remarkable identity? The other young man with him is extremely skilled too. Compared to the powerhouses of the eight top families, he isn¡¯t any worse! With someone so strong as his subordinate, how can this young man possibly be an ordinary person?¡± Everyone began discussing fervently. But Lucas continued to say to Phil, ¡°I hereby announce that today¡¯s wedding is officially canceled! If you don¡¯t want something more serious to happen, tell the people supporting you toe out and meet me immediately!¡± Chapter 840 Chapter 840: Private Killer After speaking, Lucas sat down in his chair while Jordan immediately refilled his ss of wine. Lucas didn¡¯t seem to realize the uproar sparked by his words. He even continued drinking wine leisurely. Phil was furious, but looking at Lucas¡¯s figure, he felt nervous. This young man in front of him was indeed a tough nut to crack. Although the Smiths had said that as long as the wedding held by the Dempseys and the Stones could lure Lucas over, the Smiths would take action with the following matters. However, now that his grandson Jessey had died in Lucas¡¯s hands, causing a stir among the guests, the Smiths had yet to show up. Unsure of what the Smiths were nning and when they were going to take action, Phil felt unconfident. There was dead silence again. ¡°Father, they killed my son. The Dempseys can¡¯t let them off! We must kill them and avenge my son!¡± Sylvester gently put down Jessey¡¯s corpse and stood up with bloodshot eyes, glowering at Jordan and Lucas with resentment all over his face. Phil frowned slightly without answering his son. Lucas was the person that the Smiths wanted to deal with. Although he hadn¡¯t made a move yet and merely remained seated while drinking wine calmly, Phil could sense that the person that the Smiths wanted to deal with was definitely not easy to handle. It would obviously be difficult to kill both of them. Seeing Phil remaining silent without expressing his stand, Sylvester roared, ¡°Dad, why are you still hesitating?! Your grandson has already been killed. Are you just going to sit back and watch? ¡°A direct descendant of our family has been killed, yet you won¡¯t issue themand to take revenge immediately. If word about this matter spreads, how are the Dempseys going to hold our heads high?¡± Sylvester¡¯s face was brimming with anger. Jessey was his favorite and most valued son, and he was the most likely to be the future helmsman. He would never ept the fact that he had died here just like that! ¡°Shut up!¡± Phil roared and stopped his son. As the helmsman of the Dempseys, how could he tolerate it? But if he could kill Lucas and Jordan that easily, he would have gotten people to do it a long time ago instead of putting up with it until now. Besides, the Smiths had yet to do anything. He couldn¡¯t make a decision now and could only stay put and wait to see what happened next. But Slyvester couldn¡¯t understand Phil¡¯s concerns, nor did he want to. Sylvester only knew that these two people had killed his son Jessey, and he was bent on taking revenge for his son at all costs! ¡°Hah. Dad, since you refuse to take revenge for Jessey, I¡¯ll have to do it myselfl¡± Sylvester gritted his teeth, and determination appeared in his eyes. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Phil hurriedly shouted, instinctively feeling that something was amiss. But Sylvester didn¡¯t answer him but instead suddenly pulled out a walkie-talkie from his pocket and yelled into the microphone, ¡°All of you,e out!¡± A momentter, five experts in ckpression wear dashed in from the entrance of the Maestro International Hotel! As the son of Phil, the head of the Dempseys, and the future sessor of the family, Sylvester certainly had people to protect him. These people were hitmen whom Sylvester had personally hired for the sake of doing some shady things for him and fighting against the other possible sessors among the Dempseys. Arge family like the Dempseys had many descendants. For the sake of bing the helmsman, everyone would give their best to protect themselves or pull others down. Sylvester wasn¡¯t the only one who secretly had subordinates to protect him. The other members of the Dempseys¡¯ direct lineage also had their own forces. Sylvester originally didn¡¯t intend to reveal his hidden trump cards, but he couldn¡¯t care less about anything else at the moment. He had to avenge his son and kill the two people in front of him! ¡°Sylvester! You... How dare you hire hitmen?! Quickly get them to retreat. Don¡¯t do anything!¡± Phil was infuriated. He was the helmsman of the Dempseys who controlled everything in the family, but he didn¡¯t know that Phil had hired these hitmen in private, making him exasperated. Moreover, Sylvester was now disobeying his orders and insisting on attacking Lucas and Jordan. It made Phil, who had always been domineering and authoritative, feel that his authority was being provoked. ¡°Dad, since you refuse to take revenge for my son, I have to take action myself. I don¡¯t care whether you¡¯re dissatisfied with me or angry at me! ¡°Even if you want to deprive me of the position of sessor, I must take revenge for my son!¡± Ignoring Phil¡¯s objection, Sylvester ordered his five hitmen, ¡°Kill him!¡± As he pointed at Jordan, the five hitmen charged at Jordan. At the same time, sharp daggers appeared in their hands. They were determined to kill Jordan! ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve got a death wish!¡± Jordan looked at these killers rushing over and sneered without looking nervous at all. Jordan moved his feet and immediately became an afterimage as he dashed forward to confront the aggressive hitmening at him. His speed was much faster than that of the hitmen, and he reached one of them in an instant. The hitman¡¯s pupils constricted as he swung the dagger in his hand to sh Jordan¡¯s throat without hesitation! Smack! But just as the hitman¡¯s hand stretched out halfway, Jordan grabbed his wrist and squeezed it forcefully. Snap! With a clear sound of bones cracking, the hitman¡¯s wrist holding the dagger was instantly broken by Jordan! The hitman screamed and dropped the dagger in his hand. The next second, Jordan grabbed the dagger and shed it across the hitman¡¯s neck calmly. Pfft! A long and narrow slit immediately appeared on the hitman¡¯s neck as his trachea and artery were cut at the same time. Blood instantly gushed out! The hitman covered his neck and fell to the ground with horror all over his face. He began convulsing and wheezing. But everyone knew that he was dead for sure. It all happened in an instant! Before the other three hitmen attacked, Jordan had already killed one of them! ¡°How... how is that possible?!¡± Sylvester¡¯s expression changed drastically. He was horrified!. Chapter 841 - Instant Five Kills

Chapter 841: Instant Five Kills

Sylvester¡¯s face was full of disbelief. Only he knew how powerful these five hitmen he had meticulously trained were. Sylvester had put in great efforts to train these hitmen. Not only had he hired top-notch powerhouses as coaches for them, but he had also once sent them to international battlefields to experience life-and-death battles. There had been more than 30 hitmen when he first started training them. But in the end, only five had returned from the battlefield, and they had all experienced countless brutal killings and fights before finally making it back alive. It could be said that these five people could even rival the top powerhouses of the eight great families of DC. These hitmen were Sylvester¡¯s trump cards, whom he wouldn¡¯t let appear in front of others unless necessary. He had summoned his hitmen squad and exposed them in advance to avenge his son. But in just two seconds, one of them had already died! This made Sylvester¡¯s heart so painful that it started bleeding. But the death of one hitman was just the beginning! Jordan held the dagger he had snatched from the hitman and darted in and out among the remaining four killers like a phantom, swinging his knife every now and then. Jordan¡¯s movements were extremely skilled. Although he looked extremely rxed, his movements were as fast as lightning, and none of the killers he faced could escape his terrifying lethal hand. ¡°Pfft!¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Soon, four sessive sounds of throats being shed filled the air. Just like the first hitman, the rest had their throats slit, fell to the floor, and convulsed violently. The entire battle, no, massacre,sted less than ten seconds in total. After all five hitmen fell to the floor, the first hitman whose throat had been slit was notpletely dead yet. The scene greatly stunned everyone present! Not only was Sylvester dumbfounded, but everyone else at the scene was also shocked, their minds nk for a moment. With all five killers having their neck arteries cut, blood continued to gush out from their necks, and the intense odor of blood filled the entire banquet hall. ¡°Blegh!¡± Finally, someone couldn¡¯t stand the strong, revolting odor of blood and the bloody scene in front of them and threw up. More people reacted to what was going on, and they all turned pale before screaming and running wildly toward the hotel entrance. It was too¡­ terrifying! Although there was already Jessey¡¯s death prior to this, he had died from having his throat crushed, which was nowhere near as gory as the death of the hitmen. The guests were terrified to see someone die, but it was still within an eptable range. But these five killers had actually died so horribly. Their throats were slit open, there was blood all over the floor, and their bodies were still convulsing, forming a terrifying image! Soon, almost all the guests of the wedding had run out, and the only ones remaining on the scene were the Dempseys and the Stones. Jordan nced at Sylvester, threw the blood-stained dagger in his hand directly to Sylvester¡¯s feet, and then returned to stand behind Lucas. He looked extremely calm, as if the people on the floor were not killed by him. ng! The sound of the daggernding at his feet made Sylvester jump up in shock and take two steps back in panic. He had long since stopped beingmanding. Now, his face was pale, and his entire body was trembling. No one dared to say anything for a while. Bang! Lucas put the ss in his hand on the table, breaking the dead silence. ¡°Mr. Dempsey, there¡¯s actually no feud between me and the Dempseys. You should know better than anyone how things developed to this point. ¡°I also hope that the Dempseys won¡¯t be used as a pawn. Think about it. If they could deal with me easily, would they still need to resort to such lowly methods?¡± Lucas calmly said to Phil, the head of the Dempseys. Phil gritted his teeth, looking conflicted. Lucas stopped paying attention to him and turned back to face Geoffrey with a faint smile. ¡°Mr. Stone, I believe you¡¯re a smart person, and you can probably guess the truth behind this wedding. ¡°For Maddy¡¯s sake, I can refrain from harming the Stones. But I also hope that you can make the right choice. ¡°However, I guess Maddy won¡¯t even appear at today¡¯s wedding, right, Mr. Dempsey?¡± When he said thest few words, he narrowed his eyes at Phil. Geoffrey¡¯s eyebrows furrowed into a frown. He nced at the wedding venue, and sure enough, he didn¡¯t see his granddaughter Maddy. ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Where is my granddaughter?¡± Geoffrey questioned Phil furiously. He had an ominous premonition. Indeed, there was really something wrong with this hastily arranged wedding! The Stones had probably been made use of! Phil looked extremely displeased. He knew very well that the Smiths had arranged everything today. But now that the Dempseys had done what they had to do, the Smiths never showed up! He was extremely anxious. However, the most important thing now was not to make a scene but to try to stabilize the situation until the Smiths showed up. Phil gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Mr. Stone, I will definitely give you an exnation for this matter! I can also guarantee that your granddaughter is safe and sound! ¡°The most important thing now is to deal with these two kids in front of you! Once we do, everything will be settled!¡± At this moment, even though he already knew that Lucas and Jordan¡¯s identities were not simple and that they were not easy to deal with, the Dempseys were subordinate to the Smiths in the first ce. Since they took orders from the Smiths, he couldn¡¯t betray them at this juncture and surrender to two young men with unknown identities. ¡°Where is my granddaughter?!¡± Geoffrey hollered, not wanting to listen to Phil¡¯s nonsense at all. ¡°Mr. Smith, like I¡¯ve said, your granddaughter is now safe, and nothing is wrong! This isn¡¯t the time for us to have internal strife. As long as we deal with these two people, I will definitely give you a satisfactory exnation!¡± Phil exined. Then he turned to look at Lucas and said angrily, ¡°Punk, you don¡¯t need to sow discord between our families! Maddy is my granddaughter-inw. I won¡¯t do anything to harm her!¡± He sneered. ¡°Since you already know that today¡¯s wedding is meant to lure you here, you should already be ready to die here! ¡°I may as well tell you directly that we have arranged many people in and outside the hotel. Even if you¡¯re powerful, you¡¯ll never be able to escape! ¡°Both of you must die here!¡± A look of menace appeared on Phil¡¯s face. Chapter 842 Chapter 842: Crossfire Previously, Phil had been scrupulous toward Lucas¡¯s identity and didn¡¯t dare to deal with him because he wanted to wait for the Smiths to appear before making ns. But the Smiths were now slow to appear, and he couldn¡¯t possibly remain in a stalemate with Lucas. Anyway, even though the Smiths didn¡¯t appear, the Dempseys had already made sufficient preparations. In that case, it would be better to make a move first! Otherwise, if they waited any longer, something even bigger might happen! The young man beside Lucas alone was already difficult to deal with, and if they both made a move, at least half of the Dempseys present would probably die! ¡°Assault team,e out!¡± Phil shouted. More than a dozen people with submachine guns immediately streamed out from the side door of the banquet hall! At once, a dozen submachine guns aimed at Lucas in unison. When Geoffrey saw the team, his expression changed drastically. This submachine gun squad was probably the Dempseys¡¯ hidden trump card. In order to deal with the two young people in front of them, the Dempseys actually used this trump card. ¡°Dad! Great! Kill them! Shoot bullets through them to avenge Jessey!¡± Ecstasy appeared on Sylvester¡¯s face. The hitmen he had sent out just now couldn¡¯t do anything to Jordan at all. But now that Phil had sent out this terrifying assault team, he didn¡¯t believe that Lucas and Jordan would still be able to survive! The others all thought the same as Sylvester. With more than ten submachine guns aimed at them, no one would be able to escape! But even with a dozen submachine guns pointed at him, Lucas remained extremely calm. A smile even surfaced on his lips. ¡°Mr. Dempsey, how about I give the Dempseys a chance? If you put down the weapons in your hands and surrender to me now, I can consider giving you a chance. Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to die!¡± A trace of murderous intent appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. ¡°Huh? What are you saying?¡± Phil was stunned for a moment. But he soon burst intoughter and even exaggeratedly dug his ears to indicate his doubt. After hearing what Lucas said, the surrounding peopleughed as if they had heard some ridiculous joke. ¡°Hahahaha! Is this kid out of his mind? Our assault team is aiming their guns at him. With just one order from Mr. Dempsey, they will immediately be shot into sieves! How dare he demand that we surrender? How ridiculous!¡± ¡°The situation has been reversed. Now that we have these submachine guns in our hands, who would still be afraid of these two?¡± ¡°Hah! These two people are still so arrogant even now. They¡¯re simply ignorant! God knows where these idiots came from. They even dare to offend the Dempseys!¡± ¡°Boss, we have to teach them a lessonter and let these two bastards know how incredible the Dempseys are!¡± ¡°Hmph, how dare they create trouble on the Dempseys¡¯ turf and even kill a Dempsey? They can¡¯t be allowed to die easy!¡± The Dempseys mocked Lucas and Jordan. When Jordan instantly killed the five hitmen just now, they werepletely silent, not even daring to let out a single breath. But now that there were a dozen submachine guns aimed at the two of them, the Dempseys became smug because they were certain of winning. Only Geoffrey, standing at the side, suddenly had an ominous feeling. Reason being, right from the start, Lucas remained as calm as ever without a trace of fear or nervousness. Jordan, standing behind Lucas, had a sinister smile as he stared at the Dempseys like they were already dead. This situation wasn¡¯t normal at all! ¡°It seems you¡¯ve chosen the path of death yourselves.¡± Lucas nced at the Dempseys calmly. A chill suddenly rose in Phil¡¯s heart. An ominous feeling immediately surged in his chest. ¡°Quick, shoot them dead!¡± Phil suddenly shouted. The ominous feeling in his heart was extremely strong, making him feel that something terrifying would definitely happen today if he didn¡¯t kill Lucas immediately. Bang! Bang! Bang! With hismand, the dozen submachine guns fired at Lucas at the same time! Bright red mes spewed out of the barrels of the submachine guns as they fired at Lucas at a rate of 800 rounds of ammunition per minute! The power of the submachine guns was so intense that it could even pierce a thick steel te! Under such an intense attack, no one could escape! Everyone thought that Lucas and Jordan would die under the intense gunfire, but they were discovered in astonishment that the two people who should have been shot into sieves had suddenly vanished from where they were standing! Indeed, they vanished! In just a split second, the two hadpletely disappeared! The next moment, the submachine guns suddenly came to a screeching halt! The crowd quickly turned their heads and looked at the scene in disbelief! The submachine guns in the hands of the dozen gunmen were all gone! The gunmen were shocked as they looked at their empty hands, not understanding what had happened. Whoosh! The sounds of metal parts falling to the floor spread over from a short distance away. The crowd subconsciously looked at the source of the sound and saw Lucas and Jordan had stood there at some point. There were still some loose parts of the guns falling. In just a brief moment, they had not only somehow dodged the bullets, but they had even taken away the guns from the gunmen. In just a short time, they had turned the Dempseys¡¯ submachine guns into loose parts! The scene stunned everyone present! I-is this speed something humans can have? Jordan still had a sinister smile on his lips, but his eyes were brimming with awe and respect as he stared at Lucas. In fact, with Jordan¡¯s speed, it was impossible to dodge unscathed from the submachine gun bullets. But within the short period of time just now, Lucas had grabbed Jordan¡¯s clothes and brought him out safely at an unparalleled speed that was beyond the limits of humans. The terrifying power belonging to Lucas was unique to the one and only God of War in the hearts of all the warriors of the Falcon Regiment!. Chapter 843 Chapter 843: Gone Now Lucas stood proudly in the middle of the hall and looked at Phil, who was already so shocked that he had broken out in cold sweat. He said coldly, ¡°Do you know what crime it is for trying to kill me?¡± Phil was already utterly frightened by Lucas¡¯s methods, which were beyond the limits of ordinary humans. Now that he heard Lucas¡¯s question, all that remained in him was fear, and he didn¡¯t know what to say. Lucas sneered. ¡°Jordan, tell him what crime he¡¯ll be charged with for attempting to kill an meritorious officer of the country!¡± Jordan was astonished. Is Lucas about to reveal his true identity? The Smiths and the Dempseys were all dumbfounded. Meritorious officer? What is that? Crime... what does that mean? Jordan cleared his throat and said solemnly, ¡°ording to thew, anyone who tries to kill a high-ranking officer will be deemed a threat to the country, and the crime is treason! The instigators and aplices will all be punished by thew!¡± ¡°What?!¡± The Dempseys and the Stones were all so shocked that they widened their mouths! The most serious consequence of the crime of treason was the death penalty! Was he implying that Lucas was a meritorious officer of the country? ¡°What... exactly do you mean?¡± Phil¡¯s heart began pounding rapidly. The words ¡®meritorious officer¡¯ made him suddenly think of a possibility, and he instantly turned pale. Geoffrey, who was about the same age as Phil, also thought of that possibility, and the shock in his heart was indescribable! The phrase ¡®meritorious officer¡¯ immediately made him think of the four armies guarding the borders of the US. Only the suprememanders of each of the four armies were qualified to hold this title... Moreover, as far as Geoffrey knew, the current captain of the Falcon Regiment was said to be an extremely young man in his twenties! Although he was young, he had extreme strength. Even bullets and guns couldn¡¯t hurt him. Furthermore, he had spent only two short years to fortify Calico well, making no enemy dare to invade! He was a formidable person whose strength had far exceeded that of ordinary people. He could deal with a thousand soldiers alone! Is it possible... that this young man is the one from the legends?! At the thought of this, Geoffrey inhaled sharply! Sylvester snapped back to his senses and immediately shouted, ¡°Dad! Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. You can¡¯t believe a word he says! ¡°The only chance we have to live is to kill him immediately. Otherwise, the Dempseys will all die here today! ¡°Dad, don¡¯t hesitate anymore. Hurry up and reveal the trump card you prepared earlier!¡± He was afraid that his family would really regard Lucas as a big shot and thus not dare to harm him. In that case, his son Jessey would never be avenged! After Phil heard what Sylvester said, a trace of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes. After what they did just now, the Dempseys had alreadypletely offended Lucas, who absolutely wouldn¡¯t spare them! Regardless of whether he was that terrifying big shot or not, Dempseys had no way out now. Just as Sylvester said, their only shot at surviving was to use all means to kill Lucas and Jordan here. Only when they were dead would the matter bepletely over! Phil no longer hesitated as a maniacal look appeared on his face. ¡°Hah, you forced me! Do you think that the Dempseys¡¯ trump cards are just these things? Let me tell you. You¡¯re absolutely wrong! ¡°In addition to the gunmen just now, the Dempseys also prepared four top international snipers, and they¡¯re hiding nearby!¡± ¡°Their sniper rifles have long aimed at your heads! As long as I give the order, your heads will explode! ¡°I don¡¯t care what your identities are. You must die here today! That¡¯s what you get for going against the Dempseys and the Smiths!¡± When Phil thought of the power of his trump card, his heart was filled with infinite confidence. With a smug look, Sylvester looked at Lucas with contempt. ¡°You were lucky to have dodged just now. But this time, I don¡¯t believe you can still dodge four top snipers! ¡°Hahahaha, this is what you get for killing my son! ¡°That¡¯s not all. Once you two are dead, I¡¯m going to whip your corpses! I¡¯m gonna chop you up into bits and feed you to the dogs!¡± ¡°I will also find out your addresses and the people rted to you and kill all of them! I¡¯ll let you know my pain and make you regret killing my son!¡± Sylvester¡¯s face was flushed with agitation as he screamed hysterically, seemingly having gone mad. The other Dempseys were also invigorated. Since there was this backup n, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to escape again! Because Geoffrey, the helmsman of the Stones, had been staying silent, the other family members didn¡¯t dare to be unrestrained. They merely looked at each other without speaking. In fact, Geoffrey felt extremelyplicated now. Although he guessed that Lucas was very likely to be that legendary one, he didn¡¯t have any other ties with Lucas. Besides, now that Lucas had been targeted by four snipers, it was almost impossible for him to escape. As an inw of the Dempseys, he naturally couldn¡¯t suddenly turn his back on them and help Lucas. Even though Lucas was an incredible powerhouse, he could only die here. ¡°Kid, I advise you to kneel down and surrender immediately. If you do, I might let you die an easy death. Otherwise, even your heads will explode!¡± Phil shouted in a deep voice. ¡°Snipers...¡± Lucas sighed, seemingly hearing something regrettable. He put down the ss of wine in his hand and casually picked out four peanuts from a te of dried fruits on the banquet table. ¡°... Unfortunately, they¡¯ll be gone soon.¡± Everyone watched in bewilderment as Lucas waved his hand and flung out the peanuts. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Four muffled sounds came from the windows. The Dempseys and the Stones were confused as to what Lucas was doing. Why did he throw out a few peanuts? They had no idea that the snipers ambushing at several hidden locations around the Maestro International Hotel suddenly saw a small dot appear in their rifle scopes that continuously expanded before striking them! With four sessive sounds, the peanuts resembled bullets piercing the foreheads of the four snipers. A deep hole appeared between their brows, and blood started gushing out of the holes. The eyes of these snipers slowly lost their luster. They all seemed dumbfounded, still unable to understand what happened. ¡°What¡¯s gone? Do you think pulling these tricks is going to help?¡± Sylvester pointed at Lucas with a face full of contempt. Lucas said with a faint smile, ¡°I mean, the snipers you¡¯re relying on are gone now.¡± Chapter 844 - Laughter and Displeasure

Chapter 844: Laughter and Displeasure

After hearing what Lucas said, the Dempseys froze for a moment and then burst intoughter, as if what Lucas said was extremely ridiculous. ¡°Hahahaha! This is hrious! Is this man an idiot?¡± ¡°Haha, he just threw a few peanuts, but he dares to say that all the snipers are gone? Is he trying to say that the peanuts he threw out killed the snipers hundreds of meters away? What a joke!¡± ¡°Oh my god, does he think he¡¯s in some fantasy story? He can kill people from hundreds of meters away just by throwing a few peanuts? He must have read too many novels and be deranged!¡± ¡°Hahaha, this is so funny! If you can kill people just by throwing a few peanuts, we can all be hidden weapon masters!¡± ¡°Did this punk turn stupid from being scared? I¡¯ve never seen such a ridiculous person before. It¡¯s making meugh so hard!¡± The Dempseys allughed wildly, and a few of them even burst into tears fromughter. A few even followed Lucas¡¯s example. They grabbed a handful of dried peanuts and threw them to the side for fun. ¡°Hah, look at my hidden weapon!¡± ¡°Huh, you¡¯ve eaten two of my peanuts. Why aren¡¯t you dead yet? Hahaha!¡± ¡°Hahaha, how hrious!¡± The other Dempseys were even more amused. Lucas wasn¡¯t angry, and he even looked at them with a bit of pity in his gaze, as if he was showing some concern to fools. He sighed and said to Jordan, ¡°Jordan, why do you think there are so many stupid people in the world?¡± Jordan smirked. ¡°Because most people in the world are indeed stupid! But I¡¯m not very pleased to hear theirughter.¡± Lucas was smiling, but what he said gave them chills. Reason being, he said, ¡°Go kill a few of them then, especially the onesughing the most.¡± ¡°Okay! Just as I wanted!¡± Jordan immediately smiled sinisterly with excitement. He moved his feet and rushed toward the Dempseys. Moreover, the first person he wanted to deal with was Phil¡¯s son, Sylvester! He was the one who hadughed the loudest and most unrestrained just now, making Jordan extremely displeased. Seeing that something was amiss, Phil immediately bellowed, ¡°S-stop!¡± Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, Jordan had already rushed in front of him at a phantom-like speed and punched him in the face. Bang! With an explosive sound, a dent formed in Sylvester¡¯s face. His body was also sent flying by the punch. By the time hended, he was no longer breathing! ¡°Ha¡­ Ah!¡± This scene made the Dempseys, who wereughing with their mouths open, instantly choke, as if someone was strangling them at the same time, causing theirughter toe to an abrupt stop. The mockery on their faces immediately turned into panic. The future sessor of the Dempseys was killed by Jordan with just one punch! He even died so miserably! Immense fear surged in their hearts. They turned deathly pale, and their bodies trembled intensely. Geoffrey¡¯s and Carlos¡¯s hearts were mming against their chests in terror. However, Lucas clearly had four sniper rifles aimed at him. Why did he dare to order for the Dempseys to be killed? Doesn¡¯t he know that he¡¯ll immediately die with Phil¡¯s order? Where did he get the courage from? Is he really not afraid of dying? Or they know they¡¯re about to die, so they¡¯re trying to kill as many people as possible? When Phil saw his beloved son die tragically from Jordan¡¯s punch, his brain fell into a momentary daze. He couldn¡¯t believe it was the truth at all. His body trembling like a fallen leaf about to be blown away by the chilly wind, he raised his hand and pointed it at Jordan and Lucas, his face full of disbelief. ¡°How dare you kill my son?¡± While wiping his hands with a wet tissue, Jordan grinned. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare? You people wereughing so loudly just now and mocking Lucas, which really made me displeased! That son of yours was the one whoughed the loudest, so who would I kill if not him? ¡°Oh right, Lucas said to kill the onesughing the loudest. I¡¯ve only killed one person now, which is too few! ¡°Come on, continueughing so I can choose a few more people to kill!¡± While speaking, Jordan nced back and forth at the Dempseys, seemingly deliberating over who to kill next. The Dempseys were on the verge of bursting into tears. They screamed, curled up into balls, and retreated backward in desperation. No one wanted to be chosen by a devil like Jordan, who could kill a person with a single punch. Phil¡¯s face turned pale. He pointed at Jordan, his fingers trembling intensely. All of a sudden, his face flushed red, and blood spurted out of his mouth. ¡°Phil!¡± The Dempseys panicked and screamed in agitation. Phil was so furious that he spat out a mouthful of blood. But afterward, he became much more sober than before. He raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth and said resentfully, ¡°Not only did you kill my grandson, but you killed my son too. I can¡¯t spare you. I absolutely can¡¯t spare you!¡± Then he took out a walkie-talkie from his pocket and ordered in anger, ¡°Kill them immediately!¡± It was the walkie-talkie he used tomunicate with the snipers. As soon as he issued the order, these four snipers would open fire at the same time and shoot Lucas and Jordan in the head! But a long time after he spoke, there were unexpectedly no sounds of any gunshots. Lucas and Jordan were still standing in ce. With a yful smile on his face, Lucas said calmly, ¡°Mr. Dempsey, I¡¯ve already said that your snipers are gone. They¡¯re dead. No matter how many times you order them, it¡¯s useless. Didn¡¯t you hear what I said earlier?¡± Chapter 845 - In The Telescope

Chapter 845: In The Telescope

Phil was already panicking, but he refused to believe Lucas no matter what. Was he joking? Lucas had just casually thrown out a few peanuts. How could he kill the four snipers hundreds of meters away? Even if they were standing still, it was impossible for someone to throw a peanut a few hundred meters away! Besides, the snipers were on high ground around them, and they were all ambushing in different areas. All the locations were safe and concealed. How could Lucas just throw a few peanuts and kill them? It was simply too far-fetched! ¡°Snipers! What are you doing? Hurry up and shoot. Shoot him!¡± Phil yelled frantically into the walkie-talkie. But their corpses were already turning cold. How could they possibly hear Phil¡¯s order? All he got in response was a suffocating silence. ¡°Quickly take a look! There are bullet holes in the windows!¡± All of a sudden, a young man from the Dempseys crouching and hiding by the windows in fear happened to see a few bullet holes on the floor-to-ceiling windows. The people standing around him immediately turned to look at the windows. There were indeed four small bullet holes on therge floor-to-ceiling windows. ¡°These are really four bullet holes.! The snipers must have fired just now!¡± ¡°But¡­ I didn¡¯t hear any gunshots!¡± ¡°If the snipers really fired, why are these two bastards still alive? Where did the bullets go?¡± ¡°Could they have¡­ missed?¡± ... The Dempseys were all bewildered. They clearly saw the four bullet holes, but their targets were still alive in front of them. It was beyondprehension! ¡°It¡¯s impossible for the bullets to miss! The snipers are top international ones that we hired at a high price, and they have a hit rate of over ny-nine percent. They have very few cases of missing. Not to mention, the possibility of all four of them missing and missing at the same time is almost zero!¡± A Dempsey who knew the inside story immediately argued. At this moment, someone finally realized something and stammered, ¡°Is it possible that¡­ th-these holes weren¡¯t left by the snipers but¡­ th-the peanuts!¡± When he said the word ¡®peanuts¡¯, he shuddered violently. ¡°What?!¡± All the Dempseys seemed to be struck by lightning and stood frozen in ce. Peanuts¡­ Didn¡¯t that mean that these small holes were actually pierced by the peanuts that Lucas had casually thrown out?! Was this even possible? Dumbfounded, everyone looked at Lucas, their eyes filled with disbelief. Lucas smiled faintly. As if he was kindly helping them solve their confusion, he once again picked up a peanut from the table and flicked it. Bang! Everyone was aghast to find a fifth small hole in the windows that originally only had four holes! The size and diameter of the small hole were exactly the same as the four holes just now! These small holes had actually really been pierced by the peanuts Lucas threw! Everyone couldn¡¯t help inhaling sharply! Peanuts were amon food that they had eaten countless times since childhood! Yet the peanuts he flicked were just like bullets shot out of a gun. It was something unprecedented that they had never seen or heard of before! It wasn¡¯t something that humans were capable of doing at all! The more terrifying thing was that the peanuts in Lucas¡¯s hand contained powerparable to bullets shot from a sniper rifle. They could kill people several hundred meters away! The power, range, and especially precision were simply unimaginable! Didn¡¯t that mean that if Lucas wanted to, he could easily kill all of them with the flick of a handful of peanuts, and they wouldn¡¯t have the chance to escape? ¡°No¡­ no, no! I don¡¯t believe it!¡± Phil obviously also thought of this, but he yelled maniacally, unable to believe the truth at all. ¡°No! It must be because there¡¯s something wrong with the walkie-talkie. They failed to hear my orders! Quickly, get me a telescope! I want to take a look!¡± Phil shouted in panic. Lucas remained sitting without stopping him. He sat calmly in his seat like he was watching a show. With a smile on his lips, he watched the Dempseys panic. Soon, a young man from the Dempseys ran over with a telescope. Phil grabbed the telescope and set it up on a table near the window with trembling hands. He looked at the positions of the few snipers that he knew beforehand. The first sniper was on the top floor of amercial building opposite the Maestro International Hotel, about 400 meters away. Through the lens of the telescope, Phil clearly saw that the sniper was lying on the ground. A small stream of blood mixed with white brain matter was flowing out from between his eyebrows. Phil¡¯s hand shook, and he almost knocked the telescope over. Refusing to give up, he gritted his teeth and turned the telescope to face an office building in another direction. The second sniper was lurking in an empty room on the seventh floor. But just like the first sniper, Phil saw another body. The second sniper¡¯s face was resting on the window, and there was also a ck hole between his eyebrows. His eyes were wide open, and his face still had the look of confusion from the moment he died. Next, the third sniper¡­ The fourth sniper¡­ All of them were dead! Phil couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. He suddenly dropped the telescope, and his entire body was overwhelmed with fear. All the strength and energy in his body were instantly drained away. Unable to stand firm any longer, he fell to the floor powerlessly. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re a devil! You¡­ You¡­¡± He shuddered while looking at Lucas, his wrinkled face full of fear. Based on Phil¡¯s current appearance, everyone knew that the four international top snipers that the Dempseys had arranged must have been wiped out. They had all died from the peanuts that Lucas had flicked out! Not only the Dempseys, but even the Stones were utterly astonished. They almost fainted after hearing this shocking fact! Chapter 846 - The Smiths Appear

Chapter 846: The Smiths Appear

¡°How are the Dempseys going to deal with me?!¡± Lucas suddenly shouted, his voice like a thunderp, causing everyone to jump. With Lucas¡¯s shout, everyone, especially the Dempseys, felt a burst of fear. They shuddered incessantly and couldn¡¯t even form aplete sentence. They had never felt so clearly as they did now how much control this young man had over their lives! Everything the Dempseys had relied on before was so fragile in front of this young man. They werepletely defeated! They only had two choices now. They could either die or¡­ Thud! Phil, the helmsman of the Dempseys, suddenly fell to his knees in front of Lucas. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, it¡¯s the Dempseys fault today! But we have no grudges against you. It¡¯s all instructions from the Smiths. They forced us to do this! Otherwise, even if we had ten times the courage, we wouldn¡¯t dare to go against you! ¡°Mr. Gray, we were wrong. Please give us a way out. Let us off! We won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± Despite his old age, Phil cried miserably while kneeling in front of Lucas. Begging for mercy was the only thing he could do now. Lucas was too terrifying. He could act as a sniper and instantly kill people hundreds of meters away by just flicking out a few peanuts. Someone like him was beyond human! As long as Lucas wanted to kill someone, no one would be able to resist him with his incredible skill as the God of War! Not to mention the small Dempsey family, even the top powerhouses of the eight major families wouldn¡¯t be a match for Lucas! In the face of such terrifying and overwhelming power, the Dempseys had no chance of escaping at all. If they immediately kneeled and begged Lucas for forgiveness, they might still have a chance to live. The rest of the Dempseys were also frightened as they all fell on their knees one after another while looking at Lucas in horror and begging him for mercy. ¡°Mr. Gray, the Smiths ordered us to do this! They¡¯re the ones who asked us to propose marriage to the Stones and make Maddy Stone marry one of us. They even insisted that we hold the wedding today to lure you here. ¡°The Smiths were also the ones who forced us to harm you. If we didn¡¯t obey, they would have annihted us! ¡°I¡­ I had no choice but to follow the orders! I¡¯m the helmsman of the Dempseys after all. If I don¡¯t obey their orders, the entire family will be implicated! ¡°In order to protect the Dempseys, I had no choice but to agree to their request. We never wanted to do any of this! ¡°Mr. Gray, please spare us on ount of our sincere apology!¡± Phil spoke remorsefully and sobbingly. At the same time, he was full of resentment and anger toward the Smiths. If not for the Smiths¡¯ orders, the Dempseys wouldn¡¯t have offended Lucas, this terrifying person. But even after they had exhausted all their trump cards, the Smiths had yet to show up. This clearly meant that after the Smiths used the Dempseys as a pawn, theypletely abandoned them! Why? Why is this happening? Lucas looked at Phil kneeling in front of him and crying incessantly with snot all over his face. There was no fluctuation in his emotions. ¡°I¡¯ve already given your family several chances. But you refused to believe me and gave up these opportunities. ¡°It¡¯s already toote for you to beg for my forgiveness! ¡°However, on ount that you were used by the Smiths, I can spare the rest of the Dempseys. But as the helmsman of the Dempseys, you have to die for following Smiths¡¯ orders and repeatedly ordering my death!¡± The Dempseys had used hitmen, the assault team, and snipers to kill Lucas. Once Phil died, Lucas would let off the rest of the Dempseys, which was already extremely kind. Phil naturally understood this logic. He was extremely dejected because he knew that he had to die, and this was the result of Lucas¡¯s magnanimity. With a bitter smile, he slumped to the floor and pleaded, ¡°After I die, please let off the rest of the Dempseys.¡± Jordan snorted coldly. ¡°Duh? Lucas has always been a man of his word. The Dempseys aren¡¯t worthy of Lucas going back on his word!¡± Hearing this, Phil stopped talking. He took a deep breath and had a good look at Lucas. Then he turned his head and looked at the Dempseys kneeling behind him. A bitter and tragic smile appeared on his face. Then with a flip of his hand, he pulled out a pistol from his waist, aimed it at his temple, and prepared to pull the trigger! ¡°Stop!¡± someone suddenly shouted from the back of the banquet hall. Phil¡¯s hand shook violently. Just as he was about to shoot himself, his fingers slid, and he failed to pull the trigger. A figure slowly stepped on the red carpet and walked into the hall. Upon seeing that person, Phil¡¯s eyes were full of both anger and joy. He felt extremelyplicated. The person who came was none other than Vince, whom he had been waiting for for a long time but hadn¡¯t appeared until now! ¡°Lucas Gray, we meet again!¡± As soon as Vince saw Lucas, murderous intent appeared in his eyes. Several Smiths were following behind Vince. Last time in California, Vince had wanted to take advantage of the California Elite Business Exchange to take control of the entire state. But in the end, he had fallen short and had even been forced to kneel by Lucas. It was the most embarrassed he had ever been. Although Vince had ordered his people not to spread this matter, there was no secret thatsted forever in this world. The Smiths eventually found out about the fact that Vince had been forced to kneel in public by a young man in California. The Smiths naturally felt that Vince had greatly embarrassed the family. If they allowed him to continue being the future helmsman of the Smiths, it would only cause them to be aughing stock of the major families in DC. Thus, after Vince returned to the Smiths, he was immediately stripped of his position as the family¡¯s sessor, and this position was given to Oscar. However, Oscar had gone to California to deal with Lucas two days ago, but he had also ended up suffering a huge loss because of Lucas. He had been frightened to the point of losing his sanity. Even now, he was still in the hospital and couldn¡¯t assume the position of the sessor. So now, after going around in circles, the position of the sessor of the Smiths had returned to Vince¡¯s hands. ¡°Haha, Lucas Gray, speaking of which, you¡¯re the reason I was removed from the position of sessor! But it¡¯s also thanks to you that I¡¯ve been reinstated. Do you think I should hate you or thank you?¡± Vince sneered. He pulled a chair over from the side and sat down across from Lucas imposingly. ¡°It seems you want to thank me, huh?¡± Lucas smiled. Vince narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, ¡°Hahaha! If you release Mr. Dempsey now, I¡¯ll give you a generous gift. What do you think?¡± Chapter 847 - The Shame Back Then

Chapter 847: The Shame Back Then

After Lucas heard what Vince said, a trace of contempt appeared on his lips. The wedding today was merely a trap that the Smiths used to lure Lucas to DC. Lucas had already figured it out when he learned that the Smiths supported the Dempseys and got them to ask for Maddy¡¯s hand in marriage. Moreover, just now, Phil, the head of the Dempseys, had personally confirmed this. Now that Vince suddenly appeared, it definitely wasn¡¯t to talk nonsense with him. He had to have his agenda. The Smiths¡¯ agenda wasn¡¯t difficult to guess. Of the two sessors of the Smiths, Lucas had forced one to kneel and apologize, which was a great embarrassment to the Smiths, and he had frightened the other into lunacy. Given how prideful and protective the Smiths were of their family, they definitely wouldn¡¯t let Lucas off. The Smiths were probably the ones who wanted to get rid of Lucas the most. How could they possibly give Lucas a thank-you gift like Vince said? Vince looked extremely confident, as if he had already secured victory, but he was as foolish as he was back in California. ¡°I originally thought that after all this, you would have grown a bit. But I never thought you would still be so stupid!¡± Lucas said indifferently. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Vince immediately flew into a rage and sprang up from his chair. ¡°Don¡¯t you forget that this is DC, the Smiths¡¯ territory, and not California! ¡°How dare you still speak to me like that? Aren¡¯t you afraid of Smiths sending all our elites here to kill you? ¡°You can¡¯t even realize the situation clearly. You¡¯re the stupid one!¡± Vince looked at Lucas with a murderous gaze. Being called stupid to his face by a young man more than twenty years younger was simply an insult! In particr, Lucas actually scolded him in front of the Dempseys and the Stones. It made Vince feel a burning and stinging sensation on his face due to the embarrassment. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re now on the Smiths¡¯ turf, but you believe you¡¯re confident enough to deal with me?¡± ¡°It seems you¡¯ve forgotten how you knelt in front of me to apologize like a dog and admit your mistakes not long ago in California!¡± Lucas sneered and revealed the incident that had been a thorn in Vince¡¯s heart. Given how much their pride mattered to them, the Smiths definitely wouldn¡¯t want to have their dirtyundry aired in public and have word spread about Vince¡¯s disgrace in California. Since the Smiths and Vince were so prideful, Lucas would put them to shame! ¡°Shut up! Shut up!¡± As soon as Vince heard Lucas mentioning that matter, he was so furious that the veins on his forehead began bulging! Being forced by Lucas to kneel and apologize was the most embarrassing thing that Vince had suffered in his life. It was also something that he never wanted to be mentioned. But Lucas actually exposed it in front of so many people! The Dempseys and the Stones were shocked by the news Lucas revealed. Vince, the sessor of the Smiths, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, who was well known in the upper-ss circle of DC, had even knelt in front of Lucas and begged him for forgiveness?! This was simply impossible! They didn¡¯t want to believe that something so ridiculous could happen. But after seeing how intensely Vince reacted, which was clearly rage out of shame, they instead believed that what Lucas said was true! The Dempseys and the Stones suddenly remembered that just half a month ago, the Smiths had suddenly stripped Vince of his position as their sessor and reced him with Oscar Smith. This matter had caused an uproar in DC at the time because no one knew why the Smiths had suddenly made this decision. After all, for a prestigious family like the Smiths, the matter of recing the helmsman was incredibly important. But the Smiths had acted very casual about it and didn¡¯t even give an official statement. It was only after Lucas said that Vince had knelt in front of him and begged for forgiveness that the crowd suddenly realized what had happened! So this turned out to be the truth! Almost all the families in DC knew that the Smiths valued their pride more than any other family. Anyone who brought shame to the family would definitely be a sinner and would be subject to the criticism of other family members. In serious cases, they might even be kicked out of the family. In particr, Vince had still been the future sessor of the Smiths when he was forced to kneel. It was a huge disgrace to the family, so the Smiths obviously wouldn¡¯t allow him to continue being the sessor! Lucas remained sitting and instructed indifferently, ¡°Even if you don¡¯t want to admit it now, it¡¯s still a fact that happened. Okay, in that case, Jordan, please get Mr. Smith to remember how he knelt at my feet and begged for mercy!¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± A sinister smile immediately appeared on Jordan¡¯s face as he responded with excitement. Jordan hadn¡¯t seen it when Vince knelt in front of Lucas because he had been protecting Flynn Davis in DC. But now that Lucas asked him to reenact the scene that day, he was naturally eager to do so. He immediately strode toward Vince. But a person suddenly appeared in front of Vince. He was around forty years old. His face was gaunt, as if there was only a thinyer of skin wrapped around his bones, and his eyes were deeply sunken, making him look extremely terrifying. He was wearing a ck robe with extremely wide cuffs. He suddenly raised his arms to reveal a pair of metal ws. The metal ws were worn above his fists. They were sharp and long, resembling the steel ws of the movie character Wolverine. It was no wonder that the cuffs of his clothes were so strange. When this person appeared and revealed the metal ws on his hand, many of the older generation members of the Dempseys and Stones inhaled sharply in shock. ¡°He¡­ he actually appeared!¡± A few older people couldn¡¯t help being horrified. ¡°Who¡­ is this person? Is he famous?¡± some young people from the Dempseys and the Stones asked. The middle-aged man gave them a rather bizarre feeling. The sight of his thin and skeleton-like face gave many of them the chills. Moreover, he had a long pair of terrifying, sharp steel ws. Was this man¡­ a formidable expert? Chapter 848 - The Might of the Steel Claws

Chapter 848: The Might of the Steel ws

The elders of the Dempseys and the Stones all looked grim as they told their young family members about the origins of the terrifying middle-aged man. ¡°This man is indeed a terrifying expert! He¡¯s known as Steel-ws because he¡¯s always wearing a pair of steel ws on his hands. No one knows what his real name is. ¡°More than a decade ago, he once massacred a top family in San Francisco. The entire family, including their servants and security guards, which amounted to more than 400 people, were all wiped out by his steel ws. Their deaths were extremely miserable! ¡°Later, he became famous after a battle and killed countless experts from all walks of life. Steel-ws¡¯ name caused an uproar for many people! ¡°But because he killed and offended many people, as well as a major family in DC, a peerless powerhouse came forward to kill Steel-ws. Since then, Steel-ws vanished, and everyone thought that he died in the hands of that top expert. ¡°But he¡¯s resurfaced today. Who knows when the Smiths took him in. It¡¯s really surprising that he¡¯s been working for the Smiths!¡± Hearing this, the juniors of the Smiths and the Dempseys were shocked. It was too cruel to kill a few hundred people in a family, not even sparing the old, weak, women, children, and even the servants and bodyguards. For some time, the crowd couldn¡¯t help finding that the ws on Steel-ws¡¯ hands reeked of blood. Jordan stood in front of Steel-ws, but he didn¡¯t feel any fear. Instead, he looked at the long, sharp ws on Steel-ws¡¯ hands with interest. ¡°Are you going to stop me?¡± Jordan tilted his head and pinched his fingers, filled with the urge to fight. Jordan could feel an immense murderous aura from Steel-ws, which was the unique aura formed only after killing countless people. Steel-ws was undeniably strong. Even Jordan wasn¡¯t absolutely confident that he could defeat him. Steel-ws was the strongest enemy Jordan had encountered since he left the Falcon Regiment in Calico with Lucas. But facing this powerful enemy, Jordan was brimming with fighting spirit. What was the point of fighting weaklings? Only by fighting powerhouses such as Steel-ws would he be able to give full y to his strength and fight heartily! ¡°Don¡¯t try to touch him with me around,¡± Steel-ws said coldly. His voice, like his appearance, was dry and hoarse. It contained a sinister and eerie chilliness that caused him to look like a zombie that just climbed out of a graveyard. ¡°Hah. Try and see if you can stop me then!¡± Jordan licked his lips. He moved his feet and darted straight at Steel-ws! At the same time, Steel-ws also moved! Although he looked like he had just crawled out of his grave, he actually moved extremely fast. In particr, the ws on his hands flew up and down, forming a dazzling and metallic light curtain that covered arge portion of his body seamlessly! He was moving extremely fast, and if his ws touched someone, it would definitely tear off arge piece of flesh! But the next moment, under everyone¡¯s shocked gaze, the light curtain suddenly broke. Bang! Jordan actually urately found the weakest spot in the trajectory of the dazzling steel ws. He charged in, and his fists mmed into his wrists below the steel ws! But¡­ Jordan frowned slightly. He thought that the sharp ws on Steel-ws¡¯ hands were the same as Wolverine¡¯s and covered his fists, so he had chosen to attack his wrists. But based on how the two punches felt just now, he realized that Steel-ws¡¯ wrists also had ayer of metal wrapped around them. Jordan¡¯s punches had hit the metal! Furthermore, Jordan knew that his fists contained great power, and he could even punch through even 2-centimeter-thick steel boards. But he felt a massive recoil from his punches and barely did any damage to the steel ws. This meant that in addition to the sharpness of the ws on his hands, their toughness was definitely not to be underestimated! But Jordan¡¯s punches were notpletely ineffective. At the very least, he had broken the dazzling offensive of Steel-ws. Steel-ws even took several steps backward because of the force before finally stabilizing his body and unloading the huge forceing from his wrists. At this moment, the shock in Steel w¡¯s heart was far more intense than Jordan¡¯s! He had been famous for many years, and his metal ws were extremely powerful. Countless experts had died under his ws. But this was the first time this happened. During the collision just now, Jordan had broken his steel w light curtain move! Moreover, people who could make him retreat by several steps with a single punch were few and far between! Furthermore, the man in front of him was extremely young. He looked only 26 or 27 years old! And the power contained in this young man¡¯s fists was extremely terrifying too. If not for the metal wrist guards he was wearing, which defused most of the force of the attacks, the two punches would probably be enough to injure his wrists! ¡°Hmph, your protection is pretty good! Is your entire body wrapped in ayer of iron?¡± ¡°But regardless of what you¡¯re wrapped up in, I¡¯ll break your ws!¡± Jordan moved his fingers and shed against Steel-ws! ¡°Let¡¯s see if you have the ability!¡± Steel-ws sneered in a hoarse voice before raising his ws to fight Jordan! The two of them were both quick, but in terms of speed, Jordan was superior. Moreover, in terms of strength, Jordan didn¡¯t lose out to Steel-ws at all. And he could always seed in striking Steel-ws¡¯ arms or steel ws. Although Steel-ws was waving his sharp ws extremely quickly, and touching it just a little would cause injury, Jordan would be able to dodge in time every time Steel-ws attacked. Thus, Jordan often struck Steel-ws sessfully, but thetter couldn¡¯t touch Jordan at all. It looked as if Steel-ws was at a disadvantage and was getting beaten up by Jordan. Seeing this, Vince immediately turned sullen. Steel-ws was already an extremely powerful expert, but he was now being suppressed by Lucas¡¯s subordinate! Chapter 849 - Vicious Organization

Chapter 849: Vicious Organization

Seeing this situation, the Dempseys became extremely gloomy too. In particr, Phil was full of anxiety and despair. In the desperate situation just now, he had already decided to use his death in exchange for the safety of the rest of the Dempseys. But before he moved, Vince suddenly arrived and stopped him. At the time, Phil was annoyed that the Smiths had used the Dempseys as pawns, but he nevertheless had some hope when he saw Vince appear. As long as the experts Vince brought defeated Lucas and Jordan, he naturally wouldn¡¯t have to die, and the Dempseys wouldn¡¯t be in trouble. As long as someone could live, who would be willing to die? In particr, when he saw the legendary expert Steel-ws appear, his heart was brimming with excitement and agitation. As long as a famous powerhouse like Steel-ws was here, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be a match for him regardless of how terrifying he was! But Phil never imagined that Lucas¡¯s subordinate was so powerful that Steel-ws could barely do anything to him! In that case, what were their chances of winning? If Steel-ws died, wouldn¡¯t he be the next to die? The feeling of being on the brink of death was too tormenting and unbearable! Now, Phil¡¯s only hope was for Steel-ws to defeat Jordan and then kill Lucas! On the other side of the hall, the Stones were also shocked. Needless to say, Steel w¡¯s strength was naturally impressive. He was an old monster who had been famous for a long time, and more than a thousand people had died at his hands. But Jordan, the young man fighting against him, was actually gaining a steady advantage. It was extremely shocking! Geoffrey couldn¡¯t help thinking about how this young man had shyly asked for the Stones¡¯ permission to marry Maddy. If he hadn¡¯t forced Maddy to marry the Dempseys, then this outstanding young man would have been his grandson-inw. In that case, the Stones would have a new peerless powerhouse who wasn¡¯t inferior to Steel-ws! At the thought of it, Geoffrey and Carlos felt even moreplicated. They couldn¡¯t exin clearly if they wanted Steel-ws or Jordan to win¡­ The two were still fighting intensely. Just when everyone thought that Steel-ws would be defeated sooner orter, the situation suddenly changed! After exchanging blows, Steel-ws suddenly swung his hands forward violently, with his palms facing opposite directions and one arm above the other. With his heel against the ground, Jordan quickly retreated to avoid the attack range of Steel-ws¡¯ ws. But there was a sudden change! Steel-ws touched a certain mechanism, and with a light click, six sharp and fine needles suddenly shot out of the six sharp des on his hands! Under therge chandelier, these fine needles were shing with a blue light as they sped toward Jordan! These needles had obviously been soaked in poison. Moreover, this sudden attack was as quick as lightning, catching Jordan off guard! As long as these poisonous needles pierced someone, they would be poisoned immediately! Since these needles had been hidden in such a secretive contraption, they had to be extraordinarily poisonous! ¡°Go to hell!¡± Steel-ws¡¯s eyes were ruthless, and his murderous intent surged. ¡°You¡¯ve got a death wish!¡± Lucas immediately flew into a rage and suddenly stood up. He grabbed a fork from the table and threw it! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Six crisp sounds of collisions rang out one after another. The fork moved so quickly that it was almost invisible as it blocked the six poisonous needles at the critical moment! Steel-ws¡¯ pupils constricted, and intense shock appeared in them! Even he couldn¡¯t see clearly what the item was. But he knew that the needles he had shot with the hidden mechanism had all been knocked away! Meanwhile, Jordan knew that Lucas had saved his life by knocking away the poisonous needles! The fact that Steel-ws had used a secret weapon soaked in poison during the fight was extremely disgusting to Jordan! ¡°How despicable! You¡¯re damned!¡± Jordan charged over. His fists contained extremely terrifying power. One fist blocked the two sharp metal ws while the other smashed into Steel-ws¡¯ chest! Bang! With a muffled sound, Steel-ws¡¯ chest was dented by the punch, and his entire body was sent flying backward by the massive force! After being knocked over ten meters back, Steel-ws finally hit a pir near Vince. With a loud poof, he spurted a mouthful of blood before falling to the floor near Vince¡¯s feet. Everyone present, except Lucas, subconsciously inhaled sharply in astonishment! Steel-ws had actually been defeated! He lost to a young man! Due to the incredible speed just now, the crowd didn¡¯t even see the poisonous needles Steel-ws shot out, nor did they see Lucas suddenly throwing the fork. In fact, they could barely even see the afterimages. They could only see that Jordan had seized an opportunity to block with a fist and severely injure Steel-ws with the other! The ending felt unbelievable to them! Seeing Steel-ws sent flying and spitting blood, Vince instantly turned deathly pale, and his heart was full of horror! The only thought running through his mind was that it was all over! His subordinate had lost to Lucas¡¯s again. Would Lucas let him off again this time? At this moment, Vince seemed to suddenly return to when Lucas had forced him to kneel and apologize! The feeling of fear, shame, and helplessness once again returned to Vince. But the difference was that everyone present at the time in California mostly didn¡¯t know him. What happened then wasn¡¯t seen by the people in DC. But today, it actually happened in DC, where the Smiths¡¯ turf was! And there were many Dempseys and Stones present! If they saw him begging for forgiveness from Lucas, the position of sessor that he had just regained would definitely be taken away from him again! More importantly, would Lucas let him off this time? Chapter 850 - Two Deaths

Chapter 850: Two Deaths

Just as Vince was worried, Jordan suddenly moved! He walked toward Vince one step at a time. The sinister smile on his face made Vince even more horrified. What¡­ what is he going to do now? Is he going to kill me? Wh-what should I do? Countless thoughts were shing through Vince¡¯s mind. In fact, he was even thinking that if Jordan really wanted to kill him, he would kneel and beg him without any dignity. He might even spare him. However, he wasn¡¯t Jordan¡¯s target but Steel-ws, who was lying near Vince. Steel-ws was severely injured by Jordan¡¯s punch, but he wasn¡¯t dead. He was lying on the floor and vomitingrge mouthfuls of blood. During the fight just now, Jordan had fought Steel-ws fair and square, using his own strength, speed, and properbat techniques because they were both martial arts practitioners. But didn¡¯t expect that Steel-ws would suddenly use a hidden poisoned weapon during the fight and try to kill him in such a sinister way. If Lucas hadn¡¯t reacted in time and knocked away the poisonous needles, Jordan would have probably been the dying person on the floor. Jordan was full of disdain toward Steel-ws¡¯ behavior. ¡°Hah, so much for being a martial arts practitioner. Your conduct is so despicable! ¡°Since you failed to kill me tonight, it¡¯s your time to die!¡± Then Jordan stomped on Steel w¡¯s chest! ¡°No, I¡ª¡± Horror appeared on Steel-ws¡¯ skeleton-like face, but he could no longer say what he wanted. Bang! Jordan¡¯s foot crushed the ribs in Steel w¡¯s chest and the heart below them. Steel-ws, who had killed countless people, actually died! ¡°Steel-ws died just like that?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe my eyes! Is he¡­ really dead?¡± ¡°No way! Steel-ws has been in the underworld for decades, and even the top experts of top-tier families couldn¡¯t kill him. But he actually died at the hands of a young man in his twenties.¡± ¡°I¡­ I suddenly feel dizzy! This young man and the one behind him are too terrifying!¡± ... The Stones and the Dempseys were utterly stunned as they looked at Jordan and Lucas in horror. The two young men were unbelievably amazing! How terrifying! ¡°No! Steel-ws died just like that?¡± Vince¡¯s face was full of disbelief. He almost couldn¡¯t believe the cruel truth before him. Steel-ws was the strongestbat power he could muster. The Smiths were now divided into two camps. One was led by Tyson, the current helmsman; and the other was led by Tyson¡¯s second brother, Thomas, and Thomas¡¯s son, Vince. Although Tyson had been the family head for years, hecked talent and was purely lucky enough to have the help of Charlie, the great butler. Eventually, Tyson managed to be the helmsman. But as the leader of the other camp, Thomas wasn¡¯t convinced at all. He had always wanted to nab the position of helmsman from Tyson. Thus, they had both cultivated their own forces. Steel-ws was the strongest person on Thomas and Vince¡¯s side! But he actually died here today! It was an absolutely massive blow to Vince! Without the help of Steel-ws¡¯s incredible strength, it would be even harder for Vince and his father to seize the position of helmsman! Looking at the pale and depressed Vince, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Vince Smith, you didn¡¯t believe me when I said you were stupid. How about now? ¡°When you came to California some time ago, you behaved extremely arrogantly without paying any attention to the families in California just because you¡¯re from the eight top families of DC. You kept dering that you would conquer California and force the families to submit to you. ¡°But in the end, you were too arrogant and conceited. Your n failed, and you were even forced to kneel and apologize to me. You ended up disgracing yourself and the Smiths, and you even lost your position as the sessor. ¡°I originally thought that after all these things, you would learn from your mistakes and be wiser or at least not be so arrogant. But you¡¯ve disappointed me again. ¡°You think you call the shots here in DC because it¡¯s your turf, so you¡¯ve be arrogant again andpletely forgotten about the lesson I taught youst time. You thought you could kill me with the expert you brought, but what happened in the end? ¡°In the end, you underestimated my abilities and overestimated the abilities of the Smiths. This is all a result of your arrogance and foolishness! ¡°Thest time, I let you off because you kneeled and begged me for mercy. Do you think I should let you off again?¡± One step at a time, Lucas walked toward Vince. With every word he said, a few more cold sweat droplets appeared on Vince¡¯s face. In the end, he waspletely drenched in cold sweat and unable to utter a single word. With Steel-ws¡¯ death and Vince¡¯s obvious fear toward Lucas, Phil, the helmsman of the Dempseys, fell into desperation. He suddenly knelt in front of Lucas and begged, ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Mr. Gray! I¡­ I know I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have listened to the Smiths and made a move against you! ¡°I hope you¡¯ll give me the chance to repent on ount of my age. Please spare me this once! I¡­ I can represent the Dempseys and pledge allegiance to you! The Dempseys will only obey your orders! ¡°I beg you to spare me!¡± Phil pleaded in every possible way. Instead of dying, he couldn¡¯t care less about any dignity and decency now. He only wished to offer everything he had in exchange for Lucas to spare him! In fact, in order to get Lucas to spare the rest of the Dempseys, Phil had made up his mind to use his death in exchange for a way to let his family survive. But Vince¡¯s sudden appearance once again gave him hope for life, and it also made Phil feel extremely fearful of death. Now, he didn¡¯t want to die at all. He just hoped that Lucas would forgive him. For this, he was willing to do anything! ¡°Hah, you¡¯ve repeatedly tried to kill us. If not for howpetent Lucas is, you would have seeded long ago! Now that you¡¯ve realized that the situation isn¡¯t good, you want Lucas to let you off? No way!¡± Jordan sneered several times. He absolutely abhorred the Dempseys. Not only did they obey the orders of the Smiths and force Maddy to marry into the Dempseys, thereby ruining her lifelong happiness, but they had even tried to kill Lucas and him several times. Jordan would never take pity on this man! Without even looking at Phil, Lucas said indifferently, ¡°I told you you won¡¯t be able to escape death.¡± The moment he finished speaking, Jordan walked over, picked up the pistol that Phil had dropped on the floor, and pulled the trigger! Bang! A hole appeared on Phil¡¯s forehead, and he slowly fell backward. The Dempseys¡¯ esteemed helmsman was dead! Chapter 851 - Who’s Threatening Whom?

Chapter 851: Who¡¯s Threatening Whom?

¡°Mr. Dempsey!¡± Seeing Phil¡¯s death, the Dempseys wailed in grief. But the person who killed Phil was Jordan. Regardless of how angry they were, they wouldn¡¯t dare to express it, let alone take revenge on Jordan, the terrifying man who defeated a powerhouse like Steel-ws. ¡°How do you want to die?¡± Lucas calmly asked Vince, who was lying limp on the ground. Vince was already sweating profusely, and he waspletely drained of energy. All he felt was boundless fear. But when he saw Phil die in front of him, a crazy desire to survive surged in his heart. No matter what, he didn¡¯t want to die like Phil and turn into a cold corpse! He gritted his teeth and suddenly shouted with a look of mania, ¡°No, you don¡¯t dare to kill me! You can¡¯t kill me either! ¡°Don¡¯t forget. The bride today never showed up! Let me tell you the truth. She¡¯s in my hands now. If you dare toy a finger on me, I¡¯ll make her die immediately! ¡°If I die, I will definitely drag that woman to hell with me!¡± Vince was going all out. He propped himself up and got up from the floor. Since he already knew it was useless to plead with Lucas, he stopped kneeling and frantically threatened, ¡°I know that woman is very important to you. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t havee to DC, where our turf is! ¡°The wedding today is a trap set up for you. I reckon someone as smart as you should have guessed it long ago. ¡°But you still came here without hesitation. It¡¯s enough to prove that that woman is extremely important to you and that she can¡¯t die! In that case, I have a strong hold over you! ¡°If you dare to disobey me, I will immediately make sure that woman dies!¡± He was already going all out now, so he couldn¡¯t care less about revealing his coercion tactics and motives in public. Hearing what he said, the Stones were immediately enraged. They originally thought that although the Smiths had intervened in the marriage between the Stones and the Dempseys, it should still be considered a normal marriage alliance. After all, the Dempseys and the Stones were of equal power and status in DC, so their children were a match. But they didn¡¯t expect that the Smiths merely wanted to dupe Maddy into falling into their hands so that they could use her as a bargaining chip to coerce Lucas. This wedding was a trap against Lucas! Geoffrey, the helmsman of the Stones, and Carlos, Maddy¡¯s father, felt deeply pained and regretful. Yesterday afternoon, if the Smiths hadn¡¯t apanied the Dempseys to propose the marriage in person while promising some benefits coupled with some vague threats, Geoffrey wouldn¡¯t have agreed to Maddy marrying into the Dempseys and letting them get married so hastily. Although he had vaguely felt that this marriage and wedding weren¡¯t that simple, he never imagined that Maddy was just a pawn used by the Smiths. In particr, now that the Smiths were in control of Maddy¡¯s life and using her to threaten Lucas, it was overboard! The Stones were furious. The Dempseys were just as furious. If the Smiths hadn¡¯t used the Dempseys as pawns and forced them to fight against Lucas, how could Phil, Sylvester, and Jessey have died within such a short time? It was all caused by the Smiths! ¡°Bastard, if you dare toy a finger on Maddy, I¡¯ll make sure you wished you were dead!¡± Hearing Vince threatening Lucas with Maddy¡¯s life, Jordan immediately lost his temper and charged forward to grab Vince by the neck. In his anger, his grip was extremely strong, instantly causing Vince to roll his eyes and experience difficulty breathing. His face turned purplish, and he looked about to die. Seeing this, Lucas didn¡¯t stop him. Vince¡¯s threat didn¡¯t have any effect on Lucas or make Lucas afraid of doing anything to him. On the contrary, people like Vince, who used the life of a woman to threaten others, were precisely the kind who were the most afraid of dying. Lucas believed that under the threat of death, he would soon be able to force Vince to reveal Maddy¡¯s whereabouts. Seeing Vince rolling his eyes, the Dempseys and the Stones felt overjoyed. If not for the Smiths, how could Dempseys¡¯ helmsman, his son, and his grandson have died? How could the hitmen and gunmen they had painstakingly trained and the snipers they had spent a ton of money on have died here? The huge loss and the family turmoil caused by the death of the helmsman had a massive influence on the Dempseys. It would probably be difficult to eliminate it in the next few years. It was all caused by the Smiths! Even if Vince died here, it would be a good death! When the Stones saw that Vince was about to be strangled to death, they indeed had the sweet thrill of revenge. But at the same time, their hearts had a trace of anxiety. What would happen to Maddy if Vince was really strangled to death? The Smiths were in control of Maddy¡¯s life! While Vince was being strangled to the point of the veins on his forehead bulging, his eyeballs protruding, and his face turning purple, Jordan finally let go and threw Vince onto the flood. Vince had almost suffocated to death! Vince¡¯s body was drenched in cold sweat, and he was lying limply on the floor, gasping heavily. At the same time, his heart was full of unprecedented fear. Just now, he felt that he was so close to death. If Jordan had released him a few secondster, he would be dead now. ¡°You¡­ How dare you reallyy a finger on me?! Aren¡¯t you afraid¡­ afraid that I¡¯ll really order for that woman¡¯s death?¡± Vince said in disbelief while panting heavily. He had finally survived. ¡°Hah, you haven¡¯t had enough of that feeling? Do you want to experience it again?¡± Jordan mocked with disdain. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance. Hand over Maddy immediately! Otherwise, I still have hundreds of ways to let you enjoy the fear of being on the verge of death until you hand her over intact!¡± Jordan was like the devil whose words immediately made Vince¡¯s face turn even paler. He initially thought that as long as he had a hold over Lucas, he would be able to use it to threaten them into giving in. But he didn¡¯t expect them topletely ignore his threats and even torture him again and again in such a terrifying manner. At the thought of the near-death experience just now, Vince was paralyzed by fear, and he even subconsciously began shuddering, not wanting to experience it again. ¡°Lucas¡­ I¡­ actually didn¡¯te here with the intention of fighting you to the death. I just wanted to talk to you about a deal that will be beneficial to us!¡± Vince said, forcing himself to keep his voice steady and suppress his fear. Chapter 852 - So-Called Deal

Chapter 852: So-Called Deal

¡°Deal? What qualifications do you have to talk about a deal with me,¡± Lucas said coldly,pletely unmoved. Vince gritted his teeth. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t be too arrogant! ¡°You¡¯re indeed very strong. Even our most powerful experts were no match for you. But if you think this is all that the Smiths are capable of as one of the top eight families of DC, you¡¯re gravely mistaken! ¡°I¡¯m indeed not a match for you, but if you want to kill me, that woman Maddy Stone will die! ¡°I¡¯ve already exined to my people before I came here that if I don¡¯t return alive, bury that woman with me! As for whether you will take revenge on the Smiths after I die, it won¡¯t matter to me anymore because I¡¯ll be dead. Hah! ¡°So, if you refuse to agree to my deal, let¡¯s just all die!¡± Vince said resentfully. Lucas could tell from the look in his eyes that he wasn¡¯t lying. If they killed Vince here, Maddy might really be in danger. Lucas sneered and suddenly raised his head to nce at the Dempseys and Stones. He said contemptuously, ¡°It seems you are indeed just pawns of the Smiths.¡± The Stones and the Dempseys looked indignant. The Smiths had used both of their families. Maddy was now held hostage and being used as a bargaining chip to negotiate a deal with Lucas. Furthermore, many Dempseys, including the helmsman, Phil, had died or been injured because of the Smiths. But now, the Smiths not only had no intention of seeking justice for them, but they even wanted to make a deal with Lucas. Clearly, they didn¡¯t take these two families seriously. Seeing things going awry, Vince hurriedly said, ¡°Stop trying to sow discord! If I really just treated them as pawns and had no regard for their lives, why would I bring people here?¡± But the Dempseys and the Stones didn¡¯t believe him. Lucas said coldly, ¡°Cut the crap. What do you mean by deal?¡± Vince looked at the Dempseys and Stones standing around them. ¡°What I¡¯m about to talk about involves many confidential matters of the Smiths, so I¡¯ll have to speak to you alone.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Everyone, get out.¡± Standing beside Lucas, Jordan nced at the Dempseys and the Stones with an evil gaze. They immediately got the goosebump and felt as if there were des on their backs. They hurriedly ran toward the entrance of the hotel. In fact, if not for the pressure exerted by Lucas and Jordan, they would have long wanted to escape. The situation in the banquet hall was just too terrifying. In a short time, the Stones and the Dempseys had all disappeared from the hotel. Lucas sat on a chair and crossed his legs. ¡°You can tell me now.¡± Vince nodded. ¡°Actually, I came to you today with two purposes. Unfortunately, the first one has already failed.¡± He was naturally referring to his attempt to use the top expert Steel-ws to get rid of Lucas. Lucas sneered without saying anything. Vince continued, ¡°But I can tell you clearly that the task of killing you was given to me by Tyson, the Smiths¡¯ current helmsman. He ordered me to kill you no matter what. Moreover, it was his idea to use Maddy Stone¡¯s marriage to lure you to DC. ¡°Even that woman is under Tyson¡¯s control now. I¡¯ve never seen her before! ¡°I may as well tell you directly that the Smiths are definitely not united. Instead, we¡¯re divided into two camps. One is represented by the helmsman, Tyson Smith, and his son Oscar. ¡°The other camp is represented by my father, Thomas, and me. My father has always been displeased that a fool like Tyson can be the helmsman. We have always wanted to snatch the position back. ¡°As for the position of the family¡¯s sessor, it¡¯s a choice between me and Oscar. It just depends on which camp is stronger. ¡°However, Oscar was frightened to the point of bing a lunatic. But it¡¯s not that simple for me to get the position of sessor because that old fogy Tyson won¡¯t give it to me easily. ¡°So this time, he ordered me to deal with you and demanded that I kill you to avenge his son and also to test me. Only after passing the test will I be the sessor. ¡°But killing you won¡¯t do any good for my father and me. So my father also gave me a task. It¡¯s part of the deal I want to discuss with you. ¡°As long as you can help us kill Tyson Smith, his camp will naturally disintegrate, and my father will be the indisputable helmsman of the Smiths. At that time, I will naturally return Maddy Stone to you safe and sound. ¡°Moreover, the Smiths are one of the eight top families of DC, so we can also help you regain control of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters in DC. We can even help you deal with the Huttons! ¡°I believe that this deal is extremely cost-effective for both of us, right?¡± Vince exined everything about the division of the Smiths, their respective camps, and the content of the deal. After he finished speaking, certainty appeared on his face. He believed that as long as Lucas still hated the Huttons, he would ept the deal. But there was no guarantee if the Smiths would really help Lucas against the Huttons afterward. After listening to what Vince said quietly, Lucas looked extremely calm and even smiled mockingly. It was normal for the Smiths to be divided into two opposing camps. Not to mention the eight giants of DC, even some small families in smaller cities would form cliques and fight each other for inheritance rights, power, and profit. But the exchange of benefits Vince promised was almost the same as that of Charlie, the butler who went to California to negotiate a deal with Lucas. They both promised to help Lucas deal with the Huttons. Lucas found it ridiculous. He had a grudge against the Huttons, but there was no need to use outsiders to deal with them. Moreover, these people just wanted to use him despite calling it a deal. It was indeed ridiculous. ¡°Vince, you know what? Apart from those who threaten me, I also hate smart alecks! ¡°Besides, the Smiths aren¡¯t qualified to negotiate a deal with me! ¡°Since Maddy is with the Smiths, I¡¯ll go to your ce now and see if there¡¯s anyone who can stop me!¡± Lucas suddenly stood up with an extremely domineering aura! Chapter 853 - Cunning

Chapter 853: Cunning

Vince was intimidated by Lucas¡¯s aura for a while and felt so flustered that he couldn¡¯t say a single word. After a while, Lucas¡¯s aura dissipated a little. He wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead and chuckled loudly. ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray, I have to admit that you¡¯re indeed very powerful! Even your subordinate could kill Steel-ws, a top expert of my family. ¡°But you¡¯re too arrogant! The Smiths are one of the eight most powerful families in DC for a reason. If you dare to break into our residence now, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be killed before you even get to see Tyson, let alone ask him to hand the woman over!¡± Vince didn¡¯t believe that Lucas could leave the Smith residence alive. In fact, after hearing that Lucas was going to break into the Smith residence, Vince was shocked and felt that it was a great opportunity. If Lucas died in the Smith residence, it would be a good thing for Vince. As long as Lucas died, all the shame that Lucas made him suffer would bepletely washed away. But what Vince wanted more than Lucas¡¯s death was the position of helmsman. He wanted Lucas to live long enough to help him get rid of Tyson instead of barging into the Smith residence to die. Thus, not only could he not watch Lucas go and die, but he had to stop him to keep him alive. Lucas nced at Vince before suddenly saying, ¡°Although you¡¯ve offended me several times, I don¡¯t want to kill you now. I¡¯ll leave you alive for now and let you see whether I cane back from the Smith residence alive or not!¡± With that, Lucas stopped bothering with Vince and walked out of the hotel directly with Jordan. Behind him, Vince realized that Lucas was really going to the Smith residence now, and he couldn¡¯t help panicking. ¡°Hey! Do you know what you¡¯re doing? ¡°Do you think you can deal with the Smiths with your strength alone? As long as you step foot into the Smiths¡¯, you¡¯ll definitely die miserably! ¡°Hey! Are you that eager to rush to death?¡± Vince was really conflicted and anxious right now. He wanted to see Lucas die, but not now and not in this manner! In his heart, it was absolutely impossible for Lucas toe back alive from the Smith residence. By barging into there, he would inevitably anger the camp represented by Tyson. When the time came, he, the person who failed to stop Lucas and even allowed him to barge into the Smith residence, was bound to take a lot of me. Moreover, the position of sessor would move further and further away from him. Lucas suddenly stopped and turned to look at Vince coldly. ¡°You¡¯re too noisy! I never let anyone question my decisions! ¡°I may have spared your life, but it doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯ll keep tolerating you! If you continue to spout nonsense, you will die here!¡± Vince shivered the moment he saw Lucas¡¯s icy cold gaze. He was well aware that Lucas was a man of his word. If he stopped him, Lucas might really kill him! Thinking of this, Vince didn¡¯t dare to utter another word and kept quiet. Lucas and Jordan stopped looking at him and walked straight out of the hotel. After the two of them left, Vince immediately took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Dad, bad news. Lucas Gray refused to listen to me, and he¡¯s now rushing over to our manor. He says he wants to kill the person plotting to kill him and save that woman! ¡°What should I do now?¡± Hearing this, Thomas, who was in the Smith residence, was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be so bold. ¡°Hmph, why are you so anxious? If that punk reallyes, wouldn¡¯t it be good too? He can help us kill arge number of Tyson¡¯s men. If he can kill Tyson, it will indirectly help us achieve our goal. ¡°Even if he fails to kill Tyson and ends up dying in our manor, he¡¯ll have also helped us weaken Tyson¡¯s power. Regardless of what happens, it will be beneficial to us!¡± Thomas was indeed worthy of being a sly old fox. He quickly analyzed the situation and deduced the scenarios most favorable to them. After hearing what Thomas said, Vince was suddenly enlightened. ¡°Right! Why didn¡¯t I think of this? Regardless of whether he dies at the manor or not, it will be beneficial to us!¡± ¡°But, Dad, aren¡¯t you in the Smiths¡¯ manor now? What if Lucas Gray barges in and that old fogy Tyson orders you to lead the people to resist? What will you do? You can¡¯t defy him openly, can you?¡± Vince hurriedly asked when he suddenly thought of something. Thomas sneered. ¡°Do you need to remind me of this? I¡¯ve already thought of a countermeasure! Don¡¯t worry about me. But you have to remember that you don¡¯t have to interfere with the matter of Lucas Graying over to the manor. Don¡¯t tell anyone about it either. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, Dad! I know!¡± Vince immediately agreed. After he hung up the phone, a sly smile appeared on the corners of his lips. It seemed that the Smiths were going to have a good show today. But as long as it had nothing to do with him and his father¡¯s camp, he was d to watch the fun. In a vi in the southwest corner of the Smiths¡¯ manor in DC¡­ After hanging up the phone, a smile slowly appeared on Thomas¡¯s mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that the illegitimate child expelled from the Huttons back then would be so powerful and dare toe to our home to cause trouble. ¡°But I¡¯m really curious. He¡¯s just an abandoned child of the Huttons. How did he grow to such a terrifying level within such a short period of time? What exactly did he encounter? ¡°If the Huttons knew how capable he is now, I bet they¡¯d feel extremelyplicated! ¡°Haha, I¡¯m getting more and more excited to see just how much damage this kid Lucas can inflict on Tyson. I hope he doesn¡¯t die too soon!¡± ... Meanwhile, Lucas and Jordan walked toward the parking lot after leaving the Maestro International Hotel. ¡°Bastard, I¡¯ve finally found you!¡± But just as they were about to get in the car, an angry roar suddenly came. The two of them turned around and saw a young man dressed in a punk style with lots of piercings on his ears and nose charging toward them furiously. Lucas raised his eyebrows. They had met this young man before. He was Shane Dempsey, the arrogant person who had gotten into a conflict with Lucas at the airport. With two bodyguards, he stared at Lucas and Jordan resentfully, clearly harboring hostile intentions. Chapter 854 - Meeting a Fool Again

Chapter 854: Meeting a Fool Again

Shane¡¯s current attire was a lot less shy than before. At least he was no longer wearing any metal chains and sequins. The shiny metal rings on his ears, nose, and other spots had also been removed and reced with small and beautiful gemstones. Clearly, even though he was a young man with a penchant for the alternative punk style, he had now toned it down and even put on a casual suit. Clearly, as a junior of the Dempseys, he should havee to the Maestro International Hotel to attend the wedding today. But he had obviously just arrived here, and he didn¡¯t know what had happened in the hotel at all. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to bring two bodyguards over to stop Lucas. He was purely digging his own grave. ¡°Hah! This is called barging into hell! ¡°I was feeling vexed about where to find you two bastards, but I didn¡¯t expect you two toe here on your own! ¡°You offended me and even kicked me. I won¡¯t let it go just like that! ¡°Previously, I just wanted you to kneel and apologize to me, and I would have forgiven you. However, not only did you injure me and make me vomit blood, but you even soiled my clothes. I¡¯m not going to forget about this grudge! ¡°I want you both to kneel at my feet, kowtow ten times, and break an arm each. Then I will let you off! Otherwise, today will be your death date!¡± Shane was still as arrogant as ever. When he was alone at the airport, he was already as arrogant as a king. Now that he had two tall and burly bodyguards by his side, and the Dempseys were holding a wedding banquet in the hotel nearby, where all his backers were, he was even more arrogant and confident. Lucas nced at him calmly before suddenly saying to Jordan, ¡°I¡¯ve met plenty of fools in the past, but it¡¯s really rare to see someone as stupid and arrogant as him. Tell me. Why are there so many fools in DC?¡± Jordan smiled evilly. ¡°Probably because this is DC, and there are many wealthy people with powerful family backgrounds here, so there are many fools who only care about family power and status! ¡°Also, because they have their families to back them up, and most people are usually humble and subservient to them, they think they¡¯re extraordinary and superior.¡± Lucas smiled faintly and praised Jordan, ¡°As expected, after spending some time in DC, you¡¯ve grown better at reading people.¡± Jordan immediately grinned. ¡°Haha, I was just making a casual remark. How can Ipare to you, Lucas?¡± The two of them were talking as if no one else was around,pletely ignoring Shane, instantly making the conceited scion infuriated. ¡°Shut up! ¡°Are you deaf? Did you not hear what I just said? ¡°I told you to kneel, kowtow, and break one of your arms! Otherwise, I will get my grandfather to kill you!¡± Shane hollered angrily. ¡°By grandfather, do you mean Phil Dempsey, the helmsman of the Dempseys?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. Shane raised his head proudly. ¡°That¡¯s right! My grandfather is the helmsman of the Dempseys! But who gave you the guts to call him by his name? ¡°I¡¯m telling you. My grandfather is right here. If you don¡¯t kneel and kowtow to me immediately, I¡¯ll make you two die immediately! ¡°Hmph, given the Dempseys¡¯ power in DC, no one will dare to say anything even if we kill you!¡± He looked extremely arrogant. Seeing how arrogant and condescending this young man was, Lucas couldn¡¯t help feeling a trace of sympathy in his heart. ¡°Unfortunately, your grandfather died a few minutes ago,¡± Lucas said. Shane immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Bastard! How dare you spout nonsense and curse at my grandfather?! ¡°My grandfather is the helmsman of the Dempseys, and it¡¯s my cousin¡¯s wedding today. How could he possibly die? ¡°You bastard, how dare you joke about the helmsman of the Dempseys like that? It seems like I have to teach you a lesson today! ¡°Do you two bumpkins know that we have the support of the Smiths, one of the eight most powerful families in DC?! If the Smiths find out that you had the audacity to insult my grandfather, they definitely won¡¯t let you off!¡± Lucas really burst intoughter.?He¡¯s actually trying to suppress me with the Smiths? Does he think I¡¯d be frightened after hearing their name? ¡°Seems like you still don¡¯t know that I killed your grandfather in front of the Smiths just now, but the rest of your family didn¡¯t even dare to say a word! ¡°I¡¯m going to go to the Smith residence to kill a few people with a death wish now. Do you think mentioning the Smiths will be of any use?¡± Shane lost his temper. ¡°Bullshit! You¡¯re just bragging. You really have the audacity to say anything. ¡°How dare you say that you killed my grandfather? Who do you think you are? Do you dare toy a finger on my grandfather?¡± ¡°How dare you insult the Smiths. Are you tired of living? I¡¯ll grant you your death wish right now!¡± Then Shane instructed the two tall bodyguards beside him, ¡°Go cripple these two bastards! Break their legs and p them a hundred times each!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Shane!¡± Upon receiving Shane¡¯smand, the two bodyguards immediately walked over and rolled up their sleeves, prepared to deal with Lucas and Jordan. ¡°Idiot, stop it immediately!¡± An anxious shout came from the side. After ending the call, Vince intended to go and make some more preparations. As soon as he left the Maestro International Hotel, he saw Shane ordering people to deal with Lucas. He instantly hollered furiously and rushed over. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Vince, why are you here?¡± Shane immediately hurried toward Vince with a look of surprise. He reported, ¡°Mr. Vince, it¡¯s great that you¡¯re here. There happens to be something that I want to report to you!¡± ¡°These two bastards actually cursed my grandfather to die. He even threatened to go to the Smiths¡¯ to kill people! He doesn¡¯t take the Smiths seriously at all! ¡°Mr. Vince, you mustn¡¯t let these bastards off! ¡°Fortunately, I ran into them. I don¡¯t n to let them off either. I happen to have two bodyguards with me, so I¡¯ll get them to capture these two right now and then hand them over to you, Mr. Vince!¡± Shane pointed at Lucas and Jordan whileining angrily. He wasn¡¯t as arrogant as he was to Lucas and Jordan earlier. In front of Vince, he was just like an obedient puppy with a fawning look on his face. He was bending forward slightly, so he didn¡¯t notice the gloomy look on Vince¡¯s face that appeared after hearing what he said. Chapter 855 - Clear Death

Chapter 855: Clear Death

Shane was stillining about Lucas to Vince, but he didn¡¯t realize how gloomy Vince was. Smack! Vince raised his hand and pped Shane¡¯s face without mercy! ¡°Damn it! If you want to die, don¡¯t implicate me, idiot!¡± Vince cursed angrily before hurrying toward Lucas and exining, ¡°Mr. Gray, I have nothing to do with this fool, and he has nothing to do with the Smiths either. Ignore what he says! ¡°Given how he¡¯s offended you, I won¡¯t let him off! I¡¯ll make him die however you want him to die! ¡°It¡¯ll all be up to your orders, Mr. Gray!¡± What Vince said and the p just now made Shane dumbfounded!?What the hell is going on? Vince was an extremely powerful person from the dignified Smith family, yet why was he so polite and even respectful toward Lucas? Shane began doubting life! He had actually been abroad and having fun all the time under the excuse of going to school. After receiving the news that his cousin was going to get married, he had rushed back from abroad. But he ran into Lucas at the airport and had a conflict with him. In fact, he had nned to go to the hotel from the airport to attend the wedding. But because Jordan¡¯s kick had soiled his clothes, he had gone back to the Dempsey residence to change his clothes before arriving at the hotel. But these dys had caused him to miss all the events in the hotel. He had no idea how powerful Lucas was. When Lucas said that he had killed his grandfather in front of the Smiths, Shane thought Lucas was just bragging and didn¡¯t believe him at all. But now that he saw Vince shuddering in front of Lucas, he suddenly had an extremely terrifying thought. What if Lucas was telling the truth just now¡­ Could it be that Phil, his grandfather and the helmsman of the family, had really been killed by Lucas? How could he believe it!? ¡°What¡­ happened? How is my grandfather now? What about the rest of my family? And this punk¡­ who exactly is he?¡± Shane began huddling up as he asked these questions in a shaky voice. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t answer Shane¡¯s questions. He merely said to Vince coldly, ¡°It¡¯s up to you to deal with it.¡± With that, he walked over toward their car. Jordan looked at the pale Shane and called him a fool before catching up with Lucas. Shane was dumbfounded for a while before finally looking at Vince, wanting to get some answers from him. But he saw the murderous intent on Vince¡¯s face. He immediately trembled and stammered, ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Vince, surely you¡¯re not really going to kill me?¡± Vince looked at Shane like he was a fool and said coldly, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m joking with you? Hmph, what a fool! Even I¡¯m on tenterhooks in front of him, and I don¡¯t dare to offend him at all. Yet you wanted him to kneel down and kowtow to you. Who do you think you are? ¡°Since you¡¯ve already provoked him, I can only kill you to appease him.¡± Shane widened his mouth in disbelief. He couldn¡¯t believe that Vince, someone from one of the eight most powerful families in DC, would be so afraid of a young man in his twenties! ¡°Mr. Vince¡­ The man just now¡­ What exactly is his identity? You¡¯re a Smith. Why are you so respectful¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Vince interrupted him in annoyance before ordering his bodyguard, ¡°Take him to a secluded ce and get rid of him neatly without leaving any traces.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The two bodyguards standing behind Vince immediately came forward, held Shane by his arms, and pulled him into the hotel. There was no one in the Maestro International Hotel now, and there were only a few corpses there. They could be taken care of together. ¡°No! Mr. Vince! The Dempseys are loyal to the Smiths. My grandfather and you have known each other for a long time. Please let me off on ount of my grandfather and the Dempseys!¡± Shane yelled in panic. He had no idea why things suddenly turned out this way. After he was forcefully pulled into the hotel, he was even more confused. This should have been the wedding venue. The photos and flowers at the entrance and the beautiful decor inside clearly appeared in front of him. But there wasn¡¯t a single person at all! The entire hotel was empty, and many tables and chairs were in a mess. Clearly, people had fled in panic. What happened here? Where are the Dempseys? Why isn¡¯t anyone here? It was only when a bodyguard put a cold pistol against Shane¡¯s forehead that he was jolted awake with fear and horror written all over his face. ¡°No, no, no! Mr. Vince, you¡­ you can¡¯t kill me! Even if you want me to die, you have to give me a reason. Let me die a reasonable death. Otherwise, even if I die, I will still be a confused ghost!¡± Shane shouted maniacally while struggling with all his might. Looking at him, Vince couldn¡¯t help showing a little sympathy. But it was Shane¡¯s fault for offending Lucas. No one could help him. ¡°Your grandfather was indeed killed by the young man just now. From now on, I¡¯m afraid the Dempseys will no longer exist in DC. ¡°And the young man is indeed not to be offended. He¡¯s now heading to the Smiths¡¯. He wasn¡¯t bragging about wanting to kill a few Smiths. ¡°Now, do you understand what kind of terrifying existence you¡¯ve provoked?¡± Vince said to Shane with some pity. Shane felt like he was struck by lightning and waspletely dumbfounded. ¡°Is Grandpa¡­ really dead? ¡°Will the Dempseys cease to exist from now on? ¡°He actually has the guts to rush to the Smith residence now. Are you just going to stand by and watch? Aren¡¯t you a Smith?¡± Shane couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. ¡°That¡¯s enough. What I just said is enough. Anyway, it¡¯s enough for you to know why you¡¯re dying.¡± Vince¡¯s face was sullen as he ordered the bodyguard beside him, ¡°Do it!¡± Bang! The bodyguard pulled the trigger without hesitation. A small hole immediately appeared in between Shane¡¯s eyebrows. His eyes were wide open, but he would never be able to speak again. In thest second when his consciousness was about to drift away, his heart was surging with endless regret. If he had known that this bumpkin was so powerful, he wouldn¡¯t have provoked him at the airport! With this regret, Shane slipped into eternal darkness. Chapter 856 - Slamming the Door and Entering

Chapter 856: mming the Door and Entering

Meanwhile, Lucas and Jordan had already driven to the Smiths¡¯ manor in DC. Jordan was driving while Lucas was sitting in the backseat with his eyes closed, getting some rest. Jordan looked at Lucas several times in the rearview mirror, seemingly wanting to say something, but he was afraid of disturbing Lucas¡¯s rest. ¡°Just speak your mind,¡± Lucas suddenly said. After a moment of hesitation, Jordan said, ¡°Lucas, you¡¯vee to DC personally to help me this time. I¡¯m afraid your identity might be exposed, and it¡¯ll cause you trouble.¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°So that¡¯s what you¡¯re worried about. Actually, you don¡¯t have to think too much about it. I¡¯m not just helping you. I¡¯m helping Maddy too. ¡°When we were in the Falcon Regiment, Maddy saved many of the soldiers of the Falcon Regiment with her excellent medical skills. Even we received a lot of help from her. In my heart, she¡¯s like a sibling, just like you are to me. I naturally can¡¯t watch her being bullied. ¡°Besides, she was used by the Smiths and fell into a crisis this time. Strictly speaking, she was implicated by me. So I can¡¯t just leave her alone. ¡°As for my identity being exposed, it¡¯s not a big deal. Our defenses at Calico are near imprable now. Even if those enemies know that I¡¯ve left Calico, there¡¯s nothing they can do to me. So you don¡¯t have to worry about any serious consequences.¡± Lucas would never put himself in danger. Since he chose to appear in DC, he had already made serious considerations. Although it might result in some trouble, so what? Maddy was hisrade and the person Jordan loved, so Lucas would definitely help her. After hearing what Lucas said, Jordan felt extremely touched. He knew that things weren¡¯t as simple as Lucas made them out to be. Lucas said this so that Jordan wouldn¡¯t worry about it nor feel like he owed him a huge favor. Lucas was extremely good to him and Maddy. He could only repay Lucas by helping him well in the future. DC was massive, and the roads were also congested with vehicles. After more than forty minutes, their car finally arrived outside the Smiths¡¯ manor. As one of the eight most powerful families in DC, the Smiths naturally lived in a vast and luxurious manor. The gate was extremely grand and majestic, just like the gate of a European pce. There were four men in uniform standing on both sides of the gate. Jordan was about to park his car at the door when Lucasmanded, ¡°Just drive in!¡± Just like Lucas¡¯s beloved Jaguar, the ck Land Rover Jordan used in DC had also been modified to be extremely strong and sturdy. There would be no problem mming an iron gate. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± A trace of excitement immediately appeared on Jordan¡¯s face. He had long wanted to m open the gate of the Smiths! He floored the gas pedal and then mmed into therge gate of the Smiths¡¯ manor! Boom!! The engine roared, and the ck Land Rover engine was running at full power, allowing it to move as quickly as a ck lightning bolt. ¡°Who¡¯s there?! Quickly stop¡­! Ah!¡± Realizing that something was amiss, the Smiths guarding the entrance immediately tried to stop the ck Land Rover. But after seeing how fast it was, they dodged to both sides to avoid getting run over. Bang! The sturdy front end of the Land Rover smashed the iron gate open, and it began speeding straight into the Smiths¡¯ manor. The four guards at the entrance got up from the ground in a disheveled manner before taking out their walkie-talkies and yelling, ¡°Bad news! Someone drove into the Smith residence! Quickly inform the security team and report this matter to the helmsman!¡± In a short while, a piercing rm resounded throughout the Smiths¡¯ manor. Countless people in the manor were shocked! The Smiths were one of the eight most powerful families in DC, and it had been years since anyone had dared to break into their home! The Smiths¡¯ manor was huge, and it was divided into two areas, one outside and one inside, which were enclosed by high walls. Most of the people staying in the outer area were from the Smiths¡¯ side branches, as well as the security team, servants, and so on. There were a few hundred of them in total. The Smiths¡¯ direct lineage and core members of the family lived in the inner area, where the environment was more elegant and the decor was more luxurious. When Jordan drove all the way to the inner gate, he found that the gate here was too small for vehicles to pass. There were already dozens of the Smiths¡¯ elite bodyguards standing in front of the gate. The Smiths were one of the eight top families in DC. Since these bodyguards were responsible for protecting the inner area, they naturally weren¡¯t ordinary people. ¡­ Especially the middle-aged bodyguard standing in front. He was nearly 1.9 meters, with bulky shoulders, a thick waist,rge eyes, bold eyebrows, a mustache, a scar on the left side of his face, and burly bronze muscles. His biceps wererger than the head of the average adult man. His figure was as robust as that of Wade, Lucas¡¯s subordinate. But his aura was much stronger than Wade¡¯s. Jordan clenched his fists, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ll deal with these people!¡± Lucas nodded without saying anything. Jordan was also extremely strong. Besides, it wouldn¡¯t do him any harm to practice a few more times. Click! Jordan opened the door and walked over. The middle-aged man stared at Jordan. ¡°Who are you? Why did you break into the Smiths¡¯ home? If you can¡¯t give me a reason, you¡¯ll have to die here!¡± A domineering aura emerged from his body. A trace of interest appeared in Jordan¡¯s eyes. His opponent didn¡¯t seem to be a pushover, which was just what he wanted. ¡°You want me to die here? Let¡¯s see if you have the ability! But you people are no match for me, and I¡¯m not here to fight with you. I suggest that you leave. I might not be able to hold back. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me if you end up crippled or dead.¡± Jordan grinned sinisterly and moved his fingers. He and Lucas came here to save Maddy. They had no intention ofmitting a massacre. But if the people in front of him didn¡¯t know any better, he wouldn¡¯t mind teaching them a bloody lesson! ¡°You¡¯re too arrogant!¡± the middle-aged muscr man roared, and murderous intent appeared on his face. He waved his hand. ¡°Go! Let this kid know how terrifying the Smiths are!¡± The 40 bodyguards of the Smiths immediately charged toward Jordan. Chapter 857 - Barging Into the Smith Residence

Chapter 857: Barging Into the Smith Residence

These dozens of people charged over in a shocking manner, but in Jordan¡¯s eyes, they were nothing at all. He merely chuckled lightly and put his hands together. ¡°Good! Since you want to die, I¡¯ll fulfill your wishes!¡± Then Jordan sprang up like an arrow and took the initiative to charge toward the experts and bodyguards of the Smiths! ¡°Hah, how arrogant!¡± The middle-aged sneered. In his opinion, Jordan was sending himself to his death by charging into the enemy camp! But his smile soon froze, and his expression changed drastically! Jordan didn¡¯t get caught in a tough battle as he imagined. Instead, he was like a wolf king charging into a herd of sheep! The expert bodyguards whom the Smiths had trained couldn¡¯t exert anybat power at all. He almost immediately kicked them to the ground, and they were unable to get up again. In less than a minute, the nearly 40 experts lost theirbat power andy on the ground. Some were wailing loudly, but most of them had already passed out. The muscr middle-aged man was the only one left. This situation was simply unbelievable! The top experts and bodyguards of the Smiths were not ordinary bodyguards whom they had casually hired from securitypanies but experts whom the Smiths had nurtured for years. Because of this, only they had the right to guard the area where the core members of the Smiths lived. But these people were now so fragile in front of this young man! Nearly 40 people were all lying on the ground, while Jordan waspletely untouched. What a horrifying disparity! The middle-aged muscr man was full of disbelief, and he even subconsciously took two steps backward. ¡°What? Do you want to fight me now?¡± Jordan suddenly looked at the middle-aged muscr man and asked with raised brows. ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t dare!¡± The middle-aged muscr man gulped nervously. Then he suddenly raised his hand to smack himself on the back of his neck and passed out. ¡°¡­¡± Speechless, Jordan stared at him and muttered, ¡°You¡¯re quite sensible.¡± Then he ignored him. Jordan understood the thoughts of this middle-aged muscr man. He was already too timid to fight, but because he worked for the Smiths, he couldn¡¯t just surrender. Thus, he knocked himself out to give the Smiths an exnation. This middle-aged muscr man had a good mindset. But he had forgotten that this was the gate of the Smiths¡¯ inner residence. There were surveince cameras monitoring this area at all times, and these scenes had also been transmitted to Tyson through the Smiths¡¯ internal securitywork. ¡°Damn it, bastard!¡± Tyson watched the scene on theptop and was nearly angered to death. The fact that dozens of people couldn¡¯t deal with the young man was already a huge disgrace to the Smiths. This middle-aged man¡¯s actions were not only embarrassing but also hypocritical! He would never let such a person stay! ¡°Ry my orders. Once today¡¯s matter is over, kill the security leader and these useless good-for-nothings!¡± Tyson said menacingly while staring at the scenes on theptop. His order condemned the lives of over 40 people. ¡°Yes, Mr. Smith!¡± A steward who was standing behind Tyson didn¡¯t dare to dy at all and frantically agreed. Although it was a cruel decision, there was no need for those who couldn¡¯t protect the family well to continue existing. The steward hesitated for a long time before saying, ¡°But¡­ Mr. Smith, this young man is indeed terrifyingly powerful. These bodyguards can¡¯t do anything to him at all. I think we¡¯ll have no choice but to invite that man!¡± Tyson frowned while staring at theptop in front of him without saying anything. He clearly hadn¡¯t made up his mind yet. In the surveince footage on the screen, Jordan had already entered the inner area and met the second wave of guards. But the result was the same as before. The Smith¡¯s experts couldn¡¯t do anything to Jordan. They were still being kicked far away and falling to the ground. Some unlucky people were kicked to death. Clearly, this young man¡¯s strength was terrifying. Just a few minutester, there was anotherrge group of bodyguards lying in front of Jordan. No one could stop him at all. It was utterly shameful to the Smiths! At this rate, this young man would soon reach Tyson¡¯s vi. If today¡¯s incident spread, the Smiths would be greatly disgraced! This can¡¯t go on!?Tyson said to his steward angrily, ¡°Where¡¯s Thomas? What is he doing? Inform him to use his experts to deal with this young man together! ¡°The Smiths are now facing a crisis. It¡¯s time his subordinates are put to use!¡± The steward frantically nodded, took out his phone, and called Thomas. ¡°Mr. Thomas, Mr. Tyson wants you to send your experts to protect the Smiths!¡± Who knew what Thomas said over the phone, but the steward¡¯s expression changed drasticallu. Immediately afterward, the call ended. ¡°Did¡­ did he reject my order?¡± Tyson asked in disbelief when he saw the sudden change in the steward¡¯s expression. With a hideous smile that looked uglier than crying, the steward said while shuddering, ¡°Mr. Tyson, Mr. Thomas said that he¡­ he isn¡¯t feeling well and went to the hospital forty minutes ago. His subordinates have also been sent out on tasks. He said¡­ he¡¯s afraid he won¡¯t be able to help! ¡°He¡­ he even said that he¡¯ll have to trouble you to pay more attention to the matters of the Smiths¡­¡± ¡°Bastard!¡± Before the steward finished, Tyson punched the table furiously. ¡°That bastard is definitely doing it on purpose!¡± ¡°Has¡­ he long known about this? Is that why he not only hid early but even called all his subordinates?!¡± Tyson was furious. He reached out to smash a teacup on the table onto the ground! Chapter 858 - Hospitalized

Chapter 858: Hospitalized

Seeing how enraged Tyson was, the steward shuddered in fright and was at aplete loss for words. He was an elderly of the Smiths, so he naturally knew that Tyson and Thomas had fought for the position of helmsman, which eventually caused these brothers to turn against each other. They were now at odds and had clearly separated into two camps. Although the steward was now on Tyson¡¯s side, Thomas was still Tyson¡¯s brother and a big shot of the Smiths after all. He was just a lowly steward and had no right to intervene. ¡°Thomas! This must have something to do with Thomas! ¡°Hah, I¡¯ll just say it. I arranged for Vince to bring his men to kill Lucas Gray long ago. He hasn¡¯t replied yet, but Lucas Gray¡¯s subordinate has alreadye to the Smiths. How outrageous! ¡°There must be something wrong with this! Vince¡¯s mission must have failed! Yet he didn¡¯t report this matter to me! ¡°That¡¯s right! There should still be a person sitting in the car parked outside. It might just be that damned Lucas Gray! ¡°Hah, maybe that sly old fox Thomas and that punk Vince took the opportunity to cooperate with Lucas Gray. They deliberately let him barge into the Smith residence! The more Tyson thought about it, the more he felt that it was possible. Otherwise, why hadn¡¯t Vince, who was obviously supposed to kill Lucas, called yet? How could that damned Thomas fall ill and go to the hospital when Lucas¡¯s subordinate was breaking into the Smiths¡¯ residence? Clearly, they had already colluded and were deliberately going against him! The more Tyson thought about it, the angrier he got. There was anger burning in his chest and murderous intent on his face. After hearing this, the steward turned pale. ¡°That young man alone is already extremely difficult to deal with. If¡­ if Thomas is colluded with them, then¡­ what should we do?¡± Tyson was enraged. He grabbed two handfuls of hair and looked at the steward with displeasure.?All he does is ask me what to do. How would I know? If the butler Charlie was still around, he would have longe up with an idea for him. There would be no need for him to rack his brains and think of a solution here. Unfortunately, Charlie was no longer around, and he had very likely already died in Lucas¡¯s hands. Tyson had to make decisions now. ¡°In this case, immediately call Thomas and tell him this. If he can¡¯t bring his people here to defend against the enemies within fifteen minutes, I will regard him as betraying the family. I will remove him from the Smith genealogy and make sure he gets lost from the Smiths forever!¡± Tyson hollered furiously. Remove him from the family?!?The steward was shocked and didn¡¯t dare to dy. He hurriedly called Thomas. But all he heard was that Thomas had already turned off his phone and that the call couldn¡¯t connect. The steward hurriedly called several times, but he still received the same result. Thomas clearly wasn¡¯t going to answer nor take their orders. ¡°Damn it!¡± Tyson cursed angrily. His lungs were about to explode. ¡°Okay! Since he¡¯s unkind, he shouldn¡¯t me me for paying him back in his own coin and ignoring our brotherhood!¡± ... At the same time, in a VIP ward in an upscale private hospital in DC, a man was wearing loose-fitting home wear and lying on afortable hospital bed while looking at his phone. This person was naturally Thomas, who had made Tyson furious. His face was red and full of radiance. He looked nothing like a patient. There was a middle-aged man in his forties next to him. It was Vince, his son. ¡°Dad, if you refuse to answer their calls so tantly, won¡¯t you provoke that old dog Tyson and make him do something overboard?¡± Vince asked with some concern. ¡°What are you worried about? Vince, I told you. Ever since your attempt to kill Lucas failed, to Tyson, it was already impossible for you to be the family¡¯s helmsman. He would definitely try all ways to ostracize you and push you away from that position. ¡°You and I both know very well what kind of a person Tyson is! He has long been against the idea of making you the family head. If his son hadn¡¯t be a fool and was no longer able to seed as helmsman, he wouldn¡¯t have been willing to give up the position of sessory to you! ¡°Moreover, even if everyone in the family knows that you¡¯re the only personpetent enough to be the helmsman in the future, he will still set conditions for you, such as killing Lucas Gray. This way, he will have hundreds of excuses to stop you from reaching that position. ¡°Besides, he¡¯s calling me now to make me act as cannon fodder and help him fight Lucas Gray. I¡¯d be a fool to answer his call and listen to his orders! ¡°If he has something against me and wants to punish me, then he can wait until he survives Lucas Gray¡¯s attack! Hehe!¡± Thomas patiently analyzed the situation with his son, and he even chuckled like the sly old fox he was. After hearing what his father said, Vince was suddenly enlightened. At the same time, he felt even more respect for his aged father. Indeed, the older, the wiser! He was still too inexperiencedpared to his father! ¡°Dad, I know. That old man Tyson is unwilling to hand over the position of helmsman to me. Even if we try our best to cooperate with him today, he¡¯ll probablye up with all sorts of reasons to hinder meter. ¡°In that case, why should we help him? Let¡¯s just sit here and watch a good show. Once he and Lucas Gray are both injured, we¡¯ll step forward and reap the benefits. Haha!¡± Vince had excitement all over his face. Thomas nodded. ¡°Also, the fact that Tyson suddenly called me so anxiously means that Lucas Gray and his subordinate have already brought him a lot of pressure. He might already be at his wits¡¯ end. ¡°That¡¯s why he¡¯s so impatient for me to intervene. First, he wants me to help him bear the brunt of Lucas¡¯s attack, and second, he wants to exhaust my manpower and power. Hmph, how could I possibly do what he wants? ¡°Regardless of who wins, be it Lucas or Tyson, we¡¯ll have room to maneuver ande up with countermeasures. We¡¯ll be the final winners!¡± Vince had joy written all over his face. But when he thought of thebat power Lucas showed in the Maestro International Hotel, he couldn¡¯t help worrying. Lucas wasn¡¯t someone who could be easily provoked¡­ ¡°Dad, do you think we should think of a way to save Maddy Stone? This way, if Lucas Gray wins, we can ask him for a few favors in exchange for saving her,¡± Vince suddenly asked. Chapter 859 - Confrontation

Chapter 859: Confrontation

Thomas thought about it but shook his head. ¡°No, why should we save her? ¡°I hope that woman dies in Tyson¡¯s hands! ¡°I heard that Lucas Gray is very loyal and cares a lot about this woman. If this woman dies in Tyson¡¯s hands, what do you think he¡¯ll do?¡± Vince¡¯s eyes instantly lit up, and he said in excitement, ¡°If that happens, Lucas Gray will definitely kill that old fogy Tyson! ¡°Once he dies, you will definitely seed as helmsman! When the timees, the entire Smith family will belong to us!¡± ¡°Haha, yes!¡± Thomas beganughing triumphantly. The two of them looked at each other, already envisioning the scene of them taking control of the Smiths. ... Meanwhile, in the Smiths¡¯ manor¡­ Tyson, the Smiths¡¯ helmsman, flew into a rage when he tried to summon Thomas to deal with the enemy but found that Thomas had no intention of answering his phone. But even though he was furious, he had to resolve the crisis before him. Jordan was too strong, and the Smiths¡¯ guards outside couldn¡¯t stop him at all. ¡°Master, the situation is now critical. If we still don¡¯t ask that man to take action, that young man will really make it here!¡± the butler said anxiously. ¡°Shut up!¡± Tyson was even more enraged and anxious after hearing what the ipetent butler said. ¡°Dispatch the gunmen squad! Hmph, that young man is indeed very powerful, but even if he¡¯s good at fighting, he still has a human body. Can he possibly fight against bullets?¡± Tyson ordered grimly. The butler¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°Right! We have a gunmen squad!¡± ¡°No matter how strong he is, he won¡¯t be a match for a squad of gunmen! He¡¯ll definitely be shot! Why didn¡¯t I think of that?¡± He had just been stunned by Jordan¡¯s shocking attacks, and he had been so frightened that he had forgotten about the gunman squad. ¡°Nonsense! Of course it¡¯s because you¡¯re an idiot! If Charlie was still here, he would have long thought of a solution, and I wouldn¡¯t have to worry here! ¡°What are you waiting here for? Hurry up and make the arrangements!¡± Aftershing out at the butler, Tyson began missing Charlie, the chief butler who was practically his right-hand man in the past. ¡°Yes, Mr. Smith! I¡¯ll get to it immediately!¡± the butler hurried out. ... In the Smiths¡¯ inner residence, Jordan had already dealt with the third wave of bodyguards. He would soon reach Smiths¡¯ core residence. He reckoned Tyson was definitely in there. From beginning to end, Lucas stayed inside the Land Rover without showing his face. It was an operation to save Maddy, so Lucas was more than willing to let Jordan act on his own. Clearly, Jordan thought so too. Just as Jordan stepped forward again, a squad of more than 20 gunmen appeared again, each holding a ck pistol in their hands. The dark muzzles were all aimed at Jordan. Jordan immediately stopped. Anyone facing the threat of so many pistols would probably stop acting rashly because any slight carelessness would result in them getting shot. A top powerhouse like Lucas was an exception. Jordan had yet to reach Lucas¡¯s realm where he could ignore bullets. He couldn¡¯t, so he could only stop. But there was no fear on his face. Recently, he had been surrounded by pistols more than once. ¡°Brat! Weren¡¯t you very arrogant just now? You killed and wounded so many of us. Why don¡¯t you dare to move now?¡± ¡°Haha. Are you scared from seeing so many guns? All it takes for your head to be shot is an order from me!¡± ¡°Hmph! How dare youe to the Smiths to cause trouble? Who do you think you are? You must be tired of living.¡± There was a young man in his mid-thirties standing in front of the gunmen. He seemed to be the leader of the squad, and he spoke very hostilely to Jordan. In his eyes, Jordan, who was being aimed at by so many pistols, could be killed at any time. If the helmsman hadn¡¯t ordered them not to shoot first, this young man would have already be a corpse. Although there were so many guns being pointed at Jordan, there was no fear on his face. Instead, there seemed to be mockery and contempt. The people in front of him thought that they were definitely going to win because of the guns in their hands. But little did they know that Jordan had survived the battlefields. He had seen all sorts of scenes, so how could he be afraid of these gunmen? Although he couldn¡¯t dodge so many bullets unharmed like Lucas, it was a piece of cake for him to get rid of these 20-something people despite being injured. ¡°Bastard! Are you crazy? Do you really think we don¡¯t dare to kill you?¡± ¡°You just know some martial arts, but you actually dared to wreak havoc in the Smith residence. How arrogant and stupid! What era are we living in now? It¡¯s a world of thermal weapons we live in now. Long gone are the days of fighting the world with your bare fists!¡± ¡°If Master hadn¡¯t ordered us to keep you alive, you would have long be a corpse now!¡± The leader of the gunmen squadshed out maniacally. ¡°Psht! Cut the crap! Get your master toe out immediately and speak to me!¡± Jordan spat on the ground with contempt. Although more than 20 guns were pointing at him, his aura was even more domineering than these gunmen. ¡°Hah, very arrogant indeed!¡± A cold and indifferent voice suddenly came from the front. An old man slowly walked out from behind the crowd. He was wearing a suit, and his white hair was neatlybed back. There were wrinkles all over his face and a pair of oval-shaped gold-framed sses. His eyes were extremely sinister. When the crowd saw this old man, they immediately moved to the sides respectfully to make way for him. When Jordan saw this old man, an icy cold light shed in his eyes. This old man was clearly Tyson, the helmsman of the Smiths! Chapter 860 - Meeting the Right Person

Chapter 860: Meeting the Right Person

It was Tyson who had schemed against Lucas to lure him from California to DC. He had deliberately arranged the wedding between the Smiths and the Dempseys and even abducted Maddy. Jordan and Lucas came to the Smith residence today in order to force Tyson to reveal Maddy¡¯s whereabouts so that they could save her. Now, the main character finally appeared. While Jordan was ring at Tyson, Tyson also narrowed his eyes and sized Jordan up. Although Tyson had observed Jordan¡¯s actions in the surveince camera footage on theptop, now that they were facing each other, he could feel the terrifying powering from Jordan even more. The young man in front of him was indeed powerful. ¡°Where¡¯s Lucas Gray? You should only be a subordinate. Tell him toe out and see me!¡± Tyson ordered domineeringly. The reason he had gone through all the trouble to arrange this n was to lure Lucas over and then kill him with his own hands to avenge his son, Oscar, who had been frightened to the point of losing his sanity. Jordan sneered. ¡°Lucas isn¡¯t someone people like you can see just because you want to! If you hand Maddy over right now, I can spare the lives of you and the Smiths!¡± Whoosh! Hearing this, the surrounding people were astonished, wondering if they had heard wrongly. The twenty or so members of the gunmen squad around them were even more shocked. So many of them were standing here with guns in their hands, but this young man actually ignored them? Did he know that as soon as Tyson issued the order, they would fire their guns in unison and shoot him dead?! Things had alreadye to this, but he refused to beg for forgiveness or show any fear. He even threatened Tyson and said such arrogant words? What a strange lunatic! Tyson was infuriated by Jordan, so much so that the veins on his forehead were pulsating wildly. He said coldly, ¡°It seems you really haven¡¯t figured out the situation! Do you think that you can be so arrogant in front of me just because of your martial arts skills? ¡°You weren¡¯t even born when I was dominating the world! How dare you be so arrogant in front of me?! ¡°You want to save that woman? Then, get Lucas Gray to trade his life for hers!¡± Tyson¡¯s eyes were brimming with murderous intent. ¡°If you want to take my life, it depends on if you have the ability to do so.¡± An extremely cold voice suddenly sounded. Everyone¡¯s gaze followed the voice and saw a young man of about 27 or 28 years old behind them. He was striding over toward them slowly. He was extremely tall, with a height of around 1.85 meters. He wasn¡¯t muscr, and in fact, he seemed a little thin. But the aura he was exuding made everyone¡¯s hearts tense up. Everyone understood that the person who appeared was Lucas Gray, the man Tyson wanted to deal with! ¡°Lucas Gray! You¡¯re finally here!¡± A dense murderous intent glowed in Tyson¡¯s eyes. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could chop Lucas up into pieces. ¡°My son turned into a fool because of you. You must pay for it with your life!¡± Lucas sneered with raised brows. ¡°Your son is as timid as a mouse, and he frightened himself into losing his sanity. What does it have to do with me?¡± His words of mockery and contempt immediately made Tyson even more furious. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re very smug, huh? ¡°But don¡¯t you forget. You are now in the Smiths¡¯ territory, and I have so many gunmen aiming at you. As soon as I issue an order, both of you will die here! ¡°I don¡¯t know where you get the courage to be so arrogant in front of me!¡± Tyson roared angrily. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try shooting then?!¡± Jordan chuckled with disdain. He even walked directly toward the front, with his target being the gunmen squad captain who had mocked him unrestrainedly just now. ¡°Stop! Hold it right there! Otherwise, I¡¯ll shoot!¡± The captain, who was in his thirties, instantly felt a strong pressure. With every step Jordan took closer, the massive pressure pressed down on him like a mountain. But since Tyson had yet to order for them to shoot, he only held his pistol tightly without moving. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re holding a gun, but you don¡¯t even dare to shoot. What¡¯s the point of you good-for-nothings being here?¡± Jordan sneered. While speaking, he had already walked in front of the captain. As soon as he raised his hand, he snatched the pistol from him. Immediately afterward¡­ Snap! Snap! Snap! With light sounds, the pistol in Jordan¡¯s hand instantly turned into scattered pieces that fell to the ground. His hands were moving so quickly that others couldn¡¯t see them clearly at all. They could only see afterimages shing up and down. The entire process took less than two seconds. Only when the pieces were lying on the ground did the surrounding gunman gasp. Not only could they not disassemble a pistol with such a terrifying speed, but they had almost never heard of it before! Even gunmen like them, who studied pistols every day, couldn¡¯t dismantle a gun so quickly! They suddenly felt that the young man in front of them was the one who really knew how to use guns. To him, they were just like children holding guns and only knew to use them superficially. When ites to skill and so on, they were worlds apart! ¡°Who are you?¡± The captain¡¯s face was pale, and his fingers were trembling as he looked at him in disbelief. Only now did he finally realize that this young man was far superior to him in terms of his martial arts skills and proficiency in using guns! Not only were the members of the squad behaving like this, but even Tyson, the Smiths¡¯ helmsman, had shock written all over his face. A person who could dismantle a pistol so quickly was definitely not an ordinary person! Moreover, based on their aura, they seemed to be soldiers who had fought on the front line. Tyson suddenly thought of something. When he was investigating Lucas¡¯s identity and background, he had noticed that nearly six years of Lucas¡¯s life waspletely nk. There was no information about what he had done during these six years. Could it be that Lucas Gray was in the military during those six years? Furthermore, based on their current skills and performance, a powerful expert like him would definitely not be a nameless person in the military. He might even be a member of a top team. The thought of it made Tyson feel horrified! Chapter 861 - Reverse Threat

Chapter 861: Reverse Threat

The reason Tyson was hesitating about ordering the gunman to shoot Lucas and Jordan wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to kill them but because he wanted to find out their true identities. If Lucas was really just an abandoned child of the Huttons, Tyson would definitely have ordered him shot dead. But for some reason, he kept having an ominous hunch, which was why he hadn¡¯t ordered the Smiths¡¯ gunmen to shoot Lucas and Jordan even though they were already surrounding them. Now, he seemed to see some clues from his observation. ¡°Lucas Gray, no wonder you have the audacity toe to the Smith residence to cause trouble and behave so arrogantly. It seems you really have something to rely on, huh? ¡°I saw how quickly your subordinate dismantled the gun and how he defeated our guards on his own. He should be from the military, right? ¡°Hah, I found it really strange at first. I was wondering why I basically couldn¡¯t find anything about you during those six years you vanished. I didn¡¯t know where you were or what you¡¯d done. ¡°But now I know. I¡¯m afraid you must have stayed in an extremely secretive army during those six years, right? You should have learned your martial arts there, right? ¡°But even if that¡¯s the case, you can¡¯t be so presumptuous as toe to the Smiths and cause trouble here. Aren¡¯t you afraid that your superiors will find out and punish you?¡± While Tyson was speaking, he stared straight at Lucas without missing a single trace of his expression. These were all only Tyson¡¯s own guesses. So he deliberately said this to see how Lucas would react! If his guess was true and Lucas and Jordan were really from the military, their military rank would definitely not be low. In that case, if he really killed the two of them, he would inevitably cause a lot of trouble for the Smiths. Jordan was shocked. He didn¡¯t expect that the scene of him dismantling the pistol with his bare hands would make Tyson guess that they might have been in the military. But given Tyson¡¯s appearance, he should only be guessing without any substantial evidence. Otherwise, it would be terrible if Tyson knew their true identities. After hearing what Tyson said, Lucas looked extremely calm, and he even smiled. ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡¯re already so old, but I didn¡¯t expect your imagination to be so rich that you¡¯d guess that. ¡°As for what you said about me not being able to find out anything about me during those six years, that¡¯s undoubtedly because I was a very insignificant person at the time. You naturally wouldn¡¯t be able to find out anything about me.¡± During those six years, Lucas had been in the Falcon Regiment in Calico, where he would spend almost every day fighting on various battlefields. He had left footprints not only in the US but also in many ces all over the world. It was basically impossible for Tyson to find out any information about Lucas. And it was even more impossible for him to find out that Lucas was once the captain of the Falcon Regiment. In six years, he had changed from an ordinary person with nothing to his name to the supreme God of War who protected the country. This matter would sound like an impossible legend to almost anyone. After hearing Lucas¡¯s answer, Tyson felt extremely conflicted. Logically speaking, he couldn¡¯t wait to kill Lucas and make him atone for causing his son to lose his sanity. But he wasn¡¯t sure if what Lucas said was true or not. If he was really someone with a great background but died in the Smith residence, it would definitely bring endless trouble to the Smiths. However, it was impossible to let Lucas off just like that. If word got out, the Smiths¡¯ dignity would bepletely trampled. For a time, Tyson didn¡¯t know what he should do. ¡°Mr. Smith, I advise you not to specte about my identity. Even if you guess correctly, I can¡¯t tell you.¡± Lucas smiled and suddenly said seriously, ¡°You should already know my purpose here today. I¡¯m here to ask you to let Maddy go. ¡°As for the Smiths¡¯ infighting, to be honest, I¡¯m not interested at all. ¡°But if you must fight me to the death, then I can also tell you very clearly that there will only be one result¡ªyour death! Furthermore, your brother Thomas will be the next helmsman of the Smiths. ¡°Are you sure you want to use your death to pave the way for your brother?¡± Lucas was extremely calm when he spoke, as if what he said was nothing out of the ordinary. But his words were like a thunderbolt exploding in Tyson¡¯s heart. Indeed¡­ Lucas was right. If he continued to fight Lucas like this, he might not be able to emerge victorious in the end. After all, even Lucas¡¯s subordinate could easily take out hundreds of the Smiths¡¯ bodyguards. Lucas hadn¡¯t even made a move yet! ording to the information Tyson had, Lucas was extremely good at martial arts too. At the very least, he was definitely not inferior to his subordinate. If he failed, Thomas would obtain the position of helmsman without firing a bullet! ¡°Are¡­ are you threatening me?¡± Tyson gritted his teeth. Although he wasn¡¯t a fool, he wasn¡¯t willing to give up this n that he had spent a long timeing up with and let Maddy off. Lucas shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s up to you to think whatever you want. I¡¯m just telling the truth. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m definitely going to take Maddy away. But if you insist on going against me, I don¡¯t mind killing a few more of you! ¡°You should also know that it doesn¡¯t matter to me who takes over as the head of the Smiths in the end.¡± What Lucas said immediately made Tyson frown even deeper, and the feeling of suffocation in his heart grew stronger and stronger. In his heart, he knew that since Lucas had said that, he definitely wasn¡¯t just scaring him. With the strength Jordan had just shown, he was indeed capable of making the Smiths suffer huge losses. In fact, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to destroy the Smiths. The thought of it made his heart sink even further. There seemed to only be one path for Tyson. After pondering for a while, Tyson finally clenched his jaw and said, ¡°Okay, I can let that woman off, but you must promise me one thing!¡± Chapter 862 - Saving Maddy

Chapter 862: Saving Maddy

After hearing what Tyson said, Lucas immediately narrowed his eyes. ¡°Mr. Smith, I hope you get things straight. I¡¯m not bargaining with you! If you¡¯re too greedy and take things too far, you¡¯ll see what the consequences are!¡± Tyson retorted, ¡°I only have one request. I want Maddy Stone to cure my son, Oscar! As long as my son recovers, the feud between us will be over!¡± A look of determination appeared on his face. He refused to give in at all. Jordan instantly flew into a rage. ¡°It¡¯s up to Maddy to decide whether or not to treat your son. She shouldn¡¯t be threatened into it! ¡°If you dare to use her to coerce us again, I will never let you off! ¡°Big deal. We¡¯ll kill you and the dogs of the Smiths right now and then go find Maddy on our own! ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t think I¡¯m scaring you. I¡¯m not afraid of telling you the truth. I¡¯ve killed far more people than the Smiths havebined!¡± Maddy was the person Jordan liked and the person he cared about the most. She was his Achilles¡¯ heel. Tyson wanted to use Maddy as an exchange and force her to treat his son, which greatly angered Jordan. Besides, Jordan had never been the type to listen to others obediently. The only person he obeyed was Lucas, the brother he recognized. As for others, Jordan wouldn¡¯t frown even if he killed all the Smiths! ¡°Lucas Gray, is this how you discipline your subordinates?¡± Tyson was obviously shocked because of Jordan¡¯s appearance and he didn¡¯t dare to question him, for fear of incurring his wrath. So he looked at Lucas, wanting him to discipline Jordan. But Lucas said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯re wrong about that. Jordan isn¡¯t my subordinate but my best buddy! Moreover, what he said is exactly what I wanted to say! ¡°If you insist on refusing to release her, and you don¡¯t care about the lives of the other Smiths, we¡¯ll have no choice but to find her ourselves! ¡°I don¡¯t have much patience. I¡¯ll give you two minutes to consider your choice carefully!¡± Lucas shook the watch on his hand calmly. Jordan brought over a beach chair from the swimming pool at the side, ced it behind Lucas, and invited him to sit down. The Smiths were unqualified to have Lucas stand and wait for them. Lucas sat down and leaned against the beach chair with one leg crossed over the other, looking extremely rxed. The situation immediately became rather strange. The Smiths were beside them, and the twenty or so gunmen were each still holding a ck pistol and pointing them at Lucas. But Lucas, who had so many guns pointing at him at the same time, didn¡¯t seem to see this at all but instead sat on the beach chair with his legs crossedfortably, as if he was a tourist paying the Smiths a visit. This scene was really way too bizarre! There was anger and dissatisfaction written all over Tyson¡¯s face. This was clearly the Smiths¡¯ turf, and there were also so many of the Smiths¡¯ gunmen around. There were more than 20 pistols aimed firmly at Lucas¡¯s head. But Lucas didn¡¯t look like he was at a disadvantage at all. Instead, Tyson was the one being threatened. Yet Tyson didn¡¯t dare to order his men to shoot! The young man sitting on the beach chair in front of him was exuding an aura ofposure and the vague aura of a king, which was rather daunting. Tyson, the head of one of the eight top families of DC, was thoroughly defeated by Lucas! Time quickly passed minute by minute, and ayer of cold sweat appeared on Tyson¡¯s forehead. But he never ordered the gunmen to take action. ¡°Okay, the two minutes are up. Mr. Smith, have you made your decision?¡± The time was up. Lucas slowly stood up from the beach chair while exuding a chilling aura! Tyson suddenly felt that the young man in front of him was like a ferocious tiger preparing to hunt! A palpitating sense of fear immediately spread throughout Tyson¡¯s body! Tyson could no longer endure the fear and finally shouted through gritted teeth, ¡°Bring her out!¡± Lucas¡¯s aura receded like the tide. He looked at Tyson with a smile. ¡°You¡¯ve made a wise choice, Mr. Smith.¡± Sensing that the terrifying pressure had vanished, Tyson reached out and wiped the cold sweat on his forehead. His calves were trembling a little, and he still had some lingering fears within him. He knew that Lucas would definitely dare to kill him if he didn¡¯t choose to release Maddy! ¡°You¡­ I just don¡¯t want to cause trouble for the Smiths, and I don¡¯t want to let Thomas obtain an advantage! Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t think it¡¯s because I¡¯m afraid of you!¡± Tyson said. Lucas smiled faintly and didn¡¯t bother with him. Since the prideful old man was finding an excuse for himself, there was no need for him to expose him. Soon, two servants of the Smiths walked out of a vi with ady who had a svelte figure. ¡°Maddy!¡± Jordan¡¯s eyes immediately lit up as he hurried over. He pulled Maddy into his arms and didn¡¯t let go for a long time. A hint of surprise appeared in Maddy¡¯s eyes. Jordan was holding her in his arms, but a sh of sorrow appeared in the depths of her eyes. A long timeter, Jordan still had no intention of letting go of her. Maddy pped Jordan¡¯s back with her fist and protested, ¡°Okay, enough, why aren¡¯t you letting go? There are so many people watching!¡± Only then did Jordane back to his senses. He said with embarrassment, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Maddy. I was so excited to see you that I forgot for a moment! ¡°But don¡¯t worry. Lucas has already helped me propose to your father. I believe that the Stones will agree to let us be together soon!¡± Maddy was stunned. She didn¡¯t expect that Jordan and Lucas had actually gone to look for her father! But given her father¡¯s character and the current situation of the Stones, he probably wouldn¡¯t agree to the proposal. Besides, she was marrying a Dempsey. If not for the fact that the Smiths had brought her here all of a sudden, it would actually be the day she got married to him. There was an obvious gloominess in Maddy¡¯s eyes, but she nevertheless forced herself to smile. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? When¡­ when did I ever say anything about marrying you?¡± Jordan suddenly froze on the spot. But Lucas could tell that Maddy did care about Jordan, but she thought that her marriage with the Dempseys was already settled. Furthermore, she had just been released and didn¡¯t know what had happened at the wedding. ¡°Maddy, you don¡¯t have to worry about the Dempseys. And I believe that the Dempseys won¡¯t oppose you two being together this time,¡± Lucas said to Maddy with a smile. He turned around and said to Jordan, ¡°Jordan, take Maddy back to the Stones¡¯ter and tell her about everything that happened today!¡± Jordan quickly nodded. ¡°Okay!¡± But immediately afterward, he noticed that Lucas asked him to send Maddy back home. What about Lucas then? ¡°What about you, Lucas? Aren¡¯t you going toe with us?¡± Jordan asked. Lucas shook his head and looked at Tyson next to him. ¡°I still have some things to talk about with Mr. Smith. You guys go ahead!¡± Chapter 863 - He’s Still Alive

Chapter 863: He¡¯s Still Alive

Jordan looked at the surrounding Smiths and instinctively frowned. But on second thought, he realized that it wasn¡¯t a big deal even if there were a lot of people here because no one in this world could pose a threat to Lucas! ¡°Okay, Lucas. We¡¯ll go first.¡± Jordan wasn¡¯t pretentious. He left the Smith residence with Maddy. Now, Lucas was the only one left in the Smith residence. ¡°Hmph, what do you want to talk to me about? I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything for us to discuss!¡± Tyson had an awful expression on his face. None of the things he had envisioned hade true. He had used Maddy to lure Lucas to the Smiths¡¯ manor. But even until now, he hadn¡¯t been able to do anything to Lucas apart from provoking Jordan into getting into an intense fight in their residence and allowing him to injure many people. The only person who could restrain Lucas had already been released under Lucas¡¯s threat. Now, Tyson had even less to confront Lucas with. ¡°Mr. Smith, you¡¯re the head of one of the eight top families in DC. How can there be nothing for us to talk about? Isn¡¯t there plenty for us to discuss?¡± Lucas was standing proudly on the spot with a confident look, as if he was the true helmsman of the Smiths. At the sight of Lucas¡¯s appearance, Tyson was boiling with fury. But he couldn¡¯t defeat Lucas, and just now, he had evenpromised. Despite feeling ufortable, he could only endure it. ¡°Hmph,e with me!¡± Although Tyson had a long face, he still brought Lucas back to his study. ¡°Just tell me what you have to say!¡± After arriving in the study, Tyson spoke straight away without any politeness. Speaking of which, Lucas was still an enemy that he wished to get rid of. It was already extremely rare for the two of them to stay in the same room so peacefully. Lucas sat down on the couch in the study. ¡°Speaking of which, there was no grudge between your family and me in the first ce. It was the Smiths who took the initiative to provoke me and cause trouble. Isn¡¯t this why the situation escted out of proportion?¡± Tyson¡¯s face turned gloomy, but he truly couldn¡¯t refute what Lucas said. ¡°What exactly are you trying to say?¡± he asked with an unnatural look on his face. Lucas smiled and said slowly, ¡°Now that we have time, why don¡¯t we sit down and work out when the feud between us began.¡± He raised a finger. ¡°The first matter is your daughter, Wendy, looking for trouble with me for the sake of avenging her ex-husband and son whomitted suicide. She even sent her expert bodyguard to try and kill me, but in the end, I crippled him. She was indignant, so she killed Vince¡¯s son, Roy, and framed me for it so that Vince woulde and deal with me! ¡°The second matter is Vince going to California. Not only did he want to kill me, but he even tried to take control of all the families in California. Later, he lost to me, but he was still extremely arrogant and domineering, so I taught him a lesson and made him kneel down and apologize to me. But the Smiths think that I¡¯ve insulted and humiliated your entire family. ¡°The third matter is your son, Oscar, going to California to find trouble with me. He thought that he could deal with me using Invincible Phantom Hands. But unfortunately, he misjudged my strength and overestimated the abilities of your family¡¯s experts. Thus, he lost and was even frightened to the point of losing his sanity. ¡°The fourth matter is regarding Charlie, the Smiths¡¯ head butler. He tried to make use of me and deal with me, but he failed and ended up getting captured by me. ¡°And the fifth matter is caused by you. In order to take revenge on me, you schemed against me and used someone I care about to stage a fake wedding to lure me over. What happened in the end? Everyone has seen the result.¡± Lucas talked about his feud with the Smiths. Tyson listened at the side, and his face became more and more gloomy. The Smiths had fought with Lucas several times, but the Smiths always ended up on the losing end and even suffered severe losses. They had either died or were disgraced. His son had even turned into a fool. But on the contrary, Lucas waspletely fine. This made Tyson feel extremely depressed. ¡°Fine, I admit that the Smiths are indeed at fault for some of these things. But my daughter died in your hands. ¡°Not only that, but you also caused my only son to be a fool and killed my right-hand man, Charlie. These two reasons alone are why I can¡¯t let you off. I will definitely make you pay for it!¡± Tyson clenched his fists and glowered at Lucas with hatred. Although Lucas was clearly dominating the situation, Tyson didn¡¯t want to lower his head in front of Lucas and give up his hatred. When he thought of his son¡¯s current appearance and the death of Charlie, who had served him for decades, Tyson was full of fury. Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°How are you going to make me pay for it?¡± Tyson choked before saying, ¡°Although it¡¯s true that I can¡¯t do anything to you right now, I will definitely kill you to avenge them one day!¡± Hearing this, Lucas not only didn¡¯t be angry, but he even felt that Tyson was a sentimental person who valued ties. Otherwise, any intelligent person wouldn¡¯t possibly challenge him in this situation. Lucas suddenly had some slight appreciation for him. ¡°It seems that our grudge mainly revolves around your son and your butler. ¡°Would you still hate me so much if I said that I can ask Maddy to treat your son and even let your butler return to your side?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. ¡°What¡­ what did you just say?¡± Tyson was shocked and sprung up from his seat in agitation. ¡°Charlie¡­ isn¡¯t dead? He¡¯s still alive?¡± Seeing how agitated Tyson was, Lucas smiled faintly. Long before he came to the capital, Lucas had already asked Jordan to help him investigate what kind of a person Tyson was due to the feud and conflicts he had with the Smiths. After learning that Charlie was extremely important to Tyson, Lucas decided to let Oscar return to DC while detaining Charlie with the Hales. Previously, Lucas had deliberately gotten people to release the news about Charlie¡¯s death. First, it was to create chaos among the Smiths and intensify the conflict between the two camps of the family. Second, he wanted to test Tyson. If Tyson didn¡¯t care in the slightest about Charlie¡¯s death and only treated him as a pawn who could give him advice and be of some use to him, Lucas would simply turn around and leave. But Lucas was rather pleased with Tyson¡¯s performance. It seemed that Tyson was indeed loyal and cared about ties, which was a rare trait among the helmsmen of the eight top families in DC. This also showed that Tyson was trustworthy. Thus, Lucas gave him an affirmative answer. ¡°That¡¯s right. Charlie is still alive.¡± ¡°Great! This is great!¡± Tyson was immediately excited, and even his eyes became a little red. He repeatedly said, ¡°Great! He¡¯s not dead. He¡¯s not dead!¡± But after the excitement, Tyson slowly calmed down and looked at Lucas. ¡°But I doubt you¡¯d hand him over to me so easily. Furthermore, you probably won¡¯t agree to cure my son unconditionally either, right?¡± Chapter 864 - Seeing Is Believing

Chapter 864: Seeing Is Believing

Tyson had been the Smiths¡¯ helmsman for so many years, so he really couldn¡¯t possibly be useless. He knew very well that there is no free lunch in this world, especially since he was now facing Lucas, someone who was the Smiths¡¯ enemy. Lucas couldn¡¯t possibly help him unconditionally. Therefore, Lucas definitely had his own agenda. Lucas didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°That¡¯s right. I can return Charlie to you and make your son return to normal. I can even help you resolve some of the Smiths¡¯ troubles so that you can take control of the Smiths with stability. ¡°But the condition is that from now on, the Smiths must follow my orders, be loyal to me, and serve me as your master!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Tyson¡¯s instantly expression changed immediately. He hollered furiously, ¡°You actually want my family to pledge allegiance to you? You¡¯re way too ambitious! ¡°I don¡¯t know what you will do after gaining control of the Smiths, but I definitely won¡¯t sell out the interests of my family for my own! ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Tyson rejected almost immediately. Lucas had already guessed Tyson¡¯s reaction, so he wasn¡¯t the least bit angry or surprised. Instead, he said indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you still have a brother, Thomas, who¡¯s desperately trying to be the helmsman at every turn. If you¡¯re not willing to, I can go look for him. As long as I promise to let him be the helmsman, I believe that Thomas will be very happy to agree to my condition.¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± Tyson sneered. He said with great certainty, ¡°Although Thomas is indeed going against me at every turn and wants to seize the position of helmsman from me, he¡¯s a descendant of the Smiths after all. He won¡¯t betray us for his own benefit!¡± Lucas smiled ambiguously. ¡°What makes you so sure? That¡¯s just your guess. ¡°I believe you¡¯re aware of how badly Thomas wants to be the Smiths¡¯ helmsman. If I promised to give him the position of helmsman, he would definitely agree to kill all the Smiths¡¯ descendants on your side as long as I tell him to, what more pledge allegiance to me. you are reading on our content copy site.Please copy and search this link " https://bit.ly/3NSnQtR " to support us ¡°Do you believe it or not?¡± Hearing this, Tyson shook his head firmly. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! He would never agree to do that! ¡°Although we¡¯ve had many fights between us, and we¡¯re almost to the point of falling out, no matter what, we¡¯re both members of the Smith family. We¡¯re cousins, and we grew up together for decades. How could he possibly kill me and all the direct descendants on my side? ¡°It¡¯s absolutely impossible!¡± Tyson spoke loudly, as if he was trying to convince Lucas to believe him. But in Lucas¡¯s opinion, Tyson was actually aware of the truth. He just refused to believe it himself, so he raised his voice to deny it. In fact, he was just trying to convince himself to believe it. ¡°Is that so? In this case, why don¡¯t we verify it?!¡± Lucas knew that Tyson was only hypnotizing himself and trying to convince himself not to believe it, but how would he react if the cruel truth was presented to him? So after speaking, Lucas took out his phone and made a call. Soon, the call was answered. Lucas said directly, ¡°Call Thomas immediately and tell him to contact me if he still wants the position of the Smiths¡¯ helmsman!¡± With that, Lucas hung up. Next to him, Tyson was visibly upset. But Lucas was in a much stronger position than him now, so there was nothing he could do to Lucas. But Tyson was very unimpressed with the phone call Lucas just made. ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯m afraid you still don¡¯t know what kind of person Thomas is, right? He¡¯s far more arrogant and scheming than I am. He won¡¯t be persuaded easily! ¡°Unless you can give him enough assurance to make him believe that you can really help him be the family helmsman, he won¡¯t believe you or even bother paying attention to you! ¡°There¡¯s no way he¡¯d agree to what you said! The Smiths can cooperate with you now and even provide you with some conveniences in various aspects, but it¡¯s impossible for me to pledge allegiance to you and obey your orders! ¡°I will not agree to this condition, and neither will Thomas!¡± Tyson said through gritted teeth. But just as Tyson finished speaking, Lucas¡¯s phone suddenly rang. Lucas nced at the string of unfamiliar numbers on his phone before smiling at Tyson ambiguously. ¡°Previously, someone told me that the reason you could be the helmsman of the Smiths was that you had Charlie to support you. Now, it seems that this is indeed the case! ¡°It¡¯s indeed very rare for someone as naive as you to be able to be the Smiths¡¯ helmsman.¡± He stopped observing Tyson¡¯s reaction, picked up the phone, pressed the answer button, and turned on the speakerphone. Soon, a voice that was extremely familiar to Tyson came from the other end. ¡°Mr. Gray, this is Thomas Smith. Someone called me just now and informed me that you¡¯d like to discuss something with me. Is that right?¡± Tyson¡¯s face immediately stiffened. The voice indeed belonged to Thomas. Having been family for decades, how could he not recognize his voice? However, Thomas was not only extremely polite when speaking to Lucas, but he even sounded a bit deferential. His tone of voice was extremely unfamiliar to Tyson. Moreover, Tyson just told Lucas that Thomas was extremely scheming and would never speak with Lucas. In the end, Thomas had not only responded, but he answered the call very quickly and even spoke in a respectful and deferential tone. This was like a p in Tyson¡¯s face that made him feel an intense, hot, and burning pain. Lucas merely nced at Tyson before saying into the phone, ¡°Thomas, haven¡¯t you always wanted to be the Smiths¡¯ helmsman? ¡°Now, I¡¯ll give you a chance. As long as you kill Tyson and the direct descendants in his camp, I¡¯ll help you be the helmsman! ¡°But the condition is that after you be the helmsman, I want the Smiths to pledge allegiance to me! ¡°How are you going to choose?¡± Lucas stated his intentions sinctly and gave the right of choice to Thomas. Chapter 865 - Promise To Pledge Allegiance

Chapter 865: Promise To Pledge Allegiance

After Lucas finished speaking, Tyson¡¯s face immediately became gloomy. Lucas actually said that to Tyson¡¯s face and even forced him to make a choice. Apart from making the Smiths pledge allegiance to him, Lucas even requested that he kill direct descendants of the Smiths. Tyson sneered. He didn¡¯t believe that Thomas would agree to such an absurd request. ¡°Okay, I promise!¡± Just as Tyson thought that Thomas would never agree to the request, a voice full of murderous intent suddenly came from the other end. Tyson immediately froze on the spot! Then he heard Thomas¡¯s familiar voiceing from the phone. ¡°In fact, the position of the Smiths¡¯ helmsman should belong to me! Who is Tyson? He¡¯s younger than me and hopelessly stupid. He doesn¡¯t even know how to strategize. If Charlie hadn¡¯t helped him, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to snatch the position of helmsman away from me! ¡°I¡¯ve long wanted to kill him all these years. But because he¡¯s the helmsman, the protection around him is extremely tight, and I haven¡¯t been able to find a suitable chance to take action. ¡°But if you¡¯re willing to help me now, that¡¯s the best! Not to mention killing him, I won¡¯t hesitate to kill all the people on his side! They should have died long ago!¡± Thomas¡¯s voice was full of endless murderous intent and resentment as it clearly came through the speakerphone. Thomas seemed to be struck by thunder as he staggered back and fell hard onto his chair. He had never imagined that Thomas thought of him this way. He actually wouldn¡¯t hesitate to kill him for the position of helmsman. In fact, he wouldn¡¯t even let off anyone with a close rtionship with him! At this moment, Tyson¡¯s heart was brimming with anger toward Thomas!?How can he do this?! ¡°Mr. Gray, I can agree to all your requests! As long as I can be the helmsman of the Smiths, I¡¯m willing to represent the family to pledge allegiance to you and obey your orders! As long as you help me obtain the position of helmsman, I will agree to any of your requests!¡± Thomas¡¯s excited and ttering voice continued toe from the phone. ¡°Okay, got it. Wait for my news.¡± With that, Lucas hung up. He turned his head to look at Tyson, who looked like he had suffered a huge impact. ¡°It seems your cousin isn¡¯t like what you thought. You guessed wrong.¡± ¡°That¡­ that bastard!¡± Tyson gritted his teeth furiously. ¡°Is he still human? I¡¯ve always thought that since we grew up together and that we¡¯re members of the same family, we would forever be rtives connected by blood even though we might be rivals! ¡°So even when his son killed my daughter, I didn¡¯t make a move against them but chose to endure it! ¡°Moreover, after I became the helmsman, it would have been a piece of cake for me to get rid of them. Thomas Smith, his son Vince, and everyone in his camp would have died long ago! ¡°But I didn¡¯t do it because I still cared about our brotherhood! ¡°But what about him? He didn¡¯t even think about kinship and family for a second. He agreed to kill me without hesitation! He really didn¡¯t hesitate for even a second! ¡°That¡­ cold-blooded beast! He¡¯s really heartless. He¡¯s simply not human! ¡°That bastard! I will never forgive him easily!¡± Tyson roared maniacally. At the same time, two streams of tears rolled down his face. He was truly devastated and extremely disappointed in Thomas. Someone at his age actually burst into tears of misery in front of Lucas. Lucas didn¡¯t say anything and looked at Tyson quietly. Only after a long while did Tyson finally calm down. He had thought about many things just now. ¡°Lucas, since you¡¯vee to look for me, I guess you have more confidence in me. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t need to say so much to me. I¡¯m asking you. If I really lead the Smiths to pledge allegiance to you, will everything you said just now still count?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes. Otherwise, why would I have said so much to you? You¡¯ve seen the way Thomas reacted just now. If I wanted to deceive you, I wouldn¡¯t need to go to such lengths.¡± Tyson took two deep breaths and finally made up his mind. ¡°Okay! I promise that as long as you can cure my son, let my butler off, and help me take full control of the Smiths, I will lead the Smiths to pledge allegiance to you!¡± When Lucas heard this, a smile appeared on his face. ¡°Okay!¡± Thus, the two parties were considered to have formally set up an alliance. This time, Lucas came to the capital to prevent Maddy from being forced to marry someone else and settle these affairs of the Smiths. Now, Maddy had already been rescued, and the marriage between Maddy and the Dempseys was canceled. Moreover, given Jordan¡¯s performance in front of the Stones and the hundreds of millions of dors worth of betrothal gifts that Lucas had helped Jordan prepare, the Stones probably wouldn¡¯t oppose the marriage between Jordan and Maddy. Now, Tyson had already agreed to pledge allegiance to Lucas. It could be said that the matter of the Smiths had almost been resolved. Not only had Lucas gotten rid of a great enemy, but he had also gained the help of one of the eight giants of DC, which was additional support. After Lucaspletely resolved these matters of the Smiths, he could go to the Huttons in DC and ask that person why he had treated them that way! The moment he thought of the Huttons and the events back then, his face was ice-cold. ... At the same time, in a high-ss VIP ward in an upscale private hospital in DC¡­ After hanging up the phone, Thomas and Vince were both extremely excited. What Lucas just said on the phone was really too exciting! ¡°Hahahahaha! That idiot Tyson is the only one who treats Lucas Gray as a small fry. Does he think that the Smiths can stop him? How naive! Even I don¡¯t want to fight him head-on. He will only suffer defeat!¡± ¡°Hehehe, isn¡¯t that so? The fact that Lucas Gray called must mean that Tyson is on the losing end! Dad, soon the position of helmsman will belong to you!¡± The two nced at each other and guffawed loudly. But after rejoicing, Vince suddenly asked, ¡°Dad, are you really going to agree to be loyal to that kid Lucas Gray and obey his orders?¡± He looked extremely unwilling! Chapter 866 - Die a Clear Death

Chapter 866: Die a Clear Death

If Thomas pledged allegiance to Lucas on behalf of the Smiths, Vince would have to continue being loyal to Lucas even after he took over as helmsman. How could he be willing? Thomas sneered. ¡°Pledge allegiance to him? How is that possible? ¡°Even a king won¡¯t obtain the Smiths¡¯ allegiance, let alone a young man in his twenties. He¡¯s too conceited! ¡°I agreed to his request just now just to deal with him, but I didn¡¯t say that I would really pledge allegiance to him! Once he clears all the obstacles for me and helps me be the helmsman of the Smiths, I¡¯ll definitelye up with a solution to kill him! He¡¯s just a tool for me!¡± A trace of ruthlessness appeared on Thomas¡¯s face. ¡°Dad, are you going to kill him?¡± Vince was very surprised. ¡°But Lucas Gray is truly powerful! Just a short while ago, in the hotel where the Dempseys held their wedding, he was fearless in the face of the Dempseys¡¯ gunmen and snipers. In that case, how can we¡­ kill him?¡± ¡°Hah, if a few pistols can¡¯t kill him, how about ten, twenty, thirty, or even more? We can also arrange ten or even twenty snipers and get them to lurk in every corner. Let¡¯s see how he can escape then! ¡°There are actually many ways to make him die!¡± Thomas said nonchntly, ¡°Besides, even if we can¡¯t defeat him openly with frontal force, there are so many insidious methods we can use. You don¡¯t always have to rely onbat power of the same level to kill an expert. Vince, do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± ¡°Yes, Dad! I got it!¡± Vince realized many new things after hearing Thomas¡¯s lecture. The two were discussing how they were going to kill Lucas stealthily without letting anyone find out. But at this very moment, someone suddenly mmed the door of the ward open from outside. Bang! The person used so much force that the door mmed mming against the wall and bounced back. ¡°Who¡¯s there!?!¡± Thomas and Vince were immediately startled and turned around. They saw a tall young man walking in from outside leisurely. He even closed the door and locked it. Then he turned around and shot Thomas and Vince a sinister smile. ¡°Jordan!¡± After seeing the young man¡¯s face, Thomas and Vince were horrified. Why¡­ why did Jordan suddenlye here? Moreover, he even locked the door of the ward. What did he want to do? The sinister smile on Jordan¡¯s face gave Thomas and Vince the creeps and an ominous premonition. ¡°S-so it¡¯s you, Mr. Jordan. Did you suddenlye here because Mr. Gray has some instructions for us?¡± As expected of a cunning old fox, Thomas immediately came back to his senses and put on a deferential smile. But he secretly reached under his pillow, where he had concealed a gun. If the situation was amiss, he would have to fight. ¡°I advise you not to make any useless efforts. That little thing is useless to me,¡± Jordan said contemptuously when he saw Thomas reach under the pillow. He even walked toward the hospital bed. ¡°What¡­ what do you want?¡± Vince asked in a shaky voice. Even his teeth were chattering. ¡°Of course it¡¯s murder!¡± Jordan raised his eyebrows. When he said this, his tone was as ordinary as if he was talking about eating. As soon as he finished speaking, he appeared in front of Vince and grabbed him by his neck. Snap! The crisp and clear sound of bones cracking rang out. There was shock written all over Vince¡¯s face, but his head had already turned to the side, and his body had gone limp. He instantly died! Thomas was horrified. In less than two seconds, his son was strangled to death right in front of him! ¡°Someone! Quicklye!¡± Thomas yelled in panic while taking out the pistol he was holding. He had arranged for some people to stay put outside the ward to ensure his safety. But the fact that Jordan could kick the door open, enter, and lock it was enough to show that there was something wrong. The men outside had all been silently killed by Jordan! Jordan was as fast as lightning. Before Thomas could pull his gun out in time, Jordan stepped onto his bed and stomped on the arm holding the gun. Thomas¡¯s face was covered in cold sweat. He was terribly flustered. This was the greatest crisis he had ever encountered. ¡°You¡­ Help! Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ll give you anything you want!¡± Thomas begged for forgiveness without any regard for his image. Even if he was made to kneel down in front of Lucas like a dog, he would agree without hesitation! He would do anything as long as he could live! ¡°Hah, weren¡¯t you and your son discussing how to deal with Lucas just now? You even said that there are lots of insidious and ruthless methods to kill secretly. And now, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s going to die first!¡± Jordan sneered. Lucas was his god and his faith. Yet these two fools actually thought about how to kill Lucas. How could Jordan possibly tolerate it? ¡°Okay¡­ In that case, before I die, can you tell me¡­ what exactly is Lucas Gray¡¯s true identity?¡± Thomas knew that he couldn¡¯t escape death now, but before he died, he wanted to know who exactly Lucas was! Jordan narrowed his eyes. ¡°On ount that you¡¯re going to be dead soon, I¡¯ll be merciful and tell you so that you can die without confusion! ¡°Lucas is invincible in the world and the main pir of the country! ¡°He is the captain of the Falcon Regiment and the youngest defender of the country in the history of the United States! ¡°He is revered by countless soldiers as the Invincible God of War, Lucas Gray!¡± Jordan revealed Lucas¡¯s true identity with reverence on his face. ¡°So¡­ it turns out that he¡¯s the God of War and the captain of the Falcon Regiment. No wonder¡­ ¡°Haha, if I had known it was him, I wouldn¡¯t have provoked him. Absolutely not¡­¡± Thomas¡¯s face was full of shock and regret. Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in this world! ¡°You can die now,¡± Jordan said coldly as he raised his hand to strangle Thomas. Snap! Thomas died! Chapter 867 - The Huttons

Chapter 867: The Huttons

Soon, the news of the murders of both Thomas and Vince spread throughout DC. Everyone was shocked! Almost everyone in DC knew who Thomas and Vince were. But these two big shots were killed in the hospital by a mysterious man. As soon as the news spread, the powerful families in DC were stunned and afraid that they would face the same trouble. For a time, everyone felt like they were in danger. ¡°What did you say? Thomas and Vince Smith both died in the hospital?¡± ¡°But don¡¯t they have a lot of experts and bodyguards around them? How could they die so easily?¡± ¡°Who exactly is the culprit!?¡± Lucas had already left the Smiths¡¯ manor. Tyson was extremely shocked when he suddenly received the news that Thomas and Vince had been murdered. But after sitting down in his chair, he suddenly remembered what Lucas had said to him before he left. ¡°Soon, the obstacles hindering you in the Smith family will no longer exist, and you will be the true helmsman.¡± Now, the two people who had been going against him suddenly died. Was it possible that Lucas had done all of this? The more Tyson thought about it, the more afraid he became. If the person Lucas had chosen wasn¡¯t him but Thomas, wouldn¡¯t it mean that he would be the one who was dead now? At the thought of this, Tyson couldn¡¯t help wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. He was very d that Lucas had chosen him and that he had made the right decision! ... In an extremely vast estate near the south of DC¡­ In the middle of the tallest and most luxurious vi, a middle-aged man in his fifties was standing in front of therge floor-to-ceiling windows on the fifth floor, gazing at the distant sky. The middle-aged man was tall, with a height of about 1.8 meters and handsome facial features. He should have been a handsome man when he was young. But most of the hair on his head had turned white, and due to his gaunt figure, he seemed quite feeble. He was now looking out the window, his expression full of despondency. At this moment, an old man dressed in a butler¡¯s uniform walked over and said softly, ¡°Master, Mr. Lucas is in DC right now.¡± After the middle-aged man heard this, the emotion on his face changed slightly. He seemed surprised and agitated, with a few traces of panic and sorrow. He turned his head and murmured softly, ¡°Twenty years have passed. He has finally returned to DC!¡± There were a lot of vicissitudes andplicated emotions in the middle-aged man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Twenty years ago, I personally ordered for him and his mother to be driven out of the Huttons and also out of DC. I even threatened them not toe back to DC in their lifetime. ¡°And now, has he finally stepped into DC again because he¡¯s be strong enough to fight against me and the Huttons? ¡°Oh no, I¡¯m wrong. In fact, with the power he now possesses, it¡¯s actually a piece of cake for him to destroy the Huttons. ¡°He¡¯s no longer the weak and helpless child from back then¡­ ¡°Now that he hase back to DC, does he want to settle scores with me and make me pay off the debts I owe?¡± ... The middle-aged man closed his eyes slightly, and his face was covered with a look of bitterness. ¡°Mr. Taylor!¡± The old butler looked worried. This middle-aged man was naturally the current helmsman of the Huttons, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, and Lucas¡¯s biological father, Michael Hutton. He was only in his early fifties, but the hair on his head was already half white, and he didn¡¯t seem too well. He was also extremely thin, as if he was seriously ill. The butler hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Master, I think Mr. Lucas still has strong feelings for you that lie beyond just hatred. Otherwise, given his current status and strength, it would be easy to destroy the Huttons even if he wanted to. But he hasn¡¯t done anything to us yet. ¡°Moreover, ording to the information I have inquired, Mr. Lucas came here for something else. ¡°Just now, Thomas and Vince Smith were both found dead in an upscale private hospital in DC, and the person who did it should be Mr. Lucas!¡± The butler revealed all the information he had. ¡°What? You mean Thomas suddenly died? And it was Lucas who did it?¡± Michael asked in astonishment. Since he was from one of the eight great families in DC, Michael naturally knew Thomas. After all, back then, if Tyson didn¡¯t have Charlie by his side to give him advice, the person who became the Smiths¡¯ helmsman might have been Thomas. Thomas was meticulous scheming, and many people found him difficult to deal with. But Michael was surprised to learn that Thomas had suddenly died and that it had something to do with his son. ¡°Why did he do it?¡± Michael asked. The butler exined, ¡°Because you instructed me to pay more attention to Mr. Lucas¡¯s situation, I know that quite a few unpleasant matters happened between him and the Smiths some time ago. This time, he must havee for the Smiths. ¡°Just this morning, Mr. Lucas went to the Smith residence in DC. But when he left soon after, the news of the deaths of Thomas and Vince surfaced immediately. So I guess that it should be because of some agreement between Mr. Lucas and Tyson Smith.¡± The butler revealed all of his information and guesses, which were very reasonable and well-founded. In fact, if Lucas was here, he would be able to recognize that the butler speaking was actually an old acquaintance. When Lucas had just returned to Orange County from Calico, the person who had received him at the airport and tried to get him to take over the Hutton family and Stardust Corporation was Chad Kennedy. Chad was highly valued by Michael. After Michael heard Chad¡¯s analysis, a dignified expression appeared on his face. If this matter of the Smiths was really done by Lucas, it meant that Lucas was able to change the pattern of the two factions of the Smiths that had been fighting for years in just half a day, making the scales incline directly toward one party. In fact, among the eight giants of DC, everyone could maintain such a stable situation now because each family had internal strife. There were all sorts of factional struggles. If the Smiths¡¯ infighting ended here, there was no doubt that the Smiths would be stronger and might even surpass the Huttons. Coincidentally, the rtionship between the Smiths and the Huttons was strained, and they even had frequent feuds. In that case, was it a coincidence that Lucas helped Tyson takeplete control of the Smiths, or was he targeting the Huttons? Chapter 868 - The Stone Family of DC

Chapter 868: The Stone Family of DC

Michael couldn¡¯t help pondering about this question. As the helmsman of the Huttons, he naturally had to take more into consideration and think further ahead. Michael felt ufortable. If possible, he didn¡¯t want to get into any conflict with Lucas at all. If Lucas wanted the position of helmsman in the future, Michael would give it to him without hesitation. In fact, he had indeed thought of doing so previously. But unfortunately, Lucas had rejected him without hesitation. ¡°Lucas, if you want to take revenge,e at me! I don¡¯t need you to forgive me. I just hope that you can speak to me properly and meet me¡­¡± Michael said softly with a trace of redness in his eyes. Chad, the butler, looked at Michael¡¯s sorrowful figure and could only sigh silently a few times. He didn¡¯t know what to say about what had happened back then. But Chad knew that although Michael was an extremely authoritative helmsman of one of the eight top families of DC and held great power and status, none of this was what he really wanted. But what could he do at this point? ... Meanwhile, after Lucas left the Smith residence, he headed straight to the Stone residence, where Maddy was. Just now, Jordan had called Lucas and informed him that the Stones had already prepared a feast at home and invited Lucas to attend. Lucas thought about it and agreed on ount that they were Maddy¡¯s family members. As a top-tier family second only to the eight top families in DC, the Song residence covered a veryrge area, and the design was luxurious as well. By the time Lucas arrived at the Stones¡¯, he was weed into the reception hall by the Stones, who had long been waiting for him. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re here!¡± Maddy had already changed into a set of home clothes. She immediately greeted Lucas the moment she saw him. ¡°Lucas.¡± Jordan immediately called out to Lucas and went over. After seeing Lucas, Maddy¡¯s father, Seth, said politely, ¡°Mr. Gray, please have a seat!¡± While speaking, he led Lucas to the banquet hall. After witnessing Lucas¡¯s might in the Maestro International Hotel, Seth naturally knew that Lucas was not to be offended. Thus, his attitude toward him was much better than when they first met. The fact that a person who could easily destroy a family almost on par with the Stones was now willing to lower himself ande to their home was immense glory for them! After much urging, Lucas finally sat down on the first guest seat, which was extremely near the helmsman, Geoffrey. The other Smiths at the side were all looking at Lucas with curiosity and awe. At the wedding, basically all of Maddy¡¯s family members had attended. So they had also witnessed with their own eyes just how terrifying this young man was. Now that Lucas hade to the Stone residence, the juniors didn¡¯t dare to speak to him at all. Geoffreyughed and said to Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, wee. It was our negligence previously. We hope you won¡¯t dislike this simple fare of ours!¡± Lucas looked at the sumptuous spread on the table and smiled slightly. ¡°If this is considered a simple fare, there¡¯s no such thing as a delicious meal in this world. Mr. Stone, you¡¯re too humble.¡± Hearing Lucas¡¯s reply, Geoffrey immediatelyughed out loud. His behavior was naturally not just to be humble. He wanted to test Lucas¡¯s attitude toward his family. After all, although the Smiths had set up the trap to lure Lucas over and the Stones weren¡¯t aware of it, they were indeed aplices. Moreover, the Stones¡¯ attitude toward Lucas had been rather terrible in the hotel. Thus, Geoffrey was anxious and worried that Lucas would have an opinion against the Stones because he bore a grudge for what had happened. But after hearing Lucas¡¯s reply, Geoffrey finally heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that Lucas didn¡¯t me them. Next, under the deliberate ttery of the Stones, Lucas finally got to know some of the main figures of the family, and the two sides had a good conversation. In particr, there were a few young and beautiful women at the banquet who came over to pour drinks for Lucas frequently. They would try to tter him and hint to him that they liked him. Clearly, they were harboring intentions toward him. Their actions were naturally instructions from the Stones. After all, Lucas was young, powerful, and had high status and incredible background, so many families would want to get acquainted with him. Moreover, Lucas was very handsome, tall, and even had a good temperament. He was definitely popr among women as a marriage partner. But Lucas was already married to Cheyenne, the beautiful woman he loved greatly, so how could he possibly fall for a woman from the Smiths? The Stones were extremely disappointed to see how nonchnt Lucas was. In particr, these young and pretty women were even more disappointed. If a young and powerful man with a high status like Lucas valued them, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the rest of their lives! Halfway through the banquet, Geoffrey suddenly stood up and raised his wine ss high. ¡°Mr. Gray, on behalf of the Stones, I hereby apologize to you for what happened today!¡± Seth also quickly stood up and raised his wine ss. He said to Lucas respectfully, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve indeed let you down today, Mr. Gray. So I¡¯d like to apologize to you. Please don¡¯t stoop to our level!¡± Geoffrey, the helmsman, and his son, the people who held the highest authority in the family, actually stood up respectfully to toast and apologize to Lucas. The rest of the Songs naturally didn¡¯t dare to dy at all. They stood up from their chairs one after another and raised their wine sses to Lucas. Lucas nced at the Stones, but he still remained sitting. In fact, he didn¡¯t even raise the wine ss in his hand. He said indifferently with a faint smile, ¡°Do you think that what happened today can be written off with just a toast and an apology?¡± As soon as Lucas said this, everyone present had a drastic change in expression and panicked. Chapter 869 - Passing on the Position to Her

Chapter 869: Passing on the Position to Her

They all originally thought that since Lucas¡¯s attitude toward them was cordial, he should have already let go of the past. So they wanted to let this matter be over withpletely before getting closer to Lucas. In addition, they reckoned that Lucas should be very concerned about the marriage between Jordan and Maddy. Just now, the Stones had even implicitly expressed that they wouldn¡¯t interfere with the marriage of Jordan and Maddy. But they didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would suddenly reject their apology and then say those words. Could it be that Lucas Gray still doesn¡¯t want to spare us? ¡°In that case, what do you want, Mr. Gray?¡± Geoffrey said solemnly while holding his ss of wine. Lucas could disrespect him, the Smiths¡¯ helmsman, but he didn¡¯t dare to be impolite to Lucas at all. After all, Lucas didn¡¯t show the Dempreys any mercy. In fact, based on the information Geoffrey had obtained, the deaths of Thomas and Vince Smith in the private hospital was revealed shortly after Lucas left the Smith residence. Geoffrey was almost certain that their deaths had something to do with Lucas. What capital did Geoffrey have to go against someone who had the guts to kill even Thomas Smith? ¡°I just want the Stones to remember that the reason I¡¯m here is for Maddy and not because you are qualified to invite me over,¡± Lucas said coldly. There wasn¡¯t much of an expression on his face, and he wasn¡¯t too ferocious either. But what he said made the Stones feel an inexplicable fear. Just now, Lucas had been talking to them with a smile on his face and acting extremely easygoing, so much so that they had almost forgotten how terrifying he had been in the hotel. Just as Lucas said, the Stones weren¡¯t even qualified to invite him over. If not for Maddy, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to get Lucas toe over at all. After a moment of silence, Geoffrey spoke up. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re right. The Stones are indeed not qualified to invite you over.¡± His voice was extremely calm but also contained some sorrow. Although the Stones were indeed a powerful family, their foundation was nothingpared to Lucas¡¯s. It was only logical that Lucas wouldn¡¯t take them seriously. But after Geoffrey looked at the Stones present, he suddenly announced something that surprised everyone! ¡°I hereby announce that I officially step down from my position as helmsman of the Stones!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Geoffrey¡¯s words were like a boulder suddenly thrown onto a calmke, immediately causing a huge ssh. The Stones were shocked! Although Geoffrey was already almost 70 years old, he had always been healthy, without any severe illnesses. As the helmsman of the family, the decisions he made were often for the benefit of the family. It could be said that Geoffrey was the pir of the family and the person they trusted greatly. Now, Geoffrey suddenly proposed stepping down from his position. It was too sudden! Besides, there were no signs of this at all. Everyone was bbergasted. ¡°Dad, what are you saying? Why are you suddenly stepping down? Without you, we won¡¯t be able to prosper!¡± ¡°Yeah, Grandpa! Why are you suddenly talking about stepping down? You¡¯re not even seventy yet, and you¡¯re still in your hale and hearty. Why are you suddenly talking about stepping down?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be the helmsman anymore, who can take over for you? You¡¯re the only one who¡¯s wise enough to continue leading us on!¡± ... For a time, the Stones spoke up to stop him one after another. In all fairness, Geoffrey was indeed quite a good helmsman. Thus, the Stones weren¡¯t willing to have him step down from the position so soon. Besides, if Geoffrey really didn¡¯t want to be the helmsman anymore, who would take over for him? Was he going to pass the position to Seth? Geoffrey raised his hand to stop his family from persuading him further. He said slowly, ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind. Don¡¯t say anything more!¡± Then he turned to look at Maddy before suddenly eximing, ¡°From today onward, the new helmsman will be Maddy! From now on, Maddy will be in charge of all matters concerning the family!¡± Boom! Everyone was shocked! They were even more shocked than they were when they heard Geoffrey say that he was going to step down from his position as helmsman! Geoffrey¡­ was actually going to give the position of helmsman to Maddy, a woman only in her thirties! Not to mention that such a thing had never urred in the Stone family in many years, it was unprecedented even among the other wealthy families of DC! Even Lucas was surprised by this decision. But he thought about it for a while and soon figured out why Geoffrey suddenly made this decision. It was because Lucas had just said that Maddy was the only person in their family that was qualified to interact with him. Thus, in order to rope the powerful Lucas in and gain his protection, Geoffrey simply decided to step down and hand over his position as helmsman to Maddy. As long as Maddy was the head of the Stones, Lucas¡¯s rtionship with them would definitely be even closer. This was Geoffrey¡¯s n. For the sake of the Stones¡¯ future development, he was willing to give up the position of the family helmsman. It was truly admirable. Geoffrey was indeed an extremely intelligent and courageous person. But his decision waspletely puzzling to everyone else. ¡°Geoffrey, what did you just say? You¡¯re going to pass the position of helmsman to Maddy?¡± ¡°How ridiculous! Maddy is just a woman. Besides, she¡¯s still too young. She¡¯s in no ce to be the helmsman!¡± ¡°Yeah, Geoffrey, did you make a mistake? How can Maddy be fit to be the head of the family?¡± ... The Stones were extremely agitated. They couldn¡¯t believe that a young woman in her thirties would be the helmsman! If word of this got out, the Smiths would be greatly embarrassed. Besides, they obviously had arge number of male descendants, yet he passed the position on to a woman. Everyone was against Geoffrey¡¯s decision. ¡°Enough! Stop talking!¡± Geoffrey was annoyed by what they said. ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anymore!. I¡¯m not silly yet! This matter is settled! ¡°Tonight, all of you will spread the news that the Stones will hold a grand meeting tomorrow and officially hand over the position of the head of the family to Maddy. Invite the major giants of DC to attend the ceremony!¡± His voice was extremely firm and not to be disputed. The Stones could only shut their mouths resentfully. They only realized now that Geoffrey was truly going to hand over the position of helmsman to Maddy! But at this moment, an extremely clear voice spread from the crowd. ¡°Grandpa, I refuse to be the head of the family! Please withdraw this order!¡± Chapter 870 - Ensuring Your Safety

Chapter 870: Ensuring Your Safety

Maddy stood out from the crowd and said to Geoffrey calmly, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m not willing to be the head of the family. Please rescind the order.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Maddy¡¯s decision surprised many people. Geoffrey looked closely into Maddy¡¯s eyes and asked why with a frown. ¡°Grandpa, you know that my ambition is to be a doctor and save people. I can¡¯t stay in the family and be the helmsman who constantly makes ns for the family¡¯s benefit. This isn¡¯t the path I want to walk. So, Grandpa, please fulfill my wish,¡± Maddy said extremely firmly. She had treated many wounded people on the battlefield of Calico, andter, she went to various ces around the world to heal people and save lives. She enjoyed an esteemed reputation internationally. Thus, staying at home and engaging in scheming and plots to gain profits all day long wasn¡¯t the life Maddy wanted at all. Geoffrey¡¯s face immediately sank. He had been the head of the Stones for decades and had always been authoritative. No one dared to question any of his decisions. But now that he was to hand over the position of helmsman to Maddy, she actually refused without hesitation. Regardless of the reason, it was a provocation to his authority as the head of the family. ¡°Maddy, you should think this through carefully. Many people are eager and desperate to be the head of the family. Are you sure you want to reject me just like that? ¡°I know you pursued medicine out of interest, so the family didn¡¯t stop you. But you¡¯re not getting any younger, and it¡¯s time that you take up responsibility for the family! ¡°If you don¡¯t like entertaining, socializing, and engaging in scheming and trickery, you can hand these matters to your father. But you must be the head of the family!¡± Geoffrey¡¯s words were apromise and concession. It was also on Lucas¡¯s ount. Otherwise, in the past, the domineering Geoffrey wouldn¡¯t have given Maddy the right to choose and shirk responsibility. The meaning of his words was very clear. Maddy could hand over the rights and responsibilities of the family helmsman to others, but she was the only one who could hold the position. Lucas raised his eyebrows. He knew full well why Geoffrey made this decision. He didn¡¯t care if Maddy waspetent enough to take on the position or not. But as long as Maddy was the head of the Stones, Lucas would look after the Stones for one more day for Maddy¡¯s sake. But despite Geoffrey¡¯s concessions, Maddy was still unwilling to take over the position of helmsman. ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m really not suitable to be the head of the family. Please find a more suitable person!¡± ¡°Are you still refusing to agree?¡± There was a cold expression on Geoffrey¡¯s face. He had already made an unprecedented concession, but Maddy actually still refused to ept the position. He felt that she was pushing her luck. He was long dissatisfied. ¡°Maddy, cut it out. Hurry up and thank your grandfather for his appreciation of you and for deciding to hand you the position of helmsman,¡± Seth hurriedly said from the side. Incurring Geoffrey¡¯s wrath was what the Stones were the most afraid of. If Maddy insisted on rejecting Geoffrey, he would definitely be displeased and even lose his temper. This wasn¡¯t a result that Maddy could withstand! Although Seth couldn¡¯t understand why his father insisted on handing over the position of helmsman to his daughter, he felt that there was nothing wrong with taking over. Even though Maddy wasn¡¯t around often and wasn¡¯t too interested in taking over the family either, Geoffrey mentioned that she could let Seth handle the helmsman duties. This way, Maddy wouldn¡¯t have to do much. The other family members quickly said, ¡°Yeah, Maddy. Grandpa handing over the position of helmsman to you is his recognition of your abilities. This is an opportunity that others can only dream of. How dare you turn him down?! You¡¯ve really gone overboard! ¡°In fact, with your qualifications and talents, you shouldn¡¯t be able to be the head of the family at all. But since Grandpa is willing to hand over the position to you, you can¡¯t just reject him, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, how dare you talk back to Grandpa? What will happen if you anger him!?¡± ¡°Grandpa is willing to hand over the position of helmsman to you because he thinks you¡¯re worthy of it. You should count your blessings that a woman like you can enjoy this honor. How dare you turn Grandpa down repeatedly. You really don¡¯t know any better!¡± ... Most of the people who spoke were young people of the same generation as Maddy, and they were all extremely dissatisfied that Maddy suddenly gained the favor of Geoffrey and obtained the position of helmsman. However, they didn¡¯t dare to tell Geoffrey about their dissatisfaction. So they couldn¡¯t conceal the jealous tone in their voices when speaking to Maddy. Despite facing all the derision, Maddy didn¡¯t change her intentions at all. She looked at Geoffrey with determination and said, ¡°Grandpa, please rescind your order!¡± Anyone could tell that Maddy wasn¡¯t being pretentious and tactfully turning down the position. She truly didn¡¯t want to be the helmsman. For a time, the other Stones felt extremelyplicated. Others couldn¡¯t even dream of such a good thing, yet Maddy turned it down just like that. Geoffrey didn¡¯t say anything and just stared at Maddy for a while. Maddy also looked at Geoffrey earnestly without avoiding eye contact. After a while, Geoffrey let out a long sigh and looked away. ¡°Fine. Since you¡¯re determined not to take over, I won¡¯t force you. Just do whatever you want!¡± Geoffrey was giving in. In all the years that he had been the head of the family, it was the first time that he had ever changed his mind for a junior. At this moment, he seemed to have aged several years. His children and grandchildren were old enough to have their own ideas. Meanwhile, he was already old. With this thought in mind, Geoffrey seemed to be a little despondent, and his back seemed to be even more hunched. Looking at her grandfather, who had always been very domineering, behaving like this because of her rejection, Maddy couldn¡¯t help feeling sad. Although she really didn¡¯t want to be the helmsman of the Stones and was dissatisfied with her family intervening with her marriage, he was her grandfather who had watched her grow up after all. Seeing how aged he became, she felt terrible. She quietly looked at Lucas and shot him a pleading gaze. Maddy was no fool, so she naturally knew why her grandfather had suddenly decided to make her the head of the family. Since it was for the sake of getting Lucas to protect the Stones, he would only have to say a few words, and Maddy wouldn¡¯t need to be the head of the family. When Lucas saw the look Maddy shot him, he smiled helplessly. He looked at Geoffrey¡¯s figure and said, ¡°Mr. Stone, I can guarantee that as long as I¡¯m around, the Stones will be safe and enjoy prosperity!¡± The moment he said this, ecstasy emerged in Geoffrey¡¯s eyes. ¡°Okay! Thank you very much, Mr. Gray!¡± It was enough as long as he could get this promise from Lucas! Chapter 871 Chapter 871: Headquarters of the Stardust Corporation In fact, no matter what Geoffrey did, he desperately wanted to bring Lucas and the Stones together. He was no longer like he was when he was young. He was old now, and perhaps his days were limited. But even after putting in all his effort in his lifetime, he still couldn¡¯t make the Stones reach beyond their peak. Furthermore, who knew what the Stones would be once he died. Lucas¡¯s appearance made Geoffrey see some hope. If the Stones were under his protection, even if they didn¡¯t be a new top-tier family, they would at least live in peace and safety, and there wouldn¡¯t be any other problems! ... When Lucas left the Stones¡¯, the sky was already dark. Maddy personally sent Lucas and Jordan to the entrance of the residence. ¡°Lucas, thank you for helping me!¡± Maddy said sincerely. Lucas didn¡¯t say what he had casually. It meant that he would take responsibility for the Stones in the future. Lucas shook his head, ¡°If you want to thank someone, thank Jordan! Before I came to the Stones, he had already asked me for a favor to protect them. ¡°So, if Jordan hadn¡¯t asked me, I might not have agreed to your request!¡± Lucas red at Jordan, who was blushing and smiling. Who knew what was wrong with him? He was usually a smart young man with a bit of a wicked streak, but he was so silly when it came to Maddy. Lucas couldn¡¯t stand it at all. Thus, he decided that he had to let Maddy know all the things Jordan had done for her, lest his efforts were unrecognized. Maddy looked at Jordan in shock. Then her eyes slowly turned red. ... It was like this every time. She had always known that Jordan had secretly done many things for her but had never told her about them. What a fool! Seeing Maddy¡¯s red eyes, Jordan immediately panicked. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t cry! If I did anything wrong, you can scold me and hit me. Don¡¯t cry!¡± ¡°Fool!¡± Maddy burst intoughter with a shy look of joy on her face. Seeing them share such a moment, Lucas was also very happy. Jordan was his best friend, and Maddy was the woman Jordan loved the most. Seeing the two of them finally getting together and obtaining their own happiness, Lucas felt heartened. ... Early the following morning, at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation headquarters in the city center of DC... A ck Land Rover slowly pulled over at the entrance of the headquarters. Seeing this scene, many people had shock in their eyes. Reason being, everyone knew that the entrance of the Stardust Corporation headquarters wasn¡¯t a ce where anyone could park. Apart from the two top executives, no one dared to park their car there. It was an unspoken rule. It was about eight in the morning, which was the peak hour for working adults. So many white-cor workers noticed the car when they entered the office, causing their eyes to be full of surprise. The doors of the car opened, and two tall figures immediately came out. They were naturally Lucas and Jordan. Looking at the giant logo of the Stardust Corporation in front of him, Lucas was full ofplicated emotions. This was thepany his mother had established back then. But now, it had been under the Huttons¡¯ control for years. Even though they had handed it to him, the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC was still under the Huttons¡¯ control. He was here to change everything and take back thepany his mother left him. ¡°Hey, who are you people? You¡¯re not allowed to park here. Please drive your car to the parking lot!¡± Two young men in security uniforms walked over and shouted at them hostilely. If he hade here in an expensive car, the security guards might have been more polite. But Lucas and Jordan had driven over in a Land Rover that cost only around a hundred grand, so the security guards didn¡¯t take them seriously. Jordan immediately frowned and pointed to a red Porsche parked at the side. ¡°Since you said that parking isn¡¯t allowed here, why is that car allowed to park here?¡± A trace of mockery appeared in the eyes of the two security guards. ¡°Because that car belongs to the deputy general manager of ourpany. Of course he can park there! But who are you two? Are you worthy of parking here?¡± ¡°You only drive a Land Rover, but you think you¡¯re big shots? There are countless cars like this in the city. It¡¯s no big deal. ¡°Besides, the Stardust Corporation is not a ce where any Tom, Dick, or Harry can go! The Huttons of DC are behind the Stardust Corporation, and they¡¯re one of the eight top families! Even our deputy general manager is a Hutton. He¡¯s not someone a small fry like you canpare to! ¡°I advise you to move your car quickly. Otherwise, don¡¯t me us for being impolite to you!¡± The two security guards were extremely arrogant, and they didn¡¯t take Lucas and Jordan seriously at all. They even brought up the Huttons at every turn. Lucas narrowed his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s with the fuss here? Did something happen here?¡± At this moment, a middle-aged man with a pot belly walked over and asked with annoyance. ¡°Mr. Morris, you¡¯re here!¡± The security guards immediately put on a fawning and deferential smile when they saw the middle-aged man. They bowed to greet him. The middle-aged man was the deputy general manager of the corporation and had juste out of the red Porsche. ¡°Mr. Morris, it¡¯s like this! These two punks pulled over at the entrance without saying anything. We told them to move their car to the parking lot, but they refused. Their attitude was extremely arrogant too. They insisted on parking here, so we were harsher toward them,¡± one of the security guards exined to Morris. Lucas frowned. He was clearly lying. Chapter 872 - Entrance of the Corporation

Chapter 872: Entrance of the Corporation

Lucas originally didn¡¯t want to bother with these nobodies or get into a conflict in front of the Stardust Corporation, which his mother had left for him. So he had nned to cate the situation and let Jordan drive away first. But the two security guards actually twisted facts in front of him. Morris immediately frowned. He waved his hand casually and instructed, ¡°Then hurry up and get them to leave! How dare they cause trouble at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation?!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Morris!¡± Seeing that Morris believed them and didn¡¯t hold them responsible, the security guards immediately approached Lucas and Jordan smugly. ¡°Are you two punks going to move your car away and get lost on your own, or do you want us to beat you up and help you scram?¡± the security guards said menacingly while holding their rubber batons. Lucas narrowed his eyes at the two of them. The two ordinary security guards immediately felt a chill run down their spines, and they froze in ce. The young man in front of them was only in his twenties, and his clothes and car were both extremely ordinary too. But the look in his eyes seemed to be even more terrifying and dignified than the leader of thepany. After being deterred by Lucas¡¯s aura, the security guards didn¡¯t dare to move an inch forward anymore. ¡°As security guards of the Stardust Corporation, is this how you work? How disappointing!¡± Lucas said indifferently. The Stardust Corporation had been left to Lucas by his mother, and it was also the only thing that he wanted to take back from the Huttons. He didn¡¯t expect to encounter snobbish security guards on his first visit to the Stardust Corporation headquarters. Even the security guards watching the door were so ill-mannered. From this, it was clear how things were in the headquarters. It was probably already rotten to the core here. ¡°Hah, punk, this is the Stardust Corporation, not a ce where you act wild! With your attitude, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t survive a few days in the city, and you¡¯ll die without even knowing why!¡± Morris¡¯s eyes shed coldly. The security guards might be intimidated by the two of them, but as an executive of the Stardust Corporation, how could he possibly be daunted by two young men driving a Land Rover? Besides, this ce was the entrance of the Stardust Corporation. He didn¡¯t think they couldn¡¯t do anything! ¡°Hah, are you the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation? You¡¯re nothing much.¡± Lucas sneered. Originally, he didn¡¯t n toe to the Stardust Corporation headquarters so soon. But since he was already in DC because of Maddy¡¯s matter, he naturally couldn¡¯t leave thepany alone. In particr, Flynn had already been in DC for over a month, and Lucas wanted to ask him about the situation. But Lucas was in a terrible mood after running into such ignorant people before he even entered the headquarters. The senior executives of the Stardust Corporation were still members of the Hutton family, and they definitely had a part to y in the current state of thepany. Thus, this time, the Stardust Corporation needed a major purge! After hearing what Lucas said, Morris turned gloomy. ¡°Hmph, how dare you say I¡¯m nothing much? You¡¯re really arrogant! It¡¯s a piece of cake for me to kill you! I just can¡¯t be bothered to deal with a small fry like you. Do you get it?¡± He was extremely prideful, and it seemed that he found it disgraceful to deal with Lucas and Jordan on his own. Lucas sneered and said ambiguously, ¡°Just wait. In no time, you¡¯ll be begging me on your knees.¡± Then he ignored Morris and said to Jordan, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t n to leave. Instead, he decided to move the car to the parking lot at the side. There were pros and cons to the fact that his identity hadn¡¯t been revealed yet. As for people like Morris, Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with him now. But soon, Morris, who thought that his life was extraordinary, would know how absurdly wrong he was. Morris was angered by what Lucas said, but when he saw them moving the car awaypliantly, he said, ¡°Hmph, they¡¯re quite sensible!¡± With that, he strode into the office. Soon, the two of them parked the car in the parking lot before walking toward the entrance of the Stardust Corporation again. But when they were about to enter, the two security guards walked over to stop them again. ¡°Hold it! The Stardust Corporation isn¡¯t a ce where people like you can enter. Get lost immediately!¡± Jordan¡¯s face darkened. After staying in DC for a period of time to protect Flynn, he knew that employees weren¡¯t the only ones allowed to enter the office, though he rarely showed up. There were many guests who woulde to the office, and they just had to register at the front desk. But these two security guards actually stopped them from entering. They clearly had other intentions. Even though Lucas wanted peace and didn¡¯t want to cause trouble here, he was angry now. This was thepany his mother had left him. He was now the chairman of thepany, which meant that he had the highest position, but he was actually stopped outside thepany by two security guards. Jordan couldn¡¯t endure any longer. He went forward and shouted, ¡°Go away!¡± At the same time, he pushed the security guards out of the way. If not for the fact that he didn¡¯t want to create a scene outside the Stardust Corporation headquarters, Jordan would have long made these snobbish security guards bleed instead of letting them off in such a ¡®gentle¡¯ manner. Jordan¡¯s shove made the two security guards fall to the ground, but fortunately, they weren¡¯t injured. When they got up while cursing incessantly, they found that Lucas and Jordan had already entered the office building and were about to vanish out of sight. The two security guards looked at each other and couldn¡¯t help feeling shocked. Since they could be the security guards of the Stardust Corporation, they definitely weren¡¯t chosen at random. They were retired soldiers who had decentbat skills. But the shove had made them fall to the ground without the ability to resist at all. ¡°That young man is very strong!¡± one of them said solemnly. The other person nodded and said with lingering fear, ¡°That¡¯s right! Moreover, I can feel that he didn¡¯t use all his strength! If we really fought him, I¡¯m afraid we would be lying on the ground now.¡± Chapter 873 - Meeting a Fool Again

Chapter 873: Meeting a Fool Again

Although these two security guards were not very strong, they still had some basic judgment. In fact, if not for the fact that Morris had ordered them to stop Lucas and Jordan from entering the Stardust Corporation headquarters, they wouldn¡¯t have wanted to act against them due to the look Lucas had given them. These security guards were only at the lowest level of thepany. Now that Lucas and Jordan had already barged in, they didn¡¯t want to risk their lives to follow the order of the deputy general manager. So they looked at each other and chose not to catch up, as if they didn¡¯t see this. In the Stardust Corporation¡­ ¡°Lucas, if you hadn¡¯t told me that it¡¯s best not to do anything, I would have beaten those two scoundrels up and made sure they couldn¡¯t get up!¡± Jordan said with displeasure. Lucas nced at him and said lightly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There will be plenty of chances for you to make a move in the future.¡± After all, this was the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation. If things got too ugly at the entrance, the Stardust Corporation would be disgraced. However, he wouldn¡¯t let these people get away unscathed when it was time to purge thepany. It was extremely lively in the Stardust Corporation today. After looking at the signs along the way, Lucas realized that the Stardust Corporation was holding a recruitment fair today. The entire hall on the first floor was specially divided into two, with half of it being a venue for recruiters and the first round of interviews. There were already a lot of people here for interviews, but since it wasn¡¯t working hours yet, the interviews had yet to begin. As soon as Lucas walked over, he suddenly heard a familiar voice. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re here too!¡± Lucas turned around and saw a familiar figure looking at him in surprise while walking toward him. ¡°Alexis? Why are you here?¡± Lucas was greatly surprised. Alexis was the heiress of the Coles, the most prestigious family in California, and the granddaughter of Edmund. He didn¡¯t expect her to appear in the Stardust Corporation headquarters at this time. ¡°I¡¯m here for an interview!¡± Alexis said with a smile and pointed to the interviewees, who had already formed a snake-like queue. ¡°Huh? You actually came to Stardust Corporation for an interview? If I remember correctly, you should still be a student. You¡¯re studying at a university here, right?¡± Lucas was even more surprised to find out that Alexis was here for an interview. Because Lucas had interacted a lot with the Coles, he knew that Alexis was attending college in DC. Alexis smiled. ¡°I¡¯m already a senior, so I cane out to find an internship. The Stardust Corporation is arge corporation, so¡­ that¡¯s why I wanted toe here and give it a try.¡± She didn¡¯t mention that she chose the Stardust Corporationrgely because the person in charge of the Orange County branch of the Stardust Corporation was Lucas. Alexis thought that if she could join the Stardust Corporation headquarters as an intern, she would feel closer to Lucas. Alexis was wearing a fitted suit today, with her hair tied back and some light makeup, making her look like a corporate neer. ¡°Alexis, what are you doing here? I was wondering where you went!¡± At this moment, another young man in a gray suit came over. He stared at Alexis, and a trace of displeasure appeared on his face when he saw Lucas next to her. He questioned, ¡°Who is this man?¡± Alexis immediately frowned and said with annoyance, ¡°Brent, who I¡¯m talking to, where I¡¯m going, and what I¡¯m doing has nothing to do with you! Stop following me around all the time!¡± Brent was really annoying. He had been pestering her for a long time and refused to stop no matter how many times she rejected him. After thinking about it, Alexis suddenly reached out, held Lucas¡¯s arm, and said to Brent, ¡°Now, do you know how I¡¯m rted to him? I told you I have a boyfriend!¡± Brent was full of anger as he red at Lucas. ¡°Boy! Who allowed you to touch my woman? Let go immediately!¡± Lucas immediately frowned. In fact, he didn¡¯t mind being Alexis¡¯s shield. After all, he had already done so at her birthday party before. Moreover, Lucas had always treated Alexis as his younger sister, so he didn¡¯t find anything inappropriate with her actions. But this young man was behaving extremely foolishly, as if he couldn¡¯t understand humannguage. ¡°Brent! Shut up! Since when was I your woman? Don¡¯t you talk nonsense here!¡± Alexis was extremely annoyed and immediately refuted Brent mercilessly. Their dispute immediately attracted the attention of many people who came for interviews today. Brent felt extremely humiliated to be rejected in public by the woman he liked. He glowered at Lucas. ¡°Are you also here for a job interview at the Stardust Corporation? Let me tell you. My uncle is the deputy general manager of Stardust Corporation, and he¡¯s in charge of recruitment! ¡°If you still want to apply for a job at the Stardust Corporation, you¡¯d better sever all ties with Alexis and apologize to me! ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯ll never get hired by Stardust Corporation. I just need to call my uncle, and you¡¯ll be chased out immediately!¡± There was nothing but arrogance on Brent¡¯s face. After the surrounding people heard that his uncle was the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation, many of them looked at him in a different light. They were eager toe over and try to find an opportunity to get to know someone with connections like him. Brent enjoyed this feeling a lot. He looked at Lucas with an even more provocative gaze. Alexis¡¯s expression instantly changed. She didn¡¯t know why Lucas appeared at the Stardust Corporation headquarters, but she thought that he had been summoned by the senior executives of the Stardust Corporation. It would be bad if Brent spouted nonsense to his uncle and she ended up causing Lucas to be harmed! Alexis stood in front of Lucas and said anxiously, ¡°Brent, don¡¯t mess around! If you dare to harm Lucas, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± ¡°Hah, Alexis, I told you before. I like you, and I¡¯ll do anything for you! ¡°I also told you that as long as you agree to be my girlfriend, you can start your internship in the Stardust Corporation without an interview! ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the sake of apanying you, I wouldn¡¯t havee to this recruitment fair today! ¡°Now, as long as you break up with this man and no longer have anything to do with him, I can spare him. How does that sound?¡± Brent spoke tyrannically while holding his head high. Chapter 874 - Situation of the Corporation

Chapter 874: Situation of the Corporation

Alexis was furious, but this was DC, where the Cole family wasn¡¯t a big deal, unlike in California, where they were at the top of the hierarchy. Moreover, the Stardust Corporation was backed by the Huttons, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, so it wasn¡¯t easy to provoke. Alexis didn¡¯t want Lucas to end up offending the Huttons because of her. ¡°Lucas, go ahead and take care of your matters first! Don¡¯t bother about what this bastard says!¡± Alexis let go of Lucas¡¯s arm reluctantly. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to a meal when you¡¯re free tonight!¡± ¡°Okay, see you tonight then.¡± Lucas nodded and turned to leave. Lucas wasn¡¯t that free to bother with a young man in his early twenties. But as soon as Lucas took two steps, Brent stopped him. ¡°Punk, do you think I¡¯m dead? I¡¯ve already said that Alexis is my woman. How dare you agree to eat dinner with her right in front of me? Do you not take me seriously?! ¡°If you want to die, I¡¯ll fulfill your death wish right now!¡± Brent punched Lucas¡¯s head. ¡°Lucas, watch out!¡± Alexis screamed in horror. But this powerless punch naturally couldn¡¯t strike Lucas. Jordan raised his hand to block Brent¡¯s punch. Lucas looked at the young man in front of him and suddenly smiled strangely. ¡°You just said that your uncle is the deputy general manager of Stardust Corporation, right? What¡¯s his name?¡± Seeing a helper suddenly appear beside Lucas, Brent was a little surprised, but he immediately became smug again when Lucas asked him who his uncle was. ¡°Hah, are you scared now that you¡¯ve heard my uncle is the deputy general manager? ¡°Hmph, my uncle¡¯s name is Richard Morris. He has been the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation for several years. He¡¯s now in charge of most of the matters in the corporation and holds great power! ¡°If you dare to offend me, I guarantee that you won¡¯t be able to step into the Stardust Corporation. Even if you¡¯ve entered, you¡¯ll be kicked out! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can give it a try! ¡°Also, even though you¡¯ve grabbed my hand, do you dare toy a finger on me? If you dare to touch me, the security guards here will beat you two into a pulp!¡± He boasted arrogantly about his uncle¡¯s power and ability before issuing a threat. Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°Look at you. Why are you acting like the Stardust Corporation belongs to your uncle?¡± Brent smiled proudly. ¡°Hah, although it¡¯s not the case now, it won¡¯t be long before it¡¯s his!¡± ¡°Oh? What do you mean by that?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°Hah, I knew it. An idiot like you doesn¡¯t know anything! Okay, I¡¯ll do a good deed today and tell you the reason so that you can die knowing why!¡± ¡°The Stardust Corporation has always been under the Huttons¡¯ control. But now, there are some changes, and the chairman of the Stardust Corporation has been reced. But in fact, there hasn¡¯t been much of an impact. The Huttons won¡¯t control thepany directly, but the people they trust can! ¡°My uncle Richard Morris has been trained by the Huttons to be in charge of the Stardust Corporation! Although he¡¯s only the deputy general manager, he¡¯s almost in charge of everything in thepany!¡± ¡°Even the bullshit general manager Flynn Davis, who was transferred over some time ago, means nothing to my uncle! My uncle calls the shots in thepany, and the general manager is just a weakling being manipted by others! ¡°That¡¯s why I said that apart from the Huttons, my uncle is the leader with the highest authority in the Stardust Corporation! It¡¯s not wrong to say that the Stardust Corporation belongs to my family! Do you get it now?¡± ¡°Hmph, you should now know just how much power my uncle holds. Moreover, you¡¯vemitted a high crime by offending me!¡± Brent was extremely smug, and he even revealed many matters about the Stardust Corporation for the sake of showing off his uncle¡¯s power. But he didn¡¯t notice that Lucas¡¯s eyes shed with strong murderous intent. More than a month ago, Lucas had sent Flynn to the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC so that he could be the vanguard to infiltrate the Stardust Corporation and find a way to take it back from the Huttons. But now, it seemed that Flynn had indeed faced a lot of resistance, and he was basically unable to make any real decisions. No one took him, the general manager Lucas personally appointed, seriously. Apart from the deputy general manager, Richard, it was likely that the other senior executives of thepany were also people trained by the Huttons. Under such circumstances, it was almost impossible for Flynn to take the Stardust Corporation back. At the thought of this, Lucas suddenly felt a trace of regret. He should havee to DC earlier to help Flynn clear many obstacles so that he could get hold of the Stardust Corporation. But since he hade to DC, he would take this opportunity to clean it up. It¡¯s time to clean up the Stardust Corporation. This time, he had to clean up the Stardust Corporation and make it vibrant. ¡°Hey, punk, I¡¯ve already said so much to you. Now, you know who you¡¯ve offended, right? I suggest you obey me, keep a distance from my woman, and apologize to me obediently. If I¡¯m in a good mood, I might ask my uncle to give you a position in the Stardust Corporation! ¡°Otherwise, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± Brent now wanted to see Lucas bowing down to him, apologizing to him, and begging for forgiveness. In that case, Alexis would be able to see clearly just what kind of a man he was and thenpletely give up on him! He wanted to let Alexis know that only someone like him could be worthy of her! Lucas suddenly sneered. ¡°Cripple him!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Brent¡¯s arrogant expression immediately stiffened. Before he could figure out what Lucas meant, he suddenly felt a sharp and excruciating paining from the wrist that Jordan was holding! Snap! The wrist he had wanted to hit Lucas with earlier had beenpletely twisted by Jordan! ¡°Aahhhhhh!¡± The miserable shriek immediately resounded throughout the hall on the first floor of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s office building! Chapter 875 - Don’t Touch Him

Chapter 875: Don¡¯t Touch Him

Everyone waiting in the hall on the first floor was stunned! They had heard Brent personally say his uncle was the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation, who held great authority and had the final say for most affairs. Almost no one dared to provoke him easily. But Brent now had his wrist twisted and broken in front of everyone! Were these two young men fools? Weren¡¯t they afraid that Brent¡¯s family or the Huttons, who were behind the Stardust Corporation, would deal with them? After offending the nephew of the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation, it would almost be impossible to stay in DC to find another job, let alone work in the Stardust Corporation! ¡°Lucas¡­ h-how could you get into a fight here?¡± After Alexis¡¯s initial shock, worry was immediately written all over her delicate face. ¡°Lucas, hurry up and leave! Immediately return to California! Otherwise, when things blow up and Brent¡¯s uncle rushes over, you won¡¯t be able to leave!¡± she urged, full of anxiety. Alexis only knew that Lucas had a high status in California. But now, he was in DC, where some of the most powerful families in the US were, and there were hidden experts everywhere. It wasn¡¯t a ce that California couldpare to. Moreover, Brent had made it clear that his uncle was now the actual leader of the Stardust Corporation. He was very powerful, and the Stardust Corporation had the backing of the Huttons of the top eight top families. Thus, Lucas was in an extremely dangerous situation now that he had broken Brent¡¯s hand. Looking at the flustered Alexis, Lucas felt touched. But he shook his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They can¡¯t do anything to me. Besides, it¡¯s time to settle the score and decide who calls the shots in the Stardust Corporation!¡± ¡°Bastard! How dare you break my hand? I won¡¯t spare you! When my uncleester, it¡¯ll be time for you two bastards to die!¡± Brent held his hand and screamed maniacally with cold sweat all over his face. Hearing his unpleasant insults and the chaotic background noise, Lucas frowned and instructed Jordan, ¡°Get him to shut up.¡± ¡°Okay, Lucas!¡± Jordan smiled sinisterly while walking toward Brent. ¡°What¡­ what are you going to do? I¡­ I¡¯ve already said that my uncle is the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation. If you dare to harm me here, my uncle won¡¯t spare you!¡± Brent stared at Jordan getting closer and closer and the devilish smile on his face, and he couldn¡¯t help shivering. His wrist, which Jordan just broke, seemed to be in even more pain. But he didn¡¯t have any solution at all. He couldn¡¯t escape or defeat them, so he could only bring up his only reliance, his uncle, the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation headquarters, to try and deter Jordan. However, he failed to consider the fact that Jordan wouldn¡¯t have broken his hand if he was really afraid of his uncle. Thus¡­ Bang!? Jordan kicked Brent¡¯s chest. Even though he had controlled his strength, his strength was far beyond what a weakling who was usually toozy to work out could withstand. Brent¡¯s body immediately flew away, and the moment hended, he passed out. Seeing Brent copsed on the floor andpletely immobile, many people in the hall inhaled sharply. The two young men were truly not afraid of Brent¡¯s identity and actually knocked him out! Many people felt relieved. They all came to the Stardust Corporation for a job interview, and they hated those who joined through connections. Moreover, Brent had behaved very arrogantly because of his connections, which had long angered many people. Seeing that he was beaten up after putting on airs, many people were pleased and felt that Lucas and Jordan had stood up for them. But Alexis was about to burst into tears of anxiety. ¡°Quick! Lucas, hurry up and run! The security guards will be here soon!¡± Alexis nced at the door. Because of the uproar and fight, a group of people wearing security uniforms had already rushed over. ¡°Where do you think you can run to?¡± The security guards rushed toward them and surrounded Lucas and Jordan. Alexis¡¯s face instantly paled. Things were terrible! ¡°Captain! These two punks are the ones who deliberately pulled over at the entrance and even got into a conflict with us. Mr. Morris thought that there was something wrong with them and wanted us to stop them, but they ignored us and insisted on barging in. In the end, they caused trouble and even beat up Mr. Morris¡¯s nephew!¡± The two security guards who had tried to stop Lucas and Jordan immediately pointed at Lucas andined to the security captain. The security captain immediately turned gloomy. ¡°Turns out you came here prepared to cause trouble! Hmph, what do you take the Stardust Corporation for? ¡°Immediately arrest these two people and take them away!¡± The security officer waved his hand at the side. ¡°Captain, these two punks are tough nuts to crack and have somebat skills!¡± the two security guards immediately reminded. ¡°Then beat them up! We¡¯ll talk again after they¡¯re crippled!¡± the security captain ordered menacingly. His face was extremely cold, as if crippling a few people was just routine for him. In the security captain¡¯s opinion, it was just an appetizer to cripple these two punks who dared to break the hand of the deputy general manager¡¯s nephew! When Richard found out what happened, he would probably skin these two alive! The security guards immediately withdrew their rubber batons and ruched toward Lucas and Jordan. They were so fierce and menacing that Alexis was almost going to burst into tears of fright. But Lucas and Jordan remained standing calmly, as if they didn¡¯t see the security guards wielding weapons in their hands. Alexis gritted her teeth and suddenly stretched out her slender arm to block in front of Lucas. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to touch Lucas! If you want to touch him, you have to kill me first!¡± Alexis¡¯s face was full of determination. Although she was pale with fear, she nevertheless stood firmly in front of Lucas! Chapter 876 - No Prestige

Chapter 876: No Prestige

Seeing Alexis¡¯s actions, Lucas was first surprised and then immediately felt touched. This slender and vulnerable little girl, who was deathly pale facing the numerous burly and armed security guards, was shivering in fear, yet she still dared to try and protect him from so many people. How could Lucas not be touched by this? ¡°Alexis, step back.¡± Lucas¡¯s voice became much gentler as he spoke to Alexis. ¡°No, t-they want to hit you. I won¡¯t let them hit you! Lucas, I¡¯ll stop them. You guys hurry and leave quickly!¡± Alexis¡¯s voice was already shaking, but she nheless stood firmly in front of Lucas to shield him. She even asked him to run away with Jordan while she blocked the security guards. It was so¡­ lovable of her. Lucas smiled and walked forward to grab Alexis and ce her behind him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Hah, punk, you even have the guts to harm Mr. Morris¡¯s nephew. None of you are allowed to leave today!¡± The security captain sneered. He had managed to obtain his position as security captain only with the help of Richard, so he had to please Richard and not let off these two who had the guts to harm Brent. ¡°Go! Hit him regardless of who is blocking! Today, you must beat these two until they¡¯re crippled!¡± the security captain bellowed. The security guards immediately charged forward. A bloodthirsty joy appeared in Jordan¡¯s eyes as he shook his wrists, waiting for a huge fight. ¡°Stop!¡± The moment they were about to get physical, a furious shout suddenly sounded! Hearing the shout, the security guards immediately stopped. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Flynn Davis, the general manager of Stardust Corporation!¡± someone eximed in astonishment when they recognized him. Indeed, the person who shouted and hurried over was Flynn Davis. Flynn was livid. He still didn¡¯t know that Lucas hade to DC. As soon as he entered the office, he saw themotion, followed by Lucas, who was being surrounded by a bunch of security guards about to attack him. Flynn was so shocked that he was about to wet his pants! What was Lucas¡¯s identity? He was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation! If the chairman of the corporation was beaten up by his own security guards, it would bepletely unreasonable! It was especially so since Lucas was not to be trifled with. Flynn hade to DC for over a month, and he had barelypleted the task Lucas had assigned him. Now, if Lucas was assaulted by thepany¡¯s security guards, Flynn would die! Ayer of cold sweat broke out on Flynn¡¯s face as he hurried over to Lucas. ¡°Mr. Davis, what are you doing? Just now, these two boys broke Mr. Morris¡¯s nephew¡¯s hand and even knocked him out! We were about to catch these two kids and teach them a lesson! ¡°But you suddenly told us to stop. It would be terrible if Mr. Morris found out about this! ¡°Mr. Davis, I suggest that you stop meddling in our business. Otherwise, it won¡¯t be good for anyone!¡± the security captain said to Flynn. But there was no respect in his tone at all. Instead, it was full of contempt and threat. Lucas immediately narrowed his eyes. But looking at Flynn hurriedly walking over to greet him, Lucas winked, telling him not to reveal his identity at this moment. Flynn understood and slowed down his pace. He looked at the security captain who had just spoken and said with a cold and solemn look on his face, ¡°What did you just say?¡± The security captain was not the slightest bit afraid even when facing Flynn, the general manager. ¡°I just said that Mr. Morris¡¯s nephew was beaten up by these two boys in the Stardust Corporation. This matter is extremely terrible, so we must deal with these two punks sternly! ¡°Mr. Davis, just stay out of this. If you don¡¯t want to cause trouble, you¡¯d better keep quiet!¡± the security captain said assertively. ¡°You¡¯re just a security captain. Do I need you to teach me what to do?¡± Flynn flew into a rage and rebuked him immediately. With contempt on his face, the security captain said nonchntly, ¡°Mr. Davis, what are you doing? I¡¯ve made it very clear that these two punks have to pay the price for beating up Mr. Morris¡¯s nephew! But you¡¯re blocking us here. Is it possible that you instructed them to do it? ¡°Even if you don¡¯t get along with Mr. Morris, you should use this method, right?¡± Being reprimanded by Flynn in front of so many people, the security captain was naturally upset. Besides, he wasn¡¯t a fool, so he immediately thought of a reason for this matter and put the responsibility on Flynn. It was a very scheming move. If Flynn still wanted to stop them from making a move against Lucas, it would be confirmed that Flynn was the instigator. But if Flynn backed off, his prestige as the general manager in name would be greatly affected again, and no one would take him seriously. When Richard learned of this, he would definitely praise and promote him! Lucas was watching how Flynn was going to solve the issue in front of him. If Flynn couldn¡¯t deal with this tricky security captain even with Lucas by his side, Lucas would be extremely disappointed in him and even wonder if he had made a mistake in choosing to send Flynn to DC to take over the Stardust Group headquarters for him. Flynn looked at the arrogant security captain coldly and ordered in an extremely domineering manner, ¡°You actually talked back to the general manager and disobeyed orders. I hereby announce that all of you are fired!¡± Honestly speaking, Flynn felt relieved when he made this decision. He had been in DC for more than a month, and during these days at the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation, he had been extremely careful in everything he said and did. It was as if he had been walking on thin ice, afraid that if he did or said something wrong, the Huttons¡¯ cronies would get something on him and then use it to attack Lucas, the chairman. But even though he had been extremely cautious and felt as though he had been walking on thin ice, all the people of the Stardust Corporation headquarters didn¡¯t treat him seriously at all. Some would even contradict him in his face. He had no prestige in thepany, and no one listened to what he said. Now, even a small security captain dared to be so arrogant in front of him, not paying any attention to him in the slightest. He even wanted to frame him in front of so many people. But now, thepany¡¯s chairman, the real owner of the corporation, Lucas, was standing right beside him. If he still didn¡¯t dare to speak, it would be better to get rid of him as the general manager! The security officer sneered and said fearlessly, ¡°Hah, we work for Mr. Morris. Even if you want to fire us, I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have the right!¡± Chapter 877 - Fleeing In Panic

Chapter 877: Fleeing In Panic

In fact, this security captain didn¡¯t take Flynn seriously at all. Richard Morris had promoted him all the way, and Flynn was currently just amander without any authority in the Stardust Corporation. No one obeyed his orders. In everyone¡¯s eyes, Flynn¡¯s words were far less effective than Richard¡¯s. Even if Flynn fired him from thepany, the dismissal notice had to be issued through the HR department, and Flynn couldn¡¯t order anyone from the HR department. Thus, his orders were just empty words that nobody took seriously. ¡°I¡¯m the general manager of thepany, so I naturally have the right to dismiss you! Now that you¡¯ve already been fired, you can leave!¡± Flynn ordered coldly. Immediately afterward, he walked to Lucas and Jordan¡¯s side and said, ¡°You two,e with me! He had too many things to tell Lucas, but there were too many people in the hall. Flynn wanted to bring them to his office and then report to Lucas about the current situation in the corporation. ¡°Hold it!¡± Just as Flynn brought Lucas and Jordan to the employee elevator, the security captain, who had just been dismissed by Flynn, blocked Flynn¡¯s way. ¡°What are you trying to do? How dare you block my way?¡± Flynn was furious. During his time at the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation, he had been ignored and targeted by the various executives. Now, even a mere security captain didn¡¯t take him seriously and blocked him. Moreover, it was in front of Lucas. ¡°Flynn Davis, we all know what you¡¯re like as the general manager, so you don¡¯t have to put on airs in front of us. None of us care! ¡°Like I¡¯ve said, we¡¯re all under Mr. Morris. Unless Mr. Morris says so himself, your orders don¡¯t mean anything!¡± ¡°Besides, these two punks that you want to bring away injured Mr. Morris¡¯s nephew. We can¡¯t just ignore it. They must pay the price for their actions, so I can¡¯t let you take these two away! ¡°Like I just said, these two punks must be beaten up and crippled here!¡± The security captain spoke extremely firmly. He instructed the security guards behind him, ¡°Why are you still standing there? Do it now!¡± Flynn was so angry that he was at a loss for words. He was the general manager in name, but he didn¡¯t actually have the power to order anyone around in the corporation. Even the captain of the security team didn¡¯t obey him and was about to take Lucas and Jordan away without showing him any respect at all. But he was too weak to do anything to this security captain! It made him feel extremely frustrated! Seeing the scene in front of him, Lucas didn¡¯t find Flynn ipetent. Instead, he experienced the difficulties Flynn faced in the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation for the first time. No one took him seriously because the Huttons were in control of everything here. Flynn was just an outsider who gained his position without any effort. He naturally became an eyesore to them. Flynn was just a general manager without any subordinates he could instruct. Under the influence of the Huttons, the employees of thepany didn¡¯t dare to obey Flynn. It wasn¡¯t an issue with Flynn¡¯spetence. Instead, the power gap between the two sides was too much. But this situation had been going on for a long time, and Flynn had only arrived in DC slightly more than a month ago. It was indeed difficult to break open the situation. The Stardust Corporation had been under the control of the Huttons for thest two decades until about half a year ago. The day Lucas returned to Orange County from the Falcon Regiment, the Huttons had sent the butler Chad to return the Stardust Corporation to him. Although Lucas had regained ownership of thepany, the Huttons had always been controlling the mid and upper-level positions. Even though the chairman had changed to someone else, the Stardust Corporation still belonged to the Huttons in the eyes of the executives, so these people still obeyed the Huttons. They didn¡¯t even respect Lucas, the chairman of the Stardust Corporation who actually owned thepany. How could they possibly be afraid of the general manager Lucas had sent? Seeing how angry and frustrated Flynn was, Lucas sympathized with him. ¡°Get lost! Don¡¯t me me for being impolite if you dare to continue blocking them!¡± Suddenly, a phantom-like figure appeared next to Flynn and stared at the security guards with a pair of sinister eyes. He was holding a silvery dagger and twirling it between his fingers. Upon seeing this person, the security captain immediately had a drastic change in expression, and the other security guards, who were about to charge at Lucas and Jordan, immediately stopped in their tracks with looks of horror on their faces. They were all familiar with the middle-aged man who appeared. He was Stanley, Flynn¡¯s bodyguard. When Flynn first arrived at the Stardust Corporation headquarters, the senior executives of thepany were extremely displeased with this general manager who had suddenly appeared. They had nned to teach him a lesson, and it was best to make him vanish from DC. After all, the new general manager was appointed by the new chairman of the board. Moreover, the executives of the Stardust Corporation all knew that the former chairman, Jace Hutton, who was also the Hutton family heir, hated the new chairman. Thus, they wanted to make Flynn vanish from DC quietly to give the new chairman, whom they had never seen before, a lesson. They wanted him to know his limits and not reach his hands out to the Stardust Corporation. But when they thought that it would be a piece of cake to kill Flynn, they suddenly discovered that Flynn had a cold-faced expert bodyguard following by his side. Without saying a word, Stanley had severed the limbs of the hitmen they had sent to assassinate Flynn. He even threw them into the homes of the senior executives, almost scaring them to death. Since then, although the senior executives still disliked Flynn and got into many conflicts with him, no one dared to try and kill Flynn anymore. Thepany¡¯s security guards had also heard about these matters. So under normal circumstances, they didn¡¯t dare to offend Flynn. The moment they saw Stanley appearing, they quickly moved away like mice seeing a cat, for fear that Stanley would sever their limbs too. When Flynn saw Stanley, he immediately beamed with joy. ¡°Stanley, tell them to get out immediately! I¡¯ve already fired them!¡± The dagger Stanley was holding seemed to be a part of his hand as it moved fancily with ease. He looked at the security guards coldly. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what the general manager said? Or are you deaf and need me to cure you with the dagger in my hand?¡± The security captain and the security guards instantly felt a cold pain in their ears. He hurriedly said, ¡°D-don¡¯t! We¡¯ll leave right away!¡± The security captain was no longer as arrogant as he was earlier. He immediately ran away, fleeing like a dog that lost its home. The security guards behind him were stunned, and they immediately scrambled out of the lobby. This scene made all the job seekers in the lobby on the first floor dumbstruck! Chapter 878 - Regaining Confidence

Chapter 878: Regaining Confidence

Alexis was stunned for a long time, but the security guards had already left. It was a good thing because she finally didn¡¯t have to worry about them harming Lucas. ¡°Alright,e with me,¡± Flynn said to Lucas and Jordan. He knew that Lucas must have a lot to say to him. Lucas nodded at Alexis and cast her a reassuring look. Then he followed behind Flynn and walked toward the employee elevator at the side. Flynn¡¯s office was on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation office building. Although he was only a general manager in name, and everyone in thepany looked down on him, the people at the office didn¡¯t go out of their way to make things hard for him. Thud!? As soon as they entered the general manager¡¯s office, Flynn immediately knelt down in front of Lucas and said shamefully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lucas! I¡¯ve embarrassed you, and I didn¡¯tplete the task you gave me either. Please punish me!¡± Lucas looked at him quietly and said calmly, ¡°Get up and talk to me.¡± ¡°No, Lucas, I feel like I¡¯ve let you down¡­ I-I¡¯ve betrayed your trust!¡± Flynn¡¯s eyes were red as he remained kneeling on the floor and refused to get up. ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to get up, you can continue kneeling. Jordan, let¡¯s go.¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was slightly unfriendly. Hearing this, Flynn could tell that Lucas was a little angry, so he quickly stood up, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ll obey you. Please don¡¯t leave!¡± Lucas finally sat down. Looking at the petrified Flynn, Lucas remembered the scene when Flynn asked for orders toe to DC. In just one short month, Flynn¡¯s energy and enthusiasm had undergone great changes. If this continued, it wouldn¡¯t be good. Of course, Lucas also knew that it was reasonable for such changes to ur to Flynn since he was in a stressful environment with enemies full of animosity toward him. ¡°Sit down!¡± Lucas pointed to the couch at the side. Flynn immediately sat down on the spot Lucas pointed at with an uneasy and restrained expression. ¡°Flynn, do you know your mistake now?¡± Lucas went straight to the point. Flynn was stunned for a moment, but he immediately said with shame, ¡°I¡­ I was useless and failed toplete the task you gave me. I¡¯ve wasted more than a month here, and there¡¯s almost no effect. I¡­ I¡¯ve let you down!¡± He knew that his performance over this period of time must be very disappointing to Lucas. In particr, Lucas had even seen how little respect hemanded in thepany, which made him feel even more embarrassed. ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean. ¡°You encountered such a big problem and so many obstacles at the Stardust Corporation headquarters, but why didn¡¯t you tell me? ¡°Every time you call me to report the situation, you always only tell me the good things. If I hadn¡¯te to the headquarters today and witnessed these things with my own eyes, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t know that things have developed to such a serious extent. ¡°These are the mistakes I¡¯m referring to. Are you convinced?¡± Lucas spoke calmly as he looked into Flynn¡¯s eyes. Flynn raised his head in shock and looked at Lucas nkly. He originally thought that Lucas would severely rebuke him for his ipetence. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas not to me him for his inability but for not telling him about the difficulties he encountered in a timely manner. At this moment, Flynn suddenly felt very aggrieved and had a strong urge to cry. It was the feeling people got when they received the concern and care of their family and friends after being subjected to all kinds of mistreatment. ¡°Lucas¡­ I¡­¡± Just as Flynn said a few words, he began sobbing. Two streams of tears rolled down his cheeks. At this moment, he, a man in his forties, was actually crying aggrievedly in front of Lucas. It was imaginable how many grievances Flynn had suffered in the Stardust Corporation headquarters during this period of time to cause him to cry so miserably. Lucas didn¡¯t say anything and waited until Flynn finished crying and his emotion stabilized before he said, ¡°What happened previously is all in the past. From today onward, we will clean up the Stardust Corporationpletely! You have to remember that the Stardust Corporation belongs to me, not the Huttons! ¡°And you are the general manager of the Stardust Corporation that I personally appointed. Apart from me, you hold the most power in thepany! ¡°Those matters in the past won¡¯t ever happen again!¡± Boom! Lucas¡¯s words were like a thunderbolt resounding in Flynn¡¯s mind, causing a burst of joy in his heart. Yes, the Stardust Corporation belonged to this young man in front of him! So what if the Huttons temporarily controlled all the middle and high-level positions in thepany? As long as Lucas was here, he¡¯d definitely be able to deal with it! The entire Stardust Corporation had to be cleaned. To others, it might be boasting, but Lucas would definitely be able to do it! What he had been looking forward to for a long time could finally be realized! ¡°Okay, Lucas, you call the shots!¡± Flynn said confidently. At this moment, he finally became the high-spirited man full of vigor again. He had finally regained the confidence he had lost due to the repeated blows and belittling. Bang! Suddenly, the door of the general manager¡¯s office mmed open from outside. Immediately afterward, several figures rushed in directly with hostile expressions. The person in the lead was a middle-aged man with a big belly. Lucas had met him before. He was the deputy general manager, who apparently held great power. The security captain whom Flynn had just fired was standing behind Richard. At this moment, the security captain was full of joy after seeding inining to Richard. Richard walked over to Flynn¡¯s desk angrily and mmed his hands on the desk, looking like he was denouncing him. ¡°Flynn Davis, who gave you the courage to fire my people? What qualifies you to do so?¡± From his attitude, he looked like he was the general manager of thepany, while Flynn was his subordinate whom he could scold as he wished. Flynn¡¯s mental state waspletely different after he heard Lucas¡¯s advice and encouragement. Previously, he had to put up with Richard and endure the humiliation, but now, there is no need to do so! Flynn looked at the furious Richard and sat in his seat calmly. ¡°Richard Morris, let me ask you. What¡¯s your position in thepany?¡± Stunned by Flynn¡¯s unusual behavior, Richard subconsciously said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯m the deputy general manager?¡± Flynn smacked the table, stood up, and bellowed at Richard furiously. ¡°Hah, deputy general manager! ¡°You finally know that you¡¯re just the deputy. I am the actual general manager! ¡°Do I need the deputy general manager¡¯s permission to fire a few dogs deliberately causing trouble?¡± ¡°Richard, after being the deputy general manager for the past few years and ordering others around, do you really think you¡¯re a powerful figure?¡± Chapter 879 - Too Foul-Mouthed

Chapter 879: Too Foul-Mouthed

Since Flynn came to the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation, he had always been working and speaking extremely carefully so that he wouldn¡¯t make any mistakes. It was Flynn¡¯s first time smacking a desk and losing his temper. The aggressive Richard was shocked. During this period of time, Richard had never regarded Flynn as the general manager and had always been very hostile toward him. Previously, Flynn had never dared to talk back to him or lose his temper at him. ¡°How dare you speak to me like that?¡± After a few seconds, Richard finally reacted and immediately flew into a rage. He pointed at Flynn and snapped, ¡°What do you think you are? How dare you act high and mighty in front of me? ¡°Damn it. Before you suddenly became the general manager, I was always the general manager of the Stardust Corporation! Who the f*ck do you think you are? ¡°I¡¯m the person Mr. Jace Hutton wants to train, and the Stardust Corporation has always been under our control! ¡°Do you think you can call the shots in the Stardust Corporation just because the abandoned child chased out by the Huttons made you the general manager? Dream on! ¡°To tell you the truth, not to mention firing my person, you don¡¯t have the right to fire a janitor! ¡°You¡¯re only the general manager in name andpletely useless. Idiot, do you still not understand the situation?¡± Richard was extremely arrogant, and he kept cursing. He was just like a hooligan instead of a senior executive. Of course, he was so arrogant because he had the support of someone of the Huttons. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been so conceited. In Richard¡¯s opinion, the chairman of the Stardust Corporation would forever be Jace Hutton, not the abandoned child of the Huttons. Lucas didn¡¯t say anything but instead sat at the side quietly and watched Richard¡¯s arrogant performance. He wanted to see just how arrogant this crony Jace had trained could be. Once he finished being arrogant, it would be time for Lucas to settle scores with him. Flynn was enraged by what Richard said. Although he would sometimes hurl a profanity or two, Flynn was a highly educated individual who wouldn¡¯t curse every few sentences like Richard. ¡°Richard Morris, you¡¯re the deputy general manager of thepany, yet you speak so uncultured. How disgraceful!¡± Flynn¡¯s words instantly weakened his aura. ¡°Uncultured my ass! Flynn Davis, I can¡¯t be bothered to waste my breath with you. I¡¯ll take it that you never said a thing about firing my person. ¡°But my nephew was suddenly beaten up by two people who charged into the office. The security guards wanted to arrest them, but you intervened to stop them. What are your intentions? If you can¡¯t give me a reasonable exnation, don¡¯t even think about walking out of thepany today! ¡°I know you have a powerful bodyguard by your side, but so what? If you can¡¯t give me a satisfactory exnation, see how I¡¯ll f*cking kill you!¡± Richard cursed again a few more times and even pointed at the tall and burly bodyguard behind him. He had clearlye prepared. ¡°Mr. Morris, look, the two bastards who beat up your nephew are sitting over there!¡± the security captain said impatiently while pointing at Lucas and Jordan. Richard looked at Lucas with murderous eyes. ¡°Are you two bastards the ones who beat my nephew up?¡± Richard had always been very protective of his people. He had long said that his nephew was under his protection, yet these two bastards had broken Brent¡¯s hand and even kicked him unconscious. It made him furious. The main reason he barged into Flynn¡¯s office with his men was to arrest these two people and take revenge for his nephew. ¡°Hmph, so that dog bullying others just now is your nephew! As expected of people of the same family, he¡¯s as arrogant as you are.¡± Lucas sneered in contempt. ¡°Damn it! Screw you. Bastard, what did you say? Who are you calling a dog?¡± Richard immediately flew into a rage while glowering at Lucas and pointing his finger at him. Seeing that Richard started scolding Lucas, Jordan immediately dashed forward and red at Richard and his group with killing intent. Lucas didn¡¯t stop Jordan. Someone foul-mouthed who enjoyed bullying others like Richard should indeed be taught a lesson. ¡°I don¡¯t like filthy things, especially filthy things with foul mouths,¡± Lucas said indifferently. ¡°Yes, Lucas, I¡¯ll help you get rid of the filthy thing!¡± Jordan smiled sinisterly and walked toward Richard. Seeing that the situation was amiss and that Jordan seemed to be nning to do something, Richard hurriedly hid behind the security captain and bodyguard he brought. ¡°Brat, do you dare to touch me? Look at where you are. This ce is the Stardust Corporation! And I¡¯m the deputy general manager of thispany. If you dare toy a finger on me, I¡¯ll make sure that you can¡¯t leave this ce in one piece! ¡°Don¡¯t you dare to be arrogant in front of me just because you know some martial arts! My bodyguard and security guard will definitely beat the living daylights out of you!¡± Then he ordered his bodyguard and the security captain, ¡°Immediately take this bastard down and break his limbs! I want to see how stubborn he can be after his limbs are crippled!¡± Under Richard¡¯s order, the security captain and the tall and strong bodyguard beside him immediately rushed toward Jordan. ¡°Hmph, just with you two?¡± Jordan snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain. He even stood still without moving, waiting for these two to attack him. When the security captain and bodyguard thought that Jordan was so frightened that he couldn¡¯t move, Jordan suddenly turned into an afterimage and vanished in ce. Before the security captain and the bodyguard could even be surprised, Jordan had already grabbed one of their arms each and yanked them together. Bang! The heads of the security captain and the burly bodyguard mmed into each other with a hair-raising impact! Chapter 880 - Who Has the Upper Hand?

Chapter 880: Who Has the Upper Hand?

The security captain and the bodyguard werepletely unable to resist as Jordan mmed them together. There was a sharp pain in their foreheads, and they immediately became dizzy. In fact, if Jordan hadn¡¯t held back the strength in his arms, the collision would have caused their heads to split open and their brain matter to explode out. Without waiting for the two people to recover from the dizziness and pain, Jordan yanked their arms at the same time. Snap! Snap! The sounds of bones cracking filled the air as two extremely miserable screams of agony came from their mouths. ¡°Aahhhh!¡± ¡°My arm!¡± Jordan twisted and broke both of their arms! ¡°Haha, this is only the beginning!¡± Jordan was extremely annoyed with the security captain for repeatedly provoking them. He dragged him over and broke his other arm! Snap!? ¡°Ah!¡± The security captain shrieked even more miserable. But this wasn¡¯t all. Jordan held him up and kicked him in the bend of his legs, immediately crippling both of his legs. The security captain¡¯s scream didn¡¯t sound human at all. He was screaming at the top of his lungs, and it was so shrilling that it made people¡¯s hearts jump in fright. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you were going to break my and Lucas¡¯s limbs? You should enjoy a taste of it yourselves first!¡± An incredibly cold and indifferent smile appeared on Jordan¡¯s lips, making him look like a demon who just climbed out from hell. After hearing the security captain¡¯s scream, Richard got goosebumps immediately. ¡°B-bodyguard! Quick, kill him! Kill him!¡± With a trace of panic on his face, he hurriedly turned to shout at the bodyguard beside him. There was cold sweat all over the face of the bodyguard. One of his arms had been broken by Jordan, so his attacking power was greatly reduced, but he had to bite the bullet and follow the orders of his employer. With his undamaged right hand, he drew a dagger from his waist and stabbed Jordan. ¡°Hah, just a little trick!¡± Jordan sneered, moved as quickly as lightning, and chopped the bodyguard¡¯s right wrist! ng! The bodyguard¡¯s right hand felt as if a knife had shed it. He immediately felt excruciating pain and could no longer hold anything. The dagger in his hand fell to the floor. Immediately afterward, Jordan kicked the bodyguard¡¯s chest. The tall bodyguard¡¯s originally robust chest immediately sank, and many of his ribs broke. Blood spewed out of his mouth as his body flew backward violently and mmed against the wall. Bang! By the time the bodyguard¡¯s heavy body hit the floor, he had already passed out. Everything happened in merely twenty seconds. In less than half a minute, everything was over. Seeing this scene in front of him, Richard¡¯s eyes almost fell out of their sockets. He never thought that his carefully selected security captain and the expert bodyguard he brought would be so fragile in front of this young man! His subordinates couldn¡¯t resist at all. Jordan had totally trampled them. It was utterly unbelievable! Flynn had shock written all over his face. Although he had long known that this expert named Jordan beside Lucas was powerful, this scene was still extremely shocking to him. Richard was the confidante that the Huttons had meticulously nurtured, and he also controlled the entire Stardust Corporation in the Huttons¡¯ stead. So the Huttons definitely wouldn¡¯t arrange a mediocre bodyguard for him. But this powerful bodyguard was like a child fighting an adult facing Jordan. Jordan had easily broken both his arms, and his kick had cracked many of his ribs. He was now severely injured and lying unconscious on the floor! Moreover, it wasn¡¯t even the result of Jordan exerting his full strength. Flynn believed that if Jordan really let go, this bodyguard would have no chance of survival! The general manager¡¯s office was dead silent! There were many people gathered outside the office. These people were employees of the Stardust Corporation. Moments ago, thepany¡¯s deputy general manager, Richard Morris, suddenly led the security captain and his bodyguard to Flynn¡¯s office with great aggression. Everyone knew that there was bound to be a serious conflict between them. It was human nature to watch the fun, and many people gathered around outside the general manager¡¯s office. As expected, soon after Richard barged in with his men, several screams resounded in the general manager¡¯s office. In particr, one of them was so shrilling that it gave the people outside the chills. It was imaginable what the people inside felt! ¡°Wow! Did you hear that? The scream just now was terrifying! Was it from Mr. Davis?¡± ¡°Who else could it be? It¡¯s his fault for firing the security captain. Who in thepany doesn¡¯t know that the security captain works for Mr. Morris? I heard that this is rted to Mr. Morris¡¯s nephew being beaten up, so Mr. Davis is definitely going to be unlucky!¡± ¡°Hey, speaking of Flynn Davis, this general manager is really unlucky. Although he¡¯s the general manager in name, he doesn¡¯t have any power at all, and no one takes him seriously. He¡¯s too pitiful!¡± ¡°How dare you say that? Do you want to die? Mr. Morris is from the Huttons. He must have been instigated by the Huttons to go against Mr. Davis! Anyway, Mr. Davis definitely won¡¯t stay long in thepany.¡± ¡°I think so too! Mr. Davis is alone and weak. Sooner orter, he¡¯ll be kicked out.¡± ... The employees were standing outside in groups of three or two and whispering. But what everyone didn¡¯t expect was that the scene in the general manager¡¯s office was almost the opposite of what they had imagined. They thought that Richard would have the upper hand, but he was pale and shivering. His legs were almost unable to support his body. The only reason that he didn¡¯t fall was that he was leaning against the wall. He originally brought in two men with goodbat skills to deal with Flynn. In the end, the security captain and bodyguard had their limbs broken and fainted on the floor. He was the only one left to face the terrifying people opposite him. ¡°Flynn Davis, you¡­ you¡¯re too audacious. You even dared to hit the bodyguard the Huttons arranged for me! If the Huttons find out, they won¡¯t let you off! ¡°If you have the guts, let me inform the Huttons! Let¡¯s see how arrogant you can beter!¡± With that, Richard anxiously opened the door, wanting to run away from this ce that made him feel terrified. ¡°Stop it!¡± Lucas said slowly, ¡°Did I say you could go?¡± Chapter 881 - The Owner Returns

Chapter 881: The Owner Returns

Lucas¡¯s voice sounded like the voice of a devil from hell, and it immediately made Richard¡¯s body stiffen. Jordan walked to the door and blocked the office door. He turned around and stared at Richard with an evil smile. Richard felt even more terrified, and even his calves began to tremble. ¡°Wh-what do you want? This is the Stardust Corporation. I¡¯m the deputy general manager of thepany. But you want to stop me from leaving? ¡°I¡¯m warning you. I¡¯m valued highly by the Huttons. If you dare to do anything to me, the Huttons won¡¯t let you off! ¡°Did you hear me? Get the hell out of the way right now !¡± Richard hollered furiously and tried to use the Huttons to intimidate Lucas and the others. Lucas sneered. ¡°The Huttons? Do you really think we¡¯re afraid of them? ¡°The Huttons have already upied my Stardust Corporation for so long, and I have yet to settle the score with them! I want to see how they won¡¯t let me off!¡± What Lucas said immediately made Richard look extremely shocked and horrified. What¡­ what did I just hear? My Stardust Corporation? Is this¡­ young man actually¡­ that one? Others might not even know the inside story about the Stardust Corporation, but Richard was someone trusted by the Huttons. He had even previously served as the general manager of the Stardust Corporation for almost ten years, so he was clear about the changes that had happened to the Stardust Corporation in the recent months. Although he didn¡¯t know the specific reason, the shares of the Stardust Corporation, which were in the hands of the Huttons and some of thepany¡¯s top executives just six months ago, were suddenly acquired by Michael Hutton, the Hutton¡¯s helmsman, at a high price. Afterward, Michael also took back the position of chairman, which originally belonged to Jace, and suddenly handed over the property rights of theplete Stardust Corporation to a strange young man named Lucas Gray. After finding out about this, Jace was exasperated. But he couldn¡¯t stop his father and could only watch him hand over the Stardust Corporation to the young man of a differentst name. Later, Richard learned from one of Jace¡¯s tantrums that the young man named Lucas Gray was the illegitimate child expelled from the Huttons twenty years ago! It was simply unprecedented for an illegitimate child who had long been expelled from the family to suddenly obtain all the shares and property rights of the Stardust Corporation, which had a market value of over two billion dors! Moreover, these shares were initially scattered among the direct descendants of the Huttons and the senior executives. But Michael ordered all the Huttons not to interfere with the affairs of the Stardust Corporation. But how could the Huttons, who had already treated the Stardust Group as their own property, ept this fact? It was clearly property belonging to the family, yet it was given to an illegitimate child of a differentst name. It was totally uneptable! In particr, Jace, the former chairman of the Stardust Corporation, was extremely indignant and furious. Thus, Jace found Richard and asked him to take over the Stardust Corporation for the Huttons. In other words, Richard was the general manager of the Stardust Corporation in name, but he had to obey Jace¡¯s orders for many important decisions. Although it was a role simr to a puppet, Richard was still ted because it meant that Jace valued him. So what if he was a puppet? Apart from the Huttons, he was the leader with the highest authority in the Stardust Corporation. He had power, status, and wealth. But he didn¡¯t expect the true owner of the Stardust Corporation to return! ¡°Lucas¡­ are you that Lucas Gray?!¡± Richard stammered with horror on his face. Lucas smiled. ¡°Seems like you still don¡¯t know of my existence as the chairman.¡± Richard¡¯s mind instantly went nk! At this moment, all he felt was that everything was over. Thud! Richard¡¯s legs went limp, and he fell to his knees, unable to support himself any longer. He was incredibly flustered and panicked as he broke out in a sweat and hurriedly defended himself. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray! I didn¡¯t know it was you who came! If I had known, I would never have dared to offend you! ¡°Mr. Gray, please forgive me on ount that I was ignorant and that I¡¯ve worked hard for thepany for so many years!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°I still remember you saying to Flynn that he just got close to an abandoned child of the Huttons to obtain his position. How can I, the abandoned child, make the noble deputy general manager Mr. Morris kneel down before me?¡± Richard was on the brink of tears. ¡°Mr. Gray, I was just talking nonsense. I have a foul mouth, and I tend to run my tongue, but I didn¡¯t mean it at all! Mr. Gray, please forgive me for this inadvertent mistake!¡± Then Richard raised his palm, pped himself on the mouth, and scolded himself, ¡°I just keep saying the wrong things. I don¡¯t mean it!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t even change his expression in the slightest as he said coldly, ¡°You just said that Flynn doesn¡¯t have any right to fire your subordinates or even a janitor, huh? ¡°You even said that the Stardust Corporation belongs to the Huttons, and they won¡¯t let me off if I offend you. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t know when my property became someone else¡¯s and why the general manager I appointed is under you, the deputy general manager! ¡°Mr. Morris, why don¡¯t you tell me why that is the case?¡± Hearing this, Richard looked extremely awful, as if he was about to die. Although he had just mocked Flynn by saying that Lucas was just an abandoned child of the Huttons who meant nothing at all, he knew in his heart that even if Lucas was just an illegitimate son of the Huttons, he still couldn¡¯tpare to him. After all, Michael Hutton had resisted the family¡¯s objections and insisted on collecting all the shares of the Stardust Corporation and handing them to Lucas. If he was really just an abandoned child driven out of his family long ago, why would Michael do this? The Stardust Corporation wasn¡¯t a smallpany, and its market value had long exceeded two billion dors. It also provided the Huttons with a significant ie every year. In fact, at the time, many Huttons had spected whether there was a deeper meaning to Michael¡¯s action, such as bringing Lucas back to the family, whether he would hand over the position of helmsman to him, and so on. Therefore, Lucas was definitely not someone a nobody like him could belittle. In addition, Lucas still had a powerful expert by his side, who had managed to severely injure and knock out the bodyguard and security captain Richard had brought over. They were still lying on the floor unconscious. Richard didn¡¯t dare to behave rudely to Lucas anymore. Now, since Lucas had returned to DC ande to the Stardust Corporation, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let him off easily¡­ The more Richard thought about it, the more horrified he became. His clothes were already drenched in sweat. He didn¡¯t know how Lucas would deal with him next¡­ Chapter 882 - Fire All of Them

Chapter 882: Fire All of Them

¡°You¡¯ve helped the Huttons control the Stardust Corporation for so many years. I bet you must have embezzlement a lot?¡± Lucas stared at Richard, who was kneeling in front of him, said coldly, ¡°Return everything you¡¯ve embezzled within the day. Then follow my instructions andplete a task, and I can consider sparing your life. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake for me to kill you!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice, as if it came from a dungeon in hell, immediately made Richard turn as deathly pale. He had been willing to be the Huttons¡¯ puppet and take over managing the Stardust Corporationy naturally because he could profit from it. Over the years, he had secretly reaped countless benefits from the Stardust Corporation through bribes, embezzlement of public funds, etc. He had umted quite arge fortune for himself. But Lucas was now demanding that he return everything he embezzled, which was akin to cutting off his flesh! How could he be willing to return everything? ¡°Since you are highly valued by Jace Hutton and have held power in the Stardust Corporation for so long, you shouldn¡¯t be a fool. ¡°You should know very clearly whether your life or money is more important! ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll get lucky either. If I really want to deal with you, I¡¯ll definitely find you regardless of where you escape! ¡°Furthermore, don¡¯t expect to rely on the Huttons to deal with me. I can tell you very honestly that I don¡¯t take the Huttons seriously at all! ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can try betting this little life of yours!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was so cold that it caused Richard to be overwhelmed with fear. If someone else had said to his face that they didn¡¯t take the Huttons seriously, Richard wouldn¡¯t have believed it at all. But the aura Lucas showed in front of him made Richard believe that Lucas was really not afraid of the Huttons! Although he didn¡¯t know where Lucas got his confidence from, Richard really didn¡¯t have the courage to test Lucas¡¯s bottom line with his own life. He was trembling vigorously in fear. ¡°Consider carefully what you want to do. Get out!¡± With Lucas¡¯s order, Richard seemed to have been pardoned from death and frantically fled out of Flynn¡¯s office in a disheveled state. ¡°Wow!¡± The crowd outside the office hurriedly retreated when they saw the door of the general manager¡¯s office suddenly open. But when they saw that the person running out of the office in a disheveled manner was Richard, they were extremely surprised. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem right.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t Flynn Davis be the one fleeing in panic?¡± ¡°Why¡­ Why is it Mr. Morris?¡± Bang! Boom! Immediately afterward, two figures were thrown out of the general manager¡¯s office like they were garbage and fell hard on the floor. When the people saw that the two figures were the unconscious security captain and the bodyguard beside Richard, they were even more shocked! ¡°What¡­ what happened in the general manager¡¯s office just now?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Are my eyes ying tricks on me ? O-or did something inexplicable suddenly happen? How could these two people who work for Mr. Morris get knocked out?¡± ¡°Was it¡­ the doing of the two young men? Or cold cold-faced bodyguard of Mr. Davis?¡± ... The matter was so bizarre that the people outside the office were utterly confused, and the sounds of discussion continued for a long time. Many people acutely sensed something. Perhaps, the Stardust Corporation was about to undergo a great change¡­ ... Lucas, Jordan, Flynn, and Stanley were the only ones left in the general manager¡¯s office. Seeing how frightened Richard, who had always been arrogant, was after hearing what Lucas said, Flynn was very pleased. He felt like he had vented all his pent up frustration. He said excitedly, ¡°Lucas, Richard Morris was so frightened by you that he won¡¯t get up to any nonsense again. The Stardust Corporation has been under his control for years. Once he falls, we¡¯ll be able to take the Stardust Corporation back soon! ¡°Just give me some more time, and I will definitely be able to get rid of those people in the Stardust Corporation and then help you take over the Stardust Corporationpletely!¡± Flynn was extremely ted and excited, full of energy. Lucas shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. Richard is certainly the biggest obstacle, but there are many other mid-level and high-level staff in the Stardust Corporation who take orders from the Huttons. ¡°Even if you deal with Richard, the remaining staff might not necessarily obey you. After all, they¡¯re being supported by the Huttons. ¡°Besides, have you figured out who the pawns of the Huttons are and who the ones we can make use of are?¡± Lucas asked. Flynn lowered his head in shame. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lucas. Due to Richard Morris¡¯s influence, all the staff in thepany are very defiant toward me. So¡­¡± When Flynn just came to the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation, the first thing he did was to try and figure out this task. But because of the executives¡¯ strong hostility toward him, everyone in the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters didn¡¯t dare to approach him or even give him any information, let alone join his side. Thus, Flynn barely made any progress in this task. Lucas frowned. But after seeing Flynn¡¯s situation in the Stardust Corporation headquarters today, he knew what was going on and didn¡¯t me him. ¡°Since we don¡¯t know who we can use and who we can¡¯t, we have to use the simplest and crudest method. ¡°Convene a management meeting for the Stardust Corporation and make it mandatory that all mid-level management and above attend! Those who disobey and refuse to attend will be fired!¡± Lucas said coldly. Flynn was shocked. Based on Lucas¡¯s idea and the situation of Stardust Corporation, at least half of the management staff wouldn¡¯t attend the wedding. When the time came, would he really dismiss more than half of the middle and upper management staff? If this happened, the Stardust Corporation probably wouldn¡¯t be able to continue operating! ¡°Mr. Gray¡­ isn¡¯t this too radical? If you fire all of them, thepany will run into problems¡­¡± Flynn said carefully. Chapter 883 - Meeting Outcome

Chapter 883: Meeting Oue

Lucas nced at Flynn and said coldly, ¡°If they¡¯re just a bunch of staff who don¡¯t follow orders, what¡¯s the point in keeping them around? ¡°Keeping those like Richard who follow the Huttons¡¯ orders and stay in thepany to seek benefits for the Huttons around won¡¯t do me any good. All they will do is suck thepany dry to feed their master! ¡°I must get rid of these leeches even if it¡¯ll cause a huge loss! ¡°There are all sorts of people in society. Isn¡¯t the Stardust Corporation recruiting today? After getting rid of these tumors loyal to the Huttons, if we don¡¯t have enough high-level staff, we can promote the mid-level and junior-level staff. If there aren¡¯t enough junior employees, we can hire more to make up for it. ¡°Although it seems like a major change, this is something that will benefit us greatly in the long run. Only by thoroughly cleaning the Stardust Corporation from top to bottom will you be able to help me takeplete control of the Stardust Corporation! ¡°I believe that once these tumors are purged, you can quickly put the corporation back on the right track and develop it to the point that it¡¯s better than before.¡± Lucas stated these facts clearly and even expressed some confidence in Flynn¡¯s ability. When he was in Orange County, the reason Lucas had chosen to send Flynn to DC to help take control of the Stardust Corporation was that Flynn was really cut out for managing people and running a business. Be it the Orange County branch of the Stardust Corporation or the Sr Corporation that was handed to himter, Flynn had managed to run and develop them well for him. Therefore, Lucas believed that as long as he could give Flynn more space, he could also develop the Stardust Corporation headquarters very well. ¡°Yes, Lucas, I understand!¡± It wasn¡¯t that Flynn didn¡¯t understand what Lucas said about getting rid of the tumors, but he was worried that this action would cause too much of an impact on the operations of the Stardust Corporation, to the point of paralyzing it. Things might even degrade into a worse situation. But Flynn now had the courage to face any consequences thanks to Lucas¡¯s support. He was beyond grateful that Lucas still trusted him. It was no wonder that people in ancient times often said that a gentleman would die for one who knew his heart. Flynn decided that he could only repay Lucas by working extra hard for him in the future! Since he had already made up his mind, Flynn stopped hesitating and immediately summoned his secretary to make arrangements for the meeting. The meeting was scheduled half an hourter. Half an hour passed very quickly. When Flynn brought Lucas to therge conference room of the Stardust Corporation that could amodate thousands of people, there was only a small number of people present. Most of the seats were empty. The total number of employees in the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation was around six thousand, and there were at least a hundred staff above the middle level. But there were only a dozen people present, all of whom were mid-level managers. None of the upper management staff and executives showed up. One of the managers of the business department stood up from his seat and said awkwardly, ¡°Mr. Davis, uh¡­ Director Vance, Deputy Director Gibson, and the senior managers of the business department have asked for a leave of absence because they¡¯re not feeling well and can¡¯t attend this meeting.¡± He knew why his superiors couldn¡¯t attend the meeting, but he could only say so. A manager of the HR department also stood up and bit the bullet to say, ¡°Mr. Davis, Director Jones and Deputy Director Baker, as well as the senior managers of the HR department, have all taken a leave of absence. They can¡¯t attend this meeting.¡± ¡°Mr. Davis, Director Robins and¡­ of the Finance Department have also taken a leave of absence and can¡¯t attend the meeting¡­¡± ... The mid-level managers of the various departments of thepany all stood up to exin the absence of their superiors. But it was obvious that they had deliberately chosen to be absent. There was no reason for arge listedpany like Stardust Corporation to suddenly have more than a hundred executives and upper management feel unwell at the same time, unless they had all been poisoned. Only a fool would believe these excuses. Thus, these mid-level managers who had asked for leave for their bosses all seemed extremely embarrassed when exining to Flynn. Of course, these dozen or so mid-level managers still had some conscience. They didn¡¯tpletely submit to the Huttons. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t havee to attend this meeting. Although he had already been prepared for this result, Flynn was still furious when he really saw the scene in front of him. Flynn stood at the podium and announced loudly, ¡°Notify the absent people. I¡¯ll give them another fifteen minutes. If they don¡¯t show up in the conference room within fifteen minutes, they¡¯ll all be dismissed from the Stardust Corporation!¡± Hearing this, the dozen or so people in the conference room were immediately astounded. Dismiss all of them? There were nearly a hundred executives and upper management absent at the moment! Are they really going to fire them all? But despite being shocked, the mid-level managers couldn¡¯t help but show excited expressions. If¡­ if the absentees were really all fired, then all the executives and upper management would be gone, and they would have a chance for promotion! For a while, many people were even hoping that these 15 minutes would pass quickly. It would be even better if none of their leaders showed up and they were fired! Lucas was sitting silently near Flynn, leaving everything to Flynn to solve. The other people in the conference room saw that Lucas was a new face, but they didn¡¯t know his identity. Seeing that he was sitting there silently, they could only guess whether he was Flynn¡¯s new secretary or bodyguard or some other role. But the dozen or so people in the conference room didn¡¯t pay much attention to Lucas. What they are most concerned about now was whether their leaders woulde over or not and whether they had any hope of getting a promotion and a raise. Soon, five minutes passed, and no other person showed up in the conference room Ten minutes passed, and still, no new people came. Soon, the fifteen minutes was up. But none of the senior managers, directors, and executives came! Ayer of frost covered Flynn¡¯s face. He looked extremely terrifying. The crowd sitting in the conference room couldn¡¯t help but quietly look at Flynn to see if the general manager, who suddenly became assertive, would really fire the absentees as he said he would. ¡°Time¡¯s up. ¡°I hereby announce that all the executives, directors, and senior managers absent from this meeting are dismissed from thepany!¡± ¡°Mr. Cohen of the HR department, you¡¯re now the director of the HR department! After today¡¯s meeting, draft a detailed dismissal list and submit it to me. Everyone on the list will be dismissed!¡± Flynn announced resolutely and promoted the manager Mr. Cohen, the only person from the HR department who came to the meeting, to the director of the department and even ordered him to handle all the dismissals. At this moment, all the mid-level managers in the conference room were stunned! Chapter 884 - Half-Siblings

Chapter 884: Half-Siblings

Although all the mid-level managers present were very much looking forward to this result, everyone was still extremely astonished when Flynn announced it. After all, it was not the dismissal of one or two people but nearly a hundred executives and upper management staff! It would cause great turbulence in anypany! Besides, most of the absent senior managers, directors, and executives were people close to the Huttons. Wasn¡¯t Flynn afraid that he wouldpletely anger the Huttons? Apart from Cohen, who was ted to be directly promoted to the director of the HR department, everyone else in the conference room was worried. ¡°Mr. Davis, is it really appropriate to do this? After all, there are nearly a hundred executives and upper management staff. If all of them are dismissed at once, I¡¯m afraid thepany will be thrown into jeopardy, and in no time, it will result in great losses to thepany!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Davis, many of the corporation¡¯s businesses are still controlled by them. If they¡¯re all dismissed, it will result in an extremely serious impact on thepany! We will lose lots of clients as well.¡± ¡°The impact of this is too severe. I¡¯m afraid thepanies cooperating with the Stardust Corporation will think thepany is suffering great turmoil after hearing about this. They might even suspend or cease cooperation with ourpany. I¡¯m afraid thepany¡¯s stock price will also fluctuate greatly. The consequences are too serious¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m afraid that thepany¡¯s future development n will stagnate or even regress. There might be great upheaval in thepany¡­¡± The mid-level managers of every department spoke worriedly. They indeed said these things out of concern for the development of the Stardust Corporation and not to make excuses or plead for those who were absent. Flynn looked at the people speaking. He found that he could nurture and promote them since they could still think for thepany at this time. But Flynn naturally wouldn¡¯t consider their opinions. He raised his hand to silence the discussion and suggestions of these people. He merely said resolutely, ¡°The chairman has already approved of the dismissals, so just do as I¡¯ve instructed. I will consider the other matters.¡± Hearing Flynn suddenly mention the chairman, the people below the stage were immediately surprised. Could this decision be made by the new chairman who has never appeared? Flynn had already said that he had obtained the chairman¡¯s approval, and his attitude was firm, so the others could only keep their mouths shut. Flynn took a sweeping nce around the room again before saying solemnly, ¡°Regarding the new personnel appointments, after Mr. Cohen gives me the list of staff to be dismissed, I will decide and issue the official document before tomorrow. I will post it on thepany¡¯s official website. Pay attention to it when the timees! ¡°That¡¯s it for today¡¯s meeting. Meeting adjourned!¡± Upon hearing that the new personnel appointments would be issued tomorrow, everyone present was excited and agitated. Since the senior staff had all been dismissed, it was their chance to be promoted! ¡°Hah, Flynn Davis, you¡¯re really acting like you call the shots just because you¡¯ve been given some authority! Can the Huttons be dismissed by you just because you say so?¡± A cold and indifferent voice came from the entrance of the conference room. A young man dressed luxuriously with a cold expression on his face slowly stepped into the conference room. There was arge group of people behind the young man. It was probably close to a hundred people, and they were all the upper management staff and executives absent from the meeting for various reasons! Lucas, sitting in the corner of the front row, had a menacing killing intent in his eyes when he saw the young man. But he soon restrained it, and his dark eyes became calm again. The young man was Jace Hutton, Lucas¡¯s half-brother and the current sessor of the Huttons! Jace was no stranger to Lucas. After all, Lucas and his mother had lived in the Hutton residence until he was eight years old, so he had naturally met Jace multiple times. At the time, Jace was extremely hostile to Lucas, his half-brother, and often teased and bullied him, even though he was still very young then. Later, when Lucas and his mother were driven out of the Huttons and warned never to return to DC again, Jace¡¯s mother actually had something to do with it. The various troubles that Lucas had encountered in Orange County were caused by the people sent by Jace. It could be said that Lucas and Jace were more like enemies rather than half-brothers. After Jace stepped into the conference room, he nced at Lucas with great hatred. But he simrly controlled his emotions and quickly shifted his gaze to look at Flynn, who was at the front of the conference room. After all, Jace was the former chairman of the Stardust Corporation, so almost everyone present knew him. Once they saw Jace appear with a look of displeasure, they felt a foreboding hunch, and their hearts were full of panic. It was because they knew that Jace appearing with all the absentees meant that he was representing the Huttons and standing behind them. In that case, with the Huttons¡¯ interference, the orders Flynn just issued were probably never going to be implemented. These upper management staff and executives would also return to their original positions with the support of the Huttons. On the contrary, the ones attending the meeting would probably be treated as traitors and face suppression. They might even be forced out of the Stardust Corporation. When the mid-level managers thought of these consequences, their hearts immediately sank. They were all full of anxiousness and panic. ¡°Mr. Hutton.¡± Flynn¡¯s expression changed drastically upon seeing the young man. He stood up from his seat and said nervously, ¡°Mr. Hutton, these people standing behind you were absent from an important meeting without a valid reason. They disobeyed the corporation¡¯s management system, so ording to thepany¡¯s rules, I have the right to dismiss them.¡± Faced with Jace, the sessor of the Huttons, Flynn felt extremely stressed, andrge beads of cold sweat trickled down his face. Jace nced at Flynn and questioned with a gloomy and threatening voice, ¡°What did you say? I didn¡¯t seem to hear you clearly. Repeat yourself.¡± Chapter 885 Chapter 885: Final Decision The expression on Flynn¡¯s face immediately froze. Of course, he knew that he had made things very clear just now. But Jace saying that he didn¡¯t hear it clearly and asking him to repeat himself was a tant threat to him. Jace¡¯s aura as the sessor of a powerful family made Flynn feel overwhelmed with pressure as ayer of cold sweat broke out on his back. If Lucas wasn¡¯t present, Flynn would have probably been unable to withstand the pressure and ended up surrendering to Jace. Lucas remained sitting without saying anything or reacting. It was as if he was just an outsider and Flynn called the shots. Flynn felt extremely tormented at this moment. On the one hand, it was Jace, the sessor of the Huttons in DC; on the other hand, it was Lucas, whose strength was unfathomable. He couldn¡¯t afford to offend either of them. But now, he had to choose between the two. Flynn suddenly recalled a lot of past events. He remembered returning from studying abroad and joining the newly established Orange County branch of the Stardust Corporation. At the time, he had just entered society and had nothing to offer but his sincerity. Even though he was only a junior employee of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, he did his best in everything. Thus, his efforts were quickly recognized, and he was soon promoted to be a department manager and eventually the general manager. He already had power, status, and wealth at the time. In fact, he could have gained even more. But one day, a man iming to be the Huttons¡¯ chief butler suddenly came to him and asked him to focus on working for thepany¡¯s new chairman. Flynn naturally agreed readily. Moreover, he also learned some inside information. It turned out that the new chairman was actually the illegitimate son of the Huttons who had been driven out several years ago. But his first meeting with Lucas didn¡¯t go too well. As soon as Lucas, who looked extremely young, spoke, he produced evidence of the crimes Flynn hadmitted, including the embezzlement of public funds and regtion vitions for years. It made Flynn frightened, and he immediately submitted to Lucas in fear. But during their various interactionster, Flynn slowly discovered that Lucas wasn¡¯t a simple person. The more he came into contact with Lucas, the more he became frightened because the strength Lucas showed was far beyond his imagination! ... Therefore, Flynn admired Lucas more and more and became increasingly devoted to him. When Lucascked manpower, he took the initiative to help Lucas take over the Sr Corporation in LA. Later, when Lucas made him choose between 15 million dors in cash or going to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters in DC to train, he chose thetter. Flynn wanted to know the heights he could reach and the scenery he could see by following Lucas! Since he had already made a decision back then, there was no point in hesitating now! Flynn was no longer confused and hesitant but instead had a look of determination. The horror, fear, and cowardice he felt toward Jace just now seemed to vanish immediately. Flynn raised his head and boldly looked straight into Jace¡¯s eyes. ¡°Mr. Hutton, I just said that these people were absent from an important meeting without a valid reason and disobeyed thepany¡¯s management system. ording to the corporation¡¯s regtions, as the general manager, I have the right to dismiss them!¡± No one expected that Flynn would still be able to confidently say this again to Jace¡¯s face. After a brief moment of surprise, the senior staff behind Jace all showed gloating expressions. How dare Flynn say this to Jace? He probably had a death wish! ¡°Hah, Flynn Davis is a fool! Who does he think he¡¯s speaking to?¡± ¡°Hmph, he thinks he¡¯s so impressive for putting up a brave front in front of everyone as the general manager, but who buys it? Even if he says he wants to fire us, would he dare with Mr. Hutton here?¡± ¡°After offending Mr. Hutton, Flynn Davis can forget about working here! He¡¯s the one who should be kicked out!¡± ¡°Haha, what an idiot!¡± ... All the senior staff behind Jace sneered,ughing at Flynn¡¯s foolishness of shooting himself in the foot. Jace¡¯s expression became even more gloomy and cold. He didn¡¯t expect this foolish general manager sent over by Lucas to be so confident. Did Lucas¡¯s presence give him enough confidence? But he wanted to make the person Lucas had chosen kneel down and disgrace himself in front of Lucas! ¡°I didn¡¯t hear what you said. Repeat yourself!¡± Jace¡¯s eyes were full of anger as he stared straight at Flynn, looking like he would lose his temper and kill him as long as Flynn said something he didn¡¯t want to hear. The dozen or so people originally in the conference room and the hundred-plus people Jace brought remained silent and didn¡¯t even dare to breathe. Everyone looked at Flynn, waiting to hear his answer. It was an extremely bizarre scene. But Flynn had already thought through what he wanted, so despite facing Jace¡¯s repeated questions that were obviously threatening, he didn¡¯t hesitate or feel afraid at all. He looked straight at Jace¡¯s gloomy face, straightened his back, and said loudly, ¡°It¡¯s the same even if I repeat myself. These people were absent from an important meeting without a valid reason and disobeyed thepany¡¯s management system. ording to the corporation¡¯s regtions, as the general manager, I have the right to dismiss them!¡± At this moment, everyone¡¯s heart tensed up. Jace must be furious! ¡°Hahaha. Hahahaha!¡± Jace suddenly let out a series of loudughter. But hisughter made everyone present feel their scalp tingle. Jace... Jace was really furious! He was hopping mad! After all, Jace was the heir of the Huttons, one of the eight top families of DC. But he had been refuted by Flynn, a small fry, multiple times. He was naturally upset. Flynn was doomed! Flynn felt extremely ufortable. Although he just chose to continue to follow Lucas, it didn¡¯t mean that he could ignore Jace¡¯s threats. Jace was the sessor of a powerful family after all. Half a year ago, Flynn would have felt that he was out of reach, and he wouldn¡¯t have even dared to think of speaking with the future sessor of the Huttons. Now, he was not only talking to Jace, but he even refuted him in public,pletely angering him! Flynn felt suffocated, and his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He even felt fear and powerlessness crushing down on him. If not for Lucas still sitting near him, he would have probably gotten down on his knees before Jace! But now that things had gotten to this point, Flynn no longer had a choice! ¡°Hah, you¡¯re the first person who has ever dared to speak like that to me. Guess what will happen to you.¡± Jace¡¯s voice was as cold and gloomy as a venomous snake crawling over and revealing its sharp fangs. Chapter 886 - Refuse to Compromise

Chapter 886: Refuse to Compromise

Jace¡¯s cold voice made Flynn shudder. But, since Flynn had already chosen to stand on Lucas¡¯s side, it meant that he waspletely tied to Lucas, and there was no room for change. Even though Flynn knew that Lucas was extremely powerful, he wasn¡¯t confident that Lucas would definitely defeat the sessor of the Huttons. If Lucas failed in the end, it also meant that Flynn lost. People who failed would probably only face one result. But it was like a gamble at this point. Flynn had already ced his bet and even his life on Lucas. There was no turning back for him now. ¡°Mr. Hutton, I¡¯m doing this for the development of the Stardust Corporation. I¡¯m also acting ording to the rules and regtions of thepany!¡± Flynn said resolutely. Jace sneered. ¡°The rules are dead, but people are alive! No matter what, these staff have made many contributions to the development of the Stardust Corporation over the years. If all of them get sacked just for missing one meeting, isn¡¯t it too ruthless?¡± After all, the people Flynn wanted to fire all obeyed him. If they were all fired, how could he continue to control the Stardust Corporation through them in the future and obtain most of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s profits? Flynn¡¯s attitude was extremely firm. ¡°Thepany¡¯s system is formted and implemented by people! Besides, this isn¡¯t the first time that they have disobeyed my orders. In fact, I even gave them a chance before the meeting today. If they had gone to the conference room within fifteen minutes, I would have spared them from any punishment for their absence. But what did they do? ¡°Since what I, the general manager, said to them is just bullshit in their eyes, why should I keep defiant employees around in thepany? ¡°Also, Mr. Hutton, although I respect you as a member of the Hutton family, this is the Stardust Corporation. Apart from the chairman, I¡¯m the one who calls the shots! ¡°As an outsider, you shouldn¡¯t be meddling in the affairs of the Stardust Corporation!¡± Flynn was very adamant and didn¡¯t give in. The word ¡®outsider¡¯ made Jace turn red in anger, and he almost lost his temper. ¡°Flynn Davis, how dare you say that to Mr. Hutton?!¡± ¡°What do you think you are? How dare you call Mr. Hutton an outsider and say that he can¡¯t interfere in the affairs of the Stardust Corporation? Do you even know that Mr. Hutton is the former chairman of the Stardust Corporation?!¡± ¡°Hah, you think you can do whatever you want just because you work for the current chairman? We¡¯re veterans of thepany, and we have worked here for over a decade. We have contributed far more than you have! Even if you¡¯re the general manager now, you¡¯re in no ce to dismiss us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! You¡¯re just a dog of the current chairman. Who do you think you are?! Except for the current chairman, no one has the right to make us leave thepany!¡± ... The upper management staff and executives standing behind Jace were all glowering at Flynn with righteous indignation. Jace stood in front of them with a sullen expression. It was as if he was shrouded in gloomy clouds that were about to erupt. Facing this scene, Flynn felt immense pressure, as if there were huge waves crashing against him, making it almost impossible for him to hang on. In fact, he even had the idea of giving up and retreating. But he soon dismissed this idea as soon as it appeared. Since things had already gotten to this point, there was no room for him to make concessions and settle this peacefully! ¡°Shut up!¡± Flynn hollered at the managers and executives who kept using him and cursing at him. His voice was like thunder and immediately drowned out their voices. ¡°Indeed, you are veteran employees of thepany and have made some contributions in the past. But you didn¡¯t do it for nothing! The corporation gave you high sries, generous benefits, dividends, and bonuses corresponding to your positions. You people know very clearly how many undeserved benefits you actually obtained from thepany! ¡°It¡¯s true that I haven¡¯t been in the corporation for as long as you have, and you indeed have more seniority than me. But I can say with a clear conscience that I haven¡¯t taken a single cent of filthy money from the corporation since the day I became the general manager! Do you dare to say this? ¡°You people have been abusing your positions to embezzle thepany funds and fill your pockets! Do I still need your permission to fire you parasites?! ¡°Since I¡¯ve already decided to fire you, you can all forget about returning to thepany!¡± Flynn roared, giving them no room for negotiation! His furious bellow immediately shocked the upper management staff and executives! Before today, Flynn, the general manager, was just a symbol and a joke in the Stardust Corporation. No one took him seriously. Moreover, everyone defied his orders, ostracized him, and even mocked him in his face. It could be said that Flynn had simply been a pushover whom anyone could bully during hisst month in the Stardust Corporation headquarters. And even when he was angry, Flynn could only endure it. But there seemed to be something wrong with Flynn, as he suddenly became extremely domineering. He even refused to give in despite facing Jace¡¯s threat. He insisted on firing the nearly one hundred upper management staff and executives of the Huttons! Who gave him the courage?! ¡°Flynn! How dare you say that we lined our pockets and that we¡¯re the parasites of the corporation?! This is pure nder! If you can¡¯t give us an exnation, we will sue you for nder!¡± ¡°Exactly! Who are you to say that we have used our positions in the corporation to gain personal profits? Do you have evidence? Talk is cheap! If you don¡¯t apologize to all of us, don¡¯t me us for being unkind to you!¡± ¡°Hah, we¡¯ve been slogging our guts out for thepany for so many years and dedicated so many years of youth and effort. Flynn Davis, not only are you trying to fire all of us, but you¡¯re even ndering us! Why are you so vicious?! None of us are convinced!¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re not convinced! We refuse to ept your usations. You must retract the decision to dismiss us and apologize to all of us!¡± ... Facing Flynn¡¯s usation, almost all senior staff were furious. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t admit that they had really done those things and were instead using Flynn of nder. Flynn sneered fearlessly. ¡°You¡¯re using me of ndering you, and you even want to sue me for nder? Fine, go ahead and sue me! You think I don¡¯t have any evidence? Let¡¯s see how you can defend yourselves once I hand over the evidence to the authorities!¡± Chapter 887 - Take Them All Away

Chapter 887: Take Them All Away

Flynn¡¯s remakes made these upper management staff and executives full of righteous indignationpletely dumbfounded. Could Flynn really have evidence? But they knew they were guilty, so they didn¡¯t dare to check the evidence. If they sued Flynn for nder and defamation, and Flynn really produced unfavorable evidence, they would be in great trouble. All of a sudden, many of them shut their mouths diffidently. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re spouting nonsense! If you really had evidence, you would have exposed it long ago. How could you have endured it until now?¡± Jace suddenly said coldly with contempt. Flynn¡¯s heart instantly sank. Indeed, he had just said it casually. Although he knew that these people were problematic, he had only been in the Stardust Corporation headquarters for a short time. Moreover, he had been ostracized and guarded against, so he hadn¡¯t had time to search for clear evidence. He had bluffed just now to try and make these people scared. He didn¡¯t expect Jace to expose him. ¡°Haha, Mr. Hutton is right! If you really had evidence, you would have exposed it and sued us long ago. Why would you wait until now?¡± ¡°Exactly! If you really have evidence, show us!¡± ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s obvious you don¡¯t have any! Damn, how dare you threaten us? Show us the evidence if you have any!¡± ... Reminded by what Jace said, the upper management and executives returned to their senses and realized that Flynn didn¡¯t have any evidence of their crimes. So they started questioning him overbearingly. Bang! But at this moment, the door of the conference room was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a group of officials in uniform suddenly appeared. ¡°We received a reliable report that some employees of the Stardust Corporation have abused their authority and received arge amount of illegal ie, seriously infringing on the proprietary rights of the Stardust Corporation! ¡°The following people whose names I read out, pleasee with us immediately for official inquiry and investigation!¡± a captain standing at the front announced sternly, holding a long list of names. Seeing the appearance of these officials, everyone in the conference room was dumbfounded! In particr, when they heard what the captain said, they all instantly turned pale and panicked. Flynn had just said that he had evidence of their crimes and vitions. The next moment, the officials appeared in front of them like magic and said that they would take them back for investigation. Could Flynn, who had always been like a pushover, have really gotten evidence of their embezzlement ofpany funds and eptance of bribes? How is this possible?!?Jace¡¯s face darkened. He didn¡¯t expect the authorities to appear suddenly. No one had revealed this matter to him beforehand, which was absolutely abnormal! Even Flynn looked somewhat bewildered. He didn¡¯t have any evidence, but these officials who suddenly appeared¡­ The only possibility was that Lucas did it! Flynn immediately turned his head to look at Lucas, who had been sitting near him quietly. Jace also thought of this and turned to look at Lucas. He began exuding a cold and menacing murderous intent. But Lucas¡¯s expression remained unchanged, as if it didn¡¯t concern him at all. He didn¡¯t even look at Jace. ¡°These people whose names I announce next, stand to my left! If anyone disobeys or tries to escape, don¡¯t me us for being impolite!¡± the captain ordered sternly. At the same time, two policemen holding pistols walked over and red at the people in the conference room. Under the deterrence of the dark pistols, no one dared to act rashly. ¡°Henry Lawn, director of the HR department of Stardust Corporation,e out! ¡°Joe Cushman, n Louis, Charlie Hill of the HR department,e out! ¡°Matt Jones, Robin Lane, and Dan Milton of the finance department,e out!¡± ... The list in the captain¡¯s hand was extremely long, and everyone whose name was called was shivering. They slowly walked out under the stern gaze of the officials, looking pale. Those not named for the time being were also terrified, and they prayed that their names weren¡¯t on the list. But things didn¡¯t go as they wished. Since they hadmitted crimes, there was no way they could escape the punishment. The captain read out the names on the list for a long time before finally finishing. There were nearly a few hundred names in total! What was even more shocking was that the people named for investigation were the upper management and executives who didn¡¯t attend the meeting! There wasn¡¯t a single person left out! Therge group of people originally standing behind Jace had all been named by the officials to go to the bureau for investigation! ¡°Behave yourselves and don¡¯t try anything funny! All of your bank ounts and assets have already been frozen! Now, be good and leave with us for investigation. Come clean about what you¡¯ve done!¡± the captain scolded coldly. He was extremely shocked by the sheer number of parasites in the Stardust Corporation. But the report they received already contained sufficient evidence, and everyone on the list wasn¡¯t innocent, so no one here would be wronged. ¡°Take them all away!¡± These upper management staff and executives of the Stardust Corporation already understood that it was over for them. Their faces were full of sweat, and their feet were weak. They couldn¡¯t even stand properly, let alone walk. The officials had been prepared for this and sent arge team over. They dragged away the 100 or so managers, directors, and executives. Therge conference room was instantly empty. ¡°Excuse us, we¡¯re leaving!¡± After taking all the people away, the captain nced subtly at Lucas before nodding respectfully and leaving without looking back. Flynn happened to see this scene. It shocked him and also confirmed his conjectures. The officials who suddenly appeared and the evidence of those who vited thew were all under Lucas¡¯s orders! After all these people left, the conference room fell dead silent. Everyone behind Jace had been taken away by the officials, making Jace so gloomy that he looked like he was about to devour people. He clenched his fists tightly. Chapter 888 - Guaranteed Kill

Chapter 888: Guaranteed Kill

Jace had nned to bring these 100 or so upper management staff and executives of the Stardust Corporation to teach Lucas a lesson. He wanted Lucas to know that even though he was now the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, Jace still called the shots! But Jace didn¡¯t expect that things would suddenly develop to this point. Not only had he failed to deter Lucas, but even the people who had turned to him were arrested. Jace was naturally clear about what these people had done, especially during the half a year that Lucas was chairman of the Stardust Corporation. Jace was incredibly annoyed and had instructed these people to do things for him while also allowing them to reap some benefits from the corporation. Thus, for these people taken away for investigation, their charges were real, and there was no way they could shirk the responsibility. It would be basically impossible to get them out of jail. In other words, from today onward, the subordinates that the Huttons used to control the Stardust Corporation would all be gone, and he wouldpletely lose control of the Stardust Corporation. How could he tolerate this? In particr, why he thought that these matters were likely the doing of his half-brother, Lucas, who would also take control of the Stardust Corporation in the future, Jace wished he could charge forward and tear him into shreds! But at the critical point of his eruption, Jace relied on his willpower to keep thinking that he was the true sessor of the Huttons and tried his best to suppress his fury. ¡°Hah, let¡¯s wait and see!¡± Jace red at Lucas and Flynn before striding away from the conference room. Only after Jace vanished behind the door and Flynn felt the intense aura leaving slowly did hepletely rx. Facing Jace, the sessor of the Huttons, Flynn had been so nervous that he could hardly breathe. But what Jace said before leaving meant that he had suffered an enormous loss today and wouldn¡¯t take it lying down. However, this wasn¡¯t something Flynn should consider now. ¡°Meeting adjourned!¡± He stood up and said to the remaining dozen or so frightened mid-level managers and left in the conference room. ... When Flynn brought Lucas back to the general manager¡¯s office, he immediately slumped onto his chair, picked up the ss on the table, and downed the entire ss of iced water. Then he took two breaths and finally felt alive again. Sensing Lucas looking at him, Flynn felt awkward and hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lucas. I¡­ I¡¯ve embarrassed you a little. I need to improve my mental fortitude.¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°No, you¡¯ve done a good job, even better than I expected. You managed to withstand the pressure of Jace Hutton and so many executives without needing me toe forward personally.¡± Flynn said guiltily, ¡°It was all thanks to you for sitting next to me, Lucas. It gave me a lot of courage. And what happened afterward was because you were long prepared. Otherwise, I really wouldn¡¯t have been able to deal with them.¡± Lucas smiled without saying anything else. Indeed, the sudden arrival of the officials and the evidence of those people¡¯s crimes had all been prepared by Lucas. It had something to do with Richard Morris, the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation whom Lucas and Jordan had frightened previously. Because Richard was Jace¡¯s most trusted subordinate, the person who delivered the benefits to Jace, and a veteran employee who had worked in the Stardust Corporation for over a decade, he had the most information. Thus, Lucas had sent Jordan to look for Richard to coerce and tempt him. Richard immediately produced all the evidence of those people¡¯s crimes. The officials who led the team were naturally reliable people that Lucas had arranged to ensure that they wouldn¡¯t reveal any information to Jace in advance. Thus, they were able to catch Jace and the others off guard and got rid of them in one fell swoop. ... ¡°Damn it! Bastard! If I had known this would happen, I should have tried my best to kill and bury him forever in Orange County!¡± ¡°Damn it! How dare he arrest all the people working for me? He even snatched away my belongings. I won¡¯t let him off!¡± In a Rolls-Royce that had just left the entrance of the Stardust Corporation, Jace¡¯s face was distorted from anger, no longer looking asposed as he was when he was trying to control his emotions in the conference room. Now, he was cursing incessantly with a murderous gaze in his eyes, wishing he could strangle Lucas to death. A toned bodyguard sitting in the front passenger seat had his gaze flicker before suddenly saying, ¡°Mr. Hutton, do you want me to do it?¡± Jace took several deep breaths and gradually suppressed the immense desire for revenge. He looked at the bodyguard in front of him and said softly, ¡°Bones of Steel, you should know his identity. If you mess up and my father finds out, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t need me to tell you what your fate will be. In fact, even I will be implicated. ¡°In that case, are you confident of sess?¡± Jace looked into the bodyguard¡¯s eyes, noticing every single emotion showing in them. Bones of Steel nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t mess up for your sake. I will definitely kill him!¡± Jace stared at Bones of Steel, and his expression became more and more cruel. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll wait for good news from you then! Don¡¯t disappoint me!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Jace!¡± Bones of Steel assured in a deep voice. ... Meanwhile, Lucas stayed in the Stardust Corporation headquarters for a while to hear Flynn¡¯s report on his recent progress and ns for stabilizing thepany. The parasites and obstacles that the Huttons left thepany had already been eliminated. Although it would cause turbulence, the Stardust Corporation had been standing strong in DC for years and wouldn¡¯t be greatly affected by these matters. Under Flynn¡¯s management and coordination, Lucas believed that it wouldn¡¯t take long for the situation of the Stardust Corporation to stabilize. Then it would return to its peak and be even grander. Since Lucas had chosen to let Flynn take over the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC for him, it meant that he had great confidence in his abilities. In the afternoon, Lucas received a call from Alexis. She said excitedly, ¡°Lucas, I passed the interview. From now on, I¡¯m an employee of the Stardust Corporation!¡± Chapter 889 - Bones of Steel Attacks

Chapter 889: Bones of Steel Attacks

¡°Congrattions!¡± Lucas congratted her with a smile. In fact, Lucas knew about this matter way before Alexis. She had indeed seeded in applying for a job, but Lucas wouldn¡¯t tell her that her position wasn¡¯t an ordinary role. She would be the assistant of the general manager of the Stardust Corporation. Alexis was the granddaughter of Edmund Cole, and Lucas had always been close to the Coles, whom he trusted very much. Moreover, although Alexis was still young, having just turned twenty, and only a senior student in college, she was very intelligent and had grown up beside Edmund, who influenced her greatly with his business acumen. Thus, Lucas thought it would be a waste of talent if she was a junior employee. Besides, if Alexis became the general manager¡¯s assistant, she would not only be able to help Flynn greatly, but she would also be able to gain a lot of experience. If she was trained well, she would be of great help to Lucas in the future. It was just like Charlotte, who, despite being young, becamepetent in speaking and handling matters at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch after a few months of experience. Alexis asked Lucas out for a meal together, and Lucas naturally agreed. The restaurant she chose was near the university she went to. The two of them hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time, so they chatted merrily. Of course, most of the time, it was Alexis telling Lucas joyfully about the matters happening in DC while Lucas listened patiently with a smile. After they finished eating, the sky waspletely dark. Lucas walked Alexis to the entrance of her university and waved goodbye to her. Suddenly, a change urred! A strong and violent breeze suddenly blew toward them. Lucas¡¯s expression changed as he immediately held Alexis¡¯s waist without hesitation. He tapped his foot against the ground, and they immediately vanished from where they were standing. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! ... A series of soft collision sounds sounded from where they had been standing. The t and clean stone ground was suddenly covered with more than ten steel nails that were over five centimeters long. Who knew from which contraption they were shot out. They hit the ground with so much force that they almost prated the stone ground! Under the light, the steel nails had a faint blue glow to them. They had obviously been soaked in poison. If Lucas hadn¡¯t reacted quickly enough, he and Alexis would have been shot by these nails! ¡°Hah, you escaped fast enough!¡± A cold and sinister voice sounded as a lean and muscr figure gradually walked out of the shadows near the school gate. He red at Lucas with a sinister gaze containing endless murderous intent. ¡°Who are you?¡± Lucas frowned. He let go of Alexis and gestured for her to stand in a safe position farther away to avoid being affected. Alexis was so frightened by the sudden action and the terrifying steel nails that her hands and feet were a little weak. But she also knew that she would only be in the way if she stayed beside Lucas, so she hurriedly hid under arge tree nearby. ¡°Hah, you don¡¯t need to know who I am. You only need to know that I¡¯m here to take your life!¡± The person who came sneered. He clenched fists and suddenly charged toward Lucas! This man wasn¡¯t slow at all, and the massive murderous intent he was exuding was extremely shocking. He was much stronger than Julian York, one of the top ten experts of the Peerless Martial Association, and Invincible Phantom Hands, the expert of the Smiths! A grim look appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes as he analyzed which enemy had sent this powerful man. The only forces in DC that had a grudge against him were the Huttons and the Peerless Martial Association, as well as the Smiths and the Howards. But Tyson had just pledged allegiance to him, so there was no way he would have turned against him so quickly. The Howards and Lucas had reached a cooperation of sorts, so they wouldn¡¯t suddenly attack him at this point. As for the Peerless Martial Association, they were extremely high profile. Their members all had the association¡¯s logo embroidered on the back of their ck suits, which made them distinguishable at a nce. The powerful man was wearing a ckpression suit. Based on the process of elimination, this man was very likely to be an assassin the Huttons sent. When Lucas thought of the enormous loss Jace had suffered in the afternoon, it wasn¡¯t strange that he would send someone to assassinate him! Lucas¡¯s analysis was only momentary. At this moment, the lean man arrived in front of Lucas and swung hisrge fist at him. ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± Lucas sneered, raised his fist, and punched him. Boom! His fists suddenly collided with a violent explosion. Lucas¡¯s hair was lifted up by the air stirred up from the collision between their fists, but he remained standing firmly on the spot. On the other hand, the lean man was immediately sent flying by Lucas¡¯s punch. After hended, he retreated more than ten steps before barely stabilizing himself and reducing the massive force from Lucas¡¯s punch. This scene made Alexis, who was hiding far behind the tree, widen her eyes in shock. The difference in strength was too terrifying! The lean man managed to stand steady, but he felt excruciating pain in his chest. In particr, the bones of his right hand had been broken, and his hand was still trembling violently. It was clearly impossible for him to throw another punch. His eyes were full of shock and disbelief. The burly man was none other than Bones of Steel, who followed Jace and had offered to kill Lucas! As a top expert who protected the future sessor of the Huttons, Bones of Steel was naturallypetent. Even in DC, he was considered one of the top ten or even top five experts! Furthermore, apart from his martial arts skills, Bones of Steel also had a unique secret contraption installed on his forearm. He could use it to shoot steel needles, which often resulted in a favorable effect. Due to the powerful mechanism that the steel nails were shot out of, they were extremely fast,parable to bullets. The steel nails were even coated in poison, making them even harder to guard against. Countless experts had died under this move of Bones of Steel. This was why Bones of Steel was so confident as to take the initiative to help Jace kill Lucas. He firmly believed that he could do it. But Lucas dodging the hidden weapon attack at the beginning with his lightning-fast speed and his punch made Bones of Steel astonished. Only now did he feel that both he and Jace had underestimated Lucas¡¯s true strength! Lucas looked at Bones of Steel coldly. ¡°Go back and tell Jace Hutton that if he dares to provoke me again, I will kill him regardless of his identity!¡± Chapter 890 - Taking Hostage

Chapter 890: Taking Hostage

Bones of Steel¡¯s heart trembled, and appeared on his face. It was not only because of Lucas¡¯s cold and indifferent voice but also because Lucas had guessed that Jace had sent him! But the shock that shed across his face immediately made Lucas know that this powerful killer had indeed been sent by Jace. Realizing that his identity had been exposed, Bones of Steel was greatly annoyed. But that he had used his hidden weapon without any useful effect and his right hand was severely injured, his chances of victory were extremely slim. If he continued to stay here, it was unlikely that he would be able to aplish his goal. Bones of Steel took a deep look at Lucas before turning around to walk away. But after he took a few steps, a look of ruthlessness suddenly appeared on his face. He tapped the ground with his toes and grabbed Alexis, who was hiding behind the tree not far away. Everything happened so suddenly that even Lucas didn¡¯t expect that he would dare to act against Alexis after Lucas spared his life. Because Bones of Steel was extremely close to Alexis and Lucas was caught off guard, Bones of Steel managed to grab Alexis¡¯s slender neck with his still intact left hand. ¡°Ah¡­ Let go¡­ Mmph!¡± Alexis screamed, but Bones of Steel strengthened his grip on her neck without any sympathy on his face. Lucas looked at Bones of Steel¡¯s hand on Alexis¡¯s fair neck, and a sharp murderous intent appeared in his eyes. This man had a death wish! Lucas narrowed his eyes and shouted coldly, ¡°The person you want to deal with is me. It has nothing to do with her. Let her go!¡± Bones of Steel sneered. ¡°Since you know that you¡¯re the one I want to deal with, you should also know that this woman still has some value! ¡°As long as I exert some force, her neck will be instantly snapped! You don¡¯t want her to die, do you? ¡°Immediately cripple a leg and a hand of yours and leave with me. Then I will let this woman go! Otherwise, you can only helplessly watch her die in front of you!¡± Bones of Steel¡¯s voice was extremely cold, and his eyes were full of determination. ¡°You should know that you¡¯ll die if you kill her!¡± Lucas clenched his fists. ¡°Hmph, so what? When I decided toe kill you, I¡¯d already considered this. I never nned to go back alive! For the sake of showing my allegiance to Mr. Hutton, I don¡¯t mind dying!¡± Bones of Steel¡¯s eyes were full of mania and determination. Lucas knew that this burly man was serious about it. If he didn¡¯t agree and did as he said, he would really break Alexis¡¯s neck! Moreover, since he was already determined to die, it would probably be difficult to convince him verbally. Lucas didn¡¯t expect Jace to have such a fearless subordinate. Alexis was getting strangled, but she still had to watch Lucas get threatened because of her. Who knew what would happen to him if he crippled a hand and a leg and was taken away by this crook. Alexis would rather die than have this happen! ¡°Lucas¡­ don¡¯t worry¡­ about me! Even if you obey him, he¡­ still won¡¯t let me go. Just kill him¡­ You don¡¯t have to¡­ care about me¡­¡± Alexis struggled to speak, not wanting Lucas to be threatened by Bones of Steel. ¡°Shut up!¡± Bones of Steel was furious, and he tightened his grip on Alexis¡¯s neck, causing her to feel unbearable pain and be unable to breathe. Although she felt the suffocation and the impending fear of being strangled to death the next second, she nevertheless tried her best to open her eyes and look at Lucas. She seemed to be telling Lucas not to be threatened. When Lucas Alexis like this, an extremely intense, murderous aura emerged in his eyes! The next moment, Bones of Steel was shocked to discover that Lucas had suddenly vanished! A hair-raising sense of fear instantly spread throughout Bones of Steel¡¯s body! He didn¡¯t know what happened, but his rich battle experience and intuition as a top expert made him subconsciously have a terrifying ominous hunch! Without hesitating at all, Bones of Steel immediately grasped Alexis¡¯s neck tighter. Even if Lucas suddenly appeared behind him to kill him, he would make Alexis die with him! The moment he tightened his grip, Alexis felt an intense suffocating pain in her neck, and her vision darkened. She knew that she was about to die! Although she had told Lucas not to worry about her and just kill Bones of Steel, she realized that she still had many regrets when she was on the brink of death! She didn¡¯t want to die. She was still young, and she hadn¡¯t really experienced the feeling of being in love. Once she was dead, she would no longer be able to experience what it was like to marry someone she loved and have children with him. It would be even more impossible for her to enjoy conjugal bliss with the person she loved and grow old with him. She would never see her dearest grandfather again, and he would be devastated once he found out that she was dead! She also hadn¡¯t been able to confess to the person she liked¡­ The romance she longed for, the family she couldn¡¯t let go of, and the person she was in love with would all turn into a dream¡­ Alexis could no longer see anything clearly. The second before she slipped into suffocating darkness, a glistening teardrop rolled down from the corner of her eye¡­ Snap! An extremely crisp and clear sound of bones cracking spread to Alexis¡¯s ear. It turns out that when someone is on the verge of death, they can still hear the sounds of bones cracking¡­ But why don¡¯t I feel any pain anymore?? Can people still continue to think about things after death? Or is it because my brain waves haven¡¯tpletely disappeared¡­ At this moment, countless strange questions emerged in Alexis¡¯s mind. ¡°Alexis! Wake up! You¡¯re fine now. Open your eyes and look at me!¡± A familiar voice sounded in Alexis¡¯s ears. It was just like thick clouds spreading out in the distant sky. Almost subconsciously, Alexis slowly opened her eyes as instructed by the voice. Then she saw a pair of familiar eyes looking at her with concern. Her chaotic mind gradually returned to normal, and Alexis blinked in confusion. ¡°Am¡­ am I not dead?¡± Chapter 891 - Play With Him

Chapter 891: y With Him

Seeing the confusion in Alexis¡¯s eyes, which were like a little animal¡¯s, and the obvious handprint on her neck, Lucas felt guilty and apologetic. If it wasn¡¯t because of him, Alexis wouldn¡¯t have been implicated and almost killed. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re still alive. Of course, you¡¯re still alive,¡± Lucas said gently. After hearing Lucas¡¯s answer, Alexis blinked again and then looked at the familiar surroundings around her before finally feeling that she really wasn¡¯t dead. ¡°Great! Lucas, I¡¯m still alive! I¡¯m not dead! I¡¯m not dead!¡± Alexis was extremely excited. She leaped into Lucas¡¯s arms and burst into tears. The fear of being strangled and the horror of being on the brink of death still made Alexis feel overwhelmed with lingering fears. She cried out loud, seemingly venting all her fear, regret, and indignation! Lucas¡¯s body immediately stiffened when the soft and tender Alexis leaped into his arms. Apart from Cheyenne, Lucas had never been so close to other women. It made him feel extremely uneasy. But when he thought that he had always treated Alexis like a sister, and she had just been through a near-death experience that made her feel sorrow followed by joy, Lucas decided not to push her away and remained still in ce. A long timeter, Alexis¡¯s crying gradually became softer, and she suddenly realized the position she and Lucas were in. Her face flushed red, and she quickly left Lucas¡¯s arms. At this moment, she finally realized that she was sitting on the ground paved with green stones. Lucas was holding her shoulders, and the bastard who had kidnapped her had vanished. ¡°Where¡¯s that crook?¡± Alexis asked curiously while looking around. ¡°I¡¯ve already driven him away,¡± Lucas said calmly. In fact, Lucas had just snapped Bones of Steel¡¯s neck. But in order to avoid causing unnecessary panic, Lucas immediately asked Jordan to drag his corpse away and dispose of it. During this time, Alexis had fainted momentarily because Bones of Steel had strangled her. Although it wasn¡¯t for long, the ten minutes or so were enough for him to handle many matters. ¡°Right, by the way, Lucas, I seem to have heard you say that crook was sent by the Huttons? Why are the Huttons after you? Is it because you hit Richard Morris¡¯s nephew at the Stardust Corporation headquarters today? ¡°The Huttons are one of the eight most powerful families in DC, and they¡¯re too powerful. They¡¯re countless times stronger than the Coles. Lucas, you¡¯ll definitely be at a disadvantage if you go against them! ¡°You should quickly leave DC! The farther, the better! Once you leave, they won¡¯t be able to find you.¡± Alexis suddenly recalled those matters, and her face, which had just gotten some color back, was covered in worry again. She thought that this assassination was due to Lucas offending Brent at the Stardust Corporation headquarters this morning. Lucas didn¡¯t tell her about the various events that happenedter, nor did he tell her the real reason the Huttons wanted to assassinate him. After all, the Huttons were targeting Lucas because there was a great feud between the two. Besides, Lucas didn¡¯t want to get Alexis implicated. He didn¡¯t want her to almost lose her life like just now. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll take care of these things, and I¡¯ll return to Orange County when I¡¯m done here.¡± Lucas smiled and helped Alexis up from the ground. ¡°You should go back too. If your neck still hurts, rest in your dormitory for a few days.¡± After speaking with Alexis, Lucas watched her enter the university campus before turning around to leave. Not far away, a ck Land Rover drove over silently and stopped beside Lucas. The person who drove over to pick Lucas up was naturally Jordan. After Lucas got inside the car, Jordan started the engine and drove away. ¡°Lucas, the man who tried to assassinate you is Bones of Steel, Jace Hutton¡¯s bodyguard. ¡°But instead of saying that he¡¯s a bodyguard, he¡¯s more like a ve that Jace Hutton raised. Who knows how, but anyway, he¡¯s willing to give it his all for Jace Hutton, and he must have done a lot of dirty work for him. ¡°ording to the information I¡¯ve found, Bones of Steel isn¡¯t Jace¡¯s only henchman. There are also some other people. The Huttons are one of the eight top families after all, so they must have some dubious methods!¡± Jordan told Lucas all the information from his investigation, especially about the other henchmen who would die for Jace. He attached great importance to this matter. Lucas¡¯s expression became solemn when he heard this information. In order to achieve their goals, these henchmen wouldn¡¯t even be afraid of death threats. So they would often resort to crazy actions, which was quite troublesome. The henchmen working for Jace naturally weren¡¯t trained by Jace himself. Like Jordan said, it was likely that the Huttons trained them. Moreover, given the huge loss that Jace had suffered today and the fact that he had failed to assassinate Lucas but instead ended up losing one of his capable subordinates, Jace would definitely be even more furious and be unwilling to take it lying down. ¡°Seems like my half-brother isn¡¯t nning to let me off,¡± Lucas said with a faint smile. ¡°Hmph, he probably thinks you came back to DC this time to snatch stuff from him. That¡¯s why he¡¯s so hostile to you and can¡¯t wait to get rid of you.¡± Jordan sneered. He had always disliked these wealthy yboys who acted all arrogant just because of their family¡¯s power, especially Jace. Since Lucas returned to Orange County, he had been getting up to all sorts of little tricks and had even tried to kill Lucas in Orange County. He was like a fly pestering them. It was extremely annoying. Lucas smiled. ¡°Hah, he¡¯s just afraid that I¡¯lle back andpete with him for the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve never taken him seriously. But seeing how afraid he is of me snatching his position, I don¡¯t mind ying with him.¡± ¡°Lucas, are you nning to take over the position of the Hutton¡¯s helmsman?¡± Jordan immediately asked with interest. In his mind, it didn¡¯t make any difference whether Lucas seeded the helmsman position or not. But if he could see Jace¡¯s frustrated and furious appearance, it would be amusing. Lucas shook his head without answering Jordan directly. Instead, he said, ¡°Drive to World Entertainment City.¡± Chapter 892 - Old Friend

Chapter 892: Old Friend

World Entertainment City was a famous entertainment joint in DC, where many rich children liked splurging their money at. Half an hourter, Lucas and Jordan¡¯s car stopped at the entrance of the World Entertainment City. It was a bright night, and the entrance to the World Entertainment City was bustling with business. There were all sorts of fancy cars and beautiful girls gathered there. Their appearance didn¡¯t attract much attention. Lucas stood in front of the resplendent que at the entrance of World Entertainment City with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. Jordan followed Lucas¡¯s line of sight and saw the bright and dazzling signboard. He chuckled. ¡°World Entertainment City, what a domineering name! I wonder what kind of person the owner is. Let¡¯s see if he can be as domineering as the name of his club!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll meet him soon.¡± ¡°Where the hell did these two punkse from? How dare they talk about our boss? You¡¯re in no ce toment about our boss!¡± An extremely provocative voice suddenly came from behind them. Lucas and Jordan turned around and saw a group of roguish-lookingckeys approaching them. The person who spoke was a blond-haired young man in the lead. Looking at these people who seemed to be here to start a fight, Jordan was itching to make a move and rolled up his sleeves. Lucas reached his arm out to stop Jordan. ¡°We were just talking on our own, and we didn¡¯t insult your boss. You don¡¯t have to act so aggressively, do you?¡± On ount that these people were that man¡¯s subordinates, Lucas surprisingly chose not to make things hard for them because he was in a good mood. ¡°Hmph, this is the entrance of the World Entertainment City, and our boss is a distinguished big shot. How can nobodies like you say anything about him? You can¡¯t make a single remark about him!¡± the blond-haired young man said aggressively. Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°We were just discussing whether he was worthy of such a domineering name as World Entertainment City. Did we speak ill of him? ¡°If I wanted to badmouth him, then I¡¯d probably say that your boss is just an illegitimate son who can¡¯t see the light of day, a coward who hides behind a facade because he doesn¡¯t dare to meet anyone.¡± The blond-haired young man¡¯splexion immediately changed, and he shouted angrily, ¡°You actually have the guts to insult our boss! I¡¯m not going to spare you! ¡°Brothers,e cripple these punks!¡± He was the leader of this gang. With hismand, the people behind him immediately grabbed their weapons and charged toward Lucas. Jordan had long been itching to make a move after seeing this group of gangster-likeckeys. Without waiting for Lucas¡¯s order, he charged forward. In less than five seconds, Jordan knocked all theseckeys to the ground. He just wanted to y with theseckeys, so he barely exerted any strength. But even so, he beat them to the ground in an instant. Facing these people, Jordan felt like an adult bullying a group of pres-school children. He didn¡¯t feel any sense of aplishment. ¡°That¡¯s it? Howme!¡± Jordan pursed his lips in boredom. His face full of disbelief, the blond-haired young man stared at Jordan, who was acting as if nothing had happened after knocking down all of his people. All the passersby were astounded by this almost one-sided fight that ended extremely quickly. ¡°Now, do you still dare to stop us from badmouthing your boss?¡± Lucas said with a smile. The blond-haired young man returned to his senses with a flushed face, but he still said firmly, ¡°Our boss is my hero. He took us in and prevented us from starving to death on the streets. No matter who you are or how powerful you are, as long as you badmouth my boss, I will stop you! ¡°Even if I can¡¯t beat you and end up getting killed by you, I won¡¯t let you badmouth my boss!¡± He was shuddering with fear in the face of Jordan¡¯s terrifying strength. But facing Lucas¡¯s question, he still straightened his back and raised his high unyieldingly and valiantly. Seeing the blond-haired young man¡¯s appearance, Lucas admired his loyalty. Although he was just ackey, he had a greater backbone and more loyalty than many others. Lucas smiled. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m just joking. I don¡¯t want to hit you, let alone kill you. I¡¯m your boss¡¯s friend. Tell him that Lucas Gray is here.¡± Then he ignored the blond-haired young man and the surrounding crowd and walked straight into the club. The young man thought about it but decided not to stop Lucas. He immediately called his boss. ¡°Tyler, there¡¯s a man named Lucas Gray who ims to be your friend here. He¡¯s already entered the club!¡± While they were speaking, Lucas and Jordan had already entered the club and saw the staggering luxuriousness. The club was indeed worthy of being a famous entertainment joint in DC. Its level of luxury was far beyond Little Antis City¡¯s. ¡°Lucas, you sound like you¡¯re friends with the boss of this club. Do you know him?¡± Jordan asked curiously. Lucas nodded casually. ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s actually not appropriate to call him a friend. He¡¯s my cousin.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Jordan was astonished. If the owner of the club was Lucas¡¯s cousin, wouldn¡¯t it mean that he was a Hutton too? Realizing the reason for Jordan¡¯s shock, Lucas sighed and said, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s a Hutton, and just like me, he¡¯s an illegitimate child. His father is the brother of that man!¡± Jordan¡¯s expression became extremelyplicated. The person Lucas was referring to was naturally his biological father, Michael, the current helmsman of the Huttons. He didn¡¯t expect Michael¡¯s brother to have an illegitimate son as well. Was it the Huttons¡¯ tradition? Or was itmon for such corny things to happen among wealthy families? Jordan was suddenly at a loss for words. At this moment, surprisedughter came toward them. ¡°Lucas Gray! You¡¯re actually here! It¡¯s been years since we¡¯ve met!¡± Chapter 893 - Underground Boxing Ring

Chapter 893: Underground Boxing Ring

The person who came was a man in his thirties. He was extremely handsome and wearing a dark green floral shirt. His hair was long and tied back into a braid. With a cigarette in his mouth, he looked like a roguish yboy. The person was Roman Everett, Lucas¡¯s cousin. He was the one who had named World Entertainment City. Like Lucas, he didn¡¯t have Hutton as hisst name and had taken his mother¡¯sst name. Although Roman seemednguid and sloven, Lucas knew that his cousin was only so on the surface. ¡°It¡¯s been almost twenty years since we¡¯vest met. You managed to recognize me at a nce?¡± Lucas smiled with raised brows. Roman walked over and put his hand on Lucas¡¯s shoulder very naturally. While pulling him into the club, he said, ¡°Hey, although you¡¯ve grown up, your facial features still look the same. You¡¯re still as handsome as before! ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve been gifted since I was a child, and I¡¯m the best at recognizing faces. Even in another twenty years, I¡¯ll still be able to recognize you at a nce! ¡°Also, didn¡¯t you already tell my staff that you were here? Of course, I¡¯d recognize you.¡± Although it had been many years since theyst met, Roman was still as enthusiastic as ever. As soon as he spoke, Lucas felt like there was no distance between them. Lucas smiled without exposing Roman. Roman seemed extremely warm and enthusiastic, but Lucas knew that he was the best at pretending and concealing. He might have imed to recognize Lucas because he was gifted and that Lucas looked about the same as he did when he was a child. But Lucas knew that when the Huttons started paying attention to him, Roman had already started sending people to pay attention to Lucas¡¯s situation as well. In fact, Lucas had a really good rtionship with Roman when they were kids. Back then, in the Hutton residence, although there were a lot of kids around the same age, Lucas didn¡¯t know the others well. He was only close to Roman. Roman was only two years older than Lucas, and since they were both illegitimate children, they were in the same plight in the Hutton family and sympathized with each other. But when Lucas was seven, Roman¡¯s father allegedly gave his mother a sum of money and got her to move out of the Hutton residence with Roman. Although they would be separated from the Huttons, they would have a stable life. But Lucas and his mother weren¡¯t as lucky. They had long been kicked out by the Huttons and driven away from DC. Even the Stardust Corporation, which Lucas¡¯s mother had founded, was taken over by the Huttons, leaving the two of them with no choice but to end up stranded in Orange County. In the end, Lucas¡¯s mother became ill from overwork and passed away. The thought of the past events made a deeply hidden hatred sh in Lucas¡¯s eyes. ¡°Lucas, quickly take a look at my club. Not too bad, right?¡± Roman was now like a tour guide as he showed Lucas around the first floor of the club, followed by the next few floors. Eventually, they reached the top floor. World Entertainment City was truly upscale. There were numerous entertainment facilities, and there were also some secret activities specifically used for receiving some important and wealthy customers. After praising him, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°But there¡¯s something else that¡¯s exciting. Why didn¡¯t you bring me to take a look?¡± Roman was stunned for a moment, and then heughed out loud. ¡°Punk, how did you find out? Seems like I can¡¯t hide it from you!¡± Lucas smiled without answering Roman¡¯s question. In fact, since half a year ago, he had been working on the matter of dealing with the Huttons. Although it was still too early to act at the time, Lucas had already sent people to DC to investigate all the matters of the Huttons. Since then, Lucas learned about some of the things that his cousin Roman had secretly done. For example, there was actually a boxing ring on the top floor, which was called the Sky Arena. In this arena, Roman had also secretly trained many experts under the pretext of training boxers. The Huttons probably didn¡¯t know just how many experts Roman had. Generally, people only knew that there was a ce for underground boxing called the Sky Arena in World Entertainment City. They thought it was just a ce to simply bet on illegal boxing. ¡°Okay, since you know all about it, how about I take you around?¡± Since Lucas already pointed it out, Roman didn¡¯t hide it and put his arm around Lucas¡¯s shoulder with a smile. Lucas naturally nodded happily. ¡°Yes, I¡¯d like to learn more.¡± Romanughed. Without further ado, he took Lucas and Jordan into an extremely secretive elevator and headed all the way up to the top floor of World Entertainment City. As soon as they walked in, they heard deafening cheers from inside. There was clearly an exciting boxing match taking ce. The top floor was veryrge with a massive open space. There was a circr ring with guardrails around it in the middle. It was naturally where the boxerspeted. The ring was surrounded byyers ofddered seats in ascending height. It was the audience¡¯s viewing area. At the moment, there were two boxers in the ring. It was the arena for underground boxing. As the name implied, there were no rules, no protection, no stoppage, and no surrendering. The two sides participating in the match had to fight until one of them died in order to distinguish the winner from the loser. The scene was extremely bloody and cruel. The loser would naturally lose his life, while the winner would receive a hefty reward. Of course, there were all kinds of bets. Before the start of each match, anyone could bet on which of the two boxers in the ring would win. The stakes for these bets were naturally high. Thus, although the underground boxing ring was extremely gory, there were countless people here for the sensory stimtion and to satisfy their gamblers¡¯ psychology. Almost every boxing match was full of spectators constantly cheering. At this moment, the two boxers on the stage were fighting intensely. Almost every punch drew blood, immediately causing the audience to howl like monsters. Although Lucas had already been through situations much more brutal and bloody than this on the battlefield, he wasn¡¯t a fan of underground boxing for pleasure. He merely looked twice at the center of the ring before shifting his gaze away. Roman looked at Lucas¡¯s face, exhaled a smoke ring from his mouth, and suddenly asked, ¡°Lucas, after so many years, you suddenly came to me, so it definitely isn¡¯t as simple as catching up with me.¡± Chapter 894 - My Intention

Chapter 894: My Intention

Lucas didn¡¯t hide it from him. He nodded straightforwardly. ¡°Tsk, I knew you must havee here for a reason! So much for thinking that my childhood friend came to see me.¡± Roman showed a disappointed expression and then shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s go talk in my office then.¡± Soon, the two of them arrived in Roman¡¯s office. The office wasrge, and the furnishings were naturally luxurious. On the other side of this office, Lucas could even detect more than ten extremely powerful auras. They probably belonged to some of the experts that Roman had trained. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s talk. Why did you speciallye find me?¡± Roman sat down on the couch in a rxed manner and gestured for Lucas to take a seat. Lucas went straight to the point and exined his purpose. ¡°A fool from the Huttons provoked me because he thinks I want to snatch away what he cares about the most. ¡°Although I¡¯m not interested in what he cares about, I will be happy if I can make him unhappy. ¡°I came to see you with the intention of giving you the position he cares about the most. ¡°So, I¡¯d like to know if you¡¯re interested in bing the sessor of the helmsman?¡± Lucas was extremely straightforward. After hearing the reason for Lucas¡¯s visit, Roman was no longer rxed. His body stiffened, and shock appeared in his eyes. Although he quickly covered it up, this naturally couldn¡¯t escape the eyes of Lucas, who had been watching him closely. ¡°Hah, Lucas, are you joking? Did youe here to make fun of me?¡± Roman exhaled the smoke in his mouth and smiled. ¡°On ount of our friendship from many years ago, I¡¯ll take it that I didn¡¯t hear what you just said. Don¡¯t crack the same joke in front of me again.¡± Roman¡¯s reaction waspletely within Lucas¡¯s expectations. Lucas didn¡¯t believe that he didn¡¯t have any interest or ambition in being the helmsman of the Huttons. But this person was extremely good at pretending. If he admitted it so soon, Lucas would be surprised instead. ¡°Roman, if you really don¡¯t want that position, I¡¯m afraid you wouldn¡¯t have secretly trained so many experts over the years, right?¡± Lucas said calmly. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Roman¡¯s expression immediately changed, and even the deliberatenguid look on his face vanished. The fact that he had been secretly training experts for many years was known only to him and a few of his closest assistants. He had never told any outsiders about it, and he had arranged most of the experts he secretly controlled in extremely secretive ces. So, how did Lucas know about it? ¡°What nonsense are you saying? Hmph, what experts? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying. ¡°If you¡¯re referring to those boxers upstairs, I¡¯m naturally training them to work for me! ¡°As for the other stuff you said, I¡¯m not interested at all. I don¡¯t know anything about it, nor am I interested in knowing! ¡°If you¡¯re here to catch up with me today, I¡¯ll dly wee you. But if you¡¯re here to say such weird things to me or you¡¯re trying to test me for someone, give up on those ideas quickly!¡± Roman¡¯s face was extremely gloomy at this moment, and he was desperately trying to draw a line between himself and the matter Lucas mentioned. He was even close to chasing Lucas away. But the angrier he was, the more it showed that he cared about a certain thing in his heart. Lucas came to Roman today specifically for this matter, so how could he give up so easily? Of course, he also understood why Roman was wary of him. After all, Roman had always been a secretive and vignt person. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been secretly developing his own forces for so many years without attracting the attention of the Huttons. For someone as overly cautious as Roman, it is almost impossible to get him to admit anything of his own ord. Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. ¡°Okay, since you refuse to admit it, I¡¯ll call the Huttons right now and tell them that there are many experts in your office on the top floor of World Entertainment City. I¡¯ll tell them to confirm if they¡¯re boxers or another type of expert!¡± He pulled out his phone and pretended to make a call. ¡°Damn it! What do you want to do?¡± Roman could no longer maintain the expression on his face. He sprung up from the couch and roared at Lucas furiously, ¡°Do you have a f*cking death wish? Do you believe that I¡¯ll kill you right now if you dare to call the Huttons?¡± Lucas tossed his phone onto the couch and showed a wicked smile that made Roman grit his teeth. ¡°If you really didn¡¯t do anything, why would you be afraid of the Huttons finding out?¡± ¡°You bastard! You¡¯re as much of an asshole as you were when you were a kid!¡± Roman was exasperated, but there was nothing he could do to Lucas. All he could do was kick the couch angrily and curse. ¡°What the hell are you trying to do?¡± To be honest, Roman didn¡¯t believe that Lucas would really tell the Huttons his secret. But the feeling of the secret he had been hiding for so long suddenly being exposed made Roman, who was used to being secretive, very ufortable. He was momentarily confused, and he felt like he had suddenly lost a sense of security, making him very agitated. ¡°I just said it. I want you to rece that idiot Jace and be the future helmsman of the Huttons! Now, do you hear me clearly?¡± Lucas repeated what he said earlier. ¡°Hah, you want me to be the helmsman of the Huttons? Lucas, surely you haven¡¯t forgotten my identity, have you? Or are you trying to take me for a fool?¡± Roman sneered, feeling that Lucas was spouting nonsense. Of course he wanted to be Huttons¡¯ helmsman, and he had also secretly done many things with this goal in mind. But he wasn¡¯t finished preparing yet. With his status as an illegitimate son expelled from the Huttons for years, it was obviously a tall order for him to seize the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor and take over as helmsman in the future. ¡°Since I¡¯m here to see you, I¡¯m naturally being serious about it. I might as well tell you honestly. I know exactly how much power you have now. ¡°If you don¡¯t agree to my request, I¡¯ll have no choice but to tell the Huttons everything I know about you!¡± Lucas smiled. Chapter 895 Chapter 895: Showing His Power ¡°Lucas Gray!¡± Roman gritted his teeth and stared at Lucas. ¡°You bastard! What are you trying to do? Why did you look for me?!¡± Lucas sighed and said helplessly, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m serious about helping you. Why do you keep thinking I have ulterior motives? ¡°I just said that it¡¯s because that fool Jace made me displeased. So I want to rob him of what he cares about the most, the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor, to take revenge on him. Isn¡¯t this a good reason? But Roman didn¡¯t believe what Lucas said at all. ¡°Hmph, in that case, if you really can snatch the position of sessor, you can do it on your own. Why did youe to me? Are you trying to drag me down and make me work for you?¡± At the end of the day, Roman didn¡¯t believe that Lucas had that kind of power, nor did he believe that Lucas would help him be the sessor of the Huttons. In fact, when they had a good rtionship with each other, it was over two decades ago. The two of them had grown and experienced so much in thest two decades. The close rtionship they had when they were kids had long grown distant, so how much trust could they have between them now? Lucas looked at Roman and said seriously, ¡°Do you still remember how my mother and I were driven out of the family and DC by the Huttons? From that day on, I swore in my heart that in this life, I would never forgive the Huttons and that I¡¯d definitely get back everything that they owe us!¡± Roman frowned. Although he didn¡¯t see Lucas and his mother getting kicked out, the matter had blown up and caused a stir in DC. Moreover, Roman had a simr life experience as him, so he naturally knew about it. Lucas said earnestly, ¡°I can honestly tell you that it¡¯d be a piece of cake for me to get the Huttons now. Even if I want to destroy the Huttons, I can do it! ... ¡°But before my mother passed away from a severe illness more than six years ago, she made me swear not to destroy the Huttons. If not for my mother¡¯spassion toward them, I would have long gotten rid of them! ¡°Although I can spare the Huttons and allow them to continue existing, I don¡¯t want to see that despicable viin Jace Hutton continue being the sessor. I won¡¯t return to the Huttons either. That¡¯s why I want to give you this position.¡± Roman had grown up in all sorts of situations, and he had enough experience to tell that Lucas was indeed speaking the truth. But believing Lucas¡¯s intentions and goals didn¡¯t mean that he believed Lucas¡¯s abilities too. In fact, Lucas had previously guessed correctly. Roman had indeed already sent someone to find out about Lucas¡¯s situation when he first returned to Orange County. But very few people in Orange County knew about Lucas¡¯s true power, let alone Roman who was far away in DC. ... ording to the intelligence report that Roman had received about Lucas, Lucas wasn¡¯t powerful enough to annihte the Huttons. Thus, Roman couldn¡¯t trust Lucas or agree to his requests. ¡°Lucas, I understand your thoughts. But likewise, I hope you can understand me. It has been very difficult for me to get to where I am now with the Huttons watching me. But if Ipete for the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor now, I have no chance of winning at all. I will only end up dying miserably! ¡°Given how close we were when we were kids, I doubt you¡¯d want to see me end up like that either, right? Instead of helping me, you¡¯re harming me. Do you know that? ¡°I don¡¯t want to care about what kind of hatred there is between you and Jace. You two can fight all you want, but I hope that you won¡¯t drag me in. I don¡¯t want to die yet. ¡°So, I can only apologize and turn down your n.¡± Roman was very realistic, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to reject Lucas in order not to get implicated. Lucas said seriously, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about if I have any ulterior motives toward you or if I want to use you. I came to you because I have the ability and also because you happen to have the ambition. Our goals just happen to be the same. That¡¯s all.¡± Roman smiled wryly. ¡°Lucas, do you really want me to make things clear? If you really have the ability to overthrow the Huttons or take over the position of helmsman, prove it to me. Or at least, you have to let me know exactly what kind of power you have in DC. ¡°Otherwise, I will be putting my life on the line for an uncertain gamble. I won¡¯t step into this!¡± Lucas understood that Roman was unsure of how much power he had, so he didn¡¯t dare to agree easily. But it was actually very simple to prove his power. ¡°Okay, wait.¡± Then Lucas grabbed his phone, made a call, and put it on speakerphone. Soon, a vigorous voice came from the other end. ¡°Mr. Gray, is something wrong? It¡¯s already sote.¡± Lucas said straight away, ¡°Mr. Smith, I¡¯d like to create some trouble for the Huttons, and I need your cooperation.¡± Tyson was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, ¡°Okay, Mr. Gray, no problem! Since the Smiths have submitted to you, we will naturally follow your orders! Please tell me when and how much trouble you want to cause them. We will definitely follow your instructions!¡± Tyson sounded extremely respectful. Ever since Lucas dealt with Thomas and Vince, Tyson¡¯s two greatest troubles, Tyson hadpletely unified the entire family. Afterward, Lucas even released Charlie, the steward Tyson relied on, and asked Maddy to treat his son. Tyson was now convinced andpletely deferential to Lucas, so he naturally obeyed all hismands. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll tell you the exact time and scale of the operationter. Start preparing now,¡± Lucas ordered indifferently. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray! I¡¯ll have the steward make the arrangements immediately!¡± Tyson instantly agreed. After hanging up the phone, Lucas looked at Roman, who was extremely shocked. He smiled and asked, ¡°Can you tell who this man is?¡± ¡°Tyson Smith, the helmsman of the Smiths!¡± Roman blurted. Tyson was the head of the Smiths, one of the eight top families in DC. How could Roman not recognize his voice? But because he heard Tyson¡¯s voice and the entire conversation between the two, Roman found it even more unbelievable. When they were on the phone just now, Tyson actually said that the Smiths were now loyal to Lucas and would follow his orders at any time. Tyson¡¯s tone was extremely respectful and obedient. It was hard to imagine! I-Is this the power Lucas currently possesses? Chapter 896 Chapter 896: Happy Cooperation Seeing the dumbfounded look on Roman¡¯s face, Lucas smiled without saying anything and made another call. ¡°Mrs. Howard, there¡¯s something that I need your help with,¡± Lucas said directly. The Mrs. Howard he was talking to was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, Florence. Previously in Orange County, Florence had alreadye to an agreement with Lucas that they would cooperate in some aspects. Since it was cooperation, there was naturallymunication between the two sides. Now that Lucas intended to attack the Hutton and disy the power he possessed in DC, he naturally wouldn¡¯t forget about the Howards. ¡°What do you need me to do?¡± Florence asked straightforwardly without saying any nonsense. ¡°I need you to create a little trouble for the Huttons and force them to do something for me. Regarding the specific time and scale, I¡¯ll contact you about it another time. Okay?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Florence didn¡¯t ask Lucas why he wanted to do it and agreed immediately. After hanging up, Lucas looked at Roman and smiled. ¡°Do you still need me to prove my abilities andwork now?¡± ... Only then did Roman snap out of his shock and look at Lucas like he was looking at a monster. The calls Lucas made left him astonished. One was the head of the Smiths, one of the eight most powerful families in DC. He actually directly submitted to Lucas¡¯smand! The other was to Florence Howard, who was from one of the top eight families in DC. Although Roman still didn¡¯t know who Florence was, he could tell that she held great power in the Howard family by how she agreed to Lucas¡¯s request without hesitation. Two of the eight top families in DC had already be Lucas¡¯s connections. It was shocking. ... At this moment, Roman couldn¡¯t help showing a bitter smile. ¡°Punk, when did you have such great energy? Since you¡¯ve already shown me your power, wouldn¡¯t it be too ignorant of me if I still don¡¯t agree?¡± A hint of excitement appeared on his face. Now that Lucas already had such a massive amount of power and Roman was going to help him, they were indeed powerful enough to make an impact on the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor. ¡°Haha!¡± Lucasughed out loud and stretched out his hand. ¡°In that case, we¡¯ve reached an intent to cooperate! I¡¯m looking forward to seeing the day you be the head of the Huttons!¡± ¡°Haha, thank you for your blessings. I hope we have a happy cooperation!¡± Roman extended his hand and gave Lucas a tight handshake. The pair of cousins, who hadn¡¯t seen each other for many years, nced at each other and revealed satisfied smiles. ... After Lucas left, Roman stayed alone in his office. Although Lucas didn¡¯t tell him that he needed to do something, Roman had been preparing for such a long time, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t sit back and do nothing. Soon, a man in ck tights silently arrived in Roman¡¯s office like an agile ck cat. Roman opened his eyes and said with a cold face, ¡°You¡¯ve been following me for a long time, and now it¡¯s time for you to do something. Go pick out a few of your best subordinates and help me to kill two people!¡± The man in ck asked calmly, ¡°Who?¡± Roman gritted his teeth, ¡°Enzo Hutton and Joanna Moore!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the man in ck immediately acknowledged without a moment of hesitation and left. Roman stood alone in the empty office and suddenly grinned before chuckling coldly, his voice full of hatred. He would never forget Enzo Hutton and Joanna Moore. Just 21 years ago, Roman was only nine then. It was the year he and his mother were driven out of the Huttons. They were both terrified and had nowhere to go, so they could only stay in a small, dpidated house on the outskirts of the city. That night, an assassin suddenly arrived at their ce to kill them. At the time, his feeble and thin mother used her body to stop the killer with all her might and desperately told him to run as far as he could. Later, he escaped sessfully, but his mother died in that dpidated old house. Afterward, Roman found out that Joanna Moore had sent this assassin to kill them that night. Joanna was the legitimate wife of Roman¡¯s biological father. Enzo was their son. On that night, Roman and his mother had been driven out of the Huttons at the strong request of Joanna, but she was still uneasy about them. She was afraid that Roman would return to the Huttons one day andpete with her son for the inheritance rights. So she didn¡¯t stop at that and even wanted to kill Roman to eliminate the root of the problem. But Roman¡¯s mother used her own life to save his life. Finally, Roman¡¯s father, Collin, appeared to stop Joanna¡¯s continued pursuit, thus suppressing the matter. Later, perhaps because of the guilt within him, Collin gave Roman an entertainment club as a means of livelihood in order to make it up to him. He then gradually developed it into the World Entertainment City. Over the years, Roman had been secretly umting power in hopes that he could kill Joanna and Enzo to avenge his mother one day. Although Roman had already gathered many experts, he had been holding back out of fear that the Huttons would find out after he killed Joanna and Enzo. He didn¡¯t have enough power to deal with the entire Hutton family. But things were different now. With Lucas¡¯s help, he no longer had to be afraid of the Huttons! In addition, there were the two phone calls Lucas made to get help from the Smiths and the Howards. With these two families attacking the Huttons, it would definitely result in great trouble for them. At that time, the Huttons would be too busy dealing with these troublesome matters and wouldn¡¯t have the time to investigate the deaths of Joanna and Enzo. Once these two people were dead, his chances ofpeting to be the sessor of the Huttons would increase greatly. Now was the best time and opportunity! Chapter 897 - The Huttons In Chaos

Chapter 897: The Huttons In Chaos

After Lucas and Jordan left World Entertainment City, they drove back to the hotel. Jordan suddenly asked worriedly, ¡°Lucas, is Roman reliable? He won¡¯t betray us?¡± Lucas smiled and said indifferently, ¡°He¡¯s not foolish. Besides, even if he really betrays us and informs the Huttons, what¡¯s the big deal?¡± Given Lucas¡¯s current status and identity, even if the Huttons found out that he hated them, there was nothing they could do to him. Not to mention that the Huttons were only one of the eight top families in DC, even royal families wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to Lucas! Realizing that he had asked a stupid question, Jordan shrugged andughed awkwardly. ¡­ ¡­ After washing up, Lucas made a video call to Cheyenne and Amelia, who were in Orange County. As Lucas looked at his gentle and beautiful wife and adorable and bubbly daughter on his phone screen, his heart softened. ¡°Lucas, are you doing fine in DC? How are things going?¡± Cheyenne asked with concern. During thest two days that Lucas wasn¡¯t around, she had been feeling empty, as if something was missing. She knew that it was the feeling of missing him. Lucas smiled warmly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m almost done handling my matters here. I¡¯ll be heading home in a few days!¡± The family of three chatted for a long time before ending the video call. ... The following morning, a shocking piece of news was unanimously reported by various media outlets. Joanna Moore and Enzo Hutton, the wife and son of Collin Hutton, the brother of the Huttons¡¯ helmsman, had been assassinated overnight! A trace of surprise appeared on Lucas¡¯s face when he saw the news. Lucas was extremely clear about who had killed these two people. After all, Lucas had also investigated what had happened to Roman and his mother back then. Joanna had sent a hitman to get rid of Roman and his mother so that she could secure her son¡¯s position as the sessor. In the end, Roman¡¯s mother died to save him. It was already tough for Roman to endure this deep hatred until this day. Now that he had finally found an opportunity, how could he possibly let it go? Moreover, Enzo¡¯s death increased Roman¡¯s chances of bing the sessor. Roman¡¯s father had only one legitimate son, Enzo, and his illegitimate son, Roman, had been kicked out by the Huttons a long time ago. Now that Enzo was dead, Roman was Collin¡¯s only remaining son. Be it for the sake of carrying on his bloodline or his fortune needing an heir, Collin had no choice but to bring Roman back to the Huttons. ¡°Roman, it seems you had a n long ago! In that case, I¡¯ll give you another hand!¡± Lucas smiled. Soon, another piece of shocking news appeared on various major media outlets. ¡°Jace Hutton had his cousin Enzo Hutton assassinated to protect his status as the sessor of the Huttons!¡± As soon as this news broke, it immediately caused an uproar on the various online media tforms and stirred up public opinion. There was an upheaval in DC. Of course, it was done by Lucas. At the same time, he had also informed the Smiths and the Howards to start attacking the Huttons. Of course, just the Smiths and the Howards alone, who were almost equal to the Huttons, couldn¡¯t deal a huge blow to the Huttons quickly. What Lucas needed at the moment was speed, so he also arranged for a portion of his manpower to attack. These forces simultaneously began to attack the Huttons¡¯ properties that Jace controlled. Furthermore, Jace was already deeply involved in the murder of Enzo, so he was simply overwrought! The Huttons were now in chaos. In arge conference room in the Hutton residence in DC¡­ At this moment, there were many direct descendants of the Huttons in therge conference room that could fit nearly a hundred people. There was a middle-aged man sitting in the master seat of the conference table. He had a gaunt face and seemed sickly. He was Michael, the helmsman of the Huttons. Next to Michael was also a middle-aged man of simr age and appearance to him. It was his brother Collin. Sitting on the other side was a thirty-year-old young man. He was Jace, Michael¡¯s son, Lucas¡¯s half-brother, and the current sessor of the Huttons. But Jace looked extremely sullen. The atmosphere in the conference room was exceptionally depressing. Although there were many people, few dared to speak, and they were all glum. ¡°Everyone,¡± Michael slowly said. ¡°I asked everyone toe here today for an important matter that we need to discuss.¡± Everyone in the conference room turned to look at him. ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone has gotten the news by now. The Smiths¡¯ and the Howards¡¯ attack on our various businesses has caused a huge impact. ¡°ording to the preliminary news reported by the finance department, we have suffered losses of hundreds of millions within just one day! ¡°And if we let this continue, I¡¯m afraid our losses will increase even further! ¡°So, I asked everyone toe over to discuss how we should deal with this matter!¡± Michael nced at the family seriously. Suddenly, Collin sneered and said hostilely, ¡°Michael, there are still some things that you haven¡¯t mentioned yet. Do you not want to bring it up, or are you too afraid to do so?¡± Michael frowned immediately. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Collin snorted coldly and stared at Jace sitting nearby. ¡°Jace Hutton! Let me ask you. You¡¯re in charge of all the businesses the Smiths and the Howards are targeting, right?¡± Surprise appeared on the faces of the Huttons in the conference room. Indeed, almost without exception, all the family businesses facing a crisis were the ones Jace had taken over. But Jace was Michael¡¯s son after all, and he was also the sessor of the family. So although many people were well aware of it, no one dared to raise this matter. But they didn¡¯t expect Collin to be the first to say it. Moreover, his tone was extremely hostile, and it seemed that he was targeting Jace! Recalling the other news on the media tforms, almost all the Huttons seemed to understand the reason for Collin¡¯s sudden outburst at Jace. Chapter 898 - How To Explain

Chapter 898: How To Exin

There were very few conflicts among the Huttons now. Although Collin was Michael¡¯s older brother, he wasn¡¯t outstanding in terms of talent or ambition, so when their father passed the position of helmsman to his younger brother, Collin didn¡¯t have any objections. Moreover, Collin had always been low profile over the years, and he wasn¡¯t too interested in power struggles. This was why Michael could remain stable in his position as helmsman and take control of almost all the power of the Huttons. But now that Collin¡¯s wife and son had been assassinated overnight, and the public was saying that Jace was the culprit, even the most low-key person wouldn¡¯t be able to bear with it any longer. Hearing Collin¡¯s usation, Jace immediately stood up and retorted in exasperation, ¡°Uncle Collin, aren¡¯t you going overboard by saying that about me? ¡°I admit that I am indeed in charge of all the businesses under attack, but it¡¯s obvious that it¡¯s a conspiracy targeting me! I believe that someone as smart as you should be able to see this, right? ¡°I¡¯m still young, and I may not be good at some things, but it¡¯s not the right time to hold me ountable now!¡± ¡°We¡¯re currently facing a huge crisis, and if we still can¡¯t find a way to solve the problem first, the entire Hutton family will be in danger! ¡°So, Uncle Collin, even if you want to me me, please wait until after we¡¯ve resolved this crisis, okay?¡± Jace was the sessor of the Huttons and the person in charge of all the industries in trouble. Now that Collin used him in front of everyone, if he couldn¡¯te forward to face it, he wouldn¡¯t have any prestige in the Hutton family anymore. It had to be said that what Jace said was quite good. Not only did he exin that the huge losses of the family weren¡¯t due to his poor management but because of people targeting him, but he even tried to get Collin to put aside the other matters first and resolve the external threats before dealing with anything else. Michael nodded in approval. ¡°Jace is right. This time, it¡¯s obviously a conspiracy against the Huttons and Jace. Therefore, I agree with Jace¡¯s opinion that we should first unite to deal with the enemies and that we shouldn¡¯t start any internal strife at this time. We would be creating more opportunities for the enemies instead. ¡°I¡¯ll make some arrangements first¡ª¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Collin couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He stood up and said angrily, ¡°Stop trying to take the moral high ground! If some things aren¡¯t resolved first, I couldn¡¯t care less about this mess! ¡°As you all know, my wife and son both diedst night! There are rumors that Jace is the culprit! ¡°You must give me a reasonable exnation for this! Otherwise, even if there¡¯s a flood outside and the Huttons get wiped out, I will still avenge them!¡± Collin¡¯s eyes were red as he red at Jace, his anger almost gushing out from his body. The Huttons in the conference room were stunned. None of them expected Collin, who had always kept a low profile and didn¡¯t speak much, to lose his temper. ¡°Collin!¡± Michael shouted. ¡°I will definitely make Jace give you an exnation for this matter! But we¡¯re holding this family meeting to discuss a serious matter. Let¡¯s deal with the problem at hand before we exin it to you, alright?¡± Collin mmed the table and sneered. ¡°Fine, the family being under attack and suffering some losses is a serious matter for you, but my wife and son being killed overnight is just a trivial matter, huh? ¡°Michael, do you think I¡¯m a pushover just because I¡¯ve never fought with you? ¡°Now, all the evidence and public opinion are pointing at your son, yet you haven¡¯t said a single thing about it. Do you even still treat me as your brother and a Hutton? ¡°In short, if you can¡¯t give me an exnation today, I will never let it go!¡± Collin roared angrily, his eyespletely bloodshot. Michael closed his eyes and tried to suppress the anger in his heart. He tried to pacify his brother in the best way he could. ¡°Collin, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t care, and it¡¯s not that the deaths of your wife and son aren¡¯t important. But we have to get our priorities straight! ¡°The Huttons are now facing a major crisis. The Smiths and the Howards are attacking us at the same time. If we can¡¯t resolve this matter as soon as possible, the Huttons will be in great danger. We might even be destroyed! ¡°We¡¯re all in the same boat. If the Huttons are annihted, none of us will end up well! ¡°We¡¯re extremely sympathetic about your wife and son, but since this matter has already happened, all we can do now is to thoroughly investigate this matter and find out who the murderer is to avenge Joanna and Enzo! ¡°Collin, I can assure you that after we resolve this crisis, I will definitely give you an exnation. Regardless of who the murderer is, I won¡¯t let them off! If someone in the family is the culprit, I won¡¯t be biased! Please rest assured, Collin!¡± Michael said very seriously. Although he could empathize with Collin for the loss of his son and his wife overnight, he was still the helmsman of the Huttons after all. The Huttons were now facing a huge crisis, and they could possibly be devoured by the Smiths and the Howards. To put it bluntly, Joanna and Enzo were already dead, so it didn¡¯t matter if they were avenged a few dayster. The most important thing now was to resolve the Huttons¡¯ crisis! ¡°No! You must give me an exnation right now. Otherwise, you can forget about continuing with the meeting!¡± Collin said firmly. ¡°You!¡± Michael was infuriated. But Collin was his elder brother, so there was no way he could really get people to drag Collin away. ¡°Okay, what kind of exnation do you want?¡± Michael asked through clenched teeth. Collin nced at Jace. ¡°I want you to remove Jace as the sessor and rece him!¡± Chapter 899 - New Successor

Chapter 899: New Sessor

As soon Collin¡¯s words came out, everyone in the conference room was taken aback! No one expected that he would ask to rece the family¡¯s sessor at this time. Jace, who was asked to be removed as sessor, stood up with an icy expression and glowered at Collin. ¡°Uncle Collin! The Huttons are facing a crisis right now, yet you¡¯re thinking of removing me as the sessor. Isn¡¯t your request too out of line? Are you that eager to take away my position?¡± Collin snorted coldly but didn¡¯t deny it. ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s not mention that you¡¯re suspected of killing my wife and son. You just said that the Huttons are facing a crisis, right? The reason we¡¯re suddenly facing a crisis is because someone is targeting you. This is the trouble you¡¯ve caused. ¡°In that case, what¡¯s wrong with my request to remove you as the sessor?¡± Collin argued with reason. Jace flew into a rage. ¡°Uncle Collin! I still respect you and address you as my uncle, but is there something wrong with your brain? The fact that I¡¯m being targeted means I¡¯m a victim! Who are you to ask to remove me as the sessor? Think about it carefully!¡± He spoke to Collin rudely because of his anger. ¡°Enough! Jace, shut up!¡± Michael roared, interrupting Jace. He looked straight at his brother and suddenly said, ¡°Okay, I agree to your request to remove Jace as sessor!¡± As soon as he said this, all the Huttons in the conference room were dumbstruck. Even Collin was stunned. Indeed, he wanted to force Michael to remove Jace as sessor, but he didn¡¯t expect him to agree so easily. Jace was stunned for a few seconds before snapping back to his senses and hollering in fury, ¡°Dad! What are you saying? Why do you want to remove me from my position? I didn¡¯t do anything wrong! ¡°You all know that these attacks on the Huttons are obviously a conspiracy targeting me. Maybe their purpose is to remove me from my position as the sessor! In that case, do you want us, your family, to feel disappointed while outsiders get what they want? ¡°Okay, I¡¯m being targeted, but you want to punish me. What happens if it¡¯s another member of the family getting targeted next time? Are you going to punish that person for bringing trouble to the family? ¡°What if their next target is my father, the helmsman? Will you be forced to step down too?¡± Jace was extremely indignant as he shouted a lot of things in anger. ¡°I told you to shut up!¡± Michael smacked the table. ¡°¡­¡± Jace felt extremely aggrieved and indignant. But seeing his father lose his temper, he realized that if he talked back to him in front of so many family members, his father would probably be even angrier and might get the bodyguards to take him away. When the time came, he would be in an even more passive position. So no matter how unwilling he was, he could only grit his teeth and keep his mouth shut. Michael took a deep breath, looked at Collin, and said calmly, ¡°Okay, now that Jace has been removed as sessor, it¡¯s time for us to start discussing how to resolve the family¡¯s crisis.¡± ¡°Not yet! Although Jace has been removed from his position, he can be reinstated at any time. So we must appoint a new sessor!¡± Collin said firmly. After all, Michael was the current helmsman of the family and Jace¡¯s father. Just removing Jace from his position wasn¡¯t enough. Collin wanted to decide on the new sessor immediately. Michael clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and asked with a frown, ¡°Who do you think should be the new sessor?¡± Collin suddenly smiled. ¡°Come in!¡± The door of the conference room was pushed open from outside, and a smartly-dressed young man appeared at the door. It was Roman, Collin¡¯s illegitimate son! But Roman no longer looked like a slovenly yboy. His hair, which was originally long enough to tie a braid, was now short and neat, making him look energetic. His fitting and upscale suit, coupled with the good looks he inherited from his parents, made him look just like a dashing gentleman when he appeared at the door of the conference room. ¡°Who is this person?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Is he from our family?¡± ¡°His features resemble us. But he¡¯s not a Hutton! Why did Collin ask him toe in?¡± ... Everyone in the conference room was surprised by Roman¡¯s sudden appearance. Moreover, although Roman had lived with the Huttons for a few years during his childhood, he was only a child back then. And due to his identity as an illegitimate son, he had been despised by most of the Huttons. No one had taken him seriously. Moreover, it had happened more than 20 years ago, and Roman had turned from a child to a young man in his thirties. His looks were drastically different, so no one recognized him. ¡°Hello, my dear uncles. I am Roman. It¡¯s been a while.¡± Roman politely greeted everyone in the conference room. He had not only called them uncles but also revealed his name, immediately making many people recall his identity. They couldn¡¯t suppress their shock at all. Wasn¡¯t this person Collin¡¯s illegitimate son? Wasn¡¯t he already kicked out of the Huttons and had hisst name changed? Why did he show up here? What was going on here?! Everyone looked at each other in dismay, puzzled and curious about Collin and Roman¡¯s goal. Collin called Roman to his side and said, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my other son, Roman. He¡¯s now the chairman of World Entertainment City in DC. ¡°I think that Roman is fully eligible to be the next sessor of the family!¡± Everyone else in the conference room widened their eyes in astonishment. What was he saying?! Chapter 900 - Recognizing Competence

Chapter 900: Recognizing Competence

Everyone in the room was shocked by what Collin suddenly said. Michael was no exception. He stared nkly at Roman for a while before looking at Collin and saying jokingly, ¡°Hah, Collin, I didn¡¯t expect that you actually prepared for this.¡± Collinughed and said calmly, ¡°Since I was a child, I¡¯ve almost never fought with you for anything, including the position of helmsman. I thought that since you¡¯re morepetent than me, I would let you do it. ¡°But it¡¯s not the same for the next generation! My son Roman is outstanding in all aspects, so he¡¯s definitely qualified to be the next sessor of the family!¡± Jace sneered sarcastically. ¡°Uncle Collin, you¡¯re really ridiculous. Your son was kicked out of the family a long time ago, and he¡¯s not a Hutton now. How can he be the sessor?¡± ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s my son, and he carries the blood of the Hutton family. Since I¡¯ve allowed him to return, he¡¯s naturally going to change hisst name back to Hutton!¡± Collin nced at Jace disdainfully and then said to Roman, ¡°From today onward, you will be called Roman Hutton!¡± Roman frowned. In fact, he wasn¡¯t willing to give up his mother¡¯sst name. But he knew that if he wanted to return to the Huttons and be the sessor, he had to change hisst name to Hutton. ¡°Okay.¡± Roman didn¡¯t dwell on it and simply nodded in agreement. Collin showed a satisfied look and nced at the other Huttons in the conference room. ¡°Do you have anything else to say?¡± Everyone remained silent for a moment. They slowly started digesting the sudden news. The only people qualified topete for the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor were actually the sons of Michael and Collin because they were direct descendants. Michael actually had two sons. One was Jace, and the other was an illegitimate son who had already been kicked out of the family two decades ago. It was the same for Collin. He had a legitimate son with hiswful wife and also an illegitimate son. But his legitimate son had already been killed, and the illegitimate son was Roman, who had just appeared. In other words, there were only two people now qualified topete for the position of the sessor¡ªJace and Roman. However, Jace¡¯s status as the sessor was canceled just now. But at the end of the day, Roman really did be the most suitable person to be appointed as the sessor. Jace was naturally unwilling to ept this oue. ¡°What a joke!¡± Jace sneered. ¡°He¡¯s just an illegitimate son who got kicked out over two decades ago. Now, even though Uncle Collin has picked him up again, what right does he have to be the sessor? ¡°Does he feel a sense of belonging to the Huttons? Has he made any contributions to the family? ¡°Hah, the Huttons will never let someone like him take over the family!¡± The rest of the Huttons nodded subconsciously. Indeed, Roman had almost never lived with the Huttons, so none of them knew a thing about his character and abilities. They weren¡¯t willing to have an unfamiliar young man suddenly be the future helmsman! Roman narrowed his eyes and looked at Jace with a smile. ¡°In that case, ording to you, will I be qualified to be the sessor if I contribute to the family? At that time, you will have nothing else to say, right?¡± Jace said disdainfully, ¡°Oh, do you think it¡¯s that easy to contribute to the family? If it¡¯s just a trivial matter, I won¡¯t acknowledge you!¡± Roman raised his eyebrows. ¡°You mean it takes a huge contribution to be qualified for that position? In that case, if I can help the Huttons resolve the current crisis, would it be considered a huge contribution?¡± ¡°Hah, you¡¯re really good at bragging! The crisis the Huttons are facing this time is so serious that all of the Huttons¡¯ core members have been called here for a meeting. Do you think you can resolve it alone? You¡¯re really overestimating yourself!¡± Jace snorted coldly and mocked with contempt. ¡°What if I really can resolve it?¡± A peculiar smile appeared in Roman¡¯s eyes, and he seemed not to mind the mockery at all. Jace suddenly smacked the table. ¡°Hmph! If you can do it, I¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re qualified to be the sessor!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll admit it?¡± Roman nced at him indifferently and said with contempt, ¡°You¡¯re just a piece of garbage, and your acknowledgment means nothing to me!¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± What he said immediately angered Jace, who was already on the verge of losing his temper. He rolled up his sleeves. ¡°Damn it! Do you want to die, you bastard? I¡¯ll fulfill your death wish!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do to me, you weakling!¡± Roman said aggressively without any fear. Seeing that the two of them were arguing in front of everyone and were about to get into a physical fight, Michael snapped, ¡°All of you, shut up!¡± There was a sudden silence in the spacious conference room. Michael nced at Collin and said unhappily, ¡°Collin, don¡¯t you think your son is too arrogant even though he¡¯s just returned? The Smiths and the Howards are currently joining forces to deal with us. They have caused such a huge impact on our family. Is this something he can resolve alone? ¡°What nonsense!¡± Collin¡¯s face was a little unsightly too. He also thought that what Roman just said to Jace was indeed a bit ignorant. Even the Huttons had to gather all the manpower to discuss how to resolve this matter. How could Roman deal with it alone? If he didn¡¯t do a good job, wouldn¡¯t he be letting Jace and the others have something to use against him? While Collin was thinking about how to get the Huttons to recognize Roman¡¯s eligibility to be the sessor, Roman suddenly asked, ¡°What? Do you all think that I was just bragging and talking big? You think I can¡¯t resolve the crisis just because the Huttons can¡¯t? ¡°If I can¡¯t resolve the Huttons¡¯ trouble today, I¡¯ll leave the family immediately and never enter DC again!¡± Roman said with great certainty. ¡°Shut up, Roman! What are you saying?¡± Collin immediately bellowed in panic. At the same time, Michael knocked on the table. ¡°Okay, you said so yourself! If you can¡¯t do what you said today, get lost from DC!¡± Chapter 901 - Taking Responsibility

Chapter 901: Taking Responsibility

Michael didn¡¯t have any feelings for his nephew who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Moreover, he was even slightly repulsed by Roman because of his arrogant tone. Thus, he thought that he should just agree to the conditions Roman proposed and let the harsh reality teach him how to behave. Otherwise, Roman would ignorantly think that he was invincible. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s a deal then!¡± Roman agreed without hesitation. ¡°If I can sessfully resolve the Huttons¡¯ crisis, I¡¯ll be the sessor of the family.¡± ¡°Yes, I promise you!¡± Michael agreed immediately. Collin¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he said anxiously, ¡°No! It can¡¯t be decided like this! Michael, my son is still a child, and he¡¯s just returned to the family, so he doesn¡¯t know much. If you¡¯re young and impetuous, it¡¯s fine, but you¡¯re an adult. You should know how difficult it is toplete this task. How could you agree to his request? ¡°I know. You just don¡¯t want to see my sonpeting with your son for the position of helmsman. That¡¯s why you agreed to his request. As long as he fails toplete the task, you¡¯ll chase him out of the family or even far away from DC. This way, no one will be able topete with your son for the position of helmsman, right? ¡°Michael, why are you so vicious? Would you be willing to let your son take on this Herculean task?¡± Collin said angrily. Now, one of his sons had died, and Roman, his only blood-rted son, had just returned to the family for less than half a day. If he was really forced to leave DC because of this absurd request without being allowed to return again in the future, then what was the point in living? Facing Collin¡¯s scoldings, Michael said indifferently, ¡°Collin, you can¡¯t me me. Your son is the one who raised it. He¡¯s already around thirty years old and no longer a child. As an adult, he should know to take responsibility for his own words and actions! ¡°He made the request out of his own ord. I didn¡¯t force him! What¡¯s the point of losing your temper at me?¡± Jace said with a smile, ¡°Exactly, Uncle Collin. We all heard what he said just now. Your son was the one who took the initiative to bring it up. He¡¯s the one who said he wants to resolve the family¡¯s crisis. If he can¡¯t do it in one day, he will leave the Huttons forever and never step foot into DC again. We never forced him! ¡°Of course, if you can¡¯t bear to let your son go and don¡¯t want him to leave DC, then persuade him to give up the sessor position. We naturally won¡¯t force him to leave. Jace nced at Roman next to him, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile of mockery.?Hmph, he¡¯s indeed an illegitimate child who doesn¡¯t know anything because he¡¯s been living outside. The Smiths and the Howards had joined forces and were attacking the Huttons extremely aggressively. They managed to make the Huttons¡¯ businesses suffer heavy losses within just one day. It was definitely not an easy task to resolve this crisis. Even if the abilities of all the Huttons werebined, it would almost be impossible to resolve the crisis in one day. But Collin¡¯s illegitimate son actually dared to say that he could solve the matter alone in one day. He was simply dreaming. When Roman first appeared and wanted topete with Jace for the position of helmsman, he was a little nervous. But before he even did anything, Roman offered himself on a tter, which was incredibly stupid! Jace felt a little smug. Roman looked at the people present and said firmly, ¡°Since I¡¯ve already said it, I won¡¯t go back on my word! ¡°Instead of staying here and guessing if I canplete the task or not, you might as well think carefully about how you¡¯re going to prepare for the appointment of the new sessor! ¡°I¡¯ll go ahead and settle this matter now. Once I obtain results, I believe that you¡¯ll have nothing else to say! I¡¯ll get going now. Goodbye!¡± With that, Roman simply strode out of the conference room! ¡°You!¡± Collin was anxious and wanted to stop him, but it was already toote. All he could see was Roman¡¯s back vanishing from the conference room. Seeing this scene, everyone in the conference room smirked. An illegitimate son was indeed an illegitimate son. He didn¡¯t give himself a way out, and everyone else couldn¡¯t be bothered to say anything about it. It was a shame that even though Collin finally managed to fight for a chance for his illegitimate son, Roman didn¡¯t live up to his expectations. ¡°Okay, everyone, be quiet. Let¡¯s continue with the meeting!¡± Michael knocked on the table to catch everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Each of you, tell me your opinions about our crisis and your solutions for it!¡± Although Roman had said that he could resolve the crisis and that he was going to deal with it now, none of the Huttons took him seriously. If they foolishly waited for Roman to resolve the Huttons¡¯ crisis, they would probably be the real idiots. The meeting proceeded, and this time, Collin didn¡¯t stop them. He was now in a terrible mood. He had intended to use this opportunity to let Roman be the sessor of the Huttons. With his support, his son would then be able to be the next helmsman of the Huttons. But after he had already paved the way for Roman, thetter didn¡¯t act ording to his instructions at all. Instead, hepletely disrupted Collin¡¯s n. Honestly speaking, Collin was now extremely disappointed with Roman. Did he be arrogant andcent because he was expelled from the Huttons at a young age and spent many years fending for himself out there? At this moment, a wave of regret surged in Collin¡¯s heart. But his son Enzo was already dead, and Roman was his only son left. There was nothing he could do regardless of how much he regretted it and was disappointed in him. Meanwhile, after Roman left the conference room, he immediately took out his phone and called Lucas. ¡°Things are going well. I¡¯m just waiting for you to stop the two families and resolve the Huttons¡¯ crisis. I will then be able to be the Huttons¡¯ sessor!¡± Chapter 902 - Resolving The Crisis

Chapter 902: Resolving The Crisis

¡°Oh? Is it progressing so quickly?¡± Lucas had a hint of surprise on his face after receiving Roman¡¯s call. Roman smiled. ¡°Speaking of which, it¡¯s all thanks to your help. You¡¯ve done so many things for me, while I just bragged in front of them. If I couldn¡¯t even do this, wouldn¡¯t I have let you down despite all your trust in me?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get people to take care of it right away.¡± Lucas hung up and then made three calls. One was to Tyson, the second was to Florence, and the third was to Lucas¡¯s subordinate. At this moment, the Huttons¡¯ meeting was still in progress, and everyone still looked serious and grim. They were trying to figure out how to resolve the crisis the Huttons were facing. But they didn¡¯t know that the crisis had long been resolved after Luas made a few phone calls. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s the initial n. We¡¯re pressed for time. Everyone, act ording to the n immediately! Anyter, and our losses will be even greater. I hope you all bear this in mind and get to it as soon as possible! ¡°If there¡¯s anything else, report it to me at any time!¡± Michael ordered with a serious expression. ¡°Yes, Michael!¡± The Huttons didn¡¯t dare to dy at all and stood up one after another. Just as everyone was about to leave the conference room to carry out the tasks Michael had just given them, a middle-aged man suddenly rushed into the conference room. He eximed, ¡°Mr. Hutton! Good news!¡± Michael frowned. ¡°Good news? What good news?¡± The Huttons were currently facing a huge crisis, and they were very busy. He didn¡¯t believe that any good news could overshadow the bad news at this time. ¡°Mr. Hutton, the crisis we¡¯re facing has already been resolved!¡± the middle-aged man said happily. ¡°What!?!¡± Michael was immediately stunned, and the other Huttons were also shocked. They had just been discussing how to resolve this crisis and finally came up with a n. They hadn¡¯t even had the time to start implementing it, yet the crisis was suddenly resolved. This news didn¡¯t sound real at all! After all, the Smiths, the Howards, and the Huttons were all among the top eight families of DC. There was a lot ofpetition between them, and they had a strained rtionship. Since the two families suddenly joined forces to attack the Huttons, how could it end so quickly? ¡°Where did you get this news from? Is it credible?¡± Michael asked his secretary. Michael had a doubtful look. ¡°The Smiths and the Howards are our old rivals, and now, they¡¯ve suddenly joined forces to attack us. At least twenty of our businesses are under attack at the same time. Our losses are extremely serious, and two businesses are about to go bankrupt! How could this crisis be resolved in an instant?¡± The other Huttons nodded. ¡°Yeah! The Smiths and the Howards have already dealt a massive blow to us in a short time. How could they suddenly be kind enough to stop after gaining such an advantage? Did you get the wrong information?¡± ¡°Yes, this is too incredible! Is it possible that this is a trap? Are they doing this to make us think that the crisis is over so that we rx our guards before they deal us another hard blow?!¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very likely that this is the case!¡± ... All the Huttons were full of disbelief, and they began discussing all sorts of conspiracies. But the middle-aged secretary shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why they suddenly stopped, but I don¡¯t think this is a trap. After all, when they made a move today, they caught us off guard and caused us severe losses. Their final move should have been to strike us until we¡¯re overwhelmed so that they can win. ¡°But if they suddenly give up, it will make us keep their guards up and be wary of them. If they want to deal with us again in the future, it won¡¯t be as easy as this time.¡± What the secretary said made sense too. If the Smiths and the Howards really wanted to destroy the Huttons, they wouldn¡¯t have suddenly given up. In that case, why did they suddenly stop? The Huttons were at a loss as to why the Smiths and the Howards suddenly did this and why the crisis the Huttons faced was suddenly resolved. But none of them thought that this matter was rted to Roman. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re still here!¡± At this moment, a familiar figure suddenly walked into the conference room. It was Roman. Roman had a victorious smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯ve already dealt with the Huttons¡¯ crisis, but your meeting is still going on? Aren¡¯t you too inefficient?¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± ¡°You solved the crisis?¡± ¡°How is that possible?!¡± ... As soon as Roman spoke, the Huttons in the conference room were filled with shock. Many of them blurted out a few questions. They had just learned from the secretary that the crisis was over, so how did Roman know about it? Besides, he actually said that he was the one who helped the Huttons resolve the crisis. How was this possible? How could an illegitimate son be able to solve this giant crisis? No one believed him! ¡°Roman, are you saying that you¡¯re the one who resolved the family¡¯s crisis?¡± Collin asked agitatedly, looking at his son in disbelief. He was now in an extremelyplicated mood. Initially, the arrogant remarks Roman suddenly said had already pushed him into a very unfavorable situation. Even Collin had no other choice but to prepare himself for when Roman failed and then got kicked out of the Huttons and DC. But he didn¡¯t expect Roman to return so soon with such great news. Roman smiled lightly. ¡°That¡¯s right. I resolved the crisis. You should have already received the news, right?¡± ¡°Haha, yes, we did! We¡¯ve indeed already received the good news of the crisis being resolved. Well done, son!¡± Collin was so excited that he didn¡¯t know what to do. He patted Roman on his shoulder proudly. The rest of the Huttons were still extremely surprised. Could it be that the crisis all of the Huttons hadn¡¯t been able to deal with was actually resolved by this illegitimate son who had just returned to the family? It seemed too unbelievable. ¡°Hah, you really like iming credit so much, huh?¡± Jace sneered. ¡°You should have just heard Mr. Stevens say that the family¡¯s crisis has been resolved. That¡¯s why you¡¯re anxiously iming credit and saying that you resolved the crisis. How shameless of you!¡± Chapter 903 - How To Prove?

Chapter 903: How To Prove?

Jace¡¯s face was full of ridicule. He didn¡¯t believe that an illegitimate son who had been living on his own for decades would be able to resolve the Huttons¡¯ crisis! Moreover, Jace didn¡¯t believe that there was a Hutton more capable than him! He would never admit to this! Even he didn¡¯t have the ability to resolve the Huttons¡¯ crisis within such a short time. How could Roman be able to do it? Thus, he was sure that Roman was trying to im credit! ¡°Hah, Jace, are you refusing to admit what you said before? Are you going back on your word?¡± Roman looked at Jace coldly. ¡°Hmph, when did I say I was going to go back on my word? I¡¯m just questioning you for making things up and trying to fool us!¡± Jace sneered. ¡°Just now, we were discussing ways to deal with the crisis, yet you suddenly came running back in less than an hour. Do you think we¡¯d believe you? ¡°Moreover, you only came back to say you settled it after Mr. Stevens announced the good news to us. That makes you even less credible! ¡°If you want us to believe that you¡¯ve resolved this crisis, then you have to show us concrete proof! Talk is cheap. I can also say that I resolved the crisis this time. Would you believe me? ¡°If you can¡¯t produce any evidence, it means that not only have you not made any contribution to the family, but you¡¯re even trying to im false credit. People like you should leave the Huttons as soon as possible! Don¡¯t even think about being the sessor!¡± Jace was extremely displeased with Roman, who had suddenly popped up out of nowhere topete with him for the position of sessor. He had long wanted to kick him out of the Huttons again, so he was extremely hostile toward him. What Jace said made many others in the conference room who thought that Roman had resolved the family¡¯s crisis begin to doubt him. Indeed, they didn¡¯t believe that a young man like Roman could have so much power! Collin¡¯s face became gloomy, but he was hostile toward Jace. Roman was Collin¡¯s son, but Jace openly questioned Roman¡¯s ability and character in front of everyone. Collin was extremely upset. Even though his son had grown up away from the Huttons and didn¡¯t enjoy a privileged life or the best education, he was still his son! He believed that Roman had his genes. Even though Roman hadn¡¯t lived with the Huttons, he could definitely be a capable andpetent young man. Who was Jace, a second-generation heir, to question his son¡¯s abilities and humiliate him? Roman didn¡¯t take Jace, who relied on his family, seriously at all. He nced at him with disdain and said, ¡°Jace, don¡¯t put on airs in front of me! We¡¯re both part of the Hutton family, and we¡¯re both of the same generation. You¡¯re not any nobler than me! ¡°You¡¯re saying that you suspect I didn¡¯t resolve this crisis, and you want me to produce concrete proof, right? In that case, whoever suspects me should show evidence I didn¡¯t do it! ¡°Since I didn¡¯t resolve this matter, can you tell me who did it? Huh? Do you really want to say that you solved it? Don¡¯t make othersugh their heads off! ¡°Besides, you¡¯ve already been removed from the position of sessor. ording to the previous agreement, I will be the future sessor of the Huttons. So you¡¯d better speak to me more politely!¡± Roman¡¯s words immediately made Jace furious. ¡°Damn it! Who are you? How dare you demand that I speak to you politely? I¡¯m the heir of the Huttons, while you¡¯re just an illegitimate son kicked out of the family for many years! What qualifications do you have to be on my level? ¡°Also, how dare you ask me for evidence? Hah, what a joke. If you have what it takes, take out the evidence to prove that you really resolved the family¡¯s crisis. Otherwise, it means you¡¯re making it up! ¡°Hmph, if you can¡¯t produce the evidence, you are even less qualified to be the sessor of the Huttons! Dream on!¡± Jace was so angry that he couldn¡¯t care less about the time and ce. The words that came out of his mouth were extremely uncouth and devoid of the manners of a noble young man. Even Michael couldn¡¯t help showing some disappointment when he heard what his son said. ¡°Hah, you keep saying that you want evidence from me, right? I¡¯ll prove it to you then!¡± Roman raised his eyebrows and suddenly took out his phone to make a call. ¡°Hey, buddy, they want to ask me for evidence!¡± Roman saidughingly,pletely unconcerned about the faces of the Huttons present. On the other end, a helpless voice said, ¡°Are you trying to drag me in as well?¡± Romanughed. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. We¡¯re working together! Now, I have no choice but toe to you for help!¡± The person on the other end sighed. ¡°So, what do you need me to do for you now?¡± ¡°The Huttons don¡¯t believe that I helped resolve their crisis. Jace has been refusing to admit it and insists that I produce evidence. What do you think I should do?¡± Roman shrugged. ¡°This¡­¡± The person on the other end seemed tough lightly and then said yfully, ¡°This is easy to handle. If they don¡¯t believe it, let the crisis happen a few more times until they believe that you resolved it! But I¡¯m afraid that the Huttons won¡¯t be able to withstand this kind of torment. If this happens a few more times, they might really lose their position as one of the eight top families of DC!¡± ¡°Good, that¡¯s a great idea!¡± Roman immediately pped his hands andughed. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have to trouble you to start the crisis again.¡± ¡°No problem. Wait!¡± With that, the other party simply hung up the phone. Because Roman had put the call on speakerphone, everyone present could clearly hear the conversation between the two. The rest of the Huttons were all a bit confused, not knowing whom Roman talked to. But Michael and Jace tensed up the moment they heard the voice. Michael¡¯s fingers began trembling slightly when he heard the calm voice on the other end. It was¡­ Lucas, his other son whom he hadn¡¯t seen for more than 20 years! After hearing his voice, Michael immediately lowered his head, not wanting the rest of the Huttons to see the disoriented look on his face. But the excitement in his heart and theplicated emotions surging up at the same time left him at a loss for words. Jace¡¯s face was full of resentment. He now knew why Roman suddenly showed up andpeted with him for the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor. It seemed it was all because of Lucas! At this moment, Michael suddenly raised his head and said to Roman, ¡°Roman, tell that person that no matter what his intentions are, I will agree to him!¡± Everyone in the conference room widened their eyes in astonishment! Chapter 904 - Between Father and Son

Chapter 904: Between Father and Son

Michael was the head of the Hutton family, but he actually said that he would agree to whatever request that person made! Who exactly was this person? Roman was also full of shock, and he took a serious look at Michael, as if he was judging the truthfulness of what he said. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Roman asked. Michael nodded with an emotional look on his face. ¡°That¡¯s right! I know what you want. From today onward, you are the sessor of the Huttons! Soon, I will issue an official notice to all the Huttons!¡± His words were like a thunderbolt that astonished everyone in the conference room. Michael, the helmsman of the Huttons, actually decided to let Roman, the illegitimate son who just returned to the Huttons, be the sessor of the family! This was too incredible! Could it be because of the phone call just now? There was an unexpected look on Roman¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t expect Michael to suddenly make this decision just because he heard Lucas¡¯s voice. Since Lucas wanted Roman to be the sessor of the Huttons, Michael immediately fulfilled his wish and let Roman be the sessor in front of all the Huttons! Did this mean that Michael still cared about Lucas? Roman looked at Michael and saw the bitter look on his aged face. ¡°No, I refuse to ept it!¡± An angry and indignant roar suddenly resounded in therge conference room. ¡°On what grounds? He couldn¡¯t even produce a single piece of concrete proof. Why did you give the position of sessor to him? Just because of that phone call? ¡°Is that person so important to you? Is he so important that you¡¯re willing to heed his wishes for something as important as selecting the sessor of the family? What am I to you then?¡± With a grimace, Jace gritted his teeth and yelled at the crowd in fury, especially at his father. Seeing this scene in front of them, many Huttons were stunned. Although Jace was Michael¡¯s son, Michael was the head of the Huttons after all. Now that he was in front of so many family members, he shouldn¡¯t have contradicted Michael no matter what! Besides, it was indeed disrespectful of him to say this at this time. He could have said it to his father in private. They started wondering whom Jace was referring to. What was all this about? Michael¡¯s face was also very gloomy now, and he shouted at Jace, ¡°Shut up! This is the decision I¡¯ve made, and it has nothing to do with anyone else!¡± Jace retorted angrily, ¡°You¡¯re lying! You¡¯re clearly influenced by him! He¡¯s just a bastard who has been kicked out of the family for twenty years! Why should what he says sway your mind and decide who bes the next sessor? ¡°I refuse to ept it! I¡¯m your legitimate son. How am I any inferior to that bastard son of yours?¡± Jace¡¯s words were like a thunderbolt exploding in the minds of all the Huttons. They had witnessed many shocking things in the conference room today, but the information Jace revealed just was too much for their brains to handle. Bastard son? Why was there another illegitimate child? The bastard son that Jace mentioned was obviously not Roman, Collin¡¯s illegitimate son, but¡­ Michael¡¯s, whom almost everyone had forgotten! At this time, everyone finally understood that the young man on the phone with Roman just now was that illegitimate son! Twenty years ago, Michael¡¯s illegitimate son had been expelled from the Huttons and driven out of DC. The older generation of the family was clear about it because the incident had blown up back then, and the Huttons had even snatched the Stardust Corporation away from his mother. But they didn¡¯t expect that twenty yearster, the eight-year-old child would return! Moreover, it looked like he could meddle in the Huttons¡¯ internal affairs. How could this not shock them? Jace was still raging. He stared into his father¡¯s eyes and continued with a cold smile, ¡°Father! If I remember correctly, you personally ordered for that bastard and his mother to be expelled from the Huttons. You even drove them out of DC and forbid them from ever setting foot in DC again!¡± ¡°But what about now? Not only did hee back freely, but he also tried to oppose me and made a mess in our family! But what about you? Not only did you not punish him and continue to drive him out, but you¡¯re even going to remove me from the position of sessor because of what he said. You¡¯re even going to let an illegitimate son rece me! ¡°Have you ever thought about the consequences of doing so? Have you ever thought about my feelings? Can you face my mother? If my mother hadn¡¯t helped you back then, how could you have be the helmsman of the Huttons and have all that you have now?¡± Jace seemed to be greatly agitated as he shouted at his father. He even said many disrespectful things. For a moment, Michael was so angry that his face turned pale, and his chest heaved up and down violently. The other Huttons in the conference room were so shocked that they didn¡¯t dare to breathe. But they all knew that all these things Jace said had indeed happened. But Michael was the helmsman of the Huttons after all, yet he was being shamed in public by his son! As expected¡­ Smack! Michael raised his hand and pped Jace¡¯s face. He hollered angrily with an ashen face, ¡°Shut up!¡± This p immediately made Jace¡¯s face cock to the side. Jace covered his swollen and numb face and stared at Michael in disbelief, looking extremely hurt. ¡°You¡­. you¡¯ve never hit me in all these years, and now, you actually hit me for that illegitimate son?!¡± Michael had pped Jace in the heat of the moment, and now, he felt some regrets in his heart. No matter what, Jace was also the son he had loved for so many years, and it was impossible for him not to feel anything. His lips trembled, but he said softly. ¡°Jace, I¡¯m doing this for your own good. In the future, you will understand my intentions!¡± Chapter 905 - You Can Stop

Chapter 905: You Can Stop

There were many things that Michael knew but couldn¡¯t tell Jace. Otherwise, it would be akin to treason! With Lucas¡¯s identity, if he really wanted to harm the Huttons, no one in the family would be able to escape! Like Jace said, it was because of his mother¡¯s help that Michael could secure the position of the Huttons¡¯ helmsman. It was also the very reason that Michael had to obey his wife¡¯s request to drive Lucas and his mother out of DC and tell them never toe back. Michael would never want to see his sons reaching the point of killing each other, so if he could appease Lucas by agreeing to some of his requests, Michael was willing to do so! Even if Lucas wanted his life, he was willing! But he couldn¡¯t tell Jace about these matters. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re doing it for my own good? Do you think I¡¯d believe you?¡± Jace naturally refused to believe what Michael said and sneered. ¡°You¡¯re just being biased. You want to let that illegitimate son return to the family, don¡¯t you? ¡°Who knows how he bewitched you to make you trust him so much! Do you believe him just because he said he could make the Huttons face another crisis? ¡°What does he think he is? How can he issuemands to the Smiths and the Howards? ¡°Dad, I think you¡¯re really old and muddled! It¡¯s obvious that these two illegitimate sons have joined forces to take this opportunity to fool the Huttons. Yet you¡¯re taking their words so seriously!¡± Jace mocked without restraint. But just as he finished speaking, the secretary once again hurried to the conference room. But this time, his face was full of panic as beads of sweat kept trickling down. ¡°Mr. Hutton! Bad news! ¡°The Huttons¡¯ businesses are under attack again, and it¡¯s far more terrifying than the previous one! Now, all the Huttons¡¯ businesses are shrinking rapidly! ¡°If it continues at this rate, we don¡¯t even have to wait until tomorrow. In just a few more hours, the Huttons¡¯ losses will reach seven billion! This¡­ this is simply a disaster! ¡°Mr. Hutton, quickly think of a solution! Now, everyone working for the Huttons is panicking! Moreover, thismotion has attracted everyone¡¯s attention in the capital. If several other powerful families also intervene, we won¡¯t be able to resist at all!¡± One of the secretary¡¯s shoes had fallen off, which showed that he was too flustered to worry about anything else. What he said immediately shocked everyone in the conference room, so much so that they broke out in cold sweat. ¡°What did you say?!¡± ¡°Why did it suddenly be like this? Didn¡¯t you just say that the Huttons¡¯ crisis and troubles were resolved?¡± ¡°Right! Why did things end up so terribly? We¡¯ll lose billions in a few hours. How is that possible?¡± ¡°No! We have to immediately think of a solution! Otherwise, the wealth we¡¯ve umted for decades will bepletely wiped out in a few days!¡± ¡°Wealth is one thing. If we don¡¯t quickly find a way to stop it, the Huttons will probably face annihtion! Oh my god!¡± All the Huttons seemed panic-stricken and terrified as they stared at Michael, the helmsman. Unlike the others who were scared and flustered, Michael was only stunned for a moment, and then he smiled bitterly. He certainly knew who had caused this crisis the Huttons were facing. Only Lucas would be able to destroy the Huttons within such a short time! Prior to this, he had really thought that the Smiths and the Howards, who weren¡¯t on good terms with the Huttons, had really joined forces to deal with them. But Michael now knew that there was absolutely no way that they would be able to deal such arge-scale, massive blow to the Hutton within a short time. This could only mean that in addition to using the power of the Smiths and the Howards, Lucas still held great power in his hands that could easily make the Huttons disappear from DC at any time! Lucas had always been able to do this! A sudden chill surged in Michael¡¯s heart. ¡°Call him and tell him to stop¡­¡± Michael said to Roman bitterly. The rest had immediately understood. When Roman called that person previously, thetter had said that if the Huttons refused to believe him, he would make the crisis strike them a few more times until they believed him. And not longter, the Huttons were facing another crisis that was even more terrifying and powerful than before! Could that person really have done all of this? Jace also thought of this possibility, and his expression changed drastically in an instant. ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible! It¡¯s absolutely impossible! He¡­ he¡¯s just an abandoned child of the Huttons. How could he do this?!¡± However, no one bothered about Jace¡¯s disbelief and indignation anymore. Everyone watched as Roman took out his phone and called Lucas. This time, before he even spoke, Lucas said, ¡°Do they believe you now?¡± ¡°Yes, you can stop now,¡± Roman replied. ¡°Okay.¡± Lucas immediately agreed and then hung up. ¡°Mr. Stevens, go out and investigate the situation. Inform us immediately if there¡¯s any news!¡± Michaelmanded in a deep voice. The secretary, who was as pale as a sheet, still didn¡¯t know what was going on, but he immediately hurried out obediently. Everyone in the conference room was silent. They only looked at Roman from time to time, unsure if they should feel expectant or scared. There was tension in the air. On the one hand, they hoped that the person really had the power to change the Huttons¡¯ fate so that they could escape from this crisis of extinction. But at the same time, if this person really had that much power, there was no way they could resist if he wanted to retaliate against the Huttons. Time passed minute by minute. For the people in the conference room, time seemed to be crawling by as minutes seemed like years. When the door of the conference room opened again, the secretary dashed in with a look of joy and shouted, ¡°It¡¯s resolved! They¡¯ve stopped again! The Huttons¡¯ situation is stable again for the time being!¡± Hearing this result, many people heaved a sigh of relief while feeling extremelyplicated. It turned out that the child who had been abandoned and driven out of the Huttons back then now possessed such terrifying power! ¡°Jace, what else do you have to say now? It was because of your stupidity and ignorance that you offended someone you shouldn¡¯t have. You¡¯re the reason for the crisis that we faced today and why the Huttons suffered such heavy losses! ¡°You¡¯re still so clueless and ignorant but think that you¡¯re really smart. You refuse to admit it even when the facts are allid out in front of you! ¡°What qualifications does someone like you have to be the Huttons¡¯ sessor?¡± Roman looked at Jace sneeringly. Jace¡¯s face turned even paler. Chapter 906 - After Taking Revenge

Chapter 906: After Taking Revenge

However, Jace vehemently refused to believe that the person who had been kicked out by the Huttons could have such power! If he, an illegitimate son who grew up outside on his own, could be so powerful, then what would he, the sessor of the Huttons who had received the most resources and best education, be considered? It was absolutely impossible for him to admit that he was inferior to this illegitimate son! Jace hollered maniacally, ¡°Who are you to say that about me? Do you think he did all of this? It¡¯s just a coincidence! It¡¯s a scam you two illegitimate sons joined forces to pull off! ¡°That damned Lucas Gray is just an abandoned son kicked out of the family long ago! How can hepare to me? ¡°My father is the helmsman of the Huttons, one of the eight great families of DC, and my mother is a direct descendant of the royal family! With my status and position, how can that lowly illegitimate sonpare to me?¡± Jace roared himself hoarse to prove that he was better than Lucas. But the only thing he could brag about was the noble status of his parents. Indeed, not only did Jace¡¯s father have a noble identity, but his mother¡¯s status was iparably noble. She was from a lineage of the United States royal family. Thus, soon after Jace was born, he was immediately designated as the next sessor of the Huttons. Later, Lucas and his mother were driven out of the family because they were an eyesore to Jace¡¯s noble mother. Therefore, Jace definitely couldn¡¯t stand it that he, who came from such a noble background, couldn¡¯tpare to the illegitimate son born to a shameless woman! Although Roman didn¡¯t know how many cards Lucas still had in his hand, he could sense from Lucas¡¯s aura that he was far more powerful than what he had seen. Lucas probably didn¡¯t even take the royal family seriously! Since Roman had already joined forces with Lucas, he would naturally choose to take Lucas¡¯s side. In the face of Jace¡¯s furious roars, Roman sneered. ¡°You¡¯re right. Your parents indeed have noble identities, and since you were born, you were at a peak that many people will never be able to reach in their lifetime. But what does this have to do with your own abilities? ¡°At the end of the day, all you can brag about is your parents¡¯ status! Apart from this, what else can you do? ¡°To put it bluntly, even a dog born into a family like yours can still live a morous life. But did you manage to achieve that by your own abilities? ¡°But what about him? He was an illegitimate son driven out of his family as a child. He has no background or a powerful family to rely on. He managed toe so far with his own abilities, and now, he can even decide the life and death of someone like you! ¡°To this day, you still think he is inferior to you? Hah, you¡¯re the inferior one! ¡°You¡¯re nothing without the Huttons!¡± Roman said nonchntly. In his mind, Lucas was much better than Jace, a prodigal yboy who relied on his parent¡¯s status and family¡¯s power to throw his weight around and behave tyrannically! Jace flushed red in anger, but he couldn¡¯t find anything to say to retort Roman. He wanted to say that Lucas was inferior to him, but the truth was too cruel. Lucas had the ability to make the Huttons suffer heavy losses or even face destruction within a short time. He was truly inferior to Lucas in this aspect. ¡°Ah!!! Y-you, just you wait!¡± Jace could no longer stand Roman¡¯s ridicule and the looks the family members were giving him. He shouted with red eyes and ran out of the conference room. Michael watched all this and could only let out a long sigh. He said bitterly to Roman, ¡°Roman, go tell him that I can give him anything he wants without hesitation, even if it¡¯s my life! ¡°I just hope that he can vent all his hatred and anger on me alone. It was all my fault for what happened back then. So please tell him to let the Huttons off!¡± At this moment, Michael no longer seemed to be the powerful helmsman of the Huttons but an old father who had be haggard. There was a pleading look in his gaze. Looking at Michael calmly, Roman sighed and said gently, ¡°I¡¯ll ry it to him.¡± ... At the same time¡­ In a luxury suite on the top floor of the Luxe International Hotel of DC¡­ Lucas was sitting on arge and soft couch, looking at the high-rise buildings outside in the direction of the Hutton residence. But there was a touch of despondence in his expression. He originally thought that he should be happy after finally taking revenge on the Huttons and getting Jace removed from the position of sessor. Moreover, he even made Michael finally feel regret. But now, his heart felt empty, and he didn¡¯t know what he should do now. He wasn¡¯t happy at all either. Is this the feeling of taking revenge? Perhaps the reason his mother had made him swear not to take revenge on the Huttons and drive them to a dead end was that she had expected he would feel this way long ago. Suddenly, Lucas¡¯s phone on the coffee table next to him rang. It was a call from Roman. ¡°Lucas, he asked me to convey to you that he¡¯ll give you whatever you want, even if it¡¯s his life. He¡¯ll give you anything you want to make amends for his past wrongdoings. ¡°But he hopes that you¡¯ll take revenge on him alone and let the Huttons off.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lucas was silent for a long time. After ending the call with Roman, Lucas was still sitting on the couch and quietly watching the sky turn from blue to yellowish-orange before gradually turning dark. Eventually, it turned into a lively night scene with countless lights. Lucas just sat like this quietly in the dark, pondering about various things. ... The next morning, an extremely shocking piece of news quickly spread throughout DC! Jace, the son of Michael Hutton, the helmsman of the Hutton family, was suddenly removed from his position as sessor and reced by a man named Roman! The unfamiliar name immediately spurred many people to investigate his identity and details. Soon, it was discovered that Roman used to be a Hutton and that he was the illegitimate son of Collin Hutton. People also found out that he was the owner of World Entertainment City in DC. For some time, discussions about Roman became the hottest trend among the top families in DC. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t bother with these matters anymore. He was now staying in the chairman¡¯s office at the Stardust Corporation headquarters. After the previous incidents, all the parasites remaining in the Stardust Corporation had been wiped out, and the Stardust Corporation, which hadpletely returned to Lucas¡¯s control, was cleaner than ever. ¡°I don¡¯t like the decoration of the chairman¡¯s office. Find someone to help me change it. Also, I¡¯m handing over all the future operations of the Stardust Corporation to you. Don¡¯t let me down!¡± Lucas exined to Flynn. ¡°Got it, Lucas! I¡¯ll definitely do a good job!¡± Flynn hurriedly promised. At this moment, Jordan walked toward Lucas and said, ¡°Lucas, there¡¯s a person named Ezra Howard waiting for you outside.¡± Chapter 907 - The Howards’ Invitation

Chapter 907: The Howards¡¯ Invitation

¡°Ezra Howard?¡± Flynn said in surprise. Then he hurriedly exined to Lucas, ¡°Ezra is an extremely outstanding person among the younger generation of the Howards. He¡¯s barely thirty, and he¡¯s talented and promising. The Howards¡¯ helmsman also values him greatly and has given him many of the Howards¡¯ businesses to manage.¡± After all, he had been in DC for quite some time, so he was naturally familiar with the core members of top families here. Lucas gave it some thought. He had just asked the Howards to do him a favor yesterday, and now that a junior of the family came to visit, it didn¡¯t seem appropriate to turn him away. ¡°Let him in then,¡± Lucas said. Soon, a tall young man around thirty years old walked into Lucas¡¯s office. He had deep-set, handsome features thanks to the excellent genes unique to the Howards. His ck silk shirt was slightly unbuttoned, revealing the fair skin of his neck. He seemed to be an unfettered young man. There was a warm and gentle smile on his face that made him look very personable and friendly. While Lucas was sizing up Ezra, Ezra was also sizing up Lucas curiously. Lucas was slightly different from what Ezra had imagined. He was sharper and colder, like a sharp sword. The slightest carelessness might cause one to be injured by him. Moreover, Lucas¡¯s eyes were shrewd, and he seemed to be able to see through people¡¯s hearts. This made the gentle smile on Ezra¡¯s mouth inexplicably stiffen. ¡°Are you Mr. Lucas Gray? I¡¯ve heard a lot about you, but today is the first time we¡¯ve met. It¡¯s my honor!¡± Ezra had an affable aura. He smiled at Lucas and took the initiative to extend his hand. But Lucas didn¡¯t extend his hand and instead pointed at the couch opposite him. ¡°Take a seat.¡± Ezra immediately felt a little embarrassed. Facing Lucas, he felt very passive. It was as if his usually effective personable aura seemed to have lost its effect. But he didn¡¯t show it. He naturally retracted his hand and sat on the couch that Lucas pointed to. ¡°Mr. Howard, what brings you here?¡± Lucas asked, his tone rather cold. Strictly speaking, Lucas was only in a cooperative rtionship with the Howards, and they didn¡¯t have any deep ties. If not for the fact that Florence was Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, Lucas probably wouldn¡¯t have had anything to do with the Howards at all. ¡°Mr. Gray, here¡¯s the thing. I heard my aunt mention a little about your rtionship with the Howards. Today is my grandfather¡¯s seventy-fifth birthday, and the Howards will be holding a small banquet tonight. I¡¯ve speciallye to invite you. I wonder if you can make it tonight.¡± Ezra¡¯s smile was gentle, and his voice was extremely pleasant and full of sincerity. Lucas was slightly surprised. Ezra¡¯s grandfather was the helmsman of the Howards, and he was also technically Cheyenne¡¯s grandfather. It turned out to be his 75th birthday today, and the Howards had sent Erza, their most outstanding descendant, to invite Lucas to the birthday banquet. Lucas thought about it and agreed. ¡°I was nning to visit the helmsman of the Howards. Since it happens to be his birthday today, I¡¯ll naturally show my respects.¡± Lucas hade to DC this time mainly to deal with Maddy¡¯s issue. But since he was here, he naturally wanted to resolve some other matters too. For example, he had taken back control of the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation, deterred the Huttons, and obtained the Smiths¡¯ allegiance. Because Cheyenne¡¯s mother was a Howard, Lucas had also reached a certain cooperation agreement with the Howard family. So even if it was just for Cheyenne¡¯s sake, Lucas also wanted to interact with the Howards. It was a good time now. Hearing Lucas agreeing to go to the Howards¡¯ birthday banquet, Ezra was very happy, and his smile deepened. ¡°That¡¯s great. I can go back to see my grandfather with peace of mind! Mr. Gray, I¡¯ll wait for you at the Howard residence at seven tonight!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lucas nodded and then had someone send Ezra away. After Ezra left, Jordan frowned. ¡°Lucas, I keep feeling that the Howards have an ulterior motive for suddenlying to see you.¡± Lucas smiled at Jordan approvingly. ¡°Not bad. You can see the problem now.¡± Jordan chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯ve been by your side for so long, and I¡¯ve more or less grown up! I just think that with the power you¡¯ve shown in front of the Howards, they shouldn¡¯t value you so highly. They even sent their most outstanding younger generation to invite you over. ¡°Anyway, it just feels like something is wrong.¡± Lucas suddenly recalled the story Florence had told him before, the story of Cheyenne¡¯s father being killed by the Howards¡¯ helmsman. At the time, Florence didn¡¯t seem to be lying at all and seemed to be showing her true feelings. This meant that Cheyenne¡¯s biological father had really been killed by the Howards. In this sense, the Howards were Cheyenne¡¯s enemies. Judging from this, the Howards didn¡¯t seem to be one to be trifled with. ¡°Hmph, no matter what their goal is, I won¡¯t be polite to them if they dare to scheme against me!¡± An icy cold aura emerged from Lucas¡¯s body. ... At six o¡¯clock in the evening, Lucas and Jordan arrived at the entrance of the Howards¡¯ manor on time. As one of the eight most powerful families of DC, the Howards naturally had many guestsing to celebrate the 75th birthday of the helmsman. In the parking lot by the entrance of the Howards¡¯ luxurious manor, there were all kinds of luxury cars. The guests who came were all wealthy and noble. It was indeed a luxurious banquet. Lucas led Jordan to the entrance of the Howards¡¯ manor. Just as they were about to enter, two uniformed guards suddenly stopped them. ¡°Excuse me, Sirs, please show us your invitation cards!¡± the guards said coldly. Jordan immediately frowned. ¡°What did you say? Do we still need an invitation to enter the Howards¡¯ manor tonight?¡± The guards nced at them and sneered. ¡°Of course! The Howard residence isn¡¯t somewhere that anyone can just enter, especially since it¡¯s the birthday banquet of our helmsman tonight. No one is allowed to enter without an invitation!¡± Chapter 908 - Rejected

Chapter 908: Rejected

At this moment, a few more guests came over, and they were indeed holding some gold-embossed invitation cards. Then they entered unhindered after being checked. Only then did Lucas realize that other people did have invitations in their hands. However, this morning, Ezra had personally gone to the Stardust Corporation headquarters to invite Lucas, but he didn¡¯t give him an invitation card. Logically speaking, he shouldn¡¯t have made this mistake. It was especially so since Ezra was the most outstanding heir of the Howards. There shouldn¡¯t be a case of him forgetting to give his guest an invitation card. So, could there be some other reason? Lucas felt that there was a conspiracy. ¡°Lucas is a guest whom Ezra Howard personally invited. Are you sure you want to stop him from entering? If Ezra Howard finds out, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t let you off easily.¡± Jordan looked at the two guards stopping Lucas at the door. ¡°Hah? Are you joking?¡± The two guards immediatelyughed as if they had heard a big joke. ¡°Mr. Ezra? He¡¯s the most outstanding third-generation heir of the Howards and the best candidate for the future sessor of the family! Apart from the few powerful families in DC, who is qualified for him to invite personally? How dare you lie through your teeth here?!¡± The two guards spoke loudly and immediately attracted the gazes of the other guests around. ¡°These two people said that Mr. Erza invited them personally? What braggarts!¡± ¡°Mr. Ezra has a high status, and he will only ever invite the elders of wealthy and esteemed families! These two people look like young people in their twenties, and they aren¡¯t that well dressed. How dare they pretend to be friends of Mr. Ezra?¡± ¡°Also, they can¡¯t even produce a single invitation card, yet they im that Mr. Ezra invited them. Isn¡¯t that nonsense?¡± ¡°Hmph, I think they want to blend in with the crowd and sneak into the Howard residence. God knows what they want to do!¡± ... The Howards¡¯ birthday banquet was about to start, so there were many guests at the door pointing fingers at Lucas and Jordan. Jordan was so furious that he immediately felt an urge to roll up his sleeves and go forward to argue with these people. Given Lucas¡¯s status, he was giving the Howards due respect by agreeing to attend the banquet. How could he possibly be trying to blend in with the crowd to sneak in? ¡°Hey, Mr¡­ Mr. Gray!¡± Suddenly, an extremely surprised voice came from behind them. A beautiful woman wearing a light green fishtail dress immediately hurried over toward Lucas in surprise and excitement. ¡°Mr. Gray, I didn¡¯t expect it to really be you! That¡¯s great!¡± Lin Chen looked at the beautiful woman and remembered who she was. ¡°Hello, Miss Howard.¡± This beautiful woman in front of him was none other than Pam, whom he had met in Orange County. She was Florence¡¯s niece and Cheyenne¡¯s cousin, and she had once helped Lucas anger Oscar Smith at the auction previously. The guests who just mocked Lucas and Jordan were all astonished when they saw how kind and polite Pam was to them. Could these two people really be friends with the Howards? Even the two guards who stopped Lucas were shocked. ¡°Miss Pam¡­ do you¡­ do you know the two of them?¡± a guard stammered. ¡°Nonsense, Mr. Gray is an honored guest of the Howards. Who told you to stop him here? Are you blind?¡± Pam glowered at the two guards. Lucas was her beloved crush, whom she had been carrying a torch for for over a year. She had finally managed to confirm Lucas¡¯s identity in California. Pam had been thinking about Lucas every day since then. So now that Lucas finally showed up at her house, she was on cloud nine. How could she tolerate these guards disrespecting Lucas and stopping him outside the door? The guards had bitter expressions, but they soon said with a look of determination, ¡°Miss Pam, we¡¯re acting ording to the regtions! Our higher-ups have issued orders for us to stop anyone without an invitation. We hope to have your understanding, Miss Pam!¡± Pam stomped her feet angrily. ¡°What do you mean by this? Can¡¯t even I take the two of them in?¡± The two guards gritted their teeth and said, ¡°That¡¯s right! This is the higher-ups¡¯ rule, and we don¡¯t dare to defy it. Please don¡¯t make things difficult for us, Miss Pam!¡± ¡°You are being unreasonable! If I didn¡¯t have an invitation card, would I be forbidden from entering my own house too?¡± Pam said angrily. The guards looked at each other and insisted, ¡°Miss Pam, you are a member of the Howards, so of course you can enter. But other people can¡¯t step in without an invitation. There¡¯s nothing else we can do!¡± Lucas could naturally tell what was going on since things had alreadye to this. The guards insisted that no one was allowed to enter without an invitation. Someone from the Howards was clearly targeting him. If someone hadn¡¯t deliberately instructed these guards, they probably wouldn¡¯t dare to speak so rudely to Pam and disobey her to forbid him from entering. ¡°Forget it. Since someone from the Howards doesn¡¯t want me here, I¡¯ll leave.¡± Lucas sneered and turned around to leave. ¡°Mr. Gray, please wait a minute. Don¡¯t go!¡± Seeing Lucas about to leave, Pam immediately panicked and frantically said, ¡°There¡¯s definitely a misunderstanding. I¡¯ll contact someone right now!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray, what¡­ what¡¯s going on here? Why are you leaving before entering?¡± A gentle voice suddenly sounded from behind them. The handsome Ezra walked over with a gentle smile on his face. But when he saw Pam beside Lucas, a trace of surprise shed in his eyes before vanishing. ¡°Mr. Howard, you personally invited me to your grandfather¡¯s birthday banquet today, but you didn¡¯t give me an invitation card. These guards of yours are also very dedicated to their work, and they said that I¡¯m not allowed to enter without an invitation card. In that case, I naturally have to leave!¡± Lucas repeated the story. While speaking, he kept staring at Ezra¡¯s expression to find some clues. But Ezra was first surprised and then annoyed, as if he just realized that he had forgotten about this matter. Finally, he flew into a rage. Lucas really couldn¡¯t tell if there was anything wrong with Ezra based on his expressions. Well, unless Ezra¡¯s acting skills were just that good. Chapter 909 - Even More Interesting

Chapter 909: Even More Interesting

Ezra quickly walked to Lucas¡¯s side and said apologetically, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m truly sorry. Because of my negligence, I forgot to give you an invitation card and made you suffer mistreatment. I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Immediately afterward, he turned his head to face the two guards and rebuked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you two? Mr. Gray has already said that he is an honored guest whom I¡¯ve specially invited for my grandfather. How dare you stop him outside the door?¡± The two guards immediately fell to their knees and begged for mercy. ¡°Mr. Ezra, we don¡¯t know who Mr. Gray is, and we really had no idea that he¡¯s a guest you invited! Otherwise, we definitely wouldn¡¯t have dared to stop him outside the door!¡± Ezra shouted, ¡°Since you have such poor judgment, I don¡¯t think you need to continue working here! Go to the finance department and collect your sry, then get lost immediately! The Howards won¡¯t employ you anymore!¡± Hearing this, the two guards didn¡¯t dare to argue anymore and hurriedly got to run away. ¡°Hold it!¡± Jordan suddenly yelled angrily and stopped the two guards from leaving.¡±Make yourselves clear before you leave! Otherwise, if you dare to lie¡­¡± He casually pulled out the steel rod from a guard¡¯s waist, bent it into a U shape, and tossed it onto the ground with a loud ng. ¡°This is what will happen to you!¡± When Ezra saw Jordan¡¯s action, his eyelids trembled slightly, and a bright light shed in his eyes. It seemed to be fear but also excitement. Although the light in Ezra¡¯s eyes disappeared in an instant, Lucas still saw it. It seemed that this seemingly gentle and refined young man wasn¡¯t as harmless and personable as he appeared on the surface. But no matter what kind of ideas he had, it didn¡¯t matter to Lucas. The two guards were almost frightened to death by Jordan¡¯s action. They shuddered as they subconsciously looked at Ezra next to them. A trace of anger appeared on Ezra¡¯s face, and he said to the guards, ¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on? If you dare to hide anything, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± A trace of killing intent shed in his eyes. His words were undoubtedly a warning to the two guards, warning them not to say any nonsense. The men at the door naturally did not dare to offend Ezra. They frantically said, ¡°We¡­ we¡¯re really just following the rules from the higher-ups. Anyone who doesn¡¯t have an invitation isn¡¯t allowed to enter the Howard residence. We really didn¡¯t know that Mr. Gray is an honored guest of the Howards!¡± Jordan naturally didn¡¯t believe this. He was about to force something out of them when Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Enough. ¡°They¡¯ve already said that they were acting ording to the rules their superiors gave them. There¡¯s no point in holding these two small fries ountable.¡± Lucas suddenly smiled faintly at Ezra. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so, Mr. Howard?¡± Ezra¡¯s pupils constricted. He always felt that there was another meaning in what Lucas said, and he seemed to have realized something. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re right. It¡¯s the Howards¡¯ negligence and our fault for hosting you poorly. Sorry to have made youugh. I hope you won¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Ezra changed the subject and gave himself an out. He dismissed the matter quickly and bent forward slightly toward Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, pleasee in!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t bother with him. He brought Jordan in with him while following Ezra into the Howards¡¯ manor with a smile. Soon, in front of a luxurious banquet hall, Ezra stopped and said to Lucas apologetically, ¡°Mr. Gray, this is where my grandfather¡¯s birthday banquet is being held tonight. But there are still some urgent matters I need to handle, so I won¡¯t apany you in. Please make yourselffortable. I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°Okay.¡± After Ezra left, Jordan immediately said, ¡°Lucas, there¡¯s something wrong with that boy Ezra. He must have done it on purpose. Why didn¡¯t you let me get the truth out of the guards and reveal his true colors?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°No hurry. I want to see what he¡¯s up to. If we exposed him just now, wouldn¡¯t there be no good show to watchter?¡± Jordan smiled sinisterly. ¡°Lucas, you have a point. Since he wants to cause trouble, he definitely won¡¯t stop at just blocking us at the entrance. ¡°Now, I think he deliberately made up an excuse to leave just now because he wants to create more trouble for us!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°That depends on how much the trouble is. Wouldn¡¯t it be interesting if he shoots himself in the foot?¡± With that, Lucas walked directly into the banquet hall. Jordanughed and followed Lucas, not minding that things might blow out of control. ... The Howards¡¯ banquet hall was naturally very luxurious and spacious. In the huge banquet hall, there were already many people from wealthy families in DC. They were all dressed to the nines, looking like members of the upper ss. The appearance of Lucas and Jordan immediately attracted many curious eyes. After all, the people present were all from the upper-ss circle of DC, and they all knew each other. But Lucas and Jordan were new faces, and there was no Howard to introduce them. Although these two people were dressed very ordinarily, the fact that they could attend the 75th birthday banquet of the Howards¡¯ helmsman meant that they were probably not nobodies. The crowd was wondering if they were heirs of a wealthy family from another state. Moreover, Lucas¡¯s appearance and aura were extremely outstanding. With a height of 1.85 meters and a handsome face, he was especially eye-catching. At this moment, a woman dressed in a dark red evening gown walked toward Lucas. ¡°Hey, handsome guy, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen you? Which family are you from?¡± She was beautiful and had thick makeup on her face. She was gorgeous and ravishing, with a sultry charm that made her glow and stand out from the crowd. She should be in herte thirties, and even though she maintained her looks well, there were some traces of aging on her face. Seeing this woman walk to Lucas¡¯s side, many people in the banquet hall seemed like they were watching a good show. ¡°Hah, has Tiffany Pierce taken a liking to that hunk?¡± ¡°Tiffany is the chairman of Mystique Entertainment, and she has already slept with many young hunks in herpany. She¡¯s probably eyeing that young hunk and treating him as prey.¡± ¡°Tsk, that young man is probably going to suffer. Tiffany is a scary woman. He¡¯d better be careful that she won¡¯t drain the life out of him! Hehe!¡± ... All of a sudden, many people looked at Lucas with some pity. Chapter 910 - Be Your Woman

Chapter 910: Be Your Woman

Lucas¡¯s hearing was very keen. Even though these people were speaking softly, Lucas could still hear them clearly. Given the way they were gloating, the woman who came to look for him didn¡¯t have a good reputation. Besides, Lucas didn¡¯t want to be friends with benefits with someone. ¡°I¡¯m not the sessor of any major family. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll disappoint you,¡± Lucas replied indifferently. Tiffany froze for a moment before giggling frivolously. ¡°Young man, you¡¯re really good at talking. ¡°Let me introduce myself first. I am the chairman of Mythical Entertainment. You can call me Tiffany.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t have any interest in this woman. He merely nodded slightly without any intention of talking with her further. But Tiffany was reluctant. ¡°Hey, handsome, a gorgeous woman like me has taken the initiative to introduce herself to you. Shouldn¡¯t you be polite and reciprocate?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s just a casual encounter. There¡¯s no need for us to get to know each other.¡± His attitude was already very indifferent. If someone else heard such a refusal, they would probably have felt ashamed and left in dismay. But Tiffany wasn¡¯t the type to get embarrassed easily. In fact, Lucas¡¯s indifferent rejection made her find him even more interesting, and a strong desire to conquer him arose in her heart. She had to conquer this man in front of her. ¡°Hey, handsome, don¡¯t give me the cold shoulder! Seriously, the first time I saw you today, I already had my eye on you. After the banquet endster, let¡¯s find a quiet ce to have a drink, and I¡¯ll be yours. How does that sound?¡± Tiffany raised the red wine ss in her hand and licked her lips teasingly and flirtatiously. Lucas was instantly speechless. He had already refuted outright, yet this woman was still being so clingy to him and asking to be his woman. ¡°Old hag, you must be joking. Lucas is only in his twenties. No matter how desperate you are, you can¡¯t possibly want to be a cradle-snatcher, right?¡± Jordan mocked Tiffany. He really couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. Lucas clearly had no interest in her, yet she kept throwing herself at him and even said such disgusting words. It made him feel queasy. As soon as Jordan finished speaking, everyone around was stunned. Although it was true that Tiffany wasn¡¯t young and was in her forties, she had always maintained herself well. And with the help of makeup, she looked like she was in her thirties, a far cry from an old hag. For Tiffany, who had always thought that she was young, gorgeous, and incredibly charming, it was a nightmare of humiliation! ¡°What did you say? Do you have a death wish!¡± The smile on Tiffany¡¯s face immediately disappeared, and her face was full of anger. She raised her hand to p Jordan¡¯s face! ¡°Wow!¡± Many people covered their mouths when the p was about tond on Jordan¡¯s face. But no one made a sound to stop it. After all, Tiffany had an extraordinary identity, while no one knew the identities of the two young men, so no one would offend Tiffany for them. Smack! An unusually crisp p sounded. But to everyone¡¯s surprise, it was a p on Tiffany¡¯s face given by Jordan, whom Tiffany was about to p just now! This scene made everyone dumbfounded! ¡°You¡­ you bastard, how dare you hit me?¡± Tiffany covered her numb and swelling face, looking extremely shocked. Immediately afterward, there was deep hatred in her eyes. She was so furious that she was about to go mad! Ahhhhh! This bastard! She had just gone for numerous skincare and beauty treatments, including fillers and botox jabs in her face. Jordan¡¯s p made her face twisted! Tiffany wished she could chop off Jordan¡¯s hand right now! But she didn¡¯t know that Jordan¡¯s p was already quite merciful. Otherwise, Tiffany wouldn¡¯t only have a crooked face, but her head would have been knocked off. Jordan couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to Tiffany. He snorted coldly and walked back to Lucas. Anyway, this woman had asked for a beating, and he would never apologize for pping her. ¡°Punk, how dare you hit me?! I will definitely make you pay the price and make sure that you can¡¯t stay in DC any longer!¡± Tiffany roared angrily with menace all over her face,pletely unlike the sultry woman she was earlier. She was now behaving like a shrew in her forties. At this moment, a sturdy middle-aged man walked over and said fawningly to Tiffany, ¡°Tiffany, how dare this ignorant bastard do this to you? Let me avenge you! Let me help you sever his hand!¡± His appearance immediately sparked a burst of discussion. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s Travis, the heir of the Gilded Association.¡± ¡°The Gilded Association is a famous martial arts school in DC, and it has branches in other states, so its strength shouldn¡¯t be underestimated! I heard that Travis is very strong, and he has won many kickboxing awards! In a few years, he will inherit the association!¡± ¡°Right! I¡¯ve heard that Travis and Tiffany are in close contact, and he¡¯s also one of Tiffany¡¯s bedroom guests. It seems that he¡¯s going to stand up for Tiffany!¡± ¡°Haha, that young man is in trouble then. Given Travis¡¯s muscles, he shouldn¡¯t be a match for him!¡± ... The Gilded Association was obviously famous in DC. Otherwise, so many people wouldn¡¯t know Travis. In the eyes of others, Travis was extremely powerful. After all, he could win international awards in kickboxing, which meant that he was much stronger than the average person. Unfortunately, he was no match for experts like Lucas and Jordan. Seeing Travis standing up for her, Tiffany immediately felt as if she had found her backbone. She pointed at Jordan and said menacingly, ¡°Travis, this bastard dared to hit my face! I want you to cripple him, cut his face up, and then feed him to the dogs!¡± What she said was too vicious and immediately sent a shiver down the spines of many people present. Lucas frowned slightly. Chapter 911 - Powerhouse

Chapter 911: Powerhouse

Lucas frowned, not because of Tiffany and Travis who suddenly appeared in front of him but because of the Howards¡¯ reaction. Logically speaking, it was the birthday banquet of the Howards¡¯ helmsman today. So regardless of what kind of conflict urred, someone from the family should have stepped forward to stop them and resolve the conflict, lest it blow up into something worse. But even until now, where things had escted to the point of a physical confrontation, none of the Howards hade forward to say something. Clearly, it was the instructions of someone from the Howards. At the thought of this, Lucas smiled indifferently. He would tackle any tricks the Howards pulled! ¡°Punk, did you hear that? You¡¯ve offended Tiffany, and now she wants to break your limbs and cut your face as punishment! I suggest that you do it yourself! Otherwise, I guarantee that it will definitely be more painful than you can imagine! ¡°Bit by bit, I¡¯ll pull out your fingernails, smash every bone of your fingers, and then crush all your limbs into pieces! ¡°If you don¡¯t want to suffer this, you¡¯d better do it yourself and break your own limbs! Got it?¡± Travis looked at Jordan gloomily, his voice full of threat. Hearing Travis¡¯s description, many timid people around felt their fingers hurt. Jordan nced at Travis without any fear on his face. ¡°Is this old woman your old me? Are you sure you want to fight with me for this woman who goes around hooking up with men everywhere?¡± Travis frowned. This punk didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of him. Tiffany flew into a rage the moment she heard the words ¡®old woman¡¯ and ¡®hooking up with men everywhere¡¯. ¡°Bastard! How dare you be so rude to me! Travis, do it quickly and pull out this bastard¡¯s tongue too!¡± Tiffany yelled in a shrill voice. Travis clenched his fists. He was also extremely upset that Jordan had ignored him. ¡°Punk, I¡¯m going to beat you up to death now. Let¡¯s see how you can still be arrogant!¡± Travis shouted angrily before raising his fists and charging toward Jordan. The onlookers were immediately shocked. ¡°Travis seems angry. If he really makes a move, that punk will definitely die!¡± ¡°Duh? I heard that Travis killed his opponent in a kickboxing match before! This young man is definitely no match for Travis!¡± ¡°I also heard that the owner of the Gilded Association that Travis is from is close friends with top experts of the Peerless Martial Association! Anyone who offends the Gilded Association is akin to offending the Peerless Martial Association!¡± ¡°Wow, so there¡¯s such a rtionship? Seems like that young man is dead!¡± The crowd was discussing incessantly. Meanwhile, Jordan merely nced at Travis charging toward him. He said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, if I identally kill him, nothing will happen, right?¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°Since the Howards don¡¯t care, you can do whatever you want.¡± ¡°Haha, great! Finally, I can really do it!¡± In excitement, Jordan immediately had a trace of murderous intent in his eyes. With what Lucas said, he wouldn¡¯t have to be worried about killing someone by ident. The conversation between the two immediately made those near them look at them in disbelief. Was there something wrong with them? They had already provoked Travis, the young owner of the Gilded Club, and it appeared he wouldn¡¯t show mercy to this young man. Yet they were actually discussing whether he would identally kill Travis. Weren¡¯t they being too pretentious? ¡°Damn it, who are these two people? Are they fools? Travis is about to attack, but they¡¯re still so arrogant! Seems like they¡¯re really not afraid of dying!¡± ¡°He¡¯s much smaller than Travis! How can he possibly beat Travis, let alone kill him? He must be dreaming!¡± ¡°Hehe, these two punks are from some no-name family. Now that they¡¯re already on the brink of death, how dare they still speak like that?!¡± ¡°Look. Travis is about to rush over, and they¡¯re still standing there like fools without the slightest defense. They probably have no skills in martial arts at all! How dare they say that they¡¯ll kill Travis now? How idiotic!¡± Many peopleughed loudly at Jordan. At this moment, Travis finally rushed in front of Jordan and was in position to punch him. ¡°Go to hell!¡± Travis was indeed rather capable, and his punch was full of power. If it hit an ordinary person, it would probably result in numerous fractures. But Jordan was not an ordinary person. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s it?¡± Jordan sneered and suddenly punched Travis¡¯s fist. Bang! The two fists collided with a loud, explosive sound. Immediately afterward, Travis¡¯s body seemed to be hit by a car and flew backward! While in the air, Travis let out a miserable howl. Jordan¡¯s punch had already broken the bones of his arm! Boom! Travis¡¯s bodynded heavily on the floor. He clutched his crippled arm and shrieked in misery. This scene stunned almost everyone present! ¡°Oh my god! This young man¡­ he made Travis fly back so far with just one punch!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all. Look at Travis¡¯s hand. It already looks like broken y. I¡¯m afraid all his bones are broken!¡± ¡°Damn! This young man¡¯s skills are even better than Travis¡¯s! He must be an expert.¡± ¡°Definitely! Although I don¡¯t know much about martial arts, I¡¯ve heard from my family¡¯s experts that most martial artists are only practicing the general arts. Only a small number can truly internalize it and destroy their enemies with great power! So there shouldn¡¯t be any mistake. This young man should be a powerhouse who has internalized his strength!¡± ¡°Wow! No wonder. Although Travis is very powerful, he¡¯s still only a superficial expert. He¡¯s naturally no match for this young man!¡± ¡°How incredible¡­ Who is this young man? Where is he from?¡± The power in Jordan¡¯s punch shocked everyone. He was so young, yet he was already a top expert. Who¡­ exactly were they? Chapter 912 - Who Are You?

Chapter 912: Who Are You?

Seeing Travis rolling on the floor and wailing in agony while holding his arm, Tiffany trembled slightly. Since she could be the chairman of a top entertainmentpany, she naturally wasn¡¯t a stupid person. Previously, she didn¡¯t know Lucas and Jordan and subconsciously thought that they were just country bumpkins who had just arrived in DC. So she was contemptuous of them and wanted to seduce Lucas as soon as she saw him. After being rejected and mocked, she immediately flew into a rage and wanted to suppress them with force. But she never expected that Jordan would have such great power. She was extremely shocked. Skills in martial artists varied. There was the external level, internalized level, and transformation level. Most bodyguards actually hadn¡¯t even reached the external level and were a far cry from the level of experts. External-level experts were already extremely powerful. Moreover, powerhouses at the internalized level would generally only appear among the top eight families of DC. As for the legendary transformation-level experts, they were only legends, and basically no one had ever seen them before. Now, this young man only in his twenties was already an expert at the internalized level. It was simply shocking! Tiffany now knew that she had probably provoked the wrong people. How could she harbor designs on someone who had the protection of a top martial artist? Now, she just wished that time could turn back to a few minutes ago. If possible, she would definitely not harbor any more designs on Lucas! ¡°How noisy.¡± Lucas frowned. Jordan immediately understood and went to Travis, who was rolling on the floor and wailing incessantly. ¡°You¡¯re really noisy!¡± Jordan suddenly raised his foot and stomped down on Travis¡¯s chest. Snap! With the dull sound of bones cracking, Travis suddenly stopped shrieking. His chest immediately deted, and his eyes rolled over. Although he wasn¡¯t dead yet, he was seriously injured andpletely passed out. This scene made everyone inhale sharply and cover their mouths. This young man¡­ actually crippled Travis with one foot! The entire banquet hall was silent, and many people were stunned by the sight in front of them. They didn¡¯t dare to utter a single word. Jordan suddenly looked at Tiffany, the culprit of the matter, and walked toward her. ¡°Just now, you said you wanted him to cripple my limbs, cut my face, and feed me to the dogs, huh?¡± Jordan said while walking over. Tiffany was so frightened that she kept trembling incessantly. Seeing Jordan walking toward her one step at a time like a terrifying devil looking for revenge, she felt as if her heart was full of horror. She wished she could immediately disappear from this terrifying ce. ¡°I¡­ I was just kidding! I definitely didn¡¯t want to do that to you!¡± Tiffany¡¯s teeth were chattering non-stop as she slumped to the floor and almost burst into tears. ¡°Did you also say you wanted my life?¡± Jordan grinned with a sinister smile that made Tiffany even more terrified. ¡°No, I¡­ said the wrong thing! You¡­ you¡¯re so powerful, while I¡¯m just a blind old hag. I spouted some nonsense, and I hope that you¡¯ll be magnanimous enough not to stoop to my level!¡± Tiffany no longer cared about her dignity as she even criticized herself in hopes that Jordan would spare her life on ount that she was begging him for forgiveness in a lowly manner. She now hated herself for creating trouble because of how handsome Lucas was before she knew how powerful he really was. Even Travis, who hade out to help her out, had already had an arm crippled. What could a woman who liked to put on airs like her do? If Jordan punched her, there was no way she would survive! ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t care to hit a woman, but you¡¯re too shameless. Not only did you harbor designs on Lucas, but you were also rude to me! It¡¯s impossible for me to let you off!¡± After finishing speaking, Jordan was already standing next to Tiffany and staring at her coldly with obvious murderous intent in his eyes. Then he grabbed Tiffany¡¯s neck with one hand. At this moment, Tiffany finally realized that Jordan was really going to kill her! The horror of an impending death immediately overwhelmed everything. Tiffany was full of regret. If she could, she would offer everything she had in exchange for a chance of survival! Unfortunately, Jordan didn¡¯t seem to want to give her the opportunity to continue talking and tightened his grip on her neck. ¡°Stop it!¡± Suddenly, a loud shout sounded in the banquet hall. Under the escort of several bodyguards, a tall middle-aged man rushed over from the entrance of the banquet hall. ¡°Who is causing trouble at my family¡¯s banquet and threatening to kill someone?¡± Furious, the middle-aged man strode over and looked at Jordan and Tiffany, whom Jordan was strangling. A trace of interest appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. The Howards finally appeared! ¡°This is Samuel, the Howards¡¯ sessor!¡± ¡°I heard that Samuel has been established as the Howards¡¯ sessor for years. If nothing goes wrong, he will officially be the next helmsman today!¡± ¡°Wow, he¡¯s the soon-to-be helmsman!¡± ¡°Look how angry Samuel is. These two young men are in trouble!¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure! After all, this is the Howards¡¯ banquet, and they will definitely intervene if people cause trouble!¡± ... As soon as Samuel appeared, many people recognized him. ¡°Punk, let go of Miss Houten! She¡¯s an honored guest of the Huttons, and I won¡¯t tolerate you getting up to any nonsense at my family¡¯s banquet!¡± Samuel shouted angrily at Jordan. Jordan sneered. ¡°If she is an honored guest invited by the Howards, what does that make Lucas? Why didn¡¯t any of youe forward to stop them when she offended Lucas?¡± ¡°Who is Lucas?¡± Samuel frowned with a puzzled look. Ezra was standing by Samuel¡¯s side at this moment, but it looked as though he didn¡¯t care about anything and had no intention toe forward and exin. ¡°Ezra, shouldn¡¯t you say something?¡± Jordan narrowed his eyes at Ezra. Ezra looked confused, as if he really didn¡¯t know what Jordan was talking about. He just chuckled lightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are and who the Lucas you¡¯re talking about is, but not anyone can cause trouble here!¡± Chapter 913 - Using Someone Else To Kill

Chapter 913: Using Someone Else To Kill

Jordan smiled, and a strange gaze appeared in his eyes. He had already felt that there was something wrong with Ezra before. But seeing him feigning ignorance with a look of bewilderment and saying that he didn¡¯t know Lucas, he found it ridiculous. Ezra was indeed the culprit behind this matter! Jordan was still strangling Tiffany and ignoring the Howards. He turned his head slightly and looked at Lucas, asking him if he should let this woman off. If Lucas wanted him to, he would let her go. Likewise, if Lucas wanted him to kill her, he would do so without consideration for the Howards. Lucas nced at the Howards in front of him and said expressionlessly, ¡°Kill!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Jordan immediately nodded. At the same time, he tightened his grip on Tiffany¡¯s neck. Snap! Jordan immediately crushed Tiffany¡¯s throat. The moment the Howards appeared, Tiffany had thought she was finally saved. But she didn¡¯t expect that the two young men in front of her didn¡¯t care about the deterrence of the Howards at all! The moment she was at herst breath, her eyes were full of endless regret. If she had known that this would happen, she would have never allowed Ezra to instigate her to provoke Lucas¡­ But it was all toote now! Thud! Jordan squeezed Tiffany¡¯s neck and threw her corpse at the feet of Samuel and Ezra with a casual wave. The atmosphere in the banquet hall was extremely stagnant at this moment. Everyone was staring at Tiffany¡¯s corpse in shock. None of them expected that Jordan actually still dared to kill Tiffany right in front of the Howards even though the Howards¡¯ sessor had already appeared and told him to stop. He even threw the corpse in front of them! This¡­ was simply a tant provocation! They were on the Howards¡¯ territory, and it was the 75th birthday of the Howards¡¯ helmsman! On this important day, this young man actually killed a guest of the Howards at their birthday banquet. Were they¡­ out to blow things out of control? Weren¡¯t they afraid of the Howards¡¯ retaliation? Only Erza had a trace of excitement in the depths of his eyes, as if he finally achieved what he wanted. He was very satisfied with the scene in front of him. Samuel froze and then pointed at Jordan and Lucas. ¡°You¡­ you two actually killed someone at my father¡¯s seventh-fifth birthday? Who¡­ are you two?!¡± It seemed that he really didn¡¯t know who Lucas and Jordan were. Lucas quickly nced at Erza, who was next to Samuel, and happened to see the excitement in his eyes. In an instant, Lucas understood Ezra¡¯s intention for this move. It was extremely simple to exin. He was undoubtedly just trying to use someone else to achieve his motive. Lucas had heard everything the guests said. Samuel should be of the same generation as Florence. Moreover, Samuel would soon take over as helmsman of the family. Ezra, who was called the most outstanding heir of the third generation of the Howards, was likely to be the helmsman in the future. But once Samuel became the family¡¯s helmsman, it would be almost impossible for Ezra, his nephew, to have the opportunity to be established as the future sessor from Samuel¡¯s hands. Samuel had his own children too, and it was impossible for him to ignore them and hand over the position of helmsman to his nephew. Thus, Ezra had deliberately staged this scene to make Lucas and Samuel get into a conflict to have thetter killed! It seemed Ezra knew a lot about Lucas. Otherwise, how could he be so sure of killing Samuel? Lucas looked at Ezra and asked calmly, ¡°Ezra, are you sure you¡¯re not going to say something?¡± ¡°Sorry, Sir, I don¡¯t know who you are or what you mean by that statement.¡± Ezra showed a look of puzzlement before shrugging, looking rather innocent. It seemed Ezra nned to feign ignorance to the end. There should actually be two other people among the Howards who knew their identities, Florence and Pam. But since Ezra was ying such games, he would have probably used some tricks to stop those two people from appearing in the banquet hall to identify Lucas. In that case, Lucas had nothing more to say. ¡°Oh, since you have the guts to do these things and still feign ignorance in front of me, I hope you¡¯ll have the guts to bear the consequencester!¡± Lucas smiled faintly at Ezra with a kind expression. But this kind expression gave Ezra the chills! Lucas no longer paid attention to Ezra and looked at Samuel calmly. ¡°Samuel, I think you¡¯re smart enough. If you want to know if Ezra and I know each other or not, it should be easy for you to find out. ¡°I advise you to check things out first before making a decision. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be toote for regrets.¡± Lucas had always been smiling faintly. But his smile made many people present feel their scalp tingle. Just now, he had merely said one word to have Tiffany killed, and she really died. No one dared to treat him as a small fry anymore. Even Ezra, who had always felt that everything was under his control, couldn¡¯t help feeling a little creeped out. Samuel was taken aback by what Lucas said, but he soon sneered. ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t care if you know Ezra or not and what kind of rtionship you have. Now, it¡¯s indisputable that you openly killed a guest of the Howards at our banquet! ¡°No matter what reasons you have, what rtionships you have, nothing matters now! Since you¡¯ve done this, the Howards won¡¯t let you off easily!¡± Samuel said furiously. In his eyes, no matter what Lucas¡¯s identity was, the fact that Lucas had just tantly ignored his obstruction and killed Tiffany right under his nose was a provocation to the Howards! Samuel didn¡¯t take what Lucas said about Erza deliberately showing discord seriously because Samuel had never taken him seriously and didn¡¯t believe it either. Ezra said with a grin, ¡°Uncle Samuel, they¡¯ve killed someone at Grandpa¡¯s birthday banquet. This is bad luck. They even severely injured Travis, and who knows if he can be saved now. Based on these two points alone, you mustn¡¯t let them off!¡± ¡°So, I suggest that you call people over to deal with these two and then hand them over to the Gilded Association! ¡°Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to exin to the Gilded Association!¡± Ezra had a gentle smile on his face, and the schemingness in his eyes could barely be noticed by ordinary people. Chapter 914 - Great Disparity

Chapter 914: Great Disparity

Samuel naturally didn¡¯t notice this. After hearing Ezra¡¯s suggestion, Samuel nodded approvingly. ¡°Not bad. These two punks have tantly killed someone at the Howards¡¯ banquet and beat up someone from the Gilded Association. We have to give them an exnation!¡± Then he shouted at the bodyguards around him, ¡°Go capture those two punks!¡± A few senior bodyguards immediately approached Lucas and Jordan hostilely. The surrounding guests hurriedly dodged away, leaving arge space in the middle, afraid that they might be identally affected. But most of them looked excited. The two young men might be good at martial arts, but Howards¡¯ experts were not ordinary people after all. The confrontation was bound to be exciting. Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. Ezra really spared no effort to sow discord. He had deliberately caused two of them to get into a conflict with the Howards. But Samuel didn¡¯t take his advice and insisted that his subordinates take action against them. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t be polite to him. Before Lucas even gave any instructions, Jordan was already standing in front of Lucas and sneering at the Howards¡¯ experts with contempt. ¡°Hmph, you have a death wish!¡± Just as these few experts of the Howards came close and attacked, Jordan immediately rushed into their formation and swung his fists at them! Bang! Bang! Bang! ... Only the sound of dull collisions rang out. Jordan was so fast that it was almost impossible for them to see him. But every time there was a collision, an expert from the Howards would be sent flying! The fight was extremely simple without any fancy moves! In just a few short seconds, the six experts of the Howards who rushed forward to attack Jordan and Lucas were all knocked to the floor, each vomiting blood. This scene made almost everyone so stunned that their eyes were about to fall out! It was¡­ way too fast! Before they could even get a clear glimpse of anything, they saw the Howards¡¯ experts being knocked onto the floor one after another. They were all severely injured! If not because they were on the Howards¡¯ territory, they would have thought that these experts were all acting. The disparity in strength was that drastic! Samuel widened his eyes in shock and astonishment. As the sessor of the Howards who was about to be the next helmsman, Samuel naturally had the Howards¡¯ strongest powerhouses around him. These six people were all powerhouses who were not to be trifled with in all of DC. They could destroy some families under the eight top families. But these experts with such great strength were now just like ordinary people in front of this young man in his early twenties. They werepletely fragile and couldn¡¯t even touch Jordan before they were all knocked down! How was this possible? All of a sudden, Samuel wondered whether these experts around him had been swapped out. There was also shock in Ezra¡¯s eyes. Although he had nned this scene out and pushed things to this stage, Jordan¡¯s strength was way beyond his expectations. He originally thought that these experts around Samuel would definitely be a great threat to Jordan and that it would be best for them to beat him into a pulp or just cripple them. If this happened, Lucas would definitely avenge Jordan. When the time came, Lucas wouldpletely form a feud with the Howards, and there would be a great chance of Lucas killing Samuel. As long as Samuel died, the Howards would definitely do their best to kill Lucas! Once Samuel and Lucas died, Ezra would definitely be the next helmsman of the Howards. But Jordan had now easily severely injured Samuel¡¯s six experts with his own strength. His incredible martial arts prowess made Ezra feel uneasy. If¡­ if one of Lucas¡¯s subordinates was this powerful, how would the Howards be able to deal with the two of them in the future? If the Howards suffered a massive loss in Lucas¡¯s hands, he would lose more than his gains! Ezra had a vague ominous hunch, and he even felt a trace of regret. If he had known earlier, he probably wouldn¡¯t have schemed against Lucas like this and tried to take advantage of him. But it was toote to regret now that things hade to this! There was no turning back now, and he could only take things one step at a time! After defeating the six experts of the Howards, Jordan pped his hands with slight disappointment, as if he didn¡¯t enjoy the fight at all. ¡°Are all of the Howards¡¯ people such weaklings? I heard that you¡¯re going to take over as the Howards¡¯ helmsman. Don¡¯t you have experts around you who can fight? ¡°You¡¯re so weak. Are you people really worthy of being one of the eight top families in DC? You don¡¯t live up to your reputation at all!¡± Jordan mocked arrogantly. The people in the hall couldn¡¯t help inhaling sharply. It was simply too arrogant of him to mock the Howards on their turf! But this man had just defeated several of the Howards¡¯ experts effortlessly with his own strength, so he had every right to be arrogant because it was an indisputable fact that he was powerful! Samuel looked extremely sullen. Jordan didn¡¯t seem to take the Howards seriously at all, but Samuel¡¯s subordinates had indeed been defeated by Jordan, causing him to feel aggrieved and unable to refute! As the sessor of the Howards, he had never been so aggrieved before, especially not in front of so many guests on the Howards¡¯ turf! The Howards were greatly embarrassed! Samuel gritted his teeth and looked at Lucas. He knew that the person in front of him was the one who called the shots. ¡°Who are you?¡± Samuel asked through gritted teeth. Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°It¡¯s probably toote for you to be asking me who I am now.¡± Samuel was at a loss for words. Indeed, when Lucas reminded him that he and Ezra knew each other earlier, Samuel didn¡¯t take Lucas seriously at all. Even if Lucas revealed his identity now, Samuel, the sessor of the Howards, would never be able to ept it and bury the hatchet. The only thing he could do now was to defeat these two people by all means. He would then kill them and use their lives to wash away the shame they had subjected him and the Howards to. It would save the Howards their pride in front of so many guests! ¡°You¡¯re right. It doesn¡¯t matter who you are because it¡¯s impossible for you to leave this ce alive!¡± Samuel suddenlyughed with an intense murderous intent on his face. Chapter 915 Chapter 915: Stepping Forward The six experts around Samuel, who had all been crippled by Jordan, were all lying on the floor and unable to get up. But there was an intense murderous intent in Samuel¡¯s eyes, as if it wouldn¡¯t take much effort for him to kill Lucas. The surrounding guests were specting about what kind of treasure Samuel would use. Even Ezra was slightly excited. Then everyone saw Samuel suddenly pull out a heavy pistol from his waist and aim the shiny dark barrel at Lucas! Many people in the hall gasped subconsciously with panic and horror on their faces. Although many powerful families had their own channels to get guns and ammunition, very few would use them in public like Samuel did. Moreover, most people had a natural fear of weapons such as guns. Almost no one in the banquet hall dared to speak for a long while. Even the crowd¡¯s breathing became much softer. Everyone couldn¡¯t help staring at the gun aimed at Lucas. But everyone was shocked to find that even though the pistol was aimed at him, the expression on the young man¡¯s face remained almost unchanged. There wasn¡¯t the slightest trace of tension or fear on his face. ... Was he not afraid of the pistol? Could it be that he was already shocked out of his wits by the gun? ¡°Hah, punk, no one can escape from bullets, and I can honestly tell you that I used to specialize in shooting. So you¡¯ll definitely die today! ¡°If you have anyst words, hurry up and say them. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll never have the chance to speak again!¡± Samuel said arrogantly with a look of superiority while gripping the pistol tightly. In his eyes, Lucas was already dead. That he was still willing to give him time to say hisst words was already a great act of kindness. But the fear, awe, and regret he hoped to see on Lucas¡¯s face weren¡¯t present at all, making Samuel feel rather disappointed. Lucas looked extremely calm, and there was even a smile on his lips. ¡°You know what? Many people have pointed guns at me, but I¡¯m still alive and well now. Do you know why? ¡°Because that thing in your hand is just a pile of scrap metal to me, and it won¡¯t have any effect against me at all. I suggest that you put it away. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be the one who dies,¡± Lucas said indifferently, but his words were the truth. It was only a small gun. Even if there were dozens of guns aimed at him, Lucas wouldn¡¯t even frown. These things that seemed terrifying to ordinary people couldn¡¯t hurt him at all. Unfortunately, Lucas was telling the truth, but no one present believed him. ¡°He must be joking. How dare he say that Samuel¡¯s gun is just a pile of scrap metal?¡± ¡°Haha, he¡¯s way too arrogant! Does he think he can dodge bullets? What a braggart!¡± ¡°Hmph, Samuel¡¯s marksmanship is impressive! We witnessed it with our own eyes when we visited the firing range together. He basically hit the bull¡¯s eye every single time! Now that he¡¯s at such close range, that punk will never be able to dodge the bullets!¡± ¡°Hah, he¡¯s still pretending even when things havee to this? I refuse to believe that he can survive the bullets Samuel shoots!¡± ... The crowd began discussing. Of course, apart from sucking up to Samuel, they didn¡¯t believe what Lucas said at all. Standing beside Lucas, Jordan was the only one calm. He looked at Samuel as if he was looking at a fool. For some reason, his expression made Samuel feel extremely uneasy. Are they... really not afraid of guns? Why are they so calm? It doesn¡¯t make any sense at all! No, they must be pretending so that I¡¯ll be too scared to fire! ¡°Hah, since you don¡¯t want to leave anyst words, you can go to hell and repent there!¡± Samuel roared and was just about to move his finger on the trigger! An icy cold glint appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. As long as Samuel made a move, he wouldn¡¯t be polite. The person who died the next moment would be Samuel! Ezra stared intently at everything in front of him. He was so agitated that his breathing began to quicken! Yes, that¡¯s it. Start fighting! It doesn¡¯t matter who dies! Ezra screamed maniacally in his heart. ¡°Dad, quickly stop!¡± Just in the nick of time, an anxious voice suddenly sounded in the middle of the hall. At the same time, a figure dressed in a light green evening gown hurried over and resolutely blocked in front of Lucas! ¡°Pam, what are you doing?!¡± Seeing the actions of this person, Samuel¡¯s pupils constricted for a moment, and he didn¡¯t pull the trigger. He had almost fired, but his daughter suddenly rushed out and blocked in front of Lucas! ¡°Pam, are you out of your mind? Do you know you almost got killed?¡± Samuel shouted at Pam in exasperation and fear. Pam¡¯s face was pale, but she stretched out her arms and blocked in front of Lucas. She gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t kill him. You won¡¯t be able to do so anyway! You¡¯d better put the gun down!¡± Pam knew very well that a pistol wouldn¡¯t be able to do any harm to Lucas. When Lucas saved Pam in that remote town abroad just over a year ago, the dozens of terrorists were holding various pistols and submachine guns. But Lucas wasn¡¯t daunted by the bullets at all. He had even bravely rescued her from them! A small pistol had no effect on Lucas at all! Pam had to stop her father from doing something foolish to save his life. Lucas looked at the young woman blocking with her arms spread, and his heart trembled! He knew very well that Samuel¡¯s finger was already on the trigger just now, and with just a bit more force, the bullet would have shot out of the gun. At such a critical moment, Pam actually came forward and used her body to shield him! If Samuel hadn¡¯t controlled himself or if he had been a little slower, Pam might have been shot to death by the bullet! Thus, Lucas was extremely shocked by Pam¡¯s action and couldn¡¯t help being touched. Chapter 916 Chapter 916: Pregnant Lucas didn¡¯t know why Pam did this and risked her life to shield him. Strictly speaking, Lucas had only met Pam twice, once at thend auction in Orange County and one at the entrance of the Howard residence earlier. Lucas really couldn¡¯t figure out Pam¡¯s reason for doing this, but what she did had undoubtedly given him a great impression of her. Even if the conflict between him and the Howards was irreconcbleter, he would still allow Pam to remain living. Samuel glowered at his daughter in anger and annoyance and shouted, ¡°Pam, hurry up and get out of my way! Do you know that this punk behind you just killed Tiffany, the chairman of Mystique Entertainment, in this banquet hall! He seriously injured Travis, the young head of the Gilded Association. He even injured the six experts working for me! ¡°If I can¡¯t kill him now and make him pay for what he¡¯s done, the Howards will be greatly embarrassed. ¡°He must die here today! Hurry up and get out of the way!¡± Pam¡¯s face turned even paler. Ezra¡¯s subordinate had asked her to go somewhere else just now, and she had only returned after handling some important matters. She had no idea about what had just happened in the hall. But even if she knew that Lucas had done those things and greatly embarrassed the Howards, she couldn¡¯t possibly just stand there and watch her benefactor and Prince Charming die here! ¡°Dad, just let him go! Ever since I was a child, I have never begged you for anything. But now, I¡¯m begging you not to kill him. Let him off, okay?¡± Tears welled up in Pam¡¯s eyes as she begged Samuel. ... She was extremely sad. When she was in Orange County, she had finally found out the true identity of the Prince Charming who saved her back then. But before she could cheer for joy, she discovered that Lucas was already married and even had a five-year-old daughter. At the time, she was so devastated that she cried bitterly in the hotel. But after crying, she found that she still couldn¡¯t forget Lucas. She still thought about him every single waking moment of her life. Even after she knew his identity, her love for him grew even deeper. In the end, she couldn¡¯t resist the agony of lovesickness, so she decided not to give up despite knowing that Lucas already had a wife and a daughter. When she met Lucas at the entrance of the Howard residence today, she was ted, feeling that it was an excellent opportunity that Heaven had given her for them to begin their rtionship slowly. But she didn¡¯t expect to be called away from the hall for half an hour, and things had already developed to the point that Lucas and her father were on the verge of killing each other! The moment Pam saw her father holding Lucas at gunpoint and wanting to shoot him, she rushed over without hesitating at all and blocked in front of Lucas. Pam was full of misery. One was her father, while the other was the benefactor who saved her life and the person she loved. She was caught between them, and she didn¡¯t want either of them to be hurt! Unless she died first! ¡°Pam, I told you to get out of the way. Do you hear me? Are you going to disobey your father now?! If you still don¡¯t move aside, I¡¯ll kill you too!¡± Samuel roared furiously through gritted teeth. His face was full of murderous intent. He would never let Lucas off just like that! ¡°Dad, you actually... even want to kill me?¡± Pam¡¯s eyes were red as she looked at her father miserably. After hearing what Samuel said, Pam felt as if her heart was shattered into pieces. In order to kill Lucas, Dad doesn¡¯t even care about my life? In that case, there¡¯s probably only one solution now! Pam gritted her teeth and looked at her father. ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t kill me because I¡¯m already pregnant with your grandchild!¡± ¡°What? What are you saying?!¡± Samuel widened his eyes in disbelief. By the time he processed what Pam said, the look in his eyes became extremelyplicated. He was shocked yet happy. The Howards were rather patriarchal, and women were practically tools for marriage. But their status would be greatly different if they could give birth to a male heir! ¡°Are... are you really pregnant?¡± Samuel asked in disbelief. Pam nodded firmly. ¡°Yes, how could I lie to you? Besides, I¡¯ve already had it checked at the hospital. It¡¯s a boy!¡± ¡°Hahahaha, great! I¡¯m going to be a grandfather. The Howards are going to have another male heir!¡± Samuel immediately burst into joyousughter. But after he finishedughing, he noticed an extremely serious issue. His face suddenly turned sullen as he asked, ¡°Who is the child¡¯s father?¡± He remembered that his daughter hadn¡¯t married yet, so which bastard did it? Everyone watched in shock as Pam turned around and walked toward Lucas. She peeked at Lucas shyly and sweetly. ¡°It... it¡¯s him!¡± Boom! Everyone was dumbfounded! Samuel widened his mouth, and his eyes were about to pop out! He could have never imagined that the person who got his daughter pregnant was the very same young man he wanted to kill! At this moment, Lucas was the most shocked and dumbfounded! He widened his mouth and looked at Pam in surprise. He had only met her thrice. How could she possibly be pregnant with his child?! But Lucas soon realized that Pam must have said so to save him from Samuel. But this method would not only hurt Pam¡¯s reputation, but it would probably not have much of an effect. What a silly woman... Ezra, standing beside Samuel, was also shocked. He knew that Pam had been taken away to California by Florence for the sake of marrying Lucas. At the time, Ezra had secretly followed them to California, so he knew a lot of secrets. Ezra knew that Pam and Lucas had met at thend auction of Orange County. But he had no idea what kind of intimate behavior there was between them. But he could tell that Pam had special feelings for Lucas, so it didn¡¯t seem unlikely for her to be pregnant with his child. Seeing the appearance of this variable, Ezra immediately became gloomy. If Samuel got a son-inw like Lucas, not only would the two of them not fight to the death, but Samuel¡¯s position as the soon-to-be helmsman would also be unshakable with Lucas¡¯s help. When the time came, Ezra wouldn¡¯t stand a chance at all! No, this must never happen! Ezra¡¯s eyes showed a menacing murderous intent! Chapter 917 Chapter 917: Drawing A Line ¡°What... what did you just say? You... you¡¯re actually pregnant with this punk¡¯s child?¡± Samuel pointed at Lucas, his face full of disbelief. If the father of the child in Pam¡¯s stomach was an heir of a noble family in DC, Samuel would definitely be overjoyed. Yet it belonged to the punk in front of him! Samuel¡¯s mood immediately became worse. He still hadn¡¯t figured out Lucas¡¯s identity, and Lucas had just embarrassed the Howards. There was no way he could let him off easily... Then, how should he deal with Lucas next? Should he spare Lucas for the sake of his grandson in Pam¡¯s stomach? Or should he be even more annoyed and kill this bastard who had the audacity to tarnish his daughter... While Samuel was hesitating, Lucas suddenly stepped to the side to avoid the hand that Pam was reaching out to hold his arm. He said calmly, ¡°Miss Howard, don¡¯t talk nonsense. You and I have only met twice by chance, and we¡¯ve had no intimate contact. How could I have possibly gotten you pregnant? ¡°Besides, I¡¯m already married and have a five-year-old daughter. How could I have gotten intimate with you?¡± What Lucas said immediately made the people around him dumbfounded! W-what¡¯s going on? ... Pam actually said that she was pregnant with this man¡¯s child, but he denied having anything to do with her. He even denied the existence of the child. Wow! So thrilling! Is this a day of gossip about wealthy families? They¡¯ve been saying so much. Who knows what¡¯s real and what¡¯s fake! The people in the hall immediately imagined all sorts of corny and dramatic scenarios about whether Pam was pregnant or not and whether there was any history between Lucas and her! After Lucas revealed the truth so bluntly, Pam immediately showed a stunned expression. She had already sacrificed her innocence to save Lucas¡¯s life. Why did this man reveal the truth? This was the Howard residence! If Samuel really lost his temper and decided to kill Lucas, there was no way Lucas could escape from the Howards! Pam was so anxious that she couldn¡¯t wait to cover Lucas¡¯s mouth. On the other hand, Samuel flew into a rage as soon as he heard what Lucas said. ¡°Punk, what are you saying? You¡¯ve tarnished my daughter, but you¡¯re not going to admit it now?¡± He didn¡¯t think his daughter was lying in public. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy for an unmarried woman to admit in public that she was pregnant. She would almost undoubtedly be frowned upon, and people would simply think that she was a shameless and wonton woman with no self-respect. It was especially a disgraceful matter for the top families of DC like the Howards! Thus, he didn¡¯t believe that his daughter made this up and ruined her reputation! But this damned punk actually refused to admit it and instead insisted that there was nothing between him and his daughter! He simply had a death wish! Samuel could look down on Lucas and not acknowledge as his son-inw, but Lucas refusing to admit to this matter was tant bullying of his daughter and the Howards! Samuel¡¯s anger immediately erupted, and fire burned in his eyes as he stared straight at Lucas, wishing he could kill this bastard who toyed with his daughter and refused to admit it! Lucas faced the furious Samuel calmly and enunciated word by word. ¡°I said, I¡¯ve only met your daughter twice by chance, and we¡¯re not even considered friends. So how could we possibly have an intimate rtionship?¡± He merely exined clearly that there was no intimate rtionship between him and Pam and didn¡¯t say anything else on ount that Pam was willing to take a bullet for him earlier. Otherwise, if another woman suddenly popped out of nowhere and imed that she was carrying his child, Lucas would have never let her off easily. Pam turned deathly pale as she stared nkly at Lucas¡¯s calm face. She felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart. It turned out that... in Lucas¡¯s heart, she was just a stranger he had only met twice, and they weren¡¯t even considered friends... Although the truth was indeed so, Pam still felt extremely sad and heartbroken. The fact that the man she loved just drew a line with her made Pam feel heartbroken. Tears welled up in her eyes before rolling down her face and dripping onto the carpet. ¡°You bastard! My daughter is already weeping so miserably. How dare you say that there¡¯s nothing between you two?!¡± Seeing how agonized Pam was, Samuel knew that she was obviously heartbroken because of this scumbag. He lost his temper and hollered at Lucas, ¡°You dog! What kind of a man are you? You don¡¯t even dare to own up to your actions! ¡°Oh right, you just said you¡¯re married and have a five-year-old daughter, right? Damn it! How dare you mess with my daughter when you¡¯re already married? You¡¯re really bold!¡± Lucas was speechless for a while, but he realized that Pam was crying at this moment. He couldn¡¯t help feeling troubled. ¡°Why... why are you crying? There¡¯s nothing between us, and we don¡¯t have a child. You should hurry up and make things clear to them!¡± Lucas had always been a restrained man. He had always refrained from having close contact with other women, especially after he fell in love with Cheyenne. Yet he was being used of getting another woman pregnant in front of so many people. He felt extremely aggrieved too. Besides, if Cheyenne heard about it, how could he continue to live? Thus, he wanted Pam to quickly exin things to everyone to clear up the misunderstanding! But after hearing what Lucas said, not only did Pam not exin, but she even teared up even more uncontrobly. Turns out... he¡¯s dead set against having anything to do with me, and he can¡¯t wait to draw a line between us... Pam choked for a long time before saying sobbingly, ¡°Dad... Actually, I lied to you. I¡¯m not pregnant with his child, nor do I have anything on with him. D-don¡¯t me him or hurt him, okay?¡± Pam did exin, but her exnation sounded like an excuse to defend a scumbag who broke her heart. It sounded like she would rather suffer herself to do what he wanted her to do. Samuel was furious! ¡°You scoundrel! How dare you bully my daughter in front of me? You clearly did something you shouldn¡¯t have, but you still refuse to admit it. Are you still a man? If not for my daughter¡¯s sake, I would have already shot you dead! ¡°I¡¯m telling you. From now on, you are my son-inw! If you dare to bully my daughter again, you¡¯ll see how I¡¯ll deal with you!¡± Samuel glowered at Lucas, his fists clenched tightly. He wanted to go over to punch him right away! After Lucas heard what Samuel said, his mouth widened in shock. He was dumbfounded! What¡¯s going on? Pam had already exined that she had nothing to do with him. Why did Samuel still im that he was his son-inw? Hey! He didn¡¯t even ask for consent! Chapter 920 - Give You A Chance

Chapter 920: Give You A Chance

¡°Since Ezra has said so, then what happened to Florence back then must be true! I didn¡¯t expect her to have an illegitimate daughter!¡± ¡°What happened back then? Quickly tell us about it!¡± ¡°Some of you may not know that about twenty-eight years ago, Florence, who was still very young at the time, suddenly eloped with a poor boy. Mr. Howard was infuriated! Although this matter was soon suppressed, many families knew about it! ¡°I heard that they had a tough life out there, and Florence even became pregnant. Later, the man returned to DC and begged the Howards for forgiveness so that they could return to the family. Afterward, he somehow angered Mr. Howard and was killed. ¡°A few monthster, Florence returned to DC alone, looking extremely haggard. I heard that she knelt in front of Mr. Howard¡¯s door for two days and two nights before he was appeased and allowed her to return to the family. But she soon married into the Lamberts in a marriage alliance. ¡°The Howards have been keeping this secret. After all, it¡¯s a shameful scandal, and they didn¡¯t want to air their dirtyundry in public! But after I heard what Ezra said, it turned out that Florence gave birth to an illegitimate daughter back then. Who knows where she was hiding her. Calcting the time, she should be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old now, which is about the same age as that young man!¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk. It turns out the Howards have so many secrets! But since this man has already married Florence Howard¡¯s illegitimate daughter and has now gotten Pam pregnant, he¡¯s truly a scumbag!¡± ¡°It looks like Ezra is probably right. This man might be doing this on purpose to take revenge against the Howards! After all, the father of Florence¡¯s illegitimate daughter was killed by the Howards!¡± The guests in the hall were having lively discussions about the Howards¡¯ secrets. Many people hadn¡¯t heard about this matter, and they were finding out about it from the elders with glistening eyes. Although the Howards had suppressed Florence¡¯s incident, the matter wasn¡¯t trivial back then, so many elders were vaguely aware of what had happened. Samuel looked extremely upset. This incident wasn¡¯t a glorious matter to begin with. Now that people were bringing it up again, he naturally felt embarrassed as a Howard. But the most atrocious person now was Lucas! ¡°Scoundrel, since you¡¯ve already married Florence¡¯s daughter, why are you still messing with my daughter? Do you think I¡¯m a pushover? ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me the truth, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless to you!¡± Samuel glowered at Lucas with gritted teeth. At this moment, Pam knew that the consequences of what she said earlier were too serious, so she hurriedly exined, ¡°Dad, I really have nothing to do with him. I¡¯m not pregnant, and he hasn¡¯t taken advantage of me!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Samuel shouted angrily. He didn¡¯t believe Pam at all. He felt that Pam was telling the truth about being pregnant because no unmarried woman would say such a thing that would ruin her reputation! As for her denial, it was just her covering up for Lucas because she didn¡¯t want him to be considered a scumbag with ulterior motives. My daughter is such a fool! Even after this scumbag deceived her, he¡¯s still so obsessed with him! ¡°Dad, what I¡¯m saying now is true. I¡¯m really not pregnant, and I don¡¯t have an intimate rtionship with him either! I¡­ I just didn¡¯t want you and him to get into a conflict, so I said that lie! ¡°If you still don¡¯t believe me, I can go to the hospital to check with you. I¡¯m really not pregnant!¡± Pam frantically exined. She was now full of regret. She wouldn¡¯t have lied about this if she had known things would turn out like this! ¡°Enough!¡± Samuel hollered, stopping Pam from speaking. He turned around and ordered, ¡°Take Pam away!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Two bodyguards immediately stepped forward and held Pam. Ignoring her struggles, they dragged her out of the banquet hall. Although Pam was an heiress of the Howards, her father was the future helmsman, so the bodyguards naturally obeyed him. Even after Pam was taken away, Lucas didn¡¯t say a word to defend himself. Since Samuel refused to believe even Pam¡¯s words, how could he possibly believe an outsider? ¡°I¡¯m asking you, why are you doing this to my daughter? What¡¯s your true motive?¡± Samuel questioned Lucas loudly. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that your daughter and I don¡¯t have that kind of rtionship. I can¡¯t help it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Lucas looked at Samuel calmly and sneered. ¡°I thought you, the next helmsman of the Howards, should have some brains. However, I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯d let yourself be deceived to such an extent but still not wake up. There¡¯s nothing I have to say now. ¡°Since I¡¯m not wee here, I¡¯ll leave now!¡± With that, Lucas turned around to leave. ¡°Bastard, stop!¡± Samuel obviously wouldn¡¯t let Lucas leave easily. With his roar, nearly ten burly bodyguards surged over from the entrance of the banquet hall, and each aimed a pistol at Lucas. ¡°Aahhh!¡± The guests in the hall screamed in horror and hid in the surrounding corners. It seemed that Samuel was nning to take real action against Lucas, as he had even summoned the Howards¡¯ pistol squad. If they all shot at the same time, Lucas and his subordinate would most likely die regardless of how powerful they were. Everyone avoided them far away, afraid of being identally injured by the bullets! Seeing the pistol squad, Ezra instantly looked excited. Although there had been some hups, things were finally getting back on track as he had nned! Next, he just needed to wait quietly for the result. To him, it would be best if both of them died! Lucas stopped and looked at Samuel calmly. ¡°Put away those scraps. I told you already. They won¡¯t work on me. ¡°On ount that your daughter shielded me from the gun earlier, I can give you a chance and spare your life. ¡°I hope that you won¡¯t continue being stupid!¡± After Lucas finished speaking, a fierce light shed in his eyes! Chapter 923 Chapter 923: Bring Her Back Lucas was telling the truth. Given his current status and identity, no one could force him to greet them if he didn¡¯t want to, not even his father, Michael, let alone Felix. Frankly speaking, Cheyenne hadn¡¯t even acknowledged the Howards yet, so it was ridiculous for him to be so eager to put on airs like elders in front of Lucas. ¡°Lucas Gray! What nonsense are you saying? How dare you disrespect the helmsman?!¡± Florence hollered at Lucas in shock. Lucas nced at Florence and said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m not a Howard. You have no right to order me around.¡± ¡°Did you forget what I¡¯ve said before? The Howards and I are only in a cooperative rtionship. Don¡¯t try to control me. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being rude!¡± The expression on Florence¡¯s face instantly froze. Indeed, when she struck a deal with Lucas in Orange County, she had said that they were only in a cooperative rtionship and that the Howards wouldn¡¯t control him or force him to do anything. But Felix, who was used to controlling everyone in the family, clearly didn¡¯t think this way. In his opinion, Lucas was a Howard since he was married to Cheyenne. As such, he should be respectful to him and even obey him. ... Now that Lucas was being so cold and showing him no respect, Felix obviously felt embarrassed in front of the guests. Seeing Felix frown, Samuel frantically seized the opportunity to say, ¡°Father, this punk is really arrogant. He didn¡¯te here to celebrate your birthday sincerely, and he¡¯s even creating trouble. I think we¡¯d better kill him as soon as possible!¡± He now utterly detested Lucas. If Lucas hadn¡¯t appeared, how could he have been removed from his position as sessor? Seeing this situation, Ezra lowered his head in joy. Great. Hopefully, these people continue creating trouble! The more, the better! Samuel had just lost his position as sessor. The more he blew things up, the more likely it would be for him to provoke his grandfather. In that case, Ezra¡¯s chances would be greater. There were very few among the Howards who could qualify as the sessor. Apart from Samuel, his grandson was the most outstanding. In addition, although Florence had always coveted the position of helmsman and she was ratherpetent as well, she was still a woman, and it was almost impossible for Felix to pass on his position to her. Once Samuel died or angered his grandfather, Ezra would eventually be the helmsman! The thought of it made him extremely excited. He just hoped that their conflict would intensify. The guests had all heard their conversation just now. ¡°That young man is way too arrogant. He¡¯s facing the helmsman of the Howards!¡± ¡°Yeah! Not to mention that the Howards¡¯ helmsman is an esteemed figure and should receive our respect, that young man is his grandson-inw. He really doesn¡¯t know any better!¡± ¡°Mr. Howard just asked him to greet him. Isn¡¯t that expected of a junior? Yet he said that Mr. Howard doesn¡¯t have the qualifications to make him do that. How arrogant!¡± ¡°I heard that this young man is the overlord of California and Oregon! Those two states can¡¯tpare to DC. Young men are indeed ignorant and arrogant because they¡¯re too young!¡± ¡°It seems that it¡¯s time for society to teach him a hard lesson!¡± Most of the guests were naturally on the Howards¡¯ side. Thus, they were more or less ming Lucas. But Lucas didn¡¯t even take the Howards seriously, so of course he didn¡¯t take to heart the words of these people who were just trying to curry favor with the Howards. Felix stared at Lucas for a long time, seemingly thinking about how he should deal with him. After a long time, he suddenly said, ¡°Forget it. You might be my grandson-inw, but this is our first meeting after all. It¡¯s normal for us to be distant. I won¡¯t force you to do anything. ¡°But it¡¯s my seven-fifth birthday today. Since you¡¯re already here, why don¡¯t you stay for the celebration?¡± Felix¡¯s attitude suddenly became much mellower, and he even took a step back. His actions immediately shocked many people familiar with his character. Even Lucas was surprised. Everything Lucas knew about Felix was basically what Florence had told him. ording to Florence¡¯s description, Felix should be an extremely ruthless person who only cared about interests and had no regard for kinship. It was almost impossible for him to give in to his juniors. But after being slightly surprised, Lucas calmed down. Although he didn¡¯t have any personal feelings for the Howards, Felix was Cheyenne¡¯s grandfather. As long as Felix stopped acting arrogant and trying to control him, Lucas would give him due respect. As for whether Felix still had some other hidden intentions or not, he would y by ear. Anyway, Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid regardless of what moves he would make. ¡°Since you¡¯ve invited me, it would be disrespectful of me to decline.¡± Lucas agreed with a smile and turned around to sit down on an empty seat. The crowd was confused by this scene. Did these two who were at odds suddenly make peace? The change in the dynamic of their rtionship happened too quickly. But since Felix already said so, the rest didn¡¯t dare to say anything else and returned to their seats. It was as if nothing had happened at all, and the usual liveliness returned. But at this moment, Felix suddenly instructed Florence, ¡°Florence, immediately arrange for someone to go to Orange County to bring back Cheyenne Howard, my granddaughter whom I¡¯ve never met! I want to see her!¡± When Lucas heard his instructions, his face instantly darkened. Cheyenne was his Achilles¡¯ heel. No one was allowed to touch her! Chapter 924 Chapter 924: Changing Last Name to Howard The change in Lucas¡¯s expression was very obvious. Florence naturally noticed it, and she hesitated. When she was in Orange County, she already knew that Lucas cared a lot about Cheyenne. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have agreed to work temporarily with the Howards in order not to make Cheyenne upset. Thus, Cheyenne was Lucas¡¯s greatest weakness. He even refused to let her reunite with Florence, her mother, so how could he be willing to let Cheyenne return to the Howards? Besides, Florence hadn¡¯t even reunited with Cheyenne officially, so she was in no ce to bring her back. Seeing the hesitant look on Florence¡¯s face, Felix immediately frowned and asked sternly, ¡°You don¡¯t want to?¡± Lucas said lightly, ¡°Mr. Howard, I¡¯ve already told you that my wife is Cheyenne Carter, not Cheyenne Howard. Moreover, she has no intention of returning to the Howards and reuniting with you now, so you should stop thinking about it.¡± As soon as he said this, the guests were surprised. The Howards were one of the eight top families of DC, and they held a pivotal economic position in the United States! Many people wished they could have some ties with the Howards, and no one dared to offend even the bodyguards and doormen. This was the prestige of a top wealthy family. ... But now, the helmsman of the Howards had asked for Florence¡¯s illegitimate daughter to be brought home, which probably meant he wanted to reunite with her. This was akin to reaching the top in one go. Many people were envious, yet Lucas refused him without giving it any thought. Besides, ording to what he said, he seemed to be against the idea of Cheyenne returning to the Howards to acknowledge her roots. He was simply turning down a blessing! Everyone felt that Lucas was a fool. Lucas rejected Felix¡¯s request unceremoniously in front of everyone. Felix became angry, and he immediately exuded a terrifying pressure. He had been in control of the Howards for many years, so his aura was terrifying when he was furious. Some people close to Felix began trembling as fear surged in their hearts. Florence, Samuel, Ezra, and other Howards lowered their heads, and ayer of cold sweat broke out on their faces. Only Lucas and Jordan could maintain normal expressions under Felix¡¯s pressure. ¡°Punk, no matter what you really think, she¡¯s still a Howard by blood! Regardless of who her father is, anyone from the Howard family must take the family name! This is the rule of my family! ¡°Furthermore, we can¡¯t let someone of the Howard blood stay estranged from us. So regardless of whether you¡¯re willing or not, she must return to the Howards!¡± Felix spoke domineeringly, his tone adamant. It was the first time Lucas had heard of a family rule where female descendants had to take her maternal family¡¯sst name. Lucas sneered and asked sarcastically, ¡°Based on what you said, everyone from your family must take the Howardst name. And you even said that I¡¯m your grandson-inw and a Howard. Does that mean that I have to change myst name to Howard too?¡± His original intention was to be sarcastic and use the rhetorical question to criticize the Howards¡¯ rule for being absurd and ridiculous. But Felix replied, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! ¡°Be it women or men who marry into the Howard family, or even those who work for us, including the bodyguards, they must all take our family name! ¡°I heard that you¡¯re the live-in husband of my granddaughter. In that case, you have to take ourst name too!¡± Felix¡¯s words immediately left Lucas speechless. It was the first time he had seen such a rule. It was no wonder that Felix had presumptuously decided to change Cheyenne¡¯sst name to Howard after learning her name. He kept calling her Cheyenne Howard because of this ridiculous rule of the Howards. A person¡¯sst name represented their bloodline and their roots in this wor;d. Changing yourst name was not as simple as changing the word. Even when Lucas was kicked out by the Huttons back then, he wasn¡¯t allowed to use theirst name because the Huttons felt that it was an insult to him and would remind him of the shame of being abandoned. Later, Lucas took his mother¡¯sst name, which meant that from then on, his mother would be his only kin, and he would no longer have any paternal rtives. But Felix wanted to take away hisst name and force him to change it to Howard. It was so ridiculous that it was amusing! Jordan couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He immediately stepped forward and said sneeringly, ¡°Hmph, who do you think you are? How dare you make Lucas change hisst name?!¡± Felix narrowed his eyes, and a menacing murderous intent suddenly emerged in his eyes. ¡°How dare a servant question my decision? You have no rules or discipline at all! Go teach him a hard lesson!¡± With this order, a cold and stern-looking middle-aged expert immediately walked out from behind Felix and reached out toward Jordan without saying a word! The moment he was about to approach Jordan, this expert extended one hand to grab Jordan¡¯s cor while raising his other hand to p his face! With his speed and the strength contained in this p, Lucas was certain that this p could definitely crush the skull of the average person! This person was really ruthless! Fortunately, Jordan wasn¡¯t an average person. Although the expert¡¯s attack was unexpected, Jordan had been by Lucas¡¯s side for a long time and was once part of the Falcon Regiment. At the critical moment, he reacted quickly and perfectly dodged the p and the hand about to grab his cor. ¡°Huh? He managed to dodge?¡± The middle-aged expert was shocked. As a bodyguard of the Howards¡¯ helmsman, he was naturally skilled in martial arts, and he was best at being quick! Be it his speed of attacking or dodging, very few people in DC could defeat him! Moreover, he had attacked by surprise and even restricted Jordan¡¯s moving range with both hands. People who could dodge his attack were few and far between even in DC! But the young man in front of him actually managed to dodge his attack perfectly! Chapter 926 - Kill Him

Chapter 926: Kill Him

The fight between the two of them was extremely intense. The more the middle-aged expert fought, the more shocked he became because he had already used almost all of his skills. Be it his technique, speed, or strength, they had all reached his peak. But the young man opposite him was still on par with him. In fact, he could even sense that this was far from the peak of Jordan¡¯s true strength! ¡°Is this the extent of your full strength?¡± Jordan suddenly mocked the middle-aged expert after throwing a punch. ¡°Don¡¯t be too smug!¡± The middle-aged expert roared through gritted teeth as he exerted all of his strength. He was now in a terrible mood. He was a top expert who protected the Howards¡¯ helmsman. He initially thought that it wouldn¡¯t take much effort to deal with this young man and that it would be a piece of cake to teach him a lesson under the helmsman¡¯s orders. But he didn¡¯t expect Jordan to be on par with him. Even until now, he still couldn¡¯t conquer him! His failure to defeat Jordan wasn¡¯t the only problem. If they continued fighting at this rate, he would probably lose! Once he really lost to Jordan, not only would he be embarrassed, but the Howards would be disgraced as well. Felix definitely wouldn¡¯t spare his life, especially since they were in front of all the guests! The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Then ws appeared in his skills. ¡°You¡¯re losing focus and getting flustered just like that? You don¡¯t seem that impressive for a so-called expert!¡± Jordan could tell at a nce just what this middle-aged expert was afraid of, so he smirked. ¡°In that case, there¡¯s no need to fight anymore!¡± Then Jordan¡¯s aura suddenly soared, and it was much more aggressive than before. He punched the middle-aged expert hard in his chest! The middle-aged expert knew that this blow was dangerous, and he frantically wanted to block Jordan¡¯s punch. But now, Jordan¡¯s speed and power were iparable to earlier, and the middle-aged expert couldn¡¯t block it at all! Bang! ...... The punch hit the middle-aged expert¡¯s chest hard, making a loud and shocking sound! The middle-aged expert was sent flying as if he had been struck by a cannonball. Along the way, he knocked over several tables before finally stopping and vomiting arge mouthful of fresh blood! This scene immediately caused everyone in the hall to have a drastic change in expression! No one expected the expert to lose! Moreover, in the beginning, Felix thought that Jordan had offended him by being rude, so he got his expert to teach Jordan a lesson. But he didn¡¯t expect to be put to shame by Jordan instead! All of a sudden, no one dared to look at the expression on Felix¡¯s face. Samuel looked surprised and in disbelief. After the shock, he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of horror. This powerful expert was only a subordinate by Lucas¡¯s side. In that case, how powerful was Lucas? At the thought of how he had aimed a gun at Lucas and tried to kill him, Samuel burst into an uncontroble cold sweat. If he had been determined to shoot earlier, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to escape death even if he could kill Lucas. Now that he thought about it, it didn¡¯t seem that intolerable for his daughter to be with Lucas since he was such a young and powerful talent. Instead, it would be a blessing for the Howards. At the side, Ezra was full of excitement. He was well aware of how powerful Lucas was. Just over a week ago, Florence had brought Pam to California to look for the Master of California under Felix¡¯s orders. At the time, Ezra had left the family residence under the pretext of going out to do business and secretly followed them to California. During the martial artspetition in California, Ezra had witnessed with his own eyes Lucas¡¯s power. He saw Lucas easily kill Bruno, one of the top ten experts of the Peerless Martial Association, in the ring. From this moment on, Ezra knew that Lucas was not only the overlord of two states, but he even possessed extremely terrifying power. Since then, Ezra had been thinking about how to use Lucas to help him kill Samuel, the stumbling block on his route to bing the helmsman. Later, Ezra found out about the rtionship between Lucas and Florence. He also learned that Pam had special thoughts about Lucas. So after learning that Lucas came to DC, he immediately set this scheme up and took the initiative to lure Lucas to the Howards. Afterward, he deliberately created a conflict between Lucas and Samuel to get Lucas to kill him. In this way, he would definitely be the sessor! But man proposes, and God disposes. Ezra didn¡¯t expect Samuel not to die and instead only be removed from his position as sessor. But even then, it was still great news for Ezra because it meant that his chances of bing the helmsman had also increased greatly. Now that Lucas¡¯s subordinate and Felix¡¯s expert bodyguard were fighting, it would only cause the rtionship between Lucas and the Howards to deteriorate even further. Like this, Florence, who might threaten his position, would be further weakened. Meanwhile, Ezra wouldn¡¯t have to do anything at all. He only needed to continue watching a good show! ¡°Brat, how dare you injure me? I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± The middle-aged expert, who had just been sent flying by Jordan¡¯s punch, got up from the floor and reached out to wipe away the bloodstains on the corner of his mouth while staring at Jordan with resentment. The fact that he had just been sent flying by such a greenhorn was simply humiliating! No matter what, he wouldn¡¯t take it lying down! He had to use his greatest abilities to fight to the death with Jordan. Otherwise, the Howards wouldn¡¯t let them off! Jordan suddenly looked at Felix with raised brows and asked with a sinister smile, ¡°Mr. Howard, your henchman wants me dead now. You won¡¯t me me if I kill him, will you?¡± Chapter 927 - Sending Them Away

Chapter 927: Sending Them Away

Felix¡¯s face was extremely gloomy. Previously, he had ordered the expert around him to take action and teach Jordan a hard lesson. However, not only did he fail to do this, but he was even greatly embarrassed. Felix found it hard to ept this oue. Now, his expert had decided to fight Jordan to the death in order to get rid of the shame, and it was impossible for him to stop. Felix hadn¡¯t spoken yet, but his expert had already charged toward Jordan and raised his hand to throw a swift punch! This time, he struck with greater force than before. Clearly, the middle-aged expert had used all his strength to throw this domineering punch. Jordan snorted coldly and instantly raised his aura by a level. He stomped down hard on the wooden floor, instantly forming arge dent full of cracks. Bang! With the force of this recoil under his feet, Jordan was much faster than before. Like an arrow leaving a bow, he darted straight toward the middle-aged expert¡¯s punch! It was the most direct collision of punches! This time, the power contained in Jordan¡¯s arm was definitely far greater than before! Boom! With a thunderous sound, the middle-aged expert¡¯s arm began to break inch by inch under the immense force of Jordan¡¯s punch! ...... His wrist, broken! His forearm, shattered! His elbow, cracked! His shoulder, smashed! The sounds of bones breaking filled the air. His skin, flesh, nerves, and other tissues attached to his bones were smashed into bits by Jordan¡¯s push, as if they had encountered an invisible meat grinder. ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± The expert let out a piercing shriek, making the hair of everyone in the banquet hall stand on end. ¡°Hmph!¡± Jordan snorted coldly while the middle-aged expert screamed in misery. He raised his other hand and smacked the middle-aged expert in the chest! Snap! The dull sound of bones cracking filled the air again! This time, Jordan¡¯s palm dented the middle-aged expert¡¯s entire chest, and his ribs and internal organs were allpletely shattered! The middle-aged expert¡¯s body was thrown upward like a broken sack while spewing blood. By the time hended, he had already stopped breathing! Jordan rubbed his aching fist before walking back to Lucas calmly, as if it had nothing to do with him. ... The banquet hall was dead silent. Everyone started at this scene in a daze, unable to return to their senses for a long time. A long timeter, the sounds of people inhaling sharply filled the air. ¡°He¡­ he actually killed the Howards¡¯ expert!¡± ¡°Unbelievable! He was a top expert who protected Mr. Howard for years! Yet he actually died at the hands of such a young man?!¡± ¡°This is unbelievable! Most importantly, he really dared to kill someone!¡± ... The guests in the hall were all in disbelief at the scene in front of them. This was the Howard residence, and more importantly, it was Felix¡¯s 75th birthday party! Moreover, Jordan had not only defeated the powerhouse who worked for Felix, but he had even killed him in front of so many people! His boldness was truly shocking! ¡°You¡­ You actually¡­!¡± Felix abruptly stood up, pointed at Jordan, and hollered angrily. But as soon as he said a few words, his face flushed red, and a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth! He was actually angered to the point of vomiting blood! ¡°Mr. Howard!¡± ¡°Father!¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± ... Everyone eximed in shock and horror, especially the Howards, who immediately rushed forward to hold Felix. Felix took out a silk handkerchief, wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth, shook his head at the people to decline their support, and then straightened his body to look at Lucas and Jordan. A murderous intent shed in his shrewd pair of eyes. ¡°Everyone, something has happened today, and the birthday banquet is canceled. Thank you all foring today. ¡°However, everything that happened today is a private affair of the Howards. I hope you won¡¯t speak any nonsense. If I find out that anyone has said something they shouldn¡¯t have, I won¡¯t mind taking my people with me to your home!¡± Felix looked around the room with a grave expression and told them to leave and keep silent about what happened today. Since things had alreadye to this, and the atmosphere had already been ruined, letting the guests stay would only be further humiliation to the Howards. Furthermore, these events were not only extremely embarrassing to the Howards, but they also concerned many of the Howards¡¯ secrets. Thus, Felix would never allow these matters to spread! The guests looked at each other and understood what Felix meant. One by one, they hurriedly promised him and then turned around to leave the banquet hall. Among them, there were many people who eagerly wanted to know what would happen next between Lucas and the Howards. But now that Felix had already asked them to leave, no one dared to stay and wait for the results, no matter how gutsy they were. Moreover, with Felix¡¯s threat, all the guests knew that they absolutely couldn¡¯t breathe a single word about what they had seen and heard at the Howards¡¯ today. They could only keep it to themselves. They had to do so if they didn¡¯t want their families to face the retaliation of the Howards. Soon, the lively banquet hall became empty. Apart from the Howards, Lucas and Jordan were the only ones left. All of a sudden, the hall became extremely spacious, and the atmosphere was very depressing. With a dark expression, Felix sat in the master seat and silently glowered at Lucas and Jordan. Although he didn¡¯t make a sound, he had a formidable aura as the helmsman of the Howards. His presence alone made the hands of many turn mmy with cold sweat. But Lucas, whom those eyes were staring at, was still sitting leisurely on his seat, seemingly not noticing Felix¡¯s anger. He poured himself another ss of wine and took a gentle sip. And Jordan was standing behind Lucas without a single trace of fear on his face. He even had a subtle smirk, as if he was just here to watch the fun. Seeing the dead silence and stifling atmosphere, Florence gritted her teeth, broke the silence, and snapped at Lucas, ¡°Lucas Gray, your subordinate actually killed your grandfather¡¯s closest bodyguard. Hurry up and make him kneel down to ask for forgiveness.¡± Chapter 929 - Each Harboring Ill Intentions

Chapter 929: Each Harboring Ill Intentions

Ezra followed suit and said with a grim look, ¡°Grandpa, Uncle Samuel is right. No matter what, Lucas Gray is only an outsider and doesn¡¯t have the blood of our Howard family. He has never contributed anything to the family, and he won¡¯t even acknowledge his rtionship with the Howards! ¡°Even if you want to help him and make him the next helmsman, he won¡¯t help bring us any benefits since he doesn¡¯t care about the Howards! ¡°Besides, if an outsider who isn¡¯t blood-rted to the Howards can be the helmsman, I¡¯m afraid the other members of the family will be against this decision too!¡± Ezra had always been extremely well-behaved in front of Felix. He would obey all of his orders, and he would rarely speak out against him. But Ezra had no choice but to speak out now. Initially, after Samuel was deprived of his status as sessor, he had the greatest hope of bing the future helmsman of the family. But Felix suddenly wanted to hand this position over to an outsider like Lucas. How could he do nothing about it? Wouldn¡¯t all his ns go up in smoke then? He definitely couldn¡¯t allow this to happen! Even if he had to defy Felix¡¯s orders, he had to stop him. Although the other Howards didn¡¯t speak up, they all wished that Felix wouldn¡¯t hand the position of helmsman to a stranger. Only Florence had a look of euphoria after being stunned for a moment anding back to her senses. She looked at Lucas excitedly and hurriedly urged, ¡°Lucas, why are you waiting there? Hurry up and thank your grandfather for this great opportunity.¡± If not for the fact that there were too many people in the hall and that she couldn¡¯t make it too obvious, Florence would haveughed out loud. ...... Felix¡¯s move was really to her liking! If Lucas really became the helmsman of the Howards, she would be the mother-inw of the helmsman and would obtain all the authority and status! Speaking of which, this result was much better than she had nned! At this moment, she simply couldn¡¯t wait for Lucas to agree immediately. ¡°Florence Howard, shut up!¡± Samuel shouted at Florence in rage. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting?¡¯¡¯? Lucas Gray is just an outsider. How can he possibly take over as helmsman? Are we really going to give the Howard empire to an outsider?¡± ¡°Hah, Samuel, you¡¯re really funny!¡± Florence sneered, refusing to be outdone. ¡°Lucas is my son-inw, so he¡¯s naturally a member of the Howard family too. How is he an outsider? ¡°Besides, Father made this decision. Or do you think that his decision is wrong and that he¡¯s trying to give away the Howard empire to an outsider? ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too presumptuous for daring to question Father¡¯s decision? Do you think you will definitely get the position of helmsman? Or have you already treated yourself as the helmsman a long time ago, so you even dare to disobey what Father says?¡± Florence was extremely sharp-tongued as well. She kept striking Samuel in his sore spot and using Felix to suppress him, leaving Samuel choking and unable to utter a word. Ezra stood up and said harshly to Florence, ¡°Aunt Florence, Uncle Samuel is just doing this for the Howards¡¯ good. Why do you have to say that to him? ¡°I know that Lucas Gray is your son-inw, so you naturally want him to be the helmsman so that you can obtain the greatest benefits, right? ¡°But Aunt Florence, you mustn¡¯t forget that he¡¯s an outsider. Even if he really changes hisst name to Howard, it won¡¯t be of any use! ¡°I believe that Grandpa should have his reasons for this decision. But no matter what, I still have to make my stand clear. Lucas Gray is just an outsider, and I don¡¯t think he¡¯s qualified to take over the Howards¡¯ helmsman. So, Aunt Florence, you don¡¯t have to support him anymore.¡± Now, Ezra and Samuel were on the same side for amon interest. They were both against Florence¡¯s opinions and the idea of Lucas bing the next helmsman. Despite being the focus of everyone¡¯s discussion, Lucas remained smiling like a bystander, as if he had nothing to do with this at all. In fact, Felix¡¯s sudden decision had indeed surprised Lucas. But after a brief moment of shock, he was clear about it. Lucas didn¡¯t believe that a sly old fox like Felix could really hand over the massive Howard empire to him. He wanted to make the family develop well and live better, but this was on the premise that they still existed. If he handed over the family to an outsider in order to allow them to develop better, it was getting their priorities wrong. Lucas didn¡¯t believe that a smart person like Felix would really make such a decision. The reason he said this was undoubtedly because he was treating the position of helmsman as a big fat carrot used to tempt Lucas into slogging his guts out for the Howards. It was just like what Felix was doing to his daughter Florence. He was giving her an illusory opportunity and making her think that she could seize it. This would spur her to endure and contribute with all her might. But in the end, it would all go up in dust. Florence was still involved in the situation, and she was blinded by power and hatred, so she failed to realize what Felix had been nning all along. But Lucas was different. He didn¡¯t harbor any designs on the Howards, and he didn¡¯t want the position of helmsman either. So the condition Felix offered was not at all tempting to Lucas. Besides, Felix even proposed wanting Lucas to bring Cheyenne back to the Howards and change hisst name to Howard. This was something that Lucas would never agree to. Just as Samuel, Florence, and Ezra were arguing over this matter, Felix, sitting at the master seat, suddenly hollered angrily, ¡°That¡¯s enough! All of you, shut up!¡± Everyone immediately stopped arguing. Felix looked at the few people in front of him with an extremely authoritative expression before looking at Lucas again. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. I¡¯ll give you a few days to take care of your own affairs. In five days, I want to see you with my granddaughter Cheyenne Howard! ¡°When the timees, I¡¯ll hold a family meeting and have you officially change yourst name and establish you as the sessor. Once I¡¯m dead, you will be the new helmsman of the Howards! ¡°Now, do you have anything to add?¡± Chapter 930 - I Reject

Chapter 930: I Reject

Felix made arrangements for Lucas very naturally, seemingly certain that Lucas would agree to his requests. Indeed, he didn¡¯t think anyone would turn down such temptations. For any young man, suddenly receiving the position of helmsman of one of the top eight families of DC was an opportunity that was even rarer than winning a 10-million-dor lottery. Everyone would only wish that they were fortunate enough to obtain such a great chance. No one would refuse it! Samuel and Ezra both had great indignation in their eyes. The position of the family¡¯s helmsman, which they had been coveting for a long time, was about tond in the hands of an outsider. They naturally gritted their teeth in resentment. But it was Felix¡¯s instructions. They had been reprimanded just now, so they didn¡¯t dare to oppose him at this time, lest they angered him. It was the same for the other Howards. Despite feeling extremely upset and indignant, no one dared to speak out to oppose Felix¡¯s decision. But just as everyone thought that Lucas would agree, they saw him shaking his head and saying calmly, ¡°Did I say I agreed?¡± All the Howards were astonished. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What did we just hear?¡± Felix raised an eyebrow, almost thinking that he heard wrongly, and asked in disbelief, ¡°What did you say? You mean you reject me?¡± Lucas smiled slightly and nodded. ¡°Yes! I refuse. ¡°I will never take Cheyenne back to the Howards or change myst name. ...... ¡°Furthermore, even without those conditions, I would never agree to be the helmsman of the Howards! ¡°Maybe in the eyes of many of you, bing the helmsman of the Howards is something to be proud of and a lifetime pursuit. But in my eyes, things such as being a helmsman and holding power are worthless! ¡°In my eyes, these things are all illusory and far less important than improving my own abilities. What you and I are pursuing is different.¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were full of confidence and pride. He had his eyes on far more important things and definitely not vulgar things such as fame, fortune, and authority. If he wanted, he could easily obtain status and authority. After hearing what Lucas said and seeing the serious look on his face, the Howards took a long time to finally believe that Lucas had really rejected the opportunity to be the helmsman! Samuel and Ezra instantly looked ecstatic.?Haha, this is great! They were indignant earlier, as they didn¡¯t want the position of helmsman, which they had looked forward to for a long time, to be given to Lucas. But there was no way they could persuade Felix. But this idiot Lucas actually turned it down and even said a bunch of nonsense. But Florence waspletely enraged by Lucas¡¯s refusal. She red at him and hollered as if she had expected better from him, ¡°Lucas Gray! What is wrong with you? Do you know what it means to be the helmsman? How precious is it to have such an opportunity? ¡°My father kindly wants to hand over the position of helmsman to you on ount that you¡¯re capable. This is appreciating you and valuing you, yet you actually turned him down! How dare you do that?!¡± Due to her extreme anger, Florence¡¯s voice became much sharper as she rebuked Lucas unceremoniously. Felix looked terribly gloomy as well. He didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would actually refuse his request, not saving him from any embarrassment at all. ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray, it¡¯s not a good thing for young people to be too arrogant! Do you think that you¡¯re invincible just because your subordinate defeated an expert of my family? ¡°Hmph, how dare you belittle the position of helmsman? One day, you will regret your decision!¡± Lucas looked at the Howards in front of him and suddenly showed a contemptuous smile.?These people are so boorish. Theyck a ridiculous amount of foresight. These people were overly proud of being members of the top eight families in DC, and they only had things such as power, wealth, status, and benefits in their eyes. For these things, they lived hypocritical and mercenary lives and would resort to all sorts of schemes. But Lucas¡¯s horizons and experience were on apletely different level from these people. After he had experienced so many battles and death on the battlefield of the borders, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds. At the same time, his mindset and vision had also greatly improved. At the same time, he had seen the countless top powerhouses of the world. These powerhouses standing at the top were powerful enough to resist an army. The lethality they possessed was enough to destroy a country! What could the position of helmsman that these Howards were proud of be considered as? In the face of those truly strong, a top family like the Howards had no means of resistance at all. Thus, everything they pursued and touted was extremely ridiculous to Lucas. ¡°What are youughing about?¡± Felix frowned in displeasure. ¡°I just thought of something amusing.¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue staying here any longer. Instead of continuing to waste his breath on such nonsense with the Howards, he simply said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m leaving now.¡± With that, Lucas strode out of the hall. ¡°Hold it!¡± Felix shouted angrily. ¡°Did I say you could leave? You¡¯ve done so many horrible things in our residence, and I wanted to let them pass. I even offered to let you be the next helmsman of the family, yet it seems that you want to do this the hard way! ¡°In that case, I don¡¯t need to be polite to you anymore! ¡°Today, thatckey of yours killed an honored guest who came to celebrate my birthday and even injured many of my family¡¯s expert bodyguards. He even had the guts to kill my personal bodyguard! We have to settle scores before you can leave! ¡°I won¡¯t make things difficult for you. As long as you let yourckey pay for this with his life, I¡¯ll spare you and let you leave. ¡°Otherwise, no matter how powerful you are, you can forget about leaving!¡± As Felix roared, two tall and powerful men silently came out from the shadows behind him. They were dressed identically and had identical faces. They even exuded two almost identical auras. They turned out to be a pair of twin powerhouses! Chapter 931 - The Might of a Stomp

Chapter 931: The Might of a Stomp

Lucas looked at the twin powerhouses in front of him, and a trace of coldness appeared in his eyes. In fact, Lucas could already sense the presence of these two experts hiding behind Felix a long time ago. After all, as the head of the Howard family, Felix would never have only one expert protecting him. After Jordan killed the middle-aged expert earlier, these two had already seemed to be tempted to take action. But Lucas didn¡¯t expect that Felix would suddenly make things hard for him after he refused to be the future sessor of the Howards and get these two experts to deal with him. The aura of these twin experts was extremely powerful. Any one of them was likely on par with Jordan. This was astonishing. Who knew where Felix found these experts. Not only were they extremely strong, but they were actually twins too. As one of the eight top families of DC, the Howards were indeed very extraordinary. Moreover, Lucas also noticed that since these twin experts appeared, Samuel, Ezra, and the others all had obvious traces of surprise on their faces. Clearly, they didn¡¯t even know of the existence of these experts before this. There was an intense murderous intent in Lucas¡¯s eyes as he stared hard into Felix¡¯s eyes and said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that he¡¯s my brother! If you call him that derogatory term again, I won¡¯t let you off even though you¡¯re Cheyenne¡¯s grandfather!¡± His warning immediately made Felix feel an icy cold pressure overwhelming him, causing him to shiver. Being warned like this by this junior, Felix was naturally very annoyed and wanted to reprimand him. But when he saw the dangerous gaze in Lucas¡¯s eyes, he couldn¡¯t say a word about his anger and instead swallowed it all. At this moment, Lucas was indeed too terrifying. Felix had no doubt that if he continued to call Jordan ackey, Lucas would really fall out with him! ¡°H-how dare you threaten me?¡± Felix pointed at Lucas, his face flushed with anger. ...... The twin experts behind him stepped forward, nking Felix on both sides to protect him while releasing a strong pressure toward Lucas. At the same time, their two faces looked grave. They could sense an incredibly majestic aura from the young man in front of them, making neither of them dare to have the slightest negligence. ¡°Since you¡¯ve said so, I¡¯ll show you what a real threat is!¡± Lucas sneered as he suddenly raised his foot and stomped the floor. Bang!? When Lucas¡¯s footnded on the floor, the sturdy and t wood floor seemed to encounter an invisible shock wave that exploded in all directions with Lucas¡¯s foot as the center! Bang! Bang! Bang! This devastating force destroyed the solid wood floor and caused the splinters to fly everywhere! Amid the horrified gazes of everyone, the shock wave spread out quickly, shattering the entire floor of the banquet hall before stopping with a bang! From the start until the end, Lucas remained calm as the debris flew everywhere. It was as if he hadn¡¯t used much strength when he stomped on the floor! ... Everyone in the hall looked astonished! It was just one stomp, but it could release such terrifying power¡­ If itnded on a human, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to survive! Even the eyes of the twin experts guarding Felix were full of shock. They thought to themselves that even if they stomped on the floor, even though they would be able to shatter the floor of nearly 200 square meters, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to do it as effortlessly as Lucas did. The young man in front of them was terrifyingly strong! They initially thought that Lucas was a scionparable to one from the eight top families of DC while Jordan was the subordinate he recruited, just like they were experts working for the Howards. But they didn¡¯t expect him to be even more terrifying than Jordan! He was the truly formidable leader, while Jordan was just his follower! It would be a piece of cake for Lucas to destroy the eight top families of DC without much effort at all! Felix¡¯s shrewd and indifferent eyes were also full of shock and fear at this point. At this moment, he suddenly seemed to understand the things Lucas had said when he rejected the position of helmsman. Indeed, with his terrifying power, regardless of which family he wanted to deal with, they wouldn¡¯t be unable to fight back. As long as he wanted, he could easily get power, status, wealth, etc. But he didn¡¯t take a liking to these things at all because what he pursued was transcendent glory that people like Felix would never be able to attain in their lifetime! ¡°For Cheyenne¡¯s sake, I can not hold it against you. But if you have a death wish, I can fulfill it!¡± Lucas said coldly and turned around to leave. Now, the Howards no longer dared to stop him. After Lucas and Jordan left, the banquet hall fell dead silent again. The energy Lucas just disyed was far beyond their imagination, making them feel horrified and dread. There was nothing they could say. ¡°Did I just¡­ do something wrong?¡± Felix murmured while staring in the direction that Lucas¡¯s figure vanished. He had to admit that he was full of regret now. If he had known that Lucas himself possessed such incredible power, he would havemunicated with Lucas using another method, and things wouldn¡¯t have turned into the way they were now. Samuel stood at the side quietly, full of fear. When he thought of how many times he had tried to kill Lucas, he broke out in cold sweat. Lucas had such terrifying strength and power. If he had really angered Lucas, he would probably be dead by now! At the side, Erza also had immense horror in his eyes. But at the thought of his goal, he gritted his teeth again, revealing his determination to achieve it! His grandfather was now 75 years old and might only live for a few more years. In that case, he had to think of a way to obtain the position of sessor from his grandfather. Otherwise, he would lose his position forever! Although his grandfather had temporarily removed Samuel¡¯s status as sessor, he might regain it anytime. After all, Samuel was Felix¡¯s only son, and he had a great deal of power that wouldn¡¯t be lost easily. As for Florence, she was not to be belittled either. Although she was a woman, she was ambitious and hungry for power. Moreover, she now had a terrifying son-inw. If Lucas decided to help her, she would have a great chance of winning in the end. So no matter what, he had to get rid of Lucas first! A sh of murderous intent appeared in Ezra¡¯s eyes. Felix slowly stood up from his seat, looked around at the Howards in the hall, and ordered, ¡°From today onward, no one in the family is allowed to provoke Lucas. Anyone who disobeys will be disowned immediately!¡± The Howards looked at each other in shock. Then Felix looked at Florence and slowly said something that shocked everyone. ¡°If you can salvage the rtionship between Lucas and the Howards and get him to help us, I can hand over the position of helmsman to you!¡± Chapter 932 - Attacked Halfway

Chapter 932: Attacked Halfway

Felix¡¯s decision immediately made all the Howards in the hall raise their heads in disbelief, almost suspecting that they had heard wrongly. After the initial shock, Florence instantly burst with euphoria! She didn¡¯t expect that her father would suddenly make such a request and hand over the position of helmsman to her! This was something that she had dreamed of for years! She immediately knelt in front of Felix without hesitation and said excitedly, ¡°Yes! Father, I will definitelyplete this task and won¡¯t disappoint you!¡± She was now extremely excited. To her, the task her father gave her wasn¡¯t that difficult toplete. She was well aware that Lucas¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel was Cheyenne, her biological daughter. As long as she could repair her rtionship with Cheyenne and get Cheyenne to stand on her side, Lucas would likely do so as well for Cheyenne¡¯s sake. It was only a matter of time before shepleted the mission! Looking at the ecstatic Florence, Ezra immediately turned gloomy. He didn¡¯t expect that Felix would make such a request and hand over the position of helmsman to a woman! It was simply ridiculous! No, the position of helmsman had to be his! ¡°Okay, that¡¯s all. Everyone may leave!¡± Felix said and then left the hall under the protection of the twin experts. ...... The rest of the Howards left with their own emotions. Ezra looked extremely sullen. After returning to his vi, he immediately made a call. In order for him to be the helmsman, Lucas had to die! Although he couldn¡¯t personally kill Lucas, there were other powerful experts in this world. He was extremely familiar with the trick of using someone else to kill! Soon, the call connected. ¡°Speak!¡± The person on the other end seemed to have a hot temper, and his tone was rather harsh and rude, seemingly not any politer to him because the caller was the most outstanding heir of the Howards. Ezra didn¡¯t dare to dwell on this matter. Instead, he said respectfully, ¡°Mr. Dwayne, I have something to report to you. The person who killed Mr. Julian York hase to DC. He¡¯s just left the Howards¡¯ and is headed to the city center!¡± ... After hanging up, Erza revealed a sinister smile, ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray! I can¡¯t kill you myself, but so what? Dwayne is the seventh-ranked expert of the Peerless Martial Association, and he¡¯s much stronger than Julian York. Let¡¯s see if you can live this time! ¡°Besides, even if you defeat Dwayne, the Peerless Martial Association won¡¯t let you off. Just wait to die!¡± Ezra had nothing but maniacal murderous intent on his face. During thepetition between two states in California back then, Ezra had witnessed with his own eyes how Lucas had killed Julian, who was among the top ten in the headquarters of the Peerless Martial Association. Thus, his original n was to make this call after sowing discord between Lucas and getting Samuel killed by Lucas. He would then reveal Lucas¡¯s whereabouts to Dwayne of the Peerless Martial Association and let him deal with Lucas himself. Although things had deviated greatly from his ns, Lucas was now his top enemy and a target he had to eliminate. So he could only use the Peerless Martial Association to do it for him. As long as Lucas died, Florence was nothing to be afraid of, and the person who would eventually be the helmsman of the Howards was none other than him! ... At this moment, Lucas and Jordan were driving back to the hotel in the city center. While driving, Jordan sneered. ¡°The Howards are really ignorant. How dare they want you to work for them and even get you to change yourst name? What a joke!¡± Sitting in the backseat with his eyes closed, Lucas smiled without answering. Jordan was justining. After a while, he asked again, ¡°Lucas, now that Maddy¡¯s matter has been settled, the Stardust Corporation is back in your control, and the matter with the Huttons¡­ should have already been resolved, what are your ns for the future?¡± Hearing this, Lucas finally opened his eyes slightly and seemed to be in deep thought.?Yeah, what should I do next? In fact, when he was with the Falcon Regiment in Calico, Lucas had thought that he would quietly stay in Orange County once he finished his mission and left the military. He would then stay by Cheyenne¡¯s side and treat her well to make up for everything he owed her and Amelia. But after Lucas returned to Orange County, events happened one after another. As his power grew, the people he had to face became stronger as well. These people turned from a few wealthy yboys to the four top families of Orange County, then to the top three families of San Francisco, and finally to the eight top families of DC. But thanks to his incredible strength, he didn¡¯t encounter any decent challenges along the way. This time, he hade to DC to solve Maddy¡¯s problems, but he had also taken the opportunity to resolve the matter with the Smiths and obtain the Smiths¡¯ allegiance. He had alsopletely taken back control of the Stardust Corporation, and the Huttons had removed Jace from the sessor position and reced him with Enzo, who had a good rtionship with Lucas. Lucas had achieved almost all his goals, and there was no other goal for now. After thinking about it for a long time, Lucas suddenly smiled. ¡°Next, I¡¯ll probably stay in Orange County to apany Cheyenne and Amelia. When we have the time in the future, I¡¯d like to take them out to travel the world.¡± It would be great if he could live a rxed andfortable life. Jordan smiled. ¡°Great! Don¡¯t forget to invite me and Maddy when the timees! Let¡¯s travel the world together!¡± ¡°Oh? It seems like things are going well between you two. When are you nning to settle down?¡± Lucas teased with a smile. ¡°Haha, soon. Maddy and I are still discussing this matter. You¡¯ll be the first person to know!¡± The two of them joked while driving to the hotel. But suddenly, a tall SUV rushed straight toward the Land Rover that Jordan was driving! Chapter 933 - The Powerful Dwayne

Chapter 933: The Powerful Dwayne

¡°Lucas, watch out!¡± Jordan eximed while turning the steering wheel sharply! Screech!? Amid the ear-piercing screech of the brakes, the Land Rover drifted with a sharp swing of the rear, dodging the SUV by a close shave. The SUV was tall and sturdy. If it really collided with Jordan¡¯s Land Rover, the two of them would probably be the ones to suffer. ¡°It seems someone came to die.¡± Lucas looked at the SUV outside the car window. After failing to hit the Land Rover, the SUV stopped, and a burly man in his forties wearing a ck robe with the word ¡®Peerless¡¯ embroidered in gold thread stepped out of it. Lucas narrowed his eyes. ¡°This time, it¡¯s someone from the Peerless Martial Association.¡± The people of the Peerless Martial Association were extremely arrogant, and they had always been proud of themselves. Thus, wherever they went, they would wear the association¡¯s uniform with the word ¡®Peerless¡¯ embroidered in gold or silver. Upon seeing their attire, many people would often be frightened. Of course, Jordan and Lucas were exceptions. ¡°Lucas, is he here to seek revenge against us?¡± Jordan stared at the middle-aged man with a grim look. He could sense the domineering auraing from the burly man. It was almost stronger than anyone Jordan had met before. In fact, it was on par with his! Lucas said, ¡°He¡¯s indeed a very powerful expert who¡¯s a little bit stronger than you are. Unless you unleash your full potential, you won¡¯t be able to defeat him.¡± ...... Hearing this, Jordan immediately seemed excited and eager to try. ¡°Lucas, let me deal with this person! ¡°I¡¯ve been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, and I haven¡¯t met a decent opponent. This man might be able to help me break through this bottleneck!¡± Lucas smiled without stopping him at all. All he said was, ¡°Go.¡± Lucas understood Jordan¡¯s mindset very well. In addition to diligent training, martial arts practitioners usually improved faster by fighting against various powerful enemies. In particr, in life-and-death battles, the potential within the body would be better stimted, thus allowing martial arts practitioners to achieve breakthroughs. Since Jordan returned to Orange County with Lucas, he had rarely been able to encounter strong opponents like those on the Calico battlefield, which had always been an issue for Jordan. Now that there was suddenly such an experting their way, it was definitely a pleasant surprise for Jordan! Although this burly man was slightly stronger than Jordan, Lucas wouldn¡¯t let Jordan encounter an ident even if he lost. Of course, Lucas was even more confident that Jordan would be able to defeat this expert with his own abilities. Jordan opened the door of the Land Rover and walked out while Lucas continued sitting in the backseat, watching everything calmly. ¡°Are you from the Peerless Martial Association? State your name!¡± Jordan walked up to the burly man while stretching his fingers with a look of battle intent. But the burly man merely nced at Jordan before looking away, seemingly extremely disdainful toward him. He stared at the backseat of the Land Rover and said sneeringly, ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯m here to kill you! Hurry up and get your ass out here to die!¡± The burly man was Dwayne, the person Ezra had contacted earlier. He was the seventh expert of the Peerless Martial Association. After the call, Ezra had already sent Lucas¡¯s photo and license te number to Dwayne. So he could tell at a nce that the person who got out of the car was only Lucas¡¯s subordinate, while the real Lucas was still hiding in their car. Dwayne was annoyed because he thought that Lucas was treating him with contempt by only sending one subordinate while remaining sitting in the car! Jordan¡¯s face darkened. The person in front of him actually ignored him and even told Lucas toe out and die. How outrageous! ¡°Hah, you¡¯re just trash who doesn¡¯t even dare to report his name. Are you worthy of fighting with Lucas? I bet you can¡¯t even defeat me!¡± Jordan was angered as well. He stared at the burly man, his eyes full of battle intent. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just Lucas Gray¡¯sckey. How dare you speak so audaciously?! Fine, I¡¯ll kill you first! ¡°After I kill you, I¡¯ll see how Lucas Gray can continue hiding in the car like a coward!¡± Dwayne was enraged. His fists began to tremble, and an unparalleled and fierce aura instantly burst out from his body! Next, he stomped on the ground and darted toward Jordan. There was battle intent brewing in Jordan¡¯s eyes as he immediately raised his aura to the maximum. With a wicked smile, he dashed toward the expert from the Peerless Martial Association. The two ferocious fists collided in an instant. A sonic boom and an invisible force exploded at the position of collision! There were no fancy moves and only simple, direct collisions. It was a fight of absolute power! Dwayne didn¡¯t take Jordan seriously at first, nor did he want to fight Jordan. So he exerted his full strength in the first punch, wanting to punch Jordan to death! But the moment their punches collided, Dwayne¡¯s expression changed drastically. The massive powering from Jordan¡¯s fist made him extremely shocked! His goal of using a single blow with all his strength to kill Jordan waspletely invalidated! This young man, who was only in his twenties and had a sinister look, actually possessed power on par with his! ¡°Hehe, now, do you still think that I¡¯m just a small fry you can get rid of easily?¡± Jordan chuckled as he flexed his fingers. But despite sounding rxed, he was actually shocked. It was no wonder that Dwayne was one of the top experts of the Peerless Martial Association. He was indeed a formidable opponent. Be it in terms of speed or force, the punch just now was the toughest he had faced in thest six months. After the collision, his fingers and knuckles were sore. But it was precisely because Dwayne was such a rare powerhouse that Jordan found it meaningful to fight with him! ¡°Hah, punk, you¡¯ve indeed exceeded my expectations. It¡¯s truly inappropriate to call you a small fry. ¡°But you¡¯re still not a match for me because I, Dwayne, am the seventh most powerful expert in the Peerless Martial Association!¡± Dwayne licked the corner of his lips and finally revealed his name, showing some respect to Jordan. Chapter 934 - Give You A Chance

Chapter 934: Give You A Chance

When Jordan heard Dwayne¡¯s name, a look of surprise shed in his eyes. He had been in DC for almost a month. He naturally couldn¡¯t stay by Maddy¡¯s side all day or just protect Flynn. Gathering information about the major families and forces in DC for Lucas was also part of his job. The Peerless Martial Association was a massive force in DC, so Jordan had naturally searched around. He was no stranger to Dwayne, a powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association.¡° Although Dwayne was currently ranked seventh in the Peerless Martial Association, it was because he kept a low profile and didn¡¯t want to be too conscious. Thus, he deliberately maintained this ranking. In terms of martial artspetency, Dwayne was definitely among the top five in the Peerless Martial Association. After Jordan learned that the expert in front of him was Dwayne, who kept an extremely low profile and rarely appeared in public, a stronger battle intent surged in Jordan¡¯s heart. ¡°We¡¯ll know if I¡¯m a match for you or not only after a fight!¡± Jordan had a strong fighting spirit, and he adjusted himself to his best state. Jordan hoped that Dwayne could force him to unleash his potential and surpass his limits in the following battle so that he could break through his bottleneck! ¡°Hah, bring it on! Since you¡¯ve got a death wish, I¡¯ll give you what you want!¡± Dwayne sneered as an overwhelmingly terrifying aura immediately emerged from his body. Clearly, he was showing his full strength and nned to defeat Jordan. At this moment, Jordan actually felt an intense bloody auraing from Dwayne. Someone would generally only have such a strong and bloody aura after killing countless people. For example, Lucas and Jordan had fought on the battlefield of Calico for numerous years and killed countless enemies. Thus, they naturally carried a murderous aura. ...... But Dwayne didn¡¯t actually have such a strong murderous aura but a bloodthirsty one that was nauseating. Who were the people he killed¡­ In fact, Jordan didn¡¯t need to think much about it. He could easily guess it as long as he thought about the things the Peerless Martial Association had done. ¡°I must kill you today!¡± Jordan roared and charged toward Dwayne. The two of them soon got into a brawl. Their speed and strength were extremely horrifying. It was a road where humans were scarce. Under the dim street lights, their bodies intertwined, and fierce gusts of wind shot out from their battle, ruining everything in their path. It was no wonder that Dwayne was a top powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association. Not only was he extremely quick, but he was very strong as well. He raised his leg and kicked at Jordan¡¯s head. Hearing the sharp whistling of the kick, Jordan didn¡¯t dare to take the blow. He crossed his arms and protected his head. Bang! An incredibly massive force mmed into his arm, causing him to move several steps backward before finally stabilizing. But at this moment, the bones of Jordan¡¯s arm felt almost broken, as if a truck had run over his arm. It was shaking uncontrobly. Fortunately, he had blocked the attack with his arms crossed, thus defusing part of the force. If he had been kicked in the head, his head would have exploded. Boom! As soon as Jordan regained his bnce, Dwayne quickly caught up and punched his face! In a hurry, Jordan could only dodge. But a powerhouse like Dwayne had extremely quick reflexes. Jordan barely managed to dodge the first attack, but the subsequent punchesnded on Jordan¡¯s arm and chest. In particr, thest blow thatnded on Jordan¡¯s chest sent him flying several meters away. Whilending, Jordan quickly adjusted his body and bent his knees to avoid being knocked over by Dwayne. But at this moment, Jordan felt extremely ufortable. An excruciating pain began spreading from the spot he was punched on his chest, making him feel like burning pain with every breath he took. Some blood surged up his throat, but he forced himself to swallow it. Indeed, during the brawl just now, Jordan had sustained some internal injuries. It was the first time he was injured after leaving Calico with Lucas. It was apparent how terrifying this expert of the Peerless Martial Association was! Seeing that Jordan was injured, Dwayne didn¡¯t follow up and instead stood near Jordan. ¡°Kid, you really have some skills. I have to admit that I wasn¡¯t as powerful as you when I was your age. It¡¯d be a shame if you died here! ¡°How about this? Although I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re following Lucas Gray, I can tell you that as long as you join the Peerless Martial Association, we¡¯ll give you anything you want, be it wealth, power, status, or anything else! ¡°I can guarantee that if you join the Peerless Martial Association, you¡¯ll be able to get everything that Julian York had! ¡°Think it through carefully!¡± Even Jordan didn¡¯t expect that Dwayne would suddenly extend an olive branch to him, wanting him to leave Lucas and join the Peerless Martial Association. Moreover, Dwayne promised to give him everything that Julian had. Julian had been part of the Peerless Martial Association for numerous years before finally reaching where he had been. He had be one of the top ten experts of the Peerless Martial Association and had an endless amount of wealth and authority within the association. Now, Dwayne actually promised that Jordan would immediately obtain these things that Julian had worked hard for decades to achieve. It was absolutely a great temptation. Of course, Dwayne wasn¡¯t making empty promises. In his opinion, the strength Jordan had disyed during the fight was already far greater than Julian¡¯s. So he felt that it was only right for Jordan to enjoy everything Julian had after joining the association. Staring at Dwayne, Jordan slowly stood up from the floor and reached out to wipe the bloodstain on the corner of his lips. With a smirk, he said wickedly, ¡°On ount of your sincerity, I¡¯ll give you a chance too! ¡°If you give up the Peerless Martial Association and pledge allegiance to Lucas, I can promise that I won¡¯t kill you!¡± When Dwayne heard this, a shocking killing intent appeared in his eyes! ¡°You have a death wish!¡± Chapter 935 - Breaking Through The Bottleneck

Chapter 935: Breaking Through The Bottleneck

In Dwayne¡¯s opinion, he was willing to give Jordan a chance because he appreciated his talent and didn¡¯t want to kill a young expert like him. If he introduced him to the Peerless Martial Association, he would be considered to have made a contribution to the association, and Jordan would definitely help him out of gratitude. However, Jordan had not only turned down his offer, but he even persuaded him to pledge allegiance to Lucas. It was simply a giant insult to him! Who would leave an organization as powerful as the Peerless Martial Association and pledge allegiance to a greenhorn instead? He wasn¡¯t brainless! Besides, Jordan¡¯s request was clearly to insult him! Thus, Dwayne didn¡¯t appreciate Jordan¡¯s talent anymore. All he wanted was to kill him now. ¡°Hmph!¡± But before Dwayne even took action, Jordan, who was injured, immediately made the first move! Jordan darted over, and the two of them got into another brawl. But this time, Dwayne was shocked to discover that Jordan, who should be extremely weak due to his injuries, was actually much stronger than before! And the most terrifying thing was that as time passed and they exchanged more and more blows, Jordan¡¯s aura gradually increased, each time stronger than thest! This discovery made Dwayne feel frightened! At the same time, Lucas, who had been sitting in the backseat of the Land Rover, finally looked at the two people fighting with a trace of interest in his eyes. ...... It seems that you¡¯re finally starting to break through your bottleneck! Although he was indeed stronger than you just now and even injured you, he will eventually be a whetstone that will sharpen your sword! Lucas thought to himself, feeling heartened. ... On the field, Jordan¡¯s aura and strength increased again and again. The more it did, the more frightened Dwayne was. Logically speaking, it was only reasonable for someone to be increasingly exhausted the harder and longer the battle was, just like he was now. But this young man wasn¡¯t like this at all. He had clearly sustained some severe internal injuries from his punches, and his body should have be weaker. But instead, his aura was more intense, and he was getting stronger. It didn¡¯t make any sense at all! Dwayne gritted his teeth and continuously increased his strength, but he still found that despite exerting his greatest strength, Jordan could still keep up with him. Moreover, the gap between them was continuously shrinking! The kid in front of him was just like a monster! Bang! He kicked Jordan¡¯s arm again. Jordan was knocked back several steps by the force of the kick, but his expression didn¡¯t change. He immediately rushed straight toward Dwayne again to take on his attacks. Even though Jordan had clearly taken strong punches and kicks from Dwayne, he didn¡¯t seem affected in the slightest, as if his pain threshold had increased. The force he had used to hurt Jordan previously could no longer do any damage. At this moment, Dwayne had the illusion that it was because he had be too weak. But he was an expert who had been immersed in martial arts for decades. So he could still tell if he had be weaker or if the other party had be stronger. Indeed, the other party was bing stronger! But this was the reason he found it unbelievable! ¡°Punk, who exactly are you?¡± Dwayne asked through gritted teeth during the fight. He had never met a young man like Jordan, who got stronger and stronger the more they fought! Dwayne had a hunch that if he let Jordan go on like this, he would one day grow into a terrifying opponent! Thus, the best solution was to kill him immediately and eliminate this threat while he was still growing! But despite thinking so, Dwayne was still shocked to discover that he couldn¡¯t do it! ¡°Hah, you just have to remember that the person who killed you is Jordan!¡± The more Jordan fought, the better he got at it. As the invisible bottleneck began to ease up, he seemed to be able to sense his potential being stimted. The strength and speed that he originally thought were eady at their limit were being surpassed continuously. Even the powerful powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association in front of him didn¡¯t seem to be that difficult to deal with anymore. This feeling made an unprecedentedly strong aura emerge from Jordan¡¯s body. His fist was full of power as he punched straight at Dwayne¡¯s face! ¡°Go to hell!¡± In this instant, Dwayne felt a sense of fear that made his hairs stand on end! As an expert in martial arts, Dwayne was well aware of what kind of terrifying power Jordan¡¯s punch contained! Oh no!?He shouted inwardly, but it was toote for him to dodge the punch. All he could do was ce his arms in front of his face to block. Bang! Jordan¡¯s punch hit Dwayne¡¯s arm, knocking Dwayne back and sending him flying away! Thud! With a dull sound, Dwayne fell to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood! His face was deathly pale, and his mind was groggy. For a moment, he had no idea where he was. His arm had blocked Jordan¡¯s punch, but it only prevented the punch from hitting him in his face. Now, his arm was so painful that he was about to pass out, and he didn¡¯t know if it was broken or not. His head had also been struck by the punch, causing him to fall into a brief moment of unconsciousness. Thus, when he was sent flying away, he couldn¡¯t even control his body and could only crash to the ground. The power of Jordan¡¯s punch was just that terrifying! Jordan rubbed his fist with a sinister smile on his face as he approached Dwayne one step at a time. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to kill me? ¡°You also wanted me to leave Lucas and join the Peerless Martial Association? ¡°Oh, by the way, do you still want to take Lucas¡¯s life? ¡°Given the way you are now, I doubt you can even defeat me. What qualifications do you have to fight Lucas?¡± What he was saying was like ps hitting Dwayne¡¯s face! Dwayne knew very well that Jordan¡¯s blow just now had caused him to suffer a lot of damage, so he couldn¡¯t even control his body now. Jordan was already so terrifying. In that case, how strong was Lucas, who had been sitting in the car? At this moment, great fear surged in Dwayne¡¯s heart! Chapter 936 - Shocking

Chapter 936: Shocking

Dwayne finally realized that he barely knew anything about Lucas even though he thought that he had already understood him very well. He knew nothing about his strength! Now, he couldn¡¯t even defeat Lucas¡¯s subordinate. In that case, how could he possibly kill Lucas and take revenge for his buddy Julian? The more Dwayne thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.?No, this can¡¯t go on. Otherwise, I¡¯ll die here! Dwayne stared at Jordan, who was standing not too far in front of him, followed by Lucas, who was sitting in the Land Rover. A sh of determination suddenly appeared in his eyes! He grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it at Jordan! ¡°Damn it!¡± Jordan didn¡¯t expect an expert like Dwayne would suddenly make such a roguish move. He shouted and quickly raised his hand to cover his eyes. Dwayne took the opportunity to get up from the ground and turn around to flee. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m afraid of you. One day, the Peerless Martial Association will make you two die!¡± Dwayne said ferociously while escaping.¡¯¡¯ ¡°Damn it!¡± Jordan cursed angrily. He flicked his sleeve and shook off the dirt before chasing after Dwayne. ¡°Don¡¯t chase him.¡± An incredibly familiar voice sounded from behind Jordan. At some point, Lucas had quietly gotten out of the car and was standing beside the Land Rover. In the distance, Dwayne, who had already run a hundred meters away, suddenly staggered forward and fell to the ground as if he had been shot by a gun. The tall and burly Dwayne struggled on the ground for a while before suddenly stiffening. Then he stopped moving. ...... Dwayne, a top expert of the Peerless Martial Association, died just like that! Jordan was slightly stunned for a moment before immediately realizing that Dwayne had definitely died in Lucas¡¯s hands. Jordan walked to Dwayne and nced at the tiny hole that had prated through the back of his head. He eximed in awe, ¡°Lucas, you¡­ you¡¯re too strong!¡± He had just tried his best to defeat Dwayne and had even sustained some internal injuries, yet Dwayne got killed by a pebble Lucas flicked out effortlessly. It was indeed very infuriating. Fortunately, he was Lucas¡¯s follower, so he felt very much at ease by his side. If he were Lucas¡¯s enemy, facing such an unimaginably strong enemy would be too terrifying! The mere thought of it made him feel hopeless! ... In an exquisite vi belonging to the Howards in DC¡­ Sitting in his study, Ezra was holding a book in his hand. He read it for a long time, but he didn¡¯t process a single word in it. He put the book down in annoyance, raised his wrist to look at the time on his watch, and frowned. It had been almost an hour since Lucas left the Howard residence. No matter what, the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s top powerhouse Dwayne should have already killed Lucas by now. But why wasn¡¯t there any news yet? ¡°Did Dwayne¡­ not make a move? Or did he mess up?¡± Ezra frowned, but soon, he dismissed the thought. He understood Dwayne well enough to know that he shared a close rtionship with Julian. He was certain that Dwayne would definitely deal with Lucas after learning that the person who had killed Julian appeared in DC. It was even more impossible for Dwayne to mess up. Dwayne¡¯s true strength was among the top five in the entire Peerless Martial Association headquarters, and he was sure that Lucas was no match for him! ¡°Those pieces of trash haven¡¯t obtained any news!¡± Just as Erza was thinking about whether to call the subordinates he had sent out to keep an eye on the news, the door to his study was suddenly knocked on forcefully. ¡°Come in!¡± Ezra said in displeasure. The next second, one of his subordinates rushed in with panic written all over his face. ¡°Mr. Ezra, he¡¯s dead!¡± Ezra was about to lose his temper. But after hearing this remark, he realized that this subordinate was the one he had sent to keep an eye on Dwayne. ¡°Did you just say he¡¯s dead?¡± Ezra was stunned. Then he immediately had a look of ecstasy on his face. ¡°Haha, is that damned Lucas Gray dead? ¡°I knew it. I knew I could count on Master Dwayne! Even if Lucas Gray is more powerful than the Howards, so what? I refuse to believe that he can defeat Master Dwayne of the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°Haha, as long as he dies, it will be impossible for Grandpa to hand over the position of helmsman to Florence. Besides, Samuel has just been stripped of his status as sessor, so he won¡¯t be able topete with me anymore! ¡°Soon, I will be the most legitimate sessor of the Howards!¡± Ezra was so excited that his face flushed red, and he looked in the sky tough a few times. His subordinate was on the verge of tears. ¡°No¡­ Mr. Ezra, you¡¯re mistaken! ¡°The person who died isn¡¯t Lucas Gray but¡­ Master Dwayne of the Peerless Martial Association!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Ezra¡¯s face froze. Then his expression changed drastically when he realized what exactly the subordinate had said. ¡°What did you say? Who did you say is dead? Master Dwayne is dead?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ the person who died is Master Dwayne!¡± The subordinate stammered, ¡°I followed your instructions and followed Lucas Gray¡¯s car quietly. I saw with my own eyes that Master Dwayne¡¯s SUV stopped Lucas Gray¡¯s car, and then there was a conflict. ¡°I¡­ I was afraid of being discovered by them, so I didn¡¯t dare to get too close and could only hide and watch from a distance. ¡°Later, Lucas Gray¡¯s car drove away, and Master Dwayne¡­ died on the ground! I went to confirm it, and he¡¯s really¡­ really dead!¡± The subordinates revealed everything that he had seen. Ezra staggered and loosened his grip on his cor before asking in disbelief, ¡°How is that possible? Master Dwayne is a top expert of the Peerless Martial Association. How could he have died in the hands of that punk Lucas Gray? ¡°Master Dwayne¡¯s true strength can be ranked among the top five in the Peerless Martial Association. How could he be killed by a young punk like Lucas Gray? ¡°I don¡¯t believe it!¡± Ezra snapped at the subordinate, ¡°You said you personally saw it yourself. How did Master Dwayne die?¡± The subordinate hurriedly said, ¡°I was too far away, so I can¡¯t describe their fight in detail. But I saw a small hole in the back of Master Dwayne¡¯s head after he died. He looked like he had been shot! ¡°But¡­ but I didn¡¯t hear a gunshot. I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°A small hole in his head? That¡¯s right. He must have been shot!¡± Ezra seemed to havee to a sudden realization. ¡°I was wondering how they could have killed Master Dwayne, who has such a high rank in the Peerless Martial Association. It turns out they used a gun!¡± ¡°You probably didn¡¯t hear the gunshot because they used a silencer to prevent trouble. Hmph, how daring! ¡°If the Peerless Martial Association finds out about this, those two punks aren¡¯t going to survive the night!¡± A look of menace appeared on Ezra¡¯s face again. Chapter 937 - Peerless Hades

Chapter 937: Peerless Hades

After all, Ezra was a person with profound thoughts. Although he was greatly surprised that Lucas was still alive and had even killed Dwayne, he soon thought of another way to kill Lucas. He believed that as long as the Peerless Martial Association learned of Dyawne¡¯s death, they would definitely not let Lucas off! With a sinister smile, Ezra took out his phone and nned to contact the other experts of the Peerless Martial Association. Bang! Someone suddenly kicked open the door of Ezra¡¯s vi! A tall and burly man came in. ¡°Who are you?!¡± Ezra hollered. His pupils suddenly constricted the moment he saw the door of the vi that had been kicked to the middle of the living room! This¡­ this is definitely not an ordinary person! ¡°Who exactly¡­¡± Just as Ezra was about to ask about the identity of this man who suddenly barged in, he was surprised to find that there were several Howards following behind this man, including Felix, Samuel, and Florence. ¡°Grandpa? What¡­ what¡¯s going on? Who is this?¡± Ezra asked with a look of bewilderment. But before Felix and the others could answer him, the tall and burly man suddenly moved closer and grabbed Ezra¡¯s neck. ¡°Tell me how Dwayne died?¡± The tall and burly man looked straight into Ezra¡¯s eyes, exuding a cold and sinister aura. ...... Ezra¡¯s eyes suddenly constricted, and a massive wave of fear surged in his heart. Who exactly is this person? Why would he find me about Dwayne¡¯s death? Does he already know that Dwayne¡¯s death is rted to me? Of course, what scared Ezra even more was that this man was still strangling his neck tightly, making him feel horrified. He didn¡¯t doubt that his neck would break if this man tightened his grip. ¡°Lucas¡­ Lucas Gray killed him!¡± Ezra didn¡¯t dare to hesitate at all as he frantically answered. The tall and burly man immediately tightened his grip on Ezra¡¯s neck and questioned with murderous intent, ¡°Lucas Gray? Who is that? Speak up!¡± ¡°Arghh!¡± Ezra merely felt an immense force on his neck, making him feel so suffocated that his eyes rolled backward. He felt as if the bones of his throat were about to break! The Howards¡¯ hearts skipped a beat when they saw this scene. Felix subconsciously wanted to plead for mercy and beg him to let his grandson off, but he instantly lost his nerve when the tall and burly man red at him. ¡°I¡­ I say it! P-Please let me go. I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡± Ezra was being strangled to the point of his eyes rolling back as he spoke with great difficulty. ¡°Hmph!¡± The tall and burly man flung him hard onto the floor like he was tossing a bag of garbage. ¡°Speak up! If I find out that you¡¯re lying to me, I¡¯ll make sure your life is a living hell!¡± the burly man said coldly. Ezra was overwhelmed with pain, but he couldn¡¯t worry about it now. He took two deep breaths to relieve his feeling of suffocation. His face was deathly pale and streaming cold sweat. His body was trembling violently, and he was too weak to even support himself. Ezra was extremely distressed. At the side, Felix felt heartbroken when he saw this, but he knew that the burly man was an existence that even the Howards didn¡¯t dare to offend. So he didn¡¯t dare to say a word. Actually, Felix was still confused, as he had no idea why this terrifying big shot suddenly barged into their home and even looked for his grandson Ezra to ask him about the whereabouts of another expert. ¡°I-I¡¯ll speak¡­ Lucas is the one who killed Julian York! ¡°So after Master Dwayne found out about this, he immediately wanted to kill Lucas, but he ended up getting killed by Lucas instead! ¡°I¡¯ve just found out about this news. Lucas Gray has a powerful subordinate, and they worked together to kill Master Dwayne with a gun!¡± Ezra revealed everything with horror all over his face. Of course, he was extremely smart and didn¡¯t mention that he was the one who tipped Dwayne off and asked him to kill Lucas. Now that Dwayne was already dead, the Peerless Martial Association would definitely not let him off if they found out that his tipoff caused Dwayne¡¯s death! After hearing what Ezra said, Florence immediately panicked. ¡°Ezra, what nonsense are you saying? Lucas just left us now long ago. How could he have killed Master Dwayne? ¡°And you¡¯ve been staying at the Howard residence. How could you have found out about this? ¡°You¡­ Don¡¯t spout nonsense here just because of some personal feuds and deceive this expert from the Peerless Martial Association!¡± Florence was extremely anxious now. Felix had just publicly announced that as long as she could ease the rtionship between the Howards and Lucas within ten days, he would hand over the position of helmsman to her. It could be said that Lucas was extremely important to her now, so how could she possibly watch Ezra use Lucas of killing Dwayne? Seeing how the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s expert was behaving, she knew that he hade with hostile intentions. If Ezra was allowed to continue talking, he would probably harm Lucas! In that case, all of Florence¡¯s future ns would be foiled! Afraid that the burly man would really think that he was saying nonsense, Ezra hurriedly shouted at Florence, ¡°What do you know? I¡¯m telling the truth! Master Dwayne was killed by Lucas Gray!¡± Florence was furious. ¡°I¡¯m your aunt. How dare you speak to me like that?¡± Then she turned to face Felix andined, ¡°Father, look what he¡¯s be. I¡¯m his aunt. How dare he yell at me? Does he even care about his elders? If he bes the helmsman, I¡¯m afraid he wouldn¡¯t even take you seriously, let alone me.¡± Felix¡¯s forehead throbbed, and he barked, ¡°All of you, shut up!¡± Now that a top expert of the Peerless Martial Association had suddenly visited and asked about an important thing from his grandson, the slightest carelessness could bring about a cmity to the Howards. Yet these two were still arguing with each other for the sake of power and authority at this critical juncture. How insensible! Felix was the head of the family after all. After he gave the order, even Florence and Ezra had to keep their mouths shut regardless of how unwilling they were. Felix looked at the burly man in front of him and said very politely. ¡°Hades, there must be some misunderstanding here. Lucas Gray left our residence just an hour ago. He couldn¡¯t have killed Master Dwayne. My grandson probably heard wrongly. I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Even Felix didn¡¯t know the real name of this burly man. All he knew was that his code name was Hades and that he was not to be provoked. Thus, even though he was the helmsman of the Howards, he was extremely polite toward Hades. Hearing what Felix said, Hades darkened immediately. ¡°In that case, your grandson didn¡¯t tell me the truth? ¡°I just told you that if you dared to lie to me, I¡¯d make sure your life is a living hell!¡± Hades raised his foot, stomped down on Ezra¡¯s chest, and pressed down hard! Chapter 938 - Bait

Chapter 938: Bait

¡°Ahhh!¡± Ezra shrieked in misery. Although Hades didn¡¯t exert his full strength, even 1% of the strength from a terrifying person like him was still far from what a scion like Ezra could resist. At this moment, Ezra only felt that the bones in his chest were being crushed by Hades, and the pain made him turn pale in horror. ¡°I¡­ Everything I said is true! Don¡¯t kill me! Master Dwayne¡­ Master Dwayne was really killed by Lucas Gray. My subordinate saw it with his own eyes! This can¡¯t be wrong!¡± Ezra frantically said with horror written all over his face. ¡°How did your subordinate manage to witness it?¡± Hades asked doubtfully, his eyes narrowed. ¡°Because¡­ because¡­¡± Ezra¡¯s eyeballs rolled around as he tried to find a reason to get out of this. But he was overwhelmed with fear, so his thoughts were much slower than usual. After a while, he still couldn¡¯t find a reasonable excuse.¡¯¡¯ But Hades wasn¡¯t a fool. As soon as he saw Ezra¡¯s eyes moving around, he immediately knew what he was thinking. ¡°Hmph! Don¡¯t y any tricks in front of me. Hurry up and tell me the truth! ¡°If you dare to lie to me, I¡¯ll stomp you to death immediately!¡± Hades¡¯s foot pressed down harder on Ezra¡¯s chest. ¡°Ugh! I¡­ I¡¯ll speak up!¡± Ezra was in so much pain that he didn¡¯t dare to have any other thoughts. He frantically said, ¡°I¡­ I informed Master Dwayne that Master Julian¡¯s murderer is Lucas Gray and that he just left the Howard residence! ¡°It¡¯s absolutely true that Lucas Gray killed Master Julian! I saw it with my own eyes back at the martial artspetition in California! ...... ¡°This matter isn¡¯t a secret in California and Oregon. It¡¯s easy to find out about it! I¡¯m definitely not lying! ¡°And when Master Dwayne looked for Lucas Gray to take revenge, he¡­ he was despicably shot dead!¡± Ezra didn¡¯t dare to hide anything as he hurriedly told everything he knew and had done. After Felix heard this, the veins on his forehead throbbed violently, and his face was full of anger. He had already said publicly that no Howard was allowed to cause trouble for Lucas again! But Ezra, his grandson who had always been obedient, hadpletely disregarded his orders and even defied them. He had deliberately revealed Lucas¡¯s whereabouts to the Peerless Martial Association so that they could hunt Lucas down! Although the rtionship between him and Lucas was strained, and Lucas didn¡¯t hold much affection for the Howards, he was unquestionably strong. If he could get Lucas¡¯s power and use it for the Howards, it would definitely help the Howards go further. This was why Felix had issued the order to make Florence think of a way to ease their rtionship with Lucas. But he didn¡¯t expect his grandson to y tricks behind his back and try to get Lucas killed! Moreover, Lucas didn¡¯t die. Instead, it was Dwayne, an expert of the Peerless Martial Association, who died. And now, he had even provoked Hades of the Peerless Martial Association. If he didn¡¯t handle it well, even the Howards would be implicated! At the thought of this, Felix wished he could kill his stupid grandson immediately! Florence was just as horrified and angry. She didn¡¯t expect that Ezra had actually followed them to California and witnessed Lucas killing Julian. Moreover, Ezra had tried to use the Peerless Martial Association to get rid of Lucas in order to be the sessor of the Howards! That would be terrible! Florence felt that things were going awry. If Lucas became an eyesore to the Peerless Martial Association, he would probably have no way out except death! She didn¡¯t think that Lucas alone would be able to deal with the massive and terrifying Peerless Martial Association. Suddenly, Ezra pointed at Florence and said loudly, ¡°This woman was at thepetition too. She witnessed it with her own eyes! ¡°She¡¯s also Lucas Gray¡¯s mother-inw. His wife is this woman¡¯s illegitimate daughter! ¡°If you want to deal with Lucas and make him show up, you can use this woman to force him toply!¡± Ezra¡¯s words immediately shocked all the Howards! In particr, Felix and Florence felt a chilling wave surge up from the bottom of their feet! The first of the Howards¡¯ rules was that the members of the family were not to turn against each other. But Ezra was now guiding an outsider to kill a Howard! This was way too overboard! Hades¡¯ gaze followed the direction of Ezra¡¯s finger. When itnded on Florence¡¯s pale face, his lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile. ¡°It turns out that the Howards are so close to Lucas Gray¡­ Hah, what a great surprise! ¡°In that case, I will give you a chance. Call Lucas Gray right now and tell him toe to the Howard residence within twenty minutes. Otherwise, I don¡¯t mind killing his mother-inw here!¡± Everyone suddenly turned to look at Florence. Florence even turned paler and stumbled backward a few steps. The expressions on the Howards¡¯ faces were rather interesting when they saw this scene. Some people expressed sympathy for Florence, while others seemed to be gloating. After all, Florence was merely a woman, yet the helmsman had agreed an hour ago to let her be the next helmsman of the Howards. This made many of them indignant. Meanwhile, Ezra was the most excited one. He was certain that as long as Florence was used as bait to lure Lucas to the Howard residence, Hades would definitely kill him! Once Lucas died, Florence¡¯s n to seed as the helmsman would be foiledpletely. At that time, he would be the sessor of the Howards! Florence took several steps backward until her back was against the wall. Then she leaned against the wall to stabilize her body. But Florence¡¯s expression was extremely bad, and her heart was in a panic. She could indeed ignore Lucas¡¯s wellbeing, but he was the key to whether she could be the helmsman. If Lucas died, then all her ns would be in vain, and it would be difficult for her to have a good future! Moreover, Lucas didn¡¯t acknowledge her as his mother-inw, nor did he care about her wellbeing. Even if she begged him to save her, he would never do so since he would know how dangerous it was! If¡­ if Lucas refused toe, what would happen to her? Would she be killed by the terrifying Hades? Chapter 939 - Dilemma

Chapter 939: Dilemma

Florence endured her fear and said, ¡°Although Lucas Gray is my son-inw, if you¡¯re thinking about using me to get him toe to the Howards¡¯, you can forget about it! ¡°I abandoned my daughter soon after she was born. I haven¡¯t even met her once in more than twenty years, and we don¡¯t have any mother-daughter rtionship! ¡°Now, she doesn¡¯t even acknowledge me as her mother, and Lucas Gray won¡¯t acknowledge me as his mother-inw either. In fact¡­ he even threatened me and warned me not to disrupt my daughter¡¯s life. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be polite to me! ¡°Given our terrible rtionship, do you still think he would willinglye here for the sake of my life? ¡°I¡¯m actually of no use against Lucas!¡± Florence spoke through gritted teeth. In order to escape this situation, she didn¡¯t hesitate to reveal her true rtionship with Lucas in front of the Howards. It wasn¡¯t an affectionate and caring rtionship between a mother-inw and son-inw. Rather, they were no different from strangers. They even held animosity toward each other. Florence could no longer care about whether revealing the truth would affect her gaining authority among the Howards or not. She knew that if she didn¡¯t draw a clear line between her and Lucas now, Hades would probably really treat her as bait to lure Lucas intoing over. If Lucas didn¡¯te, she would be dead meat! ¡°Hah, I don¡¯t care. No matter what, go inform him now! ¡°I don¡¯t care what method you use. In short, if I don¡¯t see Lucas Gray here within twenty minutes, I will immediately kill you! ¡°Also, you Howards are all his aplices. No one will escape!¡± Hades stared coldly at Florence and the surrounding Howards. ¡°Remember, you only have twenty minutes!¡± ¡°How¡­ how did this happen?¡± ...... The Howards were in a mess. The man in front of them was named Hades because he was extremely ruthless. Although the Howards were one of the top eight families of DC, Hades didn¡¯t take them seriously at all. In the eyes of many, the eight top families of DC were at the pinnacle of the country, and the massive and powerful Peerless Martial Association was probably slightly stronger than one of these families. But in the eyes of the experts of the eight top families of DC and the Peerless Martial Association, they all knew that the eight top families would have to stand together to be a match for the Peerless Martial Association. The Howards would never be able to resist a behemoth like the Peerless Martial Association alone! At this moment, the Howards werepletely panicked as they all turned to look at Felix and Florence. ... Meanwhile, Lucas had already returned to the hotel room he had booked in DC. He was currently in a video call with Cheyenne and Amelia. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯ve been away from home for days. I miss you so much!¡± Amelia ced her adorable little face in front of the camera and pouted while saying coquettishly, ¡°Daddy, when can youe home?¡± Looking at his daughter¡¯s tender and cute face, as well as her glistening eyes full of affection, Lucas felt like his heart was about to melt. ¡°I¡¯ming home tomorrow. I¡¯ll take you out for some good food then, okay?¡± Lucas said calmly. Lucas had basically settled his matters in DC, so he didn¡¯t n to continue staying here. He decided to head home early tomorrow morning. Amelia drew arge circle with her tender finger and asked with her bright eyes blinding in anticipation, ¡°Hehe, really? There are lots of things I want to eat! I want fish and chips, meatballs, casserole, and ice cream! And lots of other delicious food! ¡°Daddy, will you really take me out to eat?¡± Lucas chuckled and teased Amelia, ¡°Amelia, you want to eat so many things, but can you finish everything? Why don¡¯t you choose a favorite first?¡± Amelia immediately scrunched her brows in thought, seemingly in a dilemma. ¡°Uh¡­ what should I do? Do I only get to pick one? In that case¡­ I pick¡­ I pick¡­¡± Watching Lucas teasing Amelia, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t hold back herughter. ¡°When youe home tomorrow, she might still be in a dilemma!¡± Lucas smiled as he looked at his pretty wife and adorable daughter. Suddenly, Cheyenne said, ¡°Ah, I have an iing call. I¡¯ll talk to youter! Goodbye!¡± ¡°Alright, see you in Orange County tomorrow!¡± Lucas hung up with a smile. After video chatting with his wife and daughter, Lucas was in a much better mood, and the gloomy feelings he had felt at the Howards¡¯ previously were gone. He didn¡¯t want to bother about those matters about the Howards. Lucas was annoyed with the people of the Peerless Martial Association too. Once he returned to Orange County tomorrow, the matters in DC woulde to an end for now. But just as Lucas was getting ready to take a shower, his cell phone suddenly rang. The caller ID on his phone showed that it was Cheyenne, who had just hung up. Despite being slightly puzzled, Lucas quickly answered. ¡°Hello, Cheyenne¡­¡± Cheyenne¡¯s fluttered voice immediately rang in his ears. ¡°Lucas! Bad news, my¡­ that woman just called me and said that someone from the Peerless Martial Association is at the Howards¡¯ right now and that you have to be there within twenty minutes. Otherwise¡­ he¡¯ll kill her!¡± Lucas frowned. The woman that Cheyenne was referring to was undoubtedly Florence. Lucas had also thought that the people of the Peerless Martial Association probably wouldn¡¯t let the matter rest just like that and that they would soone to him. But he didn¡¯t expect the Peerless Martial Association to take action so quickly and even use Florence as a threat. Although Lucas didn¡¯t care about Florence¡¯s life, she was Cheyenne¡¯s mother after all, and there was no way he could ignore this. ¡°Lucas, what¡¯s going on?! ¡°Aren¡¯t the Howards one of the top eight families of DC? Why would the Peerless Martial Association threaten them? ¡°Also, why¡­ why did that person from the Peerless Martial Association insist on having you go over? ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Cheyenne was incredibly flustered, and she sounded like she was sobbing. She had no idea what was going on, and all she knew was that Lucas and Florence were in danger, so she was extremely anxious and nervous. Although she had yet to reconcile with Florence, Florence was her mother and the woman who had given her life after all. How could Cheyenne possibly leave her alone after knowing that she was in danger? Moreover, she was extremely worried about Lucas¡¯s safety. Since the other party dared to use Florence¡¯s life to threaten Lucas, he would definitely be in great danger if he went. They were both people Cheyenne cared about greatly, making her feel extremely conflicted. She wanted Lucas to rescue Florence, but she didn¡¯t want anything to happen to him. Lucas could tell from Cheyenne¡¯s voice that she was worried. He smiled andforted, ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll head to the Howards¡¯ now. Rest assured. Nothing will happen to either of us! ¡°Don¡¯t forget where I returned from. ¡°I was known as the invincible God of War. What can a mere Peerless Martial Association do to me?¡± Chapter 940 - Expulsion from the Family

Chapter 940: Expulsion from the Family

Lucas¡¯s confident voice immediately gave Cheyenne peace of mind. At the thought of Lucas¡¯s past and the power he had shown in the face of the various powerful enemies previously, she believed that Lucas wasn¡¯t blowing his trumpet. Since he said that he would be fine, she was sure that he definitely would! ¡°Honey, I trust you!¡± Cheyenne gritted her teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯ll wait here for news from you. Once you¡¯re done handling those matters, call me to let me feel relieved!¡±(Search New Novel* ) ¡°Okay, I will. Rest assured, and wait for my good news!¡± Lucas agreed with a faint smile. After he hung up the phone, his face immediately darkened. He knocked on the door of another room within the presidential suite. Jordan came out with a puzzled look. ¡°Lucas, is something wrong?¡± ¡°Another person with a death wish is here. You can practice your skills again!¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°Let¡¯s immediately go back to the Howards¡¯!¡± Jordan knew that something must have happened. Without further ado, he followed Lucas out the door and drove the car to the Howard residence. ... At this moment, in the Howard residence in DC¡­ The Howards all gathered in Ezra¡¯s vi, looking extremely nervous. Florence looked especially horrified when the crowd surrounded her. ...... She knew that Lucas would nevere to the Howards¡¯ to save her, so she could only call Cheyenne. Since Cheyenne was the person Lucas cared about the most, and Cheyenne would never watch her biological mother die just like that, Florence knew that she would definitely ask Lucas to save her. In other words, Lucas would definitelye. But what Florence was most worried about now was that it was probably impossible for Lucas to survive Hades¡¯ wrath. As the most terrifying existence of the Peerless Martial Association, Hades had unfathomable strength. Even Lucas couldn¡¯t possibly be a match for this terrifying expert! Not only was Florence thinking this way, but the rest of the Howards also had no hope that Lucas would be able to defeat Hades. Although Lucas had revealed a domineering aura that made Howards¡¯ experts feel terrified, Jordan was the only one who took action. Lucas had never disyed his true strength. As for the matter of Lucas killing Julian and Dwayne, the Howards had only heard about it but didn¡¯t see it with their own eyes. Thus, it was even more impossible for them to imagine Lucas¡¯sbat power. Moreover, because of the immense power of the Peerless Martial Association in DC, the Howards didn¡¯t believe that Lucas¡¯s power alone could match up to that of Hades, the top expert of the Peerless Martial Association. Among the nervous Howards, only Ezra had some faint excitement in his eyes. As long as Lucas came, he would definitely be killed by Hades! After that, Florence wouldpletely lose her eligibility topete to be the head of the family, and Ezra would finally get the position he had been longing for! Ezra was still nning things out in his head. But he never thought that if Lucas was killed by Hades, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the me for instigating Dwayne, which led to his death! Given Hades¡¯ character, he would never let Ezra go, so it was even more impossible for him to be the Howards¡¯ helmsman! As time passed, the time limit of 20 minutes set by Hades was almost up. But Lucas never appeared. Florence twisted her fingers and looked at the door every few seconds. She seemed to be getting more and more anxious and nervous. If Lucas really didn¡¯t show up¡­ she would probably be killed by Hades! She had now figured out Hades¡¯s identity and character, and her heart was full of fear for this man who would kill without blinking and had a past of being brutal. Lucas¡­ why aren¡¯t you here yet? Come quickly! If you still don¡¯te, I¡­ I¡¯m going to die! Aren¡¯t you afraid that Cheyenne will me you for this? Hurry up! Florence eximed hysterically. The other Howards also looked terribly uneasy, and they kept looking at the vi entrance. Hades had already said that if Lucas didn¡¯t show up on time, the rest of the Howards wouldn¡¯t be able to escape either! If Hades took his anger out on them, they would be in deep trouble! ¡°Hah, there¡¯s only two minutes left before time is up! ¡°If Lucas Gray doesn¡¯t show up in two minutes, don¡¯t me me for starting a massacre here!¡± Hades looked at the watch and suddenly had an extremely morbid, cold, and bloodthirsty expression as his gaze swept the Howards one by one. The hearts of all the Howards tensed up, and a feeling of fear instantly surged from the bottom of their hearts. What he said was so menacing that the Howards all felt terrified. Although the Howards had many guards and expert bodyguards, they were nothing to the Peerless Martial Association! Since Hades said that he wanted tounch a massacre here, it was definitely not just an empty threat! ¡°Florence, what have you done? Your son-inw is a scourge! If it wasn¡¯t for him, this wouldn¡¯t have happened to our family!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! If it wasn¡¯t for your desire to seize power and be the helmsman, this wouldn¡¯t have happened!¡± ¡°You put the rest of us in trouble for your own ambitions. How can we live in the same ce with a vicious woman like you? You should have been expelled from the family long ago!¡± ¡°How dare you even dream of being the helmsman? Bitch, you should get out of the Howard family as soon as possible!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Get the hell out of the family!¡± ... The rest of the Howards rebuked Florence under the extreme fear. They all agreed that if it wasn¡¯t for her son-inw, the Howards wouldn¡¯t be facing the current crisis, nor would they be threatened by Hades. Hades sneered at this scene and chuckled sinisterly. The Howards, one of the eight top families of DC, really show their ugly side in the face of the threat of death! But of course, these privileged and pampered scions were nothing in the face of true strength. They were no different from poor dogs and cats at the mercy of their ughterer! If not for some rules of the Peerless Martial Association, he would be able to ughter all the hundreds of people in the Howard residence by himself right now! Although he couldn¡¯t kill all the Howards, he was still allowed to kill a few to assert dominance. While thinking about it, Hades couldn¡¯t help sticking out his tongue to lick the corners of his mouth and show a bloodthirsty and maniacal smile. This smile immediately sent a chill into the Howards¡¯ hearts. Felix gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Hades, as you can see, none of us wees that punk, and only this woman is rted to him. ¡°I will immediately expel this woman from the family. You can do whatever you want with her! ¡°I only hope that you can spare the rest of the Howards!¡± Felix¡¯s words immediately caused Florence to freeze,pletely dumbstruck. Chapter 941 - Cold-Blooded and Heartless

Chapter 941: Cold-Blooded and Heartless

Florence¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn¡¯t believe those words came out of her father¡¯s mouth. Just now, all the Howards were using and ming her. They even wished they could kick her out of the family immediately. Despite feeling sad, she didn¡¯t have any other emotional fluctuations. But her father actually put all the me on her and even said that he would sever ties with her, expel her from the family, and let Hades deal with her. What he said made Florence¡¯s blood freeze! Even Hades looked surprised as he asked sinisterly, ¡°Isn¡¯t this woman your biological daughter? Can you bear to leave her at my mercy?¡± Felix nodded without hesitation. ¡°Yes. Although she¡¯s indeed my daughter, she¡¯s brought disaster to the Howards. For the sake of my family, I can only expel her from the family! ¡°After we remove her from the family, she and her son-inw will no longer have anything to do with the Howards. You can do whatever you want to them, but I hope that you won¡¯t vent your anger on the rest of the Howards.¡± His eyes were extremely cold, and his words were extremely indifferent and heartless. This scene was like a dagger stabbing deep into Florence¡¯s heart. Tears welled up in Florence¡¯s eyes as she asked through gritted teeth. ¡°Father¡­ in your heart, have you never treated me as your daughter?¡± Felix stared at her coldly. ¡°How dare you have the cheek to ask me that? If it wasn¡¯t because of you and your son-inw, how could the Howards be in so much trouble? ¡°Also, don¡¯t think I¡¯m unaware that you¡¯ve hated me for a long time. You should already know about that man, and maybe you¡¯ve been thinking about how to kill me to avenge him. ¡°At this point, what right do you have to say that I don¡¯t care about our father-and-daughter rtionship?¡± Felix spoke mercilessly and exposed what Florence had been trying hard to hide. Florence felt like a sharp knife suddenly stabbed in her chest, putting her in so much pain that her face turned deathly pale. ¡°So, you already knew¡­¡± Sheughed self-deprecatingly before suddenly raising her head to glower at Felix with a burning gaze. She shouted, ¡°You were the one who did that to me first! ¡°I used to look up to you and respect you as my father, but what about you? ¡°For the sake of the family¡¯s interests. You kept trying to stop us from being together and insisting that I marry a man from another wealthy family. Later, you even killed him! ¡°And you deliberately hid this information from me, making me look like a fool for thinking that he abandoned me and my child. I even hated him for so many years! You must have been so proud to see me kneeling in front of you and begging for forgiveness while hating him. At the time, did you ever think that I was your daughter? ¡°Later, you still used me as a pawn and made me marry another man. Did you ever treat me as your daughter? ¡°Since you¡¯ve treated me like this, am I supposed to continue treating you as a loving father and let you use me? Shouldn¡¯t I hate you?¡± Florence stopped hiding the hatred and grievances in her heart. Sheshed out at Felix with her face covered in the tears she had been holding back for years. But after Felix heard Florence¡¯sints, his expression didn¡¯t change at all. He merely said coldly, ¡°You¡¯re a daughter of the Howards, and the purpose of your existence is to obey the family¡¯s arrangements obediently and contribute your value to the family! What am I raising you for if you¡¯re useless to the family? ¡°As for that man, you¡¯re the one who killed him! ¡°You¡¯ve long known about the family rules, so you have known that your only choice was to marry a scion of another wealthy family for a marriage alliance. But you insisted on disobeying me and eloping with that man. In the end, the person who killed that man is you, not me! Felix¡¯s cold and indifferent words were like a hammer mming into Florence¡¯s head, causing her to be so dizzy that she could barely stand. How¡­ was this possible?! Clearly, Felix was the heartless man who had ordered someone to kill Drew Cruise, yet he pushed the me onto her! ¡°So¡­ when you said that as long as I could salvage the rtionship between Lucas and the Howards within ten days, you would let me be helmsman. Was that a lie too?¡± Florence stared intently into Felix¡¯s eyes with clenched teeth. With a contemptuous sneer, Felix said, ¡°Do you think that the Howards, one of the eight top families of DC, would hand over the position of helmsman to a woman? How embarrassed would the Howards be if word about that got out?¡± Florence stumbled forward and almost fell to the floor, her mind almost turning nk. At this point, she finally realized that right from the beginning, Felix had never thought of handing over the position of helmsman to her because she was just his pawn. Felix had only made a verbal promise to tempt her into slogging her guts out to do whatever he wanted her to. Even if she reallypleted those matters, he would have a hundred reasons to demand more from her. But in the end, he would never give her the position of helmsman. He clearly knew what she wanted the most, but he used it as bait to make use of her! It was just like how Felix didn¡¯t hesitate to break her and Drew Cruise up to get her to agree to a marriage alliance. He had even killed Drew. Felix had said that he could allow her to return to the Howards on the condition that she agreed to marry into the Lambert family. Later, he even controlled her to seize all the Lamberts¡¯ assets. What he was doing now was also for the sake of the family¡¯s interests. Florence smiled self-deprecatingly, ¡°It turns out that everything you said to me is fake! ¡°You said that you wanted me to find a way to resolve the conflict between Lucas and the Howards, and then you would let me be the family head. You were just using me to rope Lucas in to make him work for the Howards. ¡°Also, you told Lucas previously that if he brought Cheyenne back to the Howards, you would let him be the Howards¡¯ helmsman. You must have been fooling him too, huh? Unfortunately, I took it seriously and even reprimanded him¡­ ¡°In fact, Lucas has much greater awareness than me! Back then, he rejected it without hesitating at all. He must have already seen through your motive, and he never trusted you at all! Haha, despite being at this age, I¡¯m still far more ignorant than a young man! ¡°Now, someone from the Peerless Martial Association came, and it¡¯s rted to Lucas. You severed ties with him because you think that he¡¯s about to die and won¡¯t be of any use to the family. In order to do that, you¡¯ve even kicked me out of the family! ¡°Father, you¡¯re really cold and ruthless. All you care about are interests! You try to make use of anyone who will benefit you, and you won¡¯t hesitate to kick away anyone who has no value to you! ¡°Haha, you¡¯re just a heartless person! You¡¯re so cold-blooded it¡¯s terrifying!¡± Pam smiled mirthlessly with a face full of tears. I should have long realized what kind of a person my father is. Yet I keep holding onto hope for him, thinking that although he¡¯s heartless, he should still care about me since I¡¯m his daughter. But the cruel truth had now hit Florence hard, causing her to sink into despair! Chapter 942 - She Regrets

Chapter 942: She Regrets

Felix nced at Florence with a straight face and sneered. ¡°It seems that you¡¯re not that stupid after all! You¡¯re right. But as the helmsman of the Howards, I naturally prioritize the interests of the family before everything else! Any other emotion is nothing but a burden! ¡°I might as well tell you the truth. I did consider grooming your son-inw, but unfortunately, he had a death wish and offended the Peerless Martial Association by killing Julian and Dwayne. He will definitely die today!¡± Felix thought that the only path Lucas had left was death since he had already offended the Peerless Martial Association. Even if he was powerful and could defeat Hades of the Peerless Martial Association, the other experts and powerhouses of the association would definitely never let him off! Felix was well aware of how terrifyingly powerful the Peerless Martial Association was. Even if the eight giants of DC joined forces, they might not be able to suppress the Peerless Martial Association, much less Lucas alone. To the Howards, a dying person naturally had no longer of any use value. After hearing the conversation between Felix and Florence, the Howards were all shocked. They originally thought that Felix really nned to give up the position of the Howards¡¯ helmsman to Florence or Lucas. They even secretly thought that Felix was getting old and muddled. But now, they finally knew that it was all bait Felix threw out. When Samuel heard all this, a look of euphoria appeared on his face. The reason he was removed from the position of sessor was that he had tried to kill Lucas, thereby viting the family rule that the Howards were not to kill each other. But since Felix had already given up Lucas and nned to sever ties with him, then the mistake he had made before probably wouldn¡¯t be considered a mistake anymore. Like this, Felix should also restore his canceled position as the heir of the family. ...... Meanwhile, a surge of excitement appeared in Ezra¡¯s eyes. It turned out that his grandfather had only been using Florence. He didn¡¯t really intend to let her be the helmsman as promised. Now, Samuel had also been removed from his position of sessor, so he was sure that he would be the helmsman eventually! Both of them were just as excited, but they were trying their best to control their expressions so that they wouldn¡¯t seem too happy. After all, Hades was still here, and the Howards¡¯ crisis was still unresolved. Florence wiped the tears off her face, took a deep breath, and suddenly asked, ¡°Hah, are you so sure that Lucas Gray will definitely die here?¡± Felix raised his brows. ¡°I admit that Lucas Gray does have some ability, but do you really think he can live when the Peerless Martial Association is targeting him? ¡°I just said that I felt that you weren¡¯t that stupid, but you¡¯ve now asked such a stupid question!¡± Florence pursed her lips and said coldly, ¡°Is that so? You¡¯ll probably see in a bit who the truly stupid one is.¡± For some reason, Florence, who had lost confidence in Lucas after seeing Hades, suddenly had huge confidence in Lucas now that her father had abandoned her. Perhaps it was because Lucas was the only person she could count on now, or perhaps it was because of the power Lucas had shown before. In short, Florence suddenly had a firm thought in her heart. She believed that Lucas would never lose to Hades! ¡°Hmph, woman, do you really think that punk can escape from my hands?¡± Hades frowned in displeasure. ¡°I¡¯m toozy to bother talking to you! Twenty minutes is up, and that punk Lucas Gray is still nowhere in sight. You can die now!¡± With that, Hades stood up from the couch, exuding an oppressive aura, suddenly appeared in front of Florence, and grabbed her neck. Terrified, Florence tried to dodge, but how could a weak woman like her escape from Hades, an expert of the Peerless Martial Association. When the Howards saw Florence being strangled and kicking her legs in the air desperately, their expressions changed drastically as they took a step back involuntarily. Yet no one was willing toe forward to plead for Florence. ¡°Ahh¡­ Let go¡­ Save me¡­¡± Florence had trouble breathing and tried her best to squeeze out a few words while on the verge of suffocation. She subconsciously turned to look at Felix. But Felix still looked calm and indifferent. He merely nced at her casually before looking away without any intention to plead for her. Clearly¡­ he was the helmsman of the Howards. If he really pleaded for mercy with Hades, Hades would probably let her off for the time being. It would at least buy some time. But Felix didn¡¯t do anything. It was as if she had be truly useless now, so he didn¡¯t have to bother about her anymore. A prating coolness enveloped Florence. While she was suffocating and her vision became dim, she suddenly recalled some scenes from many years ago. At the time, she was still a young girl who had just graduated from college and was reserved and innocent. But at some point, she ditched the bodyguard that her family had sent to follow her in a fit of anger. While enjoying a rare moment of freedom, she encountered a few lechers who surrounded her in an alley and tried to vite her. A coarse andrge hand covered her mouth. Those who passed by would quickly escape upon seeing this scene, and no one dared to step forward to help her. Florence, who had always lived in thep of luxury, finally knew what it was like to be helpless as her desperate cries for help were all futile. Just when she was about to fall into despair, a young man dressed in extremely simple clothes appeared in front of her like a knight in shining armor. Florence would always remember how Drew looked back then. He was only in his early twenties and looked a little immature. Facing the lechers, he didn¡¯t show a single trace of fear or nervousness. But more than that, he looked dignified and righteous as he stood in front of her without hesitation. Drew wasn¡¯t a martial arts expert, but his ruthlessness and determination to fight despite being injured scared the lechers away. From then on, Florence fell in love with him. Afterward, Florence and Drew slowly developed a romance after this encounter of the hero saving the damsel from distress. But their rtionship was vehemently opposed by the Howards, especially Felix, who grounded Florence. Later, Florence and Drew found a way to escape. They eloped and escaped far away to a city on the west coast. Soon, they found out that she was pregnant. In order for Florence and their child to have a happy family, Drew took the initiative to return to the Howards to ask for Felix¡¯s forgiveness and blessings. But Drew soon died and never returned to Orange County. He never got to see Florence and their child again. She even misunderstood him and hated him for years. A teardrop slowly rolled down Florence¡¯s eyes as she recalled the past. At this moment, when she was on the brink of death, her heart was full of endless regret! Chapter 943 - He’s Here

Chapter 943: He¡¯s Here

Cheyenne was clearly the child she had with her beloved, but she had mistreated her and abandoned her when she was a child. She had shown her no concern for years and had failed to be a good mother. She really owed her so much! If there was a chance in the next life, she swore that she would definitely treat her well! Florence slowly stopped struggling as the grip on her neck tightened, causing her face to turn purple from suffocating. The corners of Hades¡¯ lips curled up into a sinister smile. ¡°If she dies, I¡¯ll make sure the entire Peerless Martial Association dies with her!¡± Suddenly, a domineering and cold voice filled the air in the vi. Everyone was shocked as they turned to look at the vi entrance. In the dark night, a tall and slender finger took a step out of the darkness with a fierce, murderous aura, looking just like the Reaper! ¡°He¡­ he¡¯s Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°He actually came!¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him!¡± For some time, the Howards eximed one after another. After all, just over an hour ago, Lucas had just left the Howard residence, and his domineering image in the banquet hall was still deeply etched in the hearts of every Howard. There was another figure behind Lucas. It was Jordan, who was always around him. Their sudden appearance took everyone by surprise. They had all thought that Lucas wouldn¡¯t return to the Howard residence for Florence. Even Hades, who was about to break Florence¡¯s neck, looked over. In particr, when he heard the Howards calling Lucas¡¯s name, there was excitement in his eyes. The prey he had been waiting for for a long time finally showed up! But when Lucas¡¯s face appeared under the light of the Howards¡¯ vi, Hades narrowed his eyes with a look of disdain on his face. He thought that the person who could kill Julian and Dwayne would be a terrifying expert, but it turned out to be a young man only in his twenties! It was really ridiculous. Moreover, what Lucas said also made Hades, who had always been respected, extremely displeased. ¡°Punk, did you just say that you¡¯d make the entire Peerless Martial Association die together with this woman if I kill her?¡± Hades asked threateningly, his eyes full of a bloodthirsty murderous intent. Florence, who thought that she was definitely going to die, suddenly opened her eyes when she heard Lucas¡¯s voice!?He¡­ he really came! Florence started struggling in Hades¡¯ grip. Only Lucas could save her! Lucas sneered. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re not deaf.¡± All the Howards¡¯ faces stiffened. How dare Lucas Gray say that to Hades?! Does he not know who this person is? Hades¡¯s face darkened as he shouted, ¡°Punk, how dare you act so arrogant in front of me? Looks like you really don¡¯t know any better!¡± Ezra seized the opportunity to step forward and yell at Lucas, ¡°Lucas Gray! How dare you speak to Hades of the Peerless Martial Association like that?! Don¡¯t forget that your mother-inw¡¯s life is in his hands!¡± He wasn¡¯t stepping forward to remind Lucas about Florence¡¯s life being at stake but to remind Hades that he could kill Florence immediately to assert dominance in front of Lucas. As long as Florence was killed by Hades, he would have one less hindrance to deal with. Moreover, Lucas would definitely form a death feud with Hades and eventually get killed by him. Thus, all his problems would be eliminated! Lucas narrowed his eyes at Ezra, fully aware of his intentions. ¡°A viin often ends up miserable. I hope you¡¯ll be mentally prepared!¡± Lucas said coldly and then stopped looking at him. But his words and icy-cold gaze immediately made Ezra shudder as he felt horror surging from the deepest part of his heart. He even had a feeling that Lucas might really kill him! No¡­ no! That can¡¯t happen. Lucas is about to be killed by Hades!?Ezra kept saying to himself before suppressing the horror caused by what Lucas said. Lucas looked at Hades and frowned slightly when he saw the hand squeezing Florence¡¯s neck. ¡°As a powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association, it doesn¡¯t seem right for you to be bullying such a helpless woman. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to force me toe here? Now that I¡¯m here, you should let her go,¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°Hah, what if¡­ I refuse and kill her in front of you?¡± With a bloodthirsty smile, Hades suddenly tightened his grip on Florence¡¯s neck even though he had just loosened it a little. Florence only felt a massive force on her neck, making her feel that it was about to be snapped in half. Her eyes rolled backward, and she began struggling with everyst ounce of strength within her. She could no longer speak, as her windpipe was being strangled. She couldn¡¯t even take a breath of air. Hades watched Florence¡¯s dying struggle with glee, relishing in her misery. He even deliberately looked at Lucas provocatively. What he enjoyed the most was watching these weak people struggling or raging helplessly in front of him before he killed them. But Lucas¡¯s behavior disappointed Hades. Reason being, Lucas¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change much despite seeing Florence, his mother-inw, on the verge of being killed by Hades. He didn¡¯t show any panic, fear, or plead like Hades imagined. It made Hades extremely displeased and unfulfilled. ¡°Hey, I heard that this woman is your mother-inw, right? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I will really kill her?¡± Hades asked with his brows furrowed. ¡°She¡¯s in your hands. It¡¯s up to you if you want to kill her or skin her alive.¡± Lucas looked extremely calm. ¡°Do you really think that I came here to save this woman?¡± What he said immediately made the expression on Hades¡¯s face freeze. ¡°Punk, what did you say?¡± Chapter 944 - Face-Off

Chapter 944: Face-Off

Just before this, Florence had already told Hades that Lucas¡¯s wife was just her illegitimate daughter whom she had abandoned, and neither of them had any feelings for each other. As such, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t rush over to save her. Hades didn¡¯t believe it at first. But now, seeing with his own eyes how cold Lucas was toward Florence, he finally believed what she said. At the same time, it made him see Lucas in a different light. Originally, when Hades saw how young Lucas was, he was full of disdain. Young people tended to have all sorts of ws. Therefore, he once thought that this young man must have resorted to some despicable means to kill Julian and Dwayne, two top experts of the Peerless Martial Association. As Ezra had said, the fatal wound on Dwayne¡¯s corpse was a hole caused by a bullet. If this young man was as ruthless and cold as those sly old foxes, he could possibly be a top powerhouse. Staring into Lucas¡¯s eyes, Hades suddenly sneered. ¡°Hmph, since you don¡¯t care about this woman¡¯s life, I¡¯ll kill her right now!¡± He tightened his grip, and in the next second, he was about to break Florence¡¯s neck. But the moment he was about to do so, a thin hand suddenly grabbed his wrist! Immediately afterward, a huge force came from this hand, mping down on his! Hades¡¯ pupils suddenly constricted. Just now, Lucas suddenly vanished from about ten meters away from him. Without a doubt, the person who suddenly appeared and grabbed his wrist was Lucas! ¡°I didn¡¯te here to save her, but did I give you permission to kill her?¡± Lucas¡¯s cold and indifferent voice rang in Hades¡¯ ears, as if it came from hell. Hades¡¯s expression changed drastically. He couldn¡¯t figure out how Lucas suddenly appeared behind him even though he had been more than ten meters away just now. ...... His eyes couldn¡¯t even get a clear glimpse of Lucas¡¯s movements! Moreover, the terrifying forceing from Lucas¡¯s hand grabbing his wrist caused him to feel excruciating pain. Hades had no doubt that Lucas would be able to crush his wrist bones by applying some more force! ¡°Who¡­ are you?¡± Ayer of cold sweat emerged on Hades¡¯s face as he felt a great threat. If he had previously thought that Lucas had killed Dwayne with a gun, he didn¡¯t think so now. The strength of this young man was beyond his imagination! In fact, he wasn¡¯t even sure if he could even defeat Lucas! ¡°Let go or have your hand broken, your choice,¡± Lucas said indifferently. Although Lucas sounded extremely arrogant, and Hades would definitely kill anyone who dared to say something like this to him, he actually chose to let go immediately. Cough Cough! Florence¡¯s body fell to the floor, and she coughed for a long time before taking deep breaths, seemingly relieved to have survived a close shave with death. She finally survived! ¡°Since I¡¯ve let her go, shouldn¡¯t you let go now?¡± Hades asked through gritted teeth, trying his best to endure the paining from his wrist. He just had a face-off with Lucas yet came out on the losing end. It made him extremely embarrassed and furious. ¡°Hmph!¡± Lucas snorted coldly, but he still let go of Hades¡¯s arm. Hades immediately withdrew his hand. When he saw the bruising on his wrist, his forehead throbbed. ¡°¡­¡± It was dead silent in the Howards¡¯ vi. Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at everything in front of them with deep shock in their eyes. Lucas had suddenly appeared beside Hades and grabbed his wrist to force him to let go of Florence. The Howards thought that Hades would definitely lose his temper and teach Lucas a lesson. But to their surprise, this powerhouse, who had been extremely tyrannical in the Howards, suddenly behaved in a drastically different manner. He actually let go of Florence obediently! Seeing the way Hades was now, he still seemed to be extremely wary of Lucas! Is Lucas Gray¡­ so powerful that even a top powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association can¡¯t defeat him? At this moment, Felix¡¯s face abruptly twitched while his heart began pounding rapidly. The scene in front of him made him feel a strong ominous hunch, as if he had just missed a chance that was gone forever! Lucas, his grandson-inw, actually forced Hades of the Peerless Martial Association to back down and not dare to move easily. Just how powerful must he be? ¡°Punk, you killed two experts of the Peerless Martial Association. We¡¯re never going to let you off! ¡°Just wait for me here. You¡¯ll die here soon!¡± Hades stared into Lucas¡¯s eyes ruthlessly, and then¡­ He turned around and walked toward the entrance of the Howards¡¯ vi. Instead of fighting with Lucas, he chose to leave immediately! This scene caused Ezra, Samuel, and the others to be so astonished that their eyes were about to fall out. They could have never imagined that Hades, who had just threatened to kill the Howards and wanted to kill Lucas, would turn around to flee after just a brief face-off with Lucas! But immediately afterward, something even more shocking happened! ¡°Stop! Did I say that you could leave?¡± As Lucas¡¯s indifferent and cold voice sounded, Jordan moved quickly and stood at the entrance of the vi to stop Hades. Ezra, Samuel, and the rest of the Howards were immediately bbergasted, thinking that Lucas was much more arrogant than Hades of the Peerless Martial Association! Hades, who was blocked, slowly turned his head around and stared at Lucas with a cold, murderous look in his eyes. ¡°None of you can stop me from leaving!¡± He wasn¡¯t a fool. Lucas¡¯s incredible speed just now and the massive force in Lucas¡¯s grip on his arm made him know clearly that he was no match for Lucas. Since he knew he couldn¡¯t defeat Lucas, he naturally wouldn¡¯t care about his pride and insist on fighting him! Thus, escaping was Hades¡¯s best choice now! Although Jordan was standing at the entrance, Hades didn¡¯t take him seriously at all. He simply rushed toward Jordan and swung his fist to force him back. ¡°Hah, good that you¡¯re here! Do you really think you can escape?¡± A fierce battle intent suddenly appeared on Jordan¡¯s face as he charged forward to meet Hades! The two of them collided almost immediately! Chapter 945 - Training Target

Chapter 945: Training Target

Lucas stood in the vi and looked at the two people fighting without any intention of making a move. On his way to the Howards, Lucas had asked Jordan toe along so that Jordan could fight with Hades. Jordan¡¯s skills had been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, and the best way to break through was by engaging in intense battles or even struggling between life and death. Just over an hour ago, Jordan and Dwayne had fought, and his bottleneck loosened significantly while hisbat skills improved greatly. At first, he was slightly inferior to Dwayne and even suffered some injuries. But he eventually defeated Dwayne and forced thetter into fleeing. But Dwayne clearly wasn¡¯t enough, as he couldn¡¯t make Jordan break through his bottleneckpletely. Since Hades was here to avenge Dwayne, he should be stronger than him. He was a good candidate for Jordan to try his hands at. As long as Jordan engaged in a life-and-death struggle with a powerhouse of this level, he would be able to maximize his potential and break through his bottleneck to reach a higher level! So Lucas didn¡¯t do anything when Jordan moved to stop Hades. Meanwhile, Hades had initially thought that Jordan was just an insignificantckey whom he would send flying with a punch. But when their fists collided, Hades realized that he was extremely wrong! Although Jordan was very young and only in his twenties, the power in his fist almost crushed the fingerbones of Hades, who didn¡¯t use his full strength because he had underestimated his opponent! Amid the intense pain and the massive power contained in Jordan¡¯s fist, Hades was actually knocked back and moved back several steps in a row! ...... All the Howards were stunned. They never thought that Hades, who was iparably formidable to them, would be knocked backward by a single punch from Lucas¡¯s subordinate! Hades took several steps back before defusing the massive force from his wrist. The pain in his fingers made burning rage surge throughout his body. The fact that he had the domineering nickname Hades, which the head of the association had given him, was enough to show how much power and authority hemanded. But he was now blocked by Lucas¡¯s subordinate, and he was even forced back by a punch. It was an enormous disgrace to Hades! ¡°Punk, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Hades was furious, and killing intent was surging in his eyes. Jordan curled his lips in disdain. ¡°I really thought that you were some peerless expert, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be too scared to fight against Lucas! ¡°You were the one who threatened Lucas with that woman¡¯s life toe here. Why are you behaving like a mouse seeing a cat now that Lucas is here? Why are you fleeing in panic? ¡°Someone like you is indeed not worthy of being Lucas¡¯s opponent. In that case, I¡¯ll fight with you and teach you a lesson!¡± Jordan¡¯s remarks immediately enraged Hades! ¡°Punk, I must kill you!¡± But after shouting, he subconsciously nced at Lucas. When he saw that Lucas didn¡¯t show any intention of fighting him, he felt slightly relieved. Hades knew very well that he was no match for Lucas. If he pitted himself against Lucas, he would have no chance of winning! Jordan sneered. ¡°Old man, you¡¯re very arrogant. But if you want to take my life, let me see how capable you really are!¡± ¡°Since you have a death wish, I¡¯ll fulfill it!¡± Hades roared angrily. He stomped hard on the floor and charged toward Jordan. He thought the reason Jordan had managed to force him back just now was only that he had underestimated the enemy and didn¡¯t take Jordan, causing him to suffer a loss. So this time, Hades began umting all his power from the start before attacking Jordan ferociously. On the other side, Jordan¡¯s face was brimming with fighting intent. Although he had repelled Hades just now, Jordan was well aware that Hades wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with. His true strength was indeed a notch superior to his. Of course, this was better because there would be more value in defeating him. In this way, he could train his own skills and break through his bottleneck! Moreover, Jordan knew that the chance to fight with a powerhouse like Hades was rare toe by. Bang! Soon, the two of them were shing. They exerted their full strength, so this battle was extremely intense. Because the battle was taking ce in the living room of Ezra¡¯s vi, the Howards screamed and hid in the corners of the first floor once the fight broke out, afraid of being affected. The couch, coffee table, vases, and other items in the vi were pulverized during the fight between the two powerful experts. Lucas picked up Florence, who was still lying on the floor without any energy to move, and carried her by her clothes to a safe ce at the side. Florence¡¯s expression was extremelyplicated at this moment. She wanted to thank Lucas, but she didn¡¯t know how to start. But Lucas hadn¡¯t expected Florence to thank him. After carrying her to the edge of the hall, he turned his head and stopped looking at her. ¡°¡­¡± Florence opened her mouth, but she didn¡¯t say anything in the end. ¡°Hey, I heard that you¡¯re an expert of the Peerless Martial Association, and your nickname is Hades, right? With such a domineering name, why is your strength so mediocre? ¡°You can¡¯t evenpare to Dwayne. Aren¡¯t you too mediocre? ¡°You can¡¯t even defeat me, but you¡¯re thinking of killing Lucas? You must be dreaming. ¡°Or have your skills degenerated to such a terrible state because you¡¯ve gotten used to being on a pedestal in the Peerless Martial Association?¡± Jordan mocked Hades while fighting intensely with him. Although Hades¡¯s first few attacks were fierce, hister moves became weaker and weaker, and he seemed to have yet to exert his full strength. Jordan was fighting Hades in order to make a breakthrough, so he was naturally displeased. But Hades had actually never thought of fighting seriously with Jordan. Hades wasn¡¯t a fool. He knew that Lucas, whom he couldn¡¯t beat, was still keeping an eye on him. Even if he used his full strength and defeated Jordan, he would still never be a match for Lucas. Thus, he didn¡¯t want to fight Jordan at all. Instead, he used the opportunity to quietly approach the vi entrance in order to facilitate escaping! But he was now taunted by a greenhorn like Jordan. He was about to blow his fuse! Chapter 946 - Real Fight

Chapter 946: Real Fight

¡°Punk, don¡¯t be so arrogant in front of me! I don¡¯t want to kill you! Don¡¯t dig your own grave!¡± Hades hollered furiously through gritted teeth. Jordan smirked without stopping his hands, attacking Hades while mocking, ¡°I want to dig my grave. Don¡¯t bother holding back. Come, show me your true strength! ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯re just trash who only knows to issue threats but can¡¯t even beat a young man like me! ¡°Is your Peerless Martial Association full of trash like you?¡± Jordan was very good at trash talking and angering his opponents. As expected, Hades waspletely enraged by his trash talking. ¡°Punk, do you really think I¡¯m afraid of you? Go to hell!¡± Hades suddenly roared as his aura erupted violently. He was obviously a level stronger than earlier! It just so happened that Jordan was kicking toward his waist. Hades¡¯s eyes shed with hostility as he reached out at lightning speed, grabbed Jordan¡¯s ankle, and swung his entire body upward! After Hadespletely released his power, his speed and physical strength increased drastically. He was twice as fast as before! When Jordan saw Hades¡¯s arm reaching over, he knew things were bad. But before he could change moves or dodge, Hades had already grabbed his ankle tightly. The next moment, a strong force suddenly came from Jordan¡¯s leg, and his whole body was forced upward, making himpletely lose his bnce. ¡°Shit!¡± Jordan¡¯s expression changed drastically, but he only saw crazy murderous intent on Hades¡¯s face. Then the scene in front of him quickly reversed. This meant that this body was rapidly plunging downward! Bang! Before he could react, Jordan was smashed hard onto the floor. Crack! The solid wooden ground trembled violently, and a cobweb-like crack immediately began spreading. With this fierce smash, Jordan felt excruciating pain throughout his body. Fortunately, when he was about to be mmed into the floor, he subconsciously curved his arms to protect his head. Otherwise, Hades¡¯s smash would probably have caused him to suffer severe injuries andpletely lose hisbat ability even if he didn¡¯t die. Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly with a calm look on his face. At this level, although Jordan was temporarily at a disadvantage, he could still deal with itpletely. After Hades picked Jordan up and smashed him onto the floor, he expected Jordan to be severely injured or even lose hisbat ability. But unexpectedly, this punk protected his head with his arms at the critical moment and didn¡¯t sustain any severe injuries. ¡°Go to hell!¡± Hades¡¯s face shed with menace as he once again grabbed Jordan¡¯s ankle, wanting to smash him onto the floor a few more times until he could no longer move. But since Jordan had just taken this move from Hades, how could he continue to be attacked several more times with the same move? Just as Hades lifted Jordan¡¯s right calf, Jordan quickly propped himself up against the floor with his hands and propelled himself with his arms to kick Hades¡¯s chest hard! Jordan¡¯s blow was just as violent. Hades was caught off guard and was sent flying away by Jordan¡¯s kick! With this kick, Hades¡¯s tall and burly body flew straight out of the vi beforending on the green stone floor in front of the vi. Boom! With a dull thud, Hades fell hard on the stone ground! For a moment, all the Howards were utterly shocked. They thought that it was impossible for Jordan to break free since Hades had already caught hold of his ankle. But they didn¡¯t expect Jordan to be able to turn the tables so quickly and kick Hades out of the vi, which was at least seven meters away! Felix, the head of the Howards, looked at the scene in front of him as the ominous hunch in his heart became more and more intense. Since it was already so difficult to deal with Jordan, it seemed that even Hades might not be able to defeat Lucas today! His previous behavior would definitely make Lucas deal with the Howards, especially when he openly said that he would kick Florence out of the family and draw a clear line between the Howards and Lucas to keep themselves out of trouble. Thus, their only solution now was to think of a way to help Hades get rid of Jordan and Lucas! A crazy and twisted expression appeared on Felix¡¯s face. He had always been resolute. He immediately pulled out his phone to make a call. ¡°Get people to take action immediately!¡± ... Outside the vi, Jordan had already chased after Hades to continue fighting with him. When Hades was kicked out of the vi by Jordan, he thought that he would take the opportunity to escape as soon as possible. But Jordan chased after him and followed closely behind, making him understand that it was impossible for him to easily withdraw from the Howard residence. Moreover, this young man was just Lucas¡¯s subordinate, yet he could already force him to such an extent. Lucas stood at the side expressionlessly, seemingly about to target him at any moment. Hades gritted his teeth, knowing that there was no way he could escape now. His only solution was to go all out and defeat the punk in front of him! At the thought of this, Hades stopped holding back and used all his power to fight toe-to-toe against Jordan. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re finally behaving like an expert and not like the weakling earlier!¡± Jordan said with excitement as he clenched his slightly numb fingers after punching Hades. ¡°Weakling? Hmph! I¡¯ll turn you into a real weakling soon!¡± With killing intent on his face, Hades gritted his teeth and swung his fist at Jordan ferociously! Whoosh! This punch seemed to have an invisible energy shrouding it, emitting an extremely sharp sound of breaking through the air. Hades¡¯s punch contained all his power! Just by looking at this power, it was imaginable the terrifying force this fist contained. ¡°Great!¡± Jordan roared as his dark eyes stared at the iing powerful fist. In this instant, he suddenly threw a punch that contained all his power. A menacing aura that seemed no weaker than Hades¡¯s also emerged from Jordan¡¯s fist! Bang! With a terrifying explosive sound, their fists collided fiercely! Chapter 947 - Breaking Through the Bottleneck

Chapter 947: Breaking Through the Bottleneck

Fierce gusts of wind erupted in all directions from where their fists collided, and the trees around them began rustling as their branches broke. Amid the violent impact, a figure took several steps backward. This person was Jordan. With both sides exerting their true power, Jordan obviously still wasn¡¯t a match for Hades. ¡°Hmph, is that all the strength you have?¡± Hades sneered before clenching his fists and attacking Jordan again. Whoosh! He raised his hand and threw several savage punches, each aimed at Jordan¡¯s head and chest. Every punch came with a whistling sound. ¡°Haha!¡± To everyone¡¯s surprise, not only did Jordan not find a way to dodge, but he even raised his fists to face Hades¡¯s offensive directly! Bang! Bang! Bang! ... ...... The sound of fists and kicks shing once again resounded. Although Jordan was continuously forced to retreat under Hades¡¯s fierce attacks, he didn¡¯t back down but gathered the strength to strike back stronger each time. After another attack, Jordan once again stepped backward. But this time, he stopped after two steps before charging at Hades again. There was immense shock in Hades¡¯s eyes. Previously, Jordan had to retreat at least five or six steps. But as they continued to fight, Jordan¡¯s strength, speed, and battle sense began to improve steadily. As the opponent fighting Jordan, Hades was well aware of this. He was certain that Jordan was slowly bing stronger and stronger during the battle with him. How¡­ how is that possible?! A terrifying thought surged in Hades¡¯s heart. He had heard others say that people with such physiques would continuously increase their potential during battle and be stronger. These physiques were simply everyone¡¯s dreams. People with such physiques were true martial arts prodigies, and they could often achieve considerable sess because their potential was constantly improving. No one knew where their limits were. This was why people with such physiques would grow to be extremely terrifying. Of course, people possessing these physiques were few and far between. But it was very likely that Jordan had such a legendary physique! After Hades knocked Jordan back once again, he didn¡¯t charge forward and instead asked with a solemn expression, ¡°Who¡­ who are you?¡± This time, Jordan merely took a step back, and he was already able to keep up with the power and speed of Hades¡¯s attacks. The battle intent in his body was bing more and more stimted. Jordan sneered. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business who I am! Or are you starting to feel scared now?¡± Hades roared angrily, ¡°Punk! I just want to give you one more chance! Don¡¯t be ignorant!¡± ¡°Hah, give me a chance?¡± Jordanughed. ¡°I bet you¡¯re worried about who I am and if there¡¯s a powerful backer behind me because you¡¯ve discovered my physique. You¡¯re just afraid of offending my backer. ¡°Hah, I don¡¯t mind telling you that my only backer is Lucas! ¡°You¡¯re not scared and want to escape now, are you?¡± Jordan deliberately spat and provoked him. He knew that Hades was already scrupulous toward him, and he even doubted if there was a powerful force behind him. But he would never let go of this chance to fight Hades. Jordan could already feel the bottleneck restraining his power loosening up greatly during the fight. He should be able to break through and advance to a higher level soon. At this critical juncture, how could he let Hades run away? ¡°Bullshit! Hmph, don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that he¡¯s just an abandoned child of the Huttons. He was already kicked more than twenty years ago. What background can he have? ¡°Hmph, I appreciate your talent and don¡¯t want to kill you. But since you don¡¯t cherish the opportunity, I have no choice but to kill you!¡± Hades shouted furiously, and the murderous intent on his face was even more intense. ¡°Hah, thene and kill me!¡± Jordan licked the corner of his lips, clenched his fists, and charged toward Hades! Gusts of wind from the violent impacts once again shrouded the area. Under the impact of their collisions, the ground turned into a wastnd as the precious flowers and nts were blown away everywhere. The Howards watched their fight, deathly pale. If an attack of this level hit them, it would probably kill them! The twin experts standing behind Felix had astonishment in their eyes. They were also top experts in DC, but both Jordan and Hades were disying terrifyingbat power that was far above theirs. Recalling how they had wanted to stop Lucas and Jordan under Felix¡¯s order previously, the twin experts felt terrified. For experts at Jordan¡¯s levels, even if two brothers joined forces, they wouldn¡¯t be a match for them. Besides, there was still Lucas, whose power seemed to be even more mysterious and unfathomable. If they really fought, the twins would definitely be the ones to die! After recognizing Jordan¡¯s physique, Hades didn¡¯t dare to be negligent. For this kind of person who got stronger and stronger as they fought, he definitely couldn¡¯t fight him like before. This method would only make Jordan be gradually stronger. Eventually, he would obtain power on par with his or even be stronger! He would never allow such a thing to happen! Hades decided to be ruthless and condensed all his power in his right fist before punching Jordan! ¡°Go to hell!¡± The punchnded hard on Jordan¡¯s chest, sending him flying! Jordan¡¯s chest convulsed violently, and his innards were almost crushed. The moment hended on the ground, he opened his mouth to spit out arge mouthful of blood. Hades withdrew his fist and looked at Jordan, who was lying on the ground, with a bloodthirsty smile on his face. ¡°Hmph, I told you a long time ago that you¡¯re no match for me at all! You can die now!¡± He walked toward Jordan step by step. Although Hades had consumed arge amount of his strength in the powerful punch just now, he could at least stand upright properly. On the other hand, Jordan had taken his punch and fallen hard onto the ground. He had suffered severe injuries and probably lost all hisbat ability. Next, he would destroy himpletely! But just as Hades was about to reach Jordan, he suddenly discovered to his horror that Jordan, who should have sustained serious injuries, was slowly getting up from the ground while exuding an aura even more terrifying than before! ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Hades was so shocked that he couldn¡¯t say another word. Jordan raised his hand, wiped away the blood on the corner of his lips, and smiled sinisterly. ¡°I really have to thank you for that punch. It helped me break through my bottleneck!¡± A rich and majestic aura suddenly emerged from Jordan¡¯s body. But at this moment, Jordan¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted, and his hair stood on end! He felt a great sense of crisis from the intuition he had developed from years of experience on the extremely dangerous battlefield! The next moment, a bullet ripped through the air with a boom! Bang! Chapter 948 - Death

Chapter 948: Death

The moment the gunshot sounded, Jordan had no time to react. But Hades, who was standing a meter away from Jordan, shuddered and then pressed straight toward Jordan. Jordan was still thinking about the gunshot when Hades suddenly mmed him onto the ground. The Howards were all watching this scene with dumbfounded expressions, clueless about what was going on. Felix, the head of the Howards, had a trace of smugness in his eyes as he heaved a sigh of relief. Jordan was finally killed by the person he arranged. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Howards to do such a thing.¡± Lucas¡¯s cold voice suddenly filled the air. The rest of the Howards looked puzzled. They wondered what Lucas meant. Felix sneered. ¡°Lucas Gray, you can¡¯t spout nonsense like that. I don¡¯t know what you mean. ¡°Your subordinate was so arrogant. Who knows who he¡¯s offended. Now that he¡¯s been shot dead, he¡¯s only getting what he deserves!¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°You¡¯d better save your exnation for the Peerless Martial Association!¡± Bang! Felix suddenly had an ominous hunch. ...... Jordan was Lucas¡¯s subordinate and best friend. Now that he was dead, Lucas still didn¡¯t seem sad at all. In fact, he was even smiling. It¡­ it shouldn¡¯t be like this. Felix had nned to order his subordinates to kill Lucas while he was flustered because of Jordan¡¯s death. But now that Lucas was extremely calm and even smiling, his heart sank as he felt extremely unconfident. Just as Felix was feeling anxious and thinking about Lucas¡¯s strange behavior, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side. ¡°Lucas! Are you alright?¡± Felix abruptly turned around and saw Jordan, whom he thought had been killed, climbing up from the ground and quickly walking toward Lucas. Jordan was agile and full of vigor,pletely unlike someone who had been shot. Felix¡¯s heart immediately sank as he nced at Hades behind Jordan. But Hades was now lying on the ground, probably because Jordan had just pushed him off his body. He was looking up and staring into the dark starry sky with empty eyes that contained his confusion just before dying. Boom! Felix only felt his head buzzing, as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and his mind instantly went nk. ¡°He¡­ he¡­¡± At this moment, a butler beside Felix hurriedly ran over to check on Hades¡¯s condition before hurrying back in panic. He reported in a shaky voice, ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Howard¡­ Hades¡­ Hades is dead!¡± Felix only felt that all his body¡¯s strength was drained at this moment. If not for the twin experts reaching out to support him, Felix would have fallen to the ground. ¡°How could¡­ how could the person who died be Hades? That¡¯s impossible!¡± Felix muttered in disbelief. The people at the side probably had no idea what the gunshot was, but Felix was well aware of it. Reason being, Felix had arranged for this person to kill Jordan. When Felix noticed that there was something wrong with Hades, he had immediately made a call and arranged for his subordinates to take action. After all, if Hades really died in the Howard residence, the Peerless Martial Association would definitely hold them responsible. Even if he said that Hades didn¡¯t die at the hands of the Howards and that Lucas and Florence had been kicked out of the Howards and no longer had anything to do with the Howards, the Peerless Martial Association still definitely wouldn¡¯t let them off easily. Thus, Hades couldn¡¯t die no matter what. In that case, the person who had to die was definitely Jordan and Lucas. But Felix never expected that Jordan wouldn¡¯t die, while the person who got shot and died was Hades! He felt his vision turning ck, and his heart waspletely panicked. But he was a sly old fox who had been holding great power and authority in the Howards for decades. Since the matter had already happened, it was toote for regret and fear. So after the initial panic and fear, Felix gritted his teeth and began to think about how to resolve the crisis facing him. Soon, he came up with an idea. Felix suddenly glowered at Lucas and hollered at him, ¡°Lucas Gray! I never thought that you¡¯d be so audacious as to kill not only Dwayne of the Peerless Martial Association but also Hades! You¡¯re really daring! ¡°When the other members of the Peerless Martial Associatione over to pursue the responsibilityter, I will definitely tell them the truth about this matter!¡± Felix said righteously, as if he was harming his family for the sake of justice. The rest of the Howards suddenly widened their eyes in surprise. That gunshot was actually arranged by Lucas? On the other hand, Lucas was almost amused by Felix¡¯s brazen and self-righteous words. ¡°Mr. Howard, is it true that the older you are, the thicker your skin is? I¡¯m really amazed by how good you are at lying through your teeth!¡± Lucas smiled mockingly. Felix¡¯s face was covered in righteous indignation, and he didn¡¯t blush at all. ¡°Is that the attitude you should have when speaking to your elders? The Peerless Martial Association¡¯s expert Hades was shot and killed by someone you secretly arranged. Do you still dare to deny it?¡± Lucas snorted coldly. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue wasting his breath on Felix, who was deliberately feigning ignorance. He said to Jordan, ¡°Go to that building at your nine o¡¯clock that¡¯s a kilometer and a half away.¡± As a subordinate who had followed Lucas for years, Jordan immediately understood what Lucas meant. He red at Felix and then immediately sprinted toward the building Lucas mentioned. When Felix heard Lucas mention the building, his face immediately shuddered, and a look of horror appeared. This building was exactly where the sniper ambushed at! But this location was told to him via a text message from the sniper. How could Lucas possibly know?! ¡°What¡­ what are you talking about? Don¡¯t think you people can fabricate something to frame the Howards!¡± Felix said to Lucas through gritted teeth. At the same time, he turned to look at one of the twin experts, wanting to inform the sniper to leave his spot immediately. But at this moment, Lucas looked at them with a smirk. ¡°If anyone dares to act rashly, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless!¡± Chapter 949 - You’ll Be Helmsman

Chapter 949: You¡¯ll Be Helmsman

Lucas¡¯s eyes were full of intimidation, making Felix and the twin experts beside him too scared to act rashly. They all knew that there was no way they could inform their man to leave since Lucas was right in front of them. So they could only grit their teeth and keep quiet. Lucas stopped paying attention to them and suddenly looked at Florence next to him. He asked softly, ¡°Do you still want to be the helmsman of the Howards?¡± As soon as he said this, all of the Howards, including Florence and Felix, were dumbfounded. They would have never thought that Lucas would suddenly ask Florence this. After being stunned for a few seconds, Florence quickly understood Lucas¡¯s intentions. Indeed, in thest ten years or so, she had always wanted to be the head of the Howards. But after Felix had ruthlessly revealed how he had only used the position of helmsman as bait to lure her into doing things, it made her now feel nothing for him as her father. Besides, the Howards had just watched Hades almost strangle her to death, but no one had been willing toe forward to help her. They made Florence lose almost all her familial affection for the Howards. It could be said that Florence no longer had any feelings for the Howards, and she had finally stopped obsessing over the position of family helmsman, which she had longed for for countless years. After nearly experiencing death, she finally realized that power and status were only superficial. What she had to do now was to live well and treat her daughter, Cheyenne, well to make up for the love shecked for thest two decades or so. But now that Lucas had suddenly asked her if she was still interested in bing the Howards¡¯ helmsman, he clearly had some ideas. Felix quickly realized what Lucas¡¯s motive was. He immediately flew into a rage and shouted at Florence, ¡°Rebellious girl, if you dare to covet the position of helmsman, the Howards won¡¯t let you off!¡± Florence sneered with contempt. ¡°You don¡¯t even want to acknowledge me, your worthless daughter. You even wanted to sacrifice my life for the safety of the family. What¡¯s wrong even if I want to be the helmsman of the Howards? ¡°You¡¯re not the only person who can take this position. So what if I¡¯m interested? Do you still want to stop me? ¡°Besides, whether or not I be the Howards¡¯ helmsman is not up to you!¡± Florence sneered before turning to look at Lucas. Now, the person who called the shots among the Howards was no longer Felix but Lucas! Florence honestly no longer treated Felix as her father. All she felt for him now wasplicated hatred. Her father had killed the love of her life, causing her life to be a tragedy, and was so cold and ruthless toward her. In his eyes, she was just a pawn that he could use. Once she was no longer of any use value, Felix wouldn¡¯t bother taking another look at her. If Lucas hadn¡¯t arrived just now, she would have really been killed by Hades. Furthermore, there probably wouldn¡¯t be a single Howard who would shed a tear for her! Why should she care about the feelings of such a cold-blooded and heartless family? She had already been on the brink of death, so there was nothing left to fear now. Even facing her father, Florence was no longer as cautious as she was before. Instead, she had now developed a backbone and would no longer let him manipte and threaten her. Felix was so enraged by Florence¡¯s attitude that even his fingers trembled. ¡°Very well! I didn¡¯t raise you to this age for you to anger me! ¡°You think you can be all smug and arrogant in front of me now that you have your son-inw to back you up, huh? But don¡¯t forget. He has already offended the Peerless Martial Association. If he dies someday, let¡¯s see what you can do!¡± Florence sneered, ¡°So what? If Lucas hadn¡¯t saved me earlier, I would already be dead now. Every minute and every second of my life is already a blessing! Do you think I¡¯m still afraid of death? ¡°Even if I die because of Lucas, I¡¯d do so willingly! ¡°Besides, Lucas may not necessarily lose to the Peerless Martial Association! The scene you want to see might not happen!¡± Florence really didn¡¯t care about such threats anymore. She even felt a sense of transcendence that was beyond life and death. Lucas nced at Florence in surprise. Although he had indeed saved Florence from Hades, he honestly didn¡¯t do so because he appreciated her or cared about her. He simply didn¡¯t want her death to upset Cheyenne. After rescuing her, he stopped paying attention to her. But he was truly surprised by what she said and couldn¡¯t help changing his impression of her slightly. After saying her piece, Florence immediately looked at Lucas and said seriously, ¡°Lucas, if you think that it would be better for me to be the head of the Howards, I¡¯m definitely willing to take over!¡± Lucas looked at her and nodded. ¡°Okay. From now on, you will be the new helmsman of the Howards!¡± The two of them decided on who would be the helmsman just like that, as if there wasn¡¯t anyone else around. Felix, the current head of the family whose presence waspletely disregarded, flew into a rage. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about here? I¡¯m the only one who can decide who bes the head of the family! Neither of you are in any ce to interfere!¡± Felix shouted angrily. At the side, Ezra stepped forward with a sneer and mocked, ¡°Lucas Gray, this is my family! As an outsider, you¡¯re in no ce to meddle with our family¡¯s affairs! ¡°If you insist on doing so, I¡¯ll take that you¡¯ve decided to make us your enemy! ¡°Grandpa, Lucas Gray is very ambitious. He¡¯s probably been coveting your position for a long time. Both he and Florence should be punished!¡± Lucas was undoubtedly the person Ezra hated the most at the moment. As long as Lucas didn¡¯t die, he would Florence be the head of the family. Ezra felt that this position could only belong to him, and no one could take it away from him! So no matter what, Lucas had to die! Samuel gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and said, ¡°Yes! It¡¯s up to us to decide who bes the next helmsman! My father and the Howards should have the final say, not an outsider like you!¡± He also desperately wanted to be the helmsman, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t be willing to let Florence take over. The rest of the Howards looked at each other without saying anything. No matter who became the helmsman, it didn¡¯t have much to do with them, so there wasn¡¯t a need for them to take sides now and offend people. Furthermore, the powerfulbat strength Lucas and Jordan had shown earlier terrified them, so they didn¡¯t dare to use Lucas or fault him for his actions. Anyway, no matter who became the Howards¡¯ helmsman, as long as this person ensured that their interests remained unchanged, the rest wasn¡¯t important. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve brought him back!¡± Jordan¡¯s voice suddenly came. He was dragging a half-dead person on the ground! Chapter 950 - Are You Remorseful?

Chapter 950: Are You Remorseful?

Everyone was attracted by Jordan¡¯s sudden voice and turned to look at the figure he was dragging. It was a stranger in his thirties with a thick beard. Perhaps because Jordan had broken his legs, he looked miserable and in pain as Jordan dragged him toward the Howards. The rest of the Howards didn¡¯t know him, so they looked bewildered. But when Felix saw this person and the Barrett sniper rifle Jordan was holding in his other hand, his face twitched. ¡°Mr. Howard, you should know who this person is, right? What do you think the Peerless Martial Association will hear from this man if I hand him over to them?¡± Lucas smiled while looking at Felix, whose expression drastically changed. Felix gritted his teeth, and the loose skin of his cheeks began trembling. Of course, he knew who this bearded man was. He was the famous sniper he had secretly arranged. Felix had wanted this sniper to kill Jordan and then find a chance to kill Lucas. But he never expected Jordan to bepletely unscathed while the person shot to death became Hades of the Peerless Martial Association. Now, this person was dragged in front of everyone by Jordan. If Lucas really handed over this bearded sniper to the Peerless Martial Association, they would find out about everything, and the Howards definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the wrath of the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about! ¡°Who is this person? Does it have anything to do with the Howards? Even if you hand him over to the Peerless Martial Association and prove that he killed Hades with a sniper rifle, what does it have to do with the Howards?¡± Since Felix couldn¡¯t find a better solution, he could only continue to feign ignorance. Lucas sneered with raised brows. ¡°I haven¡¯t said anything yet, but you already know that this man killed Hades with a sniper rifle. You¡¯re really impressive!¡± Hearing this, the rest of the Howards were astonished. What? Hades was really shot to death by a sniper? And¡­ it seems to have something to do with Felix. If Hades had really been killed by the Howards¡¯ sniper, the Peerless Martial Association definitely wouldn¡¯t let them off! At the thought of this, the Howards turned pale. Felix gritted his teeth and said angrily to Lucas, ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± Lucas looked at Felix¡¯s pale face and suddenly said, ¡°You¡¯ve done countless vile things for years for the sake of gaining so-called power and status. Have you ever felt remorseful toward those people you¡¯ve hurt? ¡°I heard that my father-inw, whom I¡¯ve never met, was killed by you. You caused their family to fall apart and my wife to be abandoned by the roadside since she was a child. As a result, she had to suffer a lot throughout her childhood. Don¡¯t you want to say something about this?¡± An icy cold gaze appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. He had only met Felix for the first time tonight, but he didn¡¯t have a good impression of him during the brief contact. He was an old man in his seventies, but he was still so greedy for power and interests. He was brutal and ruthless, and his eyes were full of nothing but cold calctions. Just now, he had even ordered the sniper to kill Jordan! If Lucas hadn¡¯t reacted in time and thought of an idea to block the bullet the instant it shot over, Jordan would probably be dead now. If not for the fact that he was Cheyenne¡¯s grandfather, Lucas would have killed him! Besides, Felix had even killed Cheyenne¡¯s father, which was also a feud that had existed between them for years. Florence stared at her father, biting her lip so hard that it started bleeding. The death of the man she loved the most would forever be the most painful part of her past! ¡°I can¡¯t even bring myself to call you my father. You don¡¯t care about kinship at all. Even though I¡¯m your biological daughter, I¡¯m just a pawn you can use! You killed the person I love the most and ruined my life. You¡¯re not worthy of being my father at all!¡± Florence said angrily with red eyes. Felix snorted coldly and snapped in exasperation, ¡°Shut up! ¡°As the helmsman of the Howards, everything I¡¯ve done is for the benefit of the Howards! Love and kinship mean nothing to me. ¡°All you know is the Howards are one of the top eight families of DC and hold a prestigious position. But do you know the tragic past the family went through to get to where we are now? ¡°Also, do you think it¡¯s easy being the helmsman? There are so many wealthy families in DC, and a slight carelessness would cause us to fall from the top and be shattered into pieces! ¡°If it weren¡¯t for my conscientiousness and effort that I¡¯ve put into managing the Howards painstakingly for all these years, do you think you¡¯d get to lead such an affluent life and enjoy the glory of an elite family? ¡°For the sake of the family¡¯s interests, I¡¯m willing to do anything. Killing a few people means nothing to me. So what if I treat you as pawns? The more Felix spoke, the more agitated he became. He suddenly turned his head to stare at Florence and roared, ¡°Hmph, what right do you have to use me?! You have no idea how much effort I¡¯ve put in to allow the Howards to stand strong and remain at the top! ¡°Hah, I¡¯m already seventy-five years old. Who knows how many years I have left to live. Don¡¯t you think I want to enjoy afortable and rxed life and leave the Howards to you guys? ¡°Everything I¡¯ve done is for the Howards!¡± He looked extremely agitated as he revealed his philosophy of life. He was a cold and ruthless person who cared only for family interests. He was willing to do anything for the sake of his family! Lucas watched everything coldly without saying anything. Whether it was for his family or his own desire for power and authority, only Felix himself would know. Lucas came here today only to save Florence from the Peerless Martial Association. The other matters had nothing to do with him. After Florence heard what Felix said, her eyes widened in disbelief. A momentter, she smiled miserably while tears flowed out of her eyes. Chapter 951 - Forcing and Snatching Authority

Chapter 951: Forcing and Snatching Authority

¡°Yeah, you said that you¡¯re willing to do anything for the sake of your family. You don¡¯t even need any family affection for your children. All you care about is your own interests. It¡¯s my misfortunate to have been born as your daughter. I¡¯ll admit it and resign to fate! ¡°But what did he do wrong? He only wanted toe to DC to beg you to let us off because he loves me and our child. He wanted you to stop chasing after us and allow us to live well in this world. He just wanted you to give us your blessings! ¡°He never harmed the Howards in any way, but why did you have to kill him?! Why did you kill the person who loves me the most in this world?¡± Florence started crying loudly with tears all over her face. She was agonized at the thought of Drew Cruise, the love of her life! Her mother had died a long time ago, and her father had merely treated her as a pawn he could use. The rest of the family was cold-blooded and ruthless. When shecked power, no one was willing to speak up for her. Her daughter, whom she hadn¡¯t met for more than twenty years, was just like aplete stranger to her. That man was the only one who had existed ever so vividly and loved her so passionately in the decades of her life. But he was killed under her father¡¯s orders! From the moment she learned the truth about Drew¡¯s death, her life was alreadypletely ruined! Felix silently listened to Florence¡¯s tearfulints, but his gaze didn¡¯t waver at all. Clearly, everything Florence said couldn¡¯t touch his heart at all. He barely felt any emotions, let alone guilt or remorse. Only when Florence was choked up and could no longer bring herself to continue speaking did Felix say slowly, ¡°Hmph! What¡¯s the point of saying that now? ¡°You¡¯re a Howard. From the day you were born, you were destined to give your everything for the family! ...... ¡°Back then, I had already arranged your marriage partner, but you just had to fall in love with a penniless boy. You defied my orders for his sake, and you even eloped from DC with that bastard, causing the Howards to be theughing stock of many! ¡°So of course he had to die! ¡°I¡¯ve told you a long time ago that I will never hesitate to kill anyone who puts the family at risk or affects the family¡¯s interests! ¡°It¡¯s the same even if you¡¯re my daughter!¡± When Florence heard this, the luster and vigor in her eyes gradually dimmed. Indeed, since she was clearly aware of how cold and ruthless her father was and how he didn¡¯t care for his children at all, why should she expect him to feel guilty for what he had done back then? She closed her eyes before suddenly opening them again and saying to Felix, ¡°Fine, it¡¯s useless for me to say anything to a heartless person like you. ¡°I just hope that you won¡¯t regret what you just said!¡± Felix looked at Florence without saying a word. Florence wiped away the tears on her face with her sleeve before suddenly turning around to face Lucas and saying solemnly, ¡°Lucas, help me, I want to be the head of the Howards! From now on, I will call the shots in the family, and I will abolish those rotten rules!¡± Lucas could clearly feel the difference in Florence¡¯s attitude now. A few minutes ago, when Lucas asked her if she wanted to be the helmsman of the family, she seemed hesitant and even resistant, but she agreed for his sake. But Florence¡¯s eyes were now glowing, as if she had made up her mind to do something and that she was determined to obtain the position of helmsman at all costs! But Lucas didn¡¯t disapprove of Florence¡¯s changes. ¡°Since you want it, then the position of helmsman is yours from now on. You¡¯re free to do whatever you want. I won¡¯t interfere with your decisions,¡± Lucas said clearly with an indifferent smile. After getting Lucas¡¯s promise, Florence immediately showed him a grateful look. Immediately afterward, Florence nced at the Howards around her before asking loudly, ¡°Does anyone have any objections to me taking over as the head of the family?¡± At this moment, Florence waspletely different from the way she was before. Her eyes were full of determination and the aura of a powerful person about to take on a superior position. The rest of the Howards opened their mouths in shock, unable to believe that things had reallye to this. Is Florence really going to be the head of the Howards? But¡­ Felix, the helmsman, is clearly still around¡­ What should we do now??they wondered. ¡°Florence! How dare you!¡± Felix red daggers at Florence. ¡°I¡¯m still alive. You¡¯re in no ce to be the head of the family! ¡°No, even if I die now, you will never be the head of the Howards! Just give up now!¡± Florence wasn¡¯t afraid. She even smiled. ¡°You no longer call the shots for the Howards now!¡± Then she took out a golden whistle from her pocket and blew it. Beep! As the sharp whistle sounded, the messy sound of shuffling footsteps filled the air around them. Soon, twenty-odd powerhouses dressed in ckpression wear suddenly appeared and surrounded the Howards. This scene shocked the Howards and made them panic! None of them expected that Florence had secretly nurtured a group of powerhouses! When¡­ when did she manage to get such a powerful squad without any of us noticing? Many Howards turned as pale as a sheet. But Lucas remained expressionless, seemingly having long known about Florence¡¯s backup n. The truth was indeed so. Lucas was a high-level expert. The moment he stepped foot inside the vi, he could already sense that there were more than twenty extraordinary auras hidden all around the vi. But at first, Lucas didn¡¯t know that they were experts Florence had prepared. Only when she pulled out the whistle did he suddenly realize. But since Florence had her own subordinates, there was no need for him to get involved. Strictly speaking, these were all the Howards¡¯ internal affairs, and Lucas didn¡¯t want to get involved. Otherwise, if he identally killed someone, it would be difficult for him to exin himself to Cheyenne. He would just leave it to the Howards to deal with their own affairs. Meanwhile, he would stay here and ensure that Florence was safe. After seeing these men in ck, Felix was stunned for a moment, but he was an experienced man after all, and he quickly reacted. ¡°Florence, how dare you hide these people? Are you nning to force me into giving you my power and authority?¡± Felix yelled at Florence, his wrinkly face beet red from anger. Chapter 952 - Killing Everyone Who Gets in the Way

Chapter 952: Killing Everyone Who Gets in the Way

Florence sneered and mocked, ¡°If that¡¯s what you want to call it, go ahead! ¡°But you taught me all of this. You forced me to do this! ¡°If I hadn¡¯t agreed to the marriage alliance with the Lamberts and obtained the greatest authority in the Lambert family, how could the Howards have encroached on all their assets so quickly? ¡°Everything I¡¯ve done for the Howards all these years isn¡¯t any less than anyone else! ¡°I¡¯m a Howard too. Why can¡¯t I be the helmsman of the Howards? ¡°Am I not qualified to be the helmsman just because I¡¯m a woman? Is there a family rule that states that the Howards aren¡¯t allowed to have a woman as the family head?¡± Florence¡¯s sharp gaze swept across all the Howards. Because of her extremely powerful aura, none of the Howards she nced at dared to look her in the eye at all, let alone talk back to her. They looked away from her eyes almost immediately. ¡°Hah, what a joke!¡± Felix sneered. ¡°Although there isn¡¯t a rule that states women can¡¯t be the helmsman, the Howards have existed for a few hundred years. In thest few centuries, no woman has been the helmsman! ¡°Who are you to break this precedent and be the first female head of the family? If word about this gets out, the Howards will immediately be theughing stock of all the rich and powerful families in DC!¡± Although he was already 75 years old, he was still full of vigor and energy, and he didn¡¯t lose the upper hand in arguing against Florence at all. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re ridiculous!¡± Florence refused to give in and sneered. ¡°What era is it now? Equality between men and women has been going on for decades. Yet you want to stop me with an idea from hundreds of years ago? ¡°Since this precedent hasn¡¯t happened before, then I¡¯ll break this precedent! I will be the first female head of the family. And I will abolish those bullshit rules that ce men superior to women!¡± ...... ¡°From now on, men and women in the Howard family will be equal, and all women will enjoy the same rights and freedoms as men! ¡°The position of the Howards¡¯ helmsman should be held by a capable person. As long as a woman is outstanding enough and has contributed enough to the family, she can also be the head of the family! ¡°I want to see who in DC dares tough at me!¡± At this moment, Florence¡¯s body was brimming with an unprecedented domineering aura and faith. Standing in the middle of the crowd, she exuded an aura that couldn¡¯t be refuted! Florence had undergone outstanding education in the Howards, andter on, she had even founded and developed a great corporation known as the Flor Group by herself. She definitely wasn¡¯t a weak woman. ¡°Rebellious girl¡­ you¡¯re unfilial! How dare you defy me?!¡± Felix pointed at Florence. He was so furious that he was trembling and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. ¡°Florence Howard, how dare you speak to Father like that?!¡± Samuel stepped forward and yelled at Florence angrily. ¡°Father is already so old, yet you¡¯re saying such callous things to provoke him. Do you deliberately want him to anger him to death so you can get what you want?¡± Florence nced at Sam coldly and mocked, ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend to be a filial son at this time! Who doesn¡¯t know that you¡¯ve long coveted the position of helmsman and that you¡¯ve been hoping to take over sooner. ¡°Unfortunately, Father has already revoked your position as sessor, and now, I¡¯m the head of the family. That¡¯s why you¡¯re indignant, right?¡± Being hit in his sore spot, Samuel was annoyed and furious. ¡°Shut up! Stop spouting nonsense! As your brother, I don¡¯t want you to be talking back to Father. Is there anything wrong with this? ¡°Don¡¯t forget that Father is still the head of the Howards, and only he has the right to decide who bes the next helmsman!¡± ¡°If Father really hands over the position of helmsman to you, I¡¯ll have no objections, and I¡¯ll be the first to support you. But now, you obviously want to snatch the position away from Father! ¡°You¡¯re treacherous and rebellious. I must stop you no matter what! ¡°Don¡¯t you have a lot of experts under yourmand now? If you want to harm Father, just kill me first!¡± Samuel yelled loudly and reprimanded Florence furiously. Meanwhile, Ezra stood silently at the side, quickly thinking about the current situation. Now that the terrifying man Lucas was on Florence¡¯s side and wanted to help her be the helmsman, Florence¡¯s power was greatly strengthened. Moreover, the fact that Florence had immediately summoned a team of more than twenty experts with her whistle meant that she still had some trump cards. Who knew how many more trump cards she had. Thus, Florence posed a huge threat to him! His only chance now was to step out like Samuel did and try his best to perform in front of his grandfather so that thetter would hand over his position to him. But given Lucas¡¯s domineering style, Felix might not be able to suppress him! No, I can¡¯t do that. His best method at present was to stay put and see if there would be any twists in the situation for him to take action! Ezra made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and stood still, not stepping forward or speaking up. Florence smiled in contempt as she watched Samuel behaving like a filial son. ¡°Hah, Samuel, you¡¯ve always been so hypocritical since we were kids! ¡°Since you want to die to prove how much you really respect Father, I¡¯ll grant your wish to show your filial piety! ¡°Since you want to die, you can¡¯t me me!¡± Florencemanded her subordinates, ¡°I¡¯ll count to five. If Samuel continues to get in my way, kill him!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The twenty or so experts agreed in unison. An austere and murderous aura surged to the sky! The Howards nearby looked at the people in front of them in horror. Even though they didn¡¯t know any martial arts, they could feel the terrifying aura that gave them goosebumps from the twenty or so people in front of them! The strength of each of these experts was on par with the bodyguards that the Howards had spent a ton of money to hire! Samuel¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Florence! I¡¯m your brother. Are you really going to order your subordinates to kill me?¡± Chapter 953 - Replacing Old With New

Chapter 953: Recing Old With New

With a look of indifference, Florence sneered, ¡°Brother? Why didn¡¯t you say that when I was being strangled and almost died? ¡°Cut the crap. If you still refuse to get lost, you can try and see if I¡¯ll really order my people to kill you! ¡°Five¡­ ¡°Four¡­¡± ... Samuel¡¯s face instantly paled, especially when he heard Florence counting down from five. The fear within him immediately surged to the peak. In the past, he might have been able to use his identity as her brother to restrain her and make herply. But Florence hadpletely lost all her affection and feelings for him and the Howards. She no longer cared about kinship and had be indifferent and heartless. Florence would probably really kill her biological brother now. ¡°Three¡­ ¡°Two¡­ ... ¡°One! ¡°Time¡¯s up!¡± After finishing the countdown expressionlessly, Florence immediately ordered her subordinates, ¡°Do it!¡± Four men in ck immediately charged toward Samuel. They were each holding a sharp dagger in hand, and the cold des glistened under the light. Samuel was finally convinced that Florence would really kill him! In this life-and-death situation, Samuel could no longer care about anything else as he closed his eyes and shouted frantically, ¡°W-wait! I¡­ I concede! I¡¯ll give up on being the helmsman! I won¡¯t fight with you or stop you anymore!¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Florence sneered as she raised her hand. The four ck-clothed experts attacking Samuel immediately stopped and returned to their previous positions. Only after seeing these experts leave did Samuel heave a sigh of relief and take a deep breath. The brief second just now felt like a year to him. It was so long that it made him feel suffocated. After conceding to Florence in front of everyone, Samuel felt very humiliated. But at the same time, he couldn¡¯t help feeling joyful for oveing an ordeal. His forehead, chest, and back were all drenched in cold sweat. Florence nced at his wretched appearance and suddenly smirked at Felix. ¡°Look how much of a coward your chosen sessor is! ¡°Just because he¡¯s a man, are you going to hand over your position to him even though he¡¯s such an ipetent coward? ¡°Is that what you keep iming to be for the best interests of the family? Hah, how ridiculous! ¡°Oh, by the way, although Samuel is a hypocritical coward, at least he can still step forward and pretend. But another coward from the Howards doesn¡¯t even have the courage to speak up! ¡°Is that why only men are fit to be the helmsman of the Howards? ¡°If the Howards reallynded in the hands of these good-for-nothings, we would really be doomed! Florence nced at Ezra mockingly, who was standing at the side without even daring to say a word. Her words were sharp, and coupled with the actions of Samuel and Ezra, no one could refute her at all. ¡°You¡­ you!¡± Endless fury surged in Felix¡¯s heart, as well as some misery. Perhaps he was upset with Florence¡¯s sharp words, or perhaps he was angered by the embarrassing behavior of his son Samuel and his grandson Ezra, whom he valued greatly. His face turned red and white while his entire body trembled in fury. Suddenly, Felix spat out a mouthful of red blood! ¡°Felix!¡± A few Howards subconsciously shouted, but they quickly realized that someone else was now the helmsman, so they didn¡¯t know how to treat Felix. For a moment, more than ten Howards stood around them, but none of them dared to go forward to hold Felix or speak up for him. Seeing this scene, Florence felt mncholic yet amused. This was the Howard family, whose members had grown up with the mindset of putting interests before all else, which her father had instilled in them. All of them were raised to be cold-blooded and heartless, valuing only profits and losses but not humanity and kinship. Seeing Felix¡¯s pale and shriveled old face, Florence couldn¡¯t bring herself to be cruel. ¡°Someone,e take the Howards¡¯ former helmsman to the hospital for proper care and treatment!¡± A few of the Howards¡¯ servants hurried over from the corners they were hiding in and held Felix to help him away. At this moment. Felix¡¯s expression was also extremelyplicated. He looked at his children, grandchildren, and family members standing around him but were too scared to even speak. He then looked at Florence, who was standing in the middle of the crowd with an imposing aura. After a long time, a strange expression appeared on his face. He seemed to be caught betweenughter and tears. . With the help of the servants, he stood in front of Florence and took a few nces at her before suddenly announcing, ¡°I, Felix Howard, the helmsman of the Howard family, hereby announce that from now on, the new family head is Florence Howard!¡± After speaking, he stopped looking at the expressions of the people around him, slowly closed his eyes, and allowed the servants to hold him to leave the vi. Under street lights outside shone on Felix¡¯s white hair as his figure suddenly hunched, making him look much thinner and weaker. It heralded the end of an era. From now on, Florence called the shots in the family! Florence became the first ever female helmsman of the Howards! Lucas watched silently from the side. Florence had controlled the entire scene alone and taken the position of helmsman resolutely, which made Lucas change his opinion of her for the better. This woman was truly capable. Lucas was looking forward to seeing what the Howards would be under her leadership. But before that, there was still a very important matter that needed to be resolved. Florence also turned her attention to a young man. ¡°Since I¡¯ve now be the helmsman, I naturally have to help the family clean up!¡± Chapter 954 - Betraying the Family

Chapter 954: Betraying the Family

Florence¡¯s icy gazended on Ezra next to her. Ezra¡¯s heart tensed up, and he hurriedly showed a warm smile. ¡°Congrattions on bing the new helmsman of the Howards, Aunt Florence! ¡°It¡¯s the Howards¡¯ honor to have a smart and wise helmsman like you!¡± Ezra quickly ttered Florence. Since things had developed to this, and Ezra couldn¡¯t take back the position of helmsman from Florence, he could only express his loyalty and make her less hostile toward him. Florence sneered. The Howards had previously med her and Lucas for causing the Peerless Martial Association to be their enemy. But at the end of the day, the root cause was Ezra, who had wanted to use Dwayne to kill Lucas. If not for him, Dwayne wouldn¡¯t have died trying to assassinate Lucas, and Hades wouldn¡¯t havee to the Howard residence to take revenge. It could be said that Ezra was the culprit who started it all! Moreover, if Lucas hadn¡¯t arrived in time and saved her from Hades, Florence would have long been strangled to death by Hades. . It was all caused by her nephew Ezra! Therefore, Florence would never let Ezra, this seemingly mild-mannered but deadly snake, off. ... ¡°Hah, Ezra, you¡¯re really good at acting! You¡¯re congratting me for seeding the position of helmsman, but you¡¯re actually still nning to inform someone to deal with me, aren¡¯t you?¡± With a cold expression on her face, Florence stared straight into Ezra¡¯s eyes. Ezra¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he gripped his phone in his pocket tightly. He was extremely flustered, but he tried his best to remain calm and exin, ¡°Aunt Florence, how can you think of me that way? I didn¡¯t do anything! I¡­¡± ¡°Go get his phone from his pocket!¡± Florence interrupted Ezra and ordered the people around her. A man in ck immediately rushed toward Ezra. Ezra¡¯s expression changed drastically as he gripped his phone tightly and shouted, ¡°No! Aunt Florence, even though you¡¯re in charge of the family now, you have no right to invade my privacy or snatch my phone away! You¡­ you¡¯re going overboard!¡± While shouting, he looked around in panic to find an escape route. ¡°Hmph! Hold him down and grab his phone!¡± Florence said coldly. Ezra was panic-stricken. If Florence really got hold of his phone, she would definitely find his messages. At that time, he would be dead meat! No, no matter what, I can¡¯t let them get my phone! Ezra gritted his teeth and suddenly threw his phone at a fountain nearby! As long as his phone fell into the water and short-circuited, no one would be able to find out what was inside! As long as they didn¡¯t have any evidence, there was nothing Florence could do to him even though she was the helmsman now. Ezra had a well-thought-out n. But unfortunately, the moment he threw his phone, Florence¡¯s subordinate pinned him down to the ground, disrupting the original trajectory of his phone and causing it to fall to the ground soon after he threw it. It didn¡¯t even make it close to the fountain! When Ezra struggled to raise his head from the ground, he saw his phone being handed over to Florence respectfully. ¡°Florence Howard, you¡­ That¡¯s my phone. You can¡¯t look at the contents and invade my privacy!¡± Ezra roared at the top of his lungs. Unfortunately, he was now pressed firmly to the ground by Florence¡¯s subordinate, and it was impossible for him to stop her. Moreover, he was behaving like he had a guilty conscience. Even a fool would know that there must be something fishy on his phone. Florence unlocked Ezra¡¯s phone and immediately saw the two text messages sent not long ago in the chat history. When she saw the content of the messages, her face immediately darkened, and her eyes were full of murderous intent when she looked at Ezra. ¡°Ezra, you actually betrayed the family by tipping someone off! You deserve to die for what you¡¯ve done!¡± Florence yelled furiously. Hearing this, the Howards were shocked. The Howards were a big family that had been passed down for hundreds of years. ording to the family rules, anyone who betrayed the family could be executed directly! They knew that Ezra was definitely dissatisfied with Florence taking over as the helmsman, and he might even think of taking revenge. But they were even more puzzled as to who Ezra had tipped off and what he intended to do to the Howards and Florence. ¡°Hah, I tipped someone off and betrayed the family?¡± Seeing that the secret in his phone had been exposed, Ezra decided to go all out and stop pretending. He revealed his true colors and said contemptuously, ¡°That¡¯s right. I tipped someone off, but you forced me to do it, Florence! ¡°You¡¯re a woman, so you¡¯re not qualified to be the helmsman. But you used despicable means and ganged up with your son-inw to force Grandpa to hand the position over to you! ¡°You didn¡¯t get the position fair and square. Who would acknowledge you? ¡°I admit that I¡¯ve used some tricks, but they¡¯re nothingpared to what you¡¯ve done! ¡°I tipped off the people of the Peerless Martial Association. I just wanted to kill Lucas Gray. So what? Doesn¡¯t he deserve to die? ¡°I¡¯m using my own methods to clean up our family. It¡¯s not considered betraying the family at all! ¡°On the contrary, you¡¯re the biggest traitor of the family because you used despicable means to snatch the position of helmsman!¡± Ezra was pinned to the ground and unable to move, so he could onlysh out at Florence in desperation. Florence was extremely gloomy now, and she couldn¡¯t wait to kill the ipetent Ezra! He had clearly tipped off the people of the Peerless Martial Association and released news that would cause the Howards to face a cmity. But he didn¡¯t realize the seriousness of the matter at all. In order to deal with her and Lucas for his own selfish desires, he didn¡¯t even care about the well-being of the entire Howard family. He was simply out of his mind! ¡°Ezra, shut up! Don¡¯t try to twist facts! ¡°Lucas is my son-inw, so he¡¯s not an outsider but one of the Howards! ¡°You, on the other hand, have no regard for what will happen to the Howards or how the Peerless Martial Association will deal with us. All you care about is the position of helmsman, and you¡¯d do anything to get it. You¡¯re the traitor of the Howards!¡± ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you, the Howards wouldn¡¯t be facing a cmity today, and things wouldn¡¯t have turned out the way they are now! ¡°How dare you argue for yourself in front of us when things have alreadye to this?! You¡¯ve caused us to face a terrifying enemy, so you must die to pay for your crime today!¡± Florence hollered furiously. Ezra didn¡¯t seem to care, and he had a twisted look on his face. ¡°Haha, anyway, I¡¯ve already informed the Peerless Martial Association, and they¡¯ll being soon. None of you will be able to escape! ¡°Even if I don¡¯t be the helmsman, you can forget about it! Even if I have to die, I¡¯ll make all of you die with me!¡± Ezra burst into maniacalughter. Chapter 955 - The Peerless Martial Association Arrives

Chapter 955: The Peerless Martial Association Arrives

Ezra was screaming andughing like a lunatic. The man in ck holding Ezra down frowned and struck him on the back of his neck, causing his eyes to roll backward as he passed out. Although Ezra had already fainted, what he just said was still ringing in the ears of everyone present. They didn¡¯t expect Ezra to be so crazy as to inform the Peerless Martial Association toe over. Hades¡¯s corpse was still lying right in front of the Howards¡¯ vi, and he had been shot by a sniper arranged by the Howards. The Peerless Martial Association would definitely be enraged and hold the Howards responsible! The Peerless Martial Association was a massive organization with countless powerful experts. As one of the top eight families of DC, the Howards knew this all too well. Hades alone had almost destroyed the Howards. No one had been able to stop him at all. Now that Hades had died in their residence, the Peerless Martial Association would definitely send more terrifying big shots to hold them responsible. If the Peerless Martial Association vented their anger on the Howards, many Howards would probably die, and the family might even get eradicated! How could the Howards possibly be able to resist? All the Howards subconsciously turned to look at Lucas. If the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s powerhouses really came to hold the Howards ountable, Lucas was probably the only person who could protect them! ... Florence looked at Lucas, gritted her teeth, and suddenly said, ¡°Lucas, leave immediately before the people from the Peerless Martial Association arrive! Take Cheyenne and your daughter somewhere remote and live in recluse! The Howards were all stunned. They originally thought that Florence would get Lucas to stay and help them deal with the Peerless Martial Association since he was her son-inw. They didn¡¯t expect her to ask him to leave! But if Lucas really left, what would happen to the Howards? Hades had died in their residence, and since the Peerless Martial Association knew this, they definitely wouldn¡¯t let them off easily! Were they all going to wait for death? ¡°No, Mr. Gray can¡¯t leave! He¡¯s the only one who can fight against the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s experts now. If he leaves, how can Howards withstand the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s wrath?¡± ¡°Yeah, Florence, you¡¯d better consider it carefully. Mr. Gray is the only person we can rely on now. He can¡¯t leave!¡± ¡°The Howards are about to face our greatest crisis ever. If Mr. Gray leaves at this point, what are we supposed to do? What will happen to the hundreds of people who live here? We can¡¯t possibly all escape. Are we supposed to just wait here to die?¡± ¡°Florence, quickly think of a way to get Mr. Gray to stay here and help us!¡± ... The Howards were all panic-stricken as they requested Florence to get Lucas to stay in the Howard residence to help them deal with the people of the Peerless Martial Association. Lucas was surprised. . He didn¡¯t expect Florence to be worried about his and Cheyenne¡¯s safety and tell them to leave quickly instead of asking him to stay and help resolve the Howards¡¯ crisis. It seemed that Florence was indeed different from before. Facing the Howards¡¯ request, Florence shouted resolutely, ¡°No! ¡°I think you all know what we¡¯re about to face. In the face of the terrifying Peerless Martial Association, the Howards are just like eggs and easily crushed! ¡°Although Lucas is powerful, he¡¯s alone. How can he possibly defeat the thousands of experts of the Peerless Martial Association? ¡°So, the only way now is to leave the Howard residence immediately! Not only him, all of you should leave too!¡± ¡°Go back to your homes to take your valuables with you and flee immediately. Leave as fast as you can and run as far as you can before the people of the Peerless Martial Association arrive!¡± Florence spoke loudly with a helpless and agonized look on her face. She had just taken over as the head of the family less than half an hour ago. But now, the Howards were facing a crisis that could possibly annihte them. How ironic. Initially, only the people present were aware that Hades had been killed by one of the Howards in their home. If they had handled it properly, they could have covered it up. But for the sake ofpeting for power and suppressing her and Lucas, Ezra had actually informed the Peerless Martial Association about this matter. Since the news had already spread, even Florence had no way to turn the situation around. Thus, the only way to survive now was to flee as quickly and as far away as they could! ¡°Hah, you want to run away? ¡°Since you¡¯ve killed someone from the Peerless Martial Association, none of you can escape today!¡± Suddenly, an extremely cold voice sounded from the front, resounding clearly in the ears of everyone present. As this hair-raising voice sounded, people d in ck robesnded quietly around the Howards like phantoms. The word ¡®Peerless¡¯ was embroidered clearly on their robes. These people were from the Peerless Martial Association!¡¯ After seeing these terrifying figures, the Howards immediately turned pale in fright. Before they could do anything, the ten-odd experts of the Peerless Martial Association had alreadypletely surrounded them! Although there weren¡¯t that many people from the Peerless Martial Association here, they were all elites of the association, and their auras were extremely formidable. In particr, the person standing at the front who had just spoken had a hideous scar on his face that ran from the corner of his mouth directly to the bottom of his cheekbone. A mere nce at it was extremely terrifying. The terrifying scar-faced man, the leader, didn¡¯t look at the Howards but instead at the corpse lying nearby. The corpse was facing the sky with its back on the ground. His eyes were wide open and staring at the sky with an expression of realizing his imminent death on his face. There was an obvious hole in the middle of his forehead, and the blood flowing out of it was slowly coagting. The corpse clearly belonged to Hades, the powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association whom the Howards¡¯ sniper had mistakenly killed. ¡°Hah, the Howards are really brave. You even dare to kill the top powerhouses of the Peerless Martial Association! It seems that you¡¯re tired of living in luxury after so many years!¡± the scar-faced man hollered furiously, his voice as loud as a bell and full of a murderous intent that shrouded every single person present in an instant! Chapter 956 - Escape Quickly

Chapter 956: Escape Quickly

The powerful and unparalleled killing intent shocked the Howards, so much so that they didn¡¯t even dare to utter a single word. As the current head of the family, Florence had no choice but to endure her fear and step forward. Looking at the scar-faced man, she tried her best to remain calm and said, ¡°Sir, there¡¯s a huge misunderstanding here. Please calm down and let me exin it to you carefully.¡± The scar-faced man looked at Florence and said disdainfully, ¡°You¡¯re just a woman. You¡¯re not qualified to talk with me! Get your family¡¯s helmsman out here immediately!¡± He obviously treated Florence as a junior of the Howards, and there was great displeasure on his face. ¡°I am the current helmsman of the Howards, Florence Howard. My father already handed his position over to mest night.¡± Florence grasped her fingers to encourage herself before asking politely, ¡°How may I address you, this gentleman from the Peerless Martial Association?¡± After hearing what Florence said, the scar-faced man was a little surprised. He finally looked at Florence before smirking and saying with contempt, ¡°Hah, I can¡¯t believe that the esteemed Howard family has declined to the point of letting a woman be the family head. You people are really getting worse and worse! ¡°Since you¡¯ve asked, you¡¯d better remember my name. I am Damien Zander, the chief of the US headquarters of the Peerless Martial Association!¡± Boom! As soon as Damien revealed his identity, the Howards¡¯ expressions greatly changed! Damien¡¯s name wasn¡¯t unfamiliar to the scions of wealthy families who had been living in DC since they were children. On the contrary, his name was like thunder in their ears and made them terrified. ...... Damien was the top powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association in the US, whose status was second only to the chief of the global headquarters. He was the head of the dozens of US branches! He had an even more prestigious and honorable position than the eight top families of DC! Yet this terrifying big shot hade to the Howard residence in person! In the past, the Howards would probably all be overjoyed and honored. But now, Damien was actually here to denounce the Howards, making them plunge into desperation! Even the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters hade. Clearly, the Peerless Martial Association attached great importance to Hades¡¯ death, so the Howards would absolutely die today! Florence¡¯s face paled as despair appeared in her eyes. But since she was the head of the family, she should do her duty. Florence gritted her teeth and said solemnly, ¡°Mr. Damien, I¡¯m very sorry about Mr. Hades¡¯s death, but please believe me. The Howards definitely didn¡¯t mean to kill Mr. Hades, and we have absolutely no intention of bing enemies of the Peerless Martial Association. Please be magnanimous and let us off! ¡°Of course, it¡¯s an indisputable fact that a powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association died in the Howard residence. We have nothing to argue about this, but we will do our best to make it up to Hades¡¯s family andpensate for the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s loss! ¡°I will fulfill all yourmands as long as it¡¯s within my abilities to do so!¡± No matter what, Hades had indeed died in the Howard residence, and he had even been shot to death by their sniper. If the Peerless Martial Association wanted them to take responsibility, the Howards were willing to bear it! But the dead couldn¡¯t be revived after all. All Florence could do was to provide as much financialpensation as possible in hopes that the Peerless Martial Association would let the rest of the Howards off. Damien obviously wasn¡¯t interested in this. ¡°Compensation? You killed one of the top experts of the Peerless Martial Association, yet you can casually mentionpensation?¡± Damien sneered as if he had heard a huge joke. ¡°Do you know how much effort and money the Peerless Martial Association spent to discover and train a top powerhouse like Hades? ¡°How do you want topensate for it? It won¡¯t be enough even if you give up your entire family! ¡°All of you must die today. I will use your lives topensate for the life of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s expert!¡± Damien spoke expressionlessly and sentenced all the Howards to death. The Howards immediately turned as pale as a sheet. Some of the timid ones even slumped onto the ground. ¡°Mr. Damien, please¡­¡± Florence¡¯s face was pale too. She wanted to plead for mercy and beg him to spare the Howards. ¡°Shut up! I don¡¯t want to hear any more nonsense!¡± Damien interrupted. Then he turned to look at the people present and said with a gloomy expression, ¡°Who is Lucas Gray? Get out!¡± Everyone was stunned and then subconsciously turned to look at Lucas. Damien personally asked Lucas toe out. Indeed, he was here to deal with him. Florence¡¯s heart skipped a beat.?No, I can¡¯t let Damien capture Lucas! Florence gritted her teeth and knelt in front of Damien. ¡°Mr. Damien, this is really just a misunderstanding. Please let the Howards off. I beg you!¡± Her only hope now was that Damien would let the Howards and Lucas off. She was willing to do anything for it! Most of her life had been going from one mess to another, and she had even neglected her daughter because of her hatred, leaving her to live without motherly love for years. When Hades seized her throat and almost killed her, Florence finally realized that mistreating her daughter was her greatest regret. Lucas was her daughter¡¯s husband, so no matter what, Florence didn¡¯t want him to die because she didn¡¯t want her daughter to feel the same misery of losing her beloved. If Damien had to kill Lucas, she was willing to make up for it with her life! ¡°Florence!¡± Seeing Florence kneeling in front of Damien to beg him, the Howards felt extremely upset. The powerhouses of the Howards and the men in ck who worked for Florence all stepped forward one after another to confront the people of the Peerless Martial Association. Although their martial arts skills were inferior to these top powerhouses of the Peerless Martial Association, they wouldn¡¯t surrender without a fight at such a critical juncture. Florence turned her head and shouted at the Howards¡¯ experts, ¡°All of you¡­ stand down! Don¡¯t do anything!¡± Under her orders, the Howards¡¯ experts could only retreat unwillingly. A yful smile appeared on Damien¡¯s lips, but this wouldn¡¯t make him change his mind. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that all the Howards must die today! And that young man named Lucas Gray must die too!¡± There was immense killing intent in Damien¡¯s eyes. An intense look of despair instantly appeared in Florence¡¯s eyes. But then she suddenly did something that shocked everyone! Florence leaped toward Damien¡¯s feet, hugged his calf, and turned around to face Lucas. ¡°Lucas, quickly escape!¡± Chapter 957 - Fighting Hard and Protecting Each Other

Chapter 957: Fighting Hard and Protecting Each Other

When Lucas saw Florence¡¯s action, his face was full of surprise! Although he had already noticed that Florence had changed a lotpared to before, her current actions were still far beyond Lucas¡¯s expectations, causing him to be shocked. ¡°Get lost!¡± Damien was caught off guard by Florence hugging his calf. He flew into a rage and lifted his other foot to stomp on her head. A terrifying expert like Damien could easily crush a stone with his foot, let alone a weak woman like Florence who didn¡¯t know any martial arts. Florence felt a ferocious aura overwhelming her from above, and her instinctive fear made her close her eyes. But she didn¡¯t flinch or retreat while hugging Damien¡¯s calf. The only thing she wanted to do now was to hold Damien¡¯s leg tightly and hinder him to buy Lucas time to escape! Lucas was her daughter¡¯s husband. He definitely couldn¡¯t die here! Seeing Damien¡¯s terrifying foot about to stomp on Florence¡¯s head, a figure suddenly rushed over and kicked Damien¡¯s chest! Bang! Under the impact of the immense force, Damien took several steps back. ... He regained his bnce, narrowed his eyes, and stared at the young man in front of him. The others present gawked at the figure who suddenly appeared out of nowhere to kick Damien, making him retreat several meters. Who else could it be other than Lucas? Florence was already prepared to die, but there was now a sudden change in the situation. Damien¡¯s calves, which she was holding, suddenly retracted, and the terrifying stomp didn¡¯t touch her. She opened her eyes apprehensively and found that she was still lying on the ground while Lucas was standing in front of her, facing off against the terrifying expert Damien. In this instant, tears welled up in Florence¡¯s eyes. She had rarely been protected like this in her life. Thest time she was saved from a desperate situation was more than twenty years ago, when she had just met Cheyenne¡¯s biological father, Drew Cruise. ¡°As I said earlier, I came to the Howards¡¯ today to keep you alive. I¡¯m a man of my word!¡± Lucas¡¯s calm yet resolute voice came from above Florence¡¯s head. Florence¡¯s eyes suddenly widened in disbelief. Immediately afterward, a long-lost warm and fuzzy feeling flooded her heart. Although Lucas didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with her and had yet to ept that she was his mother-inw, the fact was that he had saved her from the brink of death twice tonight. Even the Howards and her father, whom she had lived with for decades, didn¡¯t extend a helping hand to her when they saw her in danger and on the brink of death. All they cared about were their own interests and had no regard for her. Yet Lucas, her son-inw, whom she obviously wasn¡¯t on good terms with and had met only a few times, was actually willing toe to the Howard residence to save her despite knowing that an expert hadid a trap here. And now, what Lucas just said made Florence feel a strong urge to cry. It turned out that there were still some people who didn¡¯t want her to die. . Her daughter and her son-inw didn¡¯t want her to die. At this moment, Florence wished that she could see Cheyenne so that she could apologize to her properly. Jordan also stepped forward and stared at Damien with a strong battle intent in his eyes. ¡°Lucas, let me deal with him!¡± During the previous battle with Hades, Jordan had finally broken through his bottleneck, and his strength had risen to another level. So despite knowing that Damien was tough to deal with, he still wanted to try and see if he could deal with him. Lucas shook his head and said lightly, ¡°You are not his match yet.¡± His words immediately made Jordan understand that even though his strength had increased to another level, he still wasn¡¯t a match for Damien. In this regard, Jordan didn¡¯t feel frustrated or reluctant. After all, Damien was already in his forties or fifties. Moreover, he was also the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters. He had terrifying strength, and it was normal for Jordan to be inferior to him. Thus, Jordan stopped talking and obediently retreated behind Lucas. At this moment, Damien rubbed his chest that was still a little numb from the kick, and he looked at Lucas with a cautious gaze. ¡°You¡¯re Lucas Gray, right? What exactly is your identity?¡± When he asked about Lucas previously, all the Howards subconsciously turned to look at the young man in the middle. So Damien immediately knew that this slender young man was the target he wanted to find. But Damien was honestly a little disappointed when he saw Lucas. Reason being, he heard that several experts of the Peerless Martial Association, Julian, Dwayne, and even Hades, had all been killed by Lucas. When he really saw Lucas, he discovered that he was just an extremely ordinary-looking young man in his twenties, making Damien feel disappointed. But just now, the terrifying speed and strength that Lucas had burst out with in an instant made Damien feel an immense pressure that came from the depths of his soul. The terrifying strength and pressure actually emerged from a young man in his twenties. It made Damien, the knowledgeable chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters, feel slightly shocked. Damien refused to believe that this young man didn¡¯te from a powerful background. Lucas stood in ce and said indifferently, ¡°My identity isn¡¯t important. But are you sure that you want to kill me and all the Howards?¡± He stood still calmly. But somehow, there seemed to be a powerful aura pressing down on Damien, as if Lucas was a mountain. Many of the Howards had looks of anticipation and respect. Lucas was now their only hope! At this moment, the Howards had long forgotten how they had just wanted Lucas to die on the spot. But now, they saw him as their savior. Life was clearly unpredictable. Florence¡¯s eyes also showed some surprise. Just now, the only thing on her mind had been that Lucas had saved her from dying, and she hadn¡¯t paid attention to hisbat power. She initially thought that Lucas would definitely be no match for Damien, so she didn¡¯t hesitate to sacrifice her life to stall for some time to let Lucas escape. But based on the current situation, Lucas didn¡¯t seem weak at all. He might really be on par with Damien! ¡°I¡¯m really very curious about your identity. Is there something you can¡¯t say?¡± After Lucas spoke, everyone thought that Damien might be enraged. But to their surprise, Damien suddenly smiled, and the killing intent on his face instantly vanished. Instead, he smiled and began talking to Lucas. The scene made many people puzzled. Chapter 958 - The Problem Doesn’t Lie With Me

Chapter 958: The Problem Doesn¡¯t Lie With Me

The reason Damien could be the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters was definitely not that he was a reckless man with superb martial arts skills. On the contrary, his mind and wisdom were much better than most people¡¯s. Thus, just based on the power of Lucas¡¯s kick just now, Damien concluded that Lucas definitely wasn¡¯t a simple person. Possessing such terrifying strength at such a young age showed that he definitely had an extremely powerful and terrifying background. Even though he was now the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters, he didn¡¯t dare to kill Lucas rashly. ¡°Since you¡¯re so eager to know, I don¡¯t mind telling you. I¡¯m just an abandoned child of the Huttons,¡± Lucas said calmly with a smile. He naturally wouldn¡¯t easily reveal his other identity. Given Damien¡¯s abilities, he would definitely be able to find out about his blood ties with the Huttons soon. As for whether or not Damien could guess the other matters, it would depend on his abilities. As expected, after hearing what Lucas said, Damien frowned slightly with a solemn expression. Abandoned child of the Huttons¡­ In that case, Lucas should have something to do with the Huttons of DC. But his skills were absolutely not obtained from the Huttons. ... Even Michael, the current helmsman of the Huttons, and his son Jace wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the terrifying level of this young man in front of him. This could only mean that there was something more to Lucas that he wasn¡¯t willing to say. Damien narrowed his eyes as he sized up Lucas and Jordan again. Based on their demeanor and aura, Damien vaguely sensed an aura of tough vigor from them. Only people who had experienced life and death on the battlefield would have such an aura. After Damien deliberated slightly, his expression suddenly changed as he roughly guessed Lucas¡¯s true identity and background. If he was really from that ce¡­ ¡°Hah, so that¡¯s how it is! It seems the Huttons reallyck good judgment to have missed a talent like you. I reckon they¡¯ll definitely regret it when they find out!¡± Damien sighed emotionally and suddenly ordered the powerhouses of the Peerless Martial Association he had brought. ¡°Stand back, all of you.¡± With his order, the experts of the Peerless Martial Association scattered around the vi and surrounding the Howards, Lucas, and Jordan all retreated behind Damien. Seeing this, the Howards immediately looked shocked.?Is the Peerless Martial Association¡­ going to let us off? Damien looked at Lucas. ¡°For your sake, I can give you a chance and forgive the Howards for what happened today. . ¡°But powerhouses of the Peerless Martial Association have died at the Howard residence. If I return just like that, I won¡¯t be able to exin it to myrades.¡± Hearing Damien¡¯s intentions to let it go but needed an out to do so, Lucas asked, ¡°What do you want then?¡± Damien smiled. ¡°I need a reasonable exnation.¡± Lucas thought about it and said to Florence, ¡°Hand Ezra over to him.¡± Florence froze in shock but immediately followed Lucas¡¯s instructions and instructed her subordinates to drag the unconscious Ezra to the front. Damien nced at Ezra and recognized him to be the most outstanding third-generation scion of the Howards. He asked with raised brows, ¡°Why?¡± Lucas said, ¡°Since you¡¯re here, I can let you know what happened between me and the Peerless Martial Association.¡± ¡°First of all, it was Julian York of the Peerless Martial Association who took the initiative toe to California and asked to hold a tournament to fight with me to the death. I defeated him and killed him in the arena. Is this my fault?¡± Damien said with raised brows, ¡°Since Julian took the initiative to find you and ended up dying in the arena, it indeed isn¡¯t your fault.¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°Alright. Next is about Dwayne. I had no feud with him, and I didn¡¯t even know him. But someone instigated him to stop me while I was on my way back from the Howards¡¯. He wanted to kill me to avenge Julian but was killed by me instead. Is this also my fault?¡± Damien immediately frowned. They were all martial artists, and it wasmon for them to fight and kill to take revenge. If Dwayne had really taken the initiative to seek revenge against Lucas but ended up getting killed by him instead, it indeed wasn¡¯t Lucas¡¯s fault. After all, Dwayne was the one who provoked Lucas first. It would be unreasonable if Dwayne could try to kill Lucas, but Lucas wasn¡¯t allowed to fight back. ¡°Okay, if the truth is really as you said, it¡¯s Dwayne¡¯s fault for provoking you when he¡¯s not as skilled as you. It¡¯s not your fault for killing him since he provoked you first,¡± Damien said in a deep voice. Lucas nodded. ¡°Next is Hades. Both he and Dwayne were in simr situations. They both died because someone deliberately tipped them off, and then they came to me for revenge.¡± Lucas was a little vague about what had happened to Hades, and he even took the me for it. Otherwise, if the Howards were used of manughter, it would lead to another slew of issues. It would then be hard for the Howards to get away with it. ¡°¡­¡± After hearing what Lucas said, Damien was speechless for a while. When he first heard that Lucas had killed three of the top ten powerhouses of the Peerless Martial Association in a row, he was furious and wanted to capture Lucas to make Lucas answer to him. But after hearing Lucas¡¯s exnation that the three of them had taken the initiative to provoke Lucas and eventually got killed, he felt that it indeed wasn¡¯t Lucas¡¯s fault. In the end, Lucas kicked Ezra, who was on the ground, with his toe and said to Damien, ¡°The person who instigated Dwayne to kill me, wanting to use the Peerless Martial Association to kill me, is Ezra Howard, the most scheming third-generation scion of the Howard family. ¡°So, I will hand this person over to you and leave him at the disposal of the Peerless Martial Association. This is the exnation I¡¯m going to give you. ¡°Mr. Damien, are you satisfied with this exnation?¡± Damien had an extremely gloomy expression on his face. He was livid at the thought of Dwayne and Hades dying because of Ezra. But since they were already dead and Lucas had cooperatively handed over the culprit for his disposal, Lucas had given him an out. Next, it was up to him to decide whether or not to ept it. Chapter 959 Chapter 959: Peaceful Resolution Damien had actually already guessed some of Lucas¡¯s origin. In fact, Damien could tell from Lucas¡¯s aura and his martial arts skills that he must havee from one of the mysterious and powerful armies of the country and that he must have a high status. But Damien still couldn¡¯t guess which army. But knowing this alone was enough for him. Therefore, Damien would never fight with Lucas, who was from the military, because even if he won, he would end up offending the military, which was simply a death wish. He had always been a smart man, and judging the situation was his forte. This was why Damien changed his attitude the moment he guessed Lucas¡¯s identity and instantly restrained his killing intent. ¡°Mr. Gray, your exnation is very reasonable, but the Peerless Martial Association has lost three experts after all. We can¡¯t let the matter go just like that. ¡°I will have people continue to investigate this matter thoroughly. If I find out that the truth is unlike what you said, don¡¯t me me foring back to the Howards¡¯ to look for you. ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that you¡¯ll hand Ezra Howard over to the Peerless Martial Association, I will take him away.¡± Damien pointed at Ezra, who was still lying unconscious on the ground. Lucas nodded and said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s natural. You can take this person away and investigate this matter as you please. If you really think that it¡¯s my responsibility, you cane and look for me at any time.¡± He was once again giving both of them an out. Damien took another nce at Lucas before suddenly waving his hand and eximing, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Then he took the ten or so experts of the Peerless Martial Association and Ezra with him, leaving the Howard residence. Only after seeing with their own eyes that all the people of the Peerless Martial Association had left did the Howards seem to snap out of their dreams and stare at each other in disbelief. ¡°Have... the people of the Peerless Martial Association left just like that?¡± ¡°Are we really saved? Hah, great! We¡¯re all perfectly fine!¡± ¡°This is all thanks to Mr. Gray! You¡¯re our great savior!¡± ¡°Yes, thank you for saving us, Mr. Gray!¡± ... The Howards were extremely grateful to Lucas. No one paid attention to Ezra, who had been taken away by the Peerless Martial Association. But it was obvious enough. Ezra had done so many terrible things for the sake of power and his own benefits. He had gotten two experts of the Peerless Martial Association killed and had beenpletely given up by the Howards. The Peerless Martial Association definitely wouldn¡¯t spare him. ... In a luxurious vi near the center of the Howard residence... Felix was sitting on a sofa and listening to the servants talk about what had just happened excitedly. He didn¡¯t move for a long time. ¡°So... in the end, he was the one who saved us...¡± Felix sighed with aplicated look on his face. He didn¡¯t expect that his grandson Ezra would inform the Peerless Martial Association about everything that happened in their family without hesitating at all just for the sake of seizing power. His actions had almost caused the destruction of the Howards. He also didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would be the one to save the day and convince Damien, the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters, to give up on taking revenge and leave the Howard residence. Life was indeed unpredictable... ¡°Grandpa, the doctor just said that you can¡¯t move about freely yet. Take your medicine.¡± At this moment, an extremely beautiful girl in her twenties walked over with a ss of warm water and a few bags of pills and ced them on the small coffee table in front of Felix. This woman was naturally Pam. Previously, her father, Samuel, had gotten people to drag her away and lock her in her room, causing her to be absent for the matters that had happened in the Howard residence. She had hurried over only after Felix vomited blood and was helped to his vi. She then found out about everything that happened from Felix. Felix looked at the pills without touching them and instead sat on the couch and asked her despondently, ¡°Pam, tell me. Have I really done the wrong thing?¡± After hesitating for a moment, Pam looked at how aged her grandfather, who was usually strong-willed, was at the moment and gently in a mellow voice, ¡°Grandpa, I don¡¯t know what I should say about what you¡¯ve done previously. But you¡¯ve indeed underestimated Lucas and his power.¡± Hearing this, Felix smiled self-deprecatingly. ¡°You¡¯re right. I did underestimate him too much. I only wanted him to work for the Howards. Once I couldn¡¯t use him, I¡¯d destroy him. It turns out that I was absurdly wrong! ¡°If I hadn¡¯t seen what happened tonight, how could I believe that he, a young man in his twenties, would be able to deter the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters? No one would believe this kind of thing!¡± After sighing, Felix suddenly remembered that his granddaughter Pam had desperately tried to stop him when he wanted to deal with Lucas previously, telling him that Lucas was terrifyingly powerful. Moreover, she had even once stood in front of Lucas to shield him and prevent Samuel from killing him. ¡°Pam, do you know more about Lucas Gray?¡± Felix suddenly asked. Pam gritted her teeth and nodded. ¡°I do know a little bit about him, but it¡¯s enough to let me know that he¡¯s definitely not an ordinary person. We absolutely can¡¯t provoke him easily!¡± Then Pam told Felix all about her sudden encounter with a group of terrorists in that remote town abroad more than a year ago, during which Lucas had suddenly appeared and single-handedly took out 30 to 40 terrorists armed with various firearms. After hearing Pam¡¯s story, Felix widened his mouth in shock, unable to say a word even after a long time. ¡°No wonder... he actually has such powerful martial arts skills. No wonder he was so dismissive and disdainful when facing the weapons and bullets of the Howards... ¡°Haha, since he could appear in such a remote ce andpletely eliminate a group of terrorists on his own, how could he possibly be an ordinary person? He... he doesn¡¯t belong to the same world as us! ¡°No wonder he doesn¡¯t care for the position of the Howards¡¯ helmsman at all. Hah. Not to mention the Howards, I doubt he even takes the eight top families of DC seriously... ¡°Yet I treated him as a pawn that I could use. Haha, it was an absolute mistake on my part! Ahem!¡± Felix sighed self-deprecatingly before suddenly coughing several times. A few mouthfuls of blood spewed out of his mouth. ¡°Grandpa! Grandpa, how are you?¡± Pam instantly panicked and helped support Felix. Extremely flustered, she ordered the servants, ¡°Quick, get the doctors! Grandpa suddenly vomited so much blood!¡± Chapter 960 Chapter 960: Come To DC Soon, the dedicated medical team hired by the Howards hurried over, sent Felix to the treatment room, and carried out emergency rescue on him. The rest of the Howards learned of the news, rushed over, and crowded around the door. Ten minutester, the attending doctor came out of the treatment room with a look of dejection and said to the Howards with difficulty, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. We¡¯ve tried our best, but Mr. Howard has passed away!¡± Boom! This news was like a massive thunderbolt that immediately stunned all the Howards in ce. Felix was dead! ¡°Father!¡± Florence immediately let out a grief-stricken cry and staggered to the floor! She initially thought that she had long since lost all feelings for her father. She thought she no longer cared about him after he treated her as a pawn, killed her lover, manipted her life at will, and chose to leave her in the lurch when she was on the brink of death. But after hearing about his sudden death, she realized how much pain and misery she was in. ¡°Father...¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± ¡°Mr. Howard...¡± ... The Howards immediately started wailing in grief and agony. Standing away from the crowd, Lucas looked at the situation from afar and then left the Howard residence with Jordan. He didn¡¯t have any affection for Felix at all, so he wouldn¡¯t stay here to watch them cry in grief. In the car on the way back to the DC Hotel, Jordan suddenly asked, ¡°Lucas, although Damien, the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters, is very powerful, and he¡¯s much stronger than me, he¡¯s no match for you. Why... why did you let him go?¡± Sitting in the back seat, Lucas said, ¡°Because he¡¯s a smart person and very good at judging the situation. I reckon he must have guessed some details about my origin. That¡¯s why he restrained his killing intent and took the initiative to give me an out. I¡¯d like to give someone like him a chance. ¡°Besides, if I really killed him, I would form a deadly feud with the Peerless Martial Association. Although I¡¯m not afraid of them, there are even more powerful people in the Peerless Martial Association. If they wanted to harm the other people around me, it would be an unpreventable disaster. ¡°Taking a step back and making concessions when appropriate will allow us to avoid trouble sometimes. Isn¡¯t that good?¡± Jordan smiled and nodded, but he suddenly said, ¡°Lucas, you didn¡¯t use topromise in the past. You¡¯ve changed greatly since we were in the Falcon Regiment.¡± With an emotional gaze in his eyes, Lucas said slowly, ¡°The situation is different. Now, there are many people around me that I have to protect. I don¡¯t want to get them implicated.¡± After a moment of silence, Jordan agreed with a smile. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re right. Things are indeed different when there are people you worry about and need to protect.¡± ... When the two of them returned to the Hotel, it was almost midnight. Recalling the promise he had made to Cheyenne, Lucas took out his phone and called her. As soon as he finished dialing her number, she immediately picked up. Clearly, Cheyenne had been holding her phone and waiting anxiously for news from him. ¡°Lucas, are you alright?¡± Cheyenne asked as soon as she spoke. . Lucas felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart. His wife had been holding her phone and worried about him during this period of time. How could he not be touched? ¡°I¡¯m alright, and she¡¯s fine too. Don¡¯t worry!¡± Lucas smiled. After making sure that Lucas and Florence were both safe and sound, Cheyenne finally heaved a huge sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re alright! Honey, thank you so much!¡± Cheyenne said gratefully. ¡°We¡¯re married. You don¡¯t need to thank me.¡± Lucas smiled. But then he thought about Felix and decided to tell Cheyenne about him with a solemn expression. ¡°Cheyenne, there¡¯s something I need to tell you. Felix Howard passed away half an hour ago.¡± No matter what, Cheyenne was still Felix¡¯s granddaughter, so Lucas felt that she had the right to know about this matter. ¡°...¡± Cheyenne fell silent for a while. Although she had yet to acknowledge Florence and didn¡¯t have any ns to return to the Howards, she knew that Felix was her grandfather. Although the two had never met, there was no way they could cut off their blood ties. Moreover, Cheyenne still felt a little sad for this elder of hers who had suddenly passed away before they even met. Lucas knew that Cheyenne had always been an extremely kind person. After learning that her grandfather suddenly passed away, she obviously wouldn¡¯t remain unmoved. ¡°Cheyenne,e to DC tomorrow to send him off,¡± Lucas said considerately. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take a flight to DC tomorrow morning!¡± Cheyenne said sobbingly after making up her mind. ... At 10 a.m. the next morning, a ne from Orange Countynded safely at an airport in DC. Cheyenne walked out of the airport, d in an all-ck outfit and carrying a small suitcase. Although she had yet to return to the Howard family to acknowledge her roots and ancestors, Felix was still her grandfather. So wearing ck was considered a form of respect for the deceased. Dressed in ck, Cheyenne looked prettier than usual. And with her eyes slightly red and mournful, she was extremely eye-catching. Cheyenne, who was immersed in the grief of her elder passing, was naturally not in the mood to bother about the gazes of those around her. She just kept her head lowered and walked out of the airport. ¡°Adam, quick, look at that woman. She¡¯s gorgeous!¡± In the airport lobby, anguid-looking young man kept his eyes fixed on Cheyenne when he inadvertently saw her walking over from a nearby spot. He didn¡¯t move at all and shouted excitedly at the scion of another wealthy family next to him. The young man named Adam seemed doubtful at first, and he even mocked, ¡°Hah, you¡¯ve worked for me for so long. What kind of woman haven¡¯t you seen before? Must you make such a fuss...¡± While speaking, he turned his head to nce in the direction the young man was pointing. This nce immediately left him speechless, and a look of amazement appeared in his eyes. A few secondster, Adam said lustfully, ¡°Tsk, punk, you really have great judgment. This woman is indeed gorgeous!¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t notice these two harboring designs on her from the moment they saw her, nor did she notice that they were already walking toward her. ¡°Hey, gorgeous!¡± She was making her way out of the airport lobby when the two young men stopped in front of her with overly enthusiastic looks on their faces. Chapter 961 Chapter 961: Threats and Promises Suddenly blocked, Cheyenne stopped with a look of displeasure. As the most beautiful girl in Orange County, she had always hated people who got in her way to flirt with her. Before she could say anything, the slovenly young man said to Cheyenne, ¡°Hey gorgeous, let me introduce myself. I¡¯m Will Donaldson, the manager of Crescent Entertainment in DC. I have beside me the chairman of Crescent Entertainment, Adam Piers! ¡°Crescent Entertainment is one of thergest entertainmentpanies in America, and we have discovered and promoted many of Hollywood¡¯s biggest stars! Miss, you¡¯re very attractive. Are you interested in joining us to develop your career as a celebrity? ¡°I can guarantee that once you sign with us, we¡¯ll definitely promote you to be an internationally-renowned star! All eyes will be on you, and you¡¯ll gain both fame and fortune!¡± Cheyenne frowned and said without any interest, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not interested in the entertainment industry. I still have something to do now, so please move aside.¡± Despite feeling displeased, Cheyenne remained polite and wanted to walk away from them. ¡°Hey, Miss, don¡¯t go!¡± The sloven young man immediately stepped forward to block Cheyenne. He said enthusiastically, ¡°Miss, I really mean it. You¡¯re very attractive, and your looks, figure, and aura fit the criteria for the artists we scout and train perfectly! ¡°If you join ourpany, we will definitely be able to make you a popr celebrity within three months. Given our ability, we¡¯ll definitely be able to turn you into an A-list celebrity within six months, and within a year, you will be extremely famous in the US! ¡°By then, you will be getting million-dor endorsement deals and casting calls. You¡¯ll be able to earn hundreds of millions of dors a year. This is a fantastic deal that doesn¡¯te by often!¡± The slovenly young man tried his best to convince Cheyenne by describing to her extremely tempting and wonderful scenarios. Most young and beautiful women would probably have long been tempted by the offer and agreed to the young man¡¯s invitation to join Crescent Entertainment. Adam smirkedcently with an extremely firm look on his face. He and his sidekick, Will, had already used the same tactic to trick countless girls with dreams of achieving stardom and getting rich overnight into joining their entertainmentpany. He believed that the beautiful Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the temptation either. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really not interested in the entertainment industry. I¡¯m in a hurry now, so please move aside!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face immediately turned sullen. ¡°Gorgeous, don¡¯t be in such a hurry to turn us down! You may not know the background of Crescent Entertainment. I can tell you that Adam Piers, the man beside me, is the chairman of Crescent Entertainment, and he¡¯s from one of the top eight families of DC. He holds great power and resources. As long as he¡¯s happy, he can easily make you be a top celebrity in the US! ¡°I can guarantee that we¡¯re definitely not lying to you! ¡°If you don¡¯t believe us, we can take you to Crescent Entertainment right now so that you can take a look at it in person. What do you think?¡± Will was rattling on incessantly, trying his best to persuade Cheyenne. He even revealed Adam¡¯s identity. He had done the same thing and seeded countless times. Adam Piers was indeed the heir of one of the top eight families in DC, and Crescent Entertainment was indeed hispany. But they were not really trying to find potential celebrities to groom and promote. They were just using this as a reason to deceive the beautiful women they had set their sights on. These girls who were deceived by Will into joining Crescent Entertainment would each sign a 20-year contract, which basically meant that they would be selling their wonderful youth to Crescent Entertainment. All the girls signed to thepany would be the ythings of Adam, regardless of whether they were willing or not. Only those who were sensible enough to tter him would be groomed as artists. Those who didn¡¯t know any better would end up extremely miserable and even get dragged to the other entertainment joints owned by Adam to be the ythings of others. Those who couldn¡¯t stand it and wanted to terminate the contract prematurely would have to pay a huge sum of tens of millions topensate for the breach of contract. Most people absolutely wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it. Therefore, from the moment they signed the contract, they had already fallen into an extremely terrifying trap, and they could only be at the mercy of Alex and hispany for the rest of their lives. Over the years, nearly a hundred beautiful girls had been tricked into joining Crescent Entertainment. And all of them had ended up getting ruined by Adam. Now, Adam had set his sights on Cheyenne, and his eyes were full of satisfaction and determination to take possession of her. Cheyenne was much prettier than all the women he had toyed with before, and he was full of desire for her. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯m not interested in the entertainment industry. Please move aside!¡± . After being obstructed in all sorts of ways and having said so much, Cheyenne was about to lose her temper, even though she usually had a good temper. Her grandfather, whom she had never met, had passed away, and she was in a terrible mood. But they kept getting in her way and refusing to let her leave. Anyone would be mad in her shoes. If not for the fact that this was DC and that the young man in front of her was probably really one of the Piers, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, Cheyenne would have pped him. Seeing that Cheyenne was unmoved despite everything he said, Will felt annoyed and immediately threatened her, ¡°Babe, it¡¯s your honor that Adam has taken a liking to you. Don¡¯t be stubborn and make us do this the hard way!¡± If tempting her didn¡¯t work, then they would have to do it by force. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t like they hadn¡¯t done this before. Cheyenne was just a weak woman and alone here in DC for the first time. Facing the threat from these two men, she naturally felt frightened. ¡°What.. what do you want to do? This is DC. Are you going to kidnap me?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s face turned pale. ¡°Haha, so what if it¡¯s DC? Babe, like I just said, this man next to me is Mr. Adam Piers. Dc is his tuft, and he can do whatever he wants. Even if he took you away by force now, no one would dare to say a word. Do you believe me?¡± Will threatened with a look of menace. ¡°Will, mind your words. Don¡¯t frighten this delicate beauty.¡± Adam, who had been standing next to him for a while, finally spoke up at this moment. He first reprimanded Will a little before turning to look at Cheyenne with a warm and graceful smile. ¡°Beautiful, even if you¡¯re not interested in being a celebrity, you¡¯re indeed very outstanding, and you¡¯ve attracted me. Why don¡¯t we be friends?¡± Chapter 962 Chapter 962: No Need to Be Afraid Although Adam seemed to have a gentle and harmless smile, Cheyenne wasn¡¯t a simple-minded and ignorant girl who had just stepped into society. She was a capable woman who had single-handedly founded the Brilliance Corporation and developed it into its current scale. She could tell at a nce that Will and Adam were just staging an act where one of them yed the good guy while the other yed the bad guy. Moreover, she didn¡¯t want to befriend the man in front of her who seemed to harbor designs on her. ¡°I don¡¯t know you, and I don¡¯t want to get to know you. We can forget about being friends! Please stop pestering me. If you continue to stop me, I will call airport security!¡± Cheyenne said coldly with a sullen look on her face. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re not showing me any respect at all!¡± The smile on Adam¡¯s face suddenly vanished, revealing a scowl as he stared at Cheyenne sinisterly. No woman he had ever liked had ever been able to escape from his hands! And the woman in front of him was so ignorant that Adam couldn¡¯t bother to keep up with the act anymore and directly revealed his true colors. Will sneered with an arrogant look on his face. ¡°Call security? Go ahead! Try it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to tell you straight that the Piers are a shareholder of this airport. You can try and see if anyone will dare to interfere.¡± Cheyenne immediately turned pale. She looked around, and sure enough, there were two security guards in blue standing near them. They had obviously seen the conflict here, but they simply turned their heads away, as if they didn¡¯t see anything. 1 Lucas had yet to arrive, and she was all alone. Without being able to rely on the security guards for help, she really couldn¡¯t deal with these two scoundrels. ¡°Enough, beauty,e with us!¡± Adam said and winked at Will. Will immediately understood. With a wicked smile, he stepped forward to grab Cheyenne¡¯s arm. Even if they took Cheyenne away by force, no one would dare to interfere... Smack! Just as Will was about to grab Cheyenne, an arm suddenly appeared in front of him and grabbed his hand in time to stop him from touching Cheyenne. Will was stunned, and he found that the person who grabbed his arm was a young man in his twenties! ¡°Where did youe from, punk? How dare you meddle with the Piers¡¯ affairs?¡± Will cursed as soon as he spoke. Adam immediately frowned. ¡°Who do you think you are? Are you trying to be the hero saving the damsel in distress? Hah, you really have a death wish! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and let go.¡± Cheyenne was stunned. After getting a clear look at the person grabbing Will, she immediately had joy all over her face. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re here!¡± The young man who grabbed Will¡¯s arm was none other than Lucas! After Will and Adam heard the way Cheyenne addressed him, their expressions immediately changed. They didn¡¯t expect that this woman they had taken a fancy to was already in a rtionship with another man who had rushed over so quickly. But they weren¡¯t bothered by the fact that she was attached. Adam was determined to get any woman he wanted! ¡°Punk, is this your woman? I¡¯ve already taken a liking to her. I¡¯ll give you thirty grand to let her apany me for a night. How about it?¡± Adam said to Lucas nonchntly. ¡°Screw off!¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes, and a trace of killing intent instantly burst out of his eyes as he twisted Will¡¯s arm and snapped it! Snap! Amid the crisp sounds of bones cracking, Will¡¯s arm was twisted badly, and he immediately shrieked in misery. Lucas would never let off the man who dared to covet and insult his woman! ¡°Punk, how dare youy a finger on my person?!¡± Adam immediately hollered. He was furious about the fact that someone dared to harm his subordinate in this DC airport! After letting go of Will¡¯s arm, Lucas shifted his lethal gaze onto Adam. Staring into Lucas¡¯s cold and merciless eyes, Adam suddenly felt an immense fear surge in his heart. ¡°I¡¯m warning you. Don¡¯t mess around! I¡¯m from the Pier family, one of the eight most powerful families in DC. If you dare to harm me, the Piers will never let you off!¡± Adam said sternly while pointing his finger at Lucas and retreating. ¡°The Piers? One of the eight top families in DC? So what?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°How dare you harbor designs on my woman? You¡¯re really audacious!¡± Then Lucas stepped forward and ruthlessly pped Adam¡¯s face! Smack! The p sent Adam flying far! ¡°Honey! He¡¯s... from the Pier family!¡± Cheyenne instantly turned pale as she grabbed Lucas¡¯s hand nervously. Just now, Will had brought up Adam¡¯s identity several times. So once she saw Lucas pping Adam away, her heart immediately tightened. Although she knew that Lucas had been in the army for a few years and was also the head of the Falcon Regiment in Calico, he had already left the army and had likely lost the protection provided by that identity. Moreover, although Lucas was also a Hutton, he had long been kicked out of the family, and he no longer had any authority or status in the family. In this regard, he couldn¡¯tpare to the scions of the eight top families. It was especially so because they were now in DC, the turf controlled by these top families. Lucas¡¯s subordinates were all in California, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to be of any help. Cheyenne was now most worried that Lucas would face the crazy revenge by the Piers. It would be terrible! . Lucas held Cheyenne¡¯s hand andforted her softly, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t worry!¡± When Cheyenne saw Lucas¡¯s firm expression, her panicked heart slowly calmed down. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Lucas said. He took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and walked out of the airport without even looking at Will and Adam, who were wailing on the floor. At this moment, Adam, who had been sent flying by Lucas¡¯s p, finally got up from the floor with great difficulty while covering his red and swollen cheek. He yelled furiously, ¡°Stop... stop! Bastard, hold it right there!¡± But Lucas and Cheyenne were both already far away and didn¡¯t want to pay attention to him. ¡°Bastard! Punk! How dare you ignore me and even hit me? I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Adam roared at the top of his lungs, his heart filled with burning fury. But before he could instruct airport security to help him catch them, Lucas and Cheyenne were long gone. The two were already inside the car and driving toward the Howard residence. ¡°Honey, will it really be okay? What if that person.... takes revenge against you?¡± Cheyenne asked worriedly in the car. Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°Honey, there are some things I haven¡¯t figured out how to tell you. But you just need to know that I don¡¯t take the eight top families of DC seriously at all. They can¡¯t pose a threat to me, and you don¡¯t have to be afraid of them.¡± Chapter 963 Chapter 963: The Piers¡¯ Condolences After Cheyenne heard what Lucas said, astonishment emerged on her face. In almost everyone¡¯s eyes, the eight giants of DC were untouchable, yet Lucas could face them calmly and even disregard them. Given Cheyenne¡¯s understanding of Lucas, she knew that he would never talk big, which was enough to show that he was even more powerful than the top eight families of DC! Cheyenne suddenly found that her husband seemed to have be more mysterious. ¡°Where¡¯s Amelia?¡± Lucas suddenly asked, changing the topic. Cheyenne said, ¡°When I left this morning, she was still sleeping. But I¡¯ve asked Dad and Charlotte to stay home with her today and buy her some delicious food.¡± Lucas shook his head and sighed. ¡°Yeah, I broke my promise with her. I promised to take her out for a good meal today, but I couldn¡¯t go back today. I hope she won¡¯t me me for not keeping my promise!¡± Amelia was now over five years old, and she was extremely smart. Sometimes, the adults found it hard to deal with her! ¡°That depends on how you coax her when we get back home. Amelia is quite sensible, so she probably won¡¯t me you,¡± Cheyenne said. On the way, Lucas also mentioned to Cheyenne some things that he didn¡¯t get to tell her over the phone yesterday. For example, the fact that Florence had be the new helmsman of the Howards. Cheyenne was surprised, but Lucas didn¡¯t tell her the details or mention anything about the Peerless Martial Association. All he said to her was that Felix had acknowledged Florence¡¯s position as the helmsman before he died. Cheyenne was silent for a moment. Florence was her biological mother, but they had yet to reconcile. Cheyenne couldn¡¯t even decide what kind of attitude she should treat Florence with. But no matter what, Cheyenne hade to DC this time to attend Felix¡¯s funeral. Felix was her grandfather, whom she had never met and had never spent time with before. She felt sad after learning of his death. Moreover, Felix was Florence¡¯s father, so she reckoned that Florence must feel miserable... Cheyenne gritted her teeth as she thought about it. For a while, she didn¡¯t know how she should face Florence. Lucas stretched out his hand and squeezed Cheyenne¡¯s palm tofort her silently. About an hourter, the two arrived at the entrance of the Howards¡¯ manor in DC. At this moment, there were numerous white wreaths at the entrance of the manor. They were clearly holding a funeral. When Cheyenne saw this scene, her heart sank and felt even sadder. Lucas took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and led her inside. The funeral hall was in the first vi of the Howard residence. When Cheyenne followed Lucas inside, Florence turned her head and immediately burst into tears the moment she saw Cheyenne. She hurried over and hugged Cheyenne tightly. ¡°Cheyenne! Cheyenne... It¡¯s all my fault! I... I¡¯m not a good mother. I¡¯ve really let you down...¡± Florence embraced Cheyenne tightly, as if she was hugging thest trace of warmth in this world. She was bawling so hard that she was running out of breath. Ever since Florence was on the verge of death yesterday and figured out that the person she owed the most in her life was her daughter, she had desperately wanted to see Cheyenne. After Felix suddenly passed away from a terminal illness, she was in an even more sorrowful mood. 1 She had always thought she hated her father for killing her lover and ruining her lifepletely. But the moment she learned of his death, she was still grief-stricken. Her father was gone forever! At that moment, Florence even felt some remorse. Although Felix had died because of the sudden rupture of a cerebral artery, Florence knew that Felix might not have died if so many things hadn¡¯t happened yesterday and if she hadn¡¯t forced Felix to step down from his position. The only blood rtive she had left was her daughter! Florence hugged Cheyenne tightly, not wanting to let go for a moment. After the initial shock, Cheyenne looked at her mother, who was hugging her and weeping bitterly. She couldn¡¯t help feeling grief-stricken. She opened her arms and hugged her as tears streamed down her eyes too. The other Howards felt a little sour when they saw Florence and Cheyenne crying in each other¡¯s arms, and the sounds of crying became louder in the hall. But at this moment, a servant of the Howards suddenly came and said loudly, ¡°Mr. Conrad Pier is here with his family to pay respects!¡± It was normal for the other families in DC toe and pay their respects to the Howards since they were holding a funeral. But upon hearing the name of the Piers¡¯ former helmsman, the Howards seemed surprised. The former helmsman of the Piers, Conrad, was about the same age as Felix, and the two used to be old friends. But due to some conflicts, they grew distant from each other. . Moreover, Felix had been staying in the position of helmsman and had been in full control of the Howards, unlike Conrad, who had already handed over his position to his son over a decade ago and stepped down from the pinnacle of power. He spent his time with his family and grandchildren afterward. The Howards didn¡¯t expect that Conrad would suddenlye to the Howards¡¯ to offer his condolences in person. Due to Conrad¡¯s noble status, the Howards sent two of their direct descendants to wee him personally. Soon, an old man with white hair wearing a ck suit entered with the help of a junior. Lucas nced at Conrad before looking at the junior next to him with a trace of surprise, then he frowned. It was because the junior helping him was Adam, who had tried to make a move on Cheyenne at the airport earlier. It seemed that Adam had a high status in the Pier family, and he was highly likely to be Conrad¡¯s favored grandson. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be supporting Conrad and standing next to him at the moment. The expression on Cheyenne¡¯s face immediately changed the moment she saw Adam, and she subconsciously clutched Lucas¡¯s sleeve tightly. She didn¡¯t expect that Adam would suddenlye to the Howard residence. What if he pursued the matter at the airport and caused amotion? Chapter 964 Chapter 964: Marriage Agreement Before Death Lucas could sense Cheyenne¡¯s nervousness, so he immediately held her hand and patted it to reassure her. Since Lucas and Cheyenne were standing in the corner of the hall, they weren¡¯t very noticeable, and Adam failed to see them when he arrived. With the support of his grandson Adam, Conrad slowly walked toward the casket at the front and let out a long sigh. ¡°Felix Howard, you old fogy, I told you a long time ago not to expect too much from your children and grandchildren. When you got older, you should have just handed over control to them, lest you have to exert yourself and tire yourself out thanklessly. ¡°But you didn¡¯t listen to my advice! Look how things turned out now. You¡¯re dead, and your daughter even forced you to retire. You ended up dying in anger. What was the point? You suffered a huge loss! ¡°Old fogy, I wouldn¡¯t be able to die in peace if I were you!¡± Conrad said painfully. What he said immediately made all the Howards have a drastic change in expression! Conrad¡¯s words were not any condolences to Felix but a direct p to the face of Florence, the current head of the family! He was clearly trying to say that Felix¡¯s death was entirely caused by Florence, who forced her father to step down from her current position. As a result of anger and anguish, he died. What he said simply shamed Florence without any mercy. Florence¡¯s face immediately turned pale. Although she also med herself because Felix probably wouldn¡¯t have passed away so soon if not for her, many matters had happened in the Howard residence yesterday. Besides, Felix was already 75 years old, and now that he had suddenly died from an illness, it indeed wasn¡¯t entirely her fault. Florence was extremely devastated by Felix¡¯s death, and now that Conrad was using her, she felt as if her heart was being stabbed by a dagger. But Florence gritted her teeth without saying anything on ount that Conrad was the former head of the Pier family and her father¡¯s friend. After paying respects, Conrad suddenly turned around, looked at the Howards, and said to Florence, ¡°Apart from expressing my condolences, I have one more thing to do here.¡± Florence frowned but still asked politely, ¡°Uncle Conrad, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Conrad looked at her and suddenly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Before your father passed away, he agreed to an engagement with me. Although he¡¯s already passed away, I have to keep the promise. So the other thing I¡¯m here for is to propose marriage!¡± As soon as he said this, the Howards were shocked. It was Felix¡¯s funeral, yet Conrad suddenly mentioned a marriage at this juncture. It was too peculiar! Besides, Connor said that it was a marriage that Felix had arranged with him before he died. But the Howards were utterly dumbstruck as they looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other¡¯s eyes. They had never heard of this before. Florence nced at him and frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard my father mention this before. Uncle Conrad, what exactly are you referring to?¡± For some reason, Florence had an ominous premonition. ¡°It¡¯s the marriage between you and my son Derek! I¡¯m here today to propose marriage to you on behalf of my son!¡± Conrad said firmly with a determined look. Boom! Almost all the Howards were stupefied! New novels chapters are published ?n ! What... what kind of a joke was this? Conrad was proposing to Florence? But Florence was now the helmsman of the Howards. How could she marry into the Pier family? Conrad had clearlye with hostile intentions! Conrad first mentioned the engagement that none of them had heard about, and then he asked that Florence marry his son. It was ridiculous. Now, Felix had already died, so he couldn¡¯te forward to rify if he had really agreed on the engagement with Conrad. They could only rely on Conrad¡¯s ims. Besides, if Florence really married into the Pier family, what would happen to the Howards since she was the head of the family? Would the Howards still be on par with the Piers? Would the Howards then belong to the Piers? All the Howards immediately turned to look at Florence. Now, Florence was already their helmsman, and this matter concerned her marriage. Naturally, she had to be the one to decide how to handle this matter. Florence was also shocked by what Conrad said. But she was smart enough to understand Conrad¡¯s intentions immediately. After pondering for several seconds, Florence gathered her emotions and closed her eyes before saying calmly, ¡°Uncle Conrad, you must be joking. I married a long time ago, and I returned to my maiden family only after my husband passed away. I will never marry someone else now.¡± ¡°In that case, you must be an unfilial daughter. You don¡¯t even want to fulfill your father¡¯sst wish?¡± Conrad said sternly with a cold expression. As an experienced man who had been a family head for decades, he had always been dignified and austere. But now that he suddenly lost his temper, he was very imposing. The Howards could all sense the intense pressure from Conrad. Even Florence¡¯s heart skipped a beat. But Florence was now the head of the Howards, and her every word and action represented the Howards. She naturally couldn¡¯t show her timidness toward Conrad, even though he was an elder. ¡°My father has already passed away. Uncle Conrad, do you have any evidence to prove that this is my father¡¯sst wish? ¡°I can¡¯t marry into the Pier family just because of something you¡¯ve said, right?¡± Florence tried her best to speak calmly. Frankly speaking, Conrad had been extremely hostile toward her as soon as he arrived. He had even used her of being unfilial. Florence was trying her best not to hold it against him on ount that Conrad was her father¡¯s friend and her elder. But she would never agree to marry into the Pier family just because of a mere agreement that they made before Felix died! Even if she wasn¡¯t the helmsman of the Howards, she would never marry a man she wasn¡¯t interested in! After hearing Florence¡¯s rejection, Conrad immediately looked extremely gloomy. ¡°Hah, are you suspecting that I¡¯m making this up to deceive you?¡± Chapter 965 Chapter 965: Shifting Targets Conrad stared closely at Florence with his sharp, hawk-like eyes and said coldly, ¡°No matter what, I am your elder and your father¡¯s best friend. Do you think I¡¯d deliberately deceive you about this?¡± Florence¡¯s face turned sullen, and she said firmly, ¡°Uncle Conrad, in that case, I¡¯ll tell you sincerely that my father has already passed away and I¡¯m now the helmsman of the Howards. It¡¯s up to me to decide my marriage. I don¡¯t care whether you really came to an agreement with my father, but it¡¯s all pointless now! ¡°Moreover, I make my own decisions on my own matters, and I call the shots in the Howards now!¡± Florence¡¯s tant contradiction made Conrad¡¯s wrinkled face even more gloomy. ¡°What if I insist that you marry into the Piers?!¡± Conrad narrowed his eyes and stared at Florence with a threatening gaze. The rest of the Howards watched on without saying anything. In fact, Conrad was already behaving very rudely. It was extremely impolite and inappropriate to propose marriage at someone else¡¯s funeral. Furthermore, Conrad had shown no respect to Florence, the head of the Howards. The reason he wanted Florence to marry his son was obviously for profit. The Howards and the Piers were both among the top eight families of DC, which meant that they were on par. If someone had dared to speak to the Howards¡¯ helmsman like this in the past and even disregarded them, the Howards would definitely have been displeased and stepped forward to defend the helmsman. But the new helmsman was Florence, who didn¡¯t rise to her position in a glorious manner. She and Lucas had forced Felix to step down, and many people were indignant about it. Moreover, she was a woman, and many people looked down on her in this chauvinistic family. So even though Conrad was insulting and forcing Florence, none of the Howards stepped forward to stand up for her, for fear of offending the Piers. ¡°You have no evidence. Why should my mother be forced to marry your son?¡± A furious voice suddenly resounded in the funeral hall. Cheyenne walked out and looked at Conrad with anger written all over her face. She couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. No matter what, Florence was her biological mother, and she couldn¡¯t stand watching her mother being forced to marry someone! Everyone turned to look at Cheyenne. Seeing Cheyenne standing up for her and even saying the words ¡®my mother¡¯, Florence felt her chest tighten as her tears instantly flowed out. This was the first time she heard Cheyenne acknowledge that she was her mother... Moreover, when no Howard was willing to speak up for her, Cheyenne, the daughter she had never raised, was actually willing to stand in front of her to help her against the Piers¡¯ overbearing forcefulness. If not for the current situation, Florence would have wanted to hug Cheyenne and cry. But although Florence was very touched, she knew that Conrad wasn¡¯t a benevolent person. Now that Cheyenne was speaking up for her, she would probably get schemed against by the sinister Conrad. New novels chapters are published ?n ! So Florence immediately said to Cheyenne, ¡°Cheyenne, stop talking!¡± There was nothing but anxiety and concern on her face. The Piers were obviously targeting her, and Florence didn¡¯t want to get Cheyenne involved. But Adam, standing beside Conrad, finally discovered that the woman he had met at the airport was also in the funeral hall of the Howards. Moreover, the damn Lucas, who had the guts to hit him, was standing right next to her! Tension was bound to arise when enemies met. The moment Adam saw Lucas, his eyes turned red in hatred. He clenched his fists, wishing he could immediately charge forward and beat Lucas to a pulp! But he soon realized that this asion wasn¡¯t suitable for a fight. Adam¡¯s eyes glowed, and he immediately thought of a good idea for revenge. He inched close to Conrad¡¯s ear and started whispering something. After Conrad heard what Adam said, surprise appeared in Conrad¡¯s eyes, and he turned to look at Cheyenne. He felt that she was indeed a good woman. To be honest, Conrad¡¯s purpose today was to get Florence to marry his son. Once the head of the Howards became his daughter-inw, at least some of the Howards¡¯ massive fortune would probably belong to them. But when he saw Florence¡¯s firm appearance, Conrad felt that it was probably impossible to force her to marry his son. Moreover, if Florence really got married, the Howards would probably re-elect a new family head, which would defeat his purpose. In that case, since this young woman was Florence¡¯s only daughter, there would also be huge benefits to the Piers marrying her. Based on their interaction, Florence seemed to care about her very much. In that case, getting hold of Cheyenne was akin to getting hold of Florence, the head of the Howard family. It was also equivalent to getting hold of the Howards. In that case, having Cheyenne marry into the Pier family seemed to be more beneficial to them. After figuring this out, Conrad suddenly asked Cheyenne, ¡°Are you Florence¡¯s daughter? What¡¯s your name?¡± A look of great interest appeared in his eyes. No matter what, Conrad was the former head of one of the top eight families of DC, and he was deliberately making himself look more dignified and austere. Facing Conrad, Cheyenne felt some fear. It wasn¡¯t that she was timid, but rather, she was still too young and inexperienced. She couldn¡¯tpare to Conrad, who had lived for nearly eight decades. Seeing Conrad shifting his interest to Cheyenne, Florence immediately became anxious and stood in front of Cheyenne.¡±Uncle Conrad, on ount that you¡¯re an elder, the Howards will naturally be willing to wee you if you¡¯re here to give your condolences to my father. But if you have other ns in mind, pardon me for failing to serve you well!¡± She had always been concerned about Conrad¡¯s status as an elder and didn¡¯t want to fall out with him. But given the way Conrad looked at Cheyenne, he clearly had ill intentions. Florence would never let the Piers covet her daughter! Chapter 966 Chapter 966: Overbearing Conrad narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, ¡°Since you¡¯re not willing to remarry, you shouldn¡¯t say no to other women of your family marrying into mine, right? ¡°Unless you¡¯re willing to sever all ties with the Piers and be enemies with us from now on!¡± he said half-threateningly. To be honest, Florence really wanted to tell Conrad that she didn¡¯t want to sacrifice any of the Howards¡¯ women and get them to marry into other wealthy families because she had once been treated as a pawn of a marriage alliance between wealthy families and had suffered greatly for it. But Florence couldn¡¯t say these words so overbearingly now. After all, she had just taken over as the head of the Howards, so her foundation was extremely unstable. Although Florence hated marriage alliances, this was amon practice among wealthy families. Just as Conrad said, her rejection would mean that shepletely offended the Piers. Therefore, regardless of her reluctance, Florence could only grit her teeth and agree with a nod. ¡°If there is a suitable candidate, I will not oppose a marriage between the Howards and the Piers.¡± ¡°Okay, since you¡¯ve already said so, I won¡¯t be polite with you!¡± Conrad seemed to know that Florence didn¡¯t dare to oppose a marriage with the Piers. He immediately said, ¡°The one standing next to me is my most valued grandson, and he just told me that he likes your daughter very much. In that case, let her marry him!¡± ..... ¡°Thank you very much, Grandpa!¡± Adam said loudly with joy written all over his face. At the same time, he turned to look at Cheyenne and Lucas with smugness in his eyes. Hmph, punk, didn¡¯t you dare to hit me and ruin things for me? Then I¡¯m going to snatch your woman right in front of you. Let¡¯s see what you can do! Anger and panic immediately appeared on Cheyenne¡¯s face. Next to her, Lucas¡¯s face waspletely gloomy. ¡°No!¡± Florence rejected resolutely. ¡°I will never agree to that! My daughter is already married and has a child. She will never be a candidate for a marriage alliance!¡± Conrad sneered self-righteously, ¡°So what if she¡¯s married? It¡¯s not a big deal. It¡¯s fine since my grandson likes her. Just tell her to get a divorce and remarry. The Piers won¡¯t mind that she was once married.¡± Florence was so furious that she was almost speechless. She had already said that her daughter was married and had a child, so she couldn¡¯t marry Adam. But Conrad was being so coercive and aggressive, as if it was right for her daughter to get a divorce and marry his grandson. Moreover, he was acting as if the Piers were being kind enough not to mind that Cheyenne had married before. ¡°Mr. Piers, I¡¯ve made it very clear that my daughter is happily married, and she will never get a divorce to remarry your grandson! Just drop the idea! ¡°It¡¯s my father¡¯s funeral today. Please consider the friendship between you and my father in the past and don¡¯t keep making unreasonable demands at his funeral! ¡°Otherwise, it will make me suspect that you¡¯re here to create trouble deliberately instead of offering your condolences!¡± At this moment, Florence no longer cared about Conrad¡¯s identity as an elder, and her tone was much colder than before. What a joke. If Conrad wanted to bully her, she could still tolerate it. But now that he was targeting Cheyenne and trying to ruin her happiness, she definitely couldn¡¯t tolerate it! The rest of the Howards didn¡¯t expect that Florence would suddenly be so aggressive, so much so that she was almost going toe-to-toe with Conrad. Lucas had been standing by the side without speaking. The reason he didn¡¯t speak up wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to care about Cheyenne¡¯s affairs but that he wanted to see how far Florence could go. Although Lucas had already changed his opinion about Florence after the series of events that had happenedst night, she was now the head of the Howards. If she didn¡¯t have the ability to uphold the family and resolve some provocations, it would be difficult for her to attain sess even with Lucas¡¯s support. But Florence was performing well so far, and Lucas was especially satisfied with the way she was defending Cheyenne. In that case, Lucas didn¡¯t mind giving Florence a hand. After hearing what Florence said, Conrad immediately flew into a rage and knocked his cane against the floor loudly. ¡°How dare you speak to me like that and question my intentions? Even your father never spoke to me in such a tone. You disobedient and unfilial young woman, you¡¯re indeed very disrespectful! It seems I have to teach you a lesson for your father!¡± Florence sneered without a single trace of fear. ¡°I respect you because you¡¯re an elder, but don¡¯t think it¡¯s because I¡¯m afraid of you! ¡°You don¡¯t need to keep calling me unfilial. The Howards know better than you whether or not my father was angered by me, so you don¡¯t have to twist facts and make all these false allegations against me! ¡°Although I¡¯m a woman, my father personally appointed me as the helmsman of the family! ¡°Mr. Pier, to put it bluntly, you¡¯re just someone my father knew when he was still alive. You¡¯re not even considered friends. I address you as Uncle Conrad only out of respect, but you have to get things straight. What right do you have to im to be my elder and teach me a lesson on my father¡¯s behalf?¡± Florence retorted hostilely, immediately angering Conrad. ¡°You... you! You¡¯re pissing me off! Are you trying to ruin the rtionship between the Howards and the Piers and be enemies with us?¡± Conrad mmed his cane against the floor with all his might. He wanted to berate Florence for disobeying him, but she snubbed him with her words, causing his face to flush red in anger. ¡°The person who¡¯s destroying the rtionship between our two families and wants us to be enemies isn¡¯t the Howards but the Piers! ¡°If you came to the Howards¡¯ today with ill intentions to covet my family¡¯s assets, please leave immediately!¡± Florence said unceremoniously. From the moment Conrad entered the Howard residence, he had never respected her as the new head of the family. He had even tried to make her and Cheyenne marry into his family, so she stopped being polite to him! ¡°You... you bitch, how dare you drive me away?¡± Conrad¡¯s eyes widened, and he raised his cane, about to stab Florence. He was furious. Conrad initially thought that since Felix, the troublesome old fogy, had finally died and handed over his position to a woman, he wouldn¡¯t have any troubles at the Howard residence. He didn¡¯t take Florence seriously at all. He hade to the Howards¡¯ today to take control of her and then the Howards. But Conrad didn¡¯t expect that Florence would dare to be so aggressive in front of him. Not only did she not let the Piers take advantage of her, but she even had the audacity to tell him to leave! How dare this bitch do that?! Florence was incredibly infuriated to be called a bitch in front of everyone by Conrad. But her upbringing made it impossible for her to call Conrad an ¡®old fogy¡¯ or hurl vulgarities at him in retaliation. ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s just an old bastard throwing his weight around and taking advantage of the situation. You don¡¯t have to tolerate him at all.¡± A cold voice suddenly resounded clearly in the funeral hall. Chapter 967 Chapter 967: Shaming In Public After hearing this familiar and cold voice, the Howards subconsciously shuddered and looked at the person who spoke, Lucas. After experiencing everything that happenedst night, they now saw Lucas as an extremely terrifying existence. After all, Lucas had used his own strength and managed to force Damien, the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters, to retreat. Even when Felix was alive, he couldn¡¯t do anything to Lucas. He could only watch Lucas hand over the position of the family head to Florence. All the Howards regarded Lucas as a fearsome beast. Conrad, Adam, and the other Piers didn¡¯t know anything about Lucas and his background, nor how terrifying he was. Seeing a young man in his twenties step forward and call him an old bastard throwing his weight around and taking advantage of the situation, Conrad was immediately enraged. ¡°Punk, how dare you scold me?¡± Conrad stared straight at Lucas with fury written all over his face. Even Florence, the current head of the Howards, didn¡¯t dare to scold him. He thought that Lucas must have a death wish. Adam¡¯s eyes were full of maniacal hatred. He smirked and shouted at Lucas, ¡°Hah, bastard, I¡¯ve finally found you! My grandfather is the former helmsman of the Piers, one of the eight great families in DC, and my father is the current head of the family! ..... ¡°You¡¯ve offended me and my grandfather, so you¡¯ve greatly offended the Piers. Today, you¡¯ll have no choice but to die!¡± Lucas nced at Adam impatiently and said indifferently, ¡°It seems that the beating I gave you previously was too light! ¡°Jordan, make him shut up!¡± Jordan had long wanted to beat up Adam. As soon as he heard Lucas¡¯s order, he immediately rubbed his fingers and walked straight toward Adam. ¡°Wh-what do you want to do? I¡¯m warning you. If you dare toy a finger on me...¡± Smack! Before Adam could issue a threat, Jordan had already walked up to him and given him a hard p on his face! Before even the few bodyguards of the Piers standing behind Adam had time to react, Jordan had already sent Adam flying with his p. Thud! By the time hended on the floor, he had already been knocked unconscious. The people present were all stunned. The Howards weren¡¯t too bad. After all, they had already seen how overbearing and unreasonable Lucas and his subordinate Jordan werest night. They weren¡¯t even afraid of the Howards¡¯ gunmen, and even the top experts of the Peerless Martial Association couldn¡¯t faze them. How could they possibly be afraid of Conrad and Adam, who hade here with just a few bodyguards? At this moment, the Howards actually had a strange feeling. It turned out that their family wasn¡¯t the only one that would be defeated by Lucas. Even the former head of the Piers could only watch as Jordan knocked his grandson out in front of him. This scene was extremely unbelievable to Conrad. ¡°H-how dare you hit my grandson?¡± Conrad¡¯s face was full of disbelief. He had been in DC for many years, and ever since the Piers¡¯ status rose to be one of the top eight families in DC, no one had ever dared to be so arrogant in front of him, much less beat his grandson up and knock him out! . It was simply impossible for the Piers! Jordan snorted coldly. ¡°So what if I hit your grandson? Is he more noble than others? If it wasn¡¯t because you¡¯re old, I¡¯d p you to death!¡± In Jordan¡¯s and Lucas¡¯s eyes, the top eight families of DC meant nothing at all! Moreover, the Piers were simply courting death for daring to snatch Lucas¡¯s wife! Thus, Jordan was telling the truth. If it wasn¡¯t because Conrad was over 70 years old, Jordan would have really pped his face to see how thick-skinned he really was! Conrad was so furious that he was trembling. As the former helmsman of the Piers, he had lived his entire life in DC and was always the one giving orders to threaten others. But today, he was actually insulted and humiliated by two young people so callously. The man in front of him, who seemed to be a subordinate, actually had the audacity to say that he wanted to p him! Conrad had never had to suffer such humiliation in his life. Menacing murderous intent appeared on Conrad¡¯s face as he ordered the bodyguards behind him, ¡°Kill him immediately!¡± The two bodyguards behind Conrad obeyed the order and immediately charged toward Jordan. ¡°Psht, trust a fool like you to have been the helmsman of the Piers for decades. It¡¯s a miracle that you haven¡¯t destroyed the Piers!¡± Jordan sighed sneeringly. At this moment, the two bodyguards of the Piers had already charged in front of Jordan and raised their powerful fists, one aimed at Jordan¡¯s face and the other aimed at his stomach. These bodyguards capable of protecting the former helmsman of the Piers naturally weren¡¯t ordinary people but experts that were rare toe by. Before, Jordan would probably have to go through a tough fight to deal with these two experts. But after the fights with the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s Dwayne and Hadesst night, Jordan had already broken through his bottleneck, and his skills had already reached a higher level. Thus, it would be extremely easy for him to deal with the two top bodyguards. As fast as lightning, Jordan grabbed the fisting toward his face and twisted it relentlessly! Snap! Jordan directly broke the bodyguard¡¯s right hand with a hair-raising sound of bones cracking! At the same time, one of Jordan¡¯s feet spun on the floor, and the other leg was so fast that only an afterimage could be seen as it kicked the other bodyguard¡¯s chest heavily. Bang! The other bodyguard¡¯s body instantly flew back five meters like a cannonball. He then fell hard onto the floor andid motionlessly, his life and death unknown. After dealing with this bodyguard, Jordan did the same thing and kicked the bodyguard with the broken hand. The bodyguard fainted on the spot from his serious injuries. This scene immediately made Conrad¡¯s eyes widen in shock! Conrad naturally knew how impressive his bodyguards were. It could be said that they were ranked among the top in the entire Piers family and even in the whole of DC. But these two powerful bodyguards were actually instantly severely injured by the young man opposite him. They hadn¡¯t been able to resist at all and were now at their veryst breath. Where... exactly did this young mane from?! What is the identity of the other young man who can give him orders? At this moment, Conrad felt a chill in his heart, and his jaw dropped in shock as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight. The Howards had already seen how powerful Lucas and Jordan werest night. So seeing this scene in front of them, they only felt that it was to be expected. But Conrad was truly scared out of his wits and broke out in cold sweat. Chapter 969 Chapter 969: Joint Pressure After Florence heard Derek¡¯s self-righteous words, she immediately flew into a rage and sneered. ¡°Mr. Piers, you¡¯re so oblivious and ignorant, just like your father! I¡¯m now the head of the Howards. How can I possibly marry into the Piers, let alone obey the rules you teach me?! Don¡¯t mention those matters again. It¡¯s impossible!¡± Derek made it sound as if Florence was definitely going to marry him, making Florence furious. Derek felt disgraced to be relentlessly rejected by Florence. He narrowed his eyes and said in a gloomy voice, ¡°Florence Howard, don¡¯t take things too far! If your father hadn¡¯te to an agreement with my father when he was still alive, do you think I¡¯d marry a woman like you who forced her own father to die in order to take over as the head of your family?¡± Florence said angrily, ¡°What agreement with my father? None of the Howards are aware of it, and now that my father is gone, it¡¯s nothing but a one-sided im from you and your father. ¡°Also, it¡¯s not up to you outsiders to judge if I forced my father to death or not! ¡°As I said before, if you¡¯re here today to pay your respects to my father, I will treat you as guests. But if you¡¯re here with the intention of provoking us, please leave the Howard residence immediately! ¡°People,e!¡± Florence issued an order, and dozens of the Howards¡¯ subordinates immediately charged forward to surround the Piers. The vast majority of them were the bodyguards in ck who only obeyed Florence. Seeing the scene in front of him, Derek sneered. ¡°Florence, have you decided to make an enemy of the Piers?¡± Florence said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s not that the Howards want to make an enemy of the Piers, but rather, your family is provoking us and making an enemy of us!¡± The rest of the Howards didn¡¯t say anything and merely looked coldly at the Piers. Although they didn¡¯t have much loyalty and respect for Florence, the new head of the family, she was still one of them, and this was their residence. Yet the Piers brazenly brought such arge group of people over and even said such unpleasant things to Florence. It was clear disrespect for the Howards. Derek nced coldly at the Howards and deliberately tried to make them feel repulsed. ¡°The helmsman of the Howards was driven to his grave by this woman in front of you. Are you willing to watch her remain unharmed and continue being the family head after what she has done? ¡°Are you Howards so spineless that you¡¯re willing to let a woman rule your family? One of the Howards couldn¡¯t take it any longer and stood forth to say coldly, ¡°Enough! This is the Howards¡¯ business. You people are in no ce to meddle with our affairs! Florence is right. If you¡¯re sincere about sending your condolences, we¡¯ll wee you! ¡°But if you¡¯re deliberately here to create trouble and think you can bully us just because Felix has passed away, you can get lost immediately!¡± ¡°Exactly, hurry up and get lost! Don¡¯t think we¡¯re pushovers!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Felix¡¯s funeral today. You¡¯re in no ce to act unruly here! Get lost!¡± ¡°Scram!¡± ... The Howards hollered together. In fact, when Conrad started throwing his weight around just because he was old, the Howards had already been unable to tolerate it. Now that Florence was so domineering and they had someone to lead them, the rest of the Howards immediately united. 1 Regardless of how they usually fought in their family and whether or not they epted Florence, they still had to be united at this moment and not let the Piers get away with their ulterior motives. While themotion was going on among the furious crowd, a high-pitched voice suddenly came from outside the funeral hall. ¡°Haha, I didn¡¯t expect there to be such a lively scene going on in the Howards¡¯ today!¡± With the sound of this voice, a middle-aged man walked into the Howards¡¯ funeral hall with more than ten tall and strong bodyguards following behind him. When Florence saw the middle-aged man¡¯s face, she suddenly felt apprehensive again. The person who just arrived was the helmsman of another family among the top eight families of DC, Rayson Williams! Before Florence could greet Rayson, Derek looked at thetter andined, ¡°Hey Rayson, what took you so long? If you hade a littleter, I would have been kicked out by the Howards!¡± Raysonughed loudly. ¡°Derek, how is that possible? Even when the Howards¡¯ former helmsman was alive, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to treat you like that, not to mention that they¡¯re now led by a woman. They obviously wouldn¡¯t drive you away! Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t stand for it!¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re right, Rayson! Now that both our families are here, will the Howards really try to chase us away? I doubt she has the courage!¡± Derek said with a smile on his face. These two had obviously colluded and had agreed toe to the Howard residence together. Moreover, maybe the Piers and the Williams had already decided to take advantage of the fact that the Howards had no leader after Felix¡¯s death to provoke the Howards and gain some benefits from them! Florence wasn¡¯t a fool. She immediately understood the trick as her face turned pale. If only the Piers hade to exert pressure, the Howards might not necessarily be afraid of them because they were of equal status and strength. But the Piers had now colluded with the Williams. If these two families dealt with the Howards together, Florence would have no chance of winning! The rest of the Howards also had indignant looks on their faces. When Felix was still alive, the former helmsman of the Williams had always treated him as his brother. Derek, the current helmsman of the Piers, and Rayson, the current helmsman of the Williams, were both of a younger generation than Felix. Thus, they had always been polite to him. But now that Felix had just passed away, and his corpse was still in the casket in the funeral hall, the Piers and the Williams were already eager to fall out with them. They ganged up with each other and came over to bully the Howards in a bid to reap benefits. It was absolutely hateful! But now that the two families were ganging up to exert pressure on them, they couldn¡¯t deal with it at all! Florence gritted her teeth. ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± Chapter 970 Chapter 970: Never Retreat Florence knew very well that the Howards were now facing an unfavorable situation. The eight top families of DC had been around for a long time and had held power for years. The reason there hadn¡¯t been anyrge-scale battles between the eight families and that they could maintain a delicate bnce was due to the mutual control. Once any family took the lead inunching arge-scale attack on another, they would very likely end up in a lose-lose situation and eventually be divided up by the other major families. Thus, there had never been anyrge-scale conflicts among the eight top families over the years, though there had been some minor squabbles. But things are different now. Once the Piers and the Williams really united and targeted the Howards, the Howards wouldn¡¯t stand a chance at winning. They would eventually end up having their assets seized and split among the Williams and the Piers! The thought of that result made Florence¡¯s face extremely gloomy. ¡°Hah, what we want is very simple! ¡°My father had kind intentions and specially came to the Howards to propose marriage to you because of an agreement that Mr. Howard Sr. previously made with my father. Yet you openly rejected my father¡¯s proposal. You must give the Piers an exnation! ¡°ording to the agreement, you must marry me. There¡¯s no room for negotiation on this! ¡°Also, my son was knocked unconscious by one of your subordinates, and he even injured two of my father¡¯s closest bodyguards. You owe us an exnation for this matter too. Hand over that punk to me! ¡°If youplete these things, I won¡¯t bother you, and I can quickly have my men withdraw too.¡± Derek spoke with a sly smile while taking several nces at Florence. Although Florence was now in herte forties, she had maintained herself well. She was beautiful and seemed to be in her thirties. He wouldn¡¯t suffer a loss if he married her. Florence was now the head of the Howards. Derek would feel a great sense of aplishment if he could marry the head of the Howards and subdue her. Besides, more importantly, as long as Florence married him, many of the Howards¡¯ assets would basically fall into the Piers¡¯ hands in the future. This was the greatest benefit. Rayson smiled. ¡°Derek is right. Since there¡¯s an agreement, of course we should follow it! I¡¯vee over today personally to escort the Piers. If the Howards agree to the request, I naturally won¡¯t make things hard for you.¡± The helmsmen of both major families began to force Florence. Now that Felix was dead, the Howards didn¡¯t have an esteemed person to lead them and call the shots. This was an excellent opportunity for them to reap benefits. The Williams were naturally not supporting the Piers for nothing in exchange. Derek had already promised him a lot of benefits. As long as Florence married Derek, the Piers would take out 40% of the things obtained from the Howards and share them with the Williams. In their opinion, the Howards were like a fatty piece of meat that they could divide as they pleased. Lucas watched coldly without speaking, and he didn¡¯t have any intentions to step forward for now. But he really despised the Piers and the Williams for taking advantage of the Howards¡¯ situation to bully Florence. This was actually the norm among the top families. They prioritized profits over everything else. In the face of interests, etiquette, integrity, friendship, and so on were nothing. At this moment, Lucas was even thankful that he had left the Huttons together with his mother when he was a child. It had saved him from growing up in such a dirty and ruthless wealthy family. If Lucas hadn¡¯t been kicked out of the Huttons, he probably wouldn¡¯t have fallen into a desperate situation and then joined the military to be worthy of the woman he loved. Besides, if not for his experiences in the army, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have be who he was now, and he wouldn¡¯t have obtained power that was beyond the eight top families of DC with his own abilities. It could be said that if he wanted to, the current Lucas would be able to exterminate families like the Piers and the Wiliams to get the Howards out of their current predicament with just one word. But he didn¡¯t do so. Reason being, Lucas wanted to see how shameless the Piers and the Williams could be and who else woulde to the Howards besides these two families to get a slice of the pie. If other parties got involved and wanted to seize the assets of the Howards, Lucas wouldn¡¯t mind taking care of them all together. Thus, Lucas merely patted the anxious Cheyenne on her hand and gestured for her to rest assured and not act impulsively. Then he stood still without moving. Florence was now extremely sorrowful. She had just taken over as the head of the Howards for less than a day, yet they were now facing such a huge crisis of being attacked and forced by two major families. At this moment, Florence even felt that she could somewhat understand Felix¡¯s previous cold-blooded and ruthless practices. Was Father cold-blooded and heartless by nature? That¡¯s not necessarily true. Florence could still remember clearly that she had once seen Felix smiling genuinely and showering her with fatherly love when she was a child. But the more powerful a family was and the higher they were on the hierarchy, the more dangers they were likely to face. It was because their enemies were just as powerful, and a slight carelessness could lead to the possibility of death. Their family would also instantly fall from the peak and be crushed into pieces. Therefore, in order to make their family even more powerful and prevent other families from suppressing them, it was necessary for them to continue obtaining more and more benefits so that they could be stronger and stronger. Otherwise, they would end up in the Howards¡¯ current predicament¡ªbeing forced to give in to other families. What should they do now? Do I really have to obey Derek and marry him to avoid the Howards¡¯ crisis? No, no way! Even if she gave in and was willing to marry Derek, the Piers would definitely not let the Howards off the hook! ¡°Like I said, I will never marry into the Piers!¡± Florence¡¯s eyes were full of determination as she refused again. Immediately afterward, she said, ¡°Besides, your son brought that beating upon himself. Your father¡¯s bodyguards were also the ones who made a move first. I will never let you handle him! ¡°If you think that I¡¯m a pushover just because I¡¯m a woman and came here to deal with the Howards today, you¡¯re wrong! ¡°Even if your families unite and the Howards will never be able to defeat you, we can still make you suffer great damage! ¡°And if you¡¯re not afraid of fighting to the death with the Howards and letting the other wealthy families reap some benefits, you can go ahead and try!¡± Florence was not the kind to let others bully her. She had an extremely domineering aura now, which was not inferior to that of Derek and Rayson, the helmsmen of wealthy families. Chapter 971 Chapter 971: The Huttons Appear After Florence spoke, the Howards immediately felt confident and pleased. The Howards were among the top eight families of DC. When had they ever suffered anyone disrespecting and bullying them like this? If Florence really agreed to the demands of the shameless Derek and gave in to him, it would be the most humiliating thing ever for the Howards! Just as Florence said, the Howards were not pushovers just because Felix had passed away. Even if the Howards couldn¡¯t defeat these two wealthy families working together, they could easily cause them great damage if they went all out to deal with them! Derek and Rayson were shocked and surprised. They didn¡¯t expect the Howards and Florence to be so stubborn! The reason they had each brought only a few dozen bodyguards to the Howard residence was that they didn¡¯t actually have the intention of fighting directly against the Howards here. In their opinion, as long as they brought their people over and threatened the Howards, Florence would definitely panic, and so would the Howards because they were now led by a woman. They would have no choice but to concede. After all, the Howards were also one of the top eight families and on par with the Piers and the Williams. If they really got into a fight, it would indeed be like what Florence said. Even if they could eventually defeat the Howards, their losses would likely be extremely heavy, and they might even be the target of the remaining five families. Thus, unless it was thest resort, the Piers and the Williams were unwilling to get into an actual fight with the Howards. However, the fact that Florence was so aggressive and unaffected by their threats made them feel that something was amiss. ¡°Florence Howard, do you really want to start a war with us? You should know that there¡¯s no way your family can be a match for the Piers and the Williams!¡± Derek threatened with a gloomy look. Florence sneered and said assertively, ¡°If you insist on doing harm to the Howards and forcing us to a corner, we will have no choice but to fight!¡± After she said this, Derek was annoyed and seemed flustered. If they really went to war, they would have to worry about whether or not the Williams would be willing to go against the Howards together with them, not to mention that the Piers would very likely suffer huge losses themselves. After all, when Derek and Rayson discussed joining hands previously, they had thought that coercing the Howards with benefits and threats was all it would take. If they really went to war, the Williams would also face immense losses. In that case, Rayson probably wouldn¡¯t be willing to stand on his side. If the Williams chose to withdraw, it would be hard to determine who the final victor would be since the Piers and the Howards were on par in terms of strength. At the thought of this, Derek immediately turned his head to look at Rayson, wanting to find out what he was thinking. ¡°Derek, rest assured. Since the Williams have agreed to join forces with the Piers, we will stand strong together regardless of what happens. If Ms. Howard insists on going to war with us, the Williams will definitely stand on your side!¡± Rayson immediately understood what Derek was worried about, so he gave him an affirmative answer. He also understood Derek well and knew that if he showed any hesitation at this juncture, Derek would definitely be the first to beat a retreat and not dare to go toe-to-toe against the Howards. When the time came, they would end up having all their efforts go down the drain and gain no benefits. ¡°Awesome, my brother! In that case, let¡¯s deal with the Howards together! Haha!¡± Derek patted Rayson¡¯s shoulder with a wide grin on his face, feeling greatly relieved. ¡°Hah, two men are ganging up against a woman. How shameless!¡± Suddenly, a clear and contemptuous voice spread from outside the Howards¡¯ funeral hall. A middle-aged man in his fifties was slowly walking in from outside. The moment Lucas saw the man, his gaze fluctuated slightly, but the change was fleeting. The man was none other than the head of the Huttons in DC, Michael! There was a young man in his thirties standing beside him. It was Roman, whom Lucas had just made the new sessor of the Huttons. Their arrival immediately sparked another uproar in the hall. The Howards were shocked, and they didn¡¯t know if the Huttons were here as friend or foe. If the Huttons also had the same intention as the Piers and the Williams to kick the Howards while they were down and take advantage of the situation, the Howards would be in a worse predicament. But based on what Michael just said before entering, he was at least not in cahoots with the Piers and the Williams. The moment Derek and Rayson saw Michael, a hostile intent immediately appeared on their faces. They were already on the verge of ughtering the Howards, but the Huttons suddenly appeared and insulted them. Did they want to take a piece of the loot? ¡°Michael Hutton, what do you mean by that? Do you want to interfere with the matters between our families and the Howards?¡± Derek said hostilely. Although Rayson didn¡¯t say anything, there was also a strong animosity in his eyes as he stared at Michael. ¡°Wee, Mr. Hutton,¡± Florence greeted Michael politely. Although she still didn¡¯t know what Michael¡¯s purpose was at the moment, what he just said was enough to prove that he wasn¡¯t in cahoots with Derek and Rayson. In that case, the Huttons might just be the Howards¡¯ savior today! ¡°Ms. Howard!¡± Michael greeted Florence politely and then looked at Derek and said sarcastically, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that at your age, you two have the cheek to gang up against a woman whose father has just passed away! I just can¡¯t stand it, and I insist on helping the Howards. So what?¡± ¡°You!¡± Derek immediately lost his temper. Indeed, Michael was here to jeopardize their ns! After taking a few nces at Michael, Rayson suddenly said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Hutton, just a few days ago, I heard that the Howards attacked your family, causing many of your family¡¯s businesses to incur heavy losses. Why have you put aside your old grudges so quickly ande to help the Howards?¡± He deliberately brought up this matter in front of Michael to arouse his enmity against the Howards. He didn¡¯t want Michael to help the Howards. As ast resort, they could even give the Huttons some benefits. Chapter 972 Chapter 972: The Howards¡¯ Ally However, Rayson didn¡¯t expect Michael to stay so calm after hearing what he said. Michael merely said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just a regr business dealing, and the Huttons only lost a few hundred million. We¡¯ll be able to make up for it soon. Besides, this matter has passed a long time ago, and there¡¯s no point in raking up the past now, unlike what the Williams are doing.¡± Florence quickly said with an awkward expression, ¡°Mr. Hutton, I¡¯m very sorry for what happened previously!¡± Before, Lucas had called her and asked for her help to join forces with the Smiths to deal with the Huttons, causing them to suffer huge losses. But Michael actually looked past it and came to the Howards¡¯ rescue, making Florence feel extremely sorry and embarrassed. ¡°Those things are in the past. Ms. Howard, you don¡¯t have to be bothered by it.¡± At this moment, Michael quietly nced at Lucas next to him. Of course, he knew that the reason the Howards had attacked the Huttons was because of Lucas¡¯s instigation. Michael was full of guilt toward his son. So regardless of what Lucas did to the Huttons, he would never me him for it, much less hold it against the Howards. Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t seem to be looking at him or paying any attention to him, Michael felt a little dejected. But he soon perked himself up and said to Florence, ¡°I¡¯m here today to pay my respects to Mr. Howard and offer my condolences.¡± ¡°Ah, alright, please, Mr. Hutton!¡± Florence immediately ordered the servants to bring some flowers over. Michael brought Roman forward to pay respects to thete Felix. As they were doing so, Derek and Rayson looked at each other, neither speaking. Before they could get a clear grasp of Michael¡¯s true purpose, they still didn¡¯t want to provoke Michael too much, lest he really stands on the Howards¡¯ side. If the Huttons really helped the Howards, their alliance would be equally terrifying because they were both top families of equal standing with the Williams and the Piers. If they really fought against each other, all of DC would be taken by storm. At that time, they wouldn¡¯t get any benefits at all and would instead suffer heavy losses, which was definitely not something they wanted to see. ¡°Michael Hutton, what exactly are you here for today?¡± Derek asked impatiently after seeing Michael finish paying his respects. But Michael simply ignored him and instead asked Florence, ¡°Ms. Howard, I have two major projects now, and I would like to cooperate with the Howards. Would you be interested?¡± Florence was stunned for a moment, but she immediately understood what Michael meant. The fact that he was still willing to cooperate with the Howards at this juncture showed that the Huttons were clearly going to stand on their side and give them a hand! ¡°Of course, I¡¯m very interested!¡± Florence hurriedly agreed with a smile. Michael grinned before suddenly saying, ¡°This is a cooperation between the Huttons and the Howards. Will all the irrelevant people please leave?¡± After speaking, he nced at Derek and Rayson next to him. The obvious hint for them to leave immediately made Derek and Rayson turn gloomy. At this moment, Florence said to the two of them, ¡°Mr. Piers, Mr. Williams, please leave with your subordinates! We have something to do now, so pardon me for not entertaining you!¡± With Michael¡¯s help, Florence no longer had to be afraid of the Piers and the Williams¡¯ coercion. How could Derek be willing to give up the huge profits about toe to him? He narrowed his eyes, stared straight into Michael¡¯s eyes, and said grimly, ¡°Michael, do you really want to stand on the Howards¡¯ side and go against the Piers and the Williams? I suggest you don¡¯t get involved in this mess!¡± Michael sneered, and his face darkened. ¡°Derek, are you threatening me? I don¡¯t need your permission to do anything! ¡°So what if I¡¯ve decided to help the Howards? If you don¡¯t agree, I can help the Howards get rid of the Piers first!¡± As soon as Michael said this, all the people in the funeral hall were stunned! If Michael only wanted to help the Howards and back them up, it would be fine. But Michael actually said that he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to join hands with the Howards and use their forces to destroy the Piers together! This was exactly the same dilemma that Florence had encountered earlier. The Huttons, the Howards, the Piers, and the Williams were all among the eight top families of DC, and strictly speaking, their authority and power were on par with each other. If one of them went against another family alone, it would definitely be a lose-lose situation. However, if two top families united to deal with another, although they would pay a certain price, the attacked family would definitely be wiped out! Unless the Piers could also find more suitable allies, only then would there be a chance of a turnaround. But it was basically impossible to get into such arge-scale war unscathed, as it would be extremely intense. Moreover, who knew if there would be other families taking advantage of the opportunity to reap benefits amid the chaos and cause the top families in DC to go through a power reshuffle? Thus, after hearing Michael¡¯s threat, Derek immediately turned beet red with anger, and even the veins on his forehead began throbbing. ¡°Michael, what do you mean by that? Do you really think that the Piers are pushovers? You even said that you would destroy us. Hah, dream on!¡± Derek roared furiously. Florence stood next to Michael and said coldly, ¡°Derek Piers, the Howard residence isn¡¯t a ce where you can act rampantly! Take your people with you and leave my home now immediately. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be more than happy to join hands with the Huttons to get rid of the Piers!¡± Her words were a tant threat! Derek was immediately enraged. Florence had taken over as the head of the Howards because of Felix¡¯s death. Derek and Rayson had both thought that Florence would be easy to deal with since she was just a woman without a foundation. Thus, they came up with the idea of a marriage to get Florence to marry into the Piers, which would be equivalent to getting their hands on at least half of the Howards¡¯ assets. But they didn¡¯t expect Florence to be so tough and stubborn. Furthermore, Michael, the head of the Huttons, actually suddenly came over and acted out of the ordinary by choosing to help the Howards. He even went so far as to threaten to join hands with Howards to destroy the Piers. It was simply outrageous! After Michael said that, Rayson fell silent, making Derek begin to worry. If Rayson still stood firmly on the Piers¡¯ side and joined hands with them to deal with the Howards and the Huttons, he would still have a chance of winning. But now that Rayson was staying silent, he didn¡¯t know what his intentions were. If the Williams decided not to help the Piers, there was no way the Piers would be able to withstand the joint offensive of the Howards and the Huttons. They would have no choice but to concede then! So, what should he do now? Derek suddenly felt helpless and at a loss for what to do. He subconsciously looked at his father, Conrad, the former head of the Piers. Chapter 973 Chapter 973: Fishing for a Better Offer Conrad had been standing at the side and keeping quiet since his son Derek arrived. He left it to his son to do the negotiations. Now, seeing that Derek was struggling to make a decision and looking at him for help, Conrad naturally stepped forward without hesitation. ¡°Michael Hutton, right? Back then, even your father wouldn¡¯t speak so outrageously in front of me. Yet you, a junior, actually dared to say in front of me that you want to annihte the Piers. You really don¡¯t have any respect for me, do you?¡± Conrad said usingly as he took a few steps forward with the help of his cane. Only then did Michael act as though he had finally noticed Conrad. ¡°Oh, it turns out you¡¯re here too, Uncle Conrad. I¡¯m really sorry for not noticing you just now.¡± In fact, Conrad was the first to enter, and he had been standing in the middle of the funeral hall. Even Derek was standing right next to him, yet Michael said that he had just noticed Conrad. He was clearly lying through his teeth and saying it on purpose. Besides, Michael looked extremely rxed. Although he was apologizing, he wasn¡¯t sincere about it at all. Anger immediately appeared on Conrad¡¯s face, but before he even had time to lose his temper, Michael continued, ¡°But Uncle Conrad, what you¡¯re saying isn¡¯t right. Logically speaking, you¡¯re indeed of the same generation as my father, so I address you as ¡®uncle¡¯ out of respect. ¡°But from the day I took over as the head of the Huttons, my father told me that from then on, everything concerning the family is under my control. He said that I am the head of the Huttons and that I don¡¯t have to seek the permission of anyone or care about anyone¡¯s pride before making any decisions. ¡°So, Uncle Conrad, you don¡¯t have to throw your weight around as an elder and teach me what to do.¡± What Micheal said further enraged Conrad. ¡°Michael Huttons, it seems you really don¡¯t take me seriously. Have you really decided to go against the Piers?¡± Michael remained calm and said withposure, ¡°Uncle Conrad, there¡¯s something wrong with what you¡¯ve said. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m deliberately going against your family, but it¡¯s the other way around! ¡°From today onward, the Howards are the Huttons¡¯ ally. If the Piers don¡¯t take action against the Howards, everything will be fine. But if you covet the Howards¡¯ assets and make a move against them, I won¡¯t sit back and ignore it! This all depends on your choice!¡± Conrad¡¯s expression became even more sullen. He could tell that Michael was not joking with them. If they really wanted to reap benefits from the Howards, Michael would really fight the Piers to the death! They were truly in trouble this time. As far as Conrad knew, the Huttons and the Howards actually didn¡¯t have any friendship in the past. In fact, just a few days ago, the Howards¡¯ businesses under Florence¡¯s control had united with the Smiths of DC tounch a violent attack on the Huttons, causing them to suffer extremely heavy losses within a short period of time. But now, not only did Michael not hold a grudge against Florence, he was even defending the Howards vehemently. Was it because... Michael had taken a fancy to Florence? Regardless of the reason, Conrad was well aware that it would be impossible for them to deal with the Howards today. The only possibility of them defeating the Howardspletely was if the Piers could find a powerful ally and work closely with them! Conrad nced at Rayson Williams. Derek knew that Rayson¡¯s stand was very important to the Piers at this juncture! Rayson had been remaining silent. Clearly, he was weighing the pros and cons. He had to consider whether or not to join forces with the Piers, the chances of them winning, and how much benefit they would get. After all, the reason he brought his subordinates with him to help the Howard residence today was undoubtedly that he wanted to get a slice of the pie for the Williams too. ¡°Rayson, here¡¯s the thing. The Piers have recently clinched severalrge government projects. Once weplete them, we¡¯re guaranteed a profit of at least two billion dors. What do you say we cooperate on them?¡± Derek immediately threw an olive branch to Rayson. When Rayson heard this, euphoria immediately appeared in his eyes. He had heard about the new projects that the Piers had taken on, and the Williams had also nned to get them, but the Piers had unfortunately beaten them to it. Rayson knew clearly that these big projects indeed had enormous profit margins, and their operations were simple too. They could probably bepleted in less than a year. Derek clearly implied that he would be giving the Williams a share of the profits in exchange for their support. Besides, Rayson actually hadn¡¯t been speaking because he wanted the Piers to give him more benefits. The situation was now very clear. If the Piers resolutely wanted to gain some benefits from the Howards, they would have to withstand the joint attack of two giants, the Howards and the Huttons. And the Piers definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to stop them alone, so they would have to find an ally of equal strength. He was now the most suitable ally. But if the benefits weren¡¯t attractive enough, who would be willing to take the risk of offending the Howards and the Huttons? Thus, Rayson had been waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the Piers to take the initiative to offer him more. Now, the Piers had made their offer and were willing to share the profits of those projects worth billions of dors with the Williams. But after pondering for a few seconds, Rayson didn¡¯t immediately agree. Instead, he took a quick nce at Florence and Michael. Currently, the Piers were not the only ones who needed allies. The Howards and the Huttons could also make a suitable offer to the Williams. If the Howards and the Huttons offered more benefits, Rayson could also agree to work with them to unite against the Piers and reap the Piers for everything they were worth! This was amon practice among top wealthy families! Although he and Derek had always seemed to be on very good terms, Rayson would never hesitate to defect to a party that offered more. He wouldn¡¯t think twice about turning against the Piers! Conrad and Derek obviously noticed Rayson ncing at Florence and Michael. After figuring out the connection, they had a drastic change of expression! If the Howards and the Huttons offered a higher price, Rayson would unite with them. Then the Piers would then be doomed! Chapter 976 Chapter 976: Taking In The Piers To Jordan, the Piers were just like a herd of sheep trying to besiege a giant wolf. They didn¡¯t pose any threat to him at all! Jordan put all his weight on his toes and stepped hard on the floor before leaping straight towards the ¡®sheep¡¯ in front of him like an arrow leaving its bow! With a raise of his hand and a lift of his foot, Jordan urately struck the experts working for the Piers. His movements were so swift that the experts of the Piers could barely catch him before they felt a sharp and excruciating pain in their bodies and were kicked away in a daze. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Waahhh!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Ah! M-my wrist!¡± ... For a while, the shrieks of pain resounded throughout the entire funeral hall. Their voices were extremely terrifying to the Piers and the Williams. They didn¡¯t expect the situation to be so exaggeratedly one-sided! Their experts didn¡¯t even manage to touch a corner of Jordan¡¯s clothes, yet they were screaming and shrieking one after another as Jordan dealt with them swiftly like a bulldozer! 1 But out of consideration of Lucas¡¯s rule for him not to kill anyone easily, Jordan showed some mercy and spared their lives. Besides, Jordan was still trying toe up with an idea to make Derek incredibly infuriated, so he didn¡¯t use much force this time. Yet it was already enough to make these experts lose their ability to fight. He had merely dislocated their joints without breaking their bones. But in just a minute or so, these people who had surrounded Jordan were all knocked to the floor and were wailing incessantly! Although they were also experts and would not easily cry out in pain, the pain of having their joints disconnected was beyond the threshold of ordinary people. Jordan stood in the middle of the people who copsed on the floor and were shrieking in pain. He then said something that shocked everyone, ¡°If you surrender now and defect to the Howards, I can spare your lives! Otherwise, all of you will die here!¡± If he had said this earlier, none of the Piers would believe him, and everyone would just think that he was talking big. But now, in less than two minutes, Jordan had already disconnected the joints on the limbs of the nearly thirty experts of the Piers, rendering them temporarily unable to fight. They had no choice but to reevaluate Jordan¡¯s true abilities. In fact, they all knew clearly that Jordan could easily kill them or cripple them if he wanted to because even though there were lots of them, there was no way they could defeat him! Many of them had charged toward Jordan at the same time during the battle just now, but they couldn¡¯t even touch his clothes. It just went to show that Jordan was far more powerful than them, and they were fundamentally worlds apart! It was just like a bunch of kindergarten children besieging an adult. Even though there were many of them, they were still no match for an adult! Besides, Jordan didn¡¯t kill them, nor did he inflict a fatal injury on any of them. He had merely disconnected their joints to stop them, which was enough to show that his intention was to make them defect to the Howards. The nearly thirty experts looked at one another and saw the obvious fear in their eyes. What else could they do in the face of such overwhelming power? If they didn¡¯t do as Jordan said and pledged their allegiance to the Howards, he would undoubtedly kill all of them! Derek looked incredibly sullen now. He was hopping mad that Jordan was openly poaching the experts of the Piers right in front of him! ¡°Since you people work for the Piers, you will always belong to us! If you dare to defect to the Howards, I will definitely not spare you! Do you hear me?¡± Derek hollered furiously. Although these people had already had their limbs disconnected and had temporarily lost their ability to fight, they would still continue being powerful experts as long as their joints were reconnected and they were allowed to rest for a few days. Besides, the 30 or so people he brought today were all of the Piers¡¯ elite subordinates, which were a powerful force for the family. He would never let them end up in the Howards¡¯ hands! Derek would never allow them to defect to the Howards! He would rather have all of them die here than allow the Howards to increase their power! After Florence froze for a second, she immediately realized that what Jordan said was a great opportunity for the Howards! Although these 30 or so people couldn¡¯t take Jordan¡¯s blows at all, they were still true experts whose strength was simr to the men in ck who were her subordinates. If the Howards could get them to join, it would be a huge fortune for the family! Thus, Florence immediately said to the Piers¡¯ experts with disconnected joints. ¡°I know that you¡¯re stuck in a dilemma now, and the Piers don¡¯t want you to join us. In fact, they¡¯d rather all of you die here than to see you join the Howards. ¡°But do you guys really just want to die here? ¡°With your strength, you definitely can¡¯t kill Jordan, not to mention that you now have your joints disconnected and have lost your ability to fight. If he really wants to kill you, there¡¯s no way you¡¯ll be able to escape death. Even Derek can¡¯t save you!¡± ¡°But you should give it some thorough consideration. Why don¡¯t you just join the Howards?! I can guarantee you that if you surrender to us, I will not only protect you from death but also give you high mary rewards!¡± Without a doubt, Florence¡¯s words tempted these experts further. In the face of life and death, no one would want to die, not to mention that Florence could provide them with high mary rewards. Anyone would want to choose this. But the experts of the Piers looked at each other for a few moments, not daring to step forward and express their intention to join the Howards. Seeing this, Florence said straightforwardly, ¡°In that case, the first person who joins the Howards will be given a reward of four million dors. The second will be given two million, the third will be given one million, and the rest of you will get two hundred thousand each!¡± As soon as Florence finished, someone immediately shouted impatiently, ¡°Me! I want to join the Howards!¡± A reward of four million dors was a massive amount that was more than their total ie for the past few years! ¡°I¡¯ll join the Howards too!¡± ¡°Me too! I¡¯ll join the Howards!¡± ¡°And me!¡± ... Right after the first person took his stand, the remaining twenty or so people also spoke up in unison and decided to join the Howards. But some of them were a few seconds toote and failed to be among the first three to pledge allegiance, so they missed out on arge amount of money, making them immediately chagrined. Seeing this, the Howards grinned widely with joy. If the family could get these elite experts to join them, theirbat power would be greatly enhanced. In contrast to the Howards¡¯ joy, Derek was so furious that he was clenching his fists tightly and trembling violently. Chapter 977 Chapter 977: Fly Into an Uncontroble Rage Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although the thirty or so subordinates that Derek brought were not all the elite power of the Piers, they definitely ounted for at least half of the experts. This was a team of experts that the Piers had painstakingly spent a ton of money to build and nurture. But in just a few minutes, they had be the Howards¡¯ subordinates, which made him so furious that he was about to vomit blood! Rayson was also looking at this scene in astonishment. Even he didn¡¯t expect that so many of the Piers¡¯ experts would pledge allegiance to the Howards within such a short period of time! In that case, how could they fight against the Howards? He had only brought twenty or so experts. Florence was very satisfied with this result in front of her, and she was smiling non-stop. She pointed to the first person to join the Howards, followed by the other two who spoke up shortly after. ¡°The three of you are the earliest to announce joining the Howards. I naturally won¡¯t go back on my word about the reward. You will receive a grand reward of four million, two million, and one million dors respectively!¡± The three people immediately smiled excitedly and quickly thanked Florence, ¡°Thank you, Ms. Howard! Thank you, Ms. Howard!¡± Seeing the three of them receiving such arge sum of money without any effort at all, the other people next to them showed looks of envy and chagrin. They just spoke up a little bitter than these people, but they missed out on so much money. They really felt heartbroken! Florence looked at the remaining ones and said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve joined the Howards, you¡¯re now one of us, and each of you will receive two hundred thousand dors!¡± The remaining twenty people were overjoyed and hurriedly thanked Florence. Although $200,000 was a lot less than what the other three got, it was still quite arge amount. Not only were their lives spared, but they even received $200,000 each. Moreover, they would be getting a high sry and a lot of bonuses when they started working for the Howards in the future. Lucas was very satisfied with the situation in front of him. Although this idea was thought up by Jordan, it was appropriate. Although these experts were not the top powerhouses of the Howards, each of them was still considerably strong. Together, they could be considered a powerful force for the Howards. Under normal circumstances, it would take at least a few dozen million dors to recruit such arge group of experts, as well as a long period of time to repeatedly hone their skills and train them. But the Howards had only paid less than fifteen million dors to subdue these experts and make them feel grateful toward the Howards. It was undeniably a good deal for them. On the contrary, Derek was really enraged by these former subordinates of his. ¡°You bastards, how dare you betray the Piers! Don¡¯t forget who¡¯s been paying you! I worked so hard and spent so much money to train you people. How dare you betray us just like that?! ¡°I¡¯m warning you. None of you are allowed to join the Howards! Get your asses back here immediately. Otherwise, the Piers won¡¯t spare you!¡± Derek hollered in exasperation. These experts who had just chosen to join the Howards instantly sulked. All this fool Derek is capable of is threatening us with such things. It¡¯s not like we have a choice. Why didn¡¯t Derek step forward to defend them when Jordan said that they would have to die if they didn¡¯t agree to join the Howards? Derek merely treated them as the Piers¡¯ private tools, which he would rather destroy than let the Howards have. But they were living human beings! So despite Derek¡¯s furious holler, there was no way these experts would return to the Piers as Derek hadmanded. From the moment they made their choice, they were already part of the Howards! ¡°Mr. Piers, why are youshing out at my subordinates? Don¡¯t you forget that they¡¯ve all chosen to join the Howards, and you¡¯re in no ce to yell at them! ¡°Mr. Piers, you keep saying that your family isn¡¯t going to spare them, but I insist on protecting them! If you dare to harm them, it means going to war with the Howards! ¡°But I advise you to put your brains to use and think through this carefully before you decide to go to war. These thirty-something people must be quite important to the Piers, and they must ount for at least half of the Piers¡¯bat power, right? ¡°The Piers have lost so muchbat power to the Howards. The tables have turned. Do you really have the courage to go to war with the Howards?¡± Florence spoke extremely hostilely, but the Howards were pleased to hear it. This was what the truth was. The Howards and the Piers used to be evenly matched, and if they really fought, the chances of victory would be 50-50. But now that the Piers had lost a significant force, the Howards didn¡¯t have to be afraid even if they went to war with the Piers! The thirty or so experts who had just defected to the Howards were greatly relieved after hearing what Florence said. At the same time, they were very confident as well. Now that they were already working for the Howards, they naturally had the Howards to protect them, so why would they be afraid of Derek? ¡°Mr. Piers, we indeed worked for the Piers previously, but we¡¯re not your ves. You paid us, but we also did a lot for your family in return, so our conscience is clear!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We don¡¯t owe you anything!¡± ¡°If the Piers want to take revenge against us in the future, we won¡¯t sit back and do nothing. You can¡¯t me us when the timees, Mr. Piers!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We belong to the Howards now, and we no longer have anything to do with the Piers. If you want to make a move against us, we won¡¯t be polite!¡± ... The thirty or so experts spoke one after another. Since they belonged to the Howards now, they naturally had to perform well in front of their new employer, especially since they couldn¡¯t have anything else to do with the Piers anymore. They used to be Derek¡¯s subordinates, so they had obeyed him. But the situation was different now. If Derek insisted on dealing with them and making a move against them, the Piers would be their enemy! Derek¡¯s face flushed red, and he was about to be angered to death by his former subordinates. The Piers had invested heavily in them, and they thought that these experts would work for them for the rest of their lives. But now, they had not only betrayed the Piers to join the Howards, but they even had the guts to speak to him like that and threaten him, the helmsman of the family! ¡°Very well! Since you¡¯re so brave, the first thing I¡¯ll do is to get rid of you traitors once we start to deal with the Howards in the future! Just you wait!¡± Derek cursed angrily through gritted teeth. Chapter 978 Chapter 978: Make You Stay Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing what Derek said, the Howards immediately looked at him with a peculiar gaze. The numerous experts of the Piers now belonged to the Howards. How else could the Piers fight against the Howards? If they really went to war, the Piers would lose for sure! Thus, the Howards didn¡¯t take Derek¡¯s threat seriously at all. At this moment, Jordan suddenly turned to look at Rayson at the side and said sinisterly with a smirk, ¡°It¡¯s the Williams¡¯ turn now!¡± As soon as he saw the sinister gaze in Jordan¡¯s eyes, Rayson couldn¡¯t help shuddering. The situation now was too unfavorable! The reason he had agreed to join forces with the Piers to deal with the Howards previously was undoubtedly that the Piers were on par with them, and Derek had also promised him to cooperate on the high-profit projects. But the Piers had suddenly lost over thirty experts at once, which greatly damaged their strength. If they went against the Howards and the Huttons at this time, their chances of winning would be much lower. In fact, they might even lose. The only way to avoid losing a gamble was not to bet! Rayson quickly went through the pros and cons in his mind beforeughing. ¡°I was just casually replying to Mr. Piers. I don¡¯t really intend to harm the Howards. Regardless of what Derek wants to do, it has nothing to do with me and the Williams!¡± Rayson shamelessly denied his previous agreement with Derek and drew a clear line between the Williams and the Piers. Derek and his father, Conrad, were exasperated as soon as they heard Rayson drawing a clear line with them. The reason they had chosen toe to the Howard residence today to provoke Florence, the new helmsman of the Howards, was that the Williams had promised to join hands with the Piers to coerce the Howards. But now, the shameless Rayson saw that things weren¡¯t looking good and wanted to run away. What would happen to the Piers? Were they going to be left hanging just like that? Without the help of the Williams, the Piers wouldn¡¯t even be able to defeat the Howards, not to mention that the Huttons were standing on the Howards¡¯ side! Rayson didn¡¯t have the time to think about what the Piers were thinking and whether or not they wouldsh out at him. The most important thing to do now was to get the Williams out of this troublesome predicament! Fortunately, only the foolish Derek¡¯s subordinates had acted just now, while no one from the Piers had made a single move. They didn¡¯t form a deadly feud with the Howards, and there was still room for maneuvering. He quickly made up an excuse and said, ¡°I¡¯m here today to pay my respects to Mr. Howard. Now that I¡¯m finished, I¡¯ll leave with my people. Goodbye!¡± With that, he directly turned around and walked toward the door. ¡°Do you think you can leave so easily?¡±Lucas, who had been standing by the side without speaking, suddenly said coldly, stopping Rayson from withdrawing. After Lucas spoke, the Howards had excited expressions on their faces. Although Lucas had been standing still without saying anything, and the person who had forced the Piers into a disadvantageous position was Jordan, everyone knew that Lucas was the one who really called the shots. Now that he spoke up and stopped Rayson, he was clearly about to take action. But Rayson nced at Lucas dismissively and rebuked, ¡°Your helmsman hasn¡¯t even said anything. Who are you to make me stay?¡± The various things that had happened just now were beyond Rayson¡¯s expectations, and they made him feel like he had made the wrong decision by choosing toe to the Howard residence with the Piers today. He was already flustered and uneasy, and he wanted to leave the Howard residence as soon as possible and return to the Williams¡¯ to think about what to do next. But this young man actually had the audacity to stop him, making Rayson so furious that he rebuked him without mercy. But Rayson was surprised to find that after he reprimanded Lucas, all the Howards in the funeral hall stared at him like he was a fool, as if he had done something absurd. In fact, the Howards truly admired Rayson for his courage to speak to Lucas like that! After everything that had happenedst night, the Howards had already witnessed with their own eyes how terrifying Lucas was. Not to mention that his subordinate Jordan could defeat Hades, a top powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association, but even Damien Zander, the chief of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters, was so polite to Lucas. Even after suffering a loss, he forced himself to endure it and back down, not daring to do anything to Lucas. Yet Rayson actually dared to reprimand such a terrifying existence. He really had a death wish! ¡°Old man, watch how you talk to Lucas! If Lucas tells you to, you have to stop, and you can only leave only when he grants you permission! If Lucas tells you to die here, you have to die here today! Do you understand?¡± Jordan moved quickly to the entrance of the funeral hall and firmly blocked Rayson¡¯s retreat. Rayson was instantly shocked! It was true that he didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s identity and had arrived a littleter, so he was clueless about the identity of this young man in front of him. But Jordan had easily defeated the thirty or so experts of the Piers on his own, which was a feat Rayson had witnessed with his eyes. Moreover, the fact that a powerful person like Jordan was actually so respectful toward Lucas meant that Lucas had a higher status than Jordan. Thinking of how the Howards were looking at him, Rayson panicked even more. He was afraid that he had offended an extraordinary existence without realizing it! Rayson pinched his palm, which was covered in cold sweat. He smiled at Lucas and asked politely, ¡°May I know which family you¡¯re from?¡± There was an extreme change in his attitude. Just now, he was still disdainful of Lucas and wanted to drag him out to beat him up, but now, he was grinning widely. Rayson was indeed worthy of being a shrewd businessman. He was just like a chameleon that didn¡¯t care about his pride at all. Michael couldn¡¯t help having a few traces of excitement appear in his eyes. When Rayson asked which family Lucas was from, Michael wished he could tell everyone that Lucas was his son! But Michael could only think about it inwardly and didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud. Lucas hadn¡¯t forgiven him at all, nor did he acknowledge him as his father. He wasn¡¯t fit to say that Lucas was his son. But Michael was looking at Lucas with an eager and expectant gaze, hoping he would say that he was Michael Hutton¡¯s son! However, Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t tell Rayson his identity or admit that he was actually a Hutton. He didn¡¯t even bother with Rayson¡¯s question. He simply said to Jordan, ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you, Jordan. Since they had the guts toe to the Howard residence to cause trouble, they must be prepared to pay the price!¡± ¡°Got it, Lucas!¡± Jordan immediately understood Lucas¡¯s intentions and agreed. Rayson looked at Lucas and Jordan before turning to look at Florence, who was watching them respectfully from the side. He suddenly thought that Lucas wasn¡¯t a member of the Howard family at all! The ominous feeling in Rayson¡¯s heart became more and more intense, and he finally popped the question in a trembling voice, ¡°You... you¡¯re not a Howard. Who are you?¡± Chapter 979 Chapter 979: Paying The Price Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to answer Rayson¡¯s question. In his eyes, the Williams were nothing at all, and Rayson, the helmsman of the Williams, had no right to ask him anything. Rayson had asked Lucas about his identity twice, but Lucas ignored him. At any other time, Rayson would have definitely felt that his dignity was being provoked and be enraged. But he suddenly realized that he didn¡¯t even dare to lose his temper in front of Lucas. The fact that Lucas could openly call the shots for the Howards without any objection from Florence, the head of the Howard family, and even have the powerful Jordan obey him showed that Lucas probably had a powerful background! Not daring to question Lucas any further, Rayson could only turn to Florence. ¡°Ms. Howard, is that how you treat your guests? I kindly brought my family here to offer our condolences to Mr. Howard, yet I was stopped here. What are you trying to do?¡± Florence harrumphed coldly and replied mockingly, ¡°Mr. Williams, you can¡¯t be too thick-skinned! Touch your heart and tell me honestly if you¡¯re really here to offer your condolences. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t need me to remind you what you did earlier, right? ¡°Now that Mr. Gray has said that you¡¯re not allowed to leave and that you should bear the consequences of your actions, you can forget about leaving here until you satisfy Mr. Gray!¡± Florence was extremely domineering when speaking. Now that the Howards were in a better position than the Williams and had the support of Lucas and the Huttons, why would she be afraid of the Williams? Of course, Florence also knew very well in her heart that the situation had turned favorable for the Howards all thanks to Lucas. Rayson didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s identity, but Florence knew better than anyone else that Lucas¡¯s father was none other than Michael, the head of the Huttons, who was standing next to her. If it wasn¡¯t for Lucas, Michael wouldn¡¯t have rushed to the Howard residence and stood on their side. In addition, Jordan, who had helped the Howards acquire dozens of experts, was Lucas¡¯s friend. It was safe to say that the Howards would have been destroyed by these two shameless families, the Piers and the Williams, without Lucas! Rayson was even more frightened when he heard Florence address Lucas as Mr. Gray! Florence was now the head of the Howards, one of the eight most powerful families in DC. But she actually treated a young man in his twenties with such great respect. What did this mean? Moreover, Lucas was apanied by a top powerhouse like Jordan. How terrifying must his identity be?! Rayson simply didn¡¯t dare to imagine any further! ¡°Lucas just said that you have to pay the price for barging into the Howard residence and creating trouble before you can leave today!¡± Jordan said. He nced at Rayson, whose forehead was already covered in cold sweat, and added, ¡°Besides, you even had the guts to be rude to Lucas just now. That¡¯s unforgivable!¡± Rayson¡¯s heart pounded violently as he hurriedly said, ¡°I... I didn¡¯t know Mr. Gray¡¯s identity just now. I didn¡¯t mean to offend him! ¡°Moreover, although I... I came with the Piers, the ones whopelled the Howards and got physical were all Derek¡¯s men. None of my subordinates and I did anything! ¡°Also, Derek is the one who initiated the alliance, and I merely agreed casually to fool him. I didn¡¯t really intend to be enemies with the Howards! ¡°If you¡¯re not satisfied, I can guarantee that when I return home, I will order the Williams not to harm the Howards. Is that okay?¡± Rayson had no other choice but to give in at this juncture. Although there were still about twenty experts of the Williams standing behind him, Rayson had already witnessed Jordan destroying the Piers¡¯ experts and thus knew that he would only be repeating the Piers¡¯ mistakes if he sent all of them forward. It wouldn¡¯t be of any use at all! In fact, if he dared to give such an order, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to live! Jordan sneered, unwrapped a piece of chewing gum, and tossed it into his mouth. ¡°Mr. Williams, please don¡¯t say those hypocritical things in front of me again. It disgusts me too much. How can you bring yourself to say them?! ¡°How about this? I can¡¯t be bothered to argue with you. Immediately kneel down and apologize to Lucas and the Howards, and we can then let this matter go.¡± After Rayson heard Jordan¡¯s request, the expression on his face instantly stiffened. Kneel down and apologize? As the helmsman of one of the eight top families of DC, he had never kneeled to apologize to someone! If he really kneeled down and apologized to Lucas, and word about it got out, Rayson and the Williams would be theughing stock of DC! Although Rayson had always been thick-skinned and didn¡¯t care much about his reputation, it was absolutely impossible for him to ept such humiliation! ¡°You... Don¡¯t go too far!¡± Rayson barked through clenched teeth. Jordan raised his brows. ¡°It¡¯s time to pay the price for what you¡¯ve done! I¡¯m being kind enough by merely asking you to kneel down and apologize!¡± Rayson said resolutely, ¡°No matter what, I¡¯m the head of the Williams, one of the eight top families of DC. How dare you ask me to kneel down and apologize? That¡¯s impossible! ¡°Besides, I just said that although the Williams came here today, we didn¡¯t cause the Howards any harm. We won¡¯t create any trouble for the Howards in the future either. Is that not enough? ¡°As for Mr. Lucas Gray, I can apologize to him or even make amends for my mistakes, but you¡¯re going overboard by asking me to kneel down. I¡¯ll never agree to it!¡± Jordan snorted coldly. ¡°Overboard? Why didn¡¯t you think that you were going overboard when you forced Ms. Howard to marry into the Piers together with that bastard Conrad Pier? ¡°Why didn¡¯t you think that you were going overboard when you ganged up with the Piers against the Howards just for the sake of a few projects with a couple billion dors in profits? ¡°If Lucas wasn¡¯t here today and no one from the Huttons came, I¡¯m afraid the Howards would have been bullied to death by you guys, huh? ¡°You don¡¯t think you¡¯re going overboard when you¡¯re bullying others and wanting to reap benefits from them, but you think others are going overboard when they make you bear the consequences? ¡°To be honest, you¡¯re not that noble, and I think we¡¯re being kind enough to let you leave once you kneel and apologize! ¡°Do you still want to walk out of here in one piece? If so, then you won¡¯t learn your lesson at all. Instead, you¡¯ll just think that we and the Howards are pushovers. Wouldn¡¯t you then gather other allies to deal with us again?¡± Jordan questioned again and again, causing Rayson¡¯s face to turn pale and leaving him with no means to refute! Chapter 980 Chapter 980: Kneeling and Apologizing Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Rayson gritted his teeth forcefully and said, ¡°I can guarantee that after I leave this ce, I will never send anyone to take revenge on the Howards! I swear!¡± Jordan sneered contemptuously. ¡°Swear? Guarantee? Trust you to try and fool us with a lie that even elementary school kids won¡¯t believe. Mr. Williams, are you treating us as retards? ¡°You refuse to kneel no matter what, huh? Since you don¡¯t know any better, you can die here!¡± Jordan walked toward Rayson. Rayson¡¯s face was already as pale as a sheet. He didn¡¯t expect that Jordan would want to kill him over a minor disagreement! Seeing Jordan approaching him, Rayson felt a deep fear surge in his heart. The twenty or so experts of the Williams standing behind him looked like they were facing a dreadful enemy. If Jordan really wanted to kill Rayson, it would be impossible for them to stop him! Meanwhile, Derek and Conrad turned deathly pale because they didn¡¯t expect Jordan to be so bold as to want to kill Rayson! After all, no matter what, Rayson was the helmsman of one of the eight top families of DC. But in Jordan¡¯s opinion, the lives of Rayson, Conrad, and Derek were worthless! The thought of it put Conrad and Derek in a terrible mood. Moreover, Rayson was being forced to kneel and apologize just because he had formed an alliance with the Piers to deal with the Howards. In fact, even their lives were in danger. In that case, since the Piers had already made a move against the Howards and showed their intentions to covet their assets so greatly, including their actions of forcing Florence to marry Derek, it meant that their fate was likely going to be worse than Rayson¡¯s. Only the Howards felt confident after hearing the domineering words from Jordan. Since Rayson was the Piers¡¯ aplice in bullying the Howards, the Howards would probably apud if he died right here! At this moment, Jordan had already walked up to Rayson and said coldly, ¡°Okay, you can go to hell now! When you die, there will only be seven top families in DC!¡± Then Jordan raised his hand and punched at Rayson¡¯s head! ¡°No!!!¡± Rayson immediately screamed and fell to his knees. ¡°I was wrong! Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ll apologize. I¡¯ll do anything!¡± Rayson was really scared out of his wits by Jordan. He couldn¡¯t bother thinking about anything else and kneeled immediately! Jordan had long known that Rayson was a spineless person who would definitely rather kneel than die. So the punch he threw was extremely loud. But after seeing Rayson kneel, he stopped just as his fist was right beside Rayson¡¯s ear. Feeling the fierce gust of wind stirred up by the punch, Rayon broke out in cold sweat while feeling thankful to have survived. Fortunately, he had kneeled in time to save his own life! At this moment, the other people in the funeral hall looked at Rayson in shock. The helmsman of the Williams had really kneeled and apologized for his mistakes without any regard for his image. All he wanted was to seek forgiveness from Lucas and the Howards! If they hadn¡¯t seen it clearly with their own eyes and merely heard it from others, they would probably think that it was just some absurd nonsense. But the truth was now presented in front of them so clearly! ¡°Oh my god! The head of the Williams actually kneeled and apologized! I can¡¯t believe it!¡± ¡°Th-this is incredible! He¡¯s the head of one of the top eight families of DC, yet he kneeled down in front of a young man in his twenties?!¡± ¡°Hah, Rayson looked down on us for having a female helmsman, but Ms. Florence has more backbone than him. She didn¡¯t concede even when the Piers and the Williams tried topel her. Yet the Williams¡¯ helmsman actually kneeled down so quickly. How hrious!¡± ¡°Exactly! He¡¯s a far cry from the Howards¡¯ helmsman!¡± ... Hearing thements and contemptuous remarks from the crowd about his behavior, Rayson felt extremely embarrassed and humiliated. His face started burning up as he kneeled on the floor. Even though he was usually thick-skinned, he couldn¡¯t help feeling extremely ashamed now that he was kneeling and listening to the taunts of the Howards around him. In the face of a life threat, he could only swallow his pride and forgo his dignity to kneel and apologize to a young man about the same age as his son and even seek his forgiveness. For the fifty-odd years of his life, he had always been respected by others, and he had never suffered such humiliation before. Rayson felt like his heart was bleeding! He had to kill Jordan and Lucas one day to make up for the humiliation he suffered today! Derek and Conrad were watching in fear. Now that their subordinates had either fainted or defected, the two of them were the only Piers left, and the Howards could deal with them however they wanted. They wouldn¡¯t have the ability to resist at all! This was what it meant to be in a hopeless situation! ¡°How do you expect Lucas to forgive you when your apology is so insincere?¡± Jordan said coldly. Rayson froze in shock as humiliation and anger shed on his face, but he understood that he could only be at the mercy of others. He gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and said with humiliation, ¡°Mr. Gray, I didn¡¯t mean to offend you. I¡¯m really sorry! Please don¡¯t hold it against me and forgive me this time!¡± Seeing Rayson¡¯s appearance, everyone in the funeral hall was in aplicated mood. Standing at the side and watching everything, Michael was feeling a mix of bitterness, pride, and remorse. Rayson, the helmsman of the Howards, was about the same age and status as Michael. They were both the heads of one of the eight top families of DC. 1 But now, Rayson had no choice but to kneel on the floor in humiliation and apologize to Michael¡¯s son. He was in an extremelyplicated mood. At this moment, Michael was full of regret. He knew that Lucas would never be able to forgive him and return to the Huttons. If he had known this would happen, he would have resisted the pressure instead of kicking Lucas and his mother out of the family! Michael knew very well that with Lucas¡¯s current ability, he didn¡¯t have to fear the other top eight families of DC. In fact, if there was a family that he disliked, he could easily wipe them out! With the support of Lucas, the Howards would probably surpass the other families and be the most powerful one in the country. Michael might even have to look up to them then. Unfortunately, it was toote to regret it now! Chapter 982 Chapter 982: Investigating Lucas Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne nodded and took a deep look at Florence before leaving the Howard residence with Lucas. Jordan naturally followed behind them and left too. The Howards and the Huttons stood quietly, and only until the three of them hadpletely disappeared did Michael look away with a bitter smile. ¡°It seems he will never acknowledge me as his father again in this life.¡± ¡°...¡± Florence remained silent, not knowing how she shouldfort him. They were in a simr situation. Lucas was Michael¡¯s biological son, but he didn¡¯t want to acknowledge him. Cheyenne was her daughter, and she didn¡¯t want to acknowledge her either. It was unsurprising for Lucas or Cheyenne to do this, and Florence and Michael couldn¡¯t me them either. They had failed as parents and brought it upon themselves. Now, they were just reaping what they had sown. Even if they felt bitter, they couldn¡¯t me it on anyone else. After being silent for a while, Michael perked himself up and said to Florence, ¡°Ms. Howard, the Piers and the Williams won¡¯t let this matter go. They will definitely deal with the Howards again. Therefore, the Huttons are willing to form an alliance with the Howards.¡± Michael spoke extremely earnestly. He had clearly already made a decision. Florence considered it seriously. She had just shot Lucas a nce to ask him for his opinion. But he didn¡¯t answer, neither agreeing nor opposing. He just left with Cheyenne. This likely meant that he didn¡¯t want to bother about this matter anymore and was leaving it to her to decide. In that case, the result was obvious. If the Howards fought the Piers and the Williams alone, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to cope with the offensive of two top families. Since Michael had taken the initiative to suggest an alliance again, she would be extremely silly not to agree. Thinking of this, Florence extended a hand toward Michael and said gratefully, ¡°In that case, thank you for your kindness, Mr. Hutton! From now on, the Howards and the Huttons are officially allies!¡± ... Meanwhile, the Piers and the Williams returned to their respective homes. Although Rayson had already given the strictest orders to those who had followed him to the Howard residence and forbidden them from revealing a single thing about what had happened today, he nevertheless smashed theputer, TV, teacups,ptops, and everything else in his study into pieces in anger. As soon as he returned home, he flew into such an uncontroble rage that he attracted the attention of the rest of the Williams, who were extremely worried and curious about what Rayson had encountered outside. But since Rayson was in the midst of an uncontroble rage, no one dared to go forward to dissuade him. After a long while, the sound of items being smashed in the study gradually subsided. A young man in his thirties slowly pushed open the door and walked into the study, which was now a mess. He asked cautiously, ¡°Dad, did something happen?¡± Rayson nced at his son without saying a word. Rayson would rather die than say that he had been forced to kneel down and apologize by a young man about the same age as his son. It was too humiliating. After he smashed arge number of things, the anger in his heart subsided a little. He stood in the middle of the study, took a few deep breaths, and suddenly said to his son, ¡°Get someone to help me investigate someone. The more detailed the information, the better!¡± The young man hurriedly asked, ¡°Okay, who is it?¡± Rayson narrowed his eyes. ¡°A young man named Lucas Gray. He should be around your age. He¡¯s very close to the Howards, and he appeared at their residence today. He has a highly-skilled martial artist named Jordan following him all the time. You must quickly find out all the information about him for me!¡± ¡°Yes, Dad!¡± the young man hurriedly agreed and immediately walked out of the study to arrange for hispetent subordinates to carry out the task. In the study, Rayson stared at the debris on the floor, his eyes showing intense murderous intent. ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray! If you¡¯re really someone powerful I can¡¯t afford to offend, I¡¯ll forget about it. But if you¡¯re not powerful enough, I¡¯ll definitely take revenge on you!¡± 1 ... In the Piers¡¯ vi in DC... Conrad and Derek returned to the Pier residence in a sorry state with the unconscious Adam. They were naturally in a terrible mood. But because the Howards had finally let them go, Conrad and Derek were much less angry than Rayson, though they were still extremely upset about losing over 30 elite experts. ¡°Dad, we¡¯ve lost so much manpower today, and Adam has also suffered a huge loss at the Howards. His face is so swollen that he can¡¯t even speak. We have to make the Howards and that punk Lucas Gray pay for this!¡± Derek gritted his teeth fiercely after getting the family doctor to treat Adam. None of their ns were sessful at the Howard residence today. They had even ended up incurring heavy losses and losing half of their elite subordinates. Conrad¡¯s eyes also revealed intense murderous intent. Be it the Howards whom he coveted or the two bastards who had the guts to be rude to him, he would never let them off. But Conrad was of the older generation after all. After calming down, he said in a deep voice, ¡°Before we take revenge, we must first find out the real identity of that young man named Lucas Gray! ¡°He isn¡¯t an ordinary person. Think about how respectful Florence was to him and how Howards looked at him with awe and fear on their faces. All of this shows that he isn¡¯t a simple person! ¡°Also, his subordinate named Jordan actually defeated so many of our experts, and even my bodyguards were no match for him. Such a powerful figure isn¡¯t someone ordinary people can control! ¡°So before we take revenge, we must first find out who exactly Lucas Gray is and whether or not we can make a move against him! ¡°If he has an esteemed status and we can¡¯t afford to provoke him, we can only suck it up. But if his status is average and he¡¯s only good at fighting, we must take revenge on him!¡± ¡°Okay, you should go make preparations. First, you get people to check Lucas Gray¡¯s identity and find out his background. ¡°Second, spend some money to recruit some top experts to help the Piers! I admit that Jordan is indeed very powerful, but there must be people better than him in this world. I don¡¯t believe that we can¡¯t find an expert who can beat him!¡± Derek immediately nodded. ¡°Okay, Father, I¡¯ll get someone to handle these things immediately!¡± After thinking for a moment, Conrad added, ¡°But the person who hates Lucas the most right now and wants to kill the both of them the most is probably Rayson Williams!¡± Derek¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Father, you mean you want the Williams to deal with that punk?!¡± Chapter 983 Chapter 983: Scheming Against One Another Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Conrad nodded but immediately shook his head afterward. ¡°I want to use the Williams to deal with those two punks, but we can¡¯t pin all our hopes on them. We must prepare for everything. ¡°But Rayson hates Lucas Gray much more than we do. If we suggest that we¡¯ll work together with him to deal with those two punks, he¡¯ll definitely be pleased.¡± At the mention of Rayson, Derek recalled how Rayson had wanted to escape by himself today when he realized that the situation had turned unfavorable and felt incredibly displeased. ¡°Hah, Rayson Williams is such a bastard! We clearly agreed to join forces against the Howards, yet he still tried to make us win him over so that he could get more benefits. When the situation became unfavorable, he actually betrayed us and wanted to leave alone. He¡¯s a scheming viin through and through! ¡°I don¡¯t trust him enough to cooperate with him!¡± Conrad sneered. ¡°We¡¯re just using each other. We don¡¯t have to trust him. As long as he has the same goal as us to deal with that punk Lucas, it¡¯s enough. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I have an ominous feeling about that punk. We might not be able to defeat him with our strength alone, so we¡¯d better do it together with the Williams! ¡°Of course, the premise of all this is that we must first find out his real background. We mustn¡¯t act rashly and provoke him, lest we make a dreadful enemy for our family,¡± Conrad warned his son solemnly. Although Derek was mad at Rayson and didn¡¯t want to cooperate with him at all, what his father said made a lot of sense. It wasn¡¯t exactly a cooperation. Rather, they would just be making use of each other to achieve amon goal. In that case, he could ept it. But just two hourster, Rayson took the initiative to call Derek first. ¡°Derek, I need to speak to you in detail about the matter regarding the Howards. Do you have time for a drink tonight?¡± Rayson said with a smile, as if nothing had happened. Derek cursed inwardly and called him a thick-skinned and sly old fox. He said indifferently, ¡°Hah, Mr. Williams, you can drop the act. I¡¯m afraid you might suddenly draw a clear line between us and backstab me again!¡± No matter how thick-skinned Rayson was, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little awkward and embarrassed after Derek tantly mocked him. ¡°C¡¯mon, buddy, I didn¡¯t mean for that to happen today! Are you still mad at me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t make it tonight. If there¡¯s anything you want to say, just do it over the phone!¡± Derek said indifferently. Although he had already decided to cooperate with Rayson to deal with Lucas, the method of cooperation was still very important. There was no way he could immediately agree to the cooperation as soon as Rayson called him to initiate it. Derek wanted to be in control in this cooperation, so he deliberately behaved indifferent and aloof, as if it didn¡¯t matter to him what Rayson had to say to him. Rayson said, ¡°Okay then. What I want to say is that I¡¯ve just sent someone to investigate Lucas Gray. He¡¯s not from any powerful family but an illegitimate son who got kicked out of the Huttons two decades ago. Even the Huttons don¡¯t acknowledge him now! ¡°So that punk doesn¡¯t have a powerful background at all! Even his subordinate Jordan is just an orphan. They¡¯re worlds apart from families like ours!¡± Derek snorted coldly. ¡°Is that what you¡¯ve found out after investigating? Think about it carefully. If he was really just an illegitimate son kicked out by the Huttons for many years and had no one to rely on, how could he have been able to do those things today? If that¡¯s all you have to say, save it because the Piers have already found out about those things too!¡± With that, he hung up. On the other end, Rayson immediately frowned after hearing what Derek said. Does that punk have another identity I haven¡¯t found out yet? No, I must make them investigate this properly! After Derek hung up without hesitation, he smirked. ¡°Hah, what a fool! If Lucas Gray really has such a simple identity, how could he have done what he did today? Didn¡¯t you realize that even Michael Hutton could only watch him quietly?¡± Conrad frowned with some displeasure and rebuked, ¡°I¡¯ve already told you to put aside your resentment toward him for the time being and work together with the Williams. Why did you hang up?¡± Derek hurriedly said, ¡°Father, this is what I think. That bastard Rayson is a sly old fox whose skin is even thicker than a wall. If we take the initiative to tell him that we want to cooperate, he might think that we¡¯re begging him and even take advantage of us. ¡°I deliberately treated him coldly and made it look like I didn¡¯t want to talk to him so that he¡¯d beg to cooperate with us when he became anxious since he hates Lucas Gray more than we do. This way, we¡¯ll be in control!¡± ¡°But Father, I¡¯ll obey your instructions and not act rashly before finding out Lucas¡¯s true background and backer.¡± Conrad finally nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s more like it. Alright, I¡¯ll leave all these matters to you. Remember to tell your subordinates to do a thorough background check on Lucas no matter what!¡± ¡°Yes, Dad!¡± Derek immediately nodded in agreement before ordering his subordinates again. ... On another side, Lucas didn¡¯t know that the Piers and the Williams were already doing their best to find out everything about him. At this moment, he and Cheyenne were already on a flight back to Orange County. He had originally nned to return to Orange County today, but Felix had suddenly died from an acute illnessst night. Thus, he had specially called Cheyenne over to DC to pay herst respects to Felix so that she wouldn¡¯t have any regrets. Since everything in DC had been settled, Lucas naturally wanted to bring Cheyenne home. On the ne, Cheyenne was still feeling worried about what had happened today. ¡°Honey, the Piers and the Williams probably won¡¯t let the matter rest just like that. Should we really be leaving?¡± Cheyenne asked worriedly with a frown. Chapter 984 Chapter 984: Issues Arising at the Same Time Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas said with aforting smile, ¡°Rest assured. Everything will be fine. The Howards aren¡¯t weak, and they won¡¯t let others bully them.¡± Anyway, he had already done what he needed to do and saved the Howards once from the Piers and the Williams. But he wasn¡¯t a Howard after all, and he wasn¡¯t obligated to keep staying in DC to help the Howards resolve their troubles. Furthermore, Lucas believed that Florence wasn¡¯t a fool. Michael had already taken the initiative to extend an olive branch to the Howards, so the Howards would definitely seize the opportunity to form an alliance with the Huttons. In that case, the Howards wouldn¡¯t face any major issues. Besides, if something unexpected really happened, Lucas still had the Smiths to help him in DC, and he could have them side with the Howards. There were only eight top families in DC, and Lucas could get three of them to unite. The only way the Piers and the Williams could defeat them was to form an alliance with the remaining three families. But the chances of this happening were almost negligible. Frankly speaking, given Lucas¡¯s current power, he could easily conquer all eight families in DC. But doing so would cause huge economic turbulence in the country, and he didn¡¯t want to affect ordinary people because of it. More than two hourster, they arrived safely in Orange County. Lucas had been in DC for more than a week and finally returned to the city he was most familiar with. After getting off the ne, Cheyenne turned on her cell phone and heard a session of text message alerts, all of which were texts she had received while her phone was off during the flight. There were also many missed calls. Cheyenne panicked when she saw so many missed calls from her secretary. Just as she was about to call back and ask what was going on, her phone started ringing again. The person who called was the general manager¡¯s secretary of the Brilliance Corporation. ¡°What happened at the office?¡± Cheyenne immediately asked. The person on the other end said something, and Cheyenne¡¯s face became extremely sullen. Finally, she merely said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve gotten off the ne, and I¡¯m back in Orange County now. I¡¯ll head over to the office immediately to take a look!¡± After Cheyenne hung up, Lucas immediately asked with concern, ¡°What happened at the office?¡± Cheyenne smiled bitterly. ¡°There are some problems with a few contracts, and the clients are demanding that I solve the issues now, so I have to head back immediately.¡± ¡°Is it troublesome? Do you need my help?¡± Lucas asked with concern. Cheyenne shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s all just somepany affairs that I can resolve on my own. I¡¯ll take a cab to the office first. You don¡¯t have to bother about me either. Just take a cab home quickly. Amelia is waiting for you at home. She must miss you dearly!¡± Cheyenne was an extremely independent woman who wasn¡¯t willing to seek help from others. Lucas respected Cheyenne¡¯s decision. Since she said that she could resolve the issues on her own, he didn¡¯t insist any further. ¡°Okay, go ahead then. If there¡¯s something you can¡¯t solve on your own, remember to call and let me know,¡± Lucas said before ushering Cheyenne into a taxi. Then he took a taxi back to his Pearl Lake vi. As soon as he returned home, Amelia dashed toward him excitedly and threw herself into his arms. ¡°Daddy! You¡¯re finally home! I missed you so much!¡± While being hugged by his daughter, Lucas felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart as he picked Amelia up in his arms and kissed her cheeks a few times. Lucas originally thought that Amelia would be upset at him foring homete and breaking his promise to take her out for delicious food today. But he saw nothing except pure surprise and joy on her face without the slightestint. Lucas loved his well-behaved and sensible daughter to bits. William walked out and greeted Lucas with a smile. ¡°Wee back. Did everything go well in DC?¡± Lucas nodded and smiled. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all settled now. How¡¯s your recovery going, William?¡± Previously, Karen and Nikki had colluded to scheme against William and caused him to have a traffic ident. He had been badly wounded and in a vegetative state. Now, he was in the stage of slow recovery. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re just some superficial injuries. I¡¯m almost fully healed now!¡± William said while arching his arm to flex it, revealing the small muscles on it. Lucas burst intoughter and soon realized that there was someone missing in the house. ¡°Where¡¯s Charlotte? Isn¡¯t it the weekend? Is she still working overtime?¡± Lucas asked. William exined, ¡°Oh, yeah, Charlotte was supposed to have a break today, but about half an hour ago, her assistant called and said that there were some urgent matters for her to handle at the office, so she rushed back.¡± Lucas immediately frowned. When they got off the ne half an hour ago, Cheyenne had received a simr phone call from herpany, saying that something troublesome had happened. And now, something cropped up at Charlotte¡¯s office at the same time. Was it really a coincidence? Before Lucas could dwell on it further, William¡¯s phone started ringing. After William answered the call, his expression immediately changed, and he said quickly, ¡°Huh? What did you say? That happened at the office? Okay, wait for me there. I¡¯lle deal with it right away!¡± After hanging up, William grabbed his jacket and car key while saying to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, stay home and y with Amelia! I have something urgent to deal with at the office. I¡¯m heading over now!¡± Then he left without looking back. Lucas was hugging Amelia, but he acutely felt that there was something wrong. Within such a short period of time, the Brilliance Corporation, the Stardust Corporation, and the Sr Corporation all faced an urgent issue all of a sudden. It was too strange for it to just be a coincidence. Moreover, all threepanies belonged to him. Someone might be targeting him and creating trouble for all three of hispanies at the same time. But who would do this? There shouldn¡¯t be anyone who dared to go against Lucas, given his current status and identity. So, who did it? Chapter 985 Chapter 985: Switching Hands Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Daddy, Daddy! I¡¯m talking to you, but you¡¯re spacing out. You don¡¯t respect me at all!¡± Amelia¡¯s voice made Lucas snap out of his thoughts. Only then did Lucas realize that he had neglected his adorable daughter because he had slipped into a trance. She was now pouting, herrge eyes filled with aggravation andints. Lucas hurriedly said, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s my fault. I got distracted thinking about something. I didn¡¯t mean to ignore you, Amelia!¡± In order to coax his daughter, Lucas asked, ¡°I heard that you went out for some good food with Grandpa today. What did you have?¡± At the mention of food, the adorable little foodie immediately put her fingers up and counted them one by one. ¡°We had meatballs! And some pretty cakes! I also had a delicious lollipop! Grandpa even bought me a huge marshmallow! I wanted to buy one for Mommy, you, and Aunt Charlotte, but Grandpa said you guys don¡¯t like marshmallows...¡± Amelia spoke with great excitement. Lucas was still joking with her at first, but at the thought of the series of coincidences just now, he felt some inexplicable worries. But so far, neither Cheyenne nor Charlotte had called him for help, which meant that theirpany matters were probably not that difficult to handle. While Lucas was thinking, he heard Amelia suddenly say, ¡°By the way, Daddy, I saw Grandma on the street today!¡± ¡°Grandma?¡± Lucas was stunned. Amelia was obviously referring to Karen. But Karen was supposed in jail for at least five years for attempted murder. Lucas immediately asked, ¡°Amelia, you said you saw Grandma on the street?¡± Amelia nodded and blinked. ¡°Yeah, I saw her on the street where Grandpa and I ate. She even pulled Grandpa and said that she wanted to go home, but he refused to let here home. He even said that she should go stay somewhere else. Otherwise, he would call the police to take her away. Grandma ran away after hearing this...¡± Amelia looked at Lucas and asked in confusion, ¡°Dad, why won¡¯t Grandpa let Grandmae home? It¡¯s been a long time since I saw her, and I miss her so much! Will you let here home?¡± Lucas was now 100% sure that something had gone wrong since Karen, who was supposed to be serving her sentence in prison, had suddenly appeared on the street and ran away immediately after William mentioned the police! Amelia was still young, so she didn¡¯t know what Karen had done. She only knew that Karen was her grandmother, whom she had lived with for several years since she was a child. So she wanted Lucas to let Karene home. But Lucas would never let the vicious Karen step foot inside their home! ¡°Amelia, it¡¯s not that Grandpa and I won¡¯t let Grandmae home. But she made a huge mistake, so the police took her away and forbade her froming home,¡± Lucas exined gently. ¡°Daddy, did you say that Grandma was taken away by the police? Is Grandma a bad person? Did she do something only bad guys do?¡± Amelia immediately frowned, her eyes full of worry. In the eyes of children who still didn¡¯t have a clear concept of thew, only bad guys would be arrested by the police. Lucas wanted tofort Amelia by telling her that Karen wasn¡¯t a bad guy. But at the thought of the horrible things Karen had done to William and Cheyenne, he decided that he didn¡¯t want Amelia to think of Karen as a kind and good grandmother. So Lucas simply nodded and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Grandma did something bad, and she¡¯s a bad guy.¡± Hearing this, Amelia immediately pursed her lips, and her big and clear eyes were full of tears. She lost control and started crying. ¡°Daddy! I don¡¯t want Grandma to be a bad guy. I don¡¯t want her to be taken away by the police... No!¡± Looking at his daughter crying miserably, Lucas felt heartbroken. He could only try his best tofort her. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t cry. Grandma wille home when she bes a good person.¡± Although it was impossible for Karen to repent, and it was also impossible for Lucas to let here back home, he had no choice but to say this to the crying Amelia. ¡°Really?¡± Amelia immediately raised her head, blinking herrge and watery eyes. Lucas had no choice but to nod and say, ¡°Yes.¡± After finally managing to stop Amelia from crying, Lucas was just about to call William to ask him what was going on when he suddenly heard his cell phone ring. The person who called happened to be William. ¡°Hello, William!¡± Lucas said, but no one answered. Lucas thought it was just poor reception and asked again, ¡°William, can you hear me?¡± At this moment, azy voice finally sounded on the other end. He said teasingly, ¡°Hey, Lucas, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve be my son today. Come on, call me dad a few more times.¡± When Lucas heard this voice, his pupils constricted, and his face darkened immediately. An intense murderous intent shed in his eyes. ¡°Jace Hutton! I didn¡¯t expect you to be in Orange County!¡± The person who called Lucas using William¡¯s phone was none other than Jace, Lucas¡¯s half-brother! ¡°Haha, do you really think I won¡¯t dare toe to Orange County just because it¡¯s your turf?¡± Jace sneered. ¡°Where is my father-inw? Why is his phone in your hands?¡± Lucas questioned in a deep voice. Since Jace had William¡¯s phone, Lucas didn¡¯t believe that Jace had merely borrowed it to call him. William had probably already fallen into the hands of this bastard Jace. Who knew what kind of danger he was in?! After his trip to DC, where he had removed Jace from the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor, Jace probably hated him to the core. Under such circumstances, Lucas¡¯s greatest fear was that Jace would take revenge on him by attacking his loved ones! After hearing Lucas¡¯s question, Jaceughed out loud and then said coldly, ¡°Your father-inw has already fallen into my hands. Do you think he still stands a chance at surviving?¡± When Lucas heard this, his eyes suddenly shined with a menacing murderous aura! Chapter 986 Chapter 986: Father-in-Law Is Beaten Up Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas suppressed his anger and said, ¡°Jace Hutton, if you dare toy a hand on my father-inw, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± Jace guffawed arrogantly. ¡°Haha, Lucas Gray, are you threatening me? I¡¯m going toy a hand on him. Let¡¯s see what you can do to me!¡± Immediately afterward, Jace ordered the people next to him, ¡°Beat him up! Beat the living daylights out of him until he can¡¯t move any more!¡± Then a series of punching and kicking sounds came from the other end, along with numerous suppressed and muffled grunts of pain. Lucas¡¯s eyes were about to burst into mes. He could tell that the person being beaten was William, but there was something stuffed in his mouth. So despite being beaten, he could only let out muffled sounds. At this moment, Lucas wished he could fly to Jace and p his face hard. Lucas took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible, ¡°The person you want to deal with is me. Juste at me directly. You¡¯re being a coward by involving irrelevant people! Are you too scared to fight me head on?¡± In order to make Jace stop hitting William, Lucas provoked him. ¡°Haha, I just want to go after the people you care about! I¡¯m going to make you watch me bully them while you can¡¯t do anything to me. Haha, this feels great. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to continue doing anything to him, then beg me. If you make me happy, I might spare this old man! ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯ll make you listen to him getting beaten to death!¡± Jaceughed arrogantly, his voice filled with twisted malice. Gripping his phone tightly, Lucas said without hesitation, ¡°Okay, I¡¯m begging you. Please get them to stop immediately!¡± Hearing this, Jace stayed silent for a few seconds beforeughing arrogantly again. ¡°Hahahaha! Lucas Gray, I bet you can¡¯t believe this is happening to you! ¡°I thought you had a backbone and that you were tough as nails, but I didn¡¯t expect you to spinelessly beg me for forgiveness just because I¡¯m beating your father-inw. Haha, but this also means that your father-inw is very important to you, right? ¡°In that case, all the more I won¡¯t let him off! I¡¯ll torture him to death bit by bit and let him die wailing in pain! ¡°If he dies, you¡¯ll definitely be miserable too. Hehehe, that¡¯ll be the best! Since you¡¯ve taken away what I wanted, this is how I¡¯m going to get back at you! I¡¯m going to make sure everyone you care about dies in front of me one by one! ¡°Hahaha, are you furious now? Do you want to kill me? Too bad you can¡¯t do anything to me now that this old man is in my hands. This feeling is very painful, right? But the more miserable you are, the happier I am! Hahahaha!¡± Jace was venting his hatred maniacally like a madman. Lucas¡¯s eyes shed with terrifying fury. Jace ordering people to capture William and beat him up had already touched Lucas¡¯s bottom line. William wasn¡¯t the only one Lucas was worried about now. He was also worried about Cheyenne and Charlotte. They had both been called back to theirpanies because of something urgent cropping up. Now that William had fallen into Jace¡¯s hands, what would happen to the sisters? Were they still safe? At the thought of his loved ones being captured and abused by a scumbag like Jace, Lucas felt an urge to kill him. ¡°Jace, listen to me. If you just want to provoke me and see me suffer, you¡¯ve seeded. But you should also know that I won¡¯t let you off for doing this! ¡°Just wait for me to take your life!¡± With that, Lucas hung up the phone. It was pointless to continue wasting his breath on talking nonsense with Jace now. The most important thing to do currently was to ensure that Cheyenne and Charlotte were safe before finding a way to save William! Lucas immediately called Stanley, ¡°Are you at the Brilliance Corporation now? Is my wife still safe and sound?¡± Stanley replied, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray, I¡¯m in the Brilliance Corporation now, and Ms. Carter is safe in the general manager¡¯s office now.¡± Only then did Lucas heave a sigh of relief. Stanley was also a former soldier from the Falcon Regiment in Calico, so Lucas trusted him greatly. ¡°Okay, stay by my wife¡¯s side and protect her. Don¡¯t let anyone with ulterior motives approach her and hurt her!¡± Lucas ordered in an extremely stern tone. Stanley was shocked to hear Lucas¡¯s order because it meant that something had probably happened and Cheyenne would likely encounter danger. He didn¡¯t ask Lucas what had happened and subconsciously performed a military salute. ¡°Yes! I swear toplete this mission!¡± After making sure that Cheyenne was fine and ordering Stanley to stay vignt and protect her, Lucas heaved a sigh of relief. Immediately afterward, he called Skr. Previously, Skr had received a mission to assassinate Lucas, who spared her on the ount that she had the deless Sword. When Skr fled from the Peerless Martial Association, Lucas had saved her and gave her shelter. Since then, Skr had be Lucas¡¯s loyal follower, and he had sent her to protect Charlotte. After Skr picked up, Lucas immediately asked, ¡°Is Charlotte still at thepany? Is she in any danger? You must protect her and keep her safe. Report to me immediately if anything crops up!¡± Skr was also stunned. She hurriedly said, ¡°Miss Carter is in her office now, but a middle-aged woman in her fifties came looking for her just now and imed to be her rtive. The two of them even had an argument in the office...¡± Before Skr could finish, Lucas shouted, ¡°Go look for Charlotte immediately! Make sure she¡¯s safe and ignore everyone else!¡± Skr¡¯s body trembled, and she immediately realized that something had happened. After assenting, she hung up. In his Pearl Lake vi, Lucas was in a terrible mood. The middle-aged woman whom Skr said had gone to look for Charlotte and had an argument with her was very likely to be Karen! Karen was a criminal who was supposed to be serving her jail term, yet she suddenly appeared on the street and subsequently showed up at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s office. Someone was clearly behind this. Lucas had wondered how Karen had gotten out of prison. But after receiving Jace¡¯s phone call, Lucas knew who the troublemaker was. Furthermore, given Jace¡¯s malice toward Lucas, Karen definitely didn¡¯t appear in Charlotte¡¯s office for anything good! Chapter 987 Chapter 987: Vicious Mother Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It seemed that William might be in danger since Jace had caught him. On Charlotte¡¯s side, Karen had already gone to Charlotte¡¯s office, and who knew what she would do to her. Rtively speaking, the only person still safe now was Cheyenne. With the protection of a powerhouse like Stanley, who had retired from the Falcon Regiment, Cheyenne would most likely be safe unless her assants were top-level experts. But Lucas was still worried and ill at ease. Facing the threat of the ruthless lunatic Jace, Lucas really couldn¡¯t continue staying at home anymore. But Amelia was the only one at home now, and his daughter was also one of Lucas¡¯s most cherished people. There was no way he would let Amelia fall into Jace¡¯s hands! After pondering for a long while, Lucas immediately thought of the Hales in Orange County. Bruce had alreadypletely submitted to Lucas, who could tell how loyal the Hales were after the previous incidents. Moreover, the Hales had previously asked Lucas to help them train a group of experts, and they had been staying at the Hale residence, which was a rtively safe ce. But Amelia didn¡¯t know any of the Hales, so it was impossible to leave her with them. At the thought of this, Lucas immediately picked up his phone again and called Grace. ¡°Grace, can you please do me a favor and help me look after Amelia for a while?¡± Since he was pressed for time, he asked her directly without being overly polite. Amelia adored Grace, who had helped take care of her for a few days when William was hospitalized after the car ident. Lucas trusted her, so he subconsciously thought of Grace at this moment. Grace agreed without hesitating. ¡°Of course I can! Should I go pick up Amelia at your house now?¡± Lucas said, ¡°No, I n to take Amelia to the Hale residence. You guys will stay there for the time being, and I¡¯ll go pick you upter!¡± While speaking, he was already carrying Amelia out the door. Amelia was extremely well-behaved and sensible. Ever since Lucas received the call from Jace, she could tell that there was something wrong. So she had been listening to him obediently without talking or throwing a tantrum. After hearing Lucas say that he was going to take her to Grace, she nodded obediently without any objections. On the way to the Hales¡¯, Lucas¡¯s phone would ring from time to time, but almost all the calls were from Jace. Lucas didn¡¯t want to answer any of them and listen to Jace. Soon after Lucas left his vi, Skr called. She said in a flustered voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lucas! I just went to Miss Carter¡¯s office, but she¡¯s gone! I searched around thepany, but I couldn¡¯t find her anywhere! Her phone has also been turned off, and I can¡¯t reach her!¡± ¡°Search the ce! Deploy some manpower to search for her and check all the surveince camera footage. You must find her!¡± Lucas ordered furiously, his heart trembling. ¡°Yes! Lucas, I¡¯ll make arrangements immediately!¡± Skr hung up anxiously. Lucas mmed his fist on the steering wheel. When he heard that Karen was in Charlotte¡¯s office, Lucas had an ominous hunch that Karen would very likely harm Charlotte. Just as he expected, Charlotte was missing! Lucas felt extremely furious. Since he came back to Orange County more than half a year ago, he had rarely lost control of his emotions like he did now. He was extremely skilled in martial arts, and he was practically unmatched. He wasn¡¯t afraid of his enemies targeting him, but he was afraid that his loved ones would be harmed! Thus, since the Carter sisters and Amelia had encountered idents one after another, Lucas had arranged for his subordinates to protect his loved ones secretly. But there could never be perfect protection, and the experts he sent couldn¡¯t possibly protect them round the clock. So now, William had been captured by Jace and beaten up by Jace¡¯s men. Who knew how wounded he was. And now, Charlotte was nowhere to be found. Although Lucas didn¡¯t know what happened to her, she was probably in Jace¡¯s hands too. Lucas now only hoped that Jace still had a trace of humanity in him and would spare the lives of William and Charlotte since Lucas was his main target! Otherwise, Lucas really didn¡¯t know what would happen to him! ... In an old hospital in Orange County that had been abandoned for many years... There was a chair in one of the decently clean rooms. A young figure was sitting on the chair majestically. Around him were five burly men, all of whom were extremely muscr and obviously martial artists. There was a middle-aged man lying on the floor in front of him, his face swollen and battered with bruises. There was a foot on the middle-aged man¡¯s head, which was facing toward the young man. If Lucas was here, he would definitely be able to recognize at a nce that the young man sitting on the chair was none other than his half-brother, Jace! The middle-aged man lying on the floor, who had been beaten beyond recognition, was William, Lucas¡¯s father-inw! ¡°Damn it! How dare he ignore my calls?!¡± Jace had called Lucas several times in a row, but Lucas refused to answer. He was so furious that he stood up and kicked William several times. ¡°Damn it, do you think your son-inw cares about you? Psht! He doesn¡¯t care about you at all. He clearly knows that you¡¯re in my hands and being beaten by me, but he refuses to answer my calls!¡± William had been beaten up so badly that his eyes were swollen shut. He struggled to open an eye that was so swollen that his vision was hindered and sneered contemptuously. Jace was about to lose his temper, but at this moment, his phone rang, and a fawning female voice came from the other end. ¡°Mr. Hutton, I¡¯ve already brought that woman from the Stardust Corporation to the ce you mentioned! What should I do next?¡± Jace¡¯s face finally showed a trace of joy. He finally got his hands on one of the two women he wanted to capture! ¡°Wait for me there. Keep a close eye on her and make sure she doesn¡¯t escape. Got it? I¡¯ll call you to let you know what to doter!¡± Jace ordered with satisfaction. ¡°Yes, Mr. Hutton. Although I¡¯m the mother of this woman, I¡¯ll definitely keep an eye on her and won¡¯t let her escape! Don¡¯t worry!¡± The nauseatingly coquettish voice belonged to Karen! Karen was Charlotte¡¯s mother, but she actually obeyed Jace to kidnap her daughter. She was clearly vicious and heartless! Chapter 988 Chapter 988: Cheyenne Is Attacked Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this time, Lucas had already rushed to the Hale residence. After entrusting Amelia and Grace to Bruce and requesting that the Hales protect Amelia, Lucas drove away. Lucas was now rushing to the Brilliance Corporation, where Cheyenne was. William and Charlotte both had mishaps one after another. Although Cheyenne was protected by a powerhouse like Stanley, Lucas still couldn¡¯t help worrying. The best solution was actually to bring Cheyenne to the Hales residence too so that he could concentrate all the protection and avoid letting Jace¡¯s subordinates get their way. But while Lucas was still on his way to the Brilliance Corporation, someone suddenly knocked on the door of the general manager¡¯s office where Cheyenne was. Then a woman d in the staff uniform of the Brilliance Corporation entered with her head lowered and a document in hand. Cheyenne was still working at her desk and didn¡¯t pay much attention to the young woman, thinking that it was just an employeeing to deliver documents. But Cheyenne was startled when she looked up and saw the woman approaching. Although the woman had lowered her head so that her face wasn¡¯t clearly visible, Cheyenne was sitting on a chair, so she could see the woman¡¯s face as soon as she looked up. ¡°Who are you? I¡¯ve never seen you in thepany before!¡± Cheyenne suddenly asked with a frown. Suddenly, the woman pulled out a dagger from a spot blocked by the documents and leaped toward Cheyenne! Cheyenne was horrified. The woman in front of her wasn¡¯t an employee of thepany but an assassin who came to harm her! At this critical juncture, a ck shadow suddenly darted out from an inconspicuous corner of the office and charged toward the assassin! The female assassin was shocked. She originally thought that she only needed to deal with a helpless woman, but she didn¡¯t expect there to be a powerful expert hidden in the general manager¡¯s office! Based on the expert in ck¡¯s incredible speed, the female assassin quickly made a judgment that she was no match for him! Whoosh! In a moment of panic, she flicked the dagger in her hand at Cheyenne, which would either kill or seriously wound her if it hit her. Then her mission would be consideredplete! ng! Stanley was an expert with daggers, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t stand by and watch Cheyenne, whom Lucas had ordered him to protect at all cost, get injured in front of him. Stanley raised his hand and flicked a dagger. It traveled at lightning speed and knocked away the female assassin¡¯s dagger just as it was less than 20 centimeters away from Cheyenne¡¯s neck with a loud ng! Thud! Thud! With two loud noises, the daggers were both nailed to the wall. The female assassin¡¯s desperate attack didn¡¯t work. Knowing that she wouldn¡¯t be able to take down Cheyenne with the presence of a top expert like Stanley, she directly turned around and fled. Stanley hesitated and didn¡¯t chase after the female assassin. He turned to look at Cheyenne and asked, ¡°Ms. Carter, are you injured?¡± The female assassin¡¯s skills were actually mediocre. If Stanley had taken chase, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have let her off. But his mission was to protect Cheyenne. Had he gone after the assassin, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone to protect Cheyenne, which could put her in a threatening situation. So Stanley chose to stay here rather than chase after the assassin. Cheyenne¡¯s face was deathly pale. She had hardly ever encountered such a dangerous assassination before. When she saw the dagger flying toward her just now, she had frozen in horror, unable to even react or dodge. If Stanley hadn¡¯t saved her, she would have probably been seriously injured, if not dead. At this moment, Cheyenne was still in shock, and her heart was about to jump out of her chest. After taking a few deep breaths, Cheyenne finally managed to recover from the tension. She shook her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m alright. Thank you for saving me!¡± Stanley said, ¡°This is my duty. Lucas will be here soon.¡± ¡°What exactly is going on here? Why did someone suddenly try to assassinate me?¡± Cheyenne asked with confusion. Stanley shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. I¡¯m just following Lucas¡¯s instructions to keep you safe.¡± At this moment, a familiar figure appeared at the door of the general manager¡¯s office. It was Lucas, who had hurried over. As soon as he stepped into Cheyenne¡¯s office, he saw the traces of the fight. There were still two daggers stuck in the wall! ¡°Cheyenne, are you okay?!¡± Panicked and horrified, Lucas ran over to Cheyenne and checked to see if she had gotten hurt. Cheyenne hugged the anxious Lucas and said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m not injured. It¡¯s thanks to Stanley for saving me!¡± After he made sure that Cheyenne was really safe and sound, his heart, which was beating crazily just now, slowly fell back into his chest. After seeing the aftermath of the fight in the office, what he feared most was that Cheyenne would be injured. But fortunately, Stanley was present. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable. ¡°Lucas, what¡¯s going on here? Why was I suddenly assassinated? You must know something, don¡¯t you?¡± Cheyenne asked worriedly, her face still pale. Although Lucas didn¡¯t want Cheyenne to be frightened because of this, it would be pointless to hide it from her since an assassin had already appeared in front of her. But there were some things Lucas really couldn¡¯t say to Cheyenne. For example, he couldn¡¯t tell her that William and Charlotte had been abducted by his half-brother, Jace. Lucas simply couldn¡¯t bring himself to tell her it, afraid that she wouldn¡¯t be able to take it. Thus, he said to her sincerely, ¡°Something did happen, and they¡¯re actually after me. But you got implicated, so I¡¯ll get Stanley to send you to the Hales¡¯ immediately. Amelia and Grace are there too. With the Hales to protect you, you¡¯ll be much safer. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will handle this matter soon. Once it¡¯s resolved, I¡¯ll go to the Hales¡¯ to pick you up!¡± Chapter 989 Chapter 989: Stopping the Maliciousness Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne had always been a smart person. She knew that since Lucas was getting stronger and stronger, he would face more and more enemies. So Cheyenne didn¡¯t ask him who his enemies really were and merely said, ¡°Okay, be careful then. I¡¯ll be waiting for you at the Hales¡¯!¡± ¡°Okay, wait for me,¡± Lucas assured solemnly and then looked at Stanley, who was at the side. ¡°Stanley, the safety of my wife and daughter is in your hands! Please!¡± Stanley immediately performed a military salute. ¡°Yes, I promise toplete my mission and make sure they¡¯re safe!¡± In fact, if possible, Lucas wanted to send Cheyenne to the Hale residence personally. But now that both William and Charlotte were in trouble and the situation was urgent, Lucas had to save them as quickly as possible! After leaving the Brilliance Corporation, Lucas immediately called Michael, who was far away in DC, and hollered furiously, ¡°Michael Hutton! I want you to stop Jace Hutton¡¯s crazy act immediately and make him release the people he¡¯s holding hostage! Otherwise, I won¡¯t spare him or the Huttons, even if it means breaking my oath!¡± As soon as Michael picked up, he suddenly heard Lucas¡¯s cold and furious voice and waspletely stunned. After he regained his senses, he immediately asked, ¡°What happened? What did Jace do? Did he kidnap your family?¡± A murderous intent appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes as he said menacingly, ¡°He abducted my father-inw and had his men beat him up. He also abducted my sister-inw, and her whereabouts are still unknown. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s going to do next. Just now, he even sent an assassin after my wife! If I hadn¡¯t arranged someone to save my wife in advance, she would have probably already been killed by him!¡± After Michael heard Lucas¡¯s usations, his face instantly turned pale. He never thought that his son Jace, who had always been well-behaved in front of him, would be so crazy as to target Lucas¡¯s wife and family like that! It was simply an inhumane act! Michael was furious. If Jace was standing in front of him now, he would definitely p his face hard several times! ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely stop that bastard from doing such crazy things! But he¡¯s your brother after all. I hope you¡¯ll spare his life after you find him!¡± Hearing this, Lucas was further enraged. His wife had just experienced a near-death experience. His father-inw and sister-inw were still missing, and it was unknown if they were dead or alive. It was all Jace¡¯s fault! But Michael was actually still helping Jace to beg for mercy, wanting him to let him off. How ridiculous! ¡°Hah, I can spare him, but he must release my father-inw and sister-inw. And he must appear in front of me within fifteen minutes to kneel and apologize to me! ¡°Otherwise, I won¡¯t spare him even if I have to hunt him to the ends of the earth!¡± Lucas was strangely exasperated now. If Jace hated him and wanted to take revenge, Lucas would be able to take it no matter what Jace threw at him. But Jace didn¡¯t dare to attack him openly and only had the guts to resort to unscrupulous means such as threatening Lucas with the lives of his loved ones. This had already touched Lucas¡¯s bottom line! The sound of kicking and punchinging from the phone earlier, as well as William¡¯s muffled grunts, resounded in Lucas¡¯s ears again. If Jace appeared in front of Lucas now, he would probably strangle him to death. At this moment, Michael, who was far away in DC, felt extremely distressed. Both Lucas and Jace were his biological sons. So Michael didn¡¯t want to see the brothers killing each other. Jace had indeed gone overboard this time. Michael could understand why Lucas was so mad that he wanted to kill Jace, but he didn¡¯t want to see Lucas killing Jace because of it. Michael was in great pain, but he could only promise, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make him release your father-inw and sister-inw. I¡¯ll also make sure he kneels down and apologizes to you! Don¡¯t worry!¡± Then Michael hung up. The most important thing to do now was to call Jace and tell him to stop immediately! Lucas had a murderous look on his face as he put down the phone. On the way to the Brilliance Corporation previously, Lucas had made several calls and deployed all his manpower to search for Jace, William, and Charlotte. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s phone rang again. It was a call from a subordinate who was proficient in telmunications. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve already found William¡¯s location based on the GPS position of his phone!¡± ¡°Okay, send it to me immediately!¡± Lucas immediately perked up. Soon, the subordinate sent a map of the location to Lucas¡¯s phone. An astonishing murderous intent emerged from Lucas¡¯s eyes as he looked at the map leading to the abandoned hospital on the outskirts of Orange County. ¡°I told you to get ready for me there!¡± This ce was still slightly far from Lucas¡¯s current location. Lucas drove his ck Jaguar to it. When he was about to arrive at the abandoned hospital, it was already fifteen minutes past the time he had agreed on with Michael. During this period of time, Lucas didn¡¯t receive any news that William or Charlotte had been released. This was enough to show that Michael¡¯s attempt to persuade Jace hadpletely failed! Since Michael had failed to stop Jace and make him release William and Charlotte, Lucas decided that he wouldn¡¯t let Jace off again! Lucas arrived at the abandoned hospital in his ck Jaguar. The hospital had been abandoned for a long time, so it was surrounded by weeds and garbage. The dpidated five-story hospital was also extremely shabby and looked like it could copse at any moment. Most of the ss windows of the abandoned hospital were broken, revealing the darkness inside. ording to the location from his subordinate, William¡¯s cell phone signal was indeed emitting from this ce. In that case, Jace should be here! As soon as Lucas opened the car door and was about to get out, he could acutely sense that there were indeed people in this hospital. There were also several aggressive auras, which should be from the experts Jace brought. Lucas nced at the windows and narrowed his eyes. Just as he was about to get out of the car, his phone suddenly vibrated. It was a call from Michael. ¡°Lucas, I... I couldn¡¯t convince that bastard. If you¡¯re angry, feel free to beat him up, but I beg you to spare his life, okay?¡± As soon as Lucas answered, Michael¡¯s pleading voice came from the other end. Chapter 990 Chapter 990: Finding Jace Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, Lucas was enraged! ¡°Michael Hutton, I agreed to let you save him, but did you keep your promise? My father-inw and sister-inw are still in his hands, and their lives are in danger! ¡°Since Jace dares to do such a ruthless thing to my family, why should I spare his life? ¡°To tell you the truth, the reason I spared the Huttons in DC previously wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t dare to deal with you but because my mother begged me not to take revenge on you before she died! ¡°I¡¯ve already spared you once, but Jace still wanted to court death himself, so he can only me himself! ¡°If you have a problem with it and want to take revenge for your precious son, feel free toe at me! But this time, I won¡¯t show your family any mercy again!¡± Lucas finished furiously. The angrier he was, the calmer he looked. ¡°No, Lucas, you really can¡¯t kill him because of his identity...¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to listen to what Michael had to say and hung up. At this point, it was impossible for him to let Jace off! Lucas didn¡¯t hide and walked straight into the abandoned hospital. He followed the auras he detected and went straight up to the fifth floor using the stairs without searching every room by room. When he reached the door of a room on the fifth floor, an arrogant voice spread from inside. ¡°Hey, it seems you¡¯re really meant to be my dog. You came here so quickly!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t respond and walked over. As soon as he entered, he saw Jace sitting on a chair in the middle of the room. There were six tall and sturdy bodyguards standing behind Jace. But the next moment, Lucas¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted at the sight of William tied up and left hanging from the window frame! William was obviously in a terrible state. After the harsh beatings, his body was now covered with footprints and dust, and blood was trickling down his body. ¡°William!¡± Lucas roared, incredibly furious. Seemingly having heard Lucas¡¯s voice, William, who had been tortured nearly to death, half-opened his swollen eyes with difficulty and saw that Lucas had really arrived. ¡°Lucas... hurry up and leave! Don¡¯t... don¡¯t bother about me! It¡¯s... dangerous here!¡± The rag in William¡¯s mouth had already been removed, and he spoke to Lucas with great difficulty. The moment he saw Lucas, the first thing that came to his mind was not that he was finally saved but that Lucas had walked into a trap because of him. So he desperately wanted Lucas to leave. There were still four experts armed with guns all pointing at William. As long as Jace gave an order, William would be shot to death by them, which forced Lucas not to dare to act rashly. Although Lucas could kill Jace in an instant and take down these gunmen in a very short period of time, with so many gunmen aiming at William, Lucas didn¡¯t dare to put William¡¯s life at risk. He didn¡¯t want to take the risk. Lucas also noticed that they were the only ones in the room. Charlotte and Karen were not here. Before finding out where Charlotte was, Lucas had no choice but to hold back for the time being without acting rashly. Jace, sitting in the middle of the room, watched the interaction between Lucas and William and burst intoughter. ¡°Haha! It¡¯s really funny. You two seem to have deeper feelings for each other than a real father and son. I wonder what my dad in DC will look like if he sees you this way!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t want to listen to Jace¡¯s nonsense. ¡°What do you want? ¡°Don¡¯t you just want to deal with me? Now that I¡¯m here, it¡¯s time you let go of the irrelevant people!¡± Jace sneered and said yfully, ¡°No, no, no, I will never let them off! I deliberately let you find me so that we could y an interesting game!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s a very interesting game, and you will definitely find it interesting too!¡± Lucas looked at Jace, who was talking to himself like a lunatic. ¡°Looks like you won¡¯t regret it until you suffer!¡± Jaceughed smugly, immediately took out his phone, and pressed it a few times. Soon, a female voice that Lucas was extremely familiar with sounded from the other end. ¡°Mr. Hutton, you finally called. That bitch Charlotte is still safe in my hands. What should I do next?¡± As soon as Lucas heard the nauseatingly fawning voice, he knew that the person on the other end was Karen. But Charlotte was clearly Karen¡¯s daughter, yet Karen called her a bitch and was guarding her closely. It made Lucas feel a strong urge to kill her. Karen was aplete piece of garbage that wasn¡¯t worthy of being a mother at all! Jace appreciated Lucas¡¯s anger while saying rxedly, ¡°You should be familiar with each other. In that case, you should greet each other!¡± Then he turned the screen of his phone toward Lucas. What was disyed on the screen was Karen¡¯s disgusting face. It turned out that Jace was on a video call with Karen. Karen was still smiling fawningly at Jace at first, but as soon as she saw Lucas¡¯s face on the screen, it turned into hatred. ¡°Lucas! You damn bastard! If it wasn¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been locked up in that hellhole and suffered so much! ¡°You jinx! You ruined my life! I will never spare you! I¡¯ll make sure your life is worse than death!¡± Karen cursed at Lucas in a shrilling voice as soon as she saw him. Her voice was still as ear-piercing as before. She was no different from the shrew from before. Lucas sneered while trying to suppress the anger in his heart. If not for the fact that Karen was Charlotte¡¯s biological mother and Cheyenne¡¯s adoptive mother, Lucas would have killed the vicious Karen right from the beginning! Unfortunately, the mercy he had shown made Karen go from bad to worse. She became so vicious that she wouldn¡¯t even let her biological daughter off. Lucas faced Karen and questioned her over the video call, ¡°Karen, since you hate me and want to deal with me, juste at me! But Charlotte is your daughter. How can you treat her like that?¡± Chapter 991 Chapter 991: I Want You to Kneel Down Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Karen sneered. ¡°So what if she¡¯s my biological daughter? I treated her with all my heart and soul, but what about her? How did she treat me? ¡°She turned her back on me and colluded with you people to throw me behind bars for the sake of a sister who¡¯s not rted to her and a bastard like you! ¡°Since she¡¯s heartless to me, why should I care about her? Charlotte... Hah, she¡¯s just a shameless bitch in my eyes!¡± Karen yelled furiously. It seemed that she had been holding a grudge against Charlotte for not pleading for her. She was now full of resentment for her daughter. Lucas frowned and was just about to say something, but Karen suddenly whipped out a 20-centimeter-long fruit knife from the side. Charlotte could soon be seen on the phone screen. !! Charlotte was tied firmly to a chair in an ordinary room with white walls. There was a piece of gray fabric stuffed in her mouth. At this moment, her face was red from extreme anger, and there was immense disbelief and horror in her eyes. Charlotte never imagined that her mother would collude with someone to kidnap her and even call her a shameless bitch. Charlotte looked at the woman in front of her, whose face should be familiar but was now terrifyingly distorted beyond recognition. Is this woman in front of me really my biological mother? Is she the person I called Mom for more than two decades? Charlotte was full of despair. Seeing Karen take out the fruit knife and walk toward Charlotte, Lucas immediately called out anxiously, ¡°Karen, even a beast won¡¯t eat its own child. What are you doing?¡± ¡°Hah, what am I doing? Of course I¡¯m going to take revenge on you guys!¡± Karen smiled sinisterly as she ced the fruit knife in her hand against Charlotte¡¯s fair and tender skin and ordered Lucas, ¡°Lucas Gray, I want you to get on your knees right now! Otherwise, I¡¯ll sh this bitch¡¯s face!¡± Hearing this, both Lucas and Charlotte were stunned! Neither of them expected that Karen would sh her daughter¡¯s face with a knife in order to take revenge! A hysterical murderous intent surged in Lucas¡¯s heart. Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t move, Karen bellowed hysterically, ¡°Why are you still standing there? I told you to get down on your knees. Didn¡¯t you hear me? Hurry up and kneel!¡± Her hand was trembling incessantly. The sharp de of the knife immediately cut a thin slit on Charlotte¡¯s face, and blood trickled down. Karen had actually wounded Charlotte! Lucas¡¯s heart tensed up, and he dropped to his knees without hesitation. Bang! The sound of his knees knocking against the concrete floor was extremely clear. Seeing Lucas really kneeling, Karen immediatelyughed with pleasure and said smugly, ¡°Hahahaha! Lucas Gray, I bet you never thought you¡¯d end up in such a situation today! Haha! ¡°Weren¡¯t you very arrogant toward me in the past? You ignored everything I said and even made my daughters stand on your side. They don¡¯t even care about me anymore! ¡°I begged you not to send me to jail and did everything I could to convince you, but how did you treat me? ¡°You threw me into prison without mercy and caused me to suffer for an entire month in that hellhole! I will definitely make you pay for it! ¡°Hahaha, look at you now. You¡¯re just like a dog kneeling on the floor and obeying my orders. You have to do whatever I tell you to do! Are you angry now? Do you want to kill me? But you have no choice but to watch me torture her and obey my orders! ¡°Because as long as you still care about this little bitch¡¯s life, you have to obey me! Hahaha, this feels wonderful!¡± Karenughed hysterically with a proud look. Karen was full of indescribable pleasure after being able to make Lucas kneel in front of her. During the days she was in prison, Karen felt like she was in a living hell. Not only were the food and living conditions extremely shabby, but she even had to slog her guts out doing hardbor for ten hours every day before she could return to her tiny cell. For Karen, who had never worked or done any hardbor in her life, it was aplete nightmare. The mostborious work she has ever done was household chores. Furthermore, the people in the women¡¯s prison were real prisoners, and some had even been convicted of murder. They were all extremely disgusted with the pampered housewife Karen and would often order her around. Being in prison had put Karen on the verge of going crazy. But she had never reflected on her actions and mistakes, nor had she ever thought about why she had been sent to prison. Instead, she felt that it was Lucas¡¯s, William¡¯s, Cheyenne¡¯s, and Charlotte¡¯s fault. So during her days in prison, her mind became increasingly twisted, and she was full of hatred for everyone, including her biological daughter, Charlotte! If not for Lucas¡¯s ruthlessness and insistence on sending her to prison and her two daughters and William¡¯s failure to save her, she wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this state today. But without a doubt, Lucas was the person she hated the most! She dreamed of the day she could trample Lucas under her feet and destroy him as she pleased. And now, Karen, whom Jace had saved, finally had the opportunity! Seeing the scene of Lucas kneeling without hesitation and hearing what Karen, Charlotte immediately burst into tears. Although she still didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s true identity or how terrifying his power was, she knew that he was definitely not an ordinary person and that his strength was beyond her imagination. Lucas had always been an extremely proud person, and Charlotte had never seen him bowing down to anyone. But Lucas actually kneeled in such a humiliating manner in order to prevent Karen from hurting her. Charlotte was touched beyond words. Her biological mother had cut her face with a fruit knife and almost ruined her appearance, which most girls cared about the most. But she wasn¡¯t biologically rted to Lucas at all and was just his sister-inw, yet he was willing to swallow his pride and kneel on the floor! At this moment, Charlotte had too many things to say to Lucas. She wanted to tell him to stop kneeling, but because of the cloth in her mouth, she couldn¡¯t say a word. All she could do was whimper helplessly with tears all over her face. Kneeling on the floor, Lucas clenched his fists and said with a straight face, ¡°Karen, I know you hate me. Juste at me and kill me. You should know very well that I¡¯m with Jace now, so you cane over whenever you want. ¡°Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being ridiculous by threatening me with your biological daughter¡¯s life? Or... ¡°Don¡¯t you even have the guts to face me?¡± Lucas said scornfully, deliberately provoking her. Chapter 992 Chapter 992: Life Gamble Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The current situation was indeed very unfavorable for Lucas. In this small room of the abandoned hospital, William was still hanging on the windowsill and surrounded by several gunmen working for Jace. Although Lucas could easily deal with the gunmen and rescue William, Charlotte was still in Karen¡¯s hands, which meant that she was still under Jace¡¯s control. So Lucas couldn¡¯t take the risk at all. It would be best if he could lure Karen over here and ensure that Charlotte was safe. After hearing Lucas¡¯s provocative words, Karen did seem a little tempted. !! Indeed, watching Lucas kneel in front of her through a screen was certainly less thrilling than pping Lucas a few times in person. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯d better behave yourself. Don¡¯t get any funny ideas! You care about your sister-inw a lot, don¡¯t you? In that case, there¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to let her back into your hands!¡± Jace smiled while instructing Karen, ¡°Don¡¯t try anything funny. Your job is to keep a good eye on that woman! Do you hear me?¡± Karen immediately nodded. ¡°Yes, Mr. Hutton! I¡¯ll definitely obey your orders and keep an eye on this bitch Charlotte! If Lucas Gray dares to defy you, I¡¯ll sh this woman¡¯s face and disfigure her!¡± Karen was simply inhumane and vicious. She didn¡¯t care at all that the girl she was holding under duress was her biological daughter, whom she had raised herself. Lucas looked at Karen coldly with an intense murderous intent. Once he rescued Charlotte and William, he would kill this vicious woman! At this moment, Jace ended the video call and looked at Lucas with eyes full of malice. ¡°Lucas Gray, you know what situation you¡¯re in now. Your father-inw and sister-inw are both in my hands! You must obey me!¡± Lucas stood up from the floor and said coldly, ¡°What do you want?¡± Jace said with a smile, ¡°I want you to y a game with me. You should have heard of Russian Roulette, right?¡± Then he took out a revolver and a bullet from his pocket and ced them on the table in front of him. Lucas was naturally familiar with Russian Roulette. But instead of a game, it was more like a cruel gamble. Unlike other gambling games like poker and so on, Russian Roulette was potentially fatal! The rules of Russian Roulette were very simple. The participants loaded a revolver with one bullet, spun the cylinder, and took turns firing at their own head. The one who got shot would of course die on the spot and automatically quit, while those too cowardly to shoot themselves would be the losers. The ones who persisted to the end were the winners. But based on Jace¡¯s current stance, he obviously wouldn¡¯t y this deadly game with Lucas. ¡°My rules are simple. Don¡¯t you want to save your father-inw? y this game then!¡± ¡°I have a revolver and a bullet here. You and your father-inw will take turns shooting yourselves until one of you gets shot and dies! ¡°Of course, your father-inw is now in my hands, so you¡¯ll have to shoot him on his behalf! ¡°Like this, if you end up dying, I¡¯ll let your father-inw go and won¡¯t trouble him anymore. If he dies, you would have killed your own father-inw. That would feel great, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± After Lucas heard Jace¡¯s rules, his eyes were full of a terrifying desire to kill. Jace was simply worse than a beast for toying with his and William¡¯s life like this! ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll be scared if you look at me like that!¡± Jace mocked. Looking at Lucas¡¯s terrifying gaze, Jace deliberatelyughed sarcastically. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that your father-inw¡¯s and sister-inw¡¯s lives are in my hands! If you dare to reject, I¡¯ll make sure they die immediately! Think this through properly!¡± Lucas gritted his teeth. He knew that Jace was fully prepared this time and hade up with a detailed n to deal with him. In fact, what Lucas cared most about was his family, namely his wife, Cheyenne; his sister-inw, Charlotte; his father-inw, William; and his daughter, Amelia. So Jace had nned to attack them at the same time once Lucas returned to Orange County. If Cheyenne wasn¡¯t being protected by an expert like Stanley, who hade from the Falcon Regiment in Calico, even Cheyenne would have fallen into Jace¡¯s hands. At that time, Lucas would have even more weaknesses and would be even less likely to act rashly. Besides, it wasn¡¯t the first day that Jace wanted to take revenge against Lucas. Before Lucas went to DC and did anything to the Huttons, Jace had long hated him because Michael had taken the Stardust Corporation away from him and handed it to Lucas. He had even wanted to make Lucas the helmsman of the Huttons. To Jace, this was enough reason to hate Lucas and even want to kill him. So a long time ago, Jace had already secretly ordered the Kingstons in California to create trouble for Lucas and the Stardust Corporation. At the same time, he found out that Lucas attached great importance to his family and Karen¡¯s immense hatred toward Lucas. This was why Jace had rescued Karen from prison and gotten her to deal with Lucas. He had even taken advantage of Charlotte¡¯s rtionship with her to abduct her. All of this was part of Jace¡¯s n. Now that he was in control of two of Lucas¡¯s weaknesses, he wasn¡¯t worried that Lucas would dare not listen to him. Sure enough, under Jace¡¯s threat, Lucas could only grit his teeth and agree. ¡°Russian Roulette, huh? I¡¯ll y this game with you!¡± Right now, there was too much holding him back, and he no longer had a choice. Lucas stepped forward, picked up the revolver from the table, loaded the bullet into one of the slots, and spun the revolver. ¡°I hope you can keep your promise and release those uninvolved!¡± Lucas pointed the revolver at his temple and pulled the trigger! Chapter 993 Chapter 993: Stalling For Time Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Bang! Lucas pulled the trigger resolutely, but this time, there was no bullet in the slot. Lucas was still standing safe and sound. ¡°Oh, looks like you got lucky this time! But there are six slots and only one bullet in this revolver. In other words, the chance of being shot is one in six. You¡¯re lucky this time! ¡°But like I said, this game won¡¯t end until either you or your father-inw dies. Now it¡¯s your turn to shoot your father-inw. Let¡¯s hope he can be as lucky as you! ¡°To be honest, I wish this game couldst a little longer so that I can enjoy myself! !! ¡°I want to see how you¡¯ll feel if you really shoot your father-inw dead. I want to see how your wife and sister-inw will perceive you after you kill their father. ¡°Hahaha, just thinking about it makes me excited! Lucas Gray, don¡¯t disappoint me!¡± Jace spoke maliciously with a twisted grimace. Lucas looked at him expressionlessly before turning the cylinder of the revolver. When it stopped, Lucas raised it and shot William. Bang! This time, it was an empty slot again. William, who was hanging on the windowsill, was greatly relieved to hear the sound of an empty shot. He opened his tightly shut eyes. He had seen everything that had happened just now. He knew very well that Lucas shot him because he had no choice. Moreover, he actually wished that Lucas would just ignore him and leave to save Charlotte. But Jace had deliberately set this up to watch Lucas suffer and looked forward to how he would feel after he shot his father-inw dead with his own hands. He would never let Lucas leave. After the empty shot, Jace smiled. ¡°Seems like you two didn¡¯t die fast! That¡¯s exactly what I want! But now that you¡¯ve made two empty shots, the chance of there being a bullet has increased. One of you is about to be shot in the head soon! You have to watch out!¡± Jace said excitedly. Lucas looked at him and suddenly said, ¡°Jace, I¡¯ve just realized how cowardly you are.¡± His words immediately caused cracks to appear in Jace¡¯s rxed andfortable expression. ¡°What did you say? Try saying it again!¡± Lucas said with a faint smile, ¡°Am I not right? You¡¯ve always wanted to deal with me, but you don¡¯t even have the guts to fight me head-on. All you dare to do is harm my loved ones and use them against me. ¡°Moreover, you were raised by the Huttons, one of the top eight families in DC, and you have stronger connections and manpower than a loner like me, who depended entirely on myself. But even then, you don¡¯t dare to stand in front of me and fight me open and aboveboard. All you dare to do is resort to lowly tricks! ¡°Aren¡¯t you a coward? ¡°Haha, Jace Hutton, I really look down on you. No wonder you were easily removed from your position as sessor!¡± Lucas deliberately struck his sore spot. Jace¡¯s expression gradually turned gloomy, especially when Lucas mentioned that he had lost his position as sessor. He waspletely enraged. ¡°Shut up! You bastard, you should know best how I lost my position as sessor! It¡¯s all your fault! If it wasn¡¯t because of you, how could I have lost my position?!¡± Jace hollered with reddened eyes. Lucas sneered. ¡°I just used some little tricks, and you lost your position as sessor. Doesn¡¯t that mean that you¡¯re inferior to me?¡± Infuriated, Jace roared, ¡°Lucas Gray! Don¡¯t try to y mind games in front of me. No matter what you say, you have to remember that I¡¯m the butcher and you¡¯re at my mercy! Yours and your family¡¯s lives are now in my hands! You¡¯re the loser! What do you have to say now?¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°Did you get this with your own abilities? If you didn¡¯t use such despicable means and threaten me with hostages, do you think you¡¯d be a match for me? You don¡¯t dare to fight me head on because you know that be it in terms of martial arts or anything else, you¡¯re no match for me at all!¡± Jace was so angered by what Lucas said that he was on the verge of losing his mind. But the moment he was about to let anger get the better of him, he saw William hanging from the windowsill, and the anger within him was immediately reced by smugness and contempt. ¡°Hmph, you can say whatever you want. Anyway, the fact now is that I¡¯ve already captured your people, and you have no choice but to stand in front of me obediently and do whatever I tell you to do! ¡°You can only me it on yourself for being too stupid! ¡°You did so much in DC and made me lose my position as sessor. You even helped an illegitimate son take my ce. Do you think I¡¯d still let you off? From that day on, you should have already thought of this oue! ¡°Yes, I admit my methods are despicable, but it doesn¡¯t matter as long as they work! The result now is that I¡¯m the victor and you¡¯re just a dog!¡± Hmph, so what if Lucas Gray won that match? I¡¯m the final winner! As long as this eyesore is dead, I¡¯ll go back to DC and deal with Roman. One day, I¡¯ll regain the position of the Huttons¡¯ sessor! But Lucas Gray must die! In fact, Jace¡¯s thoughts did make sense. As long as he was the final winner, it didn¡¯t matter to him whether his methods were despicable tricks or not. At the same time, Lucas had indeed been a little too careless. He had previously arranged for people to protect Cheyenne, Charlotte, and the rest. Butter, Lucas had sent Stanley and Jordan to DC because Flynn had been facing many difficulties in the Stardust Corporation headquarters. Thus, there were fewer people in Orange County he could trust and dispatch. Besides, he hadn¡¯t expected Jace would be so despicable as to deal with his family. Due to his negligence, Jace had seeded in capturing Charlotte and William. Jace mocked, ¡°Lucas Gray, if your father-inw and sister-inw die today, it¡¯ll all be your fault! You¡¯d better remember this!¡± Lucas nodded calmly. ¡°Indeed, this was caused by my negligence. But remember this. You should know clearly that I won¡¯t let you off for doing this! ¡°Just a few minutes ago, your father begged me to spare your life, but now, it seems it isn¡¯t necessary at all!¡± Chapter 994 - Two Bullets

Chapter 994: Two Bullets

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

Jace¡¯s face instantly turned red, and his blood surged. ¡°He begged you to spare my life? Hah, Lucas Gray, did you get something wrong? Now, your life is in my hands. Do you think I¡¯ll let you live? ¡°How dare you say that you won¡¯t let me off. Haha, what a joke!¡± ¡°You¡¯d better get your facts straight. It¡¯s a piece of cake for me to kill you right now! As long as I give the order, these gunmen will immediately shoot you to death! ¡°The reason I¡¯m not killing you yet is to torture you and make your life a living hell! ¡°I refuse to believe that my father will still think I¡¯m inferior to you in every way once I kill you and bring him your head!¡± Jace hollered furiously and then said, ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯ve said so much just to anger me, or are you trying to stall for time so that you don¡¯t have to y Russian Roulette? ¡°But I won¡¯t let you get what you want! You can try stalling for time however you want, but you must die right here today! ¡°Okay, let¡¯s cut the crap. It¡¯s time you continue shooting! Hurry up!¡± Jace urged impatiently. Lucas nced at him and picked up the revolver without saying another word. He turned the cylinder again and aimed the gun at his head to fire another shot. Bang! Once again, it was empty! Then it was Lucas¡¯s turn to shoot William. A look of excitement and expectation immediately appeared on Jace¡¯s face. But this time, it was another empty shot. ...... Then Lucas fired at himself and William several times. But without exception, they were all empty shots. Jace¡¯s face turned slightly gloomy. Lucas smiled. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m quite lucky. I¡¯ve already shot eight times, but there hasn¡¯t been a bullet. It seems like even God doesn¡¯t want us to die.¡± Jace snorted coldly. ¡°What are you proud of? It¡¯s just eight shots. Count yourself lucky. But I don¡¯t believe that you can continue being so lucky and dodge the bullet! Keep shooting!¡± Lucas nced at Jace without saying anything and continued shooting himself and William again and again. But after shooting more than twenty times, the cylinder didn¡¯t turn to the slot with the bullet. Jace finally felt that something was amiss. Lucas had fired nearly thirty times, so there should have been at least five times where the bullet was shot. But up until now, he hadn¡¯t fired the bullet. It didn¡¯t make sense at all! ¡°No, there must be something wrong with the gun!¡± Jace suddenly yelled. ¡°Bring the gun over. I want to check it!¡± ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the gun? You gave it to me yourself.¡± Lucas tossed the gun to Jace. Since he wanted to check the gun, he could do it himself. After checking everything, Jace found that there was nothing wrong with the cylinder, bullet slot, and bullet. He clenched his jaw indignantly. He had to admit that perhaps Lucas was really lucky. But when he was about to hand the revolver to Lucas, he suddenly thought of an idea. He took the revolver back, took out another bullet from his pocket, and inserted it into another slot in the cylinder. Like this, there would be two bullets in the six-slot cylinder. The probability of firing a bullet turned from one-sixth to one-third! ¡°Hah, let¡¯s continue. I want to see how long your luck canst!¡± Jace said menacingly before handing the gun over. Seeing Jace¡¯s actions, Lucas sneered. ¡°Are you going to add the third and fourth bullet and even the fifth and sixthter? It¡¯s rare that people y Russian Roulette like this.¡± ¡°Cut the crap. I¡¯ll put in as many bullets as I want. Just shoot! Otherwise, I¡¯ll have that woman killed immediately!¡± Jace hollered furiously. Lucas nced at Jace. In his eyes, Jace would definitely die. Moreover, the moment would be arriving soon. Once Charlotte was rescued, he would no longer have to put up with this idiot! At this moment, William, who was seriously wounded and hanging on the windowsill, had already passed out because he could no longer bear the high tension of ying Russian Roulette. In fact, Lucas felt that it was a good thing that William had passed out now because he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with Jace¡¯s torment. But although William had passed out, Lucas still had to shoot William, and all the pressure was transferred to Lucas. Jace originally thought that since there were already two bullets in the revolver, either Lucas or William would soon be shot to death. But after Jace waited for a long time and Lucas had already fired more than ten shots, no bullet hit anyone! Click! Click Click! The cylinder rotated. Click! An empty shot. Click! Click Click! The cylinder rotated. Click! Yet another empty shot. ¡­ Lucas repeated this nearly twenty times, but Jace still didn¡¯t hear the gunshot he was expecting. There was definitely something wrong! Even if Lucas¡¯s luck was really that good, there was no way he could perfectly avoid the bullets and fire empty shots more than fifty times in a row! Besides, Jace had added another bullet, so the chances of getting shot with a bullet had increased greatly. ¡°Go check this gun carefully!¡± Jace shouted at a gunman next to him. Although he had already checked the gun carefully, he might have missed some details. His gunmen were all experts with guns, and if Lucas had really tampered with the gun, the gunman would definitely find out! In short, Jace absolutely didn¡¯t believe that Lucas could have such incredible luck! Jace¡¯s gunman grabbed the gun from Lucas and checked it carefully. He even deliberately shot a bullet before telling Jace, ¡°Mr. Hutton, I¡¯ve checked carefully. There¡¯s nothing wrong with this gun!¡± Jace¡¯s expression instantly became gloomier. He stared at Lucas for a long time before saying, ¡°How did you do it?¡± Chapter 995 - Saving His Father-in-law

Chapter 995: Saving His Father-inw

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

As the former sessor of the Huttons, Jace wasn¡¯t an uninformed person. He knew that there were many industry experts in this world. For example, there were some bigwigs in casinos who could tell the number on the dice based on the sounds they made or easily roll the number they wanted. For example, people proficient with firearms could easily control the desired slot when turning the cylinder of the revolver. But such people were extremely rare, and only those who had spent countless years using guns would be able to do it. Thus, Jace had to suspect that Lucas had already mastered this technique to be able to get an empty shot every single time. Although Jace definitely didn¡¯t want to believe that Lucas had such a terrifying ability, he definitely didn¡¯t think that Lucas would be so lucky that he could perfectly avoid the bullets more than fifty times in a row! Lucas smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but this gun is yours, and so are the bullets. Even your man has checked the gun. Do you still think that I tampered with it? ¡°I said it earlier. Maybe I¡¯m lucky enough, and God doesn¡¯t want me or my father-inw to die under your despicable means. That¡¯s why he¡¯s been so kind to me and letting Lady Luck shine on me.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jace shouted furiously. He stared straight into Lucas¡¯s eyes and expression to try and find out something. But Lucas looked extremely calm, and there was even a trace of contempt in his eyes. Jace was furious. He would never believe in Lucas receiving God¡¯s favor or that he was lucky. It must have been because Lucas had tampered with the gun or was really a firearms expert! While Jace was hesitating about whether or not to continue making Lucas y Russian Roulette, the ringtone of a phone suddenly sounded in the room. ...... However, the ringtone didn¡¯t belong to Jace but Lucas. Lucas ignored it. The ringing was extremely short, and the caller hung up after only three seconds. But after hearing the ringtone, there was a drastic change in Lucas¡¯s expression as a menacing aura emanated from his body. It was as if he was a cat whose ws had been bound had transformed into a terrifying beast! Standing in front of Lucas, Jace suddenly felt an immense horror that made his breathing stagnate and his face turn deathly pale. ¡°What¡­ what are you trying to do? Are you trying to scare me? Don¡¯t forget that two of your family members are still in my hands!¡± Jace shouted fiercely to regain control over Lucas. Lucas smiled slightly. He suddenly raised the gun in his hand, pointed it at a gunman next to William, and pulled the trigger without hesitation! Bang! This time, a bright sh of light appeared at the muzzle, which had fired a bullet for a long time. The next moment, a bullet hole appeared in the head of the middle-aged gunman beside William! The middle-aged gunman didn¡¯t expect Lucas to suddenly shoot him, so he waspletely caught off guard and lost his life. The shot was too sudden. Not only did the middle-aged gunman fail to react, but even Jace and the other gunmen in the room were dumbfounded. They didn¡¯t expect Lucas to shoot him! But before the middle-aged gunman¡¯s corpse fell to the floor and the rest could react, Lucas suddenly vanished right on the spot! Whoosh! The next second, Lucas¡¯s figure appeared almost instantly next to the gunman at the windowsill. His movements were unbelievably fast! Bang! Bang! Bang! Immediately afterward, the sounds of flesh being shot echoed in the room. Jace felt his vision turning blurry, and before he could get a clear glimpse of what was going on, he saw several figures being sent flying andnding in every corner of the room, sending bursts of dust flying into the air. Once everything settled down, Jace was shocked to find that the five gunmen he had brought and his four personal bodyguards had already copsed to the floor. The only person still standing was Lucas! There were several guns next to his feet on the floor, all of which were taken from the gunmen! This scene agitated Jace greatly! As an heir meticulously nurtured by the Huttons, Jace was naturally surrounded by top experts. Jace¡¯s gunmen were all top marksmen selected from the army. Not only did they have excellent marksmanship, but they also had top physiques and reflexes. Yet they were all knocked to the floor by Lucas before they could even shoot. They even got disarmed by Lucas! The four personal bodyguards following Jace were also top experts the Huttons had carefully selected. They could easily deal with the experts of some big families, but they were just like weaklings who didn¡¯t have the ability to resist at all. Lucas dealt with them all! How is that possible?! How can Lucas have such terrifying strength? Jace was so stunned that he waspletely speechless. It was as if he had seen a ghost. Lucas didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to Jace¡¯s reaction but went straight to William. He quickly untied the rope on him and put him carefully on the floor. He did a quick check and found that William was still alive and had merely passed out from his injuries and being hung on the windowsill for a long time. His life wasn¡¯t in danger for the time being. After confirming that William was fine for now, Lucas heaved a long sigh of relief. Fortunately, William was fine. Otherwise, Lucas wouldn¡¯t know how to exin things to Cheyenne. Lucas stood up and red at Jace with a murderous look. ¡°Now, it¡¯s time to settle the score between us!¡± Chapter 996 - Situation Reversal

Chapter 996: Situation Reversal

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

Now, Lucas had defeated all the men around Jace. Facing Lucas, who was full of a murderous aura, he couldn¡¯t help feeling immense fear. In fact, Jace¡¯s father, Michael, had called him a long time ago to warn him not to harm Lucas¡¯s loved ones and even more so not to provoke Lucas because he was even more terrifying than Jace could imagine. But Jace didn¡¯t want to listen to him at all because he felt that Michael was just scaring him to protect Lucas, his illegitimate son. So he hung up before Michael could finish speaking and even refused to answer his subsequent calls. But even after watching Lucas knock out his five gunmen and four bodyguards in just a few seconds with his very own eyes, Jace finally believed what Michael said. Michael had long known how terrifying Lucas was, but when he tried to warn Jace, thetter simply ignored him and hung up on him! But Jace also knew very well that even if he hadn¡¯t hung up on Michael, he wouldn¡¯t have believed how terrifying Lucas was. Only after witnessing this scene with his own eyes did Jace realize that he was worlds apart from Lucas! Jace was now naturally panic-stricken, but at the thought of the other chip he had, he was slightly relieved. Forcing himself to remain calm, he threatened, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t forget that your sister-inw is still in my hands. How dare you harm my people now? Aren¡¯t you afraid that your sister-inw will immediately turn from a beauty to a corpse with just a phone call from me?¡± Jace didn¡¯t believe Lucas would ignore that Charlotte¡¯s life was in danger since he had knelt for her just now! Lucas sneered. ¡°Imbecile! Jace Hutton, what do you think I¡¯ve been holding back and ying this boring game with you for such a long time when I obviously have the power to kill the people around you in seconds?¡± Why? Jace immediately froze. ...... Indeed, Lucas clearly had the ability to kill all the gunmen and bodyguards around him within seconds and save William, yet he didn¡¯t do so and even knelt under the orders of the old hag Karen. The reason was very simple. Because Charlotte was still in his hands, Lucas didn¡¯t dare to act rashly. But why did he suddenly dare to take action? Jace¡¯s face suddenly turned pale. He understood! Lucas¡¯s aura changed when his phone rang! Lucas didn¡¯t answer the call, and the caller hung up after the phone rang thrice. From that moment on, Lucas became extremely aggressive. The next moment, he suddenly shot the person next to him! Could the phone call have been a signal to him? Has¡­ has that woman been rescued? ¡°You¡­ what are you trying to say? That woman is still in my hands, and my people are keeping a close eye on her! She¡¯ll die immediately once I make a call!¡± Jace began to get flustered, but he was still extremely stubborn. ¡°Oh, is that so? Try making a call then!¡± Lucas said teasingly. Seeing Lucas¡¯s expression, Jace panicked even more. He didn¡¯t have time to worry about Lucas staring at him. He hurriedly took out his phone and made a call. But no one picked up. Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Beep¡­ Hearing the beeping for a long time, Jace hung up in panic and called two other numbers, one of which was Karen¡¯s. But the result was the same. There was no sound except beeping. No one answered. At this point, Jace finally knew that the subordinates he had arranged to watch Charlotte had all been taken down by Lucas¡¯s people. He had lost the other bargaining chip that he could use to coerce Lucas! ¡°Let go! Quickly let go of me! Hey! You bastards, do you know who I am? I work for Jace Hutton, the scion of a top family in DC. How dare you grab me so roughly? Mr. Hutton will definitely skin you alive when he finds out! ¡°Hey, I told you to let go of me! Are you deaf¡­ Ah!¡± Suddenly, a sharp and shrill sound came from the bottom floor of the abandoned hospital. It sounded like a shrew arguing. As soon as he heard that voice, Lucas knew that it belonged exclusively to Karen. It seemed that the person he wanted had already arrived. Soon, Stanley led a middle-aged woman with disheveled hair to the door of the room. This woman was none other than Karen! ¡°Lucas, she¡¯s here!¡± Stanley said to Lucas respectfully. Both of Karen¡¯s hands were secured firmly behind her back with a rope as she was pushed all the way over by Stanley. She was incredibly resentful. Right after she stood firm, she saw Lucas and Jace next to her. But because she was standing right at the door, she couldn¡¯t see much of what was inside. At this moment, Karen seemed to find her backer and immediately vented all her resentment against Lucas. ¡°Lucas Gray, you bastard! You jinx! You evil thing, you should be banished to hell! ¡°If you hadn¡¯t appeared, I wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this state and suffered so much in prison! ¡°You damn thing, I couldn¡¯t kill you previously, but Mr. Hutton is the scion of one of the eight top families in DC. Now that he¡¯s my backer, he will definitely help me to torture you and kill you. He will rip you into shreds! ¡°Once you die, William Carter must die too! Those two bitches Cheyenne and Charlotte are so loyal to you that they¡¯ve turned their backs on me, their mother! In that case, they both have to die as well! Let them be Mr. Hutton¡¯s ythings, and once he¡¯s sick of them, he can do whatever he wants with them! ¡°And thepanies, mansions, jewelry, and money you leave behind will all be mine! Haha, Lucas Gray, hurry up and go to hell!¡± Karen guffawed hysterically. The reason she had been sent to prison by Lucas was that she wanted to live in Lucas¡¯s Pearl Lake vi and thus tried to kill William, who was getting in her way. But she didn¡¯t expect the murderer she had hired to fail to kill William and eventually cause her to be imprisoned. But now, as long as Lucas died, she could have everything she had hoped for since the beginning. The thought of it made her ecstatic, and she had long forgotten about kinship, shame, morals, and so on. Seeing the way Karen was at the moment, Lucas only felt sad. Cheyenne and Charlotte were both great people. Lucas truly felt sad for them for having such a terrible mother like Karen. Chapter 997 - So-Called Brother

Chapter 997: So-Called Brother

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

Karen had picked Cheyenne up from the roadside and adopted her, so it was somewhat understandable that she mistreated Cheyenne and disliked her. But Charlotte was Karen¡¯s biological daughter, and Karen treated her so heartlessly too. Not only did she collude with an outsider to kidnap her daughter, but she even said that she would give her daughter to him as a ything, leaving her at his mercy. This was incredibly inhumane! ¡°Lucas, you bastard, you¡¯re nothingpared to Jace¡­¡± Karen was still insulting Lucas when Jace suddenly rushed toward her and pped her face hard! Smack! ¡°Idiot! Shut up! Shut up!¡± Jace roared, wishing he could rip Karen¡¯s mouth apart. This idiot had failed toplete the task, and she was even found by Lucas¡¯s people, who brought her here. Yet she still didn¡¯t have a clear idea of the situation and was still insulting Lucas! Was she blind? Did she not see that all the experts had been defeated and had copsed on the floor? So what if he was a Hutton? Did this idiot still think that he could defeat the terrifying Lucas? All she did was spout nonsense. She waspletely useless! Karen was dumbfounded by Jace¡¯s sudden p. She touched her numb and stinging face, utterly dumbfounded. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Hutton, why did you hit me? Lucas Gray is our enemy. Can¡¯t I scold him? Don¡¯t you wish he¡¯d immediately die too? Now that such a great opportunity is in front of us, are you going to let this bastard off?¡± ...... ¡°Idiot!¡± Jace scolded Karen while feeling flustered. He had originally thought that Lucas would definitely obey him since he had held William and Charlotte hostage. He had been sure that he would be able to kill Lucas, so he had said that Lucas was just like an animal waiting to be ughtered by him. But in just a few minutes, the situation suddenly reversed. And now, Lucas was the one with control over Jace¡¯s life. Lucas could kill him at any time! Despite feeling extremely unwilling, Jace couldn¡¯t think of any other solution. ¡°Lucas, you can kill my subordinates, but no matter what, I am your half-brother, and there are blood ties between us. You can¡¯t kill me!¡± Jace clenched his fist, desperately trying to contain the fear in his heart while speaking to Lucas. Lucas sneered. ¡°Brother? When you were humiliating me and trying to kill me just now, why didn¡¯t you remember that you¡¯re my brother and that there are blood ties between us? It¡¯s too ridiculous for you to say that now!¡± Half-brother? Blood ties??Karen felt like her mind was struck by a thunderbolt as she immediately froze in ce. There was too much information from the brief conversation between Jace and Lucas, so much so that Karen¡¯s mind was in a whirlwind. Jace was Lucas¡¯s half-brother, which meant that Lucas was also a Hutton! He was a descendant of one of the eight most powerful families in DC! Karen had never heard Lucas mention this before! She had always thought that Lucas was just a penniless boy who had married into the Carters because of Cheyenne! Immediately afterward, Karen finally saw the corpses lying on the floor in the room. All of them were Jace¡¯s subordinates! There were so many of them. Could Lucas have killed them all? At this moment, Karen felt her legs go weak. Unable to stand any longer, she fell to the floor. ¡°Lucas Gray, no matter what, I¡¯m a scion of the Huttons and also your brother! The Huttons won¡¯t let you off if you really want to kill me!¡± Jace hurriedly said when he sensed that Lucas really wanted to kill him. Lucas said coldly, ¡°Do you still think I¡¯d be afraid of the Huttons at this point? Also, what kind of brother are you? ¡°When my mother and I were still living with the Huttons more than twenty years ago, you¡¯d bully me at every turn and called me a bastard all the time. You even insulted me together with your subordinates! ¡°Later, your mother was afraid that I would affect your sessorship of the position of helmsman, so she was determined to drive my mother and me out of the family. She kept telling tales to Michael Hutton and even schemed against my mother to frame her and snatch the Stardust Corporation. Finally, the Huttons even kicked my mother and me out of the family, leaving us without even a penny to our names! ¡°The Huttons even deprived me of myst name and ordered me not to return to DC for the rest of my life! And what were you doing at the time? You were happily gloating and pping your hands to celebrate that I was kicked out by the Huttons. Have you already forgotten? ¡°What right do you have to call yourself my brother? I don¡¯t have a cold-blooded brother like you! ¡°As for the Hutton family, which you¡¯ve been so proud of and worried that I would return to, they¡¯re nothing in my eyes! Only a short-sighted and ipetent small fry like you would think that the position of helmsman is a holy grail that everyone had to fight for! ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth. If my mother hadn¡¯t asked me to spare the Huttons when she was on her deathbed, I would have destroyed all of you a long time ago. You wouldn¡¯t have the chance to be so arrogant in front of me!¡± Lucas spoke bluntly while recalling the scenes of him and his mother suffering humiliation by the Huttons before eventually getting kicked out of the family. Lucas¡¯s heart was full of rage, and he wanted to crush Jace to death immediately. After hearing what Lucas said, Jace was beyond astonished! He could sense that what Lucas said was true! He really didn¡¯t take the Huttons seriously, nor did he want the position of the Huttons¡¯ helmsman. Moreover, he was really capable of destroying the Huttons! But¡­ how was it possible for him to do that? At this moment, Jace was recalling all the information that he had investigated about Lucas. Back then, Lucas was only eight years old when he and his mother were kicked out by the Huttons. He was two years younger than Jace and extremely thin and petite back then, so he was quite a pushover. Later, Lucas and his mother moved to Orange County after getting kicked out of DC. Although Jace felt that the enemy preventing him from gaining the position of helmsman had disappeared, he didn¡¯tpletely give up paying attention to Lucas. Thus, Jace found outter that Lucas and his mother struggled to survive in Orange County, and his mother eventually passed away from a terminal illness. Meanwhile, Lucas married into a second or third-rate family in Orange County and became a live-in son-inw whom everyone despised. At the time, Jace felt that Lucas would probably spend the rest of his life as a bottom feeder of society and never return to DC again to threaten his position as sessor. He lost interest in Lucas and stopped paying attention to him. Even after hearing the news of Lucas¡¯s disappearance, Jace merely thought that he had probably already died somewhere. Chapter 998 - Hatred Between Brothers

Chapter 998: Hatred Between Brothers

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

But Jace never imagined that his father Michael would suddenly take all the shares and management rights of the Stardust Corporation back from him and even spend a huge sum of money to buy all the Stardust Corporation¡¯s shares from the other Huttons. While Jace was feeling puzzled, he happened to overhear a conversation between Michael and the butler Chad. He was shocked to find that his half-brother wasn¡¯t dead and had returned to Orange County. For some reason, his father decided to return the entire Stardust Corporation to Lucas and even tried to get him to return to take over as the helmsman! After hearing this, Jace felt as if he had been struck by lightning. It waspletely uneptable to him! He was clearly the only legitimate son of Michael, and he would be the only one who would inherit the position of the Huttons¡¯ helmsman in the future. In that case, why should Michael attach so much importance to Lucas and give what should belong to him to Lucas? So from that moment on, Lucas became Jace¡¯s greatest enemy. He racked his brains to disgrace Lucas and eventually kill him. He would never let him return to the Huttons in DC. This was why Lucas and the Stardust Corporation were targeted afterward. Jace initially thought that it was just a simple matter. At the time, Lucas was just a nobody who had just returned to Orange County. He had no power, and all he had was just a tiny branch of the Stardust Corporation in Orange County. But Jace realizedter that he was wrong. No matter what moves he made against Lucas, Lucas could resolve them without getting harmed at all. In fact, his power was growing stronger and stronger. He slowly conquered the four top families in Orange County, followed by LA, then San Francisco, California, and eventually Oregon. The powerful families of these states all pledged allegiance to Lucas! Later, Lucas even broke the Huttons¡¯ ban on him entering DC, removed Jace from his position as the Huttons¡¯ sessor, and even reced him with Roman, Collin¡¯s illegitimate son! Jace was extremely indignant, and he would never ept being defeated by Lucas, whom he saw as an ipetent half-brother who grew up outside and had nothing! Moreover, Lucas was indeed the reason that he had lost so many things. Ever since he was dismissed as the sessor, many Huttons started treating him differently and would even asionally give him strange looks. Even the children of other wealthy families in the capital no longer treated him with as much respect. Some even dared to mock him. And Lucas was to me for everything! So Jace hated Lucas and wished he could kill him immediately! His anger would be alleviated only with Lucas¡¯s death. Only then would he be able to regain what he had lost! So this time, Jace had schemed a lot to defeat Lucas. He thought that he had nned everything well and left no stones unturned, but he had still underestimated Lucas¡¯s ability. Thus, he had been defeated by Lucas right at the juncture he was about to win. Now, even his life was in Lucas¡¯s hands. He hadpletely been defeated by Lucas! Gritting his teeth, Jace suddenly dropped to his knees in front of Lucas. ¡°Lucas, I know that it¡¯s all my fault for what happened previously, and I shouldn¡¯t have deliberately targeted you and been so hostile to you! I know I¡¯m no match for you, so please spare me this time. I will never go against you again! ¡°As long as you let me off, I am willing to leave the country and never return. You can take over the Huttons if you want. I will never fight against you again! ¡°All I beg is that you let me off this time! Okay?¡± Jace swallowed his pride and begged Lucas. This was the most humiliating thing Jace had ever done in his life. But to his surprise, even after he knelt in front of him, Lucas remainedposed without even a trace of joy or pride. It was as if Jace kneeling was apletely insignificant matter. In fact, this was indeed the case. Jace thought he was giving up his most valuable dignity and pride, but it was only a trivial matter to Lucas. It even felt ridiculous. Lucas wasn¡¯t affected at all. He had long known that Jace was terrified of death, so much so that he could forgo his pride without hesitation in the face of death. Of course, it was just empty talk that he would give up everything and never be Lucas¡¯s enemy again. Lucas believed that if he let Jace go, Jace would definitely look for a more powerful helper and return with greater aggression. Lucas would never spare him! Moreover, Jace had kidnapped Charlotte and William today and also tried to hurt Cheyenne. He had already crossed Lucas¡¯s bottom line. Thus, Lucas had already made up his mind. No matter what Jace said, he would never spare his life! Karen, slumping at the side, had long been frightened silly by the sight in front of her. In the eyes of a tacky and ignorant person like Karen, the Huttons were an unimaginably powerful and noble family. She had been especially ecstatic after being released from prison and learning Jace¡¯s identity. Even if Jace asked her to kneel down and lick his feet, she would have done so proudly without any hesitation. He was a famous scion of one of the eight top families in DC! But she discovered just now that her son-inw Lucas, whom she had always despised and looked down on, was also from this prestigious family! Now, the high and mighty Jace, whose feet Karen was willing to lick, was kneeling before Lucas and begging him to spare his life! This scene made Karen feel like she was dreaming, and her head was buzzing. At the same time, Karen felt great regret in her heart. If she had known that Lucas had such an identity, she would have treated him well! That way, she would have been able to live well with her family, enjoy everything Lucas owned, and even be inws of the Huttons, one of the eight most powerful families in DC! It would have brought her so much glory and made her the subject of everyone¡¯s envy! Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in this world! Ring Ring Ring¡­? Suddenly, Lucas¡¯s phone rang again, and the number on the caller ID was Michael¡¯s! Chapter 999 - Wavering

Chapter 999: Wavering

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

Lucas wanted to reject the call at first, but after some thought, he answered it and put it on speakerphone. Soon, Michael¡¯s voice came. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve been calling Jace, but I couldn¡¯t get through. I think he doesn¡¯t want to pick up. He probably blocked me. I beg you. Don¡¯t kill him, okay? ¡°No matter what, he¡¯s my son too. I don¡¯t want to see you brothers killing each other! Lucas, I know I¡¯m not worthy of being your father, but I still want to ask you. As long as you¡¯re willing to spare his life, I¡¯ll satisfy all your wishes! Even if you want to kill me now, you can take my life anytime you want!¡± Michael¡¯s voice was full of anxiousness and worry. Lucas suddenly felt extremely aggrieved and enraged. This man was his father! Back then, he had a high fever because Jace had poured cold water on him. But he and his mother had been mercilessly driven out of the Huttons by Michael and that woman. Even when they had been sick, they had been denied entry, and Michael had ignored their life and death. But now, Michael actually stooped so low to beg Lucas for the sake of Jace. He even wanted to exchange his own life for Jace¡¯s. Why?! He was Michael¡¯s son too! Why was Michael so ruthless toward him and his mother back then but was now begging him to spare the life of his other son? Worse still, his other son had held Lucas¡¯s loved ones hostage to threaten him and almost killed him. Could it be that Jace was human, but Lucas wasn¡¯t? Why was their treatment so different?! At this moment, Lucas had a strong urge to rush toward Michael, grab him by the neck, and ask him what he and his mother meant to him. If possible, Lucas even wanted to destroy the Huttons himself and make them experience the taste of being penniless and struggling to survive! But Lucas couldn¡¯t do this because his mother had requested him to spare the Huttons and not seek revenge on them before she passed away. Lucas had agreed with tears in his eyes. So even though he hated the Huttons and wished he could turn them into bottom feeders of society so that they could taste the suffering he and his mother had experienced, Lucas could only bear with it. After messing with the Huttons once, he didn¡¯t do anything else and let them off. Perhaps because Lucas had been silent for too long, Michael became even more flustered. ¡°Lucas, are¡­ are you still listening? I know that what happened back then was indeed my fault. I¡¯ve let you and your mother down. If I could turn back time and choose again, I would have never let you two leave! ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m sorry for what I did to let you down back then. My inappropriate handling of the situation caused you two to be enemies and things to end up like this. It¡¯s all my fault, so I¡¯m begging you not to kill Jace. Spare his life this time, and I¡¯ll definitely take him in hand so that he will never create trouble for you again. Okay?¡± Michael was actually begging him and even sobbing a little. Because the speakerphone was on, Jace heard what Michael said. At this moment, Jace¡¯s mouth was wide open, and his face was in disbelief. He had always thought that his father was more partial to Lucas, especially since Michael forced him to hand over the Stardust Corporation, which was worth over a billion dors, to Lucas and even wanted to appoint Lucas as the next helmsman. So the other reason Jace hated Lucas was because he thought that Lucas had stolen Michael away from him and caused Michael to ignore him. But after hearing Michael begging Lucas to let him go, Jace realized that he was incredibly wrong. Lucas gritted his teeth, wavering a little. Jace had abducted Charlotte, hurt William, and used the two of them as bargaining chips to threaten Lucas. He had even almost killed Cheyenne. Everything Jace had done had crossed Lucas¡¯s bottom line, and he deserved to die several times! Yet Michael was pleading for mercy for Jace. As a father himself, Lucas could understand how Michael felt at the moment. On the one hand, Lucas hated Jace to the core and wanted to kill him immediately to eliminate any future troubles, while on the other, his biological father was begging him so humbly. Lucas originally thought that he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to reject Michael¡¯s plea and kill Jace on the spot. But he now realized that he really couldn¡¯t bring himself to be that cold and heartless. If he really killed Jace, Michael would probably break down in misery. He was already in histe fifties, and Lucas and Jace were his only children. Lucas would never return to the Huttons or acknowledge Michael as his father. But if Jace really died, Michael would probably have no kin left in this world. If his mother found out he did this, would she me him for being too cruel to Michael? But what Jace had done was truly unforgivable! Lucas had had no intention of going to DC to seek revenge on Jace, but Jace kept provoking him time and time again. This time, he had even threatened Lucas with his loved ones to force him to y that ruthless game of Russian Roulette. If not for the fact that Lucas had spent several years in the army and developed an elite set of skills, he would have probably shot himself or William, his father-inw, dead by now. Who had pleaded for mercy for him from Jace? Besides, this time, even though he had arranged for people to protect his loved ones, Jace had still managed to abduct them. Fortunately, he had turned the situation around and eliminated the danger. He had saved both Charlotte and William, and Cheyenne had been protected by Stanley. However, what if something like this happened again, but he failed to protect them the next time? If his most cherished family members were really killed by a scumbag like Jace, who would Lucas go to to beg for mercy? At the thought of this, Lucas stopped wavering and became firm again. No matter what, he would never allow anyone to hurt his loved ones. Anyone who did had to die! Chapter 1000 - Royal Family

Chapter 1000: Royal Family

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

¡°Michael Hutton, I¡¯ve already told you that if the Huttons and Jace want to retaliate against me and suppress me, you can juste straight at me instead of harming my rtives! ¡°Furthermore, I¡¯ve already given you a chance to persuade Jace to stop, but what did he do? My father-inw was beaten up and hung on the windowsill at his veryst breath. He almost died. Yet your dear son still forced us to y Russian Roulette until one of us got shot! ¡°My sister-inw was kidnapped by her own mother, who cut her face with a fruit knife. And my wife was almost assassinated by Jace¡¯s subordinate. She¡¯s still in shock and immense fear. All of this is thanks to Jace! ¡°Why do you want me to let him off after he¡¯smitted such unforgivable sins? Since you don¡¯t have the ability to take him in hand, let me punish him for his crimes!¡± Lucas spoke through gritted teeth with a shockingly murderous look on his face. No matter what Michael said, there was no way he would let Jace off! When Jace saw the determined killing intent on Lucas¡¯s face, his heart sank to rock bottom, and panic was written all over his face. Jace didn¡¯t expect that even though he had already given up his pride and dignity and knelt on the floor to beg for mercy, and Michael had begged him, Lucas still wanted to kill him! ¡°No¡­ Lu-Lucas, I¡¯m your brother. You can¡¯t kill me!¡± Jace stammered, his teeth chattering incessantly. On the other end of the call, Michael also realized that something was wrong, so he hurriedly yelled, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t be impulsive! Don¡¯t kill Jace! I¡¯m begging you! You can punish him any way you want, but just don¡¯t kill him!¡± Lucas immediately hung up, not wanting to hear another word from Michael. Then he strode toward Jace, no longer hiding the murderous killing intent he was exuding, causing Jace to shudder in fear. At this moment, Jace was full of horror and despair. In the past, he was the high and mighty scion of the Huttons and had always had control over the lives of others. He enjoyed the feeling of looking at those who had offended or whom he disliked begging for forgiveness in front of him and crying bitterly. But now that he was stuck in a helpless situation without any hope at all, Jace finally realized how terrifying it felt. He was overwhelmed with so much fear that he was about to wet his pants. ¡°You¡­ Stay away! Don¡¯te any closer¡± Jace seemed to be sobbing as he tried his best to move backward to get away from Lucas, as if this would keep him safe. Karen, slumped on the floor next to him, was reeling with indescribable shock when she saw this scene. She had heard Lucas¡¯s conversation on the phone just now, so she could tell that Michael, the current helmsman of the Huttons, was whom he had been talking to! But even when speaking to this person of high status, Lucas still sounded extremely cold and indifferent. Even the helmsman of the Huttons was begging Lucas and apologizing to him to let Jace off! Not only did Lucas ignore Michael¡¯s begging and hang up on him, but he even wanted to kill Jace! On the other hand, Jace, the scion of one of the top eight families of DC, was kneeling in front of Lucas and begging for forgiveness so wretchedly. He was even frightened to the point of shuddering and retreating backward incessantly! If she hadn¡¯t witnessed this scene with her own eyes and felt real pain when she pinched her thigh, Karen would have really thought that she was dreaming! Who was Lucas? Karen used to think she knew Lucas very well. In the past, Lucas was just a good-for-nothing in her eyes. She could scold him from day to night, hurling all sorts of insults at him! At the time, she really felt that Lucas was just a good-for-nothing that she could bully and insult as she pleased until Lucas eventually couldn¡¯t tolerate it any longer and sent her to prison. At the thought of the way she treated Lucas in the past, as well as Jace¡¯s and Michael¡¯s attitude toward him, Karen suddenly felt that Lucas had been incredibly tolerant and kind to her. If Lucas really wanted to kill her, she would have been dead long ago! If she hadn¡¯t despised Lucas so much back then and instead formed a good rtionship with him, she would now be living in thep of luxury! Seeing the tall Lucas getting closer and closer, Jace became even more afraid. Suddenly, a thought shed in his mind, and he quickly said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas! You¡­ you really can¡¯t kill me! Do you know? My mother is a royal! If you kill me, the royals won¡¯t let you off! ¡°They are royalty who truly control this country! You should have heard of them, right? Even the eight top families of DC must obey their orders! If you kill me, you will offend the royals! I doubt you can bear such consequences, can you?¡± Jace hurriedly revealed his other identity, afraid that Lucas would really kill him. Lucas was naturally aware of the royals since he had been the captain of the Falcon Regiment. The royals were a top noble family who had existed thousands of years ago, unlike ordinary aristocrats who rose to nobility by their great economic strength andbat force. The royals had a long history, and the wealth they had amassed over the years was simply unimaginable. It was no exaggeration to say that even the weakest branch of the royal family could easily destroy the eight top families of DC now. The reason the eight giants were held with so much regard was that they were considered top-notch among ordinary people. But the royals had long transcended normalcy and were insurmountable existences to normal people. Even the mention of them would be sphemous against the nobles. In fact, Lucas already knew about Jace¡¯s mother¡¯s identity. He even knew that the power of her family branch wasn¡¯t actually that strong among the royals. If not for her identity, Lucas¡¯s mother wouldn¡¯t have faced such humiliation and died at such a young age from over-exhaustion and illness. Thus, Lucas didn¡¯t have a single trace of fear in his eyes after hearing Jace¡¯s revtion. Instead, the murderous intent in his eyes intensified. Moreover, since Jace wanted topare statuses with him, Lucas would step up without any fear. Lucas sneered. ¡°Hah, do you know what my identity is then?¡± Chapter 1001 - True Identity

Chapter 1001: True Identity

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

After Jace heard Lucas¡¯s question, his expression suddenly stiffened, his heart sank, and he had an ominous premonition. Lucas¡¯s identity¡­ If he hadn¡¯t witnessed the scene of Lucas wiping out the gunmen and bodyguards around him in just two seconds, he might still think that Lucas was just his father¡¯s illegitimate son, who had resorted to some tricks to gain his current force and make a mess of the Huttons. But after seeing Lucas¡¯s terrifying strength with his own eyes, Jace no longer thought so. Lucas¡¯s terrifying skills were much more impressive than those of the elite powerhouses the top families had painstakingly found. Even if the powerhouses of the eight top families in DC came together, they would pale inparison to Lucas. He obviously wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. In particr, Jace hadn¡¯t been able to find out what Lucas had done and where he had been during the six years Lucas had been missing. And this was extremely important! Jace swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked fearfully, ¡°Who¡­ who exactly are you?¡± Lucas nced at Stanley next to him and said coldly, ¡°You tell him.¡± Stanley was stunned, and he wondered if Lucas was going to reveal his true identity to Jace. If Jace leaked it¡­ No, Jace wouldn¡¯t get the chance because he was going to die soon! ¡°Yes!¡± After understanding what Lucas meant, Stanley stood upright and performed a military salute to Lucas respectfully. He then said to Jace, ¡°You should have heard of the Falcon Regiment of Calico, right?¡± Falcon Regiment of Calico! Jace¡¯s expression immediately changed. Who wouldn¡¯t be aware of the Falcon Regiment? The world situation these days wasn¡¯t very peaceful, so there were oftenrge-scale wars. Thus, the US had stationed millions of soldiers everywhere to protect the country. The famous Falcon Regiment was in charge of Calico, a state in the south of the US! The Falcon Regiment stationed at the southern border was one of the most important and dangerous ces because of the dangerous terrain and the fact that it was the convergence of the forces of many countries. But in recent years, it had be the safest ce. It was all thanks to the presence of the youngest and most powerful captain in history. He alone could defeat a nation and was known as the invincible God of War! The captain of the Falcon Regiment had led thousands of soldiers to fight on the battlefield and wiped out countless enemies. Since then, no one dared to invade. So even though he had such great aplishments, he kept a very low profile, and no one knew what his real name was. They only knew that hisst name was Gray, so everyone called him ¡®Gray the Invincible¡¯. Although Jace was just an ipetent yboy, he had heard of the legend of Gray the Invincible. They were both men of about the same age, yet Gray the Invincible could make a name for himself with his own abilities and be so powerful that no one dared to challenge him at all. He was truly admirable, so much so that all men looked up to him in awe and respect. Hearing Stanley suddenly bringing up Calico and the Falcon Regiment, Jace came to a sudden realization. He eximed in shock, ¡°Are¡­ are you from the Falcon Regiment? A-are you a subordinate of Gray the Invincible?¡± Jace looked like he just had an epiphany. Before Stanley could even say anything, he nodded repeatedly and eximed, ¡°I know. During the time you disappeared for six years, and no one could find you, and I even thought that you were dead, you actually went to Calico and became a soldier?! ¡°And based on your skills, you must have learned them from the Falcon Regiment, right? Gray the Invincible is so powerful, so you must have enjoyed a lot of benefits and learned a lot under his wing! ¡°Moreover, with your powerful martial arts skills, maybe you even obtained a good position in the Falcon Regiment! ¡°Now I know why Dad was in such a hurry to get Chad to hand over the Stardust Corporation to you when you returned to Orange County. He even hoped that you¡¯d return to take control over the Huttons¡­ ¡°I finally know why you obviously seem to have nothing, but you¡¯re still so cocky and arrogant that you don¡¯t even take the position of the helmsman of the Huttons seriously. You even said that you could easily destroy eight top families of DC, including the Huttons, at any time! ¡°It¡¯s all because you¡¯re a subordinate of Gray the Invincible, the leader of the Falcon Regiment! You behave so unscrupulously because you have the Falcon Regiment to back you up! That¡¯s why you don¡¯t even take the royals seriously! ¡°But Lucas Gray, even if you have Gray the Invincible to back you up, you¡¯re still way too daring! Do you really think the royals are pushovers you can easily bully? As long as you dare to kill me, my mother¡¯s family won¡¯t let you off! Even if you have Gray the Invincible to back you up, death will be the only end for you! ¡°I advise you to stop being so arrogant. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die a horrible death once you lose the protection of Gray the Invincible!¡± Jace guffawed, thinking that he had already found out who Lucas¡¯s backer was. Gray the Invincible was indeed powerful, but Jace didn¡¯t think a big shot like him would be able to protect everyone under his wing and go against the royals for Lucas¡¯s sake. Karen sat on the ground with bewilderment all over her face, dumbstruck and unable to move at all. She didn¡¯t even know the existence of the Falcon Regiment, much less who Gray the Invincible was. But she could infer from what Jace said that Lucas had an extremely powerful backer, which allowed him to disregard the eight top families of DC. With a derisive gaze, Lucas looked at Jace, who thought he already found out the truth. Stanly looked at Jace with a sneer, ¡°You really think Lucas acts like he does because he has a backer? You¡¯ve made a giant mistake!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case?¡± Jace was stunned for a moment, but he soon sneered. ¡°Lucas Gray only dares to be so arrogant and unrestrained because he has a powerful figure like Gray the Invincible to back him up. Without Gray the Invincible, he¡¯s just a nobody. Would he dare to be so arrogant then?¡± ¡°Dimwit!¡± Stanley sneered. ¡°You have no idea how terrifying Lucas is! But since you¡¯re aware of Gray the Invincible, do you know the real name of the invincible God of War?¡± The real name of Gray the Invincible??Jace froze for a moment, and a terrifying thought suddenly popped up in his mind.?Could it be?! He looked at Lucas in horror, but he soon shook his head with all his might, trying his best to dispel the terrifying thought. He muttered, ¡°No, no way. That¡¯s impossible! Gray the Invincible is the leader of the Falcon Regiment of Calico and the mighty God of War, who alone can rival a nation! ¡°But Lucas Gray is just my father¡¯s illegitimate son! He¡¯s just an outcast who was kicked out of the family since he was a child! He¡¯s nothing but a wastrel! If not for the help of Gray the Invincible, he would just be a bottom feeder of society that everyone looks down on! ¡°So that¡¯s absolutely impossible!¡± Chapter 1002

Chapter 1002: Old Man with a White Beard

Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios

Jace roared maniacally in a bid to dispel those terrifying thoughts from his mind. Stanley looked at Jace, and a hint of pity suddenly appeared on his face. He really felt that Jace was extremely pitiful for resorting to such methods tofort and deceive himself because he was too afraid to acknowledge Lucas¡¯s abilities. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re clear of who the famous Gray the Invincible is now!¡± Stanley shouted coldly. His words struck Jace¡¯s brain like a thunderbolt, causing the thought he desperately wanted to dispel to appear in his head again. He could no longer hide it. But Jace couldn¡¯t ept it. He shook his head desperately and retreated step by step, seemingly possessed by a demon. ¡°The man you¡¯ve been calling a wastrel and an illegitimate son is the God of War, Gray the Invincible, who wiped out countless enemies at the southern border and is admired by countless people! His name is Lucas Gray!¡± Stanley sneered and looked at Jace while rebuking, ¡°The person you called an abandoned outcast of the Huttons has long reached a position that your family will never measure up to. He¡¯s just like the bright moon in the sky that even you, a scion who has enjoyed the highest standard of education and led a privileged life, cannotpare to! That¡¯s how great the difference between you and Lucas is! ¡°He doesn¡¯t need any backer at all because he himself is the most powerful figure!¡± Stanley¡¯s words were like daggers stabbing straight into Jace¡¯s heart,pletely overwhelming him. ¡°No, you¡¯re lying to me. That¡¯s impossible, absolutely impossible! ¡°Before Lucas disappeared six years ago, he was just a good-for-nothing, and even a random punk on the streets could bully him. Even if he went to Calico and joined the Falcon Regiment, there¡¯s no way he could have achieved such a transformation within just six years! ¡°I know. You work for Lucas, and he happens to have the samest name as Gray the Invincible, so you two fabricated that story to deceive me, right? ¡°I¡¯m warning you. Gray the Invincible is the esteemed captain of the Falcon Regiment and an important official of the country. If you dare to impersonate him, I¡¯ll definitely report you and make sure you die a horrible death! I want all of you to die!¡± Jace¡¯s mind was now in a whirlwind, and he yelled in confusion while constantly retreating in agitation. The area of the room wasn¡¯t toorge, so Jace soon reached the window where William had been hung earlier. The abandoned hospital had long been dpidated, and all the ss windows had long been shattered, leaving only the wooden window frames. Coincidentally, all the windows were built to berge and close to the floor for better lighting for the hospital. In other words, if Jace took two more steps backward, he might stumble over the window frame and fall out. They were on the fifth floor of the hospital. If Jace really fell from here, he would have almost no chance of survival. But Jace was too emotional at the moment to notice this. Lucas¡¯s eyes flickered slightly, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He had already decided to get rid of Jace, this ticking time bomb, and wouldn¡¯t give him the opportunity to endanger his loved ones again. If Jace fell to his death, he wouldn¡¯t be considered to have killed Jace, so he wouldn¡¯t have gone against his mother¡¯s wishes. Stanley didn¡¯t say anything either. Karen was full of shock brought by the revtion of Lucas¡¯s identity, so she didn¡¯t notice Jace¡¯s situation either. ¡°You¡¯re all lying to me. I¡­ Ah¡ª!¡± Jace was still speaking agitatedly, but before he could finish, his heel suddenly hit the window frame as he retreated, causing him to lose his bnce and fall backward! Jace was panic-stricken as his hands grabbed the air randomly to try and maintain his bnce. But the opening in the window was veryrge. Moreover, he was falling backward, so there was nothing for him to grab. ¡°Ah! S-save me! Lucas Gray¡­ I won¡¯t let you off even if I¡¯m dead!¡± A long and menacing shriek resounded throughout the abandoned hospital as Jace vanished from the window of the fifth floor. At this moment, Lucas looked extremely calm because Jace had brought his death upon himself. But for some reason, aplicated emotion surged in Lucas¡¯s heart. No matter what, Jace was blood-rted to him. Now that Jace had died in front of him, Lucas couldn¡¯t pretend that nothing had happened and calm downpletely. Karen was horrified. She never thought that Jace, the high and mighty scion of the Huttons, would be forced to death by Lucas in such a manner. She wondered what Lucas would do to her next. But at this moment, Lucas suddenly felt an astonishing aura suddenly appear. The aura was extremely powerful, and it surpassed that of almost everyone Lucas had met previously. Lucas¡¯s pupils constricted as he rushed to the window to look down. Stanley also sensed the terrifying aura. His expression stiffened, and he stood next to Lucas to look down, ready to face a great enemy. At this moment, an old man with a white beard and Jace, whom they thought had fallen to his death, were standing on a patch of grass. But Jace still looked panic-stricken, seemingly unaware of what was going on either. He looked at the old man beside him with shock and horror. Just as Lucas looked down at the white-bearded old man, thetter looked up at him too. The moment they made eye contact, it was as if countless sparks instantly burst. The white-bearded old man looked away and grabbed Jace¡¯s arm. He shouted in a deep voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Jace was still dumbfounded and didn¡¯t react at all. All he felt was a massive force dragging his body along and speeding away. Jace was naturally horrified, while Lucas turned gloomy. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill him. No one can save him!¡± Then Lucas leaped down from the fifth story! ¡°Ah!¡± Karen immediately screamed from the room behind him. They were on the fifth floor, which was more than ten meters above the ground, yet Lucas jumped down just like that?! Chapter 1003 Chapter 1003: I¡¯m Going To Protect Him Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios But Karen quickly reacted and realized that Lucas would never jump to his death so easily. Since he dared to jump off, it meant that the height of over ten meters meant nothing to Lucas at all! At the thought of it, Karen looked at the bodyguards on the floor again and recalled the name of the invincible God of War she just heard and couldn¡¯t help shivering as she fell into deep horror. Karen was shocked to find out how powerful Lucas really was. When she recalled how she used to insult and humiliate Lucas and even try to p his face, she was overwhelmed with fear and copsed to the floor, utterly weak and powerless. She should be grateful that Lucas had tolerated her and showed her mercy until now! When Stanley saw Lucas jump off the building, he quickly chased after him with a solemn expression. !! But he also knew that the aura emanating from the white-bearded old man just now was too amazing. It made him feel a terrifying feeling of suffocation even from a distance. Stanley had no doubt that even if he could catch up with Lucas and the old man, he would probably be no match for thetter! Instead of chasing after them and courting death, he might as well stay here to help Lucas deal with the aftermath. William was still seriously wounded and lying unconscious on the floor, so he had to send him to get treatment as soon as possible. He also had to guard Karen closely and wait for Lucas to return. But he still had some worry in his heart. The strength of the white-bearded old man was too incredible. Even Lucas might not be a match for him. It made Stanley feel extremely astonished. Meanwhile, after jumping down from the fifth floor, Lucas bent his knees slightly and immediately chased after the white-bearded old man and Jace. But Lucas was also extremely shocked. Reason being, the white-bearded old man was astonishingly fast. He was actually lightning fast even though he was carrying the burden of Jace along. Even at top speed, Lucas barely managed to catch up. In that case, if the white-bearded old man wasn¡¯t carrying Jace, he would probably be a lot faster! It was the first time Lucas had encountered a top powerhouse like this one since he left Calico! Who is this powerful person? Why did he suddenly appear here to save Jace? Is this old man a member of the royals? Is he an elite powerhouse belonging to the family Jace¡¯s mother is from? But it seemed somewhat unlikely too. Although there were indeed some powerhouses working for the royals, their most powerful ones were probably at the level of Damien Zander of the Peerless Martial Association and Jordan. But this old man was much stronger! While Lucas was thinking about it, he chased after the old man with all his might. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t let the white-bearded old man save Jace! Lucas¡¯s full-speed running was quite terrifying. After covering arge distance, he finally caught up to the white-bearded old man and raised his foot to kick two stones at thetter¡¯s back! Whoosh! Whoosh! Under the force of Lucas¡¯s foot, these two stones contained as much power as bullets. Not daring to be careless, the old man had no choice but to twist his body to the side to dodge. But the dodging inevitably caused him to slow down, and Lucas quickly appeared in front of him to block him. The old man could only stop and narrow his eyes at Lucas while still holding Jace¡¯s arm with one hand. He finally said, ¡°Young man, it¡¯s better not to be too ruthless. If you let him off, I can guarantee that he will never appear in front of you again and never cause trouble for you again.¡± Lucas ignored his words and instead stared straight at him. ¡°Who are you? Your skills are extremely rare in the entire country. You¡¯re definitely not a nameless person.¡± The old man said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m just a man from the countryside, and all I ask is that you let him off.¡± ¡°You want me to let him off? Impossible!¡± Lucas said firmly, leaving no room for negotiation. This time, Jace had ordered people to capture Charlotte and William to hold them as hostages to threaten Lucas. He had even almost injured Cheyenne, which had touched Lucas¡¯s bottom line. This time, Lucas pulled an excellent move by stalling for time and allowing Stanley to take advantage of the time while Lucas yed Russian Roulette to save Charlotte. It gave Lucas one less thing to worry about, allowing him to defeat Jace in one fell swoop. Moreover, Jace hadn¡¯t been aware of Lucas¡¯s true strength, so he had underestimated his enemy and been too careless, which were the crucial reasons for his failure. But if the same thing happened again, Lucas couldn¡¯t guarantee that he would be able to save all his loved ones unscathed since Jace would know his strength and be prepared. Besides, Jace already hated Lucas to the bone, so even if Lucas spared his life now, he would definitely find an opportunity to take revenge against Lucas. Moreover, now that Jace was aware of Lucas¡¯s true identity, he had to die! After the old man heard Lucas¡¯s refusal, a trace of displeasure immediately appeared on his face. He frowned and stared intently at Lucas. ¡°Do you really think you can kill this kid with me here?¡± Lucas retorted, ¡°In that case, are you insisting on saving him and bing my enemy?¡± Strong killing intent appeared in his eyes. This old man was undoubtedly powerful. Not only was his aura extremely daunting, but his speed was also terrifying. He was one of the strongest people Lucas had met in all these years. But if the old man was bent on saving Jace, Lucas didn¡¯t mind bing his enemy. Anyone who stopped him from killing Jace would be his enemy! At this moment, Jace was as pale as a sheet while the old man was holding him. During the high-speed sprint just now, Jace¡¯s slick and neatlybed hair had beenpletely messed up. Jace stood still with a deadpan expression. In the face of experts like Lucas and the white-bearded old man, he was just like an insignificant nobody who could be crushed into smithereens at any time. But the contradicting thing was that one wanted to take his life, while the other wanted to protect him. ¡°Run!¡± The white-bearded old man suddenly squeezed Jace¡¯s arm to snap him back to his senses. He then let go of Jace and blocked Lucas. Chapter 1004 Chapter 1004: Lucas¡¯s Mother Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jace froze for two seconds before suddenly understanding what the white-bearded old man meant. He wanted him to stop Lucas to give Jace the opportunity to flee! A look of euphoria immediately appeared on his face. Without saying another word, he turned around and ran away. Jace didn¡¯t know who this white-bearded old man who suddenly appeared was. But when he fell off earlier, this old man had saved his life and brought him to escape. Now, he was helping him block the terrifying Lucas. To Jace, the white-bearded old man was his savior and only hope now! When Lucas saw the white-bearded old man¡¯s stance, his face darkenedpletely. ¡°Since you want to fight, I¡¯ll grant you your wish!¡± A menacing aura suddenly emerged from Lucas¡¯s body, and the withered branches and grasses around him instantly fell in all directions, as if there was a typhoon! !! The expression of the white-bearded old man¡¯s face became extremely grave. He knew that although this young man was less than thirty years old, his power wasn¡¯t inferior to him in the slightest. If he didn¡¯t exert his full power, he would probably be no match for Lucas! The white-bearded old man clenched his fists, and his full strength burst out from his body. The two extremely terrifying auras touched, and it was like a real storm had erupted. Countless leaves and des of grass broke one after another and danced wildly all over. At this moment, Lucas suddenly moved, and his body turned into a blurry shadow that charged straight at the white-bearded old man! But when he was about to approach the man, he suddenly elerated, moving so fast that even his shadow couldn¡¯t be seen. He appeared behind the old man at lightning speed. The white-bearded old man wasn¡¯t slow either. He snorted coldly and threw a kick without turning around, as if he already knew that Lucas would show up there! Bang! Lucas blocked his kick with one palm. But even though he blocked the kick, he was still kicked more than ten meters away under the immense force. While Lucas was flying in midair, the corners of his mouth suddenly curled into a mysterious smile. The moment he was about tond, he flipped over andnded lightly on the ground. Without taking another look at the old man, he instantly ran in the direction Jace had fled in. Only now did the white-bearded old man realize that he had fallen into Lucas¡¯s trap. Lucas had only pretended to fight him head-on. But with the help of his kick, he flew away and chased after Jace! Not only did his own kick not cause any damage to Lucas, but it actually gave Lucas a boost to help him chase faster! ¡°Kid, hold it right there!¡± The white-bearded old man flew into a rage and roared before chasing after Lucas as fast as he could. But Lucas was already 40 to 50 meters ahead of the old man. The old man was no longer burdened by Jace, so he was moving extremely quickly. In fact, he was even a little faster than Lucas. In another ten seconds or so, he would be able to catch up to Lucas. But at the same time, Jace¡¯s figure had already appeared a short distance in front of Lucas. Given the speed of Jace, an ordinary person with no martial arts skills at all, Lucas would be able to catch up with him in just a moment! ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t kill him!¡± The white-bearded old man was extremely anxious and could only holler furiously again and again. Jace was already running wildly with all his might. It could be said that he had never run so fast in his life. 1 But at this moment, he heard the roarsing from not far behind him. He subconsciously turned around, only to see Lucas rushing toward him. He was so frightened that he almost lost his mind! Now, all Jace could think was, Lucas is catching up! He¡¯s about to kill me! What should I do?! His legs were trembling, and he tripped over a stone on the ground. ¡°Ah!¡± Jace shouted before falling hard to the ground. He even lost a tooth from knocking his face against a stone. But he couldn¡¯t care less about this now. He immediately turned around and stared at Lucas¡¯s figure. Seeing Lucas less than ten meters behind him and about to catch up, Jace was so frightened that he was about to faint. A stream of liquid flowed out of his lower body. Lucas was extremely quick, and within a moment, he had already appeared in front of Jace and raised his hand to hit Jace¡¯s head! A strong killing intent emerged in his eyes. No matter what, he had to kill Jace before the white-bearded old man arrived to stop him! Lucas¡¯s p contained almost all his strength. If it hit Jace¡¯s head, it would definitely split it apart, making Jace die on the spot! Jace¡¯s face was deathly pale, and he could see the shadow of his imminent death! On the verge of death, Jace suddenly closed his eyes and shouted, ¡°No, Lucas Gray, you can¡¯t kill me! ¡°I know a secret about your mother. If you kill me, you¡¯ll never find out!¡± Lucas¡¯s heart trembled violently! Since it concerned his mother, he couldn¡¯t miss it no matter what. But it was toote when Jace shouted. Even though Lucas had already restrained most of his force and shifted his position in time, his palm still struck Jace¡¯s back! Bang! With a loud sound, Jace, who had already fallen to the ground, was directly pressed into the ground by the force of Lucas¡¯s palm. His entire head plunged into the mud. His entire face was covered in mud, and the bones of his shoulder des made cracking sounds. They had obviously been broken by Lucas¡¯s palm. This was already the result of Lucas¡¯s efforts to restrain his force. Otherwise, Jace would have been crushed into a pile of flesh. But even then, Jace¡¯s shoulder des had been broken, and his organs were severely injured. He waspletely unconscious now. At this time, the white-bearded old man finally caught up and saw the tragic state Jace was in. Without hesitation, he blocked in front of Jace with a terrifying coldness in his eyes. ¡°How dare you do that to him?!¡± Lucas shouted angrily, ¡°Get lost!¡± If not for Jace¡¯sst words, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have shown any mercy at all. Even though Jace had fainted, he still had to find out the secret regarding his mother! ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯ve already severely injured him! What more do you want?!¡± The white-bearded old man¡¯s face was extremely gloomy as he blocked Lucas, refusing to let him move. Lucas¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he hollered in fury, ¡°Get lost. Otherwise, I won¡¯t show you any mercy!¡± Chapter 1005 Chapter 1005: Trade Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Since he had an extremely important thing to ask Jace, he had to take Jace away and make him talk. For as long as Lucas could remember, he had never heard his mother mention anything about her family, and Lucas didn¡¯t know much about her. Now, Jace actually said that he knew something about his mother. So regardless of what the secret was and whether or not Jace just made it up to save his life, Lucas had to get to the bottom of things. If this white-bearded old man continued to stop him, he didn¡¯t mind fighting him to the death! The old man¡¯s chest heaved up and down vigorously. Clearly, he was enraged by what Lucas said. But he had been entrusted by someone to protect Jace, so he couldn¡¯t let Jace fall into Lucas¡¯s hands and die. !! ¡°Lucas, are you sure you want to be my enemy? ¡°I admit that you are indeed a very strong opponent. In fact, you¡¯re the strongest of the younger generation I¡¯ve met. Even I may not be a match for you. ¡°But don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m now aware of your identity and the family you care about, but you don¡¯t even know my identity. If I really want to be your enemy, you¡¯d better consider how many of your loved ones will survive!¡± The white-bearded old man threatened with a gloomy expression. A strong killing intent surged in Lucas¡¯s heart. His loved ones were his weakness that no one was allowed to touch. Yet this old man actually threatened him with their lives! ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± An undisguised killing intent and rage appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. At this moment, Lucas looked extremely terrifying, so much so that even the white-bearded old man was a little frightened. The old man also knew that it was an extremely unwise thing to be enemies with someone as dangerous as Lucas. But he also had his responsibilities and had to bring Jace back. So despite being frightened, he nevertheless gritted his teeth and said, ¡°If you take this as a threat, then so be it! ¡°I repeat. I just want to take Jace away today. I don¡¯t care about the rest!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything else and clenched his fists tightly. The white-bearded old man was undoubtedly extremely strong. If they got into a fight, the odds of Lucas winning would probably be 50-50. Perhaps he might be able to defeat the old man by a small margin. But the old man¡¯s speed was extremely terrifying. If he didn¡¯t fight with Lucas but instead turned around to leave, even Lucas would have a hard time catching up. Once the white-bearded old man fled, just as he had said, he would easily be able to harm Lucas¡¯s loved ones to take revenge because he knew Lucas¡¯s identity and the whereabouts of his closest friends and family members. That would be an unbearable disaster for Lucas! That was unless Lucas could gather all the people he valued and protect them around the clock to ensure their safety. But that was simply impossible! Any slight negligence or carelessness on Lucas¡¯s part could allow the old man to appear out of nowhere and hurt the people around him. It would simply be impossible to guard against him all the time. Lucas had no idea who this white-bearded old man was and who he was taking instructions from. ¡°I¡¯ve already said everything I should. I must take Jace away today. You can try keeping him if you want, but you have to think carefully and decide if you can bear the consequences of doing so!¡± the white-bearded old man said coldly. Facing this old man¡¯s threat, Lucas actually felt stuck in a dilemma for the first time. He really wanted to keep Jace behind and find out about his mother. But likewise, Lucas couldn¡¯t risk the lives of his loved ones. In the end, Lucas had no choice but topromise and take a step back. ¡°You can take him away, but if you dare to harm the people around me, I¡¯ll chase you to the ends of the earth!¡± Lucas said coldly with a chilling and menacing gaze. Seeing that Lucas hadpromised, the old man didn¡¯t dare topel him any further and promised, ¡°I just need to take him away. I won¡¯t initiate anything else.¡± He stepped forward to grab the unconscious Jace by his cor, picked him up, and threw him onto his shoulder. Then he took a deep look at Lucas before turning around silently and soon vanishing into the wilderness with Jace. Lucas stared at the disappearing figures until they were finally out of sight and muttered under his breath, ¡°I¡¯ll let you live for a few more days for now. But I¡¯ll make sure you tell me the secret about my mother yourself!¡± Jace was now seriously injured and unconscious. Even though the white-bearded old man had taken him away, Jace could only lie in the hospital to recuperate during this period of time. It would be impossible for him to retaliate against Lucas and his loved ones. The old man had promised before he left that he wouldn¡¯t take the initiative to attack Lucas as long as he took Jace away. In that case, Lucas would allow them to live for the time being. Once he resolved the issues here, he would definitely demand a clear exnation from Jace! Soon, Lucas followed the path back and entered the abandoned hospital again. Stanley was still watching Karen in the room and monitoring William¡¯s condition. Seeing Lucas return unscathed, he heaved a huge sigh of relief and asked, ¡°Lucas, where are those two people?¡± ¡°He took Jace away,¡± Lucas said indifferently. But these words set off a storm in Stanley¡¯s heart. As the former leader of the Falcon Regiment¡¯s assault team, he was well aware of how terrifying the power of the captain of the Falcon Regiment was, even though he hadn¡¯t served during the same period as Lucas. Lucas had chased after Jace to kill him, but the white-beared old man had managed to leave with Jace alive. In that case... Is that old man much stronger than Lucas?! Seeing Lucas¡¯s dark face, Stanley was naturally conscientious enough not to go on any further. At this moment, Lucas finally looked at Karen, who was on the ground. When Karen saw Lucas appear, she immediately trembled greatly with immense fear. She couldn¡¯t be bothered about anything else as she hurriedly crawled to Lucas¡¯s feet and begged while on her knees, ¡°Lucas, I... I know I did something wrong. I¡¯m not worthy of being human! But I know my mistakes now, and I¡¯ll definitely repent. Please give me another chance. Don¡¯t kill me!¡± Karen was so frightened that she was about to wet her pants. She had now witnessed with her own eyes just how formidable and daunting Lucas was. Even the high and mighty scion of the Huttons, who were one of the eight top families of DC, had knelt in front of Lucas and begged him for forgiveness. Yet Lucas forced him to fall off the building. She... she was just a weak and spineless woman. Now that even her only backer was gone, she didn¡¯t dare to create any more trouble in front of Lucas. Her only hope now was for Lucas to spare her life. She was willing to do anything in exchange for living! Chapter 1006 Chapter 1006: Killing You Dirties My Hands Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, Karen would rather go back to prison! At least there was food and water in prison, and she could still live properly! She only hoped now that Lucas would spare her life, even if it meant having to go back to prison! In short, she didn¡¯t want to die at all. She just wanted to continue living! While crying and begging, she even wanted to hug Lucas¡¯s calf. But before she could touch his pants, Stanley kicked her away. !! ¡°You vicious wench, you can even hurt your biological daughter, and you¡¯re willing to kidnap her for an outsider. How do you have the cheek to continue living in this world?¡± Karen was kicked and fell to the ground. But she quickly knelt in front of Lucas again and cried and begged for mercy, ¡°Lucas, I really know my mistakes this time. I¡¯ll definitely repent. Please give me another chance!¡± She was weeping incessantly, looking very pitiful. Stanley said with disgust, ¡°Lucas, you mustn¡¯t let off such a vicious woman. Whenever she did something disgusting, she would cry and swear to repent. You¡¯ve already forgiven her many times. But not only hasn¡¯t she done so, but she has gone from bad to worse. Everything she¡¯s done is worse than thest. ¡°She is a poisonous snake. If you continue to let her off now, who knows when she¡¯ll harm you and your loved ones again!¡± Stanley knew that Karen was Lucas¡¯s mother-inw, so he was worried that Lucas might be merciful and let her off because he didn¡¯t want Cheyenne to hold a grudge against him. Thus, he said, ¡°Lucas, let me do it for you. Let me kill this vicious woman for once and for all!¡± As soon as she heard what Stanley said, Karen panicked. She begged Lucas because she knew that he was sentimental and valued his rtionships. She was hoping that he might spare her once for the sake of her daughter, Charlotte, and her adopted daughter, Cheyenne. But if shended in Stanley¡¯s hands, he would never show her any mercy! ¡°Lucas, you can¡¯t kill me! No matter what, I¡¯m Cheyenne¡¯s adoptive mother. I adopted her and raised her to this age. Even if I¡¯ve made mistakes, I deserve this credit! If it wasn¡¯t for me, how could you have met Cheyenne and married her? ¡°And Charlotte! I¡¯m her biological mother. I would have never been that heartless to her in the past. The reason I did was to suck up to Jace Hutton. I¡¯d never really hurt Charlotte with a knife! ¡°And Amelia! I¡¯m Amelia¡¯s grandmother, and I raised her since she was a baby. We¡¯re very close to each other. Besides, Cheyenne and Charlotte are very kind-hearted. If you really kill me, they will definitely be devastated, and they might even hate you!¡± ¡°So, Lucas, j-just spare me this time! You can even send me back to prison. I¡¯ll definitely stay there and repent. I¡¯ll be good and obey the rules so that I can get my sentence reduced soon. I can then be released and reunite with everyone sooner!¡± For the sake of survival, Karen desperately yed the kinship card in front of Lucas, and she even exaggerated her own merits to downy her wrongdoings and sins. She even said that she wanted to get out of prison sooner so that she could reunite with Lucas, Cheyenne, and the rest of the family and live with them. ¡°Hmph!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You vicious snake! You¡¯re still thinking of living with us? You must be dreaming! ¡°Don¡¯t bother saying that you raised Cheyenne and Charlotte. How many times have you shown them concern all these years since they were children? You¡¯ve taken away arge part of their hard-earned sry! ¡°Stop saying you care about them. Trust you to say such ridiculous things! How did Charlotte get tied up over there, and who cut the wound on her face? Who were you calling a bitch?! ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten the smug look you gave me and the insults you said when you forced me to kneel down to you. You¡¯re not old enough to lose your memory yet, right? ¡°You repeatedly tried to murder your own husband and even attempted to kidnap my daughter Amelia. You¡¯re already unforgivable. And after escaping from jail, you abducted Charlotte. Do you think I¡¯ll still spare your life? ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t kill you with my own hands because killing you will only dirty my hands and break the hearts of Cheyenne and Charlotte. So I¡¯m going to hand you over to the police and let thew decide your crimes! ¡°This time, you¡¯vemitted even more crimes. The only path you have is the death sentence!¡± Lucas¡¯s cold and ruthless words made Karen immediately freeze. She had already been sentenced to life imprisonment for her various crimes. This time, she had even escaped from prison and abducted Charlotte. She definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the death sentence! No, no, I don¡¯t want this. I don¡¯t want to die! Karen thought. Lucas looked down and watched Karen break down with a look of disgust and anger. If possible, Lucas really wanted to kill this vicious woman and make her vanish from the worldpletely so that she couldn¡¯t get up to any evil again. But when he thought of Cheyenne, Charlotte, Amelia, and William, his heart wavered. Just this afternoon, while he was carrying his daughter, Amelia had said to him that she missed Karen and wanted her toe back sooner. If Lucas really killed Karen personally, he felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able to face these people in the future. Moreover, he didn¡¯t need to carry such a burden because of a vicious woman like Karen. He would leave it to thew to punish Karen. Anyway, she would never escape the death sentence. Suddenly, the sharp sounds of sirens ring came from the distance. Soon, a police car stopped at the abandoned hospital building. The sounds of footsteps shuffling quickly resounded in the building. In no time, a small squad of five police officers appeared in front of the room where Lucas and the others were. ¡°Don¡¯t move. Put your hands up!¡± When they saw the corpses all over the floor, followed by the two people still standing in the room and Karen copsed on the floor with her hands tied, they were shocked. They then subconsciously aimed the pistols in their hands at Lucas and Stanley. Chapter 1007 Chapter 1007: Final Verdict Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Indeed, at first nce, the scene in the room looked like Lucas and Stanley were the viins. Karen was sprawled on the floor with her hands tied together and horror written all over her face. There were also corpses lying all over the room. It looked like she was the victim. But when the captain entered the room and saw Lucas, his face showed an extremely shocked expression. He hurriedly shouted at his subordinates, ¡°What are you doing? Hurry up and put down your guns!¡± The captain had the honor of going on a mission with his immediate superior before, so he had seen with his own eyes how respectful his superior was toward Lucas. Even his boss had to obey Lucas¡¯s instructions. How could he possibly dare to provoke Lucas? After hearing what the captain said, the police officers looked at each other and then put away their pistols. At this moment, Stanley stepped forward and said, ¡°I called the police here. These corpses on the floor are actually notorious killers. You should be able to find out their identities soon. We don¡¯t need to deceive you. !! ¡°Also, this woman on the floormitted crimes and was already sentenced to life imprisonment, but she broke out of jail and abducted someone. ¡°This is a copy of the surveince footage I¡¯ve found, along with some videos and audio recordings. I hope they¡¯ll be of help to you.¡± Stanley took out a USB drive and handed it to the captain. Lucas had instructed Stanley to get these things done earlier. After hearing what Stanley said, the captain and the few police officers behind him were all shocked. None of them had thought that the two people in front of them were the victims, while the harmless-looking woman with her hands tied was actually a criminal who escaped from prison. Meanwhile, the corpses on the floor were killers from a terrifying international organization! These matters were simply more shocking than the other. ¡°Okay, thank you both for your help! Mr. Gray, don¡¯t worry. We will definitely get to the bottom of the truth and not let any criminals escape!¡± The captain of the squad immediately assured Lucas. Lucas nodded without saying anything. He picked up William, who was still seriously injured and unconscious, and left without turning back. As for Karen, who was lying motionless on the ground, she had already fallen into despair the moment the bunch of police officers rushed into the room. She knew that she hadpletely dug her own grave and that she was definitely going to be sentenced to death! ... Two hourster, Lucas had already sent William to Orange Coast Medical Center and had a doctor carefully examine and treat him. William was then admitted to a spacious VIP ward. William was lying on a snow-white hospital bed, his head and body wrapped in bandages. There were several infusion bottles hanging around him, dripping medicine into his veins through the tubes. Cheyenne and Charlotte were sitting beside the bed and staring at the unconscious William. They wiped their tears from their red eyes. Previously, William had been in the hospital for more than a month because of the car ident Karen had nned. Yet he had been beaten into a pulp shortly after he was discharged. Standing at the side, Lucasforted, ¡°Don¡¯t be too worried. The doctor has already run a thorough checkup on William. His injuries are mostly superficial, and he suffered only a rib and arm fracture. As long as he recuperates properly in the ward for some time, he will get better soon.¡± Jace¡¯s henchmen had indeed given William a hard beating. But because Jace wanted to keep William alive to force Lucas toe, he had specially instructed his subordinates not to strike at William¡¯s vital parts, allowing William to stay alive. Otherwise, if William had really been killed by Jace because of being implicated or left with severe injuries, Lucas would definitely be riddled with guilt. Based on the current situation, William would probably wake up in the evening. And in about half a month or so, he would likely be able to leave the hospital and go home to recuperate. After hearing what Lucas said, Cheyenne and Charlotte finally felt relieved. ¡°Lucas, how is that woman doing now?¡± Charlotte suddenly asked with a sad look on her face after a moment of silence. The woman she was referring to was naturally Karen. Upon hearing her question, Cheyenne immediately turned her head to look at Lucas. She looked just as sad and indignant. To be honest, Cheyenne had never thought that Karen would do such a thing to Charlotte, her biological daughter. If Charlotte hadn¡¯t been hugging her and crying her heart out to her, as well as the wound on her face, Cheyenne probably wouldn¡¯t have believed that Karen would really be so vicious as to abduct and hurt her daughter just to force Lucas to submit to her. Lucas didn¡¯t hide anything. ¡°She¡¯s already been taken away by the police, but...¡± After hesitating for a moment, Lucas continued, ¡°But she alreadymitted a felony, and this time, she escaped from jail and abducted someone, adding two more charges. So she will probably be sentenced to death.¡± No matter what, Charlotte was Karen¡¯s biological daughter, and Cheyenne had always treated Karen as her biological mother before. So they both had the right to know this. After hearing what Lucas said, both Cheyenne and Charlotte were visibly shocked and hadplicated expressions on their faces. There was anger, reminiscence, sadness, and a tinge of reluctance. But they eventually had firm looks. ¡°Shemitted those crimes herself because she let her obsessions get the better of her. No one could have saved her,¡± Charlotte said. The cut Karen had made on her face with a fruit knife had already been disinfected and bandaged by a doctor. After saying this, she gritted her teeth furiously, but she still couldn¡¯t hold her tears back. No matter what, Karen was her mother, and now that she ended up in such a situation, Charlotte still felt extremely miserable. Cheyenne¡¯s eyes were also full of tears. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Charlotte tofort her. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Charlotte. I will always be your sister. No matter what happens, I will be here for you!¡± ¡°Cheyenne!¡± Charlotte could no longer contain her emotions as she fell into Cheyenne¡¯s arms, bawling like a child. Cheyenne and Charlotte hugged each other with tears streaming down their faces, just like they did when Karen had left them home alone when they were kids. They wouldfort and support each other. Lucas watched quietly with some bitterness in his heart. He could empathize with them at the moment. But no matter what, he would never let Karen off the hook again. Karen hadmitted too many heinous crimes and hadpletely ruined an originally happy family. It was impossible for Lucas to let her off and give her the opportunity to hurt his loved ones again. Since she hadmitted so many crimes, he would leave it to thew to give her the fairest judgment and verdict! More than half a monthter, Karen¡¯s verdict finally came out. Due to sufficient conclusive evidence, Karen was unsurprisingly given the death sentence, which would be executed immediately! Chapter 1008 Chapter 1008: My Mother Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing the verdict, Cheyenne and Charlotte epted it calmly. It was indeed a fair verdict. Given what Karen had done, she was just receiving her just retribution. Lucas, Cheyenne, and Charlotte took care of Karen¡¯s funeral, arranging a simple one for her. Although she hadmitted plenty of evil deeds and ruined her rtionship with her family members, Cheyenne and Charlotte nevertheless tried their best to give her the utmost respect and allow her to rest in peace. During this period of time, William¡¯s injuries had mostly healed. Although the two fractures he suffered had yet to healpletely, he was discharged from the hospital and allowed to go home to recuperate. !! During this period of time, Lucas had ordered his subordinates to do their best to find out the identity of the white-bearded old man. But due to theck of information and time, they couldn¡¯t find any useful clues. From time to time, Lucas would recall Jace¡¯sst words and often be slightly distracted. ¡°What secrets does my mother have? What exactly does Jace know?¡± This was Lucas¡¯s main concern and the matter he eagerly wanted to know. Cheyenne saw the way that Lucas was behaving. Before going to bed at night, sheid in his arms and suddenly asked, ¡°Hubby, is there something you¡¯re fretting overtely? I¡¯ve seen you frowning and getting lost in thought now and then...¡± Her eyes were full of worry. Although she might not be able to help him, she still hoped that she could help him in some way, even if it was just lending him a listening ear. Lucas was touched by Cheyenne¡¯s sensitivity and affection. He kissed her on her forehead before saying slowly, ¡°I just... suddenly miss my mother.¡± Cheyenne was stunned for a moment. This was the first time Lucas had taken the initiative to talk to her about his mother. ¡°Hubby, what... kind of person was your mother? Can you tell me more?¡± Cheyenne asked gently with her arms wrapped around Lucas¡¯s waist. In fact, she was very curious about her mother-inw, whom she had never met. In fact, Lucas¡¯s mother had been terminally ill at the time she and Lucas had decided to get married. Since she was hospitalized, she couldn¡¯t attend their wedding. Moreover, Cheyenne didn¡¯t love Lucas at the time, so she hadn¡¯t paid much attention to his family. By the time she learned about his mother¡¯s existence, thetter had already passed away. This was a regret Cheyenne had always had. At the same time, she was also extremely curious about Lucas¡¯s mother. She knew that he was the illegitimate son of Michael, the helmsman of the Huttons, one of the eight most powerful families in DC. But she only knew that his mother was the former lover of the Huttons¡¯ helmsman. Lucas stayed silent for a while before saying, ¡°My mother was a very kind, smart, and talented woman. ¡°Her name was Emma Gray. Nearly thirty years ago, she was known for her talent, intelligence, and beauty. But no one knew anything about her family background or where she came from. ¡°After Michael Hutton saw my mother, he was stunned by her beauty and fell for her immediately. Then he began pursuing her. ¡°Because of his perseverance and the various incidents that happened in between, my mother was finally touched by him and agreed to his courtship. ¡°Unfortunately, my mother didn¡¯t know that man¡¯s true identity at all, and it was only after she identally got pregnant and wanted to get married to him that he came clean about his identity and the fact that he was already married. ¡°My mother naturally refused to agree to be his mistress, and she immediately severed all ties with him and wanted to raise me on her own. But the Huttons suddenly took action and snatched away the Stardust Corporation that my mother founded! ¡°At the time, my mother¡¯s career was destroyed, and she was pregnant with nothing to her name and nowhere to go. So she had no choice but topromise and move into the Hutton residence without a proper status. She even suffered a lot of mistreatment. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for me, she would have left the Huttons¡¯ long ago and avoided suffering for so long! ¡°Later on, that man¡¯s wife was afraid that I might win his favor and steal her son¡¯s position as the family sessor, so she desperately wanted to kick us out of the Hutton family. ¡°In the end, under her schemes, my mother and I were driven out of the Hutton family. We were penniless and arrived in Orange County with difficulty...¡± When he mentioned the suffering he and his mother had gone through back then, as well as how she had to shoulder the responsibility of raising him to adulthood on her own, which caused her to develop a terminal illness from overwork, Lucas began choking up slightly. Cheyenne, listening at the side, had long burst into tears and sainted her pillow. ¡°Hubby, you suffered so much in the past... And your mother was such a good person, but fate was too cruel to her...¡± Cheyenne sniffled her reddened nose and hugged Lucas. Hearing Lucas talk about his past, she finally realized that he had had an arduous childhood. Despite being a vulnerable woman who had experienced so much hardship, his mother had still managed to raise him to adulthood and nurtured him into such an outstanding person. However... ¡°Hubby, didn¡¯t anyone from your mother¡¯s familye help her when the Huttons bullied you two?¡± Cheyenne suddenly thought of this. Throughout his recount, Lucas had never mentioned a word about Emma¡¯s family, be it when he talked about Michael keeping his identity a secret or when the Huttons took away the Stardust Corporation that Emma founded and drove Lucas and her out of the family. If her family was still around, they couldn¡¯t have possibly stood by and watched her suffer. Lucas sighed slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know. As far as I can remember, I¡¯ve never seen any of my mother¡¯s rtives, and I¡¯ve never heard her mention her family.¡± ¡°How is that possible...¡± Cheyenne said with a trace of surprise before asking, ¡°Hubby, now that you still have so much power, have you tried to look for your mother¡¯s rtives?¡± Chapter 1009 Chapter 1009: Return to DC Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing Cheyenne¡¯s question, Lucas shook his head helplessly. ¡°I¡¯ve sent people to check in DC and Orange County before, but no one knows where my mother came from. I couldn¡¯t find any useful information, and my mother never said anything either. I think it¡¯s very likely that she doesn¡¯t have any rtives anymore.¡± To be honest, Lucas even wondered if his mother was an orphan with no rtives. So he had sent his subordinates to check all orphanages in DC, but he still couldn¡¯t find any records rted to his mother. She was just like an extremely dazzling meteor that suddenly appeared in DC. Cheyenne hugged Lucas and saidfortingly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. There¡¯s still plenty of time for us to find more clues in the future. Besides, even if we really can¡¯t find any clues, she¡¯ll still be our dearest mother. Amelia and I will always be by your side too!¡± Emotions surged in Lucas¡¯s heart as he held Cheyenne tightly in his arms. !! But he didn¡¯t intend to tell Cheyenne that he had identally found out that Jace might know something about his mother when he hunted Jace down. But before Jace could say much, the white-beared old man had already taken him. Thinking of the white-bearded old, Lucas felt slightly worried. The old man was definitely a top powerhouse whose strength was on par with his. People like him were few and far between even in the entire country. This terrifying existence was probably a secret even among the royals. But the terrifying old man suddenly appeared and saved Jace. It was absolutely impossible for the Huttons to have an expert of this level. In that case, the only possibility was that the old man was from Jace¡¯s mother¡¯s family. But ording to Lucas¡¯s understanding, Jace¡¯s mother¡¯s family had already declined. Logically speaking, it was impossible for them to have such a peerless powerhouse. Besides, Jace¡¯s mother was just a minor figure in a branch of the royal family. She shouldn¡¯t be able to dispatch such a powerhouse just to save Jace. If the white-bearded old man wasn¡¯t a member of the royal family, then what was his identity? Thinking of these questions, Lucas felt that he couldn¡¯t continue to stay in Orange County any longer. ¡°Cheyenne, I¡¯m going to DC again in the next few days,¡± Lucas suddenly said. Cheyenne was very surprised. ¡°Go to DC?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes. Myst trip to DC was too rushed, and there are still many things I have to do. As you know, the Stardust Corporation is the only thing my mother left to me, and I hope that I can make itrger and stronger, allowing it to exert a greater influence.¡± Developing the Stardust Group was naturally one of Lucas¡¯s goals. But more importantly, he wanted to question the Huttons. Lucas was very concerned about what Jace had said. But since Jace had already been taken away by the white-bearded old man, Lucas could only find that man. Although he really didn¡¯t want to see that man again, he didn¡¯t want to miss any information about his mother. Cheyenne thought about it and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to DC with you!¡± As if she was afraid that Lucas would reject her, she added, ¡°I also have ns to develop the Brilliance Corporation vigorously, and I have contacted a few partners in DC. This will be a good chance for me to meet them.¡± Since Cheyenne said so, Lucas could only agree. ... Two dayster, after making all the arrangements in Orange County, Lucas and his wife took a flight to DC again. The two of them had just walked out of the airport lobby when they heard a loud voiceing from the side. ¡°Lucas, Cheyenne!¡± Jordan was walking over and waving at them. It was just Jordan picking them up. Beside him was a beautiful and fashionably-dressed woman, Maddy, whom they both knew very well. At this moment, Jordan and Maddy were holding each other¡¯s arms, looking extremely loving. Cheyenne was naturally very surprised, but Lucas had long known that the two had gotten together. So he wasn¡¯t surprised by their intimate behavior and was d to see it. One was his best buddy, and the other was hisrade, whom his buddy had been carrying a torch for for years. Lucas was naturally d to see them together. ¡°Lucas, Cheyenne, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Maddy grinned widely and hugged Cheyenne. ¡°Maddy! It¡¯s great to see you!¡± Cheyenne hugged Maddy back happily. She blinked and said with a smile, ¡°It seems like I should be hearing good news from you two soon, huh?¡± At the mention of it, Maddy, who had always been straightforward, suddenly blushed while ncing at Jordan. ¡°Yeah, we n to get married on Valentine¡¯s Day. When the timees, you have to attend our wedding!¡± It was already November, which meant there were about three months to go before their wedding. Lucas raised his eyebrows and pretended to be upset. ¡°Jordan, how could you do this?! Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you¡¯ve already decided on the wedding date? If Maddy hadn¡¯t mentioned it, I wouldn¡¯t have known at all!¡± Jordan hurriedly said, ¡°Lucas, please forgive me. I wasn¡¯t trying to hide it from you. I wanted to give you a surprise! You have to be my best man at our wedding!¡± Lucas finally smiled and punched Jordan¡¯s shoulder lightly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll definitely be your best man. I wish you conjugal bliss!¡± The few of them talked andughed as they left the airport. Jordan was in charge of driving, and he sent them to an extremely upscale vi in downtown DC. The vi was in a prime location. Not only was it massive, but it was right next to a smallke where the view and scenery were beautiful. After they entered the vi, Jordan said with a smile. ¡°Lucas, ording to your requests, I bought this vi for you after choosing for a long time. Take a look around with Cheyenne to see if you two like it.¡± The vi seemed extremely upscale and chic on the outside. It was facing the south and had a total of three floors. The windows on the second and third floors were full-length floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed sunlight to shine in, providing excellent lighting for the house with impressive decor. It was an even more luxurious sight inside the vi. The vi had a massive floor area, and more importantly, the decor wasn¡¯t tacky at all. Not only was it extremely posh, but it was luxurious, ssy, and functional. In addition to the standard living room, bedrooms, and other functional rooms, there was also arge open kitchen, a beautiful walk-in closet, a theater room, and a children¡¯s entertainment space. They were all exquisite and gorgeous. After taking a brief look at the exterior and interior of the vi, Lucas nodded and said approvingly, ¡°It¡¯s indeed very nice.¡± Cheyenne was extremely surprised and asked, ¡°Did you buy this vi?¡± Chapter 1010 Chapter 1010: New Vi Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Before this, Cheyenne had never thought about moving to DC, let alone buying a house here. But she didn¡¯t expect that Lucas had already arranged for Jordan to buy such a beautiful vi here. It had a usable area of thousands of square meters and was adjacent to a scenicke in downtown DC. This vi was at least more than a hundred million dors! Lucas smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you want to expand the Brilliance Corporation to DC? We should at least have a home of our own here so that we have a ce to stay here at any time.¡± At this moment, Jordan interjected, ¡°Cheyenne, Lucas asked me to buy the best and most beautiful vi here. It¡¯s best if it resembles your Pearl Lake vi in Orange County so that you¡¯ll be used to it. Although the size of this vi is far less than the castle-like pce in the middle of Pearl Lake, it¡¯s still pretty good in DC, right?¡± ¡°Cheyenne, if you¡¯re still not satisfied, I¡¯ll continue helping you look for a ce.¡± !! After hearing what Jordan said, Cheyenne looked at Lucas, feeling extremely touched. Afraid that she wouldn¡¯t be used to it, he even found a vi simr to the one they were living in. How could she not love a man like him? ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. This vi is already very good. Thanks, Hubby. Of course, thank you for helping us find such a great house too, Jordan!¡± Cheyenne said seriously. Jordan chuckled and touched his head. ¡°As long as you two are satisfied, all my efforts to find a house for the past two days have paid off. Maddy almost got really jealous.¡± ¡°Hey, Jordan, what nonsense are you saying? Since when did I get jealous?¡± Maddy immediately pouted and pinched Jordan hard on his arm. ¡°Ah! Maddy, go easy on me. My arm is almost swollen!¡± Jordan screamed and pleaded for mercy non-stop. Seeing the loving exchange between them, Lucas and Cheyenne looked at each other with a heartened smile. The few of them sat in the living room andughed for a while. Then Maddy took out two gold-embossed invitation cards and said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, my family will be hosting a cocktail party in a couple of days. My father knows that you came to DC today, so he gave me two invitation cards. He hopes that you and Cheyenne cane. ¡°But I¡¯m only responsible for handing the invitation cards over to you. It¡¯s up to you if you want toe or not.¡± Maddy was very open-minded. She was friends with Lucas and Cheyenne, but she didn¡¯t want to use their friendship for other purposes or get Lucas and Cheyenne to do something against their wishes. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll naturally go!¡± Cheyenne agreed with a smile before Lucas could say anything. ¡°I came to DC to expand the Brilliance Corporation into the DC market. Since it¡¯s a cocktail party prepared by your family, quite a few big shots should be there, right? I might get to meet some powerful figures of the business world!¡± But she only promised that she would attend and didn¡¯t agree on Lucas¡¯s behalf. Although the two of them were married, they greatly respected each other¡¯s thoughts and wouldn¡¯t make decisions for the other. Speechless, Maddy said, ¡°Your husband is a big shot himself. Very few people in DC would dare to call themselves big shots in front of him!¡± The few of them looked at Lucas and burst intoughter. Lucas would naturally apany Cheyenne to attend the event. But they had arrived in DC with very few belongings. So they naturally didn¡¯t bring any formal clothes. Since they would be attending a cocktail party and socializing with business people, they had to dress for the asion. So after lunch, they went to the most prosperous mall in downtown DC and started shopping. Women seem to be quite talented in shopping. Even Cheyenne, who rarely went shopping, and Maddy, who was usually aloof, were extremely enthusiastic about it today. The two women walked happily in front while Lucas and Jordan followed behind them withrge shopping bags in hand. ¡°Lucas, developing the Stardust Corporation probably isn¡¯t the only reason you¡¯re here in DC, right?¡± Jordan suddenly asked softly. Flynn had always been in charge of the matters of the Stardust Corporation, and Lucas gave him enough freedom to exercise his authority. Thus, Jordan felt that he probably wouldn¡¯te to DC specifically for expanding the Stardust Corporation. Lucas didn¡¯t hide it from him. He nodded and said with a grave expression, ¡°That¡¯s right. I came to DC for another purpose. Half a month ago, Jace brought his subordinates to Orange County and ordered them to abduct Charlotte and my father-inw. He almost killed Cheyenne too. Fortunately, Stanley protected her.¡± As soon as Jordan heard this, his expression changed drastically. ¡°That bastard Jace Hutton!¡± He cursed angrily before quickly asking, ¡°Are Miss Carter and Uncle William alright?¡± Since he was in DC, he didn¡¯t even know that such a big event had happened. Hearing about it still left him with lingering fears. Lucas nodded. ¡°They¡¯re fine. Charlotte sustained a cut on her face, but she¡¯s recovered now. My father-inw¡¯s injuries are a little more severe. There are two fractures on his ribs and arms, but he¡¯s alright now and has been discharged from the hospital.¡± Hearing that they were fine, Jordan sighed in relief and said with hatred, ¡°That bastard Jace Hutton! How dare he do such a thing?! Lucas, you definitely didn¡¯t let him leave Orange County alive, did you?¡± At the mention of this matter, a sharp glint shed in Lucas¡¯s eyes, and he recalled the unknown old man. He shook his head. ¡°He was saved.¡± Lucas spoke extremely calmly, but Jordan felt as if he had been struck by lightning and froze right on the spot! As Lucas¡¯s best friend, Jordan naturally knew that Lucas¡¯s strength had reached a terrifying level. But the person who could save Jace from Lucas was definitely not ordinary. At the very least, he should be on par with Lucas! But did such a person really exist in the country? Jordan was astonished. After a long pause, he finally asked, ¡°Lucas, is that person an expert like you? Who... exactly is he?¡± Chapter 1011 Chapter 1011: Clothing Store Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know who he is either. That¡¯s why I came to DC to find out about this matter. Also, you have to help me find out Jace¡¯s whereabouts and his other matters.¡± Not daring to neglect these matters, Jordan immediately said, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll definitely investigate Jace clearly!¡± Lucas had absolute faith in Jordan¡¯s abilities. After a pause, Lucas added, ¡°I n to go to the Hutton residence this afternoon.¡± Jordan immediately said, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ll go with you!¡± !! ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll go alone. Just help me to investigate Jace.¡± ¡°Okay, Lucas!¡± Jordan naturally agreed. ¡°Honey, what are you two doing standing there? Hurry up ande over!¡± Perhaps because they had been standing behind them and talking for a long time, Cheyenne and Maddy turned around and urged them. ¡°Coming!¡± Lucas went forward together with Jordan. ¡°Honey, hurry up and try on this suit. I think it suits you.¡± After entering a nearby clothing store, Cheyenne immediately took a liking to a silvery-gray suit, which had excellent workmanship. She wanted Lucas to try it on. Lucas wasn¡¯t fussy about his clothes at all and just shook his head. ¡°This color is too young for me. I¡¯d better get a ck suit.¡± Cheyenne had already asked the store assistant to help her retrieve the suit. Speechless, she said, ¡°Honey, you only ever wear ck or gray clothes. You¡¯re only in your twenties, so you should dress young sometimes! Besides, this silvery-gray suit suits you very well. You¡¯ll look great in it!¡± While speaking, Cheyenne eagerly wanted Lucas to put on the suit. Lucas felt helpless. But since his wife liked it, he could only extend his arms and let Cheyenne help him put on the silvery-gray suit. Lucas was extremely handsome in the first ce. Even after being in the army for six years, he didn¡¯t be weathered and boorish. Instead, he became even more suave and valiant. After he put on the suit, his aura was greatly enhanced, and he looked very gentlemanly. Even Cheyenne, who saw Lucas almost every day, couldn¡¯t help looking at him with stars in her eyes. The female staff and customers in the store couldn¡¯t help staring at him, and many were gushing and swooning. Maddy praised Lucas and then picked out a maroon suit for Jordan to try on. ¡°Honey, you look so suave in this suit. Let¡¯s get it!¡± Cheyenne circled around Lucas a few times, amazed by the perfection. She immediately pulled out her credit card without hesitation and said to the store assistant, ¡°We¡¯re buying this!¡± Lucas helplessly let Cheyenne look at him a few more times before saying, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll change out of this suit now.¡± He was fine with Cheyenne staring at him, but the numerous women gawking at him made him feel slightly ufortable. Moreover, he was already used to wearing dark-colored clothes. Now that he was suddenly wearing a bright-colored silvery-gray suit, he felt unustomed to it. Cheyenne hurriedly stopped him. ¡°No! Honey, just keep it on! You look great! I¡¯ve got such a handsome husband!¡± Even Maddy chimed, ¡°Yeah, Lucas, you look great in this!¡± Even Jordan, who had just changed into the maroon suit, said, ¡°Yes, Lucas, just wear this! I¡¯ve changed into a new suit too!¡± Jordan was now wearing the maroon suit that Maddy had just picked for him. He looked incredibly suave and also attracted plenty of attention. Since he had Jordan to apany him, Lucas agreed helplessly. After the four of them paid the bill and were about to leave, a sarcastic voice suddenly sounded from the side. ¡°Ah, I was wondering who it was. Turns out it¡¯s you, Maddy Stone! You¡¯re finally back, huh?¡± They turned around and saw a young man and woman walking into the store with their arms interlocked lovingly. The person who spoke was the woman. She was wearing heavy makeup and dressed luxuriously. She could be considered somewhat good-looking, but her lips were extremely thin, and she looked a bit mean. She couldn¡¯tpare to Cheyenne and Maddy at all. And the man whose arm she was holding was very rotund, with arge beer belly and a greasy face. The fat on his face made his eyes even smaller. As soon as he entered, his gaze instantlynded on Cheyenne, and his eyes lit up with a lecherous light. Lucas frowned and stood in front of Cheyenne, blocking the man¡¯s line of sight. Cheyenne was gorgeous. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have beenuded as the most beautiful woman in Orange County. Lucas had experienced a lot in life, so he knew that the chubby man harbored ill intentions toward Cheyenne as soon as he saw his lecherous gaze. As soon as Maddy saw the woman, she frowned. It was just her luck to run into the loathsome Becky Sanders when she was out shopping in the humongous DC. Maddy didn¡¯t want to bother with her at all. She simply acted as though she didn¡¯t see her and only said to the few people around her, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Becky, the woman wearing heavy makeup, flew into a rage when she saw Maddy ignore her. She stopped her at the door and said condescendingly, ¡°Maddy, why are you running away from me? Or are you ashamed because you¡¯re with your new gigolo?¡± 1 Jordan¡¯s face instantly darkened. Although his status wasn¡¯t as high as Lucas¡¯s, he was still an esteemed leader of the Falcon Regiment. Yet he was mocked and called a gigolo by a random woman. Maddy didn¡¯t want to give this woman any attention at first, but she was so insensitive and ignorant as to stop her and even mock her fianc¨¦. Maddy couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°Becky Sanders, it¡¯s been years since we met, and you¡¯re still as foul-mouthed as ever! He is my fianc¨¦, not someone you can insult as you wish! ¡°Besides, you should take a look at yourself before mocking others! Hmph!¡± Maddy wasn¡¯t a pushover either. She immediately retorted and even deliberately nced at the chubby man beside Becky. Although she didn¡¯t say it directly, her disdain was obvious. What right does Becky have toment on my boyfriend when she got herself such an undesirable man?! This man couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Jordan at all, be it in terms of height, looks, and aura! No, evenparing this man to Jordan was an insult to him! Becky naturally understood what Maddy meant. She cursed furiously, ¡°Maddy Stone, you bitch, what nonsense are you spouting?¡± Chapter 1012 Chapter 1012: Incessant Pestering Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing Becky¡¯s outburst, Maddy immediately turned sullen. ¡°Who¡¯s the bitch here? Who came over to insult us like a mad dog while we were happily shopping on our own? ¡°Come on. Tell me if there¡¯s anything wrong with what I just said.¡± Maddy sneered. Becky was so infuriated that she stomped her feet. Although Maddy didn¡¯t spell it out loud, the look in her eyes and the words she said were clearly implying Maddy¡¯s disdain for the chubby man Becky was with, who was inferior to Jordan in terms of looks. She grabbed the arm of the man beside her and said coquettishly, ¡°Honey, this shameless bitch is obviously mocking you and saying you¡¯re inferior to her man! You have to teach them a good lesson. We¡¯ll see if she still dares to be so arrogant!¡± !! The man looked extremely gloomy too. Of course, he knew what he looked like, but the way Maddy looked at him just now angered him. Now that his girlfriend addressed the elephant in the room, he flew into a rage. ¡°Bitch, how dare you mock me?!¡± He glowered at Maddy. Maddy harrumphed with derision. ¡°When did I mock you? What did I say to mock you? Stop being unreasonable!¡± ¡°You!¡± The chubby man was enraged, and he clenched his fists tightly with a menacing look on his face. He really had nothing to say now. Maddy truly didn¡¯t say anything to mock him just now, but there was something wrong with the way she looked at him. However, what could he say? Could he say that Maddy mocked him with the look in her eyes? Becky hurriedly said, ¡°Maddy! How dare you speak to my boyfriend like that?! Do you know who he is? When you find out, you¡¯ll be scared to death!¡± ¡°Wow, I¡¯m so scared!¡± Maddy pretended to be flustered and frightened. The next moment, she said with a straight face, ¡°Tell me who he is, and see if I¡¯ll be scared!¡± Maddy thought that she had to be joking. She was apanied by the captain of the Falcon Regiment of Calico, who was known as the invisible God of War. How could the identity of Becky¡¯s boyfriend scare her? ¡°Hmph, let me tell you. My boyfriend is Mark Branson, and he belongs to one of the eight top families of DC!¡± Becky introduced loudly with her chin raised proudly. Mark also raised his head arrogantly. ¡°...¡± All they got in response was silence. Becky originally thought she would see shock, surprise, jealousy, and fear on Maddy¡¯s face. But after waiting for a while, she only saw a calm Maddy, who even had her eyebrows slightly raised in provocation, seemingly saying, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Becky was dumbfounded for a moment. She even thought that Maddy didn¡¯t hear her clearly or that her introduction of her boyfriend wasn¡¯t shocking her enough. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear me? My boyfriend is from the Bransons, one of the top eight families of DC! His father is very prestigious in his family too, and he has already been designated as the sessor. My future father-inw will be the head of the Bransons, and my husband will also be the next sessor! ¡°Maddy, you¡¯re scared now, aren¡¯t you? Your family is just a second-ss family in DC. It¡¯s nothingpared to the Bransons! By insulting and mocking my boyfriend, you¡¯re insulting the Bransons! If you anger my boyfriend, your family will be in trouble!¡± Becky was now throwing her weight around by leveraging on the power of Mark¡¯s father. She even anticipated the time when Mark would inherit the position of helmsman. ¡°Hah, regardless of who it is, save it for yourself. I¡¯m not interested at all,¡± Maddy said in exasperation. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not interested in arguing with a dimwit like you. Even if you think your boyfriend¡¯s family is that powerful, don¡¯t show off in front of me. Get out of the way!¡± ¡°You!¡± ¡°Atrocious!¡± Becky was about to lose her temper, but her boyfriend, Mark, had already hit the roof. He had always thought his background and identity were very impressive. As a member of the Bransons, he could already dominate DC. But he didn¡¯t expect Maddy to disregard him repeatedly. Not only was she not shocked at all, but she even said that she wasn¡¯t interested. Her attitude of ignoring him was simply humiliation to the arrogant Mark! Seeing this, Becky took the opportunity to say, ¡°Honey, look. She doesn¡¯t even take your family seriously. You must teach them a good lesson and make them know the rules!¡± ¡°Are you done? What do you want?¡± Jordan couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and stood in front of Maddy. Becky was obviously looking for trouble and trying to sow discord. But Mark failed to realize it and even targeted Maddy. Jordan was Maddy¡¯s fianc¨¦. How could he possibly stand by and watch these two people bully her? Moreover, Mark was just someone from one of the eight top families of DC. They might seem extremely powerful in the eyes of ordinary people, but Jordan and Lucas had long stopped caring about such families. Seeing that Jordan had the guts to rebuke him, Mark was furious. Perhaps because he was too ugly, he was extremely envious when he saw tall and handsome men like Jordan and Lucas. ¡°Punk, what right do you have to speak in front of me? Both of you, immediately kneel down and apologize to me! Otherwise, you two must die here today!¡± Mark threatened. Jordan sneered and grinned evilly. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance too. If you and the woman beside you kneel down and admit your mistakes to us now, I can still consider sparing your lives. Otherwise, I¡¯ll turn you into a cripple!¡± ¡°Damn it. You¡¯ve got a death wish!¡± Mark raised his fists to punch Jordan. He was using amon Taekwondo stance. It seemed that he had learned Taekwondo before. If Mark used his fancy moves to bully those with no martial arts background, it might work. But to a top expert like Jordan, it was just like a three-year-old child showing off his muscles in front of a weightlifting champion. It was simply ridiculous. Jordan stood still, not moving at all. But Mark and Becky thought that he was too scared to move, so they had smug looks on their faces. Chapter 1013 Chapter 1013: Two Idiots Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Honey, quickly beat up this gigolo! This is what he gets for having the audacity to stand up for this bitch!¡± Becky shouted with a malicious expression. She was the one who had started the conflict, while Maddy and Jordan had merely retorted a few times. Yet Becky wanted to kill Jordan, which was extremely vicious. Moreover, Mark resorted to dirty tricks. He seemed to be using a Taekwondo move against Jordan, but he was hiding a dagger in his hand. Just as he was about to touch Jordan, he suddenly whipped out the dagger and wanted to stab Jordan in the neck. The neck was a vital point of the human body. If Mark seeded in shing Jordan¡¯s neck, it might really be fatal. Mark¡¯s facewas full of excitement, without the slightest fear or worry. A person of high status like him wouldn¡¯t get into any trouble for killing Jordan, even though there were many witnesses in the clothing store. !! The moment Jordan saw the silver glint of the dagger, a sharp light shed in his eyes. ¡°You have a death wish!¡± Jordan roared furiously. The moment Mark was about to stab him, he grabbed Mark¡¯s hand. He let him hold the dagger, but he couldn¡¯t thrust it forward any further. Immediately afterward, Jordan casually moved his fingers twice and used a technique that caused Mark¡¯s hand to suddenly go numb. Then the sharp dagger he was holding ended up in Jordan¡¯s hand. ¡°You!¡± Mark widened his eyes and stared at the scene in front of him in disbelief. Jordan had casually grabbed his hand and swiftly took hold of the dagger. This showed that Jordan definitely wasn¡¯t an ordinary person but an impressive expert! Becky still had no idea what had happened. She had been standing behind Mark, so she didn¡¯t know that Jordan had already disarmed him in an instant. All she knew was that Mark had suddenly stopped moving. ¡°Honey, why don¡¯t you hurry up and kill him? Even if you don¡¯t want to kill him, just stab him a couple of times and make sure he knows how powerful you are!¡± Becky was still egging him on loudly from behind. Mark wanted to curse. Damn it. How can I stab him when he¡¯s snatched my dagger away? I¡¯m now worried about whether he¡¯ll stab me instead. Yet this foolish woman is still adding fuel to the fire! With arms crossed, Maddy nced at Becky like she was an idiot. Where did Becky get the confidence to regard Maddy as an enemy when she was so incredibly stupid? ¡°She wants you to kill me. What do you think it will take for you to kill me?¡± Jordan questioned with contempt while squeezing Mark¡¯s hand tightly with one hand and fiddling with the dagger he had just snatched with the other. He deliberately waved it in front of Mark derisively. Mark desperately wanted to retract his hand, but he found that Jordan was gripping his hand tightly like a pincer, rendering him immobile. Jordan deliberately waved the dagger under his nose, immediately making Mark feel terrified. ¡°You... If you dare toy a finger on me, the Bransons won¡¯t let you off! If you let me go now and let me stab you once, I¡¯ll let bygones be bygones, and we¡¯ll both be even. How does that sound?¡± Mark said. 1 At this time, he not only wanted to save his own life but also his pride. He even had the cheek to ask Jordan to let him stab him once. Jordan was utterly speechless. Things had alreadye to this, yet Mark still didn¡¯t have a clear idea of his predicament. ¡°You¡¯re so hopelessly stupid!¡± Jordan sighed and suddenly squeezed Mark¡¯s dagger with great force. ng! Jordan crushed the steel-forged dagger with just two fingers! Mark¡¯s eyeballs almost fell out of his eye sockets! It was an exquisitely crafted dagger! But Jordan actually crushed it with a casual squeeze! Is this punk still human? But before Mark could process his shock, he felt an extremely powerful grip on his wrist that made him shriek in pain. ¡°Wh-what are you doing? I¡¯m warning you...¡± Mark began stammering. Jordan smiled sinisterly. ¡°Didn¡¯t I already say it? If you provoked me again, I¡¯d turn you into a cripple with all your limbs broken.¡± In Mark¡¯s opinion, the sinister smile on Jordan¡¯s face was just like that of a demon! 1 Becky had yet to realize that her boyfriend was now in crisis and was still provoking Maddy with an arrogant expression. ¡°Maddy, did you hear that? My boyfriend is a member of the esteemed Branson family. Even if he kills your gigolo on the spot, no one will dare to say a word about it. In DC, the eight top families are above all else. People from lowly families like yours will never get to experience it. 1 ¡°It won¡¯t be long before I be the young mistress of the Bransons, and soon after, I will be the true mistress. What about you? Your gigolo will soon die here, and your family won¡¯t end up well either. As for me, I¡¯m just waiting for the day when you kneel in front of me and beg me for forgiveness with your tail wagging!¡± Maddy looked at Becky contemptuously and said with a pitiful gaze, ¡°Is that so? From how I see it, your dream of bing the young mistress of the Bransons has be impossible to achieve. If you kneel down and apologize to me now, I might even let you go.¡± ¡°Y-you bitch, what nonsense are you spouting?!¡± What Maddy said immediately made Becky even angrier. ¡°What are you pretending for? Your gigolo is about to die. I¡¯ll see how you cry and beg me for mercyter!¡± Becky said with malice. Lucas was naturally speechless after hearing the words and seeing the actions of the foolish woman in front of him. Even Cheyenne frowned and shook her head. Mark was clearly about to suffer in Jordan¡¯s hands, but Becky was stillpletely oblivious and still issuing vicious threats arrogantly. Snap! At this moment, the sounds of bones breaking suddenly filled the air. Immediately afterward, a piercing scream resounded in the store. ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Becky immediately burst intoughter and said smugly, ¡°Haha! I seem to have forgotten to tell you something. My boyfriend became a ck belt holder in Taekwondo a few years ago. Your gigolo is definitely going to die miserably in his hands!¡± Chapter 1014 Chapter 1014: Crippling His Limbs Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as Becky finished speaking, the sounds of bones breaking filled the air again, followed by an incredibly terrifying scream that almost pierced the ceiling of the clothing store. The staff of the store and some customers watching the fun were frightened and turned pale after hearing the miserable shriek. Only Becky didn¡¯t realize who was screaming. There was only excitement and a cruel smile on her face. ¡°Hahaha, did you hear that? That gigolo of yours is screaming so miserably that he doesn¡¯t sound human anymore. He must be in great pain, huh? Haha, he really deserves it! But don¡¯t worry, Maddy, it will be your turn soon. You¡¯ll end up in the same plight as your gigolo!¡± Immediately after, the sounds of bones being crushed filled the air again. But this time, Mark didn¡¯t scream again because he had already passed out from the severe pain of his limbs being crushed. !! Becky was so focused on provoking Maddy that she didn¡¯t even notice that Mark had passed out and fallen to the floor. She yelled at Maddy, ¡°If you¡¯re scared, immediately kneel at my feet, and I can ask my boyfriend to let you off. Haha!¡± ¡°Maddy, this foolish woman¡¯s brains are fried. How do you n to handle her? Do you want to kill her or let her be a cripple like Mark?¡± Suddenly, a voice sounded, and a figure d in a maroon suit walked toward Maddy and stood beside her. He took a piece of tissue paper from his pocket and wiped his fingers slowly. The figure in the maroon suit was none other than Jordan. ¡°Uh... H-h-how are you still standing here alive and well?¡± Becky¡¯s arrogant and unrestrainedughter came to an abrupt halt, as if someone had suddenly strangled her. She pointed at Jordan with disbelief written all over her face. Then she turned around and looked at the side, as if she had only realized the situation. The person lying motionlessly on the floor with his limbs twisted at bizarre angles like a blob of fat was Mark, Becky¡¯s boyfriend! Only now did Becky finally realize that the person whose bones had been broken and screamed inhumanly just now was her boyfriend and not Jordan! Becky turned deathly pale and stumbled backward, almost falling hard. She muttered, ¡°Impossible... that¡¯s impossible! H-how dare he really cripple Mark? He¡¯s a Branson! How dare he?!¡± Seeing how lost and out of sorts Becky was, Maddy didn¡¯t feel the slightest bit of sympathy for her. Maddy said coldly, ¡°Becky, as I said, if you kneel down and apologize to me, I can let you off once.¡± Thud! The moment Maddy finished speaking, Becky¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, she got down on both knees in front of Maddy. ¡°Maddy, it... it¡¯s my fault! I shouldn¡¯t have provoked you or scolded you, much less encouraged Mark to deal with you! It¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯m the bitch. I¡¯m the idiot. Please let me off this time!¡± Becky knelt down so resolutely that even Maddy was stunned. In fact, she was only paying Becky back in her own coin, but she didn¡¯t expect Becky to be so spineless as to kneel in front of her. ¡°Enough. I can¡¯t be bothered with you anymore, but I hope you¡¯ll know better than to act like that again. Don¡¯t think you can bully anyone as you please just because you¡¯ve found yourself a rich man! From now on, I don¡¯t want to see you appear in front of me again!¡± After speaking coldly, Maddy held onto Jordan¡¯s arm and looked at Lucas and Cheyenne beside them. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± They had already bought their clothes and were ready to leave. If Becky and Mark hadn¡¯t suddenly appeared and provoked them, they would have already left. Only when they hadpletely disappeared did Becky finally get up from the floor and say with indignation and resentment, ¡°Bitch! I¡¯ll see how long you can becent!¡± Then she turned around and left,pletely forgetting Mark, who had passed out and was lying on the floor. ¡°Hey, Miss! Wait! Hey!¡± The two staff members wanted to stop Becky. After all, the man lying unconscious on the floor was her boyfriend! But Becky was now boiling with fury. She had only agreed to date the lewd and hideous fatso Mark because of his family¡¯s power and status. She didn¡¯t have the slightest affection for him, so shepletely forgot about him and left as quickly as she could. The staff members at the side were shocked and at a loss for words. This woman had clearly started the trouble and even caused her boyfriend to be crippled, yet she left without showing him any concern at all. She was... way too ruthless! ... Meanwhile, Lucas and the rest had also left the mall to go home. Along the way, Cheyenne was still a little worried and asked, ¡°Maddy, that man just now is a Branson. If they really find trouble with us, what should we do? Will it cause your family problems?¡± Maddy smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your man is very powerful. Even the top eight families of DC aren¡¯t a match for him! Right, Lucas? ¡°If the Bransons really find trouble with us, you won¡¯t stand by idly and do nothing, will you?¡± Maddy looked at Lucas smilingly. Lucas shook his head andughed. ¡°Jordan, look at your wife-to-be. She¡¯s so smart. She¡¯s already thinking of getting my help before they find her.¡± While driving, Jordanughed. ¡°Exactly. My wife is really smart! But Lucas, since you¡¯re so powerful, you won¡¯t lose out even if you let us rely on you. Cheyenne, you won¡¯t mind, right?¡± Cheyenne naturally understood that they were joking. Since they could joke about it so casually at this moment, they clearly didn¡¯t have to worry about the Bransons finding trouble with them. She covered her mouth andughed. But at this moment, Lucas asked, ¡°But Maddy, do you need to inform the Stones about this? After all, the guy whose limbs Jordan broke is a Branson. I¡¯m afraid they won¡¯t give up on this, and they might go to the Stones.¡± The smile on Maddy¡¯s face faded, and she said with a bitter smile, ¡°I think my family has already received the news, and they¡¯ll probably call me soon.¡± Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, her phone started ringing in her bag. As soon as Maddy picked up, her father, Carlos, immediately roared furiously, ¡°You bastard! You¡¯ve caused so much trouble for me. Hurry up ande home!¡± Chapter 1015 Chapter 1015: Actually Dead Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Carlos¡¯s shout was so loud that the four people in the car heard it clearly, even when Maddy didn¡¯t have the speakerphone on. Maddy held the phone away from her ear and rubbed her ear, which was ringing. ¡°Dad, it seems you already know about it. But Mark Branson and Becky Sanders were clearly the ones who started it. It¡¯s not our fault!¡± Once again, an angry roar came from the phone. ¡°Shut up! Mark Branson is dead! It doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s at fault anymore! ¡°Anyway, you have caused a terrible disaster for the Stones, so get back here right now! Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for disowning you!¡± With that, Carlos hung up furiously. !! On the other hand, Maddy was holding her phone and couldn¡¯te back to her senses for a long time. After a long time, Maddy finally said in disbelief, ¡°My father said that Mark... is dead!¡± Jordan directly turned the steering wheel to the side, stepped on the brakes, and pulled over at the side of the road. He said with a puzzled look, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be possible! I only broke his limbs. Logically speaking, he shouldn¡¯t have died!¡± 1 Cheyenne¡¯s face turned pale, and her fingers trembled uncontrobly. She had previously led a peaceful life, and it was the first time she encountered an incident resulting in a fatality. To make matters worse, the deceased was of high status, and he died because of the people she knew. Maddy¡¯s expression also became very solemn. ¡°Since my father said that Mark Branson has died, he must really be dead. Things are going to get troublesome! ¡°Although Mark Branson is an idiot, he¡¯s a direct descendant of the Bransons, one of the eight top families of DC. Becky also said that Mark¡¯s father is the Bransons¡¯ next helmsman. The Bransons are definitely going to find trouble for my family. ¡°Lucas, it seems like I really need your help this time.¡± Maddy frowned and looked at Lucas. If Mark was still alive, things would be much easier to handle. Since Mark was the one at fault for provoking them, the Stones would probably have been able to handle it. But now that Mark was dead, things would be much more serious, and the Bransons definitely wouldn¡¯t let the Stones off. Maddy wasn¡¯t close to her family and had even gone against them because they kept forcing her to get married to form a marriage alliance with the Dempseys. But no matter what, they were still her family. If the Bransons wanted to settle scores with them, there was no way they would be able to resist. Besides, although Mark¡¯s death was caused by Jordan breaking his limbs, it actually stemmed from Maddy¡¯s feud with Becky. Jordan had just stood up for her. Thus, she couldn¡¯t stand by and leave the Stones in the lurch. She had to take responsibility for this matter. Lucas nodded without hesitation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will definitely help you. That bastard had a death wish. If the Bransons are willing to stop, that¡¯s naturally best. But if they refuse, I will settle scores with them and see how their upbringing is!¡± Maddy and Jordan were close friends with Lucas, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t stand by and watch the Bransons bully them. Maddy felt much more at ease with Lucas¡¯s guarantee and thanked him gratefully, ¡°Alright, thank you so much, Lucas!¡± Then she looked at the time and said, ¡°My father has lost his temper at home. It seems like I have to hurry back.¡± Jordan immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you back!¡± Lucas smiled and shook his head. ¡°Okay, you guys better get going. We¡¯re almost home anyway.¡± Then he opened the car door and got out with Cheyenne. Fortunately, this ce was only a few minutes¡¯ walk away from the new vi, and they would be there soon. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lucas, Cheyenne!¡± Jordan scratched his head in embarrassment. He had wanted to drop off Lucas and Cheyenne at their home before leaving. But instead, they got off in advance and had to walk a few hundred meters. ¡°Okay, get lost now!¡± Lucas said jokingly. After Jordan drove away with Maddy, Cheyenne walked toward Lucas and asked worriedly, ¡°Honey, they... should be fine, right? Maddy¡¯s father seems to be really mad...¡± After overhearing Carlos¡¯s outburst over the phone just now, Cheyenne was worried about the wrath that Maddy would have to face when she returned home. Lucasforted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Jordan won¡¯t let Maddy face the wrath of her family and the Bransons alone.¡± But despite saying so, he wasn¡¯t actually that optimistic. He wasn¡¯t worried about Jordan, but rather, he knew that the Stones wouldn¡¯t be that easy to deal with. Back when Lucas came to DC to save Maddy, he had already had some brief dealings with the Stones. Although the Stones eventually agreed to let Maddy and Jordan get married, it was only because they were impressed by Jordan¡¯s proficiency in martial arts and scrupulous toward Lucas, Jordan¡¯s backer. But if the Stones faced massive pressure one day, it would be hard to say what their attitude toward Jordan and Maddy would be. ... In one of the luxurious vis of the Bransons at this moment... A chubby corpse was lying quietly on the floor. Although there were no obvious wounds on his body, his limbs were twisted at bizarre angles. They had obviously been broken before his death. The corpse naturally belonged to Mark. A chubby middle-aged man roared angrily, ¡°Have you found out? How did my son die?¡± A butler-like person next to him immediately came forward and reported cautiously, ¡°I¡¯ve just ordered people to check the surveince camera footage in the clothing store and interrogate a few staff members. We¡¯ve found out the truth! ¡°Mr. Mark was shopping with a woman named Becky Sanders, but she suddenly provoked Maddy Stone. The two of them got into a quarrel, and Becky then instigated Mr. Mark to deal with Maddy and her boyfriend. ¡°Maddy¡¯s boyfriend is a martial arts expert, and he broke Mr. Mark¡¯s limbs! ¡°And that bitch Becky immediately knelt and begged for mercy after seeing Mr. Mark injured and unconscious. After they let her leave, she abandoned the unconscious Mr. Mark and fled on her own. ¡°The staff of the clothing store called 911 afterward, but... probably because of the dy, Mr. Mark passed away by the time the ambnce arrived!¡± Chapter 1016 Chapter 1016: Taking Responsibility Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The chubby middle-aged man was Eric Branson, Mark¡¯s father! When he saw his son¡¯s cold corpse and heard what the butler said, his eyes were brimming with boiling fury. ¡°Bitch! Where is that bitch Becky Sanders? Where is she now?¡± Eric hollered furiously. The butler hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ve sent someone to the Sanders¡¯ to find her. It shouldn¡¯t be long before we bring that woman here!¡± ¡°That bitch must die! If she didn¡¯t create trouble, my son wouldn¡¯t have died!¡± !! Eric gritted teeth, resentment written all over his face. ¡°But that bitch can¡¯t be the only one who dies! At the end of the day, Maddy Stone¡¯s boyfriend is the one who caused Mark¡¯s death. If he hadn¡¯t had the audacity to break Mark¡¯s limbs, how could he have died in the clothing store because he wasn¡¯t rescued in time? ¡°Maddy and her boyfriend are the murderers of my son. I won¡¯t let anyone involved in Mark¡¯s death off! ¡°Tell the Stones to hand over that couple! Otherwise, I will remove the Stones from DC today!¡± The butler quickly bent forward. ¡°I¡¯ve already told the Stones about this matter, but they only agreed to give us an exnation. I told Carlos Stone to hand them over, but he kept stammering, seemingly reluctant...¡± Hearing this, Eric immediately flew into a rage. ¡°He¡¯s defying me! How dare he disobey us? ¡°Tell him to bring his daughter and her bastard boyfriend to my house within an hour to confess. Or else, I won¡¯t spare him!¡± The butler immediately agreed and hurriedly turned around to go make arrangements. Although Eric had yet to be the official helmsman of the Bransons, he had long been regarded as the head. His status was inferior only to the current helmsman. Since he said that he would remove the Stones from DC, he would definitely be able to achieve it! ... Meanwhile, Jordan had already arrived at the Stone residence together with Maddy. Maddy opened the car door and said to Jordan, ¡°Head back to Lucas¡¯s first. I¡¯ll call you if I can¡¯t solve it.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Jordan had always obeyed Maddy, but this time, his attitude was extremely firm. After turning the engine off, he got out of the car with Maddy. ¡°Maddy, you¡¯re my girlfriend now, and I am also responsible for this incident. No matter what, I¡¯m going to face it with you. If your family is angry, tell them toe to me. Anyway, I can take a beating.¡± Jordan looked at Maddy with a smile. Maddy felt touched. Although Jordan was a few years younger than her, he was indeed a rare gem because he was actually willing to do so much for her. She took Jordan¡¯s hand without saying anything else, and the two of them entered the Stone residence. ¡°How dare you have the cheek to return, you unfilial wench?!¡± 1 As soon as they stepped inside the Stones¡¯ main vi, they were greeted by a thunderous roar of fury. The furious person was naturally Carlos, Maddy¡¯s father, the current helmsman of the Stone family. Thest time Lucas had dealings with the Stones, Geoffrey, the former helmsman, had nned to pass the position of helmsman to Maddy, but she refused to ept it. Thus, he had handed it over to Carlos. The moment he saw Maddy return, the veins on his head began bulging, and he wanted to p her hard. In particr, seeing her return with Jordan hand in hand, he was livid. Maddy took a deep breath and said, ¡°Dad, didn¡¯t you tell me to hurry home?¡± ¡°Shut up! How dare you talk back?! You¡¯d bettere clean about how you created so much trouble for us!¡± Carlos scolded as he kicked a vase over to the floor. Maddy said truthfully, ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve said that it¡¯s not our fault for what happened today. Mark Branson and his girlfriend, Becky Sanders, started it. Mark attacked us first, and he even used a knife. Jordan was just helping me. All he did was break Mark¡¯s limbs. We didn¡¯t expect him to die either.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, Carlos became even more furious and directed his anger at Jordan. ¡°In that case, you were the one who killed Mark Branson?¡± Jordan took a step forward and said sincerely, ¡°If he really died because of my mistake, I will take full responsibility!¡± ¡°Bullshit! How can you be responsible? How are you going to be responsible? Only if you pay for it with your own life will the Bransons stop pursuing this matter!¡± Carlos hurled vulgarities before saying, ¡°Do you know that the dead Mark is the scion of the Bransons?! His father, Eric, is already the designated future helmsman of their family, yet you killed his son at this time. He obviously won¡¯t let us off! ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to tell you that the Bransons¡¯ butler has just called me and told me to take you two to the Branson residence to confess. Otherwise, they won¡¯t spare us! ¡°Jordan, you indeed killed Mark. If you still love my daughter, go to the Bransons, confess your guilt, and take all the responsibility! Do you hear me?¡± When Jordan heard this, the expression on his face froze for a moment. Although he did think so himself and was willing to take all the responsibility alone for Maddy because he loved her, now that Carlos ordered him to do it, the significance was different. It made him feel extremely ufortable. Moreover, Carlos said that the Bransons would only be appeased if hepensated them with his life. Since Carlos asked Jordan to go to the Bransons¡¯ to take responsibility for everything, wasn¡¯t he basically telling Jordan to go there to die? After Maddy heard what Carlos said, anger instantly surged in her heart. She stood beside Jordan, held his hand tightly, and said to Carlos, ¡°Dad, if the Bransons really want to hold it against us, then so be it. I was the cause of it all, and Jordan was just protecting me! If you must appease the Bransons, then you can hand me over to them!¡± Chapter 1017 Chapter 1017: Taking Responsibility Together Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The fact that Maddy would protect Jordan to such an extent and not hesitate to contradict her father made Carlos incredibly furious. The other members of the family were also shocked. Seeing that Carlos was so angry that he was trembling and about to rush forward to hit Maddy, the other Stones hurriedly said, ¡°Maddy, is this how you should be speaking to your father? He¡¯s doing this for your own good! The Bransons clearly want to take revenge for Mark Branson. If we really hand you over, do you think you¡¯d still be able to survive?¡± ¡°Yeah, Maddy, it¡¯s all for your own good! Besides, that punk Jordan killed Mark! Taking responsibility and going to the Bransons to confess is what he should do and what he deserves!¡± ¡°The Bransons are one of the eight top families of DC, and they¡¯re not what second-tier families like us can deal with! The only solution now is to get Jordan to take responsibility alone so that we won¡¯t be implicated!¡± !! ¡°Maddy, you should be more rational. Don¡¯t get our family harmed because of you!¡± The Stones frantically tried to persuade her, but their core idea was to have Jordan confess to the Bransons so that they wouldn¡¯t be implicated. But Jordan had only gotten into a conflict with the Bransons to help Maddy. How could she possibly allow him to take all responsibility alone while she stayed home safe and sound? ¡°My mind is made up. Since it¡¯s my responsibility, I won¡¯t run away from it. Why should I let my boyfriend take all the responsibility? That would be too shameless. I can¡¯t do it!¡± Maddy said extremely firmly. Hearing this, Carlos couldn¡¯t take it any longer. He dashed forward to p Maddy¡¯s face tightly. ¡°You unfilial wench, will you be at ease only after you get all of us killed?¡± Maddy watched Carlos¡¯s ping closer and closer, but she stood still stubbornly without dodging. Even if her father wanted to hit her, she wouldn¡¯t change her mind and leave Jordan alone to take responsibility to the Bransons! Just as Carlos¡¯s p was about tond on Maddy¡¯s face, Jordan suddenly pulled her away and stepped forward to take the p. Smack! The loud p resounded throughout the hall! Carlos, Maddy, and the Stones were all astonished. Maddy quickly returned to her senses and rushed over to check Jordan¡¯s face. On Jordan¡¯s handsome face was an extremely bright red palm mark. ¡°You... you... why...¡± Maddy was greatly distressed and didn¡¯t know what to say. She felt that Jordan was really foolish. The rest of the Stones weren¡¯t aware of Jordan¡¯s identity and merely thought that he was a highly-skilled subordinate of Lucas. But Maddy knew exactly who he was. Lucas was known as the Invincible God of War and the supreme leader of the Falcon Regiment in Calico. And Jordan had been his direct subordinate for years and was a senior member of the regiment, with 400,000 majestic soldiers under hismand. He had also made many remarkable achievements. If it wasn¡¯t for Jordan¡¯s determination to give up everything in the Falcon Regiment to follow Lucas, he would now be one of the most powerful core members. How could he possibly ept the p? But Jordan actually now took a p for her sake. His face was already red. The thought of it made Maddy feel touched and heartbroken. Jordan only smiled at Maddy. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I have thick skin and thick flesh. I can take a p. It¡¯d be worse if you got pped. I¡¯d be so heartbroken.¡± Then he turned to Carlos and said with a serious expression, ¡°Uncle Carlos, just hit me if you want. Don¡¯t hit her. She¡¯s a girl. How can she withstand your strikes? ¡°And you¡¯re right. I was the one who killed Mark Branson, so I will take full responsibility for it. I won¡¯t let anything happen to the Stones!¡± In fact, Jordan was a little sad and angry when he said this. He grew up as an orphan and had never experienced what it was like to have parents and rtives. Lucas was a true brotherly figure to him. So ever since he and Maddy got together, he had been treating Carlos like his own father and had done plenty of things for the Stones while he was in DC. Jordan originally thought that Carlos had epted him as his son-inw and treated him as one of the Stones. But he finally realized that he had been too naive. It turns out that in the eyes of Carlos and the Stones, he had always just been an outsider whom they could abandon without hesitation. Maddy was also extremely sad. She held Jordan¡¯s hand tightly and whispered, ¡°Fool.¡± Jordan responded with a radiant smile and held her soft hand back. ¡°You¡¯re all I need.¡± As long as Maddy loved him and cared about him, the Stones¡¯ opinions didn¡¯t matter. But even if he resolved the matter with the Bransons this time, he could no longer bring himself to treat Carlos and the Stones as his family members and pour out his heart and soul for them. Carlos still didn¡¯t know what he had just lost. Hearing that Jordan was willing to take full responsibility, he heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯re saying you¡¯ll take full responsibility, you should go to the Branson residence now and seek forgiveness! If you¡¯re toote, the Bransons will be even more furious,¡± Carlos said indifferently. Jordan nodded and stopped talking to him. He said to Maddy softly, ¡°Wait for me at home while I go to the Bransons to settle this.¡± Maddy looked at Jordan, who was extremely meticulous and considerate toward her in every aspect. Unable to contain her emotions, she leaped into his arms and clutched his back tightly. Two streams of warm tears fell and stained the fabric on his chest. Maddy had always been a very strong woman. When she had been alone on the cruel battlefield at the borders, she had braved countless bullets to save the wounded and ill without flinching. But now, she was crying. Jordan was at a loss for words and patted Maddy¡¯s back in a panic. He stammered tofort him, ¡°Maddy, d-don¡¯t cry! I¡¯ll be fine! Don¡¯t forget that Lucas is here. This matter will be resolved soon!¡± In Jordan¡¯s arms, Maddy raised her head, looked at him with teary eyes, and said sobbingly, ¡°I don¡¯t care. I want to go to the Bransons with you. Even though you killed Mark Branson, you did it to protect me. I can¡¯t bring myself to hide and let you take all the responsibility! ¡°I¡¯m going to face it with you. No matter what the Bransons want to do, we will face it together!¡± Chapter 1018 Chapter 1018: Severing Ties Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What Maddy said immediately filled Jordan¡¯s heart with warmth. In fact, over the past few years, he had always been loving her silently. He was willing to give everything he had for her, but he wouldn¡¯t expect her to do the same for him. As long as Maddy agreed to his pursuit and gave him a genuine smile, Jordan would be over the moon. But when Jordan felt Maddy leaping into his arms for the first time and heard her say that she was willing to face everything with him, he suddenly felt that everything he had done for her was worth it! They loved each other and were willing to weather all storms together. They had already reached the peak of a romantic rtionship. !! But Carlos was greatly angered by Maddy and hollered at her with reddened eyes, ¡°Maddy, do you know what you¡¯re saying?! ¡°If you dare to take a step out of this house today and go to the Bransons¡¯ with this punk, you can leave with him for good and nevere back again! ¡°I will take it that you¡¯re no longer my daughter. Do you hear me?¡± Maddy wiped the tears on her face and looked at Carlos with a bitter smile. ¡°Dad, I told you. Jordan only killed Mark Branson to help me. Since I¡¯m his lover and fianc¨¦e, how can I possibly stand by and watch him take responsibility alone? I can never do that! ¡°But don¡¯t worry. We will definitely solve this matter and make sure that the Stones aren¡¯t implicated.¡± Carlos refuted resolutely, ¡°You¡¯re making it sound so casual! Will the Stones not be implicated just because you say so? Anyway, you must stay home today. You¡¯re not allowed to go anywhere! If you dare to leave with this kid, go ahead! I¡¯ll sever ties with you!¡± His words left Maddy dumbstruck, as if she had been struck by lightning. Seeing this, the rest of the Stones immediately began persuading him. ¡°Carlos, you shouldn¡¯t say such things out of anger. No matter what, Maddy is your biological daughter. How can you really sever ties with her?¡± ¡°Maddy, look how angry your father is. Hurry up and apologize to him.¡± ¡°Your father is right. No matter what, you¡¯re a member of our family. If you really go to the Bransons to confess, they won¡¯t really kill you, will they? But it will definitely implicate us in the end!¡± ¡°Exactly. You¡¯re still young and insensible. It¡¯s not up to you to say if you won¡¯t implicate the Stones or not. Don¡¯t be overly idealistic. You have to understand that the Bransons are one of the top eight families of DC. They can easily kill us!¡± 1 ... These people were talking incessantly, all afraid that Maddy would make the Bransons think that Mark¡¯s death was rted to the Stones and thus harm them. But since Maddy had already made up her mind, how could she possibly be easily persuaded by her family? ¡°I won¡¯t let Jordan take all the responsibility alone. I must go with him!¡± Maddy said extremely firmly. Crack! Carlos flew into a rage and smashed a teacup onto the floor. ¡°Okay, since you want to go, get lost immediately! ¡°From today onward, you are expelled from the family, and you no longer have anything to do with the Stones. You¡¯re no longer my daughter! We¡¯ll go separate ways from now on! Get lost!¡± Carlos actually severed ties with Maddy and kicked her out of the family because he was afraid she would implicate the family! Maddy was full of disappointment. Staring at the teacup fragments on the floor, she smiled bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We will solve the issue today, and we won¡¯t let the Stones be involved! Since you want to drive me out of the family and sever ties with me, I hope you won¡¯t regret it in the future!¡± With that, Maddy took Jordan¡¯s hand and said firmly, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Seeing that Maddy had actually ignored his threat and would rather sever ties with the family than drop the idea of going to the Bransons¡¯ with Jordan, Carlos was so furious that he swept away all the teacups and teapots on the coffee table onto the floor. The sound of broken porcin resounded throughout the hall. ¡°If you really dare to take a step out of this home, you will never be allowed to set foot back inside again. I¡¯ll immediately publicly announce that you¡¯ve been disowned by the Stones, and we¡¯ll never have anything to do with you again! 1 ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m scaring you. I¡¯m serious!¡± Carlos hollered furiously. Maddy stopped, but she didn¡¯t turn around. Two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks. Jordan¡¯s heart ached when he saw her like this and said affectionately, ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t have to do this. With Lucas here, the Bransons won¡¯t be able to do anything to me. Just stay at home and wait for me toe back!¡± But Maddy shook her head. ¡°Since we¡¯re engaged, we should bear this burden together. If I let you face this alone just because I think you¡¯ll be fine this time, what about next time? ¡°I don¡¯t want to turn into someone I despise. We¡¯re lovers, so no matter what we face, we have to brave it together!¡± Happiness surged in Jordan¡¯s heart. After hearing these words from the love of his life, Jordan really felt that death would be worth it! The person you love loves you too. The person you¡¯re willing to give up everything for is willing to do the same for you. This is the most precious love anyone could ask for! Maddy turned around and looked at Carlos calmly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the Bransons that we bear all the responsibility. The Stones won¡¯t be implicated. Don¡¯t worry!¡± Then she pulled Jordan away and walked toward the gates of the Stone residence without looking back. This time, the rest of the Stones didn¡¯t say anything. The reason they persuaded her earlier was that they didn¡¯t want to be implicated and face the wrath of the Bransons. Since Maddy said that she would sever ties with the Stones and make sure that they wouldn¡¯t get implicated, it was just what they wanted. Even Carlos didn¡¯t say another word. For the sake of the Stones, he had already expelled his only daughter from the family. He had clearly already made up his mind. But for some reason, when he saw how determined Maddy was and that she was really leaving the Stones, he felt a sense of guilt. ¡°Hold it right there!¡± An old voice suddenly sounded in the hall. As soon as she heard that voice, Maddy, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped and looked at the person who spoke. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Chapter 1019 Chapter 1019: Between Father and Son Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Father!¡± ¡°Uncle, why... why are you here?¡± ¡°Grandfather!¡± Upon seeing this figure, Carlos and the rest of the Stones bowed and greeted him respectfully. The person who came was none other than the Stones¡¯ former helmsman, Maddy¡¯s grandfather, and Carlos¡¯s father, Geoffrey! !! After hearing that the Stones were in trouble, Geoffrey had immediately rushed over, only to hear Carlos say that he was expelling Maddy out of the family and disowning her. He was instantly angered. Some time ago, Carlos had taken a liking to Lucas and Jordan¡¯s potential and strength, which made him believe that Lucas was the only one who could help the Stones achieve glory. Thus, he had immediately announced on the spot that he would step down and that Maddy would be the new helmsman. 1 But Maddy wasn¡¯t interested in being the helmsman at all. She had refused repeatedly, so Geoffrey eventually let Carlos take over the position. It was all because Carlos was Maddy¡¯s father! But it had only been about half a month, and Carlos was about to kick Maddy out of the family! Geoffrey obviously wouldn¡¯t allow this! ¡°Carlos, you¡¯ve really got some nerve. You want to kick my granddaughter out of the family without even asking for my opinion?¡± Geoffrey stared straight at Carlos with a sharp gaze, disappointment on his face. Carlos hurriedly exined, ¡°Father, I have no choice! You probably don¡¯t know that this unfilial daughter has caused Mark Branson to die, provoking the Bransons. They¡¯re furious and demanding that we give them an exnation! ¡°So, in order to prevent the Bransons from venting their anger on us, I have no choice but to expel her from the family and make her sever all ties with us!¡± The rest of the Stones said one after another, ¡°Yes, Uncle Geoffrey, please don¡¯t intervene!¡± ¡°Yeah, Grandfather, just rest well at home and leave everything to Uncle Carlos!¡± ¡°Yes, let Carlos handle everything!¡± ¡°Please let Mr. Carlos handle this!¡± ... The Stones were persuading Geoffrey one after another. In their eyes, Carlos had already made the most beneficial decision for the family, and since Geoffrey had already stepped down, he should stop interfering with the family¡¯s affairs, lest it result in furtherplications. Seeing the Stones¡¯ reactions, Geoffrey was almost speechless, and his heart tensed up. He was already in his seventies, but he had always been the head of the family. He didn¡¯t hand over his position to his son earlier, not because he couldn¡¯t bear to let go of the power but because he knew that Carlos wasn¡¯t qualified for the position at all. If he hadn¡¯t wanted to hand over the position of helmsman to Maddy, he would have never handed it to Carlos. But Geoffrey didn¡¯t expect Carlos to be so good at winning over the members of the family despite hisck ofpetency. In less than a month, he had actually managed to get so many of them on his side. They even began going against Geoffrey, the former helmsman who had worked so hard for the family for decades. At this moment, Geoffrey felt extremely disappointed. ¡°Carlos, do you also think that I should no longer interfere with the affairs of the family?¡± Geoffrey looked at Carlos. Carlos felt diffident for a while. He looked away from Geoffrey and stammered, ¡°I... Uh, uh...¡± ¡°Answer me!¡± Geoffrey hollered furiously, his snowy white hair fluttering with his movements. After hesitating for a while, Carlos finally gritted his teeth and raised his head to look at Geoffrey. He said, ¡°Father, since you¡¯ve given me the position of helmsman, let me be fully responsible for handling the affairs of the family! I can assure you that I will definitely develop the Stones well and bring our family to greater glory !¡± Although he didn¡¯t say it explicitly, it was clear what he meant. Carlos hoped that Geoffrey could delegate his authority and stop interfering with his management of the family. ¡°Dad, how... how can you say that? Grandpa is the true pir of the family!¡± Maddy couldn¡¯t help saying. She felt really sad for Geoffrey. ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯ve been kicked out of the Stone family, and you¡¯re no longer my daughter. Stop calling me Dad!¡± Carlos shouted angrily in embarrassment because Maddy had exposed his thoughts. Maddy bit her lip and didn¡¯t speak again. But she looked at Carlos with clear disappointment in her eyes. She could ept Carlos not wanting to acknowledge her as his daughter because she had caused trouble for the family. But Geoffrey had always been the anchor of the Stones, and he had done so much for the family. She couldn¡¯t understand why Carlos would treat him like this. 1 A bitter smile appeared on Geoffrey¡¯s face. At this moment, the wrinkles on his face seemed much deeper than before, and his spine, which was originally straight, seemed to have lost the strength to keep his back straight and hunched a little. He seemed to have aged several years in an instant. Geoffrey didn¡¯t expect that he would encounter such a thing one day. ¡°Only now do I know that in your eyes, power and profit are more important than your daughter and father! ¡°Carlos, do you know why I stayed in the position of helmsman and didn¡¯t hand it over to you all these years even though I¡¯m already in my seventies?¡± Geoffrey asked bitterly. Carlos had already gone all out, and he no longer wanted to pretend to be a dutiful son. He said bluntly, ¡°Isn¡¯t the reason obvious? It¡¯s because you wanted to upy the position of highest power, so you refused to hand your authority over to me! ¡°Father, there are some things I¡¯ve been bottling up for years, and I¡¯ve decided to tell you everything now! ¡°I¡¯m your only son, so I naturally have to take over the position of helmsman. But you upied it and refused to let go even though you¡¯re in your seventies. You didn¡¯t even announce to the public that I was the sessor! ¡°You know what? Because of your actions, countless people in DC have mocked me. They called me an ipetent good-for-nothing who wasn¡¯t good enough to be the helmsman. They said that that was the reason you looked down on me and refused to let me be the helmsman! ¡°Over the years, I¡¯ve been ridiculed so much because of this, and it¡¯s all your fault! At your age, most of the helmsmen in DC had already given up their positions and handed them to their sessors more than ten years ago. But what about you? You refused to step down and insisted on holding power. Even the number of businesses you gave me authority over was pathetically low! ¡°Father, you¡¯re already in your seventies. You should have allowed me to take over a decade ago so that you could enjoy life and do what you should! ¡°Now that you¡¯ve finally given me the position, you still want to meddle with my decisions! Father, I¡¯m the person who¡¯s in charge of the family now, not you!¡± Perhaps because he had been holding it in for too long, Carlos vented everything in one go without hesitation. The more he spoke, the more agitated he became. Toward the end, he even shouted. Chapter 1020 Chapter 1020: Cruel Truth Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Geoffrey silently listened to Carlos shout. After he finished speaking, he said calmly, ¡°So, it turns out this is what you¡¯ve been thinking all this time. Even you think that I¡¯m greedy for power, and that¡¯s why I handed the position of helmsman to you sote, right?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case?¡± Carlos immediately asked back. Geoffreyughed self-deprecatingly. ¡°Hah, do you know how much effort I¡¯ve put in over the years to make you a qualified helmsman sooner? ¡°Don¡¯t you think I want to enjoy thest years of my life? If it wasn¡¯t because you weren¡¯t capable enough to take on the responsibility of the helmsman, do you think I¡¯d still drag my old and weak body around to take up the duty and exhaust myself to make ns for the family?¡± At this moment, Geoffrey was so disappointed with Carlos that he didn¡¯t even want to look at him anymore. !! But perhaps because Carlos was stimted by Geoffrey¡¯s remarks about him being not capable enough to take on the responsibility of the helmsman, he flew into a rage immediately and shouted, ¡°Who are you to say that I¡¯m not capable enough? ¡°If I¡¯m really ipetent, how could the businesses I manage generate so much revenue every year? ¡°You keep saying that you put in effort to make me a qualified helmsman, but what exactly have you done? Whenever I asked you to hand over some of the family¡¯s key businesses to me, you kept turning me down! ¡°You had no intention of letting me inherit the position of helmsman, and you never wanted to nurture me. Now, you¡¯re actually saying that I¡¯m notpetent enough?¡± Geoffrey didn¡¯t want to say much to Carlos at first. But after hearing his usation, he said with a self-deprecating sneer, ¡°Do you really think that you¡¯re the reason those businesses are doing well?¡± Carlos frowned and asked in confusion, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten? When I first handed those businesses over to you, all of them suffered immense losses. And they only started generating profit after a period of time. Surely you haven¡¯t forgotten about this, have you? ¡°I nned to keep this a secret forever, but now that you¡¯re acting like this, I have to tell you the truth. If I hadn¡¯t helped you behind the scenes, those businesses would have gone bankrupt in your hands, let alone make any profit!¡± Geoffrey¡¯s words were like a heavy hammer mming into Carlos¡¯s head, instantly making him dizzy. ¡°No, you¡¯re lying to me! You must be lying to me! Those industries only became profitable because of my hard work. You didn¡¯t help at all!¡± Carlos couldn¡¯t believe this cruel truth at all. His face turned pale as he frantically denied it. Geoffrey sneered. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re so lucky that each of the businesses that suffered heavy losses of hundreds of millions of dors a year miraculously started making profit? ¡°If you believe that this is your luck, it just means that you¡¯re hopelessly naive, and I have nothing else to say.¡± Carlos stood dumbfounded for a while as various details of the past were presented in front of him again and again. Although he was extremely reluctant to admit it, he could no longer describe his past experiences as coincidences or attribute them to luck. It turned out that the businesses he managed in the past had all been revived and turned around for the better because of the help that Geoffrey had secretly given him... ¡°Wow, I only found out today that those businesses he managed suddenly started generating profit wasn¡¯t really because of luck...¡± ¡°Uh, I also thought Carlos was lucky. That¡¯s why it seemed like he could avoid all danger and turn the situation around for the better, but it turns out that he received help from Geoffrey!¡± ¡°Oh, that reminds me of many things that happened back then. If it wasn¡¯t for Uncle Geoffrey, I¡¯m afraid thosepanies would have had losses of over a billion! My god!¡± ... The Stones discussed the matter incessantly. After hearing the conversation between Geoffrey and Carlos, many of them recalled what had happened in the past. Just over ten years ago, there was indeed a time when Geoffrey agreed to Carlos¡¯s request and handed over a few of the family¡¯s major businesses to him to manage. However, the strange thing was that these businesses had been thriving before Carlos took over, but they had suddenly started incurring losses once he did. Thus, the family had held several meetings to propose taking back these businesses from Carlos. But soon, these struggling businesses simultaneously stopped suffering losses and even started making profit. The Stones all thought that Carlos was just lucky enough to reverse the situation and turn the losses into profit. But since then, Geoffrey took away some of the businesses from Carlos and refused his requests for Geoffrey to hand over other businesses to him. However, although the key major businesses were not handed over to Carlos, he was still in control of most of the family¡¯s small and medium-sized businesses. Now, they finally understood everything and knew that Geoffrey made this decision because he didn¡¯t want the family to suffer heavy losses but also wanted to give Carlos an opportunity to train. But this just proved that Carlos was indeed an ipetent person. Carlos was definitely not willing to ept this! ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯re just spouting nonsense to tarnish my reputation because you want to take power back now. You want to make me obediently hand over authority to you again by saying that I¡¯m a good-for-nothing! ¡°It¡¯s been over a decade since those things happened. Why did you choose to bring it up now? It¡¯s been so many years. What evidence do you have? It¡¯s all a one-sided statement on your part!¡± ¡°Father, you are already so old. Why are you still unwilling to let go and let me make decisions for the Stones on my own?¡± Carlos yelled maniacally, refusing to admit that he was ipetent. Thus, he med Geoffrey and used him of making things up to regain control over the family¡¯s affairs. Seeing how Carlos was behaving, Geoffrey felt extremely disappointed. He had put in so much hard work and effort behind the scenes for his ipetent yet ambitious son. If Carlos was a little more capable, he would have handed the family over to him a long time ago and retired leisurely. He wouldn¡¯t have had to slog his guts out every day for the family. But in Carlos¡¯s eyes, his father was doing it purely because of his selfish desire for power, for which he would even go so far as to fabricate a story to defame him. It really wasn¡¯t worth his effort. At this moment, Geoffrey felt deeply discouraged, disappointed, and emotionally exhausted. He had already done his best for his son and family. From now on, he decided that he would stay out of their affairs. Chapter 1021 Chapter 1021: Leaving The Stones Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Maddy looked at her grandfather¡¯s white hair and the dejected look on his face, and her heart ached. She looked at the furious Carlos and shouted, ¡°Dad, how could Grandpa possibly nder his own son for the sake of power? If he were really greedy for power, he wouldn¡¯t have given you the position of helmsman, would he? ¡°Why are you so afraid of admitting your own mistakes? Why must you do this to Grandpa?¡± Tears gushed out of Maddy¡¯s eyes uncontrobly. At this moment, she felt extremely unjust for her grandfather. !! Jordan didn¡¯t say anything and simply gripped Maddy¡¯s hand tightly tofort and support her silently. ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re in no ce to talk here!¡± Carlos yelled at Maddy. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯ve already expelled you from the family, and you¡¯re no longer one of us! You have nothing to do with the Stones anymore! You¡¯re in no ce to say anything! ¡°Get lost. Get lost immediately with your man! Don¡¯t evere back!¡± He was already infuriated and had nowhere to vent his anger, so Maddy became the perfect outlet for him. Geoffrey watched everything coldly. ¡°Carlos, do you think you can avoid all the trouble just by driving Maddy out of the family? You¡¯re very wrong!¡± ¡°Only with Maddy as part of the family can the Stones thrive and achieve greater glory! If you drive her out, with you helming the Stones, I¡¯m afraid the family won¡¯t be far from destruction!¡± Since he was extremely disappointed with Carlos, Geoffrey was no longer polite. Carlos naturally didn¡¯t ept what Geoffrey said, and he hollered furiously, ¡°Maddy is just a woman who practices medicine! Her business and family management skills are far inferior to mine. Why do you speak so highly of her but nitpick on me all the time? ¡°I¡¯m telling you, since you don¡¯t have faith in me, I will make brilliant achievements and show you that I can bring the Stones to the peak! ¡°I¡¯m going to show you that I¡¯m the most suitable helmsman of the Stones!¡± Looking at the raging Carlos, Geoffrey was speechless. ¡°Since you think so, suit yourselves. I hope you won¡¯t regret it in the future!¡± Then Geoffrey immediately turned around and walked outside. Seeing that Geoffrey was extremely upset, Maddy felt a pain in her heart and immediately caught up with him. She held his arm and asked, ¡°Grandpa, where... where are you going?¡± Seeing Maddy, Geoffrey smiled kindly. He stroked her hair. ¡°Maddy, I¡¯m leaving the Stones. But before I go, I have a request I hope you¡¯ll agree to.¡± Hearing this, Maddy felt even more anxious. ¡°No, Grandpa, you... you¡¯re already so old. How can you leave the Stones alone? Where are you going? I¡¯ll go with you! At least, I can take care of you!¡± Geoffrey showed a heartened smile. ¡°I can still walk, and I¡¯m in good health. I don¡¯t need you to take care of me. Just go ahead and do your own things. ¡°But no matter what, the Stones raised you. Even if I leave, I¡¯ll still be worried about the family. So, I¡¯d like to ask you and your friends to help the Stones in case we really face a crisis that puts our existence in danger one day. I hope you¡¯ll give us a hand and prevent us from being destroyed. ¡°Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to answer to our ancestors when I see them in heaven in the future. Maddy, please promise me, okay?¡± Seeing that Geoffrey seemed to be saying hisst words, Maddy felt extremely sad, as if her heart was being cut by knives. Her tears couldn¡¯t stop at all. ¡°Okay, I promise, Grandpa. As long as I¡¯m still alive, I won¡¯t let the Stones be destroyed!¡± Maddy nodded with tears streaming down her face. ¡°Haha, what a good girl. I can be at ease with your promise!¡± Geoffrey smiled for the first time today, as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He then stepped out of the door without looking back. The rest of the Stones watched him leave and looked at each other before looking at Carlos. They hesitated for a moment but eventually remained quiet. They didn¡¯t even try to make him stay. When her grandfather finally vanished out of sight, Maddy looked at Carlos and the other Stones. ¡°All of you will regret it.¡± Maddy wiped her tears and left the Stone residence with Jordan. Soon after the two of them left, Carlos received a call from the Bransons. ¡°Carlos Stone, an hour is about to be up! If I still don¡¯t see your daughter and her boyfriend at my ce to confess their guilt and give up their lives, your family will vanish from DC tonight!¡± Frightened, Carlos frantically said to the butler over the phone, ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. Maddy was kicked out of the family yesterday, and the Stones have already severed all ties with her. Everything she does no longer has anything to do with our family! ¡°Moreover, the two of them are heading to the Bransons¡¯ now, just... the two of them. You can do whatever you want to them. They have nothing to do with the Stones anymore!¡± The butler snorted. ¡°Kicked out of the family? Do you think this matter will have nothing to do with the Stones just because you¡¯ve done that? Dream on! ¡°I¡¯m warning you. Mr. Mark is a direct descendant of the Bransons and the future sessor of the family. Even if we want your entire family to die with him, it¡¯ll only be right for us to do so! ¡°Don¡¯t think that you can appease us just by kicking your daughter out of your family and pushing two scapegoats to us! If you, the helmsman, don¡¯te over to settle this personally tonight, your family will definitely be annihted!¡± With that, the butler hung up. Carlos waspletely dumbstruck and at a loss for what to do. He immediately copsed to the floor! The Bransons are refusing to give up just because Maddy has been kicked out. What should I do now? Are the Stones really going to be wiped out? At this moment, Carlos¡¯s mind was in a whirlwind and full of boundless fear. A subordinate of his ran over and whispered something into his ear. His eyes immediately lit up as if he found thest straw to clutch at! Chapter 1022 Chapter 1022: Marriage Alliance Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Meanwhile, Jordan and Maddy were driving their car toward the Bransons¡¯ manor. Throughout the journey, Maddy stared silently out the window at the traffic, her eyes red and swollen. Jordan knew that Maddy was in low spirits because of the various incidents that had happened at the Stones¡¯, but he didn¡¯t know how tofort her because the matter mainly concerned her father. He didn¡¯t know what to say or do. Suddenly, Maddy asked, ¡°Jordan, do you think that power and interests are really more important than familial ties and kinship?¡± Jordan sighed. ¡°This is only the choice of a small number of people, right? It¡¯s just like how Lucas left all his power, authority, and status behind without hesitation just so that he could stay by the side of the people he loves and cares about. !! ¡°To me, no power and benefit canpare to a smile from someone I cherish. ¡°Maddy, I don¡¯t know what to say about what happened earlier. But I can actually feel that although Carlos may seem heartless for chasing you out of the family and angering Geoffrey, he¡¯s actually feeling terrible too. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s muddled for the moment, but I believe that he¡¯lle to his senses when he realizes his mistakes in the future.¡± Jordanforted Maddy while driving. Maddy smiled bitterly. ¡°I know you¡¯re just trying tofort me. My father is beyond hope. I don¡¯t expect him to wake up and turn over a new leaf since he always stubbornly insists on his ideas. Besides, even if he really changes his attitude toward me, it will probably be because he sees value in me. Hah, it¡¯s so disheartening.¡± ¡°...¡± Jordan remained silent, not knowing what to say. After a while, Maddy patted her cheeks, adjusted her emotions, and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just feeling ufortable for now. I¡¯ll be fine soon!¡± At this moment, Maddy¡¯s phone rang. When she saw the caller ID on the screen, a trace of surprise appeared in her eyes. The person calling was her father, Carlos! Maddy¡¯s heart was lifted. Carlos had just kicked her out of the family after losing his temper at her, so it didn¡¯t make sense for him to call her so soon. Unless... something serious happened, so he had no choice but to call her! No longer hesitating, Maddy picked up. As soon as the call connected, Carlos¡¯s voice came. ¡°Where are you now?¡± Maddy asked directly, ¡°What happened?¡± No matter what, the two of them had lived as father and daughter for decades, so Maddy was worried that Carlos might encounter a serious ordeal. Carlos snorted coldly. ¡°The Bransons¡¯ butler just called me and told me to arrive at the Brandson residence with you two within twenty minutes. Otherwise, they¡¯ll make sure the Stonesvanish from DC tonight!¡± Maddy frowned. She knew that the Bransons wouldn¡¯t give up just like that, but she didn¡¯t expect them to be so eager to force the Stones to give them exmation so soon. Maddy pursed her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Jordan and I are on our way there now. We will arrive within twenty minutes! At that time, I will tell the Bransons that we will take responsibility for this and that the Stones have nothing to do with it!¡± To Maddy¡¯s surprise, Carlos didn¡¯t sound any less angry. Instead, his voice was full of anxiety as he said impatiently, ¡°That¡¯s pointless. Even if you exin to the Bransons that you no longer have anything to do with the Stones, they won¡¯t let us off! They¡¯ve just given me a warning! ¡°So now, if you want to resolve our crisis, you have to find another solution! ¡°But I have a piece of good news for you. Rayson, the helmsman of the Williams, contacted me just now. He told me that if you agree to marry his youngest son, Cody, right now, they will help us deal with the Bransons! 1 ¡°Just like the Bransons, the Williams are one of the eight top families of DC. In that case, the Bransons naturally won¡¯t dare to do anything to us, and our crisis will be solved.¡± Carlos instructed indifferently, ¡°So, you don¡¯t have to go to the Bransons anymore. Come back immediately, and I¡¯ll have someone get your documents and send you to the Marriage Bureau to get your marriage license with Cody Williams!¡± ¡°As soon as the two of you get your marriage license, the Williams will step in to help us deal with the Bransons. Come back immediately!¡± 1 Hearing this, Maddy remained sitting in the car with her phone in her hand, spacing out in shock for a long time. She could have never imagined that her father would one day so self-righteously and indifferently ask her to marry a stranger without any regard for her opinion at all. The more terrifying thing was that Maddy had long heard about Cody Williams. He had Down¡¯s syndrome and a mental age of only three years old, even though he was physically over 30 years old. He also had severe violent tendencies, and he had once killed several servants of the Williams! 1 Yet her father wanted her to marry such a violent and intellectually disabled man! Moreover, Carlos clearly knew that she was already engaged to Jordan and that they were getting married on Valentine¡¯s Day! Anger suddenly surged in Maddy¡¯s heart. ¡°No, that¡¯s absolutely impossible! ¡°I¡¯ve already found the love of my life, and he¡¯s the only person I¡¯m marrying. I won¡¯t allow you to use me as a bargaining chip for a marriage alliance again! ¡°If you want to use your identity as my father to pressure me, don¡¯t forget that you just kicked me out of the family ten minutes ago. I already have nothing to do with you and the Stones. Who are you to arrange my marriage for me? I don¡¯t agree! ¡°I¡¯ll settle the matter with the Branson matters on my own. You don¡¯t have toe up with any funny ideas! If you must make someone get into a marriage alliance with the Williams, go look for someone else. I won¡¯t marry him!¡± Maddy yelled in exasperation, greatly emotionally agitated. After hearing Maddy¡¯s refusal, Carlos was even more furious. ¡°Even though I¡¯ve kicked you out of the family, you¡¯re still my daughter! You have to do what I say! 1 ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth. I¡¯ve already promised Rayson Williams that I¡¯ll get you to marry his son. So if you don¡¯t go to the Marriage Bureau to get your marriage license with Cody Williams within twenty minutes, do you think the Williams will let us off?¡± ¡°When the timees, we¡¯ll not only be unable to resolve the problems with the Bransons, but we will face another great enemy like the Williams. There will be no chance of survival for us then! ¡°So, no matter what, you have to marry Cody Williams. Otherwise, you¡¯ll harm the Stones, and no one will let you off. Do you hear me?¡± 1 Carlos¡¯ words were like a bottomless abyss that he wanted to push Maddy into! Chapter 1023 Chapter 1023: Bringing It Upon Himself Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Maddypletely lost the strength to speak andmunicate with Carlos. She found her father to be absolutely absurd and ridiculous. When he kicked her out of the family and severed ties with her just ten minutes ago, she felt sad, but she didn¡¯t resent him for doing so because she knew that he just didn¡¯t want her to implicate the family. But Carlos actually didn¡¯t even discuss it with her and decided to marry her off to someone intellectually challenged with strong violent tendencies. He was pushing her to her grave! If it was any other family, she might be able to file for divorce when encountering her husband¡¯s domestic violence. But if she married into the Williams, no one would speak up for her even if she was beaten to death. This kind of life would be a living hell! !! Moreover, Maddy had a loving rtionship with her fianc¨¦e. How could she be willing to put herself in such a terrible situation? ¡°Even if you¡¯re my father, you have no right to make arrangements for my life! If you think I¡¯m being unfilial, so be it. If I face any punishment in the future, I¡¯ll bear all the consequences! But no matter what, I won¡¯t marry someone like that!¡± With that, Maddy hung up and turned off her phone furiously. Maddy felt aggrieved and devastated as tears streamed down her cheeks. In one day, Maddy had cried more than the total number of times she had in the past year. When Carlos told Maddy to marry Cody Williams in a marriage alliance, a shocking killing intent surged in Jordan¡¯s chest. He took a deep breath, parked the car on the side of the road, and quietly waited for Maddy to finish the phone call. He was boiling with fury. If he continued driving, he was afraid that he would lose control of his emotions and the car. Carlos¡¯s actions and words made Jordan livid. If someone else had wanted to force his beloved woman to marry an intellectually challenged and violent man, Jordan would have ripped his heart out. Unfortunately, Carlos was Maddy¡¯s father, and he couldn¡¯t do anything to him. 1 Watching Maddy cry in misery, Jordan felt his heart ache. He took a few deep breaths and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. As long as Lucas and I are here, the Bransons won¡¯t be able to do anything to the Stones. The same goes for the Williams! ¡°Let¡¯s go to Lucas now and ask him to help us handle this. With his help, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything!¡± Jordan said earnestly while holding onto Maddy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Uh... yes.¡± Maddy nodded solemnly. Looking at the man beside her, she finally felt like she had someone to rely on. Soon, the two of them started driving toward Lucas¡¯s new vi. ... At this moment, in the Stones¡¯ vi... After Maddy hung up on him, Carlos was enraged and called her twice more, but he couldn¡¯t get through to her. ¡°Damn it! Damn it!¡± Carlos cursed furiously, but a great sense of horror surged in his heart. Maddy was strongly against the idea of a marriage alliance with the Williams, and now, she had even turned her phone off. Clearly, she didn¡¯t want to marry Cody. 1 But Carlos had already promised Rayson, the Williams¡¯ helmsman. What should he do now? If Maddy didn¡¯t marry Cody Williams within the time frame given by the Williams, Rayson would definitely think that Carlos yed tricks on him and wouldn¡¯t let the Stones off! When the time came, the Stones wouldn¡¯t only have to face the wrath of the Bransons but also the Williams¡¯! These two families were among the top eight most powerful families of DC, and Stones couldn¡¯t rival either of them. Together, they would pose a deadly threat to the Stones! Carlos was panic-stricken and at aplete loss for what to do. Only now did he finally realize what Geoffrey had said to him previously. Indeed, he wasn¡¯tpetent enough! If he had called Maddy to seek her consent before agreeing to the Williams¡¯ proposal, things wouldn¡¯t have turned out this way! Carlos initially wanted to seek help from the Williams to get support against the Stones, but he ended up offending two top families at the same time! This was absolutely terrible! ¡°Mr. Stone, you were too rash about this... Miss Maddy is already engaged to Jordan, and they were really loving in the hall just now. Miss Maddy will never agree to marry anyone else, especially someone like Cody Williams...¡± The Stones¡¯ butler sighed. But before he could finish, Carlos immediately interrupted him, ¡°Then, what do you think I should do? The Bransons are forcing me to take those two sinful wretches to their ce immediately to give them an exnation. What can I do?¡± After a moment of silence, the butler said, ¡°Actually, I think Mr. Jordan is really powerful. He easily defeated so many of the Smiths¡¯ experts in the DC Hotel. Moreover, he¡¯s so close to Mr. Gray. Maybe they can really resolve the Stones¡¯ crisis on their own without implicating us.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of talking about this now? And do you really believe those two boys can solve the problem?¡± Carlos hollered in annoyance. ¡°Enough, stop it with the nonsense! Anyway, I will definitelye up with a solution and protect the Stones even without their help!¡± At this moment, Carlos¡¯s cell phone rang. As soon as he saw Rayson Williams¡¯ number on the caller ID, his body shivered, and a wave of fear immediately surged in his heart. But no matter what, he had to answer this call! He picked up the phone in fear, only to immediately hear an urging voice., ¡°I¡¯ve already brought my son to the Marriage Bureau. When are you and your daughtering? How much longer do I have to wait?¡± Chapter 1024 Chapter 1024: Lucas Helps Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Carlos was shocked. What he feared the most hade true. His greatest fear now was Rayson asking him about the marriage issue. But no matter what, it was impossible for him to avoid this matter since Maddy had refused to marry. He could only bite the bullet and exin what happened. Carlos gritted his teeth, plucked up the courage, and said cautiously, ¡°Mr. Williams, here¡¯s what happened. My unfilial daughter caused a disaster, so I kicked her out of the family some time ago. She¡¯s no longer a member of the Stones... So, how about this? We have many other beautiful female descendants in our family. I¡¯ll pick one and send her to you...¡± ¡°What the hell are you saying?¡± Rayson interrupted with a series of expletives. ¡°Stone, are you deliberately ying tricks on me? I want your daughter, Maddy Stone. If I just wanted my son to marry a pretty woman, why would I bothering to your family? ¡°Damn it! You promised me that you would get your daughter to marry my son and get the marriage license immediately. But now, you¡¯re saying that you¡¯ve already kicked your daughter out of your family. Damn it, are you deliberately messing with me?¡± !! ¡°You¡¯re really audacious. Just you wait. I¡¯ll bring people to your ce and demand an exnation from you!¡± With that, Rayson hung up without waiting for Carlos to respond. Carlos¡¯s legs went limp. Unable to stand anymore, he fell straight to the floor. With a nk expression, he kept recalling Rayson¡¯s threat to bring his men to the Stone residence. ¡°It¡¯s over for us! The Williams areing to the Stones to demand an exnation from me. W-what should I do now? What else can I do?¡± ... Meanwhile, Jordan had already brought Maddy with him to the entrance of Lucas¡¯s vi. On the way here, Jordan had already called Lucas and asked for help. But he didn¡¯t borate on the details. Lucas was already waiting at the entrance of the vi. As soon as he saw Jordan, he closed the door and got in the car. After getting in, he saw that there was something amiss with Maddy¡¯s expression. Her eyes were red and swollen. She had obviously just cried. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lucas immediately asked solemnly. He knew that Maddy had always been extremely strong and would rarely cry like this. Just as Jordan was about to speak, Maddy sniffled and said, ¡°Let me do the talking. Focus on driving.¡± Then she told Lucas about everything that had happened earlier. When he heard that Maddy had been kicked out of the Stone family and disowned by Carlos while Geoffrey had left the family in anger, Lucas waspletely speechless. In fact, he even felt a little angry. The reason he had promised the Stones that he would keep them alive and even bring them to greater glory was because of the rtionship between Maddy and Jordan. But Lucas didn¡¯t expect that Maddy would be kicked out of the family just twenty days after Carlos took over Geoffrey¡¯s position as helmsman. When Lucas found out that Carlos also wanted to force Maddy to marry Rayson¡¯s intellectually challenged and violent son so that he could get Williams¡¯ help, he was angered to the point of speechlessness. He couldn¡¯t figure out how Carlos could be so stupid when he had a wise father like Geoffrey and an intelligent and valiant daughter like Maddy! Carlos¡¯s actions were hopelessly stupid, and Lucas couldn¡¯t even be bothered to scold him. ¡°Your father will definitely regret what he did today!¡± Lucas said coldly. Maddy was Lucas¡¯srade in arms and the person who mattered the most to Jordan. Ye, Carlos wanted Maddy to marry a violent and intellectually challenged person like Cody. He was simply ruining Maddy¡¯s life and Jordan¡¯s happiness! If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Carlos was Maddy¡¯s biological father, Lucas would have killed him! Maddy said bitterly, ¡°Actually, before Grandpa left, he said something like that too, but my father disregarded his words. Who knows what he¡¯s thinking now.¡± Seeing Lucas¡¯s gloomy expression, Jordan suddenly felt worried. ¡°Lucas, you... you¡¯re not going to do anything to Carlos, are you? ¡°Uh, h-he did make a lot of mistakes, but I think he¡¯s just too timid and only cares about his family. His ipetence is the reason that he... does some irrational things. ¡°Lucas, give Carlos a chance. He might repentter!¡± Jordan was really worried and afraid that Lucas might kill Carlos out of anger. Lucas glowered at Jordan and berated, ¡°Hmph, of course I know that. You¡¯re naturally going to put in a good word for him since he¡¯s your future father-inw! ¡°Hey, look at you. All you care about is your fianc¨¦e and your future father-inw now. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll mean nothing to you in the future!¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible, Lucas! No matter what happens, you¡¯ll forever be my best friend!¡± Jordan exined in panic before noticing the yful smile on Lucas¡¯s face. He immediately understood what Lucas was doing, so he yed along. ¡°Lucas, why does it seem like you¡¯re jealous right now? Are you actually jealous of Maddy?¡± Then Jordan deliberately looked at Maddy in the rearview mirror and made a face at her. ¡°Pfft!¡± Maddyughed and pursed her lips. Herughter and the joyful banter between Jordan and Lucas immediately put her in a better mood. This was also themon goal of Lucas and Jordan. Of course, Lucas wouldn¡¯t harm Carlos. No matter how overboard Carlos was, it was still the Stones¡¯ family affairs. Maddy could resist Carlos, get mad at him, and even oppose him, but Lucas couldn¡¯t do anything to the Stone family because he respected Maddy. But now, the Stones not only had to face the pressure from the Bransons, but they had also provoked the Williams, leaving them in a dilemma. Of course, all of this wasn¡¯t a big deal to Lucas. Moreover, since an incident involving the Williams happened again, Lucas decided not to go to the Bransons¡¯ first but instead go to the Stones¡¯ to see how they would handle the issue. As soon as they reached the door, they got out of the car and entered the Stone residence, only to see Carlos storming over furiously. The first thing he did after rushing over was yell at Maddy. ¡°You unfilial wench! You¡¯ve made me offend the Williams and caused a huge disaster for the family. Trust you to have the cheek toe back!¡± Chapter 1025 Chapter 1025: Shameless Family Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Carlos wanted to p Maddy¡¯s face right on the spot, but he was still rational. Seeing Jordan and Lucas standing next to Maddy, he finally retracted his hand and resisted the urge, but he still looked extremely gloomy. Maddy gritted her teeth. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯d settle this matter on my own! If you hadn¡¯t agreed to those nonsensical requests presumptuously, things wouldn¡¯t have turned out this way.¡± ¡°What are you saying? Are you ming me for this? If you had obeyed me and gone to get married to Cody, the Williams would now be our inws, and they would have helped us resolve our crisis with the Bransons!¡± ¡°But you wench, you defied me and even dared to hang up on me. Now, the Williams arepletely infuriated! Not only are the Bransons hounding us, but even the Williams aren¡¯t going to let us off. They will bring their people here and demand an exnation from us soon! ¡°This is all your fault! Let¡¯s see what you can do now!¡± !! Carlos hollered furiously at the top of his voice. Instead of reflecting on his own actions, he put all the me on Maddy, as if she was the one who caused everything to go awry. The other Stones were also glowering at Maddy. ¡°Carlos is right. This is all your fault! You caused the disaster with the Bransons, and the Williams areing to confront us too. We¡¯re all going to be killed by you!¡± ¡°Maddy, don¡¯t try to shirk responsibility. Since you¡¯re the cause of it all, you should be the one to solve it.¡± ¡°Uncle Carlos, I suggest we immediately tie Maddy up, send her to the Marriage Bureau, and get her to get a marriage license with Cody Williams. That way, we might be able to gain the understanding of Mr. Rayson Wiliams! ¡°Or maybe we can just tie her up and wait here for the Bransons! And that young punk Jordan is the culprit who killed the scion of the Bransons. We can¡¯t let him get away either! The Bransons¡¯ helmsman will be here soon. We must tie them up and hand them over to the Bransons so that they can see our sincerity!¡± ¡°In my opinion, Maddy is just a scourge. Why don¡¯t we just kill her, lest she brings even more disasters to the Stones in the future!¡± ... The Stones scolded and cursed Maddy, and some even demanded that she immediately marry the violent Cody Williams. Many of them even said to tie her up and leave her to the Bransons. Some even wanted to kill her to end all future troubles. Hearing the cold and terrifying words from these family members, Maddy was disappointed and felt as if her heart was shed by daggers. Her entire body was cold. At this moment, she experienced the same disappointment that Geoffrey had. Lucas watched on coldly without saying anything. The Stones were way too subservient. Out of fear for top families like the Bransons and the Williams, they decided to push their own family member out to face the wrath of the Bransons to appease them. Such people were nothing but garbage. At this moment, Lucas was even thinking about how the Stones would face Maddy once the matters regarding the Bransons and the Williams were resolved. While Lucas could observe coldly with indifference, Jordan could no longer continue listening. Maddy was the person he loved the most in his life. He obviously couldn¡¯t bear to let her be insulted and hurt by these trashy members of the Stones. ¡°Shut up! ¡°If I hear you insult Maddy again, I don¡¯t mind turning you into corpses! ¡°I believe that many of you witnessed my skills in the DC Hotelst time. If any of you are still unconvinced, feel free to try!¡± Jordan¡¯s face was brimming with killing intent, and the aura he released made all the Stones turn pale in fright. Their hearts almost jumped out of their chests, and they didn¡¯t dare to utter a single word. Jordan had killed several experts working for the Smiths and the Dempseys back in the DC hotel, all of whom he had killed with one deadly blow. How could they possibly dare to test Jordan¡¯s power with their fragile bodies? This would be an absolute act of courting death! All of a sudden, the Stones who had yelled at Maddy immediately cowered at the side, not daring to move at all. Even Carlos was scared out of his wits and broke out in cold sweat. He was just about to teach Maddy a lesson and tell her to marry Cody Williams in order to appease them. But after seeing Jordan¡¯s outburst of anger, Carlos realized once again that Jordan was no longer the kid who used to address him respectfully but a top expert who could easily kill more than ten experts with one hand! After seeing the reaction of her family, Maddy no longer felt angry. All that remained was disappointment and the feeling that they were absurd. It was really ridiculous for her to have a family like this! It was really depressing and pathetic! She took a deep breath and finally looked at Carlos calmly. ¡°We will settle the matters regarding the Bransons and the Williams. We won¡¯t get the Stones involved. ¡°But once today¡¯s matter is over, I will really have nothing to do with the Stones anymore. You¡¯ll no longer be my father too! ¡°If the Stones encounter other troubles in the future, I won¡¯t give you any help! ¡°Even if the Stones are destroyed, it will be your own responsibility!¡± Carlos suddenly panicked and blurted, ¡°No way! You¡¯ve already promised your grandfather that you¡¯ll never let the Stones be destroyed. If you fail to keep your promise, he will never be able to face our ancestors!¡± He had overheard Geoffrey and Maddy¡¯s conversation! Maddy sneered. ¡°If the Stones really perish, you should be the one too ashamed to face our ancestors, not Grandpa and me! Besides, even if the Stones really perish, I¡¯ll start a new Stone family. This won¡¯t be in vition of my agreement with Grandpa!¡± ¡°You... you...¡± Carlos seemed to want to scold Maddy again, but when he saw Jordan at the side, he didn¡¯t dare to curse out loud and could only swallow his pride. But at this moment, a bodyguard hurriedly ran in and shouted in panic. ¡°Mr. Carlos, bad news! The Bransons have already arrived!¡± Chapter 1026 Chapter 1026: Greeting the Bransons Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing the report of the person who came, Carlos instantly shuddered, his heart panicked. The Bransons actually came so soon. What should they do? ¡°Mr. Carlos, we¡¯d better hurry out to receive the Bransons. Don¡¯t let them get angry,¡± one of the Stones immediately said to Carlos. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right!¡± The panic-stricken Carlos seemed to have found his backbone and nodded again and again. ¡°Quickly,e out with me to greet the Bransons!¡± Carlos took the lead and ran toward the gates of the Stone residence with arge group of the Stones behind him. !! Seeing the crowd rushing toward the entrance, Maddy stood still with a look of disappointment and a sarcastic smile on her face. Grandpa is right. Dad isn¡¯t someone who can take on an important role like the family¡¯s helmsman. In the face of an emergency, all he did was panic and lose control of himself. He couldn¡¯t evene up with his own idea and just listened to the opinions of others. Besides, what if the Bransons came? The Bransons were indeed one of the eight top families in DC and extremely powerful, but the Stones weren¡¯t weak either. In DC, they were second only to the eight top families. The Stones were naturally no match for the Bransons, but if the Bransons wanted to destroy the Stones, it wouldn¡¯t be easy either. They would definitely have to pay a huge price. The eight families of DC were evenly matched, and there was also some rivalry between them. If any family was struck hard, they would definitely face the coveting and attacks of the other families. They might even be annihted as a result. Thus, as long as the Stones realized this point and used it to their advantage, the Bransons wouldn¡¯t really dare to wipe out the Stones because the price of doing so would be too high. The Bransons wouldn¡¯t dare to take the risk at all. But Carlos couldn¡¯t realize this at all. All he knew was that he was in a weaker position and spinelessly viewed the Bransons as menacing beasts. Now that he had led so many members of the Stones to the entrance to receive the Bransons in such a subservient manner, this would only make the Bransons look down on them and despise them even more and allow the Bransons to manipte them. Even if the Stones managed to save themselves by being subservient to the Bransons this time, thetter would only continue treating them as pushovers and possibly even make them their servants. The Stones would never be able to hold their heads high again! With Carlos¡¯s approaching, let alone staying as a second-rate family, the Stones would likely soon be a third-rate family. But at this moment, Carlos didn¡¯t know what Maddy was thinking. He was standing at the entrance with all the direct members of the Stones to wee the Bransons respectfully with their waists bowed and heads lowered. ¡°I¡¯m Carlos Stone, the head of the Stone family. My family and I are here to wee you!¡± They were behaving as if they were the Bransons¡¯ servants. The Bransons were getting out of their cars with a powerful aura at this moment. The middle-aged man at the front had a chubby face, and he obviously wasn¡¯t to be trifled with. He was Eric Branson, Mark¡¯s father! Eric was now in his fifties, and he had been announced as the next helmsman of the Bransons several years ago. Now, he had control over more than half of the Bransons¡¯ businesses. Thus, he was now the second most powerful person in the family, and before long, he would be the actual helmsman. Behind him were two tall bodyguards dragging a woman out of the car by her hair. The hair of the woman being dragged out was in a terrible mess, and her body was covered in dirt and footprints. In particr, her face was bruised, swollen, and covered in p marks. She had obviously received a hard beating. Even Maddy wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize her now. Indeed, the woman who had been beaten horribly was Becky, Mark¡¯s girlfriend who had provoked Maddy. This was a demonstration of authority! Carlos, who was already scared, became even more frightened after seeing the disheveled and terribly beaten woman. Even his calves began trembling. ¡°Carlos Stone, you¡¯re quite courageous. I¡¯ve already given you an hour to bring your daughter and her boyfriend to the Bransons to confess. How dare you ignore my instructions? Now, I¡¯ve had toe and demand an exnation from you!¡± Eric stared into Carlos¡¯s eyes coldly. Carlos¡¯s legs went limp, and he almost fell to his knees. He said with fear on his face, ¡°Mr. Branson... I absolutely don¡¯t dare to ignore you, but my unfilial daughter is rebellious now that she¡¯s grown up. She doesn¡¯t listen to me at all!¡± ¡°She has already cut off all ties with the Stones. There¡¯s nothing I can do!¡± Eric sneered and mocked relentlessly, ¡°Nothing you can do? Hah, Carlos, do you take me for a fool? You should have brought them to me even if you had to tie them up! ¡°How dare you tell me now that there¡¯s nothing you can do? How ridiculous! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re the head of the Stones. Are you that ipetent? You¡¯re indeed a good-for-nothing!¡± Carlos¡¯s face turned pale, but he didn¡¯t dare to argue. He just kept saying, ¡°Mr. Branson, please calm down. Calm down!¡± He was already terrified. He originally thought that someone else woulde from the Bransons, but it turned out that it was Eric Branson himself. Now, the Stones were in an even worse predicament. ¡°Calm down, my ass! Hand over the two murderers who killed my son. Otherwise, none of you will be able to escape!¡± Eric roared angrily. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t really fight the Stones to the death. He only wanted the Stones to hand over Maddy and Jordan andpensate with a massive amount of money and assets. After all, the dead couldn¡¯te back to life. Killing all the Stones wouldn¡¯t be able to bring his son back to life. But seeing how cowardly and subservient Carlos was, Eric began developing more ideas. If he seized all the Stones¡¯ assets, he would definitely gain great credit. Carlos was now scared out of his wits. When he heard Eric telling him to hand over Maddy and Jordan, he had no other choice. He yelled at Maddy, who was more than ten meters away, ¡°Unfilial wench, what are you waiting for? Hurry up ande here to beg Mr. Branson for forgiveness. ¡°And Jordan, didn¡¯t you say you were going to take full responsibility for this? Now that Mr. Mark¡¯s father is here, you should immediately get your ass over here and use your death to apologize!¡± Chapter 1027 Chapter 1027: Twisting the Truth Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Carlos¡¯s words made Maddy even more disappointed, and her heart sank further. It was clear that Carlos wanted her and Jordan to take all the responsibility so that the Bransons wouldn¡¯t be angry with the Stones. Maddy wasn¡¯t surprised by his choice, but she was saddened that Carlos¡¯s expression was subservient and terrified when he said this. He wasn¡¯t worried about her at all. At this moment, he hadpletely given up their father-daughter ties of many years. Lucas nced at Carlos coldly. If it wasn¡¯t because he was Maddy¡¯s biological father, Lucas wouldn¡¯t let him off. !! 1 Maddy raised her feet and was about to walk forward when Jordan pulled her behind him. ¡°I killed your son. If you want someone to take responsibility, juste at me.¡± Jordan stepped forward and looked at Eric calmly. Eric narrowed his eyes and glowered at Jordan. This young man was the murderer of his son Mark. No matter what, he would make him pay for it with his life! ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really arrogant. Not only are you not repentant for killing my son, but you¡¯re so arrogant in front of me! You should already know my identity and the fate you¡¯re about to face, huh?¡± Eric¡¯s eyes were brimming with killing intent. Jordan remained fearless. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just from the Branson family? Speaking of which, it was your son who thought he was all high and mighty and took the initiative to provoke me. Not only did he attack me first, but he even used a knife and wanted to kill me! But he was ipetent and ended up having his limbs broken by me. ¡°However, I didn¡¯t expect him to die easily after having his limbs broken.¡± Jordan shrugged. In fact, Jordan really felt a little speechless about Mark¡¯s death. He had merely broken Mark¡¯s limbs and turned him into a cripple, yet Mark had ended up dying. What Jordan said undoubtedly provoked Eric, causing him to grit his teeth in fury. ¡°Tell me! How did my son die?¡± Eric suddenly looked at Becky, who was being pressed against the ground by one of his bodyguards with her head held up by her hair. Becky¡¯s heart trembled as she hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him! He was really arrogant since we met in the clothing store. Later, he even hit Mark because of a disagreement and broke his limbs! At the time, Mark... Mark screamed so loudly that the entire store could hear him. I begged him to stop, but he refused to listen! ¡°Uncle Eric, Mark died of pain! He died so tragically. You mustn¡¯t let this bastard off! ¡°Oh right, and the woman behind him is Maddy Stone. She¡¯s the one who started this. If it wasn¡¯t for her, Mark wouldn¡¯t have encountered such a mishap. She¡¯s the culprit and the cause of it all. Uncle Eric, you mustn¡¯t let her off either!¡± Becky spoke with great resentment, but what she said couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. She twisted facts and put all the me on Jordan and Maddy. In particr, when she used Maddy of being the culprit, she couldn¡¯t conceal the hatred in her eyes at all. She wanted Maddy to die immediately! Mark frowned and sneered. ¡°Becky Sanders, you¡¯re really good at twisting facts! You clearly provoked us first. You even repeatedly instigated Mark to attack my boyfriend and me. Now that you¡¯re afraid of the Bransons holding you ountable, you pushed all the me to us. You¡¯re really shameless!¡± 1 A trace of panic shed across Becky¡¯s face, but she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Now that things havee to this, stop arguing! It¡¯s all your fault, bitch!¡± Becky was a shameless viin, but in order to survive, she became even more spineless. Maddy knew that it was pointless to argue with such a shameless person, so she looked straight at Eric.¡±If you want to know the truth, there are surveince cameras in the clothing store and the store¡¯s staff. No one can twist the facts easily! ¡°Mr. Branson, I think you¡¯re a smart person, so you should already have a clear idea of what happened. You won¡¯t be easily fooled by this woman, will you?¡± Eric rubbed his fingers and looked at Maddy with narrowed eyes. This woman seems different from the other Stones. She has quite a backbone. Eric had naturally sent his men to find out the truth, but so what? ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the truth or any other bullshit you have to say! I only know that you people caused my son¡¯s death. So no matter who¡¯s right or wrong, you must all go to hell with my son!¡± Eric¡¯s face was covered in murderous intent as he said to his bodyguards, ¡°Go capture them both and bring them back to the Branson residence!¡± With his order, four of his bodyguards immediately rubbed their fists and walked toward Jordan and Maddy. Jordan stood in front of Maddy like a brick wall and said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m giving you a warning. If you leave with your people now, I can spare your lives.¡± Eric was stunned for a moment, but then he instantly flew into a rage. ¡°Brat, I don¡¯t think you have a clear idea of the situation now! My subordinates are about to capture you. Do you think you have the right to continue being arrogant in front of me?¡± Eric said. Jordan said coldly, ¡°Want to capture me? You and the Bransons are not qualified!¡± Hearing this, almost everyone was stunned! Who was Eric Branson? Eric was the second most powerful figure in the Branson family and the future helmsman of the family! And who was Jordan? How dare he speak to Eric like this and even say that he wasn¡¯t qualified? He was incredibly arrogant! Even the Stones, who had witnessed how powerful Jordan was, weren¡¯t optimistic about him. The Bransons were one of the eight most powerful families in DC, while Jordan only knew some martial arts. Did he really think he was invincible? Eric was furious. ¡°Okay, great! What an arrogant kid! Wait a little longer. I will make you regret saying that! I¡¯ll make you wail in pain and beg for mercy!¡± Just as Eric was about to order his men to make a move, he suddenly heard a mocking voice from behind. ¡°Eric Branson, trust you to have the cheek to blow your trumpet! You¡¯re not going toy a finger on him today!¡± Everyone was stunned and turned their heads to look. A woman decked out in luxurious clothes was walking over slowly with a group of bodyguards behind her. 2 Chapter 1028 Chapter 1028: Unexpected Ties Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When the crowd saw the noblewoman¡¯s face, there was obvious confusion on their faces. Even Eric, Jordan, Maddy, and Lucas were surprised. The person who came over was Florence, the current helmsman of the Howards! 3 Eric narrowed his eyes and questioned in a threatening tone, ¡°So it¡¯s Ms. Howard! What¡¯s the matter? Are you so free now that you want to interfere with my family¡¯s affairs too?¡± Florence¡¯s voice had arrived before she did. She was clearly targeting Eric to defend Jordan. !! Moreover, Florence even brought five of the Howards¡¯ top bodyguards, making Eric feel that something was amiss. One of his purposes in bringing his subordinates to the Stones was to capture the murderers of his son to avenge him. The other was to take advantage of the opportunity to pressure the Stones and obtain maximum benefits. It would be best if he could encroach on all the Stones¡¯ assets so that they would be a vassal family of the Bransons and do their bidding from now on! Just a moment ago, Eric felt that the Stones were an easy target because Carlos, the family head, was just a weak and ipetent fool who was easily controble. But why did Florence appear here with the Howards¡¯ bodyguards? Do the Howards also want a slice of the pie? But even so, Florence shouldn¡¯t have targeted him to protect the punk who killed his son! Just as countless thoughts shed through Eric¡¯s mind while he pondered what Florence¡¯s goals were, she said with a smile, ¡°Eric Branson, since you¡¯ve already decided to get your subordinates to harm my goddaughter, of course I have to interfere.¡± Goddaughter? Florence¡¯s goddaughter? Everyone was shocked. But after thinking about it for a bit, they immediately figured out that Florence¡¯s goddaughter was probably Maddy! Even Maddy had a trace of surprise in her eyes, but she soon understood that Florence had said that because she needed a reason to help her! Eric¡¯s face turned gloomy, and he sneered. ¡°Ms. Howard, since when did you have a goddaughter?!¡± ¡°Do I need your permission to recognize my goddaughter?¡± Florence was now the head of the Howards, and her status was much higher than that of Eric, the future helmsman of the Bransons. Thus, she retorted curtly without any politeness. ¡°Maddy, don¡¯t worry. No one will dare to touch you with me here!¡± Florence said to Maddy domineeringly. Maddy smiled sweetly. ¡°Alright, thank you very much then, Godmother!¡± Her demeanor and expression looked extremely natural, as if she and Florence were already very close to each other. Seeing the interaction between the two, the Stones were bbergasted! They had no idea when Maddy actually had such a powerful godmother! Florence was the current helmsman of the Howards, one of the eight top families! She had an even higher status than Eric! If they had known that Maddy had such a powerful godmother, they wouldn¡¯t have agreed to let Maddy marry Eric¡¯s intellectually challenged and violent son. At this moment, Carlos felt as though a sledgehammer had struck his head. His body stiffened, and he stood rooted to the ground with his mouth wide open! Maddy actually recognized Florence as her godmother! The person who was the most shocked was none other than Carlos! He had never imagined that the unfilial daughter he had driven out of the family had such good fortune! At this moment, he suddenly recalled what Maddy had said to him previously. She said that she would settle the matter with the Bransons on her own and wouldn¡¯t involve the Stones. When Maddy was driven out of the family and disowned by Carlos, she had said to him, ¡°Don¡¯t regret it.¡± Was the reason she had the confidence to say this because she had long be Florence Howard¡¯s granddaughter? If he had known earlier, Carlos would have never done the things he did earlier! But it probably wasn¡¯t toote now. No matter what, Maddy was his daughter. Once they dealt with the Bransons, he would apologize to Maddy and let her return to the family. Given the rtionship between Maddy and the Howards, the Stones would be able to gain the support of the Howards in the future and rise to greater glory. It was a blessing in disguise! The thought of it made Carlos¡¯s heart burn with excitement. At this moment, Maddy was no longer the unfilial wench that he had called her previously. She was now his promising andpetent daughter! Eric looked extremely sullen. Florence was clearly here to protect Maddy, so he didn¡¯t dare to act rashly. After pondering for a while, Eric made up his mind and decided topromise. ¡°Since Maddy is your goddaughter, I¡¯ll take a step back and not hold it against her. ¡°But that man over there is the culprit who killed my son. I must take him back to the Bransons and use his blood to pay homage to my son!¡± Eric felt that he had already made apromise and thought that Florence would definitely do him a favor so that they would both have an out. After all, the Howards and the Bransons were among the eight most powerful families in DC, so it would be best if they didn¡¯t get into a conflict. But Florence didn¡¯t have the slightest intention of giving Eric an out. She smiled and rejected, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this young man is my daughter¡¯s fianc¨¦, so I won¡¯t let you harm him!¡± ¡°You! Eric immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Ms. Howard, don¡¯t go overboard! I¡¯ve agreed to take a step back because of my respect for your family, but it¡¯s not because I¡¯m afraid of you!¡± In his opinion, he had already agreed to spare Maddy for Florence¡¯s sake and take only Jordan. If Florence yed by the rules, she shouldn¡¯t interfere. But Florence was so domineering that she actually wanted to protect the two murderers of his son. It was way too overboard! For a time, Eric¡¯s face was extremely gloomy as he glowered at Florence. Chapter 1029 Chapter 1029: Gathering of Three Families Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Florence saw the anger on Eric¡¯s face, but she acted like she didn¡¯t see it. ¡°Eric, I feel sad for the death of your son, but I¡¯ve already sent someone to investigate it thoroughly. ¡°Actually, that woman Becky Sanders is the cause of everything. Maddy and the rest were happily shopping when Becky ran over and provoked her out of nowhere. She even deliberately brought your son into it and instigated him to deal with my goddaughter and future godson-inw. ¡°Moreover, it was your son who took out a dagger and wanted to kill them. But in the end, Jordan crippled his limbs because he was too ipetent. ¡°At this point, it¡¯s already clear what happened. Although your son¡¯s limbs were crippled, his injuries weren¡¯t fatal. But Becky abandoned your son after he lost consciousness and ran off on her own, causing him to miss the best treatment time and eventually die.¡± ¡°So, regardless of the cause or the oue, the person to me for your son¡¯s death is neither my goddaughter nor Jordan, but Becky! Eric, don¡¯t you agree?¡± !! Since Florence had decided toe to the Stones to help, she naturally came prepared and had already sent someone to thoroughly investigate the situation while on the way here. Eric¡¯s eyebrows twitched a few times, and he didn¡¯t speak for a long time. He knew that Florence had spoken the truth. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have sent people to drag Becky over. But he was unwilling to admit that his son deserved to die and let Jordan, the person who had brutally crippled his son¡¯s limbs and caused his eventual death, off the hook! 1 Becky, who was being pressed against the ground by the Bransons¡¯ bodyguards, had a drastic change of expression after hearing what Florence said. She immediately broke out in cold sweat. At this moment, she even wanted to y the same trick of twisting facts again and put all the me on Maddy and Jordan. But in the end, she didn¡¯t dare to speak up. Florence was the head of the Howard family, and she had even acknowledged Maddy as her goddaughter. Florence probably wouldn¡¯t listen to what she said, and she might even end up offending her. With just Eric, Becky already felt that she was on the brink of death. If she offended the Howards, she would definitely die miserably! Florence smiled and said firmly, ¡°Eric, you know clearly what I¡¯m talking about, so I¡¯m taking these two with me today.¡± With a gloomy look on his face, Eric remained silent. He was naturally unwilling to let Jordan off. But suddenly, a loud and striking voice came from outside the gates of the Stone residence. ¡°Eric Branson, don¡¯t be fooled by that woman!¡± Everyone was astonished and turned to look at the speaker, only to receive a great shock! The man who spoke was Rayson Williams, the head of his family, and following him were 30 bodyguards and experts, who were streaming endlessly out of a long line of Mercedes-Benz cars. They each carried a formidable aura. They immediately charged into the Stone residence, overwhelming everyone with their menacing auras. ¡°Rayson Williams!¡± Florence¡¯s face turned gloomy when she saw the middle-aged man in front, and anger surged within her. Previously, Rayson had brought twenty-odd subordinates to Felix¡¯s funeral to help the Piers pressure Florence while her position as helmsman was yet to be stable. He had tried to gouge the Howards of their assets, but to no avail because of Lucas¡¯s presence. Now, Rayson actually showed up at the Stones with even more bodyguards, and the first thing he did was target Florence. Clearly, he was out to take revenge. The Stones¡¯ legs went limp when they saw so many people. The reason the Williams brought so many bodyguards to the Stones was that Carlos had previously promised to let Maddy marry Rayson¡¯s son Cody. But Maddy refused, so Rayson naturally came to settle the scores with her. The Stones couldn¡¯t help but look at Carlos, wanting him toe up with an idea quickly. ¡°Mr. Williams, you¡¯re here too.¡± Eric smiled and went forward to greet Rayson. Rayson had merely said a sentence just now, but Eric could immediately tell that Rayson had a feud with Florence. In that case, it was very likely that the Williams would side with the Bransons and fight against Florence together. He refused to believe that Florence would dare to fight against the Bransons and Williams, two of the eight top families of DC, at the same time! Rayson guffawed loudly and said to Eric, ¡°Eric, I think you almost got fooled by this woman, Florence Howard! She¡¯s not a kind soul. She actually killed her own father for the sake of bing the head of the Howard family. A vicious woman like her deserves to die! ¡°Furthermore, she has nothing to do with the Stones, nor is she the godmother of Maddy Stone. She deliberately came here to fool you so that you would let them off because she wants to take over the Stones! ¡°Eric, you mustn¡¯t be fooled or intimidated by her. If she tries to use her family to pressure you, I¡¯ll stand by you and help you deal with her!¡± Rayson¡¯s words put Eric on cloud nine. It was exactly what he wanted to hear. But Florence was hopping mad. ¡°Shut up, Rayson William! My father died due to illness. If you continue ndering me and using me of killing my father to be the family head, I won¡¯t spare you!¡± ¡°Haha, Florence, you dared to do it, but you don¡¯t dare to admit it? Your family were the ones who revealed that you killed your father to take the position of helmsman. But, you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m ndering you? You know better than anyone else what the truth is! There are male heirs in your family. If you hadn¡¯t seized the position of helmsman and driven your father to his grave, how could you have be the head of the Howard family?¡± Rayson deliberately insisted that Florence didn¡¯t get her position the rightful way. He wanted to insult her because the angrier she was, the happier he would be. He had been forced to kneel and apologize at the Howard residence, and it had been bothering him like a thorn in his heart. Thus, he wanted to do everything possible to humiliate Florence and take revenge on the Howards! Florence was indeed so angered by Rayson¡¯s shameless nder that her body was trembling and she couldn¡¯t even utter a single word. But at this moment. she heard an indifferent voice from the side. ¡°Rayson William, since you have a death wish, I¡¯ll fulfill it for you!¡± 2 Lucas, who had been standing quietly in a corner, finally spoke! Chapter 1030 Chapter 1030: Intimidating Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Rayson initially looked furious and wanted to see who had the audacity to speak to him so rudely. But when he looked in the direction of the voice and saw Lucas standing behind the crowd, his heart skipped a beat, and he almost jumped on the spot! Why is this menacing man here at the Stones¡¯?! 1 Rayson had aggressively brought so many people to the Stone residence to settle ounts with Carlos for reneging on his promise and fooling him. He had even heard that Florence was also here. Thus, he had brought so many people over to suppress Florence and regain some pride. But Rayson never expected that Lucas, who had forced him to kneel, was actually here! Not only was Lucas here, but Rayson also saw Jordan standing near Lucas! !! The scene that had happened at Felix¡¯s funeral immediately appeared in Rayson¡¯s mind. Back then, Jordan had disconnected the joints of the twenty-odd top bodyguards of the Piers in an instant, forcing them to join the Howards. This had caused the Piers to suffer a huge loss. Under Jordan¡¯s terrifying strength, he had had to kneel down to Lucas and admit his mistakes so that he could leave the Howard residence safely. It could be said that Jordan and Lucas were just like devils who had greatly traumatized Rayson. 1 But he didn¡¯t expect to see the two of them at the Stone residence! At this moment, Rayson simply wanted to escape. 1 Even if he had brought more than thirty of the Williams¡¯ experts, he didn¡¯t feel safe at all with these two terrifying figures here. But Eric didn¡¯t know Lucas. After hearing Lucas¡¯s rude tone, he questioned, ¡°Who are you? How dare you speak to Mr. Williams like that?!¡± Lucas nced at him coldly. ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to know who I am. You just need to know that you can¡¯t afford to provoke me.¡± ¡°You!¡± Eric immediately flew into a rage. He was the next helmsman of the Bransons, yet a young stranger in his twenties actually told him that. It was simply a provocation! ¡°Mr. Williams, look at this punk...¡± Eric was about to instigate Rayson into joining him against Lucas, whom he thought was an ignorant punk. But before he could finish, he unexpectedly saw fear on Rayson¡¯s face, making him speechless. Rayson was actually feeling fear instead of anger! Why? Because of this young man? That doesn¡¯t seem right! Rayson was the head of the prestigious William family, so there was no need for him to be afraid of a young man in his twenties! Could this young man... have an extraordinary identity? At the thought of this, Eric no longer dared to belittle Lucas or speak rashly. Instead, he sized Lucas up solemnly while trying to guess his identity. Lucas ignored Eric and said bluntly to the pale Rayson, ¡°If you leave with your people right now, I¡¯ll let this matter slide. Otherwise, you know what the consequences are.¡± Rayson shuddered, clenched his jaw, and remained silent. But everyone else present could tell that Rayson was definitely terrified of Lucas and had lots of scruples about him. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have restrained his anger and not retort against Lucas¡¯s rude words. ¡°Who... who is this young man? He actually dared to speak to the head of one of the eight top families so rudely. What¡¯s even more terrifying is that Mr. William seems to be scared of him!¡± ¡°When he was faced with the Smiths previously, I had a feeling that the eight top families didn¡¯t seem to faze him at all. How great is his identity?¡± ¡°Who knows, But Maddy¡¯s fianc¨¦ looks like Lucas Gray¡¯s friend. I¡¯m afraid he has an extraordinary identity!¡± ... The Stones discussed fervently. It wasn¡¯t their first time meeting Lucas. They had witnessed just how powerful he was in the DC Hotel. He wasn¡¯t even afraid of the snipers sent by the Smiths and the Dempseys. Later on, Geoffrey even invited Lucas over for dinner. But none of them knew what Lucas¡¯s identity was, only that he was extremely powerful. At this moment, the Stones finally felt that Lucas¡¯s power was far beyond their imagination! Carlos felt his mouth go dry. Since Lucas could intimidate the head of the Williams, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, how terrifying must his identity be? At this moment, Carlos suddenly recalled what his father, Geoffrey, had said to him before leaving the residence¡ªhe said that he would definitely regret his actions today. Now, Carlos was really regretting it! If he had known that Maddy was the goddaughter of Florence, the head of the Howards, and that Lucas¡¯s identity was so terrifying that Rayson was afraid of him, he wouldn¡¯t have kicked Maddy out of the family and forced her to marry Cody in exchange for the Williams¡¯ help! At this moment, Carlos was full of regret! 1 Rayson looked at Lucas¡¯s eyes. Finally, he still chickened out and said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I-I definitely didn¡¯te today to go against you. But the Stones... they actually dared to fool my family. That¡¯s why I brought some people here to ask for an exnation.¡± Compared to when he yelled at Florence earlier, his attitude now was drastically different! The moment everyone heard what Rayson said and his tone, they were stunned! Is it really the Williams¡¯ helmsman speaking so humbly? If they hadn¡¯t seen and heard it with their own eyes and ears, they wouldn¡¯t have believed it! Carlos¡¯s heart was pounding violently. Rayson actually used the Stones as a shield to prove that he wasn¡¯t deliberately targeting Lucas and the Howards. What should he do now? Carlos knew very well that Lucas and the Stones didn¡¯t actually have any friendly ties. Lucas was just friends with Maddy, and he had helped the Stones before for her sake. But now that Maddy had been kicked out of the family, would Lucas still be willing to help the Stones? But at this point, he couldn¡¯t worry about so much. Carlos gritted his teeth and said in a thick-skinned manner, ¡°Mr. Williams, what happened previously was all a misunderstanding. Please let my family off on ount that my daughter is friends with Mr. Gray!¡± He especially emphasized the friendship between Lucas and Maddy, for fear that Rayson wouldn¡¯t understand what he meant. Chapter 1031 Chapter 1031: Change in Attitude Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Sure enough, Rayson¡¯s heart instantly sank after hearing what Carlos said. He hade here today to demand an exnation from the Stones. Carlos had clearly promised to marry Maddy to his son Cody, and they had agreed to get their marriage license today. Yet Carlos not only didn¡¯t send Maddy over but instead said that he would pick another female member of the family to marry his son. What did he take Rayson and Cody for? In his opinion, being able to marry his son was already the fortune of a second-ss family like the Stones. Carlos was simply ignorant! Thus, Rayson had nned to teach the Stones a hard lesson, take Maddy away, and force her to marry his son immediately. !! But Rayson actually heard from Carlos that Maddy, whom he wanted to make his daughter-inw, was actually close friends with Lucas! Wh-what should I do now? In that case, it seemed that his n to take Maddy away by force and make her his daughter-inw would fall through. Finding trouble with the Stones would be impossible too. Rayson gritted his teeth and forced himself to smile. Just as he was about to give Carlos an out, Lucas nced at him and asked coldly, ¡°What does my close friendship with Maddy have to do with the Stones?¡± Carlos instantly froze in shock. He didn¡¯t expect that Lucas, who was polite to him previously, wouldn¡¯t care about what he said and directly say that he had nothing to do with the Stones. Seeing Rayson looking over hostilely, Carlos frantically asked, ¡°Mr. Gray, when you were here at the Stones¡¯ previously, you personally promised to keep the family safe and also to bring us to greater glory in the future! Have you forgotten?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°I naturally remember what I said, but I also remember saying that I¡¯ll protect the Stones on the condition that Maddy is part of the family! ¡°Now that Maddy has been kicked out of the Stones and severed all ties with you, she no longer has anything to do with the Stones. So what makes you think that I¡¯d still protect you?¡± Lucas¡¯s words were extremely cold, as if they were a hammer pounding Carlos¡¯s head ruthlessly! Indeed, Maddy had already been kicked out of the family and no longer had anything to do with the Stones. But if Lucas refused to help them, what would happen to them? After thinking about it for a long time, Carlos bit the bullet and said stubbornly, ¡°Uh... I-I don¡¯t care. Anyway, Maddy and Jordan are the ones who caused the trouble today, so they should be the ones to resolve it. It has nothing to do with the Stones!¡± 1 Then he looked at Rayson and said, ¡°Mr. William, you¡¯ve already heard it yourself. Maddy indeed has nothing to do with the Stones anymore. If you want an exnation, go look for her. She¡¯s right there!¡± Carlos pointed to Maddy, for fear that Rayson would find the wrong person. In his opinion, Lucas could leave the Stones alone, but he couldn¡¯t leave Maddy and Jordan in the lurch! Since they were the ones who caused the trouble, they should be the ones to deal with it! When Lucas heard what Carlos said, anger surged in his heart, and he wanted to p him. Carlos was itching for a beating! What Lucas said earlier was very clear. As long as Maddy was still rted to the Stones, he would definitely protect them. If Carlos had a little moremon sense, he would have been able to understand what Lucas meant. Yet Carlos refused to swallow his pride andpromise to allow Maddy back into the family. He even pushed all the me on her and told Rayson to take his anger out on her! He wasn¡¯t acting like a father at all! Maddy looked deeply at her father with immense disappointment in her eyes and a touch of self-mockery for herself. She found it ridiculous that she actually felt some hope for her father! Lucas sneered. ¡°Carlos Stone, you¡¯re really stupid! If you say that the incident with the Bransons has to do with Maddy, then whatever. We¡¯ll take care of it on our own. But you¡¯re the one who provoked the Williams. It has nothing to do with Maddy! ¡°Even if the Williams want to deal with you, you should face their wrath and handle the matter yourself!¡± Hearing this, the Stones immediately panicked. Lucas made sense. Since Maddy had already been kicked out by the Stones and never agreed to marry Cody, Carlos was the one who caused the trouble. In that case, what were they supposed to do now that the Williams wereing after them? ¡°Carlos, hurry up ande up with a solution. What should we do?¡± The Stones surrounded Carlos in panic. Suddenly, a family member said, ¡°Mr. Gray said that he won¡¯t help us because Maddy is no longer rted to us. But if she¡¯s still one of us, he probably won¡¯t leave us in the lurch, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it! Carlos, you¡¯d better hurry up and get Maddy to return to the family. Retract your previous orders!¡± ¡°Yes! Carlos, no matter what, Maddy is your daughter and our family member. At the time, we persuaded you not to drive her out, but you refused to listen. Now, the only solution is to get Maddy to return to the family!¡± ¡°As long as Maddy returns to the family, Mr. Gray will definitely help us. Carlos, hurry up and get Maddy toe back!¡± ... The Stones persuaded Carlos incessantly. But after Maddy heard what these family members said, her heart was full of disappointment. Looking at their faces, for the first time, she found them shameless and disgusting. When Carlos wanted to sever ties with her to protect the Stones, they all supported him and eagerly wanted her to sever ties with the Stones so that they wouldn¡¯t be implicated. Later, when she returned to the Stone residence, they had suggested tying her and sending her to the Bransons to let them deal with her or sending her to the Williams to marry the intellectually handicapped and violent Cody. Some even wanted to kill her so that she wouldn¡¯t have the chance to bring trouble to the family again. But after learning that Maddy had two strong backers, Florence and Lucas, they immediately wanted her to return to the family. The sudden change in attitude was entirely based on pros and cons. It had nothing to do with kinship. Her family was terrifyingly heartless! Looking at them, Maddy felt her heart bleed. Chapter 1032 Chapter 1032: Four Great Families Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Maddy closed her eyes, her heart filled with misery. Jordan¡¯s heart ached. Holding onto Maddy¡¯s hand, he said with self-reproach, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Maddy.¡± If he hadn¡¯t been too harsh and caused Mark to die, she wouldn¡¯t have encountered this situation. Seeing how miserable she was, Jordan felt terrible. Maddy forced a bitter smile. ¡°No, Jordan, you don¡¯t need to apologize. On the contrary, I¡¯m very grateful to you. If this didn¡¯t happen, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t have found out that my family members are such terrible people. They¡¯re not worth staying for!¡± !! Jordan didn¡¯t say anything and simply held onto Maddy¡¯s hand, giving her silent reassurance. No matter what the Stones were like, Jordan would always stand on Maddy¡¯s side and never turn his back on her! Rayson remained silent. Although Lucas had already said that he had nothing to do with the Stones, he might be softhearted on Maddy¡¯s ount. Thus, he couldn¡¯t act against the Stones at this moment. Meanwhile, Eric also looked gloomy and sullen. He had long thought of capturing Jordan and killing him to avenge his son. But at the same time, Eric also wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to plunder the Stones. At the very least, he wanted to get enough benefits so that his son wouldn¡¯t have died in vain. But Florence, the head of the Howards, had intervened to save Maddy and Jordan, followed by Lucas showing up out of nowhere and making even Rayson terrified. It made Eric not dare to act rashly. Eric had always been a very cautious person. If he failed to take revenge but instead provoked a powerful enemy who was not to be trifled with, he and his family would suffer greatly! Seeing that the two of them were silent, Florence smiled. ¡°Mr. Branson, actually, I think the person who killed your son is Becky Sanders. If you want to avenge your son, just punish her, and we can put this matter to rest. What do you think?¡± Florence¡¯s words gave Eric an out. She had obviously seen his hesitation and knew that he didn¡¯t dare to confront Lucas. But because he had to take revenge for his son, he wasn¡¯t willing to show any weakness. So she said this on purpose. Eric¡¯s heart was full of extremelyplicated emotions. At the same time, he felt suffocated as he had to suppress his anger. Of course he wanted to kill Becky, but he didn¡¯t want to let Jordan, who had broken his son¡¯s limbs, off the hook either. But in the current situation, he had no choice but to let him go since Lucas and Florence were protecting him. Just as Eric decided to suck it up, let Jordan off, and give up on seeking revenge for the time being, several more luxurious cars slowly pulled over outside the Stone residence. Soon, another middle-aged man with a formidable aura slowly walked out of a Lincoln limousine. Upon seeing this person¡¯s face, many people couldn¡¯t help eximing in shock, ¡°Th-that¡¯s Derek Piers, helmsman of the Pier family!¡± ¡°The head of the Piers is actually here too!¡± ... The Stones eximed one after another. They were so agitated that they were on the verge of passing out. They usually wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to meet the esteemed helmsmen of the top eight families. Yet Florence, the helmsman of the Howards; Rayson, the helmsman of the Williams; Eric, the next helmsman of the Bransons; and even Derek, the helmsman of the Piers, had arrived! The helmsmen of four of the eight top families were now at the Stone residence. Normally, the Stones could brag about this for years. But now, none of them dared to speak loudly because even the most foolish person knew that something was amiss. Even the helmsmen of the other rich and powerful families were surprised. As soon as Florence saw Derek, she frowned. She would never forget how Conrad had brought Derek and numerous bodyguards to collude with the Williams to force her to marry Derek at her father¡¯s funeral. Now that Derek was here too, she was certain that nothing good woulde out of it! Rayson looked calm. Although he had given up the Piers as an ally under the coercion of Lucas and Jordan previously and almost destroyed the temporary alliance between the two families, he had always been thick-skinned. Thus, he could still act as if nothing had happened and greet Derek with a smile. Eric felt apprehensive. He wasn¡¯t sure why Derek suddenly appeared here and wondered if he was there to stop him. In that case, the Bransons wouldn¡¯t be able to get any benefits today! Derek suddenly looked at Eric and said with a smile, ¡°Eric, as you have seen, Florence Howard wants you to give up on taking revenge and leave obediently. Don¡¯t be fooled by her!¡± Hearing this, Eric breathed a sigh of relief. He realized that Derek wasn¡¯t here to target him. Instead, he was hostile to Florence and seemed to be on his side. ¡°Florence is scheming, cunning, vicious, and evil. For the sake of the position of helmsman, she even killed her own father and acts hypocritical everywhere. How disgusting! Eric, don¡¯t be frightened by her! ¡°If you leave now, Florence will be the Stones¡¯ benefactor and possibly even take away all their assets. At that time, you would have lost your son for nothing. Not only would you have failed to seek justice for him, but you would have been used by her. Wouldn¡¯t that be a huge loss for you?¡± Derek¡¯s remarks were all attacking Florence and provoking conflict between her and Eric. Florence flew into a rage. ¡°Derek Piers, you despicable scum! Stop lying and ndering me! ¡°All the Howards know that my father died of illness. You¡¯re in no ce to spout nonsense and nder me here! ¡°At my father¡¯s funeral, you insulted the Howards and wanted to force me to marry you. I didn¡¯t let you seed, so you made that up to ruin my reputation, huh? How shameless! ¡°Also, don¡¯t forget that nearly thirty top experts of your family are now working for me. If you want to provoke the Howards, go ahead and try!¡± Florence wasn¡¯t a pushover, and she retorted vehemently. Previously, the Howards had wanted to take advantage of Felix¡¯s death to bully them. However, not only had they failed to gain any benefits, but they had even suffered a huge loss. Nearly thirty experts they had trained for years had defected to the Howards. The Howards and the Piers were originally on par in various aspects. But since then, the Piers clearlygged behind the Howards in terms ofbat forces. Thus, Florence¡¯s words were both a warning and a threat to Derek. Chapter 1033 Chapter 1033: Forming An Alliance Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Derek narrowed his eyes and stared at Florence for a long time before saying, ¡°Hmph, they¡¯re just some useless good-for-nothings. Since the Howards like picking up garbage, you can take them. Do you think I¡¯d be scared of your family just because of this?¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Florenceughed with contempt. ¡°So, it turns out that you think the Piers¡¯ experts are garbage, huh? You have a really special hobby of bringing garbage around with you!¡± Then Florence deliberately looked mockingly at the twenty or so experts behind Derek. Derk was the current helmsman of the Piers, so his safety was naturally of paramount importance. Whenever he went out, he would bring numerous experts with him. Moreover, this time, he was at the Stone residence to confront Florence. Thus, he had naturally brought plenty of people with him. In particr, there were several strong and burly men standing behind him, each of them as muscr as Muay Thai experts. !! They were top experts whom Derek had spent a lot of money to hire from abroad recently. After all, the Piers had lost a great amount ofbat power after the incident at the Howards¡¯ previously. Thus, he had to replenish them quickly. These muscr and burly men were the new subordinates of the Piers. Eric looked at Derek and then at Florence. A smart person like him could immediately tell that there was a deep feud between them. But this was favorable for him. Choked speechless by what Florence said, Derek snorted coldly and stopped arguing with her. He turned to look at Rayson. ¡°Mr. Williams, you suffered such humiliation at the Howard residence the other day. Are you going to forget it just like that?¡± Damn it! This old fogy is trying to drag me into this! Rayson cursed angrily in his heart. He immediately understood Derek¡¯s intentions. But he was scared of Jordan and Lucas. Even if Derek wanted to join him in an alliance again, he didn¡¯t want it. Thus, Rayson deliberately pretended to look confused and asked in puzzlement, ¡°Mr. Piers, what are you saying? Why can¡¯t I understand you?¡± In fact, after Rayson was forced to kneel at the Howard residence and suffered something so humiliating for the first time in his life, he was incredibly upset. As soon as he returned to the Williams residence, he immediately ordered someone to investigate Lucas and Jordan. In the beginning, he thought that they had simple identities. Butter, he found that there was a six-year gap in the information about Lucas. It was as if he had vanished from the world for six years and suddenly returned afterward. Rayson was extremely puzzled and ordered his men to dig out information about Lucas during those few years, but to no avail. Later, a friend of Rayson who specialized in intelligence work reminded him that someone as powerful as Lucas who suddenly disappeared for several years most likely had a special identity. It was better not to investigate him, let alone go against him. Rayson was so terrified that he broke out in cold sweat. Since then, he was full of scruples toward Lucas. He simply pretended that he hadn¡¯t been forced to kneel and apologize to Lucas. Anyway, only their three families knew about what had happened that day. No one should deliberately spread the news about the matter that day, unless they wanted to be enemies of the Williams! Afterward, Derek had called Rayson several times, wanting to join forces with him to deal with the Howards and Lucas. But after heeding his friend¡¯s warning, Rayson obviously wouldn¡¯t dare to continue being an enemy of Lucas. Thus, hepletely ignored Derek¡¯s intentions. It was the same this time. As soon as Rayson spoke, Derek immediately understood that Rayson was feigning ignorance and refusing to stand on his side to go against Florence. Derek sneered. ¡°Mr. Williams, less than a month has passed since that incident. Are you that forgetful? Have you forgotten that you were forced to kneel to apologize and beg for forgiveness at the Howards¡¯? ¡°It¡¯s okay if you¡¯ve forgotten. I¡¯ve already had someone record the way you looked kneeling that day. Do you believe that I¡¯ll immediately get people to publish it online so that everyone can appreciate the sight of the Williams¡¯ helmsman on his knees begging for forgiveness?¡± ¡°How dare you?!¡± Rayson¡¯s expression instantly changed. He never expected that Derek had recorded the scene of him kneeling and admitting to his mistakes at the Howard residence! If Derek really posted this video online, not only would Rayson be humiliated, but the Williams would also be theughing stock of DC! Derek obviously wanted to threaten him with this matter! Seeing how furious Rayson was, Derek smiled conceitedly and then softened his tone to persuade, ¡°Rayson, why are you doing this? You¡¯ve suffered so much that even I feel upset for you. You¡¯re the head of the Williams, one of the eight top families in DC, yet two young punks bullied you. Do you think that¡¯s right? ¡°Now, Eric¡¯s son was also killed by Jordan. Naturally, he wants to seek justice for his son, and the Piers also intend to stand on the Bransons¡¯ side. What we¡¯re facing is only the weak and negligible Stone family and the Howard family. ¡°Now we¡¯re two against one. Mr. Williams, if you join us, we¡¯ll form a strong and united front of three top families against them! Wouldn¡¯t this be a perfect opportunity for revenge? ¡°Mr. Williams, you have to think this through properly. This is a rare opportunity. If you miss his chance, can you bear to endure the humiliation forever?¡± Derek stimted Rayson step by step, wanting to convince him to stand on their side. If three of the top eight families united, they would form a terrifying force that was almost enough to sweep through all of DC! His persuasion was really tempting. Just as Derek said, although Rayson had already made up his mind to give up on taking revenge against Lucas, he couldn¡¯t possibly just forget the humiliation he had suffered and pretend that nothing had happened. But he was just forcing himself not to think about it as much as possible because he didn¡¯t dare to take revenge against Lucas. Now, Derek was really giving him a tempting opportunity for revenge. If the Bransons, the Piers, and the Williams united, would he still have to be afraid of Lucas? At this moment, Rayson¡¯s heart was pounding vigorously! Chapter 1034 Chapter 1034: Making A Choice Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The current situation made Florence the most uneasy. She came to the Stone residence this time because she had heard a report that something unfavorable had happened to Jordan and Maddy and that the Bransons wereing to confront them. Florence knew that Jordan and Lucas were very close to each other. Thus, she had rushed over with her subordinates to protect Jordan and Maddy in order to leave a good impression on Lucas so that she could have the chance to make up with Cheyenne. At the same time, she also wanted to repay Lucas for helping her before. But Florence didn¡¯t expect things to be soplicatedter. Not only did Rayson Williamse, but Derek Piers did as well. If the Williams, the Piers, and the Bransons really united, the Howards wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them even if they gave it their all. !! Carlos and the Stones turned as pale as a sheet. Even though they were on the Stones¡¯ territory, they weren¡¯t qualified to speak in this situation. Maddy and Jordan stood quietly next to each other, looking calm andposed. Both of them knew Lucas¡¯s true identity. Let alone three, even if all eight of the top families joined forces against Lucas, they would be no match for him at all. They would only end up being destroyed! Without saying a word, Lucas just looked on expressionlessly, as if he was an outsider who had no idea that the helmsmen opposite him were discussing forming an alliance against him. In fact, it didn¡¯t matter to Lucas whether Rayson agreed to the alliance or not. The only thing that mattered to him was whether he would add the Williams to the list of people he would deal with in the future. Eric¡¯s eyes darted around. One moment, he looked at Derek and Rayson, and the other, he looked at the expressionless Lucas standing nearby. Based on the conversation just now, Eric learned that both the Piers and the Williams had suffered great losses at the Howard residence. The Howards had taken away more than 20 experts from the Piers, and Rayson had even been forced to kneel and apologize to someone at the Howard residence! Inparison, Rayson¡¯s matter was clearly more shocking. He could have never expected this of Rayson, the esteemed helmsman of the Williams family. What kind of person could force him to kneel and apologize? Seeing the obvious scruples and fears on Rayson¡¯s face when he faced Lucas, he wondered if Lucas was the person who had forced Rayson. At this moment, a storm was brewing in Eric¡¯s heart. He subconsciously looked at Lucas a few times to get some clues from his expression, but Lucas seemed too calm for him to be able to see anything. But this was what made it even more problematic. If he was just an ordinary person, how could he still remain so calm at this time? Lucas¡¯s expressionless face simply showed that he was too confident andpletely fearless! Eric felt apprehensive and curious about Lucas¡¯s identity. Rayson bit his lip and pondered for a long time without speaking. Just as Derek was getting anxious while waiting and about to ask him again, Rayson finally raised his head and said slowly, ¡°Derek, I can¡¯t stop you from courting death, but I have a word of advice for you. You¡¯re not qualified to fight with Mr. Gray!¡± Derek¡¯s expression immediately stiffed! He froze for a moment before saying in disbelief, ¡°Rayson, are... are you out of your mind? You¡¯re actually speaking up for Lucas Gray?!¡± He found it really hard to believe. It was Lucas¡¯s subordinate Jordan who had forced Rayson to kneel and admit his mistakes to Lucas. So by right, Rayson should hate Lucas and want to kill him immediately! Now that he proposed an opportunity to form an alliance with him to deal with Lucas, Rayson should have agreed without hesitation. But Rayson actually now said that he was courting death and that he wasn¡¯t qualified to fight with Lucas. Was there something wrong with Rayson? Rayson had already made up his mind to stand on Lucas¡¯s side, so he naturally would no longer be friendly with Derek. He said coldly, ¡°So what if I¡¯m speaking up for Mr. Gray? I¡¯m just stating facts. You¡¯ll only be courting death if you think that you and your family can go against Mr. Gray!¡± Then he stepped forward and said loudly, ¡°No matter who wants to deal with Mr. Gray, they¡¯ll be enemies of the Williams!¡± Boom! 2 Rayson¡¯s words were like a thunderstorm striking everyone in the head! Not only was Rayson refusing to be an enemy of Lucas, but he was even standing on Lucas¡¯s side and didn¡¯t hesitate to have all the Williams stand on Lucas¡¯s side too! Derek had clearly said that Rayson had suffered a huge loss because of Lucas. Why did things suddenly turn out this way? The Stones stood rooted to the ground, dumbfounded and speechless. At the same time, a strong feeling of regret filled the hearts of the Stones. In fact, all of the Stones had already witnessed how strong Jordan was a month ago and knew that Lucas was a powerful big shot who didn¡¯t even take the Smiths seriously. But under the prestige and threat of the Bransons, they all thought that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be a match for the Bransons. In order to convince the Bransons not to hold them responsible, they had even driven Maddy out of the family and threatened to capture Jordan and deliver him to the Bransons. But Maddy and Jordan were not only under the protection of Florence, the head of the Howards, but even Rayson, the head of the Williams, was obviously standing on Lucas¡¯s side! If the Stones hadn¡¯t kicked Maddy out of the family, they would be under the protection of the Howards and the Williams now! Given the strength of the Stones, they would be able to remain carefree with these two backers! At this moment, Carlos¡¯s heart was full of dismay, regret, and panic. In order to please the Williams so that they would help the Stones tide through their ordeal, he had even given up his daughter Maddy and wanted her to marry Rayson¡¯s intellectually challenged and violent son. But Maddy¡¯s friend Lucas actually managed to get Rayson to take his side and be polite to him in every way. The drastic difference and regret made Carlos want to p himself! Derek glowered at Rayson gloomily with anger written all over his face. ¡°Rayson Williams! You¡¯re too shameless? Not only are you not taking revenge against Lucas Gray for forcing you to kneel down, but you¡¯re even defending him and acting like hispdog? You¡¯re such an embarrassment to our eight families!¡± Chapter 1035 Chapter 1035: The True Murderer Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Rayson was enraged and bellowed, ¡°Derek Piers, stop barking like a mad dog! So what if I¡¯m standing on Mr. Gray¡¯s side? Since you want to court death, I can¡¯t be bothered to stop you. But after losing dozens of your experts to Howards, you can¡¯t even defeat the Howards now, and you¡¯re even less qualified to make a scene in front of me! ¡°If you want to go to war with my family, bring it on!¡± Derek was hopping mad. ¡°Rayson Williams, stop being arrogant in front of me! As soon as I put the video of you kneeling and begging for mercy on the Inte, you won¡¯t dare to be so arrogant anymore!¡± He originally thought that Rayson would be daunted by what he said since it concerned his reputation and the Williams¡¯. But to his surprise, Rayson merely sneered. ¡°Derek, just keep pretending! During that situation, you were scared out of your wits after Mr. Gray dealt with your people. How could you have secretly recorded it?¡± !! When he first heard Derek¡¯s threat, Rayson was startled, thinking that Derek had really recorded a video of the greatest humiliation of his life as ckmail against him. But he had just thought it through clearly and recalled that Lucas was present that day, and Derek¡¯s subordinates had either been knocked out by Jordan or taken away by the Howards. How could he have secretly recorded a video? This was indeed the case. Derek didn¡¯t have any video of Rayson apologizing on his knees. It was just a lie that he made up to fool him. Having been exposed by Rayson, Derek¡¯s expression stiffened, and he could only grit his teeth in anger and curse, ¡°Old fox!¡± At this moment, Florence smiled and said, ¡°Derek, you¡¯ve been talking about joining forces with the Bransons to fight me from the start, but did Mr. Branson agree? I¡¯m afraid that this is all your own wishful thinking, right?¡± From the moment Rayson rejected Derek¡¯s invitation to join forces and made it clear that he was on Lucas¡¯s side, Florence felt a great sense of relief and also noticed the change in emotions on Eric¡¯s face. Due to the change in situation, Eric¡¯s expression had changed erratically for a long time. Florence could tell that he nned to take a step back, so she deliberately spelled it out loud. Eric frowned. Rayson suddenly defected to Lucas, causing him to feel a strong sense of crisis and a terrible premonition. He had been thinking about what Lucas¡¯s identity was and why Rayson was so afraid of him. He contemted if he should continue cooperating with Derek to go against Lucas. In the end, as soon as he revealed a tinge of fear, Florence immediately exposed him, causing him to be extremely displeased. As expected, Derek immediately looked at Eric and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Eric, you¡¯re not afraid of Lucas and the Howards, are you? Your son died at their hands. Are you really going to take it lying down?¡± Eric gritted his teeth and said with hostility, ¡°I have my own y for this. You don¡¯t need to say more!¡± Derek¡¯s heart immediately sank. Eric¡¯s attitude had obviously changed. It seemed like he wanted to back down. At this moment, a ck BMW slowly pulled over in front of the Stone residence. Everyone turned to look at the car. The Stones were already numb at this moment. Who came this time? The car door opened, and a middle-aged man in his forties stepped out from the passenger seat. Soon, a badly bruised young man was escorted out by two men who looked like bodyguards, and they were walking behind the middle-aged man. Everyone watched with puzzlement as the middle-aged man walked toward Lucas and said respectfully, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve done everything you asked me to do. I¡¯ve found the person, and I¡¯m waiting for your decision!¡± The middle-aged man who came was none other than Flynn Davis, the general manager of Stardust Corporation! But no one expected that Flynn was also one of Lucas¡¯s men, and he was so respectful to Lucas! When Derek saw the young man escorted over by Flynn¡¯s bodyguards, his expression changed drastically! How did Lucas¡¯s man find him? This shouldn¡¯t be possible! The others looked puzzled, wondering what Flynn meant by bringing this young man here. While everyone was confused, Flynn had already walked up to the young man and warned coldly, ¡°Now, tell us everything you know and what you¡¯ve done honestly! Otherwise, I¡¯ll make sure you die miserably!¡± This young man had already been taught a lesson earlier. So as soon as he heard what Flynn said, horror appeared on his face, and he frantically said, ¡°I-I¡¯ll tell you everything! Please don¡¯t kill me! He got me to do it! He told me to kill Mark Branson in secret so that no one could tell!¡± The young man suddenly pointed at someone among the crowd. The person he pointed at was Derek! Everyone was shocked! Eric¡¯s expression changed greatly as he rushed forward and grabbed the young man by his cor. ¡°What did you say? Say it again! How did my son die?¡± He had always thought that his son Mark had died of pain after Jordan broke his limbs. But this young man exined that he was the one who had killed his son! Eric¡¯s anger was imaginable. The others were also stunned. They didn¡¯t expect that there was more behind Mark¡¯s death. Jordan sneered and realized something. ¡°I¡¯ve always found it strange. I clearly controlled myself and only broke Mark Branson¡¯s bones. There were no fatal injuries, so how did he suddenly die? It turns out someone has secretly done something!¡± Jordan looked at Lucas gratefully. Lucas obviously also felt that there was something unusual about Mark¡¯s death, which was why he had instructed Flynn to investigate and find out the true murderer! Florence looked at Derek and snickered. ¡°Derek, this is an interesting game you¡¯re ying to sow discord! You almost got away with it!¡± Derek¡¯s face was iparably gloomy, andrge beads of cold sweat appeared on his face. This young man was indeed the henchman he had ordered to kill Mark to frame Jordan. Only in this way would the Bransons form a feud with Jordan and Lucas. In that case, the Piers would have an invisible ally. But Derek never thought that Lucas would send someone to capture his henchman and expose his plot on the spot! Eric picked up the young man by his cor and gave him a hard p. Then he red at Derek and snapped, ¡°Damn it! Derek, how are you going to exin this to me? Ahh!¡± Chapter 1036 Chapter 1036: Revtion of the Matter Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing that the situation wasn¡¯t good, Derek hurriedly said, ¡°Uh, Eric, don¡¯t be fooled by these people! I swear I didn¡¯t send anyone to kill your son. I don¡¯t know the man you¡¯re holding at all! Since they brought him here, he¡¯s obviously in cahoots with them and trying to frame me so that you¡¯ll hate me!¡± Eric couldn¡¯t tell who was lying, so he could only squeeze the neck of the young man in his hand and roar, ¡°Say it! Tell me honestly how my son died?!¡± Afraid that Eric would really strangle him to death, the young man exined frantically, ¡°Mr... Mr. Piers instructed me to do it! I¡¯ve always worked for the Piers, and just after noon today, he told me that there was a man with broken limbs at the mall, and he immediately wanted me to pretend to be a member of the rescue team so that I could kill him silently! ¡°I haven¡¯t touched the two hundred thousand Mr. Piers told his butler to give me! I swear I¡¯m telling the truth! I¡¯m not lying at all!¡± Derek shouted in panic, ¡°Stop spouting nonsense and ndering me! I don¡¯t know you, and I¡¯ve never seen you before. How could I have possibly instructed you to kill someone? !! ¡°Furthermore, as the head of the esteemed Pier family, if I really wanted to kill someone, I would instruct my subordinates to ry the orders. How could I have done it myself? I don¡¯t know who instructed you to deal with me, but you¡¯d better think it over carefully. If you dare to nder me, I¡¯ll definitely skin you alive and make sure your entire family dies horribly!¡± Derek hollered furiously, refusing to admit that this young man had anything to do with him. In particr, hisst sentence had an intense threat. Sure enough, after hearing what Derek said, the young man shuddered and didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. Eric said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as you tell the truth, the Bransons will protect your family. No one will be able to hurt them!¡± In fact, now that things had alreadye to this, Derek had already made a judgment that there was something fishy about his son¡¯s death. He was certain that Derek had instructed this young man to kill his son! 1 The young man gritted his teeth and said, ¡°What I just said was the truth! Mr. Branson, given your abilities, it should be easy for you to find out if I¡¯ve worked for the Piers! ¡°Moreover, I can tell you very clearly that I received two hundred thousand in my ount at around one-thirty this afternoon, and your son¡¯s death was at about one-fifty! I remember it very clearly! ¡°You can run and check and find out these things! It was Derek Branson who made me do it, and I hope you¡¯ll spare my family on ount that I¡¯ve told you the truth. They don¡¯t know anything!¡± 1 The young man gave a clear ount of all the things he had done, and there was a definite timeline from the moment he received the money to when he killed Mark. So it was unlikely that someone had bribed him after Mark¡¯s to frame Derek. ¡°Derek, now that the evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to say?¡± Eric glowered at Derek, his eyes burning with fury. He never imagined that just a few minutes ago, Derek was still telling him not to forget that his son had been murdered and that he mustn¡¯t let Jordan, the Howards, and Lucas off the hook. But the facts now showed that the person who really killed his son was none other than Derek! He had deliberately set things up to frame Jordan and falsely say that he wanted to help Eric take revenge so that he could use him to deal with his enemy! How vicious and evil! Derek couldn¡¯t find a suitable reason to get himself out of trouble, so he could only deny it vehemently. ¡°I really didn¡¯t do it. This punk made it all up. Eric, you have to believe me!¡± He was full of hatred. He had already carried out his n sessfully, and he was so close to uniting three top families. But a sudden change had urred, and the murderer had been exposed. As a result, his ns went up in smoke, and he ended up offending the Bransons! Florence took a deep look at Lucas with heartfelt admiration in her eyes. She initially thought that she woulde over and be able to resolve Maddy and Jordan¡¯s matter. But she didn¡¯t expect the Williams and the Piers to get involved too. If Lucas wasn¡¯t present, the Bransons, the Piers, and the Williams would have formed an alliance and put the Howards in a dangerous situation. Moreover, Lucas had secretly sent someone to investigate Mark¡¯s death and found the real murderer, exposing Derek¡¯s plot and turning the situation around! Meanwhile, Rayson looked at Lucas in astonishment, finding it impressive that he had turned the situation around without much effort. At this time, Rayson¡¯s heart was full of joy. Fortunately, after some hesitation, he had chosen to stand on Lucas¡¯s side instead of joining Derek. Facts proved that he had made the right choice! Seeing that things were going awry and escting out of control, Derek felt vexed and flustered. ¡°Hmph, I came with good intentions to help the Bransons seek justice. However, I didn¡¯t expect that not only would you be ungrateful, but you¡¯re even doubting me even though I¡¯ve been framed! In that case, I have nothing more to say. Goodbye!¡± Derek said angrily and turned around to leave. ¡°Stop. Did I say that you could leave?¡± Lucas¡¯s cold and indifferent voice suddenly sounded behind him. Derek¡¯s body froze in shock. He nned to ignore Lucas and just walk away. But for some reason, a chill surged in his heart when he recalled what had happened at the Howard residence previously. His feet felt as if they were stuck to the ground, and he didn¡¯t dare to move at all. Previously, Dereck and his father had brought more than thirty elite bodyguards to the Howard residence. Four of them had been severely injured, while the rest had their joints disconnected by Jordan. Eventually, theyter joined the Howard family. Although he had brought more than twenty people this time and a few top experts he had hired from abroad at a high price, he wasn¡¯t confident when facing Lucas. ¡°Wh-what do you want?¡± Derek stared at Lucas with clenched fists. Lucas said coldly, ¡°You secretly killed Eric Branson¡¯s son, but that¡¯s between you and the Bransons. I don¡¯t care about this. But you owe me an exnation for framing my friend Jordan for it! Furthermore, you repeatedly ndered my mother-inw for killing her father to take over his position. You¡¯d better exin yourself, or else you can forget about stepping foot outside the Stone residence today!¡± Chapter 1037 Chapter 1037: Teach Him A Lesson Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What Lucas said immediately shocked everyone present. What he said at first was understandable, but they were confused by what he meant by his mother-inw killing her father. The only person used of killing her father was Florence, the new helmsman of the Howards. Could it be that Florence was Lucas¡¯s mother-inw?! All of a sudden, Eric, Derek, Rayson, Carlos, and the Stones were stunned. They had no idea that Lucas and Florence had such a rtionship! !! Even Florence froze for a moment before returning to her senses and realizing that Lucas had actually acknowledged that she was his mother-inw! At this moment, a wave of emotions surged in Florence¡¯s heart, making her feel a strong urge to cry on the spot. She wondered if Lucas¡¯s acknowledgment meant that she and Cheyenne would reconcile soon. Derek¡¯s eyes bulged, and he shouted angrily, ¡°Since when did I nder Florence Howard? How is it wrong that I said she killed her father to take over his position?¡± ¡°Did you see it with your own eyes?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°Hmph, this news came from the Howards themselves. Why would they nder her?¡± Derek insisted. Lucas sneered. ¡°So, your im is entirely based on hearsay, and you don¡¯t have any evidence at all. You¡¯re just falsely using my mother-inw! If I say that I heard you killed your mother, what would you do? Or is that the Piers¡¯ upbringing?¡± Last time, Derek had also brought arge group of people and deliberately caused trouble at the Howard residence to take advantage of Felix¡¯s death to bully the Howards and force Florence to marry into the Piers. That time, Derek and his father kept calling Florence a vicious wench who killed her father to take over his position. Lucas didn¡¯t bother much with the Piers previously and had only detained the twenty-odd experts as punishment before releasing Derek and his father. But today, Florence took the initiative to rush to the Howard residence to help Maddy and Jordan. So Lucas acknowledged her favor and her identity as his mother-inw. Since this was the case, Lucas would never let anyone defame Florence and tarnish her reputation. If Cheyenne really wanted to reconcile with her, he wouldn¡¯t stop her, but he wouldn¡¯t let her be criticized for having a mother used of killing her father for his position. Moreover, Derek had deliberately killed someone and tried to frame Jordan. He had even wanted to unite with the Bransons and the Williams to deal with them. He had already offended Lucas several times, so Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t let him off the hook easily. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really sharp-tongued! I can¡¯t be bothered with you, but you¡¯d better behave!¡± Derek had an ominous premonition and just quickly wanted to leave. ¡°Teach him a lesson!¡± Lucas said calmly. Jordan immediately rushed out and stood in front of Derek, blocking him from leaving. The next second... Smack! Smack! Two loud ps immediately resounded throughout the courtyard of the Stone residence! Everyone stared at the scene in front of them with their mouths wide open in shock, looking at Jordan¡¯s hand in the air and the bright red p marks on Derek¡¯s face! Derek, the helmsman of one of the eight top families of DC, was actually pped twice by Jordan! In particr, the Stones¡¯ mouths were so wide open that they could fit eggs inside. They knew that Jordan was Maddy¡¯s fianc¨¦, but they never thought that he would have the courage to p Derek twice in public! The Stones were practically about to faint! ¡°You... you bastard, how dare you hit me?¡± Derek was stupefied by the loud ps. When he regained his senses, he was furious and glowered at Jordan like he wanted to kill him. ¡°So what if I hit you? You deserve it!¡± Smack! Jordan sneered, raised his hand, and pped Derek on the face again. ¡°You ndered me and framed me. Don¡¯t you deserve to be beaten up?¡± ¡°Punk, I won¡¯t let you...¡± Smack! Before Derek could finish speaking, Jordan pped his face again. ¡°You killed someone and framed me for it. Don¡¯t you deserve to be beaten up?¡± ¡°You...¡± Smack! ¡°You tried to use someone else to harm Lucas. Don¡¯t you deserve to be beaten up?¡± Smack! ¡°You¡¯re unrepentant and keep issuing threats. Don¡¯t you deserve to be beaten up?¡± Smack! Smack! Smack! ... Jordan pped Derek¡¯s face relentlessly. Before long, Derek¡¯s cheeks were red and swollen, and he couldn¡¯t even speak. Blood was even dropping from the corners of his mouth. Everyone watched on, dumbfounded. As the head of the Piers, Derek was actually being pped on his face so hard that it was as swollen as a pig¡¯s head. Even the elite bodyguards Derek had brought with him were stunned. They didn¡¯t expect that there would be someone so fierce and bold in DC as to p Derek¡¯s face in public! At this moment, the people Derek brought finally reacted, and their expressions changed drastically. The few tall and muscr experts and the bodyguards of the Piers all charged toward Jordan. The twenty or so people rushed toward Jordan together. Among them, there were many who were twice as muscr as Jordan. The scene was extremely shocking! Many people eximed and quickly stepped back, afraid that they might be implicated. But while Eric was backing up, he subconsciously nced at Lucas. Lucas still looked very calm, and he wasn¡¯t the slightest bit worried or nervous. Isn¡¯t Lucas Gray worried at all that something might happen to Jordan? Or does he have enough confidence in Jordan and believes that he won¡¯t be defeated by the siege of more than twenty people in front of him? Who exactly is Lucas Gray? ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Waahhh!¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ... While Eric was absent-minded for a bit, several miserable shrieks and yells resounded. Eric turned around abruptly, only to see Jordan kicking away the people rushing at him one by one. These people flew into the air like sandbags and fell heavily to the ground. Even the five muscr men weren¡¯t spared from the ruthless treatment. They couldn¡¯t fight back at all. This scene was really astonishing! If he hadn¡¯t seen it with his own eyes, Eric would have found it hard to believe that the lean Jordan could subdue the twenty-odd experts of Derek within just a few seconds! Chapter 1038 Chapter 1038: Seek Her Forgiveness Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Not only was Eric, who witnessed Jordan¡¯s fighting ability for the first time, shocked, but even the others who had long known how powerful Jordan was were shocked by the scene in front of them. In just a few seconds, Jordan had already defeated the twenty-odd experts that Derek had brought. How powerful was he? The person most shocked was Derek, who was standing in the middle with a dazed expression on his swollen face. He came to the Stone residence this time with the remaining elite experts of the Piers and several powerful men he had hired from abroad at a high price. At first, he was full of confidence. Originally, he thought that he could use his newly acquiredbat forces to deal with Jordan and Lucas and take revenge for the humiliation he had suffered at the Howard residencest time. But he never imagined that Jordan would defeat them before they could even touch him. !! Derek¡¯s calves began to shiver. Meanwhile, Rayson felt astonished but also extremely fortunate. Fortunately, he had made a wise choice and didn¡¯t get involved with Derek. Otherwise, the Williams¡¯ experts would have been among the people on the ground and unable to get up. And Derek being pped until his face was red and swollen was so terrifying that Rayson didn¡¯t even dare to think about it. This scene made the Stones feel immense regret. In particr, Carlos was so regretful that he was on the verge of tears. Jordan could actually teach the head of the Piers a hard lesson, p his face swollen, and even knock out the Piers¡¯ experts within a few moments. But he was his former son-inw! If he hadn¡¯t driven Maddy out of the family and lost such an impressive son-inw as Jordan, even the eight top families of DC likely wouldn¡¯t dare to provoke them easily. Unfortunately, he had ruined this favorable position himself! Suddenly, Jordan looked at Lucas and asked, ¡°Lucas, should we just kill him?¡± Hearing this, everyone fell into shock again! Derek, the head of the Piers, was now so lowly that he was just like an ordinary person to Lucas and Jordan! They could kill the head of one of the eight most powerful families in DC without even batting an eyelid! Most importantly, everyone here could see that Jordan wasn¡¯t blowing his trumpet. He and Lucas really didn¡¯t care about Derek¡¯s life and could really kill him whenever they wanted! Thud! Derek¡¯s legs went limp, and he knelt on the ground! This scene shocked everyone once again and rendered them speechless! Before Lucas even decided whether to kill Derek or not, Derek already couldn¡¯t withstand the overwhelming pressure and knelt! ¡°M-Mr. Gray, it was my mistake. I... I will never dare to frame anyone or nder your mother-inw again. I will never dare to offend you again! ¡°I... I just hope you can spare me and let me off this time! In the future, I promise I will never cause trouble for you again!¡± Derek spoke with great difficulty. He was now kneeling on the ground spinelessly, his face as swollen as a pig¡¯s head. Boom! Derek¡¯s actions and words caused the surrounding people to widen their mouths in disbelief! The eight top families of the US were esteemed and respected by everyone. Usually, only others would kneel and apologize to them, never the other way around. It was practically impossible to see this sight! Apart from Rayson, who had had the same experience previously, the rest couldn¡¯t even imagine this scene at all. Everyone¡¯s eyes focused on Lucas. Now, it depended on whether Lucas wanted to spare Derek or not. Lucas looked at Derek, who was kneeling in front of him, and sneered with disdain. ¡°You¡¯ve offended my mother-inw several times. You have to ask her if she wants to let you off!¡± Florence was stunned again, and excitement surged in her heart. Lucas gave her the right to decide Derek¡¯s fate so that she could get back at Derek and establish her prestige. After today, the other top families would definitely not dare to despise or insult her again! Florence was extremely excited because she knew that this was a special gift from Lucas! Derek¡¯s face became even gloomier, but at this point, he no longer had a choice because all his subordinates had been defeated. ¡°M-Ms. Howard, it¡¯s all my fault for spouting nonsense and ndering you without even knowing the truth! Please... please forgive me. I won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± Kneeling on the ground in fear, Derek turned to Florence and spoke with a face full of humiliation. He even pped his face twice. He was absolutely terrified. Right now, all of his subordinates had been wiped out, and he was all alone and outnumbered. He couldn¡¯t even run out of the Stone residence. If he couldn¡¯t obtain Florence¡¯s forgiveness now, Lucas might really kill him! The more respectful and powerful people were, the more afraid of death they were. It was the same for Derek. He would rather kneel in front of Florence spinelessly and beg her for forgiveness, even though he hated her guts! Seeing Derek¡¯s current appearance, Florence felt extremely relieved. She couldn¡¯t help ncing at Lucas, only to find that he didn¡¯t give her any signals. So she immediately knew that he was giving her full authority to handle it. Honestly, given Derek¡¯s repeated insults to Florence and his attempts to force her to marry into the Piers, she wished she could kill him. But no matter what, the Piers were also one of the eight top families in DC. If she really killed Derek, Conrad, the Piers¡¯ former helmsman, would definitely not let the matter rest, and he would surely form a death feud with the Howards. If the two families were at odds, Florence wouldn¡¯t actually be too afraid. But she was worried that the Piers would scheme against Lucas and Cheyenne. If something untoward happened to them, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to bear it! ¡°Since you already know your wrongdoings, remember what you said today! If you dare to do it again, I won¡¯t spare you. What are you waiting for? Get lost!¡± Florence shouted angrily. Derek was overjoyed. As long as Florence was willing to spare his life, he didn¡¯t care about anything else! Derek said, ¡°Thank you, Ms. Howard. I¡¯ll definitely remember your words and won¡¯t create trouble for you again!¡± Then Derek got up from the ground in a panic, as if he had been spared from the death penalty. He scurried toward the gate and couldn¡¯t even bother about the bodyguards and experts lying on the ground. Chapter 1039 Chapter 1039: The Dust Settles Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Everyone watched Derek flee in panic, their mood extremelyplicated. They all knew that the Piers had been utterly humiliated in front of Lucas. If word about today¡¯s incident spread, Derek and the Piers would be aughing stock in the eyes of the people of DC. Rayson couldn¡¯t help raising his hand to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, feeling thankful for the hundredth time that he hadn¡¯t chosen the wrong path. Otherwise, he would probably have to suffer the humiliating act of kneeling and begging for mercy twice! While Derek fled in panic, Florence nced at Eric and said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Branson, the truth of the matter hase to light now, and the true murderer of your son is the Piers. So, shouldn¡¯t you leave with your men now?¡± !! Eric pursed his lips. Given the current situation, even if Jordan had really killed his son, he wouldn¡¯t dare to seek revenge against Jordan. What Florence said undoubtedly gave Eric an excellent out. He immediately said, ¡°Since it¡¯s all a misunderstanding, I naturally won¡¯t settle scores with the innocent people here. It¡¯s all Derek Piers¡¯ fault, so I¡¯ll go to the Piers¡¯ right now and get him to give me an exnation! ¡°Goodbye, everyone!¡± Florence smiled. ¡°In that case, goodbye, Mr. Branson.¡± Eric took onest nce at Lucas and left with the Bransons without hesitation. He didn¡¯t even mention anything about holding Jordan responsible for breaking his son¡¯s limbs. After the Bransons left, Rayson also walked up to Lucas and said very politely, ¡°Mr. Gray, if you have no further instructions, shall I leave too?¡± Rayson had initiallye to confront the Stones because Maddy had refused to marry his son, Cody. After everything that happened, he didn¡¯t dare to mention it anymore. He also made up his mind that the Williams were not to mention this matter or provoke Lucas again! Lucas nced at Rayson and unexpectedly smiled. ¡°Mr. Williams, it must have been hard on you today. From now on, the Stardust Corporation will need your help.¡± Although Rayson was an extremely shameless fencesitter prone to changing his stand, he was timid, cautious, and good at judging the situation. So he knew what was most beneficial to him. Thus, as long as Lucas still had the ability to deter Rayson, he would never be afraid of getting betrayed, making it easier for Lucas to control him. Lucas¡¯s actions surprised Rayson. He never expected that Lucas would not only spare him from responsibility but also hint at a cooperation with him, showing him goodwill! ¡°That would be wonderful! Mr. Gray, don¡¯t worry. From now on, the Williams will be the firmest and most reliable partner of the Stardust Corporation in DC. I¡¯ll immediately go back and have someone prepare the cooperation proposal!¡± Rayson said with excitement written all over his face. ¡°In that case, thank you, Mr. Williams. When I have time in the future, I¡¯ll invite you out for a meal!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Haha, well said, well said! Goodbye, Mr. Gray, Ms. Howard!¡± Rayson bade them farewell and left with his people. At this time, Florence came over and said with aplicated expression, ¡°Lu... Mr. Gray, I wanted to help today. But in the end, I failed to do anything and instead received another favor from you. I¡¯m really grateful.¡± Although Lucas had previously acknowledged that Florence was his mother-inw in front of everyone, she didn¡¯t dare to assume this identity in front of Lucas and instead remained very polite and respectful toward him. Lucas looked up at her and said lightly, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so formal with me. Just call me Lucas.¡± Florence¡¯s heart trembled in excitement. Once upon a time, Florence could address Lucas by his name and even treat him rudely because she didn¡¯t take him seriously back then. But as Lucas gradually revealed his abilities and strength, followed by the various incidents that took ce afterward, Florence realized just how terrifyingly powerful her son-inw was. Thus, Florence was extremely cautious when speaking to Lucas, for fear that she would anger him. But now, Lucas took the initiative to ask her to address him by his name. It seemed that he was no longer bothered about their unhappy past and intended to ept her as his mother-inw. ¡°Okay!¡± Florence said excitedly, and even her eyes were red. Seeing her so excited, Lucas sighed slightly. Honestly, Florence simply wasn¡¯t qualified to be a mother, given her previous actions. His impression of her before was terrible. But after experiencing so many events, she had changed drastically. If Florence had really changed her ways and could be a qualified mother, Lucas wouldn¡¯t stop Cheyenne from reconciling with her. With tears in her eyes, Florence left in satisfaction. With the departure of the Piers, the Bransons, and the Howards, only the Stones were left. At this moment, the Stones were all apprehensive as they secretly sized up Lucas and the others, unsure of what would happen to them next. But Lucas didn¡¯t look at them and instead looked at Maddy and asked with raised brows, ¡°Maddy, shall we go?¡± Maddy nodded and then looked at Carlos and said calmly, ¡°We¡¯ve already settled today¡¯s issue. Just as I promised, the Stones weren¡¯t implicated. ¡°But from now on, I will no longer have anything to do with the Stones. No matter what happens to you in the future, I won¡¯t get involved!¡± Then Maddy took Jordan¡¯s hand and turned around to leave. ¡°W-wait!¡± Seeing Maddy about to leave, Carlos couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and immediately called out to her. ¡°Maddy, I know it was my fault previously. I... I shouldn¡¯t have let anger get the better of me and kicked you out of the family. I really know my mistakes! ¡°I also now know that I really have no ability to be the Stones¡¯ helmsman. So I¡¯ll hand the position over to you now! As long as you¡¯re willing to return to the Stones, I will immediately pass the position of helmsman over to you. And I will never take matters into my own hands again!¡± Although Carlos felt extremely ashamed, he still said this. After what had happened today, Carlos was really full of regret. He originally thought that his daughter had caused a disaster for the Stones, so he had severed ties with her in a fit of anger and expelled her from the family. But it turned out that Maddy¡¯s social connections were so powerful. Not only did she have a godmother like Florence and a powerful fianc¨¦ like Jordan, but she was even close friends with Lucas, whom even the heads of the eight top families in DC didn¡¯t dare to offend. If Maddy returned to the Stones, she would definitely bring them to greater glory with her connections, and no one would dare to bully the Stones again! As such, Carlos was willing to hand over his position as helmsman to Maddy! Chapter 1040 Chapter 1040: A Different Kind of Life Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After hearing what Carlos said, the Stones also spoke up. ¡°Yes, Maddy, just return to the family. Carlos only spoke in anger previously. You two are father and daughter. There¡¯s no feud that you can¡¯t resolve!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Maddy, quicklye back to the family. You carry the blood of the Stones, and no matter what, you¡¯re one of us! Please forgive Carlos!¡± ¡°Maddy, the Stones need you, and you need the Stones too, don¡¯t you? Just stay with us, and we can take it that nothing has happened. When youe back, you will be the next helmsman!¡± ... The Stones persuaded her one after another. !! But they had forgotten that Geoffrey, the former helmsman, had once wanted to hand over the position of helmsman to Maddy. Since she had turned it down then, she wouldn¡¯t ept it now. Besides, after seeing their shifting attitudes today, Maddy couldn¡¯t stand their coldbloodedness and heartlessness, as well as how they only cared about pros and cons. Maddy felt that she didn¡¯t have the ability to return home and n for the interests of these people so that they could lead a better life! ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anymore! ¡°That¡¯s not what you said earlier when you thought I brought disaster to the family! At the time, did it ur to any of you that I¡¯m a family member of yours? ¡°In fact, before this, you even wanted to tie me up and hand me over to the Bransons or force me to marry Cody Williams! ¡°If I didn¡¯t have anyone to help me and was just a woman with nothing, would you still let me return to the family? I¡¯m afraid you would have asked me to apologize with my death, lest I implicate you.¡± Maddy looked at her former family members contemptuously. ¡°So, stop acting like you care about and not your own interests! From now on, I will have nothing to do with the Stones!¡± With that, Maddy took Jordan¡¯s hand and left the Stone residence with Lucas, not looking back at all. The Stones were red with embarrassment. But when they saw that Maddy had really left and had no intention of returning, they panicked again. ¡°No, Carlos, you can¡¯t just let Maddy go! If she doesn¡¯t return to the Stones, what will happen to us?¡± ¡°Yeah, Carlos, Maddy is your daughter. If you beg for mercy, she might relent and agree toe back!¡± ¡°Maddy has such powerful connections now. Not only is she the goddaughter of Florence, the helmsman of the Howards, one of the eight top families of DC, but her fianc¨¦ and Lucas Gray don¡¯t have simple identities either. If Maddyes home, the Stones might be one of the top families!¡± ¡°Carlos, no matter what, you have to get Maddy to return. Otherwise, the Stones will lose a rare opportunity to ascend to greater heights!¡± ... The Stones surrounded Carlos and kept talking. They could only see the benefits that Maddy could bring to the Stones now. Many of them had even thought of how the Stones could be one of the eight top families in DC in the future. Carlos shut his eyes tightly and suddenly shouted, ¡°Shut up!¡± Everyone was shocked and immediately shut their mouths. Carlos looked at the people surrounding him and suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of fatigue and misery. No matter what, Maddy was Carlos¡¯s daughter, who he had raised for nearly thirty years. He did feel some affection for her, but he had no choice but to kick her out in order to save the family. But it was because he didn¡¯t know that Maddy had such powerful connections. If he had known, he wouldn¡¯t have chosen to do this! So now, Carlos could only bitterly ept the fact that Maddy hated him. Furthermore, Carlos understood Maddy¡¯s personality. She was as stubborn as her grandfather. He knew that she would never agree to return to the Stones even if he begged her. At this moment, a member of the Stones suddenly thought of something and hurriedly said, ¡°Carlos, Maddy has always been close to Geoffrey. If we can persuade him toe back and then convince him to persuade her, she¡¯ll definitely give in!¡± Seemingly enlightened, Carlos¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Yes! Maddy has always been close to her grandfather since she was a child. If Fatheres back, he¡¯ll definitely be able to convince her!¡± The other members nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, Uncle Geoffrey is most concerned about the development of the family. I¡¯m sure if he knows that we have an opportunity to soar to glory now, he¡¯ll definitelye back! As long as we can convince him, we can convince Maddy!¡± ¡°But... Geoffrey... where is he now?¡± a Stone suddenly asked. After hearing this question, all the Stones fell into a deafening silence. They all knew that Geoffrey had left the Stones, but none of them had bothered to find out where he went. At this moment, immense guilt welled up in Carlos¡¯s heart, and he wished he could p himself. His father, Geoffrey, was already 73 years old this year. Yet he had left his family in disappointment, while Carlos, his only son, showed no concern at all. He didn¡¯t even send someone to escort Geoffrey. So now, he didn¡¯t know where Geoffrey went! He was a failure of a son! ¡°Send people to look for him immediately! No matter what, we must find his whereabouts!¡± Carlos roared with clenched fists. With his order, all the Stones took action and began to search all over DC for Geoffrey¡¯s whereabouts. ... At this moment, in a small courtyard of a house on the outskirts of DC, far away from the bustling city... Geoffrey, whom the Stones were searching high and low in the city for, was sitting in this small courtyard and focused on tending to a small vegetable garden. There wasn¡¯t the slightest tinge of sadness on his face, only a sense of relief, as if a huge burden had finally been lifted. ¡°Indeed, I should havee here a long time ago.¡± After tidying up the small vegetable garden, Geoffrey wiped away the sweat on his forehead, feeling satisfied and rxed. This feeling was something he had never felt since he became the helmsman of the Stones decades ago. ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m here to see you!¡± A clear voice suddenly came from outside the small courtyard, followed by a smiling face appearing in front of Geoffrey. Chapter 1041 Chapter 1041: A Humble Little Residence Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Geoffrey turned his head in surprise and saw his smiling granddaughter Maddy walking over with Lucas and Jordan behind her. ¡°You... How did you know I was here?¡± Geoffrey said in surprise. But he soon understood and smiled. It was simply a piece of cake for someone as powerful as Lucas to find his whereabouts! ¡°Grandpa, did you arrange for this beforehand?¡± Maddy scanned the surroundings of the front yard. !! In fact, on the surface, it did seem like an ordinary small residence. It was a one-story bungalow, and there were some vegetable patches in the front yard, with a few peach trees around. But all the leaves had fallen, leaving only ck and warped branches. The rest of the facilities in the residence were also very simple. This immediately made Maddy¡¯s eyes redden. Although the Stones couldn¡¯tpare to the eight top families in DC, they were still wealthy and had at least billions in assets. The Stones¡¯ vis were also extremely luxurious andfortable. Geoffrey had been the helmsman of the Stones for years, but now that he was advanced in years, he was living in a simple farmhouse. The thought of it made Maddy feel really ufortable. But Geoffrey smiled indifferently and said kindly, ¡°Maddy, don¡¯t look like you¡¯re about to cry. Let me tell you. My greatest dream when I was a child was to have a yard where I could grow my own vegetables and bask in the sun in leisure! ¡°If your father didn¡¯tck the ability, I would have long left the family residence ande here to live. ¡°Today, I¡¯ve finally gotten my wish!¡± Maddy reluctantly contained her emotions and asked, ¡°Grandpa, do you n to live here in the future?¡± Geoffrey nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m finally relieved of my burden and can live my life as I please. Isn¡¯t it quiet and peaceful here?¡± Maddy could tell that her grandfather really liked this ce. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have bought this residence years ago. Besides, she could see that Geoffrey seemed to have been relieved of his burden and was now living in leisure. ¡°Grandpa, in that case, I¡¯ll live here with you so that I can take care of you!¡± Maddy immediately said. She couldn¡¯t be at ease letting Geoffrey live here alone. ¡°I can live well on my own. Why would I need you to take care of me? I don¡¯t need you here. Don¡¯t bother me.¡± Geoffrey waved his hand, pretending to be disgusted. This ce was only suitable for an old man like him who had already reached retirement age, not a young woman like her. It wasn¡¯t the ce for her to waste her time in vain. But Maddy refused to give in. ¡°That won¡¯t do. I must stay with you, Grandpa! If you don¡¯t let me live here, I¡¯ll buy the house next to yours ande over to annoy you every day!¡± Maddy deliberately pouted her lips. Seeing this, Geoffrey could only helplessly show a wry smile. He knew that his granddaughter had the same temperament as him. As long as she made up her mind, she would never change it. He might really not be able to chase her away. But Maddy smiled and held Geoffrey¡¯s arm affectionately. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here with you until I get married next year. When the timees, Grandpa, you cane live with us! Since you like a ce with a yard like this, I¡¯ll get you one too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting married next year?¡± Geoffrey smiled in surprise. ¡°Yes, we agreed on it after some discussion.¡± Maddy looked at Jordan and blushed shyly. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s wonderful!¡± Geoffreyughed with joy. The good news made him feel even more rxed and eager to see his granddaughter getting married. He looked at Jordan and sized him up. He looked away only when Jordan felt embarrassed. He sighed and said, ¡°Jordan, I¡¯ll entrust my granddaughter to you from now on. I hope you will treat her well and never let her down!¡± Geoffrey¡¯s voice was full of earnestness as he entrusted Maddy to Jordan. Maddy was his most beloved granddaughter, so Geoffrey hoped that Jordan would treat her well. Jordan nodded cautiously. ¡°Grandpa Geoffrey, please rest assured that I won¡¯t let Maddy down. She¡¯s the love of my life!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Mr. Stone, don¡¯t worry. Both Jordan and Maddy are my close friends. If Jordan dares to mistreat Maddy in the future, I won¡¯t let him off!¡± ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s great!¡± Since Lucas personally assured him, Geoffrey had nothing more to worry about and burst intoughter. On the contrary, Maddy felt embarrassed after hearing what they said. ¡°I¡¯ll go see what there¡¯s to eat at home.¡± With a blush, she scurried into the house. The few of them looked at each other andughed. It was almost evening, and Geoffrey had just moved into this bungalow, so there were many things that needed cleaning and reorganizing. They also had to prepare dinner. Lucas and the rest didn¡¯t loaf around either. They tidied up the house well while Maddy went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. At this moment, a ck Rolls Royce slowly came closer and stopped outside the residence. ¡°My father¡¯s staying in this kind of ce now?¡± Carlos opened the car door, got out, and immediately frowned. There was dirt on the road in front of the shabby residence, and Carlos couldn¡¯t stand being here for another second longer. He couldn¡¯t believe that this was the ce his father now called home. The old butler at the side hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Carlos, I helped Mr. Geoffrey buy this ce a few years ago, and he used to always say that he woulde here to retire. So, I guessed that he must havee here.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go in and take a look.¡± Carlos frowned and then led a few family members of the older generation into the simple and humble residence. Chapter 1042 Chapter 1042: Repeated Persuasion Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After pushing open the gate of the front yard, they immediately saw everything at a nce. Looking at the mud on the ground and the farming tools scattered in a corner of the yard, Carlos found everything in front of him incredibly unfamiliar. Having gotten used to living in luxury, he found it difficult to adapt. There was no one in the front yard, but there were a few voicesing from inside the house, followed by Geoffrey¡¯s gleefulughter. Carlos was stunned when he heard theughter. He could tell that it was his father¡¯sughter, but this was why he was surprised. !! Even when he lived with the Stones, Geoffrey had neverughed in such a joyous and rxed manner. Is there some hidden treasure in this shabby ce that¡¯s making Father so happy that he doesn¡¯t feel any difort? The thought of it made Carlos¡¯s heart sink. He quickly stepped forward and pushed open the door of the house. The door wasn¡¯t locked, so Carlos¡¯s abrupt entrance interrupted theughter and chatter inside. The situation in the house was disyed clearly. Frankly speaking, the situation in the house wasn¡¯t as luxurious as Carlos thought. Instead, it was just as shabby and run-down as it seemed on the surface. The white-painted walls were in, and there was only some necessary furniture. It was simr to an ordinary farmer¡¯s home. Even the lights were cheap and ordinary, without ampshade. So the house was extremely dim. This scene left Carlos in disbelief! He had never lived in such a shabby environment with such poor living conditions! Just as Carlos was in a daze, the few people in the house, whose conversation Carlos¡¯s abrupt appearance had interrupted, looked over at him. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Geoffrey frowned and questioned hostilely the moment he saw Carlos. Carlos returned to his senses and stepped forward. He said awkwardly, ¡°Father, I¡¯m here to bring you home.¡± Geoffrey snorted coldly. ¡°I¡¯m living well here. This is my home!¡± Carlos scanned the surroundings. ¡°Father, stop being mad at me. Look at this small and shabby ce. There¡¯s mud everywhere, and it¡¯s just like a garbage dump. You¡¯re the former helmsman of the Stones, and you¡¯ve lived in a luxurious vi for decades. Isn¡¯t staying here an insult to you? ¡°Don¡¯t be angry anymore ande home with me!¡± Geoffrey¡¯s face became even gloomier, but Carlos was too busy criticizing and being disgusted with the interior and exterior furnishings of the house to notice his displeasure. At this moment, Maddy, who heard themotion, came out of the kitchen and saw Carlos at a nce. She frowned the moment she heard his disdainful remarks about her grandfather¡¯s small residence. The Stones of the older generation, whom Carlos had specially brought along, said, ¡°Geoffrey, you¡¯ve worked hard all your life, and now that you¡¯re old, it¡¯s time for you to enjoy yourself. How can you let yourself suffer in such a shabby house? The Stones will be really disgraced if word about this gets out!¡± ¡°Yes, Geoffrey, this run-down ce is not where you belong. You should quicklye home with us! Be it the decor, size, or whatnot, the Stones¡¯ vis are thousands of times better than this ce. Hurry up ande home!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the former helmsman of the esteemed Stone family. If others find out that you¡¯re living in such a shabby ce, Carlos will be criticized for being unfilial!¡± ... The people were saying all sorts of things to convince Geoffrey to return to the Stone residence. Although their ultimate goal was to get Maddy to return to the Stones, she was very stubborn, so they had already reached a consensus on the way here¡ªthey should never persuade Maddy directly. Instead, they should start by persuading Geoffrey. As long as they could convince Geoffrey and get him to say a few things to convince Maddy, they would naturally seed. But their act of despising the small residence that Geoffrey liked had the opposite effect. Geoffrey mmed the table and hollered furiously, ¡°Shut up!¡± The Stones instantly shut up in fright. There was dead silence. Seeing that things were going awry, Carlos hurriedly said, ¡°Father, please stop being upset with me. I was wrong for what happened previously. Come home with me! I¡¯m worried about you living in this shabby ce alone at your age!¡± ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything you need to worry about! Besides, who says I¡¯m living alone here?¡± Geoffrey looked at his son in disdain, his heart calm. ¡°I will live with Grandpa and take care of him!¡± Maddy walked out, held Geoffrey¡¯s arm, and said calmly, ¡°Mr. Stone, you can rest assured and go home. You don¡¯t have to worry about Grandpa.¡± Jordan and Lucas stood quietly by the side without speaking. Since it was the Stones¡¯ internal affair, they should resolve it themselves. Of course, regardless of what Maddy¡¯s ultimate decision was, Jordan and Lucas would respect her choice. ¡°Maddy, I know I was at fault previously, and I shouldn¡¯t have treated you that way. But at the time, I didn¡¯t know that you were capable of solving the incident with the Bransons. I had no choice but to do that for the sake of our family. Please just forgive me once, okay? ¡°Moreover, I know that you have always been a filial child, and you¡¯re the closest to your grandfather. Can you really bear to see him suffering and living in such a dirty and messy ce at his age? Maddy, quickly help us persuade your grandfather toe home! ¡°Now that we¡¯ve just resolved our crisis, we will soon rise to glory if we can find a suitable opportunity! Father, haven¡¯t you always thought about making the Stones more prosperous? There¡¯s a great opportunity in front of you right now, and the Stones need your leadership!¡± Carlos asked Maddy to persuade Geoffrey to go home. The next moment, he tried to make Geoffrey waver by constantly mentioning the future opportunities and prospects of the Stones. However, although he said a lot, it only made the gaze in Geoffrey¡¯s eyes even colder, and he became even more disappointed in Carlos. Geoffrey scoffed and interrupted Carlos mercilessly, ¡°Carlos, you are my son. I know better than anyone what you are thinking deep down! Don¡¯t bother trying to fool me with those tricks!¡± Chapter 1043 Chapter 1043: Fruitless Return Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Carlos¡¯s expression stiffened when he saw Geoffrey reach out, point at the door, and say, ¡°I won¡¯t go back to the Stones. Drop your funny ideas! ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you again. Immediately get lost with your people, and don¡¯t disturb me again!¡± Maddy said, ¡°Leave. Since Grandpa has decided to retire in this residence, stoping to disturb him.¡± The Stones were all flustered and immediately looked at Carlos anxiously. If the two of them were unwilling to return to the Stones, how could they use Maddy¡¯s connections to make the family stronger? !! 1 Carlos was under great pressure. He suddenly stepped forward and said loudly, ¡°Father, I¡¯m your son, but why are you always so unwilling to help me? You always used to tell me that your greatest dream is for the Stones to rise to greater glory! Why are you letting go of such a great opportunity when there¡¯s one right in front of you? ¡°A lot of things happened in the Stone residence this afternoon. You probably don¡¯t know since you weren¡¯t around. But once you and Maddye home, the Stones will soon receive a great opportunity that might bring us to the peak of sess and turn us into one of the eight top families. Aren¡¯t you tempted at all? ¡°I know that my previous behavior made you and Maddy sad, but I was doing it for the sake of the family! Why can¡¯t you understand my hardship?¡± Carlos was extremely agitated, and his face was covered in self-reproach. Everything he had done was for the sake of the family. He didn¡¯t know why his father and daughter refused to be understanding toward him and forgive him. Even though he had swallowed his pride and begged them toe home, they were still unwilling to go. Geoffrey looked at Carlos with deep disappointment in his turbid eyes. ¡°At this point, you still haven¡¯t realized where you went wrong. You¡¯re really a disappointment!¡± Geoffrey¡¯s tone was very gloomy, and there was a trace of contempt on his face. ¡°You keep saying that you were forced into doing those things for the sake of the family. But is that really the case? Did you treat Maddy as your daughter when you wanted her to offer her life? ¡°Did you treat me as your father when you used me of ndering you for the sake of power? ¡°I don¡¯t want to say anything to you anymore. You¡¯re now the head of the Stones, and all authority and responsibilities lie in your hands. Regardless of whether the family prospers or declines, it¡¯s all your responsibility. It has nothing to do with me! ¡°Get lost!¡± Geoffrey closed his eyes in fatigue and ordered him to leave again. Jordan stepped forward and was about to chase Carlos away, but Lucas stopped him and stood in front of him. Jordan was Maddy¡¯s fianc¨¦. No matter what, Carlos was his father-inw. Lucas didn¡¯t want Jordan to be caught in this dilemma. Thus, he would do the job of chasing Carlos away. ¡°Mr. Carlos Stone, I advise you to take your people and leave quickly. If I find outter that you still have the audacity to disturb Geoffrey from resting, don¡¯t me me for being impolite! ¡°You should have already seen it clearly this afternoon. Don¡¯t think I¡¯m just trying to scare you. If I want to, I can easily destroy the eight top families, let alone the Stones. Trust me. You won¡¯t be able to pay the price for going against me!¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was extremely threatening, like a cold de that immediately made the Stones shudder. They had seen how respectful and deferential a few heads of the eight top families of DC were to Lucas this afternoon, so they didn¡¯t dare to doubt the authenticity of what Lucas said! Even people from the eight great families had kneeled and begged for forgiveness. The Stones were nothing to Lucas at all! The Stones didn¡¯t dare to disobey Lucas¡¯s warning and could only leave the residence. They were full of regret. At one point, they had the opportunity to befriend someone as powerful as Lucas. But now that Maddy had been expelled from the family, this rtionship had beenpletely ruined. It was utterly heartbreaking! ... After the Stones left, peace was restored in the residence, but the people were no longer as rxed. Geoffrey stood still for a long while before suddenly saying, ¡°Maddy, say, do you think I was wrong to secretly help your father settle the aftermath of his mistakes? Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have helped him in the first ce and let him learn a few hard lessons so that he could grow!¡± Previously, Geoffrey had tried to hand over several major businesses of the Stones to Carlos, but they had all incurred heavy losses. If Geoffrey hadn¡¯t secretly ordered people to solve the problems, these major businesses might have long been ruined by Carlos. Geoffrey could help him once or twice, but he couldn¡¯t help him for life. At this moment, Geoffrey really doubted if he had made a mistake. Maddy leaned on Geoffrey¡¯s shoulder andforted him softly, ¡°Grandpa, it¡¯s not your fault but Dad¡¯s. Don¡¯t hold it against yourself for the mistakes he hasmitted. Besides, we¡¯ve left the Stones now, so let¡¯s not think about those troublesome things! Everyone, sit down. I¡¯ll continue to cook.¡± The group stayed in the residence for a long time, after which Lucas and Jordan proposed leaving. Maddy had already decided to stay with Geoffrey, so she sent Lucas and Jordan out of the residence. Just as Lucas was about to get into the car, he suddenly turned around and said to Maddy, ¡°Tell your grandfather to rest assured that I won¡¯t let the Stones perish.¡± Then Lucas turned around, got into the car, and instructed Jordan to start driving. Even until the carpletely disappeared, Maddy stood still without moving. But there was a thinyer of tears in her eyes. She felt extremely touched. ¡°Thank you, Lucas!¡± Maddy knew that although her grandfather had just said in front of Carlos that he would no longer care about the Stones and that it would have nothing to do with him even if the Stones perished, she knew that he wouldn¡¯t just ignore them. He had dedicated his entire life to the family. How could he really abandon them? Lucas¡¯s promise was akin to a form of protection for the Stones, which would put Geoffrey at ease! While driving, Jordan asked in confusion, ¡°Lucas, both Maddy and Grandpa Geoffrey have left the Stones and don¡¯t n to go back. Do you still n to help them?¡± Chapter 1044 Chapter 1044: Awakening Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas smiled calmly. ¡°I¡¯m not helping the Stones. I¡¯m just helping Maddy and Geoffrey. ¡°Although they¡¯ve separated from the Stones, blood is still thicker than water after all, and it¡¯s not that easy to cut familial ties. ¡°If the Stones really declined or perished, Maddy and Geoffrey would be the ones most saddened. ¡°I¡¯m not really helping the Stones. I¡¯m only nning to help them maintain the status quo and not let others go after them. That¡¯s all.¡± Hearing this, Jordan understood. !! He remained silent for a while before saying sincerely, ¡°Thank you, Lucas!¡± ¡°We¡¯re buddies. Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Lucas smiled and closed his eyes to get some rest in the backseat. ... At the same time, in the Stone residence in DC... Carlos had been sitting alone in his study in silence for a long time. After returning from Geoffrey¡¯s residence, he had locked himself up in his room and pondered over many things. He was now in a study with a floor area of around 80 square meters. There were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, a luxurious crystal chandelier, high-end mahogany furniture, imported leather sofas, and a variety of precious antiques and trinkets. Even a tiny ornament on his desk was worth more than the house that his father was now living in. This was the residence of the Stones, a family second only to the eight top families of DC. Everything here was luxurious,fortable, and extravagant. But at this moment, the sounds of Geoffrey¡¯s cheerfulughter in that humble and shabby house kept popping up in his mind. At the same time, many memories he thought that he had forgotten long ago surfaced in his mind. He remembered that when he was still a child, Geoffrey had alsoughed with him happily and cheered him on when he was mocked. Furthermore, he had watched his daughter, Maddy, grow from a baby to an innocent and puerile child, then to a svelte young girl, and now aposed and mature woman. One was Carlos¡¯s father, and the other was his daughter. They were clearly the most important people in his life! But why did things end up like this? Why did he cause the matter to end up this way? At the thought of the distant attitude of the two people who were supposed to be the closest to him, Carlos felt as if a thousand daggers were stabbing his heart, leaving him in utter misery. For the first time, he felt that this luxurious vi he lived in was unbearably big, empty, and cold. At this moment, the sounds of a ringtone broke the dead silence in the room and pulled Carlos out of his chaotic reminiscence. ¡°Mr. Carlos, Ms. Howard intends to sign a long-term cooperation with your family. If you¡¯re interested, please be at the Howard residence before noon tomorrow.¡± The person on the other end spoke very concisely and immediately hung up after saying his piece. Carlos froze for a while before finally understanding what this person meant. His heart began beating wildly. The Howards were extending an olive branch to the Stones! The words ¡®long-term cooperation¡¯ was a guarantee of this rtionship! At this moment, Carlos was ecstatic. But at the same time, Carlos suddenly thought of a possibility that made the expression on his face instantly freeze. Why would the Howards suddenly extend an olive branch at this juncture? It was undoubtedly because of Maddy and Lucas! Even after being driven out of the family, Maddy still thought for him and the family! At the thought of this, Carlos felt as if he had been struck in the head, and tears gushed out of his eyes! ¡°Maddy! I was wrong! I finally know my mistakes now! I¡¯m not worthy of being your father! I¡¯ve let you down!¡± Carlos broke down with tears all over his face! He had never felt so remorseful! ¡°Maddy! Father! I let you down! I was wrong!¡± He had never wanted to see his father and daughter so badly. ¡°No, it¡¯s not toote. They¡¯re all still around. They only moved elsewhere. If I go over now and admit to my mistakes, there¡¯ll still be time!¡± This thought intensified in Carlos¡¯s heart. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve, opened the door of his study, and ordered the bodyguards on standby outside, ¡°Get the car ready! I¡¯m going out!¡± Forty minutester, a luxurious ck Rolls-Royce once again stopped at the entrance of the small farmhouse on the outskirts of DC. It was already half past nine at night. Maddy was still ying chess with Geoffrey, and the two were having a whale of a time. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door outside. ¡°Who¡¯s here sote?¡± Maddy frowned but still walked over and opened the door. The wooden door opened, and Carlos¡¯s familiar face immediately came into view. ¡°Why are you here again?¡± Maddy¡¯s face immediately turned sullen. She wondered if Carlos suddenly came again because his efforts this afternoon were fruitless, and he wanted to persuade them to return toe home again. ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten what Lucas said, have you? Aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯ll anger Grandpa again bying over and disturbing us?¡± Maddy said coldly with a look of displeasure. But to her surprise, she noticed that Carlos¡¯s eyes seemed a little red and swollen, as if he had just cried. Have the Stones encountered trouble again? ¡°Did something happen at home?¡± Maddy asked as soon as she thought of the possibility. Even though Maddy¡¯s tone was impatient, she couldn¡¯t fake her subconscious worry. Carlos suddenly felt touched again! ¡°Maddy, I¡¯m here to apologize to you and Father!¡± Carlos said sincerely with reddened eyes. ¡°What trick are you pulling this time? Hurry up and leave if there¡¯s nothing else!¡± Maddy¡¯s hand moved to close the door. ¡°Wait!¡± Carlos held the door to prevent Maddy from closing it. He said agitatedly, ¡°Maddy, believe me. I really know I was wrong this time! I know now how wrong I was to have hurt the two more important people to me. It¡¯s all my fault! ¡°Maddy, I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t behave like that again. Will you please give me another chance?¡± Carlos apologized repeatedly, almost bing incoherent. Maddy opened her mouth but couldn¡¯t say a word. She could tell that Carlos was serious this time. Her father was really apologizing to her! Just as Maddy was a bit at a loss for words, Geoffrey came out of the living room. As soon as Carlos saw the white-haired Geoffrey, he could no longer control himself and rushed over to him. He dropped to his knees and burst into tears. ¡°Father! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m too unfilial!¡± Chapter 1045 Chapter 1045: Asking Her to Get in the Car Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Initially, Carlos could still control his emotions in front of Maddy. But when he saw his elderly father¡¯s gray hair glistening under the dim yellow light, he could no longer control his emotions. He immediately fell to his knees in front of Geoffrey and burst into tears. He finally realized that his father had aged so much that he might only have a few years left to spend with him. But he was such a bastard. Today, he had med his father and even scolded him for being greedy for power. He had even forced his father to leave the family. He was truly inhumane! ¡°Father! This unfilial son hase to apologize to you! I¡¯m so sorry. Please teach me a lesson and hit me! !! ¡°I was really a bastard earlier! Father, I know my mistakes... I¡¯ve let you and Maddy down!¡± Carlos hugged Geoffrey¡¯s calf while crying. Although he was already in his fifties and had already be the helmsman of the Stones, he was now bawling like a child in front of Geoffrey. Even Geoffrey couldn¡¯t help having his eyes turn red. He reached out to stroke Carlos¡¯s head and said sobbingly, ¡°Alright. As long as you know your mistakes and correct them, you¡¯ll still be my son!¡± In his eyes, Carlos would forever be his son. How could he really hold it against him? ¡°Father!¡± Like a child, Carlos hugged Geoffrey¡¯s calf tightly and cried even louder. He originally thought that his father wouldn¡¯t forgive him easily. But now, his father didn¡¯t me him at all. The fact that Geoffrey said he would always be his son made Carlos feel even more miserable. Compared to his father, everything he had done previously was simply inhumane, and he had been worse than a beast! Maddy also walked to them as tears gushed out of her eyes. Although she didn¡¯t know why her father had suddenlye to his senses, truly realized his mistakes, and drastically changed his attitude toward her and her grandfather, Maddy knew that it must have something to do with Lucas. ¡°Thank you so much, Lucas!¡± With tears in her eyes, Maddy looked distantly in the direction of downtown DC, her eyes filled with gratitude. ... Meanwhile, Lucas had already returned to his newly purchased vi in DC. It was already half past nine at night, but Cheyenne had yet to return. He called her twice, but all he heard was the notification that her mobile phone was off. He started to get worried. They were in DC, and he had already offended many people. It would be terrible if someone wanted to harm her. To make matters worse, Cheyenne had tagged along with him to DC this time. So Lucas had told Stanley, who used to protect Cheyenne, to look after William and Amelia in Orange County. Thus, there was no one to protect Cheyenne at this time. While Lucas was restlessly using his connections to start searching for Cheyenne¡¯s whereabouts, she had just left a cocktail reception. It was the one that the Stones had organized. Lucas and the others had gone shopping in the afternoon to buy clothes for the reception. But due to Mark¡¯s provocation, which led to his eventual death, Lucas, Jordan, and the Stones were busy settling the matter. But the reception, which the Stones had spent a long time arranging, couldn¡¯t be canceled at thest minute, so Cheyenne had attended it on her own. At the reception today, Cheyenne had met many well-known entrepreneurs in DC, which would be extremely beneficial for her to develop the Brilliance Corporation in DC in the future. Due to the frequent iing calls and text messages that she kept receiving during the reception, her phone had run out of battery and turned off automatically. At the end of the reception, Cheyenne walked out of the venue and wanted to hail a taxi to go home. But just as she did, a ck Lincoln car slowly pulled over beside her. ¡°Ms. Carter, our boss wants to give you a ride. Please!¡± A young man in a ck suit and white gloves got out from the back of the Lincoln and politely asked Cheyenne to get in. Cheyenne was vignt and often kept her guard up, so she naturally wouldn¡¯t get into a stranger¡¯s car. ¡°No, thank you. Please thank your boss on my behalf. I¡¯ll just take a cab home on my own,¡± Cheyenne politely declined and then took a few steps to the side. ¡°Ms. Carter, our boss absolutely doesn¡¯t have any ill intent. He just wants to send you home. Please don¡¯t worry!¡± The young man panicked and immediately stepped forward to block Cheyenne. Cheyenne became even more vignt. She clutched her purse tightly and refused again with displeasure, ¡°As I¡¯ve said, I¡¯ll be taking a cab home on my own. I don¡¯t need your boss to give me a ride!¡± Cheyenne was honestly flustered at this moment. She was born and raised in Orange County, so she wasn¡¯t quite familiar with DC, much less the people here. Moreover, her phone was out of battery, so she couldn¡¯t call Lucas to ask for help even if she wanted to! If the other party really forcibly dragged her into the car, she might have to use the small fruit knife in her purse to defend herself. While Cheyenne was feeling nervous, the door of the Lincoln opened again, and a middle-aged man in his fifties got out and greeted her politely. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Carter.¡± When Cheyenne saw the middle-aged man¡¯s face, her eyes widened in surprise. The middle-aged man standing in front of her was none other than the head of the Huttons, Michael, who was also Lucas¡¯s father! Cheyenne never thought that the person who wanted to give her a ride home was Lucas¡¯s biological father! ¡°Ms. Carter, you don¡¯t need to be nervous. You should know about my rtionship with your husband, Lucas. I have no ill intent, and I just want to have a casual chat with you. Is that okay?¡± Michael¡¯s voice was extremely low, and his tone had a powerlessness, as if he was sick. But he had a gentle and kind look on his face. Cheyenne suddenly felt a little nervous and awkward. This middle-aged man was Lucas¡¯s biological father and her father-inw. Prior to this, Cheyenne had only seen Michael once at her grandfather Felix¡¯s funeral. But she hadn¡¯t spoken with him before. But she knew very well that Lucas didn¡¯t want to acknowledge Michael as his father or have anything to do with him. So Cheyenne honestly didn¡¯t want to have any contact with him. Seemingly seeing Cheyenne¡¯s hesitation, Michael smiled and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re Lucas¡¯s wife, I¡¯d like to have a chat with you. I don¡¯t have any other intentions.¡± Chapter 1046 Chapter 1046: Send You Home Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios It was understandable that a father would want to know more about the woman his son married. Moreover, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t sense any malice from Michael. Instead, she felt that there was some sickly mncholy in his expression, which made it hard for her to be harsh to him. ¡°Okay then.¡± Cheyenne nodded, agreed to Michael¡¯s invitation, and got into the backseat. ¡°Ms. Carter, where are you headed? I¡¯ll get the chauffeur to drive there,¡± Michael asked with a smile after getting inside the car. ¡°Sunshine Hills.¡± Cheyenne revealed the location of the vi she and Lucas had newly bought. !! The car cruised along smoothly, and it took about forty minutes from here to get to the upscale vi in Sunshine Hills. Michael first chatted casually with Cheyenne and asked her where she was from, whether or not she was used to being in DC, and so on. She replied politely one by one. ¡°I¡¯ve been calling you Ms. Carter, and it feels a little strange... May I call you Cheyenne like he does?¡± Michael asked. He was naturally referring to his son Lucas. Cheyenne looked at the expectant look in Michael¡¯s eyes and was suddenly at a loss for how to reject him. She could only nod and say, ¡°It¡¯s just a form of address. Suit yourself.¡± When Michael heard this, his eyes seemed to light up, and he was a little excited. But Michael was good at controlling his expression and quickly covered up his emotions. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re the founder of the Brilliance Corporation, Cheyenne, and it¡¯s now developing well. Are you here in DC this time to expand the Brilliance Corporation?¡± Michael asked. Cheyenne nodded, and her face lit up radiantly at the mention of the development of the Brilliance Corporation. ¡°Yes, I started the Brilliance Corporation from scratch, so I want to make it better. And one day, it will be a famous enterprise well known nationally and even globally!¡± Michael smiled and said approvingly, ¡°You¡¯re very ambitious! That¡¯s great!¡± He added, ¡°The Huttons have some strength in DC, and we now have many suitable projects on hand. If you¡¯re willing, we can cooperate. Maybe the Brilliance Corporation will be able to establish a firm foothold in DC faster.¡± Michael¡¯s words were not only extremely modest but also very tempting. The Huttons were one of the eight top families in DC, and they yed an extremely important role in the country¡¯s economy. But Michael spoke so modestly about their strength. If other families and businesses heard about this, they would probably be incredibly ashamed. If the Brilliance Corporation could really receive the help of the Huttons, let alone gain a firm foothold in DC, they would rise to glory. After all, the Brilliance Corporation was only a business in Orange County that even most people in California might not have heard of. Cheyenne naturally hoped that the Brilliance Corporation could obtain this wonderful development opportunity, but she wasn¡¯t the type who only valued interests. As Lucas¡¯s wife, she was clear about the rtionship between Lucas and the Huttons. So she would never ept the olive branch Michael offered her. ¡°Uncle Michael, thank you very much for the kind offer, but I still prefer to rely on my own abilities to make the Brilliance Corporation gain a firm foothold in DC,¡± Cheyenne said with a smile. Michael wasn¡¯t surprised when he heard this. He just smiled and said, ¡°Connections and opportunities are a part of strength too. You don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony with me.¡± Cheyenne smiled and said politely, ¡°Thank you, Uncle Michael. I¡¯ll definitely seek help from you if I need to in the future.¡± Of course, she was just making a polite remark out of courtesy. If she really encountered any trouble, she would naturally go to Lucas for help instead of Michael. Michael knew what Cheyenne meant. Seeing that she had indirectly turned him down, he didn¡¯t go on any further. The Lincoln car was cruising smoothly at moderate speed. But the car fell into an eerie silence. Cheyenne¡¯s heart was pounding, worried that she might have angered the big shot next to her by turning him down. Michael was not only Lucas¡¯s father but also the head of one of the top eight families. He held a massive amount of power, and ordinary people wouldn¡¯t dare to offend him at all. But Michael merely remained silent for a short while before beginning to chat with Cheyenne about some family matters, making her gradually ease up. Soon, the car arrived at the entrance of the upscale vi area of Sunshine Hills. ¡°Which one do you live in? I¡¯ll get the chauffeur to drive you straight to it,¡± Michael said. Cheyenne quickly said, ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. I¡¯ll get off here now. Thank you for sending me back, Uncle Michael!¡± To be honest, Cheyenne didn¡¯t want Lucas to see her getting out of Michael¡¯s car because she didn¡¯t want to create any furtherplications since the rtionship between Lucas and Michael was strained. Michael smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You may tell him that we¡¯ve met and spoken to each other.¡± Cheyenne smiled awkwardly, opened the car door, and got out of the car. ¡°Thank you very much, Uncle Michael. I¡¯ll head back now.¡± Cheyenne got ready to leave. ¡°Cheyenne, wait a moment.¡± Michael suddenly called out to her, got out of the car, took out a business card from his pocket, and handed it to her. ¡°This is my phone number. If you encounter any trouble, you can contact me.¡± Although Cheyenne didn¡¯t intend to look for Michael for help, receiving a business card was a polite gesture and part of proper etiquette, so she stretched out her hand to take the business card from Michael¡¯s hand. But suddenly, a figure appeared at the side and snatched the business card from Michael¡¯s hand. The next second, he crushed the exquisitely printed business card into a ball of crumpled waste paper and tossed it in the trash. The whole process waspleted in one go within less than a second. The tall Lucas appeared beside Cheyenne. He took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and said to Michael tersely, ¡°My wife will never need your help!¡± With that, Lucas nced at him coldly and walked toward the vi with Cheyenne¡¯s hand in his. Chapter 1047 Chapter 1047: Jace¡¯s Whereabouts Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Lucas had nned to go to the Huttons this afternoon to ask Michael about two matters, but he was held up by the Stones¡¯ issues and couldn¡¯t go. He didn¡¯t expect Michael to show up and give Cheyenne a lift home. Although Lucas had a lot of questions for Michael, Cheyenne was right next to him, and he didn¡¯t want her to see him confronting Michael. Therefore, he would rather ask Michael another day. ¡°Lu-Lucas, do you really not want to see me that much?!¡± Michael stared at Lucas¡¯s back and suddenly shouted, his voice trembling a little. !! Lucas immediately stopped. Cheyenne looked at Lucas nervously, afraid that he would misunderstand that she had forgiven Michael for everything he had done to Lucas and his mother after seeing her return in Michael¡¯s car. But Lucas didn¡¯t think that at all. He squeezed Cheyenne¡¯s hand and said gently, ¡°Honey, wait for me at home. I need a word with him.¡± Cheyenne let out a sigh of relief and looked at Lucas and Michael worriedly. Eventually, she said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you at home. Come home early.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lucas nodded. After Cheyenne left, he finally turned around and walked toward Michael. Seeing Lucas walking over, Michael couldn¡¯t help showing excitement on his face. ¡°Lucas, you¡ª¡± ¡°Where is Jace Hutton?¡± Lucas interrupted coldly. The expression on Michael¡¯s face instantly stiffened. He originally thought that Lucas wanted to talk to him to ease the rtionship between them, which had been strained for over two decades. But he didn¡¯t expect him to ask about Jace right away. Just over two weeks ago, Jace had privately led a group of people to Orange County to abduct Lucas¡¯s father-inw, William, and sister-inw, Charlotte. He had almost also killed Cheyenne, which made Lucas furious. Lucas had wanted to kill Jace directly, but thetter had been suddenly rescued by an elderly expert who popped up out of nowhere. To save his own life, Jace had revealed that he knew a major secret about Lucas¡¯s mother. So Lucas had to find Jace and learn about his mother¡¯s secret. Michael remained silent for a while before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know where he is now.¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You¡¯re his father. How can you not know where he is?¡± From Michael¡¯s tone when he begged him not to kill Jace previously, Lucas knew how much he valued Jace as his son. He definitely knew where Jace was. Even if Michael didn¡¯t know Jace¡¯s current location, he must know who he was with. ¡°I really don¡¯t know where he is now. I only know that he might be with the Whitleys!¡± The Whitley family was Jace¡¯s mother¡¯s maiden family. The royal family had nine branches. With the Whitleys¡¯ gradual decline over the years, they were now just a not-so-powerful branch of the royal family. But even so, the Whitleys were still considered a branch of the royals and had a status far superior to megarich families like the eight giants of DC. Lucas said coldly, ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t dare to look for him just because he¡¯s with the Whitleys? Seems like you don¡¯t know me well enough!¡± Although the royal family had an aloof status, Lucas was the invincible God of War who had once led the entire southern border as the leader of the Falcon Regiment, with millions of soldiers under hismand. Even though he had retired from the position of the head of the Falcon Regiment, he had done it on his own ord, and no one could affect his status in the Falcon Regiment. Evenpared to the helmsmen of the royal family branches, Lucas¡¯s status was not inferior to theirs in the slightest. In fact, if he went to the Whitley residence, the Whitleys¡¯ helmsman would have toe out to receive him personally! Michael only knew that Lucas had once served as the head of the Falcon Regiment on the southern border but had since stepped down. But he had no idea that Lucas still had an extremely powerful status that waspletely on par with the royals¡¯ helmsmen. Thus, Michael frowned and said disapprovingly, ¡°Lucas, I know you had a high status in the military, but the Whitleys are a member of the royal family, and their status is much higher than even that of the eight top families of DC. It will be too dangerous for you to go to them and ask about Jace. It¡¯s impossible for you to seed.¡± Lucas said with a look of determination, ¡°No matter what, I must find Jace!¡± Jace had abducted William and Charlotte and almost killed Cheyenne. Since he dared to make a move against his loved ones, Lucas would never spare him! Moreover, Jace had mentioned he knew a secret about Lucas¡¯s mother. So Lucas had to capture Jace and find out what this secret was. With a look of misery on his face, Michael said, ¡°Lucas, I know Jace has made lots of mistakes, and I can understand why you hate him and want to kill him. ¡°But no matter what, he¡¯s still your half-brother. So I hope you can spare his life for the sake of your blood ties! ¡°If you must kill him, please take my life in exchange for his, okay? You can take my life whenever you want. I just hope that you¡¯ll spare him!¡± A look of pleading and sorrow appeared on his face. But Lucas didn¡¯t waver at all and instead sneered contemptuously. ¡°Michael Hutton, do you know how ridiculous you sound? If I really wanted to kill you, do you think you would still be able to stand here in one piece? ¡°I might as well tell you the truth. The reason that you¡¯re still alive now is all thanks to my mother! If she hadn¡¯t told me not to seek revenge on the Huttons while on her deathbed, do you think the Huttons would still be able to exist?¡± Hearing this, Michael suddenly looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He turned pale and muttered, ¡°She... so she said that before she died... It turns out she... still didn¡¯t hold it against me...¡± Michael naturally believed what Lucas said because Lucas was definitely powerful enough to annihte the Huttons if he wanted to take revenge against them. If Lucas had done so, Michael and his family should have long ceased to exist! Michael originally thought that because he had no choice but to drive Lucas and his mother and son out of the Hutton family and DC, they would hate him. But he didn¡¯t expect Emma to make this request to Lucas before she passed away. At this moment, Michael¡¯s heart was full of pain, agony, and guilt. If he hadn¡¯t expelled Lucas and his mother from the family, Lucas would have been the perfect sessor, and the Huttons might have been able to surpass the seven other giants of DC under Lucas¡¯s leadership. But there were too many things that couldn¡¯t be undone at this point. Michael closed his eyes in pain and asked after a while, ¡°Lucas, what exactly must I do for you to spare Jace¡¯s life?¡± Chapter 1048 Chapter 1048: Her Secret Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing what Michael said, Lucas said decisively, ¡°I will never let him off. Jace must die!¡± It wasn¡¯t only because Jace regarded Lucas as his enemy and wanted to kill him, but also because he wanted to harm the people Lucas cared about to anger him. Besides, Jace¡¯s mother had been the driving force behind Lucas and his mother getting kicked out of the Hutton family back then. With such grudges, Lucas would never let Jace off! Michael saw the determined killing intent in Lucas¡¯s eyes, but there was nothing he could do about it. The only thing he could do was not to let Lucas and Jace meet. Otherwise, one of his two sons would surely die! !! Regardless of which son died, it would be a disaster for Michael, and he didn¡¯t know if he would be able to bear it. Michael closed his eyes in misery, knowing that Lucas had already made up his mind. He stopped persuading him and said sadly, ¡°In fact, I have always hoped that you two could bury the hatchet and that we could all get along in peace, but it seems that¡¯s impossible. I also hope you can bring your wife and daughter over to the Huttons when there¡¯s an opportunity in the future...¡± He didn¡¯t finish speaking but instead pursed his lips and turned around to walk toward the Lincoln car. Seeing Michael be much more depressed, Lucas felt a tinge ofplicated emotions, but they soon vanished. ¡°Finally, I want to ask you what secret is there about my mother?¡± Lucas suddenly asked just as Michael was about to get into the car. When Jace was almost killed by Lucas, he had blurted this out during his crisis. Since then, this question had been lingering in Lucas¡¯s heart. Although Lucas had lived with his mother for many years, he had always felt that there was something secretive and mysterious about her, as if she was shrouded in thick fog. For example, his mother had never mentioned anything about her family or friends. Even Lucas didn¡¯t know her background. Therefore, even though Lucas didn¡¯t know if what Jace said was the truth or if he just made it up in order to survive, Lucas had to get to the bottom of it. He just wanted to know more about his mother. If Jace really knew something about his mother, his only sources would be either his mother or Michael. No matter what, Michael used to be his mother¡¯s husband, so he should know more about her. Michael¡¯s body abruptly stiffened when he heard Lucas¡¯s question, and even his footsteps became erratic. ¡°Who told you there¡¯s a secret about your mother?¡± Michael turned around several secondster and asked, pretending to be confused. Even though Michael was controlling his expression almost perfectly, Lucas could see through him at a nce. He even noticed the trace of panic on his face. Lucas narrowed his eyes and said tersely, ¡°Jace said it himself.¡± Michael clenched his fist tightly, seemingly trying to suppress some emotion in his heart. After a long time, he finally said firmly, ¡°He¡¯s just spouting nonsense. There are no secrets about your mother!¡± Then Michael stopped talking and quickly went back to his car. Although Michael refused to say it, Lucas could tell from his micro-expressions that there was indeed a huge secret about his mother that Michael clearly knew. Seeing that Michael had already instructed the chauffeur to drive, Lucas gritted his teeth and suddenly went forward to stop him. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to tell me this secret about my mother, I can agree to your request to let Jace off!¡± This was the greatestpromise Lucas could make. If Michael really knew something about his mother, he would spare Jace¡¯s life. It would be considered a kind of deal. Michael was clearly struggling. The deal Lucas proposed appealed greatly to him. But Michael¡¯s struggle and hesitation made Lucas understand that his mother¡¯s secret was extremely important, so much so that even Jace¡¯s life couldn¡¯t make Michael agree to reveal it immediately. It made Lucas even more concerned about his mother¡¯s secret. But to Lucas¡¯s disappointment, Michael shook his head after hesitating for a long time. ¡°Unfortunately, there are really no secrets about your mother!¡± Then he instructed the chauffeur to leave immediately. Lucas didn¡¯t stop him this time but instead stood still and watched the ck Lincoln gradually vanish into the night. He had offered to spare Jace¡¯s life, yet Michael wouldn¡¯t even reveal it. This meant that perhaps the secret about his mother was even more important than Jace¡¯s life to Michael! ¡°One day, I will definitely figure out this secret myself!¡± Lucas murmured softly. ... ¡°Honey, are you... alright?¡± Just as Lucas reached the door of the house, Cheyenne¡¯s voice immediately sounded. She was clearly ill at ease and had been waiting for Lucas at the entrance of the vi. Lucas had already sorted out his emotions and smiled gently. ¡°It¡¯s okay. We just met, so we spoke for a bit.¡± Then Lucas walked forward, took Cheyenne¡¯s hand, and led her into the house together. Cheyenne had a lot to say at first. But seeing that Lucas looked a little exhausted, she was sensible enough not to say anything and just stayed quietly by Lucas¡¯s side, giving him her silent support. ... Early the next morning, Cheyenne got up and proceeded to go out to meet some clients in DC to discuss cooperation. Her main purpose ining to DC this time was to expand the Brilliance Corporation, so she was extremely busy. Lucas usually wouldn¡¯t interfere with Cheyenne¡¯s work, so he could only let her go ahead. Meanwhile, Lucas had already arrived at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters in DC. ¡°Wee, Lucas!¡± Flynn respectfully weed Lucas to the general manager¡¯s office on the top floor, brewed him a cup of tea, and served it to him. Lucas¡¯s chairman¡¯s office was still under renovation because he wanted to remove all traces of Jace and turn the decor into his style. It would probably take another two weeks or so to renovate it. Lucas took a sip of tea and asked, ¡°Since the people from Huttons have been taken care of, there isn¡¯t any trouble left in the Stardust Corporation anymore, right?¡± When Lucas came to DC previously, Jace had still been in charge of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters, which had made things extremely difficult for Flynn, who had parachuted into thepany as the general manager. It was so terrible that even a security guard had the audacity to disobey him. It was only after Lucas took drastic action and directly dealt with the senior and mid-level management staff rted to the Huttons and wiped them out of the Stardust Corporation did the corporation get a new lease on life. Hearing Lucas¡¯s question, Flynn hurriedly said, ¡°Thanks to your formidable method, there¡¯s no longer any major trouble in the Stardust Corporation, but we¡¯re facing some issues with businesspetition. However, I can deal with it.¡± ¡°Businesspetition?¡± Lucas said with a look of interest. ¡°What businesspetition? Tell me about it.¡± Chapter 1049 Chapter 1049: Incredibly Wealthy Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Lucas had handed over the Stardust Corporation to Flynn to manage, it was still the only thing that his mother had left to him. Since he was in DC now, it was only his duty to help resolve some issues. Flynn thought for a while before saying, ¡°Well, Lucas, I have a great vision for the future of the Stardust Corporation. But because I haven¡¯t made a detailed n yet, I¡¯ll have to tell you my thoughts here. ¡°I¡¯ve had my eye on a vacantnd in the eastern suburbs of DC, where the terrain is milder. Thend covers a massive area, so I intend to acquire it and build a small city there that includes everything from clothing, food, and housing to entertainment, recreation, and shopping. For now, I¡¯ve named it Stardust City. ¡°Stardust City will have everything people want, such as food streets, mega shopping malls, vis, beauty parlors, luxury designer stores, hospitals, and so on. I envision a city within a city with the same functions as Dubai City! ¡°And there won¡¯t be only one Stardust City. Apart from the one in the outskirts of DC, I also intend to build them in several other major cities so that the Stardust Corporation will be a household name in the entire country! !! ¡°Moreover, in every Stardust City, there will be andmark building that¡¯s taller than all others. The Stardust Corporation¡¯s office will be on the top floors of thisndmark building! ¡°I also want the model of Stardust City to spread beyond the US and to the entire world so that everyone will know about the Stardust Corporation!¡± The more Flynn spoke, the more excited he became, and his face lit up with a tinge of red. He was brimming with fighting spirit. Flynn had obviously entertained these ideas for more than a day or two. He spoke for a long time, and his thoughts were clear. But when he finished describing his ideas, he realized that he had been too immersed in speaking that he had made many gestures with his hands, making him seem a little frivolous. Flynn looked at Lucas with embarrassment. ¡°Sorry, Lucas. My... my ideas are indeed too far-fetched.¡± But Lucas didn¡¯tugh or mock him. Instead, he seemed rather interested in his n. He said with a smile, ¡°No, I think your ideas are pretty good. Go on, keep borating in detail.¡± With Lucas¡¯s encouragement, Flynn became even more energetic and narrated his ideas to Lucas in detail again. Amid his excitement, Flynn even turned on hisputer and projector and presented to Lucas in detail some of the ns and data diagrams he had halfpleted. Lucas was very satisfied with Flynn¡¯s n for Stardust City and nodded frequently. He asked, ¡°Your ideas are great. If we really want to realize it, what other aspects do you think we need to solve?¡± Flynn said embarrassedly, ¡°Because of the sheer size of this n, there are many troubles and problems. First of all, we need to acquire the plot ofnd in the eastern suburb as soon as possible. As far as I know, this plot ofnd will be auctioned soon, and many wealthy families are also very interested in it. ¡°If we want to build the first Stardust City in DC, we have to take this piece ofnd!¡± ¡°Another thing is... If a Stardust City is established in many major cities, an astronomical amount of capital is required! ¡°With the existing funds avable to the Stardust Corporation, we may only be able to buy the plot ofnd. The construction of the city will require massive funds, and it will be even more difficult to build more Stardust Cities in the country afterward.¡± Flynn looked very embarrassed. After all, if they took action ording to his n, the funds needed in the future would probably be at least tens of billions of dors. ¡°It seems like money is the main problem.¡± Lucas nodded. Then he casually took out a ck card from his pocket and tossed it in front of Flynn. ¡°This is a ck diamond card issued by the World Bank. It contains a hundred billion dors and has an overdraft limit of fifty billion dors. You may take it. Contact me again if you need more money.¡± Boom! Flynn froze with a dumbfounded look on his face as he stared at the ck card in disbelief. He originally thought that the Stardust Corporation was Lucas¡¯s greatest asset, but he didn¡¯t expect the card that Lucas casually gave him to contain a massive amount of money. Even if he used up the 100 billion dors, there was still an overdraft limit of 50 billion dors! Given the way Lucas had thrown the card out so casually, it seemed that this massive amount of money didn¡¯t mean anything to him! Flynn was rendered speechless by Lucas¡¯s tycoon-like generosity! ¡°Is it not enough?¡± Seeing that Flynn wasn¡¯t saying anything, Lucas frowned and pulled out his wallet from his pocket. Inside it was arge stack of bank cards! While taking out the cards, he said, ¡°If it¡¯s not enough, I still have...¡± ¡°No, no! It¡¯s enough! It¡¯s definitely enough!¡± Only then did Flynn snap back to his senses. He was startled again by Lucas¡¯s generous act of taking out his bank cards. He hurriedly said, ¡°This hundred billion dors is more than enough!¡± At this moment, Flynn was already shaking in excitement. Even the first few people on Forbes¡¯ list of the world¡¯s richest people only had assets of more than 200 billion dors. Yet one of Lucas¡¯s cards contained half the wealth that the world¡¯s richest person had, and he still had more cards! Of course, Flynn also knew that Forbes¡¯ list was not definitive. There were many absurdly wealthy people who would never appear on the list. Lucas was obviously one of them. After carefully epting the ck diamond card from Lucas, Flynn felt emboldened. Suddenly recalling something, he quickly said, ¡°Lucas, the auction for thend I¡¯ve been eyeing will be held this afternoon. Would you like to attend?¡± Although Flynn could probably handle the auction on his own, they would likely acquire it faster if Lucas came. Since he had no other ns for the afternoon, Lucas dly agreed. After having lunch, Flynn drove Lucas to the DC Hotel. The auction would be held on the top floor. As soon as they got out of the car in the hotel¡¯s parking garage, Flynn suddenly pointed at the entrance and asked in surprise, ¡°Lucas, is... isn¡¯t that your missus?¡± Lucas turned his head and saw Cheyenne standing at the entrance of the DC Hotel with a man and a woman beside her. Chapter 1050 Chapter 1050: Cheyenne Gets Mocked Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Lucas approached, he realized that the man and woman standing opposite Cheyenne should be a couple because they were linking arms. The woman was young and around the same age as Cheyenne. But at this moment, she was looking at Cheyenne with mockery and malice in her eyes. She obviously wasn¡¯t a kind person. ¡°Wait for me inside,¡± Lucas instructed Flynn beside him. ¡°Alright, Lucas, I¡¯ll wait for you inside!¡± Flynn was sensible enough to enter the DC Hotel alone. Meanwhile, Lucas walked toward Cheyenne. He didn¡¯t know why his wife was here, but seeing the woman opposite her, he was worried that she was being bullied. As Lucas approached, he heard the young woman¡¯s sharp voice. ¡°Cheyenne Carter, it¡¯s not that I look down on you, but your Brilliance Corporation is just a smallpany in Orange County. How can you be qualified toe here andpete with the bigpanies? !! ¡°Besides, you don¡¯t even have an invitation, yet you want to go in? You must be delusional! I suggest you behave yourself and go back to Orange County. How can you possibly survive in DC?¡± With a sullen look on her face, Cheyenne said coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t think I need your permission on where I develop mypany, do I?¡± Regina Wayne chuckled and said in disdain, ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m meddling with your business? I¡¯m just giving you a kind reminder! ¡°If you weren¡¯t my ssmate in college, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to care about your nonsense! Don¡¯t you agree?¡± The woman named Regina Wayne was a native of DC, but she went to college in Orange County and used to be ssmates with Cheyenne. But although Regina¡¯s looks were considered decent among women, she was far inferiorpared to Cheyenne, who wasuded as the most beautiful woman in Orange County. Thus, Regina was indescribably jealous of Cheyenne, who was naturally beautiful without much makeup and could easily attract suitors. So since college, she hadpared herself with Cheyenne everywhere and often said that she was much better than Cheyenne since she was from DC. But Cheyenne basically didn¡¯t pay attention to her, and the two went separate ways after graduating from college and no longer interacted. But now, they suddenly ran into each other at the entrance of the DC Hotel. ¡°Oh, right, by the way, Cheyenne, I heard that you¡¯re already married, and your child is already a few years old? ¡°You¡¯re such a poor friend. Not only did you secretly get married and have a child, but you didn¡¯t even invite us, your former ssmates, to your wedding. Those who know might say that you look down on us and couldn¡¯t be bothered to invite us. But those who don¡¯t know might make wild spections that you did something disgraceful with someone, which is why you had to rush to get married!¡± Regina covered her mouth andughed, but her words were full of malice. Before Cheyenne even said anything, Regina suddenly said, ¡°Oh, right, I¡¯ve also heard that the man you married is a live-in husband who sponges off you, and his family is so poor that they need to rely on your support! Cheyenne, you were the school belle back in college, and you had so many suitors. How did you end up like this?¡± While speaking, Regina held the arm of the man beside her and introduced with a smile, ¡°Here, let me introduce to you my fianc¨¦, Nichs. He¡¯s a member of the Williams family, one of the eight most powerful families in DC!¡± Nichs was actually much older than Regina, and he seemed to be at least 45 years old. He was balding at the top of his head and had a big beer belly, a greasy face, and yellowish tobo-stained teeth. His looks were not appealing at all. More importantly, ever since he and Regina stood in front of Cheyenne, he had been ogling at Cheyenne without any restraint. He was extremely rude. ¡°Hey, gorgeous! How about we get to know each other better?¡± Nichs stretched a hand out toward Cheyenne while staring at her fair and tiny hand. Cheyenne frowned slightly and said coldly without shaking his hand, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± A touch of disappointment and displeasure immediately appeared in Nichs¡¯s eyes. He didn¡¯t expect this beautiful woman in front of him wouldn¡¯t even give him a chance to shake hands. He only wanted to take the opportunity to squeeze her hand and take some liberties with her, but he wouldn¡¯t do anything to her! But Nichs soon covered his expression, withdrew his hand, and pretended to be generous. ¡°Gorgeous, the Williams have a high status in DC and hold great authority. Feel free toe to me if you need help with anything. I¡¯ll definitely help you!¡± Noticing Regina¡¯s displeased expression, Nichs added, ¡°No matter what, you were my fianc¨¦e¡¯s ssmate!¡± Regina¡¯s expression became a little better, and she smiled coquettishly. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re so good to me!¡± She hugged Nichs¡¯s arm, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his greasy face loudly. Cheyenne felt that it was an awful sight, and she didn¡¯t want to continue speaking to them. She just wanted to leave quickly. ¡°Oh, right, Cheyenne, you probably don¡¯t know this, but my fianc¨¦ brought me here today to participate in thend auction! He¡¯s representing the Williams to bid for the finale item, the plot ofnd in the eastern suburbs of DC! The starting price for thatnd is five hundred million dors! I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve never seen that much money in your life, right?¡± Regina once again deliberately showed off her fianc¨¦¡¯s status and the Williams¡¯ wealth in front of Cheyenne. Cheyenne really didn¡¯t want to continue wasting time with these two people. She smiled pretentiously. ¡°Is that so? Good luck then.¡± Then she nned to leave. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re here!¡± An extremely familiar voice suddenly sounded in Cheyenne¡¯s ears. She turned around and saw the tall and handsome Lucas walking toward her with a smile. ¡°Honey, why are you here too?¡± Cheyenne asked in surprise. ¡°Honey, did you forget that I¡¯m also here to participate in thend auction for the piece ofnd in the eastern suburbs of DC?!¡± Lucas said with a gentle smile. Cheyenne was a little surprised. Regina was still bragging and showing off in front of her just now, telling her that Nichs, her fianc¨¦, was representing the Williams in the auction for thend in the eastern suburbs of DC. She wondered if he were eying the samend as Lucas. Regina held Nichs¡¯s arm, sized Lucas up, and suddenly asked sarcastically, ¡°Cheyenne, is this your live-in husband who has been sponging off you?¡± Chapter 1051 Chapter 1051: Apany Me For A Night Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne nced at Regina coldly and held Lucas¡¯s hand. ¡°He¡¯s my husband, not a freeloader.¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s so funny!¡± Reginaughed hysterically. ¡°Cheyenne, is your husband a joker? Did he just say that he¡¯s here to bid on the plot ofnd in the eastern suburbs of DC? How hrious! ¡°As I just said, the starting price of thisnd is five hundred million dors! I¡¯m afraid you and your husband can¡¯t even afford fifty thousand! ¡°Also, you don¡¯t need to cover up for your husband. Our college ssmates told me that your husband is penniless and jobless, and he lives off of you entirely! ¡°Given his status and financial ability, what can he possibly bid for? This is hrious! I just found out today that your husband is not only a freeloading gigolo, but he also loves puffing himself up to get humiliated. This is too funny!¡± !! Reginaughed widely, as if Lucas was a great joke. Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly and nced at Regina without saying anything. But Cheyenne couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. With a stern expression, she snapped coldly, ¡°Enough, Regina! On ount that we were college ssmates, I can ignore you for mocking me, but you can¡¯t insult my husband! Apologize to him immediately!¡± Regina had just said so many unpleasant things about Cheyenne, but Cheyenne didn¡¯t fall out with her. But after hearing Regina mock Lucas, she couldn¡¯t stand it any longer. Regina¡¯s face darkened, and she stopped pretending to be close to Cheyenne. ¡°Hmph, Cheyenne Carter, who do you think you are? Why should I apologize to a loser? ¡°Do you think you¡¯re still the school belle whom everyone is courting after you¡¯ve married a loser? You¡¯re just an old and haggard woman living a miserable life. You can¡¯t even enter this auction. Why are you acting proud in front of me?¡± Cheyenne was so angry by what Regina said that she was shaking all over. Holding Cheyenne¡¯s hand, Lucas suddenly asked, ¡°Honey, don¡¯t you think this woman¡¯s mouth is too foul and that she¡¯s asking for a beating?¡± Cheyenne nodded without hesitation. Since college, Regina had been going against her in every possible way, and now, she went from bad to worse just because she had gotten herself a fianc¨¦ from one of the eight most powerful families in DC. She really deserved a beating! ¡°Okay, I got it.¡± Lucas chuckled, then suddenly raised his hand and pped Regina¡¯s face! Cheyenne, Regina, and Nichs were dumbfounded! Regina widened her eyes in disbelief, covered her numb cheek, and pointed at Lucas. ¡°You... you bastard, how dare you hit me?!¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Your mouth is too foul. I¡¯m just teaching you a small lesson. If you dare to continue being rude to my wife, you¡¯ll get a taste of my other methods!¡± Regina was on the verge of going crazy, but when she made eye contact with Lucas, she was so frightened that she shuddered and chickened out, even though she had a mouthful of expletives for him. ¡°Honey, look, he actually had the audacity to hit me even though I¡¯m your woman!¡± Regina hugged Nichs¡¯s arm andined sobbingly while showing him the swollen side of her face. No man could tolerate another man pping his woman in public. This concerned the dignity and pride of a man. Even though Nichs didn¡¯t have any true feelings for Regina, he couldn¡¯t tolerate Lucas pping her. ¡°Punk, how dare you hit my fianc¨¦e?! You must have a death wish! If you don¡¯t give me an exnation today, you won¡¯t leave this ce alive!¡± Nichs glowered at Lucas. Lucas raised his brows. ¡°Oh? What kind of exnation do you want?¡± Nichs looked at the stunningly beautiful Cheyenne beside Lucas and felt his heart itching. He suddenly said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve hit my woman, give me yours to y with for a night! Like this, I can pretend that nothing has happened and let you off! Otherwise, the Williams won¡¯t let you off either!¡± Regina was shocked and immediately objected. ¡°Honey, how can you do that?!¡± This bitch Cheyenne is too beautiful. What if she really ends up winning Nichs¡¯s heart? There¡¯s no way I¡¯m suffering a p just to end up getting a love rival instead! ¡°Shut up!¡± Nichs snapped in annoyance. He actually looked rather fierce, so his outburst made Regina too afraid to say another word. But Regina glowered at Cheyenne while continuously calling her a shameless bitch. Damn it, bitch! See how I¡¯ll get you killedter! After Lucas heard Nichs¡¯s disgusting request, a terrifying killing intent surged in his eyes. He wouldn¡¯t let off anyone who dares to harbor designs on his wife! ¡°The Williams? Rayson Williams is your family head, right?¡± Lucas questioned coldly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m from the Williams family, one of the eight top families in DC. Rayson Williams is indeed our family head! But you must have a death wish for daring to address our helmsman by his name!¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to him and said coldly, ¡°In that case, I advise you to call Rayson Williams now and check if you can provoke me or not. Otherwise, you¡¯ll just die miserably!¡± ¡°Bastard, do you think you can intimidate with that? Who do you think you are? How could our helmsman possibly know who you are? Stop pretending!¡± Of course, Nichs wouldn¡¯t believe what Lucas said and only thought he was using Rayson to scare him. Lucas said coldly, ¡°Since you refuse to call him, I¡¯ll do it myself. I want Rayson to see what his younger generation is really like!¡± Then Lucas took out his phone and called the number Rayson had given him. Nichs began to panic. Lucas looked extremely determined, so he wondered if Lucas really knew Rayson. But the worry in Nichs¡¯s heart soon vanished because no one answered Lucas¡¯s call. Nichsughed gleefully. ¡°Hahaha, punk, you were really good at pretending. I was almost scared! ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t have made a random phone call and wanted to pass it off as the Williams¡¯ helmsman, right? Hah, what a joke. You¡¯re just a live-in husband from Orange County. How could you possibly know the Williams¡¯ helmsman? ¡°Our helmsman is a big shot. Even until the day you die, you will never be able to meet him! ¡°I advise you to honestly hand over your woman and let me y with her for one night. Otherwise, I will never let you off! With one phone call, I can get my family¡¯s bodyguards toe over and cripple your limbs!¡± Nichs spoke arrogantly. At the same time, he stared at Cheyenne lustfully, as if she was about to be his woman. Lucas¡¯s face was a little gloomy. He didn¡¯t think that Rayson would have the guts not to answer his call. It was probably because Rayson was busy with something and didn¡¯t have his phone by his side. But at this moment, Lucas¡¯s phone started ringing. It was Rayson! Chapter 1052 Chapter 1052: Tell Me Your Name Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios With a faint smile, Lucas said to Nichs ambiguously with his phone in hand, ¡°It¡¯s your helmsman calling.¡± ¡°Hah, you¡¯re still pretending? Okay, I¡¯ll see how you continue pretending, fool!¡± Nichs naturally refused to believe it and only thought that Lucas was fooling him. Although Nichs was a member of the Williams, he wasn¡¯t a core member and wasn¡¯t even qualified to know Rayson¡¯s phone number. So he naturally assumed that Lucas, a freeloader who sponged off his wife, couldn¡¯t get Rayson¡¯s number, much less contact him by phone. Lucas didn¡¯t waste his breath on saying anything and just pushed the speakerphone button. !! Soon, an extremely terrified voice came from the phone. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m really sorry. I was in the bathroom, so I missed your call. I didn¡¯t ignore it on purpose. Please forgive me!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t bother with him and said directly, ¡°I¡¯m at the entrance of the DC Hotel now, and I¡¯ve met a man who ims to be from your Williams family. He was rude to me and my wife, and he even wanted my wife to apany him for a night.¡± Lucas¡¯s cold and indifferent voice immediately made Rayson almost wet his pants! He never expected that there was such a bold and presumptuous bastard who dared to harbor designs on Lucas¡¯s wife! Damn it. Which fool did it? Is he tired of living? Rayson was furious and immediately said to Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, please tell me which bastard dared to talk to you like that? I won¡¯t let him go. Please hand the phone over to him and let me speak to him.¡± Lucas had put the call on speakerphone, so Rayson¡¯s voice spread clearly to Nichs¡¯s ears. ¡°Did you hear that? Your helmsman wants to talk to you.¡± Lucasughed yfully and handed his phone to Nichs. But Nichs still sneered. ¡°Hah, I didn¡¯t expect that you¡¯re not in this alone, and someone¡¯s actually ying along with you! But you think you can scare me with this? Hmph!¡± He took the phone from Lucas¡¯s hand and said with contempt written all over his face. ¡°Tell me. Are you the bastard Lucas Gray paid to pretend to be my family¡¯s helmsman? I¡¯m warning you. Since you dare to impersonate the Wiliams¡¯ helmsman, we definitely won¡¯t spare you. Just wait to die!¡± ¡°Bastard! I¡¯m Rayson Williams! Tell me your name right now!¡± Rayson hollered furiously. ¡°Hah, if you¡¯re really Rayson Williams, I¡¯m his father! Damn it. Where did youe from, fool? How dare you put on an act in front of me? I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t live through tonight!¡± Nichs didn¡¯t believe that the person on the phone was really Rayson, the head of the Williams. So what even if their voices were simr? The Williams were one of the eight most powerful families in DC, and they had always had an esteemed status. How could Rayson possibly speak to Lucas so respectfully and even apologize to him as soon as he answered the phone call? He thought that these were all just tricks Lucas had deliberately made up! On the other end of the call, Rayson was about to burst into an uncontroble rage. Once he found out which bastard in the family this was, he would definitely kill him and drive him out of the Williams family! But no matter how infuriated Rayson was, he knew that it was impossible for him to prove his identity over the phone, so he could only yell in exasperation, ¡°If you have what it takes, stay there and don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll go to the entrance of the DC Hotel to see you right now!¡± Nichs sneered. ¡°Fine,e here! I¡¯ll wait for you. I¡¯ll give you fifteen minutes. If you don¡¯te, I¡¯ll search all of DC for you and find out which bastard has the guts to impersonate the head of the Williams!¡± With that, he hung up the call and tossed the phone back at Lucas. Nichs looked at Lucas provocatively. ¡°Punk, I¡¯ll wait with you here. Anyway, there¡¯s still about half an hour before the auction officially starts. I can afford to wait! ¡°But if that so-called helmsman of the Williams doesn¡¯t appear within fifteen minutes, I want you to kneel in front of me and kowtow to admit your mistake!¡± Lucas said indifferently with raised brows, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for fifteen minutes then. When the timees, I won¡¯t let you off even if you kneel down and beg me.¡± ¡°How arrogant! When the timees, who knows who will be kneeling on the ground?!¡± Nichs shouted angrily and snorted coldly at Lucas. Holding Lucas¡¯s hand, Cheyenne wasn¡¯t worried that Rayson wouldn¡¯te. After all, she had already witnessed him kneeling and apologizing to Lucas at the Howard residence previously. Besides, Lucas wouldn¡¯t deliberately get someone to put on an act with him, so she was sure that the person on the other end of the call was undoubtedly Rayson! Regina sneered. ¡°Hah, Cheyenne, your husband isn¡¯t only a freeloader who lives off of you, but he¡¯s also a fool who likes to lie! ¡°The head of the Williams is a noble existence that you two can forget about meeting in your entire lives. How could you possibly know him and get him to rush over to support you? ¡°I want to see what else you two can make up when no one arrivester! Since you¡¯ve offended my fianc¨¦, you can forget about staying in DC! ¡°No, that¡¯s not all. It¡¯s hard to say if you two can leave DC alive!¡± Regina¡¯s eyes were full of resentment. Cheyenne¡¯s husband, whom she thought was just a gigolo, had pped her tender and delicate face, causing her face to still be swelling with pain. The beauty treatments she had done a few days ago had all gone to waste! She had to take revenge for the humiliation she suffered! And Cheyenne, a slut pretending to be a noble beauty, actually dared to seduce her fianc¨¦. She would never spare Cheyenne! Cheyenne nced at Regina indifferently without saying a word. It wasn¡¯t worth wasting her breath on talking with someone like her. Time passed quickly, and it was soon 10 minutester. The Williams¡¯ car didn¡¯t appear. Nichs looked at the Rolex watch on his wrist and said with a smug look on his face, ¡°Ten minutes have passed. There are still five minutes to go. Let¡¯s see if your Rayson Williams will dare to show up!¡± Soon, a red BMW drove over and pulled over beside them. Several tall and brawny men got out of the car and walked over. As soon as the burly man in the lead saw Nics man, who was the leader, said respectfully as he walked over as soon as he saw Nichs, ¡°Mr. Williams, you said that there¡¯s a fool who provoked you here? Is it that punk in front?¡± Chapter 1053 Chapter 1053: Catastrophe Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Nichs immediately pointed his finger at Lucas smugly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s this bastard. He actually dared to hit my fianc¨¦ and behave rudely toward me. What¡¯s worse, he even had the guts to say that he knows my family¡¯s helmsman and even got someone to pretend to be him on the phone!¡± He looked at Lucas conceitedly, thinking that he hadn¡¯t waited here for nothing. He had long been sure that Lucas couldn¡¯t call the real helmsman of the Williams toe over, so he didn¡¯t want to waste his time here for nothing. He had secretly sent a message to a few of his bodyguards and ordered them to rush over immediately and deal with Lucas. Today, he had to get rid of at least one of Lucas¡¯s arms and legs! ¡°Damn it! This punk is too bold. Not only did he offend you, Mr. Williams, and hit your fianc¨¦e, but he even dared to get someone to impersonate the Williams¡¯ helmsman! He has a death wish!¡± The leading burly man shouted in fury and immediately instructed his subordinates, ¡°Go get this punk and break his arm!¡± !! ¡°Yes, Jack!¡± The subordinates immediately obeyed the order and walked toward Lucas. Their tall and muscr builds made them exude a strong sense of oppression. Cheyenne immediately grabbed Lucas¡¯s arm nervously, subconsciously intimidated by this violent scene. Lucas patted Cheyenne¡¯s handfortingly. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± In fact, Lucas had noticed Nichs secretly sending the text message. Lucas knew long ago that Nichs would definitely find some people toe over and deal with him. But regardless of how many people he called over, Lucas wouldn¡¯t take them seriously because they were just minions in his eyes. ¡°Jack, this punk doesn¡¯t seem to take us seriously. Can we be a bit more violent?¡± One of the subordinates lost his temper when he saw that Lucas was standing still without any trace of fear on his face, as if he didn¡¯t take them seriously. ¡°Hit him! Hit him as hard as you want! Even if you beat him to death, I¡¯ll take care of it!¡± Nichs ordered with a menacing expression. After receiving Nichs¡¯s reassurance, the few burly men immediately walked to Lucas while cracking their knuckles and clenching their fists, ready to beat him. Screech! But at this moment, a ck Pagani sped over and came to a screeching halt beside the few of them. Before the car came to aplete stop, the rear door of the Pagani was pushed open from the inside, and a figure hurried out of it. When a few of the people present saw the face of this person, they couldn¡¯t help inhaling sharply! The person who hurried out of the Pagani was none other than Rayson, the current helmsman of the Williams! Nichs was so astonished and frightened that he almost fell to the ground. Then he frantically rushed over and asked Rayson in fear, ¡°Mr... Mr. Rayson! Wh-what brings you here?¡± At this moment, Nichs¡¯s heart was palpitating, and all he could think was, Does this punk really know the Williams¡¯ helmsman? I¡¯m in trouble now. But Rayson ignored Nichs and walked straight toward Lucas. Behind him were two top-tier elite bodyguards. Nichs saw at a nce that Rayson¡¯s face was very gloomy. He seemed to be furious. ¡°Honey, look, the helmsman of your family must have known that someone impersonated him. That¡¯s why he¡¯s so angry. He must be here to settle scores with this punk!¡± Regina pulled Nichs and said excitedly in his ear. Nichs was stunned for a moment and then came back to his senses. Rayson didn¡¯t rush here angrily because of him but because he knew that someone had impersonated him! Yeah, that¡¯s right. This is how it should be! Nichs said excitedly, ¡°Haha, baby, you¡¯re right! This punk is just a live-in husband. How could he possibly know the helmsman of the Williams? Haha, I was almost frightened by him! Now that he¡¯s been caught by Mr. Rayson for impersonating him, he definitely won¡¯t end up well!¡± He was eager to see what would happen to Lucas next! If the bodyguards beside him had made a move, Lucas would probably have only broken an arm and a leg. But the two elite bodyguards beside Rayson were extremely ruthless and would probably rip him into shreds! But this bastard deserves it! While Nichs and Regina were full of excitement and waiting to watch a good show, Rayson had already led his bodyguards to Lucas. Then... Thud! Under everyone¡¯s shocked gaze, Rayson knelt in front of Lucas! ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s all my fault for failing to discipline my junior, which led to him offending you. Please forgive me!¡± Rayson¡¯s face was ashen as he knelt in front of Lucas with trepidation, too afraid to even raise his head to speak. Rayson had already met Lucas twice, but the terrifying pressure that Lucas brought to Rayson then was immense. It also let Rayson know that Lucas wasn¡¯t someone he could afford to provoke! It would be a piece of cake for Lucas to destroy the Williams. But now, there was a bastard from the Williams who had stupidly provoked Lucas and even harbored designs on his wife. If Lucas lost his temper because of this, it would be over for the Williams! Therefore, after ordering his driver toe here as fast as possible, the first thing Rayson did when he arrived was kneel in front of Lucas and ask for his forgiveness! Continue read on our website:B o n n o v e l The scene stunned everyone present! In particr, Nichs and Regina, who were extremely smug at first, werepletely dumbstruck, as if they had been pped hard. They were on the verge of losing the ability to think! They never thought that Rayson, the esteemed helmsman of the Williams, would kneel down in front of Lucas and beg for his forgiveness! Could such a man be a freeloading gigolo like Regina said? If Lucas was really such a person, how could he possibly have gotten the Williams¡¯ helmsman to kneel in front of him? Rayson wasn¡¯t crazy! At this moment, Nichs even considered the possibility that this man who resembled Rayson was someone Lucas had hired! But when he saw the bodyguards behind Rayon, his selfforting delusion waspletely shattered. The person kneeling in front of Lucas was indeed the real helmsman of the Williams! When Nics thought of the things he had said during the phone call just now, his legs went limp, and he almost fell to the ground! It¡¯s over for me! I¡¯m in deep trouble! Chapter 1054 Chapter 1054: Chop Them Up and Feed Them to the Dogs Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Noticing that many people were looking over, Lucas frowned and said, ¡°Get up.¡± No matter what, Rayson was the head of the Williams, one of the eight top families in DC, and a reputable figure. If word about him kneeling in front of Lucas spread, it would probably bring Lucas a lot of trouble. The only thing Rayson had thought earlier was to rush to Lucas to apologize as soon as possible. But now that he had heard the trace of dissatisfaction in Lucas¡¯s tone, he figured out the issue and quickly stood up. The few burly men Nichs had called over and been about to harm Lucas were scared out of their wits, and their faces turned as pale as a sheet. But Lucas ignored them and looked straight at Nichs, who was standing behind the crowd. He said coldly, ¡°Do you still want my wife to apany you for a night?¡± !! Thud! Nichs had long been trembling, and his legs were so weak that he could barely stand. After hearing Lucas¡¯s question, he immediately fell to his knees. ¡°No, no, M-Mr. Gray, I know I was wrong! I-I¡¯m just a fool who likes to spout nonsense. If I had known you knew my family¡¯s helmsman, I would have never dared to say such things! Please spare my life!¡± At this moment, Nichs was no longer as arrogant as before. He was kneeling on the ground and pleading desperately with cold sweat all over his face. He was dying of regret currently. If he had known that Lucas was powerful enough to make the Williams¡¯ helmsman kneel before him to beg for forgiveness, he would have never dared to provoke Lucas, let alone harbor designs on his woman! Regina didn¡¯t dare to stand any longer and immediately knelt on the ground. Who told her that Cheyenne was married to a freeloader? Since this man could make the head of the Williams, one of the eight most powerful families in DC, kneel in front of him, how could his identity possibly be simple? It was simply too terrifying! ¡°Earlier, you bullied my wife and kept saying she married a good-for-nothing, didn¡¯t you?¡± Lucas looked at Regina again. Regina didn¡¯t dare to be arrogant anymore. She turned pale and said frantically, ¡°No! It¡¯s because I¡¯m blind. I was just spouting nonsense! I¡¯m the good-for-nothing. I shouldn¡¯t have babbled nonsense out of envy for Cheyenne. Please let me off, Mr. Gray!¡± Then she looked at Cheyenne again and begged, ¡°Ch-Cheyenne, on ount that we used to be ssmates, please ask your husband to spare me! I know I was a bitch earlier and went overboard with what I said. I¡¯ll p myself now so that I will never dare to say anything like that again!¡± Smack! Smack! Regina raised her hand and pped her face with all her might. In order to seek forgiveness from Cheyenne and Lucas, she went all out and pped herself extra hard without daring to pretend at all. Soon, her face turned red and swollen, and some blood seeped out from the corners of her mouth, making her look incredibly miserable and pitiful. But Lucas just looked at the two of them coldly without any sympathy. If he was just an ordinary person who didn¡¯t know the Williams¡¯ helmsman, one of his arms and legs would have probably been crippled by the burly men Nichs had called. Moreover, Cheyenne would have fallen into Nichs¡¯s hands and suffered horrifying humiliation and vition. They deserved to die just based on what they had said to Cheyenne and what they had done! ¡°Mr. Williams, is he really from your family?¡± Lucas suddenly looked at Rayson. Rayson had been ring daggers at Nichs, wishing he could skin him alive. Upon hearing Lucas¡¯s question, he hurriedly said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t know if he is a member of the family. I only find him a little familiar, but I can guarantee that he isn¡¯t a direct descendant!¡± Rayson wasn¡¯t deliberately trying to shirk responsibility but telling the truth. The Williams were one of the eight top families and a big family that had been in existence for hundreds of years. There were probably hundreds of descendants in total, including the direct lineage and branches. Among these people, only those of the direct lineage had the qualifications to contact Rayson. He didn¡¯t know many of the members of the side branches! After speaking, Rayson was afraid that Lucas would think he was lying, so he hurriedly shouted at Nichs, ¡°Bastard! Tell me honestly who you are! If you dare to lie, I¡¯ll have you skinned alive!¡± During the phone call earlier, Rayson had asked Nichs to reveal his name, but thetter didn¡¯t believe who he was and insisted that he was a liar impersonating the Williams¡¯ helmsman. Rayson was infuriated. At this moment, Nichs didn¡¯t dare to be disrespectful to Rayson again. He quickly answered honestly, ¡°Mr. Rayson, m-my name is Nichs Rayson, and my second uncle is your grandfather¡¯s nephew!¡± Rayson was stunned for a moment, but he soon snapped, ¡°Screw you! Trust you to have the cheek to throw your weight around in the name of the Williams with just this lousy identity!¡± Rayson was about to fly into a rage. Nichs was such a distant rtive that he was barely even considered rted to Rayson. They were at most from the same n. Yet Nichs had offended Lucas here using the name of the Williams! No wonder this bastard couldn¡¯t recognize my voice over the phone. He really deserves to die! ¡°Mr. Gray, what do you n to do with these two pieces of garbage?¡± Even though Rayson was angry, Nichs had offended Lucas in the name of the Williams after all, so Rayson had no choice but to deal with the matter. Lucas nced coldly at the couple kneeling on the ground and said disinterestedly, ¡°Do as you deem fit.¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Rayson quickly agreed and then instructed the two bodyguards behind him, ¡°These two have offended Mr. Gray, and their mistake is unforgivable! Immediately chop them up and feed them to the dogs!¡± Rayson was livid. Lucas was so powerful that he didn¡¯t even dare to offend him. He was very respectful and subservient toward Lucas, and he had even knelt twice. Yet Nichs actually had the audacity to offend Lucas in the Williams¡¯ name. He truly deserved to die! The same goes for the woman next to him! How dare she mock Lucas Gray and his wife? She¡¯s obviously an indecent tramp! These two deserve to die! Nichs and Regina, who were still kneeling on the ground and begging for mercy, were almost frightened to death after hearing Rayson¡¯s order to chop them up and feed them to the dogs! Chapter 1055 Chapter 1055: Extremely Greedy Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°No... I-I don¡¯t want to die! Please forgive me!¡± Regina was so frightened that she slumped to the ground and burst into tears. There was already a pool of liquid beneath her body. The order had frightened her so much that she had wet her pants. Nichs¡¯s mind was nk. When he saw Regina next to him, he picked her up by her cor and hollered furiously, ¡°You bitch, you caused this to happen to me! If you hadn¡¯t suddenly walked over to pick a fight with your ssmate, how could I have offended Mr. Gray for you? It¡¯s all your fault, bitch! ¡°Oh right, your ssmate! Isn¡¯t Mr. Gray¡¯s wife your college ssmate? Hurry up and plead with her! Beg her husband to spare us! ¡°Hurry up! Quickly beg her for mercy!¡± Nichs¡¯s furious roar made Regina snap back to her senses. She hurriedly knelt on the ground, crawled to Cheyenne, and pleaded in tears, ¡°Cheyenne, I know I¡¯m wrong for what I did earlier. I really know my mistake now! !! ¡°No matter what, we were college ssmates for four years, and you have always been so kind and nice. You definitely won¡¯t just watch me die, right? ¡°Please save me! As long as you let me off this time, I will never provoke you again!¡± Looking at Regina, who had always been arrogant, crying and begging her for mercy, Cheyenne suddenly felt a little sympathy for her. No matter what, Regina had been her ssmate for four years. Cheyenne couldn¡¯t bear to see her really get killed, chopped up, and fed to dogs. ¡°Honey, how about we spare them this time?¡± Cheyenne looked at Lucas, feeling conflicted. Lucas sighed. He knew that Cheyenne had always been soft-hearted, and it was hard for her to be harsh to even a vicious woman like Regina who spoke ill of her. But since it was Cheyenne¡¯s request, Lucas would naturally agree to it. ¡°Alright, on ount that Cheyenne pleaded for you, I¡¯ll spare you this once,¡± Lucas said coldly. Hearing this, Regina and Nichs were overjoyed, and they frantically thanked, ¡°Thank you, Ms. Carter. Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°You can be spared from death but not punishment! From now on, I don¡¯t want to see the two of them in DC again,¡± Lucas said to Rayson. Of course, Lucas didn¡¯t have the spare time to make sure that these two shameless people really left DC. So he left this matter to the Williams to take care of it. To be honest, it was already considered a very light punishment. If Cheyenne hadn¡¯t pleaded for mercy, Lucas would have really wanted these two to vanish from DC forever. Rayson naturallyplied. He quickly agreed and then yelled at the two people on the ground. ¡°Did you hear that? Mr. Gray is kind enough to spare your lives, but from today onward, you have to get lost from DC! If I find out that you¡¯re still in DC, don¡¯t me me for being heartless!¡± Nichs and Regina were both grimacing in misery. Both of them were born and raised in DC, and all their rtives, friends, and connections were here. If they left DC and went elsewhere, they would have to start all over again. For example, the reason Nichs could do well in DC was that hisst name was Williams. He rode on the prestige of his family, and everyone showed him respect. If he was really driven out of DC, with his own abilities, who would care about him? The same went for Regina. If they left DC, Nichs would be nothing. Where could she go to find herself a better and richer man then? Having gotten used to seeing the wealth and prosperity of DC, Regina couldn¡¯t tolerate the idea of getting together with the scion of a lower-tier family in another city. ¡°Idiot! Why are you still standing here? Hurry up and beg your ssmate not to drive us out of DC! If we really leave DC, everything we have will be gone. What can we do then?¡± Nichs kicked Regina again and told her to go and plead with Cheyenne. Regina obediently threw herself in front of Cheyenne¡¯s feet and said desperately, ¡°Cheyenne, since you¡¯ve already helped me once, please do me another favor! I really can¡¯t leave DC! ¡°Think about it. I grew up in DC, and all my family and friends are here. Everything I¡¯m familiar with is here, and I¡¯ll have nothing if I get kicked out of DC. How can I possibly survive like this? ¡°Cheyenne, you should understand the pain of leaving your family and home. Can you really bear to treat me like this?¡± Regina¡¯s face was covered in tears as she begged Cheyenne. Lucas watched on coldly. He knew that this woman wouldn¡¯t be satisfied after begging Cheyenne once. Cheyenne was just too kind and softhearted, so she couldn¡¯t bear to be merciless. But Cheyenne would soon see how ungrateful and greedy humans could be. Seeing Regina still pestering Cheyenne, Rayson immediately felt like losing his temper. But after being stopped by a nce from Lucas, he realized what Lucas was thinking and stopped in his tracks. At this moment, Cheyenne was at a loss for what to do. When Rayson¡¯s order to chop them up and feed them to dogs came out, Regina had burst into tears and begged for mercy. Cheyenne couldn¡¯t bear for them to be killed, so she had pleaded on their behalf. But Regina refused to leave DC as per Lucas¡¯s instruction, and she pleaded with Cheyenne again in hopes that she could stay in DC. ¡°This...¡± Cheyenne nced at Lucas, wanting to see what his intentions were. But he didn¡¯t say anything and seemed to have left the decision to her. ¡°Cheyenne, please help me out once more! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll have to stay in another city for the rest of my life! My parents are getting older now. If I can¡¯t take care of them or even know how they¡¯re doing and whether they¡¯re healthy or not... ¡°Cheyenne, please ask your husband to let us stay in DC! I promise I will definitely change my ways in the future and not cause any trouble again!¡± Hearing Regina¡¯s plea and her mention of her parents, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help thinking about her father, William. She felt extremely conflicted. ¡°Honey, why don¡¯t... we let her stay in DC?¡± Cheyenne said embarrassedly as she looked at Lucas expectantly. Lucas smiled. ¡°Alright, you call the shots.¡± But Lucas saw the cold gaze in Regina¡¯s eyes, so he signaled with his eyes to Rayson. Chapter 1056 Chapter 1056: No Longer Soft-Hearted Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After catching Lucas¡¯s hint, Rayson immediately said, ¡°Okay, Ms. Carter is kind enough to spare you two, but since you¡¯ve already gone overboard, you should face the punishment! ¡°Nichs Williams, from now on, you have been expelled from the Williams family forever! And everything you have obtained from us will be confiscated! You are to hand over all your assets by tomorrow!¡± Hearing this, Nichs panicked. Making him hand over all his assets that he had painstakingly saved over the years was akin to removing his flesh! Nichs knelt in front of Rayson and begged bitterly, ¡°Mr. Rayson, please give me a chance! I know I was wrong. I offended Mr. Gray and Ms. Carter because I was too ignorant. I didn¡¯t mean it! ¡°I just bought a vi, and I haven¡¯t paid off the mortgage. I have to pay for my car too. Everything adds up to more than ten thousand a month! If I really get kicked out of the Williams, I won¡¯t be able to pay for it! !! ¡°And I... I nned to get married. If I get kicked out of the Williams, how... how can I live in the future?¡± Rayson shouted angrily, ¡°I don¡¯t care! If you keep talking nonsense and say that you can¡¯t live, I¡¯ll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!¡± Nichs was shocked and immediately shut up. He didn¡¯t dare to plead for mercy from Rayson again, but there was someone else he could beg! After Cheyenne had agreed to Regina¡¯s pleas twice, Nichs thought that Cheyenne was a soft-hearted person. As long as Regina helped him beg for mercy from her, it would be great! At the thought of this, Nichs pped Regina again and yelled angrily, ¡°Damn wench, if you hadn¡¯t offended Ms. Carter, I wouldn¡¯t have ended up getting expelled from the family! Go beg her for mercy for me immediately. Make sure Mr. Rayson withdraws his orders! Quick! ¡°If I really get kicked out by the family, as my fianc¨¦e, you won¡¯t have it any better either!¡± Regina agreed and hurriedly pleaded with Cheyenne, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re a kind person. Just help us all the way. Since your husband listens to you, and Mr. Rayson takes orders from your husband, please plead for mercy on our behalf! ¡°If my fianc¨¦ really gets kicked out of his family and has all his assets confiscated, he will have nothing to his name. Do you have the heart to see me live a miserable life with him? ¡°We were ssmates in college for four years. Can you really bear to be so heartless?¡± What Regina said made Cheyenne¡¯s face finally turn sullen. She had already helped Regina plead for mercy twice, and the punishment for them was lighter each time, yet they still weren¡¯t satisfied and even wanted to be spared from all their punishments. Worst still, they wanted to gain some benefits. Would Cheyenne not be considered a heartless person only if she granted them their wishes? ¡°Regina, you should know how to be content! You insulted my husband and I repeatedly just now, and I¡¯ve already been magnanimous enough to forgive you. I¡¯ve also helped you reduce your punishment greatly! But you still aren¡¯t satisfied? ¡°I was willing to plead for you on ount that we were college ssmates. But if you¡¯re still not content, I have nothing else to say!¡± Cheyenne frowned with displeasure. Hearing that Cheyenne wasn¡¯t willing to help her this time, Regina immediately sulked and snapped, ¡°Cheyenne Carter, it was my fault for what happened earlier, but I¡¯ve already knelt to apologize. What else do you want? ¡°I may have said some rude things to you, but it¡¯s not like you actually lost anything, right? On the other hand, my fianc¨¦e and I were greatly frightened, and we even knelt in front of you for so long! You¡¯re the one who should be content! ¡°Besides, if it wasn¡¯t for you, we wouldn¡¯t have been punished by Mr. Williams, so you must help us solve this! Otherwise, I will definitely tell all our ssmates that you¡¯re a heartless and despicable person!¡± Perhaps because Cheyenne had been too amicable just now, Regina became fearless and spoke to Cheyenne aggressively. Cheyenne was furious. If she hadn¡¯t been soft-hearted and pleaded for mercy for Regina and Nichs, Regina would have long been killed and fed to dogs. Yet she was now so greedy as to use her of being heartless and despicable! Cheyenne really regretted it now. If she had known earlier, she wouldn¡¯t have pleaded for mercy for an ingrate like Regina! Seeing how angry she was, Lucas felt heartache. He held her hand and said gently, ¡°Honey, look, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re kind, but there are lots of ingrates in this world who don¡¯t deserve your kindness at all. ¡°Some people are just that greedy. Not only do they not know to be grateful to you for helping them, but they even take it for granted. But when you refuse to help them, they¡¯ll me you and think it¡¯s your responsibility. ¡°So, while it¡¯s a good thing to be kind, you shouldn¡¯t be kind to just anyone. After all, there are a lot of shameless people like them in the world.¡± Cheyenne came to a realization after hearing what Lucas said. No wonder Lucas agreed to my request without hesitation but had a sharp gaze in his eyes. It turns out he has long expected this result and just wanted me to see it for myself. ¡°Honey, I understand. In the future, I won¡¯t show kindness to those who don¡¯t deserve it,¡± Cheyenne said from the bottom of her heart. She had really learned her lesson. Lucas nodded and said to Rayson, ¡°I¡¯ll leave these two to you. You may do whatever you want to them!¡± Then he took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and walked toward the entrance of the DC Hotel. ¡°Honey, I... I don¡¯t have an invitation...¡± Cheyenne said softly. But before she could finish speaking, she saw Lucas pulling out a red invitation card and handing it to the receptionist at the hotel entrance. ¡°Dear guests, wee to the auction. Pleasee in!¡± Please read new chapter at:B o n n o v e l With the invitation card, the two walked unhindered into the hotel¡¯s auction venue. Behind them, Regina¡¯s and Nichs¡¯s cries of regret came. But this time, Cheyenne no longer intended to be merciful to them. Regardless of what punishment they ended up facing, they deserved it! Chapter 1057 Chapter 1057: Participating in the Auction Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At the entrance of the DC Hotel, Regina apologized to Cheyenne in hopes that she would help her onest time. But unfortunately, Cheyenne had already seen her true colors and refused to help her. Seeing Cheyennepletely vanish into the DC Hotel, Regina was incredibly panic-stricken. ¡°You greedy idiots! Ms. Carter was kind enough to plead for you two, but you were still so ungrateful. You took a mile when you were given an inch. Now, it¡¯s all over!¡± Rayson sneered and ordered the two bodyguards behind him, ¡°Break the limbs of these fools and then get their family to take them away! I don¡¯t want to see these two people getting in Mr. Gray¡¯s way again after tomorrow. Do you hear me?¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Williams!¡± The two bodyguards immediately epted the orders and walked toward Nichs and Regina, who were kneeling on the ground, scared out of their wits. ¡°No, please! Mr. Williams, we know our mistakes now! We¡¯ll stop being greedy and do as you said before. Regina and I will leave DC right now, and we will nevere back!¡± !! ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll leave right now. Your men don¡¯t have to do anything!¡± Both Nichs and Regina were scared to death. They frantically got up and wanted to leave. ¡°Hah, now you regret making so many requests? It¡¯s toote!¡± Rayson said coldly and then nced at the bodyguards beside him. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Waahhh!¡± ... Several miserable screams came from the entrance of the DC Hotel. But the two of them were already destined to be doomed. ... On the other side, the auction had already started when Lucas and Cheyenne entered the auction venue due to the dy just now. Even a beautiful auctioneer with a voluptuous figure had already walked onto the auction stage. ¡°Lucas, here!¡± The eyes of the anxious-looking Flynn immediately lit up upon seeing Lucas. He got up from his seat and waved his hand. When Lucas and Cheyenne came over, Flynn greeted, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯re here too.¡± Cheyenne greeted Flynn back. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Flynn.¡± Speaking of which, it had been a long time since Cheyennest saw Flynn. When Cheyenne was still living with the Carters, she had to interact with Flynn, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation, several times in order to build a rtionship with him to get the Stardust Corporation to let the Carters off. But at the time, Flynn¡¯s status was much greater than the Carters¡¯. Now, Flynn was extremely respectful to her. Cheyenne sighed, knowing that all these changes were because of the man beside her! ¡°Dear guests, wee to today¡¯s auction. I¡¯m Carrie, the auctioneer for today...¡± At this moment, the auctioneer on the stage had already picked up the microphone, introduced herself, and announced the official start of the auction. Looking at the map projected on therge screen, the auctioneer began to introduce in detail the first plot ofnd to be auctioned today. Lucas wasn¡¯t interested in this plot ofnd. The plot in the eastern suburbs of DC that he wanted was the finale of today¡¯s auction, so it should appearter. ¡°Are you here to get a plot ofnd too?¡± Lucas asked Cheyenne. If she wasn¡¯t interested in a plot ofnd, she probably wouldn¡¯t have appeared here or faced Regina¡¯s mockery for not having an invitation card. Cheyenne nodded. ¡°I heard about thend auction at an exchange meeting this morning. I thought that since I¡¯m nning to expand the Brilliance Corporation to DC, it would be better to buy a plot ofnd and use it as the cornerstone of the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s development in DC.¡± The Brilliance Corporation¡¯s main business was rted to real estate development, so it would indeed be best to buy somend and then work on it from there to expand thepany¡¯s market to DC. Lucas nodded approvingly. ¡°That¡¯s good. But I must buy the plot ofnd in the eastern suburbs. You can pick the one closest to it. Land No. 15 on this map has a goodnd area and location. It¡¯s also the one closest to the plot in the eastern suburbs.¡± There was a beautiful auction catalog with a map on it sitting on the table in front of them, which marked the general location and size of the plots ofnd for auction today. Although Cheyenne didn¡¯t ask Lucas what he wanted to do with therge plot ofnd in the eastern suburbs, she knew that he was definitely nning something big, and his suggestion would surely be of great benefit to her and the Brilliance Corporation. ¡°Alright.¡± Cheyenne nodded, silently deciding to bid for Land No. 15. Time passed quickly amid the auctioneer¡¯s introduction and the endless bidding. Several plots ofnd were auctioned off sessfully. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re going to start bidding for Land No. 15 next! I¡¯ve already introduced thend area and location just now, so let¡¯s start bidding right away! ¡°The starting price is one hundred million dors, and every subsequent bid will increase by at least a hundred thousand dors. Bidding begins now!¡± the beautiful auctioneer shouted. As soon as she finished speaking, someone below the stage immediately bid. ¡°I bid a hundred and ten million dors!¡± The first offer was already 10 million dors higher than the starting price. ¡°115 million!¡± ¡°120 million!¡± ¡°125 million!¡± ¡°130 million!¡± ... The price of thend soared to 150 million dors in just a minute. But after passing the 150 million mark, the number of people bidding obviously began to decrease. The price had increased by such arge amount within such a short period of time. One hundred and fifty million dors was a huge sum of money for most families. So after reaching the 150-million-dor mark, all the bids were made carefully. ¡°Okay, the highest bidder is now the Steele Corporation, with a bid of a hundred and fifty million dors! Are there any higher bids?¡± The auctioneer¡¯s high-pitched voice resounded throughout the room. ¡°What? The highest bidder just now was from the Steele Corporation?¡± ¡°The Steele Corporation belongs to the Steeles, who are one of the eight most powerful families in DC. Since they¡¯ve bid so much, how can wepete with them?¡± ¡°Forget it. With the Steeles here, I¡¯d better pass and consider another plot ofnd.¡± ... Many people in the auction hall whispered and gave up bidding for Land No. 15 against the Steeles. ¡°The current highest bidding price for Land No. 15 is 150 million dors! Is there any higher bid? ¡°150 million dors, going once!¡± ¡°150 million dors, going twice!¡± ¡°150 million dors...¡±Continue read on our website: Just as the auctioneer appeared a little disappointed and was about to raise the gavel, a sweet female voice suddenly sounded in the venue. ¡°151 million dors!¡± The very moment before the auctioneer was about to lower the gavel, Cheyenne finally bit her lower lip and participated in the auction! Chapter 1058 Chapter 1058: Lucas Teaching His Wife Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Cheyenne¡¯s Brilliance Corporation was only an enterprise in Orange County. Although it had developed extremely well in her hands within half a year, it only had a market value of 30 to 40 million dors at the beginning. Even with Cheyenne¡¯s hard work over the past six months, it was still impossible for the market value of the Brilliance Corporation to increase by much within a short period of time. Thus, the funds Cheyenne could use should have only been about 70 million dors, and she could have only bought a rtively small plot ofnd that was farther away. But because Lucas had suggested that she buy Land No. 15 near the eastern suburbs, she could only borrow some money from him to make up for the shortage of funds. However, due to the amount being too much, Cheyenne gave it some thought before raising the bid by 1 million dors. At this moment, the young man from the Steeles, who had ced the bid of 150 million dors, turned his head to take a look at Cheyenne and was stunned by her beauty. He then asked with a smile, ¡°Miss, you seem to be a fresh face. You¡¯re not from DC, are you?¡± !! ¡°There are no rules that restrict people who aren¡¯t from DC from participating in the auction, right?¡± Cheyenne replied indifferently. The young man didn¡¯t lose his temper but instead said politely, ¡°That¡¯s true. I am Alexander Steele, and I¡¯m very keen on acquiring this plot ofnd. I wonder if you could please let me have it, beautiful?¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly but didn¡¯t say anything. He didn¡¯t intend to interfere with anything that was within Cheyenne¡¯s means to handle. This was a form of his respect for her. Cheyenne said firmly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I really want to acquire thisnd too.¡± ¡°What a shame. In that case, I will have to continue bidding for it against you, beautiful,¡± Alexander said with a look of regret, but he didn¡¯t continue speaking nonsense and continued bidding. ¡°156 million dors!¡± He bid 5 million dors more than Cheyenne¡¯s bid! Many people inhaled sharply. Based on Alexander¡¯s stance, it seemed he was bent on acquiring this plot ofnd! The auctioneer on the stage smiled brightly and asked loudly, ¡°The price for Land No. 15 has reached 156 million dors! Any higher bids? ¡°The currency price is 156 million dors!¡± The higher the price of thend, the higher the auctioneer¡¯smission. Such auctions where each plot ofnd could reach hundreds of millions of dors urred only once in a blue moon. So the auctioneer naturally had to hype up the audience. Cheyenne was obviously conflicted. She really wanted to buy the plot ofnd, but Alexander had raised the price by five million dors at once. And he looked so confident that Cheyenne didn¡¯t dare to ce another bid. ¡°Honey, go on!¡± Lucas said to Cheyenne encouragingly. As long as he finished building Stardust City in the eastern suburbs, the surroundingnd prices would definitely skyrocket. Even if they had to spend several hundred million dors to buy it, the profit would still be significant. After receiving Lucas¡¯s encouragement, Cheyenne became much bolder. She made up her mind and said, ¡°176 million dors!¡± ¡°176 million dors!¡±Continue read on our website:B o n n o v e l ¡°My god, she actually bid twenty million higher than the Steeles!¡± ¡°Impressive! She raised her bid by so much at once. She¡¯s the real wealthy one! Which family is this beautiful girl from?¡± ... After Cheyenne bid 176 million dors, the crowd was astonished, especially Alexander, who had ced the previous bid. He turned around and looked at her with aplicated expression. When he saw that Cheyenne had only added a million dors more than him earlier, he had merely thought that her budget was around this price. So he raised it to 156 million dors in one go to deter her frompeting with him. When he saw her hesitating without the courage to continue increasing the bid, he felt relieved. But he was relieved too soon. Cheyenne actually added another 20 million dors, crushing his bid. Originally, Alexander¡¯s maximum budget for this plot ofnd was 160 million dors. Any higher, and there wouldn¡¯t be much profit margin, which would make his family dissatisfied. Alexander sighed and said to Cheyenne, ¡°Hey, beauty, it really doesn¡¯t... make economical sense to spend 176 million dors on this plot ofnd.¡± ¡°Thank you for your kind reminder,¡± Cheyenne responded politely. Alexander shrugged, turned around, and waved his hand at the auctioneer. ¡°I give up.¡± ¡°Alright, the Steeles have given up on bidding, and the highest bid is now this beautiful woman¡¯s 176 million dors. Any higher bids?¡± No one dared to ce any more bids. ¡°176 million dors, going once! ¡°176 million dors, going twice! ¡°176 million dors, going thrice! Sold! ¡°Congrattions to this youngdy. Land No. 15 is now yours!¡± The auctioneer knocked the small gavel, and Cheyenne sessfully bought the plot ofnd for 176 million dors. The auction proceeded. After being excited, Cheyenne asked Lucas softly, ¡°Honey, was the price too high?¡± Lucas shook his head and smiled. ¡°You rarely participate in such auctions, so it¡¯s normal for you tock experience. For example, your first bid was only a million dors higher than the previous bid. This caused many people to think that you¡¯re not confident enough and that your budget is around that level. ¡°That¡¯s why Alexander Steele raised his bid by five million dors at once. He did this because he wanted to scare you into giving up onpeting with him. ¡°When he announced his bid, did you feel that he was extremely confident and determined to win, so you wanted to give up bidding?¡± Having her thoughts exposed by Lucas, Cheyenne nodded embarrassedly. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I thought at the time. I felt that the price was already too high, and since he suddenly increased it by so much, I thought he could continue increasing it. He made me feel like I couldn¡¯t beat him at all, so I wanted to give up.¡± Lucas smiled warmly and continued to guide her. ¡°That¡¯s normal. If we didn¡¯t have enough funds on hand, we might have indeed been intimidated by him and been too scared topete with him. But this also shows that his bid was close to his own maximum budget. If I¡¯m right, the highest price he had in mind was 160 million dors. If it exceeded this amount, he wouldn¡¯t ce a higher bid no matter what. ¡°But you bid 176 million dors in one go, which far exceeded the price he had in mind. So he naturally wouldn¡¯tpete with you anymore and could only give up.¡± Chapter 1059 Chapter 1059: Determined To Win Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing what Lucas said, Cheyenne said with some self-reproach, ¡°I was too impulsive. If I had bid a little more than 160 million dors, he would have likely given up. We could have saved over ten million dors! It¡¯s all my fault for wasting so much money... ¡°When the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s profits increase in the future, I will return the money to you as soon as possible!¡± Lucas said with a helpless smile, ¡°Since you¡¯re my wife, my money is your money. Why do we have to divide it so clearly?¡± Cheyenne was stunned for a moment, but she soon smiled shyly. ¡°I¡¯m so silly. I¡¯ve always felt that I have to rely on myself when ites to work. But sometimes, I forget that we¡¯ve already be one a long time ago.¡± The two of them held hands, and warmth flowed through their fingers. !! In a short while, several more plots ofnd were sessfully auctioned. Thergest plot ofnd in the eastern suburbs that Lucas and Flynn had set their sights on was Land No. 23, the finale item. Thend had an area of 120 acres and t terrain, which made it suitable for building a recreational city. So Lucas was determined to acquire thisnd. But its starting price was a staggering amount of 400 million dors, which wasn¡¯t a price ordinarypanies could afford. However, there were many wealthy families qualified to join the auction, so they had plenty ofpetitors. ¡°Okay, next up, we reach the most exciting part of the auction today, the auction for the finale plot ofnd. It¡¯s also thergest piece ofnd among all thend up for auction today! ¡°I believe everyone is already clear about the location and size of thisnd, so I shall not waste any time exining. Let¡¯s start the auction right away! ¡°Starting price, 400 million dors! Each increase must not be less than one million. Let¡¯s start bidding now! ¡°435 million dors!¡± ¡°450 million dors!¡± ¡°490 million dors!¡± ... ¡°800 million dors!¡± In just a few minutes, the bid for the plot ofnd reached 800 million dors, which was double the starting price. Clearly, thend was extremely appealing to many wealthy families. ¡°850 million dors!¡± At this moment, a familiar voice sounded again. After everyone heard the voice, they couldn¡¯t help revealing a bitter smile. The voice belonged to Alexander, who had bid earlier. ¡°Uh... Since the Steeles have taken a liking to thisnd, I¡¯d better withdraw!¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I can beat the Steeles. I¡¯ll withdraw too.¡± Just like before, many wealthy families withdrew from the auction because Alexander had already expressed his desire to buy this plot ofnd. Even though they might have a higher budget than Alexander, no one dared to snatchnd from the Steeles orpete with them in terms of financial ability. Alexander smiled at the fewpetitors who had withdrawn from the auction. ¡°Thank you, everyone.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± They replied politely. The atmosphere in the room was rather harmonious. Almost all of thepetitors had given up the auction, and Alexander had a triumphant smile on his face, confident that he would win. Although he had lost Land No. 15, he could still buy Land No. 23, the best piece ofnd up for auction. ¡°One billion dors!¡± At this moment, a clear voice prated through the entire auction hall and reached everyone¡¯s ears. Everyone immediately stopped talking and turned their heads in unison to look at the person who bid. The smile on Alexander¡¯s face froze. He turned his head and saw an extremely young face. It was another unfamiliar face in DC. Moreover, this young man happened to be sitting next to the beautiful woman who had bought Land No. 15. Is this a coincidence? Or do they know each other? ¡°There¡¯s actually someone who dares topete with the Steeles for that plot ofnd!¡± ¡°He even raised the price by 150 hundred million dors in one go. That¡¯s so much money! Incredible!¡± ¡°It looks like another new face. Do any of you know which family he¡¯s from?¡± ¡°I reckon he¡¯s the scion of arge consortium abroad. Otherwise, he should have done the Steeles a favor instead ofpeting with them here!¡± ... After the shock, the people in the auction hall began to specte about Lucas¡¯s identity. They were all curious about him. Cheyenne whispered to Lucas worriedly, ¡°Honey, the starting price of thisnd was only 400 million dors. I¡¯ve read an analysis before that if we can acquire thisnd for under 850 million dors, we can still make profits. But 1 billion is too much! ¡°If someone bids against you, just give up on this plot ofnd, Honey!¡± Cheyenne was worried that Lucas would suffer losses if he spent too much money on acquiring thisnd. Lucas smiled andforted, ¡°Honey, rest assured. Since when have I ever made a loss when ites to business?¡± The analysis Cheyenne read couldn¡¯t be considered unreliable. In fact, if thisrge plot ofnd was used for ordinary purposes, the price of 1 billion was indeed too much. But this plot ofnd would be developed differently in Lucas¡¯s hands. Once Stardust City was really built, the value of thisnd would not only just skyrocket, but it would also be the mostmercially valuable ce in DC in the future. Its value would increase by dozens of times. So let alone 1 billion, even if it cost 1.5 billion dors, Lucas would buy it without batting an eyelid. Because this plot ofnd was the key to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s soar to sess, Lucas was determined to acquire it! At this moment, Alexander turned his head to the side again. ¡°Buddy, you seem to be a new face too. You¡¯re not from DC either, right?¡± It was almost like a rey of the previous scene. Lucas nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°Right.¡± ¡°With all due respect, if you buy this plot ofnd at one billion dors, there won¡¯t really be much profit margin. In fact, with the future development and operational costs, you might even suffer losses. ¡°However, this plot ofnd is of great use to my family. Why don¡¯t you let me have it and consider it a favor to the Steeles? I¡¯ll also befriend you on behalf of the Steeles. What do you think?¡± Alexander did have the aura of a scion of a wealthy family, and he was extremely well-mannered when he spoke, not giving people the feeling of aggression or bullying whatsoever. He hadn¡¯t ced his earlier bids immediately and only did so after everyone had already bid and the price was nearing the true market price. This avoided the situation of the prices being low because people were afraid of offending the Steeles. So Lucas honestly didn¡¯t have any bad feelings for Alexander. It was just that Alexander wasn¡¯t lucky today. The plots ofnd he had set his sights on happened to be the ones that Lucas and Cheyenne were eying. So he could only apologize to him. Lucas smiled but still rejected Alexander, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I must obtain this plot ofnd. My next bid is 1.1 billion dors!¡± Chapter 1060 Chapter 1060: Scion of the Steeles Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What Lucas said immediately shocked the crowd in the room! Like a megarich tycoon, he raised his bid by a hundred and fifty million dors at once! Even though many people present were from wealthy families worth billions of dors, they still found it unbearable. It was 150 million dors, not 150 thousand. They couldn¡¯t throw away so much casually! Since Lucas had said his next bid, Alexander would have to bid more than 1.1 billion dors topete with him! !! Spending over 1.1 billion dors on a plot ofnd with a starting price of only 400 million dors was already crazy enough! Alexander looked extremely gloomy. He originally expected that he would be able to buy thend for 850 million dors. If he couldn¡¯t bid higher, the Steeles would lose out on thend! He would have left the auction without any harvest, so his family would definitely be upset with him! Gritting his teeth with all his might, Alexander yelled, ¡°1.1 billion dors!¡± 1.1 billion dors! This price shocked countless people. It showed that the Steeles were indeed eager to acquire this plot ofnd. ¡°1.2 billion dors!¡± But the next second, Lucas bid again without hesitation and increased it by 100 million dors! ¡°Oh my god! Where is that young man from?! He increases his bid by 100 million dors. This is terrifying!¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t treat money like money at all. Even the scions of the eight top families of DC can¡¯tpare to his spendthrift aura!¡± ¡°Do you think he has a grudge against the Steeles? Alexander is participating in the auction on behalf of the Steeles, and the rest of us withdrew. But this young man not only dares topete with the Steeles, he even has such an aggressive attitude. He¡¯s undermining Alexander without saving him any pride at all!¡± ... The people in the auction hall were discussing with each other. At this moment, Alexander looked extremely sullen, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. As the scion of the Steeles, Alexander had speciallye to participate in thend auction on behalf of the family. In his opinion, he had already made a valuation of the expected value of thend in the eastern suburbs. If he could buy thisnd at a price of 850 million dors, it was just right. In the future ns and operations of the Steels, this piece ofnd would have at least a few hundred million dors in profit. But Lucas had raised the price of the plot ofnd to an outrageous 1.2 billion dors! If he bought the plot ofnd at this price, there would be almost no profit at all. What would the Steeles want it for? The more terrifying thing was that Alexander didn¡¯t know what Lucas¡¯s bottom line for his bid was. It would bepletely pointless to continuepeting with him for thisnd. Alexander sulked without saying anything else. Lucas looked at the auctioneer, who was dumbfounded on the stage, and said, ¡°If no one bids again, this plot ofnd is mine, right?¡± The beautiful auctioneer returned to her senses as if she had just woken up from a dream and quickly said, ¡°This gentleman over here has bid 1.2 billion dors for Land No. 23! Is there any higher bid than this?¡± It was naturally silent at the venue. ¡°In that case, 1.2 billion, going once! ¡°1.2 billion, going twice! ¡°1.2 billion, going thrice! ¡°Sold!¡± The auctioneer¡¯s face turned red with excitement as she clutched her chest and said, ¡°Let¡¯s congratte this gentleman for sessfully buying the finale plot ofnd of today¡¯s auction for a price of 1.2 billion dors! Congrattions! ¡°This marks the end of today¡¯s auction. Thank you all for your participation!¡± Everyone apuded. But many people stared at Lucas with strange gazes while apuding superficially. But Lucas didn¡¯t care. Since he already got what he wanted and the auction was over, Flynn would naturally handle the rest of the procedures. Lucas and Cheyenne got up to leave. At this moment, Alexander walked over and stretched his hand out gracefully. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Alexander Steele. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you!¡± Alexander had been beaten by Lucas and Cheyenne twice, but he didn¡¯t show a single trace of anger at all. Instead, he was very amicable, which made it hard for Lucas to feel ill feelings for him. Since Alexander had taken the initiative to greet them, Lucas didn¡¯t reject and politely shook his hand. ¡°Lucas Gray. Nice to meet you.¡± But after they shook hands, Lucas raised his brows in surprise. Reason being, Alexander suddenly gripped Lucas¡¯s arm tightly, seemingly wanting to make him feel pain. An ordinary person would have cried out in pain and behaved rudely in this situation. But Lucas obviously wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. Alexander¡¯s grip strength was peanuts to Lucas! A strange smile appeared on Lucas¡¯s lips, and there were no changes in his expression at all. But there was a sudden force on his hand. Alexander had a martial arts background. And as the scion of the Steeles, he had been taught by several famous martial arts masters since he was a child. Moreover, he had a ir for martial arts, so he was practically the best among the younger generation. Although he still seemed calm andposed, he was naturally upset that both plots ofnd he wanted had been snatched from him. So when he shook hands with Lucas, he suddenly tightened his grip, wanting to teach him a small lesson. But Alexander never expected that an incredibly powerful force would suddenly spread from Lucas¡¯s fingers, almost crushing his! Alexander¡¯s expression changed greatly as his face turned pale and a sense of horror surged in his heart involuntarily. He almost couldn¡¯t stop himself from crying out in pain. He didn¡¯t expect this harmless-looking young man in front of him to have so much hidden strength! His strength was simply insignificantpared to Lucas¡¯s. They were worlds apart! Alexander tried his best to bear with the pain and said with a pale face, ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re really too enthusiastic!¡± He looked at their hands, his face somewhat distorted because of the pain that he was enduring. ¡°Is that so? I seem to beckingpared to you, Mr. Steele,¡± Lucas said ambiguously before letting go. Alexander immediately heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had been spared from death. He withdrew his hand that had been squeezed to the point of turning red. At the side, Cheyenne didn¡¯t notice the secret confrontation between the two of them. She merely felt that something was strange with the way they were talking. After Alexander withdrew his hand, he was still smiling as he extended an invitation to Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, I would like to invite you for a meal so we can get to know each other better. What do you think, Mr. Gray?¡± Chapter 1061 Chapter 1061: All Joining Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas thought for a moment and nodded. ¡°Sure. Decide on the time and ce.¡± Alexander immediately said, ¡°Six o¡¯clock tonight at the Rumsey Court. I¡¯ll wait for you there!¡± ¡°Okay, see you there then.¡± Lucas agreed. At this moment, Flynn had already finished the basic paying process andnd transfer on Lucas¡¯s behalf. He walked to him. Alexander nced at Flynn and then at Lucas. With an ambiguous expression and a smile, he left quietly. !! Lucas raised his eyebrows. Alexander was indeed a smart person. Although Flynn didn¡¯t say a word and just stood next to him, Alexander had already guessed the rtionship between them. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Since it was still early, Lucas took Cheyenne and Flynn back to the headquarters of Stardust Corporation. In the general manager¡¯s office, Flynn¡¯s face was still brimming with excitement. ¡°Lucas, now that we¡¯ve bought thend, we can start nning! I believe that once the n kicks off, themercial center of DC will undergo a huge shift! At that time, the Stardust Corporation will be a household name!¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes, next, the core members of the Stardust Corporation should start formting a n and begin development on the Stardust City project as soon as possible. I¡¯ll leave this matter to you.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Flynn immediately assured and then said gleefully, ¡°I believe that I will be able toplete the construction of Stardust City in the eastern suburbs of DC and turn it into the newmercial center of the city within two to three years!¡± But Lucas surprisingly shook his head. ¡°Not just here in DC. I want to build Stardust Cities in the major cities of the US at the same time. In three years, I want to see all the Stardust Cities built!¡± Hearing this, Flynn was shocked. ¡°Lucas, if we start construction in so many major cities at the same time, we will need a massive amount of human and financial resources. How about we build Stardust City in DC first and then build the rest one by one?¡± Lucas refused adamantly, ¡°No, that¡¯s too slow. The construction of all the Stardust Cities should start and progress simultaneously. Inform me if you need more funds.¡± Lucas spoke extremely generously. In the past, Flynn would still worry that Lucas was taking too big a step and fear that his move might cause problems for the Stardust Corporation¡¯s capital chain. But after Lucas gave him the ck diamond card with a bnce of 100 billion dors this morning, Flynn was full of confidence. The simultaneous construction of twenty-odd Stardust Cities was definitely an unprecedented mega project. If it seeded, the future Stardust Cities would rise to fame in the US, and their value would skyrocket infinitely! Lucas actually gave him full authority to handle this massive project. Flynn was shocked and extremely touched at the same time. Reason being, it was an indicator of Lucas¡¯s trust in him! Although Cheyenne wasn¡¯t quite clear about the detailed n of Stardust City, their conversation was enough to set off a storm within her. It turned out that Lucas spending 1.2 billion dors for the plot ofnd in the eastern suburbs of DC was just the beginning. Moreover, he had long thought of a more borate andrge-scale n for thend. Building a city within a city in more than twenty major cities across the entire country at the same time was way beyond the imagination of ordinary people! Once the Stardust City n came to fruition, the benefits it would bring would be immense, and Lucas¡¯s worth would skyrocket to an unimaginable level. At the thought of this, Cheyenne found that her husband was more and more unfathomable and unpredictable! After discussing the subsequent development n of thepany, Lucas left the Stardust Corporation with Cheyenne. On the way, Cheyenne asked, ¡°Honey, you deliberately brought me to the Stardust Corporation, informed me of thepany¡¯s development ns, and even taught me how to read the thoughts of others and how to act at auctions. You must have a reason, right?¡± Cheyenne had always been sharp and intelligent, so she immediately knew that Lucas definitely had a reason behind his actions. Lucas didn¡¯t hide it from her. He nodded and said, ¡°Well, you are my wife, and what belongs to me is yours, including the Stardust Corporation. ¡°As you¡¯ve just heard, I¡¯ve appointed Flynn to be in charge of starting the construction of Stardust Cities all over the US, so I¡¯m going tock manpower in other areas. So I¡¯m hoping that you can join the Stardust Corporation and take over some matters. ¡°Someday in the future, the entire Stardust Corporation will be handed over to you.¡± Cheyenne was taken aback. The market value of the Stardust Corporation was now at least ten billion dors. She didn¡¯t expect that Lucas nned to hand it over to her! ¡°Honey, don¡¯t joke with me! The Stardust Corporation is something extremely important your mother left to you, and I... I¡¯ve only been in charge of small and medium-sized corporations like the Brilliance Corporation. If you hand over the Stardust Corporation to me, I¡¯m afraid that I might not be capable enough to manage it. If something went wrong, I would be letting your mother down!¡± Cheyenne waved her hand, not daring to take over the management of a behemoth like the Stardust Corporation. Lucas smiled gently, ¡°What are you afraid of? With me around, you won¡¯t ruin the Stardust Corporation. ¡°Besides, you shouldn¡¯t underestimate yourself. Your business management skills are very good. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to singlehandedly establish the Brilliance Corporation and develop it to its current scale, would you? ¡°Since you¡¯ve managed to build an impressive corporation like the Brilliance Corporation from scratch, I believe you will make the Stardust Corporation develop even better with more capital and manpower!¡± What Lucas said did tempt Cheyenne a little. Cheyenne had founded and developed the Brilliance Corporation all by herself, and she had to find her way through the journey of ups and downs. Not only did no one help her, but there was even arge number of bloodsuckers from the Carters. Now, the Stardust Corporation was already a well-known enterprise in DC, and thepany was full of talented employees. If Cheyenne took over, she would have an easier time managing and developing it than when she was in charge of the Brilliance Corporation. Seeing the hesitation on Cheyenne¡¯s face, Lucas added, ¡°You¡¯re not the only one I n to bring in. In fact, I also intend to get Charlotte and William to join the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters. ¡°Your few are the people I trust the most. I can be at ease only by handing the Stardust Corporation over to you guys.¡± Chapter 1062 Chapter 1062: Alexander Steele¡¯s Treat Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing what Lucas said, Cheyenne immediately raised her head in surprise to look at him. She was actually tempted by Lucas¡¯s n. But if she really wanted to stay and develop at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters, she would inevitably have to relocate to DC. Charlotte and William had always been Cheyenne¡¯s closest rtives, so she didn¡¯t want to be separated from them. What Lucas saidpletely solved her worries. ¡°Honey, did you specially get Cheyenne to work at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch and appoint my dad as the general manager of the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch with the intention to train them so that they could help you with running thepany?¡± !! Cheyenne suddenly thought of all the events that had happened previously and smiled. Lucas didn¡¯t deny it. He smiled and said, ¡°You guys are the people I trust the most. That¡¯s why I want to hand the Stardust Corporation over to you guys.¡± Cheyenne was touched. Many people used the word ¡®trust¡¯ frequently and casually, but in fact, they would keep their guard up against each other in every way possible. Inparison, Lucas actually trusted her and her family members since a long time ago. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. I¡¯ll leave it to you to convince Charlotte and William toe to DC!¡± Lucas squeezed Cheyenne¡¯s tender little hand and smiled. ¡°Yes, Lucas! I will definitelyplete the mission!¡± Cheyenne said to Lucas deferentially, yfully mimicking Flynn. As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn¡¯t help bursting intoughter. Lucas followed suit, feeling relieved and ted to see his wifeughing brightly. The two of them toured around DC, and Lucas took Cheyenne to the Rumsey Court when it was almost six. Although Alexander had only invited Lucas, it was naturally appropriate for him to bring Cheyenne along since she was his wife. Moreover, he merely casually agreed to Alexander¡¯s invitation. He wouldn¡¯t leave Cheyenne alone at home for the sake of it. The Rumsey Court was an extremely upscale Michelin-starred restaurant in downtown DC. Its exterior and interior furnishings were all very elegant. After parking their car, Lucas and Cheyenne walked toward the entrance of the Rumsey Court. Alexander, who had been waiting here for a long time, walked up to them to greet them. ¡°You¡¯re here, Mr. Gray, Ms. Carter!¡± Lucas noticed that Alexander didn¡¯te alone. Behind him were several young men about his age, who were probably his friends. Lucas nodded and greeted them. Alexander, who was extremely good at socializing, introduced Lucas to his friends behind him. ¡°Everyone, let me introduce you to a true martial arts expert, Mr. Lucas Gray!¡± At this moment, a young man in a ck leather jacketughed and asked, ¡°Alex, are you kidding? Everyone in DC knows that you¡¯re the best at martial arts. He seems to be about our age. Is he really stronger than you?¡± ¡°Yeah, Alex, is there a stronger expert than you?¡± another young man asked in disbelief. Looking a little awkward, Alexander quickly said, ¡°Stop ttering me. Compared to Mr. Gray, my skills are far inferior!¡± Just this afternoon, Alexander had wanted to teach Lucas a lesson with his strength. But as soon as he tried, he realized how absurdly wrong he was. His little tricks were simply nothing for Lucas! ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go in now. I¡¯ve booked a private room on the top floor.¡± Alexander led the crowd to a private room in the restaurant. The group took their seats in the spacious private room. Alexander brought four friends along, so with them, him, Lucas, and Cheyenne, there were seven people in total. There was more than enough space at the table. Alexander was very enthusiastic and sociable at the dinner table, constantly pouring drinks for everyone and guiding the atmosphere. He didn¡¯t have the airs of a wealthy scion at all. The friends he brought were not scions of wealthy families, unlike what Lucas had thought. They were Alexander¡¯s best friends, who came from ordinary families and got together because of various reasons. This made Lucas¡¯s attitude towardsAlexander change a little. After all, Lucas had seen too many snobbish and arrogant young scions whose social circles consisted only of people of equal or higher status than them. When they gathered, they would all tter and curry favor with each other. And for people with lower status, they would be outrageously bossy and arrogant. After getting used to these situations, Lucas found this meal with Alexander a breath of fresh air. It was as if it was really just an ordinary meal, leaving Lucas puzzled about Alexander¡¯s purpose for inviting them to dinner. Was it really just a simple invitation for a meal? After three rounds of drinks, everyone became more chatty. Lucas was not a talkative person and would listen most of the time, though he would asionally clink sses with them and take a bite of food. ¡°Alex, to be honest, I really feel unjust for you! Your father was supposed to be the head of the Steeles, and you¡¯ve done so much for your family. You should be the most eligible sessor!¡± a young man named Nick suddenly said with disgruntlement. ¡°Enough, Nick. Alex has already said he doesn¡¯t want to talk about these things anymore. Don¡¯t be a killjoy by mentioning them! Come on, let¡¯s drink!¡± Another young man named Stefon hurriedly stopped him and raised his ss, wanting to change the subject. Nick, who was probably drunk, pushed Stefon¡¯s ss away agitatedly and yelled with bloodshot eyes, ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I mention it? I want to talk about it! The Steeles are a group of bastards and going overboard with the bullying! ¡°Alex is a scion of a rich family, and his father died for the Steeles. Yet the Steeles keep their guards up against him because they¡¯re afraid that he¡¯ll snatch the resources of the other descendants of the family. They¡¯re racking their brains to alienate Alex! ¡°Poor Alex has lost his father and doesn¡¯t have a single elder in the family willing to speak up for him. Apart from us, who is willing to stand up for him? Who else cares about his feelings? ¡°I¡¯ve bottled up so many things in my heart for so long! Alex, in my opinion, you should just sever ties with the Steeles, lest they take you for granted even after you¡¯ve slogged your guts out for them! ¡°With your abilities, you can easily carve a career of your own even if you leave the Steeles!¡± Nick babbled on agitatedly to stand up for Alexander. Chapter 1063 Chapter 1063: Investigating Lucas Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Alexander smiled bitterly and shook his head with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m a member of the Steele family, and the blood of the Steeles runs in my veins. How can I sever ties with them? ¡°Besides, even if I want to sever ties with the family, they won¡¯t let me go. ¡°Although it¡¯s true that the family is unfair to me now, they¡¯ve raised me to adulthood after all. I want to repay them instead of turning on them. ¡°Enough. We came out for some drinks and fun today, so don¡¯t mention those unhappy matters again.¡± Alexander shook his head as if he was trying to shake those unhappy matters out of his mind. He smiled, picked up the wine ss, and said generously, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s have a drink! Mr. Gray, you should have one too!¡± !! Everyone raised their sses. Lucas reced Cheyenne¡¯s ss with a ss of juice before raising his own ss and drinking it. ¡°Speaking of which, a new bar opened downtown a couple of days ago. There¡¯s a gorgeous dancer working there. She has legs for days! We should go there too sometime.¡± A young man with long hair suggested excitedly. ¡°Shut up! Can¡¯t you see that we have ady in the room? Stop speaking so uncouthly!¡± Stefon smacked the young man¡¯s head and then quickly apologized to Cheyenne and Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This fellow doesn¡¯t think before he speaks. He¡¯s itching for a beating!¡± ¡°Haha, Stefon is right. You¡¯re in need of a beating!¡± The few young peopleughed and joked. In fact, Lucas didn¡¯t take offense to the remark unintentionally made just now. When he was in the military, there were often young men gathering and cracking some sexual jokes for fun. They would then get smacked by their friends. Lucas smiled when he saw Alexander¡¯s friends. The meal started at six o¡¯clock andsted until after nine before they parted ways. After personally walking Lucas and Cheyenne to their car, Alexander said with a bitter smile, ¡°Lucas, my friends are just really noisy and boisterous. I hope we didn¡¯t annoy you! But I can temporarily forget the unhappy things only when I¡¯m with them.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t ask Alexander what he was unhappy about but just smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. We¡¯re leaving now.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get together again sometime in the future. Be careful on your way home.¡± Alexander smiled, waved his hand, and watched Lucas and Cheyenne leave in their car. In the car, Cheyenne chuckled. ¡°I thought that he suddenly invited you to dinner because he had something to ask of you, but it turned out to be just a simple meal.¡± Lucas smiled lightly. Indeed, the meal tonight was rather simple, but only Alexander would know if he had an ulterior motive. ... On the other side, Alexander had also gotten into his own car, and the driver was driving toward the Steele residence. But apart from Alexander, there was a middle-aged man in the backseat. ¡°Mr. Steele, did Lucas Gray agree to help you?¡± the middle-aged man asked. Alexander shook his head. ¡°He is a very smart person. If I ask him for help directly, he¡¯ll definitely reject me, so I can only try slowly and take it one step at a time.¡± At this moment, Alexander seemed extremely calm, without any trace of the disheveledness and drunkenness just now. ¡°That man is just an outcast kicked out of the Huttons. Does he really have that much power? Mr. Steele, are you overestimating him?¡± the middle-aged man asked in disbelief, his tone revealing some disdain. Alexander frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him! Think about it yourself. If he¡¯s really just an illegitimate son who was kicked out of the Huttons years ago, how could he have gotten the entire Stardust Corporation from the Huttons? ¡°Moreover, he¡¯s definitely an impressive expert! I¡¯m not even qualified to fight against him. Do you think such a person has no power?¡± Hearing this, the middle-aged man put away the contempt in his eyes and said with some caution, ¡°Is he really that strong that even you are no match for him?¡± He was extremely clear about Alexander¡¯s strength and knew that Alexander was very good at martial arts. Moreover, he had been taught by famous masters since he was a child, so it could be said that Alexander had no rivals among his peers in DC. But that illegitimate son who just returned to DC is much stronger than Mr. Steele? How is that possible?! Alexander said cautiously, ¡±That¡¯s because there¡¯s a six-year gap in the information about Lucas Gray. No one can find out what happened to him during those six years! ¡°The only possibility is that he spent his time on the battlefield at the borders during those six years! Therefore, it¡¯s possible that he was trained from an ordinary person into a top powerhouse of his generation! Besides, based on his performance, he should have been an extraordinary figure in the military!¡± After pausing for a bit, Alexander ordered in a deep voice, ¡°Don¡¯t you know someone who holds a high post in the military? Find a way to find out Lucas Gray¡¯s true identity!¡± ... Lucas didn¡¯t know that Alexander had secretly sent someone to investigate him. But even if he knew, he wouldn¡¯t care. Reason being, Lucas¡¯s identity in the military was ssified as ¡®top secret¡¯, and only the few top people would know who he was. When the two of them returned to their vi in DC, Cheyenne washed her hands and immediately video called Charlotte. Soon, a beautiful woman and a pretty little girl appeared on the phone screen. ¡°Mommy! I miss you!¡± Amelia immediately eximed with joy as soon as she saw Cheyenne. ¡°Hey Amelia, have you been behaving at home the past few days?¡± Cheyenne looked at her daughter¡¯s cute little face and smiled. Although she had only been separated from Amelia for two days, she felt as if she hadn¡¯t seen her for a long time and missed her greatly. At this moment, Cheyenne wanted to fly to Amelia, hug her, and give her a kiss on her tender little face. ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m not a child anymore. Of course I¡¯ve been behaving! I just miss you guys a little!¡± Amelia said with a smile, pretending to be a mature adult. It made Cheyenne and Charlotteugh. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Once Daddy and Mommy are done here, we¡¯ll go back to apany you immediately, okay?¡± Cheyenne said in a gentle voice. Amelia¡¯s eyes lit up, and she nodded several times. ¡°Yes! I know you two are working hard. Don¡¯t tire yourselves out!¡± Cheyenne was extremely heartened that her daughter was so sensible and caring toward them at such a young age. Lucas walked out of the bathroom and sat next to Cheyenne. Amelia immediately called out happily, ¡°Daddy! I miss you too!¡± Looking at his daughter¡¯s happy face and hearing her soft and sweet voice, Lucas felt like his heart was about to melt. Chapter 1064 Chapter 1064: Personnel Appointment Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas and Cheyenne talked to Amelia for a long time. Seeing that it was gettingte, they quickly urged her to go to bed. After Amelia went to sleep, Charlotte appeared on the phone screen and talked to Lucas and Cheyenne. ¡°Cheyenne, Lucas, you two can stay in DC and handle your business with peace of mind. Leave Amelia and Dad to me. Don¡¯t worry. ¡°Oh, by the way, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch is currently developing rapidly. Due to your identity, Lucas,panies of all sizes in California and Oregon have sent us invitations to cooperate. The marketing department is busy every day. ¡°I think if the situation goes on, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch may develop into an independent major enterprise on its own, and it can be separated from the Stardust Corporation,¡± Charlotte said with satisfaction. !! Lucasughed. ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve managed thepany very well. I thought that you¡¯d be too stressed or overwhelmed after I handed over all responsibility in Orange County to you, but it seems like you¡¯re handling it well.¡± Charlotte said proudly, ¡°That¡¯s not true! Now that everything in the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange branch is on track, I¡¯m not that busy. I even feel that I have too much free time on my hands, and there¡¯s no longer a sense of aplishment!¡± She was just joking, but to her surprise, Lucas said, ¡°That¡¯s great! I happen to be shorthanded and need people to help me at the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC. Come over to help me. There¡¯s much more room for development here than in Orange County. It¡¯ll be more than enough for you to put your skills to full y!¡± Charlotte was stunned and quickly said, ¡°Lucas, are you serious? I was just joking. Do you really want me to join the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Of course I¡¯m serious. You and William shoulde here to help me. Quickly find a trusted sessor to hand over your duties in Orange County.¡± Only then did Charlotte know that Lucas was really not joking. He truly wanted her and William to help him manage the Stardust Corporation in DC. ¡°Alright then. As long as you¡¯re not afraid that we might cause trouble for you, I¡¯ll hand over my duties over the next few days and then meet you guys in DC!¡± Charlotte was not a wishy-washy person and agreed immediately. ¡°I¡¯m d you two areing.¡± Lucas smiled and let Cheyenne and Charlotte continue chatting. He walked to the side and called Flynn on the phone. ¡°Arrange for three executive positions in thepany in the next few days.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas.¡± Flynn agreed immediately and then reported a piece of news. ¡°Lucas, as far as I know, Alexander Steele has sent someone to investigate you.¡± Lucas frowned. No one liked being investigated, though Lucas was certain that Alexander wouldn¡¯t be able to find out anything about him. ¡°Let him be,¡± Lucas said nonchntly and hung up. ... The night passed quickly. The next morning, Cheyenne left home early as usual and proceeded to handle business cooperation matters. Although Lucas had invited her to join the Stardust Corporation headquarters yesterday, she had founded and developed the Brilliance Corporation after all, so she couldn¡¯t just leave it behind. Even if she joined the Stardust Corporationter, she wouldn¡¯t abandon the Brilliance Corporation¡¯s affairs. It was extremelymon for one person to manage multiplepanies in the business circle. Meanwhile, Lucas headed to the Stardust Corporation. In Flynn¡¯s general manager¡¯s office, he handed the appointment proposals he had prepared overnight to Lucas. ¡°Lucas, please see if these arrangements are appropriate. If you don¡¯t have any objections, I¡¯ll issue them.¡± Lucas took a look at it, but he soon frowned. ¡°Did I say I would demote you?¡± Flynn stated in the appointment proposal that Cheyenne would be the general manager of the Stardust Corporation while Flynn would be demoted to deputy general manager. Flynn exined, ¡°I... I heard you say that Ms. Carter was joining thepany, so¡ª¡± ¡°I asked you to draw up three executive positions, but I don¡¯t intend to remove you from your position as general manager!¡± Lucas interrupted. ¡°As I¡¯ve told you before, as long as you¡¯ve chosen toe to the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC, you¡¯ll always be the general manager I approve of. You earned this position with your loyalty. ¡°So you are and will always be the general manager of the Stardust Corporation!¡± Flynn felt extremely touched, and his eyes couldn¡¯t help but redden. When he received Lucas¡¯s instructions for him to arrange three executive positions for Cheyenne, Charlotte, and William¡ªLucas¡¯s wife, sister-inw, and father-inw¡ªhe actually felt a little disappointed, thinking that Lucas was going to demote him so that he could make his wife the general manager. After all, he was just a subordinate of Lucas, while Cheyenne was Lucas¡¯s wife. He thought that Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t allow Cheyenne to be his subordinate. So after contemting for a long timest night, Flynn finally made these arrangements, which included a demotion for himself, thinking that he had understood Lucas¡¯s intentions. But he didn¡¯t expect that Lucas¡¯s intentions weren¡¯t this at all. Instead, Lucas gave him further encouragement. People tended to sacrifice for those who understood them. Since Lucas treated him so well, his efforts had paid off! In fact, Lucas was grateful for Flynn too. At the beginning, Lucas had indeed only treated Flynn as a general subordinate and even used his acts of dishonesty against him to threaten him into working for him. 1 But let us set these matters aside. Flynn had indeed saved Lucas a lot of hassle and worry, be it when he worked at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, or when Lucas transferred him to the Sr Corporation¡¯s LA branch, or when he tasked him to break into the Stardust Corporation headquarters at the risk of being assassinated by the Huttons. Although his performance wasn¡¯t outstanding, Lucas didn¡¯t have to worry much about him. Besides, Flynn choosing to risk his own life to join the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC was a perfect act of loyalty. Thus, Lucas would no longer just treat Flynn as a subordinate who followed his orders. ¡°You¡¯re a veteran of the Stardust Corporation and someone I trust and rely on. You don¡¯t have to be so scrupulous toward me when you speak to me in the future,¡± Lucas said with a smile. Flynn was extremely touched, but he quickly continued, ¡°Lucas, I know you value me greatly now, but I still think that it¡¯s better to let Mr. Carter be the general manager of the Stardust Corporation. After all, she¡¯s your wife, and it won¡¯t be too appropriate for her to be my subordinate, will it?¡± Chapter 1065 Chapter 1065: Inviting the Expert Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Hearing Flynn¡¯s words, Lucas said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing inappropriate about it. Cheyenne is indeed my wife, but shecks experience managingrge corporations, and her business ideas might not beparable to yours. ¡°If her abilities can surpass yours in all aspects in the future, and she has made a major contribution to the Stardust Corporation, I¡¯ll appoint her as the general manager! ¡°Also, no matter what, Cheyenne is a neer to the Stardust Corporation. If she reces a hardworking employee like you as the general manager just because she¡¯s my wife, I¡¯m afraid the other employees will be dissatisfied, and they won¡¯t respect Cheyenne.¡± Hearing this, Flynn finally realized what he had neglected. In every workce, those transferred from outside thepany into their positions were most prone to criticism. !! Lucas¡¯s consideration was clearly appropriate. ¡°Lucas, I know what to do. I¡¯ll redraft the appointment letters in a bit!¡± Flynn said seriously after understanding this. ¡°Okay.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Have all the relevant procedures for thend we bought yesterday beenpleted?¡± Flynn said, ¡°Yes, all the procedures have beenpleted, and we have also gone to thend administration bureau for the property transfer procedures. The plot ofnd already belongs to the Stardust Corporation. ¡°I n to get people to start designing Stardust City. Once the design is finalized, we can set up the engineering team and prepare to begin construction!¡± Flynn was extremely excited at the thought of the construction n of Stardust City. He suddenly said, ¡°Lucas, here¡¯s the thing. One of my professors when I was a graduate student is a renowned architect, and I intend to ask her to help with the design of Stardust City. I¡¯m nning to visit her this afternoon. ¡°If I can really get the professor to help us, Stardust City will definitely be more vibrant, and there might even be a chance for it to leave a mark in history!¡± Since Flynn was singing praises of the professor, Lucas reckoned that thetter might be an unparalleled talent. Lucas nodded. ¡°It will be best if we can get your professor¡¯s help. I¡¯m free this afternoon, so let¡¯s go meet the professor.¡± Hearing this, Flynn was naturally happy. ¡°Alright. If we go together, the professor will definitely be over the moon! She once said that her greatest dream in life is to design a city on her own! Now, her dream is finally going toe true!¡± Lucas asked Flynn about the professor¡¯s details and learned that her name was Gemma Crawford. She was almost 70 years old, but due to her significant and numerous contributions throughout her life, Georgetown University had hired her again to educate students. Lucas had always had great respect for devoted educators. Flynn called Gemma and arranged to meet her at Georgetown University in two hours. Flynn drove Lucas to the architecture department of Georgetown University. After waiting in the library for a bit, Professor Gemma Crawford walked over to the two of them with a cloth bag containing some books and sketches. The old woman in front of them had a head full of neatlybed silver hair. There were wrinkles on her face, and her sses made her lookposed and dignified. ¡°Professor Crawford! I¡¯m Flynn Davis, a former student of yours!¡± Flynn stepped forward and greeted respectfully. ¡°Yeah, I still remember you.¡± Gemma nodded slightly without much expression, remaining veryposed. Flynn introduced, ¡°Professor Crawford, this is the chairman of the Stardust Corporation and my current boss, Lucas Gray.¡± Lucas stepped forward and politely greeted her. ¡°Hello, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Gemma merely nodded at Lucas in greeting. But then she frowned and asked Flynn with displeasure, ¡°Why did you bring someone here to see me?¡± Flynn hurriedly said, ¡°Professor Crawford, listen to me. I remember that you always had a dream of designing a city of your own, right?¡± After Gemma heard this, there was some obvious nostalgia on her aged face. She sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed my lifelong dream, but I don¡¯t think I can ever fulfill it.¡± ¡°No, Professor Crawford, you still have a chance. It¡¯s right in front of you now!¡± Flynn smiled and looked at Lucas next to him. ¡°Lucas and I have a vision to design a city within a citypletely of our own, with fully functional buildings designed and developed by ourselves. Lucas has already approved the n. Professor Crawford, are you interested in participating in the design and construction of Stardust City?¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± A surge of excitement appeared on Gemma¡¯s face. She grabbed Flynn¡¯s arm, her eyes glistening. ¡°Are you really nning to build a city?¡± Flynn nodded excitedly. ¡°Yes, we are! Just yesterday afternoon, we bought arge plot of vacantnd over 120 acres in the eastern suburbs of DC. We intend to build our first Stardust City there!¡± ¡°Furthermore, we¡¯re not only going to build one Stardust City. We¡¯re building one in more than twenty major cities in the US! ¡°Now, we¡¯re just waiting for the design to be finalized, and then we can begin construction! ¡°Professor Crawford, we are here today to invite you to design the blueprint for Stardust City!¡± The more Gemma listened, the more excited she became, and even her wrinkled face lit up with joy. ¡°Okay, okay! Let¡¯s go to the eastern suburbs to survey thend right now!¡± Gemma was extremely excited, and she wished she could drag Flynn and Lucas to the plot ofnd immediately. ¡°Uh, please wait, Professor. It¡¯s almost lunchtime now. Let¡¯s go after we eat!¡± Flynn said helplessly. Gemma waved her hands and said firmly, ¡°No, we don¡¯t have time for that. Let¡¯s go now! We can just buy some food on the way! Let¡¯s go quickly!¡± Chapter 1066 Chapter 1066: Royal Family Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing Gemma¡¯s action, Flynn could only smile at Lucas helplessly. His teacher was just that eager and decisive. Once she made up her mind to do something, she would give it her all and seize every second. Lucas appreciated enthusiastic and goal-oriented people like Gemma. ¡°Okay then. Flynn, go to the supermarket over there and buy some convenient food and drinks while I take Professor Crawford to the car.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Flynn agreed. !! By the time Lucas and Gemma reached the parking lot outside Georgetown University, Flynn had returned with a bag of sandwiches and mineral water. They ate in the car. After about half an hour, they arrived at thend in the eastern suburbs of DC. Looking at therge opennd in front of her, Gemma was full of excitement. It was a rare and wonderful ce forrge-scale design and nning! For a while, Gemma had no time to pay attention to anything else as she quickly stepped forward and looked at the vastnd in front of her. Suddenly, an extremely piercing voice came from the side. ¡°Who are you people? What are you doing here?¡± They turned around and saw the man in a ck suit walking over with a hostile expression. He said in a deep voice, ¡°The royals have taken over this ce. You irrelevant people, get lost quickly!¡± As soon as Flynn heard this, the expression on his face froze. Lucas had already bought thisnd, and Flynn was the one who had handled all the procedures, so he was very clear about who owned it. But why would the royal family suddenly show up and im to have taken over this ce? Could it be... Flynn¡¯s face instantly turned pale as fear surged in his heart. Lucas frowned and saw a ck Bentley parked under a few trees not far away. There were several strong and burly men standing around the car, exuding formidable auras. ¡°The royals? Taking over?¡± Lucas sneered and shouted angrily, ¡°Which royal family dares to take over thend I bought?!¡± The man in the ck suit was stunned, thinking that he had heard wrongly. When he returned to his senses and realized what Lucas had said, his face immediately turned gloomy. ¡°Punk! The royals are of noble status, and they¡¯re not people someone like you can afford to offend! Retract what you said and apologize!¡± the man in the ck suit said threateningly. ¡°Apologize, my foot!¡± Lucas hollered furiously and kicked the man in the chest. Bang! The man in a ck suit immediately felt as if he had been hit by a car and flew backward seven meters before falling hard on the ground. He couldn¡¯t get up for a long time. ¡°You¡¯re just a dog. How dare you be arrogant in front of me?¡± Lucas looked expressionlessly at the man he had just kicked. If Lucas had wanted to kill him, he could have done so easily with the kick. Flynn inhaled sharply, staring at the scene in front of him in disbelief. The man in the ck suit, who imed to be a member of the royal family, was kicked away by Lucas just like that. Themotion here was rather intense, so the few burly men standing around the Bentley had all noticed it. One of them bent forward and whispered something near the ss of the rear window. Soon, the man in the car seemed to order something, and the bodyguard walked over to Lucas. Seeing the formidable bodyguard getting closer and closer, Flynn became more and more terrified. Even his calves began shivering. The royals were an unrivaled family standing at the pinnacle of power and wealth in the US! Even the weakest branch could easily wipe out the eight top families! And now, Lucas actually hit someone from the royals. How fearless! Just as Flynn¡¯s heart was brimming with fear, Lucas suddenly said to him, ¡°Why are you still standing here? Professor Crawford has already gone far away. Go apany her.¡± Only then did Flynn realize that Gemma had her eyes peeled on therge plot ofnd in front of her, so much so that she had gotten distracted and wandered off on her own. She didn¡¯t notice what was going on here at all. The reason Lucas sent him to keep an eye on Gemma was that he realized Flynn was terrified, so he deliberately steered him away. Flynn knew that Lucas was skilled in martial arts, so not only would he not be able to help Lucas by staying here, but he would only hold him back. So after a moment of hesitation, he reminded, ¡°Lucas, be careful! The royals are not to be trifled with!¡± Lucas nced at Flynn calmly with some mockery in his gaze. ¡°As I have said before, no one in this country can scare me. Have you forgotten what I said?¡± Flynn trembled. Only then did he remember that Lucas had once said this to him domineeringly back in Orange County. But only now did Flynn realize that Lucas wasn¡¯t just blowing his trumpet. He was just that powerful, confident, and fearless! ¡°Yes, I got it, Lucas!¡± Flynn¡¯s eyes were full of trust and determination. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Go.¡± Flynn nodded and chased after Gemma, who had gone far away. At this moment, the royals¡¯ bodyguard arrived in front of Lucas. ¡°Punk, how dare you hit one of us? It seems like you have a death wish! Do you know who we are?¡± the bodyguard questioned angrily. At this moment, the man in the ck suit whom Lucas had kicked away struggled to get up from the ground. He spat out some blood from his mouth and hollered, ¡°How dare he speak rudely to the royals! Kill him immediately!¡± The bodyguard frowned. ¡°How dare you be rude to the royals! Seems like you¡¯re courting death!¡± Lucas looked at the two men in front of him indifferently and warned, ¡°I¡¯m not interested in talking to dogs. You have two minutes to get out of my sight! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll make you regret it!¡± The bodyguards had never seen anyone who dared to talk to the royals so aggressively. He snorted coldly and shouted, ¡°Punk, here¡¯s a piece of advice. If you don¡¯t want to die miserably, immediately kneel down and kowtow before getting lost! You can¡¯t afford to provoke the royals!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve wasted twenty seconds,¡± Lucas said coldly. Chapter 1067 Chapter 1067: Shut Up Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You!¡± Lucas¡¯s attitude immediately made the bodyguard fly into a rage. He was clearly threatening Lucas and telling him to leave. But now, Lucas was threatening them instead. The elite bodyguards of the esteemed royals obviously wouldn¡¯t be afraid of a young man in his twenties. !! ¡°Punk, don¡¯t make me do this the hard way. If you have a death wish, I can fulfill it right now!¡± the bodyguard roared furiously with a menacing aura. ¡°Hah, you really don¡¯t know any better. I wanted to spare your lives.¡± Lucas smiled helplessly. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re really arrogant! We don¡¯t know who¡¯s sparing who!¡± The bodyguard could no longer control himself. He clenched his fist and swung it at Lucas¡¯s face. The bodyguard was actually quite skilled, and he moved extremely quickly as he swung his fists fiercely. If an ordinary person was punched in the head like this, they would be seriously injured if not killed! ¡°Hah, you¡¯re dead, punk!¡± The man in the ck suit, who was still lying on the ground, showed a twisted look of euphoria on his face as he anticipated the scene of the bodyguard killing Lucas with one punch. Although he wasn¡¯t a member of the royal family¡¯s direct lineage, he worked for them after all, and people were usually very respectful toward him. But he actually got kicked away by this young man in his twenties! He wanted Lucas to die! But the grim smile on the man¡¯s face soon stiffened! The bodyguard¡¯s thunderous punch didn¡¯tnd on Lucas. Instead, Lucas grabbed his fist and rendered him immobile! The bodyguard was shocked! He knew that Lucas might have some background in martial arts since he had managed to kick the man in the ck suit so far with just one kick. Thus, he hadn¡¯t held back and went all out. But he could have never imagined that even after he threw a punch at full power, this young man would actually catch his fist so easily! The more terrifying thing was that no matter how hard he tried to break free, Lucas¡¯s fingers were like a steel mp around his fist, making it impossible for him to break free. The bodyguard gritted his teeth and roared, ¡°Let go of me!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Given the strength contained in your punch just now, you must have been trying to kill me. In that case, why should I let you off? ¡°Anyone who dares to harm me must pay the price!¡± Lucas smiled sinisterly and tightened his grip! Crack! The bones in the bodyguard¡¯s hand instantly made a sound that resembled beans being popped. Lucas crushed his fingers and his hand! ¡°Ah!¡± The excruciating pain caused the muscles on the bodyguard¡¯s face to twitch. He could only grit his teeth and barely suppress the miserable shriek. ¡°How dare you cripple my hand!¡± the bodyguard said while trembling, his face covered in cold sweat. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? That¡¯s right. I crippled your hand.¡± Lucas threw aside the bodyguard¡¯s hand, which he had distorted, and said indifferently, ¡°You should be d that there is an intellectual here today who shouldn¡¯t see anything too bloody. Otherwise, you¡¯d suffer more than just a crippled hand.¡± With that, Lucas stopped paying attention to the bodyguard and turned around to walk straight toward Gemma. ¡°You... you actually injured a bodyguard of the royals. You¡¯re going to die miserably!¡± The man in the ck suit on the ground bellowed in fury after seeing the bodyguard suffering defeat to Lucas. Lucas stopped and nced at him. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot how annoying you are.¡± ¡°Wh-what do you want to do?¡± The man in the ck suit immediately felt a chill all over his body when he saw Lucas¡¯s icy cold gaze on him. He finally realized that he shouldn¡¯t have spoken and attracted Lucas¡¯s attention again. ¡°Of course I want you to shut up.¡± Lucas sneered and suddenly kicked a ball of mud from the ground into the man¡¯s mouth with impressive uracy. It was as if he was ying ser. Gulp! The man in the ck suit was astonished and furious. The ball of mud covered his mouth and slid into his throat as soon as he opened his mouth. ¡°Ahem, ahem, you... Pfft!¡± The man in the ck suit was so livid that he passed out before he could catch his breath. Lucas stopped looking at the two of them and walked toward Gemma and Flynn. The bodyguard stood rooted to the ground for a few seconds, waves of chilliness surging in his heart. Although Lucas¡¯s kick seemed simple, he actually managed to gather the soft mud together and urately kick it into the mouth of the man in the ck suit. It was a move that required impable skill! He had even crushed all the bones in his right hand in one go. It was simply terrifying! How could this young man be someone of ordinary status? It was probably difficult to find such a young expert among the royals. The bodyguard didn¡¯t dare to dy at all. Holding his injured hand, he hurried back to the Bentley. ¡°Sir, that young man is not an ordinary person. He crippled my hand in one move! For your safety, you¡¯d better leave!¡± the bodyguard said while bending forward respectfully. ¡°Hah, you got your hand crippled because you¡¯re a good-for-nothing!¡± A cold and merciless voice came out of the back seat window. The door opened, and a young figure stepped out with an arrogant expression on his face. ¡°As a member of the direct lineage of the royals, how could I possibly hide from someone?!¡± The young man was about 31 or 32 years old. He had his head held high, and his hair wasbed neatly. His features were handsome, and his expression was cold and indifferent. With his brows raised, he revealed a contemptuous arrogance. He was indeed a very dashing young man. When he got out of the car, he looked at the vast open space in front of him with strong determination in his eyes. ¡°I want to build a luxurious manor that belongs only to me on thisnd!¡± It was as if he didn¡¯t even know that thisnd belonged to someone else. His eyes were full of aggression. ¡°But since that punk has the audacity to hit my subordinates, he¡¯s really brave! C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go take a look!¡± The young man named Ashton Hills walked toward Lucas. 1 Following closely behind him were eight bodyguards. Chapter 1068 Chapter 1068: Dread Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios On the other side of the emptynd... Gemma looked around and surveyed the topology of thend and theyout of the surrounding river. The more she looked, the brighter her eyes became. She was clearly satisfied. ¡°Professor Crawford, do you think we can build a Stardust City here?¡± Flynn chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s great. I¡¯m very satisfied!¡± Gemma grinned widely. ¡°Be it the size or location, this plot ofnd is excellent! It¡¯s definitely one of the best ces to build a city within a city! ¡°You have great judgment. You managed to acquire such arge plot ofnd, and you even want to develop it into a city! Stardust City is a nice name as well! !! ¡°I¡¯ve decided. I¡¯ll go home to pack up now and bring some tools and daily necessities back. From today onward, I will live here! I¡¯ll go through every inch of thisnd ande up with the best design!¡± Gemma spoke extremely excitedly. But both Flynn and Lucas were stunned to hear what she said. ¡°Uh, Professor, you don¡¯t have to be so anxious. This is only a barren wastnd with no facilities around. I think it¡¯s better to wait until we set up a preliminary project team, get them to start measuring the area, and set up some simple facilities before youe take a look!¡± Flynn persuaded. But unexpectedly, Gemma waved her hand and said, ¡°You guys set up your project team while I do my own things. I can¡¯t wait a second longer. If I can¡¯t get familiar with every inch here, I won¡¯t be able to get the most urate data ande up with the most perfect design!¡± Lucas and Flynn didn¡¯t expect her to be such a hands-on person. Flynn hurriedly said, ¡°I know you¡¯re excited, but no matter what, you can¡¯t live on this wastnd. I¡¯ll immediately dispatch a small team to build a simple house here for now. Just wait for me for a few days, alright?¡± ¡°No way, How can I wait a few more days?¡± Gemma waved her hand repeatedly in polite refusal. ¡°I¡¯ll just bring a tent over. Go ahead and carry out the other projects you want to implement. Just don¡¯t get in my way!¡± Seeing Gemma¡¯s firm attitude, Flynn smiled bitterly and could only look at Lucas helplessly. But suddenly, a cold voice came from a short distance away. ¡°Are you the one who just injured my subordinates?¡± The few of them turned around and saw a handsome young man walking toward them, surrounded by eight tall bodyguards. This young man was none other than Ashton, the young man from the royals sitting in the car just now. Lucas nced at Ashton indifferently. ¡°Seems like you¡¯re finally willing to get out of your car. But you should be clear as to why I hit your subordinates.¡± Ashton was stunned. It had been a long time since anyone had dared to speak to him with such a tone. ¡°Maybe you still don¡¯t know who I am. Let me introduce myself. I am Ashton Hills, and I am a direct descendant of the royals,¡± Ashton introduced himself in a conceited and arrogant tone. ¡°Now that you¡¯ve injured my subordinates, you owe me an exnation.¡± Ashton originally thought that after he revealed his identity, Lucas would definitely be aghast and kneel down to beg for mercy, just like the countless ignorant people he had met in the past. But Ashton was disappointed to find that Lucas, who was a few years younger than him, actually didn¡¯t have any change in expression after hearing his introduction. It was as if he hadn¡¯t heard him at all! ¡°Punk, did you hear what I said?¡± Ashton questioned, unable to contain his anger any longer. Lucas ignored him and ordered Flynn. ¡°Take Professor Crawford away immediately.¡± When he saw Ashtoning over with so many bodyguards, Flynn was already frightened out of his wits. Hearing this, he hurriedly held Gemma¡¯s arm and wanted to take her away. ¡°Hold it right there! Who said you could leave?¡± As soon as Ashton issued the order, three of the bodyguards behind him immediately surrounded Flynn and Gemma. ¡°Wh-what do you want to do? We live in a civilized society now. If you dare to get up to any nonsense, I¡¯ll call the police right now!¡± Gemma had been living in a peaceful and serene environment in college, where all she did was educate. She had obviously never witnessed such a scene. She was frightened, but she still tried her best to pretend to be calm and use the police to threaten the people in front of her. ¡°Psht, old fogey, are you tired of living?¡± one of the bodyguards said in displeasure as he raised his hand to push Gemma. Gemma was almost 70 years old. If she fell to the ground, she would be seriously injured! ¡°You have a death wish!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes shed with ferocity. The next moment, he appeared next to Gemma and grabbed the bodyguard¡¯s hand. Lucas¡¯s movement was so incredibly fast that even the elite bodyguard didn¡¯t see how he moved. A grim look appeared on his face. ¡°Punk, how dare you stop me?!¡± Lucas was squeezing the bodyguard¡¯s hand tightly, and he couldn¡¯t break free at all. Lucas said, ¡°You deserve to die for trying to hurt her!¡± Lucas grabbed his arm and threw a flying kick, striking the bodyguard right in his chest. Bang! That bodyguard¡¯s body was kicked more than ten meters away and rolled on the ground. He was no longer moving, and it was unknown if he was dead or alive. This scene shocked everyone! Even Ashton felt some dread. As a direct descendant of the Hills, one of the branches of the royals, he had an incredibly noble status. Even the bodyguards who followed him were not ordinary bodyguards but extremely powerful experts! But one of the bodyguards had had his hand crippled by Lucas while another was kicked more than ten meters away, making them look like weaklings. But it wasn¡¯t because his bodyguards were too weak. Rather, it was because Lucas was exceptionally powerful! Besides, the even more annoying thing was that Lucas dared to harm his bodyguard even after learning his identity. This was tant disregard for him! Ashton stared closely at Lucas with a sullen expression. ¡°Take Professor Crawford with you and leave!¡± Lucas ordered again. Only then did Flynne back to his senses and quickly help the shocked Gemma to where they had parked the car. Two of Ashton¡¯s bodyguards wanted to stop them, but Lucas swiftly moved and blocked them. Looking at Lucas¡¯s cold and merciless eyes, the two bodyguards couldn¡¯t help feeling a sudden chill surge in their hearts. They didn¡¯t dare to act rashly at all. The fiercebat power Lucas had just shown made them feel a great threat. Ashton stared at Lucas and said, ¡°Who are you?¡± Chapter 1069 Chapter 1069:I Want To Buy the Land Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Facing Ashton¡¯s question, Lucas sneered. ¡°You¡¯re not qualified to know who I am.¡± Then Lucas stopped paying attention to these people and walked away. Ashton was so angry that he was about to explode. What Lucas did was an act of disregard for his existence! ¡°Hold it right there! Did I say that you could leave?¡± Ashton bellowed with fury. Lucas stopped, tilted his head to nce at Ashton, and asked with a contemptuous smile, ¡°You want me to stay? But can you do it?¡± !! Ashton seemed even more disgruntled. He had brought nine people out with him today. Aside from the man in the ck suit, who was the servant in charge of serving him, the other eight were all elite bodyguards that he had carefully selected. But Lucas crippled the hand of one of them and knocked another unconscious with a single kick in just a few short moments. The remaining six bodyguards were extremely wary of him. Given the overwhelmingbat power Lucas had disyed, even if the remaining six fought against him together, they were probably no match for him. At the thought of this, Ashton felt even more suffocated. ¡°Oh, by the way, I have to remind you that thend you¡¯re standing on belongs to me, so I don¡¯t want to hear anything about anyone taking over thisnd. It will make me very unhappy. You hear me?¡± Lucas nced at Ashton¡¯s gloomy face and ¡®kindly¡¯ gave him another warning. Ashton¡¯s face became even more gloomier. In fact, he knew that thend he wanted already belonged to someone else. He had just returned from abroad and missed thend auction yesterday. He was very upset about it and had decided that he would make whoever acquired thend give it to him. In Ashton¡¯s opinion, thend belonged to him, even though he hadn¡¯t paid a single cent for it. ¡°You mean you bought thisnd?¡± Ashton asked Lucas, forcing himself to suppress his anger. ¡°You¡¯re not stupid.¡± Lucas nodded with folded arms. ¡°I heard that you bought this plot ofnd for 1.2 billion dors, right? I¡¯ll give you 1.5 billion right now. Sell thend to me immediately!¡± Ashton said in amanding tone. To Ashton, this was already apromise from him because he was actually offering an extra 300 million dors to buy thisnd from this ignorant young man. Lucas shook his head calmly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°1.6 million!¡± Ashton said through gritted teeth. Lucas sneered and shook his head. ¡°No!¡± Ashton glowered at Lucas and clenched his jaws. ¡°You... Don¡¯t be too greedy! 1.7 billion!¡± He had honestly already offered a very attractive price. After all, the starting price of thisnd had only been 400 million dors, and Lucas had bought it for 1.2 billion dors. In the eyes of ordinary people, this would be considered a loss because there was no longer any room for profit. And just one dayter, Ashton actually offered a price of 1.7 billion dors. If Lucas sold it to him, he would make a profit of 500 million dors within one day. This was simply a faster way to make money than any other profitable industry! Anyone else would have sold thend to Ashton at 1.7 billion dors. But Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person, and thisnd was of great use to him. So regardless of how much Ashton eventually offered, he wouldn¡¯t sell it. ¡°I¡¯m not selling it no matter how much you offer,¡± Lucas said indifferently. Ashton was on the verge of losing his temper. He had already offered Lucas 500 million dors more than what he had paid for it. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas to still refuse to sell this to him! ¡°Don¡¯t be greedy! I¡¯m already offering a great price! And it far exceeds the original value of thisnd! Don¡¯t think of asking for more! ¡°Also, I¡¯m here to buy thisnd on behalf of the Hills family of the royals. If you¡¯re smart enough, you should sell thend to me. You¡¯ll profit from it and also get a favor from us. ¡°But if you refuse to sell it to me, then you are an enemy of the Hills! You should know very well how miserable you¡¯ll end up if you go against the royals.¡± Ashton¡¯s tone was aggressive and full of menace. ¡°Is that so? You can try doing whatever you want then.¡± With that, Lucas turned around and left without looking at him again. The expression on Ashton¡¯s facepletely stiffened. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas would still be so adamant after he had already revealed his identity as a royal, offered so much money, and tried to coerce him. Not only did Lucas refuse to sell thend, but he even disregarded the royals! This bastard! Watching Lucas leave, Ashton didn¡¯t stop him. Instead, he stared closely at Lucas¡¯s back and looked away only after Lucas got in his car and left. ¡°Send someone to investigate him immediately! No matter what, we have to find out his real identity!¡± Ashton ordered furiously. ... On the other side, Lucas apologized to Gemma as soon as he got inside the car. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Professor Crawford. My apologies that you were scared.¡± Gemma shook her head and asked worriedly with some lingering fear, ¡°Those aggressive people are from the royal family? Nothing will go wrong, right?¡± Lucas smiled slightly. ¡°Please rest assured. I bought thisnd at an officialnd auction yesterday. All the procedures werepleted in ordance with thew, and thend use rights are under my name. Nothing will go wrong.¡± Flynn quickly said, ¡°Yes, Professor Crawford, don¡¯t worry! I went to the auction with Lucas yesterday, and I personally handled all the administrative procedures. There will be no problems.¡± After hearing their assurances, Gemma finally heaved a sigh of relief. But she was still worried. ¡°But now, the royals are interested in yournd. They¡¯re not to be trifled with, so you have to be careful!¡± Lucas expressed his gratitude for Gemma¡¯s reminder. ¡°Alright, thank you for your reminder, Professor Crawford. We will pay attention.¡± The two of them sent Gemma home. She insisted on moving to thend in the afternoon and would settle all her living necessities there, including food and amodation. Facing Gemma¡¯s stubbornness in her workaholic mode, both Lucas and Flynn were at their wits¡¯ end. Chapter 1070 Chapter 1070: Invitation Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios On the way back, Lucas instructed Flynn, ¡°Professor Crawford is advanced in years, so she can¡¯t live on that barrennd alone. Quickly set up a project department this afternoon for the preliminary construction works. We¡¯ll need to set up at least a few sheds for food and amodation. ¡°We can¡¯t neglect security either. Assign a few bodyguards to protect Professor Crawford.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Flynn took note of everything and then ordered his subordinates to start working. Lucas didn¡¯t stay in thepany for long. After seeing Flynn busy with the preparations, he left the Stardust Corporation and returned home. Around eight in the evening, Cheyenne finally arrived home. She dragged her weary feet across the floor and flung herself onto the couch in the living room. !! Seeing how exhausted Cheyenne was, Lucas felt distressed and rubbed her shoulders for her. ¡°You don¡¯t have to work so hard. I can afford to provide for you for the rest of your life.¡± Cheyenne¡¯s sore shoulders were much better under Lucas¡¯s hands, and sheughed. ¡°I know you¡¯re probably wealthy beyond my imagination! But I can¡¯t just be a parasite at home. It¡¯s very fulfilling to watch my business grow and flourish!¡± Lucas knew what Cheyenne was thinking. Besides, if he got her to stay home all the time, she wouldn¡¯t like it, and it would be a waste of her talent too. But he said it because he felt sorry for her. Lucas helped the exhausted Cheyenne massage her shoulders, back, and legs, and she immediately felt much more rxed. ¡°Honey, speaking of which, you have a lot of connections in DC. Today, I discussed cooperating with the Smiths and also signed a cooperation agreement with the Williams. They are both part of the eight top families of DC. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I¡¯m afraid I wouldn¡¯t even be able to meet the helmsmen of these two wealthy families, let alone sign a contract with them.¡± Cheyenne sat up from the sofa and continued, ¡°Even the Huttons and the Howards have taken the initiative to invite me to cooperate with them, but I haven¡¯t agreed for now because I¡¯ll only consider cooperating with these two families if you agree. But even then, the Brilliance Corporation has made a lot of progress in DC this time. ¡°It probably won¡¯t take more than two years for the Brilliance Corporation to be a famous enterprise in DC like the Stardust Corporation!¡± At the mention of thepany¡¯s achievements and progress, Cheyenne was extremely excited, and her face was glowing. Although Lucas¡¯s heart ached for Cheyenne, and he wished she could get some good rest at home without having to do anything, at the same time, he didn¡¯t want her to stay home and be an ordinary housewife precisely because of the radiance of her face now. Since Cheyenne was so enthusiastic about work and herpany, he would let her continue being happy! ¡°I don¡¯t mind those two families anymore. If you think there¡¯s a good opportunity for cooperation, you can give it a try. The Brilliance Corporation isn¡¯t cozying up to them but the other way around,¡± Lucas said with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense!¡± Cheyenne chided Lucas,pletely disagreeing with his statement. In Cheyenne¡¯s opinion, the Howards and the Huttons were among the eight top families of DC, and their reputations were known to almost everyone. On the other hand, the Brilliance Corporation had only started developing in DC and still had a long way to go. The two of them were snuggling together. It was a rare chance for them to sit and chat like this. Suddenly, Lucas¡¯s phone rang. The loud ringtone was quite a killjoy. When Lucas saw the caller ID on his phone, he frowned. Frankly, he didn¡¯t want to answer this call. ¡°Honey, aren¡¯t you going to pick up? Who¡¯s calling?¡± Cheyenne asked doubtfully. ¡°It¡¯s Alexander Steele,¡± Lucas replied and answered the call after some thought. As soon as the call connected, Alexander¡¯s enthusiastic voice came. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m in front of your house right now. Come out quickly. I¡¯ll take you somewhere good!¡± What he said made Lucas frown even more. They had met Alexander for the first time at the auction yesterday, and they had just had dinner together in the evening. Lucas didn¡¯t tell him where they lived, but Alexander actually found out his address and was waiting outside his house. He recalled that Flynn had told himst night that Alexander was investigating him, and it made him feel a little ufortable. Lucas originally had a good impression of Alexander, but he lost all interest now. ¡°I have something to do today. I¡¯ll pass,¡± Lucas said calmly. Alexander didn¡¯t expect Lucas to turn him down. After being stunned for a moment, he said, ¡°Lucas, can¡¯t you do me a favor? I¡¯ve already driven to your doorstep, and it¡¯s not nice for you to refuse toe out, right? Besides, I want to introduce some friends to you. I believe you¡¯ll be interested!¡± Lucas initially wanted to turn him down, but when he heard Alexander say ¡®you¡¯ll be interested¡¯, his interest was really aroused. Although he still didn¡¯t know what Alexander had up his sleeve, he wasn¡¯t afraid of anything. ¡°Alright, wait for me. I¡¯ll be out soon,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you outside.¡± Alexander hung up. Cheyenne was sitting next to Lucas, so she had naturally heard their conversation. She asked, ¡°Are you going out?¡± Lucas kissed Cheyenne¡¯s forehead and said, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going out to take a look. Just stay at home and get some rest. I¡¯ll get Jordan toe over with Maddy to apany you.¡± Cheyenne was just about to decline, but at the thought that Lucas would be worried about her safety if she was home alone, she nodded and said, ¡°Alright.¡± Lucas called Jordan and was relieved to hear that he woulde over soon. After stepping out of the door, Lucas saw a ck Lamborghini parked by the road. Alexander was leaning against it and looking at the lights in the distance. Seeing Lucase out, Alexander smiled and greeted him. ¡°Lucas, surely you won¡¯t me me foring uninvited, will you?¡± Lucas nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°For one, I don¡¯t like people investigating my affairs.¡± Alexander was stunned for a moment and hurriedly exined, ¡°Uh... Lucas, don¡¯t get the wrong idea. I didn¡¯t investigate you. Your vi was developed by the Steels, and the price is incredibly high, so... I already knew that you lived here before I met you.¡± Lucas raised his brows but didn¡¯t pursue the matter. He changed the subject and asked, ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± Alexander smiled mysteriously. ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there. It will definitely be an unforgettable memory!¡± Chapter 1071 Chapter 1071: Finally Found Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The Lamborghini sped all the way through the night traffic of DC. Although Alexander was driving fast, he obeyed all the trafficws. After over half an hour, the car stopped at a bustling area in downtown DC. They were in front of a club with arge golden sign on the door that read: Club Illuma. Lucas got out of the car and asked with some puzzlement, ¡°This is where you brought me?¡± Alexander smiled lightly. ¡°Yeah, Club Illuma is one of the top clubs in DC, and it has all sorts of entertainment programs, some of which are beyond your imagination. ¡°This club may not seem impressive, but it makes a staggering amount every year. Its yearly profit is at least a few billion dors, which makes it even more profitable than most industries in DC! !! ¡°The annual fee for a membership card here is a million dors, and my supreme membership card is five million a year. ¡°Almost all the wealthy families in DC have at least a few supreme membership cards for this ce, and there are countless people with gold and tinum membership cards. So the annual membership fees alone is a massive amount of ie, not to mention the other entertainment programs and lucrative projects here.¡± Alexander exined to Lucas while leading him toward the entrance. Lucas originally thought that it was just an ordinary club, but after hearing Alexander¡¯s exnation, he felt a little surprised. Every year, the profits amounted to billions of dors. This ce was definitely a huge cash cow that made other families jealous. ¡°This club has an extraordinary background, right? Otherwise, the powerful forces in DC wouldn¡¯t give up such a profitable club,¡± Lucas said. Alexander nodded in approval. ¡°You¡¯re right, Lucas. This club does have a powerful background, and its owner is someone whom even the eight top families don¡¯t dare to offend, let alone other forces.¡± Lucas was shocked. Since it was someone that even the eight top families didn¡¯t dare to offend, it was very likely that it was someone from the royal family. Although Lucas didn¡¯t have a membership card here, the waiter at the entrance weed the two of them enthusiastically since he was brought here by Alexander, who had a supreme membership card. Immediately afterward, a gorgeous woman with a hot figure walked over to receive them. ¡°Dear guests, which floor would you like to go to?¡± the beautiful hostess asked with a smile on her face. Alexander asked, ¡°Lucas, why don¡¯t we take a bath and a massage first?¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t interested in any of this, so he just smiled and said, ¡°You call the shots.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go to the baths on the tenth floor!¡± Alexander said. ¡°Alright. This way, please.¡± The beautiful hostess led the two of them to the elevator and pressed the button for the tenth floor. The decor in Club Illuma was extremely luxurious, and even the elevator was spacious and gilded. There were even leather chairs for the guests. Soon, the elevator reached the tenth floor. Although the tenth floor was a bathing area, it was extremely spacious and divided into numerous private rooms. There were many special types of baths, such as milk baths, floral baths, wine baths, and a dozen other choices. ¡°Lucas, how about we go for an herbal bath? The herbs added to the bath are some of the best for soothing nerves, relieving fatigue, and rejuvenating the body. Since you¡¯re here, it¡¯d be a shame not to try it!¡± Alexander suggested, speaking from experience. ¡°Since you¡¯re the host, you decide,¡± Lucas said without any objection. The beautiful hostess led the two to the door of a Japanese-style bathhouse and said with a smile, ¡°Please enjoy yourselves, gentlemen. I¡¯ll be waiting here at your service.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Alexander nodded and led Lucas inside. The baths were already ready, and they were exuding a refreshing herbal fragrance. It did look rather nice. As soon as they entered, Alexander chuckled and asked, ¡°Lucas, it isn¡¯t only baths and massages here. There are also gorgeous babes from all over the world. Do you want to have some fun with a few of them?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°No thanks. Feel free to do as you please.¡± ¡°Alright then, I won¡¯t be polite,¡± Alexander said regretfully before shouting at the door, ¡°Bring an Asian and a blonde here.¡± Within a few minutes, two very distinctive and gorgeous girls walked in and stood next to Alexander obediently. ¡°Uh, Lucas, if you need anything, just call me. You don¡¯t need to feel embarrassed. I¡¯ll go in and enjoy myself!¡± With that, Alexander put each arm around a beautiful woman and went into the room next to the bathtubs. Soon, muffled sounds came from inside. Lucas turned a deaf ear to it and entered a bathtub on his own,fortably enjoying the hot water. Up until now, he didn¡¯t know Alexander¡¯s real agenda for bringing him here, so he decided to y it by ear and see what he would do next. Half an hourter, Lucas came out of the bath, and Alexander was done. The two of them came out with bath towels around them, and Lucas finally witnessed how luxurious Club Illuma really was. There was a massive closet with all kinds of clothes, from shirts and suits to socks and ties and so on, all of which were from internationally renowned designer brands. They easily cost hundreds and thousands of dors each, but they were provided for all members free of charge. Lucas raised his brows with surprise but realized that it made sense with the membership fees in the millions. Not wanting to take advantage of a single thing here, Lucas changed into the same clothes he came here in, while Alexander changed into a new set. Alexander then took Lucas to several spots in Club Illuma, where there were all sorts of entertainment programs. Lucas watched indifferently. This ce was of arger scale and ss than the World Entertainment City he had gone to previously. After all, the owner of Club Illuma was a member of the royal family and had a wealthier and greater background than Roman. After strolling around several ces, Lucas still had ack of interest. He wasn¡¯t interested in these entertainment activities at all and only followed Alexander around. Finally, Alexander said, ¡°Lucas, let me take you to meet a friend now. You will definitely be interested.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Lucas raised his brows, showing some interest. These few words were the reason he had agreed toe here. The two arrived at the elevator. But this time, it went straight to the third basement floor. As soon as the two of them stepped out of the elevator, an impatient voice came. ¡°Alexander Steele, you¡¯re really something, huh? You made me wait here for so long!¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes as soon as he heard the voice. Reason being, this voice belonged to Jace, whom Lucas was looking for! Chapter 1072 Chapter 1072: Enemies Meet Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Jace, I didn¡¯t expect you to be hiding here. I had a hard time looking for you!¡± Lucas stared at Jace¡¯s face, his eyes full of murderous intent. He didn¡¯t expect that he would suddenly meet Jace in Club Illuma! Ever since Jace was saved by the white-bearded old man in Orange County, Lucas had ordered his subordinates to search high and low for him. But he hadn¡¯t been able to find him. He didn¡¯t expect to run into Jace here! ¡°Lu-Lucas Gray! Why are you here?¡± Jace was clearly very surprised. The moment he saw Lucas, his pupils constricted, and he took a few steps backward uncontrobly. !! The white-bearded old man was standing next to Jace. At this moment, there was a trace of shock on his face. Clearly, neither he nor Jace had expected to suddenly run into Lucas in Club Illuma. ¡°Uh, Jace, do you and Lucas know each other?¡± Alexander asked in surprise, seemingly unaware of the rtionship between the two. But Lucas was sure that Alexander definitely knew about his rtionship with Jace and that he was looking for Jace. So he deliberately brought him here to meet Jace. ¡°Hmph, of course we do!¡± Jace said hostilely while looking at Lucas with great hatred in his eyes. Lucas had eagerly wanted to find Jace to make him bear the consequences for his recklessness in Orange County and capture him to find out his mother¡¯s secret. But this ce clearly wasn¡¯t somewhere he could take action easily. Since Club Illuma was most likely run by someone from the royal family, and the members here were basically wealthy and had high statuses, security was naturally tight. When Lucas followed Alexander around earlier, he had already sensed that there were several top experts here, none of whom was weaker than the white-bearded old man beside Jace. But there was no need to rush to deal with Jace. As long as he knew that Jace was here, he would have the chance to force him to talk about his mother¡¯s secret. ¡°Haha, since you two know each other, that saves me from doing an introduction.¡± Alexander smiled, seemingly not noticing the tension between Lucas and Jace. Then he looked at Lucas and said, ¡°Lucas, I brought you here today because this is the most fun ce in all of Club Illuma. Your trip here will definitely feel worthwhile.¡± Lucas nced at Alexander indifferently without saying anything. But he was already a little annoyed. Alexander obviously knew about the beef between him and Jace, yet he deliberately brought him here. Did he want to watch them fight? But what good would it do for Alexander? Is he on Jace¡¯s side? For a bit, many conjectures appeared in Lucas¡¯s mind. ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare youe here? Aren¡¯t you afraid of dying here and having no one to clean your corpse up?¡± Jace glowered at Lucas viciously. Lucas raised his brows. ¡°You haven¡¯t died yet. How could I die before you?¡± ¡°You!¡± Jace was furious. ¡°Don¡¯t be so cocky in front of me! I admit that you have some skills, but your skills are nothing in Club Illuma! If you dare to do anything to me, you will definitely die a horrible death!¡± ¡°Is that so? Just wait then.¡± Lucas sneered and stopped looking at Jace. Alexander stepped forward and said with displeasure, ¡°Jace, what¡¯s wrong with you? Why are you talking to Lucas so aggressively?¡± ¡°Alexander Steele, don¡¯t f*cking meddle in this. This is a feud between me and Lucas Gray. It has nothing to do with you. Don¡¯t try to interfere, lest you cause trouble for your family!¡± Jace glowered at Alexander. ¡°Jace Hutton, are you threatening me?¡± Alexander stared at Jace and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Hmph, if you take it as a threat, then it is! Anyway, you¡¯re in no ce to meddle with my affairs!¡± Jace said domineeringly. ¡°Fine, Jace, great!¡± Alexander sneered. ¡°So much for treating you as a friend. I wanted to introduce you to Lucas, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be so rude to him. In that case, we don¡¯t have to be friends anymore!¡± ¡°Friends? Hah, Alexander, who do you think you are? Are you worthy of being my friend? ¡°I¡¯m the future helmsman of the Huttons, while you¡¯re just a pathetic bastard from the Steeles. You can¡¯t even get close to the position of your family¡¯s sessor, but you think you¡¯re worthy of being my friend?¡± Jace mocked. ¡°If you insist on helping that punk, don¡¯t me me for being rude!¡± Alexander was boiling with fury, and anger distorted his usuallyposed and gracious face. ¡°Is your status much better than mine? Don¡¯t forget. You¡¯re no longer the sessor of the Huttons either! ¡°Now, you don¡¯t even dare to return to the Huttons. Who are you to threaten me?¡± Jace was enraged by Alexander¡¯s harsh remarks. He wanted to lose his temper, but the white-bearded old man beside him tugged his arm, so he forced himself to contain his anger. ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray, tonight is going to be your death anniversary! I advise you to say yourst words now, or else you won¡¯t get the chance! Read full chapters at B o n n o v e l ¡°And you, Alexander, you won¡¯t end up well either since you¡¯re bent on defending him! Just you wait!¡± Jace snorted coldly and turned around to leave. Chapter 1073 Chapter 1073: Reincarnation in Hell Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Alexander was quick to react. Heughed and tried to y it off. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? Since I¡¯ve offended him, so be it. The Steeles aren¡¯t afraid of him. Besides, Jace Hutton is just good at blowing his trumpet and issuing empty threats. He won¡¯t necessarily do anything to us.¡± Then he changed the topic and introduced to Lucas, ¡°I didn¡¯t get to tell you that the bottom floor happens to be the most popr ce in the club. It¡¯s called Reincarnation in Hell. ¡°Several fights will be held in the ring here every day, and there are many experts from all over the world engaging in the life and death battles. Every person taking part in a fight has to sign a liability waiver. Someone dies in almost every match, and some scenes are extremely gory. ¡°But most of the patrons are here. After all, everyone likes to have fun these days, especially the rich and powerful who feel bored and empty. They¡¯re filthy rich, but life is too stressful, so they need some fun to relieve their stress. Thus, there are many people here, and it¡¯s the most lively spot in the club.¡± Lucas nodded. !! There was a simr ce in Roman¡¯s club called the Sky Arena, where brutal and bloody fights took ce. It likewise attracted lots of excited audience. Reincarnation in Hell was simr, except it was more upscale and the participants of these lethal battles were much more skilled. Seeing that Lucas seemed to have been to a simr ce, Alexander stopped talking about the rules of the fights here. Instead, he said, ¡°But the tournaments here are a little different from other ces. The people who canst till the very end will always receive an attractive bonus based on the profits of the Reincarnation in Hell of the day. ¡°The final winner of each day can get a bonus of at least a million dors. Sometimes, it exceeds three million! It¡¯s a huge amount of money that most people can¡¯t make in their lifetime. ¡°So there are often some experts whoe to try their luck. As long as they can win the championship of the day once, they won¡¯t have to worry for the rest of their lives! But most of the people died here and became the stepping stones for the victory of others. ¡°In addition to the daily matches, there are popr tournaments every month, quarter, and year. Therger the tournament, the higher the prize money for the champion. ¡°For example, the champion of the annual tournament can obtain over a hundred million dors! That¡¯s why countless skilled experts are attracted and rush over topete.¡± After Lucas heard what Alexander said, his heart surged. Therge prize money would naturally attract many powerhouses. It exined the domineering auras that he had sensed earlier. Alexander said, ¡°In fact, today is the annual tournament held by Club Illuma every year. It¡¯s the grandest event of the year in the club, and all the top experts will appear tonight. It¡¯s a grand event that will determine the fate of many people!¡± When speaking thest sentence, Alexander sounded a little agitated and peculiar. It was as if he couldn¡¯t control his emotions. Lucas took a deep look at Alexander and suddenly asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t bring me here just to watch this tournament, did you?¡± Alexander stiffened immediately. After hesitating for a moment, Alexander shook his head and smiled wryly.¡±That¡¯s right, Lucas. You¡¯re very discerning. Indeed, I didn¡¯t bring you here just to show you thepetition, but...¡± He raised his head and seriously looked into Lucas¡¯s eyes. ¡°I need your help.¡± He was finally going to reveal his true agenda for tonight. Lucas looked at Alexander coldly and sneered. ¡°You went to such great lengths to bring me here. The favor you need from me isn¡¯t simple, right?¡± Alexander looked awkward and embarrassed. After a while, he decided toe clean and said, ¡°It¡¯s really not easy. But I can guarantee that as long as you help me win the championship, I¡¯ll give you anything you want!¡± He actually wanted Lucas to participate in this brutal tournament and fight for the championship! Hearing this, Lucas asked with a mocking smile, ¡°You want me topete on your behalf? I remember you saying that everyone who fights in thepetition has to sign a liability waiver. What makes you think I¡¯ll agree to die for you?¡± Alexander hurriedly said, ¡°How could I ask you to die for me, Lucas? I know how skilled you are. You¡¯ll definitely win the championship!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°So what? I¡¯m already being kind enough not to hold it against you for scheming against me and bringing me here, yet you still want me to risk my life for you?¡± Alexander¡¯s face turned pale, and he hurriedly exined, ¡°Mr. Gray, I really didn¡¯t mean to trick you, but I really don¡¯t have any other solution. Besides, weren¡¯t you searching everywhere for Jace? I did you a favor by bringing you here, didn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Hmph, did I ask for your help?¡± Lucasughed with contempt, rendering Alexander speechless. Read full chapters at B o n n o v e l In fact, if Alexander had directly discussed this with Lucas at the start and told him that he knew where Jace was before asking him for a favor, Lucas might have agreed. After all, it would be a fair exchange between willing parties, and no one would lose out. Chapter 1074 Chapter 1074: True Agenda Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Theyout of the fighting hall was just like a ser field, with a circr ring in the center, surrounded by a steel wall. It was just like a cage ced upside down on the ground to prevent the audience from getting injured by ident and the participants from escaping. After all, this was a ce where brutal life-and-death fights took ce. If someone wanted to escape at the brink of death, it was impossible to do so with this steel cage, and they would have no choice but to die in the ring. This was what many spectators found exciting. The audience was sitting around the room in staggered seats to ensure that the ones at the back could get a clear view of the ring. There were also various screens and speakers around the fighting hall so that the sounds of the match could be transmitted to every corner of the hall in real time. !! At this moment, there were two bloodied and burly men fighting brutally in the ring, which was like a diator colosseum. The fight was intense, and the sounds of the kicks and punches were constantly transmitted to the ears of everyone present. It felt as if they were fighting right next to them. The spectators were watching with great excitement, screaming and roaring incessantly. Here, everyone could release all their usually hidden inner emotions, so everyone was shouting without any care, their faces distorted. The two fighters in the ring were quite skilled, not much weaker than the elite bodyguards of some major families. Watching the fight in the ring, Alexander said, ¡°It¡¯s the finals of the annual tournament today, so the prize money is a huge amount. That¡¯s why experts from all over the world have been attracted to this ce. ¡°In addition, many consortiums and forces will send their people here to find suitable candidates for their own use. ¡°In the end, there may even be a conflict between two major forces because of a fighter. Fights over such issues aremon urrences here.¡± Just as he finished speaking, the people in the hall roared thunderously. It turned out that the fight was over, and the victor raised his bloodied fist to greet the audience¡¯s screams. In contrast, the loser had already be a cold corpse on the floor and was soon carried away roughly, leaving behind only two wet stains on the floor. The fresh blood underneath him would soon dry up and be an insignificant touch of color on the dark red ring. Seeing this, Lucas felt some sadness in his heart. They were all skilled experts. But once they stepped into the ring, they could only be reduced to ythings for the audience tough at. Those who failed wouldn¡¯t even receive a tinge of pity and would only suffer from the scolding and curses of the people who had bet on them. Alexander looked sympathetic as he said softly, ¡°Actually, the people who can step into the ring for the championship every year are all strong experts from all over the world. But more than half of them will die in this ring without anyone remembering them.¡± Lucas could see theplicated look of sadness in his eyes. At this moment, Alexander really felt sad for these people and wasn¡¯t faking it. ¡°In that case, why do you want me to help you win tonight¡¯s championship?¡± Lucas asked while staring at Alexander. A bitter smile appeared on Alexander¡¯s face. ¡°There are some reasons I can¡¯t reveal. If possible, I¡¯d never want to step foot inside this hellhole.¡± ¡°I know you used to be from the Hutton family. In that case, you must know there¡¯s a lot of injustice among top families like ours. ¡°My father was my grandfather¡¯s most favored son. He was extremely outstanding, so he became the designated sessor of the Steeles a long time ago. If he hadn¡¯t died for the family¡¯s sake a few years ago, my father would probably have already be the helmsman. ¡°Since my father passed away, his power and authority were taken over by my uncles. No matter which one of them bes the helmsman, their sessor will only be their son. ¡°So since then, I¡¯ve been ostracized by them. And even though I¡¯ve contributed more to the family than others of my generation, my status in the family has been declining, and my life has been getting worse.¡± Lucas listened quietly. In fact, what Alexander said wasmon among top families. Everything was a result of wealth and power. Everyone wanted to do their best to gain benefits for themselves, their children, and their grandchildren. Thus, they would inevitably suppress others. Alexander continued, ¡°The reason I¡¯m here tonight is that there¡¯s a bet among the Steeles regarding the annual tournament of Club Illuma. ¡°My grandfather has three sons, so the Steeles are currently divided into three camps, each of which controls many of the Steeles¡¯ businesses. The championship tournament of Club Illuma each year is rted to the distribution of the Steele¡¯s businesses. ¡°Every year, each camp will look for powerful experts to represent their camp in the ring. The camp with the highest ranking will receive more businesses. ¡°My camp is much weaker than the other two, and I have fewer financial resources as well. I can¡¯t invite powerful powerhouses, so I¡¯ve lost for several years in a row. ¡°Furthermore, if I still lose this time, I¡¯ll have even fewer businesses in hand. I¡¯ll have to hand all of them to others, and in the future, there¡¯ll be a ce for me in the Steele family.¡± A deep look of sorrow and resignation appeared on Alexander¡¯s face. Lucas was surprised. As far as Lucas knew, the Steeles were very low-key among the top eight families of DC and wouldn¡¯t easily fight orpete with the other families. But they alsockedmunication with the other families, and others could only obtain a limited amount of information about them. But Lucas didn¡¯t expect thepetition within the Steeles to be so intense, so much so that the descendants would even search for powerful experts to participate in the annual tournament of Club Illuma to determine the number of businesses each camp got. This was definitely an effective method to stimte the Steeles into searching for more powerhouses to join the family. ¡°During the auction yesterday, I happened to witness how powerful you are, Mr. Gray. That¡¯s why I suddenly came up with this idea for you to help me win the championship of this year¡¯s tournament. However, my request is indeed too abrupt, and it¡¯s my fault for notmunicating and discussing it with you in advance,¡± Alexander said with a bitter expression. Chapter 1075 Chapter 1075: Unwarranted Disaster Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°You¡¯re here, Alex!¡± A crisp and clear female voice suddenly sounded from behind them. Lucas and Alexander turned around and saw a slender beauty walking over with thepany of a muscr man. ¡°Ashley, why are you here?¡± Alexander said with surprise. Then he frowned and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t a ce for girls. You should quickly go home!¡± Ashley pursed her lips and said firmly, ¡°Alex, I¡¯m your sister and a Steele too!¡± Then she pointed at the muscr man behind her. ¡°He¡¯s a peerless powerhouse I invited. He once won the championship in an underground boxing tournament abroad. He¡¯s extremely strong!¡± !! Hearing this, Alexander was over the moon. He looked at the muscr man and asked politely, ¡°Sir, how should I address you?¡± The muscr man smiled. ¡°Mr. Alexander, just call me Rocky.¡± Many martial arts practitioners would usually use an alias, so Rocky was a suitable name for him. ¡°Alright. Rocky, are you confident about tonight¡¯spetition?¡± Alexander asked with concern. Rocky looked at the two experts fighting brutally in the ring and said confidently, ¡°I should be able to manage. At least I¡¯m much stronger than the two in the ring. I dare not say that I¡¯ll be able to win tonight¡¯s championship, but I¡¯ll definitely be among the top three!¡± Hearing Rocky¡¯s confident words, Ashley was very excited, and she said to Alexander proudly, ¡°Alexander! I told you the expert I found is extremely strong. We will definitely win today!¡± ¡°Great!¡± Alexander was overjoyed. If Rocky could really make it into the top three, the other two camps of the Steeles might not be able topare. The Steeles¡¯ representatives hadn¡¯t been able to take the top spots in the previous annual tournaments of Club Illuma. While everyone was feeling excited, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°It won¡¯t be that easy to make it into the top three.¡± As soon as he said this, the expressions on Alexander¡¯s and Ashley¡¯s faces froze. Rocky narrowed his eyes and stared at Lucas hostilely. Ashley had worked hard to find an expert, but Lucas just had to be a wet nket, so she was naturally displeased. But she still remembered that Lucas was her brother¡¯s friend, so she asked, ¡°Alex, who is this?¡± Alexander also has a tinge of dissatisfaction in his heart, but at the thought of Lucas¡¯s identity and skills, he began hesitating. He introduced to Ashley, ¡°Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is Mr. Lucas Gray, the chairman of the Stardust Corporation.¡± Then he introduced to Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, this is Ashley, my younger sister.¡± Ashley looked at Lucas, crinkled her nose in displeasure, and harrumphed coldly without greeting him. She was extremely displeased with Lucas¡¯s remark because she had gone to great lengths to find an expert for thispetition. Moreover, he had just confidently said that he could be among the top three. Yet Lucas was being a wet nket by saying that it wouldn¡¯t be easy to make it to the top three. This was akin to saying that Rocky wouldn¡¯t be able to make it to the top three. Alexander hurriedly rebuked, ¡°Ashley, how can you be so rude?¡± Although Lucas hadn¡¯t promised to help himpete in the tournament, Alexander still didn¡¯t want to offend him and cause a strain on their rtionship. To be honest, the reason Alexander wanted to ask Lucas to help him in this annual tournament was not only because of the brief interaction they had at the auction yesterday but also because he had asked someone to investigate Lucas. The person Alexander had approached was a high-ranking military personnel. But just this morning, this man called Alexander and told him that even he couldn¡¯t check Lucas¡¯s files. All the information about Lucas had the highest-level top-secret security, and only the few people at the highest echelon had the authority to view it. Generally, those who could have their information protected with such a high level of secrecy were either people with great secrets or big shots who were absolutely not to be offended. So although he didn¡¯t get any information about Lucas from his friend, he could conclude from Lucas¡¯s information being top secret that Lucas was definitely someone he could not afford to offend! It was precisely the reason that Alexander wanted to ask Lucas for help and requested him to help himpete. But Ashley had no idea about this at all. When she heard Alexander say that Lucas was just the chairman of a corporation without saying anything about his family, she knew that he wasn¡¯t the scion of a prestigious family in DC. ¡°Alex, why did you say that to me? He¡¯s just the chairman of a smallpany, and his family background is far inferior to the Steeles. Yet he¡¯s babbling nonsense when he knows nothing about martial arts. Why are you defending him?¡± Ashley said with great dissatisfaction while glowering at Lucas in disgruntlement. ¡°Shut up!¡± Alexander immediately hollered coldly. ¡°Is this how Mom has been teaching you? Who told you to judge others like that? Mr. Gray is my friend, and if you dare to speak to him rudely again, get lost immediately! ¡°Apologize to Mr. Gray right now!¡± Alexander reprimanded Ashley sternly almost without saving her any pride. He was really infuriated, not only because of the superficialness in what Ashley had said but also because he was afraid that she might offend Lucas. ¡°Alex! You...¡± Ashley¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. She could hardly believe that her brother, who had always been gentle to her and doted on her, would suddenly be so mean to her and force her to apologize to Lucas! But after seeing the fury in Alexander¡¯s eyes, Ashley knew that he was really mad at her. She could only grit her teeth and apologize to Lucas reluctantly. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m sorry!¡± But although she apologized, the expression on her face and the angry gaze in her eyes clearly showed her reluctance. She even resented Lucas, who was the reason she had been forced to apologize. Lucas was speechless. He had just told the truth because Rocky was too over-confident. In fact, he could even be considered conceited. So Lucas couldn¡¯t help reminding them not to rejoice too soon. The people who appeared in the ring might be skilled in martial arts, but they were still far from the level of true experts. Lucas didn¡¯t believe that the standards of Club Illuma¡¯s annual tournament was only at this level. The true experts had yet to appear. Given Rocky¡¯s aura, he was still worlds apart from true experts, and it was impossible for him to make it into the top three. But his remark caused him to draw the resentment of a woman, a disaster that was truly unwarranted. Chapter 1076 Chapter 1076: Frog in a Well Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Suddenly, the burly man Rocky said, ¡°Mr. Alexander, I think Miss Ashley is right.¡± He looked at Lucas and said proudly with one eyebrow raised, ¡°A person who knows nothing about martial arts really has no right to talk nonsense here.¡± Hearing this, Alexander felt a headacheing on. On the one hand, he didn¡¯t want to offend Lucas. And on the other, it was the lifeline that his sister had painstakingly found. He didn¡¯t want to offend either of them. He could only quicklyfort Rocky. ¡°Rocky, don¡¯t be angry. Lucas just made a casual remark. He doesn¡¯t have any hostility.¡± !! Alexander hurriedly shot Lucas a nce, begging him not to lose his temper. After hearing the scion of the esteemed Steelesfort him, Rocky was in a better mood. He snorted coldly and said, ¡°Once I step inside the ring, you will naturally see my true skills!¡± Then he glowered at Lucas. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t care about such a small fry. He just thought that Rocky was ridiculous and shook his head helplessly. ¡°Hmph, let¡¯s see what you have to say when Rocky winster!¡± Ashley red at Lucas but quickly shut her mouth when she saw Alexander giving her a warning look. ¡°Ahem, Lucas, my sister is just that willful. Please don¡¯t hold it against her!¡± Alexander quickly exined to Lucas after ring at his sister. Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Ashley was only around 23 or 24 years old, which was about the same age as Charlotte. She also came from a wealthy family, so it was normal for her to be a little spoiled. 1 Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t lower her status and bother with a young girl like her. But he didn¡¯t know that Ashley was further annoyed at Lucas because Alexander had red at her and forced her to apologize to Lucas. Suddenly, Alexander¡¯s pupils constricted as he stared at the ring solemnly. ¡°Godfrey¡¯s fighter has appeared!¡± Ashley was startled and quickly dismissed her other thoughts. She fixed her gaze on the burly man who had just stepped into the ring. There was a dragon tattoo on his muscr body, and he was obviously not to be trifled with. Ashley said, ¡°Rocky, carefully observe the man with the dragon tattoo. He¡¯s one of your main opponents tonight. Take a good look at his moves and abilities!¡± Only by understanding your opponent well could you win all battles. Rocky didn¡¯t dare to be conceited and quickly answered, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll stare at him.¡± Soon, the match officially started. The opponent opposite the burly man with the dragon tattoo was another muscr man with a buzz cut. Their auras and figures were simr. In fact, the two of them were evenly matched opponents, and they engaged in an extremely exciting match. The expertspeting in the ring were not allowed to bring weapons, so all the moves they made were punches or kicks. It was a primitive fight, but it made everyone¡¯s blood boil. The two of them exchanged quick and menacing blows. Whenever someone was hit, the spectators would burst into cheers. Theyman watched the excitement, while the xperts observed their skills. Lucas narrowed his eyes and watched the two of them carefully. Even he had to admit that the two of them were extremelypetent, especially since they had only hit each other a few times. It wasn¡¯t that they were poorly skilled, but rather, they were extremely quick at dodging, causing most of the other party¡¯s attacks to miss. As expected of an annual martial arts tournament, most participants were experts rarely seen in other ces. Lucas became even more interested in the owner of the club. ¡°Wow! So impressive!¡± Ashley wasn¡¯t proficient in martial arts. But after hearing the audience¡¯s cheers and seeing the intense fight in the ring, she couldn¡¯t help worrying. Alexander¡¯s face was a little gloomy. He could tell that the two people in the ring were very skilled. At least they were far stronger than him. But the burly man with a dragon tattoo worked for Godfrey. So the stronger he was, the greater the threat to him. Hearing Ashley¡¯spliments for the two people in the ring, Rocky immediately said with some dissatisfaction, ¡°Miss Ashley, Mr. Alexander, don¡¯t worry. Those two in the ring may look impressive, but their moves are nothing to boast about. When facing a powerful force, they will be defeated in one blow!¡± Rocky clenched his fist and raised his head proudly. Hearing this, Ashley and Alexander were relieved. Since Rocky was so confident, it meant that his strength was above the two people in the ring. ¡°Rocky, you¡¯re still the best! I¡¯m sure you can represent us and defeat all the other experts!¡± Ashley clenched her tiny fists and cheered Rocky on with a smile. Seeing this, Lucas shook his head slightly in amusement. Rocky was really not that capable. He couldn¡¯t even tell how powerful the two fighters in the ring were and merely thought that they were fast without any strength. But he didn¡¯t know that the explosive power they had shown was not weaker than Rocky¡¯s. If Rocky fought them, he would definitely be no match for them. But Rocky failed to realize this and was still conceited, thinking they were weak. Lucas merely shook his head slightly. But unexpectedly, Ashley had been paying attention to his actions while watching the match because she wanted to pick on him. Seeing Lucas shaking his head and smiling, she immediately rebuked loudly, ¡°Why are you shaking your head? Do you think Rocky is wrong?¡± Alexander frowned, unsure of what Lucas meant. Rocky frowned and said coldly, ¡°Are you questioning what I said? If you can¡¯t give me a valid reason, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson even if you¡¯re Mr. Alexander¡¯s friend!¡± Lucas looked at the livid Rocky, who wanted to teach him a lesson, and his face turned gloomy. Since Rocky was so hostile, he didn¡¯t need to save his pride. ¡°What you said is indeed wrong. Actions speak louder than words. The two in the ring are far stronger than you, but you don¡¯t realize it at all, and you¡¯re still socent. You¡¯re simply a frog in a well!¡± Chapter 1077 Chapter 1077: Shirking Responsibility Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although Lucas had never seen Rocky¡¯s martial arts skills, he was experienced enough to know Rocky¡¯s true strength based on his aura and movements. Rocky had been showing off and behaving smugly in all aspects, but Lucas could tell from his gait, stance, and remarks about others that he was just pretending to be an expert but was not actually thatpetent. To put it bluntly, if Rocky was thrown into the ring and pitted against either of the two fighters in there right now, he wouldn¡¯tst more than ten seconds. But what Lucas had said struck him in a sore spot, making him furious. ¡°How dare you underestimate me? You have a death wish!¡± Rocky shouted angrily and raised his fists to punch Lucas. !! Seeing things going awry, Alexander hurriedly stood in front of Rocky to stop him. ¡°Calm down, buddy! Do me a favor and don¡¯t do anything!¡± Although Alexander was also a little displeased with Lucas¡¯s blunt and relentless remark, he couldn¡¯t let Rocky get into a fight with him because he hadn¡¯t figured out his true identity and still had scruples toward him. If Lucas got hurt, his rtionship with him would bepletely ruined. On the other hand, if Rocky was injured, they would be at a huge disadvantage for the tournament. Rocky looked at Alexander standing in front of him and then stared at Lucas before saying coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll spare your life on Mr. Alexander¡¯s ount this time. Otherwise, I¡¯d let you learn the consequences of offending a powerful martial arts expert!¡± Ashley was just as infuriated and said to Lucas hostilely, ¡°Seriously, stop it! Do you think you can be such a wet nket and bring us down repeatedly just because my brother treats you as his friend? ¡°Real skills should be proven with actions, not words. Anyone can call themselves an expert. Why don¡¯t you step into the ring and fight? ¡°My brother and I are worried sick about this tournament. You have no idea what consequences we¡¯ll face if we lose this tournament! ¡°You¡¯re totally clueless. Why do you keep spouting nonsense here?¡± While Ashley was speaking, her eyes suddenly turned red, and tears streamed down her face. Lucas was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect that she would suddenly burst into tears. But he could tell from herints that she was extremely stressed, which was why she was so concerned about the oue of the tournament and the capabilities of Rocky, the expert she had found. Thinking of this, Lucas sighed and apologized, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean it.¡± As soon as these words came out, even Alexander was dumbfounded. Lucas had been rather aloof and indifferent toward him so far. Alexander didn¡¯t expect him to apologize to his sister. Ashley burst out in tears on the spot because she was overwhelmed by her emotions, making her feel very embarrassed. She wiped her tears and turned her head to the side spitefully, having no intention of epting his apology. Seeing this, Lucas felt helpless. He was at a loss for what to do about a girl like her. Suddenly, exmations resounded in the hall, catching the attention of the crowd and getting them to look at the ring in unison. The burly man with the dragon tattoo and the one with a buzzcut were fighting each other with all their might, perhaps because they had already tested each other¡¯s strength in the previous exchange of blows. Their fight became extremely intense. The burly man punched the man with the buzzcut on his chest while the man with the buzzcut stomped the floor with one leg and kicked the waist of the burly man with the other. Two dull thuds spread through the speakers to the ears of everyone in the hall. Immediately afterward, the two men held each other and stumbled to the floor at the same time. Then they began grappling and wrestling on the floor. During the fight, the burly man threw a hard punch at the head of the man with a buzzcut, who turned his head just in time to dodge the blow. The punch immediately caused a spiderweb-like crack to spread from the pit in the floor. The scene was captured by the cameras ced around the ring and disyed on the countless screens at the top of the hall. Everyone screamed in excitement. This strength was truly terrifying. Since the ring was meant for professional fighters, the ring¡¯s floor wasn¡¯t made of ordinary material, and there were rarely situations where cracks appeared on the floor. This just meant that the force of the burly man¡¯s fist had reached a terrifying level. Alexander and Ashley saw the cracks in the floor on the big screen, and they couldn¡¯t help feeling a chill in their hearts. The burly man with a dragon tattoo was definitely an extremely terrifying person! Astonishment finally appeared on Rocky¡¯s face. Even he couldn¡¯t make such a deep crack in the floor of the ring. This was enough to show that the man with a dragon tattoo was far stronger than him! At the thought of the agility and speed of the man with the dragon tattoo when he tested the waters with the man with the buzzcut earlier, Rocky felt his heart tremble. He was inferior in terms of speed and strength. If he was in the ring now, he might have already died at the hands of the man with the dragon tattoo! Ashley clenched her fist, which was already drenched in sweat. She said with ack of confidence, ¡°Uh... Th-that¡¯s not a big deal, right? He just made a crack in the floor. I¡¯m sure many of the experts here can do that. ¡°Rocky, you can definitely do it too, right?¡± Then Ashley looked at Rocky expectantly, wanting to get an affirmative answer from him. ¡°Heh... Hehe, I¡¯m sorry, but I suddenly need to use the restroom. I¡¯ll be right back!¡± Rockyughed awkwardly and suddenly clutched his stomach. Before Ashley and Alexander could say anything, he ran toward the exit of the hall. Alexander and Ashley were dumbstruck! He was fine before, so why did he suddenly have to use the restroom? Rocky was obviously using it as an excuse to flee because he had just witnessed how strong the two experts in the ring were. Was he the top expert who swore earlier that he could help them get into the top three? Chapter 1078 Chapter 1078: Throwing His Weight Around Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Ashley, is this the so-called top expert you found?¡± Alexander asked sullenly. Ashley¡¯s face looked embarrassed as she looked in the direction Rocky had fled in and then said diffidently, ¡°Alex... maybe he really went to the restroom? He said... he would be right back...¡± Alexander said furiously, ¡°If hees back, I¡¯ll chop off my head and kick it like a ball!¡± When they saw how confident Rocky was just now, they really thought that he was a top expert and were full of expectations and hope for thepetition this time, thinking they had a shot at winning. But shockingly, Rocky was nothing but a trumpet blower who only knew to brag about his skills and ended up fleeing in panic before it was even his turn to fight. !! ¡°Alex, I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t expect him to flee at thest moment!¡± Ashley was on the verge of tears, her heart filled with anger and guilt. ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s not your fault. You didn¡¯t know he was such a person.¡± Alexander sighed and stroked his sister¡¯s hair tofort her. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Even if we lose again this time and have our businesses and properties taken away, we can just leave the Steeles at worst. It¡¯s no big deal. ¡°With our ability, we can start anew.¡± Although Rocky¡¯s sudden escape made Alexander disappointed and furious, he knew that it wasn¡¯t Ashley¡¯s responsibility, so he could onlyfort her to the best of his abilities. Suddenly, thunderous cheers erupted. It turned out that the fight between the two in the ring had ended. The burly man with the dragon tattoo won, while the one with the buzzcut died in the ring. He had received a heavy blow to the face, causing a dent to form. He had died on the spot in a miserable state. While the corpse of the man with the buzzcut was dragged away, the burly man stood in the center of the ring and raised his fist in the air to greet the cheers of the audience. So far, the man with the dragon tattoo was the strongest fighter present. Of course, there were other powerful experts who had yet to appear, so no one knew who the champion of the tournament would be. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Alexander Steele? I thought you wouldn¡¯t show up because you know you knew you wouldn¡¯t have a shot at winning!¡± A young man in his thirties walked over with a smile. Behind him was a burly man with a tattoo of a ck dragon on his arm. He was none other than the one who had won in the ring just now. Because this burly man had just killed someone in the ring, he was now exuding a bloodthirsty aura that made people too afraid to approach him. When Ashley saw the man with the dragon tattooing closer, she subconsciously shrank back. But as soon as she heard what the young man said to Alexander, she flew into a rage and forgot all about her fear. ¡°Godfrey, don¡¯t throw your weight around here!¡± Ashley said furiously. ¡°Throwing my weight around?¡± Godfrey threw his head back andughed. ¡°So what if I¡¯m throwing my weight around? It¡¯s because I have the power to do it! But what about you? Do you have that power? ¡°Speaking of which, your branch has been losing for several years in a row, and you don¡¯t have many businesses left, right? If you lose again this time, you will have no status left among the Steeles! ¡°I think we should just get Grandpa to kick you all out, lest you leech off us and make others think that the Steeles are all a bunch of good-for-nothings like you two!¡± Godfrey was extremely smug, and his words were very callous. Even though Alexander was usually cultured and well-mannered, what Godfrey said still angered him. ¡°Godfrey Steele, stop being so smug! ¡°Even if I really get kicked out of the family by Grandpa, the blood of the Steeles is still coursing through my veins, and I¡¯ll forever be your cousin! As long as I can make some achievements, I¡¯ll be able to return to the family sooner orter! ¡°You¡¯re not the sessor of the Steeles now. Stop behaving arrogantly with me and acting like you¡¯re already the next helmsman! You¡¯re in no ce to do it! ¡°If you really piss me off, I¡¯ll definitely drag you down even if I get kicked out of the family!¡± Alexander red at Godfrey and issued an undisguised threat. Hearing this, Godfrey pulled a long face. Indeed, although Alexander¡¯s status in the Steele family was no longer as powerful as before, he was still a scion of the family and was not to be trifled with. If he really angered Alexander and provoked him into going all out to drag him down with him, he really might suffer a loss. In that case, the otherpetitors for the position of the family¡¯s helmsman would gain an advantage. After thinking for a moment, Godfrey gritted his teeth and said, ¡°All you can do is say some threats in front of me now. If you have what it takes, try dragging me down! ¡°Since you dare to threaten me, then I¡¯ll also give you a warning. Once I be the sessor of the Steeles, the first person I will deal with is you! Not only will I drive you out of the Steeles, but I will also make sure you can never get a foothold in DC and will have no choice but to leave the city like a dog!¡± Alexander said coldly, ¡°That¡¯s if you have what it takes to be the sessor!¡± ¡°Hmph, that day wille sooner orter. Just wait for me!¡± Godfrey said furiously and turned around to leave. But he was so exasperated that he identally stumbled and knocked into Lucas, who was two meters away. Godfrey was so angry that he didn¡¯t even look at who was in front of him. He just raised his hand to p Lucas in the face. ¡°Damn it! How dare you block me? You have a death wish!¡± Alexander¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he yelled, ¡°Godfrey, stop it!¡± Ashley was shocked too. Although she didn¡¯t like Lucas, he was still her brother¡¯s friend after all. Besides, Godfrey was clearly the one who wasn¡¯t careful and bumped into Lucas. What right did he have to hit Lucas? ¡°Godfrey...¡± Before Ashley could persuade him, she couldn¡¯t help shrieking when she saw that Godfrey¡¯s p was about to hit Lucas¡¯s face. Smack! A loud p sounded. She could tell from the sound that the p was definitely strong. But the next moment, Ashley¡¯s eyes suddenly widened. She couldn¡¯t believe what was happening in front of her! After the loud p, Lucas was still standing in ce calmly as if nothing had happened. On the other hand, Godfrey, who was standing in front of him, was flung several meters away! This scene dumbfounded everyone. Chapter 1079 Chapter 1079: Shocking the Audience Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The burly man with a dragon tattoo following beside Godfrey never expected that someone would dare to make a move against Godfrey, so he waspletely caught off guard. By the time he reacted, Godfrey had already been pped away. ¡°Punk, how dare youy a hand on Mr. Godfrey?! You have a death wish!¡± After a brief moment of startlement, the man with the burly tattoo immediately roared, raised his fist, which was still stained with fresh blood, and swung it at Lucas¡¯s head! He had just smashed the head of the man with the buzzcut in the ring with a punch, and there was still blood on his hand. His fist contained a terrifying aura and power. The burly man was the winner of thest match in the ring, so when he appeared near the audience after walking off stage, he was very eye-catching. !! Seeing him suddenly attacking with a simrly powerful punch, the audience looked over in excitement. ¡°Hmph!¡± Lucas snorted coldly. Without moving his feet, he stretched out a hand to meet the terrifying punch. Many spectators eximed with pity and sympathy, especially thedies, who found Lucas extremely dashing. Unfortunately, this handsome man actually wanted to block this aggressive punch with his bare hand. They were certain that Lucas would have his bones broken and shes mutted. Smack! But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Lucas actually held the man¡¯s fist firmly! Not only was his own hand unharmed, he even defused the power of the punch without taking a single step back! This time, everyone was stunned! They wondered who the tall and handsome young man was. The burly man with the dragon tattoo standing opposite him had just won a match in the ring and even killed his opponent with a single punch! But now, Lucas blocked a simr punch with ease! The burly man was shocked. Only he knew how much power his punch contained. Although he didn¡¯t use 100% of his strength because Lucas looked like a weak, ordinary person, his punch was powerful enough to crush the head of an ordinary expert! Yet Lucas actually blocked his punch and prevented him from moving another inch forward no matter how hard he tried! This punk is definitely not simple! The burly man immediately concluded. ¡°Since you have a death wish, I can fulfill it for you!¡± Lucas stared coldly into the eyes of the burly man with murderous intent in his eyes. The burly man¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously wanted to retract his hand, only to realize that Lucas was gripping his fist with so much force that he couldn¡¯t retract his hand no matter how hard he tried. Their strength was worlds apart, and he was just like a child caught by an adult, rendered immobile despite exerting all his strength to struggle! This discovery caused the burly man to feel a chill run down his spine. ¡°Punk, let... let go!¡± the burly man said through gritted teeth. In front of so many people, this young man was gripping his hand so tightly that he couldn¡¯t even move. It was an absolute disgrace! But at the same time, an eerie sense of fear surged in his heart. This young man could grasp his hand so easily. Who was he... ¡°Drago, hit him! Crush his head!¡± At this moment, Godfrey, whom Lucas had just pped away, struggled to get up from the floor and shouted at the burly man with the dragon tattoo. There was a bright red p mark on his face, looking like a mark of shame, angering Godfrey greatly. Ashley covered her mouth and looked at the scene in front of her in astonishment. Alexander was just as shocked, and a storm erupted in his heart. Although he knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person, he had never thought that Lucas could be this strong! Everyone had witnessed the strength of the burly man in the ring just now. He was undeniably a top expert who was so formidable that even Alexander felt hopeless. He was so strong that even Rocky, the expert Ashely had invited, fled in fear without even trying to fight. Yet the current situation could only mean that Lucas was far stronger than the burly man. ¡°Drago, what are you waiting for?! Beat him to death right now! Do you hear me?¡± When Godfrey saw the burly man standing still, he flew into a rage and bellowed, ¡°Kill him! Do you hear me?! ¡°If you don¡¯t do it now, you can forget about taking a single cent of the remuneration we agreed on!¡± Godfrey yelled angrily and even used the remuneration as a threat to force the burly man to kill Lucas. As a scion of the esteemed Steeles, he had never been disgraced in public like this before. Lucas¡¯s action just now was simply the greatest humiliation he had suffered in his life! The burly man also felt terrible. He wanted very much to kill Lucas right now, but he really couldn¡¯t move! As soon as he heard that Godfrey wanted to take away all of his remuneration, the burly man became anxious. The reason he risked his life toe here to fight in the ring was precisely for the 10 million dors that Godfrey had promised to give him. If he really couldn¡¯t get a single penny of it, he would have fought for nothing. The burly man inched closer to Lucas and whispered, ¡°Kid, if you let me go now, I¡¯ll give you a million dors. And if you let me punch you for show, I¡¯ll give you two million. How does that sound?¡± He knew that he was no match for Lucas, but he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of money, so he could only make this offer. Lucas sneered and burst intoughter. ¡°You want me to let you off for a million dors and let you punch me for two million? That¡¯s too little! ¡°How about this? Give me five million dors, and I¡¯ll spare your life.¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was very loud, and at least everyone around him could hear him clearly. They were all bbergasted! The formidable burly man actually offered to pay Lucas in exchange for letting him go! He even wanted to pay Lucas two million dors to punch him. This... this was too outrageous! ¡°Punk, damn you!¡± The burly man didn¡¯t expect Lucas to expose his offer right on the spot in public, and he immediately became enraged. Since he couldn¡¯t move his fist, he arched his knee to knee Lucas¡¯s abdomen! If he struck Lucas urately, thetter¡¯s abdomen would be punctured, and his organs would be severely damaged! Chapter 1080 Chapter 1080: Showing Prowess Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Seeing the man with the dragon tattoo getting increasingly aggressive and even attacking Lucas, the surrounding spectators let out deafening yells. They didn¡¯t care who was right and wrong. They just wanted to see bloody and brutal fights. Seeing the burly man finally taking action, Godfrey yelled excitedly, ¡°Yes, hit him! Hit him hard! Kill that bastard! ¡°How dare he hit me? I must make him die miserably!¡± The burly man¡¯s movements were extremely fast. Before anyone could even speak, his knee was already about to hit Lucas¡¯s abdomen. !! Lucas stretched out his other hand in the nick of time and fiercely smacked the knee of the burly man. Snap! With the crisp and clear sound of bones breaking, the burly man screamed tragically. Lucas¡¯s p directly shattered the burly man¡¯s kneecap! Before the burly man could finish screaming, Lucas leaped up and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying far away like a sack. With a loud thud, he crashed into the solid steel bars around the ring and slid down to the floor. This scene left countless spectators gaping in shock. Even the two experts currently fighting in the ring suddenly stopped fighting because they were too stunned. They had all seen how terrifyingly strong the burly man was in the previous match. Yet he was now kicked away like a sandbag and fell to the floor! How powerful was this young man in his twenties?! Countless people were full of doubt and shock. After a short silence, the crowd burst excitedly into thunderous fanfare. The scene was in an uproar. Alexander was so excited that he almost couldn¡¯t speak. Although he knew that Lucas was strong, he didn¡¯t expect him to be so powerful as to defeat the expert whom Godfrey had hired with just one kick. Ashley was just as shocked. At the same time, she no longer looked at Lucas with animosity. Instead, her eyes were full of agitation and excitement. In contrast to the lively and boisterous scene, Godfrey was feeling horrible. He had spent a huge sum of money and effort to hire the burly man with the dragon tattoo. He was supposed to get into the top three for him, yet he was defeated by Alexander¡¯s friend! He even lost so miserably! It was simply unbelievable! At this moment, the two experts fighting in the ring made eye contact. Then they both forfeited the tournament and walked out of the ring. They hade here today to fight for the one and only championship. But Lucas had already disyed incredible strength that was far above theirs. Even if they went to great lengths to defeat others, they would never be able to defeat Lucas. In that case, there was no point in continuing with the tournament. ¡°You wanted him to kill me, huh? In that case, I don¡¯t think the Steeles will have anything to say about it if I kill you, right?¡± Lucas took out wet tissue and slowly wiped away the blood stains on his hands while ncing at Godfrey. Frightened by his nce, Godfrey shuddered. Lucas¡¯s words left the crowd in shock. Everyone knew Godfrey¡¯s identity and was aware that he was a direct descendant of the Steeles, one of the eight top families of DC. Yet Lucas actually threatened to kill him in front of so many people without any regard for his noble status! How... daring! Alexander was also astonished. Although he and Godfrey treated each other as enemies, and Godfrey indeed courted death, he was still a direct descendant of the Steeles. If Lucas killed him, the Steeles definitely wouldn¡¯t let him off. Moreover, people would easily be able to find out with a simple check that he had brought Lucas to the tournament. When the time came, his family would definitely hold it against him. ¡°Mr. Gray, since Godfrey¡¯s mad dog is dead, there¡¯s nothing he can do now except issue empty threats. Please spare his life!¡± Alexander hurriedly said to Lucas. Lucas ignored him and stared at Godfrey. Godfrey was the one who had bumped into Lucas just now, yet he had tried to p him and even repeatedlymanded the burly man to kill him. Lucas would never be merciful to someone who wanted to kill him. Godfrey shuddered. Lucas had just kicked the burly man so far away and knocked him out with just one kick, and it was unknown if he was dead or alive. Given his build, Godfrey would probably die from a single punch or kick from Lucas! At the thought of this, Godfrey panicked and was at a loss for what to do. ¡°Buddy, my cousin was reckless and offended you. I¡¯ll apologize to you on his behalf. Please spare his life on ount of the Steeles!¡± At this moment, a young man of about thirty-five years old walked over with a smile on his face to persuade Lucas. A stern-looking middle-aged man was following behind him. ¡°Trevor, save me!¡± Godfrey immediately yelled as if he had seen a savior when he saw that young man. From the way they addressed each other, Lucas could easily guess that the young man who came to save Godfrey was the eldest scion of the Steeles, the older cousin of Alexander and Godfrey. Alexander and Ashley walked over and greeted the young man. The young man nodded casually while keeping his eyes fixed on Lucas, clearly waiting for his response. But Lucas didn¡¯t say anything and simply sized him up. He resembled Alexander and Godfrey in appearance and was rather handsome as well. It was probably because the Steeles were gically blessed, for everyone from the family was good-looking. The middle-aged man following behind the young man was restraining aura, but he was still exuding a powerful and domineering vibe. He was clearly a top expert who wasn¡¯t easy to deal with. The fight in the ring was still going on, but many people had already gotten distracted and were quietly paying attention to Lucas and the others. Chapter 1081 Chapter 1081: Provoking the Steeles Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Look over there. The three scions of the Steeles have arrived!¡± ¡°The young man walking over is Trevor Steele, the oldest scion of the Steeles!¡± ¡°I know him. He¡¯s the most likely to be the Steeles¡¯ next helmsman!¡± ¡°Do you know about the strange rule that the Steeles have? Among the three cousins, whoever¡¯s representative achieves a higher ranking in the annual tournament will be able to get more resources from the family! I heard that Trevor Steele has gotten the highest ranking in the past few years!¡± ¡°It should be the same this year. His expert should be very powerful. If his man gets the high ranking this time, he will most likely be the next helmsman!¡± !! ... Many spectators recognized Trevor and discussed him. As the eldest scion of the Steeles, Trevor had graceful and dignified mannerisms. He nced at Alexander and said, ¡°Alexander, please introduce your friend to me.¡± Only then did Alexander return to his senses and hurriedly introduce Lucas to Trevor. ¡°Trevor, this is Lucas Gray, my new friend.¡± He said to Lucas, ¡°This is my eldest cousin, Trevor Steele.¡± Alexander looked at Lucas and smiled. ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s fate for us to meet. Since we know each other now, please do me a favor and spare Godfrey. I¡¯ll treat you to a mealter, and everyone can get along and forget this incident. In the future, you cane to me if you encounter any trouble in DC.¡± Trevor spoke in a very natural tone. Obviously, he should be getting Lucas¡¯s approval, but he spoke nonchntly as if it was a matter of course. He ordered, ¡°Take Godfrey away.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The middle-aged man behind Trevor acknowledged and walked toward Godfrey to take him away. But before the middle-aged man could reach Godfrey, Lucas beat him to it and stood in front of him. Lucas nced at Trevor and chuckled. ¡°Have I agreed to let go of this matter? He just tried to kill me, but you¡¯re speaking as if it¡¯s just a matter of doing you a favor and having a meal?¡± Trevor frowned, finding Lucas taking it too far. His tone of voice became cold. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already kill his subordinate? Isn¡¯t that enough?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Godfrey Steele¡¯s subordinate attacked me, so it¡¯s a matter of course that I killed him. But Godfrey himself wanted to kill me. I can¡¯t just let the matter rest, can I? ¡°If I was just an ordinary person or if I was weaker than that burly man, wouldn¡¯t I have been killed by Godfrey for nothing? ¡°When Godfrey wanted to kill me just now, why didn¡¯t youe out to stop him? Yet you want me to do you a favor and let him go now that I¡¯m about to kill him. ¡°So, the lives of your Steele family are human lives, but ours are not?¡± Lucas¡¯s words immediately made Trevor¡¯s brows furrow deeply. Trevor didn¡¯t expect the young man in front of him to be so difficult to deal with, so much so that he wouldn¡¯t even do him a favor. Trevor narrowed his eyes and asked in a deep voice, ¡°In that case, Mr. Gray, what do you need me to do for you to spare my cousin¡¯s life?¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°I generally only have one way to deal with people who try to kill me, and that is to kill them.¡± Then his hand darted out like lightning and grabbed Godfrey¡¯s neck tightly. ¡°No! Don¡¯t kill me! Trevor, quickly save me!¡± With his fragile neck being pinched by Lucas¡¯s steel-like hand, Godfrey was scared out of his wits. At this moment, he finally realized that Lucas really dared to kill him right in front of his cousin! Fiery anger appeared in Trevor¡¯s eyes as he hollered, ¡°Let go of him immediately!¡± Lucas smiled contemptuously. ¡°Who are you to order me around? What if I don¡¯t let go?¡± With that, he immediately tightened his grip on Godfrey¡¯s neck, causing him to suffocate and his eyes to roll backward. ¡°Mmph... Mmph... Let go... Sa...¡± Godfrey was being strangled so hard that his face turned purple, and he was struggling with all his might. At the same time, he tried to ask Trevor for help, but Lucas was squeezing his throat so tightly that he couldn¡¯t say it no matter how hard he tried. Trevor clenched his fists with a gloomy look on his face. ¡°You¡¯re provoking me and the Steeles right now!¡± Trevor yelled furiously. Seeing Godfrey almost being strangled to death by Lucas, Alexander was also very anxious and hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Gray, let my cousin go! Don¡¯t kill him!¡± Alexander indeed disliked Godfrey, and the two were enemies, but if Lucas really killed him, the Steeles would never let Lucas off. Those who had the audacity to kill a direct descendant of the Steeles and provoke the family were all deemed enemies of the Steeles. The Steeles wouldn¡¯t stop until they killed them! Alexander didn¡¯t want to see this situation no matter what! He still wanted to be friends with Lucas, so how could he possibly stand by and watch Lucas kill Godfrey and be enemies with the Steeles? Ashley stood rooted to the floor, overwhelmed with shock. Although she was a little worried, she had already had enough of Godfrey¡¯s bullying, so she was feeling pleased to see Godfrey being choked by Lucas. Besides, she found Lucas, who wasn¡¯t at all intimidated by the Steeles¡¯ power, extremely domineering and charming! He was the perfect man in her heart! There was a hugemotion here, and the surrounding spectators were no longer watching the deadly fight in the ring. Instead, they were looking over here with great excitement. Compared to the two strangers killing each other in the ring, whether or not a scion of the Steeles would get killed by a young man in public was more appealing to them. All of a sudden, many people started cing bets as if this was a game. ¡°Let¡¯s bet! I bet a million dors that that young man doesn¡¯t dare to kill Godfrey Steele. He¡¯s just putting on a front!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bet 1.5 million! I bet that young man is really going to kill Godfrey Steele!¡± ¡°I bet three million! That young man really dares to kill him. He looks like a ruthless man!¡± ¡°I bet three million that he doesn¡¯t dare to kill Godfrey Steele!¡± ... Many people ced bets excitedly. Trevor was exuding a murderous aura and staring at Lucas with a gloomy gaze. ¡°Punk, you have to remember that the Steeles are one of the top eight families of DC. If you dare to kill a direct descendant of our family, you¡¯ll be hunted down and killed!¡± Lucas smiled lightly without saying anything as he raised Godfrey by his neck and threw him onto the floor. Before anyone could even react, Lucas stepped on Godfrey¡¯s head! Chapter 1082 Chapter 1082: Stepping on His Face In Public Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Trevor felt his blood pressure surge, and he was about to fly into an uncontroble rage! Not only did Lucas ignore his threat, but he even stepped on Godfrey¡¯s head! The spectators instantly burst into exmations. ¡°How daring of this young man. He actually has the audacity to step on the head of a direct descendant of Steeles!¡± ¡°It¡¯s akin to humiliating the Steeles!¡± !! To make matters worse, Lucas began rubbing Godfrey¡¯s head against the floor with his foot. ¡°Oh my god! Is... is he crazy? How dare he do that to Godfrey Steele? Isn¡¯t he afraid of the Steeles¡¯ revenge?¡± ¡°I think he really dares to kill Godfrey. Stepping on his head and rubbing it against the floor is nothingpared to that!¡± ¡°Look over there. Trevor Steele¡¯s face is so gloomy!¡± ... Everyone was astonished as they stared at the scene in front of them. As for Godfrey, whom Lucas was stepping on and rubbing his head against the floor, he felt an excruciating pain that was worse than death. ¡°No... L-let go of me! Please let go of me... Ahhh! I know my mistakes. I don¡¯t dare to have any thoughts about killing you or sending anyone to kill you! I really know I¡¯m wrong. Please forgive me!¡± 1 Godfrey was in pain from being stepped on, and he was terrified that Lucas would really kill him. So he swallowed his pride for the time being and cried tearfully while begging for mercy. When Trevor heard what he said, the muscles on his face twitched violently, and he looked so gloomy that he could eat someone alive! Godfrey was now crying and begging for forgiveness in public, which was a huge disgrace to the Steeles! ¡°Do you regret it now?¡± Lucas asked softly while looking at him from above. ¡°Yes! It¡¯s my fault! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Godfrey nodded repeatedly and spoke without dignity. Now, all he hoped for was for Lucas to spare his life. Once he killed Lucaster, he would gain all his pride back. ¡°But it¡¯s toote now!¡± Lucas sighed and then lifted his foot away from Godfrey¡¯s head. Feeling that the terrifying foot on his head had finally moved away, he thought his plea for mercy finally worked. With a look of immense joy, he started getting up from the floor. But the next second, Lucas kicked his toes hard against Godfrey¡¯s temple. Godfrey¡¯s face instantly stiffened. Afterward, he copsed and died with his eyes wide open and horror all over his face. ¡°...¡± The surroundings were quiet for a while, as no one dared to make a sound. Alexander was so astonished that his lips were trembling violently. Ashley covered her mouth, looked into Godfrey¡¯s dead eyes, and almost shrieked in fright. Trevor was clenching his fists tightly with a murderous look on his face, wishing he could kill Lucas immediately! ¡°How... how dare you kill my cousin?!¡± Lucas actually killed Godfrey in front of him. It was undoubtedly a great humiliation for Trevor and a huge insult to the Steeles! If he didn¡¯t kill Lucas, he wouldn¡¯t be able to exin it to his family! The news of Godfrey¡¯s death soon spread. After a moment of dead silence in the fighting hall, the crowd got into a huge uproar, discussing and eximing in shock. The matter of Godfrey being killed in public could definitely be listed as the biggest event in DC today! Trevor stared at Lucas with murderous intent. He was on the verge of exploding. ¡°Since you¡¯ve killed a direct descendant of Steeles, you have to be prepared to fight us to the death!¡± Lucas nced at Trevor and slowly married his eyes. ¡°Anyone who tries to kill me will only end up dying. Do you want to end up like Godfrey Steele?¡± 1 Lucas exuded an intimidating aura that immediately frightened the people around him. Almost no one dared to make eye contact with him. As the former captain of the Falcon Regiment, an existence known as the invincible God of War, he had killed at least tens of thousands of enemies! His aura was definitely not something that ordinary people could withstand. Even the scion of a noble family like Trevor waspletely powerless in the face of Lucas¡¯s aura. He was just like a baby under the ws and fangs of a menacing beast! ¡°This is bad!¡± The moment Lucas released his aura, the face of the aloof middle-aged man behind Trevor changed drastically. He stepped forward to stand in front of Trevor. Facing Lucas¡¯s aura, even he had a grim expression. He was so tense that cold sweat broke out on his palms. The young man in front of him was too terrifying. Even a powerhouse like him had absolutely no confidence that he could deal with Lucas! Who is this demonic young man?! Trevor, the most promising of the Steeles¡¯ current generation and the one with the best chance of bing the next helmsman, wasn¡¯t a fool. Upon seeing the middle-aged man spontaneously standing in front of him and looking like he was facing a great enemy, Trevor knew that Lucas was too strong. Even the powerhouse following him might not be his opponent! If Lucas really wanted to kill him, he would definitely die. Would he also end up like Godfrey and be killed on the spot? ¡°Trevor, stay calm. Don¡¯t anger Mr. Gray any further!¡± Alexander hurriedly said anxiously. Although Alexander didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s specific identity, based on Lucas¡¯s information having the highest top-secret ssification, he could guess that Lucas¡¯s status in the military definitely wasn¡¯t low, and he was at least a high-ranking general. Now, Lucas has already killed Godfrey. If he killed Trevor, he would have killed two direct descendants of the Steeles in a row. In that case, the Steeles would absolutely not let Lucas off! But even then, the ones in danger might be the Steeles, not Lucas! Reason being, Lucas might have a higher status than the Steeles! Moreover, Alexander wanted to befriend Lucas and took the initiative to get closer to him because he wanted Lucas to help him win the tournament today. He didn¡¯t want the Steeles and Lucas to be enemies and possibly cause the destruction of the Steeles! Trevor was only staring at Lucas at first. But as soon as Alexander spoke, he immediately vented his anger on him and hollered in fury, ¡°Alexander! Is this the person you brought to help youpete? He actually killed a direct descendant of the Steeles. I¡¯ll see how you exin it to the familyter!¡± Alexander¡¯s face instantly turned pale. He had indeed asked Lucas topete for him, but Lucas didn¡¯t agree. What was he supposed to say about it? Was he supposed to say that Lucas wasn¡¯t the expert he invited but just a friend he knew who killed Godfrey? Trevor would probably be even more furious and wouldn¡¯t let Alexander off either. Suddenly, Lucas said coldly, ¡°Even the head of the Steeles is not qualified to ask me topete for him. You¡¯re really delusional!¡± Chapter 1083 Chapter 1083: Inciting a Fight Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What Trevor had just said was clearly aimed at Alexander, ming him for Godfrey¡¯s death. After all, among the same generation of the Steeles, only the three cousins were qualified topete for the position of the future helmsman. Now that Godfrey was dead, Alexander was the only person who could pose a threat to Trevor. Although Lucas didn¡¯t have a good impression of Alexander and didn¡¯t care much about his life, he was the one who had killed Godfrey, so there was no need to involve Alexander. When Trevor heard the domineering statement from Lucas, his heart trembled uncontrobly again. Even the helmsman of the Steeles wasn¡¯t qualified to ask him to do things. Was Lucas being serious or just blowing his trumpet? !! Trevor stared at Lucas for a while before suddenly asking in a deep voice, ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± ¡°Haha, I know who this punk really is. He¡¯s just an illegitimate son of the Huttons who was kicked out of the family years ago. He¡¯s nothing much at all. Don¡¯t be intimidated by him.¡± Suddenly, a voice full of hatred sounded from not far away. Trevor turned around to look and saw a familiar face¡ªJace! Beside him was a white-bearded old man. Lucas narrowed his eyes. He had wanted to settle the scores with Jaceter, but Jace came over himself to court death! With a vengeful smile on his face, Jace continued, ¡°Speaking of which, Lucas Gray is my half-brother. But he was driven out of the family two decades ago and forbidden from returning to DC. ¡°Since then, he has been living in Orange County as a bottomfeeder. He even shamelessly became a live-in husband. ¡°Afterward, perhaps because he was ridiculed too much, he joined the military and learned some martial arts there, but that¡¯s about it. ¡°Now, he has already left the military, and he doesn¡¯t have any other force to support him. He¡¯s all alone, and anyone proficient in martial arts can easily kill him!¡± In fact, back in the abandoned hospital in Orange County, Jace had already learned of Lucas¡¯s true identity and knew that he was the former captain of the Falcon Regiment and also the mighty invincible God of War. But now, Jace already knew that he and Lucas had an irreconcble conflict. Thus, in order to incite Trevor into killing Lucas, Jace naturally wouldn¡¯t reveal his true identity but instead deliberately kept Lucas¡¯s identity and power a secret and only said that he had retired from the military. After hearing what Jace said, Trevor finally understood Lucas¡¯s identity and where he obtained his martial arts skills. If Lucas was really just a retired soldier and an abandoned son of the Huttons, he would probably be able to kill Lucas as long as he spent some effort. Alexander stood out and chided angrily, ¡°Jace, this is the Steeles¡¯ affairs, and it has nothing to do with the Huttons. Even if there is a grudge between you and Mr. Gray, you shouldn¡¯t be trying to sow discord here by deliberately saying those things!¡± Alexander knew that Lucas had indeed spent a few years in the military. Although he had yet to find out Lucas¡¯s true identity, he could tell from his skills and aura that he had definitely had a high position in the army and that he wasn¡¯t as simple as what Jace made him out to be! Jace had deliberately made Lucas sound like a rookie soldier who had just returned from the military to make Trevor belittle Lucas and then go all out to deal with him. This was Jace¡¯s ploy to use him to kill Lucas. If Trevor really believed Jace, it might bring disaster to the Steeles! Jace raised his eyebrows and looked disdainfully at Alexander. ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth. It¡¯s up to you to believe it or not! He is an illegitimate son of the Huttons. I know him better than you do!¡± Trevor didn¡¯t say anything but instead looked at Lucas firmly. Honestly speaking, he was very tempted to kill Lucas now. After all, Lucas had mercilessly killed Godfrey in front of him and everyone else, causing the Steeles to be disgraced. If he let Lucas off, the Steeles would probably be aughingstock. But Lucas was undeniably very powerful. If he really wanted to take out Lucas, the middle-aged man beside him might not be able to handle him. Trevor didn¡¯t think that Lucas was really just a retired soldier proficient in martial arts. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to easily kick to death the man with the dragon tattoo, whom Godfrey had hired. He wouldn¡¯t have made the middle-aged man beside him so scrupulous either. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll let you be arrogant for a while longer. I¡¯ll show you the real deal in the ringter!¡± Trevor said, giving himself an out, and left with the middle-aged man. Jace was instantly disappointed. He had wanted to incite Trevor into attacking Lucas immediately, but he didn¡¯t expect Trevor to be too timid to do it. But Trevor had already walked away, so Jace couldn¡¯t continue saying instigating words. Lucas ignored the threat made by Trevor and the middle-aged man when they left. Instead, he looked straight at Jace and said grimly, ¡°Jace, you got awayst time, but do you think I won¡¯t dare to do anything to you this time?¡± Seeing the look in Lucas¡¯s eyes, Jace shivered. But when he thought about the white-bearded old man beside him and where he was now, he became emboldened. ¡°Hmph, Lucas Gray, do you think it¡¯s the same this time? We¡¯re now in Club Illuma. Let¡¯s see what you can do to me!¡± ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Lucas smiled with a dangerous glint in his eyes. Seeing this, the white-bearded old man immediately stepped in front of Jace and stared at Lucas warily. ¡°If you dare to attack Jace here, you will definitely die miserably!¡± The owner of Club Illuma had strong ties with Jace. If Lucas really made a move against Jace here, the top experts in Club Illuma would definitely make a move too! ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Lucas sneered, and his body suddenly moved quickly, immediately vanishing on the spot! The next moment, he suddenly appeared behind the white-bearded old man and strangled Jace¡¯s neck tightly with one hand! ¡°What?!¡± The white-bearded old man¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he quickly turned around and looked at Lucas in horror. Thest time in Orange County, he had already fought against Lucas once, and he knew that Lucas was highly skilled. He was almost on the same level as him. So the white-bearded old man had been keeping his guard up when facing Lucas. But he never expected that Lucas would suddenly move so quickly and bypass his protection to grab Jace¡¯s neck. He didn¡¯t know that Lucas didn¡¯t actually exert his full strength when he fought with himst time. The reason why Lucas had spared Jace¡¯s life was that he wanted to find out his mother¡¯s secret. ¡°What can you do now that Jace¡¯s life is in my hands?¡± Lucas smirked and looked at the white-bearded old man with derision. Chapter 1084 Chapter 1084: Letting Off for the Time Being Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, almost everyone in the fighting hall had their eyes on Lucas. After all, he had just killed Godfrey, one of the Steeles¡¯ direct descendants. And now he was strangling the neck of Jace, the eldest scion of the Huttons. Would Jace follow in Godfrey¡¯s footsteps and get killed by Lucas as well? This young man was too audacious! These two people were scions of two of the top eight families in DC! Offending one would already be enough trouble. But now, Lucas actually wanted to offend two giants at once. !! ¡°Young man, calm down!¡± The white-bearded old man was anxious. But now that Jace was in Lucas¡¯s hands, he didn¡¯t dare to say anything to provoke Lucas. At the same time, several powerful auras in Club Illuma spread toward Lucas. Lucas was holding Jace by his neck like a chicken. He felt incredibly furious and humiliated. But his strength was simply pathetic to Lucas. There was no way he could break free! At this moment, Jace¡¯s heart was full of regret. Why did he provoke Lucas when he knew full well that Lucas was the invincible God of War? Jace was overwhelmed with suffocating pain and the fear of his fate being in someone else¡¯s hands. His face was pale and purplish, and his regret was about to devour him! Alexander and Ashley were also astonished. They didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would dare to take action against Jace after killing Godfrey! ¡°Lu-Lucas, you...¡± Alexander opened his mouth, but he was at a loss for words. But Lucas wasn¡¯t a reckless person. After feeling the terrifying auras in Club Illuma, he understood that although he could easily kill Jace, it wouldn¡¯t be simple for him to leave the club afterward. Besides, Lucas¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to kill Jace but to find out about his mother from him. Now that they were in public, it really wasn¡¯t a good time to ask about it. ¡°I¡¯ll let you live a while longer, but I hope you can tell me truthfully what I want to hear before the tournament ends tonight. Otherwise, you¡¯ll die today!¡± With that, Lucas casually threw Jace to the floor with a flip of his hand. Thud! Jace fell onto the floor like a bag of garbage. Although he was in pain, he had at least escaped Lucas¡¯s clutches and had a shot at survival! Jace panted heavily, his face covered in joy after escaping death. The white-bearded old man hurried to Jace and checked on his condition. Finding that Lucas hadn¡¯t taken the opportunity to get up to any tricks to Jace¡¯s body, he was relieved. But at this moment, Jace had already developed an immense fear of Lucas, and he no longer dared to provoke Lucas by relying on the white-bearded old man on his side. The experience just now made Jace realize that even though he was now under the protection of Club Illuma and the white-bearded old man, Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills were still unpredictable, and it would be extremely difficult for him to escape if Lucas really wanted to deal with him. Trevor, watching nearby, saw this scene too. ¡°Maxim, how are Lucas Gray¡¯s martial arts skillspared to yours?¡± Trevor asked. The middle-aged man named Maxim narrowed his eyes and said solemnly, ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s indeed very skilled, but he hasn¡¯t shown his true strength.¡± ¡°So I can¡¯t be sure before I officially fight with him. But he shouldn¡¯t be much weaker than me!¡± After Trevor heard the middle-aged man¡¯s reply, his heart sank even more. Trevor had spent a massive amount of money to hire Maxim from a secret organization. Even the elite experts of the Steele family were no match for Maxim. But Lucas was just a young man in his twenties, yet he managed to make Maxim be so wary and even think of him so highly. It was really unimaginable. Trevor clenched his fist and looked at Alexander standing in the crowd. ¡°Seems like this friend of my cousin is indeed not simple!¡± He had never taken Alexander, who was about to be kicked out of the core of the family, seriously. None of Alexander¡¯s representatives had ever been able to beat his in the annual tournament of Club Illuma, so the family rights and businesses in Alexander¡¯s hands had gradually be fewer and fewer. If Alexander really convinced Lucas to fight for him and defeat Maxim, many of the businesses Trevor owned would be snatched away by Alexander! Trevor would never allow it to happen! Now that Godfrey had been killed by Lucas, Alexander was his only adversary among the younger generation of the Steeles. He couldn¡¯t give Alexander a chance to seed! ¡°Maxim, I¡¯m counting on you for the tournamentter. You have to defeat that punk!¡± Trevor instructed with a grim look. ¡°Yes, I will definitely do my best!¡± Maxim promised. The match in the ring was still ongoing, and the spectators once again turned their attention to the fight after seeing that the conflict between Lucas and Trevor had ended for the time being. In the ring, two powerhouses were having an exciting fight. Lucas sat in his seat and watched the fight in the ring calmly, as if he hadn¡¯t done anything just now. Alexander and Ashley didn¡¯t dare to talk to Lucas, for fear that they would identally offend him. If they really angered him, who knows what terrifying things he would do! But after a while, Ashley finally couldn¡¯t resist and carefully asked Lucas, ¡°Lucas, can you help us out in the tournamentter?¡± Hearing his sister¡¯s question, Alexander was taken aback and wanted to reprimand her. After all, Lucas had already said that even the helmsman of the Steeles was in no ce to invite him to fight on his behalf, let alone them. The first thing that came to Alexander¡¯s mind was not to offend Lucas again! But after hearing Ashley¡¯s question, Lucas didn¡¯t have any anger on his face, making Alexander slightly relieved. Alexander was honestly very tempted and conflicted. Based on Lucas¡¯s performance just now, if he was willing to help, he might even be able to defeat the middle-aged man behind Trevor. If this happened, his camp would win first ce this year, and he might even be able topete with Trevor again, thus rising up from the doldrums! At this thought, Alexander couldn¡¯t help looking at Lucas expectantly. After hesitating for a while, Alexander finally gritted his teeth and begged, ¡°Mr. Gray, I know my request is a bit too much, but the tournament this year is very critical to me. Moreover, you¡¯re the only person I can rely on now! ¡°As long as you can help me defeat Trevor¡¯s representative, I¡¯ll be at your beck and call in the future!¡± Chapter 1085 Chapter 1085: Sessor of the Royals Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios At this moment, Alexander decided to go all out and take a gamble. If they couldn¡¯t win the brutalpetition, their end would likely be death! Alexander and Trevor had been at odds for years, and it could be said that there was a deep feud between them. If he lost this time and was driven out of the Steeles¡¯ power core, Trevor would probably find a way to kill him. At that time, not only would he be in a terrible plight, but even his younger sister and mother would be implicated! If Lucas could help him win the tournament, it would definitely be a huge turning point for him. As long as his family was safe, he was willing to be at Lucas¡¯s beck and call! !! Lucas nced at Alexander and asked with raised brows, ¡°I just killed Godfrey Steele in public. Why are you still asking me for help? Aren¡¯t you afraid that your family will me you?¡± Alexander gritted his teeth. ¡°Godfrey only has himself to me. He ended up like that because he offended you! But if the family really pursues this matter, I¡¯ll take full responsibility!¡± Things had alreadye to a point where there was no other way out for him. Once Trevor won, he wouldn¡¯t be spared. On the other hand, if Alexander won, his family might have other thoughts and not punish him. This was the only ce where Alexander could gamble. Lucas looked at Alexander, who seemed to be going all out, and finally nodded. ¡°I can promise you that if Trevor¡¯s fighter participates in the tournament, I¡¯ll meet him.¡± Hearing this, Alexander and Ashley were immediately overjoyed, and they were on the verge of tears of joy as they thanked Lucas repeatedly. ... Meanwhile, Jace and the white-bearded old man were sitting in a luxurious lounge on the upper floor of Club Illuma, and the atmosphere was extremely depressing. When Jace recalled the feeling of almost being killed by Lucas, his heart surged with fear. ¡°You¡¯ve seen how strong he is. He¡¯s too strong. If I continue to go against him, I¡¯ll only end up dying! You should let me go!¡± There were red finger marks on Jace¡¯s neck as he pleaded profusely. The white-bearded old man sitting opposite him pulled a long face. ¡°Don¡¯t forget I saved your life! If I hadn¡¯t protected you, you would have already died at his hands!¡± The white-bearded old man looked at Jace gloomily. Jace was on the verge of tears. ¡°But I really can¡¯t deal with him! I¡¯m just the heir of a wealthy family. Even if I start learning martial arts from scratch, I won¡¯t be able to match up to him. Since you¡¯re so skilled, go deal with him yourself, okay?¡± ¡°Good-for-nothing!¡± the white-bearded old man shouted furiously and pped Jace¡¯s face. ¡°Is that all you know how to do? Bringing yourself down while overestimating your opponent? If it wasn¡¯t for your mother¡¯s sake, I would have long killed a good-for-nothing like you! ¡°Don¡¯t forget. The blood of the royals still courses through your veins, so you can¡¯t possibly be inferior to an abandoned son who was kicked out of his family! ¡°Otherwise, what right do you have to be the sessor of the royal family in the future?¡± Hearing thest sentence, even Jace was astonished. ¡°The sessor... of the royal family?¡± He gulped. During this period of time, Jace knew that the white-bearded old man, who had been following him, protecting him, and even wanted to teach him some martial arts, was from the Whitley family, the branch of the royal family his mother belonged to. But the white-bearded old man actually just said that he had a chance to be the sessor of the royal family. ¡°Are you joking?¡± Jace subconsciously voiced out loud. The white-bearded old man said proudly, ¡°Of course I¡¯m not joking! In the future, you will likely be the sessor of the royal family, and Lucas Gray is just a stone to sharpen you!¡± Jace was dumbfounded for a while, still unable to believe it. ¡°Mr. White, although my mother is a part of the royal family and so am I, what makes me qualified to be the sessor?¡± Logically speaking, his mother was already married to Michael Huttons. So even though he carried the blood of the royals, he shouldn¡¯t be a qualified heir. Jace should be the sessor of his father¡¯s family, the Huttons, not the royal family on his mother¡¯s side. Of course, if he could choose, he would definitely pick the Whitleys because the Whitleys were far superior to the Huttons in power and status. But it seemed too good to be true. ¡°Mr. White, I¡¯m sure there are many descendants of the Whitleys. How can they possibly let me be the sessor since I¡¯m a Hutton?¡± Jace shook his head, still feeling as if he was dreaming. The white-bearded old man looked at him and said calmly, ¡°That¡¯s because the Whitleys are now in a precarious position and are very likely to be removed from the royal family! ¡°If that happens, do you know the consequences that will entail?¡± Jace was stunned for a moment, and he shook his head. Although Jace¡¯s mother was a Whitley, he had been raised by the Huttons and had almost no contact with his maternal family. It was only when he fell from the roof of the abandoned hospital in Orange County some time ago that he found out that the white-bearded old man who rescued him was from the Whitleys. Other than that, Jace didn¡¯t have any dealings with the family. The white-bearded old man said in a deep voice, ¡°Once the Whitleys are stripped of their royal status, we will only end up being annihted! The world is all about the survival of the fittest. You have to remember this!¡± ¡°How... how is that possible...¡± Jace subconsciously gulped in shock. He originally thought that even if the Whitleys were removed from the royals, they would be equivalent to the eight top families of DC at worst and still be able to live in luxury. But he didn¡¯t expect that the Whitleys would face such a terrible fate once they were removed as royals! ¡°The Whitleys are rather weakpared to the other eight branches of the royal family in the first ce, and we¡¯re now facing the danger of annihtion. Therefore, every member of the family is trying to find ways to be stronger and keep the family¡¯s status prominent. ¡°So although you¡¯re only half a Whitley and were raised by the Huttons, you¡¯re still regarded as a member of the family. And if you¡¯re reallypetent enough, you might be the sessor. Understand? ¡°As long as you can trample all over Lucas Gray, you¡¯ll have the opportunity to be the sessor of the royal family!¡± What the white-bearded old man said was undoubtedly tempting, making Jace excited! Chapter 1086 Chapter 1086: Taking a Gamble Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Previously, Jace¡¯s attention had all been on bing the Huttons¡¯ helmsman. But Lucas had ruined his chances and even helped another illegitimate son of the Huttons rise up to the position that should have belonged to him. What the white-bearded old man had said opened another door for him, making him aware that he was qualified to be the sessor of the royals! The eight top families of DC were nothingpared to the royals. In particr, the thought of trampling all over Lucas made Jace even more tempted and eager for the arrival of such a day! !! The white-bearded old man made another timely remark. ¡°Jace, you¡¯re an ambitious person, and that will be your greatest motivation!¡± Hearing this, Jace felt empowered, and his fear and scruples toward Lucas immediately vanished. ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. White. You¡¯re right! I have to defeat Lucas Gray. I have to be the sessor of the Whitleys!¡± Jace¡¯s eyes were full of confidence and a burning desire for victory. The white-bearded old man nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Yes, you need to be domineering if you want to be the sessor of the royal family!¡± After a momentary pause, Jace was still feeling worried. ¡°Lucas Gray threatened me and said that he wouldn¡¯t let me live to see the light of tomorrow. What should I do?¡± The white-bearded old man sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I may not be able to deal with that punk on my own easily, but there are other experts in Club Illuma tonight. He absolutely won¡¯t be able to do anything to you!¡± Hearing this, Jace finally felt at ease. ... As experts appeared one after another in the ring of Club Illuma¡¯s Reincarnation in Hell, the tournament gradually approached its end. After a pair of experts ended yet another match with one dead and the other wounded, Alexander¡¯s face turned grim as he yelled, ¡°It¡¯s almost Trevor¡¯s fighter¡¯s turn!¡± Sure enough, the person who stepped into the ring was the reticent and stern middle-aged man who had followed behind Trevor just now. Due to the conflict earlier, most people in the fighting hall knew that this middle-aged man was Trevor¡¯s subordinate, so they immediately started cheering enthusiastically. At the same time, many people looked at Lucas, who was sitting among the audience. After all, Trevor¡¯s deration of war against Lucas in the ring was deeply etched in their minds. If this middle-aged man really fought with Lucas, it would definitely be the most exciting match of the tournament tonight! Standing in the center of the dark red ring, the middle-aged man, Maxim, seemed to read the minds of the spectators as he slowly raised his hand and pointed straight at Lucas. ¡°Punk, it¡¯s your turn to die!¡± Trevor, sitting in a position nearest to the ring, nced at Lucas with a murderous look. Once Lucas was dead, Alexander¡¯sst trump card would be useless, and Trevor would be the undisputed third-generation sessor of the family! ¡°Wow! He¡¯s really challenging that young man!¡± ¡°Woo! Go! Fight! Fight!¡± ¡°The fight between these two will definitely be the most exciting one of the night! I can¡¯t wait to see it!¡± ¡°Hurry, hurry, hurry, who wants to bet on who will win? They¡¯re both so impressive!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bet five million dors on the young man!¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll bet ten million on the middle-aged man!¡± ... After Maxim challenged Lucas to enter the ring, the atmosphere in the fighting hall immediately reached the peak as whistling and cheers of excitement resounded in the hall! What was crazier was that the audience even started a new round of betting on who would win between Lucas and the middle-aged man. Lucas nced at Maxim coldly and smirked. ¡°Since you¡¯re courting death yourself, don¡¯t me me.¡± Actually, as the captain of the Falcon Regiment, it was too much of a disgrace for Lucas to participate in this kind of fightingpetition. However, since he had already promised to help Alexander and the middle-aged man had provoked him, there was nothing to it. ¡°Lucas, that man is very strong. You have to be careful!¡± Ashley looked at Lucas with worry in her eyes. Alexander added, ¡°Lucas, watch out. It¡¯s okay to lose, but I hope you¡¯re safe!¡± At this moment, Alexander and Ashley truly meant what they said. Lucas stood up, looked at them, and suddenly smiled. ¡°If you still have some money in your hands, you can bet on me winning.¡± Then Lucas walked toward the ring. Looking at his back, Alexander and Ashley were stunned. Since Lucas could say this, was he that confident in winning? Alexander gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Since Mr. Gray said so, I¡¯ll fight too. I still have about ten million dors in hand. I¡¯ll bet it all on Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°Alex, are you crazy? This is all the money we have. If we lose, we won¡¯t even have a single penny left!¡± Ashley opened her mouth wide in disbelief. A touch of delirium appeared in Alexander¡¯s eyes. ¡°At this point, the only path we have left is to believe in Mr. Gray! If he loses, the money we have now won¡¯t be of any help either! ¡°Trevor won¡¯t let us live! Instead of that, I¡¯d rather bet all my money on Mr. Gray and put everything I have on the line. We might still have a chance then!¡± Ashley clenched her jaw. Thinking of the family¡¯s current situation, she finally said, ¡°Alright, Alex, I still have about a million dors. I¡¯ll bet on Mr. Gray too!¡± Lucas had already walked into the ring and stood in front of Maxim. At this moment, the room was brimming with endless shouts from the excited audience. One of the two people standing in the ring currently was an expert hired by a scion of the Steeles, so he was naturally very strong. The other was an expert who had kicked the burly man with the dragon tattoo to death and even killed Godfrey, another scion of the Steele, in front of everyone. He was just as powerful. Everyone was eager to find out which of the two would end up dead after the fight! Chapter 1087 Chapter 1087: In the Ring Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The atmosphere was full of enthusiasm, especially the betting area, which was crowded and extremely lively. It had been a long-standing practice in Club Illuma to ce bets on the expected winners before the fights began. And this time, the fight between Maxim and Lucas was the most exciting one of the night. So in addition to the audience, there were countless people from various forces and major consortiums from all around the world. In just a few minutes, the total amount of bets ced on this match had reached a terrifying figure of over two billion dors, which was the highest amount for a single match in the history of Club Illuma! But based on the situation of the crowd¡¯s bets, most of the audience was more optimistic about the middle-aged Maxim winning. After all, he was an expert hired by the Steeles, one of the eight top families. He exuded a domineering aura as soon as he stepped on stage, very much having the style of a master. !! On the other hand, Lucas was just a neer whom few people knew. In particr, his young age made many people subconsciously assume that he would be defeated by Maxim. Maxim looked at Lucas walking up to him. Instead of fighting immediately, he said, ¡°Young man, Trevor just told me that if you¡¯re willing to surrender and work for him, he will pay you fifteen million dors a year!¡± Regardless of the profession, an annual sry of 15 million dors was an astronomical figure. Hearing this, Lucas smirked, feeling a strong urge tough. Trevor actually wanted him to work for him! How could Trevor think of getting someone with Lucas¡¯s status to work for him? Lucas looked at Maxim and said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance too. If you work for me, I¡¯ll give you an annual sry of three million dors. How does that sound?¡± Although Maxim was good at martial arts, paying him 15 million dors a year was impossible. Three million was far more reasonable. Lucas thought that if Maxim wasn¡¯t participating in this tournament for Trevor, his annual sry would probably be about this amount. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re insulting me!¡± Maxim immediately turned gloomy, thinking that Lucas was humiliating him on purpose. ¡°Are you not willing?¡± With regret on his face, Lucas waved his hands. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have to kill you tonight.¡± ¡°How arrogant! Who knows who¡¯s going to die!¡± Maxim hollered angrily. He stomped on the floor and leaped toward Lucas in an instant. ¡°Wooo! They¡¯re fighting!¡± ¡°Quickly, look at the fight!¡± ... Seeing the two of them finally start fighting, the audience immediately cheered and yelled excitedly. Alexander and Ashley were sitting in front of the ring and watching Maxim charging toward Lucas ferociously. They were so frightened and nervous that cold sweat broke out on their palms, and they didn¡¯t even dare to breathe! Whether or not they could survive, and whether or not the money they bet would go down the drain, would all depend on who won in the ring! At this moment, Jace and the white-bearded old man had returned to the fighting hall and were watching the fight between Lucas and Maxim close to the ring. Seeing Lucas standing still after Maxim made his move, the white-bearded old man sneered. ¡°So weak!¡± Jace burst intoughter. ¡°Yes, I think Lucas Gray is weak as well. Seeing his opponent rushing toward him, he¡¯s scared out of his wits and doesn¡¯t even dare to dodge...¡± Before he could finish speaking, the white-bearded old man interrupted, ¡°Are you blind? If Lucas Gray were really that weak and timid, how could he have forced you to such a state and be the stone that sharpens you?¡± Jace suddenly felt suffocated. He finally understood that the white-bearded old man was referring to the middle-aged man! Jace immediately turned pale, and he became a little scared at the thought of Lucas almost killing him just now. ¡°Damn it! Is that punk scared silly? His opponent is already attacking. Why isn¡¯t he moving?! I bet seven million on him!¡± ¡°Haha, that punk really doesn¡¯t make the cut. He can¡¯t even dodge or defend properly. He¡¯ll probably be beaten to death soon! Fortunately, I bet fifteen million dors on the middle-aged man!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too meaningless if it¡¯s just a one-sided fight!¡± ... The audience mored one after another. Many people who bet on Lucas were furious and cursed at him when they saw him standing still. They wished they could rush up to the ring to urge him to make a move. In the ring, Maxim¡¯s eyes were full of killing intent as he focused all his strength in his right fist. Since Lucas refused to ept Trevor¡¯s offer, there was no need to keep him alive! He had to end Lucas¡¯s life immediately with this blow! This was the order Trevor had given Maxim. Since Lucas wouldn¡¯t work for Trevor, Maxim would kill him! Maxim had already rushed in front of Lucas and smashed his fist full of power at Lucas¡¯s head with all his might! With this thunderous strike, he could even punch through a 10-centimeter-thick steel te! What more a human head... Just as the crow thought that Lucas would be killed instantly by this lightning-fast punch, they inhaled sharply. But the next second, they saw Maxim¡¯s body flying backward much faster than when he approached Lucas. Like a cannonball, he was mmed hard against the steel guardrails around the ring! Bang! The tremendous impact caused the steel guardrails to deform. Maxim¡¯s body bounced back and crashed to the floor. When his bodynded on the floor, he spurted arge mouthful of blood with a look of immense horror in his eyes. He parted his blood-stained lips, seemingly wanting to say something but eventually remained silent. His head suddenly drooped, and he passed away right on the spot! ¡°How is that possible?!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± ... This scene made countless spectators stand up in shock, disbelief written all over their faces! They could have never imagined that the powerful middle-aged man representing the Steeles had been killed by Lucas with a single punch! Chapter 1088 Chapter 1088: Shocking Words Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Standing in front of the ring, Trevor had his mouth agape, looking utterly dumbfounded. Maxim was a top expert he had gone through painstaking efforts to hire, and he had already helped him defeat Alexander and Godfrey two years in a row. As long as Maxim helped him win once more, he would definitely be appointed as the third-generation heir of the Steeles! But now, Maxim had just died in front of him, and Trevor could even smell the bloody scent emanating from Maxim¡¯s corpse through the steel rail guards. Maxim dying was a trivial matter, but it meant that he had lost to Alexander in the tournament. The fact that Godfrey had just died and he had just lost to Alexander meant that the majority of their businesses would be handed to Alexander! !! How could this happen?! He had been so close to defeating Alexander, yet thetter surpassed him at this juncture. He obviously couldn¡¯t let it happen! Trevor¡¯s menacing gaze was full of murderous intent. Anyone who wanted to get in his way and hinder him from bing the family¡¯s future helmsman had to die! On the other side of the ring, Alexander and Ashley were both stunned for a while after witnessing Lucas kill Maxim with a single punch. Then they leaped up with excited faces. ¡°Mr. Gray won! We won! We¡¯re saved!¡± ¡°Haha, Alexander, this is great!¡± Ashley hugged Alexander¡¯s arm, screaming and jumping excitedly like a little girl. But her eyes were full of tears, which were obviously tears of joy. Lucas winning meant that their camp had achieved victory in the annualpetition. They would be able to get arger share of the family¡¯s businesses and power in the future, and they would no longer have to worry about being driven out by the family. At this time, Lucas walked calmly out of the ring and toward Alexander and Ashley. If it wasn¡¯t to help them, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have joined the tournament at all, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t participate in the following matches. Lucas didn¡¯t care about winning the championship and obtaining the prize money of more than a hundred million dors. Seeing Lucas walking over, Alexander immediately went forward and said agitatedly, ¡°Thank you so much, Mr. Gray! I don¡¯t even know how to thank you. Anyway, if you need anything in the future, feel free to give me any orders!¡± In order to get Lucas to help him fight, Alexander had personally said that he would be at Lucas¡¯s beck and call in the future. Now that Lucas had finished with his matter, Alexander had made up his mind. Alexander wasn¡¯t a fool. With such terrifying abilities, Lucas had definitely held a high position in the military. If he could really work for Lucas, he would stand to gain an advantage. Ashley hurried over to Lucas excitedly and said with red eyes, ¡°Thank you so much, Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a trivial matter,¡± Lucas said calmly. But Trevor found his words extremely irksome. Lucas was actually so calm, and he even said that killing Maxim was just a trivial matter. It meant that the expert he had painstakingly hired was someone who could be killed easily. Although this was indeed the case, Trevor still felt very disgruntled, and his eyes were burning with fury. ¡°Alexander, this is all your fault!¡± Trevor didn¡¯t dare to lose his temper at Lucas, so he shouted at Alexander with a murderous expression. Alexander frowned. ¡°Trevor, what is my fault?¡± ¡°Hah, I have nothing to say about Maxim¡¯s death since it¡¯s because of his own ipetence! But even though you defeated me this time, Godfrey was killed by the person you invited. Let¡¯s see how you exin it to the family!¡± Trevor said viciously. Alexander¡¯s heart skipped a beat. To be honest, he was worried about the family. He didn¡¯t think that the Steeles could do anything to Lucas. But the strength Lucas had disyed was so terrifying that he must have had a very high status in the military. If the Steeles really went against Lucas, they would probably be no match for him. Besides, Alexander also knew that Lucas had joined the Falcon Regiment in Calico at the southern border, which was led by someone nicknamed the Invincible God of War. Since Lucas was from the regiment and held a high post there, he might be a subordinate of Gray the Invincible. If Lucas could invite the God of War over, let alone the Steeles, even the eight families of DC wouldn¡¯t be a match for him! The more Alexander thought about it, the more frightened he became. He hurriedly said, ¡°Godfrey was killed because he provoked Mr. Gray and tried to kill him but ended up getting killed instead. His death is his own fault. I will say the same even if the family questions me about it! ¡°Also, Mr. Gray is my friend, and he¡¯ll also be a friend of the Steeles in the future. So you¡¯d better mind your attitude when you¡¯re speaking to him!¡± Hearing this, Trevor sneered. ¡°He killed a direct descendant of the Steeles, but you actually said that he would be a family friend? What a joke!¡± He narrowed his eyes and threatened furiously, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely report everything that happened today to Grandfather. This punk must pay the price for killing a Steele! As for you, you won¡¯t be able to escape punishment either. Just you wait!¡± Lucas nced at him and suddenly asked Alexander, ¡°Are there only you three male heirs among the direct descendants of the Steeles in your generation?¡± Alexander was stunned for a while, but he immediately understood that Lucas was referring to him, Trevor, and Godfrey, who had already died. He nodded and said, ¡°Yes, there are only three of us among the male heirs, but now, there are only two of us left.¡± Lucas nodded and suddenly said, ¡°In that case, why don¡¯t we just kill Trevor Steele too? Anyway, I¡¯ve already killed one, and I don¡¯t mind killing one more. That way, you¡¯ll be the only direct male descendant left in your generation. I doubt anyone else in your family will dare topete with you for the position.¡± As soon as he said this, Alexander, Ashley, and Trevor all stood still in ce with shock written all over their faces. Lucas actually said that he would kill Trevor too! ?? Chapter 1089 Chapter 1089: Crawling In Humiliation Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Trevor heard what Lucas said, he immediately felt as if a bucket of iced water had doused him! He had still been thinking of using the power of the Steeles to threaten Lucas, but he didn¡¯t expect that Lucas had already developed the desire to kill him! This bastard was simply like an absolutely fearless devil! Ironically, Trevor would have definitely used the method Lucas mentioned! Thus, there wouldn¡¯t be anyone left to hinder Alexander, and he would be the only candidate left for his family. He would definitely enjoy greater authority in the family, so he might really seed in protecting Lucas! !! What a vicious n! Alexander wasn¡¯t apletely ruthless person. After hearing what Lucas said, he was stunned for a while. A trace of conflict appeared in his eyes, but he ultimately said, ¡°Mr. Gray, please spare his life on my ount!¡± Trevor hurriedly said, ¡°Lucas Gray, you... you¡¯d better think through this carefully! Previously, Godfrey tried to kill you but ended up getting killed by you instead. So it¡¯s true he brought it upon himself, and the Steeles might let you off. But if you kill me too, you¡¯ll bepletely offending the Steeles, and we won¡¯t spare you!¡± Lucas snorted coldly, ¡°Do you think I¡¯d be afraid of the Steeles?¡± Trevor instantly choked. Yes, this young man in front of him was really bold. If he was really afraid of the Steeles, he wouldn¡¯t have killed Godfrey in front of everyone. Lucas was simply fearless. If he said he would kill someone immediately, he would probably do it without even batting an eyelid! Trevor didn¡¯t dare to threaten Lucas anymore and instead turned to Alexander and threatened, ¡°Alexander, if I die here as well, you should know very well what you will face after you return to the family!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Alexander yelled furiously. He had already found a way to plead with Lucas, yet Trevor actually threatened him with the family, which was really foolish and selfish! If it wasn¡¯t because he was soft-hearted and didn¡¯t want to see his cousin die, he would have already agreed to Lucas¡¯s suggestion to kill Trevor here. Lucas nced at Trevor and suddenly said, ¡°I can spare your life.¡± Overjoyed, Trevor hurriedly said, ¡°Okay! As long as you¡¯re willing to spare me, I will put in a few good words for you in the Steeles so that the family won¡¯t make things difficult for you.¡± Lucasughed disdainfully. ¡°A few good words from you? I don¡¯t care what the Steeles want to do. I only want you to crawl out of here immediately, then I¡¯ll let you off for now.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave right now!¡± Trevor said begrudgingly. ¡°Did I tell you to just leave? I asked you to crawl out from here on all fours. Do you understand?¡± Lucas looked at Trevor coldly. Although he could agree to Alexander¡¯s plea to spare Trevor¡¯s life, he still wanted to punish him. It was for teaching Trevor a lesson. Trevor¡¯s face instantly became extremely gloomy. As a scion of the Steeles, he was actually ordered to crawl out on all fours like a dog! If this spread, Trevor would immediately be theughingstock of the city! It would be especially humiliating since it was Club Illuma¡¯s annual championship tournament tonight, and there were at least several thousand spectators in the fighting hall, including people from wealthy families from all over the country. If he really crawled out of here on all fours, how could he face anyone in the future? Moreover, if he disgraced the family that badly, how could he possibly be the future helmsman of the family? Alexander froze when he first heard Lucas¡¯s condition. Then he realized that the reason for this was to humiliate Trevor and make him lose in thepetition for the position of the Steeles¡¯ sessor. At the thought of this, Alexander looked at Lucas with gratitude in his eyes. Lucas had already helped him so much and had even agreed not to kill Trevor. So if he continued to help Trevor plead for mercy, it would really be too much. Trevor clenched his fists tightly and bellowed furiously, ¡°You can kill me, but you can¡¯t humiliate me. If you really want me to crawl out of here, I would rather...!¡± Before he finished, he clenched his jaw, unable to go on. ¡°You¡¯d rather what? You¡¯d rather die?¡± Lucas chuckled nonchntly. ¡°You have five seconds to make a choice. You either crawl out or die here. The time starts now!¡± Trevor¡¯s heart trembled fiercely. By now, he didn¡¯t doubt that Lucas would really kill him. Seeing Lucas say he only had five seconds and had already started the countdown, Trevor could no longer care about anything else and immediately said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll crawl!¡± At this point, crawling out of here in humiliation was better than dying here! Gritting his teeth, Trevor plopped down on the floor in embarrassment and crawled on all fours toward the exit of the fighting hall. ¡°Hey! Look, what is that scion of the Steeles over there doing? Why is he lying on the floor?¡± ¡°Oh my god, his face is so red! Wh-what is he doing?¡± ¡°It looks like that young man just said something to Trevor Steele and forced him to get out of here.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not walking. He¡¯s clearly crawling on all fours. Gosh, I can¡¯t believe my eyes!¡± ... In an instant, the surrounding audience was riled up again. Trevor was overwhelmed with humiliation, and even his eyes were already red. The feeling of crawling on the floor on all fours was very unpleasant, especially because humans had legs that were much longer than their arms. So Trevor¡¯s action of crawling out was extremely awkward and unsightly. If people found out that the graceful and handsome eldest scion of the Steeles was crawling out of the crowded fighting hall step by step in such a disgraceful manner, his image in the hearts of many young girls in DC would be ruined. The voices of shock and the burning gazes surrounding him made Trevor feel humiliated. 1 But there was nothing he could do now except crawl embarrassingly to the entrance of the fighting hall like a clumsy animal. The person he hated the most now was Lucas. Yet Lucas was too powerful and fearless. He had even killed Godfrey so casually. He knew that if he dared to disobey Lucas now, he would definitely end up worse than Godfrey. Lucas Gray, Alexander Steele, just you wait! I will definitely get back at you for all the shame I received today! Chapter 1090 Chapter 1090: Not Allowed To Leave Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Enduring the gazes on him and the remarks about him, Trevor crawled to the entrance of the fighting hall, dashed to the elevator door, and immediately left without turning back. Everything here was like a nightmare that he never wanted to recall again! Seeing that Trevor had left, Alexander looked at Lucas worriedly. ¡°Mr. Gray, after I return to the family, I will try my best to stop them from bing your enemy. But if there really is such a day, I hope you can spare the Steeles, alright?¡± He looked at Lucas pleadingly. Lucas nced at Alexander in surprise. The fact that he could say this meant that, in his opinion, Lucas was far stronger than the entire Steele family. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have asked Lucas to spare the Steeles. !! Alexander could be considered a talent who was loyal, smart, and had good business acumen. It was a blessing for the Steeles to have someone like him in the family. But Lucas raised his brows in response to his request and asked, ¡°If the Steeles try to kill me, am I supposed to just stand there and let them do it?¡± Alexander naturally knew that he couldn¡¯t ask Lucas to sit back and do nothing. It would be going overboard. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°If the Steeles really go against you, they¡¯ll be tempting fate themselves, and they deserve to die. I just hope that you can leave a way for the family to survive after you¡¯ve punished them.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Hearing this, Alexander was really touched. Actually, he didn¡¯t have a strong friendship with Lucas. But today, not only did he help him deal with Trevor¡¯s subordinate, but he also agreed to spare the Steeles fromplete annihtion. Lucas was doing him a great favor. ¡°Okay, thank you so much, Mr. Gray!¡± Alexander thanked him sincerely. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for us to leave,¡± Lucas suddenly said after looking at the time. Alexander was immediately stunned. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re leaving now? In that case, the championship...¡± Given the impressive strength Lucas had shown, he would definitely win the championship tonight. As long as he clinched the championship, he would immediately receive the huge prize money of more than a hundred million dors. But he didn¡¯t care about it at all. Lucas smiled without saying anything. Alexander immediately understood that the prize money of a hundred million dors might be a massive amount in the eyes of ordinary people, and many experts would risk their lives to obtain it, but Lucas didn¡¯t take it seriously at all. This realization left Alexander in greater awe of Lucas. How many people in the world could easily give up so much money? The three of them were about to leave when a voice suddenly came from behind them. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem appropriate for you to leave before thepetition is over, does it, Lucas Gray?¡± As the voice sounded, several tall and burly men blocked the group of three. Lucas looked over and saw a handsome young man walking toward him with a smirk on his face. Lucas knew who he was. He was Ashton Hills, a member of the Hills branch of the royal family and the one who had tried to forcefully buy thend in the eastern suburbs of DC from Lucas this afternoon! Following behind him were two old men with extremely shocking auras. Their skills were on par with the white-bearded old man by Jace¡¯s side. Lucas immediately figured out that the two old men probably had the same origin as the white-bearded old man beside Jace. ¡°Guests aren¡¯t allowed to leave before the tournament is over? What kind of rule is that?¡± Lucas asked rhetorically with a smirk. Ashton narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, ¡°Anyone else can naturally leave, except you. ¡°You¡¯re the favorite to win the tournament tonight, and countless people have already bet that you will win the championship. So if you just leave like that, how can I exin it to them?¡± Only then did it dawn on Lucas that Club Illuma belonged to the Hills! When Alexander told him about the staggering annual profits of the club, Lucas had guessed that the owner of the club was very likely to be a royal. But he didn¡¯t expect this club to belong to the Hills. Lucas¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, but next to him, Alexander was shocked. He just found out that the real owner of Club Illuma was actually the Hills family, a royal family branch! He subconsciously looked at Lucas. The royals were far superior to the eight top families of DC, and he reckoned that things would be difficult to handle now that they came after Lucas. Alexander was just about to see how Lucas would handle the situation, but he only saw Lucas retort calmly, ¡°How you exin it is none of my business! You can¡¯t stop me from leaving.¡± Alexander almost burst into tears of shock. Bro, the person in front of you is a member of the royals! Yet you still dare to speak like that on their turf? Are you really that fearless? Ashton frowned and sneered. ¡°Gray, I can forgive you for hitting my subordinates and refusing to let me buy over thend this afternoon, but we¡¯re on my turf now. If you still dare to be so arrogant and defy me, your friends won¡¯t be able to escape even if you can!¡± Then the burly men blocking in front of Lucas immediately aimed pistols at the trio. Alexander and Ashley had never been in such a situation before. Being held at gunpoint, they turned pale with fear, and their hearts skipped a beat. Ashton obviously wanted Lucas to continuepeting and satisfy the spectators tonight so that the reputation of the tournament would not be ruined. But Alexander also understood Lucas¡¯s temper. It would be fine if he was willing to do it, but no one could threaten him into acting against his own wishes. Seeing his sister¡¯s panicked expression, Alexander secretly prayed that Lucas would agree to Ashton¡¯s request and continue topete. But he knew that Lucas had already helped him many times today and even agreed to spare the Steeles. So he really didn¡¯t have the cheek to continue begging Lucas. On another side, Jace and the white-bearded old man also saw the same scene of Lucas being surrounded. Jace asked doubtfully, ¡°Hey, Mr. White, are those people the owners of Club Illuma?¡± The white-bearded old man nodded. ¡°Yes, they are from the Hills family, and the young man leading them is Ashton, who¡¯s rted to you by blood. He¡¯s the host of the annual tournament in Club Illuma.¡± Jace was astonished. He didn¡¯t expect that young man to be a Hill! After being surprised, his face showed euphoria. Lucas was now surrounded by Ashton¡¯s men, and it seemed that they were about to get into a fight. He was certain that Lucas would definitely suffer greatly against the royals! Chapter 1091 Chapter 1091: Paying Someone Back In Their Own Coin Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Haha, Mr. White, I bet that bastard Lucas Gray will die miserably this time! This ce belongs to the Whitleys, and there are experts everywhere. It¡¯ll be hard for him to escape no matter how well he can fight!¡± Jace said excitedly. The white-bearded old man nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, Lucas Gray¡¯s martial arts skills are quite impressive. He¡¯s the youngest expert I¡¯ve seen in all these years, but he¡¯s nothing in front of the royal family! ¡°Look at those two old fogeys standing behind Ashton Hills. They¡¯re top experts of the Hills, and they¡¯re even stronger than me. No matter how powerful Lucas Gray is, there¡¯s no way he can fight against those two!¡± Hearing this, Jace was overjoyed. ¡°Great! I can¡¯t wait to see Lucas getting defeated!¡± Meanwhile, a sharp look appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes when he heard Ashton using the lives of Alexander and Ashley to threaten him. !! ¡°Are you trying to threaten me into continuing with the tournament?¡± Lucas questioned coldly. Ashton smiled smugly. ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t have a choice now, unless you want to see your friends die in front of you.¡± Lucas sneered and looked at the two old men with terrifying auras behind Ashton. ¡°Seems like these two powerhouses next to you are your reliance, huh? If I pay you back in your own coin and threaten you with your life, how will things turn out?¡± Ashton was stunned for a moment and then burst intoughter. ¡°Punk, who do you think you are? How dare you¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lucas¡¯s body suddenly swayed and appeared in front of Ashton with one hand tightly wrapped around his throat! Lucas moved so quickly that he had already caught Ashton before those two old men could react. This scene made the surrounding spectators exim in shock. The reason was simple. Lucas¡¯s actions of killing the man with a dragon tattoo, kicking Godfrey Steele to death, killing the top expert hired by the Steeles with a single punch in the ring, and forcing the eldest scion of the Steels to crawl out of the fighting hall made him the focus of countless people. Moreover, the few burly men that Ashton brought over to stop Lucas were wearing the staff uniform of Club Illuma. Thus, the conflict between a powerful young man like Lucas and the staff of Club Illuma had attracted the attention of countless people. Although most of the audience didn¡¯t know Ashton¡¯s true identity or that the family operating Club Illuma was the Hills, they were all aware that the club had a background so powerful that even the eight top families of DC didn¡¯t dare to covet it. Yet the young man who was suspected to be the manager of Club Illuma was being strangled by Lucas! Lucas¡¯s incredible courage left them speechless. They were full of awe toward him! Jace and the white-bearded old man, who were waiting to see an exciting show not far away, also saw this scene. Jace eximed in astonishment, ¡°How is that possible?! Didn¡¯t you say that those two old men are more skilled than you? How did they let Lucas catch Ashton instantly?¡± What a familiar scene... Jace immediately recalled that he had the same attitude about half an hour ago, thinking that he could provoke Lucas since he had the help of the white-bearded old man. Yet Lucas had suddenly appeared in front of Jace and strangled him, almost scaring him soulless! Therefore, Jace really felt some empathy for Ashton, whom Lucas was strangling at the moment. The white-bearded old man was likewise astonished. The two old men who followed Ashton were indeed slightly stronger than him, but even then, Lucas managed to grab Ashton from their hands in an instant! That punk Lucas is just like a demon! Seeing Ashton caught, an old man beside him instantly yelled, ¡°Punk, let go of Mr. Ashton immediately! Otherwise, you¡¯ll end up incredibly miserable!¡± Lucas suddenly smiled and said, ¡°If I let him off, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t let me off anyway. In that case, I might as well just kill him!¡± Then Lucas suddenly tightened his grip on Ashton, strangling him so hard that his eyes rolled backward and he almost passed out. Seeing this, the two old men were both terrified and hurriedly yelled, ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°Punk, we¡¯re from the Hills, a royal family branch. The person you¡¯re strangling is the scion of the Hills! If you really dare to kill him, the Hills will never spare you!¡± Lucas suddenlyughed. ¡°I knew you were from the Hills a long time ago. But so what? Do you think I¡¯d be afraid of you?¡± The two old men¡¯s faces darkened even more. Indeed, they were already used to everyone¡¯s reverence for the royals, as everyone almost always made way for them as long as they revealed their identities in the past. As long as they didn¡¯t encounter the other royal family branches, no one would dare to provoke them. But this young man in front of them didn¡¯t act like most people did. He actually didn¡¯t take the Hills seriously at all! They had no doubt that he would really dare to kill Ashton! Seeing that Ashton¡¯s face had turned purplish from theck of oxygen and his struggling bing weaker and weaker, they felt extremely conflicted and were in a dilemma about what to do. The surrounding spectators started discussing one after another. ¡°That young man is really impressive! Look, those people in front of him are wearing the uniform of Club Illuma, so the young man he¡¯s strangling is obviously the manager of Club Illuma.¡± ¡°The eight top families of DC don¡¯t even dare to offend Club Illuma, yet that young man actually has the guts to attack the people of Club Illuma!¡± ¡°That young man is really daring! Don¡¯t forget he just killed Godfrey Steele, a member of the eight top families of DC in public, and even forced the eldest scion of the Steeles to crawl out of here. He must have a powerful status!¡± ¡°Is that young man also a descendant of a certain royal family branch?¡± ... Many among the crowd were specting, their attention drawn to Lucas. In contrast, not many people were paying attention to the exciting battle in the ring. Seeing that Ashton was really about to be choked to death by Lucas and that even his eyes had rolled backward, the two old men finally realized that Lucas really dared to kill Ashton. ¡°Punk, you... quickly let go of him! We can discuss matters calmly!¡± one of the old men yelled at Lucas anxiously. The other hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, as long as you let Mr. Ashton off, we can talk things over calmly. You¡¯re about to kill him!¡± Chapter 1092 Chapter 1092: Testing His Skills Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas didn¡¯t really want to strangle Ashton now. He loosened his grip a little, allowing him to catch his breath, and then ordered the two old men in front of him, ¡°Now, let my friends leave safely. Don¡¯t stop them!¡± The old man next to Ashton immediately agreed, ¡°Alright, no problem. We¡¯ll let them go immediately!¡± He waved his hand, and the few people from Club Illuma surrounding in front immediately backed away to make space for them. Alexander and Ashley were both stunned. Although they were overjoyed, they still asked worriedly, ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°You guys go ahead,¡± Lucas said calmly. !! Alexander and Ashley looked at each other. They knew that they couldn¡¯t be of any help here and would only be a burden to Lucas. So they quickly left without saying any nonsense. Actually, the reason Lucas thought of threatening the two old men with Ashton¡¯s life was that Ashton had threatened him with the lives of Alexander and Ashley. He was just paying him back in his own coin. Besides, as long as Alexander and Ashley left, it was absolutely impossible for Ashton to make him stay. After the two siblings left, one of the old men said, ¡°We have already released them as you requested. Isn¡¯t it time you let Mr. Ashton go?¡± Lucas raised his brows. ¡°Naturally. If you want revenge, feel free toe at me. But if you dare to threaten me with the people I care about, you won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences of doing so!¡± With that, Lucas casually threw Ashton¡¯s body to the floor. Ashton had been choked by Lucas to the point where his eyes had rolled backward and he had almost died of suffocation. Now that Lucas tossed him to the floor, he passed outpletely. Two people wearing the uniform of Club Illuma immediately dashed toward Ashton to check his condition, but the two old men remained put. They still stood in front of Lucas with no intention of letting him leave. ¡°What? Do you still want to continue fighting with me?¡± Lucas asked with raised brows. One of the old men said with a gloomy expression, ¡°Since you¡¯ve knocked Mr. Ashton unconscious, you shouldn¡¯t think about leaving so easily! Let¡¯s exchange some blows so that I can see how capable you are!¡± Lucas remained fearless and sneered. ¡°Come on then. You two can fight me together. I¡¯ve never been afraid of anyone!¡± Hearing this, the two old men felt that Lucas was just blowing his trumpet. Of course, they had to fight him together to teach him a lesson. But after thinking about it for a while, the two decided that one of them would go up first to test the waters and see how skilled Lucas was while the other walked toward Ashton to protect him. Although Lucas had just let go of Ashton, they couldn¡¯t be certain that he wouldn¡¯t repeat the same method and capture Ashton again. If it happened again, they would both be in trouble! ¡°Boy, let¡¯s see what you¡¯re capable of!¡± After that old man finished speaking, he stomped his foot on the floor and charged toward Lucas. ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°They¡¯re really fighting!¡± ... Seeing the old man acting against Lucas, the crowd in the hall became excited and watched the fight between Lucas and the old man with great interest and enthusiasm. At this moment, the fight in the ring was overshadowed, and the audience lost interest in it. These two old men were both quite skilled, and they were the strongest opponents Lucas had encountered since he left the southern border. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless but put himself in his best state possible and charged forward violently to collide with the old man! Bang! With an explosive sound, their bodies separated almost as soon as they came into contact. The audience didn¡¯t have time to see how the two were fighting. All they could see was the old man¡¯s body being thrown backward by several steps before standing firm, while Lucas remained standing in ce without taking a single step back! ¡°Wow! Amazing! That young man didn¡¯t even take a step back. He¡¯s obviously stronger than that old man!¡± ¡°Truly impressive! Where is that young man from? He¡¯s like a god of martial arts, and most importantly, he¡¯s still so calm after the sh, just like a true expert!¡± ¡°Awesome! He¡¯s definitely going to be the champion tonight!¡± ... The audience shouted loudly, their excited voices filling the air. After witnessing Lucas¡¯s spectacr performance tonight, many people thought that he would be the undisputed champion of tonight¡¯s annual tournament! Even the champions of previous years could barely match up to him! Seeing how boisterous the audience was because of Lucas, the two experts found it meaningless to continue fighting in the ring. They also felt strongly that they would never be able to defeat Lucas for the championship, so they left the ring after a perfunctory fight. The spectators didn¡¯t see clearly how the two shed, but the old man was well aware. At this moment, his fist and abdomen were aching dully, his fingers were trembling slightly, and his heart was full of horror. Within the brief moment before they were about to collide, Lucas threw an unbelievably fast punch at the old man¡¯s fist, easily stopping his attack. Immediately afterward, he threw another punch with his other hand at lightning speed, striking him hard in his abdomen. The massive impact immediately made the old man take several steps backward before he could stand firm. So after the sh, Lucas knocked the old man backward, but the old man suffered a loss without even touching the corner of Lucas¡¯s clothes. The even more frightening thing was that based on the force of Lucas¡¯s fist, his strength was clearly far above his own, especially since Lucas still seemed to be at ease. It looked like he had yet to exert his full strength! What a terrifying young man! At this moment, the old man even felt ashamed. He had practiced martial arts all his life, yet he was still no match for a young man in his twenties. It wasn¡¯t because he wasn¡¯t skilled enough but because Lucas was too monstrous! How did he be such a monster? Lucas looked at the old man and asked, ¡°Do we continue?¡± He didn¡¯t have the intention of going further now that he had the upper hand, nor did he want to kill these people here. After all, these two old men were both from the Hills. Although Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of them, he knew that it would definitely bring him lots of trouble. Lucas¡¯s words could be considered an out for the old man. It was up to him to decide whether to take it or not. Chapter 1093 Chapter 1093: Falling In Love Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The old man¡¯s face was extremely gloomy. A momentter, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really something, but we won¡¯t forget what happened today!¡± He was stepping back but still issued a threat. Lucasughed nonchntly and left the fighting hall calmly. Seeing Lucas leaving just like that, the spectators in the hall were all full of regret. They had nned to watch Lucas continuepeting until the end of the tournament, yet he left just like that! !! In particr, the guests who had bet on Lucas winning broke intomotion. But they onlyined to the staff in Club Illuma. None of them dared to go up to stop Lucas from leaving. ¡°What do you think?¡± After seeing Lucas leave, the other old man, who had been guarding Ashton, came over and asked with a grim look. The old man who had fought with Lucas frowned deeply. ¡°He¡¯s indeed very strong. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m no match for him. Anyway, we¡¯d better report today¡¯s matter to the Hills and see what the higher-ups decide.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s all we can do!¡± Aftering to a consensus, the two old men brought the unconscious Ashton back to the Hills residence. Meanwhile, Jace and the white-bearded old men, who had witnessed everything, looked rather sullen. They didn¡¯t expect that things would turn out like this. Ashton was unconscious, and the two old men were too afraid to fight against Lucas, allowing him to leave unscathed. This waspletely different from the scene they had expected! ¡°Mr. White, can... can we really defeat Lucas Gray?¡± Jace¡¯s heart was suddenly full of doubts, and he no longer looked as confident as before. Whenever he saw Lucas, Lucas seemed to be even more powerful than before, making Jace feel extremely uneasy. 1 The white-bearded old man pondered for a while before saying, ¡°We can¡¯t go on like this. Tonight, I will take you somewhere. You have to improve your strength as soon as possible!¡± After Jace heard this, his eyes immediately lit up. Somewhere... I can quickly improve my skills? If I can be as powerful as Lucas or even surpass him, I won¡¯t have to be afraid of anything anymore! But despite rejoicing, the thought of Lucas¡¯s terrifying skills made Jace worried again. ¡°Lucas said he won¡¯t let me off tonight. Can we... really seed in leaving?¡± ¡°...¡± The white-bearded old man was silent for a while before finally saying, ¡°He must have left instead ofing to you just now because he knows that Club Illuma belongs to the Hills and that it¡¯s unlikely he¡¯ll be able to take you away here. ¡°Moreover, since he already knows that you¡¯re in Club Illuma, he might think you¡¯ll keep hiding here and not dare to leave. In that case, we¡¯ll do the opposite and immediately leave DC tonight. Afterward, it¡¯ll be difficult for him to find us again!¡± The old man revealed his n. After hearing this, Jace finally felt relieved and agreed. Although Jace was a little reluctant to leave DC, thinking of the ce the white-bearded old man was about to take him to and the possibility of bing a peerless expert even more skilled than Lucas, he became enthusiastic again. 1 At the entrance of Club Illuma... Just as Lucas stepped out of the entrance, two surprising cries came from a short distance away. ¡°Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°Lucas!¡± Then two figures hurried over. They were Alexander and Ashley, who had left Club Illuma earlier. ¡°Lucas, are you alright?¡± Ashley asked, sizing Lucas up worriedly. Lucas was honestly heartened to see that the two of them didn¡¯t leave on their own but instead risked their lives to wait for him here to confirm his safety. If something had really happened to Lucas here, the Hills probably wouldn¡¯t have let them off. At the very least, they were righteous and not ingrates. Lucas shook his head and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Despite saying this, he remained still. Alexander immediately knew that Lucas probably had something else to do, so he said, ¡°Alright, since you¡¯re fine, we can finally be at ease, Mr. Gray. Thank you for helping us out big time today. We¡¯ll treat you to drinks another day for sure!¡± Then Alexander patted Lucas on his back and left with Ashley. ¡°Alex, are we leaving just like that? What if the people in Club Illuma chase after Lucas to harm him?¡± Ashley asked worriedly after being dragged to the car while constantly turning around to look at Lucas. Alexander sighed with a solemn expression. ¡°Even if the people of Club Illuma really want to harm Mr. Gray, what can we do to help him? We¡¯ll only be adding to his burden if we stay by his side!¡± Ashley¡¯s face immediately turned downcast, and she lowered her head without saying anything. Alexander had a nagging feeling from Ashley¡¯s abnormal behavior tonight, especially when the two of them were waiting for Lucas outside. She was on tenterhooks the whole time and kept staring intently at the entrance of Club Illuma. And when Lucas appeared, her eyes even lit up with excitement. It was a look he rarely saw in his sister¡¯s eyes. Thinking of something, Alexander suddenly asked, ¡°Ashley, tell me honestly. Have you fallen in love with Mr. Gray?¡± ¡°You... Alex... what are you saying?¡± Ashley¡¯s face instantly turned red, and she stammered while avoiding eye contact with Alexander diffidently. Seeing his sister¡¯s behavior, he immediately let out a long sigh. He knew that she must have a crush on Lucas. He knew how charming a handsome and powerful man like Lucas could be to women. Alexander was speechless at the thought of how much Ashley had disliked Lucas at first and how they had almost gotten into a conflict, but she actually fell in love with him in less than two hours. But there were still some things that he had to say. Otherwise, it would cause greater harm to his sister. Alexander took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, ¡°Ashley, I have to let you know that Mr. Gray is already married. He loves his wife very much, and they have a five-year-old daughter. They¡¯re a very loving family. ¡°No other woman stands a chance.¡± Chapter 1094 Chapter 1094: Tracking Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In order to find out Lucas¡¯s true identity, Alexander had sent someone to investigate his basic informationst night. So he easily found out his marital status and family situation. Alexander was especially shocked to learn that Lucas had been a live-in husband. But regardless of when he was still a penniless young man who had yet to make a name for himself or when he returned to Orange County a powerful man after six years, he had always been good to his wife. This was extremely rare. Thus, Alexander thought that he should make Ashley know she had no chance and to forget those feelings early, lest she gets hurt further. !! After hearing what Alexander said, Ashley trembled, and her face turned sullen. She lowered her head and bit her lip. After a while, she said, ¡°Got it. Don¡¯t worry, Alex. I won¡¯t have any other thoughts about him. How can a girl like me be worthy of such an outstanding man?¡± As she spoke, two bright and clear teardrops streamed down her eyes. She hurriedly turned her head. Seeing how sad his sister was, Alexander was at a loss for how tofort her. Love had always been the most mysterious thing in the world. Perhaps, it was why people tended to fall in love with others at inadvertent moments. ... Just like his sister. But no matter what, since Lucas already had a loving rtionship with his wife and even shared a daughter with her, there was no way things would work out between Ashley and him. In that case, it would be better to sever things right from the start. After sighing again, Alexander started the car and left with Ashley. Although Alexander had be the winner of the annual tournament thanks to Lucas¡¯s help, Godfrey had died, and Trevor had left in humiliation. Alexander had no idea what was waiting for him when he returned to the family. He hoped he wouldn¡¯t face the wrath of his family... ... Meanwhile, after Alexander and Ashley left, Lucas immediately called Jordan. ¡°Quicklye to Club Illuma. There¡¯s something urgent here!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Jordan immediately agreed. Lucas did have something important to do now. He had finally managed to find Jace, so how could he possibly let him off? There had been many experts in Club Illuma just now, so Lucas couldn¡¯t force Jace to tell him about his mother in public. So he had waited until now to capture Jace once he left. He had called Jordan over just in case. Since Club Illuma was the home base of the Hills, he couldn¡¯t guarantee that there wouldn¡¯t be more experts sent to follow Jace. Jordan would help Lucas prevent Jace from escaping. Jordan sped through the streets and arrived at the entrance of Club Illuma in less than 20 minutes. Fortunately, it waste at night, and there was barely any traffic on the road, so he managed to arrive quickly. ¡°Lucas, what¡¯s the urgent matter?¡± Jordan immediately asked with a look of caution as soon as he saw Lucas. ¡°I found Jace. He¡¯s in Club Illuma,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Hah, that punk is hiding here? No wonder I couldn¡¯t find him after searching for so long!¡± Jordan said in annoyance. Previously, Lucas had asked Jordan to help him find Jace¡¯s whereabouts in DC. Jordan had ordered his subordinates to keep an eye on the peopleing in and out of the Hutton residence in DC, but even after searching for three days, he still couldn¡¯t find Jace. He was surprised to discover that Jace had been hiding in Club Illuma and had never returned to the Hutton residence. Lucas briefly told him about what had just happened in Club Illuma. Hearing this, Jordan had a murderous look on his face. ¡°Lucas, why don¡¯t we rush into this club right now and drag that punk Jace out?! Even if Club Illuma belongs to the Hills, we don¡¯t have to be afraid of them!¡± Jordan knew that Lucas wanted to find out more about his mother from Jace. Lucas shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s actually not that difficult to capture Jace, but there won¡¯t be any benefits to fighting with the experts of the Hills. There will even be endless trouble. ¡°The Hills are one of the royal family branches after all. If we shame them too much, they won¡¯t take it lying down. I¡¯m not scared, and I know you¡¯re not either, but what about our loved ones? What about my family, Maddy, and the others?¡± Hearing this, Jordan was instantly speechless. Indeed, although they were very skilled in martial arts and didn¡¯t fear the Hills, they had to be scared for the people around them. The more rtionships they had, the more concerns they had. They truly couldn¡¯t behave the same way as when they were in Calico. ¡°In that case, are we just going to wait here for that coward Jace toe out?¡± Jordan asked. Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes. Since I¡¯ve already found him, I bet he won¡¯t continue staying in Club Illuma. He must be thinking about going somewhere I can¡¯t find, so let¡¯s just wait here for him toe out.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Jordan agreed. Time passed minute by minute, second by second. Jordan kept staring at the entrance of the club without daring to rx at all. When they were in the Falcon Regiment, they had carried out countless simr missions, so keeping an eye on the target was a run-of-the-mill task for Lucas and Jordan. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± About half an hourter, Lucas opened his eyes to look at the entrance of Club Illuma. A few secondster, Jace and the white-bearded old man appeared at the door. Jordan and Lucas remained still in the car. When discovering the target, the most important thing was to stay calm in order not to startle them and scare them away. The white-bearded old man was very alert. After walking out of the club, he scanned the surroundings for any unusual movement. For some reason, he clearly didn¡¯t notice anything unusual, but he had an ominous premonition, as if something was watching him. But he thought that it might just be paranoia. Jace looked around nervously and asked, ¡°Mr. White, that bastard should have left, right?¡± The white-bearded old man scanned the surroundings and answered, ¡°Probably.¡± Then the two of them got into a rtively low-key ck Mercedes-Benz car. The car quickly started and soon drove off. ¡°Don¡¯t lose him, and don¡¯t let him find out,¡± Lucas instructed. Jordan immediately started the car and kept close behind the Mercedes-Benz. Chapter 1095 Chapter 1095: Chase At Night Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In the Mercedes-Benz, the driver was driving while the white-bearded old man and Jace were sitting in the backseat. But for some reason, the white-bearded old man kept feeling uneasy and would look out the window from time to time. However, Jace didn¡¯t feel anything at all. After getting in the car, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, ¡°Haha, Lucas actually said he wouldn¡¯t let me off, but what happened in the end? He didn¡¯t dare to appear in front of me.¡± The white-bearded old man frowned when he saw Jace¡¯s maniacal and ignorant expression. Jace¡¯s disposition was truly inferior to Lucas¡¯s. If he didn¡¯t quickly correct it, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve sess. Not only would he not be able to defeat Lucas, but it would be impossible for him to obtain the position of the Whitleys¡¯ sessor. !! But he didn¡¯t have a better choice now. Although it was already past ten at night, because Club Illuma was in a luxurious area of DC, even at this moment, there was still a lot of traffic on the road, and it was extremely lively. Thus, Lucas and Jordan were driving in their ck Land Rover a long distance behind the Mercedes-Benz without attracting the attention of the white-bearded old man. But when the Mercedes-Benz drove off the main roads twenty minutester and turned into an area with less traffic, the ck Land Rover following more than 100 meters behind became conspicuous. ¡°Oh no, we¡¯re being followed!¡± the white-bearded old man said with a solemn expression. ¡°What?! Followed? Who? Lucas Gray?¡± Jace, resting in the backseat, immediately panicked and almost sprung up from his seat anxiously. The white-bearded old man rebuked, ¡°Why are you panicking? Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re the future sessor of the Whitleys. How can you panic as soon as you hear Lucas Gray¡¯s name?¡± Jace quickly sat down and kept his mouth shut. But a few simple remarks from the white-bearded old man said wouldn¡¯t eliminate the panic and worry within his heart. He turned around to look out the window again and again. The white-bearded old man said indifferently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t be able to do anything to us. I¡¯ve already prepared for this. If he continues following us, he might have to pay for it with his life!¡± Then the white-bearded old man took out his phone and called someone. ¡°Stop the ck Land Rover behind us in the middle of Ninth Boulevard!¡± After he hung up, Jace hurriedly asked, ¡°Mr. White, have you arranged for help? Who is it? Is it someone reliable?¡± The white-bearded old man said in a deep voice, ¡°The people I invited are the top assassins from the second top assassin organization in the world, me Dragon. With them here, we¡¯ll definitely be safe!¡± ¡°me Dragon!¡± As soon as he heard the name, Jace had shock written all over his face. ¡°I heard that me Dragon rarely takes up missions in the United States, but it¡¯s very famous in Europe and Asia. How did you manage to hire me Dragon¡¯s top assassins? ¡°But since me Dragon ranks second in the world, its strength is naturally unquestionable. No matter how strong Lucas Gray is, he won¡¯t be able to defeat me Dragon! ¡°Haha, Mr. White, if I had known you had invited me Dragon¡¯s top experts, we would have just stopped Lucas Gray outside Clum Illuma and killed him. It would have saved me from feeling so worried.¡± Jace heaved a sigh of relief. But there was some dissatisfaction within him, as he felt that the white-bearded old man should have gotten rid of Lucas earlier. The white-bearded old man nced at Jace coldly without saying a word, making him shut up awkwardly. The white-bearded old man had a solemn look in his eyes. If it were that easy to deal with Lucas Gray, why would I have to wait until now? ... Jordan, who was driving in the Land Rover, obviously noticed that the ck Mercedes-Benz in front was driving in a strange route, ¡°Lucas, they seem to have discovered us.¡± ¡°Speed up and crash into them!¡± Lucas ordered. ¡°Yes!¡± Jordan floored the elerator. The Land Rover, whose engine had been modified for much greater performance, instantly sped up, zooming toward the ck Mercedes-Benz with a loud roar. But when the distance between the two cars was only about 50 meters, Lucas suddenly felt danger. His expression changed as he shouted at Jordan, ¡°Brake!¡± Jordan had followed Luca for a long time, so he instantly obeyed his everymand without hesitation and mmed on the brakes. Screech! Bang! But almost as soon as he mmed on the brakes, the explosive sound of a sniper bullet hitting the front hood of the car came, and a small hole formed in the metal. Jordan¡¯s face immediately darkened. If Lucas hadn¡¯t just shouted for him to brake in time, the sniper bullet might have shot him in the head. ¡°They actually sent snipers!¡± Jordan nced in the direction where the bullet came from while exuding a murderous aura. But since the effective range of a sniper rifle was generally 1,500 meters, which is way too far, it was difficult to distinguish quickly where the sniper was hiding. Moreover, if there was any further dy, they would lose track of Jace¡¯s car. ¡°I¡¯ll drive!¡± Lucas said decisively. Jordan immediately got up and sat in the passenger seat while Lucas got up from the backseat to move to the driver¡¯s seat. The two were long-timerades who had tacit cooperation, so they switched seats almost instantly. Lucas continued driving toward the Mercedes-Benz in front, but soon, several sniper gunshots resounded. Relying on his strong perception, Lucas controlled the speeding Land Rover and would dodge perfectly by turning, braking, drifting, and so on before the bullets struck. The Land Rover, which was a metal structure, seemed toe to life like a tiger under Lucas¡¯s hands as he narrowly evaded all the sniper bullets. At this moment, the Mercedes-Benz seized this opportunity to speed up to the maximum and raced through the streets of DC with no regard for the traffic lights. Both vehicles were moving extremely fast, but Lucas had to cope with dodging sniper bullets at the same time, so the distance between the cars inevitably widened. Any ordinary person who was continuously bombarded by sniper bullets would have lost the target even if they were lucky enough not to get shot by the bullets. But Lucas followed closely behind the Mercedes-Benz and remained in pursuit of his target despite the constant interference affecting his speed. Seeing the bullet holes and sparks constantly appearing on the car, Jordan flew into a rage. ¡°Those bastards! How dare they use snipers in DC?!¡± Based on the frequency and angles of the shots, there was definitely more than one sniper rifle in use. The other party had clearlye prepared! Chapter 1096 Chapter 1096: Finally Caught Up Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios However, even though the me Dragon experts were well prepared, they probably didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be able to dodge the sniper bullets while still driving the Land Rover in pursuit of Jace and the white-bearded old man. So after Lucas drove far away, the sounds of the sniper gunshots ceased. Clearly, there were constraints on the snipers¡¯ positions, and Lucas had already left their range. Even the best snipers wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything. Without the interference of the sniper rifles, Lucas immediately floored the elerator of the Land Rover and chased after the Mercedes-Benz at full speed. The performance of the modified Land Rover was shown at this moment as the distance between the Land Rover and the ck Mercedes-Benz continuously narrowed. ¡°Mr. White, what should we do?! They¡¯re about to catch up!¡± Jace kept looking backward. !! At first, he actually felt smug while watching sniper bullets constantly hitting Lucas¡¯s car. But he didn¡¯t expect that they would only hinder Lucas for a moment. They didn¡¯t manage to do any substantial damage to Lucas or his car. Seeing Lucas¡¯s car getting closer and closer, Jace was scared out of his wits. Next to him, the white-bearded old man had a gloomy expression. He originally thought his backup n would definitely stop Lucas. And if they were lucky, they might even be able to shoot Lucas dead, but he didn¡¯t expect the oue to fall short of his expectations. When Jace saw the grim expression on the white-bearded old man¡¯s face, he panicked even more and said repeatedly, ¡°Mr. White, hurry up and think of a solution! Did you only arrange one backup n? Where are the top assassins from me Dragon you mentioned? There shouldn¡¯t be only those snipers, right? ¡°You said that I¡¯m the one who will inherit the position of the Whiteleys¡¯ helmsman in the future. How can I let that bastard Lucas Gray catch me?! Quickly think of a way out!¡± Jace urged anxiously, afraid that he would fall into Lucas¡¯s hands again. ¡°Shut up! Or I¡¯ll throw you down immediately!¡± the white-bearded old man yelled in exasperation while ring at Jace. Jace was stunned and could only shut his mouth, though he was still terrified and anxious. The white-bearded old man looked at the Land Rover getting closer and closer, and his brows furrowed tightly. The other party¡¯s car was faster than theirs. Even if they drove at full speed, they couldn¡¯t escape from Lucas¡¯s pursuit. Now, he could only block Lucas himself and get the driver to take Jace away. After thinking of this, the white-bearded old man immediately ordered in a deep voice, ¡°Stop the car!¡± Screech! The driver immediately pulled over. Seeing Lucas about to catch up and the white-bearded old man telling the driver to stop instead of escape, Jace was terrified! Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter! The clear sounds of water dripping were very distinct in the enclosed space in the car. The white-bearded old man looked at Jace and felt incredibly disappointed. Was it really worth it risking his life for this stupid and timid person? But he didn¡¯t have a choice. Since he had promised that person, he had to keep Jace alive. ¡°I will stop him while the driver takes the opportunity to bring you away.¡± After taking a final nce at Jace, the white-bearded old man opened the car door and stepped out. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s car had caught up. The car door opened, and Lucas and Jordan stepped out. When the white-beared old man saw another person beside Lucas, his pupils constricted. It seemed that he had to change his ns of trying to stop Lucas. Lucas looked at the white-bearded old man and said coldly, ¡°Hand Jace over.¡± The white-bearded old man narrowed his eyes at Lucas and said slowly, ¡°Lucas Gray, no matter what, Jace is rted to you by blood. Can¡¯t you spare him once? If you really kill him, Michael Hutton will be extremely miserable. Don¡¯t you care about his feelings at all?¡± Lucas looked at him and said lightly, ¡°I can spare him, but you must hand him over first and make him answer one of my questions truthfully.¡± This was the biggest concession he could make. What he wanted to know the most right now was the secret about his mother. If Jace told him the truth, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him to spare his life. The matter of his mother was the most important thing to Lucas. When Lucas spoke with Michael previously, he had asked about his mother¡¯s secret, but Michael would rather sacrifice Jace than tell him. It was enough to show how important his mother¡¯s secret was. Since Michael refused to speak, the only person who could tell him about it was Jace. In order to get the truth, he could even let Jace off for the time being. A look of hesitation appeared on the white-bearded old man¡¯s face. But after a brief moment of hesitation, he said very firmly, ¡°No, you¡¯re so skilled in martial arts. If I really hand him over to you, how can I be sure that you¡¯ll spare his life? I don¡¯t trust you.¡± Jordan said coldly, ¡°Lucas has always been a man of his word. Since he has said so, he will never lie to you. But since you don¡¯t trust him, we don¡¯t have to waste our breaths on you. When Lucas stops you, I can easily drag that bastard Jace out of the car!¡± Previously, Lucas had informed Jordan that this white-bearded old man was rather strong. Jordan thought he was no match for the white-bearded old man, but it would be an easy task for him to stop Jace¡¯s car and pull him out from inside. Lucas looked at the white-bearded old man again and asked, ¡°Do you really refuse to hand him over?¡± The white-bearded old man gritted his teeth. ¡°If you want Jace, you have to go through me first!¡± Lucas frowned. Since the opponent was so stubborn, he didn¡¯t have to be polite anymore. ¡°Come on then. Jordan, do it!¡± With Lucas¡¯smand, Jordan immediately rushed toward the Mercedes-Benz! ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± the white-bearded old man shouted and immediately rushed toward Jordan to stop him. But a figure instantly appeared in front of the white-bearded old man. Lucas¡¯s icy cold voice followed. ¡°I¡¯m your opponent!¡± Immediately afterward, Lucas smashed his fist at the white-bearded old man¡¯s face. The white-bearded old man didn¡¯t dare to be negligent and raised his palms to block Lucas¡¯s blow. But Lucas¡¯s action obstructed him from stopping Jordan. At this moment, the white-bearded old man looked extremely grim. He knew that Lucas was extremely strong, and he probably wasn¡¯t a match for him. He was only slightly better than him in terms of speed. But if he took Jace with him and ran, it would be the same asst time. With a burden, his speed would be affected, and Lucas would still catch up. Besides, Lucas wasn¡¯t alone now. He also brought a helper. The white-bearded old man found it really difficult this time. Chapter 1097 Chapter 1097: Killer Under the Car Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios After stopping the white-bearded old man, Lucas didn¡¯t immediately attack him but stood in front of him and persuaded him earnestly, ¡°Sir, you¡¯re a rare senior expert. If you really fight to the death with me, there¡¯s a high chance you¡¯ll die in my hands. It would be a great pity for an expert like you to die here. ¡°Moreover, it¡¯s not worth it for someone as skilled as you to fight to the death to protect a good-for-nothing like Jace. So, if you¡¯re willing to join my side now, I can assure you that I can give you everything that the Whitleys give you. In fact, I can give you double.¡± Lucas¡¯s expression was very serious. Although he had only fought with the white-bearded old man once, the strength the old man disyed was incredible, and he was even stronger than Jordan. In particr, he was almost as fast as Lucas. If such a powerhouse could submit to Lucas, it would be of great help to him. !! Lucas was not short of money now, but he was short of some experts who could be of great use to him. Now, he had ns to move to DC with his entire family and develop some businesses here. DC was a ce where major forces met, and the enemies Lucas would have to face in the future would be more and more powerful and difficult to deal with. If he could get a top powerhouse like the white-bearded old man to join him and protect his family, he would definitely feel more at ease. So he was very sincere in trying to convince the white-bearded old man to join his camp. Unfortunately, although Lucas was very sincere, the white-bearded old man turned him down without negotiation. The old man shook his head and said, ¡°The Whiteleys saved my life before, so I can¡¯t be ungrateful to them. In order to repay them, I don¡¯t mind dying here!¡± Hearing this, Lucas could only sigh in pity. But he didn¡¯t continue to persuade him. People like the white-bearded old man would rather die than go against their morals, so it was absolutely impossible to win him over. ¡°Then, there¡¯s no other choice. It seems that we can only be enemies.¡± Lucas¡¯s face gradually became cold. For those destined to be his enemy, he would never show any mercy! ¡°Alright!¡± The white-bearded old man gritted his teeth and suddenly charged toward Lucas with a roar. Since things hade to this and their previous conflict was no longer resolvable, he could only go all out and get an advantage, which might help him stand a chance at winning. Lucas sneered. Facing the old man¡¯s attack, he punched the center of the old man¡¯s chest without showing mercy! Bang! The old man¡¯s body was sent flying backward, as if he had suddenly been struck by a cannonball! After flying more than ten meters away, the white-bearded old man¡¯s body finally crashed on the ground, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. At this moment, the white-bearded old man¡¯s eyes were wide open in shock and horror as he stared at Lucas in disbelief. He originally thought that his and Lucas¡¯s strength should be around the same level. When he was in Orange County, they had almost never fought head-on, but the white-bearded old man knew that Lucas¡¯s speed seemed to be inferior to his. Later, Lucas had even chosen not to fight with the old man for the safety of his family, which had made the old man rather smug. At Club Illuma tonight, the white-bearded old man had witnessed Lucas kill several powerhouses in a row and how skilled he was with his own eyes. The old man had already regarded Lucas as a top-level powerhouse on par with him. But he finally understood now that everything he had seen was just the tip of the iceberg of Lucas¡¯s strength. He hadn¡¯t witnessed Lucas¡¯s true strength at all! Reason being, even until now, no one had been able to force Lucas to exert his full strength! The punch just now made the white-bearded old man truly realize that he was worlds apart from Lucas! Meanwhile... When Jace saw the white-bearded old man rushing out to block Lucas and Jordan dashing toward his car, he was frightened out of his wits and frantically yelled at the driver, ¡°Quick, hurry up and drive!¡± Whoosh! But before the driver could start driving, the ss window beside his ear was suddenly shattered by arge fist! Afterward, arge hand grabbed the driver¡¯s neck and dragged him out of the car. ¡°Please... please spare me! I¡¯m just a driver! I don¡¯t know anything! Please spare me!¡± the driver pleaded profusely, paralyzed with fear and as pale as a sheet. Jordan wasn¡¯t going to kill a driver who was just taking orders. He threw him onto the ground casually and hollered, ¡°Get lost!¡± The driver immediately fled as if he had been spared from death. At this point, the driver obviously didn¡¯t care who the person in the car was. The most important thing was to save his own life! Seeing that the driver had been pulled out and driven away, Jace, in the backseat, curled up into a ball and wished he could shrink into the seat. He was now incredibly terrified, especially when he saw Jordan¡¯s demonic face approaching from the rear window. His entire body was trembling. What should I do? What should I do now? Now that the white-bearded old man was stuck in a fight with Lucas, he couldn¡¯te to save him, and the driver had also been chased away. He was all alone with no one to rescue him! At this moment, Jace¡¯s heart was full of regret. If he hadn¡¯t gone against Lucas, if he had heeded Michael¡¯s advice not to fight with Lucas, he probably wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this situation! But it was all toote now! Jordan opened the rear door, only to be overwhelmed with a stench that made him frown and grimace. Jace was actually so scared that he lost control of his bowels. How could he have dared to fight against Lucas? It was simply a humiliation to Lucas for someone like this to be his half-brother. Jordan looked at Jace with contempt and said coldly, ¡°Are you going to get out of the car obediently, or should I drag you out?¡± Jace wanted to say he didn¡¯t want to choose either. But after seeing Jordan¡¯s cold gaze that seemed ready to kill him at any moment, Jace shivered and said, ¡°I... I¡¯ll get out myself!¡± There was no other choice. If Jordan dragged him out of the car, Jace would definitely suffer immense pain. But while Jace was dawdling to get out of the car and Jordan looked impatient, a figure suddenly rolled out from under the Mercedes-Benz, and a shiny dagger shed straight at Jordan¡¯s calf! Chapter 1098 Chapter 1098: Death of the Old Man Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Jordan was startled and immediately jumped back to dodge the attack. But the sharp dagger cut a slit in his pants and almost cut his calf. Under the streetlights, the dagger in that man¡¯s hand flickered with a bluish light. It had obviously been coated with poison, and a minor cut by it would probably be fatal. How vicious! Jordan¡¯s expression immediately became grim. The slightest mistake or negligence would cause him to die here! The petite and thin assassin got out from under the car. He was d in an all-ck outfit with a ck ski mask on his face, covering his head well, revealing only his sharp eyes. !! Although he was thin, he was very agile. Especially when he was wielding the poison-coated dagger, his moves were sharp and ruthless, and he would often attack the spots hardest to defend. He was obviously a professional assassin. When Lucas saw this scene, his pupils suddenly constricted. Staring at the white-bearded old man, he hollered furiously, ¡°You actually hired such a vicious assassin!¡± The assassin¡¯s speed and moves were extremely vicious and shrewd, and the slightest negligence from his targets would be lethal. He was definitely sent by an extraordinarily powerful assassin organization. The white-bearded old man smiled coldly. ¡°That¡¯s right! As long as I can achieve my goal, hiring a few assassins is no big deal! ¡°If you continue fighting with me, your friend will really get killed by the assassin!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes showed astonishing killing intent. ¡°In that case, I don¡¯t need to keep you alive!¡± At first, Lucas didn¡¯t want to offend the Whitleys badly or kill the old man. All he wanted was to find out about his mother¡¯s secret from Jace. If Jace was willing to exin truthfully, he wouldn¡¯t mind letting them off. But the white-bearded old man actually hired such a powerful and vicious assassin to kill them. In that case, Lucas wouldn¡¯t spare his life. Even though the old man had lived for decades, he couldn¡¯t help feeling fear and panic facing Lucas¡¯s terrifying killing intent. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°To tell you the truth, the assassin I found is from me Dragon, one of the top five international assassin organizations! Your friend is no match for him at all! ¡°If you continue fighting with me here instead of saving your friend, he¡¯ll definitely die!¡± But Lucas remained standing still without any intention of helping Jordan. He looked at the white-bearded old man and sneered. ¡°It seems like you don¡¯t know me at all, and you¡¯ve severely underestimated my friend¡¯s abilities. ¡°I might as well tell you the truth. I¡¯m actually no stranger to me Dragon, and my friend has killed the top assassin of their organization!¡± Hearing this, the old man immediately turned pale and eximed in horror, ¡°How is that possible?¡± If Lucas said that he had killed the top assassin of me Dragon, the old man would still be able to believe it. But he couldn¡¯t believe that Jordan had killed the top powerhouse of me Dragon because Jordan was just Lucas¡¯s subordinate! If even one of Lucas¡¯s subordinates had such strength, how skilled must Lucas be? ¡°That¡¯s absolutely impossible!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t bother to exin it to him and just said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s up to you whether you believe it or not. Now, it¡¯s time for you to go to hell!¡± Then he attacked the white-bearded old man who had just gotten up from the ground again! The old man stood rooted to the ground with a horrified expression, as he discovered Lucas¡¯s aura was extremely strong. He was just like an intense typhoon that carried a devastating oppressive force. In front of Lucas, he was just like a small boat floating on the sea. In the face of such a violent storm, his only fate would be to be swept away and torn apart by the storm! ¡°Die!¡± Before he could even move, Lucas¡¯s figure had already appeared in front of him and mmed his fist onto his chest once again with speed and strength that was beyond his imagination. This time, Lucas didn¡¯t hold back. The destructive force in his fist had shattered all the ribs of the old man¡¯s chest, forming a huge dent in it! The old man opened his mouth and spurted out a mouthful of blood as his body flew far away like a kite with a broken string before crashing hard on the ground. But this time, it was impossible for him to stand up again! ¡°Who... exactly... are you?¡± The white-bearded old man raised his head from the ground with immense difficulty and looked at Lucas in a bid to find out something from him. But Lucas had already turned around and walked away without looking at him. The old man opened his mouth reluctantly, but he could no longer make a sound. In his vision, Lucas¡¯s figure was gradually bing blurry. Finally, everything turned into pitch-ck darkness. The old man¡¯s eyes lost theirst luster. His head lolled to the side, and he died. Even until he died, he still didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s true identity. Who knew if he had a trace of regret at thest moments before death? ... On the other side, Jordan and the ck-clothed assassin from me Dragon were also fighting intensely. Although that ck-clothed assassin¡¯s movements were very agile and insidious, and he was holding a poison-coated dagger that no one shoulde into contact with, Jordan was extremely powerful too. Despite exerting all his strength, the assassin couldn¡¯t hurt Jordan at all, shocking him greatly. ¡°Hurry up and deal with him,¡± Lucas said coldly after walking over. Then he walked away. While Lucas was fighting with the white-bearded old man and Jordan was dealing with the ck-clothed assassin who suddenly appeared, Jace had quietly gotten out of the other side of the car and fled in panic. He knew that he probably couldn¡¯t get far on his own, so he was smart enough to hide in a pile of garbage at the side and cover himself with somerge garbage bags. But Lucas saw these actions. After hearing Lucas¡¯s urging, Jordan immediately agreed. His movements when exchanging blows with the ck-clothed assassin suddenly became much faster, and his entire body was full of battle intent. ¡°No!¡± The assassin¡¯s eyes shed with an intense sense of fear and crisis. The mission he had received was to try to stall Jordan and try to kill him if possible. But when he really made a move, he realized that the young man in front of him was not easy to deal with at all. He couldn¡¯t even hurt Jordan with a surprise attack with his poisoned dagger. Now that Lucas had already dealt with the white-bearded old man and walked over, if it became two against one, his situation would be worse! Chapter 1099 Chapter 1099: Mother¡¯s Secret Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios The ck-clothed assassin was just a hired killer, not a soldier who would risk his life toplete his mission at all costs. So after seeing the bad situation, he immediately thought of retreating. He turned around and fled. The assassin thought, Given my speed, even if I can¡¯t beat them, I can escape easily¡ª But the next second, a sharp sound of something cutting through the air charged straight toward the back of his head. Whoosh! The assassin was shocked and immediately moved to dodge, but it was already toote. A sharp rock prated his head from the back, instantly mangling the flesh of his brain and killing him. !! Thud! The assassin was still in the posture of running forward when he suddenly fell to the ground and turned motionless. ¡°Tsk!¡± Jordan sighed and said with displeasure, ¡°Lucas, you already said that you would leave this person to me to deal with. I haven¡¯t even put out any real moves yet!¡± Lucas said, ¡°He was a top expert from me Dragon and already decided to escape. Even if you could catch up with him, it¡¯d be too troublesome. I might as well just kill him.¡± Normally, Lucas would have let Jordan deal with the assassin to practice his skills. But at this moment, Lucas just wanted to catch Jace as soon as possible and find out about his mother¡¯s secret. He didn¡¯t want any other trouble to arise. ¡°Okay then.¡± Jordan could only nod and walk to the Mercedes-Benz, only to discover that Jace was no longer inside. ¡°Huh? That punk was so scared that he soiled himself. He has the guts to run away?¡± Jordan was slightly surprised. But he was not the least bit worried that Jace could have run far away within such a short time. The moment he saw Lucas looking at the pile of garbage bags nearby, Jordan immediately understood. ¡°Damn it. He¡¯s actually hiding somewhere so dirty!¡± Jordan pursed his lips and walked toward the bags of garbage. He threatened coldly, ¡°Are you going to get out yourself, or do you need me to drag you out?¡± ¡°...¡± No one made a sound. Jace had buried himself in the pile of pungent garbage and hoped that no one would find him. But he had forgotten that his entire body was trembling out of immense fear, and the stic garbage bags around him kept rustling softly. He was probably the only one who thought that no one would be able to find him. ¡°Damn it! Are you pretending to be dead? If you don¡¯te out, I¡¯ll kick you until you¡¯re dead!¡± Jordan roared and kicked away a garbage bag blocking Jace¡¯s head. ¡°Ah! Ah... d-don¡¯t kill me! Help! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± Jace was terrified out of his wits and screamed loudly with his eyes closed. Jace had long lost the airs and arrogance of a wealthy scion. Now, he was covered in filth, and apart from the stench of his own excreta, there was also the filth from the garbage heap he had crawled into. He was dirty and disheveled as he huddled in the garbage heap while begging for mercy. He was unbearably unsightly. Lucas nced at him coldly and instructed Jordan, ¡°Get him to shut up and take him somewhere clean to speak.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Without saying another word, Jordan stepped forward and kicked Jace¡¯s neck. Jace¡¯s eyes immediately rolled backward as he fainted. ... Ten minutester, in an unupied house in DC, Lucas was sitting on the couch in the living room while Jordan shoved Jace under the showerhead in the bathroom and rinsed him thoroughly under the running cold water. ¡°Ah!¡± The cold water woke Jace up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Jordan¡¯s terrifying face and immediately wanted to scream. ¡°Shut up! If you dare to scream again, I¡¯ll kill you right now even without Lucas¡¯s instructions!¡± Jordan shouted coldly, making Jace shut up. After Jace was mostly clean, Jordan picked him up, carried him into the living room, and threw him in front of Lucas. Jace looked up in panic and saw Lucas sitting on the couch in front of him, looking at him with a hostile expression. Flustered, he immediately asked, ¡°Lucas Gray, what... do you want to do?¡± ¡°You should know!¡± Lucas stood up and looked at Jace from above coldly. ¡°You¡¯d better exin honestly about my mother¡¯s matter! If you dare to lie to me, I¡¯ll kill you immediately!¡± A formidable killing intent emerged in Lucas¡¯s eyes. Frightened by Lucas¡¯s gaze, Jace huddled on the floor and stammered, ¡°I... I actually, I actually don¡¯t know what your mother¡¯s secret is at all! The reason I said thatst time was because I was... afraid you would kill me. That¡¯s why I made it up! ¡°I... don¡¯t know your mother well at all. How could I possibly know her secret? I really don¡¯t know anything! ¡°Lucas... please just let me off this time on ount that we¡¯re born to the same father! I promise I¡¯ll never trouble you again in the future, and I can even never appear in front of you again! ¡°If that¡¯s not enough, then I... I can obey your orders and do whatever you ask me to do. Even if you tell me to kneel and lick your shoes, I¡¯m willing!¡± Then Jace even kneeled on the floor, looked at Lucas¡¯s leather shoes, moved his head forward, and stuck out his tongue. Jace had already decided to go all out. In order to survive, hepletely abandoned his dignity as a scion of the Huttons. But Lucas was disgusted by the thought of Jace licking his shoes! So he kicked Jace without hesitation and hollered, ¡°That¡¯s disgusting! Let me ask you onest time. What do you know about my mother? ¡°I¡¯m warning you. My patience is limited! If you hide anything and try to deceive me again, I will kill you immediately! ¡°As for us being half-brothers... Hah, you should know very well that you have never considered me your brother, and likewise, I have never considered you my brother! ¡°I¡¯m giving you onest chance now. If you honestly tell me everything I want to know, I can spare your life. But if you insist on not telling me anything or lying to me, you will die here!¡± Lucas¡¯s loud voice was as cold as ice. Jace spat out a mouthful of blood after being kicked by Lucas. He knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t lying. Lucas really dared to kill him! If he didn¡¯t tell the truth now, he would really die here! Jace gritted his teeth and finally said, ¡°I... I¡¯ll tell you everything I know! Just before you and your mother were kicked out of the family twenty years ago, I overheard my parents arguing. At the time, my mother said, ¡®That woman¡¯s son isn¡¯t your child. Why do you want to keep them in the family?¡¯ ¡°That... that¡¯s all I remember. I don¡¯t know if my mother was talking about your mother when she said that woman! ¡°Anyway, my mother was really mad that day, and a few dayster, you and your mother were kicked out of the Huttons. ¡°I was only ten at the time, and there are many things I don¡¯t know. When I asked my parents about itter, they forbade me from mentioning it again or telling anyone else about it. ¡°That¡¯s all I know! Really! I¡¯m definitely not lying to you!¡± Jace assured repeatedly, afraid that Lucas wouldn¡¯t believe him. Chapter 1100 Chapter 1100: Not Biologically Rted Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios What Jace said was like a bolt from the blue, striking Lucas straight in the heart. He looked at Jace with a dumbfounded expression, his ears buzzing. He couldn¡¯t believe what he had heard at all. Although Jace said that he didn¡¯t know if Michael and his wife were talking about his mother back then, Lucas knew that Michael wasn¡¯t a promiscuous phnderer. Apart from Jace¡¯s mother, the only other woman he had had an intimate rtionship with was Lucas¡¯s mother, Emma Gray. Furthermore, based on time, the woman they had talked about was obviously his mother! If what Jace said was true, it meant that Emma¡¯s son wasn¡¯t fathered by Michael. In other words, Lucas wasn¡¯t biologically rted to the Huttons at all! !! How... how was this possible? ¡°You¡¯re lying! You must have made it up to deceive me! ¡°Jace Hutton, tell me honestly. It¡¯s all lies you made up, right?!¡± Lucas¡¯s heart was trembling violently as he stepped forward and grabbed Jace¡¯s neck while hollering furiously. His eyes were red, and he was almost unable to control his strength in the heat of the moment. Overwhelmed with fury, he choked Jace so hard that Jace¡¯s eyes rolled backward, and he was on the verge of death. Seeing the situation going awry, Jordan quickly went forward to put his hand on Lucas¡¯s arm. He advised anxiously, ¡°Lucas, calm down! Don¡¯t kill him yet. Let¡¯s question him slowly and make him tell the truth before you decide what to do next! ¡°Lucas, if he dies now, it¡¯ll be difficult for us to find out the truth!¡± Although Lucas was furious, he hadn¡¯tpletely lost his mind. After hearing what Jordan said, he took two deep breaths to calm himself down and then let go of Jace¡¯s neck. Jace had just experienced his closest shave with death, and his face was purplish. Hey on the floor, panting heavily, his heart filled with indescribable fear. He had once again wet his pants out of horror, but it was unnoticeable because his clothes were already drenched in cold water. He had almost been strangled to death by Lucas. So to Jace, Lucas had be the most terrifying person in the world, even more terrifying than devils! ¡°Jace, I¡¯ll give you onest chance. If you dare to lie to me again, I¡¯ll break your neck! If you haven¡¯t had enough of the taste just now, I can fulfill your wishes!¡± Lucas clenched his fists, trying his best to keep himself calm. But everyone could tell that Lucas was on the brink of losing his temper and that he was just trying to contain his anger. If Jace really provoked him again, Lucas would definitely kill him in a fit of anger. Jace understood this very well. He knelt on the ground and cried miserably. ¡°I was telling the truth! I wouldn¡¯t dare to lie to you! ¡°If... if you don¡¯t believe me, you can call Dad right now and ask him if I lied or not! I swear I didn¡¯t lie to you. If what I said isn¡¯t true, you... you can kill me right now!¡± Jace was so flustered that he kept babbling and swearing oaths. When Lucas heard this, the anger in his heart gradually subsided. He knew that Jace was extremely terrified of death. Now that he had said this while facing the threat of death, it meant that everything he said was the truth. In other words, he really wasn¡¯t Michael¡¯s biological son, nor was he a Hutton at all! ¡°How... how is this possible... It shouldn¡¯t be like this,¡± Lucas murmured, at a loss. He took a couple of steps back and fell on the couch behind him. The truth that Jace revealedpletely subverted everything that Lucas had known for over two decades of his life. It was Jordan¡¯s first time seeing Lucas so dispirited and despondent. But he had also heard what Jace just said, so he could empathize with Lucas at this moment. Jordan had been working for Lucas for years, and Lucas had never hidden any secrets from him, regardless of what he did. He treated Jordan as his brother, so Jordan was very clear about theplicated emotions that Lucas had for the Huttons. In the past, Lucas had been holding a grudge against the Huttons because Michael had driven him and his mother out of the Huttons, which had caused Emma to die at an early age. But because of Lucas¡¯s mother¡¯sst words before her death, Lucas let the Huttons off the hook and didn¡¯t take revenge on them or Michael. Thus, he had no choice but to force himself to bear with the hatred. Otherwise, the Huttons and Michael would have perished a long time ago. But what Jace said revealed that Lucas wasn¡¯t biologically rted to the Huttons at all, nor was he Michael¡¯s son. In that case, the hatred he had borne for them for years was no longer justified. Moreover, since Lucas wasn¡¯t Michael¡¯s son, who was his biological father? Why did he abandon him and his mother over two decades ago? Why would Michael rather let Lucas resent him for years than tell him the truth? It left Lucas in great confusion. Jordan thought about it and said cautiously, ¡°Lucas, why don¡¯t you call Michael Hutton and ask about it?¡± No amount of caution was too much when it came to matters rted to one¡¯s biological parents. Lucas suddenly stood up and said firmly. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m going to get a clear exnation from Michael Hutton!¡± Since he couldn¡¯t make things clear over the phone, he had to question Michael face to face! He wanted to know the truth of the matter! Lucas strode toward the door while Jordan quickly asked, ¡°Lucas, what about this guy?¡± He pointed at Jace, who was curled up into a ball on the floor, looking terrified. Lucas looked at Jace with aplicated expression before saying, ¡°Take him with us. We¡¯ll go to the Huttons together.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan immediately acknowledged. ... During the journey, Lucas sat in the passenger seat with a gloomy expression andplicated emotions within him. In fact, although he hadn¡¯t gone to Michael to ask yet, he was already clear of the oue. He probably really wasn¡¯t Michael¡¯s son. If Michael really wasn¡¯t his father, it would no longer be necessary for him to resent him for being so heartless for so many years. Besides, Jace was Michael¡¯s only son, and he could... no longer harm him easily. 1 Hah, how ridiculous! Forty minutester, the ck Land Rover drove up to the gate of the Hutton manor in DC. It was the first time Lucas had returned to this familiar gate since he was driven out of the family when he was eight years old. Chapter 1101 Chapter 1101: Who Is My Biological Father Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Because it was an unfamiliar car, the security guard at the gate immediately stopped the car and asked, ¡°This is the Hutton residence. Unauthorized persons are not allowed to enter. Who are you?¡± Lucas nced at Jace, who was sitting in the back seat. Jace immediately rolled down the window to reveal his face. ¡°It¡¯s me. Open up now!¡± With a respectful expression, the security guard quickly smiled deferentially. ¡°Mr. Jace, wee back. Pleasee in quick!¡± Then he pressed the button to open the gate of the manor and respectfully allowed the car to pass. !! As for why Jace wasn¡¯t riding in the cars he often drove but in a less upscale Land Rover, he was just a lowly security guard and in no ce to ask. The Land Rover slowly drove into the Hutton estate before finally stopping in front of a luxurious vi. Lucas looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar scenes in this manor, his heart filled withplicated emotions. In the past few years, he had dreamed countless times about all the things he had encountered as a child in the Hutton residence. He had also gritted his teeth and swore countless times that he had to live well so that he could teach the Huttons who had bullied him and his mother a hard lesson. But now that he had returned to the Hutton residence again, his mood was extremelyplicated. He didn¡¯t even know whether he wanted to get an affirmative answer or a negative answer from Michael. If the truth was that he wasn¡¯t biologically rted to the Huttons, then his hatred for the Huttons after so many years would cease to exist. In fact, it would be that Michael knew he wasn¡¯t his son, yet he still took him and his mother in and even raised him for years. Based on this alone, the Huttons were considered his benefactors. The enemy he had hated for so many years turned out to be the benefactor who raised him. Could there be anything more ridiculous than this? What kind of mood should he have when facing Michael? After a moment of silence, Lucas finally opened the car door and brought Jordan and Jace into the vi that couldn¡¯t be any more familiar in his memory. As they stepped in, a familiar voice sounded. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± In the living room on the first floor, Michael was sitting on the couch calmly while facing the front door, as if he had already expected their arrival. He looked at Lucas with aplicated expression before turning to look at Jace. When he saw Jace dripping wet with a purplish mark on his neck, he frowned slightly before sighing. After finally returning home and seeing his father, Jace burst into tears and couldn¡¯t wait toin to his father about Lucas. But Lucas was right next to him, and he had already suffered a lot at his hands, so he didn¡¯t dare to create trouble. Instead, he said frantically, ¡°Dad, Lucas isn¡¯t your biological son, is he? Quickly tell him if he¡¯s your biological son or not and whether he¡¯s a Hutton or not!¡± Michael immediately frowned. He didn¡¯t expect that Jace would eventually reveal the truth and that Lucas woulde to the Hutton residence again today for this matter. Lucas stared closely into Michael¡¯s eyes and said, ¡°I want to know if there are any blood ties between me and you! I hope you can tell me the truth!¡± His eyes were bloodshot, and he clenched his fists tightly while waiting for Michael¡¯s answer. Michael looked at Lucas and opened his mouth, but he didn¡¯t say a word. But he eventually let out a long sigh with an emotional look. Lucas gritted his teeth and continued, ¡°The reason I came to you is because I want to hear it from you. If I really want to know if I¡¯m your son or not, I can always get a DNA test done! So don¡¯t try to deceive me!¡± Just as Lucas said, technology was so advanced these days that he could easily get a sample of Michael¡¯s DNA and then go to a relevant institution to get a DNA paternity test done. The result would naturally be clear then. The reason he hadn¡¯t done this before was that he had never suspected that he might not be Michael¡¯s biological son. When he heard what Jace said today, it had given him a huge shock. After a moment of silence, Michael sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s already been so many years. Is there really a need to verify if you¡¯re my biological son or not?¡± Lucas froze for a moment before suddenlyughing. Although Michael didn¡¯t say it outright, it was obvious what he meant. It turned out that Michael, whom Lucas had resented for so many years, was really not his biological father! In that case, didn¡¯t it mean that all the hatred and misery he had been holding in for years was just a joke? Since Michael wasn¡¯t his biological father, he had no obligation to raise him, and there was no reason for Lucas to hate him even though he had driven him and Emma out of the family! Lucas clenched his fist andughed so hard that he even started tearing up. It turned out that he really wasn¡¯t blood-rted to the Huttons. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Seeing Lucas¡¯s miserableughter, Michael felt great heartache. He had never had any intention of revealing this matter. Even if he died, he never thought of telling Lucas about this. But two may keep counsel, putting one away. Lucas eventually found out. ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t... don¡¯t be like this. Your mother would be heartbroken to see you this way,¡± Michael said worriedly. There was no hatred in his eyes when he looked at Lucas, only the worry of a loving father. Although it was true that Lucas wasn¡¯t his biological son, and Lucas had hated him for years and still didn¡¯t acknowledge him as his father, Michael had always treated Lucas as his own son and felt nothing but heartache and guilt toward him. He didn¡¯t hate him at all. Back then, he had no choice but to drive Lucas and his mother out of the Huttons, which was a decision that he had been regretting for years. He felt that he had let Lucas down greatly. After seeing the guilt and worry in Michael¡¯s eyes, Lucas felt even worse. He didn¡¯t know how to feel about Michael now. In the end, Lucas wiped his face hard and asked, ¡°Then, who is my biological father?¡± He stared straight at Michael. So many years had passed, and only from Michael could he find out the truth. But a pained look appeared on Michael¡¯s face. After a long while of silence, he said bitterly, ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Lucas was very surprised by his answer. Chapter 1102 Chapter 1102: Treat You Like My Son Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Michael continued, ¡°When I met your mother back then, she was already pregnant. But no matter how much I asked her, she refused to tell me anything about that man. ¡°That¡¯s why I still don¡¯t know who your biological father is even after so many years.¡± Lucas was surprised at first. But at the thought of his mother¡¯s mysteriousness and how he had never heard anything about her past when he was a child, Lucas knew that Michael was telling the truth. As long as his mother wasn¡¯t willing to say anything, there was no way anyone would know. But this answer made it even harder for Lucas. !! This also meant that he was more likely than not to never find out who his biological father was. Confused, Lucas stood still for a long while before smiling bitterly and saying softly, ¡°Got it. Sorry for imposing on you.¡± With that, he turned around and walked toward the door. Lucas, who had always been formidable and full of vigor, was now walking with heavy and sad footsteps. Looking at Lucas¡¯s back, Michael suddenly felt his heart ache terribly. Although Lucas wasn¡¯t his biological son, he was the child of the woman he loved the most. Thus, Michael had always regarded Lucas as his own son, and it hurt him to see Lucas in so much pain. If he hadn¡¯t been threatened and forced by the Whitleys back then, he wouldn¡¯t have driven Lucas and his mother out of the family, making them suffer so much, back then! Seeing Lucas about to walk out of the vi, Michael finally couldn¡¯t help calling out to him. ¡°Lucas!¡± Lucas stopped but didn¡¯t turn around. Tears welled up in Michael¡¯s eyes, and he said with trembling lips, ¡°It was my fault for driving you and your mother out of the family back then! But in my heart, you¡¯ve always been my son!¡± Lucas¡¯s heart pounded rapidly. He immediately felt his heart ache. Many things he had deliberately forgotten once again surfaced in his mind. As far as he could remember, Michael had indeed been a good father to him. Michael had oftene to him and held him in his arms while looking at him with a smile and giving him some toys and delicious food. A long time ago, when he was a child, whenever the Huttons¡¯ servants and Jace bullied him, Michael had berated them furiously, and Jace had even been reprimanded severely by him on multiple asions. Butter on, Michael slowly stoppeding to see him and protecting him. At the time, Lucas thought that Michael didn¡¯t like him anymore, so he stopped paying attention to him and protecting him. But in hindsight, he realized that Michael had yet to be the helmsman of the Huttons back then, and his wife was from a powerful royal family branch. Who knew when Lucas might have died if Michael had continued to adore him and protect him as before? Internal strife wasmon even in modern families. Besides, he was just a few years old back then, and his mother didn¡¯t have any protection from anyone. It would have been a piece of cake for someone to kill him silently in the Hutton residence. Or rather, the fact that Michael could let him and his mother live peacefully with the Huttons for eight years was already rather rare. It had never been Michael¡¯s intention to drive him and his mother out of the Huttons, and he must have been extremely sad about it too. After Lucas figured these things out, his emotions became even moreplicated. Even though he wasn¡¯t Michael¡¯s biological son, Michael had still been able to do so much for him and his mother. It proved that Michael was a good father. ¡°You don¡¯t owe me anything, but I owe you gratitude for raising me for a few years,¡± Lucas said bitterly and left without turning back. Standing behind him, Michael could no longer control his tears, and they flowed out uncontrobly. Lucas no longer hated him, but he had also found out that he wasn¡¯t his son, so he wouldn¡¯t have any ties with him in the future. Michael could only watch Lucas leave without being able to do anything. ... After Lucas left the Hutton residence, Jordan naturally followed him closely and sent him home. Along the way, Lucas remained silent, so Jordan drove quietly without saying anything either. He knew that Lucas must be feeling awful now, and he just had to apany him silently. When the car passed through an area downtown, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Stop. I¡¯ll get off here. You can go home first.¡± Jordan said worriedly, ¡°Lucas, let me apany you!¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°I just want to be alone for a while. Nothing will happen.¡± Since he had already said so, Jordan naturally could only do as he was told and park the car on the side of the road. Lucas pushed open the door and got out of the car. But he suddenly thought of something and instructed Jordan, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about what happened today, not even Cheyenne.¡± Jordan immediately assured, ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± After all, this concerned Lucas¡¯s privacy. Lucas nodded. ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± With a casual wave of his hand, Lucas walked alone on the bustling street. At this moment, it was almost 11 p.m. It was close to midnight, but the busymercial center of DC was still bustling with people. Many people wereughing merrily on the sidewalks. There were young people having dinner and socializing with colleagues, business professionals discussing business, and various people taking their friends out for some fun. There were families with babies and loving couples. Everyone¡¯s expression was happy. Lucas was the exception. He was walking alone through the streets, with confusion and loss written all over his face. He was walking aimlessly, not knowing where he was going or what he should do now. Suddenly, Lucas¡¯s phone rang. It was a call from Cheyenne. ¡°Honey, it¡¯s reallyte. Haven¡¯t you finished with work yet?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s gentle voice sounded. The moment he heard her voice, Lucas felt especially bitter and had a strong urge to confide in her. But he soon restrained his desire and smiled bitterly. How could he tell Cheyenne about this matter? ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not finished yet. I¡¯ll probably be homete, so you don¡¯t have to wait for me. Just go to bed when you¡¯re tired.¡± Lucas tried his best to speak as calmly as possible. He had to adjust his mood and sort out all his emotions before going home. Otherwise, with Cheyenne¡¯s sensitiveness, she would easily discover that something was wrong with him. He wanted to sort this matter out slowly himself. He couldn¡¯t even tell Cheyenne about it. Chapter 1103 Chapter 1103: Drowning Sorrows in Alcohol Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Cheyenne didn¡¯t say much and just said gently, ¡°Okay, I got it. Go ahead and handle your affairs. Be careful on your way back.¡± Lucas had a powerful position, so likewise, he had plenty of things to handle. So Cheyenne didn¡¯t suspect anything at all. After hanging up the phone, Lucas felt apologetic. He had almost never lied to Cheyenne before, and the sense of guilt truly felt terrible. But he really couldn¡¯t go home in his current state. !! He put his phone back into his pocket and nned to continue strolling aimlessly on the street, but he suddenly saw a bar at the side. Without much hesitation, Lucas stepped right inside. In fact, he rarely patronized ces like bars, but he was really in low spirits today. So the moment he saw the bar, he felt a strong urge to drown his sorrows in alcohol. The bar wasn¡¯t too noisy but instead quite elegant. On stage in the bar, a young man was ying a beautiful country song on an ordion. Lucas walked to the front of the bar counter, and the bartender immediately asked, ¡°Sir, would you like a drink?¡± ¡°Give me a bottle of the strongest alcohol you have here,¡± Lucas said directly. ¡°Uh...¡± The bartender hesitated. ¡°Our strongest drink here is distilled vodka from Pnd, which is 96% alcohol. It¡¯s usually used as a base for cocktails. Ordinary people won¡¯t be able to stand drinking it raw. Sir, would you like to switch to something with a slightly lower alcohol content...¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lucas interrupted, ¡°I¡¯ll take that. Give me a bottle of it!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± The bartender felt helpless. He had already informed Lucas of the dangers of drinking the Polish distilled vodka, but there was nothing he could do since the customer insisted. Soon, an opened bottle of Polish distilled vodka and a ss were ced in front of Lucas. Therge word 96% printed on the bottle caught the attention of the guests around him. The bartender poured a small ss of the vodka for Lucas, but Lucas waved him away and poured the alcohol himself, quickly filling the entire ss. He downed it in one go. A few people at the side, including a waiter and the bartender, looked at Lucas in astonishment. Most people probably wouldn¡¯t be able to take a tiny sip of spirits with such a high alcohol concentration, but Lucas actually chugged a ss in one go! This wasn¡¯t all. After downing the ss, Lucas poured another ss, filling it to the brim before chugging it again. Then the third ss... The fourth... After he finished the fourth ss, there was only a small amount of vodka left in the bottle. Lucas actually downed several sses of the vodka, which was extremely strong for ordinary people, one after another like it was in water. The strong alcohol naturally burned his throat, but after downing almost an entire bottle, he still felt cold in his heart. Just as he poured all the vodka into the ss, downed it, and ordered another bottle of the same vodka, he heard a familiar female voiceing from behind. ¡°Lucas? What are you doing here?¡± Lucas turned around and saw someone who surprised him. ¡°Lena Sawyer?¡± Indeed, the person who came was Lena, the daughter of Ethan Sawyer, the wealthiest man in Orange County, and Cheyenne¡¯s long-time friend. Lucas didn¡¯t expect that she would suddenly appear in DC in a bar that he had casually entered. ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s really you! What a coincidence!¡± Lena walked over in surprise, sat down on the high chair beside Lucas, and smiled sweetly. ¡°I happened to be out drinking with my friends today, and when I saw your back, I found it familiar. I didn¡¯t expect it to be really you! Haha, fate must have brought us together!¡± Lena looked around and saw that he was alone, so she asked in surprise, ¡°Why are you here alone? Didn¡¯t Cheyennee with you?¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°She¡¯s at home.¡± Except for a hint of surprise when he first saw Lena, his expression was cold and indifferent. Besides, he had nned to get drunk alone in a ce where no one knew him, without the disturbance of anyone. So he sounded even colder after hearing Lena¡¯s question. But Lena thought that Lucas meant Cheyenne was back home in Orange County, so she was suddenly thrilled after a brief moment of surprise. It seemed that Lucas was in a bad mood. At the mention of Cheyenne, his tone was cold and indifferent. Moreover, he was drinking alone at a bar. Did Lucas and Cheyenne have a fight? Lena guessed, but she couldn¡¯t help feeling some joy. Ever since Lucas had saved her at the entrance of the Sawyers¡¯ vi like a knight in shining armor a few months ago, his figure had been deeply etched in her mind. But Lena had been suppressing her feelings because of Cheyenne. However, the more she wanted to forget him, the harder it was for her to do so. As Lucas continued to save her from danger again and again, Lena fell hopelessly in love with him and finally decided to take action. Previously in a hotel in LA, Lena had even tried to seduce Lucas in her swimsuit at the pool on the top floor, but she didn¡¯t seed. Now, she unexpectedly met Lucas once again far away in DC, and he was currently alone. She was sure that this was another chance given to her by God. With this thought, Lena coughed and asked tentatively, ¡°Uh... you don¡¯t seem too happy. Did you... have a fight with Cheyenne?¡± ¡°No,¡± Lucas replied extremely indifferently before downing the ss of the highly distilled vodka in his hand in one go. Although Lucas denied it, he was clearly in a bad mood since he was chugging hard liquor. She reckoned that he must have had a fight with Cheyenne. After thinking about it, Lena said, ¡°I¡¯ll drink with you!¡± Then she grabbed Lucas¡¯s vodka bottle, poured half a ss, and took arge mouthful. But... ¡°Pfft!¡± As soon as the vodka entered her mouth, she immediately spat it out ungracefully! While Lena coughed, her face flushed red, and she hurriedly wiped the corners of her mouth and the liquor stains on her clothes. Sheined repeatedly, ¡°What kind of alcohol is this? It leaves a terrible taste in my mouth!¡± Seeing how embarrassed and disheveled Lena was, Lucas couldn¡¯t help being amused regardless of his awful mood. Chapter 1104 Chapter 1104: Sending to the Hotel Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas pointed to therge ¡®96%¡¯ logo on the bottle and said with a smile, ¡°This isn¡¯t ordinary alcohol. It¡¯s highly distilled vodka from Pnd, the strongest alcohol in the world. Of course you can¡¯t take it.¡± Lena was bbergasted. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? You caused me to be so embarrassed.¡± After pausing for a moment, she frowned again and said, ¡°Wait, you actually drank an entire ss at once like it was water. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t notice how high its alcohol content was and thought that it was just a bottle of liquor with average alcohol content. This is all your fault!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t argue with her. He simply smiled and poured himself another ss of the vodka that appeared extremely terrifying in the eyes of others. ¡°Forget it. Please give me a Blue Jazz cocktail,¡± Lena said to the bartender in front of her. !! ¡°Okay, just a moment. please!¡± With a light smile, the bartender immediately took out several types of raw liquor and disyed his spectacr bartending skills in front of the two people. Unfortunately, the two of them didn¡¯t seem to be in the mood to appreciate the showcase. ¡°Why did youe to DC?¡± Lucas asked. Lena said, ¡°My dad said he wants to develop the Sawyers¡¯ business in DC, so he sent me over to survey the market.¡± Lucas was a little surprised. ¡°Are the Sawyers nning to expand to DC too?¡± The Sawyers were one of the four top families in Orange County, and Ethan Sawyer was the wealthiest man there. But after all, they were only a powerful family in a ce like Orange County and couldn¡¯tpare to the various powerful forces in California at all. In the prosperous DC, they were just a small fry. Thus, Lucas was surprised. Lena crinkled her nose and said, ¡°I said the same thing to my dad, but he told me to go and take a look. If there¡¯s a good opportunity in DC, we can¡¯t miss it. So, I¡¯m here!¡± ¡°I see.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything else and downed anotherrge ss of liquor. Seeing Lucas down the strongest alcohol in the world, Lena found him to be really suave. But at the same time, she felt that drinking so much strong alcohol was detrimental to his health. After all, an alcohol content of 96% was almost the same as pure alcohol, and people would easily get drunk or suffer severe health issues from drinking it. ¡°Lucas, the alcohol content of this liquor is too high. You¡¯d better not drink it!¡± Lena said worriedly. Then she picked up her phone and said deliberately, ¡°It seems like I have to call Cheyenne and get her to persuade you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Lucas immediately reached out to stop Lena from making the call. He didn¡¯t want Cheyenne to see how miserable he was, which was why he wanted to drink alone to sort out his emotions. He had just lied to Cheyenne that he was handling some matters outside. If Lena told her that he was drinking alone in the bar, she would definitely rush over worriedly. Lena didn¡¯t really intend to call Cheyenne in the first ce. Seeing Lucas stopping her, she put her phone away and asked with a smile, ¡°And you say you didn¡¯t have a fight with Cheyenne. Given the way you¡¯re behaving, there¡¯s obviously a conflict between you two. That¡¯s why you¡¯re out here drinking alone, right? What really happened?¡± After Lena appeared, Lucas was no longer in the mood to continue drinking, so he stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m done. You should head back early! It¡¯s gettingte.¡± With that, Lucas settled the bill, paying for the cocktail Lena had ordered but hadn¡¯t drunk yet, and turned around to leave. His pace was extremely fast, and he reached the entrance of the bar in just a few seconds. ¡°Hey, wait for me!¡± Lena immediately trotted after him, but she only managed to catch up with him at the entrance and grabbed his clothes. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Lucas frowned as he looked at the cuff of his shirt that she was grabbing before pulling it back with some force. Lucas had honestly never liked getting too close to other women, especially since Lena had behaved a little too chummy with him on several asions. If any other woman did this, Lucas would have already snapped at her and walked away. But Lena was Cheyenne¡¯s best friend, so he couldn¡¯t humiliate her like that. But he still found it inappropriate of her to chase after him and grab his cuff tantly. So he looked more stern and aloof. ¡°My friends have already left, and it¡¯s sote. Aren¡¯t you worried about letting me go back alone? What if I meet a bad guy on the way? Please send me back to the hotel, okay?¡± Lena looked at Lucas pleadingly. Lucas instinctively intended to turn her down. But at this moment, a sudden gust of cool wind, and he suddenly felt light-headed. He had just drunk a bottle and a half of the strongest Polish distilled vodka, and the effects of the alcohol were now kicking in, thus making him feel dizzy and sleepy. Lucas knew that after drinking so much, he would definitely reek of alcohol. If he went home in this state, it would be difficult to hide it from Cheyenne. So he could only check into a hotel for the night. Since Lena wanted him to send her back to her hotel, it happened to be on the way. ¡°Okay, which hotel are you staying at?¡± Lucas asked. On cloud nine, Lena quickly said, ¡°It¡¯s not too far from here. It¡¯s just a few minutes away by taxi.¡± Thus, the two of them stood by the road and took a taxi to Crown International Hotel. It was indeed very close. In just seven or so minutes, they had already arrived at the hotel. But Lucas had already passed out in the back seat within this short period of time. ¡°Lucas? Lucas?¡± Lena called out to him again and again, but he didn¡¯t wake up. When she thought that he was really drunk, many unspeakable thoughts surged in her heart, which began pounding rapidly. If he¡¯s drunk, then... maybe... I can... With the taxi driver¡¯s help, Lena helped Lucas out of the car, let him lean on her, and walked toward the hotel. With the cold wind blowing outside and the movements as they walked, Lucas became a little awake and could walk a little, though he was still dizzy. ¡°Have we arrived at the hotel?¡± Lucas asked in a daze. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re going in soon. I¡¯ll hold you!¡± Lena said gleefully as she tried her best to support his body. Although it wasn¡¯t easy to walk with a drunk person, she was overjoyed, and she even wished that the walk wouldst longer. To be able to have such intimate contact with the man she adored, Lena was already blissful enough. Chapter 1105 Chapter 1105: Sobering Up After Being Drunk Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios In fact, Lucas couldn¡¯t hold his liquor that well. When he was a student, he had never had the opportunity to drink something as extravagant as alcohol. At the time, he even had to scrimp and save for his meals. When he joined the Falcon Regimentter, it was even more impossible for him to drink since he was only a junior soldier. And when he became the captain, he abstained from drinking out of discipline. So generally, even when attending functions, he mostly drank water and rarely wine. But what he had encountered today was too saddening, and he couldn¡¯t tell anyone about his feelings either. Since he happened to stumble upon a bar, he had suddenly felt the urge to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Moreover, he had deliberately chosen a drink with a high alcohol content. Polish distilled vodka was the strongest spirit in the world, so its effects were definitely not to be underestimated. Lucas could no longer think straight at this point, and he didn¡¯t even know who the person beside him was. !! After a great deal of effort, Lena finally helped Lucas to her room. In the hotel lobby, a staff member saw that Lucas was drunk and wanted to help the petite Lena, but she declined. The opportunity to have such intimate contact with Lucas was something she had dreamed of, so how could she let a staff member take over? So despite being exhausted, Lena still stubbornly helped Lucas to her room and put him down. Looking at the man she had been in love with for a long time lying on the hotel bed with his guard down in a drunken stupor, Lena could barely suppress her excitement. She could finally get intimate with Lucas in the same room, and this time, he wouldn¡¯t reject her again! ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t me me. Your man is such a dreamboat. It¡¯s only normal for me to fall in love with him. You should be able to understand...¡± Lena muttered softly. She had already struggled enough and worked through the dilemma on the way here. Now that Lucas was lying on her bed, she wouldn¡¯t let go of this opportunity! Lena¡¯s heart was pounding so crazily that it was about to jump out of her chest. She took a deep breath, took out her phone, and took several pictures of Lucas on the bed. She even found the right angle to take some racy and ambiguous photos of her and him. When Lena looked at the intimate photos on her phone, her lips curled into an extremely satisfied smile. After admiring the photos for a while, Lena went to the bathroom and took a shower. Ten minutester, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and she soon came out wrapped in a bath towel. There were still water stains on her fair skin, making her look very seductive. Lucas was still lying on the bed, his face flushed from the alcohol. His brows were furrowed deeply, but he was still sleeping. Lena walked to Lucas and reached out to unbutton his shirt. But at this moment, she began struggling again. Do I really want to do this? If she really did it, it would mean aplete severance of her friendship with Cheyenne. Lena didn¡¯t have many close friends, and Cheyenne had been her best friend since ages ago. Even when she was far away from home, Cheyenne would send her gifts during the holidays. One was the man she loved the most in her life, while the other was her best friend of nearly two decades. She was stuck in a dilemma. Should I pick friendship or love? Lena was feeling extremely hesitant and conflicted. Ring-Ring... Suddenly, the phone in Lucas¡¯s pocket rang, startling Lena. When she took out his phone and saw the word ¡®Honey¡¯ on the screen, she felt even more conflicted. ¡°Mm... Whose phone is it?¡± Lucas suddenly muttered and opened his eyes in a daze. ¡°Ah!¡± Lena was shocked and even dropped the phone in her hand on the bed in fright. She hurriedly stammered in exnation, ¡°Lu... Lucas, you... I... I just...¡± At this moment, Lena was so anxious that cold sweat gushed out from all over her body. At any other time, she could still make up some excuse. But now, she was wrapped in a bath towel and had obviously just taken a shower. There was no usible exnation she could give! But while Lena was panicking, Lucas merely nced at her before closing his eyes and dozing off again. It turned out that he hadn¡¯t really woken up and had merely opened his eyes in a daze. In fact, it was just a subconscious action that he wouldn¡¯t remember at all. Lena heaved a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat off her face. Due to the interruption, they naturally didn¡¯t answer the call, and the phone stopped ringing. Lena stroked her chest in shock, looked at the handsome face of Lucas, who was lying on the bed, and finally made up her mind. 2 ... The following morning, Lucas rubbed his eyes and woke up from his sleep after ten. The first thing he felt was an immense headache and dizziness, making him feel an indescribable sense of difort. It wasn¡¯t until Lucas sat up from the bed and scanned his surroundings that he realized that he was in a hotel room. He sprung up in shock and came to his sensespletely! ¡°Damn it!¡± Lucas leaped up from the bed and stood on the floor. But he soon found that he was wearing nothing except a pair of boxers! It was the first time in his life that he had ever been in such a situation, and he was dumbfounded! Lucas rubbed his dizzy head and tried his best to recall what had happenedst night and how he had ended up here. Then he thought of some scenes of what had happenedst night before he passed out. Lucas could still clearly remember that just as he was leaving the bar, Lena caught up with him and wanted him to take her back to her hotel. Afterward, he decided to stay in a hotel for the night, so he agreed to Lena¡¯s request and sent her back. The two of them then got into a taxi. ... Lucas had no recollection of what happened afterward, probably because he had already dozed off right after getting in the taxi. Now, his clothes had been removed and were ced on the sofa at the side. He was wearing nothing but underwear. He could immediately guess that Lena must have helped him change! A sudden chill surged straight to his heart from the bottom of his feet, causing his body to stiffen! Chapter 1106 Chapter 1106: What Happened? Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Although this was the first time he encountered such a situation, it was rathermon in modern dramas and novels. Moreover, Lucas wasn¡¯t stupid. He obviously understood from the way Lena had tried to get close to him repeatedly, as well as the unconceble emotions in her eyes, that she had a crush on him. So... after I got drunkst night, did Lena and I... Lucas didn¡¯t dare to continue thinking about it further. He frantically said, ¡°Lena Sawyer!¡± But no one in the room responded. Lena clearly wasn¡¯t here now. !! Lucas was flustered. He hurriedly took out his phone to call Lena to rify the situation, only to find that he had more than 20 missed calls and messages. They were all from Cheyenne. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s heart was full of iparable guilt and remorse. Only now did he finally understand why it was somon for people to make mistakes after getting drunk. The most important thing now was whether or not he had made an irreparable mistake with Lena while he was drunkst night. While Lucas was panicking and racking his brain to recall what had happenedst night, he heard a beeping sounding from outside. Someone was opening the door with the key card. Lucas immediately turned his head to look at the hotel room door and saw Lena walking in. She was carrying a stic bag with two containers of food for breakfast and a cup of warm milk. She walked in very naturally and ced the things in her hand on the table one after another. ¡°I just bought some breakfast from the restaurant downstairs. Go wash up.¡± Lucas remained still and just stared at her face to try and find some clues. Lena coughed and touched her face in bewilderment. ¡°Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?¡± Afterward, she blushed a little, as if she had just realized that he was wearing only a pair of boxers. She quickly exined, ¡°Uh, you got drunkst and vomited on your clothes. I tried waking you up, but you just wouldn¡¯t, so... I had no choice but to take off your clothes and wash them for you. You don¡¯t mind it, do you? ¡°I hung your clothes to dry overnight, and they were dry by the time I got up in the morning. I¡¯ve ced them on the couch over there. Well, quickly get changed. I¡¯ll turn around. I won¡¯t peek!¡± Then Lena really turned around to face her back toward him. Lucas looked at the clothes on the sofa, picked them up, and sniffed them. They indeed didn¡¯t reek of alcohol anymore and had the fresh scent of detergent. They had indeed been washedst night. Given the way Lena was behaving, he reckoned that she should have just taken off his clothes and washed them for him without doing anything else. In that case, that was great. Lucas was a little confused now. Even just for the sake of selffort, he would rather believe that nothing had happened between themst night. Lucas put on his clothes in a few seconds and said, ¡°Sorry for troubling youst night.¡± Lena turned around and said with flushed cheeks, ¡°We¡¯re friends. Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Then she let out a yawn of fatigue and looked outside. ¡°Remember to eat breakfastter. I¡¯m tired, so I¡¯m going back to my room to get some more sleep.¡± When Lucas heard this, his eyes glistened. Lena was clearly telling him that she had slept in her roomst night so that he wouldn¡¯t get the wrong idea. Lucas was still quite uncertain at first, but he was relieved after hearing what she said. It seemed that nothing really happened between themst night. This was good. Lena walked out of the room. Lucas naturally wasn¡¯t in the mood for breakfast. He immediately called Cheyenne. Soon, Cheyenne picked up and asked worriedly, ¡°Lucas, are you okay? Where were youst night? ¡°I called you so many times, but you didn¡¯t pick up. I was worried sick!¡± Hearing her words of concern, Lucas felt guilty. It was naturally impossible to tell Cheyenne the truth about what had happenedst night. Although Lucas believed that nothing had happened between him and Lena, such matters could easily arouse misunderstandings. Lucas said to Cheyenne somewhat sheepishly, ¡°Sorry, Honey, I was drinking with some friendsst night and identally had a drop too many, so I stayed in a hotel for the night. I was so drunk that I didn¡¯t hear your calls.¡± Cheyenne sighed in relief and said softly, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re fine. I almost thought... Ahem, Honey, drinking is harmful to your health. Try not to drink so much in the future!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Lucas vowed that he would never touch alcohol again! If something irreparable happened after drinking, it would be toote for regrets! ¡°Honey, I¡¯ve finished all my tasks in DC, and it just so happens that there are some matters I have to handle at the Brilliance Corporation in Orange County, so I have to head back now,¡± Cheyenne added. Lucas said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take you to the airport.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m already at the airport and about to board the ne. Once I¡¯m finished with the matters at the Brilliance Corporation, I¡¯ll head back to DC with Amelia!¡± Cheyenne said with a smile. After thinking about it for a bit, Lucas said, ¡°No hurry. I have to go to Orange County in a couple of days too. We can head back to DC together then.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯m hanging up now, Honey. Bye!¡± After ending the call, Lucas let out a deep breath, feeling as if a huge boulder had been lifted off of his chest. But he still felt uneasy because he had lied to Cheyenne twice. ... At this moment, in one of the Steeles¡¯ vis in DC... A noblewoman in her fifties was standing in the living room, pacing back and forth anxiously and looking at the door from time to time, seemingly anxiously waiting for someone. Ashley, at the side, saidfortingly, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t panic. Alex will be fine, and he¡¯ll be back soon.¡± It turned out that the noblewoman was the mother of Alexander and Ashley, Elise Bale. Elise asked anxiously, ¡°But Ashley, it¡¯s already been a night. Why hasn¡¯t your grandfather let your brothere home yet? ¡°Also, what exactly happenedst night? I heard someone say this morning that Godfrey died, and Trevor even said that Alexander was the one who ordered someone to do it. ¡°They also said that Trevor was forced to crawl out of Club Illuma by your brother. Is that true?¡± Chapter 1107 Chapter 1107: The Steeles Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Last night, Alexander and Ashley returned homete. But soon after Alexander returned, his grandfather called him over. Elise originally thought Alexander¡¯s grandfather would just ask him some simple questions. But unexpectedly, she woke up to find that Alexander hadn¡¯t returned all night. The news she heard from the servants left her anxious and in disbelief. Ashley said, ¡°Mom, don¡¯t listen to their nonsense. Although the person who killed Godfrey and forced Trevor to crawl out of Club Illuma is indeed Alex¡¯s acquaintance, they¡¯ve only met twice, and they¡¯re not even considered friends. Alex can¡¯t order him to do anything!¡± Elise asked doubtfully, ¡°Is that person really not your brother¡¯s friend? Then, why did he help your brother?¡± ¡°I heard that person killed the top expert who worked for Godfrey just to stand up for Alexander. People also said he defeated Trevor¡¯s expert on Alexander¡¯s behalf. These things... clearly have something to do with your brother, right? !! ¡°If your grandfather wants to pursue the responsibility, he definitely won¡¯t let your brother off! Ah, what should we do now?¡± The more she spoke, the more she felt that Alexander would be punished and the more panicked she became. This was what Ashley was worried about too. Ashley pursed her lips and said, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m telling the truth. Lucas only met Alex twice. Moreover, Alex tricked him into going to Club Illuma yesterday, and Lucas almost lost his temper.¡± ¡°Later, Godfrey provoked us and even tried to hit Lucas. Lucas taught him a lesson and crippled the expert he hired. Afterward, Godfrey courted death himself by angering Lucas, so Lucas killed him. ¡°Also, Trevor isn¡¯t a good person either. He behaved arrogantly with us and Lucas as soon as he came, and he even tried to kill Lucas. Alex pleaded for Trevor, so Lucas spared his life and told him to crawl out of Club Illuma. Otherwise, he would have already died! ¡°At the time, Lucas even said that there were only three third-generation male heirs left in our family, and if two of them died, Alex would be the only one left and would definitely be the future helmsman. But Alex begged Lucas to spare Trevor on ount that he¡¯s a Steele!¡± Ashley hastily revealed the highlights of what had happenedst night. Elise was astonished. She didn¡¯t know that so much had happenedst night. Elise naturally believed what her daughter said, but the rest of the Steeles might not necessarily believe it. In particr, Trevor, who was very dissatisfied with Alexander and had suffered great humiliation this time, would definitely add fuel to the fire,in about him to the family head, and put all the me on Alexander. Also, the way Ashley affectionately said Lucas¡¯s name was enough to tell her something was up. ¡°Are you in love with Lucas?¡± Elise suddenly asked. Ashley was stunned, and only then did she realize that she had just unintentionally sounded a little too excited and affectionate when talking about Lucas. She blushed a little and lowered her head. ¡°Lucas... is really nice, but it was my first time meeting him yesterday. How could I be in love with him...¡± Actually, Ashley knew clearly whether or not she was in love with Lucas. Butst night in the car, Alexander had already warned her that Lucas was married and had a child and that things were simply impossible between them. All she could do was be in love with him one-sidedly. Maybe in a few days, Lucas would forget who she was. The best choice for her now was to sever all feelings she had for him. At the thought of this, Ashley was mncholic. Elise patted Ashley¡¯s hand. ¡°Actually, from what you said, that young man does sound like a very powerful and righteous person. If you really like him and get together with him, I won¡¯t have to worry about you and Alexander being bullied anymore.¡± ¡°Mom, I¡ª¡± Ashley was about to deny again that she had no feelings for Lucas, but Elise interrupted her, ¡°Ashley, you¡¯re my daughter. How can I not know what you¡¯re thinking? You don¡¯t have to be so anxious to deny it. ¡°In fact, you also know that since your father passed away a few years ago, the Steeles have treated our family of three worse and worse. And your cousins are all worried that Alexander will take over the authority in the family, so they do everything they can to suppress us. Although Alexander has done so much for the family, he¡¯s still getting further and further away from the family¡¯s power core. ¡°I¡¯ve actually thought about it. There¡¯s really no point in staying in such a family. Given how capable you and Alexander are, you will still be able to get by just the same even if you leave the Steeles. ¡°However, you two don¡¯tck talent. What youck the most is someone who can protect you two even under the threat of the Steeles. ¡°If that Lucas you spoke of is really that powerful, and you happen to like him, then you might as well give it a try and let him protect you. I can be at ease then!¡± Elise meant this from the bottom of her heart and almost made Ashley tear up. Her mother¡¯s thoughts naturally touched her heart, but at the same time, she knew that she was destined never to be in a rtionship with such an outstanding man. He was already married to a woman he loved and shared a child with her. It was impossible for him to fall in love with another woman. She would never stand a chance with him. Ashley parted her lips, wanting to tell her mother that Lucas was already married with a daughter, but a florist loyal to their family suddenly rushed in from outside and said loudly, ¡°Bad news, Ma¡¯am. Mr. Steele Sr. expelled Mr. Alexander from the family!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± This news was like a thunderbolt, leaving Elise and Ashley pale and dumbfounded. Elise never imagined that the helmsman would expel Alexander! ¡°Ma¡¯am, Mr. Steele Sr. is furious. He said that Mr. Godfrey was killed by Mr. Alexander and that Mr. Alexander disgraced the family, so he kicked him out of the family. Mr. Alexander has knelt outside for a long time in hopes that Mr. Steele Sr. will withdraw his order, but it¡¯s to no avail! Mr. Steele Sr. also made lots of callous remarks!¡± The florist told Elise all the information he had heard and said nervously, ¡°Ma¡¯am, Mr. Steele Sr. seems serious about kicking Mr. Alexander out! Ma¡¯am, quickly go and beg Mr. Steele Sr. to give Mr. Alexander another chance!¡± Ashley was just as anxious. ¡°Mom, what should we do? Grandpa actually said that he wants to expel Alex from the family!¡± Elise calmed down, grabbed Ashley¡¯s hand, and tried her best to remainposed. ¡°Let¡¯s go and look for your grandfather now!¡± Chapter 1108 Chapter 1108: Pleading For Whom? Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios When Elise and Ashley arrived at the residence of the Steeles¡¯ helmsman, they saw Alexander kneeling outside the front door and speaking to the person inside. ¡°Grandpa, I have already exined it to you several times. Godfrey and Trevor brought it upon themselves. At the end of the day, they were the ones who provoked Mr. Gray first. It has nothing to do with him! ¡°Also, Mr. Gray isn¡¯t an ordinary person. If you insist on finding trouble with him, it will definitely bring disaster to the Steeles! Grandpa, please think it through!¡± A furious voice came from inside the vi in reply. ¡°Shut up! How dare you speak up for that punk when things have alreadye to this? He killed Godfrey and humiliated Trevor in public. The Steeles¡¯ reputation is in tatters, yet you¡¯re still speaking for an outsider? ¡°Alexander, you¡¯ve truly grown up. You¡¯re getting bolder and bolder and less and less respectful for the family. You no longer take me, the family head, seriously, huh? !! ¡°Both of them are your cousins, your close blood rtives! How could you be so ruthless as to let someone kill your cousin?! You¡¯re heartless, and we can¡¯t keep you in the family anymore! ¡°If I don¡¯t expel you from the family today, I think you will climb all over me! ¡°Leave the Steeles immediately. I¡¯ll make sure that punk Lucas Gray dies for killing my grandson and insulting the Steeles!¡± The person reprimanding Alexander was Greg, the helmsman of the Steeles. Elise was extremely anxious, and she could tell that Alexander was still pleading for Lucas at this point. She was naturally clear about her son¡¯s personality. Although he looked gentle and polite, he was actually very proud and aloof deep down. It was difficult for ordinary people to catch his eye. But based on what Ashley said, Alexander had only met Lucas twice. Logically speaking, they shouldn¡¯t have a close friendship at all. Why would Alexander risk offending Greg to plead for him? Moreover, not only was Alexander like this, but even Ashley had fallen in love with him after meeting him only once. She wondered what kind of person Lucas was. Alexander said firmly, ¡°Grandpa, if you insist that it¡¯s my fault and want to kick me out of the family, I have no objections. However, I¡¯m absolutely against the Steeles taking revenge on Mr. Gray! Grandpa, you really can¡¯t do that, or you will bring disaster to the family!¡± Alexander was indeed asking the Steeles not to seek revenge on Lucas, but he wasn¡¯t pleading for Lucas. Rather, he was trying to protect the Steeles because he didn¡¯t want them to offend Lucas. Although Alexander was still unclear about Lucas¡¯s true identity, he knew that Lucas had definitely been an extremely important person in the military and likely held a very high post. Lucas wasn¡¯t someone the Steeles could afford to offend. Last night, Alexander had begged Lucas several times, so Lucas had agreed to let the Steeles off, provided that they didn¡¯t court death. But if Greg insisted on taking revenge against Lucas, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t sit back and do nothing. The Steeles would suffer heavy losses or even face the danger of getting destroyed! Alexander believed that with Lucas¡¯s strength, he would definitely be able to do this! At this moment, Trevor walked out of the vi and sneered. ¡°Alexander, how dare you say that even now? The Steeles are one of the top eight powerful families in DC. That punk is nothing to us! How dare you intimidate Grandpa with the Steeles¡¯ future? How despicable! ¡°Yesterday, I was forced to crawl out of Club Illuma in public by Lucas Gray. It disgraced not only me but also our family. Do you think I¡¯d just let it go? ¡°Furthermore, he brutally killed our cousin Godfrey in front of so many people! Godfrey is a direct descendant of the Steeles! If Lucas Gray doesn¡¯t die, everyone in DC will think we¡¯re weak pushovers. When that happens, anyone can kill us as they please. How can we have a ce in DC then?¡± ¡°Alexander, one of the Steeles¡¯ direct descendants has died, and we¡¯ve suffered great humiliation all because of you and your friend!¡± Alexander looked at Trevor and said through clenched teeth, ¡°Trevor, you should tell us why Godfrey was killed and why you were humiliated. You should know better than anyone the truth of this matter!¡± ¡°I can forget about the position of the Steeles¡¯ sessor and notpete with you. I¡¯ll even let Grandpa kick me out of the family, but you really can¡¯t offend Mr. Gray. Otherwise, I will stop you even if I have to die! ¡°Mr. Gray isn¡¯t someone that the Steeles can afford to offend! Grandpa, please think carefully!¡± Alexander looked at the front door of the vi and pleaded. Lucas wasn¡¯t in the wrong in the first ce, so Alexander didn¡¯t want to see the Steeles retaliate against him. At the same time, Alexander didn¡¯t want Lucas to annihte the Steeles because of their retaliation. If not for his father¡¯s desperate efforts to save the Steeles back then, the Steeles would have probably declined and might have even ceased to exist at this point. It wasn¡¯t that Alexander was obstinately loyal to the Steeles, nor did he covet the position of helmsman. He just didn¡¯t want his father¡¯s painstaking efforts and life to be lost in vain. Thus, Alexander absolutely didn¡¯t want to see the Steele family destroyed. ¡°Enough! I don¡¯t want to hear you or see you again. From today onward, there is no longer an Alexander Steele in the family! ¡°Someone,e and drive Alexander Steele away immediately!¡± Greg, the helmsman, bellowed furiously in the vi. With hismand, two powerhouses of the Steeles walked over to Alexander and said coldly, ¡°You¡¯d better go. Don¡¯t make us throw you out.¡± Alexander stood up. After several changes in expression, he suddenly yelled at the vi, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m doing this for the Steeles¡¯ own good! You must remember what I said. If you offend him, it will really bring disaster to the Steeles! ¡°If you want someone to pay for this matter, I¡¯ll be that person! Kill me! ¡°But Mr. Gray really isn¡¯t someone you can provoke. I¡¯m not trying to scare you. I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± Alexander was full of anxiety, and he shouted extremely loudly to get his grandfather and the rest of the Steeles to realize just how great of a disaster offending Lucas would bring to the family. However, no one was willing to believe him. Chapter 1109 Chapter 1109: Sending Help When Needed Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios ¡°Alexander Steele, enough! You keep saying that we can¡¯t offend that punk Lucas Gray, or it will bring disaster to the Steeles. But I heard yesterday that he¡¯s just an illegitimate child expelled from the Huttons two decades ago. That¡¯s what Jace, the scion of the Huttons, said himself! ¡°Lucas Gray just knows some martial arts, and he defeated my subordinates because they were careless. It¡¯s not because he¡¯s powerful! ¡°You can scare others with your lies, but you actually want to deceive Grandpa. You¡¯re really overestimating yourself! Grandpa is the helmsman of the esteemed Steeles, and he¡¯s not even afraid of the Huttons¡¯ helmsman. Why would he be afraid of an outcast of the Huttons? Do you take us for fools?¡± Trevor immediately retorted loudly at Alexander. Then he added fuel to the fire by saying to Greg, ¡°Grandpa, look. Alexander doesn¡¯t take the Steeles seriously at all. He even says that we can¡¯t afford to provoke that outcast from the Huttons. How absurd! ¡°The way I see it, Alexander just wants to help that bastard who killed a direct descendant of the Steeles and humiliated the family! So Grandpa, you can¡¯t let that punk Lucas Gray off. You can¡¯t spare Alexander either! !! ¡°Since he doesn¡¯t care about the lives and dignity of the Steeles and just wants to protect an outsider, he¡¯s not worthy of being a descendant of the family!¡± Trevor deliberately sowed discord so that his grandfather would kick Alexander out of the family. In that case, he would be the only direct descendant of the third generation of the Steeles, and he would definitely be the future helmsman of the family. ¡°Tell him to leave immediately! Tell them all to get lost!¡± Greg still didn¡¯t appear, but his thunderous voice was enough to show how furious he was. Hearing this, Alexander felt immensely sad. He had already done his best to save the Steeles. He took onest look at his grandfather inside the vi and gave a final piece of advice, ¡°Grandpa, there¡¯s nothing I can do if you refuse to listen to me, but I just hope that you will do a proper investigation on Mr. Gray¡¯s identity before doing anything. Once you do, you will know whether I¡¯m trying to scare you or not.¡± This was all he could do for the Steeles! With that, Alexander turned around to leave. Elise was standing under arge tree twenty meters away from the main residence and listening quietly. After seeing her son being kicked out of the Steeles without receiving any other punishment, she only sighed. She had already mentally prepared herself for them to be kicked out of the Steeles for a long time. Given the way the Steeles had been treating them, she knew there would be a day this would happen. Even withoutst night¡¯s incident, Alexander could easily lose everything and get kicked out of the family at any time because the family had already ostracized him. Therefore, Elise didn¡¯t bother pleading because she knew that her efforts would only be futile, and Greg wouldn¡¯t change his mind. Alexander walked out and found Elise here too. She didn¡¯t say anything. She simply held Ashely with one hand and Alexander with the other and walked away. ¡°All the assets of their family of three belong to the Steeles! Seize them immediately and make sure that they leave without a single cent!¡± Greg yelled loudly from behind. ¡°Yes, Mr. Smith!¡± The butler immediately epted the order. Beside him, Trevor looked smug. He had finally driven Alexander out of the family! After leaving the Steele residence, the guilt-ridden Alexander looked at Elise and Ashley and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mom, Ashley. It¡¯s all my fault you¡¯ve been implicated. I¡¯ve caused you two to be driven out too.¡± Elise said gently with a smile, ¡°We¡¯re a family. There¡¯s no such thing as getting implicated! Besides, the Steeles are too unbearable, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad thing for us to leave.¡± Ashley nodded in agreement. ¡°Yeah! Ever since Dad passed away a few years ago, the Steeles haven¡¯t been acting like our family at all! They bully us all the time and have never treated us as family. Why should we endure it and stay when we¡¯re facing their hostile attitudes every day? ¡°We¡¯re able-bodied, and you¡¯re so talented at business. Even if we leave the Steeles, we¡¯ll still be able to live well, even better than we did with the Steeles! ¡°Although the Steeles are one of the eight top families in DC, what does that have to do with us? Life will be better for us if we live away from them. We¡¯ll get to be carefree and enjoy freedom without being bullied by them or facing their attitudes!¡± Ashley poked angrily with a puffed face. She wasn¡¯t reluctant to leave the Steeles at all. Alexander smiled bitterly without saying anything. It wasn¡¯t that he was reluctant to leave the Steeles but that he didn¡¯t want them to offend Lucas and bring disaster to the family, which would make all of his father¡¯s previous efforts go to waste. But since things hade to this and he had already done his best, it was up to the Steeles to choose what to do next. Before leaving, the three turned around to take onest look at the Steele residence, which they had called home for decades. At this moment, a Porsche slowly stopped in front of them. The window rolled down, revealing the face of a middle-aged man. He said to Alexander, ¡°Chairman Gray sent me to pick you up.¡± ¡°Chairman Gray?¡± All three of them were surprised to hear this, and Alexander ran through his mind which chairman in his social circle had thest name Gray. Wait... Gray? Could it be?! As if to confirm Alexander¡¯s conjecture, the middle-aged man smiled and said, ¡°He¡¯s the chairman of Stardust Corporation, Mr. Lucas Gray.¡± Hearing this, Alexander was even more surprised. Lucas had actually sent someone to pick them up so early. It seemed he had predicted that Alexander and his family would be driven out of the Steeles. It was simply... magical! Furthermore, they were forced to leave without a single cent. Apart from the clothes they were wearing, the rest of their belongings were detained by the Steeles, including their bank cards. Alexander and his family could already be considered penniless with nowhere to go. But Lucas actually sent someone to pick them up at this time. It was undoubtedly sending help when needed. After recovering from the shock, Alexander was overjoyed and said to Elise, ¡°Mom, since Mr. Gray has specially sent someone over to pick us up, let¡¯s go!¡± Chapter 1110 Chapter 1110: All Talents Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Elise nodded. She naturally agreed with what Alexander said. She was already very curious about Lucas and wondered just what kind of person had the ability to make Alexander defend him so ardently and Ashley fall in love at first sight with him in such a short time. She didn¡¯t expect to meet him so soon. Moreover, since Lucas had sent someone to wait for them at the entrance of the Steele residence, he must have already expected that the Steeles would kick them out of the family beforehand. This showed that he was an extremely intelligent person. ¡°Pleasee with me!¡± the middle-aged man said with a smile. After they got inside the car, Ashley seemed to return to reality from her dreams. !! Pleasantly surprised, she asked, ¡°Alex, did Lucas really send someone to pick us up?¡± Alexander nodded with an emotional gaze. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s that Mr. Gray.¡± He was at a loss for how to thank Lucas. As they left in the car, there was amotion in the main Steele residence. Several figures of authority and elders of the family were present, with Greg, the helmsman, sitting in the middle. The Steeles had just gone through an internal dispute that left Greg displeased. An old man with gray hair said cautiously, ¡°Greg, like I said, Alexander has never been a reckless person nor a liar. Since he repeatedly warned us not to go against that young man Lucas Gray, he must have his reasons. So, I suggest that we don¡¯t make a move against him for the time being. ¡°Just like what Alexander said, we should at least run a detailed investigation on him. Know yourself and know the enemy. This will prevent us from offending someone we can¡¯t afford to provoke.¡± The old man spoke rationally. But he was the only person in the room who suggested avoiding attacking Lucas before finding out his identity and background. The others were all for taking revenge on him and bringing him back to the Steeles¡¯ residence to make him pay for his actions. ¡°Uncle Tim, it¡¯s not appropriate for you to say that. Do you mean we should just let my son die in vain if Lucas Gray turns out to have a powerful background?¡± Godfrey¡¯s father said furiously. After hearing about his son¡¯s death, he flew into a rage and cursed the entire night. If his family hadn¡¯t stopped him, he would have leftst night to take revenge on the bastard who had dared to kill his son. Trevor added fuel to the fire. ¡°That punk doesn¡¯t have a powerful background at all. Alexander just deceived us. Jace Hutton personally said that Lucas Gray was expelled by his family a long time ago and that he doesn¡¯t have a powerful background at all. ¡°But that punk is indeed skilled in martial arts. That¡¯s why he throws his weight around and acts high and mighty. We just need to send a few of our experts to deal with him, and they¡¯ll definitely kill him! ¡°At that time, no one will stand up for him!¡± Now that Alexander had been kicked out from the Steele family, Trevor¡¯s next goal was to make Lucas die! In Club Illuma yesterday, Lucas had not only killed his top expert, but he had also forced him to crawl out of the fighting hall on all fours like a dog in front of so many people. He had to use Lucas¡¯s blood to wash away the humiliation! After hearing what Trevor said, even the old man who had insisted on investigating Lucas before taking action was at a loss for words. Both the Steeles and the Huttons were among the eight top families in DC, so they obviously couldn¡¯t bow down to a young man who had been kicked out of the Hutton family. ¡°Alright, does anyone else have any objections?¡± Greg looked around at everyone in the room. Everyone shook their heads without any objections. ¡°Okay!¡± Greg stood up from the couch and said to the crowd, ¡°Since there are no more objections, let¡¯s go capture that punk Lucas Gray and make him pay for his actionsst night!¡± Then Greg looked at Trevor and said in a deep voice, ¡°Trevor, since you were there yesterday, you know what that punk looks like, and you also have a feud against him. I¡¯ll assign a few of the family¡¯s top experts to you. Take them with you and bring that punk back!¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa! I promise toplete the mission and bring Lucas Gray back to the Steeles so that we can take revenge with his blood!¡± Trevor acknowledged with an excited look. As long as Greg handed over a few of the family¡¯s top experts to him, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have another chance to be arrogant! ... At this time, in the general manager¡¯s office of the Stardust Corporation headquarters... Lucas didn¡¯t know anything about the Steeles¡¯ n, but of course, even if he knew, he wouldn¡¯t care. The Steeles had to be dreaming to think that they could seize him. There were some documents on the table in front of Lucas, which contained detailed information about Alexander, Ashley, and Elise. ¡°I really couldn¡¯t tell that all three of them are extraordinary.¡± Lucas finally finished reading all the information and closed the folder. Next to him, Flynn said, ¡°Yes, especially Alexander Steele¡¯s mother, Elise Bale. She is a talented graduate of the finance department of Georgetown University. She has impressive business acumen and is a senior of mine. If she hadn¡¯t married Alexander¡¯s father back then, she¡¯d probably be a very aplished businesswoman now. ¡°I¡¯ve sent someone to investigate them. Back then, Elise¡¯s husband managed to operate all his businesses excellently and be the second-generation sessor of the Steele family because of her brilliant business advice. ¡°All of it was due to Elise Bale, who stayed behind the scenes and contributed silently!¡± Flynn spoke about her with admiration. In the world, there are many outstanding women whose business acumen and management abilities were not inferior to those of men. But their talent had been buried because of getting married and having children. If Flynn hadn¡¯t found out that Elise was an alumnus of the same university as him and investigated her out of curiosity, he probably wouldn¡¯t have known that she was so talented. Alexander and Ashley were outstanding as well. Alexander had obtained an MBA from the London School of Economics, and his business talent was also very high. Ashley, who was a few years younger and fresh out of college, was also very talented. It could be said that the family of three were all talents. Furthermore, from the interaction with Lucas and Alexander and Ashley, it was apparent that they were righteous and loyal people. What Lucascked most now was various kinds of talents, especially talents in corporate management. After all, the Stardust Corporation was definitely going to expand beyond its current size. Thus, after Lucas guessed that the Steeles wouldn¡¯t let Alexander off easily and that the family of three would definitely be kicked out soon, he sent someone to wait at the gate of the Steele residence to pick them up. At this moment, someone knocked on the door of the office, and the secretary reported from outside, ¡°Mr. Gray, your guests have arrived.¡± Chapter 1111 Chapter 1111: Recruiting Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios Lucas said loudly, ¡°Please show them in.¡± Soon, the door to the general manager¡¯s office was pushed open. Alexander, Ashley, and a noblewoman in her fifties whom Lucas had never met entered. Alexander suppressed the excitement in his heart and immediately greeted Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray!¡± Ashley was just as excited. The moment she saw Lucas, her heart started racing, and a touch of rosiness appeared on her face. She greeted shyly, ¡°Lucas!¡± Lucas nodded slightly at the two of them and then looked at the noblewoman behind them. !! Needless to say, this noblewoman was naturally Elise, the mother of Alexander and Ashley and the woman Flynn had just praised. Elise should be 53 or 54 years old this year, but she had been living in luxury at the Steele residence for years and had taken care of her health. So she looked like she was in her forties and had a calm and stable temperament. Elise was also sizing Lucas up carefully. He was a tall, handsome, and extraordinary young man who exuded a faint domineering aura that only those of superior status would have. It wasn¡¯t deliberate but rather acquired after being in an esteemed position for a long time. Even Greg, the helmsman of the Steele family, was far inferior to him. Elise was inwardly surprised by how extraordinary Lucas was. It was no wonder that he gained Alexander¡¯s trust and Ashley¡¯s romantic admiration within such a short time. Elise originally thought that Alexander¡¯s advice to the Steeles in front of the main residence was to plead for Lucas. But after seeing him in person, she finally realized that what her son had said was all true. The Steeles would really face a catastrophe if they offended Lucas! The Steeles obviously couldn¡¯t afford to offend someone like him. Seeing his mother just sizing up Lucas quietly, Alexander quickly introduced, ¡°Mom, this is Mr. Lucas Gray, whom I¡¯ve mentioned to you before.¡± Elise immediately smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gray!¡± Her voice was extremely pleasant, and her smile was neither proud nor humble, making her amiable and approachable. ¡°Please have a seat, Ms. Bale.¡± After Lucas invited them to take a seat on the sofa, he instructed his secretary to serve some tea and coffee. After sitting down, Ashley asked eagerly, ¡°Lucas, why did you send someone to pick us up and bring us here?¡± Both Alexander and Elise looked at Lucas, waiting for his answer. Lucas smiled slightly. ¡°It¡¯s very simple. I would like to ask for your help with some matters.¡± Alexander, Ashley, and Elise were stunned. They originally thought that Lucas had brought them here because he wanted to help them, but they didn¡¯t expect that he would ask for their help instead. They had been kicked out by the Steeles. Even though they were highlypetent, likely no one in DC would dare to hire them out of fear of offending the Steeles. But why Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid that the Steeles might retaliate even more intensely against him for helping them? Although it was a great opportunity for them now that they had nothing to their names... Seeing the hesitation in their eyes, Lucas said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about giving me a reply right away. I can give you three days to think about it carefully before giving me an answer.¡± After understanding that Lucas really wanted to hire the three of them, Alexander was naturally overjoyed and immediately wanted to agree. But the moment he parted his lips to speak, he felt someone pinch his arm hard from the side. Elise said, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Gray. We don¡¯t need three days to consider it. Please give us ten minutes, and we¡¯ll give you an answer soon.¡± Lucas naturally nodded. ¡°Okay. In that case, why don¡¯t you stay here to discuss it while Mr. Davis and I go outside?¡± ¡°Alright, thank you,¡± Elise said with gratitude. Lucas quickly took Flynn out. In therge general manager¡¯s office, only Alexander, Ashley, and Elise were present. ¡°Mom, did you interrupt me just now because you don¡¯t want to agree to Mr. Gray¡¯s offer?¡± Alexander finally asked in puzzlement. Elise said, ¡°Would you have agreed immediately if I hadn¡¯t stopped you?¡± Alexander nodded without hesitation. ¡°Of course! Mom, it will be our blessing to work for Mr. Gray! ¡°Since things havee to this, I might as well tell you some things. You know that I represented the Steeles at thend auction the day before yesterday. I ended up losing the auction for thend in the eastern suburbs, which Mr. Gray bought for 1.2 billion dors. ¡°At the time, he bought it for 1.2 billion dors without even batting an eyelid. This means that he has far more liquid funds than this, and he likely has such a massive amount of wealth that even the Steeles might not measure up to it.¡± ¡°So, after returning home that night, I sent people to investigate Mr. Gray. I discovered that although he seems to be only a worthless outcast that the Huttons expelled years ago and have no other status, there was a six-year gap missing in his information. No one knows what he did in those six years, and everyone just guessed that he joined the military. ¡°Later, I asked a friend to help me investigate Mr. Gray. But with his status, he couldn¡¯t find out anything about Mr. Gray at all. All the intelligence about him during his time in the military is ssified as top secret! Mom, you should know what this means. ¡°In addition, Mr. Gray is not only very affluent, but he¡¯s also highly skilled in martial arts. He easily killed Trevor¡¯s strongest expert within seconds at Club Illuma yesterday. I think even the top experts under Grandpa are no match for Mr. Gray. ¡°Now that someone as powerful as Mr. Gray has extended an olive branch to us and wants to get our help, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a huge blessing for us?¡± After hearing the praises about Lucas, Elise couldn¡¯t help being astonished. In particr, one of the things Alexander said made Elise¡¯s heart skip a beat. ¡°Are you saying that... he had a high rank in the military?¡± Elise asked, her throat tensing up. Alexander nodded solemnly. ¡°Yes. I even suspect that Mr. Gray was among the few top powerhouses directly subordinate to one of the heads of the four borders!¡± Chapter 1112 Chapter 1112: Making A Request Trantor: As Studios Editor: As Studios As soon as Alexander finished speaking, Elise, who had always been calm and steady, couldn¡¯t help but inhale sharply. The four major borders of the country were each guarded by a million-strong legion and led by an existence that was regarded highly by all. Not to mention the most powerful people around the chiefs who held the greatest authority, even just soldiers of the chiefs all had high statuses in the country. They were likely powerful enough to annihte the eight top families of DC. She couldn¡¯t believe that Lucas actually had such a high status! In the past, Elise wouldn¡¯t have believed it. But now that she had met Lucas in person and sensed his deeply hidden yet formidable aura, she found Alexander¡¯s guesses very convincing. !! Alexander said, ¡°Mom, now you know why I didn¡¯t hesitate to agree to Mr. Gray¡¯s request, right? This is an amazing opportunity he¡¯s given us!¡± Ashley nodded. ¡°Mom, I agree with Alex. Lucas has a powerful status, incredible wealth, and great martial arts skills. His request for us to work for him is a blessing for us! ¡°Besides, we¡¯ve already been kicked out of the Steele family, and once people in DC find out about it, no one will dare to hire us, for fear that the Steeles will attack them for it. Are we supposed to reject this wonderful opportunity, leave DC, and go elsewhere to slog our guts out? ¡°To put it bluntly, we don¡¯t even have the money to leave DC now...¡± As Ashley spoke, she felt iparable sadness. She and Alexander were direct descendants of the Steeles, and they and their parents had done so much for the family. Yet they were kicked out of the family and forced to leave without a single cent. If Lucas hadn¡¯t sent someone to pick them up just now, they wouldn¡¯t have even had the money to take a bus, let alone call a taxi. They would have had to borrow from their friends. Seeing how aggrieved her daughter was, Elise felt her heart ache. She sighed and said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I wanted to turn Mr. Gray down. I just think that there are some things that we should rify beforehand.¡± ¡°What do you want to rify?¡± Alexander and Ashley looked at Elise in puzzlement. Elise exined, ¡°I didn¡¯t agree immediately because I wanted you two to tell me more about him. After all, it¡¯s my first time meeting him today, so it¡¯s hard for me to confirm if he¡¯s reliable and trustable. ¡°Of course, after hearing the information you¡¯ve investigated, I can basically confirm that he¡¯s a very powerful person, and relying on him will give us a lot of protection. ¡°But on the other hand, Lucas killed Godfrey, a direct descendant of the Steeles, and humiliated the Steeles after all. Under such circumstances, do you think your grandfather will listen to you and really not go against him?¡± Alexander immediately lowered his head. Indeed, his grandfather, Greg, was an extremely stubborn person. After hearing his desperate pleas earlier, he refused to take his advice. And now that he had left the Steeles, he couldn¡¯t persuade him anymore. Moreover, Godfrey¡¯s father definitely wouldn¡¯t let Lucas off. And with Trevor, who hated Lucas, adding fuel to the mes, it was basically impossible for the Steeles to give up on taking revenge against Lucas. 1 Elise continued, ¡°So, you know the Steeles are bound to seek revenge on Mr. Gray, and no matter how powerful he is, I¡¯m afraid the consequences will be terrible. ¡°When the timees, what choice will you make between the Steeles and Mr. Gray?¡± Hearing this, Alexander lowered his head even more. In fact, he understood what his mother was saying, but he subconsciously didn¡¯t want to think about it, wanting to avoid the problem. Although the Steeles had mercilessly kicked the three of them out, they had grown up with them, and his father had sacrificed his life for the family. 1 So even though the Steels had kicked them out, it was impossible for them to ignore the Steelespletely and let them destroy themselves. Elise paused for a moment before saying, ¡°Therefore, I want to raise a term with Mr. Gray. If the Steeles trouble him in the future, I hope that he can be lenient and give them a way out and not kill them all. ¡°If he can agree to this condition, we will immediately agree to help him.¡± Ashley was shocked and said to her mother in disbelief, ¡°Mom, how can you do that? Although Mr. Gray is asking us to work for him, he is actually helping us. But instead of being grateful, we want to ask him to agree to a condition. Aren¡¯t we going overboard?¡± Elise sighed without saying anything. Ashley had probably been so hurt by the Steeles that she no longer felt anything for them. Moreover, she was in love with Lucas. Alexander said, ¡°Mom is right. We should indeed make this request to Mr. Gray. ¡°To be honest, I already asked this of Mr. Grayst night, and he promised me that even if the Steeles really court death, he will try to give them a way out. But this was yesterday. I don¡¯t know if he will still promise me this now. After all, our family has been kicked out of the Steeles, and there is no longer a cushion to ease the conflict between him and them.¡± Hearing this, Elise nodded approvingly, thinking that her son was really capable for managing to think of thisst night and getting Lucas to agree to it. But Ashley still looked puzzled. ¡°Why?¡± Alexander exined to her, ¡°No matter what, we are from the Steeles after all. Even if the Steeles are heartless to us, we can¡¯t forget that they¡¯ve raised us for years. If we¡¯re that heartless, Mr. Gray probably wouldn¡¯t want to hire us. ¡°How can people who can turn against their family gain his trust?¡± After hearing Alexander¡¯s exnation, Ashley came to a realization and could only nod reluctantly. ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s do as you say.¡± She was indeed very disappointed and upset with the Steeles, especially since they had just been kicked out. But she really couldn¡¯t stand back and watch them die. 1 Alexander smiled. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. As long as Mr. Gray agrees to spare the Steeles and gives them a chance to survive, we will stay here and work for him.¡± Ashley nodded. But Elise suddenly asked, ¡°Then, what if Mr. Gray refuses?¡± Chapter 1113 Chapter 1113: Showing Up at the Doorstep Alexander was stunned and instantly at a loss for words. He had really never thought that Lucas would refuse. But this was indeed possible. If the Steeles insisted on retaliating against Lucas, he might really just kill them. !! Did their family of three matter that much to Lucas? The thought of it made Alexander¡¯s heart sink. But he didn¡¯t hesitate for long before saying with a bitter smile, ¡°If Mr. Gray refuses, then we can only leave DC and go to other ces to find opportunities. At that time, the feud between the Steeles and Mr. Gray will have nothing to do with us. ¡°After all, we¡¯ve already warned the Steeles and tried our best in front of Mr. Gray. If the Steeles really court death, it won¡¯t be our fault since we¡¯ve already done our best!¡± ... After discussing the matter, Alexander immediately called Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡¯ve already decided.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Soon, Lucas and Flynn opened the door of the general manager¡¯s office and entered. Alexander mustered up his courage and said solemnly, ¡°Mr. Gray, as long as you agree to one condition, our family will immediately pledge allegiance to you and be at your disposal from now on!¡± He looked at Lucas nervously. At the same time, Ashley and Elise also looked at Lucas with nervous yet expectant gazes. They were worried that he would be mad at them for raising a condition. But Lucas smiled slightly and agreed without even asking what Alexander¡¯s condition was. ¡°Okay, I agree.¡± This time, it was Alexander, Ashley, and Elise¡¯s turn to be shocked. Ashley blinked and asked, ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re agreeing before even asking us what our condition is? What if it¡¯s something unreasonable?¡± Lucas chuckled. ¡°I trust your character, and I know that you definitely won¡¯t go overboard with your request. Most importantly, I know what your request is. You want me to spare the Steeles. I¡¯ll naturally agree to it.¡± Ashley¡¯s eyes immediately widened, and she looked at him in disbelief and shock, amazed that he guessed it. Alexander and Elise were also stunned before smiling. Indeed, Lucas was so intelligent that he could even guess that the Steels would expel the three of them, so how could he not guess what their request was? Elise smiled faintly and said respectfully, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Gray. Please feel free to give us any instructions in the future.¡± She had an obvious change in tone, which showed their attitude. From this moment on, the three of them were Lucas¡¯s subordinates. Lucas smiled in satisfaction. ¡°Alright, in that case, Flynn, our general manager, will handle the following matters!¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas.¡± Flynn immediately agreed and nced at Elise in excitement. For Lucas to hand the three of them to Flynn for him to arrange, it showed that he trusted Flynn and also helped him establish some prestige in front of them. After all, the three of them were from the Steele family, one of the eight top families of DC. They were also of the direct lineage. If not for the incident a few years ago and the suppression of the Steeles, Alexander would have been the sessor, and Elise would have been the mistress of the family. Having people of such status as his subordinates made Flynn feel pressure too. After giving instructions, Lucas left the office and allowed Flynn to make arrangements on his own. Flynn looked at Elise and smiled. ¡°Speaking of which, Ms. Bale, you and I are both alumni of Georgetown University. I guess you can call this fate.¡± ¡°Oh? Is that so? What a coincidence.¡± Elise seemed surprised, but her expression soon became natural. She could tell that Flynn was using this method to get closer to her so that she would be less reserved and distant. If they were just superior and subordinate, Elise would probably find it a little difficult to get used to it, especially with her sudden change in status. But if they were alumni of the same college, their rtionship would immediately be closer. Alexander and Ashley also exchanged a few words with Flynn. After all, he was the general manager of the Stardust Corporation and their boss from now on, so it was important for them tomunicate well. But after they chatted for a bit, the secretary suddenly knocked on the door and pushed it open anxiously. ¡°Mr. Davis, bad news. A group of people from the Steeles are downstairs and threatening to destroy thepany unless Mr. Gray immediately leaves with them!¡± Hearing this, Alexander and the others were shocked. They had already expected the Steeles to retaliate against Lucas, but they didn¡¯t expect it to be so soon! Flynn frowned and rebuked, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to panic like that! So what if the Steeles are here? Even if the eight top families of DC are here together, no one can do anything to the Stardust Corporation as long as Mr. Gray is around!¡± Alexander and Elise looked at each other, both gaining confidence from what Flynn said. This was enough to show that Lucas¡¯s background was indeed very terrifying, so much so that he wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the eight top families of DC even if they joined forces. Alexander was a little worried, so he said, ¡°I¡¯ll go check the situation first. Mom, stay here with Ashley.¡± Then he cast an inquisitive look at Flynn. Flynn nodded without the slightest bit of nervousness or panic on his face. ¡°Okay, go ahead. I¡¯ll talk to Ms. Bale about your future work.¡± If he was the only person in charge of thepany, he might be a little scared of facing the Steeles, one of the eight top families. But with Lucas around, there was nothing to be afraid of because no one would be able to harm Lucas. ... At this moment, there was arge crowd in the lobby on the first floor and more than ten security guards copsed on the floor. Clearly, the Steeles had forced their way in. Trevor was standing in the middle of the hall, and behind him were two extremely lean experts and about ten elite bodyguards of the Steeles. They were the strongestbat power of the Steeles at present. In order to deal with Lucas, Greg, the helmsman of the Steeles, had sent the most powerful experts of the family to help Trevor. Trevor stood in the middle of the hall and shouted arrogantly, ¡°Tell that bastard Lucas Gray toe here immediately! Otherwise, I¡¯ll get people to destroy the Stardust Corporation right now!¡± Chapter 1114 Chapter 1114: Wasted Efforts Trevor currently had the strongest experts of the Steeles by his side, and he was no longer afraid of Lucas. So he stood in the middle of the lobby on the first floor of the Stardust Corporation and shouted without restraint as if he could easily crush Lucas. The staff at the front desk and other employees were standing in the corner and looking at the people who had charged in fearfully. Someone had proposed calling the police earlier, but when Trevor revealed his identity as a scion of the Steeles, everyone silently gave up this idea. The people who came turned out to be from the Steele family. The employees couldn¡¯t afford to offend these people! !! At this moment, Alexander had already taken the elevator to the first floor. As soon as he arrived, he saw the scene in front of him and heard Trevor¡¯s arrogant statements. ¡°Trevor Steele, this isn¡¯t the property of the Steeles. Don¡¯t behave insolently here!¡± Alexander snapped furiously. Trevor turned his head to look at Alexander and frowned. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± He immediately figured it out and sneered. ¡°Hah, Alexander, I thought you had a backbone and that you¡¯d rather be kicked out of the family than not defend that punk Lucas Gray. It turns out you¡¯ve long found yourself a new backer! ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to criticize you, but Lucas Gray is nothing. You¡¯re a former Steele, yet you¡¯re degrading yourself bying here to be at the beck and call of that punk!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± When Alexander heard Trevor¡¯s insults, his face turned beet red with fury. In order to keep the Steeles from being destroyed, Alexander and Elise had done their utmost to negotiate with Lucas. But Trevor insulted them and even brought henchmen to the Stardust Corporation. The ruckus Trevor and his group caused attracted a bunch of spectators, who were still gathering at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation. Because Trevor¡¯s henchman had knocked down the security team of the Stardust Corporation, there was no one who could chase them away and maintain order now. The crowd enjoying the dramaticmotion were visibly shocked to hear what Trevor had said. ¡°What did Mr. Steele just say? Did he say that Alexander Steele has been kicked out of the Steele family? He¡¯s no longer a Steele?¡± ¡°I roughly know why. A lot happenedst night at Club Illuma. I¡¯ll tell you about themter. In short, it was a good show!¡± ¡°Based on what Mr. Steele said, has Alexander Steele already joined the Stardust Corporation?¡± ¡°Uh... Although the Stardust Corporation has risen quite rapidly in DC recently, it¡¯s undeniably still unable to match up to the Steeles, who are one of the eight giants of DC. Would Alexander Steele really join the Stardust Corporation?¡± ¡°In the past, the Stardust Corporation was indeed too small for him. But now that he has been kicked out by the Steeles, no otherrge enterprise and family in DC will dare to take him in! He probably doesn¡¯t have a choice!¡± ¡°I think so too. Tsk, tsk. But I wonder what feud there is between Mr. Steele and the Stardust Corporation, so much so that he came here to confront the chairman.¡± ¡°I know! Let me tell you. Last night...¡± ... The spectators were whispering and discussing incessantly. Many who knew what had happened in Club Illuma yesterday were happy to share the gossip with those around them who didn¡¯t know. From time to time, there were soft gasps. Alexander and Trevor, who were confronting each other in the lobby, naturally had no time to bother about what the crowd at the entrance was gossiping about. Trevor raised his chin and said in amanding tone, ¡°Okay, Alexander, aren¡¯t you friends with Lucas Gray? Call him right now and tell him toe out here! I¡¯m going to break his limbs first, then drag him back to the Steele residence like a dead dog and hand him over to Grandpa! Do you hear me?¡± Trembling with anger, Alexander rebuked, ¡°Trevor, stop courting death! I have already told you countless times that Mr. Gray isn¡¯t someone the Steeles can afford to provoke! Before you bring disaster to the Steeles, you¡¯d better leave immediately! Otherwise, even if the Steeles can be saved, you won¡¯t end up well!¡± Although he and his mother had tried their best to request that Lucas spare the Steeles if they offended him, Alexander knew that even though Lucas had agreed to spare the Steels, he hadn¡¯t promised he wouldn¡¯t kill anyone. If Trevor really offended Lucas, Alexander was sure that Lucas would kill Trevor just like he had killed Godfrey. Trevor¡¯s current behavior was simply a provocation and absolutely foolish. Indeed, after hearing what Alexander said, Trevor immediately burst intoughter. He wasughing so hard that his entire body was shaking, as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke ever. ¡°Hahaha, Alexander, have you gotten addicted to lying? I really want to see how I¡¯ll bring disaster to the Steeles. Just by offending that punk Lucas Gray? What a joke! ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve already brought some of the strongest experts of the Steeles here. Even Grandpa has assigned the top experts by his side to help me. Lucas Gray must die today! ¡°Let me tell you. I¡¯ll cripple that punk¡¯s limbs one by one in front of you and then drag him back to the Steele residence to hand him over to Grandpa and Uncle Tim. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll die very miserably! ¡°When the timees, I can give you the privilege of returning to the Steele residence once to witness with your own eyes just how that Mr. Gray you admire so much dies! Trevor¡¯s eyes were full of malice, and his face became twisted as he spoke sinisterly, as if Lucas had already fallen into his hands. Alexander looked at Trevor, whose face had a hideous grimace, sighed, and said with closed eyes, ¡°It seems like I¡¯ve worked so hard for the Steeles for nothing.¡± Trevor had alreadypletely lost his rationality, and he didn¡¯t believe that Lucas was powerful at all. There was no point in Alexander saying anything else. Chapter 1115 Meanwhile, in the Steeles'' manor... Greg, the helmsman of the Steeles, was lying on a lounge chair in the courtyard of his vi, listening to music and basking in the sun with his eyes closed. This was a habit he had developed a long time ago. The colder it was, the more he liked basking in the sun. He was very troubled by the recent incidents that had happened to his family, and he would feel a little rxed only when he was basking in the sun in his courtyard. But suddenly, his butler rushed in from outside and reported anxiously, "Mr. Steele! Michael Hutton suddenly barged in with a group of people and imed that we bullied his son. He wants an exnation from us!" "The Huttons?" Greg sat up with displeasure and frowned. "Since when did the Steeles bully Michael Hutton''s son? Did someone in the family do something to Jace Hutton?" Before Greg could think it through, another person hurried over and reported anxiously, "Mr. Steele, Florence Howard also suddenly showed up with her subordinates and demanded an exnation from us for why we''re attacking her son-inw!" Greg immediately furrowed his brows tightly. She was the daughter of Felix Howard, so he naturally knew who she was. But as far as he knew, she had returned to the Howards after bing a widow and never remarried. So where did her daughtere from? How did she have a son-inw? "Who is Florence Howard''s daughter?" Greg asked with a frown. But before his subordinates could answer him, another figure hurriedly ran into the courtyard in astonishment and eximed, "Mr. Steele, now even the Smiths'' helmsman is here! He wants an exnation from us for making things difficult for his family friend!" "What?!" Hearing that the helmsmen of three of the eight top families of DC had shown up at the Steele residence to demand an exnation, even Greg was astounded to the point of turning pale and having his heart beat wildly, not to mention the rest of the Steeles. W-what''s going on? If only one family hade to ask for an exnation, Greg could still order someone to investigate the matter thoroughly to find out if the Steeles had really done something wrong and whether or not it was something resolvable. But now that the helmsmen of three families came together to demand an exnation, if the Steeles didn''t handle this well, they would face the risk of getting besieged by the three families. Who would be able to withstand this? Greg didn''t even have time to think about anything else. He immediately stood up and dashed toward the door. No matter what, he had to calm the three helmsmen down immediately and find out if there was a misunderstanding before resolving it. In short, he couldn''t anger them and give them an excuse to deal with the Steeles! When Greg arrived at the entrance of the Steele residence, he saw arge group of people gathered at the gate from afar. When he got closer, he saw that they were divided into three groups. The group on the left was Florence and twenty-odd experts of the Howards. The one on the right was Tyson Smith and around twenty of the Smiths'' experts. The group in the middle was Michael and the Huttons'' experts. There were more than a hundred of them altogether, and they were all elites of the three families. The bodyguards that the Steeles had sent to guard the gate were already beaten up and lying on the ground, unable to get up. When Greg saw this, his heart beat wildly, and he tensed up immediately. It seemed they had definitelye with hostile intentions! "Haha, Mr. Hutton, Mr. Smith, and Ms. Howard, I didn''t expect the three of you toe to the Steele residence. Sorry for my failure to wee you well!" Greg acted as if he did o'' see his bodyguards lying on the ground nor the formidable experts behind the three helmsmen. He simply smiled at them enthusiastically and weed them with a slightly deferential attitude. After all, Tyson was the only one among the three who was about the same age as Greg, while Michael and Florence were a generation younger than him. Greg was so polite and deferential to them simply because he wanted to reduce their hostility. Unfortunately, Greg''s n didn''t work. Michael looked at Greg with a cold expression and said, "Mr. Steele, we are not here for a friendly visit, so you don''t have to be so polite." Florence and Tyson looked at Greg coldly without any basic courtesy or pleasantry. Greg looked awkward, embarrassed, and disgruntled. But even then, he could only endure the humiliation because all three of them were on par with him in terms of status and power. Besides, the three of them were united against him, so he naturally couldn''t offend them. "Haha!" Gregughed awkwardly. "My subordinates were in a rush when they came to report to me, so I didn''t hear them clearly. May I ask why you three are here? Who are you seeking justice for? If someone from the Steele family has behaved inappropriately, I will definitely teach them a lesson!" Michaelughed coldly. "Is that so? Lucas Gray, the person you''ve gathered your experts to deal with today, is my son. Don''t you think I should ask for an exnation from you?" "What? Lucas Gray is actually your son?!" Greg was astonished. He had only heard from Trevor that Lucas was an illegitimate son of the Huttons who had been expelled many years ago, but he had no idea that Lucas''s father was Michael, the head of the Huttons! At the thought of this, Greg cursed Trevor in his heart for not making Lucas''s identity clear before this. He hurriedly exined to Michael, "Mr. Hutton, this is all a misunderstanding! I had no idea that Lucas was your son. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have sent anyone to deal with him!" Michael said coldly, "Mr. Steele, you''re pretty funny! Before you make a move on someone, shouldn''t you check their identity to make sure they''re not to be trifled with?" Chapter 1116 Chapter 1116: Massive Pressure What Michael said immediately made Greg feel bitter and chagrined. In fact, before he kicked Alexander out of the family, Alexander had already reminded him to investigate Lucas¡¯s identity and background. During the family meetingter, his brother had also suggested finding out Lucas¡¯s identity before taking action. But Trevor had conclusively dered that Lucas was just an outcast of the Huttons and didn¡¯t have a powerful background. Even if they killed him, no one would stand up for him. So Greg had believed what Trevor said and didn¡¯t bother investigating Lucas properly. As a result, things ended up this way. !! Damn it. What should I do now? After all, Lucas had killed his grandson. If he let him off just like that, how would he exin it to his son? How would he exin it to the rest of the Steeles? While Greg was hesitating, Florence sneered and said, ¡°Lucas is not only Mr. Hutton¡¯s son, but he¡¯s also my son-inw! Mr. Steele, since you want to harm my son-inw, isn¡¯t it only right for me to demand an exnation from you?¡± The news made Greg even more astonished. ¡°Since... since when did you have a daughter? And Lucas Gray is actually your son-inw?¡± Greg never thought that Florence¡¯s son-inw, whom his subordinate had informed him about just now, was also Lucas! He waspletely clueless about this news! Greg didn¡¯t even know that Florence had a daughter, so how could he possibly know that her son-inw was Lucas? Thinking of this, Greg felt his teeth aching a little. He never expected that Lucas had such close rtionships with the Huttons and the Howards. Then Greg looked at Tyson, and a thought suddenly came to mind. He couldn¡¯t help pointing at him and asking tentatively, ¡°Mr. Smith, you... you said earlier that my family wants to harm a close family friend of yours. Surely you¡¯re not referring to... Lucas Gray, are you?¡± Tyson snorted coldly. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re not that muddled after all. Yes, my close family friend is Lucas Gray! If you dare toy a hand on him, the Smiths will absolutely stand against you!¡± Damn it! It¡¯s really him! In that case, the helmsmen of the Huttons, the Smiths, and the Howards had alle to the Steeles¡¯ to demand an exnation for Lucas? What an impressive background! For as long as Greg had lived, there had never been a time when the helmsmen of three of the eight top families of DC came forward together to demand an exnation for someone! Lucas actually possessed so much power! At this moment, Greg was repeatedly recalling the words Alexander had said when he had been kneeling in front of his vi. Alexander had kept saying that the Steeles couldn¡¯t afford to provoke Lucas, so they should never try to take revenge against Lucas. Otherwise, the Steeles would face a disaster or even get annihted. At the time, Greg was furious, thinking that Alexander was just fooling him and making an abandoned son without a powerful background seem like a formidable figure. Thus, he didn¡¯t care to listen to Alexander and immediately kicked him out. Without even bothering to investigate the situation, he sent several experts to capture Lucas, nning to use Lucas¡¯s blood to take revenge for his grandson and save the Steeles¡¯ pride. Only now did Greg finally understand that Alexander wasn¡¯t trying to scare him. Rather, Lucas¡¯s identity was indeed extraordinary. If only one of the eight top families came today, Greg wouldn¡¯t be afraid at all. After all, the Steeles wouldn¡¯t lose to any one of the other families. But Lucas had close rtionships with the helmsman of three of the top eight families, and now, these helmsmen hade looking for trouble with the Steeles when Lucas hadn¡¯t even appeared yet. This just went to show how important Lucas was to them! It¡¯s all that bastard Trevor¡¯s fault. Is this the same Lucas Gray whom he ims doesn¡¯t have any background and is only good at martial arts? He¡¯s really harmed me! Now, Greg was stuck between a rock and a hard ce. He had already dispatched the Steeles¡¯ experts. Besides, no matter what, Lucas had indeed killed his grandson Godfrey and even forced Trevor to crawl in front of so many people. This was a tant insult to the Steeles. If he gave in to the three helmsmen and withdrew his order, who would take the Steeles seriously in the future? Even the Steeles would definitely be extremely disappointed! At the thought of this, Greg was in greater turmoil. What should I do now? Michael narrowed his eyes coldly at Greg. ¡°Mr. Steele, are you still bent on dealing with my son?¡± Greg gritted his teeth and asked, ¡°Mr. Hutton, even though Lucas Gray is your son, he¡¯s just an illegitimate son kicked out two decades ago. The Huttons don¡¯t acknowledge him at all, right? Since you¡¯ve already abandoned him for so many years, why are you meddling in his affairs now?¡± Michael frowned. ¡°This is the Huttons¡¯ affairs. It has nothing to do with you!¡± Being rebuffed by Michael, Greg turned pale. Lucas was clearly his illegitimate son whom he hadn¡¯t acknowledged for more than two decades, yet he suddenly wanted to defend him. Greg thought there was something wrong with Michael! But Greg didn¡¯t dare to voice his thoughts out loud and looked at Florence. ¡°Ms. Howard, you said that Lucas Gray is your son-inw, but as far as we know, you don¡¯t even have a daughter. How did you get a son-inw? Surely you¡¯re not fooling me, right?¡± Florence¡¯s face turned sullen. ¡°I know better than you whether I have a daughter and a son-inw. Besides, it¡¯s my private matter and has nothing to do with you. What¡¯s the point of fooling you about this? Mr. Steele, you take yourself too seriously!¡± She sounded extremely hostile, making Greg¡¯s face flush with fury. Greg didn¡¯t bother asking Tyson. Based on what Tyson said earlier, Greg was already certain that it was basically impossible to get these people to give up the idea of defending Lucas. If he really dared to injure Lucas, the three helmsmen would definitely be his enemies! After hesitating for a while, Greg finally made up his mind and said, ¡°Fine, I give up on revenge. I won¡¯ty a hand on Lucas Gray anymore!¡± ¡°No!¡± An angry voice immediately came from the side. ¡°Dad, you can¡¯t let him off! That punk killed my son, Godfrey. How can we let him off? We must kill him!¡± Chapter 1117 Chapter 1117: Intention to Kill The person who spoke was none other than Greg¡¯s youngest son, the father of the deceased Godfrey, Tim. ¡°Shut up!¡± Greg glowered at Tim. He knew that Lucas had killed his grandson Godfrey, and he certainly wanted to take revenge for him. But Tim should be aware of the right ces and time to do it! !! Now that the helmsmen of three top families had brought their subordinates and shown up at their door, they were obviously trying to stop them from harming Lucas. Greg didn¡¯t dare risk offending them just to kill Lucas and take revenge for his grandson. Greg was certain that if he really dared to show such intentions, the three helmsmen would instantly turn against the Steeles and be enemies. They might even send their subordinates to deal with the Steeles immediately! Each of their families had at least a hundred top experts behind them, and the Steeles wouldn¡¯t be a match for the three familiesbined even at their peak. Moreover, now that all the top experts of the Steeles had been deployed, the Steeles¡¯ defense was at an unprecedented low, and one mistake might result in the family getting wiped out! Now, his foolish son was courting death by saying that he wanted to kill Lucas right in front of everyone. Tim wasn¡¯t good at judging the situation. Besides, now that his son had died in Lucas¡¯s hands, but the Steeles couldn¡¯t take revenge on him, it was simply infuriating. Being forced to give up revenge made him lose his rationality, and he refused to listen to Greg¡¯s advice. ¡°Dad! If youpromise today, it will not only disappoint the Steeles but also embarrass us greatly! If word about this gets out, the people of the other seven top families will trample all over us and bully us in the future! ¡°We¡¯re one of the eight top families too. How could the Steeles be afraid of them¡ªMmph!¡± Smack! Before Tim could finish speaking, a hard pnded on his face. Greg glowered at Tim and hollered, ¡°I told you to shut up. Didn¡¯t you hear me? If you dare to say another word of nonsense, I¡¯ll immediately kick you out of the family. I mean what I say!¡± Greg was really furious, and his eyes were threatening. Seeing his father¡¯s appearance, Tim knew that Greg was serious and not just threatening him. He could only hold back his anger, but his teeth were chattering loudly, and he couldn¡¯t hide the hatred in his eyes. Michael, Florence, and Tyson watched everything in front of them coldly with indifferent expressions. They wouldn¡¯t let off anyone who wanted to deal with Lucas! ... In the lobby on the first floor of the Stardust Corporation... Trevor said loudly with a look of arrogance, ¡°Did Lucas Gray chicken out and escape? I¡¯ll give him another two minutes. If he doesn¡¯t show up in two minutes, don¡¯t me me for wrecking the Stardust Corporation!¡± ¡°Hah, I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have what it takes to smash the Stardust Corporation!¡± A cold voice suddenly spread from the elevator nearby. A tall figure was slowly walking toward the middle of the lobby. Upon seeing this figure, many employees of the Stardust Corporation immediately eximed, ¡°It¡¯s Mr. Gray! Mr. Gray is here!¡± ¡°Quick, look, it¡¯s Lucas Gray, the chairman of the Stardust Corporation! We saw him in Club Illuma yesterday!¡± At the entrance, arge number of onlookers immediately became curious and watched closely as the drama unfolded in the lobby. Indeed, the person walking toward Trevor was none other than Lucas. He had just been dealing with some other matters upstairs and was about to go downstairs when he ran into Trevor leading some people to the Stardust Corporation to raise a ruckus. When Trevor saw Lucas walking over, he instinctively remembered the humiliation he had suffered in Club Illuma and the fear he felt when facing Lucas. So he subconsciously panicked. But after seeing the two top powerhouses of the Steeles and the ten or so experts behind him, Trevor felt relieved, as if he had found support. He was no longer the same Trevor whom Lucas had forced to crawl out of Club Illuma yesterday. Now, he had shown up with so many experts to capture Lucas and take revenge for himself! ¡°Hah, Lucas Gray, I thought you¡¯d keep hiding somewhere because you¡¯re too scared to see me! ¡°I can tell you right now that all the people beside me are the top experts of the Steeles. When they join forces, you¡¯ll definitely be caught! ¡°You¡¯re dead meat! I will personally break your hands and legs and then take you back to the Steeles¡¯ to torture you. I¡¯ll make sure you pay for everything you¡¯ve done! ¡°But if you immediately kneel in front of me, apologize, and crawl around the Stardust Corporation building, I can let you die a quick death! ¡°Now, what are you going to choose?¡± As Trevor spoke, many people had a change of expression. He was going overboard by saying such a cruel approach in front of Lucas. Alexander¡¯s expression instantly changed as well. He didn¡¯t expect Trevor to be so audacious as to say that in front of Lucas. He simply had a death wish! ¡°Trevor, shut up! Stop spouting nonsense here and go home with your men!¡± Alexander shouted angrily. If not for the fact that they had grown up together, Alexander wouldn¡¯t have cared about his cousin at all. But Trevor was ungrateful. He spat on the floor and said with disdain, ¡°Alexander, you¡¯re really funny! Go ahead and be a dog for Lucas Gray, but I won¡¯t buy your nonsense! And you¡¯ve already said those things several times today. I¡¯m already sick of hearing it! It¡¯s nothing but bullshit! ¡°You¡¯re in no ce to tell me what to do, you worthless wastrel who got kicked out of the family! Shut up!¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes at Trevor before suddenly saying to Alexander, ¡°Although I¡¯ve promised your family that I would let the Steeles off, since someone is so eager to seek death, I won¡¯t be breaking my promise if I grant him his death wish, right?¡± Alexander¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He knew that Lucas really had the intention to kill Trevor! Chapter 1118 Chapter 1118: Drastic Change in Attitude When Trevor heard what Lucas said, he was subconsciously taken aback, and a wave of fear surged in his heart. But when he saw the ten or so experts he had brought, especially the two elite bodyguards of his grandfather, he felt emboldened. Indeed, he had already brought the Steeles¡¯ topbat force with him, so it was unnecessary to be afraid of Lucas. No matter how skilled Lucas was in martial arts, there was no way he could deal with thebined power of the Steeles¡¯ experts. !! Trevor burst intoughter. ¡°Haha, Lucas Gray, just continue pretending to be impressive in front of me! Who do you think you are? How dare you say that you¡¯re going to kill me? Don¡¯t think that the Steeles will let you off for killing one of us in Club Illuma yesterday! ¡°Let me tell you. The people standing behind me are all top powerhouses of the Steeles. With them protecting me, do you think you can eveny a finger on me? ¡°Now, it¡¯s not about whether you want to kill me but whether you can survive the siege of the Steeles! Now that you¡¯re already on the brink of death, you¡¯re actually still so arrogant. You really don¡¯t know any better! ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make you regret what you just said soon!¡± Trevor shouted extremely arrogantly. Now that he had arge group of experts guarding him, he was much bolder andpletely disregarded Lucas. After hearing what Trevor said, the employees of the Stardust Corporation and the onlookers at the entrance seemed nervous. In their opinion, although Lucas was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, he didn¡¯t have a powerful background or a big family as his backer. But Trevor was different. As a third-generation scion and the future helmsman of one of the top eight families in DC, he was among the upper ss of DC. In the opinions of the vast majority of people, offending anyone from the eight top families of DC was a death wish, let alone a core member. All of a sudden, many employees of the Stardust Corporation couldn¡¯t help being concerned about their future. If Lucas was bent on offending Trevor, he would not only end up miserable, but the Stardust Corporation would also be implicated and possibly go bankrupt or be acquired by anotherpany. The employees would then be in trouble. At this moment, the most anxious person was Alexander. Of course, he wasn¡¯t worried about Lucas offending Trevor, but rather, he felt that Trevor was foolishly courting death by saying so many things. ¡°Trevor, immediately shut up if you don¡¯t want to die!¡± Alexander hollered furiously, wishing he could rush forward to pinch Trevor¡¯s mouth shut. ¡°Alexander, shut up! You¡¯re in no ce to speak here! If you dare to utter another word, I¡¯ll have you beaten up too! Anyway, you¡¯re no longer a Steele!¡± Trevor roared at Alexander, his voice full of annoyance. Suddenly, Trevor¡¯s cell phone rang. He took out his phone and looked at it. It was a call from his grandfather, Greg. He chuckled and said, ¡°Heh, it¡¯s a call from Grandpa. He must be urging me to act faster and take this bastard back sooner!¡± He answered the call and said proudly, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯ve found Lucas Gray, and I will soon have his limbs broken. After, I¡¯ll bring him back to the Steeles¡¯ and leave him at your disposal¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t touch him! If you dare to injure Mr. Gray, you don¡¯t have toe back to the Steeles anymore!¡± Before Trevor could finish speaking, Greg shouted furiously from the other end, causing Trevor¡¯s ears to buzz. The volume of his voice was secondary. Most importantly, what Greg said left Trevor dumbfounded. What does he mean I don¡¯t have to go home if I dare toy a finger on Lucas Gray? Does he mean that I should never do anything to Lucas Gray? But his grandfather was the one who had told him to bring people to capture Lucas! He had even obtained the unanimous consent of all the Steeles! Wh-what the hell is going on here?! Trevor hurriedly asked, ¡°Grandpa! Didn¡¯t we agree that we would take Lucas¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up! You idiot!¡± Greg roared again, interrupting Trevor. ¡°Anyway, immediately apologize to Mr. Gray and tell him it¡¯s all a misunderstanding. Ask him not to stoop to your level and hold it against you. If Mr. Gray refuses to forgive you, you will no longer be a descendant of the Steeles. Do you hear me?¡± Trevor was stunned for a long time, and his blood turned cold. Although he didn¡¯t know why his grandfather had suddenly changed his mind about dealing with Lucas and even wanted him to apologize to Lucas and ask for his forgiveness, as a scion of the Steeles, he wasn¡¯tpletely stupid. Judging from his grandfather¡¯s reaction, he knew that it was definitely because Lucas had a powerful backer who was so formidable that even his grandfather was scrupulous. In other words, Lucas¡¯s situation hadpletely reversed, and he was no longer someone Trevor could afford to provoke! Trevor¡¯s face instantly became gloomy. He had just said so many harsh words to Lucas, but now, he had to contradict himself and even apologize to him and ask for his forgiveness. It was simply shameful! But he didn¡¯t dare to disobey his grandfather! After ending the call, Trevor gritted his teeth and suddenly went weak in his legs as he knelt in front of Lucas! Thud! The sound of his knees hitting the floor was clear and crisp. All the people watching were so shocked that their jaws dropped. ¡°Oh my god! Are my eyes ying tricks on me? Trevor Steele is a scion of the Steeles. Why did he suddenly kneel on the floor?¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t he just issuing threats? Why did his expression suddenly change after he answered a call? Now, he¡¯s even kneeling in front of Mr. Gray. What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Trevor is the eldest scion of the third generation of the Steeles, and he¡¯s bound to take over as helmsman in the future, yet he¡¯s kneeling? I can¡¯t believe my eyes!¡± ¡°Wow, it seems what you just said is true. Trevor was really forced to crawl out of Club Illuma by Mr. Gray yesterday! I couldn¡¯t believe it before, but now I do!¡± ... There was incessant mor in the lobby as everyone gawked at Trevor and pointed fingers at him. Alexander was just as bewildered. Just a moment ago, Trevor was acting incredibly arrogantly, so why did he suddenly have such a drastic change in attitude? What did Grandpa say over the phone? Chapter 1119 - Taste of His Own Medicine Chapter 1119: Taste of His Own Medicine As his cousin, Alexander was extremely clear about how arrogant Trevor was. And the only person who could make a haughty person like Trevor kneel down in public was his grandfather.
After thinking about it, Alexander immediately figured out that his grandfather should have finally found out some things about Lucas¡¯s background and knew that he wasn¡¯t someone he could offend easily. So he immediately called Trevor to tell him to stop and apologize to Lucas right away. However, Alexander didn¡¯t expect that three other families among the eight top families of DC had approached the Steeles together and pressured them. After all, such an event had never happened in thest two decades. At this moment, Trevor was kneeling on the floor in humiliation, his face as pale as a sheet. He apologized to Lucas, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Gray! I was just¡­ blinded just now. That¡¯s why I blurted those things in front of you¡­ I know my mistakes now! Please forgive me! ¡°Just take it that I was spouting nonsense. Please don¡¯t stoop to my level!¡± Trevor¡¯s pleas for forgiveness astonished the countless onlookers, and the sounds of discussion suddenly became louder. Trevor¡¯s face flushed red. He knew how unsightly he looked at the moment. In the eyes of these people, his image was definitely ruined. But he couldn¡¯t care less now. As long as he could gain Lucas¡¯s forgiveness and settle this matter, other things didn¡¯t matter! Lucas narrowed his eyes and looked at Trevor kneeling in front of him. ¡°You just said that you wanted me to kneel on the floor to apologize to you and admit to my mistakes. You also wanted me to crawl around the Stardust Corporation, right?¡±
Trevor¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s all nonsense I said! I would never dare to make you do that! Now, I¡¯m kneeling to apologize to you! This is all my fault!¡± ¡°You also said that you wanted to break my limbs and take me back to the Steeles to dispose of me, right?¡± Lucas¡¯s cold voice came from above Trevor¡¯s head. Trevor broke out in cold sweat. Now, no matter what, he didn¡¯t dare to break Lucas¡¯s limbs. Otherwise, his grandfather would definitely kick him out of the family like he had done to Alexander! He definitely didn¡¯t want to end up having to leave the family without a single cent like Alexander did. How could a pampered scion like him who had lived in luxury all his life tolerate that? Trevor shuddered before frantically exining, ¡°Mr. Gray, I wouldn¡¯t dare! It¡¯s all my fault for talking nonsense. I would never dare to harm you! Please forgive me!¡± Looking at Trevor, Lucas sneered. ¡°I can forgive you, but you¡¯ve just offended me, so I can¡¯t let you off as though nothing has happened. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re clear of the truth that you have to pay the price for your mistakes, right?¡± Trevor¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he tensed immediately tensed up. He was already kneeling and apologizing to Lucas. Wasn¡¯t this the price he paid?
At this moment, Trevor was about to shout at the top of his lungs. But he knew that Lucas now held absolute authority. If Lucas was determined not to forgive him and insisted on making him pay, Trevor would have no choice but to ept it. He had already sacrificed his dignity to apologize to Lucas and beg for forgiveness. In that case, he might as well stay firm to the end. If he provoked Lucas again, his efforts and the sacrifice of his pride would be in vain! After thinking about it, Trevor could only grit his teeth and say, ¡°In that case¡­ what price do you want me to pay, Mr. Gray? The Steeles can give you two¡­ No, five million dors aspensation for offending you this time!¡± If Lucas was greedy and wanted marypensation from the Steeles, he would dly ept it. After all, the Steeles were one of the eight top families. Money was thest thing theycked. Although five million dors would make Trevor feel a slight pinch, it wouldn¡¯t mean anything as long as he could cate Lucas. For top families like theirs, all problems that could be solved with money were not actual problems!
Although Trevor thought so, Lucas didn¡¯tck money at all. A few million dors meant nothing to him. ¡°Do you think Ick money?¡± Lucas¡¯s cold words made Trevor freeze in shock. Trevor gritted his teeth with all his might and continued, ¡°In that case¡­ if you think the amount is too low¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯tck money, and I don¡¯t n to take the Steeles¡¯ money.¡± Lucas interrupted Trevor without waiting for him to finish. ¡°I¡¯ve always been a fair person. Just now, you said that you¡¯d cripple my limbs. So to pay you back in your own coin, I¡¯d like you to cripple all your limbs. I¡¯ll let you leave then.¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Trevor¡¯s body trembled after he heard what Lucas said, and he immediately copsed on the floor. Lucas actually wanted him to cripple his own limbs! ¡°No, Mr. Gray, I¡­ I just made a casualment. I didn¡¯t really n to cripple your limbs. Besides, I¡¯m already kneeling and apologizing to you. Can¡¯t you just forgive me once? Must¡­ must you really kill me?¡± Trevor asked in a shaky voice while trembling all over.
¡°I¡¯m not bargaining with you. If you don¡¯t ept it, you can choose to die here.¡± Lucas¡¯s words were like a bucket of icy cold water that drenched Trevor from head to toe. Trevor absolutely didn¡¯t want to die. But if he really had his limbs crippled, he would be an invalid from then on. That would be no different from dying. Why is Lucas Gray so vicious? I¡¯ve already apologized to him. Must he resort to such cruel means to deal with me? At this moment, Trevor hadpletely forgotten that he had treated Lucas with an even more arrogant attitude and had simrly threatened to cripple his limbs just a few minutes ago. He was just reaping what he sowed. Trevor felt extremely humiliated. He even had a strong urge to order his experts to attack Lucas. But he quickly dispelled the thought because he already understood that, based on what his grandfather said over the phone, Lucas wasn¡¯t someone the Steeles could provoke. Even if he ordered his experts to kill Lucas, his grandfather wouldn¡¯t let him off for bringing disaster to the Steeles! ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, could you please be kind and spare me just once?¡± Trevor begged in panic. Looking down at him from above, Lucas smirked coldly. ¡°I¡¯ve already let you off several times. If Alexander hadn¡¯t repeatedly pleaded for you yesterday and today, you would already be dead!¡±
Chapter 1120 - Crippling His Own Limbs Chapter 1120: Crippling His Own Limbs What Lucas said caused Trevor to copse to the ground. He looked up at Alexander, who was standing nearby, utterly speechless.
On the other hand, Alexander felt a sudden warmth surge in his heart. Indeed, he had just tried to persuade Trevor several times, but thetter had simply ignored him with annoyance. He had even said that he would beat Alexander up if he spoke again. Only Lucas knew that he had advised Trevor to prevent him from courting death and save him from a fatal mishap. Alexander sighed and said to Trevor, ¡°Trevor, since you don¡¯t consider me a Steele anymore, I won¡¯t call you my cousin. Grandpa called you to tell you not toy a finger on Mr. Gray and to try your best to seek his forgiveness, right? ¡°I told you before that if you insisted on taking revenge on Mr. Gray, it would definitely bring disaster to the Steeles, but you refused to believe me. However, since Grandpa called you, he must have already found out some information. ¡°As you know, Grandpa has always been firm in his decisions, and Mr. Gray is the same. ¡°You have greatly offended Mr. Gray, so it¡¯s only right to pay the price for it. ¡°You¡¯re the only third-generation scion of the Steeles remaining. As long as you¡¯re still alive, you¡¯ll still be able to be the future helmsman of the family even if all of your limbs are crippled. ¡°But if you insist on defying Mr. Gray now, you¡¯ll have to pay the price with your life. Can you really afford to bear the consequences?
¡°You should know the right choice to make now, right?¡± Alexander knew that with Trevor¡¯s death-courting behavior just now, Lucas was already being extremely kind to him by only wanting to cripple his limbs instead of killing him. Moreover, even if his limbs were crippled, he might still be able to recover in the future. But if he died here, there would be no future for him. Trevor immediately understood Alexander¡¯s advice. He gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind. ¡°Alright, in that case¡­ I¡¯ll do as you said! After I cripple my limbs, I hope you¡¯ll forgive me and forget the feud with the Steeles!¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± Hearing this, Trevor said to the two experts of the Steeles behind him, ¡°You guys, break my limbs!¡± The people he had brought with him were the strongest experts of the Steeles, so breaking limbs was extremely simple for them. Moreover, since they were experts, they might do it a little faster and make him suffer a little less. The two experts behind Trevor looked at each other, both understanding what Trevor meant.
They were merely experts invited by the Steeles. Since the Steeles and Trevor had already made their decision, they just had to follow orders. ¡°Sorry!¡± the two experts whispered. Then they stepped forward and ced their hands on Trevor¡¯s wrists and ankles. Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± With four crisp and clear sounds of bones breaking, Trevor shrieked in misery under the immense pain. Although he had already been mentally prepared, the pain of having the bones of his limbs broken still made him wail in excruciating pain.
The surrounding crowd couldn¡¯t help trembling when they heard his miserable cries. They even looked at Lucas with awe and respect. Even the scion of the Steeles, one of the eight top families, had to bear the consequences of offending Lucas. So the rest of them didn¡¯t even dare to think about offending him. Many people among the crowd outside began asking about who Lucas of the Stardust Corporation was. Lucas nced at Trevor wailing in pain with tears and snot all over his face. ¡°Get lost.¡± The Steeles¡¯ experts didn¡¯t dare to say anything, and they immediately carried Trevor away from the Stardust Corporation. Soon, the security department of the Stardust Corporation sent another team to disperse the crowd standing around the entrance and watching the fun. Meanwhile, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s employees returned to work. Everything returned to normal, and order was restored. Alexander didn¡¯t leave. After the crowd dispersed, he walked to Lucas and said sincerely, ¡°Mr. Gray, thank you so much for today!¡± He was naturally thanking Lucas for sparing Trevor¡¯s life.
Lucas smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just a trivial matter. From now on, you¡¯re a member of the Stardust Corporation, and you just have to handle your duties well. If you¡¯re still interested in the position of the Steeles¡¯ helmsman in the future, feel free to go back whenever you want.¡± Alexander immediately felt more grateful toward Lucas. But it was absolutely impossible for him to return to the Steeles. Alexander had already spent more than two decades of his life living in thatpetitive, scheming environment. Now that he had finally left and even earned Lucas¡¯s appreciation, why would he return to the Steeles? Besides, the position of the Steeles¡¯ helmsman had never appealed to him. All he wanted now was to protect the Steeles to the best of his abilities so that his father¡¯s efforts and sacrifice wouldn¡¯t go to waste. Alexander said earnestly, ¡°Mr. Gray, I no longer have any thoughts about being with the Steeles. Since our family of three has already decided to join you, we will definitely stay loyal to you and work for you. Feel free to give us any instructions in the future!¡± When they were upstairs just now, the entire family had alreadye to a decision. Lucas looked at him approvingly. ¡°Good. From now on, you will take instructions from Mr. Davis. He¡¯ll tell you everything you need to do.¡± Although Lucas was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, Flynn was the general manager, so he would naturally handle the specific work matters.
¡°Yes, Mr. Gray.¡± Alexander immediately agreed humbly. He had always been a very smart person. Although thepanies he had been responsible for were much fewer than his cousins¡¯ when he used to be a scion of the Steeles, he had been in charge ofpanies of simr size to the Stardust Corporation. Now that he was in the Stardust Corporation, he could only follow the orders of a general manager whose family background was far inferior to his and work as a subordinate. There was a huge difference from what Alexander was used to, but he didn¡¯tin or show the slightest bit of dissatisfaction. Instead, he appeared to have really decided to do whatever he had to. After Lucas left the Stardust Corporation office building, Alexander finally headed upstairs and entered Flynn¡¯s office again. ¡°Mr. Davis, our family will be working for the Stardust Corporation from now on. Please feel free to give us any instructions!¡± Alexander¡¯s attitude was very humble and amicable. Ashley and Elise both looked at Flynn humbly too. They both knew that Flynn would be their direct superior from now on. Flynn said with a smile, ¡°Sure. Alright, regarding your work arrangements¡­ The Stardust Corporation¡¯s current development is considered rather rapid, but we don¡¯t have a ce in the overseas market yet because of ack of top talents.
¡°So I n to send you three abroad to manage the Stardust Corporation¡¯s overseas market expansion. What do you think?¡± Chapter 1121 - 1121 Sent Abroad 1121 Sent Abroad The matter Flynn mentioned immediately caught Alexander by surprise. They were content enough to join the Stardust Corporation, but he didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would entrust them with such an important task as expanding the business into the overseas market. There was a considerable degree of freedom in the process of expanding into foreign markets. They would be in charge of all matters and finances, and all they had to do was report regrly to the Stardust Corporation headquarters. Moreover, to put it bluntly, if someone had evil intentions and squandered or appropriated the massive amount of start-up funds allocated by the Stardust Corporation abroad, no one would find out. They could even abscond with the funds, and it would be difficult to find their whereabouts since they would be abroad. Thus, generally speaking, such tasks would usually be handed over only to those that thepany trusted. But now, Lucas actually handed such an important task to them. This showed that he trusted them greatly! While being extremely touched, Alexander made up his mind that he would try his best not to let Lucas down. ¡°Alright, Mr. Davis, I have no objections,¡± Alexander said excitedly. Elise nodded. ¡°Thank you for your trust in us, Mr. Davis and Mr. Gray. We have no objections.¡± Only Ashley was left. Looking at her mother and brother, she bit her lip without agreeing immediately. Instead, she seemed hesitant to speak. Flynn smiled and asked, ¡°Miss Steele, do you have any ideas? Feel free to raise them.¡± Hearing this, Ashley looked encouraged. She mustered up the courage and was just about to speak when Elise suddenly stopped her. ¡°Ashley, your brother and I have decided to go overseas to help thepany expand its market. Since we¡¯re a family, shouldn¡¯t you go with us?¡± Then Elise shot her daughter a meaningful look. The meaning in her eyes was obvious. Ashley¡¯s lips trembled for a while, but she eventually closed her mouth, lowered her head, covered her slightly red eyes, and said in low spirits, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right, Mom. I¡¯m naturally going to go with you.¡± As an experienced white-cor worker who had been in society for countless years, Flynn was extremely good at reading people¡¯s expressions. Seeing the micro expressions of Ashley and Elise, he naturally understood that there might be some other matters involved. But since it was a private matter, he wouldn¡¯t ask about it. Looking at the three of them, Flynn said, ¡°Alright, since the three of you have agreed, then this matter is settled. I¡¯lle up with a general n for youter, and then I¡¯ll hand over the Stardust Corporation¡¯s overseas expansion to your hands. ¡°For the next few days, you should go through the relevant procedures and formalities while familiarizing yourselves with thepany. Once I¡¯m done nning, you can go abroad to start the expansion!¡± Alexander, Elise, and Ashley nodded and said in unison, ¡°Alright, thank you, Mr. Davis.¡± Flynn arranged a personal office for the three of them and instructed thepany¡¯s administrative staff to bring a fewpany documents over. After everyone left, Elise looked at Ashley, held her hand, and said seriously, ¡°Ashley, I know what you wanted to say just now, and I also know that you don¡¯t want to go abroad, but I have to tell you that what you are thinking about is impossible. ¡°As you know, he¡¯s already married. Even I admire an outstanding man like him, let alone young people like you. ¡°I know you like him, and that¡¯s normal, but you must be clear that nothing wille out of it. ¡°So it¡¯s better to deal with the pain quickly and give up on him now so that you won¡¯t feel worse in the future.¡± ¡°And now that thepany has given us a great opportunity to go abroad to expand the overseas market, I believe you¡¯ll be able to get over your budding adoration for him and get out of this smitten state when you¡¯re exposed to a new environment.¡± Elise didn¡¯t rebuke Ashley sternly but instead advised her earnestly with some heartache. If Lucas wasn¡¯t married, an outstanding man like him would definitely have many suitors, and he would also be an ideal son-inw for Elise. But Lucas was already married, had an adorable daughter, and in a loving rtionship with his wife. In that case, it was impossible for another woman toe between them. Moreover, not to mention that the rtionship between Lucas and his wife couldn¡¯t be shaken at all, Elise didn¡¯t want to see Ashley suffering because of such a rtionship either. Ashley¡¯s eyes reddened again, and she remained silent. When Alexander saw this, his heart ached with a bit of self-reproach. If he hadn¡¯t brought Ashley to Club Illuma yesterday and let her meet Lucas, she wouldn¡¯t be in such a miserable dilemma right now. After a moment of silence, Ashley raised her head and said with a smile, ¡°Okay, Mom, I know. Actually¡­ I don¡¯t like him romantically. I just think he¡¯s a really great guy, so I admire him. That¡¯s all. Don¡¯t worry. I know what to do.¡± She took a deep breath and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go abroad with you. We¡¯re a family, so of course we should be together!¡± Although Ashley was all smiles, her closest kin, Alexander and Elise, could tell that she was forcing herself to smile. The feelings of adoration for someone were the purest and most beautiful in the world, so Alexander and Elise were both a little distressed to see Ashley acting like this. Elise stroked Ashley¡¯s hair and said lovingly, ¡°Sweetheart, there are many good men out there, so take your time and pick wisely. Since we¡¯ve received Mr. Gray¡¯s kindness and obtained the opportunity to work in the Stardust Corporation, we should focus on work for now and try to familiarize ourselves with thepany as soon as possible.¡± Then she handed out copies of thepany information, system guidelines, and so on to Ashley and Alexander. The three of them immediately started getting busy with work. ¡­ Meanwhile, Lucas didn¡¯t leave the Stardust Corporation and instead remained in a separate conference room. Flynn was reporting thetest development progress of Stardust City to him. ¡°Lucas, Professor Crawford is very efficient, and she has already designed aplete drawing based on the information from the survey. In no time, the overall 3D model of Stardust City will bepleted. ¡°Once this is done, I¡¯ll take you to have a look. If there¡¯s anything you¡¯d like to modify, you can do so easily with the reference model,¡± Flynn said emotionally. Lucas nodded. ¡°Very good. Professor Crawford is really a professional. It¡¯s really impressive that she managed toplete all the design drawings in such a short time!¡± ¡°But her safety is of utmost importance too. You have to pay attention to it. As you have seen, the Hills have their eyes on that plot ofnd as well. We can¡¯t be sure they won¡¯t try to harm her.¡± Flynn hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lucas. I have sent several bodyguards to protect Professor Crawford around the clock. Everything will be fine!¡± But the moment he finished speaking, his cell phone suddenly rang. ¡°Mr. Davis, bad news. Professor Crawford has been injured and is being transported to the hospital!¡± Chapter 1122 - 1122 Professor Crawford Is Injured 1122 Professor Crawford Is Injured ¡°What did you say?!¡± Flynn immediately turned pale, and before even asking why she was injured, he frantically asked, ¡°Which hospital is Professor Crawford currently going to?¡± ¡°DC Hospital!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll head over right now!¡± After hanging up the phone, Flynn¡¯s face had turnedpletely gloomy. Just a few seconds ago, he had promised Lucas that he would never let anything happen to Gemma Crawford. But he contradicted himself almost immediately. Gemma was injured and sent to the hospital. Lucas also heard the conversation over the phone, and his face immediately darkened. ¡°Is Professor Crawford injured? What¡¯s going on?¡± Flynn didn¡¯t know how to exin it, but he still hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the hospital to take a look now and then ask the project leader what happened.¡± Lucas said with a frown, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Gemma was advanced in years, but she was injured for helping him design Stardust City. No matter what, Lucas had to go to the hospital to see what was going on. While walking out, Lucas took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Maddy, a senior I know has been injured, and she¡¯s being admitted to DC Hospital. Please go there and help me take a look at the situation!¡± Since it was a personal call from Lucas, Maddy knew that the injured person was definitely not an ordinary person, so she agreed immediately. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you at the hospital.¡± Although Lucas still didn¡¯t know how Gemma got injured, Maddy was an expert with excellent medical skills, so regardless of what injuries Gemma had, he was sure that things would be better with Maddy around. On the way to the hospital, Flynn med himself and said, ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s all my fault. I thought I had done a good job of protecting Professor Crawford, but I didn¡¯t expect I would still end up letting her get injured¡­¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°No one meant for this to happen. Let¡¯s go to the hospital to find out the details first.¡± Actually, he couldn¡¯t me Flynn for this. After all, Gemma was Flynn¡¯s professor in college, and he was the one who had rmended her to take on the Stardust City project. Now that she had encountered a mishap, he definitely felt guilty. Besides, he had already sent several bodyguards to protect her around the clock, which was the best basic security he could provide. The fact that she was still injured could only show that her perpetrator was even more fierce. Lucas had a rough idea of who the perpetrator was. If it was that force who did it, it would be impossible to protect Gemma even if Flynn had sent 20 bodyguards, let alone a few bodyguards. Half an hourter, the two of them arrived at DC Hospital. At the entrance of the emergency room, a middle-aged man in a ck suit greeted Lucas and Flynn as soon as he saw them. ¡°Mr. Gray, Mr. Davis, you¡¯re finally here!¡± The middle-aged man was the head of engineering for the construction of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Stardust City project in the eastern suburbs. ¡°How is Professor Crawford¡¯s situation now? What happened?¡± Flynn immediately asked in a deep voice. The project leader said, ¡°Professor Crawford is still undergoing emergency rescue, and her condition is unknown. But she was pushed by someone and hit her head. So¡­ we have to wait for the doctor toe out to know if there are any serious problems. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. We were supposed to begin construction ording to n today with Professor Crawford instructing on site. But more than twenty people suddenly came with menacing expressions and forced us to stop work. They even injured many workers on the scene. ¡°Professor Crawford was enraged, so she got into a conflict with those people and told them to leave, but they suddenly attacked her! ¡°The five bodyguards you arranged to protect Professor Crawford were also seriously injured, and they¡¯re also in the hospital. The project leader quickly recounted everything that had happened. There were even some footprints and bruises on his body. He had obviously been beaten up too. Flynn¡¯s face became extremely cloudy, and he said through gritted teeth, ¡°Did they mention who they were?¡± The project leader said fearfully, ¡°They¡­ they said they¡¯re from Club Illuma and that thend where our construction is ongoing belongs to their boss. They insisted that we leave and make space for them!¡± When Flynn heard this, a look of bewilderment appeared on his face. Club Illuma? Although Flynn didn¡¯t know who the owner of Club Illuma was, Lucas already understood. Club Illuma was the ce Ashton was in charge of. In that case, things were obvious. After he bought thend in the eastern suburbs at the auction not long ago, he happened to meet Ashton and his men during a site visit with Flynn and Gemma. After suffering a loss at the hands of Lucas, Ashton had tried to buy thend from Lucas at a high price of 1.7 billion dors, but Lucas didn¡¯t agree. Lucas and Ashton had also gotten into a conflict at Club Illuma yesterday. Lucas eventually knocked Ashton unconscious, and the two old men guarding him couldn¡¯t do anything to Lucas. If it wasn¡¯t because Lucas didn¡¯t want to fall outpletely with the Hills, who were a royal family branch, he would have long killed Ashton. Unfortunately, Lucas spared Ashton, but the Hills had a death wish and actually sent people to hurt Gemma. Lucas slowly narrowed his eyes, and an incredibly terrifying murderous aura surged from his body instantly. ¡°The Hills and Ashton Hill, if something really happens to Professor Crawford, I will make sure the Hills die with her!¡± If Ashton and the Hills found trouble with Lucas, he would be able to handle it regardless of what tricks they used. But they actually sent a group of thugs to injure a woman in her seventies and even got her sent to the emergency room with her life in danger. This behavior was simply beastly, and Lucas couldn¡¯t tolerate it at all! The terrifying killing intent Lucas exuded made Flynn, who was standing beside him, feel a chill in his heart. Flynn asked cautiously, ¡°Lucas, do you know who the people who injured Professor Crawford are? Are they rted to the Hills?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. Do you still remember the people from the Hills we met when we visited the site the other day? Club Illuma belongs to the Hills, and the person in charge of the club is the Ashton Hills we met before!¡± Chapter 1123 Chapter 1123 Venting Anger on Lucas Flynn came to a sudden realization. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is! It seems the Hills are still indignant and want to take thend that Stardust City is being built on. That¡¯s why they used such disgusting means! ¡°They¡¯re really despicable and shameless! Professor Crawford is already in her seventies, yet they injured her so badly. They deserve to die!¡± After cursing with righteous indignation, Flynn was full of worries again. ¡°Lucas, the Hills are a royal family branch and have a status higher than the eight giants of DC. If they¡¯re determined to snatch thend from you, the Stardust City project will be greatly affected... We might even have to stop construction as ast resort, right?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°They¡¯re just a branch of the royals, and they won¡¯t be able to affect the Stardust City project. If they have a death wish, I¡¯ll grant it to them!¡± !! What Lucas said once again shocked Flynn. It seemed that Lucas had never taken his enemies seriously, regardless of how powerful they were. At the beginning, it was the four top families in Orange County, and thenter, it was the three top families in LA. Now that he was in DC, even the eight giants couldn¡¯t faze him. Facts had proven that Lucas was indeed incredibly powerful and wasn¡¯t afraid of these families at all. But things are different now. They were facing the Hills, a royal family branch. Could Lucas still resolve the matter as easily as before? If this was the case, how terrifying had Lucas¡¯s power reached? Flynn didn¡¯t dare to continue to think about it. Lucas said, ¡°Anyway, I will take care of Professor Crawford¡¯s matter, regardless of who the perpetrator is. You just need to be in charge of handling the Stardust Corporation¡¯s affairs.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Flynn tensed up and hurriedly agreed. ¡°Grandma! How is she?!¡± Suddenly, an anxious voice came from the corridor outside the emergency room, along with some chaotic footsteps. Soon, three people rushed over. The person running in front was a young girl in her twenties, followed by a couple in their forties. They were all incredibly anxious. The middle-aged man and the young girl looked somewhat simr to Gemma, so they were obviously rted to her. Flynn had been Gemma¡¯s apprentice, so he knew who her family was. After he saw the three of them, an obvious look of guilt appeared on his face as he said apologetically, ¡°Sorry, Paul, Le. Professor Crawford... is still in the emergency room... ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault. I failed to protect Professor Crawford. I¡¯m so sorry!¡± Professor Crawford¡¯s family members were all intellectuals. Like her, her son, Paul Carson, and his wife were both professors at Georgetown University. The young girl, Le, was Gemma¡¯s granddaughter and Paul¡¯s daughter. Le was now a senior student at Georgetown University and was already guaranteed a ce in graduate school because of her outstanding results. It could be said that the family was all rare talents of Georgetown University. Being acquainted with Flynn, Paul naturally wouldn¡¯t be upset with him, especially after seeing how apologetic he was. ¡°You don¡¯t have to me yourself. I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t want my mom to get hurt either. Besides, I heard you sent several bodyguards to protect her. Now that this has happened, it¡¯s not your fault at all.¡± Paul patted Flynn¡¯s back. He was a sensible person, so he could naturally distinguish right from wrong. Since the culprits who harmed his mother were others, he wouldn¡¯t put the me on Flynn. After hearing what Paul said, Flynn became even more ashamed, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words. Paul looked at the lights on the door of the emergency room. Since the doctor hadn¡¯te out yet, his mother¡¯s situation was unknown, and the only thing they could do now was to stand here and wait. When he saw Lucas standing beside Flynn, he asked doubtfully, ¡°Who is this?¡± Flynn hurriedly introduced, ¡°Paul, let me introduce to you. This is Mr. Lucas Gray, chairman of the Stardust Corporation. After hearing that Professor Crawford was hurt, he immediately decided toe to the hospital with me.¡± Paul smiled politely and took the initiative to extend his hand. ¡°So, you¡¯re the chairman of the Stardust Corporation. Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Paul Carson, Professor Crawford¡¯s son.¡± Although he didn¡¯t know Lucas yet, he knew that his mother was working on the design of Stardust City for the Stardust Corporation every day. It turned out that the young man in his twenties in front of him was the big boss who had hired his mother. Paul was rather amiable, for he was polite and cultured. Lucas smiled faintly and also extended his hand. Just as he was about to shake hands with Paul, a petite figure suddenly appeared between them to interrupt their handshake. Standing in front of Lucas angrily, Le glowered at him and snapped, ¡°So you¡¯re the chairman of the Stardust Corporation! Because my grandmother has been working for yourpany, she ended up like this. It¡¯s all your fault! ¡°If my grandmother is fine, then we can forget it. But if... if something happens to her, I won¡¯t let you off! Do you hear me?¡± The girl¡¯s voice was clear and crisp, but she was ring at Lucas in anger like a feisty little tiger. Flynn¡¯s expression instantly changed. He understood Lucas¡¯s temper well, so he was afraid that Le would anger him. Next to him, Paul chided with a frown, ¡°Le, mind your behavior! Is that the attitude we taught you to have when interacting with others? Your grandmother is hurt, and we¡¯re very anxious and sad, but that¡¯s not what Mr. Gray wants to see either. Apologize to him immediately!¡± Le retorted indignantly, ¡°Why should I apologize to him? Am I wrong? Grandma wouldn¡¯t have gotten hurt if she wasn¡¯t working for him!¡± Then she scowled at Lucas menacingly as her eyes turned red. ¡°You¡¯re venting your anger unreasonably! Is that what Grandma and I taught you? Apologize to Mr. Gray immediately!¡± Paul had always been a reasonable person. Now that his daughter was behaving like this, he frowned with displeasure. His voice became deeper, and he even sounded a little domineering. ¡°No, I refuse! They¡¯re responsible for Grandma¡¯s mishap!¡± Le said stubbornly with tears in her eyes. ¡°You!¡± Infuriated, Paul raised his hand, wanting his daughter. Smack! Chapter 1124 - 1124 Settling Scores 1124 Settling Scores However, the p didn¡¯tnd on Le. Just as Paul¡¯s p was about tond on her face, Lucas suddenly took a step forward, grabbed Paul¡¯s hand, and persuaded, ¡°Professor Carson, you shouldn¡¯t p her. She¡¯s right. If Professor Crawford wasn¡¯t helping me, she wouldn¡¯t have suffered this unwarranted mishap. I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Lucas felt very guilty. The Hills obviously wanted to snatch thend from Lucas, so they had sent a group of thugs from Club Illuma to harm those involved in the development of Stardust City to deter them from continuing with the construction. If Gemma hadn¡¯t been helping him, she wouldn¡¯t have been injured. Besides, Gemma was already in her seventies, and now that she was seriously injured, it was unknown if she could be rescued. In short, Lucas felt extremely guilty after seeing Gemma¡¯s family. Since Lucas had stopped him, Paul naturally wouldn¡¯t continue lecturing Le. He could only re at her and rebuke, ¡°You¡¯re already in your twenties! Why are you still so insensible? Look at Mr. Gray. If he hadn¡¯t helped you, I would have really taught you a hard lesson!¡± ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t need him to pretend to be nice here!¡± Le had great animosity toward Lucas. She glowered at him andshed out furiously, ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you here. The sight of you pisses me off! Hurry up and get lost!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Paul immediately frowned and was about to lose his temper again. Seeing this, Lucas hurriedly persuaded, ¡°Professor Carson, please calm down. I have something to attend to, so I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± Then he instructed Flynn, ¡°Inform me immediately once Professor Crawford is out!¡± After Flynn acknowledged, Lucas left. He didn¡¯t actually have something to do, and it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to wait for Gemma toe out of the emergency room. But he knew that Lelia resented him so much that if he continued to stay here, it would only intensify the conflict between her and Paul. So it was better for him to leave sooner. Sure enough, Le stopped venting her anger after Lucas left and finally calmed down. She was still displeased with Flynn, but at least she wasn¡¯t as upset as she was when facing Lucas. Paul felt a headache. Le was great in every aspect, except she could be overly emotional at times. Once she became upset, there was no way to persuade her. Flynn coughed and said, ¡°Le, in fact, Mr. Gray is really concerned about Professor Crawford¡¯s situation. The attending doctor treating Professor Crawford in the emergency room is the internationally acimed Maddy Stone, whom Mr. Gray specially invited to treat your grandmother. With Miss Stone here, your grandmother will definitely be safe and sound!¡± By saying this, he hoped to be able to show how much Lucas valued Gemma and what he had done for her, wanting to reduce Le¡¯s animosity toward Lucas as much as possible. After all, one was his mentor¡¯s granddaughter, and the other was his boss. Flynn really didn¡¯t want to see any conflict between them. ¡°Hmph, who cares?!¡± Le harrumphed and bit her lip, not wanting to talk with Flynn. Paul sighed and said to Flynn helplessly, ¡°Flynn, please don¡¯t be offended. Le has been spoiled rotten by us. I hope you don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Flynn shook his head. The two of them spoke a bit more casually while standing outside the emergency room and looking at the sign above the door. They hoped Gemma would pull through safely¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile, Lucas left DC Hospital and headed straight for Club Illuma. What happened to Gemma was because of the Hills, so they had to pay the price for it! Soon, Lucas arrived at Club Illuma again. Unlike thest time he came, he was exuding a murderous aura this time. He had speciallye here today to take revenge against Club Illuma and the Hills! As soon as Lucas reached the entrance, two Clum Illuma staff members stopped him. ¡°Sir, please show your membership card. You¡¯re not allowed to enter without one.¡± Thest time he came, Alexander had said that Club Illuma was exclusive to holders of membership cards, which could cost up to a staggering sum of five million dors a year. Anyone without a membership card was not allowed to enter. Lucas sneered and shouted, ¡°Get lost!¡± He hade here today to take revenge. Why would he care about a membership card? If the guards refused to let him in, he could only use the simplest and most brutal solution¡ªfighting his way in! After hearing what Lucas said, the two guards froze before realizing that this young man wasn¡¯t here for entertainment but to find trouble! It was an extremely new thing! The proprietor of Club Illuma was the Hills, a royal family branch. Anyone who dared to cause trouble for them was simply courting death! ¡°Punk, how dare you cause trouble in Club Illuma? You must be tired of living!¡± ¡°You¡¯d better find out who¡¯s behind Club Illuma and check if you can afford to provoke them!¡± The two guards at the door immediately mocked Lucas. At the same time, they pulled out the stic batons on their waits and inched closer to Lucas. Since they had been chosen as guards of Club Illuma, they naturally weren¡¯t rookies with poorbat skills. But before they could reach Lucas, Lucas sent them flying with a roundhouse kick! Bang! Thud! The bodies of the guards crashed against the ground with a loud thud. Theyy motionlessly on the ground, unable to get up for a long time, looking at Lucas with horror in their eyes. Who is this man? He had kicked them both so far away with just a light kick and almost crippled them! Lucas nced at the two of them coldly and then strode in without saying another word. Their bodies were stiff, and they couldn¡¯t even say a single word to stop him. But there was surveince everywhere in Club Illuma. Even though the two guards at the door failed to give a warning, a group of henchmen rushed out and surrounded Lucas. The leader narrowed his eyes at Lucas menacingly. ¡°Punk, how dare you cause trouble in Club Illuma? How impudent!¡± Chapter 1125 - 1125 Get Him to Come Out 1125 Get Him to Come Out Lucas looked around at the people surrounding him and said coldly, ¡°Tell Ashton Hill to get the hell out here immediately!¡± Lucas was furious. If Ashton really wanted to snatch thend away, he could juste at Lucas. Gemma was already advanced in years, but she was still undergoing emergency rescue now, and it was unknown what would happen to her in the future. Ashton was utterly unforgivable! After hearing what Lucas said, the henchmen of Club Illuma immediately had a drastic change in expression. How dare this man call Mr. Ashton by his name and speak about him in that tone?! The leader hollered, ¡°Damn it! Who do you think you are? You can¡¯t meet Mr. Ashton just because you want to!¡± ¡°Heh, is that so? Then, I can only use other methods to make him get his ass out here to see me!¡± Lucas said coldly. The moment he finished speaking, he had already dashed toward the henchmen like a bolt of lightning. The next moment, bursts of miserable screams sounded in the arena. The henchmen were all sent flying as if an invisible opponent had attacked them and fell to the floor one after another. Bang! Bang! Thud! ¡°Ah!¡± ¡­ With the chaotic sounds, the dozen or so henchmen in front of Lucas had already fallen to the floor and were rendered immobile. Looking at this scene in front of them, the other people in Club Illuma couldn¡¯t help staring wide-eyed at Lucas in disbelief. Lucas didn¡¯t deal these henchmen any fatal blows. After all, they were only working for Club Illuma, and they might not know what had happened yesterday. The people Lucas wanted revenge on were Ashton, the mastermind behind this, and the scumbags who had harmed Gemma, an elderly woman in her seventies. As for the other staff members, Lucas wouldn¡¯t kill them unless they courted death on their own. After deterring these people with one move, he went straight to the poker room on the fifth floor unhindered. Since Ashton didn¡¯t show up, he would create trouble here until he did. If he just raised Club Illuma, smashing everything in sight and beating everyone up, it wouldn¡¯t make Ashton feel pain at all. Thus, Lucas went straight to the poker room, intending to make Ashton bleed money heavily. Only in this way would he learn his lesson and never dare to mess with Lucas again! Since Club Illuma was one of the top entertainment joints in DC, there would never be a shortage of patrons in the poker room. At this moment, in the huge room of thousands of square meters, there were numerous card tables, each full of people. From time to time, there would be bursts of cheers or cries of sadness. Even the most elegant aristocrats would show their ugly sides when they fell prey to gambling addiction and have their minds preupied with greed. They would only have their eyes fixed on the cards and chips on the table. Lucas walked around the poker room and went to a table near the middle. He had just discovered that a middle-aged man with a big gold chain on his neck was the only person at the table who was innocent. The other three people at the table with him were obviously in cahoots and deliberately luring him into their trap. This was the poker room of Club Illuma, and the only people who would dare to do this tantly were the staff of Club Illuma. It seemed that the three of them were teaming up to con the middle-aged man, so they were cing extremelyrge bets. Thus, Lucas went straight to this table, tapped the middle-aged man¡¯s shoulder, and said, ¡°Go y at another table.¡± The middle-aged man had just won a lot of money and was in extremely high spirits. Hearing what Lucas said, he snapped furiously, ¡°Damn it! Who are you, brat? How dare you snatch my seat?¡± In the middle-aged man¡¯s opinion, he was really lucky and had just won a ton of money, perhaps because he was in a lucky seat. As soon as he heard that Lucas wanted him to change seats, he immediately flew into a rage. He didn¡¯t know the reason he could win now was that he had fallen into the trap of the other people at the same table. Their n was to let him win a few games first and then lure him into increasing his bets before making a killing off of him. It could be said that Lucas was saving him by asking him to change seats. Unfortunately, the middle-aged upstart had no idea at all, nor did he appreciate Lucas¡¯s efforts. He simply thought that Lucas was here to ruin things for him. Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue talking to him. He directly picked him up by the back of his cor and flung him onto the floor without hesitation. Bang! The middle-aged man¡¯s fat body hit the floor with a dull thud. Several people at the surrounding poker tables instantly looked over. Their faces were covered in shock! In the numerous years that Club Illuma had been operating in DC, no one had ever dared to cause trouble here. After all, many people knew who truly owned Club Illuma, and even the members of the eight top families of DC had never dared to cause trouble here. But the young man in front of them, who looked to be only in his twenties, actually had the audacity to get physical in Club Illuma! Lucas didn¡¯t care what expression the upstart had. Instead, he simply sat down in his seat. ¡°I¡¯ll y with you guys.¡± The other three people sitting at the table looked at each other. They were clearly about to lure the middle-aged man into their trap, yet Lucas appeared at this moment and threw him away, putting their n in jeopardy. One of them narrowed his eyes and said to Lucas hostilely, ¡°Punk, are you here to cause trouble?¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a poker room? Is there a difference between him ying with you guys and me ying with you guys?¡± Then Lucas said to a waiter next to him, ¡°Please exchange thirty million dors worth of chips for me.¡± He took out a bank card from his pocket and threw it directly at the waiter. His tone was as casual as if he was just asking the waiter to get him a pack of cigarettes. His words immediately made countless people around him stunned! Lucas actually wanted 30 million worth of chips! There were many people in DC with worths of ten million and even hundreds of millions of dors. But this was the cumtive value of theirpanies¡¯ assets, stock investments, and fixed assets. It was extremely umon for anyone to have so much cash to spare for poker. The upstart got up from the floor and wanted to teach Lucas a lesson. But after hearing what Lucas said, he shivered! Oh my god! Thirty million dors just for poker! He didn¡¯t even have that much money in liquid assets! At the thought of this, the middle-aged upstart looked at Lucas with a much more scrupulous gaze and no longer dared to ask Lucas to return his seat. Chapter 1126 - 1126 High-Stakes Card Game 1126 High-Stakes Card Game On the other side, the other three people at the table looked at Lucas with surprise and uncertainty. Is this uninvited guest here to cause trouble, or does he really just want to y with us? Thirty million dors in cash wasn¡¯t an amount that ordinary people could take out casually. Soon, the waiter came over with a card POS machine, and Lucas swiped his card for 30 million dors in front of everyone. The ¡®sessful payment¡¯ notification sounded¡­ The robotic voice of the machine made countless onlookers bbergasted! This young man really took out 30 million dors in one go! They began to wonder which family he was from. The fact that he could y poker with 30 million dors meant that he was either incredibly wealthy or a wastrel! For a while, the crowd was discussing him. Lucas didn¡¯t care about what others thought. He simply ced therge pile of chips on the table in front of him and leisurely looked at the other three people at the table. Looking at the mountain of chips in front of Lucas, the three of them couldn¡¯t help gulping with extremely greedy expressions in their eyes. As employees of Club Illuma in charge of luring people into their scams and traps, they naturally couldn¡¯t take 100% of the money they won. But even though they had to hand over the bulk of the 30 million dors in front of them to Club Illuma, they could still take 10%, which was still a considerable sum of money. After splitting the sum by three, they could get a million dors each! Earning a million dors a day was simply a god-sent gift falling into theirps! They wouldn¡¯t miss it no matter what! The trio looked at each other again and saw the determination in each other¡¯s eyes. They had already understood each other¡¯s intentions. They were going to do it! They had to do it! A young man in a casual striped suit sitting opposite Lucas looked at him with a smile and asked, ¡°So, what do you want to y?¡± There were all sorts of games and methods of ying here, but they were good at everything, so they generously left it up to Lucas to choose. Lucas said straightforwardly, ¡°We¡¯ll y the simplest way. Raise the stakes as much as you want. If we see the cards, we must at least double the bet. In addition, we will double the bet when we open the cards. How about that?¡± It was an incredibly high-stakes table rarely seen even in Club Illuma. But this was just what the young man in the suit wanted. The bigger Lucas¡¯s bets, the faster they could win. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s settled then!¡± The young man in the striped suit immediately agreed, and the other two naturally didn¡¯t have any opinion. Soon, the dealer shuffled the cards and dealt the cards to Lucas and the trio ordingly. Lucas sat quietly and nced at the card in front of him without checking what it was. Soon, the card belonging to each person had been dealt. Lucas first threw out a pile of chips and said, ¡°Three million.¡± The crowd was shocked again. It was quite rare for anyone to ce such a huge bet as soon as the game started. Moreover, Lucas was extremely calm, as if he had just bet a few dors. The three people, including the young man in the striped suit, didn¡¯t dare to be as bold as Lucas, who raised the bet without even looking at his card. To be safe, they checked their cards. This also meant that if they wanted to raise, they had to double the 3 million dors, which meant that they would have to bet at least 6 million dors. With such arge bet, the three of them were a little flustered. But once they thought that the three of them were together in this and that they were from Club Illuma, they felt more courageous. They were on their turf, and the people around them were all their coworkers. Why should they be afraid of a young man like Lucas?¡± ¡°Okay, six million!¡± ¡°Me too, six million!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll follow, six million!¡± The three of them raised the bet one after another. The total in this game had already reached a terrifying sum of 21 million dors! The pot had already grown to such a terrifying amount after just one round of betting. Even in the magnificent Club Illuma, where the wealthy gathered, this was extremely rare. Such high stakes immediately attracted the attention of many people, who swarmed over and surrounded the table. Just after everyone ced their bets, Lucas threw out another 7 million dors worth of chips. ¡°I raise by seven million!¡± With this, the faces of the three people at the poker table immediately became sullen. If they continued to call, then each of them would have to increase their bets by at least 14 million dors! And if all three of them called, it would amount to a total of 42 million dors! This was already more than the limit that Club Illuma had given them! After all, the three of them were working for Club Illuma, and the club couldn¡¯t possibly give them the freedom to gamble with so much money. But if they didn¡¯t continue to call the bet now, it would mean they folded, and all the chips on the table would go to Lucas. The three of them would lose 18 million dors in total, which would definitely be painful. The three of them hesitated. But the cards in their hands were pretty good. If they raised the bet and continued with the game, they stood a high chance of winning. At this moment, an attendant from Club Illuma squeezed in from the crowd and said a few words to the young man in the striped suit, after which he looked much better. He made two hidden hand gestures, and the two partners who had worked with him several times immediately understood what he meant. ¡°I fold!¡± one of them said directly. The other pushed the card in front of him forward. ¡°Me too.¡± The young man in the striped suit gritted his teeth, pushed 14 million dors worth of chips forward, and shouted, ¡°Open!¡± Indeed, ording to the rules, they had to double their bet when they opened the cards. By now, the total amount of chips on the table, which were piled up like a mountain, had reached a staggering sum of 42 million dors! Seeing so many chips on the table, the surrounding onlookers were all excited, and their hearts were beating so quickly that they almost couldn¡¯t catch their breaths, even though they weren¡¯t part of the game. It was really exciting! Since the young man in the striped suit wanted to open the cards, Lucas naturally agreed. The young man flipped over the card in front of him and mmed it hard against the table while shouting, ¡°Ace of hearts!¡± Chapter 1127 - 1127 Getting Bigger 1127 Getting Bigger ¡°Damn. It¡¯s an ace of hearts!¡± ¡°This card is quite good. Apart from the Joker cards, this is the best card!¡± ¡°The chances of getting a Joker are too low. The man in the suit will win this game. That young man is going to lose terribly!¡± After the crowd saw the card that the young man in the striped suit had turned over, they screamed in excitement, as if they were the ones who were going to win the game. The young man in the striped suit had a very smug expression on his face. He had seen his own card, so he knew that his chances of winning this game were quite high. Meanwhile, Lucas¡¯s chances of getting a Joker card were pathetically slim. So he was certain that he would definitely win! The young man in the striped suit looked at Lucas and said with a smirk, ¡°Punk, I¡¯ve won this round. I wonder how long your money is going tost you.¡± Then he reached out to take away all the chips on the table. ¡°Slow down!¡± Lucas smiled and slowly flipped over the card in his hand. It was a Joker! ¡°Holy shit! It¡¯s really a Joker! He really got a Joker! It just happens to be better than the ace of hearts. It really trumps it!¡± ¡°Damn, this man got that card when the chances were so slim? How lucky!¡± ¡°Unbelievable! That young man didn¡¯t even see his own card, but he looked really confident, as if he already knew that his card was better. Incredible!¡± ¡°I thought the ace of hearts was definitely going to win, but I didn¡¯t expect to see a Joker. Now things are really interesting!¡± ¡­ The moment the shocking twist urred, the onlookers were bbergasted as they stared at the cards on the table in excitement. On the other hand, the other three people at the table were visibly sulking, especially the young man in the striped suit, whose face was terribly sullen. He thought that he had a good card in this game, for it was the best card among the remaining cards except for the Joker cards. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to trump him with a Joker card! If not for the fact that the dealer was a staff member of Club Illuma, the young man in the striped suit and the other two would have almost asked Lucas if he was cheating. But since the dealer was also in cahoots with them, it was impossible for him to help Lucas, which meant that Lucas was indeed incredibly lucky. Although they were disgruntled about the result, they had no choice but to watch Lucas sweep the pile of chips on the table toward himself with a smile. Seeing these, the three men in striped suits were on the verge of tears! It was a total of 42 million dors. If they had won, they would have been able to get 4.2 million dors inmission! Unfortunately, it was gone just like that! ¡°Do you dare to continue?¡± Lucas deliberately asked provocatively with raised brows. At any other time, the three people would have definitely not dared to continue ying after losing so much money. Besides, they didn¡¯t have enough capital. But just now, an attendant of Club Illuma had whispered a few words into the young man in the striped suit¡¯s ear and told them to bet freely with the goal of making Lucas lose a massive sum of money today. After receiving this assurance, the three young people were emboldened and gained the courage to continue ying. They said through gritted teeth, ¡°Let¡¯s carry on! Let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll be so lucky next time!¡± The surrounding spectators immediately understood that the people at the table seemed to be in cahoots. And if they guessed correctly, they might even be taking orders from Club Illuma. Thus, their expressions changed uncontrobly. In particr, the middle-aged man wearing a big gold chain, who had yed cards with the three young men and whose seat Lucas had taken just now, felt incredibly thankful after seeing this scene. Fortunately, the young man in front of him had flung him away from the table. Otherwise, he would have unknowingly fallen into the trapid by the trio and lost a ton of money. The onlookers had already noticed that something was amiss, but Lucas remained sitting quietly, as if he was clueless about what was going on. Of course, at this juncture, no one dared to remind Lucas. After all, no one dared to offend the people of Club Illuma. Soon, the dealer shuffled the cards and dealt them to the four of them ordingly. This time, Lucas still just swept his gaze over the card in front of him without bothering to look at it. On the other hand, the other three looked at their cards. They had no choice but to do so because they wouldn¡¯t be able to bet in peace otherwise. This time, Lucas directly pushed out 15 million dors worth of chips right from the beginning. ¡°Fifteen million dors!¡± His voice immediately made the hearts of everyone skip a beat, and some couldn¡¯t help but clutch their chests, almost screaming their lungs out. Damn it. What¡¯s wrong with this guy? He bet fifteen million right from the start! This is terrifying! Even those used to makingrge bets breathed much more quickly, as they werepletely frightened by the way Lucas was betting. The other people at the table were shocked by Lucas¡¯s move too. But since they had already received a hint from the higher-ups of Club Illuma, they were no longer as flustered as before, even though Lucas had bet so much. In particr, they had already gotten a secret signal from the dealer this time, so they knew that they were definitely going to win this time. ¡°I follow. Thirty million dors!¡± ¡°I call thirty million dors too!¡± ¡°Same for me. Thirty million!¡± All three young men chose to call at the same time. So this time, the pot on the table immediately rose to a grand sum of 105 million dors! Even though the attendant had already reced the chips on the table with gold chips, the pile of chips on the table was still extremely eye-catching. Countless pairs of eyes were glued to it. At this moment, the amount of money on the table was astonishing. Moreover, it was only the first round of betting. ¡°Thirty million more!¡± Lucas raised his bet again, adding another 30 million dors. Chapter 1128 - 1128 Not To Be Provoked 1128 Not To Be Provoked Lucas had swiped his card and asked the attendant to exchange 30 million dors worth of chips for him. In the first round just now, Lucas had managed to win 42 million dors. Excluding the 10 million dor bet he had ced, he had won 32 million dors in total. With the 32 million dors that Lucas already had, he now had 62 million dors on hand. Even though Lucas bet another 30 million dors, he still had 17 million dors. If the three men wanted to continue ying, they would have to raise their bets by 60 million dors each! The three of them looked at each other with red eyes. ¡°Call! Sixty million!¡± ¡°I call as well! Sixty million dors!¡± ¡°Me too, sixty million dors!¡± The young man in the striped suit and the other two had never bet so much before. But after receiving the instructions of the higher-ups, they were now confident and full of energy, all ready to gamble. Thus, the total amount of chips on the table reached a terrifying sum of 315 million dors! 315 million dors! In all the years of their life, they had never seen such a terrifying amount of money at a poker table! The onlookers were all screaming in horror. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that this was Club Illuma, some of them would probably have been unable to control themselves and snatch the chips. Lucas was the only one who still maintained hisposure. Lucas still had 17 million dors on hand. If he wanted to continue ying, he wouldn¡¯t have enough. Lucas said to the attendant beside him, ¡°Get me another 300 million dors in chips.¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± ¡°Holy shit!¡± ¡°He¡¯s so rich!¡± As soon as Lucas finished speaking, everyone around eximed in shock. 300 million dors! Even many of the powerful families of DC couldn¡¯t take out so much cash at once! Who was this young man who suddenly appeared?! Moreover, if Lucas really bet all the chips in his hand, the other people at the table would have to raise their stakes to a staggering amount too. Even the attendant had sweat gushing out of his forehead. He brought the POS machine over again, and everyone¡¯s eyes widened in shock after hearing the notification of the sessful payment. Lucas actually got 300 million dors worth of chips! After the coded gold chips were neatly ced in front of Lucas, he took out 60 gold chips and threw them to the center of the table, ¡°Sixty million dors!¡± His expression was so calm that it was as if he had only tossed out a trivial amount of money and not a massive sum of money that countless people couldn¡¯t earn in several lifetimes. Now, the total amount of chips on the table was a terrifying 375 million dors. Furthermore, if the trio continued to y, they would each have to bet 120 million dors! If three of them bet together, it would add up to 360 million dors! The gambling game was really crazy! Even though the three young men had received instructions from the higher-ups, they couldn¡¯t help breaking out in cold sweat. What an exciting gamble! It was so exciting that even professional gamblers like them couldn¡¯t take it anymore! Seeing that the three young men were hesitating to speak, Lucas chuckled and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t dare to gamble anymore, you can give up and admit defeat now. I don¡¯t have the time to wait for you here.¡± As soon as he said this, the expressions on the faces of the three young men became even more sullen. But when he thought about the orders from Club Illuma and the card he had, the young man in the striped suit gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Screw it! It¡¯s just 120 million dors! I¡¯ll do it!¡± The remaining two people looked at each other, as if they were all ready to go all out. They said in unison, ¡°I¡¯ll call! 120 million!¡± The gold chips on the table were piled up high like a mountain. The total amount of these chips had reached a staggering 735 million dors! It was nearly 750 million dors, a sum of money that was enough to make anyone terrified! After the three young men ced their bets, Lucas tossed out another pile of gold chips. ¡°120 million dors!¡± The three of them had to ce bets of 240 million dors each! The young man in the striped suit and the other two were now incredibly agitated. They eximed, ¡°Call! 240 million!¡± ¡°Me too, 240 million dors!¡± ¡°Same for me. 240 million!¡± At this point, the chips on the table had grown to a golden mountain that was simply dazzling everyone¡¯s eyes. They added up to 1.575 billion dors! The staggering amount had already frightened many people. Even though the money wasn¡¯t theirs, it made them feel deeply fearful. Regardless of who the losing party was, they would have to pay an immense price! The feeling of excitement and nervousness was more intense than what they felt when they were gambling themselves. Besides, it was challenging their limits time and time again! At this point, Lucas would have to bet at least 240 million to continue. Lucas had just exchanged 300 million dors worth of chips, but he had bet, so he didn¡¯t have enough left. Just as the crowd was specting about whether or not Lucas was going to admit defeat, he once again took out his bank card and said to the attendant next to him, ¡°Get me 1.5 billion dors worth of chips!¡± The moment he said this, the crowd got into yet another uproar! Countless people looked at Lucas with astonished gazes, their eyes almost falling out. 1.5 billion?! Does this young man know what he¡¯s saying? Even the eight giants of DC couldn¡¯t easily take out 1.5 billion dors in cash, let alone this young man only in his twenties. No one doubted the authenticity of Lucas¡¯s words. After all, he had casually swiped his card for 300 million dors just now, and the transaction had really been sessful! When Lucas got 30 million dors worth of chips just now, while everyone was shocked, they thought that if he was the scion of a rich family, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for him to take out 30 million dors. When Lucas exchanged for 300 million dors of chips in one go, everyone thought that his identity was extremely mysterious. He was almost not inferior to the scions of the eight top families. But Lucas actually exchanged for another 1.5 billion dors in one go, causing everyone to be stunned speechless. Someone who could afford to spend so much money on gambling was definitely not to be trifled with or offended! Chapter 1129 - 1129 Revealing the Cards 1129 Revealing the Cards The other three people at the poker table, including the young man in the striped suit, had also figured that they couldn¡¯t afford to offend Lucas, and their bodies were immediately drenched in cold sweat. They were merely obeying the instructions of the higher-ups of Club Illuma and trying to make Lucas lose a lot of money. But if they really ended up offending a big shot like Lucas, they would be in dire trouble in the future! Even if he won, they would probably suffer. At the thought of this, the young man in the striped suit began trembling in fear. He raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead and said to Lucas respectfully and deferentially, ¡°Sir¡­ How about this? You should still have 137 million dors on hand. Why don¡¯t you just bet with this amount to turn the cards over?¡± Lucas nced at the young man in the striped suit coldly. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m short of a few dozen million?¡± He turned his head and said to the attendant of Club Illuma next to him, ¡°I said to get me 1.5 billion dors worth of chips.¡± The reason Lucas was betting so much in Club Illuma was that he knew the other people at the table were professional gamblers trained by Club Illuma and that all their chips were from the club. In other words, the club would pay for all their bets. He was certain that Ashton would definitely show up after Club Illuma lost more than a billion dors! Lucas never even had to think about whether or not he would lose this game. As long as he wanted to win, he would definitely seed. After hearing what Lucas said, the attendant seemed to be put in a difficult spot. He stammered, ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Sir. We¡­ we have never had anyone exchange for 1.5 billion chips at once. The most you can exchange for is 300 million!¡± There wasn¡¯t really an exchange limit in Club Illuma. But 1.5 billion dors was an unprecedented amount since its establishment. Besides, the attendant had just received orders from his superior through his earpiece, so he could only reply to Lucas in this way. After all, if they really gave Lucas 1.5 billion worth of chips as he requested, the other yers at the poker table would have to bet at least 3 billion dors each to continue ying. Even Club Illuma wouldn¡¯t be able to afford such a terrifying sum of money. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t have the money, but rather, this amount was too frighteningly high. If something went wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable! ¡°Then give me 300 million dors worth of chips!¡± Lucas said to the attendant. Soon, the attendant came over again with 300 gold chips, and Lucas swiped his card again. After getting the chips, Lucas pushed out all the chips he had, a total of 437 million dors. ¡°All in!¡± By now, Lucas already knew that Club Illuma didn¡¯t dare to continue gambling with him, so this was hisst bet. The amount of money on the table had already reached a very terrifying amount of more than two billion dors! And that was if the other three yers at the table all folded. If the three other yers didn¡¯t dare to call again, all the money would belong to Lucas alone. Excluding the money he had exchanged for chips, he would have made a profit of close to 1.4 billion dors! Being able to earn so much money in a day was definitely enviable! But if the trio refused to give up, then they would each need toe up with 874 million dors, for 2.622 billion dors in total! If two of them gave up and only one of them called, he had to fork out 874 million dors before the cards could be opened. Otherwise, it would be considered a fold, and all chips would go to Lucas. How could they possibly allow this? After the three young men looked at each other for a while and then signaled someone in the crowd, one of them bit the bullet and said, ¡°Fine, 874 million dors. Open the cards!¡± If they hadn¡¯t received approval from Club Illuma in advance, he would have never dared to bet so much. Fortunately, their bets would be paid for by Club Illuma. Otherwise, the three of them would have probably died of heart attacks from excessive tension and nervousness! The total pot on the table had reached an unprecedented amount of 2.886 billion dors! This amount was enough to make anyone¡¯s heart explode! Moreover, this was probably going to be the most amount of money the crowd would ever see at a poker table! Now, the thing everyone was the most concerned about was who the winner of this staggering pot would be! ¡°I¡¯ll open first! Ace of diamonds!¡± One of them took the lead to unveil his card, revealing an eye-catching red ace. This card immediately caused an uproar. There were only three better cards in a deck. ¡°It¡¯s my turn next. King of hearts!¡± Another man also revealed his own card, and again, it was a rather astonishing card. But it caused less of an uproar than the ace did. At this moment, the young man in the striped suit suddenly mmed his card on the table and shouted, ¡°Joker!¡± As he unveiled his card, the surrounding crowd couldn¡¯t help inhaling sharply! They hadn¡¯t expected at all that the young man in the striped suit would have a Joker card! The three of them were holding the king of hearts, the ace of diamonds, and a Joker card, which was quite incredible! Unless Lucas could get the other Joker, he wouldn¡¯t be able to turn the situation around. But among the 54 cards in a deck of cards, there was only one other Joker, making it a 1/51 chance. Besides, he had already gotten it during thest game, and his chances of getting another Joker were almost negligible! It was almost impossible for such a thing to happen! At this point, no one believed that Lucas could still win this game. Chapter 1130 - 1130 Time for You to Die 1130 Time for You to Die Even the three young men were a little worried because they were sure that they would win against Lucas. Indeed, they were worried. They had received instructions from the higher-ups of Club Illuma to try to defeat Lucas and make him lose a lot of money. But after seeing how Lucas could easily take out over 1.5 billion dors, they became even more worried. In case they really won and made him lose a lot of money, would he let them off? At this moment, Lucas smiled and said, ¡°Okay, it¡¯s time to unveil my card.¡± Then he flipped over his card casually. A colored picture of a clown appeared in front of everyone. ¡°What?! He¡­ he actually got a Joker again!¡± ¡°This¡­ this is outrageous! He¡¯s so lucky that he got a Joker twice in a row?¡± ¡°Damn! So, he still won this game? He got a Joker! My god!¡± ¡°Holy shit! If I hadn¡¯t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn¡¯t have believed it!¡± ¡­ The surrounding crowd was bbergasted. On the other hand, the three young men were even more dumbfounded as they looked at the card in front of Lucas in disbelief. After a while, the young man in the striped suit mmed his hand on the table and pointed at Lucas. ¡°You¡­ you cheated! You must have cheated. Otherwise, you couldn¡¯t have gotten the Joker!¡± The young man in the striped suit didn¡¯t believe it at all. The dealer was in cahoots with them, and he was highly skilled. He could basically deal whatever cards he wanted, so there was no way he would have dealt a good card to Lucas! The best card should have been dealt to the young man in the striped suit! In short, it was impossible for this card to appear in Lucas¡¯s hands! Lucas sneered. ¡°I cheated? Is there something wrong with your eyes? ¡°The venue is provided by Club Illuma, and the card table belongs to Club Illuma, as well as the deck of cards. Even the dealer works for Club Illuma, and the three of you definitely have some ties with Club Illuma. ¡°And right from the start, I only touched the cards in front of me when I revealed them. Why don¡¯t you teach me how I cheated in this situation?¡± The young man in the striped suit refused to believe it and hollered, ¡°Who knows what method you used? Anyway, this card¡­¡± He almost blurted, ¡°This card would never be dealt to you.¡± But just as he was about to do so, he was rational enough to stop himself in time and rephrase his words. The young man in the striped suit shouted in panic, ¡°Anyway, there must be something wrong with this card! I want to examine your card and the rest of the deck!¡± Lucas shrugged his shoulders nonchntly. ¡°Feel free.¡± Then under the crowd¡¯s gaze, the young man in the striped suit picked up the Joker card in front of Lucas and scrutinized it along with the rest of the card in the dealer¡¯s hand. First of all, Lucas¡¯s Joker was almost the same as the other cards. The cards used in Club Illuma were specially made by the club. On the back of each card was a unique logo embossed in golden thread and a secret mark used for authentication. In the past, some people had tried to counterfeit Club Illuma¡¯s cards, but they had been easily discovered. The golden logo and hidden marks were both present on the back of Lucas¡¯s card, which proved that it was indeed a card produced by Club Illuma and not a prop he had brought. The young man in the striped suit checked the rest of the cards carefully. After going through each of them, he found nothing wrong with them. The remaining cards, including the four cards dealt to the four of them, formed a perfect deck without anything missing. Moreover, countless people had witnessed Lucas remaining seated throughout when the dealer dealt the cards. He had only touched them briefly to unveil them. Given the circumstances, it would be unjustifiable to insist that Lucas had cheated. Although the young man in the striped suit didn¡¯t believe that Lucas was really so lucky to have gotten the best card twice in a row, it just showed that Lucas was much more skilled, so much so that even the young men who specialized in gambling and had mastered countless gambling techniques couldn¡¯t see it or imagine how Lucas had done it! This man is too terrifying! The young man in the striped suit thumped down on his seat, feeling like he had been dealt an enormous blow. Perhaps the only constion he had now was that the massive sum of money they had lost was paid for by Club Illuma, not themselves. Lucas swept all the chips on the table toward himself. Many people around couldn¡¯t help gulping. There was almost 2.9 billion dors! Who wouldn¡¯t want so much money? Suddenly, an enraged voice came from the crowd. ¡°How dare you cheat in Club Illuma? How dare you?!¡± A smallmotion arose among the crowd. Soon, the crowd was divided by a few tall bodyguards, and a young man in his thirties walked over. When Lucas saw this person, he immediately narrowed his eyes. The person he was looking for finally appeared! Indeed, the young man walking over was who Lucas wanted to see, Ashton. Ashton stared at Lucas gloomily and then said to the crowd, ¡°Hello, I am Ashton Hills, the person in charge of Club Illuma. I¡¯m sorry, but because someone had the audacity to cheat in Club Illuma, we must take action to resolve this matter now. ¡°So, I¡¯m very sorry, but please leave the room immediately! ¡°Of course, aspensation, Club Illuma will give each guest a gift worth ten thousand dors. We hope to have your cooperation.¡± Since Ashton had already said so, the other people present were smart enough to take the hint. Although they didn¡¯t care about the gift of 10 thousand dors, no one would be that idiotic and oblivious as to continue staying when the person in charge of the club had already asked them to leave so that he could handle matters behind closed doors. Soon, the people in therge poker room dispersed. Apart from the people of Club Illuma, the only one left was Lucas. Ashton stared at Lucas, who was still sitting calmly in his seat. His lips curled into a contemptuous smile as he said, ¡°Lucas Gray, you must be tired of living. How dare youe to Club Illuma to cause trouble?! From the moment you injured the two guards at the door, I already knew you were here, and now that I¡¯ve arranged numerous experts throughout the club, I can guarantee that you won¡¯t be able to leave! ¡°Lucas Gray, it¡¯s time for you to die!¡± Chapter 1131 - 1131 Settling Scores 1131 Settling Scores Lucas simply ignored Ashton. If he was afraid of facing the Hills¡¯ retaliation, he wouldn¡¯t havee to Club Illuma alone and yed poker with them. No matter how many experts Ashton had arranged and what kind of he hadid to capture Lucas, they were all useless. Lucas nced at the big pile of golden chips on the table and said to the attendant next to him, ¡°There are a total of 2.886 billion dors worth of chips here. Exchange them and transfer the money to my card.¡± The attendant froze in shock, not daring to answer. The people who came with Ashton burst intoughter. Ashton looked at Lucas mockingly, ¡°Lucas Gray, surely you don¡¯t think you can take these chips away with you, do you?¡± Lucas asked rhetorically, ¡°I won this money rightfully. Why can¡¯t I take it away?¡± Ashton sneered. ¡°Are you really stupid, or are you just pretending to be stupid? We¡¯re in Club Illuma right now, and these chips all belong to Club Illuma. It¡¯s up to me if you can convert them into money or not. Do you get it?¡± After pausing for a moment, he continued, ¡°But if you really want it, I can give it to you. But before that, we have some scores to settle clearly, don¡¯t we? ¡°I haven¡¯t asked you topensate me for knocking me out in the fighting hall yesterday!¡± Hearing this, Lucas smirked. ¡°Of course we have to settle our scores clearly! ¡°You¡¯ve reminded me of something. You tried to harm me twice, causing me a lot of mental trauma. So you should also bepensating me! ¡°I won¡¯t ask you for much. The chips on the table are worth about 2.9 billion dors. Let¡¯s round it up to 3 billion dors aspensation for my mental trauma. That should be reasonable, right?¡± Hearing this, Ashtonughed out loud. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re already dead, yet you still dare to ask me topensate for your mental damage? And you even want an extra hundred million? Haha, it seems like you know you¡¯re in trouble, so you¡¯re making ast-ditch effort to talk tough before you die.¡± Lucas looked at Ashton fearlessly and said slowly, ¡°Think carefully before you speak. I only want a hundred million for my mental damage. I¡¯m already letting you off easy. If you offend me again, then thepensation I¡¯ll want will be much higher.¡± Looking at the extremely calm and nonchnt Lucas, who didn¡¯t seem to take Ashton and the Hills seriously at all, Ashton was boiling with fury. But he quickly calmed down after realizing that something was amiss. Strictly speaking, including today, he had only met Lucas thrice. The first time they had met was at thend in the eastern suburbs of DC, where Lucas had not only beaten up a few of his bodyguards but also domineeringly refused to let him buy thend. The second time wasst night in the fighting hall in Club Illuma, where Lucas had killed someone from the Steeles and even knocked Ashton out, causing him to be humiliated. Today was the third time. He had clearly already arranged for many of the Hills¡¯ experts to stay on guard and even brought a group of experts with him to protect him. But he still somehow felt a sense of fear and uneasiness after seeing Lucas¡¯s calm eyes. From the first day he had seen Lucas, Ashton had felt scrupulous of him, so he had immediately sent people to investigate Lucas. But after investigating for so long, Ashton never found out where or how Lucas had obtained such a powerful background and financial resources, as well as his impable martial arts skills that allowed him to defeat his bodyguards easily. After asking around, he only managed to find out that Lucas was an abandoned son who had been kicked out by the Huttons at the age of eight andter ended up stranded in Orange County. He then became the live-in son-inw of a third-rate family and faced the mockery and disdain of countless people. Butter, Lucas disappeared for six years before returning to Orange County apletely changed man. No one could find out what Lucas underwent during these six years. This was where the problemy. Even the Hills, a royal family branch, couldn¡¯t find out what Lucas had done in these six years, which was enough to prove that he had an extraordinary background. Moreover, when Lucas bought thend in the eastern suburbs of DC, he had spent 1.2 billion dors without even batting an eyelid. In Club Illuma, Lucas had swiped his card for hundreds of millions of dors in cash casually. If he hadn¡¯t ordered his people to stop Lucas, he might have exchanged another 1.5 billion dors. Since he could easily take out nearly 2 billion dors to gamble, he definitely had an extraordinary amount of wealth. Ashton dared to say that even he, the future heir of the Hills, would have some difficulty in taking out so much cash at once. Surely Lucas Gray¡¯s background isn¡¯t as extraordinary as mine, right? Ashton narrowed his eyes. ¡°Lucas Gray, who exactly are you?¡± Lucasughed nomittally. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already sent someone to investigate my identity. You should be well aware that I¡¯m just an outcast of the Huttons, right?¡± Ashton said in a deep voice, ¡°Heh, stop trying to fool me with such rhetoric! How can someone who can casually spend almost two billion dors to gamble be just a mere outcast of the Huttons? I dare to say that even the head of the Huttons wouldn¡¯t be able toe up with so much cash at once! ¡°What is the identity you¡¯re hiding?¡± Lucas shrugged his shoulders and smiled. ¡°Since you don¡¯t believe it, you can continue investigating me. Anyway, the Hills are good at investigating people, right?¡± Lucas¡¯s words made Ashton extremely disgruntled. If he could send people to investigate and find out Lucas¡¯s true identity, he wouldn¡¯t need to ask Lucas! Suddenly, Lucas¡¯s phone rang. It was a call from Flynn. Lucas immediately realized that there was probably an update on Gemma¡¯s condition, so he answered the call right away. Flynn¡¯s excited and joyful voice sounded. ¡°Mr. Gray, Professor Crawford is out of the emergency room. Dr. Stone told me that she wasn¡¯t seriously wounded from being pushed but because she had a heart attack from the severe shock. After Dr. Stone rescued her, her life is already out of danger. She just needs to recuperate in the hospital for some time, and she¡¯ll be fine!¡± Chapter 1132 - 1132 I Don’t Want to Sell It 1132 I Don¡¯t Want to Sell It After hearing the news about Gemma, Lucas finally felt relieved. The reason he hade to Club Illuma alone to settle scores with Ashton was to take revenge for Gemma. But since she was safe and sound now, and she had been hospitalized mainly because of a heart attack, he felt that there was no need to kill Ashton anymore. Of course, if something untoward had really happened to Gemma, Lucas would have never let Ashton and the Hills off! After ending the call, Lucas nced at Ashton lightly and said, ¡°Do you still want to fight? If not, get your subordinates to change my chips into money immediately. I have other things to do, and I don¡¯t have time to waste all day here with you.¡± These words immediately made Ashton, who had just calmed down, fly into a rage again. ring daggers at Lucas, he said through gritted teeth, ¡°You must apologize for knocking me out yesterday! You must also give me thend in the eastern suburbs of DC. Then we can clear our enmity. How does that sound?¡± Lucas raised his brows. ¡°Why are you so obsessed with thatnd?¡± After thinking about it, Ashton said, ¡°My family has been eying thatnd for a long time, and we nned to get it at the auction that day. But unfortunately, something cropped up for me, and I couldn¡¯t make it, so I missed the auction. In any case, thatnd is very important to the Hills! ¡°I won¡¯t take yournd for free. As I¡¯ve said before, I¡¯m willing to pay more and give you 1.7 billion dors for it. You won¡¯t suffer a loss if you sell it to me! ¡°Besides, the Hills are a royal family branch, and we have a stronger foundation than the eight top families of DC. If you¡¯re willing to sell me thatnd, not only can we bury the hatchet, but we can even be friends. ¡°It should be more beneficial for you to befriend a royal family branch than form a feud, right?¡± Ashton¡¯s words were clear enough. Lucas finally learned that the Hills had long set their sights on thatnd. But due to abination of factors, they failed to participate in the auction. As a result, Lucas managed to buy it at a high price of 1.3 billion dors. This exined why Lucas saw Ashton and his men on thend the day after he won the auction. Ashton must have felt extremely indignant then. Although Ashton¡¯s offer seemed tempting, Lucas had a great use for thisnd too. If it wasn¡¯t for the construction of Stardust City and the fact that Professor Crawford had already designed the preliminary drawings, Lucas might have really chosen to sell it and make a profit of 400 million dors. But then again, if not for the sake of building the Stardust City, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have gone to thend auction and bought thisnd. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I need thatnd too. I can¡¯t sell it to you,¡± Lucas rejected again. Ashton was so furious that he was about to lose his top. He clenched his fists tightly and barely controlled his anger. Ashton gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯ll add another 500 million dors! Let me have thatnd! That¡¯s the highest I can offer!¡± His family¡¯s budget for him was limited, and the price he was offering now already required him to pay extra out of his own pocket. Lucas knew that Ashton was being very sincere by offering this price. After all, the starting price of thend had only been 430 million dors, and ording to the general market value of it, it should have cost around a billion dors, which was how much Alexander had offered. Now that Ashton was offering 2.2 billion dors, it was enough to prove that he really wanted thisnd. But no matter how much Ashton wanted it, it was pointless because thend mattered greatly to Lucas too, and he wouldn¡¯t sell it to anyone else. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but even if you offer three billion or even thirty billion dors, I won¡¯t sell it.¡± Lucas and Aston weren¡¯t friends to begin with, and Lucas wasn¡¯t short of money either. So he wouldn¡¯t sell thend he had already acquired and started working on just for a small profit. The massivemercial increase that the construction of Stardust City would bring to thend alone would already be at least 15 billion dors. This was merely the increase innd price and didn¡¯t include the enormous revenue that Stardust City could bring once construction waspleted. Regardless from which perspective, Lucas would never sell thisnd. Lucas once again refused, making Ashton furious. ¡°Lucas Gary, don¡¯t go too far. I¡¯m already being the kindest I can by offering that price. Don¡¯t make me do this the hard way!¡± Ashton continued resentfully, ¡°If you still continue to try your luck with me, you should consider if you have what it takes!¡± As he finished speaking, the seven experts behind him stepped forward in unison and surrounded Lucas, seemingly ready to fight as soon as Ashton issued the order. After ncing at the people around him indifferently, Lucas looked at Ashton again and raised his brows. ¡°Do you really think your men can do anything to me?¡± Lucas¡¯s nonchnce and rxed attitude immediately made Ashton tense up. Justst night, Ashton had the protection of the family¡¯s two top-tier powerhouses and a group of expert guards in the fighting hall of Club Illuma. Yet Lucas could easily break through their protection and strangle Ashton. He even dared to knock him out in front of everyone. Although Ashton had brought more powerhouses with him this time, and he was certain that he would definitely be able to defeat Lucas even under the siege of these experts, upon seeing Lucas¡¯s reaction, Ashton became nervous. Can these experts really defeat this punk? Lucas rose from his seat and said with a smile, ¡°Ashton Hills, I can spare your life once today on ount that your people didn¡¯t kill Professor Crawford. ¡°Now, like I said earlier, exchange these chips andpensate me for the mental trauma you¡¯ve caused me, and I¡¯ll leave. ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯ll have to pay a much greater price.¡± Chapter 1133 - 1133 Immense Pain 1133 Immense Pain Seeing how confident Lucas was, Ashton was furious. Ashton had always been an esteemed scion of the Hills, and he might be the future helmsman. In the past, no matter where he went, everyone would eagerly want to suck up to him. He had never been so furious before. Lucas was especially abominable for actually daring to ask him topensate for his mental trauma. Now that there were so many of his subordinates and staff members of Club Illuma, Ashton would definitely be humiliated if he gave in and sumbed to Lucas! At the thought of the experts of the Hills he had brought with him today, Ashton finally ordered, ¡°Do it! Take him down!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Ashton!¡± Ashton¡¯s bodyguards, who were surrounding Lucas, immediately charged toward him. But before they could get close, Lucas had already started moving. Whoosh! Lucas¡¯s figure seemed to turn into a blurry afterimage. No one knew how he was moving, but painful cries suddenly came from the poker room, which had been cleared of onlookers! Immediately afterward, one figure after another was sent flying out! Boom! ¡°Argh!¡± Thud! ¡­ For a moment, only the thumps of bodies crashing on the floor and miserable shrieks sounded. Just ten secondster, none of the experts who had surrounded Lucas could stand and speak properly. Lucas patted his sleeves and walked over toward Ashton calmly while saying, ¡°Mr. Hills, your subordinates don¡¯t seem to be able to take a beating!¡± Ashton stared at the scene in front of him with his eyes wide open in disbelief. Lucas had actually subdued the numerous experts Ashton had brought within ten short seconds, and none of them could get up from the floor! How good are Lucas Gray¡¯s martial arts skills?! Watching Lucas walk toward him one step at a time, Ashton was scared speechless. In panic, he stepped backward and shouted anxiously, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯te here! What are you trying to do?¡± Looking at Ashton, who was so frightened that he was about to lose his bnce, Lucas said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t hit you today. I¡¯ve already stated my request just now. ¡°But 3 billion dors was the price earlier. Since you just ordered people to hurt me again, which makes me very unhappy, add another 150 million dors aspensation for my mental trauma, for a total of 3.15 billion dors. ¡°Get someone to transfer the money to my ount, and I¡¯ll leave. But if you¡¯re unwilling or you want to dilly-dally, the amount will be much higher in a bit.¡± Smiling, Lucas threw a bank card onto a card table next to Ashton. Ashton was now terribly frightened. After hearing what Lucas said, he was on the verge of tears. This was simply daylight robbery! He had just beaten the living daylights out of his subordinates, yet he even asked for extra money topensate for his mental damage. Lucas didn¡¯t suffer any mental trauma at all. Instead, it was Ashton himself who was greatly agitated and still shell-shocked. Moreover, Club Illuma was indeed very profitable, but it was a family business, and most of the profits went to the Hills. Only a small amount went to Ashton¡¯s pocket! Now, Lucas wanted him to take out 3.15 billion dors at once. Except for Lucas¡¯s bet of 602 million dors, the remaining 2.513 billion dors woulde from Club Illuma! Ashton was only in charge of managing Club Illuma, and the amount of funds he could transfer was only 2 billion dors at most. He would have to fork out the remaining 513 million dors from his own pocket! The thought of Lucas taking away so much money made Ashton feel like his heart was dripping blood. Moreover, if his family found out that Club Illuma had lost such arge sum of money, they would definitely hold Ashton ountable! But in the face of Lucas¡¯s strength, Ashton didn¡¯t even dare to refuse, afraid that Lucas would suddenly add morepensation and make him pay even more! ¡°Damn it. Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and transfer the money to Mr. Gray!¡± Ashton shouted angrily at one of Club Illuma¡¯s finance managers beside him. At this point, the only thing he could do was obey Lucas. Otherwise, there would be nothing he could do if Lucas wanted morepensation. After being reprimanded by the furious Ashton, the finance manager didn¡¯t dare to refuse and could only take Lucas¡¯s bank card and quickly handle the transfer. Seeing this scene, Lucas sat back down leisurely and looked at Ashton with a smile. Strictly speaking, Lucas had barged into Club Illuma alone for the sake of taking revenge for Gemma and also to give Ashton and his family a serious warning. Of course, if something really happened to Gemma, Lucas would destroy Club Illuma and annihte Ashton and the Hills! Fortunately, Flynn called and informed him that the main reason Gemma had to undergo emergency rescue was because of a heart attack. Even though it still had something to do with the Hills, Lucas¡¯s murderous intent had subsided greatly. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be sitting here and just asking Ashton for a few billion dors inpensation. Under Lucas¡¯s smiling gaze, Ashton was on tenterhooks, making his entire body feel iparably ufortable. He had never found the passage of time to be such torment! After two minutes finally passed, Lucas¡¯s phone rang. It was a notification informing him that he had received the money. The finance manager also hurried over and respectfully returned Lucas¡¯s bank card with both hands. ¡°Mr. Gray, the 3.15 billion dors has been transferred to your ount. Please check it!¡± Lucas casually put away the bank card and smiled at Ashton again. ¡°Mr. Hill, if you think you have too much money in the future, feel free toe to me. I¡¯d be d to do this again a few more times.¡± Ashton was on the verge of tears. Lucas had taken away such a huge sum of money from him, so he naturally hoped for this to happen a few more times, but Ashton didn¡¯t want to see Lucas ever again! ¡°You¡­ Please take care!¡± Ashton said through gritted teeth. ¡°Heh, goodbye.¡± Lucas waved the bank card in his hand and left dashingly. Only after Lucas¡¯s figurepletely disappeared did Ashton wipe the cold sweat from his face and sit down on the chair beside him, his legs limp and weak. The moment he thought of the more than three billion dors in Lucas¡¯s bank ount, Ashton felt immense pain in every inch of his body! Chapter 1134 - 1134 Dropping Work 1134 Dropping Work A middle-aged man standing beside Ashton said indignantly, ¡°Mr. Ashton, are we going to let that punk off and allow him to leave with all that money? We¡¯re letting him off too easy!¡± Smack! Ashton raised his hand and pped the middle-aged man on his face. He roared, ¡°You think I want to let him go? If you think you can stop him, go ahead! If you can stop him and bring me back his bank card, I¡¯ll give you 150 million dors! ¡°Go f*cking try to stop him!¡± The middle-aged man was pped so hard that his teeth almost became loose. He hurriedly kept his mouth shut, not daring to say another word. Now that Ashton was in a rage, no one dared to say anything. After glowering furiously at the crowd in the poker room, he ordered sternly, ¡°None of you are to speak a word about what happened today. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Be it the staff of Club Illuma or the experts copsed on the floor and couldn¡¯t get up, they all agreed, ¡°Yes, Mr. Ashton. We will never say a word about this!¡± After giving a gag order, Ashton began pondering with a gloomy expression. Apart from Lucas¡¯s bet of 602 million dors, the rest of the money had to be deducted from the revenue of Club Illuma. If the family discovered therge deficit, Ashton would probably no longer be the family¡¯s heir and might even be severely punished. Thus, he had to conceal this matter before using various methods to fill the deficit as much as possible. ¡­ Meanwhile, after leaving Club Illuma, Lucas immediately headed to DC Hospital. Although Flynn had said on the phone that Gemma was no longer in critical condition, Lucas still wanted to go see her. At the end of the day, Gemma had suffered this unwarranted mishap today because she was helping Lucas design and build Stardust City. As a result, she had been hurt by the Hills, which triggered an almost fatal heart attack. Moreover, now that Gemma had been rescued, and the main cause of her condition was a heart attack, her family should be less hostile to him now¡­ At the thought of Le¡¯s animosity and attitude toward him, Lucas couldn¡¯t help smiling bitterly. Seeing Lucas appear in the hospital again, Flynn hurriedly greeted him and asked worriedly, ¡°Lucas, is¡­ everything okay over there?¡± When Lucas left earlier, Flynn had roughly guessed what he would do, so he was extremely worried. After all, Club Illuma and the Hills were not to be trifled with. Lucas said calmly, ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. How is Professor Crawford doing?¡± Flynn said, ¡°She hasn¡¯te to yet, but Dr. Stone said that she¡¯s already out of danger and will be alright once she wakes up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Lucas heaved a sigh of relief. Then he took out the bank card in his pocket and handed it to Flynn. ¡°There¡¯s slightly more than five billion dors in this card. Withdraw thirty million dors from it and give it to Professor Crawford¡¯s family aspensation, then use the rest on the construction of Stardust City.¡± There was more than two billion dors in Lucas¡¯s card in the first ce, and he had made more than three billion dors from Club Illuma. Although thepensation for Gemma¡¯s family didn¡¯t necessarily require 30 million dors, the Hills were the reason she had met with this mishap. So Lucas didn¡¯t think it was too much to give them 30 million dors out of the money the Hills had given him. Flynn had already taken the bank card from Lucas¡¯s hand, but when he heard that it contained more than five billion dors, he was so frightened that he almost dropped the card. He hurriedly held the card with both hands and said cautiously, ¡°Lucas, there¡¯s still a lot of money in the card you gave mest time. We don¡¯t need so much money for now, so why don¡¯t you keep this card?¡± Lucas shook his head and said, ¡°Just take it. The construction of dozens of Stardust Cities will take ce simultaneously in the near future and will require a massive amount of funds. Take this money as spare funds.¡± Since Lucas already said so, Flynn had nothing else to say and could only put the card in his pocket carefully. The fact that Lucas had handed over so much money to him and let him use it as he deemed fit showed his immense trust in Flynn! While they were talking outside Gemma¡¯s ward, the door of the ward was suddenly opened, and Le, Professor Crawford¡¯s granddaughter, walked out, only to be stunned at the sight of Lucas. Immediately afterward, an unnatural expression appeared on her face, and she coughed before saying to Lucas, ¡°Uh, I¡¯m sorry for what I said before. I wasn¡¯t deliberately picking on you.¡± Le¡¯s animosity toward Lucas hadpletely vanished after learning that her grandmother had suffered a heart attack and had been sessfully rescued by Maddy. Hearing her awkward apology, Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t bother holding it against a girl who was still in college. He just smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Hearing their voices, Paul walked out and nodded at Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray.¡± ¡°Professor Carson.¡± Lucas greeted Paul, Gemma¡¯s knowledgeable son, whom Lucas had a good impression of. Paul looked at Lucas and suddenly said, ¡°Mr. Gray, can I have a few words with you alone?¡± Lucas was a little surprised, but he nevertheless nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± Lucas followed Paul out to an empty corridor. He looked at Lucas and hesitated to speak several times, seemingly not knowing what to say. Seeing this, Lucas said softly, ¡°Professor Carson, feel free to speak your mind. It¡¯s fine.¡± Hearing this, Paul smiled wryly and finally said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ll be frank with you. My mother has been suffering from heart disease for some years now, and the attack this time was very severe. The doctor said that she was in a very dangerous situation. While she was rescued this time, she might not be so lucky the next time. ¡°So, I hope that my mother can put down all her work at hand, including the design of Stardust City, and go home to enjoy her retirement. ¡°Therefore, I¡¯d like to apologize to you.¡± Chapter 1135 - 1135 Security Candidate 1135 Security Candidate In fact, when Paul said that he had something to say to Lucas, Lucas had already guessed that he would likely talk about this. After all, Gemma was indeed advanced in years, and most people her age had already retired a long time ago. But Gemma was someone who couldn¡¯t stand being idling, so she had epted a job offer from Georgetown University and continued to work at the school as a professor. Later, she epted Lucas¡¯s invitation to design and build Stardust City for the Stardust Corporation. Paul was against the idea of his mother going to the construction site and painstakingly working on the design drawings every day. But he couldn¡¯t stop her and could only go along with her. But now that Gemma had been so shocked and frightened at the construction site that she had suffered an almost fatal heart attack, Paul was extremely worried about her. Who knew if Gemma would encounter simr mishaps if she continued to stay at the Stardust City construction site? Seeing Lucas not speaking, Paul continued, ¡°I¡¯m really worried about my mother¡¯s health. Although I may not be as good as her, I¡¯m also a professor of architectural design at the School of Architecture of Georgetown. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I can take over my mother¡¯s work and help with the design of the Stardust City project so that it won¡¯t be affected by her absence.¡± Paul¡¯s words were very appropriate. He was worried about his mother¡¯s health, so he didn¡¯t want her to continue working on Stardust City, but he also didn¡¯t want Lucas¡¯s project to be affected. Thus, he offered to take over Gemma¡¯s work. Moreover, he was indeed a senior professor at Georgetown University, so his professional level was definitely not low. Paul had indeed made a thorough consideration. Lucas smiled wryly. ¡°Professor Carson, I definitely trust your professional skills, but Professor Crawford is very passionate about the construction of Stardust City, so I doubt she¡¯ll be willing to leave this project.¡± Previously, after Gemma learned about the construction project of Stardust City, she had skipped lunch and hurriedly dragged Lucas and Flynn to thend in the eastern suburbs of DC to check out the construction site in detail. Later, she even wanted to pitch a tent so that she could stay on the construction site and survey it personally. Even Lucas was extremely touched by her enthusiasm. Thus, the problem now was not whether Lucas would let Gemma go but whether she was willing to leave the project. After hearing what Lucas said, Paul fell silent. Paul knew his mother¡¯s character well. Given her enthusiastic and fric work attitude, where she would even skip meals and sleep to work, Paul also thought that it would indeed be difficult to convince her to leave the Stardust City construction project and stay at home to rest. Lucas considered for a moment before saying, ¡°How about this? Professor Crawford has alreadypleted the overall n of Stardust City, but she¡¯s still not at ease with handing over all the work to the engineering team. So she insists on staying at the site to monitor the construction every day so that she can make changes ording to the site conditions.¡± ¡°In fact, it¡¯s actually no longer necessary for Professor Crawford to go to the site every day to keep a careful eye on the progress. I¡¯ll have a good talk with her and try persuading her to stay home to get as much rest as possible. If there are any matters to handle, I can get our engineering department tomunicate with her via a video call. ¡°If Professor Crawford is still worried, she can go to the site to give some guidance once every few days. Like this, she will be much more at ease and will still have a clear idea of the construction progress. ¡°Professor Carson, what do you think about this arrangement?¡± Hearing this, Paul thought about it and nodded in approval. ¡°Mr. Gray, that¡¯s a great idea. Thank you so much!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just a small matter. Professor Crawford is indeed very admirable. Professor Carson, you¡¯re a filial son who values family and righteousness. I¡¯ve only done what¡¯s within my means.¡± Paulughed and said, ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, Mr. Gray. If there¡¯s anything I can help you with in the future, please feel free to let me know!¡± ¡°Haha, Professor Carson, you¡¯re being too polite.¡± The two of them were much more rxed after having settled the matter. After staying in Gemma¡¯s ward for a while and seeing that her condition was stable and that she was just sleeping, Lucas didn¡¯t stay any longer and left with Flynn. ¡­ On the way back, Lucas told Flynn what he had discussed with Paul and asked him to make arrangements early. He also instructed him to wait until Gemma¡¯s conditionpletely improved before talking to her about this matter. Flynn agreed with Lucas and Paul¡¯s n. At the same time, he was full of guilt. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m really sorry. If I had arranged for more people to protect Professor Crawford, we might have been able to avoid this. I¡¯ll definitely tighten security measures in the future!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t me Flynn. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Besides, the bodyguards you find may not be able to deal with the people from Club Illuma, so I¡¯ll help you find some people to take over this. ¡°As for your work, the focus should still be on the Stardust Corporation. In addition to the operations of thepany, the construction of the various Stardust Cities and the development of the oversea markets will also depend on your supervision. So your responsibilities are very important too.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas. I¡¯ll definitely do a good job!¡± Flynn assured. Lucas nodded, took out his phone, and made a call. Soon, an excited voice answered. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯ve finally called!¡± Without any pleasantries, Lucas said directly, ¡°Make arrangements for the matters you¡¯re handling now and then take twenty to thirty of your strongest subordinates with you to the Stardust Corporation headquarters in DC. I have some instructions for you.¡± Hearing this, the person on the other end instantly became excited. ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll arrange everything today and bring my subordinates to see you in DC tomorrow!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After ending the call, Lucas looked at Flynn, who was still confused, and said, ¡°It¡¯s Joe from Little Antis City in Orange County, which belongs to me. He¡¯s one of my subordinates. Send people to the airport to pick them up tomorrow and then hand over the security work of the Stardust Corporation to them.¡± Chapter 1136 - 1136 Stubborn Professor 1136 Stubborn Professor Hearing what Lucas said, Flynn immediately looked surprised. Little Antis City was the best entertainment joint in Orange County. Having lived in Orange County for many years, Flynn was naturally well aware of it. Flynn knew Joe as well and also thought that he was a very intelligent person. But Flynn didn¡¯t expect that Little Antis City belonged to Lucas and that Joe was also Lucas¡¯s subordinate. He was not overly surprised though. After all, Lucas was extremely mysterious and terrifyingly powerful, so much so that even the helmsmen of some of the eight top families in DC were loyal to him. In that case, it didn¡¯t seem too strange that Joe, who was like a mafia boss in Orange County, was Lucas¡¯s subordinate. ¡­ The following morning, shortly after Lucas arrived at the Stardust Corporation headquarters, Joe came to report to him with his thirty subordinates. The moment he saw Lucas, Joe was incredibly excited. He immediately stepped forward toward Lucas and said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve finally seen you again!¡± Actually, since Lucas took Joe under his wing and put him in charge of acquiring all the underground joints in Orange County, he hadn¡¯t looked for Joe often. When Lucas had to deal with the Kingstons back then, Joe and his subordinates from Little Antis City had indeed given a lot of help. At least, he was absolutely loyal to Lucas. Moreover, Joe¡¯s subordinates had all undergone countless trials and tribtions. In terms of strength, they were far stronger than the bodyguards of many families, which was why Lucas had asked Joe to bring his subordinates over to take over the security duties. But even Lucas didn¡¯t expect Joe to rush over overnight. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have appeared at the Stardust Corporation headquarters so early in the morning. Still, it was naturally a good thing to have hardworking and passionate subordinates. Lucas said directly to Joe, ¡°Since you¡¯ve brought your people here, from now on, you¡¯ll be the head of security of the Stardust Corporation headquarters, and you¡¯ll be responsible for all the security matters of the Stardust Corporation. Do you have any problems with this?¡± Hearing this, Joe looked ecstatic as he frantically said, ¡°Alright, no problem! Mr. Gray, since you trust me so much, I¡¯ll definitely do my best to do a good job with the security of the Stardust Corporation!¡± Although Little Antis City was the best entertainment joint in Orange County, it was still a rather small ce. Even in Orange County, Little Antis City was far inferior to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, much less the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation! Joe definitely didn¡¯t think that he was lowering his status by being the head of security at the Stardust Corporation headquarters. Instead, he felt that it was a sign that Lucas trusted him greatly. Joe had always been intelligent, so he could infer from this matter that since Lucas trusted him, there would definitely be better opportunities for him in the future. Of course, this was on the condition that he could do a good job at leading the security team of the Stardust Corporation. Lucas smiled slightly and said to Flynn, ¡°From now on, Joe will be the head of thepany¡¯s security department. You can talk to him about the specificster. All his subordinates will also join the security department.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas.¡± Flynn immediately acknowledged and then took Joe and his subordinates to the HR department toplete the relevant administrative procedures. Soon, Flynn came to Lucas¡¯s office again with a somewhat serious expression. ¡°What happened?¡± Lucas asked. Flynn said, ¡°Professor Carson just called to say that Professor Crawford insists on going to the construction site. He can¡¯t stop her at all, so¡­ he would like you to try persuading her too.¡± Lucas was a little stunned, but he smiled wryly. ¡°Ah, your mentor is really¡­ too enthusiastic! She underwent emergency resuscitation in the hospital yesterday and probably just woke upst night. But this morning, she¡¯s already eagerly moring about going to work on the construction site. Her enthusiasm makes me feel ashamed!¡± Lucas stood up from his seat and walked out. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go persuade her!¡± ¡°Exactly. She¡¯s too stubborn, but to be able to build a city with her own hands is Professor Crawford¡¯s biggest dream in her life. I¡¯m afraid it will be hard to convince her.¡± While talking, the two of them went downstairs and drove to DC Hospital in half an hour. Before they arrived at Gemma¡¯s ward, they heard aforting voice from inside. ¡°Mom, the doctor said that you should recuperate properly for the next few days. Just be good and wait a few days. When your body recovers, I¡¯ll take you to the construction site to inspect it personally, okay?¡± The voice belonged to Paul. Immediately afterward, Gemma said insistently, ¡°No! I know my own body well. I¡¯ve already recovered, and I don¡¯t need to continue resting here anymore. I¡¯m going to the site right now. Otherwise, I can¡¯t be at ease here!¡± Hearing this, Lucas and Flynn looked at each other with wry smiles. Then they walked into the ward together. Seeing the twoe in, Paul heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had found a savior. He hurriedly greeted them. ¡°Mr. Gray, Mr. Davis, you¡¯re here!¡± Gemma quickly said when she saw them, ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re here. I¡¯m just about to go to the construction site to take a look, but my unfilial son is trying to stop me from going. Come on, hurry up and take me there! I haven¡¯t gone to the site to see it today, so I feel ufortable all over, and I can¡¯t stop worrying!¡± While speaking, Gemma lifted the quilt, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked around for her shoes. Seeing this, Flynn hurriedly went forward to hold Professor Crawford and said, ¡°Professor, don¡¯t be in such a hurry! I came here today to report the progress on the construction to you in detail.¡± As soon as she heard this, Gemma hurriedly asked, ¡°Is everything okay at the site? Did those people who made trouble yesterday cause any bad effects? Has the progress been dyed?¡± Flynn smiled and said, ¡°Please rest assured. It wasn¡¯t affected, and Mr. Gray has already resolved the matter. Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner at the site. You really don¡¯t need to worry so much.¡± Professor Crawford sighed. ¡°As you know, my biggest dream is to design and build a city with my own hands. Now that I¡¯ve finally gotten the opportunity, how can I not worry about it? ¡°Oh yes, the design drawings are all based on the results of the site survey, so you must instruct the construction department to follow my drawings for everything. Do you hear me? ¡°If there is a slight difference, the final result will be very different. You must remember this! And get the workers on the site to be very careful not to make any mistakes!¡± Gemma held Flynn¡¯s hand and instructed him in detail. Flynn naturally agreed. After speaking to him, Gemma felt much more at ease and less anxious. Seeing this, Paul silently winked at Lucas and walked out of the ward. Lucas understood and followed him out. Chapter 1137 - 1137 Do You Dare to Make a Bet? 1137 Do You Dare to Make a Bet? ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m really sorry. My mother is very stubborn, especially when ites to her designs. She refuses to allow anyone to make even minor changes. Please forgive her if she¡¯s offended you in any way,¡± Paul said to Lucas apologetically. Lucas said with a smile, ¡°No, not at all. Professor Crawford is a talented person who is serious and passionate about her work. It¡¯s my honor to have her help me with the design and nning of Stardust City. How could I possibly me her?¡± ¡°Thank you for your understanding.¡± Paul sighed and shook his head. ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯ve really underestimated my mother¡¯s persistence. I thought that I could persuade her to stay at home to recuperate and visit the construction site once every few days. But given her temperament, I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t listen to me at all.¡± Lucas agreed. More than half an hour had passed from the moment Flynn received Paul¡¯s call for help to when the two of them arrived at the hospital. During this half an hour or so, Paul had been trying to convince his mother, but his efforts were obviously futile. Since even Gemma¡¯s own son couldn¡¯t persuade her, Lucas naturally didn¡¯t think that ¡®outsiders¡¯ like him and Flynn could convince her. After thinking about it, Paul sighed again and said, ¡°Since I can¡¯t persuade her to stay at home, I¡¯ll just follow her wishes and let her go to the construction site to inspect. However, Mr. Gray, I hope that you can send more people to protect my mother from any further mishaps. ¡°After all, my mother is already advanced in years, and she has a weak heart. In case she gets agitated and copses again, we don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll be so lucky next time and be rescued in time.¡± Lucas could sense Paul¡¯s concern for Gemma. So he said, ¡°In that case, I will send more and stronger people to protect Professor Crawford. The same thing won¡¯t happen again. Don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll have to trouble you then, Mr. Gray,¡± Paul said to Lucas gratefully. In the end, under Gemma¡¯s strong insistence, Paul had no choice but to help her get discharged in advance. But after being discharged from the hospital, Gemma headed straight to the construction site of Stardust City in the eastern suburbs of DC without even going back home. It left Paul, Lucas, and the others feeling helpless. Lucas and Flynn also rushed to the construction site and dispatched the new head of security of the Stardust Corporation to arrange enough manpower to protect Gemma. After arranging everything, Lucas instructed Flynn, ¡°Keep a close eye on this matter. No matter what, we must protect Professor Crawford well this time and prevent any mishaps from happening again. ¡°Also, instruct the construction department to carry out all construction in strict ordance with Professor Crawford¡¯s design drawings.¡± ¡°Okay, Lucas!¡± Flynn also agreed immediately. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re here too!¡± While Lucas and Flynn were talking, a clear and crisp female voice suddenly came from the side. The two of them turned around and saw Le, Gemma¡¯s granddaughter, walking toward them. It turned out that Le was worried about her grandmothering to the construction site, so she tagged along. After looking at Gemma giving instructions on the construction site, as well as the people around her, she said, ¡°It seems you didn¡¯t go back on your word this time, and you¡¯ve really arranged for bodyguards to protect my grandmother. Hmm¡­ there are six bodyguards around. They¡¯re quite attentive about my grandmother.¡± Lucas said with a smile, ¡°In fact, we are even more attentive than you think. We have arranged more than six bodyguards for Professor Crawford, and many of them are hiding in stealth. You just haven¡¯t discovered them.¡± Hearing this, Le immediately became very interested. She scanned the surroundings and asked doubtfully, ¡°Really? But I only see six bodyguards. Where are the others?¡± Her action revealed some childishness, which was much better than her feistiness when she threw a fit at Lucas in the hospital yesterday. Lucas chuckles. ¡°Since they are bodyguards hiding in the shadows, they naturally won¡¯t let you find them.¡± Le frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me! Isn¡¯t it just the other bodyguards hiding in the crowd? You have to agree to a request of mine if I can find all of them. Do you dare to ept the challenge?¡± Flynn smiled. ¡°Le, Professor Crawford seems to be calling you. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s about. Why don¡¯t we go over to take a look?¡± Le ignored Flynn and instead stared at Lucas with a gleaming gaze. ¡°Do you dare to bet with me?¡± Seeing Le¡¯s rare and childish side, Lucasughed and nodded. ¡°Why not? I can make the conditions simpler too. I¡¯ve arranged twenty-three bodyguards to guard Professor Crawford in secret. If you can find one, you win.¡± The bodyguards Lucas had arranged on the construction site were all experts Joe had brought from Orange County. Although their skills were notparable to the top experts of some powerful families, they were definitely not weak. It was likely impossible for a youngdy like Le to find all these bodyguards among the thousands of people at the construction site. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hold you to your word!¡± Le winked with a triumphant smile and left to look for the bodyguards. Just as she walked away, Flynn sighed and said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, it seems you¡¯re going to lose this bet.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? Why do you say so?¡± Lucas looked at Flynn in slight surprise. Flynn smiled wryly. ¡°I know Le. Shees from a family of intellectuals. She¡¯s a star student of Georgetown University herself, and she¡¯s all but guaranteed a PhD. Her IQ is quite high. ¡°Furthermore, she has excellent observation skills. She can often make many urate conjectures just with some tiny clues. She¡¯s even helped the police crack some major cases before! ¡°Her observation and reasoning abilities are quite strong, so I think she¡¯ll definitely find Joe¡¯s subordinates. Besides, you said that she only needs to find one of them to win, so I think she¡¯s probably won by now.¡± Hearing this, even Lucas showed a look of surprise. He didn¡¯t expect that the girl who had yelled at him in the hospital and behaved childishly just now would have such amazing abilities. ¡°Since you knew about it, why didn¡¯t you remind me?¡± Lucas asked, feigning resentment. Flynn said innocently, ¡°When Le made the bet just now, I tried to interrupt her by changing the subject, but unfortunately, it didn¡¯t work. Then you agreed to it¡­¡± Lucas immediately remembered Flynn interrupting them by saying that Gemma had something to say to Le andughed. ¡°It seems I was indeed negligent!¡± Chapter 1138 - 1138 Be My Boyfriend 1138 Be My Boyfriend While Lucas and Flynn were speaking, Le walked over again and said with a smile on her face, ¡°I¡¯ve found one! Actually, I¡¯ve already found all twenty-three of them!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Both of them were very surprised. It wouldn¡¯t be too surprising if she had only found one bodyguard. After all, with her strong observation skills, it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for her to find a hiding bodyguard. But it was extremely shocking that she managed to find 23 people within such a short period of time! Facing Lucas and Flynn¡¯s shocked expressions, Le smiled proudly and exined, ¡°Since they were hired to protect my grandmother, the bodyguards have to stay near her, so I can simply rule out the farther ces on the site. ¡°As for the people near her, the three wearing engineering supervisor clothes over there are particrly muscr, and there are obvious calluses on their fingers and knuckles. Their standing posture is also different from others. They¡¯re standing much more upright, so they look like people skilled in martial arts. ¡°Also, although the two people dressed as workers sitting over there look like ordinary workers, and they¡¯ve also been moving bricks, they look much more rxed than the others. This shows that they¡¯re much stronger than ordinary people. ¡°Their eyes are also still bright, and they don¡¯t look as tired as the other workers. From time to time, they also observe my grandmother¡¯s surroundings, so I¡¯m sure that they¡¯re bodyguards secretly protecting my grandmother. ¡°And over there¡­¡± Le then pointed at several other ces and pointed out 23 people in total, as well as their characteristics and her suspicions, making Lucas shocked. Seeing how stunned Lucas was, Le raised her head proudly and said, ¡°I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?¡± Lucas took his hat off to her. All 23 people Le had identified were indeed the bodyguards he had arranged to protect Gemma at the construction site. Lucas conceded his defeat. Since Le had already guessed correctly, he naturally nodded and asked, ¡°Alright, what request do you have? I¡¯ll agree as long as it¡¯s within my means.¡± Le nced at Flynn next to him and didn¡¯t say anything. But Flynn was an extremely smart person. As soon as he saw Le¡¯s nce, he knew that she wanted to speak to Lucas alone. Flynn smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ll go over there to take a look at the situation.¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± After Flynn left, Lucas looked at Le helplessly and asked, ¡°Okay, can you tell me now?¡± Le raised her head proudly and said, ¡°I want you to be my boyfriend!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Even though Lucas was usually able to keepposed, he was still taken aback by what she said. Le actually wants me to be her boyfriend? Is she joking? He had only met Le twice and exchanged a few words with her. Could she have taken a fancy to him? Besides, even if she really liked him, she¡­ didn¡¯t have to be so direct. Lucas coughed twice in embarrassment. ¡°Uh, Le, I¡¯m already married, and I love my wife very much. Moreover, we already have a five-year-old daughter. It¡¯s impossible between us, so you¡¯d better change your request.¡± Le shot Lucas a nk look, puffed up her cheeks, and said angrily, ¡°What are you talking about? I mean, I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend! I don¡¯t like you! ¡°I¡¯m going to a party with my roommates today. They¡¯re dragging me along, and they¡¯re all going with their boyfriends, so I¡¯m giving you the opportunity to be my boyfriend for a day. Do you get it? ¡°You¡¯re already so old. How could I possibly like you? You must be dreaming!¡± Hearing this and finding out what was going on, Lucas felt speechless. Le was clearly the one who had made an exaggerated request and startled Lucas, causing him to get the wrong idea. Now, she even called him old and said that he was dreaming. She was really¡­ Actually, Lucas was only 28 years old this year, far from being an old man. Le said smilingly, ¡°So, how about it? You just agreed to grant me any request. You¡¯re not a despicable viin who goes back on his word, are you?¡± Since Le had already said this, Lucas naturally couldn¡¯t act like a despicable viin. He could only sigh and agree. ¡°Hey, why do you look so forced? I can tell you that it¡¯s your luck to be able to be my boyfriend today because this is a chance that others don¡¯t get. Do you understand?¡± Le said proudly. ¡°Okay, I got it,¡± Lucas said helplessly. Le was just a young girl still attending college and also Gemma¡¯s granddaughter. He was several years older than her, so he didn¡¯t see the need to quibble with her. ¡°It¡¯s good that you know. Let¡¯s go now!¡± Le held her head proudly andmanded him like she was a princess. Lucas naturally could only agree. Fortunately, there was nothing else he had to do at the office today, so he decided to do Le a favor. When she walked to Lucas¡¯s Land Rover, Le took a sweeping nce at it. ¡°Land Rover Range Rover, V8 S/C SVAutobiography night sports model. It should cost around two hundred and fifty grand. It has a 5.0T engine with a maximum horsepower of 565, a maximum torque of 700nm, and a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour. It can go from 1-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds and has an 8-speed manual transmission. It¡¯s also extremely low-profile. I couldn¡¯t tell that you had such great taste in cars.¡± Le circled around Lucas¡¯s car and immediately recognized the model of Lucas¡¯s Land Rover. She even listed its specifications. This wasn¡¯t all. Le continued, ¡°But your car isn¡¯t an ordinary model. Has it been specially modified? All the ss is bulletproof and explosion-proof, and the body, chassis, and tires have also been modified. I¡¯m guessing the engine is upgraded too, right? ¡°In that case, the value of your car is at least 2 million dors, maybe even 3 million. Tsk, you¡¯re really an evil capitalist.¡± Hearing this, even Lucas admired her. He didn¡¯t expect Le to be so knowledgeable in cars. As expected of someone with a high IQ, she got most of the specs of his car right after taking a quick nce. Chapter 1139 - 1139 Details of the Gathering 1139 Details of the Gathering ¡°Awesome!¡± Lucas gave Le a thumbs up. ¡°Hmph, this is nothing. I could tell it at a nce. Only ordinary people like you would think it¡¯s impressive,¡± Le said proudly before pulling open the door of the passenger seat and getting inside. ¡°¡­¡± Lucas took a breath, shook his head, and decided not to argue with such a young girl. He got into the driver¡¯s seat, started the car, and drove to the parking lot by the entrance of Georgetown University as Le directed. After answering a phone call, Le said to Lucas, ¡°My roommates areing out soon. Let¡¯s wait for them here.¡± Lucas nodded. Since the atmosphere in the car was awkward, they got out and stood at the side to wait. ¡°Le, you kept saying you didn¡¯t want to go. I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re the first one here today!¡± After waiting for a while, they heard a female voicee from behind them. It belonged to a girl with her hair in a ponytail and wearing a bright red trench coat. She was walking toward Le. Beside the girl was a fashionably dressed young man. He was donning a gray designer casual suit with his glossy hair neatlybed back and a Cartier watch on his wrist. Lucas nced at the young man and could immediately tell that he was just a superficial person who liked to look rich. The designer suit and Cartier watch that he was wearing were both knockoffs. But Lucas didn¡¯t expose him. After all, he didn¡¯t know this man, and it was only an impromptu decision that he was posing as Le¡¯s boyfriend. He didn¡¯t really want to join her social circle. No matter who he was, it had nothing to do with Lucas. ¡°Alyssa, where are the other two?¡± Le asked. The woman in the red trench coat named Alyssa said, ¡°They should be waiting for their boyfriends toe together. They¡¯ll probably be here soon.¡± After speaking, she seemed to suddenly notice Lucas next to Le. She asked doubtfully, ¡°Le, who is this?¡± Le coughed lightly, naturally took Lucas¡¯s arm, and introduced him with a sweet smile, ¡°This is Lucas Gray, my boyfriend!¡± She then introduced to Lucas, ¡°Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is my dormitory roommate, Alyssa Synder, and her boyfriend, Samuel Lawson.¡± Although Lucas felt a bit ufortable when Le held his arm so suddenly, he knew that he was posing as her boyfriend today, so her behavior was within reason. He smiled politely at the couple in front of him and greeted them. ¡°Hello.¡± But Samuel had no intention of greeting Lucas at all. After he heard Le¡¯s introduction, his expression changed a little, and he turned to say to Alyssa, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that Le doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend? What¡¯s going on now? ¡°I¡¯ve already made an agreement with Mr. Dunne. What am I supposed to do now?¡± Alyssa was at a loss as well. She couldn¡¯t helpining to Le, ¡°Le, what¡¯s wrong with you? I thought you¡¯ve always been single. I¡¯ve already told you that Mr. Dunne ising to the party tonight. What¡¯s up with you suddenly showing up with a boyfriend? How am I supposed to exin it to Mr. Duer?¡± Alyssa¡¯s voice was extremely loud, and she showed great displeasure toward Lucas. It seemed that Lucas¡¯s appearance had jeopardized whatever n they had, which was rted to a certain Mr. Dunne. Lucas was smart enough to realize what she meant immediately. Le frowned and seemed puzzled. ¡°What does it have to do with me if Mr. Dunne is going to the party too? Why can¡¯t I bring my boyfriend?¡± She was rather cute in the first ce, and the way she was tilting her head while speaking made her seem even more innocent and pure. Of course, although Lucas had only interacted with Le for a short period of time, he knew that she was just putting up a front. In fact, she was actually quite cunning and was definitely far from the innocent girl she was pretending to be. Alyssa said to Le with some resentment, ¡°Le, you¡¯re the youngest one in our dorm room, so you¡¯re naive and innocent. People like you are the most gullible and likely to be deceived by those with evil intentions! ¡°In particr, some men enjoy deceiving inexperienced young girls. Don¡¯t fall for his tricks!¡± Then Alyssa deliberately nced at Lucas. She was obviously referring to him. Still looking a little confused, Le was stunned for a moment before realizing what Alyssa meant. She quickly held Lucas¡¯s arm and said sweetly, ¡°Alyssa, you don¡¯t have to worry! My boyfriend is very nice, and he has never lied to me. I pursued him myself, and it took me a long time to win his heart!¡± What she said left Alyssa dumbfounded. Samuel¡¯s expression darkened as he red at Lucas. Mr. Dunne wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. He was a scion of one of the eight top families in DC. Mr. Dunne wasn¡¯t someone that a small fry like Samuel could get close to in the first ce, but they and their friends happened to be dining at the same restaurant one day. Mr. Dunne took a liking to Le at first sight, which led to their social circles crossing paths. After falling in love with Le at first sight, Mr. Dunne immediately started pursuing her. He had tried to confess his love to her and asked her out multiple times. But Le had never agreed. Thus, Samuel took the initiative to help Mr. Dunne by saying that he would take the opportunity of the dorm party to create opportunities for him and Le. Everything had been going ording to n at first, and even Le, who was usually difficult to convince, agreed to go to the party. But an unexpected twist suddenly happened at this time. Le suddenly had a boyfriend out of nowhere and even showed up with him. In that case, how was he going to continue with his n? If Mr. Dunne found out, he would definitely fly into a rage. Not only would he end up not pleasing him, but he might even anger him. He wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the consequences! Chapter 1140 - 1140 Showing Off Cars 1140 Showing Off Cars Through these people¡¯s expressions and conversations, Lucas quickly guessed the situation. He figured out that Le had probably long known that the party today wouldn¡¯t be simple, so she had tricked him into promising her a request, which was to pose as her boyfriend for today. After figuring this out, Lucas sighed. Indeed, young people these days, especially college students, shouldn¡¯t be belittled! !! At this moment, a silver BMW X6 drove over and pulled over beside them. ¡°Heh, Alyssa, Le, you guys are finally here!¡± The car door opened, and a man and a woman stepped out of the car. One of them, a young girl with wavy hair, greeted Le and Alyssa smilingly. ¡°Betty, you two areter than us!¡± Alyssained and then immediately walked over to hug the beautiful girl with wavy hair, looking very chummy. On the other side, Le introduced to Lucas, ¡°She¡¯s also my roommate, Bethany Moore. Her nickname¡¯s Betty. Beside her is her boyfriend, Hayden Zimmervale.¡± While she introduced them to Lucas softly, Alyssa had already leaned close to Bethany and started whispering to her. Moreover, Alyssa would even re at Lucas from time to time. She was obviously talking to Bethany about Lucas. Who knew what Alyssa said to Bethany, but she soon red at Lucas too. Immediately afterward, the two girls walked toward Lucas, hand in hand. Bethany looked Lucas up and down and said critically with her head held high, ¡°I don¡¯t know how you managed to trick Le, but let me warn you. Le is our close friend, and we won¡¯t just watch her being deceived by you! ¡°If you still have any shame and self-awareness, leave Le. You¡¯ll never be good enough for her!¡± Bethany was extremely harsh with her words. It was simply rude of her to say such things to someone she was meeting for the first time, especially when he was her roommate¡¯s boyfriend. Lucas just looked at Bethany without saying a single word. These people were Le¡¯s roommates, and Le had asked him toe along, so she should be interjecting at this time. Le smiled, hugged Lucas¡¯s arm tightly, and said to Bethany, ¡°Betty, don¡¯t get the wrong idea! Lucas is my boyfriend, and I had a tough time courting him. Even though you¡¯re my roommate, you shouldn¡¯t be so rude to him, right? Shouldn¡¯t you at least show me some respect?¡± Bethany immediately looked surprised. ¡°What did you say? You actually courted a man? And you¡­ found a man like him?¡± Bethany securitized Lucas¡¯s ordinary-looking clothes and said in disbelief, ¡°Le, what¡¯s wrong with you? Look at what your boyfriend is wearing! None of his clothes are designer. He¡¯s dressed even worse than the average boys in our sses! ¡°Besides, your boyfriend should be several years older than us, right? That means he should have been working for a few years now. He¡¯s already working, but he¡¯s still dressed so ordinarily. He¡¯s a loser! ¡°Le, youe from a family of intellectuals. Your grandmother and parents are all professors at Georgetown, but you got yourself a boyfriend like him. You two are worlds apart! ¡°Le, I must say, you really have poor taste! Although he looks good, looks won¡¯t pay the bills! A man like him isn¡¯t suitable for you! I think you should hurry up and break up with him and get a better man!¡± Alyssa hurriedly chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right, Le. You should break up quickly! We¡¯re good friends, so we won¡¯t harm you! This man isn¡¯t good enough for you at all!¡± Then she glowered at Lucas and snapped, ¡°Hey, did you hear what we said? You¡¯re not good enough for Le at all! As her good friends, we don¡¯t like you! If you still have some self-awareness, you should get lost and save yourself from embarrassment. Do you get it?¡± Hearing their hostile words, Lucas only found it incredibly amusing. These two girls who imed to be Le¡¯s good friends obviously didn¡¯t really regard Le as their good friend. No friend would ignore their friend¡¯s feelings and badmouth their boyfriend under the pretext of doing it for their own good. Lucas looked at Le sympathetically. He couldn¡¯t believe that she had spent so many years hanging out with such hypocritical roommates. ¡°Hey, did you hear what I said? Don¡¯t y dumb!¡± Alyssa snapped again because Lucas didn¡¯t answer her immediately. Lucas didn¡¯t lose his temper. He merely said with a faint smile, ¡°In that case, what kind of a man is good enough for Le?¡± Alyssa raised her head and said, ¡°An outstanding man, of course! At least, he has to be on par with Bethany¡¯s boyfriend and mine. His family should have aworth of at least ten million dors, and he should own a luxury car!¡± Alyssa¡¯s boyfriend, Samuel, took out an Audi car key and pressed it. The lights of a nearby ck Audi A4 shed twice. Bethany¡¯s boyfriend, Hayden, also took out the key to his BMW X6 and waved it in front of Lucas to show off to him. Their cars, a BMW X6 and an Audi A4, cost about 100 thousand and 50 thousand dors respectively. These carsbined were worth less than a tenth of Lucas¡¯s Land Rover. Looking at the two young men unting their car keys in front of him, Lucas found it hrious. He didn¡¯t expect to meet people showing off such cars in front of him one day. They were like two children showing off their tiny arms in front of a weightlifting champion while constantly saying things like, ¡°Look how muscr I am. Are you scared now?¡± It didn¡¯t anger Lucas at all. He just found it ridiculous. At this moment, he felt a strong urge tough out loud. Chapter 1141 - 1141 Afraid of Comparison 1141 Afraid of Comparison Suddenly, Alyssa¡¯s phone rang. She received a text message. She took her phone out to take a look at it and decided not to continue bothering with Lucas here. Instead, she pulled Le¡¯s other arm and said, ¡°Le, let¡¯s ignore him. Mr. Dunne just texted me to say that he¡¯s already booked a private room in the Hampton Restaurant. Let¡¯s head over now in my boyfriend¡¯s car!¡± Bethany chimed in, ¡°Since Mr. Dunne has already made reservations, we¡¯d better not keep him waiting and get going now!¡± Le sulked and pretended to be angry. ¡°Why are you guys behaving like that? If you don¡¯t want my boyfriend to join us, I won¡¯t go either. You go ahead!¡± !! With that, she hugged Lucas¡¯s arm and said in an angry voice, ¡°Lucas, since they don¡¯t wee us, let¡¯s go have dinner on our own! You said you¡¯d take me to that famous crab burger restaurant the other day. Let¡¯s go now!¡± As soon as she heard Le say that she wasn¡¯t going, Alyssa panicked and hurriedly said to Le, ¡°Hey, Le, I didn¡¯t say that you¡¯re not wee¡­ We just don¡¯t like your boyfriend! ¡°Since you insist on bringing him along, don¡¯t me us for not reminding you if he suffers embarrassment. Dinner¡¯s on Mr. Dunne tonight. If your boyfriend angers him, we won¡¯t be able to help him!¡± Then Alyssa looked at Lucas and deliberately said, ¡°I can tell you that Mr. Dunne is from one of the eight top families in DC. His family is extremely wealthy and powerful. If a loser like you offends him, god knows how you¡¯ll die!¡± She deliberately intimidated Lucas, hoping to use Mr. Dunne to scare Lucas into leaving instead of tagging along. This way, his image would bepletely ruined, and Le wouldn¡¯t me them for ostracizing him. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Mr. Dunne? I haven¡¯t met anyone from the Dunne family before. It¡¯s a good chance for me to meet them.¡± Alyssa harrumphed. ¡°Hmph, since you¡¯re not afraid of dying, you cane along! Mr. Dunne is indeed not at a level that you can reach. Taking you there today will give you an eye-opener!¡± She mocked Lucas with a disgusted gaze and said to Bethany, ¡°My boyfriend doesn¡¯t like strangers riding in his car. Why don¡¯t you take them in your car?¡± Bethany shook her head. ¡°No, my boyfriend¡¯s BMW is still new. I don¡¯t mind giving Le a lift, but I don¡¯t like having a penniless loser riding in my boyfriend¡¯s car. He can take an Uber or something!¡± Le rolled her eyes inwardly while thinking, Who wants to ride in your car! She smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. My boyfriend drove here too. We can go there in our own car.¡± ¡°Huh? This penniless guy actually has a car?¡± Alyssa immediately said in surprise. Le nodded and sighed again. ¡°Yes, but my boyfriend drives an ordinary car, and it¡¯s far inferior to your boyfriends¡¯ cars.¡± Hearing her tone, Alyssa and Bethany subconsciously thought that Lucas probably owned an old, cheap Chevrolet or something worth less than 10 thousand dors. They both felt a sense of superiority. ¡°Holy shit, whose car is this?¡± Samuel suddenly eximed and walked over to the ck Land Rover in excitement and surprise. ¡°Damn, this is thetest model of Range Rover that just came out two months ago! It¡¯s the SVA Ultimate Edition. It¡¯s a five-seat SUV with a 5.0T engine and an eight-speed manual transmission! The base model of this car starts at 250 grand!¡± Samuel was incredibly excited and wanted to touch the car. Hayden immediately walked over. His eyes lit up as he stared at the car in front of him. Men seemed to have the lowest resistance to all kinds of luxury cars, so Hayden was just as excited the moment he saw thetest model of the Range Rover in front of him. Hayden was more knowledgeable than Samuel, and he quickly noticed many details. He said in shock, ¡°No, this isn¡¯t just thetest model but a modified custom one! Look, all its ss is bulletproof, and the chassis looks thicker, as well as the tires. The engine has probably been modified too. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we can¡¯t go inside the car to look. I bet all the interior systems have been modified too. With the modifications, this car must have cost a bomb!¡± Samuel said in surprise, ¡°So, it costs at least a million?¡± Hayden shook his head, ¡°More than that. I think it¡¯s at least two million dors! Such modified cars usually cost more than three to four times the ordinary models! Moreover, those who can afford to buy such an expensive car and modify it are definitely rich. It¡¯s probably been modified to deliver the highest performance. It definitely costs more than 2 million dors!¡± ¡°Damn, that¡¯s impressive! There are really lots of rich people in this world. A car actually costs over two million dors. Tsk!¡± Samuel circled the car and clucked his tongue while marveling at it. Although Alyssa and Bethany didn¡¯t know much about cars, they were amazed after hearing that the car was worth more than two million dors. The car, which was originally very inconspicuous in their eyes, suddenly looked so dazzling and eye-catching. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such an ordinary-looking car to be worth over two million bucks! It¡¯s really true that rich people don¡¯t always like to show off their wealth. There are still plenty who like to keep a low profile! I guess the owner of this car is a scion of a rich family that owns a big business. Otherwise, there¡¯s no way he would spend so much on a car!¡± ¡°Ah, it¡¯d be great if I could know the car¡¯s owner! If¡­ ahem!¡± Alyssa said enviously, and at the end of her sentence, she almost blurted out how wonderful it would be for her if she could marry such a scion. Fortunately, she remembered at the critical moment that her current boyfriend was standing right next to her, so she coughed twice and swallowed her words. Bethany felt the same way. She said with a longing look, ¡°Since this car is parked in front of our school, the owner might be one of our schoolmates! That means he¡¯s rich and talented. Maybe he¡¯s hot too. What a dreamboat! I¡¯d definitely pursue him if I didn¡¯t have a boyfriend!¡± Her words immediately made the two men next to her feel a little embarrassed. In particr, Bethany¡¯s boyfriend, Hayden, felt a little humiliated after hearing her say that she wanted to pursue the owner of the car. After all,pared to this car worth more than two million dors, his 100,000-dor BMW X6 was really inferior. Comparisons often hurt, especially when the other party was far superior! Chapter 1142 - 1142 Birds of a Feather Flock Together 1142 Birds of a Feather Flock Together Samuel coughed twice and said to Alyssa awkwardly, ¡°Alyssa, I guarantee you that as long as you give me ten years, I can get you a car worth millions of dors!¡± Alyssa¡¯s eyes lit up, and she snuggled into Samuel¡¯s arms affectionately with a smile. ¡°Great! Honey, you¡¯re so good to me!¡± Muacks! She kissed Samuel¡¯s face loudly. Simrly, Hayden was naturally unwilling to be outshone, and he said to Bethany assuringly, ¡°I also guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to afford this kind of car in a few years and let you live a wealthy life!¡± ¡°Okay, Honey. I¡¯ll depend on you in the future!¡± Bethany hugged his arm sweetly with a blissful look on her face. At this moment, Le said in puzzlement, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just an ordinary car? Why are you guys making it sound so impressive?¡± Les seemed indifferent as she casually touched the ck Land Rover. Seeing Le¡¯s action, Alyssa and Bethany were immediately shocked. ¡°Le, don¡¯t touch it! This car is worth over two million dors! If you damage it, we won¡¯t be able to afford topensate for it!¡± Le smiled, revealing her canines. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Even if I damage it, my boyfriend won¡¯t make me pay for it!¡± Then she turned to look at Lucas and asked adorably, ¡°Right, Lucas?¡± Lucas smiles. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just a car. It¡¯s no big deal.¡± Alyssa narrowed her eyes and mocked with pursed lips, ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s just a car? This car is worth more than two million dors. Do you think it belongs to you? How bold of you to say that!¡± The rest looked at Lucas with displeasure, thinking that a bumpkin and loser like him probably didn¡¯t know how expensive this car was. Lucas didn¡¯t bother to argue with these people. He took out a key from his pocket and pressed it. The lights of the Land Rover immediately lit up, and it made a beep sound. Clearly, this car, which was so expensive to Alyssa and Bethany that they didn¡¯t even dare to touch it, belonged to Lucas! ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing this, Samuel and Hayden couldn¡¯t help eximing in shock. Alyssa and Bethany stared at the Land Rover key in Lucas¡¯s hand with their eyes wide open in disbelief. This extremely luxurious car, which was a goal they wanted to achieve in ten years, actually belonged to Le¡¯s loser boyfriend! It simply¡­ subverted their knowledge! Just now, they had shown off their cars worth tens of thousands of dors in front of them. It¡­ it was too embarrassing! Lucas didn¡¯t care about their expressions. After pressing the key to unlock the doors, he got into the driver¡¯s seat. Le sat in the passenger seat, popped her head out of the window, and looked at them with her big, innocent eyes. ¡°Why are you guys still standing there? Aren¡¯t you leaving?¡± Alyssa and the rest abruptly came back to their senses, as if they had just woken up from a dream. At this moment, their cheeks heated up uncontrobly. It was so embarrassing! They had just mocked Lucas by saying that he wasn¡¯t good enough for Le. They had even told him to have the self-awareness to leave Le before it was toote. But in the blink of an eye, Lucas was sitting in a car worth millions of dors, far surpassing them. Alyssa and Bethany looked at each other and saw the intense jealousy in each other¡¯s eyes. They were roommates, but Le came from a much better family background than them, and she was much prettier as well. Now, she even got a boyfriend who was not only more handsome than their boyfriends, but he could also afford such an expensive car! They couldn¡¯t understand why Le was so lucky. After seeing Lucas start the car and leave, Samuel stared at the back of the Land Rover gloomily and said resentfully, ¡°Hah, that car might not necessarily belong to that punk. Maybe he borrowed it so that he could pretend to be rich. He¡¯s dressed so shabbily. He doesn¡¯t look rich!¡± Hayden agreed. ¡°That¡¯s right! That punk probably borrowed the car. He was just showboating in front of us. Hmph, as if he really owns it!¡± Samuel¡¯s eyes had a trace of coldness in his eyes. ¡°But he won¡¯t be proud for long. Mr. Dunne has taken a liking to Le, and he has long regarded her as his woman. He won¡¯t let that punk off when he sees him!¡± ¡°Will¡­ will things be blown out of proportion?¡± Alyssa asked uneasily. If Mr. Dunne really lost his temper and harmed Lucas or even killed him, they might be implicated. Samuel sneered. ¡°Rest assured. There won¡¯t be any problems. Mr. Dunne is from one of the top eight families in DC. His family is so powerful that even if he kills someone, his family will take care of it and suppress the matter. We won¡¯t be implicated!¡± After hearing this, Alyssa felt at ease. As long as they weren¡¯t implicated, it had nothing to do with them even if Mr. Dunne killed Lucas. Lucas only had himself to me for getting together with the woman Mr. Dunne liked. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get going too!¡± The two couples got into their respective cars and headed to the restaurant. ¡­ Sitting in the Land Rover, Le immediately dropped her pretense after getting away from her roommates andughed happily. ¡°Hahaha, my stomach hurts fromughing! Those fools were showing off in front of you just now, but after they found out that this car was yours, their expressions were priceless! ¡°Help, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen such funny expressions! Why are Alyssa and Bethany dating those guys? Oh my god! Hahaha!¡± Leughed so hard that she was out of breath. If not for the seat belt around her waist, she would have probably fallen out of her seat. Lucas gave her a helpless look. ¡°You acted so innocent in front of them. If your roommates know that you¡¯re a sly little witch who pretends to be naive, they¡¯ll be shocked.¡± Le pursed her lips. ¡°Hey, sometimes you just have to pretend to be ignorant. Otherwise, with my intelligence, I probably wouldn¡¯t even have a single friend. Besides, their boyfriends are really horrid. They even used to peep at me when we were out together. They¡¯re nothing but lecherous snobs. They¡¯re the scum of society. Who knows what Alyssa and Bethany are thinking.¡± Lucas smiled withoutmenting. Le¡¯s roommates had gotten together with such men and were even proud about it naturally because they were the same type of people. Birds of a feather flocked together after all. Chapter 1143 - 1143 Different Interpretation 1143 Different Interpretation Afterughing, Le said to Lucas seriously, ¡°Be careful of that Mr. Dunne they mentioned! His name is Roger Dunne, and hees from a very powerful family. There are many who say that if there are any changes to the eight top families, the Dunnes are likely to be one of them. You should understand how powerful they are, right?¡± Lucas raised his brows in surprise, ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that the Dunnes are already one of the eight top families? They¡¯re not?¡± Le rolled her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s because they want to tter Roger. The Dunnes aren¡¯t actually one of the eight top families. ¡°You¡¯re the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, but you don¡¯t even know who the eight top families are? C¡¯mon. Okay, I¡¯ll list them for you. The Howards, the Smiths, the Huttons, the Piers, the Williams, the Steeles, and the Waltons are the eight top families in DC!¡± Lucas smiled without saying anything. In fact, he really didn¡¯t pay attention to which families were the eight top families of DC because, no matter who they were, it didn¡¯t make much of a difference to Lucas. But so far, except for the Waltons, all of the other seven families had more or less crossed paths with Lucas. Lucas didn¡¯t intend to tell Le about such things. But after hearing what Le said, Lucas asked with some puzzlement, ¡°Actually, you asked me to pose as your boyfriend for a day today to use me as a shield, right? Roger Dunne probably harbors designs on you.¡± Le said unnaturally, ¡°Yes, Roger is really annoying. I don¡¯t know him at all, but hees to bother me every day. He even encouraged people in the dormitory to persuade me to ept him. It¡¯s so annoying. ¡°I happened to bump into you today, and you¡¯re a decent catch, so I decided to ask you to be my shield! ¡°But this is the request I won with my own abilities. You¡¯re not scared and want to run away, are you?¡± Le looked at Lucas and became nervous. She was worried that he might be too frightened by the Dunnes to go to the party after learning how powerful they were. After all, if Lucas went to the party as Le¡¯s boyfriend, Roger would definitely be hostile to him and maybe even do something to him. Le was worried that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the pressure and leave after hearing about Roger¡¯s background. Looking at Le¡¯s nervous expression, Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°Since I¡¯ve promised you, I naturally won¡¯t back out halfway. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Only then did Le feel a little more at ease. She said to Lucas, ¡°But if Roger targets youter, please just bear with it and avoid getting into a conflict with him. I think he¡¯ll give up on his own after today. Thanks!¡± Lucas nodded. In fact, he didn¡¯t take a scion of a wealthy family seriously at all, let alone have any scruples about him. About half an hourter, Lucas arrived at the parking lot of the restaurant with Le. It was a famous restaurant in DC that was a hot spot for gatherings. Just after getting out of the car, Lucas and Le heard a crisp voiceing from behind, ¡°Hey, Le, you¡¯re finally here!¡± The two turned their heads and saw a girl d in a long camel-colored trench coat standing at the entrance of the restaurant and waving at them. ¡°That¡¯s my roommate, Everleigh Cohen,¡± Le whispered to Lucas while holding his arm and walking toward Everleigh. ¡°You¡¯re so early, Everleigh!¡± When she reached Everleigh, Le introduced to her, ¡°This is my boyfriend, Lucas Gray.¡± Everleigh didn¡¯t show any loathing when she heard that Lucas was Le¡¯s boyfriend, unlike Alyssa and Bethany. Instead, she smiled and took the initiative to shake his hand enthusiastically. ¡°Hello. It¡¯s nice to meet you! It turns out Le has been hiding such a handsome boyfriend from us.¡± Then sheined to Le jokingly, ¡°That¡¯s so mean of you, Le! I can¡¯t believe we didn¡¯t know you had a boyfriend until now. So much for being roommates for years!¡± Le pursed her lips and smiled. ¡°I only managed to win his heart recently. Wouldn¡¯t it be embarrassing if I told you guys about it before I got him and things didn¡¯t work out?¡± Le covertly nced at Lucas, signaling him not to let the cat out of the bagter. Everleigh raised her eyebrows and said with some surprise, ¡°You courted him first? I didn¡¯t believe it when Alyssa and Bethany told me just now! I didn¡¯t expect that you, the youngest in our dorm room and who has never been in a rtionship, would take the initiative to chase a man.¡± Le raised her head andughed. ¡°Who says women can¡¯t chase men? It¡¯s different when ites to people you like!¡± Le looked around and asked doubtfully, ¡°Everleigh, why are you alone here? Where¡¯s your boyfriend?¡± Without the slightest change in her smile, Everleigh said smoothly, ¡°We¡¯ve already broken up. That man is no longer my boyfriend.¡± Taken aback, Le asked with surprise. ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Everleigh shook her head, seemingly not wanting to bring up this matter again. Le realized that it was indeed inappropriate to ask her about her breakup at this time, so she hurriedly changed the subject. She thought that Everleigh and her boyfriend broke up because of some unspeakable reason, but she didn¡¯t expect that it was because of her. Just half an hour ago, Alyssa had called Everleigh while on the way here and told her that Le had found herself a penniless-looking boyfriend and even criticized him endlessly. She had also said that Roger might fly into a rage and teach Le¡¯s boyfriend a lesson after learning about it. Everleigh interpreted it differently. After hearing what Alyssa said, Everleigh suddenly developed an idea. Chapter 1144 - 1144 Scion of The Dunnes 1144 Scion of The Dunnes There were four girls in Le¡¯s doom room, and Le was the prettiest among them. She also came from a well-off family of schrs, as all her elders were professors at Georgetown University. She was just like a princess. Among the remaining three, Everleigh was second to Le in beauty. But Everleigh¡¯s family background was far inferior to Le¡¯s. She was just a small-town girl. Her ex-boyfriend was from the same faculty as her. She had been touched by his caring considerations for her and the little gifts he gave her all the time, so she eventually got together with him. But Alyssa and Bethany, who weren¡¯t as pretty as Le and Everleigh, found boyfriends who were much better than Everleigh¡¯s. They both owned luxury cars worth tens of thousands of dors, and they often gave Alyssa and Bethany expensive gifts such as clothes, bags, mobile phones, and so on. Everleigh eventually felt ufortable. When Alyssa called and told her that Le¡¯s boyfriend drove a car worth over two million dors, though it was unclear whether he was the owner or not, Everleigh felt incredibly frustrated and jealous. She found it unfair that even though she was much prettier than Alyssa and Bethany, she only had an ordinary and poor boyfriend, whereas they had rich boyfriends. Now, even Le¡¯s boyfriend drove a luxury car worth over two million dors. Even though the car might not belong to Le¡¯s boyfriend, he was definitely quite capable since he could borrow such a valuable car. Thus, Everleigh felt terrible. In particr, when Everleigh saw her poor boyfriend riding a bicycle and offering to give her a ride to the restaurant, she couldn¡¯t help losing her temper. Her roommates¡¯ boyfriends owned cars worth tens of thousands of dors, and one of them even drove one worth more than two million dors. Yet she could only ride pillion on a bicycle worth less than a hundred dors. She couldn¡¯t tolerate the drastic difference! So she had scolded her poor boyfriend and broke up with him on the spot. Moreover, there was another reason she broke up with her boyfriend¡ªRoger had specially arranged tonight¡¯s dinner because he wanted to pursue Le. If Roger found out that Le already had a boyfriend, he would definitely lose his temper. At that time, she might have a chance with him since she was now single. Roger was a genuine scion from a wealthy family with assets worth billions of dors. If he took a fancy to her, she would find herself a rich husband and enjoy a life of endless wealth and glory thereafter! Thus, Everleigh would never treat Lucas hostilely. In her opinion, his appearance was a great blessing! Since Le, Alyssa, and Bethany would alle with boyfriends tonight, she and Roger would be the only ones still single at tonight¡¯s dinner party. It would be much easier for her to execute her n then! Everleigh got a little carried away while thinking about her n, and she was somewhat absent-minded when talking to Le. At this moment, Alyssa and Bethany arrived in their boyfriends¡¯ cars. After they gathered outside the restaurant, Samiel urged, ¡°Mr. Dunne is already waiting for us inside. Let¡¯s hurry in!¡± After walking into the private room Roger booked, they saw a young man in his thirties waiting impatiently for them. His eyes instantly lit up when he saw Le. This young man was naturally Roger, the protagonist of the dinner party tonight. Roger was undeniably good-looking. He didn¡¯t have a beer belly or a balding head, probably because he was still young. But he had dark circles under his eyes, a clear sign of excessive indulgence in alcohol and lust. From his appearance, he looked just like a phndering scion. ¡°Mr. Dunne, we¡¯re sorry for keeping you waiting!¡± Samuel was the first to apologize with a ttering smile on his face. Roger ignored him and instead stared straight at Leing in from behind and said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s okay. As long as Lees, I don¡¯t mind waiting another hour!¡± He only had eyes for Le, so he didn¡¯t notice Lucas next to her at all. Instantly, the others felt a little awkward and unsure of what to say. They all knew what intentions Roger had for Le. Even the dinner party tonight was meant for her. If he found out that she came with her boyfriend, he would definitely lose his temper! They were at a loss for words, and the atmosphere suddenly became cold and awkward. At this moment, Le held Lucas¡¯s arm and said graciously, ¡°Mr. Dunne, let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Lucas Gray.¡± Tension arose in the blink of an eye. Roger¡¯s face darkened as he red daggers at Le¡¯s arm holding Lucas¡¯s. He seemed to be on the verge of losing his temper. But he didn¡¯t have a valid reason to be angry, so he was even more infuriated. Seeing things about to go awry, Alyssa and Bethany were both frightened. They hurriedly lowered their heads without daring to even breathe, for fear that Roger would vent his anger on them. But at this moment, Everleigh took the initiative to go forward and pour two sses of wine. She put one in front of Roger and said with her most charming smile, ¡°Mr. Dunne, since we¡¯rete, I¡¯ll punish myself with a drink!¡± With that, Everleigh picked up the ss of wine in front of her and downed it in one go. Roger didn¡¯t care about her actions, and he just felt annoyed that she was standing in front of him and blocking his view. But since Le was present, he had to act gentlemanly. After Everleigh finished the drink, Roger said through clenched teeth, ¡°So, Le already has a boyfriend. Howe I¡¯ve never heard about this before?¡± Despite noticing the unnatural expressions on Alyssa¡¯s and Samuel¡¯s faces, Roger didn¡¯t bother asking them. Instead, he looked directly at Lucas and deliberately asked, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the name of Le¡¯s boyfriend? I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t remember it.¡± He obviously said this intentionally. Lucas smiled without losing his temper. ¡°My name is Lucas Gray.¡± ¡°Oh! Lucas Gray. I see,¡± Roger said in an exaggerated tone. Then he asked, ¡°Lucas, you should already be working, right? Where do you work?¡± Roger¡¯s eyes were full of disdain. Especially after seeing Lucas¡¯s extremely simple clothes, hebeled Lucas as a penniless man. In Roger¡¯s opinion, Lucas was a loser who wasn¡¯t even fit to carry his shoes. Yet Lucas had snatched the woman he had set his sights on! Chapter 1145 - 1145 A Glass of Juice 1145 A ss of Juice Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t bother with people like Roger, so he merely said indifferently, ¡°I run a small business.¡± He had numerouspanies of various sizes under his name, so it wasn¡¯t wrong of him to say that he ran a small business. But Roger really thought that Lucas was just a small business owner. Samuel rolled his eyes. ¡°Mr. Dunne, his business probably isn¡¯t small. He drives a modified Range Rover that costs around two million dors!¡± Roger showed some surprise and looked at Lucas again. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell that you¡¯re so low-key, Lucas. You¡¯re dressed so ordinary, but you can afford to drive a two-million-dor car. Aren¡¯t you being too humble by calling it a small business?¡± ¡°But running a business in DC isn¡¯t simple, and there are many big shots who can¡¯t be provoked everywhere. In case you offend someone one day, your business might be wiped out overnight, and you could lose millions or even billions overnight. Don¡¯t you agree, Lucas?¡± Roger spoke with ambiguity while staring at Lucas. Clearly, he was threatening Lucas. Hayden quickly chimed in, ¡°Yeah, DC is full of powerful and talented people. There was someone who came here to develop before, but he offended Mr. Dunne because of his ignorance. Later on, he suffered terribly and scrambled out of DC heavily in debt!¡± Hayden almost said directly that those who offended Roger would end up terribly and lose all their assets, regardless of how much they had. Enjoying Hayden¡¯s ttery, Roger was in a good mood and guffawed out loud. ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve suddenly remembered it now that you¡¯ve mentioned it. There was indeed an ignorant dimwit who provoked one of my buddies and snatched his woman just because he was somewhat rich. At that time, I just said a few words and immediately made that idiot¡¯s family go bankrupt and fall into debt. They had no choice but to leave DC in tears.¡± While speaking, Roger smiled smugly at Lucas without hiding his provocation. Everleigh seized the opportunity of Roger¡¯s good mood, quickly raised the wine ss in her hand, inched closer to him, and said coquettishly, ¡°You¡¯re really impressive, Mr. Dunne. A few words from you destroyed a whole family. How amazing! ¡°Mr. Dunne, will you allow me the honor to toast to you?¡± Everleigh was pretty in the first ce, and now that she was trying her best to suck up to Roger, it naturally worked. Roger often indulged in alcohol and lust. Seeing a beautiful girl like Everleigh throwing herself at him, smelling her pleasant fragrance, and hearing her coquettish voice, he felt extremely pleased. He raised the wine ss in front of him, clinked it with Everleigh¡¯s, andughed out loud. ¡°Indeed, you have a very glib tongue. You really know the right things to say. Haha!¡± Receiving apliment from Roger and clinking sses with him, Everleigh was extremely excited, and she said coquettishly, ¡°Mr. Dunne, I¡­ I was just telling the truth. I don¡¯t have a glib tongue!¡± Seeing Roger praise Everleigh, Samuel hurriedly joined in and brought his girlfriend, Alyssa, over to toast Roger. ¡°Mr. Dunne, here¡¯s a toast from us!¡± Seeing this, Hayden couldn¡¯t fall behind and quickly toasted Roger together with Bethany. ¡°Mr. Dunne, we also offer you a toast!¡± After they toasted Roger and showered him with endlesspliments, he burst intoughter and drank several sses of wine in one go. Lucas and Le were the only ones who didn¡¯t toast Roger and remained sitting in their seats. Samuel looked at the two of them and deliberately mocked, ¡°Ah, why do some peopleck self-awareness? Mr. Dunne is treating us to dinner today, and since someone is here for a free meal, he shouldn¡¯t be so ignorant that he doesn¡¯t even know to toast the host out of basic courtesy, right?¡± Hayden sneered. ¡°He drove a two-million-dor car here. Of course, he¡¯s different from us, but he¡¯d better not think that he can take Mr. Dunne lightly just because he has an expensive car. Mr. Dunne has numerous million-dor cars at home!¡± Alyssa and Bethany nced at Lucas and rolled their eyes in disdain. ¡°Maybe someone thinks they are a big shot on the same level as Mr. Dunne just because he drives an expensive car! Haha, it¡¯s hrious!¡± They not only mocked Lucas, they even involved Le. After all, they were the only two who hadn¡¯t toasted Roger. Everleigh came over to Le and whispered in concern, ¡°Le, don¡¯t just sit here. Hurry up and bring your boyfriend over to toast Mr. Dunne! Why don¡¯t you two have the basic awareness to do this? Quickly, don¡¯t anger Mr. Dunne.¡± Roger didn¡¯t say anything at all, but these people were already helping him chide the two ignorant people who didn¡¯t toast him. He leaned back against his seat and smiled. I¡¯ll just stay sitting here. That punk Lucas will have to toast me eventually. These were the rights that those superior enjoyed. After hearing theirments, Le couldn¡¯t help being hesitant. She really didn¡¯t want to toast Roger or even speak a single word with him. She had agreed to attend today¡¯s dinner party with the sole purpose of showing him her ¡®boyfriend¡¯ so that he would give up the idea of pursuing her and stop pestering her. But now, everyone was targeting Lucas. Lucas didn¡¯t know the rest present, so there was no reason for him to toast. In case Roger really med Lucas for this, he might take revenge on Lucas and destroy hispany. Le remembered clearly what Hayden and Samuel had just deliberately said, and she was really afraid that Lucas would end up bankrupt because of her. When Le was hesitating about whether to put down her pride and toast Roger, Lucas smiled and poured some fruit juice into his ss. Samuel immediately pointed at Lucas¡¯s ss and used sternly, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t you understand basic courtesy? How dare you think of toasting Mr. Dunne with juice instead of wine? Do you call yourself a man?!¡± Hayden sneered. ¡°Hah, I¡¯ve really gotten an eye-opener. Mr. Dunne is drinking wine, and we all toasted him with wine, yet you poured a ss of fruit juice. Do you really think you¡¯re some big shot?¡± Alyssa, Bethany, and the others even rolled their eyes at Lucas. They didn¡¯t mock Lucas directly but instead said to Le, ¡°Le, look at the boyfriend you found. He¡¯s putting on airs. He isn¡¯t even toasting Mr. Dunne with wine but poured a ss of juice! How could he offend Mr. Dunne like that?! You¡¯ll suffer by dating him!¡± But at this moment, Lucas raised the ss of juice and took a light sip. The other people in the room were stunned. Lucas didn¡¯t toast with the juice but drank it on his own. He ignored all of them! Chapter 1146 - 1146 Each Having Their Own Thoughts 1146 Each Having Their Own Thoughts ¡°Wh-what are you doing? You actually drank it by yourself?¡± Samuel blurted out, dumbfounded. Lucas nced at him and said lightly, ¡°Why can¡¯t I? None of you here are qualified to make me toast you!¡± He sounded quite arrogant, and as soon as he spoke, everyone was dumbfounded, almost suspecting that they had heard wrongly. Roger¡¯s face immediately became gloomy. He was a scion of the Dunnes, whose wealth and status were countless times better than Lucas¡¯. Yet Lucas actually said he wasn¡¯t qualified to receive a toast from him. Who does he think he is? After the shock, Samuel, Alyssa, Bethany, Hayden, and Everleigh immediately smirked mockingly. He was so ignorant and brazen that he actually challenged Roger openly. They were certain that Roger wouldn¡¯t let him off. In their opinion, this was great because as long as Roger vented all his anger on Lucas, he wouldn¡¯t hold them responsible for the failure of his n today. Moreover, they were upset that Lucas drove a two-million-dor car and thought that he had shown off. So they would be overjoyed to see him suffer. Offending Roger had serious consequences! Le was very worried at first, but her observation skills were excellent, so she knew from Lucas¡¯s expression that he wasn¡¯t worried at all. Instead, he looked confident and firm. Lucas wasn¡¯t a reckless fool but the chairman of the Stardust Corporation. He was naturally courageous and smart enough not to do anything that would shoot himself in the foot. Thus, Le confirmed that Lucas must have a powerful background to rely on. This was why he dared to talk to Roger without giving him any respect at all. Although Le didn¡¯t know much about Lucas, when her grandmother, Gemma, epted the offer to design Stardust City, she had investigated the Stardust Corporation and its chairman, Lucas. As a native of DC, Le was not unfamiliar with the Stardust Corporation. She knew that for the past two decades or so, the Stardust Corporation had been the property of the Huttons, one of the eight most powerful families in the city. And just half a year ago, the Huttons had suddenly acquired all the shares of the Stardust Corporation at a high price, and the chairman changed from Jace to Lucas. In addition, Le also found out that when the Stardust Corporation was first established more than 20 years ago, the name of the founder was Emma Gary. Later, she got together with Michael Hutton, and the Stardust Corporation became the Huttons¡¯ property. A few yearster, Emma and her son were expelled from the Huttons and forced to leave DC forever. There had been no news about them since then. Now, the current chairman of the Stardust Corporation, Lucas, had thest name Gray. Thus, based on this information and his age, Le came to a conclusion after making some conjectures. Lucas should be the child who was expelled by the Huttons together with Emma. In other words, he was probably Michael¡¯s illegitimate son, and the Huttons had returned the Stardust Corporation to him aspensation. Le also deduced that Lucas was likely backed by the Huttons, so of course he wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Dunnes. Therefore, when Le wanted to find someone to act as her shield for tonight¡¯s gathering, the first person she thought of was Lucas. Reason being, she felt that he was probably capable of standing up to Roger. If she randomly found someone to pose as her boyfriend, this person probably wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the Dunnes¡¯ revenge. Although Le wasn¡¯t correct about everything, it was undeniably remarkable that she could deduce so much based on some subtle traces and clues. Seeing the worry on Le¡¯s face fade, Lucas knew that she had probably guessed something and couldn¡¯t help sighing in his head, thinking to himself that she was indeed a woman with high intelligence. Meanwhile, Roger was gloomy for a long time. But when everyone thought he was going to lose his temper, he suddenly pursed his lips and pretended to be rxed as he said with a smile, ¡°It seems that Lucas is also a scion of a wealthy family. Which family are you from?¡± Lucas smiled lightly. ¡°Mr. Dunne, I¡¯m not a scion of any wealthy family, so you don¡¯t have to bother asking.¡± After hearing Lucas¡¯s indifferent answer, Roger still didn¡¯t lose his temper. Instead, he raised the ss of wine and said to the crowd in the room, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s drink! What¡¯s the point of just sitting here?¡± Seeing that Roger didn¡¯t bombard Lucas again, Samuel, Hayden, Alyssa, Bethany, and Everleigh couldn¡¯t help seeming slightly disappointed. But Roger actually took the initiative to drink with them, so everything felt ttered. They quickly grabbed their sses and showered him withpliments. The atmosphere became lively. Everleigh was sitting beside Roger. Whenever she had an opportunity, she would smile at him coquettishly, toast him, and even help him to food from time to time, doing her best to please him. Everyone in the room could tell what Everleight was thinking. She was making it too obvious. Even the blind could tell that she liked Roger. Alyssa and Bethany nced at each other, judging her and rolling their eyes at her. Everleigh probably dumped her extremely mediocre boyfriend out of the blue today because she nned to hook up with Roger tonight. But then again, Roger was wealthy and even young and handsome, making him the perfect husband to many girls. Who wouldn¡¯t want to marry a rich man and live a carefree life of luxury for the rest of their life? However, Alyssa and Bethany were self-aware enough to know that they weren¡¯t as beautiful as Everleigh, so it was absolutely impossible for Roger to take a liking to them. Besides, they were already attached, and their boyfriends were present too, so they naturally couldn¡¯t try to please Roger too much. As an experienced phnderer, Roger had long seen through Everleigh¡¯s thoughts about him. Since there was such a pretty girl throwing herself at him, there would be no harm in toying with her for a few days. Thinking of this, Roger stopped being as indifferent to her as he was earlier and became more enthusiastic toward her. With each of them having their own thoughts, the meal suddenly seemed harmonious and lively for a while. Chapter 1147 - 1147 Fighting 1147 Fighting After another toast, Hayden suddenly asked, ¡°Mr. Dunne, I heard that the Dunnes will soon be one of the eight top families of DC. Are you going to rece one of the existing ones or be the ninth?¡± Roger smiled smugly. ¡°Nothing is confirmed yet. Don¡¯t spout nonsense about this. If anyone from the eight top families hears it, it might cause trouble.¡± Although he said so, the happy expression on his face was extremely obvious. Samuel hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s only a matter of time! We¡¯ve all heard about the Dunnes developing well and getting stronger and stronger. You¡¯re not inferior to the eight top families of DC at all. You will be a new force among them in no time! ¡°When the timees, the Dunnes will rightfully be one of the eight top families of DC! Here¡¯s a toast to congratte you in advance, Mr. Dunne!¡± Samuel raised his ss and downed his drink in one go. What he said made Roger feel extremely pleased. Unwilling tog behind, the rest hurriedly spoke. ¡°The Dunnes are really impressive! Mr. Dunne, once your family officially bes one of the eight top families of DC, you will be the future helmsman of a top family. Everyone in DC knows how powerful that is!¡± ¡°Haha, Mr. Dunne, you¡¯re an extraordinary person, and you will definitely be the strongest helmsman in DC in the future. Let us congratte you in advance!¡± ¡°Mr. Dunne, don¡¯t forget us when you be a mighty helmsman in the future!¡± The few of them continued ttering Roger repeatedly, and the atmosphere was extremely lively. Relishing in this feeling, Rogerughed out loud. But when he saw Lucas, who was sitting opposite him, and Le beside Lucas, a trace of insuppressible anger surged in his eyes. Samuel, Alyssa, and the rest were staring closely at Roger¡¯s face, so they naturally noticed the hatred in his eyes toward Lucas. Alyssa and Bethany looked at each other and suddenly put down their drinks. They walked over to Le and pulled her up. ¡°Le, we¡¯ve drunk a bit too much. Let¡¯s go to the restroom!¡± Everleigh also put down her drink and said smilingly, ¡°Let¡¯s go together! We¡¯re roommates going together. It¡¯s so childish but so interesting. Hehe!¡± The three of them tried to pull Le to the restroom. Even if she was a fool, she would definitely be able to guess the reason. After they left, only Roger, Samuel, Hayden, and Lucas would be left in the room. It seemed that they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to teach Lucas a good lesson. Le subconsciously felt worried because she knew that Alyssa¡¯s boyfriend, Samuel, had learned Taekwondo for two years. If they got into a fight, Lucas might be at a disadvantage. But when she saw his calm face, she smiled quietly. Lucas actually had a powerful status and background. With the support of the Huttons, how could he be bullied by these people? Thinking of this, Le stopped worrying and left the room with her roommates. After they left, Lucas faced the res of the other three people in the private room. Roger¡¯s face became gloomy almost immediately, and he glowered at Lucas hostilely, dropping all his earlier pretense. Samuel and Hayden were also staring at Lucas with dark expressions. They walked over to Lucas and trapped him between them, seemingly wanting to prevent him from escaping. Roger said arrogantly, ¡°Punk, leave Le immediately. I can spare you once and even get the Dunnes to help your business. How about that?¡± Hearing this, Lucas slowly put down his cutlery and even wiped his mouth with a napkin before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t need the Dunnes to help my business. And you don¡¯t have the right to say that you can spare me either. ¡°Besides, must the woman you like be yours? That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± Samuel immediately hollered angrily, ¡°How dare you speak to Mr. Dunne like that?! He was kind enough to give you a chance, but you didn¡¯t treasure it and even made rude remarks. You must be tired of living.¡± Hayden rebuked Lucas in exasperation, ¡°You¡¯re asking for it! Mr. Dunne will naturally get the woman he wants. Who are you to vie with him? You should consider whether you¡¯re worthy of doing it or not! ¡°Since Mr. Dunne has taken a fancy to Le, you should get lost immediately. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t even know how you¡¯ll end up dying! ¡°We don¡¯t need Mr. Dunne to lower his status and deal with you. We¡¯ll teach you a lesson on his behalf!¡± While speaking, Hayden rolled up his sleeves to reveal the bulging muscles on his arms. Before Roger could say anything, Samuel and Hayden shouted furiously at Lucas with obvious threat in their tone. Lucas sneered. ¡°Why do you guys like being someone else¡¯s dog? ¡°Your master hasn¡¯t even said anything yet, but you¡¯re already eager to help him bite someone. Hah, I wonder if your dear Mr. Dunne will reward you with some bones!¡± Lucas sneered with contempt. Lucas was already annoyed with these two people in front of them. From the moment they first met, they had been criticizing him and finding fault with him. Now, they even wanted to help Roger deal with him. If not for Le¡¯s sake, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have bothered to pay attention to them, let alone dine at the same table with them. Lucas¡¯s contemptuous remark was like two loud ps striking Samuel and Hayden hard on their faces. Although they were indeed trying their best to curry favor with Roger and willingly wanted to be hispdogs, Lucas stating it so bluntly made their face burn with embarrassment, which soon turned into anger. ¡°Punk, what the f*ck are you talking about? Do you believe I¡¯ll beat you to death?!¡± Hayden roared, grabbed a bottle of wine on the table, and smashed it at Lucas¡¯s head. If the wine bottle hit his head, it would definitely cause his head to split open and bleed profusely! ¡°You have a death wish!¡± Lucas snorted coldly. Before Hayden¡¯s arm reached him, he raised his leg and kicked Hayden, making him fall backward onto the floor. Whoosh! Hayden fell to the floor, and the bottle of wine in his hand hit the wall behind him and shattered into pieces. The strong smell of alcohol permeated throughout the room. Chapter 1148 - 1148 Saving Someone 1148 Saving Someone ¡°Damn it. How dare you kick him?¡± Samuel hollered furiously after seeing Hayden attacked. He moved to knee Lucas in the abdomen with the confidence he would make him keel over due to his two years of learning Taekwondo. Samuel¡¯s Taekwondo skills were mediocre moves that he had learned in his university¡¯s club and utterly insignificant in the eyes of true martial artists, let alone Lucas. Seeing Samuel¡¯s weak and sloppy technique, Lucas didn¡¯t bully him. He just raised his leg and kicked his abdomen like he had done earlier, immediately knocking Samuel over and making him scream loudly. In merely ten seconds, both Hayden and Samuel had fallen to the floor, while Lucas was still standing calmly in the center of the room. Even the expression on his face remained unchanged. When Roger saw this scene, his eyes widened in surprise. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas to have the guts to hit people in front of him! Although Hayden and Samuel were not his underlings, they were indeed trying to please him and teach Lucas a lesson on his behalf. But Lucas beat them up in front of him, which was akin to insulting him. ¡°Punk, you have a lot of guts! How dare you offend the Dunnes in DC? You must have a death wish!¡± Roger sneered in a threatening tone. Lucas smiled. ¡°You can try.¡± Frankly, the Dunnes were not even among the eight top families of DC, so it was just a matter of a few words for Lucas to wipe them out. Lucas didn¡¯t really take Roger¡¯s threat seriously. Besides, since both sides had already fallen out, Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to pretend to be polite with them anymore. The only thing he was worried about now was that he might slip up and kill these three weaklings in front of him. Seeing Lucas standing there indifferently, Roger suddenly felt an unprecedented nervousness and fear for some reason. This person was clearly only a young man two years younger than him, yet he felt an aura that was much stronger than his father¡¯s. In front of Lucas, it was as if he had be a junior, and hecked any confidence. In fact, he felt that he had be so small that he was insecure. This feeling made Roger pinch the palm of his hand. While staring at Lucas, he finally suppressed his fear. Suddenly, the door of the private room was pushed open from the outside, and Alyssa and Bethany dashed in, their faces ashen. With fear all over their faces, they eximed nervously, ¡°Bad news! Everleigh is in trouble!¡± Roger immediately frowned and bellowed furiously, ¡°What happened?!¡± Le also rushed back to the room at this time and said anxiously, ¡°Everleigh just got dragged into another room!¡± Roger flew into a rage. ¡°Who has the audacity to drag my friend away?¡± Although he and Everleigh had met for the first time tonight, she was obviously trying to hook up with him. In his eyes, he already regarded Everleigh as his woman. But now that she was dragged away, it was akin to cuckolding him. Moreover, Le, whom Roger had his eyes on, was standing right in front of him. If he couldn¡¯t settle this matter and assert dominance, her impression of him would worsen. In that case, it would be even harder for him to win her heart. Roger snorted coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will definitely rescue Everleigh. The boss of this restaurant is my friend. As long as I say the word, no one is allowed to leave here!¡± Then Roger nced ambiguously at Lucas, his meaning obvious. ¡°These three girls are no match for them. Let¡¯s go bring Everleigh back!¡± Roger took the lead in walking out of the private room. Hayden and Samuel, whom Lucas had kicked to the floor, had already gotten up. After hearing what Roger said, they didn¡¯t care that their stomachs were still hurting from Lucas¡¯s kick and quickly followed Roger. Since Roger had already spoken and even taken the lead to save Everleigh, they naturally had to follow him closely. If they performed well tonight, Roger might value them. Even if they couldn¡¯t be his followers, their life trajectories would change greatly as long as Roger gave them a little boost. The three of them went toward the door of the private room, but Lucas pulled out his chair and sat down again without the slightest intention of going with them to save Everleigh. ¡°Lucas Gray, are you even a man?! We¡¯re going to save Everleigh, but you¡¯re sitting here. Don¡¯t you n to go with us?¡± Roger questioned in displeasure when he saw Lucas¡¯s behavior. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Mr. Dunne, you¡¯ll definitely be able to bring her back. Does it matter if a small fry like me goes or not?¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t a saint in the first ce, and the reason he appeared here today was purely because he had lost a bet and agreed to Le¡¯s request. Besides, Lucas had nothing to do with Le¡¯s roommates and friends. As long as Le wasn¡¯t involved, he didn¡¯t care at all. If Everleigh was nice, Lucas might be willing to help her on Le¡¯s ount. But Everleigh was a scheming woman who had just sucked up to Roger. Her behavior had been simply unsightly. Lucas didn¡¯t have a good impression of her and naturally couldn¡¯t be bothered to save her. ¡°Hah, we¡¯ve dined in the same room after all. Now that a girl is in trouble, you refuse to even step forward. How shameful!¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re obviously too scared to save her. You¡¯re worthless!¡± ¡°Le, I¡¯m not being caustic, but look at the way he¡¯s behaving. He¡¯s a coward! To put it bluntly, if something happens to you in the future, he won¡¯t even dare to stand up for you. You¡¯re better off without such a useless boyfriend!¡± ¡­ After Lucas explicitly refused to go save Everleigh with them, Alyssa, Samuel, and the others instantly began mocking Lucas, seemingly having finally found a reason to criticize him. Le pursed her lips without saying anything. Chapter 1149 - 1149 Rejection 1149 Rejection Le really wanted to join the rest in saving Everleigh since Everleigh was their roommate, with whom they had lived in the same dorm room for four years. But Lucas had nothing to do with Everleigh. To put it bluntly, Lucas didn¡¯t even have any ties with Le. They only happened to be acquainted and had a brief conversation before she tricked him into acting as her shield. Thus, Le couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask him to go with her to save Everleigh. Alyssa glowered at Lucas and said, ¡°Forget it. Leave him alone! Since he chooses to sit here like a coward, let¡¯s just take it that he doesn¡¯t exist! Everleigh is still in the hands of those people. Let¡¯s quickly go save her!¡± Considering how urgent the situation was, the rest stopped bothering with Lucas and rushed over to save Everleigh. As Everleigh¡¯s roommate, Le naturally went with them. All of a sudden, Lucas was the only one left in the room. He remained sitting and ate calmly, as if nothing had happened. Soon, the door of the private room was pushed open again. Roger and the rest returned after sessfully rescuing Everleigh But Everleigh looked terribly frightened, and she stuck close to Roger while holding his sleeve meekly like a dainty little girl. Her eyes were full of tears, and her hair was a little messy. She looked extremely pitiful. ¡°Mr. Dunne, thank you so much for saving me! I almost¡­ almost thought I was about to be bullied by them. Thankfully you came to my rescue and saved me! I¡­ I really don¡¯t know how to thank you!¡± Everleigh said with tears in her eyes. The gratitude and admiration on her face were obvious. She was practically like a damsel in distress gazing gratefully at the hero who saved her. Next, she would probably give herself to him to repay him for the life-saving grace. Roger was about to embrace the frightened Everleigh when he suddenly saw Le standing nearby from the corner of his eye. He immediately remembered that Le was the woman he wanted the most at the moment, so he couldn¡¯t show his true colors in front of her, lest she mistook him for a yboy. ¡°Ahem!¡± Roger coughed twice before saying to Everleigh, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s what I should do. You¡¯re Le¡¯s roommate! Since you were forcibly dragged away, of course I had to go save you.¡± As soon as Everleigh heard this, her body stiffened, and she almost burst into tears. She originally thought that Roger had rushed over to save her because he liked her. But she never thought that Roger was still thinking about Le all this while. Didn¡¯t he just mean that he had saved her because she was Le¡¯s roommate? This simply made Everleigh green with envy and jealousy. She dug her nails into the flesh of her palm to control her jealousy and hatred toward Le. Alyssa said, ¡°Le, look at Mr. Dunne. He¡¯s such a great, loyal, and righteous man. Only men like him are the most reliable! Look at the loser boyfriend you found. As soon as something happened, he chickened out. He was too scared to even show his face. Are you sure you want a man like him? ¡°I think you should break up with him before it¡¯s toote! Look at how wonderful Mr. Dunne is!¡± Bethany hurriedly said, ¡°Exactly! Hees from a good family, is handsome, and has good character. The Dunnes will soon be one of the eight most powerful families in DC, and he is the Dunnes¡¯ future helmsman. Whoever is lucky enough to marry him will be the subject of everyone¡¯s envy! ¡°Le, don¡¯t be silly. It¡¯s rare that Mr. Dunne is sincere about you. You should get rid of that loser and get together with Mr. Dunne!¡± Everyone persuaded Le, and even Everleigh smiled pretentiously and advised Le to agree to Roger¡¯s courtship. With a gentlemanly expression, Roger said softly to Le, ¡°Le, you know that I like you, and I¡¯ve already confessed to you twice at the entrance of your dormitory. Unfortunately, you didn¡¯t show up either time. ¡°Now, I¡¯d like to take the opportunity to tell you again in person that I really like you, and I¡¯d like to date you. Please be my girlfriend!¡± ¡°Say yes! Say yes!¡± ¡°Say yes! Say yes!¡± ¡­ As soon as Roger finished speaking, Alyssa, Samuel, Bethany, and Hayden started chanting to urge her to ept. Anyone with weak willpower would probably be overwhelmed and agree right away. But Le obviously wasn¡¯t such a person. In the face of Roger¡¯s confession, as well as the surrounding crowd, Le remainedposed. She looked at Roger and said clearly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I already have a boyfriend, and I don¡¯t n to break up with him. Mr. Dunne, please find someone else!¡± When he saw Le reject him again, his face was a little sullen. But no matter what, he had to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor in front of her. With a somewhat stiff smile and pretending to be suave, Roger said, ¡°It seems that I¡¯ve had too little contact with you, so you don¡¯t understand me well enough to like me. This is my fault. ¡°I won¡¯t choose someone else. I¡¯ll do my best to make sure you see my qualities so that you will like me someday!¡± Roger showed a determined smile. Alyssa and Bethany immediately said enviously, ¡°Le, look how smitten and devoted Mr. Dunne is to you! We¡¯re so envious of you for having such a wonderful man like you!¡± ¡°Yeah! Le, you¡¯re so heartless. How could you not be touched by him?! You¡¯re going too far!¡± Everleigh reluctantly forced a smile without saying anything. She was really jealous of Le, so much so that she was afraid that she would say something unpleasant if she spoke now. Why?! What is so good about Le that Mr. Dunne likes her so much? Everleigh felt that her looks were not much worse than Le¡¯s, and in order to be single again and get together with Roger, she had even broken up with her obedient boyfriend. Yet Roger didn¡¯t take a liking to her at all and still only had eyes for Le. Everleigh was really indignant! Boom! Suddenly, the door of the private room was kicked open from the outside, and arge group of burly men charged in and glowered menacingly at everyone in the room. The leader of the group, a middle-aged man of about forty years old, stood in front of the burly men and questioned angrily, ¡°Who beat up my brother just now? Get your ass out here!¡± Chapter 1150 - 1150 Offending the Waltons 1150 Offending the Waltons Behind the middle-aged man was a young man in his thirties. He pointed at the people in the private room and said angrily, ¡°Bro, these bastards barged into my room and mobbed me just now! Don¡¯t let them off! I want each of them to lose an arm and kneel down to apologize to me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll beat them to death!¡± There were several bruises on the young man¡¯s face and various footprints on his clothes. He had obviously been mobbed and beaten up, and he now brought this group here to take revenge. As soon as they saw this young man, the few of them, including Roger, had a drastic change of expression. The young man, who had tried to get fresh with Everleigh, was the one they had beaten up when they went to rescue her just now! The three of them had just mocked him and beaten the living daylights out of him until he cried miserably. Roger and the rest had been thrilled when they saw his pathetic state. !! But this man actually came over with so many tall and burly helpers. They were obviously here to take revenge! Samuel and Hayden had never seen such a scene before. They were immediately frightened and subconsciously retreated behind Roger. As a core member of the Dunnes, Roger had a high status, and he was the only person who could suppress these people. Roger indeed wasn¡¯t afraid of the situation in front of him. He stood proudly at the front and said to the middle-aged man standing opposite him, ¡°Your brother suddenly took my friend away and wanted to molest her. Since we went to help a friend, you can¡¯t me anyone since he brought it upon himself. ¡°Moreover, you can¡¯t afford to provoke my family. If you¡¯re sensible enough, hurry up and leave. If you do, I can take it that nothing has happened. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being unkind!¡± Roger sounded extremely arrogant. The middle-aged man frowned as he looked at Roger and asked, ¡°Your family? Which family are you from?¡± Roger raised his head and said proudly, ¡°The Dunnes of DC! We¡¯re second only to the eight top families of DC. You must have heard of us, right? I¡¯m the third-generation heir of my family, and my grandfather is the current helmsman!¡± ¡°The Dunnes?¡± After hearing this name, the middle-aged man suddenly smirked with contempt, seemingly finding it ridiculous. Roger originally thought that the middle-aged man would definitely be scrupulous after hearing the name of his family. But he didn¡¯t expect to see this reaction from him. Before Roger could say anything, the middle-aged man sneered and mocked, ¡°I thought it would be some impressive family, but it turns out to be just a second-rate family! Damn it. You even dared to act like a big shot in front of me. You must be tired of living! ¡°Bastard, you¡¯d better go home and ask your grandfather who I am. Even he wouldn¡¯t dare to talk to me, Nick Walton, like that!¡± When Roger heard the words ¡®second-rate family¡¯, anger immediately surged on his face. But his fury instantly dissipated when he heard the following sentences. Roger¡¯s heart was full of shock and fear. Astonished, Roger subconsciously stretched out his hand and pointed at Nick, his eyes full of disbelief. ¡°Wh-what did you say? You¡¯re from the Walton family? You¡­ are the sessor of the Walton family, Nick Walton?!¡± Smack! ¡°Screw you! Who are you to say my name?¡± Nick flew into a rage and stepped forward to p Roger hard on the face! With the sound of the loud p, a conspicuous bright red p mark appeared on Roger¡¯s fair face. Seeing this, Hayden and Samuel, who were hiding behind Roger, almost had their eyes fall out! They could have never imagined that Roger, who was so high and mighty in their eyes, would be pped in the face without mercy after revealing his family name! The Waltons? Could he be from the Walton family, one of the eight top families in DC? Hayden¡¯s and Samuel¡¯s statuses were too low for them to know who Nick was. But Roger was so shocked to hear his name that he had blurted out that Nick was the heir of the Waltons. He was someonepletely out of reach to Hayden and Samuel! Moreover, the most frightening thing was that the young man they had just beaten up was Nick¡¯s brother, which meant that he was also a Walton! They had actually beaten up someone from one of the eight top families! As soon as they thought of this, Hayden and Samuel both almost fainted! They¡­ didn¡¯t know the identity of the young man when they beat him up! If they had known that he was a Walton, they would never have dared toy a hand on him! Alyssa and Bethany were pale with fright as they cowered behind their boyfriends, not daring to say a word. Just now, while Roger, Samuel, and Hayden had been beating up the young man, they had also taken the opportunity to kick him a few times. But unexpectedly, he was a Walton! In the eyes of ordinary people, the eight top families were just like royalty, noble andpletely out of reach! Those who beat up anyone from the eight top families would naturally end up miserable! Everleigh stood frozen in ce with her mouth open,pletely stunned! She didn¡¯t expect that the young man who had drunk too much and wanted to take liberties with her was actually a Walton! If she had known that he was a Walton, she wouldn¡¯t have struggled, and she wouldn¡¯t have had to go to the trouble of seducing Roger. After all, the Waltons were far superior to the Dunnes! For a while, Everleigh¡¯s heart was brimming with remorse and regret. At this moment, half of Roger¡¯s face was swollen because of the p, but he didn¡¯t dare to get angry. He was too scared to even cover his face and quickly begged Nick for forgiveness. ¡°Mr. Walton, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m ignorant and foolish and ended up offending you. Please be magnanimous and spare me this time! I will never dare toy a hand on your brother again!¡± ¡°Again? Screw you! You brought people to beat up my brother, and you still have the audacity to expect me to let you off? Damn it! You must be dreaming!¡± Nick spat saliva on Roger¡¯s face. Chapter 1151 - 1151 It’s None of My Business 1151 It¡¯s None of My Business Being spat on his face was undoubtedly humiliating. Roger¡¯s face flushed red, but he didn¡¯t dare to reach out to wipe the saliva away. Based on what Nick said, Roger could tell that there was probably no way to resolve the matter amicably today. They only had themselves to me for beating up the young man without finding out his identity. Although Roger always felt that the Dunnes would soon be able to catch up with the eight top families of DC and even be one of them, especially since Samuel and the others kept praising him, he knew very well that the Dunnes were not one of the eight top families of DC yet and were in fact far inferior. Moreover, Nick had already been designated as the next helmsman of the Waltons. If nothing went wrong, he would be the new Walton helmsman in a few years. His status was much better than Roger¡¯s, and his family was much better than Roger¡¯s. Facing Nick, Roger didn¡¯t have any confidence. Seeing that Nick had lost his temper, Roger was frightened, and his legs went limp. He knelt on the floor with a loud thud. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Walton, I really didn¡¯t know of your identity just now. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to do anything to you! I will kneel in apology. As long as I can help you calm down, you can hit me and scold me as you please!¡± Seeing Roger kneeling in front of Nick, Hayden and Samuel were scared out of their wits. They hurriedly knelt down with two loud sounds. Thud! Thud! ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Walton, please forgive us. We really didn¡¯t mean to offend you. We didn¡¯t know your identity¡­ Please forgive us!¡± Samuel and Hayden also begged for forgiveness, their faces deathly pale. Nick looked at the scene in front of him with satisfaction. Indeed, this was the only oue for those who offended the Waltons. In the end, they would have no choice but to kneel, beg for forgiveness, and be at their disposal! ¡°Hmm?¡± At this moment, Nick saw Lucas still sitting in his chair, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed. ¡°Punk, how dare you still sit there calmly?¡± Lucas nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m not involved in this, and what you do is none of my business.¡± Nick frowned and asked the young man beside him, ¡°Jacky, did this guy hit you?¡± Jacky looked at Lucas carefully and found that he wasn¡¯t there just now. He shook his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see him.¡± Alyssa immediately grumbled in dissatisfaction, ¡°Hmph, this wimp was hiding. I didn¡¯t expect him to escape this!¡± Bethany and the others felt the same. They had looked down on Lucas just now because he didn¡¯t join them in saving Everleigh. However, they had beaten up a Walton in the process, and now the Waltons were here to take revenge. On the other hand, Lucas didn¡¯t participate and was lucky enough to escape this catastrophe! The thought of it made them look at Lucas with even more displeasure. But Lucas didn¡¯t care at all about what these people thought of him. He wasn¡¯t someone who cared much about what others thought of him. He had merely agreed toe here with Le because he had lost the bet. He was just posing as her boyfriend, so he didn¡¯t care about what they thought at all. ¡°Jacky, the people who beat you up today are now kneeling in front of you. It¡¯s up to you what you want to do with them!¡± Nick said to Jacky proudly. Since these people dared to assault one of them, even if Jacky wanted their lives, the Waltons would definitely be able to settle it easily. ¡°Thanks, bro!¡± After hearing what his brother said, Jackyughed menacingly, grabbed the stic baton in the hand of a strong man beside him, and hit Roger, Samuel, and Hayden, who were kneeling in front of him. ¡°You idiots, weren¡¯t you feeling really smug when you surrounded me and beat me just now? I¡¯m going to let you have a taste of your own medicine now! ¡°No dodging! If anyone dares to dodge again, I¡¯ll get the bodyguards behind me to let you have a taste of what it¡¯s like to be surrounded and beaten up! ¡°And you bastard, f*ck, what¡¯s the big deal about the Dunnes? You¡¯re the bastard who hit me the hardest and acted the most arrogant! Damn it. I¡¯m going to beat you to death now!¡± Jacky cursed loudly while hitting Roger, Samuel, and Hayden, who were crying and shrieking in pain. But they didn¡¯t dare to hide and could only beg for mercy. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Walton, we were blind. We really know our mistake now! Ahhh, help! Please spare us! We will never dare to do it again!¡± ¡°Please forgive me! Mr. Walton¡­ Argh!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Ahhhh!¡± ¡­ Only when Jacky became tired did he finally stop hitting them. But they were already iparably miserable as theyy on the floor with their faces swollen and bruised. They looked far more wretched than Jacky did. Since Roger had hit Jacky the hardest earlier, Jacky had beaten him up extra hard, and there was a cut on his forehead. There were tears and snot all over his face, and he didn¡¯t look anything like his high and mighty self from earlier. Seeing Roger¡¯s miserable state, Jacky felt that he had finally vented all his anger and tossed the stic baton in his hand back to the bodyguard behind him. ¡°You bastards, I¡¯ll definitely skin you alive if you dare toy a hand on me again!¡± Jacky warned. Roger hurriedly said, ¡°I won¡¯t dare to do it again! Never again! We were blind today and failed to recognize who you were. Otherwise, we would have never dared to touch you! This will never happen again!¡± His attitude was extremely humble. If Jacky asked Roger to lick his shoes right now, Roger would do it without hesitation. After Roger realized that he had beaten up Jacky, a scion of the Waltons, and seeing that Nick had brought so many powerful bodyguards, his heart sank to rock bottom, and he had thought that he was dead meat this time. Even if he didn¡¯t die, he would probably lose an arm at least. But he had only been beaten up by Jacky. Although it was painful, it was much better than dying or bing crippled, so he was absolutely grateful! Hayden and Samuel hurriedly chimed in, ¡°Mr. Walton, we will never dare to offend you again! How could we possibly dare to do anything to someone as noble as you?¡± Jacky felt pleased. Looking at the two people who were too scared to even look unhappy, he suddenly thought of a good idea. ¡°Yeah, you two plebs actually had the guts to beat me. I can¡¯t let you off that easily!¡± His words immediately made Hayden¡¯s and Samuel¡¯s hearts skip a beat. Then Jacky ordered, ¡°Okay, you two beat each other up hard until I¡¯m satisfied! I won¡¯t spare anyone who dares to pretend!¡± Everyone was stunned. But Samuel immediately reacted. He clenched his fist and punched Hayden¡¯s face hard. Bang! Chapter 1152 - 1152 Dragging Him Down 1152 Dragging Him Down Hayden didn¡¯t react until Samuel¡¯s fist hit his face and he felt a sharp pain in his cheekbone. ¡°Damn it, you bastard Samuel! You sneak attacked me! Since you struck first, don¡¯t me me for not showing mercy!¡± Hayden hollered furiously and punched Samuel. The two of them started hitting each other. What Jacky said spurred Samuel and Hayden to go all out as if they were fighting to the death. After a short exchange of blows, their faces were already covered in bruises and wounds. They were in immense pain, but they still continued to hit each other hard, afraid Jacky would think that they weren¡¯t hitting each other hard enough. ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± Seeing that the two immediately fought each other after receiving his order, Jacky guffawed smugly. Looking at the scene in front of him, Nick immediately smiled contemptuously, as if he was watching two dogs biting each other. Next to them, Alyssa and Bethany watched nervously as their boyfriends beat each other up as if they were enemies. But they knew that this was Jacky¡¯s order, so they didn¡¯t dare to disobey him or lose their temper. They could only look at the scene in front of them worriedly. Everleigh watched with some worry on her face, but her expression was rather fake. In fact, there was even some pleasure in her eyes. At the end of the day, the reason they ended up offending the Waltons was that they had saved Everleigh from Jacky. It could even be said that she was the trigger for today¡¯s incident. But now, Everleigh was watching her roommates¡¯ boyfriends being forced to beat each other up after offending someone because they had saved her. She didn¡¯t feel any guilt at all but instead had a twisted sense of joy. Reason being, she was disgruntled over Alyssa and Bethany having boyfriends that were much richer than hers, even though she was second in beauty among the four roommates after Le. They had frequently shown off to Everleigh in the past, so she had already umted a lot of pent-up resentment and jealousy. When she saw how miserable they were, Everleigh felt that she had finally found some release for her long-standing resentment. Of course, in addition to Alyssa¡¯s and Bethany¡¯s boyfriends, she also found Le¡¯s boyfriend an eyesore. Lucas actually drove a two-million-dor car. How did Le get herself such a boyfriend? Thinking of this, Everleigh couldn¡¯t help looking at Jacky, who was standing in front of the crowd. When Jacky tried to get fresh with her earlier, Everleigh had felt extremely disgusted. But after learning Jacky¡¯s identity, Everleigh felt that he was rather handsome when she looked at him again. He seemed to be only in his twenties, so he was young and rich. Moreover, he was from one of the top eight families in DC. If she could marry him, she would get to live a life of luxury,pletely surpassing her three roommates of four years! When Roger led Hayden and Samuel to her rescue about ten minutes ago, Everleigh had felt extremely excited and happy. But now, she was furious at these people who had ruined her good deed. If they hadn¡¯t rushed over, taken her away, and even beat up Jacky, she might be Jacky¡¯s woman now! When Everleigh saw Alyssa¡¯s and Bethany¡¯s boyfriends still fighting each other hard, while Le¡¯s new ¡®boyfriend¡¯ Lucas was still sitting calmly and enjoying the show, her eyes shed with maliciousness. Everleigh suddenly pointed at Lucas and reprimanded self-righteously, ¡°Lucas, aren¡¯t you Le¡¯s boyfriend and their friend? They¡¯ve been beaten up for offending Mr. Walton, but you¡¯re just sitting here and watching. Are you still a man? You¡¯re really a disappointment!¡± Lucas remained sitting and nced at Everleigh. He was well aware of what she was thinking. After she learned Jacky¡¯s identity, the regret on her face was almost overflowing. Immediately afterward, she had obvious hatred in her eyes when she looked at Hayden and Samuel. Now that she knew who Jacky was, her gratitude toward them for saving her had already turned into hatred. She thought that they had ruined her chance to hook up with Jacky. Now that she suddenly targeted Lucas, she just wanted to drag him down too. Thus, Lucas didn¡¯t react to Everleigh¡¯s usation and simply said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m just apanying Le for a meal. Friend? The two of them aren¡¯t worthy of being my friends.¡± Le could also tell that Everleigh had hostile intentions. The person forcing Samuel and Hayden to beat each other up was a scion of the Waltons, one of the eight top families in DC. Even Roger had to kneel and beg for mercy from the two Walton brothers. But Lucas didn¡¯t have any friendship with Samuel and Hayden in the first ce, so what right did Everleigh have to want him to help them? It was clearly a deliberate attempt to get Lucas implicated! Le looked at Everleigh and said impolitely, ¡°Everleigh, that¡¯s enough. Aren¡¯t you just trying to blow things up? Don¡¯t forget who caused things to end up this way!¡± She was good at observing, and she had long noticed the changes in Everleigh¡¯s expressions. She chose to keep silent because she didn¡¯t want to embarrass Everleigh in public, thinking that doing so wasn¡¯t necessary. But now that Everleigh wanted to drag Lucas into trouble, Le couldn¡¯t tolerate it anymore. ¡°Le, how¡­ how could you say that about me?! We¡¯ve always treated you as our close friend, but you¡¯re so selfish. Even though Alyssa¡¯s and Bethany¡¯s boyfriends are suffering, you¡¯re not even thinking of helping them! ¡°You¡¯re so heartless! I really had the wrong idea about you!¡± Everleigh used, looking extremely heartbroken. Alyssa nodded and chimed in, ¡°Exactly! Le, why are you like that? Have we ever mistreated you before? Now that our boyfriends are in trouble, your boyfriend is watching at the side, and you refuse to help at all. Instead, you¡¯re making callousments. You¡¯ve gone overboard!¡± Bethany said angrily, ¡°Le, so much for being friends! They all say that time will prove people¡¯s true colors. This incident shows that you¡¯re just like your boyfriend, selfish and condescending. It¡¯s really disappointing!¡± Chapter 1153 - 1153 What a Scumbag Is 1153 What a Scumbag Is Facing her three roommates¡¯ usations, Le remained calm. In fact, after four years of living with them, she had already figured out what kind of people they really were. So she wasn¡¯t surprised that they would say such things. ¡°You don¡¯t have to keep using me and my boyfriend. After all, those two are your boyfriends. What do they have to do with us? You two don¡¯t even dare to go help them yourselves. Why should my boyfriend help them? ¡°It¡¯s the first time my boyfriend met you guys today. You¡¯re the one going overboard for asking a stranger to help! !! ¡°And you, Everleigh, since you¡¯re so righteous, why don¡¯t you stop them? After all, those two are your best friend¡¯s boyfriends! Besides, they offended someone because they saved you, right? All the more why you should help them plead for mercy.¡± What Le said immediately made Everleigh speechless. Alyssa and Bethany were indignant, but they were at a loss for words. At this moment, Samuel and Hayden had bruises all over their faces, and even a few of their teeth had been knocked out. They were so exhausted from fighting that they could barely even move. ¡°Enough, stop fighting,¡± Jacky finally said mercifully. Samuel and Hayden instantly felt relieved from being spared from death. They rxed and copsed on the floor. After panting heavily, they hurriedly thanked Jacky, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Walton!¡± After pausing for a while, they asked cautiously, ¡°Are¡­ are you letting us off then?¡± Jacky snorted coldly. ¡°All the guys, get lost and leave the women behind. I¡¯ll spare you this time!¡± Then Jacky ogled the girls. Especially when he saw Le, his gaze lingered on her for a moment. She was the prettiest among the group. Since the men had offended him, he was being kind enough to use their women aspensation! Hearing what Jacky said, Le, Alyssa, and Bethany had drastic changes in expressions. They were people, not objects. How could they be used aspensation? Moreover, even a fool would be able to guess what would happen to them if they were really left here! ¡°Uhh¡­ Okay, as long as it¡¯ll calm you down, you can have these women, Mr. Walton! We¡¯ll leave now!¡± Samuel and Hayden only hesitated slightly before agreeing. Since Jacky had finally agreed to spare them, they obviously had to agree immediately! Besides, it would only be their girlfriends suffering. At worst, they would just get other women in the future. How could they possibly get into another conflict with Jacky for their sake? Thus, they were overjoyed after hearing Jacky¡¯s conditions. Samuel and Hayden were utter scumbags. Roger hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Jacky, Mr. Nick, these women are at your disposal! We¡¯ll get going now and won¡¯t impose on you any further!¡± Actually, these women had nothing to do with Roger, and the only person he had thoughts about was Le. But he hadn¡¯t gotten together with her yet, so even if the Walton brothers vited her, it wouldn¡¯t count as cuckolding him. Since Jacky wanted her, he naturally didn¡¯t have any objections. Seeing their boyfriends agree without any hesitation, Alyssa and Bethany stared at them in shock! ¡°S-Samuel, I¡¯m your girlfriend, and you¡¯re abandoning me like this? Didn¡¯t you say that you would treat me well and protect me forever?¡± Alyssa used in fury, looking at Samuel in disbelief. Staring at her boyfriend, Hayden, with tears welling up in her eyes, Bethany said angrily, ¡°Hayden, you¡­ you¡¯re actually going to leave me behind here? Do you know what will happen to me? Are you still a man?!¡± Both of them couldn¡¯t ept this at all. What made them feel worse was their boyfriends¡¯ attitudes and betrayal. They had been betrayed and abandoned by their boyfriends! Le turned pale and grabbed Lucas¡¯s sleeve nervously. However, she had ¡®tricked¡¯ Lucas intoing here, and he wasn¡¯t actually her boyfriend, so she was in no ce to ask him to protect her since they were just casual acquaintances who had had a brief conversation. Moreover, the person who had made the request was a Walton. But Lucas was just an illegitimate son of the Huttons, so he probably couldn¡¯t resist the Waltons¡­ Then, what should she do now? Although Le was usually very smart and had a high IQ, she was only a young girl in her twenties after all. In the face of this sudden situation, she would inevitably be panic-stricken and at aplete loss for what to do. Among the four women in the room, Everleigh was the only one who wasn¡¯t worried but instead thrilled. Everleigh was just thinking about how she could approach Jacky and hook up with him, but she didn¡¯t expect that the opportunity woulde to her so soon! She knew very well what would happen to the girls next. If she slept with Jacky, she would be considered the woman of a scion of the Waltons, and she might even be able to be his wife as long as she put her skills to work! So after she heard Jacky¡¯s request, her eyes were full of anticipation and excitement. In contrast to the three other nervous and scared girls, Everleigh took the initiative to step forward and walk over to Jacky. She said with a gentle and ttering look on his face, ¡°Jacky, I¡¯m so sorry. When you said you liked me earlier, I was unprepared and shocked. I didn¡¯t mean to be disrespectful to you. Please forgive me! ¡°Could you give me another chance to serve you properly?¡± While speaking, Everleigh pressed her entire body against Jacky¡¯s and said with a sultry look, ¡°Jacky, I am a senior student at Georgetown University, and my name is Everleigh Cohen. If you¡¯re willing to give me this opportunity, then you¡¯ll be the first and only man in my life!¡± Everleigh was quite pretty, and now that she was trying her best to please Jacky and leaning against him affectionately, he felt incredibly attracted. ¡°Hahaha, not bad. You¡¯re a sensible and interesting beauty. I like you!¡± Jackyughed as he wrapped his arm around Everleigh¡¯s waist and stroked her a few times. ¡°But your roommates seem very unwilling. How about this? If you can help me convince them and make them obey me and apany me for one night, you can be my woman from now on!¡± Chapter 1154 - 1154 Vicious and Shameless 1154 Vicious and Shameless As soon as Everleigh heard what Jacky said, she was over the moon. It was as if she had already seen the path to luxury in front of her. She didn¡¯t even consider what Jacky¡¯s request was before she immediately said, ¡°You should have heard what Jacky said, right? ¡°Speaking of which, your boyfriends have already abandoned you and want to leave you behind, so why are you still so reluctant? ¡°A young and handsome man like Jacky is much better than your boyfriends! It¡¯s your honor that he wants to sleep with you! !! ¡°After today, Jacky will definitely treat you well. How about it? Have you considered it carefully?¡± Everleigh¡¯s behavior and what she said left Alyssa and Bethany in disbelief. Even though they were usually a bit snobbish and envious of those with rich and handsome boyfriends, they were still college students after all. Having received so many years of education, they still had some shame. Why should they allow a strange man to treat them like ythings? They had a sense of shame and dignity! However, Everleigh¡¯s words and actions had proven that she waspletely shameless now, so much so that she wanted them to do such a debauched and immoral act, just like a pimp! Moreover, this conflict was due to them saving Everleigh. But in the end, Everleigh went all out ttering and seducing Jacky. To please him, she even went so far as to convince them to be his ythings too! They had been living together in the same dormitory room for four years, but only now did they finally see how shameless Everleigh was! ¡°Everleigh, you are simply shameless! Even if you want to get ahead shamelessly, don¡¯t use us as your tools to please him!¡± Alyssa said to Everleigh furiously. Bethany chided, ¡°Everleigh, you¡¯re just a shameless slut who throws yourself at rich men whenever you see them. Do you think we¡¯re the same as you? We wouldn¡¯t have offended the Waltons if not for the sake of saving you! ¡°You¡¯re simply an ingrate. You¡¯re eagerly throwing yourself at Mr. Walton only because he¡¯s a scion of one of the top eight families of DC! If he were just an ordinary person, you would have avoided him at all costs! ¡°You¡¯re disgusting!¡± Hearing this, Everleigh turned sullen. She actually didn¡¯t care what Bethany thought of her, but she was worried that Jacky would have a bad impression of her after hearing Bethany¡¯s remarks. If Jacky thought she was just a vain gold digger, he would abandon her once he got tired of ying with her. She wouldn¡¯t be able to be his wife and a daughter-inw of the Waltons then! ¡°Shut up, Bethany! Don¡¯t take out your resentment on me and nder me!¡± Everleigh shouted righteously. Then she smiled strangely and said, ¡°Speaking of which, Jacky is just asking you to apany him for a night. But if you¡¯re going to be so insensible, he might just let other people y with you instead! ¡°You must have already seen that Jacky and Mr. Nick brought more than ten bodyguards with them. If he gives you to them, you two probably won¡¯t survive until tomorrow. ¡°So, what¡¯s your decision? Are you going to serve Mr. Jacky for a night or let these bodyguards sleep with you?¡± While speaking, Everleigh deliberately looked at the ten or so tall and muscr men behind Nick and Jacky. If petite girls like Alyssa and Bethany were gang-raped by these burly bodyguards for a night, they might really die. Everleigh threatened her roommates without any restraint. On the other hand, after Jacky heard what Everleigh said, his eyes lit up, and he praised, ¡°Everleigh, you¡¯re very smart!¡± After praising Everleigh, he looked at the other three girls in the room again and said with an evil expression, ¡°She¡¯s right. If you don¡¯t know any better and refuse to obey, you¡¯ll definitely suffer at the hands of my brother¡¯s bodyguards! ¡°You can decide for yourself if you want to listen to me and serve me for a night or apany these bodyguards instead!¡± Jacky¡¯s and Everleigh¡¯s words made Alyssa¡¯s, Bethany¡¯s, and Le¡¯s faces turn pale. After seeing therge group of burly bodyguards who were nearly 1.9 meters tall blocking the door, they were so frightened that they began trembling. If they were really left to these bodyguards to toy with, they might really die! ¡°Everleigh, you¡­ how can you be so vicious? So much for treating you as a close friend before. You¡­ you are too terrifying!¡± Alyssa and Bethany were so frightened that they were about to burst into tears. They shouted at Everleigh, hoping that she could find her conscience and let them off. ¡°Hmph!¡± Everleigh just rolled her eyes at the two of them, harrumphed coldly, and turned away from them. Jacky looked at Samuel and Hayden, who were still standing at the door, and then at Lucas, who was still sitting in the private room. He chided with displeasure, ¡°What are you guys still doing here? Hurry up and get lost! Do you want to watch me toy with your women?¡± Samuel and Hayden were frightened and hurriedly waved their hands. ¡°No, no, no, go ahead, Mr. Jacky. We¡¯ll leave right now!¡± After speaking, the two of them hurriedly moved to leave in panic. At this moment, Lucas, who had been only sitting in his seat like a bystander, put down the ss of juice in his hand and said coldly, ¡°You can take that woman Everleigh if you want. She herself wants to stay and serve you anyway. ¡°But the other three women have already made it clear that they don¡¯t want to apany you, so I¡¯m taking them away!¡± What Lucas said immediately left everyone dumbfounded! Le¡¯s, Alyssa¡¯s, and Bethany¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. Even Samuel and Hayden were extremely shocked. They never expected that Lucas would speak up for their girlfriends, whom they had already abandoned, and say that he would take them away. Is Lucas Gray a fool? Didn¡¯t he hear what Mr. Jacky¡¯s identity is? He already knew the identities of Jacky and Nick, but he still dared to speak to Jacky in such a manner. They thought that Lucas was simply courting death! Chapter 1155 - 1155 I Want To Take Them Away 1155 I Want To Take Them Away Even Le looked at Lucas in astonishment. She knew that he was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, and through various clues, she had guessed that he was an illegitimate son of the Huttons, one of the eight top families. But she thought that since he was an illegitimate son, the Huttons didn¡¯t recognize him officially. While he could still leverage the family¡¯s power in front of the other families, he couldn¡¯t do so when facing the two scions of the Waltons, a family of the same status as the Huttons. After all, the Huttons would never go against a family ofparable strength and status for the sake of an illegitimate son whom they had kicked out of the family years ago. Moreover, Lucas wasn¡¯t really Le¡¯s boyfriend in the first ce. They had only met twice and exchanged a few sentences. She had merely dragged him here to pose as her boyfriend to try and stop Roger¡¯s incessant harassment of her. But now, Lucas had spoken and might have offended Jacky. What if Jacky got the Waltons to retaliate against Lucas? For a while, Le¡¯s feelings were extremelyplicated. Although she was grateful to Lucas for protecting her, she was also very concerned and worried about him. Alyssa and Bethany looked at Lucas in surprise. Neither of them had expected him to be willing to stand up for them after their own boyfriends had abandoned them despite having criticized and despised him so much. Regardless of whether or not Lucas had the ability to deal with Jacky and Nick and whether or not he could take the three of them away safely, the fact that he had the courage to speak out against Jacky was enough to make the two of them feel guilty and change their opinions about him. Lucas wasn¡¯t the cowardly good-for-nothing that they had previously called him. Rather, he was a real man. After Jacky heard what Lucas said, his face immediately darkened. Since Lucas didn¡¯t participate in beating him, Jacky had mercifully spared him. And when he taught Roger, Hayden, and Samuel a lesson just now, he didn¡¯t take the initiative to find trouble with Lucas but disregarded his presence. But Jacky didn¡¯t expect Lucas to provoke him instead, even though he had spared him just now! Jacky narrowed his eyes and said with a threatening look, ¡°Punk, do you know who you¡¯re really talking to? Do you think you can take away people I want to stay just because you say so?¡± Everleigh nced at Lucas and said viciously, ¡°Jacky, since this idiot wants to y the hero, you should show him what the consequences of offending you are! ¡°I suggest you kill this punk in front of these people! This can be considered a warning to others. When people learn about it, they won¡¯t dare to disobey you in the future!¡± Jacky nced coldly at Everleigh, immediately making her shut up and tremble like she had fallen into an ice cer. She knew that what she had just said was taboo because Jacky didn¡¯t like being told what to do. Nick stood at the side indifferently with his arms folded, as if he was watching a show, waiting for Jacky to deal with this matter himself. After all, he had brought so many people here to support his brother. Regardless of how Jacky wanted to deal with these people, Nick didn¡¯t care. Even if Jacky really wanted to kill people, Nick would take care of things well and make sure that there wouldn¡¯t be any trouble. Jacky red at Lucas and said arrogantly, ¡°Punk, since this is the first time you¡¯ve offended me, I can spare you. As long as you kneel in front of me and kowtow to me respectfully ten times, I will spare you!¡± Lucas sneered, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have what it takes to make me kneel and kowtow to you! ¡°As I said, you can do whatever you want with that woman next to you, but I¡¯m taking the other three away! ¡°On ount that this is the first time you¡¯ve offended me, I can forgive you for being rude. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being hostile to you!¡± ¡°Damn it! You must be tired of living!¡± Jacky instantly flew into a rage. He shouted at the bodyguards behind him, ¡°You guys, go grab that punk! I¡¯ve changed my mind. I¡¯m going to cripple him, tie him here, and make him watch me toy with his woman!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Jacky!¡± After hearing Jacky¡¯s order, the ten or so bodyguards immediately rushed toward Lucas menacingly. Seeing this, Le became extremely anxious and hurriedly shouted, ¡°Lucas, run! Don¡¯t worry about us! Just get out!¡± Although it would be extremely difficult for Lucas to break out through so many burly men, there would at least still be a chance of survival if he tried. If Lucas really stayed in this small private room surrounded by so many people, it would only be a matter of time before he was caught. When the time came, Lucas might really get his limbs broken, and Jacky¡¯s bodyguards might even beat him to death! If Jacky really wanted to force himself onto her, she would just die so that she could escape the vition and humiliation. But it was different for Lucas. She was the one who dragged him here to help her today, so if anything happened to him, she would live with a guilty conscience for the rest of her life! Looking at the bodyguards charging toward Lucas aggressively, Everleigh smiled maliciously. ¡°Hmph, you deserve it! You only have yourself to me for going against Jacky!¡± The door of the private room was just a few meters away. Just as Le finished shouting, the fist of the bodyguard at the front was about to hit Lucas¡¯s face. But Lucas remained still, as if he was petrified in shock and even forgot to dodge. Jacky and Everleigh had pleasure in their eyes, as if they had already seen Lucas¡¯s bruised and swollen face. Bang! But the very next moment, Lucas blocked the punch of the front bodyguard with one hand. Lucas raised his head and slowly looked at Jacky, Nick, and the bodyguards with a look of pity! ¡°I¡¯ve just made things very clear, but why do you still choose to court death?¡± Chapter 1156 - 1156 Drawing A Line 1156 Drawing A Line While everyone was watching in shock, Lucas squeezed the bodyguard¡¯s hand and folded it with great force, snapping it with a loud click. Then the bodyguard shrieked loudly like a pig being ughtered. ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Immediately afterward, Lucas kicked the bodyguard in the chest, sending his body, which weighed about 90 kilograms, flying. ¡°You!¡± Jacky blurted out in astonishment. He didn¡¯t expect that Lucas would dare to fight back and break the hand of a Walton bodyguard! Of course, this was merely the beginning. The next second, Lucas¡¯s figure suddenly transformed into an elusive and blurry shadow that dashed through the remaining bodyguards. Snap! ¡°Waahhh!¡± Thud! ¡­ Shrieks of misery rang out one after another. In merely five seconds, all of the ten or so bodyguards that Nick had brought were lying copsed on the floor, unable to get up. Lucas had knocked them all out! This scene made the jaws of everyone present drop, their mouths wide open in total disbelief! Samuel, Hayden, and Roger, who were still standing at the door, were all stunned by Lucas¡¯s act of knocking out so many tall and strong bodyguards in an instant. They couldn¡¯t even see Lucas¡¯s movements clearly just now. They only saw the bodyguards being knocked unconscious and falling to the floor one after another, unable to move again. It was¡­ like a scene from a sci-fi or fantasy movie. They rubbed their eyes in doubt, wondering if their eyes were ying tricks on them or if they were hallucinating. But it was an indisputable fact that there were numerous bodyguards sprawled across the floor of the private room. Alyssa, Bethany, and Everleigh all looked at the scene in front of them in astonishment. They were so shocked that they couldn¡¯t say a single word at all. They didn¡¯t expect that Lucas, who didn¡¯t seem very strong, would suddenly disy so much power and knock out the ten-plus bodyguards within such a short period of time! More importantly, Lucas looked rather rxed, as if it was just an extremely easy feat. It was as if the bodyguards that Nick brought were all fragile weaklings that he had dealt with easily! Le looked at Lucas in shock, her eyes wide open. Even she didn¡¯t know that he had such formidable martial arts skills! At this moment, Nick and Jacky were the most stunned. These bodyguards worked for them, so they were naturally clear about their strength. Although these bodyguards were not as formidable as the Waltons¡¯ top experts, it would be no exaggeration to say that they could defeat ten to twenty ordinary people each without any problem! Besides, there were more than ten bodyguards altogether. Even if they faced more than a hundred people, they should still be able to deal with them easily! But Lucas was alone. Even though he was a young man who didn¡¯t seem that strong, he had actually easily knocked the bodyguards to the floor! This was simply unheard of to them! After returning to his senses, Jacky flew into a rage and hollered at Lucas, ¡°You¡­ you bastard, how dare you knock out our bodyguards? You must have a death wish! We will never spare you!¡± In contrast, Nick, who was several years older than Jacky, wasn¡¯t that easily angered, so he thought about things from a moreprehensive perspective. From Lucas¡¯s moves just now, Nick acutely felt danger. He knew that the young man in front of him was definitely not someone who could be provoked easily! Based on the fact that Lucas had defeated all the bodyguards in such a short time, Nick dared to conclude that Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills were not inferior to the strongest bodyguards of the Waltons! ¡°Who¡­ who exactly are you?¡± Nick asked with a grim expression. He was really worried that if Lucas was from a big family and they became enemies, it might cause the Waltons a lot of trouble. Lucas said with a faint smile, ¡°You don¡¯t need to think too much about it. I¡¯m not from a wealthy family in DC.¡± Hearing this, Nick gradually looked less scrupulous. After all, at this point, if Lucas was really from a big family, he wouldn¡¯t still be hiding his identity from everyone. Unless, just as he said himself, he really didn¡¯t belong to any big force in DC at all. After Nick thought of this, murderous intent appeared on his face. To anyone who dared to deal with the Waltons¡¯ bodyguards like this, he would definitely teach them a harsh lesson! Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t reveal his identity, Nick turned gloomy and questioned the others in the private room with a threatening expression, ¡°You guys had dinner with him, so you should know who he is, right?¡± Seeing the hostility on Nick¡¯s face, Roger quickly drew a line between himself and Lucas, ¡°Mr. Nick, I don¡¯t know who this punk is. I didn¡¯t know him at all before tonight, and we only happened to get together for dinner!¡± Samuel and Hayden also hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, Mr. Nic. We don¡¯t know this punk at all. Le brought him here, and he¡¯s apparently her new boyfriend. All we know about him is that his name is Lucas Gray! ¡°Yeah! In fact, we don¡¯t know him at all. We even had some conflicts. We even nned to teach him a lesson, but before we could¡­¡± The few of them spoke nervously, for fear that Nick would misunderstand that they were friends with Lucas and thus take out his anger on them. Lucas had actually beaten up the bodyguards of the Waltons. Even without thinking, they knew that the Waltons would definitely hold him responsible. Thus, they hurriedly took the opportunity to draw a clear line between themselves and Lucas, lest they were implicated. In fact, they told the truth. After all, they didn¡¯t know Lucas well, but their eagerness to draw a clear line between themselves and Lucas was too unsightly and disgusting. Seeing this, Lucas merely sneered and said proudly, ¡°Based on your characters, it¡¯s impossible for you guys to have anything to do with me!¡± Chapter 1157 - 1157 Unexpected Person 1157 Unexpected Person Seeing Lucas be extremely disdainful toward them, Roger gritted his teeth and said resentfully, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t be too smug! Who do you think you are? Do you really think you¡¯re some big shot that is superior to everyone else? ¡°I¡¯m telling you. The Waltons aren¡¯t a family you can afford to provoke! If you offend a Walton scion, it will be over for you even if you have ten lives! ¡°The Waltons are one of the eight top families in DC, and they control almost the entire entertainment industry in DC. Even the other seven families don¡¯t dare to offend them easily! ¡°And you, punk, how dare you talk to Mr. Jacky like that? You even beat up so many of the Waltons¡¯ bodyguards! You¡¯re dead meat this time!¡± Roger was already angry because Lucas had snatched Le, the woman he liked. If Jacky hadn¡¯t forcefully brought Everleigh into his private room and caused the other three women to run over to ask for help, he would have dealt with Lucas at that time. Since Lucas was courting death by offending the two Walton scions, Roger didn¡¯t mind kicking him when he was down, in hopes that Lucas would end up as miserable as possible! In fact, the Waltons were not as powerful as Roger said. At most, they only controlled 30% of the entertainment industry in DC. Moreover, it was their main area of business. The reason he deliberately said this in front of Lucas was that he wanted to intimate him, as well as take the opportunity to please and suck up to the Walton brothers. Samuel and Hayden also hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Dunne is right. Lucas Gray, since you have the guts to offend Mr. Jacky, you have to bear the consequences! If you kneel down and beg for forgiveness, you might be able to survive!¡± Lucas looked coldly at the people in front of him and didn¡¯t even bother to say a word to them. There was no point in bothering with these viins who only sucked up to the powerful and looked down on the weak. But Jacky was very pleased by their ttery. He said to Lucas proudly, ¡°Punk, now you should know exactly what mistake you¡¯vemitted! I want you to know that offending us is definitely the most stupid thing you have ever done in your life! ¡°As long as you obediently give me the woman beside you and make me happy, I might spare your life!¡± Lucas frowned in displeasure. ¡°You talk too much nonsense!¡± The lecherous meaning in his words and the way he treated women as ythings made Lucas feel absolutely disgusted. So the next second, Lucas appeared directly in front of Jacky, raised his hand, and pped him in the face. Smack! Even though Lucas held back, afraid that he would end up killing Jacky because of a slip-up, the force of his p was not to be underestimated. Under the force of this p, Jacky was sent flying more than two meters away before staggering and falling to the floor. Even two of his teeth were broken, and his mouth was full of blood. Seeing Jacky¡¯s miserable state, everyone fell silent, so stunned that they couldn¡¯t say a single word. On the floor, Jacky was so dizzy that he couldn¡¯t get up for a long time. As soon as he opened his mouth, blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth, and at the same time, half of a broken tooth fell out. ¡°Damn it!¡± Jacky immediately cursed, and as soon as his mouth moved, the stinging pain from the p in his face swept through him. He shouted in agony, ¡°Nick, kill him. You have to kill him for me!¡± Only at this moment did Nick finally recover from the shock and point at Lucas furiously, ¡°Bastard! How dare you hit my brother?! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Then Nick suddenly pulled out a ck pistol from the holster by his waist and aimed it straight at Lucas¡¯s head! ¡°Oh my God. He¡­ he has a gun!¡± As soon as they saw the pistol, Alyssa, Bethany, Samuel, Hayden, and others instantly cried out in terror and retreated backward reflexively. They rarely saw guns in real life. For many of them, it was their first time seeing a gun in the flesh. It wasn¡¯t a toy or a model but a powerful weapon that could really kill someone in an instant! But now, they were all in the room. If they were shot, they would really die for nothing. Who would dare to demand an exnation from the Waltons? When Le saw that Nick had actually pulled out a pistol, her expression immediately changed, and her scalp tingled with numbness. This is terrible! Even though Lucas could defeat so many of the Waltons¡¯ bodyguards, how could he possibly beat the speed of the bullets of a pistol? Seeing the scene in front of her, Everleigh said with a smug smile, ¡°Lucas Gray, aren¡¯t you very arrogant and proud? How dare you hit Jacky just because you¡¯re good at martial arts? You must have been pretty satisfied, right? ¡°Hah, Mr. Nick is armed with a gun. Let¡¯s see how arrogant you can be now!¡± Roger looked at this scene with a smile. If Nick really shot and killed Lucas, it would be wonderful! Looking at the ck muzzle being pointed at him, Lucas chuckled, then sighed and said, ¡°I advise you to put down the gun in your hand. It won¡¯t work on me, and you¡¯ll only end up making me angry. I was nning to let you go, but if you shoot me, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to afford the consequences!¡± If an ordinary person offended Lucas, he might let them off. But if they tried to kill him, he definitely wouldn¡¯t spare them. This was his principle. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± A voice suddenly spread from outside, and a young figure appeared at the entrance of the private room. Following him were several people d in the security uniforms of the restaurant. Seeing this young man, even Lucas looked surprised. He didn¡¯t expect to meet him here. It seemed that the restaurant belonged to the Parkers. In that case, things were about to get even more interesting¡­ Seeing the young man who came, Nick smiled and said, ¡°Keh, you¡¯re finally here! Since this is your turf, you have to do justice for me! My brother got bullied here. That bastard not only beat up my family¡¯s bodyguards, but he even hit my brother!¡± As soon as the person who came heard this, he was very surprised. ¡°What did you say? Someone actually has the guts to hit your bodyguards and Jacky? Which bastard is it? How dare he¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, he abruptly fell silent. Reason being, he saw the figure sitting in the room. His body trembled, and he naturally couldn¡¯t continue speaking. It¡­ it¡¯s Lucas! What is he doing here?! Chapter 1158 - 1158 Completely Opposite 1158 Completely Opposite Nick didn¡¯t notice the strange expression on the young man¡¯s face and went on, ¡°Keh, I have always treated you as my friend. But now that my brother has been bullied on your turf, shouldn¡¯t you help me deal with it no matter what? ¡°Did you see that punk over there? He¡¯s very arrogant. He¡­¡± Nick pointed at Lucas, wanting the young man to call all of the restaurant¡¯s security guards to capture Lucas. But before he could finish speaking, an angry shout rang in his ears. ¡°Shut up!¡± that young man hollered at Nick furiously. !! After being yelled at and being stunned for a moment, Nick almost suspected that he had heard wrong. Nick¡¯s face turned red in anger, and he roared at the young man, ¡°What did you just say, Keh?! You told me to shut up?! Are you out of your mind?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one with something wrong with your brain! Otherwise, why would you have provoked Mr. Gray?¡± the young man retorted in a louder voice. ¡°Idiot, not only will I scold you, but I will hit you too! Of all people, you offended Mr. Gray, and you even wanted me to deal with him for you. You must be tired of living!¡± Then he raised his arm and pped Nick hard in the face! Smack! The loud p immediately stunned everyone. Even Nick was dumbfounded by the sudden p. In disbelief, he couldn¡¯t react at all. But the young man ignored Nick and hurried toward Lucas. He bent forward and greeted respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, I didn¡¯t expect that you woulde to our restaurant. Had I known you were here, I would havee to receive you a long time ago and arranged for the best room and dishes for you!¡± The young man was Keh Parker, the grandson of Damon Parker, whose family Lucas had subdued in California! Keh¡¯s action shocked everyone! He had just pped Nick, the future helmsman of the Waltons, one of the top eight families in DC, and then hurried over to Lucas and spoke to him so respectfully, as if he was afraid of displeasing Lucas. Thepletely opposite attitudes were surreal to everyone. Did the general manager of this restaurant¡­ mix up their identities? No matter how they looked at it, they felt that a wealthy scion like Nick should be the one being treated with respect, while an ordinary person like Lucas didn¡¯t deserve this treatment. Lucas asked with raised brows, ¡°This restaurant belongs to the Parkers?¡± Keh hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray, the restaurant belongs to us, and we have opened branches in many cities in the US over thest few months. ¡°I¡¯ll get you a supreme VIP cardter. In the future, you can bring your friends to eat at any of our restaurants, and it¡¯ll be entirely on the house! This is a small token of my appreciation, and I hope you will ept it, Mr. Gray!¡± Lucas was surprised. Although the restaurant looked rather ordinary on the outside, it definitely wasn¡¯t a small bistro but a highly-rated one with luxurious decor and an expensive menu. Over the past few months, the Parkers had opened numerous branches all over the US, so the scale of development was pretty fast. It was no wonder that even Keh, a third-generation direct descendant, hade to DC. In fact, strictly speaking, everything of the Parkers now belonged to Lucas. Thus, even though Keh gave Lucas a supreme VIP card that allowed him to dine free at the Parkers¡¯ restaurants, it wasn¡¯t a big deal. Lucas nodded without saying anything else. After all, with so many people around, it wasn¡¯t a good time and ce to catch up with Keh. Keh stood in front of Lucas carefully and attentively, just like a subordinate. This scene astonished Le and everyone else. At this moment, Nick finally recovered from the shock of being pped by Keh in public and roared furiously, ¡°Keh Parker, you bastard. How dare you hit me?! The Parkers can get ready to go bankrupt and get lost from DC!¡± Seeing how furious Nick was, Keh couldn¡¯t help frowning. Usually, Keh would be worried when a top scion like Nick lost his temper, and he would even be afraid of offending the Waltons and causing a disaster for the Parkers. But the person Nick offended was Lucas! The things Lucas had done before had long made Keh be in awe of him, so much so that he didn¡¯t even dare to think about defying him. It could be said that the reason the Parkers had such a status and the chance to develop rapidly now was all thanks to Lucas. Without Lucas, the Parkers definitely wouldn¡¯t enjoy their current glory! Furthermore, the Parkers were already loyal to Lucas, and Damon, the helmsman, had already instructed all members of the family to never offend Lucas and stand on his side regardless of who the other party of the conflict was. It was the same even if the other party was the eight top families in DC! Therefore, after knowing that the person Nick had a conflict with was Lucas, Keh yelled at Nick and pped him without hesitation. After hearing Nick¡¯s threats, Keh was a little nervous. But when he saw Lucas¡¯s calm expression, he was no longer worried. With Lucas around, there was no need to be afraid of the Waltons. ¡°Nick, you don¡¯t have to threaten me. I advise you to think carefully about whether you can leave here safe and sound after offending Mr. Gray!¡± Keh sneered,pletely fearless when facing Nick. ¡°You¡¯re great, Keh Parker. You¡¯re really courageous today, huh? Just you wait. I won¡¯t let you and your family off!¡± Nick shouted. If the ten or so bodyguards he had brought were still able, he wouldn¡¯t just speak harsh words. Instead, he would have gotten his people to destroy Keh¡¯s restaurant and even teach him a hard lesson! But Lucas had already knocked unconscious all the people he had brought, so all he could do wassh out at them while trembling with fury. Keh nced at him coldly. ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, it seems I can¡¯t let you off today!¡± He ordered the security guards, ¡°Hit him hard!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After receiving Keh¡¯s order, the burly security guards of the restaurant immediately pinned Nick to the floor and beat him up, causing Nick to scream continuously. Roger¡¯s, Samuel¡¯s, and Hayden¡¯s faces turned pale. They didn¡¯t expect that Nick, a scion of the Waltons and the Waltons¡¯ future helmsman, would really be pinned to the floor and beaten to a pulp! They wouldn¡¯t have believed this scene if they hadn¡¯t seen it with their own eyes! It was crazy! Chapter 1159 - 1159 Who is He? 1159 Who is He? While the security guards were beating Nick up, Keh approached Lucas quietly and asked carefully, ¡°Mr. Gray, what do you say? Should we beat him to death or spare him after teaching him a lesson?¡± Lucas was very satisfied with Keh¡¯s behavior and said indifferently, ¡°Nah, we don¡¯t need to beat him to death. Just break his limbs and throw him out.¡± He didn¡¯t lower his voice, so everyone in the private room heard what he said. Keh immediately answered, ¡°Yes!¡± He looked at the subordinates that he had brought andmanded loudly, ¡°Did you hear that? Break his limbs and throw him out! Throw all of these people on the floor out too!¡± Nick, who had been beaten to a pulp, was losing his mind after hearing their conversation. He couldn¡¯t believe that Keh, who had always been very respectful to him, would actually get people to break his limbs after just listening to what Lucas said! ¡°Keh, you¡­ you can¡¯t do this! Ah! Keh, on ount that we¡¯re friends, please let me off! I promise I will never take revenge on you¡ª Ah! It hurts! Please just let me off!¡± Facing the threat of having his limbs broken, Nick swallowed his pride and frantically begged. But how could Keh go against Lucas¡¯s wishes? Since Lucas said that he wanted Nick¡¯s limbs broken, Keh would definitely do so! ¡°Do it!¡± Keh said. The security guards immediately pinned Nick to the floor, picked up several steel pipes that the Waltons¡¯ bodyguards had brought, and used them to smash Nick¡¯s limbs. Snap! With the sounds of his bones breaking, Nick shrieked miserably and passed out from the pain. After seeing his brother¡¯s tragic condition, Nick was too stunned for words. He cowered on the floor and shuddered. ¡°Throw these people out!¡± Kehmanded while looking at the Walton brothers and their bodyguards in front of him in disgust. Soon, Nick, Jacky, and the Waltons¡¯ bodyguards were dragged away and tossed outside the restaurant like garbage. This scene made everyone shiver in fear. In their eyes, the scions of the Waltons were already top figures in the upper-ss circle of DC. But the Waltons had their limbs broken and were thrown out, their dignity trampled on. Who exactly was Keh, the general manager of this restaurant? He actually disregarded even the scions of the top eight families! Who exactly was Lucas Gray? Why did Keh follow his orders and break Nick¡¯s limbs without hesitation? At this moment, Lucas looked at the remaining people indifferently and said calmly, ¡°Since the Waltons have been taken away, it¡¯s time for us to settle scores now, right?¡± Hearing this, Roger, Samuel, and Hayden trembled in unison. Then they knelt down in front of Lucas unanimously! ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, we offended you because we¡¯re snobs who didn¡¯t know your identity. W-we apologize. Please spare us!¡± They felt like they were about to die. They had all thought that Lucas was just a poor loser with no background and had suspected that he had borrowed his car from someone, so they hadn¡¯t taken him seriously at all. They had mocked him and even wanted to teach him a lesson in the private room. Only now did they realize that Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person at all! Although they still didn¡¯t know what Lucas¡¯s real identity was, even Nick, someone from the eight most powerful families in DC, had had his limbs broken and had been dragged away like a dead dog. If Lucas wanted, he could easily break their limbs or even kill them! It was no exaggeration to say that Lucas now held the power of life and death over them. They were at his disposal, so how could they not be scared? Looking at the three people kneeling in front of him, Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Since you¡¯re begging for forgiveness, I will give you a chance. Each of you p yourself twenty times, and I¡¯ll let you off.¡± Although these three people were rather abominable too, they only had foul mouths and immoral characters. They couldn¡¯t pose any threat to Lucas at all. So Lucas didn¡¯t bother to do anything to them. He merely told them to p themselves 20 times each to teach them a lesson before sparing them. After hearing what Lucas said, the three of them immediately agreed as if they had been spared from death. They had thought that they would die, but they didn¡¯t expect Lucas to let them off just with the punishment of pping themselves. As if they were afraid that Lucas would change his mind, they knelt on the ground, raised their arms, and smacked themselves right and left in their faces. Smack! Smack! Smack! ¡­ The loud sound of ps filled the room. Afraid that Lucas might think that they were pping themselves too perfunctorily and decide to change the punishment, they pped themselves extra hard. By the time the 20 ps were over, all three of their faces were swollen like a pig¡¯s head. They looked at each other and then looked at Lucas pitifully. ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡­ we¡¯ve finished pping ourselves. Can we go now¡­¡± Lucas waved his hand and said coldly, ¡°Get lost! Remember to settle all the losses of this private room.¡± The three hurriedly took out their phones, scrambled to settle the bill, and then ran out in a disheveled state. Hayden and Samuel fled without even saying a single word to their girlfriends. Now, apart from Lucas and Keh, Le and the other three girls were the only ones left in the room. Everleigh patted her chest and suddenly strutted over to Lucas, her cheeks rosy. With a look of admiration, she said, ¡°Ah, Mr. Gray, I¡¯m sorry I offended you earlier. Please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Then she pressed herself against Lucas. In Everleigh¡¯s opinion, Lucas had to be a powerful figure far superior to the Waltons since he dared to beat up Nick, the future Walton helmsman. She thought that if she could win his heart, her future status might be even higher! Lucas frowned and took a step to the side to avoid her. He looked at her coldly and said something that made Everleigh¡¯s expression change drastically. ¡°Stay away from me. You¡¯re dirty!¡± The hypocritical smile on her face stiffened instantly. Chapter 1160 - 1160 Driven Out of DC 1160 Driven Out of DC What Lucas said made Everleigh boil with fury. But when she thought Lucas was most likely a big shot hiding his identity, she didn¡¯t dare to show her anger. She forced herself to smile. Knowing that Lucas didn¡¯t like her, she stopped throwing herself at him like she had done with Roger and Jacky. Everleigh looked at Le, picked up her hand, and said intimately, ¡°Le, this is so inappropriate of you. You¡¯ve got such a great boyfriend, but you¡¯ve been keeping quiet about him without telling us anything. You¡¯re not treating us like your close friends at all!¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Le shook Everleigh¡¯s hand away in disgust. The sight of Everleigh reminded her of what had happened just now and made her feel disgusted. Before today, although she knew that Everleigh had some issues with being materialistic, vain, and pretentious, it was only today that she finally learned how shameless she could be! !! For the sake of pleasing Jacky, Everleigh had coerced her so-called ¡®close friends¡¯ to sleep with him. The way she had behaved like a pimp was still fresh in Le¡¯s memory. Not to mention being touched by Everleigh, even the sight of this person made Le feel nauseous. Alyssa and Bethany were also hostile toward Everleigh. They said mockingly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Everleigh, do you finally remember that we¡¯re close friends who have been roommates for years? Your attitude ispletely different from when you were sucking up to Jacky Walton! ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯ve never met a woman as cheap as you. You just dumped your boyfriend this afternoon and then threw yourself at Roger Dunne. Then after you realized that Jacky Walton was richer and had a nobler status, you eagerly threw yourself at him again. Now, you even want to do the same thing and snatch Le¡¯s boyfriend. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between you and a hooker? You¡¯re even willing to sacrifice your character and dignity for the sake of power and status. Yet you still have the cheek to call us friends in front of us? ¡°Also, why didn¡¯t Jacky Walton harass us when we were on the way back from the restroom? Why did he drag you into his room? Maybe you did something on purpose to seduce him.¡± Everleigh¡¯s actions absolutely disgusted them. They were not kind people, so they immediately bombarded Everleigh with all sorts of insults. No matter how thick-skinned Everleigh was, she couldn¡¯t stand being used by her three roommates one after another. Besides, Alyssa and Bethany were right. While on the way back from the restroom, Everleigh had indeed deliberately winked sultrily at the passing men while the others didn¡¯t notice, just so she could see the men getting charmed by her. But she didn¡¯t expect Jacky, a scion of one of the eight top families in DC, to be seduced by the look in her eyes and immediately dragged her into his private room. If not for this, the subsequent events wouldn¡¯t have happened. But Everleigh only regretted not achieving her goal of seducing a wealthy scion today. She didn¡¯t think that there was anything wrong with her behavior. She thought that it was only natural for people to aim higher. She couldn¡¯t understand why her roommates were treating her with such animosity. Despite thinking so, Everleigh wouldn¡¯t reveal it at this moment. Instead, she acted as if she had been bullied and said with tears in her red eyes, ¡°All of you are ming me, but I had no choice! ¡°Is it my fault that Jacky Walton dragged me into his room? Why are you ming me? ¡°Also, I didn¡¯t know that he was a scion of the Waltons! At the time, he came to take revenge on you, and he was also the one who wanted you to stay. Why are you ming me? I¡¯m a victim too! ¡°Also, your boyfriends had already abandoned you and wanted to leave without you. And I didn¡¯t know that Lucas was so impressive either. I thought we would be in trouble, so I felt that instead of being forcefully vited, it was better toply for now and save our lives first and then think of solutions! ¡°I clearly did it out of good intentions. That¡¯s why I put on an act in front of Jacky Walton. Not only do you not understand me, but you even got the wrong idea about me. Was our friendship for the past few years all fake? ¡°Am I such a shameless person in your eyes?¡± While speaking, Everleigh burst into tears, as if she had really been wronged. It had to be said that if Everleigh entered the entertainment industry, she might win an Oscar. But no one appreciated her performance at all, and no one believed her either. ¡°Enough!¡± Kenenth hollered with displeasure, interrupting Everleigh¡¯s tearful performance. Although he had arrivedte and still didn¡¯t know what had happened, he could tell that Lucas was getting annoyed. Keh yelled at Everleigh. But when she thought that the restaurant¡¯s general manager actually dared to beat up even Nick, she immediately shut her mouth and looked at Keh with teary eyes. Keh glowered at Everleigh in disgust and then asked Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, how should we deal with this woman?¡± Everleigh¡¯s body instantly stiffened. Lucas nced at her and ordered coldly, ¡°Get her to leave DC immediately. She will never be allowed to step foot into DC again from now on! Otherwise, you can kill her without reporting to me.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t feel any sympathy for Everleigh at all. It wasn¡¯t unforgivable to want to climb higher, but her actions hadpletely trampled on his bottom line, making him feel extremely disgusted. Besides, this woman had always had strong animosity toward him. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have wanted to drag him down and kept urging Nick to kill him. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t be merciful to a vicious woman like her. As soon as she heard what Lucas said, Everleigh felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured onto her head, making her feel freezing cold as she went limp and copsed to the floor. DC was the most prosperous ce in the country and the ce where the rich and powerful gathered. It was home to the circle that Everleigh desperately wanted to enter. But Lucas had now severed all possibilities of her future n, destroying her dreams of marrying a wealthy scion in DC and bing a rich woman! Chapter 1161 - 1161 The Dust Settles 1161 The Dust Settles ¡°No, Mr. Gray, I bet you to let me off! And Le! Le! Quickly help me beg for mercy. Please ask Mr. Gray not to drive me out of DC! ¡°I still have six months before I graduate, and many of my friends are here. If I get driven out of DC, everything will be over for me! Le, please help me out onest time on ount that we¡¯re roommates.¡± Everleigh looked flustered, and she wanted Le to help her plead for forgiveness. She even rushed over to Le as if she found a straw to clutch at. But Keh¡¯s security guards stopped her actions. ¡°Take her away and make sure she leaves DC now! If she dares to resist or run away on the way, just find a ce to kill her!¡± Keh instructed coldly. !! Upon his order, two tall and burly bodyguards immediately stepped forward, stuffed a napkin into Everleigh¡¯s mouth, held her on the left and right, and dragged her out of the private room. After Everleigh was taken away, only Lucas, Le, Keh, Alyssa, and Bethany were left in the room. Le was fine, but Alyssa and Bethany were on edge. They had offended Lucas several times earlier, said many callous things to mock him, and even asked him to leave Le. Now that Everleigh, who had offended Lucas, was driven out of DC and was never allowed to return, what about the two of them? Would Lucas drive them out of DC too? Alyssa and Bethany appeared panicked and scared as they hurried over to Le and said to her anxiously, ¡°Le, you have to help us! Please ask Mr. Gray not to drive us out of DC too!¡± ¡°Yeah, Le, haven¡¯t we always been close friends? Please help us on ount that we¡¯re friends!¡± ¡°We¡¯re graduating next semester. If we get kicked out of DC and can¡¯t return, we would have gone to college for nothing. We will end up with nothing! Le, please help us!¡± Seeing Alyssa and Bethany so panic-stricken that they were on the brink of tears, Lucas was speechless. He never mentioned anything about kicking them out of DC. These women¡¯s imaginations are too strong. But he could understand why they were so flustered. Even Le began to feel worried. Le initially thought that Lucas was merely an illegitimate son of the Huttons and that the Stardust Corporation was justpensation for him. But now that she had seen how aggressive he was even to the sessor of the Waltons, one of the eight top families in DC, so much that he even broke one of his limbs, she felt that he definitely wasn¡¯t only relying on the Huttons to be able to be so fearless. Even the sessor of the Huttons probably wouldn¡¯t dare to break the limbs of the sessor of the Waltons! This could only prove that Lucas was probably far more powerful than she imagined. Le couldn¡¯t help feeling a little nervous as she asked carefully, ¡°Uh, Lucas, can you let them off? Although they said some nasty things, I¡¯ll apologize to you on their behalf!¡± Alyssa and Bethany looked at Lucas nervously and apologized profusely. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, Mr. Gray. We didn¡¯t think before we spoke earlier, so we ran our mouths and said a lot of inappropriate things. Please forgive us!¡± Lucas looked at them indifferently. ¡°If you two dare to continue harboring ill intentions against Le and try to harm her, then you¡¯ll end up like Everleigh. Remember?¡± Alyssa and Bethany frantically nodded and assured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! We¡¯ll definitely treat Le as our own sister. We will never dare to harm her!¡± Since Everleigh ended up in such a miserable plight, how could they possibly dare to harm Le? Besides, the two of them were not as vicious as Everleigh. Although they would sometimes get jealous of her, they had never really done anything to harm her. Of course, they would no longer dare to do anything such as Le up with other men! ¡°Alright, you can leave!¡± Lucas said simply, not nning to make things difficult for them. Alyssa and Bethany knew that Lucas was letting them off, so they felt like they had been spared from death. After thanking him, they quickly left. Now, only Lucas, Le, and Keh were left in the room. Keh smiled at Lucas and asked, ¡°Mr. Gray, you probably didn¡¯t get to eat well since so much happened today, right? I¡¯ve had people prepare the VVIP private room on the top floor. Would you like to have a meal there?¡± Lucas was already full. Although so much had happened today, he had hardly participated in them, so he had eaten his fill. But he did have some things to say to Keh, so he nodded and agreed. ¡°Le, shall I get someone to send you home?¡± Lucas looked at Le next to him. He was only pretending to be Le¡¯s boyfriend, and the two of them weren¡¯t actually close. Since the matter was already over, they naturally didn¡¯t have to continue acting anymore. But since Lucas had driven Le here, it was only right for him to arrange for someone to send her home. Le should have agreed, but seemingly by ident, the first thing she said was, ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you to go back together!¡± As soon as she said this, she realized how inappropriate it sounded. Lucas clearly knew the owner of the restaurant, and they seemed to have something to talk about, so there was no point in her staying here. But since she had already spoken, she couldn¡¯t change her mind and say that she wanted to leave now. She didn¡¯t know what was going on with herself. She vaguely felt that it was probably because she didn¡¯t want to leave Lucas so soon. After hearing Le¡¯s reply, Lucas didn¡¯t refuse and brought her, under Keh¡¯s lead, to the VVIP room on the top floor. The restaurant was a five-star one, so it had luxurious decor. And since it was a VVIP room, it was even more luxurious. The floor area of this room was over 100 square meters, and it was equipped with a bathroom, couches, a home theater, etc. It was basically like a standalone all-around entertainment space. After they sat down, Keh finally asked Lucas with a smile on his face, ¡°Mr. Gray, what do you think of this restaurant?¡± Lucas nodded in approval. ¡°It¡¯s not bad. I didn¡¯t expect the Parkers to be developing so quickly. Apart from your businesses in LA and the antique and jewelry stores across California, you¡¯ve also expanded into the hospitality industry.¡± Keh hurriedly smiled. ¡°Speaking of which, it¡¯s all thanks to you, Mr. Gray. If it weren¡¯t for your help, the family would have ceased to exist long ago, let alone develop until now. Thank you! ¡°Furthermore, everything weave is thanks to your support, Mr. Gray. So no matter what we achieve, it¡¯s all thanks to you. My grandfather said that everything we have belongs to you, and you can take away anything whenever you please.¡± Chapter 1162 - 1162 The Parkers’ Current Situation 1162 The Parkers¡¯ Current Situation Hearing what Lucas said, Keh looked extremely respectful, even a little in awe. Back then, Keh¡¯s cousin, Tristan, had offended Lucas, and Lucas originally wanted to destroy the Parkers. But fortunately, Keh¡¯s grandfather, Damon, made the right choice to be loyal to Lucas at the critical juncture, which saved the Parkers. He went on to show Lucas his loyalty and earned his trust, which gave the Parkers the opportunity to develop rapidly. Lucas smiled and asked, ¡°How is your grandfather now?¡± He had a good impression of that smart old man Damon Parker. Keh smiled. ¡°My grandfather is doing well. Justst month, he handed over the position of helmsman to my father. My father and I, together with the other members of the family, basically handle all the family affairs now. My grandfather mostly stays in his vi and leads afortable and carefree life of nursing flowers and rearing birds. ¡°But he often mentions you, and he always tells us to remember your great kindness to our family and that we are to obey your instructions whenever we meet you.¡± Lucasughed. He didn¡¯t expect that Damon would tell his juniors this. The two of them were sitting here and talking. Although Le was sitting beside them, she didn¡¯t know Keh or the past between Lucas and the Parkers, so she didn¡¯t have the chance to speak at all and just sat quietly while listening. But from their conversation, Le could infer a lot of information, which caused waves in her heart. Although she still didn¡¯t know what kind of a family the Parkers were, the fact that Keh knew Nick and had even ordered someone to break his limbs was enough to show that the Parkers¡¯ power was not to be underestimated. But regarding this powerful family, Keh actually said that everything the Parkers had now was given to them by Lucas and that Lucas could take anything away as he pleased. In that case, Lucas¡¯s control over the Parkers was simply at a terrifying level. After drinking a few cups of tea, Keh called a gorgeous woman over and introduced her, ¡°Ka, this is Mr. Gray.¡± The woman named Ka quickly greeted Lucas, ¡°Hello, Mr. Gray. I¡¯ve long heard about you, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be younger than I imagined.¡± While speaking, the woman had a very respectful expression on her face and even a tinge of surprise. She had clearly heard of Lucas¡¯s name before. Keh smiled. ¡°Mr. Gray, Ka is my fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± Lucas greeted Ka politely, not expecting that she was Keh¡¯s fianc¨¦e. ¡°Ka, Mr. Gray and I still have some things to talk about, so please show Mrs. Gray around our jewelry gallery. Give her that diamond ne I picked earlier as a meeting gift!¡± Keh said to Ka while signaling to her with his eyes that he was referring to Le. ¡°Alright. Wow, Mrs. Gray, you¡¯re so young and beautiful!¡± Ka was a rather enthusiastic person, and she immediately took Le¡¯s hand and pulled her away. When Le heard the words ¡®Mrs. Gray¡¯, she blushed, but she didn¡¯t say anything and left with Ka shyly. Lucas didn¡¯t exin either. After the two left, he asked, ¡°How is the Parkers¡¯ strength now?¡± In fact, after he subdued the Parkers, he didn¡¯t spend much time and effort on them, and he basically left it to them to develop on their own. Thus, if he hadn¡¯t run into Keh here today, he would have probably almost forgotten about them. But since they met in DC, Lucas wanted to ask how far the Parkers had developed. Keh said, ¡°Since you allowed us to take over the Brookes¡¯ business in LA, our strength has increased by leaps and bounds. ¡°After you became the hegemon of California and Oregonter, the Parkers¡¯ status rose even higher, and countless families and enterprises in both states extended cooperation offers to us. So in the past few months, our assets have increased by more than ten times. ¡°I¡¯m afraid none of the families in California can measure up to us now, not even the Coles.¡± What Keh said surprised Lucas. He didn¡¯t expect the Parkers to be able to improve so drastically within just a few months. Keh hesitated for a moment before continuing, ¡°Actually, to be honest with you, Mr. Gray, we¡¯ve managed to achieve such great sess and expanded beyond LA to all parts of the country, especially in DC, all thanks to you.¡± ¡°Oh? Why do you say so?¡± Lucas asked with a look of interest. Keh smiled. ¡°My grandfather told us that you¡¯re not an ordinary person, and you definitely won¡¯t stay in Orange County. One day, you¡¯ll leap forward and be an incredible person that¡¯s out of reach. He said that if the Parkers continued to stay in California, we would eventually be unable to keep pace with you and be your burden. ¡°Therefore, no matter what, the Parkers must try our best to expand our market and make our family stronger so that we wouldn¡¯t be left behind by you.¡± This reason surprised Lucas again. He didn¡¯t expect the Parkers to have expanded so extensively and were trying their best to cover the entire country so that they wouldn¡¯t be left behind by him. Lucas had an even better impression of Damon. He was indeed a wise man! Lucas¡¯s current power and authority were far superior to before. If the Parkers were still just a powerful small family in LA, Lucas might have really ended up forgetting them. This wasn¡¯t because Lucas was mercenary and snobbish, but rather, he was already standing too high now. All he saw now were countless powerful enemies or allies. Those standing too low were easily obscured and ignored by him. Damon had obviously already realized this, so he had not only instructed his family to follow Lucas¡¯s footsteps closely but also made many changes to the Parkers¡¯ development n in order to prevent Lucas from ignoring them. Chapter 1163 - 1163 The Waltons Arrive 1163 The Waltons Arrive Lucasughed. ¡°But for the past few months, your family hasn¡¯te to see me. If I hadn¡¯te here for a meal by chance, would you guys have continued to stay out of contact with me?¡± Keh nodded seriously. ¡°That¡¯s what my grandfather told us to do. Only when you see us again will we be qualified to say this to you.¡± In other words, if the Parkers hadn¡¯t reached a level that was enough to catch Lucas¡¯s attention, it meant that they hadn¡¯t worked hard enough and were unqualified to approach him. Lucas smiled and said, ¡°Since Damon thinks so highly of me, then I won¡¯t disappoint your family. ¡°From now on, the Parkers can get ready toe to DC!¡± Keh was taken aback, but he immediately said joyfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, do you really want us toe to DC?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to? Or do you think it¡¯s still too early?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°No, no, yes, of course we¡¯re willing!¡± Keh was so agitated that he sprung up from his seat with surprise and joy. ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Gray. I¡¯ll call my grandfather now. He¡¯ll be thrilled to hear this!¡± Then Keh took out his phone to call Damon. Seeing how ecstatic Keh was and hearing Damon¡¯s aged but excited voice, Lucas couldn¡¯t help smiling. Lucas was already nning to shift his focus to DC. So not only was he going to move here, but he would bring Cheyenne, Charlotte, William, and the others too. Since he had already decided to make DC his base camp, he had to reconsider his subordinates. The Parkers were loyal, driven, and capable. Moreover, they wanted to continue following him, so they were undoubtedly a good choice. As soon as Keh hung up, he looked at Lucas with joy and was about to say something. Suddenly, an extremely loud impact sound came from downstairs, and even the floor of the VVIP room shook violently, as if an earthquake had urred. Boom! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Keh¡¯s instantly expression changed, and he hurried over to the window of the private room to see what was going on outside. But at this moment, Keh¡¯s phone rang again. As soon as he picked up, a panicked voice came. ¡°Mr. Parker, bad news! The Waltons are here with arge group of people, and they even got a truck to smash and block the entrance of the restaurant!¡± When he heard this, his face turned pale. The Waltons were here to take revenge! He knew that after he ordered people to break Nick¡¯s limbs and throw the Waltons and their subordinates out, he would definitely face the Waltons¡¯ wrath. But he never thought that their revenge would arrive so quickly. He hadn¡¯t started the necessary arrangements yet! The Waltons were not a small family but one of the eight top families in DC. They held great power, authority, and influence. Although the Parkers could be kings in California, they couldn¡¯t match up at all to the forces in DC, where wealthy and powerful forces were abundant. Even the other seven top families didn¡¯t want to be enemies with the Waltons. But now that the Waltons had brought people here for revenge, what should he do? Keh was utterly panicked and muttered to himself absentmindedly, ¡°What should I do? The Waltons are here, and they won¡¯t spare me for sure. What¡­ what should I do?¡± ¡°What are you afraid of?!¡± Lucas shouted in a deep voice. Only then did Keh snap back to his senses. Yeah, what was he afraid of? Why was he flustered? No matter how quickly the Waltons¡¯ revenge came, no matter how many people they brought, there was nothing to be afraid of with Lucas around. At the thought of it, Keh felt a little regretful. He was displeased with his behavior just now. He had finally gotten a chance to speak to Lucas and even had a few drinks with him, but his behavior just now was too anxious. He was worried that Lucas would think he was a good-for-nothing who got easily scared and flustered when idents happened. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s just the Waltons. They can¡¯t do much. Besides, no matter how many losses they cause to the Parkers today, I will make sure they return it.¡± With that, Lucas walked out of the VVIP room. Keh was shocked for a moment, but he hurriedly followed after Lucas. As soon as the two walked out of the private room, Le rushed over and asked worriedly, ¡°What was with that loud noise just now?¡± Lucas nced at her. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Stay here with Ka. Keh and I will go down to take a look.¡± Le wasn¡¯t stupid. On the contrary, she was quite smart. She immediately asked, ¡°Did the Waltonse to take revenge?¡± Lucas knew that he couldn¡¯t hide it from Le, so he simply nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, but everything will be fine. I¡¯ll take care of it. Stay here for now. Once everything is over, I¡¯ll send you home.¡± Le looked extremely worried, but she knew that she couldn¡¯t put up a fight and would be of no use at all or even a hindrance if she went with him. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you here. Pay attention to your safety ande back in one piece to send me home!¡± Le warned seriously. Lucas nodded and chuckled rxedly. Then he entered the elevator with Keh and headed downstairs. When they reached the lobby on the first floor, they were greeted with the sight of the luxurious lobby in ruins. Therge ss doors had been smashed by a heavy truck, and the ground was covered in shards of tempered ss. The furniture and decorations near the doors had also been smashed, and a few employees were even injured. There was already arge crowd in the lobby. Apart from the few people in front, the rest were all burly men holding steel rods and other weapons, of which there were more than a hundred. This revenge lineup was indeed very terrifying. The staff were so frightened that they were shaking. Some guests who had been waiting and chatting in the lounge of the first floor were already frightened by this scene and had hidden far away. There were two people standing at the front of the crowd, and beside them was a young man with casts around his limbs lying on a stretcher. The young man was Nick, whose limbs had been broken earlier. The two people beside him were Jacky and a middle-aged man in his fifties. They were watching everything with angry expressions. ¡°Your general manager hasn¡¯te, huh? In that case, I¡¯ll smash everything! I want to see if he¡¯ll continue hiding like a coward!¡± the middle-aged man roared angrily. The hundred-odd people behind him answered ¡°Yes!¡± in unison and moved to smash the restaurant. Suddenly, a cold voice sounded. ¡°Who dares?¡± Chapter 1164 - 1164 Replacing the Waltons 1164 Recing the Waltons With the voice, Lucas appeared in the lobby on the first floor. Behind him was Keh. When Keh saw the aggressive crowd in the lobby, his heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he gulped. If Lucas wasn¡¯t standing right in front of him, Keh would have likely lost his bnce. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s them!¡± Seeing Lucas and Keh appear, Jacky immediately pointed at them and shouted furiously, ¡°That punk standing at the back is the general manager of this restaurant. He listened to the other bastard and ordered people to break Nick¡¯s limbs!¡± Nick, who was lying on the stretcher with his head resting on a pillow, said through gritted teeth, ¡°Dad, these two bastards got people to break my arms and legs! You must capture them and return my suffering a hundredfold! ¡°I want to break every single bone in their bodies and make them die wailing in agony!¡± His face full of hatred, Nick wished he could charge forward to rip these two people into shreds! In particr, Nick hated Lucas to the bone. If it wasn¡¯t for Lucas, Keh wouldn¡¯t have had the guts to fall out with him and even break his limbs. The middle-aged man was Nick and Jacky¡¯s father, Clinton. Clinton red at Lucas and Keh with a face full of menace and roared furiously, ¡°Damn it, you two bastards even dare you beat up my son Nick? It seems that if I don¡¯t teach you a lesson, you won¡¯t take the Waltons seriously!¡± He raised his hand, pointed at the two people in front of him, and hollered, ¡°Immediately kneel in front of my son and chop off a hand each, and I can consider letting you die a fast and easy death!¡± Keh subconsciously shuddered. Clinton was the son of the helmsman of the Waltons and the next helmsman of the Waltons. The power and aura he exuded were simply unbearable to ordinary people. On the other hand, Lucas had a calm expression and said lightly, ¡°You think I shouldn¡¯t have done anything to your son, but have you found what happened? Do you know that your son was asking for it? Aren¡¯t you being too unreasonable for trying to use your power to suppress me as soon as youe here?¡± Clinton flew into a rage. ¡°To hell with your bullshit! I don¡¯t care who¡¯s at fault. I only know that youid a hand on my son, so you deserve to die! So what if I¡¯m using my power to suppress you? In this world, it has always been might makes right. Don¡¯t you understand this truth?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right about might makes right. That¡¯s why your son had his limbs broken and can only lie there now.¡± ¡°You!¡± Clinton was about to lose control of his anger. Lucas continued, ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that might makes right, then I won¡¯t make things difficult for you. You¡¯ve destroyed the first floor of the restaurant and frightened the staff here. In that case, justpensate with one hundred million dors, and I can spare you and let you leave safely with your people!¡± Lucas¡¯s words immediately stunned everyone. Wait, did this guy get something wrong? The Waltons had clearly brought more than a hundred people here to make trouble for them, but why did Lucas tell the Waltons topensate 100 million dors? He even acted as if he was being merciful to them. Has this guy lost his mind after being frightened? After being stunned for a moment, Clinton raised his head and burst intoughter. ¡°Haha, punk, you¡¯re really amusing! No one has ever dared to speak like that to me. You¡¯re the first! Are you saying that you¡¯re more powerful than the Waltons?¡± Lucas smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hah, punk, you¡¯re really arrogant! In that case, I want to see how capable you are!¡± Clinton looked at Lucas contemptuously, thinking that he was an ignorant fool. In all of the country, very few families dared to say that they were more powerful than the Waltons, let alone this strange young man. Lucas nced at Clinton and then suddenly said to Keh beside him, ¡°I told you just now that the Parkers can get ready toe to DC. How about you start by recing the Waltons?¡± Keh widened his mouth in shock, almost frightened to death by what Lucas said! Rece the Waltons?! The Waltons were one of the eight top families in DC and had deep roots here. Were the Parkers really qualified to rece the Waltons? Although the Parkers had been developing well recently, the Waltons had a strong foundation built over decades. The two weren¡¯t on the same level at all. If anyone else had made this suggestion, Keh would definitely think that they were delusional or crazy. But the person who said it was Lucas, so Keh would never think that he was talking nonsense. If the Parkers could really rece the Waltons, wouldn¡¯t that mean that the Parkers would be one of the eight top families of DC? When Keh thought of this possibility, his heart began beating vigorously, and his mouth felt dry. ¡°If¡­ if possible, the Parkers are more than willing!¡± Keh said stammeringly. Although he was somewhat afraid of the Waltons, Lucas¡¯s presence made him feel extremely courageous. Besides, regardless of whether Lucas was telling the truth or just testing him, Keh had to agree immediately to express the Parkers¡¯ stand. If he didn¡¯t agree, Lucas might think that he was afraid of the Waltons and didn¡¯t dare to answer the question. They didn¡¯t deliberately keep their voices down. So the Waltons, who were standing nearby, heard it clearly. ¡°Hahaha, this is hrious! You actually want to rece the Waltons? You must be dreaming!¡± Jacky was the first to burst intoughter. Beside him, Clinton looked at Lucas and Keh like they were fools and mocked, ¡°You really don¡¯t know any better. Can the Waltons be reced that easily? You¡¯re still too young and inexperienced. That¡¯s why you said something so ridiculous! ¡°Now, I don¡¯t want to kill you so soon. I must make sure you stay alive and slowly realize how stupid you really are while suffering in endless pain and misery!¡± ¡°Is that so? I¡¯ll wait and see.¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his time speaking with Clinton anymore. He took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Bring two thousand people to the Parker¡¯s Hampton Restaurant within fifteen minutes!¡± Chapter 1165 - 1165 Two Thousand People 1165 Two Thousand People After hearing Lucas¡¯s order, Clintonughed even louder. ¡°Hahahaha! Fifteen minutes? Two thousand people? Punk, are you for real? ¡°Even if you¡¯re the helmsman of one of the eight top families, there¡¯s no way you can call two thousand people over within such a short time! ¡°Hah, punk, do you think we¡¯re easy to fool, so you deliberately said such an exaggerated number in order to scare us? ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for you for fifteen minutes. I¡¯ll see how many people you can call over!¡± Lucas looked at Clinton and smiled. ¡°Go ahead and wait then.¡± Seeing how confident and fearless Lucas was, Clinton couldn¡¯t help but suddenly feel a little flustered. He wondered if Lucas really had the ability to call 2,000 people over. But he soon thought of the fact that even the Waltons couldn¡¯t gather 2,000 people within such a short time, so it was absolutely impossible for Lucas! Although the Waltons weren¡¯t the strongest among the eight top families of DC, he didn¡¯t believe that Lucas would be able to do anything to them. Time passed, and 15 minutes was about to be up. Clinton deliberately looked at his watch and sneered. ¡°Time¡¯s up. Where are your people? Why aren¡¯t any of them anywhere in sight?¡± But as soon as he finished speaking, continuous noises came from outside the restaurant. Through the unshattered ss windows, they could see severalrge green trucks stopping in front of the restaurant one after another, followed by a long convoy driving over quickly. It was an extremely long convoy that looked endless! The sound of vigorous footsteps came from the green trucks, and at least 40 to 50 people jumped off each truck and soon formed a huge crowd in front of the restaurant. Immediately afterward, these people poured into the lobby on the first floor of the restaurant through the broken ss windows. Soon, the spacious hall was filled with people. The trucks and people behind were still continuously rushing over, but they couldn¡¯te in and could only stand outside the restaurant, surrounding it. Under everyone¡¯s shocked eyes, a young man about the same age as Lucas walked over to him and smiled. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m notte, am I?¡± Lucas grinned. ¡°You¡¯re just in time.¡± After hearing their conversation, Clinton and his sons were even more shocked. With so many trucks and so many people, there had to be 2,000 people or more. Lucas had actually managed to gather so many people after just a phone call! Moreover, they weren¡¯t just any random people. Each of them looked strong and well-trained. At first nce, they obviously weren¡¯t ordinary people. Clinton felt a chill seep into his heart. Lucas looked at him and smiled. ¡°How¡¯s it? Can these two thousand people satisfy you?¡± Satisfy? What satisfaction! Clinton felt that he was about to vomit blood! He had never thought that Lucas could really gather more than 2,000 people within such a short time. Moreover, their power and aura were not to be belittled. Gathered in the lobby, they squeezed the hundred-plus people that the Waltons had brought in the middle, making them unable to move at all. If Lucas gave the order to kill them, the hundred-plus subordinates of the Waltons would be of no use whatsoever. They would only end up dying! Based on the fact that Lucas had dared to break his son¡¯s limbs and remained fearless in the face of him and his subordinates, Clinton could tell that Lucas was definitely not a saint and that he could really kill them all! Clinton was greatly rmed and terrified, but he still tried his best to remain calm and ask, ¡°Who¡­ who exactly are you?¡± But he no longer carried a high and mighty aura like he did before. Lucas nced at him. ¡°You don¡¯t even know who I am, yet you dared to bring so many people to confront me and even want to kill me. I have to say that I really admire your courage.¡± What Lucas said made Clinton¡¯s heart sink even more. Did we really offend someone we can¡¯t afford to? Nick, lying on the stretcher, was deathly pale. Seeing so many people gathered, Nick felt an incredibly unbearable sense of oppression that was almost suffocating. He originally thought that the Waltons were already extremely aggressive and powerful. And since his father had brought so many people here to avenge him, it shouldn¡¯t take much effort to capture Lucas and Keh. But Nick never thought that Lucas could really gather 2,000 well-trained men within such a short time. If Nick still couldn¡¯t understand that Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person but someone stronger than the Waltons, he would really be an idiot. Meanwhile, looking at this scene, Jacky was already shivering in fright. As a scion of the Waltons, it was the first time he had encountered such a situation. Two thousand people could easily trample him to death! Clinton wasn¡¯t a simple person after all. After seeing this scene, he quickly weighed the pros and cons in his head and reached a decision. ¡°Mr. Gray, is it? Ahem, everything today is just a misunderstanding, and we came here rashly before getting to the bottom of things. ¡°I hope that you won¡¯t hold it against us. After today, I will definitely take my unfilial sons in hand and thene to apologize to you another day!¡± Clinton was indeed a figure. Upon realizing that things were awry, he no longer put on a strong front and insteadpromised and made himself sound as amicable as possible. Unfortunately, Lucas had no intention of letting him off easy. ¡°That won¡¯t do.¡± Lucas shook his head with a sigh. ¡°Previously, I offered to spare you and let you leave safely as long as you paid one hundred million dors inpensation, but you didn¡¯t agree. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve already called so many of my people over, how can I possibly let you off just like that?¡± Chapter 1166 - 1166 Lack of Experience 1166 Lack of Experience Ever since Keh saw so many people charge into the restaurant, his mouth had been wide open in shock, and it was only now that he finally came back to his senses. Keh¡¯s heart was surging with zeal at this moment. The impact brought by the sudden appearance of 2,000 people was enormous, and they were all helpers that Lucas found to stand on their side! At the same time, the intense shock within Keh¡¯s heart was simply indescribable. To be able to gather so many people here within such a short time definitely wasn¡¯t a feat that ordinary people could aplish! Keh initially thought that what Lucas said about getting the Parkers to rece the Waltons was just to provoke Clinton and his sons. He was now sure that Lucas really had the ability to let the Parkers rece the Waltons, who had been standing strong in DC for years! Thinking of this, Keh became even more zealous. With a gloomy expression, Clinton pondered for a while before gritting his teeth and saying, ¡°What do you want then? How much do you want inpensation? Just name your price!¡± Lucas raised his brows, wondering if Clinton was nning to use money to settle the matter today. ¡°Mr. Walton, didn¡¯t you say that might makes right in this world and that you had to teach us a lesson? Are you admitting defeat now?¡± Lucas asked with a smile. Clinton blushed and said through gritted teeth, ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m inferior to you now, so I admit defeat!¡± He had really underestimated Lucas! In fact, although the Waltons couldn¡¯t gather 2,000 people within just 15 minutes as Lucas did, they might still be able to gather a few hundred people if he hadn¡¯t belittled Lucas and behaved so self-righteously. If he hadn¡¯t assumed that Lucas was bragging, he would have at least stood a chance to fight it out with Lucas. But it was all toote now! The 2,000 people that Lucas called over had already surrounded the restaurant, and he had brought only a hundred or so people, which was basically useless against so many. Even if he called people over now, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make it in time. Lucas obviously wouldn¡¯t give him the time to make a call and wait for his people to gather. It was all because he had belittled Lucas! Clinton was now full of regret. They were in a disadvantageous position now, so they could only clench their teeth and admit defeat. They would find another opportunity to exact revenge another day! A man should be able to give and take when necessary. Lucas knew clearly what Clinton was thinking. A figure who could admit defeat when necessary was indeed not ordinary. But since Clinton wouldn¡¯t give up just like that, Lucas didn¡¯t have to be merciful toward him at all. After hesitating for a moment, Keh finally stepped forward and mocked, ¡°Clinton Walton, weren¡¯t you very stubborn just now? Didn¡¯t you just want to use your family¡¯s power to deal with Mr. Gray and me? Why are you admitting defeat now? ¡°But you don¡¯t look very convinced. You said it¡¯s a misunderstanding and that you¡¯ll apologize to Mr. Gray another day, but I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re thinking about how you¡¯ll bring more and stronger people to deal with Mr. Gray. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with that dy tactic!¡± Having his thoughts exposed, Clinton narrowed his eyes threateningly and rebuked furiously, ¡°Who do you think you are? You¡¯re just the owner of a small restaurant. Do you think you¡¯re qualified to talk to me?¡± Because his son Nick was acquainted with Keh, Clinton knew some things about Keh. Keh¡¯s family was just a somewhat wealthy one that came from LA to develop in DC, so Clinton felt that he wasn¡¯t qualified to talk to him like that. Keh sneered. ¡°Then, who do you think you are? You were just lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family. Without the Waltons, what are you?¡± He wasn¡¯t polite with his words at all. In fact, Keh would usually never dare to speak to Clinton like this. In fact, he wouldn¡¯t dare to speak to Nick and Jacky so rudely either. But things were different today. Lucas was standing right beside him, giving him great confidence. Clinton kept his cold eyes fixed on Keh for a long time before finally saying, ¡°Okay, I remember you, punk. Just you wait. I will make sure you regret saying those things!¡± Keh shuddered uncontrobly. Actually, Keh didn¡¯t have much confidence because his family was much weaker than the eight top families of DC. Now that he was facing the Waltons¡¯ threat, even though he knew that Lucas was beside him and that he had his support, he couldn¡¯t eliminate his long-standing fear within a short time. Moreover, if the Parkers couldn¡¯t rece the Waltons, they would definitely face insane revenge! At the thought of this, Keh felt even more terrified. Lucas watched on coldly without saying a word. Keh wasn¡¯tcking in ability or character, but he stillcked experience. He had juste to DC, where many of the richest and most powerful were, so there was still plenty for him to work on. And now, it was obviously a good chance for him to train. Since Lucas had decided to support the Parkers, it was definitely necessary for Keh, the Parkers¡¯ next helmsman, to gain more experience now. Nick propped himself up on his stretcher, glowered at Keh, and cursed furiously, ¡°Keh Parker, who the hell do you think you are? How dare you speak to my father like that? Don¡¯t you forget that you¡¯re just a nobody from a small family. Don¡¯t think you can disrespect us just because you¡¯ve found a backer! ¡°Even if your father or your grandfather were here, neither of them would dare to speak to my father like that!¡± He knew Keh and had crossed paths with him multiple times. In the past, Keh would be respectful and polite to him whenever he saw him. But he never expected Keh to change so quickly and disregard him after seeing Lucas today. Moreover, the person who had ordered his limbs to be broken was Keh, and he had even pped his face. When Nick thought of this, his hatred toward Keh became even more intense. Once today¡¯s crisis was over, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let Keh and Lucas off! Chapter 1167 - 1167 Go Beat Him Up 1167 Go Beat Him Up After seeing the menacing look in Nick¡¯s eyes, Keh was clearly worried. He quickly nced at Lucas next to him and saw that he didn¡¯t have any intention of speaking, so he immediately realized that Lucas wanted him to handle it himself. Since Keh had already decided to stand by Lucas¡¯s side no matter what, he would no longer let Nick threaten him with just a few words. ¡°Nick, you don¡¯t have to threaten me or despise me here. If I was really afraid of you and the Waltons, I wouldn¡¯t have pped you and got people to break your limbs.¡± Although it was Lucas¡¯s order to break Nick¡¯s limbs, it was Keh who had pped Nick and ordered his subordinates to take action. He wouldn¡¯t regret his actions. From the moment he knew that Nick had offended Lucas, Keh had already chosen to take Lucas¡¯s side and not Nick¡¯s. After hearing what Keh said, Nick was full of resentment. The wounds on his broken limbs started hurting intensely, and there was also a stinging pain in his face. He would never forget this feeling of humiliation! And all of this was Keh¡¯s fault! ¡°Okay, Keh, you¡¯re really f*cking courageous now, huh? Let me warn you. You will definitely die miserablyter because I will torture you to death bit by bit! I won¡¯t let any of you off!¡± Nick, lying on the stretcher, hollered furiously. Seeing this, Jacky stepped forward and said ferociously, ¡°Parker, don¡¯t think you¡¯re that impressive now! ¡°I heard that your father is also in DC, so you¡¯d better pray that nothing happens to him. You¡¯d better hope he doesn¡¯t encounter a car ident for no reason or suddenly die in his sleep! ¡°Ah, I remember now. You have a girlfriend here named Ka, right? I¡¯ve met her once. She looks pretty good! ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Once I catch you, I won¡¯t let her off either. I¡¯ll toy with her right in front of you and make sure you live with endless regret!¡± Jackypletely revealed his malice in his threat and disgusting words. Keh was immediately enraged. ¡°Jacky Walton, try hurting my family! If you dare toy a finger on them, I won¡¯t ever let you off!¡± Seeing how angry Keh was, Jacky guffawed joyfully. ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re panicking. Are you scared? That¡¯s exactly what I want! If you don¡¯t want those things to happen, I can give you a chance. As long as you kneel down and beg me right now, I might consider letting them off!¡± ¡°Go to hell! You want me to beg you? Dream on!¡± Keh red at Jacky with bloodshot eyes. Lucas nced at Keh, who had long forgotten his fear and was boiling with fury. Lucas was pleased. Although Keh was furious, he hadn¡¯t lost his rationality. As for the others, he would take it slow. ¡°Keh, do you want to beat up this bastard?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. Keh nodded vigorously. ¡°Yes, I do! Very much so!¡± After hearing Jacky threaten him with his father and girlfriend, Keh immediately wanted to rush over and kill him. ¡°Go over and beat him up until he begs for forgiveness!¡± Lucas said. Keh looked at Lucas in shock. Go beat Jacky up alone¡­? Although a rich scion like Jacky wasn¡¯t hard to deal with, he had more than a hundred people from the Waltons standing around him! The Waltons obviously wouldn¡¯t allow him to walk over and beat Jacky up just like that. Keh hesitated. Lucas smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t dare to go over, just take it that I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± As soon as he saw the faint disappointment on Lucas¡¯s face, Keh trembled all over and immediately came back to his senses. Since Lucas had already spoken, he definitely wouldn¡¯t let him court death, so there was no reason for him to be scared about going over. As soon as he figured this out, Keh hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯ll go beat him up right now!¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about anything. It¡¯s fine even if you kill him.¡± Lucas¡¯s words gave Keh great confidence, and his eyes were full of determination. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll beat him to death with my own hands!¡± With that, Keh stepped forward and walked toward Jacky. All the Waltons had heard their conversation. Clinton¡¯s expression immediately darkened. Lucas actually asked Keh to beat his son up in front of him and even said that it would be fine even if he killed him. He wasn¡¯t taking them seriously at all! If possible, Clinton wished he could seize these two bastards and execute them! But what made Clinton aggrieved was that he had only brought around a hundred people over, while Lucas had 2,000 people on his side! There were already 500 to 600 people standing on the first floor, and there were still many people standing outside. As long as he took any rash action, he would probably die here! At this point, he couldn¡¯t send anyone to stop Keh. Clinton believed that as long as he got someone to stop Keh, Lucas would definitely get his people to take action. When that happened, not only would he not stop Keh, but it might even attract Lucas¡¯s people to attack him. It wouldn¡¯t be worth it at all! Seeing Keh really walking toward him, Jacky finally felt terrified. But his father had remained still and didn¡¯t even send anyone to stop Keh. Now, Jacky finally understood his current plight. ¡°Dad, get someone to stop him! Don¡¯t let hime close to me! He¡­ he wants to beat me up, and he might kill me! Hurry up and get people to surround him! Beat him to death!¡± Jacky yelled in panic. Clinton gritted his teeth and hollered, ¡°Shut up!¡± He thought that his son was really stupid. If he could stop Keh, he would have long sent people to stop him! Besides, it was just fighting Keh. Clinton reckoned that since Jacky and Keh were about the same age, Lucas wouldn¡¯t send others to participate. In that case, it would just be a brawl between the two. There was no need for his idiot son to be so frightened. Clinton didn¡¯t know that Jacky, his youngest son, had long be a wastrel. Perhaps because he didn¡¯t have to be the family¡¯s helmsman, Jacky spent all his time ying since he was a child. After bing an adult, he even indulged in alcohol and lust all day. At his most extreme, he even had sex with more than ten women in a night. Although Jacky was still rtively young in his twenties, he had long damaged his body with all the overindulgence. As a result, he had be weak and frail, without the slightest strength to fight anyone. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been beaten up so badly by Roger and the others previously. But Keh was different. Back in LA, he had already been designated as the future helmsman, and his grandfather, Damon, had always been strict with him. Thus, he had never engaged in vices. Moreover, he worked out regrly, so he was rather strong. If the two of them really fought, Keh might really kill Jacky! Chapter 1168 - 1168 One-Sided Beating 1168 One-Sided Beating ¡°Dad, hurry up and save me! I¡¯m really no match for him. I might really be killed by him!¡± Jacky was so frightened that he was shuddering. Watching Keh get closer and closer, he became more and more terrified. ¡°What are you afraid of? Keep your back straight!¡± Clinton roared angrily, feeling extremely ashamed that his son was so frightened by someone from a small family. But since his son was so ipetent that he didn¡¯t dare to fight with Keh, Clinton would still try his best to make him avoid the fight. Clinton looked at Lucas and said in a deep voice, ¡°My son is injured, and he¡¯s still in pain. If you make him fight with someone, it won¡¯t be a fair fight at all!¡± Lucas felt that what Clinton said was amusingly ridiculous, and he really burst intoughter. !! At the side, Jordanughed and questioned with raised brows, ¡°Old man, you¡¯re really funny! Didn¡¯t you say that might makes right earlier? Why are you asking for fairness now? ¡°Besides, your son courted death by threatening to harm Keh¡¯s father and girlfriend. Now that Keh is angry and wants to beat him up, you¡¯re saying that your son is injured and can¡¯t fight? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re ridiculous?¡± Clinton¡¯s face turned gloomy, but he couldn¡¯t find any words to justify himself. Jordan was right. Jacky had indeed jumped out and threatened Keh with the lives of his father and girlfriend. Moreover, he sounded extremely disgusting, thus angering Keh. Even though Clinton was biased toward his son, he was at a loss for words at this point. But Lucas smiled again and said, ¡°If you think this isn¡¯t fair enough, then I have an even more unfair method. Do you want to try it?¡± ¡°Hehe, yeah, old man, wanna try it?¡± Jordan chuckled and then said to the subordinates he brought, ¡°Did you guys hear that? If anyone dares to talk about fairness again, get them to know what real unfairness is!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the 2,000 people in and outside the restaurant shouted in unison, their voices as deafening as thunder. The expressions of the Waltons immediately became even gloomier. Facing the threat and pressure formed by so many people, they didn¡¯t have the slightest confidence to fight back. This was a warning from Lucas to them. Jacky was so frightened that his legs went limp, and he almost fell to the ground, his face full of horror. After Keh heard the deafening shout, his body was full of zeal and power. And the tinge of nervousness he felt earlier hadpletely vanished. ¡°Dad, I¡­ I don¡¯t want to fight! I don¡¯t want to die! I¡­ I¡¯ll kneel and admit defeat!¡± Jacky yelled spinelessly. ¡°Shut up!¡± Clinton was really on the verge of being angered to death by his idiot son. He raised his arm and gave Jacky a loud p in the face. ¡°You haven¡¯t even started fighting with him yet. How do you know that you¡¯re definitely going to lose or die? Stop being a disgrace! Isn¡¯t it just a fight? Do it right now! ¡°You¡¯re my son, and your grandfather is the helmsman of the Waltons. I refuse to believe that he can really do anything to you with me standing here! ¡°Go fight and beat him up!¡± After being pped and taught a lesson by Clinton, Jacky finally calmed down. Indeed, his father was right. He was a scion of the Waltons, and he reckoned that Keh definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to kill him. Jacky gritted his teeth and finally said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll fight him then!¡± ¡°Good, that¡¯s more like my son! Don¡¯t hold back either. Hit him hard!¡± After instructing Jacky, Clinton patted him on the shoulder and pushed him forward. There was already a clear area on the first floor of the lobby, specially meant for their fight. With intense killing intent in his eyes, Keh walked up to Jacky. ¡°Jacky, you shouldn¡¯t have threatened me with my family and lover. I will kill you today!¡± When Jack saw the killing intent in Keh¡¯s eyes, his fear resurged. He said awkwardly, ¡°I¡­ I just made a casual remark. I¡¯m not really going to do anything to them! You¡¯re a man. Must you be that petty? You even want to fight me to the death.¡± Amused by Jacky¡¯s shameless words, Kehughed angrily. ¡°Casual remark? I¡¯m petty? Jacky, I¡¯ve just realized how shameless you are! ¡°Forget it. I can¡¯t be bothered to waste my breath on you. Take this!¡± He roared and charged at Jacky to punch him in the face. Seeing that the situation was amiss, Jacky wanted to evade, but his reaction was too slow. Although he wanted to dodge, his body was too heavy, and his actions couldn¡¯t keep up with his intentions. Thus, Keh¡¯s punchnded straight on his face! Bang! The punch hit Jacky¡¯s nose, causing him to howl in excruciating pain, and tears immediately flowed from his eyes. ¡°Keh Parker, you bastard, how dare you hit me so hard?! I¡¯ll fight you to the death!¡± Jacky hollered furiously, wiped his nose, and retaliated. Bang! Bang! Bang! ¡­ The sounds of kicks and punches came from them one after another. But anyone who wasn¡¯t blind could see that most of the sounds came from Jacky¡¯s body. Every punch and kick thrown by Keh hit Jacky¡¯s body hard, but Jacky was too slow and couldn¡¯t dodge at all. Moreover, Jacky couldn¡¯t barely find any chances to strike back against Keh. Even when he finally found a chance to attack, his blows were weak and immediately dodged by Keh. Instead of calling it a fight between two people, it was more like a one-sided beating. When Clinton saw his son being beaten and screaming again and again, his heart tensed up tightly. He didn¡¯t expect his son to be so much inferior to someone his age. Besides, the murderous intent on Keh¡¯s face and his merciless moves made Clinton worried. If Keh was really bold enough to kill Jacky, what should he do? Go forward to stop Keh and save his son? Or would he have to watch and bear with it? But if he really intervened, with Lucas and the two thousand people watching, he might die here when the time came! Chapter 1169 - 1169 Stomped to Death on the Spot 1169 Stomped to Death on the Spot There was no way the weak and frail Jacky, who often indulged in alcohol and lust, could defeat the furious Keh. Soon, he was beaten so badly that he was screaming in pain and curled up on the ground, his hands covering his hands, unable to get up again. He kept begging for forgiveness. ¡°Stop!¡± Clinton finally couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and stepped forward. Keh kicked Jacky and questioned coldly, ¡°What? Are you going to intervene now?¡± Distressed, Clinton said, ¡°My son has already admitted defeat and begged for mercy!¡± Keh sneered, ¡°So what? He deserved death the moment he threatened me with my family and lover! ¡°And Mr. Gray wants him dead, so he must die here!¡± Then Keh suddenly raised his leg and stomped on Jacky¡¯s neck. ¡°No! Stop!¡± Clinton roared with fury. He was about to rush forward to stop him, but it was toote. Snap! With a crisp sound, Keh¡¯s foot crushed Jacky¡¯s neck! Jacky died on the spot! Seeing the gaze of terror in his son¡¯s eyes before his unwilling death, Clinton¡¯s eyes were bloodshot with fury. ¡°You¡­ you actually killed my son! Bastard, how dare you?!¡± Like an angry beast, Clinton red at Keh with astonishing murderous intent in his eyes. Keh had struck in a moment of anger and ended up killing Jacky. After calming down and seeing Jacky¡¯s corpse and the anger in Clinton¡¯s eyes, he finally felt scared. But Keh didn¡¯t regret it in the slightest. If he could do it again, he would definitely kill Jacky once more! Keh didn¡¯t believe that what Jack said earlier was just a casual remark. If he had really let Jacky off, his father and girlfriend would have really been in danger. Thus, in order to protect them, he had to kill Jacky! Standing at the side, Lucas had been calm all this time. Jacky only had himself to me for his death. The cause of this matter was Jacky¡¯s lecherous behavior of pulling a woman he took a fancy to into his private room to take liberties with her, leading to the following series of incidents. Lucas had nned to spare Jacky¡¯s life, but he had actually courted death by threatening the lives of Keh¡¯s loved ones, which had infuriated Lucas. Lucas hated those who threatened the lives of people¡¯s loved ones. Jacky¡¯s behavior had crossed Lucas¡¯s bottom line, so he wanted to kill him and asked Keh to do it. Of course, this was an experience he wanted Keh to undergo. Looking at the raging Clinton, Keh did feel a little scared, but he was no longer trembling like he had at the start. He faced Clinton¡¯s bloodshot eyes and said calmly, ¡°He deserved to die!¡± Clinton red at Keh with his jaw clenched and then turned to ask Lucas, ¡°My son is dead. Are you satisfied now? Can we go now?¡± His voice was full of cold resentment. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s just the feud between your son and Keh. The feud between you and me isn¡¯t so easy to settle. ¡°You can leave if you want, but get your father to speak to me! Otherwise, you will bear the consequences!¡± ¡°You¡­ Don¡¯t go overboard!¡± Clinton roared angrily. He had already lost a son, yet Lucas actually wasn¡¯t willing to let them go and even wanted him to get his father toe here to talk. With Lucas¡¯s forces here, even if his father came, he would probably be on the losing end. Lucas couldn¡¯t care less about Clinton¡¯s anger. He merely chuckled and said, ¡°You have an hour to get your father toe here. If he doesn¡¯t show up, I¡¯ll go to the Waltons¡¯ personally. ¡°But I can¡¯t guarantee what the consequences will beter.¡± Lucas sneered and then waved his hand at the 2,000 people around him. ¡°You guys can go.¡± As soon as they heard his order, they immediatelyplied and retreated, vanishing almost within a few seconds. Once they left, the Waltons and their people were the majority remaining. At this moment, Clinton felt a strong urge to instruct his subordinates to take action. After all, there were now more than a hundred of them, while there were only three people on Lucas¡¯s side. However, watching Lucas leave confidently, Clinton hesitated for a long time but didn¡¯t dare to issue the order. Since Lucas could gather 2,000 people within 15 minutes and make them leave with onemand, he could likewise gather them again in no time. Moreover, if he really ordered an attack on Lucas, there would probably be no leeway for maneuvering. Lucas suddenly stopped and turned around. ¡°Remember, you only have an hour. Anyter, and you will bear the consequences!¡± Clinton¡¯s expression changed multiple times, but he eventually could only grit his teeth and say, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The people he brought immediately lifted Nick, who was lying on his stretcher, and the dead Jackey and left the restaurant in silence. Soon, the lobby, which had been crowded just now, became quiet. After arranging for the manager and staff to deal with the aftermath, Keh hurriedly followed Lucas and returned to the VVIP room on the top floor. Hearing the noise, Le immediately came over and asked anxiously, ¡°How is it? Lucas, are you okay?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± He turned around and instructed Keh, ¡°Get someone to send her home.¡± Just as Keh was about to agree, Le immediately said, ¡°No! I¡¯m not going! You clearly said that you¡¯d send me home after you finished handling the matter here. But now, you¡¯re getting someone else to send me home. Is it because you haven¡¯t settled it yet? ¡°You¡¯re getting me to leave now because you want to keep me out of this, right? But the things that happened today were because I dragged you here. Now that you¡¯re in trouble, how can I just leave? ¡°Are the Waltons refusing to let you off? Why don¡¯t I go out and beg them to let you off? I¡¯ll tell them toe at me instead!¡± Le looked extremely worried, and even her eyes were bloodshot, as she felt extremely remorseful and guilty. After hearing what Le said, Lucas couldn¡¯t help being slightly amused and touched. Lucasughed in a rxed manner. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s alright. You¡¯ve guessed wrong this time.¡± Chapter 1170 - 1170 Ready to Replace 1170 Ready to Rece ¡°Huh? Am I wrong?¡± Le asked in puzzlement. But when she saw the rxed look on Lucas¡¯s face and Keh¡¯s calm expression, she was finally sure that things were probably not as she had imagined. Lucas might really not take the Waltons seriously. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Waltons can¡¯t do anything to me. But if you stay here, you might be a burden to me, so you should go home first. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Lucas said softly. Hearing this, Le also knew that staying here would only make Lucas worried about her. !! She nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go home now. You must take care of your safety!¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry.¡± Lucas nodded. Soon, Keh arranged for a driver and two bodyguards to send Le home. At the same time, he also arranged for someone to send his girlfriend, Ka, home. Lucas, Jordan, and Keh were the only ones remaining in the private room. Lucas and Jordan were naturally very rxed. They didn¡¯t take the Waltons seriously at all, but Keh was extremely uneasy and worried. ¡°Mr. Gray, I just killed Jacky Walton, and the Parkers have formed a death feud with the Waltons, so you must help me deal with them. Otherwise, the Parkers will definitely be in trouble! After all, the current Parkers are no match for the Waltons!¡± Keh said worriedly while rubbing his fingers. ¡°Are you regretting it now?¡± Lucas said indifferently. Keh hurriedly shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t regret it. I¡¯m just¡­ just worried that the Waltons will take revenge on us. Given our power alone, we can¡¯t withstand it. So¡­¡± Lucas nced at him. ¡°What are you afraid of? I¡¯m still sitting here. I naturally won¡¯t leave the Parkers in the lurch. ¡°Just rest well here and call someone toe over.¡± ¡°Call someone toe over?¡± Keh was immediately stunned. ¡°But there aren¡¯t many people I can call over in DC¡­¡± Lucas was speechless. He didn¡¯t want Keh to call fighters over. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten those 2,000 people to leave. Jordan chuckled. ¡°Lucas means that he wants you to call the person in charge of the Parkers over. If nothing goes wrongter, you will officially be taking over the Waltons¡¯ position and businesses. Can you take charge?¡± Keh finally came back to his senses and hastily said, ¡°My grandfather has already handed over the position of helmsman to my fatherst month. I will notify him right away! He¡¯ll be here soon.¡± Then he hurriedly took out his phone to call his father and inform him toe over to settle the matter. But before Keh could make the call, someone suddenly knocked on the door of the private room. Keh opened the door, only to see that his father was already here. Keh came to a sudden realization. Indeed, after such a major ruckus in the restaurant, someone must have long informed his father about it, so he didn¡¯t have to make the call. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re here, Dad. Mr. Gray is here,¡± Keh quickly said and let Ray Parker in. Ray hurried over to Lucas and greeted respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, how are you doing?!¡± Lucas nodded without being too polite with him and said directly, ¡°Just ask Keh about the details. Now, you need to prepare enough people and get them ready.¡± Keh hurriedly exined everything that had happened today, as well as Lucas¡¯s n to let the Parkers take over the Waltons. The more he heard, the more shocked Ray became. After hearing everything, he was even more excited. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get everyone ready! Thank you for giving us this opportunity, Mr. Gray!¡± Then he stepped out of the room and quickly made arrangements. ¡­ Meanwhile, Clinton had already left the restaurant and brought his two sons, one crippled and the other dead, back to the Walton residence. The first thing he did when he got home was to look for his father, Albert. ¡°Dad, bad news! We¡¯re in trouble!¡± Clinton shouted. Albert hurriedly asked, ¡°Why? What happened?¡± Albert was the current helmsman of the Waltons. Although he was in his seventies, he was still very energetic and full of vigor. He was the one who had built the Waltons¡¯ business empire. Clinton quickly recounted everything that had happened. Especially when he reached the part about his son dying in the Parkers¡¯ restaurant, he was practically seething with anger. ¡°Dad, that¡¯s what happened. They beat Jacky to death! The Waltons can¡¯t take this lying down! ¡°Furthermore, that young man named Lucas Gray is really arrogant. He wants you to go and talk to him in person. Otherwise, he¡¯lle to the Waltons¡¯ himself and make us bear the consequences!¡± Clinton was furious. Albert looked incredibly gloomy too. He didn¡¯t expect to lose a grandson so abruptly. But he was older than Clinton and had experienced more, so he didn¡¯t lose himself in grief and anger and bring people to take revenge on Lucas immediately. ¡°You said that young man managed to gather two thousand people in fifteen minutes with just one phone call, right? In that case, he¡¯s definitely not an ordinary person, and it won¡¯t be wise to go against him head-on. Since he wants to see me, I¡¯ll go and meet him.¡± Clinton hurriedly said, ¡°Dad, since he insisted on you going, he might have evil intentions. What if he harms you? ¡°I think we should take this opportunity to gather all the Waltons¡¯ experts and kill that punk! He¡¯s too confident. He actually dispersed all the people he called over. If we bring arge number of experts over now, he won¡¯t have time to react! ¡°This is a great opportunity for us!¡± Albert nced at his son and shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re thinking about this too simply. That young man dismissed the two thousand people he called over right in front of you. Do you really think he¡¯s a fool? It just means that he¡¯s not worried and isn¡¯t afraid of you bringing people over! ¡°Besides, if he isn¡¯t confident, how could he have allowed you to leave in one piece? Wouldn¡¯t it have been safer for him if he held you hostage there and got me to go over?¡± Clinton felt that his father made sense too, but if he sumbed to Lucas just like that, he would be really indignant. He clenched his fists and asked, ¡°Dad, are you really going to go see Lucas Gray?¡± Chapter 1171 - 1171 The Helmsman of the Waltons 1171 The Helmsman of the Waltons Albert nodded solemnly. ¡°I have to go. Since this matter concerns the lives of the Waltons, I must treat it seriously!¡± Clinton said with surprise, ¡°Concerns the lives of the Waltons? Is it that serious?¡± ¡°What do you know?¡± Albert chided. ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t belittle that young man. Take Nick ande with me to the restaurant immediately. We¡¯ll go apologize to him!¡± ¡°What?! He killed my son, your grandson Jacky, and you want to apologize to him? Why?!¡± Clinton immediately screamed, finding it uneptable. Albert snorted coldly. ¡°Idiot! If you¡¯re not willing to do it, we¡¯ll have to watch the Waltons be destroyed!¡± !! Seeing that his father had lost his temper, Clinton didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. He could only agree reluctantly, ¡°Yes, I understand.¡± After Clinton left, Albert sighed and picked up his phone to make a call. ¡°The Waltons are in trouble now. We need your help.¡± On the other end, a harsh and authoritative voice said, ¡°Give me the ce and time!¡± Albert looked at his watch. Lucas had only given them an hour. Deducting the time Clinton took to get home, there was about half an hour left. ¡°We¡¯ll meet at the Hampton Restaurant in DC in half an hour,¡± Albert said over the phone. ¡°Got it.¡± The other party¡¯s answer was extremely simple, and he immediately hung up. Hearing the other party agree, Albert heaved a sigh of relief. As long as this big shot helped, the Waltons¡¯ crisis might be resolved easily. ¡­ In the VVIP room on the top floor of the Hampton Restaurant¡­ Leaning against the seat, Jordan looked at Lucas and asked with a smile, ¡°Lucas, it seems like you¡¯re finally nning to take over all those top families in DC. You¡¯re amazing!!¡± He gave Lucas a thumbs up, his face full of respect and admiration. Lucasughed. ¡°What do I need those families for? Generally, if they don¡¯t provoke me, I can¡¯t be bothered to care about them.¡± Jordan said, ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re being too humble! As far as I know, the helmsmen of several of the eight families in DC, like your mother-inw, the head of the Howards, are very respectful to you. I heard that Ms. Howard has said publicly that she ns to hand over the family to Cheyenne. ¡°And the Huttons, they¡¯repletely on your side now, and even Jace doesn¡¯t dare to go against you anymore. ¡°The Smiths have pledged allegiance to you and listen to all your orders. ¡°Also, the Williams and the Piers don¡¯t dare to offend you easily. ¡°If you add everything up, more than half of the eight top families in DC are already on your side, or at least they don¡¯t dare to offend you. ¡°If the Parkers rece the Waltons, your power will be even greater. Isn¡¯t it impressive to have most of the top forces in DC on your side?¡± Lucas nced at the excited Jordan. ¡°Are you that free now? If you think you have nothing to do, I can arrange a few more tasks for you.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t!¡± Jordan hurriedly begged for mercy, ¡°I¡¯m just thinking aloud. Lucas, don¡¯t send me somewhere faraway!¡± At the side, Keh and Ray listened quietly to their conversation. But after they heard what Jordan said, their expressions changed slightly. They were extremely shocked. Keh and his father didn¡¯t expect Lucas to have aplished such great achievements even though he had only been in DC for about two months. He had already subdued so many of the eight top families of DC, whom many people didn¡¯t dare to offend. If news about this got out, the entire upper-ss circle of DC would be in an uproar. Over the years, no one had ever been able to gather so many of the eight top families. Lucas was the only one! This made the Parker father and son, who were about to face the Waltons, feel fortunate. Lucas had the backing of three of the eight top families, and another two didn¡¯t dare to offend or disobey him. In that case, what could the Waltons do? At this moment, the two of them were full of confidence, and they were no longer worried about the Waltons¡¯ revenge. At this moment, someone knocked on the door of the private room. The lobby manager stood outside and said nervously, ¡°Mr. Parker, the Waltons are here!¡± Ray immediately looked at Lucas. After getting a nod from him, he said, ¡°Bring them here.¡± Soon, the lobby manager led a few people into the VVIP room. There were three people. They were Clinton; Nick, who was wheeled in on a wheelchair; and a white-haired old man. The old man was standing in the middle of them. He was obviously Albert, the helmsman of the Waltons. After entering the room, Albert nced at everyone here and quickly locked his gaze on Lucas. ¡°What an outstanding young man. You must be Mr. Lucas Gray.¡± Lucas smiled in response to Albert¡¯s respectful attitude and sharp observation. Then his smile faded as he said, ¡°Mr. Walton, since you¡¯re here, you should know what happened. But I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re aware of the real cause of the matter. ¡°After all, when your son brought people here to settle scores with me, he didn¡¯t ask about the cause. All he said was that might makes right. All that matters is who is stronger. Mr. Walton, do you agree?¡± When Albert heard this, his heart suddenly raced for some reason. He actually felt the aura of a superior from Lucas, which made him experience difficulty breathing. This young man definitely wasn¡¯t ordinary! What Lucas said made Albert feel an ominous premonition. He glowered at his son and then smiled apologetically. ¡°My son can be quite uncouth sometimes. Please don¡¯t mind him, Mr. Gray. Speaking of which, I really don¡¯t know what happened. Could you please exin it to me?¡± Lucas looked at Albert and said, ¡°I was here for a meal with some people today, but your grandson Jacky suddenly got fresh with a girl in our group. He even pulled her into his room and tried to vite her. Your other grandson, Nick, then brought a group of people to take revenge and wanted to make all the girls stay behind to apany them. ¡°Later, your son brought more than a hundred people here and wrecked the restaurant¡¯s entrance. He even dered that he would make us die miserably. Tell me. Whose fault do you think it is?¡± Chapter 1172 - 1172 Acquiring the Waltons 1172 Acquiring the Waltons After Albert heard what Lucas said, his expression darkened. He suddenly shouted angrily at his son and grandson, ¡°You bastards, this is all your fault! Hurry up and kneel down to apologize to Mr. Gray!¡± Nick was shocked. He jumped off his wheelchair and knelt on the floor distressingly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ Mr. Gray. It¡¯s all my fault. Please forgive me!¡± His limbs had been broken, and he was now kneeling, so it was inevitable that he strained his wound. He was in so much pain that he broke out in cold sweat. But at this moment, Nick couldn¡¯t care less about the pain. If he couldn¡¯t resolve the current trouble, he might die. !! Clinton was very hesitant. He felt it was embarrassing to kneel and apologize to a young man who was about his son¡¯s age. ¡°What are you waiting for? Kneel down!¡± Albert red at Clinton and suddenly pped his face. Smack! Burning pain erupted on Clinton¡¯s face, but facing his father¡¯s fury, he could only grit his teeth and kneel. ¡°It¡¯s my fault for bringing people over to cause trouble before finding out the cause of the matter. I hope you forgive me, Mr. Gray!¡± Clinton said with difficulty through gritted teeth, his face flushed. Lucas looked down at the two people kneeling in front of him. He chuckled with raised brows and then turned to look at Albert to ask, ¡°Mr. Walton, how do you n to resolve the matter today?¡± Seeing Lucas barely reacting to his son and grandson kneeling and apologizing, he felt even more nervous. He took out a bank card from his pocket and handed it to Lucas. ¡°There¡¯s three hundred million dors here. Please take it aspensation for offending you and wrecking the restaurant¡¯s entrance. What do you think, Mr. Gray?¡± Keh was so startled that his heart pounded rapidly. This was 300 million dors! Although the Parkers were now developing much better than before, it wasn¡¯t easy for them to get 300 million dors in liquid funds all at once. Lucas had previously agreed to let them off for 100 million dors. But unfortunately, Clinton rejected it. He didn¡¯t expect Albert to offer 300 million dors inpensation, which was 200 million dors more than Lucas¡¯s price. But Keh was merely shocked in his heart. He knew that the person negotiating today was Lucas, and it was up to Lucas to decide whether he would ept the Waltons¡¯pensation. Based on Lucas¡¯s n, he probably wouldn¡¯t ept thepensation. Sure enough, Lucas remained sitting in his seat and said indifferently, ¡°Mr. Walton, do you want me to let the matter rest just with three hundred million dors?¡± Albert gritted his teeth and took out another bank card. ¡°Here¡¯s another three hundred million dors. Six hundred million dors should be enough, right?¡± Without even looking at the bank cards, Lucas sneered. ¡°You want to buy the lives of your son and grandson with just six hundred million dors? Mr. Walton, that¡¯s a little too cheap, isn¡¯t it? ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll give you three hundred million dors in exchange for the lives of you three. What do you think?¡± Then Lucas narrowed his eyes and exuded a formidable aura. Albert was stunned and almost fell to his knees under the pressure. Clinton and Jacky, who were already kneeling, felt as if there was a massive mountain towering over them and pressing down against them. Theyy t against the floor with cold sweat trickling down their faces. Albert was incredibly astonished. As soon as Lust lost his temper, the aura he exuded was too terrifying! Even he, who had experienced countless battles, felt frightened. Albert hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Gray, please calm down! I made a mistake just now. I¡¯m willing topensate with one billion dors. Please let the Waltons off!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You want me to spare the Waltons? I¡¯ll give you three billion dors to buy your entire family!¡± Albert was stunned! The Waltons¡¯ total assets were more than 30 billion dors, but Lucas said that he wanted to buy the entire Walton family for 3 billion dors. How was that eptable?! This amount wasn¡¯t enough to buy the Waltons¡¯ most profitable entertainmentpany. This wasn¡¯t buying but daylight robbery! Nick and Clinton, kneeling on the floor, were shocked. How could they possibly ept the acquisition at such a low price?! Even Keh and Ray, standing behind Lucas, couldn¡¯t help gasping. Although they had long known that Lucas wanted to acquire the Waltons, thetter would definitely not agree to this price that was less than 10% of their worth. At this moment, Albert was infuriated. His face trembled a little, and he finally said with great difficulty, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m old now. Please don¡¯t joke with me like that. My heart can¡¯t take it¡­¡± Lucas smiled indifferently. ¡°I¡¯m not joking with you. I think I¡¯ve made it clear enough. If you want me to let the Waltons off, you have to sell your entire family to me for three billion, or else we can forget about it.¡± Albert¡¯s expression immediately stiffened. Before he came here, he knew that Lucas would likely demand something unreasonable from him, but he didn¡¯t expect his motive to be to take over their entire family! Clinton suddenly stood up and roared furiously, ¡°Punk, don¡¯t go too far! You¡¯re being too much of a bully! You want to buy our entire family for just three billion dors? Dream on!¡± Nick looked extremely regretful. If he had known that Lucas was so formidable and difficult to deal with, he wouldn¡¯t havee to take revenge for his brother. Otherwise, things wouldn¡¯t have escted to this. Now, Jacky was dead, and Albert was old. Yet he still had to stand here and bear the humiliation that a young man in his twenties was subjecting him to! All of this could have been avoided! Nick¡¯s feelings of regret made his eyes turn red. ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s all my fault for what happened today! My younger brother, Jacky, was indeed the cause of everything, but he has already paid for his mistake with his life! ¡°If you¡¯re still upset, just kill me! Please, I beg you to let the Waltons off!¡± Then Nick lowered his head and pressed it hard against the floor in a humble manner. Chapter 1173 - 1173 Supporter 1173 Supporter ¡°Nick, no!¡± Clinton yelled and immediately helped Nick up from the floor, feeling extremely heartbroken. Nick and Jacky were his only sons. Just an hour ago, Jacky had died in front of him. If Nick died too, both of his sons would be dead, and the main Walton bloodline would end. By then, even if the Waltons could preserve themselves, it would be pointless. Clinton¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as he red daggers at Lucas. ¡°Dad, why should we continue to tolerate this? Let¡¯s just fight them to the death! Even if I die, I will drag these bastards to be buried with me!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Albert hollered to stop Clinton from speaking any further. Despite his unwillingness, Clinton had no choice but to clench his jaw and keep his mouth shut. Lucas sighed, thinking that they were making him seem like a viin. But they failed to consider the fact that if it wasn¡¯t because Lucas was powerful enough, he would be the one in dire straits now. Besides, the Waltons had all acted high and mighty, thinking they were superior to everyone and could trample on anyone. The Waltons were at fault first, and they had evenmitted mistake after mistake. It was now time for them to pay the price of their wrongdoings. Albert¡¯s face turned pale, and he looked extremely haggard. Looking at Lucas, he said almost pleadingly, ¡°Mr. Gray, can¡¯t you let us off? I can give you three billion dors aspensation. I only hope you¡¯ll forgive us.¡± The sight of an elderly man in his seventies pleading in such a miserable manner and tone could easily evoke sympathy in others and make it difficult for them topel him any further. Unfortunately, Lucas wasn¡¯t a softhearted person. Lucas remained unmoved. ¡°Do you think Ick three billion dors?¡± His sentence was proof of his determination to take over the Waltons. Albert gritted his teeth and said, ¡°But the Waltons¡¯ worth is over thirty billion dors. It¡¯s impossible for us to let you acquire our assets for a mere three billion dors!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°That¡¯s under the premise that the Waltons are still safe and sound. If I destroy the Waltons now, let alone having a worth of tens of billions, I can make you be in debt tens of billions that you will never be able to repay. Do you want to give it a try?¡± When Albert heard this, despair finally appeared in his eyes. He knew that Lucas was definitely not just trying to scare them. Based on how Lucas could gather more than 2,000 fighters within 15 minutes, he could tell that Lucas was definitely not an ordinary person. He even guessed that he might be a descendant of a royal family. If this was the case, it was definitely not empty talk for Lucas to say that he could easily destroy the Waltons and even leave them tens of billions of dors in debt. With a gloomy look on his face, Albert clenched his fists tightly in silence. Jordan said in annoyance, ¡°Old man, your family has offended Lucas greatly. ording to Lucas¡¯s usual methods, he would have made your family vanish from DC immediately, and he wouldn¡¯t bother to waste his breath talking to you here at all! At least now, he¡¯s willing to give your family three billion dors, which is enough for you and your family to live carefree lives for several generations! ¡°If you¡¯re still not satisfied and insist on bargaining here, you might not even have the three billion dors! When the timees, you¡¯ll cry tears of regret! So, you¡¯d better think about it carefully!¡± Standing behind Lucas, Keh and Ray were so shocked that they couldn¡¯t even utter a word. The battle was no longer at a level where they could partake. After hearing what Jordan said, Albert suddenly chuckled and asked with a smirk, ¡°Are you so sure that you can destroy the Waltons?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°No, I want the Waltons whole. It¡¯d be a shame to destroy you.¡± ¡°Hmph, punk, you¡¯re really arrogant and delusional!¡± Suddenly, the door was kicked open from outside, and a tall and burly middle-aged man walked in step by step. This sentence was spoken by the middle-aged man who suddenly barged in. The middle-aged man was exuding a menacing aura from head to toe. He obviously wasn¡¯t someone to be trifled with. When Keh and Ray saw the middle-aged man, they were so frightened that they trembled before reflexively hiding behind Lucas. Even Jordan narrowed his eyes slightly. He sensed a powerful aura from this middle-aged man. He was obviously a rare expert. He was almost on par with Hades from the Peerless Martial Association, whom Jordan had fought before! A hint of vignce appeared in Jordan¡¯s eyes, and he adopted a guarding posture beside Lucas. Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Albert immediately said in joy, ¡°Mr. Kenzo, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Lucas was the only one still calm. In fact, from the moment Albert and his group appeared, Lucas had already sensed a powerful aura approaching the room. But this person hadn¡¯t appeared until now. The middle-aged man named Kenzo looked at Lucas, the only one present with a calm expression, and said, ¡°Punk, you¡¯re quite audacious! The Peerless Martial Association supports the Waltons, but you want to snatch their assets away?¡± It turned out that he was from the Peerless Martial Association. Lucas had heard that the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s hierarchy had always been based onbat ability. So Lucas reckoned that he should rank higher than Dwayne and Hades but was inferior to Damien Zander, the chief of the US headquarters of the Peerless Martial Association, who ranked third. He was a rare powerhouse. Moreover, to Lucas¡¯s surprise, the Waltons turned out to be a family supported by the Peerless Martial Association. The people present were no strangers to the Peerless Martial Association. A trace of excited fighting intent immediately appeared in Jordan¡¯s eyes. Jordan had fought both Hades and Dwayne. During the fights, he had even broken through his bottleneck and improved his martial arts skills. Thus, after seeing this powerhouse who was stronger than Hades, Jordan was itching to fight. If the opponent wanted to fightter, he had to ask Lucas for permission to fight first! Chapter 1174 - 1174 Giving Up Just Like That 1174 Giving Up Just Like That On the other hand, Keh and Ray felt the opposite of Jordan. Prior to this, they had already heard of the Peerless Martial Association. Back then, members of the California branch could basically dominate all of California. Later, there was the martial artspetition between California and Oregon. But now, DC was where the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters was located. There were countless strong experts here, and this person, Kenzo, whom the Waltons had invited, was definitely a powerful figure within the association! The Peerless Martial Association had just as much influence and authority in DC as the eight top families. In fact, even if the eight top families joined forces, they were no match for the Peerless Martial Association. Generally, few people had the courage to go against the Peerless Martial Association. Keh and Ray never thought that the Waltons were backed by the terrifying Peerless Martial Association! Like this, it would be impossible for them to rece the Waltons. Moreover, it might even cause great trouble for Lucas! At the thought of it, Ray and Keh became flustered as grim expressions formed on their faces. Just as they began to panic, Lucas said as calmly as ever, ¡°It turns out the Waltons are backed by the Peerless Martial Association. No wonder you behave like tyrants!¡± Kenzo immediately narrowed his eyes and stared at Lucas. He initially thought that Lucas would be intimidated after hearing the name of the Peerless Martial Association and even kneel to beg for forgiveness. But he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to remain so calm and dauntless. Those who could remain calm in the face of the Peerless Martial Association were either too ignorant to know how terrifying the association was or had a backing powerful enough that they didn¡¯t fear the association at all. Even the eight top families of DC couldn¡¯t disregard the Peerless Martial Association like Lucas was doing. Only truly powerful figures or members of the royal family could. Lucas was only in his twenties, and he didn¡¯t seem like a big shot of high status, so Kenzo wondered if he was a member of a certain royal family branch. He nced at Lucas, only to find that he couldn¡¯t sense the aura of a martial artist from him. It was as if the person sitting right in front of him was just an ordinary person. But even an ordinary member of a royal family branch might not be able to maintain theirposure in the face of his power¡­ Unless he wasn¡¯t a helpless ordinary person but a powerful martial artist who was just as strong or even stronger than him! But how was this possible? The gaze in Kenzo¡¯s eyes became solemn. The reason he could attain his current achievements and be the fourth-ranked powerhouse in this association of powerful experts was that he was extremely talented and had countless opportunities, not to forget that he had also worked hard for decades. But Lucas was only in his twenties. Even if he had started practicing martial arts from a tender age, Kenzo didn¡¯t think that he could possibly be stronger than him. Moreover, he felt that the young man next to Lucas was also extraordinary. Unlike Lucas, who wasposed and had a gaze that resembled a bottomless pit, Jordan didn¡¯t hide his aura. Kenzo actually felt an extremely powerful auraing from Jordan, almost enough to rival his! Both young men were absolutely extraordinary! Furthermore, the young man exuding a powerful aura was standing beside Lucas, clearly standing in the position of a bodyguard or subordinate. Since the young man sitting in the chair had such a powerful expert as his bodyguard, he must have an even more extraordinary background! In that case, he might really be unable to kill them as he had imagined. Otherwise, he might bring disaster upon himself. Kenzo became cautious as he said, ¡°Young man, on ount of your young age, we¡¯ll forget about today¡¯s matter and the feud between you and the Waltons!¡± His words were already apromise. After Albert heard what Kenzo said, his heart skipped a beat, and shock appeared in his eyes. He didn¡¯t expect Kenzo, the fourth-ranked powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association, to take a step back andpromise instead of forcing Lucas to pay the price. But Albert was wise enough not to say anything. He even quickly grabbed Clinton, who wanted to say something. It was true that Kenzo was here to help them, but they couldn¡¯t tell him what to do. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the consequences. Kenzo had taken the initiative topromise, but Lucas smiled and said, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m going to let it go just because you say so? Did I agree?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t agree?¡± Kenzo narrowed his eyes coldly. ¡°So what if you don¡¯t agree? The Peerless Martial Association supported the Waltons and pushed them to their current position. Are you really trying to take their assets away from us?¡± Lucas said with a smile, ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m buying them, not snatching them.¡± Kenzo sneered. ¡°I heard everything when I was outside. You want to buy all the Waltons¡¯ assets for merely three billion dors. How is that any different from snatching? Do you think the Peerless Martial Association is a pushover? ¡°I¡¯m warning you. I don¡¯t care what your identity is, but going against the Peerless Martial Association is never a wise choice!¡± Seeing Kenzo¡¯s gloomy expression, Keh and Ray were extremely nervous. Standing behind Lucas, they clenched their fists. Albert, Clinton, and Nick had anticipation on their faces, wishing that Lucas would court death further so that Kenzo would take him down! Lucas looked at Kenzo indifferently. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to waste my breath on this nonsense with you. If you¡¯re just here to say nonsense to me, then you can get lost now that you¡¯re done!¡± Lucas¡¯s words immediately dumbfounded everyone in the room except for Jordan! He was a terrifying top powerhouse of the Peerless Martial Association! Lucas actually had the audacity to speak to him like this. How daring! After being shocked, the Waltons were immediately ecstatic. Indeed, the more wayward Lucas behaved, the more likely he would anger Kenzo and eventually suffer a terrible fate! They could already sense the burning furying from Kenzo! Lucas would be in trouble soon! Chapter 1175 - 1175 Fight 1175 Fight Full of excitement, Clinton immediately mocked, ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re too audacious. How dare you speak to Mr. Kenzo like that?! You probably don¡¯t know that he¡¯s the fourth most powerful figure in the Peerless Martial Association, and his strength is second only to Mr. Zander, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters! ¡°The Peerless Martial Association is an extremely powerful organization with branches in more than a hundred countries! The US headquarters of the Peerless Martial Association alone is something that even the eight top families won¡¯t dare to deal with together! ¡°Even if you have a powerful status, you¡¯ll have no choice but to die once you offend the Peerless Martial Association! ¡°Besides, how dare you covet the Waltons¡¯ assets?! Mr. Kenzo has already made it very clear that we are supported by the Peerless Martial Association. In fact, the majority of our assets belong to the association! ¡°You¡¯re tempting fate by trying to snatch the Waltons¡¯ assets from the Peerless Martial Association! I can understand that you¡¯re greedy and ambitious, but you¡¯re courting death by offending the Waltons and the Peerless Martial Association!¡± Clinton had now regained his arrogance, and he even looked at Lucas smugly. Seeing his behavior, Lucas shook his head and sighed. ¡°I nned to save your pride and acquire your assets for three billion dors. But now, I don¡¯t want to give you a single cent because you¡¯re not worthy at all!¡± Clinton flew into a rage. ¡°What did you say?¡± At the side, Kenzo¡¯s eyes were full of a surging murderous intent as he hollered, ¡°Punk, since you have a death wish, don¡¯t me me!¡± With that, Kenzo stepped forward and charged at Lucas. Although he did have some scruples about Lucas¡¯s background and was afraid of causing trouble for himself and the Peerless Martial Association, Lucas obviously wasn¡¯t taking them seriously. This made the proud Kenzo extremely displeased. So he had already developed a strong murderous intent toward Lucas. As for Lucas¡¯s background, Kenzo believed that as long as he killed everyone in this room, no one would be able to find out, even if Lucas had a powerful backer or was from the royal family. Watching Kenzo charge toward him, Lucas remained sitting calmly without even blinking. With Jordan by his side, Lucas didn¡¯t have to take action personally. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m your opponent! You¡¯re not worthy of touching Lucas!¡± Just as Kenzo was about to reach Lucas, Jordan suddenly moved and struck at Kenzo. Bang! Their fists collided, stirring up a strong gust of wind that made it seem like there was a storm in the entire private room. A small sandalwood coffee table at the side shattered into pieces from the strong gust. In the blink of an eye, the two of them had already exchanged more than ten blows. After exchanging some blows with Jordan, Kenzo felt astonished because he found that Jordan wasn¡¯t any inferior to him! He had painstakingly trained hard for more than four decades to get to where he was, but what about the young man in front of him? He had merely been practicing martial arts for perhaps two decades, yet he was already on par with him. How could Kenzo not be shocked? Despite being in the midst of a heated fight, Jordan had the time to slip in a snide and contemptuous remark. ¡°Is this the so-called fourth top expert of the Peerless Martial Association? It seems you¡¯re nothing much!¡± Hearing the mockingment, Kenzo was almost so angry that he vomited blood! Is this punk insulting me intentionally? At the side, Albert was so dumbfounded and shocked by this scene that he was at aplete loss for words. He thought that as long as Kenzo took action, Lucas would be no match for him and would definitely die! But Albert never imagined that Lucas would still remain rxed in his seat while the young man who was like a bodyguard was skilled enough to fight Kenzo evenly! How¡­ how is that possible? If Albert wasn¡¯t aware of Kenzo¡¯s character, he might really suspect that he was going easy on Jordan. As the fight went on, Kenzo became increasingly shocked because he realized that Jordan wasn¡¯t actually using all his strength! If he really exerted all his strength, how strong would he be? Moreover, with such a young and powerful person to protect him, Lucas must have an incredibly high status. After dodging a punch thrown by Jordan, Kenzo said, ¡°Punk, I admit that you¡¯re indeed very strong, but it¡¯s impossible for you to defeat me with your strength because I haven¡¯t exerted myself to the fullest yet!¡± Jordan sneered. ¡°Is that so? Use your full strength then! But first things first, I won¡¯t show you any mercyter. So if you¡¯re willing to surrender now and pledge allegiance to Lucas, I might spare you!¡± ¡°You must be dreaming!¡± Kenzo roared with fury and unleashed his full potential. Then he found an opening and punched straight toward the middle of Jordan¡¯s chest! Bang! His punch contained immense power. Ordinary people would probably have their organs ruptured and die on the spot after suffering such a blow. But Jordan merely took a few steps back and spat out a mouthful of blood while his face turned a little pale. Then he quickly regained his bnce. ¡°Hmph, this is only the beginning!¡± Kenzo roared and threw himself forward while Jordan was still catching his breath. Heunched several ferocious attacks on Jordan. Jordan¡¯s movements were extremely quick as well. He managed to evade the attacks, but his movements seemed forced, as if he was struggling to keep up. After seeing the changes in the battle, Clinton shouted in excitement, ¡°Great! Mr. Kenzo is so impressive!¡± ¡°Indeed, Mr. Kenzo didn¡¯t go all out just now. That¡¯s why that punk thought he couldpare to him. But now that Mr. Kenzo has revealed his full strength, that punk can barely manage. It seems like he¡¯ll soon be killed by Mr. Kenzo!¡± Chapter 1176 - 1176 You Lost 1176 You Lost Nick said happily, ¡°That¡¯s right. Mr. Kenzo is a true powerhouse! I bet he can defeat all the experts of the eight top families alone! Lucas Gray and that punk are definitely no match for him!¡± After hearing what his son and grandson said, Albert wasn¡¯t that optimistic. Instead, he said after a moment of silence, ¡°Mr. Kenzo is indeed very strong, but that punk isn¡¯t weak either, especially since he¡¯s still so young and already so skilled. How can someone like him be an ordinary person? ¡°Besides, what¡¯s even more terrifying is that this young expert is a subordinate of Lucas Gray! ¡°No in DC dares to make a powerhouse on the level of Mr. Kenzo be their bodyguard or subordinate. But Lucas Gray has such a powerful person protecting him. So, have you ever thought about what Lucas Gray¡¯s identity could be?¡± Hearing this, Clinton and Nick were dumbfounded. They weren¡¯t fools, so they could naturally understand what Albert meant. Just thinking about it sent a chill surging from their toes straight to their heads. The joy they had after seeing Kenzo suppressing Jordan instantly vanished. Albert looked at Lucas and sighed. ¡°I think the Waltons won¡¯t be spared even if Mr. Kenzo wins today.¡± Clinton looked just as gloomy, but he still insisted, ¡°I don¡¯t think so. If Mr. Kenzo wins, he can just kill Lucas Gray and that punk. Then the Waltons will still be able to stand strong in DC!¡± Albert shook his head and opened his mouth to say something. But suddenly, there was a change among the two fighting in the private room. Jordan, whom Kenzo had wounded after thetter¡¯s sudden outburst, suddenly erupted with massive power as if invisible shackles binding him had broken. ¡°Did you have a good time hitting me just now? It¡¯s my turn now!¡± Jordan roared and raised his fist. He immediately punched Kenzo at a speed and strength far superior to his previous state¡¯s. Kenzo¡¯s expression became even grimmer. He had just unleashed all his strength. He thought that he could definitely defeat Jordan, but he didn¡¯t expect his only effective blow to be the one that struck Jordan¡¯s chest. Despite looking strenuous, Jordan had still effectively dodged the continuous following attacks. In fact, Kenzo even felt exhausted. Now, Jordan¡¯s strength suddenly soared, and even Kenzo felt a terrifying aura from him. This young man is indeed extremely difficult to deal with! Kenzo gritted his teeth. Facing the quick and sudden kick from Jordan, he no longer had any time to dodge because he happened to be standing near the wall, without enough space to evade. In a hurry, Kenzo could only ce his clenched fists in front of his chest to block Jordan¡¯s violent kick. ¡°Take this!¡± With Jordan¡¯s roar, his kick containing immense force rapidly approached Kenzo. The moment his leg was close to Kenzo, his expression changed drastically. Oh no! This kick is too powerful! The iparably menacing aura made Kenzo feel horror. He absolutely mustn¡¯t take this kick! Despite thinking so, Kenzo couldn¡¯t dodge anymore! Bang! The kick struck the arm Kenzo used to protect his chest and carried so much force that the bones of his forearm almost shattered. This wasn¡¯t all. His arms couldn¡¯t block the powerful force at all, and the remaining force impacted his chest heavily, sending him flying backward like he had been hit by a car. Boom! But half a meter behind Kenzo was the wall of the private room. Almost as soon as his body was lifted off the ground, he had already hit the wall behind him. Numerous cobweb-like cracks appeared on the wall and spread rapidly toward the surroundings with Kenzo¡¯s impact point as the center. The immense impacts on his chest and back made him unable to endure it any further. He coughed and spat a mouthful of blood before sliding to the floor, looking tragic. After seeing Kenzo¡¯s miserable state after he was sent flying and vomited blood, everyone in the private room fell dead silent. In particr, Clinton and Nick, who had ced high hopes on Kenzo, stared at this scene dumbfounded,pletely unable to believe his eyes. Kenzo, whom they thought was so powerful that he could almost dominate the eight top families of DC, was defeated just like that? To make matters worse, he was defeated by a young man in his twenties. Jordan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and walked to Kenzo. He looked down at him and said, ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡± After hearing this, Kenzo felt as if something had suddenly exploded in his head. He was the fourth-ranked powerhouse in the Peerless Martial Association, and his status was second only to Damien Zander, the head of the US headquarters. He was a formidable figure that everyone looked up to, yet he had lost to a young man in his twenties! All his pride, all his persistence, was crushed at the moment. Lucas smiled slightly and gave Jordan an approving look. Although Jordan was a bit of a gossipmonger recently, he hadn¡¯t stopped practicing martial arts, especially after he broke through his bottleneck after defeating Dwayne and Hades of the Peerless Martial Association. Keh and Ray stared nkly at the scene in front of them, especially when they looked at Jordan. Back in LA, they had known that Jordan was a highly skilled martial artist who followed Lucas, but they never expected him to be so skilled that he could defeat the fourth-ranked expert of the Peerless Martial Association! In that case, they didn¡¯t have to fear retaliation from the Peerless Martial Association anymore! Kenzo struggled to get up from the floor and stood upright unsteadily. He looked at Lucas with unprecedented seriousness in his eyes. ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± he asked again. He had beenpletely defeated by Jordan¡¯s powerful kick and had already lost all his ability to fight. But this question was burning in Kenzo¡¯s mind. He desperately wanted to know who had defeated him. Lucas nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°Talk to Damien Zander about this. Tell him I¡¯m Lucas Gray, and he¡¯ll tell you the rest.¡± Kenzo was stunned. He was shocked to hear that Lucas knew Damien and that Damian was aware of Lucas¡¯s true identity. Before he could think anymore, Lucas said coldly, ¡°From now on, the Waltons¡¯ assets belong to me. You can inform Mr. Zander about this. You can leave now.¡± Chapter 1177 - 1177 Agree To Sell 1177 Agree To Sell Kenzo gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Okay, I will truthfully tell Mr. Zander everything that happened here today!¡± What Lucas said meant that he was sparing his life. Although Kenzo didn¡¯t know how Lucas was rted to Damien, he couldn¡¯t even defeat Jordan, and he had lost hisbat ability, so staying here was pointless. As for the Waltons, he could no longer manage them. Kenzo quickly left the private room without turning around or saying anything. The Waltons, still in the private room, were dumbfounded. Even Kenzo had lost to the young man next to Lucas and abandoned them. What should they do now? What should the Waltons do? Lucas shifted his gaze to the three of them and said, ¡°Okay, now it¡¯s time for us to resolve our matter.¡± Albert shuddered involuntarily. Feeling disheartened, he hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I agree to sell all the Waltons¡¯ assets to you for three billion dors like you offered! From now on, all of the Waltons¡¯ assets will belong to you!¡± Clinton quickly chimed in, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll sell everything to you! Only someone as talented and aplished as you are is qualified to control our businesses!¡± Even Nick, who was sitting in the wheelchair, hurriedly forced a smile and said, ¡°Mr. Gray, we don¡¯t have any objections to your requests. I agree with my grandfather¡¯s decision to sell the Waltons to you!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°No, three billion was the previous offer. Unfortunately, you turned it down. ¡°Later, I said that I wanted the Waltons¡¯ assets without paying even a single cent.¡± As soon as he said this, the Waltons turned pale. Indeed, when Clinton provoked Lucas just now, Lucas did say that he didn¡¯t want to spend a single cent. Seeing the Waltons¡¯ expressions, Lucas smiled again and said, ¡°But if I really take all the Waltons¡¯ assets without paying a cent, wouldn¡¯t it make me look like I¡¯vemitted daylight robbery? ¡°So, I¡¯ll buy your assets, but the price is no longer three billion dors but three hundred million.¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± The Waltons looked even more depressed. The Waltons were a prestigious family who owned most of the entertainment industry in DC. The valuation of all thepanies, properties, and other assets added up to at least 30 billion dors! Previously, Lucas had offered three billion dors to acquire the assets, which was less than 10% of the total value. They had naturally been unwilling to ept it. But now that they had finally agreed to Lucas¡¯s offer, he actually lowered the price to less than 1% of the value. How was this any different from daylight robbery? If they agreed, no one would be able to ept such a tremendous loss. Seeing their ugly expressions but none of them saying anything, Lucas asked with a frown, ¡°Are you unwilling?¡± Clinton immediately wanted to speak, but Albert stopped him. Clinton knew that his only son was hot-tempered. If he spoke, he would definitely contradict Lucas and offend him. Albert gritted his teeth and negotiated, ¡°Uh¡­ Mr. Gray, isn¡¯t three hundred million too little? If it¡¯s the three billion like you offered earlier¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Lucas interrupted, ¡°Didn¡¯t you turn down my offer of three billion? Why are you bargaining with me again?¡± Albert said awkwardly, ¡°We were wrong previously. Please¡ª¡± Lucas interrupted him again coldly, ¡°Two hundred and fifty million. If you insist on bargaining with me, you can continue.¡± After being stunned for a while, Albert realized that Lucas reduced his offer by fifty million dors because he wanted to bargain with him! For some time, Albert regretted it so much that he even felt like dying. He had long known that Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person whom he could treat like others. The price he offered wasn¡¯t negotiable. But he had still insisted on bargaining with him and suffered a loss! For the sake of surviving today, only by agreeing to Lucas could the Waltons reduce their losses. Just as Albert was about to agree, he heard an angry shout from beside him. ¡°Mr. Gray, aren¡¯t you going overboard? Our assets amount to over thirty billion dors, but you want to buy them with just three hundred million. And now, you even decreased the offer by fifty million. How is that reasonable at all?¡± The person who interjected was the indignant Clinton. ¡°Two hundred million,¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°You punk¡­¡± Clinton flew into a rage. But before he could finish, Lucas¡¯s cold voice sounded again. ¡°One hundred and fifty million.¡± ¡°Idiot! Shut up!¡± Just as Clinton was about to say something, Albert pped him hard in the face. ¡°You idiot, when are you going to wake up? Do you really want the price to be lowered even more?¡± Clinton finally kept his mouth shut after Albert yelled at him. Afraid that Lucas would change his mind again, Albert hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡¯ll sell all our assets to you for one hundred and fifty million dors.¡± That price made him feel so anguished that his heart was about to bleed. He had worked hard for decades to establish the Waltons¡¯ empire. Yet in just a day, he had to sell the assets worth more than thirty billion dors for a mere one hundred and fifty million dors. But he had no choice but to agree immediately. Otherwise, who knew if the price would be reduced even further. Seeing the Waltons really agree, Keh and Ray were so astonished that their jaws almost dropped. They initially thought that the Waltons would never agree, but the scene in front of them left them bbergasted. For a moment, the two of them found it surreal and felt as if they were dreaming. Their emotions were really¡­ indescribable! Although the Waltons had agreed, they still looked unhappy and depressed. Seeing this, Lucas said, ¡°Tomorrow morning, bring all the documents with you and go to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters to handle the handover and transfer procedures. ¡°Once everything is settled, I will give you an additional one-point-five billion dors. This amount is enough for you to start afresh in another city.¡± The Waltons immediately raised their heads and stared at Lucas in disbelief. What did they just hear? Lucas actually said that he would be giving them an additional 1.5 billion dors! ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t want it?¡± Lucas asked with raised brows. Chapter 1178 - 1178 Terrifying Person 1178 Terrifying Person The Waltons were taken aback, but they finally realized that Lucas was serious. With ecstatic expressions, they hurriedly said, ¡°No, we want it. Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± The three of them looked as though they had survived a catastrophe, and they were about to cry tears of joy. Just as Lucas said, as long as they had an additional 1.5 billion dors, they would definitely be able to establish a business empire again in another city soon. Although it would be far inferior to what they had now, it would be much better than ordinary wealthy families! After the drastic plunge from 300 million to 150 million dors, they felt extremely grateful for the additional 1.5 billion dors. It was as if they had risen back to heaven from hell. After thanking Lucas, Albert understood what Lucas meant and hurriedly assured, ¡°Mr. Gray, please rest assured that my family and I will leave DC immediately after the handover ispleted. We will nevere back in the future!¡± Lucas smiled approvingly and nodded. ¡°You may leave now.¡± The Waltons quickly left with joyful smiles of relief and gratitude on their faces. Now, only Lucas, Jordan, Keh, and Ray were remaining in the private room. Ray hurriedly came forward and said to Lucas respectfully, ¡°Congrattions, Mr. Gray. You have sessfully acquired the Waltons¡¯ assets!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°From tomorrow onward, there will be no more Waltons in DC. In their ce will be the Parkers. Everything they¡¯ve left will be managed by the Parkers on my behalf. Understood?¡± Keh and Ray quickly said, ¡°Yes! Mr. Gray, rest assured. We will definitely manage these assets well for you. We won¡¯t disappoint you!¡± They were aware of what Lucas meant. At the end of the day, Lucas bought the Waltons¡¯ assets, and the Parkers would just be managing and developing them on his behalf. Keh and Ray didn¡¯t have anyints. On the contrary, they felt very honored. Lucas¡¯s willingness to let the Parkers manage the valuable assets worth over 30 billion dors showed his trust in them. Moreover, Lucas¡¯ method of handling things was apparent from this event. He didn¡¯t intend to keep today¡¯s matter from the Parkers and allowed them to watch him deal with the Waltons. This could be regarded as a warning to them. As long as they obeyed Lucas, they would naturally gain many benefits. But if they had ill intentions or tried to get more from Lucas, their ns would backfire, and they might suffer for it. ¡­ Meanwhile, Kenzo had already left the restaurant and gotten inside his car while bearing the excruciating pain in his body. Without waiting, he hurriedly made a call. After the call connected, Kenzo immediately asked, ¡°Mr. Zander, do you know someone named Lucas Gray?¡± Damien immediately asked in surprise, ¡°Lucas Gray? A powerful young man in his twenties?¡± Kenzo nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him! ¡°The Waltons invited me to help them because they offended him. But in the end, I was defeated by a young man next to Lucas Gray. He even severely wounded me! ¡°Moreover, Lucas Gray wants to snatch the Waltons¡¯ assets from us. He offered an incredibly low price to buy all the assets, and I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s achieved what he wanted by now. ¡°Mr. Zander, what should we do now? The Peerless Martial Association has supported the Waltons for years, and we can¡¯t let someone else reap the benefits so easily, right?¡± After hearing what Kenzo said, Damien was too stunned to speak. After a long silence, he finally said, ¡°Now, we need to give up on the Waltons for the time being.¡± ¡°What did you say¡ª¡± Cough! Cough! Overwhelmed by shock, when Kenzo spoke, the wounds on his chest and his back were strained, and he immediately started coughing violently. Due to the coughing, he felt the pain in his chest intensify. As a member of the Peerless Martial Association, he naturally knew how much the association had invested in the Waltons over the years and how much they received in return every year. It could be said that the Waltons were like a cash cow of the Peerless Martial Association. Simrly, the association could also do many secretive acts through controlling the Waltons. But Damien, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters, actually said to give up on the Waltons for the time being. Damien asked, ¡°Do you think that Lucas Gray just has a powerful bodyguard who can defeat you but isn¡¯t that strong himself?¡± Kenzo didn¡¯t say anything and recalled that Lucas had remained sitting calmly without standing up from beginning to end. He didn¡¯t even show any martial arts stance. Thus, although he was still uncertain about Lucas, he didn¡¯t think that Lucas was more skilled than Jordan. Such powerful experts were rare toe by. If a few appeared at the same time, it would only make others wonder if such geniuses were extremely ordinary and thus doubt their own aptitude. Damien said, ¡°About a month ago, I met Lucas Gray at the Howards¡¯ and even fought him. But I was the one who lost.¡± ¡°What?!¡± What Damien said immediately made Kenzo reveal a look of disbelief. Although Kenzo was the fourth most powerful expert in the Peerless Martial Association while Damien was the third, Kenzo knew that he was worlds apart from Damien. If he fought Damien, he would definitely be defeated within three moves, and he could even end up dead or crippled. But even the terrifyingly powerful Damien said that he had lost to Lucas in one move. If Damien hadn¡¯t admitted it himself, Kenzo would have definitely thought of it as an absurd story! The more frightening thing was that Lucas was only in his twenties yet already possessed such terrifying strength. Who knew what kind of a monster he would grow into in the future. Kenzo couldn¡¯t imagine it at all. Damien continued, ¡°Anyway, Lucas Gray is a very dangerous person, so you shouldn¡¯t fight against him. ¡°Put aside the matter with the Waltons for the time being. You just need to remember that one day, the Peerless Martial Association will take back everything that rightfully belongs to us!¡± Chapter 1179 - 1179 Interested In You 1179 Interested In You In the restaurant, Lucas gave some instructions to Keh and Ray and then left the private room. Jordan naturally followed closely behind. While going down in the elevator, Jordan asked, ¡°Lucas, actually, have you thought of building your own family n? One where everything belongs to you and your descendants, the Gray family.¡± Lucasughed and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t n to build a family like that. Many such families often sacrifice too much for the so-called family interests. And their descendants tend to fight each other for power and profit. Siblings, parents, and children turn against each other in power struggles and even kill each other. That¡¯s not something I want to see. ¡°I think people should live freely and happily instead of being tied down to one ce by things like family. I don¡¯t want to live such a life, and I don¡¯t want my children to either. ¡°Besides, Amelia and I are the only ones in my family with the Gray bloodline. What kind of family n can we form with just two people?¡± Jordan nodded. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re right, Lucas. It¡¯s best to remain status quo like this!¡± While the two talked andughed as they left the restaurant, a crisp voice came from outside the door. ¡°Lucas, are you¡­ alright?¡± Lucas turned around and saw Le standing under a streetlight outside the restaurant. He didn¡¯t know how long she had been there, but her face had already turned pale from the cold. It was currently mid-November, and the temperatures had plunged. It was incredibly cold outside, but Le had been standing there for at least an hour and a half. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Why are you still here? Didn¡¯t I get Keh to arrange someone to send you home?¡± Lucas asked in a somewhat reprimanding tone. Le rubbed her cold face, sized Lucas up carefully, and heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I was worried about you, so I waited here to see the oue. What happened today was all because of me, so even if I went home, I¡¯d still be worried.¡± Lucas sighed helplessly. ¡°You¡­ It¡¯s so cold today, but you¡¯ve been standing there for so long. Aren¡¯t you afraid of catching a cold?¡± At this moment, Jordan drove the car over and stopped next to Lucas and Le. ¡°Let¡¯s get in the car first,¡± Lucas said firmly. ¡°Okay!¡± Le got in the car obediently. The heater in the car was on, and she felt much better. Lucas looked at Le and sighed again. ¡°Don¡¯t behave like this from now on. Since I said I¡¯d be fine, I will be. What if you caught a cold? Got it?¡± ¡°Okay, I got it.¡± Le was extremelypliant toward Lucas now, and she no longer behaved proud and spoiled like before Seeing Le¡¯s current attitude, Lucas felt touched even though he was chiding her. If he had a younger sister, she would probably be like Le. Jordan drove and sent Le home under Lucas¡¯s instructions. ¡°When you¡¯re inside, drink some warm water or make a cup of tea. Just in case, take some cold medicine too. Okay?¡± Lucas instructed again after Le got out of the car. ¡°Yes! Thank you, Lucas!¡± Le waved at Lucas happily before heading home. While sending Lucas home, Jordan couldn¡¯t help teasing, ¡°Lucas, that pretty girl must like you. Otherwise, why would she wait in the cold for you for so long?¡± Lucas glowered at Jordan. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re too freetely. I should really arrange some tasks for you.¡± Jordan hurriedly pleaded, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m wrong! I¡¯ll stop talking too much, okay? Look, you¡¯re so busy in DC now, and I can¡¯t leave you at this time! I won¡¯t talk nonsense anymore. Lucas, please forgive me this time!¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°If you talk nonsense again, I will really send you overseas for a mission.¡± ¡°Yes, I won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± Jordan hurriedly promised and began driving seriously. ¡­ The night quickly passed. The following morning, Albert personally came to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters with arge stack of documents and hiswyer. Lucas gave Flynn full authority over the handover, while he merely signed his name on some document. About an hourter, the Waltons¡¯ assets officially belonged to Lucas. The shock within Flynn could no longer be described with words. His admiration and respect for Lucas had risen to an incredible height. When he received the massive sum of money from Lucas for the construction of Stardust City, he was already astonished. He couldn¡¯t even imagine how much money Lucas had. But Flynn never expected that even the Waltons¡¯ assets, which were worth more than 30 billion dors, would belong to Lucas. It was simply a miracle! Lucas gave Flynn some work instructions, and Flynn proceeded with the arrangements. Just as he sat down on the couch to have a cup of tea, someone knocked on the office door. ¡°Come in!¡± Lucas said. Soon, a familiar figure entered. It was Ashley. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lucas asked. Ashley hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Lucas, here¡¯s the thing. My family is going abroad in a couple of days, and we don¡¯t know when we¡¯reing back. I¡¯d like to treat you to a meal. Are you free tonight?¡± Ashley¡¯s eyes were full of anxiousness and anticipation, afraid that Lucas would turn her down. She held her fingers together tightly. Lucas thought about it. He didn¡¯t have anything to do tonight, so he agreed. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ashley seemed surprised, and her eyes lit up. She said joyfully, ¡°That¡¯s great! Thanks, Lucas! I¡¯lle look for you after work!¡± Then she left happily. Seeing that she was so delighted that she was about to jump, Lucasughed. It¡¯s just a meal. Why is she so happy? When it was time to get off work, Lucas saw Ashley standing near the entrance of the Stardust Corporation building as soon as he stepped out. She greeted him gleefully, ¡°Lucas!¡± Lucas looked over, and his eyes immediately lit up. Chapter 1180 - 1180 Don’t Want To Leave 1180 Don¡¯t Want To Leave At this moment, Ashley had changed into a fashionable and beautiful outfitprising a camel-colored medium-length cashmere coat, a red cashmere id skirt, and a pair of beige knee-length boots. She looked youthful and beautiful. The Steeles were all gically-blessed and good-looking. As the only female heir of the Steeles in her generation, Ashley was naturally outstanding. After dolling herself up, she had attracted the attention of countless people. Lucas walked over andplimented, ¡°You¡¯re very pretty today.¡± She felt a little shy, and a faint blush appeared on her face. She was already so used to receivingpliments that she no longer felt much when she received one. Sometimes, she even found it annoying. But after she heard Lucas¡¯s simple praise, her heart felt as sweet as honey and began beating wildly. It was no wonder that people often said women tended to dress up for those they adored. It turned out that the feeling of beingplimented by the person you liked was so wonderful! Ashley felt rosy and fuzzy inside. After getting inside Lucas¡¯s car, she guided him to the restaurant where she made reservations for dinner. But when Lucas reached the ce, surprise appeared on his face. ¡°Is this the ce you booked?¡± With a proud expression, Ashley nodded and said enthusiastically, ¡°Lucas, you probably don¡¯t know about this ce. Although it doesn¡¯t look fancy on the outside, the interior decor is very luxurious, and it offers a plethora of appealing delicacies! ¡°This restaurant is very popr on the inte recently. It¡¯s very hard to make reservations here unless you book in advance! I managed to get reservations only because I booked days in advance. I promise it won¡¯t disappoint you!¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Lucas was really at a loss for words. He didn¡¯t expect Keh¡¯s restaurant to be so popr online that it was difficult to find seats without making reservations. After stopping the car, Lucas looked at the entrance of the restaurant. The ss door smashed by the Waltons¡¯ truckst night had already been reced with a brand new one, and the surroundings had also been repaired. There were no traces of the collision at all. There were indeed a lot of people inside and outside the restaurant waiting in line. But even though people were waiting outside, there were tables and chairs,plimentary fruit tters, and refreshments for them. So despite the long queue, no one was impatient or annoyed. Lucas nodded. Keh had truly done a good job managing this ce. It was no wonder that it became a top dining spot in DC within such a short time. After the two of them were seated and ordered a few dishes, they started chatting. Looking at Lucas in front of her, Ashley was suddenly in low spirits and looked down, her eyshes covering her eyes. She said softly, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m going overseas tomorrow¡­¡± Lucas asked in surprise, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go? If you want to stay, I can help you make arrangements.¡± Ashley¡¯s fingers tensed up under the table. If she could, she really wanted to stay in the US and be by Lucas¡¯s side¡­ Unfortunately, her mother and brother would never agree to it. Despite the bitterness in her eyes, Ashley raised her head and smiled widely. ¡°No, I just feel a little nervous! Besides, my mom and brother are going, so I definitely want to go with them! I probably won¡¯t be that nervous since we¡¯ll all be together.¡± Hearing this, Lucas didn¡¯t know what to say. Actually, Lucas was the one who had arranged for Ashley and her family to go abroad to expand the business. Based on his investigation, Lucas had discovered that the three of them, whom the Steeles had kicked out of the family, were actually rare business talents. Alexander and Elise were both highly educated and possessed excellent business acumen. Because of her young age, Ashley stillcked some experience, but she was extremely intelligent too. With some training, she would be an incredible talent. But it was precisely because the three of them were outstanding talents that the Stardust Corporation¡¯s structure might be disrupted if they stayed in the US. Flynn, as well as Cheyenne, Charlotte, and William, who would being to DC soon, would all be affected. He couldn¡¯t put all these talents in the same ce. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make full use of their abilities, or disputes would arise. This was one of the reasons that Lucas decided to send the family of three abroad. So after hearing Ashley¡¯s words, Lucas said, ¡°You won¡¯t be staying abroad for long. Once the market there stabilizes, if you want toe back, I¡¯ll naturally let youe back. The Stardust Corporation will be rapidly developing domestically, so there will be ces where I need your help when the timees.¡± Ashley immediately looked up at Lucas and asked excitedly, ¡°Can we reallye back?¡± Lucas nodded firmly. ¡°Yes, of course. Once the business abroad is stable, all three of you cane back together.¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re so nice, Lucas! Here¡¯s a toast!¡± Ashley giggled and raised her ss. Lucas smiled and followed suit. They clinked sses and couldn¡¯t helpughing. Soon, the dishes were served. They all looked splendid and appetizing. Lucas had been rather busytely, and he finally had some time to rx today. Moreover, Ashley was the only other person at the dining table, so he ate veryfortably since no one disturbed him. But Ashley didn¡¯t eat much. From time to time, she would gaze at Lucas, lost in thought. However, when Lucas asked her, she would just smile and cover it up by saying that she had a small appetite. After having his fill, Lucas looked at Ashley and said, ¡°Since we¡¯re finished, I¡¯ll send you home!¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to go home!¡± Ashley blurted out. But she immediately realized that this remake was a little inappropriate. She hurriedly said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go home yet. Why don¡¯t you apany me to a bar, Lucas? I suddenly feel like drinking!¡± Actually, Ashley didn¡¯t want to drink. She just didn¡¯t want to part ways with Lucas so soon. She would go abroad with her mother and brother tomorrow, and it would likely be years before she got to see Lucas again. Chapter 1181 - 1181 Hit On at the Bar 1181 Hit On at the Bar After hearing what Ashley said and the almost pleading gaze in her eyes, Lucas nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± The two of them left the restaurant and drove to a nearby bar. On the way, Ashley looked out the window from time to time in a daze, her brows furrowed tightly and a worried expression on her face. Lucas drove to a bar named the Blue Duke, and Ashley suddenly came back to her senses. ¡°I think I¡¯d better send you home,¡± Lucas said. Seeing Ashley¡¯s expression, he knew that she had something on her mind. If she came here to drown her sorrows, she would get drunk easily. Ashley hurriedly said, ¡°No, let¡¯s go inside! I¡¯m going abroad soon. Just apany me, okay?¡± Lucas sighed and agreed. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± He treated Ashley as his younger sister. Moreover, as long as he was here, even if she drank too much, she would be alright. The two of them got out of the car and entered the Blue Duke. The bar wasn¡¯t toorge, but the atmosphere was pretty good, and it wasn¡¯t noisy. The soothing blues being yed in the bar and the dim lighting created an ambiguous ambiance. But the bar was rather crowded. Apart from a few couples sitting in booths, there were also many people sitting at the bar counter and around the stage in the center of the bar. Seeing Lucas and Ashley entering, many people turned to look at them. A few men¡¯s and women¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. Lucas was tall and handsome, and Ashley was beautiful. As soon as they entered, they attracted a lot of gazes. After all, bars were good ces to make friends and hook up, so many people liked hanging out at bars in hopes of having a sudden encounter. Facing the eager gazes, Lucas remained expressionless, as if he didn¡¯t notice them at all. But Ashley was obviously a little disturbed, so she leaned close to Lucas and even held the corner of his shirt gently. After they found seats, Lucas looked at the nervous Ashley and asked with a smile. ¡°Do you rarelye to bars?¡± From her uneasy and guarded expression, he could tell that she wasn¡¯t a frequent visitor to bars. Ashley nodded and said truthfully, ¡°Yeah, I only went to a bar with my ssmates out of curiosity two years ago. I was frightened away the moment I entered. So strictly speaking, this is my first time at a bar. If you weren¡¯t here, I wouldn¡¯t have dared toe in.¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t helpughing. Logically speaking, a wealthy heiress like Ashley should be a regr at bars and such entertainment joints. Since it was Ashley¡¯s first time at a bar, it was no wonder that she was so reserved. People like her were rare. Ashley asked, ¡°Lucas, you seem so unfazed. Do you frequently go to bars?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lucas smiled speechlessly. ¡°Do I look like someone who regrly patronizes bars? Actually, I rarely go to these kinds of ces.¡± He wasn¡¯t lying. In fact, he had only been to a bar twice, once in Orange County, where he had saved Cheyenne from Connor Hale, and another time in DC a short while ago. At the time, he had been there to drown his sorrows after finding out that he wasn¡¯t Michael¡¯s biological son. This was the third time. Feeling a little embarrassed, Ashley smiled and said, ¡°Hehe, I misunderstood. Seeing you so rxed and not nervous at all, I thought you were used to it!¡± ¡°Why should I be nervous about being at a bar?¡± Lucas asked in confusion. Ashley thought for a moment and said, ¡°I always have a strange feeling because of some rumors I¡¯ve heard. For example, people getting drugged and vited by those who harbor ill intentions. Well¡­ it¡¯s all a little beyond my imagination. That¡¯s why I¡¯m subconsciously a little nervous.¡± Lucasughed nomittally, ¡°Yes, although the chances of such things happening aren¡¯t high, they have indeed happened before. Bars aren¡¯t very safe for girls. ¡°So unless you¡¯re with someone you especially trust, don¡¯t go to bars. Of course, it¡¯s inevitable that people will hit on you since you¡¯re so pretty.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, a voice rang in Ashley¡¯s ear. ¡°Hey beautiful, can I get to know you better?¡± Ashley turned around in surprise and saw a refined-looking young man in his twenties standing beside her with a gentlemanly smile and a ss of wine in his hand. Ashley was stunned. Lucas had just said that someone would hit on her, and someone came over to talk to her the next moment. Moreover, this young man was very handsome and suave. He was wearing expensive clothes and a luxury watch. He seemed to be from an affluent family. Most young girls would be easily attracted to such men and possibly even develop feelings for them. But Ashley was not one of them. She had been born into the Steele family, one of the eight top families in DC, so she had been raised in luxury. Be it the boys she had attended prestigious schools with since childhood or those she had seen at various banquets and functions, she had seen countless outstanding males. The young man in front of her was only average among them, and he wasn¡¯t good enough to impress her. Besides, she was already in love, and he was right in front of her, so how could she possibly fall for someone else? Ashley wanted to turn him down at first, but a sudden thought came to her mind. She said to Lucas, ¡°Honey, is he a friend of yours?¡± Lucas was stunned by her address for him. But he soon realized that she deliberately wanted to pretend to be a couple with him so that she could shake off this young man who came to hit on her. He coughed and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know him.¡± With a blissful smile, Ashley said, ¡°Honey, actually, I have a piece of good news for you. I went to the hospital for a checkup today, and the doctor said that I¡¯m two months pregnant. You¡¯re going to be a father soon! Are you happy?¡± Lucas almost burst outughing. This girl¡­ Even though we¡¯re pretending to be a couple, she doesn¡¯t need to say something so shocking all of a sudden. Chapter 1182 - 1182 Person From the Past 1182 Person From the Past However, since Ashley had already spoken, Lucas naturally couldn¡¯t deny it on the spot. So he could only smile and y along. ¡°Really? Of course I¡¯m happy! In that case, you can¡¯t drink today. Alcohol isn¡¯t good for the baby. Let¡¯s get you some juice instead.¡± Ashley blushed coyly and said joyfully, ¡°Alright. Honey, you¡¯re so good to me!¡± The two of them talked in harmony,pletely ignoring the young man who came over to hit on Ashley. Being ignored by them and hearing them talk as if they were the only ones present, the young man instantly looked displeased. He originally thought that Lucas and Ashley were just boyfriend and girlfriend, so he could try to hit on her. But it turned out that they were married, and the gorgeous Ashley was pregnant. He immediately knew that she wasn¡¯t the right target to flirt with. !! Seeing the young man leave without saying another word, Ashley couldn¡¯t help covering her mouth andughing. ¡°Haha, Lucas, that was so fun! His expression was hrious! ¡°But you¡¯re so bad, Lucas. I didn¡¯t expect your acting skills to be so good. You coordinated with me so well. Haha! I almost thought you¡¯d be too startled to continue the conversation orugh and break out of character!¡± Lucas chuckled wryly. ¡°What you said really shocked me. Try not to say such things from now on. In case someone really misunderstandings us, it will affect your reputation.¡± She actually suddenly said that she was pregnant. If Lucas wasn¡¯t quick-witted enough, he would have been too stunned to react in time. ¡°Hehe, I know! I was just joking!¡± Ashley stuck her tongue out and smiled. After what just happened, Ashley was in a much better mood, and a normal smile finally returned to her face. ¡°Are¡­ are you Ashley?¡± Suddenly, a man¡¯s voice filled with astonishment came. The moment she heard this voice, her body instantly stiffened, and she turned around. When she saw the appearance of the speaker, her eyes widened. She stared at the person in front of her in disbelief, her lips trembling, at a loss for words. Lucas looked up at the person who spoke. The young man was around 25 years old, about 1.8 meters, and quite handsome. Beside him was a young woman of simr age. Although her looks were ordinary, she was dressed in designer apparel from head to toe and seemed to be from a wealthy family. The two of them were linking arms and looked like a couple. Ashley stared at the young man, and her lips trembled several times before she finally said, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s really you? You¡¯re still alive?¡± The young man smiled with aplicated expression. ¡°Of course I¡¯m still alive. Did you think I was dead?¡± When Ashley heard this, her expression became indescribable. She smiled mirthlessly but seemed to be tearing up. She looked surprised yet confused. She was at a loss for words and just kept her eyes peeled on the young man without looking away. The young woman frowned with displeasure while shaking the man¡¯s arm and asking sourly, ¡°Honey, who is this? Do you know her?¡± The young man quickly said, ¡°She¡¯s just a former college ssmate. Her name is Ashley Steele.¡± Then he introduced to Ashley, ¡°Oh, I forgot to introduce you. This is my wife, Vanessa Phillips.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Ashley abruptly stood up, dazed by the sudden news. She whispered in disbelief, ¡°Your wife? You¡­ you¡¯re married?¡± The young man smiled. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve been married for more than two years.¡± Ashley clutched the tablecloth tightly as if it was the only way she could barely support herself and turned as pale as a sheet while tears quickly welled up in her eyes. Lucas reached out to hold Ashley worriedly. Her current state wasn¡¯t good. She almost lost her bnce and fell to the floor. The young man looked at Lucas and asked with a smile, ¡°Ashley, who is this? Aren¡¯t you going to introduce us?¡± Ashley took a deep breath and finally managed to suppress her tears. Trying her best to keep calm, she said, ¡°He¡­ he¡¯s my husband, Lucas Gray.¡± She looked at Lucas apologetically before introducing to him, ¡°This is Peter Hewitt, an old friend of mine.¡± Peter sized Lucas up ambiguously before reaching his hand out and smiling. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t ept the handshake. Instead, he said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m a bit of a clean freak, so I tend to avoid handshakes.¡± Peter was slightly stunned for a moment before realizing that Lucas meant that his hands were dirty. Fury appeared in his eyes. But he soon suppressed his anger and still behaved gentlemanly. He retracted his hand and said with a smile, ¡°We have a few friends here, so we¡¯ll excuse ourselves first. Goodbye.¡± With that, Peter left with Vanessa and headed to the other side of the bar. After watching them leave, Ashley seemed to lose all her strength and slumped down into her chair, confusion and misery written all over her face. ¡°He isn¡¯t dead¡­ and he¡¯s harried¡­ Haha!¡± Ashleyughed in self-contempt and mockery. Although Lucas didn¡¯t know what their rtionship was, nor did he know what had happened between them, he could tell from their brief conversation that Ashley had thought that Peter was dead all this while. After hearing that Peter was married, Ashely seemed to suffer a huge blow as she turned pale and bewildered. In contrast, Peter had remained polite the entire time, and because of this, he appeared distant and aloof. But for some reason, Lucas didn¡¯t like Peter, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to shake his hand. ¡°Waiter, please bring me a bottle of the highest alcohol content wine you have!¡± Ashley suddenly eximed to a waiter nearby. Chapter 1183 - 1183 The Relationship Between the Two 1183 The Rtionship Between the Two Lucas didn¡¯t stop her. Soon, the waiter brought a bottle of golden wine. Ashley grabbed a ss, filled it to the brim, and downed it in one go. The next second, she immediately coughed, choking on the strong wine. She obviously wasn¡¯t a regr drinker. Lucas hurriedly moved over and patted her back to soothe her. ¡°Since you don¡¯t drink regrly, you should drink alcohol like that. You have to be careful not to choke.¡± Ashley coughed for a long time before finally catching her breath. But for some reason, tears stained her face. Perhaps it was because of the choking¡­ Lucas didn¡¯t say anything and just handed her a few tissues silently. Ashley took them and covered her face tightly, her body trembling violently. Lucas sighed, not knowing what to say. He could guess that Ashley¡¯s abnormal behavior had something to do with Peter and that it was probably rted to emotional issues. But he wasn¡¯t in any ce to say anything. After a long time, Ashley finally regained herposure and wiped her tears. But her eyes were still red, and she seemed rather distressed. ¡°Actually, Peter is my ex-boyfriend,¡± Ashley suddenly said. Lucas nodded. He had already guessed this matter, so he wasn¡¯t surprised. Ashley didn¡¯t want to talk much about it at first. But when she looked at Lucas, she suddenly lost control of her emotions and felt a strong desire to confide in him. ¡°Lucas, do you want to hear about our past? I¡­ I really don¡¯t know who to turn to now.¡± Ashley sniffled and looked up at Lucas with a pitiful expression. Lucas said softly, ¡°Sure, if you want to.¡± Sometimes, bottling things up would make you feel worse. So if Ashley wanted someone to confide in, Lucas wouldn¡¯t mind lending an ear. No matter what, Ashley was Alexander¡¯s sister and his subordinate at the Stardust Corporation. Lucas regarded her as a younger sister too. ¡°Thank you, Lucas!¡± After thanking him, Ashley said with nostalgia and reminiscence in her eyes, ¡°Actually, I met him when we were first-years, and we were ssmates. During college, we dated for over three years. ¡°When we were graduating three years ago, we agreed to get married as soon as we graduated. I had a hard time persuading my parents before they finally agreed to let me marry him. ¡°But on the day of our engagement party, he never showed up and disappeared. ¡°Later, I went to great lengths to find him and ask him why he was absent from our engagement party, but he told me that he regretted it and no longer wanted to marry me. ¡°He told me that he finally found out that since my father passed away, the Steeles didn¡¯t regard my immediate family highly. Since my family didn¡¯t have any substantial authority or power among the Steeles, marrying me wouldn¡¯t give him a bright future. ¡°He even said that he never loved me and dated me only because I was from the Steeles, one of the eight top families in DC. He thought that he could take a shortcut to a wonderful life by marrying me, but he ended up disappointed. ¡°I was devastated after hearing what he said. I cried my heart out and told him to go away. He left, but I never thought that it would be thest time I saw him. ¡°Later, I heard that he died! At the time¡­ I felt guilty because I thought that he had died while leaving after I told him to go away. ¡°After finding out that he was dead, I was miserable and guilt-ridden. I didn¡¯t know what to do at all, and I suffered from severe depression for a while. I tried tomit suicide a few times, but I didn¡¯t end up dying because I was rescued every time. ¡°When I saw my mom and brother crying over me, I decided to get therapy. After two years of therapy, I finally overcame the trauma. ¡°But I never thought that I¡¯d see him alive and well again, let alone right in front of me with another woman he¡¯s been married to for two years! Hah, if I had known the truth, I could have saved myself from all the pain. All this while, I had thought that I killed him!¡± Toward the end, Ashley was weeping. Seeing her in so much pain and distress, Lucas felt ufortable. Ashley¡¯s situation reminded him of Cheyenne, who had been left alone with the Carters for six years after he left without a word. She must have been just as miserable. But he was luckier than Ashley. When he returned after six years, Cheyenne was still his wife, and they had reconciled and were happily married. On the other hand, Ashley had gone through almost three years of agony, only to find out that her ex-boyfriend was still alive and, worse still, married to another woman. ¡°Could he have had a reason?¡± Lucas asked. Ashley sobbed and said, ¡°Even if he had a reason, he¡¯s already married to someone else. It¡¯s pointless to say anything now.¡± Lucas didn¡¯t know what to say. Indeed, Peter had been married for more than two years. Even if he had apelling reason for doing what he did, it was pointless to find out the truth now. He couldn¡¯t possibly divorce his wife and rekindle his rtionship with Ashley. Besides, Lucas felt that there was already something fishy with Peter back then. He had dated Ashley for more than three years and even got her to convince the Steeles to let them get married. Yet he fled right before the engagement party and stood the Steeles up, causing them to be greatly embarrassed. Later, when Ashley found him, Peter brushed her off with the reason that her immediate family didn¡¯t have enough status and authority within the Steeles, which meant she wouldn¡¯t be of much help to his future, and he regretted getting together with her. The most revolting thing was that Peter tantly told Ashley that he didn¡¯t love her and that he had only approached her because she was from the Steeles. But he left without a care because he realized that things were different from what he had imagined. There was obviously something very wrong with his character and morals. However, all of this was just Lucas¡¯s conjecture. He didn¡¯t know what the truth was or if Peter really had any difficulties. Anyway, there was something pretty strange about the entire situation. If not for the news of Peter¡¯s sudden death after Ashley had a fight with him and told him to leave, she might not have been in agony for so long. All Lucas could do wasfort her. ¡°Since it¡¯s all in the past, you shouldn¡¯t be bothered about it anymore. You can continue to treat him as dead and ignore the past. Just focus on living the life you want and look forward.¡± Ashley wiped her cheeks, nodded, and said obediently, ¡°Yes, I got it. I just couldn¡¯t control my emotions after seeing him alive and well. Actually, I should have gotten over him after hearing those cruel things he said back then. I¡¯ve just been feeling guilty because I always thought that I caused his death. ¡°But I won¡¯t feel like that anymore. Besides, I¡¯ve already fallen for someone else.¡± Chapter 1184 - 1184 College Classmates 1184 College ssmates After hearing what Ashley said, Lucas heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s good. Since there¡¯s someone you like, that¡¯s even better. Congrattions!¡± Ashley quickly nced at Lucas and then looked down with misery in her eyes. There was indeed someone she liked. But unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know. She would probably never reveal her adoration for him in her lifetime. Peter¡¯s appearance had ruined Ashley¡¯s mood, and it had just gotten better. But now, she felt down again. !! Lucas understood how she felt. Although Ashley said that she had already gotten over Peter and fallen for someone else, he was her first love after all, and they had been together for three years. How could it be easy for her to get over him? Moreover, she had just found out that her ex-boyfriend was still alive and even married, so she definitely needed some time to digest it. But at this moment, several young men and women walked toward them. Peter and his wife, who had just left, were at the front. ¡°Hey, Ashley, you¡¯re really here!¡± ¡°We just heard Peter mention it, and I didn¡¯t quite believe him. But you¡¯re really here! As far as I remember, you never went to bars in the past.¡± ¡°Ashley, do you remember us, your college ssmates?¡± ¡­ Several people surrounded Ashley and chattered one after another. These people turned out to be Ashley¡¯s college ssmates! Seeing these people, Ashley said happily, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see you guys here! Of course I remember you. We were ssmates!¡± She chatted with her former ssmates, whom she hadn¡¯t met for three years. After the initial excitement, Ashley asked with some puzzlement, ¡°Speaking of which, why are you guys here today? Is there a ss reunion?¡± A fashionably-dressed woman quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s just a mini-reunion among a few of us who don¡¯t have much to do. We nned to invite you, but none of us could reach you. So we just had a small reunion here. Please don¡¯t me us!¡± Ashley didn¡¯t me them at all. She smiled and said, ¡°We were ssmates. Why would I me you?¡± The girl chuckled. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t be petty, Ashley! But since fate has allowed us to bump into each other here, it means that God has arranged for us to meet, so we should have fun together!¡± Peter stepped forward and said, ¡°This bar is too small. Since it¡¯s rare for us to meet, how about we go to Club Aurora? It¡¯ll be on me!¡± ¡°Haha, since it¡¯s Peter¡¯s treat, we have to go!¡± Everyone agreed with a smile. Ashley was the only one hesitant to agree. ¡°I¡¯ll just¡­¡± Just as she was about to decline, Lucas said, ¡°Since it¡¯s rare for you guys to meet, let¡¯s go together!¡± Hearing Lucas agree on her behalf, Ashley naturally wouldn¡¯t object. She nodded and agreed, ¡°Okay then, let¡¯s go together.¡± The girl who had been chatting with Ashley was named Allie, and she had been paying attention to Lucas from the moment she arrived. Seeing Ashleyply after Lucas spoke, she couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Ashley, who is this handsome man beside you? You haven¡¯t introduced us yet!¡± Ashley nced at Peter. Since she had lied that Lucas was her husband in front of Peter, she could only continue with the act. She held Lucas¡¯s arm and said somewhat shyly, ¡°This is my husband, Lucas Gray.¡± ¡°Huh? Ashley, you¡¯re married?¡± Allie¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Lucas. The others around them were also surprised. They looked at Lucas and sized him up one after another. Lucas felt rather helpless. Although he was married himself, he couldn¡¯t tell the truth in front of Ashley¡¯s ssmates, lest he embarrasses her. But he just had to pose as her husband for tonight. Le had gotten him to pose as her boyfriend for a day, so he wasn¡¯t inexperienced doing this. The group walked out of the bar merrily and headed to Club Aurora. But at this moment, a discordant voice suddenly sounded. ¡°Ashley, I heard that you, your immediate family got kicked out by the Steeles. Is that true?¡± As soon as the question was asked, everyone fell silent and turned to look at Ashley. Ashley¡¯s face immediately turned sullen. Getting kicked out of one¡¯s family was nothing to be proud of, and anyone bringing up the matter obviously had ill intentions and was out to hurt Ashley. Allie chided with displeasure, ¡°Carrie, what nonsense are you saying? Ashley is a direct descendant of the Steeles. How could she be kicked out?¡± Carrie, who was wearing thick makeup, had high cheekbones and thin lips. She looked like a mean person. She nced at Ashley and said firmly, ¡°Of course I¡¯m not talking nonsense. This isn¡¯t a secret in DC anyway. We heard about it when news spread from the Steeles a few days ago. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask Ashley!¡± Allie looked surprised and asked Ashley, ¡°Ashley, is that true? Your family really¡­ got kicked out?¡± Ashley seemed extremely sullen, but this was the truth. Since she couldn¡¯t hide it, she could only bite the bullet and nod. She admitted to it! All of a sudden, many people looked astonished. It turned out that Ashley, who had always seemed so glorious, had really been kicked out by the Steeles! Ashley¡¯s former ssmates, who had been respectful and ttering toward her, immediately had a change of expression and looked at her gloatingly. ¡°Ashley, you used to be an heiress of the Steeles, a wealthy and nobledy. No wonder you¡¯re wearing ordinary clothes today and no longer wearing designer clothing like you used to. It turns out you¡¯ve been kicked out! Tsk, I wonder what your family did to get kicked out!¡± A petite girl with several moles on her face immediately mocked. Carrie chimed in with a gloating smile, ¡°Look, I wasn¡¯t lying, was I? Ashley Steele, I really want to know what you did to get kicked out by your family. Did you anger your elders because you¡¯re too ipetent and married a penniless man?¡± She deliberately turned to look at Lucas. Chapter 1185 - 1185 Getting to the Bottom of the Truth 1185 Getting to the Bottom of the Truth Lucas had always dressed low-profile and rarely wore designer apparel. But the quality of his clothes was not inferior to that of luxury brands. Only those with truly good taste and knowledge would be able to tell. Clearly, these mercenary and superficial snobs weren¡¯t knowledgeable enough to discern the quality of Lucas¡¯s clothes. Instead, they simply thought that they were from cheap brands. Thus, they self-righteously assumed that Lucas was low-ss and penniless. Ashley was displeased. She could turn a blind eye to them making sarcastic remarks about her, but she couldn¡¯t tolerate hearing them mocking Lucas. She nced at Allie, who had just spoken, and said coldly, ¡°My husband is a great guy, and he¡¯s not poor. You guys don¡¯t have to worry about it!¡± Carrie covered her mouth andughed. ¡°Ashley, there¡¯s no need to say that. We were college ssmates, and we only asked you out of concern. If we weren¡¯t ssmates, it would have nothing to do with us who you married. We wouldn¡¯t have been bothered to ask! ¡°Besides, now that you¡¯ve been kicked out by the Steeles, you¡¯re not a wealthy heiress anymore, and you don¡¯t have to continue pretending in front of us. Your man does look very poor. I¡¯m not ndering him! ¡°Ah, you used to be the school belle, and you came from a wealthy family. You had so many suitors. Even though you¡¯ve been kicked out by your family, you didn¡¯t have to marry such a loser. ¡°With your looks, you can easily find a good man. I advise you to get a divorce as soon as possible. I can introduce you to wealthy businessmen who are much better than this pauper you married!¡± What Carrie said made Ashley extremely sullen. Back in college, Carrie had sucked up to her in all ways and had never dared to speak to her with this tone. But now that Ashley had been expelled by her family, she wanted to kick her when she was down. Moreover, she even said that she would introduce her to wealthy businessmen like a pimp. What did she take her for?! Carrie even despised Lucas and called him a pauper, making Ashley feel extremely ufortable. Even if Lucas was really penniless, she didn¡¯t want to hear them insulting him. Besides, he was the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, whom these people didn¡¯t even have the right to speak to usually! Just as Ashley was about to lose her temper, a girl named Zoey hurriedly said, ¡°Hey, Carrie, what are you saying?! You don¡¯t need to introduce Ashley to anyone. We have a good candidate right here!¡± Zoey looked at a male in their group. ¡°Ss is a mid-level manager at a bigpany, and he has a six-figure ie. Why don¡¯t we just matchmake the two of them?¡± Zoey said with a smile, ¡°Ss, do you remember how much you adored Ashley back then? Surely you won¡¯t mind if she remarries.¡± Ss was a chubby man who was less than 1.7 meters tall. Although he was only about 25 years old, he had a huge beer belly and looked quite old. He nced at Ashley and licked his lips, making his not-so-handsome face look lecherous. ¡°Haha, why would I mind? She was a campus belle back in college! As long as she divorces this poor man, I¡¯ll marry her immediately!¡± Ss said. Hearing this, a few male ssmates chimed in teasingly. ¡°I¡¯m single too! Ashley, you can consider me as well!¡± ¡°Haha, forget it. Are you as rich as Ss? You make less than 50k a year. Don¡¯t botherpeting with Ss!¡± ¡°Hey, so what if I¡¯m poor? I¡¯m inferior to Ss, but at least I¡¯m much better than this pauper. Since Ashley was willing to marry him, why can¡¯t I marry her?¡± ¡°Hahaha, you have a great n in mind!¡± ¡­ For some time, everyone was talking andughing without any regard for Ashley¡¯s intentions and her ¡®husband¡¯, Lucas. Even Allie, who had spoken up for Ashley,ughed along with them before saying to Ashley, ¡°Ashley, you heard them. Although what they¡¯re saying may not be appropriate, it¡¯s all for your own good! You¡¯re such a pretty girl. Even without your family¡¯s support, you can still marry a good man! Why do you have to be with someone like him? You¡¯d better divorce him quickly and find another man!¡± They all imed to be giving her advice out of goodwill, but the contempt and humiliation in their tone were obvious. Ashley wasn¡¯t a fool, so she obviously sensed it. Looking at her former ssmatesughing and mocking them, Ashley finally lost her temper and snapped, ¡°That¡¯s enough! Yes, I¡¯m no longer an heiress of the Steeles, but you guys are in no ce to mock me! I have my husband, and I don¡¯t need you to introduce me to other men! ¡°Since you look down on my husband and me so much, I don¡¯t see a need for us to stay here and tolerate it! ¡°Honey, let¡¯s go!¡± Ashely held Lucas¡¯s arm and nned to storm away furiously. ¡°Hey! Wait! Ashley, don¡¯t be angry!¡± Allie panicked and quickly rushed forward to grab Ashley¡¯s arm. ¡°We¡¯re all ssmates. What¡¯s the point of doing this? I doubt they meant it. If it upsets you, we¡¯ll stop, okay? ¡°It¡¯s not easy for us to meet up. Don¡¯t be such a killjoy and spoil the mood!¡± Allie persuaded repeatedly, not wanting Ashley to leave. Right from the start until now, Ashley¡¯s ex-boyfriend, Peter, had stood silent at the side. He didn¡¯t join in the mockery nor stop Ashley from leaving. Watching all of this coldly, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Ashley, since your ssmates have said so, let¡¯s stay.¡± Of course, Lucas didn¡¯t actually intend to get close to Ashley¡¯s snobbish former college ssmates. He decided to stay behind because he wanted to know the truth about Peter. If Ashley didn¡¯t get a clear idea of what had happened, she would probably never get over it. Chapter 1186 - 1186 Divorce Her 1186 Divorce Her Hearing Lucas persuading Ashley to stay, her former ssmates looked at him with even more disdain and contempt. How dare this pauper try to use Ashley to get into our circle? He must be dreaming! they thought. To put it bluntly, if it wasn¡¯t because Ashley was their former ssmate, Lucas wouldn¡¯t even have the qualifications to speak to them because he was so poor. A few of them rolled their eyes,pletely despising Lucas. Ashley was stunned to hear that Lucas wanted to stay, but she immediately understood why. !! If not for her, he wouldn¡¯t have deigned to interact with them and put up with their insults and mockery. Thinking of this, Ashley felt touched. Seeing this, Allie hurriedly said, ¡°Ashley, since your husband has agreed, juste with us!¡± After thinking about it, Ashley said firmly, ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go with you guys on ount that we were ssmates. But first things first, if you guys continue to be rude to my husband and insult him, I will sever all ties with you!¡± Hearing this, everyone showed some disdain on their faces. If Ashley was still an heiress of the Steeles, they would have definitely agreed. In fact, even if she didn¡¯t say anything, they naturally wouldn¡¯t offend her and Lucas. But Ashley had already been driven out by her family and couldn¡¯t evenpare to them in terms of family background now. What right did she have to put on airs and give them orders? Two impatient people immediately wanted to retort. Allie said, ¡°Alright, everyone. Since we¡¯re ssmates, let¡¯s not spoil the atmosphere anymore!¡± She nced at her ssmates, telling them to stop angering Ashley at this juncture. Then she said, ¡°Ashley, we drove here, so you can go with us! Let the men go in their own cars. We don¡¯t have to worry about them.¡± She pulled out a car key and pressed it. Soon, the lights of a white BMW 7-Series sedan lit up. ¡°Ah, Allie, did you get a new car?¡± Some ssmates immediately praised her with looks of envy. Allie said proudly, ¡°It¡¯s just an ordinary car that costs around a hundred grand. Next year, I¡¯ll get a more expensive car and take you guys out for a spin!¡± Allie¡¯s family was quite affluent, though it was only a third or fourth-rate family. But no matter what, they still had a worth of tens of millions, so Allie wasn¡¯t actually bragging about buying a more expensive car. Carrie immediately moved to Allie¡¯s side and held onto her arm affectionately. ¡°Allie, you¡¯re amazing. Since you¡¯re so rich, don¡¯t forget us old ssmates when youe across any good opportunities in the future.¡± Meanwhile, a few of the men changed the way they looked at Allie. Although Allie¡¯s looks were average, she was rich, so it wasn¡¯t a bad idea if they could get together with her. Ashley looked at Lucas hesitantly, wondering what Lucas would do if she left with the women. Carrie grabbed Ashley¡¯s hand and said impatiently, ¡°What are you hesitating about? Let¡¯s hurry up and go in Allie¡¯s car! Surely you and your boyfriend aren¡¯t going to take the bus, right?¡± Lucas said to Ashley, ¡°Go ahead with your ssmates. I¡¯ll go with your male ssmates.¡± Peter said, ¡°Lucas can take my car!¡± Hearing this, Ashley nodded and got into the backseat of Allie¡¯s BMW. A few of her male ssmates had driven here, so they got into their respective cars and took those who didn¡¯t drive here. Soon, they left. Lucas, Peter, and his wife, Vanessa, were the only ones left in the parking lot of the Blue Duke bar. ¡°Vanessa, wait for me in the car. Lucas and I have a few words to say,¡± Peter said to his wife gently. Vanessa looked displeased, but she didn¡¯t lose her temper at Peter and got into their luxury car. Looking at Lucas with raised brows, Peter asked, ¡°Are you really Ashley¡¯s husband?¡± Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t reveal the true rtionship between him and Ashley at this time, so he just nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Divorce her immediately and stay away from her!¡± Peter said tyrannically. Lucas burst intoughter. Indeed, Peter wasn¡¯t as calm andposed as he had shown earlier. But why did he want Lucas to divorce Ashley since he was already married? He couldn¡¯t possibly divorce his wife and get back together with Ashley. More importantly, Lucas couldn¡¯t see any love for Ashley in Peter¡¯s eyes at all. When he saw Ashley insulted by their ssmates just now, Peter remained silent and even smirked with some contempt. He didn¡¯t seem to have any feelings for her. ¡°Why should I divorce her?¡± Lucas asked unhurriedly while standing in front of Peter. ¡°Because I said so. Stop wasting my time with your nonsense,¡± Peter snapped in annoyance. Then he took out a bank card from his pocket and threw it to Lucas. ¡°There¡¯s one hundred grand in this card. Take it aspensation for your divorce from Ashley. As long as you divorce her and never show up in front of her again, the money is yours. You hear me?¡± His tone was extremely condescending, as if he was doing charity. He added, ¡°This is probably a few years¡¯ worth of wages for you.¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Lucasughed uncontrobly again. Lucas had only witnessed such scenes in corny TV shows and novels. He didn¡¯t expect to be involved in a simr situation one day. To make things worse, someone actually threw a bank card with 100,000 dors at him and ordered him to leave a woman. He really couldn¡¯t help himself fromughing out loud. Chapter 1187 - 1187 Absurd Reason 1187 Absurd Reason ¡°What are youughing about?¡± Peter frowned with displeasure and stared at Lucas with a gloomy gaze. While fiddling with the light bank card, Lucas asked with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re already married, but you want me to divorce Ashley? What are you trying to do? Do you want to find a chance to rekindle your rtionship with her because you can¡¯t forget her?¡± Peter sneered disdainfully. ¡°Hah, a shameless woman like Ashley isn¡¯t worth my feelings. Rekindle my rtionship with her? I just want her to be single and unwanted forever!¡± The resentment in his tone surprised Lucas. Lucas didn¡¯t expect Peter to bear so much hatred for Ashley. Even though he was already married to another woman, he didn¡¯t want her to marry another man and wanted her to stay single and alone forever. There had to be a reason for his hatred! Lucas frowned. ¡°As far as I know, after you two graduated from college three years ago, you two were going to get engaged. But you backed out at thest minute and disappeared without a trace during the engagement party. You even spread fake news about your death to make sure Ashley heard it, right? Why do you hate her so much?¡± Lucas was truly puzzled. ording to Ashley, Peter was obviously the one who had let her down, so she should be the one hating him. But why did Peter hate her so much that he wanted to destroy her life and make her suffer? ¡°Because that woman is a liar!¡± Peter said through gritted teeth. ¡°She¡¯s a liar through and through. She cheated me out of my feelings and caused me to treat her well for a few years for nothing. She almost ruined my life. Why shouldn¡¯t I hate her? As long as I¡¯m alive, I¡¯ll make sure she doesn¡¯t live well!¡± Lucas¡¯s frown deepened. Could there be some secret between Peter and Ashley? Although Lucas hadn¡¯t interacted much with Ashley, he could tell that she wasn¡¯t a scumbag who liked to toy with other people¡¯s feelings. So he wondered if there was a misunderstanding between them. Although Lucas didn¡¯t want to get involved in the affairs of Ashley and her ex-boyfriend, she was his subordinate now and would be expanding thepany¡¯s business abroad soon. So Lucas hoped that he could resolve the matter between them so that she would no longer be affected. ¡°What¡¯s the point? I don¡¯t know what happened between you two, but you have both clearly moved on with your lives. Can¡¯t you just let go?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°No way, absolutely not! I¡¯ve hated her for years. How can I let it go so easily?¡± Pete hollered at Lucas angrily. ¡°Who do you think you are? Since you don¡¯t know shit, just shut up and do what I say!¡± Lucas smiled helplessly. Clearly, Peter was full of hatred and didn¡¯t n to let it go. Lucas said, ¡°Peter, you said that Ashley cheated you out of your feelings and wasted a few years of your life. Is there some misunderstanding behind this? ¡°As far as I know, Ashley was devastated after hearing about your death three years ago. She even suffered from severe depression and tried to take her own life a few times. Do you really think someone like her cheated you out of your feelings?¡± After hearing what Lucas said, Peter became even more furious. ¡°Haha, bullshit! Of course she cheated me out of my feelings. She told me that she was a direct descendant of the Steeles, one of the eight top families of DC, and that her brother and father had high statuses in the family. She even imed that they might be the future helmsmen of the family, but what happened in the end? ¡°Her father died! And her brother doesn¡¯t have any recognition or power in the family at all. He has a low status in the family and will obviously never take over as helmsman! ¡°And now, she and her immediate family have been kicked out by the Steele family! Haha, this is her retribution for lying to me! Fortunately, I didn¡¯t get engaged to her and marry her back then. Otherwise, I would have been kicked out by the Steeles together with her. How could I ept that?! ¡°Besides, I treated her well with all my heart when we were dating in college, but the Steeles despised me and didn¡¯t want to let her marry me. Even when I visited them with gifts, they never took me seriously! ¡°That¡¯s why I stood Ashley up at the engagement party and left her there to embarrass her! This is what she and her family owe me! ¡°You¡¯re right. I faked my death and got the news to spread to Ashley because I wanted her to regret what she had done and put her through so much misery that her life would be a living hell!¡± Hearing Peter¡¯sints, Lucas had a stunned expression. He originally thought that there was a misunderstanding between Peter and Ashley or that there was something he didn¡¯t know. But it turned out that Peter¡¯s reason for hating Ashley was so¡­ absurd! He thought that Ashley had cheated him out of his feelings simply because he didn¡¯t feel that the Steels valued him and that his expectations of Ashley¡¯s father and brother bing the helmsmen were ruined. So he wanted to take revenge on her and make her live in misery for the rest of her life. Peter¡¯s way of thinking waspletely detached from that of ordinary people. After his greedy n to gain power and wealth by marrying Ashley failed, he med her for cheating him out of his feelings. He was simply a scumbag among scumbags! Seemingly hearing a name she didn¡¯t want to hear, Vanessa, Peter¡¯s wife, immediately urged impatiently from inside the car, ¡°Honey, why do you bother wasting your breath with him? Aren¡¯t we going?¡± After hearing Vanessa¡¯s voice, Peter finally calmed down and threatened Lucas, ¡°Punk, one hundred grand is as much as you make in a few years. You¡¯d better be content and divorce her tomorrow. Do you hear me?¡± Lucas sneered, ¡°One hundred grand is peanuts. Keep it for yourself!¡± With that, he flicked the bank card back at Peter, took out his car key, and pressed the button. Soon, the ck Land Rover drove out of the parking spot nearby and stopped next to Lucas. This scene left Peter so shocked that his eyeballs almost fell out! Chapter 1188 - 1188 Own Business 1188 Own Business It was a Range Rover! And it was thetest model, which was worth at least 250,000 dors! Moreover, Peter could tell at a nce that the chassis and tires of this car were different from ordinary Range Rover models. This car had been modified, and it was also equipped with automatic driving functions, so it cost more than a million dors! This car actually belongs to this shabbily-dressed pauper? Peter couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. Even he couldn¡¯t get such a high-end customized Range Rover! Peter stared enviously at the car and Lucas. Lucas opened the car door. ¡°I have to give you a warning. I don¡¯t care how twisted your mind is, but Ashley is under my protection now. If you dare to harm her, you will suffer the consequences!¡± Then Lucas got inside the car and drove away. Watching Lucas drive away, Peter bit his lip with shocking murderous intent and hatred in his eyes. I don¡¯t care who you are. Since you dare to threaten me, you¡¯re my enemy, and I won¡¯t let you off! ¡­ Lucas was driving speechlessly. He originally thought that there was some irresolvable enmity between Ashley and Peter or some huge misunderstanding that caused them to turn from college sweethearts to what they were now. But he never thought that it was because of such an absurd reason. Lucas had seen many strange things and mentally unsound people in his life. But he had never met a scumbag like Peter, who didn¡¯t recognize that he himself was a terrible person but instead used Ashley of deceiving his feelings and hated her for things beyond her control. Since Peter was such a scumbag, there was no need for Ashley to feel sad because of him. Ten minutester, Lucas drove his Land Rover to the most prosperous area in DC and arrived at the parking lot of Club Aurora. It was already past 9 p.m. For many people, it was already rtivelyte, and some were already preparing for bed. But for a globalized metropolis like DC, 9 p.m. was the prime time when nightlife just started. Therefore, there were countless cars and a lively crowd outside the resplendent Club Aurora. Lucas walked to the entrance and saw a red LED sign with the words ¡®The Parkers¡¯ hanging below the giant glowing signboard of Club Aurora. Lucas raised his brows. Turns out Club Aurora used to belong to the Waltons! This morning, Albert, the helmsman of the Waltons, had brought severalwyers and all the relevant documents with him to the Stardust Corporation to transfer the Waltons¡¯ assets to Lucas. But Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with it and let the Parkers run the businesses under their name. Because the handover time was too short, there was no time to make major changes, so the Parkers just added the words ¡®The Parkers¡¯ under the signboards of all the businesses they took over. It meant that these businesses now belonged to them. For a business like Club Aurora, which enjoyed a high reputation in DC but didn¡¯t have a name that indicated its origin, there was no need to change its name, lest it affects the customers. But there were some businesses whose names contained the word ¡®Walton¡¯, so they would have to rename them to get rid of the Waltons¡¯ influence. Keh had asked him for permission about this early this morning. So Lucas immediately knew that Club Aurora actually belonged to him when he saw the red LED sign with the Parkers¡¯ name on it. Unexpectedly, the ce Peter had randomly chosen turned out to be his turf. This made Lucas feel a little emotional. Lucas didn¡¯t linger at the entrance for long. While he was driving here, Ashley, who had arrived in advance, had sent him the number of the private room they had booked here, so Lucas went straight to the room. ¡°Wee, Mr. Gray!¡± As soon as Lucas entered Club Aurora, the two beautiful attendants and two guards at the door immediately bowed and greeted him respectfully. ¡°Do you know me?¡± Lucas was surprised. One of the pretty girls, who had a V-shaped face, said smilingly, ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s because the first thing Mr. Parker did after taking over the club today was to send your photo to all the employees. He told us that you¡¯re the most distinguished guest of the club and that we had to serve you with the best treatment no matter when you visited. That¡¯s why we know you.¡± Lucas immediately realized what had happened. He reckoned that Keh was the one who had given these instructions. This young man, who had once been at odds with him, had gotten much better at handling things. Keh had only said that Lucas was the most distinguished guest of Club Aurora and instructed the staff to serve him well without revealing his identity. This was in line with what Lucas preferred. Furthermore, the staff of Club Aurora were probably not the only people to receive these instructions. Likely all the employees of the businesses that Keh took over had received the same instructions to treat him as the most distinguished guest. This indeed saved Lucas some trouble, and he would no longer be in situations where he was stopped from entering his ownpany like before. The other beautifuldy stepped forward and asked respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, the most prestigious King¡¯s Room has been prepared for you. Would you like us to take you there now?¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°No thanks. I came here with some friends today. Please take me to the Rose Room.¡± ¡°Alright, Mr. Gray, pleasee with me!¡± The beautifuldy led Lucas to the door of the private room that Peter had booked. Lucas waved his hand and gestured for thedy to leave before pushing the door open and entering. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re here!¡± As soon as Lucas entered, Ashley walked over to greet him happily. Ashley felt regretful now. She had arrived a few minutes earlier than Lucas, and her former ssmates had surrounded her and urged her to get a divorce and marry another man, making her very upset. Upon seeing Lucas, Ashley¡¯s eyes lit up as if she had finally seen her savior. She really wanted to take Lucas away immediately. She was going abroad with her mother and brother tomorrow. She had nned to spend some time alone with Lucas today to rx before going abroad. But she didn¡¯t expect to meet her former ssmates and end up stuck in such a situation. Her friendship with her former ssmates was no longer like it used to be, which made Ashley feel terrible. Seeing Lucas enter alone without Peter and his wife, Ss immediately frowned and asked him, ¡°Why are you here alone? Where¡¯s Peter? Did you do something to him?¡± Chapter 1189 - 1189 Full of Flattery 1189 Full of ttery Lucas sneered. But before he could speak, Carrie butted in sarcastically, ¡°What can a poor loser like him do to Peter? Besides, Peter¡¯s wife is from the esteemed William family. This punk would never dare to do anything to them!¡± Zoey also mocked, ¡°The differences between some people are vast. Some are bottom feeders of society who get stepped all over by everyone, while some are elites above everyone. They are people that the average joe can never match up to.¡± She nced at Lucas smugly. ¡°You¡¯re probably too poor to know who Peter is. He married the only heiress of the Williams, and he¡¯s back in DC to get ready to start handling the family business. He definitely isn¡¯t someone that ordinary people canpare to! Some people can die trying, but they¡¯ll never catch up!¡± ¡°Wow. Doesn¡¯t that mean Peter might be the future helmsman of the William family? Once Vanessa¡¯s father passes away, the Williams¡¯ businesses will all belong to Peter, huh?¡± one of the men in the room said in astonishment. ¡°Duh? That¡¯s why I say that despiteing from an ordinary background, Peter is really smart to have found such an impressive wife. It beats working hard for decades! On the other hand, some people came from a rich family during college, but look at what happened now.¡± While speaking, Zoey looked at Ashley from head to toe, almost explicitly saying that she was talking about her. Ashley pursed her lips together tightly without nning to say anything. A few men revealed looks of envy and jealousy. People like Peter were simply the object of their envy. But there was nothing they could do about it since they weren¡¯t as suave and smart as Peter to know to please a wealthy heiress. However, even if they didn¡¯t have the chance to marry someone rich, they might be able to get some help from Peter in the future as long as they kept in touch with him. After all, Peter now had a much superior status than before, and he might even be the helmsman of the Williams. It would be great if they could get some benefits from their friendship with him! While they were chatting, the door of the private room was pushed open. Peter and his wealthy wife, Vanessa, finally arrived. All of a sudden, almost everyone rushed over to surround them and greet them enthusiastically. It was as if they were afraid that Peter had suffered during the short ten-minute drive. Naturally, Lucas and Ashley didn¡¯t follow them and instead stood indifferently at the side, watching them behave deferentially toward Peter and his wife. ¡°Haha, sorry I¡¯m a bitte. What were you guys chatting about?¡± Peter was now amicable and cheery again, just like Lucas had seen before. Carrie hurriedly said, ¡°We were all just praising you! We said that you¡¯re the most promising one among our former ssmates. You managed to be a mid-level manager of a Fortune 500pany at such a young age. You¡¯re back in DC because you¡¯re probably going to get a promotion, right?¡± ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re right!¡± Peterughed joyfully. ¡°I¡¯m back to serve as the general manager of the Williams Corporation. My father-inw wants me to get some training in this position before taking over more important duties and helping him manage all the businesses.¡± As soon as Peter said this, there were exmations of shock in the room. ¡°You¡¯re going to be the general manager of the Williams Corporation?! Oh my god, Peter, you¡¯re really impressive. You¡¯re only twenty-six this year, and you¡¯ve already be a general manager of a Fortune 500pany. That¡¯s amazing! Most undergraduates don¡¯t even qualify to work as an ordinary employee at the Williams Corporation, yet you¡¯ve already climbed so high!¡± ¡°Peter, I¡¯ll have to rely on your help in the future!¡± ¡°Yeah, my family and I too. If you have any lucrative opportunities in the future, don¡¯t forget to help the Kellers out!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget about me! Peter, if you have any need for me in the future, I¡¯d be happy to work for you!¡± ¡­ For a while, they ttered Peter and showered him with endlesspliments. Peter really enjoyed the ttery and praise. He said with a smile stered all over his face, ¡°Haha, sure, sure. We¡¯re former ssmates. If there are any opportunities in the future, I definitely won¡¯t forget you guys!¡± ¡°Peter, thank you in advance then!¡± Everyone smiled happily and thanked Peter. ¡°Don¡¯t just thank Peter. We have to thank Vanessa too!¡± Ss suddenly said to Vanessa, who was standing next to Peter. They were so preupied with ttering Peter just now that they almost forgot about the person with the highest status. It was quite negligent of them. Everyone quickly returned to their senses and praised Vanessa too,plimenting her for her beauty, talent, and elegance, as well as for being a grounded and amicable wealthy heiress. Theirpliments made her face beam with joy. ¡°Since you guys are Peter¡¯s former ssmates, you are my friends too. You don¡¯t have to be so formal. If we have any relevant business opportunities in the future, we will prioritize you and your families. Don¡¯t worry!¡± Vanessa said with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re so nice, Vanessa! Thank you!¡± Everyone thanked Vanessa, and the atmosphere was very lively. Vanessa looked around the room and suddenly said, ¡°There¡¯s more than ten of us here. Isn¡¯t this room too small? I remember that there arerge VIP rooms here and a King¡¯s Room that¡¯s much bigger than this. Shall we change to another room?¡± Ss hurriedly said, ¡°I wanted to book arger room, but the manager told me that the VIP rooms were already booked. So I could only choose a random one. I thought we could make do.¡± Chapter 1190 - 1190 Distinguished Guest 1190 Distinguished Guest Vanessa frowned. ¡°That won¡¯t do. Peter and I came back today, and we happened to get together with you guys. You¡¯re Peter¡¯s friends. How can we settle for a random private room? Besides, we agreed that it was Peter¡¯s treat today. How can we squeeze into this tiny room?¡± It cost about 10,000 dors to book arge VIP room here, which was peanuts to a wealthy heiress like Vanessa. In fact, she would feel upset and displeased if she couldn¡¯t book one. Peter chimed in, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re not short of money. We have to get arger and better room!¡± He said to Ss, ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯ve spent thest two years out of town, so I don¡¯t know much about the nightlife here. I only know that Club Aurora is the best ce for it in DC now. What¡¯s the best private room here? Is it the prestigious King¡¯s Room you mentioned?¡± Ss nodded and sighed before saying, ¡°Yes, the King¡¯s Room here is the best, and it¡¯s the only ultra luxurious room here. It¡¯s at least four times the size of this one! ¡°But I heard that the owner of Club Aurora changed hands this morning. In the past, you¡¯d only need to pay about fifteen grand to book the King¡¯s Room. But starting today, there¡¯s a new rule saying that the King¡¯s Room is reserved exclusively for the club¡¯s most prestigious guests and that it won¡¯t be open to others for any amount of money!¡± Hearing this, Vanessa sneered. ¡°A private room that isn¡¯t open regardless of the amount of money? Haha, that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of such a rule in DC! I refuse to believe that they won¡¯t open it for a million dors! This is nothing but a gimmick to raise the price!¡± Peter frowned too. ¡°Club Aurora has a new owner? I remember it used to belong to the Waltons. Who does it belong to now?¡± Allie replied, ¡°I saw a red LED sign with the ¡®The Parkers¡¯ written on it outside the club. This family should have taken over.¡± She had strong observation skills and had noticed this detail when they entered. ¡°The Parkers?¡± Everyone felt bewildered. None of the top families in DC had the name Parker. Vanessa asked doubtfully, ¡°Is there a Parker family among the upper-ss circle of DC?¡± Ss shook his head. ¡°I know a little bit about this family. Actually, the Parkers aren¡¯t from DC but from California. Over the past few months, they¡¯ve been developing extremely quickly and opened countless stores and businesses in the US. For example, the Hampton Restaurant, a top dining spot in DC now, belongs to them. ¡°Apart from this, they also have some jewelry and antique stores. The Parkers have always kept a low profile and don¡¯t do anything conspicuous, so many people in DC aren¡¯t aware of them. ¡°But justst night, I heard the Parkers offended a big family, and there were dozens of trucks and thousands of people gathered outside the Hampton Restaurant. Many people thought that they were in trouble and that they would be eradicated from DC. ¡°But this morning, many people discovered that the Hampton Restaurant was not only fine, but many of the businesses in DC now have an additional red LED sign with ¡®The Parkers¡¯ on it. ¡°These businesses used to belong to the Waltons, which means that the Waltons probably lost to the Parkersst night and the Parkers have taken over their businesses instead! ¡°But many people are saying that the Parkers aren¡¯t actually that strong. They¡¯re just managing these businesses on behalf of a big shot who¡¯s so powerful that even the eight top families don¡¯t dare to offend!¡± Ss was a local of DC, and his family was decently affluent. Although they weren¡¯t that rich and powerful, they were well-informed in various aspects. After Ss revealed all the information he knew, many people in the room were surprised. The mysterious Parker family actually took over so many of the Waltons¡¯ businesses overnight. The Waltons were not pushovers but one of the eight top families of DC, and they had owned half the entertainment joints in the state! Yet they transferred all their businesses to the Parkers without creating a scene in DC. This just meant that the powerful figure or force behind the Parkers was really not to be trifled with. ¡°So, let¡¯s not try to move to the King¡¯s Room today, lest we create unnecessary trouble for ourselves. We¡¯ll have to make do though,¡± Ss said. Peter fell silent in thought. Sitting on a couch by the wall, Lucas smirked a little. If these people knew that the big shot behind the Parkers they were discussing was sitting right here, whom they had insulted as a penniless loser, who knew how they would react? Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of the private room, and a middle-aged man in a ck suit with a chrome-ted ¡®manager¡¯ tag walked in. ¡°Mr. Gray, wee to Club Aurora! The King¡¯s Room on the top floor has been prepared for you. You and your friends may enter at any time! As the manager, I would like to apologize for failing to receive you immediately! Please forgive me.¡± The manager bowed to Lucas respectfully. This scene dumbfounded everyone. They had just learned from Ss that only the most distinguished guests of Club Aurora could enter the King¡¯s Room, while everyone else would be refused entry regardless of how much they spent. However, the manager of Club Aurora actually came over personally to invite Lucas to the prestigious and luxurious King¡¯s Room. If the manager had said this to Peter or Vanessa, they naturally wouldn¡¯t be shocked. But he actually said it to Lucas and even bowed to him. In their eyes, Lucas was just a penniless loser. How could he possibly be among the most distinguished guests of Club Aurora? Lucas frowned slightly. When he entered earlier and the two beautiful women at the entrance wanted to lead him to the King¡¯s Room, Lucas had already turned them down. He didn¡¯t expect the manager to show up suddenly and invite him to the King¡¯s Room. In that case, wouldn¡¯t these people suspect his identity? Chapter 1191 - 1191 King’s Room 1191 King¡¯s Room Just as everyone was staring at Lucas in shock and wondering what his background was, Ss suddenlyughed, stepped forward, and said to the manager, ¡°Mr. Frey, you don¡¯t have to be so formal!¡± The manager suddenly looked up at Ss, feeling bewildered. He wasn¡¯t talking to him. Why did hee over? But considering that Ss was Lucas¡¯s friend, the manager thought that it would be inappropriate for him to say much, so he could only keep smiling and asked, ¡°Then, shall I take all of you to the King¡¯s Room now?¡± While speaking, he cast a questioning gaze to Lucas. Ss was standing in front of the manager, blocking his line of sight. He patted his shoulder enthusiastically and said, ¡°Haha, Mr. Frey, please show us the way!¡± Lucas was amused, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Thus, they followed the manager to the prestigious King¡¯s Room of Club Aurora. As soon as they stepped inside the room, almost everyone gasped in shock. It was indeed worthy of being the one and only King¡¯s Room of Club Aurora! Once they entered, they were greeted with a massive space of over a hundred square meters. Needless to say, the decor was of the highest grade of luxury. The ornaments and furniture were all embellished with genuine diamonds and colorful gemstones, and the walls were decorated with famous paintings. There were authentic antiques around the room, and the nts were all rare and precious. Any item here could easily fetch tens of thousands of dors, if not more. The total cost of building and furnishing the King¡¯s Room was at least tens of millions of dors! Many people present, even Vanessa and Ashley, who were from the eight top families of DC, had never seen such a luxurious room, let alone the others. They even felt as if they were stepping on gilded gold floor panels. It was incredibly luxurious! ¡°Mr. Gray, here are two bottles of fine wine from the precious collection of Club Aurora. They have been aged for years. May you and your friends have an enjoyable time here!¡± The manager ordered his subordinate to deliver two bottles of wine. He ced them on a rosewood table before bowing and leaving. After the manager left, Allie looked at Ss in shock and asked eagerly, ¡°Ss, I didn¡¯t expect you to be one of the most distinguished guests of Club Aurora! You hid it too well. We didn¡¯t know at all!¡± ¡°Yeah, Ss, it isn¡¯t very nice of you to have hidden it from us! We wouldn¡¯t have known if the manager didn¡¯t say it all of a sudden!¡± Carrie and Zoeymented with coquettish smiles, ming him for not revealing it sooner. But Ss was actually the confused one. He had no idea that Frey would suddenlye and say that he was one of the most distinguished guests of Club Aurora. Not only did he bring them to the King¡¯s Room personally, but he even presented them with two bottles of red wine worth hundreds of thousands of dors! This treatment left him dumbfounded! If he wasn¡¯t the only person whosest name was Gray here, he wouldn¡¯t have dared to admit it. He definitely didn¡¯t think that Frey had spoken to Lucas. He just assumed that Lucas, Ashley¡¯s loser husband, only got the chance to enter a luxurious club like Club Aurora for the first time thanks to them. He was certain that the most distinguished guest wasn¡¯t Lucas! Of course, the other people present also thought the same. They didn¡¯t think that the manager had spoken to Lucas at all. Ashley was the only one who looked at Lucas. The others were clueless, but she knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t a penniless loser but the chairman of the Stardust Corporation. He was a big shot that even the eight top families of DC and the royals didn¡¯t dare to disregard. Ashley believed that the most distinguished guest was Lucas and definitely not Ss! She opened her mouth to speak, but Lucas waved at her to signal her to remain silent. First, Lucas didn¡¯t want to reveal his identity. Second, if Ashley really brought it up, these people would probably think that it was just a joke. They definitely wouldn¡¯t believe her, so she would just be wasting her breath. Even Peter thought that Ss¡¯s family had probably struck a windfall or be friends with an impressive big shot. He yfully punched his shoulder and smiled. ¡°You really hid it well. You didn¡¯t even tell me! I said it was my treat, but it turns out I don¡¯t have to pay anymore!¡± After receiving Peter¡¯s intimate gesture, Ss was really proud. ¡°Haha, I didn¡¯t mean to hide it from you. I really forgot about it until I saw Mr. Frey. I suddenly recalled that my dad told mest night that he formed a rtionship with a powerful big shot who came to DC recently to develop his business and that I might bump into him. ¡°I thought my dad was joking, but it turns out he was serious. It seems the big shot he mentioned is the big shot behind the Parkers. He probably knows me too. That¡¯s why he instructed Mr. Frey to invite us to the King¡¯s Room and serve us expensive red wine. ¡°If I had known earlier, I would have mentioned my family when booking the room. It would have saved us the hassle of switching rooms!¡± Ss was talking as if his father had really befriended an impressive big shot. Although he made up the story, Ss really felt that it was the most likely reason. Otherwise, why would the manager be so polite toward him and even bring them to the luxurious King¡¯s Room of Club Aurora? When he returned home tonight, he had to ask his father who the impressive person he had befriended was. What Ss said made everyone except Peter and Vanessa envious. They didn¡¯t expect him to be so lucky. As long as the Grays could get close to this powerful figure, they would rise to a higher status and surpass them and their families. Carrie was feeling sour and jealous, but she couldn¡¯t show her emotions. When she saw Lucas sitting calmly on thefortable couch, she couldn¡¯t help making a snide remark. ¡°Some people are really thick-skinned! He sat down by himself before the rest of us! ¡°They both have thest name Gray, but one is a distinguished guest who gets treated respectfully, while the other is a broke loser here to leech off us. What a world of difference!¡± Chapter 1192 - 1192 Unable to Let Go 1192 Unable to Let Go Carrie spoke loudly, so everyone in the room heard her clearly. They all knew that she was deliberately taking a jab at Lucas. Zoey nced at Lucas disdainfully. ¡°Carrie, you¡¯re right. There¡¯s indeed a world of difference between them! Coming to such a luxurious private room is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for someone over here. He must be stunned. ¡°We¡¯d better be carefulter. The items in the room are expensive and luxurious. Even the ashtray on the table is made of pure crystal. If something is missing when we leave, and Club Aurora demandspensation from us, we¡¯ll be in trouble!¡± Zoey made it sound even worse, as if Lucas was a money-grubbing country bumpkin who would steal something valuable from the prestigious private room. She was not only mocking Lucas but also insulting his character. !! Ss nced at Lucas proudly and smirked. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. None of us will do something as disgraceful as stealing. If something really goes missing, it must have been taken away by someone, so we can just look for him.¡± Then he looked at Lucas provocatively. ¡°Don¡¯t you agree, Lucas?¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to their malice. Besides, Ss was the one stealing Lucas¡¯s identity by pretending to be the most distinguished guest! He was using Lucas of his own crime. As for the nonsensical and malicious remarks they made, Lucas didn¡¯t take them seriously at all. He simply treated them as mad dogs barking. Anyway, he was just here to apany Ashley. They had nothing to do with him in the first ce. Lucas didn¡¯t care, but Ashley could no longer stand it. She stood up and hollered furiously, ¡°Enough. Have you guys said enough? ¡°I said it earlier. If you guys continue to pick on Lucas and make rudements about him, we will leave immediately, lest you continue insulting him!¡± Seeing how furious Ashley was, Allie hurriedly stepped forward andforted her. ¡°Okay, okay, we won¡¯t say anything else. Ashley, calm down!¡± Seeing that Ashley had really lost her temper, they decided not to cause any further tension and ruin the atmosphere, even though they were no longer afraid of angering her since she was no longer an heiress of the Steeles. Moreover, Peter had hinted to them earlier that he wanted Ashley to stay here and not leave so soon. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s not talk about someone. Let¡¯s talk about the most sessful person among us, Peter!¡± Ss said. At the mention of Peter, Carrie immediately became interested and said, ¡°Speaking of which, Peter is really impressive. Back in school, he was the most capable one in our graduating ss. He was such a heartthrob, and he had excellent grades too. He also handles things really well! ¡°At the time, I thought that Peter would definitely be the most promising of us all. Just as I expected, he has already reached such great heights within just a few years of graduation. He¡¯s now the general manager of the Williams Corporation. He¡¯s doing much better than the rest of us!¡± Unwilling to be outdone, Zoey hurriedly said, ¡°You¡¯re so right. Ah, unfortunately, I was blind back then. If I had known Peter was so outstanding, I would have dumped my boyfriend and done everything I could to catch Peter!¡± Ssughed. ¡°You? Forget it. I doubt you¡¯d seed in bagging Peter! Haha!¡± Zoey nced at Vanessa, who was standing beside Peter, and quickly exined, ¡°I was just making a casual remark. Of course I know I¡¯m not good enough for Peter. Only a beautiful and elegantdy like Vanessa can match someone as outstanding as Peter! You two are simply a match made in heaven!¡± When Vanessa heard this, her sullen face eased a little. Just now, she almost thought that Zoey was out to shamelessly snatch her man! Carrie said, ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right. Vanessa is the perfect match for Peter. They¡¯re such a talented and good-looking couple, and just looking at them invokes envy!¡± The rest also praised Vanessa and Peter, emphasizing how well they suited each other. Vanessa beamed at the praise. She nced at Ashley, who was silent, and felt even morecent and proud than ever. ¡°Haha, thanks, everyone. Come, Peter and I will toast you!¡± She raised the wine ss in her hand. ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s wish Peter and Vanessa a happy marriage and hope they have children soon!¡± ¡°May you enjoy eternal bliss!¡± ¡°I hope I¡¯ll find my cup of tea, and we are as great a couple as you two!¡± ¡­ For a while, the private room was full of blessings, and the atmosphere was extremely lively. On the other hand, Lucas and Ashley were sitting at the side like outsiders, out of ce with this lively scene. Lucas didn¡¯t care, but Ashley had obvious misery on her face. Seeing the person she had been in love with for years holding another woman in his arms affectionately and receiving everyone¡¯s blessings made Ashley feel as if a knife was stabbing her heart. This made her recall how heartbroken she had felt when she first learned about Peter¡¯s death. Previously, Ashley had thought that Peter was dead, and it had taken her almost two years to get over the agony and trauma. But now, seeing Peter alive and well and standing right in front of her as someone else¡¯s husband, she was at a loss for what to do and how to face him. She had thought that she had already let it go, but why did she feel so sad when seeing them so loving? Looking at Ashley, Lucas sighed silently. He could tell that Ashley still hadn¡¯t let go of Peter. After all, no matter what, he had been her boyfriend for more than three years. Back then, Peter had done everything he could to win Ashley¡¯s heart and done his best to pamper and please her. As a young girl in her twenties, she obviously couldn¡¯t resist the constant and unending affection and intimate gestures. Thus, Ashley couldn¡¯t be med for being too blind to realize the actual situation and see Peter¡¯s true colors. He was too good at being a scumbag and scheming. In that case, Lucas had to use some special means to make Peter show his true colors in front of Ashley. Only then would Ashley take off her rose-tinted sses and see what kind of beast he was. Vanessa put down her wine ss and suddenly said, ¡°Speaking of which, I should thank Miss Steele the most.¡± As soon as she said this, everyone in the room looked puzzled. Chapter 1193 - 1193 Toasting You 1193 Toasting You Even Ashley was stunned. It was Ashley and Vanessa¡¯s first meeting today. Why would she thank her? Vanessa elegantly filled half her ss with red wine, walked over to Ashley, and poured her some wine too. She acted very affectionately. Her behavior left Carrie and Zoey green with envy. With Vanessa¡¯s noble status, they would be over the moon if they could speak with her. They had never enjoyed the treatment of Vanessa pouring wine for them, so why did Ashley get to enjoy it? !! For a moment, several people had intense jealousy in their eyes. Although Ashley¡¯s feelings for Peter were extremelyplicated, it was her first time meeting Vanessa, and there was no feud between them. Moreover, Vanessa had amicably served her wine, so Ashley naturally wouldn¡¯t attack her. She raised the crystal wine ss in front of her and stood up. ¡°Ms. William, this is our first meeting. You shouldn¡¯t have to thank me for anything, right?¡± Ashley asked with puzzlement. Vanessa smiled while standing gracefully yet arrogantly in front of Ashley. ¡°Of course I have to thank you. If you hadn¡¯t broken up with Peter, I wouldn¡¯t have found such an outstanding and perfect husband!¡± These words were like a heavy hammer striking Ashley¡¯s heart. She didn¡¯t expect Vanessa to be referring to this! The others also looked stunned. Vanessa wasn¡¯t actually thanking Ashley. She was clearly showing off to her and establishing dominance! Her contemptuous attitude as the victor was really astonishing! Ashley¡¯s face turned ashen, and her body was trembling so hard that she almost lost her grip on the crystal ss in her hand. ¡°Hey, hold your ss properly. The wine in your ss is worth at least a few grand. Don¡¯t spill it!¡± ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve been kicked out by the Steeles without being able to take a single cent with you. That ss of wine is worth a few months of your sry, right?¡± ¡°Haha, this might be thest time you and your husband get to drink such expensive wine in your life. You have to treasure this opportunity!¡± Looking at Ashley¡¯s pale face, Vanessa smiled even more joyfully. At this moment, Ashley really wanted to ssh her ss of wine onto Vanessa¡¯s smiling face. She had grown up in the Steele family for years. Even after her father had passed away, she had never suffered such humiliation! But now that she was down and out, regardless of how angry she was, she had no choice but to hold it in. She wasn¡¯t afraid of angering Vanessa and the Williams. After all, she and her family were going abroad tomorrow, and who knew when she would return. However, she couldn¡¯t create trouble for Lucas in a moment of impulsiveness. Many people had seen Trevor bring people to wreak havoc at the Stardust Corporation and knew that Ashley, Alexander, and Elise had defected to Lucas. If Vanessa wanted to investigate, she would easily be able to find that the family of three was working for Lucas now. They could go abroad to avoid the disaster, but it was impossible for Lucas and the Stardust Corporation to escape. She couldn¡¯t possibly make Lucas pay for her impulsiveness and face the retaliation of the Williams. So even though she was shaking all over, she didn¡¯t lose her temper. She just ced her ss back onto the table with a loud thud. Suddenly, Lucas stood up and poured himself a ss of wine. Ss immediately shouted, ¡°Hey! This precious wine is worth almost a hundred grand. Who are you to drink it? Hurry up and put it down!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything and simply nced at Ss indifferently. Ss immediately felt as if he had been drenched in ice-cold water, making him freezing cold from head to toe. He shivered uncontrobly, unable to utter a word. Seeing Lucas¡¯s action, Ashley immediately became nervous. She knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t a pushover whom anyone could bully as they pleased. Back in the fighting hall of Club Illuma, Lucas had beenpletely fearless in the face of the Steeles. He had even killed Godfrey, a direct descendant of the Steeles, in front of everyone. Apart from Vanessa, who had a high status, everyone else here was from ordinary families, so they obviously couldn¡¯t make Lucas afraid. Once Lucas lost his temper, even Ashley wouldn¡¯t know what would happen! Lucas stood up, held his wine ss, and looked at Vanessa indifferently. ¡°Since you¡¯re so grateful toward Ashley, it seems I should return the favor and thank your husband.¡± Vanessa nced at Lucas with contempt and said disdainfully, ¡°You¡¯re not qualified to toast my husband!¡± Lucas nced at her and ignored her before walking to Peter. ¡°Peter, I have to thank you too. If you hadn¡¯t left Ashley, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to marry a great woman like her. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± The veins on Peter¡¯s head were throbbing. How dare this bastard say that shameless bitch Ashley is his woman in front of me?! No!!! Even though I¡¯ve dumped her, she will forever belong only to me! She can never get married and has to live the rest of her life alone and miserable! Peter had a maniacal hatred in his eyes, but he had always been good at hiding his emotions. Even though deep down, he wanted to kill Lucas immediately, he smiled and said hypocritically, ¡°Haha, you¡¯re wee.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll toast you then!¡± Lucas tilted the wine ss a little. But he didn¡¯t want to clink sses or drink with him. Instead, he poured the wine onto the floor. Boom! All of a sudden, everyone in the room was bbergasted as they stood rooted to the ground, unsure of how to react. Peter was furious that his face was twisted. Lucas was obviously provoking him! He¡¯s courting death! Chapter 1194 - 1194 Who is Apologizing? 1194 Who is Apologizing? Ss was the first to react, and he cursed furiously, ¡°Punk, do you have a death wish? How dare you treat Peter that way? I won¡¯t spare you!¡± ¡°This bastard must be crazy! If it wasn¡¯t for our kindness in letting youe along, you wouldn¡¯t even get to enter Club Aurora, let alone speak to us here as equals! How dare you insult Peter like that. I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯re dead meat!¡± ¡°Damn it! You¡¯re just a penniless loser. Who do you think you are? What right do you have to toast Peter? What right do you have to pour the wine on the floor and toast him in such an insulting manner? You must be tired of living!¡± ¡°Damn it. We must call security and get them to beat you up to vent our anger! If we just kick him out like this, we¡¯ll be letting him off too easy!¡± ¡­ !! Everyone in the room beganshing out at Lucas. Two hot-tempered ones even wanted to rush forward and beat him up on the spot. The reason they didn¡¯t attack Lucas was not that they didn¡¯t dare to but that they were afraid of damaging the expensive furnishings and decorations in the King¡¯s Room and having topensate for them. Vanessa¡¯s round and chubby face was covered with fury as she pointed at Lucas and cursed through gritted teeth, ¡°You bastard, apologize to my husband immediately! Otherwise, the Williams and I won¡¯t spare you! You can forget about leaving this ce in one piece!¡± Peter took a deep breath, looked at Lucas gloomily, and barked furiously, ¡°Lucas Gray, are you courting death? If you have a death wish, I can fulfill it today!¡± Almost everyone in the private room reprimanded Lucas except for Ashley and Allie. Allie had been quite close to Ashley in college. Seeing Ashley¡¯s husband being ostracized and attacked by their former ssmates, she became anxious and frantically urged, ¡°Uh, Lucas, hurry up and apologize to Peter! ¡°Peter is very nice. As long as you apologize sincerely, for Ashley¡¯s sake, he won¡¯t hold it against you! Quickly apologize!¡± Lucas was speechless. Peter is nice? What a joke! Peter¡¯s former ssmates were likely fooled by the nice facade he put on. Besides, Lucas had indeed poured the wine on the floor to anger Peter. How could he possibly apologize to him? Moreover, given Lucas¡¯s status and identity, let alone a daughter and son-inw of the Williams, even if Ray Williams, the helmsman of the Williams, came in person, it would be Ray kneeling down to apologize and beg for mercy from Lucas! It would never be Lucas apologizing to anyone. Ashley was worried and annoyed. Vanessa had clearly insulted her with the toast first, and Lucas had just paid her back in her own coin. Why did it warrant so much scolding? Why didn¡¯t these people dare to say anything when Vanessa insulted Ashley? Yet they were now full of righteous indignation and berating Lucas as if he had done something heinous. This double standard was really disgusting! Seeing Lucas not responding to her, Allie stomped her feet in annoyance and persuaded Ashley anxiously, ¡°Ashley, hurry up and persuade your husband! If you were still with the Steeles, you might be able to be on equal footing with the Williams. But now¡­ Ah, anyway, you definitely can¡¯tpete against the Williams. You¡¯ll only suffer!¡± Ashley was well aware of how capable Lucas was. He didn¡¯t even take the eight top families seriously, so how could they possibly apologize to Peter and Vanessa? Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of the Steeles, so he obviously wouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Williams. Vanessa and Peter were just a daughter and son-inw of the Williams, so Lucas would never apologize to them. Besides, the reason Lucas confronted Peter and Vanessa was to stand up for her. If she stopped him and asked him to apologize to these two people, how could she face him? What would that make her? Thus, Ashley rejected Allie resolutely. ¡°Allie, I know you want to help me, but I¡¯ll never persuade Lucas to apologize to them. Besides, he will never apologize to them. Just stay out of this. Anyway, it¡¯s impossible for them to do anything to Lucas!¡± Hearing what Ashley said, Allie couldn¡¯t help panicking. ¡°Ashley, I know you think your husband is very capable, but¡­ you can¡¯t be so silly! You¡¯re obviously shooting yourself in the foot by going against the Williams! You¡¯d better quickly think of a solution before things get worse. Try to resolve the feud with Vanessa and Peter!¡± Ashley shook her head firmly. She had already made up her mind, and she wouldn¡¯t change her decision regardless of what Allie said. Ashley looked at everyone in the room and said coldly, ¡°You people speak too vulgarly. I suggest you quickly apologize to my husband. Otherwise, you¡¯ll regret it! When the timees, you¡¯d better not beg us for forgiveness!¡± As soon as she said this, everyone in the room was stunned for a moment before bursting intoughter. ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± ¡°Ashley, are you joking with us? You actually want us to apologize to your husband? You must be dreaming!¡± ¡°Haha, do you think you¡¯re still the heiress of the Steele family? Do you really think we¡¯d obey you or think that your husband is some powerful big shot? He¡¯s just a penniless loser. Do you really think we¡¯ll be afraid of him?¡± ¡°Ashley, you¡¯re really regressing. Don¡¯t say such stupid things again. All you¡¯re doing is giving us a goodugh. I can¡¯t believe you were our ssmate for a few years. You weren¡¯t this absurd in the past.¡± ¡°Hahaha, you didn¡¯t be an idiot after getting kicked out by the Steeles, did you? Maybe you spent too much time with your loser husband. That¡¯s why even your IQ has dropped! Tsk! Tsk!¡± ¡­ Ashley¡¯s former ssmatesughed and mocked her loudly. Many decided to drop their pretense and go all out with the insults. In their eyes, Ashley was no longer the heiress of the Steeles and now had nothing to do with the Steeles. So they didn¡¯t have to be careful about what they said and be afraid of offending her. Ashley used to be the heiress of a noble family, so no one dared to offend her, and they could only tter her. But now that she was down and out, her status much inferior to theirs, so why wouldn¡¯t they take the opportunity to hit her while she was down? As for Ashley¡¯s warning, they didn¡¯t take it seriously at all. They just thought that she was trying to scare them by relying on her previous status as an heiress of a noble family. To put it bluntly, no one took Ashley seriously now that she had lost the Steeles as her backer and had been kicked out of the family. Chapter 1195 - 1195 Ruthless and Snobbish 1195 Ruthless and Snobbish However, Peter didn¡¯t regard what Ashley said as simply a joke. He looked at Ashley with a solemn expression. Peter had managed to go from being an ordinary person with a poor family background to his current high status by first getting together with Ashley, the heiress of the Steeles at the time, and making her fall in love with him. Later, he married Vanessa, the only heiress of the Williams, and got her to be devoted to him. He had even convinced the Williams to ept him. All of this was naturally not because of his looks but his wits. The others in the room were clueless, but Peter was well aware that Lucas wasn¡¯t a penniless loser. He was someone who could afford a highly-modified Range Rover worth over a million dors. Moreover, at the start, Peter had really thought that Lucas was dressed in shabby clothes from a thrift store and assumed that he couldn¡¯t even afford decent clothing. So just like the rest, he had thought that Lucas was a poor bottom feeder of society. !! Thus, at the very beginning, Peter didn¡¯t take Lucas seriously either. He had offered 100 thousand dors for him to divorce Ashley, as if he was brushing off someone unimportant. But ever since he saw Lucas¡¯s Range Rover, he immediately realized that he was mistaken. Afterward, through careful observation, Peter discovered that Lucas wasn¡¯t wearing cheap clothes but clothes made of extremely fine material. The cutting and style were simr to the designs of top world-ss designers. They just looked ordinary and low profile. Peter naturally didn¡¯t have this knowledge. He merely remembered seeing an elder, whom he had met during a visit with Ray, dressed in simr clothes. Lucas¡¯s seemingly ordinary outfit cost at least five figures. In that case, Lucas wasn¡¯t poor at all. He might even secretly be a tycoon. More importantly, Peter understood what kind of a person Ashley was. As her boyfriend of three years, he could confidently say that he was the one who understood her the best. After all, he had put in a lot of effort to win her heart back then. Besides, Ashley definitely wasn¡¯t a fool. The fact that she had warned her former ssmates not to regret their decision meant that Lucas really had what it took to take revenge on them. But Peter still didn¡¯t know what Lucas¡¯s identity was and had to investigate further. The endless mocking from Ashley¡¯s former ssmates was pushing the limits of her patience. Finally, what they were saying was getting worse and worse, and Ashley couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Enough! Shut up!¡± In Ashley¡¯s eyes, these people who used to be her friends and ssmates were absolutely shameless and disgusting. Carrie sneered disdainfully. ¡°Ashley Steele, what are you yelling for? Do you really think you¡¯re still the heiress of a noble family? ¡°If you were still the heiress of the Steeles, we would naturally be scrupulous toward you. But look at yourself now! Your family has already been kicked out by the Steeles, and you couldn¡¯t bring anything with you. You¡¯re poor and far inferior to us now. What right do you have to yell at us and tell us to shut up? ¡°To be honest, if your penniless husband doesn¡¯t apologize to Peter and us, we can forget about our friendship! I won¡¯t put up with you anymore! ¡°Peter and Vanessa don¡¯t have to do anything at all. We alone can make sure that you two won¡¯t be able to survive in DC!¡± Carrie chose to fall outpletely with Ashley. Back in college, she had had to tter Ashley like a maid. But now, it was no longer necessary. Ashley was nothing to her now. She was just a small fry that Carrie could bully as she wished! At the thought of this, Carrie felt a twisted thrill of revenge. Moreover, by saying what she did, she was deliberately ttering Peter and Vanessa. Zoey also sneered. ¡°That¡¯s right. The same goes for us! Ashley, if you and your husband don¡¯t apologize to Peter and Vanessa, my family won¡¯t let you two off either. Just wait until you can¡¯t even survive in DC!¡± Since the two girls had already expressed their opinions, Ss naturally didn¡¯t want to fall behind and quickly said, ¡°The same goes for the Grays! Anyone who goes against Peter and Vanessa will be the enemies of me and my family! It doesn¡¯t matter that you were my ssmate!¡± ¡°My family too!¡± ¡°Mine as well!¡± ¡­ Vanessa raised her head arrogantly and looked at Ashley. ¡°Hehe, did you hear that? Even if the Williams don¡¯t do anything, you and your pauper husband won¡¯t be able to survive in DC! Serves you right for going against us! ¡°If you don¡¯t apologize immediately, no one here will stand on your side, even though they used to be your ssmates. They¡¯ve chosen to be on my side and go against you two! ¡°What can people like you, someone kicked out by her family and her penniless husband, do to fight against us?¡± At this moment, the situation in the private room was extremely clear. No one was on Ashley and Lucas¡¯s side. Even Allie, who used to be Ashley¡¯s close friend, didn¡¯t dare to speak up for her and Lucas out of fear for the Williams¡¯ power. Allie didn¡¯t say she would go against Ashley and Lucas on behalf of Peter and Vanessa like Carrie and the rest had. The fact that she didn¡¯t say that she would make them lose their livelihood in DC was already kind enough. Ashley smiled mockingly. It turned out that the friends she had made in college were so ruthless and cold-blooded. They were so snobbish that it was abhorrent. Ashley looked at Peter standing in front of her and smiled bitterly. ¡°Peter, we dated for three years, and I even thought that we would spend the rest of our lives together. Are you going to be ruthless to me too?¡± Chapter 1196 - 1196 Removing His Facade 1196 Removing His Facade Peter was silent for a moment. Then the veins on his forehead bulged, and he finally couldn¡¯t control the hatred within him anymore. While grimacing, he shouted at Ashley, ¡°You shameless bitch! How dare you say that I¡¯m ruthless?¡± It seemed that he had suppressed his emotions for too long, and his sudden outburst shocked everyone except Lucas. Ashley had never seen Peter so furious before. Moreover, he had called her a shameless bitch, astonishing her so much that she subconsciously took a step back and stared at him. Lucas wasn¡¯t surprised at all. Peter finally dropped his facade and revealed his true colors! This was why Lucas had wanted to anger Peter. The reason he had held back and didn¡¯t do anything thus far was just to anger Peter and make him rage. Peter was extremely good at pretending, and in order to achieve his goals, he had put on the facade of a handsome, cheerful, and caring man. But was this really the case? The truth was far from this. When Lucas deliberately stayed behind tomunicate with Peter earlier, Peter had dropped his pretense and revealed his true character. For a man with a twisted mind like Peter, he would easily reveal his true colors in front of everyone once he lost his temper. As long as Ashley saw the true colors of the man she had loved for years and realized how twisted his mind was, she would be utterly disappointed andpletely give up on him to start life afresh. ¡°Peter, wh-what did you say? You actually called me that word?¡± Ashley pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes red. She never thought that her first love, whom she had been in love with for years and had nned to spend the rest of her life with, would actually maliciously call her a shameless bitch. ¡°Am I wrong to call you a shameless bitch?¡± Since Peter had already started, he decided to drop all his pretense as he put on a menacing expression and revealed his true colors. ¡°You bitch, you cheated me out of my feelings for four years! You made me want to approach you from our first year in college until we graduated! You ruined four years of my life. Why can¡¯t I call you a shameless bitch?¡± Peter said overbearingly. ¡°Hah, if I hadn¡¯t found someone to investigate you and your family, you might have really deceived me into marrying you. If that had happened, my life would have beenpletely ruined!¡± ¡°Deceived you into marrying me?! You¡­ you actually said that I deceived you?¡± Ashley wondered if she had heard wrongly. She didn¡¯t have any hidden agenda for dating Peter, and all she had hoped was for them to get married and grow old together. Despite her family¡¯s disapproval of her marrying a poor man with a low status, she gritted her teeth, resisted the pressure, and finally convinced them to give in. But on the day of the engagement party, Peter didn¡¯t show up. He had bailed on Ashley and caused her to be aughing stock. All her hard work and effort had been in vain. Now, Peter actually used Ashley of deceiving him for years and almost ruining her life. Ashley felt extremely confused. She had no idea why Peter would use her of this. Besides, Peter¡¯s current expression was ferocious and full of hatred and anger. It was a side of him that Ashley had never seen before. She felt like he was aplete stranger. Peter questioned angrily, ¡°When I first met you, didn¡¯t you tell me that your father was the most capable person in the Steele family and that he would definitely be the Steeles¡¯ helmsman? ¡°And your brother, Alexander, you said that he was highly valued by the Steeles and that he could inherit the position of helmsman even if your father didn¡¯t.¡± With tears in her eyes, Ashley said, ¡°I spoke the truth! When my father was still alive, he was the most capable one among his siblings. If he hadn¡¯t gotten into an ident for the family, he would have definitely be the next helmsman! ¡°Besides, my brother was indeed highly valued by the family. Among my cousins, he is the most capable one. How did I lie to you?¡± Peter sneered. ¡°But what happenedter? Your father died, and even your family of three has been kicked out by the Steeles. Yet you still have the audacity to say that you didn¡¯t lie to me?¡± Ashley opened her mouth, at aplete loss for words. When she first got to know Peter, she naturally told him about her situation at the time. After her father passed awayter, the elders of the Steeles startedpeting against each other, and her brother was ostracized. It was really absurd to use her of lying for the things that happenedter. This was clearlymon sense, yet Peter med her for it! And regarding her family of three being forced to leave the Steeles, Ashley really didn¡¯t know what to say about this. Peter sneered at Ashley again. ¡°You¡¯re speechless, huh? I thought that you¡¯d have a bright future, but it turned out that you lied to me for four years. You made me waste four years on you. In the end, you even almost deceived me into marrying you! ¡°If I hadn¡¯t found out the true situation of your family and escaped in time, you would have probably really duped me into marrying you. In that case, there¡¯d be one more person kicked out of the Steeles today!¡± Peter reprimanded with certainty, ¡°Weren¡¯t you deceiving me?¡± Ashley was stunned for a few seconds before finally processing what Peter said. Tears immediately flowed out of Ashley¡¯s eyes. Ashley smiled miserably. ¡°It turns out that¡¯s what you mean by deceiving you. No wonder you left without saying anything and made me wait from morning until midnight. Even until the next morning, you still didn¡¯t show up. So, that¡¯s your reason! ¡°Then, did you fabricate the news of your death and even the so-called token you left behind and the reports of the ident? You deliberately used the news of your death to stimte me and make me feel guilty and miserable, right?¡± Ashley questioned as more tears rolled down her pale cheeks. Chapter 1197 - 1197 Shameless 1197 Shameless Peterughed maniacally. ¡°That¡¯s right! The news of my death, the token, and everything else was fabricated and nned by me. I wanted to take revenge on you and make you miserable to pay for deceiving me! ¡°Hah, when we were dating, you promised that I¡¯d be the only one you loved for the rest of your life, and if I passed away one day, you¡¯d die together with me. But what happened in the end? ¡°You heard that I died, but you¡¯re still alive and well. Not only did you not kill yourself, but you even married another man! ¡°A shameless bitch like you deserves to die! ¡°But you finally got your retribution. You, your mother, and your brother were all kicked out by the Steeles, and you¡¯re no longer an heiress of a noble family! ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯m now married to the only daughter of the helmsman of the Williams, and I¡¯m living a very happy life! In the future, my father-inw will pass on the position of helmsman to my wife, and my son will also be the helmsman! ¡°I¡¯m now living much better than you! Hah, you¡¯re just like garbage, and I¡¯m a superior person that you can never measure up to. What makes you think I still have feelings for you? ¡°Not only am I going to be ruthless to you, but I¡¯m going to continue taking revenge on you too. I will make you suffer for the rest of your life to pay for everything you¡¯ve done!¡± Peter roared agitatedly, his voice resounding throughout the room. After hearing Peter¡¯s agitated voice, everyone in the room was stunned. As ssmates, they obviously knew that Peter and Ashley had dated for a few years and that their rtionship hadsted beyond graduation. At one point, there was even news of them getting engaged. Of course, the rumor eventually disappeared. However, they had no idea what had happened between them, when they broke up, and why they did so. After hearing Peter¡¯sints, they finally understood what had happened. Many of them had strange expressions. Peter¡¯s usations didn¡¯t make any sense¡­ And his reasoning was weird¡­ They knew that Peter had put in a lot of effort to win Ashley¡¯s heart, which had made countless suitors of hers green with envy. Later, she had finally convinced her family to let them get married, but they heard that Peter had bailed on her during the engagement party. And now, he was using Ashley of deceiving him. The logic behind this was baffling¡­ Of course, these were only their inner thoughts, and they definitely wouldn¡¯t say anything now. No matter what, Peter had already be a winner in life. He had managed to marry Vanessa, the heiress of the Williams, and was about to reach the pinnacle of his life. They were sensible enough not to go against Peter at this juncture and stand on the side of Ashley, a fallen heiress. Ashley was stunned. She was really shocked by the self-righteousness and shamelessness of what Peter said. At the same time, she truly regretted falling in love with a deranged person like Peter. Not only had she given him her heart and soul for a few years, but she had even almost taken her own life for his sake on multiple asions. At the thought of this, Ashley felt that she was an absolute fool! The reason Peter hated her and wanted to take revenge on her was that her immediate family¡¯s lives had gotten worse after her father¡¯s death. They had fallen out of favor with the Steeles, so Peter could get few potential benefits from them. Therefore, Peter used her of deceiving him. It was simply ridiculous! Was there anyone in this world more ridiculous and shameless than Peter? Worse still, Peter had abandoned Ashley for this absurd reason and even resented her. He had even used a death hoax to punish her and put her through immense agony. Then he sucked up to another heiress and married her. But he med Ashley for marrying another man instead of dying for his sake. It was simply the height of selfishness and shamelessness! But she had been so blind that she had failed to see the true colors of this shameless and despicable man. Because of this man, she had put herself through endless torment and had been severely depressed for two years. She had even attempted suicide multiple times. Ashley felt like aplete idiot! She was on the verge of breaking down. Endless regret and indignation surged in her heart. Lucas looked at Peter coldly. ¡°Someone as shameless as you is truly rare. You¡¯re really something!¡± Peter yelled angrily, ¡°Shut up! Who do you think you are? This is between Ashley and me. It¡¯s none of your business!¡± At this point, Peter had long dropped his facade and revealed his rawest form in front of everyone. He was hot-tempered, uncouth, and deranged. Everyone felt like he was aplete stranger. Was the man in front of them really the Peter they had known for years? Lucas retorted sternly, ¡°Ashley is my sister. Of course I have to interfere with her affairs!¡± What? Sister? What Lucas said left everyone dumbstruck. Wasn¡¯t Ashley Lucas¡¯s wife? Why did she suddenly be his sister? What was going on? Even Peter was dumbfounded. He asked with a frown, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you use Ashley of being a shameless bitch for marrying another man? Let me tell you the truth! ¡°I¡¯m not Ashley¡¯s husband. In fact, including today, I¡¯ve only met her three times! I treat her like my own sister. ¡°Just now, you mentioned that Ashley once said she wouldn¡¯t live alone if you were gone, so you thought she should have died immediately after getting the news of your death. How absurd! ¡°Let¡¯s not even talk about how your death was just a hoax you concocted with vicious intentions. There¡¯s no need for Ashley to die for you at all. Back then, this foolish girl really did attempt suicide several times because of you. If her family hadn¡¯t found her and sent her to the hospital in time, she would have passed away long ago! ¡°Moreover, even after being rescued, she suffered from crushing misery and developed severe depression over your death, which she took two years to ovee. Are you aware of all this? ¡°Are you proud that you almost killed her with your death hoax? What right do you have to me Ashley?¡± Lucasshed out at Peter and revealed everything he knew, leaving Peter stunned for a moment. But he didn¡¯t believe it at all. Peter shouted even more hysterically, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! You¡¯re making these things up to fool me! ¡°Ashley Steele¡­ is a shameless bitch! Back then, she cheated me out of my feelings for four years. I did it to get back at her! It¡¯s her retribution!¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying about her suicide attempts and severe depression. This bitch has never cared about me!¡± Chapter 1198 - 1198 Ignoring Everything 1198 Ignoring Everything Lucas sneered. ¡°Is there a need for me to lie to you? Besides, with your current status, you can easily get the treatment records and diagnosis reports from a few years ago. It¡¯s easy to find out! ¡°As for the rtionship between Ashley and me, as long as you¡¯re not blind, you can quickly figure it out. Do I need to lie to you about this? ¡°Do you know how ridiculous you look using her of deceiving you?¡± Peter¡¯s face darkened. Indeed, as long as he wanted, he could easily find out if Ashley had suffered from severe depression and whether or not she was married to Lucas. But so what if these things were true? ¡°Hah, what¡¯s the point of you saying those things now? Regardless of whether Ashley has attempted suicide or not, the fact is that she¡¯s still alive and well now! ¡°And the three of them have been kicked out by the Steeles. Isn¡¯t that also a fact now? ¡°At the end of the day, it¡¯s all because Ashley Steele is a liar! If she hadn¡¯t told me that her brother would be the helmsman of the Steeles, how could I have wasted four years of my life?¡± Peter berated righteously without feeling a tinge of guilt. As long as he insisted that Ashley was wrong for deceiving him for years, the person at fault would be Ashley, and she deserved any retribution she encountered! What Peter said angered Lucas. ¡°You shameless bastard, you¡¯re the real liar! ¡°You had an ulterior motive for getting close to Ashley in the first ce. Have you ever truly loved her? All you want is to gain power and status through women! ¡°After Ashley experienced those unfortunate events and changes at home, you could no longer sponge off her, so you think you wasted your time and effort on her. That¡¯s why you¡¯re calling her a liar who cheated you out of your feelings. But is the truth really like that? ¡°You¡¯re the one who cheated Ashley out of her feelings! During the years you dated, you had never been sincere about her. All you care about is your own benefits. You caused Ashley to waste several years of her feelings. You caused her to live in misery and suffer severe depression for years. You caused her to almost die several times. ¡°You¡¯re the damn liar, and Ashley is the victim. You¡¯re just a bastard who harms others as you please. What right do you have to me Ashley?¡± Ashley couldn¡¯t help covering her mouth and crying. What Lucas saidpletely expressed the grievances in her heart, making her weep. She had thought that Peter was dead and that he had died after arguing with her. So she had med herself for his death and drowned herself in endless guilt and self-reproach all this time, causing her to suffer immense agony. But when she saw Peter alive and well today, and after hearing his shameless words, she felt extremely aggrieved. If it wasn¡¯t because there were so many people here, she would have long burst into tears uncontrobly. But Lucas¡¯s usations made the rest in the room gloomy. In that case, it wasn¡¯t that Ashley had cheated Peter out of his feelings but the other way around¡­ Because her immediate family¡¯s status wasn¡¯t as good as before and they no longer had any hope of obtaining the position of helmsman, he had abandoned her. He even turned around and used her of deceiving him and faked his death to make her feel guilty, almost causing her to die. No matter what, Peter was the one at fault¡­ Although they disliked Lucas, they couldn¡¯t refute what he said. Ashley had dated Peter for years, but on the day of their engagement party, he had bailed on her and left without a word. Later, she had even attempted suicide several times because the news of his death hoax had left her utterly devastated. Regarding such a person, how could she possibly have cheated him out of his feelings?! But due to the power and status that Peter and Vanessa now had, these thoughts only remained in their minds, and no one in the private room dared to step forward to stand up for Ashley. What Lucas said made Vanessa feel extremely ufortable. No matter what, Peter was her husband. And regardless of who was at fault in the past, she couldn¡¯t allow outsiders to criticize her husband. After all, she was the heiress of the Williams, one of the eight top families of DC. ¡°Shut up!¡± Vanessa pointed at Lucas and yelled furiously. ¡°Several years have passed since this matter. Who knows what the truth is? Did you witness what Ashley Steele did with your own eyes? Maybe they¡¯re all lies she made up to put the me on my husband!¡± No matter why Peter dated Ashley and why they broke up, Vanessa had to save Peter from his current predicament. As for the rest, she would naturally question him when they returned home. Carrie quickly said, ¡°Exactly! It¡¯s already been several years since this matter, and only you two know the truth. Ashley, don¡¯t you know if what you¡¯re saying is fake or not? Maybe you and Lucas Gray made it up to fool us.¡± Zoey hurriedly chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right! Besides, I don¡¯t think Ashley is a decent person either. She lied to us about being married to Lucas Gray. He just admitted that they had only met each other three times. They¡¯re basically strangers. ¡°So, who knows whether Ashley is telling the truth or not? I bet she is just jealous that Peter found a wealthy and beautiful wife, so she deliberately cooked up those lies to nder him ande in between them.¡± What Zoey said immediately made some people in the private room develop new ideas. Ss sneered. ¡°Zoey is right. Ashley is now down and out, and she¡¯s no longer a wealthy heiress. Who knows what kind of malice she has for Peter. So she can¡¯t be trusted at all! ¡°Besides, didn¡¯t we just say that Lucas should be apologizing to Peter? He hasn¡¯t apologized yet, so why are we talking about this?¡± ¡°Yeah, this punk offended Peter and still hasn¡¯t apologized!¡± ¡°Exactly. Hurry up and apologize, or else you won¡¯t be able to leave this room today!¡± ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re just a poor loser. What right do you have to be so arrogant in front of Peter and Vanessa? You¡¯d better apologize immediately. Otherwise, we won¡¯t let you off!¡± All of a sudden, the focus was on Lucas again, and everyone was on Peter and Vanessa¡¯s side as they demanded Lucas apologize. Chapter 1199 - 1199 Not Saving His Pride 1199 Not Saving His Pride Seeing the people in the private room besieging Lucas overbearingly, Ashley was almost panicking to the point of tears. She knew that if not for the sake of helping her, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have gotten involved in this matter at all, let alone be besieged by these people to force him to apologize. Besides, Lucas was right. Why should he apologize to Peter? At this moment, almost everyone in the private room was on Peter and Vanessa¡¯s side. Only Allie, Ashley¡¯s close friend, seemed anxious as she looked at Ashley and Lucas worriedly. In fact, she had always wanted to help Ashley on ount that they used to be close friends. !! While Lucas and Ashley were being verbally mobbed, Allie gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Okay, everyone, let¡¯s stop. Ashley is already miserable enough. We were ssmates after all. Do you don¡¯t have to be so ruthless to her?¡± Then Allie persuaded Ashley again, ¡°Ashley, don¡¯t let this bother you anymore. No matter who was at fault, don¡¯t bring up the past again. After all, you two have already started new lives. Just let it go, okay?¡± Ashley nced at Allie. Now, the only person still willing to speak to her was Allie. ¡°Okay, I can take it that nothing has happened before and that I¡¯ve nevere to this private room or heard those things they¡¯ve said. But what about them? Are they willing to let us off?¡± Ashley nced at the faces of her former ssmates one by one. Actually, some of them had been quite close to Ashley, while others were only casual acquaintances with her. But now, Ashley felt that these people were strangers and their expressions were revolting. Ashley believed that once she left this private room, she would never have any contact with these people again. It was only human instinct to gravitate toward profits and avoid trouble, but Ashley was amazed by how ruthless and snobbish they were. Hearing Ashley¡¯s tone be mellower, Allie persuaded the others in the room, ¡°Okay, we all used to be ssmates. You don¡¯t have to be so fierce to Ashley. ¡°Maybe there was indeed some misunderstanding in between. But the matters between Ashley and Peter are all in the past, and it has nothing to do with us. So why don¡¯t we let Ashley and Lucas leave while we stay here and catch up?¡± Allie smiled and spoke as gently as possible to try her best to mediate the conflict. Unfortunately, her efforts were futile. Vanessa nced at her, rolled her eyes in disdain, and snapped angrily, ¡°Who do you think you are? Do you think you¡¯re qualified to get us to let them off? ¡°As far as I know, you¡¯re just from an ordinary family. If it wasn¡¯t because you and Peter were ssmates, you wouldn¡¯t even be qualified to be here and speak to me! You¡¯d better wake up and consider what you¡¯re worth before thinking of interfering in this matter!¡± The smile on Allie¡¯s face instantly stiffened. ¡°Haha!¡± Zoey nced at Allie contemptuously. ¡°Allie, I know you used to be close to Ashley. That¡¯s why you¡¯ve been speaking up for her, but so what? Even Ashley isn¡¯t qualified to interfere now, let alone you! You¡¯d better be more self-aware!¡± Carrie also gave Allie a disdainful look. ¡°Hah, some people are probably still living in the past, thinking that they¡¯re best friends with a wealthy heiress. Why don¡¯t you consider the situation now? Who are you to spout nonsense here? ¡°There¡¯s barely any difference between you and that shameless bitch Ashley. Stop treating yourself as important!¡± The unrestrained mockery of her former ssmates made Allie turn pale and stunned speechless. She never thought that she would face such hostile ridicule for trying to be the peacemaker and stop them from targeting Ashley and Lucas. Their meanments made Ashley almost burst into tears. Not wanting to bother with Allie, Ss immediately pointed his finger at Lucas and smiled smugly. ¡°Punk, you don¡¯t want to apologize, huh? I¡¯m telling you. This is Club Aurora, and the big shot behind it is my father¡¯s close friend! ¡°If you don¡¯t apologize to Peter immediately, I won¡¯t let you off! Do you believe that as long as I say the word, I can make sure you can¡¯t step out of Club Aurora?¡± Lucas nced at Ss¡¯s conceited face and sneered. ¡°Are you sure the big shot behind Club Aurora is your father¡¯s close friend?¡± Ss immediately felt a little diffident because he knew best whether he had made it up or not. But since he had already said it, he couldn¡¯t back down now. Looking offended, he put on a stern face and hollered furiously, ¡°What nonsense are you saying? The manager of Club Aurora personally invited me to the one and only King¡¯s Room here. He also gave us two bottles of expensive red wine on my father¡¯s ount. Are you blind? Didn¡¯t you see it? ¡°Hmph, a loser like you has no right to question the identity of my father¡¯s friend.¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°Just now, people here said that someone overestimated their importance, but when ites to overestimating their importance, I¡¯m afraid no one here canpare to you.¡± ¡°The manager said Mr. Gray. Other than you, don¡¯t forget that myst name is Gray too!¡± As soon as Lucas said this, everyone in the room was stunned, but they soon realized what he meant. Many people startedughing outright. Ss raised his head and guffawed endlessly. ¡°Hahaha! What a joke. Are you saying the Mr. Gray that Mr. Frey addressed earlier wasn¡¯t me but you, a penniless loser? ¡°Haha, this is hrious! Mr. Frey said that the King¡¯s Room of Club Aurora is reserved for the most distinguished guests of the club. You¡¯re far from that. ¡°Your outfit is probably worth less than a hundred dors. You can¡¯t even afford the cheapest dish here. How dare you say that you¡¯re the most distinguished guest Mr. Frey addressed? I¡¯ve never heard anything more ridiculous than this!¡± Seeing Ssugh hysterically, Lucas looked at him like he was looking at an idiot. Lucas said coldly, ¡°Yeah, Mr. Frey was indeed addressing me. You just assumed my identity, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered to correct you. I just didn¡¯t expect that you wouldn¡¯t know when enough is enough. Instead, you pushed your limits even further. In that case, there¡¯s no need for me to save your pride!¡± Chapter 1200 - 1200 Who’s the Impostor? 1200 Who¡¯s the Impostor? What Lucas said made Ss¡¯s heart skip a beat. Could Lucas Gray really be the Mr. Gray that Mr. Frey addressed? But he soon dropped the idea. Impossible. That¡¯s impossible! Even if the manager of Club Aurora had made a mistake, it was absolutely impossible for the distinguished guest to be Lucas! ¡°Hahaha, Lucas Gray, do you really think you can put yourself on a pedestal just because we have the samest name? What a joke. How dare you use me of overestimating myself?! !! ¡°What makes you think a loser like you can be the big shot behind Club Aurora? What an absurd way to brag. You really dare to say all sorts of nonsense! You¡¯re so shamelessly thick-skinned! ¡°Come on, why don¡¯t we ask everyone here? Who believes that you¡¯re the big shot behind Club Aurora?¡± Ssughed maniacally. Then he really looked at the others in the room and asked, ¡°Guys, do any of you believe that the distinguished guest Mr. Gray that Mr. Frey addressed just now is the Lucas Gray in front of us?¡± He emphasized the words ¡®Mr. Gray¡¯ with obvious mockery and contempt. The others in the room smiled derisively. They naturally didn¡¯t believe Lucas. Instead, they began mocking him one after another. ¡°Haha, this is definitely the greatest joke I¡¯ve heard this year! The big shot behind Club Aurora is someone who can acquire the assets of a family like the Waltons. How can a small fry like you pass off as him?¡± ¡°Lucas Gray, you really have a death wish. How dare you pretend to be the big shot behind Club Aurora? I¡¯ll see how you die once he finds out!¡± ¡°Exactly! Let¡¯s inform Mr. Freyter that there¡¯s a shameless bastard here who dares to pretend to be a distinguished guest of Club Aurora. He has a death wish!¡± ¡°Ashley, it¡¯s not that we¡¯re being heartless and deliberately annoying you. But your husband, whom you¡¯ve only met three times, is really stupid for wanting to pretend to be someone powerful when he¡¯s just a poor loser. He could have pretended to be anyone else, yet he wants to be a most distinguished guest of Club Aurora, and he¡¯s even doing it in the most luxurious King¡¯s Room in the club! You can¡¯t me us if he has a death wish!¡± No one believed what Lucas said. Apart from mocking him and making sarcastic remarks, some of them even wanted to go straight to Frey toin about Lucas¡¯s ¡®misconduct¡¯ of being an imposter. Ashley looked at Lucas in surprise. But she definitely didn¡¯t think that Lucas was trying to pass off as anyone. Since he had already said so, then he had to be the distinguished guest of Club Aurora that Frey had addressed. Ss was definitely the impostor! To Ashley¡¯s surprise, Lucas had already taken down the Waltons! The Waltons were one of the eight top families of DC! Even the others of the eight top families didn¡¯t dare to provoke the Waltons easily. But Lucas had managed to acquire all their assets overnight. His immense power really astonished Ashley! Ashley knew that even the Steeles would have to pay a tremendous price if they wanted to deal with the Waltons or acquire their assets. They would have to go through a long struggle to aplish either. Anyway, it was absolutely impossible for them to be able to acquire the Waltons¡¯ empire as easily as Lucas had! In that case, Lucas was probably really far more powerful than the Steeles! While Ashley was stunned and looking at Lucas in a daze, Allie shook Ashley¡¯s arm and whispered anxiously into her ear, ¡°Ashley, you¡¯d better quickly persuade Lucas! Talking like that he¡­ he¡¯ll really anger the people of Club Aurora and the big shot behind it! ¡°Such a big shot will definitely not tolerate this kind of offense. If he hears about this, Lucas will really be dead meat! Besides, even you will be implicated and face terrible consequences! ¡°You¡¯d better get Lucas to apologize and say that he was talking nonsense and that everyone shouldn¡¯t take offense. Beg them not toin to the people of Club Aurora!¡± Seeing the anxiousness and worry on Allie¡¯s face, Ashley felt warm. Just now, to ask for mercy for her and Lucas, Allie had been ridiculed by the people here. But she still chose to stand on her side now and help her and Lucas. It really touched Ashley. But despite feeling touched, Ashley would never persuade Lucas to apologize to these people because he wasn¡¯t wrong at all. He only allowed the shameless Ss to take credit and assume his identity because he was just too low-profile. Ashley believed that even if they really reported Lucas to the manager, the one who would suffer misfortune wouldn¡¯t be Lucas but those being aggressive toward him! Lucas was a most distinguished guest of Club Aurora. That¡¯s why Frey had personally invited him to the King¡¯s Room and gifted him the two bottles of red wine worth hundreds of thousands of dors. Thus, Ashley believed that once the people of Club Aurora found that someone had assumed Lucas¡¯s identity and even tried to use them against him, they definitely wouldn¡¯t leave things at that! ¡°Allie, don¡¯t worry. I believe Lucas is one of the most distinguished guests of Club Aurora! ¡°If Ss and the others are really thick-skinned enough to report Lucas, the ones who will suffer will definitely be them!¡± With an ice-cold expression, Ashley nced at Ss, Peter, and the others who were extremely arrogant toward Lucas. They were all acting self-righteous, but they harbored vicious intentions. She believed that they would definitely suffer retribution! Stunned, Allie stared at Ashley with a look of disbelief before pinching her arm hard. ¡°Are you a fool? You actually believe him?! You¡­ Oh, I really don¡¯t know what to say! ¡°Anyway, you¡¯d better get Lucas to apologize quickly and tell him to stop talking nonsense. Otherwise, it will be toote when the people of Club Aurora are here!¡± At this moment, someone eager to suck up to Peter and leave a good impression on him suddenly opened the door and dashed out. ¡°Oh no!¡± Allie¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°He must have gone to call someone here!¡± Chapter 1201 - 1201 Please Forgive Us 1201 Please Forgive Us Allie stomped her feet and shouted anxiously, ¡°Reagan actually left. He must have gone toin to Mr. Frey! Ashley, what should we do now?¡± She was extremely flustered. If not for the fact that she was wearing heels and couldn¡¯t run, she would have chased after Reagan and stopped him on her own. On the other hand, Lucas was still extremely calm in his seat without even looking at Reagan running out. Seeing how calm Lucas was, Ashley felt confident and not worried at all. She even patted Allie¡¯s arm to signal her to calm down. ¡°Allie, don¡¯t panic. Everything will be fine! Just you wait and see. The ones in trouble won¡¯t be us when the people of Club Aurora are here!¡± ¡°Ah, you really¡­ I¡¯m panicking so badly, yet you two are still so nonchnt. I really¡­ don¡¯t know what to say!¡± Allie looked at the calm Ashley and Lucas, but she herself couldn¡¯t be asposed as them. She was still panicking. But since things had alreadye to this, they couldn¡¯t run out of the private room and sneak away now. They could only wait and see anxiously. Soon, two minutester, the door of the private room was opened again. Reagan quickly walked in with Frey, the manager of Club Aurora. Following behind him were two men in suits. One was a young man in his thirties, and the other was a middle-aged man in his fifties. Ss smiled conceitedly the moment he saw Frey¡¯s face. ¡°Mr. Frey, you¡¯re finally here. Haha, we¡¯ll soon find out who the impostor is!¡± He nced at Lucas provocatively, then walked over to Frey and said with a smile, ¡°Mr. Frey, my ssmate should have told you everything, right? Someone really thick-skinned here is pretending to be someone important! ¡°Now, please tell this poor loser Lucas Gray who Mr. Gray, the distinguished guest of Club Aurora, really is.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Frey immediately pped him hard in the face. ¡°You¡¯re the bastard who¡¯s the impostor! Mr. Gray is such a prestigious person. He¡¯s not someone you can insult as you please.¡± The p dumbfounded Ss. He covered his face in disbelief and said, ¡°How¡­ how could I be the impostor? Myst name is Gray, and my father¡¯s name is Jeremy Gray!¡± ¡°You clearly called me Mr. Gray earlier, and you even took the initiative to invite me to this King¡¯s Room. ¡°Th-this punk Lucas Gray is obviously the imposter. Mr. Frey¡­ are you making a mistake?¡± After getting pped, Ss almost lost his mind out of anger. He pointed at Lucas with one hand, his expression almost twisted. ¡°Get lost!¡± Frey glowered at Ss furiously, pushed him away, hurried to Lucas, and knelt on the floor without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Mr. Gray, it¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have revealed your identity here and created these troubles for you. I failed to perform my duties well. Please forgive me. I will never dare to do it again!¡± At this moment, Frey was full of fear asrge drops of sweat flowed down his cheeks. He was kneeling in front of Lucas without even daring to raise his head or wipe the cold sweat off his face. Frey¡¯s sudden act of kneeling made all of Ashley¡¯s former ssmates in the room stunned. They never thought that the esteemed manager of Club Aurora would kneel and beg Lucas for forgiveness so humbly. Moreover, Frey said that he had identally revealed Lucas¡¯s identity. Did this mean that Lucas was really the distinguished guest, the big shot behind Club Aurora? They didn¡¯t dare to believe it. Lucas was clearly just a poor loser whom Ashley brought along! While everyone was in shock, the young man and middle-aged man in suits rushed over to Lucas in unison and knelt without hesitation. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m really sorry. I¡­ I failed to manage my staff well. Please forgive us for revealing your identity!¡± The middle-aged man was Ray Parker, who was apologizing to Lucas with a pale face. Chagrined, Keh said with self-reproach, ¡°Mr. Gray, this is all my fault. My father has already instructed me not to reveal your identity, and I¡¯ve also instructed all the management staff not to do so. However, I didn¡¯t expect this to happen. It¡¯s all my fault! ¡°If you have to me someone, me me. If you want to scold me, hit me, or even kill me, I¡¯ll ept it!¡± After hearing what they said, the other people in the room finally noticed the two of them. They didn¡¯t know Ray and Parker¡¯s identities at first, but they had themon sense to guess who they were after hearing them beg Lucas for forgiveness. They were core members of the Parkers and definitely had higher statuses than Frey! At this moment, many people recalled what they had heard previously. Club Aurora originally belonged to the Waltons, but all the Waltons¡¯ former businesses had an additional red LED sign with the words ¡®The Parkers¡¯ written on them overnight. And all the Waltons¡¯ businesses had changed hands overnight. This meant that these two people from the Parkers, who had reced the Waltons overnight! In other words, the two people kneeling in front of Lucas were the heads of Club Aurora! But these two people were now like small fries as they knelt in front of Lucas respectfully, apologizing to him and leaving themselves at his disposal. Thinking of this, everyone in the private room inhaled sharply and looked at Lucas in shock. If they still couldn¡¯t tell that Lucas was the big shot behind Club Aurora, they would be absolute fools! Everyone¡¯s expression changed drastically, especially those who had insulted and mocked Lucas and Ashley. They were drenched in cold sweat thatpletely soaked their clothes. The person they thought was a penniless loser turned out to be a big shot whom they definitely couldn¡¯t afford to offend! Yet they had offended him terribly in order to please Peter and Vanessa. What could they do now? What would happen to them? Chapter 1202 - 1202 Vicious Thoughts 1202 Vicious Thoughts Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about what Ashley¡¯s former ssmates were thinking. He said to Ray and Keh, who were kneeling in front of him, ¡°Get up. What happened today isn¡¯t your fault.¡± Hearing this, Ray and Keh felt as though a tremendous weight had been lifted off their shoulders, and they heaved a sigh of relief. They had been working for Lucas for a long time, so they knew that he liked keeping a low profile and rarely revealed his true identity in public. They had heard the news that Lucas had gathered with his friends in Club Aurora, so they had rushed over to be on standby for Lucas¡¯s instructions at any time. Unexpectedly, before they even received any instructions from Lucas, they bumped into a vulgar-looking young manining to Frey, the manager of Club Aurora. He said that there was a young man named Lucas Gray pretending to be a distinguished guest of Club Aurora and that his friends had blocked him in the King¡¯s Room and were waiting for Club Aurora to deal with him. !! After hearing this, Ray and Keh almost passed out in shock! At this point, they realized that Frey had been too excited after recognizing Lucas. He had been preupied with ttering Lucas and hadpletely forgotten that he wasn¡¯t supposed to reveal Lucas¡¯s identity. Thus, he presumptuously brought Lucas and his group to the most luxurious King¡¯s Room. Keh and Ray instantly had extremely gloomy expressions and anxiously rushed over to kneel in front of Lucas without even having the time to berate Frey for acting on his own. They had thought that Lucas wouldn¡¯t forgive them and would lose his temper because of this matter. They were afraid that he would even revoke his decision to let the Parkers manage the Waltons¡¯ businesses and expel them from DC. They never thought that he would let them off instead of holding it against them. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Gray!¡± Ray and Keh thanked him one after another before getting up and wiping the cold sweat off of their foreheads. Frey¡¯s face was also covered in cold sweat. Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t intend to hold it against him, he stood up and cautiously stood behind Ray and Keh with his head lowered, trying his best to make himself scarce. Frey was full of regret. When he saw Lucas, he had been so excited that he forgot the instructions from Keh, his new boss. In the end, he almost got into trouble. Frey knew that if Ss hadn¡¯t assumed Lucas¡¯s identity and pretended to be a distinguished guest of Club Aurora, Lucas might not have mentioned this matter at all. Things wouldn¡¯t have been blown out of proportion and rmed Keh and Ray into kneeling and begging Lucas for forgiveness. Right now, Lucas and the Parkers didn¡¯t pursue his responsibility not because they had forgiven him but because there were more important matters to handle. Once things were settled, he would definitely be punished and maybe even lose his position as manager. At the thought, Frey glowered at Ss, wishing he could skin him alive. It was all the fault of Ss, this bastard who had assumed Lucas¡¯s identity! With shock written all over her face, Allie quietly inched closer to Ashley and whispered, ¡°Ashley, is¡­ Lucas really the mysterious big shot behind Club Aurora?¡± Gazing at Lucas, Ashley looked extremely proud. This was the Lucas Gray she liked. It was natural for him to be so impressive and admirable! Hearing Allie¡¯s question, Ashley nodded. ¡°Yeah! I just told you that Lucas would never lie. Since he said that the manager was addressing him, it must be him! ¡°Besides, I¡¯ve already told you. Once the people of Club Aurora are here, who knows who will be the ones in trouble! Do you believe me now?¡± Allie didn¡¯t know what to say. Like the others, she had thought that Lucas was just an ordinary poor man who wasn¡¯t good enough for Ashley. But due to her close friendship with Ashley, when the others mocked Lucas and Ashley endlessly, she didn¡¯t speak up for them and only advised Ashley to get Lucas to apologize. But now, Allie finally knew that this ordinary-looking young man actually had such a remarkable identity. Even the boss of Club Aurora, the Parkers who had taken over the Waltons¡¯ businesses, was extremely respectful to him. Allie looked at Lucas a few times and realized that Lucas was not only tall but also a very handsome hunk. After she took a few more nces, her heart suddenly pounded rapidly. It was strange. Previously, she had only thought that Lucas was rather ordinary and that he wasn¡¯t handsome. But for some reason, she found him very charming now. Apart from Allie, who had stood on Ashley and Lucas¡¯s side, the others in the room had more or less been rude to Lucas and insulted him. The moment they learned Lucas¡¯s prestigious identity, everyone felt extremely nervous and fearful. They subconsciously nced at Peter and Vanessa. They could only rely on these two now. If Peter and Vanessa could resolve the conflict with Lucas or suppress him with the Williams, they would have nothing to fear. Ever since Peter saw Keh and Ray kneeling in front of Lucas to seek forgiveness, he had been incredibly shocked and inplete disbelief. At the same time, his heart was full of fury and resentment toward Lucas. He hated Ashley, so he wanted to do everything possible to make her miserable. He couldn¡¯t even tolerate her marrying a poor man, so how could he tolerate her having connections with Lucas, a big shot? Although Lucas had rified that he wasn¡¯t married to Ashley, it was hard to guarantee that they wouldn¡¯t end up bing a couple. Peter would never be able to ept this! This shameless bitch must live in misery forever and stay alone her entire life. She can never marry any other man! Even though I don¡¯t want her, she has to remain chaste and never be tainted by another man! These were Peter¡¯s true innermost thoughts! Chapter 1203 - 1203 Situation Reversed 1203 Situation Reversed ¡°Hah, I didn¡¯t expect to have been so blind that I didn¡¯t recognize who you were.¡± Peter stared straight at Lucas with a clenched jaw, his eyes full of surging fury. Lucas looked at him with raised brows. ¡°Given that you abandoned such a good woman as Ashley, it¡¯s obvious that you¡¯re blind.¡± ¡°You!¡± Peter was furious. But he soon adjusted his emotions and sneered, ¡°Haha, stop being so proud in front of me! At the end of the day, you only have control over Club Aurora and the Parkers. You have no right to be arrogant to me!¡± Vanessa glowered at Lucas. ¡°Peter is right! Lucas Gray, we indeed belittled you. We didn¡¯t expect you to be rted to Club Aurora and the Parkers, but so what? ¡°No matter how high your status is, you¡¯re not from one of the eight top families of DC! I am the only daughter of the Williams¡¯ helmsman. You want to be arrogant to us? Dream on!¡± When Lucas heard this, his expression didn¡¯t change at all. But Ray and Keh looked at Peter and Vanessa sympathetically. Back when Lucas was still in California, Damon Parker, the former helmsman of the Parkers, had already discovered Lucas¡¯s extraordinariness and even led the entire Parker family to join him and be his subordinates. Thus, Ray and Keh had long known that Lucas wasn¡¯t simple. And the more they interacted with him, the more they could sense how terrifying he was. Justst night, Lucas had easily gathered 2,000 strong fighters at the Hampton Restaurant within a short time,pletely deterring the Waltons with his abilities. In front of Lucas, the Waltons were just a small fry that he could easily tten. Furthermore, the Waltons were one of the top eight families of DC and had stood strong in DC for years. But this powerful family was so vulnerable when facing Lucas. Overnight, they hadpletely vanished from DC and lost all their businesses. The more terrifying thing was that even the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s headquarters, which backed the Waltons, was scrupulous toward Lucas. They had no confidence in facing Lucas and could only give in. The Parkers believed that with his terrifying strength, Lucas definitely wasn¡¯t afraid of the Williams. Ray stepped forward and shouted at Vanessa and Peter. ¡°How dare you?! Do not be disrespectful to Mr. Gray!¡± Vanessa immediately flew into a rage. As the heiress of the Williams, who had been haughty and respected by all in DC for years, she had never encountered anyone who dared to speak to her like this! Vanessa pointed at Ray and yelled angrily, ¡°Presumptuous. Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me like that? Do you know who I am?¡± Ray sneered. ¡°Of course I know who you are, but you must not know who I am. I am the current helmsman of the Parkers, and we have recently acquired all of the Waltons¡¯ businesses!¡± As soon as she heard this, Vanessa sulked. She had thought that he was just a senior executive of the Parkers. She didn¡¯t expect him to be the helmsman! As the only heiress of the Williams, she was well aware of the power of the major forces in DC. Even her father, Rayson Williams, didn¡¯t dare to provoke the Waltons easily. If the two families really fought, even if the Waltons lost, the Williams would have to pay a heavy price. And now, the Waltons, who were powerful enough to rival the Williams, were actually reced by the Parkers in just one night! So even though Vannessa wasn¡¯t clear about how strong the Parkers were, she wasn¡¯t a fool, and she naturally knew that the Parkers were more powerful than the Williams! The man in front of them was actually the helmsman of the Parkers. This made Lucas¡¯s status far higher than they had assumed. Everyone was in disbelief. They didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be the big shot behind the Parkers! In that case, things were really going to propel out of their control! Vanessa and Peter made eye contact, and they both saw the intense grimness in each other¡¯s eyes. Both of them found the matter extremely tricky to deal with, so the others were naturally terrified. Those who had dared to mock Lucas were now nervously squeezing behind Peter and Vanessa, too afraid to say anything. They didn¡¯t even have the qualifications to speak now! Moreover, no one wanted to speak at this moment. They only wished they could make themselves as inconspicuous as possible, lest Lucas notices them and holds them responsible for offending Lucas and Ashley. If Lucas really wanted to take revenge on them, he could easily make sure they couldn¡¯t leave the club in one piece! After thinking about it, Vanessa suddenly sneered. ¡°Hah, do you Parkers think you¡¯re that impressive? You people probably don¡¯t know that the Waltons are backed by the Peerless Martial Association. Do you think the Peerless Martial Association will let you off after you¡¯ve acquired all the Waltons¡¯ businesses? ¡°As long as the Peerless Martial Association takes action, no matter how you acquired the Waltons¡¯ businesses, you will have to return them all!¡± Lucas said with a smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. The Peerless Martial Association has alreadye to see us yesterday, but these businesses are still under the Parkers¡¯ control. What do you have to say now?¡± What Lucas said stunned Vanessa for a moment, but she didn¡¯t believe him at all. ¡°Hmph, you mean that even the Peerless Martial Association is willing to hand over all the Waltons¡¯ businesses to you? Haha, fancy you lying through your teeth. Do you think I¡¯d believe you? ¡°But I can¡¯t be bothered to argue with you here. In any case, you don¡¯t have the qualifications to fight the Williams! ¡°I don¡¯t want to continue talking to you. Anyway, what happened between my husband and Ashley Steele has long passed, and I don¡¯t want to pursue it anymore. So I¡¯ll just be magnanimous and let it go. ¡°Today¡¯s gathering has been too tiresome, and I don¡¯t want to stay here anymore. Honey, let¡¯s go!¡± With that, Vanessa grabbed Peter¡¯s arm and moved to leave. Lucas stood in front of the door, looked at everyone, and sneered. ¡°Did I say you could leave?¡± Chapter 1204 - 1204 Calling the Parents 1204 Calling the Parents Lucas looked at the crowd and said coldly, ¡°It¡¯s not up to you whether this matter is settled or not! Just now, weren¡¯t you people really overbearing? Didn¡¯t you force me to apologize to you? Why have you changed your mind now? ¡°You want to let it go, but I don¡¯t! Shouldn¡¯t you apologize for the callous things you said to Ashley? ¡°If you don¡¯t apologize and obtain Ashley¡¯s forgiveness, none of you can leave!¡± As soon as Lucas said this, everyone in the room, including Peter and Vanessa, had a drastic change of expression. Lucas actually wanted them to apologize to Ashley and seek her forgiveness. The rest didn¡¯t feel too bad, but Vanessa and Peter immediately looked upset. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t go overboard! I¡¯m already kind enough not to be calctive with you. How dare you tell me to apologize to that woman?! No way!¡± Vanessa refused furiously. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I am the heiress of the Williams, one of the eight top families of DC. If you really anger me, I will definitely give you a hard time!¡± ¡°Hah, are the Williams a big deal?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Then get Rayson Williams, the helmsman of your family, toe over personally. I want to see how you can give me a hard time!¡± Then Lucas sat down on the sofa near the door of the private room. Keh was extremely sharp. After seeing Lucas¡¯s actions, he could tell that he didn¡¯t n to let them off easily, so he took out his phone and sent a message. Soon, a group of tall and burly security guards charged straight into the private room and blocked the door. Without the Parkers¡¯ permission, none of them would be allowed to leave. When Peter and Vanessa saw this, their faces darkened. The rest of Ashley¡¯s former ssmates were all horrified as they stared at the burly security guards blocking the door with fear on their faces. Peter stared at Lucas with a sharp murderous intent in his eyes. He originally thought that running into Ashley at the bar after returning to DC was a Godsent opportunity for him to take revenge. So he had instigated his former ssmates to invite her to the reunion and then mocked and humiliated her as he pleased. He had even revealed the truth to her just so he could see her in misery. But Peter didn¡¯t expect Lucas to thwart his ns soon after he started taking revenge. It made him furious. Besides, Lucas¡¯s indifferent and arrogant attitude was proof of his disregard toward Peter, Vanessa¡¯s husband and the future leader of the Williams. Furthermore, he kept defending Ashley and speaking up for her. Now, he even wanted them to apologize to her. It made Peter¡¯s hatred toward Lucas intensify. Vanessa¡¯s not-so-pretty face had already bepletely twisted. No one in DC had ever dared to stop her or threaten her. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t regret it! Once my fatheres, you¡¯ll be dead meat!¡± Vanessa stared at Lucas menacingly. Lucas snorted coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t be too quick to jump to conclusions. Who knows who will regret it when the timees!¡± Rayson Williams was no stranger to Lucas. They had already crossed paths several times. Besides, to Lucas, Rayson didn¡¯t have any prestige at all. After all, Rayson had knelt in front of Lucas three times. Even if Vanessa got her father toe here, Lucas believed that Rayson definitely wouldn¡¯t speak up for her like she thought. ¡°You¡­ Just wait!¡± Vanessa shouted angrily and took out her phone to call her father. Lucas didn¡¯t bother with her. He nced at the others in the private room, especially Ss, Carrie, and Zoey, who had mored endlessly earlier. ¡°The three of you kept saying you and your families wouldn¡¯t let me off, right? In that case, you should call your elders and get them toe over immediately! I¡¯ll give you half an hour. If your elders aren¡¯t here within half an hour, your families will all be expelled from DC! Do you hear me? ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m just scaring you. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can try!¡± As soon as they heard this, Ss, Carrie, and Zoey were on the verge of crying. They were full of regret. If they had known that Lucas was a powerful big shot who supported the Parkers and dared to challenge the Williams, they would have never dared to mock him and Ashley just to please Peter and Vanessa! Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in this world! No matter how unwilling they were, no matter how scared they were, they had no choice but to take out their phones to call their elders and ask them to rush over to the top floor of Club Aurora within half an hour. After all, Lucas was powerful enough to go against the Williams, and even the helmsman of the Parkers, who had taken over all of the Waltons¡¯ businesses, behaved so respectfully toward him. Meanwhile, slightly affluent families like theirs weren¡¯t even worthy of carrying the Waltons¡¯ shoes. If Lucas really wanted to expel them from DC, he could do so easily with one sentence! Thus, no one dared to pretend to obey Lucas¡¯s order, thinking that he was just joking and scaring them. ¡°Dad, where are you now? I¡­ I¡¯m being held captive in Club Aurora by an audacious thug. He wants you toe over personally, or else he¡¯ll hurt me!¡± Vanessained to Rayson the moment the call connected. ¡°What did you say? Someone dares to hold my daughter captive? Which bastard has the audacity? He must be tired of living!¡± Rayson immediately flew into a rage, then quicklyforted his daughter, ¡°Vanessa, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll bring the most powerful experts we have to rescue you! I want to see which daring bastard dares to stop my precious daughter!¡± ¡°Okay, Dad, you have toe quickly. I¡¯ll be waiting for you here!¡± Vanessa smiled. After hanging up, she looked at Lucas conceitedly. ¡°Hmph, I told you that you¡¯re courting death! My father will soon bring the family¡¯s most powerful experts over. When the timees, I¡¯ll see how you die! ¡°To make things clear beforehand, you¡¯ve already angered me, so I won¡¯t let you off no matter how you begter!¡± Chapter 1205 - 1205 It’s Really Him 1205 It¡¯s Really Him Vanessa threatened arrogantly. In her eyes, the Williams were already standing at the summit of the US. Even though Lucas was capable and could take away all of the Waltons¡¯ businesses, he was definitely no match for the Williams! Moreover, she didn¡¯t know how the Parkers and Lucas had managed to get their hands on the Waltons¡¯ businesses, so she didn¡¯t think that a powerful family was backing Lucas. She reckoned that he must have resorted to some tricks. So Vanessa didn¡¯t take Lucas seriously at all. Once her father arrived with the Williams¡¯ top experts, this bastard Lucas, who didn¡¯t know what was good for him, would definitely die! Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered about Vanessa¡¯s threats at all. Before Rayson arrived, anything that Vanessa said was pointless. Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his breath. Lucas looked at Ashley beside him and asked, ¡°Are you still feeling conflicted and upset?¡± Ashley knew that Lucas was asking her about Peter. After thinking about it carefully, she realized that the conflicted feelings of misery and the anger she felt after hearing what Peter said had already unknowingly vanished. Peter wasn¡¯t worth her sadness and pain. At this moment, Ashley¡¯s heart felt an unprecedented sense of relief. She shook her head with a smile and said to Lucas gratefully, ¡°Lucas, I don¡¯t feel upset anymore. Thank you so much!¡± Seeing that Ashley was really over Peter and no longer bothered about the past or suffering from the lies of the scumbag Peter, Lucas felt relieved and smiled at her. In that case, Ashley should havepletely vanquished her mental demons. When she went abroadter, she would no longer be sad because of Peter. Seeing Lucas and Ashley smiling at each other, Peter found it an eyesore. His heart was full of anger, and his hatred toward them intensified. In Peter¡¯s heart, Ashley was a woman who loved him deeply. Even though he didn¡¯t want her anymore, she had to continue being deeply in love with him, and she couldn¡¯t have another man! He wouldn¡¯t allow Ashley to be in an ambiguous rtionship with another man or marry him. Otherwise, he would rather she die than let her ¡®cuckold¡¯ him! Peter was really a deranged madman. His mind was too twisted for anyone to be able tomunicate with him soundly. If Ashley and Lucas knew Peter¡¯s current thoughts, they would be speechless. After Peter¡¯s n to use Ashley to join the upper ss failed, he used her of cheating him out of his feelings and even caused her to almost kill herself and suffer for years. Peter was the scumbag himself, but he still wanted Ashley to stay chaste for him and never get together with any other man for the rest of her life. He was simply selfish and vicious. Standing at the side, Allie looked at Lucas and Ashley smiling at each other, her eyes filled with envy. But she just pursed her lips and looked down sadly without saying anything. Time passed quickly, and the sound of footsteps suddenly filled the air. Clearly, many people were rushing over. As soon as she heard the footsteps, Vanessa beamed with joy. She knew that her father had arrived with his men! ¡°Haha, Lucas Gray, my father will be here soon. I¡¯ll give you onest chance. If you and that shameless bitch next to you immediately kneel down and apologize to me, I can ask my father to spare your lives! Otherwise, be prepared to die here!¡± Vanessa said with a look of arrogance. Since her rescuers had arrived, she was even more fearless and unrestrained. Lucas sneered. ¡°Kneel down and apologize? You¡¯ve reminded me. If you and your leech of a husband kneel down and apologize to me, I can give you a chance and spare your lives. How about this?¡± Vanessa¡¯s face became even more sullen. ¡°You bastard, don¡¯t push your luck! Fine, in that case, I won¡¯t be polite to you either! ¡°Once my fatheres in, I will make sure you die a miserable death here!¡± Vanessa gritted her teeth, her eyes chilling. Bang! At this moment, sounds of moring, fighting, and shouts came from outside the room. The security team blocking the door was suddenly thrown aside by a few powerful experts charging in. Within seconds, the security guards had already been cleared. A middle-aged man walked in. Seeing Vanessa standing in the middle, he walked over immediately. ¡°Vanessa, are you okay?!¡± The middle-aged man sized Vanessa up and finally heaved a sigh of relief after confirming that she wasn¡¯t injured. The middle-aged man was Vanessa¡¯s father, Rayson Williams, the helmsman of one of the eight top families of DC. Rayson really doted on his daughter. Not only did he rush here in a quarter of an hour, but he also rushed straight to Vanessa as soon as he entered the room. The first thing he did was to confirm her safety. He was indeed a good father. Seeing her backer arrive, Vanessa blinked and suddenly looked like she was about to cry. She said aggrievedly, ¡°Dad, you¡¯re finally here! I¡¯ve never been so aggrieved in all my life! I was held captive here, and Peter and I were threatened to kneel down and apologize! Otherwise, we would be harmed! ¡°Dad, you must do me justice and avenge me!¡± ¡°Of course! Anyone who dares to bully my precious daughter is courting death! Where is that bastard?¡± The moment Rayson heard that someone had the audacity to threaten his daughter, he lost his temper. Vanessa looked at Lucas provocatively, pointed her finger at him, andined, ¡°It¡¯s this bastard Lucas Gray! He has been acting all high and mighty without the slightest respect for our family! Dad, you must teach him a hard lesson. I want him to die here!¡± ¡°What did you say? Lucas Gray!?¡± When Rayson suddenly heard a familiar name from his daughter, his heart skipped a beat, and the image of a big shot he couldn¡¯t afford to provoke appeared in his mind. This young man¡¯s name and face had already been deeply etched in his mind. At the mention of Lucas, Rayson would shudder in fright. Is it just someone with the same name? Or¡­ Rayson suddenly felt an ominous premonition as he looked at where Vanessa was pointing. The moment he saw the familiar face of the young man sitting on the couch leisurely and smiling at him, he felt a chill shoot up from the bottom of his feet to his head! It really was Lucas! At this moment, Rayson felt dizzy, along with an urge to die. Chapter 1206 - 1206 Kneel and Apologize 1206 Kneel and Apologize The moment Rayson saw Lucas, his legs went limp, and he knelt in front of him! Thud! The sound of his knees hitting the floor was crisp and clear. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, you¡­ why are you here?¡± Rayson stammered as two drops of cold sweat appeared on his head. Seeing Rayson kneeling, the others in the private room were shocked! W-what was going on? He was the helmsman of the Williams, one of the eight top families in DC, yet he knelt in front of Lucas?! What in the world was going on? This waspletely beyond their imagination! Were they all hallucinating? Just as everyone started to doubt life, Vanessa stared nkly at her father kneeling, unable to return to her senses for a long time. She never imagined that her father would kneel without hesitation the moment he saw Lucas! This was simply beyond her understanding! Peter widened his mouth involuntarily and stared dully at the scene in front of him. The shock in his heart was surging violently like a stormy sea. Rayson, the helmsman of the Williams, actually knelt in front of Lucas! Why? Why?! At this moment, Rayson really felt nervous and aggrieved. He wasn¡¯t really a pushover who¡¯d kneel as soon as he saw Lucas¡­ But when he found out that the person his daughter wanted to kill was actually Lucas, he really couldn¡¯t control his body. His legs went so weak that he couldn¡¯t stand at all! The matters that had happened previously were still fresh in Rayson¡¯s memory. After being forced to kneel and apologize in public before, Rayson had already developed a huge psychological trauma. Later, Rayson had even knelt to Lucas in front of the auction venue of the DC Hotel and at the Stone residence. It could be said that Rayson would almost instinctively kneel whenever he saw Lucas! Looking at Rayson¡¯s bitter face, Lucas smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what your daughter said? She said that I made her feel aggrieved like never before, and she wants you to kill me! Why do you think I¡¯m here?¡± When Rayson heard this, more beads of sweat appeared on his face. Now, he was finally sure that his daughter had greatly offended Lucas! This was terrible! Smack! Rayson got up from the floor and pped Vanessa hard across her face, almost knocking her to the floor. ¡°You unfilial girl, how dare you offend Mr. Gray? Are you tired of living? Even if you want to die, don¡¯t involve me! Ugh, hurry up and kneel down and apologize to Mr. Gray. Beg him for his forgiveness!¡± Rayson had always doted on and cherished his daughter like a gem, and he had never hit her or yelled at her. His p was so hard that five bright red fingerprints immediately appeared on Vanessa¡¯s fair and tender face. Being pped, Vanessa was dumbstruck. Never in the twenty-odd years of her life had Rayson everid a hand on her or yelled at her. But he actually pped her in front of so many people and even wanted her to kneel and apologize to Lucas! Vanessa found it utterly uneptable at all! She covered her face and looked at Rayson in disbelief. ¡°Dad! You¡­ you actually pped me? And you even want me to kneel and apologize to this bastard Lucas Gray?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! I want you to kneel and apologize to Mr. Gray immediately. Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± Rayson hollered furiously. Immediately afterward, he saw Peter standing at the side with disbelief all over his face. He raised his hand and gave Peter¡¯s face a hard and loud p. ¡°And you! You¡¯re just a bastard sponging off of us! You¡¯re nothing! You were with Vanessa, but you didn¡¯t stop her from offending Mr. Gray. You¡¯re at fault too! ¡°Now, kneel down and apologize to Mr. Gray too!¡± Feeling the burning and stinging pain in his face, Peter felt extremely indignant and disgruntled. Rayson didn¡¯t know what had happened here. But just because he was with Vanessa and didn¡¯t stop her from offending Lucas, Rayson pped his face mercilessly. This was all because Peter was merely a live-in son-inw with no status who sponged off the Williams. Thus, Rayson didn¡¯t take him seriously at all and humiliated him in front of everyone without restraint. In particr, he pped him in front of everyone in the private room. Not only did his former college ssmates see it, but Ashley and Lucas did too! The right side of Peter¡¯s face was burning up as the endless shame overwhelmed him. But regardless of how furious and disgruntled he was, Peter could only force himself to bear with it. The person who hit him was Rayson, the helmsman of the Williams, whom he had relied on to get everything he had now. He absolutely didn¡¯t dare to defy Rayson or even reveal a tinge of anger or hatred. ¡°Yes!¡± Peter agreed indignantly as he knelt in front of Lucas with great difficulty. The moment his knees hit the floor, his heart had already started bleeding, and maniacal hatred was surging in his heart. Oh, how the tables had turned! One day, he would definitely make Lucas pay for the humiliation he suffered. Peter gritted his teeth hard, trying his best tofort himself. Vanessa finally snapped back to her senses when she saw Peter getting pped and kneeling. Her father wasn¡¯t joking. He really wanted her to kneel and apologize to Lucas! After receiving Vanessa¡¯s call, Rayson had rushed over with his men. But now, he was forcing her to apologize to Lucas without fully understanding what had happened. She felt so angry and aggrieved that she was about to explode. But Rayson¡¯s actions showed how scrupulous he was of Lucas, even afraid of him. Out of fear of offending Lucas, he had pped her and then forced her to kneel and apologize. Vanessa wasn¡¯t a fool. From her father¡¯s abnormal behavior, she could tell that Lucas must be a terrifying big shot, so big that her father, the helmsman of the Williams, was afraid of him! Lucas Gray, who exactly is he? Chapter 1207 - 1207 Offended Badly 1207 Offended Badly Originally, in Vanessa¡¯s eyes, Lucas was just a penniless bottom feeder of society and not worth mentioning at all. But it was now obvious that Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person. Even her father was so scrupulous and afraid of him that he had knelt in front of him. In that case, Vanessa felt that it wasn¡¯t that hard to ept her father¡¯s orders to kneel. Bang! With a crisp and clear sound, Vanessa¡¯s knees hit the floor as she knelt in front of Lucas with gritted teeth. !! ¡°¡­ Mr. Gray, I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have offended you. Please¡­ forgive me!¡± Vanessa¡¯s face was flushed red, and she was clenching her fists tightly while speaking with great difficulty. Even though the apology sounded extremely ordinary, it was the first time in her life that Vanessa, the heiress of the Williams, had knelt and apologized to someone in public. She felt absolutely humiliated and ashamed. Beside her, although Peter was extremely indignant, he was good at acting and had always been able to swallow his pride when necessary. So he could feign an apology much better than Vanessa. ¡°Mr. Gray, it was indeed our fault for what happened. We shouldn¡¯t have been so blind as to offend you. I hope that you will be magnanimous and forgive us petty people! We will never dare to disrespect you again!¡± Peter¡¯s voice sounded incredibly sincere, as if he really knew that he was wrong. Lucas nced at him and smirked. Does he think he can fool me by pretending to be sincere? Although Vanessa was truly obnoxious and behaved haughtily because of her family background, Lucas hated Peter more. He was a scumbag with serious moral issues. Seeing Peter and Vanessa, people with high statuses, kneeling in front of Lucas and apologizing to him, the others in the private room lost all theirposure. Especially the few who had enjoyed insulting Lucas and Ashley just now, they turned pale, and cold sweat drenched them from head to toe. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, I know my wrongs. It¡¯s my fault for talking nonsense and offending you. Please don¡¯t take it to heart and forgive me!¡± ¡°I-I didn¡¯t mean what I said earlier! Mr. Gray, please have mercy and spare us on ount that we were college ssmates with Ashley for four years! We won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± ¡°Yes, we won¡¯t dare to repeat our mistakes! Ashley, please put in a word for us and ask Mr. Gray to forgive us!¡± ¡­ All of a sudden, the people who had made malicious and insulting remarks toward Lucas and Ashley apologized to Lucas and begged for forgiveness. A quick-witted one even turned to Ashley and asked her to plead with Lucas on ount that they were ssmates. Among them, Ss, Carrie, and Zoey, who had said the worst things, were the most terrified, afraid that Lucas would harm them. Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered with them. He remained sitting on the couch leisurely and looked at Rayson. ¡°Mr. Williams, since you¡¯re herete, you probably don¡¯t know what happened. ¡°I can give you a short ount. Just now, your daughter and son-inw mocked my sister Ashley and me with all kinds of contemptuous and malicious remarks. They even wanted me to kneel and apologize to them. Later, they even said that they would kill me. ¡°What do you think I should do?¡± Rayson was really on the verge of tears. He knew that his precious daughter and worthless son-inw had offended Lucas, but he didn¡¯t know that it was to such a horrendous extent! If it was just a few simple remarks, Rayson didn¡¯t mind shamelessly pleading for mercy and begging Lucas to let them off. But since Vanessa and Peter had offended Lucas so badly, he obviously wouldn¡¯t let them off easily. Rayson had already crossed paths with Lucas several times, so he was well aware that Lucas wasn¡¯t a saint and would never be overly kind for no reason. He would repay kindness and seek revenge where they were due. Besides, Lucas was far from a kind soul. Back at the Howard residence, his terrifying abilities were already enough to make Rayson frightened. Even the Williams¡¯ top experts that Rayson had brought with him were no match for Lucas! What should I do now to save my stupid daughter¡¯s life? Rayson gritted his teeth and said to Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, my daughter is indeed arrogant, ipetent, and ignorant. And it¡¯s unforgivable that she offended you! ¡°But I¡¯m already in my fifties, and she¡¯s my only child. If she really dies, our¡­ our bloodline will ceasepletely! ¡°So¡­ so please let my daughter off on my ount! As long as you agree to spare her, I¡¯ll agree to any request you have as long as I can aplish it!¡± As the helmsman of one of the eight top families, his offer was undeniably generous. If anyone else received such a promise from him, they would be able to ask the Williams for anything and even befriend them. They¡¯d probably be over the moon. But this promise meant nothing to Lucas. ¡°On your ount? How much is that worth?¡± Lucas said to Rayson indifferently. Rayson was immediately choked speechless. Lucas obviously wasn¡¯t buying it! The others in the room were frightened. The helmsman of the Williams had already made Vanessa and Peter kneel in front of Lucas, and he himself had also done so. Yet he still couldn¡¯t get Lucas to budge. At this point, Vanessa and Peter finally understood that they had offended someone they shouldn¡¯t have. Since Lucas refused to do Rayson a favor, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to get away with a p on the wrist. They would face extremely serious consequences! Chapter 1208 - 1208 Couple Turning Against Each Other 1208 Couple Turning Against Each Other Lucas refuted Rayson mercilessly, but he didn¡¯t dare to say a word. He could only smile and say, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray, you¡¯re right! I¡¯m just an old fogey without any weight to speak of. It was a slip of the tongue! ¡°But I¡¯m old, and Vanessa is my only child. If she dies, my bloodline will cease to exist. So¡­ I have no choice but to bite the bullet and beg you to let off my unfilial daughter¡­ ¡°As long as you spare my daughter¡¯s life, I¡­ I¡¯ll be willing to give you all the profits of the Williams this year as a token of my sincerity to make amends and apologize to you for my daughter!¡± Rayson sounded hesitant when saying thest sentence. After offering his family¡¯s annual revenue, he seemed extremely pained. It was a year¡¯s worth of profits! Given the numerous businesses of all sizes the Williams had, a year¡¯s profits was an astronomical figure. Although Rayson really felt the pinch, he had to go all out to save Vanessa¡¯s life! But Lucas wasn¡¯t tempted at all. He just said indifferently, ¡°How much do you think your daughter¡¯s life is worth?¡± How much money was a human life worth? If it was anyone else, Rayson naturally wouldn¡¯t think they were worth much, but the life of his precious daughter was definitely priceless. It couldn¡¯t be measured with money. ¡°This¡­¡± Rayson was at a loss for words. Clearly, the annual profits of the Williams weren¡¯t enough to trade for his daughter¡¯s life, even though they amounted to billions of dors. All of a sudden, Rayson was at a loss for what to do. Rayson gritted his teeth and said, ¡°In that case, Mr. Gray, please enlighten me and tell me what I have to do for you to spare my daughter¡¯s life. What are your conditions? I¡¯ll agree to any as long as they¡¯re within my means!¡± No matter how high the price was, he had to save his daughter¡¯s life! ¡°In that case, let¡¯s use all the Williams¡¯ businesses in exchange!¡± Lucas said calmly. What? All of the Williams¡¯ businesses? As soon as Lucas made the request, everyone in the private room was astonished. Rayson was also stunned. Lucas actually asked for all the Williams¡¯ businesses. It was really an outrageous demand! The Williams were not a small family but one of the eight top families of DC, one of the several forces standing at the summit of the country. Lucas was asking for too much. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°You have two choices now. One, hand over the Williams¡¯ businesses, and your daughter will live. Two, keep the Williams¡¯ businesses, but your daughter dies. Take your pick.¡± His words were like a thunderbolt striking everyone¡¯s hearts. Vanessa, kneeling on the floor, looked distraught and dumbstruck. She never thought that her arrogance and offensive behavior toward Lucas would bring such a catastrophe to her family! Seeing how respectful and terrified Rayson was facing Lucas, Vanessa didn¡¯t think that Lucas was just scaring her. Rayson looked extremely conflicted. He didn¡¯t want to pick either of the options Lucas gave him. One was his only child, while the other was the family¡¯s empire that he had worked hard all his life for. He couldn¡¯t bear to give up either. But he knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t easily persuaded. Since he had given him these two options, he had to pick one. He had to choose between his family¡¯s empire or his daughter¡¯s life! Smack! While Rayson was wallowing in misery and struggling over which option to pick, the clear sound of a p rang in his ear. The p attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Vanessa, who had been kneeling on the floor in desperation, had charged over to Peter and shouted at him furiously. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, you bastard! If it weren¡¯t for you, the Williams wouldn¡¯t have encountered this disaster today! ¡°Peter, you asshole, you¡¯ve aplished nothing since you married into our family! ¡°The Williams have treated you so well. The clothes you wear, the car you drive, and the sry you make are all given to you by the Williams! If not for us, you¡¯d still be a bottom feeder of society and inferior to your ssmates! ¡°The Williams even paid for your advanced studies and entrusted you to manage a few of the family¡¯spanies. My father even decided to let you manage our core business andpanies! ¡°But how did you repay us? If you hadn¡¯t provoked Ashley and her friend, why would I have offended them for your sake? How could my family be facing this crisis? ¡°This is all your fault! You¡¯re just a good-for-nothing who wants to sponge off women. Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t hear how you got close to Ashley just so you could rely on the Steeles. Butter, you abandoned her because she no longer had a high status in the family. Then you targeted me to get close to the Williams just for the sake of gaining benefits from us, right?¡± ¡°Hah, I was really blind to have married a useless bastard like you who only thinks about climbing higher by relying on women! ¡°I really regret it now. I¡¯m going to divorce you tomorrow morning. From now on, you have nothing to do with me and the Williams!¡± Vanessa pointed at Peter and hollered, her eyes full of anger. Indeed, if he hadn¡¯t provoked Ashley, she wouldn¡¯t have ended up offending Lucas and bringing this catastrophe to her family! Peter was the culprit of it all! Vanessa had been extremely displeased ever since Ashley talked about the matters with Peter from when they were in college. But she was too prideful and didn¡¯t want to get into a fight with Peter in public, lest she disgraces herself and the Williams. So she had suppressed her anger and insulted Ashley and Lucas together with Peter. As for their matters, they would discuss them at home. But Vanessa never thought that the situation would change so drastically within just ten minutes. Lucas wasn¡¯t to be trifled with at all, and even her father couldn¡¯t do anything about him. He could only either let her die or pay the price with the family¡¯s businesses. At the thought of these oues, Vanessa could no longer care about her pride. She absolutely hated Peter for bringing about this disaster to the Williams! Chapter 1209 - 1209 You Reap What You Sow 1209 You Reap What You Sow The couple, who had been extremely loving in front of everyone earlier, was now like arch-enemies. After receiving the sudden scolding from Vanessa, Peter had all kinds of expressions on his face. He was hopping mad after Vanessa¡¯s scolding, especially when she said that he sponged off women and depended on the Williams for everything. This remark really bruised his ego, and he felt like his pride was trampled on. Any man with a little backbone definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to tolerate this humiliation. They would surely feel ashamed or lose their temper. !! But Peter didn¡¯t reveal his anger because he didn¡¯t dare to lose his temper at Vanessa. He was an out-and-out leech who sponged off women, and he didn¡¯t have the backbone to challenge the Williams at all. On the contrary, Peter felt immense fear. Vanessa obviously wanted to draw a line between him and her and the Williams. How could he allow this? ¡°Vanessa¡­ I-I didn¡¯t know things would turn out like this. You¡­ you¡¯re right. I managed to get everything I have now by relying on you and the Williams, but I really never thought of causing this disaster to the Williams! ¡°Vanessa, you¡¯re my wife. Didn¡¯t we agree that we would love each other until death does us part? You can¡¯t abandon me now! If even you ignore me, I¡¯ll really have no way out! ¡°On ount that I¡¯ve treated you well all these years and that we¡¯re married, please save me. I really don¡¯t want to die!¡± Peter begged in agony while hugging Vanessa¡¯s waist. At this moment, he had long lost his proud appearance and had horror all over his face as he held onto Vanessa desperately like a dog about to be abandoned. Peter was well aware that he had offended Ashley and Lucas because of his misjudgment. As a result, even the Williams were in hot soup, let alone him. But he was just a live-in husband who relied on the Williams. He had no real skills or any other backers. The only straw he could clutch to was Vanessa. At this point, the Williams were the only ones who could save him. He thought that if he yed the emotional card with Vanessa and reminded her of their marriage, she might help him. Without the Williams, a small fry like him would only end up dying! Although Lucas sounded extremely brutal, Peter didn¡¯t believe that he could destroy the Williams alone. So no matter what, he had to hold on tight to the Williams! ¡°Get lost!¡± Vanessa pushed Peter away and pped him hard in exasperation. Many couples tended to fend for themselves and leave each other during tough times. If it wasn¡¯t because of Peter, Vanessa and the Williams wouldn¡¯t be facing this ordeal. Now that they were already in dire straits, they obviously couldn¡¯t be bothered about Peter¡¯s survival since he was the culprit. After pushing Peter away with all her might, Vanessa immediately said to Lucas anxiously, ¡°Lucas, it was my fault for what happened today. I shouldn¡¯t have offended you because of this bastard Peter. If it wasn¡¯t because he was insane and wanted to take revenge on Ashley and lied to me all this while, I wouldn¡¯t have offended you since there¡¯s no feud between us. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re such a powerful man. You must be able to understand who the real culprit is. I¡¯ve indeed made a mistake and offended you, and I¡¯ll agree to any punishment you subject me to. I was indeed too foolish and condescending, but¡­ I don¡¯t think that warrants death, right?¡± Vanessa begged Lucas with tears in her eyes. She didn¡¯t want to die no matter what! Rayson hurriedly said, ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Gray. My daughter indeed made a mistake, but she didn¡¯t know your identity. She shouldn¡¯t have offended you or been so disrespectful to you. I will teach her a lesson and ensure she doesn¡¯t repeat the same mistake! ¡°But the real culprit is this bastard Peter. In fact, I never liked this good-for-nothing, but my daughter was deceived by him and insisted on marrying him, so I¡­ ¡°But Vanessa has already seen his true colors and has decided to divorce him. So from now on, this good-for-nothing has nothing to do with the Williams. You can do whatever you want with him!¡± Rayson drew a clear line between the Williams and Peter. At the same time, the others in the private room frantically said one after another, ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡­ we were wrong. Actually, we had no feud with you. We didn¡¯t even know each other before. If Peter hadn¡¯t fooled us and instigated us, we definitely wouldn¡¯t have targeted you and Ashley!¡± ¡°Yeah! Speaking of which, Ashley was our ssmate for four years in college, and we were very close back then. Why would we go against you? It¡¯s all because Peter sowed discord!¡± ¡°Yeah, in fact, Peter said those things to make us target you and Ashley. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have done so without any rhyme or reason! Please let us off this once and have mercy on us!¡± ¡­ The former ssmates, who had spoken harshly to Ashley and Lucas to tter Peter earlier, were now shunning Peter like the gue and putting the me on him by iming that their previous actions were under Peter¡¯s instructions. At this moment, they no longer looked at Peter deferentially. Instead, their eyes were full of resentment. If it wasn¡¯t to please Peter and Vanessa, they wouldn¡¯t have offended the terrifying Lucas and ended up in this plight where they didn¡¯t know whether or not they could leave safely. The more they had tried to curry favor with Peter just now, the more they hated him now. At this point, they wished they could rush forward and beat the living daylights out of him. It was only natural for them to feel this way. Those who had tried every way to get into Peter¡¯s good books earlier were all spineless and thick-skinned mercenary snobs who only cared about their own profits. In the face of a crisis, they would naturally try their best to shirk responsibility and put all the me on others for their wrongdoings in order to get away scot-free. But this dog-eat-dog situation was just the consequences that Peter had brought upon himself. Chapter 1210 - 1210 Making Up Stories 1210 Making Up Stories Lucas remained sitting in his seat, looking at the scene in front of him coldly without saying anything. On the other hand, Peter looked extremely gloomy. The saying ¡®everyone kicks a man when he¡¯s down¡¯ was a true reflection of his current plight. The resentment and hatred within him were surging, and he was on the verge of losing control. Just a few years ago, he had seeded in winning Ashley¡¯s heart and convinced her elders to let him marry her despite his poor family background after putting in effort for nearly four years. But just as he thought he was about to seed, he suddenly learned that the status of Ashley¡¯s immediate family wasn¡¯t as high as he expected. Even if he married Ashley, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gain many benefits from the Steeles. In that case, how could he marry a woman who would be of no use to him, thus ruining his bright future? Therefore, he hated Ashley and left her without hesitation. On the day of their engagement party, he secretly left and even faked his deathter to take revenge on Ashley and make her suffer unbearable misery. Later, Peter racked his brains and finally managed to get close to Vanessa, the heiress of the Williams and Rayson¡¯s only daughter. He knew that the same situation with Ashley wouldn¡¯t happen again. As long as he could marry Vanessa and be the Williams¡¯ son-inw, he would be able to take full control of the family once Vanessa took over as the family head in the future. He might even have a chance to be the head of one of the eight top families of DC! This time, he had gloriously returned to DC with great ambitions to take over the position of the general manager of the William Corporation and start to handle the family¡¯s business. He believed that he would take over the entire family before long. Everything was clearly perfect, and the gilded road to sess was right in front of him. In just a few years, he would take over the Williams¡¯ empire justifiably and reach the pinnacle of his life, finally obtaining everything he ever wanted! But the ideal future he envisioned had been ruined by Ashley and the man she brought! He initially thought that this reunion was just a chance to give Ashley a huge blow again. He never expected that he not only failed to hurt Ashley, but he even ended up stabbing himself in the foot. His wife, Vanessa, and his father-inw, Rayson, had decided to draw a clear line between him and them. They wanted nothing to do with him now. All the efforts he had spent over the years went down the drain. His former ssmates, who had been on good terms with him and desperately ttered him all the time, immediately had a drastic change in attitude as they put all the me on him and frantically steered clear of him. Peter looked around the private room, but all he saw were cold and resentful faces. He couldn¡¯t see anyone who still had goodwill toward him. Is this the end of it for me? Is everything I¡¯ve worked so hard for for so long going to be ruined today? He was absolutely indignant! There had to be some way out of this! With a maniacal gaze in his eyes, Peter looked at Ashley and suddenly charged toward her. He hugged her calf as though he was firmly grasping hisst straw and said desperately, ¡°Ashley, I lied to you. I didn¡¯t mean to take revenge on you, and it¡¯s not true that I don¡¯t have any feelings for you. I only said those things to annoy you! ¡°Think about it. We were so close back in college. You¡¯re my first love, and I loved you so much! ¡°I still remember that your favorite flowers are wisterias and your favorite color is white. You loved the fish and chips at the ce right outside campus, and you liked it with a bit of chili¡­ I remember everything about you clearly. Isn¡¯t this enough to prove my love for you? ¡°Back then, it¡¯s indeed my fault for bailing on you during our engagement party and making you sad. I¡¯m sorry! But I¡­ what I said earlier was just nonsense. I didn¡¯t leave to take revenge on you, but¡­ your family said that I wasn¡¯t good enough for you, and they ridiculed me endlessly. They said that you¡¯d be marrying a useless man! ¡°I wasn¡¯t upset because they called me useless but because I couldn¡¯t let you suffer humiliation because of me! That¡¯s why I left in hopes of carving out a career of my own and making a name for myself before appearing in front of you again! ¡°Butter¡­ I met Vanessa, and she fell in love with me. She abused her power as the heiress of the Williams to force me to marry her. She even forced me to treat you hostilely. She insisted that I sever all ties with you, or else she¡¯d hurt you with her family¡¯s power! ¡°I had no choice but to do what she said. That¡¯s why I said those things just now and said that I wanted to take revenge on you, but it isn¡¯t like that at all! ¡°Ashley, we were together for so many years. Don¡¯t you know what kind of person I am? The person I love the most has always been you, and the person I want to marry has always been you! If the Williams hadn¡¯t forced me, we would have never ended up in this situation! ¡°Ashley, please give me one more chance. Tomorrow morning, I will immediately divorce that shameless woman and never let her threaten me again. Even if she threatens to kill me, I will never leave you again. I will stay by your side forever and marry you!¡± Peter spoke with great affection and devotion. He even made up a story that made him look like a devoted man who had been forced to marry a wealthy woman. If Peter hadn¡¯t behaved so insanely and malevolently just now, his story might have been believable. Unfortunately, no one would believe his lies now, let alone Ashley, who had already seen his true colors. Rayson¡¯s expression instantly changed. He didn¡¯t know how Peter was rted to Ashley or what he had said before he came. But seeing his ipetent son-inw confessing to Ashley devotedly, he immediately had an ominous premonition. If the deceitful Peter could really convince Ashley and get back together with her, Lucas might forgive him for her sake. Then the Williams would be in trouble¡­ After hearing Peter¡¯s shameless story, Vanessa was about to explode in anger. Chapter 1211 - 1211 Enlightenment 1211 Enlightenment ¡°Peter, what nonsense are you saying? ¡°When did I ever force you to marry me and sever ties with that woman? Back then, you were clearly the one who pursued me and did nice things for me every day. I¡­ I was blind to have believed you and married a despicable and shameless man like you! ¡°I¡¯ve never done any of those things you said! You¡¯re just somewhat good-looking, but you don¡¯te from a wealthy family, and you have no real skills. If you didn¡¯t do everything to please me, I wouldn¡¯t have noticed you! ¡°Hmph, to put it bluntly, I¡¯m the esteemed heiress of the Williams, and I can get any man I want. Why would I force a good-for-nothing like you to marry me?¡± !! Vanessa was an heiress who was spoiled since she was a child. After hearing Peter¡¯s shameless remarks, she was full of regret and anger. She pointed a trembling finger at Peter. She never thought that her husband, who had always beenpliant toward her and had dropped his facade tonight, would turn out to be such an abhorrent man! She must have been blind to fall in love with this man. She thought she had found a gem, but it was actually a piece of trash! Peter shuddered guilty, but he soon raised his head and continued to say to Ashley devotedly, ¡°Ashley, please don¡¯t believe that woman¡¯s nonsense. If she didn¡¯te in between us and sow discord, we would have long gotten married, and I wouldn¡¯t have made you sad for so many years¡­ ¡°I swear I will treat you well in the future and never make you sad again!¡± Ashley stared at the man pretending to be a devoted lover and felt that he looked absolutely disgusting. She was no longer the gullible girl who believed in anything for love. Peter had to be dreaming if he thought he would be able to fool her with some sweet nothings. Ashley retracted her calf from Peter¡¯s hands and said gently, ¡°Peter.¡± ¡°Ashley!¡± Peter immediately looked joyful when he heard her call his name. He was confident that Ashley would definitely return to him since she loved him so much that she had attempted suicide for him. As long as Ashley agreed to be with him again, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him. On the contrary, he might even be able to rely on Lucas¡¯s power to get what he wanted. Authority, wealth, and status¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve finally realized that you¡¯re just a shameless scumbag. You¡¯re absolutely revolting!¡± Just as Peter smiled smugly and thought delusionally about how he would gain power and status from Ashley and Lucas, he suddenly heard what Ashley said. In an instant, Peter¡¯s expression stiffened. Ashley nced at Peter in disgust and said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, I won¡¯t let him deceive me again. You can do whatever you want with him.¡± Lucas nced at Ashley and saw the determination in her eyes, which were devoid of anxiousness or hesitation. Lucas knew that Ashley had reallypletely gotten over Peter, her ex-fianc¨¦, and would no longer be sad because of this scumbag. In that case, his efforts and time tonight weren¡¯t wasted. Peter was on the brink of fainting. He didn¡¯t expect Ashley, whom he could easily manipte before, would actually speak to him that way, lose all trust in him, and find him disgusting. While feeling incredibly furious, Peter also felt indescribable fear and panic. The only thing he could rely on now was Ashley¡¯s feelings for him in the past. But how could she possibly still be in love with him? He was revolting to her. If Ashley really had no feelings for him, what¡­ what could he rely on now? ¡°No, Ashley, you must believe me. Everything I just said is true. You¡¯ve always been the only one I love! How¡­ how can you not trust me? ¡°Have you really forgotten the time when we were in love? I¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Peter was still trying to y the emotional card, but Lucas shouted at him coldly. ¡°If you dare to make another disgusting remark and pester Ashley, I will send you on your way to death!¡± Peter shuddered violently. He knew that Lucas could definitely do what he said. He didn¡¯t dare to continue begging Ashley anymore. However, he couldn¡¯t ept dying just like that. He frantically turned to Lucas and begged, ¡°Mr. Gray, I indeed offended you because I was a snob, but I didn¡¯t mean it! Please let me off! Even if you don¡¯t want me to appear in front of Ashley again, I will agree!¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°Again? If I really let you off, with your despicable character, you will definitely continue going around shamelessly to tter wealthy women. Once you find someone more powerful, you won¡¯t hesitate toe and take revenge on me.¡± Peter¡¯s body instantly stiffened. Lucas was right. If he managed to find a more powerful family, he would definitely make Lucas pay for the humiliation he suffered a hundredfold! But when Lucas exposed his thoughts, Peter opened his mouth, at aplete loss for an exnation. Everyone had turned against Peter, leaving him with no way out at this point. Vanessa looked at her former lover, and there was no longer any love in her eyes, only disgust and mockery. ¡°Peter, do you really think you¡¯re that smart that you can fool everyone with your looks and fake behavior? ¡°Let me tell you. The reason Ashley and I were deceived by you is that we loved you. We blindly believed you, tolerated your behavior, and kept finding excuses for you. ¡°But when we saw your true colors and stopped loving you, your terrible lies and tricks were all so ridiculous! Watching you put in effort for your act is like watching a clown in the circus! You¡¯re utterly pathetic!¡± While speaking, Vanessa couldn¡¯t help tearing up. If she didn¡¯t love Peter, she wouldn¡¯t have married him despite his humble background. It wasn¡¯t until now that she realized how awful he really was. She was not only mocking him but also herself for her stupidity. Ashley felt sympathetic and sad for Vanessa. They were in the same boat. They had both been deceived by this scumbag Peter. Ashley could empathize with Vanessa¡¯s current feelings. At the same time, she felt lucky and thankful. She was d that her brother and mother had rescued her from her suicide attempts. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to be alive and see Peter¡¯s true colors. She was also d that Lucas had brought her here to see Peter¡¯s true colors. Otherwise, she would have still been fooled until her death! Rayson said with anguish, ¡°Mr. Gray, my daughter knows her mistakes now. Please spare her and give her a chance to turn over a new leaf! ¡°If you¡¯re willing to give her another chance, I am willing to lead the Williams to pledge allegiance to you!¡± Chapter 1212 - 1212 Authority to Kill 1212 Authority to Kill Seeing his daughter in pain, Rayson felt immense heartache and promised to pledge allegiance to Lucas. Vanessa wiped her tears and knelt down in front of Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, what happened today is indeed my fault. I know I was wrong. Since my father has agreed to pledge allegiance to you on behalf of the Williams, I will do the same and keep to this promise. ¡°If¡­ if you still won¡¯t forgive me, please kill me! I caused this matter. I just hope that you won¡¯t take it out on my father and my family!¡± Vanessa¡¯s voice was full of misery and despair. !! Due to her love for Peter, she had ignored her father¡¯s objection and her family¡¯s arrangements for her marriage and insisted on marrying Peter. Since Rayson couldn¡¯t force her, he could only give in and agree. She had trusted Peter so much that she had stood on his side and helped him suppress Ashley and Lucas. After Peter revealed his true colors, Vanessa finally realized that everything she had done wasn¡¯t worth it at all. She had provoked a terrifying figure like Lucas for the sake of this scumbag, causing her father to have to kneel and beg Lucas for forgiveness and pay a massive price. If Lucas really wanted to kill her, she wouldn¡¯t have any objections. A foolish woman like her had not only failed to bring any benefits to her family but instead caused so much trouble. Maybe her death would make her father¡¯s life easier. Lucas nced at Vanessa and suddenly said to Ashley, ¡°Ashley, I¡¯ll leave it up to you to decide whether to let her off and what to do with the Williams. You can do whatever you want without caring about anyone else¡¯s opinion. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to forgive them, Vanessa and the Williams will vanish from DC from today onward.¡± Hearing this, Ashley was shocked. She didn¡¯t expect Lucas to let her make the decision. Ashley was a direct descendant of the Steeles, but because she had her brother and two male cousins, she never had the authority to make any decisions within the family. The Steeles had already deprived her of her identity as an heiress and kicked her family of three out. But Lucas had now given her the power to decide the fate of the Williams. As long as she said the word, she could immediately annihte a top family on the same level as the Steeles. It was her first time holding such power. What would her decision be? Everyone in the private room turned to look at Ashley. In particr, Rayson and Vanessa look at Ashley nervously, fearing that they would hear a terrifying verdict from her. Amid the dead silence, time seemed to crawl by. Ashley looked at Rayson and Vanessa kneeling on the floor. After seeing the gaze in Vanessa¡¯s eyes, Ashley couldn¡¯t help feeling sympathy. She said softly, ¡°Lucas, actually¡­ I think she¡¯s just like me, a poor soul who was deceived by a scumbag. I think we should give her a chance and spare her this time.¡± Hearing this, Lucas smiled in gratification. He had long guessed this oue. After all, Ashley wasn¡¯t a heartless person. Although Vanessa had indeed offended Ashley and him, it didn¡¯t warrant death. Besides, Lucas had given Ashley the power to decide the fate of the entire Williams family because he wanted to use her as a mouthpiece to spare Vanessa¡¯s life so that the Williams would be grateful to Ashley for her benevolence. This way, regardless of what happened to the Williams in the future, no one would dare to take their anger out on Ashley. After hearing what Ashley said, Rayson and Vanessa heaved a sigh of relief and fell to the floor limply after their tense nerves rxed. ¡°Thank you, Miss Steele!¡± Rayson wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and said with gratitude, ¡°Miss Steele, you¡¯ll be an honored guest of the Williams from now on, and none of us will ever dare to disrespect you in the slightest! As long as you need us, we will definitely do our best to help!¡± Vanessa also said to Ashley gratefully, ¡°Miss Steele, thank you for forgiving me despite our past differences! I will definitely treat you as my own sister. Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me if you ever need my help!¡± Rayson and Vanessa both behaved well. Lucas nodded. ¡°Since Ashley is magnanimous and has decided to let you off, I¡¯ll let your daughter off the hook this time. But if something like this happens again¡­¡± Rayson hurriedly promised, ¡°I guarantee this won¡¯t happen again! If Vanessa dares to offend you or Miss Steele again, I¡¯ll get rid of her myself!¡± Her face ashen, Vanessa said, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. I promise there won¡¯t be a next time! I really know my mistakes this time, and I won¡¯t offend you or anyone close to you in the future!¡± Lucas believed that Vanessa was telling the truth. After today¡¯s matter, Vanessa wouldn¡¯t dare to repeat her mistakes unless she was courting death. ¡°Mr. Williams, I¡¯ll hold you to your word. I hope you¡¯ll remember your promise to lead your family to pledge allegiance to me.¡± Rayson hurriedly said, ¡°Of course. From now on, you¡¯ll be the true master of the Williams, and everyone, including me, will obey you!¡± Although Rayson felt like his heart was bleeding when Lucas wanted all the Williams¡¯ businesses, he realized that they weren¡¯t really losing out after giving it some thought. Lucas was the master of the Williams now, but he wouldn¡¯t tell the public about this. In fact, Rayson was still the one representing the Williams, so there wouldn¡¯t be much of a change. Moreover, Lucas was an extremely powerful person. He had managed to make the Waltons, who were on par with the Williams, vanish overnight. Furthermore, Rayson had crossed paths with Lucas several times, so he knew clearly that Lucas had the Howards, the Smiths, and the Huttons, who were also among the eight top families, as his allies. In addition, Lucas had a powerful background that even Rayson couldn¡¯t find out. In that case, even though the Williams pledged allegiance to Lucas, Rayson didn¡¯t think it would be a loss for them because a powerhouse like Lucas would bring the Williams to greater heights. They would gain greater power, so it wasn¡¯t that hard to ept it. The others in the room all hadplicated looks on their faces after hearing Rayson really pledging allegiance to Lucas. Who exactly was Lucas Gray?! Chapter 1213 - 1213 Crisis 1213 Crisis They were all Ashley¡¯s former college ssmates, and most of them were from third or fourth-tier families in DC. Although they were well off, they all had to look up to the eight top families of DC. Now, the helmsman of the Williams had actually pledged allegiance to Lucas and acknowledged him as his master. Didn¡¯t this mean that Lucas¡¯s current status was far superior to that of the helmsmen of the eight top families of DC? Recalling that they had mocked this terrifying big shot without restraint, many people were full of regret, and cold sweat drenched their backs. A few of them were extremely pale and could barely stand, almost losing their bnce. They were terrified! They were afraid that Lucas would settle scores with them for offending him! Lucas suddenly looked at Peter, who was on the floor. ¡°What do you have to say now?¡± With his head hung low, Peter gritted his teeth and barely concealed the overflowing hatred in his eyes. He was now immensely resentful! Peter hated Vanessa for abandoning him during this crisis and disregarding his life and death despite the fact that they were married. Peter really hated Rayson, his father-inw. Although Rayson was the helmsman of the Williams, he was so ipetent and useless. Not only couldn¡¯t he suppress the person Ashley brought, but he was as docile as a dog in front of this man! The helmsman of a prestigious family was actually so ipetent that he couldn¡¯t even save his son-inw! Peter also hated his surrounding ssmates. When he was still glorious, they had put him on a pedestal and done everything to tter him. But as soon as he was in trouble, they immediately shunned him like the gue and put all the me on him. They were so quick to draw a line between them! Damn these scoundrels. When I rise to power again, I won¡¯t let off any of them who kicked me when I was down! But the people Peter hated the most were Ashley and Lucas. Through his own hard work and efforts, he had obtained a status that most people couldn¡¯t reach even after working hard all their lives. He had married the only daughter of the Williams¡¯ helmsman and was about to be the general manager of the Williams Corporation. In the future, he would even be in charge of the entire Williams family. But all of this was ruined because of Ashley and Lucas! This wasn¡¯t all. Given Lucas¡¯s attitude, he might really die here today! Peter definitely couldn¡¯t ept such an oue! Rayson and Vanessa had knelt in front of Lucas just now, but he didn¡¯t even let them off. He wanted all of the Williams¡¯ assets aspensation. What about Peter then? Since he had nothing to his name now, what could he use to save his life? Peter¡¯s eyes were full of despair, and eventually, there was a trace of twisted mania. He was now kneeling in front of Ashley. The distance between them was less than a meter. At such a short distance, this bitch will definitely die! Peter decided that even if he died, he had to drag her with him to hell! ¡°You shameless bitch, you deserve to die for ruining my life!¡± Peter suddenly pulled out a shiny dagger from his waist pocket and stabbed it straight toward Ashley¡¯s neck! His action was extremely sudden, and Ashley was only a meter away from him. She didn¡¯t expect that he had hidden a dagger and suddenly attacked her! Ashley¡¯s pupils constricted, and she subconsciously wanted to dodge, but the dagger appeared in front of her almost instantly. There was no time for her to react! Staring at the shiny dagger in front of her, Ashley turned deathly pale and could only watch it get closer and closer to her. Am I really going to die here¡­ To make matters worse, she was about to die at the hands of the man she used to love the most. Is this my retribution for being blind for years? Various thoughts shed through Ashley¡¯s mind. At the same time, regret welled up in her heart. She really regretted it! If she had known earlier that Peter was a scumbag who was worse than a beast, she definitely wouldn¡¯t have wasted years with him. She would have never been depressed over him and attempted suicide multiple times, causing her family to worry about her. As soon as she thought of her family, she remembered that she hadn¡¯t said goodbye to her mother and brother and told them that she had fallen in love with the wrong man. She wanted to tell them to take care of themselves¡­ She hadn¡¯t had time to tell Lucas her true feelings¡­ She didn¡¯t want to die so young! Ashley closed her eyes in despair, and two streams of tears slid down her face. ¡°Watch out!!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dagger!¡± ¡­ Terrified and panicked shouts filled the room. Seeing Peter¡¯s daring action of wanting to stab Ashley in the neck, everyone else in the room screamed. But Peter was too close to Ashley, and they were all stunned beyond words. They didn¡¯t dare to move at all and could only watch Peter¡¯s dagger stabbing toward Ashley¡¯s slender neck. Although they didn¡¯t have a strong friendship with Ashley, not everyone could face murder calmly! Bang! Just as the dagger was about to pierce Ashley¡¯s neck, Peter¡¯s body was suddenly thrown flying backward. With a bang, he mmed into the wall and slid to the floor, no longer able to move. During the critical moment, Lucas had kicked Peter in the chest and sent him flying. His body, which weighed over 170 pounds, had been sent flying a great distance, and he was now in a state worse than death. The power of Lucas¡¯s kick stunned everyone in the private room! Surely that terrifying kick didn¡¯t kill Peter, right? Ashley¡¯s former ssmates in the room were mostly ordinary people, so Lucas¡¯s horrifying kickpletely deterred them, making them too terrified to speak. Even Rayson, who had already witnessed Lucas¡¯s terrifying abilities, was extremely nervous at this moment. Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills were really terrifying! Most people wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand a kick from him! Ashley thought that she was definitely going to die, but she didn¡¯t feel any pain for a long time. Moreover, she had heard two unusual sounds, so she opened her eyes in fear. The dagger Peter wielded in front of her had disappeared, and Ashley saw his body lying motionlessly on the floor beside the wall ten meters away. She didn¡¯t know if he was alive or not. ¡°This¡­¡± Ashley was astonished. Without a doubt, she didn¡¯t die. And Peter, who wanted to kill her, had already been handled! The person who did it was definitely Lucas, who was standing beside her! ¡°Lu-Lucas!¡± Fear and joy swept through Ashley as she leaped toward Lucas, hugged him tightly, and burst into tears. ¡°Lucas! I thought¡­ I thought I was going to die! I was so scared!¡± Chapter 1214 - 1214 Completely Resolved 1214 Completely Resolved Ashley was clearly frightened as she hugged Lucas tightly, her entire body trembling. Lucas patted her on the back. ¡°It¡¯s alright. With me here, you definitely won¡¯t be hurt.¡± As long as he was here, Peter wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt Ashley in the slightest. The rest of Ashley¡¯s former ssmates looked at them with awe and envy. With such a powerful backer, even though Ashely has been kicked out of the Steeles and was no longer an heiress, no one would be able to bully her! After all, even the Williams, one of the eight top families of DC, had pledged allegiance to Lucas. Given his incredible power, others could only look up to him. Afterforting Ashley, Lucas nced at Peter, who had passed out on the floor, and instructed Rayson, ¡°Deal with Peterter. I don¡¯t want to see him again.¡± Rayson immediately understood what Lucas meant. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll definitely handle this matter well. Please rest assured!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say anything else. He simply took Ashley with him and left Club Aurora. As for the others in the private room, they were scared out of their wits of Lucas. They all cowered in front of him without daring to make a sound. Lucas looked down on these spineless people, so he naturally couldn¡¯t be bothered to teach them a lesson. Anyway, after what happened today, they wouldn¡¯t dare to appear in front of Ashley anymore, nor would they cross paths with Lucas again. Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered with these people who had nothing to do with him and would never have anything to do with him. Only after the two of them left did the others in the private room heave a sigh of relief and wipe the cold sweat on their bodies. These ten short minutes just now had really almost scared them to death! Unable to stand anymore, Ss copsed onto the chair behind him and asked carefully, ¡°Is¡­ is it really over? Has Mr. Gray decided to let us off?¡± ¡°I¡­ I think so?¡± Zoey said with uncertainty. Having survived a catastrophe, Carrie said emotionally, ¡°Someone with a high status like Mr. Gray is worlds apart from us. He should disdain to deal with a small fry like us¡­ In other words, we¡¯re not even fit to receive punishment from him¡­¡± What Carrie said made the people in the room, who were thankful that Lucas had spared them, fall silent. Indeed, it wasn¡¯t because Lucas had forgiven them that he didn¡¯t teach them a lesson but because he didn¡¯t care about them at all. At the thought of this, everyone felt even moreplicated. Only Allie had a shine in her eyes, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Speaking of which, among the former ssmates who had gathered today, she was the only one who had stood on Ashley and Lucas¡¯s side and hadn¡¯t mocked them. From this perspective, she had really made the right choice today. Rayson hadn¡¯t left yet. He nced at the people in the room and ordered coldly, ¡°None of you are to reveal a word about what happened today. Do not discuss Mr. Gray with anyone! If I find out you revealed a single thing about this matter, don¡¯t me the Williams for being ruthless!¡± The people in the private room shuddered and frantically guaranteed, ¡°Mr. Williams, please rest assured. We definitely won¡¯t reveal a word about this matter!¡± Although Rayson looked a bit disheveled when kneeling in front of Lucas just now, which had damaged his prestige as the helmsman of the Williams, he only behaved this way to Lucas, who was even more powerful than the eight top families. To the families of people like Ss and Zoey, the Williams were a terrifying behemoth that they couldn¡¯t afford to provoke. They were absolutely certain that if they revealed a word about what had happened today, the Williams could easily make them vanish from DC. Thus, no one dared to defy Rayson¡¯s orders to keep their lips sealed. ¡°Okay, remember what I said. You can leave now!¡± Rayson shouted. Ashley¡¯s former ssmates in the private room hurriedly left without another word, as if they had been spared from death. At this moment, there were only a few people remaining in the private room. Only then did Rayson walk over to Ray, who was standing at the side. ¡°You must be Mr. Parker.¡± Ray subconsciously showed a ttered expression and quickly said, ¡°Yes. Hello, Mr. Williams. I am Ray Parker, the helmsman of the Parkers. We¡¯ve only recently arrived in DC. Please take care of us!¡± With a friendly smile, Rayson said, ¡°Mr. Parker, you¡¯ve done a great job with your businesses. You¡¯ve managed to develop them to such arge scale within such a short time. I have a lot to learn from you!¡± After exchanging some pleasantries, Rayson turned to look at Keh, who was standing beside Ray. ¡°This must be your son. What a handsome and talented young man.¡± Keh hurriedly said, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Williams. My name is Kenmeth Parker. Please just call me Keh.¡± ¡°Hahaha, what a good kid!¡± Rayson was very friendly to the Parkers and didn¡¯t put on any airs. He was kind, amicable, and even seemed to be currying favor. The Parkers were clearly Lucas¡¯s subordinates and seemed to be very close to him. Otherwise, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have let them take over the Waltons¡¯ businesses. Besides, the Parkers were already quite powerful to begin with, so after taking control of all of the Waltons¡¯ businesses, it could be said that they were now on par with the eight top families of DC. If Lucas was willing, he could easily let the Parkers surpass the eight top families at any time! Given how formidable they were, even Rayson didn¡¯t dare to underestimate them. Moreover, Rayson had pledged allegiance to Lucas today, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to go against Lucas¡¯s subordinates. After exchanging some more pleasantries, Rayson finally looked at Peter, who was lying on the floor like a dead dog, and murderous intent appeared in his eyes. ¡°Drag this man away and find a ce to dispose of him!¡± Rayson instructed his subordinates. ¡°Yes, Mr. Wiliams!¡± The two bodyguards stepped forward and dragged Peter away by his legs. His words just now had already decided Peter¡¯s fate. He wouldn¡¯t live to see the light of day tomorrow. Chapter 1215 - 1215 The Greatest Crisis 1215 The Greatest Crisis Meanwhile, Lucas and Ashley had already left Club Aurora. It was gettingte, so Lucas sent Ashley home. On the way back, Ashley was clearly in a much better mood. In fact, a lot of things had happened tonight. At first, Ashley was just worried and wanted to have a meal with Lucas before going abroad, hoping to spend some time with him to fulfill her secret wish. She never thought that it would lead to so much trouble. The matter regarding Peter had made Ashley feel extremely miserable at first. But after seeing his true colors, she had been freed from the shackles restraining her heart and was finally relieved of a massive burden weighing down on her for the past few years. It was the first time in many years that she felt so rxed and happy. ¡°Thank you so much, Lucas! If not for your help, I¡¯m afraid I would have never known how blind I was back then to have fallen for such a scumbag. And¡­ I even felt so sad about him for so long. I did so many stupid things¡­ This will forever stain my past!¡± When the car stopped at the entrance of the house where Ashley and her family were temporarily staying, she opened the car door and thanked Lucas gratefully. But Lucas didn¡¯t think much of it. He said with a smile, ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯ve seen that man¡¯s true colors, and you no longer have to carry such a heavy burden. You¡¯re going abroad tomorrow. Just work hard when you¡¯re abroad to repay me!¡± In fact, it was just a joke. ... But Ashley nodded solemnly and promised, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll definitely work hard. I won¡¯t disappoint you! Wait for my good news!¡± Lucas chuckled. ¡°Okay. It¡¯s gettingte. Return home quickly!¡± ¡°Okay, be careful on the road, Lucas. Goodbye!¡± Only after watching Ashley enter the house did Lucas disengage the brakes and drive back to his vi. But when Lucas returned home and checked his phone, he discovered that he had several missed calls and text messages. They were all from Cheyenne. Cheyenne is looking for me so anxiously. Did something happen? Lucas immediately frowned and opened Cheyenne¡¯s messages. When he saw the content of the first message, his expression changed drastically, and he almost dropped his phone. Wh-what is going on? Lucas had a look of disbelief on his face, which was an extremely rare expression for him, who was alwaysposed. There was a photo on his phone screen, and the background looked like a hotel room. ... There was a man and a woman in the photo. Lucas was extremely familiar with these two people. They were Lena and him! This wasn¡¯t the only photo. The remaining dozen messages were all photos of him and Lena. The angle was extremely deliberate, and it looked as if they were in very intimate positions. Moreover, there was a photo of Lucas lying on the bed with Lena lying intimately against him, d in nothing except a white bath towel! Anyone who wasn¡¯t blind could guess what was going on! Furthermore, there was a photo taken outside the hotel. Lucas¡¯s hand was on Lena¡¯s shoulder as she helped him inside. In the photo, it looked like he had his arm around her. As he quickly looked through the photos, his face became extremely gloomy, and his heart gradually sank. Apart from these messages, Cheyenne didn¡¯t say anything else. Lucas suddenly hit his own head. The biggest issue now was not about who had taken these photos but to quickly exin to Cheyenne that there was nothing between him and Lena! Lucas immediately called Cheyenne. ... But it was alreadyte. When Lucas called her, the call couldn¡¯t connect. It was already past 1 a.m., so Cheyenne must have already gone to bed¡­ But this shouldn¡¯t be possible. Given Cheyenne¡¯s character, she definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep after this incident with Lucas. She must be staring at her phone and waiting for him to give her a reasonable exnation. Since his calls couldn¡¯t connect and she wasn¡¯t sleeping, there was only one possibility left¡­ Lucas started panicking and sent Cheyenne a video call request. But he found that he had been blocked. Cheyenne had actually blocked him! Seeing the red exmation mark in the chat window, Lucas panicked even more. Cheyenne had blocked him and wasn¡¯t answering his calls. She was clearly furious! Who did it? Lucas was annoyed that he couldn¡¯t contact Cheyenne. These photos weren¡¯t digitally doctored because Lucas had indeed stayed at that hotel with Lena a few days ago. ... But at the time, Lucas had drowned his sorrows in alcohol at a bar after learning that he had mistakenly hated Michael for years and that he wasn¡¯t actually his biological son. In the bar, Lucas had coincidentally run into Lena, who happened to be in DC too and sent him to the hotelter. At the time, he was already drunk and didn¡¯t know what happened afterward. But when he woke up the following day, Lena told him that nothing had happened between them and that they didn¡¯t sleep in the same room. In that case, who took the photos? But regardless of who took the photos, they had been sent to Cheyenne and had undoubtedly already brought a lot of trouble to Lucas and put his marriage in crisis. It could be said that this was the greatest crisis that Lucas had ever encountered since returning to Orange County! If he couldn¡¯t handle it properly, there would be great rifts between him and Cheyenne, and their marriage might even break down! ¡°Damn it! I must never drink again!¡± Lucas punched himself again, overwhelmed with self-reproach and chagrin. Now, the most important thing was to exin it to Cheyenne! Since Cheyenne refused to answer his calls and had blocked him on the messaging app, he had no choice but to return to Orange County to exin to her in person! ... Lucas took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Help me book the earliest flight to Orange County!¡± But after Lucas instructed Flynn to book the flight ticket, his phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Charlotte. Chapter 1216 - 1216 Lesson to Lucas 1216 Lesson to Lucas When Lucas saw Charlotte¡¯s phone number, he had an ominous feeling. But he still answered immediately. As soon as the call connected, the sounds of wind and rain spread from the other end. ¡°Lucas Gray! You bastard, you actually had an affair with Lena Sawyer! How could you let¡­ let my sister down like that?¡± Just as Lucas was about to exin, Charlotte didn¡¯t give him any chance andshed out furiously, ¡°When I saw that bitch Lena Sawyer holding your arm in San Francisco, I knew something was off. Have long have you been having an affair? Trust you to say that there was nothing between you two. Psht! I won¡¯t believe you again! ¡°Lucas, I know you¡¯re a big shot now, not only in California but also DC. No one dares to provoke you, right? But no matter how powerful you are, you can¡¯t bully my sister! ¡°Let me tell you. If you dare to mistreat my sister, I will definitely fight you to the death! Do you hear me? You bastard, you¡¯ve really infuriated me. So much for treating you like my idol. Hmph!¡± Charlotte harrumphed coldly and hung up without giving Lucas a chance to exin. ¡°¡­¡± Lucas looked at his phone at aplete loss for words. He couldn¡¯t describe his feelings at all. Even Charlotte had misunderstood and thought that he had really had an affair with Lena and betrayed Cheyenne. Lucas felt wronged and angry. Although he still didn¡¯t know who was scheming against him and took the photos and sent them to Cheyenne, he knew that it wasn¡¯t the time to investigate and lose his temper. The most important thing now was to contact Cheyenne as soon as possible and rify his rtionship with Lena so that she wouldn¡¯t get the wrong idea! But he still couldn¡¯t get through to Cheyenne and could only call Charlotte in hopes that she would help him put in a good word. But Charlotte was still fuming, so she refused to answer his calls. Whenever Lucas called, she would end the call immediately. Lucas didn¡¯t give up and made more than ten calls in a row before Charlotte finally picked up. ¡°Lucas! Why do you keep calling? Do you know how heartbroken Cheyenne is? She¡¯s been crying in the room after seeing those photos. Her eyes are swollen from crying! ¡°How could you do this to my sister? When you had nothing to your name, Cheyenne married you despite everyone¡¯s scorn. After you left without a word and disappeared overnight, my sister was all alone and faced the mockery of countless people. She even gave birth to Amelia alone and raised her to this age by herself! ¡°And she finally waited so long for you toe back and get rid of thebel of a useless live-in son-inw, yet you immediately had an affair with another woman! You¡¯ve really disappointed me! ¡°If¡­ if you really make Cheyenne so upset that something happens to her, I will never forgive you! Even if I had to risk my life, I won¡¯t let you off! I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯t live well!¡± With that, Charlotte hung up again without hesitation. Staring at his phone, Lucas smiled bitterly. Charlotte refused to listen to his exnation at all. But considering from another perspective, Lucas could understand how Charlotte and Cheyenne felt. After all, the angles of the photos were indeed problematic, as they were deliberately taken to make him and Lena look extremely intimate. Others would naturally assume that something had happened between them. It just so happened that Cheyenne had returned to Orange County and wasn¡¯t in DC, so the photos would definitely make her suspicious. A couple who truly loved each other certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to ept this. Charlotte and Cheyenne had always been very close to each other. If Lucas had really wronged Cheyenne, it was understandable that Charlotte would be furious. Moreover, Lucas had been drunk in the hotel that day, so he wasn¡¯t sure what had happened. He still hadn¡¯t figured out if Lena had taken the photos and leaked them. Since Cheyenne refused to answer his calls and Charlotte refused to give him a chance to exin, he could only wait until he returned to Orange County tomorrow to exin to them. ¡°Ah!¡± Lucas heaved a long sigh and rubbed his face, depressed. ¡­ Meanwhile, in the Pearl Lake vi in Orange County¡­ After hanging up angrily, Charlotte looked at Cheyenne, who was lying beside her. However, Cheyenne wasn¡¯t actually crying to the point that her eyes were swollen, unlike what Charlotte had said. Instead, she was lying peacefully on the bed with a helpless expression. ¡°Charlotte, did we go overboard? Actually, I believe Lucas won¡¯t betray me. You should have given him a chance to exin!¡± Cheyenne sighed. ¡°Who knows? Maybe those photos were edited. We should have listened to Lucas¡¯s exnation instead of judging him immediately.¡± Charlotte said firmly, ¡°Sis, regardless of whether those photos are real or not, you have to act like you¡¯re extremely angry and ignore him so that we can teach him a lesson!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking nonsense either. When we attended the business exchange in San Francisco, I happened to see Lena holding Lucas¡¯s arm and leaning very close to him. Her expression changed drastically when she saw me. Hmph, she definitely had a guilty conscience!¡± ¡°I wanted to tell you about it, but they said that I misunderstood and that Lucas was just helping her walk because of her heels. I was scared that you¡¯d be upset after finding out, so I didn¡¯t tell you about it. But I didn¡¯t expect¡­ something like this to happen again! ¡°Cheyenne, as you can see, Lucas is no longer the good-for-nothing whom everyone looks down on. He¡¯s very powerful now, and his status is rising rapidly. Even among the eight top families of DC, there are probably many people who want their daughters to marry him. ¡°Even I feel a sense of crisis. If you don¡¯t take this chance to teach Lucas a lesson, what will happen if he really betrays you in the future?¡± Charlotte turned over, looked Cheyenne in the eyes, and said firmly, ¡°So even if there¡¯s really nothing between him and Lena this time, we have to express our attitude and give a warning. This will not only make him keep a distance from Lena but also from other women so that he won¡¯t make a mistake. Otherwise, it will be toote then!¡± Chapter 1217 - 1217 Return to Orange County 1217 Return to Orange County Hearing what Charlotte said, Cheyenne frowned and hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°Lena has been my best friend for years, and I believe she will never betray me. She and Lucas should be innocent. I don¡¯t know how those photos came about, but I want to trust them.¡± She sighed. ¡°Also, you¡¯re worried about Lucas having a mistress because of his changed status, but I¡¯m actually not worried about it. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know clearly what kind of a person Lucas is. If he¡¯s really the kind who would mess around after his status changes, he wouldn¡¯t have returned to Orange County to look for me. He could have easily married any woman from any number of wealthy and noble families. ¡°I trust Lucas¡¯s character. He won¡¯t be easily bewitched by women and let lust get the better of him and cheat on me.¡± !! There were some things she didn¡¯t say. If Lucas was really the kind of person to embroil himself in messy rtionships with other women, Cheyenne wouldn¡¯t teach Lucas a lesson at all. She was a prideful woman, so she wouldn¡¯t force Lucas to stay with her. Even if she felt pained, she would definitely choose to let go. Charlotte blinked and said, ¡°Okay, but even if Lucas doesn¡¯t have such intentions, what if other women fall in love with him or harbor ill intentions for him? ¡°Based on those photos sent to you today, Lucas was drunk, right? Who got him drunk then? And who took the photos? And what if someone had drugged Lucas¡¯s drink to harm him?¡± Charlotte pursed her lips and continued, ¡°Anyway, I think there¡¯s something wrong with Lena! Lucas is so handsome and capable. He¡¯s the perfect husband in the eyes of many women, and Lena has gawked at him several times. Something¡¯s telling me that she has long liked Lucas. That¡¯s why she wants to snatch him from you! ¡°Sis, haven¡¯t you discovered this?¡± Cheyenne didn¡¯t want to suspect her best friend of years or think that way. She said, ¡°Charlotte, that¡¯s enough. Lena has been my best friend for more than a decade, and she knows Lucas is my husband. I trust that she won¡¯t do that to me.¡± Hearing this, Charlotte could only make some snide remarks in her head before conceding with a pout, ¡°Fine. Since you trust her that much, let¡¯s just hope my conjecture is wrong. I hope she lives up to your trust too.¡± Then she picked up her phone to look at it. Seeing that Lucas had stopped calling, she felt displeased. ¡°What? I bet there¡¯s something wrong with Lucas! Since he was so anxious to exin, why isn¡¯t he calling anymore? Hmph, men are indeed pigs!¡± Charlotte stuffed her phone under her pillow furiously. ¡­ Lucas, far away in DC, naturally couldn¡¯t sense Charlotte¡¯s resentment. After dealing with Ashley¡¯s matters, Lucas had returned home at around 1 a.m. He had made countless calls to Cheyenne and Charlotte, and it was now almost 2 a.m. Moreover, his flight back to Orange County was at 4 a.m., so he only had around an hour to sleep. By the time Lucas left home at three in the morning, he had dark circles under his eyes, obviously fromck of sleep. At this moment, the sky outside was pitch ck. When Lucas left, he found a car waiting outside the vi. Flynn was sitting in the car. Seeing Lucasing out, he immediately got out of the car to greet him. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ll send you to the airport!¡± Flynn said deferentially. Lucas nced at Flynn and thought that since he had been waiting so early, he definitely didn¡¯t get any sleepst night. Flynn¡¯s gesture warmed Lucas¡¯s heart. ¡°Actually, as the general manager of thepany, you don¡¯t have toe here so early to pick me up. You could¡¯ve just arranged for a chauffeur toe,¡± Lucas said softly on the way to the airport. While driving, Flynn said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s rare for me to have the chance to see you off in person. It¡¯s my honor, and I don¡¯t feel tired at all.¡± Since Flynn had already said so, Lucas could only smile and say, ¡°There¡¯s no need next time.¡± ¡°Oh, by the way, there¡¯s something I need your help with. On Friday night, I got drunk at a downtown bar, and then a female friend brought me to the Crown International Hotel. But someone was tailing me and taking photos. ¡°Help me check the surveince camera footage in the bar, around the hotel, and in the hotel lobby. Find out who took those photos and control them.¡± As soon as Flynn heard that someone had secretly photographed Lucas, he subconsciously became grim. He knew that this was definitely not a trivial matter. ¡°Got it, Lucas. I¡¯ll definitely get to the bottom of this as soon as possible!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Soon, two of them arrived at the airport. Lucas¡¯s flight was scheduled for 4:10 a.m. After about four and a half hours, Lucas arrived in Orange County, this ce he had been away from for more than a month. It was still early in the morning. Without having breakfast, Lucas headed straight to the Pearl Lake vi. At this moment, Cheyenne and her family had just finished breakfast and were still at the table. Lucas¡¯s sudden return caught them by surprise. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re back!¡± As soon as Amelia saw Lucas, she beamed with joy, leaped up from her chair, and scurried to Lucas. It had been more than a month since she saw Lucas, so she was ecstatic and overjoyed. She immediately leaped into his arms and hugged him tightly with glee written all over her face. Cheyenne sulked. ¡°Amelia, have you forgotten what I told you? Hurry up ande back!¡± Ashley pouted with displeasure and protested, ¡°Aunt Charlotte, I remember what you said yesterday. You said that Daddy did something bad and made Mommy angry, so you want me to ignore him. But Daddy¡¯s finally back after so long. I missed him so much! So can you wait to get angry with Daddyter?¡± Amelia¡¯s puerile wordspletely exposed Charlotte. Charlotte stomped her feet. ¡°Amelia, what did you promise me? How can you go back on your word? If you don¡¯te back here, I won¡¯t take you to the aquarium again!¡± As soon as Amelia heard this, she widened her eyes and looked around left and right, revealing a conflicted expression. Chapter 1218 - 1218 Waiting for Her to Calm Down 1218 Waiting for Her to Calm Down After hesitating for a long time, Amelia finally let go of Lucas¡¯s calf and said reluctantly, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m sorry. I promised Aunt Charlotte not to talk to you until Mommy is no longer angry! Daddy, quickly tell Mommy to stop being mad at you!¡± While speaking, Amelia walked back to Charlotte reluctantly. She was obviously more tempted by going to the aquarium than to talk with Lucas. After all, in Amelia¡¯s view, Lucas had alreadye home. As long as he could appease Cheyenne, she would be able to speak to him immediately. But if she angered Charlotte, not only would she not get to go to the aquarium, but Charlotte might never buy her any delicious treats again. So she could only reluctantly leave Lucas¡¯s arms and go back to Charlotte. Lucas put a hand on his forehead speechlessly upon realizing that he was less appealing to his daughter than an aquarium. !! On the other hand, Charlotte showed the expression of a victor as she rolled her eyes at Lucas and harrumphed coldly. Cheyenne was stunned when she first saw Lucas appear, but she soon turned away and cleaned the dishes on the table without speaking to him at all. Seeing the strange behavior of his daughters and son-inw, William asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did you two have a fight?¡± Lucas said, ¡°No, it¡¯s just a little misunderstanding. We¡¯ll be fine after talking things out. It¡¯s not a fight.¡± Charlotte red at Lucas and harrumphed. ¡°We¡¯re not sure if it¡¯s a misunderstanding yet!¡± Then she looked at William and warned, ¡°Dad, since you don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, don¡¯t ask about it. Don¡¯t speak to Lucas either! Cheyenne and I are still mad at him!¡± William didn¡¯t know what was going on, but when he saw their expressions, he reckoned that it wasn¡¯t a big deal and simply assumed that it was a misunderstanding between the young people. He naturally wouldn¡¯t get involved, so he simply shook his head and said helplessly, ¡°Okay then, you kids can handle it yourselves. I won¡¯t take sides. I¡¯m going to work now. Don¡¯t fight at home!¡± To give the three young people time to resolve the conflict, William took Amelia with him and sent her to the kindergarten. After the two left, only Lucas, Cheyenne, and Charlotte were left in the vi. Lucas looked at Cheyenne and frantically exined, ¡°Cheyenne, those photos aren¡¯t like that at all. There¡¯s nothing between me and Lena¡ª¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Charlotte interrupted him and said angrily, ¡°You can save those words forter when we¡¯re willing to hear them! Cheyenne and I have already agreed to go out and have a good time today. We don¡¯t want to ruin our mood if your exnation is disappointing. Please move aside.¡± Then Charlotte took Cheyenne¡¯s hand and moved to leave. Cheyenne yed along and left quietly with Charlotte without even looking at Lucas. ¡°¡­¡± Lucas opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only close it and shake his head with a bitter smile. Cheyenne and Charlotte were still angry, so they definitely didn¡¯t want to hear his exnation. Moreover, he didn¡¯t have any evidence to prove that the photos were fake or that he had been set up. Before getting any concrete evidence, Lucas would probably have to continue letting it be. But it was understandable. If Cheyenne really didn¡¯t feel bothered, Lucas would be worried that she didn¡¯t have any feelings for him. The most important thing to do now was to wait for Flynn to find out who took the photos before searching along the clues to find out the culprit to prove his innocence. Seeing that Cheyenne and Charlotte had already grabbed their purses and were about to leave, Lucas chased after them worriedly. ¡°Where are you going? I¡¯ll drive you!¡± ¡°Hmph, we don¡¯t need you to drive us. We¡¯ll drive on our own. Before Cheyenne calms down, you¡¯d better not appear in front of us. Got it?¡± Charlotte said fiercely. Cheyenne continued remaining silent and simply got into the driver¡¯s seat of her car, letting her actions do the talking. Since they were so resistant, Lucas could only smile bitterly and watch them leave the vi in the car. But even though Lucas couldn¡¯t go with them, he didn¡¯t neglect their safety. Lucas took out his phone and instructed Stanley, ¡°Stanley, go protect my wife and sister-inw. Contact me immediately if anything happens!¡± Now, Lucas could only wait until Cheyenne came home to find a suitable opportunity to exin to her. He knew that he had to avoid Charlotte during the exnation. With the overly protective Charlotte by Cheyenne¡¯s side, Lucas would be rebuffed for everything he said and be left with no chance to exin! After the few of them left, Lucas was the only one left in the massive fairytale castle-like vi. But Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t stay at home alone. He had been away from Orange County for some time, and now that he was back, he had many things to handle. In particr, those families who had pledged allegiance to him, Lucas had been away for so long that he didn¡¯t know how they were doing now. After seeing that the Parkers had managed to delve into the DC market and develop rapidly, Lucas decided that he should pay more attention to the other families every now and then. If possible, Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t want to give up on them. Moreover, Lucas had already nned to take the Carters with him to DC to develop further, so he had to make arrangements for the other families. Ten minutester, Lucas had already left the Pearl Lake vi and arrived at the entrance of the Hale residence. The Hales were one of the top four families of Orange County and also the first family that Lucas had subdued, so he chose them as his first stop. ¡°Lucas! You¡¯ve returned from DC! If I had known you were back, I would have definitely brought everyone to receive you!¡± Bruce, the former helmsman of the Hales, had just received the news and hurried out from the garden to greet Lucas excitedly at the entrance. Chapter 1219 - 1219 Hidden Crisis 1219 Hidden Crisis Bruce respectfully weed Lucas to the reception hall, where Connor personally served him tea and stood at the side. Lucas picked up the teacup and took a sip. ¡°I¡¯m just here to take a look. You don¡¯t have to be so tense. ¡°I heard that the Hales are developing well now. You¡¯ve be the leading family in Orange County, and you¡¯re second only to the Coles in all of California.¡± Bruce smiled. ¡°Yes, but this is all thanks to you, Lucas. If it wasn¡¯t for you, the Hales wouldn¡¯t have been able to develop so well within such a short period of time!¡± He wasn¡¯t exaggerating and ttering Lucas. Previously, the Hales were wealthy, but they only had influence in Orange County. Compared to the other affluent families in California, they were quitecking. But due to Bruce always standing unwaveringly on Lucas¡¯s side, and especially after Lucas became the hegemon of California and Oregon, the Hales had been relying on Lucas¡¯s status to develop well. Speaking of which, the Coles, who had also always stood firmly on Lucas¡¯s side, and the Parkers from LA had both obtained massive benefits thanks to Lucas. So the Coles were now the leading family in California, with the Hales and the Parkers slightly behind in second. Now, the Parkers were gradually expanding to other areas and markets and shifted the focus of their development to DC, so the Hales became the second-ranked family in California. Although Bruce was old, he was still clear-headed. So he was well aware that the biggest contributor to the Hales¡¯ current sess was Lucas. Thus, Bruce was extremely respectful and grateful to Lucas. Leading the Hales to submit to Lucas was probably the best decision Bruce had ever made! Bruce truly respected Lucas from the heart. However, Lucas noticed something a little off. There was a trace of sorrow on Connor¡¯s face. Connor was still young, so he hadn¡¯t mastered the art of hiding his feelings. Lucas could clearly see the anxiety and uneasiness on his face, and he seemed hesitant to speak. Lucas put down his teacup and asked. ¡°Did something happentely?¡± Connor immediately looked up at him and said expectantly, ¡°Mr. Gray, there¡¯s indeed something?¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Bruce stopped Connor from speaking without hesitation. After stopping his grandson, Bruce turned to look at Lucas and exined, ¡°Uh, Lucas, it¡¯s just a minor issue. We won¡¯t trouble you with it.¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± When entering just now, he saw several members of the Hale family. When they saw him, they were first stunned before looking surprised as if they had found a savior. So Lucas guessed that the Hales had encountered some trouble. Bruce didn¡¯t want toin to Lucas at first because he didn¡¯t want him to have to solve the Hales¡¯ troubles as soon as he came back. But since Lucas had already asked about it, Bruce naturally wouldn¡¯t continue hiding it. Bruce said bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s like this. Three days ago, a few people came to the Hales and imed to be from the royal family. They were very arrogant and wanted us to pledge allegiance to them. ¡°We naturally refused, but those people said that they¡¯d give us three days to consider. If we still don¡¯tply, they will eradicate us from California¡­ ¡°ording to my inquiries, the Hales aren¡¯t the only ones. Several other wealthy families in California also received the same threat. Of course, the families with lower statuses weren¡¯t threatened. The royal family probably couldn¡¯t be bothered with them.¡± ¡°The royals?¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes. He was no stranger to the royal family, such as the owner behind Club Illuma, the Whitleys, one of the royal family branches. He had crossed paths with Ashton several times, but of course, these encounters didn¡¯t end well for Ashton. ¡°Yeah, they im to be the Hamiltons. The person in charge is a young man named Brett, who¡¯s about thirty years old. The people he brought with him were all powerhouses, and even our top experts are no match for them,¡± Bruce said worriedly. Brett Hamilton. Hearing this name, Lucas knew that he was really from the Hamilton branch of the royals. The Hamiltons actually wanted the forces of California. They even wanted to make the Hales and other top families of California pledge allegiance to them. What a huge appetite. ¡°Since they gave you three days to consider, when¡¯s the deadline today?¡± Lucas asked. Bruce said, ¡°They want us to give a clear answer by tonight.¡± After thinking about it, Bruce quickly exined, ¡°Mr. Gray, I have no intention of submitting to them! After all, we¡¯ve long pledged allegiance to you, so how can we submit to someone else? Even if they¡¯re royals, we won¡¯t change our minds and betray you! ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t tell you about it right away because I didn¡¯t want you to have to deal with such trouble for us as soon as you came to visit. Besides, the Hamiltons seem hard to deal with, and I don¡¯t want you to make such a powerful enemy¡­¡± Lucas looked at him and nodded without ming him. ¡°In that case, how do you n to deal with this?¡± Bruce said with a grim expression, ¡°I¡¯ve already made a pact with Edmund Cole and the helmsmen of the other families who received this threat. We have agreed to join forces against the Hamiltons!¡± Lucas raised his brows. ¡°As you¡¯ve said, Brett Hamilton has brought many powerhouses with him, and even the strongest experts of your family aren¡¯t their opponents. So, how do you n to deal with them?¡± ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s our turf after all, and I thought that even though they have many powerhouses, we could win as long as we joined forces and outnumbered them¡­¡± Bruce said hesitantly. Near the end, his voice became softer and softer. Clearly, he knew that outnumbering them wasn¡¯t a good idea, but it was theirst resort. In fact, there was another solution¡ªusing firearms to deter the Hamiltons. But this was too risky. The Hamiltons were a royal family branch after all. In case Brett really died here, they might face the maniacal revenge of the Hamilton family, resulting in havoc and chaos in California. Chapter 1220 - 1220 Unexpected Person 1220 Unexpected Person Seeing Bruce¡¯s appearance, Lucas said with a smile, ¡°Forget it. Since I already know about it, I won¡¯t set it aside. With me here, it¡¯s a fool¡¯s dream for the Hamiltons to think about taking over California!¡± California was Lucas¡¯s base camp, where he had lived for more than a decade. Besides, the Hales belonged to Lucas while the Coles and the other families had close ties with him. How could he allow others to dominate here? Although the Hamiltons were royals and an apex family superior to the eight top families of DC, they still didn¡¯t have the right to be arrogant in front of Lucas. They needed Lucas¡¯s approval to threaten so many families and take control of California. After Bruce heard what Lucas said, a trace of excitement appeared in his eyes, but he quickly looked worried. ¡°Lucas, I sent some people to ask around, and I found out that the Hamiltons are a royal family branch who are more powerful than the eight top families of DC! Going against them will really bring you great trouble¡­ ¡°I think if the various wealthy families of California join forces to go against the Hamiltons, they won¡¯t be able to wipe all of us out even if they¡¯re displeased. ¡°But if you stand up for us, I¡¯m afraid the Hamiltons will target you instead. When the timees, it will cause you a lot of trouble!¡± Bruce was being considerate of Lucas. At the end of the day, the Hales were just a wealthy family that had developed in Orange County. Until today, their influence had yet to expand beyond California. Thus, given his power and horizons, to him, the eight top families of DC were already at the summit of the US and couldn¡¯t be provoked. And the royal family, which was more terrifying than the eight top families of DC, was an even more formidable existence than the Hales couldn¡¯t imagine. Bruce knew that Lucas was extremely powerful, so much so that he wasn¡¯t even afraid of the eight top families of DC. But he was still worried that Lucas might get implicated and fall into a crisis. ¡°Are you worried that I can¡¯t match up to the Hamiltons?¡± Lucas asked with a smile while looking at Bruce. Bruce¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly said, ¡°No, no. Lucas, that¡¯s absolutely not what I meant! I just¡­ I just don¡¯t want you to be implicated by us and end up being targeted by the Hamiltons¡­¡± Although Bruce denied it, what he said implied as much. He was really worried that Lucas wouldn¡¯t be a match for the Hamiltons. If Bruce really thought that Lucas wasn¡¯t inferior to the Hamiltons, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be so worried about Lucas. Lucas didn¡¯t hold it against him. In the past, he had indeed been too low profile and merely revealed some of his abilities asionally, causing Bruce to be unaware of how powerful he really was. But Lucas didn¡¯t want to exin much to him. He remained sitting and said firmly, ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anymore. Since tonight is the deadline given by the Hamiltons, they wille looking for youter. I¡¯ll just wait here and see how the Hamiltons will take California away from me!¡± Although the Hamiltons were a royal family branch, Lucas also had a high status. As the former leader of the Falcon Regiment, he was a big shot whose status was on par with the helmsmen of the royal family branches. Therefore, even if one of these helmsmen was standing right in front of him, he wouldn¡¯t be scared at all. Furthermore, given Lucas¡¯s reputation in the Falcon Regiment and hisbat power, he was full of confidence facing the royals. Besides, the person who came from the Hamiltons this time was merely a young man. Lucas wouldn¡¯t take him seriously. Since Lucas had already made up his mind, Bruce had no choice but to ept his arrangements. But worry shrouded Bruce¡¯s eyes. At this moment, the butler of the Hales hurried over and reported, ¡°Mr. Hale, Mr. Edmund Cole and Mr. Ethan Sawyer have arrived together!¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? Please bring them in quickly!¡± Bruce said. This was the time they had agreed to meet. After all, their families were also facing the threat of the Hamiltons, so they came here to deal with the issue and discuss the matter of joining forces. Soon, the butler led Edmund and Ethan to the hall. The two of them were frowning with worried looks at first. But when they saw Lucas sitting in the hall, both of them looked shocked and surprised. ¡°Mr. Gray! Did you just return from DC? I didn¡¯t get any news at all. Otherwise, I would have gone to the airport to pick you up!¡± Ethan walked over to Lucas in surprise and greeted him deferentially. The Sawyers were originally the richest family in Orange County, and they upied an important position among the top four families in the county. Moreover, due to the rtionship between the Sawyers and Lucas, they had risen with the tide after Lucas became the overlord of California. They were now among the top five families in California. He was extremely excited to see Lucas. Edmund was also pleasantly surprised when he saw Lucas. After all, he admired Lucas greatly and was ted to see him after around a month or so. But he soon realized that since Lucas was in the reception hall of the Hale residence, he likely already knew about the matter. So, did Lucas appear here because the Hales had gone to look for him? When Edmund thought of this, his face turned sullen. ¡°Mr. Hale, what do you mean by this? Didn¡¯t we agree to handle this matter on our own? Why did you invite Mr. Gray toe here? Do you want to drag Mr. Gray into this matter?¡± Bruce was speechless after being questioned. He didn¡¯t invite Lucas over to drag him into this matter¡­ He didn¡¯t even invite him over¡­ Luca smiled. ¡°Edmund, you¡¯re mistaken. Bruce didn¡¯t deliberately say anything to me. I just happened to return to Orange County today, so I came here to take a look. That¡¯s how I happened to know about it.¡± Edmund¡¯s expression finally became mellower. ¡°Ah, we didn¡¯t n to trouble you over this, Mr. Gray. Sorry to have let you find out about it.¡± Edmund was the only one among them who had guessed Lucas¡¯s true identity and knew that he was the former formidable leader of the Falcon Regiment. Although Edmund had absolute faith in Lucas¡¯s abilities and knew that Lucas was on the same level as the helmsman of the Hamiltons, he wasn¡¯t willing to let Lucas get involved and cause him trouble. But at this point, Lucas already knew about this matter, so there was nothing else Edmund could say. After everyone sat down and exchanged some pleasantries, the butler came running over again. ¡°Mr. Hale, Mr. Joel Gillen, the helmsman of the top family in Nevada, is here with his men! ¡°Mr. Anthony Cross, the helmsman of the top family in Arizona, and his men are here too!¡± ¡°What are the helmsmen of the top families in Nevada and Arizona doing here?¡± Edmund, Bruce, and Ethan frowned. ... Chapter 1221 - 1221 Each With an Agenda 1221 Each With an Agenda These two families were from Arizona and Nevada, but they had never had much of a rtionship with the families of California. It was unclear why they suddenly came here. Although they didn¡¯t know why the helmsman Anthony and Joel were here, Bruce wouldn¡¯t ignorantly turn them away since they had alreadye all the way here. ¡°Invite them in!¡± Bruce instructed. Before long, Joel and Anthony brought their families¡¯ elite bodyguards into the reception hall. Bruce stood up and said courteously, ¡°Mr. Gillen, Mr. Cross, it¡¯s an honor to have you here!¡± Although Bruce had long handed over the position of the Hales¡¯ helmsman to his grandson Connor, Connor was still too young, and the helmsmen who visited were both in their sixties. So Bruce showed them respect by greeting them personally. Joel was a thin and petite elderly man with a sparse beard and nted eyes. He was obviously someone to be trifled with. Standing in the hall, he said mystifyingly, ¡°Mr. Hale, save the formalities and pleasantries. We have already heard about it. The top families of California are facing a crisis, but you didn¡¯t even inform us. Are you looking down on us?¡± Anthony, the chubby helmsman of the Cross family, said, ¡°Mr. Gillen is right. We live so close to each other, but you didn¡¯t even inform us about such a major matter. If we didn¡¯t get the news by chance, I¡¯m afraid the Hales would have been eradicated, and we wouldn¡¯t have even known about it!¡± What these two people said was puzzling and harsh, as if they were close to the Hales. They actually thought that Bruce should tell them about the trouble the Hales encountered. Connor was speechless, and he immediately wanted to say that the Crosses and the Gillens were in no ce to meddle in their affairs. On the other hand, Ethan stood up and said to them, ¡°We are grateful for your goodwill ining here, but we didn¡¯t contact you because we didn¡¯t want to implicate you.¡± He thought that since several top families of California were now facing the threat of the Hamiltons, they might be able to increase their chances of dealing with them if they could obtain the support of the two top families from neighboring states, whose helmsmen hade uninvited. At this juncture, it was better not to offend them even though their tone wasn¡¯t pleasant. Hearing what Ethan said, Joel and Anthony finally seemed satisfied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We live in neighboring states, so we should be considered friends. We¡¯ve already heard about what happened to you, so we¡¯ve specially brought our experts here to join forces with you. With so many families standing together, even if the Hamiltons really want to cause trouble for you, they might not dare to do anything!¡± Joel said firmly. Anthony said, ¡°Yes. Since you are in trouble, we obviously won¡¯t stand by and do nothing. Mr. Gillen and I brought our experts here with good intentions. As long as we stand strong together, even though the Hamiltons are a royal family branch, they will definitely be scrupulous facing so many of us!¡± He wasn¡¯t lying. They had indeed brought about a hundred experts, who were now waiting outside. Edmund and Ethan had brought their expert bodyguards as well. Including the hundred-odd experts of the Hales, there were around 400 experts present. It was a rather grand scene. This was an extremely powerful force. Edmund, sitting quietly on the couch, looked at Anthony and Joel coldly. After hearing what they said, he snorted coldly and mocked, ¡°Hah, you two make it sound so nice! ¡°Why would you be so kind as to help us? The Hamiltons must have gone to your families and threatened you to pledge allegiance to them too. You¡¯re unwilling, so you¡¯re here to seek an alliance with us, right? ¡°Since you¡¯re looking for allies, you should show us the proper attitude instead of acting self-important and condescending like you¡¯re doing us a favor!¡± As soon as Edmund said this, Joel and Anthony turned sullen. They indeed had such ns in mind, but Edmund saw through them so quickly! Joel narrowed his eyes and said with displeasure, ¡°Mr. Cole, what do you mean? Mr. Cross and I brought our experts to your aid with kind intentions. However, not only are you not thanking us, but you¡¯re even mocking us. Is that how the families of California treat your friends?¡± Anthony touched his belly and said threateningly, ¡°Exactly. We were kind enough to help you, but you¡¯re maliciously suspecting us. How disappointing! Mr. Cole and Mr. Hale, if you don¡¯t want our help, just say so. We won¡¯t bother to worry about you! Once you get wiped out by the Hamiltons, you¡¯ll regret it!¡± Edmund didn¡¯t buy it at all. ¡°Don¡¯t bother to y tricks in front of me! I¡¯m much older than you two. Do you think I can¡¯t see through your tricks? ¡°If you want to form an alliance, do so properly. I can¡¯t stand how you¡¯re pretending to do us a favor. If you¡¯re not happy, leave!¡± Among everyone present, Edmund, who was in his seventies, was indeed the oldest and the most senior person. He had the confidence to challenge Joel and Anthony. They were about to get into a heated argument, and tension arose in the reception hall. Chapter 1222 - 1222 How to Deal With It 1222 How to Deal With It As the host, Bruce immediately stepped forward to stop them. ¡°Everyone, please calm down. Don¡¯t fight! ¡°I know everyone is gathered here today in respect for my family and for the sake of handling the matter with the Hamiltons. In that case, let¡¯s not scatter our forces and unite to resolve the threat of the Hamiltons! ¡°The Hamiltons are a royal family branch, and they are far more powerful than us. If we don¡¯t stand as one, we might really end up having to give our businesses away to the Hamiltons. I believe none of us wants that, right? ¡°So, I suggest we sit down and talk things over calmly. Let¡¯s not fight, okay?¡± !! Ethan chimed in, ¡°You¡¯re right, Mr. Hale. Since everyone is here because of the Hamiltons¡¯ threat, we should each take a step back and unite to solve the problem first! Come, Mr. Gillen, Mr. Cross, please take a seat. Mr. Cole, please have a seat and a cup of tea!¡± Under the meditation of Bruce and Ethan, the few of them calmed down. After snorting coldly, Edmund no longer bothered to argue with Joel and Anthony. Since Edmund had exposed their purpose, the two of them no longer tried to justify themselves. They snorted coldly and sat down, stopping arguing over what just happened. They were well aware that the biggest issue to deal with now was the threat the Hamiltons had given them. As the helmsmen of the top families in their states, no one wanted to give away their businesses and sumb to others. Besides, the Hamiltons were just a family from elsewhere. What right did they have to take over the businesses they had managed for years? Thus, the most important thing now was for them to join forces and deal with the Hamiltons before deciding anything else. Seeing everyone quiet, Bruce finally coughed twice and said, ¡°Everyone should have already reached somemon ground. In that case, let me say a few words!¡± ¡°Okay, Mr. Hale, please go ahead.¡± ¡°Right, this is the Hale residence. Mr. Hale, please offer your advice!¡± Joel and Anthony had changed their attitudes and spoke more politely. They had been family helmsmen for years. Since Edmund had already exposed their purpose, there was no need for them to continue putting on airs and pretending. Bruce nced at Lucas and found that he didn¡¯t have any intention of speaking. So he knew that Lucas didn¡¯t want to get involved and had given him full authority to lead the discuhssion. Thus, Bruce immediately took charge of the meeting and said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell everyone what I think. Three days ago, the Hamiltons came to us and demanded that we pledge allegiance to them. We will never agree to that! ¡°Of course, the Hamiltons are royals and far stronger than the eight top families of DC. We are no match for them at all. In fact, I think all our families are unable to rival them. Does everyone agree with this?¡± Hearing Bruce¡¯s question, the helmsmen present all nodded quietly. He was stating the obvious. They were facing a royal family branch that was far stronger than the eight top familes. There were only nine such pinnacle families in the US. How could theypare to them? ¡°But the Hales can¡¯t just sit and wait. It would be shooting ourselves in the foot,¡± Bruce said. ¡°They all say that you can¡¯t beat a local tyrant. No matter how impressive the Hamiltons are, they are a family from elsewhere, and they don¡¯t have a strong foundation in California. If we join forces, it will be impossible for the Hamiltons to wipe out all of us. ¡°I think the Hamiltons want us to pledge allegiance because they want us to control and manage California for them, so they won¡¯t aggressively try to eliminate us. In that case, we have a chance to negotiate with them.¡± Joel frowned and asked in puzzlement. ¡°Negotiate? You mean we¡¯re going to go negotiate with the Hamiltons?¡± Bruce nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s impossible for us to fight head-on against a royal family branch like the Hamiltons. In that case, we have to think of another way to negotiate with them. ¡°If it¡¯s just one of our families, the Hamiltons won¡¯t be bothered at all. At worst, they¡¯ll get rid of one of us and find another family to rece us. ¡°But if we join forces and negotiate terms together, they will be more mindful. This is the confidence we have to negotiate with them. ¡°As long as we insist on the same terms, the Hamiltons won¡¯t be able to do anything to us.¡± After Bruce spoke, the others immediately showed thoughtful expressions. What Bruce said really made sense. It was exactly what they wanted. However¡­ After thinking about it, Joel said, ¡°That¡¯s indeed a great solution, but what if the Hamiltons aren¡¯t willing to negotiate with us and insist on making us sumb by threatening to eradicate us?¡± Everyone immediately fell silent. This was the worst-case scenario, but none of them could guarantee that it wouldn¡¯t happen. In fact, although they had gathered plenty of manpower and nned to suppress the Hamiltons¡¯ ambitions by outnumbering them, they were all well aware that it was just a means to deter the Hamiltons. They didn¡¯t really dare to get physical with them or kill Brett. If they really went hard against the Hamiltons, they wouldn¡¯t beat them as local tyrants, but rather, they would be pitting themselves hard against a powerful opponent. If they really hurt Brett or killed the experts of the Hamiltons, the Hamiltons would definitely see them as enemies and use the severest method to deal with them. After all, the Hamiltons were royals, and even the eight top families of DC didn¡¯t dare to be enemies with them. They were really insignificant in the face of the Hamiltons. Once the Hamiltons really nned to deal with them, they wouldn¡¯t get any time to consider at all. The Hamiltons would gather their forces and destroy them in less than a day. Amid the silence, Edmund¡¯s voice was extremely clear. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? If the Hamiltons don¡¯t intend to let us off, then we can only fight them to the death!¡± Chapter 1223 - 1223 Surrendering is the Only Option 1223 Surrendering is the Only Option Edmund¡¯s vigorous and powerful voice made everyone¡¯s hearts shake. However, not everyone agreed with his decision. ¡°That¡¯s absolutely impossible!¡± Joel was the first to step forward and voice his objection. ¡°That¡¯s the Hamilton family, a royal family branch. Do you think it¡¯s some weak family? How can we fight against them? Hah, given the Coles¡¯ strength, you¡¯re just seeking death!¡± ¡°If you have a death wish, go ahead and kill yourselves. Don¡¯t drag us down with you!¡± !! His words and tone were extremely rude. Anthony looked at Edmund with disapproval and snorted coldly. ¡°Yeah! Some people really think too highly of themselves! You think your family is very powerful, but you¡¯re nothing in the eyes of the Hamiltons! Fancy you thinking of fighting against the Hamiltons. With what? What a joke!¡± In their opinion, the Hamiltons were not a family they could afford to provoke. Joel and Anthony wouldn¡¯t have dared to go against the Hamiltons if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that they were unwilling to sumb to them and hand over the family businesses they had been managing for years. It also happened that the families in California had received the same threat, so they nned to join forces with them to negotiate with the Hamiltons. In Joel and Anthony¡¯s opinion, fighting the Hamiltons to the death was incredibly foolish, and they would never do this. Edmund had been in the military, where he had trained hard and developed a strong character. He had great tenacity and wouldn¡¯t easily sumb to others. But the others clearly didn¡¯t have his courage. Joel and Anthony weren¡¯t the only ones who didn¡¯t dare to make an enemy of the Hamiltons. Even Bruce and Ethan were contemting hard. Seeing the way they were behaving, Edmund snorted coldly. ¡°Hmph, are you all that timid? Once the Hamiltons decide to show a tough attitude, I¡¯ll see what you do! ¡°Hah, I was wrong about all of you. You brought so many experts with you, so I thought you¡¯d at least have the courage to fight against the Hamiltons. But I didn¡¯t expect you to be all cowards! You brought so many people here just to give yourselves a little more courage, didn¡¯t you? The truth is that they¡¯re useless, right?!¡± Edmund¡¯s merciless mocking made a few people subconsciously look away. Indeed, they had brought so many experts with them purely for the purpose of emboldening them rather than to deter the Hamiltons. They would never fight against the Hamiltons, never in this life. Knowing that Edmund was a tough nut to crack, Joel simply ignored him and instead turned to ask Bruce, ¡°Mr. Hale, tell us how we should be dealing with the Hamiltons. Do we negotiate or get physical? We ultimately need a strategy.¡± Bruce mused but remained silent. Ethan said, ¡°I think if we can win against the Hamiltons, I will definitely agree to starting a war with them. But the problem is, even if the eight top families of DC join forces, they might not be a match for them. Even if we join forces, we won¡¯t be able to do much to the Hamiltons, right? ¡°Although the Hamiltons only brought a few people, they¡¯re all top-tier experts far stronger than ours! Since we can never defeat them, do we have any other choice?¡± Bruce subconsciously nodded. Indeed, the Hamiltons¡¯ experts were all incredibly impressive. If they resorted to firearms, they might be able to defeat them, but it would definitely result in a lot of casualties. If the Hamiltons pursued the matter and retaliated, they might really have no way out. Just as Ethan said, since there was no way they could defeat them, they didn¡¯t have a choice. Edmund looked at the people in front of him with disappointment. ¡°Hah, since you are too scared to fight against the Hamiltons, there¡¯s no point in discussing anymore! Just submit to the Hamiltons now and be their dogs. Why are you talking so much nonsense here?¡± Joel yelled furiously, ¡°Edmund Cole! Stop making sarcastic remarks! We are here to discuss a solution for the matter. Who said we¡¯re going to submit?¡± Edmund refused topromise. ¡°What¡¯s there to discuss?! Isn¡¯t the matter obvious? None of you dare to fight against the Hamiltons, so what right and confidence do you have to negotiate with them? ¡°You don¡¯t even have the courage to fall out with the Hamiltons. As long as the Hamiltons aren¡¯t stupid and have a slightly tough attitude, they will see that you¡¯re just a bunch of cowards. Then they won¡¯t bother to negotiate anything with you! ¡°In that case, isn¡¯t your only choice surrendering to them and obeying their orders obediently? Am I wrong?¡± Hearing this, the crowd fell silent again. Although Edmund sounded harsh because he was furious, he was stating facts. Since they didn¡¯t even have the courage to go against the Hamiltons, how could they negotiate with them? It was just as ridiculous as someone who didn¡¯t dare to even pick up a rod saying that they would negotiate with robbers using knives. The robbers would definitely take it as a joke and ignore them. What else could they do then? Lucas remained sitting on the couch in the corner, watching everything in front of him quietly. In his opinion, the Hamiltons were nothing to fear. But he wanted to know the attitudes and standpoints of Bruce, Edmund, Ethan, and the rest. Only after knowing where they stood could he decide what to do next. Seeing Bruce caught in a dilemma, Connor gritted his teeth and whispered, ¡°Grandpa, at this juncture, you should ask Mr. Gray for his opinion!¡± Brue suddenly trembled and finally realized that he had forgotten to ask Lucas for his opinion in his folly and confusion! When Lucas first returned to Orange County, Bruce had already personally sensed how terrifying he was. On the day of his great-grandson¡¯s baby shower, Lucas had gotten soldiers to take away all the Hales and almost eradicated them. Later, Lucas had given the Hales a chance to return, which Bruce had seized and offered all of his family¡¯s businesses to Lucas in exchange for the opportunity to work under him. Of course, Bruce had made the right decision. Ever since the Hales pledged allegiance to Lucas, they had not only not declined, but they even became many times stronger than before with the help of Lucas¡¯s influence. Now, they had even be a top family that was second only to the Coles in California. Their achievements were all thanks to Lucas! Now, Lucas was sitting in the corner of the hall, yet he was so muddled by the matter regarding the Hamiltons that he had forgotten to ask Lucas for his opinion. It was too inappropriate of him! Joel¡¯s eyes were keen, and he noticed the sudden change in Bruce¡¯s expression after Connor said something to him. He couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Mr. Hale, it seems like you have some ideas. Why don¡¯t you share them with us?¡± Chapter 1224 - 1224 The Third Option 1224 The Third Option All of a sudden, everyone turned to look at Bruce. Without hesitating, Bruce walked straight over to Lucas, who was sitting in the corner, and bent forward respectfully. ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re the most honored patron of the Hales. Please decide how we should deal with the Hamiltons! We will follow your instructions!¡± Connor quickly followed suit and stood in front of Lucas respectfully. ¡°Mr. Gray, the Hales will obey your instructions!¡± The two of them were extremely respectful to Lucas, and they clearly viewed him as their master. Their actions immediately made the others stunned speechless. Edmund knew Lucas¡¯s true identity, so his reaction wasn¡¯t too bad, and he could roughly guess what the rtionship between Lucas and the Hales was. Ethan was astonished, wondering when Lucas and the Hales had such a close rtionship. It seemed that Lucas was the true master of the Hales. It made Ethan rather ufortable. As for Joel and Anthony, they were incredibly shocked. It was their first timeing to the Hale residence, and they had barely interacted with the families in California in the past, so they didn¡¯t know who Lucas was. Because they didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s identity and because they were too shocked, they looked at each other and couldn¡¯t say anything for a while. When Lucas saw Bruce and Connor standing in front of him and asking for instructions, he nodded slightly. When Bruce was thinking on his own about how to deal with the Hamiltons, Lucas had thought that Bruce hadpletely forgotten who the true master of the Hale family was and who had brought them to the sess they enjoyed now. If Bruce had really forgotten, then Lucas didn¡¯t need to help the Hales anymore. But it seemed that Bruce and Connor weren¡¯t that foolish as to forget who had helped them. Lucas said, ¡°I think Mr. Cole is right. You should negotiate with the Hamiltons first. If it doesn¡¯t work out, just get physical.¡± Although he didn¡¯t mind fighting directly with the Hamiltons, they still had a high status in the US after all. If they could negotiate with the Hamiltons and get them to give up, it would be for the best. Bruce had no doubts about Lucas¡¯s decision at all. He agreed right away. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. Since you have already spoken, the Hales will definitely do as you say. If the Hamiltons really refuse to drop their ambitions, we¡¯ll fight them to the death and force them away!¡± Edmund smiled. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s how it should be! How can we be so cowardly and allow the Hamiltons to bully us?¡± Now, the two helmsmen had already decided to resort to force against the Hamiltons in the event that negotiations fell through. Ethan looked at Bruce and Edmund, feeling extremely conflicted. He didn¡¯t have much confidence in Lucas. In the beginning, Ethan got close to Lucas and helped him entirely because Chad Kennedy, the chief butler of the Huttons of DC, had asked him to look out for Lucas and cooperate with him if possible. But deep down, Ethan felt that the royals were a far more terrifying family than the eight top families of DC and far more powerful than the Huttons. They were just some wealthy families in California. How could they possibly have any chance in a confrontation with such a horrifying family? Ethan really couldn¡¯t make up his mind. He clenched his fists tightly while his heart raced rapidly. Seeing that Bruce and Edmund had chosen to follow Lucas¡¯s lead, Joel and Anthony immediately had a drastic change in expression. Joel said with displeasure, ¡°Mr. Hale, isn¡¯t your decision too frivolous? ¡°Who is this young man? Why are you obeying him after just hearing what he said? This matter concerns the future of your family, yet you¡¯re leaving it in the hands of a greenhorn. What a joke!¡± Antony narrowed his eyes as he nced at Lucas with disdain and said coldly, ¡°Yes, Mr. Hale. Your decision is too hasty! Moreover, your decision not only concerns the future of the Hales but also the direction of our alliance. One mistake will ruin the Hales and us too! Why should we leave such an important matter to a clueless, unknown young man?¡± Bruce snapped angrily, ¡°Shut up! Mr. Gray is the Hales¡¯ most honored patron, and he has every right to make decisions on our behalf. You people are in no ce to criticize him! ¡°If you¡¯re upset, just leave. That way, you don¡¯t have to be afraid that we¡¯ll implicate you.¡± Hearing this, Joel and Anthony were stunned. They never thought that Bruce, who had treated them with courtesy from the very beginning, would rebuke them so mercilessly for the sake of a young man. They were the helmsmen of top families on par with the Hales. How could their statuses be inferior to the seemingly ordinary young man sitting here? Edmund mocked too, ¡°Exactly. Mr. Hale is right. If you¡¯re so afraid of dying, you should leave sooner so you won¡¯t be implicated by us. ¡°I think you weak cowards should just surrender to the Hamiltons as soon as possible and be their dogs!¡± ¡°You!¡± Joel was furious. ¡°What are you saying? We came here to discuss a solution on how to deal with the Hamiltons. If we were really weaklings, why would we still be here?!¡± Anthony chimed in, ¡°Hah, you Californian helmsmen are really arrogant! We specially came here with good intentions to form an alliance to deal with the Hamiltons together. But I didn¡¯t expect your attitudes to be so horrendous. You don¡¯t take us seriously at all. In that case, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a need for us to stay here any longer!¡± Seeing that Anthony and Joel were furious, Ethan hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over. ¡°Everyone, please calm down! ¡°Now is the time for us to unite and think of a way to tide through this ordeal. We mustn¡¯t start internal strife and conflicts at this juncture! ¡°Given the current situation, it¡¯s impossible for any of our families to deal with the Hamiltons alone. We have to set everything else for now and focus on the problem at hand. Everyone, please do me a favor. At this time, we should work together and not fight against each other!¡± Joel snorted coldly. ¡°We aren¡¯t the ones who started it. It¡¯s because of Mr. Cole and Mr. Hale¡¯s problematic attitudes! I just told them not to treat this like child¡¯s y, and theyshed out at me instead. Why can¡¯t I be angry? What working together is there to speak of when they¡¯re giving us such attitudes?!¡± Edmund sneered aggressively. ¡°You¡¯re ming us? Aren¡¯t you just cowardly? Since you don¡¯t even have the courage to wage a war with the Hamiltons, what¡¯s there to discuss? By acting that way, haven¡¯t you already chosen to surrender?¡± Joel gave him the side-eye. ¡°Is surrendering the only solution left if we don¡¯t fight? There¡¯s clearly a third option. Just because you haven¡¯t thought of it doesn¡¯t mean we haven¡¯t!¡± Chapter 1225 - 1225 Divided Opinions 1225 Divided Opinions ¡°The third option?¡± Ethan asked doubtfully. ¡°Mr. Gillen, if you have other ideas in mind, why don¡¯t you share them with us?¡± Joel nced at Edmund before saying, ¡°Before that, I¡¯d like to confirm something. Our five families have already agreed to have a good discussion with the Hamiltons. No one objects to this, right?¡± Edmund, Bruce, Ethan, and Anthony nodded in agreement. Although they were still deciding on whether or not to go to war with the Hamiltons, they didn¡¯t have any doubts about first negotiating with them. Joel continued, ¡°Okay, it seems that everyone has agreed to this issue. Let¡¯s continue talking about the situation. ¡°In my opinion, it will be best if we can reach an agreement with the Hamiltons and they give up the idea of controlling our families. But if they refuse to agree and greet us with a tough attitude, we don¡¯t have to fight them. We can each take a step back, and maybe we¡¯ll be able to resolve this problem.¡± Bruce asked in puzzlement, ¡°Each take a step back? How so? Mr. Gillen, please exin it in detail.¡± Joel continued, ¡°It¡¯s simple. None of us are willing to give away the businesses we¡¯ve painstakingly built to the Hamiltons, and what the Hamiltons want is nothing more than to expand their development in California, Nevada, and Arizona. So I think we can let the Hamiltonse to our states to develop their forces and establish footholds. Meanwhile, we can also cooperate with them and provide them with some support. ¡°In that case, the Hamiltons will not only not be our enemies, but they will even likely be our allies. We can help the Hamiltons secure a footing in our three states, and the Hamiltons can also help us. This is the way to achieve a win-win solution. ¡°Isn¡¯t this option better than fighting the Hamiltons to the death?¡± After Joel finished speaking, the people present had their eyes glisten. Anthony was the first to stand up and express his support for Joel¡¯s n. ¡°Mr. Gillen is right! We should be striving for a win-win solution. If we support the Hamiltons to set up footholds in our three states and form an alliance with them, it will be greatly beneficial to our future development. In my opinion, this is the best option now!¡± ¡°Mm¡­ I think Mr. Gillen¡¯s n is good. Why don¡¯t we work in this direction when negotiating with the Hamiltons?¡± Ethan also thought it was a good idea. He wouldn¡¯t have to submit to the Hamiltons and give away his family¡¯s businesses or fight a tough battle. Moreover, he could possibly form an alliance with a powerful family like the Hamiltons. This was simply the best option. ¡°Bullshit!¡± Edmund objected without hesitation and sneered. ¡°There¡¯s always been an old saying, indulging one¡¯s enemy is asking for trouble. How can we ept others meddling in our territories? ¡°If you really support the Hamiltons to expand their forces in our three states, how could they possibly be satisfied with sharing control together with us? ¡°Even if the Hamiltons agree to your n, after they establish firm footholds here, within three months, they¡¯ll definitely encroach on our power little by little! ¡°And you still want to achieve a win-win solution with them? Hah, the Hamiltons will only treat us as tools and a springboard to dominate our three states. They won¡¯t allow us to share the same status as them. What are you dreaming of here?¡± Bruce nodded. ¡°Indeed, the Hamiltons are too domineering. It¡¯s impossible to achieve a win-win situation with them. Therefore, we can¡¯t allow them to have a ce to stand firm from the start!¡± Edmund and Bruce made some sense. The Hamiltons were far stronger than these families to begin with. Once they really secured a footing in the three states, they would naturally establish their sole hegemony. The other families would either have to pledge allegiance or vanish from here. There wasn¡¯t a third option. Joel thought that he hade up with a brilliant idea and even despised Edmund and the rest over it, thinking that they were foolish. But now, he was criticized, so he snapped furiously, ¡°Damn it! How do you know that the Hamiltons will really encroach on our power and annex us? Since you refuse to agree with my idea, does that mean, in your opinion, the only option we have is to go to war with the Hamiltons? ¡°Hah, your n is really courting death!¡± Edmund said furiously, ¡°Since you think we¡¯re courting death, then get lost, lest you say that we¡¯ll implicate you!¡± ¡°You!¡± Joel was furious, and it took him a great deal of effort to suppress his anger. Looking at Bruce, who was sitting in the middle, he said, ¡°Mr. Hale, okay then, what do you think we should do?¡± Bruce nced at him before saying slowly but firmly, ¡°Actually, I agree with Mr. Cole. We¡¯ll be inviting danger into our territories by letting the Hamiltons establish footholds in our states. It will inevitably lead to disaster. I don¡¯t care about what happens to Nevada and Arizona, but we can never let the Hamiltons set up a foothold here in California!¡± Joel immediately looked gloomy. Anthony sulked as well. In fact, the two of them hade up with the idea of letting the Hamiltons set up footholds in the various states. They initially thought that the families of California would agree to it without hesitation, but they didn¡¯t expect them to object outright. Among the five helmsmen present, only Joel and Anthony supported the third option, while Edmund and Bruce decided to go to war with the Hamiltons if negotiations fell through. Ethan was the only one who hadn¡¯t expressed his stand yet. ¡°Hah, I thought that since the Coles and the Hales are the top families in California, you should be knowledgeable people. But I didn¡¯t expect you to be so stubborn as to think of going head-on against the Hamiltons. I won¡¯t court death with you! ¡°Since we can¡¯te to a consensus, there¡¯s no need for us to stay here any longer. Mr. Cross, it seems we¡¯vee to the wrong ce. Let¡¯s go! I refuse to believe that we can¡¯t find any allies in the three states!¡± Joel and Anthony stood up and turned around to leave. When Ethan saw this, he immediately stopped them anxiously. ¡°Hey, wait! Please stay. There¡¯s still room for discussion!¡± Chapter 1226 - 1226 Winning Over the Sawyers 1226 Winning Over the Sawyers Ethan blocked the door, preventing Joel and Anthony from leaving. Joel stopped, but his face was still full of anger as he said, ¡°Mr. Sawyer, you don¡¯t need to say anything else. Mr. Cross and I came all the way here with the intention of forming an alliance and resolving the problem together. But look at the way Mr. Hale and Mr. Cole are behaving. It¡¯s clear that they don¡¯t take us seriously! In that case, what else is there for us to say?¡± ¡°Hah, they actually want to go to war with the Hamiltons. They must be dreaming! The Hamiltons are so powerful that even the eight top families of DC don¡¯t dare to provoke them easily. We are just a bunch of small fries! ¡°Since we can¡¯t reach an agreement and the two of them insist on courting death, of course we can only leave to look for other allies! I don¡¯t believe that we can¡¯t find other families to form an alliance with in our three states!¡± Anthony said, ¡°We came here only to discuss with you because the Coles and the Hales are on par with us in terms of power and capabilities. But apart from them, there are also many other decent families in Arizona and Nevada! Why should we continue staying here and tolerating their insults and terrible attitudes?!¡± Ethan hurriedly said, ¡°Please calm down, you two. Having different opinions is amon matter. Let¡¯s sit down and talk things over calmly!¡± Then Ethan looked at Edmund and Bruce and said, ¡°Mr. Cole, Mr. Hale, don¡¯t be so hostile! We¡¯re all allies, and we¡¯re all doing this for the sake of our families. We can just talk things over nicely ande up with a n. ¡°Actually, I think Mr. Gillen and Mr. Cross make a lot of sense. Going hard against the Hamiltons will do none of us any good. So I think we¡¯d better agree to let them establish footholds in our states first. But we also have to keep an eye on their situation. In any case, we mustn¡¯t let the Hamiltons really dominate our territories. ¡°If the Hamiltons are really so greedy as to want to dominate our three states and annex our power, it won¡¯t be toote to fight them head-on then. What do you think?¡± Bruce nced at Ethan and shook his head. ¡°If the Hamiltons really secure a footing here and control other wealthy families, what will be the use of the few of us joining forces against them?¡± His words immediately left Ethan speechless. Indeed, the Hamiltons weren¡¯t fools. If they really established footholds and took root here, it would be difficult to get rid of them in the future. But the thought of going to war with a terrifying family like the Hamiltons made Ethan afraid. He didn¡¯t want to face such a situation at all. So he tried his best to convince Edmund and Bruce topromise and give in to the Hamiltons for the time being. Edmund saw through Ethan¡¯s thoughts and sneered. ¡°Ethan Sawyer, you don¡¯t have to say anything else. If you¡¯re so scared of the Hamiltons and don¡¯t dare to fight them, go ahead and join Joel Gillen and Anthony Cross! It¡¯s up to you if you want to submit to the Hamiltons and be their dogs! ¡°Speaking of which, I didn¡¯t see you help Mr. Gray when he encountered a crisis in San Francisco! Later, when he became the overlord of California, you came running back to him! You¡¯re quite smart, huh? Hmph! ¡°Let me make things clear. If we really resolve the problem with the Hamiltons under Mr. Gray¡¯s lead this time, you can¡¯t be shameless and run back to try to get a slice of the pie, okay?¡± Edmund was an extremely upright and straightforward person, and he hated two-faced fence sitters, so he looked down on Ethan. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Ethan seemed to be on good terms with Lucas and had quickly developed into the third top family in California thanks to Lucas, Edmund would have ignored him. Bruce said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Ethan Sawyer, you can either fight against the Hamiltons with us or leave early since you¡¯re so afraid of facing revenge. Stop sitting on the fence. If you continue saving yourself during times of danger and thene running back to reap benefits when it¡¯s safe, I will look down on you too.¡± Edmund and Bruce spoke harshly and didn¡¯t bother saving Ethan any pride. In fact, they had long been displeased with Ethan¡¯s behavior. The moment Joel and Anthony came over today, Ethan had repeatedly spoken up for them. It was apparent that he just didn¡¯t want to offend the Hamiltons. Bruce and Edmund were very much dissatisfied with him. Ethan turned pale and gloomy. He knew that his behavior was indeed mercenary, but he felt that it was only human nature to want to avoid trouble. But when Edmund and Bruce said that he was a shameless fence sitter, it made him extremely ufortable. Frankly speaking, Ethan had indeed yet to make up his mind. Although the Huttons wanted him to obey Lucas as much as possible, he didn¡¯t trust Lucas that much, nor did he want to bet the Sawyers¡¯ future on him. Joel patted Ethan on the shoulder and guffawed. ¡°Mr. Sawyer, I see it¡¯s hard on you too! How about this? Since the Coles and the Hales are alienating you and even mocking you, I think you should just leave California. You don¡¯t need to put up with the humiliation anymore! ¡°Juste to Nevada with your family to develop! I promise I¡¯ll turn you into the second most powerful family in Nevada once youe, and you don¡¯t have to suffer such insults either. What do you think?¡± Anthony said with a smile, ¡°I admire you very much too, Mr. Sawyer. If you¡¯d like, Arizona will also wee you to join us. You¡¯ll immediately be the second top family in Arizona!¡± They weren¡¯t talking nonsense. After all, they were the helmsmen of the top families in Nevada and Arizona, and the Sawyers were second only to the Coles and the Hales in California. If he went elsewhere, he might really rise up a notch. All of a sudden, Ethan began to waver. Chapter 1227 - 1227 A Strong Enemy Appears 1227 A Strong Enemy Appears Although most of the Sawyers¡¯ businesses were in California, it wouldn¡¯t be that difficult to relocate them or expand to another ce. Moreover, the Sawyers might be able to make greater achievements in another environment, especially with the strong support of the Gillens or the Crosses. But after he thought about what the Hutton had said to him, his enthusiasm calmed down a little. The Sawyers rose to power with the help of the Huttons and Chad Kennedy, the Hutton¡¯s chief butler, so Ethan didn¡¯t dare to go against the will of the Huttons. If he really moved the Sawyers to Arizona or Nevada, it would mean that he gave up on Lucas. Likewise, the Huttons would abandon him and the Sawyers. The Huttons, one of the eight top families of DC, were naturally more powerful and helpful to the Sawyers than the Gillens and the Crosses. So from this perspective, Ethan couldn¡¯t leave California and go against Lucas for now. ¡°Thank you for seeing my value, but the Sawyers have been rooted in Orange County for years, so it won¡¯t be easy for us to leave. Thank you for the offer, but I¡¯ll have to decline!¡± Ethan said with a smile. Hearing Ethan decline their invitation, Joel and Anthony showed a trace of disappointment on their faces. In fact, they didn¡¯t really want to win over Ethan and the Sawyers. They just wanted to teach Edmund and Bruce a lesson and watch them be embarrassed. Unfortunately, their n didn¡¯t work out. Meanwhile, Edmund nced at Ethan coldly with dissatisfaction hidden deep in his eyes. At his age, he had seen everything there was to see, so he could tell at a nce that Ethan had really wavered and seriously contemted moving out of California. It made Edmund even more certain that Ethan was just a mercenary fence sitter who could betray them. Lucas saw Ethan¡¯s wavering too. But he didn¡¯t feel much about it. Although Lucas had interacted a lot with Ethan, he knew that Ethan had approached him because of the Huttons. Lucas might no longer hate the Huttons, but he didn¡¯t have a strong rtionship with them either. Thus, Lucas was very calm about Ethan¡¯s wavering and fickle attitude. If Ethan really showed enough loyalty to Lucas, he wouldn¡¯t mind giving the Sawyers a hand. Conversely, if Ethan only cared about his own interests, Lucas wouldn¡¯t value him or help him. Simply put, Lucas wouldn¡¯t pay much attention to irrelevant people. Ethan knew that he had left a terrible impression on Edmund and the others by hesitating just now, but he couldn¡¯t exin himself now. So he could only cough and try to y it off. ¡°The Sawyers are from California, and since Mr. Cole and Mr. Hale have alreadye to a decision, we naturally have to stand with you. ¡°If the Hamiltons really refuse to give up, then¡­ we¡¯ll just join forces to fight against them.¡± Ethan was well aware that since the Sawyers couldn¡¯t move away from California and develop elsewhere now, they had to stand together with the other families here and weather all storms as one. Thus, no matter how reluctant he was to go against the Hamiltons, he didn¡¯t have a choice now. The only thing that made him feel better was that the Coles and the Hales would face this together with him and that Lucas was here too. Perhaps the Huttons might give them some support on Lucas¡¯s ount. In this way, the three top families of California reached a decision. If the Hamiltons refused to drop the idea of controlling them, then they would unite to deal with the Hamiltons. If necessary, they wouldn¡¯t hesitate to fight against them. ¡°Hah, what a joke!¡± Joel sneered. ¡°Looks like we made a wasted trip today. When you get destroyed by the Hamiltons and regret your decision, even if youe to us for help, we won¡¯t help you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Since you don¡¯t know any better, don¡¯te to us when you encounter a life-and-death crisis in the future!¡± Anthony also sneered. They were both extremely displeased with the decisions of the three helmsmen, but they didn¡¯t have the right to oppose either. They couldn¡¯t reach a consensus since they had different mindsets! ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We will never ask you for help! Please excuse yourselves!¡± Bruce stretched his arm toward the door of the hall and gestured for them to leave. ¡°Hmph, fine. It¡¯s not like we want to be here.¡± Joel and Anthony turned to leave. However, at this moment, the butler of the Hales ran over with a pale face and stammered, ¡°Mr. Hale, bad news! The Hamiltons are here!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Bruce and the others immediately rose from their seats in shock. Before he could say anything else, they saw that two people had already reached the door and stepped straight in. The young man in his thirties who had just entered narrowed his eyes and smiled. ¡°What a coincidence. You helmsmen happen to all be here. That saves me the trouble of traveling too much and going to each of your homes.¡± The moment they saw him, the five helmsmen in the hall all looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. The slender young man in front of them was Brett Hamilton, a direct descendant of the Hamiltons, one of the royal family branches! Behind him was an elderly man dressed in a long white coat and white pants. He was obviously a top expert of the Hamiltons. Brett didn¡¯t seem to notice that the atmosphere in the hall had be extremely tense because of his arrival. He simply walked to Bruce as if there was no one else around and said with a rxed expression, ¡°Mr. Hale, how are you considering the proposal I gave you three days ago? I hope you¡¯ll give me a pleasing answer today.¡± Although he spoke rxedly and casually and had brought only one expert with him, no one present dared to underestimate him in the slightest. Reason being, the elderly man guarding him was exuding a fierce aura that made them too scared to even make eye contact with him. After they heard Brett ask Bruce for his decision, the atmosphere became even heavier. All of a sudden, the hall was dead silent. Chapter 1228 - 1228 Who is Trash? 1228 Who is Trash? Although Brett was asking Bruce, the other four helmsmen in the room tensed up upon hearing his question. In particr, Joel and Anthony, who had failed to reach an agreement with the families of California, clenched their fists tightly with panic and horror all over their faces, clueless as to how they should deal with the issueter. They had nned toe to California in advance in hopes of finding some allies to get a chance to speak in front of the Hamiltons. But in the end, after they fell out with the three top families of California and before they had the chance to look for other families, the Hamiltons showed up,pletely catching them off guard. After his initial shock, Bruce quickly recovered. They had just made up their minds, so he wasn¡¯t too flustered and uneasy facing Brett¡¯s question. ¡°Mr. Hamilton, you previously said that you wanted the Hales to pledge allegiance to your family, and my answer is¡­¡± Bruce took a deep breath. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll have to decline.¡± At first, Brett was veryposed and confident, but the answer stunned him. ¡°Are you rejecting me?¡± Brett questioned. Although his expression soon became mellower, there was still an obvious trace of anger in his voice. Clearly, Brett didn¡¯t expect the Hales to have the guts to turn him down. Since Bruce had already said it once, he didn¡¯t mind repeating himself so that Brett could hear him clearly. ¡°Yes, the Hales already have our own development roadmap, and we don¡¯t n to pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons. I seek your understanding, Mr. Hamilton!¡± The smile on Brett¡¯s face vanishedpletely. He looked around at the other helmsmen in the room and suddenly sneered with a smirk. ¡°Now that you are gathered here, you¡¯re not considering how to pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons, but rather, you¡¯re discussing how to go against us, right?¡± As soon as he said this, the temperature in the room seemed to plunge. Although Brett didn¡¯t lose his temper and was even smiling, everyone in the hall sensed a formidable auraing from him. This was the immense threat that only a descendant of a pinnacle family like a royal family could bring. Although Brett was only in his thirties and decades younger than the helmsmen present, none of them dared to underestimate him because he represented the Hamiltons. In this situation, they might end up offending Brett and the entire Hamilton family as a result. Seeing that Brett seemed to misunderstand that they were in the same group, Joel hurriedly exined, ¡°No, no, Mr. Hamilton. We absolutely don¡¯t dare to go against the Hamiltons!¡± Anthony simrly put on a deferential smile and echoed, ¡°Yes, Mr. Hamilton, please don¡¯t get the wrong idea. We¡¯re different from the rest here, and we definitely don¡¯t intend to go against the Hamiltons! The Hamiltons belong to the royal family and are at the summit of the country. Small families like ours can¡¯tpare to your family!¡± Brett nced at them and suddenly said, ¡°Yes, small families like yours are like trash to us. We can easily destroy ants like you with the lift of a finger! ¡°You people are pretty smart not to get up to any nonsense. Or else¡­ hmph!¡± Joel and Anthony subconsciously shuddered. It was only now that they realized how afraid of the Hamiltons they were. Even though Brett didn¡¯t issue any threats and even only brought one person here, they didn¡¯t have the courage to look him in the eye at all. Originally, Joel and Anthony had thought of joining forces with other families to obtain the opportunity to negotiate with the Hamiltons. But now, it seemed that they didn¡¯t even dare to speak to Brett. So what was there to negotiate? If they identally angered Brett, they might end up in a worse plight than they would if they had pledged allegiance to the Hamiltons! Unknowingly, they were already cowering. The Hamiltons were too strong, and they couldn¡¯t even raise the thought to defy them. Ethan stood behind them without daring to say a single word. Edmund narrowed his eyes and looked at Brett with disdain. In Edmund¡¯s opinion, Brett was just throwing his weight around and behaving like a tyrant because of his family¡¯s power. He was worlds apart from Lucas, who waspletely self-made and had attained sess with his own abilities. Noticing the disdain in Edmund¡¯s eyes, Brett looked at him and sneered. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you displeased with what I said?¡± Edmund asked, ¡°Are you saying that we¡¯re small fries that you can easily manipte and control at will just because we¡¯re weaker than the Hamiltons?¡± Brett said, ¡°Am I wrong? Thew of the jungle is the truth of the world!¡± Edmund chuckled. ¡°There are always people stronger and more powerful than you. Are the Hamiltons the strongest in the US or the world? There are definitely other families stronger than yours. Does that make your family a small fry or trash to them?¡± His words instantly stifled the conceited smile on Brett¡¯s face. Joel, Anthony, and the rest had an ominous feeling. Edmund was really daring to have the guts to talk back to Brett like this! They thought that Brett was definitely furious. The truth was indeed so. Brette had called them insignificant trash inferior to the Hamiltons, but the Hamiltons weren¡¯t the strongest in the world. In fact, the Hamiltons weren¡¯t even the top family among the nine royal family branches in the US, let alone the terrifying behemoths around the world. Edmund had precisely used his words against him to make Brett contradict himself, rendering him speechless. But the Hamiltons were a noble family, and now that Edmund, the helmsman of a trivial family they despised, actually called them trash, Brett and his family would never be able to tolerate it. ¡°You must have a death wish!¡± Brett¡¯s face waspletely gloomy as he stared at Edmund with an intense murderous intent in his eyes. The elderly man in white standing behind Brett suddenly exuded an aggressive aura that surged toward Edmund. As long as Brett gave the order, he would immediately strike and kill Edmund. The tension in the hall rose to its peak, and it felt as if death was imminent! Chapter 1229 - 1229 Qualifications to Be a Dog 1229 Qualifications to Be a Dog There wasn¡¯t a single trace of fear on Edmund¡¯s face. Instead, he smiled mockingly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Mr. Hamilton, are you embarrassed, so you want to take it out on me?¡± If he was facing Brett alone, Edmund might restrain himself. But Lucas was now sitting here. What was Edmund afraid of? Joel and Anthony were astonished by Edmund¡¯s hostile tone, and they were afraid that Brett would be angered and vent his anger on them. Before Brett said anything, Joelshed out at Edmund, ¡°Edmund Cole, you old fogey, you¡¯ve got a foul mouth! I can tolerate you insulting me, but you actually have the audacity to speak like that to Mr. Hamilton. You really don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you!¡± Anthony quickly chimed in and hollered at Edmund furiously, ¡°Yes! Edmund Cole, we chose not to hold it against you because of your age, but this doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re afraid of you! You actually spoke to Mr. Hamilton so rudely. Even if he forgives you, I won¡¯t forgive you! ¡°If you¡¯re tired of living, you can find a ce to bury yourself. Don¡¯t be such an eyesore!¡± While scolding him, they also took the chance to draw a line between him and themselves. In order to avoid Brett thinking that they were in the same group as Edmund, Joel and Anthony hurriedly exined to him, ¡°Mr. Hamilton, before you came, we¡¯ve already fallen out with this old fogey! Both of us insisted on epting the Hamiltons¡¯ proposal, but Edmund Cole and Bruce Hale, these two old fogeys, weren¡¯t willing and even said that they would go to war with the Hamiltons! Before you came, we already nned to sever ties with them. ¡°Now, this ignorant old fogey actually has the guts to offend you. Mr. Hamilton, as long as you say the word, we¡¯ll be at your beck and call and help you get rid of them!¡± At this juncture, Joel and Anthony had already given up on the n to negotiate. Just by looking at Brett¡¯s aura, they could tell that the Hamiltons would never be willing to merely establish a few footholds. At the end of the day, what the Hamiltons wanted was to control these statespletely. In that case, they might as well follow Brett¡¯s wishes and pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons as soon as possible, especially in front of Edmund and Bruce, who were stubborn tough nuts to crack. Perhaps Brett would even value them for it. Brett nced at Joel and Anthony from the corner of his eye and asked with doubt and contempt, ¡°You think you can destroy the Hales and the Coles alone?¡± Joel gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Actually, the Gillens and the Crosses have already realized that the Hales and the Coles are not to be trifled with and that they might oppose you. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve arranged for enough people toy an ambush outside. With one order from you, we will immediately gather all our people to take down the Hales! ¡°Afterward, the Gillens and the Crosses will join forces to deal with the Coles! This will be a small wee gift from us!¡± Joel and Anthony sounded extremely deferential. After hearing this, Edmund and Bruce were furious. These two uninvited guests indeed harbored evil intentions. At the beginning, they had kept iming that they came here to help the Hales, the Coles, and the other families of California pull through the ordeal. They had even thought of making the Californian families owe them a huge favor through this matter. But after Edmund exposed them on the spot earlier, they stopped mentioning it. But now, Joel and Anthony actually revealed that they had secretly ambushed many people outside and that they wanted to wipe out the Hales as proof of their allegiance to the Hamiltons. This made Bruce and Edmund furious and contemptuous at the same time. Brett said with raised brows, ¡°In that case, you¡¯re willing to be the Hamiltons¡¯ dogs and get rid of all obstacles for us?¡± It wasn¡¯t nice being called dogs, especially since Brett sounded derisive and contemptuous when he said it. It was enough to make anyone with any self-respect feel ashamed and humiliated. If others called them dogs, they would definitely lose their temper. But the person who said this word was an esteemed scion of the Hamiltons, so they naturally didn¡¯t dare to say a word of rebuttal despite blushing with embarrassment. Joel gritted his teeth,pletely swallowed his pride, and ttered shamelessly, ¡°Yes! As long as you¡¯re willing to ept us, the Gillens are willing to be your dogs and be at your beck and call, Mr. Hamilton!¡± Anthony hurriedly said, ¡°The same goes for the Crosses! As long as you issue an order, we will definitely do our best to fulfill it! We will do anything you say!¡± The two of them were extremely subservient, utterly devoid of the mannerisms and dignity of helmsmen of wealthy and powerful families. Seeing their disgraceful behavior, Edmund and Bruce were full of disdain. On the other hand, Ethan was wavering while looking at the two distinct camps. Although he had already agreed to stand with Edmund and Bruce just now, he began to waver again after seeing Brett¡¯s formidable aura and the way Joel and Anthony, who were domineering earlier, behaved in front of Brett. Based on the current situation, the Hamiltons were clearly far stronger than them. Otherwise, Joel and Anthony wouldn¡¯t behave this way and choose to be Brett¡¯s dogs. He wondered if the Sawyers could really survive if he chose to stand against the Hamiltons. While Ethan was stuck in a dilemma and wondering if he should re-evaluate the situation and change his stand, Brett suddenly sneered. ¡°Hah, there are many people who want to be my dog, let alone so-called rich and powerful families like yours. Even in DC, there are countless people who tter me. What makes you think I¡¯d ept you? ¡°You have to consider if you have the qualifications to be my dogs!¡± Hearing this, Joel and Anthony had a drastic change of expression. Chapter 1230 - 1230 Surprising Outcome 1230 Surprising Oue Joel and Anthony had both abandoned their dignity and were willing to be Brett¡¯s dogs, yet Brett actually said that they weren¡¯t qualified to be his dogs. Although what he said sounded extremely insulting, Joel and Anthony didn¡¯t feel humiliated. Instead, they were afraid. If Brett even refused to let them be his dogs, what value would they have? People of no value were worthless to the Hamiltons, and they would end up extremely miserable! Joel and Anthony immediately knelt in front of Brett without hesitation. ¡°Mr. Hamilton! Although we are indeed insignificantpared to you, and we¡¯re just trash, we can still be of some use! As long as you say the word, we will do anything for you! Be it destroying the Hales and the Coles or dealing with other defiant families, we can definitely get the job done! ¡°Please give us a chance to perform, Mr. Hamilton!¡± The two of them had no dignity at all as they knelt on the floor and begged Brett to reconsider them. Brett smiled lightly. ¡°Oh, is that so? Then I¡¯ll be kind and give you a chance to perform. ¡°Since the Hales have turned down my good intentions, get rid of them first. I want to see if you really have the ability. If you do a good job, I will naturally consider letting you help me handle some other matters. ¡°But if you can¡¯t even aplish such a simple thing, it means that you¡¯re just blowing your trumpet. You should know very well what happens to useless good-for-nothings who are all bark and no bite!¡± Joel¡¯s and Anthony¡¯s hearts skipped a beat, and their faces turned bitter. Although they had said it themselves, they started feeling conflicted now that Brett really told them to destroy the Hales. They had indeed brought many experts from Arizona and Nevada, but this was the Hales¡¯ base camp, and the Hales definitely wouldn¡¯t have fewer people than them. Moreover, Edmund was here, and he had brought numerous people too. If they really got into a fight, Edmund would definitely stand on Bruce¡¯s side. In that case, it would be difficult to decide who won. Besides, there was also the Sawyers, who should be on the same side as the Coles and the Hales. Joel and Anything were on their turf too, so they definitely wouldn¡¯t have a good time. Not to mention taking down the Hales, they might even end up getting destroyed by the families of California. Joel and Anthony just wanted to show their loyalty to Brett, but they didn¡¯t really n to attack the Hales at this time! Joel and Anthony were on the verge of tears, and they even felt as though they had shot themselves in the foot. Seeing their hesitant expressions, Brett sneered. He knew that these two begging him on their knees were just bragging. They were actually just good-for-nothings. Brett didn¡¯t take such good-for-nothings seriously. On the contrary, the three helmsmen who didn¡¯t n to sumb to the Hamiltons had quite the backbone and made Brett see them in a better light. ¡°How about this? Mr. Cole, Mr. Hale, and Mr. Sawyer, I¡¯ll give you another day. I hope you¡¯ll seriously consider what I said. If you¡¯re willing to submit to me, the Hamiltons will definitely not treat you badly. ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. I wille back at this time tomorrow. I hope you will give me a satisfactory answer.¡± With that, Brett turned around and walked straight to the entrance of the hall. He actually didn¡¯t pursue the matter of Edmund, Bruce, and Ethan refusing to pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons. Instead, he gave them another day to consider and even promised to give them some benefits. This treatment immediately stunned Joel and Anthony! They had knelt without caring about their pride at all. They had tried their best to show their loyalty to Brett and had even been willing to be his dogs, but Brett didn¡¯t even pay attention to them. However, Edmund and Bruce spoke rudely to Brett and even directly rejected him. But Brett actually took the initiative to show that he valued them. The drastic difference in attitude left them on the verge of vomiting blood. Seeing Brett about to leave the Hale residence with his bodyguard, Bruce looked at Lucas and hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Hamilton, please wait a moment! ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait until tomorrow. The Hales have already decided not to pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons. Please forgive us!¡± Lucas happened to make a rare appearance here today. Of course, Bruce hoped to use this opportunity topletely resolve the matter with the Hamiltons. Even though Brett gave them until tomorrow, the answer would still be the same, so they obviously had to end this quickly. They couldn¡¯t possibly wait until Brett brought his people here tomorrow. If Bruce asked Lucas toe over again, it would be wasting Lucas¡¯s time. Edmund also stood up and said, ¡°It¡¯s the same for the Coles. I¡¯ve already made up my mind. Even if the Coles get destroyed, it¡¯s absolutely impossible for us to pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons!¡± Ethan opened his mouth and looked at the two decisive people in front of him. For some reason, he was at a loss for words. He should have stepped forward like Edmund and Bruce and resolutely rejected the Hamiltons¡¯ recruitment. But he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say anything when it was time for him to speak. In the end, he still chickened out. Brett stopped in his tracks, narrowed his eyes, looked at Edmund and Bruce, and suddenly smiled. ¡°Oh, is that so? In that case, even if your families are destroyed because of this, you still won¡¯t pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons?¡± Although he was still smiling, it was mirthless. Cold murderous intent appeared deep in Brett¡¯s eyes. Edmund and Bruce immediately felt a pressure that made their scalps tingle. But they still nodded without hesitation and said firmly, ¡°Yes!¡± Brettughed and said with a twisted smile, ¡°Very good! Since you¡¯d rather have your families destroyed than submit the Hamiltons, I¡¯ll fulfill your wishes! From tomorrow onward, the Coles and the Hales won¡¯t appear again!¡± As soon as he said this, the elderly man behind him suddenly exuded a strong murderous aura while staring at Edmund and Bruce, making them shudder involuntarily. Brett turned to look at Ethan, whose forehead was covered in cold sweat. ¡°What about the Sawyers? Are you nning to make the same decision as them?¡± Large droplets of sweat emerged from Ethan¡¯s face, and his back had long been drenched in cold sweat. After hearing Brett¡¯s question, Ethan gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I, Ethan Sawyer, am willing to lead the Sawyers to pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons!¡± Chapter 1231 - 1231 You Reap What You Sow 1231 You Reap What You Sow What Ethan said was like a bomb suddenly exploding in the reception hall. Bruce and Edmund looked at Ethan in disbelief. ¡°Ethan Sawyer, what¡­ what did you say?!¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly and nced at Ethan. To be honest, Lucas was surprised by what Ethan said too. He had always known that Ethan was a mercenary person who greatly valued benefits and wasn¡¯t very principled. He had interacted with Lucas on several asions before, but it was all for the sake of the Huttons and the benefits he could get from helping Lucas. But Lucas didn¡¯t expect Ethan to defect to the Hamiltons. Not only was he betraying the Coles and the Hales, his allies from California, but he was also betraying Lucas and the Huttons, who had always supported him. It seemed that in Ethan¡¯s eyes, the Hamiltons were much stronger than the Huttons. So he would rather betray the Huttons and pledge allegiance to Brett. Lucas sneered and thought that Ethan better not regret his decision. Brett looked at Ethan with interest. ¡°Mr. Sawyer, I didn¡¯t expect you to be different from those two. If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, you¡¯re the helmsman of a wealthy family in California. In that case, won¡¯t your current decision be thwarting your initial agreement?¡± Ethan¡¯s eyes shed with guilt, and he didn¡¯t dare to look at Bruce¡¯s and Edmund¡¯s expressions. He gritted his teeth and said to Brett, ¡°Mr. Hamilton, they all say that wise people adapt to circumstances. I may have had some immature thoughts before, but after seeing your majesty, I think submitting to the Hamiltons is the most correct choice. Everything else doesn¡¯t matter.¡± What he meant was that even if he had previously thought of fighting against the Hamiltons with Edmund, Bruce, and the others, he had changed his mind now and nned to submit to the Hamiltons. Ethan was the first to sumb to the Hamiltons in California, so he believed that Brett would definitely appreciate him and value him greatly. But Brett nced at Ethan and shook his head. ¡°Hah, how is someone like you who can easily betray your allies worthy of pledging allegiance to the Hamiltons? We¡¯re not garbage collectors who take in all kinds of garbage! ¡°You¡¯re worse than those two from the Gillens and the Crosses. You¡¯re not worthy of pledging allegiance to the Hamiltons!¡± Ethan immediately felt a stinging pain in his face. It was as if he had suddenly received two ps in his face that made him so dizzy he almost fell to the floor. He never thought that after going all out to betray the other families and the Huttons and defecting to the Hamiltons, he would only end up hearing this! He was called garbage who wasn¡¯t worthy of pledging allegiance to the Hamiltons because he had betrayed his allies. These words were like violent ps that made Ethan¡¯s face red with embarrassment. On the other hand, Lucas became more interested in Brett after hearing what he said. After witnessing Brett¡¯s earlier behavior, he had thought he was just an arrogant and willful scion who relied on the backing of his powerful family to behave like a tyrant and throw his weight around. Lucas had met many such people. Generally, they didn¡¯t have any decent skills and only enjoyed the ttery of people around them. The more humble and lowly these people behaved, the more conceited they felt. But Brett actually turned down Ethan, who had betrayed his allies, and the spineless Joel and Anthony, who had begged like dogs in front of him. On the contrary, he was impressed by Bruce and Edmund, who had refused to pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons, and was extremely tolerant toward them. His behavior made Lucas think that Brett was different from other wealthy scions. Bruce looked at Ethan, who was pulling a long face, and sneered. ¡°Ethan Sawyer, you betrayed us and wanted to suck up to a powerful family, but your n failed. You must regret it now, don¡¯t you? Unfortunately, there¡¯s no cure for regret in this world! ¡°Since you¡¯ve already done this, the Sawyers can forget about staying established in California!¡± Edmund said coldly, ¡°Traitors and fence sitters will always end up being defeated because they try to act too smart! Since you¡¯ve betrayed us, all consequences shall be borne by you and the Sawyers in the future! To put it bluntly, if it was on the battlefield, traitors like you should be shot dead on the spot!¡± Ethan¡¯s face became even paler, and his legs went limp as he really fell to the floor. He didn¡¯t expect Brett to react that way. One mistake cost him everything! Now, Brett despised him for betraying his allies and didn¡¯t want to take him in. Meanwhile, Edmund and Bruce were furious about his betrayal and would naturally sever ties with him in the future. What would happen to the Sawyers in the future? Ethan began to panic. He couldn¡¯t just sit back and do nothing! Ethan suddenly looked at Lucas, who had been sitting in the corner without saying much. Seemingly finding a straw to clutch at, he hurriedly knelt down in front of Lucas and begged, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡­ I¡¯ve indeed made a mistake in a moment of folly. Please forgive me! Please give me a chance and don¡¯t give up on me and the Sawyers!¡± He knew that he had brought the Sawyers to the most terrible situation and that the only person who could change the Sayers¡¯ fate was Lucas. Ethan knew that Lucas had an extremely high status in the hearts of Edmund and Bruce. As long as Lucas forgave him and gave some instructions to Bruce and Hale, he might still have a chance to turn the situation around despite his mistake. Edmund and Bruce frowned without saying anything. They just quietly waited for Lucas¡¯s decision. Only Lucas had the right to decide whether or not to forgive Ethan. Brett looked at Lucas with surprise. In fact, not long after he entered the hall, he had already noticed the young man sitting quietly in the corner. Moreover, Lucas was extremely calm, which waspletely different from the five helmsmen. Due to this, he had attracted Brett¡¯s attention and made him take a few extra nces at Lucas. But Brett didn¡¯t know what Lucas¡¯s identity was. It was only when Bruce asked Lucas for his opinion that he realized Lucas seemed to have extraordinary influence and wasn¡¯t just a random small fry. And now, when he saw Ethan kneeling in front of Lucas and begging for forgiveness, Brett was even more certain that this young man, who was a few years younger than him, definitely had great authority in California. He just didn¡¯t know what Lucas¡¯s identity was. Chapter 1232 - 1232 Drawing A Clear Line 1232 Drawing A Clear Line Lucas nced at Ethan but said nothing. Ethan was kneeling on the floor and begging bitterly. Bruce couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and ridiculed, ¡°Ethan Sawyer, you¡¯re really thick-skinned! After betraying us, you went to tter the Hamiltons. But I bet you didn¡¯t expect him not to want you, did you? ¡°You failed to cozy up to the Hamiltons, and now you¡¯re trying to seek Mr. Gray¡¯s forgiveness and protection? Hah, you must be dreaming!¡± !! Edmund said disdainfully, ¡°Hah, Ethan Sawyer, you¡¯re just a disgusting traitor who¡¯s an absolute disgrace to all people! You failed to pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons, and now you turned out and begged Mr. Gray instead. What do you think Mr. Gray is? Do you think he¡¯s someone who will take you in after someone else has abandoned you?¡± The two of them spoke extremely mercilessly, causing Ethan to turn pale before blushing again. His entire face stung and burned. He knew how embarrassing his current behavior was. But since things had already developed to this point, if he couldn¡¯t give up his pride and beg for Lucas¡¯s forgiveness, the Sawyers would really have no ce in California! So despite feeling ashamed and aggrieved, Ethan could only continue shamelessly begging Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡­ I really don¡¯t mean to say that! I was just too muddled and thought that pledging allegiance to the Hamiltons would solve the issue. But I didn¡¯t expect¡­ But no matter what, I¡¯ve never thought of betraying you or bing your enemy!¡± Ethan tried his best to exin himself and even looked at Lucas nervously with a pitiful expression. Bruce couldn¡¯t tolerate seeing Ethan¡¯s feigned expressions anymore and said coldly, ¡°Ethan Sawyer, I think you should just be an actor instead of a family helmsman. Unfortunately, your acting skills are still too poor. You think we don¡¯t know what you were thinking just now? ¡°If Brett Hamilton had really epted you just now, you¡¯d probably be behaving differently now. If he had asked you to deal with Mr. Gray and us, you¡¯d definitely agree without hesitation. ¡°You even said that you would never be Mr. Gray¡¯s enemy. What a joke!¡± Edmund said to Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, there¡¯s an old saying that says you can never trust a traitor twice. Since Ethan Sawyer has betrayed you once, he can betray you countless times! You really don¡¯t have to forgive this scoundrel or give him any chance because he¡¯s not worthy at all!¡± Brett narrowed his eyes slightly. He could tell from Edmund¡¯s and Bruce¡¯s speech and tone that they were extremely respectful to Lucas. Not only did they address him respectfully, but they clearly saw him in a superior position. This made Brett even more curious about Lucas¡¯s identity. Edmund and Bruce had rejected his offer earlier and would rather be destroyed than pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons. Clearly, they had strong backbones and would never submit to anyone easily. Brett found it incredible that they were so harsh to him but so respectful to Lucas. Could Lucas Gray be from a family even more prestigious than the Hamiltons? As soon as this thought arose, Brett dismissed it. The Hamiltons were one of the nine royal family branches in the US, and among the branches more powerful than the Hamiltons, none of them had thest name Gray. Could he have some extraordinary traits that allowed him to earn the respect and loyalty of the Hales and the Coles? Apart from this, Brett couldn¡¯t think of any other possibility. Joel and Anthony immediately looked shocked and bewildered. They were from the top families of Arizona and Nevada and had very little interaction with the families of California, so they didn¡¯t know who Lucas was. But anyone could tell from the way the Californian helmsmen treated Lucas that he had a high status. Just a few minutes ago, Joel and Anthony had even reprimanded Lucas, and they were now worried that it would bring trouble to their families. The two of them became tense and regretful. If they had known how powerful Lucas was, they would have been more careful when speaking earlier. But it was toote now! ¡°Mr. Gray, I really know my mistakes! On ount that we used to be close¡­ and for the sake of my daughter, Lena, please just forgive me this time and give the Sawyers another chance!¡± In order to get Lucas to forgive him, Ethan even brought up Lena, hoping that Lucas would forgive him on ount of his friendship with Lena. Deep down, Ethan had always hoped that Lena would be more than friends with Lucas so that he would be even closer to Lucas. But Ethan made the wrong decision again. Lucas didn¡¯t have any thoughts about Lena in the first ce, and now, he was facing an issue probably caused by her. Even though Ethan had brought up Lena, it wouldn¡¯t change Lucas¡¯s decision at all. ¡°Ethan Sawyer, from now on, the Sawyers have nothing to do with me. I hope you can firmly remember this. ¡°If I find you using my name to get some benefits in the future, don¡¯t me me for being impolite to you and the Sawyers!¡± Lucas¡¯s warning immediately made Ethan¡¯s heart sink to rock bottom. The reason the Sawyers had managed to go from one of the four major families of Orange County to the third family in California was entirely thanks to Lucas¡¯s prestige and power, which enabled them to receive olive branches from countless wealthy families and established enterprises in California. These great opportunities allowed the Sawyers to achieve incredible development. If Lucas drew a clear line between him and the Sawyers, they wouldn¡¯t be able to use his connections anymore, and they would definitely decline rapidly. Ethan obviously couldn¡¯t ept this oue. ¡°Mr. Gray, please¡ª¡± ¡°If you keep talking nonsense, the Sawyers will disappear from California today! Are you sure you¡¯re going to continue begging?¡± Lucas¡¯s cold voice immediately interrupted Ethan, causing him to shudder. Chapter 1233 Not Interested 1233 Not Interested Ethan opened his mouth, his face deathly pale, but he knew that he couldn''t continue begging Lucas anymore. Otherwise, the Sawyers would be destroyed today! Ethan''s heart was almost bleeding, but he could only say, "Yes, thank you so much for your magnanimity, Mr. Gray!" In fact, Lucas was already being kind enough to Ethan and cutting him some ck for Lena''s sake. Lucas used to be part of the military, so he was an upright, straightforward, and determined person, and he hated betrayal the most. Edmund was right. If it was on the battlefield, Ethan''s act of betraying his allies would definitely warrant being shot to death on the spot. The fact that he didn''t make the Sawyers disappear from California immediately or punish Ethan was already a great act of kindness. "Buddy, you look unfamiliar. This should be our first time meeting. May I know who you are?" Brett asked Lucas with a smile and obvious interest on his face. Lucas nced at Brett and said indifferently, "I''m not a big shot like you''re thinking. I believe you can easily find out that I''m just an abandoned son of the Hutton family in DC. In fact, I''ve been living on my own for so many years that I''m no longer a Hutton." Brett was surprised. The Huttons were one of the eight top families in DC, so Brett was no stranger to them. He had never heard of a Lucas Gray in the Hutton family. Besides, Lucas''sst name was Gray. He wondered if Lucas was an unknown illegitimate child of the Huttons. But if he was just an illegitimate child, how could people of Bruce''s and Edmund''s status be respectful to him? Moreover, Brett could sense that Lucas was extremely confident and calm. How could someone like him really be just an illegitimate child of the Huttons? If he wasn''t relying on the Huttons, his confidence definitely came from himself. Thinking of this, Brett looked at Lucas with enthusiasm. If he could get Lucas to work for him¡­ "Lucas, right? For some reason, even though it''s the first time we''ve met, I felt like we''re old friends. I''d like to invite you to help me with some matters. What do you think, Lucas?" Seemingly afraid of Lucas misunderstanding, Brett added, "Of course, I''m not asking you to work for me. I want to be sworn brothers with you! "As long as you can help me be the head of the Hamiltons, you''ll get the most credit! I''ll let you be the most distinguished elder of the family whom everyone will look up to and whose status will be second only to mine in the family!" What Brett said made the eyes of the others in the room widen in shock. Even Lucas was surprised. None of them expected that Brett would suddenly extend an olive branch to Lucas and even promise to let him be the most distinguished elder of the Hamiltons. This was an extremely hefty promise. Lucas narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Brett''s face. He found that Brett really seemed to mean what he said and that he was willing to invite Lucas to join the Hamiltons as an elder. If he offered this opportunity to someone else, they would probably be so excited that they wouldn''t know what to say. A gentleman would sacrifice his life for his confidante. In the face of such a promise made by a wealthy scion with a high status, most people would be extremely grateful and be willing to express loyalty to Brett and fight for him. Unfortunately, Lucas was not an ordinary person! Back when Lucas was in Calico, he had already achieved the position of the leader of the Falcon Regiment and the suprememander of the southern front and had hundreds of thousands of soldiers under hismand. His status was on par with that of the helmsmen of the royal family branches. He had even been willing to forgo his status as the leader of the Falcon Regiment, so why would he work for a scion of the Hamiltons for the sake of the status of an elder of the Hamiltons? Under everyone''s gaze, Lucas shook his head and said without hesitation, "Sorry, I''m not interested in the Hamiltons." Brett wasn''t surprised by his answer. Those who were capable andpetent usually wouldn''t agree to work for others easily. Only with genuine sincerity would they be moved. Brett could tell that Lucas was a highly capable person. The more Lucas refused to agree, the more he valued Lucas and the more interested he was in getting Lucas to join him. Despite being only in his twenties, Lucas had already developed a calm and firm temperament. He even managed to earn the loyalty and respect of the helmsmen of the Hales and the Coles. If Brett could get such an outstanding man on his side to work for him, he was certain that Lucas would be of great help in his pursuit of the position of the head of the Hamiltons. "Lucas, you don''t have to be so quick to turn me down. If you have any requests in terms of remuneration and treatment, I''ll definitely do my best to satisfy you! You''re an extremely powerful and capable person. You should be standing at the summit of the world. Isn''t it a waste of your talent if you stay in California?" Brett persuaded with a smile, unwilling to give up. Lucas shook his head. "I have no intention of working for others, and I don''t want to care about what the Hamiltons want to do. But as long as it''s in California, I won''t allow any other family to meddle with our business." Lucas explicitly stated what he wanted. If the Hamiltons wanted to take control of Arizona and Nevada, Lucas wouldn''t interfere, but he would never allow the Hamiltons to meddle in California. No matter what, California was where Lucas''s foundationy, and the helmsmen of the Hales, the Parkers, and the Coles were all here too. Lucas naturally wouldn''t let other forces control them. A cold and sullen look appeared on Brett''s face, and he said half-threateningly, "What if I insist?" Lucas wasn''t afraid at all. He simply retorted mirthlessly, "You can try." The tension between the two instantly became intense. Everyone in the huge reception hall fell silent. No one else had the qualifications to speak in front of Lucas and Brett. They could only remain still amid the oppressive silence. After a long time, Brett finally smiled and said, "Since you''ve said so, Lucas, let''s wait and see. Maybe you will change your mind when the timees." Then Brett turned around and walked out of the hall. The elderly man in white behind him nced at Lucas before following closely behind Brett. After the two left, everyone in the hall finally heaved a sigh of relief, feeling much more at ease. Joel nced at Lucas awkwardly before suddenly walking over and saying tteringly, "Mr. Gray, I''m really sorry. I wasn''t aware of your status just now, so I may have offended you. Please don''t hold it against me! As long as you need my help, the Gillens will be ready to give you a hand anytime!" Anthony chimed in with a simr expression, "Yeah, Mr. Gray, the same goes for the Crosses. Feel free to inform me whenever you need my assistance in the future." Chapter 1234 Willing to Follow 1234 Willing to Follow Lucas didn''t have a good impression of these two people, so he obviously wouldn''t want their help. Hearing what they said, he simply said calmly, "As I''ve just said, I only care about the situation in California. As for the matters of Arizona and Nevada, you can settle them yourselves. They have nothing to do with me." Hearing this, Joel and Anthony immediately became anxious. "Mr. Gray, we know we''ve offended you earlier, but we truly know our mistake now! We beg you to be kind and help us! The Hamiltons have already shown their ambitions and greed, and there''s no way we can resist them. The only ones who can help us now are you and the Californian helmsmen! "If you refuse to help us, the Gillens and Crosses will only have a dead end! I beg you to help us!" "Yes, as long as you help us, we are willing to treat you as the most prestigious guest of the Gillens and the Crosses! We will satisfy all your requests!" Joel and Anthony were really flustered. Just now, they had taken the initiative to bow down and submit to the Hamiltons. But in the end, Brett despised them and rejected them directly. The Hamiltons were clearly determined to gain control of the few states here. Thus, the only choice would be to get rid of the Gillens and the Crosses and then take over everything they had. But now, Lucas could still be so stubborn and even seemed capable of resisting Brett, making Joel and Anthony feel as if they had found theirst straw to clutch at. Lucas was their only hope now. Bruce said with contempt. "Joel Gillen, Anthony Cross, weren''t you acting so servilely to Brett Hamilton just now and saying that you''d get rid of the Hales for them? Now that the Hamiltons don''t want you, you''vee running to us and Mr. Gray for help. Do you have any shame?" Edmund rolled his eyes and sneered. "You should leave! Otherwise, I will lose my temper and throw you shameless people out of here!" Seeing how hostile Edmund and Bruce were to them, Joel and Anthony knew that they hadpletely offended them, and no matter how much they begged, it would be impossible for them to obtain the forgiveness of Lucas, Bruce, and Edmund. "Okay, we''ll leave right now!" The two of them could only leave the Hales residence with the people they brought. At this moment, there were only five people remaining in the reception hall. Bruce glowered with displeasure at Ethan, who was standing with his head lowered in a corner, and said hostilely, "You may leave too!" Ether''s face was a little sullen, but he forced himself to smile and said, "The Sawyers are from California too. Now is the time for us to unite and stand strong against the Hamiltons¡ª" "Shut up! How can a traitor like you have the cheek to say that we should stand strong together against the enemy? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get lost!" Before Ethan could finish speaking, Edmund had already lost control of his anger and hollered at him. Bruce stared at Ethan coldly as if he was just a stranger. Ethan''s heart sank. He knew that from now on, he and the Sawyers would bepletely ostracized from the upper-ss circle of California and lose all right to speak. He originally had the right to have a say, but he had ruined everything himself. At this moment, Ethan''s heart was full of regrets, but unfortunately, it was toote for regrets now! Lucas nced at Ethan coldly without saying a word, but it was obvious what he meant. Ethan knew that there was no way he could turn the situation around anymore, so he could only say awkwardly, "Alright then¡­ I''ll get going now." Then he left with heavy footsteps, taking one step at a time. Now, only Lucas, Edmund, Bruce, and Connor were left in the reception hall. These people werepletely loyal to Lucas, so Lucas no longer had any reservations when talking with them. "I''ll be staying in Orange County for a few days. If the Hamiltons do anything, report to me right away," Lucas ordered. "Yes!" Edmund and the rest quickly agreed. "Lucas, you stayed in DC for some time. Are you nning to shift the focus of your development to DC?" Bruce asked cautiously. Lucas nodded. "Yes. I actually came here to talk to you about this." Bruce, Edmund, and Connor immediately knew that Lucas was going to say extremely important matters, so they looked at him with burning gazes. Lucas said, "In fact, the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation is in DC, so I''m nning to focus my businesses more in DC. From now on, Orange County will just be a branch, and I''ll be spending most of my time in DC and will rarely return to Orange County. "You should already know that the Parkers have left California and started developing their businesses in DC. A few days ago, I had the Parkers rece the Waltons, one of the eight top families of DC, and take over all of the Waltons'' businesses." At this point, Lucas nced at the people in front of him and saw the obvious shock and envy in their eyes. The Parkers had been inferior to the Coles previously, but after following Lucas to DC, they managed to rece one of the eight top families. These helmsmen were undoubtedly jealous and envious of their remarkable achievements. Lucas noticed their expressions and said, "Of course, the Parkers alone are not enough to help me. So I''d like to find a few trustworthy families to form a new alliance in DC and develop our own forces. "Since all of you happen to be here, I''d like to ask if you''re willing to leave California and start developing in DC." What Lucas said surprised Bruce and Edmund. After hearing about the Parkers'' development, they couldn''t help feeling extremely envious. In just two months, the Parkers had already gone from a wealthy family in LA to a top family on par with the eight top families. Who wouldn''t be jealous of their achievements? Bruce and Edmund were well aware that Lucas must have given the Parkers a lot of help. Otherwise, it would have been hard for them to secure footing in DC, let alone make such tremendous progress and achievements within a short time. They didn''t expect Lucas to give them this opportunity and ask if they were willing to go with him to DC to develop further. 11:56 Chapter 1235 - 1235 Quickly Save Us 1235 Quickly Save Us Was there a need to think about it? With joy written all over his face, Bruce said, ¡°Great! Mr. Gray, the Hales are willing to follow you to DC to develop together!¡± Lucas was giving them help! If they continued to stay in California, they would soon reach their developmental bottleneck and merely be a behemoth in the region. Although they wouldn¡¯t encounter much trouble, this would likely be their greatest achievement in their lives. But if they could follow Lucas to DC, it would mean countless new opportunities, and they might one day even be one of the eight top families! With Lucas¡¯s help, this goal was definitely not a fantasy but would very likely be reality. After hesitating for a long time, Edmund said with a bitter smile, ¡°Thank you so much for your kind intentions, Mr. Gray. But even if the Coles go to DC, there probably won¡¯t be much we can do. We¡¯d better not.¡± After hearing what Edmund said from outside, Edmund¡¯s son, Clement, couldn¡¯t help saying, ¡°Dad, why would you say that? Haven¡¯t you¡­ haven¡¯t you always hoped to obtain more opportunities for the Coles to develop further? Now that there¡¯s finally an opportunity in front of you, why are you turning it down?¡± The anxious Clement wished he could agree on Edmund¡¯s behalf. If they missed such a rare opportunity, it would be a pity! Edmund nced at his son and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Why do you think I¡¯m turning down Mr. Gray¡¯s kind intentions? Isn¡¯t it all because of you?! Mr. Gray is willing to help us develop in DC, but if we can¡¯t give him any help, we¡¯ll only end up bing his burden. Trust you to have the cheek to drag him down and take advantage of him!¡± If Edmund was still young, even if all he had were his own two hands, he would definitely follow Lucas to DC. But he was already in his seventies, and he didn¡¯t know how much longer he had to live. Moreover, Clement was his only son, and he knew what kind of a person his son was and whether or not he was capable of taking over the family. This was why Edmund had said that even if Lucas took the Coles to develop in DC, they would only be a burden for him. Clement¡¯s face turned red. He understood what his father meant. Deep down, he knew that Edmund was refraining from handing over the position of helmsman to him because he wasn¡¯t capable enough. He didn¡¯t think it would be safe to hand the family over to him. Even though his father was currently supporting the Coles, how much longer could he hold out? Looking at Edmund¡¯s old and wrinkled face, Clement felt a strong sense of guilt. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ve made countless mistakes in the past, and I¡¯ve failed to inherit your wisdom. I¡¯ve let you down with my inability to take on big responsibilities. I know you¡¯re not handing over the family to me because I¡¯m not capable enough. ¡°But now, I will certainly repent and learn more so that you can rx sooner and no longer have to slog your guts out for the family! Dad, I¡¯ll really obey your instructions and work hard.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Edmund patted Clement¡¯s shoulder excitedly. ¡°Clement, since you¡¯ve said that, I can be at ease now!¡± If his son could turn over a new leaf at this age and take on some responsibilities, Edmund would be able to answer to his ancestors when he died! Looking at Edmund and Clement, Lucas smiled. ¡°Let the past be the past. There¡¯s no need to bring it up again. Since you¡¯ve repented and know that you should be driven and hardworking, I¡¯ll give you this chance too. Now, it¡¯s up to you if you want to take it.¡± Clement looked at Lucas in surprise. ¡°Mr. Gray, you mean I can go to DC with you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Lucas nodded and then said to Edmund, ¡°Mr. Cole, you don¡¯t have to worry about your family going to DC and bing a burden to me. In fact, there are very few people I trust. Apart from the Parkers, who have gone to DC in advance, there¡¯s only the Hales and the Coles. ¡°Rest assured. After you arrive in DC, I will definitely protect you. You don¡¯t have to worry about anything else. You just need to shift your focus and manpower to DC and focus on developing your force there. This will be considered helping me.¡± Edmund¡¯s eyes were full of gratitude. He knew that Lucas wanted to take care of him and the Coles, so he let them go with him to DC. As for the Coles being able to provide him with assistance, Lucas was justforting them. With Lucas¡¯s abilities and connections, the Coles were merely mediocre, and they wouldn¡¯t be of any use to him. Edmund was full of gratitude for Lucas¡¯s help. The only thing he could do was to do his best to make the Coles stronger and strive to provide help to Lucas in the future. The Hales and the Coles had decided to go to DC to develop. After settling this matter, Lucas felt relieved. Suddenly, his phone rang. He looked at the number on the caller ID and found that the call was from Charlotte. Lucas was surprised. When Charlotte brought Cheyenne out this morning, they were both cold and ignored him. They even ordered him not to follow them out. Now that Charlotte was actually calling, he wondered if they were willing to listen to his exnation after calming down. As soon as Lucas answered the call, he heard a flustered voice. ¡°Lucas! We¡¯re in trouble. Quicklye over to save me and Cheyenne!¡± Lucas¡¯s expression instantly changed. ¡°Where are you?¡± While asking, he hurried toward the gate of the Hale residence. Charlotte said anxiously, ¡°We¡¯re in Lotte Entertainment City. A man brought a bunch of people, and he wants to take Cheyenne and me away. We¡¯re in a private room now, but they¡¯re banging on the door and might charge in at¡ªAh!¡± Before she could finish speaking, he heard a loud bang over the phone, as if the door had been shoved open. Immediately afterward, Charlotte¡¯s call was terminated. With a gloomy expression, Lucas immediately called her, but no one answered, and the phone was turned off. The situation was terrible! Chapter 1236 - 1236 Cheyenne Faces a Crisis 1236 Cheyenne Faces a Crisis Lucas had strong murderous intent in his eyes as he strode toward the gates of the Hale residence. Seeing Lucas¡¯s expression change drastically, Bruce, Edmund, and the others were all shocked. They quickly caught up to him and asked anxiously, ¡°Mr. Gray, what happened?¡± Lucas asked gloomily, ¡°Where¡¯s Lotte Entertainment City?¡± ¡°Lotte Entertainment City?¡± The two elderly men looked at each in bewilderment. !! On the other hand, Connor, who was born and raised in Orange County, was very familiar with the entertainment joints here and immediately said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I know where it is!¡± ¡°Show the way!¡± Lucas grabbed Connor¡¯s arm without thinking and left quickly, dragging Connor with him. The situation was urgent, so he didn¡¯t have time to exin anything to them. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Seeing the two disappearing at the gates of the Hale residence in no time, Edmund and Bruce looked at each other in confusion. But even though they didn¡¯t know what was going on, they could tell from Lucas¡¯s expression that something big must have happened to make him look so horrified. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what has happened, it must have something to do with the Lotte Entertainment City Mr. Gray mentioned. Let¡¯s rush over immediately,¡± Edmund said with a grim expression. Bruce nodded. ¡°Yes! And we need to bring people in case there¡¯s an emergency!¡± The two of them quickly gathered their subordinates. Meanwhile, Lucas took Connor into his Jaguar and drove speedily on the roads of Orange County under Connor¡¯s guidance. He even ran several red lights. He still didn¡¯t know what happened to Cheyenne and Charlotte and whether their lives were in danger, so he didn¡¯t have the patience to wait for the red lights to turn green. Of course, even though he was speeding, his driving skills were superb, so he wouldn¡¯t get into any traffic idents. But this was all too thrilling for Connor. Lucas was going at a speedparable to a race car¡¯s, and the several close shaves on the bustling streets made Connor turn deathly pale. If Lucas wasn¡¯t the one driving, he wouldn¡¯t have been unable to control himself and vomited. ¡­ At this moment, in a private room of Lotte Entertainment City¡­ Despite Cheyenne¡¯s fear, she still tried her best to protect Charlotte. But her hands were already trembling, and cold sweat covered her pale face. In front of them was a middle-aged man with his back facing them, his body covered in wounds and bleeding profusely. Half-kneeling on the floor, he was still trying to shield Cheyenne and Charlotte and stop people from getting near them. The person he was fighting was an elderly man in white. Beside the elderly man was a young man in his twenties. He was sizing up Cheyenne and Charlotte as if he was looking at the prey he was hunting. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you two beauties to have such a powerful bodyguard! Unfortunately, my bodyguard is far stronger than yours, so you lost!¡± The young man smiled. ¡°Beauties, I don¡¯t want anyone to die here, so you two better obey and stop resisting, and I¡¯ll let your bodyguard go. How does that sound?¡± Hearing this, Charlotte and Cheyenne looked even more panicked and desperate. What should they do now? Now, the only person who could protect them was Stanley, who was half-kneeling on the floor in front of them. But Stanley was severely injured to the point where he could barely stand up. His dagger had also been snatched away by the elderly man, and he had lost so much blood. Of course, they didn¡¯t want to submit to this frivolous yboy, but if they still resisted, Stanley might die! Stanley, under Lucas¡¯s orders, had protected them for a long time. Although they usually had very little interaction with him, they couldn¡¯t watch him die to protect them. What should they do now? Cheyenne¡¯s face was covered in misery and despair. Charlotte had just called Lucas, but as soon as she said a few words, the door of the private room had been kicked open, and their phones had been taken away by the elderly man in white. Who knew if Lucas had heard where they were clearly. Besides, even if Lucas had heard it, it would be impossible for him to rush here within a short time. If Stanley hadn¡¯t dashed out to protect them with his life on the line and stalled for some time, this young man would have already captured them¡­ Stanley raised his arm with difficulty and wiped the blood seeping out of the corner of his mouth while glowering at the young man and his elderly bodyguard opposite him. ¡°They¡¯re not people you can afford to provoke! If you don¡¯t want to die, I advise you to leave right now, or else it¡¯ll be toote to regret!¡± He was no match for the elderly man and had been beaten to a pulp. But Stanley knew that messing with Cheyenne and her family was Lucas¡¯s taboo. If anyone dared to offend them, he would never let them off! Once Lucas was here, the two bastards in front of him would definitely have a hard time. The most important thing he had to do now was to try his best to protect Charlotte and Cheyenne before Lucas arrived. He mustn¡¯t let anyone do anything to them! After hearing Stanley¡¯s threat, the young man smiled with superiority. ¡°Are you threatening me? Hah, what a joke. I¡¯ve lived for over two decades, and no one has ever dared to threaten me in the face like that!¡± With a proud expression, he seemed to remember something, put on a polite stance, and introduced himself to Cheyenne and Charlotte, ¡°Speaking of which, I almost forgot to introduce myself to you beauties. No wonder you¡¯re so scared to get close to me. ¡°My name is Angus Hamilton, and I¡¯m a direct descendent of a royal family branch!¡± Angus¡¯s face was full of pride as he talked about his family. ¡°Do you know what the royal family is? Well, I guess ordinary folks wouldn¡¯t have heard about us, and all they know are the eight top families of DC. ¡°Hmph, those eight top families aren¡¯t even worthy of carrying our shoes! ¡°There are only nine royal family branches, and our power is beyond your imagination! Even if the eight top families join forces, there¡¯s no way they¡¯re a match for the Hamiltons! ¡°Do you know how powerful we are now? ¡°Hah, no matter what your background is, no matter who you bring up, they are nothing to the Hamiltons!¡± What Angus said made Cheyenne and Charlotte turn even paler. Chapter 1237 - 1237 Behind Closed Doors 1237 Behind Closed Doors Cheyenne and Charlotte didn¡¯t expect this young man to have such a powerful background! Just based on the royal family name alone, they knew that the Hamiltons were extremely powerful and not a family that ordinary people like them coulde into contact with usually. Stanley, the bodyguard Lucas had arranged for them, was already a very powerful expert. He used to be the number one expert in LA, and after training under Lucas for so long, he had progressed further in martial arts. But even Stanley was no match for the elderly man in white beside Angus. Based on this alone, it was apparent how terrifyingly powerful the Hamiltons were. Even Stanley couldn¡¯t help inhaling sharply after hearing Angus reveal his family. Lucas had previously arranged for him to stay in DC for a while, so he knew how powerful a royal family branch like the Hamiltons was. His martial arts skills had improved significantly, yet he was still no match for the elderly man. Clearly, he was extremely formidable. Since Angus could have the protection of such a strong powerhouse, he definitely had an extraordinary status in the Hamilton family. This made the situation even worse! Stanley gritted his teeth and shouted, ¡°Does being a royal give you the right to bully women and kidnap them as you please? Fancy you calling yourself the descendant of an apex family! You want to hurt them? Over my dead body!¡± Protecting Cheyenne and Charlotte was the task Lucas had entrusted him with, so no matter what, he had to do his best to keep them safe! Angus reprimanded angrily, ¡°Hmph, you must have a death wish! I nned to let you off on ount of the two beauties, but since you don¡¯t treasure the opportunity, you can¡¯t me me!¡± Then Angus said to the elderly man next to him, ¡°Kill him!¡± The elderly man didn¡¯t act immediately and instead persuaded, ¡°Mr. Angus, this man seems to be from the military. We¡¯d better be careful in case¡­¡± Angus said nonchntly, ¡°So what? Even if their backer is a big shot from the military, they are nothingpared to the Hamiltons! Why should I be afraid of them? Since I told you to kill him, just do it! What nonsense are you saying?¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± The elderly man in white immediately charged toward Stanley fiercely. Stanley stared closely at the elderly man, not daring to be careless at all. He struggled to take a deep breath and pulled out thest thin dagger from the heel of his shoe with one hand while avoiding the elderly man¡¯s lethal attack and shing at him. Flying daggers were the weapons he was best at using, but the elderly man had snatched away the dagger he had used earlier. He had also thrown a few daggers, but it had been futile. Fortunately, Stanley had hidden a weapon in an inconspicuous spot of his shoe sole. When the dagger shed over, the elderly man retreated a little, affecting his attack. His attack slowed slightly, allowing Stanley to narrowly dodge the deadly blow. But the elderly man was really good at martial arts. After missing, he changed his move instantly and kicked Stanley¡¯s chest. This time, Stanley didn¡¯t manage to dodge the attack. After suffering the kick, he was immediately kicked far away until he hit a wall in the corridor outside the room. The kick was extremely fierce. Stanley was severely wounded in the first ce, and after taking the kick, the bones in his chest cracked again. He huddled up on the floor, unable to stand up at all. ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s actually not dead.¡± Angus frowned in displeasure when he saw Stanley desperately struggling to get up from the floor. However, although the bastard getting in the way didn¡¯t die, he should havepletely lost hisbat power. The two beautiful women in front of Angus were going to belong to him! He stared at Cheyenne and Charlotte with a fiery gaze and licked his lips. Although he wasn¡¯t ugly, he looked deplorable when making this action. The elderly man advised, ¡°Mr. Angus, you came to California for an important mission, and you just arrived in Orange County today. In case you miss the important task because of these two women, wouldn¡¯t that be terrible? Why don¡¯t you wait until the matter is done before¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Angus hollered impatiently. ¡°Who¡¯s the scion of the Hamiltons? Who calls the shots here? You or me? Go stand outside. Don¡¯t get in the way of my business! Do you hear me?¡± Angus ordered. The elderly man could only sigh silently and answer, ¡°Yes!¡± Although he thought that it was strange for these two beautiful women to have such a powerful bodyguard, and he even guessed that they might be rted to the military, he was just a bodyguard after all. Even if he reminded Angus to be careful, he wouldn¡¯t listen to him at all. Since he worked for the Hamiltons, he could only obey Angus¡¯s orders. Despite knowing what would happen to the two women next, it was beyond his control. The elderly man walked out of the private room, leaving Angus alone with Cheyenne and Charlotte inside. After struggling for a long time, Stanley finally managed to recover from the severe pain. He struggled to turn his head and happened to see the scene of the door closing in front of him. Intense fury appeared in Stanley¡¯s eyes as he tried his best to crawl toward the door. He knew that if he couldn¡¯t stop it, Cheyenne and Charlotte would face something horrendous. Lucas had sent him to protect Cheyenne and Charlotte. How could he watch that kind of thing happen? But now that Stanley was severely wounded, it was already a miracle that he could survive. Even if he went all out and expended all his energy to crawl forward, he only inched forward a little. There was no way he could save the sisters. Stanley had no choice but to plead with the elderly man. ¡°Go¡­ go stop him. If heys a finger on the two women inside, he will definitely die a terrible death! ¡°I¡¯m not trying to scare you. If you don¡¯t want to see him die, hurry up and stop him! Otherwise, neither of you will survive!¡± The elderly man in white looked coldly at Stanley, who had blood all over his face. ¡°You¡¯re in no ce to makements or meddle with Mr. Angus¡¯s affairs! Now, you are the one who¡¯s going to die!¡± Then he raised his right leg to stomp hard on Stanley¡¯s head! Chapter 1238 - 1238 Saving His Wife 1238 Saving His Wife When Stanley saw therge foot moving toward him and expanding in front of him, a trace of despair appeared in his eyes. Stanley knew that the elderly man in white was extremely strong. Even if he stepped on a stone like this, he would easily break it, let alone a human head. If this foot stomped on him, he would probably die. But Stanley felt unwilling! He had just started working for Lucas a few months ago, and this time, Lucas had ordered him to protect the person who meant the most to him. Yet he failed to protect her and would die here instead. He was letting Lucas down and felt ashamed! He would die with regrets like this! And even after death, he wouldn¡¯t be able to rest in peace! The elderly man didn¡¯t actually have a deep feud with Stankey, but he had to kill Stanley. The elderly man had a vague feeling that Stanley and the two beautiful women inside definitely had a terrifying force supporting them. Since he couldn¡¯t convince Angus, he could only help him clean up the aftermath. Only by killing Stanley here could he silence him and stop today¡¯s matter from being leaked, thereby avoiding trouble for Angus. In fact, not only Stanley but the two women inside also had to die after Angus sought enough pleasure. Only the dead could keep secrets. The elderly man remained expressionless as his foot was about to stomp on Stanley¡¯s head. But suddenly, he felt a terrifying aura charging toward him maniacally. The elderly man immediately got goosebumps and didn¡¯t have the time to stomp Stanley to death. He had to raise his arms and cross them in front of him hastily to protect his vital point. Bang! The next moment, a ferocious forcended on the elderly man¡¯s arms and sted him far away. The elderly man¡¯s swift reaction had saved his life. If he hadn¡¯t protected his head with both arms, he would have been dead now! Thud! The elderly man¡¯s body flew back seven meters in the long corridor andnded heavily on the floor. Although he wasn¡¯t dead yet, his arms had beenpletely crushed, and his body was severely injured. Afternding on the floor with a loud thud, he spat out a mouthful of blood and could no longer get up. The elderly man raised his head with difficulty and looked at the other end of the corridor. He saw a tall figure standing there. He couldn¡¯t see his face clearly, but this person was exuding a terrifying aura, like a ferocious beast. Stanley thought that he would definitely die, but he didn¡¯t expect to be saved. He turned his head and saw a familiar figure standing in front of him. ¡°Lu-Lucas!¡± Stanley¡¯s face was full of joy, and he was so excited that he was on the verge of tears. But it wasn¡¯t the time to be touched. Stanley immediately pointed at the door of the private room across from him and said anxiously, ¡°Lucas, Cheyenne is inside. Quickly go save her!¡± The moment he said this, a surging murderous intent appeared in Lucas¡¯s eyes. He instantly kicked the door of the private room open. Bang! His kick immediately smashed the door of the private room, turning it into a pile of broken wood. Angus, who was nning to infringe on Charlotte and Cheyenne in the private room, was startled andshed out, ¡°Which bastard dares to interrupt me?!¡± No one said anything. Only a tall and slender figure walked into the private room with a cold expression. The moment they saw this figure, Cheyenne and Charlotte burst into tears. They were just weak and vulnerable women who didn¡¯t know any self-defense skills and were no match for Angus. If they weren¡¯t both here and could help each other, they would have already been vited by Angus. But even then, the two of them were in very miserable states. After a lot of struggle, Angus had tied up their hands and was about to humiliate them. They were already willing to die rather than suffer Angus¡¯s vitions. But they didn¡¯t expect Lucas to make it in time at the critical juncture! How could they not burst into tears of joy? In contrast to Cheyenne¡¯s and Charlotte¡¯s joy, Angus was furious. Just as he was about to get his hands on the two beautiful women, someone barged in and interrupted him. He was so angry that he wanted to kill people. ¡°White w, what are you doing? How could you let someone barge in? Hurry up and chase him away!¡± Angus hollered in fury. White w was the name of the elderly man in white and also the bodyguard that his family had specially assigned to protect him. He had clearly asked White w to guard the door and prevent others from entering, yet White w failed to do such a simple matter, causing Angus to lose his temper. Still, Angus had a lot of faith in White w¡¯s abilities. As long as he made a move, there were no enemies he couldn¡¯t defeat. Moreover, this young man in his twenties was absolutely no match for White w. However, there wasn¡¯t a single sound or movement outside regardless of how much Angus shouted. White w didn¡¯t respond, let alone rush in to protect him and chase away this punk. Angus had an ominous premonition. Did something happen to White w? No, that¡¯s impossible! No one in Orange County should be a match for him! Despite feeling a trace of panic and shock, Angus kept a fierce expression on his face and shouted at Lucas, ¡°Punk, who the hell are you? Do you know who I am? How dare you barge in and ruin things for me? I won¡¯t spare you!¡± Lucas ignored Angus¡¯s moring and turned to look at Cheyenne and Charlotte. When he saw the two of them crying with their hands tied up with a gaudy tie, a murderous gaze appeared in his eyes. He nced at Angus coldly and immediately walked toward Cheyenne and Charlotte. Lucas helped Cheyenne up from the floor and tore off the tie wrapped around her hands. ¡°Lucas!¡± Cheyenne threw herself into Lucas¡¯s arms and hugged him tightly while bawling loudly. Chapter 1239 - 1239 He Must Die 1239 He Must Die ¡°Honey¡­ I thought I¡¯d never get to see you again! It¡¯s my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have thrown a tantrum ande here on my own. It¡¯s all my fault!¡± Cheyenne said tearfully with regret all over her face. If she hadn¡¯t gotten upset at Lucas, given him the cold shoulder, and gone out with Charlotte to rx while not allowing Lucas to follow, they wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this plight today and almost gotten vited. At this moment, Cheyenne was shocked and terrified. Seeing Lucas saving them in the nick of time, she was touched and aggrieved with lingering fears. Unable to control her emotions, she cried intensely. Charlotte was feeling the same. She also wanted to hug Lucas and cry her heart out, but Lucas was her brother-inw, not her husband. Only Cheyenne could cry in his arms, while she couldn¡¯t. She could only suppress her surging emotions while wiping away the tears on her face. Lucas looked at his wife weeping in his arms, feeling extremely distressed and sorry for her. He patted her on the back andforted gently, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Everything¡¯s fine now. With me here, no one can hurt you anymore.¡± He didn¡¯t think that Cheyenne and Charlotte were at fault. Today¡¯s disaster was clearly because someone harbored designs on them after seeing how beautiful they were. Now, Lucas was just thankful that he had arrived in time to save Cheyenne and Charlotte. Otherwise, he didn¡¯t know what would have happened to them in the end. Angus was exasperated at being ignored by Lucas at first. But after hearing Lucas and Cheyenne¡¯s conversation, he suddenly realized that the man who barged in was Cheyenne¡¯s husband. But so what? It wasn¡¯t his first time snatching someone else¡¯s wife. When it came to the women he wanted, he didn¡¯t care if they had boyfriends or husbands. As long as he revealed that he was from the Hamilton family, even if he snatched another man¡¯s woman, no one would dare to say a word! ¡°Punk, I¡¯ve set my sights on your woman. If you¡¯re sensible, you¡¯d better hand those two women over to me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely make sure you die a horrible death!¡± Angus said. Lucas turned his head and nced at Angus as if he was looking at a dead man. Angus immediately shuddered and subconsciously took a step back. This man¡¯s gaze is too terrifying! The intense murderous aura that Lucas was exuding made him feel as though Lucas was going to kill him! ¡°What¡­ what do you want to do?¡± Angus was so frightened that he stammered, but he soon realized that his words were diminishing his family¡¯s prestige. So he said, ¡°I¡¯m warning you. I¡¯m from the Hamiltons, one of the royal family branches in the US, and I have a powerful expert by my side. If you don¡¯t obey me, I won¡¯t spare your life! Do you hear me?¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to this idiot at all. At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the private room. Soon, Bruce and Edmund appeared in the corridor with their subordinates. ¡°Mr. Gray, are you alright? We were worried that something might happen, so we brought our people here to help!¡± Bruce and Edmund looked at Lucas nervously and exined why they had appeared here. Lucas nodded slightly and pointed at Stanley outside the private room, who was severely wounded and unable to get up. He ordered them, ¡°He¡¯s severely injured. Immediately get him to the hospital for treatment!¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Bruce agreed right away. A couple of the Hales¡¯ subordinates immediately stepped forward and quickly carried Stanley away. Although they moved quickly, they were very careful. Lucas nced at Cheyenne and Charlotte again and said gently, ¡°You¡¯ve both been shocked. Go home first. I¡¯ll head back immediately after settling the matters here.¡± Although Cheyenne and Charlotte were unwilling to leave, they knew that they wouldn¡¯t be of much help here. Besides, there were already more than a hundred people from the Hales and Coles here, so Lucas wouldn¡¯t be at a disadvantage. They nodded and agreed. ¡°Arrange for people to send my wife and sister-inw home. Make sure they¡¯re safe!¡± Lucas ordered again. Edmund immediately acknowledged, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll make sure they arrive home safely!¡± ¡°Honey, you¡­ be careful too. We¡¯ll wait for you at home,¡± Cheyenne said worriedly before leaving with Charlotte and more than twenty of the Coles¡¯ bodyguards. When Angus saw that Lucas had more than a hundred helpers, he widened his eyes slightly with some surprise, but there wasn¡¯t any fear in his eyes. Instead, he licked his lips and chuckled. ¡°I was wondering why you had the courage to go against me. It turns out you¡¯re a big shot here in Orange County. You actually brought so many people here. ¡°But so what if you¡¯ve brought a lot of people? I¡¯m from the Hamilton family, and I have a noble status. None of you will dare toy a finger on me! If you dare toy a hand on a Hamilton, you will all die. Do you believe me?¡± Angus said fearlessly. ¡°Oh, really?¡± Lucas sneered and instructed someone to bring White w, the elderly man in white who was at hisst breath, in from outside the room. He threw him to Angus¡¯s side like he was a dead dog. ¡°The one who¡¯s going to die is you!¡± After Angus saw the terrible state that the elderly man was in, his pupils constricted, and he eximed in shock, ¡°White w?!¡± He didn¡¯t expect his bodyguard to have been beaten so terribly and be on hisst breath, looking like he was about to die. At this moment, he finally knew why White w didn¡¯t respond when he yelled for him toe over and save him. It turned out that White w had already been captured and beaten into a pulp. ¡°You¡­ you are really audacious! The Hamiltons are royals, yet you have the guts to harm my bodyguard. Aren¡¯t you afraid that we¡¯ll eradicate you overnight?¡± Angus roared loudly, furious and flustered. ¡°The Hamiltons¡­ Hah!¡± Lucas sneered and directly ordered, ¡°Kill him!¡± After seeing what Angus had done to Cheyenne and Charlotte, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t let him off. Even though he was a royal, Lucas wouldn¡¯t let him live. Anyone who dared to harm his wife had to die! Angus self-righteously thought that Lucas wouldn¡¯t dare to touch him just because he was a royal, but he didn¡¯t know that Lucas¡¯s status wasparable to the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman¡¯s. How could he care about Angus¡¯s threat? Although Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of the Hamiltons at all, Bruce and Edmund were stunned after hearing Angus¡¯s origin. Then their faces became grim and revealed fear. ¡°He¡¯s from the Hamilton family¡­ Mr. Gray, are we really going to kill him?¡± Edmund asked hesitantly. Chapter 1240 - 1240 Cleaning All Traces 1240 Cleaning All Traces It wasn¡¯t that Edmund was timid, but the Hamiltons were a royal family branch after all. Just half an hour ago, they had just met Brett Hamilton, and they were extremely afraid of the Hamiltons. If Lucas hadn¡¯t been there, they would probably have really been unable to resist the pressure from the Hamiltons. Now, the person in front of him was also from the Hamiltons. If they really killed him here, it might bring a catastrophe to Lucas. ¡°He deserves to die. Kill him!¡± Lucas said without hesitation. Bruce and Edmund were astonished to hear the firm determination and murderous intent in Lucas¡¯s tone. They had just had a conflict with Brett, but theypletely didn¡¯t fall out with him, so there was still room for negotiation. But if they really killed Angus here, they would form a deadly feud with the Hamiltons. But thinking that Angus had offended Lucas¡¯s wife and sister-inw, they could understand why Lucas wanted to kill him. At this moment, Angus could also sense that Lucas really wanted to kill him, while White w, the top expert by his side, had already beenpletely crippled. He now felt terrified. ¡°You¡­ you are too audacious! Do you bumpkins know how prestigious my family is? Let me tell you. Even the eight top families of DCbined are no match for us! ¡°Furthermore, I¡¯m a direct descendant of the Hamiltons, and my grandfather is the current helmsman of the family! If you dare toy a finger on me, my grandfather will never let you off. Even if we raze all of California down to the ground, we won¡¯t let you off! ¡°If you know what¡¯s good for you, get lost immediately, and I might spare you! Do you hear me?¡± Angus yelled hysterically. But at this moment, he no longer had the haughtiness he had before. Instead, he was full of fear. Seeing that Lucas still wanted to kill him after he revealed the Hamiltons¡¯ name, he just thought that Lucas didn¡¯t know about them because he was a hillbilly. So he went all out to exin his family¡¯s background to try and deter Lucas and the rest. But Lucas didn¡¯t want to bother with Angus at all. He just raised his hand and signaled for them to take action. Edmund didn¡¯t say anything else and ordered the experts behind him, ¡°Do it!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Two experts from the Coles immediately walked straight to Angus with strong killing intent. Angus¡¯s legs went limp, and he dropped to his knees. For the first time in his life, he felt boundless fear and the threat of death. ¡°No, no, no, please don¡¯t kill me! I¡­ I was wrong! Sir, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my fault for being so daring. I apologize to you! I canpensate you with money! ¡°I¡­ I can pay you ten million dors! No, I¡¯ll give you fifty million dors. Please don¡¯t kill me. Please let me off!¡± Angus begged with his face covered in fear. He wasn¡¯t that stupid, and he could still tell that Lucas was the one who called the shots here, so he immediately begged Lucas and even prostrated to him. Lucas looked at him coldly, with only contempt in his eyes. Angus wanted to exchange a mere 50 million dors for his life. The value of his life was pathetically low! Seeing Lucaspletely unmoved, Angus panicked even more. He made up his mind and yelled, ¡°I¡¯ll give you two hundred million dors! That¡¯s all the cash I have now! If you still think it¡¯s not enough, I can give you all the houses, cars, and stocks I own. Please just spare my life and let me go! I will never dare to offend your wife again!¡± Angus was full of misery and regret but also resentment at the same time. It was the first time in his life he had encountered such humiliation. Once he escaped, he would definitely take the Hamiltons with him and bathe Orange County in blood to make up for the shame he suffered today! He would definitely rip Lucas into shreds to soothe his hatred! But before Angus could finish speaking, he stopped abruptly. A steel-like hand grabbed his neck and twisted it. Angus¡¯s neck was broken, and he died on the spot! Even at the moment of his death, his face was covered in disbelief, as he couldn¡¯t believe that someone actually dared to kill him. He didn¡¯t even know who the person who killed him was. At the side, the elderly man, who was on hisst breath, widened his eyes in horror after watching Angus die. Then his eyes rolled backward, and his body went limp. He died on the spot as well. Looking at the two corpses in front of him, Edmund asked carefully, ¡°Mr. Gray, what should we do next?¡± Edmund was still feeling anxious and worried about ordering people to kill the Hamilton scion. Lucas instructed calmly, ¡°Get rid of their corpses and make sure no one breathes a word about this. Also, clean up all the traces, including the surveince here. Don¡¯t let anyone find any traces of these two.¡± Angus deserved to die. Although Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of the Hamiltons, he didn¡¯t want them toe after him and hound him like mad dogs. Thus, he decided to clean up the traces so that there was a chance the Hamiltons wouldn¡¯te looking for him. Bruce and Edmund knew that the matter concerned their future, so they didn¡¯t dare to be careless about it at all and quickly agreed. ¡°Rest assured, Mr. Gray. We¡¯ll definitely clean up all the traces and make sure no one knows that Angus Hamilton was ever here!¡± The two assured Lucas. The Hales and the Coles were now the top families in California, so Lucas believed that they were capable of handling this matter. After handing the matter over to them, Lucas went to the hospital to check on Stanley¡¯s condition. After hearing the doctor say that Stanley¡¯s life wasn¡¯t in danger, he felt relieved. Then he returned home to his vi in the middle of Pearl Lake. As soon as he entered the vi, Charlotte and Cheyenne, who had been waiting in the living room for a long time, immediately dashed to him. ¡°Honey, are you alright?¡± ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re finally home!¡± The two of them carefully scrutinized Lucas and breathed a sigh of relief only after ensuring that he was unscathed. But immediately afterward, the sisters looked a little awkward and hung their heads low, not daring to look at him at all. If they hadn¡¯t thrown a fit at him and gone out on their own today, they wouldn¡¯t have met Angus and almost had an ident. So facing Lucas, they were extremely uneasy and felt that they had made a mistake. Charlotte, who had dragged Cheyenne out with her, especially felt regretful and guilty. Cheyenne clearly didn¡¯t believe the photos of Lucas and Lena in the first ce, yet Charlotte had insisted that they teach Lucas a lesson. So she had pressured Cheyenne into ignoring him and even brought her out for a trip to Lotte Entertainment City. In the end, she had almost gotten them into serious trouble. The thought of it overwhelmed Charlotte with so much guilt and self-reproach that she couldn¡¯t bring herself to raise her head. Chapter 1241 - 1241 Can’t Stand It 1241 Can¡¯t Stand It ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s all my fault for what happened today! If I hadn¡¯t refused to trust you and insisted on making Cheyenne throw a tantrum at you, she wouldn¡¯t have met that bastard and almost suffered horrors. Stanley wouldn¡¯t have gotten injured protecting us either!¡± Charlotte said with a look of self-reproach, ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s all my fault. Just scold me if it¡¯ll make you feel better.¡± Cheyenne quickly said, ¡°No, it¡¯s my fault! If I hadn¡¯t ignored you, given you the cold shoulder, and even abandoned you to go out with Charlotte, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten into trouble. At the end of the day, it¡¯s all because I didn¡¯t trust you enough¡­¡± Seeing Cheyenne nning to take all responsibility, Charlotte hurriedly said, ¡°No! Lucas, Cheyenne has always trusted you, and she even told me that those photos are fake. She believes that there¡¯s nothing between you and Lena. It was my petty temper. I insisted that Cheyenne teaches you a lesson. That¡¯s why today¡¯s matter happened¡­¡± The two of thempeted to take responsibility. Lucas looked at the two sisters and sighed, but he had a gentle smile. ¡°Okay, you two don¡¯t have to fight to take responsibility. It¡¯s not your fault for what happened today. If you must me someone, me Angus Hamilton for being bold and reckless.¡± He added, ¡°You don¡¯t have to me yourselves. I¡¯m thankful enough that you¡¯re fine. And regarding Stanley¡­ he¡¯s alright. Although he suffered severe injuries, he was fine when I went to the hospital. He¡¯ll be alright after recuperating in the hospital for a while.¡± Stanley was indeed heavily wounded at the time. Fortunately, he trained all year round, and he was in good physical condition. Besides, most of his injuries were superficial wounds and abrasions. There were some fractures and excessive blood loss, but his vitals weren¡¯t affected. He just had to recuperate well in the hospital for some time to return to the way he was before. There was nothing serious with Stanley¡¯s condition, making Lucas feel relieved. After hearing what Lucas said, Cheyenne and Charlotte finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if a huge boulder had been lifted off their hearts. If Stanley really died because of protecting them, they would never be at ease. ¡°Thankfully, Stanley is alright. Otherwise, I would feel even more guilty,¡± Cheyenne said guiltily. Seeing Cheyenne still ming herself for this incident, Lucas pulled her into his arms andforted, ¡°It¡¯s really not your fault. Stop ming yourself. I¡¯ll take you to the hospital in the afternoon to let you see Stanley in person!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Cheyenne wrapped her arms around Lucas¡¯s waist and buried her head in his chest. Seeing the two of them hugging, Charlotte couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°Hey, I really can¡¯t stand this! Don¡¯t abuse us singles here! I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± Charlotte covered her eyes and wailed before running into her room upstairs. Cheyenne blushed shyly, quickly pushed Lucas away, and looked at him with some chagrin. It was his fault for suddenly hugging her and causing Charlotte to tease her. It was too embarrassing. After Cheyenne gave him a shy re of annoyance, Lucas felt his heart surge. He had been apart from Cheyenne for more than ten days, and he missed his lovely wife dearly. Now that she gave him this re, the fire in his heart suddenly ignited. ¡°Honey, let¡¯s talk in the bedroom.¡± Lucas picked Cheyenne up in his arms and walked toward their bedroom. Cheyenne let out an exmation and hugged Lucas¡¯s neck tightly. She understood what he meant and blushed even more shyly. ¡°No, don¡¯t be like this¡­ It¡¯s broad daylight, and Charlotte is at home too. We shouldn¡¯t do this¡ªMmph!¡± Before Cheyenne could finish speaking, Lucas blocked her lips with a kiss. Their fiery breaths intertwined between their lips and teeth. Charlotte had nned to head downstairs to get some milk from the refrigerator, but she happened to see Lucas carrying Cheyenne and kissing her while going to their bedroom. After being stunned for a moment, she quickly realized what they were going to do and immediately blushed. ¡°Ahhh! My eyes!¡± Charlotte immediately forgot her n to go downstairs to get some milk. She headed straight back to her room, mmed the door shut with a bang, and covered her burning face. But for some reason, the scene of them hugging and kissing each other kept running through her head. She even thought of some other scenes that made her entire face blush as red as a tomato. ¡°Ahhh! What was I thinking?!¡± Charlotte patted her cheeks, threw herself onto her bed, and hid under her duvet. ¡­ Meanwhile, the Coles and Hales hadpletely cleaned up all traces that Angus and the elderly man in white had left behind in Lotte Entertainment City and Orange County, as well as disposed of their corpses. Even if someone came to investigate, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find a single clue. But Angus, a direct descendant of a royal family branch, naturally couldn¡¯t vanish without any rhyme or reason. ¡­ The following morning, Angus¡¯s father called Brett and asked in displeasure, ¡°Did Angus look for you? He¡¯s already in his twenties, but he¡¯s still so childish and unreliable. I told him to call me as soon as he arrived in Orange Countyst night. But he hasn¡¯t even texted me yet. I can¡¯t reach him on the phone either!¡± ¡°Brett, you¡¯re the elder brother, so you have to keep an eye on him. Don¡¯t let him get too carried away with fooling around that he forgets about me!¡± Hearing this, Brett was stunned for a moment. ¡°Dad, what did you say? Angus is here in Orange County too? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± On the other end, Brett¡¯s father was just as puzzled. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t he go look for you? He kept telling me that he was going to Orange County to look for you! Is he messing around somewhere again?¡± The two were surprised. Angus was five years younger than Brett, and he had been extremely clingy to him since he was a child. Even though he came to Orange County to have fun, he should have met Brett or called him at least. What did it mean that he didn¡¯t contact them and that they couldn¡¯t reach him either? Brett¡¯s heart skipped a beat as an ominous premonition surged in his heart, causing him to be frightened. Did something happen to Angus? Chapter 1242 - 1242 He Disappeared 1242 He Disappeared ¡°Dad, I¡¯m sending someone to look for Angus in Orange County now,¡± Brett said over the phone. After hanging up, Brett called Angus a few times, only to hear that the phone was off and no one could be reached. He frowned and called White w, Angus¡¯s bodyguard. But he couldn¡¯t reach him either. Brett¡¯s expression became grim. If it was only Angus who couldn¡¯t be reached, it could be due to special circumstances such as his phone¡¯s battery running out. But since neither of them could be contacted, something had likely gone wrong. ¡°Immediately send people to investigate what time Angus arrived in Orange County yesterday and where he went. Find him immediately!¡± Brett said to a butler beside him. ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± The butler acknowledged and immediately got to it. An hourter, the butler returned to Brett with a few documents and reported, ¡°Sir, there¡¯s still no news about Mr. Angus¡¯s whereabouts yet. This is the information about Mr. Angus¡¯s traces that my subordinates have found. Please take a look!¡± The documents had information on Angus¡¯s itinerary for the past few days, as well as the people he hade into contact with. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything unusual. But after Angus and his bodyguard had lunch at a restaurant yesterday, they went missing, and there were no traces of their whereabouts afterward. Angus was a scion of the Hamiltons, and he had even brought one of the most elite bodyguards of the family with him. How could he possibly vanish into thin air all of a sudden? Something must have happened! Brett mmed the document onto the table and ordered, ¡°Send everyone to search for him! No matter what, we have to find Angus even if we have to turn Orange City inside out!¡± He already had an ominous premonition that something might have happened to Angus. But even if something happened to him, he had to see him, dead or alive! If someone really dared toy a hand on Angus, he had to find the murderer! At this moment, Lucas¡¯s face suddenly surfaced in Brett¡¯s mind. The Hales were undoubtedly the most powerful force in Orange County. Moreover, even Bruce, the helmsman of the Hales, was extremely respectful and polite to Lucas. This was enough to show that his status was much higher than Bruce¡¯s. Brett didn¡¯t believe that Lucas was merely an abandoned son of the Huttons. After returning from the Hale residence yesterday, Brett had sent his men to investigate Lucas. It was then that he discovered that Lucas¡¯s life experience was extremely strange. Lucas was indeed an illegitimate son who had been kicked out by the Huttons when he was a child, but he had soon disappeared for six years after he became the Carters¡¯ live-in husband. When Lucas reappeared in Orange County half a year ago, he had changed drastically, and his subordinate forces had all developed rapidly. As for where Lucas had been and what he had experienced to undergo these changes during these six years, Brett was unable to find out anything. And now, Lucas was the true boss of California. If something really happened to Angus here, it might have something to do with Lucas! Brett clenched his fists tightly. ¡°Lucas Gray, who exactly are you¡­ I hope my brother¡¯s disappearance has nothing to do with you. Otherwise¡­¡± Ruthlessness gleamed in his eyes. ¡­ Meanwhile, in the vi in the middle of Pearl Lake¡­ After being away from each other for a long time, Lucas and Cheyenne had an incredibly passionate night that was so intense that they slept in till veryte the following morning. While they were having breakfast downstairs, Charlotte blushed slightly and red at Lucas a few times, causing him to be puzzled as to why she was annoyed with him. When Cheyenne got out of bed, she felt as if her waist was about to break, and she almost couldn¡¯t stand up straight. When she headed downstairs for breakfast, she couldn¡¯t help supporting her waist with her hand while ncing at Lucas coyly. Seeing this, Lucas knew that he had gone a little over the topst night. He touched his nose with slight embarrassment, coughed a little, and said, ¡°Cheyenne, you should stay home to get some rest today. I¡¯ll help you handle any important work matters if anything pops up.¡± Her face flushed, Cheyenne shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Didn¡¯t you say we should go to DC as soon as possible? There¡¯s a lot of stuff I have to hand over properly. I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Okay then. Call me if you need help.¡± Lucas stopped trying to convince her. He knew that she was a conscientious, hardworking, and professional person. Since they were at a critical moment before moving to DC, Cheyenne definitely couldn¡¯t rx and insisted on doing everything herself. Moreover, the matter about moving to DC shouldn¡¯t be dyed and should be settled as soon as possible. In Lucas¡¯s opinion, DC was much safer than Orange County. DC was the financial and political hub of the country, where all prestigious families and forces gathered. It was precisely because of this that no one would dare to act recklessly in DC. But it was hard to say the same about Orange County. Thus, Lucas wanted to settle everything in Orange County as soon as possible and then bring his family to DC. Only then could he feel more at ease. After sending his wife and daughter to the Brilliance Corporation and the kindergarten, Lucas arrived at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch. The Orange County branch was already a part of the Stardust Corporation, so Lucas didn¡¯t n to touch it. But as the chairman of the corporation, since he was back in Orange County, it was only right that he took a look at the branch¡¯s operational and financial situation. Besides, Cheyenne, the general manager of the branch, would also be transferred to DC, so there were still some matters that had to be handled. Just as Lucas arrived at the office and read a few documents, he received a call from Bruce. ¡°Lucas, ording to the information I¡¯ve received, the Hamiltons probably already know that something has happened to Angus Hamilton. Brett Hamilton has arranged for his subordinates to search for information about Angus Hamilton, and the Hamiltons have also dispatched many experts to Orange County. It¡¯s a huge ruckus.¡± Bruce sounded serious and nervous. ¡°How many people are here?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°ording to the information I¡¯ve obtained, there are at least a hundred people here, and all of them are skilled in martial arts. They¡¯re not ordinary people, and they¡¯re difficult to deal with.¡± Hearing this, Lucas frowned. ¡°Have you finished cleaning up like I told you yesterday?¡± Since the Hamiltons had sent so many people over to look for Angus, what had happened in Lotte Entertainment City definitely couldn¡¯t be leaked. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve had people clean up everything. The Hamiltons definitely won¡¯t be able to find any clues!¡± Bruce knew that the matter was serious, so he didn¡¯t dare to be careless and had already sent his men to verify. ... ¡°That¡¯s good. Let¡¯s leave the matter alone for now. You should be careful and make sure to keep a good eye on your subordinates. Inform me if anything happens,¡± Lucas ordered. Since they had already cleaned up the traces, no matter how much the Hamiltons searched, they would never be able to find Angus. After ending the call, Lucas set aside the matter regarding the Hamiltons. But soon, a secretary knocked on the door, entered, and asked respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, someone named Brett Hamilton is here, and he¡¯s asked to speak to you. Would you like to see him?¡± Chapter 1243 - 1243 Questioning 1243 Questioning Lucas raised his eyebrows. He didn¡¯t expect Brett toe so soon after Bruce mentioned him. Could he have found out that Angus Hamilton¡¯s death is rted to me? Lucas instructed without hesitation, ¡°Bring him here.¡± !! Regardless of whether Brett had found out something or not, Lucas decided to meet him first and y it by ear. Soon, Brett was brought to the chairman¡¯s office. He didn¡¯te alone. There was an elderly man wearing a white long-sleeved shirt. He was Brett¡¯s bodyguard. This elderly man was different from White w, but he was simrly dressed. It was probably the uniform of the Hamiltons¡¯ top bodyguards. But the one standing behind Brett looked a few years younger than White w. His energy was restrained, and he seemed much more powerful. ¡°Hello, Mr. Hamilton. What brings you here?¡± Lucas saidnguidly while remaining seated. He wasn¡¯t friends with Brett in the first ce, not to mention that Angus had died in Lucas¡¯s hands. Lucas was destined not to get along harmoniously with the Hamiltons, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to feign politeness with Brett. Brett frowned, displeased with Lucas¡¯s attitude. But he wasn¡¯t here to make friends with Lucas today. ¡°Lucas Gray, let¡¯s be upfront and honest. My brother is in your hands, right? I want you to hand him over!¡± Brett said with a sullen look. Upon hearing this, Lucas knew that he hadn¡¯t found out about Angus. If he had really found out about Angus, he would have known that Angus was already dead and that there was no way for Lucas to hand him over. Brett was probably just probing him. ¡°Who¡¯s your brother? Mr. Hamilton, you can¡¯t talk nonsense. I don¡¯t even know who your brother is. Isn¡¯t that too absurd to ask me to hand him over?¡± Lucas frowned with displeasure. Brett sneered. ¡°Lucas Gray, you don¡¯t have to pretend with me. My brother, Angus, arrived in Orange County yesterday with his bodyguard. Ordinary people won¡¯t be able to get close to him at all, yet he vanished without a trace here. You and the Hales are the only ones who can do this in Orange County. How dare you say that my brother¡¯s disappearance has nothing to do with you? ¡°Lucas, I respect you for being a good man, so I didn¡¯t get into a conflict with you yesterday. But this doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m a pushover! If you hand over my brother now, I won¡¯t hold it against you, and I can even let you and California off.¡± Brett narrowed his eyes and threatened Lucas, ¡°But if you continue being stubborn and refuse to let him go, the Hamiltons won¡¯t let you off! The Hamiltons are royals, and if we get serious, we can raze all of California to the ground!¡± Lucas¡¯s face darkened as he said coldly, ¡°You¡¯re really great, Mr. Hamilton. What does your brother¡¯s disappearance have to do with me? You actually came to me for his whereabouts and even used your family to threaten me. What a joke! ¡°If you¡¯re here today for this matter, then I have nothing else to say. Go elsewhere to look for your brother. You¡¯re not wee here! ¡°And don¡¯t think I¡¯m afraid of the Hamiltons because you¡¯re royals! You should have witnessed the situation at the Hales¡¯ yesterday. Do you think I¡¯d be afraid of you? ¡°Also, I¡¯m giving you another warning. California is my turf, and you and your family are in no ce to act out of line here! You can try seeing if you can raze California to the ground!¡± Lucas spoke arrogantly without being polite to Brett at all. Brett gritted his teeth, his face gloomy. After angering Lucas, Brett saw that he was merely indifferent and domineering. He didn¡¯t seem guilty at all, making Brett wonder if this really had nothing to do with Lucas. In fact, Lucas¡¯s guess was right. Brett hade to look for Lucas today, not because he had found any evidence but to probe Lucas to see if Angus¡¯s disappearance had anything to do with him. But if Lucas really wasn¡¯t the culprit, how did Angus go missing? Brett was uncertain now. However, the most important thing to do now was to locate Angus as soon as possible. Brett pondered for a moment before his expression suddenly changed, from being overbearing at first to looking helpless. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯m sorry for offending you, but I was too worried about my brother¡¯s safety. How about this? I know you¡¯re the most powerful person in Orange County, and even the Hales, the top family here, take orders from you. So I¡¯d like to ask you for a favor. ¡°As long as you help me find my brother, you¡¯ll be mine and my family¡¯s friend from now on. And the Hamiltons will owe you a big favor!¡± Brett said sincerely. He cared about his younger brother, so he was extremely sincere when asking Lucas for help. Of course, it was hard to say how he would return the favor. But Angus had been killed by Lucas. How could Lucas possibly help him find Angus? Lucas shook his head without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the Hamiltons¡¯ favor at all.¡± Then he suddenly changed his tone. ¡°I know you¡¯ve sent a lot of people to Orange County, but that displeases me. I can let you stay here for another two days, but after two days, all the Hamiltons must leave California! Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being rude!¡± Brett had almost never been spoken to so rudely to his face before, and Lucas¡¯s threat also made him furious. ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare you threaten me. It seems like you really don¡¯t take the Hamiltons seriously!¡± Brett shouted with his jaw clenched. Lucas moved the corners of his lips slightly without saying anything, but his gaze was full of contempt for the Hamiltons, seemingly telling Brett that he really didn¡¯t take them seriously. In fact, since Brett had domineeringly gone to the Hales yesterday and demanded that the top families of California pledge allegiance to the Hamiltons, Lucas had already been very displeased with the Hamiltons because they wanted to snatch his forces away from him. Later, the idiot Angus actually ignorantly tried to vite Lucas¡¯s wife and sister-inw. He overstepped Lucas¡¯s bottom line and utterly angered him, leading to Lucas ordering his death without hesitation. However, Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of the Hamiltons. He had instructed the Hales and the Coles to remain tight-lipped about Angus¡¯s death and clean up all the traces, not because he didn¡¯t dare to face the Hamiltons but because he didn¡¯t want them to hound him and bring him unnecessary trouble at this time. Lucas¡¯s attitude infuriated Brett even more. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re really arrogant! You want the Hamiltons to leave Orange County within two days? Hah, do you think you have what it takes? When the timees, don¡¯te crying on your knees to me!¡± Brett glowered at Lucas and then turned around to leave. Chapter 1244 - 1244 Asking for Aid 1244 Asking for Aid After looking for Lucas today, Brett had not only failed to find out where his younger brother was, but he didn¡¯t get Lucas¡¯s help either. Instead, he ended up infuriated, so he naturally didn¡¯t want to stay here to waste his breath on nonsense. After leaving the Stardust Corporation office, Brett turned around to look at the building and shouted with a resentful expression, ¡°Lucas Gray, it looks like you want to do this the hard way! How dare you go against the Hamiltons? Let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to die!¡± The elderly man in white following Brett had been silent all this time, but he suddenly said, ¡°Mr. Brett, this young man named Lucas Gray is extraordinary. His martial arts skills are very good, maybe as good as mine!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Brett¡¯s expression instantly changed, his eyes wide in shock. !! The elderly man in white beside him was Mateo, one of the top ten experts of the Hamiltons. Ever since the helmsman had arranged for this powerful bodyguard to protect him, Brett had be the envy of many family members, and he felt a greater sense of security. With Mateo by his side, Brett was almost fearless of anyone, and he didn¡¯t have to bring extra bodyguards with him everywhere he went. But Mateo actually said that Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills were on par with his. How was this possible?! Mateo was already in his fifties, and he was from a family of martial arts practitioners. He had been practicing martial arts since he was a few years ago, and only then did he acquire the terrifying strength he had now. Lucas was only around 27 or 28 years old, which was a few years younger than Brett. He didn¡¯t look very strong either, so Brett didn¡¯t believe that he hadbat strengthparable to Mateo¡¯s. It was simply a fantasy! ¡°Mateo, did you sense it correctly? How can Lucas Graypare to you?¡± Brett didn¡¯t believe it at all. Mateo nodded solemnly. ¡°I¡¯m not mistaken. I can sense that he¡¯s absolutely a top expert, even though his aura is hidden. He¡¯s terrifyingly powerful, so you mustn¡¯t underestimate him! I¡¯m afraid even I won¡¯t be able to take a head-on blow from him.¡± Mateo¡¯s words made Brett¡¯s face turn grim. He knew that Mateo wasn¡¯t the type to make frivolousments. Since he had said so, it must be true. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be such a top powerhouse at such a young age. In that case, many things would be much trickier. ¡°Got it. It seems like with our current forces, we really can¡¯t take over California from Lucas Gray. I¡¯ll have to ask the family to send some more top experts to help!¡± Brett said seriously. After leaving the Stardust Corporation, Brett continued to instruct his subordinates to search for Angus. They had almost scoured all of Orange County. Unfortunately, they still couldn¡¯t find any clues about Angus. He and White w seemed to have vanished into thin air without leaving any traces. Even Brett couldn¡¯t help feeling anxious. He had already gathered all the experts of the Hamiltons in the surrounding states andunched an intensive search for Angus, but there were still no results. Even if Angus was dead, he wanted to see his corpse. But now, they didn¡¯t even know if Angus was dead or alive. There was no news about him at all. This could only mean that someone was deliberately covering up the matter about Angus and had even wiped out all the traces to make sure they couldn¡¯t find anything. Since this person could do this, he definitely wasn¡¯t an ordinary person! Previously, Brett suspected that Lucas was getting up to some tricks. But now, he wondered if some other royal family branch was involved in this. After all, the families of Orange County shouldn¡¯t be powerful enough to cover up everything and get rid of all the traces so well despite the Hamiltons¡¯ search! Brett scratched his head anxiously. Did Angus offend some formidable figure? But he shouldn¡¯t have! Although there were a few big shots who didn¡¯t care about offending the Hamiltons, these important figures wouldn¡¯t just kill Angus silently and not inform the Hamiltons. After a futile day of searching, Brett had no choice but to report the situation to his father, Jensen, at night. ¡°What did you say? Angus went missing in Orange County, and he¡¯s still nowhere to be found?¡± Jensen flew into an uncontroble rage, and his voice was so thunderous that his phone almost broke. ¡°Someone there actually has the guts to hurt my son?!¡± Brett moved his phone slightly away from his ear. After Jensen finished shouting, he said, ¡°Dad, calm down. Angus is a Hamilton, and even top families wouldn¡¯t dare to hurt him. It might be something else. ¡°In any case, I¡¯ll do my best to find him! ¡°But this also shows that the situation in Orange County is moreplicated than we thought. So I¡¯d like to seek more help from the family. Please send two more top experts to assist me!¡± Brett didn¡¯t mention Lucas during the call. After all, Mateo hadn¡¯t really fought against Lucas, and it was only based on gut feeling that he thought Lucas was strong. He couldn¡¯t use this as a reason to ask for more assistance from the family. Jensen agreed without hesitation, ¡°Alright! Since this matter concerns Angus¡¯s life, we can¡¯t be careless. How about this? If you still can¡¯t find Angus by tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll bring people and go to Orange County myself!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Brett was overjoyed. If his father brought the family¡¯s top experts here, they would definitely be able to find Angus and even take over California! Heh, Lucas Gray will only have a dead end when the timees. Let¡¯s see if he can still be stubborn! ¡­ By seven the following morning, the Hamiltons still didn¡¯t have any good news, and Angus was still nowhere to be found. At this point, Angus had been missing for two days, and no one had contacted the Hamiltons during this time. Something might have really happened to him. Brett could only call his father again. ¡°Dad, we still can¡¯t find Angus¡­¡± He had barely gotten any sleep the past two days, and his voice was hoarse and full of fatigue. Jensen didn¡¯t me him and simply said, ¡°I¡¯ll head over to Orange County now! Wait for me there!¡± Soon, a ne from DC took off for Orange County. In it were Jensen and arge group of elite experts of the Hamiltons. ¡­ Lucas was unaware of this. He was still handling the matters at the Stardust Corporation in an orderly manner. In the afternoon, Edmund called Lucas and said grimly, ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡¯ve just received the news that Jensen Hamilton, the son of the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman, has just arrived in Orange County with many subordinates!¡± Chapter 1245 - 1245 No Longer Afraid 1245 No Longer Afraid ¡°Jensen Hamilton?¡± Lucas raised his brows slightly. Edmund gave Lucas the information about the Hamiltons that he had gathered over the past few days. ¡°Yes. Jensen Hamilton is the third son of the current helmsman of the Hamilton family. But he has always shown talent in martial arts, and he isn¡¯t any worse than the experts of the Hamiltons. ¡°Jensen is the youngest son of the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman, so he has been greatly favored by the Hamiltons since he was a child. Now, among the three sons, Jensens seems to be the most likely to take over as helmsman, rather than his elder brothers. ¡°Anyway, this man is hard to deal with, and he has even brought a group of the Hamiltons¡¯ experts with him to Orange County. This is a massive threat. Mr. Gray, you must be careful!¡± Lucas said nonmitally, ¡°Alright.¡± In fact, he didn¡¯t take Jensen seriously at all. No matter how skilled he was, he wouldn¡¯t be a match for Lucas. After all, he was just a son of the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman, not a pure martial artist. Besides, Lucas was the former captain of the Falcon Regiment and had equal status to the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman. Since Jensen was the helmsman¡¯s son, he was one notch inferior to Lucas, and Lucas wouldn¡¯t be afraid of him. ¡­ At this moment, at Orange County International Airport, a group of people arrived at the airport terminal. Brett, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately walked to the leading middle-aged man with bright eyes. ¡°Dad!¡± Clearly, the tall and robust middle-aged man was Jensen Hamilton, Brett¡¯s father. After getting inside Brett¡¯s car, Jensen immediately asked, ¡°Have you not found Angus yet?¡± Brett lowered his head guiltily and said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m too ipetent. I deployed all the Hamilton¡¯s nearby avable staff and almost turned Orange County upside down, but I still couldn¡¯t get any news of Angus.¡± Looking at Brett¡¯s haggard and bloodshot eyes, Jensen knew that his son had indeed done his best, so he didn¡¯t me him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll definitely find Angus!¡± Jensen patted his son on his shoulder and then suddenly asked, ¡°How¡¯s your mission going? Have you conquered all those states?¡± Brett immediately answered, ¡°I¡¯ve conquered Oregon, Arizona, and Nevada. The families there don¡¯t dare to disobey the Hamiltons, but things aren¡¯t going well in California. We¡¯ve encountered a bunch of tough nuts.¡± ¡°There are actually tough nuts here?¡± Jensen was instantly puzzled. ¡°Who are they? Is there another royal family branch going against us?¡± Brett shook his head. ¡°No, speaking of which, this person has quite a background. His name is Lucas Gray, and he¡¯s only in his twenties. He¡¯s an illegitimate child of the Huttons, who are one of the eight top families of DC. After he got kicked out by the Huttons two decades ago, he ended up in Orange County. ¡°But he should have encountered something special. He used to be an ordinary person, but he went missing for six years and only returned to Orange County half a year ago. Yet within such a short period of time, he managed to be the greatest big shot in California, and even the helmsmen of the Hales and the Coles pledged allegiance to him. ¡°But my subordinates can¡¯t find out where he went and what he did when he disappeared. There¡¯s no information about him at all! ¡°That¡¯s not all. Mateo told me that Lucas Gray is a terrifying expert whose martial arts skills are on par with his. Even the experts of the Peerless Martial Association have been defeated by him. Thus, he attained the title of the Overlord of California.¡± Brett told Jensen all the important information about Lucas that he had found. Jensen was rather indifferent and aloof at first. But after he heard about the drastic changes Lucas had undergone in the six years he had vanished, as well as how even the Hamiltons¡¯ intelligencework couldn¡¯t find out what had happened to him during those six years, his expression changed greatly. Brett knew that something was up and quickly frantically asked, ¡°Dad, do you know something? Or do you have any guesses in mind? Who exactly is he?¡± After thinking about it, Jensen said seriously, ¡°As far as I know, people like him who have gone missing for several years and whose information even the Hamiltons can¡¯t get hold of are very likely to be from the military. Moreover, he held a high position!¡± ¡°Military? A high position?¡± Brett¡¯s expression changed uncontrobly. It seemed unlikely at first, but after thinking about it, he realized that it seemed to be the only possibility. Even the Hamiltons couldn¡¯t find any information about Lucas and what he had done during those six years. Clearly, his experience was absolutely ssified. Jensen continued, ¡°If he¡¯s just an ordinary high-ranking military personnel, the Hamiltons won¡¯t be afraid. But through the information you¡¯ve given me, I have a bad premonition. ¡°Lucas Gray is probably not just an ordinary high-ranking military personnel. He might very likely be someone close to the suprememanders of the four major territories!¡± Brett opened his mouth with a dumbfounded expression. The US was divided into four territories, the south, east, west, and north, and there was a suprememander for each of the four territories. The suprememanders were extremely powerful andmanded hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Even the top leaders of the US were only equivalent in status to the suprememanders, and even the Hamiltons didn¡¯t dare to easily confront one of them. If Lucas really had such a high status, it would exin why he was so fearless toward the Hamiltons. Likewise, Lucas wasn¡¯t someone that Brett could deal with. Even if Lucas was only a follower of one of the suprememanders, he still had the support of the suprememander, and ordinary people couldn¡¯t afford to offend him. Strictly speaking, Lucas¡¯s identity and status were on par with his father¡¯s. When Brett thought of this, his face became even more sullen. ¡°Dad, if Lucas Gray really has such a high status, what¡­ what should we do?¡± Jensen sneered. ¡°Even if he¡¯s close to a suprememander, we don¡¯t have to be afraid of him! ¡°Now, the most important thing for us to do is to takeplete control of California. Only in this way can the Hamiltons¡¯ power be expanded. We might even be able to be one of the top royal family branches! ¡°Even if Lucas Gray used to have a high status, he¡¯s left the military now, and his authority must have decreased greatly. His former backer, one of the suprememanders, might not necessarily help him either. ¡°So, he must be alone now. In that case, why should we be afraid of him? As long as we kill him and hide the news, no one will speak up for him. Even the suprememander won¡¯t confront us over a dead man who¡¯s left the military!¡± Brett came to a sudden realization. ¡°That¡¯s right! He has already left the military, and his former identity and status no longer count. Who is he to go against the Hamiltons?¡± After figuring this out, Brett became a lot less scrupulous toward Lucas and even no longer saw him as a threat. This time, Jensen hade personally with many experts. He thought that Lucas was definitely dead meat! Chapter 1246 - 1246 Trap 1246 Trap ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Lucas Gray for now. We have to settle the matter about California first. We can¡¯t let this drag on any longer. Send people to invite the helmsmen of the top five families in California right now. I want to see how courageous they are to have the audacity to go against the Hamiltons!¡± Jensen instructed. ¡°Yes, Dad. I¡¯ll make the arrangements immediately!¡± Brett acknowledged. Soon, the helmsmen of the five top families in California received the Hamiltons¡¯ invitation to discuss matters. After receiving the news, Bruce immediately called Lucas. !! ¡°Lucas, the Hamiltons definitely have malicious intentions for inviting us!¡± Bruce said solemnly. Moreover, Lucas wasn¡¯t a helmsman of the top five families in California, yet he also received the exact same invitation as the Hales. The Hamiltons definitely wanted to take advantage of the situation to get rid of Lucas, their stumbling block. ¡°Since they¡¯re inviting us, let¡¯s go over and have a look,¡± Lucas said nonchntly. Even if Jensen was really capable, and the invitation was for a meeting full of threats and hidden schemes, Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid at all. Bruce said worriedly, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m really worried that they might harm you during the gathering. Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re nning to take us with you to DC? I think we should just let the Hamiltons have California. It¡¯s not worth it for us to go head-to-head against them!¡± When Lucas heard this, his face immediately darkened. ¡°Are you scared? Don¡¯te then!¡± With that, he hung up the phone. Bruce was instantly stunned. Ever since he had pledged allegiance to Lucas, though they hadn¡¯t interacted much, he had never faced such hostility from Lucas. Moreover, after hearing Lucas¡¯s final words, he knew that he was enraged. Cold sweat immediately gushed out from Bruce¡¯s body and soaked his clothes in the blink of an eye. Bruce had never thought that what he said would anger Lucas! But after thinking about it, Bruce immediately understood why Lucas was upset. Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of the Hamiltons at all, so those who followed him naturally only needed to follow him closely and do as he said. But what he said revealed obvious fear and his intentions to withdraw, as if he was evading the Hamiltons. Lucas was naturally upset. Bruce wiped the cold sweat on his head and hurriedly called Lucas back. He assured, ¡°Mr. Gray, I was muddled just now. Since I¡¯m your follower, I naturally have to face everything together with you! No matter what happens at the gathering tonight, I¡¯ll definitely go with you! I won¡¯t back down again!¡± Hearing this, Lucas calmed down. If Bruce was a coward who was scared of the Hamiltons, Lucas would naturally be extremely disappointed in him and even consider giving up the Hales. Fortunately, Bruce wasn¡¯t confused in the end. ¡­ At 8 p.m., the helmsmen invited by the Hamiltons all arrived at the Grandeur Hotel in Orange County. When Lucas arrived at the Grandeur Hotel, he saw Bruce, Edmund, and Ethan already waiting here. There were two other people whom Lucas hadn¡¯t met much, namely Anton Holmes and Jim Sullivan. They were the helmsmen of the current top five families in California. Upon seeing Lucas, the few of them greeted him one after another. ¡°Greetings, Mr. Gray!¡± Lucas nodded at them in acknowledgment. Only Ethan seemed embarrassed when he saw Lucas and didn¡¯t dare to look him in the eye. Lucas ignored him and simply said, ¡°Let¡¯s go in.¡± Then he took the lead and headed straight into the Grandeur Hotel. In the hotel lobby, a man in an immacte suit hurried over and said smilingly, ¡°Wee, dear honored guests. Mr. Hamilton is already waiting for you in the VIP room on the top floor. Pleasee with me!¡± Under his lead, Lucas and the five helmsmen went to the entrance of thergest private room on the top floor of the hotel. ¡°Mr. Hamilton is inside. Pleasee in!¡± At the thought of having to face the Hamiltons soon, the helmsmen became nervous, and even their bodies stiffened. But after seeing Lucas walking in first calmly, they took a deep breath and followed him in. As soon as they entered, they saw a middle-aged man sitting in the master seat. The middle-aged man was rather robust, and he had a square-shaped face with thick neck muscles. Although his figure couldn¡¯t be seen clearly on the seat, they could still sense his formidable aura. Brett, whom they had met before, was sitting beside the middle-aged man, and their facial features were rather simr. Without a doubt, the robust middle-aged man in the master seat was Jensen, the favored youngest son of the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman. Standing behind the two of them was a bodyguard d in a white long-sleeved robe, looking coldly at the people who entered. From the moment they entered, Jensen had been staring at them, especially Lucas, who was at the front. Lucas was only in his twenties, much younger than the helmsmen behind him, who were in their fifties and sixties. Moreover, Lucas exuded a calm yet domineering aura that ordinary young people definitely wouldn¡¯t possess. Even the five helmsmen of the top five families in California showed cautious, nervous, or scared expressions in their eyes when they saw him. Yet Lucas kept apletely straight face, as if he didn¡¯t feel anything at all. Jensen narrowed his eyes and sized Lucas up carefully while recalling the information about Lucas that Brett had given him this morning. Lucas was only 28 years old this year, and he was an illegitimate son of the Huttons, who got expelled from DC by the Huttons two decades ago. He was extremely ordinary in the past, but after vanishing for six years, he returned apletely changed man and now possessed martial arts skills on par with the top experts of the Hamiltons. Based on this information, Jensen vaguely guessed Lucas¡¯s origin. But now, after finally meeting him in person and sensing the unyielding and bloodthirsty aura faintly emanating from Lucas, he was even more certain of his guess. This young man is indeed extraordinary! Jensen stared at Lucas for a long time before suddenly asking, ¡°Are you Lucas Gray?¡± ... Chapter 1247 - 1247 Intention to Recruit 1247 Intention to Recruit Jensen¡¯s voice was extremely loud, so when he suddenly spoke in the incredibly quiet private room, it was thunderous. The sudden noise startled all the helmsmen, and Anton and Jim shuddered as they were almost out of their element. Ethan was so shocked that he turned pale and subconsciously took a step back. Bruce and Edmund also received a great shock. But fortunately, under Lucas¡¯s influence, they weren¡¯t scared of the Hamiltons, so they recovered quickly and calmed down. But the two of them felt rather ufortable because Jensen was obviously trying to establish dominance by doing that on purpose. !! Besides, he had only asked them toe along out of convenience. The one Jensen really wanted to deal with was Lucas. Despite facing Jensen¡¯s sudden shout, Lucas remained calm andposed without the slightest change in his gaze. He walked forward, pulled out a chair himself, sat down calmly opposite Jensen, and answered lightly, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Lucas Gray.¡± Jensen truly appreciated his demeanor and bearing. The young man in front of him was indeed quite outstanding. Even he had to admit that in the Hamilton family, no young man possessed the same aura as Lucas. Even his son Brett couldn¡¯t match up. Jensen turned his gaze to the helmsmen of the five top families in California. ¡°Since all the helmsmen are here, there¡¯s no need to be restrained. Please sit down.¡± They came over and took their seats one after another. ¡°Mr. Hamilton, may I know why you asked us toe here?¡± Edmund said after taking a seat. Although everyone had already guessed what was going on, they still wanted to hear what the Hamiltons had to say. Jensen didn¡¯t answer straightaway. Instead, he smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s my first time here, and I¡¯d like to get to know everyone. Of course, it¡¯s not just a simple meeting. Let¡¯s have dinner first, and we will talk after eating.¡± Then he said to the waiter at the door, ¡°Serve the dishes.¡± Soon, there was a spread of delectable dishes on the round table in the room. The others were worried and nervous, so they were restrained and weren¡¯t in the mood to eat. Only Lucas maintained hisposure and picked up his cutlery to eat calmly, as if he was really here just to eat. Seeing his behavior, Bruce, Edmund, and Ethan were fine since they were familiar with Lucas, but Anton and Jim were obviously shocked and frequently looked over at Lucas. Even Brett looked at Lucas with aplicated gaze. Lucas Gray is a few years younger than me, but he really seems to be fearless of the Hamiltons. He¡¯s acting like there¡¯s no one else around. As a five-star hotel, the Grandeur Hotel served a sumptuous and delectable spread, with arge plethora of offerings, especially since the host today was the esteemed Jensen Hamilton. But apart from Lucas, none of the others present were in the mood to eat. It was a huge waste of food. Halfway through the meal, Jensen suddenly asked, ¡°Lucas, I heard you used to be part of the military and that you¡¯re rted to the four territories, but which one are you from? Is it the western territory near California or the northern territory?¡± Lucas smiled, knowing that Jensen was trying to find out his origin. He smiled calmly and said, ¡°Why can¡¯t it be the eastern territory or the southern territory?¡± Jensen¡¯s pupils immediately constricted. Could he really be from the eastern territory or the southern territory ? ¡°Oh? In that case, are you from the eastern territory or the southern territory?¡± Jensen asked. Not interested in listening to Jensen¡¯s questions, Lucas raised his head slightly and said confidently, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where I¡¯m from, Mr. Hamilton. You just need to know that everything I have now, I earned myself. I don¡¯t have to rely on anyone else. That¡¯s all.¡± Jensen was extremely shocked. Lucas should be from the armies at the eastern border or southern border. Moreover, given how confident he seemed, he should still have quite a lot of authority even though he had already left the military. Him saying that he didn¡¯t need to rely on anyone was enough to show his confidence. It was different from what Jensen previously thought. But it also seemed to mean that Lucas could no longer use his former status and association with a suprememander to pressure anyone. This was actually better for the Hamiltons. While thinking about it, Brett belittled Lucas even more. But Jensen thought otherwise. Although he felt that Lucas sounded too overconfident and even conceited, he didn¡¯t think that Lucas was the type to blow his trumpet and think that he was more powerful than he really was. This meant that Lucas was probably more capable than he thought. Jensen suddenly chuckled, raised his wine ss, and smiled. ¡°Haha, Lucas, you¡¯re indeed different from ordinary people. I truly admire you. Here, let me toast you!¡± His smile made everyone else at the table heave a sigh of relief. Lucas didn¡¯t reject Jensen¡¯s toast, but he picked up his ss of water instead. He raised the ss and said, ¡°You tter me, Mr. Hamilton. But pardon me, I don¡¯t drink.¡± He wasn¡¯t deliberately trying to make Jensen look bad. Rather, he rarely drank in the first ce, and he usually drank water during such asions. Especially after he got drunk and almost made a mistake with Lena the other day, Lucas warned himself never to drink again. Jensen was stunned. He seldom toasted others, especially not juniors, yet Lucas actually used water instead of wine to respond to his toast. It was a first for Jensen. But he didn¡¯t feel any anger. Lucas was different from other young people, so being a little arrogant wasn¡¯t uneptable. After all, in this world, only the strong had the right to be arrogant. He downed the ss of wine and felt an urge to win over Lucas. Chapter 1248 - 1248 Tempting Conditions 1248 Tempting Conditions ¡°Mr. Gray, I may be meeting you for the first time today, but I deeply feel that you are very talented, and it would be a waste of your great talent for you to stay in a small ce like Orange County,¡± Jensen said, shaking his head. Lucas helped himself to the food calmly and said, ¡°I¡¯m just an ordinary person, and I don¡¯t have any great talent. Please don¡¯t joke with me, Mr. Hamilton.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just stating facts. How can I possibly be joking? You¡¯re still so young, yet you¡¯ve managed to make the Hales and the Coles pledge allegiance to you and be so loyal to you. This isn¡¯t something ordinary people can achieve!¡± Lucas said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m only close to Mr. Hale and Mr. Cole. There¡¯s no such thing as allegiance or loyalty. Please don¡¯t be mistaken, Mr.Hamilton.¡± !! Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t say too much in front of Jensen. Jensen smiled and didn¡¯t argue with Lucas over this matter. Instead, he changed the subject and said, ¡°To be honest, I value your abilities a lot, Mr. Gray. ¡°I¡¯d like to invite you to join the Hamiltons to develop. If you¡¯re willing, we will give you generouspensation every year. And not only will we not meddle with your personal business, but we will provide you with greater resources. The Hamiltons can be your strongest support, and you can even develop your businesses under the Hamiltons¡¯ name. ¡°I believe that a smart person like you definitely knows what this means. What do you think of my suggestion, Mr. Gray?¡± He was recruiting Lucas straightforwardly! As soon as Jensen finished speaking, everyone in the room was shocked. The Hamiltons were not an ordinary wealthy family but a royal family with a long heritage! Such a noble status was out of reach for most people, and anything rted to the royals was definitely glorious. But now, even though Jensen had such a high status, he was personally inviting Lucas to join the Hamiltons and promising him considerable benefits. Just the Hamiltons¡¯ offer to give Lucas support and allow him to manage his businesses under their name was a great benefit in itself. If Lucas could get such protection from the Hamiltons, his businesses would certainly achieve great development. All of a sudden, the several helmsmen present were envious, especially Jim and Anton, whose eyes were green with envy. But a calm voice suddenly sounded in the private room. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not interested.¡± Lucas actually turned down Jensen¡¯s recruitment! Jensen thought that Lucas would agree without hesitation since he had made such an attractive offer, but he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to turn him down immediately! Brett was stunned too. He had met many people, and most of them couldn¡¯t wait to jump at the chance to express their loyalty to him at the slightest hint of recruitment by the Hamiltons. Lucas was the first to instantly turn them down without hesitation. ¡°Lucas, my father is very sincere in inviting you to join the Hamiltons and has offered very generous conditions. Why don¡¯t you reconsider it?¡± Brett said. In fact, although he didn¡¯t like Lucas, he had to admit that Lucas was quite capable, even more capable than someone from a prestigious family like himself. Even he had once tried to recruit Lucas during their first meeting, but Lucas had also turned him down. However, his father actually valued Lucas so much that he recruited him personally and offered extremely sincere conditions, but unexpectedly, Lucas still turned Jensen down. Feeling unwilling, Jensen thought about it for a moment and continued, ¡°Mr. Gray, if there¡¯s anything you¡¯re still dissatisfied with, then I can add more benefits on top of what I¡¯ve just mentioned. ¡°I know you¡¯re an expert with excellent martial arts skills. How about this? As long as you¡¯re willing to join the Hamiltons, I can invite the family¡¯s top expert to be your master and focus solely on training you. In a few years, you will definitely possess greater attainments in martial arts, and you might even be the strongest powerhouse of the Hamiltons and achieve greater glory and rewards. ¡°In addition, I can improve your status further by taking you in as my godson. You¡¯ll be able to enjoy all the rights that the direct descendants of the Hamiltons do. I can even give you some of my assets!¡± As soon as he said this, everyone in the room was even more shocked and speechless. Jensen actually said that he wanted to ept Lucas as his godson! Usually, godsons would only be sons in name, but Jensen was almost offering to treat Lucas as his biological son. Not only would he give him the same rights as the other direct descendants of the Hamiltons, but he even said that he would give some of his assets to Lucas! As the third and most favored son of the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsmen, Jensen had plenty of assets. Even if he only gave 10% of them to Lucas, it was a staggering amount! All of a sudden, the other five helmsmen were green with envy. Brett suddenly clenched his fists. Even he didn¡¯t expect his father to make such a generous offer in order to get Lucas to join the family. The treatment would almost be the same as what Brett was getting as a legitimate son! Brett felt rather displeased and jealous, but he knew that his father really wanted Lucas to join the Hamiltons, so he couldn¡¯t ruin things at this juncture. He clenched his fists and remained silent. But Brett was well aware that this should just be his father¡¯s ruse to get Lucas to join the Hamiltons. Even if Lucas really joined them, it was impossible for them to give Lucas such great benefits. A trace of surprise appeared on Lucas¡¯s usually calm face. He didn¡¯t expect that Jensen would make such an attractive offer to recruit him. Be it the tutge of the Hamiltons¡¯ strongest expert or the identity of Jensen¡¯s godson, these conditions would be extremely tempting to ordinary people. Possessing either of these identities would allow them to act domineering among royal families, let alone non-royal families. But to Lucas, these things meant nothing. He couldn¡¯t care less about being the apprentice of the Hamiltons¡¯ strongest expert because he was certain that he wasn¡¯t any weaker than this so-called top expert. How could he possibly want to be his apprentice? As for being Jensen¡¯s godson, he was even less interested. Even though Jensen said that he would treat Lucas almost the same way as his biological son, Lucas wasn¡¯t in the least bit interested. After all, he didn¡¯t care about being another man¡¯s son. Seeing how surprised Lucas was, Jensen smiled smugly. Indeed, there¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t buy in this world. If you can¡¯t convince someone, it¡¯s only because you didn¡¯t offer enough. He didn¡¯t think that Lucas would turn him down after he proposed such an attractive offer. However, Jensen really guessed wrong. Amid everyone¡¯s gaze, Lucas shook his head and said lightly, ¡°As I¡¯ve said, I¡¯m not interested.¡± Chapter 1249 - 1249 Cripple Him 1249 Cripple Him Lucas¡¯s answer immediately froze the expression on Jensen¡¯s face. Brett and the rest in the room also had bewildered expressions. Only Bruce and Edmund breathed a sigh of relief and looked as though they had expected this. They had long known that, given Lucas¡¯s abilities and personality, he would definitely not ept the Hales¡¯ recruitment and that he would never work for them regardless of what benefits they offered. ¡°Why?¡± Jensen frowned and looked at Lucas in puzzlement. He had already offered such attractive benefits, yet he still couldn¡¯t tempt Lucas. Lucas seemed even more puzzled than Jensen and asked rhetorically, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I¡¯m not interested. Didn¡¯t you hear me clearly, Mr. Hamilton?¡± Jensen¡¯s face twitched hard. At this point, he finally confirmed that Lucas was really not interested in joining the Hamiltons and wouldn¡¯t waver regardless of the conditions he offered. This was beyond Jensen¡¯s expectations, and his face darkened. As soon as his expression changed, he immediately exuded a gloomy vibe that seemed to make the temperature in the private room plummet instantly. The several Californian helmsmen shuddered while their hearts skipped a beat. Lucas¡¯s refusal undoubtedly made Jensen extremely upset. None of them knew what Jensen would do in a fit of anger, nor did they dare to think about it. Only Lucas didn¡¯t seem to sense Jensen¡¯s fury as he continued to eat calmly. His behavior undoubtedly made Jensen even more furious. ¡°Lucas Gray, no one has ever dared to reject my recruitment,¡± Jensen said with a sullen look. Lucas found it funny that some people always had a sense of superiority over others. ¡°Oh, Mr. Hamilton, are you saying that I can¡¯t reject you and that I have to obey you and join the Hamiltons just because no one has ever dared to turn you down?¡± Lucas asked with raised brows. Jensen snorted coldly and said proudly, ¡°As long as it¡¯s something that I want to do, I will definitely be able to achieve it!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Hah, as expected of the Hamiltons, you¡¯re too tyrannical.¡± With that, he didn¡¯t bother talking to Jensen anymore. Having had his fill, Lucas put down his fork, stood up, and said to the helmsmen beside him, ¡°I¡¯m leaving now. How about you?¡± It was actually time for them to take their stand. Those who were willing to leave with Lucas were naturally on his side and would thus gain his protection. On the contrary, those who weren¡¯t willing to leave with him would forever be ignored by him. Edmund immediately stood up. ¡°Mr. Gray, I will leave with you!¡± Bruce followed suit. Despite looking worried, he still said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I will go with you!¡± At this point, the Hales had long stood on Lucas¡¯s side, so Bruce would never betray him. Besides, he was full of confidence in Lucas. In the past, Lucas had never failed despite the various crises he encountered. Regardless of how strong his enemies were, he had never suffered a loss, so Bruce was extremely confident in him. Even though they were now facing the Hamiltons, a royal family branch, Bruce strongly believed that Lucas could lead them to safety. With Edmund and Bruce standing on Lucas¡¯s side, only Ethan, Jim, and Anton had yet to take a stand. Jim and Anton hadn¡¯t had much interaction with Lucas, and they hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to talk with him tonight. But they had seen how impressive his martial arts skills were and acknowledged him as the leader of California. But deep down, they felt that no matter how powerful Lucas was, he had no chance of beating the Hamiltons. If they choose to leave with Lucas, they would be standing on his side. To them, this was no different from courting death. So the two of them stopped struggling and simply remained sitting with their heads hung low. Only Ethan clenched his jaw, looking rather hesitant and conflicted. Logically speaking, he didn¡¯t trust Lucas and felt that Lucas had no chance of defeating the Hamiltons. But on the other hand, he had already abandoned Lucas once and chosen topromise with the Hamiltons. This was probably thest chance Lucas was giving him. If he missed this chance again, he would never have any ties with Lucas in the future, and he might even be Lucas¡¯s enemy. He was at a loss for what to do now. After being conflicted for a long time, Ethan finally made up his mind. He supported himself against the table and stood up with difficulty. ¡°I¡¯ll leave with Mr. Gray too!¡± Edmund and Bruce both looked at Ethan in surprise. They thought that Ethan would still choose the Hamiltons this time. They didn¡¯t expect him to change his mind again. Lucas nced at Ethan without saying anything. Jensen¡¯s expression was extremely sullen. Lucas was nowpletely going against him. This wasn¡¯t all. He had even gotten the top three families in California to stand on his side, which posed a great stumbling block to the Hamiltons¡¯ n. Jensen narrowed his eyes and looked at Lucas threateningly. ¡°Lucas Gray, you have to think this through carefully. I¡¯m giving you onest chance. Are you?¡ª¡± But before he could finish speaking, Lucas interrupted, ¡°Jensen Hamilton, I can give you a chance to follow me. As long as you do, I promise that you¡¯ll be the helmsman of the Hamiltons.¡± Lucas smirked. His words had undoubtedly angered Jensen, who perceived them as an insult. ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare you speak to me like that?!¡± Lucas shrugged and turned around to leave, as he couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue wasting his breath with Jensen here. ... ¡°Hold it right there! Did I say that you can leave?¡± Jensen hollered furiously. The Hamiltons¡¯ powerhouse standing behind him immediately dashed to the door of the private room and blocked Lucas from leaving. Lucas shouted with a cold expression, ¡°Get lost!¡± Jensen said coldly, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t be so arrogant! I admit that you¡¯re indeed quite capable, but those who can¡¯t be used by me can only vanish from this world!¡± Havingpletely fallen out with Lucas, he immediately ordered the powerhouse, ¡°Moses, cripple him!¡± Chapter 1250 - 1250 Crushed With a Pinch 1250 Crushed With a Pinch Jensen was undoubtedly extremely tyrannical. Since Lucas wasn¡¯t willing to work for the Hamiltons, he decided to cripple him. Moreover, he didn¡¯t hide his intentions at all. This was the habit of the Hamiltons. They didn¡¯t care about the thoughts of others at all. Edmund had long known Lucas¡¯s true identity. So upon hearing what Jensen said, he merely sneered. ¡°Hmph, a lightweight overestimating his own strength!¡± The fact that Lucas could be the youngest leader of the Falcon Regiment was proof that he was iparable to ordinary people. Even in all of the US, there might be less than a handful of people who could match up to him, let alone the powerhouse of the Hamiltons. Wanting to cripple Lucas was simply a far-fetched idea! Bruce and Ethan widened their mouths after hearing what Edmund said, unable to hide their shock. The person in front of them was Jensen¡¯s bodyguard. Could it be that he was weaker than Lucas? Otherwise, why would Edmund have said what he did? Suddenly, the Hamiltons¡¯ expert blocking the door rushed toward Lucas without hesitation after receiving Jensen¡¯s instruction. He raised his hand and threw a menacing punch. However, Lucas was standing quietly on the spot without even getting into a defensive stance. Brett sneered. ¡°Hah! Who knows if Lucas Gray is too stupid or too confident in himself! If Mateo hadn¡¯t said that Lucas Gray is on par with him, I would really think that he¡¯s just a fool who doesn¡¯t know any martial arts! He doesn¡¯t even know basic defense. He¡¯s courting death! Moses¡¯s punch will definitely cripple him even if it doesn¡¯t kill him!¡± Just as Brett finished speaking, Moses¡¯s punch arrived in front of Lucas. The wind from his fist blew Lucas¡¯s hair upward, and Bruce and Edmund, who were beside Lucas, felt some pain. Just the wind from the punch felt terrifyingly powerful. If the punch hit Lucas, the consequences would be unimaginable! Bruce and Edmund were astonished and horrified. At this critical moment, Lucas suddenly raised his hand and instantly grabbed Moses¡¯s fist. The iparably ferocious attack was stopped! With just one hand, Lucaspletely stopped the horrifying punch without his body even moving. It was as if blocking the punch was a piece of cake for him. It was akin to a child swinging his fist with all his might but was easily stopped by an adult. But was Moses a weak child? Of course not! Not only was he not a weak child, but he was even a top expert of the Hamiltons with extraordinary skills! ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Jensen and Brett couldn¡¯t control their emotions anymore, and their expressions changed drastically. They suddenly stood up from their seats and looked at the scene in front of them in disbelief. Likewise, Moses had a look of disbelief after Lucas easily caught his fist. He hadn¡¯t held back and put all his strength into the punch. It could have even crushed a stone! But this formidable punch was effortlessly blocked by Lucas! Besides, Lucas wasn¡¯t injured at all. He grasped Moses¡¯s fist so firmly that he couldn¡¯t move a single inch forward! This strength control utterly dominated him! Moses obviously wasn¡¯t willing to ept this fact. Holding Moses¡¯s fist tightly, Lucas turned to look at the shocked Jensen and mocked, ¡°Heh, Jensen Hamilton, it seems that the expert next to you is nothing much. He¡¯s still far from being capable of crippling me!¡± Jensen was really overwhelmed with shock at this moment. Moses was a top powerhouse of the Hamiltons who had been by Jensen¡¯s side for years. Jensen had absolute trust in his abilities and had never once thought that he would lose to such a young man! It was like a tight p on Jensen¡¯s face. In particr, what Lucas said made Jensen feel a stinging pain on his face. He had ordered Moses to cripple Lucas, but in the end, Moses was no match for Lucas at all. He was defeated in one move! Besides, Moses was in his fifties and had trained in martial arts for decades. But what about Lucas? Lucas was only in his twenties now, and yet he already possessed such terrifying power. In just a few years, the strongest expert of the Hamiltons might not be a match for Lucas! Previously, Jensen said that he could make Lucas an apprentice of the Hamiltons¡¯ top expert, but now it seemed that Lucas really didn¡¯t need it. With his abilities, he could easily reach that level on his own. Lucas¡¯s amazing talent made Jensen, who thought that he was very gifted himself, feel jealous. ¡°Let go!¡± Moses tried pulling his hand back, but he couldn¡¯t move it at all. Lucas¡¯s hand was like a steel vice around his fist, mping it firmly. He roared and suddenly raised his knee to force Lucas to let go by kneeing him in the chest. But Lucas didn¡¯t give him the slightest chance. He tightened his grip, and his steel-like fingers crushed Moses¡¯s fist! Snap! The crisp and clear sounds of bones breaking filled the air. ¡°Ah!¡± Moses shrieked tragically. The excruciating pain made him lose all power in his legs, and he fell to his knees hard onto the floor with a loud thud. And his fist that Lucas was holding had already been crushed, with his flesh, bones, nerves, ligaments, tendons, and skin all badly mangled. Moses¡¯s hand had been crippled! Everyone in the private room stared wide-eyed in horror, unable to believe what they were seeing. How strong must Lucas be to be able to crush an expert¡¯s fist with just a pinch? Or rather, was this even something that humans could do? Lucas let go of Moses¡¯s badly mangled fist and shook off the blood stains on his hand. The shocked Edmund immediately took out a stack of wet tissues from his breast pocket and handed them to Lucas respectfully. ... While wiping his fingers, Lucas smiled with contempt and nced at Moses, who was kneeling in front of him, huddled up in agony. ¡°You want to cripple me? With just this person?¡± Lucas tossed away a used wet tissue and looked at Jensen with a hair-raising smile. Jensen felt as though he was being stared at by a gigantic menacing beast, rendering himpletely immobile. He could only watch Lucas, who reeked of blood, walking toward him one step at a time. Chapter 1251 - 1251 Superior Treatment 1251 Superior Treatment Jensen himself was a very talented martial artist who wasn¡¯t any inferior to ordinary experts. But as he watched Lucas walking toward him while exuding extreme pressure, he felt a horrific sense of fear that made him unable to even muster the intention to fight against Lucas. Although Lucas was only 27 or 28 years old, his martial arts skills were indeed beyond Jensen¡¯s expectations! Even Moses, the bodyguard whom Jensen had always trusted, had been defeated by Lucas in one move and even had his fist crushed and crippled. Lucas was clearly a powerhouse that Jensen wasn¡¯t capable of dealing with. !! Seeing this scene, Jim and Anton had a trace of regret in their eyes. If they had known how powerful Lucas was, that he didn¡¯t fear the Hamiltons at all, and could even make Jensen show fear, they wouldn¡¯t have remained sitting quietly and turned down the olive branch Lucas had extended to them. They truly regretted their decision. Ethan was rejoicing. He had been conflicted just now, but fortunately, he had made the right choice to stand on Lucas¡¯s side. At this moment, Ethan was full of admiration for Lucas. In fact, ever since he got to know Lucas more than half a year ago, Lucas had never failed before and would always remain calm no matter how strong his enemies were. In the end, he would surely find a way to deal with them and get rid of the troubles. While rejoicing, Ethan also made up his mind that he would never waver again, regardless of what happened in the future. He had to stand on Lucas¡¯s side at all times, or else, he would regret it! Seeing Lucas, who reeked of the metallic odor of the blood that stained his clothes, Brett was so shocked that he turned deathly pale. But at this moment, he had to step forward to say something. Otherwise, Lucas might really harm his father! ¡°Lucas, wait a minute!¡± Brett hurriedly stepped forward and looked at Lucas earnestly. ¡°Lucas, what just happened is a misunderstanding! My father doesn¡¯t have any ill intentions toward you. He really admires your talent, and he¡¯s sincere about recruiting you, but he¡¯s a little hot-tempered and overly eager. Sometimes, the things he says aren¡¯t what he has in mind. That¡¯s what led to the misunderstanding!¡± Jensen frantically nodded and apologized to Lucas. ¡°That¡¯s right! Mr. Gray, I was too muddled just now. I just really want you to join the Hamiltons because I admire your talent. I had no other intentions. Ah, I tend to ruin things with my fiery temper. I¡¯m sorry! ¡°But I know now that you¡¯re so talented that I¡¯m not capable of recruiting you. I will drop the idea now. ¡°Perhaps only my father is qualified to invite you. How about this? On behalf of my father, I formally invite you to be a guest elder of the Hamiltons. You won¡¯t have to bother with the family¡¯s misceneous affairs. You just need toe forward to help us during critical moments. ¡°Apart from critical moments, we won¡¯t interfere with your whereabouts and actions. You can even use our name to manage your businesses, and your sry will be two hundred million dors a year. What do you think, Mr. Gray?¡± In other words, Lucas could almostpletely ignore the Hamiltons¡¯ affairs and only need to show up during major events. His actions wouldn¡¯t be restrained at all, and he basically had the freedom to do whatever he wanted. Moreover, the Hamiltons were a royal family branch who had surpassed most families in the US, so what major event could trouble them? Perhaps it would only ur once every few years. This meant that Lucas almost wouldn¡¯t have to do anything for a few years. Furthermore, Lucas could make full use of the Hamiltons¡¯ resources and the identity of their guest elder. He would even be paid 200 million dors a year for doing practically nothing. The others in the private room looked at Lucas, green with envy. If they were given such a wonderful offer, they would definitely agree without hesitating for a single second! They would be fools not to agree! Jensen thought so too. He believed that Lucas wouldn¡¯t turn down such an attractive offer. But he was destined to be disappointed. Lucas merely nced at him with contempt in his eyes. Jensen¡¯s heart tensed up, and he almost thought that Lucas had seen through his intentions. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°If you¡¯re still not satisfied with this sry, I can increase it to four hundred million dors!¡± After a momentary pause, he continued, ¡°Four hundred million dors a year should be the world¡¯s highest sry for this work. Even the top expert of the family doesn¡¯t get that much. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve already expressed my sincerity. As long as you agree, I can even pay you four hundred million in advance!¡± His offer left everyone else present shocked and jealous. Lucas would have an annual sry of 400 million dors for a job that barely required doing anything, and he could even borrow the power of the Hamiltons to develop his own businesses. This excellent offer made them incredibly jealous! Fortunately, Bruce, Edmund, Ethan, and the others knew how extraordinarily powerful Lucas was, so they could understand why the Hamiltons were giving Lucas such an attractive offer and didn¡¯t feel too jealous about it. Others would likely be mad with jealousy and wish that they could rece Lucas immediately. After hearing Jensen¡¯s offer, Brett subconsciously nced at him in astonishment. Even the strongest powerhouse of the Hamiltons only received an annual sry of 200 million dors, which was already excellent. What right did Lucas have to draw a 400 million dor annual sry? Besides, they needed the approval of the helmsman to give Lucas such a high sry. Even though Jensen was the helmsman¡¯s favored son, he didn¡¯t have the right to agree on the family¡¯s behalf. But the next moment, Brett realized that his father didn¡¯t have to implement his offer. He just wanted to lead Lucas on and calm him down first. Brett smiled and said to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, my father¡¯s conditions are very sincere, and this treatment is a unique offer that doesn¡¯te by easily. You¡¯re going to be paid twice what our top expert gets! What else are you considering, Lucas?¡± Hearing their painstaking persuasion, Lucas, who had been listening calmly, suddenly smirked and sneered coldly. ¡°Are you two having a good time trying to trick me? Do you take me for a fool?¡± The expressions on Jensen¡¯s and Brett¡¯s faces immediately froze. Chapter 1252 - 1252 Seeing Through Everything 1252 Seeing Through Everything ¡°Ahem, you must be mistaken, buddy.¡± Brett coughed twice before quickly exining, ¡°Why would we try to trick you? My father is truly sincere about inviting you to be our guest elder. If you don¡¯t believe me, you cane home with us, and we¡¯ll sign a contract with you. We aren¡¯t lying!¡± Lucas nced at Brett indifferently. ¡°Who are you to call me your buddy?¡± Brett¡¯s forced smile immediately stiffened. His remark was like a p in Brett¡¯s face. When he called Lucas ¡®buddy¡¯, he had swallowed his pride to get closer to him. Brett was a direct descendant of the Hamiltons, and he even had the chance to be the leader of all the royal family branches in the future. If it wasn¡¯t for the sake of making Lucas less hostile and getting closer to him, there was no need for him to lower his status and call Lucas his buddy. But now that Lucas was so insensible that he openly said he wasn¡¯t worthy of calling him his buddy, Brett was on the verge of losing his temper. Lucas Gray is way too arrogant and conceited! But right now, for the sake of achieving their goal, Brett could only force himself to suppress his anger and say stiffly, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re right, Mr. Gray. We¡¯re indeed not close enough to be buddies. It was too sudden of me.¡± Seeing him swallowing his pride and anger, Lucas found it extremely ridiculous. Brett was putting on the airs of a wealthy scion while looking as if he was enduring humiliation. His acting skills were worlds apart from Jensens¡¯. Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue watching Jensen and Brett put on an act anymore. He said directly, ¡°We¡¯re all smart people. Don¡¯t treat others as fools.¡± He nced at Jensen and sneered. ¡°As far as I know, you¡¯re only the third son of the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman. But in fact, you don¡¯t have much real power. Do you think you have the right to invite me to be your family¡¯s guest elder for an annual sry of four hundred million dors? ¡°Four hundred million dors a year isn¡¯t a small sum. In your family, you need your elders¡¯ or the helmsman¡¯s approval to issue any sry above thirty million dors, right? ¡°So, you¡¯re just giving me an empty promise and trying to make me work for the Hamiltons. Aren¡¯t you treating me as a fool then?¡± Jensen¡¯s and Brett¡¯s eyes widened in shock. They didn¡¯t expect Lucas to be so clear about some of the Hamiltons¡¯ rules! Jensen subconsciously opened his mouth to find an excuse to exin himself. But Lucas didn¡¯t give him the chance. ¡°Don¡¯t think I can¡¯t tell what your intentions are! ¡°Since I don¡¯t believe you, you want me to go to your home to sign a contract? Hah, if I really believed you and went to the Hamiltons¡¯ with you, I would probably be ambushed by your family, and it would be hard for me to leave. ¡°At that time, I would be stuck in your home base and be like amb to the ughter. Isn¡¯t that so? ¡°ording to your n, if I¡¯m sensible enough, I should submit to your family and slog my guts out for you. Only in this way can I survive. If I¡¯m not sensible and still reject your offer, what awaits me will be your family¡¯s siege. Then you¡¯ll get rid of me, a pawn you can¡¯t make use of, right? ¡°Of course, if I refuse to return to the Hamiltons¡¯ with you, you can also say that you have expressed enough sincerity to get me to lower my guard so that you can call more experts from your family to besiege me, right?¡± Lucas¡¯s analysis made Jensen¡¯s and Brett¡¯s expressions change drastically. They never thought that Lucas would see through their intentions! Jensen and Brett were instantly caught in an awkward situation. If anyone else had seen through their n, Jensen would definitely kill them. But Lucas was so powerful that even Jensen¡¯s bodyguard, Moses, had been easily defeated by him. Lucas had effortlessly crushed Moses¡¯s hand with his bare hand, so Jensen definitely didn¡¯t have the guts to fight against Lucas now. On the contrary, he now felt a sense of fear toward Lucas. If Lucas really became angry by what he said and suddenly decided to kill them, they would have no way to resist. Countless thoughts shed through Jensen¡¯s mind as his expression kept changing rapidly. Almost two secondster, Jensen had alreadye to a decision. ¡°Mr. Gray, we absolutely don¡¯t dare to do that. Besides, I¡¯ve already decided to give up California and stay away from now on. I will leave California tonight.¡± Jensen immediately became much more respectful, and he even promised, ¡°Please rest assured, Mr. Gray. The Hamiltons will never send people to harm you. I can guarantee this!¡± Brett nced at his father and lowered his head quietly, clearly with the same idea in mind. Lucas nced at them and said coldly, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll spare your lives today then. Get lost!¡± Jensen and Brett immediately heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly left. The two bodyguards by their sides, Mateo and Moses, who had his hand crippled by Lucas, hurriedly left with them. Now, only Lucas and the top five helmsmen in California were in the room. Bruce and Edmund were on Lucas¡¯s side, and Ethan had wisely chosen to stand on his side this time. Jim Sullivan and Anton Holmes were the only helmsmen left. After exchanging nces, Jim and Anton suddenly fell to their knees with a thud in front of Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, we¡­ we were wrong, and we¡¯d like to follow you now too. Please give us your approval!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t even look at them. He was nning to develop in DC, and the people he would be bringing with him were all those loyal to him. As for others, they weren¡¯t within his consideration at all. Lucas nced at Ethan, who was standing at the side nervously, and said indifferently, ¡°From now on, the Sawyers will be the top family in California.¡± Chapter 1253 - 1253 Informing the Family 1253 Informing the Family Ethan quickly raised his head and looked at Lucas, his eyes full of surprise. Does he mean he¡¯ll support the Sawyers and help us be the top family in California? But before Ethan could rejoice, he immediately saw the cold expression on Lucas¡¯s face. Bruce and Edmund, standing at the side, didn¡¯t show the slightest trace of surprise on their faces. Instead, they grinned with anticipation. Ethan¡¯s spirits, which had just jumped for joy, were instantly dampened. !! Lucas wasn¡¯t going to support the Sawyers, but rather, he nned to give them up! From now on, the Sawyers would go from the third top family in California to the top family. However, it wasn¡¯t that the Sawyers would develop further but because Lucas nned to take the top two families, the Hales and the Coles, away with him from California! At this moment, Ethan felt that he hadpletely lost something, and his heart was full of bitterness. Even though he was about to be the helmsman of the top family in California, it didn¡¯t make him feel any happy at all. On the other hand, Bruce¡¯s and Edmund¡¯s moods were theplete opposite of Ethan¡¯s. Lucas¡¯s words meant that he would be taking the Hales and the Coles with him to develop in DC. The thought of what the Parkers, who had gone to DC in advance, had achieved with Lucas¡¯s help caused Bruce and Edmund to be extremely envious. Just half a year ago, the Parkers were just one of the three top families in LA, and they didn¡¯t even rank among the top 20 in California. Later, the Parkers became the top family in LA, and now, they were the strongest force in DC, next to the nine royal family branches and eight top families. It was all thanks to Lucas! Now that the Hales and the Coles had the opportunity to follow Lucas to DC, they would definitely be a top family on par with the Parkers! Thinking of his scene, Bruce and Edmund felt excited and full of zeal, wishing they could immediately follow Lucas to DC and perform to their fullest potential. ¡­ Meanwhile, Jensen and Brett had already left the Grandeur Hotel and were sitting in a car on their way to their amodations in Orange County. Extremely indignant, Brett asked, ¡°Dad, are we just going to give in to Lucas Gray, give up California, and leave?¡± Conquering California was an important aspect of the Hamiltons¡¯ ns, and they had already taken over various states around California. This failure would have a huge adverse impact on their ns. Moreover, if they left now, it would seem like they were driven out of California by Lucas. Brett couldn¡¯t take this lying down no matter what. Jensen said with displeasure, ¡°What should we do then? Are we supposed to stay here and court death here instead of leaving?¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t a saint, and he had terrifying martial arts skills. There was no way they could gain any benefit from Lucas. Beforepletely angering Lucas and fighting him to the death, they could only leave California for now and then think of another n. Brett knew that leaving California was the most rational choice now, but he still felt extremely upset. Moreover, there was another important reason. Brett punched the seat and asked indignantly, ¡°Dad, we still haven¡¯t found Angus yet. If we leave now, how are we supposed to find him?¡± At the mention of his youngest son, grief appeared in Jensen¡¯s eyes. He said slowly, ¡°I have a feeling that Angus has already been killed.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t believe it!¡± Brett immediately rejected this spection. ¡°I refuse to believe that he¡¯s really dead! He¡­ he¡¯s a scion of the Hamiltons and my brother. Who would dare to harm him or even kill him? ¡°Besides, even if he¡¯s dead, we have to see his corpse. We haven¡¯t found his corpse, so there¡¯s no evidence he¡¯s dead. I refuse to believe that he¡¯s dead! ¡°Unless¡­¡± Brett suddenly thought of a possibility, and his eyes turned bloodshot. ¡°Unless the culprit is Lucas Gray! Right, I know. Angus¡¯s disappearance must have something to do with Lucas Gray! He¡¯s so arrogant and the strongest person in California. If anyone really dares to harm Angus, it must be Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jensen hollered immediately, ¡°Brett, you¡¯re not allowed to say that! That is only your baseless conjecture. If you let Lucas Gray hear that, he definitely won¡¯t let us leave California in one piece! So no matter what you want to say, you have to hold it in!¡± Brett said angrily, ¡°Dad! Why do we have to be so afraid of him? He has already left the four territories, and he¡¯s all by himself now. Even if he¡¯s good at martial arts, and he¡¯s stronger than Moses, we still have several experts who are more powerful than Moses. They can deal with Lucas Gray! ¡°If not, we can just gather all the top experts of the Hamiltons. Lucas Gray definitely won¡¯t be a match for them! He¡¯ll be helpless! ¡°Dad, why don¡¯t we send a message to the family right now and ask Grandpa to send all the top experts here!? I refuse to believe that Lucas Gray can do anything to us with so many experts guarding us! ¡°Moreover, we can take this opportunity to send more people to look for Angus. No matter what, we can¡¯t just give up!¡± Brett sounded extremely earnest. Jensen looked hesitant. He had always been a domineering person, and apart from a few people in the world, he had never sumbed to anyone. If possible, he naturally wouldn¡¯t be willing to give in to Lucas, who was even younger than his son. Even more so, he didn¡¯t want to give up on searching for his youngest son and leave California down and out. No matter what, Angus had gone missing in California, and the only way to search for him now was to stay in California. If he left California, it would mean giving up on Angus, and they might never find him again. Moreover, Jensen still had a strong feeling that Angus might still be alive and waiting for him to save him somewhere. If he left California, he would be leaving Angus to die. Even if Angus had really encountered a mishap, Jensen would never let the murderer off! Chapter 1254 - 1254 Finding Traces 1254 Finding Traces Seeing that Jensen was deep in thought and seemed to be tempted by what he said, Brett quickly followed up and persuaded further, ¡°Dad, no matter what, even if Angus is really dead, we must find his corpse and take him back to the Hamiltons. We can¡¯t let him die in a foreignnd. Furthermore, we have to find out who the murderer is! We can¡¯t let them off!¡± Hearing this, Jensen finally made up his mind. ¡°I won¡¯t take this lying down! I won¡¯t let off anyone who dares to harm my son! ¡°But we can¡¯t act recklessly now. I¡¯ll call your grandfather to exin and arrange for stronger powerhouses toe over. It¡¯s also time to let your grandpa know about Angus.¡± Brett was overjoyed. Once his grandfather knew about this, he would definitely send more of the family¡¯s experts. When the time came, they would be able to defeat Lucas, find out where Angus was, and avenge Angus! Since Jensen had already made up his mind, he didn¡¯t dy for a moment and immediately took out his phone to make a call. ¡°Father, there¡¯s something I need to report to you. Here¡¯s the thing. Angus has been missing for two days in Orange County, and we haven¡¯t been able to find him. I highly suspect that he has been murdered!¡± What Jensen said instantly made the temperature on the other end of the call plummet. ¡°What happened? Tell me the details immediately!¡± the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman ordered. Jensen told his father what had happened in California, as well as their spections. The Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman was instantly furious. ¡°That punk is too audacious! How dare he harm a descendant of the Hamiltons? He even dared to threaten you. He¡¯s courting death!¡± ¡°Father, that punk named Lucas Gray is really quite something. Although he¡¯s young, his martial arts skills are impable. Even Moses, my bodyguard of decades, wasn¡¯t a match for him. That punk crippled one of his hands, and he might be handicapped forever.¡± Jensen exined with a sullen expression, ¡°If not for this, I wouldn¡¯t have been so scrupulous of a greenhorn like him. I was afraid he would harm Brett and me. That¡¯s why I called you for help.¡± The helmsman snorted coldly and said furiously, ¡°How dare he?! My son and grandson aren¡¯t people that any Tom, Dick, and Harry can harm! ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll get Linus to bring some people to Orange County to help you. I¡¯ll also send more manpower there. No matter what, we have to find Angus, even if we have to scour through Orange County!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s great!¡± Jensen was overjoyed and immediately agreed. Linus, whom his father mentioned over the phone, was not an ordinary person but a top powerhouse who ranked third in terms of martial arts skills in the entire Hamilton family. He was second only to the two top experts who followed the helmsman. It could be said that Linus was the strongestbat force that the helmsman could dispatch now. Moses, whose hand had been crushed by Lucas, was roughly only sixth in terms ofbat power. Although the difference in their ranks didn¡¯t seem that much, their actualbat power was worlds apart. During the martial arts tournament the Hamiltons held a year ago, Linus had defeated Moses within three moves. He had held Moses¡¯s neck tightly with one hand and won effortlessly. Moses was no match for Lucas, but Jensen believed that Linus could definitely kill Lucas within ten moves! After a moment of silence, the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman¡¯s voice came from the phone speaker. ¡°Jensen, as you said, Lucas Gray might be from the military, and he was very likely a high-ranked officer close to one of the four suprememanders. We must take this information seriously. ¡°I know you want to kill him right now to prevent future troubles, but I must warn you that if you can¡¯t kill him in one go, don¡¯t be rash, lest you bring cmity upon yourself. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Jensen nodded. ¡°Father, you¡¯re right. I will keep this in mind, and I won¡¯t act rashly!¡± Given his understanding of Lucas, if he really took action but failed to kill Lucas quickly, Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t let the Hamiltons off! Thus, even if Linus really came to Orange County, he couldn¡¯t act rashly! ¡°Okay, as long as you know. I¡¯ll get Linus to head over right away. Inform me if anything happens!¡± the helmsman of the Hamiltons said in a deep voice. ¡°Yes, Father!¡± Jensen immediately agreed. When his reinforcements arrived, he had to act carefully and kill Lucas without anyone knowing to be at ease. ¡­ Meanwhile, Lucas ignored Jim and Anton, who wanted to submit to him, and left the Grandeur Hotel. Bruce and Edmund followed closely behind him. Lucas frowned, looked at them, and asked, ¡°Have you cleared all traces of Angus Hamilton?¡± It was indeed a tough job to clear all the traces. A slight mistake might let the cat out of the bag. For example, Lucas had ordered Bruce to clean up all traces of Angus¡¯s death in Orange County and especially all clues in Lotte Entertainment City. Bruce naturally ordered his subordinates to remain tight-lipped, get rid of all the surveince footage, and so on. But Orange County was huge, and it was hard to guarantee that those who had seen Angus wouldn¡¯t say a word. Bruce wanted to assure Lucas that he had taken care of everything, but he knew that there was nothing 100% certain in the world. After some thought, Bruce said hesitantly, ¡°I¡¯ve already instructed my people to take care of everything and clean up all traces. There shouldn¡¯t be any mistakes, but¡­ if there are passersby in Orange County who have seen Angus in the club, they might be able to search along the clues and find something¡­¡± As the saying goes, Man proposes, God disposes. Anyway, they had already done everything they could. If something still went wrong, and the Hamiltons found some clues, it couldn¡¯t be med on Bruce. Lucas didn¡¯t criticize Bruce and just said calmly, ¡°As long as you¡¯ve done your best, it¡¯s enough. If we really get exposed, then it¡¯s God¡¯s will.¡± It seemed that there was really such a thing as God¡¯s will. Sometimes, the more you dreaded something, the more likely it was to happen. ¡­ As soon as Jensen and Brett returned to the hotel they were staying, Brett received a call from one of his subordinates. ¡°Mr. Brett, good news! We¡¯ve finally found some traces of Mr. Angus! Someone saw him in Lotte Entertainment City after lunch the day before yesterday! ¡°And ording to our investigation, the surveince cameras there and its vicinity happened to be faulty that day. There must be something fishy about this!¡± Chapter 1255 - 1255 Getting Ready to Leave 1255 Getting Ready to Leave ¡°What did you say? You¡¯ve found traces of Angus?¡± Brett immediately asked loudly while standing up in surprise. Jensen looked over to hear where his son was. On the other end, the subordinate said, ¡°Yes, Mr. Brett. After an in-depth investigation, we finally found out from some passersby that Mr. Angus went to Lotte Entertainment City in the afternoon that day because he saw two beautiful women at the entrance and followed them in. ¡°The passersby had a strong impression because those two women were so beautiful. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to find out where Mr. Angus went. !! ¡°What¡¯s more, the surveince footage in Lotte Entertainment City is all gone, and our people couldn¡¯t retrieve any. There must be something fishy! Mr. Brett, what do you say we should do now?¡± Brett¡¯s eyes were red. He was already certain that something had happened to Angus in Lotte Entertainment City, and it must have had something to do with the two beautiful women. He was well aware of what his brother was like. Angus was a lustful yboy who had been romantically involved with multiple women in DC. He also had a penchant for beautiful women and had even forced women to leave with him in the past. There had even been deaths on several asions. But due to the Hamiltons¡¯ power and authority, all these matters had been settled, and Angus had gotten away scot-free, so he had never reflected on himself and changed. ¡°Since you¡¯ve finally found some clues, investigate everything properly! You must get to the bottom of this!¡± Brett ordered coldly. ¡°Angus has always had high standards. Since those two women were so beautiful, they should be prominent figures in Orange County. Search for the names and photos of the beautiful women in Orange County and then ask around to find out who they are. Once you get all the information, report back to me!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Brett! We¡¯ll definitely investigate this matter thoroughly!¡± the subordinate answered immediately. After hanging up, Brett looked at Jensen excitedly. ¡°Dad, our efforts have paid off! We¡¯ve finally gotten some clues about Angus! It seems we¡¯ll be able to find him soon!¡± Jensen was excited, but he also felt worried. It had already been two days. Was Angus really still alive? He kept feeling that Angus was most likely dead. Even if they found those two women, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to see his son again. ¡­ Lucas was naturally still unaware of this. After leaving the Grandeur Hotel, he returned to his vi in Pearl Lake. As soon as he entered, Amelia leaped toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, refusing to let go for a long time. It had been a long time since she saw Lucas, so she was particrly clingy to him whenever she saw him the past couple of days. Especially after knowing that her parents had made up, she was now beaming with joy. ¡°Daddy, it would be great if you stayed home every day. Then I¡¯d get to see you every day!¡± Amelia said, reluctant to let him go. Lucas smiled. ¡°Amelia, we¡¯re moving to DC soon, and we¡¯ll have a new house. When the timees, we won¡¯t have to be apart anymore, and you¡¯ll get to see me every day!¡± ¡°Wow! Yay! We¡¯re moving to a new house!¡± Amelia was so ted that she leaped up and wriggled in Lucas¡¯s arms. But she soon frowned and seemed troubled. ¡°But if we move, what¡¯s going to happen to my best friend, Hailey? I¡¯ll be sad if I don¡¯t get to see her again.¡± Amelia was stuck in a rare dilemma, and her brows were furrowed tightly as she worried seriously about her trouble. The adultsughed, but they didn¡¯t tease Amelia about her friendship. During dinner, Lucas looked at William and asked, ¡°William, how¡¯s the handover at the Sr Corporation doing?¡± William was now managing the Sr Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, and he would be following Lucas to DC too, so Lucas was concerned about his progress. William smiled heartily. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have already arranged everything. I can leave at any time, but¡­¡± He hesitated and didn¡¯t finish his sentence. Lucas immediately asked, ¡°But what? Is thepany facing a tough issue?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not that.¡± William waved his hands and hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong at thepany. But there are some changes in my mindset. I do want to follow everyone to DC to develop, but I know my capabilities. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve wasted many years of my life, and I didn¡¯t learn much about managing apany. I could only secure a foothold in the Sr Corporation because of your appointment and help. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it. If I follow you to DC, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be of any help to a bigpany like the Stardust Corporation. I¡­ I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Lucas said, ¡°William, don¡¯t say that. Besides, we¡¯re moving to DC as a family. Don¡¯t you want toe with us? Do you want to stay in Orange County instead?¡± William sighed and looked at the puerile Amelia. ¡°No, I¡¯ll still go to DC with you, but once we¡¯re there, I won¡¯t be working anymore. I¡¯ll just stay home and apany Amelia! ¡°Since you and Cheyenne will both be busy with your careers, I¡¯ll look after Amelia.¡± Caught betweenughter and tears, Lucas said, ¡°William, you¡¯re only in your fifties. Are you sure you want to retire so soon? There¡¯s no need for this! ¡°If you¡¯re worried that you might not be able to help at thepany, please don¡¯t think that way. Although you haven¡¯t managed the Sr Corporation for long, I¡¯ve seen your abilities, and I know you won¡¯t be a burden to me.¡± Although William wasn¡¯t very talented, he had certain management abilities and wasn¡¯t the type to mess around. Thus, Lucas didn¡¯t think that William would be a burden to him, and he didn¡¯t want William to feel too pressured. Of course, it was up to William if he wanted to work at the Stardust Corporation. If he really wanted to stay home, live as a retiree, and apany Amelia, Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t object. Chapter 1256 - 1256 Linus of the Hamiltons 1256 Linus of the Hamiltons William thought for a moment and said, ¡°Forget it. You have a lot of talent at yourpany now. I won¡¯t join in the fun. You young people will be busy with work, so I¡¯ll just stay home and apany Amelia.¡± Seeing that he had already decided, Lucas stopped persuading him and said with a smile, ¡°Okay, since you¡¯ve made your decision, we¡¯ll go with it. It¡¯s fine as long as you¡¯re happy.¡± William breathed a sigh of relief and smiled happily. With such a filial daughter and son-inw and an adorable granddaughter by his side, he felt that life was really worthwhile. Even though Cheyenne wasn¡¯t his biological daughter, in his eyes, she was no different from his own. The few of them were busy preparing to move to DC. ¡­ The following morning, a ne flew from DC andnded at Orange County International Airport. Jensen and Brett had been waiting at an airport terminal for a while. When they saw an elderly man with a white beard and hair, d in a white long-sleeved shirt and pants, their eyes glowed with excitement, and they hurriedly went over to greet him. From several meters away, Jensen bent forward slightly and called out, ¡°Elder Linus!¡± Although Jensen was one of the helmsman¡¯s sons and highly valued in the family, he didn¡¯t dare to put on airs in front of this elder. This elderly man in white was none other than Linus, the third-ranked powerhouse of the Hamiltons. Linus had been with the helmsman for years and had gone through countless trials and tribtions with the Hamiltons. He had made great contributions to the family and deserved great credit. Moreover, Jensen had been striving for the position of helmsman, so he was naturally very respectful to an expert like Linus. He has been trying his best to get close to Linus in order to have him protect and assist him well in the future. Thus, Jensen was extremely respectful toward Linus. At the side, Brett quickly bowed to Linus. ¡°Elder Linus, wee!¡± ¡°Mr. Jensen, Mr. Brett, I¡¯ve kept you waiting.¡± Linus bent forward slightly with a reserved smile, making him look cold and unfriendly. He knew what Jensen was thinking, but he was loyal only to the Hamilton family, and it didn¡¯t matter to him who the helmsman was. So he simply turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to Jensen currying favor with him. ¡°Mr. Jensen, the helmsman has instructed me toe here and assist you, so feel free to give me any instructions,¡± Linus said to Jensen without going out of his way to be polite. When Jensen heard this, a look of resentment appeared in his eyes. He took a deep breath before saying, ¡°Elder Linus, I should be aware that my son Angus has disappeared in Orange County. This matter is rted to a young man named Lucas Gray, but his martial arts skills are impable, and even Moses is no match for him! ¡°So, I hope you can help me find out more about him. It would be best if you could kill him!¡± Jensen was now full of murderous intent toward Lucas. After the call from Brett¡¯s subordinatest night and finding out that Angus had gone to a club named Lotte Entertainment City and that two beautiful women were involved, Jensen had immediately sent people to find out their identities. Last night, they had already found out that the two beautiful women Angus had pestered and forcefully dragged into his room were Cheyenne Carter and Charlotte Carter. But one of them was Lucas¡¯s wife, and the other was his sister-inw. In that case, Jensen could already conclude that Angus¡¯s death was absolutely rted to Lucas! The truth was obvious. Angus must have developed lustful thoughts when he saw the two young and beautiful women, but it turned out that they were closely rted to Lucas. Moreover, Lucas was the overlord of California, so it wasn¡¯t difficult to understand why Angus suddenly vanished from Orange County without a single trace. As for White w, Angus¡¯s bodyguard, Lucas must have killed him too. Given Lucas¡¯sbat power, there was no need to doubt this at all. Yet Lucas acted like nothing had happened when facing him previously. Even when Brett visited him in person at hispany, Lucas didn¡¯t reveal anything. If they hadn¡¯t coincidentally found some clues from passersby, Angus¡¯s death might just be a secret forever, and he would have really vanished into thin air. As soon as Linus heard what Jensen said, his expression immediately became grim. Of course he knew who Moses was. Moses ranked sixth among the powerhouses of the Hamiltons. Although he was inferior to Linus, he was still a top expert that very few could rival. Even the strongest powerhouses around the helmsmen of the eight top families of DC might not be a match for him. But the fact that Lucas had defeated even Moses made Linus cautious, and he knew he couldn¡¯t belittle him. ¡°Mr. Jensen, Lucas Gray should only be in his twenties. Is he really so powerful that even Moses is no match for him?¡± Linus asked with puzzlement. Jensen nodded and said sadly, ¡°Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. In merely one exchange of blows, Lucas Gray crushed Moses¡¯s hand andpletely crippled it. He¡¯s not receiving treatment in the hospital.¡± Linus couldn¡¯t help feeling more worried and scrupulous toward Lucas. If Moses had lost after a tough battle, Linus would be surprised, but he wouldn¡¯t be too shocked. After all, there are many talents in the world, and it wasn¡¯t impossible for there to be some outstanding young talents. But the fact Lucas had crippled Moses¡¯s hand in one move in almost an instant kill contained a lot of information for him to process. ¡°Mr. Jensen, please tell me more about Lucas Gray in detail,¡± Linus said seriously. So while driving from the airport, Jensen and Brett told Linus everything they had investigated, as well as their conjectures about Lucas¡¯s identity. Previously, they had thought that Lucas was a powerhouse from one of the four territories and should be close to one of the four suprememanders. But after speaking with Lucas, they narrowed the scope to the eastern and southern territories. But regardless of where Lucas was from, they couldn¡¯t underestimate his identity. After pondering, Linus said, ¡°I can probe his skills first, but it will be difficult for me to kill him like you want, Mr. Jensen.¡± Chapter 1257 - 1257 Probe 1257 Probe ¡°Themanders of the eastern territory and southern territory are not to be trifled with, especially themander of the southern territory, the captain of the Falcon Regiment. He¡¯s very domineering and protective of his subordinates. If Lucas Gray is really his former subordinate, and we hurt him, I¡¯m afraid even the Hamiltons won¡¯t be able to resist his wrath.¡± Jensen¡¯s heart sank. Indeed, this was what they were concerned about before. Even though Lucas had left the military and was no longer a subordinate of one of the fourmanders, it was normal for people to be protective of theirrades. In case they angered a suprememander, there would be massive trouble. !! ¡°Elder Linus, what do you think we should do now?¡± Jensen asked respectfully. After carefully thinking about it, Linus said, ¡°I think we¡¯d better think this through and n carefully, lest we provoke someone we can¡¯t afford to provoke.¡± Jensen¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and he said unwillingly, ¡°But the evidence shows that Angus was really harmed by Lucas Gray. Am I supposed to just let him off? ¡°If we can¡¯t kill Lucas Gray and avenge Angus, I will never be at peace!¡± Brett was just as unwilling. He had been very close to Angus, and now that Angus had undoubtedly been killed by Lucas, he obviously couldn¡¯t tolerate it. Was he supposed to not avenge his brother and not kill the culprit? They were the Hamiltons, an esteemed US royal family branch. How could they possibly lower themselves and avoid Lucas out of fear? Linus nced at them and said calmly, ¡°Mr. Jensen, with all due respect, if Mr. Angus has really encountered a mishap, there¡¯s no way we can revive him even if you kill Lucas Gray now. ¡°The most important thing now is not revenge but securing your status in the family and striving to be the next helmsman. Isn¡¯t that so? In this critical moment, you should stabilize yourself and not cause trouble for the family by provoking a suprememander for the sake of revenge. ¡°They say it¡¯s never toote for revenge. It won¡¯t be toote for you to settle scores with Lucas Gray after you be the helmsman.¡± What Linus said was like a bucket of cold water pouring over the angry and indignant Jensen, immediately calming him down. Indeed, Linus was right. Even if they killed Lucas now, it wouldn¡¯t bring Angus back to life. Instead of creating trouble for the family because of this matter, thereby causing him to fall out of contention for the position of the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman, he should bear with it for now and let Lucas live a few more days before settling scores with him in the future! After calming down, Jensen immediately bowed to Linus, ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Elder Linus. I¡¯m truly grateful!¡± Linus moved aside slightly and said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t stand on ceremony with me, Mr. Jensen. I didn¡¯t say anything worthy of your gratitude.¡± Jensen understood what Linus meant. Linus had always been a neutral party in the family, but he had given Jensen a huge favor by giving him a reminder. However, he couldn¡¯t let their conversation spread, lest he put Linus on the spot. ¡°Yes, I understand. I won¡¯t forget your kindness in the future, Elder Linus!¡± Jensen said sincerely. Linus smiled. ¡°Although I don¡¯t think we can kill him now, we can still probe Lucas. I¡¯ll go meet himter.¡± Jensen said gratefully, ¡°Okay, thank you so much, Elder Linus!¡± Then he gave Linus some information about Lucas, such as his address, photos, and so on. ¡°Alright, I got it. I won¡¯t go back to the hotel with you. We¡¯ll talk again after I meet Lucas Gray. Mr. Jensen, Mr. Brett, you two head back first!¡± Linus was extremely interested in Lucas. After getting information about him, he asked the driver to pull over and proceeded to look for Lucas. Jensen didn¡¯t stop him and bid goodbye to him respectfully. After watching Linus leave, Brett finally said, ¡°Dad, do we really have to bear with it and let Lucas Gray stay alive for longer? He killed Angus. I really want to kill him right now to avenge Angus!¡± Jensen patted his son on the shoulder. ¡°Brett, calm down. Don¡¯t be impatient. I feel the same as you do, and I wish I could kill Lucas Gray immediately to make him pay for Angus¡¯s life. ¡°But if we can¡¯t tolerate this, we will incur greater trouble. Your grandfather is getting old, and it¡¯s time for us to pick the next helmsman. We mustn¡¯t be reckless now, lest we miss the opportunity. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Once I be the next helmsman and take over the entire family, I will be able to deploy all the Hamiltons¡¯ elites and kill Lucas Gray! I¡¯ll make sure he dies miserably to atone for his sins!¡± Brett naturally knew that his father made sense. Indeed, they didn¡¯t have to rush to take revenge. The most important thing now was to make sure Jensen became the next helmsman. Under this premise, they could postpone everything else. But he would absolutely capture Lucas one day and kill him with his own hands to avenge Angus! ¡­ At 10 a.m., in the chairman¡¯s office of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch¡­ Lucas was sitting in the office with arge stack of documents on therge desk in front of him. They were all important documents that he, the chairman, needed to sign. After all, he would soon be leaving Orange County and going to DC to develop. Although the Orange County branch would be staying, there were many business and administrative issues for Lucas to handle, especially since there would be a major personnel shift. But while Lucas was carefully going through the documents, he suddenly felt a sense of crisis and a strange aura. He put down the pen in his hand, walked to the window with a frown, and peered below. From more than a dozen floors above ground, the traffic and pedestrians on the streets looked minuscule. But among the bustling crowd, Lucas urately spotted an old man standing opposite the Stardust Corporation building. It was a man in his sixties with a white beard and hair, d in a white shirt and pants. He wasn¡¯t actually that inconspicuous at first nce. But Lucas had his eyes firmly fixed on him. It was Linus, the old man who had gotten out of Jensen¡¯s car not long ago! Based on the information that Jensen had given him, Linus arrived at the entrance of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch office and was still contemting how he should probe Lucas. At this moment, he seemed to feel a strange gaze on him. He raised his head and looked up. When Linus looked into the pair of calm eyes on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation building, his heart immediately skipped a beat, and all the hair on his body stood on end! Chapter 1258 - 1258 Unprovokable 1258 Unprovokable Linus¡¯s purpose here was to probe Lucas¡¯s details. So when he saw the calm eyes on the top floor of the building and the owner of the eyes, he immediately knew that it was Lucas! However, he had now arrived near Lucas¡¯s vicinity and was actually still a distance away from him, yet Lucas had already discovered him and had his eyes locked on him. What a terrifying perception! Even an expert like Linus was bbergasted! At this moment, Linus deemed Lucas much more dangerous than he had thought, and he was now full of scruples toward him. The next moment, a calm and indifferent voice suddenly rang in Linus¡¯s ears. ¡°Are you here to look for me?¡± After being shocked, Linus suddenly turned around, only to see that Lucas, who was just on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation office building moments ago, had appeared behind him! His speed was incredible, and he was just like a phantom! The astonishment within Linus was indescribable. ¡°I was just passing by.¡± Linus clenched his fist tightly and forced himself to smile. ¡°Sir, you¡¯re really powerful. I¡¯m enlightened.¡± Lucas smiled faintly. ¡°Sir, you¡¯re already advanced in age, so you should stay at home. Gaining knowledge isn¡¯t as important as your life, or you might end up in a horrible plight. What do you think, Sir?¡± Linus¡¯s pupils suddenly constricted. He had naturally understood what Lucas meant. If someone else dared to threaten him so audaciously, Linus definitely wouldn¡¯t take it lying down. But facing Lucas and his peculiar skills, even Linus, the third top powerhouse of the Hamiltons, couldn¡¯t help feeling worried and uncertain. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m old, so I should stay at home.¡± Linus nodded and turned around to leave without hesitation. Watching Linus disappear among the crowd, Lucas slowly narrowed his eyes. Linus¡¯s aura was formidable. Of course, this didn¡¯t mean that he was intimidating. On the contrary, when walking on the streets, he looked just like an ordinary old man. But he exuded the aura unique to top experts, which was like a special maic field. The more skilled in martial arts someone was, the more they could sense the aura exuded by martial arts practitioners. This was why Lucas, despite standing on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation, which was more than a dozen floors above ground, could still sense the unique aura exuded by Linus and locate him precisely. Just by looking at Linus¡¯s white attire, which was unique to the experts of the Hamiltons, Lucas knew that he was a powerhouse sent by the Hamiltons, who was far more powerful than White w, Mateo, and Moses. But even this powerful expert was no match for Lucas. Lucas had seen that there was no murderous intent in Linus¡¯s eyes, so he merely gave a warning. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have let him go so easily. ¡°I hope the Hamiltons won¡¯t continue behaving foolishly. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me,¡± Lucas murmured before disappearing right on the spot and returning to his office. Meanwhile, Linus stayed tense until he reached a crossroad and turned a corner. When he could no longer feel the scorching gaze behind him, he heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°This young man must not be provoked!¡± Linus wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead with deep fear in his eyes. ¡­ On another side, in the hotel room where Jensen was staying¡­ In the spacious presidential suite, Jensen and Brett were sitting on the couch with their brows furrowed, staring at the phone on the coffee table and sometimes looking at the door, waiting for news. ¡°Dad, do you think Elder Linus has met Lucas Gray?¡± Brett asked worriedly. Jensen seemed distracted, but he said, ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything to worry about. Anyway, Lucas Gray definitely won¡¯t be a match for Elder Linus. My only worry now is whether Elder Linus will identally kill Lucas Gray by mistake and provoke a suprememander.¡± After some thought, Brett said, ¡°If Elder Linus really kills Lucas Gray, I¡¯ll instruct my subordinates to clean up the traces well. In any case, we can¡¯t let Lucas Gray¡¯s death pose a threat to your fight for the position of helmsman!¡± Suddenly, the door of the room opened, and a figure in white entered. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking. Lucas Gray is extremely strong. I¡¯m no match for him at all.¡± Jensen and Brett immediately stood up. They instinctively wanted to go forward to greet Linus, but after they processed what he said, their expressions changed drastically. ¡°Elder Linus, what¡­ what are you saying? Even you¡¯re no match for Lucas Gray?¡± Brett looked at Linus in panic, only to see that Linus¡¯s clothes were neat and his hair was still neatlybed. There were no traces of a fight at all. ¡°Did¡­ did you fight Lucas Gray?¡± Brett asked anxiously. Jensen looked at Linus doubtfully. Linus shook his head with a bitter smile and sighed. ¡°No, but I know he¡¯s much stronger than I am. I¡¯m no match for him at all. If we had really fought, I might not have been able toe back in one piece to see you.¡± These words made Jensen and Brett feel extremely shocked and horrified. ¡°In any case, Mr. Jensen, that young man Lucas Gray is not on the same level as us at all. Please refrain from provoking him as far as possible in the future. Otherwise, you¡¯ll definitely suffer!¡± Linus said earnestly. ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. I¡¯m returning to the Hamilton residence now.¡± With that, Linus bowed slightly and turned around to leave without waiting for Jensen and Brett to persuade him to stay. He hade to Orange County to help deal with Lucas under the orders of the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman. Since he now knew that he was no match for Lucas at all, there was no point in staying here any longer. What Linus said left Jensen and Brett inplete disbelief. They didn¡¯t expect the third most powerful expert of the Hamiltons to say that he and Lucas weren¡¯t on that same level and that they shouldn¡¯t provoke him. In that case, things became a lot more serious. After Linus left, Brett frowned for a long time before finally saying, ¡°Brett, it seems that we can¡¯t stay in Orange County for long. We should head home immediately!¡± At this point, they could basically forget about taking revenge on Lucas or taking California away from him. Staying alive was their greatest concern now. Last night, Lucas had already warned them to leave Orange County immediately. However, not only did they not leave, but they even asked the family to send Linus over. They didn¡¯t know if Lucas was angry now and whether he woulde and confront them, but Jensen knew that they had to leave Orange County right now! The two of them were in a hurry and soon left Orange County International Airport with their subordinates half an hourter. By the time the ne took off, Lucas had already received the news. ... Chapter 1259 - 1259 Lena Asks to Meet 1259 Lena Asks to Meet Bruce and the others sighed in relief after hearing the news. Because he was worried that the Hamiltons might take revenge and send lots of experts to suppress them, he hadn¡¯t slept well for the past few days. Now that he learned that Brett, Jensen, and their subordinates had left Orange County, he finally felt relieved. ¡°Lucas, that¡¯s great news. The Hamiltons have really left!¡± Bruce eximed excitedly. Lucas wasn¡¯t surprised. When he saw the Hamiltons¡¯ powerhouse leaving after receiving his warning, he guessed that they would choose to avoid him for now. But he couldn¡¯t let his guard down just because of this. After all, Angus had indeed died under hismand, and the Hamiltons definitely wouldn¡¯t forget such deep hatred. Lucas just didn¡¯t know when they woulde for him again. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the Hamiltons, but he wasn¡¯t alone now. He had his family, friends, career, andpany, which was continuously expanding. The Hamiltons would definitely be able to get a hold on him somehow. It looks like I should work on bing more powerful and recruiting more experts. Lucas decided. Soon, it was lunchtime. Lucas put down the documents in his hand. Just as he walked out of the Stardust Corporation office building, he suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to him. ¡°Lucas!¡± Lucas turned around and saw Lena walking toward him, all smiles. He couldn¡¯t help looking a little sullen. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lucas asked coldly, expressionless. He was now rather displeased with Lena. In the beginning, Lucas had a good impression of Lena and took care of her as much as possible because she was Cheyenne¡¯s best friend. But after the incident in the hotel in DC, his impression of Lena waspletely ruined. Flynn had already found out that Lena was the one who had hired someone to take those photos in the hotel and sent them to Cheyenne. Although Lena thought that she had done a good job of being secretive by hiring someone to take the photos and using a different phone number to send them, there were still traces that could be found. Besides, Lena wasn¡¯t an expert at this, so she didn¡¯t clean up the traces well, and it was a piece of cake to check. To be honest, Lucas was furious when he found out that Lena was the culprit behind everything. After all, Cheyenne had always genuinely treated Lena as her best friend. Yet Lena openly tried to snatch her husband and sowed discord between Cheyenne and Lucas, which Lucas couldn¡¯t tolerate at all. If it wasn¡¯t because Lena and Cheyenne had been friends for a long time, Lucas would have never let her off the hook. In addition, Lena¡¯s father, Ethan, had also once betrayed Lucas, though he chose to stand on Lucas¡¯s side in the end. Even so, his betrayal of Lucas was an indelible fact. Thus, Lucas had a very bad impression of Ethan and Lena. Lucas was already being kind enough to them by choosing to ignore them. But he didn¡¯t expect Lena toe looking for him at this moment. Lucas¡¯s indifferent attitude seemed to hurt Lena a little. She smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days since west met. Why have you be so distant, Lucas? We¡¯re good friends, right? Have you forgotten that I sent you back to your hotel room to rest when you got drunk in DC?¡± Hearing that Lena had the audacity to mention the incident at the hotel, Lucas sneered inwardly while looking at Lena with an even colder gaze. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten, and I never will forget,¡± Lucas said mysteriously. He asked coldly, ¡°So, why are you here?¡± Lena giggled. ¡°Since I helped you, shouldn¡¯t you treat me to a meal in return?¡± Lucas wanted to refuse at first, but after giving it some thought, he agreed. ¡°Sure, what would you like to have?¡± Hearing Lucas agree, Lena immediately beamed with joy. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Parkers¡¯ Restaurant is very poprtely. Let¡¯s go there!¡± This restaurant was founded by the Parkers decades ago, and it recently rose to fame after its sister restaurant, the Parker¡¯s Hampton Restaurant in DC, became famous. They soon became Instagram hot spots, and now, there were sister restaurants in many major cities. Naturally, Orange County had one too. ¡°Sure, the Parkers¡¯ Restaurant it is.¡± Lucas immediately agreed and drove to the restaurant with Lena. He wanted to ask Lena why she did such a thing to Cheyenne, her best friend of over a decade. Upon arriving at the restaurant, they ordered a sumptuous 4-course meal. Lena was extremely enthusiastic, and she kept talking to Lucas and pouring him drinks from time to time. But when she was about to pour him some wine again, he moved the wine ss to the side and said coldly, ¡°Alcohol leads to mistakes. I won¡¯t drink anymore, lest I get into trouble again.¡± Realizing the ambiguous meaning in what Lucas said, Lena felt her heart skip a beat, afraid that he had already discovered something. But she quietly looked up and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that his expression hadn¡¯t changed much. She thought that she was just being paranoid. She was positive that she had done that matter so secretively that Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t find out! But she didn¡¯t dare to go overboard and cut down on the talking. After they finished the meal, Lena hesitated for a moment but eventually said, ¡°Lucas, actually¡­ I want to ask you to help my family, but I don¡¯t know how to begin.¡± Lucas knew why she hade to find him. Without saying a word, he poured himself a ss of water and sipped it, as if he hadn¡¯t heard what she said. Feeling a little awkward and uncertain about what Lucas was thinking, Lena said, ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s actually a very simple matter. I hope you can give the Sawyers a chance and take us with you to DC.¡± It was just as he expected. Lucas smiled coldly. ¡°Your dad, Ethan Sawyer, asked you to find me, didn¡¯t he?¡± With a look of embarrassment, Lena said, ¡°My dad told me about what happened a couple of days ago. Actually, I think my dad¡¯s very fickle-minded, timid, and easily intimidated too. ¡°But it¡¯s not his fault¡­ Our family doesn¡¯t have a strong foundation, and we can¡¯t take huge risks. That¡¯s why my dad¡¯s so hesitant and cautious about everything. ¡°Of course, he didn¡¯t intend to betray you, and it¡¯s not that he doesn¡¯t trust you either. It¡¯s just how he is. So Lucas, can you not hold it against him and give our family another chance?¡± Chapter 1260 - 1260 I Love You 1260 I Love You Lucas looked at Lena indifferently without even batting an eyelid and said directly, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Lena¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. She didn¡¯t expect Lucas to reject her plea for help. Lucas said coldly, ¡°The fact that the Sawyers can be the top family of California is already a result of my kindness. Don¡¯t push it.¡± Lena¡¯s face instantly turned pale, and her hand holding her ss of red wine trembled, causing several drops of wine to spill onto the snowy-white tablecloth. ¡°Then, can¡¯t you give the Sawyers another chance for my sake?¡± Lena asked through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at Lucas pitifully. For her sake? Hearing this, Lucas wanted to sneer. Lena meant nothing to Lucas. He didn¡¯t take her seriously at all. In fact, if it wasn¡¯t for Cheyenne, Lucas wouldn¡¯t have bothered to talk with Lena at all. ¡°No,¡± Lucas said firmly. When Lena saw Lucas not wavering in the slightest and rejecting her again without any room forpromise, disappointment gradually appeared on her face. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes, and she frowned while saying aggrievedly, ¡°Lucas, why do I feel like you¡¯re giving me the cold shoulder all of a sudden? How have I offended you?¡± Seeing that Lena actually had the cheek to pretend as if nothing had happened, Lucas felt even more disappointed and repulsed. Since she wanted to treat him as a fool, why should he save her from embarrassment? Lucas stared closely at Lena¡¯s eyes and sneered. ¡°How dare you ask me how you¡¯ve offended me when you did something so abhorrent.¡± Lena¡¯s heart tensed up, she subconsciously clenched her fists, and a look of panic appeared on her face. Could Lucas already know that I¡¯m the one behind that matter? No, that can¡¯t be. I pulled it off well that day. Lucas shouldn¡¯t suspect me! As Lena thought of this, a trace of confusion appeared on her face, and she seemed clueless about what he was saying. She asked in bewilderment, ¡°What have I done? What are you talking about, Lucas? I don¡¯t understand what you mean.¡± Seeing Lena still feigning ignorance, Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue wasting his breath with her and exposed her right on the spot. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend to be innocent in front of me. You¡¯re the one who took those photos and sent them to Cheyenne!¡± He didn¡¯t speak in an inquisitive tone but a firm, aggressive, and affirmative one. Lena¡¯s expression changed drastically, and her hands clenched the tablecloth tightly, crumpling the snowy-white fabric, which was now all wrenched up like her heart. ¡°What¡­ what are you talking about? What photos? I have no idea what you¡¯re saying!¡± Lena tried her best to remain calm and pretend not to know anything. But unfortunately, Lucas¡¯s sudden exposure of her caught her off guard. Her voice stuttered, revealing the obvious guilt and nervousness within her. Lucas sneered at her. At this point, she still refused to admit it. It seemed that she was trying to hold out until the veryst moment. ¡°Lena Sawyer, drop the act. Since I¡¯ve already said it, I won¡¯t malign you. Third Avenue, Apex Studios, Marcus Thompson, these names should ring a bell, shouldn¡¯t they?¡± After hearing these names, Lena felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Her hands holding the tablecloth trembled violently, and the sses and tableware on the table nged loudly. Apex Studios was the agency Lena had hired to photograph her and Lucas secretly. Marcus Thompson was the photographer who had taken the photos of her and Lucas seemingly being intimate outside the hotel. Since Lucas had already managed to find Marcus, he obviously knew that she was the culprit. At this moment, Lena felt as though she had been thrown into an ice cer, and her entire body was cold. She felt incredibly ashamed and embarrassed, as if she had been stripped naked in public. She didn¡¯t expect Lucas to find out everything she had done. So much for pretending and feigning ignorance in front of him just now. To her horror, he had already found out the truth, and her performance in front of him was probably just like a clown act. At the thought of this, Lena turned pale, and she couldn¡¯t say a word. Staring at Lena, Lucas questioned coldly, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m really disappointed in you! Cheyenne has always regarded you as her best friend, and she¡¯s been kind to you for more than ten years. But what did you do to her in return? ¡°There was clearly nothing between us, but you maliciously hired someone to take those photos that made us look intimate. And you even sent them to Cheyenne to sow discord between us and upset her. Is that what a best friend should do? ¡°What has Cheyenne done to you to make you hate her so much that you¡¯d want her to suffer and be sad?!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice became increasingly louder as he questioned Lena. She lowered her head with every question and was almost unable to raise her head. Hanging her head low, she clenched her fists, and her nails dug deep into the flesh of her palms. But she suddenly raised her head and stared straight at Lucas. ¡°She hasn¡¯t let me down, but I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve fallen in love with you! I¡¯m in love with you!¡± Boom! Her words were like a thunderbolt striking Lucas on the head, making him absolutely dumbfounded. Lucas never thought that Lena would fall in love with him! This exined why she had tried to sow discord between him and Cheyenne. She wanted to ruin their marriage. How was this possible?! Why would Lena fall in love with him? Lucas was truly dumbfounded as he looked at Lena in confusion, seemingly not knowing her at all. Since she had already said it, she decided to go all out. With red eyes, she yelled, ¡°Do you remember the first time we met? You sent me home, and I encountered the sudden attack by the speeding motorcycle in front of my house. From the moment you saved my life, I fell in love with you! ¡°I thought I could suppress my feelings for you and keep them to myself forever, but when you saved me from the deadly pursuit in LA, I knew that everything was God¡¯s will. God must have sent you to me! In that case, why should I give you up and let someone else have you? ¡°I know I¡¯ve let Cheyenne down, but sometimes, there really isn¡¯t an exnation for your feelings! I didn¡¯t want things to turn out this way, and I don¡¯t want to steal Cheyenne¡¯s husband either, but I couldn¡¯t help myself! ¡°I¡¯m just so helplessly in love with you that I¡¯d rather give up my friendship with Cheyenne!¡± Lena burst into tears and revealed all her feelings for Lucas for the first time. Dumbfounded, Lucas sat in his seat, at aplete loss for words to express his emotions. Chapter 1261 - 1261 Self-Degradation 1261 Self-Degradation Lucas really never expected that Lena would fall in love with him just because he had saved her twice and that she would go as far as to end her decade-long friendship with Cheyenne for his sake. If she was merely one-sidedly in love with him and didn¡¯t do anything, he would have just not reciprocated, nor would he look down on her. On the contrary, he would treat her as his friend and do his best to help her in the future. But she had done something she shouldn¡¯t have done. She shouldn¡¯t have let herself indulge in her adoration and hurt the person who meant the most to Lucas. ¡°Lena Sawyer, all I can say is thank you for loving me, but it¡¯s impossible between us. The only woman I love is Cheyenne, and I will never fall in love with anyone else or make my beloved sad. ¡°I can take it that nothing happened this time, but if this happens once more, if you make Cheyenne sad again, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± With that, Lucas stood up decisively and turned around to leave. ¡°No! Lucas! Don¡¯t go!¡± Lena immediately panicked, grabbed Lucas¡¯s arm tightly, and pleaded miserably. He looked at her hand holding his arm and frowned. He shouted in displeasure, ¡°Let go!¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t let go!¡± Not only did she not let go of his arm, but she even hugged his waist tightly and begged, ¡°Lucas, I really like you. I love you! I don¡¯t dream of bing your wife like Cheyenne. But I don¡¯t mind being your lover as long as I can be by your side! ¡°If you¡¯re afraid that Cheyenne won¡¯t agree or that she¡¯ll be sad, we can choose not to tell her and treat it as a secret between us. As long as you can apany me whenever you¡¯re free and say a few words to me, I¡¯ll be more than satisfied! I promise! I¡¯m not greedy, and I won¡¯t ask for anything else. Just fulfill this wish of mine, okay?¡± Lena was weeping incessantly as she gave up all her dignity. She would rather be a ndestine mistress than leave Lucas. But what she said not only failed to touch him, but it made him find her disgusting. Lena was the daughter of Ethan Sawyer, the richest man in Orange County. Once Lucas left for DC, the Sawyers would even be the top family in all of California, and she could definitely get any man she wanted. Yet she was targeting Lucas and was even willing to be his mistress. It was simply shameless! She wanted to be a mistress, but he didn¡¯t want to be an adulterer. Furthermore, Lena clearly knew that Cheyenne was his wife, and she had been best friends with Cheyenne for years, yet she still wanted to cheat with her best friend¡¯s husband ande in between them. She would rather be a reviled mistress who was scolded by everyone. She imed that she could hide it from Cheyenne so as not to hurt her, but hiding it didn¡¯t mean that she wouldn¡¯t be hurting her. Hiding it didn¡¯t mean that it wasn¡¯t a betrayal. She was just deceiving herself! If the matter was exposed one day, and Cheyenne found out that her best friend had hooked up with her husband, it would result in devastating harm to her! Lena was doing it all out of her own selfishness without sparing a thought for Cheyenne. Someone like her wasn¡¯t worthy of being Cheyenne¡¯s best friend at all! ¡°I told you to let go. Didn¡¯t you hear me?¡± Lucas was truly furious. He stared at her coldly without a trace of warmth. ¡°No! I¡¯m not letting go! Lucas, I won¡¯t let go until you agree!¡± Lena cried and mored stubbornly while tightening her grip on Lucas. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t know how terrifying Lucas was, but she thought that she was different in his heart and that he would never get physical with her. So she decided to pester him endlessly and hug him tightly. With a cold expression on his face and an icy voice, he said, ¡°Lena Sawyer, don¡¯t think that I won¡¯ty a hand on you! I will say it onest time. Let go!¡± His voice contained obvious anger and even a touch of murderous intent. Lena shuddered all over. She could sense the obvious murderous intent in his voice, and fear immediately surged in her heart. She knew that Lucas was really furious. If she continued pestering him, her ties with him would truly bepletely over, and he would no longer be polite to her. She slowly loosened her grip and looked at Lucas with fear written all over her face. ¡°Don¡¯t appear in front of me again, and stay away from Cheyenne. She doesn¡¯t need a friend with ill intentions like you. Do you hear me?¡± Lucas warned, staring coldly at Lena. ¡°If you dare to do anything like this again, don¡¯t me me for being unkind and banishing your family to hell!¡± Lena¡¯s heart immediately sank to rock bottom. She thought that after confessing her feelings and even making a tremendous sacrifice by saying that she was willing to be a ndestine mistress and wouldn¡¯tpete with Cheyenne for the position of his legal wife, Lucas would be touched and agree to her request. But she didn¡¯t expect Lucas to reject her immediately and even tell her not to appear in front of him and Cheyenne again! For this, Lucas didn¡¯t even hesitate to threaten the Sawyers¡¯ existence! Why? Why is Lucas so good to Cheyenne but so cold and heartless toward me? ¡°Lucas, I love you so much. How¡­ how can you treat me like this?¡± Lena looked at Lucas sadly with red eyes. Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Who you like is your business. Do I have to reciprocate just because you like me? ¡°Besides, I already have someone I love, and no one cane between us. There¡¯s only room for her in my heart. ¡°Lena Sawyer, you¡¯re not stupid, so you should understand what I mean. From now on, I don¡¯t want to see you messing with mine and Cheyenne¡¯s lives. Do you hear me?¡± What Lucas saidpletely ruined Lena¡¯s fantasies and delusions. She understood that he really had no feelings for her and that he wouldn¡¯t get together with her. Cheyenne would forever have an irreceable spot in his heart. At the thought of this, Lena burst into tears bitterly. Seeing her so sad, he still couldn¡¯t bear to be too harsh to her. After all, she was his admirer, not his enemy. After sighing, Lucas said in a mellower tone, ¡°If you can let go of your feelings for me in the future, we can still be friends. I hope you can find someone you love and who loves you back soon.¡± With that, Lucas didn¡¯t want to say anything else. He turned around and walked toward the entrance of the private room. But suddenly, Lena asked, ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t you want to know what exactly happened between us in the hotel room that night?¡± As soon as she said this, Lucas abruptly turned around and looked at Lena coldly, his eyes filled with undisguised murderous intent. ¡°If you dare to say a word of nonsense, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Chapter 1262 - 1262 That Night 1262 That Night The murderous intent in Lucas¡¯s eyes was so strong that most people would be scared soulless. Lena shivered. Her legs went limp, and she almost lost her bnce. But she gritted her teeth, stared at Lucas, and tried her best to maintain eye contact with him, refusing to back down. Lucas was really annoyed. !! The incident in the hotel, where Lena had helped him back to his room after he got drunk the other day, had been a thorn in his heart. He was dead drunk that day, and he didn¡¯t know what had happened at all. He was really afraid that he had done something he shouldn¡¯t have done. Due to his fear, when Lena said that nothing had happened between them the following morning, he heaved a sigh of relief and subconsciously chose to believe that nothing had really happened. But now that Lena had suddenly brought it up, he thought that something might have really happened. ¡°What exactly happened that night? You¡¯d bettere clean with me!¡± Lucas stared into Lena¡¯s eyes, making her feel strongly oppressed. Seemingly finally unable to stand her oppressive gaze, she looked away, breaking eye contact with Lucas. She smiled self-deprecatingly and said, ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying this now? Even if something really happened between us that day, you still definitely won¡¯t ept me, right?¡± Lucas was speechless. Lena was right. Even if something had happened that day, he wouldn¡¯t ept her just because of it. That night, he was so drunk that he couldn¡¯t even move. If something had really happened, it must have been Lena¡¯s conscious decision. Why should Lucas take responsibility for it? Besides, Cheyenne had always been and will always be the only one Lucas loved. It had taken them tremendous effort to reconcile. Moreover, they shared a beautiful daughter. It was impossible for Lucas to let a third partye in between them and disrupt their hard-won blissful life. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡­ you bastard!¡± Seeing that Lucas didn¡¯t say anything, Lena finally couldn¡¯t help herself. She pped him hard, grabbed her bag, and ran away in tears. Lucas watched coldly as Lena left, not stopping her at all. He stood in the empty private room for a long time, feeling incredibly frustrated and flustered. He had thought that he and Lena were innocent. But after seeing her reaction, he had a feeling that something had happened between them, something he couldn¡¯t ept. In fact, Lena said that she had had a crush on Lucas for a long time, so much so that she was willing to give up her decade-long friendship with Cheyenne for him. In that case, how could she not have done anything to him while he was drunk and lying motionless in bed? Moreover, Lena was definitely not a simple woman. Lucas had drunk that day because he had found out that he wasn¡¯t Michael Hutton¡¯s biological son and that his father was someone else. Overwhelmed with emotions at the time, he had drowned his sorrows in alcohol. But Lena suddenly showed up in the bar and even drank a lot of alcohol with him. Later, while helping him to his room, she had even arranged for someone to photograph them. The intimate and ambiguous photos of them in the hotel room were also taken by her. Based on these matters, he could tell that Lena was an extremely scheming woman. She had finally gotten a chance to spend time alone with him, and he had even been drunk and unconscious at the time. He didn¡¯t believe that she really hadn¡¯t done anything to him. The thought of it made Lucas¡¯s head hurt even more. If he and Lena had really gotten intimate, then¡­ wouldn¡¯t he have betrayed Cheyenne? If she found out, would she forgive him? As an adult man, he knew that there were some things he couldn¡¯t just exin away because he was drunk. The thought of the possibility of Cheyenne getting the wrong idea made his heart tense up with nervousness. With a grim expression, Lucas took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Jordan, please help me check something. On the 20th ofst month, I got drunk, and Lena Sawyer sent me to the Crown International Hotel in DC. Help me find out how long she stayed in my room!¡± After hearing this, Jordan immediately opened his mouth in surprise. ¡°Lucas, did¡­ did something happen?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask. Just check it immediately!¡± Lucas instructed coldly. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan realized that something was amiss. Half an hourter, Jordan called again. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve found out! I checked the surveince footage inside and outside the hotel. On the night of November 20th, Lena Sawyer indeed helped you to the hotel room. After you two entered, she didn¡¯te out again until about seven the following morning. Then she went to the front desk and got a room,¡± Jordan reported in puzzlement. His words seemed to stiffen Lucas¡¯s body on the spot. In that case, Lena had spent the entire night with him. She had lied about resting next door! Now, the truth was really going in the direction that Lucas dreaded! Jordan asked carefully, ¡°Lucas, you and Lena Sawyer¡­ you¡­ Nothing happened between you two, right? You didn¡¯t let Cheyenne down, right?¡± Lucas¡¯s heart was full of fury as he shouted resentfully, ¡°I was drunk! I don¡¯t even know what happened!¡± This was what Lucas felt the most frustrated and disgruntled about. If he had been conscious or slightly sober then, he wouldn¡¯t have behaved intimately with another woman at all. But since he was unconscious, he didn¡¯t know what he had done and couldn¡¯t exin himself either. This was the most worrying thing! Jordan gulped, suddenly at a loss for words. He knew clearly that Cheyenne was the only one Lucas loved and that he would never fall for another woman. So now that this happened, Lucas was absolutely incensed and vexed. Jordan had been in love with Maddy for years too. He put himself in Lucas¡¯s shoes and imagined how he would feel if he had identally gotten drunk and ended up bing intimate with another woman. He¡¯d probably feel a strong urge to kill. ¡°Well, Lucas, if¡­ and I¡¯m just saying if¡­ If something happened between you and Lena Sawyer that day¡­ and Cheyenne finds out, do you think she¡¯ll forgive you?¡± Jordan stammered. His words made Lucas feel even more dismayed. This was exactly what he was the most worried about. ... Chapter 1263 - 1263 What Are You Up To? 1263 What Are You Up To? Lucas didn¡¯t care about what Lena thought, nor did he n to take responsibility for what had happened that day. But what worried Lucas the most was that Cheyenne would feel sad after learning about this matter and think that he had betrayed her. It had taken a lot of work for them to finally reconcile and be more intimate, but this matter might cause all their efforts to go down the drain and break them apart, ruining their rtionship. Knowing that this was a serious problem, Jordan said resentfully, ¡°Lucas, I finally know how terrible of a person Lena Sawyer is! I bet she deliberately set up everything that day. ¡°Even though you were drunk that night, and there¡¯s nothing wrong for her to help you to your hotel room, the problem is that she stayed in your room all night! What was she trying to do? ¡°Besides, hasn¡¯t Lena Sawyer been friends with Cheyenne for over a decade? Lucas, you even asked us to take care of her in Orange County and try to ensure her safety! Yet she harbored ill intentions and actually did that to you! ¡°Trust her to seduce her best friend¡¯s husband. She¡¯s such a scheming bitch!¡± Jordan was now full of fury and hatred for Lena. This woman who had tried to ruin Lucas and Cheyenne¡¯s rtionship was absolutely unforgivable! Jordan continued, ¡°Lucas, I think you should take the initiative toe clean with Cheyenne. Even if something has really happened, it¡¯s not your fault, and Cheyenne should forgive you. ¡°But if you hide it and Cheyenne finds out from someone else, she will definitely think that you deliberately deceived her and that you betrayed her with another woman! If that happens, she will definitely be a hundred times sadder!¡± Worried that Lucas and Cheyenne might fall out because of this incident, Jordan advised him earnestly. If Jordan had nagged him like this in the past, Lucas would have definitely told him to shut up. But he was now listening attentively because he knew that Jordan was thinking for him and trying to help hime up with a solution. Currently, Jordan only knew that Lena had stayed the night in Lucas¡¯s room, but he wasn¡¯t aware that she had taken many photos of them and sent them to Cheyenne. If Jordan knew about it, he definitely wouldn¡¯t just call Lena a scheming bitch. Instead, he might really kill her out of anger. Besides, Jordan made sense. Deceit was a recipe for disaster in marriages. Cheyenne had already been very angry after receiving the photos from Lena, so much so that she had thrown a tantrum at Lucas for a long time. If she found out that Lena and Lucas had stayed in the same hotel room for an entire night, she would definitely be furious and find it utterly uneptable. Moreover, if Lucas concealed this matter and Cheyenne found out from someone else, she would never trust him again and might even divorce him. Although Cheyenne was usually very gentle, she had a strong backbone and an independent mind. Once she was certain that her husband had cheated on her, she would neverpromise and would choose to leave him resolutely. At the thought of this possibility, Lucas trembled hard. ¡°No, I can¡¯t let Cheyenne know about this yet!¡± Lucas said through gritted teeth. ¡°I have to find out what happened between Lena and me that day. Otherwise, I won¡¯t able to bring myself to tell Cheyenne about it.¡± After staying silent for a while, Jordan asked, ¡°Lucas, if you and Lena Sawyer have really done something you shouldn¡¯t have, how are you going to tell Cheyenne about it?¡± Lucas could only say, ¡°I¡¯ll y it by ear and find out the truth before deciding my next move. Anyway, it¡¯s not the time to tell Cheyenne about this yet. If she finds out now, she will definitely be angry, and she might even refuse to go to DC with me. I¡¯ll tell her when we get there.¡± Jordan could only sigh. ¡°It seems like that¡¯s the only way. Anyway, you and Cheyenne have a strong rtionship. I hope it won¡¯t be ruined by some nonsense.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know it¡¯s my fault.¡± Lucas still felt terrible even after hanging up. For the rest of the day, he was in a bad mood and remained frowning, causing the secretaries who came to his office to deliver some documents to feel very uneasy and be extremely careful with work, for fear of angering Lucas. At four in the afternoon, Lucas was no longer in the mood to continue staying in the office. He sent Cheyenne a text message and then went to the kindergarten to pick Amelia up. When he saw Amelia waiting obediently at the entrance of the kindergarten for him to pick her up, the anger within him finally dissipated and turned into tender warmth. ¡°Daddy, are you here to pick me up today?¡± Amelia¡¯srge eyes lit up, and she beamed with joy and leaped into Lucas¡¯s arms the moment she saw him. Seeing how adorable his daughter was, he hugged her tightly, feeling blissful and peaceful. The fury that had been boiling within him all afternoon vanished entirely. Lucas smiled. ¡°Yeah! Mommy is still at work, so I¡¯m here to pick you up. Are you happy?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m so happy! Daddy, you haven¡¯t been home for so long, and it¡¯s been a long time since you picked me up from school. I¡¯m so happy to see you!¡± Amelia¡¯s tender and puerile voice made what she said sound even more touching. Lucas¡¯s heart had already melted, and at the same time, he felt apologetic toward Amelia. He had been handling matters in DC previously, so it had been more than two weeks since he had gotten to spend some quality time with Amelia. ¡°Amelia, we¡¯re going to DC together in a few days and moving into a new house. When you start going to your new school, I¡¯ll drop you off and pick you up from school every day!¡± Lucas said gently while stroking Amelia¡¯s head. ¡°Okay! That¡¯s great!¡± Amelia inched closer and gave Lucas a peck on his face. Stroking Amelia¡¯s head, Lucas said adoringly, ¡°Amelia, let¡¯s not go home yet. Don¡¯t you like eating tasty food? Let¡¯s go to that food market over there!¡± Amelia nodded gleefully, her eyes glistening with joy. She said eagerly, ¡°Okay! Daddy, you¡¯re so nice! You¡¯re the best daddy in the world!¡± Lucas smiled and picked Amelia up in his arms. They went to the food market a few hundred meters away from the kindergarten and bought a lot of snacks. ¡°Daddy, can I have that donut?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll get you one.¡± ¡°Those cookies smell so good!¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll get some!¡± ¡°Daddy, those strawberries look so delicious!¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get them!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get some for Mommy, Aunt Charlotte, and Grandpa too!¡± ¡°Alright. Amelia, you¡¯re such a good girl!¡± ¡­ The father and daughter strolled around the food market, and Amelia bought plenty of snacks. She didn¡¯t just buy them for herself but remembered to get extras for everyone in the family, which was very much to Lucas¡¯s pleasure. By the time they finally finished shopping, it was already dark, and they returned to their vi with lots of goodies. As soon as they entered, they saw a figure sitting in the living room. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s Aunt Lena!¡± Amelia shouted with joy and immediately rushed over. ... Lucas¡¯s face instantly darkened with displeasure. Lena actually showed up at their ce! What is she up to? Chapter 1264 - 1264 Lena Visits 1264 Lena Visits Lena caught Amelia, who was rushing toward her, hugged her in her arms, and kissed her on the cheek. Rubbing her face against Amelia¡¯s affectionately, she smiled and said, ¡°Amelia, it¡¯s been a long time since west met. Did you miss me?¡± Amelia smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes! Of course I missed you, Aunt Lena. It¡¯s been almost a month since you visited!¡± ¡°Oh, has it been so long? Sorry, it¡¯s my fault. Okay, Amelia, I will give you this big bunny as a present!¡± Lena took out a snowy white bunny plushie from the bag beside her and handed it to Amelia. Amelia was only a five-year-old child. After receiving such an adorable gift, she grinned widely with excitement and joy. Lena finally looked at Lucas and greeted him. The expression on her face looked the same as usual, as if she hadn¡¯t confessed to Lucas in tears at noon. Lucas narrowed his eyes slowly, getting more and more unsure about Lena¡¯s purpose for visiting. Just as Lucas was staring at Lena hostilely, Cheyenne walked out of the kitchen with arge fruit tter containing sliced kiwis, strawberries, dragon fruits, and other fruits. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re home!¡± Cheyenne ced the fruit tter on the ss coffee table in the middle of the living room and looked at Lucas warmly. It was naturally inappropriate for him to ask why Lena was here in front of Cheyenne. He nodded and asked, ¡°Has Charlotte returned from work?¡± He didn¡¯t see Charlotte in the living room, but he knew that she disliked Lena. After seeing the photos of Lena and Lucas entering the hotel, Charlotte was extremely displeased with Lena and even scolded her several times at home. Seeing Lena here, Lucas even wondered if Charlotte would get into an argument with her on the spot. Cheyenne looked at Lena awkwardly and coughed. ¡°Charlotte¡¯s on herputer in her room!¡± In fact, the moment Charlotte saw Lena, she had been sulking and rather hostile to her, almost kicking her out. After being chided by Cheyenne, Charlotte turned around, went upstairs in a huff, and locked herself in her room, refusing toe out. Cheyenne couldn¡¯t say much in front of Lena, lest she makes things awkward for her. But just as Cheyenne finished speaking, Charlotte came downstairs and said to Amelia from afar, ¡°Amelia,e here!¡± Lena was holding Amelia in her arms. After hearing Charlotte calling her, Amelia immediately rushed to her obediently. ¡°Aunt Charlotte! Daddy took me to buy lots of delicious food, and I brought lots of tasty goodies back for everyone. There are strawberries, donuts, cookies, and many, many more!¡± ¡°Amelia, you¡¯re such a good girl!¡± Charlotte praised Amelia, then nced at Lena, who was sitting on the couch in the living room, and rolled her eyes. She said to Amelia, ¡°Amelia, I¡¯ve told you many times before not to ept gifts from other women. What if they have ulterior motives and are out to deceive you?¡± Amelia looked at the bunny toy in her arms, nced at Lena again, and said in bewilderment, ¡°Aunt Charlotte, Aunt Lena isn¡¯t a bad woman. She¡¯s also given me lots of gifts before.¡± Seeing Amelia on Lena¡¯s side and treating her well, Charlotte couldn¡¯t help bing even more angry. She sulked and said, ¡°Amelia! Are you not going to listen to me anymore?¡± Amelia looked at the angry Charlotte, clueless about what she had done wrong. She was confused about why Charlotte didn¡¯t want her to ept Lena¡¯s gift since Lena was Cheyenne¡¯s best friend. After being yelled at by Charlotte, Amelia felt aggrieved, and tears welled up in her eyes. Lena smiled awkwardly and walked over to say to Amelia, ¡°Amelia, actually, Aunt Charlotte is right. You have to pay attention to your safety at all times in case bad people deceive you. You have to listen to Aunt Charlotte, okay?¡± Hearing this, Charlotte became even angrier. ¡°I¡¯m speaking with my niece. Why are you interrupting?¡± She hated how hypocritical Lena was and the way she pretended to be virtuous and magnanimous in front of them, making it seem as if she was the only good person. ¡°Charlotte! Enough!¡± Cheyenne shouted at Charlotte. She chided disapprovingly with a slight frown, ¡°Don¡¯t be mean to Lena. Didn¡¯t she already clear the air about that matter? It was just a misunderstanding.¡± Charlotte was so furious that she stomped her feet. ¡°Ugh! Cheyenne, why¡­ why do you trust her so much?! She obviously harbors evil intentions and wants to steal your man, but you¡¯re still defending her. You¡¯ll be the death of me!¡± Then Charlotte glowered at Lena, rushed upstairs angrily again, and mmed the door of her room shut. ¡°Charlotte, how can you be so rude?! Get down here!¡± Cheyenne yelled angrily. No matter what, Lena was her best friend of over ten years, and she was a guest. Charlotte¡¯s behavior was indeed quite rude. Lena hurriedly held Cheyenne¡¯s arm to stop her from calling Charlotte. She said with red eyes, ¡°Forget it, Cheyenne. Charlotte has misunderstood me. You shouldn¡¯t me her. It¡¯s all my fault. If I had called to inform you that I helped Lucas back to his hotel room that night, you wouldn¡¯t have gotten the wrong idea.¡± Cheyenne quickly said, ¡°How is that your fault? You were just being kind by helping Lucas when you bumped into him. Who knew that someone would take photos of you and send them to me? ¡°Charlotte has misunderstood you and is just making a mountain out of a molehill. I¡¯ll talk to herter. Please don¡¯t mind her! You¡¯ve been my best friend for years. Of course I trust you!¡± Lena secretly stole a nce at Lucas with an awkward look on her face, but she couldn¡¯t say anything to Cheyenne in front of Lucas. So she could only squeeze out a smile and say, ¡°It¡¯s alright. We just need to clear up the misunderstanding. Don¡¯t reprimand Charlotte. If you sisters get into a fight because of me, I¡¯ll feel really bad. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s almost dinnertime. I¡¯ll get going now!¡± Lena quickly turned around and walked toward the door. ¡°Hey, wait! Lena, don¡¯t go. Stay and have dinner with us!¡± Cheyenne immediately asked her to stay. Lena obviously didn¡¯t dare to have dinner with Cheyenne and her family. She frantically waved her hands and sped up. Soon, she started her car and left. Meanwhile, Lucas had been standing at the side and watching without saying anything. Chapter 1265 - 1265 Hidden Intentions 1265 Hidden Intentions Cheyenne failed to get her best friend to stay and resolve the misunderstanding with Charlotte. At the thought that all of these misunderstandings were caused by Lucas getting drunk in DC, she red at him and chided, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡± Since Lucas couldn¡¯t exin anything, he could only sigh helplessly. Charlotte was furious and kept herself locked in her room. Even when Cheyenne asked her toe down for dinner, she refused toe out of her room. William was working overtime, so only Cheyenne, Lucas, and Amelia were sitting at the dining table and having dinner. Amelia had already eaten a lot of snacks earlier, so she was already full. After taking a few bites of food, she scurried to the living room to watch cartoons. In the dining room, only Lucas and Cheyenne were left. He finally asked, ¡°Why did Lena suddenlye over?¡± Cheyenne red at Lucas again. ¡°She came to exin those photos. Lena told me that there¡¯s nothing between you two and that she merely sent you to a nearby hotel when you got drunk that night. But someone took photos of you two and sent them to me.¡± ¡°Lena has been my best friend for over a decade, so I naturally trust that she hasn¡¯t betrayed me and done something outrageous with my husband. Let¡¯s forget about this matter! You two are some of the most important people to me. Of course I trust you! ¡°The person who took the photos and sent them to me is probably someone in DC with ill will toward you. Lucas, you should check it carefully. Someone is framing you to sow discord between us. ¡°But Charlotte is really mistaken. She refuses to listen to what I say, and she¡¯s bent on the idea that Lena has evil intentions. Lucas, help me persuade Charlotte! She listens to you.¡± Hearing what Cheyenne said, Lucas felt extremelyplicated and ufortable. Cheyenne had always been a pure and straightforward woman. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t have intelligence and didn¡¯t understand schemes, but rather, she had absolute trust in her closest friends and family members. She treated them with utmost sincerity, and it would never ur to her that they could betray her. Just like now, she trusted Lena so much that she didn¡¯t doubt a single thing Lena said and had even chided Charlotte for her sake. But what was the truth? Reality had proven that Charlotte was right. Lena indeed harbored designs on Lucas. She wanted to seduce her best friend¡¯s husband and was indeed the mastermind behind the photos in the hotel. Unfortunately, Lena put on such a great act in front of Cheyenne that she managed to convince Cheyenne to trust herpletely despite Charlotte¡¯s repeated warnings and reminders. Lucas really felt that Charlotte was pitiful. ¡°Cheyenne, have you ever thought that Charlotte might be right?¡± Lucas suddenly asked. ¡°What did you say?!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s body stiffened, and she immediately looked at Lucas warily. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak. No, it¡¯s not time toe clean about everything and tell Cheyenne the truth yet. ¡°Ahem, I mean, no matter what, Charlotte is your sister, and you two grew up together. Your rtionship is irreceable. Even if Lena is your best friend, you shouldn¡¯t let an outsider affect your rtionship with Charlotte.¡± Cheyenne retorted with displeasure, ¡°Lucas, why are you saying that too? Lena also grew up with me, and we¡¯ve been best friends for years! Charlotte is my sister, but we can¡¯t malign Lena just because of this! ¡°Besides, at the end of the day, you¡¯re the one to me for this. If you hadn¡¯t gotten drunk, why would Lena have helped you to your hotel room and be embroiled in this misunderstanding? Hmph!¡± Lucas sighed again, not knowing what to say. Ultimately, drinking alcohol was to me! But after hearing what Cheyenne said, Lucas finally knew how important Lena was to her. Cheyenne wasn¡¯t even willing to hear anyone badmouth Lena and defended her at every turn. But what about Lena? She clearly knew that Lucas was Cheyenne¡¯s husband, yet she still tried to snatch him away from her. After learning of Lena¡¯s intentions, Lucas recalled many matters he had overlooked in the past. For example, at the rooftop pool of that hotel in LA, Lena had worn a sexy swimsuit, pretended to sprain her ankle, and deliberately leaned on him. Also, at the Elite Business Exchange in San Francisco, Lena had used her stilettos as an excuse to hold his arm for support and stick close to him. The more he thought about these things, the more repulsed he felt. He was totally speechless. Lena wasn¡¯t unforgivably vile and detestable though. Apart from the things that she had done because she was in love with Lucas, she hadn¡¯t done anything else to hurt Cheyenne. However, Lena meant so much to Cheyenne, which made it tricky for Lucas to deal with Lena. Forget it. I¡¯ll just leave her alone. As long as she doesn¡¯t do anything else to hurt Cheyenne, I¡¯ll leave her be. After dinner, under Cheyenne¡¯s urging, Lucas went to Charlotte¡¯s room and knocked on the door. ¡°I already told you I don¡¯t want to eat!¡± Charlotte¡¯s disgruntled voice came from inside. Lucas said, ¡°Charlotte, it¡¯s me. I¡¯d like to have a word with you.¡± After a moment of silence, the sounds of footsteps shuffling and approaching the door came from inside. Charlotte wanted to ignore Lucas at first, but after giving it some thought, she decided to open the door to hear what he had to say. If Lucas blindly believed the scheming Lena as Cheyenne did, she would definitely drive him out without hesitation and ignore him for an entire month! Creak! The door of the room opened, and Cheyenne said with displeasure, ¡°Come inside and say what you have to say. But I¡¯ll make things clear first. If you¡¯re here to convince me not to get the wrong idea of Lena Sawyer on Cheyenne¡¯s behalf, you can save it. Don¡¯t waste my time!¡± Lucas chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s definitely not why I¡¯m here.¡± Charlotte nced at Lucas with some surprise and doubt. ¡°Okay,e in then!¡± She moved aside and let Lucas enter her room. It was Lucas¡¯s first time stepping into Charlotte¡¯s room. The spacious room was filled with things, but it was very organized and looked full of warmth. There was also a faint fresh fragrance in the room. Lucas took a seat on the blue velvet single sofa by the door while Charlotte sat down on her soft bed. She asked sulkily, ¡°What do you want to say to me?¡± Lucas cut straight to the chase. ¡°I know you have something against Lena and think she¡¯s scheming and has ulterior motives. In fact, I share the same sentiments.¡± Charlotte was instantly stunned. She didn¡¯t expect the first thing she heard from him after he entered her room to be this! ... Chapter 1266 - 1266 Leaving California 1266 Leaving California What Lucas said was exactly what Charlotte wanted to hear. She immediately looked like she had finally found a kindred soul, and she wished she could leap over to shake Lucas¡¯s hand! ¡°Lucas! You actually share the same thoughts as me! You trust me!¡± Charlotte said emotionally. Lucas smiled. ¡°I¡¯m your brother-inw, and I¡¯ve always treated you as my sister. Of course I trust you!¡± Charlotte felt much better. She hated Lena, yet Cheyenne treated her as her best friend and trusted herpletely. She even med her for Lena¡¯s sake, making Charlotte feel extremely aggrieved. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re awesome! Indeed, you have great judgment, just like me. To be honest, I felt that Lena was hypocritical the moment I saw her. She obviously has evil intentions. She¡¯s a scheming bitch! ¡°Since you¡¯ve also seen through that woman¡¯s schemes and evil intentions, I will forgive you for those photos! Even though she really helped you to the hotel, she must have schemed against you!¡± Charlotte eagerly began criticizing Lena, but she suddenly thought of something, and her expression changed. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Charlotte abruptly turned to face Lucas and sized him up a few times. ¡°Why do you think she has ulterior motives too? Did she say something or do something to you?¡± Lucas was astonished by Charlotte¡¯s sharpness. He hurriedly waved his hand and denied, ¡°No. I¡¯m a man. What could she have done to me?¡± Lucas definitely wouldn¡¯t tell Charlotte that Lena had confessed to him and even said that she was willing to be his ndestine lover. All the more, he wouldn¡¯t reveal that she had spent an entire night in the same hotel room as him when he was dead drunk. If Charlotte found out, she would definitely fly into a rage and rush over to p Lena harshly. In that case, Cheyenne would find out about everything. Even Lucas wasn¡¯t sure what the consequences would be. But Charlotte wasn¡¯t that easily fooled. She sized Lucas up carefully a few times and probed, ¡°Is there really nothing? Lucas, don¡¯t lie to me!¡± Suppressing his guilt, Lucas said while caught betweenughter and tears, ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. Lena is your sister¡¯s friend. There¡¯s nothing between us.¡± ¡°Why did you say that she has ill intentions then?¡± Charlotte insisted on asking. Lucas said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t have anything against Lena. It¡¯s about the Sawyers. You probably know that Ethan Sawyer betrayed me a few days ago. So I¡¯ve decided to take the Hales, the Coles, and the Parkers to develop in DC without the Sawyers. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t have a good impression of all the Sawyers, so I don¡¯t want you and Cheyenne to get too close to them.¡± Charlotte nodded. She trusted what Lucas said. She wasn¡¯t a child anymore. She was now the general manager of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Orange County branch, so she was very clear about what had happened in Orange County recently, as well as the behavior of the top families. She also knew that Ethan actually wanted Lucas to take the Sawyers to DC too, but Lucas had rejected him relentlessly. It seemed that the Sawyers had really offended him. Charlotte puffed her cheeks up and deliberately said with malice, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll believe you! But from now on, you have to stay away from Lena Sawyer! If I see you two intimate and ambiguous again, I will never help you hide it from Cheyenne. I will definitely tell her and make you regret it!¡± ¡°Again?¡± Lucas was puzzled. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve forgotten! During the Elite Business Exchange in San Francisco, I caught Lena Sawyer holding your arm and leaning against you. It was obviously intimate! If you hadn¡¯t told me that you were just helping her and if that woman hadn¡¯t asked me to keep it from Cheyenne because she was afraid of her misunderstanding, I would have told Cheyenne a long time ago!¡± Charlotte said furiously. Lucas finally recalled that Charlotte had bumped into them and felt awkward. He didn¡¯t dare to say anything else and hurriedly said, ¡°Okay, I know! I¡¯ll definitely keep away from her in the future! Cheyenne saved some food for you. Quickly go eat. Don¡¯t go hungry!¡± Then Lucas hurriedly got up and left Charlotte¡¯s room. He didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer, lest he make more mistakes. Seeing how distressed Lucas was, Charlotte chuckled, and her mood became much better. As soon as Lucas returned to the dining room, Cheyenne immediately asked, ¡°How did it go? Has Charlotte forgiven Lena? Has the misunderstanding been resolved?¡± Lucas shook his head. Disappointment immediately appeared in Cheyenne¡¯s beautiful eyes, and she frowned slightly. One was her best friend of over a decade, and the other was her sister. Cheyenne really didn¡¯t want them to have any conflicts. Lucas put an arm around Cheyenne¡¯s shoulder andforted gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯re two independent individuals. Since they can¡¯t get along, let them settle their differences on their own. It¡¯ll be fine as long as they minimize contact with each other. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much or feel sad about it. Just let nature take its course! You can¡¯t possibly force them to be friends, right? ¡°Besides, people will always change. Just because two people get along well now, it doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯ll be the same in the future. Likewise, people who can¡¯t stand each other now might make up because of a future opportunity. It¡¯s hard to tell with these things, right?¡± In fact, Lucas wanted Cheyenne to stay as far away from Lena as possible and not treat her as an important friend. But Cheyenne had no idea about what Lena had done. If he said anything rashly, she might think that he was maligning Lena too and be even sadder. So Lucas could only be as tactful with it as possible, in hopes that Cheyenne could prepare herself mentally. ¡°Oh, okay!¡± Finally, Cheyenne gave up on the idea of reconciling Charlotte with Lena and sighed faintly. The following day, nothing happened, and everything was the same as every day before. Amelia went to school, gave gifts to a few of her close friends during recess, exined in tears that she would be moving soon, and bid farewell to them. Meanwhile, everyone in the family went to work as usual and were busy with handing over their duties. Shifting the focus of their development to DC didn¡¯t mean that they would be ignoring everything they left behind in California. They would conduct business, acquire businesses, merge them, and establish branch offices as necessary. Everyone was extremely busy. In addition to Lucas and his family, the Hales and the Coles were also busy. But they had too many businesses in California, and it was impossible to reorganize them all within a short time. So they sent some people to DC to make arrangements first before they would slowly transfer their manpower. They were all full of expectation and hope about developing in DC. In the past few days, Lena had never appeared again. Lucas was rather pleased with this. Soon, it was the day for Lucas and his family to move to DC. Chapter 1267 - 1267 New House in DC 1267 New House in DC The following afternoon, a ne from Orange County touched down at the DC International Airport. Lucas and the rest got inside a car and headed to their new home in DC. It was Amelia¡¯s first time in DC. In the backseat, she pressed her small face against the window and stared curiously at the high-rise buildings, bustling streets, and flowing traffic. Of course, DC was much more lively and prosperous than Orange County. It had skyscrapers everywhere, which were few and far between in Orange County. Moreover, the skyscrapers each had a unique design and perfectlyplemented the city¡¯s distinctive urban nning and various green facilities. Amelia was enthralled, and she would exim with awe and surprise from time to time. ¡°Wow! Daddy, look how tall that building is! It¡¯s just like a little mountain! ¡°Daddy, that garden over there is so pretty. There are so many pretty cherry blossoms! ¡°Mommy, look. There¡¯s a huge inted doll there. Can we go y there in the future?¡± ¡­ Amelia was excited. Lucas and Cheyenne looked at Amelia with smiles and said dotingly, ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll bring you there to y in the future. Amelia, do you like it here in DC?¡± Amelia nodded hard. ¡°Yes, I like it! I want to take lots of photos and show them to Hailey and Matilda. I want to invite them to DC to y in the future. Daddy and Mommy, is this okay?¡± Cheyenne stroked Amelia¡¯s head gently. ¡°Of course!¡± William was smiling brightly as he looked out the window at the scenery outside. It was his first time in DC too. For the past few decades, he had stayed in Orange County and had almost never left California. And thinking about it now, he found that there wasn¡¯t much worth remembering in his earlier life. He had lived with the Carters for years, but they hadn¡¯t shown him any respect or kindness because he was a stepchild. There were no development opportunities for him either, so he had gradually lost his confidence and motivation to live life properly and went through many years confused and at a loss. In addition, his ex-wife, Karen, was tough to deal with, and she had never really liked him. She had often mocked him for being worthless and not aspetent as other men, and she had med him for wasting her youth. In the end, she had even tried to kill him for some benefits. In hindsight, almost everything in his past was like a nightmare. William had thought that he would live in Orange County for the rest of his life. But he didn¡¯t expect that he would be able to spend his retirement in DC thanks to his daughter and son-inw. Seeing how blissful the family was, William smiled peacefully. Soon, they arrived at their destination and stopped in front of arge vi near ake. There were a few exims of surprise when everyone saw the environment and surroundings. Buying such argekeside vi with a mesmerizing view and great scenery in DC would cost several hundred million dors. Moreover, the vi had the same design and decoration style as their vi in the middle of Pearl Lake in Orange County. The white castle-like main building was hidden in arge area of lush flowers and nts, making the ce incredibly beautiful and dreamy, like a castle by theke. ¡°Daddy, is this our new home?¡± Amelia entered the gates of the residence and looked at the castle-like vi with wide eyes. Lucas nodded with a smile. ¡°How is it, Amelia? Do you like our new home?¡± Amelia subconsciously nodded. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a look!¡± She scurried into the vi like a little rabbit and began checking every room. From time to time, exims of astonishment rang out. William said with awe, ¡°This vi resembles ours in Orange County. It must have cost a lot, right?¡± Lucas replied, ¡°It¡¯s indeed very simr in style because this ce was constructed by the same architectural and design team as our Pearl Lake vi. With the simr style, we¡¯ll be able to settle down sooner. The price wasn¡¯t too bad, and Jordan helped with it. I didn¡¯t pay much attention.¡± William instantly knew that the vi probably cost peanuts to Lucas, which was why he didn¡¯t pay much attention. It left William in awe again. Just half a year ago, he would have been extremely content with a house that cost a few hundred thousand dors. He never thought that he would one day be able to live in a massive vi in DC worth several hundred million dors. Lucas and Cheyenne had previously stayed in this vi for a while, and their room and Amelia¡¯s had been decorated well. But William and Charlotte, who had just moved in, had much simpler rooms. There were no fancy decorations, and they looked like ordinary guest rooms. Charlotte immediately pouted in dissatisfaction. ¡°Why does my room look so simple? Cheyenne, Lucas, you guys don¡¯t love me anymore!¡± Lucas hurriedly exined, ¡°I don¡¯t know what decor styles you and William like, so I didn¡¯t decorate your rooms much. You can decide what kind of decor you want in two days. Let the decorpany help you with designing your rooms, and let me know what else you need.¡± Charlotte finally felt better, but she nevertheless gave Lucas a look. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll spare you this time.¡± ¡°Charlotte!¡± William poked Cheyenne¡¯s head whileughing. The new home made everyone happy. After everyone settled down, Lucas and Cheyenne returned to their room. ¡°Thank you so much, Honey!¡± Cheyenne said gratefully while leaning on Lucas. Recalling everything they had experienced and the various changes over thest six months, Cheyenne felt as if she was dreaming. If Lucas hadn¡¯t returned, she and her family would probably still be living under the Carters, who had constantly bossed them around and upset them all the time. If it wasn¡¯t for Lucas, she wouldn¡¯t have had the courage to sever ties with the Carters andpletely get rid of these leeches. If it wasn¡¯t for Lucas, their family wouldn¡¯t be living better and better. Not only did they have more and more money and assets, but they even moved to DC. Now, they were living worry-free lives, and Lucas loved her so much with her, making Cheyenne feel extremely grateful and blissful. He had said that he would make her the happiest woman in the world, and now, she really felt that she was the happiest woman in the world. ¡°We¡¯re married. You don¡¯t need to thank me.¡± Lucas pulled Cheyenne into his arms andid on the soft and fluffy bed behind them. ¡°If you insist on thanking me¡­¡± ¡°You¡­ Mmph¡­¡± Her following words disappeared into a kiss. ... Chapter 1268 - 1268 Running into a Former Classmate 1268 Running into a Former ssmate When it was almost dinnertime, the two of them finally finished unpacking and walked out of their room. Cheyenne¡¯s cheeks were still flushed, and she looked incredibly radiant. Even Charlotte was astonished by Cheyenne¡¯s beauty at the moment. When she saw her sister¡¯s red and slightly swollen lips, she immediately figured out what Cheyenne and Lucas had been doing for thest few hours and blushed with embarrassment. Noticing Lucas¡¯s satisfied look, she red at him and cursed, ¡°Hmph! Lecher!¡± !! Lucas was shocked, but he instantly realized what was going on and looked at Cheyenne. Caught betweenughter and tears, he looked awkward. Cheyenne was just as awkward. Although it was normal for them to get intimate since they were married, it was still broad daylight, and it was their first day in DC. She felt embarrassed that her sister had discovered them. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s gettingte. I¡¯ll go make dinner!¡± Cheyenne hurried to the kitchen. Lucas received a call at this moment. After answering it, he shouted toward the kitchen, ¡°Cheyenne, you don¡¯t have to cook for me. I have something to attend to now.¡± He grabbed his car key and left the vi. The call had been from Bruce. The Hales had arrived in DC two days ago, and they had asked to meet Lucas for a discussion at the Parkers¡¯ Hampton Restaurant. When Lucas arrived at the entrance of the restaurant and was about to enter, he suddenly heard a surprised voice from the side. ¡°Huh? Aren¡¯t you¡­ Lucas Gray?¡± The voice sounded extremely familiar. Lucas turned around and saw a young man around the same age as him. Indeed, Lucas recognized him, but he couldn¡¯t remember his name. ¡°You are¡­?¡± Lucas asked, slightly puzzled. ¡°Hey, Lucas Gray, have you forgotten me now that you¡¯re rich? You can¡¯t even remember who I am? We were ssmates in high school! I¡¯m Chace Barker. Do you remember now?¡± the young man said with displeasure. Lucas finally recalled who he was. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. It¡¯s been years since we¡¯ve met. I¡¯m surprised you still recognize me.¡± Although Chace¡¯s name somewhat rang a bell to Lucas, he didn¡¯t have a deep impression of him and only vaguely remembered that this person was his high school ssmate. After thinking about it, he remembered that they were just acquaintances in high school, and they had barely spoken to each other, let alone be friends. He didn¡¯t expect that Chace could still recognize him at a nce despite it having been more than a decade. Chace wasn¡¯t alone. Standing beside him was a fashionably dressed woman with heavy makeup. ¡°Honey, you actually have a high school ssmate who¡¯s failed so miserably at life? He looks too ordinary, just like a bumpkin. Tsk tsk!¡± The young woman was incredibly caustic with her words. It was extremely disrespectful to say something like this when meeting someone for the first time. Lucas frowned slightly. But what surprised him even more was the reaction of Chase, his former ssmate. Chace put his arm around the young woman¡¯s shoulder and said to Lucas with a contemptuous smirk, ¡°Sweetie, you¡¯re right! Did you know that Lucas was the poorest person in our ss back then? Sometimes, he couldn¡¯t even afford to get lunch, and we could hear his stomach growling in ss! Haha, it was hrious! ¡°It¡¯s good enough that someone like him hasn¡¯t starved to death yet. What do you expect from him? How fashionable can he be? After all, he¡¯s just a penniless loser! That¡¯s how I recognized him at a nce!¡± The young woman burst intoughter and looked at Lucas with ridicule. ¡°Oh, I see! I was wondering when you had such a poor friend. It turns out you recognized him from the way he reeks of poverty!¡± While speaking, the young woman feigned waving her hand in front of her nose as if she had really smelled an odor. Lucas stopped smiling and quickly scanned Chace and his wife. They were both decked out in designer wear. They had Patek Philippe watches on their wrists, thetest iPhones in their hands, and various luxury essories, jewelry, etc. Their outfits were worth several tens of thousands of dors. They did seem quite well off, which exined why they were so haughty and condescending. Chace smiled smugly and suddenly seemed to think of something. ¡°Lucas Gray, my wife, is straightforward and honest. We¡¯re former ssmates, so you won¡¯t mind a few casual remarks, will you?¡± Lucas barely remembered Chace at first, but now, he had an awful impression of him. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t be bothered by people like Chace, and there was indeed no need to continue wasting his time with him. ¡°I have something to do, so I¡¯m leaving now,¡± Lucas said indifferently and walked toward the restaurant. ¡°Hey, wait!!¡± Chace immediately moved to the side and blocked Lucas. ¡°Lucas, don¡¯t tell me you want to have a meal at the Pakers¡¯ Hampton Restaurant?¡± Chace sized Lucas up and said in exaggerated disbelief, ¡°Lucas Gray, I know what your family background is. Although the Hampton Restaurant sounds like an ordinary ce, it¡¯s a five-star restaurant! ¡°Any item on the menu here costs at least a hundred dors! A meal here will easily set you back a thousand dors. But you actually dare to dine here?¡± Lucas became annoyed and impatient. He said coldly, ¡°What does it matter to you whether I¡¯m here for a meal or not?¡± Chace was instantly displeased. He felt offended that Lucas had retorted against him. What right does this penniless loser have to speak to me like that? The young woman was also irked. She looked at the few shabbily-dressed beggars gathered not far from the restaurant and suddenly smiled. ¡°Honey, I think this former ssmate of yours might really be able to have a meal here!¡± She pouted her lips at the beggars and said maliciously, ¡°I heard that the Hampton Restaurant only serves the freshest ingredients every day and never keeps any overnight. So they give away the unused ingredients and the guests¡¯ leftovers to the homeless every day! ¡°Maybe your ssmate is here for the leftovers?¡± Chace burst intoughter. ¡°You¡¯re right! You have a point, Honey. He might really be here to beg for leftovers. I once caught him picking up leftovers back in high school. Hahaha!¡± The two of them mocked Lucas without restraint, making his expressionpletely gloomy. Chapter 1269 - 1269 Help Me With a Livestream 1269 Help Me With a Livestream ¡°Get lost. Don¡¯t get in the way!¡± Lucas shoved Chace aside and walked toward the restaurant. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with these two. ¡°Damn it! How dare you push me? Hold it right there!¡± Chace immediately flew into a rage and grabbed Lucas¡¯s sleeve. With a cold gaze in his eyes, Lucas narrowed his eyes. ¡°What else do you want?¡± !! Those who were familiar with Lucas would know that he was really annoyed and angry at the moment. Chace shouted, ¡°Did I say you could go? Do you know what I do now? I¡¯m famous now!¡± Lucas was rather amused. It was really rare for someone to call themselves famous. Although Chace¡¯s attire was from designer brands, they were only worth tens of thousands of dors. This was expensive for ordinary people, but for those from genuinely wealthy families, a few tens of thousands of dors in clothes and essories was too shabby. Thus, Chace definitely wasn¡¯t a famous person who suddenly became rich. Furthermore, Chace¡¯s looks were average. He even had a pointed mouth, a gaunt face, and a lecherous vibe. It was unlikely that he was a top celebrity. It was possible that he was aedian. But given his intelligence and character of ignorantly offending people at every turn, Lucas didn¡¯t think he would get far in this line of work. All of a sudden, Lucas was really curious about what Chace did to call himself famous. ¡°Oh? Famous? What do you do now?¡± Lucas asked curiously. Chace puffed his chest up proudly. ¡°Hah, I¡¯m now a famous mukbang1 streamer with millions of fans. I get tens of thousands of dors in gifts in every stream, which is practically enough to cover your annual sry! How about it? Are you envious?¡± Lucas burst intoughter. He was wondering what Chace did to call himself famous, but it turned out that he was just a streamer. However, it wasn¡¯t that Lucas looked down on streamers. They truly earn a lot of moneypared to ordinary white-cor workers. Or rather, streaming was an industry that arose because of Twitch, TikTok, and other social media tforms. But there was usually very little unique technical knowledge and skills involved. It was no wonder that Chace had a following of millions and even proudly called himself famous in front of Lucas. ¡°Is that so? Congrattions then,¡± Lucas said insincerely. Chace kept his head held high like he was superior. ¡°Hah, now you know the massive gap between you and me. But I don¡¯t want to make things hard for you. It¡¯s rare for us to bump into each other in DC, so I can¡¯t be too miserly, right? I¡¯ll treat you to a big meal hereter. Just wait at the side for me!¡± After speaking in amanding tone, he winked at the young woman next to him. She naturally understood what he meant. She immediately took out her phone, opened an app, and pointed the camera at Chace. ¡°Hello, my dearest viewers and friends! I am your old friend, Chace, the streamer who aspires to eat all the delicacies in the world! As you have seen on this signboard, we¡¯re here today to try the gourmet food of the Parkers¡¯ Hampton Restaurant! ¡°We¡¯ve already been here twice, and we¡¯ve had twenty signature dishes, but there are still dozens of delicacies on the menu waiting for us. So, we have to continue eating here!¡± Facing the camera, Chace spoke eloquently, but then he said, ¡°But today¡¯s stream is slightly different! When I arrived at the Hampton Restaurant, I unexpectedly bumped into a former ssmate from over ten years ago! ¡°Unfortunately, my ssmate isn¡¯t doing too well now. He¡¯s actually be homeless, and he¡¯s waiting to collect leftovers at the entrance of the Hampton Restaurant! ¡°As a man of integrity, kindness, and loyalty, how can I watch my former ssmate be in such a miserable plight? ¡°That¡¯s right! Our theme today has changed a little. I¡¯m going to treat my down-and-out ssmate to a meal at the Hampton Restaurant! They¡¯re not going to be leftovers! Of course, if any viewers would like to sponsor my ssmate and give him some money, you can click the donate link below. I will definitely give him everything!¡± On the camera, Chace mocked Lucas and then said to him, ¡°Come on, my former ssmate. Greet everyone watching the stream and let them know who you are!¡± Lucas watched coldly as Chace performed and tried to make him look like a down-and-out homeless man, using him as a gimmick on his stream and a tool for his viewers to donate to him. His behavior was really vicious. Chace would be reaping all the benefits. Not only would he gain a good reputation for helping a former ssmate, but he would also fool his unaware audience into donating to him. Meanwhile, Lucas would be the bad example of Chace¡¯s stream¡ªan able-bodied young man reduced to picking up leftovers and food scraps from restaurants and even in need of the help of a former ssmate from over a decade ago. Once Lucas showed up on camera, everyone would definitely m him. Indeed, when Chace was speaking, many viewers praised him to no end and even gave him numerous tips and donations. After Chace finished speaking, the young woman immediately aimed the camera at Lucas. Lucas sneered and turned around without hesitation, not wanting to bother with them at all. ¡°Hey! Lucas, wait!¡± Seeing that Lucas was refusing to cooperate, Chace panicked. He quickly stepped forward to block Lucas while saying to the camera, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, everyone. My former ssmate is feeling a little shy. Please wait a moment. I¡¯ll speak with him!¡± Then he signaled the young woman to pan the camera elsewhere. Currently, Lucas was boiling with fury. If it wasn¡¯t because he didn¡¯t want to create amotion outside the restaurant, he would have long thrown Chace out. ¡°What else do you want?¡± Lucas was extremely annoyed. ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard me just now. I need you to help me with the stream. You just have to y along with me! Then I¡¯ll treat you to a meal at the Hampton Restaurant and give you a hundred bucks. How does that sound?¡± Chace approached Lucas and proposed this offer with his head held high, as if he was doing Lucas a huge favor. Chapter 1270 - 1270 Revealing All Ugliness 1270 Revealing All Ugliness Lucas sneered. ¡°A hundred bucks? If I remember correctly, didn¡¯t you just say you¡¯re giving me all the tips and donations you get in your stream today?¡± Chace rolled his eyes in disdain. ¡°Lucas Gray, what the hell are you dreaming about? I make at least ten thousand dors per stream, and I will get even more today. Why should I give it to you? I was just saying it to get more views. You just need to y along and cooperate with me. Don¡¯t have any delusional thoughts about things that you shouldn¡¯t. Do you understand? ¡°If you cooperate well, I can give you a couple hundred bucks as remuneration! This is enough tost you a month!¡± Lucas had long known that Chace was just trying to get more views and money by saying that he would give Lucas all the tips and donations he received. But after hearing it straight from Chace¡¯s mouth, he still felt disgusted. !! ¡°Get lost. I won¡¯t cooperate with you.¡± Lucas looked at Chace like he was an idiot and then turned around to leave. ¡°Stop! You¡­ Fine, I¡¯ll give you another two hundred bucks. Four hundred should be enough for you, right? You¡¯re getting so much money just to ept a free meal from me and say a few words. Don¡¯t be pretentious! If you¡¯re thrifty, four hundred dors is enough to get you around a thousand packets of instant noodles. This is enough tost you a few months! Don¡¯t be greedy!¡± Chace gritted his teeth, took out 400 dors in cash from his wallet, and deliberately waved in front of Lucas. Lucas snorted withughter, not wanting to bother with Chace, this babbling idiot. Chace was so furious that he wished he could beat the living daylights out of Lucas. If it wasn¡¯t because his stream was still broadcasting, and he didn¡¯t want to create amotion here, he would have long lost his temper and beat Lucas up. ¡°Damn it. Lucas Gray, are you going to cooperate with me or not? To be honest, I¡¯ve been a streamer for years, and I¡¯m signed with a management agency. If you really piss me off, I can call some muscle over to beat you to death right now. Do you hear me?¡± Chace threatened through gritted teeth. But he was afraid of being overheard, so he kept this voice low and moved closer to Lucas. Lucas looked at Chace and suddenly smiled strangely. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll help you out just this once.¡± Hearing this, Chace finally smiled with satisfaction and shoved the stack of bills into Lucas¡¯s hand. Then he restrained his domineering stance and smiled hypocritically. He gestured at the young woman. She thought that he had already convinced Lucas and immediately turned the camera toward the two of them. ¡°My dear viewers, I¡¯m sorry for making you wait. My former ssmate is too shy about being on camera, and it took me a long time to convince him to join our stream! ¡°Lucas, the viewers of my stream are all very nice and generous. Come say hi to them!¡± The young woman turned the camera to Lucas¡¯s face and zoomed in on it. Lucas looked into the camera. ¡°I have something to tell everyone. Actually, I¡¯m not Chace¡¯s former ssmate or a homeless man. Just now, he gave me four hundred dors to y along with his act and fool you guys into giving him more subscriptions, tips, and donations. Lucas took out the 400 dors from his pocket and waved it in front of the camera. ¡°Look, this is what he paid me. There are lots of scammers on the inte these days, and many like using people¡¯s sympathy to make money. I hope you can keep a discerning eye and not be deceived by malicious crooks and let your good intentions go to waste.¡± Chace waspletely dumbfounded. He never expected Lucas to expose the truth during the stream! Due to his extreme shock, he didn¡¯t react until after Lucas finished speaking and couldn¡¯t stop him in time. After Lucas finished speaking, Chace felt his blood surge straight from his feet to his head, causing his eyes to turn red. ¡°F*ck you! Lucas Gray, you bastard, how dare you mess with me?¡± He raised his fist and swung it straight at Lucas¡¯s face. He wanted to kill Lucas! How could Lucas possibly let someone like Chace hit him? He simply leaned sideways slightly and easily dodged the punch. Instead, Chace missed and staggered, almost falling onto the ground. After regaining bnce, he looked at Lucas with burning eyes. ¡°Chace, are you mad because I exposed you? But I was just telling the truth. Didn¡¯t you say those words yourself?¡± Lucas said with a faint smile. Chace was about to blow his top. ¡°Damn it! So what if I said it? I was kind enough to offer you a free meal and give you some money, you loser. But I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so ignorant! ¡°Who do you think you are? As long as I shout that I¡¯ll give those beggars over there some money, do you believe they¡¯lle running over to beg to y along with my act? You¡¯re so ignorant that you actually dared to bite the hand feeding you! ¡°Like I said earlier, if you dare to provoke me, I will immediately call some people over. Even if they can¡¯t kill you, they can still beat you into a cripple and make sure you be a beggar that can only kneel on the ground for the rest of your life!¡± Lucas feigned being terrified. ¡°It-it turns out you¡¯re such a person! You¡¯re just a streamer. How could you have made so much money and gained so much influence?¡± Seeing Lucas¡¯s terrified expression, Chace said smugly, ¡°Hah, how can a loser like you understand what I¡¯m capable of now? Let me tell you, I¡¯m not an ordinary streamer but a super famous one with more than four million followers! ¡°What¡¯s the most lucrative job these days? Making money off of fools! Those idiot fans rush to give me money as long as I say some nice things and thank them. ¡°There are even some stupid fans who are so poor that they can barely afford to eat, but they still foolishly flock to give me money. I make more than ten thousand dors each stream. In just one year, I¡¯ve already managed to buy a house and a car in New York City. I have everything now! ¡°A penniless loser like you will never be able to reach this level!¡± Lucas gritted his teeth. ¡°You¡­ How dare you scold your fans like that? Aren¡¯t you afraid they¡¯ll start hating you and stop giving you money?¡± Chace said disdainfully, ¡°They won¡¯t know what I¡¯ve said about them. Do you have any evidence? Like I said, I¡¯ll definitely kill you today. I¡¯ll find people to cripple you right now!¡± Lucas suddenly stopped looking flustered and smiled peculiarly. ¡°Is that so? You¡¯d better see the reactions in your stream chat before saying anything else!¡± He pointed at the young woman still standing at the side and holding a phone. Chace nced at her. His expression changed drastically as he hollered, ¡°F*ck! You didn¡¯t f*cking turn off the stream?¡± Chapter 1271 - 1271 You Reap What You Sow 1271 You Reap What You Sow Only then did the young woman realize that she hadn¡¯t turned off the stream. In other words, everything just now had been caught on camera! Thements in the stream chat were all scolding Chace. ¡°Damn it! Screw this bastard! I didn¡¯t expect Chace to be such a person. I must have been blind to send him so much money!¡± ¡°Chace is too disgusting! I¡¯ve never seen someone so shameless!¡± ¡°He was so respectful to us, but it turns out he calls us idiots behind our backs. Go to hell, asshole! How shameless!¡± ¡°F*ck you, Chace! I kindly gave you a hundred dors for charity work, but you wasted our efforts and kindness and even scolded us!¡± ¡°Get lost from Twitch!¡± ¡°Ban this scumbag!¡± ¡­ There were countless obscenities in the chat. Clearly, the viewers were extremely angered by Chace¡¯s unrestrainedments. The young woman turned pale and didn¡¯t dare to look anymore. She frantically turned off the stream. But right after she did, she received a phone call. After hearing the voice on the phone, she turned deathly pale and shuddered from head to toe. ¡°Mr. Harper, it¡¯s not like that. Please listen to me exin!¡± Before she could finish speaking, the other person hung up. Sensing that something was amiss, Chace quickly asked, ¡°Was that Mr. Harper? What did he say?¡± The young woman said with despair, ¡°He said that¡­ what you just said on stream was too offensive and caused severe consequences. Twitch has decided to terminate your stream permanently, seekpensation from you, and take legal action against you!¡± Chace was inplete disbelief. He hysterically grabbed the phone from the young woman, only to see that his Twitch ount was unavable. When he refreshed the page, the ount was deleted. ¡°No¡­ no! How is this possible? How did this happen? Where¡¯s my ount? I already had more than four million followers and was about to reach five million. How did my ount get deleted all of a sudden? I refuse to ept this!¡± Chace yelled hysterically while waving his phone desperately. He searched for his familiar username again, but the ount didn¡¯t exist. At the same time, Chace received countless vicious insults and scoldings on his other social media ounts. In an instant, Chace turned from a famous streamer with a monthly ie of hundreds of thousands of dors, tens of thousands of subscriptions, and millions of followers into the target of universal detestation. Staring at the harsh scoldings on the screen, Chace could no longer stand it. He smashed his phone onto the ground, shattering it into pieces. ¡°You bitch! Why didn¡¯t you turn off the stream? Why did you stream everything I said?! Fuck you, bitch! Did you want to ruin me on purpose? My ount was deleted. It¡¯s all your fault!¡± Chace screamed at the young woman with a fiery gaze, wishing he could strangle her to death. The young woman¡¯s expression became extremely sullen, but she wasn¡¯t a pushover and immediately retorted, ¡°Chace, why are you acting like a mad dog? You want to me me and push all the responsibility onto me? ¡°You¡¯re the retard who offended your fans by saying those things. What does it have to do with me?! I was only helping you with the stream. I¡¯m not your ve! Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m a streamer with over two million followers too. I don¡¯t live off of you. Who are you to scold me like that? ¡°If you anger me, I¡¯ll open my stream now and let everyone take a good look at what kind of person you are. How dare you yell at me? Do you think I¡¯m a pushover just because I¡¯m usually nice to you? ¡°Chace, I¡¯m telling you that it¡¯s all over for you now. It¡¯spletely over! ¡°Your ount has been deleted, and no one will give you money from now on! Even if you want to move to another tform, given your ruined reputation, no one will dare to ept you! ¡°Also, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯ve signed a contract with an agency, and given the controversy you¡¯ve caused, thepensation you¡¯ll have to pay is enough to make you go bankrupt! What right do you have to act like a big shot in front of me now? You¡¯re nothing now. ¡°Hah, I¡¯m telling you that I have nothing to do with you from now on! Just pray that you won¡¯t end up losing everything and bing the beggar that you despise the most!¡± With that, the young woman picked up her bag angrily and turned around to leave in her stilettos. Cold sweat covered Chace¡¯s forehead. At first, he was preupied with his deleted ount that had four million followers. But after hearing what the young woman said, he finally realized that there were more terrifying consequences awaiting him. One was that he could no longer make money since his ount was deleted. What terrified him even more was the money he had topensate for the breach of contract. If he really had topensate, he wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it even with all the money he had earned in the past year, even selling his house and car! In hopelessness, Chace suddenly red at Lucas with so much menace that his eyes seemed to want to rip Lucas to shreds immediately. ¡°Lucas Gray! You bastard! This is all your fault! ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because of you, my ount wouldn¡¯t have been deleted, my reputation wouldn¡¯t have been ruined, and I wouldn¡¯t have had topensate for breach of contract! This is all your fault! Go to hell!¡± Chace threw himself at Lucas menacingly and wanted to rip his eyeballs out. He hated Lucas to the core and wished he could gouge his eyeballs, break his limbs, and slice his flesh off piece by piece. Only then could he relieve the pain and hatred in his heart slightly! But it was obviously impossible for him toy a hand on Lucas. Lucas raised his leg and kicked Chace¡¯s stomach, sending him flying far. ¡°Chace, you brought everything upon yourself. You can¡¯t me anyone for it! ¡°If you hadn¡¯te to pester me, smear me, and try to use me to make money while idiotically calling your fans fools, things wouldn¡¯t have turned out like this. ¡°Here¡¯s a piece of advice. You will end up harming yourself one day if you keepmitting evil. You should reflect on yourself! ¡°If you still dare to pester me, then I won¡¯t be polite to you!¡± Chace finally got up from the ground. Realizing that he couldn¡¯t defeat Lucas, he was about to go crazy from anger. ¡°Fine, Lucas Gray! Just you wait and see. I will never let you off!¡± Then he immediately turned around and fled, seemingly afraid that Lucas would go after him to beat him up. Chapter 1272 - 1272 Gathering of Big Shots 1272 Gathering of Big Shots Lucas really couldn¡¯t be bothered to argue with a cowardly viin like Chace. After today¡¯s incident, their almost non-existent friendship was totally gone. If Chace was still bent on causing trouble for him, Lucas didn¡¯t mind teaching him a profound lesson. ¡°Mr. Gray, we didn¡¯t expect you to arrive first. Sorry, we¡¯rete!¡± At this moment, a few cars stopped in the parking lot in front of the Parkers¡¯ Hampton Restaurant. Bruce, Damon, and Edmund quickly got out of the cars and hurried to Lucas¡¯s side. They had agreed to meet at the restaurant at seven in the evening to discuss the development ns of the families. To their surprise, Lucas had arrived at half past six. Lucas hadn¡¯t nned to arrive so soon. But what Charlotte said earlier had made him feel awkward, so he had rushed out of the house and arrived half an hour early. ¡°No, you¡¯re notte. I came early.¡± Lucas smiled. The people who came tonight were not only the helmsmen of the Hales, the Parkers, and the Coles but also their most outstanding juniors. For example, Connor, Keh, and Clement, respectively. Once the helmsmen retired, their juniors would take over for them. Keh was the owner of the Hampton Restaurant, so he took the lead in bringing them to the King¡¯s Room, the best private room on the top floor of the restaurant. Lucas had been to this private room before. Apart from the Parkers, Lucas was the only one who could use this private room. Everyone let Lucas take the master seat while the helmsman sat next to him, and their sessors sat next to them. Among them, Keh was the youngest and lowest in seniority. Moreover, he was the owner of the restaurant, so he was in charge of serving wine and so on. He was just like a waiter. But Keh had noints at all. Instead, he was incredibly excited and honored. It was an absolute honor for him to be able to gather with these big shots and serve them. After everyone sat down, Edmund smiled and spoke first. ¡°Mr. Parker, you really have some foresight! Other than Mr. Gray, your family was the first to leave California ande to DC to develop. You¡¯ve already be the strongest family after the eight top families. It¡¯s truly worth celebrating!¡± Bruce smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. Mr. Parker, the Parkers are really impressive. It¡¯s only been a few months since you moved to DC, and you¡¯ve already made such amazing achievements. You¡¯ve even established a restaurant group with restaurants all over the country. Everyone praises you when the Parkers¡¯ restaurants are brought up. How wonderful!¡± Damon said, ¡°Hey, stop teasing me. After all, we know howpetent we really are. If Mr. Gray hadn¡¯t given us the opportunity, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve so much.¡± He respectfully bowed to Lucas, who was next to him. Damon wasn¡¯t being humble. He was stating facts. The helmsmen present were aware that the initial strength of their families was almost on par with each other. If the Parkers had developed with their own effort, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to surpass the families that had already established themselves in DC for decades and be the top family that was second only to the eight top families. Moreover, everyone was clear that although the Parkers had made remarkable achievements, the Waltons¡¯ former businesses that they were managing actually belonged to Lucas, and they were just handling them on his behalf. But even then, the other helmsman still hoped to get the same development opportunities as the Parkers had. ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s all thanks to you that the Parkers could develop ande so far today. So, I¡¯d like to toast you!¡± Damon stood up and toasted Lucas respectfully. The others also stood up and raised their wine sses. ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s all thanks to you that the Hales will be able to develop in DC. Here¡¯s a toast to you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same for the Coles. Now that we are able to develop in DC, we have to offer you a toast!¡± ¡­ All of them thanked Lucas sincerely for his assistance. Lucas had stopped drinking alcohol, so he raised the ss of water in front of him and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, everyone. Actually, you got the opportunities because you¡¯re good at grasping them. I won¡¯t take credit for it. ¡°Here¡¯s a toast from me. May all your families improve by leaps and bounds in DC!¡± Everyone raised their sses and drank them with joy. The night resumed with a lively and harmonious atmosphere. Suddenly thinking of something, Lucas asked, ¡°I just heard that the Parkers¡¯ restaurants give away unused ingredients and clean leftovers to the homeless people nearby. Is that true?¡± Damon nodded. ¡°Yes. At first, we just wanted to increase the quality of the restaurants¡¯ food, so we insisted on only using fresh ingredients bought or delivered in the morning. But this would result in a lot of wastage. Soter, Keh suggested that we make some simple food with the remaining ingredients we have at the end of every day and distribute them for free to the needy, along with some staple food like bread, rice, and whatnot. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect a reporter to photograph this during a visit to the restaurant and write an article about it. Neither did I expect this little act of charity to increase our reputation and poprity. That¡¯s how we became an Instagram hotspot. ¡°So now, we¡¯re not only giving away simple cooked food and leftovers to the homeless, but we also make at least fifty kilograms of various special dishes every day and provide them to the less fortunate who live nearby.¡± While speaking about this, Damon looked at Keh proudly, feeling extremely proud of his grandson. Lucas looked at Keh and praised, ¡°It¡¯s great that you think that way!¡± Keh was immediately ttered. He was so excited that his face flushed red. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you, Mr. Gray. It¡¯s only right that I do so!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that you could think of this charitable act. You¡¯ve helped countless people, so this is really something worthy of praise. ¡°I¡¯ve always believed that we should give back to themunity when we can and try our best to help as many people as we can. The Stardust Corporation and the Sr Corporation donate some money each month. Everyone should work on doing more charitable acts too.¡± Bruce, Edmund, and the others agreed one after another. ¡°Mr. Gray is right! This is the social responsibility that we have to undertake next. While developing and expanding, we must contribute to society too!¡± They raised their sses again, and the atmosphere in the private room was very pleasant. Suddenly, a bunch of gangsters holding steel rods charged into the restaurant lobby and rushed to the cashier counter. They said menacingly, ¡°Is there someone named Lucas Gray here? Which room is he in? Tell me honestly. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have my men wreck your ce!¡± Chapter 1273 - 1273 Courting Death 1273 Courting Death This group of people charged into the restaurant furiously with steel rods and other weapons in hand, instantly scaring all the customers in the lobby. A huge ruckus broke out. Seeing that the situation was amiss, the lobby manager hurried over to stop them. ¡°What do you want to do? We¡¯ve already called the police. Don¡¯t create trouble in the restaurant!¡± The young man in the lead walked over. He was d in a casual attire of luxury brands, but there was an obvious footprint on his chest. His eyes red and full of murderous intent, he stared at the manager. ¡°Where is Lucas Gray?¡± Dumbfounded, the manager stared at the young man and said, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re that streamer whose ount got deleted.¡± !! The young man in the lead was Chace, who had just fallen out with Lucas at the entrance of the restaurant. Earlier, Luke and Chace had argued at the entrance for a long time. In particr, after Chace¡¯s ount was deleted, he broke down andshed out at Lucas. At the time, the manager had been standing beside the entrance, so he had heard everything clearly. But the moment Chace heard the manager say that his ount had been deleted, he snapped and pped him hard in the face. ¡°Damn it! How dare you say that my ount was deleted? I¡¯m a famous streamer with almost five million followers, and I make more money in a month of streaming than your annual sry!¡± Chace had just lost his ount and reputation, so he was exceptionally sensitive at this moment. Bringing up his deleted ount struck a sour chord in Chace, who felt that the manager was provoking him on purpose. The manager was speechless, but he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Please leave immediately! The Parkers¡¯ Hampton Restaurant is not a ce where you can cause trouble. If things blow up, you won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± The tall and strong young man with green hair next to Chace immediately kicked the manager to the floor. ¡°Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like that?! Isn¡¯t this just some lousy restaurant? Can your backerpare to mine? All it takes is one call from me for dozens of people toe here and tear this ce down!¡± the young man said arrogantly. The manager sneered. ¡°You don¡¯t know your ce! People like you can¡¯t afford to offend the Hampton Restaurant!¡± The manager was naturally well aware of who the owner of the restaurant was. The Parkers were now the family that was second only to the eight top families of DC. How could they allow a few gangsters to cause trouble here? Unfortunately, almost all the restaurant security guards had been arranged to stand guard at the entrances and exits on the top floor due to the arrival of distinguished guests, and there were only two on the first floor. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have allowed these gangsters to enter the restaurant. At this moment, some vignt staff had already reported the matter, but it would take at least a minute or two for people toe downstairs. ¡°Damn it. How dare you be stubborn with me? Beat him up!¡± the young man ordered furiously. More than ten thugs immediately raised the steel rods in their hands and began hitting the manager. ¡°Stop! Stop hitting us! I know where the person you¡¯re looking for is. I¡¯ll take you there!¡± a waiter frantically shouted when he realized that someone might die. ¡°You should have said so earlier. F*ck, what a waste of our time!¡± The young man finally let go of the manager and stormed upstairs with his Chace and his subordinates under the lead of the waiter. At the same time, in the private room on the top floor, Keh received a call and had a drastic change of expression. ¡°What did you say?! Someone actually dared to barge in here to cause trouble? How impudent! Get people to chase them out immediately! Wait, what did you say? They said they¡¯re looking for Mr. Gray? Beat them up and drag them away!¡± Lucas looked at Keh and asked with a frown, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did someonee here to confront me?¡± Keh replied, ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. Someone downstairs reported that a streamer asked about your location. I¡¯m afraid he has ill intentions.¡± Hearing the word streamer, Lucas immediately knew who the troublemaker was. ¡°Heh, I nned to let him off, but I didn¡¯t expect that he would court death himself!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Keh, tell your subordinates not to chase them out and bring the leader here.¡± Keh naturally obeyed Lucas¡¯s orders. ¡°Yes!¡± Then he made some arrangements over the phone. Damon, Edmund, and the others immediately looked displeased. They had finally gotten the chance to chat with Lucas, but some ignorant people came to ruin things. What a killjoy. If Lucas hadn¡¯t personally asked to bring the troublemaker here, they would definitely have taught these people who had the audacity to bother Lucas a lesson! Soon, the door of the King¡¯s Room was suddenly pushed open from outside. Chace charged into the private room impatiently. When he saw Lucas sitting calmly, he immediately looked agitated and furious and pointed at Lucas. ¡°Mr. Harper, this punk is Lucas Gray!¡± The Mr. Harper he was referring to was the green-haired young man who followed closely behind him into the private room. Chace glowered at Lucas and shouted arrogantly, ¡°Lucas Gray, you bastard! Weren¡¯t you very arrogant outside just now? You even messed with me and caused my ount to be deleted. Watch how I¡¯ll get revenge on you!¡± Then he pointed at the green-haired young man beside him. He said proudly, ¡°Do you know who this man standing next to me is? He is Mr. Harper, the general manager of the esteemed Keh Media Agency Co.! ¡°I¡¯m the streamer with the most followers and engagement and who makes the most money in thepany. By ruining my streaming career, you¡¯ve caused not only me heavy losses but also thepany. Mr. Harper won¡¯t let you off!¡± Harper raised his head high and nced at Lucas with contempt. ¡°Lucas Gray, I can¡¯t be bothered to waste my breath with you. Anyway, you¡¯ve ruined our agency¡¯s most lucrative streamer and caused us to suffer heavy losses. Tell me, shouldn¡¯t youpensate me for all the negative impact?¡± ¡°Even if I give you a discount, you shouldpensate me at least ten million dors! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll have someone skin you alive and sell all your organs!¡± The two of them were extremely conceited, so much so that they failed to realize that their underlings hadn¡¯t followed them in. They even thought that they were waiting quietly outside for orders! When Keh heard that they were from Keh Media Agency Co., he immediately grimaced and wished he could kill them. Chapter 1274 - 1274 Showing Up Arrogantly 1274 Showing Up Arrogantly After Lucas heard the name of the agency, he looked at Keh. Seeing the disgust and panic on his face, he immediately knew that his guess was correct. ¡°Keh, this Keh Media Agency Co. belongs to you, right?¡± Lucas asked. Keh¡¯s legs went limp, and he fell to the floor on his knees. Gritting his teeth, he said, ¡°Mr. Gray, this is indeed mypany, but I didn¡¯t know that these bastards are my employees! ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely give you an exnation for this. I won¡¯t let these bastards offend you!¡± !! Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t me Keh for this. ¡°I¡¯m just asking. Get up.¡± After hearing that they were from Keh Media Agency Co., Lucas noticed that Keh¡¯s name was in it, so he suspected thispany had something to do with Keh. But he didn¡¯t expect that it really belonged to him. This made things more interesting. However, it seemed that Chace and the manager, Harper, were still unaware that Keh was their boss. Damon had roughly guessed what was happening and felt very annoyed. The employees of his grandson¡¯spany actually came to the Parkers¡¯ restaurant to cause trouble for Lucas. This was simply an insult to him! He couldn¡¯t shirk the responsibility for his poor management no matter what. Damon pointed at Keh¡¯s head and hollered furiously, ¡°Keh! What did I tell you before? You can start your own businesses, but you must manage your employees well and not cause trouble for our family! What¡¯s with these people? Quickly give me an exnation!¡± Ray, Keh¡¯s father, lectured sullenly, ¡°Your grandfather is right! Since it¡¯s yourpany, you must manage your people well. You don¡¯t have to expect them to contribute much, but they should at least not cause trouble for you and the Parkers! ¡°I told you you were messing around when you started some nonsense inte media agency. Look at what kind of people you hired! Hurry up and settle this matter!¡± Keh was also furious. He had clearly given a code of conduct manual to his employees and warned them of many things. It was now the optimal time for the Parkers to develop, and the slightest mistake would give others the chance to get a hold on them. Thus, he had asked his employees to act with caution and conscientiousness and strictly prohibited them from causing trouble. But he didn¡¯t expect that there were still such bastards in hispany. The two people in front of them were Chace, who imed to be a famous streamer, and Harper, who imed to be thepany¡¯s general manager. But Keh didn¡¯t know who they were at all. ¡°Who hired you scoundrels?¡± Keh questioned, suppressing his anger. Chace immediately barked, ¡°Who the f*ck are you?! How dare you speak to Mr. Harper like that? Do you know who he is?¡± Kehughed out loud. ¡°Who am I? Keh Media Agency Co. belongs to me. Trust you to have the cheek to ask me who I am!¡± Chace and Harper were both stunned. Harper was worried and doubtful, but Chace immediately burst intoughter. ¡°Hahaha, this is hrious! How dare you pretend to be the chairman of Keh Media Agency Co.?! Do you know who he is? He¡¯s the eldest scion of the Parker family. Loser, don¡¯t think you can pass off as Keh Parker just because you¡¯re wearing a decent-looking suit!¡± Chace exined to Harper, ¡°Mr. Harper, don¡¯t be fooled by them. Think about it. This penniless loser Lucas Gray is having a meal with them. How can someone like him be with the eldest scion of the Parkers, the strongest family next to the eight top families in DC? If he¡¯s really Keh Parker, I¡¯m his grandfather, Damon Parker! Hahaha!¡± As soon as Harper heard this, the worry and doubts within his heart vanished. That¡¯s right. Chace¡¯s high school ssmate is just a penniless loser. How can he possibly dine at the same table as the Parkers¡¯ eldest scion? This person was obviously trying to fool them by pretending to be Keh. After hearing Chace say that he was Damon Parker, the real Damon flew into a rage. ¡°You impudent assholes, how dare you spout nonsense in front of the Parkers?!¡± Harper snorted with disdain. ¡°Hah, the Parkers? Stop pretending in front of us, old fogy. You¡¯ve already got one foot in the coffin, so you¡¯d better shut up before I send the rest of you in!¡± Damon was really infuriated. Trembling with anger, he bellowed, ¡°Keh, get rid of these two people right now! Otherwise, I¡¯ll hold you responsible!¡± Keh hurriedly supported Damon and sat him down to stabilize his breathing. Then he looked at Harper and asked, ¡°What is your name?¡± Harper looked at Keh arrogantly and rolled his eyes. ¡°Hah, let me tell you then. My name is Kean Harper. What can you do to me?¡± ¡°Kean Harper, huh? Just you wait!¡± Keh sneered and immediately took out his phone to make a call. ¡°Is there a bastard named Kean Harper in thepany?¡± he asked, unable to suppress his anger. The person on the other end could tell that Keh was furious. He was shocked and quickly asked carefully, ¡°Mr. Keh, are you talking about a green-haired young man who¡¯s tall and looks unruly?¡± Keh gritted his teeth. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him!¡± The person on the other end immediately exined while stammering, ¡°Mr. Keh, Kean Harper doesn¡¯t work for ourpany! He just owns a small management agency and pays usrge PR fees to cooperate with us.¡± ¡°Did he get into trouble? Or did he offend you? If so, I will immediately cancel all cooperation with his agency and block him forever!¡± Keh sneered, ¡°You¡¯ve actually worked with a gangster like him. You¡¯re getting worse at judging people! How is canceling cooperation enough? He¡¯s showing off and being all smug in front of me now. What do you think I should do?¡± The man on the other end inhaled sharply in shock and almost dropped his phone on the floor. He hurriedly said, ¡°How dare that bastard be so arrogant? He must have a death wish! Mr. Keh, where are you now? I¡¯ll bring people over right now to teach that bastard a lesson!¡± ¡°I¡¯m on the top floor of the Parkers¡¯ Hampton Restaurant. I¡¯ll give you fifteen minutes. If you dare to be a single secondte, you can get lost from thepany too!¡± With that, Keh directly hung up. Chapter 1275 - 1275 Scared Out of His Wits 1275 Scared Out of His Wits Everyone in the private room heard what Keh said clearly. Of course, this included Chace and Kean. Kean looked at Keh andughed hysterically. ¡°Hahaha, your pretense really looks like the real deal! You even found someone toe and deal with me? What a joke!¡± Chace mocked too, ¡°Lucas Gray, are these people your friends? Indeed, birds of a feather flock together. They¡¯re all as pretentious as you and have a death wish! ¡°No matter what, you mustpensate me for my losses today! You have topensate me for the money that the streaming tform is demanding for damages and the money I¡¯ve lost from the deletion of my ount with more than four million fans. I¡¯m already being nice enough by only asking you topensate me with ten million dors! ¡°If it wasn¡¯t because you¡¯re a penniless loser, I would have made youpensate at least a hundred million dors!¡± ¡°Mr. Harper and I are backed by the real Parker family, unlike this bastard who¡¯s pretending to be the scion of the Parkers! If you don¡¯tpensate me, all of you will die with just one order from Mr. Parker!¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t upset. He just found it funny. The Parkers¡¯ current helmsman, his father, and his son were right in front of Chace. He didn¡¯t know them, yet he was actually threatening the Parkers with the Parkers. What a weirdo. Who knew how these two would react once they found out the truth. Lucas narrowed his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll die or not, but I know that you two will definitely want to die in a bit. If you don¡¯t believe me, just wait and see.¡± Chace snorted coldly. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll see what else you can say when the people you¡¯ve called are here!¡± Damon red coldly at these two people. He was so infuriated that he wanted to drag them out and kill them, lest these ignorant people be an eyesore in front of Lucas. But seeing that Lucas seemed to be ying with them, he suppressed his anger and didn¡¯t speak. Keh refilled Lucas¡¯s ss of water while looking coldly at the two people in front of him. These two bastards actually used hispany¡¯s name to throw their weight and caused trouble for him. They were courting death! Time passed minute by minute. Soon, almost 15 minutes was up, but the person Keh had called over the phone still hadn¡¯t arrived. Chace waved his watch and smirked. ¡°Hey, fifteen minutes is up! Where are the people you¡¯ve called? Is that phony too scared toe see us?¡± But the moment he finished speaking, the sounds of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the private room. Secondster, a group of people arrived outside the door. Without approval, the people outside didn¡¯t dare to step in. They could only wait outside respectfully and say while panting, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Keh. I just arrived. Sorry to have made you wait!¡± Before Keh could say anything, Kean, who was initially extremely arrogant, was instantly shocked. He opened his mouth and stammered, ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Lewis! What¡­ what are you doing here?¡± Kean couldn¡¯t believe his eyes at all. He couldn¡¯t believe how respectful Mr. Lewis was and the way he addressed Keh. Mr. Lewis was the general manager of Keh Media Agency Co., which was one of the Parkers¡¯ businesses. Clearly, there was only one person who could receive this treatment¡ªKeh Parker, the scion of the Parker family and the chairman of Keh Media Agency Co.! Could it be that that young man who called Mr. Lewis over is the genuine Keh Parker?! He¡¯s not a phony but the real deal?! At the thought of this possibility, Kean shuddered from head to toe, and even his calves began to tremble. How¡­ how is that possible?! But the truth was right before his eyes, so he had to believe it! Chace was just as dumbfounded. He had also met Lewis in person before. As soon as he saw Lewis, he immediately had an ominous feeling. At this moment, Lewis couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to Chace and Kean at all. Under Keh¡¯s gesture, he walked over to Keh and fell to his knees with a loud thud. ¡°Mr. Keh, I¡¯m really sorry! My ipetency has caused these thugs toe and offend you. I¡¯m truly sorry! Please give me a chance to get rid of these pieces of garbage and make amends!¡± While kneeling on the floor, the plump Lewis was sweating all over his chubby face. Large sweat droplets trickled down his face one after another and seeped into the carpet. He was clearly the general manager of Keh Media Agency Co. and someone whom Kean, Chace, and others tried to tter. But Lewis was now kneeling in front of Keh in fear and panic! This wasn¡¯t all. The most shocking thing was that Keh wasn¡¯t sitting but standing beside these people and was holding a water pitcher! This meant that the others in the private room were all big shots whom he couldn¡¯t afford to provoke. Thus, Keh, the scion of the Parkers, was reduced to a junior who could only serve wine and water! This scene dumbfounded Lewis too. Besides, his eyes were sharp, so he noticed the other two powerful figures of the Parkers in the room. They were Ray, the Parkers¡¯ current helmsman, and Damon, the former helmsman. But Ray and Damon were not in the master seat. Instead, it was a young man he didn¡¯t recognize! Lewis¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he felt even more uneasy and fearful. The Parkers were now a top family in DC, and the young man in the master seat definitely had a higher status than Damon! Who was this young man? He didn¡¯t know if Kean and Chace had offended this mysterious esteemed guest¡­ Otherwise, he would really kill them today! While Lewis was feeling anxious, Keh ced the water pitcher on the table and said coldly, ¡°Mr. Lewis, I asked you here to rify something.¡± Keh pointed at Kean and snorted coldly. ¡°This bastard with green hair said that he¡¯s the general manager of mypany, and he wants to force Mr. Gray, the Parkers¡¯ most honored guest, topensate him for the losses of the stream and thepany. He wants ten million dors. Tell me, how should we solve this?!¡± Chapter 1276 - 1276 Regret 1276 Regret Hearing what Keh said, Lewis wished he could p Chace and Kean in the face! While on the way here, he had asked someone about what had happened to Kean. So he immediately knew that a streamer working for Kean had caused trouble on Twitch. Not only did he deceive his viewers to gain more donations, but he even made disrespectful and malicious remarks about his fans. He had utterly offended them and had his ount deleted as a result. Lewis thought that he deserved it. But he didn¡¯t expect the idiotic streamer to bring Kean here to extort Keh¡¯s friend. !! Moreover, Lucas wasn¡¯t an ordinary person but an honored guest to whom even the former helmsman of the Parkers was extremely respectful. Chace and Kean were simply idiots! ¡°You bastards! Are you blind? You actually tried to extort Mr. Parker and Mr. Gray? I really want to gouge your eyes out!¡± Lewisshed out at the two. Chace and Kean turned deathly pale. In particr, Kean was full of fear. He had actually only set up a small management agency after scouting a few small-time influencers. Including him, there were only four employees in thepany. His tinypany was nothingpared to Keh Media Agency Co., which was worth hundreds of millions of dors. He had barely managed to form a business connection with Keh Media Agency Co. by being thick-skinned and coughing up arge sum of money. Relying on this weak connection, Kean had actually gone around bragging about being a manager of Keh Media Agency Co. and had used this identity to ¡®cheat¡¯ others out of a lot of resources and money. It could be said that he had relied entirely on Keh Media Agency Co. to attain his current achievements. If not for Keh¡¯spany, Kean would still just be a gangster struggling to make ends meet. Now, he actually treated Keh, the real boss of thepany, as an impostor and even spoke to him with such disrespect and arrogance. Keh definitely had a terrible impression of him! This wasn¡¯t all. The elderly man next to Keh resembled him slightly, so he was probably Damon Parker, the former helmsman of the Parker family. More than ten minutes ago, he had actually brazenly said that if the young man in front of him was Keh Parker, then he was Damon Parker¡­ Recalling what he had said earlier, Kean really wished he could turn back time and p himself hard on the mouth! Why did I say those things?! Why did I spout all that nonsense?! The more he thought about it, the more terrified he was. His legs couldn¡¯t help turning limp as he knelt on the floor spinelessly. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Keh and Mr. Parker¡­ I¡¯m really sorry! I was too blind and ignorant and couldn¡¯t recognize you. I even spoke and acted so disrespectfully. I¡¯m so sorry! Please be magnanimous and spare a small fry like me!¡± Kean said while trembling and kneeling. Lewis kicked Kean fiercely. ¡°You son of a bitch! You don¡¯t even work for ourpany, but you actually used thepany¡¯s name to throw your weight around. You¡¯ve ruined the reputation of thepany and Mr. Keh! How dare you be so arrogant in front of the Parkers? You must be tired of living!¡± Keh walked up to Kean, looked down at his hideous appearance, and said coldly, ¡°Weren¡¯t you very cocky in front of us just now? You led people into my restaurant and had them beat up my lobby manager. You even broke into my private room and wanted Mr. Gray to give you 10 million dors, or else you would kill us and sell our organs? ¡°Moreover, you even said that if I¡¯m Keh Parker, you were my grandfather. You said these things yourself, didn¡¯t you?¡± With every word he said, Kean¡¯s face became paler and paler, and beads of sweat gushed out of his face one after another. Kean knocked his head hard on the floor and begged for mercy. ¡°Mr. Keh¡­ I was just talking nonsense. Please spare me!¡± Then he raised his hand and pped his own face hard and loud, left and right. Soon, both sides of his face were swollen. ¡°Do you regret it now? You know your mistakes? Toote!¡± Keh looked at Kean in disgust and ordered, ¡°Take him away and teach him a lesson! Just don¡¯t get him killed.¡± The security guards waiting at the door immediately obeyed the order and rushed forward to drag Kean away. From beginning to end, no one bothered with Chace. But after witnessing everything, Chace was already so frightened that he was huddling in the corner, too afraid to say a single word. He never imagined that these people sitting at the same table with Lucas would be so powerful! Even the Parkers¡¯ former helmsman could only sit beside Lucas, who was in the master seat, while Keh, the Parkers¡¯ scion, even served Lucas water. It was all a huge impact to Chace, who had always thought that he was superior. Lucas was definitely no longer the penniless loser that Chace thought he was. Instead, he had be a powerful big shot that he definitely couldn¡¯t afford to provoke! Even if Lucas¡¯s identity wasn¡¯t a big deal now, just by the fact that he could sit at the same table with the big shots of the Parker family meant that he could easily get them to kill him if he wanted! Thinking of this, Chace no longer acted arrogantly. He couldn¡¯t help but copse to the floor while shivering. Lucas smiled and looked at Chace. ¡°Chace, you brought that group of people here today and wanted me to pay you ten million dors. And if I couldn¡¯t pay, you would skin me alive and sell my organs, right?¡± Chace obviously no longer dared to speak to Lucas that way. He quickly said, ¡°No, no, Lucas, you¡¯ve misunderstood. I was just joking! No matter what, we were ssmates years ago. How could I possibly treat you that way? ¡°I¡­ I just lost my mind because my ount was deleted, so Iined to Mr. Harper, I mean, Kean Harper. It was Kean Harper who brought those people here to confront you and demand that youpensate him! I was just forced by him toe along. I really didn¡¯t intend to harm you! ¡°Since that bastard Kean Harper has gotten what he deserves, please just let me go and don¡¯t hold it against me, Lucas!¡± Chapter 1277 - 1277 Acting First 1277 Acting First Looking at Chace trying so hard to get himself out of trouble, Lucas found it ridiculous. Indeed, Chase was truly a viin. ¡°Chace, do you mean your words don¡¯t count for anything?¡± Lucas looked at him with a smile while remaining sitting. Chace was indeed very thick-skinned and didn¡¯t feel ashamed at all. Instead, he even said to Lucas, ¡°No matter what, we were good friends back in high school, weren¡¯t we? Why do you have to be so calctive with me? !! ¡°Look, I¡¯m now a streamer with 4.7 million followers, and you happen to know Mr. Parker. In this case, why don¡¯t you introduce me to Mr. Parker and let me work at hispany as an official employee? ¡°I believe that as long as I can get some resources from Keh Media Agency Co, I will definitely be a top streamer in the industry. When the timees, I¡¯ll make a lot of money regardless of whether I do mukbang or variety streams or even sell merchandise. And once I make money, thepany will make more money too. It¡¯ll be a win-win situation for us! ¡°Lucas, what do you think of this idea? Since everyone will make money, you won¡¯t turn me down, will you?¡± Chace really dared to think of anything. As soon as he saw that Lucas was friends with Keh, he immediately thought of this crazy idea. Even Lucas was almost speechless about Chace shamelessly trying to pull some strings to benefit himself. ¡°Of course I refuse. Chace, do you think we¡¯re fools?¡± Lucas shook his head. Keh had long been displeased with this viin Chace. After hearing him audaciously say that he wanted to be a streamer of hispany and that he hoped for the Parkers to give him resources, iming that it was a win-win deal, Keh felt utterly disgusted. ¡°Damn it! Who do you think you are? How dare you call yourself a famous streamer? You even want the Parkers¡¯ support? Dream on!¡± Unable to bear it anymore, Keh rushed forward to kick Chace on the shoulder. ¡°An idiot like you isn¡¯t even worthy of being a janitor at mypany. Hurry up and get lost! ¡°Since you¡¯re so shameless and call yourself a famous streamer, I will make sure you never make it in this industry!¡± Keh ordered, ¡°Break his limbs and dump him in the slums. Let him live as a beggar for three months before releasing him! ¡°Didn¡¯t he insult Mr. Gray and call him homeless just now? In that case, let him have a taste of what it¡¯s like to be a homeless beggar!¡± Keh didn¡¯t know that Chace had said such things to Lucas earlier, and he flew into a rage the moment he heard them from Lewis. If he hadn¡¯t noticed that Lucas didn¡¯t intend to have Chace killed, Chace would definitely die today! Chace was thunderstruck. Only now did he realize that even though he had always thought he was a famous streamer, he was just an insignificant small fry to Keh, the scion of the Parkers. With just one order from Keh, he would be banished to hell immediately! Breaking his limbs and making him live as a beggar for three months waspletely uneptable to Chace! ¡°No, no, Mr. Parker, please just let me off! Lucas, quickly say something! I know I¡¯m a bastard who looks down on others. I spoke without thinking. Please spare my life! I¡­ I will quit being a streamer and go back to my hometown and never appear in front of you again! Please¡­¡± Lucas was expressionless and didn¡¯t say anything. He naturally wouldn¡¯t believe what Chace said. In fact, even if Lucas let him off, for a viin like him, he would definitely seek revenge against Lucas if he got the chance. In that case, why should Lucas let him off? Soon, a few security guards gagged Chace, who was constantly pleading for mercy, broke his limbs on the spot, and dragged him out. Now, the annoying people had finally been cleared from the room. Knowing that Kean had him, Lewis didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer. He went to vent all his anger on Chace and Kean, the two culprits, and watched them get punished. In any case, he wouldn¡¯t let these two off easy! After all the irrelevant people left, Damon immediately said to Lucas guiltily, ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°It has nothing to do with you. You don¡¯t have to me yourself. Come on, let¡¯s continue the meal!¡± Lucas started eating first. Only then did the others finally rx again and continue to speak about other things happily. After eating a few mouthfuls of food, Lucas suddenly looked at Damon and asked, ¡°Damon, I heard that many families in DC are about to make trouble. It seems they¡¯re displeased with the Parkers?¡± After Damon heard this, a few traces of worry appeared on Damon¡¯s face. He sighed and nodded with a heavy heart. ¡°Yeah. With your help, we¡¯ve taken over all the businesses left behind by the Waltons and be the family second to the eight top families of DC. ¡°But our foundation is unstable after all, and we haven¡¯t been able to gain a firm foothold in DC, so some families refuse to acknowledge us. Moreover, they want to suppress us and encroach on our businesses so that they can rece us. ¡°They haven¡¯t done anything particrly big yet, and only some small-scale struggles have broken out. But I reckon we¡¯re not far from a big fight. When the timees, it¡¯ll be a tough battle for us, and the slightest slip-up might cause us to suffer immense losses.¡± Lucas nodded in understanding. Damon was right. These major families in DC had all been developing for decades to attain the power they had now. The more elite they were, the more intense thepetition was. It was only normal for people to strive to be at the top. However, a small family from Orange County actually took over the Waltons¡¯ businesses within a few months and surpassed many other families at once. Of course, this aroused the displeasure and jealousy of many families. If these families joined forces, the Parkers might really suffer immense losses. After thinking about it, Lucas said, ¡°How about this? Hold a banquet tomorrow and invite all the major families who have something against the Parkers. We¡¯ll deal with them once and for all.¡± ¡°Once and for all?¡± Damon looked at Lucas in puzzlement. The others at the table also looked confused, wondering what Lucas meant. Lucas smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t those families want to gang up on the Parkers? Then we can simply act first, gather all these people together, and deal with them all at once!¡± Chapter 1278 - 1278 Eliminating Them In One Fell Swoop 1278 Eliminating Them In One Fell Swoop What Lucas said made everyone gasp! They never expected that Lucas would be so bold as to gather all the families hostile to the Parkers and eliminate them in one fell swoop! What a crazy idea! The families harboring animosity against the Parkers and wishing to rece them were not insignificant small fries at all. Rather, they were families second only to the eight top families and not that much weaker than the Parkers. With their power, were they really capable of eliminating them in one fell swoop once these families joined forces? Wouldn¡¯t it be the other way around? If anyone else had made this suggestion, the people in the room would think that they were out of their mind. But the person who made this suggestion was Lucas, so he definitely wasn¡¯t being conceited. Since he could say it, it meant that he was confident enough that they would seed. Not to mention Lucas¡¯s invincible martial arts skills, the strong connections he had with a few of the top eight families in DC alone made it entirely possible for him to suppress the second-tier families attacking the Parkers. If Lucas wanted to, he could even conquer the eight top families. Why would he be afraid of a few second-tier families with ill intentions? Thinking of this, everyone felt relieved and no longer had any doubts. ¡°Great! What a great idea, Lucas! As long as you step in, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake for us to get rid of those families in one fell swoop!¡± Damon said with excitement written all over his face, devoid of his previous grimness. Originally, Demon treated the families coveting the Parkers¡¯ status and businesses as great enemies, and he was constantly worried that they would join forces against his family. If these families went against the Parkers individually, Damon wouldn¡¯t be afraid since the Parkers were powerful enough. But once these families joined forces, it would be a disaster for the Parkers. After hearing Lucas¡¯s suggestion, Damon finally felt relieved, feeling as if a huge boulder had been lifted off his shoulders. As long as Lucas was around, there was nothing to be afraid of, even if these families joined forces. Lucas asked again, ¡°Among those families, which one is the most powerful and most troublesome to handle?¡± Damon replied, ¡°The Holmes!¡± Keh hurriedly said, ¡°Grandpa is right. It¡¯s indeed the Holmes. When the Waltons were still in DC, the Holmes were second only to the top eight families. Later, we took over the Waltons¡¯ businesses, which meant we jumped above the Holmes. Since then, they¡¯ve regarded us as an eyesore and want to drag us down! ¡°ording to the news I¡¯ve received, the Holmes have gathered many second-tier families in DC to discuss how to deal with the Parkers! ¡°But the Holmes are quite scheming and vicious. They¡¯re clearly the ones eager to rece us, but they¡¯re not taking the lead in going against us and simply aiding other families in doing so. They¡¯re obviously nning to make the other families do the dirty work while sitting back to im the prize afterward. ¡°I found out from an insider that the Holmes haven¡¯t made a move against us yet because they¡¯re waiting for a chance. They want to get into minor conflicts with us first to test our abilities before finding a chance to strike us hard!¡± Ever since the Holmes expressed their animosity toward the Parkers, Keh had immediately sent his subordinates to investigate the strength, abilities, and movements of these families. He had even spent a lot of money to bribe a few members of these families for information. After his grandson finished introducing the situation, Damon continued, ¡°Prior to this, I was still worried about some issues and afraid that the Parkers might not be able to withstand their alliance. But now that the Hales and the Coles havee to DC, and with your support, Lucas, I can finally feel relieved. ¡°Besides, I think this isn¡¯t only an opportunity for the Parkers but also for the Hales and the Coles. If we really manage to suppress them and deal with them once and for all, this will be a great opportunity for us to rise in DC! ¡°We are here in DC thanks to Lucas in the first ce, so we naturally have to stand on the same side. With the three of us joining forces, we will definitely make a name for ourselves in DC, and even the eight top families won¡¯t dare do anything to us easily!¡± Hearing this, Bruce and Edmund looked tempted and expectant. Indeed, with the three of them joining forces and Lucas¡¯s help, they would definitely be a formidable alliance in DC! Lucas nodded. He had brought the Hales and the Coles to DC precisely because he had such expectations. Although he was very powerful himself, and there might not be many people who could rival him, he understood the logic that no man was an ind very well. Thus, he had to strengthen himself while continuing to enhance his forces. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. The Parkers will invite those families, including the Holmes, for a banquet. We¡¯ll get to it right away and set the banquet for tomorrow night. Bruce, Edmund, and I will be there. Just get yourselves ready and y by ear.¡± Lucas formted a n and confirmed it. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± They frantically agreed with excitement on their faces. In particr, Bruce and Edmund couldn¡¯t wait to get to it. They originally thought that they would need to develop for a long time in DC and gradually rise to power. After all, opportunities to rise rapidly like the Parkers did were definitely rare. But they had just arrived in DC for two days, and they had already encountered such a wonderful opportunity. Unlike what the Parkers had encountered, they were taking the initiative to attack this time to deal with the Holmes and the other families hostile to them. It was also the first potentially tough battle they would face in DC. Zeal and excitement were coursing through their veins! Suddenly recalling something, Damon said worriedly, ¡°Lucas, what if¡­ the Holmes and those families decline our invitation and refuse toe tomorrow?¡± Lucas smiled firmly. ¡°As long as you say that you want to discuss cooperating with them, they¡¯ll definitelye!¡± After being stunned for a moment, Damon immediately understood andughed out loud. ¡°Yes! Regardless of whether they believe this reason or not, they will definitelye once they find out about this! Even if those families aren¡¯t willing toe, they¡¯ll be afraid that we will really join hands with other families. If we do, they won¡¯t be able to deal with us anymore!¡± Damon¡¯s exnation made everyone understand the crux. Although these families said that they wanted to deal with the Parkers, they didn¡¯t have a strong alliance. As long as there were enough benefits, their unity would fall apart immediately. The Holmes, who nned to stay in the background and use the other families taking the lead in going against the Parkers, would be unable to be as rxed as before. Lucas looked at his watch and stood up. ¡°Okay, you guys go get ready. Let me know the time and ce once you¡¯ve decided. I¡¯ll get going now.¡± Chapter 1279 - 1279 Midnight Assassination 1279 Midnight Assassination ¡°Yes, goodbye, Lucas!¡± The three helmsmen stood up and walked Lucas out of the restaurant. After watching him board his car and leave, they finally sighed in relief and returned to the private room. ¡°Haha, Edmond, Bruce, you two obtained such a wonderful opportunity as soon as you arrived in DC. Let me congratte you on soon bing new top families of DC!¡± Damon rubbed his hands andughed heartily. Edmund and Bruce were naturally ted andughed happily. ¡°Haha, yes! It¡¯s all thanks to Lucas that we¡¯ve obtained such a great opportunity!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The Parkers attained our current achievements all thanks to Lucas. Alright, let¡¯s make ns for tomorrow and strive topletely defeat those families!¡± While they were discussing the matter in the private room, Lucas was on his way back home. But halfway through the journey, Lucas keenly sensed something amiss. A ck Audi A4 was tailing him neither too far nor too near. When passing an intersection, the Audi A4 suddenly elerated and charged straight at Lucas¡¯s Jaguar! Fortunately, he had noticed this car earlier and stepped on the elerator at the same time as the car suddenly elerated. The engine of his modified Jaguar had excellent performance and zoomed forward as soon as he stepped on the elerator, causing the ck Audi to miss. At this moment, a ck Hummer at the intersection that seemed to be waiting for the lights to turn green suddenly sped up and rammed straight toward Lucas¡¯s car. It was extremely quick, and anyone with a slow reaction time would definitely have been caught off guard and hit by this Hummer that suddenly sped over! With a calm expression, Lucas turned his steering wheel sharply while stepping on the elerator. The wheels screeched as they rubbed against the road, and the streamlined Jaguar dodged the Hummer¡¯s assault. ¡°Hah, courting death!¡± Lucas sneered and stepped on the gas pedal again, making the Jaguar roar and charge forward. The Audi and the Hummer didn¡¯t back down and immediately changed direction to pursue Lucas closely. Lucas didn¡¯t speed up to the maximum but cruised with a sense of yfulness, leading the two cars behind him by a close distance, making it seem as though they would soon be able to catch up to him. Right at a turn, Lucas slowed down slightly, and the two cars behind him seized the opportunity to speed up and charge toward Lucas¡¯s car from both sides! Lucas sneered and floored the elerator again. Under the extreme eleration, his car suddenly drifted around the turn, making a beautiful 90-degree turn without even slowing down, pulling off the thrilling feat with both wheels on one side off the ground. Lucas¡¯s action was beyond the expectations of the drivers of the two cars behind. These cars were about to collide with Lucas¡¯s Jaguar, but Lucas shook them off at the most critical moment, causing them to lose sight of their target. Furthermore, these two drivers had already floored the elerator to m their cars against Lucas¡¯s at maximum speed. When they missed hitting the Jaguar, it was already toote to slow down. Even though they did their best to steer away, the Audi and Hummer still collided! Bang! The sound of the violent collision filled the air. The cars rubbed against each other, and bright sparks shot out for a moment before both cars flipped over. Their roofs hit the ground and skidded for a long distance. Fortunately, it waste at night, and there weren¡¯t many vehicles on the streets, so there were no idents. However, it was hard to say whether the people in these two cars were dead or alive. Lucas stopped Jaguar at the side, walked out, and watched the situation quietly. The windows of these overturned cars had already been shattered, and the people inside were in extremely distressed states as they struggled to crawl out of the cars. There were a total of four people who crawled out of the cars, but one of them turned motionless as soon as he got outand never got up again. Thus, only three people were standing in front of Lucas. Blood covered their heads. Clearly, they had suffered severe injuries from the collision and rollover. But being able to crawl out of the two overturned cars so quickly was enough to show that they weren¡¯t simple. As for whether there were still people in the cars and if they were alive, it was hard to say. ¡°Who sent you to attack me?¡± Lucas questioned coldly while standing in front of them with his hands behind his back. These people were here to kill him, so he definitely wouldn¡¯t let them off. The three people who crawled out were all ruthless figures, and the blood gushing out of their heads was about to drip into their eyes. Instead of answering Lucas, they raised their hands to wipe the blood on their faces with their shirt sleeves while staring closely at Lucas with ruthless expressions. ¡°Brothers, kill him!¡± shouted the leader, a burly man with a long scar on his face. With hismand, the three of them charged at Lucas together! Under the dim light, these people with blood all over their faces and menacing expressions leaped toward Lucas like demons pouring out of hell. ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± Just as they were about to strike Lucas, he raised his leg and kicked all three of them away with one kick. ¡°Ahh!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Mmph!¡± After letting out three muffled grunts, the three of them fell to the ground, unable to stand up again. Lucas walked over to the burly man with a scar on his face, stepped on his head, and questioned in a deep voice, ¡°Who sent you to kill me?¡± The man with the scarred face struggled for a while but couldn¡¯t break free at all. Knowing that he couldn¡¯t escape from Lucas¡¯s hands, a resolute look in his eyes, and his jaw moved quickly. Lucas felt that something was amiss. He wanted to stop the burly man with a scarred face, but he was a step toote. The burly man tilted his head with dted pupils as a bright red streak of blood flowed out of his mouth. Clearly, he had already bitten the poisonous pill behind his teeth and died immediately! The other two were the same. Before Lucas could break their jaws, they had already chosen to end their own lives. People like them who hid poison in their mouths and would rather kill themselves upon being captured than reveal any information were definitely not ordinary subordinates but bonafide suicide warriors! ¡°They actually sent so many suicide warriors!¡± Lucas¡¯s face instantly became solemn and cold. Chapter 1280 - 1280 Deep Concern 1280 Deep Concern If they had just been ordinary subordinates or even internationally renowned hitmen, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be afraid. But they were clearly suicide warriors, causing Lucas to be ill at ease. The reason suicide warriors were called suicide warriors was that they were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to achieve their goals. They didn¡¯t care about anything else, and they had no bottom line either. They would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Moreover, once suicide warriors who hid poison in their mouths were captured or in an unfavorable situation, they would immediately bite the poisonous capsule and end their own lives, making it impossible to find out who the person who ordered them was. Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of suicide warriors, but what about the people around him? If suicide warriors targeted his family after failing to kill him, Cheyenne, Charlotte, Amelia, and William would have no way to deal with these people. Even if Lucas arranged bodyguards to protect his family, it wouldn¡¯t be of much help because suicide warriors were known to catch their victims off guard and were extremely difficult to deal with. With a sullen expression, Lucas made a phone call. ¡°I ran into some suicide warriors. They¡¯ve already poisoned themselves to death. Find out who sent them.¡± Although he already had a vague conjecture, it had to be verified. After hanging up, Lucas was still feeling uneasy. He had never wanted to have more top powerhouses by his side to protect his family as desperately as he did right now. After asking Jordan to investigate the matter and take care of the aftermath, Lucas drove home. It was alreadyte, and by the time Lucas arrived home, it was already 11 p.m. At this time, everyone at home was already sound asleep, and only the lights in the master bedroom were on. Cheyenne had already washed up, and there was still some moisture in her hair. She was looking at the screen of herptop at the desk, d in a silky soft andfortable nightgown. When Lucas opened the door and entered, Cheyenne immediately raised her head to look at him. ¡°Wee back. Have you had dinner?¡± Lucas nodded, walked over to her, put his arms around her shoulders, and asked softly, ¡°Yes, I have. Why are you still awake at this hour? What are you looking at?¡± While speaking, he had already seen the various tables and graphs on theptop screen. ¡°Just some work stuff. It¡¯s my first day at the Stardust Corporation tomorrow, and I¡¯m still not confident, so I¡¯m reading up on some more material.¡± Cheyenne rxed and nestled against Lucas¡¯s arms. Lucas saw the dark circles under Cheyenne¡¯s face and said with heartache, ¡°You¡¯ve already read enough. It¡¯s midnight now. It¡¯s time to get some rest!¡± In fact, he only ran so many businesses because he wanted to give his familyfortable and happy lives. He didn¡¯t want them to have to work hard like before. But Cheyenne had her own career pursuits and wasn¡¯t willing to be a housewife who only took care of her husband and children. She wanted to work on her career and achieve great aplishments through her own efforts, so Lucas could only let her do as she wished. But this didn¡¯t mean that Lucas could watch his wife get dark undereye circles from fatigue and do nothing about it. Cheyenne wanted to say something, but Lucas closed theptop screen. Then he picked her up and carried her to the bed domineeringly. ¡°Okay, stop reading those documents. Why don¡¯t you spend some time with me instead?¡± Lucas pinned Cheyenne down beneath him and kissed her tender lips. ¡­ A long timeter, they finally finished. Cheyenne¡¯s damp hair was sticking to the sides of her face messily, and she was panting slightly, looking even more gentle and breathtaking. ¡°Lucas, are¡­ are you stressed because of some troublestely?¡± Cheyenne asked softly, gently snuggling up in his arms. Lucas¡¯s body stiffened, and he immediately asked, ¡°Why are you asking that all of a sudden?¡± Cheyenne blushed and poked his chest lightly. ¡°Your¡­ needs are a lot these days.¡± Lucas was stunned for a moment before recalling that they had just been intimate in the afternoon for a few hours. Charlotte had even teased them about it. This session hadsted for some time too. It was indeed unusual. Am I really getting urges more frequently because I¡¯m too stressed? Cheyenne was indeed quite perceptive. But Lucas didn¡¯t want her to worry, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t voice his concerns. He merely kissed Cheyenne¡¯s forehead and said in a gentle voice, ¡°Honey, you¡¯re reading too much into it. With such a gorgeous and attractive wife, how can I possibly be stressed?¡± Feeling shy, Cheyenne poked Lucas¡¯s chest. ¡°What a glib tongue! Okay, if you don¡¯t want to say anything, I won¡¯t force you to tell me. But if you¡¯re really stressed, you can always talk to me about it. After all, we¡¯re family!¡± Touched by her words, Lucas hugged Cheyenne even tighter. ¡°Yeah, I got it. But it¡¯s really nothing, so don¡¯t mull over it. Let¡¯s go to bed now!¡± Seeing that Lucas was unwilling to say anything, Cheyenne didn¡¯t continue. After the passionate and intense session, she was now exhausted and soon dozed off in his arms. Lucas was holding his beautiful wife in his arms and watching her sleep peacefully, but he couldn¡¯t calm down at all. In fact, he was really worried now. Over six years ago, he had left without saying goodbye and headed to the military camp in Calico in order to be good enough for Cheyenne. After stepping down and returning to Orange County quietly, he swore that he would definitely make his family the happiest people in the world and give them carefree lives. But there are two sides to everything. If Lucas had wanted to be just an ordinary person, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to give Cheyenne and Amelia a sense of security and enough assurance for them to live worry-free. But as Lucas¡¯s power grew, he also inadvertently made enemies one after another. Moreover, as his status and power grew, the enemies he had to face also became more powerful. They went from the scumbags of the Carter family to the royal family branches he was facing now. If Lucas was alone, he wouldn¡¯t take even the strongest family in the world seriously. But now, he had a family, so he had an Achilles¡¯ heel. The slightest negligence on his part might cause disaster for his family. Lucas would never allow this to happen! Chapter 1281 - 1281 Mastermind 1281 Mastermind After washing up in the bathroom the following morning, Lucas and Cheyenne headed downstairs and heard boisterous noisesing from the kitchen. ¡°Dad, quickly flip it over! This side of the egg is already burnt. If you don¡¯t flip it over, it¡¯s going to be as burnt as charcoal and inedible! ¡°Ahhh! The water in the pot hasn¡¯t started boiling yet. If you put the noodles in now, they will stick to the pot! You have to wait for the water to boil before putting noodles in! ¡°Dad, you put too much water in the porridge! It¡¯s about to overflow! Ahhh! Let me do it! Turn off the burner!¡± ¡­ Lucas and Cheyenne immediately stood in ce and looked at each other with dismay. They didn¡¯t expect that the person cooking breakfast in the kitchen now was William! In the past few decades, he had basically never stepped into the kitchen. Let alone cook, he had never even washed a single dish before! It was no wonder that there was so much chaos in the kitchen, and Charlotte, who was helping William and teaching him to cook, was about to go crazy. She never thought that a person¡¯smon sense in cooking could be socking. Whenever she looked away for a second, William would immediately make a mistake. He was just making a simple breakfast, but he almost set the kitchen on fire. It was such a huge mess that Charlotte would rather do it herself! In the end, she kicked William out of the kitchen and prepared breakfast with Cheyenne. After breakfast was served, William said shamefully, ¡°I thought cooking porridge, frying some eggs, and boiling noodles for breakfast would be easy, but I didn¡¯t expect that I couldn¡¯t even do such a simple thing. I messed up badly and even almost burnt the kitchen. I¡¯m so useless!¡± Lucas coughed and scooped a fried egg onto his te while saying to Williamfortingly, ¡°That¡¯s normal for your first time. Cooking looks simple, but it¡¯s actually not that easy. I think we should hire a nanny to help with cooking and cleaning.¡± They had just bought the vi here, and previously, Lucas and Cheyenne were the only ones living here, so they hadn¡¯t hired a nanny. Now that the family had moved here, and Cheyenne and Charlotte were both busy with work, they definitely couldn¡¯t handle working and tending to the matters at home. Moreover, William didn¡¯t really know how to cook and do housework. These things weren¡¯t easy for him, so it would be better to hire a nanny to handle their meals and the housework. In any case, Lucas didn¡¯tck money, and hiring a nanny wouldn¡¯t cost much. Why should he let his family work so hard? Charlotte smiled. ¡°Lucas is right! Dad, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re cut out for cooking, let alone doing housework. This vi is so big, and the garden is huge. I don¡¯t think you can do these things. We¡¯d better hire someone.¡± Cheyenne said, ¡°Yeah, Dad. If you want to try cooking, you can do so in your free time, but we¡¯d better hire someone to handle our meals and the housework!¡± Hearing what they said, William had no choice but to agree. His n to stay home and do the cooking and housework was aplete failure. After breakfast, Cheyenne and Charlotte went to the Stardust Corporation headquarters. They were the newly appointed deputy general managers, and they were in charge of different affairs of thepany. Meanwhile, Lucas brought William and Amelia to the kindergarten where he had enrolled Amelia. This kindergarten was located within the vi area of their new home. It was an upscale private kindergarten, and most of the children in the neighborhood went to school here. Lucas had personallye to look at the environment here before. The design and facilities were indeed very high-end, with many high-quality teachers. Besides, it was near their home and less than a ten-minute walk away, so it was very convenient. In addition to settling some administrative matters, Lucas had asked William toe along to send Amelia to school because he wanted to show him around the neighborhood so that he could familiarize himself with it. After all, William had volunteered to take Amelia to and from school. Once everything was settled, Amelia stayed to attend sses. Lucas had been worried that Amelia wouldn¡¯t be able to adapt, so he secretly observed her for a long time outside. When he saw how gracious and friendly Amelia was and that she soon hit it off well with her new ssmates, he smiled happily and left the kindergarten with peace of mind. But soon after Lucas left the kindergarten, he received a call from Jordan. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve got some information! Those suicide warriors yesterday are rted to the Hamiltons!¡± ¡°Hah, it¡¯s just as I expected!¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t surprised at all. Last night, he had already guessed that the suicide warriors had been sent by the Hamiltons because ordinary families definitely couldn¡¯t afford to train them. Generally, only families with strong foundations like the Hamiltons could train them. And the truth was indeed so. The Hills and the Hamiltons were the only royal family branches who had a feud with Lucas. The conflict between Ashton Hills and Lucas was rather intense, but Ashton was just a junior of the Hills and didn¡¯t have a high status. There was no way he could deploy so many suicide warriors. The Hamiltons had just had a conflict with Lucas in Orange County, and Jensen was the third son of the current helmsman of the Hamiltons and the most likely one to be the next helmsman. He had much more authority, so Lucas had suspected that the Hamiltons were the culprit. Jordan said angrily over the phone, ¡°Lucas, the Hamiltons actually dared to send suicide warriors to kill you. They must be tired of living! I¡¯ve investigated and found out that Brett and Jensen Hamilton are the likely suspects. The rest of the Hamiltons don¡¯t know about this matter yet. ¡°Moreover, Brett Hamilton is still in Nevada and trying to conquer it, so he hasn¡¯t returned to his family. How about we go to Nevada now and teach that bastard a lesson?¡± With an icy cold gaze in his eyes, Lucas said, ¡°It¡¯s indeed time to teach the Hamiltons a lesson. Go first if you want, but he likely has many bodyguards protecting him. You must pay attention to your safety, got it?¡± Jordan nodded. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Although Lucas had told Jordan to be careful, he actually had a lot of confidence in Jordan. With Jordan¡¯s current abilities, ordinary people definitely couldn¡¯t deal with him. Even if he encountered elite bodyguards of the Hamiltons in Nevada this time, he could take it as a trial. Even if he couldn¡¯t win, he definitely wouldn¡¯t lose badly. He at least had the ability to escape safely. This trip might be a good training opportunity for Jordan. After hanging up, Lucas immediately received a call from Damon. Chapter 1282 - 1282 Coming Uninvited 1282 Coming Uninvited ¡°Lucas, I¡¯ve already invited the families led by the Holmes for a banquet at my manor at seven tonight. All of them have agreed,¡± Damon said respectfully over the phone. Lucas said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go over ahead of time.¡± At around six o¡¯clock, he arrived at the Parker residence, which was in the east of DC. This ce was originally known as the Walton Family Manor, but after the Parkers took over their businesses, they naturally acquired the manor. !! Lucas stopped at the entrance and saw Damon, Ray, and Kehing forward to receive him. They weren¡¯t the only ones. Bruce and Edmund were also waiting respectfully for Lucas. Lucas entered the manor under their escort and looked around casually at the luxurious architecture. ¡°How are the preparations?¡± Damon said, ¡°Please rest assured, Lucas. The Parkers are fully prepared. Once the helmsmen of those families are here, we will be in control of everything!¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°What about you two, Bruce, Edmund?¡± Bruce said, ¡°The Hales are ready too. We¡¯re just waiting for your instructions, Lucas!¡± Edmund chimed in, ¡°The Coles are ready too. We will cooperate with the Parkerster!¡± Lucas smiled with satisfaction. As soon as they sat down in the living room of the main vi, a butler in a suit hurriedly walked over and reported, ¡°Mr. Parker, Jonah Fuller, the helmsman of the Fuller family, is here. He said that he has something important to discuss with you!¡± Damon frowned in puzzlement. ¡°Why is he here?¡± Seeing that Lucas and the others didn¡¯t know who Jonah was, Damon exined, ¡°The Fullers are one of the second-tier families in DC. In terms of strength, they¡¯re on par with the Holmes, and they¡¯ve always been at odds with the Holmes. They can be considered enemies. ¡°The Fullers aren¡¯t targeting the Parkers together with the Holmes and the other families, so I didn¡¯t invite them. I¡¯m not sure why Jonah Fuller showed up uninvited.¡± None of the people present were stupid. After hearing Damon¡¯s exnation, they could more or less figure out the reason for Jonah¡¯s visit. Since the Fullers and the Holmes had always been at odds, and the Fullers weren¡¯t hostile to the Parkers, Jonah definitely came to form an alliance with the Parkers. There was a saying that an enemy of an enemy is a friend. Jonah must think so too. ¡°From the way I see it, Mr. Fuller is here to form an alliance with the Parkers,¡± Bruce said with a smile after taking a sip of tea. Edmund snorted, ¡°Jonah Fuller must be dreaming! With Lucas¡¯s support and our families here, who are they to form an alliance with the Parkers? ¡°Jonah Fuller has misjudged the situation. We don¡¯t need the Fullers¡¯ help at all, much less share the uing benefits with them when they¡¯ve popped up from nowhere!¡± It was no wonder that Edmund was displeased. When the Parkers were facing the attacks of the families headed by the Homles, the Fullers didn¡¯t make their stand or express any kindness to them. Now, the Parkers, the Hales, and the Coles had already made their ns to deal with these families. If nothing unexpected happened, they would be able to shear a lot of benefits from these families tonight. Yet the Fullers now wanted a slice of the pie. How could they have it so easy? After giving it some thought, Damon said, ¡°Since Jonah Fuller wants to see me, let him in. Let¡¯s see what he has to say.¡± Then he exined to Lucas, ¡°I¡¯ve been in DC for a while, and I have some understanding of Jonah Fuller. He¡¯s quite capable since he¡¯s led the Fullers to expand from a lowly family to a second-tier family who are now on par with the Holmes. ¡°But I¡¯ve never spoken to him or met him properly, so I¡¯d like to see him in person.¡± Lucas nodded nonchntly. It was just the helmsman of the Fullers. Lucas didn¡¯t take him seriously and simply allowed Damon to handle it on his own. The butler acknowledged and went out. Soon, he returned with a chubby middle-aged man in his forties. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Parker!¡± Jonah greeted with a smile as soon as he entered. He had a round face and looked very kind. In particr, when he smiled, he looked extremely grounded and approachable. He was obviously good at getting along with people, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that he could develop his family to such an extent within a short time. But in the eyes of Damon, Bruce, and Edmund, Jonah¡¯s smile was superficial, looking slightly hypocritical. Without wasting his breath on pleasantries, Damon went straight to the point. ¡°Mr. Fuller, what brings you here today?¡± Jonah smiled. ¡°Mr. Parker, I heard that you invited several families in DC over tonight to discuss cooperation. I may not be on your invitation list, but I¡¯m very interested in cooperating with you. That¡¯s why I showed up uninvited. Please forgive me.¡± His tone was natural and calm, even somewhat self-assured, as if Damon would immediately leap with joy, treat him as a distinguished guest, and eagerly discuss allying between the two families after what he said. But Jonah was destined to be disappointed. After Damon heard what he said, there were no changes on his face at all, and he simply said ¡°Oh¡± without even moving an eyebrow. Jonah didn¡¯t expect Damon¡¯s reaction to be so calm and nonchnt. It waspletely beyond his expectation. He frowned and looked at the others in the living room. They were unfamiliar and shouldn¡¯t be from major families in DC, so he simply ignored them and said to Damon, ¡°Mr. Parker, it¡¯s not that convenient for us to talk with so many people here. I¡¯d like to chat with you alone. What do you say?¡± In other words, he wanted Damon to clear the room for their private conversation. Damon¡¯s face immediately darkened as he said coldly, ¡°They are my close friends and distinguished guests. Regardless of what we talk about, they¡¯re wee to listen. If you have something to say, just go ahead, Mr. Fuller!¡± Jonah was shocked, and he finally realized that the few strangers in the room weren¡¯t ordinary at all. It was simple to tell. They were sitting calmly while Ray and Keh were standing at the side and poured water and tea for them. They didn¡¯t have the qualifications to sit. Ray was actually the helmsman of the Parkers now! What did this signify? It meant that the statuses of the strangers present were either on par with Damon¡¯s or even higher! He had made a misjudgment! Chapter 1283 The Williams Lobbyist 1283 The Williams'' Lobbyist Jonah was extremely surprised and curious about the identities of the strangers here, especially the young man in histe twenties sitting in the middle. But seeing that Damon didn''t intend to introduce them, Jonah was smart enough not to ask. He put away his smiling face and said seriously, "Okay, Mr. Parker, since you''ve said so, I''ll get straight to the point. Actually, I came to the Parkers this time because I inadvertently received some news, and this news is closely rted to the Parkers. It has a huge impact, and it can be said to be rted to the Parkers'' life and death!" If others heard this, they would definitely panic and immediately ask what it was. But Jonah was disappointed again because Damon''s expression was still very calm as he said lightly, "Oh?" Jonah was confused as to why he seemed so nonchnt about it. He had deliberately made the matter sound more serious than it really was, saying that it concerned the life and death of the Parkers. Although he was scaring them, he just wanted to make them attach great importance to his information and ept his help. He didn''t expect Damon to act beyond his expectations and behave as if he wasn''t interested in the news at all. A strange feeling rose in Jonah''s heart. He felt as though he had nothing to rely on and couldn''t figure out what Damon was thinking at all. He had already broached the topic, but Damon refused to continue the conversation and simply assented indifferently, making it difficult for Jonah to reveal the information he had. But at the thought of the purpose of his visit, Jonah could only bite the bullet and reveal the information he had, even though it seemed like a one-man show. "Mr. Parker, you might not be aware, but the Holmes have always been displeased that the Parkers have now be the most powerful family after the eight top families, and they have always wanted to rece you. Furthermore, they have already formed an alliance with six other families to deal with the Parkers together, and they''re nning to attack tonight! "Including the Holmes, seven families have united to attack the Parkers. Mr. Parker, it will be difficult for you to cope with this, right?" While speaking, Jonah carefully observed Damon''s face, wanting to see any changes in his expression after he heard the news. But after he finished speaking, Damon still looked as calm as ever, without the slightest trace of surprise. Instead, he smiled and said, "So?" "So?" Jonah repeated in shock, unable to understand what Damon meant. Was I not clear enough? Why is Damon Parker reacting like that? Why isn''t there any surprise or fear on his face? It''s like he already knows about it. He even looks confident about winning and is very rxed. Jonah couldn''t figure out why Damon had such an expression. Not only Damon, but even Ray and Keh, as well as the three strangers he didn''t know, looked very calm, as if this news wasn''t a big deal. Seeing that Jonah was stunned, Damonughed, leaned back in his seat in a rxed manner, and reminded kindly, "So, you''re telling me that the Holmes and six other families have joined hands to deal with the Parkers. So what? What are you trying to say? Or rather, what do you want? You didn''te all the way here just to tell me this news, right?" Jonah was stunned speechless again. He hade to the Parkers to form an alliance with them against the Holmes, and it would be best if he could greatly weaken his archenemy. But Damon asking him about it with suchposure waspletely different from what he had expected! Jonah thought that once he said the rming news, Damon would definitely lose his cool and be flustered and terrified. Then he could naturally propose forming an alliance with the Parkers to help them resist the Holmes'' alliance. Afterward, he could make a request that they couldn''t reject. Regardless of the oue, he would be able to gain the goodwill and gratitude of the Parkers, as well as countless potential benefits. But given the current situation, Jonah felt that his original n was most likely going to fall through. In any case, he had to reveal the purpose of his visit. Jonah bit the bullet and said, "To be honest with you, Mr. Parker, I came to express goodwill to you. My family is willing to form an alliance with the Parkers so that we can support each other and resist the Holmes'' alliance together. "In addition, I''m here this time to raise a transaction. As long as you agree to it, regardless of how many families the Holmes unite with, they won''t be able to harm your family in the slightest! What do you think, Mr. Parker?" Damon raised his brows and said with some interest, "What kind of transaction?" Jonah said, "Actually, it''s pretty simple, and in fact, it''s a good thing for the Parkers. I might as well tell you the truth straight away. I''ve actually led the Fullers to submit to the Williams, one of the eight top families in DC. Rayson Williams, the helmsman, is very interested in the Parkers'' development, so he sent me to discuss this matter with you. "If you''re willing to submit to the Williams too, the Parkers will naturally receive the protection of the Williams. In that case, regardless of how many families the Holmes unite, they won''t dare to harm the Parkers!" Damon sneered. He didn''t expect Jonah toe here as a lobbyist with the intention of convincing him to submit to the Williams. But how could he possibly agree? 23:42 The Williams were merely one of the eight top families of DC. Directly support the authors on Webnovel! The Parkers were subordinates of Lucas. How could they possibly betray Lucas and pledge allegiance to the Williams? At this point, Damon was no longer interested in what Jonah had to say. Regardless of whether Jonah was talented or not, his act of lobbying him to submit to someone else right in front of Lucas had already crossed Damon''s bottom line. Jonah was caught off guard and quickly asked, "Mr. Parker, what do you mean? Submitting to the "Are you done? If you are, please leave!" Damon said impolitely, his face gloomy. Williams and getting their protection is an absolutely wonderful thing for the Parkers! How else are you going to deal with the Holmes'' alliance? Don''t forget. They''re going to take action against the Parkers tonight!" Damon said sullenly, "It''s none of your business how I''m going to deal with the Holmes'' alliance! If you''re done talking, you can leave now!" Jonah wanted to continue, but Lucas finally broke his silence and suddenly said, "Go back and tell Rayson Williams that he cane in person if he wants the allegiance of the Parkers! Otherwise, he can forget about it!" Chapter 1284 Underestimating Lucas 1284 Underestimating Lucas After being interrupted by Lucas and hearing his hostile tone, Jonah frowned and asked, "Who are you?" Lucas said indifferently, "You don''t need to know who I am. You just need to go back and ry my message to Rayson Williams." His domineering and haughty attitude made Jonah feel displeased. Jonah was the helmsman of a second-tier family in DC after all. He thought that the Fullers weren''t that much inferior to the Parkers, and his status was on par with Damon''s. He saw no reason for Lucas, a young man in his twenties, to be so arrogant and tyrannical in front of him. Moreover, from the moment Jonah entered the Parker residence today, everything was no longer under his control. Not only was the entire process far from what he expected, but the Parkers'' reaction also shocked him. He was about to fail the task that Rayson, helmsman of the Williams, had given him, so he couldn''t help getting anxious and jittery. Jonah stopped smiling and questioned sternly, "Mr. Parker, what do you mean by this? Are you turning down the Williams'' olive branch? Mr. Parker, I respect you as the former helmsman of a prestigious family, and that''s why I kindly came here to inform you of the Williams'' recruitment offer. I''m also here to help the Parkers through your current ordeal, but you''re so ungrateful! "The Parkers have only started developing in DC for a few short months, and you don''t have much of a foundation here at all. If you hadn''t been lucky enough to rece the Walton and take over all their businesses, do you really think you could have be the most powerful family after the eight top families? "To put it bluntly, no family in DC acknowledges the Parkers'' status. You should be aware of this too, Mr. Parker! "Now, the Parkers are facing a catastrophe, and you might bepletely annihted by the Holmes'' alliance. Pledging allegiance to the Williams is the only way you can save your family from destruction! Mr. Parker, you''d better think about what choice you should make! "Also, don''t me me for not reminding you, but if you turn down Mr. Williams'' kind intentions, even I don''t know if he will be furious and displeased with you as a result. Hmph, Mr. Parker, you''d better take care of yourself!" Jonah''s words were full of a threatening tone. Damon sneered. "Get lost!" He shouted at the door, "People, throw Jonah Fuller out!" With Damon''s order, two tall and burly bodyguards immediately entered, grabbed Jonah''s arms without hesitation, and dragged him out like a criminal. "What¡­ what are you doing?! Let go! I am the helmsman of the Fuller family. How dare you treat me like this?! "Damon Parker, how dare you treat me so rudely? I''ll definitely tell Mr. Williams the truth. When the timees, you''d better be ready for your doom! Mr. Williams will never let you off! Ugh¡­" Jonah roared furiously. But before he could finish speaking, he grunted incoherently because the bodyguards had stuffed his mouth with a napkin, forcing him to keep quiet. Even when Jonah was dragged far away from the main vi, Damon still couldn''t suppress his anger and cursed in exasperation, "Damn it! He''s just a peon throwing his weight around by leveraging the Williams'' strength. Who is he to talk so much nonsense in front of Lucas? The Williams are nothing! He''s just a frog in a well!" During this period of time, Damon had gained a great understanding of Lucas. Even a few helmsmen of the eight top families were extremely respectful toward Lucas, and even the head of the Peerless Martial Association couldn''t do anything to Lucas, let alone the mere helmsman of the Williams family. Jonah simply overestimated himself! With Lucas around, the Williams wouldn''t be able to do anything to the Parkers, even though they were one of the eight top families! Bruce had been in Orange County all this while and had only arrived in DC two days ago, so he had no idea what Lucas had done in DC and what his true identity was. Jonah''s threats made Bruce feel extremely worried, and he frowned tightly. "Mr. Parker, the Williams that Jonah Fuller mentioned just now is indeed one of the eight top families of DC, right? If Mr. Williams is really angry and wants to teach us a lesson, won''t it be difficult for us to deal with him even with all of us together?" Bruce asked worriedly while pinching his fingers. Hearing this, Damon said with an ambiguous expression, "Bruce, it seems that you''ve underestimating Lucas." Bruce was astonished, and he frantically exined, "No, no, no, I wouldn''t dare to underestimate Lucas. However, the Williams are one of the eight top families after all, and their strength is unfathomable. If we go against a behemoth like them¡­ I''m worried that we won''t have many odds of winning¡­ "Also, Jonah Fuller said that aside from the Williams, the Holmes have gathered six other powerful families with animosity against the Parkers. With seven strong families against us, I¡­ I''m really worried! But this doesn''t mean that I don''t believe in you, Lucas!" He was so panic-stricken thatrge droplets of sweat were gushing out of his forehead, afraid that Lucas might think he was disrespectful. Lucas understood what Bruce meant andforted with a smile, "Okay, Bruce, don''t worry. With me around, be it the Williams or the Holmes'' alliance, neither of them can do anything to us." Edmund knew Lucas''s true identity in the military and how capable Lucas was. He said with a smile, "Yeah, Bruce, you can rest assured and rx! As long as Lucas is here, no one can harm us. You don''t have to be afraid at all!" Bruce nodded ashamedly. Both Damon and Edmund were confident in Lucas''s ability to win, so he felt ashamed for being worried for nothing. It seemed that he indeedcked understanding of Lucas''s abilities. Or rather, Lucas''s true power was far greater than he thought. When Bruce thought of this, all his worries disappeared before he knew it. The few of them continued to have tea in the living room and chatted for a while. Before long, the butler knocked on the door and walked in again. He reported respectfully, "Mr. Parker, the helmsmen that you invited are here. I have already Only then did Damon realize that it was already 7 p.m., which was the time that they had agreed to meet. Only then did Damon realize that it was already 7 p.m., which was the time that they had agreed to Just as he was about to get up, Lucas suddenly said, "What are you in a hurry for? Let them wait for a Damon smacked his head and guffawed. "Haha, you''re right, Lucas. I''ll just let them wait. I''ll establish while." my dominance and make them flustered before showing up. That''ll do the trick! As expected, you''re far more thoughtful than I am!" Lucas took a sip of tea while smiling quietly. At this moment, a group of people had already gathered in the living room of the other vi. They were the Holmes and the helmsmen of the six families in their alliance, as well as their bodyguards. It was already time, and the helmsmen of the seven families had already arrived, yet the Parkers, the host, had yet to show up even after so long! Chapter 1285 - 1285 Getting Flustered 1285 Getting Flustered ¡°What do the Parkers mean by this? They invited us here, and now that we¡¯ve all arrived, none of the Parkers are here!¡± Norman Holmes, the helmsman of the Holmes, pped the table hard furiously. ¡°That¡¯s right! Not only have the Parkers not appeared, but they¡¯ve only sent a butler to receive us. Isn¡¯t this a little too neglectful?¡± ¡°The Parkers are going overboard! They¡¯re deliberately making us wait here. I bet they don¡¯t intend to cooperate with us, but rather, they want to offend us!¡± ¡°Where are the Parkers? Hurry up and get your helmsman toe out to receive us! Otherwise, don¡¯t me us for tearing this ce down! Do you hear me?¡± ¡­ The helmsmen of the seven families expressed their displeasure with the poor treatment. But no matter what they said, there were only a few servants of the Parkers standing in the corner, and the three people with the highest status in the Parker family never showed up. As time passed minute after minute, the emotions of the people in the living room turned from frustration and anger to bewilderment and anxiety. Logically speaking, the Parkers had taken the initiative to invite them over, so they shouldn¡¯t be offending them. Although these families¡¯ individual strength might be inferior to the Parkers¡¯, there were seven families in total! The seven families had already discussed it beforeing to the Parkers¡¯ manor. They had decided to join forces and attack the Parkers after the banquet ended. At that time, the Parkers would definitely be unable to deal with their joint attack, and their assets would only end up bing the battle spoils to be divided up by the seven families. But the dyed appearance of the Parkers¡¯ helmsman made them feel uneasy. They started wavering about their initial ns and began making all sorts of guesses. ¡°Why do I feel that something is wrong?¡± said one of the helmsmen with a frown. ¡°The Parkers¡¯ helmsman hasn¡¯t shown up even now, and I feel uneasy about it. Are the Parkers hiding a big move and waiting to deal with us? Don¡¯t forget the rumors that the Parkers are not the formidable ones but the mysterious person behind them. Could it be the mysterious big shot who asked us toe here?¡± His words served as a reminder to the other helmsmen present, and they immediately developed terrible thoughts. ¡°Mr. Stone, now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, I remember these rumors too! Also, have you noticed that the Parkers only invited the seven of us? And our families are all in the alliance against the Parkers. This means that the Parkers deliberately invited us here!¡± Another helmsman felt that something was amiss too, and the more he thought about it, the more terrifying he found the situation. ¡°Oh no! The Parkers must have discovered our n long ago, and maybe this banquet today is just a ploy with malicious intentions!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right! There are usually hidden motives behind such banquets! Maybe the Parkers are already prepared to deal with us. That¡¯s why they invited us here so that they can wipe us all out in one fell swoop!¡± another helmsman said nervously. Fear and negative emotions were easily contagious. Once someone felt fear and suspected that there was an ulterior motive behind the banquet, the rest would feel affected and be fearful and uneasy too. The several helmsmen looked out of the window, worried that arge group of people might charge in at any time to annihte them. ¡°Mr. Holmes, I think we¡¯d better leave now!¡± The helmsmen all wanted to retreat and subconsciously looked at Norman. Since they had already decided to join forces and deal with the Parkers after tonight¡¯s banquet, the seven families had arranged their experts in various ces and didn¡¯t bring many people with them to the Parkers¡¯. Each helmsman only had one or two bodyguards, and there were only around twenty people in total. Moreover, they were now on the Parkers¡¯ turf. If the Parkers really attacked them, they would definitely be dead meat, and not a single one would be able to escape! At this moment, Norman looked extremely gloomy too. He had thought that after gathering seven families to form a strong alliance, he would definitely be able to destroy the Parkers easily and divide up all their assets. Then the Holmes could rece the Parkers as the strongest family next to the eight top families. But what was happening now? They had been left waiting in the Parkers¡¯ manor for half an hour, yet the helmsmen of the alliance were all flustered before even meeting any Parker. They even began developing scruples and fear toward the Parkers. This was definitely not what he wanted! ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Norman rebuked with displeasure. ¡°The Parkers are just ying tricks. I don¡¯t believe that they will dare to make us wait an entire night after inviting us here! ¡°Also, don¡¯t forget why we formed our alliance. If you¡¯re so afraid and want to leave over such a trivial matter, you might as well leave the alliance as soon as possible! But you have to think about it carefully. Once you withdraw, you will never get a share of the benefits our alliance gets in the future!¡± After hearing this, the other helmsmen looked at each other with dismay and lowered their heads ashamedly. The Holmes were the leader of the alliance and the strongest family among them, so Norman¡¯s opinions mattered greatly to them. Since they were about to deal with the Parkers soon, who would be willing to leave the alliance at this juncture and let others enjoy the benefits while they became traitors? Not only would they not obtain any benefits, but the others would likely alienate them and retaliate against them? As soon as they thought of this, the helmsmen who were anxious and wanted to leave the Parker residence immediately regained their courage and stopped mentioning anything about leaving. They just wanted to wait for the Parkers toe out quickly. However, after waiting nearly another hour, the Parkers still hadn¡¯t appeared. This wasn¡¯t all. Because the Parkers had invited them over under the pretext of discussing cooperation over dinner, these helmsmen had alle without having dinner. It was already past eight o¡¯clock, and apart from some drinks, the Parkers¡¯ servants didn¡¯t serve them any food. The host hadn¡¯t even shown up, so how could the banquetmence? Thus, the seven helmsmen, who had been living in thep of luxury, as well as their bodyguards, were all starving. Their stomachs were growling, and all they had had was water, so they were obviously in a bad mood. Even Norman couldn¡¯t tolerate it anymore. ¡°What do the Parkers mean by this? If they intend on messing with us, we don¡¯t have to entertain them!¡± Normal suddenly smashed the cup in his hand on the floor and stood up furiously to leave. ¡°Yes! Since the Parkers are so insincere and don¡¯t respect us at all, we don¡¯t have to continue staying here and tolerating their nonsense!¡± The other helmsmen chimed in and rose to stand behind Norman. ¡°Hey, are you leaving?¡± At this moment, a teasing voice came from the door of the living room. Then an elderly man with a white beard and white hair strolled into the living room leisurely while looking at the unhappy crowd with a smile. This elderly man was none other than Damon, the former helmsman of the Parkers whom they had been waiting for for a long time! Chapter 1286 - 1286 Borrowing 1286 Borrowing Damon naturally didn¡¯te alone. Lucas, Bruce, Edmund, and others apanied him into the living room. But under Lucas¡¯s instructions, they didn¡¯t state their identities. In addition, dozens of the Parkers¡¯ experts swarmed in from outside and stood by the entrance of the living room, blocking it firmly. This way, even if the seven helmsmen in the living room wanted to leave, it would be impossible. Seeing this scene, the seven helmsmen had a drastic change in expression. They looked at Damon and the experts in anger and shock. They originally thought that Damon would definitely not dare toy a hand on them and that he had likely invited them here to make peace with them. But they never thought that Damon would make them wait in the empty living room for more than an hour, causing them to be incredibly hungry. Now, he was even more overboard. He got the Parkers¡¯ guards to block the entrance. Did the Parkers want to use force and take action against them? ¡°Mr. Parker, what do you mean by this?¡± Norman questioned Damon furiously. ¡°You¡¯re the one who invited us here today, and we came here on time, but what did you do? You made us wait here for so long, and now you¡¯re putting up such a front. Shouldn¡¯t you give us a reasonable exnation?¡± Damon ignored him and sat on the master seat before inviting Lucas, Bruce, Edmund, and the others to sit down. Then he nced at Norman and said nonchntly, ¡°What exnation do you want, Mr. Holmes?¡± As soon as he said this, Damon was stunned and at aplete loss for words. Damon was making it clear that he had done it on purpose. He wanted to shame them and assert dominance. Now, he didn¡¯t even bother giving an excuse. What exnation could they get from Damon? The truth was right in front of them! Norman was hopping mad, but they were still on the Parkers¡¯ turf. In fact, even their lives were in Damon¡¯s hands. If Damon was insidious and vicious, he might really order his men to kill them all here. The seven helmsmen were aware of this as well. The thing was that Damon¡¯s actions werepletely beyond their expectations, and even they couldn¡¯t predict what he would do next. All of a sudden, everyone felt insecure and didn¡¯t dare to speak. They could only look at Norman, their pir of support. Norman felt extremely aggrieved, but since Damon now had the upper hand, he had no choice but to suppress his anger for now and say, ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll take it that you were busy and not hold it against you. But why did you invite us here?¡± He didn¡¯t want to stay here for another minute longer. Damon couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his breath on exchanging pleasantries with these helmsmen, so he simply said, ¡°I won¡¯t beat around the bush and continue wasting any time here. The matter is simple. I have two close friends who have just arrived in DC and n to develop here too. But they¡¯ve just arrived and don¡¯t have a ce for lodging yet. That¡¯s why I invited you here to borrow some things and somend to use.¡± He leaned back against his chair and said with a rxed expression, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t borrow too much from your families. Just hand over half of your properties and businesses to us, and we can still be friends in the future. How about it?¡± As soon as he said this, the helmsmen in the living room were stunned speechless. They never thought that Damon would be so direct and directly state his purpose. Moreover, he was actually so greedy as to ask for half of their businesses and properties! He really dared to ask for a lion¡¯s share! He said he was borrowing, but the helmsmen weren¡¯t stupid. As soon as they heard what he said, they knew that he wanted them to cede half of their businesses and properties and loan them to him indefinitely! This was tant robbery! All seven helmsmen were boiling with fury! ¡°Damon Parker, you really have a big appetite! You asked for half of our businesses and properties in one go! Who do you think you are?¡± Norman hollered at the top of his voice. ¡°The Parkers are just outsiders who have been in DC for less than half a year. Who knows what methods you used to bring down the Waltons and seize their businesses and status! What right do you have to make us hand over half of our businesses and properties? Do you think the Parkers are top families like the eight top families and the royals?¡± The other helmsmen also roared furiously, ¡°Mr. Holmes is right! What right do you have to snatch our businesses and properties? Who are you to be so arrogant in front of us?¡± ¡°Hah, Damon Parker, I bet you¡¯re getting ahead of yourself just because your family has been enjoying sesstely! You want to snatch our businesses and properties? You need our permission first!¡± ¡°Yes! As long as our families join forces, we will be able to destroy the Parkers, and you won¡¯t be able to act so arrogantly in front of us again!¡± ¡­ The seven helmsmen were livid. They cursed, and some of them even hurled vulgarities. Clearly, they couldn¡¯t ept Damon¡¯s request! The Parkers were the prey that these families wanted to carve up together. Who were the Parkers to do the same to them? Not to mention half of their businesses and properties, they didn¡¯t want to give the Parkers a single cent! With a calm expression on his face, Damon slowly got into his seat. Only after these helmsmen finished speaking did he finally say, ¡°Actually, you¡¯re right. If we hadn¡¯t obtained most of the Waltons¡¯ businesses, it would have been impossible for the Parkers to carve out a career of our own in DC within such a short time. ¡°But please touch your hearts and ask yourselves if your families are stronger than the Waltons. ¡°Those of you who think you¡¯re stronger than the Waltons, why don¡¯t you step forward and let me have a look?¡± Damon smiled and nced at the faces of each and every helmsman one by one. Chapter 1287 - 1287 Two Choices 1287 Two Choices Those whom Damon looked at subconsciously lowered their heads to avoid eye contact with him. Of course, no one dared to step forward to say that his family was stronger than the Waltons in their heyday. The Waltons had been an established family in DC for decades, and they had been one of the eight top families in DC. None of their families was stronger than the Waltons. !! Seeing everyone fall silent, Damon continued, ¡°Think about it. Since I can make the Waltons vanish from DC overnight and take over all their assets, I can also make you people follow in the Waltons¡¯ footsteps. Dealing with you people will definitely be much easier than dealing with the Waltons.¡± ¡°What you¡¯ve said is right. Although the Parkers haven¡¯t reached the status of a top family yet, once we take down your families and take over your assets, who would dare to say that the Parkers can¡¯t remain in the position of the strongest family below the eight top families, if not on par with them?¡± Damon¡¯s eyes were full of unconcealed ambition. He looked at the helmsmen of the seven families in front of him as if they were his prey, like they were seven sheep waiting to be ughtered. The helmsmen shuddered, filled with shock and anger. They were so frightened by what Damon said that they were speechless. Does Damon Parker really n to kill us right here and seize all our assets? How¡­ how dare he?! Even though they didn¡¯t want to believe it, they had no choice but to do so. Damon was right. Back then, the Parkers had reced the Waltons, who were far stronger than them, overnight and even took over all their assets. In that case, what made them think that the Parkers wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to them or that the Parkers wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to them? Damon saw the changes in everyone¡¯s expressions. ¡°To be honest, there isn¡¯t a deep feud between you people and me. I¡¯m not vicious or ruthless, so I don¡¯t want to drive you to a dead end. Therefore, I¡¯ll give you two choices. ¡°The first choice is to hand over half of your family¡¯s businesses and properties and submit to the Parkers. In the future, we can get along well like brothers, and your families will be safe and sound. You might even get some good development opportunities. ¡°And the second choice is to turn down the suggestion I just made. If you still want to go against me as an alliance, then you people are my enemies from now on, and I won¡¯t show you any mercy! I wasn¡¯t just threatening you when I said that I could make you follow in the footsteps of the Waltons. ¡°Think about it carefully before you make your choice! This matter concerns the life and death of your families. I will give you ten minutes to consider. Once the time is up, if you still haven¡¯t made a decision, I will assume that you have chosen the second choice. ¡°Your ten minutes starts now!¡± After Damon finished speaking, the Parkers¡¯ servants, who had long been prepared, carried over an antique clock and ced it in front of the seven helmsmen so that they could clearly see the passing of each minute and each second. ¡°What¡­ what should I do now?¡± Seeing that Damon had even brought an antique clock out, they knew that he wasn¡¯t joking just now. The helmsmen immediately panicked and turned pale. The antique clock stood right in front of them. With each passing second, the long needle moved. Tick! Tock! The sound of time passing was just like a tune of death, making the crowd even more nervous and flustered. Even Norman, who had always thought he was smart, looked incredibly gloomy at this moment. He clenched his fists tightly, unable to hide his panic. Damon¡¯s actions were way beyond their expectations and foiled their initial n. Indeed, the fact that the Parkers had managed to rece the Waltons overnight and take over all their assets proved that the Parkers were definitely not ordinary. But the Parkers weren¡¯t that terrifyingly powerful because many people knew that there was a mysterious big shot supporting them, whose power might even surpass the eight top families of DC. They should have been scrupulous of the Parkers and the mysterious big shot behind them. But none of them had ever met that big shot, so over time, they had started to neglect him and took it that the Parkers had just gotten lucky. After hearing what Damon said, the helmsmen finally discovered how ridiculously wrong they were! Norman subconsciously turned to look at the few people sitting beside Damon. Two of them were about the same age as Damon. They were elderly men in their seventies whom he had never seen before, and they were likely Damon¡¯s friends who had just arrived in DC. The other was an extremely young man who looked to be only in his twenties. What could such a young man be on equal footing with these three old men? Even Damon¡¯s son and grandson were standing behind them respectfully. Norman wondered if one of the three people sitting beside Damon was the mysterious big shot supporting the Parkers. He sized them up with glistening eyes. The other helmsmen didn¡¯t read as much into it as Norman did. They were already flustered and at a loss for what choice to make. It was a matter that concerned the life and death of their families, yet Damon only gave them ten minutes to make a decision. He even forbade them from calling the other important figures of their families to discuss the matter. With the continuous ticking of the clock hands, their anxiousness and pressure made it even harder for them to make up their minds. One of the helmsmen couldn¡¯t endure the suffering. He broke out in cold sweat and grabbed Norman¡¯s arm in distress. ¡°What should I do? How are we supposed to pick? Mr. Holmes, you¡¯ve always had great ideas. Help us think of one now!¡± Norman was now their pir of support! Chapter 1288 - 1288 Pointless Speech 1288 Pointless Speech Norman was furious. He retracted his arm, pushed the helmsman away, and hollered, ¡°Shut up! Stop being so flustered!¡± After calming down, Norman gritted his teeth and glowered at Damon. ¡°Mr. Parker, you¡¯ve crossed the line today! ¡°Why are the Parkers acting like bandits? As soon as we met, you actually said that you wanted half of the businesses and properties of all seven of our families?! This ispletely uneptable. You¡¯ve really disappointed us! ¡°To be honest, after receiving your invitation, the seven of us arrived here on time to discuss cooperating. This alone has already proven our sincerity. ¡°In fact, before we came, we had gathered to discuss our course of action for tonight.¡± Norman paused for a moment and looked at Damon¡¯s reaction before continuing, ¡°Mr. Parker, you¡¯re definitely not a fool. Our families are merely second-tier families in the eyes of behemoths like the eight top families in DC. They can disregard us, bully us, oppress us, and snatch from us as they please. In fact, they can even decide the life and death of a family. They are the greatest threat to our existence! ¡°The seven of us have unanimously agreed to invite the Parkers to join our alliance, which we formed with the purpose of resisting the suppression and plundering of resources by the eight top families of DC. We will go through thick and thin together. Bybining our resources and uniting as one, we will protect all our families. ¡°If the eight top families try to harm any member of the alliance, we will mobilize all our power to resist them together and protect ourselves! ¡°Out of kind intentions and with utmost sincerity, we came to the Parkers to discuss this matter with you, but we didn¡¯t expect you to treat us like this. It makes us utterly disappointed!¡± Norman made a long speech in one go, and he made himself and the other helmsmen sound incredibly righteous and loyal, as if they genuinely wanted to ascend to greater heights together with the Parkers. At the same time, he made Damon sound like a despicable, scheming, and shameless ingrate who not only didn¡¯t reciprocate their kind intentions but even wanted to plunder half of their assets! Those who were unaware of the situation would definitely criticize Damon for his behavior. The other helmsmen were stunned. If they weren¡¯t fully aware of what was actually going on, they would have really thought that Damon was an ungrateful and scheming viin who took their good intentions for granted. In fact, the seven helmsmen had indeed formed an alliance and had even discussed this matter seriously during theirst gathering. But they definitely had no intention of letting the Parkers join them. In their eyes, the Parkers were just sheep waiting for them to ughter sooner orter. How could they possibly let the Parkers join their alliance and protect them? But Norman¡¯s lies weren¡¯t purely nonsense. He had his own purpose for doing so. At the very least, he had to stabilize the Parkers, lower their vignce, and guilt-trip them. He thought that Damon might even change his mindset and hold a proper discussion with them in order to join the alliance. It didn¡¯t matter whether or not their discussion seeded. As long as they could get past the ordeal today and convince Damon to release them, they would have countless ways to destroy the Parkers afterward! They also med themselves for underestimating the Parkers and assuming that Damon wouldn¡¯t take action against them in the Parkers¡¯ manor, causing them to fall into an awkward situation. Damon rested his chin on his hands and smiled while looking calmly at Norman speaking incessantly, seemingly enjoying his performance. After Norman finished speaking and stopped talking, Damon pointed at the clock. ¡°Are you done? Let me remind you that more than seven minutes have passed. You only have two minutes left.¡± The helmsmen immediately felt their hearts sink as they looked at the clock in unison, feeling even more flustered. They originally thought that after hearing Norman¡¯s speech, Damon would be eager to join their alliance regardless of what had happened. But unexpectedly, Damon didn¡¯t react at all, as if he hadn¡¯t heard what he said. They absolutely didn¡¯t believe that the Parkers weren¡¯t interested in joining the alliance! Unable to endure it any longer, Norman asked indignantly, ¡°Mr. Parker, what¡¯s with your reaction? We sincerely want to form friendly ties with the Parkers. Do you want to join our alliance or not? Give us an answer!¡± Damon raised his brows without speaking. He simply looked at the clock in the middle of the living room while tapping his fingers on the table to the rhythm of the ticking of the clock. His answer was self-evident. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to speak with them. He was just waiting for the ten minutes to be up and for the helmsmen to make their choice. Norman was on the verge of losing his mind, and the other helmsmen were distracted and at a loss, just like headless flies. They didn¡¯t expect Damon to be so difficult to deal with and convince. He was so domineering and overbearing that he insisted on making them choose between two choices that were uneptable to them. No matter how reluctant they were, time was still passing minute by minute, second by second. When the long second hand reached the top, Damon suddenly said, ¡°Okay, time¡¯s up. It¡¯s time you tell me your choice now.¡± The seven helmsmen, including Norman, looked extremely sullen and horrified, but none of them said a single thing. ¡°As I¡¯ve said earlier, if you don¡¯t make a choice, I¡¯ll take it that you¡¯ve chosen the second choice, which isplete destruction.¡± Damon stood up domineeringly. As he did, dozens of the Parkers¡¯ experts immediately got into position. They would immediately attack as long as Damon gave the order. The helmsmen immediately turned deathly pale and shuddered in horror. Norman also turned as pale as a sheet as he shouted furiously, ¡°Damon Parker! How dare you?! I¡¯m telling you, our families have already formed an alliance and made the necessary preparations. If you dare toy a hand on us, we will destroy the Parkers tonight!¡± Chapter 1289 Call Them 1289 Call Them Damon narrowed his eyes. "Okay, it seems that we don''t need to discuss any further. Since you''ve chosen death, I''ll get my men to make you die miserablyter!" The other helmsmen were shocked and frantically mored in a panic. "No, we don''t want to die. We¡­ we¡­" After stammering and hesitating for a long time, they still couldn''t bring themselves to say that they chose to hand over half of their assets in exchange for their safety. Norman sneered. "Why are you still hesitating? At most, we''ll fight to the death with the Parkers! With our families united, we can definitely destroy the Parkers! "Damon Parker is just trying to scare us. If he really dares to harm us, he will immediately face the revenge of our alliance. I don''t believe he has the guts toy a hand on us!" Hearing this, the helmsmen seemed perplexed and uncertain. They looked at Damon to see if he was really making things up and trying to scare them. But Damon merely sneered. "You can try and see if I''m just trying to scare you." The more confident he looked, the more nervous the helmsmen were. Could they really give something like this a try? The slightest mistake would end with them really losing their lives! Damon''s actions werepletely illogical and beyond their expectations. If he really ordered for them to be killed, they would have no chance to change their minds. Seeing these helmsmen behaving cowardly and not even daring to say anything, Norman was furious. If everyone reached a consensus to fight against the Parkers, they might be quite confident. But these helmsmen didn''t dare to say anything. What was the use of Norman going forward alone? Seeing that he couldn''t convince these helmsmen, Norman could only turn to look at Damon. "Mr. Parker, you''re the head of a dignified family after all. Aren''t you being too shameless by tricking us intoing here and then surrounding us and threatening us? If you''re still a man, let us go, and we can have a fair fight! "Otherwise, even if we really hand over half of our assets to you, we''ll still be indignant about it and reluctant to pledge allegiance to the Parkers!" Damon suddenly said, "You want a fair fight? Okay, I can fulfill your wishes." "Didn''t you say your alliance has already prepared your forces to deal with the Parkers? I''ll give you a chance then. You can call your people now and call them over. Deploy all your forces. The Parkers will fight you to the end!" Damon''s wordspletely dumbfounded Norman and the other helmsmen. The Parkers were really willing to give up their ns and allow them to call their people over for a fair fight? "Mr. Parker, are you serious? Will you really allow us to call our people here?" one of the helmsmen asked in disbelief. Damon said calmly, "Yes, of course. You can call them now." He extended his hand and gestured for them to go ahead. Only then did they dare to confirm that Damon really allowed them to call their people over. Logically speaking, they should be overjoyed that Damon was giving them such a godsend opportunity and immediately call their people over to eradicate the Parkers to take revenge for what happened today. But for some reason, the helmsmen were hesitating and feeling anxious again after seeing the confident and fearless look on Damon. Although their seven families were just second-tier families in DC, who were far inferior to the eight top families, they had a lot of people. And if they joined forces, even none of the eight top families would be able to withstand them! But the Parkers actually dared to give them the chance to call their people over for a fair fight. Weren''t the Parkers afraid of theirbined forces? At this moment, Damon added, "I can give you half an hour to get your people here. But before doing so, you must think it through carefully. You still have two choices now. You can choose which of your family''s assets to hand over, and you can keep the remaining half. "But once you have chosen to call your people here for a fight, it means that you''ve chosen to stand against the Parkers. When the timees, even if you beg me on your knees after I wipe out your people, I won''t show you any mercy. Understood? "Now, you should think about what you want to do!" Damon smiled mysteriously and stood up to leave the living room with Bruce and the rest! Of course, the experts of the Parkers didn''t leave and were still surrounding the living room. Likewise, no one moved away the clock in the middle of the living room either, leaving it to serve as a reminder to the helmsmen. It had to be said that Damon and the others were behaving arrogantly by taking the initiative to leave. Since these families wanted a chance for a fair fight, Damon allowed them to call their people over. He even gave them sufficient time and space to discuss and call whomever they wanted without interfering. His attitude of a superior figure giving small fries a chance made the seven helmsmen even more nervous. If the Parkers didn''t have enough power and confidence, they wouldn''t have dared to do this! "Everyone, why¡­ why do I feel that something is amiss¡­ The Parkers actually gave us a chance to call our people here, and they aren''t forcing us at all. Does this mean that the Parkers aren''t afraid of us calling our people here at all?" "I think so too! The Parkers have already taken control of us. To put it bluntly, had they threatened us, it would have been much simpler to deal with us. Why would they let go of the upper hand when they''ve already obtained it? I keep feeling that the Parkers are really confident, and I think we might have underestimated the Parkers'' true strength!" "Yes, that might really be the case! I think we''ve underestimated the Parkers! Think about it. The Waltons were so powerful back then, but didn''t the Parkerspletely rece them overnight? I doubt any of the other eight top families can do that, right?" "Is it possible that the Parkers are already stronger than the eight top families of DC? But if that''s the case, why have the Parkers¡­ stayed silent all this time and onlye out now?" someone said in shock. Another helmsman continued, "The Parkers might really have that strength, but they''ve just never revealed it before. There''s always going to be someone better than you. No one can be sure about how much power the Parkers really have, but it has only been a few months since they moved to DC before recing the Waltons. I wouldn''t be surprised if the Parkers join the ranks of the top eight families soon!" All of a sudden, everyone felt that it really made sense, and deep down, they became fearful of the Parkers. It wasn''t that the Parkers weren''t strong enough, but rather, they had been hiding their true power and abilities. Within a few months of arriving in DC, even though they had help, they had already taken down the Waltons, one of the former top eight families who had stood strong for decades. Given time, it wasn''t impossible for the Parkers to be one of the eight top families by their own merit! The Parkers were actually so terrifying! Chapter 1290 Alone 1290 Alone "How about¡­ we hand over half of our assets? Although losing so much is heartwrenching, at least we''ll get to keep our families and lives! And we''ll still have half. Compared to losing everything and having our families destroyed, this isn''t so difficult to ept, right?" a thin and petite helmsman said hesitantly. The other helmsmen immediately resonated with him. Indeed, although losing half of their assets would feel terrible, given how powerful the Parkers were, if the Parkers really wanted to destroy them, it would be hard to say whether or not their families could survive. Wars between families were just that tragic. Seeing the helmsmen wavering and intending to surrender to the Parkers by handing over half of their assets, Norman was exasperated. "Everyone, we had agreed to deal with the Parkers together. What are you doing now? Are you scared? Are you going to hand over half your assets to the Parkers without a fight? You''ve really disappointed me! "To be honest with you, the Holmes will never submit to the Parkers! If you want to surrender to them and give them half of your assets, I won''t stop you. After all, it''s your own choice. "But you should consider it carefully. Anyone who chooses to surrender to the Parkers also chooses to withdraw from our alliance and be an enemy of the alliance! "Once we finish dealing with the Parkers, none of the families who withdraw from the alliance will escape! You have to think this through carefully!" Norman gritted his teeth toward the end, and there was an obvious sense of threat in what he said. The other helmsmen were already extremely hesitant, but now, they were suddenly caught in a dilemma. The Holmes weren''t weak either. For many years, they had been second only to the Waltons. Without the Waltons, they might have be one of the eight top families in DC. Moreover, the Holmes had always been the founder and leader of the alliance, so even if they didn''t obey Norman in everything, they at least valued his opinion greatly. But now that Norman''s opinion was opposite of theirs, and he even said that anyone who submitted to the Parkers would be an enemy of the alliance, who would dare to say anything else? The thin and petite helmsman who suggested that they hand over half of their assets could only say helplessly, "Mr. Holmes, you said you wouldn''t stop us from making our own choices. But now that you''re saying this, what else can we do?" Norman sneered. "Don''t me me for speaking harshly, but we formed our alliance for ourmon benefit. But now that we''re facing such a crisis, the withdrawal of any family will weaken the alliance. To put it more seriously, it''s betraying the alliance! Isn''t this bing our enemy? "I will naturally give it my all for the wellbeing of my allies and share all benefits with the alliance, but I will be merciless to my enemies! "Anyway, you better consider carefully before making a choice! I''ve already made my stand known. I will definitely fight the Parkers to the end!" Then Norman took out his phone to call his people over. The remaining six helmsmen looked at each other in dismay, at a loss for what to do. Of course, they didn''t dare to call people over before making a decision, and they could only discuss the matter anxiously. ¡­ Meanwhile, Damon had returned to the hall of the main vi with Lucas, Bruce, Edmund, and the rest. As soon as he sat down, Bruce immediately gave Damon a thumbs up. "Damon, you were so domineering just now. Even I''m in awe and admiration! Well done!" Edmund guffawed. "Indeed, Bruce really has the demeanor of the helmsman of a prominent family. You shocked and deterred them all without batting an eyelid. Even I was stunned, let alone those people. No wonder they were so frightened. Haha!" Damon smiled. "Hey, stop teasing me. I was just putting on a front because Lucas is here. His presence is why I had the confidence to say those things without worry. Actually, it''s all thanks to Lucas!" He wasn''t pretending to be modest, but rather, he was stating facts. Damon knew exactly how capable the Parkers really were and how they could achieve such great progress within just a few months. Without Lucas, the Parkers wouldn''t even be a third-tier family in DC, and they wouldn''t have been able to afford to offend any of the seven families in the living room, let alone threaten them calmly and force them to hand over half of their assets. Without Lucas''s permission, Damon would have never dared to let those helmsman call their people over for a duel. So he didn''t dare to take credit and smiled at Lucas respectfully. Lucas looked at Damon with approval. "Damon, you don''t have to be so humble. You performed well tonight, and it wasn''t entirely thanks to me." His presence was indeed a deterrence, but Damon''s control of the rhythm and speech techniques just now were verymendable. He slowly grasped the rhythm step by step and exerted psychological pressure on those helmsmen, causing them to be shaken and waver. Damon''s performance just now was indeed very eye-catching. After a few more praises and humble remarks, Bruce said, "What do you think those helmsmen will choose?" Edmund said, "I bet Norman Holmes won''tpromise, but the other six helmsmen are clearly wavering and no longer dare to go against the Parkers. They will probably choose the first choice." ¡­ Indeed, just as Edmund said, the atmosphere in the living room of the other vi wasn''t great. After discussing and deliberating intensely for a long time, a helmsman finally said, "I''m sorry, Mr. Holmes, but I''ve decided to withdraw from the alliance!" Norman''s face immediately stiffened, and he said furiously, "Mr. Kaye, are you really going to submit to the Parkers? You should know what that means, right?" Kaye said firmly, "I know, but I won''t risk losing my family''s business empire and lives. I''ve decided to hand over half of my family''s assets to the Parkers. At least, I''ll get to keep the remaining half!" Norman''s face was extremely gloomy, and just as he was about to threaten him, he heard another helmsman say, "I''m also withdrawing from the alliance and choosing to hand over half of my family''s assets!" "Me too! For the sake of protecting my family, this is the only correct choice!" "I''m alsopromising to the Parkers. I''m sorry, Mr. Holmes!" ¡­ All of a sudden, the other six helmsmen actually made the same choice one after another. They chose to hand over half of their assets and surrender to the Parkers. They had also chosen to withdraw from the alliance. Now, the Holmes were the only family left in the alliance, and it was basically disbanded! The six helmsmen chose to stand together, leaving Norman alone on his own. It was extremely ironic. Chapter 1291 - 1291 Complications 1291 Complications At this moment, Norman¡¯s expression was utterly gloomy. Just a few minutes ago, he had threatened the helmsmen who left the alliance that they would be the alliance¡¯s enemies. But in the blink of an eye, Norman was the only one left in the alliance, as all the other members had betrayed him. There was no room for revenge at all. What he said had be aplete joke! Norman wasn¡¯t afraid of the Parkers previously, and he still wanted to fight against them because he had the support of the seven families of the alliance. He thought that as long as they united, they didn¡¯t need to be afraid of the Parkers, regardless of what trump cards they had. But he never thought that the other six helmsmen would be so cowardly that they didn¡¯t even dare to fight against the Parkers. Now that he was the only one left, what could he do to fight against the Parkers? If the Holmes were really that capable and confident, there would have been no need to form an alliance and share the benefits. They would have long swallowed up the Parkers by themselves! Norman was hopping mad! ¡°You¡­ you have really disappointed me! So much for being the helmsmen of major families. You have no confidence or vigor at all!¡± Norman hollered furiously. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell that Damon Parker is deliberately pretending on airs to deceive you? ¡°Once you¡¯ve chosen to submit and hand over half of your family¡¯s properties, the Parkers will be able to soar to greater heights and might even truly be one of the eight top families! When the timees, it¡¯ll be even harder for us to deal with the Parkers! ¡°At that time, your families will be reduced to third-tier and fourth-tier families after losing half of your properties. Do you know that when that happens, the Parkers will be able to kill you easily? ¡°As long as you¡¯re a little bolder, and our families unite, we don¡¯t have to be afraid of the Parkers at all. But you havepletely given up a great opportunity and let yourselves go down the doldrums. You¡¯re giving away your assets and opportunities to the Parkers! You¡¯re really going to be the death of me!¡± Norman was furious, and he really wanted to beat up these ignorant helmsmen. He wanted to open up their heads and see what was going on with their brains! The other helmsmen turned pale, but they didn¡¯t intend to change their decision. ¡°Mr. Holmes, you don¡¯t have to say anymore. We have already made up our minds!¡± Kaye said. ¡°You may think that the Parkers are just pretending and putting on a front, but I don¡¯t think so! Previously, the Parkers had clearly already obtained a great opportunity to trap us here. Be it through threatening and extorting us or scaring us into giving up our assets, the Parkers had multiple ways to take away countless things from us. ¡°But they didn¡¯t do so and instead even allowed us to call our people here. Do you think the Parkers would make this decision without enough confidence? Mr. Holmes, you put yourself in the shoes of the Parkers. Would you have given up the advantages you¡¯ve already obtained and risk getting besieged and destroyed by letting us call our people over for a fair fight?¡± ¡°Maybe that¡¯s all part of his act to trick us into pledging allegiance? It¡¯s just like a bet, isn¡¯t it?¡± Norman was so furious that he was speechless. If it were him, he definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to do what Damon had done. In his opinion, a fair fight was definitely out of the question. He would stop at nothing for the sake of victory! Seeing Norman¡¯s reaction, Kaye said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Mr. Holmes, even you wouldn¡¯t dare to take such a huge risk, would you? So what makes you think that the Parkers are just putting on an act to intimidate us?¡± The other helmsmen chimed in, ¡°You¡¯re right, Mr. Kaye. The Parkers are fearless, and they even managed to make the Waltons vanish from DC overnight. We¡¯re no match for them at all!¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re not as ambitious as you are, Mr. Holmes. You¡¯re bent on recing the Waltons, but we just want to protect our families!¡± ¡°Yes, if we really be the Parkers¡¯ enemies, we will be following in the Waltons¡¯ footsteps. We don¡¯t want that, so we hope to seek your understanding, Mr. Holmes!¡± ¡°Mr. Holmes, if you really insist on bing enemies with the Parkers, we won¡¯t stop you, but please don¡¯t force us to do the same as you!¡± ¡­ After hearing what these helmsmen said, Norman was so angry that he almost couldn¡¯t breathe and vomited blood. ¡°You¡­ That¡¯s not what you said when I proposed attacking the Parkers before. You were so eager to take them down and divvy up their assets. Yet you cowards backed out at the critical moment. Hah!¡± Norman¡¯s mocking tone made the other helmsmen turn red with embarrassment. But it wasn¡¯t their fault because they didn¡¯t know that the Parkers were so powerful before this! Damon¡¯s earlier performance had utterly destroyed their greed. Suddenly, there was an uproar outside the vi. Amid the mor, dozens of cars bulldozed their way straight into the Parkers¡¯ manor, causing the security guards to scream in horror while dodging, almost killing a few people in the process. The ck cars pulled over in front of the Parkers¡¯ main vi, and their wheels left a chaotic mess all over the beautifully decorated and pruned garden. As soon as the cars stopped, four burly men came out of each car. Soon, there were nearly 200 people standing in front of the Parkers¡¯ main vi with menacing expressions on their faces. They were obviously not to be trifled with! The seven helmsmen were all shocked to see the changes outside the window. They clearly came with hostile intentions toward the Parkers! ¡°Mr. Holmes, are¡­ are these the people you called? They arrived so soon?¡± one of the helmsmen said in astonishment. Among them, only Norman had called his people toe over. The others didn¡¯t make any calls because they didn¡¯t n on bing enemies with the Parkers. Norman carefully sized up the people and cars outside the window and shook his head. ¡°No, those are not my people. ¡°Look, those cars are all Audi A8s, and there are at least forty of them. This is definitely the doing of a major family! Furthermore, those people don¡¯t look like ordinary experts either. I reckon this is the doing of one of the eight top families!¡± Norman¡¯s words left the helmsmen dumbfounded. ¡°What? This is the doing of one of the eight top families in DC? Could the Parkers have offended one of them, so they¡¯re here to settle the score?¡± Chapter 1292 Forcing Them to Stand in Line Chapter 1292 Forcing Them to Stand in Line The surrounding helmsmen were staring closely at the scene outside the window, for fear of missing something. "Hey, that man is Jonah Fuller, helmsman of the Fullers!" one of the helmsmen eximed in surprise while pointing at the car in front of him. Everyone looked over and saw Jonah Fuller stepping out of one of the cars. But immediately afterward, Jonah walked respectfully to another car and weed an elderly man in his sixties. "That¡­ that''s Rayson Williams, helmsman of the Williams!" The eagle-eyed Norman quickly recognized the elderly man at a nce and was astonished. All of a sudden, everyone eximed in shock, "It really is Mr. Williams! He''s actually here too. Could the Williams have decided to attack the Parkers?" "Did the Parkers offend the Williams?" Norman smirked, almost unable to restrain his joy. Hahaha, God is on my side! He had already be a loner after the six other families chose to submit to the Parkers while he was the only one who refused to. But the Holmes alone wouldn''t be a match for the Parkers, so Norman had been at aplete loss for what to do. He never expected the Williams to show up at this moment and likely with the purpose of attacking the Parkers. It was simply wonderful! The Williams were truly one of the eight top families of DC, and their status was unquestionable. Norman was certain that the Parkers wouldn''t be able to do anything once the Williams took action! He thought that their pretense would be broken in the face of the Williams! One of the helmsmen smiled awkwardly and said to Norman, "Uh, it seems you truly have foresight, Mr. Holmes! We really shouldn''t have surrendered to the Parkers. I made a mistake just now. I''m sorry, Mr. Holmes!" The other helmsmen hurriedly said, "Yeah, Mr. Holmes, you are indeed wise! We should deal with the Parkers together. We were blinded by their act and said some things we shouldn''t have. Please don''t mind us!" "Yes, our seven families formed an alliance for the sake of ourmon benefit. How can we dissolve it easily? We must continue developing our alliance in the future. The Parkers are nothingpared to our alliance!" ¡­ These helmsmen were just like chameleons. Previously, they were all determined to leave the alliance and pledge allegiance to the Parkers. Now that they saw the Parkers in trouble, they immediately changed their attitudes and ttered Norman again. They really changed incredibly quickly. Norman was extremely disdainful of these fence-sitting chameleons, but he didn''t hold it against them. As long as they knew their mistakes and obeyed him from now on so that he could firmly take control of the alliance and strengthen it continuously, it was enough. The sudden intrusion of the cars caused chaos to break out in the Parker residence. Dozens of people from the Parkers rushed over to maintain order, but the 200-odd people Rayson brought soon stopped them. Only then did Norman hurry out with the other helmsmen. They went up to Rayson and greeted him deferentially. "Wee, Mr. Williams!" Rayson nced at Norman with contempt and didn''t even make eye contact with him. "Norman Holmes, I heard that you people came here to discuss cooperating with the Parkers and that you''re even nning to deal with the eight top families of DC." Norman was taken aback and frantically exined, "No, no, no, how could we possibly dare?! To be honest, we were deceived by the despicable Parkers intoing here. After we arrived, they held us hostage, and who knows what would have happened to us if you hadn''t arrived, Mr. Williams!" Of course, he couldn''t reveal the original intention of the alliance, which was to resist the oppression of the eight top families in addition to dealing with the Parkers. Rayson sneered. It was unclear if he believed Norman''s words, but he suddenly said, "I don''t care what you''re thinking. Now, I want all of you to pledge allegiance to the Williams and give us half of your annual revenue every year! "Otherwise, I''ll take it that you''re in cahoots with the Parkers, and none of you will live past tonight!" "What?!" Norman and the other six helmsmen were all shocked and wished they could die right on the spot after processing what William meant. How unlucky of them! First, the Parkers threatened them into handing over half of their businesses and properties or be annihted. Now, they regarded the Williams as their savior and rushed over to suck up Rayson in hopes that the Williams would save them. But just like the Parkers, Rayson demanded that they hand over half of their annual revenue each year or vanish from DC. How¡­ how were they supposed to choose? Was this ending what their seven families were destined to face today? Jonah appreciated the looks of dismay on the helmsmen''s faces and said with a grin, "You people better make up your mind soon! It''ll be toote to decide after the Williams destroy the Parkers! "I suggest you stop hesitating. It''s your blessing that you''ve gotten the chance to pledge allegiance to the Williams. It''s a blessing that other families can''t even ask for. Don''t be ignorant!" Some of the helmsmen thought indignantly, You''re just sugar-coating it! Blessing? My foot. Who wants such a blessing? Before the helmsmen finished criticizing, Jonah added, "To tell you the truth, the Fullers have already pledged allegiance to the Williams, and we are officially affiliated with them. If you do the same, we can be brothers." What Jonah said shocked the seven displeased helmsmen. The Fullers and the Holmes had always been at odds with each other and had had countless conflicts. But this was because their families were evenly matched. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to have maintained such a bnce. The Fullers were far stronger than the six other families. But even the Fullers had submitted to the Williams, so why should they continue struggling? Surrendering to the Parkers would require them to hand over half of their businesses and properties. Likewise, pledging allegiance to the Williams would require them to hand over half of their annual revenue. In short, the losses they had to suffer were about the same regardless of which choice they made. As long as they didn''t want to be wiped out, they would have to ept this oue. underestimated. Meanwhile, the Parkers were hiding their power and were supported by a But the Williams were one of the eight top families of DC, and their power was not to be mysterious big shot. Parkers! They were caught in a dilemma about which family to pledge allegiance to, the Williams or the Once they made the wrong choice, they would definitely face crazy retaliation from the other family! All of a sudden, the helmsmen were distraught, wishing they could just die! At this moment, Damon''s voice faintly came from the side. "Mr. Williams, you brought so many people to my ce and crushed all the flowers and nts in my garden. Don''t you think you owe me an exnation?" Chapter 1293 Mr. Gray Arrives Chapter 1293 Mr. Gray Arrives Rayson looked at Damon, his eyes glimmering slightly. He was the helmsman of the Williams, one of the eight top families of DC. Previously, regardless of where he went, he would be the subject of respect and ttery of countless people. Those he confronted would all be shocked and overwhelmed with fear, causing them to turn pale, tremble, and be speechless. Damon was different from others. Despite seeing that Rayson hade to seek trouble with him, he actually remained calm andposed. He even had a peculiar smile on his face, which showed that there was really something amiss. Could the Parkers really have something to rely on? This thought shed in Rayson''s mind for a fleeting moment before immediately vanishing. Hah, so what if he has a powerful backer? They''re nothing to the Williams! Jonah strode forward, smiled smugly at Damon, and said haughtily, "Damon Parker, weren''t you very disrespectful and sharp-tongued when you spoke of Mr. Williams previously? I was kind enough toe here and ry Mr. Williams'' intentions for you to submit to the Williams, yet you were so rude as to say that Mr. Williams shoulde here himself. You didn''t take the Williams seriously at all. You even said that you wouldn''t be scared even if the Williams showed up in front of you. Now that Mr. Williams is here, do you still dare to say those things to his face?" Hearing this, Damon immediately frowned. Indeed, he didn''t n to submit to the Williams. At the time, Lucas had merely said that Rayson shoulde in person if he wanted them to surrender to the Williams. Things weren''t as bad as Jonah made them out to be. Clearly, Jonah was deliberately sowing discord between the Parkers and Rayson Williams. But now that Rayson had already barged into the Parker residence with so many subordinates with ill intentions, Damon obviously wouldn''t exin the truth to Rayson. Damon ignored Jonah and just looked at Rayson coldly. "Mr. Williams, Mr. Gray is extremely displeased about you barging into my home with your people. He wants me to ry a message to you. "If you immediately get lost from the Parkers'' with all your people, he can let you off and not hold it against you. Otherwise, there''s no need for the Williams to continue existing!" As soon as he said this, everyone was thunderstruck. Is Damon Parker out of his mind? He actually told Rayson Williams to get lost, or else his family would vanish from DC forever? What kind of a joke is that? Or is Damon Parker crazy? After processing what Damon said, Jonah burst intoughter. "Damon Parker, it seems you''re really senile and muddled. Do you know what you''re saying? How dare you say such things to Mr. Williams?! Do you know that with just one order, Mr. Williams can turn your family into history and make them vanish forever?" The others helmsmen also looked at Damon like he was a madman. In their opinion, as long as someone wasn''t mentally ill, no one would dare to say such things in front of Rayson unless they had a death wish! Norman smiled contemptuously. But after thinking about it carefully, he suddenly noticed that there was something amiss with what Damon said! Damon had mentioned that a certain Mr. Gray was displeased and that he hade to ry a message from Mr. Gray. In that case, who exactly was Mr. Gray? Could he be the mysterious big shot behind the Parkers? "Mr. Parker, who is Mr. Gray?" Norman hurriedly asked, ignoring everything else. Jonah sneered and said mockingly, "Who knows which idiot that Mr. Gray is? Damon Parker, since you make it sound like Mr. Gray is so amazing, get him toe out and say those words in front of Mr. Williams if you dare!" "Shut up!" Jonah didn''t expect to be pped hard on the face as soon as he finished speaking. The person who pped him wasn''t Damon but Rayson, who was standing next to him! This p immediately caused everyone to freeze in shock and unable to react for a long time. What was going on? Jonah was clearly speaking for Rayson, and he was even Rayson''s subordinate, so why did he get pped? Jonah covered his burning and stinging face while looking at Rayson in bewilderment, not knowing which of his remarks had angered him. "Mr¡­ Mr. Williams, I¡­" "How dare you insult Mr. Gray? You must be courting death! It''s fine if you want to court death. Just stay far away from me, and I won''t stop you, but you don''t get me involved! "Mr. Gray isn''t someone an idiot like you can insult!" Before Jonah could speak, Rayson pped his face again and even kicked him hard. Everyone was even more shocked. Who exactly was Mr. Gray? Judging from how flustered Rayson was, as if he was afraid that Jonah had offended Mr. Gray, it seemed that Mr. Gray must be extremely terrifying and far more powerful than Rayson, the helmsman of one of the eight top families! Just as everyone was still recovering from the shock, a calm and indifferent voice suddenly asked, "Did I hear someone asking me toe out?" With this voice, a tall man appeared next to Damon. Everyone immediately looked up and saw a young man in his twenties standing there calmly. This young man was no stranger to the helmsmen. He was the mysterious young man who had been sitting next to Damon in the living room earlier. Was this man the Mr. Gray who made Rayson afraid? Just as everyone was thinking about it, Rayson shuddered, hurried over to Lucas, and said nervously, "Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, what are you doing here?" After hearing Damon mention a certain ''Mr. Gray'', he had already had an ominous feeling. Now that he saw Lucas standing next to Damon, this feeling intensified. Don''t tell me it''s what I''m thinking¡­ Otherwise, he would offend Lucas severely again! After Jonah saw Rayson''s behavior, his body suddenly swayed, and a deep sense of fear suddenly surged within him. Lucas was a figure whom even Rayson feared and respected, yet he had just said such insulting things about him¡­ Oh no! What have I done!?! All of a sudden, Jonah wished he could pass out. He was now full of regret, wishing he could turn back time to a minute ago and rip his foul mouth apart! Chapter 1294 - 1294 Lend Them to Me 1294 Lend Them to Me The Waltons had been destroyed and reced by the Parkers overnight. Since then, there were many rumors going around about a formidable big shot behind the Parkers, who had supported them in getting rid of the Waltons so quickly. But no one had seen this mysterious big shot with their own eyes after all, so many people gradually stopped believing that this person really existed. However, now, even the helmsman of the Williams was behaving so respectfully to Lucas. Moreover, Lucas was clearly close to the Parkers. When Jonah hade to persuade the Parkers to surrender, he had seen Lucas in the master seat. Altogether, these clues pointed to a single fact?¡ªthe mysterious big shot behind the Parkers did exist, and he was Lucas! When Jonah thought about how he had just insulted Lucas, his legs went limp, and he almost knelt on the floor. He wasn¡¯t the only one. The helmsmen of the seven families were all dumbfounded and unable to believe the scene in front of them. But Rayson was still standing in front of Lucas subserviently with his head hung low and his face covered in cold sweat, for fear that Lucas would me him. They had no choice but to believe the scene in front of them. Lucas looked at Rayson, who was bowing in front of him, not daring to raise his head, and said coldly, ¡°Mr. Williams, you¡¯re really bold now, huh? Why did you bring so many people to the Parkers? Do you want to destroy them?¡± Rayson shuddered in fright and said in a flustered manner, ¡°No, how would I dare? This is a misunderstanding! If I had known about your rtionship with the Parkers, I would have never dared to confront them!¡± Then Rayson turned around and pped Jonah¡¯s face again. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, bastard! How dare you spout nonsense in front of me? See how I¡¯ll deal with you!¡± Immediately afterward, he turned to the 200-odd experts he had brought and shouted, ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get lost! Don¡¯t offend them!¡± Rayson was really full of regret. He had met Lucas several times before, but every single time they met, nothing good had happened. The first time they met was in the Howard residence. Back then, the Piers had instigated Rayson into causing trouble for the Howards and trying to obtain arge amount of their assets after their former helmsman had just passed away and the position of Florence, the new helmsman, had yet to be stabilized. In the end, not only did he fail to get any benefits, but he had even lost around 20 of the Williams¡¯ elite experts he had brought with him. All of them had been detained by Lucas and converted into the Howards¡¯ manpower. During their three subsequent meetings, Rayson offended Lucas every single time he met him, and these encounters ended with him kneeling in apology. It made Rayson feel incredibly aggrieved and ufortable. This time, he even brought so many people with him. He was really worried that Lucas might detain them in a fit of anger. The losses would be too great! Thus, he wanted his people to leave the Parker residence as soon as possible. First, it was to calm Lucas down, and second, it was to make them leave before Lucas got any ideas. But it seemed that what he dreaded the most was going to happen. Just as the 200-odd people were about to leave, Lucas suddenly said, ¡°Wait!¡± Rayson¡¯s heart tensed up, and he quickly asked, ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, do you have any instructions?¡± Lucas took a deep look at Rayson, seemingly seeing through all his thoughts, and smiled. ¡°Mr. Williams, since you¡¯ve brought so many people here, you can¡¯t let them make a wasted trip, right? Leave them behind. I¡¯d like to borrow them for a while.¡± Rayson¡¯s heart throbbed painfully, and he almost burst into tears on the spot. Indeed, what he had dreaded happened. Sure enough, Lucas had set his sights on his subordinates! He had only brought over 200-odd people, but they were all elites of the Williams, whom they had painstakingly trained! Lucas borrowing these people from him was no different from daylight robbery. If Lucas didn¡¯t say anything, how would he dare to ask for them back? All of a sudden, Rayson felt pain all over his body. ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s my fault for what happened today! I shouldn¡¯t have brought my subordinates here to cause trouble for the Parkers. Please be magnanimous and let me off. I will never dare to do it again!¡± Rayson said bitterly, filled with regret. Lucas sneered. ¡°I¡¯m just borrowing a few people from you. What¡¯s wrong? Are you unwilling?¡± Rayson¡¯s body instantly stiffened, and he was at a loss for words. The helmsmen had heard their conversation and seen their actions. They almost couldn¡¯t believe their eyes and ears. Was this man apologizing humbly really Rayson Williams, the lofty and noble helmsman of the Williams family? They werepletely bbergasted, wondering to themselves if they were dreaming. When Rayson saw Lucas frown, his heart tensed up. It seemed that if he didn¡¯t give up his subordinates, he really wouldn¡¯t be able to leave in one piece today! ¡°Mr. Gray, it¡¯s my honor that you want to borrow my subordinates. May I ask how many of them you¡¯d like to borrow?¡± Rayson said insincerely against his will, feeling incredibly distressed. Lucasughed and nced at the people behind Rayson. In the military, he had risen through the ranks from a junior soldier to a suprememander. He could easily tell at a nce how many people there were. There were a total of 218 people. ¡°I don¡¯t need all 218 people you¡¯ve brought. Just lend me 150 of them. I¡¯ll return them to you once I¡¯m done,¡± Lucas said lightly. Rayson was startled by how Lucas could tell how many people he had brought after taking just one nce. How sharp-eyed. After hearing the number of people Lucas wanted, Rayson felt relieved. He had already nned for the worst and thought that Lucas would detain all of them. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas to ask for only 150 of them, leaving 68 behind for him. He felt much better to be able to keep a third of his subordinates. ¡°Okay, Mr. Gray. Since you¡¯ve given me this honor, I¡¯ll lend 150 people to you!¡± Rayson agreed, finding Lucas a little more amiable than usual. So he couldn¡¯t help bing more courageous and asked boldly, ¡°Mr. Gray, how long will you need them, and what are you going to do with them?¡± Lucas nced at him with a mirthless smile. ¡°Rayson Williams, you¡¯re the helmsman of one of the eight top families of DC. Is there a need for you to be so stingy? I¡¯m only borrowing 150 people from you. Why are you asking so many questions? Are you afraid that I won¡¯t return them to you? Or are you simply unwilling to lend them to me? ¡°If you really don¡¯t want to lend them to me, just say so. I won¡¯t force you against your wishes. Why do you have to act so stingy?¡± Chapter 1295 Finally Surrendering Chapter 1295 Finally Surrendering Rayson immediately turned as red as a tomato, overwhelmed with embarrassment. He was clearly the dignified helmsman of the Williams, yet he was being forced to hand over 150 subordinates to Lucas, who in turn called him stingy in front of so many people. But he didn''t dare to retort at all. He was really aggrieved! Indeed, he would suffer a huge loss every single time he saw Lucas! Rayson med himself for stupidly asking those questions. He frantically shook his head and said, "No, of course I''m willing! I''m more than willing! I-I''m just worried that 150 of them might not be enough for you, Mr. Gray." Lucas smiled teasingly. "Oh, is that so? If I say they''re not enough, will you lend me more people?" Hearing this, Rayson was so chagrined that he wanted to knock his head against the wall for spouting nonsense in order to tter Lucas. He didn''t have any extra people to lend Lucas. Even if he did, he couldn''t just give them away to him like this! "Ahem, Mr. Gray, I¡­ I don''t have that many people here. Apart from the necessary experts that my family needs, the ones I brought today are all the elites of the Williams. I''m lending almost all of them to you, and even if I want to lend you more, I''m helpless to do so," Rayson said with dismay. "Okay, enough. I know you''re stingy. You''re making it sound as if I''m snatching your people! Okay, I don''t need you here anymore. Hurry up and get lost. Just leave those 150 people behind!" Lucas waved his hand impatiently before adding, "Oh, by the way, your cars made a mess in the Parkers'' manor and injured many people. Remember topensate the Parkers for their losses, and don''t be so stingy about it." Rayson endured the urge to vomit blood. He quickly ordered 150 people to stay here and instructed them to obey Lucas''s orders. Then he transferred 25 million dors to Damon aspensation before leaving with the remaining dozens of people at a speed much quicker than they arrived. "Uh, Mr. Gray, Mr. Parker, I''ll get going too!" Jonah looked at the situation in front of him in a trance. After Rayson left, he quickly wanted to chase after him. He had just offended Lucas and the Parkers. Of course he had to flee now, lest they settle scores with him. "Stop! Did I say that you could leave?" Lucas''s indifferent voice suddenly rang in Jonah''s ears. Jonah''s heart sank, and his legs went limp. Unable to maintain his bnce, he fell straight to the floor. It''s over. Lucas Gray is really going to settle scores with me! "Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, I''m really sorry. I wasn''t aware of your identity, so I offended you. Please forgive me! Also, I¡­ only came here to ry a message. Other matters have nothing to do with me!" Jonah begged on his knees, shaking in fright. But Lucas ignored him and nced at the seven helmsmen of the alliance. "Earlier, Mr. Parker gave you half an hour to consider the choices of handing over half of your properties and submitting to the Parkers or fighting them to the end. Half an hour is almost up. You should have made a choice, right?" Lucas''s indifferent eyes swept over these people one by one. The seven helmsmen felt extremely bitter. Within just ten short minutes, they had been on an emotional rollercoaster and almost suffered heart attacks. They had thought that with Rayson''s arrival, the Parkers would definitely be annihted. So they had changed their minds about surrendering to the Parkers and instead wanted to pledge allegiance to Rayson to develop their families. But now, even Rayson, the mighty helmsman of the Williams, had been so deferential and subservient to Lucas. He hade in high spirits but had left in despair. He had even left arge number of subordinates here to be at Lucas''s disposal. What could weaker families like theirs do? Lucas was a big shot whom even the Williams didn''t dare to offend. Even if they joined forces, they wouldn''t be a match for him! There was no way they couldpete with such a terrifying figure! "Mr. Gray, I''ve already considered it carefully. I''m willing to hand over half of my family''s businesses and properties and submit to the Parkers!" Kaye was the first to step forward. He got down on one knee in front of Lucas and Damon and lowered his head. "The Cruises are willing to hand over half of the family''s businesses and properties and submit to the Parkers!" "The Westwoods are willing to hand over half of the family''s businesses and properties and submit to the Parkers!" ¡­ All of a sudden, apart from Norman, the six other helmsmen walked over to Lucas and Damon, knelt on one knee, and pledged allegiance to them. In this way, Norman, who was still standing still on the spot, was the odd one out. Lucas ignored Norman and said to the six helmsmen, "Congrattions for making a wise choice. First thing tomorrow morning, bring your family''s asset evaluation reports and financial staff to the Stardust Corporation''s headquarters. Look for the general manager, Flynn Davis, to go through the asset transfer procedures. Mr. Flynn will tell you the details. "But I have to warn you. You''d better not hide any of your assets or deceive us. If I find out that someone tries to get up to any tricks, don''t me me for being impolite." Hearing this, the six helmsmen broke out in cold sweat and repeatedly dered that they would never dare. "Okay, you can leave now." After finally hearing these words from Lucas, the six helmsmen thanked him as though he had spared them from death and hurriedly left with their people. Everything tonight was like a nightmare to them, and there were still many things they had to do. How to exin to their families, processing the asset transfers, etc. were all extremely important matters that they couldn''t dy. Even after the other helmsmen left, Norman didn''t move for a long time before finally realizing that he was now alone and without support. Now, there were only two choices for him. One, submit to the Parkers as the other helmsmen did, or two, wait for the Holmes to be wiped out. Norman finally gritted his teeth and said, "The¡­ the Holmes are willing to hand over half of the family''s businesses and properties and submit to the Parkers!" But the moment he said this, an ear-piercing roar sounded again outside the manor, and more than ten Mercedes-Benz cars charged over toward them in the same manner that Rayson and his people had. The car doors opened, and around 60 burly men with weapons dashed out. The leader immediately saw Norman standing in front. He walked over to him and said like he was asking for credit, "Mr. Holmes, I rushed over with my people as soon as I received your call. We''re ready to teach the Parkers a lesson at any time! Please give us your instructions!" Norman became dizzy from the blood rushing to his head. You idiot! Why did you rush over at this time?! You deserve to die! Chapter 1296 Sending Sheep into a Lions Den Chapter 1296 Sending Sheep into a Lion''s Den Seeing Lucas looking over with a mirthless smile, Norman was so furious that he pped the guard who spoke. "Damn it. Teach him a lesson? Instructions, my ass! You idiot, who said we were going to deal with the Parkers?" After giving the man''s face a hard p, Norman immediately hollered, "Get lost right now! And take these people with you!" Norman was honestly scared at this point. Earlier, Rayson had brought so many people here, but Lucas had detained 150 of them for his own use. This just went to show that Lucas was short of manpower and would take anyone who came his way. Now that he had called a lot of people here, it was akin to sending sheep into a lion''s den. So he thought it was better to get his silly subordinates to leave the Parker residence as soon as possible! The leading guard was still trying to im credit from Norman, but the harsh p and scolding left him dumbfounded. But he wasn''t really stupid. Hearing Norman instruct him to leave with his people, he hurriedly acknowledged the order and immediately turned around to leave with the dozens of subordinates he had brought. "Wait!" Lucas suddenly said. An inexplicable ominous premonition surged in Norman''s heart. Is Lucas Gray really nning to detain my subordinates? How could he let this happen? The Holmes had put in a lot of effort and energy into training these experts, and they yed an extremely important role in the development of the Holmes. If Lucas really detained them, he would definitely be anguished! At this moment, Norman empathized with Rayson. "Uh¡­ Mr. Gray, I definitely didn''t mean to offend you. My people took matters into their own hands and behaved presumptuously. I will bring mypany''s documents to the Stardust Corporation tomorrow morning toplete the asset transfer!" Norman said in panic. Lucas said indifferently, "Didn''t you call these people over to hand them over to me? Then, what were you nning to get them to do?" How could Norman possibly admit that he had nned to get them to deal with Lucas? If he said this, Lucas might settle scores with him. So he could only deny profusely, "No, no, no, how could I possibly dare to get people to deal with you? I¡­ They¡­" Norman was tongue-tied and was at a loss for words. Lucas''s words had stifled any excuses he could make. But he really couldn''t bear to hand over all his subordinates. After thinking for a long time, Norman could only lower his head and admit his mistakes. "I''m sorry, Mr. Gray, it¡­ it was my fault for what happened previously. Please spare me for offending you on ount that I''ve already submitted to you!" Damon sneered. "Norman Holmes, you''re really funny! At this age, do you still think you can solve everything with just an apology and not pay for your mistakes? "If you and those families weren''t hostile to my family in the first ce, you wouldn''t have ended up in this plight. If it weren''t for Mr. Gray''s help, I''m afraid I''d be the one to fail today. At that time, if I had merely apologized to you, would you have let my family off? How can there be such a good deal?" Damon''s words made Norman turn as pale as a sheet. If he was in control of the situation today, he definitely wouldn''t let Damon and his group off easily! But he definitely couldn''t tell the truth now. Norman said against his conscience, "After what happened today, we''re friends now. Of course I would have?¡ª" Before he could finish speaking, Lucas interrupted him. "Cut the crap. Leave all sixty people you''ve called behind. This is the price you have to pay for offending me. You can get lost now." This time, Lucas detained Norman''s subordinates without even sugarcoating it as ''borrowing'', which meant that he would never return them to him. Norman was in great pain, but he knew that since Lucas had already spoken, there was no way he could get these subordinates back from Lucas. So he could only pretend to be magnanimous and say a few pleasant words before leaving in embarrassment. Once everyone left, the only outsider remaining was Jonah. Jonah was slumped on the floor with limp legs, unable to get up at all. Having witnessed everything with his own eyes, he was already utterly shocked. Thus, when Lucas looked over at him, Jonah''s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately knelt on both knees and said tremblingly, "Mr. Gray, Mr. Parker, I was indeed in the wrong! I shouldn''t have talked nonsense without knowing your identity. I shouldn''t have tried to recruit you on behalf of the Williams or added fuel to fire in front of Rayson Williams¡­ I-I really know my mistakes! Please let me off, Mr. Gray! "I''m also willing to surrender to you and hand over half of my family''s properties!" Lucas nced at him and suddenly asked, "What is your family''s worth?" Jonah was stunned and quickly said, "About eight billion." Damon chuckled and said to Lucas, "Mr. Gray, as far as I know, the Fullers'' worth should be around ten billion." Lucas nodded without caring that Jonah had lied about his assets. Instead, he said, "Mr. Fuller, you should know howrge the Waltons were and their approximate worth, right? The Waltons'' worth was around 150 billion, but I only spent 10 billion dors to acquire everything they owned." He smiled. "So, Mr. Fuller, can you tell me how much I should spend to acquire everything you own?" Jonah''s pupils suddenly constricted. Lucas had actually bought everything the Waltons had owned for less than 10% of their value. Clearly, it wasn''t a price that the Waltons desired! But in the end, the Waltons still gave Lucas all of their assets and left DC. This meant that despite their reluctance, the Waltons had no choice but to sell all their assets to Lucas at an incredibly low price! Did Lucas want to buy all his family''s assets for less than 10% of their worth too? In other words, was Lucas nning to acquire his family''s assets worth 10 billion dors for less than a billion dors?! How could this do?! Jonah turned pale and hastily said, "Mr. Gray, I¡­ I don''t n to sell my family''s assets, and I never will, not to mention for a billion dors. This is absolutely impossible!" Lucas frowned slightly. "Who said I wanted to acquire your family''s assets for a billion dors?" Jonah was stunned, and the next moment, he was overjoyed. But before he could smile, Lucas said something that banished him to hell. "I''ll give you a hundred million dors, and you immediately leave DC with your family. Don''t ever appear in front of me again!" Chapter 1297 Rearing Future Troubles Chapter 1297 Rearing Future Troubles What Lucas said was like a bolt of lightning striking Jonah''s head, causing him to ck out. Lucas actually wanted to purchase the Fullers'' assets worth 10 billion dors for merely 100 million dors? He would never agree to this! "You''re bullying me too much! Even if I die, I will never sell the Fullers'' assets to you at such a low price! I will fight you to the death!" Jonah was so furious that he became dizzy. Anger surged within him, and he couldn''t care less about anything else. Somehow, he found the strength to get up from the floor and rush at Lucas. It seemed he wanted Lucas to perish with him. But even if Jonah wanted to die together with Lucas, he definitely didn''t have the ability to do so. Before Lucas even said anything, two experts of the Parkers charged over and pinned Jonah down to the floor, rendering him immobile. Unable to break free after a futile struggle, Jonah could only turn his head and curse, "Let go of me! You bastards! You want to rob my family? Over my dead body! Even if you kill me, I will never sell out my family''s assets to you!" Lucas''s expression remained unchanged as he listened to Jonah''s hollering. If Jonah had indeed really juste to recruit the Parkers under Rayson''s orders, Lucas wouldn''t hold it against him. But after he spared Jonah, Jonah didn''t cherish the opportunity and instead added fuel to the fire and tried to sow discord between Rayson and the Parkers. He even instigated Rayson to bring arge number of people to the Parkers'' and wanted to raze the Parkers to the ground. In particr, Jonah openly lied and instigated Rayson in front of Lucas, Damon, and the rest. This made Lucas decide not to let him off easily. Jonah had to bear the consequences and pay the price for his own actions. He deserved it. Looking at Jonah struggling, Lucas smiled and said, "Mr. Fuller, you should know very well what you did beforeing here. I want to acquire your family''s assets. Even if it''s daylight robbery, it''s the price you should pay. "Even if you disagree, what can you do? If I kill you right now and plunder the assets of the Fullers without spending a single cent, what can you do to me?" Jonah''s bloodshot eyes shook a little, and he finally calmed down from his mania. Indeed, Lucas was right. With his abilities, he had easily snatched the Waltons'' assets and made Rayson, the helmsmen of one of the eight top families of DC, tremble in fear. If he wanted to snatch the Fullers'' assets by force, there was truly nothing Jonah could do! What qualifications did he have to negotiate with Lucas and refuse to sell his family''s assets to him? Now, even his life was in Lucas''s hands. Whether he could survive was dependent on Lucas''s instructions! After thinking about his current plight, Jonah immediately broke out in cold sweat all over his body. At this moment, he finally realized how rash he was just now. He actually wanted to fight Lucas to the death to prevent Lucas from taking his family''s assets. He had been overestimating himself! To Lucas, he was just like a small bug that Lucas could easily crush to death! Jonah turned pale and begged Lucas, "Mr. Gray, I¡­ I really know my mistakes! If you want to take the Fullers'' assets, then they''re yours! I only have a small request. I just hope that you don''t drive me out of DC and let me stay by your side! "Even if I''m merely a peon by your side, I''m willing!" His words and sudden change in attitude made Lucas feel surprised. "You want to follow me? Why?" Lucas asked. Jonah had already thought it through and made up his mind. He said decisively, "I was blind by greed just now. That''s why I made so many mistakes. But now, I''ve realized that you''re not an ordinary person, Mr. Gray. I want to follow you to learn more! "I can tell that you have great ambitions, Mr. Gray. You acquired all of the Waltons'' assets and handed them to the Parkers to manage, helping them rise to power and be the most powerful family under the eight top families. I think you want to turn the Parkers into one of the top families or even surpass them, right? "In that case, I''m also willing to hand the Fullers over to you. The Fullers'' assets might be of help to you. "And to be honest, I''m the one who worked hard to attain the majority of the Fullers'' assets, and I''m the one most familiar with the Fullers'' businesses. I can develop them to greater heights as well! "If you''re willing to take me in and let me manage the Fullers'' businesses on your behalf, I believe your lofty ambitions will be realized sooner and better!" Although Jonah was being pressed to the floor by two tall and burly bodyguards and looked distressed, his words were extremely passionate and confident. His conjectures weren''tpletely wrong. But Lucas didn''t only want to turn the Parkers into a top family that could rival or even surpass the eight top families. He also wanted to nurture the Coles and Hales to that level so that they and the Parkers could form a powerful group. Of course, Lucas didn''t have to tell Jonah about this. But it had to be said that what Jonah had just said changed Lucas''s impression of him. He thought that Jonah wasn''t that stupid after all. At this moment, Damon moved close to Lucas and whispered into his ear, "Mr. Gray, Jonah Fuller truly has some skills. He yed an instrumental role in developing the Fullers into a second-tier family with a worth of billions in less than two decades. If you keep him around and bring him under yourmand, he might be of great help to you in the future." Lucas nced at Damon in surprise. He thought that Damon waspletely disappointed in Jonah, but he didn''t expect Damon to put in a good word for Jonah and ask him to keep him around. Damon had been in DC for a few months and had a lot of information about many second-tier families in DC. Since Damon said that he was someone Lucas could use, Jonah was clearly somewhatpetent. But Jonah''s shorings were also obvious. If he kept Jonah around, he might be rearing future troubles. This was something worth considering. Chapter 1298 - 1298 Bringing Under Command 1298 Bringing Under Command Seeing the expression on Lucas¡¯s face, Damon added softly, ¡°Of course, I¡¯m just making a suggestion. It¡¯s entirely up to you if you want to keep Jonah Fuller around!¡± He thought that Jonah did have some talent in business. If Lucas brought him under hismand, Jonah might be of some help to him. But Damon knew that he couldn¡¯t interfere with Lucas¡¯s decision to take Jonah in or not. Because Damon had whispered into Lucas¡¯s ear, no one else knew what he said. Jonah looked at Lucas expectantly. !! Now, his mindset waspletely different. Although Jonah resented and feared Lucas previously, he was now full of expectations for him. He wished that Lucas would ept him and bring him under hismand. Bruce and Edmund stood still without saying anything. They had just arrived in DC and didn¡¯t know much about the forces and families here. Thus, they couldn¡¯t give Lucas any suggestions and could only let him decide. Lucas looked at Jonah and suddenly asked, ¡°Since you want to work for me, how can I trust that you won¡¯t betray me in the future?¡± Lucas rarely took in subordinates, and even when he did, it had to be people he trusted. For example, Damon, Bruce, Edmund, etc. had experienced many incidents and tests before Lucas felt that they were trustworthy and agreed to keep them by his side. From time to time, he would also give them opportunities to expand their families. But Jonah was different. About ten minutes ago, Jonah was full of hostility toward Lucas. Yet now, he was taking the initiative to pledge allegiance to Lucas. ording to Lucas¡¯s previous practice, he absolutely wouldn¡¯t ept someone like him as his subordinate. But Jonah really did have some skills, and his perception wasn¡¯t bad either. After realizing Lucas¡¯s true identity, he instantly changed drastically and even wanted to stay by Lucas¡¯s side at all costs. As such, Jonah could be considered a smart person. Jonah knew that his earlier behavior was rather distasteful. Besides, he had just met Lucas, so it was indeed difficult to make Lucas believe that he wouldn¡¯t betray him in the future. Even if he swore that he wouldn¡¯t betray Lucas, it still wouldn¡¯t be convincing enough. After thinking about it, Jonah said, ¡°This is truly hard to prove. But I believe that given how powerful you are, even if I betray you, you¡¯ll be able to resolve it easily. ¡°Regardless of whether I betray you or not, betrayal is simply a non-issue to you, isn¡¯t it?¡± Jonah¡¯s answer stunned everyone. After hearing his answer, Lucas had a look of satisfaction in his eyes. Indeed, even if Jonah betrayed him in the future, with Lucas¡¯s power and abilities, it would be a piece of cake for him to deal with Jonah. Besides, Lucas believed that after Jonah spent some time with him and understood a bit of his true power, he wouldn¡¯t be so stupid as to think of betraying him. He had indeed been thinking too much. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll give you a chance to follow me as you wish,¡± Lucas said nonchntly. Jonah was overjoyed and eximed, ¡°Yes! Thank you so much for this chance, Mr. Gray. I¡¯ll definitely do my best to be as useful as I can. I¡¯ll do anything for you!¡± Lucas said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so eager to thank me yet. There are still some things I have to make clear to you. One, I don¡¯t keep loafers around me. If you can¡¯t show me satisfactorypetency, I won¡¯t keep a good-for-nothing around. Two, I absolutely loathe betrayal, so if I find out that you¡¯ve dared to betray me, I won¡¯t spare you easily! Do you understand?¡± At this moment, the two bodyguards holding Jonah down released him under Damon¡¯s signal. As soon as Joanh regained freedom, he knelt and said respectfully. ¡°Mr. Gray, don¡¯t worry! I certainly won¡¯t let you down! If you think I¡¯m ipetent or disloyal, you won¡¯t need to say anything. I¡¯ll get rid of myself so that you won¡¯t be put in a spot!¡± Lucas stared at Jonah for a long time and could tell that he meant what he said from the bottom of his heart and that it just wasn¡¯t rhetoric. He nodded and said, ¡°In that case, you are now my subordinate, and I won¡¯t interfere too much. You will still manage the Fullers¡¯ assets. Just remember what you¡¯ve said today.¡± Hearing this, Jonah was overjoyed and unable to believe his ears. He didn¡¯t expect that after he surrendered to Lucas and offered his family¡¯s assets, Lucas didn¡¯t want anything and let him keep them. To Jonah, this was a godsend opportunity, and he felt extremely grateful to Lucas! ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ll always remember your great kindness. I definitely won¡¯t disappoint you! Otherwise, I¡¯ll be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!¡± In his excitement, he even swore an oath. Lucas smiled and shook his head without saying anything. Seeing that the matter had been settled, Damon stepped forward and pulled Jonah up from the floor. ¡°Mr. Fuller, congrattions. From today onward, we¡¯ll be friends in the same camp!¡± Jonah got up from the floor with Damon¡¯s help and said with a look of shame and guilt, ¡°Mr. Parker, I really have no words. I solemnly apologize for the disrespect I¡¯ve shown to you and the Parkers. Thank you for not holding it against me.¡± Damon patted Jonah on the shoulder andughed. ¡°Haha, the matter has already passed, so there¡¯s no need to mention it again. From now on, we¡¯ll berades, so you don¡¯t have to be polite!¡± Bruce and Edmund walked over with smiles. ¡°Mr. Fuller, we¡¯ll be a family from now on. Let bygones be bygones!¡± Jonah still didn¡¯t know Bruce¡¯s and Edmund¡¯s identities, but he had seen the two of them sitting with Damon and Lucas, so he could guess that they were close to Lucas. He just didn¡¯t know how he should address them. Acting as an intermediary, Damon introduced, ¡°You still don¡¯t know who they are, right? Let me introduce them. This is Mr. Bruce Hale, the former helmsman of the Hale family, and the gentleman next to him is Mr. Edmund Cole, the helmsman of the Cole family.¡± With his head held high, he said confidently, ¡°Now, the Hales and the Coles have just arrived in DC, but in no time, they will definitely rise up and be formidable families here like the Parkers!¡± Chapter 1299 - 1299 Distribution of Benefits 1299 Distribution of Benefits Jonah was taken aback. He knew that Damon and his family hade over from Orange County. Seeing how close Bruce and Edmund were to Damon, he reckoned that they hade from the same ce to develop in DC. This wasn¡¯t all. To Jonah¡¯s surprise, the Hales and the Coles had only arrived in DC for two days, and he hadn¡¯t even heard their names before. Yet Damon was already confident that they would rise up and be on par with the Parkers! !! What made him so confident? While feeling puzzled, Jonah had a sh of sudden inspiration and thought about the fate of the seven-family alliance led by the Holmes a bit ago. These seven families had all pledged allegiance to Lucas and handed over half of their family¡¯s assets. Half of the seven families¡¯ assets could easily make up for the assets of three and a half second-tier families. Theirbined worth was simply staggering. If Lucas supported the Hales and the Coles, like he did the Parkers, they would be able to be famous and powerful in DC overnight as long as he distributed some of the seven families¡¯ assets to them. What kind of terrifying power did Lucas, who held power over these three families, possess? Thinking of this, Jonah admired Lucas even more, and he didn¡¯t dare to be negligent with the two elderly men in front of him. ¡°It turns out you¡¯re Mr. Hale and Mr. Cole. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you! Please guide me in the future!¡± Jonah bowed to them politely, showing a respectful look on his face. Although he was now under Lucas¡¯smand, his status and age were junior to those of Damon and the other two. Jonah was aware of this himself, so he subconsciously bowed to them as a junior. After the few of them exchanged some pleasantries, Lucas said, ¡°Since everyone is here now, let¡¯s go to the conference room. I have something to say.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Damon brought everyone to the reception hall where they had just been. Lucas naturally sat in the master seat while Damon, Bruce, and the others sat next to him. Keh and the other juniors didn¡¯t dare to take a seat and simply stood at the side and served them drinks. After they sat down, Lucas said, ¡°Today¡¯s matter hase to an end for the time being. The seven-family alliance has already pledged allegiance to me and handed over half of their families¡¯ assets. I n to divide them into seven portions and distribute them among you to manage. ¡°The Hales and the Coles will each take three portions, which will serve as your start-up funds in DC. As for the remaining portion, I will give it to the Parkers, which you can use as additional help to stabilize your position as the strongest family under the eight top families of DC. ¡°As for the Fullers, you are natives of DC, and you own enough businesses, so you will keep your businesses as is and develop them on your own. ¡°Does anyone have any objections to this n?¡± Lucas looked around at the few of them. Bruce was very satisfied with this oue. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re already giving us plenty of support by letting us manage three-sevenths of the businesses! Actually, we¡¯re already very grateful to you for allowing us to follow you to DC to develop further. Now that you¡¯ve given us so much support, I¡¯m not even sure what to say to express my gratitude.¡± Edmund was just as satisfied. ¡°Lucas, your distribution arrangements will be of great help to the Coles, and we couldn¡¯t have asked for more. I have no objections at all. Just like Bruce, I¡¯m extremely grateful to you as well!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°Since you have already pledged allegiance to me, and you¡¯re helping me manage my businesses, it¡¯s only right for me to provide you with some help. You don¡¯t have to be so grateful. ¡°Speaking of which, I know I¡¯ve said so before, but I really don¡¯t want you to be too formal with me. If you have any opinions or suggestions, feel free to raise them with me. You don¡¯t have to worry much. As long as your suggestions are reasonable and good, I¡¯ll adopt them. ¡°Two minds are better than one. If we can all contribute excellent ideas, I believe we will be able to develop better and faster. What do you think?¡± Everyone felt touched again. Damon and the rest were actually very clear that without Lucas, they would still be minor families of Orange County, and there would have been no way they could have attained such great achievements as they did now. Besides, Lucas was powerful and invincible. As long as he wanted, he could easily find more partners or subordinates willing to help him manage his properties. Even then, Lucas didn¡¯t give up on them and instead kept supporting them to be stronger. Now, he even valued their opinions greatly and asked them to speak out if they had anything to say instead of treating them as tools. Thus, their loyalty to Lucas increased further. ¡°Lucas, we really don¡¯t have any opinions about your distribution n. You¡¯ve already been very considerate toward us. If we really have any dissatisfaction or better suggestions in the future, we will certainly talk with you about them!¡± ¡°Yeah, with a great leader like you, there¡¯s nothing for us to be afraid of. Your decisions are apt, and we really have no objections!¡± ¡­ Hearing what everyone said, Lucas stopped dwelling on this matter and nodded. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s settled then. Let¡¯s move on to the next issue. ¡°As you all know, Rayson Williams has left 150 men behind to me, and Norman Holmes has left 60. There are 210 people in total. Do you have any ideas about how we should distribute these people?¡± Lucas looked at everyone. Everyone was stunned. They originally thought that Lucas had kept these people behind for special purposes, but they expected that Lucas nned to distribute these people to them too. But they were puzzled as to why Lucas asked them for their opinion on the distribution. The few of them remained silent. After some thought, Jonah said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I have an idea regarding the distribution of these experts, but I don¡¯t know if I should say it.¡± As he spoke, his expression became anxious. After all, he had just be Lucas¡¯s subordinate, and it was his first time attending a group meeting with them. Logically speaking, he should remain silent and listen carefully and then carry out the instructions he was given. So he was rather nervous, as he didn¡¯t know if Lucas would let him voice his thoughts. Lucas nodded. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Chapter 1300 - 1300 Dark Dragon Regiment 1300 Dark Dragon Regiment Seeing Lucas looking at him calmly with some encouragement in his eyes, Jonah gradually calmed down his nervousness and became more confident in what he was going to say. ¡°Mr. Gray, I think that in today¡¯s DC, we follow the principle of supremacy of strength. So the more financially powerful a family, the morebat experts they have. The stronger the family, the more money they use to recruit and train experts. Simrly, strong families with more powerful experts will be able to grasp more resources and opportunities to boost their development and growth. This is aplementary oue. ¡°Take the eight top families of DC as an example. The reason they¡¯ve managed to stand strong at the summit of the US for years is that they recruit experts, so ordinary people can¡¯t rival them. It¡¯s even more so for the nine royal family branches above the eight top families. ¡°Moreover, the 210 experts that the Williams and the Holmes left behind are not ordinary experts but top experts that the two families have painstakingly nurtured and trained for years. They¡¯re a force not to be underestimated. Jonah paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°And the families here, the Parkers, the Hales, the Coles, and my family, the Fullers, have pledged allegiance to you, Mr. Gray, and obey your orders. So, in essence, our four families are actually a whole with you as the core. ¡°None of our families alone canpare to any of the eight top families, but if the four of us join forces, the power of our experts won¡¯t be inferior to any of the eight top families. This is the power of unity and teamwork. ¡°So, I think we should transfer some people from our four families and form a powerful regiment of guards to protect us and our families. ¡°We don¡¯t need to have arge number of people in this regiment, but they must be the most elite experts of our families. The regiment will be our sharpest swords. ¡°In addition to being responsible for protecting our families, they are also responsible for monitoring our families, lest anyonemits crimes, gets up to shady business, or betrays us and so on. The regiment will act as both guards and an enforcement team. ¡°Of course, the leader of the regiment will take direct orders from you, Mr. Gray. What does everyone think?¡± The few people present looked surprised. Originally, they were nonchnt when hearing what Jonah said, thinking that Jonah was just going to make a busywork suggestion. But after they heard his idea of setting up a guard regiment to carry out protection and supervision and that the regiment would obey Lucas¡¯s orders, their eyes immediately lit up. Indeed, a regiment established bybining the elites of their four families would be much stronger than one formed by any individual family. Moreover, if they also served as supervision and enforcement, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about any member of the four families secretly getting up to any tricks behind the others¡¯ backs or betraying Lucas and causing him any losses. This was indeed a great and feasible idea! When Jonah saw their expressions, he could roughly guess what their thoughts were, but he didn¡¯t say much or lookcent. Instead, he bowed and said to Lucas, ¡°Of course, this is only an idea of mine. As for whether we execute it or not, it¡¯s entirely up to you, Mr. Gray!¡± Lucas looked deeply at Jonah with a trace of appreciation in his eyes. Sure enough, Damon¡¯s suggestion for him to keep Jonah around was indeed good. Although Lucas didn¡¯t know Jonah well, he could tell from his suggestion that he was indeed a very smart and thoughtful person. The establishment of a guard regiment wouldn¡¯t only unite thebat forces of the four families, but it could also serve as a means to monitor them. There were plenty of benefits. At the same time, it allowed Jonah, who had just joined the group, to gain the approval and appreciation of the others and lower their suspicions that he might betray them. It was indeed killing multiple birds with one stone. Lucas didn¡¯t agree immediately but asked, ¡°What does everyone think of Jonah¡¯s idea?¡± Since Lucas said that he wanted them to brainstorm, he also wanted to hear everyone¡¯s opinions. Edmund was the first to agree. ¡°Lucas, I think Jonah¡¯s suggestion is great! I remember reading a story about teamwork when I was young. When tied in a bundle, sticks are harder to break than they are alone. So I agree with Jonah¡¯s suggestion to set up a guard regiment!¡± Bruce said, ¡°Just like Edmund, I also think that establishing a guard regiment is extremely beneficial to us. We can give it a try!¡± Damon nodded in agreement, ¡°I think it¡¯s a great idea too.¡± Seeing everyone agree, Lucas smiled and said, ¡°Okay, since we all agree, it¡¯s settled then. ¡°After you return tonight, you will each choose some elites from your families. I¡¯ll select someone suitable to be the leader of the regiment. Apart from carrying out missions, the leader will also teach and train them. This will help our regiment be a formidable force that no one dares to underestimate.¡± After hearing Lucas¡¯s decision, Jonah finally felt relieved and overjoyed. This was the first suggestion he made after joining Lucas¡¯s team, and Lucas adopted it right away. This likely meant that he was indeed useful to Lucas and that Lucas had started to trust him. ¡°Mr. Gray, what should the name of the regiment be, and who will be the leader?¡± Jonah asked excitedly. After thinking about it for a moment, Lucas said, ¡°The name of the guard regiment will be the Dark Dragon Regiment. As for the leader, you will find out soon.¡± Lucas already had a candidate in mind, but it wouldn¡¯t be convenient to reveal it now before hemunicated with this person. ¡°The matter regarding the Dark Dragon Regiment is settled then. As for the people left behind by the Williams and the Holmes, they can¡¯t join the Dark Dragon Regiment. For those of you who will be sendingpeople to the Dark Dragon Regiment, your forces will decrease quite a bit, right? Then, you can distribute these 200 people ordingly among yourselves. You may use them how you want, and there¡¯s no need to be polite with them.¡± After making a simple distribution n, Lucas stood up and said, ¡°If there is nothing else, today¡¯s meeting will end here.¡± ¡°Yes, everything will be done ording to your instructions, Lucas!¡± the few of them said one after another. Since there was nothing else, Lucas didn¡¯t stay here any longer and returned home. It was nowte, and he would have to wait for tomorrow to see how the seven families would act. Chapter 1301 - 1301 Brotherhood 1301 Brotherhood The following afternoon, when Lucas arrived at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters, the seven families led by Norman had already transferred half of their assets to the Stardust Corporation. Flynn was busy all morning and afternoon, so much so that he didn¡¯t even have time for lunch, but he looked extremely excited. Seeing Lucas arrive at the office, he walked over happily and reported, ¡°Lucas, all seven families havepleted the handover procedure. The Stardust Corporation has obtained a lot of properties and businesses! It didn¡¯t take long for the news to spread, and the Stardust Corporation¡¯s market value has risen by thirty percent. It¡¯s expected to continue increasing, and it might even double!¡± It was no wonder that Flynn was so ted. As the general manager, there was nothing more fulfilling than seeing the market value of thepany rise significantly! Lucas was calm because everything was already within his expectations. ¡°Give me a detailed summary of the businesses acquired today and then divide them into seven portions ording to theprehensive strength. I need them for something, and I won¡¯t put them under the Stardust Corporation. I¡¯ll arrange for other people to take them over.¡± Flynn was slightly disappointed, but he knew that the Stardust Corporation wasn¡¯t the onlyrge enterprise that Lucas owned and that Lucas definitely had his own ns in mind for thesepanies. He didn¡¯t dare to interfere, so he agreed immediately and then instructed his subordinates to summarize all the businesses as Lucas had ordered. Sitting in the chairman¡¯s office, Lucas made a call. Soon, Jordan arrived at Lucas¡¯s office. ¡°Lucas, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lucas cut straight to the chase and told Jordan about his ns to form the Dark Dragon Regiment together with the four families under him. Jordan was surprised to hear this. Toward the end, his mouth widened in shock. ¡°Lucas, did you call me here to appoint me as the leader of the Dark Dragon Regiment?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you have any objections?¡± Lucas asked with raised brows. Jordan frowned and said, conflicted, ¡°Even though the people selected are the elites of the four families, aren¡¯t they just a bunch of weaklings? The thought of having to train and lead such people makes me ufortable all over!¡± He had been in DC for a while, so he was well aware of howpetent the elites of the second-tier families really were. He could easily beat a hundred of them at once, so he really looked down on them. Lucas said calmly, ¡°If you really don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll arrange for someone else to fill the position.¡± Seeing Lucas looking a little sullen, Jordan hurriedly chuckled and said to make amends, ¡°Lucas, I was just saying it for fun. Since you¡¯ve decided to form the Dark Dragon Regiment, I naturally won¡¯t reject you! ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lucas. I¡¯ll definitely train them well. Even though they¡¯re merely good-for-nothings now, I¡¯ll turn them into true experts under my training!¡± Lucas nodded. In fact, Lucas had his reasons for getting Jordan to be the leader of the Dark Dragon Regiment, apart from the fact that Jordan¡¯s skill sets were very suitable for the role. Jordan had been Lucas¡¯s loyal follower for years. They had fought on the battlefield of Calico and braved through thick and thin together. Later, he had even abandoned all his status and glory in the Falcon Regiment for Lucas¡¯s sake. Thus, Jordan was very special to Lucas. He was not only Lucas¡¯s subordinate andrade but his brother. But because Lucas¡¯s and Jordan¡¯s history in the military was confidential, no one else knew about it and thought that Jordan was merely an ordinary subordinate of Lucas¡¯s. Even the Stones, the family of Jordan¡¯s fianc¨¦e, Maddy, thought that he was just a peon. Although they had allowed Maddy and Jordan to get married due to the pressure Lucas exerted and the fact that Maddy was in love with Jordan, the Stones actually didn¡¯t take him seriously at all. Lucas had also once thought of giving Jordan somepanies before, but Jordan had turned him down, saying that he just wanted to work by his side. Thus, when Jonah brought up the idea of forming the Dark Dragon Regiment, the first person who came to Lucas¡¯s mind was Jordan, whom he thought was the most suitable candidate for being the leader. Lucas knew that this force would definitely be stronger and stronger in the future. Although the Dark Dragon Regiment was nowposed of only some ordinary experts, he was sure that the regiment would definitely be an extremely terrifying organization that would be known to all in DC. When the time came, Jordan, the leader of the Dark Dragon Regiment, would be an existence that everyone looked up to, and no one would dare to belittle him again. After seeing Jordan agree and thinking about Stones, Lucas asked, ¡°By the way, your wedding is soon, right?¡± The mention of the wedding put a blissful smile on Jordan¡¯s face. He was grinning so widely that his teeth were showing. ¡°Yeah, Maddy and I are holding our wedding in ten days!¡± To be able to marry the woman he had been in love with for years, Jordan felt as if he was dreaming. Sometimes, he even woke up smiling. Seeing his friend¡¯s happy but silly grin, Lucas burst intoughter. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve really be silly. I¡¯m very happy that you can marry the love of your life, my brother! ¡°How are the wedding preparations going? Do you need any help? If you need anything, feel free to look for me or Cheyenne,¡± Lucas said sincerely. Jordan was an orphan who had rtives. Since it was going to be his big day soon, Lucas was worried that he might encounter some difficulties during the preparations. After thanking Lucas, Jordan touched his head and chuckled. ¡°Thanks a lot, Lucas. Maddy and I have agreed that the wedding doesn¡¯t have to be too big orvish. We¡¯ve decided to keep things simple, and she has basically already nned everything. There¡¯s nothing else for me to prepare.¡± Seeing how foolish his friend was behaving, Lucas was at a loss for words. Jordan had left the wedding preparations entirely to Maddy to handle. Didn¡¯t he think he should help out more? Lucas was just about to say something, but he kept quiet after giving it some thought. Fortunately, Maddy wasn¡¯t an ordinary woman, and she understood Jordan¡¯s character very well, so she chose to n the wedding herself. This was the tacit understanding between them. As an outsider, Lucas decided not to get involved. ¡°Okay, since you¡¯ve already prepared everything for the wedding, I¡¯ll give you a great gift on your big day!¡± Lucas said with a smile. Jordan waved his hands nonchntly and smiled. ¡°As long as you show up on my big day and bear witness to my marriage, it¡¯ll be the greatest gift to me!¡± Lucas patted him on his shoulders and said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be your witness then. It¡¯s settled!¡± The two looked at each other andughed happily. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m flying to Las Vegas to see Brett Hamiltonter. I¡¯ll get going now!¡± Jordan said after looking at his watch. This was a matter that had been decided previously. Lucas nodded and said, ¡°Okay, go ahead, but the Hamiltons aren¡¯t simple after all. Just teach him a small lesson so that he behaves himself. Don¡¯t go too far. Also, pay attention to your safety. This is the most important thing.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lucas. It¡¯s just the Hamiltons. It won¡¯t be too dangerous.¡± Jordan waved his hands suavely before leaving. Lucas remained in his office to read some documents, but for some reason, he kept feeling uneasy. But he didn¡¯t know where this uneasiness stemmed from. Chapter 1302 - 1302 False Accusation 1302 False usation It was now 4:30 p.m., and William had been waiting in front of Blue Sky Kindergarten, ready to pick Amelia up and go home. Although it was very close to home, Amelia had only started attending this kindergarten a few days ago, so William nned to take her to and fro school every day. After all, he had just resigned from his job and nned to stay home and look after Amelia, so he didn¡¯t find it a chore. Amelia walked out of the school gate in a neat line, saw William, and scurried over to him. ¡°Grandpa, did youe to pick me up?¡± !! Smiling, William caught Amelia and held her tiny hand. ¡°Yes, how was school today? Did you get bullied? Is your teacher nice?¡± Amelia smiled happily. ¡°My new teacher is really nice, and she gave me a sticker today. She even praised me for being good at math! My ssmates are nice too. No one bullied me! This school is great!¡± She had joy written all over her face. Seeing how happy Amelia was, William felt relieved and smiled heartily. ¡°Are we going home now, or do you want to walk around the area?¡± William asked Amelia gently. Amelia¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Can we look around for a bit before going home?¡± ¡°Of course we can. We¡¯ve just moved here, so it¡¯ll be good to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings, lest you can¡¯t find your way home in the future,¡± William said. It was still early now, and Lucas had hired a nanny to cook their meals, so they didn¡¯t need to hurry home. It had only been a few days since they moved to DC. He and Amelia had never walked around the neighborhood before. They only knew that this residential district covered a huge area and had many amenities. So he wanted to see what offerings there were near themunity and kindergarten, such as supermarkets, fruit stores, or other facilities. ¡°Great! Grandpa, do you hear that? It¡¯s so crowded over there. It sounds like someone is ying the flute. Let¡¯s hurry over and take a look!¡± Amelia had a sharp sense of hearing. She took William¡¯s hand and pulled him toward the crowd. After they passed by a lush and exuberant garden, many figures appeared in front of them. It was an activity square in themunity and covered an extremelyrge area. There were some pavilions and various stone tables and chairs in the pavilions. There were also some fitness equipment for public use and children¡¯s y facilities, such as seesaws, swings, and slides. Many people were gathered here. Some people were sitting at the stone tables and ying chess, some were chatting merrily, and some were ying musical instruments. There were also some people dancing and doing yoga, while others fished by the river. Most of the people here were elderly and children, some of whom were ying and skateboarding in the park. It was extremely lively. Seeing this scene, William was ted. ¡°It looks like this is a ce for the elderly and children in themunity. Amelia, let¡¯s go over too!¡± ¡°Wow! It looks really fun here, Grandpa! Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Amelia cheered joyfully and pulled William over toward the children¡¯s y area. ¡°Hey, Amelia, slow down. Don¡¯t fall! Also, we can only y for half an hour. We have to go home for dinnerter!¡± William reminded while following behind. But seeing how happy Amelia was, he merely shook his head and sighed, allowing Amelia to go y on her own. Back in the Carters¡¯ house, Amelia had been introverted and shy, and she didn¡¯t dare to speak much. But since Lucas returned, took them away from the Carters, and doted on Amelia endlessly, she became bolder, bubblier, and loved to smile andugh. For example, half a year ago, Amelia would never have dared to run over alone to y with a group of strange children in a new environment within just two days or adapted so well to her new kindergarten. Thinking of the changes in his granddaughter, William felt heartened. He sat on a chair in the park and smiled while watching Amelia quickly making friends with the children and ying joyfully. From time to time, he would chat with some elderly people around him. Time passed by quickly. William looked at the time on his watch. It was already time for Lucas, Cheyenne, and Charlotte to get off work and go home, so he walked over to bring Amelia home. But as soon as he walked over, he discovered that almost all the children who had been ying with Amelia had left. Amelia walked over with a frown and whispered to William, ¡°Grandpa, Tommy got into trouble. All the other kids ran away!¡± William asked with bewilderment, ¡°Is Tommy your new friend? What trouble did he get into?¡± Before Amelia could speak, a chubby boy ran over and said aggressively, ¡°I didn¡¯t get into trouble! You¡¯re the one who broke the golden crown!¡± It seemed that this chubby boy was Tommy. ¡°You did it, not me! Look, you¡¯re still holding it!¡± Amelia retorted furiously after being ndered, pointing at the golden crown in the boy¡¯s hand, her face as red as a tomato. William looked at the object in the little boy¡¯s hand and realized that the two children were referring to a trident-shaped car logo. He looked around and found an extremely expensive Maserati car parked nearby, with its logo missing. It must be the item that the little boy was holding. William understood his granddaughter¡¯s character well. Amelia would never lie. She said that the boy named Tommy got into trouble, so Tommy must have broken the car logo. Tommy was still holding the car logo tightly in his hand, so how could Amelia be the one who broke it? William felt that Tommy seemed to have something wrong with his behavior and character. He even used Amelia as soon as he spoke. The smile on his face faded. ¡°Tommy, you¡¯re still holding the logo in your hand. How can you talk nonsense? If you¡¯ve made a mistake and identally broke the car logo, you have to be brave and bear the responsibility instead of using others. Got it?¡± William said. The little boy was stunned for a moment, but he suddenly charged over and stuffed the trident logo into Amelia¡¯s hand. Immediately afterward, he started bawling. ¡°Waahhh! She¡¯s holding the logo. She¡¯s the one who broke it. But you¡¯re bullying me! I¡¯m gonna get Mommy to teach you a lesson!¡± Chapter 1303 - 1303 Unreasonable 1303 Unreasonable William never thought that the little boy, who was only around five to six years old, would suddenly do something so shameless. He was so dumbfounded that he couldn¡¯t say a word. At this moment, a luxuriously-dressed young woman hurried over, grabbed Tommy¡¯s hand, and asked anxiously, ¡°Baby, why are you crying? Who bullied you? Quickly tell Mommy, and I¡¯ll go settle scores with him!¡± While crying, Tommy pointed at Amelia and William andined loudly, ¡°Mommy! They bullied me! Amelia broke the golden crown logo on your car, but she says I did it. The old man even tried to hit me! Mommy, they would have bullied me to death if you hadn¡¯te!¡± Hearing what the little boy said, William was hopping mad. What¡¯s wrong with this boy? Lying, framing, ndering, and falsely using someone, he¡¯s so familiar with this. It¡¯s as if he¡¯s done it countless times! What kind of a family raised a child like this? ¡°Why have you be a chronic liar at such a young age?¡± William said with displeasure. He would have definitely taught this child a lesson if he was a child of his family. William couldn¡¯t berate Tommy too harshly since he was someone else¡¯s child. But his remark alone was enough to anger the young woman in her thirties. She stared at Amelia and suddenly rushed forward, raised her arm, and pped Amelia hard on the face, knocking the tiny Amelia to the ground. ¡°Where are you from, little bastard? How dare you bully my son? Are you tired of living? I have to teach you a lesson today!¡± Then she wanted to pull Amelia up from the ground and continued to p her. ¡°Waahhh!¡± Amelia was only five years old. Suddenly pped on the face by an adult woman so hard that she fell to the ground, she was in so much pain that she burst into tears. William was about to blow his top. Seeing that the woman wanted to pull Amelia up and hit her again, he immediately rushed over, pushed the woman away, and shielded Amelia in her arms. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? How could you hit a child? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s unreasonable for an adult to hit a five-year-old child?¡± But unexpectedly, this woman was extremely arrogant. She glowered at them and cursed, ¡°She¡¯s just a little bastard! Since she dared to bully my son, I¡¯m already being kind enough by not killing her! You¡¯d better get lost, old fogy! ¡°How dare you say that about me? Do you know which family we¡¯re from? My husband is from the Holmes family, and my son is their precious grandson. You must have a death wish for daring to bully my son!¡± Tommy¡¯s mother scolded incessantly. Then she ran over and used her sharp nails to scratch William¡¯s face and body. William was furious. This woman was behaving like a shrew. She was even more violent than Karen, his former wife. At least Karen wasn¡¯t so crazy as to hit a five-year-old child. But there was nothing he could do now, let alone fight with this crazy woman. He could only hold Amelia tightly in his arms to prevent this woman from catching her. But his face and body were already covered with scratches. The ruckus soon attracted a crowd of spectators. These people initially wanted toe forward to persuade them. But when they heard the woman say that her husband was from the Holmes, they immediately stopped in their tracks, not daring to intervene. Most of the residents of the luxuriousmunity were either locals or people who had lived in DC for a long time, so they all knew how powerful the Holmes were in DC. The Holmes were a second-tier family that was second only to the eight top families of DC, and they held an important status among all the second-tier families. How could ordinary people afford to offend them? The onlookers stood around them, not daring to go forward. William was alone and helpless. Before long, Tommy¡¯s mother left numerous scratches all over his body. His face was bleeding, and his hair was messy. Tired from all the scratching, Tommy¡¯s mother finally stopped. With her hands on her hips, she said furiously, ¡°Hmph, you two are going to be the death of me! Let me tell you, old fogey. My Maserati is thetest limited-edition model, and it was specially flown in from overseas. It¡¯s worth at least ten million dors! ¡°I¡¯ve only driven it a few times, but now, this little bastard has broken the logo. How are you going topensate me?¡± William was taken aback by the price of the car. But he was enraged that she kept calling Amelia a little bastard. ¡°You¡¯re a decent-looking adult, but why do you have such a foul mouth? How dare you call someone else¡¯s child a bastard? What does that make your own child? You¡¯d better watch your words!¡± The womanughed arrogantly. ¡°I just want to call her a little bastard. What can you do to me? My son is the precious grandson of the Holmes. He¡¯s far more noble and precious than your little bastard! No matter what I call her, you have to bear with it because you people are lowly beingspared to me. Do you understand?¡± William retorted angrily, ¡°Hah, given the way you behave and speak, you¡¯re worse than a shrew on the streets. What right do you have to think that you¡¯re superior to others?¡± ¡°Forget it. I can¡¯t be bothered to talk to you, old fogey. I¡¯ll get my husband toe deal with this. Let¡¯s see if you still dare to argue then!¡± The woman glowered at William. ¡°To make things clear beforehand, my husband isn¡¯t to be trifled with. Just get ready to die once he arrives!¡± Then she took out her phone from her bag and made a call. She said deliberately in a coquettish voice, ¡°Honey, your son and I were beaten up at the square near our home. If you consider yourself a man, immediately bring your people here and seek justice for us!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out what happened when you¡¯re here. In short, we got bullied right outside our door. This is tant disrespect to you and the Holmes! Honey, hurry up ande here!¡± After hanging up, Tommy¡¯s mother smiled at William smugly and even deliberately pursed her lips in contempt. Chapter 1304 - 1304 Not to Be Insulted 1304 Not to Be Insulted William was so enraged by the shamelessness and tyranny of the mother and son in front of him that he was speechless. Tommy was clearly the one who broke the logo of his mother¡¯s Maserati, which was a trivial matter in the first ce. Given how much this woman pampered her child, she probably wouldn¡¯t even chastise him, even if she found out he did it. But Tommy had actually framed and ndered Amelia and even said that Wiliam and Amelia had bullied and hit him. But before getting the facts right, this woman struck Amelia, a child. She even wanted them topensate her for her losses, and it looked as though she wasn¡¯t going to stop at this. She vividly expressed the words ¡®arrogant and delusional¡¯. She was going overboard! One side of Amelia¡¯s face was flushed red, and there was an obvious palm mark on it. Although William was protecting her in his arms, she was terribly frightened, and her petite body was shaking slightly. Amelia was only five and a half years old. Even though she was usually well-behaved and sensible, she was really scared now. Holding the trembling Amelia in his arms, William felt his heart aching. At the same time, he was angry at himself for failing to protect Amelia well. Some people couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and persuaded, ¡°Sir, you look like new faces. You¡¯ve probably just moved here, right? And it seems you¡¯re not DC natives either. I advise you to apologize quickly and beg her to let you off. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be in deep trouble!¡± ¡°Yeah, since you aren¡¯t from DC, you probably don¡¯t know the status of the Holmes here. Anyway, they aren¡¯t people that ordinary people can afford to provoke, so just let the matter go. Quickly apologize and make amends before disaster strikes. Otherwise, once the Holmes get here, things will get out of hand!¡± ¡°Yeah, those who go against the Holmes won¡¯t end up well. We¡¯re reminding you out of kindness. You¡­ you¡¯d better make a decision quickly!¡± ¡­ The people who spoke were the elderly people in the square just now. Seeing how disheveled William was from the scratches and that he was holding a five-year-old child in his arms, they couldn¡¯t help taking pity on him and kindly persuading him. Of course, they only dared to advise William to endure it, bear with the anger, and quickly apologize instead of arguing with the Holmes. They didn¡¯t dare to persuade Tommy¡¯s mother, who was obviously at fault. They couldn¡¯t afford to offend the Holmes. This woman naturally heard what they said and could tell that they were scared and scrupulous of the Holmes. So her face had a haughty expression on it as she nced at William with contempt and even harrumphed coldly. William was boiling with fury. He knew that the onlookers had only spoken out of goodwill, but when he saw the handprint on his granddaughter¡¯s face and her trembling pitifully, he couldn¡¯t suppress his anger. If this woman had only bullied him and scratched his face, he would be willing to endure it and let the matter go. However, Amelia clearly hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, but she had been pped unreasonably. If he apologized to this arrogant woman and got Amelia to apologize as well, Amelia would probably be scarred for life and would never be as cheerful and optimistic as she was now. The matter would definitely traumatize Amelia, and it might evenpletely change her character. How could William ept this? The family had never let Amelia suffer any mistreatment or aggrievements in Orange County. Why did they have to lower themselves and suffer when they came to DC, where they were supposed to lead a better life? William gritted his teeth and said coldly, ¡°You two are the ones at fault, but now you refuse to budge and want to blow this matter up? Do you think I¡¯m afraid of you?¡± Hearing this, the woman immediately let out an ear-piercing cackle of mockery. ¡°Old fogey, you want to do things the hard way, huh? Hah, take a look at yourself! You¡¯re just a bumpkin from another city, but you actually dare to be so aggressive to me. You really have a death wish! ¡°Let¡¯s see what you can do! Go ahead and call someone over. I want to see how you¡¯re going to settle this!¡± The woman harrumphed coldly, clearly not taking William seriously at all. ¡°Hey, why are you so stubborn, buddy? Why didn¡¯t you listen to my advice? Going against the Holmes will only bring death!¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, I advised you to apologize, but you actually¡­ don¡¯t know any better. Is the person you¡¯re going to call a match for the Holmes? You should give up quickly!¡± The few surrounding people shook their heads with deep frowns. Clearly, they were speechless about William not heeding their advice. Ignoring them, William took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Lucas, Amelia and I were bullied in the recreational square in the middle of the vi cluster. Amelia even got pped. Can youe over immediately?¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Lucas, who was still processing some documents in the Stardust Corporation, suddenly stood up with a drastic change in expression. Amelia was his precious daughter, and he would never allow anyone toy a finger on her. Because Lucas hadn¡¯t been by Amelia¡¯s side for the past few years and failed to fulfill his duty as her father, he had always felt extremely guilty toward her and wanted to do everything he could to make it up to her so that she could live happily. He instantly flew into a rage after hearing that Amelia had been pped. ¡°William, I¡¯ll head over right now, but please stay calm before I get there. Don¡¯t confront that woman, lest she takes advantage of you. Please make Amelia¡¯s safety your first priority. I should be there in about ten minutes. Wait for me.¡± While giving instructions, Lucas had already left his office and was walking quickly toward the elevator. ¡°Okay, rest assured. I will definitely protect Amelia with everything I have and make sure that no one hurts her!¡± William guaranteed. After hanging up, Lucas immediately took the elevator down and quickly drove to themunity. He sped through traffic, wishing he could reach Amelia as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Tommy¡¯s mother pursed her lips in disdain after seeing William really make a call. Hah, this bumpkin is indeed ignorant. Does he think he can go against the Holmes just by calling someone over? He¡¯s courting death! Soon, a ck Rolls Royce drove into themunity and pulled over by the recreational square. The car door immediately opened, and a young man in his mid-thirties walked out. ¡°Honey, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Tommy¡¯s mother immediately scurried over when she saw the young man. She was no longer as arrogant and tyrannical as before. Instead, she now looked pitiful, and her tears were flowing freely. It looked as though she had really suffered a grievance. Chapter 1305 - 1305 A Family of Bullies 1305 A Family of Bullies ¡°Honey, I feel so aggrieved! Tommy was ying here on his own, but some girl broke the logo of my Maserati and kept saying that it was Tommy who broke it! I wanted to reason things out with them, but that old fogey attacked me without saying anything and even hit Tommy. He is atrocious! ¡°Honey, you must do us justice! Otherwise, we will be bullied to death!¡± The woman bawled incessantly. People who didn¡¯t know the truth might really think that she had been bullied and that William and Amelia were so wicked. As expected, after hearing what the woman said, the man flew into a rage. ¡°Old fogey, you must have a death wish!¡± !! The crowd was immediately shocked to see the young man¡¯s face. ¡°It¡¯s Luther Holmes! It seems like this old man and his granddaughter are doomed!¡± ¡°Luther Holmes? Who is that? The name sounds familiar!¡± ¡°You should have heard of his name before. Luther Holmes is the only son of Norman Holmes, the helmsman of the Holmes. Norman favors him very much and will definitely hand over the position of helmsman to him. So, don¡¯t you think he¡¯s impressive?¡± ¡°Wow, he¡¯s the heir of the Holmes. Indeed, he¡¯s really not to be provoked. It seems the old man and his granddaughter are in deep trouble. Of all people, they provoked the Holmes. Tsk tsk!¡± Everyone discussed among themselves in low voices while looking at Luther with awe and envy but at William and Amelia with pity and sympathy. But they merely took pity on them without daring to step forward to help. William also heard Luther¡¯s identity. Seeing the fear and awe everyone had of Luther, he subconsciously felt nervous. He didn¡¯t know what the Holmes¡¯ status in DC was, but judging from the reactions of the people around him, he knew that Luther was definitely a big shot that he couldn¡¯t afford to offend. Even Lucas might not be able to deal with this matter. To be honest, William didn¡¯t know much about Lucas. All he knew was that Lucas had been kicked out by the Huttons in DC years ago and subsequently gained a high status in Orange County. But William had no idea how powerful and influential Lucas was in DC. He held Amelia tightly in his arms, but deep down, he was already full of regret. If he had known that he would offend the Holmes, he wouldn¡¯t have brought Amelia here. If he had brought her home right after picking her up from kindergarten, this wouldn¡¯t have happened. While he was thinking about it, Luther had already walked over to William and said coldly, ¡°Are you the one who bullied my wife and son? How dare you!¡± William clenched his fists in anger. Although he did regret getting into a conflict with Tommy and his mother, he couldn¡¯t allow them to twist the facts and nder him. ¡°I suggest you find out the truth first. I didn¡¯ty a finger on your wife and son. Instead, your wife pped my granddaughter and left scratches all over my body. We aren¡¯t the ones at fault,¡± William rified. Tommy¡¯s mother immediately berated, ¡°Old fogey, how dare you say that?!¡± William had long known that Tommy¡¯s mother was a shrew and that it was impossible to reason with her. So he said straight to Luther, ¡°If you want to find out what happened, you can ask everyone else here. They witnessed everything.¡± Hearing this, Luther narrowed his eyes, looked around at the surrounding people, and asked in a threatening tone, ¡°This old fogey says that you witnessed everything that happened here. Is that so?¡± As soon as the onlookers saw Luther¡¯s threatening gaze, they didn¡¯t dare to speak at all. Instead, they frantically waved their hands and retreated. Some even said that they didn¡¯t see anything. ¡°Did you hear that? No one saw my wife hit anyone. You don¡¯t have a single witness. What else do you want to say?¡± Luther smiled sinisterly at William, having long predicted this situation. William was extremely disappointed, but there was nothing he could do if no one dared to step forward and be his witness. Recalling that Lucas had asked him to bear with it until he arrived, William could only suppress his anger and ask, ¡°I won¡¯t argue with you. What do you want now?¡± Luther tapped his foot on the ground and sized up William. ¡°You should be a resident of thismunity too, right? I won¡¯t make things hard for you. Since your granddaughter broke the logo of my wife¡¯s car, shouldn¡¯t youpensate for the damage? ¡°But instead of apologizing andpensating, you even hit my wife and son. In that case, shouldn¡¯t youpensate for the mental trauma and injury you¡¯ve caused them? ¡°My wife¡¯s car is worth ten million dors, so I won¡¯t ask you for much. Adding up all the losses, you just have topensate me with fifteen million dors, and today¡¯s matter will be over.¡± He even pretended to be extremely magnanimous, as if asking William topensate only 15 million dors was giving him an easy way out. William inhaled sharply. Fifteen million dors?! This amount was way beyond William¡¯s imagination. He had never seen so much money in his life, let alonepensate someone with so much! Hearing thepensation amount, the surrounding crowd also gasped, incredibly shocked. Although the Maserati was indeed extremely expensive, only the logo was damaged. It shouldn¡¯t cost more than ten thousand dors to have it reced with a brand new one. Moreover, the golden trident logo hadn¡¯t been broken by the little girl but by the woman¡¯s own son. Besides, William and Amelia hadn¡¯tid a finger on the woman and her son. Instead, the woman had pped Amelia and scratched William. The scratch marks were still obvious on William¡¯s face. He hadn¡¯t fought back at all! But Luther wanted William topensate them with 15 million dors. This was no different from extortion! However, because the perpetrator was Luther Holmes, the others could only take pity on William and Amelia without daring to step forward to say a single word. William was so angry due to the massive sum that he was shaking. ¡°Fifteen million dors? How can you ask for such highpensation? How can anyone afford that?¡± Chapter 1306 - 1306 Rushing Over to Save His Daughter 1306 Rushing Over to Save His Daughter Luther pursed his lips and said coldly, ¡°I saw fifteen million dors, so it¡¯s fifteen million dors. If you can¡¯t afford it, why don¡¯t youpensate me with the house you own in thismunity?¡± This was an upscale residential district in central DC in a prime location, and a house here could easily fetch a price of tens of millions of dors. Luther had asked for such a huge sum of money only because he saw that William was a resident here. Asking for so much inpensation, he clearly wanted to make William lose all his assets and his house. This way, he would be able to chase away the family that his wife and child hated and also get a house worth tens of millions of dors for free. At the same time, he could give the onlookers a warning and deter them from provoking him and his family in the future. This wasn¡¯t the first time Luther had done such a thing. !! William was furious and bbergasted by how greedy and shameless he was. But thinking that Lucas would be arriving soon, he said with great difficulty, ¡°I can¡¯t decide on this matter. When my son-inw arrives, he can speak with you.¡± Luther¡¯s expression instantly darkened. ¡°Do you know who I am? You want me to wait for someone here? You¡¯re not worthy of it!¡± His wife sneered. ¡°Hah, you¡¯re just a country bumpkin. How dare you make my husband wait? Old fogey, if you don¡¯t hand over fifteen million dors now, go home and bring the title deed back. Otherwise, I¡¯ll abduct you and your bastard granddaughter, then get your son-inw to pay off the ransom. As soon as he pays up, he can take you away!¡± Luther burst intoughter. ¡°Haha, great idea, Honey. What are you waiting for? Do it now!¡± With hismand, the two tall and burly bodyguards behind him walked straight toward William and Amelia. ¡°You¡­ you, stop! Don¡¯t move!¡± Seeing the two muscr bodyguards walking toward him, William turned pale in fright and retreated incessantly with Amelia in his arms. But there was nowhere he could go. The Holmes were simply horrid. They were clearly the ones at fault, but they were forcing William topensate them with 15 million dors and demanded that he pay for it with his home. Now, they even wanted to abduct him and Amelia to threaten Lucas. How vicious! If they just wanted to abduct him alone, William might just leave at that and take it that he had bad luck. But they even wanted to abduct Amelia. William would never agree to this! Besides, given how the vicious woman had pped Amelia without hesitation and would have continued if William hadn¡¯t stopped her, Amelia would definitely suffer if she fell into her hands! Amelia was only five years old. If this vicious woman ruined her, William would live in regret for the rest of his life and never be able to face Lucas and Cheyenne again. William was holding Amelia in his arms. Sensing that his granddaughter was terrified to the point of turning pale and shivering, he could only suppress his voice andfort her. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, Amelia. Grandpa will protect you. No one can hurt you! Daddy will be here soon. It¡¯ll be fine in a bit!¡± Tommy¡¯s mother harrumphed in disdain. ¡°Hah, she¡¯s just a little bastard. I can do whatever I want to her. What can you do about it? Do you think you can protect her? What a joke! ¡°No matter who you¡¯ve called, it¡¯s useless. You¡¯d better behave yourselves and don¡¯t move around until you pay thepensation!¡± She yelled at the two bodyguards, ¡°What are you waiting for? Grab them!¡± Seeing the two bodyguards reaching out for Amelia, William was so furious that he pushed a bodyguard away, quickly ced Amelia on the ground, and shouted, ¡°Amelia, quickly run home. Wait for your daddy toe home! Run!¡± While yelling, William grabbed the hands of the two bodyguards and tried his best to hinder them to buy time for Amelia to escape. ¡°Old fogey, you¡¯re courting death!¡± One of the bodyguards kicked William in the chest, sending him flying away. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Before Amelia could run far away, she saw William getting kicked away. She couldn¡¯t care about anything else and turned around to dash back toward William. Clutching his chest in pain, William shouted, ¡°Amelia, don¡¯t bother about me. Hurry up and run home!¡± At this point, he just hoped for Amelia to run away and get out of danger as soon as possible. As for himself, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to worry. But how could Amelia run away herself and let her grandfather, who had copsed on the ground, be bullied? Besides, at her age, there was no way she could escape. As soon as she rushed to William, a bodyguard grabbed her arm and lifted her off the ground. ¡°Let go of me! You are all bad guys! Let go of Grandpa and me!¡± Amelia struggled with all her might, kicking her legs in the air. But her efforts were futile. Facing the tall and burly bodyguard, Amelia had no means to resist at all. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t break free and that the bodyguard¡¯s hand was right in front of her, she immediately bit down on it. ¡°Damn it, brat! You deserve to die!¡± The bodyguard winced in pain and reflexively grabbed Amelia¡¯s arm to m her against the ground with all his strength. ¡°Amelia!¡± William¡¯s eyes immediately widened in panic. He roared in despair and tried to get up from the ground to catch Amelia. Amelia was only five years old. If she was mmed against the ground, she would definitely be seriously injured. If she was unlucky and her head hit the ground, she might die on the spot! The crowd screamed in shock and closed their eyes, not daring to see the tragedy that was about to happen. Only Luther and his wife didn¡¯t have the slightest change in expression. They were still smiling gloatingly, as if they were watching a good show. In their opinion, Amelia and William were insignificant people. Even if their bodyguards killed them, it would be a trivial matter to resolve. William was panicking so much that he was about to go crazy. He was desperately crawling toward Amelia to catch her. But he was seriously injured and couldn¡¯t move much. All he could do was watch Amelia¡¯s petite body move closer and closer to the hard stone ground¡­ At this critical moment, a figure quickly jumped out of a ck Jaguar not far away and dashed over! Immediately afterward, a pair of hands wrapped tightly around Amelia¡¯s body, with one hand on her neck and the back of her head, and the other under her knees. Just as she was about to hit the ground, he picked her up in time! The moment William saw the figure, euphoria appeared in his originally hopeless eyes. ¡°Lucas!¡± The person who caught Amelia in time at the moment of crisis was none other than Lucas! Chapter 1307 - 1307 Compensation of 150 Million Dollars 1307 Compensation of 150 Million Dors Lucas was furious. He had rushed over as quickly as he could, and the moment he arrived, he saw his daughter being thrown against the ground. His heart had stopped beating at that instant. His eyes were as sharp and as cold as ice. After he held Amelia in his arms, the first thing he did was grab the neck of the bodyguard who had tried to m Amelia against the ground. The tall and burly bodyguard, who weighed nearly 100 kilograms, looked just like a chicken being strangled by the neck in Lucas¡¯s hand. He couldn¡¯t resist at all. Then Lucas flung him away with all his might. Bang! !! The bodyguardnded heavily on the ground in front of Luther and his wife, and his eyes rolled backward. Before he could even make a sound, he had already passed out. This sudden scene shocked everyone. When Tommy¡¯s mother saw the bodyguard lying unconscious on the ground in front of her, she screamed at the top of her lungs. ¡°Ahhh!¡± ¡°Daddy!¡± Amelia suddenly felt the familiar embrace and opened her eyes. Seeing Lucas¡¯s familiar face, she wrapped her arms around his neck and burst into tears. ¡°Daddy, waah¡­ you¡¯re finally here! I was so scared! These bad guys bullied me and Grandpa. They even hit him. Waah!!¡± She had been terribly frightened all this while, but she had been holding it back. Now that she finally saw her father, she couldn¡¯t help venting all her feelings of fear and bawling loudly. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Amelia. I¡¯m here now. You don¡¯t have to be scared anymore.¡± Lucas gently patted Amelia on the back andforted her, but he had a sharp killing intent in his eyes. He would never let off anyone who dared to bully his daughter! William got up from the ground with great difficulty. With one hand on his waist, he limped over and said full of self-reproach, ¡°Lucas, you¡¯re finally here. Fortunately, you managed to arrive and save Amelia in time. Otherwise, I would have broken my promise and let her get hurt.¡± He looked extremely guilty. During the critical moment just now, if Lucas hadn¡¯t saved Amelia in time after the bodyguard threw her, she would have been mmed against the ground. Minor injuries would have been the least of their worries. She could have even died. Lucas looked at the blood stains on the corners of William¡¯s mouth, the obvious scratches on his face, and footprints on his chest, and his eyes darkened. He asked worriedly, ¡°William, how are you? Are you okay?¡± William shook his head and said with gritted teeth, ¡°I¡¯m fine. They¡¯re just minor injuries. Lucas, the other party has a powerful background, and they¡¯re difficult to deal with. I heard people say that they¡¯re from the Holmes family in DC. You have to be careful and don¡¯t go hard against them!¡± He was worried that the Holmes were too powerful and that Lucas might face a formidable enemy that he couldn¡¯t afford to offend. The Holmes? Lucas¡¯s eyes glimmered. If the person who bullied his daughter was from the Holmes family, then he would never let them off! ¡°William, rest assured. No matter who they are, leave it to me,¡± Lucas said softly as his cold gaze swept across the man and the woman in front of him. ¡°Heh, are you that little bastard¡¯s father?¡± Luther¡¯s wife nced at Lucas with disdain and rolled her eyes. ¡°That little bastard of yours broke the logo of my car and had the audacity to nder my son, saying that he did it. And that old fogey even dared to talk back to me and hit my son. And now, you hurt my bodyguard. Tell me, how should youpensate us?¡± Lucas¡¯s gaze was ice cold. After hearing this woman scolding his daughter and father-inw, he red daggers at her. Holding Amelia in his arms, he asked coldly, ¡°In that case, how much do you want me topensate you?¡± For some reason, Luther¡¯s wife felt a chill all over her body, causing her to shiver subconsciously. But she soon shouted angrily, ¡°Just now, you only needed topensate us fifteen million dors for the damage done to my car and my mental damage. But now that you¡¯ve beaten up my bodyguard so badly, you have topensate us at least 150 million dors! Otherwise, my husband won¡¯t let you off!¡± Then the woman nced at Luther and said coquettishly, ¡°Honey, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Staring straight at Lucas, Luther said coldly, ¡°Yeah! How dare you injure my person? You must be tired of living! We¡¯re already being kind enough by only making youpensate us 150 million dors!¡± Amelia wiped her tears and said aggrievedly, ¡°Daddy, I didn¡¯t hit Tommy, and I didn¡¯t damage their car. It was Tommy who broke the golden crown!¡± William said, ¡°Yeah, that boy was holding the logo at first, but he stuffed it in Amelia¡¯s hands and said she broke it. How could Amelia lie? Later on, this woman pped Amelia and even imed that I bullied them. They¡¯re lying. I didn¡¯ty a finger on them!¡± Lucas nodded, the gaze turning colder. Lucas understood his daughter very well and knew that she would never lie. Since she said that Tommy broke the Maserati logo, he must have broken it. He didn¡¯t expect this mother and son to be so shameless. Not only did they falsely use Amelia and William, they even hit them and had the nerve to demand that theypensate 150 million dors. ¡°Amelia, I believe you. Since you said you didn¡¯t break the logo, you didn¡¯t break it. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Lucas touched Amelia¡¯s head and asked William, ¡°Can you still hold on, William?¡± William touched his chest, which was still aching from the kick, and nodded. ¡°Yeah, I can still manage.¡± ¡°Okay, then, please take Amelia home first. Leave the matter here to me.¡± Just as Lucas was about to ce Amelia in William¡¯s arms, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and frowned. She said with worry all over her tiny face, ¡°No, Daddy, I don¡¯t want to leave you! There are so many bad guys. I can¡¯t leave you behind alone with these viins!¡± Seeing how well-behaved and sensible Amelia was and how she was insisting on staying with him despite being frightened, Lucas felt his heart melt. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Amelia. Trust me. I¡¯m very strong, and I will definitely defeat these bad guys. Be good and go home with Grandpa. Wait for me at home, okay?¡± Lucas said calmly. Hearing this, Amelia finally calmed down and said in a puerile voice, ¡°Okay. But Daddy, you have to be careful and make sure you defeat the bad guys ande home safely!¡± ¡°Okay, I promise.¡± Lucas touched his daughter¡¯s soft hair and ced her in William¡¯s arms. At this moment, a piercing voice suddenly sounded at the side. ¡°You want to leave? Did I say you could leave?¡± Chapter 1308 - 1308 The Holmes’ Family Meeting 1308 The Holmes¡¯ Family Meeting Lucas nced at the arrogant Luther and ignored him. He simply said to William, ¡°It¡¯s okay, William. Please go home with Amelia. With me here, no one will dare to stop you.¡± Hearing this, William finally heaved a sigh of relief. He knew that even if he stayed here, he would only be a burden to Lucas. Since he couldn¡¯t be of any help, he might as well quickly take Amelia away so that Lucas wouldn¡¯t have any other worries. ¡°Okay, then, be careful!¡± William hurriedly left with Amelia in his arms. Luther immediately flew into a rage and ordered, ¡°Stop them! Don¡¯t even think about leaving!¡± The remaining bodyguard immediately charged toward William and Amelia. But as soon as his body moved, Lucas was already standing in front of him to stop him. ¡°Take one more step forward, and you will die!¡± Lucas said coldly. The bodyguard shivered and looked at his coworker, who had been sent flying by Lucas¡¯s kick and was now lying on the ground. His eyes showed obvious hesitation and scruples. The young man in front of him could kick his coworker, whosebat strength was on par with his, into such a terrible state. In that case, he certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to do much better. While the bodyguard was hesitating going forward, William had already left with Amelia. Luther¡¯s face darkened. He had said twice that no one was allowed to leave, yet Lucas actually had the audacity to disobey his orders and even threaten his bodyguard. This was simply intolerable for Luther. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re really brave! Do you know who I am?¡± Luther stared straight into Lucas¡¯s eyes. Lucas nced at him. ¡°The Holmes, huh? How much did you say you want me topensate you?¡± Before Luther could answer, his wife said viciously, ¡°Two hundred million dors! Since you dared offend the Holmes, you should be prepared to pay the price! If you can¡¯tpensate us the full sum, you can forget about leaving in one piece!¡± ¡°Two hundred million dors? Hah, you¡¯re really greedy.¡± Lucas sneered. How brazen of the Holmes to demand so much money! An ordinary middle-ss person would never be able to make 200 million dors in their lifetime, even if they sold all their assets. It seemed that this couple didn¡¯t n to leave a way out for him. Luther didn¡¯t respond to his wife suddenly increasing thepensation. Instead, he smiled smugly. ¡°My wife is right. Two hundred million dors! And not a penny less! ¡°I¡¯ll give you two hours to prepare the money. If I don¡¯t receive two hundred million dors in two hours, you should know what the consequences will be. ¡°But if you really can¡¯te up with the money, you can use your house and your woman as coteral. Hah, your daughter looks good, so your wife should be pretty good too. I can make do with them and let you offset some of your debt.¡± Lucas¡¯s gaze was icy cold as he looked at Luther like he was a dead man. Luther insulting Cheyennepletely stepped on Lucas¡¯s bottom line. ¡°You want two hundred million dors, huh? Okay, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Lucas looked at Luther and took out his phone to make a call. ¡°Transfer two hundred million dors to the Holmes right now. Lucas said, ¡°In a few minutes, the two hundred million dors will be transferred to the Holmes¡¯ ount. You can check itter.¡± Luther snorted coldly with disdain. ¡°Hah, do you think I¡¯ll believe you just because you¡¯ve made a call and said that you¡¯ve transferred two hundred million dors? Do you think I¡¯m so easy to fool?¡± ¡°You can call Norman Holmes yourself to ask if the money has arrived and whether I¡¯m fooling you. Oh yes, remember to tell Norman Holmes that my name is Lucas Gray.¡± ¡­ Meanwhile, in the Holmes¡¯ mansion in DC¡­ The atmosphere in the mansion was very depressing, and no one dared to speak. Norman, the family¡¯s helmsman, was cooping himself up in his room and venting his anger by smashing everything he could in the room. ¡°You¡¯re so angry! The Holmes finally managed to expand our businesses and reach our current scale, but we had to give away half of our assets overnight. I¡¯m really indignant! ¡°Damn you, Lucas Gray! Damn the Parkers! You¡¯ve robbed my family¡¯s assets and businesses. When I get the opportunity, I won¡¯t let you off! I will make you return everything to me one day!¡± Norman had already brought the Holmes¡¯ asset documents to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters this morning and handed over half of his family¡¯s assets. But the more he thought about it, the more ufortable and heartbroken he felt. The assets were worth nearly 10 billion dors! Yet he had to give them away for nothing. Norman felt extremely anguished. But there was nothing he could do since Lucas was much stronger than the Holmes. When Norman was almost finished venting in his room, someone knocked on the door cautiously. ¡°Mr. Holmes, are you avable? It¡¯s almost time for the family meeting, and everyone has already arrived in the conference room.¡± Norma looked at the time. It was indeed time for the family meeting. He suppressed his anger, adjusted his clothes, and walked out of his room. He had to exin to the family why he had given away half of the family¡¯s assets. He had arranged the family meeting today to rify this matter. After arriving at the conference room, Norman sat at the head of the long conference table, and the other important members of the family sat at their usual seats. Norman looked around and suddenly discovered that someone was missing. ¡°Why isn¡¯t Luther here?¡± Beside him, a steward of the Holmes said, ¡°I was with Mr. Luther earlier, but something happened to Mr. Tommy, so Mr. Luther went to handle it. He should be back soon.¡± Norman nodded and asked, ¡°What happened to Tommy? Is it serious?¡± Tommy was his only grandson, so he naturally cherished him and paid a lot of attention to him. The steward said, ¡°I heard it¡¯s just a trivial matter. Mr. Luther has gone to settle it, so he should be able to resolve it soon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. We won¡¯t wait for him then. Let¡¯s begin the meeting.¡± Norman looked at everyone in the conference room solemnly. ¡°I¡¯m sure everyone is already aware of what happened today. I know you must be upset and wondering why I handed over half of our family¡¯s assets and businesses to the Stardust Corporation. The purpose of today¡¯s meeting is to exin this matter to you!¡± Next, Norman gave an ount of how he had formed an alliance with six other families to deal with the Parkers, only to end up suffering a huge loss. He also mentioned how Lucas had forced him to hand over half of the family¡¯s assets. After hearing that their dignified family had been forced into such a situation by an unknown young man, many members of the family were displeased, thinking that it was all because Norman was too weak and ipetent. However, after hearing that not only Holmes but the other sex families had also been forced to hand over half of their assets, the Holmes were at a loss for words. This could only mean that the young man named Lucas Gray was indeed very terrifying! Chapter 1309 - 1309 Two Hundred Million Dollars 1309 Two Hundred Million Dors Looking at the faces of his family members, Norman said with self-reproach, ¡°This time, I indeed underestimated the abilities of the Parkers and Lucas Gray, which caused our family to suffer heavy losses. I¡¯m sorry, everyone. ¡°But I swear that I won¡¯t let this matter rest! One day, I will lead you to take back everything we¡¯ve lost from the enemy¡¯s hands!¡± The Holmes knew that they couldn¡¯t me Norman for this, so they spoke one after another. ¡°Norman, there¡¯s no need to me yourself too much. We know you didn¡¯t want this to happen either. Who knew we would encounter such a powerful opponent?¡± !! ¡°Yeah, Norman, this really isn¡¯t your fault. Just as you¡¯ve said, even Rayson Williams, the helmsman of one of the eight top families in DC, suffered at the hands of Lucas Gray. Even over a hundred of the Williams¡¯ experts were detained by Lucas Gray. The Holmes are truly no match for this person. ¡°Norman, don¡¯t worry. We will definitely bring the Holmes to glory again and take back everything we¡¯ve lost!¡± The Holmes had a rather peaceful and calm attitude toward Norman. They didn¡¯t get upset or lose their temper with him because of this matter. In all fairness, Norman had been performing well as the helmsman of the Holmes all these years. He managed to develop the family and help them rise from a low-ranking family to a second-tier family. Thus, as long as he didn¡¯tmit an irreparable mistake, the rest of the family wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything to him. This was the prestige that Norman had in the Holmes family. Suddenly, the ountant in charge of the Holmes¡¯ finances received a text message about a deposit of 200 million dors in their main bank ount. He was so shocked that he stood up from his seat. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Farrer, the ountant, stared nkly at the text message on his phone. The Holmes weren¡¯t expecting to receive so much money recently! Farrer¡¯s movements were too big, so he immediately attracted the attention of the others in the conference room, including Norman¡¯s. Norman looked at Farrer in puzzlement and asked, ¡°Farrer, what¡¯s going on?¡± Farrer came back to his senses and suddenly said, ¡°Mr. Norman, we¡¯ve just received a deposit of two hundred million dors in our main ount, but it¡¯s quite strange¡­¡± ¡°Two hundred million dors?!¡± Upon hearing the amount, even Norman couldn¡¯t help being shocked. After numerous years of development, the Holmes had amassed a total worth of about 20 billion dors. Their wealth included arge amount of real estate, stocks, and other assets. Their liquidity was less than 1.5 billion dors, so the sudden influx of 200 million dors was indeed a massive sum. ¡°Who transferred it to us?¡± Norman asked. Farrer¡¯s expression became even stranger as he said hesitantly, ¡°It¡¯s from the Stardust Corporation.¡± As soon as Norman heard the words ¡®the Stardust Corporation¡¯, his expression also became strange. The name of the Stardust Corporation was deeply etched in Norman¡¯s mind now. Whenever he heard it, he felt excruciating pain throughout his body. The Stardust Corporation was where he had handed over nearly 10 billion dors¡¯ worth of his family¡¯s assets this morning! But this made things even stranger. He had just transferred half of his family¡¯s businesses and assets to the Stardust Corporation this morning. Why did the Stardust Corporation suddenly transfer 200 million dors to the Holmes? What¡¯s going on? Could Lucas Gray and the Stardust Corporation not want to be known as robbers, so they deliberately transferred two hundred million dors to the Holmes to make it look like they paid for the assets instead of robbing them? For a while, Norman couldn¡¯t figure out what Lucas was thinking. Suddenly, Norman¡¯s phone on the conference table rang. The voice of his only son, Luther, came clearly from the other end. ¡°Dad, did someone transfer two hundred million dors to our bank ount?¡± Norman hurriedly asked, ¡°Luther, what¡¯s going on? Does the two hundred million dors have something to do with you?¡± Luther sounded even more surprised than Norman. ¡°What? Did he really transfer two hundred million dors to our ount? Dad, are you sure the money arrived?¡± Norman¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly had an ominous premonition. He frantically asked, ¡°Luther Holmes, what¡¯s going on? Who transferred the money to us? Hurry up and tell me clearly!¡± Luther didn¡¯t notice anything amiss. He merely thought that he had gotten a lot of money. He had just mentioned it casually, yet the fool opposite him had really transferred 200 million dors to the Holmes. He was ted! ¡°Haha, Dad, let me tell you. I ran into an idiot today and told him to give me two hundred million dors aspensation. He actually really did it. If I had known he was sopliant, I would have asked him for more money. This is almost a few months of our family¡¯s profit! ¡°Oh, by the way, this idiot seems to know you. He even wanted me to tell you that his name is Lucas Gray. Do you think he was frightened silly by your reputation?¡± Luther was still speaking proudly, but when Norman heard the name Lucas Gray, his body immediately trembled. ¡°What¡­ what did you say? Did you say that his name is Lucas Gray? Is¡­ is he a tall young man in his twenties?¡± Norman asked, his voice shaking. Luther still had no idea what was happening. He nced at Lucas and answered nonchntly, ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a young man in histe twenties. Dad, do you really know this idiot?¡± Norman was so angry that he was on the verge of having a heart attack. He hollered, ¡°Who are you calling an idiot?! You¡¯re the idiot! And the greatest one at that! ¡°I don¡¯t care what happened between you two and why he transferred money to us. In any case, immediately kneel down and apologize to him. Quickly beg him to forgive you. Do you hear me?¡± Norman was practically shouting at the top of his lungs. He never thought that his son would provoke Lucas! The Holmes had ended up in this state and had been forced to hand over half of the family¡¯s assets because of Lucas. Moreover, they were still discussing the matter just now. Although they couldn¡¯t let Lucas off, they had to take him seriously. Before finding a backer who could rival Lucas, they definitely couldn¡¯t provoke him again. But what happened now? Before the meeting even ended, Norman¡¯s only son had encountered Lucas and offended him greatly! As for Lucas¡¯spensation of 200 million dors, Norman knew that his son must have extorted Lucas, given that Luther had done simr things in the past. Otherwise, what could have happened to warrant apensation of 200 million dors? After offending Lucas so terribly, could Luther return in one piece? Norman didn¡¯t dare to think about it anymore. He could only tell his son to kneel and beg for forgiveness. Perhaps this way, he might have a chance of survival. Chapter 1310 - 1310 Greed 1310 Greed ¡°Dad, are you out of your mind? You actually want me to kneel and apologize to this punk?¡± Luther¡¯s voice of disbelief came from the phone. ¡°Dad, are you kidding me? This punk¡­ he¡¯s just an ordinary person, while I¡¯m the scion of the esteemed Holmes family. How can I kneel and apologize to someone like him?¡± Luther had never suffered such humiliation before! Norman flew into a rage. ¡°I told you to kneel and apologize, so kneel and apologize. Why are you talking so much nonsense? Would I harm you? I¡¯m doing this to save your life! ¡°Anyway, send me your current location, and I¡¯ll rush over right now! If you still haven¡¯t received Mr. Gray¡¯s forgiveness by the time I arrive, don¡¯t me me for being merciless!¡± !! Norman hung up furiously. Luther, who was standing in the square, was staring at his phone,pletely dumbfounded. He couldn¡¯t understand his father¡¯s request at all. Lucas looked like an extremely ordinary young man. He was wearing shabby clothes without a single designer item on his body. Moreover, he drove a Jaguar, which was too lowlypared to the cars of the wealthy scions in DC. More importantly, there wasn¡¯t a prominent family in DC with thest name Gray. He was the scion of the Holmes family. Why should he kneel and apologize to this person? Luther¡¯s wife had heard some of their conversation and asked in horror, ¡°Honey, what did your father just say? How¡­ how could he make you kneel and beg this idiot for forgiveness? Is there something wrong? Your father must have mistaken him for someone else, right?¡± Luther came to a sudden realization. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Dad must have gotten the wrong person! Maybe this guy just has the same name as a big shot named Lucas Gray! How can I kneel and apologize to someone like him?¡± He was subconsciously only willing to believe this reason. Initially, Luther had thought that since the 200 million dors had already arrived in the ount, he could let Lucas leave. But after giving it some consideration, he changed his mind. Since Lucas had so easily transferred 200 million dors, he was obviously a rich idiot. He had to continue extorting him. ¡°Punk, you¡¯re indeed a man of your word. The money has arrived.¡± Luther looked at Lucas with malicious intentions. ¡°This money ispensation for the damage to my wife¡¯s car and for injuring my bodyguards. ¡°But don¡¯t forget that your father-inw also hit my wife and my precious son. We can¡¯t just let this slide, can we? Tell me, how much do you n topensate me for their mental suffering?¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t help bursting intoughter. He had never seen anyone so greedy and thick in the head. ¡°You wanted me topensate you with two hundred million dors, but your car is only worth ten million at most, which is not even a fraction of two hundred million dors. This amount doesn¡¯t include the so-called mental suffering?¡± Lucas retorted. ¡°Since I¡¯ve told you to pay up, then pay up! What nonsense are you babbling? Besides, I clearly told you topensate me with two hundred million dors, but you transferred it to the Holmes¡¯ main ount. Did I get a single penny of it? Since I didn¡¯t, it means yourpensation doesn¡¯t count. Do you get it? ¡°If you know what¡¯s good for you, you¡¯d better transfer two hundred million dors to me right now, not a single cent less. Otherwise, you¡¯ll get it from me!¡± Luther said greedily. Next to him, his wife chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right! Only the money paid in our ount is considered ourpensation. Who knows why you transferred the money to another ount. It certainly doesn¡¯t count! Anyway, transfer two hundred million dors to my husband¡¯s ount right now. Otherwise, we¡¯ll immediately call people over and make sure you don¡¯t leave this ce in one piece!¡± In their opinion, Lucas was clearly afraid of the Holmes since he hadpliantly transferred the massive sum of 200 million dors to them. This man could fork out so much money so easily. Clearly, he had a lot of cash in hand. Thinking that Lucas was wealthy but stupid and not from a well-known family, they decided to take advantage of this opportunity to extort more money from him! In total, they would be getting 400 million dors! At the thought that they would acquire such a huge sum of money in just one day, Luther and his wife were over the moon. Luther and his wife immediately shocked the onlookers speechless. They were all ordinary people, and they had never seen anyone as shameless as Luther and his wife. After extorting Lucas of 200 million dors, they had the cheek to say that thepensation didn¡¯t count since the money hadn¡¯t been transferred to their ount. They were even forcing him to transfer another 200 million dors. Luther and his wife were the most thick-skinned and shameless people the onlookers had ever seen! The scion of the Holmes was actually so shameless, surprising many people and ruining their fantasies of the wealthy. Of course, despite being shocked and disappointed, none of them dared to criticize the Holmes for going overboard out of consideration of their status and power. Luther and his wife had already regarded Lucas as a fool they could extort. They even thought that Lucas would obediently transfer another massive sum of money to them again. But unexpectedly, Lucas only stood still and said indifferently, ¡°You want me topensate you again? No, not a single cent!¡± His words immediately angered Luther. The man who had just transferred 200 million dors without batting an eyelid actually said that he didn¡¯t have a single cent left. Who would believe this? He must be taking me for a fool! Luther shouted viciously, ¡°Damn it! Punk, are you courting death? Let me tell you, I won¡¯t let you off if you don¡¯tpensate me! ¡°My father is Norman Holmes, the helmsman of the Holmes family. He¡¯s on his way here with his subordinates. If you refuse topensate me, you will be dead meat once my fatheres! Do you hear me?¡± ¡°Is Norman Holmesing? Okay, I¡¯ll wait for him toe!¡± Lucas sneered and made a call. ¡°Bring some people to the leisure square in the center of mymunity. Come here as soon as possible.¡± Hearing Lucas calling people over, Luther didn¡¯t stop him. Instead, he said with disdain, ¡°Hmph, fine, I¡¯ll let you call people here. No matter who you call, it won¡¯t matter to the Holmes!¡± Lucas ignored him. About seven minutester, close to 30 ck Mercedes-Benz cars charged over and stopped outside the leisure square. Four or five burly men in ck suits immediately jumped out from each car, totaling more than a hundred people. As they stood in the leisure square, their aura was astonishing, causing the surrounding crowd to hurriedly step back, for fear of being implicated. Seeing so many people in front of them, Luther and his wife smiled smugly. ¡°Our people are here. Punk, it seems like your end ising!¡± Lucas smiled strangely. ¡°Is that so? Are you sure they¡¯re your people?¡± Chapter 1311 - 1311 Who Is It? 1311 Who Is It? After Luther heard what Lucas said, the smile on his face stiffened, and bewilderment shed in his eyes. His wife immediately shouted, ¡°If they¡¯re our people, are they yours, you bumpkin? You just moved here. How could you find so many experts within such a short time? You¡¯re really shameless!¡± Lucas remained calm and didn¡¯t even look at the two of them. The person leading the men in ck was tall, burly, and dashing. He walked over to Lucas, got down on one knee, and reported, ¡°Lucas, due to time constraints, I only brought a hundred people here. Are they enough?¡± Lucas nodded. ¡°Yes. Wait for me here.¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± the leader acknowledged. With a wave of his hand, the hundred people stood neatly behind Lucas, their momentum astonishing. This scene shocked Luther and his wife speechless. ¡°This punk¡­ called these people over? How¡­ how is that possible?¡± Lucas saw the Maserati parked by the roadside at a nce. The logo on the hood of the car was gone, so this must be the car that they had used Amelia of damaging. ¡°Smash that car!¡± Lucas pointed at the Maserati. ¡°Yes!¡±¡® The muscr leader acknowledged and instructed, ¡°Lucas wants us to smash that car!¡± The next moment, the hundred people charged straight toward the Maserati. After one punchnded, there was a huge dent in the hood. With the next punch, the ss windows of the car shattered. ¡°Stop it! Stop! This is my car! It¡¯s worth more than ten million dors! I¡¯ll kill you if you dare to touch it! Stop! Do you hear me?!¡± Luther¡¯s wife screamed hysterically and tried to stop them from smashing her beloved car. But how could these people listen to her? Even though these burly men were hitting the car with their bare hands, the effect was simr to using weapons. In just a few seconds, the ten-million-dor luxury car turned into a pile of distorted scrap metal. This scene stunned the onlookers. This expensive car was smashed into a pile of scrap metal with bare hands just like that. Seeing that her beloved car had turned into scrap metal, Luther¡¯s wife was boiling with fury. She lost her sanity on the spot and charged at Lucas while waving her long fingernails. ¡°Bastard! How dare you smash my car? Compensate me for it!¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Before she could even touch Lucas, the person next to Lucas kicked her away. She fell to the ground in distress. Lucas looked coldly at Luther¡¯s wife lying on the ground. ¡°Your car? I remember clearly that the two hundred million dors you wanted me topensate you includes thepensation for this car. In other words, this car belongs to me now, and I can smash it however I want. It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Luther¡¯s wife was stunned. Only then did she remember that when she demandedpensation from Lucas, she had included the full price of the car. In that case, it wasn¡¯t a problem for Lucas to say that the car belonged to him. But she just wanted to extort him and make him give them more money. She didn¡¯t really n to give away her beloved car! Her Maserati was thetest model and had been flown in from abroad. She had only driven it a few times and was already in love with it. Even though the logo had been damaged, it would cost only a few thousand dors to get it reced with a new one. In fact, she was nning to get it reced after settling everything today! But her car had now been turned into a pile of scrap metal. She was so furious that she almost vomited blood. Seeing that his wife had been kicked to the ground, Luther flew into a rage. ¡°Bastard, how dare you touch my woman? You must have a death wish! Just you wait. I won¡¯t let you off!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, a Lincoln limousine sped over and stopped outside the leisure square. Seeing the familiar license te, Luther felt confident and grinned smugly. ¡°Bastard, my father is here. It¡¯s time for you to die!¡± The door of the limousine opened, and an elderly man in his sixties stepped out of it. It was Norman! ¡°Wow, take a look! It¡¯s Norman Holmes, the head of the Holmes family! I had the honor to see him from a distance before!¡± ¡°Since Mr. Holmes is here in person, it seems that the matter today has already spiraled out of proportion. This isn¡¯t going to end well!¡± ¡°Yeah, the Holmes are very powerful now. Since the Waltons left DC, a position among the eight top families of DC has opened up, and thepetition is fierce. I heard that the Holmes are likely to take over this position!¡± ¡°Wow! It seems that the Holmes are really impressive. They¡¯re definitely not people we can afford to offend! It looks like that young man and his family are doomed! Ah, speaking of which, they¡¯ve really encountered a disaster today. They were living well before, but now¡­¡± ¡°Shh! Keep your volume down! Are you tired of living? If the Holmes¡¯ helmsman hears you, we¡¯ll be in trouble too!¡± ¡­ After Norman appeared in the leisure square, the surrounding crowd burst into discussion. But their voices were extremely soft, for fear that Norman and the Holmes would hear them. Seeing that their greatest backer had arrived, Luther and his wife instantly felt confident and weren¡¯t worried anymore. Luther¡¯s wife even mocked Lucas. ¡°Bumpkin, weren¡¯t you very smug just now? Since you had the guts to hit my bodyguards and get your people to smash my car, I¡¯ll see how you can continue being arrogant now that the helmsman of the Holmes is here!¡± Luther mocked too, ¡°Hah, you¡¯re just a nobody. In front of my father, you¡¯re nothing! My father is the helmsman of the Holmes. With a singlemand of his, a small fry like you will die!¡± Lucas looked at the few people in front of him yfully and suddenly smiled. ¡°Oh? Is that so? Is Mr. Holmes really here to confront me? I think your father is here to teach you, his unfilial son, a lesson.¡± Luther snapped, ¡°Damn it! You bastard, who are you calling unfilial? When my father sees how arrogant you are, you¡¯ll die miserably!¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk with him at all. He merely nced at Norman, who was walking over with a mirthless smile. Chapter 1312 - 1312 Regret 1312 Regret Because numerous cars were surrounding the leisure square, it took Norman more than 20 seconds to walk over, so he didn¡¯t have time to say anything yet. Luther stepped forward, supported Norman¡¯s arm, andined, ¡°Dad, you¡¯re finally here! Did you hear that? This arrogant bastard dared to scold me in front of you. He even got so many people to surround us, and they also smashed my wife¡¯s car and hit her! You can¡¯t let him off!¡± His wife also hurried over to hold Norman¡¯s other arm andined with tears all over her face, ¡°Norman, your precious grandson and I were bullied terribly! This bastard has a little bastard who bullied Tommy, and they hit us. If you don¡¯t stand up for us, who knows what else they¡¯ll do to us!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Norman roared angrily. He pped Luther¡¯s wife, who was crying andining, instantly dumbfounding her. Immediately afterward, he pped Luther hard on the face. The two loud ps stunned everyone. Luther¡¯s wife was dazed for a long time before she covered her face and yelled, ¡°Norman, why¡­ why did you hit me?¡± ¡°Who else would I hit if not you?! You¡¯re the source of this trouble, you jinx. Of course, you deserve to be pped!¡± Norman glowered at her, wishing he could p her again. On the way here, he had already roughly guessed what had happened. After learning what Luther¡¯s wife had done, he wished he could kill her on the spot. At first, Luther had been doing a good job handling his business, but this woman had called his son over, which eventually led to him offending Lucas. Of course, Norman med it on her. Luther waspletely dumbstruck by his father¡¯s p. All these years, he had been showered with love by Norman because he was the only son. He had never been pped in public before. ¡°Dad, you actually pped me? What mistake did we make? This bastard and his daughter are clearly the ones at fault!¡± Luther said in disbelief. ¡°Idiot, you¡¯ve made a huge mistake, but you¡¯re still unrepentant? I should just beat you to death!¡± When Norman saw that his son was still being stubborn, didn¡¯t know what mistake he had made, and even insulted Lucas, he was furious and flustered. He charged over and continously pped Luther fiercely. Covering his face and head with his hands, Luther wailed, but he didn¡¯t dare to hit his father back. He could only shout frantically, ¡°Dad, stop! Stop! You should be pping that bastard. Why are you hitting me?¡± Hearing this, Norman was on the verge of vomiting blood. He had already instructed Luther to kneel and beg Lucas for forgiveness. However, this imbecile not only didn¡¯t obey his instructions, but he even insulted Lucas. He was courting death! If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Luther was his only son, Norman would have abandoned a fool like him and left him to his own devices long ago! There was also Luther¡¯s wife. She was just a brainless woman who was nothing more than a pretty face and couldn¡¯t get anything done properly. All she did was go around forming enemies and feuds. Even though things had alreadye to this, this woman still kept insulting Lucas and his child. She was just adding fuel to the fire and causing the Holmes to end up in a more miserable plight. The more Norman thought about it, the angrier he became. He didn¡¯t stop hitting Luther. If it wasn¡¯t because she was his daughter-inw and it wasn¡¯t appropriate for him to hit a woman, he would have beaten this idiot couple together. Lucas coldly watched the chaos between the Holmes without saying anything. The hundred people stood behind him neatly, exuding a silent sense of oppression. The surrounding crowd was utterly bbergasted by the scene before them. They had thought that after Norman arrived, he would definitely get his people to teach Lucas a lesson. There might even be a group fight between Norman¡¯s people and Lucas¡¯s. To their surprise, the first thing Norman did when he arrived was to beat his son up. This scene waspletely beyond their expectations. Norman was pping Luther with all his might, leaving numerous red marks on his face and causing him to wail in pain. But due to his old age, he was panting after pping him for a while and could no longer continue. Panting heavily, he walked over to Lucas and bowed his head respectfully. He said in a shaky voice, ¡°I am so sorry, Mr. Gray. I failed to teach my son well. I am so sorry that he offended you! ¡°Mr. Gray, please spare my son once on ount that the Holmes have just submitted to you! From now on, I will definitely take him in hand and make sure he doesn¡¯t make any more mistakes!¡± Boom! As soon as he said this, everyone was thunderstruck. What did they just hear? Norman Holmes, the helmsman of the esteemed Holmes family, actually apologized to a young man and begged for his forgiveness? His attitude was so deferential and cautious, as if he was afraid of offending Lucas. They even heard the word ¡®submit¡¯. Who submitted to whom? Could the Holmes have pledged allegiance to this young man in his twenties? They couldn¡¯t believe it! Luther¡¯s jaw dropped, and his mind went nk. Why¡­ why couldn¡¯t he understand what his father said? His wife gaped with disbelief all over her face. But seeing Norman¡¯s expression, she had no choice but to believe it. Suddenly, a chill surged up straight from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, causing her to be filled with fear and horror. Could Lucas Gray really be some big shot that even Norman has to behave deferentially toward him? When she thought of what she had done earlier, such as pping Lucas¡¯s daughter, calling her a little bastard, and extorting 200 million dors from Lucas under the pretext ofpensation, her face turned pale, and overwhelming regret flooded her heart. If she had known that Lucas was such a terrifying figure, she wouldn¡¯t have dared to offend him and his daughter! Chapter 1313 - 1313 Settling Scores 1313 Settling Scores Lucas just nced at Norman and ignored his pleas. He said indifferently, ¡°Just stand at the side and don¡¯t make anyments. I will handle this myself.¡± Norman¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t going to let his son off easily. He gritted his teeth and pleaded, ¡°Mr. Gray, I know it¡¯s my son¡¯s fault for what happened today, but he¡¯s my only son. Please spare his life!¡± Lucas¡¯s expression darkened, and the next moment, he gave Norman a resounding p across the face. ¡°I just told you to shut up and stand at the side. If you dare to be nosy, don¡¯t me me for being hostile!¡± He was really furious! Everything Luther and his wife had done today, especially pping Amelia, hadpletely angered Lucas. Lucas had been holding back his anger and not ring up, not because he wanted to spare Luther and his wife but because he had decided to deal with them in front of Norman. Now that Norman was here, Lucas no longer needed to hold back his anger. Unfortunately, Norman still couldn¡¯t see the situation clearly and talked too much. Lucas didn¡¯t have the patience for him. Feeling the stinging pain on his face, Norman waspletely bbergasted by Lucas¡¯s rage. Back in the Parker residence yesterday, Lucas had beenposed and indifferent, so Norman didn¡¯t expect that he would face Lucas¡¯s wrath so soon. At this moment, Norman finally realized how terrifying this feeling was. Even though he was the helmsman of the Holmes family and had a high status, his heart skipped a beat the moment Lucas lost his temper. He didn¡¯t even dare to raise his head, let alone defy Lucas. Lucas¡¯s p also caused the surrounding crowd to freeze on the spot. They never thought that the helmsman of the dignified Holmes family would be pped by a young man in public! But Norman didn¡¯t dare to retaliate or even show any anger. This scene caused the jaws of countless people to drop. Luther and his wife were the ones who were the most shocked! They never thought that Norman would be pped by Lucas like a junior getting scolded and being told not to be nosy. How terrifying must Lucas Gray¡¯s identity be?! Even the head of one of the eight top families in DC wouldn¡¯t humiliate his father in public! Luther and his wife turned deathly pale. They realized that they had really made an irreparable mistake and offended a big shot they should have never offended! ¡°You said you wantedpensation, and I already paid it. Now, it¡¯s time we settle scores for everything that happened today.¡± Lucas looked at Luther and his wife coldly. ¡°Especially the matter about hitting my daughter.¡± His gazended on Luther¡¯s wife, and the coldness in his eyes was piercing. Luther¡¯s wife shivered uncontrobly, and her legs went limp as she dropped to her knees. ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± she stammered, her heart beating wildly. She couldn¡¯t form aplete sentence. ¡°Bitch! This is all your fault! Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Gray!¡± Knowing how terrifying Luca¡¯s identity was and seeing him aze with anger, Luther couldn¡¯t care about anything else. He fell to his knees in front of Lucas before pping his wife hard and scolding her, ¡°Keep pping your face until Mr. Gray forgives you!¡± At this moment, his wife couldn¡¯t care about the humiliation. She just wanted to survive. After hearing Luther¡¯s scolding, she raised her hands without a word and alternately pped her face heavily on each side with each hand. p! p! p! While pping herself loudly, she pleaded for mercy with Lucas, ¡°I¡­ it¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have been so foul-mouthed. I shouldn¡¯t have hit your daughter! Mr. Gray, please forgive me! ¡°I¡¯m just a bitch who doesn¡¯t know anything. I won¡¯t dare to do this anymore. From now on, I¡¯ll turn over a new leaf and stop bullying people. Mr. Gray, please let me off!¡± Luther¡¯s wife was merciless with the ps because she wanted to beg for Lucas¡¯s forgiveness. Soon, her cheeks were swollen, and there were handprints all over her face. Lucas looked coldly at the two people kneeling in front of him. ¡°You two should know clearly what the cause is and what the truth is. You clearly knew that my daughter was innocent, yet you still hit her. She¡¯s only five, but you actually hit her! ¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯m usually quite easygoing, but my family are the most important people to me. No one is allowed to harm them! But you people crossed the line and touched my taboo. How can I let you off easily?¡± Lucas¡¯s icy cold voice continued, ¡°I¡¯ll break the hand you used to p my daughter. Does this sound fair? Also, you kept insulting my daughter. Since you have such a foul mouth, I don¡¯t think you need to talk anymore. I¡¯ll sever your tongue!¡± Luther¡¯s wife was scared soulless. She copsed to the ground and instantly wet her pants. Luther was terrified as well. His heart was pounding rapidly as he frantically kowtowed. ¡°Mr. Gray, please spare me! I really know my mistakes. Please let me off!¡± Lucas¡¯s cold eyes fell on Luther. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t forget to settle scores with you too. ¡°You got your bodyguards to hit my father-inw and even tried to kidnap him and my daughter. I won¡¯t let you off easily.¡± Luther was so frightened that he was shuddering while begging for forgiveness profusely. But Lucas remained unmoved. Lucas said, ¡°You have to pay the price for everything you do. Since you got people to kick my father-inw and caused him to suffer heavy injuries, I¡¯ll pay you back in your own coin. ¡°I have a hundred people here. If you¡¯re still alive after each of them kicks you once, then we¡¯re even!¡± Norman and Luther both had a drastic change in expression! Chapter 1314 - 1314 Who Went Overboard? 1314 Who Went Overboard? Getting kicked by a hundred people? Even if they were a hundred ordinary people, he would definitely die from all the kicks. Moreover, the people Lucas had called over were all experts. They had just ruined the Maserati with their bare hands. If they kicked someone, let alone survive, this person would probably turn into a pile of badly mangled flesh. Only now did Luther feel immense horror. He frantically shouted at his father, ¡°Dad! Quicklye save me! I don¡¯t want to die! If you don¡¯t save me, I¡¯ll be dead meat!¡± At this moment, only his father could save him. Meanwhile, another figure appeared next to Lucas. It was Jordan. ¡°Lucas, I already know what happened. How dare this woman p Amelia? I¡¯ll make sure she pays the price!¡± Jordan walked over to Luther¡¯s wife and shouted coldly, ¡°You¡¯re the one who hit Amelia, huh? Stick out the hand you used to p her!¡± Luther¡¯s wife was scared out of her wits at this point. Kneeling on the ground, she begged profusely, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I know my mistake now, and I will never dare do it again. Please let me off! I can apologize to that child¡­ Her name¡¯s Amelia, right? I can apologize to Amelia and seek her forgiveness. I¡¯m willing to do anything as long as you don¡¯t break my hand! Please!¡± She was weeping bitterly, looking extremely miserable. Jordan was utterly unmoved. ¡°It¡¯s toote for regret now! Amelia is only a five-year-old child, but you¡¯re an adult in your thirties. How could youy your hand on a child? Are you still human? ¡°Lucas is already being very kind. He only wants to cripple one of your hands. If you still beg for mercy, your hand won¡¯t be the only thing ruined!¡± Trembling in fear, Luther¡¯s wife knew that she had really offended the wrong person this time and was about to face devastating consequences! But she couldn¡¯t bear to have her hand crippled! ¡°Norman, save me! You¡¯re the helmsman of the Holmes, and I¡¯m your daughter-inw. How can you just stand by and watch them cripple my hand? Norman, I really know my mistakes this time. Hurry up and save me. I¡¯ll definitely change! Norman!¡± Norman¡¯s expression was extremely gloomy. His hands were clenched tightly, and he was gnashing his teeth loudly. How could he not want to save his son and daughter-inw? His daughter-inw would have one hand broken and her tongue severed. If she really suffered this punishment, she would be disabled. How could she continue being a daughter-inw of the Holmes and the wife of the future helmsman? Moreover, if the hundred experts kicked his son, Luther would suffer horrendous injuries, if not die! Luther was his only son. There was no way he could ept this oue! But he had no choice now! ¡°Do it!¡± Lucas ordered. Jordan immediately grabbed Luther¡¯s wife¡¯s right wrist and squeezed it hard, crushing her wrist bones into bits. Like this, it would be difficult for her wrist to ever recover. ¡°Ah! My wrist!¡± Luther¡¯s wife shrieked, and her eyes rolled backward as she passed out in pain. Meanwhile, Luther suffered a hard kick in the chest, which sent him flying in the air before falling hard onto the ground. He screamed miserably and pleaded with Norman desperately, ¡°Ah!! Dad, save me! It hurts! My bones are about to break! Tell them to stop, or I¡¯ll die!¡± He was the scion of the Holmes. He lived a sheltered life and had never suffered any injuries before. How could he withstand this beating? After the first kick, Luther felt as if his chest bones were on the verge of breaking, and his organs were aching badly. He felt the fear of death. But his pleas were futile. The person who gave the order was Lucas, and the people taking action were Lucas¡¯s subordinates. As long as Lucas didn¡¯t say anything, the hundred burly men would never stop hitting him. Bang! The second kicknded on Luther¡¯s shoulder, causing him to clutch it and howl. Bang! The third kicknded on Luther¡¯s waist, causing him to scream like a pig getting ughtered. Bang! Bang! ¡­ The fourth kick, the fifth kick, the sixth¡­nded on his body, causing him to wail incessantly. In fact, they had already lightened their blows. Otherwise, with their strength, Luther would have died after the first kick. This scene shocked the crowd, and their eyes revealed endless horror. Luther was the scion of the Holmes, yet he was being kicked mercilessly like a ball. If they hadn¡¯t seen this scene with their own eyes, they would have never dared to believe it! ¡°Enough! Stop!¡± Hearing his son¡¯s endless screams, Norman finally couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. Lucas looked at him coldly, ¡°Now that your son is being beaten, you feel heartbroken? But did your son and daughter-inw show any mercy when they were hitting my daughter and father-inw?¡± Norman gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I admit that my son and daughter-inw are at fault. I¡¯ve apologized to you for this, but their mistakes don¡¯t warrant death, right? ¡°My daughter-inw deserves to have her hand crippled for hitting your daughter, and my son has been kicked more than ten times for hurting your father-inw. Isn¡¯t this punishment enough? ¡°Please spare them on my ount!¡± Norman was well aware that if he didn¡¯t speak up and ask for mercy now, his son might really be kicked to death! Lucas shook his head indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡± Norman¡¯s facial muscles twitched violently as he asked through gritted teeth, ¡°Mr. Gray, must you really kill my son? He may have made a mistake, but he definitely doesn¡¯t deserve to die for it. Please don¡¯t go overboard!¡± ¡°Me? Overboard?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Your dear son and daughter-inw have done many worse things! They even ordered their bodyguards to take my father-inw and daughter hostage and extorted two hundred million dors for me. Before you arrived, they even forced me to hand over another two hundred million! ¡°They even wanted me to use my house and my wife as coteral. If you were in my shoes, would you be able to forgive such behavior easily? ¡°Since you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m being overboard, why don¡¯t you think about how much worse they¡¯ve been to others before? ¡°If I were just an ordinary person and wasn¡¯t as powerful as the Holmes, would I be forced to part with my family and still have to suck it up? ... ¡°Tell me now, who went overboard!¡± Chapter 1315 - 1315 Checking Surveillance Camera Footage 1315 Checking Surveince Camera Footage Lucas¡¯s righteous usation left Norman speechless. Norman didn¡¯t expect that his son and daughter-inw had done so many things that even he thought were vicious. But no matter what, it was his son. Norman could only try his best to find a solution for this conflict and protect him. ¡°Mr. Gray, I admit that they are at fault for making you pay two hundred million dors inpensation. But at the end of the day, this conflict wouldn¡¯t have happened if your daughter hadn¡¯t damaged my daughter-inw¡¯s car. Isn¡¯t that so? ¡°Besides, you were just talking about a hypothetical situation. The truth now is that your daughter only suffered a p, and your father only suffered a kick. They didn¡¯t suffer any other injuries, but my daughter-inw has already lost one of her hands, and my son has been beaten up so badly. Maybe even a few of his bones have been broken! ¡°My son and daughter-inw are in a much worse state than your daughter and father-inw. Can¡¯t you just let them off? I can promise that such things won¡¯t happen again!¡± Norman spoke with red eyes. Lucas was about tough out loud. ¡°Hah, at this point, you actually still think that the cause of the conflict is my daughter damaging the logo of your daughter-inw¡¯s car? Okay, I¡¯ll let you see clearly what happened!¡± He instructed, ¡°Go to themunity¡¯s security office and bring me the surveince camera footage! ¡°Let¡¯s see if my daughter really damaged someone else¡¯s car but didn¡¯t dare to take responsibility or if someone used her and bullied her when they¡¯re the ones at fault!¡± Someone at the side immediately acknowledged, ¡°Yes!¡± He hurried to the security office of themunity. In this upscalemunity, there were definitely numerous surveince cameras in the public area, especially in the yground of the leisure square, so as to avoid conflicts and disputes. Lucas firmly believed that his daughter would never lie, so getting the surveince camera footage was the best way to clear her name, lest the Holmes keep harping on Amelia. Just because he didn¡¯t pursue the matter earlier, it didn¡¯t mean that he would allow others to nder his daughter! Seeing how confident Lucas was, Norman suddenly became nervous. Norman wasn¡¯t present when the incident happened. All he heard was his son and daughter-inw¡¯s one-sided im that the conflict broke out because Lucas¡¯s daughter had refused to own up to damaging his daughter-inw¡¯s car. Thus, Norman kept thinking that Lucas¡¯s family members were the ones at fault, so he had the confidence to argue with him. But if the truth was as Lucas said, and Amelia didn¡¯t damage the car, then his son and daughter-inw¡¯s behavior would be indefensible! If Amelia had really been pped when she hadn¡¯t damaged the car, and his son and daughter-inw had really forced Lucas topensate them 200 million dors¡­ Thinking of this, Norman felt his vision turn dark, and he was on the verge of breaking down. No, I have to calm down. I can¡¯t panic yet! Before getting the surveince camera footage, no one knows what the truth is. Maybe Lucas Gray¡¯s daughter is the one lying! Or what if the surveince cameras were faulty and no footage was captured? Norman could onlyfort himself like this. Unfortunately, Lucas¡¯s subordinate soon returned with a young man in a gray suit. This person was Mr. Milton, the supervisor of themunity¡¯s property management office. Milton knew that something major had happened here, but conflicts involving wealthy families like the Holmes were beyond his ability to meddle with. It was a fight between giants, so he didn¡¯t appear at all and just feigned ignorance. But since someone hade to him and requested to check the surveince camera footage, Milton could no longer feign ignorance and had no choice but to rush over with aptop and the surveince camera footage. Without a word, he immediately yed the footage. ¡°Mr. Holmes, the surveince camera footage is right here. Widen your eyes and take a good look!¡± Lucas said with a sarcastic smile. Even though he hadn¡¯t watched the surveince camera footage yet, he believed that his daughter definitely wouldn¡¯t lie, so he was certain that Amelia hadn¡¯t damaged the car logo. The surveince camera footage began ying, and Norman was staring closely at the scene on theptop screen, wanting to see clearly what the truth was. But the more he watched, the paler he became, and his body even trembled uncontrobly. Reason being, the scene in the footage waspletely different from what he had imagined! The logo of his daughter-inw¡¯s car had been broken by his grandson. From beginning to end, Amelia had never touched the car. Afterward, his grandson even stuffed the broken logo into Amelia¡¯s hand and then started bawling. Shortly after, his daughter-inw appeared and pped Amelia on the face, pping her so hard that she fell to the ground. Even after Amelia fell, his daughter-inw still wanted to continue hitting her. Moreover, Lucas¡¯s father-inw hadn¡¯tid a hand on his grandson and daughter-inw at all. All he did was protect his granddaughter in his arms, yet Norman¡¯s daughter-inw attacked him and left scratches all over his face. What happened next made Norman even more ashamed. His grandson and daughter-inw were incredibly arrogant, so much so that they even forced William to sell his house to raise funds for thepensation. They even wanted to take William and Amelia hostage and almost threw her to her death. Worse still, they even had the cheek to make Lucaspensate them 200 million dors! When Norman saw these scenes, he was utterly speechless and filled withplicated emotions. As long as he put himself in Lucas¡¯s shoes and imagined his daughter and father-inw being treated this way when they were clearly innocent, he would definitely want to kill the culprits too! It was understandable that Lucas didn¡¯t want to spare his son and daughter-inw. Thud! Norman knelt in front of Lucas, guilt written all over his face. ¡°Mr. Gray, this incident is indeed our fault. My son, daughter-inw, and grandson have all made mistakes. The Holmes have indeed wronged you. We are truly sorry for offending you, your daughter, and your father-inw! ¡°If possible, I would kill my son with my own hands to appease you! But he¡¯s my only son, and I can¡¯t let him die! If he dies, I don¡¯t know what I would do. I¡­ I really have no other choice!¡± Norman pleaded tearfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, please spare my son¡¯s life on ount that the Holmes have pledged allegiance to you! You can punish my family however you wish. I just beg you to spare his life!¡± Norman prostrated on the ground and cried bitterly. The helmsman of an established family actually knelt on the ground and begged a young man in tears with no regard for his dignity. This scene greatly shocked everyone present. Chapter 1316 - 1316 Tenfold Return 1316 Tenfold Return Lucas wasn¡¯t bent on killing Luther. But Luther and his wife¡¯s behavior truly angered him. Since Norman had his heart set on saving Luther¡¯s life, the Holmes would have to pay the price. ¡°You want me to spare his life? I remember your son and daughter-inw like making peoplepensate them for their mental suffering, and they even demand hundreds of millions of dors. In that case, it won¡¯t be too much for me to ask forpensation for my father-inw¡¯s and daughter¡¯s mental suffering, right?¡± Lucas looked down at Norman kneeling in front of him and said coldly, ¡°Since they wanted two hundred million dors inpensation, I won¡¯t ask for much. You just have topensate me with two billion dors. ¡°Within five minutes, I want to see the money deposited in the Stardust Corporation¡¯s ount. Then I¡¯ll consider today¡¯s matter is over. Otherwise, the remaining ny kicks are still waiting for your son.¡± Norman¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Two billion dors?! This¡­ this was a staggering sum of money! The Holmes¡¯ original assets added up to nearly 20 billion dors, but they had just given half of their assets to Lucas this morning. Now, they only had about 10 billion dors left, but Lucas was demanding 2 billion inpensation?! He was simply asking for almost all of the Holmes¡¯ liquid assets! Two hundred million dors¡­ Two billion dors¡­ Norman suddenly understood why Lucas had transferred thepensation of 200 million dors to the Holmes even though he was so powerful. It turned out that he was waiting for them here! He would make sure to get back everything he had been robbed of tenfold. This was Lucas¡¯s style! Norman knew that there was no way to turn the situation around. If he wanted to save Luther, this was the only solution. Norman gritted and agreed, ¡°Okay, I agree. I¡¯ll get someone to transfer the money now!¡± Then he took out his phone and made a call. ¡°Transfer 2 billion, no, 2.2 billion dors to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s ount immediately! Do it right now. The sooner, the better! We¡¯ll talk about the reason when I¡¯m back!¡± The reason it was 2.2 billion dors was that the 200 million dors that Lucas had transferred earlier was still in the Holmes¡¯ ount, which Norman didn¡¯t dare to ept. The person on the other end said something, and Norman hollered angrily, ¡°I told you to transfer the money immediately! I¡¯m the helmsman of the family, and no one can question my decisions! Even if you have any objections, wait until I return!¡± Clearly, the Holmes were displeased that Norman had transferred so much money multiple times today. In fact, it made sense. The Holmes had been told that they had suddenly lost half of their assets in just one day, and now, they had lost another two billion dors. They obviously couldn¡¯t be calm. Soon, Lucas received a call from Flynn. ¡°Lucas, we just received a transfer of 2.2 billion dors from the Holmes. May I know why?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thister.¡± After confirming that the transfer waspleted, Lucas didn¡¯t say anything else and simply said to Norman, ¡°Okay, you can leave with them now.¡± Norman seemed to have aged several years in an instant. He was furious, heartbroken, and helpless, but he could only wave his hand and leave with the other Holmes. Seeing them leaving, Jordan said unwillingly, ¡°Lucas, are you going to let them off just like that? I think the Holmes are definitely disgruntled and will most likely create some trouble in the future.¡± Lucas said calmly, ¡°Get people to keep an eye on their movements. If the Holmes really have a death wish, I¡¯ll fulfill it.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Jordan agreed. After everything was settled, Lucas looked at Jordan and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say this morning that you were going to Nevada to look for Brett Hamilton? You even said you were taking a flight there. I thought you were already there. Why are you suddenly back here?¡± Jordan said with a depressed look, ¡°Yeah, I nned to look for Brett Hamilton, but just as I was about to board the ne, I received news that something happened to the Hamiltons. So they¡¯ve given up on conquering Oregon and Nevada and left the states this morning. ¡°Fortunately, I received the news before boarding the ne. Otherwise, I would have made a wasted trip and been even more annoyed.¡± ¡°Oh, is that so? The Hamiltons actually gave up on Nevada and Oregon?¡± Lucas was quite surprised. The Hamiltons had gotten into a conflict with him in order to take over California. He remembered that the Hamiltons had almost taken over the states surrounding California. Why did they suddenly give up? Jordan was also puzzled. ¡°I¡¯m not clear about the reason yet. ording to my information, the Hamiltons were just about to subdue all the top families in Nevada and Oregon, but they suddenly left without warning. It¡¯s very strange, and I¡¯ve sent people to investigate this matter.¡± Lucas felt that the matter was extremely strange. Just a few days ago, the Hamiltons had sent more than ten suicide warriors to deal with Lucas. Clearly, they had been determined to take over California. Yet they suddenly gave up on the territories they were so close to obtaining. It was puzzling. Lucas instructed in a deep voice, ¡°No matter what, you should get people to keep close tabs on the Hamiltons and see where they went after leaving Nevada. Investigate what the other members of the Hamiltons are doing too. ¡°Especially if the Hamiltons appear in DC, inform me immediately!¡± ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan immediately acknowledged. Lucas didn¡¯t dare to rx and lose his vignce toward the Hamiltons because they had sent suicide warriors to assassinate him. Their suicide warriors had failed to kill Lucas, but if they targeted his family, they would be in great danger. ¡­ When Lucas returned home, Amelia leaped into his arms and asked worriedly, ¡°Daddy! Are you okay? Did those bad guys do anything to you?¡± Lucas picked up Amelia and said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Amelia. Those bad guys are gone now. They won¡¯t bully you again!¡± He looked at the handprint on his daughter¡¯s red and slightly swollen face in heartache. Even though William had iced Amelia¡¯s face and applied some ointment to it once they returned home, the p mark on her face was still very obvious. Chapter 1317 - 1317 Stepping Down 1317 Stepping Down ¡°Amelia, does it still hurt?¡± Lucas carefully touched Amelia¡¯s swollen face as gently as possible. Amelia hissed softly and said aggrievedly, ¡°A little, but it should stop hurting soon! Daddy, don¡¯t worry.¡± Seeing how well-behaved and sensible his daughter was, Lucas felt warm and fuzzy inside. At the same time, he was annoyed. He thought that he had been too kind to the woman who had pped Amelia by crippling only one of her hands. !! The kick William suffered wasn¡¯t light either. There was an obvious bruise in the middle of his chest. After seeing it, Lucas brought William to the hospital for a detailed checkup. After all, William wasn¡¯t young anymore. If he had sustained any internal injuries from the kick, it would be terrible. Fortunately, the results of the checkup were good, and he had only suffered superficial wounds and bruises, which would soon recover. ¡­ Meanwhile, in the conference room of the Holmes¡¯ manor¡­ Norman had left the meeting halfway to save his son, Luther. When he returned home, there was arge group of family members waiting for him in the conference room. Butpared to when his family trusted and supported him, the atmosphere in the conference room was much more solemn, and many of them were clearly displeased. In particr, an elderly man who resembled Norman was furious and disgruntled. After Norman took his seat, the elderly man immediately questioned, ¡°Norman, shouldn¡¯t you give us a reasonable exnation for what happened? ¡°The Holmes have already handed over half of our assets this morning, losing the efforts and hard work of countless people over the years! But you imed that it was necessary because we identally offended a powerful enemy. Fine, we can understand your rationale here. ¡°But what happened now? You suddenly transferred 2.2 billion dors from our family¡¯s ount to the Stardust Corporation out of nowhere. This massive sum of money is basically all of the Holmes¡¯ liquidity! Don¡¯t you think you owe us an exnation for this?¡± The person who spoke was Richie Holmes, Norman¡¯s cousin, who was about the same age as him. Richie had a high status in the Holmes family, second only to Norman¡¯s. If Richie¡¯s father had seeded the position of helmsman back then, the current helmsman of the Holmes would be Richie, not Norman. Now, apart from Richie, many other esteemed elders of the family were also extremely displeased with Norman. After losing half of their family¡¯s assets, they were already in a precarious position. But Norman suddenly transferred all of the family¡¯s working capital, which made many people extremely upset. With Richie¡¯s lead, the others chimed in one after another, ¡°Norman, quickly give us a reasonable exnation!¡± ¡°2.2 billion dors is not a small sum. Even if you¡¯re the family¡¯s helmsman, you can¡¯t squander our money away like that. You owe us an exnation!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, Norman. If you can¡¯t give us an eptable reason, we won¡¯t ept it!¡± ¡­ The atmosphere in the conference room was getting tense, and Norman¡¯s expression was extremely gloomy. Over the decades that he had been the helmsman of the Holmes, he had done countless things for the family and had always been showered withpliments and respect. It was the first time he was facing so much doubt and criticism during a family meeting. ¡°What are you doing? As I¡¯ve said, Lucas Gray from the Stardust Corporation isn¡¯t someone we can offend. As the helmsman of the Holmes, if I had any other solution, I wouldn¡¯t have transferred so much money from the family! What other exnation do you want from me?¡± Norman refused to mention what had happened and merely said this, making it sound as if Lucas had forced him to transfer the 2.2 billion dors. Richie sneered. ¡°Norman, stop fooling everyone here. The transfer has something to do with your ipetent son, Luther, right? If it wasn¡¯t because of him, the Holmes wouldn¡¯t have lost an additional 2.2 billion dors!¡± Norman¡¯s expression immediately changed. ¡°Are you stalking me?¡± ¡°Hah, must you call it stalking? This matter happened in public. As long as you take a look, you¡¯ll know. Why would I have to stalk you?¡± Richie snorted disdainfully. ¡°Norman, stop covering up for your troublemaker son and his wife. We already know what they¡¯ve done! If they hadn¡¯t offended Lucas Gray, we wouldn¡¯t have lost 2.2 billion dors! ¡°Your son and daughter-inw are the culprits, but you are to me too!¡± Suppressing his anger, Norman asked, ¡°Since things have alreadye to this, what do you want me to do?¡± Smack! Richie mmed his hand hard against the table and said, ¡°As the helmsman of the Holmes, you¡¯ve actually caused the family to suffer such severe losses because of your son and daughter-inw. I think you¡¯re no longer fit to be the helmsman! ¡°Norman, it¡¯s time for you to step down!¡± Norman realized what was going on and nodded. Heughed. ¡°Richie, is this your agenda? You just want to force me to give up my position so that you can take over as helmsman yourself!¡± He had long known that Richie wasn¡¯t aspliant as he pretended to be. He had always coveted the position of helmsman, and he only chose to express it now! He finally showed his greed! But Richie ignored what Norman said and sneered. ¡°Cut the crap! The fact now is that you¡¯re no longer qualified to be the helmsman of the Holmes! And now that I have the ability, you should step down! ¡°You¡¯ve lost dozens of your experts and caused our family to suffer heavy losses. And now, you¡¯ve lost the support of most of the family. What do you have topete with me?¡± Richie didn¡¯t hide his intentions to be the next helmsman at all. He had indeed found the best opportunity to make trouble for Norman. Norman had lost his sixty most powerful experts yesterday, so now he was no longer a match for Richie¡¯s forces. Norman had caused the Holmes to suffer heavy losses within one day, thus losing the prestige he had built up with great difficulty over the past few decades. No one wanted him to continue being the Holmes¡¯ helmsman. At this moment, an esteemed elder of the Holmes said, ¡°Norman, you¡¯d better step down! I think it¡¯s time for the Holmes to have a new helmsman.¡± ¡°I agree! It¡¯s time the Holmes has a new helmsman!¡± ¡°Yes, we need a new helmsman!¡± ¡­ All of a sudden, everyone in the conference room chorused in unison, demanding that Norman step down so that they could choose a new helmsman. Chapter 1318 - 1318 Change of Helmsman 1318 Change of Helmsman Norman¡¯s face was incredibly gloomy now. Sitting in the master seat and watching his family berate him, he wanted to kill people. ¡°Atrocious!¡± He smashed an ashtray against the floor, shattering with a loud bang, causing the voices of opposition to cease. ¡°I am the legitimate helmsman of the Holmes. I¡¯ve worked hard for the family for years and made countless contributions, turning the Holmes into a second-tier family from a small one! Now that something so trivial has happened, you want to strip me of my position? How brazen of you! ¡°I refuse to step down. I want to see what you can do to me!¡± !! Norman glowered at everyone in the conference room, gritting his teeth in fury. These ingrates! If it wasn¡¯t for him, the Holmes wouldn¡¯t be enjoying their current glory. The people sitting here wouldn¡¯t be so prestigious either. Richie¡¯s expression darkened, and he narrowed his eyes. ¡°Norman, don¡¯t make us do this the hard way! Now, everyone wants you to step down, so stop glorifying yourself and bringing up the past! ¡°The reason the Holmes could achieve our current aplishments wasn¡¯t only due to you! But the reason why the family suffered huge losses today is entirely due to you and your son! In this case, who are you to continue monopolizing the position of helmsman?¡± Then he stood up and shouted, ¡°Come in!¡± Immediately, the door of the conference room was suddenly mmed open, and around 60 armed and burly men charged in and surrounded Norman. Norman was shocked, but the moment he realized that these experts were unfamiliar, he pointed at Richie and hollered, ¡°How dare you nurture your own forces?!¡± As the helmsman of the Holmes, he had always understood their elite forces well, and he also knew that Richie had a group of personal subordinates by his side. But he had never seen these people before. Clearly, Richie had hidden his forces very well! Richie smiled smugly. ¡°Norman, so what if I have my own forces? You don¡¯t have any other choice now, do you?¡± Norman gritted his teeth with all his might. The current situation really didn¡¯t allow him to resist anymore. Richie was clearly well prepared. If he didn¡¯t step down of his own ord, Richie would definitely force him to step down. If this happened, it would be uncertain if he could survive. He had lost this battle! ¡°Fine, since you want the position of helmsman, you can take over the mess that the Holmes are facing now!¡± Norman said furiously, then turned around and left. This time, no one stopped him. Even the experts that Richie called in voluntarily made way for him. Finally hearing what he wanted to hear from Norman, Richieughed. ¡°Norman has already left. Now, I¡¯m the new helmsman of the Holmes. Does anyone have any objections?¡± What a joke. Richie¡¯s people were still in the conference room. Who would dare to have any objections? Besides, Richie was their only choice now. Everyone nodded one after another. ¡°I don¡¯t have any objections. Congrattions, our new helmsman!¡± ¡°Congrattions, our new helmsman!¡± ¡°Congrattions, our new helmsman!¡± ¡­ Everyone congratted Richie one after another, and the conference room was full of joy. As for what Norman, the former helmsman, was thinking, no one cared. They didn¡¯t care at all about a helmsman who couldn¡¯t bring them any benefits and would only cause major losses. Meanwhile, Norman left the conference room listlessly and returned to his mansion in a terrible mood. While resenting Richie for taking advantage of the situation to snatch the position of helmsman away mercilessly, he also hated his family for being ungrateful and heartless. He also hated his son and daughter-inw for causing him so much trouble. But Lucas was the one he hated the most! If it wasn¡¯t for Lucas, the Holmes wouldn¡¯t have lost half of their assets, let alonepensate him another 2.2 billion dors, causing him to be removed from the position of helmsman in such a humiliating manner! ¡°All of this is Lucas Gray¡¯s fault! Damn you! I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Norman cursed through gritted teeth. At the same time, he furiously smashed everything in his room against the floor. ¡°Are you Norman Holmes, the helmsman of the Holmes family?¡± A cold and abrupt voice suddenly sounded in the empty room. Norman was startled and frantically turned around, only to discover that three strangers had appeared beside the window of his bedroom. They were incredibly muscr and obviously not to be provoked. ¡°Who are you?¡± Norman asked in a shaky voice while trying his best to suppress his fear. Since they could quietly break into his bedroom, they were definitely martial arts experts. Norman was now afraid that they had been sent to assassinate him. He wondered if Richie, Lucas, or his other enemies had sent these experts. One of the three figures took a step forward. He was decked out in branded apparel and exuded a noble aura. He was likely the leader of the three. The other two people standing behind him were wearing long-sleeved white robes and gave off a vague aura that made others too scared to look them in the eye. Experts! The three of them were extremely powerful experts! Norman immediately made this judgment. At the same time, he raised his vignce to the highest level, his face full of tension. The burly man seemed to notice Norman¡¯s fear and sneered. ¡°Myst name is Hamilton.¡± Hamilton? People from the Hamilton family? Could it be the royal Hamilton family?! This name caused Norman¡¯s expression to change drastically, and he immediately asked, ¡°Are¡­ are you Jensen Hamilton, the third son of the Hamilton¡¯s helmsman?¡± Rumor had it that Jensen was a martial arts prodigy whose skills were almost on par with those of the Hamilitons¡¯ experts. He was favored by the Hamiltons¡¯ helmsman and was the most promising candidate for the next helmsman. The man in front of him was noble, extremely skilled at martial arts, and had thest name Hamilton. Didn¡¯t this match all the criteria? Jensen nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me. Norman, you must be feeling extremely indignant to lose the position of helmsman, right? ¡°I can give you a chance to get back everything you¡¯ve lost. It¡¯s up to you if you want it or not.¡± Chapter 1319 - 1319 Trap within an Opportunity 1319 Trap within an Opportunity Norman¡¯s face flushed red with excitement. Is¡­ is this an opportunity bestowed by God? Did God send me a savior to help me change my life? He had just lost the position of helmsman and hit rock bottom in life, but now, he actually ran into Jensen, the third scion of the Hamiltons, one of the legendary royal family branches. Jensen was even giving him the opportunity to take everything back. Lady Luck was smiling at him! ¡°Yes, of course I want it! Thank you, Mr. Hamilton!¡± Norman nodded repeatedly while rubbing his hands eagerly. Jensen smirked, seemingly having already expected this. He pointed at the two experts behind him. ¡°These two behind me are the experts that the Hamiltons have trained. No one knows who they are. ¡°I can lend these two experts to you temporarily, and they will all obey your orders, even if you want them tomit arson and kill! ¡°This is the chance I¡¯m giving you.¡± Norman stared at Jensen in shock, unable to believe it. Just by looking at them, he could already sense how terrifying these two powerhouses behind Jensen were. They were much stronger than the strongest experts of the Holmes, but Jensen actually said that he would lend them to him and allow him to order them as he pleased. If he could really get the help of such powerhouses, Richie¡¯s subordinates would no longer pose a threat to him at all, and he would easily be able to take back the position of helmsman from Richie! Norman looked excitedly at the two powerhouses, as if he could already imagine the scene of himself bing the helmsman again. But Norman wasn¡¯t a fool, and he knew that there was no free lunch in the world. Jensen definitely had a motive for lending two top experts to him. In other words, he had to do something in exchange for the experts¡¯ help. Suppressing his excitement, Norman asked respectfully, ¡°Mr. Hamilton, what do you need me to do?¡± ¡°Mr. Holmes, you are indeed a smart person.¡± Jensen smiled with approval. ¡°What I need you to do is very simple and in line with your goal. I want you to deal with Lucas Gray!¡± Norman was astonished. He never expected that Jensen¡¯s request was for him to deal with Lucas! He didn¡¯t expect that Lucas had offended Jensen too. ¡°Norman Holmes, I only have one request. You must bring me Lucas Gray¡¯s head!¡± A shocking murderous intent appeared in Jensen¡¯s eyes. It was the same for Norman. When he thought about how Lucas had robbed more than half of the Holmes¡¯ assets, beaten his son to the extent that he was still lying in the hospital, and caused him to lose his position as helmsman, his eyes were full of maniacal hatred. Seeing this, Jensen was very pleased. The reason he had approached Norman and lent his experts to him to deal with Lucas was that he knew about Norman¡¯s resentment toward Lucas. As long as he hated him, he would be able to exert all his strength and go all out to take revenge against Lucas! ¡°Mr. Hamilton, please rest assured. With your help, I will definitely be able to behead Lucas Gray within two days and hand his head over to you!¡± Norman said confidently. As long as Jensen lent the experts to him, Norman would no longer fear Lucas and be able to kill him. As long as Lucas died, no one would ever know that he was the culprit. When the time came, not only would he have taken revenge, but he would also regain his position as helmsman. It would be wonderful! When Jensen saw how confident Norman was, as if he had already obtained victory, he suddenly dampened his spirits. ¡°Norman Holmes, I have to remind you that Lucas Gray is not easy to deal with. He¡¯s extremely powerful, and even my two bodyguards might not be a match for him. You¡¯re speaking too soon by saying that you can behead Lucas in two days.¡± Norman had never seen Lucas fight and merely thought that he had powerful subordinates. He had no idea how terrifying his martial arts skills were. After hearing what Jensen said, Norman was in disbelief. ¡°Mr. Hamilton, that¡­ that can¡¯t be right. Lucas Gray is only in his twenties, which is even younger than my son. How could he be so good at martial arts? Shouldn¡¯t your experts be able to kill Lucas Gray easily?¡± Nathan asked in shock and bewilderment. Jensen sneered. ¡°If Lucas Gray was really that easy to deal with, would I still need you to deal with him? I could have just gotten my bodyguards to kill him.¡± Norman was speechless. Indeed, if Lucas was really that easy to get rid of, Jensen could have ordered his subordinates to do it. He wouldn¡¯t have had to go all the way to Norman and get him to deal with Lucas. Could Lucas Gray be a top expert? Seeing the expression on Norman¡¯s face, Jensen continued, ¡°It seems that you really don¡¯t know anything about Lucas Gray! I¡¯ll be kind and give you some information! ¡°Lucas Gray is an abandoned son of the Huttons, one of the eight top families of DC. He was kicked out by the Huttons two decades ago. Everything he has now, he attained through his own efforts. I¡¯m sure you know without me saying just how terrifying a man like him is. ¡°In addition, Lucas Gray is incredibly skilled at martial arts. Even the third-ranked powerhouse of my family ims that he isn¡¯t a match for him. Yet you dared to say that you could easily behead him and bring his head to me in two days? Don¡¯t say such things again, lest you make othersugh! ¡°I want you to deal with Lucas Gray smartly, not recklessly. Think about it carefully!¡± Hearing this, Norman was even more shocked. He had assumed that Lucas was the scion of a certain prominent family, thinking that this must be why he possessed such strong forces. But now that he knew that Lucas was self-made and that he had carved a career of his own at such a young age, his shock was imaginable. The even more terrifying thing was Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills! The martial arts proficiency of the third-ranked powerhouses of the Hamiltons was beyond what Norman could imagine. But even so, he was no match for Lucas. In that case, how terrifying must Lucas be? In that case, How could he deal with Lucas? At this moment, Norman finally understood what Jensen meant. He wanted Norman to take the rap for killing Lucas. In other words, he wanted Norman to take the full me for it. In case he failed to deal with Lucas, Norman would be the only one responsible, and the Hamiltons would have nothing to do with it! The thought of it made a chill surge in Norman¡¯s heart, and his initial joy had long vanished. Even the Hamiltons didn¡¯t dare to offend Lucas openly. Who was he to deal with him? Jensen¡¯s request wasn¡¯t a Godsend opportunity but clearly a massive trap! This was definitely a path to death! Chapter 1320 - 1320 Agreeing to the Conditions 1320 Agreeing to the Conditions Norman was drenched in cold sweat, and he only wanted to turn down Jensen, but he didn¡¯t dare to do so. Jensen smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to think too much about it, Mr. Holmes. It¡¯s true that the Hamiltons have some reasons that makes it inconvenient for us to make a move ourselves and that Lucas Gray¡¯s martial arts skills are impressive, but Mr. Holmes, you should try thinking about solutions yourself.¡± Staring into Norman¡¯s eyes with apelling gaze, he said, ¡°For example, you can think about what weaknesses Lucas Gray has and use them to your advantage¡­ ¡°As long as you seed and give me Lucas Gray¡¯s head within a week, I can guarantee that we won¡¯t take a single cent from the Stardust Corporation and the other assets under Lucas Gray¡¯s name. You can have it all, Mr. Holmes. ¡°Mr. Holmes, you should consider it carefully before deciding to agree to my proposal or not. I can give you ten minutes to consider. If you decide not to ept my proposal, just take it that I was never here today.¡± Norman was hesitant at first, but after hearing Jensen¡¯s conditions, which included the Stardust Corporation and all of Lucas¡¯s wealth¡­ These things added up to a staggering sum of money! There was no way he could turn down this attractive offer! His heart was pounding wildly, and he yelled without thinking, ¡°I agree! Mr. Hamilton, I agree! I¡¯ll definitely bring Lucas¡¯s Gray head to you within a week!¡± With a determined smile, Jensen said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be waiting for your good news then.¡± ¡­ In the conference room of the Holmes residence¡­ After chasing Norman away, Richie took over the position of helmsman. As they say, a new broom sweeps clean. Richie was sitting proudly in the master seat that belonged to the helmsman while making arrangements for the authoritative positions within the family and discussing what the Holmes should do now to rise again. Creak! Suddenly, the door of the conference room was pushed open from the outside, and Norman returned. Richie looked at Norman as if he was relishing in his victory over him and said with a smile, ¡°Norman, why are you back? You¡¯ve already been stripped of your position, and you¡¯re now only an ordinary member of the family. You don¡¯t have the right to join the senior-level conference. You should be clear about this, right? ¡°Or are you not reconciled about losing, and you¡¯ve returned to fight with me?¡± He leaned back in his seat, looking at Norman with a mirthless smirk. Before Normal could say anything, the others in the conference room spoke up one after another. ¡°Norman, you¡¯ve already been removed from your position as helmsman. What are you doing here? Don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve harmed us enough?¡± ¡°Norman, you caused us to lose twelve billion dors and almost caused our entire family to go bankrupt. But you still want to be the helmsman? You must be dreaming!¡± ¡°If you have any shame, hurry up and leave. Don¡¯t humiliate yourself further! Richie is right. You¡¯re no longer qualified to attend the senior-level meeting!¡± ¡°Yeah, quickly get lost!¡± The Holmes repeatedly ridiculed Norman and told him to leave,pletely forgetting that they had been respectful toward Norman just an hour ago. Norman looked at the people in front of him with aplicated expression, finding it really ironic. He had just lost the position of helmsman, but the higher-ups of the family who could enjoy glory and wealth thanks to him had already started to treat him so drastically different. It was because he had already lost all his value in their eyes that they treated him like this. Hah, I¡¯ll soon let them know how absurdly wrong they are! Hearing the chaotic voices, Norman frowned and suddenly hollered, ¡°Shut up!¡± With his shout, everyone in the conference room quieted down. Although they all knew that Norman was no longer the helmsman of the Holmes, they still instinctively obeyed his angry shout. In particr, after Norman hollered, he exuded a domineering aura that was identical to what he had when he was the helmsman. In fact, it was even more aggressive than before, causing his family members to obey him subconsciously. Richie narrowed his eyes with a gloomy expression. He didn¡¯t expect that Norman would be able to deter the family still, even though he was no longer the helmsman. Didn¡¯t this undermine his status and authority as the new helmsman? ¡°Norman, don¡¯t push it!¡± Just as Richie was about to instruct his subordinates to tie Norman up and assert his dominance, Norman looked at him coldly and said, ¡°Kill him!¡± Richie was puzzled, but before he could process what Norman meant, he saw two tall and burly figures in white behind Norman. Before anyone could react, one of the men in white shed and vanished. The next moment, he appeared next to Richie at the other end of the conference table. Then a cold light shed in his hand. Screech! With a sound resembling something deting, a red mark suddenly appeared on Richie¡¯s neck. Immediately afterward, bright red blood sprayed into the air like a fountain, sttering everywhere. Richie held his neck in pain and winced in horror before falling to the floor. After convulsing violently for a moment, he became motionless. His eyes were wide open as he stared at the ceiling in despair, indignant about death. Everything happened within an extremely short amount of time. It was so fast that the Holmes couldn¡¯t react at all. Everyone was dumbfounded and shocked by the sudden attack. After a long time, screams sounded. ¡°Ahh!! He¡¯s dead! The new helmsman¡­ is dead!¡± ¡°Ah! Murder!¡± ¡­ All kinds of screams rang out in the conference room. Everyone was deathly pale from the bloody scene and wished they could escape immediately. Unfortunately, there was the other man in white standing at the entrance, preventing anyone from escaping. The screaming andmotion became louder. ... ¡°Shut up!¡± Norman roared. Everyone in the conference room immediately fell silent. They looked at Norman in fear, not daring to defy him. Norman swept his gaze across these people indifferently and said austerely, ¡°From today onward, the Holmes will obey me! If anyone dares to defy me even slightly, Richie Holmes¡¯s fate will be your fate! Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± All the Holmes in the conference room immediately agreed respectfully while shuddering. They didn¡¯t want to have their throats slit and die horribly as Richie had! Chapter 1321 - 1321 Deputy General Manager 1321 Deputy General Manager At this moment, Norman regained the position of helmsman.
But this time, he used ruthless means, and anyone who defied him would face the wrath of the two experts in white behind him. No one dared to show any dissatisfaction with Norman. Lucas didn¡¯t know about the changes with the Holmes and the fact that Norman hade into contact with Jensen. ¡­ The following morning, Cheyenne went to work at the Stardust Corporation as usual. Currently, Flynn was still the general manager of the Stardust Corporation, while Cheyenne and Charlotte had been appointed as deputy general managers and were in charge of different departments. But because Cheyenne had just joined the headquarters, there were still many matters that she still didn¡¯t understand. So she put in extra effort and read various documents as soon as she arrived at the office, wanting to familiarize herself with thepany¡¯s matters in the shortest time possible. Cheyenne was fully focused until a knock on her door interrupted her. She raised her head and said, ¡°Pleasee in!¡± ¡°Ms. Carter, are you still busy? It¡¯s time for lunch.¡± The person who entered was Flynn, who smiled when he saw Cheyenne still buried in documents.
Seeing that it was Flynn, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation and her husband¡¯s long-time helper, she hurriedly stood up and smiled. ¡°Mr. Davis, what are you doing here? Is there something I can help you with?¡± Although Cheyenne was Lucas¡¯s wife, Flynn was the general manager, while she was only a deputy general manager, so she was extremely polite toward him. Flynn waved his hands. ¡°No, no, everything in the corporation is developing steadily, and there¡¯s nothing to worry about for now. Ms. Carter, you¡¯ve just arrived in DC, so you should just focus on familiarizing yourself with thepany for the next few days. But don¡¯t overexert yourself, and take it slow and easy.¡± Cheyenne naturally understood that this was Flynn showing her extra concern on Lucas¡¯s ount, so she was a little embarrassed. ¡°Mr. Davis, you don¡¯t have to take special care of me. Feel free to assign me to any work. You don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony.¡± Flynn said with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s fine. On the contrary, Ms. Carter, if there¡¯s anything you¡¯re unclear about or need help with, feel free toe and talk with me!¡± ¡°Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Davis,¡± Cheyenne said politely. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get going now. Go ahead with your work, Ms. Carter. Don¡¯t forget to eatter.¡± Then Flynn walked out of the deputy general manager¡¯s office. Lucas had instructed him to take good care of Cheyenne in thepany. After seeing Flynn off, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t help smiling wryly. Ah, Mr. Davis is too polite. He always makes me feel like I¡¯m the general manager. If this continues, I¡¯m going to feel embarrassed. She sighed.
Cheyenne had been feeling a little uneasy for the past few days. As soon as she joined thepany, she directly became a deputy general manager. Thepany¡¯s staff didn¡¯t say anything, but she kept feeling as if she had joined through nepotism and was afraid that the other employees would have opinions about her. Of course, as Lucas¡¯s wife, it was impossible for her to start from the bottom as a junior employee. But if she wanted to gain everyone¡¯s approval as soon as possible, she had to do her best to make some achievements so that everyone wouldn¡¯t just see her as a deputy general manager who only managed to get to her position through connections. I have to work harder! I must make some achievements! Cheyenne perked herself up. At this moment, there was another knock on her office door, and Cheyenne¡¯s secretary entered. She asked respectfully, ¡°Ms. Carter, Ms. Westwood of the Fly Corporation is here to discuss cooperating with thepany. She¡¯s waiting for you in the reception room downstairs. Would you like to meet her?¡± Cheyenne¡¯s eyes lit up, and she hurriedly said, ¡°Please invite Ms. Westwood in!¡± The Fly Corporation was no stranger to Cheyenne. Although she hadn¡¯t cooperated with them before, it was among the top 100 corporations in the world, with a scale and ability that wasn¡¯t any inferior to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s. Cheyenne had just wanted to make some achievements to prove herself, and now, the general manager of the Fly Corporation was here to discuss cooperating with her. It was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity. If she could sessfully clinch a deal, she would attain her first sess in the Stardust Corporation and get off to a good start. Soon, the secretary entered with an elegantly dressed middle-aged woman. This woman was wearing a gray business suit. She was a mature and professional businesswoman, but the fine lines at the corners of her eyes revealed her age slightly. However, her curly locks added a touch of youth, wisdom, and fashionability to her aura. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Carter. I am Dawn Westwood, the general manager of the Fly Corporation. I¡¯m surprised by how young you are!¡± The middle-aged woman smiled as she reached her hand out to shake hands with Cheyenne. Cheyenne was also surprised, as she didn¡¯t expect the general manager of the Fly Corporation to be an extremely amicable-looking woman. Most women with executive positions in the workforce tended to be uptight and stern. There was also a smaller proportion of women among executives because women tended to have to work harder to attain these positions than men. Women who could be senior executives of major corporations were mostly strong-willed, career-minded women. Cheyenne was a career-minded woman herself, so she took a liking to Dawn and naturally felt a sense of rtability as soon as she met her. She stepped forward and shook Dawn¡¯s hand with a smile. ¡°Wee, Ms. Westwood. Please take a seat!¡± Cheyenne brought Dawn to the reception lounge next to her office and asked her secretary to bring some tea. Dawn carefully sized up Cheyenne and praised sincerely, ¡°Ms. Carter, you¡¯re such a gorgeous youngdy, and you¡¯ve achieved an impressive career at such a young age! I thought it was just a rumor that the deputy general manager of the Stardust Corporation was young, beautiful, and capable. I didn¡¯t expect you to be even more amazing than I imagined! ¡°Fortunately, I¡¯m a woman. Otherwise, I would have gotten really worked up after seeing you and have had my imagination run wild, thinking about how there could be such a beautiful woman in this world. Even top actresses can¡¯t hold a candle to you, Ms. Carter!¡± Dawn praised incessantly while holding Cheyenne¡¯s hand. Chapter 1322 - 1322 Pleasant Surprise 1322 Pleasant Surprise Hearing the praises, Cheyenne blushed shyly and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re really ttering me, Ms. Westwood. It¡¯s my goal to be an intellectual and graceful woman with a sessful career like you!¡± They exchanged pleasantries for a bit before Dawn finally said, ¡°I¡¯m actually here to look for you today, Ms. Carter. I¡¯d like to discuss a huge business deal with the Stardust Corporation. Are you interested?¡± ¡°May I know what you mean, Ms. Westwood?¡± Cheyenne asked. Just as Dawn was about to speak, she suddenly raised her hand to look at the time on her watch. She said with a smile, ¡°Oh dear, I rushed here as soon as I finished my work at thepany and lost track of time. Since it¡¯s already noon, how about we go out for lunch and discuss it over the meal?¡± Cheyenne was stunned. It was indeedmon for business people to discuss business deals over a meal. But Cheyenne didn¡¯t like entertaining clients over wine because she was a woman. Later, she had managed the Brilliance Corporation, so she rarely had to socialize like this. Seemingly afraid that Cheyenne was worried about something, Dawn added, ¡°It will just be the two of us. No one else ising. ¡°Actually, I really hate negotiating business over wine and food with those trashy men, but I have to put up with their smoking and drinking. Sometimes, I even have to listen to their nonsense and terrible jokes. It¡¯s really annoying. ¡°It¡¯s great that we¡¯re both women. It will make chatting over a meal much more enjoyable!¡± Dawn was quick, straightforward, and reasonable. After giving it some thought, Cheyenne realized that she was right. It would be fine to have a meal with Dawn since it¡¯d just be like going out for a meal with a female friend. They could just discuss the cooperation after lunch, and there wouldn¡¯t be any annoying things either. ¡°Alright, since you¡¯ve said so, let¡¯s go out for lunch! It¡¯ll be a great opportunity for us to get to know each other better,¡± Cheyenne agreed as she stood up with a smile. Ten minutester, the two of them drove to a restaurant near the Stardust Corporation. This restaurant was famous in DC for its delectable and unique food. Cheyenne had just arrived in DC not long ago, so she wasn¡¯t too familiar with these ces yet. Dawn, who had lived in DC for years, had rmended this restaurant. It made Cheyenne, who was supposed to be the host, feel that she needed to know more about the food scene in DC. Since she was already living and working in DC, she should familiarize herself with it and gain a better understanding, lest she makes her future partners and clients pick the ce to dine at all the time. ¡°Ms. Carter, since we¡¯re here, why don¡¯t we try some of their signature dishes? I¡¯ve been here a few times, and the food is superb!¡± Dawn was more than ten years older than Cheyenne, and coupled with her warm and friendly attitude, she was just like a big sister to Cheyenne. Cheyenne naturally agreed. Thus, the two of them ordered some of the restaurant¡¯s signature dishes. When Dawn asked Cheyenne whether she drank alcohol or not, Cheyenne shook her head and politely declined, ¡°No thanks, I don¡¯t really drink.¡± Dawn smiled and said straightforwardly, ¡°Since it¡¯s just us two today, let¡¯s skip the drinks. We¡¯ll order some beverages we like.¡± Afterward, she ordered a pot of floral tea and a pitcher of freshly squeezed watermelon juice. This made Cheyenne feel much more at ease. Dawn was indeed a very personable person. After just half an hour or so of chatting with her, Cheyenne had already formed a good impression of her. While waiting for the food to arrive, Dawn took a sip of floral tea and said, ¡°Ms. Carter, I¡¯m a very straightforward person who doesn¡¯t like beating around the bush, so I¡¯ll get straight to the point. ¡°Not long ago, the Stardust Corporation bought arge plot ofnd in the eastern suburbs of DC. Thepany ns to build a Stardust City, right? I heard that it¡¯s a major project with ample capital. ¡°Actually, the Fly Corporation is very optimistic about this project, so I came to discuss cooperating with you. I want to join the Stardust City project, and the Fly Corporation is looking at an initial investment of two billion dors. Of course, we can invest more if more funds are required in the future.¡± Hearing Dawn talk about investing in the Stardust City project, Cheyenne was stunned, but a look of disappointment soon appeared on her face. The Stardust City project was the Stardust Corporation¡¯s biggest project for the next few years. When Lucas bought thend, he had brought Cheyenne with him. Lucas had no ns to attract any investors for the Stardust City project. He had sufficient funds, and he wanted the Stardust Corporation to have 100% control of the project. If he let otherpanies invest, the corresponding percentage of equity would be diluted, and it wouldn¡¯t be fully owned by the Stardust Corporation. Thus, Cheyenne couldn¡¯t agree to Dawn¡¯s proposal. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, Ms. Westwood. The Stardust Corporation has no ns to have any investors on board the Stardust City project. I¡¯m afraid I can only let you down,¡± Cheyenne said apologetically with a touch of disappointment. ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡± Dawn sighed with disappointment. But she soon smiled again and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand. Since the Stardust Corporation wants to solely own and control the Stardust City project, there¡¯s no way that investors can join. ¡°But putting aside the investments, the start-up and construction of this massive project should require a lot of building materials, right? There¡¯s also the interior design,ndscaping, and so on. ¡°The Fly Corporation owns subsidiaries that specialize in building materials, interior design, andndscaping. Would you be interested in cooperating in these aspects, Ms. Carter?¡± Cheyenne was overjoyed and quickly said, ¡°Of course! The Stardust Corporation indeed requires arge amount of building materials for the construction of Stardust City, and we¡¯ll also need a lot of interior designing andndscaping. It would be wonderful if the Fly Corporation has suitable subsidiaries that specialize in these aspects!¡± She originally thought that the cooperation with the Fly Corporation would fall through, but she was surprised to hear Dawn¡¯s sudden proposal that turned the situation around. In fact, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s Stardust City project wasn¡¯t going to be built only in DC. There were more than 20 that would undergo construction simultaneously across the country. The construction would require building materials such as cement, steel, and so on in tremendous amounts every day. Many small suppliers were already starting to find the demand a little overwhelming. If the Fly Corporation could provide more cost-effective building materials, it would be a great help. Dawn said with a smile, ¡°Great. To be honest with you, I¡¯ve already made a special application to the chairman of the Fly Corporation and gained his approval. If the Stardust Corporation is willing to cooperate with us, we can supply you with all the materials you need for the project at ten percent below the market price. Take it as a little token tomemorate our first cooperation.¡± Cheyenne was pleasantly surprised, so much so that she was at a loss for words! Chapter 1323 - 1323 Two-Faced 1323 Two-Faced All the materials for 10% lower than the market price? This was an unimaginably huge discount! For example, if a 50-kilogram pack of cement cost 20 dors, a 10% discount would amount to only 2 dors less. But the construction of all the Stardust Cities would require at least thousands of tons of steel, cement, bricks, and other building materials. A 10% discount for all the materials needed for the entire project could amount to at least a billion dors! !! Thus, Cheyenne became excited after hearing Dawn¡¯s offer of a 10% discount. ¡°Ms. Westwood, you¡¯re not kidding about the price, are you? Can the Fly Corporation really give us a price that is ten percent lower than the market price?¡± Cheyenne asked in disbelief. Dawn smiled. ¡°Ms. Carter, you don¡¯t have to worry about this. The Fly Corporation is among the top 100panies in the world, and I¡¯m also very sincere about befriending you. Why would I joke about something like this? ¡°Actually, the reason why the Fly Corporation is willing to give such a huge discount is that the chairman is very optimistic about the development of the Stardust Corporation and hopes to form friendly ties with you. If there are other opportunities for cooperation in the future, we can give it a shot. ¡°In addition, we have arge and very mature supply chain of building materials. Despite supplying building materials to you at a price ten percent below the market price, we actually won¡¯t lose any money. It only means that we won¡¯t make as much profit. ¡°This is just a little token of sincerity from the Fly Corporation. You don¡¯t have to worry about anything else, Ms. Carter.¡± After hearing Dawn¡¯s exnation, Cheyenne finally understood the reason. At the same time, she formed a good impression of the generous Fly Corporation. ¡°Ms. Westwood, thank you so much for the kind offer and sincerity. I will definitely ry this to the other executives. I will contact you to discuss the details once thepany reaches a decision. What do you think?¡± Cheyenne asked carefully. Although it sounded too good to be true, it was still a major project involving tens of billions of dors. Cheyenne naturally wouldn¡¯t take matters into her own hands and make decisions presumptuously. No matter what, Flynn was still the general manager of thepany, and she had to inform him about this. Dawn didn¡¯t mind it. She simply nodded and said, ¡°Sure, no problem. I¡¯ll wait for your news.¡± The two of them looked at each other and smiled. At this moment, the food they ordered was served, and the servers ced it on the table along with a pitcher of freshly squeezed watermelon juice. After serving all the dishes, the servers left the private room, leaving space for the twodies inside. ¡°Since we¡¯re done talking about work, it¡¯s time to set it aside and enjoy today¡¯s food!¡± Dawn poured a ss of watermelon juice and ced it in front of Cheyenne. ¡°You¡¯re being too polite, Ms. Westwood. Let me do it!¡± Seeing that Dawn had poured her a ss of watermelon juice, Cheyenne quickly stood up to decline politely, but Dawn pressed her arm down. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Ms. Carter. We¡¯re friends now, so you don¡¯t have to stand on ceremony with me. I just poured you some juice. It¡¯s not a big deal. Actually, you don¡¯t have to keep calling me Ms. Westwood. That¡¯s too formal. How about we address each other by our first names?¡± Dawn said with a warm smile. Hearing this, Cheyenne naturally couldn¡¯t continue standing on ceremony. She nodded and said with a smile, ¡°Alright.¡± Although it was their first time meeting each other today, the meal was rxed, and they got along really well, as if they were old friends. Before she knew it, Cheyenne had already finished her ss of watermelon juice. Dawn looked at the empty ss that Cheyenne had just finished drinking, and an inexplicable glimmer shed in her eyes. She smiled even more brightly. It was a meal between two women, and it proceeded quickly, especially since they didn¡¯t drink alcohol. In less than an hour, they finished. After walking out of the restaurant, Dawn said, ¡°Cheyenne, I happen to be passing by the Stardust Corporationter, so I¡¯ll drop you off!¡± Dawn had driven the two of them over, so Cheyenne didn¡¯t drive. Hearing Dawn¡¯s kind suggestion and considering the fact that the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters was nearby, Cheyenne agreed. ¡°Okay, thank you, Dawn.¡± After getting inside the car, Cheyenne smelled the faint scent of perfume inside and suddenly felt sleepy. ¡°Eh? Why do I suddenly feel¡­ so¡­ sleepy¡­¡± Before Cheyenne could finish, she had already closed her eyes and drifted off. ¡°Cheyenne? Cheyenne Carter?¡± Dawn called out worriedly and even reached out to pat Cheyenne¡¯s face gently, But Cheyenne had already slipped into a deep slumber and didn¡¯t respond to her at all. ¡°Hah, it seems you¡¯re just a fool with nothing but a pretty face! What qualifications do you have to be my friend?¡± At this moment, the look of worry and kindness on Dawn¡¯s face vanished. Only disgust and indifference remained on her face. She seemed to be apletely different person than she was just now. If Cheyenne was still awake, she would probably be shocked by Dawn¡¯s current behavior. She was simply¡­ two-faced! One side of her was graceful, kind, and intellectual. But after dropping her facade, her true colors were terrifying and creepy. Dawn nced contemptuously at the unconscious Cheyenne. Then she took out her phone and called someone. ¡°Mr. Holmes, Cheyenne Carter is in my hands, and she¡¯s inside my car now. What should I do next?¡± ¡°Bring her to the destination I told you before, and your task will bepleted.¡± The person on the other end was Norman, the helmsman of the Holmes! ¡°Yes.¡± After hanging up, Dawn started the car and drove away. Of course, she definitely wasn¡¯t going toward the Stardust Corporation. Cheyenne probably never expected that the woman who had just had an enjoyable conversation with her like an old friend she had known for years would be someone sent by Norman Holmes! Meanwhile, Dawn, who was rejoicing about finishing her task so easily, would never have expected that there was an inconspicuous ck Mercedes-Benz following not far behind her car. Chapter 1324 - 1324 Cheyenne in Trouble 1324 Cheyenne in Trouble At this moment, Lucas was still handling some matters at the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Stanley calling. Lucas had specially sent Stanley to protect Cheyenne, and he usually wouldn¡¯t call unless¡­ something had happened. Lucas immediately picked up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Lucas, Cheyenne just got into Dawn Westwood¡¯s car, but something seems wrong!¡± Stanley said nervously. Stanley was only responsible for ensuring Cheyenne¡¯s safety. He wouldn¡¯t monitor her every move. He usually just followed Cheyenne in secret from a distance, so he didn¡¯t know the details of the situation. But he noticed that after Cheyenne got into Dawn¡¯s car, it wasn¡¯t driving toward the Stardust Corporation. More importantly, through the car¡¯s windows, Stanley could see that Cheyenne seemed to have fallen asleep in the passenger seat, but he didn¡¯t know if it was because she was drunk or if there was something more to the situation. There seemed to be something amiss about the situation, but Stanley wasn¡¯t entirely sure, so he called Lucas and described everything he had seen. Lucas immediately frowned. He didn¡¯t think it was likely that Cheyenne was drunk. He knew that she usually abstained from alcohol and would never drink with others unless it was a special situation, let alone drink until she passed out. ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll try calling her!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t hang up on Stanley. Instead, he called Cheyenne with thendline. But after he called several times, she still didn¡¯t pick up. Toward the end, her phone was even turned off. In that case, there was indeed something very wrong with the situation! ¡°Stanley, keep following that car. Don¡¯t lose it. Also, send me your current location and route. I¡¯ll head over right away!¡± Lucas said with a grim expression. He stood up, grabbed his keys from the desk, and sped out of his office. ¡°Yes!¡±¡® Stanley knew that he couldn¡¯t neglect this matter, so he immediately agreed. But just as he hung up and was following the car in front of him while trying to send Lucas his location, an ident suddenly happened! Boom! A truck suddenly charged over from the side, seemingly out of control, and collided straight into the Mercedes-Benz that Stanley was driving! With a thunderous sound, Stanley¡¯s Mercedes-Benz flipped over and skidded on a road for a distance before crashing into the guardrails and stopping. At this moment, the ck Mercedes-Benz had already been ruined beyond recognition, and it would be hard for anyone to survive such a crash. The terrible traffic ident dumbfounded the bystanders at the side. Immediately afterward, there were numerous screams mixed with the sounds of people yelling to call 911. But everyone knew that the chances of the people in a car struck by a speeding truck surviving were incredibly low. However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, the door of the wrecked Mercedes-Benz was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang, and a bloodied man crawled out of the car. After wiping away the blood covering his eyes, Stanley stood up with great difficulty while supporting himself against the overturned car. He almost couldn¡¯t maintain his bnce. Fortunately, Lucas had had the Mercedes-Benz modified. Otherwise, given the violent impact, an ordinary Mercedes-Benz would have been totaled, and it would have been impossible for Stanley to survive. But when Stanley tried to look for Dawn¡¯s car, he could no longer find it. Clearly, someone had discovered that he had been following Dawn. Or rather, the other party had long been prepared. Moreover, the other party had actually been so vicious as to smash his car with a truck. This just went to show that Cheyenne was indeed in great danger! The truck that crashed into him was stopped at the side of the road. The driver had long vanished and probably couldn¡¯t be found soon. ¡°Damn it!¡± Stanley gritted his teeth, his eyes full of fury. Now that he was heavily injured, he couldn¡¯t look for Cheyenne anymore and had no choice but to take out his bloodstained phone from his pocket to call Lucas. ¡°Lucas, bad news! A truck just hit me, and I¡¯ve lost Cheyenne¡¯s whereabouts!¡± Hearing this, Lucas had a murderous look in his eyes. ¡°No matter who did it, I will make them pay the price!¡± After receiving Stanley¡¯s location, Lucas immediately made a few calls. The most important thing now was to find Cheyenne as soon as possible. So this time, Lucas didn¡¯t conceal his strength and deployed all the forces he could use to search for her. He was determined to find her! After he made the calls, all of DC was in an uproar. ¡­ In the Howard residence in DC¡­ After receiving Lucas¡¯s call, Florence turned pale with fright. She immediately gathered all her people and ordered, ¡°Get everyone in the family to search for Cheyenne Carter! We must find her quickly!¡± Cheyenne was her biological daughter. Now that she was in trouble, she had to find her as soon as possible to ensure her safety! ¡­ In the Hutton residence in DC¡­ After hanging up, Michael Hutton had a grim expression. He immediately gathered the experts of the Huttons and ordered, ¡°Seal all the routes in DC and find Cheyenne Carter at all costs. Report to me immediately once you have any news!¡± Although Lucas wasn¡¯t his biological son, he had always treated Lucas as his own because he was the son of the love of his life. So he also considered Cheyenne his daughter-inw. He had to find Cheyenne at all costs. He couldn¡¯t allow her to fall into the wrong hands! ¡­ The Smith residence in DC¡­ After receiving Lucas¡¯s call, Tyson Smith immediately gathered all the Smiths¡¯ top experts to search for Cheyenne. ¡°No matter what, you have to do everything possible to find Cheyenne Carter. Whoever finds her will be rewarded handsomely!¡± Tyson had already pledged allegiance to Lucas with his entire family. He didn¡¯t dare to take Lucas¡¯s order lightly at all. The Howards, the Smiths, and the Huttons were among the eight top families of DC. The three familiesunching arge-scale search together and deploying all their forces was an extremely rare event. In addition to these three families, the Parkers, the Coles, the Hales, and the Fullers, who had just pledged allegiance to Lucas, had all received a call and dispatched their experts to search for Cheyenne. Countless people in DC were astonished and wondered if something major had happened after seeing so many second-tier families and top families taking action together. ¡°It seems like there¡¯s definitely a major incident in DC! I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a huge disaster!¡± many muttered softly to themselves. ... Chapter 1325 - 1325 Refusing To Admit 1325 Refusing To Admit At this moment, Lucas was furious after making the phone calls. After taking a deep breath, Lucas barely suppressed his anger. Maintaining hisst trace ofposure, he sped through the streets in his Jaguar, searching for Cheyenne. At the same time, countless thoughts shed through his mind as he wondered who the mastermind behind Cheyenne¡¯s abduction was. Soon after Cheyenne arrived in DC, she had been spending her days reading documents in thepany. It was impossible for her to form a feud with anyone. Without a doubt, the culprit had abducted her to get back at Lucas. Lucas carefully recalled his enemies. He first eliminated the families who weren¡¯t strong enough. Lucas had sent Stanley to protect Cheyenne in secret, so even she wasn¡¯t aware of his presence. Stanley had been discovered not long after he started following that car. This meant that the person who abducted Cheyenne had already known that Stanley was secretly protecting her and specially took measures to deal with him. The heavy truck that suddenly sped over had almost killed Stanley. The driver had obviously been arranged by the culprit. Lucas thought about it and found that the only possible suspects who were capable of doing this within a short time were the Hills, the Hamiltons, and the Peerless Martial Association. ording to Lucas¡¯s understanding, even the eight top families didn¡¯t have any powerhouses who were capable of discovering Stanley easily. Although the Peerless Martial Association had had several conflicts with Lucas, and he and Jordan had even killed a few of their experts, the head of the Peerless Martial Association¡¯s US headquarters didn¡¯t hold much animosity toward Lucas. They hadn¡¯t reached the point of falling out with each other yet. Thus, the Peerless Martial Association probably wasn¡¯t the culprit. As for the Hills and the Hamiltons, a long time had passed since the Hills¡¯ conflict with Lucas. Besides, Ashton had suffered a huge loss because of him, but he didn¡¯t dare to inform his family about it. So Lucas thought that it was unlikely for the Hills to be the culprit. In that case, the only people who could do this were the Hamiltons! After all, since the Hamiltons had dared send assassins to kill Lucas some time ago, it wasn¡¯t impossible for them to go after Cheyenne this time. It made sense for the Hamiltons to abduct the person Lucas loved since they couldn¡¯t do anything to him. At the thought that the Hamiltons dared to harm Cheyenne, almost uncontroble murderous intent surged in his eyes. ¡°Get me Jensen Hamilton¡¯s contact number immediately!¡± Lucas said to Jordan over the phone. ¡°Okay!¡± Less than two minutester, Jordan sent Jensen¡¯s phone number to Lucas. Lucas stared gloomily at the string of numbers on his phone and dialed it without hesitation. Soon, the call connected, and Jensen¡¯s voice came from the other end. ¡°Who is it?¡± It was Jensen¡¯s private number, which very few people had, so he was a little surprised. But immediately afterward, Jensen heard a voice that surprised him greatly. ¡°Jensen Hamilton, you abducted my wife, didn¡¯t you? Immediately send her back unscathed, or else I won¡¯t let you and the entire Hamilton family off!¡± It turned out to be a call from Lucas! Moreover, Lucas¡¯s voice sounded extremely cold and was full of murderous intent, making his heart jump. Jensen was shocked. He had clearly done it very covertly and even gotten Norman to handle the matter. How did Lucas manage to find out that he was the culprit so quickly? No, it¡¯s impossible for Lucas Gray to know I asked someone to do it. He must be deceiving me! Jensen forced himself to calm down and pretended to be angry. ¡°Lucas Gray, what nonsense are you saying? Since when did I do anything to your wife? If something has happened to your wife, go and look for her yourself. Don¡¯t try to put the me on me! ¡°The Hamiltons aren¡¯t pushovers that you can use willy-nilly. If you want to nder us and threaten me, you can trying at me. I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡± Jensen¡¯s tone was furious, as if he had really been ndered by Lucas. Hearing what Jensen said, Lucas felt puzzled. Are the Hamiltons really not the culprit? Lucas indeed didn¡¯t have any solid proof at the moment, but this didn¡¯t mean that he would change his mind and think that the Hamiltons were innocent just because of Jensen¡¯s words. It was likely that Jensen had deliberately said these things and pretended to be righteously indignant about being used so that he could make Lucas drop his suspicion. ¡°Jensen Hamilton, you don¡¯t need to be so quick to deny it. Sooner orter, I will find out if you did it or not!¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°If you hand her over now, I promise not to pursue the matter and take it that nothing has happened. But if you refuse to hand her over, you won¡¯t be the only one who dies when I find her. Even if your family are royals, you will have to vanish! ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m just threatening you. I¡¯m a man of my word. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can give it a try!¡± Jensen¡¯s heart tensed up, but he was angered by Lucas¡¯s threat too. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t go too far! I said I didn¡¯t do it. Stop talking nonsense! The Hamiltons aren¡¯t afraid of you!¡± With that, Jensen hung up with a sullen expression. Well, it was true that he didn¡¯t abduct Lucas¡¯s wife. He had gotten Norman to do it. He was certain that the Hamiltons wouldn¡¯t be implicated even if Lucas found Cheyenne! As soon as he figured this out, Jensen finally felt relieved and smirked coldly. It was likely that his son Angus had died at Lucas¡¯s hands, so getting Norman to abduct Cheyenne and kill Lucas was the price he had to pay! Jensen had it all nned out long ago. Once Norman found a way to kill Lucas, the two experts he had lent Norman would kill Norman afterward. Like this, there would be no clues to everything he had done, and no one would be able to trace it back to him. Even if Lucas had the backing of a suprememander of the four territories, there was nothing he could do. Jensen gritted his teeth and said resentfully, ¡°Lucas Gray, it¡¯s time for you to die!¡± Chapter 1326 - 1326 Silencing in Public 1326 Silencing in Public At this moment, Dawn was driving Cheyenne, who was sleeping in the passenger seat, to arge mansion in the suburbs of DC. Under the effects of the drug, Cheyenne had been sleeping all this time. After Dawn dragged her out of the car, she remained unconscious until Dawn poured a basin of icy cold water on her face. Her thick and lush eyshes trembled as she slowly opened her eyes, only to find that she was in a strange ce. She was even sitting on the floor with water stains all over her face. Cheyenne was startled and looked around in panic. When she saw Dawn standing nearby, she immediately walked over to her as if she had found a family member and asked nervously, ¡°Dawn, why¡­ why are we here?¡± !! Dawn sneered viciously, ¡°Bitch, who are you to act close to me? You¡¯re just a useless woman who¡¯s nothing but a pretty face. The sight of you utterly disgusts me!¡± Boom! Like a bolt from the blue, what Dawn said stunned Cheyenne. She never thought that Dawn, who was so graceful and friendly toward her like a big sister, would say this with such a malicious expression! Was¡­ Dawn putting on a front earlier? But what exactly is her motive? Apart from being shocked, Cheyenne sensed that something was amiss and quickly scanned her surroundings. She and Dawn weren¡¯t the only ones in therge mansion. There were a few strange men standing at the door. There was a man in his sixties standing in the middle and staring at her with hatred. Beside him were two martial artists d in white long-sleeved shirts and white pants. They were obviously not to be trifled with. These three people were Norman and the two top experts of the Hamiltons whom Jensen had lent him. But Cheyenne didn¡¯t know who Norman was. Cheyenne¡¯s heart sank, and she immediately realized that she had been kidnapped. And the person who kidnapped her was naturally Dawn, whom she had thought that she had formed a good rtionship with. Cheyenne gritted her teeth, clenched her fists tightly, and asked, ¡°Who are you people? Why did you bring me here? What¡¯s your goal?¡± Norman sneered without saying anything. The two bodyguards standing behind him remained still and silent like puppets. Cheyenne looked at Dawn again with fury in her eyes. ¡°Ms. Westwood, why are you doing this? Today is the first time we¡¯ve met. I shouldn¡¯t have offended you before, right? Why are you doing this to me?¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Dawn raised her arm and pped Cheyenne hard on the face. Smack! With the crisp and clear sound of the p, fingerprints appeared on Cheyenne¡¯s fair face. ¡°Just be good and don¡¯t move. If you ask me any more nonsense, don¡¯t me me for being nasty!¡± Dawn looked at Cheyenne disdainfully. She despised women like Cheyenne, whom she thought had achieved a high position in herpany only by virtue of her good looks. She thought that Cheyenne was pretty but brainless. She had merely put on a show and pretended to be a graceful, kind, older sister-like friend. Yet Cheyenne had stupidly believed her, drank the juice she offered, and got into her car. Now, even though she had fallen into the hands of someone else, Dawn thought that Cheyenne had brought it upon herself and that it had nothing to do with her. Cheyenne held her burning face with immense regret in her heart. I¡¯m so stupid! It was her first time meeting Dawn today, and they had only had a brief conversation, yet she let her guard downpletely and fell into Dawn¡¯s trap, eventually causing her to end up here. If she had been more careful, didn¡¯t agree to go out alone with Dawn, turned down the fruit juice she offered, and didn¡¯t ept the car ride, she wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this terrible situation! Unfortunately, it was toote for regrets now! ¡°Mr. Holmes, I¡¯ve alreadypleted the task you gave me. Can I leave now?¡± Dawn asked carefully. She had finished her task, and Norman didn¡¯t tell her what the following ns were. She didn¡¯t intend to continue being involved. It definitely wasn¡¯t something good. The less she knew, the safer she would be. Dawn had enough self-awareness to know this. ¡°Yes, you can leave now,¡± Norman said indifferently after ncing at Dawn. Dawn secretly heaved a sigh of relief and turned around to walk out of the mansion. But as soon as she took a couple of steps, she suddenly heard a loud, ear-piercing sound. At the same time, a bloody hole appeared in her chest, and blood spurted out of it. ¡°I¡­ You¡­¡± Dawn widened her eyes in disbelief as she looked down at the bloody hole in her chest. Soon, all she could see was darkness, and her body fell to the floor limply. Even at her veryst waking moment, she still couldn¡¯t believe that she had died just like that. ¡°Ahhh!¡± Cheyenne had witnessed everything unfold before her eyes. Seeing someone who was alive and well just a few seconds ago turning into a lifeless corpse lying motionlessly on the floor, she couldn¡¯t help screaming in horror. Having lived for so many years, she had never seen a murder so directly. She was scared out of her wits. Norman blew the smoking gun in front of his face and said indifferently, ¡°Hah, since you already know about this, I can¡¯t let you live. Dawn Westwood, you¡¯ve always imed to be smart. Didn¡¯t you consider that this would happen? You¡¯re still too stupid after all.¡± Jensen had said that he had to do a clean job and make sure that no one could find any traces. And only the dead could keep a secret. Dawn knew what had happened and had even participated in it. As long as Lucas did some digging, he would easily be able to find out who took Cheyenne away. How could Norman let Dawn leave in one piece and risk having Lucas find out where they were? Norman would get rid of anything that left evidence against him! Cheyenne was truly frightened. Seeing Norman kill someone without batting an eye and holding the gun that had killed someone moments ago, she began trembling uncontrobly. ¡°Please¡­ let me off, okay? I don¡¯t know who you are and how I¡¯ve offended you, but you probably aren¡¯t thinking of just killing me after going to such great lengths to bring me here, right? My¡­ my husband is Lucas Gray, the chairman of the Stardust Corporation. He has a lot of money, and I can give you enough money for the ransom. Please just let me go!¡± Cheyenne said in a shaky voice, forcing herself to stayposed as she negotiated for her life. Generally speaking, people kidnapped others for money. But after Norman heard what she said, his eyes suddenly burned brightly with hatred. ¡°Hah, of course I know who your husband is. He¡¯s the reason you¡¯re in this plight now!¡± With deep hatred in his eyes, Norman barked, ¡°It¡¯s that damn Lucas Gray! He ruined my family and destroyed everything I painstakingly built. I must kill him, rip him into shreds, and make sure he dies horribly!¡± Chapter 1327 - 1327 Unbearable Humiliation 1327 Unbearable Humiliation Cheyenne was shocked. She finally learned that this person was someone who had a grudge against Lucas! In that case, his motive for abducting her was definitely not as simple as money. Rather, he likely wanted to use her life to threaten Lucas into submitting to him before eventually killing him! Thinking of this, Cheyenne felt cold all over, as if she had been submerged in ice water. Boundless fear and worry welled up in her heart. !! She knew that Lucas¡¯s business endeavors would inevitably offend some powerful enemies. And Norman was definitely one of the people who had a feud with Lucas. Moreover, Norman was extremely ruthless and vicious! Given how he had tried his best to get Dawn to kidnap her and then killed Dawn without batting an eye, she knew that he would definitely be merciless to Lucas! If Lucas really came, he probably would fall right into his trap and wouldn¡¯t be able to leave alive. It would be exactly what Norman wanted! Bang! Bang! Bang! Cheyenne¡¯s heart was pounding violently as she fearfully pondered how to save herself and Lucas. But at this critical moment, she couldn¡¯t think of a good solution at all. ¡°It turns out Lucas Gray has such a beautiful wife! Hah, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯ll take Lucas Gray a long time to find this ce. Before that, I¡¯ll collect some interest first!¡± Norman looked at Cheyenne¡¯s pretty face with an evil light in his eyes and deliberately ogled her from head to toe. Cheyenne knew what Norman was thinking the moment she saw his gaze. She felt disgusted and desperately wanted to escape. ¡°Beauty, you¡¯ve already fallen into my hands. There¡¯s no way you can escape!¡± Norman smirked and ordered with a sinisterugh, ¡°Stop her. Bring her back!¡± For a time, there were numerous screams in the mansion¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile, Lucas was on the verge of losing his mind in panic. He had already used all his connections to search for Cheyenne. And he himself was shuttling through the streets in DC to find any traces of Cheyenne¡¯s whereabouts. Suddenly, Jordan called. ¡°Lucas! My people have already checked the footage of the traffic surveince cameras in DC and found the location of the car that took Cheyenne away!¡± ¡°Where is it? Send me its location immediately!¡± Lucas shouted. A momentter, the Howards, the Smiths, the Huttons, the Parkers, the Coles, the Hales, and the Fullers all received emergency orders to head toward a certain ce in DC. At the same time, in a vi in DC, Jensen received the news from his subordinates, which left an extremely gloomy expression on his face. Only now did he know that almost half of the top families in DC had been mobilized to search high and low in DC for Cheyenne. Lucas actually achieved such a great feat within an extremely short period of time! Thinking of this, Jensen suddenly panicked. Lucas¡¯s power was far greater than he had imagined! Once the matter of him sending people to abduct Cheyenne was exposed, the Hamiltons would have to face Lucas¡¯s wrath. When the time came, Lucas¡¯s deration to make the Hamiltons vanish from the US would no longer be just a threat but a bloody reality! No, he couldn¡¯t allow this to happen! As long as Norman used Cheyenne to kill Lucas, everything would be different! So what if Lucas was so powerful? Once he was dead, everything would be gone! ¡­ In a mansion in the suburbs of DC¡­ Cheyenne, who was trying to flee in panic, was caught by the two experts in white and brought to Norman. ¡°Hah, try running again! See if you can escape.¡± Norman smiled as he inched closer to Cheyenne. Due to the short distance, his breathnded on Cheyenne¡¯s face while he spoke, which was really nauseating. Cheyenne looked away in disgust and struggled furiously while shouting, ¡°If you dare toy a hand on me, my husband will never let you off!¡± Smack! Norman pped Cheyenne¡¯s face viciously. ¡°Bitch! How dare you mention that bastard Lucas Gray? You must have a death wish! ¡°Hah, do you think your husband is very impressive? Do you think he¡¯lle save you? You¡¯re stupid and naive! ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter. I want to lure him here. But I won¡¯t let him have a good time. I¡¯m going to take revenge against him and make him watch you cry and struggle under me. I¡¯m going to ruin everything he cherishes! ¡°And what can you do to me? What can your husband do to me? I¡¯m going to make him watch this happen yet be too powerless to do anything. I want to make him feel agonizing pain! Hahaha, I¡¯m really looking forward to it. The thought of Lucas Gray watching you cry while you¡¯re under me makes me so excited!¡± Absolutely thrilled, Normanughed crazily with a ferocious and distorted expression. He was simply crazy! Cheyenne turned deathly pale, absolutely terrified. If Norman really vited her, even if Lucas didn¡¯t mind, she would feel incredibly filthy and too ashamed to continue living! It would be even worse if Lucas watched it happen. She would rather die than ept this unbearable humiliation! ¡°Dream on! I will never let you have what you want!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s eyes glowed with despair and resolution as she took a deep nce at Norman, as if she wanted to etch his face deeply into her memory. Immediately afterward, Cheyenne closed her eyes and bit her tongue as hard as she could! Even if she had to kill herself, she would never let Norman¡¯s despicable n seed! Seeing Cheyenne¡¯s despair and determination in her eyes, followed by the blood flowing from the corner of her lips, Norman instantly realized what was happening and shouted anxiously, ¡°Stop her! Quickly, stop her!¡± Cheyenne was his most valuable hostage, the best tool he had found to deal with Lucas. If she died here, how could he threaten Lucaster? ... The two bodyguards in white knew that something was amiss, so they quickly grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s jaw to prevent her from biting herself further. Bang! Suddenly, the roars of an engine sounded from outside. And immediately after, the gates of the mansion were mmed open from outside! A ck Jaguar crashed through the gates and charged toward the mansion! Chapter 1328 - 1328 Death Threat 1328 Death Threat ¡°Cheyenne! No!¡± Lucas rushed over as quickly as he could and charged into the mansion, only to be greeted with the sight of Cheyenne being pinned to the floor, with her jaw clenched tightly as bright red blood flowed out of her mouth! At this moment, Lucas¡¯s heart seemed to stop beating as he let out a heart-piercing roar. Cheyenne, who was stopped from biting her tongue and was in despair, immediately froze when she heard Lucas¡¯s voice. !! She opened her eyes and saw Lucas getting out of his speeding ck Jaguar and rushing toward her. All of a sudden, she was so excited that her eyes filled with warm tears, and she couldn¡¯t see Lucas¡¯s face clearly. She knew that her husband had rushed over to save her at her most critical and desperate moment! The moment Norman saw Lucas, his pupils constricted, and his face was full of disbelief. ¡°H-how did you find this ce? How could youe here so quickly? It¡¯s impossible!¡± He was inplete disbelief! The ce that he had found was extremely well-hidden, and there were no surveince cameras around either. How did Lucas manage to find it? Even if he had done a carpet search of the city, he shouldn¡¯t have found it so soon! Norman had expected Lucas to take at least an hour to reach this ce at the quickest. During this time, he would have already vited Cheyenne. And by the time Lucas arrived, he would have only seen the vited Cheyenne. This would have been how he vented his anger! But unexpectedly, before he had time to do anything, Lucas had arrived minutes after Cheyenne fell into his hands. How¡­ how did he do it? ¡°Honey¡­¡± Cheyenne stared at Lucas and burst into tears uncontrobly. She had already prepared to kill herself to avoid being vited. But suddenly seeing Lucasing to save her, she could no longer contain her emotions. If she wasn¡¯t under the control of Norman¡¯s two bodyguards now, she would have jumped into Lucas¡¯s and burst into tears. When Lucas saw that Cheyenne could still speak and that things hadn¡¯t reached their worst, his violently beating heart calmed down a little. The moment he saw Cheyenne bleeding from the mouth, he had thought he was a step toote and that he had failed to save the love of his life. Suppressing his agitation and anger, Lucas said as gently as possible, ¡°Cheyenne, it¡¯s alright. With me here, no one can hurt you anymore!¡± Then he looked deeply at Norman and said, ¡°Norman Holmes, if you let go of my wife right now, I can still spare your life. Or else I¡¯ll make you die miserably!¡± He really didn¡¯t expect Norman to be the person who abducted Cheyenne. A trace of aggression suddenly erupted from Lucas¡¯s body. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s murderous aura was so terrifying that it was almost impossible to face him directly. Even the two experts of the Hamiltons standing behind Norman could sense the hair-raising aura at this moment. Although the two of them had long known that their target this time was extremely powerful and difficult to deal with, they only realized how terrifyingly powerful Lucas really was after meeting him. This was simply¡­ on par with the top powerhouse of the Hamiltons! Under Lucas¡¯s threat, Norman shuddered involuntarily, his legs went limp almost immediately, and he didn¡¯t dare to look Lucas in the eye. But he immediately recalled what Lucas had done to him and the Holmes, as well as his miserable experience earlier. Thinking that Lucas¡¯s wife was still in his hands, he regained his confidence and didn¡¯t drop to his knees. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t forget that your wife is still in my hands. How dare you speak to me like that?¡± Norman grabbed Cheyenne¡¯s hair and pulled her up. He ced her in front of himself, held his pistol against her temple, and stared at Lucas threateningly. Cheyenne was being pulled violently, but she didn¡¯t have the strength to resist Norman at all. Feeling the cold, hard barrel of the pistol on her temple and thinking that this pistol had just killed Dawn, Cheyenne was overwhelmed with fear and trembled incessantly. She tried her best to contain her emotions and stop herself from screaming and crying. Seeing his beloved woman being treated like this, Lucas felt immense heartache. At the same time, he was brimming with endless anger and wished he could strangle Norman to death immediately. But Cheyenne was still in his hands and being held at gunpoint. Lucas didn¡¯t dare to act rashly, for fear that Norman would pull the trigger and kill Cheyenne. Lucas clenched his fists tightly, trying his best to remain calm. ¡°Norman Holmes, the feud between us hasn¡¯t reached the point of no return yet. Let go of my wife, and I¡¯ll let you and your family off. I won¡¯t hold it against you!¡± Hearing this, Norman suddenly cocked his head backward and guffawed maniacally. ¡°Hahahaha! Lucas Gray, do you take me for a child? Do you think I¡¯d be deceived by your tricks? If I really let this woman off, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be the first to die. You¡¯ll let me off? Do you think I¡¯d believe you? ¡°I¡¯m telling you, since I dared toy a hand on your woman, I¡¯m already ready to die. Do you think you can still threaten me? Even if I die, I will kill your woman and drag her down with me. I¡¯ll make sure you live in misery and pain for the rest of your life!¡± Norman yelled crazily and even pressed the barrel hard against Cheyenne¡¯s temple, forming a round, red depression on her fair and tender skin. Lucas¡¯s heart skipped a beat, fearing that Norman would kill Cheyenne out of agitation. Lucas¡¯s palms were already bleeding because of how hard he was clenching his fists, but he had to try his best to maintain his calm. ¡°Norman Holmes, what do you need me to do before you let my wife go? I should be the person you hate, right?¡± ¡°Hahaha! Of course the person I hate the most is you! If it wasn¡¯t because of you, how could I have possibly ended up like this? How could the Holmes have ended up in this plight? How could the others have betrayed me? It is all your fault, you bastard!¡± With bloodshot eyes, Norman hollered lividly, ¡°Lucas Gray, I want you to get down on your knees like a dog and prostrate before me to seek my forgiveness. I want you to beg me to spare your wife!¡± Chapter 1329 - 1329 Saving His Wife 1329 Saving His Wife ¡°Come on, get down on your knees and beg me!¡± Norman yelled maniacally. Tears streamed down Cheyenne¡¯s eyes faster and faster. She knew that Norman only dared to force Lucas to kneel because he had abducted her. ¡°Honey, don¡¯t kneel! Don¡¯t beg him! Even if you kneel and beg him, he won¡¯t let me off! ¡°Honey, don¡¯t bother about me. Just leave quickly! Protect yourself and Amelia well. Otherwise, even if I die, I won¡¯t be able to rest in peace!¡± !! Cheyenne shouted desperately asrge drops of tears rolled down her cheeks. She knew that she had be Lucas¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel and was being used to threaten him. How could she watch Lucas being threatened and insulted? She thought it would be better for her to die. At least Lucas could still live well, and Amelia would have her father to take care of her. ¡°Shut up, bitch!¡± Norman flew into a rage and strangled Cheyenne to make her shut up. Lucas¡¯s eyes were about to burst, and he wished he could charge over to rip Norman into shreds. Vroommm! Vroommm! Vroommm! At this moment, the roar of engines came from outside the mansion. Through the hole that Lucas had made in the gates with his car and the numerous windows in the foyer, the people inside the mansion could see a massive convoy streaming in endlessly and stopping outside. Soon, the number of cars exceeded a hundred, and they still didn¡¯t stop. Four or five burly men immediately jumped out of each car and surrounded the mansion with weapons in their hands, forming a tight encirclement. Soon, there were more than a thousand people surrounding the area. Then 2,000 people¡­ Norman¡¯s eyes were wide open, and he was trembling incessantly. Of course, he hadn¡¯t arranged for so many people toe here. So the only possibility was that Lucas had gathered all these people! This wasn¡¯t all. In addition to the hundreds of cars surrounding the mansion, there were also the sounds of propellers rotating. There were several helicopters flying overhead, with numerous people looking down and watching closely. At this point, Norman finally realized how powerful Lucas was! He originally thought that as long as he could abduct Cheyenne, he would be able to control Lucas and have him be at his mercy. But Lucas had gathered a few thousand people within such a short time and had thempletely surround the mansion. There were helicopters flying above, leaving them with no means to retreat. What made Norman even more horrified and uneasy was that since Lucas could deploy so many helicopters at once, would there be any snipers hidden on these helicopters? If there were really snipers hidden in them, couldn¡¯t they blow his head up in an instant? Thinking of this, Norman felt extremely agonized, as if his heart was rolling around in hot oil. He had thought that he could retreat unscathed without leaving any traces under the escort of the two Hamilton experts after killing Lucas. But under the siege of a few thousand people, there was no way he could get out alive, even if he really killed Lucas! The two bodyguards standing behind Norman had grim expressions on their faces. Looking at the people outside the mansion, they felt that the situation was terrible. Their n had been to help Norman kill Lucas, then kill Norman, get rid of all the traces, and report back to Jensen at the Hamiltons¡¯. But now, no matter how skilled at martial arts they were, there was no way they could leave under the siege of so many people. In fact, they probably couldn¡¯t even achieve the goal of killing Lucas either. Norman knew that he was doomed this time and unlikely to leave this ce alive. Thus, he was now ready to go all out. He rubbed his gun hard against Cheyenne¡¯s head, reminding the crowd that he had an important hostage at gunpoint. ¡°All of you, get lost! I¡¯ll immediately blow her head up if anyone dares to move closer! ¡°Lucas Gray, do you hear me? Tell everyone to move far away! Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill her right now!¡± Norman was holding Cheyenne hostage while yelling hysterically and dragging her farther into the mansion. He was now in the foyer, and the numerous ss windows provided very little cover, so he felt that it was too unsafe, despite having Cheyenne as his hostage and shield. He wanted to retreat farther into the mansion. With more cover and fewer blind spots, he would feel much safer. But before Norman could execute his n and move deep into the mansion, a loud gunshot resounded, and a bullet prated the middle of Norman¡¯s forehead, causing a bloody hole to appear. Before Norman could even let out a sound, his arm holding the gun and his body fell limp, copsing to the floor. Cheyenne staggered away. As soon as she turned around, she saw Norman¡¯s indignant face. She screamed in fright and fell to the floor. ¡°Aahhhh!¡± ¡°Quickly!¡± Seeing the situation going awry, the Hamilton experts who had been following behind Norman yelled and rushed toward Cheyenne to control her again. Their mission was to find a way to kill Lucas, and Cheyenne was the best hostage and entry point. As long as she was in their hands, Lucas would be wary and full of scruples. Now that Norman had been killed, Cheyenne was the deciding factor as to whether they couldplete their mission and kill Lucas. They had to get their hands on her! ¡°Get lost!¡± The moment Lucas heard the gunshot, he was already charging toward Cheyenne as quickly as he could, leaving afterimages. When Cheyenne fell to the floor in shock, Lucas reached out and held her in his arms. However, the two experts were not to be underestimated. They immediately reacted and swung their fists at Cheyenne. Bang! Bang! Two muffled bangs filled the air. All of this happened in an instant. Time was tight, and Lucas could only try his best to protect Cheyenne in his arms since he couldn¡¯t take her away now. He turned around and used his back to block the two fierce punches from the Hamilton experts. These two experts were not ordinary people. The immense power contained in their punches was out to crush Lucas¡¯s internal organs. Lucas swallowed the blood gushing out from his throat and took advantage of the force of the impact to run forward more than ten meters with Cheyenne in his arms. Only then was he able to defuse the iparable destructive force of the punches. Chapter 1330 - 1330 Duel Between Experts 1330 Duel Between Experts ¡°Lucas!¡± Jordan yelled worriedly. He immediately went forward to stop the two experts of the Hamiltons and fought them. All three of them were top experts, and their fight was incredibly intense. Their moves were precise and quick, shocking the people of the families gathered outside. But Jordan immediately sensed something was wrong after exchanging a few blows with the two experts. He asked sternly, ¡°Who are you two? You¡¯re definitely not experts of the Holmes! Who sent you here?¡± Jordan was now extremely powerful and skilled. When he fought with Hades, Kenzo, and other top experts of the Peerless Martial Association, Jordan had broken through his bottleneck and became much stronger than before. !! But now, he actually felt that these two experts were not any weaker than him. In a one-on-one battle, he might really be no match for either of them, let alone against two. He felt even more pressure. These two experts were the toughest opponents Jordan had faced since he left Calico. Among the people here, only Lucas could defeat the two of them! Jordan had a grim expression, and his opponents didn¡¯t dare to underestimate him either. ¡°Let¡¯s kill him first!¡± The two of them exchanged nces and unanimously used their strongest move against Jordan, attacking from the left, right, up, and down, mping him in the middle. He was in an extremely dangerous situation. At this moment, the helmsmen outside hurried in. In particr, Cheyenne¡¯s biological mother, Florence, was extremely anxious. She immediately ran to Lucas and asked, ¡°How is Cheyenne? Is she hurt?¡± Lucas handed Cheyenne over to Florence and said in a deep voice, ¡°The matter isn¡¯t over yet. I¡¯ll hand Cheyenne over to you. You must make sure she¡¯s safe!¡± Florence held Cheyenne quickly, knowing that now wasn¡¯t the time to talk. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll definitely take good care of her. Rest assured!¡± Michael walked over with some people and assured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With so many of us here, Cheyenne will definitely be safe!¡± Lucas nced at them, nodded, and then turned around to walk toward where the fight was taking ce. At this moment, Jordan had already taken several hits under the joint offensive of the two. ¡°Jordan, stand back. I¡¯ll do it!¡± Lucas shouted with intense murderous intent in his eyes. Hearing this, Jordan blocked one of their attacks and then took the opportunity to dodge and jump back, withdrawing from the battle. He really wasn¡¯t a match for them. The three of them had only exchanged blows for merely ten seconds, but Jordan had already suffered several blows. If he wasn¡¯t skilled himself and narrowly evaded multiple attacks to his vital spots, he probably wouldn¡¯t be standing here anymore. But even then, Jordan had sustained numerous internal injuries, leaving him with excruciating pain in his chest and blood surging in his throat. ¡°Lucas, they shouldn¡¯t work for the Holmes. We have to find out where they¡¯re from!¡± Jordan reminded with gritted teeth. Seeing the murderous intent in Lucas¡¯s eyes, Jordan was really worried that Lucas would kill them in a fit of rage. In that case, it would be difficult to find out where they were from. The two top experts were definitely not people that second-tier families like the Holmes could train. If the Holmes really had such experts, they would have long be one of the eight top families of DC and wouldn¡¯t have been forced into such a terrible plight by Lucas. In other words, the person who abducted Cheyenne was definitely not only Norman. There was definitely someone else behind him! Lucas nodded slightly. Anyone who dared to harm his family would have to pay an extremely painful price! The Hamilton experts also felt the intense murderous intenting from Lucas, and they immediately became much more scrupulous. Soon, the three of them were embroiled in a scuffle, with Lucas facing two of them alone. Bang! Bang! Bang! All of a sudden, the sounds of a fight resounded, and the three of them were moving so fast that it was almost impossible to see how the battle was going. Seeing Jordan withdrawing from the battle to let Lucas fight against the two experts alone, Florence became anxious. ¡°Hey, Jordan, why did youe out on your own? Are you going to let Lucas fight those two people alone?¡± In her opinion, Lucas was at a huge disadvantage fighting against two people alone, and two against two would make it a fair fight. So she was puzzled as to why Jordan retreated from the battle at this critical moment. Michael was just as worried. Watching the three people fighting, Michael knew that these two were definitely experts among experts and extremely tough opponents. It would be difficult to find such powerful experts even among the eight top families of DC. He was skeptical about Lucas dealing with these two experts alone. ¡°Jordan, right? Hurry up and help Lucas! Those two are top experts!¡± Michael said worriedly. With a bitter smile, Jordan clutched his aching chest and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills are unrivaled, and those two are no match for him!¡± ¡°And¡­ I do want to help him, but I¡¯m severely injured now. Even if I join the fight, I¡¯ll only end up being a burden and get in his way.¡± Hearing this, the several helmsmen were instantly stunned. They had seen how skilled Jordan was at martial arts earlier, and they knew he was an extremely powerful expert. Even the top powerhouses of their family might be no match for Jordan. But now, Jordan had only fought with the two of them for a few seconds, yet he was already severely injured. In that case, how powerful were these two experts? Would Lucas really be able to deal with such powerful enemies on his own? Florence, Michael, and a few other helmsmen couldn¡¯t help looking worried. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get snipers to help Lucas deal with those two?¡± Florence suggested after some thought. Staring closely at the situation, Michael shook his head. ¡°No, they¡¯re fighting too closely. It¡¯s too difficult to distinguish between them, and the snipers won¡¯t be able to lock onto the targets. They might identally hurt Lucas!¡± Florence asked anxiously, ¡°What should we do then? We can¡¯t just keep watching them fight like this. Lucas is my son-inw and your son. Can you bear to see him being in such danger? ¡°An expert like Jordan was severely injured by the experts. What if Lucas gets hurt too?¡± Chapter 1331 - 1331 Unable to Die 1331 Unable to Die Florence still didn¡¯t know that Lucas wasn¡¯t Michael¡¯s biological son. Only Lucas, Michael, and Jace knew about this. She still thought that Lucas was Michael¡¯s illegitimate son. Michael sighed, looking just as worried as Florence. He said softly, ¡°Like you said, he¡¯s my son. Of course I¡¯m worried. But you can see what¡¯s going on. No one can interfere in a fight between experts like them! ¡°Regardless of sending our people to help or using snipers, it¡¯ll only backfire. Now, we can only bank on Lucas¡¯s abilities and wait for an opportunity!¡± Florence was about to say something, but she suddenly heard an exmation from the side. ¡°Look! Mr. Gray is about to win!¡± Florence was startled and quickly looked over. The three of them had already separated, and there was only one person standing. The other two were flying through the air before crashing hard on the floor. Of course, the person standing was Lucas. The other two experts were struggling on the floor, but they couldn¡¯t get up even after a long time. Instead, they copsed to the floor and vomited arge mouthful of blood. Victory had been decided! Everyone was shocked! Florence, Michael, and the others stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. Although they had long known how extraordinary Lucas was, they didn¡¯t know exactly how powerful he was. Only now, when they saw the two top experts who were far stronger than those of the eight top families lying on the floor, did they barely sense how strong Lucas really was. Some helmsmen close to Lucas heaved a sigh of relief and immediately felt a sense of pride and honor. They were extremely proud of Lucas¡¯s formidable strength. Tyson, the helmsman of the Smiths, looked at Lucas with even more awe as his heart tensed up slightly. Back then, he had been rather indignant and unwilling to submit to Lucas because the Smiths were one of the eight top families of DC. However, he had had no choice but to do so because he needed Lucas¡¯s help to defeat his cousin and secure the position of helmsman. Thus, he had agreed to pledge allegiance to Lucas. Tyson wasn¡¯t very loyal to Lucas and had been trying to find a suitable opportunity to break free from Lucas¡¯s control. But after witnessing Lucas¡¯s terrifying strength, Tyson finally knew how ridiculous his thoughts had been. If he really dared to betray Lucas, Lucas alone would be able to kill all the Smiths! At the thought of this, Tyson no longer dared to harbor any other thoughts. Florence¡¯s jaw dropped, and she was stunned for a long time before muttering, ¡°Lucas already¡­ won?¡± Although she knew that Lucas was very powerful, she never thought that he could win so decisively against two top powerhouses within such a short time. Michael was just as shocked. He had never seen Lucas fight before. But when he thought about the fact that Lucas had been the captain of the Falcon Regiment in Calico, he felt much less shocked. After all, the captain of the Falcon regiment was not a position that anyone could attain! Looking at the crowd¡¯s expressions, Jordan smiled helplessly. ¡°See? I told you Lucas would definitely win. You really didn¡¯t have to worry.¡± There probably wasn¡¯t anyone in this world who could defeat Lucas. Lucas walked toward the two powerhouses on the floor while exuding immense pressure. They felt as though a mountain was pressing down on them. The two Hamilton experts were absolutely horrified, and their bodies trembled uncontrobly. They were experts that the Hamiltons had secretly trained hard since they were young, putting them through intense martial arts training for years. They had always been protecting the Hamiltons in secret and had never shown up in public. Their martial arts skills were almost on par with the top expert of the Hamiltons. But they had suffered a tragic defeat after joining forces to fight against a young man in his twenties! Seeing how mighty Lucas was, they couldn¡¯t help feeling a strong sense of defeat and despair. In this world, was there really such an amazing genius who could easily destroy experts who had trained hard for decades? Compared to Lucas, they seemed to have lived the past few decades in vain! Standing in front of the two of them and looking down at them, Lucas questioned, ¡°Who sent you? Speak up!¡± The terrifying sense of oppression caused the two experts to be almost unable to get up. ¡°Go to hell!¡± The two powerhouses clenched their fists tightly and charged toward Lucas with all their might. Bang! Bang! Their efforts were naturally futile. Even when they were at their peak, they were no match for Lucas. Now that they were severely injured, how could they do anything to him? Lucas moved just one leg and sent them flying several meters away with two hard and swift kicks. If he hadn¡¯t restrained his strength, wanting to keep them alive to question them, they would have died long ago. ¡°Let me ask you again. Who sent you?¡± Lucas asked again, the oppression in his eyes intensifying. The two powerhouses were covered in cold sweat and were struggling to get up, only to find that several of their ribs were broken and that they couldn¡¯t get up at all. Theyughed miserably without answering Lucas¡¯s question. At the same time, they moved their jaws slightly, seemingly about to bite something. Oh no! They had something hidden in their mouths! Lucas immediately recalled the suicide warriors the Hamiltons had sent to kill him. They also had hidden poisonous capsules in their mouth that they would bite to end their lives almost instantly once they were captured. This would prevent them from being tortured and leaking who sent them. As soon as Lucas thought of this, he quickly reached out to grab their jaws, his speed as quick as lightning, and dislocated their jaws. This way, there was no way they could close their mouths to bite the poisonous capsules. There was horror and shock in the eyes of the two powerhouses. They never expected Lucas to see through their intentions and react so quickly to stop them that they couldn¡¯t even bite the poisonous capsules! They wanted to resist, but Lucas stepped on their chests. With ice-cold killing intent surging in his eyes, he suddenly said, ¡°Even if you don¡¯t tell me, I know that the people behind you are the Hamiltons, right?¡± ... Chapter 1332 - 1332 City-Wide Search 1332 City-Wide Search After the two Hamilton experts heard Lucas¡¯s question, their pupils instantly constricted, and their expressions changed. Seeing their reactions, Lucas already knew what was going on without having to wait for these two experts to admit it. ¡°Heh, the Hamiltons! You people are really haunting me! Since you have the audacity to do this, then be prepared to face my wrath!¡± With astonishing murderous intent in his eyes, Lucas stomped down hard, crushing the chest and organs of the two Hamilton experts, killing them on the spot. ¡­ At the same time, Jensen, who was hiding in a secret vi in DC, suddenly felt chilly for some reason, as if something incredibly dangerous was targeting him. Could the matter with Norman Holmes have been exposed? This thought quickly shed through Jensen¡¯s mind, and he soon shuddered, trying to get rid of this idea. No, that¡¯s impossible. Norman Holmes has already gotten hold of Lucas Gray¡¯s woman. He¡¯ll definitely die! ¡­ In therge mansion in the suburbs of DC¡­ Countless people had witnessed everything that just happened. Lucas¡¯s strength shocked and impressed countless people. Looking at Lucas¡¯s still figure, Michael¡¯s eyes were full of infinite emotion. Even though Lucas wasn¡¯t his biological son, Michael had always regarded him as his own. Seeing how capable Lucas had be, he genuinely felt happy for him from the bottom of his heart. Despite having driven Lucas and his mother out of the Huttons and DC back then, it wasn¡¯t because he hated them, but rather, it was because he wanted to protect them. Florence looked at Lucas in astonishment. She used to dislike Lucas and had even tried to get him to leave Cheyenne. But after he surprised her with his abilities time and time again, she began to find him to be a rare gem. She thought that her daughter was really fortunate to have such a capable husband who loved her so much! At least she was much more blissful than Florence! Lucas didn¡¯t pay attention to the gazes of the people around him. After finishing off the two experts, he went straight to Florence and looked worriedly at Cheyenne in her arms. At this moment, after being repeatedly shocked and stimted, Cheyenne had already passed out. Seeing Lucas¡¯s worry, Florence said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Cheyenne was just overly frightened and shocked, so she passed out temporarily. Also, the wound on her tongue isn¡¯t too deep either. She¡¯ll be able to recover after resting for a period of time.¡± Earlier, Florence had been horrified when she saw Cheyenne suddenly faint while bleeding from the mouth, thinking that Cheyenne had really died from biting her tongue. Fortunately, Lucas had arrived in time to save her. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be able to ept watching her daughter die before they couldpletely reconcile. Hearing this, Lucas finally felt relieved. He reached out, gently held Cheyenne in his arms, and carefully kissed her mmy forehead. As soon as he thought that Cheyenne had been abducted and nearly died because of him, his heart ached as if it had been cut by a knife. At the same time, his heart was surging with hatred. It was the Hamiltons again! Lucas was now certain that Norman definitely didn¡¯t have the guts to kidnap Cheyenne and threaten him alone. The Hamiltons must have instructed him to do it. But now that Dawn, the woman who hsf deceived Cheyenne and brought her here, had been killed and silenced, Norman had been shot dead by a sniper, and the two Hamilton experts had died too, there wasn¡¯t sufficient evidence to prove that the Hamiltons were the mastermind. But so what? Lucas had alreadye to a decision. ¡°Jordan, get people to find the whereabouts of the Hamiltons immediately. Report to me once you have information!¡± Lucas ordered in a deep voice. ¡°Yes, Lucas!¡± Jordan immediately acknowledged. Everything here hade to an end for now. Lucas thanked the helmsmen of the various families who hade to help and then carried Cheyenne home without staying for long. ¡­ At night, Jordan called and reported, ¡°Lucas, we haven¡¯t found anyone from the Hamiltons for now. They¡¯re really good at hiding. We need some time.¡± Lucas had already expected this. Since Jensen had used Norman to do such a thing and sent the two experts to help him instead of doing it himself, it was obvious that he wanted to stay hidden behind the scenes. Now that his n had failed, he would naturally go into hiding, not daring to appear in public. If people wanted to hide in DC, it was really difficult to find them. After all, Lucas didn¡¯t have a search warrant, and he couldn¡¯t possibly search all of DC and scour each house to find him. ¡°Since he refuses toe out of hiding, find a way to force him toe out! I don¡¯t believe that he can stay in DC forever!¡± Lucas¡¯s voice was icy cold. Over the next few days, all of DC was tumultuous. The top families rted to Lucas were searching everywhere for the Hamiltons and put the major roads out of DC under strict control. ¡­ In a hidden vi in DC¡­ Jensen had been feeling incredibly vexed and furious the past few days. The scouts of the Hamiltons had already found out the reason for the turmoil in DC these days and had reported the actions of the participating top families to Jensen. Thus, Jensen already knew that these people were all searching for his whereabouts. Once they found him, they would definitely report it to Lucas. It made Jensen feel incredibly indignant and stifled. As a scion of the Hamiltons and the apple of the helmsman¡¯s eyes, he had a promising future and would very likely be the next helmsman. But now, he was trapped in DC with nowhere to go. As soon as he learned about Norman¡¯s failure, he immediately wanted to leave DC, but he didn¡¯t expect Lucas to put the major roads and exit points in DC under strict surveince. He couldn¡¯t leave at all. Moreover, thetest news his subordinates reported made him furious! ... Bang! Jensen mashed a decorative vase on the ground and hollered, ¡°Lucas Gray! You bastard, how dare you do this to me? How dare you mess with my family¡¯s assets? I won¡¯t spare you!¡± Chapter 1333 - 1333 The Stardust Corporation Gets into Trouble 1333 The Stardust Corporation Gets into Trouble His subordinates had just reported that the Hamiltons¡¯ businesses in DC were all embroiled in varying degrees of trouble. Either they were seized and sealed for nonpliance and vitions, or the people in charge of thepanies had absconded with thepany¡¯s funds, leaving huge messes behind, making Jensen furious. ¡°Lucas Gray, you actually used such means to force me to appear. You¡¯re really something! Do you think you¡¯re the only one who knows to attack? Just you wait!¡± Jensen gritted his teeth furiously and immediately made a call. ¡°I want to see Lucas Gray¡¯s Stardust Corporation suffer heavy losses or go bankrupt within five days!¡± ¡­ !! In Lucas¡¯s office in the headquarters of the Stardust Corporation¡­ Lucas was handling some important documents at his desk. Knock-knock! Someone suddenly knocked on the door of the office, and Flynn rushed in with a nervous look on his face. He said anxiously, ¡°Lucas, bad news. The Stardust City project is in trouble!¡± Lucas frowned. ¡°What happened?¡± Stardust City was the Stardust Corporation¡¯s greatest project in recent years. Lucas had already invested more than fifteen billion dors. What could have gone wrong? Flynn wiped off the sweat on his forehead and said, ¡°It¡¯s a problem with the building materials supplier of Stardust City! The Glory Group, the supplier we¡¯ve always worked with, suddenly announced a unteral termination of their contract with us and will no longer provide building materials for us. This means we won¡¯t have enough building materials for the construction of Stardust City! ¡°I¡¯ve tried to find other suppliers to rece the Glory Group, but the quantity of building materials we need is toorge. There aren¡¯t any suitable suppliers to take over the orders!¡± Lucas said with a frown, ¡°ording to the contract we signed, the Glory Group is required to pay us a huge sum of money in liquidated damages for terminating the contract unterally, right?¡± Flynn nodded. ¡°At the time of signing, the contract terms indeed stipted that the party in breach of contract would have to pay a huge amount ofpensation. And now that the Glory Group is breaching the contract, we can only protect our rights through legal means. I¡¯ve already instructed the legal department to follow up on this matter. ¡°But the entire process will take at least several months, which will cause immense losses for the Stardust Corporation. Without sufficient materials, we can¡¯t start work on the site, but we can¡¯t stop our expenses either. We¡¯ll be losing a ton of money each day! ¡°In this way, even if the Glory Grouppensates us for the breach of contract a few monthster, thepensation amount agreed in the contract won¡¯t be enough to offset our losses. ¡°This is a really important matter, so I came to ask for your advice.¡± To be fair, Flynn was indeed very capable, and he usually wouldn¡¯t bother Lucas unless it was an important matter. Lucas found this matter really tricky too. The Glory Group was thergest building materials supplier in DC, and it monopolized at least half of the building materials market in the city. Of course, there were other building materials suppliers in DC. But as Flynn said, the amount of building materials needed for the Stardust City project was so enormous that small suppliers didn¡¯t dare to take on the orders. Lucas remembered that there were one or two other major building materials suppliers in DC, such as thepany under the Fly Corporation, which Dawn Westwood, the woman who had duped Cheyenne, had worked for. But Lucas found outter that the Fly Corporation had some ties with the Holmes, with whom he was currently on bad terms. So the Fly Corporation naturally wouldn¡¯t supply hispany with building materials. As such, the sudden termination by the Glory Group really had a tremendous impact on Stardust City¡¯s construction. They would rather pay a huge amount in liquidated damages and sabotage the construction of Stardust City than supply building materials to Lucas. Such behavior probably wasn¡¯t a decision by the executives of the Glory Group but by the Hamiltons. Lucas thought of this almost immediately. He knew that Jensen definitely wouldn¡¯t be willing to sit back and do nothing like a coward. And this method indeed seemed like something Jensen would do. Lucas also considered importing building materials from outside of DC, but the weight and amount of materials needed were just too massive. If he imported them from elsewhere, the time needed and transportation expenses would soar. At that time, even if he could sessfully import enough materials, the costs would be staggering, and it wouldn¡¯t be economical. Now, it seemed that the best solution was to deal with the Glory Group directly, which would naturally resolve any other issues. ¡°In this case, we might as well acquire the entire Glory Group!¡± Lucas said indifferently. ¡°What?!¡± Flynn was shocked. After confirming that Lucas wasn¡¯t joking, he said with a bitter smile, ¡°Lucas, although this a great solution, the Glory Group is argepany that has been established for years, and its market value is far higher than the Stardust Corporation¡¯s. It won¡¯t be easy to acquire it. ¡°Besides, the Glory Group suddenly terminated the contract without prior notice. They obviously don¡¯t want to work with us and even n to be our enemy. In this situation, how could the chairman of the Glory Group possibly agree to sell thepany to us? We won¡¯t be able to acquire it no matter how much money we offer!¡± Lucas knew that Flynn made sense, but he had his own solution. ¡°Leave this to me. You just have to wait for the oue.¡± Hearing this, Flynn knew that Lucas had already made up his mind and could only keep his mouth shut. Although he always knew that Lucas was very powerful, he wasn¡¯t confident about acquiring the Glory Group, so he could only smile wryly. He hoped that Lucas would be able to resolve this matter. At night, Lucas slowly drove his ck Jaguar into the parking lot of World Entertainment City and then walked to the sauna and spa center inside. Chapter 1334 - 1334 Discusing the Acquisition 1334 Discusing the Acquisition World Entertainment City was an entertainment joint operated by Roman, another illegitimate son of the Huttons. There were all sorts of entertainment facilities here, so naturally, there was a sauna center too. The VIP guests here would opt for luxury private rooms. The rooms were spacious and clean, and beautiful women provided spa services without the disturbance of others. It was indeed a great ce for the wealthy in DC to discuss business or just have a good time. At this moment, in a luxurious private room in the sauna center, there were two middle-aged men in their forties soaking in a hot spring spafortably and enjoying the service of two scantily d gorgeousdies. One of the middle-aged men, who was balding, rubbed the beautiful woman beside him a few times before asking the other middle-aged man, ¡°Weston, I heard that the Stardust Corporation is in a major cooperation with yourpany. The contract amount of your first cooperation is more than three billion dors. Are you really willing to stop cooperating with them?¡± The middle-aged man named Weston sighed and then smiled. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not willing, but someone promised to give me greater remuneration. Money talks, so I can only say goodbye to the Stardust Corporation. Who can say no to money?¡± The balding middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and asked tentatively, ¡°Based on what you¡¯re saying, that person must have offered you a price that you¡¯re very pleased with, Weston. No wonder you agreed to give up such a profitable business with the Stardust Corporation and terminate the contract with them. I wonder who¡¯s so generous? ¡°If you¡¯ve really managed to form ties with a bigwig, you will definitely make a killing in the future through your connections with him!¡± Weston smiled proudly and was just about to speak when the door of the private room was suddenly pushed open. A tall man walked in. ¡°We¡¯re about to talk business. Everyone else, get out,¡± the man said indifferently. Everyone looked up at the person who came in. But the hot spring room was full of steam, so it was difficult to tell who this person was. The two beautiful women cuddling with Weston and the other middle-aged man immediately got up to leave when they heard that they were about to discuss business, thinking that the person who came was someone Weston knew. Soon, Weston, the balding man beside him, and Lucas were the only ones left in the spacious private room. Lucas closed the door and walked toward the two of them. As he got closer, they naturally got a clearer glimpse of the person who came in. The bald man looked at Lucas, then at Weston, and asked doubtfully, ¡°Who are you? Did you get the wrong ce?¡± Lucas remained calm as he walked closer to Weston, who was soaking in the hot spring. ¡°Mr. Weston Barlowe from the Glory Group, right? I am Lucas Gray, the chairman of the Stardust Corporation.¡± Hearing this, Weston and the balding man immediately widened their eyes in shock. They didn¡¯t expect that someone who imed to be the chairman of the Stardust Corporation would suddenly show up in front of them right after they mentioned the Stardust Corporation. Frankly speaking, although the Stardust Corporation had a great reputation in DC, and many people knew thepany was developing well, the person who usually took charge of thepany matters was the general manager. Almost no one knew who the chairman was. This was because Lucas had never liked announcing his identity in front of outsiders. Weston and the balding man sized up Lucas and suddenly burst intoughter. ¡°Hahaha! This is hrious! Someone actually came here and pretended to be the chairman of the Stardust Corporation!¡± Weston nced at Lucas¡¯s handsome face hostilely and mocked contemptuously, ¡°You look like you¡¯re only in your twenties, and you¡¯re good-looking too. You¡¯re a male host hired by this sauna, right? Haha, we¡¯re both interested in women, so you don¡¯t have to waste your effort and make a fool out of yourself! ¡°Heh, to be honest, you¡¯re really funny! But if you¡¯re the chairman of the Stardust Corporation, then I¡¯m the leader of the eight top families of DC! Anyone can dream. ¡°Kid, we¡¯re in a good mood now, so we won¡¯t hold it against you. Quickly leave, and we¡¯ll take it that nothing has happened.¡± The two of them mocked Lucas, thinking that he was a male host that someone in the sauna had hired to entertain them and attract their attention. Weston and the balding man didn¡¯t think that Lucas was really the chairman of the Stardust Corporation because he was too young and handsome. The Stardust Corporation was developing extremely rapidly in DC and had entered the ranks of the Global 500. They didn¡¯t think that such argepany could be helmed by such a young chairman. Lucas ignored the misunderstanding and asked with a smile, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether you believe me or not, Mr. Barlowe. But I really want to know what the Hamiltons promised you to get you to give up the cooperation with the Stardust Corporation and go against us.¡± As soon as he asked this question, Weston¡¯s expression changed drastically, and his face had shock written all over it. How does this kid know that the Hamiltons made a promise to me? When the Hamiltons contacted him, they had specially warned him not to reveal anything and that he should only say that he didn¡¯t want to cooperate with the Stardust Corporation anymore. He didn¡¯t even intend to tell Gregory, his close friend next to him, the truth. So how did this young man get the news ande looking for him? Gregory, the balding man, looked at Weston in shock. He didn¡¯t expect the bigwig that Weston had made contact with the Hamiltons! These Hamiltons were definitely the royals, not an ordinary family! Gregory could tell from Weston¡¯s expression that the young man had hit the bull¡¯s eye! Weston was shocked, but he quickly denied it. ¡°What Hamiltons? I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about! I¡¯m the chairman of the Glory Group, and I can decide not to work with the Stardust Corporation because I don¡¯t want to. No one gave me any promise. Kid, you¡¯d better watch your words. Don¡¯t spout nonsense!¡± Lucas smiled without intending to expose him. Instead, he said calmly, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you refuse to admit it. I¡¯m here today to discuss something with you.¡± Weston didn¡¯t want to talk with Lucas at first, but his curiosity was piqued. ¡°What is it?¡± Looking at the chairman of the Glory Group, Lucas smiled calmly and said indifferently, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about my acquisition of the Glory Group.¡± Chapter 1335 - 1335 Waiting for You to Shrink 1335 Waiting for You to Shrink Weston was dumbfounded upon hearing what Lucas said. Gregory widened his mouth in shock, utterly stunned. After a long time, Weston finally realized what Lucas was talking about, and his face instantly darkened. ¡°Punk, how dare you talk about acquiring the Glory Group in front of me? You¡¯re really brazen! Are you trying to piss me off by cracking such a joke with me?!¡± He stared at Lucas gloomily and narrowed his eyes threateningly. He had painstakingly built Glory Group from scratch, and now that he had finally developed it to such a scale, holding a leading position and almost monopolizing more than half of the building materials market in DC, he wasn¡¯t going to let anyone take it away from him easily! What Lucas said almost made him lose his temper right on the spot. But Lucas didn¡¯t seem to notice his gloomy expression and even said with a smile, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m joking with you?¡± Weston had no idea who Lucas was and didn¡¯t care to find out his intentions. He simply hollered furiously, ¡°The Glory Group is my life¡¯s work. How dare youe here and say that you want to acquire mypany? Hurry up and get lost, or else don¡¯t me me for being nasty!¡± Lucas remained calm and said indifferently, ¡°Seven billion dors.¡± This was the price he offered. After hearing the amount, Weston snorted coldly with an extremely terrifying expression. The Glory Group was a massive corporation worth at least 30 billion dors. In fact, even if someone really offered to acquire the Glory Group for 30 billion dors, he wouldn¡¯t agree. This young punk actually offered merely 7 billion dors. He must be dreaming! Weston waspletely angry at this point. ¡°Punk, you must be tired of living. Did youe here to court death? You want to acquire the Glory Group for just seven billion dors? Hah, you¡¯d better go home and keep dreaming! ¡°Immediately kneel and apologize to me. Maybe I¡¯ll forgive. Otherwise, hah!¡± Lucas smiled and continued, ¡°Six billion dors then.¡± He seemed to be bargaining, but his new offer was a billion dors less than his previous offer! Weston was furious. He stood up from the spa, grabbed a towel, and tied it around his waist. Staring at Lucas, he sneered. ¡°Punk, you must be tired of living. Did youe here to annoy me? Do you believe that I can make you die here with a single call?¡± Gregory shook his head with a contemptuous smile. ¡°This is my first time meeting someone with a burning death wish. Punk, Weston is not someone you can mess with. You¡¯d better leave quickly, lest you anger him further.¡± Seemingly not afraid of death at all, Lucas said again, ¡°Five billion dors.¡± Weston waspletely enraged. He pulled out a pistol from the pile of his clothes beside him and pointed it at Lucas¡¯s head ¡°Punk, since you want to die, I¡¯ll grant you your wish!¡± Lucas nced coldly at the gun in front of him without any change in expression. ¡°It seems you¡¯re not interested in discussing the acquisition with me properly. In that case, I¡¯ll discuss it with you another day, Mr. Barlowe. I hope you can continue being so stubborn after the market value of the Glory Group plunges.¡± With that, Lucas turned around and left without any fear or worry at all. Weston aimed his gun at Lucas¡¯s back for a long time. Only after Lucas left and the door of the private room closed again did he bark, ¡°That ignorant punk! How dare he curse mypany¡¯s market value to plunge?! The next time I see him, I won¡¯t be kind to him!¡± He thought that Lucas was scared away by the pistol he was holding. Next to him, Gregory stood up from the spa and said with a smile, ¡°Weston, did you really want to shoot and kill that punk just now?¡± Weston smiled and casually tossed his ¡®pistol¡¯ to Gregory. Gregory subconsciously caught it and fiddled with it for a bit before realizing that it didn¡¯t weigh much and was actually just a replica. He pulled the trigger, and a small me sprang out of the muzzle. It turned out to be a pistol-shaped lighter. Gregoryughed., ¡°Geez, I thought it was the real thing. It turns out it¡¯s just a toy you used to scare that punk.¡± Then he looked at Weston and suddenly stopped smiling. He said seriously, ¡°Weston, we¡¯ve been friends for years. Tell me honestly. Are the ones who promised to give you benefits to cut off the cooperation with the Stardust Corporation those Hamiltons? The royal family branch?¡± Weston knew that he couldn¡¯t conceal this matter anymore. Now that Gregory had heard it and explicitly asked him about it, he would really be a bad friend if he still hid it and lied about it. Thinking of this, Weston nodded in admittance and hurriedly said, ¡°You must keep this a secret for me. The Hamiltons don¡¯t want this matter to spread. If the Hamiltons find out I gave it away, not just mine, but even your family will be implicated!¡± Gregory was shocked and frantically said, ¡°Rest assured. I won¡¯t tell anyone about this! But since you¡¯re being so secretive about it, how did that punk find out?¡± Weston narrowed his eyes. ¡°Yeah, I also want to know how that punk found out. But I hope he can be more sensible. If he dares to provoke me again, I definitely won¡¯t let him off!¡± After Lucas left World Entertainment City, he immediately made a call. ¡°Find a way to make the stock price of the Glory Group plunge. When the market opens tomorrow, I want to see the market value of the Glory Group shrink drastically.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± the person on the other end answered immediately without asking anything. ¡­ The following day, Weston arrived at the chairman¡¯s office in the Glory Group. Soon after he sat down, Gregory came to his office. The two of them had been friends for years, and theirpanies were cooperating recently, so they were in frequent contact with each other. ¡°Weston, you¡¯ve already terminated the supply of building materials to the Stardust Corporation. How much longer do you think the Stardust City project canst?¡± Gregory asked with a smile. Weston smiled confidently. ¡°Haha, without any building materials, I bet the Stardust City project will flop in a few days!¡± Chapter 1336 - 1336 Who Goes Bankrupt First? 1336 Who Goes Bankrupt First? What Weston said immediately stunned Gregory. ¡°A few days? Th-this doesn¡¯t seem possible, right? No matter what, the Stardust Corporation is a major enterprise worth tens of billions of dors. It¡¯s a Global 500pany. Surely it canst more than a few days, right?¡± Gregory asked in surprise. Westonughed out loud. ¡°You have no idea. The Stardust Corporation¡¯s market value has indeed exceeded twenty billion dors, but they have invested way too much into the Stardust City project. As long as I cut off their building materials supply, they¡¯ll have to suspend work on the construction site. For every day of suspension, the losses will be enormous. ¡°Furthermore, I¡¯ve already gotten people to spread some news and rumors, such as cash flow problems are the cause for the suspension of work of Stardust City, the management of the Stardust Corporation absconded with thepany funds, and so on. I guarantee that the Stardust Corporation¡¯s stock price will plummet within three days! It might even go bankrupt! !! ¡°When the timees, how will the Stardust Corporation be able to fill up the ck hole that is Stardust City? As long as I have a death grip on their most important link, the Stardust Corporation will definitely die!¡± Weston had acent look on his face. Gregory pped his hands whileughing. ¡°As expected of you. What an amazing move! As long as the news of Stardust City¡¯s suspension is true, who cares what the real reason is? As soon as the news gets out, the stock of the Stardust Corporation will definitely plummet! Amazing! Seriously amazing!¡± Westonughed proudly. Just as he was about to say something, someone suddenly charged into his office. Weston¡¯s secretary hurried in without even knocking on the door. ¡°Bad news, Mr. Barlowe! The Glory Group is in trouble! The news just reported that a building under construction in the northern suburbs of DC copsed due to the use of substandard building materials supplied by the Glory Group! Now, many reporters havee to ourpany to interview thepany¡¯s executives. They¡¯re demanding an exnation!¡± Weston¡¯s face darkened as he hollered, ¡°Who allowed you toe in without knocking?! Where are your manners? What bullshit reporters? Copsed building? Hurry up and get the PR department to deal with it! Get the legal department to sue all the troublemakers and those who exposed this! In any case, we will never admit it or take responsibility for this. Do you still need me to teach you how to deal with it?¡± He glowered at his secretary. Before Weston drove his secretary out of his office, the general manager of the Glory Group ran in, drenched in sweat. ¡°Bad news, Mr. Barlowe! Some people are saying that there are problems with the building materials supplied by the Glory Group, and the government hase to conduct a random raid. They¡¯ve sealed ourrgest warehouse!¡± ¡°What?¡± Weston widened his eyes and looked at the general manager in disbelief. ¡°Mr. Barlowe, bad news!¡± Before Mr. Weston could ask anything in detail, thepany¡¯s CFO also rushed in and shouted, ¡°Mr. Barlowe, just after the stock market opened, the market value of the Glory Group plummeted. Within just ten minutes, trading was halted on our stock. The situation is terrible!¡± ¡°Wh-wh-what¡¯s going on?!¡± After receiving three pieces of bad news in a row, each worse than the other, Weston slumped down on the couch inplete disbelief. Everything was fine yesterday, and he had even be acquainted with a bigwig like the Hamiltons. The Glory Group should be rising to sess. Why was it facing so many issues? Be it the sealing of the warehouse, the public bacsh for the copse of the building under construction, or the news of the stock price plummetting, it was all terrible for the Glory Group. If he mishandled any of these matters, it would bring destructive disaster to the Glory Group. It was incredibly difficult for a business to develop, but it could copse overnight! In particr, arge listed corporation like the Glory Group could easily have its stock price fluctuate with any random bad news. Moreover, the stock price fell so much that trading was halted on it. Weston knew how terrible the consequences would be without even having to think about them. ¡°How did things suddenly be like this? Everything was fine yesterday. How could this happen?!¡± Weston shouted angrily. Gregory frowned and thought about it for a while before saying, ¡°Such incidents happened one after another on the same day. No matter how I look at it, it seems fishy. Weston, I¡¯m afraid someone is creating trouble for you on purpose and targeting the Glory Group!¡± Weston¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. He knew that this matter was definitely unusual. He gritted his teeth and roared, ¡°Which bastard has the audacity to target me behind my back?! Once I find him, I¡¯ll chop him up into pieces!¡± The CFO wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and said gingerly, ¡°Mr. Barlowe, our stock price is down ten percent today, which is equivalent to a loss of three billion dors! ¡°The situation is terrible. If it wasn¡¯t for the trading halt, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯d lose more than half of our market value today! ¡°But at this rate, even with the trading halt, the Glory Group won¡¯t be able tost a few days! ¡°In particr, there¡¯s great controversy around the Glory Group, and all the major social media tforms are talking about the copsed building. If we can¡¯t deal with this matter quickly, we might have to apply for bankruptcy and liquidation in a few days!¡± Weston turned pale asrge droplets of cold sweat gushed out of his forehead and drenched his clothes. He never thought that after gloating to Gregory about how the Stardust Corporation wouldn¡¯t be able tost for a few days and would go bankrupt due to plummeting market value, the Stardust Corporation was fine, but the Glory Group was now in great trouble and on the verge of copse. Gregory suddenly felt that something was wrong. With a sh of inspiration, he blurted out, ¡°Weston, is it possible that today¡¯s incident is rted to that punk we met yesterday in World Entertainment City? You still remember what he said before he left yesterday?¡± Weston thought about it carefully and recalled that the young man who imed to be the chairman of the Stardust Corporation did say something after seeing his ¡®pistol¡¯ and ¡®being scared away¡¯. Lucas¡¯s original words were: ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll discuss it with you another day, Mr. Barlowe. I hope you can continue being so stubborn after the market value of the Glory Group plunges.¡± When he thought of what Lucas said, his pupils constricted. The market value of the Glory Group plunges! These words were the perfect description of the troubles that the Glory Group had encountered today! But Weston refused to believe that a young man in his twenties was capable of this. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. That punk is just an ignorant greenhorn. How could he possibly make the Glory Group encounter so much trouble within a short time? This definitely isn¡¯t his doing!¡± Weston immediately shook his head in denial. But suddenly, a mocking voice sounded outside the office. ¡°Mr. Barlowe, you should have already received the great gift I¡¯ve prepared for you. Are you pleased with it?¡± Chapter 1337 - 1337 Increase in Intensity 1337 Increase in Intensity Weston and Gregory suddenly raised their heads and saw two figures standing calmly at the door of his office. The young man standing in front was the one they had met yesterday in World Entertainment City! Behind him was a middle-aged man in his forties wearing a ck suit. ¡°Flynn Davis!?¡± Weston and Gregory eximed in shock when they saw the middle-aged man. !! They recognized him to be Flynn, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation! What is Flynn Davis doing here with this young man? The two of them looked at Lucas with shock and uncertainty. Lucas smiled slightly and said in an extremely gentlemanly manner, ¡°Yesterday, both of you refused to believe me when I told you my identity. Let me introduce myself to you again today. I am Lucas Gray, the chairman of the Stardust Corporation.¡± Boom! These words struck them like lightning. It finally dawned on Weston and Gregory that this young man, whom they had misunderstood, was really the chairman of the Stardust Corporation! Otherwise, Flynn, the general manager of the Stardust Corporation, wouldn¡¯t be following behind him so respectfully. After finally understanding Lucas¡¯s identity, Weston immediately figured out why the Glory Group suddenly encountered so much trouble today. ¡°Y-you¡¯re the one behind everything that happened to the Glory Group today!¡± Weston glowered at Lucas with eyes full of anger and hatred. Lucas smiled without answering directly. He walked into Weston¡¯s office, sat on the guest couch, and leaned back leisurely. ¡°Mr. Barlowe, if you¡¯re willing to discuss the acquisition with me properly now, then my offer of seven billion dors yesterday is still valid.¡± ¡°Dream on!¡± Weston immediately hollered before sneering. ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t try to take advantage of the situation! I admit that the Glory Group has encountered some unpleasant business today, but a kid in his twenties like you is definitely not capable of doing it! You actually want to use this to threaten me into selling mypany to you? You¡¯ve made the wrong ns!¡± Standing beside Lucas, Flynn sneered. ¡°Mr. Barlowe, our chairman is only giving you a small warning by acting against the Glory Group. If you continue speaking rudely to Mr. Gray, the losses you¡¯ll suffer will be far more than this.¡± Weston immediately flew into a rage. ¡°Damn it! Flynn Davis, who do you think you are? You¡¯re just the general manager of apany. How dare you threaten me?¡± Lucas frowned and ordered, ¡°Flynn, since Mr. Barlowe refuses to believe it, let¡¯s intensify his losses until he¡¯s willing to believe it!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Flynn acknowledged and made a call. ¡°Continue with it. Intensify it!¡± Weston¡¯s face flushed red from anger, thinking that these two were just putting on a front in front of him. But deep down, he had a faint ominous premonition. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait here and see what you can do!¡± Weston said stubbornly. Lucas just nced at him with an indifferent smile. Two short minutester, Weston¡¯s phone rang. ¡°Mr. Barlowe, it¡¯s Kevin Truss from DC Commercial Bank. The bank thinks that the situation of yourpany, the Glory Group, is very worrying, and your repayment ability is insufficient for us to continue granting you a loan. Thus, we require you to pay off the loan of ten billion dors today!¡± An indifferent voice came from the other end of the phone. ¡°What?!¡± Weston was inplete disbelief that the bank called him to urge him to repay his loan! He panicked and frantically pleaded, ¡°Mr. Truss, those are just tricks that some viins used to nder and harm the Glory Group! There¡¯s nothing wrong with our operations. Once we resolve the matters at hand, we will definitely be able to repay the loan on time!¡± It wasmonce forpanies to take out loans from banks as working capital! If the bank really insisted that he repay the loan of 10 billion dors today, it would definitely result in a massive impact on the Glory Group and cause it to suffer major damages! Keven said coldly, ¡°Mr. Barlowe, don¡¯te to me for this. I won¡¯t be able to help you. Out of consideration for our previous cooperation, here¡¯s a friendly reminder. You¡¯ve offended someone you shouldn¡¯t have. This is an order from headquarters. There¡¯s nothing I can do about it either. Take care.¡± With that, Keven hung up indifferently. Holding his phone, Weston waspletely stupefied. Keven had made it very clear just now that he had called on orders from the bank¡¯s headquarters because he offended someone he shouldn¡¯t have. But what kind of a big shot could make the headquarters of DC Commercial Bank demand loan repayment from him? Weston thought that he had always been careful and had never offended any big shot! Of course, in Weston¡¯s eyes, Lucas wasn¡¯t a big shot at all, so he subconsciously forgot about him. Wait! Weston suddenly recalled that he had received the call from the bank right after Lucas told Flynn to intensify the losses and Flynn called someone. Is this really Lucas Gray¡¯s doing? Did this young man really cause the Glory Group to suffer all these troubles today? Weston couldn¡¯t believe it at all! Besides, if Lucas had really done this to make him sell the Glory Group to him, then Weston couldn¡¯t let him seed! He wants to use the bank to pressure me? I won¡¯t let him get what he wants! ¡°Gregory, on ount of our friendship, please lend me ten billion dors to help me tide through this ordeal. I won¡¯t forget to share any benefits with you in the future!¡± Weston looked at Gregory and bit the bullet to borrow money from him. At worst, he would borrow money to repay the 10-billion-dor loan from the bank. He would see what Lucas could do to pressure him then! Gregory smiled bitterly and said with an awkward expression, ¡°Weston, I¡¯m sure you understand my situation. Mypany isn¡¯t as big as the Glory Group. If you can¡¯t even afford ten billion dors, how can I possibly afford it? You think too highly of me!¡± ¡°Then¡­ how about you lend me some money, and I¡¯ll try to cover the rest with help from others?¡± Weston had no choice but to reduce the amount he was asking to borrow. ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Gregory was hesitating with a conflicted expression, but he didn¡¯t agree. Suddenly, Gregory¡¯s phone rang, and he answered immediately. Weston didn¡¯t know what the caller said, but he saw the look of anxiousness on Gregory¡¯s face. ¡°What did you say? That¡¯s terrible! Okay, I¡¯ll rush back to thepany immediately. Wait for me!¡± Then Gregory quickly said to Weston, ¡°Mypany is facing an emergency now. I have to rush back to deal with it right away. I¡¯ll see you another day! Goodbye!¡± Before Weston could say anything, Gregory hurriedly fled. ¡°Hey, wait!¡± Weston subconsciously called out to Gregory. But he suddenly realized that Gregory was avoiding him! Emergency at thepany? See him another day? It was all just a bunch of nonsense! Chapter 1338 - 1338 Going Overboard 1338 Going Overboard Weston and Gregory had been friends for over a decade, yet when something happened, Gregory fled. It made Weston furious! ¡°Bastard!¡± Weston scolded furiously, but there was nothing he could do. Seeing Weston almost stomp his feet in anger, Lucas said, ¡°Mr. Barlowe, I mentioned acquiring the Glory Group previously. Have you considered it properly?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Weston hollered angrily. ¡°Do you think you can force me to give in just by creating some minor troubles for the Glory Group? You¡¯re dreaming! I can resolve all the troubles. You can forget about threatening me! !! ¡°On the contrary, you should be worrying about yourself, Lucas Gray. Without the building materials supplied by the Glory Group, the construction of your Stardust City will have to be suspended, and you¡¯ll face massive losses every day. I¡¯ll see how long you canst!¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯ll definitelyst longer than you, Mr. Barlowe.¡± He turned around and instructed Flynn, ¡°Since Mr. Barlowe thinks they are just minor troubles he can easily resolve, it seems the intensity isn¡¯t enough. In that case, give him some more to satisfy him.¡± Flynn nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± He made another call and instructed, ¡°Take it up another notch!¡± Weston stared at them furiously, wishing he could get someone to chase them out immediately. In less than two minutes, the director of the HR department ran in and shouted in panic, ¡°Bad news, Mr. Barlowe! Just now, several senior and mid-level managers of thepany suddenly turned in resignation letters together and left. We couldn¡¯t stop them at all!¡± The director of the HR department anxiously pulled out arge envelope of resignation letters and handed them to Weston. Weston took it with shaky hands. Seeing so many resignation letters from staff holding key positions in thepany, including production managers, transportation managers, project managers, finance managers, and so on¡­ Weston dropped the resignation letters, and his footing became unsteady. The people who resigned were all the backbone of the Glory Group! Without these managers, everything in those departments would be disorganized and chaotic. Moreover, therge-scale resignation of senior and mid-level managers was bound to cause shock and panic among the employees. Who would be able to work with peace of mind? It was now the most difficult time for the Glory Group, and everyone needed to work together to tide over the crisis. Yet these managers decided to leave at the same time, leaving their subordinates anxious and panic-stricken. In this case, it would be difficult for thepany to keep revolving, and the consequences were bound to be dire. Weston suddenly had a premonition that if things went on like this, thepany would copse before the stock price fell to the point of bankruptcy. Weston suddenly pointed at Lucas and questioned furiously, ¡°Lucas Gray! Is this your doing?!¡± Lucas spread his hands. ¡°Have I denied anything? On the contrary, Mr. Barlowe, you have been refusing to believe that I did it. Now, are you willing to sit down and discuss the acquisition with me?¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re going overboard!¡± Weston¡¯s fingers were trembling incessantly as he glowered at Lucas menacingly. ¡°You¡¯re just doing those things to suppress the Glory Group. You¡¯ve caused the Glory Group¡¯s market value to plummet and even caused mypany¡¯s operations to be in jeopardy! I¡­ I¡¯m going to sue you for unfairpetition!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going overboard?¡± Lucas sneered at Weston. ¡°The Stardust Corporation wanted to work well with you at first, and we signed a contract. We¡¯ve never owed you half a cent of payment! Who was it that terminated the cooperation unterally without any prior notice and breached the contract? ¡°Who deliberately stopped supplying building materials to the Stardust Corporation to try and disrupt my project? ¡°Who spread rumors that the Stardust Corporation is facing cash flow problems and tried to shake the stock price to make mypany go bankrupt? ¡°Mr. Barlowe, tell me who¡¯s the one going overboard!¡± As Lucas questioned, his voice became louder and louder, and Weston turned pale and speechless. The fact that Lucas called him out on methods he hadn¡¯t had time to implement yet made him absolutely horrified. How does Lucas Gray know about these things? Lucas stood up and stared at Weston coldly. ¡°If you think I¡¯m bullying you, go ahead and sue me. Let¡¯s see if you can do anything to me!¡± With that, Lucas strode out of the office. Flynn nced at Weston and sneered. ¡°Mr. Barlowe, hold yourself together. I¡¯m waiting to see the good news of the Glory Group¡¯s stock price falling again tomorrow morning! I hope you canst a few more days and not go bankrupt so soon!¡± Then Flynn hurriedly left to catch up with Lucas. Watching the two of them leave arrogantly, Weston wished he could kill them right on the spot! But Weston couldn¡¯t worry about taking revenge now. The most imperative thing to do at the moment was to resolve the crisis the Glory Group was facing! With a pale face, Weston made a call. ¡°Mr. Hamilton, something has happened to the Glory Group, and I can¡¯t handle it on my own. Please help me quickly!¡± The other party seemed to have long known what was happening and didn¡¯t ask him about it. Instead, he reprimanded coldly, ¡°What a good-for-nothing! You swore that you would destroy the Stardust Corporation, but what¡¯s happening now? You¡¯re about to lose your ownpany! A good-for-nothing like you isn¡¯t fit to be my follower!¡± Weston¡¯s blood instantly turned cold, and he was furious and ashamed. At the same time, he was so scared that he didn¡¯t even dare to refute him. The person on the other end was definitely not someone a small fry like him could afford to offend. After a long time, the person said, ¡°Forget it. On ount that you¡¯re working for me, I¡¯ll get someone to help you. The Glory Group will be fine for the time being.¡± Hearing this, Weston was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Hamilton! Thank you so much. With your words, the Glory Group will be saved!¡± Chapter 1339 - 1339 Rotten Ship 1339 Rotten Ship At this moment, Lucas and Flynn had already left the Glory Group and were on their way back to the Stardust Corporation. While driving, Flynn asked, ¡°Lucas, do you think Weston Barlowe will sell the Glory Group to us? He still seems very reluctant about it.¡± Lucas said indifferently, ¡°Tomorrow at thetest, he¡¯lle begging us to acquire the Glory Group without me having to say anything.¡± Seeing Lucas¡¯s confident expression, Flynn naturally wouldn¡¯t think that he was boasting. !! Since Lucas said he could make Weston sumb tomorrow ande to them for the acquisition out of his own ord, it would definitely be the case. After such a long time, Flynn had already developed an extraordinary trust in Lucas. At the same time, Flynn was shocked. The Glory Group was a major corporation that was on par with the Stardust Corporation and even had a market value that was slightly higher than the Stardust Corporation¡¯s. Now, in just two days, the Glory Group was about to have a change of ownership and was destined to be part of the Stardust Corporation. Now, the Stardust Corporation was already a Global 500pany, and its power would rapidly increase after acquiring the Glory Group. Actually, after the alliance of seven families had handed over half of their industries the other day, they weren¡¯t given to the Stardust Corporation. Flynn had merely been responsible for processing the paperwork. These businesses were eventually given to the Hales, the Coles, and the Parkers. Thus, the Stardust Corporation didn¡¯t get much. Otherwise, thepany would have already be a top ten or even a top five corporation in the country. With the acquisition of the Glory Group, the Stardust Corporation¡¯s development would definitely advance by leaps and bounds! Flynn was looking forward to it! ¡­ The following day, when the stock market opened at 9 a.m., the stock price of the Glory Group once again plunged, and trading on it was soon halted. Although it seemed that the Glory Group¡¯s stock price had fallen by another 10% and that it had lost three billion dors again, everyone with a discerning eye could tell that the losses caused to the Glory Group were far greater. At the same time, DC Commercial Bank once again urged the Glory Group to repay its loan by issuing a harsh warning, stating that the bank would freeze all of the Glory Group¡¯s funds and resort to legal action if thepany couldn¡¯t repay the loan within today. The matter of the copsed building under construction in the northern suburbs of DC due to the use of inferior building materials supplied by Glory Group was still causing thepany to face public bacsh. Numerous reporters were still outside the Glory Group¡¯s office and were trying to find the people responsible for the incident to demand an exnation. But they hadn¡¯t been able to find any of them. There were heated discussions on the inte, with countless peoplementing about the issue. As a result, the reputation of the Glory Group waspletely tarnished. This wasn¡¯t all. The Glory Group was in chaos. Yesterday, arge number of senior and mid-level managers had resigned, so there weren¡¯t suitable people to solve the various urgent matters, and thepany was in a mess. The matter of the collective resignation of managers had also spread to thepany, and the remaining employees were panicking. Thinking that the Glory Group was about to copse, they also tendered their resignation and left immediately. In just one morning, more than half of the Glory Group¡¯s staff left, causing countless positions to be vacant. The remaining employees were either rushing to write their resignation letters or running around headless, being of no help at all. In just two short days, the Glory Group was reduced from a top enterprise on par with the Stardust Corporation to a rotten ship full of holes that was on the verge of sinking. Weston was wearing a mask as he walked through the basement passageway to avoid reporters. He secretly rushed to his office, and his heart clenched up in pain when he saw the Glory Group¡¯s current state with his own eyes, causing him to be disoriented. He had no choice but to call the Hamiltons again. ¡°Mr. Hamilton, the stock price of the Glory Group has fallen again, and today¡¯s situation is even worse than yesterday¡¯s! Also, DC Commercial Bank came to me again to urge me to repay the ten billion dor loan today. What should we do now? ¡°Mr. Hamilton, you¡­ you said yesterday that you¡¯d help me and make sure the Glory Group is fine. Does your promise still count?¡± Weston was so anxious that he was on the verge of crying. On the other end, Mr. Hamilton hollered coldly, ¡°Why are you panicking? Today is only the second day. Just hang in there. I¡¯ll naturally settle this for you.¡± Holding his phone in his hand, Weston stomped his feet on the floor a few times. He had a reason for panicking. Although it was only the second day, the Glory Group had already lost more than 6 billion dors, and it was facing countless troubles. The bank was pressing thepany to repay the loan, and most of the employees had left. Not to mention continue holding on, Weston didn¡¯t even know if he and thepany couldst until tomorrow! The Hamiltons had clearly agreed to help him resolve the crisis, but an entire day had passed, and there still wasn¡¯t any improvement in the situation. In fact, the Hamiltons had only given him a verbal promise without any exnation as to how they would resolve the troubles. How could Weston not panic? ¡°Mr. Hamilton, it¡¯s not that I want to panic, but given the crisis that the Glory Group is facing, I won¡¯t be able tost another day without your help. How can I not panic?¡± Weston said anxiously, ¡°Now, I¡¯m asking you, how are the Hamiltons going to help us? People from the bank are sitting in an office downstairs and demanding repayment. Why don¡¯t you lend me ten billion dors to repay the bank loan so that I can resolve this issue first?¡± Weston was really panicking. At this moment, he shouted at the person on the phone with no regard for his prestigious identity at all. ¡°Barlowe, who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me like that?¡± Mr. Hamilton rebuked hostilely, clearly offended by Weston¡¯s impolite words and tone. Weston felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured on his head. He finally snapped back to his senses and realized who he was talking to. He was talking to a Hamilton, a royal! As long as he was displeased, the Hamiltons would be able to easily destroy the Barlowes and the Glory Group. How did he have the guts to lose his temper at him? ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry! Mr. Hamilton, I didn¡¯t mean to do that. I¡­ I was just too anxious, so I sounded a little harsh. I didn¡¯t mean to offend you at all!¡± Weston frantically apologized. Mr. Hamilton was finally less angry. He snorted coldly and said, ¡°Okay, I know you¡¯re timid. Look at how frightened you are. Okay, you don¡¯t have to worry about anything else. You just have to continue dragging this out with the Stardust Corporation! ¡°Once the Stardust Corporation copses, the Hamiltons willpensate you with twice the Glory Group¡¯s losses and also give you some more benefits. Okay?¡± Weston gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Yes, Mr. Hamilton. Thank you so much!¡± Chapter 1340 - 1340 Beg You To Acquire 1340 Beg You To Acquire After hanging up, Weston immediately mmed his phone on the floor and hollered, ¡°Damn you, Hamiltons! Do you really think I¡¯m a fool you can bully as you please?! ¡°Hah, doublepensation? It¡¯s all empty promises! Now that the Glory Group is in danger, you refuse to give me even a single cent or any help. All you¡¯re telling me to do is go against the Stardust Corporation and hold on! ¡°Once the Glory Group goes bankrupt, mypany and I will no longer be of any use to you, right? When the timees, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t even bother to look at me again, let alonepensate me! Give me benefits? Bullshit!¡± Weston wasn¡¯t a fool. After the Hamiltons kept being perfunctory with him without giving him actual help and kept asking him to continue fighting against Lucas with only a promise topensate him afterward, he becamepletely disappointed with the Hamiltons. He knew that the Hamiltons weren¡¯t reliable at all. They certainly wouldn¡¯t help him! At this moment, Weston felt deep despair. No! I can¡¯t just watch the Glory Group that I¡¯ve built with my own hands go bust! I can¡¯t turn from a billionaire into a bankrupt loser! Suddenly, he had a sh of inspiration. Right! I¡¯ll go look for Lucas Gray now! As long as I sell the Glory Group to him, I¡¯ll be able to get at least a few billion dors! Weston shouted at the secretary, ¡°Someone, help me get the phone number of the chairman of the Stardust Corporation! I need to contact him immediately¡­ What? You can¡¯t find his number? Then find the number of Flynn Davis!¡± ¡­ Meanwhile, Lucas was sitting in his office on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters and handling matters calmly. He didn¡¯t seem to care about the Glory Group¡¯s situation at all and didn¡¯t ask about it at all. On his desk in front of him was a stack of design drawings spread out. ¡°Lucas, these are Professor Crawford¡¯stest designs. Not only has she made detailed ns and designs for each area of Stardust City, but she has even drawn some designs for the interior and exterior decor of some main buildings. They are very unique. Please take a look,¡± Flynn said with a smile. Lucas looked through the drawings carefully and then said with a satisfied smile, ¡°As expected of the top architectural designer in the country. Just by looking at Professor Crawford¡¯s drawings, I can already imagine how incredible Stardust City will be once construction isplete! These designs are simply works of art! Flynn, since you rmended Professor Crawford to me, you deserve credit for it!¡± Seeing that Lucas was pleased with the designs and even praised him, Flynn was overjoyed andughed. ¡°Lucas, this is all because you¡¯re good at discovering talents and appointing the right people to get the job done! But speaking of which, we¡¯ve had to suspend construction on Stardust City due to the stopped supply of building materials. Professor Crawford thought that we really had cash flow problems and that we would stop the project, so she panicked and almost strangled me to death.¡± Recalling the elderly Gemma grabbing his cor anxiously and questioning him yesterday, Flynn still felt lingering fear. Lucasughed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell her that this is only temporary and we¡¯ll be able to resume construction soon?¡± ¡°I did. I was almost out of breath trying to exin, but Professor Crawford refused to believe me no matter what. She insists on seeing the materials arrive on the construction site again and for construction to actually start before she believes it,¡± Flynn said helplessly while rubbing his sore cheeks. Last night, he repeatedly and painstakingly assured Gemma for several hours. What he saidst night was more than what he usually said in a week. It was simply terrible. Lucasughed again while also taking some sympathy on Flynn. ¡°In that case, you should inform Professor Crawford that the building materials will be delivered to the construction site in the afternoon. Get the construction and engineering team to get ready too.¡± ¡°In the afternoon? So soon?¡± Flynn was shocked. Weston of the Glory Group hadn¡¯tpromised yet. He hadn¡¯t agreed to sell the Glory Group to the Stardust Corporation. Could the matter really be resolved so soon? It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t believe Lucas, but it just seemed impossible no matter how he looked at it. After a few more days, when the Glory Group couldn¡¯t hold on anymore, Weston would naturallypromise. But now, it seemed that the Glory Group hadn¡¯t been forced to this point yet. Suddenly, Flynn¡¯s phone rang. He excused himself and answered the phone. He immediately heard a familiar voice. ¡°Mr. Davis, right? I am Weston Barlowe of the Glory Group. Please inform Mr. Gray that I am willing to ept the acquisition by the Stardust Corporation! I agree with the purchase price of seven billion dors, and I can meet with you to sign the contract right now!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Flynn was dumbfounded. Weston actually agreed to the acquisition so quickly? After returning to his senses, he told Lucas everything Weston said and handed his phone to him. Lucas turned on the speakerphone and said, ¡°Mr. Barlowe, if you had agreed yesterday, I would have acquired the Glory Group for seven billion dors. But do you still think the Glory Group is worth this price today?¡± Weston was stunned. After a long time, he realized that Lucas was taking the opportunity to lower the price. He was so furious that he wanted to hang up immediately. The Glory Group had been worth over 30 billion dors a few days ago! Even though its stock price had plunged two days in a row, and the market value had lost 6 billion dors, it was still worth over 20 billion dors! He was now willing to sell the Glory Group to Lucas for 7 billion dors only because he didn¡¯t have any other choice. After all, he couldn¡¯t afford to repay the 10 billion dors to the bank. He found it really difficult to ept that Lucas wasn¡¯t even willing to pay 7 billion dors and wanted to lower the price. However, he really didn¡¯t dare to hang up. He knew better than anyone else just how terrible the situation of the Glory Group was now. If Lucas refused to buy it today, the bank might freeze all the funds in hispany¡¯s ount, and when the time came, he could only dere bankruptcy and liquidate thepany. The market value of apany was very different from its actual value. At that time, the liquidated assets of the bankruptcy would just be some of thepany¡¯s fixed assets and materials piled up in the warehouses, which would be put up for auction. The proceeds from the auction wouldn¡¯t amount to much, and he might not even be able to repay the ten billion dors to the bank. He would still be in debt! Weston quickly thought through it and could only gnash his teeth and ask. ¡°Uh, then¡­ how much money are you nning to acquire the Glory Group for?¡± Lucas said with a faint smile, ¡°Seven hundred million dors.¡± Chapter 1341 - 1341 Full of Regret 1341 Full of Regret ¡°What did you say?! Seven hundred million dors? You want to acquire the Glory Group for seven hundred million dors?!¡± Weston¡¯s voice became extremely sharp due to immense disbelief. ¡°Lucas Gray, are you out of your mind? Do you know what the market value of the Glory Group is? Thirty billion dors! It¡¯s a big corporation worth thirty billion dors! But you¡¯re telling me you want to acquire it for seven hundred million dors? Are you joking with me?¡± Weston was so infuriated that he was on the verge of breaking into hysterics. He even almost hurled vulgarities. Fortunately, he quickly stopped himself just as he was about to do so. But he couldn¡¯t calm down at all, and he felt a strong urge to kill someone. !! Wanting to acquire the Glory Group for just 700 million dors was outrageous! Does this damn Lucas Gray think I have no choice but to sell the Glory Group to him? Is that why he dares to lower the price so much? Flynn was also shocked to hear the price Lucas offered. When Lucas said that he wanted to acquire the Glory Group, which had a market value of over 30 billion dors, for 7 billion dors, Flynn had felt extremely anxious and thought that it was unlikely. Now that the market value of Glory Group had plummeted, and thepany was in a terrible state, he thought that Lucas only wanted to lower the price a little and acquire the Glory Group for about 6 billion dors or so. He didn¡¯t expect Lucas to offer only 700 million dors! Even Flynn was shocked by the price, feeling that it was truly uneptable. Lucas leaned back in his seat and said calmly over the speakerphone, ¡°Mr. Barlowe, seven hundred million dors is my final offer for the acquisition, not a single cent more. If you¡¯re not satisfied with this price, you can continue being stubborn and wait for the Glory Group to go bankrupt and be liquidated today! ¡°Once that happens, will you be able to get back more than seven hundred million dors? ¡°Of course, Mr. Barlowe, you don¡¯t necessarily have to sell the Glory Group to me. You can try finding other buyers to see if anyone is willing to buy the mess that is Glory Group for so much money at this point! ¡°Also, the Glory Group isn¡¯t the only building materials supplier in DC. The Stardust Corporation has nothing but money, and we can afford to drag this out with you. I can always find another supplier. Stardust City¡¯s construction will go on, and the Stardust Corporation won¡¯t be affected much. ¡°As for you, Mr. Barlowe, you¡¯ve failed to ruin the Stardust Corporation¡¯s project or cause me any substantial losses. This means you¡¯re no longer of any value to the Hamiltons! ¡°When the timees, forget about receivingpensation and help, the Hamiltons might even resent you for being ipetent, regard you as an eyesore, and kick you down even further. Mr. Barlowe, you¡¯re in a dire situation now! You¡¯d better consider it carefully!¡± Then Lucas hung up without hesitation, not giving Weston any chance to respond. Flynn had been anxious for a long time, but he didn¡¯t dare to interrupt. Seeing Lucas finally hanging up, he hurriedly said, ¡°Lucas, are you really¡­ not going to acquire the Glory Group anymore?¡± Lucas shook his head and said with a smile, ¡°How is that possible? The Glory Group is already ours.¡± Seeing that Flynn still seemed confused, Lucas exined, ¡°The Glory Group has already be a rotten ship that¡¯s bound to sink. Be it their reputation, financial situation, or employee loyalty, everything is terrible now. ¡°Now, almost everyone knows that the Glory Group has offended someone and that anyone rted to thepany will get into trouble. No one else in DC will dare to take over the Glory Group. Apart from us, Weston Barlowe has no other option.¡± Hearing this, Flynn came to a sudden realization. At the same time, he was much more in awe of Lucas. Indeed, just as Lucas said, Weston was now in a terrible situation. He didn¡¯t want to sell the Glory Group to Lucas for 700 million dors, so he was now trying to find someone willing to buy hispany. But after making countless calls, he didn¡¯t receive any good news. Those close to him and about as rich as him all said that they didn¡¯t have enough money to acquire the Glory Group as soon as they heard his intention to sell it. Even though they were rich, they didn¡¯t dare to buy the Glory Group. Anyone could tell that Weston definitely offended someone he shouldn¡¯t have. Who would dare to take over hispany? The wealthy families who were much stronger than the Barlowes simply couldn¡¯t be bothered to deal with the Glory Group¡¯s mess. It would be ridiculous to spend a lot of money on a lousypany and still have to handle a huge mess afterward. Thus, Weston became even more hopeless after making so many calls. Only now did he finally understand that no one else except Lucas could save the Glory Group. Weston gritted his teeth and finally made a heartbreaking decision. Forget it. Seven hundred million dors is better than nothing. It¡¯s better than losing everything and ending up in debt! Half an hourter, Weston personally brought all the documents of the Glory Group to the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters and asked to see Lucas. ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve decided to sell the Glory Group to you for seven hundred million dors! All the necessary documents are here. If you don¡¯t have any objections, we can go ahead and immediately proceed with the transfer procedures!¡± Weston said to Lucas in a shaky voice while forcing himself to smile. Hearing this, Flynn looked at Lucas with admiration from the bottom of his heart. Acquiring the Glory Group, which had a market value of 30 billion dors just yesterday morning, for 700 million dors was a remarkable feat in the Stardust Corporation¡¯s acquisition history! Lucas wasn¡¯t surprised by this result at all. With a calm expression, he instructed indifferently, ¡°Mr. Davis, go handle the transfer with Mr. Barlowe.¡± Lucas naturally didn¡¯t have to handle such a trivial matter personally. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Flynn acknowledged respectfully, unable to hide his smile. He looked at Weston with a great sense of superiority and said, ¡°Mr. Barlowe, please!¡± Weston felt incredibly disgruntled and depressed. The Glory Group, which he had painstakingly built and had been worth 30 billion dors, would be acquired for merely 700 million dors! From now on, the Glory Group would be someone else¡¯s property and no longer have anything to do with him! At the same time, Weston was chagrined and full of regret. The Glory Group had been doing well and had a good cooperative rtionship with the Stardust Corporation. He could have easily earned a few hundred million dors a year just through the sales of building materials. But due to his greed, he was tempted by the Hamiltons¡¯ empty promise and mercilessly harmed Lucas and the Stardust Corporation, thinking that he had gotten into the good graces of a wealthy backer. In the end, he lost everything and ended up in a terrible state! Weston was full of regret! But it was toote for regrets now! Chapter 1342 - 1342 Request to Step Down 1342 Request to Step Down Soon, the paperwork for the transfer waspleted, and the Glory Grouppletely changed hands, bing part of the Stardust Corporation. After taking over the Glory Group, Flynn immediately arranged for people to open the warehouses and transport the building materials, and the Stardust City project restarted construction. As for the Glory Group¡¯s mess, Lucas dealt with it easily. With just one call, the bank naturally stopped pressing for loan repayment. Almost all the senior managers had left, but this was even less of a problem. Lucas could just transfer some core management staff from the Stardust Corporation and hire some more staff, which would actually decrease corruption in thepany. As for the negative public opinion and the stock price, there was naturally special staff to deal with it, and the impact was soon reduced to nothing. In just one afternoon, everything seemed to be back on track. ¡­ In a well-hidden vi in DC¡­ Jensen paced back and forth in the vi in frustration, feeling terrible. He was still trapped in DC without any chance to leave. Lucas and those wealthy families in DC were still searching for his whereabouts, so Jensen really couldn¡¯t find a chance to leave DC. If Lucas found him, with Lucas¡¯s fearlessness, he might really kill him! The more trapped he was here, the more frustrated he felt, and the more angry he was. Now, a minor issue could trigger him and make him fly into a rage. So for the next few days, the servants in the vi and the people around Jensen were all incredibly careful with their words and actions, for fear of identally angering him. At this moment, Jensen received the news of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s acquisition of the Glory Group. He was so furious that he smashed a ss ornament on the floor. Bang! With a crisp sound, ss shards scattered all over the floor. ¡°That idiot Weston Barlowe! I told him to deal with Lucas Gray, but he gave away the Glory Group to him instead. He really deserves to die! That bastard!¡± Jensen cursed, his face flushed and his chest heaving violently. This had been a brilliant solution that he had painstakingly thought of. He had terminated the supply of building materials to the Stardust Corporation to cause the project that Lucas had invested a huge amount of money in to be halted so that he would suffer heavy losses. If Weston had done a good job, he could have brought down the Stardust Corporation from this one incident, and Lucas¡¯spany could have gone bankrupt. But Weston was an idiot who couldn¡¯t get such a simple thing done and had toe to seek his help for such a trivial matter. In the end, he failed and caused Lucas to gain such a huge advantage! Jensen was infuriated! While he was venting his anger, a middle-aged man in white walked over and said calmly, ¡°Mr. Jensen, we¡¯ve been in DC for too long. I¡¯m afraid there will be tongues wagging in the family. We¡¯d better find a way to go back soon!¡± When Jensen heard this, his face became even more gloomy. Indeed, he had been away from home for some time now. Originally, his mission this time was to turn the top families of a few west coast states into subordinates of the Hamiltons, thereby taking over the states. It was supposed to be a very simple task that even his son Brett could handle. Jensen didn¡¯t even think about handling this matter personally at first. Butter, his son Angus suddenly went missing in Orange County, and Lucas led the wealthy families of California to foil his ns, thus resulting in the various matters that happened after. Due to his intense hatred for Lucas, he went to DC, nning to kill him first before returning to the west coast states to take them over to give his family a satisfactory exnation. But Jensen never thought that Lucas would be so difficult to deal with. Not only had he failed to kill Lucas, but he even became enemies with him. And now, he was trapped in DC and didn¡¯t even dare to go out of the vi. For Jensen, who had always gotten what he wanted, this matter was so upsetting that he was about to go crazy! Moreover, after so long, he still hadn¡¯t taken over California. If this matter spread back to his family, his two brothers, who had been eyeing his position, would definitely seize this opportunity to criticize him for his ipetence. If he continued to be trapped in DC, he would likely fall out of favor with his father, and his status in the family would decline! No, that mustn¡¯t happen! ¡°You¡¯re right. I really should find a way to leave DC now! Since Lucas Gray is in hot pursuit, then I¡¯ll make all of DC chaotic. Let¡¯s see how he can trap me then!¡± Jensen said through gritted teeth and then gave some instructions to the middle-aged man in white. ¡­ Over the next few days, everything was smooth sailing for Lucas. Because he had acquired the Glory Group, the overall market value of the Stardust Corporation increased greatly. It even advanced by numerous ces in the Global 500. The employees of the Stardust Corporation were brimming with pride and smiling endlessly. The better the development of thepany, the better their future benefits would be, and the more motivated they were to work. At this moment, Bruce and Edmund brought some gifts to Lucas¡¯s office in the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters and smilingly congratted him for the Stardust Corporation¡¯s improvement. Looking at the two of them, Lucas smiled and said, ¡°You two are doing great too. Under your lead, the Hales and the Coles will definitely make amazing achievements!¡± Edmund and Bruce looked at each other with embarrassed expressions. Edmund took the lead and said, ¡°Ahem, Lucas, we actually came today to talk to you about this matter. ¡°Both Bruce and I are in our seventies. As much as we hate to admit it, we are indeed old, and we can only leave the development of our families to our next generation. Therefore, I would like to inform you that I¡¯ll be handing over my position as helmsman to my son, Clement, and have him take over for me. ¡°Clement may have been unruly before, but he has improved greatly after all the training he¡¯s received. So I can hand the family over to him with peace of mind.¡± Bruce said, ¡°I share simr sentiments. Prior to this, I¡¯ve already passed the position of the helmsman of the Hales to my grandson Connor. But Connor is still young andcks experience, so I¡¯ve kept an eye on him during this period of time. But I can¡¯t be guiding him forever, and it¡¯s time I step back and let him fully assume the responsibility of the head of the family!¡± The two of them spoke emotionally. Only then did Lucas realize that Bruce and Edmund hade to request to step down and hand over their power to their younger generation. Chapter 1343 - 1343 Assassination Warning 1343 Assassination Warning Lucas looked at the two people who had followed him for a long time. Frankly speaking, they were both indeed advanced in age, and their hair was already all white. Their faces were covered with wrinkles, and even their bodies were a little hunched. In ordinary families, elderly people in their seventies would have long let go of the burden of work and concentrated on caring for their grandchildren and their health. If not for their concern for their families¡¯ development and their fear that their sessors¡¯ inexperience would cause problems, they would have already handed over their power to their sessors. They wouldn¡¯t have had to worry about so many things at their age. Perhaps because the Hales and the Coles had already settled down in DC, and many things were already on the right track, they no longer had to worry. So they decided to inform Lucas of their intention to step down. Lucas naturally wouldn¡¯t be harsh to these two old men who had followed him for a long time. He said smilingly, ¡°Since you two have alreadye to a decision, just go ahead with it. You didn¡¯t have to inform me about it. Speaking of which, I¡¯ve seen the progress Clement and Connor have made. I believe that with your teachings, the Hales and the Coles will definitely prosper and be families on par with the Parkers and the other top families of DC!¡± Bruce and Edmund smiled with relief, and their bodies rxed as theyughed heartily. ¡°Thank you for taking care of us, Lucas!¡± Having put down their family burden, they seemed to have fewer wrinkles on their faces, and they were much more rxed when speaking with Lucas. It wasn¡¯t that Lucas treated them harshly. But rather, Bruce and Edmund were the helmsmen of their families before, so they had to consider everything for their families. They were extremely cautious when speaking with Lucas, afraid of saying something wrong and offending him. Thus, they had always been very respectful and restrained when they were with Lucas. After putting down the burden of their families, they were less restrained and closer to Lucas, speaking to him like they were friends. The few of them sat on the couch and chatted leisurely. Suddenly Bruce¡¯s phone rang. He picked it up. ¡°Hello. What¡¯s the matter?¡± The person on the other end said something that made Bruce¡¯s expression change drastically. He suddenly sprung up from his seat and yelled, ¡°What did you say?! Connor has just been assassinated and is severely injured? He¡¯s now being transported to the hospital?!¡± Lucas¡¯s and Edmund¡¯s expressions immediately became solemn. Connor suddenly being assassinated and his life being in danger was definitely not a minor matter! Before Bruce hung up, Edmund¡¯s phone in his pocket suddenly rang too. For some reason, Edmund suddenly had an ominous hunch. When he answered the call, he heard a terrible piece of news. ¡°Mr. Cole, bad news. The new helmsman, Clement, has suddenly been assassinated and is now being sent to the hospital!¡± Edmund¡¯s body trembled, and he almost fell to the floor. Clement was his only son. If something happened¡­ Lucas¡¯s expression became even more gloomy. At this moment, his phone rang too. It was a call from Damon. As soon as he saw Damon¡¯s phone number, his heart sank. The Hales, the Coles, and the Parkers had pledged allegiance to him when they were still in California and had now followed him to DC. Could something have happened to the Parkers too? Lucas answered his phone. Sure enough, Damon¡¯s worried and anxious voice came from the other end. ¡°Lucas, my son Ray was just assassinated and stabbed in the abdomen. He¡¯s now being resuscitated in the hospital!¡± ¡°Okay, I got it. Tell me what hospital he¡¯s at, and I¡¯ll send the best doctors there! I¡¯ll talk to you in detailter. Be careful of your own safety for now.¡± Everything had happened so suddenly, so Lucas could only give these instructions. Immediately afterward, Lucas received three more pieces of terrible news. Michael, the helmsman of the Huttons; Florence, the head of the Howards; and Tyson, the helmsman of the Smiths, had all been assassinated by assassins of unknown origin this morning. They were all seriously injured, and their lives were in danger. They were currently receiving emergency treatment at the hospital. If only one family had encountered such a tragedy, it could be said to be by chance. But now that the heads or sessors of all six families rted to Lucas encountered assassinations at the same time, it was definitely the doing of someone with malicious intentions! Moreover, they were all heavily wounded and undergoing emergency treatment in the hospital. None of them died on the spot. Clearly, the mastermind was out to teach Lucas a hard lesson and give him a warning! Edmund and Bruce had also heard the bad news, and they said through gritted teeth, ¡°Lucas, it must be the Hamiltons behind this! ¡°A few days ago, we helped you search DC for Cheyenne, and we¡¯ve been helping you search for the Hamiltons for the past few days. They must know that we have a close rtionship with you, so they specially sent experts to assassinate the heads of our families to give you a warning!¡± ¡°They also deliberately made sure that the helmsmen were only seriously wounded and didn¡¯t kill them. The Hamiltons are telling us to behave ourselves, but they don¡¯t want to fall out with uspletely. Otherwise, these people wouldn¡¯t only be seriously wounded but would have died!¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes were full of anger as he nodded. ¡°Okay, I know the Hamiltons areing at me. Don¡¯t worry. I will give you an exnation for this!¡± Edmund hurriedly said, ¡°Lucas, please don¡¯t be mistaken. We definitely don¡¯t mean to me you. The people who did these things are the Hamiltons. It¡¯s not your fault!¡± Bruce hurriedly chimed in, ¡°Yes, Lucas, this has nothing to do with you, and there¡¯s no need for you to give us an exnation. We were more than willing to help find Cheyenne and search for the Hamiltons, so please don¡¯t me yourself! Besides, we have long stood on your side. As long as the Hamiltons still want to take revenge against you, they will definitely not spare us! ¡°Now, I think we have toe up with a solution to deal with the Hamiltons right away. Otherwise, if they get up to something like this again, it probably won¡¯t be a warning but murder!¡± Bruce and Edmund deeply felt the Hamiltons¡¯ tyranny and viciousness. Lucas was furious. The Hamiltons had previously sent assassins to try and kill Lucas. Andter, they had hidden behind the Holmes and instigated the foolish Norman to abduct Cheyenne in an attempt to force Lucas into submission. And now, they had even attacked the heads of the families close to him. Lucas¡¯s patience with the Hamiltons hadpletely run out. Lucas suddenly said with a gloomy expression, ¡°Alright, get your families to stop searching for the Hamiltons!¡± Chapter 1344 - 1344 Courting Death 1344 Courting Death After hearing Lucas¡¯s decision, Bruce and Edmund were shocked, thinking that Lucas had decided topromise with the Hamiltons because of their warning. ¡°Lucas, you mustn¡¯tpromise with the Hamiltons! The Hamiltons just want to warn us not to act rashly. If we really do as they say, we will be falling into their trap and letting their n seed! It will only make the Hamiltons even more arrogant!¡± Edmund was from the military, so he absolutely hated the way the Hamiltons were acting. He persuaded anxiously, ¡°Lucas, I think we should not only not retreat now, but we should send more people to find the Hamiltons in DC to teach them a lesson!¡± Bruce thought it made sense, so he nodded in agreement. ¡°Edmund is right. We definitely can¡¯t let the Hamiltons get away with it and think that we¡¯re pushovers who will sumb just because of a warning from them. We should seize this opportunity to do the opposite instead and capture them all in one fell swoop while they think we don¡¯t dare to do anything to them!¡± Although he wasn¡¯t an aggressive person and the type to go head-to-head against big families, the Hamiltons had seriously injured his only grandson now, so he couldn¡¯t tolerate it any further. Of course, they weren¡¯t proposing being bold in the spur of the moment. Edmund and Bruce knew very well that the reason they dared to make such a suggestion was that they had Lucas¡¯s support. As long as Lucas was around, even though the opponent was a royal family branch, they weren¡¯t afraid at all! Looking at the two people in front of him, Lucas felt touched. Previously, Bruce and Edmund were both full of awe and scruple toward the eight top families of DC and didn¡¯t dare to go against them easily. But now, the enemy they would have to face was the royals, who were far more terrifying than the eight top families of DC. If ordinary people received a warning from the royals in the form of harming their kin, they would definitely be scared out of their wits and no longer dare to make enemies of them. But Bruce and Edmund didn¡¯t retreat at all and were instead willing to continue fighting against the Hamiltons with him. It made Lucas¡¯s heart feel warm. But even though Bruce and Edmund said so, Lucas didn¡¯t intend to do as they said. It wasn¡¯t that he was really afraid of the Hamiltons, but rather, the Hamiltons didn¡¯t have a bottom line when doing things. So Lucas didn¡¯t want to see those loyal to him getting hurt and having their lives in critical condition. ¡°Just do as I¡¯ve said and get your people to stop searching for them.¡± Before the two of them could reply, Lucas continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let the Hamiltons off. I know the reason they gave me a warning. They just want me to leave DC. ¡°If you continue sending your people to search for them, they might really go after your families again in a moment of anger. When the timees, you and your family members will be in danger. I don¡¯t want to see you in danger. ¡°So withdraw your people, and I¡¯ll give the Hamiltons some hope of leaving DC. Then I¡¯ll destroy that glimmer of hope and capture them myself!¡± Lucas spoke resolutely. Edmund and Bruce felt extremely touched. Indeed, Lucas told them to withdraw their people because he didn¡¯t want them to be in danger. ¡°Lucas¡ª¡± ¡°Okay, there¡¯s no need to say anymore. We¡¯d better hurry to the hospital to see how Connor and Clement are doing!¡± Lucas interrupted before they could finish and took the lead in standing up. So many people had gotten severely injured this time, so Lucas wanted to go to the hospital to see how they were doing. The safety of the wounded was of utmost importance. Edmund and Bruce stood up and left the Stardust Corporation with Lucas. But as soon as they left the building, before they even reached the parking lot, more than ten Volkswagen Passats surrounded them. The car doors opened, and four or five burly men rushed out of each car and surrounded them. The sudden change caused Edmund¡¯s and Bruce¡¯s expressions to change drastically. They didn¡¯t expect to be surrounded right outside the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters. The burly men standing around them all looked ferocious and menacing. Clearly, they hade with ill intentions. Edmund stepped forward and hollered furiously at the people around them, ¡°Who are you people? This is the Stardust Corporation. Causing trouble and stopping us here, do you have a death wish?¡± A young figure appeared from behind the burly men and said coldly, ¡°Hah, how arrogant. How dare you speak to the Piers like that? You¡¯re the one courting death, you old fogey!¡± The Piers? Edmund was stunned and tried to recall any wealthy family with thest name Piers. When he thought of something, his expression suddenly changed. ¡°The Piers? One of the eight top families of DC?¡± Edmund asked in surprise. Piers wasn¡¯t a rarest name, and many people in DC carried it. But there was only one wealthy family with thisst name in DC¡ªthe one among the eight top families! Thinking of the young man¡¯s identity, Edmund and Bruce couldn¡¯t help feeling a little scrupulous and worried. They knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of the eight top families of DC, but the situation now was different. The helmsmen of the three top families close to Lucas had all been attacked and were now hospitalized with severe wounds. Besides, the Hamiltons were hiding in the dark like a venomous snake, ready to attack them at any time. Now, a young man from the Piers aggressively brought arge group of people to surround them. He was clearly out to harm them! Lucas had recognized this young man to be Adam Piers, the grandson of the helmsman of the Piers family. Previously, he had taken a liking to Cheyenne at the airport when she first arrived in DC to go to Felix Howard¡¯s funeral. He had pestered her, but Lucas had kicked him away. Later, at the Howards¡¯, the Piers wanted to force Florence to marry into their family and force Cheyenne to marry Adam. At the time, Jordan had pped him unconscious and almost killed him. Lucas didn¡¯t expect to run into him again and for him to behave so arrogantly in front of him. It seemed that he had forgotten his lesson. Lucas stared at Adam with an ice-cold expression on his face and sneered. ¡°Adam Piers, it seems like you¡¯re really tired of living. How dare you provoke me. Are you so eager to court death?¡± Chapter 1345 - 1345 Crisis of the Three Families 1345 Crisis of the Three Families As soon as Adam saw Lucas¡¯s face, he immediately remembered everything he had gone through at the Howard residence. It could be said that he would never forget the humiliation he suffered that day! Previously, the Piers were scrupulous of Lucas¡¯s power, so they had no choice but to swallow their anger and endure not taking revenge on him. But the situation was different now. The Piers no longer had to be afraid of Lucas. This time, he had to take revenge against him and return all the humiliation he had suffered! ¡°Lucas Gray, what are you being so arrogant for? Do you think you can do anything to me?¡± Adam shouted furiously. Lucas looked coldly at him. ¡°Immediately get lost with these people, and I can spare you and the Piers one more time.¡± Hearing this, Adam immediately flew into a rage. He hated that Lucas always behaved high and mighty in front of him, as if he was a god on a pedestal while he was just a nobody lying on the ground who could be manipted by him! The look in his eyes and the tone of his voice were extremely infuriating! Adam gritted his teeth and roared angrily, ¡°Damn it! Lucas Gray, you¡¯re already at death¡¯s door. Why are you still pretending to be a big shot? ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know? You¡¯re just throwing your weight around in front of me because you have the backing of a few top families of DC! ¡°But now, Florence Howard, Michael Hutton, and Tyson Smith were assassinated, and their survival is still unknown. You¡¯re about to lose your backers. Who are you to behave arrogantly in front of me? ¡°You¡¯re the one eagerly courting death!¡± Lucas immediately understood. No wonder this good-for-nothing Adam dared to show up in front of him and threaten him. It turned out that the Piers also knew about the assassination of the helmsmen. Moreover, this probably wasn¡¯t all. The Hamiltons should have something to do with this. They first sent some people to assassinate the helmsmen close to him and then disclosed the news to the families with grudges against him. With some words to sow discord and promises to give them some benefits, families like the Piers would definitely jump out eagerly to deal with him. One, they already had a feud with Lucas to begin with, so this time, they were taking advantage of this opportunity to exact revenge. Two, they were also using this chance to express their goodwill to the Hamiltons to get closer to them. Noble families like the royals were usually disdainful of wealthy families, thinking that they were obsessed with money and feeling that it would be degrading to befriend them. Now that the Piers could befriend the Hamiltons through this incident, they were probably overjoyed. Looking at Adam, who was behaving as proud as a peacock, Lucas mocked him mercilessly. ¡°Hah, how stupid! You¡¯re being so smug and arrogant despite being led around by the nose by others. What a fool!¡± ¡°Damn it! Who are you calling a fool? You¡¯re the greatest fool of all, Lucas Gray!¡± Adam immediately sprung up like a cat whose tail was stepped on. He retorted loudly, ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re the biggest fool yourself! Do you know that three families are about to be removed from the ranks of the eight top families of DC?! ¡°Aren¡¯t you friends with the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths? Hah, the helmsmen of these three families are severely wounded, and the other five families will soon jointly destroy them! When the timees, I¡¯ll see what you have to rely on to speak so rudely in front of me!¡± Lucas frowned. The other five top families would be joining hands to destroy the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths? Prior to this, the eight top families of DC, who were at the summit of DC, had cooperation andpetition between them, but they all maintained a delicate bnce. So after all these years, they had rarely fought on arge scale, let alone have several families joining hands to destroy other families. But the bnce between the eight top families had been broken now. Today, Florence, the head of the Howards; Michael, the helmsman of the Huttons; and Tyson, helmsman of the Smiths, had all been assassinated. They were now hospitalized and in critical condition. These three families were not peaceful in the first ce, and there was plenty of hiddenpetition and tension within their respective families. Once the three helmsmen were gone, no one knew what would happen. Many people in these three families were probably already starting to take action, thinking about how to take the position of helmsman for themselves. Moreover, the Hamiltons were sowing discord. As long as the Hamiltons misled them and promised to give them some benefits, the remaining families would definitely eagerly want to eradicate the three families and split their assets among themselves! At that time, the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths might really be annihted! The Hamiltons had indeed formted a great n! The murderous intent in Lucas¡¯s eyes intensified. He had already decided that he wouldn¡¯t let the culprit off easily once he caught him! Of course, they had to go through Lucas first if they wanted to destroy these three families! Lucas shifted his cold gaze onto Adam. ¡°You really don¡¯t n on leaving with your people?¡± Adam subconsciously shuddered in fear when he saw the cold and murderous look in Lucas¡¯s eyes. But when he saw the more than a hundred experts around him, and when he thought of the fact that Lucas¡¯s backers would be annihted soon and that he couldn¡¯t be arrogant in front of him anymore, Adam felt courage surge within him again. ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare you threaten me? Do you really think I¡¯m scared of you? ¡°Open your eyes wide and take a good look at the situation. My people are surrounding you! Even if each of them only punches you once, they¡¯ll be able to break all your bones and make you wail loudly on the ground! ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯ll give you a chance. If you immediately kneel, kowtow to admit to your mistakes, and call yourself a piece of garbage, I will spare your life for now. How about it?¡± Adam raised his head andughed arrogantly. The experts of the Piers surrounding them also burst intoughter. ¡°Kneel down and apologize to Mr. Adam immediately! Otherwise, you¡¯ll really be dead meat!¡± ¡°Everyone, get ready to teach this ignorant bastard a lesson. It¡¯s his punishment for speaking arrogantly and looking down on the Piers!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If you don¡¯t kneel down and apologize, we will beat you up!¡± ¡­ The experts of the Piers spoke extremely arrogantly. Chapter 1346 - 1346 Attacking My People 1346 Attacking My People ¡°You bastards!¡± Seeing the Piers mocking and insulting Lucas unscrupulously, Edmund lost his temper. Lucas had been the esteemed captain of the Falcon Regiment who was not to be offended. How could he, who had the title the invincible God of War, be insulted by these small fries? Bruce was also trembling with anger. If he were in his thirties, he might have already rolled up his sleeves and charged forward to p these bastards who had the audacity to insult Lucas. But now, he was old and frail, so there was nothing he could do except stand in front of Lucas furiously to shield him. Adamughed smugly. ¡°Lucas Gray, did you hear that? Even my subordinates know that if you kneel down in front of me and beg for forgiveness, I might spare your life. How about it? If you don¡¯t want to die, hurry up and get down on your knees! ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re that impressive. No matter how skilled you are at martial arts, you¡¯re all alone. Can you beat the more than a hundred experts by my side?¡± Lucas¡¯s eyes flickered coldly. ¡°You¡¯re just a piece of trash. Who are you to make me kneel down and apologize?¡± Adam¡¯s expression changed, and he barked furiously, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t f*cking push it! I¡­ Argh!¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lucas¡¯s body had already vanished on the spot. Immediately afterward, a firm and steel-like hand was tightly clutching Adam¡¯s neck, blocking the following words from leaving his mouth. ¡°Even if there¡¯s a hundred or a thousand people like them, what¡¯s the big deal?¡± Lucas¡¯s icy-cold words rang in Adam¡¯s ears, causing him to be so frightened that he almost wet himself. Adam originally thought that by bringing over a hundred people to besiege Lucas, he would definitely be able to take down Lucas perfectly and get back at him for the humiliation he had suffered at the Howards¡¯. But he never thought that Lucas would be as swift as a phantom. Before he could even see his actions, Lucas was already strangling him and now had control over his life! Lucas had clearly been over ten meters away from him. How did he manage to move so quickly behind him? Was this speed really something that humans could achieve? Everyone stared in shock and only returned to their senses when they saw Lucas strangling Adam to the point that his face had turned purple and he was struggling to breathe. ¡°Scoundrel! Hurry up and let go of Mr. Adam!¡± someone immediately hollered at Lucas. They wanted to charge over to deal with Lucas, but he was still strangling Adam, causing them not to dare to act rashly. Without even looking at them, Lucas stared at Adam coldly. ¡°The Piers are merely small fries, yet you want me to sumb to you? ¡°You¡¯re just a piece of trash from the Piers, yet you want me to kneel and apologize to you? ¡°You want to take me down with these people you¡¯ve brought?¡± Lucas questioned with a mocking voice. With every word he said, Adam¡¯s body trembled, and the fear in his eyes intensified. At this moment, Adam was full of regret! If he had known that Lucas was much stronger than he had imagined, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have brought so many people with him to besiege Lucas. If he had known earlier, he¡­ he would have definitely gotten his people to act first while he hid far behind them. Before they caught Lucas, he definitely wouldn¡¯t appear! But it was toote for regrets now. Adam felt that his chest was on the verge of exploding from the suffocation. His brain wascking oxygen, he was getting dizzy, and his vision started to blur. Adam wanted to beg for forgiveness, but Lucas was clutching his neck tightly, causing him to be unable to make a sound. He was now full of endless fear. Lucas¡¯s terrifying speed astonished everyone around him. The hundred or so experts of the Piers all had extremely gloomy expressions. Lucas¡¯s abilities were far beyond their imagination. Worse still, Adam was now in his hands! If something untoward happened to Adam, they would be in deep trouble. ¡°Punk, quickly let go of Mr. Adam. Otherwise¡­ otherwise, the Piers will never let you off!¡± A middle-aged man, the leader of the Piers¡¯ experts, red daggers at Lucas. Lucas snorted contemptuously. ¡°Is that so? I¡¯d like to see how you won¡¯t let me off.¡± The middle-aged man looked extremely sullen. He didn¡¯t dare to rush forward to save Adam, but he suddenly turned to look at Edmund and Bruce, who were standing in the middled anxiously. With a roar, he reached out to grab Edmund. His idea was very simple. Since Lucas had captured Adam and made them too scared to take action, he would catch the two elderly men beside Lucas and force him to let go of Adam! ording to the information they had received, the two elderly men beside Lucas were the helmsmen of the Coles and the Hales, who had just arrived in DC, and were his subordinates. Even if Lucas didn¡¯t care about them, holding them hostage would definitely affect Lucas¡¯s confidence! But despite his wonderful n in his head, Lucas had already noticed his actions. How could Lucas allow him to get what he wanted? ¡°You have a death wish!¡± With a cold glint in his eyes, Lucas swiped his free hand over Adam¡¯s body, and two buttons appeared between his fingers. Immediately afterward, Lucas flicked his finger, and the two buttons darted out like bullets, striking the middle-aged man in his outstretched arm and his thigh. Pfft! With the sound of something prating flesh, the two buttons pierced through the middle-aged man¡¯s arm and thigh, causing him to shriek in pain. Clutching his wounded arm, he fell to his knees with a thud and wailed in agony. ¡°Ah! My¡­ my hand and my leg¡­ are both broken!¡± All of this had happened within moments, and no one could react to what had happened. Before they knew it, the middle-aged man was already on his knees and screaming as blood gushed out of his arm and thigh. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Does this punk have a gun? No, no way¡­ He doesn¡¯t have a gun in his hand at all!¡± ¡°What the hell is going on here?!¡± The remaining experts of the Piers stared at the scene in front of them in panic,pletely clueless about how their leader had suddenly suffered such injuries. His wounds clearly looked like gunshot wounds, but they could clearly see that Lucas had one hand around Adam¡¯s neck and the other hand empty. There wasn¡¯t a single gun in sight! This¡­ this was simply incredible! Lucas gripped Adam¡¯s neck tightly and mmed him against the ground. Ignoring Adam¡¯s screams, he stepped on his chest and stared coldly at everyone around him. ¡°If you dare to attack my people again, I will kill this guy!¡± ... Chapter 1347 - 1347 Urgent Situation 1347 Urgent Situation Lucas¡¯s actions once again shocked everyone who was about to attack. At this moment, Edmund and Bruce also realized that the two of them had just almost been held hostage. They panicked and hurried to Lucas¡¯s side. If they had been caught by the Piers, they would definitely have be bargaining chips for the Piers to use to threaten Lucas. They would have be burdens to Lucas! What a close shave! They only thought that the Piers hade to target Lucas this time, and they had never expected that the Piers would make a move against elderly men like them, causing them to almost fall into their trap. Fortunately, Lucas¡¯s reflexes were very fast, and he had rescued them at the critical moment! Bruce and Edmund stood next to Lucas, looking warily at the Piers¡¯ experts around them. The rest of the Piers were naturally displeased. But one, Lucas¡¯s skills were far beyond their imagination, and they still hadn¡¯t figured out how he managed to form bullet hole-like wounds with his bare hand from so far away. The effects were even more terrifying than actual gunshot wounds. If anyone else went up, they would probably end up in the same state as their leader! And two, Lucas was now stepping on Adam. As long as he exerted some force, he might stomp Adam to death right on the spot. Thus, with Lucas¡¯s warning, everyone stood rooted to the ground, not daring to act recklessly. Lucas lowered his head, looked coldly at Adam beneath his foot, and mocked, ¡°Adam Piers, I¡¯m stepping on you with my foot now. What can your people do to me?¡± At this moment, Adam was no longer as arrogant as earlier. He had painstakinglye to his senses after almost suffocating to death. Now, the only thought he had was to beg Lucas to spare him. ¡°Mr. Gray, ahem¡­ it¡¯s my fault. I won¡¯t dare to go against you anymore. I¡¯ll definitely avoid you when I see you in the future. Please¡­ please forgive me this time! I won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± Adam frantically begged Lucas for forgiveness. He no longer cared about his dignity at this point. If not for the fact that Lucas was still stepping on him, rendering him immobile, Adam would have already gotten down on his knees and begged Lucas for forgiveness. Hearing Adam begging for forgiveness shamelessly, the rest of the Piers looked extremely sullen. At the same time, many of them felt relieved, knowing that they likely wouldn¡¯t be med for not taking action since even their boss was spinelessly begging for forgiveness! Lucas pressed his foot down a little harder and questioned, ¡°Adam Piers, you¡¯re just a good-for-nothing. Who gave you the courage to bring so many people to besiege me? It definitely wasn¡¯t your idea. Tell me honestly right now. What other ns do the Piers have?! If you dare to hide anything, I¡¯ll crush you to death right now!¡± Adam felt his organs aching due to the massive pressure on his chest. For a moment, he really thought that they would be crushed by Lucas and was frightened out of his wits. Adam shrieked in horror and frantically yelled, ¡°Ahhh! Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, please spare me! I¡¯ll tell you everything. No matter what you want to ask, I will definitely tell you the truth and not hide a single thing from you! ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m indeed too timid to deal with you. My father sent me here to do this! He said that he doesn¡¯t need me to capture you. He said that I just had to take the Piers¡¯ experts here and trap you here for around an hour to stall for time!¡± Lucas¡¯s frown deepened, and he asked again, ¡°The Piers sent you here to dy me? Who are you going to attack? Tell me quickly!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll say it! My father said that Florence Howard is now lying in the hospital, and the rest of the Howards are in discord. If we take action immediately, we¡¯ll be able to conquer the Howards in less than two hours!¡± Adam frantically added, ¡°And¡­ we won¡¯t be taking down only the Howards. The other families will be dealing with the Huttons and the Smiths. After tonight, the helmsmen of the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths will all be reced! ¡°And¡­ once these three families are gone, Lucas, no, I mean, Mr. Gray, your support in DC will be gone, and those families wille to deal with you at that time! So¡­ I advise you to leave DC as soon as possible! ¡°I¡¯ve already told you everything I know, so please spare my life!¡± In order to survive, Adam really revealed everything he knew. He even advised Lucas to flee DC. Lucas¡¯s expression was extremely gloomy. He didn¡¯t expect the situation in DC to be soplicated within such a short time. Without a doubt, the Hamiltons were the ones who colluded with the other families tounch an attack on the Huttons, the Howards, and the Smiths while their helmsmen were seriously injured and hospitalized. Moreover, after the Hamiltons sent people to assassinate the helmsmen of the families close to Lucas, there was nothing else they needed to do. With just some efforts to sow discord, the families harboring malicious intentions would immediately take action. The situation now was indeed terrible. The incident happened all too suddenly, and the families close to Lucas were all in trouble at the same time. No matter how capable Lucas was, there was nothing he could do to save them since he didn¡¯t have enough manpower. ¡°All those families should die!¡± Lucas sneered and kicked Adam¡¯s head, knocking him unconscious. Lucas looked around at the Piers¡¯ goons and shouted coldly, ¡°Inform Derek and Conrad Piers to leave the Howard residence immediately. Otherwise, their son and grandson will die here! ¡°What are you waiting for? Get lost!¡± The goons were terrified and didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer. They hurriedly left and proceeded to report the situation to the two most authoritative people in the Piers family. Only then did Edmund and Bruce heave a sigh of relief, but their tension didn¡¯t ease at all. They had heard everything Adam just said. ¡°Lucas, the situation is very unfavorable. What should we do now?¡± Edmund asked with a grim expression. Looking at the two of them, Lucas instructed, ¡°Listen up. Immediately contact your family¡¯s representatives. If any major family barges into your residence and tries to encroach on your properties, don¡¯t resist! Just let them be! Prioritize the safety of your family first! ¡°Inform the Parkers to do the same!¡± Edmund and Bruce were astonished. Lucas had neverpromised in the past, but this time, he actually told them to retreat and give in?! Chapter 1348 - 1348 Continue to Search 1348 Continue to Search Lucas didn¡¯t have time to exin much to them and simply urged, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? Get to it immediately!¡± Edmund and Bruce quickly took out their phones and ryed Lucas¡¯s instructions to their families. Although they were disgruntled and confused, they didn¡¯t dare to disobey Lucas¡¯s orders. Besides, they both knew that Lucas wouldn¡¯t harm them and that he naturally had his own reasons for giving these instructions. !! After the two ended their calls, Lucas instructed again, ¡°Don¡¯t go home tonight. Just stay in the Stardust Corporation. It¡¯s much safer here. I¡¯m going out to handle some things. Wait for my news!¡± Then Lucas turned around and headed to the parking lot. ¡°Lucas, pay attention to your safety!¡± Edmund and Bruce didn¡¯t dare to ask what Lucas was going to do and could only remind him with worried expressions. Who knew whether they could tide through the crisis this time¡­ After Lucas left the Stardust Corporation, he didn¡¯t rush to the Howards, the Huttons, or the Smiths. He knew that since the Hamiltons had already made arrangements, regardless of which family he went to, there was no way he could resolve the matter. With his power alone, he couldn¡¯t destroy the other five top families of DC immediately. The most effective method and the most important thing to do now was to find out where the Hamiltons, the secret instigators behind the scenes, were hiding so as to shock the families working with the Hamiltons and scare them into not daring to act recklessly! Along the way, Lucas sent Jordan a text message. Soon, Jordan called. ¡°Lucas, ording to what you said, we¡¯ve locked down all the routes out of DC. Be it train stations, airports, bus stations, or major intersections out of DC, they are all under the control of our people. There¡¯s no way the Hamiltons can leave silently!¡± Jordan reported. ¡°Okay, get everyone to continue keeping an eye on the routes. Also, protect the Stardust Corporation and my family. I¡¯ll go meet Jensen Hamilton myself and see where he¡¯s hiding!¡± Lucas said coldly. ¡°Okay, I got it, Lucas!¡± Jordan immediately acknowledged. Although he couldn¡¯t join Lucas in this operation, Jordan knew that Lucas had given him the task of protecting the people who meant the most to him, which was an extremely important matter, and he couldn¡¯t afford to be negligent at all. ¡­ After learning about the current situation in DC, Jensen smiled with satisfaction and finally left the hidden vi to head toward a train station in DC. Generally speaking, big shots like Jensen usually traveled in their own private nes and rarely tookmercial airlines, let alone mass public transportation like trains. But now that the airports had been blocked off, Jensen couldn¡¯t get to the Hamilton family¡¯s private jet at DC International Airport. To ensure that he could get back to the Hamilton residence in the shortest possible time, taking the high-speed train was the fastest way instead. He thought that Lucas and his people would never have imagined that a person of such high status as him would choose to travel by train, a method only lowly civilians used. Thus, taking the train out of DC was the fastest and safest way for Jensen. But just before Jensen arrived at the train station, he received a phone call from his subordinates. ¡°Bad news, Mr. Jensen. We just found that there are many suspicious people searching the three train stations in DC. I¡¯m afraid that the train stations are already under their control!¡± Jensen was shocked. ¡°How is that possible? Isn¡¯t DC inplete chaos? Lucas Gray should be in a frenzy now. How could he still have the manpower to block all the train stations?¡± His subordinate hastily replied, ¡°I also just received the news that DC is indeed in chaos. But the families close to Lucas Gray are acting strangely. When those families attacked them, they didn¡¯t resist at all and evacuated their homes, giving up everything. ¡°So those families didn¡¯t suffer any losses, but sent all their people out to track down the Hamiltons in DC just like before! So there are still a lot of people at this train station, and they¡¯re even searching more intensively than thest few days!¡± ¡°Damn it! This is outrageous!¡± Jensen flew into a rage and mmed his fist on the car seat! ¡°Lucas Gray, you still won¡¯t let me go even at this point. Just you wait. I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Jensen was really about to explode with anger. He was a scion of the Hamiltons and the favorite son of the helmsman. Even the heads of the eight top families of DC had to be respectful to him. Yet Lucas, a young man in his twenties, was forcing him to a corner, causing him to have to sneak around like a rat. It was really outrageous! Now, he felt so aggravated that he wished he could immediately capture Lucas, skin him alive, pull his tendons, and make him die in agony! An old man sitting next to Jensen also frowned and said in a deep voice, ¡°Mr. Jensen, it seems that Lucas Gray has made up his mind to keep you from leaving DC. But the more this is the case, the more cautious we must be. We must not falter!¡± ¡°After all, Lucas Gray has united the forces of several families in DC, and they have more manpower than we do here. This is their territory, so there¡¯s no need for us to fight him to the death.¡± Jensen roared, ¡°So, what do you think we should do now?! Lucas Gray¡¯s people have blocked all the ways out of DC. How can I be trapped here by him? ¡°As you know, I have been away from the family for long enough, but I haven¡¯t finished my task. Once the news spreads back to the family, my two brothers definitely won¡¯t let go of this great opportunity to attack me. The chances of me inheriting the Hamilton family will be even lower! ¡°Tell me, what should I do now? ¡°Am I going to be stuck here because of a mere Lucas Gray and watch the position of helmsman be taken away from me?¡± Jensen yelled in annoyance. If the car wasn¡¯t still in motion, he might have smashed the car roof with his fist. This feeling was too aggrieving and stifling! Chapter 1349 - 1349 Removing His Mask 1349 Removing His Mask The elderly man next to Jensen sat still quietly until he finished throwing a fit. Then he said, ¡°Mr. Jensen, just as you¡¯ve said, the most important thing to do now is to leave DC. ¡°Since the train station is under strict control, I¡¯ve thought of a solution. I know an amazing master of disguise who happens to be in DC. We can ask him to help us disguise our appearance. That way, no matter how many people Lucas Gray has arranged in the train station, they won¡¯t be able to find you!¡± Hearing this, Jensen was overjoyed. ¡°There¡¯s such an amazing person? What are we waiting for then? Let¡¯s go look for him immediately!¡± ¡°Alright, Mr. Jensen.¡± The car immediately turned and headed toward the address the elderly man gave. ¡­ At this moment, Lucas was also driving toward the train station. Along the way, he called Roman. ¡°Are you at the DC International Airport now? Immediately send your people there to the train station!¡± Roman was the illegitimate son of Michael¡¯s brother, and he had be the next sessor of the Huttons with Lucas¡¯s help. Michael was injured, so Roman was now in charge of all the Huttons¡¯ people. Hearing what Lucas said, Roman said with bewilderment, ¡°The Hamiltons¡¯ private jet is parked in the DC International Airport. Do we just ignore it? Or have you already gotten concrete news that Jensen Hamilton will definitely leave from the train station?¡± Lucas said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any confirmed news, but I reckon that Jensen Hamilton doesn¡¯t dare to leave from the airport. It¡¯s very likely that he¡¯ll take a train.¡± ¡°What about cars then? Is there a possibility that they¡¯re going to drive away?¡± Roman asked. Lucas shook his head. ¡°Going by car is the first method I ruled out. ording to the information I recieved, the Hamiltons are holding a family meeting in three days, and attendance for all key members of the family is mandatory. If Jensen Hamilton goes back by car, he definitely won¡¯t make it in time, so his only option now is the train station.¡± Roman finally knew why Lucas was so sure and immediately agreed to it. He left the DC International Airport with his subordinates and headed straight to the train station. ¡­ Half an hourter, two people entered the waiting hall of the train station. One of them was an elderly man in his seventies with a head full of white hair and wrinkles all over his face. He had an unsteady gait, and he even had to support himself with a thick walking stick. Beside him was a woman in her forties, holding his arm with a sad face. She had many wrinkles around the corners of her lips and eyes. She was carrying a small purse and looked like a middle-aged woman who was unhappy with her life. The two of them looked like an extremely ordinary father and daughter belonging to a low social ss. After entering the waiting hall, they found a seat near the corner, took out a small piece of bread and a bottle of mineral water from a bag each, and started eating and drinking. In the waiting hall, burly men were shuttling in and out from time to time, scanning the face of every passenger. Of course, they also scrutinized the father and daughter. But no one took a closer look at them. Soon, a gentle female voice announced in the hall, ¡°Dear passengers, ticket checking for Train G7073 will begin soon. Please take your ID and ticket with you and head to the ticketing gates of tform 7 for the ticket check.¡± After hearing the voice, the elderly man holding the wooden walking stick raised his head with a look of relief in his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s finally time for the ticket check. We can go home!¡± The elderly man stood up shakily while the middle-aged woman hurriedly supported his arm, and they walked toward tform 7. At this moment, a figure suddenly stopped the two of them and said lightly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t leave.¡± When the elderly man heard this voice, his pupils suddenly constricted in shock. It¡¯s Lucas Gray! Lucas actually stopped him! At this moment, the middle-aged woman next to him asked, ¡°Young man, we¡¯re going to check our tickets. May you please step aside?¡± Looking at the two seemingly ordinary people, Lucas smirked. ¡°I said that you two can¡¯t go.¡± Others couldn¡¯t recognize them, but Lucas could tell at a nce that the elderly man who looked to be in his seventies was Jensen! As for the middle-aged woman next to him, she wasn¡¯t a woman at all but the Hamilton expert who followed Jensen closely. Although Jensen and the expert¡¯s disguise and acting were good, so much so that ordinary people wouldn¡¯t be able to tell at all, they couldn¡¯t escape Lucas¡¯s eyes. Lucas could tell that there was something wrong with the two of them at a nce. Pretending to be angry, the middle-aged woman pointed at Lucas and berated, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, young man? I¡¯ve already said I don¡¯t know you. Why do you want to stop me? People like us don¡¯t have money, so even if you stop us, we don¡¯t have any money to give you!¡± As soon as she said this, countless bystanders looked over with peculiar gazes. They wondered if Lucas was a gangster who was trying to extort the middle-aged woman who looked poor. Under everyone¡¯s gazes, Lucas acted extremely quickly. Before anyone could react, he reached out and ripped off the mask and wig that the middle-aged woman was wearing. In an instant, the miserable-looking middle-aged woman suddenly turned into a thin old man in his fifties! This scene caused many people around to exim in shock. ¡°What¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°What is this? Role-ying? Cosying?¡± Many people didn¡¯t think that they were disguising themselves and only found the scene in front of them very bizarre. Lucas actually ripped off the old man¡¯s mask and revealed his true face. He roared angrily at Lucas, ¡°Punk, you¡¯re courting death!¡± Then he leaned forward to grab at Lucas¡¯s face. Beside him, Jensen, the elderly man with an unsteady gait, saw that the situation was turning awry, so he immediately took advantage of the opportunity to turn around and make a run for the ticketing gates while the expert was stopping Lucas. As long as he could get through the ticketing gates and onto the train, no matter how powerful and quick Lucas was, he would never be able to catch up with the high-speed train and stop him! Chapter 1350 - 1350 Superb Acting Skills 1350 Superb Acting Skills Lucas¡¯s eyes shed coldly, and his lips curled up into a contemptuous smile. Jensen was really naive for thinking that he could easily escape from his pursuit! Facing the menacing grab of the Hamilton expert, Lucas raised his fists and punched him without being bothered at all! Bang! With the muffled collision sound, the expert felt an unimaginably massive force striking against his palm. The instant they came into contact, all the bones of his palm were crushed! The expert immediately looked horrified. Before he could cry out in pain, the force had already gone all the way up his wrist and arm. With an immense force of destruction, it crushed his entire arm and managed his flesh! ¡°Ahhh!¡± Even though the elderly expert was a rare powerhouse, he couldn¡¯t bear the excruciating pain and screamed in agony. In the next instant, his scream came to a sudden halt because Lucas moved closer and punched him between his chest and abdomen, making him unable to breathe and fall silent amid the intense pain. Lucas inched closer and said smilingly, ¡°Sir, this is a public space. If you scream, you¡¯ll be a nuisance to others.¡± The expert turned deathly pale and covered his stomach, unable to make a single sound. Staring at Lucas, his eyes were full of fear. Lucas¡¯s punch in his abdomen had struck him right in the diaphragm and rendered him incapable of moving! In just two exchanges, Lucas had already crippled one of his arms and made him incapable of using the martial arts skills he had trained hard for decades! From now on, he was crippled! He was an old and disabled person! Thinking of the pathetic state that he would be in from now on, the elderly man became even paler, andrge droplets of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. ¡°Punk¡­ you¡­ How dare you cripple me? The Hamiltons will never let you go! You¡¯ll definitely die miserably in the future!¡± The expert stared at Lucas with shaky hands and eyes full of murderous intent. Lucas nced at him and sneered. ¡°Is that so? Then just wait and see.¡± If it wasn¡¯t because they were in a crowded ce in public, the expert would have lost more than just an arm. He might have already be a corpse. Lucas didn¡¯t care at all about what such a person said. He stopped paying attention to this crippled person. The first thing he had to do now was to find Jensen. ¡­ At this moment, Jensen had already rushed to the ticketing gates of tform 7 to have his ticket and ID checked. He was now running toward the train he was supposed to board. Currently, Jensen was extremely fearful and anxious. He had long forgotten about pretending to be an elderly man in his seventies with mobility issues. He was now hurrying toward the train, wishing he could fly there. He was well aware that his expert couldn¡¯t stop Lucas for long. He might not even be able to stall him for a minute. So Jensen could only seize this extremely short opportunity to hurry to the train! He was really panicking now. He originally thought that he could sessfully pass off as another person under the disguise that the master of disguise had carefully put on for him. But just as he was about to enter the ticketing gates, Lucas recognized him! Worse still, he had only brought his most powerful bodyguard with him and disguised themselves as a father and daughter for fear that he might arouse suspicion if he brought too many people with him. If he had known earlier that Lucas would still recognize him, he would have gotten more people to disguise themselves with him. Even if Lucas discovered him in the end, he would at least have a few more people to hold Lucas back and buy him more time to escape! Jensen was running on the stairs and staring at the moving train that was about to enter the station, his eyes full of expectation and excitement. Hurry up! Hurry up! Jensen didn¡¯t even have time to run to the passenger car that he was supposed to board. He just ran to the nearest car and rushed straight toward the front,pletely ignoring the queues. Suddenly, a devilish voice sounded in Jensen¡¯s ears. ¡°Oh, the esteemed Jensen Hamilton is scurrying around like a street rat. How pathetic.¡± Jensen¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and it almost jumped out of his chest! He already recognized that it was Lucas¡¯s voice! His nemesis had arrived so soon! Jensen¡¯s heart was pounding wildly, and he gritted his teeth hard while staring at the door of the passenger car right in front of him, contemting if he should charge straight into it. But he was horrified to find that there was a massive force pulling him by the cor, preventing him from taking another step forward! Jensen wanted to escape, but to no avail, so he could only pretend to be weak and reprimand loudly, ¡°What are you trying to do, young man? I¡¯ve already told you that I don¡¯t have any money. Stop hounding me for money. I really don¡¯t have any money to give you! ¡°You¡¯ve already forced me to my wits¡¯ end, and I now have no choice but to return to the countryside to farm. Why won¡¯t you let me off?¡± Then he turned around and shouted at the bystanders around him, ¡°Everyone, quickly help a poor old man out! This man refuses to let me off. I will definitely be beaten to death by him! Everyone, please help me!¡± Lucas sneered. He didn¡¯t expect Jensen to have such great acting skills. He really yed the role of a poor old man being forced by a thug to turn to the public for help well. With such acting skills, if Jensen joined the entertainment industry, he might be able to get an Oscar. He could definitely hold a candle to A-list actors. Lucas sneered at Jensen¡¯s performance, but many people around them were deceived and really thought that Lucas hade here to bully an old man. ¡°Young man, you¡¯re able-bodied and young. There are so many things you can do. Why do you have to bully an old man?¡± ¡°Exactly! Don¡¯t you have any parents and elders? How could you do this? You¡¯re really too much!¡± ¡°Young man, we¡¯re living in awful and civilized society. There¡¯s no room for such nonsense. You¡¯ve already forced this old man to this end and left him with no choice but to go back to the countryside to farm. Why are you doing this? Will you only be happy after driving this old man to death?¡± ¡­ All of a sudden, many people pointed fingers at Lucas and rebuked him. There were even some zealous young men who came forward and tried to pull Lucas¡¯s hand away from Jensen¡¯s cor. Chapter 1351 - 1351 Minding Other People’s Business 1351 Minding Other People¡¯s Business Seeing this, Jensen¡¯s eyes shed with a trace of smugness. Pretending to be bullied, he pursed his lips and wept miserably. ¡°Young man, at my age, it¡¯s not easy for me to run a business and open a store. I gave you all the protection fees you demanded before, but my small store didn¡¯t do well. I really don¡¯t have any more money to give you! ¡°Now that my store is gone too, I only have a few hundred dors left. This amount is only enough to cover my train ticket home. Please let me off and stop forcing me to pay you protection money!¡± Jensen¡¯s words immediately caused the bystanders to be even more furious. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s a thug who collects protection fees! Tsk, young man, of all things, why do you have to engage in this dirty business that harms others? You¡¯re such a lowlife!¡± !! ¡°Hah, a bastard like him only knows to bully the old and the weak. What else can he do? What a piece of trash! Punk, listen up. I won¡¯t let you bully this old man!¡± ¡°Exactly. You¡¯re being too much! You¡¯ve already forced him to this end, and he only has a few hundred bucks left for the trip home, yet you won¡¯t even let him off. You¡¯re too overbearing! We¡¯ve gotta teach you a lesson today!¡± ¡­ The bystanders were brimming with righteous indignation as they pointed fingers at Lucas and berated him. Meanwhile, Jensen looked rathercent as he secretly cast a provocative gaze at Lucas. Hah, aren¡¯t you very powerful? Now that I¡¯ve managed to win the sympathy of these bystanders and get them to stand on my side, let¡¯s see how you can capture me in front of so many people! Lucas watched coldly as Jensen put on an act. Finally, he chuckled contemptuously when he saw Jense¡¯s provocative gaze. ¡°You¡¯ve got great acting skills. With such talents, it¡¯s a shame you didn¡¯t be an actor!¡± Lucas mocked. ¡°But surely you don¡¯t think I¡¯ll let you off just because of this act you¡¯ve put on, right?¡± Jensen¡¯s face turned sullen. Suddenly, he burst into tears and wailed. ¡°I really don¡¯t have any more money to give you. Please just let me off! I¡­ I¡¯ll kneel down and beg you. Please just let me off!¡± Then he bent his knees and really seemed like he was going to kneel on the ground. Suddenly, a tall and slender young woman held Jensen¡¯s arm, preventing him from kneeling. ¡°Sir, please stand up quickly. Don¡¯t kneel down to someone like him!¡± Jensen nced at the young woman and rubbed his eyes while saying with a miserable expression, ¡°Youngdy, thank you so much for speaking up for me, but this young man isn¡¯t easy to deal with. Don¡¯t get implicated by helping me¡­ ¡°This¡­ this young man is very difficult to convince and reason with. If he takes revenge on you too, I¡¯ll me myself for it! ¡°I¡­ I¡¯d better kneel down and beg him for mercy. He might just let me off on ount that my days are numbered¡­¡± Jensen said this deliberately, causing the girl to be even more furious and indignant. ¡°Sir, you don¡¯t have to kneel to someone like him! I can¡¯t tolerate this injustice. I¡¯ll definitely help you and make sure you¡¯re not bullied by him!¡± the young woman said with righteous indignation and then glowered at Lucas. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you? How can you bully an elderly man? Hurry up and let go of him!¡± Lucas frowned. He really didn¡¯t want to make a bigmotion in a public ce with so many people, but Jensen¡¯s acting was so superb that he deceived all the bystanders into thinking that Lucas was the viin. Seeing the train about to leave, Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered anymore. He reached out and grabbed Jensen¡¯s face. As long as he could rip off the mask on Jensen¡¯s face, the people here would definitely realize that Jensen was lying and that they had taken pity on the wrong person. ¡°Stop!¡± Just as Lucas¡¯s hand was about to reach Jensen¡¯s face, a suddenly eximed from the side, and a fair and tender hand hit Lucas¡¯s arm heavily. Smack! Lucas¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. He never expected that this tall and pretty girl would be so strong that she could cause him to feel pain, and his hand that was about to grab Jensen missed slightly. This young woman was probably not much weaker than the top experts of the eight top families of DC. Of course, Lucas was just a little surprised that this young woman was so strong at such a young age. The rest didn¡¯t impress him. But the tall young woman stared at Lucas with her mouth open in shock. In a moment of panic, she had forgotten to restrain herself and almost subconsciously exerted her full strength on Lucas¡¯s arm. The instant she struck, she already felt regret. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t retract her hand in time. With her strength, she couldpletely break the arm of an ordinary person! Although she thought that Lucas was extremely loathsome for forcing the elderly man to his wits¡¯ end, she couldn¡¯t just break his arm! While the young woman felt vexed, she felt as if her palm had hit a hard steel board, causing her hand to feel numb. After taking her p, Lucas¡¯s arm merely skewed a little to the side, and it was as if he didn¡¯t feel anything at all! How¡­ how was this possible? Suddenly, Jensen took advantage of Lucas missing his grab and immediately turned around to run into the passenger car behind him. He already had one foot inside the car. ¡°Still trying to run?¡± Lucas snorted coldly, moved his feet to bypass the tall young woman in front of him, grabbed Jensen¡¯s clothes, and yanked him out mercilessly. Thump! Jensen¡¯s back hit the ground hard, causing him to grit his teeth in pain. ¡°You¡¯re going overboard!¡± The tall and slender young woman flew into a rage and immediately attacked Lucas. She had to teach this scumbag a lesson for bullying the elderly! Lucas dodged the punch and then stood next to Jensen in a sh. He reached out and ripped the mask off Jensen¡¯s face. In an instant, Jensen turned from an elderly man in his seventies to a middle-aged man in his fifties! This scene greatly astonished everyone around! Chapter 1352 - 1352 Finally Captured 1352 Finally Captured The young woman still wanted to continue attacking Lucas, but when she saw Jensen¡¯s true face, she immediately widened her eyes in disbelief. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re not an old man!¡± Jensen¡¯s face waspletely revealed in front of everyone after his mask was removed, and he knew that his scheme was now useless. He sprung up from the ground and exerted all his strength to attack Lucas! Jensen was an expert who was extremely skilled in martial arts. In fact, his skills were almost on par with the skills of the top experts of the Hamiltons. He knew that he was no match for Lucas. Heunched a sudden attack on Lucas not in hopes of defeating him but rather to stall for some time so that he could rush onto the train and leave. However, Jensen¡¯s skills were nothing in front of Lucas. Lucas just kicked once, and Jensen fell onto the ground again with a loud thud. Before he could get up, Lucas was already stepping on his chest, making him unable to get up at all. There was an obviousmotion in the surroundings, and everyone was watching the situation in horror, pointing at Lucas and Jensen and discussing them. Meanwhile, the security guards of the train station walked over. Lucas took out a document from his pocket and said to the shocked people around him, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t panic. This man is a wanted criminal, and I¡¯m here to arrest him and bring him to justice. Now that this matter has been settled, you can all get on the train and leave.¡± After hearing Lucas¡¯s exnation, the bystanders realized that an arrest was being carried out. It was no wonder there was a fight. Moreover, the criminal was really scheming and cunning to have disguised himself as a weak old man and say that he was getting bullied, which almost made themmit the crime of obstructing justice. How abhorrent! The bystanders on the tform didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer and quickly boarded the train. Jensen was so angry that he was on the verge of losing his mind. He was a scion of the Hamiltons, a royal family branch, and yet he was being used of being a wanted criminal. Who knew where Lucas got the document from to pass off as a police officer! ¡°Luacs Gray, how dare you¡­¡± Jensen flew into a rage. Just as he was about to reveal his true identity and expose Lucas for pretending to be a police officer, Lucas stuffed a packet of tissue paper into his mouth. Immediately afterward, Lucas pressed Jensen¡¯s hands against his back and secured tightly with his necktie. Holding Jensen, Lucas walked out of the train station and was about to leave when the tall and slender young woman suddenly ran over, panting heavily. Once again, she stopped Lucas. ¡°Hey, wait a minute!¡± She panted while holding her knees. Lucas¡¯s eyes turned cold. ¡°At this point, do you still think I¡¯m a bad guy? Do you still want to uphold your ¡®justice¡¯?¡± ¡°N-n-no, you¡¯re mistaken!¡± The young woman frantically waved her hands. She exined, ¡°I¡¯m not here to cause trouble. I¡­ I came to apologize to you! I¡¯m sorry. It was my fault for rashly attacking you before I knew the truth. I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Lucas nced at the young woman and shook his head calmly. ¡°It¡¯s alright. You¡¯re a kindhearted person, but you were made use of by someone with ulterior motives. Just be more mindful in the future.¡± He really didn¡¯t intend to me her. In today¡¯s society, there were very few people who were kind enough to step up and help others. The vast majority of people tried to avoid trouble and protect themselves. Despite injustice, they wouldn¡¯t step up to help. Although the young woman had mistaken Jensen to be an elderly man being bullied, Lucas admired her for her brave and helpful attitude. Besides, the p shended on Lucas¡¯s arm didn¡¯t cause him any damage, so he naturally wouldn¡¯t pursue it against her. After speaking, Lucas walked away with Jensen. But the young woman quickly caught up and stayed close by his side. Lucas frowned. ¡°Why are you following me? Since you were on the tform, you should be nning to board the train to go somewhere, right? Be careful not to miss the boarding time.¡± The young woman stuck her tongue out and said smilingly, ¡°I don¡¯t n to leave by train anymore! I got the wrong idea about you just now and even hurt you. I have to make it up to you! I¡¯ll leave DC after I do.¡± Lucas immediately shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not hurt, and I don¡¯t n to make youpensate me. Leave quickly!¡± The young woman¡¯s strike might have indeed caused great damage to ordinary people, but to Luacs, it felt like nothing more than a slightly strong tickle. He waspletely fine. Besides, he wasn¡¯t interested in the so-calledpensation of this young woman at all, let alone leave with her. The young womanpletely ignored Lucas¡¯s cold face and instead said smilingly, ¡°That won¡¯t do. Since I¡¯ve made a mistake, I have to make it up to you. This is my principle! I have topensate you since I did something wrong!¡± While following Lucas closely, she asked curiously, ¡°By the way, my name is Rosie Monroe. What¡¯s yours?¡± Lucas felt a little helpless. Why is this girl so stubborn? ¡°You really want to make it up to me?¡± Lucas asked with a raised brow. Rosie frantically nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a woman of my word, and I¡¯ll definitely fulfill your request as long as it¡¯s within my means!¡± She stared at Lucas with glistening eyes, seemingly filled with expectations about Lucas¡¯s request to her. Lucas said seriously, ¡°In that case, please leave me alone and do your own thing! This is the bestpensation for me.¡± Rosie¡¯s expression stiffened, and she immediately shook his head after realizing what Lucas said. ¡°No! What kind ofpensation is that? Won¡¯t I be escaping responsibility by leaving? I won¡¯t do that!¡± Lucas was speechless. He was now extremely speechless. Lucas never thought that this young, fashionable, and pretty woman would be so obstinate that she was constantly ignoring what he was saying. He already said that it was fine, but she still insisted on following him and making up to him, causing him to feel annoyed. He still had a lot of important things to do, and he didn¡¯t have time to chat with a young woman he just met! At this moment, a silver Audi A8 stopped in front of Lucas. Keh stepped out of it and greeted him respectfully, ¡°Mr. Gray!¡± Seeing Jensen being held by Lucas, he said in shock, ¡°This is¡­ Jensen Hamilton? You¡¯ve already caught him? Great!¡± Chapter 1353 - 1353 Notice of Critical Condition 1353 Notice of Critical Condition When Keh saw Jensen, his eyes turned red, and he wished he could go over and beat him up right away! His father, Ray, the current head of the Parkers, had been stabbed and seriously injured by the Hamiltons¡¯ henchmen. He had just passed the critical period and was still lying unconcious in the hospital. It was unknown if he could recover and return to his former health. The moment he saw Jensen, the hatred and killing intent in his heart surged, and he wished he could stab a hole in Jensen¡¯s body as well! Fortunately, Keh could still maintain his sanity. When he saw the gloomy Lucas in front of him, he barely managed to suppress the hatred in his heart. !! Lucas looked at Keh, fully understanding how he felt, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go back first!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray!¡± Keh took a deep breath, opened the car door himself, and invited Lucas to get in the car. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I drove here.¡± Lucas waved his hand and got into his ck Jaguar. Right after Lucas threw Jensen, who had his hands and feet tied up, into the back seat, he found that Rosie was actually nning to get inside his car too! Lucas¡¯s face immediately turned sullen, and he stopped Rosie. At this point, he was really fed up with her actions. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you not to follow me. Do you not understand?¡± He had very important things to deal with now. The situation in DC was still in a mess, and the families he was close to were still waiting for him to take Jensen back to fix the problem. He had no time to waste being pestered by a woman. When Rosie saw that Lucas was really angry, she puffed up her cheeks and said aggrievedly, ¡°Okay, okay, I won¡¯t follow you since you don¡¯t want me to, but before I go, tell me your name! You won¡¯t turn down this small request, will you?¡± ¡°Lucas Gray.¡± Lucas told her his name indifferently, closed the car door, and drove away. After Lucas left, Rosie stood by the side of the road, staring at the distant shadow of Lucas¡¯s Jaguar going away, and clenched her fists. ¡°Lucas Gray, huh? I will definitely find you again!¡± On his way to the Stardust Corporation with Keh, Lucas suddenly received a phone call. ¡°Honey, she¡­ she¡¯s not doing very well, and she¡¯s still in the operating room. I¡¯m really worried!¡± Cheyenne¡¯s anxious voice came out of the phone. With a grave expression on his face, Lucas said, ¡°Cheyenne, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll rush over to you now!¡± Then he stopped the car on the side of the road. Keh, who was following behind Lucas¡¯ car, also stopped his car and looked at him in confusion. ¡°Mr. Gray?¡± Lucas opened the car door and said to Keh, ¡°I have some urgent matters to attend to at the hospital. Take Jensen Hamilton to the Stardust Corporation and wait for me there. I¡¯ll look for youter!¡± He opened the back door of the car and intended to throw Jensen straight into Keh¡¯s car, but it urred to him that Jensen wasn¡¯t an ordinary person and had remarkable martial arts skills. If Jensen suddenly attacked, a tie wouldn¡¯t be able to restrain him at all, and Keh wouldn¡¯t be able to hold him down either. Jensen might take advantage of the opportunity to escape. Thinking of this, Lucas reached out and dislocated all the joints of Jensen¡¯s limbs without hesitation. ¡°Mm¡­ Mmph!¡± With the tissue pack stuffed in his mouth, Jensen couldn¡¯t scream out loud and could only let out stifled grunts of pain as droplets of cold sweat oozed from his face. Now that Jensen¡¯s limbs had been dislocated, he could no longer pose a threat to Keh. Lucas dragged him out of the back seat of the car and threw him into Keh¡¯s car. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Gray. I will definitely take this bastard back to the Stardust Corporation. I won¡¯t let him escape!¡± Keh assured Lucas and then drove off with Jensen in his car. Meanwhile, Lucas immediately turned his car around and drove toward the hospital where Cheyenne was. When Lucas arrived at the operating room, Cheyenne immediately jumped into Lucas¡¯s arms and cried in distress. ¡°Honey! She¡¯s seriously wounded and has lost a lot of blood! It¡¯s been almost three hours since she entered the operating room, but she¡¯s not out yet!¡± Lucas knew that the woman that Cheyenne was talking about was her biological mother, Florence. Although Cheyenne hadn¡¯t acknowledged Florence as her mother yet, Florence was still her closet kin by blood no matter what. So when Cheyenne found out that she was seriously injured and in the operating room, she was really distraught and devastated. She hadn¡¯t even reconciled with Florence yet. What if something happened to Florence at this time? If Florence really died, it would definitely leave an indelible regret in Cheyenne¡¯s heart forever! ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cheyenne! I¡¯ve already asked Maddy toe over and operate on Florence. Maddy will be here soon. She¡¯ll be fine!¡± Lucas wrapped his arms around his tense and worried wife, patiently stroking her back tofort her. After a short pause, he continued, ¡°When Florence wakes up, you should reconcile with her and officially acknowledge her!¡± Lucas knew what Cheyenne had in mind and simply said it out loud for her. After Florence was severely injured, Cheyenne likely no longer had any ill feelings toward her. Choking with sobs, Cheyenne nodded in Lucas¡¯s arms, but she couldn¡¯t even say a single word. Right now, her only hope was for Florence to be out of danger and get well again! Florence wasn¡¯t the only one undergoing emergency rescue in the hospital. Michael, Tyson, Connor, Ray, Clement, and others were as well. The operating rooms in the hospital were overcrowded, and all the top surgeons in DC had gathered here. Lucas took a sweeping nce at the operating room that Michael was in, and he felt incredibly sad too. Although he didn¡¯t have too much affection for Michael, and it could even be said that he had hated Michael far more than he had loved him in the past twenty years of his life, his feelings for Michael had be extremelyplicated since he learned that Michael wasn¡¯t his biological father. But there was no longer any hatred at this point. After all, Michael wasn¡¯t his biological father, so Lucas had no reason to hate him. On the contrary, Michael had raised Lucas for several years. Although heter had no choice but to drive him and his mother out of DC, he had only done so to try and protect them. Moreover, when Lucas returned from Calico, Michael handed over the entire Stardust Corporation to him without saying a singleint. From this perspective, Michael was extremely kind toward Lucas. Now that Michael was lying on the operating table in the operating room, and there was no telling whether he could be rescued or not, Lucas was terribly worried. He certainly wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen to Michael at this time. Apart from Michael and Florence, Lucas also didn¡¯t want the lives of the helmsmen of the other families close to him to be in danger. Suddenly, the door of the operating room where Florence was opened, and a nurse wearing a sterile mask came out and asked, ¡°Is the family of Miss Florence Howard here? Who are the family members of Miss Florence Howard?¡± With a shudder, Cheyenne immediately stepped forward and said anxiously, ¡°I am her daughter. How is my mother doing?¡± The nurse said with a grave expression, ¡°The patient¡¯s condition isn¡¯t very optimistic, and we can only do our best. I hope you are prepared! This is Miss Florence Howard¡¯s critical condition notice. Please read it!¡± The nurse handed a red-stamped critical condition notice to Cheyenne. Chapter 1354 - 1354 Rescued 1354 Rescued Cheyenne felt as if a thunderbolt resounded in her head, blowing her up to the point of passing out. A critical condition notice! Before Florence was out of the operating room, a critical condition notice was issued. This could only mean that her condition was so critical that she could pass away inside at any moment! Cheyenne¡¯s body went limp, her legspletely weak, and her entire body slid down toward the floor. If Lucas hadn¡¯t held her waist and supported her, Cheyenne would have copsed to the floor. Two streams of tears instantly flowed down Cheyenne¡¯s face. With one arm around his wife, Lucas looked anxiously at the nurse and asked, ¡°Do you mean that Miss Florence Howard, who is undergoing surgery inside, has sufferedplications that might be fatal?¡± The nurse said regretfully, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s the case. Our attending physicians have tried their best, but Miss Florence Howard was stabbed close to her heart, and her ventricle is damaged too severely. Her situation is very critical. Of course, the doctors are continuing to do their best and may be able to work a miracle. I¡¯m only following the hospital¡¯s protocol by informing the patient¡¯s family of the situation truthfully. Please prepare yourselves for the worst.¡± Afterpleting her task, the nurse nodded and returned to the operating room. Cheyenne heard word for word exactly what the nurse said. An intense wave of fear engulfed her heart, and she panicked even more. ¡°No¡­ How could this happen? Why did this happen? She¡­ My mom¡­ How can she die?! I-I haven¡¯t even had a chance to reconcile with her yet! ¡°If she really dies, I¡­ I will never have a mother again! Lucas, I¡­ What should I do now? What else can I do?¡± Cheyenne hugged Lucas and cried bitterly. Seeing Cheyenne breaking down and weeping profusely, Lucas felt extremely heartbroken. ¡°Cheyenne, it¡¯s going to be okay! The nurse just said that there¡¯s still hope that Florence can be rescued, so don¡¯t give up hope too soon!¡± Lucas whispered in Cheyenne¡¯s ear, firmly reassuring her. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m here! Where is the patient?¡± At this moment, the sounds of urgent and hurried footsteps approached, and Maddy appeared in front of Lucas and Cheyenne. ¡°Maddy!¡± As soon as Cheyenne saw Maddy, her eyes instantly lit up, as if she had found herst hope. She rushed over anxiously, grabbed Maddy¡¯s arm, and cried out repeatedly, ¡°Maddy, you must save my mother. You can¡¯t let her die! I beg you. You have to save her¡­¡± Maddy held Cheyenne¡¯s hand and said quickly but calmly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cheyenne! I¡¯ll do my best to save Miss Howard. I¡¯m going to sterilize and change right now. I¡¯ll handle the surgery myself!¡± Time was running out, and Maddy didn¡¯t have time to say anything more. She walked straight into the operating room to prepare for the operation. While hugging Cheyenne, Lucas looked at the door of the operating room andforted softly, ¡°Since Maddy has already gone in, Florence will be fine. Cheyenne, sit down first. We¡¯ll wait here for the good news from Maddy!¡± Cheyenne stared closely at the light above the door of the operating room. After seeing Maddy go in, the spark of hope in her eyes was rekindled, and Lucas¡¯s gentle andforting voice gradually calmed her nervous and frightened mood. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll wait here. We¡¯ll definitely get good news!¡± Lucas helped Cheyenne sit on the bench in front of the operating room, but there was immense anger brewing in his heart. These people were severely injured, and their lives were still in danger, all because of Jensen¡¯s sins! If it wasn¡¯t for Jensen¡¯s despicable method of suddenly sending the top experts of the Hamiltons to attack these family heads, they would definitely not be lying here now and waiting for a miracle to happen. At the same time, Lucas inevitably med himself. At the end of the day, the reason the Hamiltons had targeted these helmsmen was that Lucas had forced them by making them unable to leave DC, thus spurring Jensen to resort to such underhanded means. After all, the serious injuries and terrible plights of these helmsmen who were friends with Lucas were ultimately caused by him. Right now, the situation in DC was really unfavorable for Lucas. In particr, the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths, who were among the eight top families of DC, were in a terrible situation. Not only were the lives of their helmsmen in critical condition, but they were also facing the predicament of the joint seizure and attack of the other top families. Now, these three families didn¡¯t have a leader and were extremely unstable internally. The other families might have already conquered them. Even if the three families could recoverter, the losses they incurred in the one day today would be heavy enough. ¡°Jensen Hamilton, you really deserve to die!¡± Lucas cursed with hatred. He hated Jensen to the bone now. He had already heard from his people¡¯s investigation that the Hamiltons hiding in DC were Jensen and Brett, his son. The person who had ordered the assassinations and serious wounding of the helmsmen was Jensen! The only thing to be thankful for now was that Jensen had only wanted to stir up trouble in DC so that he could take the opportunity to escape from the city. Thus, Jensen had merely ordered the experts of the Hamiltons to seriously injure the family heads without killing them. Otherwise, Lucas might not have been able to resist snapping Jensen¡¯s neck the moment he saw him! But despite this, Lucas already had so much hatred for Jensen that he wouldn¡¯t let him off when he returned to the Stardust Corporation! Jensen Hamilton must die! Time passed slowly, and Lucas and Cheyenne waited outside the operating room for another hour. When the lights of the operating room suddenly went out, the doors finally opened again. This time, seven doctors came out from inside, walking while taking off the gloves on their hands, face masks, sterile caps, and other things. The person walking in front was Maddy, who looked exhausted. Cheyenne rushed forward and asked anxiously, ¡°Maddy¡­ how is my mother doing? Is her condition stable? Is she okay?¡± Maddy smiled softly at Cheyenne. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cheyenne. Miss Howard is out of danger. As long as she stays in bed and recuperates for a few months, she¡¯ll be as good as before! She¡¯s alright now!¡± The tears Cheyenne had been holding in gushed out again. They were flowing freely like a water tap, but this time, they were tears of joy. ¡°Great! My mother is fine! She¡¯s not going to die! She¡¯s survived!¡± ¡°Thank God. I finally have a chance to reconcile with her and can call her Mom myself without having to regret it for the rest of my life!¡± With tears of joy, Cheyenne held Maddy¡¯s hand, crying and smiling while saying incoherently, ¡°Maddy, thank you so much! If it wasn¡¯t for you, my mother might have not made it! I¡­ How should I thank you? I have to repay you properly!¡± Looking at Cheyenne¡¯s tear-stained smiling face, Maddy and Lucas smiled gently. With Maddy¡¯s help, it didn¡¯t take long for good news to arrive one after another. Michael, Tyson, Connor, Clement, and Ray were all out of danger after sessful emergency rescue. Chapter 1355 - 1355 Waiting for Mr. Gray 1355 Waiting for Mr. Gray After receiving the news that they were safe one after another, Lucas felt greatly relieved. But Michael and the others had just gotten out of danger and still needed to be hospitalized for treatment and recuperation for a long time. Thus, they could only stay in the hospital during this period. Lucas arranged for enough people to stay in the hospital. At this moment, the several families close to Lucas were in turmoil, so in order to avoid any idents, the safety of these family heads had to be ensured. Lucas looked at Cheyenne¡¯s haggard face and said with distress, ¡°Cheyenne, you¡¯ve been here for a long time. You should go home and rest!¡± Cheyenne shook her head. ¡°I¡¯d better stay here and keep an eye on her. I want to be here when she wakes up. Honey, I know you have a lot of things to deal with now, so go ahead!¡± Lucas understood Cheyenne¡¯s character. Since she wanted to stay here and wait for Florence to wake up, she wouldn¡¯t change her mind. He nodded. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go handle my matters. If anything happens, call me. Also, Maddy will be staying in the hospital during this period of time, so if there¡¯s any change in their conditions, remember to inform Maddy promptly.¡± Cheyenne agreed, ¡°Okay, Honey, I know. Take care of yourself and be careful.¡± After making arrangements in the hospital, Lucas left for the Stardust Corporation. ¡­ At this moment, the conference room on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s office building was already full of people. Bruce and Edmund had been waiting here all this while. Later, Lucas had someone invite Damon, Roman, Jonah, and the representatives of the Howards and the Smiths here. Previously, the other families among the eight top families of DC hade aggressively and forcefully seized the manors of the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths without any mercy. The Parkers, the Hales, and the Coles, who had followed Lucas to DC, had also suffered a huge impact, and those families had also raided their manors. Because the Fullers had just pledged allegiance to Lucas, Jensen still wasn¡¯t aware of it. So the Fuller had managed to escape a close shave and were unaffected by this change. Now that the situation inside DC had be unsafe, Lucas simply gathered all the people on the top floor of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s office building to discuss matters. Lucas had yet to arrive, and everyone in the conference room was jittery and anxious. Roman, the Huttons¡¯ sessor, couldn¡¯t sit still anymore and stood up from his chair. He paced back and forth in the conference room several times and suddenly said, ¡°Our homes have been forcefully seized by the other top families in DC. Are we supposed to just sit here and wait instead of taking back our territories?¡± The Smiths¡¯ next sessor, Oscar, who was also Ray¡¯s son, said with frustration, ¡°Yeah, can we solve the problem by staying here? Now those people are wreaking havoc on our turf. Are we really just going to wait here for them to plunder all of our assets? I really can¡¯t wait any longer!¡± The Howards¡¯ representative was Pete. He was not the Howards¡¯ sessor, but he was currently the highest-ranking member of the Howards¡¯ direct lineage. He was also Cheyenne¡¯s cousin. Since Florence was seriously injured and hospitalized, he was now the Howards¡¯ acting representative. Pete had already gotten impatient after waiting for so long. He mmed the table with his hands and stood up, ¡°I can¡¯t wait any longer either! I¡¯m going to gather all of the Howards¡¯ people and get our family manor back!¡± Seeing that the crowd was agitated, Edmund said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Mr. Gray will be here soon. Let¡¯s wait for Mr. Gray to arrive before we discuss the next n of action!¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s wait for Mr. Gray toe. He will definitely have a way to resolve the crisis in front of us!¡± ¡°Yes, we just need to continue waiting here for Mr. Gray toe. Let¡¯s rx and not panic just yet!¡± Bruce and Damon were both full of confidence in Lucas. Since Lucas told them not to go hard against those families and told them to wait for news in this conference room, he must have a solution to their predicament. Pete said anxiously, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe in Mr. Gray¡¯s strength, but this unrest in DC is not a trivial matter. Our manors have been seized and divided by those families. How can we still wait here calmly?¡± Oscar said, ¡°Exactly! If we wait any longer, our homes willpletely disappear! What¡¯s the point of waiting?!¡± Roman also had a worried look as he said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Now that the matter is urgent, we really don¡¯t have any more time to waste here. I think we should form a temporary alliance and go together to retake our families¡¯ territories and drive those families out!¡± All at once, the three representatives of the Howards, the Smiths, and the Huttons were all advocating to form an alliance immediately to take back their manors. On the other hand, the Hales, the Coles, and the Parkers were all for waiting for Lucas to return before deciding. Both sides had divided opinions and fell to a standstill for a while. Just as both sides were about to get into an argument, the door of the conference room was suddenly pushed open, and Lucas entered with Jensen in his hand. ¡°Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re here!¡± When everyone saw Lucas, they all stood up to greet him. The few who had just made a fuss about leaving first became extremely polite, not daring to continue expressing any dissatisfaction in front of Lucas. They all knew that Lucas was not to be trifled with and that he wasn¡¯t someone they could afford to provoke. Lucas nodded casually at the crowd and threw Jensen onto the floor in the middle of the conference room. Lucas had dislocated all the joints of Jensen¡¯s limbs, so he couldn¡¯t exert any force or maintain his bnce and could only fall to the floor in a disheveled state. Jensen struggled to sit up straight and cursed at Lucas furiously, ¡°Lucas Gray! You bastard! How dare you treat me like this? I won¡¯t let you off!¡± He was the third scion of the Hamiltons, a royal family branch. But now, Lucas threw him like a piece of garbage and insulted him in front of so many people. He felt extremely humiliated! The people in the conference room looked at Jensen with astonishment. Apart from Lucas, Bruce, and Edmund, the members of the top families of DC didn¡¯t know Jensen or his identity. Just from the fact that Lucas had thrown this man to the floor mercilessly, coupled with the way this man had cursed at Lucas, all of them knew that this disheveled middle-aged man had to be someone at extreme odds with Lucas. ¡°Who is this bastard? How dare he talk to Mr. Gray like that?!¡± In order to impress Lucas, Oscar raised his hand and pped Jensen hard on the face! Smack! Chapter 1356 - 1356 Courting Death 1356 Courting Death This loud p immediately stunned Jensen! He was the dignified third scion of the Hamiltons, but this was the first time he had been pped like this in his more than 50 years of life! It was a disgrace, a huge disgrace! Jensen red at Oscar and scolded, ¡°You bastard, who do you think you are? How dare you touch me?¡± ¡°Hah, how dare you still be so arrogant! You idiot, how dare you threaten Mr. Gray after he caught you here. Do you think you¡¯re some kind of big shot? So what if I touch you? If Mr. Gray allows it, I can¡¯t wait to help him kill you right now!¡± Seeing Jensen still daring to re at him, Oscar had another fit of anger and rushed forward again. Not only did he give Jensen a few tight ps, but he even kicked him a few times. ¡°How dare you re at me! Who do you think you are?! How dare you be arrogant in front of me! Let me tell you, the people present are the helmsmen and sessors of rich and powerful families in DC. It¡¯s not the ce for a small fry like you to be arrogant here! ¡°A prisoner must behave like a prisoner, understand? If you dare to re at me or speak rudely to Mr. Gray again, I will kill you!¡± Oscar was not a good person to begin with, and he had always been an arrogant and despotic scion. Back when he was in California, he had even had a few conflicts with Lucas. If Tyson hadn¡¯t led the entire Smith family to submit to Lucas, and Oscar hadn¡¯t been intimidated by Lucas and didn¡¯t dare to cause trouble easily, his attitude would probably be even more arrogant than it was now. After fiercely pping Jensen several times in a row until his palm was red and stung, Oscar finally stopped and spat on Jensen in disgust. ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. I, Oscar Smith, will not spare anyone who dares to disrespect Mr. Gray!¡± Oscar then looked at Lucas as if he was asking for credit and said ingratiatingly, ¡°Mr. Gray, this guy actually dares to be so disrespectful to you. As long as you want, I can help you deal with him immediately. I guarantee that no one will find any clues!¡± It wasn¡¯t like Oscar hadn¡¯t killed and silenced people before. Jensen was infuriated. The saliva Oscar spat outnded on his chest and utterly disgusted him. In the past, those who dared to treat him like this would have long been dragged out by the servants of the Hamiltons to feed the dogs. Even if Jensen was alone, he was still an expert of his generation. He would have long crushed anyone who dared to treat him like this to death. However, Lucas had dislocated the joints in Jensen¡¯s limbs, and he couldn¡¯t even stand up or raise his hands. He could only sit on the floor powerlessly and endure this humiliation. He was on the verge of exploding from anger! The only thing worth rejoicing about was that these people still didn¡¯t know his identity. Otherwise, if the news got out that a dignified scion of the Hamiltons, a direct descendant of a royal family branch, was thrown to the floor, pped, and even spat on, he would probably be too ashamed to meet anyone in the future. His two brothers would definitely gloat and seize this matter to make an issue out of it to deal a heavy blow to him! Suddenly, Lucas smiled and said something that a demon would say. ¡°Jensen Hamilton, I didn¡¯t expect your temper to be so good. You¡¯ve been beaten and scolded, but you¡¯re willing to keep silent about it. Are you still the scion of the Hamiltons that I know?¡± Jensen¡¯s heart skipped a beat. With a whoosh, he raised his head, red at Lucas with killing intent, and roared angrily, ¡°Lucas Gray, h-how dare you get someone to humiliate me like this?! This enmity is irreconcble. I will never let you off!¡± He had already pinned all the me on Lucas. He even believed that Lucas had instigated Oscar to humiliate him in front of so many people. Naturally, Lucas wouldn¡¯t exin anything. He sneered, kicked Jensen to the floor, and stepped on his chest. ¡°Jensen Hamilton, don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re just a prisoner now. From the moment you sent experts to attack the helmsmen rted to me, you¡¯ve alreadymitted an unforgivable crime. Do you think I¡¯ll let you off?¡± Jensen was trampled on the floor by Lucas, but he couldn¡¯t break free. He could only rage helplessly. ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯m a scion of the Hamiltons. Let¡¯s see if you have the guts to kill me! If you kill me, the Hamiltons will never let you off. We will definitely tear you into pieces! ¡°Not only you, but your wife, child, and everyone around you will suffer the same fate. The Hamiltons won¡¯t let anyone off! Just wait for everyone rted to you to disappear from this world one by one!¡± Jensen¡¯s furious roars reached the ears of everyone in the conference room, causing a freezing chill to rise from the bottom of their hearts. Oscar, who had just hit Bai Jiantang, was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he almost couldn¡¯t stand straight. He would never have thought that the person he had just pped and spat on was Jensen Hamilton, a scion of the Hamiltons! Jensen was a son of the helmsman of the Hamiltons! What¡­ what did I just do?! If he had known who Jensen was, he would have never dared to p him! Even though Jensen had sent someone to injure his father severely, a scion like Oscar didn¡¯t dare to touch the halo of a royal family. Oscar stared at the hand that he had pped Jensen with and was on the brink of tears. But he had already hit him, so it was impossible for him to pretend that nothing had happened. All he could do was clench his fist and hide his hand behind his back. He looked at Lucas in fear, hoping that Lucas could deal with Jensen perfectly. At this moment, Lucas¡¯s expression was extremely gloomy, especially after hearing Jensen¡¯s tant threat. Deep killing intent surged in his eyes. If the Hamiltons wanted to avenge Jensen and cause trouble for him, he would apany them at any time. But Jensen had already stepped on Lucas¡¯s bottom line by threatening him with his wife, child, family, and friends. Terrifying killing intent erupted from Lucas¡¯s body. The killing intent was invisible and intangible, but the few people close to Lucas suddenly felt a heart-palpitating chill and subconsciously took a few steps back. As for Jensen, who was facing all of Lucas¡¯s killing intent, he felt as though he had fallen into an icehouse, and an extremely strong sense of enveloped his entire body. He had a premonition that Lucas would definitely dare to kill him! ¡°Jensen Hamilton, since you can¡¯t wait to seek death, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish.¡± Lucas¡¯s cold words resounded in Bai Jiantang¡¯s ears. Chapter 1357 - 1357 Preparing to Counterattack 1357 Preparing to Counterattack Jensen suddenly shivered. Only now did he realize his current situation. Not to mention challenging and threatening Lucas, his life was now firmly in Lucas¡¯s hands. As long as Lucas said that he wanted him dead, there was no need for Lucas to do it himself. He couldpletely make him disappear from the world without a sound! Jensen¡¯s entire body was drenched in cold sweat as he shouted in fear, ¡°No, Lucas Gray, you can¡¯t kill me! I was wrong just now. If you let me go, our past grudges will be written off. I will definitely not look for trouble with you again! ¡°And if I really die here, my father will definitely track down what happened to me. At that time, it will be useless even if I don¡¯t want to involve your wife and family! Keeping me alive is much more worthwhile than killing me. Lucas Gray, don¡¯t be rash!¡± Afraid that Lucas would really order his death in a fit of anger, Jensen didn¡¯t dare to threaten him anymore. Instead, he made a bunch ofpromises. Unfortunately, none of the people present were fools, much less Lucas. No one believed Jensen¡¯s nonsense of writing off all their grudges and never troubling Lucas again if Lucas let him go. If Jensen really got out of trouble and returned to the Hamiltons, likely the first thing he would do would be to gather all the experts of the Hamiltons andunch a frenzied revenge against Lucas and everyone around him. He had to kill Lucas to avenge today¡¯s humiliation. ¡°Heh!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t say a word and only sneered. Then the foot stepping on Jensen¡¯s chest stomped down. Snap! ¡°Ahhh!!¡± Jensen immediately let out a shrill scream. Lucas¡¯s stomp broke a few of Jensen¡¯s ribs, and the intense pain made him believe that he would really be trampled to death by Lucas. ¡°Spare¡­ spare me! Lucas¡­ please¡­ forgive me! I really know my mistakes. I will never go against you in the future! I can give you enoughpensation. The Hamiltons have hundreds of billions. I can give you a lot of money and resources. I just hope that you can spare my life and not kill me!¡± In the face of the fear of death, Jensen could no longer maintain his pride as a scion of the Hamiltons. He cried and begged miserably. Seeing this, Edmund stood up and whispered to Lucas, ¡°Lucas, Jensen Hamilton¡¯s identity isn¡¯t ordinary. You should spare his life for the time being!¡± It wasn¡¯t that Edmund wanted to plead on Jensen¡¯s behalf but because Jensen¡¯s status was indeed too high. If Lucas really stomped Jensen to death here, the Hamiltons would definitely be furious andunch a crazy retaliation against Lucas when they found out. Although he knew that with Lucas¡¯s strength, he wasn¡¯t afraid of the Hamiltons¡¯ revenge, he wasn¡¯t a lone wolf after all. He had his family and other people by his side. If the Hamiltons really retaliated against Lucas at all costs, Lucas would definitely be exhausted. If he wasn¡¯t careful, the Hamiltons might even seed, which would cause him regret for the rest of his life. And such things were definitely uneptable to Lucas. Even Edmund didn¡¯t dare to imagine what would be of Lucas if anything happened to his family. As for whether Lucas couldpletely annihte the Hamilton family, Edmund didn¡¯t dare to have such thoughts at all. After all, the Hamilton family was a royal family branch that had existed for hundreds of years. On the other hand, Lucas had already left Calico and was no longer the leader of the Falcon Regiment. In terms of personnel and strength on the surface, Lucas was really no match for the Hamiltons! Bruce, Damon, and the others hurriedly went forward to persuade him. ¡°Mr. Gray, calm down. Don¡¯t be impulsive!¡± In fact, Lucas didn¡¯t intend to trample Jensen to death at this moment. Otherwise, his stomp would have already turned him into a corpse. He was just angry at Jensen for using his family as a threat, so he gave him a warning. ¡°Jenson Hamilton, if you dare to threaten me with my family again, I won¡¯t let you live to finish speaking the next time!¡± Lucas said coldly. At this moment, Jensen didn¡¯t dare to say anything that might provoke Lucas. He hurriedly said, ¡°Yes, I understand!¡± Then hey on the floor, clutching his aching chest, not daring to say another word. Lucas ignored Jensen and said to the surrounding people, ¡°I just came back from the hospital. Your family heads and rtives are out of danger and have been transferred to the intensive care department of the hospital. As long as they recuperate for a period of time, they will all be able to recover. ¡°I¡¯ve also arranged for people to stay at the hospital to ensure their safety. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Hearing this, everyone in the conference room breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had already received some news, the news sent by their subordinates was far less reassuring than what Lucas personally said. Lucas looked at everyone in the conference room and said, ¡°Also, now that DC is in such a mess, it¡¯s time to clean it up.¡± Everyone in the conference room stood up, their faces full of anticipation and excitement. Lucas was going to lead them to counterattack and take back their territories! Roman clenched his fists and said excitedly, ¡°That¡¯s great, Mr. Gray! With you leading us, we will definitely be able to defeat those families quickly and take back our family¡¯s territories and assets!¡± ¡°Mr. Gray, I can¡¯t wait any longer. I¡¯m just waiting for your order! This time, we won¡¯t let any of the Piers, Williams, Steeles, and the other families off!¡± Pete, the Howards¡¯ representative, shouted excitedly. He rushed to Lucas¡¯ side in a few steps, firmly expressing his impatience. ¡°Fight back! Defeat them and take back our things. And we must make those families who attacked us pay the price!¡± Oscar narrowed his eyes in excitement. It was the same for Bruce, Edmund, Damon, and the others. The other families among the eight top families of DC, as well as therge families that followed them, had seized and ransacked their homes. Now, they were brimming with anger and were just waiting for Lucas to lead them to take back their lost properties. Since they were going to take action, they naturally had to have a n. They couldn¡¯t just rush out haphazardly. After being excited, Edmund suppressed his urge to rush out immediately and asked Lucas, ¡°Mr. Gray, what should we do now?¡± Lucas¡¯s gazended on Jensen, who was under his foot, and he said coldly, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die here right now, then immediately use your name to invite all the helmsmen you instigated to the Capital International Hotel!¡± Chapter 1358 - 1358 Harsh Lesson 1358 Harsh Lesson ¡°What did you say?¡± Jensen was startled, and there was even a hint of fear in his voice. He wasn¡¯t a fool. He immediately understood that Lucas wanted to use his name to gather all those helmsmen together and capture them all in one fell swoop! This n was too bold! After hearing Lucas¡¯s n, the people in the conference room looked even more excited and expectant. !! The eight top families of DC had maintained a certain bnce for many years. Although there had been some open and covert battles between them, generally speaking, there hadn¡¯t been any intense conflicts. The great upheaval today was really the first time in so many years in DC. Now that Lucas was asking Jensen to invite all the helmsmen to the Capital International Hotel, it was obvious that he wanted to deal with them all once and for all. If what Lucas wanted to do was really realized, wouldn¡¯t he have an opportunity to unify all the wealthy and powerful families in DC? Once he united the eight top families of DC, the strength he possessed would be extremely terrifying! When the time came, even the royal family branches wouldn¡¯t dare to provoke Lucas easily! Jensen naturally thought of this as well, which was why his expression was extremely sullen. He and Lucas were already enemies, so he naturally hoped that Lucas¡¯s authority and power would be as weak as possible. It would be best if he suffered heavy losses and was crushed to death by the other families among the eight top families of DC. He didn¡¯t want to see Lucas¡¯s strength grow to the point of beingparable to the Hamiltons¡¯. Jensen gritted his teeth firmly, not wanting to do what Lucas wanted at all. Lucas kicked him mercilessly. ¡°Do you have a problem with it? You don¡¯t want to do it?¡± The muscles on Jensen¡¯s face trembled again. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I won¡¯t agree! I know that you want to use my name to lure them to the Capital International Hotel. How can I agree to that? ¡°Those helmsmen are all people who have connections and coborated with me. How could I cooperate with you to deal with them? If I really did such a thing, my reputation would bepletely ruined!¡± Lucas scoffed. ¡°Your reputation? Do you have such a thing? ¡°If you¡¯re unwilling to help, then you have no other value to me. Only death awaits you. After you die, I can still take your head and go to those families one by one to settle scores with them!¡± Lucas wasn¡¯t threatening Jensen but telling the truth. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t dare to kill Jensen, nor was he afraid of the Hamiltons. At worst, before the Hamiltons came to take revenge on him, he would eradicate the entire Hamilton family and leave no future troubles! The surrounding people couldn¡¯t help feeling nervous. Looking at the scene in front of them, they were really afraid that Lucas would kill Jensen in a fit of anger. Although they were all on Lucas¡¯ side, Jensen was a scion of a royal family branch after all. If the Hamiltons really took revenge, they wouldn¡¯t be able to be as confident as Lucas and dare to confront them! Jensen was shocked and furious, but there was nothing he could do. All he could do was shout sternly, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t go too far!¡± Lucas¡¯s face darkened. He grabbed Jensen¡¯s cor and gave him a tight p across the face. Smack! ¡°I didn¡¯t have any grudges with the Hamiltons. Who came to me first and wanted me to submit to the Hamiltons?¡± This was referring to when the Hamiltons went to California and wanted to control all the families in California. Smack! ¡°Who did all kinds of bad things and sparked lustful thoughts? Who wanted to use their power to insult my wife and sister-inw?¡± Another pnded on Jensen¡¯s face. This was referring to how Jensen¡¯s youngest son, Angus, had forcefully dragged Cheyenne and Charlotte into a private room in Orange County and wanted to vite them. Smack! ¡°Who sent suicide warriors to assassinate me?¡± Smack! ¡°Who instigated the Holmes to kidnap my wife and try to force me to death?¡± Smack! ¡°Also, who sent experts to assassinate the helmsmen of the families close to me and incited other families to take the opportunity to snatch their territories and assets, causing al of DC to be in chaos?¡± Smack! ¡°Now you¡¯re telling me that I¡¯m going too far. Who went too far?¡± Every time Lucas said a sentence, a hard p wouldnd on Jensen¡¯s face, making it red and swollen. Even a few of his teeth were loose from the ps, and there was a strong smell of blood in his mouth. Lucas was truly infuriated. All this trouble was caused by the Hamiltons. Now, Jensen even had the cheek to say that Lucas was going too far. Heh, then he wouldn¡¯t stand on ceremony. He would show Jensen what bullying was! Everyone looked at the scene in front of them in shock. In fact, they rarely saw Lucas re up. He was usually indifferent, cold, and sometimes easy to talk to, but it was rare for him to show his emotions and get angry like today. More importantly, the person Lucas kept pping was a scion of a royal family branch! Previously, Oscar didn¡¯t know Jensen¡¯s identity and had pped him a few times. When he found outter, he had regretted it so much that his face was about to turn green, and he wished he could chop off the hand that had pped him. And now, even though Lucas already knew Jensen¡¯s identity, he still dared to p him mercilessly. His courage was truly impressive and awesome! They truly admired Lucas. Indeed, only Mr. Gray dares to do this! Jensen was beaten until his face was utterly red and swollen and covered in palm prints and finger marks. He was in an extremely miserable state. When he opened his mouth, a mouthful of blood flowed out, along with a broken tooth. This was the first time in many decades that Jensen had been beaten into such a miserable state. pping someone was an extremely humiliating act to begin with, but Lucas had pped him so many times in front of so many people. It was the greatest insult to Jensen! Jensen¡¯s eyes were red. If he could still move and stand up, he would throw himself at Lucas and perish together with him! ¡°I¡­ Pfft!¡± Jensen spat out the blood in his mouth as he red at Lucas. ¡°Lucas Gray, I don¡¯t want to talk about who was right and who was wrong in the past. You said that I wanted to deal with you and that my son bullied your wife, but in the end, your wife was fine. Instead, the one who died was my son! ¡°You said that I sent people to assassinate the helmsmen of those wealthy and powerful families in DC, but I only caused them to suffer severe injuries and spared their lives. I didn¡¯t kill them directly! ¡°Furthermore, those helmsmen are just trash. My life is a thousand times more precious than theirs! Even if ten, twenty, or a hundred of them die, it¡¯s not as important as my life!¡± ... Near the end, Jensen started roaring angrily. Lucas stared fixedly at Jensen, and the corners of his mouth moved as he revealed a mocking smile. ¡°Do you really think your life is nobler than others¡¯? What a joke! ¡°In my eyes, your life really can¡¯tpare to those of the helmsmen whom you severely injured and look down on!¡± Chapter 1359 - 1359 The Methods of the Wicked 1359 The Methods of the Wicked What Lucas said stunned the surrounding people. Immediately afterward, their hearts surged with extremelyplicated feelings for Lucas. It turned out that they were even more important than a dignified scion of the Hamiltons to Lucas¡­ ¡°You scoundrel! Do you think your life is nobler than ours? Without the Hamiltons, you¡¯re nothing!¡± Oscar suddenly cursed, rushed forward, and kicked Jensen. No one expected that Oscar would suddenly rush out, scold Jensen, and even attack him. After Oscar found out Jensen¡¯s identity just now, his face clearly revealed fear and regret. Why did he suddenly have the courage to attack Jensen again? Jensen was even more furious. Lucas had hit him because he was impressive and awesome, and Jensen couldn¡¯t do anything to him. But now, what right did this man who looked like a hedonistic yboy have to scold him? ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you hit me?¡± Jensen red at Oscar. Oscar kicked Jensen again and scolded, ¡°So what if I hit you? I can¡¯t wait to kill you! Mr. Gray is right. Why do you think your life is more honorable than others? Without the name of the Hamilton family, you¡¯re just a piece of trash! ¡°What do you have to be arrogant about now? You¡¯re already a prisoner. Your life and death are at the whim of Mr. Gray. What¡¯s there to be proud of?¡± Pete said with a gloomy expression, ¡°Jensen Hamilton, you¡¯re no different from the rest of us. You were just a little lucky when you were born. Because of this, you think you¡¯re superior to everyone else and treat them as trash. It¡¯s really ridiculous! ¡°You¡¯re already a prisoner, yet you still dare to put on airs in front of Mr. Gray and even threaten him. You deserve to die!¡± With that, Pete walked forward and pped Jensen¡¯s face. Damn it! These people are heinous! Jensen was infuriated. He roared and tried to charge at Pete. He was one of the noblest members of the Hamilton family, and he was born to look down on almost everyone in the world. But today, he was pped by a few insignificant people. He was really angered to death! The humiliation that Jensen had suffered today was more than the sum total that he had suffered in his entire life. In his anger, he no longer cared about anything else. He only wanted to tear these people in front of him into pieces! However, in his rage, Jensen had already forgotten that Lucas had dislocated his joints. After the anger in his heart surged, he could no longer maintain his bnce and fell heavily to the floor with a thud. ¡°You still want to hit people? Looks like I¡¯m still too lenient to you!¡± Lucas looked at Jensen coldly. ¡°Jensen Hamilton is a martial arts genius. With his martial arts skills, he is deeply favored by the helmsman of the Hamiltons. Then, when you lose your martial arts skills, will you still be favored like before?¡± Then Lucas kicked out and hit Jensen¡¯s right elbow. A bone-crushing sound echoed in the conference room. ¡°Argh!¡± Jensen screamed as his face turned extremely pale. He shouted in horror, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯ve crippled my arm!¡± Lucas¡¯s kick had shattered the bones in Jensen¡¯s right elbow! The reason why Jensen became the most beloved and valued son of the helmsman of the Hamiltons was due to his extreme talent in martial arts, and his progress in martial arts was unbelievably fast. Not long after he became an adult, he had already be a rare expert in the Hamilton family. Now that Jensen¡¯s dominant arm had been crippled, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use most of the martial arts skills that he had painstakingly trained anymore. In the future, he would no longer receive any preferential treatment or have any value in the Hamilton family. It could be said that Jensen¡¯s crippled right arm had already destroyed his future and made the position of the head of the Hamilton family even further away from him. His future was ruined! At this moment, Jensen could only feel pain in his right arm. Even if his arm could be repaired in the future, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use any strength in it. The hatred and regret in his heart had already risen to the peak. If he could redo things, he would never have gone against Lucas, and he definitely wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this plight! Jensen was in so much pain that he wanted to die. He roared angrily, ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯ve destroyed me! You might as well just kill me! You still want me to invite those helmsmen for you? In your dreams! ¡°You¡¯vepletely ruined me. Even if I die, I won¡¯t help you! The Hamiltons will never let you off!¡± Lucas¡¯s expression was calm as he looked at Jensen and suddenly chuckled. ¡°No, I think you will change your mind very soon.¡± Then Lucas suddenly shouted toward the door, ¡°Bring him in!¡± Soon, two burly men pushed open the conference room door and walked in. In their hands was a disheveled young man. The young man¡¯s mouth was firmly gagged. As soon as he saw Jensen, his eyes widened, and he struggled desperately, shouting incoherently at him. ¡°Ungag him.¡± With Lucas¡¯s order, the rag stuffed in the young man¡¯s mouth was pulled out. ¡°Dad! Quickly save me! They said they¡¯re going to kill me. I don¡¯t want to die! Dad!¡± As soon as the young man¡¯s mouth was free, he immediately shouted at Jensen in horror, his face covered in tears and snot. The young man brought in was Jensen¡¯s eldest son, Brett! When Jensen saw that his beloved son had also been kidnapped by Lucas and was in such a miserable state, he was enraged. He shouted angrily, ¡°What are you doing?! Let go of my son! Do you hear me?!¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°Jensen, I can let your son go, but you should know what you should do now, right?¡± To be honest, being able to capture Brett was indeed an unexpected gain. And since the Hamiltons had already resorted to unscrupulous means and kidnapped Cheyenne to deal with Lucas, he didn¡¯t feel any guilt about using Brett¡¯s life to force Jensen to do something. Whatever methods people used against him, he would let them have a taste of their own medicine. Only then would they know how painful some methods were! Jensen¡¯s eyes were bloodshot with rage. He almost lost all his rationality as he roared at Lucas without a care, ¡°Lucas Gray, you bastard! Come at me if you have anything to say. But you¡¯re using my son to force me. You¡¯re a scumbag! I¡¯ll definitely kill you. I¡¯ll make you die horribly!¡± Lucas remained unmoved. ¡°Since Jensen doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for him, take Brett away and sever his limbs. Let Jensen take a good look at his removed limbs!¡± As soon as he gave the order, the two people holding Brett immediately dragged him toward the exit. Hearing this, Brett was scared out of his wits and cried out miserably, ¡°No, no, no! Don¡¯t cut off my arms and legs. Help! I don¡¯t want to be disabled! I don¡¯t want to die! ¡°Dad! Hurry up and save me. No matter what they ask of you, agree right away! ¡°I¡¯m your only son now. Dad, you have to save me! Dad¡ª!¡± ¡°Stop! Stop right there!¡± Jensen finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He broke down and shouted, ¡°I promise you! I¡¯ll call them now! Don¡¯t touch my son. I¡¯ll promise you anything!¡± Chapter 1360 - 1360 This Is Poison 1360 This Is Poison Hearing that Jensen finally understood what he should do, Lucas waved his hand in satisfaction and got the two burly men and Brett to stay. Lucas sneered. ¡°Jensen, don¡¯t me me. I learned all these methods from you. Remember, your son¡¯s life is now in my hands, as well as in your own hands. If you¡¯re sensible and do what you¡¯ve promised me, I don¡¯t mind keeping you and your son alive for the time being. If you dare to y any tricks and disobey me, today will be the death anniversary of you and your son!¡± Jensen no longer had any intention of resisting. His and his precious son¡¯s lives were firmly in Lucas¡¯s hands. How could he dare to y any tricks in front of him? ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will definitely do a good job for you! I¡¯ll do whatever you tell me to do. I will definitely satisfy you!¡± Jensen said through gritted teeth. It wasn¡¯t easy for him to say such a humiliating thing. Lucas connected Jensen¡¯s left arm joint and threw his phone to him. Then he stood beside Jensen with his hands behind his back and stared coldly at his actions. Jensen moved his sore arm. He didn¡¯t even have the time toment that his arm wouldn¡¯t have the same strength as before, even though his arm joint was reconnected. He immediately dialed a number. ¡°Immediately inform the helmsmen of the Piers, Williams, and Steeles to wait for me at the Capital International Hotel. We¡¯re holding a celebration party tonight!¡± Jensen tried his best to keep his voice steady as he instructed the person on the other end. The subordinate on the other end immediately agreed. After hanging up, Jensen growled at Lucas in a depressed and indignant manner. ¡°Lucas Gray, I¡¯ve already done everything you said. Can you let us go now?¡± ¡°Let you go? Of course.¡± Jensen originally thought that Lucas would go back on his word, but he never expected him to agree so readily. But before Jensen could look happy, arge hand suddenly grabbed his jaw. Then Lucas bent down and stuffed a dark green pill into Jensen¡¯s mouth. An extremely bitter and strange taste immediately spread in his mouth and throat. ¡°Pfft! Cough, cough! Ugh¡­ You¡­ What is this? What did you feed me?¡± Jensen desperately tried to spit out the pill in his mouth that he instinctively knew wasn¡¯t something good. But the pill was abnormally strange. It almost immediately melted in his mouth and flowed into his throat. No matter how much he vomited, he couldn¡¯t spit it out at all. Lucas looked down at Jensen and exined kindly, ¡°I just fed you some poison. In three months, if you don¡¯t take the antidote, your intestines will rot, and you will bleed from all your orifices! ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m telling you a story or bluffing you. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can give it a try. ¡°By the way, this poison can¡¯t be detected before it acts up. Even if you find the best doctors, they definitely won¡¯t be able to find anything wrong. Once the three-month period is up, the poison will act within an hour. The doctors won¡¯t be able to save you. ¡°Therefore, your only chance of survival is to ask me for the antidote before the three-month deadline arrives. It can extend your life for another three months. Of course, it¡¯s up to you to believe it or not. If you die from the poison, it¡¯s none of my business!¡± After Jensen heard what Lucas said, his face turned extremely pale. ¡°You¡­ you want to use poison to control me and make me obey you!¡± Three monthster, before the poison acted up, he had toe to Lucas to get the antidote to prolong his life. Didn¡¯t this mean that he had to obey Lucas and make him happy before he could obtain the antidote? Once he went against Lucas¡¯s wishes and made him unhappy, Lucas wouldn¡¯t give him the antidote, and he would immediately die from the poison! To be honest, this poison and antidote sounded like a plot from a martial arts novel. It was so unreal, but Jensen didn¡¯t dare not to believe it! First, it was because Jensen had been born into the Hamilton family, a royal family branch. Such a powerful family that had been passed down for hundreds of years also hid many secrets. As far as he knew, there were people in the Hamilton family who were good at making poisons and detoxification. Therefore, Lucas¡¯s pill might not be a trick to deceive him. Second, this was a matter that concerned his life. He would rather believe it than not believe it. Jensen simply didn¡¯t dare not to believe it. Lucas didn¡¯t answer Jensen¡¯s question. Instead, he said coldly, ¡°Alright, I think you know what you should do in the future. Now, you can scram. Just remember the three-month deadline!¡± Then Lucas reconnected Jensen¡¯s remaining joints with a few clicks and waved him away. As for Brett, he received the same treatment. After Lucas forcefully stuffed a dark green pill into his mouth, he released him. Jensen¡¯s expression was extremely gloomy as he stared at Lucas, wishing he could kill him. But now, his right arm had been crippled by Lucas. Moreover, he had taken poison, so he didn¡¯t dare to do anything to Lucas. Not only did he not dare to do anything, but he didn¡¯t even dare to say anything harsh to Lucas, afraid that he would really anger him! This feeling was so aggrieving that it almost drove Jensen crazy. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Jensen took a few deep breaths before finally gritting his teeth and limping out with the help of his son, Brett, feeling extremely disgruntled. After the two of them left, the others in the conference room looked at each other but didn¡¯t dare to speak. The scene of Lucas feeding Jensen poison left everyone shocked and at a loss. Did Lucas really have that kind of poison in his hands? Or was he¡­ bluffing to scare Jensen? For a moment, their expressions became very strange. In the end, it was Pete who couldn¡¯t hold back his curiosity. He carefully nced at Lucas a few times before asking hesitantly, ¡°Um¡­ Mr. Gray, is the medicine you fed Jensen Hamilton really a poison that will take effect in three months?¡± Lucas was expressionless as he nced at Pete Howard and said coldly, ¡°What do you think?¡± Pete¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously shuddered. He didn¡¯t dare to ask anymore. The others also lowered their heads, not daring to ask Lucas about the poison. Lucas didn¡¯t say anything. He neither admitted that the poison was real, nor did he deny that it was fake. But regardless of whether the pill was really a poison with that kind of effect, they didn¡¯t dare to speak about this topic anymore, nor did they dare to tell anyone about it. Chapter 1361 - 1361 Dividing the Spoils 1361 Dividing the Spoils As for Jensen and Brett, whom Lucas had poisoned, they were even more afraid to speak out about it. Perhaps after Jensen returned to the Hamiltons¡¯, he would secretly order someone to check his physical condition. He might even find a poison expert in private. But he would definitely not dare to publicize this matter or tell anyone important in the Hamilton family. The reason was naturally very simple. If the poison was fake, Jensen would definitely be mocked by the Hamiltons. They would think that he was too stupid for being fooled by Lucas, that he wouldn¡¯t be able to take on any major responsibilities, and that he wasn¡¯t suitable to be the next helmsman of the Hamiltons. And if the poison was real, it meant that Brett was under Lucas¡¯s control. How could someone whom an outsider controlled continue to hold power in the Hamilton family? !! In addition, Jensen probably wouldn¡¯t even take the initiative to mention to the Hamiltons what had happened to him today, that his right arm had been crippled. He still wanted to live, and he still had his ambitions. Half an hourter, there were more than ten luxury cars parked at the entrance of the Capital International Hotel. They were all world-ss luxury cars that were rarely seen. The entire Capital International Hotel had been booked. All irrelevant people had been cleared out, and all unrted people were forbidden from entering. This was a celebration party organized by Jensen Hamilton. Apart from the few helmsmen who had finally managed to build a rtionship with the Hamiltons and were qualified to participate, the unrted people naturally had to be cleared out so as not to be an eyesore to Jensen. In the most luxurious panoramic banquet hall on the top floor of the Capital International Hotel, there were already a few people sitting here. They greeted each other with smiles on their faces. These people were Derek, the helmsman of the Piers; Rayson, the helmsman of the Williams; and Greg, the helmsman of the Steeles. ¡°Hello, everyone. It looks like we¡¯ve gained a lot today!¡± Derek said with a smile. He seemed to be in a very good mood. Raysonughed happily. ¡°Haha, everyone is the same today. Not only did we ruthlessly suppress those three families, but we also snatched their homes. It¡¯s simply too satisfying!¡± To be honest, Rayson had been very aggrieved recently. He was originally the high and mighty helmsman of the Williams, but ever since he met that fiend Lucas, he had been having bad luck. Every time he saw Lucas, he would have to kneel down and apologize to him in humiliation. Furthermore, he had lost the elites he had painstakingly trained time and time again. Later, he was like a mouse seeing a cat whenever he encountered Lucas and couldn¡¯t wait to escape. And this time, after the Hamiltons looked for Rayson and asked him to join forces to deal with the people on Lucas¡¯s side, Rayson found his courage again and dared to challenge Lucas again. Of course, the results of this confrontation with Lucas were very bountiful. It also swept away the depression that Rayson had umted during this period of time, and he was overjoyed. Greg stroked his white beard and smiled triumphantly. ¡°Speaking of which, our families have achieved a lot today. This is the credit of everyone working together! When Mr. Jensenester, I believe the situation in DC will be rewritten! ¡°From now on, those three families will be removed from the eight top families of DC!¡± The three of them spoke happily. In today¡¯s operation to deal with Lucas and his group, the Piers, Williams, and Steeles had joined forces. After seizing the manors of the Howards, Huttons, and Smiths, who were also among the eight top families of DC, they had already divided up the benefits ording to the profit distribution n that they had agreed on before taking action. Among them, the Williams took over everything from the Howards, the Piers took over everything from the Smiths, and the Steeles took over everything from the Huttons. The three helmsmen were very satisfied with this oue. As for the other families who had pledged allegiance to Lucas, such as the Parkers, the Hales, and the Coles, the three top families didn¡¯t think much of them. They just gave them to the second-rate and third-rate families who followed them and let them plunder them themselves. Although they hadn¡¯t received the news of the destruction of those families beforeing to the celebration party, it would only be a matter of time. Within today, the families rted to Lucas would all be removed from DC! ¡°Hahaha, speaking of which, Lucas Gray is just a twenty-something-year-old boy. He relied on his martial arts skills to run amok in DC and thought that he was very powerful. But in the end, he met Mr. Jensen. Isn¡¯t he still finished?¡± Derek said with a smile, a gloating look shing in his eyes. He had long disliked Lucas. Back then, he had brought a group of experts from the Piers, as well as his father and son, and joined forces with Rayson and the Williams to cause trouble with the Howards, whose former helmsman had just died. He wanted to force Florence, who had just be the head of the Howards, to marry into the Piers and be his second wife. At the same time, he would have also taken over the Howard family. But in the end, Lucas had ruined everything. Now that Derek had led his people to defeat the families on good terms with Lucas, the sense of aplishment in his heart made him feel exceptionally satisfied. Greg felt the same. He gloated, ¡°Indeed, Lucas Gray is nothing. The moment he came to DC, he killed my grandson, Godfrey, and trampled on the Steeles¡¯ dignity. This time, we¡¯ve eradicated all the families he relies on. Let¡¯s see how arrogant he can be now!¡± Rayson smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right! Speaking of which, it¡¯s all thanks to Mr. Jensen that we obtained the chance to eliminate Lucas and his group andpletely overthrow him! Mr. Jensen is our lucky star. In the future, with him taking care of us, our three families will definitely achieve better development!¡± The three chatted andughed for a while, ttering each other and looking forward to the future development of their families. Time passed very quickly. Derek unintentionally looked at the time and said in surprise, ¡°Ah! We¡¯ve been here for almost an hour. Why isn¡¯t Mr. Jensen here yet?¡± The three of them looked at each other with obvious doubt in their eyes. Jensen had ordered today¡¯s celebration party and had told them to rush to the Capital International Hotel immediately. Unexpectedly, they had been waiting here for so long, but Jensen still hadn¡¯t appeared. Rayson coughed and said with a smile, ¡°Well, Mr. Jensen is busy. He might not be able toe here so quickly. Let¡¯s just wait here.¡± Although Rayson said this, for some reason, he felt an unusually familiar ominous premonition that made his heart race. Chapter 1362 - 1362 Bad News 1362 Bad News For some reason, Rayson suddenly had an ominous premonition, but he quickly suppressed this feeling. Surely nothing would happen to Jensen. It had to be because this matter involved Lucas that he was suspicious and uneasy. This must be it! Rayson found a suitable reason for himself and tried his best to convince himself that he believed it without a doubt. !! Rayson couldn¡¯t be med for this. It was mainly because his encounters with Lucas before had all ended very tragically, and they had left a deep psychological trauma in Rayson¡¯s heart. Thus, when he heard Lucas¡¯s name and heard anything rted to him, his heart instinctively raced, and he wanted to find a ce to escape. Especially now, they had joined forces and stoodpletely against Lucas. They had even robbed the families on good terms with him. Lucas must have received the news by now, and they were already his enemies. The feeling of being enemies with Lucas was really too exciting. It made Rayson both excited and afraid. This feeling was really indescribable. Derek had also suffered greatly at Lucas¡¯s hands, so he also had the same feelings toward Lucas. He hated and feared him. Only Greg, the helmsman of the Steeles, hadn¡¯t seen how powerful Lucas was, so he didn¡¯t think much of Lucas and thought that he just relied on the forces behind him. Now, three of the eight top families in DC had joined forces. Furthermore, they had the support of Jensen and the Hamiltons. Greg wasn¡¯t afraid of Lucas at all. He only wished that Lucas, who had dared to kill his grandson, would immediately fall into his hands so that he could make him die a horrible death! The three of them got someone to serve hot tea again while they sat in their seats and waited patiently for Jensen to arrive. But at this moment, a middle-aged man rushed in in a panic. When he saw Rayson, he shouted at him, ¡°Mr. Williams, bad news! Just now, Pete Howard suddenly led a group of people to attack the people we left in the Howards¡¯ manor and took it back!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Rayson immediately stood up from his seat, extremely shocked. ¡°Say that again. What happened at the Howards¡¯?¡± The Williams¡¯ butler¡¯s face was sweat profusely as he mustered his courage and repeated, ¡°Mr. Williams, the Howards¡­ They have already taken back their manor¡­¡± After Rayson confirmed that the news he heard was indeed correct, his face was full of disbelief. ¡°How is that possible?! We¡¯ve¡­ we¡¯ve clearly already taken down the Howards! How could the Howards still have people to counterattack and snatch back the manor?¡± Florence, the head of the Howards, was still lying in the hospital for emergency treatment, and it was unknown if she could survive. The Howards should be leaderless, and no one should have stepped up to take charge. How could they possibly organize enough people to fight with the Williams at this time? After hearing the bad news from the Williams¡¯ butler, Derek and Greg were shocked, but they also felt a touch of joy in their hearts. Although they had formed an alliance with the Williams, they were still three different families after all. Their rtionship with each other was not very good, so naturally, they didn¡¯t want other families to have great opportunities. Now that the Williams had lost the Howards¡¯ manor that they had snatched, it meant that the Williams were useless and deserved to miss such a great opportunity. Derek had a gloating expression on his face. Afraid that Rayson would see it, he quickly lowered his head, trying to hide it. At this moment, another figure rushed in and reported loudly, ¡°Mr. Piers, bad news! Oscar Smith led arge group of people to attack the people we left at the Smiths¡¯ manor. They¡¯re about to take over the manor!¡± ¡°What did you say?!¡± Derek¡¯s undisguised gloating expression instantly froze on his face. He was extremely shocked! How¡­ how was this possible? Oscar Smith¡­ was just an ignorant and ipetent yboy! Before the Smiths¡¯ manor was captured, Oscar had already fled in a hurry like a stray dog. How could he have the guts toe and take back the Smiths¡¯ manor? Derek was starting to doubt his life. Was the Oscar Smith whom he had known for so many years a fake? ¡°Mr. Steele! Bad news! Roman Everett of the Hutton family led arge group of people to counterattack and take back the Huttons¡¯ manor. Our people have already been captured. Furthermore, he got someone to pass a message to you. He said that he would definitely settle today¡¯s score!¡± The person who ran over to report this time was the Steeles¡¯ butler. Greg¡¯s expression instantly darkened. Butlers from all three families came to report bad news. Moreover, the bad news was almost the same. The territories they had seized had been snatched back. When they first heard the Williams¡¯ butler report the bad news, Derek and Greg were still inwardlyughing at the Williams¡¯ ipetence. The things they had obtained could even be snatched back. But now, the three families all encountered the same situation. This was definitely not a coincidence! Moreover, such a fast operation wasunched against the three families at the same time. When they received the news, the territories they had obtained had already been snatched back. This was enough to prove that the actions of the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths were definitely nned by someone behind the scenes. Furthermore, they had a tight deployment! Rayson, Derek, and Greg looked at each other and saw the seriousness of the matter from each other¡¯s eyes. Derek growled with a gloomy expression, ¡°We have to take action now! It wasn¡¯t easy for us to achieve such results today, causing heavy losses to the Howards, Huttons, and Smiths. If we don¡¯t take this opportunity to destroy these three familiespletely, it will be even more difficult when we want to attack them and snatch their resources in the future! ¡°We must hold an emergency meeting now and gather all the important members of our families to discuss our next move!¡± Rayson immediately frowned and denied it. ¡°No! Derek, don¡¯t forget that we¡¯re waiting for Mr. Jensen toe. If we leave now and ruin his mood, he will definitely be unhappy!¡± Greg¡¯s brows were tightly knitted together, and the wrinkles between his brows could kill a fly. He thought for a moment and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, Rayson. Mr. Jensen proposed today¡¯s celebration party. He¡¯s giving us honor. If we leave now, he will definitely be angry when hees and doesn¡¯t see us! ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for us to be acquainted with a noble figure like Mr. Jensen. Are you willing to give up such an opportunity? ¡°Between Mr. Jensen¡¯s friendship and appreciation or taking back the territories of those families, which is more important?¡± Hearing this, Derek had a look of struggle on his face. Chapter 1363 - 1363 Situation Reversal 1363 Situation Reversal That¡¯s right. There were priorities. The most important thing now was not to snatch back the territories of those families struggling at death¡¯s door but to think of a way to hold on to the olive branch that Jensen had offered and strive for greater benefits for their families! If they could obtain the support of the Hamiltons, it would be much better than obtaining the territories of the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths! After thinking this through, Derek changed his mind and decided to stay here and wait for Jensen to arrive. ¡°You two are right. I was really muddle-headed just now! Actually, now that I think about it, with Mr. Jensen¡¯s help, so what if those families take back their manors and territories? When our celebration party with Mr. Jensen is over, won¡¯t it be easy for us to clean up those few families who are already struggling at death¡¯s door?¡± !! Raysonughed and said, ¡°Haha, that¡¯s right! With Mr. Jensen around, what else do we have to worry about?¡± Although he said this and had a rxed expression on his face, he wasn¡¯t as rxed as he appeared. The three manors had been snatched back at the same time. It might be Lucas Gray¡¯s doing! At the thought of Lucas and his half-smiling face, Rayson subconsciously trembled. He was extremely nervous, and the uneasiness and ominous premonition in his heart was even stronger. The three of them sat silently in the spacious and luxurious private room with a panoramic view. The tea on the table had already turned cold. Another half an hour passed, but Jensen still didn¡¯t appear, nor had he gotten anyone to send word to them. Rayson looked down at the watch on his wrist from time to time. Finally, he couldn¡¯t sit still anymore and said anxiously, ¡°Erm¡­ It¡¯s been a long time. We¡¯ve been waiting here for almost two hours. Is Mr. Jensen still not done with his work? Or¡­ did he encounter an ident?¡± Derek and Greg were no longer as rxed as before. They also felt that something was amiss. Logically speaking, since Jensen had asked them to wait for him at the Capital International Hotel, even if he waste because of something, he shouldn¡¯t be two hourste. Moreover, even though Jensen hadn¡¯t arrived after so long, he didn¡¯t send a subordinate to send a message either. It was indeed too strange. Derek frowned, stood up, and paced around the private room. Finally, he turned to Greg and said, ¡°Greg, you¡¯re our elder, and we¡¯re all willing to listen to your opinion. Do you think we should call Mr. Jensen to inquire about the situation and see where he is now? I think it¡¯s most appropriate for you to make this call!¡± Greg¡¯s face stiffened, and he immediately scolded Derek for being treacherous in his mind. The three of them were clearly very anxious, and they had the contact information left by Jensen. But the problem was, was this dignified scion of the Hamiltons someone they could contact casually? What if he disturbed Jensen and made him unhappy? Wouldn¡¯t it be his responsibility? Derek clearly wanted to call Jensen to ask about the situation, but he didn¡¯t dare to call him himself. Instead, he encouraged Greg to call Jensen. Did Derek really think that he was a fool? Greg said unhappily, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. What kind of person is Mr. Jensen? How can I call him to rush him? If you dare, then you can call him yourself!¡± Hearing this, Derek was speechless. After all, Greg had lived for more than 70 years, so he was very capable in dealing with people. Seeing Derek¡¯s unhappy expression, he softened his tone and added, ¡°I think we shouldn¡¯t worry over nothing. What kind of person is Mr. Jensen? He naturally won¡¯t encounter any danger. Since he asked us to wait here for him, we¡¯ll just wait patiently. There won¡¯t be any problems!¡± Rayson opened his mouth. ¡°That might not be¡­¡± But before he could finish, Greg interrupted him. ¡°Rayson, are you suspecting that something happened to Mr. Jensen? You have to know that you¡¯re questioning the strength of Mr. Jensen and the Hamiltons!¡± Rayson shut his mouth awkwardly and mumbled, ¡°How would I dare to question the strength of Mr. Jensen and the Hamiltons? I¡­ I¡¯m just a little worried. Forget it. Just pretend that I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Thus, no one dared to bring up calling Jensen again. However, at this moment, the atmosphere in the private room waspletely different from earlier. The three of them each had their own thoughts and were no longer in the mood to chat. They sat there in silence, staring at the time on their watches. But even this situation didn¡¯tst long. Bang! The Williams¡¯ butler pushed open the door of the private room again and rushed in. This time, his face was deathly pale, as if he had been greatly frightened. He stumbled to Rayson¡¯s side and reported in horror, ¡°M-Mr. Williams! Bad news! Pete Howard brought arge group of people and attacked us! They have a lot of people and many experts. The¡­ the Williams¡­¡± Due to extreme nervousness and fear, the butler couldn¡¯t finish. Rayson¡¯s eyes were red with anxiety. He grabbed the butler¡¯s cor and asked angrily and anxiously, ¡°How are the Williams?! Hurry up and tell me!¡± ¡°The Williams¡¯ manor¡­ has already been conquered by the Howards!¡± Boom! It was like a thunderp had suddenly exploded in Rayson¡¯s ears, causing him to be in a daze and his eyes to be nk. Rayson never expected that after the Howards took back their manor, they still dared to attack and take down the Williams¡¯ manor in such a short period of time! This kind of thing¡­ How was this possible?! Rayson shook the butler by the cor and roared fiercely, ¡°Bastard, do you know what you¡¯re saying? If you dare to lie to me, I¡¯ll skin you alive! Do you hear me?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe what the butler said at all and refused to believe the fact that the Williams¡¯ manor had been snatched by the Howards! For top-notch wealthy and powerful families like theirs, their family territories existed in the form of manors. The manor was where the direct descendants of their entire family lived. At the same time, it represented the survival of the family. In general, a family whose manor had been seized was about to face destruction! The Williams were already standing at the summit of the rich and powerful in the US. More than 20 years ago, they had already be one of the eight top families in DC. Just two hours ago, Rayson had been sitting here and talking to the other helmsmen about the future development of their families. He had thought that under his leadership, the Williams would soon embark on a path to greater heights. But now, the butler suddenly told him that the Williams¡¯ manor had been snatched away by the people they had defeated earlier, and the Williams were about to face the crisis of destruction. How could Rayson ept such a huge difference?! Chapter 1364 - 1364 Endless Bad News 1364 Endless Bad News Just as Rayson was feeling terrified, the Piers¡¯ butler ran in again and shouted in horror, ¡°Mr. Piers! The Piers¡¯ manor has been breached by the Smiths, and countless experts have died. We can¡¯t hold on anymore!¡± Derek abruptly stood up with a pale face. ¡°What did you say? The Piers have been breached too? How is that possible? The Smiths have already¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, another person rushed into the private room and shouted to Greg in horror, ¡°Mr. Steele, the Steeles¡¯ manor has just been breached by Roman Everett of the Huttons!¡± It was three nearly identical pieces of bad news again! Previously, the three families had lost the territories that they had just seized at the same time, and it was already quite worrying for them. Now, the three families had been attacked at the same time, and even their manors had been snatched away! The series of bad news almost made Rayson, Greg, and Derek break down! Derek clenched his fists and roared with red eyes, ¡°What should we do now? Even our families¡¯ manors have been snatched away. We¡¯ve suffered heavy losses! And we don¡¯t know how many people in the family have died. Are we going to continue staying here?¡± Being yelled at like this, Rayson and Greg had sullen expressions. Rayson was also infuriated by the bad news. He retorted bluntly, ¡°Derek, why are you throwing a tantrum at us? Your family has suffered heavy losses. Isn¡¯t it the same for our families? ¡°Do you think the two of us aren¡¯t anxious? My heart feels like it¡¯s being fried in a frying pan. I can¡¯t wait to run back and see how much damage my family has suffered and how I¡¯m going to get back my family¡¯s territory. But can we leave now? ¡°Mr. Jensen specially invited us to this celebration party. If we leave now, when hees and doesn¡¯t see us here, will he think that we¡¯ve deliberately neglected him and stood him up? Can we bear the consequences?¡± Greg chimed in, ¡°Rayson is right. Mr. Jensen is a big shot who we absolutely cannot offend. If he really thinks that weply on the surface but disobey in secret, then there¡¯s no need for those families in DC to do anything. Just the Hamiltons alone are enough to make our three familiespletely disappear from DC!¡± Derek gritted his teeth, his expression extremely gloomy. But he had to admit that what Rayson and Greg said was right. After all, Jensen was a valued scion of the Hamiltons, and he had always been high up in the air. Beforehand, even the eight top families of DC didn¡¯t have a chance to get close to him. And now, Jensen had taken the initiative to extend an olive branch to them, intending to get close to the three families. If they left and Jensen came, he would definitely be angry when he saw the empty private room! And the price of angering Jensen was something that they couldn¡¯t afford no matter what. But now, their families were facing a great crisis, and they couldn¡¯t leave. What should they do now? If Jensen was busy and couldn¡¯te, would they still have to wait here for a day and a night until their families werepletely conquered? The same worry surfaced in their hearts. After some thought, Greg said, ¡°Of course, we can¡¯t wait here forever! Let¡¯s wait for another half an hour. If Mr. Jensen isn¡¯t here by then, we can only apologize to him and leave early! ¡°At worst, we¡¯ll apologize to Mr. Jensen together. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll understand that we had to leave because of an emergency. He won¡¯t hold it against us!¡± Derek and Rayson thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s the only way. In that case, let¡¯s wait for another half an hour! I hope Mr. Jensen can arrive soon!¡± They had been waiting in this private room for two hours. In addition to half an hour, it would be two and a half hours. Even if Jensen was dissatisfied with themter, he shouldn¡¯t be too harsh on them because they had waited for so long! This time, the wait was especially difficult to endure. The three helmsmen looked at their watches almost every two minutes and stared at the door of the private room. They even instructed their subordinates to guard the entrance of the Capital International Hotel. As soon as Jensen arrived, they had toe up to inform them immediately. However, when the long half an hour was almost up, the three of them still didn¡¯t see Jensen appear. Instead, they received even more devastating bad news! ¡°Mr. Piers, terrible things have happened to the Piers Corporation. There¡¯s a huge problem with thepany¡¯s finances. The secret ledger has been found, and the matter of tax evasion is under investigation. The people from the tax bureau have already sealed up the Piers Corporation!¡± This time, it was the Piers¡¯ butler who ran over first. His face was pale as he said, ¡°Also¡­ also, several of the Piers¡¯ restaurant chains have been hit by negative publicity. Videos of the dirty and messy kitchens have been posted online. The current situation is extremely bad! ¡°Also, the matter of the people dying during the projects the Piers Corporation worked onst year has been dug up again. The families of the deceased and reporters are causing a scene at the Piers Corporation¡¯s headquarters. Now, public opinion about thepany on the inte is terrible, and thepany¡¯s stock price has plummeted! ¡°And¡­¡± The Piers¡¯ butler gave a series of bad news. Every piece of news was enough to make Derek furious and distressed. All the bad news piled up in a short period of time, and its intensity wasparable to an atomic bomb. Derek¡¯s face turned pale, and he couldn¡¯t even stand steadily. He knew that if these matters were not handled in time, the enormous Piers Corporation might copse! At the side, Rayson and Greg couldn¡¯t help but gasp when they heard the bad news reported by the Piers¡¯ butler. With so many major idents breaking out at the same time, it was clear that someone wanted to torture the Piers to death! Rayson¡¯s face was pale. When he heard the bad news about the Piers, a cold face subconsciously appeared in his mind. It¡¯s Lucas Gray! It must be Lucas Gray! Only Lucas Gray can obtain so many fatal weaknesses in such a short time andunch such a strong offensive against the Piers! No, the people Lucas Gray wants to deal with aren¡¯t just the Piers! The three families have joined forces, and all the bad news is almost identical. Since so many things are happening to the Piers, the same will definitely happen to the Willians and Steeles! This bad premonition suddenly appeared in Rayson¡¯s mind, and cold sweat broke out all over his body. His entire being felt ill! Greg was the same. He exchanged nces with Rayson, and an extremely bad premonition surged in his heart! Sure enough, the next second, they saw the butlers of the Williams and the Steeles rush in at the same time, their faces grief-stricken! Chapter 1365 - 1365 Abandoned 1365 Abandoned ¡°Mr. Williams, something terrible has happened! Something has happened to the Williams! The corporation has been found to be involved in major tax evasion and selling counterfeit and inferior products. The situation is out of control! ¡°And¡ª¡± ¡°Not good, Mr. Steele! Something has happened to the Steeles!¡± ¡­ !! The bad news brought by the butlers of the Williams and the Steeles was exactly the same as the Piers¡¯ news. It exposed all the dirty things they had done in thepanies and in private! So much negative news had alreadypletely ignited public opinion. They couldn¡¯t suppress it or cover it up at all. The situation was critical! If this situation continued, the three families wouldpletely copse today and be history! ¡°Quick, call Mr. Jensen and beg him to save us! Right now, the only person who can turn the tide and save us is him!¡± Rayson shouted in panic. Derek and Greg seemed to have woken up from a dream as they nodded repeatedly. ¡°That¡¯s right! At this critical moment, only Mr. Jensen can save us! Let¡¯s call him immediately!¡± They were already at the critical juncture of their families¡¯ survival, so these helmsmen could no longer care about disturbing Jensen. Greg immediately took out his phone and called the number that Jensen had given. It didn¡¯t take long for the call to connect. Greg¡¯s face was full of excitement and anticipation. But before he could exin the current situation of their families and ask Jensen for help, he heard a few words from the other end. Then the expression on his facepletely stiffened. Immediately afterward, Rayson and Derek watched helplessly as Greg¡¯s face turned deathly pale at a visible speed, and beads of cold sweat crazily broke out on his face. After Greg hung up in a daze, Rayson and Derek immediately asked impatiently, ¡°Greg, what did Mr. Jensen say? When will he arrive?¡± ¡°Does Mr. Jensen already know what happened? Did he say how he¡¯s going to help us get through this crisis?¡± ¡°Does Mr. Jensen have a way to deal with Lucas Gray?¡± ¡°Greg, hurry up and speak! I¡¯m so anxious!¡± The two of them stomped their feet and urged, wishing they could pry open Greg¡¯s mouth and get him to answer the questions they were concerned about immediately. Greg¡¯s face was ashen. He licked his lips a few times and finally said with difficulty, ¡°Mr. Jensen¡­ He said he¡¯s at the airport now and about to board a ne back to the Hamiltons¡¯. He won¡¯t care about the matters in DC anymore!¡± As soon as these words came out, Rayson and Derek were stunned! By the time they realized what Greg meant, Rayson couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He grabbed Greg¡¯s clothes and roared, ¡°How is that possible? Why would Mr. Jensen suddenly want to go back to the Hamiltons¡¯ at this time? He clearly¡­ he clearly asked us toe to the celebration party and even asked us to wait for him toe! ¡°Greg, did you hear wrongly? Or did you call the wrong number? The person you spoke with wasn¡¯t Mr. Jensen at all, right? ¡°Yes, that must be it. You must have called the wrong number!¡± While mumbling, Rayson took out his phone and dialed the number that Jensen had given him. But the call didn¡¯t connect. There was only a voice notification. ¡°Sorry, the number you¡¯ve dialed cannot be reached at the moment. Please try againter!¡± The number Jensen gave could no longer be reached! Derek quickly took out his phone and called. It was the same voice notification, saying that the number he dialed could not be reached. Both of them looked at Greg. Greg also called again in front of them. It was the same notification that the call couldn¡¯t be connected. ¡°It looks like Mr. Jensen has already boarded the ne and turned off his phone,¡± Greg said bitterly. The three of them seemed to have been struck by lightning as they stood rooted to the floor in a daze, their minds nk. Jensen¡­ actually abandoned them and left DC! ¡°No¡­ Impossible. This is absolutely impossible!¡± Rayson shook his head desperately, wanting to refuse to believe this fact. ¡°Mr. Jensen clearly invited us here, and we have already waited here for two and a half hours. But he left DC without even saying anything and went back to the Hamiltons¡¯? Then¡­ weren¡¯t we waiting for nothing?¡± His eyes red, Derek gritted his teeth and roared, ¡°Not only that, he said that he doesn¡¯t care about the matters in DC and doesn¡¯t care about our affairs! How can this be?! It was obviously Mr. Jensen who urged us to make a move on the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths. He promised that he would support our three families in the future and let our families take another step forward to be the three strongest families below the royal family branches! ¡°Could it be that¡­ he was lying to us? We¡¯re in such a crisis now. How can he ignore us? If the Hamiltons refuse to help us, then¡­ then what should we do now?¡± Their eyes were full of disappointment and despair. But now that the truth was right in front of them, they had no choice but to believe it. Jensen had only used them as pawns. And now, their families had encountered an unprecedented crisis, yet Jensen had abandoned them without saying a word and left on his own! If Jensen had nothing to do with them, then so be it if he left. It was just that the three families would have lost a chance to cozy up to the Hamiltons. But now, they had followed Jensen¡¯s instructions to attack the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths, who were also among the eight top families in DC, in order to destroy Lucas¡¯s forces. Now, the Howards, the Huttons, and the Smiths wereunching a frenzied revenge on them, and their families could no longer hold on. Soon, they would face a cmity. With Jensen¡¯s escape, they had immediately fallen into a dead end! What else could they do now? With the strength of their three families alone, could they take back everything they had lost to Lucas and those families? Everyone felt despair and hopelessness. This was because it was almost impossible! The huge panoramic luxury private room fell dead silent. After a while, Rayson said unwillingly, ¡°Derek, Greg, what should we do now? Are we just going to stay here and wait for death? ¡°I know that all those things were arranged by Lucas Gray! This is his revenge on us! And with my understanding of him, he will definitely force us into a dead end! ¡°If we can¡¯t think of a solution immediately, we will really die!¡± When Rayson thought of Lucas¡¯s previous methods, his legs started trembling. He couldn¡¯t control this fear that came from the bottom of his heart! Derek and Greg also recovered from their panic. Derek gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Rayson is right. We have to think of a solution now! Now, we can only join forces to resist Lucas Gray!¡± Chapter 1366 - 1366 Escape from DC 1366 Escape from DC ¡°Join forces to resist him?¡± When Greg heard what Derek said, his eyes immediately lit up. ¡°That¡¯s right! We can still join forces now! However, it¡¯s unrealistic to think that we can resist Lucas Gray with just the strength of our three families. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not underestimating us, but let¡¯s talk about the facts. Thebined strength of our three families is not a match for Lucas Gray and his group. ¡°On the other hand, if our three families join forces to leave DC, it¡¯spletely possible!¡± Hearing this, Derek and Rayson were shocked. Rayson was the first to stand up and object. ¡°Greg, what did you say? You want us to leave DC together? How can we do that?! We¡¯re among the eight top families in DC. We¡¯ve been rooted in DC for decades. How can we leave just like that?¡± !! ¡°That¡¯s right! Our foundation is in DC. If we leave, how are we going to answer to our families? How are we going to face the people in DC? This¡­ this is simply running away. I don¡¯t agree!¡± Derek also frowned and expressed his objection. Greg sighed. ¡°Aren¡¯t the Steeles also an old family who has taken root in DC for decades? I¡¯m not saying that our three families should move out of DC and escape. Leaving together is just a temporary measure. ¡°We¡¯re only temporarily avoiding Lucas Gray¡¯s group. We don¡¯t want to sh head-on with them. As long as we preserve our families¡¯ strength and assets, with our foundation, even if we leave DC, can we not survive? ¡°I believe that it won¡¯t be long before we can develop our families to be even stronger. Then, we cane back to DC and take back everything that belongs to us!¡± Greg spoke firmly while waving his fist. Then he looked at Derek and Rayson and continued, ¡°Also, don¡¯t forget Mr. Jensen. Although he left without saying anything today, which is indeed very surprising, perhaps the Hamiltons suddenly encountered an urgent matter, so he had no choice but to leave immediately. ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t think that Mr. Jensen has abandoned us. As long as we take root outside DC and Mr. Jensen settles the Hamiltons¡¯ matters andes back, we can still ask him for help! ¡°By then, our families will be even stronger. With Mr. Jensen helping us, what¡¯s there to fear about Lucas Gray?¡± Greg spoke passionately, and the eyes of Rayson and Derek, who had been lost and desperate, lit up. ¡°Greg, you¡¯re right! Mr. Jensen definitely didn¡¯t abandon us. He had no choice but to leave suddenly because of an urgent matter! We can avoid Lucas Gray temporarily and conserve our strength outside. Then after we grow stronger, we cane back to DC. When the timees, no one on Lucas Gray¡¯s side will be able to escape! ¡°At that time, there will no longer be the eight top families of DC. Only our three families will be left!¡± Thinking of the scene of their three families dominating all of DC in the future, Rayson and Derek felt extremely excited and couldn¡¯t wait to see that daye. With this in mind, they naturally epted the temporary departure from DC. ¡°There¡¯s no time to lose. Let¡¯s immediately gather everyone in our families and leave DC as quickly as possible!¡± Rayson said anxiously. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that if it¡¯s toote, Lucas Gray will surround us, and we won¡¯t be able to leave even if we want to.¡± Greg nodded. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back now. Gather our people and prepare to leave DC immediately! When the timees, our families will leave together, and all our experts will work together to protect the safety of our families!¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this!¡± Derek quickly nodded. After finishing their discussion, the three helmsmen didn¡¯t waste any more time. They immediately came down from the top floor of the Capital International Hotel and left to make arrangements. However, just as they walked out of the hotel, they found that there was already arge crowd outside the entrance. There were thousands of people blocking the hotel tightly, and even a fly couldn¡¯t get out! Rayson¡¯s, Derek¡¯s, and Greg¡¯s expressions immediately changed drastically, turning into immense fear and shock! Unexpectedly, Lucas¡¯s people had arrived so quickly and surrounded the three of them! The few people standing at the front of the crowd were familiar faces. They were Pete Howard, Roman Everett, and Oscar Smith. And the tall figure standing in the middle of these people was none other than Lucas! Upon seeing Lucas, Rayson, Derek, and Greg immediately felt their scalps tingle as deep fear surged in their hearts. It seemed that this fiend had absolutely no intention of letting them off! In particr, the moment Rayson saw Lucas, his calves twitched, and he almost knelt on the ground out of reflex. Even though Rayson managed to grab onto the railing beside him to maintain his bnce without embarrassing himself on the spot, his body was already trembling violently, and his teeth were chattering. He was too traumatized by Lucas, so much so that he couldn¡¯t help feeling fear whenever he saw him. He couldn¡¯t face him at all. In particr, he had done something wrong to Lucas, stood against him, and became his enemy. This made him feel even more guilty and afraid. Derek and Greg weren¡¯t reacting any better than Rayson. They had already been surrounded by thisrge group of people, and it was unknown if they could walk out of here alive. If Lucas didn¡¯t let them off, then the entrance of the Capital International Hotel might be their burial ground today! Lucas narrowed his eyes and coldly sized up the panic-stricken people in front of him. Beneath his calm expression was billowing rage. It was because Rayson, Derek, and Greg had listened to Jensen¡¯s instigation and attacked the families on good terms with Lucas that DC was in chaos today. If not for Lucas¡¯s decisive order at the beginning of the turbulence to make the families on his side give up resistance and leave immediately, handing over their families¡¯ territories, the number of casualties in these families would probably have reached an extremely terrifying number within a day. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that corpses would have been everywhere and blood would have flowed like rivers! But even so, the families on Lucas¡¯s side had suffered extremely heavy losses today, and many people had lost their lives in the process of regaining their families¡¯ territories. Moreover, Florence, Michael, Tyson, Connor, and Ray were still lying in the hospital, and it was unknown when they would wake up and be discharged. And all of this was caused by Jensen, Rayson, Derek, and Greg! Now, it was time to settle scores with these people! Chapter 1367 - 1367 Flying Shadow 1367 Flying Shadow Lucas stared coldly at the three helmsmen in front of him without saying a word. Beside him, Oscar, Pete, and the others couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. Oscar raised his hand, pointed at Rayson, Derek, and Greg, and scolded, ¡°You bastards! How did the Smiths offend you? You actually colluded with Jensen Hamilton to kill the Smiths. If I hadn¡¯t run away quickly, I¡¯m afraid even I would have died in your hands! ¡°You bastards, now that you¡¯re surrounded by us, none of you will be able to escape! Today is the day you die! !! ¡°After you die, your families will be chaotic and will be soon destroyed!¡± Pete stared coldly at the people in front of him, his eyes filled with killing intent. ¡°You people robbed the Howards¡¯ territory. Now, it¡¯s time for you to pay your debts!¡± Roman¡¯s lips curled into a cold smile as he swept his gaze across the three helmsmen in front of him. He said almost emotionlessly, ¡°All of you will soon pay the price for what you¡¯ve done!¡± Oscar, Pete, and Roman were the temporary leaders of the Smiths, the Howards, and the Huttons respectively. What they said represented the attitude of the three families. Other than the three of them, the members of the Parkers, the Coles, the Hales, the Fullers, and other families who had just arrived in DC also stared at Rayson and the others with cold expressions. If looks could kill, then Rayson, Derek, and Greg would probably have been cut into pieces by everyone¡¯s gazes! The members of the Smiths, the Howards, and the Huttons, who followed behind Oscar and Pete, raised their arms and roared angrily: ¡°Kill them! Make them atone for their sins with their lives!!¡± ¡°These people all deserve to die!¡± ¡°Exterminate the Williams! Exterminate the Piers! Exterminate the Steeles! Avenge our dead family members!¡± ¡­ Their voices were thunderous and powerful, causing Rayson, Derek, and Greg to turn even paler and subconsciously take two steps back. At this moment, Lucas suddenly raised his hand and pressed it down. Instantly, as if he had flipped a switch, the furious roars stopped. This made Rayson¡¯s and the others¡¯ pupils constrict! Lucas actually had such powerful control over these families! They followed his instructions immediately! This was absolute control! Why were these families so obedient to Lucas? Clearly, Lucas should be the one relying on them! Amid the silence, Lucas¡¯s voice sounded clearly, ringing in everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°From today onward, the Williams, the Piers, and the Steeles will no longer exist in DC!¡± He was directly removing these three families from DC! Derek immediately roared angrily, ¡°Why! Lucas Gray, who do you think you are? How dare you remove the Piers from DC?¡± In Derek¡¯s mind, Lucas had only managed to win over a few of the eight top families of DC with some ability and luck. He had also brought a few families he knew in Orange County to DC. What right did he have to say such words? Did Lucas really think that he was already in charge of all of DC? Greg couldn¡¯t stand Lucas¡¯s attitude either. He pointed at Lucas and scolded angrily, ¡°Heh, you¡¯re just an ignorant child! Your hair has just grown, yet you dare to spout nonsense in front of me! What right do you have to say such things as removing the Steeles from DC? ¡°I heard that you¡¯re just an illegitimate child of Michael Hutton and a mistress. Even your father doesn¡¯t dare to speak to me like that. What right do you have to be so arrogant?¡± Hearing this, Oscar immediately became furious. He was an unscrupulous person to begin with, and he was used to being arrogant and domineering. He immediately stomped his feet and scolded, ¡°Greg Steele, you old fogey, you¡¯re already one step into the coffin. How dare you speak rudely to Mr. Gray? I won¡¯t let you off! ¡°And you, Derek Piers, you old pervert, are you qualified to criticize Mr. Gray? Do you think you¡¯re worthy? ¡°All of you unconvinced by Mr. Gray, right? I¡¯ll show you how great he is now!¡± Then Oscar instructed an expert who was protecting them, ¡°Go teach them a good lesson! No, wait, don¡¯t touch that old man. You might kill him! Capture that bastard Derek Piers first and break his limbs!¡± Because he didn¡¯t know if Lucas nned to spare the lives of these people for other purposes, Oscar changed his order and got his subordinates to deal with Derek first. ¡°Yes, Mr. Oscar!¡± The tall and burly man standing behind Oscar immediately walked out and stared at Derek with an unfriendly gaze. Derek was furious. He gnashed his teeth and roared, ¡°Oscar Smith, you ignorant and ipetent little bastard, how dare you be so arrogant in front of me?! Do you really think I¡¯m a pushover that you can bully as you please?¡± He ordered his bodyguard behind him, ¡°Flying Shadow, go! I want to see what that little bastard from the Smith family can do to me!¡± An ordinary-looking figure who even looked a little thin walked out silently from behind Derek. When some people saw this thin figure, they couldn¡¯t help eximing, ¡°It¡¯s really Flying Shadow?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t everyone say that Flying Shadow has already left DC? It turns out that he didn¡¯t leave DC but instead went to the Piers and followed Derek Piers!¡± ¡°I still remember Flying Shadow! His martial arts skills are amazing, especially his superb movement skills. Ordinary people can¡¯t even touch his shadow. He¡¯s as elusive as a phantom and top-notch at assassination. That¡¯s how he got the name Flying Shadow!¡± ¡°The expert sent by Oscar might not be able to defeat Flying Shadow!¡± ¡­ This expert named Flying Shadow seemed to be an infamous figure in DC in the past. As soon as he appeared, many people recognized his identity and were extremely afraid of his martial arts. Oscar¡¯s expression turned gloomy. When he was young, he had also heard the name Flying Shadow. His father had evenmented that if he could recruit a talent like Flying Shadow to the Smith family, the family would have be much stronger. Thus, Oscar didn¡¯t dare to underestimate Flying Shadow. He gritted his teeth and sent out another top expert. ¡°You go too! If the two of you deal with him together, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡± Derek¡¯s face immediately darkened, showing some anger. ¡°Punk, I¡¯ve only sent Flying Shadow alone, but you¡¯re sending two experts to besiege him. Aren¡¯t you too shameless?¡± Oscar snorted coldly. ¡°In terms of shamelessness, who canpare to the Piers? If you¡¯re not convinced, you can send out another person too! But I¡¯m afraid you already don¡¯t have any else to send out, right? In that case, shut up and wait to die!¡± Chapter 1368 - 1368 Attack Together 1368 Attack Together After Derek heard what Oscar said, his face darkened, and he was furious, but there was nothing he could do. It was because Oscar was right. He indeed didn¡¯t have any other experts he could send out to participate in the battle! The three of them hade to the Capital International Hotel because Jensen had invited them to attend the celebration party. Since they were here to celebrate and build connections, Derek and the others didn¡¯t bring many people here. They had only brought two bodyguards, a butler, and a chauffeur. Later, the Piers, the Williams, and the Steeles had idents one after another. Derek and the others didn¡¯t dare to leave without permission because they had to wait for Jensen, so they could only send people to contact their families. Therefore, the only expert that Derek could use now was Flying Shadow. Oscar had shamelessly sent out two people to bully Flying Shadow with numbers. Two experts were besieging Flying Shadow, but there was nothing Derek could do about it. ¡°Flying Shadow, you can do it! The only thing I can rely on now is you!¡± Derek shouted at Flying Shadow. ¡°Kill them!¡± Flying Shadow nodded slightly. With a tap of his foot on the ground, he immediately turned into an afterimage and rushed toward the Smith two experts. The two experts who followed Oscar were not ordinary either. When they saw Flying Shadow¡¯s astonishing speed, they didn¡¯t dare to be negligent. They immediately rushed forward and blocked Flying Shadow¡¯s attack route on the left and the right. The three of them instantly started battling. Lucas looked at the scene in front of him calmly without saying anything. It was Oscar¡¯s decision to get his subordinates to deal with the Piers¡¯ Flying Shadow. Lucas could settle the matter with Jensen this time and get people to help the Smiths take back their manor, but he had no intention of arranging everything for the Smiths. On the battlefield, the three of them were fighting very fiercely. It was as if they had turned into shadows, making it impossible to tell who was who. But the expert named Flying Shadow was indeed quite powerful. Even though he was fighting two people alone, he wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage at all. Like a whirlwind, he moved around the two experts of the Smiths, dodging and attacking. Not only did he dodge most of the attacks, but he even directed one opponent¡¯s attacks to the other, causing the two experts to be in dire straits. Not long after, a scream suddenly sounded in the field. A Smith expert held his stomach and quickly stepped back, retreating from the battlefield with a pale face. In the battle just now, Flying Shadow had suddenly pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed it into the expert¡¯s abdomen at lightning speed. With this ruthless sh, the expert was severely injured and could only hold his abdomen and retreat from the battle. The wound on his abdomen was too long, and he could no longer move. Otherwise, the insides of his stomach would flow out! After one of his opponents lost his ability to fight, the pressure on the other expert, who was facing Flying Shadow alone, immediately increased greatly. Within a few seconds, he was also defeated by Flying Shadow. A hole was pierced in his chest, almost stabbing his heart! It had clearly been a two-on-one situation, but in the end, the two experts were seriously injured and defeated, while Flying Shadow won and was still standing. This scene made many people reveal looks of disbelief. Seeing Flying Shadow standing in the middle of the battlefield with the dagger in his hand still dripping blood, many people were frightened. They gulped and revealed deep fear in their eyes. Was Flying Shadow really that strong? Even Derek didn¡¯t expect Flying Shadow to win so easily and beautifully, so he nked out for a moment. When he realized that his person had won, he immediately raised his head andughed. ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s great! Flying Shadow, well done!¡± Looking at the ashen-faced Oscar, Derek mocked proudly, ¡°Oscar Smith, you little bastard, you should go home and reflect on yourself! How dare you say that you want to take me down? What a joke! It seems that the so-called experts of the Smiths aren¡¯t that good! ¡°So? Do you have any stronger experts? Send them out, and let me see if they can defeat Flying Shadow! ¡°So what if you¡¯ve brought more people to besiege us? You¡¯re just a bunch of good-for-nothings!¡± Because Flying Shadow had defeated Oscar¡¯s subordinates in a one-versus-two battle, Derek became arrogant andcent. He only felt that with a peerless expert on his side, he no longer had to be afraid of so many enemies surrounding him. Rayson and Greg alsoughed loudly and shouted, ¡°Great! Derek, you have such a powerful expert by your side. It looks like we have a chance to leave today!¡± Hearing this, Derek became even more proud. He shouted at Oscar and even Lucas, ¡°Come on! Let me see if you have any stronger experts. Is there anyone else who dares to fight? Haha, you can¡¯t even defeat Flying Shadow. All of you are trash! If you don¡¯t want to die, scram as soon as possible!¡± Lucas looked coldly at Derek moring and suddenly curled his lips into a mirthless smile. ¡°Since you¡¯re in a hurry to die, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish.¡± When Rayson heard this, his expression immediately changed. Is Lucas Gray nning to deal with Flying Shadow personally? Rayson had seen Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills before, so he naturally knew that Lucas¡¯s strength was not any weaker than Flying Shadow¡¯s. If Lucas made a move himself, Flying Shadow might be in trouble! Derek¡¯s expression froze for a moment before he burst intoughter. Then he said in a strange tone, ¡°Oh, is our honorable Mr. Gray nning to lower himself and personally make a move? ¡°Speaking of which, I¡¯ve never seen what you¡¯re capable of! Coincidentally, it¡¯s a good opportunity for me and everyone present to see how capable you are!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°You want me to make a move myself? You don¡¯t have the qualifications!¡± He ignored Derek¡¯s suddenly sullen expression and said to Oscar, ¡°Get everyone from the Smiths to attack together!¡± Oscar was stunned. Lucas said that he wanted all the experts of the Smiths to rush forward and deal with Flying Shadow together? He had brought nearly 300 experts with him! Were they really going to attack together? But this was an order from Lucas. Even though Oscar didn¡¯t understand, he immediately gave the order. ¡°All of you, attack together!¡± With thismand, the nearly 300 masters of the Smiths immediately rushed toward Flying Shadow like a tide! Chapter 1369 - 1369 I Dare to Kill You 1369 I Dare to Kill You Hundreds of people rushed toward Flying Shadow and instantly drowned him in the crowd. Flying Shadow was famous for his extremely high speed and mysterious movements. Previously, when he fought against other experts, his opponents had often been unable to capture his movements. This resulted in them being unable to defend against Flying Shadow¡¯s unpredictable attacks. But now, Flying Shadow, who was surrounded by hundreds of people, seemed to be trapped in a sticky swamp. No matter how fast he moved, there was no room for him to perform. Soon, his hands and feet were entangled, and he couldn¡¯t move. Countless fists kept smashing down on him. Only two minutester did Oscar shout, ¡°Stop!¡± Everyone stopped their attacks and retreated, revealing Flying Shadow lying on the ground, beaten beyond recognition. Although Flying Shadow wasn¡¯t dead yet, almost all the bones in his body had been crushed. His face was also horrendously bruised and covered in blood. Only his chest was still moving slightly, proving that he was still alive. But he was barely alive. Even if Flying Shadow was lucky enough not to die, he would be a cripple in the future. Looking at Flying Shadow¡¯s miserable state, Derek was so angry that his eyes almost popped out. He pointed at Oscar and scolded, ¡°Oscar Smith! You¡­ you actually sent so many people to gang up on one person. You¡¯re simply shameless!¡± Flying Shadow was the strongest expert of the Piers, and Derek had always relied on him. He had been counting on Flying Shadow to help him break out of the encirclement and escort him out of the capital. But now, he was beaten into a cripple by the shameless Oscar! At the side, Rayson and Greg were also shocked. Instantly, an intense chill rose in their hearts. Even Flying Shadow, who was so skilled in martial arts, had been beaten up so miserably by so many people. If the other party wanted their lives, as long as they gave the order and used the same method, wouldn¡¯t these helmsmen, who had always been pampered, be crushed into meat paste? There were nearly 2,000 people gathered here, and the people on the three helmsmen¡¯s side added up to only a dozen people! If they couldn¡¯te up with a solution, they would really die here! ¡°Hehe, what a joke. I actually heard the Piers scold others for being shameless. In terms of shamelessness, the Piers are the number one in the capital, aren¡¯t they?¡± A mocking voice suddenly sounded. The person who spoke stared at Derek and slowly walked in from the crowd. Seeing this person, Lucas raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing a hint of interest. ¡°Look, that¡¯s Eric Branson, the helmsman of the Bransons, one of the eight top families in DC! The Bransons are here too!¡± someone eximed when he saw this person. Speaking of which, the Bransons hadn¡¯t participated in today¡¯s upheaval in DC. The Bransons were neither on good terms with Lucas, nor did they get involved with the Piers, Williams, and other families. They didn¡¯t take the opportunity to snatch anything from Lucas¡¯s forces. They were so quiet that it was as if they werepletely unaware of this turmoil. It was only now that the Bransons appeared for the first time. As soon as he appeared, Eric mocked Derek. His attitude and intentions were indeed unpredictable. Derek narrowed his eyes and red at Eric. ¡°Eric, didn¡¯t you reject Mr. Jensen¡¯s invitation and say that you didn¡¯t want to interfere in today¡¯s matter? Why have youe out now?¡± Actually, Derek was very angry with the Bransons, but he also felt somewhat guilty. After all, previously, the Piers had secretly sent people to kill Eric¡¯s son, Mark, and had even tried to frame Lucas for it. He had wanted to use someone else to deal with Lucas, but he had been exposed. This caused the Bransons and the Piers to be mortal enemies. Over the past few months, there had been endless conflicts, and the Piers had lost a lot of assets. Although the mistake had been made by the Piers, Derek didn¡¯t think that the Piers had done anything wrong. He only felt that the Bransons were petty and wouldn¡¯t forgive the Piers because of a dead person. Now, Eric publicly said that the Piers were the number one in the capital in terms of shamelessness, making Derek even more furious. Eric looked at Derek coldly. ¡°Of course I¡¯m here to settle scores.¡± Derek paused for a moment and said loudly, ¡°Eric, I think you¡¯re here to take advantage of the situation, right? Let me tell you, don¡¯t think that we¡¯ll lose just because we have fewer people now! ¡°Let me tell you, we¡¯re all Mr. Jensen¡¯s people. If you dare to touch us, you¡¯ll be Mr. Jensen¡¯s enemy and the Hamiltons¡¯ enemy! Let¡¯s see how courageous the Bransons are to dare to go against the Hamiltons!¡± Although Jensen had already run away, Derek still used him to intimidate Eric. This was their only life-saving straw to clutch at. Greg knew what Derek meant, so he went along with it and said, ¡°Derek is right. Our three families are all Mr. Jensen¡¯s people. Furthermore, this time, it¡¯s only a conflict with Lucas Gray, the Howards, the Smiths, and the Huttons. The Bransons have nothing to do with our grudges. It¡¯s better to step aside first!¡± Rayson said, ¡°That¡¯s right! Eric, I advise you to take care of yourself and don¡¯t have any thoughts that you shouldn¡¯t have. I¡¯m afraid the Bransons won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences of offending the Hamiltons! When Mr. Jensenes backter, I¡¯m afraid the Bransons will disappear from the capital like the Waltons. I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t want to see such an oue, right, Eric?¡± They were using the Hamiltons to threaten Eric not to get involved at this time. They were already in a precarious situation facing Lucas, the Howards, the Smiths, and the Huttons. If the Bransons also stood on Lucas¡¯s side, the situation would be even worse for them. Eric listened to what they said expressionlessly. Without saying a word, he suddenly walked toward Derek. Behind him, several of the Bransons¡¯ bodyguards followed closely. Derek looked at Eric getting closer and closer to him. Seeing Eric¡¯s cold and expressionless face, he felt his heart tighten and subconsciously took a step back. What does Eric want to do? Could it be¡­ Smack! Before Derek could figure out why Eric was walking toward him, he was suddenly pped in the face. ¡°Eric Branson, you bastard, how dare you hit me?!¡± Derek covered his face in disbelief, his eyes wide, his face filled with anger and humiliation. The surrounding people were also stunned. No one expected Eric to walk in front of Derek and p him without any warning! They were all helmsmen of the eight top families in DC. It was rare to see helmsmen of the same level pping each other. Eric sneered. ¡°Not only do I dare to hit you, but I also dare to kill you to avenge my son!¡± With that, Eric took out a pistol from his waist and aimed the ck muzzle directly at Derek¡¯s head! Chapter 1370 Unexpected Kill Chapter 1370 Unexpected Kill "You¡­ you!" When Derek saw the pistol pointing at his forehead, his heart started pounding crazily. His face was full of horror, and he couldn''t even say aplete sentence. Seeing the murderous intent in Eric''s eyes, Derek knew that Eric really dared to kill him! The hatred of killing someone''s son was irreconcble. The Piers had killed Eric''s son, Mark, in order to frame Lucas. Now that Eric wanted to avenge his son, no one could raise any objections. But Derek didn''t want to die! "No¡­ Eric, let''s talk calmly. Don''t be rash¡­ Don''t shoot!" Derek stammered, his head covered in cold sweat. "I admit that the Piers did you a disservice, Eric, but the dead can''te back to life. Even if you kill me, your son¡­ He won''t be able toe back to life. "As long as you''re willing to let me go, I''m willing to give you half of the Piers'' businesses aspensation!" Eric narrowed his eyes and snorted in disdain. "Only half? Derek, since you think your life is so worthless, I might as well grant your wish and let you die." Then Eric pressed the muzzle of the pistol in his hand against Derek''s forehead. "Ah, no, don''t! Eric, I misspoke just now. I''m willing to give you all the Piers'' businesses! Everything! Just spare my life!" Eric smiled and said in satisfaction, "That''s more like it." Then he waved his hand, and a bodyguard behind him immediately took out a few contracts and handed them to Eric respectfully. "However, it''s just talk now. Derek, I want you to sign these contracts. After you sign them, I''ll fulfill my promise and let you off!" Everyone was shocked. They didn''t expect that Eric had already prepared the transfer contracts. It seemed like he had already nned to take over all of the businesses in Derek''s hands. Lucas looked at Eric and narrowed his eyes. He originally thought that Eric wanted to kill Derek to avenge his son. He didn''t expect that his With Derek''s understanding of Eric, he definitely wouldn''t dare to do such a dangerous thing. ultimate goal was to take away all of Piers'' businesses justifiably. However, the Piers were already in Lucas''s pocket. Furthermore, they were surrounded by the people from Lucas''s forces. Eric''s actions were snatching from Lucas! Eric was too arrogant! When Derek saw the transfer contracts being handed to him, he was stunned, and it took him a while to react. It turned out that Eric had already nned to snatch away the Piers'' businesses. At any other time, Derek would have flown into a rage. But now, he had a strange feeling in his heart, and he was even overjoyed. Derek knew that it was impossible for the Piers to survive under the attack of Lucas and his group. Just now, he, Rayson, and Greg had already determined that their only way out was to give up all their businesses in DC and quickly leave the city. As long as Eric wasn''t blind, he could see that the Piers were already in the pocket of Lucas''s group. But Eric appeared at this moment and even made such a request to him. It was clear that he wanted to snatch the spoils from Lucas! With Derek''s understanding of Eric, he definitely wouldn''t dare to do such a dangerous thing. He had known Eric for many years and knew Eric''s character very well. Eric had always been a cautious person. To put it bluntly, he was a timid person. If he wasn''t confident, he wouldn''t dare to do anything. Therefore, there had to be a big shot supporting the Bransons, which gave him the courage toe and snatch the spoils with Lucas. From Derek''s point of view, the Piers'' businesses couldn''t be preserved no matter what. But he was unwilling to hand them over to Lucas or Eric. If this issue could cause them to fight, Derek would be very happy to see it! It would be best if they fought until blood flowed and both sides suffered casualties! This way, not only would he be able to find an opportunity to leave DC alive, but the difficulty of revenge in the future would also be lower. At the thought of this, Derek''s eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he said, "Alright, the Piers indeed did the Bransons a disservice before. It''s only right for me topensate the Bransons! I''ll sign the transfer contracts. In the future, all of the Piers'' businesses will belong to the Bransons!" With that, Derek grabbed a pen and took the transfer contracts, intending to sign them. "Go to hell!" Suddenly, a shout sounded, and right on the heels of it, a loud bang resounded. It was a gunshot! Someone just fired a gun! Then everyone saw that Derek was still holding the contracts and the pen in his hands, but he couldn''t sign his name. His entire body seemed to be frozen as he stood there motionlessly. But in the center of Derek''s forehead, there was a bloody hole, and blood was gurgling out. Everyone was astonished! Then everyone turned their gazes to Rayson, who was not far from Derek. In his hand was a smoking ck pistol! It was Rayson who had suddenly shot and killed Derek! This scene shocked and puzzled everyone. Weren''t Rayson and Derek in the same group? Why did he suddenly kill Derek? Even Lucas looked at Rayson in surprise. But thinking about Rayson''s past actions, he seemed to understand why Rayson did this. Rayson wasn''t calm at this moment. He was very agitated. Even his hand holding the pistol was still trembling slightly. It wasn''t until Derek''s body fell to the ground that he heaved a sigh of relief and slowly put away the pistol. "Rayson Williams! Wh-what are you doing? You actually killed Derek!" Eric roared angrily, looking at Rayson in disbelief, his gaze full of killing intent Rayson actually killed Derek at this moment! He didn''t care about Derek''s life and death. He was furious because Derek hadn''t signed the transfer contracts yet! Greg also looked at Rayson in shock. He subconsciously took a few steps back, moving farther away from him. He never thought that Rayson would suddenly attack Derek, their ally, without saying a word! Didn''t they agree to form an alliance to leave DC together and thene back to fight together in the future? Why?! Chapter 1371 King of DC Chapter 1371 King of DC Eric red at Rayson, wanting nothing more than to kill him immediately. "Rayson Williams, you¡­ you bastard! Derek had already promised topensate the Bransons with all of the Piers'' businesses, but you suddenly shot and killed him. What will happen to thepensation he wanted to give the Bransons? You have to give me an exnation, or else the Williams won''t have a good time!" Rayson sneered. "Eric Branson, don''t treat us as fools. Don''t think we''ll let you fool us! "Before you came here, Derek and the Piers were already under Mr. Gray''s control. Everything that belongs to the Piers is already in Mr. Gray''s pocket. What right do you have to snatch them? "Let me tell you, I deliberately killed Derek. I couldn''t let him sign and hand those things over to a sly old fox like you!" When Eric heard this, his mouth was about to twist from anger. "Rayson Williams, you bastard, you''re simply tired of living!" "Hmph, you''re the one who''s tired of living!" Rayson retorted. Then he turned to Lucas and immediately put on a fawning look. "Um¡­ Mr. Gray, I know I made a mistake today. I shouldn''t have listened to Jensen Hamilton and done something wrong. I hope you can spare me this time on ount that I''ve repented and killed Derek Piers to atone for my crimes! "I promise that I won''t dare to do such a thing again in the future. I will never dare to have such thoughts again!" Hearing this, everyone suddenly understood why Rayson had suddenly killed Derek. He had changed his stance and wanted to show his allegiance to Lucas! But the expression on Lucas''s face didn''t change. Immediately after Rayson killed Derek, he already knew that the fence sitter Rayson had regretted it and was afraid. This was why he couldn''t wait to express his loyalty to him. Lucas naturally despised Rayson''s behavior. But Lucas took a deep look at Rayson and didn''t re up at him. Instead, he nodded and said, "Then, I''ll give you onest chance. I hope you can cherish it." His words contained a strong warning and a deep meaning. Rayson only heard that Lucas was nning to let him off. He was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Mr. Gray! I will definitely cherish the opportunity you gave me. Don''t worry. I will never disappoint you again!" Thus, the situation in the field changed again in an extremely short period of time. Originally, the Williams, the Steeles, and the Piers had been fighting against Lucas''s group. But now, A great fear pressed down on Greg, making his entire body turn extremely cold and tremble. "Rayson Williams, you¡­ We''re allies. Do you know what you''re doing? H-how could you kill Derek Derek was dead, and the Williams had switched sides. The only one left was Greg and the Steeles. At this moment, Greg''s expression was extremely gloomy. He had originally thought that even if the alliance of the three families was no match for Lucas, they could at least gather their strength and escape from DC. Then, they could find an opportunity to make aeback and return to DC to take back everything they had lost. But now, the n had been ruined, and even leaving this ce alive had be an extravagant hope for Greg. A great fear pressed down on Greg, making his entire body turn extremely cold and tremble. "Rayson Williams, you¡­ We''re allies. Do you know what you''re doing? H-how could you kill Derek and submit to this punk Lucas Gray?" Greg roared angrily while pointing at Rayson with a trembling hand. Rayson said nonchntly, "I was originally on Mr. Gray''s side. I was just bewitched by you for a while and took the wrong path. Now that I''ve returned to my original path, why can''t I stand on Mr. Gray''s side again? "On the contrary, Mr. Steele, you should recognize the situation as soon as possible and stop going against Mr. Gray. Otherwise, wouldn''t it be very pitiful for your corpse to be exposed in the wilderness at your age?" Greg was so angry at Rayson that he was trembling and could barely speak. As for Rayson, he ignored him and looked at Lucas. Suddenly, he said loudly, "Mr. Gray is well-versed in literary and martial arts. He''s an outstanding hero, and he should be the overlord of DC! "I, Rayson Williams, hereby swear that the Williams family is willing to be loyal to Mr. Gray and revere him as the King of DC!" Rayson used the loudest voice he had ever used in his life to shout thest sentence. His voice spread far and wide, instantly shocking many people present. Rayson was a smart person. He knew that Lucas was very strong and that he had chosen the wrong path. Thus, he tried his best to perform in front of Lucas to make him happy. This was why he suddenly thought of this idea. The nine royal family branches had always stood at the top of the US. And in DC, the eight top families of DC collectively ruled the city, but there had never been such a thing as the King of DC. And now, Rayson publicly nominated Lucas as the King of DC, making him the most supreme person in DC! In the past, if someone wanted to surpass the eight top families and be the King of DC, everyone would definitely resist this person. But the situation was different now. Lucas had already obtained the support of the Howards, the Smiths, and the Huttons, three of the eight top families in DC. Now, the Williams had also submitted to Lucas, the Piers'' helmsman had died, and the Waltons had left DC, leaving only the Steeles and the Bransons. Therefore, Rayson''s proposal to make Lucas the King of DC was not empty talk. It was just the right amount of ttery, and it could allow Lucas to really obtain this supreme position! This way, Lucas probably wouldn''t hold it against him for joining forces with the Piers and the Steeles to deal with him! The King of DC. Everyone present was extremely shocked by this title. This was definitely not a simple title. Since it was a king, would there be a king who would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the nine royal family branches in the future? Oscar was vexed. Why didn''t he seize such a good opportunity to curry favor? Instead, the cunning Rayson spoke first. No, he couldn''t lose to anyone else! With this thought in mind, Oscar knelt on one knee and shouted, "I, Oscar Smith, represent the Smith family in DC to wish that Mr. Lucas Gray will be the King of DC and will follow you forever!" Not to be outdone, Pete knelt on one knee and shouted, "I, Pete Howard, represent the Howard family in DC to wish that Mr. Lucas Gray will be the King of DC and will follow you forever!" Roman also knelt on one knee and said solemnly, "I, Roman Everett, represent the Hutton family in DC to wish that Mr. Lucas Gray will be the King of DC and will follow you forever!" "I, Bruce Hale, represent the Hale family in DC to wish that Mr. Lucas Gray will be the King of DC and will follow you forever!" "I, Damon Parker, represent the Parker family in DC to wish that Mr. Lucas Gray will be the King of DC and will follow you forever!" "I, Edmund Cole, represent the Cole family in DC to wish that Mr. Lucas Gray will be the King of DC and will follow you forever!" "I, Jonah Fuller, represent the Fuller family in DC to wish that Mr. Lucas Gray will be the King of DC and will follow you forever!" ¡­ Instantly, four of the eight top families of DC knelt on one knee in front of Lucas and bowed their heads, willing to acknowledge him as the ruler of DC. Edmund, Damon, and Bruce, who had already submitted to Lucas a long time ago, roared with excitement while kneeling on one knee. Everyone behind them knelt on the ground and looked at Lucas fervently. This scene was extremely shocking! At the same time, Eric''s and Greg''s faces turned even paler! Chapter 1372 - Chapter 1372: The Arnault Family Chapter 1372: The Arnault Family Now, four of the eight top families in DC had submitted to Lucas and wanted to revere him as the King of DC. Other than these four families who had submitted, the Piers had basically been destroyed, and the Waltons had left DC. Only the helmsman of the Steeles and the Bransons were still here. It was obvious that the Steeles were already in Lucas¡¯s pocket. At this moment, it was impossible for either the Steeles or the Bransons to cause any changes to the current situation. If Lucas really acknowledged the loyalty of these families and became the King of DC, no matter how unwilling they were, there was absolutely nothing they could do to stop him. Lucas looked at the people kneeling on the ground in front of him and was rather surprised. To be honest, he had never thought of bing the King of DC. !! If he really had such thoughts, he would have been able to take down all eight top families in DC on his own when he first came to the city, and he would have long be the overlord. Besides, if Lucas was really someone who enjoyed high positions of power, he wouldn¡¯t have left his position as the head of the Falcon Regiment in Calico and started over as an ordinary person. Lucas didn¡¯t have much ambition. In the beginning, after leaving Calico, he had only hoped to return to his wife and daughter and make it up to them so that they wouldn¡¯t have to worry for the rest of their lives. Also, he had to think of a way to take back the Stardust Corporation that his mother had left for him from the Huttons. He had to make the Stardust Corporation a famous enterprise in the US and even the entire world so that his mother wouldn¡¯t have any regrets. Butter, things developed step by step until now. It made Lucas feel a little helpless. He wanted to live a peaceful life, but there were always people jumping out one after another, constantly disturbing his life. Just as Lucas shook his head helplessly, Eric said indignantly, ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re indeed ambitious. You¡¯re just an illegitimate child of the Huttons, yet you want to dominate the capital. You¡¯re simply looking down on the Bransons!¡± Lucas nced at Eric indifferently. Eric had only brought a few bodyguards with him, but he dared toe here and even wanted to snatch the Piers¡¯ businesses from him. Such a person definitely had backing. He just didn¡¯t know who the force behind the Bransons was. ¡°Hey¡­ who¡¯s pushing me?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why is it suddenly crowded?¡± At this moment, there was amotion in the surrounding crowd. Some people were suddenly pushed away. Then an old man with a wrinkled face but looked very energetic walked in from behind the crowd under the protection of more than ten bodyguards. This old man should be very old, at least in his seventies. His face was full of wrinkles, indicating that he had experienced many years of hardship. But his face was rosy, and he looked very prudent. His hair was already snow-white and wasbed meticulously behind his head. He was wearing a ck suit and exuded a noble and dignified aura. ¡°You¡¯re finally here, Mr. Arnault!¡± Upon seeing the old man, Eric was the first to wee him with a smile. At the same time, he gave Lucas a provocative smile. Heh, Lucas Gray is actually delusional enough to want to be the King of DC! Is he even worthy? The old man who came now was Jeffrey Arnault, the helmsman of the Arnault family, a mysterious and powerful family on par with the eight top families or possibly even stronger, but had never participated in their disputes and had never cared for the title! As long as Jeffrey Arnault and the Arnaults were around, Lucas could forget about bing the King of DC! Lucas narrowed his eyes and looked at Jeffrey, whom he had never met before. Although Jeffrey was very old, he was not a trembling old man. Instead, he had a straight back, bright eyes, and an extremely energetic appearance. Furthermore, looking at Jeffrey¡¯s slightly bulging temples and his walking posture, Lucas could tell at a nce that he was also a martial arts practitioner. Furthermore, he had practiced martial arts for decades. It seemed that Jeffrey was indeed an extraordinary figure. ¡°It¡¯s really Jeffrey Arnault, the Arnaults¡¯ helmsman! Hasn¡¯t he not appeared for a long time? Why did he suddenly appear at this time?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Jeffrey Arnault to appear! But now that he¡¯s here, I wonder what he¡¯s nning¡­¡¯ When Pete, Oscar, and the other temporary leaders of the eight top families in DC saw Jeffrey, their expressions changed drastically, and their eyes revealed solemnity. Jeffrey suddenly appeared at this time. It was hard to say whether he was a friend or foe! Jeffrey walked unhurriedly until he reached Eric¡¯s side. He casually nced at the two thousand people around him and asked, ¡°I just heard that someone wants to be the King of DC?¡± As soon as he said this, many people immediately felt that something was amiss. Jeffrey¡¯s first sentence was like a question. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t intend to stand on Lucas¡¯s side. Eric hurriedly bowed and said, ¡°You came at the right time, Mr. Arnault! Just now, there was indeed someone who was brazen enough to want to be the King of DC and control the entire city in his own hands. He didn¡¯t even look at whether he was worthy or not! Fortunately, Mr. Arnault, you¡¯re here. Someone¡¯s wishful thinking is going to fail!¡± Jeffrey sneered. ¡°Someone wants to be the King of DC? Hehe, I want to see who has the guts!¡± His attitude was extremely arrogant. His eyes swept across Lucas, but he didn¡¯t take him seriously at all. It was as though Lucas was just an insignificant person. He was just a boy who was still wet behind the ears, but he actually dared to want to be the King of DC. It was simply ridiculous! ¡°How dare you! How dare you talk to Mr. Gray like that? Who do you think you are?¡± Keh immediately stepped forward and shouted at him angrily upon hearing Jeffrey¡¯s rude words to Lucas. Jeffrey¡¯s eyes turned to Keh, and a strong killing intent shed in his eyes. ¡°Another young brat. If you want to die, I can fulfill your wish now!¡± He was a martial arts practitioner. His words were full of killing intent that was like a knife. In an instant, Keh¡¯s face turned pale, his mind buzzed, and he could barely stand. Eric smiled smugly. ¡°Hehe, he actually dared to offend you, Mr. Arnault. He¡¯s simply courting death! ¡± He looked at Lucas, his facecent after his backer came. ¡°Lucas Gray, weren¡¯t you very arrogant just now? Do you really think that all of DC is yours? Pfft! With Mr. Arnault here, you¡¯re nothing more than a clown. Let¡¯s see how you can still act so proud!¡± Lucas frowned slightly. Eric kept targeting him, and his smug face waspletely different from his previous humble appearance.. Chapter 1373 - Chapter 1373: Puppet Chapter 1373: Puppet Speaking of which, it was really funny. Lucas had never thought about being the King of DC. He hadn¡¯t agreed to be the king just now, but Eric kept saying it as if Lucas was scheming to be the King of DC. If Lucas really cared about power and prestige, he would have stayed in Calico. He had been the majesticmander of the southern territory and the leader of the Falcon Regiment. He had been an existence that was on par with the helmsmen of the royal family branches. Why would hee here and inexplicably be the King of DC? Furthermore, the status of the fourmanders of the four territories was even nobler than the status of the helmsmen of the nine royal family branches. They had millions of soldiers in their hands. Even royal families wouldn¡¯t dare to be arrogant in front of him! Eric had used his own tolerance to specte about Lucas maliciously. It had to be said that it was extremely childish andughable. There was no point in talking with ignorant people. Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to pay attention to a despicable person like Eric. !! However, if it was just the Bransons and the Arnaults, they probably wouldn¡¯t dare to openly confront Lucas, who had already obtained the support of several top families. That was unless Eric and Jeffrey had another force supporting them. As for which force it was, Lucas wasn¡¯t sure. He only knew that other than people from the royal family branches, probably only some important figures in the four territories would dare to do so. ¡°Mr. Branson, I don¡¯t dare topete with you for the title of a clown.¡± Lucas smiled faintly, but what he said made Eric so angry that he almost vomited blood. He was clearly saying that Eric was the clown! Eric red at Lucas and shouted angrily, ¡°Lucas Gray! You¡¯re already on the brink of death, yet you still dare to be so arrogant! Do you know who I am?¡± Lucas smiled yfully. ¡°Who are you? You¡¯re just a puppet under someone¡¯s control. Do you think you¡¯re some big shot?¡± ¡°You!¡± Eric was almost angered to death by Lucas. Lucas actually dared to say that he was just a puppet. He simply didn¡¯t take him seriously at all! He would definitely seek revenge on Lucas for this ridicule! ¡°You sharp-tongued punk! Just you wait! Your death is imminent!¡± Lucas said coldly and disdainfully, ¡°There are quite a number of people who have said the same thing to me before. Unfortunately, they all died before me. Mr. Branson, you should be more careful and pray that a puppet like you can live longer!¡± ¡°You!¡± Eric wished he could immediately get someone to tear Lucas¡¯s mouth apart. But he knew that Lucas was not someone to be trifled with. Furthermore, he only had three bodyguards with him. He didn¡¯t dare to get anyone to make a move on Lucas at this moment. ¡°Are you Lucas Gray?¡± Jeffrey¡¯s voice suddenly sounded. He looked at Lucas with a gloomy expression, his eyes filled with killing intent. Lucas nced at Jeffrey and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m Lucas Gray. How may I help you, Mr. Arnault?¡± He didn¡¯t believe that Jeffrey didn¡¯t know his identity. It was just that Jeffrey looked down on him and didn¡¯t take him seriously at all. Now that he saw Eric almost go crazy after Lucas mocked him with just a few words, Jeffrey deliberately acted as if he had just seen him. In the end, he was just an arrogant and hypocritical person. ¡°It¡¯s not a good thing for young people to be too domineering. Moreover, DC isn¡¯t something that an illegitimate child can covet!¡± Standing proudly in front of Lucas, Jeffrey warned in a cold voice, ¡°Leave DC with your people today, and I will pretend that nothing has happened today and spare the families following you! ¡°In addition, kneel on the ground, prostrate to me while begging for mercy, and take out five billion dors, and I¡¯ll spare your life!¡± Lucas tilted his head yfully. ¡°Prostrate and beg for mercy? Five billion dors?¡± Jeffrey narrowed his eyes and said threateningly, ¡°That¡¯s right. Five billion. Buying your life with money is a good deal, isn¡¯t it?¡± Lucas raised his eyebrows. ¡°Oh? Since it¡¯s such a good deal, then I¡¯ll give you this good deal. I¡¯ll give you five billion dors to buy your life!¡± Everyone present was stunned! They didn¡¯t expect Jeffrey to tell Lucas to leave DC immediately. He even wanted Lucas to give him five billion dors to buy his life. But Jeffrey was the helmsman of the mysterious and powerful Arnaults, who were on par with the eight top families in DC or even stronger. Since he dared to threaten Lucas like this, he definitely had enough confidence. What shocked everyone even more was that not only was Lucas not afraid of Jeffrey, but he even said that he wanted to buy Jeffrey¡¯s life for five billion dors! This was simply pping Jeffrey in the face. He didn¡¯t take him seriously at all! ¡°Punk, you sure are reckless! You have to know that it¡¯s been many years since anyone dared to speak to me like that!¡± Jeffrey¡¯s expression darkened, and his eyes were brimming with killing intent. He wished he could kill Lucas immediately. Eric also looked at Lucas coldly, gnashing his teeth. He had always known that Lucas was a bold person, but he didn¡¯t expect him to be so bold in front of Jeffrey. He was courting death! Suddenly, Greg let out a mournful cry, ran to Jeffrey, and begged loudly, ¡°Mr. Arnault! Lucas Gray is really too arrogant and domineering! When he first arrived in the capital, he killed my grandson and even tried to snatch the Steeles¡¯ wealth. He¡¯s too tyrannical! You must stand up for the Steeles!¡± Greg had been unhappy with Lucas for a long time. Not long after Lucas arrived in the capital, he had killed his grandson Godfrey in an entertainment club. Later, Greg had driven Alexander and Ashley out of the Steele family, but Lucas had taken them in, deliberately going against him. Back then, if not for the Howards, the Smiths, and the Huttons going to the Steeles to threaten them not toy a hand on Lucas, Greg would have already torn Lucas into pieces! Greg had thought that he had no chance to take revenge, but now, Eric and Jeffrey¡¯s arrival gave him hope again. At this moment, he naturally had to stand firmly on Jeffrey¡¯s side and use him to eliminate Lucaspletely! Jeffrey looked at Greg coldly. He¡¯s so old but still so useless. He can¡¯t even deal with a punk who killed his grandson. ¡°Greg Steele, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll avenge your grandson. As long as I, Jeffrey Arnault, am here, no one can do whatever they want in DC!¡± Then Jeffrey looked coldly at the people standing beside Lucas. ¡°Rayson Williams, as well as the juniors who have temporarily taken leadership of the Howards, the Smiths, and the Huttons, are you sure you want to stand on Lucas Gray¡¯s side and die with him? ¡°Now, I will give you a chance to turn over a new leaf. If you abandon the dark to join the light and sever ties with Lucas Gray, I can pretend that nothing has happened today. Moreover, I guarantee that I won¡¯ty a hand on your families. ¡°However, if you continue to be stubborn and insist on courting death, then today will be the day you and your families are destroyed!¡± Jeffrey¡¯s domineering voice resounded in everyone¡¯s ears. Instantly, the expressions of Rayson, Pete, Roman, Oscar, and the others changed! Jeffrey was forcing them to choose a side! Chapter 1374 - 1374 Choosing a Side 1374 Choosing a Side Rayson, Pete, Roman, and Oscar had all grown up in DC or lived here for decades. Although they admired Lucas¡¯s methods and abilities, as people of DC, they were even more afraid of Jeffrey! At this moment, Jeffrey was clearly going to fight Lucas, and he wanted them to choose a side. Be it Lucas or Jeffrey, these two were not people they could afford to offend! And no matter which side they chose, they would definitely face the attack and retaliation of the other side. !! It was too difficult of a decision to make! They looked at each other and then at Lucas and Jeffrey, their expressions extremely conflicted. Lucas stood still without saying anything. He didn¡¯t offer any conditions to keep them or threaten them. He wanted to see what would happen under Jeffrey¡¯s threat. After all, only at the most critical moment could one clearly see what kind of person a person was. Jeffrey¡¯s words caused the scene to fall into dead silence. But within a few seconds, a middle-aged man immediately squeezed out from behind the Howards¡¯ position. He stood in front of the Howards and said loudly, ¡°I don¡¯t agree to the Howards continuing to stand with Lucas Gray! Lucas Gray is just the husband of an illegitimate daughter of the Howards. What right does he have to dictate the Howards¡¯ matters?¡± The person who stood up to speak was none other than Samuel, who had lost his power and position in the Howard family for a long time and was also Florence¡¯s cousin! Back then, Samuel had been bent on obtaining the position of the Howards¡¯ helmsman and had even wanted to collude with outsiders to kill Lucas and Florence. In the end, the position of helmsman had actually fallen to Florence after the death of Felix, the former helmsman, and Samuel hadpletely lost his power. Even this time, after Florence was seriously injured and hospitalized, the Howards didn¡¯t choose Samuel to be the temporary leader. Instead, they chose Pete, a junior. All of this made Samuel extremely indignant. Moreover, he had lost the position of sessor because of Lucas. He had long hated him to the core. Now that he had an opportunity, he could no longer hold it in and immediately stepped out to oppose him. Pete frowned. ¡°Uncle Samuel, I¡¯m the temporary leader of the Howards now. It¡¯s not up to you to make decisions!¡± Samuel looked at Pete mockingly. ¡°You? Pete, who do you think you are? You¡¯re just someone who was temporarily chosen to lead for a few days! I, Samuel Howard, was the sessor personally appointed by the former helmsman! ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for that bitch Florence finding Lucas Gray and deliberately angering my father to death and then using sinister and vicious methods to snatch away the position of helmsman, I should be the helmsman of the Howards now! ¡°And you have no right to speak to me like that!¡± With that, Samuel didn¡¯t bother to look at Pete anymore. He turned around and shouted at the Howards behind him, ¡°Everyone, are you going to watch helplessly as the Howard family is led by a woman? And now, you still have to listen to the orders of a child who is leading the Howards to ruin. ¡°I, Samuel Howard, refuse to ept Florence Howard and this child who¡¯s temporarily representing the Howards. I¡¯m even more dissatisfied with Lucas Gray! ¡°If anyone wants to leave with me, walk forward and stand by my side! We are the orthodox lineage of the Howards, and we must lead the Howards to glory!¡± What Samuel said at this moment was extremely inmmatory. There were already many Howards who were very dissatisfied with Florence¡¯s promotion. After all, the Howards were one of the eight top families in DC. For such a family to have a woman as the helmsman was unprecedented. It also made many Howards feel that they were a head shorter than others when they went out. They felt that many people wereughing at the uselessness of the men of the Howards. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have let a woman be the helmsman. And now, Florence was lying in the hospital with serious injuries. Moreover, it was said that she had offended the Hamiltons, one of the US royal family branches. Now, the Howards were facing such a predicament, and if things went wrong, the Howards might really be destroyed! Coupled with Jeffrey¡¯s threats just now, everyone was already wavering and anxious. After Samuel stepped forward, many Howards realized that there was another path for them to take and that there was another person who could be their leader! And what Samuel said wasn¡¯t wrong. He had been the sessor who the former helmsman had settled on. If not for Florence and Lucas, the current helmsman of the Howards should have been Samuel! In an instant, under Samuel¡¯s call, many people who had long had their own thoughts stepped forward without hesitation and stood behind him. In just a minute, almost half of the Howards and their subordinates were already standing behind Samuel. Among the remaining people, there were many who were wavering. When they saw that Samuel had so much support, they immediately stopped hesitating, gritted their teeth, and walked out to stand behind Samuel. In this way, 90% of the 400-odd people from the Howards were already standing behind Samuel and chose to oppose Lucas. There were only around 40 people still standing behind Pete! The situation had changed drastically in an instant! The families that followed Lucas were naturally very angry at the betrayal of most of the Howards. At the same time, they began to worry. Could their alliance really stand firm? Now, Lucas had basically lost the Howards! As for the remaining people, could they still persevere and fight against the Arnaults, the Bransons, the Steeles, and the Howards? Jeffrey was in a good mood. He looked at Samuel with appreciation before looking at Lucas smugly. Then his expression suddenly turned cold as he shouted sternly, ¡°The Howards have made the right choice. The Smiths and the Huttons, are you still going to be stubborn and continue to go against us? Instantly, Oscar and Roman were shocked by his shout, and they started trembling. Jeffrey¡¯s aura was too strong, making the two of them feel a little overwhelmed. At the same time, they recalled some of the rumors about the Arnaults. They couldn¡¯t help feeling even more afraid, and their faces turned pale. As for Rayson, beads of cold sweat kept dripping down his face, and he was anxious and terrified. Just now, Jeffrey had only asked the Smiths and the Huttons for their intentions, but he hadn¡¯t asked him at all. What does this mean? Could Jeffrey Arnault have already given up on me, thinking that I¡¯m one of Lucas Grays people? Or is he toozy to ask me and recruit me? Then, what should I do now? Where should the Williams stand? The more Rayson thought about it, the more terrified he became. He had originally been on the side of the Piers and the Steeles and had made up his mind to fight against Lucas. Butter, when Lucas led so many people to surround this ce, Rayson had immediately switched sides out of fear and regained Lucas¡¯s trust by killing Derek. But now, seeing that Jeffrey¡¯s side was stronger and that Lucas¡¯s side was already in disarray and he might be defeated soon, should Rayson still bring the Williams with him to follow Lucas? Wouldn¡¯t that be courting death? Now, what should he do? Chapter 1375 - 1375 The Huttons’ Betrayal 1375 The Huttons¡¯ Betrayal At that moment, the families on Lucas¡¯s side felt immense pressure. Damon, Bruce, Edmund, and the others all had solemn expressions. None of them expected that the Arnaults would be so powerful and domineering! Lucas looked at Jeffrey with interest. !! Speaking of which, Lucas had never inquired about the Arnaults before. After all, Lucas didn¡¯t have much interest in the matters between top forces. As long as they didn¡¯t provoke him, he usually couldn¡¯t be bothered with them. Therefore, Lucas hadn¡¯t sent people to investigate the Bransons and Arnaults, who had always been low-profile and hadn¡¯t caused trouble for him. But now, Jeffrey was clearly not a simple person. Moreover, the eight top families in DC were so afraid of him. It was obvious that there was something about Jeffrey that Lucas didn¡¯t know yet. But no matter who Jeffrey was, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be afraid of him, let alone be defeated by him! Roman suddenly stepped forward and shouted righteously, ¡°Jeffrey Arnault, do you really think that we¡¯re afraid of you? We¡¯re not spineless like Samuel Howard! Don¡¯t even think about making us betray Mr. Gray!¡± He was the illegitimate son of Collin, Michael¡¯s elder brother. He was originally a minor character who would never return to the Huttons in his life. It was Lucas who had helped him. Not only did he help him return to the Huttons, but he also made him the sessor of the Huttons. Lucas had done Roman a great favor. Now that Lucas was in danger, Roman naturally couldn¡¯t betray him at this juncture and submit to Jeffrey and go against Lucas! Besides, Roman had always admired Lucas and knew that he was very powerful. He didn¡¯t believe that Lucas would lose to Jeffrey, an old man in his seventies! Jeffrey looked at Roman coldly, his eyes shing with killing intent. ¡°Alright! Since you don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you, then I hereby announce that from today onward, the Huttons are expelled from the top eight families of DC!¡± As soon as this statement came out, everyone present was shocked. The Huttons had already been one of the eight top families in DC more than 20 years ago. But now, Jeffrey expelled them from this group with a single sentence? This could be done? Roman was stunned for a moment. Then he immediately sneered. ¡°Jeffrey Arnault, do you think you¡¯re the king and everyone has to listen to you? The Huttons are one of the eight top families of DC, and you can¡¯t expel us just because you want to! ¡°In that case, I announce that the Arnaults have been kicked out of DC! Moreover, all the properties of the Arnaults belong to the Huttons. As for you, old man, you have to take out five billion dors to buy your life! How about it? Are you convinced?¡± Roman¡¯s words were full of mockery. It was really funny. Did Jeffrey really think that his words were a royal edict? ¡°Roman Everett, who do you think you are? You¡¯re just an unpresentable illegitimate son of the Huttons. What qualifications do you have to make decisions for the Huttons?¡± At this moment, another voice sounded from the Huttons¡¯ position. Then Jace squeezed out of the crowd and stared at Roman resentfully. Roman looked at Jace coldly. ¡°Jace, I¡¯m the heir designated by the Huttons. Even if you have any objections, hold them in. You have no right to speak here!¡± Jace was furious. ¡°I, Jace Hutton, am the biological son of Michael Hutton, the Huttons¡¯ helmsman, and Huttons¡¯ legitimate heir! Who do you think you are? You¡¯re just like Lucas Gray, an illegitimate child who can¡¯t see the light of day! ¡°You¡¯re trash who was kicked out of the Huttons twenty years ago. Why don¡¯t you take a look at your identity?! If not for Lucas Gray, you wouldn¡¯t even be able to return to the Huttons, let alone be the sessor! ¡°You want topete with me for the position of helmsman? Do you think a bastard like you is worthy?¡± Jace glowered at Roman again and then shouted at the Huttons, ¡°Everyone, listen up. From today onward, I am the true heir of the Huttons, and I¡¯m kicking this bastard Roman Everett out of the family. From now on, he is no longer a member of the Huttons! ¡°Those who are willing to follow me, step forward! Those who have a death wish, just stay there!¡± All the Huttons hesitated for a moment before standing behind Jace. Only a few dozen people who followed Roman remained. Roman¡¯s expression was extremely gloomy. He had thought that after all his hard work during this period of time, he was better than Jace in every aspect. Presumably, he should have already obtained the support of a portion of the Huttons. He didn¡¯t expect these people to be so heartless. With a wave of Jace¡¯s arm, they all ran over to him. ¡°Jace Hutton! My position of sessor was personally appointed by the helmsman! The helmsman is still lying in the hospital, but you¡¯re openly defying his wishes. You¡¯re snatching the position of sessor and splitting up the Huttons. Aren¡¯t you worried that the helmsman will hold you ountable when he wakes up?¡± Roman said through gritted teeth. Jaceughedcently. ¡°Heh, don¡¯t use my father to pressure me! You also know that I¡¯m my father¡¯s biological son. If he doesn¡¯t hand over the position of helmsman to me, do you think he¡¯ll hand it over to you, an illegitimate bastard? I¡¯m the legitimate heir of the Huttons. As for you, scram!¡± Roman sneered. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s wait for the helmsman to wake up and see how you answer to him!¡± ¡°Heh, he¡¯s my biological father. I can exin to him however I want! You don¡¯t have to worry about it! You should take care of yourself! Perhaps you won¡¯t live past tonight, so why are you still worrying about something meaningless?!¡± Lucas looked coldly at Jace and sneered. ¡°It looks like I really shouldn¡¯t have let you off so easily. I should have taught you a memorable lesson!¡± Back then, Jace had thought that Lucas was Michael¡¯s illegitimate son, so he was jealous of Lucas and went against him. Later, he had even instructed Karen to kidnap Charlotte and even colluded with the Hills to kill Lucas. If Michael hadn¡¯t begged Lucas to spare Jace¡¯s life, and if Lucas hadn¡¯t found out that he wasn¡¯t Michael¡¯s son, he wouldn¡¯t have let Jace go. The grass on Jace¡¯s grave would have grown tall by now.. How could he still jump out at this time and go against Lucas? Chapter 1376 - Chapter 1376: Critical Situation Chapter 1376: Critical Situation When Jace heard what Lucas said, he subconsciously trembled. His fear of Lucas had already seeped deep into his bones. The moment he saw Lucas, he recalled the humiliation of kneeling in front of him and begging for mercy. But now, he had sided with the Arnaults and had the protection of the big shot behind the Arnaults. Besides, Lucas wouldn¡¯t be able to live for long. Why should he be afraid of a dead person? Thinking of this, Jace regained his courage. !! ¡°Lucas, I don¡¯t dare to forget what you did to me before! Just you wait. I¡¯ll definitely repay you bit by bit! Just pray that you don¡¯t die too early!¡± Jace red venomously at Lucas. He couldn¡¯t wait to see Lucas¡¯s tragic state after he failed and was captured! Lucas narrowed his eyes and took a deep look at Jace before turning away and ignoring him. He was just a self-righteous fool. What was there to care about? Jeffrey was very proud. In the blink of an eye, the Howards and the Huttons, who had been on Lucas¡¯s side, had changed sides and turned to him. He wanted to see what else Lucas could do! ¡°What about the Smiths? What do you n to do?¡± Jeffrey looked at Oscar, the representative of the Smiths, in a good mood, his eyes threatening. Oscar¡¯s expression was extremely gloomy. He clenched his fists and didn¡¯t say anything. Speaking of which, Oscar had a deep feud with Lucas previously. Lucas had even taught him a harsh lesson and almost killed him. But Lucas was a great benefactor to the Smiths. If not for his help, not only Oscar, but even his father, Tyson, would have died at the hands of his uncle Thomas and his cousin Vince. And he wouldn¡¯t have his current status. Therefore, in exchange for Lucas¡¯s help, his father had decided to bring the entire Smith family to submit to Lucas. Originally, they had thought that Lucas would definitely treat the Smiths¡¯ properties as his own and wantonly embezzle their assets. Furthermore, he would treat the father and son as ves and order them around. However, he didn¡¯t do so. On the contrary, because of Lucas, the Smiths cooperated with the Howards, the Huttons, and other families and obtained a lot of benefits. The family also had better development. From this point of view, without Lucas, the Smiths wouldn¡¯t have their current achievements, and Oscar wouldn¡¯t have been able to live so well or even at all. Furthermore, his father, Tyson, had warned him not to underestimate Lucas. The terror of Lucas wasn¡¯t something people like them could understand. Even members of the US royal family probably didn¡¯t have the confidence to speak arrogantly in front of Lucas. Thus, Oscar was also in awe of Lucas, and he also believed that Lucas would definitely not lose to an old man like Jeffrey! ¡°Jeffrey Arnault, you already have a foot in the coffin. It¡¯s not up to you to decide who the Smiths want to follow! Just mind your own business and take care of yourself!¡± Oscar said without hesitation. Saying ¡®coffin¡¯ immediately offended Jeffrey. Jeffrey was already in histe seventies. He was indeed old. The most taboo thing to him were words that involved death. ¡°Hehe, punk, I¡¯ll remember you! I hope that you still dare to say such words in front of me after tonight!¡± He glowered at Oscar. A bone-chilling feeling instantly exploded in Oscar¡¯s heart, making his face turn pale. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, Mr. Arnault! It¡¯s not worth it to be angry with an ignorant kid!¡± Rayson ran to Jeffrey¡¯s side with a ttering expression and said ingratiatingly, ¡°The Smiths don¡¯t know how to appreciate favors, but the Williams do! I represent the Williams to follow you and listen to your orders!¡± Hearing this, everyone present immediately revealed indescribable expressions, and they all looked at Rayson with disdain. Rayson was indeed a spineless fence sitter. He changed sides faster than anyone else. In just half an hour, he had changed sides twice, but he still acted as if nothing had happened and was trying his best to please Jeffrey. Such a shameless person was simply a rarity in the world! But at this moment, of the eight top families of DC, the Howards, the Huttons, and the Williams, who were originally on Lucas¡¯s side, had all defected to Jeffrey. The only family left on Lucas¡¯s side was the Smiths. Without a doubt, Lucas¡¯s forces were greatly weakened. On the other hand, the opponent was aggressive. Be it in terms of numbers or aura, they were all crushing Lucas¡¯s side. Other than the Piers, whose helmsman had already died; the Smiths, who stood stubbornly on Lucas¡¯s side; and the Waltons, who had left DC, there were already five families among the eight top families standing against him. Jeffrey was very pleased. This was his influence. With just a word from him, the forces in Lucas¡¯s hands had copsed, and all of them submitted to him. Now, what else could Lucas use to fight against him? Jeffrey wanted to see Lucas¡¯s expression of fear and remorse or Lucas begging for mercy, but Lucas was still very calm. There was even a rxed smile in his eyes, as if he didn¡¯t care about the situation in front of him at all. This made Jeffrey displeased, and it made him even more eager to see Lucas¡¯s miserable state after his crushing defeat! ¡°Lucas Gray, you don¡¯t have many people now. There are only the Smiths and a few second-tier families. You¡¯re no longer our match! Hurry up and kneel down and beg for mercy. If your begging makes Mr. Arnault happy, he might even reward you with an intact corpse!¡± Jace was the first to mock Lucas loudly. He had long wanted to kill Lucas, but he had never been able to do so. And now, under Jeffrey¡¯s lead, Lucas would definitely die! Rayson was also anxious to show his loyalty in front of Jeffrey. He hurriedly shouted, ¡°That¡¯s right! Lucas Gray, stop resisting stubbornly! Immediately surrender and kneel down to Mr. Arnault to beg for mercy! Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll die a horrible death!¡± ¡°Lucas Gray, hurry up and kneel down to Mr. Arnaults!¡± ¡°Kneel down quickly! You have no way out. Just surrender quickly!¡± ¡°Hehe, he¡¯s just a clueless young man in his twenties. He actually dares to go against so many of the eight top families and even dreams of bing the King of DC. He is too ignorant! Those who are too arrogant can only die!¡± Immediately, countless people began to point at Lucas and scold him, telling him to surrender and kneel down to beg for mercy.. Chapter 1377 - Chapter 1377: The Royal Arnault Family Chapter 1377: The Royal Arnault Family Jeffrey was extremely satisfied. He looked at Lucas proudly and said, ¡°Kid, do you know now that you¡¯re not qualified to be the King of DC at all?¡± Lucas looked at Jeffrey and suddenly smiled. ¡°King? I¡¯ve never thought about it. I¡¯m a god. Why should I lower myself?¡± As soon as he said this, everyone was stunned! I¡¯m a god. Why should I lower myself? !! Lucas had such a big tone! He was clearly saying that he disdained to be a king because his status was higher than a king¡¯s! How presumptuous! How arrogant! How unbelievable! Edmund and the others, who were following Lucas under immense pressure, were instantly roused by Lucas¡¯s seemingly arrogant words! In particr, Edmund, who already knew Lucas¡¯s previous identity, knew even more clearly that Lucas wasn¡¯t spouting nonsense. Instead, it was a ring fact! Back in Calico, Lucas had been known as the invincible God of War! He was absolutely worthy of the sentence ¡®I¡¯m a god¡¯. Previously, Lucas had been the leader of the Falcon Regiment in Calico, and his status had long surpassed everyone else¡¯s. Even the helmsmen of the US royal family branches didn¡¯t dare to offend him easily. As for a mere King of DC, Lucas really didn¡¯t take it seriously! But Jeffrey and the people standing beside him didn¡¯t know Lucas¡¯s identity. They only thought that Lucas had gone crazy and spoke nonsense. ¡°Heh, kid, I originally thought that you had some ability. It¡¯smon for high-spirited young men to be proud. However, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so arrogant. You were only praised a little, but you really think that you¡¯re invincible in the world. You even called yourself such a ridiculous word like god!¡± Jeffrey¡¯s eyes were full of disappointment and mockery toward Lucas. ¡°I was nning to spare your life on ount of your ability and make you loyal to me. But now, I realize that there¡¯s no value in keeping you around! You can die now!¡± Jeffrey very domineeringly announced Lucas¡¯s death. Rayson felt his hair stand on end. He had seen some of Lucas¡¯s strength. He was afraid that Jeffrey would underestimate his enemy and allow Lucas to escape, so he hurriedly whispered in Jeffrey¡¯s ear, ¡°Mr. Arnault, don¡¯t underestimate this punk! He has some strange skills. Don¡¯t let him escape!¡± Jace said unhappily, ¡°Old man, don¡¯t tter Lucas Gray! He does have some martial arts skills, but so what? We have so many people now. Can¡¯t we control one person?¡± Of course, Jace knew that Lucas¡¯s martial arts skills were not just a little powerful, but extremely powerful. Even the peerless experts of the Hills, a royal family branch, couldn¡¯t do anything to Lucas. Instead, he himself had almost died in Lucas¡¯s hands several times. But no matter how good his martial arts skills were, enough ants could still bite an elephant to death. Now, the Arnaults and five of the eight top families in DC were ganging up on Lucas. Jace didn¡¯t believe that he could survive! As for the Parkers, the Hales, and the other families who were still by Lucas¡¯s side, in Jace¡¯s opinion, they were just second-tier families. Furthermore, they were bumpkins who had juste to DC. They were nothing to worry about. Rayson was afraid that Lucas would run away or settle scores with him after he regrouped. He was also anxious to show Jeffrey his determination topletely draw a line between himself and Lucas. He gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Lucas Gray, you will only bring about your own destruction if youmit too many evil acts. You have done so much evil in DC by relying on your martial arts skills. Today is the day you receive retribution!¡± Greg said sharply, ¡°That¡¯s right! Lucas Gray, you have done many evil acts, and you deserved to die long ago. It¡¯s time for you to pay with your life for my grandson¡¯s life!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Lucas Gray should have died long ago! Kill him!¡± ¡°Kill Lucas Gray! Eliminate evil!¡± ¡°Kill him!¡± Everyone standing behind Jeffrey spoke up one after another, wanting to kill Lucas. On the one hand, they naturally wanted to kill Lucas to feel at ease. On the other hand, they wanted to make their stand clear to Jeffrey. Lucas could really be said to be condemned by everyone! However, Lucas¡¯s expression remained unchanged. There was even a faint smile on the corner of his lips, as though he didn¡¯t care about the calls for him to die. Instead, he found it ridiculous. ¡°You¡¯re too noisy and talking too much nonsense. I¡¯m right here. If you want to take my life, thene at me!¡± Lucas said with a smile. Jeffrey narrowed his eyes, and a cold light flickered in them. ¡°Kid, since you have a death wish, then I¡¯ll help you!¡± He waved his hand. Instantly, an old man in his sixties wearing a ck martial arts suit walked out from behind him. The old man walked in front of Lucas expressionlessly and stood four meters away from him. He said coldly, ¡°Young man, it¡¯s good to be a little proud, but if you don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you, you will only die!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Nameless!¡± Oscar¡¯s expression changed when he saw the old man¡¯s face. He hurriedly whispered into Lucas¡¯s ear, ¡°Mr. Gray, he¡¯s Nameless, one of the two top experts of the Arnaults! ¡°Nameless also has a brother named Joyless. He¡¯s the other top expert of the Arnaults. He¡¯s standing behind Jeffrey now! They¡¯re extremely powerful, and they¡¯re Jeffrey Arnault¡¯s right-hand men. You have to be careful! ¡°Also, Jeffrey Arnault isn¡¯t an ordinary person either. I heard from my father that he might be from the royal Arnault family, one of the nine royal family branches. Those people aren¡¯t to be trifled with!¡± Oscar was extremely nervous and afraid that Lucas would lose, so he quickly told him everything he knew. The royal Arnault family? This information surprised Lucas. It was no wonder the helmsmen of the eight top families were so afraid and respectful in front of Jeffrey. It turned out that Jeffrey was rted to the royal Arnaults. However, let alone the fact that Jeffrey had some unknown rtionship with the royal Arnaults, even if the person standing in front of Lucas was the helmsman of the royal Arnaults, he wouldn¡¯t pay him much attention. ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll give you a choice. Will you choose to end your own life or die by my hands? Choose for yourself!¡± Nameless raised his head arrogantly, looking as if he couldn¡¯t be bothered to fight against Lucas. Lucas ignored him and looked at Jeffrey, who was standing behind him. ¡°Mr. Arnault, are you sure you want to attack me?¡± Although he wasn¡¯t afraid of the royal Arnaults, he would be happy to have less trouble. If he could avoid bing enemies with the Arnaults, he was willing to give it a try. But Jeffrey clearly thought that Lucas was afraid and didn¡¯t dare to fight against his person, so he became even more arrogant and smug. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, kid? Are you afraid?¡± Jeffrey narrowed his eyes yfully. ¡°If you¡¯re afraid now, then kneel down and prostrate to me to beg for mercy. Then chop off your hands and be a ve of the Arnaults. Maybe I¡¯ll spare your life!¡± Now that he was old, he hated to see young people who thought they were outstanding and powerful. All of them were extremely arrogant and didn¡¯t take an elderly person like him seriously. They needed to be taught a lesson! If he could cut off the wings of an extraordinary young man and make him fall to the ground for him to trample on at will, it would be a great joy! Chapter 1378 - Chapter 1378: Sneak Attack While Standing Still Chapter 1378: Sneak Attack While Standing Still Lucas¡¯s face immediately darkened. He wanted to give some respect to the royal Arnaults. He didn¡¯t want to be enemies with the Arnaults and provoke a powerful enemy for himself. But if Jeffrey thought that he was afraid and that he could bully him at will, he was sorely mistaken! ¡°I wanted to give some respect to the royal Arnaults. But since you don¡¯t want any, then forget it,¡± Lucas said with a sneer. Jeffrey¡¯s face stiffened at the mention of the royal Arnaults, and killing intent shed across his eyes, but he quickly concealed it. But this momentary change in expression didn¡¯t escape Lucas¡¯s eyes, causing him to narrow his eyes slightly. There seems to be something between Jeffrey Arnault and the royal Arnaults! Generally speaking, if the royal Arnaults were really Jeffrey¡¯s backer and reliance, the expression in Jeffrey¡¯s eyes should be smug and proud when he heard Lucas mention them. He should have an expression of pride and fearlessness. But judging from Jeffrey¡¯s expression just now, this wasn¡¯t the case. Instead, it seemed that he had some hatred for the royal Arnaults. As a result, when he heard the mention of them, he couldn¡¯t help leaking killing intent from his eyes. It was really a little strange. But Lucas didn¡¯t know much about Jeffrey and the royal Arnaults, and he couldn¡¯t be bothered to investigate further. no eth hetor hdan, eht hsmeelnm nagtsndi beesdi Jeffrey nwke mseo stnghi uatbo eht s.pta heyT o knwe tath Lausc ahd uodcthe fJef¡¯eyrs oesr spto nehw eh ontmendei het ayolr n,rAst os tyhe weer gnitaol.g Jeffrey¡¯s expression darkened as he ordered coldly, ¡°Kill him!¡± Nameless immediately stepped on the ground, and his figure turned into a blur as he charged straight at Lucas at an extremely high speed. In the blink of an eye, his hand formed a w shape as he grabbed at Lucas¡¯s face! ¡°So fsta!¡± nemeoso aedlemx.ci The speed of this expert named Nameless was not at all inferior to that of Flying Shadow, the Piers¡¯ former top expert. Moreover, his offense looked even fiercer! If this grab really caught Lucas¡¯s head, it would definitely leave five bloody holes in his skull! Jace looked at the scene in front of him with an excited expression, so excited that he almost jumped. That¡¯s it! Crush the head of that bastard Lucas and make him die here! Rayson was also staring intently at Lucas, eagerly hoping to see him die at Nameless¡¯s hands. Only when Lucas was dead would he not pursue the matter of Rayson betraying him again. Otherwise, Rayson would definitely not be able to eat or sleep in peace in the future! After all, no matter how stupid he was, he knew that Lucas would only forgive him for his betrayal once, but he would never forgive him a second time. Only when Lucas was dead could he be at ease. Simrly, Eric, Greg, Samuel, and the others were also looking at the scene in front of them with anticipation, hoping that Lucas would die at Nameless¡¯s hands soon. As for the few people standing beside Lucas, they were full of horror, afraid that Lucas would suffer. Boom! Just as Nameless¡¯s hand was about to touch Lucas¡¯s face, he suddenly froze in the air. Immediately after, his body flew out faster than his approach and mmed into a marble pir at the entrance of the Capital International Hotel. Whoosh! The exquisite white marble pir was four meters tall and half a meter thick, but Nameless¡¯s collision with it broke it, and crushed marble fell to the ground. This scene instantly caused the eyeballs of countless people in the surroundings to almost pop out. None of them had seen clearly how Nameless suddenly flew out. Everything had happened too quickly, far faster than what their eyes could catch. Only Jeffrey¡¯s pupils constricted, and his expression darkened even more. He was a martial artist who had practiced martial arts for decades, so his eyesight was naturally much better than ordinary people¡¯s. Thus, he had seen what had just happened clearly. Just as Nameless¡¯s hand arrived in front of Lucas, Lucas quickly kicked him in the abdomen, sending him flying. And the speed of Lucas¡¯s kick was unimaginably fast. Ordinary people couldn¡¯t even see his afterimage, so they had no idea what kind of attack Nameless had suffered. Jace, Rayson, and the others, who had thought that Lucas was dead for sure, stared at the scene with their jaws agape, unable to believe what they were seeing. What¡­ what did Lucas do? They were only about ten meters away from Lucas, but they couldn¡¯t even see his actions clearly! Had he moved or not? How did he send Nameless flying? And the force was so strong that he even copsed a half-meter-thick marble pir? Fear surged in many people¡¯s hearts. Lucas was definitely an expert. Furthermore, he was a top expert! Even Nameless, one of the Arnaults¡¯ top experts, couldn¡¯t withstand a single blow from Lucas! ¡°Bastard! How dare you sneak attack me!¡± Nameless stood up from the copsed rubble, pointed at Lucas, and shouted angrily, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re also a martial arts practitioner. I originally wanted to fight you fair and square, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be so despicable. You actually used sinister methods to plot against me! ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I won¡¯t show you any mercy. I even deliberately restrained my strength! This time, I will use my full strength to make your blood stter!¡± After hearing Namelee¡¯s usation and scolding, Jace and the others realized that it wasn¡¯t because Lucas was too strong, nor was it because Nameless was too weak that he couldn¡¯t withstand a single blow. It was because Lucas had used a despicable and shameless sneak attack to send Nameless flying! After they understood this, many people¡¯s fear of Lucas immediately dissipated, and their eyes contained disdain. ¡°Master Nameless, Lucas Gray is a sinister and despicable person. You must be careful. Don¡¯t show any mercy!¡± Jace looked at Lucas maliciously. The people on Lucas¡¯s side were about to explode from anger. Edmund had a fiery temper, and he immediately pointed at Jace and the others and hollered, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any shame? What do you mean by sneak attack? Mr. Gray stood there without moving. It was Nameless who rushed forward to attack Mr. Gray but was beaten back by Mr. Gray. Is this a sneak attack? This is clearly a counterattack! Are you all illiterate?! Does someone sneak attack while standing still?¡± Oscar and the others also chimed in. ¡°That¡¯s right! Mr. Gray clearly executed a beautiful counterattack, but you actually said that he used a sneak attack. Are you blind? Also, if you want to talk about despicableness, you¡¯re the most despicable. Stop ndering people!¡± Nameless¡¯s eyes, which were full of killing intent, immediately swept over, and he said angrily, ¡°Shut up! If any of you dare to say any more nonsense, I¡¯ll kill you first!¡± Chapter 1379 - Chapter 1379: Shameless Chapter 1379: Shameless Jeffrey said calmly, ¡°Lucas Gray, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so shameless. You don¡¯t even dare to fight openly and only dare to use some dirty tricks. What kind of man are you? ¡°To think that I heard that your martial arts skills were not bad. But it turns out that you relied on sneak attacks to win your reputation! You¡¯re so young, but you haven¡¯t learned well. Since your parents didn¡¯t teach you, I¡¯ll teach you! ¡°Nameless, go teach him a lesson!¡± The corners of Lucas¡¯s mouth twitched. He was utterly speechless. Sneak attack? Nameless felt ashamed, so he imed that he hadn¡¯t used his full strength. And he even said that he had been sneak attacked in an attempt to preserve his dignity. Regarding this act of burying his head in the sand, Lucas could only be speechless. As for Jace and the others, who didn¡¯t understand martial arts and hated him to the core, they would find opportunities to maliciously nder him. Lucas was already used to it. Jeffrey, on the other hand, was clearly someone who had practiced martial arts for decades. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t see what had happened. But he still used Lucas of sneak attacking with a sanctimonious expression. It was very funny and shameless. However, Lucas didn¡¯t have the time to pay attention to him. Nameless, who had just suffered a loss, was already charging toward him even faster than before. ¡°Go to hell!¡± This time, Nameless didn¡¯t use his hand. Instead, he used the force of the charge to leap up high and suddenly kick at Lucas¡¯s head! Whoosh! This fierce kick even caused a whistling sound in the air, which was enough to show how powerful this kick was. ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± Lucas sneered and threw a punch, urately hitting the center of Nameless¡¯s foot. Bang! Nameless was sent flying again, even faster than the previous time. Then with a thud, he fell into the pile of marble rubble again, stirring up a cloud of dust. He raised his head and spat out a mouthful of blood. Everyone looked at the scene in front of them with their mouths agape, utterly unable to believe their eyes. This time, they could feel the immense strength contained in Nameless¡¯s kick even from afar. But Lucas had remained where he was and casually thrown a punch. Even so, he had sent Nameless flying again. Moreover, he even injured Nameless and made him vomit blood. If not for the fact that they knew that Nameless had been by Jeffrey¡¯s side for many years, many people would have suspected that he was cooperating with Lucas to act in a y. It was too exaggerated and unbelievable! Was the disparity between their martial arts skills really that great? Nameless had been sent flying twice in a row. One time, he had broken a solid, half-meter thick marble pir. The other time, he had vomited blood and was in a tragic state. On the other hand, Lucas had stood still without moving a single step. Even the expression on his face didn¡¯t change. He was still as rxed as before, as though he had just casually swat a mosquito away. This¡­ this disparity was really terrifying! Joyless, who was standing beside Jeffrey, finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He pointed at Lucas and scolded loudly, ¡°Ahem, punk, you actually dared to sneak attack again! You¡¯re simply the scum of martial arts practitioners! Scum!¡± Nameless was his younger brother. Now, Lucas had defeated him so easily and even caused him to vomit blood and suffer injuries. Joyless couldn¡¯t tolerate this. ¡°A martial arts practitioner using such despicable means in a battle is reprehensible! Lucas Gray, I will publicize this and make you the shame of the martial arts world!¡± Jeffrey said with a gloomy expression, his eyes filled with killing intent. When Jace, Rayson, and the others heard this, they immediately echoed, ¡°That¡¯s right! Lucas Gray, you¡¯re a despicable viin. A martial arts practitioner actually resorted to sneak attacks. You¡¯re simply shameless to the extreme! A person like you should be made an example of in the martial arts world so as not to let scum like you insult the entire martial arts world!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Lucas Gray isn¡¯t worthy of being a martial arts practitioner. We should break his limbs and make him a cripple forever!¡± ¡°I agree. We should cripple him so that he won¡¯t be able to do evil with his martial arts skills anymore!¡± Edmund and the others were so infuriated by the shameless usations that they were on the verge of vomiting blood. ¡°Stop talking nonsense! I¡¯ve lived for more than seventy years, but I¡¯ve never seen anyone as shameless as you. You¡¯re twisting the truth and ndering Mr. Gray! ¡± ¡°You¡¯re blind, but we¡¯re not! Clearly, Nameless rushed up and attacked Mr. Gray twice, but Mr. Gray knocked him back twice. Where did the sneak attackse from?¡± ¡°Moreover, with Mr. Gray¡¯s ability, why would he need to sneak attack a good-for-nothing like Nameless, who failed to even touch the corner of his clothes twice? What a joke!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If Mr. Gray had sneak attacked, Nameless¡¯s head would have already fallen to the ground. How could you shout here?¡± ¡°Besides, is this apetition in an arena? You wanted to kill Mr. Gray, but you failed. You even have the cheek to talk about martial arts spirit. You¡¯re making meugh my head off!¡± On Lucas¡¯s side, Edmund, Jonah, Oscar, and the others were not to be trifled with either. They immediately retorted, scolding Jeffrey¡¯s people for distorting the truth and being shameless. Jace and the others had maliciously ndered Lucas to begin with, and after Edmund and the others refuted them, they were instantly furious. They cursed, ¡°You bastards! Lucas Gray has always liked to make sneak attacks and doesn¡¯t care about morals at all. He even sneak attacked an elderly man in his sixties. In that case, we don¡¯t have to be polite with him anymore!¡± They turned to Jeffrey and suggested, ¡°Mr. Arnault, I think it¡¯s better to let Master Nameless and Master Joyless attack together. Since Lucas Gray is so shameless, we should kill him!¡± Jeffrey looked satisfied, but he still looked righteous as he said, ¡°Lucas Gray, you were the one who sneak attacked someone first. Since you¡¯re refusing to change your ways, you can¡¯t me us! Today, we¡¯re going to get rid of a scumbag for the martial arts world! ¡°Nameless, Joyless, the two of you attack together. Kill Lucas and get rid of evil for the world!¡± He made it sound very righteous. He clearly wanted his subordinates to shamelessly fight two-on-one, but he still falsely used Lucas. Edmund immediately jumped up in anger. ¡°Jeffrey, you old bastard, you¡¯re really too shameless! If you can¡¯t win, you can¡¯t win. You couldn¡¯t win in a one-on-one battle, so you¡¯re ganging up on Mr. Gray. If you said it clearly, I would still think that you¡¯re a man! ¡°You¡¯re clearly ndering Mr. Gray, but you¡¯re pretending to be sanctimonious about it and even saying that you¡¯re getting rid of evil for the world. You are so shameless that it¡¯s unbelievable! You¡¯ve lived for so long, so you¡¯ve developed your shamelessness to the extreme, haven¡¯t you?¡± Bruce sneered. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re indeed a hypocrite! In terms of shamelessness, no one canpare to you!¡± Even Jonah, who had just submitted to Lucas not long ago, couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and said mockingly, ¡°Mr. Arnault, I¡¯ve seen your upbringing and family education. They¡¯re indeed quite something. I¡¯ve never seen better!¡± Damon also sneered. ¡°It¡¯s just shamelessness! But Mr. Gray¡¯s strength is apparent to all. He¡¯s not someone you can nder! So what if you send two people against Mr. Gray? They still won¡¯t be his match! ¡°I¡¯d like to see when they can¡¯t defeat Mr. Gray in a two-on-one if you¡¯ll still be shameless enough to say that Mr.. Gray sneak attacked them alone!¡± Chapter 1380 - Chapter 1380: Where Do You Get Your Confidence From? Chapter 1380: Where Do You Get Your Confidence From? ¡°Shut up! All of you, shut up! ¡°If you dare to disrespect me again, all of you will die! ¡°Go kill Lucas Gray for me. Kill him immediately!¡± Being scolded by a group of people younger than him and who disregarded him, Jeffrey felt embarrassed and flew into a rage. !! Nameless and Joyless looked at each other. Their actions were extremely quick as they immediately charged at Lucas. They were so fast that ordinary people couldn¡¯t see their movements at all. They could only vaguely see two blurry ck figures rushing at Lucas. Lucas¡¯s expression was still calm. Just as the two ck figures were about to reach him, he suddenly sneered. ¡°You have a death wish!¡± Lucas threw two punches and hit the two ck shadows! Bang! Bang! With the sounds of two violent collisions, the two ck shadows grunted and shot back again. Theynded at Jeffrey¡¯s feet, smashing two deep pits in the hard stone floor at the entrance of the Capital International Hotel. Everyone was shocked. Before they could react, Lucas¡¯s figure suddenly disappeared and appeared in front of the two brothers. Bang! Lucas raised his foot and stepped on Nameless¡¯s neck. With a loud crack, he broke his neck! Beside them, Joyless¡¯s expression changed drastically. Before he could be sad or angry, he was terrified and wanted to escape. But before he could react, Lucas stepped on his chest, and he couldn¡¯t struggle free. ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Joyless was so frightened that he couldn¡¯t even say aplete sentence. ¡°I sneak attacked?¡± Lucas looked at Jeffrey, who was standing in front of him, and said mockingly, ¡°Do I need to sneak attack to deal with these two good-for-nothings?¡± Everyone was so shocked that their eyeballs were about to fall out. If there were people who really believed that Lucas had used some kind of sneak attack to plot against Nameless, then no one believed such nonsense anymore. What a joke. Lucas had faced the two brothers¡¯ attacks alone and sent them flying. It took less than five seconds for one of them to be dead and the other to be injured! With such a huge disparity in strength, was there a need for Lucas to sneak attack? There was a world of difference between them. It was as simple as an adult pushing down two children who had just learned to walk. Would anyone say that the adult pushed down the two children with a sneak attack? It was simply ridiculous! Jeffrey¡¯s face had already turned pale. He had watched helplessly as Nameless, one of his most capable subordinates, had his throat crushed by Lucas¡¯s foot. He had died in front of him and was still staring at him with his eyes wide open. Seeing his other top expert seriously injured and unable to get up after being stepped on by Lucas and could be trampled to death at any moment and sent to apany his brother, Jeffrey felt a chill run down his spine! At this moment, he truly felt a deep sense of fear toward Lucas! Beside Jeffrey, Jace, Rayson, and the others, who had shouted the loudest earlier, seemed to have their necks suddenly pinched. Their faces were covered in cold sweat, and they couldn¡¯t say a word. They wished they could hide somewhere where Lucas couldn¡¯t see them. Although they had long known that Lucas was extremely strong and not an ordinary person, it was only after seeing it with their own eyes that they finally understood how terrifyingly strong he was! Even when Jeffrey¡¯s two most powerful experts joined forces, they couldn¡¯t touch Lucas at all. Instead, in just a few seconds, one of them died, and the other was injured. Such frightening strength had far exceeded the imagination of Jace, Rayson, and the others! Greg, Eric, Samuel, and the others also looked at Lucas in fear, as if they were looking at a monster. The fear made their legs go weak and their bodies tremble. ¡°Lucas Gray, I admit that you are indeed very strong. You are much stronger than I imagined,¡± Jeffrey said while staring at Lucas. ¡°However, don¡¯t think that you¡¯re invincible! ¡°I¡¯m warning you. You killed my subordinate, so you¡¯d better kneel down and apologize to me now. I can spare you this time! Otherwise, only endless revenge awaits you!¡± Jeffrey¡¯s words were very domineering. Lucas had defeated his two most powerful experts, but he still dared to speak to Lin Chen in such a manner. He wanted Lucas to kneel down and apologize to him! Where did he get his confidence from? But what Jeffrey said made Jace and the others, who had just fallen into despair and fear, instantly find hope again. Jeffrey definitely had backup! Otherwise, he would never have dared to provoke Lucas like this! Although everyone knew that Jeffrey had been practicing martial arts for decades, he was in histe seventies after all. He was no match for Lucas. But the force behind Jeffrey should be what he was relying on! At the thought of which family Jeffrey was from, Jace, Rayson, and the others immediately became lively again. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡¯re dead meat! You bumpkin, do you know how terrifying Mr. Arnault¡¯s background is? You¡¯d be scared to death if you knew! If you don¡¯t want to die, kneel down and apologize to Mr. Arnault immediately!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Mr. Arnault isn¡¯t an ordinary person. He¡¯s not someone that someone like you can afford to offend! You actually spoke rudely to him and even killed one of his subordinates. This is simply unforgivable!¡± ¡°Hehe, Mr. Arnault¡¯s revenge is definitely not something that ordinary people can withstand! Just wait to be hunted down until you die! You will never be able to escape!¡± These people were like annoying flies, and they immediately started buzzing again. Jeffrey was very pleased with what he heard. He raised his head and said proudly, ¡°Lucas Gray, did you hear that? The consequences of offending me are not something you can withstand! ¡°If you obediently admit your mistakes, kneel down, and beg for mercy, I¡¯ll consider¡ª Smack! Before Jeffrey could finish speaking, Lucas suddenly raised his hand and pped him across the face! Lucas was really annoyed. This person only had a little rtionship with the royal Arnaults, but he was actually pretending in front of him. Did he really think that he was afraid of him? He was just pretending to be a big shot to intimidate others! Although Lucas usually didn¡¯t attack the elderly or women, some people were just too despicable. Since he wanted to be beaten up, Lucas could only fulfill his wish.. Chapter 1381 - Chapter 1381: I’ll Satisfy You Chapter 1381: I¡¯ll Satisfy You Jeffrey¡¯s eyes widened as he felt the burning sensation on his face. He was stunned for a long time before he finally realized that he had really been pped! He was pped by a boy in his twenties who was even younger than his grandsons! ¡°You¡­ How dare you hit me?!¡± Jeffrey blurted out in disbelief. Jeffrey had never suffered such humiliation in many years! !! Jace and the others were also stunned. It took them a while to realize what had happened, and their mouths were instantly wide open enough to fit a whole egg in! They couldn¡¯t believe that Jeffrey, who was exceptionally noble in their eyes and whom they didn¡¯t dare to offend at all, had been pped by Lucas! Moreover, it was in front of so many people! This was simply forming a death feud with Jeffrey! How dare Lucas?! Was he really not afraid of the Arnaults¡¯ revenge? ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡­ you actually¡­ actually dared to p Mr. Arnault! Y-you¡¯re doomed!¡± Jace stuttered, unable to speak smoothly due to his extreme shock. Oh my god! Why is he so damn fearless? In contrast to the extreme shock on Jeffrey¡¯s side, the people standing on Lucas¡¯s side felt relieved, and they even cheered and pped. ¡°Good! Well done! Mr. Gray, well done! You should p a shameless person like Jeffrey Arnault a few times to wake him up!¡± ¡°Haha, look at the expression on this old dog¡¯s face. It¡¯s so satisfying! Who does he think he is? He actually wanted Mr. Gray to kneel and beg for mercy. Is he worthy? He deserved it!¡± ¡°When I heard what this old man said earlier, I was so pissed off. He doesn¡¯t have the demeanor of an elder at all. He talked so much nonsense without even blinking an eye, and he thinks the Arnaults are very powerful! Haha, how satisfying!¡± Edmund, Bruce, Oscar, and the others felt at ease andfortable. Smack! Lucas pped Jeffrey again and asked with a smile, ¡°Mr. Arnault, was that a sneak attack?¡± Jeffrey¡¯s face flushed red with anger, and he was on the verge of exploding with anger. ¡°Lucas Gray, how dare you humiliate me like this! I dare you to try touching me again!¡± In his entire life, other than being kicked out by the royal Arnaults when he was young, his life had always been smooth sailing. With his noble status, no one had ever dared toy a hand on him! And now was the most humiliating moment in Jeffrey¡¯s life! Lucas smiled. ¡°Okay, Mr. Arnault. Since you want me to try touching you again, I can only obey.¡± He waved his hand again. Smack! A resounding pnded on Jeffrey¡¯s face again. ¡°Mr. Arnault, although your request for me to p you is very strange, you¡¯re already so old, so I have to remember to respect the old. I hope you¡¯re satisfied with this p.¡± Lucas spoke with a smile, but what he said made Jeffrey almost fly into an uncontroble rage. ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± Jeffrey¡¯s face was as red as blood, and his eyes were wide with anger. He was so angry that his entire body was trembling, and he couldn¡¯t even say aplete sentence. However, Lucas continued, ¡°Hmm? Mr. Arnault, what are you trying to say? Are you still unsatisfied? Do you think that I pped you too lightly? Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m here to satisfy you. I will definitely satisfy you!¡± With that, Lucas raised his hand again, and several resounding psnded on Jeffrey¡¯s face again. Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Looking at the scene of Lucas pping Jeffrey, everyone¡¯s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Jeffrey was the dignified helmsman of the Arnaults. He had lived for more than seventy years and had always been proud and noble. But now, Lucas was pping him mercilessly. It was unbelievable! In particr, Lucas¡¯sst few ps loosened Jeffrey¡¯s teeth. Two teeth even broke, and blood spurted out of Jeffrey¡¯s mouth. This sight was even more shocking. ¡°Mr. Arnault, are you satisfied? If you¡¯re still not satisfied, I don¡¯t mind pping you a few more times until you¡¯re satisfied.¡± Lucas had a smile on his face, but his words were like a demon¡¯s. ¡°Ahhh! You bastard! I must kill you! I want you to die a horrible death!¡± Jeffrey was about to go crazy from anger. He could no longer endure it. With a furious roar, he formed a w with his fingers and grabbed at Lucas¡¯s face! Lucas was standing in front of him now. He had to dig out Lucas¡¯s eyeballs and crush them to avenge himselfl Lucas sneered. How could he be caught by someone like Jeffrey? He turned his body sideways and easily dodged Jeffrey¡¯s vicious attack. Then he kicked his knee, causing him to kneel on the ground. He looked down at Jeffrey, who was kneeling on the ground in a sorry state. He put away the smile on his face and said coldly, ¡°Jeffrey Arnault, you should be d that you¡¯re old. I didn¡¯t want to have the reputation of killing the elderly, so I spared your life! ¡°Don¡¯t you like getting people to kneel down and apologize to you? Now, feel the feeling of kneeling on the ground and reflect on what you did wrong!¡± Jeffrey hollered furiously, ¡°Punk! I must kill you! Kill you! Go to hell!¡± He was indignant and wanted to charge at Lucas again. His goal was to hug Lucas¡¯s legs. After hugging Lucas¡¯s legs, he had to tear off a piece of flesh from them! ¡°You really don¡¯t know how to appreciate favors!¡± Lucas snorted coldly and kicked Jeffrey to the ground. Then before Jeffrey could do anything else, he stepped on his chest, preventing him from moving. ¡°Are you still indignant? Hehe, your life is already in my hands. What right do you have to be indignant?¡± Lucas asked with a sneer. At the same time, he stepped harder on Jeffrey¡¯s chest. Although this wouldn¡¯t directly trample Jeffrey to death, it would still cause him extreme pain and difort. ¡°You¡­ you actually¡­¡± Jeffrey felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if even the air in his lungs had been squeezed out, making it extremely difficult for him to breathe. ¡°Do you know who I am? I¡­ am a member of the royal Arnault family! If you dare to touch me, the Arnaults will never let you off! ¡°You¡¯re just a nobody. If a royal family branch wants to kill you, you won¡¯t be able to escape no matter how good your martial arts skills are! ¡°You¡­ Cough cough. Let go of me immediately and kneel down to beg me to spare you!¡± Lucas looked at Jeffrey under his foot speechlessly. He had no idea what was going on in his mind.. ... Chapter 1382 - Chapter 1382: Is There Backup? Chapter 1382: Is There Backup? Now, the person being stepped on and whose life was under someone¡¯s control was Jeffrey. But he still acted as if he was the most impressive and great person, and he actually dared to order Lucas to kneel down and beg him. There was really something wrong with his brain. Otherwise, Jeffrey wouldn¡¯t have thought that the royal Arnaults were so mighty that when Lucas heard the name, he should immediately kneel down to beg for mercy in fright. Lucas had never seen such a pretentious and stupid person. He was already on the verge of death, but he was still trying to use the name of a family to suppress him. It was really too ridiculous. Lucas narrowed his eyes and pulled Jeffrey up from the ground. ¡°Jeffrey Arnault, it seems that you still haven¡¯t figured out your own situation. In that case, I¡¯ll help you. Don¡¯t say that I¡¯m bullying you!¡± Jeffrey gulped and asked nervously, ¡°Wh-what do you want to do?¡± The helmsmen standing beside Jeffrey also looked nervous, afraid that Lucas would do something to Jeffrey. Jeffrey was the backbone of their group! If Jeffrey hadn¡¯t arrived and gathered six of the eight top families of DC, they wouldn¡¯t have dared to be hostile with Lucas at all, much less fight against him! They had thought that Jeffrey definitely had a way to deal with Lucas and were all ready to deal with the defeated Lucas. But they didn¡¯t expect that Jeffrey¡¯s two most powerful experts were not Lucas¡¯s match at all. Even Jeffrey himself had been pped by Lucas in front of so many people and had even lost a few of his teeth, making himpletely disgraced. And now, Jeffrey had fallen into Lucas¡¯s hands, and even his life was under Lucas¡¯s control. This waspletely different from what they had imagined! Jace had long hated Lucas to the core, so much so that he wished Lucas would immediately die in front of him. But in the end, Lucas didn¡¯t die no matter what. Now, he was still so arrogant. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Lucas, you¡¯ve controlled Mr. Arnault in public and even bullied him. He¡¯s an elderly man in his seventies. Are you still human?¡± Jace scolded Lucas righteously. ¡°Moreover, Mr. Arnault is from the royal Arnault family. If you dare to treat Mr. Arnault like this, the royal Arnaults will definitely not let you off! Do you think you can continue living a carefree Jace hurriedly said to Jeffrey, ¡°Mr. Arnault, Lucas Gray is just a pitiful worm who has been kicked out of the Huttons for more than twenty years. He has no background at all. He just went to be a soldier for a few years and learned some martial arts. Then he thought that he was very powerful and looked down on everyone. Even I was bullied by him! ¡°Back then, if the Huttons hadn¡¯t raised him for a few years, and my father hadn¡¯t been kind enough to hand over the Stardust Corporation to him after seeing how pitiful he was, he would still be living miserably in Orange County. He would still be the live-in son-inw of a small family and would be worse than a pig. He would be looked down on every day! ¡°But this person doesn¡¯t know how to be grateful at all. He¡¯s an ungrateful bastard! ¡°Mr. Arnault, you don¡¯t have to be polite with such a person. I know that you must have arranged other top experts around here. Now, you should quickly call them out to kill this bastard!¡± Lucas nced at Jace and found that he was still as stupid and vicious as ever. He had thought that after Jace lost his position as the sessor of the Huttons and was frightened by him a few times, he should have be a bit smarter. At the very least, he should understand that Lucas wasn¡¯t someone he could provoke. Unexpectedly, Jace was still so stupid. At this time, he was still thinking about how to plot against Lucas and get Jeffrey to find people to deal with him. Actually, Jace did seem to have grown a little smarter after the repeated blows. He had revealed a little of Lucas¡¯s background in front of Jeffrey and clearly told him that Lucas had no backing to rely on so that he could deal with him boldly. But it was unknown if Jace had selectively forgotten or intentionally left out the most important part¡ªLucas¡¯s true identity. Rayson also hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Arnault, Jace is right. Lucas Gray is indeed a nobody with no background. He¡¯s just an illegitimate son of the Huttons. He was kicked out of the Hutton family twenty years ago and chased out of DC. Only this year did he suddenly return to DC. He doesn¡¯t have any other background or backing! ¡°Such a small fry dares to offend you like this. He deserves to die! Mr. Arnault, quickly call out the other experts you¡¯ve arranged to kill him! ¡°Even if you kill him now, no one will say a word for him, much less avenge him!¡± ¡°Mr. Arnault, that¡¯s right. Kill Lucas Gray!¡± Greg, Samuel, and the others also spoke up. Jeffrey¡¯s expression was very gloomy. He shut his mouth tightly and didn¡¯t say a word. But a glint shed across his eyes, as if he was thinking about something. But what Jace, Rayson, and the others said immediately annoyed Edmund and the others. With anger written all over his face, Edmund was the first to step forward and roar, ¡°Bullshit! Who said that even if Mr. Gray dies, no one will care or take revenge? As long as I, Edmund Cole, am around, no one is allowed to touch Mr. Gray! And if something really happens to him, I will definitely take revenge for him even if I have to risk the destruction of the Coles!¡± Bruce also stepped forward and said righteously, ¡°That¡¯s right! Mr. Gray still has the Hales following him. I won¡¯t let you touch him easily!¡± ¡°And the Parkers too! There¡¯s no way you cany a hand Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°The same goes for the Smiths!¡± ¡°And the Fullers too!¡± Immediately, the several helmsmen standing beside Lucas spoke up one after another, expressing their support for Lucas. If not for the fact that they believed in Lucas so much, they wouldn¡¯t still be standing firmly on his side at this time. They had confidence in Lucas and believed that he would never fail. Of course, they knew very well that this was a risky gamble. They were betting all of their family¡¯s assets and lives that Lucas would definitely win. If Lucas won, they would win as well. But if Lucas lost, everything they had, including their lives, would probably be lost as well. Their lives were already closely linked to Lucas¡¯s. Lucas looked up at the people talking beside him, and a faint smile slowly appeared on his lips. No matter when or for what reason, it wasn¡¯t a bad feeling to know that there was a group of people willing to speak up for him and willing to gamble their lives with him.. Chapter 1383 - Chapter 1383: You’re So Pitiful Chapter 1383: You¡¯re So Pitiful On the other side, Jace rolled his eyes in disdain. ¡°Heh, you¡¯re just a motley crew formed by ignorant third-rate families. How dare you threaten us? ¡°We have six of the eight top families in DC on our side. If we want to crush your small families to death, it¡¯s as easy as crushing a few ants! You¡¯re too arrogant!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Lucas sneered, his eyes cold as he looked at Jace. Jace subconsciously shivered and immediately looked away, not daring to look into Lucas¡¯s eyes anymore, wishing he could hide behind everyone. For some reason, he felt a great sense of danger from Lucas¡¯s gaze. It was as if his heart had been stabbed by a knife. But at the thought that he had six other families beside him and that their lineup was even stronger, Jace regained his courage. ¡°Lucas, are you unconvinced? Isn¡¯t that a collection of junk on your side?¡± Lucas narrowed his eyes and suddenlyughed. ¡°Is that so? Do you think that you¡¯re so impressive and noble? Yes, I don¡¯t have any backers to rely on. But a person like me is enough to suppress people like you who have a lot of backers. You can only stand there and talk, but no one dares toe forward and attack me! ¡°Inparison, who is junk?¡± ¡°You!¡± Jace was furious, but what Lucas said hit the nail on the head. He really didn¡¯t dare to go forward and fight with Lucas. However, he was unwilling to admit defeat in front of Lucas. He could only retort indignantly and ipetently, ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re impressive and invincible! Just you wait. Mr. Arnault will definitely not let you off! If the royal Arnaults know that you bullied the Arnaults, they will definitely hunt you down all over the world! Let¡¯s see how long you can continue to be arrogant!¡± Lucas couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his breath on Jace¡¯s childish words. He ignored him and turned to Jeffrey, who was in his hand. ¡°Mr. Arnault, I really pity you now. ¡°Look, you¡¯ve fallen into my hands, and your life and death are in my hands. But the families you¡¯ve won over don¡¯t even dare to move, let alone save you. They only dare to stand far away and talk nonsense. They only know how to encourage you to deal with me. Look at how pitiful you are! ¡°Just now, Rayson Williams said that no one would care about me after I died, but the people around me immediately refuted him. What about you? Mr. Arnault, if I kill you right now, do you think those people over there will rush out to avenge you?¡± There was undisguised mockery in Lucas¡¯s voice. Then he let go of Jeffrey and looked at him with a faint smile. Jeffrey¡¯s expression was gloomy. After regaining his freedom, he didn¡¯t move. Instead, he looked at Eric, Jace, Rayson, and the others who had just submitted him, his gaze dark and profound. Then he suddenly ordered, ¡°Speaking of which, you have indeed been standing there for a long time. It¡¯s time to move. I order you to kill Lucas Gray immediately! Do it now!¡± His words stunned Jace, Rayson, and the others. No one expected Lucas to suddenly release Jeffrey, and no one expected Jeffrey to be affected by what Lucas said. He actually ordered them to kill Lucas! But how were they going to kill Lucas? Just now, Jeffrey had sent out his two most powerful experts, but they had been no match for Lucas at all. Even when the two of them joined forces, they couldn¡¯t touch Lucas at all. Instead, he had killed one of them and severely injured the other. Lucas was so powerful. Who would dare to rush forward to deal with him at this moment? They encouraged Jeffrey to attack Lucas because they knew that Jeffrey was from the royal Arnault family and had to have a top expert following him. Furthermore, they thought that it was impossible for Jeffrey toe here and fight against Lucas with just a few people. Thus, they all felt that Jeffrey must have prepared extremely powerful backup. Even if Nameless and Joyless died, he definitely had other ways to deal with Lucas. As for them¡­ they didn¡¯t have anyone who could go against Lucas. Sending their subordinates out would only be sending them to their deaths. Who would be willing?! For a moment, the members of the five families looked left and right, hoping that the people around them would go up while they hid at the back. After a few minutes, no one dared to step forward and say that they were going to deal with Lucas. As for Lucas¡¯s side, they had far fewer people than the other side, but their aura was much stronger than the other side¡¯s. Especially after hearing Jeffrey¡¯s order, Edmund was the first to step forward and stand in front of Lucas. He red at Jeffrey, Jace, and the others and shouted, ¡°You won¡¯t be able toy a hand on Mr. Gray unless the Coles are destroyed!¡± ¡°If anyone dares to touch Mr. Gray, the Hales will definitely not let them off!¡± ¡°With the Parkers here, no one cany a finger on Mr. Gray!¡± ¡°The Smiths are here too. If anyone dares to make a move against Mr. Gray, I¡¯ll kill them first!¡± ¡°If you want to harm Mr. Gray, you have to get past the Fullers first!¡± Instantly, the few helmsmen standing beside Lucas stood in front of him with furious expressions as they red at the group of people opposite them. This scene was actually surprisingly shocking. It was because there were so few of them and everyone¡¯s expressions were very serious that they subconsciously carried a tragic and magnificent feeling, making it even more shocking. Indeed, among these families, other than the Smiths, which were one of the eight top families, the other families, such as the Parkers, the Hales, the Coles, the Fullers, and a few others, were all second-tier families in DC or families that had juste to DC to develop. Naturally, they were notparable to the eight top families of DC. But now, the helmsmen of these families were standing in front of Lucas with an imposing manner. The aura they produced was extremely astonishing, and it even suppressed the alliance of the seven families opposite them. Many people were shocked speechless. Lucas smiled at Jeffrey. ¡°Mr. Arnault, do you see? I don¡¯t need to give any orders to the people who follow me. They will take the initiative to protect me and not let you do anything to me. ¡°And look at the people on your side. Even though you¡¯ve ordered them to take action immediately, they only know how to shirk and don¡¯t dare toe forward for fear of losing their subordinates. They will only encourage you to take action so that they can sit back and enjoy the fruits of yourbor. ¡°These people are the real ingrates. They¡¯re choosing to follow you now because you¡¯re still useful to them. Of course, even though you¡¯re very useful to them, they don¡¯t dare to step forward to save you when you¡¯re in danger. Look, aren¡¯t you pitiful? ¡°Moreover, how long do you n to keep these ingrates around you? Aren¡¯t you afraid that they will stab you in the back when they think you¡¯re useless?¡± What Lucas said immediately caused the expressions of Jace, Rayson, Greg, and the others to change drastically!. Chapter 1384 - Chapter 1384: Strange Alliance Chapter 1384: Strange Alliance Jace immediately shouted, ¡°Mr. Arnault, Lucas is deliberately sowing discord! We will never betray you! ¡°I think he knows that we have more people on our side and he has fewer people on his, so he¡¯s trying to sow discord between us so that we fight among ourselves first! Don¡¯t fall for his trap!¡± The others hurriedly said, ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Arnault. You mustn¡¯t be fooled by this punk! He just wants you to be hostile toward us and target us!¡± ¡°Exactly. Mr. Arnault, this punk is simply evil. We can¡¯t let him live! You¡¯d better quickly call out the elites of the Arnaults that you¡¯ve arranged and kill Lucas Gray!¡± ¡°I concur. Mr. Arnault, hurry up and kill him! This punk deserves to die!¡± Hearing these people trying to get Jeffrey to kill him, Lucas ignored them and continued to say to Jeffrey, ¡°Mr. Arnault, do you see that? These people keep saying that they¡¯re on your side, but they only know how to ask you to call people over to deal with me while they¡¯re just waving gs and shouting at the side. They don¡¯t even dare to send out a single subordinate. ¡°And this is because they know that I¡¯m very powerful. They know that even if they send people over, they¡¯ll only be tempting fate in front of me. They can¡¯t bear to part with their subordinates. ¡°However, they keep encouraging you to send people. They want to use me to kill all the experts you send to weaken the Arnaults. ¡°And when most of the Arnaults¡¯ experts are dead, I will definitely be exhausted and unable to fight anymore. At that time, they will take this opportunity to take us both down. ¡°This way, not only will they use you to get rid of me, their enemy, but they will also use me to weaken the Arnaults so that they can divide the Arnaults¡¯ assets as spoils of war! ¡°Mr. Arnault, as smart as you are, you should have thought of such an oue, right?¡± Lucas¡¯s tone was gentle, but there were swords hidden in his words, and every word pricked Jeffrey¡¯s and the helmsmen¡¯s hearts. Jeffrey¡¯s expression became more and more sullen. He knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t scaremongering. It was very likely that it would really happen! And he could even imagine what the scene would be like in his mind. Seeing that Jeffrey¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t good, Jace and others started panicking. Jeffrey was really convinced by Lucas. He was starting to suspect them! Lucas did it on purpose. He deserved to die! Rayson was the most panicked. He had already betrayed people twice in a row. If Jeffrey suspected that someone would betray him, he would definitely be the first one suspected! ¡°Mr. Arnault, you¡¯re so smart and wise. You must be able to tell that Lucas Gray is trying to sow discord between us and make you suspect us! We really won¡¯t do that. You have to believe us!¡± Rayson said anxiously to Jeffrey. Lucas smiled. ¡°Oh? Mr. Williams, you don¡¯t seem to agree with my spection. How about this? Shall you send people to kill me first?¡± When Rayson heard this, his expression instantly stiffened. He only wanted to show his loyalty in front of Jeffrey. It would be best if he could get Jeffrey to send people to kill Lucas. But he didn¡¯t say that he would take the lead and get his subordinates to send themselves to their deaths! If his people could defeat Lucas, would he still suffer in front of him every time? Would he still dare to be angry but not dare to speak out? Rayson froze and didn¡¯t dare to speak. Lucas smiled. ¡°Mr. Williams, why aren¡¯t you saying anything? Aren¡¯t you very loyal to Mr. Arnault and can¡¯t wait to kill me immediately? What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯m standing right here. Why don¡¯t you dare to send anyone to attack me? ¡°Or do you really want Mr. Arnault and I to fight to the death so that you can take advantage of the situation to reap benefits?¡± Lucas said these things on purpose. Rayson¡¯s repeated betrayals had already made Lucas want to kill him. Jeffrey red at Rayson Williams and said coldly, ¡°Rayson Williams, send people to deal with Lucas Gray immediately!¡± Rayson had a bitter taste in his mouth as cold sweat broke out all over his body. He stammered, ¡°Mr. Arnault, y-you think too highly of the Williams. The Williams are no match for Lucas Gray! Only the top experts of the Arnaults can deal with him!¡± ¡°Bastard!¡± Jeffrey was furious. He raised his hand and pped Rayson hard in the face. ¡°Rayson Williams, do you really think I¡¯m a fool? If you still don¡¯t dare to attack, I won¡¯t be polite to you!¡± Rayson covered his face, but he still said pitifully, ¡°Mr. Arnault, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to attack Lucas Gray, but¡­ but I really can¡¯t beat him!¡± ¡°Good-for-nothing!¡± Jeffrey pped Rayson¡¯s face again, extremely angry. Jeffrey was certain that Rayson had a hidden agenda, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered with him anymore. He suddenly pointed at Jace and ordered, ¡°Huttons, go deal with Lucas Gray!¡± Jace was shocked and hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Arnault, I¡­ These people of the Huttons are useless too. They¡¯re no match for Lucas Gray! I think we¡ª¡± ¡°Good-for-nothing!¡± Jeffrey pped Jace before he could finish speaking. ¡°Do you also not dare to touch Lucas Gray, huh? You don¡¯t even dare to send out your subordinates, but you keep urging me the Arnaults to. Do you also have that idea?¡± The corner of Jace¡¯s mouth cracked from the p, and blood flowed out, but he didn¡¯t dare to speak back at all. He could only lower his head and pretend to be deaf. The Huttons didn¡¯t have many experts to begin with, and he still had to leave some people to deal with Roman. He clearly knew he would be sending people out to die, so how could he do such a thing? Jeffrey looked at Samuel. ¡°Howards, you go!¡± Samuel shrank his neck and pretended to be dead. Smack! Jeffrey pped him to the ground and scolded, ¡°You¡¯re also a good-for-nothing!¡± ¡°Steeles, you go!¡± Greg immediately lowered his head and pretended to be deaf. ¡°Bransons!¡± Eric lowered his head and didn¡¯t say anything. Jeffrey was about to die of anger. These people kept saying that they wanted to kill Lucas with him, but when he asked them to deal with Lucas, none of them dared to move. They only encouraged the Arnaults to attack. Did they really think he was a fool? From the looks of it, Lucas was right. These bastards were all ingrates. Other than using him, they didn¡¯t know how to do anything else! ¡°Alright, all of you can continue to pretend to be deaf and mute. You don¡¯t dare to send anyone to attack, right?¡± Jeffrey was so angry that he suddenlyughed and announced, ¡°Then, I, Jeffrey Arnault, announce again that from now on, the Arnaults will join forces with Mr. Lucas Gray and start a war against your six families!¡± As soon as he said this, everyone¡¯s eyes immediately widened in shock!. Chapter 1385 - Chapter 1385: Compensate My Brother Chapter 1385: Compensate My Brother What¡­ what did they just hear? Jeffrey actually said that he wanted to join forces with Lucas? Moreover, he wanted to join forces with Lucas to deal with them? Was¡­ was Jeffrey¡¯s brain suddenly damaged? Lucas was clearly an enemy of the Arnaults. He had just killed an expert who had been Jeffrey¡¯s subordinate for many years and pped Jeffrey so many times in public that he had knocked his teeth out! Was Jeffrey crazy? Why did he suddenly want to ally with Lucas? Under everyone¡¯s incredulous gazes, Jeffrey walked up to Lucas and asked with a smile, ¡°Mr. Gray, I¡¯ve offended you previously. I wonder if you¡¯re still willing to form an alliance with the Arnaults to quell the chaos in front of us?¡± At this moment, Jeffrey no longer had the insufferably domineering aura from before. Instead, he lowered his stance and bowed slightly, as if he was afraid that Lucas would reject him. Everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at this scene in front of them in utter disbelief. Lucas took a deep look at Jeffrey and suddenly smiled. ¡°Mr. Arnault, you¡¯re being too serious. Since you want to form an alliance with me, I naturally have to appreciate your kindness.¡± This meant that he agreed to Jeffrey¡¯s request for an alliance! ¡°Hahaha, great!¡± Jeffrey threw his head back andughed. Then he hooked his arm around Lucas¡¯s shoulder and announced loudly, ¡°From now on, Lucas is my brother. Whoever dares to make things difficult for him will be making things difficult for me, Jeffrey Arnault! Do you hear Lucas was also smiling. It was as if he and Jeffrey had really resolved their grudge and they became brothers. Rayson¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and his face immediately turned deathly pale. In order to join Jeffrey, he had betrayed Lucas and kept shouting to kill him. Now, Jeffrey had actually formed an alliance with Lucas and even called him brother. What should he do now? Lucas would definitely take revenge on him! No, I can ¡®t let Mr. Arnault form an alliance with Lucas Gray! Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to survive! ¡°Mr. Arnault, don¡¯t be deceived by this bastard! He¡¯s just a punk who¡¯s still wet behind the ears. He doesn¡¯t have any status or background. What qualifications does he have to address an honorable person like you as his brother? You can¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°Scram!¡± Jeffrey kicked Rayson to the ground angrily. ¡°You bastard, you were a coward just now and refused to move. Now, you¡¯re here to sow discord between Lucas and me. Do you want to die? Then I might as well fulfill your wish! ¡°Before eight o¡¯clock tonight, you have topensate Lucas five billion dors and then get out of DC with the Williams family. You¡¯re never allowed to return! If you dare not to do as you¡¯re told, I¡¯ll immediately bring the Arnaults¡¯ experts to the Williams¡¯ manor and make the Williamspletely disappear from the world!¡± Rayson was scared out of his wits. He didn¡¯t expect Jeffrey to threaten to destroy the Williams for Lucas! Rayson couldn¡¯t take it anymore. With a thud, he knelt on the ground and begged, ¡°No, Mr. Arnault, please spare the Williams and don¡¯t chase us out of DC! I¡­ I¡¯ve offended Mr. Gray. It¡¯s my fault. I admit it. I canpensate Mr. Gray with five billion or even six billion dors. I just beg you not to drive us out of DC!¡± All the foundation of the Williams was in DC. If they were driven out, the Williams would really not be far from destruction! ¡°Then six billion dors. You have to hand the money to Lucas before eight tonight. If you don¡¯t give it, then don¡¯t me me for knocking on your door and destroying your entire family!¡± Jeffrey said firmly. While Rayson heaved a sigh of relief, he also felt extremely pained. This was a total of six billion dors! He was really unwilling to give it to Lucas just like that. But under Jeffrey¡¯s pressure, he didn¡¯t dare to bargain. His expression was so miserable that he looked like he was about to cry. The other helmsmen were also anxious and uneasy, afraid that Jeffrey would punish them too. Sure enough, what they were afraid of happened. The next second, Jeffrey looked at them and ordered, ¡°You¡¯re the same. You went against Lucas and made him very unhappy. Each of your families will take out two billion dors topensate him! ¡°Just like the Williams, if yourpensation doesn¡¯t reach Lucas by eight tonight, the Arnaults will bring our experts to visit you! Do you hear me?¡± Two billion dors! Many people¡¯s vision turned ck. Although they were all from the eight top families of DC and their family assets totaled tens of billions, two billion dors was their ie for a year! Greg didn¡¯t want to give so much, but he knew that it was impossible for him not to fork out a single cent, so he probed, ¡°Mr. Arnault, two billion is too much, isn¡¯t it? Can it be less? After all, we didn¡¯t cause any harm to Mr. Gray¡ª¡± ¡°Greg Steele, since you think it¡¯s too much, you canpensate him with four billion dors! If you dare to have any objections, I¡¯ll double it! I want to see how brave you are to bargain with me!¡± Jeffrey said coldly. Greg¡¯s vision darkened, and he almost fainted. He thought that two billion dors was too much and wanted to strive to lose less, but he didn¡¯t expect that it would increase by four billion dors instead! He wanted to say something else, but when he recalled Jeffrey saying that he would double it if he had any objections, he was so frightened that his face turned pale. He covered his mouth and didn¡¯t dare to say another word. Seeing the Steeles¡¯ tragic fate, the other helmsmen, who had many objections and felt that two billion was too much, didn¡¯t dare to speak. They would grit their teeth and acknowledge it. It was much better thanpensating four or six billion dors! Seeing that these helmsmen had no objections, Jeffrey turned around and looked at Lucas with a smile. He said as if he was asking for credit, ¡°Lucas, are you satisfied with my decision?¡± Lucas smiled. ¡°It¡¯s great. Thank you, Jeffrey!¡± ¡°Hahaha, well said!¡± Jeffreyughed loudly and swept his gaze across the helmsmen in front of him. He shouted, ¡°What are you still standing here for? Hurry up and go back to transfer the money to Lucas! I¡¯ll say this first. If anyone doesn¡¯t transfer the money before eight tonight, don¡¯t me me for what happens!¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll leave now!¡± The helmsmen didn¡¯t dare to stay any longer and hurriedly left with their families. What happened today?! Everything was a mess. Not only did they not get any benefits, but everyone¡¯s families even suffered heavy losses. Only Lucas received twenty billion dors inpensation for no reason. It was simply infuriating! Seeing that everyone had left, Jeffrey smiled and said to Lucas, ¡®ILucas, since the matter has been resolved, I¡¯ll leave too. Let¡¯s have a good drink another day!¡± ¡°Alright, see youter, Jeffrey.¡± Lucas smiled as he watched Jeffrey leave. After he left, his expression suddenly darkened.. Chapter 1386 - Chapter 1386: New Backer Chapter 1386: New Backer Thank you readers! Oscar was in a happy daze. He said to Lucas joyfully, ¡°Mr. Gray, you¡¯re amazing! That insufferably arrogant Jeffrey Arnault actually took the initiative to form an alliance with you and even called you his brother. This way, no one in DC will dare to provoke you in the future!¡± Lucas looked at Oscar as if he was looking at an idiot. ¡°Do you really think he wants to form an alliance with me and call me brother?¡± Oscar was dumbfounded. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that so?¡± Lucas was speechless. Jeffrey¡¯s attitude changed so quickly and stiffly. One second, they were mortal enemies, and the next, they were good brothers with their arms around each other¡¯s shoulders. Anyone with a brain would think that something was amiss, right? ¡°That was just Jeffrey Arnault¡¯s way of protecting himself.¡± Jonah walked over and exined to Oscar, who was still confused. ¡°He was too arrogant when he came, so he didn¡¯t bring many people with him. After his most powerful subordinates, Nameless and Joyless, were defeated by Mr. Gray, he didn¡¯t have much to rely on. Even if he really arranged other people, after seeing Mr. Gray¡¯s terrifying strength, he knew that they were no match for Mr. Gray. ¡°And the six families on his side are not reliable at all. If Jeffrey Arnault wanted to escape unscathed, he could only lower his head to Mr. Gray and be humble. He even deliberately called Mr. Gray his brother and asked forpensation for Mr. Gray. ¡°That¡¯s why Jeffrey Arnault is a smart person. He knows when to yield and when to stand tall. No wonder he could live to such an old age and still hold the authority of the Arnault family firmly in his hands.¡± After hearing Jonah¡¯s exnation, Oscar finally realized that Jeffrey had pretended to form an alliance! ¡°So¡­ that old man was pretending just now? He said those things in front of so many people. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯ll go back on his word and go back to the Arnaults to find people to deal with us?¡± Oscar said anxiously. Lucas shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry for the time being. Jeffrey Arnault is pretending to form an alliance, but he¡¯s also a smart person. He knows that I¡¯m not to be trifled with, so he won¡¯t fall out with me so quickly. At most, he¡¯ll find someone else and get them to do his dirty work. ¡± At this moment, Jeffrey was already in his car and on the way back to the Arnaults¡¯. Beside him sat an extremely ordinary-looking ck-clothed old man. However, the brilliant light shooting out from his eyes was enough to prove that this old man wasn¡¯t an ordinary person but an extremely powerful martial arts expert. ¡°Mr. Arnault, are you really going to form an alliance with that punk Lucas Gray and call him your brother?¡± the old man asked with a frown. He had already seen everything that had just happened in the dark, but he was Jeffrey¡¯s trump card. Since Jeffrey hadn¡¯t called him, he hadn¡¯t appeared and only asked now. The smile on Jeffrey¡¯s face had long disappeared. With a gloomy expression, he said coldly, ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s just a kid. Is he qualified to be my brother? He¡¯s not worthy!¡± ¡°Then, just now¡­?¡± the old man said doubtfully. ¡°If you wanted to protect yourself, you could have let me do it. I can definitely take down that punk!¡± Jeffrey shook his head. ¡°No, you¡¯re my greatest trump card. No one knows of your existence. Now isn¡¯t the time for you to appear. ¡°As for that kid Lucas Gray, you just need to know that I¡¯m faking an alliance to lull him. That kid is so arrogant and actually dares to call himself the King of DC. Heh, he¡¯s simply courting death! ¡°Even the royals don¡¯t dare to be king in DC. They don¡¯t even dare to ce their influences in DC. How can a young kid like him be worthy? Just wait and see. Soon, someone wille to deal with him. We just have to watch the show!¡± Jeffrey¡¯s gaze was cold as he suddenly ordered, ¡°Spread the news that Lucas Gray is going to be the King of DC immediately!¡± The turmoil in the capital temporarily calmed down. The various families were busy reorganizing their families, and they were all very busy. As for Lucas, he was in the chairman¡¯s office of the Stardust Corporation¡¯s headquarters and received thepensation from several of the eight top families in DC. Soon, billions of dors more appeared in the Stardust Corporation¡¯s ounts. Flynn¡¯s mouth was crooked with joy when he saw the additional money in the ounts. But he also said to Lucas truthfully, ¡°The other families have already transferred two billion dors over, and the Steeles have transferred four billion. Only the Williams haven¡¯t transferred six billion.¡± Seeing that it was already seven o¡¯clock in the evening, Lucas frowned. With Rayson¡¯s timid personality, it was unlikely that he would dare to disobey Jeffrey. That was unless¡­ he found a stronger backer! At that moment, Lucas¡¯s phone rang. It was Jeffrey. ¡°Lucas, have you received the six billion dors inpensation from the Williams?¡± Jeffrey asked warmly. Lucas¡¯s eyes gleamed. ¡°Not yet. All that¡¯s left is the Williams¡¯pensation.¡± ¡°Sigh, it looks like my guess is right!¡± Jeffrey sighed intentionally and said solemnly, ¡°Lucas, the reason I called you is to tell you that I just received news that Rayson Williams seems to have cozied up to the Hills family, the royal family branch. I guessed that that dishonest coward would definitely go back on his word, so I quickly called you to ask. It seems that my premonition is about toe true! ¡°Lucas, I can¡¯t do anything about this matter! The Hills belong to the royal family, and the person Rayson Williams cozied up to is a direct descendant of the royal family. His name is Bradley Hills. I¡¯m just someone who has left the Arnaults for decades. I really can¡¯t fight against them! ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about this. The Hills are very difficult to deal with. Furthermore, they¡¯re a branch of the royal family. They have many experts. Lucas, you¡­ you have to be careful these days!¡± Jeffrey seemed to be very guilty. Lucas raised his eyebrows. Sure enough, he had guessed correctly. Rayson had indeed found a new backer, so he didn¡¯t n to listen to Jeffrey and Lucas anymore. As for the six billion dors inpensation, he naturally wouldn¡¯t pay it. However, did Rayson think that Lucas would be afraid just because he had cozied up to the Hills? What belonged to Lucas, he had to hand over! As for the Hills¡­ It just so happened that Lucas had a feud with Ashton Hills. If they didn¡¯t know what was good for them, Lucas might as well give them a heavy blow so that they wouldn¡¯t dare to extend their ws casually again!. Chapter 1387 - Chapter 1387: Don’t Even Think About Reneging Chapter 1387: Don¡¯t Even Think About Reneging Thank you readers! After hanging up, Lucas called Rayson. ¡°Hello, who is it?¡± Rayson had long known Lucas¡¯s cell phone number, but he still deliberately asked. The smugness and disrespect in his voice could be heard clearly through the phone. ¡°Rayson Williams, when will you transfer the six billion dors you promised?¡± Lucas asked directly, not wasting any time. ¡°What six billion dors? Mr. Gray, what are you talking about? Why don¡¯t I understand?¡± Rayson feigned ignorance on purpose. Then he said proudly, ¡°Ah, I almost forgot to tell you, Mr. Gray. The Williams have already submitted to the Hills, the royal family branch. Now, everything the Williams own belongs to the Hills. Mr. Gray, I¡¯m afraid what you want is impossible!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°In that case, are you nning on reneging?¡± ¡°Tsk tsk, you can¡¯t say that!¡± Rayson said with a sarcastic smile. ¡°I¡¯ve already said it. Everything the Williams own now belongs to the Hillis. Mr. Gray, if you want to ask me for money, you¡¯re asking for something from the Hills. If you offend the Hills¡­ I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t bear the consequences, right, Lucas Gray?¡± He was using the Hills to threaten Lucas. He didn¡¯t believe that Lucas would dare to snatch something from the Hills! ¡°Alright, wait for me at the Williams residence. After eight tonight, if the six billion dors you promised hasn¡¯t arrived, I¡¯ll immediately go to the Williams residence and ask you for it personally!¡± With that, Lucas hung up. Did Rayson think that he could be arrogant in front of him just because he had found a new backer? As expected, he was a petty scoundrel! But if Rayson thought that the name of the Hills could scare Lucas, he was gravely mistaken! Meanwhile, in the Williams¡¯ manor, Rayson l s heart was racing after he heard Lucas¡¯sst sentence, and an uncontroble fear surged in his heart. For some reason, he felt that the Hills didn¡¯t scare Lucas. If¡­ if Lucas really came to Williams residence in a while and forced him to pay the money, it would be fine. But if he wanted to kill them, the Williams wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand this terrifying killing god! At the thought of this, Rayson panicked and hurriedly made a call. ¡°Mr. Hills, the Williams are in big trouble. Please send experts to help!¡± Soon, Jeffrey, who had been paying close attention to the Williams, received the news. ¡°Hehe, Lucas Gray gave Rayson Williams an ultimatum, but Rayson Williams didn¡¯t dare to face him, so he went to seek help from the Hills. Before long, Lucas Gray will be leaving for the Williams¡¯, right? ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be able to see a good show soon!¡± Jeffrey looked in the direction of the distant Williams¡¯ manor with a sinister smile. Meanwhile, Bradley Hills, a third-generation direct descendant of the royal Hills, had already brought his people to the gates of the Williams¡¯ manor with an unfriendly expression on his face. ¡°Mr. Hills, you¡¯re finally here. Wee! Pleasee in!¡± Rayson had been waiting at the gates for a long time. The moment he saw Bradley, he bowed and greeted him, weing him into the Williams residence. Bradley was about 30 years old. He was extremely handsome and exuded an iparably noble aura. If Lucas was here, he might be able to tell that Bradley somewhat resembled Ashton Hills. However, he was more handsome and noble than Ashton. After all, Bradley was a direct descendant of the Hills and highly regarded. On the other hand, Ashton was only a branch member. Their statuses in the Hills were iparable. Bradley looked at Rayson in disgust and said coldly, ¡°Hmph, you can¡¯t even deal with an ignorant young man in his twenties, and you¡¯re asking the Hills for help with such a trivial matter. What a good-for-nothing!¡± Bradley didn¡¯t hide his contempt and disdain for Rayson at all. The Hills were a branch of the dignified US royal family and had an extremely noble status. They had never been willing to befriend those so-called top families who reeked of new wealth. But this time, Rayson took the initiative to beg the Hills to take in the Williams and make them a vassal of the Hills. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Rayson had offered arge amount of wealth to the Hills, Bradley wouldn¡¯t have even bothered to talk with an ipetent person like Rayson. Rayson didn¡¯t dare to get angry at all. He just nodded and bowed as he ttered, ¡°Mr. Hills, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m just a good-for-nothing. Therefore, I can only rely on you to help me resolve this problem! As long as you help me deal with that bastard Lucas Gray, I will even kneel down to thank you!¡± Bradley couldn¡¯t stand Rayson¡¯s cowardice and snorted in disdain. ¡°When will that punk arrive? I don¡¯t have much time to waste here waiting for someone.¡± Rayson hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Hills, don¡¯t be anxious. It¡¯s already past eight o¡¯clock. Lucas Gray should be here soon. He will definitely arrive in less than half an hour!¡± ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll wait for another half an hour.¡± Bradley walked into the William residence impatiently. If Rayson hadn¡¯t given him all of the Williams¡¯ assets, he wouldn¡¯t have bothered with such trivial matters. Wasn¡¯t he just an ignorant young man in his twenties? As one of the eight top families of DC, the Williams couldn¡¯t even deal with such a young man. They really had an undeserved reputation! At this moment, Lucas was indeed on his way to the Williams¡¯ manor. He had already given Rayson enough time, but even when it was eight o¡¯clock, the Williams still didn¡¯t transfer the six billion dors. Lucas knew that Rayson had made his choice. At the same time, Lucas had already decided not to give Rayson another chance. There was really nothing much left to say to a petty scoundrel who had repeatedly betrayed him. Soon, Lucas arrived at the entrance of the Williams¡¯ manor in the east of DC. At this moment, the gates of the Williams¡¯ manor were tightly shut, and there were several burly guards standing at the gates, staring intently outside. Upon seeing Lucas¡¯s car stop outside the Williams residence, the guards immediately shouted sternly, ¡°This is the Williams residence. Irrelevant people are to leave immediately!¡± Lucas got out of the car and said coldly, ¡°Tell Rayson Williams toe out and see me!¡± ¡°Outrageous! How dare you call Mr. Williams by his name? Are you tired of living?¡± one of the guards shouted and walked forward, wanting to drive Lucas away. ¡°You¡¯re courting death!¡± Lucas sneered and kicked the burly guards to the ground. Then he kicked open the tightly shut metal gates of the Williams¡¯ manor. Bang! The kick deformed the sturdy and heavy carved iron gates, and they crashed to the ground, revealing the interior of the Williams¡¯ manor. ¡°Who is trespassing on the Williams¡¯ turf? You have a death wish!¡± Upon hearing themotion at the gates, a team of nearly 30 people immediately ran out of the manor and blocked Lucas with grim expressions. Lucas stood proudly and shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll say it again. Get Rayson Williams toe out immediately. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for being impolite!¡±. ... Chapter 1388 - Chapter 1388: Meeting Lucas Chapter 1388: Meeting Lucas Thank you readers! ¡°The Williams residence isn¡¯t a ce where anyone can behave atrociously! We have an esteemed guest today. Punk, you¡¯d better scram!¡± The guards of the Williams gritted their teeth and refused to take a step back. Just now, they had received orders from the helmsmen that no one was to charge into the Williams residence and offend their esteemed guest. Lucas narrowed his eyes. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to waste his breath on watchdogs, so he directly took action. Thump! Thump! Thump! With a series of crashing sounds, Lucas knocked all the Williams guards to the ground in just a few seconds. Theyy on the ground, clutching their injuries and moaning. As for Lucas, he walked past the guards lying on the ground and headed straight for the Williams¡¯ main vi. As Lucas advanced, guards constantly rushed out from various ces in an attempt to stop him. But without exc If someone looked down from the sky above the Williams¡¯ manor, they would be able to clearly see the guards rushing forward one after another. But before they could even touch Lucas, they were sent flying, smashing into the flowers, trees, and ornaments along the way. Lucas continued walking straight toward the main vi in the middle of the Williams¡¯ manor. His pace was neither fast nor slow, as though he was taking a leisurely stroll through a garden. He was very rxed. In the main vi, Rayson was sitting on the sofa with Bradley. He brewed precious tea and personally served it to Bradley on the coffee table. Bradley didn¡¯t even take a nce as he sat on the sofa with a cold expression. Suddenly, the Williams¡¯ butler ran in, his forehead covered in sweat. He reported, ¡°Mr. Williams, Lucas Gray¡­ He barged in and ising here. Even with all our guards, we couldn¡¯t stop him at all! ¡°Lucas Gray will be here soon. Mr. Williams, why don¡¯t you and this esteemed guest hide for a while?¡± Rayson¡¯s hand trembled, and the blue-and-white teacup lid in his hand immediately hit the teacup with an ear-piercing sound. ¡°You¡­ you can¡¯t even stop him for a few minutes?¡± Rayson asked absent-mindedly. ¡°Hmph!¡± Bradley snorted coldly and said with a scoff, ¡°You guys are really useless. One of the eight top families of DC can¡¯t even stop a young man! Rayson Williams, are your guards so useless?¡± Rayson hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Hills, you¡­ you really can¡¯t me me for this! It¡¯s just that Lucas Gray is really a monster. He¡¯s extremely skilled at martial arts, and there aren¡¯t many people in DC who are his match!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Bradley scoffed. ¡°That can only mean that everyone in DC is a good-for-nothing! I don¡¯t believe that a young man only in his twenties canpare to those peerless experts who have been practicing martial arts for decades. Even if he started practicing martial arts since he was in his mother¡¯s womb, he¡¯s only been practicing for twenty-odd years. ¡°I thought the experts from the eight top families were not much weaker than the experts of the Hills, but now it seems that your people are just a bunch of good-for-nothings! Too useless! ¡°Rayson Williams, if it weren¡¯t for the fact that the Williams still have some money and can y a role in my future struggle for the position of the Hills¡¯ helmsman, with your terrible performance, you wouldn¡¯t even be worthy of catching my attention. Do you understand?¡± Bradley belittled the Williams without sparing them any dignity. No matter how shameless Rayson was, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little angry and unhappy at this moment. What Bradley said was all nonsense. If the Williams could deal with Lucas, would Rayson still be afraid of Lucas¡¯s revenge and give all of the Williams¡¯ assets to the Hills, taking the initiative to be their vassal? If it wasn¡¯t because he was afraid of Bradley criticizing him, he wouldn¡¯t have even sent a single person to stop Lucas. After all, there was no point in blocking him. They were just delivering themselves to him to suffer. However, Rayson didn¡¯t dare to talk back to Bradley. He could only bow submissively and curry favor with him. ¡°Yes, Mr. Hills, you¡¯re right. The Williams are indeed useless. Therefore, I can only trouble your subordinate to deal with Lucas Gray. I hope that you can help me defeat him. It¡¯s best if you can kill him and get rid of any future troubles!¡± ¡°Hmph, do I need you to teach me how to do things?¡± Bradley snorted arrogantly. Then he ordered the tall and burly expert who had been standing behind him. ¡°Merkin, you¡¯re the most powerful expert under mymand, and yourbat strength ranks in the top five in the entire Hills family. When that punk named Lucas Grayester, you¡¯ll deal with him properly and let these people from the eight top families of DC have an eye-opener. Let them have a good look at the Hills¡¯ strength!¡± ¡°Yes, Mr. Bradley!¡± Merkin, the expert standing behind Bradley, replied in a low voice. He took two steps forward and stood in front of Bradley, assuming a posture of being ready to fight at any time. It had to be said that Merkin was indeed a top powerhouse of the Hills. Just standing there, he had a vast and majestic aura exuding from his entire body, making people subconsciously tremble and not dare to have the slightest thought of bing enemies with him. Rayson couldn¡¯t help but take two steps back. His face turned pale, and he barely suppressed the immense pressure and fear he felt due to this powerful aura. Merkin was indeed one of the top five powerhouses of the royal Hills! At the thought that such an expert was now on his side and would specially deal with Lucas, Rayson looked at Merkin with a burning gaze. Such an expert should be able to handle Lucas Gray, right? Boom! Following a loud bang, a figure was suddenly smashed through the door of the Williams¡¯ main vi. He crashed on the floor and vomited blood. Immediately afterward, Lucas¡¯s tall and slender figure appeared in front of Rayson and Bradley. The moment Rayson saw Lucas, he was so frightened that his calves and stomach trembled, and he wanted to hide immediately. This was his subconscious reaction whenever he saw Lucas. But when Rayson saw Bradley sitting steadily beside him, as well as Merkin standing in front of Bradley, he mustered up some courage. He frowned and reprimanded loudly, ¡°Lucas Gray, this is the property of the Williams. You barged into my property without permission and even injured so many people. What are you trying to do?¡± Lucas nced at Rayson and then at Bradley and Merkin. His expression didn¡¯t change as he walked in leisurely. He found a seat on the sofa on the other side, sat down, and said leisurely, ¡°Mr. Williams, you shouldn¡¯t have Alzheimer¡¯s yet, right? You still owe me six billion dors. Are you not going to give it to me?¡± eption, he sent them flying. Chapter 1389 - Chapter 1389: Recruitment Chapter 1389: Recruitment Thank you readers! Bradley narrowed his eyes. From the moment Lucas appeared, his eyes were fixed on Lucas. He wanted to see clearly what kind of person this young man who could make so many families in DC fear him was. But at first nce, Bradley felt that there was nothing special about Lucas. He was tall, well-built, and handsome, but he didn¡¯t have the aura of an expert. Instead, he looked like an ordinary person. But Bradley quickly changed his mind. This was because he saw that Lucas had only casually nced at him and Merkin. It was as if he had just seen two passersby and didn¡¯t take them seriously at all. This was very unusual. Merkin was one of the top five powerhouses of the Hills, and his aura was extremely terrifying. If an ordinary person saw Merkin, they would immediately be shocked by his aura. Their legs would go weak on the spot, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to stand. Even a martial arts expert would feel a sense of fear and nervousness when they saw Merkin. It was absolutely impossible for them not to have a change in expression and look rxed like Lucas. From this point of view, this young man who looked a few years younger than him did indeed have some skills. He was either braver than others or truly had some real skills. He just didn¡¯t know how long he couldst against Merkin! Rayson looked at Lucas, suppressed the fear in his heart, and said, ¡°Mr. Gray, I don¡¯t remember ever owing you any money. ¡°I¡¯m sure you already know that the person sitting beside me is Mr. Bradley Hills. He¡¯s the most highly regarded person among the third-generation direct descendants of the royal Hills family. There¡¯s a high chance that he will be the helmsman of the Hills in the future! ¡°And now, I¡¯m already Mr. Hills¡¯s man, and everything the Williams own, including all our wealth, belongs to Mr. Hills! ¡°If you want to ask me for money, you¡¯ll have to snatch it from Mr. Hills¡¯ pocket! You can bully me as you please, but Mr. Hills isn¡¯t someone you can afford to offend! Let me give you a piece of advice. It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t court death yourself. Hurry up and get out of here, lest you don¡¯t even have an intact corpseter!¡± Lucas looked at Rayson, suddenly curled his lips into a smile, andughed. ¡°Rayson Williams, do you think that you¡¯ve found a powerful backer, so you dare to speak to me like that to me?¡± Rayson said through gritted teeth, ¡°So what if I am? Lucas Gray, I¡¯ve endured you for a long time! You¡¯re just relying on having some martial arts skills and not meeting any opponents for the time being to be so domineering in DC. You make people incensed, but they don¡¯t dare to say anything! ¡°But now, Mr. Hills has brought a top powerhouse of the Hills. Do you think you can still be a match for the Hills? ¡°If you¡¯re still as arrogant as before, then today will be the day you die!¡± Rayson had alreadypletely fallen out with Lucas, so he simply tore off all his disguise and spoke bluntly. ¡°Not bad. You¡¯re indeed much more courageous. If you want my life, it depends on whether you have the ability.¡± Lucas was still smiling, not caring at all. ¡°Are you Lucas Gray?¡± Bradley suddenly said, showing an interested look in Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m a person who likes talents, so I¡¯ll give you two choices now. ¡°The first choice is to submit to me, work for me, and help me control DC. When I be the helmsman of Hills, I will definitely not mistreat you. Money, wealth, women, status, I can give you whatever you want. ¡°As for the second choice, that is rejecting my good intentions and dying here! ¡°How do you choose?¡± Hearing this, Lucas didn¡¯t react at all. But Rayson¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he became extremely nervous. He never expected that Bradley would actually want to recruit Lucas to work for him! How could this be?! Rayson hadn¡¯t hesitated to offer up all of the Williams family¡¯s assets and voluntarily became Bradley¡¯s vassal because he wanted to obtain the protection of the Hills. He wanted to use the Hills¡¯ power and experts to kill Lucas so that he could avoid Lucas seeking revenge on him. However, if Hills recruited Lucas, how could he survive? Regarding Bradley¡¯s two choices, Lucas raised his brows in surprise. In fact, Lucas had long sensed that there seemed to be something strange in DC. For some reason, the nine US royal family branches didn¡¯t dare to appear openly in DC to expand their power. Otherwise, such an important ce like DC wouldn¡¯t be controlled by just the eight top families. Bradley had obviously taken a liking to this aspect of Lucas and wanted to use his abilities to take control of the capital. It had to be said that Bradley was a very ambitious and daring person. But someone who could get Lucas to submit to them was probably not born yet! Lucas originally wanted to reject him outright, but when he saw Rayson¡¯s extremely worried and nervous expression, as though he was afraid that Lucas would really agree to Bradley¡¯s recruitment, he changed his mind. Lucas deliberately looked at Rayson and asked, ¡°Mr. Williams, regarding these two choices of Mr. Hills, which one do you think I should choose?¡± Rayson¡¯s expression instantly stiffened, and he didn¡¯t know how to answer. Of course, he didn¡¯t want Lucas to join Bradley¡¯s camp. Instead, he hoped that Lucas wouldn¡¯t know what was good for him and reject Bradley. At that time, he would naturally anger Bradley and be killed by Merkin. But even though this was what he was thinking, he definitely couldn¡¯t say it out loud in front of Bradley, especially after Bradley had already developed some appreciation for Lucas and had intentions of recruiting him. ¡°These¡­ these are the choices Mr. Hills have given you. Of course, it¡¯s up to you to choose. What does it have to do with me?¡± Rayson said awkwardly. Then seemingly afraid that Bradley would be displeased by what he said, he quickly added, ¡°Of course, for a person of Mr. Hills¡¯ status, it¡¯s naturally a smart choice if you choose to submit to him. ¡°In any case¡­ I¡¯m now Mr. Hills¡¯s man. If you pledge allegiance to Mr. Hills, then we will be colleagues in the future, and our grudges can be written off. Don¡¯t you agree, Mr. Gray?¡± While speaking, he sneaked a peek at Bradley, wanting to see what kind of attitude he had. Lucas sneered. ¡°Writing off our grudges? Rayson Williams, you must be dreaming. You¡¯ve betrayed me and angered me several times. Why do you think that I¡¯ll let bygones be bygones?¡± Rayson broke out in cold sweat as he hurriedly said, ¡°Lucas Gray, don¡¯t go overboard! Don¡¯t tell me you want to kill me in front of Mr. Hills? I¡¯m already Mr. Hills¡¯s man. Mr. Hills will definitely not allow it!¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± Lucas chuckled and looked at Bradley. ¡°In that case, Mr. Hills, it¡¯s fine if I submit to you, but you have to hand over Rayson Williams¡¯ life to me first. What will you choose?¡± Chapter 1390 - 1390 Recruitment Failed 1390 Recruitment Failed Rayson¡¯s expression changed drastically as he looked at Bradley nervously. Thank you readers! This was what he was most worried about! Rayson knew very well that what he could give Bradley was nothing more than the Williams¡¯ assets worth more than 30 billion dors. Furthermore, the assets in Lucas¡¯s hands were not less than the Williams¡¯. In addition, he had iparably powerful martial arts skills. With his ability and strength to possess so many things in his twenties, and the fact that he wasn¡¯t even thirty years old this year and still had a lot of time and potential, he was much better than him! If Rayson was the one to make the choice, he would definitely choose Lucas instead of himself, who was already in his sixties! If Bradley used his life to exchange for Lucas¡¯s loyalty, it would definitely be extremely worthwhile! The more he thought about it, the more afraid he became. Sweat dripped down his face as he blurted out, ¡°No! That¡¯s absolutely impossible!¡± Seeing Bradley nce at him unhappily, Rayson hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Hills, Lucas Gray is clearly trying to sow discord between us. He wants to use you to get rid of me! ¡°You may not know him, but I know him quite well. This person is arrogant and will never submit to anyone. Furthermore, he wants to be the King of DC. He will never submit to you willingly. What he said just now was just to provoke you to abandon me! ¡°Mr. Hills, I¡¯ve already given you all of the Williams¡¯ assets. I am sincerely loyal to you. Please don¡¯t listen to Lucas Gray!¡± Rayson was extremely nervous. He was afraid that Bradley would really do as Lucas said and hand his life over to him. Bradley didn¡¯t think much of Rayson¡¯s words and said proudly, ¡°So what if he¡¯s really trying to sow discord? Am I, Bradley Hills, such an idiot?¡± Hearing this, Rayson heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that he didn¡¯t intend to listen to Lucas¡¯s instigation. But he sighed in relief too soon. The next moment, he heard Bradley continue, ¡°Lucas Gray, I really do think you¡¯re a talent and want to recruit you. As long as you¡¯re willing to submit to me and work for me, let alone giving Rayson Williams¡¯s life over to you, I can even give you the entire Williams family if you want. I¡¯ll treat it as a reward for you in advance.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Rayson¡¯s face instantly turned deathly pale as he looked at Bradley in disbelief. What¡­ what did he hear? In order to win over Lucas, Bradley actually said that he could kill him and even give the entire Williams family to Lucas to handle as a reward. Then¡­ then, why did he offer up everything the Williams had to curry favor with Bradley in the first ce? Even Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise. Although he knew that Bradley was cold-hearted and treated Rayson like a dog, he didn¡¯t expect him not to hide this at all. He even said such words in front of Rayson. Furthermore, the Williams were one of the eight top families in DC. The wealth they had umted over the past few decades had reached an extremely terrifying level. It was at least 30 billion dors. Even though Bradley was the most highly regarded third-generation direct descendant of the Hills, he wouldn¡¯t be able to own and control so many assets, right? And now, in order to get Lucas to submit to him, he actually offered such generous terms? Not every descendant of the royal family had the confidence to use tens of billions of dors worth of assets to recruit someone. Just like Jensen and his son from the Hamiltons, with whom Lucas had previously shed, it would probably be very painful for them to take out two billion dors. It was impossible for them to be as generous as Bradley. At the same time, Lucas felt some sympathy for Rayson. Rayson had submitted to Bradley and thought that he had found an excellent backer. He was extremely rude to Lucas and wished that he could use the Hills to kill him immediately. But he probably never imagined that his position in Bradley¡¯s heart was insignificant! The rtionship between Rayson and Bradley was even weaker than Lucas had imagined. There was no need to sow discord anymore. This was because, in Bradley¡¯s eyes, Rayson was just a temporarily useful dog. Once he found someone of greater use, he would be able to abandon Rayson without any hesitation. ¡°Mr. Hills, I can see your sincerity. Unfortunately, I only want to do what I want to do. I don¡¯t intend to submit to anyone.¡± Lucas rejected Bradley¡¯s recruitment with a smile, causing his expression to darken immediately. But Lucas ignored him and continued, ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of deal the Williams have with you, but they have to give me the six billion dors they owe me! ¡°Furthermore, Mr. Williams, you promised to give me the money before eight tonight. You¡¯ve deliberately dyed it until now, and it¡¯s already an hourte, so you¡¯ll have to add interest. It¡¯s just a simple doubling. Now, it¡¯s time for you to give me twelve billion dors!¡± Lucas¡¯s demon-like words caused Rayson¡¯s expression to turn gloomy. He originally thought that he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his life, but he didn¡¯t expect that Lucas wouldn¡¯t agree to Bradley¡¯s recruitment. Instead, he continued to ask for 6 billion dors¡­ No, it had now be 12 billion dors inpensation! For a moment, the expression on Rayson¡¯s face was like a palette. It was veryplicated and ugly, and his mood was hard to describe. He was half-smiling and half-crying, looking extremely strange. The smile on Bradley¡¯s face hadpletely disappeared as he looked at Lucas maliciously. ¡°Punk, were you ying with me on purpose? You must know that if you offend me, you will only end up dead!¡± He stared coldly into Lucas¡¯ eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll give you onest chance. Submit to me now, and I can spare your life. This is yourst chance. Otherwise, you will die here today!¡± Lucas didn¡¯t even look at Bradley and ignored his threat. Instead, he said to Rayson, ¡°Rayson Williams, give the twelve billion to me immediately, and I¡¯ll leave. Otherwise, the interest will increase by six billion for every minute you dy. Think about it carefully. With your family¡¯s assets, you can dy for a few minutes! ¡°At that time, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t even have anything to offer someone.¡± Rayson was drenched in cold sweat. He couldn¡¯t say a word and could only look at Bradley pleadingly. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Hills, all the assets of the Williams now belong to you. Now that Lucas Gray is forcing me, he¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s trying to snatch your belongings! What do you think we should do now?¡± Bradley looked at Lucas coldly. By now, he knew that Lucas wasn¡¯t someone who could be easily subdued. Killing intent surged in his eyes. ¡°Punk, since you don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you and dare not to take me seriously, don¡¯t me me! Merkin, break his limbs!¡± With Bradley¡¯smand, Merkin, who was standing in front of him, immediately moved. Like an arrow leaving its bow, he swiftly rushed toward Lucas. The moment he made his move, it was a deadly strike aimed at the throat! Chapter 1391 - 1391 Please Spare Me 1391 Please Spare Me Merkin was ruthless as he extended his steel-like arm toward Lucas¡¯s neck, his five fingers shing with scorching killing intent. Thank you readers! Lucas was still sitting on the sofa. Seeing Merkin¡¯s fingers about to reach him, he still maintained his sitting position. He didn¡¯t even stand up to defend himself. He looked as though he had been caught off guard by Merkin and couldn¡¯t react in time. Merkin sneered, feeling contempt for Lucas. Someone who couldn¡¯t even react to a surprise attack had an undeserved reputation. He wasn¡¯t a big deal at all! Mr. Bradley actually cherished this person and didn¡¯t hesitate to use the Williams¡¯ assets worth more than thirty billion dors to recruit him. It was really ridiculous! But the next moment, something unexpected urred! Just as Merkin¡¯s fingers were about to touch Lucas¡¯s throat, Lucas, who seemed to be sitting on the spot and unable to react, suddenly disappeared from the sofa, leaving only a fleeting afterimage. ¡°What?!¡± Merkin was shocked. He hurriedly turned his head to look for traces of Lucas, but suddenly, an extremely violent force mmed into his back! Bang! Merkin was caught off guard and smashed to the floor. A human-shaped pit was instantly formed on the solid wooden floor of the living room, and the wooden splinters on the floor cracked and exploded. As for Merkin, he spat out arge mouthful of blood and struggled on the floor for a while, but he couldn¡¯t get up! Merkin¡¯s back and chest were in immense pain, and he could no longer feel the existence of his limbs. Boundless horror immediately appeared on his usually calm face! He could no longer feel his limbs. Could¡­ Lucas¡¯s attack have struck his spine and broken it? The spine was one of the most important parts of the human body. Many people¡¯s nerves were directly damaged after their spines were injured, and their entire bodies became paralyzed and couldn¡¯t move anymore. Could he have been crippled?! Merkin was unwilling to believe this, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn¡¯t feel any other sensations from his body other than his head! At the side, Bradley turned pale in shock. He stood up from the sofa and looked at the scene in front of him in disbelief. How¡­ how was this possible? He was clearly prepared for Lucas to be taken down by Merkin, his most powerful subordinate, in one move. He was even prepared to kill Lucas if he still didn¡¯t agreeter. Unexpectedly, Lucas¡¯s movements were ghost-like. He had clearly been sitting on the sofa opposite him a moment ago. But in the next moment, he had suddenly appeared behind Merkin and mmed his elbow heavily on Merkin¡¯s back, immediately smashing Merkin into the floor and rendering him unable to move! Were martial arts skills at this level really something a human could achieve? At this moment, Bradley could only feel his heart pounding crazily. His mouth was dry, and his lips trembled, but he couldn¡¯t even utter a single syble. As for Rayson, he originally thought that he could see Merkin taking down Lucas, but he didn¡¯t expect Merkin to be crippled by one strike from Lucas instead! Rayson¡¯s legs went limp, and he could no longer stand. He copsed to the floor and looked at Lucas in horror. ¡°You just said that you wanted me to submit to you, or you would make me die here?¡± Lucas said in a low voice while slowly walking to Bradley. He raised his hand and pped Bradley¡¯s face. Smack! The heavy p made Bradley stagger and almost fall to the floor. His face was numb from the p, and it also made his mind go nk. He had lived for more than 30 years, but this was the first time he had been pped by a young man younger than him and had a lower family background! ¡°How¡­ how dare you hit me?¡± Bradley covered his face in disbelief. ¡°Heh, why can¡¯t I hit you? Who do you think you are to make me submit to you? Are you worthy of threatening me?¡± Lucas sneered and raised his hand to give Bradley another resounding p on the face. Smack! ¡°Ahhh! You bastard, how dare you humiliate me? I must kill you!¡± These two ps destroyed all of Bradley¡¯s rationality. He was burning with rage as he charged forward recklessly, wanting to retaliate against Lucas. Unfortunately, Bradley only had a bellyful of anger, but he didn¡¯t have the slightest bit of skill. Lucas effortlessly grabbed his hair, pulled him over, and pressed his head onto the cold coffee table. ¡°You want to attack me? A good-for-nothing like you?¡± Lucas mocked mercilessly. ¡°Ahhhhhh! You bastard! Let go of me! If you dare to harm me, the Hills will never let you off!¡± Bradley¡¯s handsome face was deformed from being pressed by Lucas on the coffee table. He struggled with all his might and threatened, ¡°If you dare to harm me, even if the Hills have to chase you to the ends of the earth, we will definitely hunt you down until you die! And don¡¯t even think about escaping from your family and money! This is the price you have to pay for touching me. Do you hear me?!¡± It would be fine if Bradley didn¡¯t threaten Lucas, but the moment he said these words, Lucas¡¯s expression turned gloomy. Threatening his family had always been and would always be his biggest taboo. He would never allow anyone to threaten his family¡¯s safety! Lucas exerted a little force in his hand, and the bones in Bradley¡¯s face made a series of creaking sounds under the pressure of his palm and the coffee table. An unbearable pain assaulted Bradley and made him let out a tragic scream. ¡°Ahhhh! Stop¡­ Please¡­ Let me go¡­!¡± This extremely miserable scream made Rayson, who was already paralyzed on the floor, tremble. His lower body felt hot, and a stream of heat instantly gushed out, dirtying the floor. He was so frightened that he lost control of his dder! Lucas stared at Bradley for a long time before suddenly saying, ¡°You¡¯re right. If I kill you, it will indeed bring me a lot of trouble. A bunch of bugs will rush out one after another and disturb my life.¡± Bradley could tell that Lucas didn¡¯t want to kill him. He hurriedly said, ¡°That¡¯s right! Lucas Gray, quickly let me go! Otherwise, the Hills will definitely hunt you down to the death. You will definitely not have any peaceful days in the future! If you let me go, I will spare your life and pretend that nothing happened today!¡± Bradley was extremely regretful. When he received Rayson¡¯s call for help, he hadn¡¯t thought much of it. He didn¡¯t think that a young man who wasn¡¯t even 30 years old could be that powerful, so he didn¡¯t bring any extra people and had only brought his personal bodyguard, Merkin, here. Even when he heard Rayson remind him that Lucas was extremely skilled at martial arts, Bradley didn¡¯t feel anything. He only thought that the Williams were too useless and ipetent. They couldn¡¯t even deal with a young man in his twenties. But Bradley never expected that Lucas would be so terrifying. Merkin hadn¡¯t even managed to touch the corner of Lucas¡¯s clothes before Lucas KO-ed him. Merkin was sprawled on the ground, unable to move, and hadpletely lost his ability to fight. If he had known that Lucas was so powerful, he wouldn¡¯t have been so careless. He would definitely have brought a few more experts here to deal with Lucas! Unfortunately, it was toote to regret now. He could only hope that Lucas would release him under the deterrence of the Hills. But after he left safely, he would definitely not let Lucas off. He had to kill him! Chapter 1392 - 1392 Make Me Believe 1392 Make Me Believe How could Lucas not know what Bradley was thinking? Thank you readers! He knew from the start that descendants from noble families like Bradley had never suffered any setbacks in their lives. For Lucas to hit him was already a total offense, and Bradley would never forgive him and let it pass. He had only said that he wouldn¡¯t pursue the matter after he was released to plead for mercy. If Lucas took it seriously and really let him go, Bradley would definitely remember today¡¯s humiliation and immediately gather more experts from the Hills to deal with him. And a royal family branch like the Hills had a history that hadsted for hundreds of years. There were many experts and suicide warriors in the family. Although Lucas wasn¡¯t afraid of them, his family and those who followed him wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the endless assassinations and harassment. Just like the Hamiltons previously, these families had all kinds of sinister methods. Not only had they sent suicide warriors to assassinate Lucas, but they had even gotten people to approach and kidnap Cheyenne in the name of business cooperation to threaten him. The families loyal to Lucas, such as the Parkers, the Hales, the Howards, etc., had also suffered assassinations from the experts sent by the Hamiltons. Regarding these incidents, Lucas had used all his strength to quickly save Cheyenne. Jensen had only wanted to give Lucas and the families around him a warning. He hadn¡¯t really intended to take their lives. Otherwise, the people around Lucas would have suffered heavy casualties, and he might have even lost his most important people. It was enough for such a thing to happen once. Lucas absolutely didn¡¯t want it to happen a second time! Thus, he couldn¡¯t kill Bradley, but he definitely couldn¡¯t let him off easily either! Lucas pulled Bradley¡¯s hair, lifted his head slightly, and said while staring into Bradley¡¯s eyes, ¡°It¡¯s true that I don¡¯t want to kill. However, it¡¯s not because I don¡¯t dare to touch you, but because I don¡¯t want to attract a bunch of annoying flies to bother me. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Bradley gritted his teeth and said, ¡°I¡­ I understand! As long as you let me go, I promise I won¡¯t hold you responsible. I¡¯ll just pretend that I never saw you!¡± ¡°Not enough.¡± Lucas shook his head. ¡°Even you wouldn¡¯t believe such a verbal promise. Do you expect me to believe it?¡± Bradley froze, and the expression on his face stiffened. But he knew that Lucas was speaking the truth. If it were him, he would definitely not believe such empty talk. He asked through clenched jaws, ¡°Then, what do you want? I¡­ I can write you a letter of guarantee and promise that the Hills will never find trouble with you in the future!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Lucasughed. ¡°Mr. Hills, are you really treating me like a child? Is a letter of guarantee useful? It¡¯s just a piece of scrap paper! When the timees, I¡¯m afraid you will be the first not to admit it, much less the rest of the Hills.¡± Bradley¡¯s thoughts were exposed once again, and he asked with an ashen expression, ¡°Then¡­ what do you want? How can you trust me?¡± ¡°How about this? If you eat it, I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Lucas took out a dark green pill the size of a grape from his pocket and ced it in front of Bradley. ¡°What¡­ what is this?¡± Bradley looked at the dark green pill in bewilderment. His intuition told him that it wasn¡¯t something good, and his voice was trembling slightly. If Jensen and his son were present, they would definitely recognize that this was the poison that Lucas had forcefully fed them! Lucas didn¡¯t hide it from him and said directly, ¡°Of course, this is poison. After consuming it, there won¡¯t be any abnormalities. But the poison will definitely re up after two months, and you will definitely die in less than ten minutes after the poison starts acting. At that time, even the best doctors in the world won¡¯t be able to save you! ¡°The only way you can alleviate the poison is toe to me for the antidote before it acts up. In other words, you muste to me every two months in the future. Otherwise, you will definitely die.¡± Bradley turned pale with fright as he looked at the dark green poisonous pill. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡­ you actually made this kind of thing! You actually want to feed me poison! Bradley was full of shock and anger. But he suddenly thought of something and hurriedly said, ¡°No, this isn¡¯t right. This poison is definitely fake! How can there be such a thing in the world? You¡¯re just making it up to fool me. Lucas Gray, you¡¯re really despicable and shameless! I won¡¯t believe your nonsense!¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Whether it¡¯s fake or not, whether I¡¯m just trying to scare you, you¡¯ll know when you try it. ¡°However, Mr. Hills, you have a noble status, but you only have one life. If your guess is wrong, you¡¯ll lose your life! Think carefully about what you want to do!¡± With that, Lucas stuffed the dark green pill into Bradley¡¯s mouth and pped his back. Bradley¡¯s throat involuntarily moved and swallowed the pill. In an instant, Bradley felt intense horror. When Lucas released his grip on him, he immediately coughed loudly while covering his throat. He even stuck his fingers into his mouth, wanting to dig out the pill. Unfortunately, the dark green pill had already slipped down his esophagus and melted into a cold liquid. It flowed down his esophagus into his stomach and quickly spread to every corner of his body. It was impossible to dig it out no matter what. Bradley¡¯s face was deathly pale, and there were still tears at the corners of his eyes from coughing and digging into his throat. He red at Lucas ferociously. ¡°Lucas Gray, you¡­ you actually fed me poison. I will never¡­ will never¡­!¡± He originally wanted to say that he would never let Lucas off. But once he thought about how the poison he had swallowed might be real, not only would he not want to take revenge on Lucas in the future, but his life and even his actions would be under Lucas¡¯s control. If he angered Lucas and couldn¡¯t obtain the antidote, he would really die! Thus, Bradley didn¡¯t dare to say thetter half of the sentence. Lucas knew what Bradley was thinking. The corners of his lips curled up into a satisfied smile. ¡°Very good. It looks like you¡¯re not a fool. In that case, I¡¯m sure you already know what you should and shouldn¡¯t do in the future, right? ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not interested in the Hills, and I¡¯ve never thought of controlling the Hills by controlling you. On the contrary, if you want to fight for the position of helmsman of the Hills in the future, I might be able to help you and fulfill your wish. ¡°However, I don¡¯t want anyone from the Hills to harass me and disturb my peace. Do you understand?¡± Bradley naturally understood what Lucas meant. He was threatening him not to find trouble with him again and not to let anyone from the Hills find trouble with him. Otherwise, Lucas would let him die! Chapter 1393 - 1393 Dealing With The Williams 1393 Dealing With The Williams Bradley gritted his teeth, not wanting to answer Lucas. Thank you readers! But his life was currently under Lucas¡¯s control, so he didn¡¯t dare to disobey him. He could only say in extreme humiliation, ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± As for what Lucas said about helping him be the helmsman of the Hills, Bradley didn¡¯t dare to believe it, nor did he dare to think about it. It was already good enough that Lucas didn¡¯t kill him. How could he expect Lucas to help him? But what Lucas said wasn¡¯t a joke. Bradley was already under his control, so it would naturally be better for the Hills to be in Bradley¡¯s hands. If it was someone else who was out of his control, Lucas would have to put in a lot more effort. After dealing with Bradley, Lucas turned his gaze back to Rayson, who was slumped on the floor. When he saw the puddle of foul-smelling liquid beneath Rayson, he couldn¡¯t help frowning. After Rayson saw that even the noble Bradley Hills no longer dared to fight against Lucas, he was scared out of his wits and shuddering all over. He hurriedly knelt and prostrated to beg for mercy without any care for his image. ¡°Mr¡­ Mr. Gray, I was wrong! I shouldn¡¯t have been disrespectful to you, and I shouldn¡¯t have had those damned thoughts about you. Please spare me and give me another chance! ¡°I know I was too daring, and I deserve to die, but please let me off, Mr. Gray! I-I will give you the twelve billion dorpensation right away! I was wrong. Please be magnanimous and let me off!¡± Standing in front of Rayson, Lucas looked down at him and said coldly, ¡°Rayson Williams, tell me yourself. From the first time we met until now, how many times have you offended me? How many times have you knelt down and begged for mercy? And how many times have I given you another chance?¡± The moment Lucas said this, Rayson¡¯s pleading voice was immediately stuck in his throat, as if someone had suddenly grabbed his neck. The first time he met Lin Chen was at the funeral of the Howards¡¯ former patriarch. At that time, Rayson and Derek, the Piers¡¯ former helmsman, had gone together to divide up the assets of the Howards, which Florence had just seeded as the helmsman. Then they were ruthlessly pped in the face by Lucas. This was also the first time that Rayson knelt in front of Lucas and begged him to spare him. Later, he offended Lucas again for his foolish son, Cody, who wanted to marry Maddy. Afterward, he offended Lucas again because of Nichs, a distant rtive of the Williams, and his fianc¨¦e. Then it was his repeated betrayals of Lucas¡­ The more Rayson recalled the past, the more cold sweat broke out on his face and body. Only now did he know that he had offended Lucas countless times. Previously, Lucas had magnanimously let him off. But this time, Lucas no longer had the patience or reason to let him off! Rayson¡¯s face was ashen, and he could only stare at Lucas and plead pitifully with ast glimmer of hope. ¡°N-no¡­ Mr. Gray, I¡­ I know you¡¯re a good person. You¡¯ve forgiven me time and time again. Can you give me another chance? I promise you that I will never be stupid again, and I will never betray you and offend you again!¡± ¡°Is someone like you worthy of me forgiving again and again?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°I have forgiven you many times, but it¡¯s a pity that you don¡¯t know how to repent. Instead, you treat my magnanimity as a reason to be fearless. ¡°Do you really think that you can be forgiven by just kneeling down and begging for mercy hypocritically? ¡°I can indeed forgive people for their asional mistakes, but you are no longer worthy of my forgiveness.¡± Lucas said coldly, ¡°Before I came here, I only wanted you to give me six billion dors, but you wanted me dead. Why should I give you another chance? ¡°Rayson Williams, you can die now!¡± Bang! Rayson¡¯s eyes and mouth were wide open. He seemed to want to beg for mercy still, but unfortunately, he would never be able to say another word. Thud! Rayson¡¯s body fell to the ground,pletely dead! Bradley gasped when he saw this scene. Lucas had kicked someone to death with a light kick. If he wasn¡¯t a scion of the Hills, he probably wouldn¡¯t have ended up much better than Rayson. A storm of fear surged in Bradley¡¯s heart, and his fear of Lucas increased even more. When Lucas¡¯s gaze swept over, Bradley immediately said, ¡°Uhh¡­ M-Mr. Gray, that damned bastard Rayson Williams actually dared to betray you time and time again. He should have died long ago! ¡°I¡­ I was also deceived by him. He kept instigating me and telling me that he was bullied. That¡¯s why¡­ that¡¯s why I offended you. I hope you can forgive me! ¡°As for the Williams family¡¯s assets, I won¡¯t take a single cent. I¡¯ll give everything to you to handle! This is what Rayson Williams owes you. It¡¯s most suitable for you to handle them!¡± Then Bradley quickly took out a stack of documents. These were the transfer documents that Rayson had given him. They were already signed and stamped, but Bradley had yet to sign his name, so it was a good time to give them to Lucas. As long as Lucas signed his name on these transfer documents, all of the Williams¡¯ assets would belong to him from now on. And the Williams family would no longer exist among the eight top families of DC! Lucas nced at the documents and reached out to take them with a casual ¡°Okay¡±. Rayson had betrayed him repeatedly, and he had brought his own death upon himself. Lucas didn¡¯t feel guilty about taking over the Williams¡¯ assets. ¡°Alright, you can leave now.¡± Lucas nced at Bradley. ¡°You¡¯re a smart person. Remember what I said today. Don¡¯t do anything that disappoints me and makes you regret it.¡± His words were both a reminder and a warning. Bradley¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he quickly lowered his head and said, ¡°Yes, I will certainly remember! Then¡­ shall I take my leave first?¡± The fact that Lucas was letting him go so easily made Bradley even more certain that the dark green pill that Lucas had fed him was definitely a real poison. But at the very least, Lucas had said that the poison would only take effect every two months. Before that, he only needed toe to DC to get the antidote from Lucas! ¡°Go. Remember to take this person of yours with you.¡± Lucas pointed at Merkin, who was lying on the ground, with his chin. ¡°Yes, Mr. Gray. I¡¯ll leave now!¡± Bradley struggled to pick Merkin¡¯s body up and stumbled out of the Williams¡¯ manor. Meanwhile, Lucas took out his phone and called Jordan. ¡°Bring people to the Williams¡¯ manor immediately and take over this ce. From now on, the Williams family will no longer exist in DC!¡± Chapter 1394 -end - 1394 The Final Chapter of Happiness 1394 The Final Chapter of Happiness Jordan wasn¡¯t too surprised when he received the call. He had long known Lucas¡¯s strength. Taking down a mere Williams family was a piece of cake for him. Thank you readers! ¡°Okay, Lucas! I¡¯ll arrange for people to go there immediately!¡± Jordan¡¯s execution ability was very strong. Soon, he arranged for people to go to Williams¡¯ manor and businesses and take over everything. As for the remaining people of the Williams, if they were unconvinced, they would be dealt with directly, and the rest would all be taken under Lucas¡¯smand. In this way, among the eight top families in DC, Pete of the Howards and Roman of the Huttons, who had always followed Lucas, had regained their authority from Samuel and Jace and continued to be loyal to Lucas. As for Samuel, who had seized power at the critical moment, after obtaining Florence¡¯s approval, he was directly sentenced to death for treason. !! Because Jace was Michael¡¯s only son, Lucas spared his life and ordered for him to be expelled from DC and never allowed to step foot into DC again. If nothing unexpected happened, Jace would never appear in front of Lucas again. Regarding the Smiths, Tyson and his son, Oscar, had always been on Lucas¡¯s side. So after the downfall of the Williams family, Lucas gave them a portion of the Williams¡¯ assets, making the Smiths even stronger than before. After Derek, the helmsman of the Piers, had suddenly been shot to death by Rayson, the Piers fell into a state of disunity, and they no longer dared to go against Lucas. They immediately organized their assets, sold all their properties in DC, and left DC with the entire family. Thus, the Piers had alsopletely withdrawn from the ranks of the eight top families of DC. That night, Rayson died, and the news that the Williams¡¯ assets hadpletely changed hands quickly spread throughout the capital. After Jeffrey, the helmsman of the Arnaults, found out that Rayson was dead, but not only had Lucas obtained all of the Williams¡¯ assets, he had even used some secret method to control Bradley, causing Bradley to leave DC overnight, he no longer dared to provoke Lucas. He could only gasp in extreme shock. Jeffrey instantly gave up any thoughts of continuing to fight against Lucas. Instead, he was extremely d that he had called Lucas his brother in order to protect himself. At the very least, he had notpletely fallen out with Lucas. In the future, as long as he had a good attitude and truly treated Lucas as his brother in front of everyone, he believed that Lucas would definitely not deal with him. After Eric, the helmsman of the Bransons, learned that Lucas had taken down the Williams, he personally went to Jeffrey to discuss their ns overnight. It was unknown what Jeffrey said to him, but after Eric returned to the Bransons, he immediately ordered everyone to restrain themselves and that no one was allowed to offend Lucas and the people around him. The Bransons became very low-key and rarely showed themselves. After Greg, the helmsman of the Steeles, learned about what Lucas had done, he immediately had a drastic change in expression. He had seen how powerful Lucas was personally and knew that the current Lucas was definitely not someone the Steeles could afford to offend. Furthermore, the Steeles had severely offended Lucas this time. Perhaps one day, they would provoke Lucas, and the Steeles would disappear from DC overnight like the Williams¡­ While he was feeling terrified and uneasy, Greg suddenly thought of his grandson Alexander, whom he had long forgotten. He thought about how Alexander and Ashley seemed to have a close rtionship with Lucas, and they even seemed to be working for Lucas at the Stardust Corporation. ¡°Quick, quickly call Alexander and ask him to return to the family immediately! I¡¯ve decided that the next helmsman of the Steeles will be Alexander. When he returns, I will immediately hold a family meeting and officially hand over the position of helmsman to him!¡± Greg instructed the butler beside him. He had already decided to pass the position of helmsman to Alexander. Presumably, Lucas should let the Steeles off on Alexander¡¯s ount and not do anything to them. At this point, several of the eight top families of DC were either destroyed or scattered. The remaining families were either Lucas¡¯s allies or were polite to him, not daring to offend him. As for Lucas himself, although he didn¡¯t im the title of the King of DC, everyone knew very well that he was the uncrowned King of DC. In DC, no one dared to offend Lucas. After the various forces in DC fell into a calm state, Lucas didn¡¯t stay idle. The Dark Dragon Regiment that he had asked Jordan to set up had already recruited enough people. In less than a few months, they had already trained arge number of experts, making Lucas¡¯s forces much stronger. Now, even without Lucas¡¯s intervention, just the strength of the Dark Dragon Regiment was enough to crush any one of the original eight top families of DC. They even had the ability to fight against the royal family branches. Thus, Lucas finally obtained the peaceful life he had always wanted. Today was the weekend. Early in the morning, Lucas brought Cheyenne and Amelia to Blue Ridge Mountains, nearby DC, for an outing. ¡°Wow, Daddy, the mountain here is so beautiful! There are so many flowers and butterflies! Even the air on the mountain is so fresh. It¡¯s exactly like what my kindergarten teacher said!¡± Amelia was wearing a beautiful pink princess dress and had two cute braids on her head. She was like a beautiful little elf as she ran back and forth on a mountain peak, holding a small handful of wild flowers she had just picked. Her fair and exquisite face was red with happiness. ¡°Amelia, don¡¯t run around! Be careful not to fall down the mountain! If that happens, Daddy and Mommy won¡¯t be able to save you.¡± Cheyenne was sitting on a pic nket that Lucas hadid out. She smiled at her lively and adorable daughter, her eyes full of doting love. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re a girl, so you definitely can¡¯t save me. But Daddy is a hero and our knight. If you and I are in danger, Daddy will definitely save us! Right, Daddy?¡± Amelia ran to Lucas¡¯s side and giggled as she inserted a few flowers she had picked into Lucas¡¯s hair. Lucas was caught betweenughter and tears. He picked up his daughter, who was ying a prank, and said with a smile, ¡°Amelia, you¡¯re right. Daddy is yours and Mom¡¯s knight. I will protect you all my life. I will never let you get hurt. I will definitely make you the happiest people in the world!¡± Lucas kissed his daughter¡¯s little face and then looked at Cheyenne beside him, his face and eyes full of tenderness and love. ¡°Honey, you¡­ What are you saying in front of our daughter? Really¡­ really¡­¡± Cheyenne¡¯s alluring face was slowly immersed in a shy pink glow. But a fair hand had already quietly grabbed Lucas¡¯s hand. Then she slowly tightened her grip, never wanting to let go. Lucas smiled and pulled his wife and daughter into his arms. He looked at the rising sun in the distance, his heart filled with happiness. The morning sun shone on the three of them hugging each other. It was bright, warm, and filled with endless love and hope. Even if there were more challenges and dangers in their future life, as long as their family was together, they would always be fearless, full of hope, and happy. In people¡¯s lives, wasn¡¯t what they wanted the most such peace and rare happiness? The End. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!